Zilo: Welcome back, guys!
Chizi: And girls!
Zilo: Here's the next chapter!
Chizi: And as a warning...uh...refer to Chapter 1!

4: Recovery?

Edward was alive. But his eyes were dead. They couldn't look more dead if Edward himself were dead.

That had to be the scariest thing Roy had seen in a while.

For a moment, he could only stare, relieved, dumfounded, angry, scared, and unsure--all at the same time. Edward was alive, and here, but he was on the offensive. Was he the one responsible for attacking Roy's subordinates? But why? What was he thinking?

Snap out of it! Roy's mind yelled. You're in the middle of a fight!

Blinking, Roy recovered just in time to dodge a swipe of Edward's customary automail blade. It ripped his sleeve, but not his skin, fortunately.

Talk to him. Try to figure out what's wrong, his reasonable side said.

He's trying to kill you! Incinerate his ass! his macho side said.

Run! If you get rained on you're finished! his wimpy side said.

"Edward!" Roy yelled while dodging. "What are you doing? Why are you attacking me?!"

Edward gave no reply as, once again shrouded in darkness, he continued to hack and slice at his superior. Roy was barely dodging these attacks, and the rapid pace was starting to take its toll on him. Worse, the rain was coming down more now, and he was having to work harder to get a spark. But Edward didn't seem at all fazed and kept attacking at the same pace.

I've got to catch him off-guard, Roy thought. "All right, enough, midget!" he ordered, hoping for a classic blow-up.

Nothing. Roy was beginning to wonder if this was Edward at all.

"You..."

For the first time, Edward broke the silence himself. His voice was low, raspy, like he hadn't had a drink in a while. That or he was doing it on purpose.

Roy managed to shove Edward away and stood with a few feet between them, trying to catch his breath. "Why are you doing this?" Roy demanded.

"You used me."

Roy blinked.

Edward pointed his blade at Roy, eyes still dead but voice filled with malice. "You made me suffer. Now you're going to suffer like I did."

Then, with no further ado, he rushed forward again.

Roy tried to move away, but this time he wasn't fast enough, and the blade caught his arm. Sucking in his breath through gritted teeth, Roy reached up with his other arm and grabbed Edward's automail wrist. Edward tried to break free and nearly tore Roy's arm out of his socket, but he held on, trying to get control of the situation.

"Edward, listen to me!" he yelled.

"LET GO OF ME!" Edward yelled back twice as loudly, his face about two inches away from Roy's.

Roy was so stunned by the harshness of his tone that he almost complied, but caught himself and held on tighter. Edward, now fully outraged, threw a punch and grazed Roy's cheek. Roy grabbed his other wrist, and Edward tugged with all his might.

Something was wrong, seriously wrong. Edward had changed, or he had been changed. He had never looked this hatefully even at Scar or any of his other enemies. "What happened to you?" Roy asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Sir, get out of the way!"

Roy's head snapped up and he saw Riza standing a few feet away, gun leveled at Edward's back. Even in the dark and the rain she would not miss. "No, Lieutenant!" Roy yelled, turning slightly so his back blocked her.

"Sir!" Riza said again, her voice more urgent.

"Don't shoot!" Roy shouted back. "It's Edward!"

Riza started from behind her gun. "What?"

Edward was now thrashing like an animal trying to break free. Roy felt a sharp automail part cut into his hand, and he worked hard to keep either arm from breaking free. "Help me restrain him!" he yelled as he braced his feet against the concrete.

Riza ran over, gun still at the ready. She let go with one hand and helped twist Edward's arm behind his back. He didn't even seem to care, so concerned was he for escaping. Roy, now with added help, managed to get his elbow into Edward's back. "Lieutenant," he grunted, "if you would..."

"Yes sir." Riza flipped her gun over and used the nonbusiness end to crack Edward over the back of the head. Her aim was true, and his struggling ceased as he lost consciousness. Roy nearly collapsed from relief as he slowly lowered Edward to the ground, and himself into a sitting position.

Riza remained standing. "Sir, if I may..." she said, her voice demanding answers.

"If I'm right, it's been Edward all this time," Roy said, letting go of Edward's automail arm to check the cut on his hand.

"But why?"

Roy shook his head. "I don't know. We need to get him back to Headquarters."

"And you're all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Roy examined his various cuts and saw that none of them were too terrible. The rip in his sleeve, however, was a different story. He hated to sew.

Eleven hours later...

The three Homunculi stood there, watching as the sky lightened. "He's not coming back," Lust surmised.

