I'm back! Slowly but surely this story is getting back on track in my head now and it's heading towards it's peak.

Thank you, as always, to my wonderful reviewers I do love reading them.

Also a note to everyone who reads Protect Her: I have lapsed in this story quite significantly, it has taken a back seat to this one and I apologise to the people waiting for an update. I'm offically putting in hiatus but I will not abandon it forever. Sorry.

Enjoy the story!

Chapter Seven: Return

"Don't move or the last member of your little family will die." The man who wasn't holding Edward said, pulling out a knife and pointing it at the boy.

"Last?" Hohenheim barely managed to choke the word as he froze.

"Oh yes! We found your wife and that little bawling brat last month; they barely even put up a fight. You left them defenceless."

Edward bit into the hand that was covering his mouth. The man who'd captured him swore and dropped him.

"Run!" Hohenheim yelled at his son. And Edward did, scrambling towards the edge of the hill, heading towards the embankment. A hand grabbed caught the back of his shirt and yanked him backwards and lifted him off the ground.

Struggling and kicking his legs as hard as he could Ed tried to break free. One flailing leg managed to kick the man's stomach hard. The man doubled over, letting go of Edward he leant against the fence that blocked off the embankment. The wood was rotten through and broke easily under his wait causing the man to roll down the steep hill, knocking the boy down with him.

"No," Hohenheim yelled as he saw his son go over the hill. It had taken seconds from the moment he'd told him to run and the boy falling down. A train whistle, blasted through the silence that had descended causing Hohenheim's blood to run cold. He could see the white smoke and hear the chugging as it moved closer to them.

He tried to stand but the other man hit him on the back of his head, knocking him to the floor. He wasn't quite unconscious but he was stunned enough not to be able to move. The man who'd fallen down clambered back up and look at his comrade.

"The boy?" the man who'd hit Hohenheim asked. The other one looked behind him.

"He's on the tracks; he could be dead for all I know."

"Well? Find out and quickly he could be vital for keeping this one quiet." Nodding the man hurriedly disappeared down the hill.

With a blast of steam the train roared past and Hohenheim waited with baited breath for the man to reappear, but when he did he was alone.

"Sorry boss, I wasn't fast enough, if he wasn't dead before he must be now, horrible mess. What do we do?"

"Leave it, it's someone else's problem now. Come on let's get this one back to the big guy." The next hit Hohenheim received did knock him out.

The room was sparsely furnished, a bed, a desk, a chair and a wardrobe. Soon he'd be forced to participate in some horrible experiment, the reason he'd runaway in the first place.

Hohenheim had believed this lab was here to develop ways of helping people with alchemy. He'd been wrong, but he didn't find out they were actually developing ways alchemy can be used in warfare until after he'd been working here for some time. He'd left one day and not come back but it wasn't long before he realised that the people behind this weren't going to let him. That's why he tried his desperate attempt to keep hidden.

Tears fell down his face as he considered that maybe if he'd kept working for them, or let himself be killed then his wife and children might still be alive. The door to his room, cell really, was unlocked and a woman in a lab coat walked in carrying a tray of food. She set it down next to another tray that was untouched.

"Sir, you need to eat, you're going to make yourself sick," she said, in a concerned tone that reminded Hohenheim of Trisha.

"They're all gone, what does it matter anymore," he replied. With a sad sigh the woman left.

A few days later, when she once again was bringing food the woman laid a paper across Hohenheim's lap. She pointed at the article she wanted him to read, the headline read 'miracle boy survives despite doctors doubts'. Hohenheim looked at the headline then at the woman.

"There's this five year old kid that was found on the railway tracks, he'd lost both an arm and a leg but somehow he survived. Doctors thought he was going to die but he didn't. No one knows who he is or who his parents are. Just goes to show there is always hope."

Hohenheim never knew how long he stared at the paper barely daring to hope the 'miracle boy' was his Edward. A siren cut through the silence and caused him to look up and notice the door wasn't closed properly.

Using the confusion caused by the siren and a little alchemy Hohenheim managed to escape that night, one page from the newspaper folded in the breast pocket of his shirt.

Hohenheim made his way to the hospital mentioned then, during visitors time got himself into the wards.

He stared through the window of Edward's room, so happy to see his son alive, but grieved to see him hurt so. A dark haired woman and a bulky man were in the room with him. The woman leant over and kissed his forehead, Edward smiled up at her, in the way he'd so often smiled at Trisha.

The couple left the room. Hohenheim greeted them, nodding his head towards the room.

"Is that the miracle then?" he asked

"Yes, poor thing." The woman answered.

"Have they found his parents yet?"

"No, he doesn't remember his surname or anything about them. The doctors say he amnesia caused by the trauma. Took him a while to remember his first name." Hohenheim felt a jolt at the woman's words. If he walked into that room now Edward wouldn't know him.

By know they people would know Hohenheim was missing and if he was near Edward when they found him who was to say Edward would be so lucky again. Taking one last look at the boy was dwarfed by the hospital bed. Hohenheim turned back to the couple.

"I sure hope he stays safe from now on. I must be going, nice talking to you."

"Good bye sir."

"So I left you. It was the only way to keep you safe, you have to believe me about that." Hohenheim said as they neared the woods.

"Oh well done, good job. I'm so safe now," Ed replied sarcastically.

