Chapter 18 : Get out alive

Ed slowly stirred as he felt someone shaking him softly. Recognizing the metal texture of his brother's hands he ignored his first instinct, which was to violently fling the other person away from him, and turned around, intent on going back to sleep.

Al insisted though, and soon a disgruntled Ed was sitting upright in his sleeping bag, trying to glare a hole through his brother's armor but failing terribly, his sleepy features not intimidating in the least.

"What's going on." He grumbled, voice still hoarse from sleep. "What did you wake me up for, it's too early." He motioned to the sky where the stars were only just starting to appear.

"Shhhh." His brother frantically motioned for him to be quiet. "I hear something. Listen."

Still a bit grumpy, but a lot more attentive now, Ed nodded and did as his brother commanded him. Closing his eyes, he calmed down and focused on his surroundings. At first he only heard the wind rustling the many leaves of the trees littering the clearing, but when he concentrated some more he suddenly noticed the sound of branches snapping, many branches snapping . It was faint and whatever was making the noise seemed far away still, but the longer he listened, the louder the sounds got. Ed didn't know what it was making these noises, but it was obvious they were about to find out.

"Get ready." He told Al, and the armored boy nodded, facing the woods. Getting out of his sleeping bag quickly, Ed got up and moved next to Al.

A tense silence followed as both stood silently, listening as the sounds became louder and louder. Eventually they could make out what sounded like light, but rushed, footsteps and they both shared a questioning look before looking back to the woods, just in time to see a small, haggard figure bursting from its depths.

They both watched in shock as the small blonde boy fell to his knees a couple of meters in front of them and immediately scrambled back up again. He hurriedly looked behind himself with wide, blue eyes, seemingly scared that something might be following himself, before turning back to the clearing in front of him, obviously planning to start running again. When he saw Ed and Al waiting for him though, he recoiled and his frightened blue eyes widened some more. His eyes flicked to the side quickly and Ed could see him planning a different escape route.

He had recognized the boy though, and he wasn't planning on letting him go so easily this time. "Wait!" He called out. The boy's eyes snapped up, startled, and he slowly took a step back, ouroboros pendant swinging back and forth wildly around his neck. Ed silently cursed himself for scaring the kid further and slowly took a small step forward, raising his hands to show he meant no harm, and tried again in a softer voice.

"Jay, wait. It's me, Edward. You remember me, right? From last night." Jay seemed startled at the use of his name, and Ed was glad to see it snapped him out of his stupor somewhat.

How he had ever believed this boy was Envy Ed didn't know because while the homunculus could certainly act, there was just no way he could have faked the look on the boy's face right now. There was a wild, almost animalistic fear in his eyes that couldn't be faked by any actor, be it human or homunculus.

The boy looked at the brothers intently and Ed could see the recognition flashing through his eyes when he looked back at Ed again. Taking this as a good sign he continued, still in that same placating tone, like he was trying to sooth a wild animal instead of a frightened boy. "We don't want to hurt you, just tell us what's wrong."

Something seemed to snap inside the kid because one moment he was still standing halfway between the trees and the next moment he had thrown his arms around Ed and was sobbing into his chest. He looked at Al desperately, wondering what he should do now, and the other made a hugging motion with his arms. Looking at the child crying in his chest he awkwardly patted his back and closed his arms around the child. The boy only sobbed harder in response and Ed almost let go again, afraid he'd done something wrong, but a quick look at Al showed him he was doing the right thing.

Sighing he relaxed and softly patted the boy's head a couple of times. It reminded him of the times he'd calmed down Al after the boy had had a nightmare when they were younger, and in the period after their mother's death.

Slowly but surely the sobbing stopped and the boy calmed down a bit, though Ed could still feel the tension in his small frame and knew this was far from over.

He moved back a little bit and peered down straight into the puffy red eyes of the child. The eye contact seemed to startle the boy and he blushed, obviously a bit embarrassed over his outburst. The boy started fidgeting awkwardly and Ed let go, stepping back to give the child some space to calm himself.