Envy had a look of rage on his face. "That pipsqueak better not have let himself get caught," he snarled, looking like he wanted to kick something.

"If he doesn't come back, can I eat him?" Gluttony asked Lust.

"No," Envy snapped, answering for her. "There is no way I'm letting all my work go to waste. I'll get the pipsqueak back myself." With that, he turned and stalked back into their hideout.

Winry jerked awake the next morning, and she blinked sleepily at the wall for a few seconds, trying to figure out what had pulled her from her sleep so abruptly. It came together when she heard Alphonse's excited voice from the next room. "How is he?!" he was saying.

There was silence for a moment, and Winry took the time to sit up and stretch a bit. "I see," Alphonse said again, sounding a little less excited. "Can Winry and I still come and see him?"

Him who? Winry wondered, still not fully awake. She rubbed her blue eyes and yawned.

"Okay, yes...okay...bye." There was another silence, and then a knock on the door. "Winry, are you awake?"

"Yeah, come on in," Winry invited, though the statement was only half true.

Alphonse opened the door to the guest room and walked in, looking as excited as a suit of armor could. "Winry, we've got to get to Headquarters as soon as possible. Colonel Mustang found Brother last night!"

"What?!" Winry exclaimed, now fully awake.

In the hospital wing...

"Sir, wake up."

Roy Mustang's head lifted as he was roused from his sleep. Riza was leaning over him. "The doctor's here with a report," she told him.

"Oh." Roy uncrossed his arms and stood, taking the time to straighten his messed-up uniform as the doctor approached. "How is he?" he asked, immediately sliding into his superior officer mode.

"Well, we've got him on a sedative, so he should be asleep for a while," the doctor said, looking very worn.

Roy felt his pain. Once Edward had come to he had immediately started fighting. It had taken several officers just to keep him from breaking free, and he had only calmed down once Riza knocked him out again. She was really good at that.

But the doctor was still talking. "It appears he's had very little food and water since his disappearance. He also has several bruised points on his neck and flesh arm, and his system is full of an unusual drug. That seems to be the cause for his current state of mind."

That and whatever his living conditions had been. Roy wanted to kill those Homunculi himself. How dare they do this to Edward?

"Is he still under restraint?" Riza asked.

Roy flinched. "Restraint? He's handcuffed?"

The doctor raised his hands. "Only in a gesture to protect himself and those around him, Colonel," he said hastily. "He's not in his right mind at the moment, and we want to ensure he doesn't cause himself or anyone else harm when he wakes up."

Roy sighed heavily. "Fine. Let me see him."

The doctor led them to Edward's room, and Roy and Riza went in.

Edward was indeed restrained, with a wooden shackle. He lay in a bed, the shackle in his lap. He had been changed out of his clothes into some pajamas which looked too big for him, and apparently had gotten a bath at some point too. There were fresh bandages wrapped around his forehead, neck, and flesh arm down to the wrist, and a tie was wrapped loosely around the ends of his hair. He looked as though he were simply sleeping.

Roy felt his fists clenching as he looked down at the 16-year-old. The Full Metal Alchemist, hero of the people, driven out of his mind and pumped full of drugs. How? Why? Roy wanted answers, but glaring at Edward's restraints weren't giving him any.

He stood there for a moment, just looking at Edward. Then he realized Riza wasn't beside him anymore, and he turned to see her heading for the door. There was some sort of conversation going on outside, and Roy recognized the voice of Alphonse Elric.

Riza had opened the door before he could take a step in that direction, and the voice became clearer. "Lieutenant!" Alphonse was saying. "How's Brother?"

"See for yourself," Riza said, pushing open the door. Alphonse and Winry Rockbell stepped in, and they glanced at Roy for about two seconds before they spotted Edward. Both rushed over and joined Roy at the bedside.

"He's...okay?" Winry managed to say.

"I'm sure he will be physically," Roy found himself saying.

Winry and Alphonse looked up at him. "Then...it's true that Brother was the one attacking military officers?" Alphonse ventured timidly.

Roy sighed. "It would appear that way. Edward's kidnappers seem to have driven your brother crazy, Alphonse."

"But why?" Winry demanded, sounding near tears.

"We won't know unless Edward himself is able to tell us," Roy said solemnly.

They all turned back to look at Edward. Roy couldn't help thinking that this reunion was supposed to be a happy occasion.

Edward remained on sedatives, and consequently, unconscious, for the rest of the day. Alphonse and Winry stayed with him. Roy and Riza eventually had to get back to work, but Roy called the hospital wing frequently, inquiring about Edward's condition. Not much seemed to change, though.

