Scene Five:Streets of Central

Al's armor rattled loudly as he ran after Greed. As quick as the empty suit was, for some reason the homunculus was always several feet ahead of him.

"Where are we going?" His question caused Greed to slow his pace before hollering back.

"What do you mean, we're going to find your brother!"

"Does that mean you know where he is?"

"No, why would you think something like that?" The suit of armor was becoming more frustrated then he already was.

"Because you seem to know where you're going!" The dark figure stopped in his tracks completely, glancing around as though he was lost.

"Come to think about it, I was just running cause I figured you were in a hurry to get to the bottom of this. I'm really not sure where Envy would take him."

"This is ridiculous! What's the point of being in a hurry if you don't even know where you're going?" The homunculus scratched the side of his head.

"I guess there isn't much of a point." Al placed his hands on his helmet in complete frustration. He wanted to scream but held back.

"Are you sure you're even really here to help me?" Greed crossed his arms and seemed offended by the question.

"This again, I thought we settled that I'm gonna help you."

"But what's in it for you? What do you gain from it? There must be something. Isn't that how you work? Or are you just trying to distract me long enough for Envy to do whatever he wants to my brother?" It was clear that the stress of the situation was getting to young boy. Al could handle a lot of thing that most people couldn't, and most of those situations involved dealing with Ed making things even worse. But when it wasn't his older sibling causing a problem and it was out of his hands, he tended to have a difficult time with it. Greed raised his hands as though he was surrendering.

"I have a little bit more dignity then that, kid." Alphonse realized he was being irrational. If nothing else, he needed to keep a level head now more then ever.

"Yeah, sorry. I just don't want to waste any time, that's all."

"Well first we need to narrow our search down some before I can even get an idea of where Envy would go." Without any more questions, Alphonse nodded quietly before getting back in step behind the homunculus. He really wanted nothing more then to trust Greed completely, however every ounce of his discernment was telling him otherwise. Finally he concluded that despite Greed's intentions whether good or bad, it was all he had right now.

uuuuuuuuuuuuuu

An undisclosed location

As though the inner turmoil wasn't torture enough. As though the sound of so many souls in pain and screaming their distress through out his consciousness was even bearable. As though he wasn't on the verge of breaking, Envy had to always go too far. The swift kick to the abdomen was enough to make the room spin. It was followed by a blow to the head. Where as before the abuse was triggered by a question or a defiant look, now there was no reason for it and none given. Ed didn't know what he had done to even deserve such a beating, but here he was on the receiving end of it. Several more hits to the head brought stars before his eyes. He inhaled sharply before coughing in response. Yelling, screaming, even pleading for this to stop would do him no good, so he just tolerated it as quietly as possible. The only bright side of it was the fact that the beating was distracting his thoughts, keeping his focus elsewhere. There was a break in the assault and he wondered if Envy was bored with him. A chill ran over his skin when the homunculus leaned down next to his face. He couldn't help but tremble in response, shifting uncomfortably from the other's presence. Envy seemed pleased with the reaction, although he was hoping for more begging at this point. His sick determination to keep Edward confused made things all the more enjoyable. The teen hunched forward, keeping his head low and curled in on himself as much as possible. Although Envy wanted Ed to know his place, he was hoping it would take longer to do so.

"Mmm, you certainly gave up quicker then I thought." Edward's next breath was stifled and he opened one eye to wearily glance up. Envy frowned at the lack of response. "What? Did I break you already? Well that's no fun."

"What...what do you want?"

"You're suppose to be smart, you figure it out." The homunculus got back up, still looking down at the beaten form at his feet. Other then the heavy sound of Ed's breathing, the room was silent. After several seconds of this, it was broken by the loud crack of Envy's knuckles. "Guess you've learned nothing yet. Some prodigy." A quiet sound escaped Edward's throat as Envy's fist made contact once again. The strain on Ed's left arm was bad enough but when one of Envy's erratic punches hit the inside of the teen's elbow, it sent a shock through his whole being. Just as he groaned loudly, Ed felt his head yanked back by his hair and the already bloodied knuckles of the homunculus smashed into his face. The force knocked his head to the side only for his braid to be yanked again. "Hold still!" Another swing and Ed accidentally bit the inside of his lower lip. Blood splattered on the already dirty floor. It slid down his chin and neck. For some reason, despite however long this had been going on, the other souls started panicking even more. Maybe they knew Ed was reaching his limit or perhaps it was something that they felt coming from Envy that had changed suddenly. Whatever the reason, their presence became desperately unbearable. Edward shook his head and let out an agonizing noise that caused Envy to stop his attack.

"No, stop it! Please just settle down!" Unable to do much in this position, he pressed his temple against his arm and rubbed his head into it. This brought little comfort but he had to do something. Anything to distract, anything to redirect his attention. Envy grinned maniacally at this reaction, knowing he didn't need to continue the beating. Ed was in enough pain without physical abuse. Knowing this, he decided to leave. As much as he enjoyed watching a human suffer, particularly this one, he didn't want anyone looking for him either.