Disclaimer: We do not own any of the anime, characters, or clubs mentioned in our fic. Again, Guardian and I only own the plotline and our original characters. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.

Italic means dreaming, singing, or thoughts

Regular means, well, regular prose and speaking

We hope that y'all will enjoy this next segment. ^^

Chapter Three

Night Terrors

When they finally reached the Ranger room again, Guardian quietly closed the door behind them and settled down on her bed next to Fai and Kurogane while Fallin quickly pulled her covers over herself. She looked over at Fallin and noticed that her back was to her and that her covers were pulled over her head, but she could still faintly hear her dear friend's quiet sobs. Guardian felt her own eyes well up with tears as she listened to the sorrowful sound, letting a few fall down her face as she slipped into her covers.

She stayed awake until Fallin had fallen asleep then got up and crawled over to her, being careful not to wake her. Guardian gently brushed Fallin's blue-black hair away from her face and noticed the dry tear trails snaking down her friend's face. It broke her heart to see Fallin like this. It was then that she made her decision as her brown eyes hardened from sadness and anger.

Tomorrow she and Edward were going to have a little chat about what had just happened.

xXx

The next day, a couple hours before it was time for the Host Club to open for business, Guardian slipped away from the group as they prepared for the guests. Fallin had stayed in the Ranger room, still suffering from what had happened the night previous. Guardian walked into one of the empty practice rooms connected to Music Room 3 and closed the door behind her so that she wouldn't attract unwanted attention.

Then she curved her hands around her crystal pendant like a circle and light burst from it as she made a projection of light. Soon Ed was visible in the projection and was a little surprised to see that Guardian had called on him since it was usually Fallin that did.

"Oh, hey, Guardian. What's the matter?" Ed asked before he noticed the dangerous fire in Guardian's chocolate eyes and the apparent frown on her face. "Edward...we need to talk...about what happened last night," Guardian said in a dangerously low voice completely laced over with anger towards him. Ed gulped. Guardian never used his full name unless she was really angry with him.

Ed looked down at his feet and sighed, sadness apparent in his eyes. "I didn't mean for that to happen, Guardian. I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, Edward," Guardian snapped at him like an older sister. Ed visibly flinched when she did and hung his head as he took in every venom-filled word that Guardian threw at him. "You're not the one who listened to Fallin's sobs last night before she cried herself to sleep. That privilege was mine, and you only saw the anger in Fallin's eyes last night. I saw both anger and a deep sorrow in her eyes that cut me to the heart after she shut down the transmission last night, Edward. Fallin is my best friend and like a little sister to me. Seeing her like that hurt worse than you could never imagine. And my question for you is why did you act the way you did last night? And why did you say that Fallin was just a 'Ranger friend' instead of saying that she's your girlfriend? Roy, Riza, Hughes, and Armstrong all know. Heck, even Al knows! Why doesn't Winry?"

Ed finally looked up when Guardian stopped her tirade and she noticed tears in his golden eyes. "I'm so sorry, Guardian. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt Fallin in any way. Believe me. I haven't told Winry yet because I'm scared of how she'll react. I know that she's had feelings for me for a while now, but I don't feel the same way for her like I do with Fallin."

Guardian's expression softened a bit when she realized the sincerity and genuine sorrow in his voice. Then she said, "You've got to tell her, Ed. I know that Winry won't hate you for falling in love with another person. I've spent enough time with her to know that. Just tell her and whatever happens happens. And if you don't...I will."

"Ed, are you in here?" Guardian heard a voice call for him before the person stepped into the transmission view. It was Winry. "Oh! Hey, Guardian, how are you?"

"I'm doing great, Winry. I've just been having a little 'chat' with Ed about what happened last night," Guardian told her looking at Ed at the end of her last sentence, narrowing her brown eyes at him. Winry nodded in understanding before turning to Ed, who was looking down at the floor.

