Chapter Eight - Hostage

Ed sprinted all the way to the train station, never once allowing himself to slow down. The whole way there he was reminded of his frantic run through the apartment complex. Was that only three days ago? Never mind, it wasn't important.

The train station came in sight and a whistle sounded as the train slowly began pulling away from the empty station. As he climbed the steps to the platform, Ed spied two things--small puddles of blood staining the wood and a piece of chalk on the tracks.

Ed jumped down onto the tracks, swiping up the chalk in the process, and chased after the moving train. He reached out for the railing on the last car, but it remained more than two feet out of his reach and to his dismay began drawing further away as the train picked up speed. Al was on that train with the homunculi, Ed was sure of it! He couldn't let them get away!

When the train was more than ten feet away Ed skidded to a halt, clapped his hands and pressed them to the tracks. A deafening screech grated on his ears as the tracks molded themselves to the train wheels, stopping the train in its place.

Now that he had announced his presence so spectacularly, there was no reason to be subtle. Ed vaulted over the rail onto the last car and brutally kicked in the door with his automail foot. He marched into the car only to find it empty. No matter. He'd search every car on this damn train until he found his little brother.

The entire train shuddered and stopped so suddenly that the four occupants in the third to last car were flung to the floor.

"What happened?" Al asked no one in particular.

"Shit," Envy hissed through gritted teeth. "Lust, get them both secured. I'll deal with it."

Envy rushed to the back door of the car and vanished. Al scrambled up quickly, hoping he and Ed could make a break for it, but Lust was already on her feet. One of her hands was wrapped around Ed's neck, razor-sharp nails pressing into his skin. Ed's eyes blazed in fury.

"Follow me," Lust said curtly. She dragged Ed toward the front of the car and Al followed obediently. He didn't know what else to do. Resisting now would only get his brother hurt even more.

At the front of the car, Lust shoved Ed down in a seat and nodded at a pile of rope. "Tie him up."

Al hesitated. Lust gripped Ed's hair and jerked his head back, exposing his neck. "Don't make me tell you again," she said in a deadly tone.

Left with no choice, Al picked up the rope and knelt down in front of Ed. He looked up at his brother, hoping for some kind of cocky reassurance, but Ed wouldn't look at him. Al's spirits plummeted at the thought that maybe Ed was angry with him for giving in to Lust's demands so easily.

"Hurry up," Lust said impatiently. "Tie his hands."

Reluctantly, Al wrapped the first rope around Ed's left wrist. He left it loose at first, but at Lust's warning glare he tightened it, hoping he wasn't cutting off circulation.

Moving on to Ed's right hand, he repeated the process and was about to draw away when something caught his eye. There was blood staining Ed's white glove, trickling out from under the sleeve. Al remembered one of Lust's claws piercing that arm, but automail didn't bleed…

Under the pretense of tightening the rope, Al slipped a finger under the edge of Ed's sleeve and pulled it back a bit.

The automail was gone!

Al stared dumbly at the flesh and blood hand for a long moment then slowly looked up into Ed's eyes. This time Ed locked gazes with him, but his expression was cold, empty of any recognition or concern. And it occurred to Al that, in this situation, the Ed he knew wouldn't be so subdued. In fact, Ed would probably be cursing Lust vehemently in an attempt to keep her attention on him instead of Al. It wasn't something Al asked for…it was just something Ed would do.

Ed's eyes flicked downward then back up. Al let his gaze follow the path that look had indicated and that's when he saw it. Between one of the rips in Ed's shirt, clearly inked into the skin of his right shoulder, was an Ouroboros.

Seeing that Al was done, Lust eased up her grip. "Very good. Now sit in one of the chairs across the aisle. I'll be watching to make sure you don't try anything foolish."

Slowly, ever so slowly, Al stood up and faced Lust. Ed--no, the imposter--watched them both warily.

"Tell me," Al asked quietly, "what good is a hostage if he's someone I don't even know?"

