Chapter 4

Ed's entire being tensed up at the sound of another man's voice. Of course, he had been expecting to run into somebody after following a strange person through a forest and into this dead-end basement, but that little preparation wasn't enough to ease his nerves of coming face-to-face with somebody who, presumably, wouldn't hesitate for even a second to kill him. To make matters worse, the shadow of a person in front of him seemed to know exactly who Ed was, at least by face. His voice was clear and collected, as if he knew he would be in this situation and had rehearsed his lines a few times beforehand.

Which left Ed at a large disadvantage. He stood silent, fumbling over words in his mind as he tried to think of something coherent to say. This proved to be too large a task for Ed, and he decided instead to quickly observe his surrounds in an attempt to clear his mind and refocus on the task at hand. On the other side of the thick, metal door, Ed and Al had entered a large, one-room basement that was almost completely bare. The room was very dimly lit by a small candle that was fixed right next to the metal door, so much of the room was covered in darkness, including the man who was standing on the other side of the room. His features were almost completely covered in a black silhouette, leaving everything about him in shadows except for his green, piercing eyes that were directed in Ed and Al's direction.

"I guess it was too much to hope that you would leave me be." The man continued in the absence of an answer from Ed or Al. "I have no intention of fighting you, so I will ask nicely – please leave this place."

With the help of the lamp he was holding, Ed's eyes had finally adjusted enough to the darkness of this underground cellar that he began to note several of the man's features. He appeared to be a few years older that Ed, and of average height. And even in the dim light, his facial feature looked strangely familiar. "Wait, I've seen you before." Ed muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "You were in that photograph up in the bedroom, right?"

"You sound surprised." The man said calmly. "You shouldn't be. This is my house, after all."

Ed silently cursed his stupidity in his thoughts. It would only make sense that the man had returned to his house, not that this deduction really had anything to do with the situation at hand, anyway. "That isn't all, Ed." Al said quietly, drawing Ed from his thoughts. "This man, I think he was the other customer in the tavern last night."

Ed gasped as he quickly put together the dots. Yes, Al was right, this was indeed that same man. Ed hadn't recognized him since he was wearing a trench coat and a large hat yesterday, but he could see it now. He was the man sitting at the counter and drinking when they had checked into the inn the previous night. The bartender had called him by name and Ed racked his mind trying to remember that name – Victor, was it? Yes, that was it.

"You, Victor, what's going on here?" Ed asked quietly. He tried to keep his tone calm and non-confrontational, even though it seemed as if a battle was inevitably what lied ahead. "Do you work for the mercenary group?"

"You're really far behind." The man named Victor said condescendingly. "Let me fill you in. The mercenary group is no more."

"What?" Ed asked, feeling confused. "But...but the town still pays them off. You took that money."

"That's right." Victor said with a smile. "With the mercenaries gone, I stepped in to take their place."

"You..." Ed repeated, his eyes growing wide as he tried to assess the situation.

The town thought the mercenaries were still alive but if they weren't, it would be very easy for a third party to step in and collect a vast sum of money, without the town ever knowing. It seemed unbelievable that the town had grown so terrified that they didn't even realize the mercenaries were no more. But it was possible, as the mercenaries didn't show themselves to the town at all after the initial takeover. The only string that connected the two entities together was the mining cart, and the town wouldn't have noticed any differences if the cart suddenly changed owners. And that, it would appear, was exactly what Victor had done.

After a second of thought, Ed's eyes narrowed in disgust and he roared, "Why? Why would you prolong this town's misery?"

"I'm not doing anything wrong." Victor replied innocently. "If that idiotic town is going to keep lying all that gold around, I'm going to keep collecting it."

"You...you're using their fear against them!" Ed hollered. "They keep paying you because they think the threat still exists!"

Before Victor had a chance to reply, Al spoke up in a quiet but penetrating voice, "Ed, look behind him."