"I figured that something wasn't right when Fallin suddenly turned off the transmission," Winry told the Ranger before looking at her. "I saw the anger in her eyes towards Ed and I knew that something was wrong."

Guardian nodded before turning to Ed again. "Edward," she said to him and he flinched before turning his head to face Winry. "Winry...I've been meaning to tell you this...but I was afraid of how you might react. Winry, I...I love Fallin...I have ever since I met her. I was afraid to tell you about her because I knew that you had feelings for me and I was afraid that I would lose you as a friend," Ed concluded as he hung his head, waiting for her to explode. But to his surprise...Winry didn't. She didn't even pull out a wrench to pummel him with. Instead she put a hand under Ed's chin and made him look up at her. "Ed, I could never be angry with you. Of course, I'm a little sad that I'm not the one, but I'm very happy that you've found someone that loves you and you love her. And I'll always be your best friend no matter what, Ed."

"Winry." Winry smiled at him before giving Ed a hug, reassuring him that everything was all right. Guardian smiled at the sight before she heard the door to the practice room she was in open. She turned her head to the door before her eyes widened a little bit. Fallin stood in the doorway, looking at them with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Fallin said before she turned to leave. "You're all busy. I'll just leave."

"No, wait, Fallin!" Guardian called to her, making Fallin stop dead in her tracks. "Please come here. There's someone that needs to talk to you."

Fallin reluctantly turned around a slight scowl on her face as she walked towards them. Guardian knew that look in her eyes and said, "I've chewed Ed out already. He's had more than an earful from me and he realizes his mistake. He just wants to talk to you." Fear flashed over Fallin's face for the slightest of seconds before she regained her composure and smoothed out her uniform. She crossed the room and sat by Guardian, her eyes avoiding Ed's. Winry, feeling the awkwardness, decided this was the best time to take her leave.

"Well, then…..I'll just leave you guys now. See you later, Guardian." Guardian smiled and replied, "She you later, Winry." With that Winry left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Fallin?" Ed asked, reaching out his hand involuntarily, "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to hurt Winry, that's all. I love you so, so much. Can't you see that?" he pleaded with her. She finally looked him in the eye. "If you love me so much, why would you hurt me like this?" she asked, sadness mixed with fury in her eyes. Ed's own eyes grew sad. "Winry's been my friend ever since I can remember. I knew she had feelings, and, well, I couldn't hurt her like that. But Fallin, please, believe me! I really do love you." Again he pleaded and this time Fallin caved.

"I….. I love you too, Ed. But don't you scare me like that again or you'll have to deal with her again," Fallin joked, poking Guardian in the shoulder. Guardian pretended to be angry at Fallin, mussing up her hair. Fallin pouted and then proceeded to mess up Guardian's hair, howling with laughter, the past sadness forgotten. Ed watched them play-fight, and he laughed. Guardian glanced at her watch and realized what time it was.

"Ah! It's time for the Host Club!" she cried. Then she and Fallin scrambled to the Host Club after saying goodbye to Ed, the earlier drama forgotten.

xXx

Guardian ran through a maze of tunnels that look like the waterways leading to where Father and the Homunculi's hideout was under Central. But that didn't stop her. She needed to keep running. As she ran, the Gatekeepers lunged out at her from their dark hiding places, but Guardian just blasted them away with her alchemy with ease. Soon she finally reached the entrance to Father's lair and stepped inside.

"Fallin! Bekah-chan! Vic! Ed! Guys! Anyone here?" she called into the stillness of the room as she looked around. It was quiet…too quiet…and Father and the remaining Homunculi were nowhere in sight. Guardian felt her heart beat even faster as she took in the silence of the room. She turned around in circles as she approached Father's seat, looking into every dark corner just in case one of the Homunculi were waiting for the chance to attack. Then, as reached the middle of the room, Guardian felt something hard hit the back of her head and she blacked out.

When she finally came to, Guardian found herself lying on the ground in a strange looking cell. She ran to the door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. It was locked from the outside. Guardian growled in frustration then banged on the door. "Hey! Let me out!"