Ed entered the second to last car, but it, too, was empty. The homunculi must have taken Al further toward the front. Ed hoped that the conductor and anyone else on board had the sense to evacuate or at the very least stay out of the way. If it came to a fight with the homunculi, he didn't want anyone else getting hurt.

Halfway up the center aisle, Ed peeked out the window and saw that the train remained firmly attached to the tracks. Did that mean Wrath wasn't here to transmute the tracks back to normal? Or were they all lying in wait to ambush him before they set off?

Ed started to move on when he heard it. Footsteps on top of the train! He listened carefully as the steps moved closer and closer until they were right above him where they stopped. Ed held his breath. Should he climb up there and see who it was? What if that was exactly what the homunculi wanted?

Driven by instinct, Ed transmuted a blade onto his automail arm and proceeded toward the door, planning to scale the ladder outside. Before he could reach the door, a shadow blocked one of the windows on his right and Envy swung through lithely and kicked him in the head. Ed stumbled back and fell into one of the seats. Envy dove forward and Ed rolled aside just in time to avoid a punch that splintered the wooden bench he was just on. Jumping to his feet, Ed swung his automail blade wildly, but Envy dodged easily and leapt back up to the open window, balancing on the window sill.

"Where's Al?!" Ed roared.

"Come on up here if you want answers!" Envy taunted, jabbing a thumb at the roof. "Unlike you, some of us actually need room to move around when we fight."

With that, Envy swung back up to the roof and out of sight. Ed stared after him looking positively livid.

"Need…room…?" Ed spluttered. "Need room?! I'll give you some freaking room!"

Ed clapped and pressed his hands to the wall. The train car lit up with the glow of alchemy and the roof opened outward like a flower, spreading out until the walls, ceiling and seats all flattened out to become part of a new floor. What had once been a train car became one huge platform balancing precariously on the train car’s original wheels, which Ed had neglected to change.

At the sound of a curse behind him, Ed turned and crouched into a battle-ready stance. Envy clambered ungracefully onto the platform, having clung on for dear life while the train car was transmuted. Ed charged forward and unleashed a series of furious punches and kicks, most of which Envy managed to block without even breaking a sweat. Envy leapt into the air and roundhouse kicked him right in the temple. Ed staggered back in a daze and only barely avoided another blow to the head.

"Want to know how this is going to end, shrimp?" Envy cackled.

"With me breaking your face!" Ed retorted.

"Wrong!"

Envy's leg swept out and knocked Ed's legs from underneath him. Envy brought one foot down hard on Ed's automail blade, snapping it off, and pressed the heel of his other foot against Ed's windpipe. Ed struggled wildly, but he couldn’t move and soon found himself growing dizzy with lack of oxygen.

"First," Envy announced, "you're going to get this train up and running again. And you're going to do it fast otherwise I might get the urge to dismantle that scrap heap you call a brother."

"Bastard!" Ed choked. Envy reached down and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up until they were face to face.

"Second," Envy breathed, "we'll all head back to Central together. And me and the rest of us homunculi will take it in turns to torture you in front of little Alphonse. We'll beat you, cut you, hurt you until his fragile mind can't take it and he decides to make us a Philosopher's Stone. And we'll let him believe that you'll be spared if he does…then I'll tear your scrawny body in half right after we get the Stone!"

"Leave him out of it!" Ed shouted.

Envy smirked broadly and put even more pressure on Ed's throat. "And why would I do that?"

Ed didn't argue. How could he when he was dangling a foot in the air by his neck and seconds away from passing out? All he could think of was Al being held somewhere on the train. If he was too weak to even fight off Envy, then how could he hope to save his little brother?

Swallowing his fears and doubts, Ed decided it was time to offer up his last bargaining chip.

"Let Al go," Ed whispered, "and I'll make the Stone for you."

Al reached over and pulled back the collar of Shawn's shirt, exposing the Ouroboros. Lust's expression turned sour. Shawn remained utterly still and silent. The ruse was over. What would happen now?