"You were able to heal, able to get used to those remarkable limbs and grow up in the relative safety of a loving family. You can fight, use alchemy and have friends to help you now, so maybe leaving you was wrong but it probably saved your life."

Being unable to come up with a sensible answer Ed just grunted. Hohenheim pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"Why have we stopped?" Ed asked.

"See the lights, from police cars or ambulances, probably both. You two will have to walk the rest of the way, I don't want to be arrested for your kidnap."

"You wouldn't be, we can just tell them it wasn't you."

"And when asked to describe the man you were taken too?"

"Ah," Ed answered, realising that wouldn't work but not wanting this man to just disappear as suddenly as he'd arrived.

"Look, I'm going to finish this once and for all. I need to know you are safe, and Trisha and Al. I need you to go to the police, tell them they're in danger as well or something."

"Wait, you never said who that bearded guy was back there."

"When I was kept at the place they took blood from me. They used it to make him, he was meant to be the first of many alchemical soldiers but he can't be controlled. He killed everyone at that facility and created his 'children' as it were, those others you saw. Now I'm going to stop him, before he can hurt anyone else."

"What does he want?"

"Everything, now go."

"Come on Ed," Roy, who been silent until then, urged.

The two teens exited the car and watched Hohenheim drive away. Roy swayed uncertainly on his feet for a second, before his knees gave out. Ed caught before he hit the ground and took his weight.

"You really did over do it, honestly you are completely useless."

"Can still beat you," Roy replied weakly.

"Whatever, come on, let's find someone else to hold your fat arse up."

"I'm not fat you brat." It was at that point that Roy realised that Ed has started to lead them along the gravelly track towards the bend where the lights were. They turned the corner and saw a couple of police cars and a few officers talking to their friends. Standing closest to them, staring at the ground and biting her thumb nail, was Riza. Looking up she caught sight of the pair and blinked at them for a second, before her eyes widened and with a cry of Roy's name she began to sprint towards them. Everyone else turned at her cry and suddenly everyone was charging at them en masse.

Before he even knew what was happening Roy was passed off from Ed to Riza who was lecturing him about something or rather but he wasn't listening. A crowd of friends and police officers were all around him talking as one

"Maes?" he asked weakly but she heard. Her hard voice softened as she answered him.

"He was taken to hospital a little while ago, but he was hurt pretty bad." Riza noticed Ed was listening in as well. "Winry went too, she just had a bump on her head and was a bit shaken, she'll be fine." Ed nodded his thanks.

They were hustled back where the police cars were parked. A blonde woman with a rather fearsome presence looked down at them.

"What happened boys?" she asked in a no nonsense tone.

"My so called father showed up. He shot Hughes and took us," Roy said, looking at Ed and seeing the silent warning not to mention his father or the look-a-like.

"Why did he take blondie as well?"

"I don't know."

"How did you escape?"

"Waited until he let his guard down, it wasn't hard."

"Why you so exhausted."

"I used some alchemy, in self defence, no one was hurt." The police woman made a derisive noise.

"You boy," she turned to Ed, "anything to add?"

"No," Ed answered looking down, knowing he didn't lie very well.

"If you two are hiding something I will find out what it is."

"Aren't we the victims here," Ed snapped, standing up and trying to square off to the woman. She towered over him and fixed him with a sharp glare.

"I have a knack for knowing when someone is hiding something from me and I know you two aren't being straight with me."

"Who the hell are you anyway?"

"Detective Armstrong and don't get me wrong I'm going to find the creep who shot and innocent kid and kidnapped two others and put his arse in jail. However something doesn't add up and that is you, shorty, why would an abusive father trying to get his son back kidnap another kid."

"I don't know."

"Brother?" Al's voice cut through the crowd and caused Ed to whirl round. Al was walking out of the woods with two police officers and Ling, seeing Ed he ran forward and suddenly Ed had an armful of Al.

Ed was relieved that Al didn't start spouting mushy stuff but he did take comfort in being able to hold on to Al for a second. They pulled away and Ed looked back at Detective Armstrong.

"You lot, come on, get these kids home," Armstrong ordered, with one last glare at Ed.

They were loaded into police cars. Ed found himself sandwiched between Roy and Al. Riza was sitting in the passenger seat of the front of the car. Roy was slumped against the window, Ed leaned his head against Al's shoulder, which happened to be at the perfect height.

The soothing motion of the car lulled Ed into a half sleep, only disturbed by Riza's sharp question.

"Where are we?"

"On the way home," the police officer driving the car informed her.

"But we're not, we're nowhere near home and where are the other cars?"

"You're too perceptive," the police man said.

The crackle of alchemy filled the car, pulling everyone back to full awareness. Before their stunned eyes the driver began to change form. Within seconds the long haired man from the run-down facility was before them.

"Hey there pipsqueak, you didn't think you'd get away that easily did you. But we must thank you for leading us right too dear little brother. Hohenheim will do whatever we once we he knows both his sons lives are in danger."

"What?" Al gasped, not sure he was following what was going on. Ed tensed beside shifting forwards and slightly in front of Al putting himself between Al and the monster as much as possible in the backseat of a car.

"You bastard," he hissed.

And another cliff hanger. I'm not sorry, got to keep you guys interested.

Review please!