Stairway to Paradise- Ch 36- FMA FanFic

The silence rang in Ed's ears, deafening and tense as his pulse pounded in his head.

Lightening rumbled outside and the walls shook, momentarily jarring the shock from Ed's reeling mind.

This was Envy. Envy, the most impulsive and arguably the most dangerous of the homunculi that Ed had encountered. A wrong word would be the end of him, and Ed would never see it coming.

"Well?" Envy pressed, voice light and teasing and much too close for Ed's liking. "You just going to sit there staring at absolutely nothing?" He laughed, the sound like claws on chalkboard. "You really are blind as a bat! And just as stupid as ever."

Ed bit back a whimper, slowly dragging his body back away from the voice, blanket trailing behind him like broken wings. What was he supposed to do?! He couldn't fight like this! He was completely helpless and at Envy's mercy.

And Ed was very well aware that Envy had no mercy.

Footsteps treaded closer, floorboards creaking as Envy drew nearer. "They told me you'd changed, but even I didn't expect this. A little bit of torture was all it took to break the Fullmetal Alchemist, huh? Guess you're just as pathetic as any other human."

Ed could barely hear over the sound of his own heartbeat. Everything sounded like it was reaching him through a curtain of water; muted and slow. He couldn't move any faster, his frozen muscles screaming with each painful motion, while his instincts screamed back that he had to move.

The footsteps came faster and Ed instinctively ducked away, but not before something snagged his hair, cruel fingers digging into his scalp and yanking hair free as they secured a hold. Ed cried out, reaching up to rip Envy's hand away, but the homunculus batted him away with ease. "Now now, Pipsqueak. You're not going to go crawling off until we've had a good long talk. I haven't even gotten to gloat yet!"

Envy half dragged him five steps away, back the way Ed had come. Ed didn't have the strength to get his legs under him, much less fight back, and was helpless against the homunculus' strength. "Now, let's see," Envy said as if to himself. "What's the best way to keep you from running off? Without any more permanent damage, that is."

He felt Envy take hold of his automail leg, and before Ed could even try to fight him off, it shattered in his grip.

Agony flared through the port like lightening as the destroyed device fired off excess electricity. Ed screamed, hands flying to his leg in a vain effort to control the pain. His hands only found jagged metal and torn wires and tubes, the rest of his leg missing from just below the knee.

Loose bits of metal tapped on the wooden floorboards like heavy rain as Envy released his hold and took a step back. "That's better. Now, where were we?"

Through tortured sobs, Ed gripped his mangled automail, flesh fingers curled around the shattered edges while the metal ones massaged his spasming thigh muscle. "What do you want?!" he screamed through gritted teeth and pained tears.

Envy's laugh was nothing short of thrilled, the manic grin on his face audible. "Oh, come on now, brat! This is the fun part. This is where I get to tell you that I was the one that wreaked havoc on your pathetic little life and just how I did it. You should be interested to know. I went through a lot of trouble, after all. I wouldn't do that for just anyone."

That got Ed's attention.

Envy was responsible?

"What do you mean?" he gasped.

He could hear the monster grinning, sending a deep, primal fear slithering through his stomach. "Let me tell you a story."

XxXxX

"Alright, we're ready," Falman said as he mostly jogged down the hallway. He stopped in between Roy and Fuery's cells, coming to stand beside Hawkeye. "He's all set and waiting."

"Good," she said before turning her gaze to Roy. "Come here, sir," she ordered, beckoning him closer to her.

"Hawkeye," Roy said warningly, eying her with barely concealed trepidation but taking a step closer, regardless. "What are you thinking? I want to know what this plan is."

She pressed herself against the bars of his prison, one hand slipping inside her uniform jacket. "No time, sir." Her free hand reached in and grabbed his wrist. He glanced up to meet her gaze, so close he could breathe in her breathes. "Sir, do you trust me?"

Roy's eyes locked on hers, finding resolution in their sherry depths. His reply was instantaneous. "Yes, Riza."

She smiled, steady and calm. "Good," she said before plunging a needle into his hand.

Roy cursed, ripping his hand away. His whole arm quickly warmed as the unknown chemical rushed through his veins like liquid flame. "Hawkeye! What in the—?!"

"Sir, I suggest lying down before you fall down," Hawkeye responded calmly. "The drug is going to take effect any minute, and it would be helpful if you didn't give yourself a concussion."