Night fell, and Alphonse and Winry were practically thrown out of the hospital by one of the doctors. They complained to Mustang about it, saying they wanted to stay with Edward overnight. While they were in the middle of speaking with him, an aide came busting in for the second time, informing them almost hysterically that Edward Elric was on a rampage, trying to make a break for it.

He had to get out of here. He had to get out.

Men were yelling and trying to restrain him, but Edward kept lashing out with his wooden shackle. It already had several scratches and gouges from where he tried to break it on the wall. Unable to do so, he resorted to using it as a sort of battering ram to knock military officers and hospital aides out of his way.

He barged his way through two men and threw open the door to his room. He knew more of them would be there. He had to escape before they arrived. He couldn't fight like this.

Edward swung his shackle into the stomach of another man trying to stop him and ducked around him. He ran down the hall, hearing the commotion behind him as others tried to catch up to him. Edward threw open a door and ran through, shutting it behind him. He ran down another hall, whipped around a corner, and stopped short.

"Don't move," Colonel Roy Mustang told him sternly, hand raised and fingers poised to snap.

Dammit! Edward turned to go back, but First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye had come up behind him, and now had a gun leveled at him.

"Stay where you are," Roy said warningly, taking a step forward.

Edward flinched. "Get away from me!" he yelled, holding the shackle up threateningly. He sensed movement behind him and, acting quickly, turned and aimed the shackle at whoever was coming up behind him. Riza barely managed to dodge the restraint-turned-weapon, and Edward used the opportunity to run past her.

"Stop!" Roy yelled. Edward had no intention of doing anything of the sort, and he raced for the door he had just come through. But something--Riza's hand--wrapped around his ankle, and his momentum carried him headfirst into the floor. Edward knocked the side of his head on the carpet, stunning him for a moment.

Edward laid there for a moment, trying to catch his breath. His mind went back to the time he had spent in the cell, with the words written over the walls...He shivered, remembering the feelings of pain and loneliness and despair.

He looked up and saw himself in that place again. Two silhouettes stood over him. Edward squeezed his eyes shut.

"Edward?"

Someone touched his shoulder.

"Don't hit me!!" Edward scrambled forward, not even seeing where he was going. In his mind's eye he was back in that awful, depressing place, and it was Envy and Lust, back to accost him and beat him up and give him shots. He ran into the door and managed to knock it open. He fell out into the hall.

"There you are." Edward felt someone grab him under his arms. Before he could blink, he was lifted into the air and slung over a shoulder. "Do you know how long I've been waiting in disguise, pipsqueak?"

Edward's breath hitched. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or dismayed to hear Envy's voice. He heard the sounds of voices coming closer, and Envy must have heard them as well, for he started off down the hall at breakneck speed.

Roy Mustang knew something was wrong when he threw open the door and Edward wasn't there. The boy had clearly been disoriented when he crashed through the door, and that had been less than a minute ago. How could he have recovered so quickly?

He looked around wildly and caught a glimpse of something golden as it disappeared around the corner. "That way," he stated to Riza, running after it. He couldn't let Edward get away, or the Homunculi might get their hands on him again. And that would only do him much more harm.

Roy kept running, trying hard to catch up. He was getting the sinking feeling that someone had to be carrying Edward. There was no way he could be running this fast on his own.

The sound of a door slamming open broke Roy from his thoughts. He sped up, realizing that Edward--and whoever was carrying him--had made it outside. If they got away, there might not be any hope left. I won't let them take you away again! Roy vowed fiercely, running at top speed. He blasted through the partially open door and saw a figure in mid-leap, with a familiar golden-haired boy over his shoulder.

"Stop!" Instinctively, Roy snapped. Threads of fire danced through the air at an amazing speed, catching up to the escaping kidnapper in no time. Roy was careful to aim for the figure's legs, and he watched in satisfaction as the left one was incinerated up to the knee. The figure drastically lost momentum and fell back to the ground.

Roy ran to where they had fallen, but he was only halfway there when the figure somehow hopped up. Roy saw Edward lift his head to stare at his superior, before the figure twisted himself around to smirk at Roy. For some reason he didn't seem at all fazed by his roasted leg.

Roy's face darkened when he recognized the sneering figure. "Envy," he spat.

"Colonel," Envy replied with a smirk.

"Put him down, now," Roy said.

Envy scoffed. "Not one to mince words, are we, Flame Alchemist?"

"Do it before I burn your other leg," Roy ordered.

