Chapter 6 – The Underground City

An hour later the sun had sunk below the horizon. Twilight had plunged the city into hazy shadows. Elmina stood at the entrance of an old abandoned church. There was no mistaking it. This was the place. Her breath came quick and shallow as she began to creep down the center aisle. In the low light levels she could just make out the outlines of the pews, and at the end of the isle what appeared to be a very large altar. At the base of the altar was a dark opening, just tall enough for someone her height to walk through. It was as if someone had forcibly created an entryway. She swallowed hard. Her dad was going to kill her if she survived this. But no way in hell would she be going back empty handed. Adele's terrified cry from the night of the kidnapping echoed through her mind, driving her forward more swiftly. She had to get her back, whatever it took. She reached the entryway and peered into it uneasily, vaguely making out the shape of steps disappearing down into total darkness. Well…that creature had said they were keeping her underground... She drew in a deep breath before plunging into the blackness.

It was a slow process making her way down the stairs by touch alone. At least the walls were close enough on either side of her that she was able to brace her hands against them for balance. The darkness seemed to go on for an eternity. She was utterly blind. She felt panic wanting to rise up inside of her but she crushed it down forcefully. This was just like the training she'd done against Sara. Her vision had been just as useless when going up against an alchemist who specialized in light related alchemy. Granted, total blackness wasn't the same thing as being blindfolded. But she still had the skills necessary to do this. All she needed to do was calm down and focus. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, concentrating on maintaining a steady rhythm with the breaths that followed. In combat, when lacking the ability to see, she'd learned to rely entirely on her other senses. The most critical of the bunch was hearing. And hearing was much easier when she wasn't hyperventilating. Theoretically if someone tried to attack her she'd hear them coming before they managed to get close; although she wasn't sure if that rule applied against something inhuman. For all she knew these people could ambush her by morphing through the wall. It wasn't a reassuring thought.

Eventually she noticed a faint light in the distance. She blinked repeatedly, pressing forward slightly faster. As she drew closer she found the light was emanating from a torch holder in the wall farther down the stairs. She squinted against the brightness, feeling a thrill of unease. If there were torches lit then someone was definitely waiting for her. The steps continued for some distance yet, although from that point on there were evenly spaced torches lighting the way. She was able to proceed much quicker with her vision restored. Eventually she came to a doorway, whereupon the steps appeared to continue down but within a much more open area. She emerged from the opening and a gasp escaped her lips. She came to a halt, awestruck by the sight before her.

She was standing in an enormous cavern, so large that the other end was hidden from her sight in the gloom. Below her an entire city stretched out, filling the seemingly endless space. The cavern was lit dimly by a cool, white light. She couldn't tell where it was emanating from, but considering how large a space it was lighting it had to be some form of alchemy. Still, even Sara with her specialty in light alchemy would have her work cut out for her lighting a space this size. Were these creatures able to use alchemy? Or was it just a leftover transmutation from another alchemist such as Dante? She swallowed nervously. She wasn't quite sure where to go from here. But that guy had said for her to head underground and that he'd find her when she got there. She might as well head the rest of the way down and wait for him. Taking a deep breath she continued down the steps.

A while later she came to a halt. She'd lost track of how long she'd been wandering through the city… half an hour maybe? It was a long enough period of time that she was beginning to wonder if the red haired creep had just sent her off on a wild goose chase for kicks. She was also coming to the uncomfortable conclusion that she was lost. It had looked like a twisted warren of streets from the view up on the ledge, and now that she was walking amidst the masses of buildings she couldn't even see the spot where she'd entered the cavern in the first place. She usually had a fairly decent sense of direction, but with the alchemic lighting coming from no apparent source, and the maze of streets that weren't constructed in any way her brain could make sense of, her internal compass had been thrown completely off kilter. A feeling of overwhelming frustration washed over her and she let out a low growl, striking the wall next to her with the side of her fist. The old, crumbling siding shattered where her fist struck, pieces of it raining down onto the cobblestones at her feet. This was so unbelievably stupid. She'd gone and broken her promise about not trying to find Adele, and now she was just wandering aimlessly in circles.

"Where are you, you bastard?!" She yelled, having lost all patience with the entire situation.

"Who, me?" The unexpected voice behind her was so close she could feel his breath tickling the back of her neck. With a yelp she spun around, arms coming up automatically in a defensive guard. He smirked, red eyes dancing with amusement.

"Where have you been?" She demanded, scrambling to recompose herself. How the hell had he gotten so close behind her without her noticing?

"My partner took somewhat longer to complete her mission than I was expecting. I appreciate you waiting around for me," the grin which spread across his lips was unsettling.

"Take me to Adele!" She snapped, trying to mask her unease with hostility. If the widening of his grin was any indication he wasn't fooled.

"Follow me," he strolled past her down the road. She turned to stare after him for a moment. The way his violently red hair fluttered about his lithe form in a non-existent breeze was a little odd. Then again, was there anything about him that wasn't odd? Why on earth was she trusting this guy? Well, maybe 'trusting' wasn't really the right word... Why was she going along with this? Her eyes narrowed at the back of his head. Well…the bastard had Adele. She really didn't have much choice but to listen to him.

She followed after him reluctantly. He led her through the city without any hesitation. Clearly he knew where he was going. She stared at him, her father's words about homunculi echoing through her mind. Was this guy really some sort of sadistic monster? If his bizarre power that he'd used on her twice now was any indication then it was a strong possibility.

