Before them was a set of stairs what looked to be a maze, and the sound of water rushing filled the room. Standing there on the steps was Eddie, the burlap mask obscuring his face looked as if it were frowning. He was holding his shovel in front of him, the spade glinting dangerously in the dim lighting of the room.

"Hey. We meet again."


Zack gripped his scythe, a scowl breaking out across his face. As he was in front of both Rachel and Edward, he took a bit of a defensive stance, eyeing Eddie for any sudden movements. "Bold of you to show yourself again." He spat vehemently. His eyebrow twitched as Eddie let out a mocking laugh, shaking his head.

"Why wouldn't I? This is my floor, after all." Eddie replied, tilting his head slightly to the side. It was hard to tell where he was looking, but Rachel felt a chill run down her spine as she felt a shift in Eddie's attention, moving straight to her.

"Rachel, are you still going to deny me?" He asked, genuine hurt coming through as he spoke softly to her. "You would really rather parade around with these losers instead of letting me take your life? I promise to do it however way you'd like!"

"I think you should listen to yourself before calling us losers, pal!" Edward took a few steps forward, his fists clenched as he leveled a glare at the gravedigger. "You're the one going on and on about this, when she's already rejected you! You need to learn to take no for an answer!"

"Ed, what are you doing?" Rachel whispered, gripping the flashlight in her hands.

Eddie bristled, his body shaking in restrained anger as his gloved hands gripped the handle of his shovel. "You shut your mouth! Who are you to talk in the affairs of love?!" He shouted. "We're made for each other, and you're trying to take her away from me!"

Edward scoffed, and he jabbed a finger in Eddie's direction. "I think you're the one who doesn't know shit about love. You can't just force it on people, that's not how that works, and having a tantrum about it isn't doing you any favors!" He lowered his hand, frowning as he continued. "I think you've been through a lot, right?" He asked.

Eddie stilled, almost turning statue still, and Edward felt his gaze on him. He envisioned that he was probably a deer in headlights right now. "W-what would you know about it?" His voice shook, and whether it was with anger, or if he was scared, Edward couldn't tell.

"Just, look. I get it, kid." Edward continued, taking a few more steps towards Eddie. "I'm not gonna stand here and try to tell you I know what you've been through to get you to this point, but I can relate to not having the best childhood."

"...You can?" Eddie asked, becoming quieter, and his grip loosened a bit on his spade. Edward took another step closer, watching the boy warily as he crept forward.

"I can. I had it rough, too, and I know it's not easy to go at it if you're all alone." Edward replied, and in a split second, he recalled some of the hardest times in his life.

His father leaving him and his brother behind for years...

His mother passing away and leaving him and his brother orphaned...

The decision he made, convincing his brother to commit the ultimate taboo with him...

The consequences of his actions...

Poor Nina and Alexander...

Hughes...

He realized in that moment that if things had been different, if he didn't have Alphonse, Winry, Granny Pinako, and any of his other friends he made throughout his life, as some sort of support system for himself, he could have very well succumbed to whatever twisted feelings that were being displayed in the child before him, and gone down a similar path. It made him think of Scar, the Ishvalan monk turned serial killer, from Ed's own days of a State Alchemist- how the atrocities of war had forced him to bring his wrath down upon all State Alchemists, even to a child who simply carried the title.

He wondered if Scar would have begun that path if he had someone to support him in such desperate times.

Edward clenched his fist.

He's still a murderer, His rational side reminded himself. Murder is unforgiveable, no matter the reason.

He regarded Eddie carefully, noting the subtle shaking and the way his body seemed to curl in on himself slightly, his grip on the shovel waning.

But he's also a child who's clearly hurting.

He was right in front of Eddie now, and carefully, Edward reached out.

"Can't we just talk-?" Something shiny flashed, and in an instant, Edward was stumbling backwards, landing flat on his ass.

His eyes widened a bit as Eddie panted, having swung his shovel upwards and narrowly missing Edward by a hair. "Just shut up!" He shouted, desperate and hurt and angry all at once. "You don't know anything!"

He gripped his shovel tighter and swung downwards, the iron of the spade glinting in the low light as he brought the sharp edge down towards Edward.

"Ed!" Rachel called out, jolting forward as she reached out.

"Damnit-!" Zack growled, gripping his scythe as he made a break to run at Eddie, just as the shovel was about to make contact-

Edward threw himself backward, bracing his hands against the cobblestone floor, and his left knee rushed upwards to meet the spade, letting cold iron connect with a fabric covered steel shin. A loud, echoing clang reverberated through the room, and Edward took the chance to knock Eddie off balance and push him away from his person, the shovel tearing his pant leg in the process. He moved his hands up beside his head, using his momentum to roll his body backwards and kicking himself up into a handstand, before finding himself back on his feet, moving a few feet back to give himself and Eddie some distance.