Envy casually glanced down. Roy followed his gaze, and to his shock saw the leg...regenerating? Sure enough, it was reappearing, layer by layer. Roy stared until it had completely re-formed, then his head snapped back up to Envy's face.

"What the hell are you?" Roy demanded.

"That doesn't really concern you, Flame." Envy raised his free arm, and it morphed into a blade. Roy, sensing he was in danger, snapped his fingers. The flames leaped out and intercepted the blade which was moving at a blinding speed towards the colonel.

I've got to find a way to get him away from Edward.

"What's the matter, Flame?" Envy taunted as his hand regenerated. "Not what you expected?"

Roy gritted his teeth. If he couldn't injure this guy, how could he win this fight? Suddenly he saw movement from behind Envy, but he was careful not to look so as not to tip off the Homunculus.

"Maybe not," he admitted. Then he pulled up a smirk. "But I'm still not backing down."

"Then you're an idiot," Envy commented, unaware a bead was being drawn on his back.

BLAM!

Like the ultimate sharpshooter she was, Riza had managed to sneak up on Envy, carefully aim, and make no noise until she fired. She hit the mark precisely, and the resulting spasm from Envy's shoulder being hit caused him to drop Edward. Roy, seeing that the young alchemist was in the clear, snapped and engulfed the Homunculus in flames.

Riza hurried over to Edward, while keeping her gun trained on the brand-new bonfire that smelled like burning flesh and hair. Her sights switched to Edward, however, when he tried to get up and run. He backed away, slowly, glaring.

Roy joined them as well, coming close enough to hear when Edward snapped, "Why did you help me? You hate me."

"Whoever told you that is a liar," Roy said calmly, the fire in the background edging his features with flickering light.

Edward seemed to hesitate, then recovered. "I don't believe you. I know what I remember."

"You know what someone made you remember," Roy snapped, grabbing Edward by the collar and pulling their faces to within inches of one another. "Ever since you were kidnapped those Homunculi have been injecting you with drugs. Drugs, as I'm told, that alter the mind and make it highly suggestible. Sound familiar?"

Again, Edward hesitated. "You're lying," he said, though it wasn't as convincing.

"The fire's dying," Riza suddenly commented.

Roy glanced over at the flames that were slowly extinguishing themselves, and at the pile of ash beneath them. He looked back to Edward. "If you don't believe me, I'll prove it," he said. He reached out with his free hand and unlatched the wooden shackles. He lifted them off and dropped them to the ground, then let go of Edward' shirt. Riza, catching on to his plan, slowly lowered her gun.

"We're not your enemies, Edward," Roy said. "We care about you."

Edward backed away slowly. "I...that's not true," he said.

"Yes it is, Edward," Riza insisted. "The Homunculi purposely turned you against us so you would do their dirty work. Surely there's some part of you that remembers the truth."

"Stop!" Edward yelled, slapping his hands over his ears and squeezing his eyes shut.

Roy started, but he plunged ahead. "If you leave, the Homunculi will capture you again, and you'll go back to whatever they were doing to you. Do you really want that?"

Edward didn't reply, but he was starting to shake.

"You better not listen." Roy jumped at the new voice, and Riza whirled, instantly aiming with her firearm. Envy had regenerated while they weren't looking, and now, with a smirk at Riza, he quickly moved around the group and stood behind Edward, partially shielding himself from Riza's bullet-themed wrath.

"See what they're doing, pipsqueak? They're trying to manipulate you again," Envy said, sneering at the two military officers. He crossed his arms and leaned in towards Edward's covered ear. "They think if they can get you on their side they can go back to using you."

"Don't listen to him!" Roy exclaimed urgently. He could only hope that the drugs weren't still in full effect, or they could screw Edward up for life. He could see that the elder Elric was upset.

Wait...that's it.

Without taking his eyes off of the two in front of him, Roy leaned back slightly so he would be closer to Riza's hearing range. "Go get his brother," he said in a low voice. Riza looked surprised, but she nodded, snapped off a salute, and took off.

"Reinforcements won't help you, stupid alchemist," Envy said smugly.

Roy managed to sound just as smug when he replied. "If you're so sure, then stick around."

A rather unpleasant grin spread across Envy's face. "An invitation to kill military officers? I had no idea you were so evil, Flame Alchemist."

That's what you think, you soulless bastard, Roy thought.
Zilo: Sorry if it ended on a weird note. We were pounding the keys trying to get this update out on time.
Chizi: Yes, which means we have nothing written after this!
Zilo: Chizi's got term papers to write for college, so it might be a little late. Just a heads up!
Chizi: But of course, we still want to hear from you! So don't be shy...
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