Disclaimer: I don't own anything... except maybe 'Charles'... everyone else either belongs to Hiromu Arakawa or KimiUzumaki.

Words: 4279

Warnings: Possible OOCness, grammar mistakes and Ed's language.

They ran through the dust and debris, surprising a group of men who had been examining the barrier. They sprinted forward with the feet of wind, dangerously shooting through the hallways. They jumped and flipped avoiding the hands that tried to grab them. Ed had just avoided the brush of a dangerous hook kick when he shouted to his brother.

"See anything yet Al?!"

"No!" Al responded running past another man, who had collapsed due to the weight of the iron slamming into him.

They took different paths, swerving in and out of places they had been before. Their feet pounded on the cement flooring as they continued. They turned a corner and skidded to a halt. Al, not prepared to stop, slammed into his brother. The impact caused the two of them to fall to the floor, again, with a resounding thud.

"Well, well… if it isn't the little Fullmetal and his brother.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY TH- UMPF!"A foot slammed into his head before he could finish. He bit his lip to keep a whimper from escaping.

'I really won't be surprised if I get a concussion after all this.' The boy thought. His head was officially pounding and his eyes watered. He shut his eyes trying to block out the throbbing.

"Usually I would say, don't do that but… having you escape is really not in my list of things to do, so, I guess I'll let them punish you a little." The man grinned and backed up to be replaced by the burly man from before who cracked his knuckles in anticipation. Ed struggled to get up, only to find that he was still pinned to the ground, and what was keeping him there was his brother.

"Al what's going on?!" Ed struggled, confusion flashing across his features.

"Brother… I can't move, if I do they stab right through you!" Ed blinked and turned his head to see what the other boy meant. Behind him he could just barely see the glistening of silver that was conveniently placed at various parts of the others body. It was true. If Al moved the sword would move, impaling Ed in the process. Ed snarled, frowning.

He quickly grinned up to Al, whose soul-fire eyes showed fear and worry. The look made Ed internally cringe, but he put it behind him, snapping his head forward just to see the man squat down next to him. Before the boy could even think of defending himself the man shot forward smashing his fist into the others temple. Ed groaned as stars twirled around his head.

"Brother!" Al shouted distressed. Ed lopsidedly grinned, opening his eyes part of the way.

"That was nothing, don't worry about it." There was a movement of air and then another snap making his head shoot in the opposite direction. He grimaced slightly as he felt something warm and metallic fill his mouth again. He spat it out letting the redness seep into the white floor. He then turned to glare defiantly at the man in front of him. Al squirmed causing Ed to feel the tip of metal glance lightly across his back.

"Well… while this is quite interesting in itself… I think we should move onto the main event, mainly because I really don't want my precious specimen to be too badly damaged before the final product is complete." The two brother's heads turned to the sound. Ed blinked blearily looking at the man with a frown. The man had his hands clasped behind his back and he was moving back and forth giddily… or so it seemed.

"It's really not all that difficult, you help me and your brother lives… you don't and he dies…" the man smiled the whole time, nonchalantly talking about death like it was the weather. This pissed off the blonde whose vision finally clarified after the original hits.

"You have GOT to be fuckin' KIDDING me. No way in HELL am I going to help you!" Ed spat, the saliva mixing readily with the crimson liquid dribbling out of his mouth, conjoining with the already dry parts from earlier.

"Didn't anyone teach you manners?... all well whatever. Charles!..." The man who had been hitting Ed turned his head, waiting for orders, "Take off that things head." The man leaned forward expectantly, causing the two boys to freeze.

A second later:

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY LITTLE BROTHER YOU ASS-HOLE!"

"Charles… could you gag that specimen already? I am starting to get bored at his impolite speech."

"OH OF COURSE YOU!- UMPF." Ed twisted his head back and forth trying to get rid of the rag that was stuffed in his mouth.

"Brother!" Al shouted just as 'Charles' moved up and took the helmet off his head. There was a moment of silence and then the grin on the man's face widened, breaking his features cleanly in half.

