Chapter 16 : Out of Darkness

Al watched his brother wearily, trying to figure out what he should do. At first this 'mission' had been meant as a relaxing trip for the two so Ed could recover. His brother still needed rest, even if he didn't like it, but was much too stubborn to stay in bed all day. Al, and Mustang as well, both knew this and thus they'd come up with a plan to give Ed a nice, relaxing mission.

Mustang would create a fake mission file with some mentions of strange alchemy, something sure to attract his brothers attention, and Al would make sure to keep Ed 'busy' during their holiday and to make it so he wouldn't suspect anything. The perfect plan.

But as they said, 'the best laid plans of mice and men, often go astray' and with the unexpected, not to mention entirely unwanted, arrival of Envy all Al's carefully crafted plans had flown out the window.

Now, Ed was more tense than ever and Al couldn't say he didn't understand his brother either. The appearance of a homunculus never meant anything good for the brothers and this one in particular had a habit of hurting Ed. Hell, he was the reason Ed needed a vacation in the first place!

He cast a wary glance at the disguised homunculus who was skipping ahead happily. Envy had changed his appearance again and Al couldn't say his brother and he hadn't been surprised when they saw the form he'd chosen. Envy now looked like a normal 17 year old boy, he'd kept his height a bit taller than Ed, though nowhere near Al's impressive height, and had turned his hair an unassuming mousy brown color , even his eyes were a muddy brown color as opposed to the vibrant purple he usually preferred, all in all he really did look…. average.

When he'd seen their looks the homunculus had just shrugged and said that 'There was something he wanted to find out and he couldn't stand out too much if he wanted to' before turning to Ed and starting to tease him about how he must prefer his 'cute' form. Needless to say Ed had not been amused and remained grumpy even now. Al sighed quietly they really didn't need this right now.

The trio had been travelling for three days now, three very tense and uncomfortable days, and were scheduled to arrive at their destination later that day. Their destination, a small but very bright town named Himura was known for its relaxing, almost resort-like, atmosphere and its onsen that were said to have healing properties. At first the plan had been to get Ed in one of those onsens but now Al wasn't too sure anymore, he really didn't like the looks he saw Envy giving his brother sometimes, they seemed almost…possessive.

Besides the occasional teasing remark directed at Ed the homunculus had mostly kept to himself though, something the brothers were extremely grateful for, but Al couldn't shake of the feeling that Envy was planning something and so he'd resolved to keep an extra close watch over the wayward homunculus, not that Ed wasn't doing that already. His brother had remained tense ever since the other's arrival and was even now shooting Envy unhappy looks.

The dark bags under his eyes had only deepened because he wouldn't sleep, even after Envy had decided to sleep somewhere else because 'little kids need their beauty sleep so they'll grow and Chibi-chan really shouldn't be missing out on his'. If Al didn't know better he'd almost say the homunculus was worried about his brother.

Al looked back to the road and was relieved to see the first houses of the town coming into view. Just like in the folders Mustang had shown him the village had a bright atmosphere. Little kids were running around holding kites and playing tag, their parents watching proudly from a distance or chatting together on the veranda's of their houses. In the distance he could see the steam rising from behind a large wooden building and he guessed that was where the onsen was at. Immediately he felt some of the tension leave him, maybe their plan would work after all.

Meanwhile Ed was still glaring at Envy balefully when he suddenly heard noise up ahead, curious he dared to remove his gaze from the homunculus for just a second to see what was going on. He was startled when he saw the sight that greeted him. In front of him was a nice little town, filled with cheery people talking and laughing with each other. He looked to the side of the road and saw a sign with the words 'Welcome to Himura, resort of the east' written on it in neat, flowing cursive. It really did seem like this was their destination. But if it was, then why was everybody so happy? This did not look like a village that was being terrorized by bandits, far from it actually, the people here seemed like they had not a care in the world!