Jay still stuck close to Ed though, obviously feeling intimidated by Al's armored appearance. Seeing the unsure looks the boy was throwing his brother Ed decided to quickly interfere. "That's my little brother, Alphonse, you can call him Al though."

"Hi." Al waved unsurely but quickly lowered his arm again when he saw the boy shrink further back.

"Is he really your brother?" The boy whispered to Edward. "He looks so big."

Ed quickly stamped down his first reaction, which was, of course, to start ranting about how he wasn't short but managed to control himself just in time, reminding himself that the boy hadn't called him short exactly, just said that Al was very tall. Two very different things.

Apparently he hadn't managed to control his expression as well as he thought though, because when he looked back down again the child was looking at him with concern. Brushing it off and deciding to get back to the matter at hand, they didn't know when the child's pursuer would catch up with them after all, he tried to look as normal as possible and crouched down, trying to put Jay at ease some more.

"Jay, can you tell me who's following you?" He asked and almost immediately regretted it when he saw the boy tense up again.

Jay looked around himself anxiously, before mumbling something softly.

"What was that?" Ed asked, and the kid looked around once more before finally uttering a couple of words that had Ed and Al freezing on the spot.

"The…The green-haired man."

"What green-haired man? What did he look like?!" Ed knew he should watch his temper but if what the kid just said was true they were in some serious trouble and had to know right away.

"Well, green hair and a skirt and he had the same tattoo and eyes as mommy, only he looked a lot meaner." Jay shuddered as he recalled the glare the man had thrown his way.

"Same…the same tattoo? Are you sure?" Ed couldn't believe what he was hearing. If what this kid said was true then things were a lot more complicated than he had first thought. Just Envy he could deal with, they'd done that many times before and, while some of those encounters hadn't ended well, he was determined not to let it happen again. If another homunculus was involved though… He didn't fancy their chances fighting and protecting Jay at the same time.

Still the boy nodded and confirmed his fears. He even grabbed the ouroboros pendant hanging around his neck and showed it to Ed. "Like this."

Seeing that Ed was stumped for the moment Al crouched down as well and took over the questioning. "And your mother, what's her name?"

Jay looked at the armored boy in distrust for a moment but at a small nod of Ed's he answered hesitatingly. "She never really told me…" He looked down, embarrassed, and scuffed the ground a bit with his foot. "The man called her Lust though!" His head snapped back up again as he remembered, feeling proud of himself for doing so.

Hearing this Ed and Al exchanged quick looks of understanding before they stood up, Al grabbed their stuff together while Ed was left to explain to the boy.

"C'mon we need to go now." He gently nudged the boy, but Jay didn't seem all that keen on leaving. There was obviously something that still bothered him and Ed could guess what it was.

"But what about mommy?" He asked in that childishly innocent tone that almost made Ed forget their situation. "That man was hurting her!"

"I'm sure your mother can take care of herself for a bit." Ed answered. "First we'll get you out of here and then we'll go back and help her, okay?"

When the little blonde still didn't seem to want to move Ed sighed and softly patted his head. "She'll be fine." He murmured in his most comforting tone, and that seemed to do it. Jay gave a shaky nod and grabbed a hold of Ed's sleeve.

Ed looked around the clearing and saw that Al had packed all their stuff and was ready to move out. He grabbed Jay's hand and they started moving out of the clearing and towards the path, intent on getting back to the village as soon as possible and leaving Jay there where he would be safe. They could always come back later to check out what the homunculi were up to.

They were just about to leave when a black cat with startlingly familiar purple eyes jumped on the path in front of them. Ed felt his blood run cold and immediately pushed Jay behind himself, trying to block the cold, cold gaze of the animal from him.

The action made the cat shift his attention to Ed and soon afterwards he started shifting. Growing and stretching, until finally a tall, green-haired male stood in his place. A tall, green-haired male that was not looking pleased, at all.

"Hand him over." Envy's voice was cold, and Ed silently recoiled when he heard the pure business like tone of his voice and the underlying hate. He thought he'd seen the homunculus angry before, enraged even, but that was nothing compared to this freezing hatred. His purple eyes were like shards of ice, sharp and unforgiving and Ed shuddered to think of what could have made him so.

