If you're having a bad day and were looking for something happy and uplifting, I suggest you calmly leave this story and look up some funny cat videos. Just saying.

Chapter 6: Abysmal

Perhaps it was the way he looked at the dorm; perhaps the way he then looked at Al; perhaps the way he said goodbye.

Something was wrong with Ed.

He had simply left, promising to make things right. "Right" could mean many things to Ed, however; they often ended up being things that got him in trouble. Al frowned. Why wasn't he running after his brother? Was it the determination and the promise in Ed's eyes? He hadn't even said when he would be back. He hadn't really said much at all. Alarms were blaring in Al's head as Ed disappeared into the night, but for a reason beyond himself, he subdued them.

Fear and dread were sensations that Edward rarely acknowledged. Yet, as he willingly made his way down the path that led to his fate, these sensations were prominent. Was he walking to his death, or to something even worse? Did he even have a plan? Was it even worth it? His whole body ached; he could barely remember a time when it didn't. He wanted to go back to the safety of the dorm and sleep for a few days.

The laboratory loomed in the distance, dark and disturbing as ever. Ed transmuted his arm into a sword, not wanting to use alchemy in the laboratory for the fear that the transmutation light would attract attention. Unfortunately, his hope of entering the lab easily was shattered when he felt a stabbing pain in his legs. He groaned. Now was not the time! He needed to move!

The pain was just bearable, and he entered the lab with little more than a moan now and then. The cure…which room was it in? Was it even here at all?

He heard a shuffle in the distance. Suddenly, he collapsed as a sickening grinding noise assaulted his ears. A split second later, he had given up on his plan of staying quiet, because the grinding was coming from the bones in his leg.

"Welcome," said an all-too-familiar voice. Ed would have been scared, but he could no longer think over the pain. What was wrong with his stupid leg? It was as if it had grown tired of being a leg and wanted to try something new for once. Ed coughed, the thought almost making him chuckle. He registered being grabbed under the arms and dragged across the ground, and the next thing he knew he had been released and was lying on the cold stone floor. He had been thrust into a cage. A cage, of all things! Was he some misbehaving pet?

Unsettling shuffling sounds alerted him to the fact that he was not alone. Large shadows were crammed into cages beside and above him.

"Don't…go…"

The croaking voice startled him and he turned to see a large bird with empty eyes. The large bird with empty eyes. It no longer struggled as it had before; it barely had the strength to speak; it lay on the ground, trembling, hardly alive.

Ed felt tears prickle at his eyes but forgot about the bird as his world exploded into blinding agony. He thought about Al, worried sick, and was overcome with guilt.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm sorry…"

Roy Mustang tried to focus his bleary eyes on the enormous, shining form in front of him. Having previously been asleep on top of his paperwork, his mind was still spinning in confusion. Thankfully, it hadn't been Hawkeye entering the room to reprimand him for sleeping again. He shook his head and focused on the suit of armor in front of him.

"—last night, I swear, and I knew something was up, but I didn't follow; why didn't I follow? He's gone, he's still gone, and I know something is wrong, please find him!"

Mustang frowned. Was this about Edward again? That heartless kid had left again without telling his brother anything? He wasn't invincible just because he was on the side of the military. If anything, he was in greater danger.

"So the brat left again?" Mustang asked with a sigh.

"Yes! He said he had to fix things…fix something…fix what?"

"Well, this is Ed we're talking about. There is no difference between fixing something and ruining it entirely." The colonel immediately regretted his words as the armor somehow assumed a terrified composure. "But, he's not totally hopeless," he added quickly. "Someone would have to be pretty stupid to pick a fight with him. He's probably off somewhere he's not supposed to be, somewhere he finds intriguing. Or maybe a risky lead on the stone."

"The lab," Al realized aloud. There had been Philosopher stones when they were sent to investigate. Had Edward not reported them? It was worth a look.

"You're not going alone," said Roy. He picked up a gun and holstered it.

"Thank you," said Al. He was indeed nervous at facing something that could incapacitate his skilled brother. The two left the military building, hurrying along the edge of town and reaching the lab much quicker than they would have in any other situation. Roy flipped out a flashlight and entered, wary of the fact that the broken door would allow easy access to anyone. Where was the guard?

Terrible, agonizing, and a pure representation of misery. These were the sounds that greeted Alphonse and Mustang as they passed through the cold rooms and approached a hallway. As they approached the door, the noises became nearly unbearable. They were weak, strained, and heart-wrenching. Whimpers, whispers, croaks and rasping sobs. Mustang wouldn't have expected anything different had they been facing the entrance to hell itself. This place probably wasn't far off, though.

When the door opened, small shining orbs pierced the darkness—multitudes of eyes—and turned towards the duo in the doorway. Almost as a single entity, the dark shapes that were producing such terrible noises began to shy away, pressing at the backs of their cages in an attempt to stay as far away from the visitors as possible. The whimpers grew in volume and desperation. Alphonse felt sick, on the verge of breaking down into the closest thing to tears that he could manage. As they stepped into the room, a dull light overhead flickered to life.

It was the most terrible thing Alphonse had ever seen, and despite the colonel's experiences in war having hardened his senses, he couldn't suppress his horror. There were creatures in the cages, far too large to be simply dogs, foxes, or birds, and each of them was morphed and mangled beyond recognition as any animal Roy could think of. He walked among them in a haze of denial and shock, mumbling furious nothings under his breath, but the mumbling stopped when he reached one of the larger cages. While the other beings continued to yelp and try to melt into the walls, this one simply laid on the floor with the most helpless look of defeat that Roy had ever seen. He knelt down to get a better look, wondering if the thing was even still alive.

It seemed to be a very large dog, pale in color, with golden hair covering its eyes and cascading down its back. Soon it became obvious that it was not only a dog; it bore large, golden-patterned wings which it held close to its back, and they trembled as Roy approached the creature. Al had noticed the colonel's particular interest in the creature, and approached to kneel beside him. The dog eyes widened, and it tried to stand, succeeding only for a few trembling seconds before collapsing again. It curled a long, lizard tail around itself, and stared at Al with vacuous but agonized eyes. A strange, whimpering moan escaped its threat, and it opened its mouth.

"Ssss….ssss…."

Al wondered if the poor soul had been mixed with a snake as well.

"Ssss….ssssssssooooorry…."

Al and Roy both gaped, taking in this execrable development.

"Sssooorry. Sorrrrryy…sooorrrryy…so…..sorry…"

The creature seemed desperate to convey a meaning, and frustrated with the ineptitude of its speaking. Alphonse wondered if the rest of the animals here could talk, and despite himself couldn't help but be amazed at the genius behind this level of alchemy. The creature before them continued to sputter its apology, seeming to lose its strength with every word. Roy made a calm "Shhhhhh…" sound to urge it to rest. It only became more frantic, and refused to look at anything but Al.

"Sorry….sorry….b…b….."

Al sighed, and began to ask what it was sorry about when it finally made its meaning clear.

"B….brroootttthhherr….."