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

Note: this is the last chapter following what KimiUsumaki originally wrote. Thus from now on, I'm writing from scratch. Oh! and this is my first time writing in Al's point of view for any length of time... I think I find Ed's point of view easier...

Words: 4280

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

Screams.

That's all Al could hear.

The loud cries echoed down the long hallways right into his prison bringing a mix of fear and grief.

Al internally grimaced.

He was frustrated. All he could do was sit and watch as his brother was tortured mentally and physically. He knew his life was on the line, but he had known that for a while. Ever since they had started looking for the philosopher's stone they had been dealing with life and death situations so it was nothing new. But he was annoyed at his brother. While he understood why his brother did what he did, he still wanted to slap his older sibling silly.

Al thought back worriedly. He had seen his brother's injuries, he wasn't an idiot. If anything he understood just how much pain his brother was in. His brother could try to hide it behind a fake smile and calming words, but he noticed. He always did. Al mentally closed his eyes, shaking in fear and desperation.

He couldn't feel pain, heck he couldn't feel anything; but that just made it harder. He wasn't able to share the burden on his brother's shoulders and, if anything… he made them worse.

He remembered when he had slammed into his brother causing the two to collapse right in front of the maniac. He had turned his head to see three of the gorilla like men, pointing swords through his armor, piercing right through the joints inches away from his brothers back. He had feared for his brother and went to move, only to notice how one of the blades had scratched the older boys back.

Al had internally trembled, keeping his main body as still as possible. He didn't want to cause his brother even more harm than he had already done.

Al shuddered as the cries finally stopped. The air was tense and the surroundings were dead silent. Al couldn't move… and for that one moment he didn't want to. He held his breath, hoping against hope that his brother was still alive. Al internally clenched his eyes shut, finally letting his body tremble, harder than ever. He wanted to cry, he wanted to feel the wet tears. He wanted to see his brother, to feel the other boys' warmth and liveliness. He yearned for it, yet in that dark solitude it felt farther away than ever. He didn't even have his brother's voice, telling him that everything would be fine, that they would be safe and that in the end he would beat up the colonel until the other was black and blue.

Al internally chuckled at the last thought, imagining how a scene like that would turn out. After a moment he stopped and continued to sit in silence. He waited and waited, expecting to see his brother come through those doors, haughty as ever. But nothing happened; he didn't see any sign of the other boys wide grin or of the siblings sun golden hair. Nothing interrupted the surrounding darkness.

Al trembled and began sobbing; at that point he no longer cared that he couldn't physically cry. His emotions were so taut they couldn't be suppressed and so he released them vocalizing what he could not physically do. Crying out louder than ever, hoping his brother would hear him and that they would once again be together, just so Al could know that the other boy was still alive, still breathing and with him.

"You idiot!" Al screamed clenching his hands into fists. He struggled; annoyed that he couldn't get out. After a while he laid against the wall once again limp. He had no idea how he would react if he found out that his brother had died. If anything he would probably do whatever he could to be with his sibling. He shuddered as his mind supplied images of blood-soaked floors, twisted monsters and gasping bones.

"Nina… Mom…" the young boy whimpered, sounding younger than ever in the unforgiving body he now held.

"Please…" his voice shook, releasing all the pent up emotions he could not show, "Please, be okay… please… don't die… brother!"

Ed woke with a start and then gasped clutching his stomach. Everything screamed, even down to the individual molecules in his hair. He moaned trying to relax, his mind too pre-occupied to wonder where he was.

"Al…" Ed whispered hoarsely, his ears still ringing from earlier. After a while the pain began to dull and he was allowed some semblance of thought. 'Wha… What happened?' Ed thought closing his eyes to suppress his headache. After another moment he opened them, 'Where am I?' he thought, forcing himself to sit up. He blinked looking around at his surroundings. It was another one of those rooms, the only thing there was a bed, which he was sitting on. He heard a whimper and looked over. With a start he stared at the thing in front of him, at the end of the bed. It was the same thing from earlier, the black dog/child. The two stared at each other. Ed felt his hair stand up at the back of his neck and felt his ears twitch… wait twitch?

