Disclaimer: I do now own FMA, sadly. Otherwise there would be /subtext/ (-giggles-)
A/N: Things get interesting from now on.
(Beta-ed by Sin of Regret)
Edward awoke feeling very groggy. So much so, that his eyes were too weak to open. With a groan, he lifted his hand to his eyes to rub the sleep out of them, but quickly found that he was unable to.
Something cold and heavy - metal? - was holding down both his flesh arm, and his mechanical one. When he tried to move his legs, he found that they were in the same predicament. A breathing mask was strapped around his mouth that fed him Novocaine. His instincts told him - screamed at him - to panic, but the works of the drugs refused to let him do so.
Suddenly, a bright light was turned on above him, blinding the alchemist for seconds. When he could see, small purple and green dots clouded his vision. He watched silently through half-lidded eyes as three people walked into the room.
The trio were clad in surgeon wear, from their head - where there were caps over their heads and a mask over their lips- to their feet. They mumbled words Edward could not understand - whether it was from the high he was on, or that they were speaking another language.
The shortest one, and the only female, was holding on tightly to a metal push cart. On it, the teenager could see all sorts of surgery tools, along with a few towels and strange items he had never seen before. Edward did not feel frightened, nor worried. The drugs were doing their job to the fullest.
In his daze, golden eyes wondered around. This room was much cleaner than the one he and Envy had been kept in. The walls were a light blue, and there was a large window - much like the ones in interrogation rooms - on the right wall. On the other side of the room was a door that led out of the room, and another table much like the one Edward was on.
Loud voices and noises could be heard through the walls, and even the three around Edward turned to see what all the hubbub was about.
Even with his clouded mind, the teenager was able to recognize the thrashing figure as Envy.
The Sin was in a room much like Edward's. Though, he had a few more scientists around him than the alchemist did, as well as two large men similar to those that were with Greta the first time he had seen her.
"GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF ME!"
Envy's raspy voice was clear through the tinted glass as the big men tried to get the homunculus back into the metal cuffs. Though, the Sin proved to still be stubborn even after they drugged him, and managed to knock down a cart, as well as one of the scientists that was foolish enough to get close to the pissed off Sin. The one that had fallen quickly rose and left to get more help.
"LET GO OF ME! LET GO OF ME SO I CAN RIP YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!"
Edward wanted to chuckle, but with his high it came out a mellow grin. Turning his attention back to the scientists, he noticed that one of them was missing. He opened his mouth to ask, but was cut off by the shorter man.
"Isabella will begin the experiment when you are ready, sir."
The taller man nodded his head slowly. As he picked up the scalpel, the door to the left opened.
The woman from before was now dragging in a cage. It was small, rusty, and Edward could hear whimpers and scratches from whatever was in there. In his mellowed state, he still felt bad for the creature and cooed softly to himself.
The cage was moved to a shiny table that was much like the one Edward was strapped to. Under it, he noticed a decorated pattern. It was a fairly large transmutation circle, one he had seen before...but he could not remember where exactly. Strange markings and letterings made up a good portion of the circle, and it was drawn in some kind of red paint.
While he was distracted, the scientist with the scalpel managed to prick Edward's flesh arm with the sharp object. No later, the man started to drag the knife five inches down and deep into his tanned skin.
Ed didn't notice what the man was doing until he felt the warm liquid flowing freely from the cut. Gold eyes widened, but he still found himself to be eerily calm.
'This isn't right...' his conscience told him, struggling to wake up the rest of the teenager's body and mind. 'We have to get out of here! What are you lying around for?! They're going to-!'
His thoughts were cut off as another body entered the room. This one was of a girl no older than himself. She was cloaked from head to toe, and the only part of her body visible was that frin her nose to her chin, and her hands.
The girl moved quietly and swiftly over to the caged animal. Ed watched as she put a hand between the bars and petted the creature with a saddened smile. With a few comforting words to it, she moved away and over to Edward.
She stared down at him, while he stared up at her.
Her lips were a straight line, and her body was stiff. There was an unpleasant aura surrounding her that sent chills down his neck. Without a word, she reached over him, and brushed her hand across his fresh wound.
The girl moved away quickly soon after, her hand covered in his dark blood - though she didn't appear to be grossed out by it. It was as if she had done this many times before.
She bent down and started to draw a transmutation circle around Edward's table. He could not see it, but a part of him could tell that it was similar to the one under the other table.
When she finished, she stood back up and walked over in between both of the metal tables. Much like Edward, she raised both of her hands, and it was only then that he noticed that both of her hands were covered with blood.
On one was his own, and the other must have been from the creature in the cage.
After she clapped her hands, everything seemed to travel in slow motion.
First, out of the corner of his eyes, he could see a bright light from the room next door - Envy's. He could hear the homunculus's screams of pain. Mixed with the Sin's cries were one of an animal. Ed had heard its cry before, but was not able to recognize it in the seconds that passed before the experiment began.
Second, his brain suddenly registered what was going on as soon as a violent, bright light absorbed the three of them. He gasped violently, the drugs started to wear off as his panic knocked off the mask that fed the tinted air to him. The light wasn't like the normal lights present when he and Al did alchemy, but those of the worst kinds of alchemy.
The kind that Shou Tucker did to his family and dog...
Lastly, as the girl's hands met with both their transmutation circles, he felt a wave of pain on a magnitude he never thought could have existed.
He had never felt anything as powerful in his entire life. The attachment of his automail was a pinch compared to the shocks that went through his body. As soon as the transmutation was activated, he felt like he was being torn apart from the inside out.
His throat burned as h, too, yelled out in pain just as the creature nearby started to howl, feeling no doubt the same burning sensation Edward was feeling.
The nerves attached to his automail parts felt as if they were melting away, and he could no longer feel them. His limbs were numb, and for all he knew, they could have really been torn apart.
The torture seemed to go on for hours, but Edward could not remain conscious for that long. His wound - now one amongst many - had still been bleeding freely, and the amount of blood he had lost was finally taking its toll.
His eyesight began to blur, as did his thoughts.
Memories he had lived through - both the good, bad, and the frightening - sped through his mind at top speed. However, just as fast as they appeared, they faded away, wiped clear from his brain.
The last vision his watery eyes caught was that of the female alchemist - the hood of her cloak down - panting heavily and staring up at him with a guilty expression.