Ed was about to turn to Al and demand an explanation, when his eyes fell on an old woman, sitting all by herself on a rocking chair in a shady part of the veranda of one of the houses. He thought it was a bit odd that she was sitting there all by herself , but was about to disregard it as just an old woman wanting some privacy when the woman lifted her head and locked gazes with him.

Ed staggered. Those eyes… there, between all the wrinkles a pair of sharp gray eyes looked up at him with such sorrow and longing that Ed felt a stab going through his heart. She scanned his face quickly before moving that heavy gaze of hers to the rest of his companions searchingly, it didn't seem like she found what she was looking for though, and disappointment flashed through her eyes before it was covered back up again with that sorrowful stare and she went back to watching the children.

The others had paused now too and were looking at him questioningly, or at least Al was. Envy was looking in the same direction, a thoughtful look on his now plain features, before he shrugged it off and turned to the brothers.

"Well," He drawled, "I have some stuff to look into. See you later Chibi!" and before either of the brothers could react he ran off. Cursing Ed immediately sprinted after him, but it was no use, the other had already disappeared in the masses and no matter where he looked, he couldn't find him.

He pushed a hand back through his hair with an annoyed sigh, still trying to find the homunculus but knew it was useless, the other had probably shifted appearances already and there was no way Ed would find him if he had.

Al who'd come running after his brother softly shook his shoulder to get his attention and Ed looked up at him, only to see Al looking worriedly at him. Al motioned to the people surrounding them and Ed saw they were all giving them curious looks, "Let's go." The armored boy muttered softly, so only Ed could hear him, and Ed nodded, starting to make his way down the street and in the direction of what he assumed must be the town centre.

As soon as they'd left behind the group of curious people at the edge of town Al suddenly froze, cursed quietly under his breath, though not quiet enough that Ed couldn't hear him, before abruptly turning to his brother with a big smile.

"Brother!" He said with an almost unnatural cheer, "I'm actually really tired! Let's go find an inn first okay? We can always go and speak with the major tomorrow."

Ed looked at his brother weirdly and raised an eyebrow questioningly, "You don't seem all that tired to me."

"Oh but I am! Really really tired, please brother?" Al begged, pulling out his best puppy eyes. How he made those work when he was a huge suit of armor Ed would never understand.

He rubbed his temples tiredly before taking one last glance at his little brothers pleading stare and giving in. "Fine," he sighed, "We'll go look for an inn real quick and then you can stay there and rest while I go and talk to the major."

He glanced back up at his brother to see if he was okay with it, but was surprised to see Al looking even more anxious. "Ah, no, that's fine brother. But you look really tired too, are you sure you shouldn't just stay and rest? The major can wait."

Now Ed was sure something was up, he glared suspiciously at his little brother, trying to figure out what was going. "Al," he started, threateningly, "what did you do?"

Al fidgeted nervously under his brothers inquisitive glare. "Do? I have no idea what you're talking about brother." He stammered nervously. "I'm just worried about you."

Ed raised his eyebrow skeptically but finally relented and turned back to the road, causing Al to let out a relieved sigh. "Well then, if it's all the same to you we'll just go to the majors now." And with that he started walking again, leaving behind a flabbergasted Al.

"N-no! Wait!" He quickly regained his bearings and ran after the small alchemist.

Ed turned around just a fast, obviously he had been waiting for this, and Al silently cursed his brothers intuitive mind.

"We can't go to the major." Al panted out, trying to hide his nervousness.

"And why not?" Ed asked, looking pleased that he'd finally gotten his little brother to tell him.

"Because there are no attacks!"

Ed looked startled for a second, before slowly, a look of understanding dawned on his face and his eyes narrowed. "You mean…" He trailed of dangerously and Al gulped, his brother was not pleased. When Ed tried to control his temper was always when he was at his most dangerous. The fact that he wasn't screaming his head off right now didn't mean much good for the armored boy.