"Well well, as I thought, you are just a suit of armor… Which means you should have a blood seal somewhere correct?" Edward glared, unable to do anything else as 'Charles' leaned in to inspect the armor.

"Found it." He stated simply; moving away from the two boys to talk to the leader. The man's smile turned into a sneer.

"Well, looks like we found some weakness to that hulking piece of metal, didn't we?" Edward hands itched to be clapped together- or slugging the guy, he didn't know nor care which- but from the way Alphonse laid on top of him, his hands were pinned away from each other. Not to mention the coat was tangled making them impossible to move in the first place.

"Well, let's see, I can scrub the seal off… or use water, or I can always use good old fashioned peroxide… choices, choices, choices." The man squatted down next to Ed who snarled around the gag. The man reached forward brushing a strand of hair out of the young boys face, grazing his fingers over the white bandages encircling his head. The ever prevalent grin was still there which annoyed the blonde to no end.

"Well… I think I will let you back to your rooms so you can decide whether to help me, or to say your good byes." The man stood up dusting off his clothes then walked away.

"Eh, Charles, Would you direct the two of them back to their room please?... I have to prepare, I have a feeling I'm going to need the experiment room soon."

Edward frowned around the gag as he was hoisted up. Al had been moved first and then Ed had been grabbed, his hand had gone numb from being in an awkward position which resulted in him being unable to move it like he wanted.

'Charles' picked him up with little effort- much to the boy's chagrin- and plodded down the hallway, closely followed by Al. Within moments they were back in the room with the chains. The goons secured them to the wall, making sure to fasten the metal tightly around their wrists. Ed glared, unable to complain around the still present gag. He looked to the side to see that the chains were being wrapped around his automail, almost like how a serpent constricts around its prey. He looked down to see that his feet were being chained, as well, this time. This caused him to have to bend his legs so that they were on either side of him, parallel to the floor. After everything was secured and the goons had left Edward let his head drop, his eyes closing in hopes of pushing back the fierce throbbing inside his skull.

"Brother?..." Al whispered worriedly. Ed moved his head up opening his eyes a sliver to look at his brother.

The golden blonde smiled warmly around the gag, doing his best to comfort the other without words. Blood trickled down his chin, dripping slowly onto his black clothes. The gag stuffed in his mouth looked dirty and old, which Ed was doing everything to ignore. He did NOT want to imagine where that thing had been. Bruises were starting to form and he was wondering if he really MIGHT have gotten a concussion with all the hits to the head he had taken that day.

"… I'm sorry…" Ed jerked his head up staring at his brother in confusion, blonde hair once again tumbling around his shoulders, even though parts were still caught under his coat. Not a single part of his hair resembled the braid the boy always wore.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help… I was so scared for you that I had forgotten I could use alchemy too… I'm sorry, I should have been able to help us escape; instead I got us caught again…" Ed rolled his eyes exaggerating the movement so that Al could see. Al looked at his brother as the boy shook his head. The blonde then looked down at himself then at the chains. Lastly he turned to his brother, giving the boy a wide grin behind the gag, his golden eyes sparkling. Al looked at him for a moment then nodded, chuckling.

'I knew I should have decked the bastard to within an inch of his life when I had the chance.' Ed thought, turning away from his brother. He struggled with the chains, directing his mind the best he could around the ever present headache. His legs, which were bent on either side of him, kept him from moving much, and his arms were too tightly bound to have any chance to twist his wrists enough to get out. Ed sighed closing his eyes in the process.

"What are you going to do?..." Ed looked up, and glanced at Al, just to glance away a moment later.

A moment later a sigh was heard through the rag, followed by a long and painful silence. The darkness of the room seemed to suppress the two of them, encircling them just as much, if not more so, than the chains.