Ed had been so focused on Victor that he had yet to gather his surroundings thoroughly. The cellar was so bare that it looked like it could be a prison room. It was a simple room with gray, stone walls and no decorations apart from a desk and large safe in the corner of the room. But Ed did as he was told, and looked at the opposite side of the room. The unconscious form of a young girl with long, blonde hair was chained against the back wall, her pure-white clothing conflicting brilliantly with the black shackles around her wrists and ankles. Ed's heart stopped for a moment as he gazed upon the girl's unmoving form. Her head was drooping forward in an awkward position and nothing about her gave any indication of life.

"Winry!" Ed shouted desperately, and he instinctively jumped into a sprint towards her. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he prayed in his mind, Don't be dead, please don't be dead...

"Don't come any closer." Victor demanded in a cold voice, and Ed stopped in his tracks before he had even taken two steps.

Ed compiled with the demand but he was not happy with it. "What have you done to her?" He roared.

"She's fine but I can't allow you to take her." Victor said quietly. "She's essential to my goals."

"What are you planning?" Ed said with a frown.

"I can't tell you that." Victor replied simply.

"Then you better be prepared to fight!" Ed hollered, lowering his center of gravity and preparing himself to pounce at a second's notice, should the need arise.

"If you insist." Victor said calmly with a shrug. He then pulled out a sword which he had concealed under his robe and held it out in front of him, ready to strike.

Ed grinned, and clapped his hands together, creating a blade out of his automail arm. Instantly, Ed leapt into battle, swinging his blade maniacally at his adversary. Victor deflected all of the strikes with his own sword, and once he got an opening of his own, he landed a solid kick to Ed's gut. Ed stumbled back a few paces from the force of the blow, feeling out of breath.

Victor was a novice at alchemy, if the fake wall to this basement was any indication, but his ability with a blade was not something to be overlooked. He wielded his sword with the skill of a trained warrior, and he was light on his feet. He was very passive, casually blocking or evading his opponent's attacks until he found an opportune time to strike. He was an experienced duelist, and would be no easy adversary.

Al jumped into the fight when Ed was knocked back, using alchemy on the stone floor of the room to fire spikes at Victor. Victor jumped out of the way of all of them and used some alchemy of his own to fire some rocks back at Al, who managed to dodge out of the way just in time.

While Victor was distracted with Al, Ed jumped back into the fray, aiming another slash at Victor. The slash only found metal, as Victor reacted in time to deflect the slash, leaving their blades crossed together in a stalemate. "Al!" Ed shouted as he tried to push Victor back, without any success. "Take Winry and get out of here!"

Al was stunned by the suggestion, and perhaps a little angry. "But..." He began to say.

"Do it, Al!" Ed demanded, the rage growing in his voice. "I'll take care of Victor."

Al hesitated for a moment longer before conceding, saying, "As you wish." He then quickly turned around and rushed over to Winry's unconscious body.

"No you don't!" Victor hollered, shoving Ed off of him and running at Al. "I need her!"

Before Victor could reach Al, Ed jumped at Victor and tackled him to the ground. Ed quickly got to his feet and waited for Victor to do the same. "Fine!" Victor yelled, growing frustrated and glaring at Ed. "I'll deal with you first, but once I'm done, I'm coming back for you, tin-man."

Slowly, Ed walked in a circle around Victor and Victor did the same. They were simply looking at each other as Al broke the cuffs around Winry's wrists and carried her out of the room. It seemed as though Victor cared just as much for her safety as Ed did, for neither of the two dared taking shots at one another while she was still in harm's way.

As soon as Al disappeared up the staircase, Ed jumped back into action. Using alchemy this time, Ed fired a line a spikes that rose up through the ground towards Victor. The spikes didn't hit their intended target, but they still managed to make solid contact with Victor's leg because he was a little late reacting. It didn't draw blood, but Victor was clearly affected by it for he crunched over in pain and held the bruise for a moment.

Ed didn't advance on him, and when Victor looked up, his face was full of anger. What Victor lacked in knowledge of alchemy he made up for in raw strength and power of will. He growled and lunged at Ed, aiming dozens of slashes with his sword at Ed, who managed to deflect them all with his own blade. Growing more desperate, Victor crouched down and spun his right leg around, sweeping Ed off of his feet. With Ed flat on his back, Victor raised his sword high and aimed a downward thrust right for Ed's heart. Ed quickly rolled out of the way and the sword plunged into the stone ground, but not before it partially cut through the outside of Ed's real shoulder, leaving a long gash.

