Zilo: If I seem rushed, I am! I'm on a timed comp at the library, so I can't spend extra time saying thank you to everybody like I'd like. Just know I read everyone's reviews, loved them all, and thank you all for them! And now...WAIT'S OVER!

7: Get Thee To The Church
In which there is yelling, mostly from Joey

Al was quiet for a while. I shifted a little next to him.

"I think we would rather know, than be in the dark," Al finally said. "Ignorance can cause so many problems for a person. And, if the situation were reversed, wouldn't you want to know?"

That was just it. I would. I knew I would. I felt bad for doing this to them. "I'm sorry," I said. "Look, let's have it all out tomorrow over breakfast. Sound good?"

"Sure," Al said with a slight nod.

I looked over at him and smiled, then frowned as something caught my attention behind him. Well, to be more accurate, the lack of something caught my attention. I stood up, realizing that the chair was empty, and the door was open.

"Al?" There was a hint of fear in my voice.

"What?" Al asked, catching on.

"Where's Lust?"

Al turned around and looked where I was looking. "Um…I don't know. I didn't see her leave," he said.

I jumped up immediately and ran to the bathroom door. Sticking my head in, I flipped on the light switch. My heart sank. The tub was empty, except for what remained of Envy's duct tape cocoon. Even the plate of chicken was gone.

"Dammit!" I exclaimed. "She busted him out after all!" Then I had a sudden thought. "Oh my God, Ricky and Cassie." I whirled around and ran for the staircase at full speed. I took the stairs two at a time, probably the first time I've ever done that in my life.

I screeched to a stop at the top of the stairs, quieting my breathing and listening hard. Nothing sounded amiss. I went to Cassie's room first, and silently pushed the door open and stuck my head in. Cassie was still peacefully asleep. I left her room and went to Ricky's, but he too was sleeping undisturbed.

Slowly, I went back downstairs. So Lust and Envy hadn't attacked any of us while we slept. Instead, they apparently had just made a break for it. We were all okay.

My breath froze. Oh hell, we're NOT okay. Those two knuckleheads are out there somewhere, seeing things they shouldn't be seeing! And just when I'd thought I was getting a handle on things, too.

I made it to the bottom, and found an awake and very alert-looking Ed waiting for me, already rebraiding his hair. "So, they left?" was the first thing he said to me.

Apparently Al had filled him in while I was upstairs. "Yeah, and, dammit, I so don't need that right now," I sighed, rubbing my forehead.

"What should we do?" Al wondered aloud.

"I guess I'll have to take the van out, see if I can find them and somehow convince them to co—wait, we?"

Both brothers looked at me like I was being silly. "You think you can handle two Homunculi?" Ed said incredulously.

"One of them's un-powered, de-powered, whatever. I'll be fine. You guys should stay here," I said.

"It seems like that should be our line," Al pointed out.

"We're the ones who are used to dealing with Homunculi. You're just a girl," Ed said, saying "girl" like someone else might say "cripple". Or maybe I was a little sensitive.

"Besides," Ed went on before I could get too steamed, "weren't you just saying how you would explain everything to us? I think it's high time you stopped trying to shelter us from whatever's out there."

Well, he did have a point there. I pressed my lips together tightly. And it was true—I had no feasible plan for getting Envy and Lust back here, other than begging pathetically on my knees. These two would probably be the muscle I needed to actually make a success out of this mission.

"Okay," I said, letting out a sigh. "You guys can come. Let me just change clothes, and I'll be back."

Five minutes later, I'd switched out of my slept-in clothes to a green shirt and denim shorts, pulled my hair into a ponytail on the back of my head, grabbed Mom's keys, left a brief note for Ricky to find when he woke up, and led the Elrics outside to the family van. I hesitated as I pushed open the front door, as if lightning would strike and kill us all as soon as we stepped outside, but I forced myself to get it together and walked out purposefully.