Ed shot his hands up to feel his ears… only to find that they were not there.

'What the hell!' Ed thought, feeling around his head where his ears were supposed to be. He started shaking as he reached up and brushed against… fur. The boy froze in his ministrations in horror. 'no…no fucking way…' Ed thought, gingerly reaching for the fur again. Carefully he moved up his hair, letting it bunch up under his slender fingers, subconsciously noticing that he no longer had the bandage around his head. Nervously he reached the top and stopped. Beneath his fingers was soft, fluffy hair, contrasting with the matted golden hair collapsing around his shoulders. The two… things, since he couldn't readily call them ears yet, were as flat as they could go on his head, almost vanishing into the gold. He touched it carefully, unable to really stop himself. He shivered as he accidently scratched the back of one ear. The action caused him to wrench his hands away. Glancing down at his hands his eyes widened. He tightly clenched his fists, trembling with suppressed emotions. A moment later he froze again, feeling a movement in his leather pants. He looked down, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was. He reached down and slowly undid his pants, letting the thing pop out. The boy stared in continuing horror and reached forward cautiously. 'This… has got to be a nightmare.' He thought, it moved away from his hand circling behind his back. He stared after it, then slowly reached back to pet the long thing.

After a moment he paused then shrieked, though he would later say that it had been the kid who had screamed, "Why the fuck do I have a tail?!"

The tail was curled in on itself, as if hiding. It was long, thin and a beautiful ebony black. He reached forward once more, touching it gingerly. He shivered, feeling a chill run up his spine, but he didn't stop. He examined it, noticing the graceful way it curled and feeling the softness of the down; hidden amongst the coarse outer hair, which was stiff, physically embodying the emotions, he would rather keep hidden. He breathed in and out, trying to calm down, his heart fluttered in fear and his stomach churned with a mixture of ravenous hunger and confusion. He took in a breath, held it and then slowly, steadily breathed out through his nose, calming his body until he could think rationally. The pain from before was still there, but since he was so preoccupied with what was going on with his body he just ignored it.

"Why… do I have a cat tail… and ears?..." Ed paused and blinked then let his eyes widen to the size of disks. He wrapped his metal and flesh arm tightly around him as if to protect himself from whatever was there, the tail coiling around him as well. "What?! Why do I sound like a freaken girl?!" He exclaimed, His voice had gone up in pitch, matching a young cat's screech… it was a little more pleasant sounding though.

"Mister… you okay?" Ed blinked and looked over to see the thing from earlier. He noticed the nervous and edgy look on the boy's face. Ed pursed his lips and, once again, forced himself to calm down.

"Yeah…" he stated simply then, remembering he had unzipped his pants to let the tail out, quickly closed it up, forcing down a blush that was trying to creep onto his face. "So… are you okay? We, my brother and I, heard a scream earlier… It sounded like you…"

"Yes… fine…" Ed's eyes saddened as he watched the child tilt it's head in thought, the words coming out were slow and monotone. He tightened his fist, smashing it into the bed and looked down. He breathed in and out then looked up.

"…I'm sorry…" The boy tilted his head, confusion evident on his face. The look pained him and yet, at the same time, pissed him off.

"What type of sadistic, depraved, and inhumane psycho would turn a young kid into… this?!" Ed looked on sadly; recent, painful memories passed by causing him to grit his teeth. His body shook as he closed his eyes, trying to throw up a poker face.

"Mom… Al… Nina…"

They stayed like that for a while, Ed opening his eyes to stare at the wall and the thing looking at him. A while later he turned to the boy, a question evident on his face.

"What's your name?"

"Name?... Fluffy…" Ed blinked and raised an eyebrow. A moment later he frowned remembering when they had first seen the maniac… he had called the thing 'fluffy' then…

"How annoyingly cruel." Ed muttered, anger seeping into his voice. He felt his tail swish back and forth, as if in agreement.

"So is there a reason why we're in here?"