Then the door opened suddenly and Guardian found herself face to face with King Bradley, no, Wrath. She remembered that Ed had told her and the others that Bradley was Homunculus.

"Time to go, Alchemist," Wrath said gruffly as he grabbed Guardian's arms and forced them behind her back. She struggled as Wrath made her walk out the door to another room.

"Let me go! Let go of me, Bradley, or, so help me, I will make you wish that you hadn't picked a fight with me!" Guardian growled at him, but Wrath just chuckled and said with a smug smile, "You're going to have to do better than that, shorty."

That really ticked Guardian off and she struggled as she short ranted at him, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A RUNT SO TINY THAT SHE CAN ONLY BE SEEN WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS, YOU JERK!"

But Wrath just chuckled and threw her into the room they had walked to. Guardian got up on her knees, ready to pounce on Wrath and make him regret taking her hostage, when something wrapped around her wrists. Then the things wrapped themselves around her arms and forced her to stay down on her knees. Guardian struggled, trying to free herself, when she heard a little boy's laughter.

'Pride', she thought to herself with a sneer. Guardian turned her head to look behind her and, sure enough, it was Pride that was holding her captive, chuckling at her feeble attempts to escape. "Let me go, Pride!" she snarled at him, but the Homunculus just smiled wickedly at her, shaking his head 'no'. Guardian bared her teeth at him when she heard an all too familiar laugh reach her ears.

"It's futile to resist, pipsqueak. You'll just get yourself hurt," a very familiar voice said in the darkness as he walked into the light coming in from the doorway. Guardian bared her teeth with a feral growl and her eyes flashed dangerously as he stepped into the light.

"Envy," she snarled at him. The Homunculi just smiled wickedly down at her and approached her, circling around her as if she were a prize for the taking. "What do you want with me?"

"What do I want with you?" Envy said chuckling a little bit before his violet eyes looked into Guardian's chocolate ones with a maniacal gleam. "I want to kill you for killing Lust the last time we met. But first…I'm going to make you suffer, pipsqueak." Envy snapped his fingers and the dark room was suddenly lit up with lights. Guardian shut her eyes for a second before opening them once again when they had adjusted to the light. When she opened them again, she gasped, her chocolate orbs wide with terror.

In front of her were Fallin, Bekah-chan, Yami, Vic, Ed, Al, Syaoran, Sakura, Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona. They were bound, their bodies covered in bruises and cuts, and their eyes were wide when they saw Guardian.

"Guardian?" Fallin said in almost a whisper when she saw her best friend. Guardian just looked at Fallin, sadness and fear apparent in her eyes at their condition, then her chocolate orbs hardened with anger as she turned to face Envy, growling low in her throat at him.

"Let them go, Envy! They did nothing to you," Guardian growled at him, but Envy acted like he didn't care. Then he turned to her and kicked Guardian in the stomach. All the air rushed out of her lungs from the blow and Guardian couldn't cry out in pain. But the pained look on her face was proof enough. Envy laughed madly as he continued to beat Guardian until she was black and blue all over and trembling from the pain. Once Envy was finished, he grabbed Guardian by the hair and pulled it to make her look at him. Envy noticed the pain lingering in Guardian's features and smiled before letting go of her.

Guardian's head drooped before she looked up at her friends. They all stared at her with wide-eyed, saddened expressions at the condition Guardian was in. She was bruised, bleeding, blood dripping from her nose and mouth, panting from the excruciating pain she was in, and they were pretty sure that a couple of her ribs were broken as well. Envy just smirked at the scene before him before crouching down in front of Guardian.

