With our heroes heading to Liore, homonculi await them! What will befall our heroes?
(Sorry, went into Pokemon opening scene mode...Love that mode)
-----------------
Ed peeked out the train window, obviously worried. Al had relayed what Roy had explained to him about a military filter, but they'd been sure they could slip past a few guards.
Things weren't looking so easy now. As soon as the train stopped, both brothers would be face to face with at least fifty armed men doing extensive luggage searches and questioning. At first, Ed and Al had decided that Al would have to be the one to go first because Ed was an easily recognizable and well-known State Alchemist, but now both brothers were worried about the discovery of Al's body-or lack thereof. They were also too close to the station now for either of them to jump off the train without being seen.
"Al...? If I told you to ride on ahead to the next town and wait for a message from me there, would you? With my hood up, I might be able to blend in with the crowd somehow and get in, but your body is so big and loud...I'm sorry Al."
"Don't get depressed right now, Ed. I see your point, but how would you get a message to me? If we could communicate reliably I'd be willing but as it is, I won't leave you."
"Good boy, Alphonse. Don't leave your brother, because he's not leaving this train-car until we get all the way back to Central."
Both brothers jumped at the voice behind them. Havoc and Roy were standing behind them in the aisle, neither looking particularly happy. Ed's eyes widened in shock and his survival instincts took over. A little warped from the usual over years of dealing with the military, they still gave him instantaneous decisiveness.
"Al, wait in Central, I'll call HQ!" Ed shattered the window with his automail arm, ignoring the glass shards that punched all the way through his cheek. Roy and Havoc both lunged for him, but Al blocked them. When Ed went into survival mode and gave orders, Al jumped to the instructions out of habit. Ed went rolling and tumbling into the dirt. He considered staying still for a moment and assessing his battered body, but decided he didn't have time. Hauling himself to his feet he took of running toward the station. He had to get into Liore. Al could take care of Roy and Havoc.
Bullets began smattering the sand nearby and Ed tripped, rolling to avoid the assault. He really had been too close to jump. The military was onto him already. This time he felt his ankle give, something snapping. Pain flared near the place he'd felt snap and he knew if he took any more damage, he wouldn't be able to fight. He slowly sat up, suddenly aware of the quickly approaching footsteps. Sitting up, he saw three military officers closing in around him, their rifles pointed down at him. Ed eyed them carefully, keeping the tension taut between the soldiers and himself. Watching them carefully and trying to calculate their next movements, he suddenly recognized a pair of deep, violent purple eyes.
"Envy!" Ed jumped to his feet, his newly sprained ankle collapsing under him and sending him tilting forward into the kick Envy sent to his face. The homonculus' foot connected with the glass in Ed's cheek and he inspected his foot carefully.
"Where did you get that, Brat? It needs to be taken out before it gets infected." Envy looked to the other soldiers. To the one on his left, he said "Report to the Colonel. Tell him we've captured a State Alchemist. trying to sneak in. The Lt. and I will take him in for interrogation."
"Yes, Sir!" The man saluted and Ed suddenly realized that the third soldier was a woman, her hair up under her cap. Noticing the extreme bulge of her breasts and hips, he snarled.
"Lust."
"That's right, boy. Like Envy said, we'll be taking you in for interrogation now. It would be smart to cooperate."
Ed opened his mouth and clapped his hands, but Lust let her spears fly, slicing Ed's upper ribs on either side of his chest. The cuts weren't deep, only a warning, but they hurt and they bled. Envy kicked him again, this time in the throat and then dove forward like a bird swooping to grab Ed's hands and wrench them behind his back. Ed grit his teeth despite the glass, unable to relieve the painful pressure on his arms. Envy grinned and Ed saw red. The homonculus raised his eyebrows at the bloodlust on the alchemist's face just before Ed leaned forward and bit Envy's stomach, the only way he could think of fighting. He clamped down and Envy screamed, jumping back.
"I can't believe you just did that, you pest! You're about to regret it." Envy kicked him in the face again and pain flooded Ed's entire head and face. It dulled his hearing, his whole head throbbing intensely.
"Now. Tell us why you came here, boy." Lust said smoothly as she flicked her spears around in the air.
Envy grinned. "Tell us or else." He threatened.
"Like I'd ever tell you." Ed replied. Envy began kicking him, a brutal series of punishing strikes to the boy's body. Ribs, stomach, shoulders, collarbone, chest and other side. Waiting a moment for an answer, Envy caught a look at Ed's face. The boy was in pain, but he wasn't caving. Envy shifted from his light-haired soldier's guise into a perfect copy of Roy Mustang. Ed sat up quickly, foolishly giving Envy a strong reaction. Envy delivered another series of brutal blows, leaving Ed curled up in the dust. It hurt so much, dammit. He couldn't even stand because of his ankle and the military boots Roy wore were doing serious damage. Envy leaned down to grab Ed's shirt collar, forcing the boy to face Roy's face. As he held Edward, he prevented the boy's use of alchemy by punching his left upper arm repeatedly. With strength like Envy's, each blow produced a cringe-worthy crack and Ed turned his shoulder to protect his more vulnerable limb. Bringing his right hand up to punch Envy in the head only pissed the homonculus off even more and he punched Ed's stomach, torturing him with a blow too light to knock him unconscious. Ed's mind fled him, leaving him with only a wish to survive as far as thoughts were concerned. Envy continued to punish Ed's entire body while forcing him to meet his gaze until Ed's expression changed from angry panic to fear. Envy wasn't going for vital points, he was beating Ed's body all over, inflicting damage to his whole torso in such a way as to put the boy out of commission for quite a bit longer than just knocking him out with one strike would. The blond tried to scoot backward, unable to stand and shaky from Envy's blows. Envy sneered and raised his leg, ready to kick. Flames engulfed Lust, just behind the two and sent Envy off-balance, toppling forward into Ed. The boy rolled away to the sound of gunshots and saw his little brother running toward him, Roy and Jean standing about a hundred yards away, only fifty yards from the station platform. Roy raised his gloved hand toward Lust, a focused expression engraved on his fine features. Lust's spears flew at Ed and before he could move, trapped the boy against the sand.
