Roy had never been good at close combat. It was something Hawkeye had seemed to make her personal mission to correct, but despite her dogged training, Roy could rarely land a decent hit, and spent most of their training time trying to get away from her heavy rain of blows. As such, he relied heavily on his alchemy to keep opponents at bay and at a comfortable striking distance, and sometimes, that reliance came back to bite him.

Like now.

Roy shot another wave of fire the homunculus easily dodged, dancing back lightly to avoid the damaging burst. The flame hit the side wall, the rotting wood catching like old tinder.

"Go!" Roy shouted.

Havoc and Breda immediately responded, both diving inside the tiny shack behind Roy and heading for Ed. Roy hadn't had much time to watch, but he could have sworn that for a minute, Ed's chest had stopped rising and falling, and the cold fear stole Roy's breath away.

His men quickly got to work freeing Ed, and Roy didn't have any more time to think about it. The creature was coming again, and Roy sent another flame in the monster's direction as it leapt forward.

Roy finally managed to land a glancing hit on his left side, the rest of the flame arching past and catching the ceiling ablaze. The homunculus shrieked, the force of Roy's hit sending him sprawling off course. His body collapsed to the ground, red lightening quickly lapping up the wound. "Fool!" he snarled, staggering to his feet. "You'll bring this house down on top of you, too!" Some of that cursed mirth had finally left his expression, the cocky smile transforming into an angry snarl as he charged forward.

Roy hit him again, this time square in the abdomen.

The homunculus let out a string of curses as his body smoked and the lightening sparked. "I'm going to kill you, you worthless human filth!"

Roy sent three more blasts in rapid succession, each one striking the homunculus and now the floor was on fire.

Black smoke billowed from the flames, concealing the homunculus and roiling up and across the ceiling like a dark, violent sea. The heat seared Roy's face and the rest of his exposed skin and he raised an arm to shield his eyes from the burn as he scanned the floor for his opponent.

"Sir!"

Havoc's panicked voice had him turning sharply, just in time to catch a glimpse of Ed, struggling in his rescuers' arms, and Breda and Havoc both looking up above Roy's head with horror.

Something fell on him. It was heavy and he was on the floor in a tangle of limbs before he could register more than the flash of dark green.

Roy struggled frantically as his assailant grabbed at him. The creature was much stronger than he, though, and it didn't take long for it to have him, one hand wrapped tightly around his throat.

Roy tried to wrest away from the grip, but the pressure increased to something unbearable and Roy immediately stopped struggling as it grew decidedly more difficult to breathe.

"Well, well, well," the monster purred. "Guess you're not exactly as strong as Father thought you were."

Roy opened his mouth to reply, but the hand gripped tighter.

"Shut up!" he snarled. "I've just about lost my patience with you, Flame Alchemist."

Roy clawed at the hand, but the creature didn't seem to even notice. Roy's lungs burned and his vision swam.

The homunculus narrowed his eyes, considering. "I don't think you'd be half as much trouble if I ripped one of your limbs off. Father might not be too happy, but that's what he gets for giving stupid orders." His other hand snaked underneath Roy's elbow. The grip on his throat loosened, and he gasped in a full breath.

Just in time to scream.

XxXxX

Ed gasped as he awoke, pain flooding his senses and lungs spasming as if he had held his breath for way too long.

Or stopped breathing entirely . . .

He shoved the thought aside as he finally became aware of his surroundings.

There was a lot of scuffing and sliding coming from just a few feet away, accompanied by grunts and dull roaring that was terribly familiar. Heat burned his bare skin, barely noticeable against the backdrop of agony his body was writhing in. The place stank of smoke and blood, and fear spiked through his heart at the familiarity of it.

"Go!" a voice shouted, making him jump even as he recognized it.

Mustang.

Then footsteps approached, coming at him in a swift lope. The floorboards jerked underneath him and Ed tried to get away, but he only succeeded on choking himself again, the collar pulling tight.

"Easy, Ed!" a voice ordered, this one a low tenor and very familiar.

Panic had a strong hold on him, though, and he couldn't place the voice, so he did his best to scramble back from it.

"Elric, it's me, Breda!" another voice chimed in. "It's me and Havoc. We're going to get you out of here."

All very familiar voices, and yet . . .

And yet he knew he couldn't trust them.

"I'm done with you, Fullmetal."

"You're nothing now, Edward. Nothing but a blind dog."

Something latched onto his arm.

Ed clamped down on a scream, instead turning and digging his teeth into flesh.

Someone else cried out now, but then more hands grabbed at him. They weren't as rough as he had been expecting, but he knew they couldn't be friendly. Not in this place. He struggled weakly, the remainder of his steel limbs flailing uselessly as he did all in his power to escape.

A hand grabbed a fistful of his hair, forcing his head aside as the collar rattled against his neck, increasing his panic. His only arm held him up while he tried to push away whatever was holding him, but he only got a grunt in response to his frail attempt.

A hissed curse. "We don't have time for this!" the voice that sounded like Havoc snarled.

"Just hold him down! I've almost got it!" Breda's voice responded.

Something secured his leg and Ed couldn't move anymore.

The racket off to the side grinded to a sudden halt after an ear-splitting shriek cut through the air.

Then, a terrible voice spoke up. "Fool! You'll bring this house down on top of you, too!"

A snap and a roar and Ed knew exactly where Mustang was.