"This is what you get for killing Lust, pipsqueak. But I'm not done yet. I want to see you squirm, beg for me to stop hurting your precious little friends," he told her as Guardian's eyes widened in fear of what Envy was going to do next. Her worse fears were realized. "I'm going to enjoy making your little friends suffer, pipsqueak, as you sit back and watch me, helpless to save them." Then Envy walked over to Fallin and grabbed her by her hair. The Ice Alchemist cried out in pain then gasped when Envy pulled her head back, exposing her neck, before placing a knife across the tan skin of her neck. Envy pushed the blade into Fallin's neck; not enough to draw blood, but enough to make her terrified. Guardian's eyes widened when she realized what Envy was doing.

"No," Guardian whispered slowly shaking her head 'no' before she started struggling in Pride's iron hold on her arms. "No! Please, Envy, don't kill her! It's me you want, not them! Kill me instead!" Guardian's eyes welled up with tears and she hung her head, letting a few tears escape and fall to the floor with little 'plops'. "I'm begging you, Envy. Please spare my friends. I would rather die than see them killed."

Envy smiled wickedly before he started laughing maniacally, making Guardian look up at him with wide eyes full with fear, fresh tears streaming down her face. Then he looked down at her and said, "But it's more satisfying to see you squirm like this, pipsqueak. Plus I already knew that your friends were your true weakness, not lack of light. You deserve to die for killing Lust, little Light Pipsqueak. I am going to kill you for that, don't worry, but I'm going to make you suffer by killing your dear friends one by one before I kill you, starting with the little Ice Pipsqueak first."

Then he poised his blade across Fallin's neck, ready to slit her throat. Fallin's eyes were full of fear and Guardian started to struggle again, trying desperately to break free and save her best friend. But before she finally broke free of Pride, Envy drew the blade and Guardian saw red.

"FALLIN! NOOOOOO!" Guardian bolted upright in her bed with a scream, panting hard. Her scream woke up the others and they all rushed to her side. They all looked at Guardian with scared expressions from Guardian's scream then started asking her if she was all right. But before she could answer them, Guardian suddenly felt light-headed and started to fall backwards towards the floor. But Fai was faster and caught her before she did. Fai held Guardian close to him and his eyes widened when he felt her trembling in his embrace.

"Guardian? Are you all right?" Fai asked her, looking down at her face. He saw that Guardian's brown eyes were wide with terror and she was shaking like a leaf, her brow dewy with cold sweat. Guardian looked up at Fai, her eyes welling up with frightened tears, and then she buried her face into Fai's chest and started to sob.

Fai wrapped his arms even tighter around Guardian and started whispering soothing words into her ear… like she had done for him. "Shush…it's all right," he told her. "It's all right, Guardian. You're safe. You're with friends now." Guardian cried until she was reduced to dry sobbing, her tears spent from crying for so long. All the while, Fai held her close like an older brother, stroking her brown hair to calm and comfort her.

"I was so scared, Fai," Guardian said hoarsely, her voice ragged from crying as long as she had. "It was a nightmare, but it felt so real. We were back in Amestris….and the Homunculi had captured us…Vic, Ed, and Al too. All of you were tied up. I was on my knees unbound; Pride holding me, while Envy was beating the living daylights out of me, taking his revenge out on me for killing Lust. Then he…"

"And then he what, Guardian?" Fai asked her gently as she started to tremble even more as she remembered the last few moments of her nightmare, her chocolate eyes wide in pure terror. Guardian looked up at Fai and continued. "Then he grabbed Fallin…. He placed a dagger on her throat, telling me that he was going to kill all of you to make me suffer before he finally killed me. I begged Envy to let you all go, to kill me instead, but he only laughed saying that it was more satisfying to see me squirm and that he knew that my friends were my true weakness….not lack of light anymore. …Then he got ready to slit Fallin's throat and I struggled to get out of Pride's hold on me, but then he…he…"

Guardian started sobbing again, amazing everyone that she still had tears to shed. But they all knew what she had tried to say at the end of her last sentence. Then Yami gasped. "Uh.. guys? Where is Fallin?" she croaked. Everyone looked around frantically. "Oh no." Guardian whispered as she blacked out again.

We hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Don't be afraid to review or comment. :)