Behind him Jay whimpered and those unforgiving eyes moved back to his target. Ed unconsciously moved to block him from sight again and Envy let out an annoyed growl.

"I said, hand him over Edward. It's for your own good."

Ed got another shock when he heard the homunculus use his full name, he never did that. Something was seriously wrong. He silently motioned Alphonse over and, keeping a wary eye on the enraged homunculus, Al slowly shuffled closer.

"I won't." He finally spoke up, trying to distract Envy from Alphonse's movements.

Envy just stood there, arms crossed, and watched. Uncharacteristically enough he didn't make any comments, like he usually would when Ed refused him. Now he just stood there, a strange calm on his face.

Seeing it wasn't working Ed tried another approach. "And what do you mean for my own good, how could you hurting some kid be good for me?" And he really did want to know, how could the homunculus think something like that would be good for him?

Envy just ignored his questions though, instead focusing his eyes on Al now, who had finally made his way to besides Ed and Jay, using his considerable bulk to hide the child even more from Envy's piercing eyes.

"Why do you care what's good for me anyway?"

Finally, a reaction. The other's eyes narrowed dangerously and Ed could've sworn he saw a flash of conflict flitting through them before he closed his expression of again.

"That doesn't matter." He finally responded curtly. "I'm here for the boy now, we'll play another time. And don't think I haven't noticed your little plan, both your brother and the boy will stay here."

He pinned Al with a sharp glance and Al stopped from where he'd been trying to coach Jay into running with him.

"My patience is thinning, Edward. The boy, now."

Ed still stubbornly shook his head though and Envy let out a tired sigh, the only sign of his usual dramatics that he'd shown till then. "I really don't have time for this." he murmured softly and in a flash he'd appeared in front of the brothers.

They had predicted his reaction though and Ed easily fended off his strike with his automail arm.

"Al! Take him and run!"

Envy didn't like that at all and moved to stop them, but Ed quickly made use of his distraction and kicked him in the stomach, making him fly back and into one of the trees lining the clearing. The homunculus got back on his feet almost immediately but the move had done what it was intended for and Al and Jay were already running down the beaten path back to the village.

Envy cursed and a brief look of annoyance flashed over his features before they smoothed out again and he moved to follow the duo. This time it was Ed who blocked the way though and the homunculus had to step back to avoid getting pierced by his automail blade.

Ed knew there was only a small chance he'd win, especially if Lust would show up and join the fight, but that wasn't his goal. He knew Envy wouldn't kill him, not yet at least, the other loved messing with him way too much, so all he had to do was stall him long enough for the others to escape.

He readied himself for Envy's counter but it never came, instead the homunculus tried to move around him and disappear into the trees, but Ed managed to notice just in time and with a quick flash of blue light the trees moved to block the other's path.

Envy growled and turned to Ed again, piercing him with the full force of his glare. "Fine, you want to play then? Let's play." And before Ed could properly react the homunculus was already on him, raining blows left and right, which the shocked alchemist could barely defend himself from. After about a minute of this one hit finally managed to get through and a fist smacked Ed right into the face and threw him through the air.

Before he could recover Envy had appeared in front of him and kicked him in the stomach, hard. Following it up with another blow to the face. The alchemist landed on the ground in a dazed heap and remained there, trying hard not to throw up.

Because of that he didn't notice as Envy threw him last unreadable glance before turning and running into the woods.

A few minutes later Ed finally regained enough awareness to realize what had happened and slowly and choppily made his way to his feet again. His head was aching and he had to stop for a moment to clear the spots from his vision, but he didn't care. He waited till he could see somewhat clearly again and sprinted off into the forest.

He couldn't let Envy win, not this time.

In another part of the forest Al was running as fast as he could away from the clearing, Jay on his back. He was incredibly worried about his brother but he knew Ed would never forgive him if he turned back now. He'd just have to trust that his brother would be okay.