"Colonel Mustang and I made up this mission since we knew you'd refuse to stay still but you still needed to rest and we really didn't want you to get hurt again and-"

"Al." Ed cut off his brother's rambling before he'd die from lack of oxygen and Al shut up immediately hearing his brother's pissed off tone. "Are you seriously telling me we came all this way for nothing?"

Ed was trying to keep calm, really he was, but when he saw Al nodding his head sheepishly it took all he had not to start screaming. He let out a deep breath, trying to control his temper, and then turned around abruptly. "We're leaving." Was all he said, and started walking back the way they came.

"No wait! Brother!" Al followed after him, desperately trying to think of some reason for them to stay. Ed just ignored him though and kept on marching through the streets, not caring about the curious whispers of the citizens anymore.

Al was now really getting desperate, he needed his brother to stay else all their careful planning would have been for naught! And now that Envy wasn't there Ed might actually be able to relax. 'Wait, that's it!' Al thought, it would be risky of course but it was better than nothing.

"Don't you wanna know what Envy is doing here?" He asked hurriedly, and when Ed came to a sudden halt he knew he'd hit his mark. Taking his chance he quickly continued, "I mean, he said he had business here right? Who says it isn't anything bad? If we stay here we could keep an eye on him." He tried to argue reasonably, and to his great pleasure it seemed like it was working. For once he was glad for the strange connection the homunculus and his brother shared.

Ed stayed still for a few minutes longer, thinking things over, while Al waited patiently by his side. When his brother let out a loud sigh and threw him a baleful glare Al knew he had won and suppressed the urge to do a little victory dance on the spot. The townspeople were already looking at them weirdly enough without him doing so though, not that that surprised him with all the stopping, turning and running they'd been doing since their arrival. Honestly he'd have found it more surprising if they hadn't thought they were crazy by now. Ed wouldn't appreciate it either, and Al knew that if he pissed his brother off too badly right now he would probably leave anyway, and he'd had to through way too much trouble for him to risk that right now.

So Al remained quiet, even as they checked in at the local inn and trudged up to their room. As soon as they'd dropped off their bags in the room Ed stated he was going for a walk and Al knew better than to protest right now, a walk would do his brother good, so he just nodded and stated that he would be resting for a bit. Ed grunted in acknowledgement before leaving, closing the door a bit louder then he normally would have, a testament to the frustration that was still flooding his veins.

Ed was quietly fuming as he trudged along the forests edge. As soon as he'd left the stuffy inn he'd made a beeline for the nearby forest, not feeling up to dealing with all those horribly happy people in town. He couldn't believe they would trick him like that! Did he really look that fragile? He could take care of himself damnit!

Grumbling he kicked a small rock, feeling a brief flash of satisfaction as the thing went rocketing of, lodging itself deep into a tree with a satisfying thunk, automail strength really did do wonders for anger management sometimes. Scoffing he kept on walking, he couldn't believe he'd let Al convince him to stay. He should be running back to Central right now so he could knock some sense into that lying bastard of a colonel. He wasn't though and al because of one individual, Envy…

His thoughts trailed off, thinking back to the last couple of times he'd seen the other. The homunculus was acting weird, that was for sure. He was still a cruel, malignant bastard, whose goal in life seemed to be to slaughter as many people as possible and make Ed's life a living hell while at it, but something had changed since the first time he'd fought the other. And it wasn't just the homunculus' apparent sudden urge to make Ed's life a bigger mess than usual.

'His eyes….'

Something had changed about his eyes, but Ed couldn't quite put his finger on it and that infuriated him, almost more than his brother's and Mustang's scheme. Where before there would just be pure hatred and rage, easy enough emotions to decipher, now there were sometimes flashes of something different, something deeper, and Ed was going crazy trying to figure out what it was.

Now wasn't the time to dwell on that though, he'd taken this walk in an attempt down some and thinking about the homunculi's new, infuriating, behavior wasn't helping any. So Ed continued walking silently along the forests edge, not paying any attention to time or anything else, just walking. When he found a path leading into the forest he didn't think and started following it, heading deeper and deeper into the woods as he did so. The trees were spaced pretty far apart, and enough light fell down through the gaps in the foliage that it didn't become too dark or oppressive.

