Part I: Chapter VI:

Sadism

Alphonse Elric decided that maybe he should have thought this whole thing a bit more through. He got his body back, only to be confined in a cell for the murder of Edward Elric. And considering how he still needed Edward, that was not well-thought out.

Mostly. After all, as an alchemist, he was resourceful. Ingenious. Imaginative. Quick-witted.

It was because of these qualities that he had decided to take action after Colonel Mustang's little visit to his cell. It felt a little strange for them to wait seven days before giving him a proper trial, but then again, Alphonse knew, the Homunculi most likely had a hand in it.

Which was the exact reason why he was currently running through the streets of Central, trying to find a hiding place and figure out how he was going to find the Homunculi.

It wasn't very difficult to escape. Though his method of escape was somewhat juvenile. He had spent a considerable amount of time scratching his finger to the point of bleeding. With the blood, he drew a transmutation circle and broke free of his shackles. Then he drew a transmutation circle on the wall, and caused a small hole to form, allowing him to slip out, entirely unnoticed by the oblivious guard.

Once he had gotten out, he knew he had to find a place to stop, rest, and think things through. So, he just decided to run, leading to this moment.

Alphonse slowed down when he reached an alleyway. It was quiet and dark, due to dark grey clouds covering the light of the moon. Judging by how few lights were turned on, it was most likely around 2400 hours or somewhere around that time.

Alphonse walked through the alley, stopping under a small roofed area where a large hunk of metal parts just sat there. Alphonse felt a smile make its way onto his face. His armor. He knelt in front of the now inanimate suit of armor and took of its helmet. He traced his fingers along the blood red rune, literally drawn with blood. His smile widened. His brother's blood.

After a few minutes of examining the suit of armor, he decided to collect his bearings and think of what steps he should take now. He found it strange how no one thought to search the city thoroughly for his armored body. The closest thing they did do, was have Lieutenant Colonel Hughes ask him about it. Naturally, like his answer to every other question, he promptly refused to give any semblance of an answer. Granted, this alleyway was in a secluded area, close to the outskirts of the city, and the street it was located on itself did not have many residents. The perfect hiding spot.

It took Alphonse a few minutes to finally get on with his decision making. Naturally, he had to find the Homunculi. Alphonse suddenly felt a burst of anger as he thought of the Seven Sins and their leader, Father. Just the mere thought of his name sent spite and disgust down the core of his very being. His eyes flared. He clenched his fist tightly to try and calm himself down.

He would get what he wanted soon, but right now he had more important things to worry about. He shook his head, breaking him out of his thoughts as a sadistic grin made its way onto his face, a plan formulating in his head.

He clapped his hands together, an alchemic ring resounding throughout the alley, and pressed his hands onto his armor. His grin remained un-wavering as the armor deconstructed, breaking down the steel through the sped-up process of erosion. He felt a feeling of giddiness as he watched the blood seal slowly become deformed as well. When the armor finally broke down, Alphonse clapped his hands once more, and alchemically attached the armor's dissolved state to the ground. It made the ground slightly uneven, but it was hardly noticeable.

He hummed a tune to himself as he walked out of the alley. He had a plan to put into place.

The morgue, deep inside the Investigations Department, was empty. The only occupants were dead bodies. All the lights were off in the building, and it was utterly and completely silent.

Or rather, it would be completely silent if there wasn't a joyful tune being whistled. The whistler in question was walking towards the morgue examination room, where they typically did autopsies for any investigations. While the entire area was freezing cold, it strangely didn't bother the person.

An almost terrifyingly sadistic grin filled his face, resembling that of a clown's as the person opened the door to the autopsy room, and walked towards the small body lying the examination table. Golden blond hair flowed freely, bruises covering his entire body, buts littering his left arm, his right arm removed, left leg as well...the whistler's breath was almost taken away.

"Beautiful." The person breathed as he stepped towards the body, his smile threatening to almost break his face in half as he read the name plaque. 'Edward Elric'

He clapped his hands together and pressed it onto the Fullmetal Alchemist's chest. He closed his eyes and activated his transmutation. Blue light filled the room as the person leaned in close to Edward's face and breathed, the transmutation drawing energy from the earth to this very room, reverberating through his very soul. "Brother..." The person, or rather, Alphonse Elric licked his lips as his eyes sparkled with excitement.

The energy from the transmutation caused pulses to spread throughout the entire country of Amestris, and with it, he was able to hear the cries and desperation of multiple souls buried within the soil of Amestris.

But throughout all the souls, only one held a prominent position. That soul was the only one Alphonse cared enough about to listen to, albeit he was enjoying the soul's suffering.