He adjusted the child on his back as they turned another corner of the bendy path only to trip as he crashed into another person. He let out an uncharacteristic curse and jumped back, quickly checking to see if Jay was alright, which he luckily was, just a bit shaken, and turned his attention back on the new threat in front of them.

He watched the old woman warily, she could be Envy for all he knew after all and slowly started moving backwards, looking around quickly for alternative routes. There were none though and the woman had still not moved from her spot on the ground, her big, grey eyes focused, unmoving, on the child hiding behind Al's back.

Jay too, was watching the woman intently, a curious tilt to his head. Still, Al did not let his guard down as he watched the two look at each other.

Finally the woman broke the silence and Al was shocked to see tears run down her face as she spoke, voice broken and brittle with age. "Jay?" She asked, still looking at the boy in disbelief, yet a spark of hope had made its way into her grey orbs.

"Jay, is that really you?" She asked softly, and slowly moved to stand up, bones creaking. She sought to support herself on one of the many trees lining the path and now Al could finally really take in her features. She had a kind face and had probably been very beautiful at one time but old age and sorrow had carved many wrinkles in her features and her eyes had a permanent melancholy gleam to them. That gleam seemed to be fading the longer she stared at Jay though, and instead a desperate longing took its place.

She walked forward slowly, and reached out one, trembling hand. Al didn't know what to do as the woman came closer and closer. Should he let her touch Jay and risk her hurting the child? Or should he move away and start running again? He cast another wary glance at the woman but she seemed undaunted, instead she just kept moving forward, arm outstretched and eyes desperately roaming the child's face, looking for a sign of recognition. Al slowly felt himself relax, she wouldn't hurt the child, something in her eyes just told him.

The woman finally laid her palm on Jay's cheek and slowly the boy moved into the contact, keeping his own stormy orbs locked on the woman's. "G-grandma?" He uttered softly and touched the hand touching his face with his own small ones. "Grandma." He finally stated, seeming to remember now.

The woman's face lit up and she seemed to radiate with happiness as she slowly brought her other hand up to stroke the boy's face. "Yes." She whispered as more and more tears started making their way down her face. "My little Jay." She reached over Al's shoulder and kissed the boy on the forehead.

Al just stood there awkwardly, not wanting to break up the happy reunion but knowing they needed to move, and soon, if they wanted to escape the angry homunculi roaming the forest.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and touched the woman's shoulder lightly. "Miss…I'm sorry but we need to go, there's no time to explain, but it's not safe here." The woman startled as if she had only just remembered his presence and snapped back to the present. "Not safe?" She trailed of slightly, "Is someone trying to hurt Jay?"

Al nodded his head and the woman looked shocked for a minute before getting herself together and turning worried eyes on her grandson. "Then go. We'll talk more in the village."

Al nodded once more before offering her a spot on his back, stating that he could run much faster and that it was no problem to carry two people for him, and as soon as the woman climbed up they were off again.

It was silent the entire time, the severity of their situation finally catching up to them and the feeling of being chased made itself known. Al pushed himself as hard as he could but the clearing they'd left from was pretty far from the village and they'd need at least another ten minutes to make it out of the woods. They'd already lost way too much time talking to the old woman but it couldn't be helped and now they were running short. He could only hope his brother had managed to distract Envy long enough for them to make it out alive.

AN/: Okay, so this chapter was supposed to be longer and include the 'end' of this arc but it kinda ran away from me and got too big so I decided to cut it off here. I'm sorry for those of you who I'd promised an end to the evil cliffies (you know who you are ;) and also a big apology to those who I'd promised a weekend update . Like I said, the chapter kinda ran away with me and the damn bunnies just wouldn't stop biting. Next chapter will probably be up early though, since it's more like a part 2 to this one than a whole new chapter….

Anyways, in happier news…This story finally hit a hundred reviews! :DDDD *Does a happy dance* So I'd like to give an extra big thank you to all of those who reviewed, read, faved and alerted. When I started this I honestly had no idea it'd be this popular and it makes me really happy to see you are all enjoying my work. See ya next time! xXx-Mai