The two sat in relative silence, occasionally twisting an arm or a leg to see if there was any lag in the restraints. To their disappointment, it didn't seem there was any. Edward waited, trying to think through the pounding in his skull. He could feel his muscles becoming numb due to the awkward positions they were held in. 'curse that Mustang for sending us on such a stupid mission, if my day wasn't bad enough, now he has to add this on top of it? I am going to strangle that bastard when I get out of here.' He thought, unable to vocalize the sentence. The fact that they had kept the rag in annoyed him to no end. Not only that but he was pissed that he and Al had gotten caught not only once, but twice in the span of a half hour. It was frustrating when he realized that there was nothing he could do. He put on his signature cocky smirk, hiding the fear that was starting to rise within. How long would they be stuck there? Would they be able to get out? Would they even be able to survive with that crazy man around? He didn't know and he became more frustrated and -though he would utterly deny it- scared because of it.

"Brother… you don't have to worry about me…" Edward looked at his brother for a moment and shook his head vigorously; giving the other boy a glare for even thinking about it. His look practically screaming, "You Idiot! Of course I will worry! Stop blaming yourself!"

After that they stayed silent; the only sound being the clinking of metal against metal and the occasionally loud grumble of hunger coming from Edward.

They had no sense of time; no light filtered into that dark room and there was not a single clock in the area. Even if there was, there would be no way Ed would be able to reach it. It was impossible just to reach his state alchemist's pocket watch. Ed's flesh limbs were dead; he couldn't feel anything from them, which felt weird since he knew they were there. He could tell that the metal was chaffing against his skin, which sent a tingling sensation down his arm, but it was minimal. His head was swirling. He had no idea how long he had been there, it could have been hours, or it could have simply been a few minutes. In the quietness of the room, and with the inability to move, every moment felt lengthened; dragged out until the last possible second. Time moved forward sluggishly as they waited unable to do much else. It was all a game. Ed knew that. He knew that, as the minutes turned into hours, it was all a battle of the mind. Physically restrained and weakened all he had left was that. It was suffocating and maddening, not knowing when the man was coming back, being unable to talk and move. He wasn't even able to comfort his brother any more do to the darkness.

His stomach growled and it felt like his insides were eating themselves. His throat felt constricted and his mouth watered with the idea of food. He knew he had missed lunch, he could tell, but what he wasn't sure of is whether he missed dinner as well. His stomach said yes, his mind said no.

"Brother…" Ed looked over, thankful for the break in the silence. "... Is-"

Before he finished they heard the sound of a lock clicking open. They both shut their mouths and turned their heads, looking towards the doorway as it swung open, revealing the man from before.

He was still grinning.

"So… Have you decided yet, precious specimen?"

Edward growled too tired to really do much else.

"Oh… yeah I forgot that was there…" the man walked in, pulling the rag quickly out the others mouth. Edward spat on the floor trying desperately to get rid of the disgusting taste and filth from the rag. He gasped drawing in, somewhat, clean air. After a moment or two of coughing he looked over at the man, keeping his mouth firmly in place, and glared at him.

"You know… that glare doesn't really work if you keep doing it." The man closed his eyes tilting his head in a smile. "Well, I wonder how much of the blood seal I can scrape off until your brother dies." The man opened his eyes and tilted his chin in thought, placing one hand on his lower lip like he was trying to figure out the secrets of the world.

Ed glared.

The man sighed and squatted down next to Al, pulling the helmet off with ease.

"Don't touch him." Ed growled, quiet but menacing. His throat was slightly hoarse from the mixture of the cloth and lack of water.

The man ignored him, examining Al's insides like he was simply window shopping.

"Fascinating… Not quite as nice as my beautiful chimera's, but I can see why they might be worried." Ed frowned in confusion.

"They?..." He asked, curiosity getting the better of him. The man looked up.

"So, do you want me to kill your brother?... or do you want me to hurt you, kill your brother and then finally do the experiment forcefully… really I'm being quite generous here."

"How the fuck is this generous?!" Ed frowned.

The man turned to him, no longer smiling. The look in his eyes caused a shiver to run up Ed's spine.

