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I'm going straight to hell for this one...

Disclaimer: Own nada.

Ed called himself six different kinds of idiot as he hurtled through the town, dodging people left and right. His mind barely registered Al's shouts and the clanking of metal armor as his younger brother tried to catch up with him. They were just outside the Tsukino residence when Ed bent double, trying to regain his wind. Al, who had finally caught up, was confused, upset and worried because he did not understand his older brother's sudden actions.

"Brother, what was all that about? You just ran out of the library and I couldn't understand what you were yelling. What's wrong?" Ed did not look up. Instead he spoke in the heavy, serious tone he used when he talked about deep things that pained him.

"Think, Al. What does Tsukino do?"

"He's an alchemist and a jeweler..." Alphonse started, then stopped as reality dealt him a painful blow. "You don't mean--"

"That's exactly what I mean, Al. The State doesn't allow the production of jewels by alchemy, so that bastard decided to be sneaky about it and used some different way to get his jewels."

"And the thing he's been using is Serena," Al finished, horrified. Ed's automail creaked as his fist tightened and he turned and punched the wall viciously, then shot through the gate and headed for the door. The younger Elric followed without a word.

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Serena had almost nodded off when she happened to look out the window and saw Ed, running around the corner like someone had set his coat on fire. She watched him as he bent over and Al stopped by him. After a few minutes Ed struck the wall and ran up to the door, flinging the door open so that it let out a loud bang that echoed all through the house.

Frowning, Serena glanced around to make sure the maid was gone, then untangled herself from the covers and padded lightly over to the door. She listened carefully, until she was sure there was no one outside and slipped out. It was late evening, and she looked like a ghost in her overlarge white shirt and pale gray shorts as she wandered down the halls. Serena jumped when something flickered out of the corner of her eye, then chuckled nervously when she realized it was just a mirror. The bright surface reflected her pale, frightened face back at her, mocking her with her own half-rational fears. Shouting from downstairs drew Serena's attentions to the entry hall, where she peered over the railing and sucked in her breath in shock.

Ed stood there next to Al, shouting and screaming and looking the angriest she had ever seen him. The object of his rage was her own father, looking poised and unruffled as always. Her old friend's words pierced her ears, bringing with them the bittersweet ring of truth.

"--fucking bastard! You think you're so clever, don't you! Using your own daughter to get your precious jewels! Do those stupid hunks of rock mean more to you than your own flesh and blood? Don't answer that! I already know. And you know what else I know? I know--"

But what Ed knew, Serena didn't hear, because suddenly there was a dart in Ed's neck and he had fallen over. Al cried out, hurrying towards his brother just as Serena made a mad dash for the stairs. Two strong, wiry arms grabbed her, one going up to cover her mouth and the other circling around her slim waist as the owner dragged her back in the direction of her room. Serena knew who it was that held her, but that didn't stop her from kicking out viciously and trying to squirm away desperately, her eyes locked on Ed's limp form cradled in Al's arms before she was dragged out of sight.

Back in her room, the young girl turned on Envy in a blind fury. The homonculus just barely managed to dodge a punch aimed his way, quickly grabbing both her wrists in order to keep her from harming herself--and him. Serena's eyes blazed as she strained against him, trying to kick his legs out from under him. Envy wrestled her down to the floor, taking a few painful blows on the way. The homonculus couldn't help but feel a grim sense of pride at her strength--he and Lust had insisted on teaching Serena a few defensive and offensive moves.

"Are you going to stop now?" The green-haired sin demanded. His only response was a glare. Somehow she twisted out from underneath him and lunged at him again, drawing her fist back to knock him into the next world. So Envy did the only thing he could think of at the moment that would force her to get a grip. He morphed into the Fullmetal Alchemist.

Serena froze, her fist an inch from Ed/Envy's face, then drew back, the fight draining out of her almost instantaneously. She turned her back to him, her shoulders shaking as she tried not to cry. When Serena finally got control of herself, she spoke softly.

"That was cruel, Envy." Lightining crackled around the golden-haired alchemist's body as the sin transformed back into his original form.

"Punching someone's face in because they tried to help you is cruel, too," Envy retorted. The sin regretted his words instantly when he saw Serena's body flinched and she slid down to floor in a fetal position, wrapping her arms around her legs. With an inward sigh, Envy crouched next to her and reached for her just as the doorknob jiggled. The homonculus quickly sprang out the window, keeping close so he could hear what was being said. It was Tsukino.

"Your friends have left. You are not to go outside the grounds, and you are not to coerce anyone into looking for them for you. I expect you to attend your mother's party tonight, with no tantrums and less of the lip you gave her guests the last time we hosted them."

"Yes, Father." Envy had never heard that acid tone from Serena before. The mocking emphasis she put on the word 'father' only further peaked his curiousity about what Tsukino would do. If the man tried to touch her at all, there would be hell to pay. Lust would complain if he killed the bastard before she got her hands on him, but who cared? He had a score to settle.

"And watch your tongue, girl," Tsukino said coldly as he exited the room, the doorknob clicking shut behind him. Envy waited for a few seconds, then slid back into the room. Serena was in exactly the same place he had left her, curled up with a lost look in her eyes. She gazed up at him forlornly.

"Envy, what am I going to do?" Serena whispered tearfully. "Father's thrown out Ed and Al, and now I can't even leave the house!"

The homonculus wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, pressing her face against his chest as she trembled.

"Envy...When will I ever get out of this place?"

The sin had no answer to that.

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Serena rested her head wearily against the back of her chair, fighting to keep her eyes open. The candlelight flickered annoyingly, making it hard to stay awake. She wished that they would just let her go to bed already. She was in an exceedingly bad mood and had made no effort whatsoever to hide it from everyone else in the room.