There was cursing and scraping and the sound of flesh sizzling as the fire found its target. Heat grazed over Ed's face and smoke burned in his lungs.

"I'm going to kill you, you worthless human filth!"

More snaps and more fire and Ed was pulled up from the ground by Breda and Havoc. Ed twisted in their arms, trying to get his leg underneath him, but they didn't allow it. But he had to get to Mustang. Mustang didn't know what he was up against. Envy wouldn't just let them walk out of there.

The fire was soon roaring, sounding much bigger and much more powerful than it had. He choked on the acrid stench of it as he was pulled away from Mustang.

Then Breda and Havoc froze. Ed heard both of them take a sharp breath and Havoc shout, "Sir!"

Fear gripped Ed's chest, and for once, it had nothing to do with himself.

"Let go!" he gasped, twisting and bucking, even as he heard something heavy hit the ground not far away, but Breda and Havoc didn't even seem to notice his weak struggles. They were focused on the scuffle not far away. Ed could hear it clearly over the hiss of fire as it popped and crackled and ate away at the basement.

Then, it stopped.

"Well, well, well," Envy's voice said—that awful voice that sent cold creeping up Ed's spine. "Guess you're not exactly as strong as Father thought you were."

A pained gasp.

"Shut up!" Envy snarled. "I've just about lost my patience with you, Flame Alchemist."

There was a long pause, in which all Ed could hear were the flames and quick, shallow breathing.

"I don't think you'd be half as much trouble if I ripped one of your limbs off. Father might not be too happy, but that's what he gets for giving stupid orders."

Mustang.

Ed tore free, hitting the ground hard enough to draw a strangled cry from his cracked lips.

Then, three things happened in rapid succession:

Mustang screamed.

Envy laughed.

Edward Elric performed alchemy.

XxXxX

Lost in a burning haze of pain, Roy didn't notice that Envy had dropped his dislocated arm and taken a few steps back until he heard the distinct whine of alchemy.

Like snapping a camera lens into focus, Roy captured the scene in his mind in vivid detail.

The flames of his fire, eating away at the house and casting bright light and dark shadows across the splintered floor.

Havoc and Breda, frozen, arms outstretched and panic shining in their eyes.

The homunculus, hovering just to his side, body streaked with soot and expression stunned.

Edward Elric, face lit up like a hollowed-out angel as bright lightening hissed and cracked over the remains of his arm, emitting from a tiny, crude circle traced in blood on his chest.

The ruined automail stretched and contorted, and Ed cried out, holding on to the wall as the alchemy rebounded, causing the half-arm to twist to the side, grazing flesh and mangling steel as it did. It finally stilled, lightening flickering over the failed transmutation and leaving Ed grasping the limb and whimpering.

The monster at Roy's side let loose a braying laugh. "What a sight! Can't even transmute your own arm, huh? Guess you can't do much of anything." He turned black eyes on Roy. "As soon as I finish having my fun with Mustang, I'll finish up with you."

Ed's whimper warped into an enraged snarl as he wiped away the circle on his chest and sketched another one, blind eyes helpless to guide his shanking hand.

This time, the arm righted itself, aiming ahead, turning only slightly to the side as it ended in a sharp blade at the end of his elbow. It didn't just grow forward, though. It snaked back up to his port, digging into the flesh behind it and drawing a stream of blood and a scream.

"Okay, fine then," the homunculus said, stepping forward. "I'll deal with you first."

Roy opened his mouth to shout, to tell Edward to get away, to run, something, but it was forestalled by the green-haired man digging his hands into Roy's hair and yanking his head back. "Don't go getting any ideas, now," he hissed, ripping the gloves off Roy's hands, jostling his arm terribly and he choked back a pained cry.

"Alright, Fullmetal Pipsqueak, your move."

Anger washed over Ed's pained expression, the last vestiges of fear that had haunted it for months finally melting from his visage. Like mud cleaned from a window to allow the sun to shine through, Roy saw a light that he hadn't seen in a long time.

He saw the Fullmetal Alchemist, and hope burned inside of him where it had died before.

Faded gold blazed and Ed snarled, "Come and get me, Envy."


My excuse is as simple as they come: Life.

Oh, life! How dare thee taketh me away from important things, as fan fiction and and art and sleep? Dost thou not knoweth my bathroom hast not been cleaned in a month over? Or that mine laundry hast not been washed in a fortnight? Cease and desist, life, for thou art too much for mine sanity.

I'm going to stop now, because I'm even annoying myself xD But yeah, life is life. Preparing for auditions and school and trying to be super organized at work and home is really eating into creativity. *le sigh* And I'm trying to be healthy. So cooking and exercising. They tell me how good it is for creativity, and that's all well and good until you have no time left for said creativity lol but I digress. Life is life, and it's magnificent and annoying and amazing c: I didn't get in the show I've been prepping myself for, though, so I'm pretty bummed, but I'm trying to fill my practice time with writing and art, so that kind of helps. And now I have a chapter for you! :D

I'll try to respond to reviews over the next couple of days. I think I scared a lot of people into thinking that I wasn't going to finish this fic :'D But IT'S GOING TO BE FINISHED AND ITS GOING TO BE SOON. Be at ease, for I have not forgotten this fic :) It's my baby c:

Hope you enjoy!

God Bless,

-RainFlame