"Be careful boy, if you want to live to see tomorrow then you better shut that dirty mouth of yours, I'm starting to reach the end of my rope as it is… If you don't want to be a brother short, you will listen."

Ed watched in silence, slightly freaked by the sudden change in the man's mood. He looked positively dangerous, a complete opposite from a moment before. Ed gulped quietly.

"Very good, now back to what I was saying." The man's smile was back in place, as if nothing had happened. "I am being quite generous, so why don't you follow through? It's not that hard, a tiny little experiment and you're all done... You can even think of it as… equivalent exchange if you want!" The man closed his eyes grinning. Ed gritted his teeth, suppressing another rant that was on the tip of his tongue.

"…fine." He seethed under his breath. The man perked up and turned to the boy.

"Did you say something?" He hummed happily.

"You heard me!" Ed growled loudly.

The man put a finger in his ear and wiggled it around a little, clearing out gunk. "Sorry, couldn't quite hear you, you'll have to speak louder.

"You bastard." Ed murmured under his breath. The man just sat there expectantly.

"As long as you leave my brother alone… fine." Ed stated through gritted teeth.

The man stood up, "Glad that we can finally agree, now let's go!" 'Charles' came in and unlocked the chains around Ed who still lay slumped to the floor. The man grabbed him and forced him up. The sudden movement caused a fit of dizziness making Ed sway dangerously from side to side. The man took him and threw him over his shoulder, officially making him a sack of potatoes. He grimaced as he felt blood move viciously back into his arms and legs and winced as 'Charles'' shoulder blade dug into his already bruised stomach.

"Damn" he muttered under his breath as they moved forward.

'You've gotten yourself into trouble again. Didn't I tell you not to do anything reckless?'

Mustang's voice resounded in the young boys head as they moved forward. His blonde hair hung limply around his face flowing over his shoulders like a waterfall, at least the parts that weren't stained did, the rest stayed clumped under his jacket, uncomfortable moving against his back. 'I wish I had a hairband… at least I can get my hair out of my face.' He thought, annoyed.

'I think today… is taking the cake for worst-day-ever…' He continued, trying to get feeling appropriately back into his limbs. His automail felt heavy causing him to growl in frustration.

Before he could find any way to escape out of 'Charles'' grasp; they were back at the huge double doors he had seen hours ago. He went to struggle, but stopped when the man pulled at his hair, almost ripping it out of his head. Ed bit his lip, once again tasting the sharp metallic tang of blood. 'You know, I won't have any blood left if I keep this up,' Ed thought sardonically.

The boy closed his eyes, feeling the migraine pounding full force behind his eyelids. Every part of his body was throbbing now, from his shoulder to a toe he had stubbed when he had tripped to get to his shoes that morning. Multiplied by the blood flow that had gone back into the various limbs; the result was devastating.

He opened his eyes to see that they were in the room again. The floor was clean of blood, all that could be seen were spattering's of dark red from previous experiments that had already stained the concrete surroundings. In the middle was the giant transmutation circle he had seen earlier. It swirled around in complex patterns entwining into a concentric circle in the very middle of the larger ring. 'Charles' moved into the circle, carefully, and placed him in the middle. After that was done, he ripped the jacket off the boy's shoulders, exposing the black clothes underneath. Edward lay in the middle using his automail to try to sit up.

After that was completed 'Charles' walked out of the two circles and was replaced by the other man, his lab coat glimmering in the faux lighting. He held a syringe in his hand.

Before Ed could swat it away the man inserted the needle roughly into the side of his neck.

Ed grimaced then widened his eyes in fear as he felt a burning sensation run down his spine. Before he could even get his bearings or prepare for the worst, he screamed. Jolts of agonizing pain shot through his already damaged system sending lightning strikes up and down his spine. His shout pierced through the room, reverberating off the metal walls with ease. The boy screeched until he was out of breath and then collapsed into a heap, drained and gasping for air. The man smiled and sat up from his squatted position next to the boy.