As if on cue, Roy's body began to feel terribly heavy, like someone had strapped sandbags to his limbs. "What . . . what was that?" he asked, wondering if his voice had actually come out slurred or if he was having trouble hearing. His tongue felt swollen in his mouth and his vision was quickly going black around the edges. "Hawk . . . eye. What . . . what—?" he managed before his legs buckled and he landed flat on his rear.

Hawkeye gave him a weary sigh. "I told you to sit down," she chastised. "Falman, please hurry and tell the guard that the Colonel has mysteriously taken ill. He will undoubtedly need medical service."

"Yes, sir!" Falman barked, turning and jogging down the hallway.

"Lieutenant, what did you do?" Feury asked, voice trembling as he gazed out past his bars at Roy. "Did you inject him with something?"

Roy's hand wrapped around his chest, clutching weakly at his heart as if the gesture could relieve the pressure there. He fell back, elbows quickly giving out on him as his body turned against him, now far too weak to hold himself up. His breathes came in labored gasps and he couldn't make a sound to save his life.

"I've injected him with an agent that will mimic the symptoms of a heart attack without actually harming the heart. He will experience shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue, and possible disorientation. If everything goes as planned, he'll have medical help in under six minutes."

"And if it doesn't?" Feury asked.

"Then I'll have to inject the antidote," she said matter-of-factly. "I was given this by a certified doctor. There's no reason to worry."

"A doctor? Who?"

Roy was dimly aware of the hallway doors opening and footsteps moving fast down the hall. "Yes, right, so lucky I was here!" a familiar voice exclaimed. "Very lucky!"

"Yes, and why did you say you were here, again?" Archer's wary voice demanded. "Doctor . . .?"

"Call me Jim! Yes, well, I was here visiting my aunt's cousin's niece's great uncle when I heard this young man shouting calling for a doctor and—good heavens!" Silas exclaimed as he rounded the corner, eyes sweeping over Roy in a quick second. He thrust his arm out, finger pointed at Roy with absolute conviction. "That man is having a heart attack! He needs medical attention at once!" he turned to the MP flanking his side. "Open this cell!"

"How do you know?" Archer cut in as he came into view, eyes sliding to Roy with thinly veiled suspicion.

Silas gave him a withering look that Roy detachedly found to be quite convincing. "I'm a doctor, Colonel. You think I don't know a heart attack? Well, sir, that right there is what a heart attack looks like. Key symptoms include shortness of breath and the telltale way he's clutching his heart. I don't tell you who to shoot your gun at, Colonel, so don't tell me who is or isn't having a heart attack! Now open the door or we're going to lose him!"

Archer glared hard at Silas for a long minute, as if trying to force the truth out of him by the power of his gaze.

Finally, he sighed. "Very well. Open the door."

The MP looked relieved to not be caught in the crossfire anymore. He unlocked the cell door and Silas slipped in, quickly kneeling by Roy's side and opening his bag.

Roy wished he would hurry up and do something. His chest felt like someone was sitting on it, each breath a struggle. Sweat dripped down the side of his face with each shaky exhale.

Silas, his back to the outside of the cell, gave Roy a conspiratorial grin and a wink as he removed a needle and a bottle of clear fluid from his bag. "Hello, there sir! I understand that these things can be alarming, but rest assured, you are in good hands." From the smile on his face, Roy decided the small doctor was having a little too much fun. Silas turned the bottle upside-down and shoved the needle in, drawing out a few milligrams of liquid before putting the bottle aside and plunging the needle into Roy's arm.

The relief was almost instantaneous. Roy's chest immediately loosened, allowing him to gulp in lungfuls of oxygen and clear away some of the blackness in the corner of his vision, as well as the burning in his chest and the suffocation-fueled terror that had gripped his mind.

"I've given him something to ease his symptoms, but we need to get this man to a hospital," Silas said sternly. It was almost comical to hear that tone of voice coming from the man. "I trust the ambulance is on its way?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Yes, Doctor," Hawkeye's voice supplied. Roy fleetingly wished he could see her, but she was on the other side of Silas, and Roy couldn't have moved even if he'd wanted to.

"He may need a hospital, but he's not going alone," Archer hissed. Roy could still see him. He was sending the full force of his glare at Silas' back. "Two MPs will be accompanying him, and as soon as I wrap things up here, I will be along shortly."

Silas gave Archer a look that seemed to ask him if he was a complete moron. "There will be room for only one more in the ambulance, Colonel. You can't possibly send two MPs."