"Too close!" Ed gritted his teeth, watching as Eddie regained his balance and picked his shovel back up. The child seemed startled, and he could tell that he was looking at Ed in confusion. He apparently, was not the only one. Three voices spoke in rapid succession, almost disorienting him.

"What the hell was that?!" Zack demanded, grabbing Ed by the left shoulder and shaking him. "Where did you learn that trick?"

"Ed, what happened to your leg?" Rachel asked, already moving to his other side, and she pointed down at the metal gleaming out from beneath tattered fabric.

"Is that automail?" Eddie asked incredulously. "There was nothing that said you had automail!"

"Alright, can everyone stop gawking!" Edward shouted, shooing Zack and Rachel away from him, and he lifted his leg up, grabbing ahold of the tattered fabric and ripping it off. His automail glinted in the light, and it creaked softly as he moved. He pointed at Eddie, glaring at him as a fire burned in his eyes. "Look, I tried to be friendly, kid, but if you're looking for a fight, then I guess we better teach you a lesson."

Zack smirked, standing next to him. "Well, now you're speakin' my language. Let's take this kid down."

Eddie looked between the two of them, panting quietly, before he turned his gaze back to Rachel behind them. "...Rachel, please." He begged softly, holding his hand out towards her. His hand slipped into his pocket. "Reconsider."

Rachel stared at Eddie for a long moment, squeezing the flashlight in her hands for a moment, before she shook her head. "I can't, Eddie. I'm sorry." She replied. "I promised Ed and Zack that we'd get out alive. I'm not breaking that promise."

Edward smiled as he listened to her, keeping his gaze on Eddie as he shifted into a fighter's stance with Zack.

Eddie gritted his teeth, his whole body tensing up, and he smashed the end of his shovel into the floor with force. "Then none of you will escape this floor alive!" He shouted, and Ed noticed much too late that he now held a device in his hand, pressing one of the many buttons.

"Stop-!" He lunged forward, the lights flickering above him, before the room was sent into pitch black darkness.

He stumbled forward, suddenly blind to his surroundings, and he felt Zack bump into his back. "Watch it!" He scolded.

Instead of a reply, he felt Zack's hand grab his ponytail, once again giving him a hard yank backwards, yet this time, Edward found himself stumbling out of the way of an incoming slash from Eddie's shovel. "You watch it! Don't need you dyin' on me, too!" Zack shouted back, swiping his scythe where Ed just was, and they both heard Eddie move away as Zack let go of Ed's hair.

Rachel flicked her flashlight on, briefly blinding her two partners before she used it to try and pinpoint Eddie in the room. She stood close to the duo, frowning a bit to herself as some sweat beaded down her face.

This is dangerous. Ed thought to himself, sticking close to Zack's side. Eddie is used to working in the dark, and we're blind as bats without this light, but Rachel is in too much danger if she sticks around...

"Rachel." Edward whispered, catching the girl's attention. "Go reach the end of the maze, see if there's something that will turn the lights on. We'll keep Eddie busy here."

"But-" Rachel started, but paused at the reassuring look in Ed's eyes.

"We'll be okay, Rachel." He murmured, smiling at her. "We just need to try and turn the lights back on."

"He's right." Zack spoke, surprising both blonds as their eyes landed on him. "You're just a burden if you stick around right now. Go be useful and turn the damn lights on."

Ed scowled, and he elbowed Zack. "She's not a burden-"

"Oh, bite me-"

"I understand." Rachel said solemnly, interrupting the two as she nodded her head, and she turned her flashlight to the stairs leading up into the maze. "You two be careful, okay? I'll see you at the end."

Ed nodded his head, and he gave her a thumb's up as he moved to be back to back with Zack. "See you soon." He said, and after a brief hesitation on Rachel's part, watched as she turned away and hurried up the steps, disappearing into the maze.

"Rachel!" They heard Eddie call out from their other side, and Zack swung his scythe in that direction, making the gravedigger move further away from his desired target.

"Focus on us, ya brat!" Zack taunted in Eddie's direction. "You're not layin' a hand on her!"

Ed waited as the light from Rachel's flashlight completely faded from view before he turned his attention to the fight, feeling Zack's back pressed against his. They were on their own against Eddie now, and Ed could only hope that they could manage to work together against a shared enemy without him also losing his head. Steeling himself, he raised his fists up for a fight, and he put his trust on the line.

"Let's see what you got." He muttered.