The thing looked at him for a moment then looked towards the doorway.

"Master said you need a check-up… will be back in a minute." Ed nodded, grinning. He jumped up, out of bed and then fell, catching himself with his hands. Ed blinked… then blinked again, letting his mind rephrase the sentence into- hand. His automail hand was on the floor, keeping him stable; yet his flesh hand, which was slenderer then he remembered, was a half an inch off the ground. He pushed back and looked down at his legs. He closed his eyes, breathed, counted to ten and opened them. He repeated the process a moment later. After the third time through he knew it wasn't his imagination. He reached down and poked his flesh leg, hoping that that would cause something to happen… it didn't. Ed fell to the side, mentally cursing and crying.

"Dammit! I finally grow a few inches, just to freaken lose them! What the heck!" Ed whined, throwing a tantrum that would make a baby cover their eyes in embarrassment. After a few moments he sighed, calming down as best he could. "Okay… let's see what other surprises I have." He muttered, and felt around. After a while the only other thing he noticed, much to his annoyance, was that his teeth were sharp, and fang-like… yet relatively short. 'Well, I guess food is going to be interesting to eat from now on…' Ed thought with a sigh. Once again he tried to stand up, this time aware of the size difference.

'ugh… and I just got Winry to fix these! How am I going to explain to her that I need new ones, without explaining why?!' Ed sighed again as he hobbled forward. He was grateful that his pants still fit fine, even if there were a little on the looser side. His shirt and jacket were the same, a little looser then he would prefer but he didn't complain. Clothes were clothes and if they fit they worked.

The thing watched him in contemplative silence.

Ed touched the door knob, feeling it carefully to see if it would turn. He stopped, his ears twitching. He could hear something faint in the distance, but he wasn't sure what, he felt his sense's heighten and he glanced around, eyes narrowing. A moment later he jumped back landing with, almost, all fours on the bed. Realizing his position he quickly pushed himself back so he was sitting cross-legged just as the door opened.

"Ah! You're awake! I'm a little surprised, I didn't expect you to be amongst the living so soon." Ed glared, growling at the man in front of him. He wanted to leap forward; to charge at the man and punch him like there was no tomorrow. However he stopped, knowing that, if he did, there would be no way of knowing about Al's safety. The boy pursed his lips and turned the glare into a frown.

"What the hell did you do to me; I hope it's not what I think it is." Ed stated sharply, crossing his hands over his chest. His tail curled into his back and his ears sat firmly against his skull.

"Exquisite… I can't believe a specimen came out so beautifully. I will have to thank them when I get the chance! Everything is perfect, a small body, feminine-like voice, and cat features… oh… you asked me a question?... Sorry, I was quite distracted by my work of art, while fluffy is pretty, you are gorgeous." The man grinned. Coming out of anyone else's mouth, the last line would have made the boy blush slightly, not sure whether to feel angry or happy. However coming out of his, it just pissed him off even more, and to top it off… the bastard had said the devil's word.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY THAT HE CAN EVEN FIT THROUGH A CRACK IN THE CEMENT YOU ASSHOLE!" Ed screamed, leaping forward. Before he could do any damage the dog like thing jumped in the way and snarled, stopping Ed in his path. The boy crinkled his nose in annoyance and frustration. After a moment of competing in a three way staring contest the man smiled.

"Well, feisty as ever, I guess you don't need the painkillers… however I still have a few things I'll need to check." He walked forward, followed by 'Charles' causing Ed to move backwards until his back and tail were against the headboard of the bed.

"What do you need to check?" Ed glowered, trying to avoid the two; he knew he wasn't going to get any help from the… dog, so he watched out by himself.

"To see if there are any abnormalities now that you have slept for a while, I mean, I can't have you dying because of an aneurism or something, now can I?" Ed pursed his lip. He didn't like to admit it… but he had no idea what the effects of the transmutation could be… so it might be better just to get examined, he wasn't exactly ready to die, at least not before getting Al's body back. Against his better judgment, he relaxed, letting them do the checkup.