Serena almost nodded off again, before being rudely awakened by her father's booming voice right next to her ear.

"Why, the poor thing, she's all worn out. I'd better take her up to bed!"

Serena glared half-heartedly at her father, drawing soft and false laughter out of everyone present, including her own mother. The teenager twisted in her seat to skewer her mother with a glare, then stopped and peered at her.

What was that thing glittering around her mother's neck? It was nothing that Serena had seen before, and yet she was certain that Mother had not gotten anything new. Come to think of it, nearly every female in the room had something similar around her neck or dangling at her ears. It was like a bunch of little crystalline drops twined together.

Am I missing something here?

Father grabbed her arm in a vicelike grip and hauled her out the door. Tired or no, Serena snarled at him in anger and dug her nails into his arm. He yelped and released her, clutching his bleeding arm in shock. Then he was himself again, cool and untouchable and perfect. He gripped her more firmly and dragged her down towards the lab. Serena struggled and screamed, as loud as she could, but no one came. What was even odder was that her father made no effort to silence her. It sent chills up and down her spine for some reason.

The man tossed her to the floor as he stepped into the lab, securely locking the door behind him. Serena jumped for the window, but Father shoved her down to the floor with an almost careless air and held her down as he shackled her face-first to the floor. It was then she noticed she was laying on a rather odd transmutation circle, with loops and curls that practically never ended. It made her feel sick just to look at it.

But now Father was back, with a knife in his hand. Serena choked back a scream as the tip of the knife sank into her tender, barely-healed flesh, drawing a circle that she could not see. Every second dragged on for an hellish eternity, as she bit her lip until the blood dripped down in a steady stream.

IwillnotscreamIwillnotscreamIwillnotscream--

Crimson light exploded from the circle on her back, and she couldn't hold back the agonized howl that burst out of her. The world seemed to buck beneath her, swirling sickeningly in front of her eyes. Her nails dug into her palms, until she was bleeding there as well.

When the world finally stopped pitching, Serena turned stiffly to look at her father. He was holding a clear red stone about the size of a silver dollar, and gazing at it with an almost reverent look on his face. Then he turned to her, the dim light reflecting off of his glasses and giving him an almost eerie appearance. She shrank away from him as far as the chains would allow. Father grabbed the shackle that was nearest to him and unlocked it, then started on the next one.

Serena stared at him hazily, wondering if he had finally lost his mind. Then she realized any worries he might have had were needless--she was too weak to move, let alone get up. Father rolled her over so that she was laying on her back on the strange transmutation circle. She peered up at him, then noted with a fresh thrill of horror that he was picking up the knife again. Serena tried to get up, and yet again failed. Fear was beginning to freeze her up, and the panicky little voice in her head shrieked that she was going to die, and why wasn't anyone coming to save her?

Serena closed her eyes in preparation for the pain that was sure to tear her apart...but none came. Only the palest shred of pain on her breastbone. She opened her eyes, seeing that Father was carving yet another circle slightly below her collarbone, just barely deep enough to draw blood. When he finished, he placed the red stone over it and pressed down. Red light started to glow and pulse softly from beneath his palm, until it suddenly blazed up in the circle below her.

Red sparks exploded in her vision as her body convulsed, and Serena was almost convinced that she was in hell. It felt like her very essence was being wrenched from her into the decievingly harmless-looking little stone. Some part of her that could still think rationally realized that her father was the one doing this, and her hands flew up and and dug into the bloody furrows in his arm that she had created earlier.

The man cried out in pain, yanking his arm away from her. Miraculously, Serena found she could move again as she rolled away from him. She quickly pressed a palm over one of her many wounds, then drew it away saturated in blood. She drew a somewhat sloppy transmutation circle, then placed one of the chains over it and activated it.

As the silver light gleamed and twisted the chain, Serena turned to look at her father. He had gotten to his feet and was starting toward her, the insane rage burning in his eyes and boring into her. The silver light had faded, and Serena grabbed at her newly transmuted object. Her body knew what it was, even if her mind hadn't registered it yet, as she brought it up and fired one, two, three times.

The gun glittered innocently at her as she stared down at it in stunned realization.

Slowly, Serena tilted her head back to stare into her father's shocked eyes. He stumbled back and fell, clutching at his chest. As far as she could see, she hadn't hit anything too important. One in the shoulder, one in the arm, and the last in the leg. A little voice in her head calmly remarked that her aim needed work.

But...She had shot her own father.

But he had tortured and used his own daughter.

Didn't that make it equivalent exchange?

The lab door flew off it's hinges as Ilene Tsukino burst into the room and immediately went to her husband, cradling him and whispering to him. At that moment, the circle on her chest pulsed painfully, and Serena closed her eyes to fight it off. When she opened her eyes and focused on her mother, she froze as her eyes landed on the necklace her mother wore.

The glittering little clusters were Serena's own tears.

It was as if she had been struck in the face with something heavy, and in a way she had. Her mother. Her own mother had known, had not cared, did not care that her only daughter had suffered for each pretty little drop she wore around her neck. She had only cared about the little trinkets she would get, not minding that her ony child was half dead because of what her husband had done.

Everyone else from the party crowded around Father, exclaiming loudly. Serena gazed around the room, noting her diamond tears that adorned every single female in the room. Not one of these people had minded how they were made, as long as they got something to show off. The circle pulsed again, and Serena gritted her teeth and rose to her feet, turning away from the gathering crowd. If she was going to die, she wanted to do it away from these hateful, hateful people and this hateful, hateful place.

Serena fell, and did not get up.

The red stone gleamed innocently in the dawn's light, as did the gun in her hand.

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Ummmm...Don't kill me? Please? (dodges rotten vegetables and runs off)

Read and review, please!

Next Chapter: The Elrics return, Tsukino's demise (FINALLY!), and a train to Central