As soon as Ed and Al got back to the hotel, Winry got to work on fixing his arm.

"So, they're holding Ruby there with them until you make that stone?" Winry asked, digging through her toolbox for the right screwdriver. Ed was looking down at the floor, and Al just sat on his bed.

"I didn't even get to tell her, Winry. She was gone before I could tell her." Ed moaned as Winry began reattaching his arm. Lust had said he could have his arm fixed before creating the stone, but they would keep Ruby there with them until he returned.

"I just wish there was another way to do this." Winry said with sadness. Al looked over at them.

"Brother, are you really going to do this? Are you really going to take all those lives?" Al asked.

"I have to, Al. There's no other way." Ed responded.

"Why do you want this Philosopher's Stone anyway?" Ruby asked, watching as Envy played tug-of-war with Sammy.

"We need it if we are to become human. Otherwise we'll be damned to live like this forever." Lust replied from where she stood by a window. Ruby sighed. Why did those boys even care about her, just because they knew her sister? Or, was there more to it then that? Footsteps echoed through the room as Edward stepped in. He had told Al and Winry to stay back at the hotel.

"I'm here. My arm's fixed now." He said curtly. Envy stood up, pulling Ruby to her feet. Ed watched as he tied her wrists with rope, walking behind her as Lust led them all out of the building.

"They're all in the school building. It's pretty small you should be able to draw the transmutation circle around it." She said, leading them down a dusty street. The hot sun beat down on them as they walked. Moroa was on the edge of a desert, leaving a lot of sand and dust on the streets. Edward slowed his pace until he was in step with Ruby.

"Are you okay?" He asked her quietly. Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"Don't you think we take care of our own kind?" Envy said. Ed shot a glance at him, but looked down at his feet as he remembered that Ruby was a homunculus. His feet carried him aimlessly as he was carried away into the voices of his memories.
"Winry, we're back! Just as we promised!"


"Yeah, we're home again. Why do you look so sad?"


"Because, Alphonse. Edward. While you were away, Ruby was killed." The piercing feeling he had felt when he had first heard Winry say that tugged at him once more.

"Fullmetal," he was snapped out of thought as Lust stopped. He looked up to see a small white building; the school house. "It's time."
Ed took his time drawing up the circle. As he went along, Gluttony scattered the fake Philosopher's Stones around the inside. When he'd finished the circle, he waited for Gluttony to finish with the stones. When Gluttony was done, he stepped up to the edge of the circle.

"Hurry up." Lust said impatience in her voice. Ed looked back at her then glanced at Ruby. "If you don't make this stone and turn us human your precious little Ruby stays with us as Regret." She snapped. Ed faced the circle again, getting on his knees. He clapped his hands together then just about had them pressed against the circle when he stopped. He thought for a moment if there was anything else he could do then noticed the people in the building were looking out at him with fear. He heard crying and stopped. Lust kicked him and he started over again.

"Wait!" Ruby cried. Ed looked up and turned around. "Edward, don't!" Envy put his hand over her mouth to silence her, but she bit him and made him let go. Lust shot her an icy glare, and Ruby struggled to free herself. "Ed, don't do this."

"If you don't make the stone Ruby stays our prisoner." Lust said. Ruby broke free of Envy's grip then used her tears to get the ropes off of her wrists.

"I'll be okay with them, Ed. Don't take all those lives just to make a few more better." She cried. Edward stood up and walked over to her. Lust pushed her fingers between them.

"Make the stone!" She demanded. Ed looked at her.

"No." He replied. He looked at Ruby. "And you're not staying with them!" He transmuted his arm into a blade, slashing at Lust. Ruby ran behind him as he ducked away into an alley.

"Get back here!" Envy called. Lust and Gluttony stayed behind to make sure no one left the building. Ed pushed his hands against the ground and a large wall of earth shot up from the ground, creating a barrier between Envy and himself, with Ruby close behind him. He and Ruby stayed there until he heard Envy run back to the other homunculi. He pushed his hands against the wall and it shrank back into the earth.

"Are you alright?" He asked Ruby. She looked at him in amazement and nodded. Ed looked down at the ground.

"Ed..?" Ruby walked over to him, her voice shaking. Ed looked her in the eyes. She seemed to be hurting, as if unsure of anything. "Ed, I think I should go back with the other homunculi."

"Ruby, what're you..?" Ed gasped. How could she even think that? They'd kidnapped her! Ruby looked down at her feet.

"It isn't so bad with them. Besides, I think I should be where I'm understood, with my own kind." She said. Tears rolled down onto the ground as Ruby looked back up at Edward. "I hope you can understand why I'm doing this. I really do care about you, and I'm grateful for everything you've done for me." Ed walked up to her until he was within a foot of her. Ruby backed against the wall of the building next to her.

"'I hope you can understand'?" Edward repeated. He looked her directly in the eye, grabbing her arms and pushing her against the wall. "Ruby, in case you haven't noticed," He trailed off. She was shaking with fear. He sighed, softening his gaze. Her shaking stopped as Edward gently pressed his lips against hers. When he pulled away, she kept her eyes closed. "In case you haven't noticed, I love you." He finished. He let go of her arms and backed away a few steps. Ruby fell to the ground crying with frustration. He loves me? He loves a non-human, pitiful girl like me? She thought. "Ruby," Ed interrupted her thoughts. "If you change your mind, just tell me before I get back to the hotel. If you don't come after me, I'll assume you've chosen to find the homunculi." He turned and began to walk away down the alley. Ruby watched him for a moment then stood. Her head and heart told her to run after him, but her legs didn't listen. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out as he disappeared from sight.

When Edward returned to the hotel, he silently crept up the stairs. When he opened the door, Winry and Al rushed over to him.

"What happened? Where's Ruby?" Winry asked. Ed walked over to his bed and sat down, tears streaking his face as he explained what happened. When he had finished, he lay down and faced the wall.