"Good boy." Ed bristled at the insinuation then breathed out, trying to ignore it. If he made a sound at this point, it would only cause more pain, and while he was starting to get used to the previous burning, he didn't think his body could handle any new problems. 'Charles' forced him to lie down while the man took off Ed's shirt, examining the skin. He shivered, wanting desperately to get out of there. He hated doctors' offices, yet this man, who had made him into… whatever he was, was checking his body just like one… it just made everything ten times worse. Ed bit his lip, trying to ignore how uncomfortable it was; after a few moments of the men checking his bodily functions, heart and other physical systems, the men relinquished their hold on him.

Ed couldn't remember ever changing so fast in his life.

He glared as the man chuckled. "Yes, quite exquisite indeed, it looks like everything checks out, other than some lingering pain. You're in perfect condition." The man grinned, placing both hands nonchalantly behind his back. Ed pursed his lips, trying to put on a poker face, but his additional features betrayed him. His tail stuck out, the hair looking fluffed up, while his ears twitched in an annoyed fashion. The man's smile widened. A moment later he turned.

"Hey, fluffy? Can you get that Red coat from before? You know… the one we threw next to you? We have to talk with your younger brother for a moment."

"Younger?!" Ed started, confusion flashing across his face, until understanding dawned and he resumed his poker face from before.

"So… I really am one of… those…"

"Hm?... Ah yes, you are one of my beautiful creations, A chimera. It took ages, but I have finally completed it and now I don't have to worry!" The man's grin caused his face to split as he practically sang the end. A moment later he calmed down and looked in the boys eyes; Charming Azure Blue examined the Defensive Regal Gold, causing the young boy to feel highly uncomfortable. He wanted to turn away, but his pride would not let him. It was a match and he was going to win. A moment later he did as the man turned away to look towards the doorway. Ed glanced over as well to see that the… dog, had returned; on his back was the boys signature red coat. Ed blinked then looked back at the man.

"Would you mind explaining what the heck is going on?!" Ed stated, voice remaining calm even though his posture was tense and agitated.

"I would love to but…" The man shrugged with a grin. "I can't end it that easily. Not only that, but, according to certain… orders… I am not allowed to reveal anything." Ed pursed his lip; trying his best to keep his face neutral… it wasn't easy.

"Whose orders." Ed asked simply, hoping to get even just a little information out of the other.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I can't be saying that now can I?"

"Is it someone I kno-"

The man's smile disappeared, once again to be replaced by a menacing scowl. "If you want to leave here alive, I would suggest that you Shut Up." He didn't shout it, but it was said in such a way that it sounded even more dangerous. Ed gulped as his tail whipped back and forth in agitation, parallel to the floor. His ears twitched and laid flat on his head.

The man did another 180 and smiled lightly reaching down for the coat and petting the dog in the process. Ed internally let out a sigh.

"Well then. Here is your coat. You are free to go whenever you want." Ed blinked catching the coat a moment before it hit the floor. He held it closely watching as the two men left along with the dog. Ed let out a verbal sigh and shook his head.

"When I want to escape I have to fight a freaken army of gorilla's, when I want answers I'm supposed to escape… where is the stupid logic in that?!" Ed whined, annoyed. The young boy took the coat and slipped it over his, now slender, shoulders. He suddenly felt the need to cry as he realized how long it was now that he had… shrunk. Ed ripped the jacket off and threw it on the ground. He clapped his hands together and put his palms right onto the fabric. After a flash of blue light he pulled back, examining his handy work. He slipped it back on and, remembering at the last moment, slipped his tail into his pants. He pulled his golden hair out of the coat and then thought better of it. He slipped it back underneath and pulled the hood up with a sharp tug.

"Well… if this isn't odd… how the heck am I going to explain this to Al and… the bastard colonel…?" Ed sighed again and decided to do what he does best. Go with the flow.

He left; looking both ways to make sure it wasn't a trap. Once he was sure he walked forward, limping in the process. 'I'm really going to have to have Winry fix that automail…' Ed thought, hoping that his clumsiness from the morning wouldn't come back, now that he had a legitimate reason to BE clumsy.