Eventually the path ended and he arrived in a clearing. He just stood there for a while taking in the soft twilight glow of the sky through the trees and enjoying the quiet, finally feeling all his anger leave him.

After a while, he didn't know how long, he looked back down again, only to startle and almost fall back when he found a curious face staring back at him. Regaining control of himself he looked at the odd child that was standing in front of him. The boy could be no older than 7 or 8 years old, yet the way look he gave the Elric seemed like it belonged to someone much older. There was something creepy about the kid, and Ed didn't like it one bit.

"Hello." The boy said, speaking curiously, yet softly, so as not to disturb the peaceful quiet in the clearing. "Who are you?"

Still caught up in trying to figure out what was wrong about the child in front of him, Ed almost didn't hear his question, but a curious tilt of the head brought his attention back to the kid in front of him.

"My name is Edward." He replied after a few uncomfortable moments. "Who are you? Shouldn't you be home right now?"

"I'm Jay." The kid chirped, "and it's fine, mommy doesn't mind. My home's close too."

"You live here? In the forest?" Ed asked, surprised.

"Uhu." The little kid nodded enthusiastically, before turning his head to the left, looking like he was listening for something. Ed turned his head and listened as well, curious what the kid was listening to.

When he did he could just barely make out the soft sound of a woman's voice calling the boy's name. Looking back at the child he saw him pouting before he turned back to Ed with a smile.

"Well it was nice meeting you mister, but I gotta go. See you!" And Ed watched as with a cheery wave the kid ran out of the clearing, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more.

Deciding he should probably start heading back as well before Al got worried, Ed turned around and left the clearing. The little boy's face still clear in his mind. There was nothing unusual about him, blonde hair, normal, blue eyes, but somehow Ed couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Even as he finally arrived back at the inn, prepared himself for bed and laid down to sleep he still hadn't figured it out and it was absolutely frustrating. When he finally did close his eyes though, an image flashed before his eyes and his sleepy mind finally figured out what had been bugging him ever since he first saw the little boy in the clearing. Because while the boy as a whole had not been anything special there was one thing that did stand out about him and now, on the verge of slumber Ed could finally see it.

The child had been wearing an ouroboros pendant.

An1/; Before you all get scared off by the massive rambling go check out this picture of Envy that BladefireA drew! : bladefirea. deviantart #/a rt/Pi nk-w ith-En vy-356 44275 2?_s id=ab 1dff 4. Its Envy with pink hair based on this conversation we had on how Envy kinda had a yandere feel here, nd then Mirai nikk came into it XD (for those of you who haven't watched that anime yet, go do so, if you like this story you'll probably like it ;)
Anyways I'm not sure if the link will work (don't forget to remove the spaces) but else you can go to her profile or DA (its got the same name). So yeah, check it out! ^^

RealAn2/Hey everyone and welcome back! :) I'm sorry for (once again) taking so horribly long. School was being a bitch (as per usual) and I really needed all my time to write this I dunno how many pages paper thingy for theology? 'M not sure what the subject is called in English sorry. Anyways, I'm finally done with that subject...forever! Hellz yes! I still have a lot of other exams and things coming up though, so I can't garantuee fast updates (though you'd all probably figured that one out already by now...sorry). Oh and I know the song doesn't really match...It was just stuck in my head and I couldn't think of anything else...

Anyways a big thank you for those of you who are sticking with this story, regardless of the just wonderful (note sarcasm) updating scheme and all my failness, we've actually almost hit 100 reviews O.O You're all amazing, I really don't deserve such awesome people like you! So yeah, thank you to everyone who faved, alerted, reviewed or read and also a big thank you to those who checked out my new story, a fullmetal faerietale (yes, I'm creative when it comes to naming stuff), and for those of you who haven't yet, go do that! :P hmm I feel I've rambled for long enough now...see you next time! :D xxx Mai