Ed cried out in pain and clutched at his shoulder, which was oozing a lot of blood. The cut wasn't very deep but it spanned nearly the entire length of his shoulder, and it hurt like hell. Victor was smirking at Ed, thinking he had already won. "Now, to deal with the metal one." Victor said confidently.

Ed tried to move his real left arm but it was useless, the pain was just unbearable. His vision was growing slightly blurry due to his wound oozing a lot of blood, but all the while, he kept Victor's arrogant form narrowed in his sights. With no other options, Ed clenched his jaw in pain and rage and charged at Victor with his automail blade extended out in front of him, catching Victor completely off-guard. Victor just barely managed to shrug off the attack by Ed but he stumbled back as a result, and was vulnerable. Ed seized his chance, kicking at Victor's sword arm and forcing his sword to fly out of his hands. And, with Victor still in complete shock, Ed spun around and aimed a backhanded slash with his own blade, slicing a small, thin cut into Victor's thigh.

Victor cried out in pain and fell to his back, his wounded leg unable to hold his weight any longer. Ed was careful to perform a crippling blow to his adversary rather than a fatal wound, and there was no doubt that Victor would survive his injury, but the fight was won nonetheless. Victor could no longer fight in his condition. Ed slowly walked over and kicked Victor's sword away, just to be sure he couldn't reach it, then knelt down in front of his fallen opponent.

"You will not terrorize the people of that town any longer!" Ed commanded, to which Victor simply whined in pain. Ed, seeing no other reply coming, asked, "What were you planning on doing with Winry?"

Ed had a crazy expression on his face as he waited for an answer, feeling an odd combination of anger, vengeance and regret. He held his blade arm inches away from Victor's exposed neck, knowing how easy it would be to end his life with a simple thrust. He didn't act on that urge, but instead shouted, "Answer me!"

To Ed's surprise, Victor let out a sob, and it clearly wasn't a sob of pain. His eyes were misty as he stuttered, "That...that is what I want."

"What are you talking about?" Ed asked with a frown. He relaxed his sword arm and drew it away from Victor, sensing no more danger from his defeated enemy,

Victor didn't answer the question. Instead, he gazed off somewhere beyond Ed's shoulder, his eyes glossed over and fading into and out of focus. The corners of his mouth bent into what appeared to be a small smile, but what he could be happy about, Ed had no idea. A single tear rolled down his cheek and anyone with half a brain could tell that it wasn't a tear of pain. Victor was crying tears of happiness, or perhaps love.

With a start, Victor came back to reality from some deep memory, his eyes instantly locking on Ed. "It appears you succeeded...where I failed." Victor said weakly. His voice was quiet and pitiful; it was a voice one would expect from a elderly man's mouth on his deathbed.

Ed was still at a complete loss as to what Victor was talking about. Was the blood loss causing him to become delirious? "What are you talking about?" Ed asked hopefully, but truthfully, he wasn't expecting a solid answer. Victor appeared to be lost inside his own mind.

Again, Victor's eyes drifted over and began to focus on something from another dimension, for there certainly wasn't anything in this reality where Victor was looking. He then said quietly, in a voice that was just barely audible, "I'm so sorry, Anna."

Ed's eyes lit up at the mention of a familiar name. "Anna?" Ed asked quietly. That was the same name as the girl that the general store clerk had mentioned. "You knew Anna?"

"Yes." Victor sputtered, his words becoming more and more coherent with each passing second. "She was mine and I...was hers. But she was taken from me."

Suddenly, the pieces were starting to come together in Ed's mind. Victor and Anna were a couple when she was brutally murdered by the group of mercenaries that used to exist near town. That photo in the bedroom was the two of them together, and they must have lived in this house. But there were still some things were unclear. "Tell me everything that happened since she was killed." Ed demanded, intending to make use of Victor's current literacy, in case he fell back into some delirious state again. "Now."

"She was killed by a group of mercenary thugs." Victor began. "I was broken. After her death...revenge blinded me. I sought out those responsible and I killed them myself."