Ed looked around the moment he and Al had stepped outside. The sun was just starting to come up, so everything had that soft, pretty, sunrise-y glow on it. I shut and locked the door behind us, then took a deep, calming breath and headed down the sidewalk path from the door to the driveway. "Come on, guys, time's wasting."

"Coming," Al said.

"Is that a car?" Ed's almost amazed voice asked.

I winced. "Um, yeah, yeah it is," I said lamely as I unlocked the van. I pulled open the backseat door as Ed and Al came over, and they both paused to watch the door slide open.

"It slides?" Al asked.

"Uh…yep," was my answer as I opened the front door and climbed into the driver's seat.

"It looks so weird," Ed commented as he climbed into the back.

"Will there be enough space for me?" Al asked.

"Oh. Uhhh…" I got back out, examined the middle bench of the van, and sighed. "Ed, could you move up the passenger side? I'll have to take this out," I said.

Ed actually did what I said with no fuss, though both he and Al stared at me as I fumbled with the bench's mechanisms before finding the many latches and buttons I had to work to disconnect it. I dragged the bench out of the van and put it against the garage door, mentally promising to put it back later. "Okay, more space, now hop in before somebody sees you." Few of our neighbors were up this early, but I didn't want anyone seeing a giant suit of armor and asking questions out their windows.

Al carefully climbed into the back, practically filling up all the space I'd just made and then some. I shut the door behind him, then jumped back into the driver's seat. "Seat belts, everybody," I said automatically as I started up the car.

Ed was more interested in the dashboard. "What are all these buttons for?" he asked, pointing at the stereo.

"Oh, they're for if you wanna listen to music or the radio," I said. Lucky for me I hadn't had any music on the last time I was in here, so I didn't have to hurry to turn it off.

"I didn't know you could take whole sections of seats out of cars," Al commented.

"And why does this car look so weird? And have so many seats in the first place?" Ed added.

"Uh…look, guys, this is a part of that whole thing I didn't want to explain but promised I would later, okay? So can we focus on the Lust-and-Envy-hunting now, and ask me all these random questions later? And will you put your damn seatbelt on, Ed?" I exclaimed.

Ed frowned at me, but he turned around to get his seatbelt.

"What's our plan for finding them?" Al asked.

Damn. "I don't really have one. I was just gonna drive around and hope I get lucky," I admitted.

Ed seemed to be struggling with his seatbelt, so I reached over and clicked it into place for him. He gave me a slightly peeved look, like he had wanted to figure it out himself, and I just rolled my eyes back at him as he adjusted it to comfort over his chest and waist. "I don't mean to be mean, but that plan doesn't seem very good," Al told me from where he was wedged in the backseat.

"Yeah, I know. It's crap. Um…what would you guys suggest?" I managed. I'm much better at being a leader than a follower, but even I had to admit I was out of my element here.

"What kind of places are around here?" Ed asked as I backed out of the driveway.

"Nothing special. This is just a nice, quiet, middle-class-family-with-two-kids-and-a-dog-and-chirping-birds neighborhood. A couple of convenience stores, a church or two, a tiny library a few blocks up," I explained.

"In other words, an abundance of potential hostages," Ed muttered.

My hands clenched a little tighter on the wheel. The thought of Lust spearing any of my neighbors was scary.

"We know that Envy's currently powerless, and has a broken arm, so that means Lust is the biggest threat right now. If they left together, than Envy's condition means they probably haven't gotten very far. The question is, where are they going, and what do they plan on doing?" Ed mused.

"Maybe they're trying to figure out where they are and find a way back on their own," Al suggested.

By now I was driving down the street. I anxiously kept my eyes alert, hoping to spot the two. "So, maybe they're standing on some roof looking around?" I said.

"It's possible. Any tall buildings around here?" Ed asked me.

"Yeah. One Hope." Ed looked confused, so I elaborated. "One Hope Christian Center. A church. It's got a huge steeple."

"Let's check it out, then," Ed said decisively.

Please let it be empty, I thought.

Dammit, God! I asked nicely and everything!