Suddenly, Lust raised one hand in Al's direction and her nails shot straight toward him. They tore through his armor and Al was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall of the train car. Lust's nails embedded themselves in the wall, fixing him in place like a bug in a collection.

With her other hand, Lust swiped at the ropes holding Shawn in place, freeing him.

"You're quite observant," Lust commended Al. "I must say, you saw through the deception faster than your brother did. He needed you to come all the way to Risembool to inform him that there was an imposter in his presence. What have you done with the child, anyway?"

"Why should I tell you?" Al challenged her. "You'll just make him hurt other people again for your own gain!"

"Is that compassion I detect?" Lust inquired. "How sweet…and yet how pointless. He chose to take your place of his own free will."

Al seemed about to respond when the back door of the train car flew open. Shawn glanced back and saw his mirror image for the first time as Envy dragged a very bruised Ed up the aisle.

"Brother!" Al shouted. He struggled to pull himself free of the claws holding him, but he couldn't move at all. "Brother!"

Ed's head snapped up at Al's voice and when he caught sight of Shawn his eyes widened in shock. Before he could make any kind of reaction, Envy threw him to the floor, holding one of his arms tightly so he couldn't do alchemy.

"We've got a dilemma," Envy said curtly. "The shrimp wants a bargain. He says he'll make the Stone if the tin can goes free."

"What?!" Al cried out in shock. "Brother, you can't! I won't leave you here!"

"Shut up," Shawn hissed, pressing his hands to his ears. He leaned forward in his seat, gripping his head so tightly that he felt a few blonde hairs part from his scalp. But the rush of memories Al's voice called up didn't stop, plaguing him with images and sounds he had all but forgotten.

Shawn? Why are you crying?

I didn't want to tell you…I didn't want to worry you…

"…beyond bargaining! Envy, get him to fix the tracks and we'll take them both to Central!"

"I'm not doing anything until you let Al go!"

"Michael…" Shawn whispered.

You're sick, little brother…the doctor said it's some kind of rare disease…

Shawn…am I going to die?

As long as I take care of you, you'll be ok…

You're lying, I can tell! I'm going to die!

You won't! But I'll make you a promise…if you die, I'll find a way to bring you back…I read about it in an alchemy book once…it mentioned something called 'human transmutation'…

In one swift motion, Lust knocked off Al's helmet and pressed one of her claws on a small, red array within the armor.

"Don't!" Ed begged. "Don't, please! Just let him go!"

Little brother…

Shawn stood up abruptly, earning the unexpected attention of everyone in the car. And without warning he began laughing hysterically. He couldn't help it. It was just so…fitting? That as his reward for breaking the taboo, he had been helping the very ones who took Michael away.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Envy demanded with a trace of uneasiness.

Gradually, Shawn brought his laughter under control and took a good look at the other four. The Elric brothers watched him with wary expressions, but Lust and Envy merely looked annoyed. That bothered Shawn. Hadn't they yet realized that he wasn't on their side anymore?

"You know," Shawn murmured, "separating brothers is a very bad idea…"

"It's official, he's insane," Envy grumbled.

For once, Ed was inclined to agree with Envy. The new homunculus, the one who looked exactly like him, was acting stranger by the minute. Ed found it a bit disturbing to watch himself cracking up over absolutely nothing. What kind of person burst into fits of laughter in the middle of a life-or-death situation like this? His only consolation was that both Envy and Lust were as confused as he was.

"Insane?" the other Edward said slowly. "Maybe you're right…after what I went through, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if that were the case…"

The other Edward's smile slipped and he got a very menacing look on his face. "But even so…you had no right to take him!"

Before anyone realized what he was doing, the Ed-look-a-like launched himself at Envy and tackled him. Free from Envy's hold, Ed crawled away from the two struggling forms, trying to stay discreet so Lust wouldn't have an excuse to hurt Al. The other Edward managed to pin Envy on his back and stared at him with a look that was not quite sane.

