The first thing Edward registered upon waking up was a deep, dull ache in his neck. A stiffness concentrated in his nape that spread down to his shoulders. It felt like he'd slept with his head in an odd position. Rolling his neck did nothing to get the crick out, if anything it only made it worse. From what he could tell, his body was upright. And if the soreness in his shoulder blades were anything to go by, they were probably tied behind his back. Edward felt something else there too. It felt cold and hard, like a rod or pole. He quickly deduced that he was probably tied to it. He tested his other limbs. He could move his neck and head freely, his legs too. Edward was slowly coming to the conclusion that maybe he wasn't just waking up from an uncomfortable nap in the dorms.
He would've opened his eyes to look around but the pounding in his head suggested otherwise. The pain made it damn near impossible for him to even keep his own train of thought. But if his suspicions were correct, even in the slightest, opening his eyes would probably be the best course of action. Mustang's voice rang in his ears. When Edward first joined the military, Mustang sat him down and explained what to do if he ever found himself was given a brief but detailed checklist. Check your surroundings. He stilled his breathing listening for any sounds. No footsteps, no voices, no outside noise. Edward was alone which probably meant he was safe for now. With a pained grunt he managed to open them, blinking several times to adjust.
There was something in his face, too close for him to tell at first. A squint and a moment to think made him realize it was a face inches away from his own. Edward let out a surprised yelp, attempting to scramble backwards only to find a cold metal pole digging sharply into his back. Still, he put as much distance between him and the face in front of him as he could, kicking out a leg for good measure. He heard his foot make contact with the individual, causing them to fall back and grab their nose with a moan.
"Ouch!" They cried, whipping their head back towards Ed. "You kicked me! With your automail leg too!"
"Why the hell do you sound so surprised?!" Edward barked, tugging against his restraints. "You kidnapped me!"
The person made a disdainful face at the blond's word choice. "Don't say kidnapped. It's so negative. I… asked for your assistance with ulterior motives in the name of science. An alchemist such as yourself should understand," they said, nursing their bruised, now bleeding nose.
Ignoring the fact they somehow knew he was an alchemist, Ed took a deep breath. He knew he had to calm down. Evaluate the situation. First, he needed a description of his captor. It looked like a man, maybe in his late thirties. The man had shoulder length brown hair, most of it tied back into a ponytail. As Edward looked over his captor, one thing that caught his attention was the man's eyes, more specifically, his gaze.
He had an almost predatorial look to him. Despite his introduction, he was far more observant than he acted. The way he tracked his every move, down to the rising and falling of his chest, didn't escape his notice. Even the captor's body was off putting. He had long, lanky limbs that seemed to move in slow motion. It reminded Ed of how the predators back on the island would stalk around their prey in circles deliberately slow, relishing in their obvious fear. They knew they could easily kill and devour their prey, but they teased them, attacking them the moment they let their guard down.
The man's intense gaze made the hairs on Ed's neck stand, a feeling of dread settling deep in his gut. The way he watched wordlessly made Edward feel completely helpless and exposed. Every instinct in his body was ringing alarm bells in his head to get away. Pushing down the anxiety creeping onto him, Ed forced himself to take on a nonchalant façade.
"Understand taking someone against their will?" Ed retorted sarcastically, his strained voice ruining the effect.
"No. Doing less than morally acceptable things in the name of science," his captor said in an almost joyful tone that didn't fit the intensity his words. Edward subconsciously pushed himself further away from the man, bringing his knees up to shield his body.
"It's great you acknowledge that this is wrong."
"Yes, but don't misunderstand, Edward. I simply don't care."
Ed's blood ran cold at hearing his name slip from the man's mouth. Up until this point, he had just assumed he was a random choice for captive, nothing personal. That name slip changed everything. Something else dawned on him. The man wasn't wearing a mask or trying to cover his identity. You don't reveal yourself to people you intended on letting live. Ed fought back a shiver, deeply unsettled by the fact his captor obviously knew more than he assumed.
"Who are you? And why the hell do you know my name?" Ed demanded.
"Why do I know your name?" The brunette said as if he couldn't believe Ed would even ask such a question. "Who doesn't know your name, hero of the people. The youngest and arguably most brilliant alchemist the military has ever seen." He spoke wildly with his hands, almost drawing out his words. "Passed the state alchemist exam at the ripe age of 12 years old. Has accomplished feats men twice his age could only dream of attempting! Dubbed many titles such as the Fullmetal alchemist, hero of the people. and the people's alchemist. Who wouldn't recognize you?" he finished with a small smirk.
