Without Saying Goodbye

Disclaimer: I own nothing

I suppose I went a little overboard last chapter...

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"I'll need it back," I said.

"Need what back?" Al scoffed.

"My arm. I need my other arm to draw the transmutation circle."

"You'll find it satisfactorily drawn out by myself."

I quickly glanced at my brother, who was occupying himself by studying his fingers. He took a long breath and exhaled rather dramatically. He seemed bored.

"I'll give you an hour to make a decision, Edward. No more, no less."

With that, he left the room, Envy positioning himself between me and the door. The Sin grinned menacingly and tsk-tsked my misfortune in a less than compassionate manner. Out of habit, I ruminated on escape options, which were plainly futile.

Then a thought struck me. I needn't escape the entirety of the tunnels. I only needed to reach the armory and light the fuse. This would ruin Al's plans, including the destruction of Central.

Envy was a devoted guard, not leaving his post, mocking the prisoner from a distance, but never commenting on the meek come-backs. He was perfectly suited for the job. And I was powerless to slip around him. I couldn't use alchemy quick enough, which was the only thing keeping me alive when fighting him in the first place. And I was too weak to fight him without (even with) a weapon. Furthermore, that door was the only conventional exit. If I tried creating a door with alchemy, the flashy light would be a problem. Which is why I was in a predicament. There was no way of escape.

Glaring at Envy, I cursed under my breath and he only snorted. He turned away his head, as though insulting me wasn't even worth his time.

For once, I couldn't do anything but sit and wait for whatever was brought before me. And what was I to do? Another human transmutation would mean another homunculus. Which would, in turn, create havoc for the people, not just in Central, but everywhere, killing, ravaging, destroying. On the other hand, a refusal would result in the loss of thousands of innocent lives. Not to mention Winry. And Al... I just couldn't get around the fact that my dear, beautiful, young, pure, brother... was evil...

That one thing fogged my mind up and boggled it, getting in the way of everything else. Even with my military training, I was not able to zone out of it for the time being. To me, this was worse than not having him. It made me stare blankly ahead and waste precious seconds. What was I to do? Al... Central... Al... or another homunculus? Al... and Winry... Al is evil...

I slammed my fists against the pillar I was leaning against. My teeth ground together. Envy shifted slightly, watching me with a malicious curiosity. His violet eyes assessed me, found the task at hand boring, and assumed his previous position.

Even though all seemed hopeless... even though all seemed lost... even though I was backed into a corner... there had to be a solution.

I straightened up and began pacing the polished stone floor, my scuffed German boots clicking. A plan began to take shape. It was still a little fuzzy, but I had figured most of it out. If it succeeded, I should be able to blow the underground network up. But first, a few things had to happen.

"Envy, I'm thirsty."

He arched an eyebrow and shouted back in a scratchy voice, "Me too, chibi."

I waited a few seconds before pressing him again. "I'm parched."

His answer was terse. "Shut-up"

"How about getting me some water."

"No."

"I'm so thirsty, though. I can feel my throat turning into sandpaper. I'm having trouble swallowing. Envy," I groaned. "Get me water."

"No."

"Envy?"

"No."

"Just a sip."

"No."

"I'm so thirsty."

"No."

"Come on."

"No."

"But-"

"I said 'no'! Now be silenced."

After two minutes I said plainly, "I'm hungry."

"Don't even start," Envy snapped, glaring at me with disgust.

"Then get me food."

"No!"

"If you get me something to eat, I will be quiet. And a drink too."

He considered it for a second. "Very well. But you must be quiet!"

Coming towards me, he placed handcuffs gruffly over my wrists, my arms around the pillar like I was hugging it. Then, taking his own merry time, he waltzed out of the door way.

At the moment he was out of earshot, I quickly dug the cuffs into the pillar, ingraining a simple transmutation circle. Pressing my numb hands against it, I felt the warmth that only a successful transmutation brings. The cuffs went slack.

Quickly formulating my next step, I moved to the carefully completed human transmutation circle. With a few fast changes, I sabotaged it, and retrained it for a fire large enough to reach the arms storage. And to think that my evil brother was practically begging me to blow up his evil lair. Irony.

I replaced myself in the uncomfortable position on the pillar at just the moment Envy returned with some bread and water. What a good guard. Uncuffing me, I pretended to flop to the ground and rub my oh-so-sore wrists. Dropping the plate unceremoniously before me, he returned to his post, pleased to see me keeping my end of the deal.

What a good little guard.

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