"You're probably wondering what I injected you with." Ed's glazed eyes glanced up at the man beside him, trying to hold steady, he tried his best to glare. "I injected you with a serum that stimulates alchemic reactions and keeps your body in check to make sure you don't die, controlling heart rate and blood pressure so that you don't implode from the reaction." Ed tried to follow along, he really did, but everything was starting to blur; pain seared through his being, multiplied by all the wounds he accumulated over the day. 'One would think I would be used to it by now.' He thought as every nerve began to feel numb; his mind wanted to black out, but something was stopping it. 'Probably that damn drug, why did I agree to this again?... oh yeah… Al…'

He felt something slam onto his chest causing him to tumble onto his back. He heard the screech of a cat and felt the sharp claws ripping into his shirt. Ed once again struggled to open his eyes. When he got them open he saw a small black kitten, its sharp nails were out, gripping tightly onto his shirt. Its fur stood up on end while its paws were tied together, hindering it from escaping.

Ed's eyes widened and he turned just in time to see the man slam his palms into the floor, within the transmutation circle. Blue light began to glow around them, shooting straight into the sky at odd angles. A second later the lights began to twist and turn. Wind picked up and everything began to whip around in a chaotic dance.

Ed and the kitten screeched in unison. All the young boy could do was hold on. All he felt was pain, the searing torture that reminded him of the sin from when he was younger. He felt like he was melting, his bones changing with every shallow breath. The only thing on his mind was that burning searing bone-chilling agony. After what felt like hours it stopped. He fell to the floor taking shallow breaths, his body still convulsing and twitching every now and then. His eyes stayed firmly shut, separating him from the outside world. He could feel his ears ringing and could smell burning flesh and blood. He gasped in and out, struggling to get a good breath.

"Magnificent!" an annoyingly familiar voice stated from his right. Ed blinked, opening his dulled golden eyes, to see the man on the outskirts of the circle. He was smiling again, but this time it was a genuine smile of delight. "It took long enough, but I have finally completed a mostly human chimera!" Ed blinked slowly, his eyes blurred. His golden hair lay splayed around him like a halo, covering parts of his face, which was blanketed with a mixture of sweat and blood. Yet, even though he felt the exhaustion till it was palpable, something was still keeping him from going unconscious, 'probably that damn serum or whatever' he thought groaning, '…wait… didn't I already think that?...'.

"You are one lucky boy, it seems like what they said was right, who would have known!" Ed moved his head a little feeling the migraine, tenfold, pound in his skull with the force of a hammer. He groaned closing his eyes then opening them when he heard the scratch of pen against paper. After a while the scratching stopped and he felt someone lift him up, bridal style, placing him carefully on a long metal table; 'probably the one from when we first entered' his mind labeled automatically.

"Well time to do a check-up, can't have you dying after that, now can we?" The voice sounded loud in the large room and it made Ed cringe. 'My. Luck. Sucks. Today.' The boy though vaguely. He felt hands trace over his chest, and the touch of cool metal on his feverish skin.

The hands moved from his chest to his face. He felt his lips being pulled back and felt a mix of pleasure and pain as the same hands moved to his ears. He mentally frowned, why were the ears so high up on his head?... he blinked his eyes open again, his muddled brain trying to make sense of what was going on. "Looks like everything is relatively normal. There is no brain damage and it looks like all bones are in their proper location. Incidentally, it looks like the wound to his head has closed up due to the alchemic proponents… quite fascinating." The annoying voice stated causing Ed to cringe again.

"Charles, bring him to that room, if you don't mind, and be careful, we don't want to do any damage." Ed heard a grunt and then hoarsely yelped as someone picked him up, once again in bridal style. 'Any damage?...' Ed thought closing his eyes once more. This time the darkness took over, swiftly and powerfully, until he was in a deep, dreamless sleep.

Chapter three: done.

Review! *Still, happily, holding that chainsaw.*