"Stop! Please! Don't do this!" The soul cried. Alphonse cackled gleefully as he continued with his transmutation, causing the single soul to screech with pain. "Please, don't! Stop! Stop!"

Alphonse paused, listening to the silent cries from the soul, almost seeming like he was considering ending the torment. He smiled then replied cruelly. "No."

The blood-curdling scream that came out of the soul's ethereal mouth filled Alphonse with a sense of joy and purpose, motivation and exhilaration, jubilation and delight...drinking in all these feelings from the sound of the scream, Alphonse finally stopped his transmutation and removed his hands from Edward's chest. Granted, he could have used any body as a conduit for his motives, but since he was planning on taking Edward's body anyway, he might as well.

Alphonse hummed to himself as he grabbed a blanket and wrapped Edward fully exposed body up with it. With a push of his strength, he threw Edward over his shoulder and huffed. 'Good thing his auto-mail's been removed. Otherwise I would've had a tougher time moving him...' With that final thought, Alphonse walked out the door and headed out of the Investigations Department, Edward's body covered in a blanket on his shoulder.

The only thing heard throughout the mostly silent night was the sounds of happy whistling.

May woke up with a start, shrieking with fear. Xiao Mei was shuddering and making whimpers right next to her. May grabbed the small panda and held her close, shivering with fear, tears pricking at her eyes.

"You felt it too, didn't you, Xiao Mei? You felt it." May was having trouble keeping his breathing under control. She bit her lip, sniffling as the screams replayed in her mind. There was a strange pulsing throughout the earth, something she had also felt two days ago, though she wasn't able to put her finger on why it scared her so much. Now, however, she could.

She felt people's souls. Multiple souls crying out in pain, but one caught her attention. The pulses of energy seemed focused on that one soul, who's painful cries and screams prevented her from even thinking about going back to sleep.

"Stop! Please! Don't do this!"

May shuddered, tears flowing freely own her face, as she stroked Xiao Mei's soft fur.

"Please, don't! Stop! Stop!"

May sobbed to herself as she recalled the blood-curdling scream that followed, the soul sounding like they were in excruciating pain.

"Are you alright?" A stern and deep voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Scar standing over her, his red eyes standing out through his x-shaped scar.

May shook her head and sniffled. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"

Scar shook his head, his red eyes seemingly examining May from top to bottom. "We should head out. There's a ruckus in the streets. Some prisoner apparently escaped from Central prison, and now the MP's are rushing about."

May sniffed and nodded. "Okay." She said weakly and stood up, Xiao Mei clutching tight on her shoulder. "Let's go."

Ling shuddered, his eyes widening as he felt those strange pulses from two days ago. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. Just like the last time, he felt snippets of both Edward and Alphonse's souls with the pulsing. He inhaled sharply and looked over to Lan Fan, who's eyes were as wide as his. Most likely, she felt those pulses as well.

"You felt it too, Young Lord?" Lan Fan breathed, staring off into the distance.

Ling nodded grimly. "I find it strange how I could feel...Edward...and Alphonse...as well. This was the exact same feeling I felt two days ago, when..." Ling faltered and narrowed his eyes into slits, remembering his best friend.

"I'm not friends with hyenas like you!"

"Shut up, Ling! I'm not going to let you die here! You have way too many people counting on you to be alive! What about Lan Fan!"

"Thanks for coming with me, Ling...both you and Lan Fan. I really appreciate it..."

Ling closed his eyes tightly as he clenched his fist. "Ngh..." He muttered.

"Young Lord?" Lan Fan touched Ling's shoulder, concern aligning her features. "Are you alright?"

Ling inhaled sharply and shook his head. "No, Lan Fan, I'm not."

Lan Fan paused and closed her eyes, tightening her hand on Ling's shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. "Then I'll stay here until you are."

"That's just the thing Lan Fan." Ling replied softly. "I don't think I'll ever be okay after this. Maybe I would be able to move on someday, but..."

"The pain will stay with you forever." Lan Fan finished, her eyes filled with pain. "I understand how you feel Young Lord. Edward was a friend to me as well...and to think that Alphonse would-"

"Don't say it."

The two stood in silence for a while, drinking in one another's comfort, because that was what they both needed. The loss of a mutual friend affected them both deeply, and that was all they could do right now. Mourn in silence together.

Sadism Definition: "the tendency to derive pleasure, especially sexual gratification, from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others"

Defined from online google dictionary

A/N: Sorry it's been a long time since I've updated! I just had no clue how to write this chapter and I was also distracted by a lot of stuff. Luckily I got my writing flow back!

On a side note, did I make anyone uncomfortable from this chapter? I actually shuddered a few times when I wrote this chapter. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'll need just one more chapter to go until Part II!

This is Jewel, signing off! Thanks for reading so far!