There were several cars in the church's expansive parking lot when we pulled in. I found a space close to the building, backed in, and turned the van off. Like I had told Ed and Al, the church was huge. A sprawling white stucco building with a two-story sanctuary in the front, adorned in the back by a God-huge chapel with two real bells in it.

"Okay, so it looks like there are people here," I said as I unfastened my seat belt, "so you'll probably have to stay in the car, Al. We can't draw a whole lot of attention, you know?"

"I guess you're right," Al agreed reluctantly.

"Just be our lookout," Ed said as he opened his door and got out. I came around the front of the car to join him, and together we started for the church's front doors. I sincerely hoped it was something like choir rehearsal or something that would have everyone in the closed-off sanctuary, making enough noise not to hear us.

When I pushed open one of the many front doors, I was relieved to hear a muffled hymn in progress in the sanctuary. "Good. We can circle through the lobby and get to the back stairs that lead to the chapel without being noticed," I said.

"Have you been—" The rest of Ed's words were lost in a burst of noise from the sanctuary as the choir sang-yelled, "IN HI-I-I-I-I-IM!"

"—Been here before," Ed finished on the other side of the noise.

"Yeah, we show up on Sundays sometimes, or for Christmas and Easter services or whatever," I said as I started to the left.

"Christmas and Easter?" Ed repeated, following me.

"Oh. Um, local holidays," I tried. It was technically true, if "local" meant my world and "not-local" was Ed's. Okay, so it was a stretch.

Ed just said, "Huh," in response, so I could only assume he'd accepted my explanation.

More blasts of singing from the choir followed us as we circled the sanctuary by way of the hall. Sometimes the music would stop altogether, and we'd hear an angry woman yelling something about sopranos and harmonies and other choir lingo.

"Wow, they take their singing seriously," Ed commented.

"Yeah," I agreed absently. We were close to where the staircase should be. I poked my head around a corner and saw the familiar door to the right. "Here we are!" I said exultantly, striding over and pushing the door open.

Ed joined me, and we both looked up the tall staircase that led off into darkness. I started up the stairs, but Ed put a hand on my shoulder. "I should probably go first," he said.

The choir sang-yelled, "AME-E-E-E-E-N!" at that precise moment, as if they agreed.

"Oh. Okay," I agreed easily enough, moving aside so Ed could take the lead. We started up the staircase, slowly leaving the rectangle of light in the doorway behind.

"So what's the big deal, anyway? Things look a little unusual, but not so horrible. Why did you want us to stay in your house so bad?" Ed asked suddenly.

Man, they don't quit looking for answers, do they? "Well, yeah, I guess it looks okay," I said.

"But…?" Ed prompted.

"But it's a lot more complicated than you think," I said, pausing before I tripped over an uneven spot on the stairs.

"Can you at least tell my what city this is?" Ed asked.

I considered. It probably wouldn't hurt. "High Springs," I told him.

"High Springs," he repeated, sounding as though he was searching his memory. Which he was. "I've never heard of it."

"It's a small town," I told him, which was the honest truth.

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket. Ed, now framed by the light of an upcoming window, paused and turned, looking puzzled. I fished my cell out and gave him a sheepish look. "Phone for me," I said, flipping it open and putting it to my ear without checking to see who it was. "Hello?"

"Where did you go? Where did you all GO?" Ricky's near-panicked voice exclaimed.

"Calm down, Ricky, everything's fine. Sorta. Envy and Lust made a jailbreak so Ed and Al and me went to find them," I told him.

Ricky paused. In the background I could hear what sounded like Cassie talking at a man on TV. "They…escaped?" he said, sounding a little scared.

"Yeah. I guess Lust wasn't as gung-ho for the truce as I thought. But we're gonna track them down," I said.

"Well, where are you?" Ricky asked.

"One Hope. We're guessing they might be trying to get the lay of the land by standing on top of the steeple," I said.

"Okay, well…good luck."

"Thanks, bro."