"So what'd you do with him?" the other Edward growled. "You must have had a reason for taking him!"

"Who the hell are you talking about?" Envy snapped.

"My little brother!"

Ed froze at those words, but quickly shook it off. He had to focus on taking advantage of this strange turn of events. Ed slipped behind one of the train seats. From there, he was out of sight of everyone except Al, who was tall enough to see him. Lust had her attention fixed on Envy and the Ed-look-a-like.

Cautiously, Ed took the blue chalk from his pocket and held it up for Al to see. Then he laid it on the ground and gave it a little push. The chalk rolled under three seats and bumped against Al's foot. Understanding the intent, Al kept his eyes on Ed and waited for a signal.

Envy bent both of his legs and brutally kicked the other Edward in the stomach, sending him across the car. The Ed-look-a-like regained his feet quickly and began stalking up the center aisle toward Envy.

"I remember it all now," the other Edward whispered. "I saw you take him after I brought him back. Tell me where he is!"

"Are you talking about the brat I found the other day?" Envy snorted. "I don't have a clue where he is--"

"Don't lie to me!"

Ed clapped and transmuted one of the benches between him and Lust into a spear. Snatching it up, he stood and hurled it at Lust. Unprepared for the assault, Lust couldn't dodge in time and the spear went straight through her head. As she collapsed, her black nails went limp. Al yanked them free of his armor and picked up the chalk.

Ed spun in Envy’s direction, expecting an assault, but the other Edward was way ahead of him. He already had Envy pinned on his back. Envy thrashed around violently, but couldn’t throw him off.

"You're supposed to be on our side, damn it!" Envy bellowed.

The Ed-look-a-like cast him a sinister grin. "You're side? If you really wanted me on your side, you shouldn't have taken Michael. You should have treated me like an equal. And because you didn't, you’re going to learn the hard way not to mess with me! You never did bother to find out what my ability is…"

The other Edward slammed a palm onto Envy's chest. Red lightning spiked up from beneath his hand and Envy began screaming in agony. Within seconds, Red Stones began forming beneath the other Edward's hand and Ed realized in horror that he was converting Envy's energy, his very life into Red Stones.

Envy's scream went on and on as the Ed-look-a-like drained more and more energy from him. Red Stones continued to form from the red energy, cascading down to make neat little piles on the floor. Envy's complexion faded to a sickly gray and his skin seemed to cave in on itself. The other Edward never once stopped grinning.

Ed backed up as far as he could, at once amazed and petrified by the sight. He couldn't decide whether it was safe to interfere or not. If he did, could that power be turned on himself or on Al?

He didn't have to wonder for long, because Lust chose at that moment to come back to life. Still bleeding from her head wound, she lunged forward and knocked the Ed-look-a-like out cold. He slid to the ground, unconscious and the red light vanished as if someone had hit a light switch. Lust scooped up Envy in one smooth motion, tossing the groaning homunculus over her shoulder, and cast the other Edward a dark look.

"Looks like you weren't very useful after all," Lust murmured. With that, she turned on her heel and left the train.

Ed and Al stayed absolutely still for a few minutes, but the only sounds came from a murmur of voices outside, presumably the other passengers coming to see what all the noise was about. Once Ed was sure Lust wouldn't return, he cautiously knelt beside his mirror image.

"Wh-what was that, Brother?" Al stammered fearfully. "How did he do that?"

"I don't know," Ed said, equally disturbed by what they had just witnessed. He had never seen a homunculus with such a dangerous ability. Questions continued to race through his mind. Where had this one come from? What had he meant when he said Envy took his little brother? Homunculi didn't have siblings…

I just wanted a brother!

You had no right to take him!

Could it be…?

"Should we help him?" Al asked uncertainly.

Ed studied the homunculus indecisively. After a moment, he nodded. "He saved us. It's only Equivalent Exchange."