A:N/ skjhdfkdjsfh I AM SO SORRY. this chapter is completely too short, and it has taken me way too long to upload. i could lie and say i had a reason to not have this finished, but i love you guys too much to lie to you. the only "reason" i can give is that i got stuck. Thank you so much to those who have put this on story alert, and thank you to those who reviewed. im going to try to actually finish this fic, because you guys make me smile 3

Ed found himself shocked and speechless for several moments as what the Colonel... no, the man disguised as the Colonel had said. Those three words rang out as clearly within his mind as they had when spoken a few minutes ago in the desolate cabin. "Settle down, pipsqueak." There was only one person who called him that, one thing who would refer to him in that manner upon every time their paths had crossed.

"Envy," Ed growled out, his voice laced with a thirst for vengeance and dripping with hatred. If it were not for the tone of which he spat the name and the slight tremble of his frame, his demeanor would have seemed completely calm. This was not the case, however, nor was it the time to feel complacent.

Envy laughed, using his innate abilities to shift back to his preferred form. "Well, well, it certainly took you long enough, didn't it?" he asked. Standing up from his place in front of the fire, the homunculi turned to face the blond alchemist, perching one hand on his hip. "I had to practically spell it out for you, you dense fool," he sneered, "And here I was, thinking that you would know your comrade well enough to see through my little ploy. Ah, but I guess I was wrong, you really are too thick for that."

Ed was seething by this time, waiting for the right moment to transmute his arm and strike down the arrogant homunculi where he stood. "You twisted bastard..." he said, his voice quiet and harsh. "What was the point, huh? Wouldn't it have been easier for you to just attack me out in the snow, than to get me here? Wouldn't that have been easier than to go through all of this trouble?" The blonde shifted slightly, a slight smirk decorating his face. "But then again, I guess it doesn't matter, being as you won't be walking away from me, not this time!" He exclaimed, transmuting his arm into a blade, and then rushing towards Envy.

Ed realized that Envy was expecting the rush the same moment that the homunculus nimbly dodged to the side. Envy's right arm shot forward, attempting to gain a grasp around Ed's neck. Ed quickly parried with a sidelong swipe of his blade, using the momentum to twist counter-clockwise into a low thrust. His blade made slight contact, but it was not enough to keep Envy from retaliating with a round-about kick, a kick that just barely missed the blonde's face.

Ed gritted his teeth, infuriated at his own carelessness. To allow Envy even close enough to get him on edge would prove to show that his attack method was seriously flawed.

"Ehehehe. You're not doing so well, are you, runt?" Envy cackled. Ed, despite subconsciously knowing that he shouldn't let the homunculi's taunting get to him, got frustrated as yet another blow to his pride was made. He cried out, rushing the older man. He smirked when he thought he made contact, only to suffer a heavy blow to the right side of his head.

"Damn..." he spat, as he ricocheted onto the floor. This fight was quickly becoming more intense than he thought it would. Just like before… Both then, and now, Envy seemed to be stronger than usual, seemed to be one step ahead. And it was beginning to seriously piss Ed off. Standing up, he wiped the trickle off blood away from his mouth. "What's your game, Envy?" he asked.

Envy cackled again. "Ehehehe, you're catching on faster than I thought you would, you runt~ You see, father loves me. He gave me a little push, if you know what I mean. That little girl wasn't the one in the village that you couldn't save~"

Ed bristled as he realized the implications of what Envy was saying. No… "No!" He rushed Envy again, managing to catch the homunculi off guard. Despite their difference in height, with his natural hand clenched around Envy's neck and his automail blade against the homunculi's gut, Ed held the other man firmly against the wall of the old shack. "I'll tear you limb from limb!"

Roy sighed. He didn't want to admit it, not even to himself, but he was, undeniably and irrevocably lost. But could he really be blamed for his lack of direction in this wasteland? Snow, reaching out to the horizon, and all of this was for some little kid that he didn't even care about. Or maybe, I do care about him… He shook his head. What mattered most right now was that he actually found Ed, and with a new layer of snow beginning to fall, that was going to become even more difficult.

It was with this thought in mind that he managed to stumble upon a makeshift camp. He let a small, relieved smile grace his features. "Fullmetal?" he called, walking into the middle of the area. He called again, a bit louder this time.

When no answer came to him, his smile faltered. When he checked the small tent for the possibility of a sleeping blonde and was met with emptiness, his smile faded completely. And when he turned to see two sets of footprints trudging away from the camp, his heart lurched. He knew he had no basis to be worried; the second set of footprints could very well belong to an ally. But what if it's not an ally…? What if it's somebody who'll hurt the kid?

… What if it's Envy?

At this thought, at the mere suggestion that Envy would have tricked Ed and lured him somewhere, Roy couldn't help but feel bile rise in his throat. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. He knew that the falling snow would make these sets of tracks difficult to follow, but he also knew that there was no way he was going sit and wait. With a renewed determination in his mind, he set off to follow the tracks in earnest, setting a rapid pace.

A third set of tracks had begun.

Despite having a blade to his gut and a hand around his throat, Envy couldn't help but to laugh. "What're you gonna do, runt? Slash a hole through my stomach, spill my blood, and then watch me regenerate? Fine, go ahead and do it. You'll get nowhere like that."

Ed let out a growl, but he knew that the homunculus was right. There was no way that he'd get very far at this point, not without some form of help. If only the führer wouldn't have sent him alone, if only he could have brought Al along, or hell, even Roy-

Envy took advantage of the pause caused by Ed's inner turmoil, and brought his knee up- straight into Ed's stomach. With his breath knocked out of him, Ed inadvertently released his hold on the homunculus, doubling over. Never one to fight fair, Envy seized this opportunity to deliver a swift kick to Ed's jaw, sending the blonde to the floor of the shack once more.

A smug grin plastered on his face, Envy sauntered over to the alchemist. Bending down, he lifted Ed roughly by the front of his shirt, causing the boy to grimace. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. The great Fullmetal is speechless for once. And on top of that, he's in such a poor state, too. But we've only begun to play." His gaze drifted down to Ed's right arm. "But, you know, I don't think I like this toy. It's causing such an issue between us, eh runt?" He grasped the automail at where a normal elbow would be. "Let's not play with it, anymore," he said, and with that, he clenched his hand, straining, until the material groaned and shattered under the pressure.

"You bastard!" Ed yelled, his remaining clenching his working hand and throwing a punch at the homunculus' face. Envy, however, was expecting this, and caught the fist just inches from its target. "Now, now, let's play nice," he said, twisting the captured hand until he heard a sickening crunch that was followed by a scream from the Blonde.

Envy laughed, dropping the hand with the now-broken wrist. He opened his mouth as if to taunt the alchemist,

And then he screamed. Dropping Ed roughly to the floor, Envy screamed because there was pain. He screamed because there was smoke. He screamed because there was fire.

And he screamed because there was Roy.