Archer scowled. "There is no need for you to worry your pretty head, Doctor," he promised. "I will take care of it."

Silas moved his shoulder in a half shrug. "Suit yourself, Colonel. Alright, Colonel . . . Mustang, is it? Don't worry about a thing, I'll just have a look at your vitals before the ambulance gets here." Silas slipped a hand around Roy's wrist and pulled out his gold pocket watch with the other.

"Was that shot really necessary?" Roy hissed under the cover of Archer's conversation with Hawkeye. His tongue still felt thick and swollen in his mouth, but he managed to convey his irritation well enough. "Couldn't I have just faked it?"

"Nonsense," Silas scoffed, pulling out a pad and scribbling something down. "The drug allowed for a much more believable performance. The EMTs are going to verify my diagnosis, and it's near impossible to fake half those symptoms. Besides," he looked down at Roy with a grin, "this way was more fun."

Roy scowled, resting his head back as the room tilted lazily around him. "I think I hate you."

XxXxX

Ed could hear Envy circling him, footsteps slow and smooth, like a stalking cat. Ed couldn't stop his body from trembling, though if it was from fear or the pain still radiating from his ruined automail, he couldn't be sure.

"Well, Pipsqueak, do you know exactly how you ended up going North?" Envy asked, the suddenness of his voice making Ed flinch. Ed didn't respond, fear choking him.

Going North? At the Drachman border?

Did Envy have something to do with his mission?

A sharp blow to his side had him crumpling to the ground with a startled cry. "I'm talking to you, brat!" Envy snarled. He felt Envy's foot push under his back and flip him over before planting itself in Ed's gut, effectively pinning him to the wood floor.

Ed gasped for breath, unable to dislodge the foot and all but unable to answer. He managed a sharp, wheezy, "No," before Envy forced the breath out of him.

"You learn fast. I've always liked that about you," the homunculi said blithely. "You went up North because of me."

It didn't make sense. What was the point?

"I was the one who broke into the warehouses. I was the one who pretended to be Lieutenant Colonel Bearden and filed that report before I killed the pathetic sap. You remember Bearden, don't you? And I was the one who told the Fuhrer that you were the only one for the job! And do you know what else?"

Ed couldn't speak, and no matter what he did, couldn't wriggle out from under Envy's foot, so he shook his head.

"I was the one that hired the Drachmen to take you!"

Ed stopped.

"That's right, Pipsqueak. It was all me."

The foot went away, and Ed coughed as air rushed back into his lungs.

"Why?" he choked.

The single word held a million questions, questions that had haunted him since the beginning of it all. Why him? Why did they take him? Why did they take his sight? What was the point in all of it?

And now he was starting to get some inkling of an answer, some twisted reasoning for all the horrors and all the inhumanity that he had endured.

Envy sounded thrilled with the question. "I thought you'd never ask! You see, we had three small problems: you, your tin-can brother and Sparky. Mustang was getting just a bit too ambitious, and the two of you imbeciles just couldn't stay out of our business, could you? Father was starting to be concerned that you would interfere with our plans, but you guys are all candidates for sacrifice, so I couldn't just kill you."

That was the same drivel Envy had fed him before. He still wasn't sure what this sacrifice was, but it had kept him alive, so he'd never complained about it.

Then he'd been introduced to a fate arguably worse than death. Now he wasn't so sure it was anything to be grateful for.

"So," Envy continued, still standing over him like a lion over its kill. "We started Operation Firefight. Clever, huh? It goes higher up than you can imagine. The goal was to bring you State Alchemists under control. But you remember Operation Firefight, don't you? Those Drachmen asked you about it enough. I mean, they were just hired guys, but they were hoping you'd tell them some useful dirt on Amestris. And every time you didn't answer, they tore a fingernail out, didn't they?" he asked, the excitement in his voice making Ed even sicker. "Or did they light you up like a Christmas tree? I wasn't able to be there for all of it. I stayed as much as I could, though. I didn't want to miss a thing."

Envy had been there. Envy had watched as they stripped his humanity away from him and Ed hadn't even noticed.

Envy lowered himself, his face inches from Ed's own. Ed could feel his hot, vile breath whisper across his face and almost gagged on the pervasive scent of rot around the homunculus.

"As fun as killing you would be, I'll admit, I never thought that breaking that spirit of yours would be just as fun." A hand cupped the side of Ed's face, patronizing in its gentleness and chilling in its familiarity. Ed immediately tried to shrink away, but the other hand just snagged in his hair, trapping him in place.