"Ricky, you should tell her," Cassie said in the background.

I paused, not missing Ricky's urgent "Shhh!" to her. "Tell me what?" I demanded.

"Uh, nothing, I've got it under—"

"Richard Donathan Sky Jones, if you summoned someone else I swear I'll kill you through the phone, church or no church," I warned him, starting to get mad. I only use his full name when I'm mad at him, even though we all think it's really long and ridiculous. But Cassie and I have equally long and ridiculous full names, too. Our general consensus is that Mom probably got carried away with baby name books.

Richard said nothing for a long, long time. Even Cassie was silent. Finally, someone else in the background spoke. "Got any dessert?"

My eyes widened. I knew that voice. It wasn't the TV after all.

"GODDAMMIT RICKY!" I bellowed before I could stop myself.

"It wasn't on purpose! I can tell you what happened! I don't know how he got here! We woke up and there he was, taking food out of the fridge!" Ricky exclaimed, now more panicked than ever.

I seethed for a few seconds, trying to get my voice level under control. I ignored Ed's staring at me. "All right, look," I growled, "keep him inside the house at all costs until we get back. And prepare for a God-awful beatdown." I slammed my phone shut and jammed it back into my pocket, pissed. This was not what I signed up for when I elected to stay home this week.

"So…what just happened?" Ed wanted to know.

"Ricky the Asshole summoned someone else," I sighed.

"Oh." Ed considered, and then said, "Do you always threaten him like that?"

"Huh?" I said in confusion.

"Maybe you should lay off," Ed told me.

I held up my hands. "Hey, I can't help my temper. Some of the things Ricky does just drives me up a wall!"

"Even still, he's your little brother. You shouldn't treat him that way," Ed replied.

I sighed. "Easy for you to say, you don't live with him."

Ed just shook his head, turned, and started back up the stairs. He did a double take at the window. "What the—there they are!"

I hurried up the last few steps and joined him at the window. Sure enough, there was Lust and Envy, sprinting across the parking lot a story and a half down. "Damn, they'll get away!" I exclaimed.

"No they won't," Ed said.

In a flash of blue light, a large section of the parking lot seemed to come alive, and twisted asphalt tentacles around their ankles. Lust and Envy were halted in their escape, and Al climbed out of the van three cars away from them.

"Nice one!" I complimented him from above.

"We got 'em now," Ed said, clapping his hands together. He touched the sill, and in seconds it had morphed into a slide that led almost all the way down. He jumped out and landed on it, sliding on his feet down to the parking lot, where Lust was slicing the parking lot off.

I watched from above, rapt, as Ed leaped off the slide and landed at a full run, already transmuting his signature automail blade. Al was rushing Lust and Envy from the other side. Lust noticed and pointed her hands in both directions, shooting out her deadly nails. Ed and Al both blocked with their right arms as if they'd coordinated it.

Envy then leapt into the fray, lunging at Ed. I looked down at him, wondering what was different, then it hit me in shock. He wasn't acting like someone with a broken arm. In fact, the arm I'd splinted was just now swinging at Ed's head.

What the hell? Did he—did he regenerate somehow? But how? Why? Dammit, what's going on?

I couldn't tell if Ed was surprised or not, but he dodged Envy's punch and swiped with his automail. Envy backflipped out of the way. Meanwhile, Al was evading Lust's attacks, a piece of chalk in one hand. He dodgd to safety, then drew a transmutation circle almost before I could blink. More parking-lot-tentacle things twisted out of the ground and hurtled towards Lust.

Movement near the building caught my attention, and I turned to see Bishop Powell running out to the parking lots. He was waving his hands and yelling for them to stop fighting. Huddled at the church's front doors were a good portion of the choir and Mrs. Bell, the choir director, all staring at the fight with wide eyes.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed. Bishop Powell might get killed by Lust and Envy if he tried to intervene. Without hesitation I jumped on the slide Ed had made. Unfortunately, I wasn't as agile as Ed, and ended up tumbling head over heels the whole way down. I managed to land on my feet at the bottom, but overbalanced and fell on my knees, scraping them through my pants. I jumped up and started running to intercept the bishop.