"If you keep scowling like that it'll give you wrinkles," he commented casually. Elmina tripped and just about went sprawling. He wasn't even looking at her! How could he tell what her expression was?! He glanced back at her with a superior smirk. "I can feel your anger," he sounded oddly pleased by this fact. She came to a halt, staring at him blankly. He paused, staring at her over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you?" she demanded, tone slightly disturbed. He turned to face her fully, resting a hand on his hip. He appeared amused, but there was something flickering in his eyes that only increased her unease. This guy just couldn't be stable. What would he be like if he snapped? She really didn't want to find out…

"Oh, that's right…it's your mother who knows me personally... I guess you and I haven't been officially introduced yet. Of course, I already know you who are. My name is Mania. It's a pleasure to meet you Elmina," the broad grin which spread across his face and the way his eyes lit up actually caused her to take a half step backwards. He looked almost like he wanted to devour her or something…

"How do you know my mother?" she asked a little shakily.

"You should ask her about it sometime," he replied, crazed grin shifting to an amused smirk. Elmina stared at him oddly. What the hell was he talking about? Her mother hadn't mentioned recognizing this guy when she'd described him to her… Well, she'd just have to ask her next time she saw her. She frowned and said the first thing that rose to her lips.

"Mania is a weird name," she told him frankly. Then she blinked. Why had she blurted that out? The red haired creature actually snorted.

"So are the names Envy and Wrath," he retorted, turning back towards the direction he'd been going, "Come on. Your friend is waiting."

Edward Elric sat in a chair beside the bed of his comatose brother with his head in his hands. His eldest daughter rested a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"We'll get her back, dad," Sara told him firmly. The blond man rubbed his face before resting his hands on his legs. The last week had clearly taken its toll on the former state alchemist.

"I never should have let Al go to the Underground City. I should have locked him up if I had to," his tone was broken.

"Beating yourself up over the past is a waste of energy. It won't change anything. Right now we need to move forward with the resources and information we currently possess," Envy said. The green haired man was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Ed smirked bitterly.

"Keep moving forward. I'd say the two of us have had more than enough experience with that," he fixed his half-brother with a tired look. Envy smiled humorlessly. "Dammit all," Ed muttered, "I thought we were done having to deal with stuff like this."

"People like us don't get to live in peace for the rest of our lives like normal people. Besides, some of us don't deserve it anyway," the former homunculus stated flatly, staring at the wall across from him with a distant expression. Ed shook his head. At that moment there was a knock on the door, causing the three of them to glance up. The door opened to reveal a nurse standing there. She had a puzzled expression on her face.

"I'm supposed to tell whoever happens to be visiting this man that there's a phone call for you. Someone named Elsie. She says it's urgent," the nurse told them. Envy's eyes widened.

"She called the hospital?" Sara sounded startled.

"Something serious must have happened," Ed's tone was concerned, a frown creasing his brow. Envy strode forward.

"I'll take it," he told the nurse crisply. She nodded.

"Right this way," the woman turned and led him down the hall till they reached the reception desk. She handed the phone to him and he pressed it to his ear.

"What happened?" he demanded sharply.

"Where is Mina?" Elsie's voice sounded unusually anxious on the other end of the line. Envy frowned, taken off guard.

"What?"

"Where is she?" her tone was more urgent than before.

"I left her back at the hotel with Wrath. Why?" he demanded guardedly. He heard his wife let out a shaky breath.

"One of the creatures showed up here. I know them—"

"What?!" his tone was alarmed as he cut her off.

"Look, it's too complicated to explain over the phone. I'm coming there on the first train tomorrow morning. I can't say with absolute certainty, but I don't think we're dealing with homunculi here."

"Then what are they?" Envy's tone was almost bewildered.

"That doesn't matter right now. I'll explain what I know when I get there. But they're after Mina. She's their real target. They're just using Adele to get to her," Elsie's words were rushed in her urgency. Envy's eyes widened. There was silence for a moment. Finally he found his voice.

"I need to go," he told her, tone sharp with concern. He let the phone clatter to the counter as he turned and raced for the front doors of the hospital. The nurse jumped in surprise, staring after him with a shocked expression. Several moments passed before Sara exited the room farther down the hall and made her way towards the reception desk.

"Where did he go?" she asked the nurse, tone puzzled. The woman shook her head in bewilderment.

"I don't know. He just took off like the devil himself was after him."

Envy burst through the door of the hotel room, panting slightly from the run from the hospital.

"Mina?" he called sharply. There was silence for a moment before the bedroom door at the end of the hall opened. Wrath stood there appearing as if he'd just woken up. "Where is Mina?" Envy demanded. Wrath blinked, clearly startled.

"She's not here?" he walked out into the sitting room, glancing around in surprise, "She promised she wouldn't try to go searching for Adele," his tone was disbelieving.

"Dammit!" Envy raked his jagged bangs back from his face in frustration, "We need to go find her. She's the one they're after. I don't have time to explain," he told the dark haired man briskly. Wrath nodded.

"Any idea where she might have gone?" he asked. Envy frowned. He suspected if they'd made contact with her they would likely take her to the Underground City. It was the most secluded part of Central City. It was likely they were keeping Adele there as well. But trying to find the two of them there would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. There was no way to know where exactly they would be in the ancient city. What were the odds that the creatures would pick Dante's old hideout as the place to work out of? It seemed a little too obvious to be likely. Then again, there was only one way to find out.

"The Underground City. Let's go," Envy turned back towards the door. Wrath didn't question him. He followed after the green haired man.

-Author's Note-

Uh-oh. What's Mina in for? *cue dramatic music* You shall find out next chapter. Sorry this one was so pathetically short *sweatdrop* I think it's the shortest chapter in the whole story. Thankfully the next one is twice as long as this one. I had way too much fun writing it…just saying…