"And you know what the best part is?" he asked in a silky purr, one hand still stroking the side of his face, clawed hands scraping over his cheekbone and eliciting an involuntary whimper from Ed's throat as it got much too close to his eye. "The best part is I get to finish destroying you, and Mustang will take the fall for it. Isn't it great? All we had to do was get to you, and your little band of do-gooders gets obliterated. Your little brother leaves you behind and runs off to Xing, and then there's Mustang. Even now they have him in a holding cell. He's going to deny everything, but when I dress up as one of his men and bring your broken, gibbering body through the doors of Central Command and testify that he was the cause, I wonder if he'll ever see the light of day again? You know how it's going to look? It's going to look like he set you up to get taken by the Drachmen."

Envy finally released his hold on Ed's face and Ed recoiled from the violating touch. He tried to cover his whole body with the rough new blanket, but it wasn't long enough.

"Pathetic brat," Envy huffed with disgust. "Want me to tell you how this is all going to play out, Edward Elric? We've got it laid out flawlessly. We even have a guy on the inside that is going to hang this all perfectly around Mustang's neck, thanks to you. Let me tell you how the story's going to end."

Ed swallowed back bile. This wasn't his fault. None of this was his doing, no matter what Envy said.

The lie tasted bitter even to himself.

"You know what they say about Mustang around the office," Envy commented happily. "He's always been jealous of you. You're one person that may be a better alchemist than he is. And you're just a brat kid. That has to sting the pride. So he just ships you up to Drachma, all alone with no back up. Of course you're going to get taken."

"No proof," Ed whispered. "Fuhrer sent me."

"And you know what's convenient about that? All those papers have mysteriously gone missing. Even the ones in Hawkeye's apartment. There is absolutely no paper evidence linking your orders to the Fuhrer. Isn't that a shame? Now, where was I?

"Oh, yes, Mustang sends you up North and you get captured. Do you know how long it took Mustang to launch an investigation? Three weeks. He ignored you for three weeks!"

"No," Ed said again, the protest weak. That wasn't Mustang's fault. "Military blocked him."

Something hit the side of Ed's head and he cried out.

"I'm getting real tired of you interrupting me with your pathetic whining!" Envy snarled. "Anyway, Mustang takes his time, but then he starts to feel guilty . . . I mean, you're just a little kid, after all, so he finally mounts a rescue mission, expecting you to be dead, but you're still alive! And now, after little brother has finally left, he seals the deal! Beats you up until your nothing but a mindless wreck and end up at the funny farm. People don't take well to child abusers, you know.

"Yep, Mustang is going to be in prison for a long long time. But now . . . the only question is, how best to finish the job?" Ed felt a pressure at his chest, then the blanket was ripped from around Ed's shoulders.

Ed needed that. He needed that blanket.

Ed frantically searched the ground beside him, fighting down a strangled sob as his only comfort was stolen, but rough hands shoved him to the ground again and wrapped themselves in his shirt.

In a single rip, his shirt was open, his thin, emaciated chest exposed to the cold air. Panic fluttered through his mind like leaves in the wind. Ed curled in on himself, using his automail to drag himself back, but Envy's foot came down once again, the cold appendage pinning Ed's chest to the ground. "What . . . what are you doing?" Ed wheezed, the fresh fear that came with being trapped filling his soul.

Envy cackled, and Ed could feel his eyes raking over him, immodest and cruel. "Look at you, Pipsqueak! You look like a sack of bones! Not much left of you, huh? Well, I think in the psych ward they feed everyone with tubes anyway. I don't plan on leaving enough of your mind for you to worry about that, though."

A hand latched onto Ed's wrist and before he could even try to cover himself, Envy yanked hard. Ed left the ground, and mindless terror engulfed him. He hit something hard, only just registering that something in his chest gave with the impact before he crumpled to the ground.

Ed whimpered, curling up with one hand wrapped protectively around his ribs as fire burned his side. He didn't hear Envy over the blood pounding in his ears until the homunculus was right over him. Something clinked like metal as Envy picked his head up off the floor by the hair, a cold band securing itself around his neck.

A collar.

A metal collar.

"Tell me, Edward," Envy said with a smile Ed could only hear.

Ed smelled blood and wolves and he could taste the pain in the air, panic engulfing his mind like fire.

"Do you remember the basement?"