Ed saw the bishop coming, and so did Envy. "Get out of the way, you idiot!" Ed yelled.

"You must stop this fighting at once!" Bishop Powell exclaimed.

"I'm calling the police!" Mrs. Bell bellowed.

I hate this so much!

I caught up to the bishop and grabbed his sleeve. "No, Bishop, stop!"

Bishop Powell glanced at me, then did a double take. "Melissa Jones?" Our family has met him a few times.

"It's not what you think!" I said, my mind racing to come up with an explanation.

"Why, it's Melissa Jones," Mrs. Bell said, although the way she said it, it could have been "Why, it's the bubonic plague."

"Not what I think?" the bishop said, momentarily distracted from stopping the fight.

"No, it's not a real fight! It's…it's…a movie! They're shooting a movie!"

"A movie?" We all winced at the sound of Ed getting slammed into the side of another van, which set off its alarm. Seeing this, Al drew another circle and formed a mini-wave of parking lot that rushed over Envy.

"YES, WITH EXCELLENT CGI!" I yelled over the noise of the car alarm. "SO PLEASE GO BACK INSIDE!"

"I DON'T SEE ANY CAMERAS!" Mrs. Bell bellowed suspiciously.

I had managed to start towing Bishop Powell back to the church, and so didn't have to yell as loudly to answer Mrs. Bell. "It's because they're using hidden cameras to make it seem more realistic!" I yelled at her. "Now please, everyone go back inside and I'll let you know when they finish shooting!"

"What about my car?" the owner of the van wanted to know.

"Um, they swapped it for a stunt-van-double. Yours is fine!" I assured him.

Somehow I managed to talk them into going back inside. Mrs. Bell gave me the evil eye several times, and Bishop Powell still looked worried, but I finally closed the doors behind him and released a heavy sigh. The sounds of the fight drifted back to me, and I turned to see the parking lot—and several cars—in a state similar to how the living room had looked. The fight was still going on strong, though the Elrics seemed to be getting the upper hand.

Now that my present job was over, I had nothing left to do but get mad. I started walking towards them, fists clenched, and at some point my walking changed to stomping. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! STOP!" I hollered.

All four of them actually paused and stared at me.

"Stop fighting or I swear, I won't tell any of you a goddamn thing about anything! I'll let you stumble around like Neanderthals and I won't care! If you want your goddamn answers, get in the fucking van!"

Silence. They stared at me as I heaved like a raging bull. Ed and Al exchanged a glance, and Ed nodded once.

"Why don't you calm down, you little twerp?" Envy said, rolling his eyes.

"Then are you ready to start explaining things?" Lust added.

"Yes! Whatever! God, you—" I could sense a swear-a-thon coming on, so I just growled and started towards the van. "And fix the damn parking lot!" I yelled at Ed without looking at him.

"You must be a joy to live with," Envy sneered.

I ignored him as I opened the driver's door to the van. I climbed in and slammed the door so hard the whole van rocked. With a heavy sigh, I draped my arms over the wheel and rested my forehead on them.

As I slowly calmed, I began to hear the other talking outside. "…our best bet is to uphold the temporary truce until we're able to get home," Al was saying.

"Hey, you're the one who attacked us when we were trying to leave," Envy commented.

"No, Envy, I think he's right," Lust said.

"Say whah?"

"Think about what we saw. We need answers."

"So? You think some fat brat's got the answers? We could go threaten anyone and get the info."

"Not while we're around." That was Ed.

"Besides, Joey and her family are the ones who brought us here. Maybe they're the only ones who can get us back," said Al, reasonable to the end.

"I can't believe you're actually considering this, any of you," Envy complained.

"Don't forget that car over there, Brother."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Well, Envy?" Lust said.

There was a very long, drawn-out sigh. "FINE, whatever," Envy said.