If Edward wasn't disturbed before, he was thoroughly disturbed now. His mind raced with questions that he knew wouldn't be he a state alchemist fanatic? Was there a chance he knew this psycho; someone he had wronged in the past maybe? It was obvious he knew Ed or at least knew of him. Then again there was always the possibility he'd just heard about him in newspapers. Some friendly folks would approach him and talk as if they'd known each other forever. Whatever the answer was, it was becoming increasingly evident that this bastard definitely knew more than he let on. Edward took a deep breath, trying his damndest to settle his nerves.
"You didn't answer my first question. Who are you?" Ed demanded in a stern tone that contrasted greatly against the fear he felt.
The man's smirk dropped as he sighed. "You don't know how to have fun, do you? Can't bear the suspense? My name is Ernest, if you must know."
"Alright, Ernest," Ed spat as if the name itself was vile. "What the hell do you want with me?"
Ernest didn't answer his question right away. Instead, he pulled out a chair Ed hadn't seen until then and sat right in front of him. The way Ernest looked down on Edward with those watchful eyes made the blond's stomach churn. It was sickening.
"If I'm being honest, you weren't the person I was looking for. You just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, the right place at the right time for me."
Ed's brows furrowed in confusion, mind racing at what it could've been that Ernest was looking for. Was the person he was looking for Alphonse? By this point it was clear he knew more than Ed thought so to think he'd somehow found out about Al wasn't totally outlandish. But how? The only people in Central who knew were Mustang and the team, along with a few select others. Roy was a bastard among many other things, but he wasn't a liar; he wouldn't sell them out. The boy swallowed thickly at the fact questions were piling up by the second and none of them were even remotely close to being answered. If he was right about Ernest looking for Al, he wasn't just going to go along with it. That left him with his only other option; playing dumb.
"I wasn't the person you were looking for?"
"Sounds like little Eddie has an ego problem. Is it so hard to believe you aren't the center of the universe?" Ernest sneered sarcastically. He tipped forward in the chair, once again invading Edward's personal space.
"Looks like Ernie has a personal space problem." Ed retorted, ready to give the man another bloody nose.
Ernest laughed boisterously, the sound seemingly foreign to his voice. With the hardships Ed had faced, he had his fair share of forced smiles and laughs but even this was too obvious. He couldn't quite place it but it seemed as if Ernest was forcing himself to paint the emotions onto his face. None of them came naturally, that was for sure.
"You're funny, Edward," Ernest said, standing up from his chair and wondering over to a space poorly illuminated by the flickering light above. "I think I'm going to enjoy our time together."
Ed squinted into the darkness, straining to see the man. "I'm sure as hell not," he muttered softly to himself.
Ernest came back into the light with his hand behind his back. Before Ed could question what the hell he was doing, he saw a glint of metal then felt a hot, searing pain. Edward gasped, immediately looking down to the source of pain. His eyes widened at the sight of a scalpel sticking out his thigh. He flicked his gaze back up to Ernest who was smiling at him, inches away from his face.
"Yeah… I'm really going to enjoy this," he affirmed, driving the scalpel deeper into Ed's thigh.
Ed choked back a scream, only a pained moan leaving his lips. His brain, fogged by the abrupt pain, finally kicked into gear. He remembered his legs weren't restrained like his arms were. He didn't waste another second, slamming his automail knee up into Ernest's jaw as hard as he could. If Ed hadn't seen it happen right in front of him, then the nasty sound of teeth colliding together roughly would've told him his hit landed. Ernest howled loudly in pain as his hands flew to his wounded jaw. The way he stood up was just as shaky as the breaths he took. Ernest stumbled back away from the boy before leaving the room entirely. Ed was left in silence, the only sounds that could be heard was Ernest's retreating footsteps and his own heavy breathing.
His heart pounded loudly in his ears as he stared at the door, waiting for the man to come back with some other dangerous instrument- only for him to not return. Seconds flowed into minutes and Ernest still hadn't returned. Ed felt his blood running cold from the anticipation. Mere seconds felt like eternities as the primal, unadulterated fear made no move to leave him. He released a shuddering breath, closing his eyes.
If Ernest kidnapped Edward knowing full well who he was just because he happened to be in the area, then he was careless. A careless man with seemingly nothing to lose.
And that made him all the more dangerous.