"You killed the entire band of mercenaries?" Ed asked, astonished. Despite his better judgement, he couldn't help but feel somewhat impressed.

"I thought their deaths would bring me peace, but they only brought more grief." Victor said lightly. The wound that Ed had inflicted on his leg certainly was not fatal, but the loss of blood was beginning to affect Victor, causing his speech to slur. "I knew I could not live without her."

"But what of the other girls who disappeared?" Ed asked. "The town thinks they were also killed by mercenaries, but from what you have said, that can't be true. They were all captured after you killed the mercenaries."

"I..." Victor looked away from Ed in shame. "I took them, as I did your Winry."

"What for?" Ed asked, his temper getting the best of him. He grabbed Victor's robes and roughed him up a bit, saying, "Why would you do that?"

Victor hesitated for a moment before answering, "They were to be...my replacements."

"Replacements?" Ed echoed, a look of deep disgust on his face. "You took them so you could pretend they were Anna?"

"Don't judge me, kid." Victor muttered quietly. "I thought I could teach myself alchemy and use these girls as tributes to bring her back."

"Get over yourself." Ed growled. "She's gone, and she's not coming back. No amount of alchemy is capable of reviving her. Tell me, do you really think Anna would be happy that you're imprisoning all these innocent girls?"

Victor's jaw clenched together. "Don't talk about her like you knew her, you little..."

"Don't call me little!" Ed screamed without even thinking.

The outburst, though completely irrelevant, somehow managed to change Victor's attitude. With a small chuckle, he said lightly, "You know, you kinda sound like her. She was self-conscious of her height, too."

"Can we forget about my height and refocus here?" Ed muttered angrily. "The other girls you captured, what happened to them?"

"Each one of them rejected me." Victor explained calmly. "And if I released them, I couldn't trust them to not rat me out. So I killed them."

Ed's eyes grew wide with shock, then narrowed in anger. "This ends now!" He barked, raising his blade back to Victor's neck. After all he has done – wiping out a entire band of mercenaries, capturing and killing young girls, putting Winry in danger – this man couldn't be allowed to live. The world would surely be a better place without someone like him around. With this justification in mind, Ed gritted his teeth and prepared to make one, final thrust. He could feel the sweat trickle down his brow as his blade inched ever closer to the man's neck. A single thrust was all that it would take. So why was it so hard?

Despite his resolve, Ed couldn't bring himself to do it. During Ed's moment of hesitation, Victor said quietly, "I do not object. Send me back to my beloved."

With that, Victor closed his eyes, waiting for Ed to make the killing blow. But seeing Victor welcome death so freely made the task even harder for Ed, and after a moment, he realized he couldn't do it. "Damn it!" Ed screamed at the top of his lungs, forcing Victor to open up his eyes again. Ed quickly jumped to his feet and used alchemy to return his automail arm back to normal. "I'm going back to the village and telling them what happened here. They won't be paying you from now on so don't bother going back anymore to collect. As for your crimes, it's up to them whether they forgive you or not."

"How can they forgive me if I can't forgive myself?" Victor said with a cough. He struggled to get to his feet and stumbled across the room to where his sword still laid on the ground. Ed held his ground and let Victor grab his sword, feeling slightly confused. Victor's injuries weren't life-threatening but he was clearly in no state to fight. Even with the retrieval of his sword, Victor couldn't hope to have a chance against Ed.

Victor stared at his sword oddly and started waving it around in his arms, as if lost in the moment of some joyful memory. He smiled stupidly – for what, Ed had no idea – then looked back at his opponent. "I can only see one solution to make things right again."

At that moment, Ed realized what Victor planned to do. "No!" Ed screamed, breaking into a sprint toward Victor, but it was too late. Victor grabbed his sword in both of his hands and directed it at himself. He hollered in pain as he thrust the sword deep into his own gut, causing his blood to spill into a pool at his feet. Victor dropped to his knees with a groan, the sword still grotesquely stuck in his body. "I envy you, young one." Victor sputtered, spitting up blood with his words. He then fell forward flat onto his stomach, the force of the impact with the ground causing the sword to drive deeper into his body. A second later, the last breath of life passed from his mouth and he rolled over onto his side, dead.