"Snap and I'll slice him into four pieces." She chuckled loudly. Roy's hand fell.
"NO!" He raced toward Envy who was approaching the pinned boy. He'd never make it in time. A hundred yards for him, but only two steps for Envy lay between him and Ed.
The boy swung his automail arm against Lust's spear, making a screeching noise. Slamming his arm-blade down, he lopped off a foot from its end. She screamed, retracting the spears and Ed knew a momentary feeling of victory, smashed by Envy's kick to the jaw. The whole scene in front of Ed warped, making Envy look even closer than he was, while Roy seemed miles away. Havoc was frozen in panic and Al was tangling with Lust. Roy was still running toward him and there were military personnel shooting at them from the platform.
"Runt." Envy leaned down and Ed could hear him smiling. "In another ten seconds, that Colonel you've taken such a liking to will be right here where I can beat the both of you at the same time. Spare him and your little brother: Cooperate and let me take you into Liore."
"Give me one reason to trust you." Ed snapped. Envy, instead of answering, whirled and kicked Roy in the chest, sending him flying onto his back. In the background, Ed saw Al be thrown backward by Lust as Havoc shot back at the soldiers in the station, obviously flustered and outmanned. A bullet grazed the back of Envy's leg, but the green-haired homonculus payed it no mind.
"I'll carry you in, those three will get back on the train, and I'll take you into Liore. I'll e ven tell you what's been going on here since you came and interrupted our plans." Envy's voice was merciless, even as he was offering a deal. He suddenly turned and grabbed Roy's hand, arresting a snapping motion and grabbing Roy's throat with his other hand. He squeezed and Roy's eyes widened.
"No! Don't hurt him!" Ed shot to his feet, balancing precariously with all his weight on his left leg.
"Do we have a deal?" Envy sneered.
"Yes!"
Envy turned, dropping Roy and then slamming his knee deep into Edward's stomach. Ed went stiff and fell forward, allowing Envy to sling him over one bony shoulder. Roy's eyes widened as he sat on the ground holding his throat. As Envy stalked past, Ed looked Roy sadly in the eye.
"I'm OK, Roy."
The colonel was too shocked by Ed's regretful reassurance to react until Envy turned back to look at him.
"Get back on the train. Don't make the little guy's sacrifice completely insignificant. You too, Tin Man. And tell the smoker to quit yappin' and go home too.
"Brother!"
Lust sliced off Al's legs below the knee and calmly followed Envy as the palm-tree haired homonculus shifted back into his military man guise. At a word from Envy, the men in the platform stopped shooting at Jean and ran down into the sandy plain to escort three shocked men back onto the train. Havoc and Roy could deal with the situation. Roy was a natural strategist and Jean was used to remaining calm in times of chaos and pain. But Al was not one to stay calm while being carried away from his injured brother and leaving him to die or be tortured or whatever the homonculi wanted to do to him. The younger brother screamed, over and over again, the sounds never seeming to reach the still boy on Envy's shoulder. But then again, maybe they were reaching. While Envy stood on the platform for a moment to wave Alphonse goodbye, Ed suddenly slid off Envy's shoulder, his still right fist smashing his face in in such a gory way Havoc actually vomited. Envy turned to Ed, crazed and rabid bloodlust on his newly reforming face, but Ed kicked him, sending Envy against the brick wall of the station's shelter. He pounded Envy's face and stomach alternately wit his automail hand.
As his eyes popped back out into place for the fourth time, Envy realized Ed was crying, the tears flying out into the air instead of trailing down his cheeks, he was punching so hard.
Roy snapped his fingers, engulfing Lust and accidentally scaring Ed, who jumped sideways. The boy received Envy's kick to his ribs with a choked groan and then punched the homonculus' face again. Changing his target to Envy's heart and ribcage, easily fractured by automail, Ed started to scream.
"What happened to Cornello!"
"I killed him and pretended to be him!" Envy screeched, as if it were an attack of some kind. Ed kicked his shin with his automail, collapsing onto Envy's rising knee and getting the wind knocked out of him. He punched Envy in the stomach as he pushed away and screamed again.
"What are you going to do in Liore!"
"WE'LL USE THOSE RELIGIOUS FANATICS AS SACRIFICES TO MAKE PHILOSOPHER'S STONES!!!!" Envy cried.
"ENVY!" Lust reprimanded. Roy snapped his fingers again and this time the boy jumped, he clapped his hands, impaling Envy on a new arm-blade. Tripping and rolling down a step to the train door, Ed hauled himself up and stumbled into it, Al, Havoc and Roy following him in. Roy picked him up and began to follow Havoc as they ran to the next car in fear of homonculi, but he couldn't keep up and Jean commanded his commanding officer to transfer Ed onto Havoc's back. Ed clung weakly to Jean as they shot down the length of the train, settling to hide in a car full of sheep and goats and wooden boxes until, only a moment later, the train began to move.
"Perfect timing." Roy sighed.
Technically stow-aways, they couldn't safely retreat to any passenger cars, and had to make due with a car containing straw and hay.
----------------
My shoulder is cramping after typing this whole thing up, so I hope you all liked it!
R&R o kudasai!!