He hobbled along, trying to figure out where he was. After a couple of turns he finally made it to a place he recognized. His steps lightened as he raced forward.

Passing door after door, he finally arrived at the one he wanted. With a wrench he pulled the door open to see Al sitting against the wall.

"Al! Al, are you alright? They didn't hurt you did they? You're all in one piece right?" Ed asked scrambling up to the suit of armor. The armor turned.

"Brother?... Brother is that you! Why do you have your hood on?!"

"So they didn't hurt you? You're intact?" Ed stated, countering the question with another. Moving swiftly next to his brother's side, he kneeled down, carefully checking the armor as Al responded.

"Brother… I should be asking you that… I heard you screaming… I was so sure you were dead… you are alive right?"

"Al… you really have read too many fantasy stories. If I was dead you wouldn't be able to see me know would you? Come on, let's get out of here." Ed grinned; he stopped scrutinizing the other, finally satisfied about the fact that Al was fine. He clapped his hands together and placed them onto the chains. A second later Al twisted, causing the now brittle metal to shatter. The suit of armor stood up looking at his brother.

"Are you sure you're okay?..." Al asked, looking the other boy over.

Ed just smiled softly, saying, "I'm fine… I will be fine you don't have to worry. So let's just… get out of here, okay?"

After a moment Al turned to the doorway, away from his brother, "And how do you suggest we get out of here? We went past the entrance and found nothing on the other side…"

"Let's go back to the entrance… I have a feeling we'll be able to use that this time." Ed grinned, doing a mock alchemic process to prove his point.

Al looked at him for a second in what resembled a raised eyebrow. Ed shrugged and turned to the doorway.

"Come on let's go." Ed stated, leaving the doorway. Now that he knew his brother was safe he was all too ready to leave. While it's true he wanted answers, he knew there was no way he was going to get them now. The man in question was probably long gone. He had noticed that, while he was running to find Al, all the rooms were empty; there were no longer papers or any personal affects at all, if anything it looked like it was abandoned. Ed shook his head, carefully. It was odd keeping a hood up after having it down for so long.

They ran, once again following the path they had memorized before. As they moved the electricity started to dissipate until it was completely off. Luckily by that point, just as Edward had guessed, the entrance was wide open; the slide clearly visible. A faint light filtered down from the top, being the only thing that illuminated the area.

"See? Didn't I tell you?" Ed grinned glancing at his brother. Al looked at him for a second then looked forward.

"Brother…"

Ed turned his head, holding Al's soulfire eyes with his gold. The hood was still up, shading half of his face in a dark wash of gray. "Al… I'm fine, I'm just glad that we can finally leave, that's all." The boy turned once again to the slide and pressed his hands together. A moment later he reached out, lightly touching the metal of the slide, in its place was a set of stairs, leading up to the top. He stepped up; quickly followed by Al.

Arriving at the top they walked out of the house to find that the moon rising. It was a mostly full moon and it shone down on the ground casting a light silvery glow over the surrounding area. Ed took a deep breath of fresh air and collapsed on his back. His body was strained from the awkward running and the lingering pain from earlier, not to mention that he was starving and was in need of sleep.

"Brother… how are you going to write the report?... It looks like that place was officially abandoned…" Al asked, sitting next to the boy. He looked down on him while Ed glanced back at him; Golden eyes, poking through the red cloth, glowed with the soft light of the moon.

"I'll figure it out… I always do…" Ed stated. After a few more moments of silence he stood up. Wiping himself down as he turned to Al. "Come on, I think we should get something to eat." Al glanced at the boy, and nodded.

Ed nodded back, smiling warmly at his younger brother then he spun around, facing the city. "Then, let's go!"

Chapter four: completed (like a month ago... but lets not go there).

Ah! Yes! Someone fears my chainsaw! Muhahaha!

Anyways onto the more sensical part.

Please review! (If not I will take the chainsaw back out and track you down. *insane smile*) (okay... maybe not so sensical... .'...)