Capture the Darkness

Again I want to say thank you for the reviews. I know that some people felt the last chapter was too close to the cannon, however I did state that I pull a lot from there. Don\'t expect for it to stay that way though, things will swing out then curve back in and swing out again. I suppose you could think of the cannon as a straight line that my fic is going to dance in and out of, best way I can describe it.

Disclaimer: Like I said if I owned FMA Envy would be the star and everyone else would stalk his skirted rear.

Capture the Darkness
Chapter Three
You\'ll Never Hear Me Crying

Deep beneath an abandoned building in Central City rested a labyrinth of empty corridors and dark rooms. Dim green light dimly shone down on the cold stone tiles, granting the chilled passageways a sickly welcoming illumination. Only skilled feet could make the dangerous path through numerous traps and dead ends to delve into the darkest section, the heart of the maze. Feet skilled such as Envy\'s were. He had picked and tiptoed his way to the bowels of these chambers many times over, and once again he was plodding through to the last room, where such a precious sight awaited him.

His lips curled back into a smug sneer as he laid eyes on his former tormentor. Greed lay helpless within the center of the dealing array, thick arms and legs bound by simplistic leather straps. That touch had been merely for humiliation, but it worked oh so beautifully. Though Greed had not been forced to choke up any stones, the sealing array sapped at his strength, devouring the sin’s will to move or fight like a ravenous beast devoured its kill. It was so amusing to know that all anyone had to do was drag Greed out of the array and the sin would be good as new but for now, he was as helpless as an infant. Envy sauntered up and kneeled before Greed\'s prone form, smiling as their eyes met between the tinted glass of the bastard’s shades.

“Hello Greed. It’s been a little while since I last visited you, I hope you haven\'t been too lonely down here without me.” He blinked when the older homunculus laughed. Maybe Greed had finally lost his mind, if he ever had one to begin with.

“You really think I would miss the company of an irritating little bitch like you? Come off it Envy, how many times do I need to say this? Get your skinny ass out of here.” Greed snorted, glaring menacingly at the slender sin. Inwardly he was smirking as he watched Envy\'s teeth grind together. In an instant the younger male had leapt up and viciously cracked Greed\'’ skull into the floor with the heel of his foot. Despite the blood seeping out of one corner of his mouth, Greed still grinned in his smug, shark-like way.

“Nice, kicking the shit out of me when I\'m absolutely helpless, what a tough guy you are little one. Do you feel safe here, within my array?” He continued to grin, licking his lip to savor the taste of his own blood. Envy\'s fists clenched at his sides, his lithe frame shaking with rage. He darted forward, grasping Greed by the hair in order to wrench back the other sin’s head threateningly.

“Shut up! Do you have any idea how long I\'ve waited for this day ah? All those times you forced me to do your dirty work just because you felt it was a job beneath you! The nights you pinned me down and tore my ass apart with your damned prick! Every time you laughed in my face, mocking my work and abilities. I\'ve waited so long to pay you back for every single insult Greed!” He growled, shaking the other homunculus roughly. To his shock Greed only smiled and chuckled.

“So that\'s it? You still think you can get back at me for all that?” His smile turned into a sharp frown as he drew his body up on his knees, yanking his head back, leaving several hairs clenched within Envy\'s fist.

“All right Envy, lets assume for a minute here that you do pay me back for everything I\'ve done to you. Lets assume you do kick my ass all over the room, even kill me once or twice. You had better be prepared for when I\'m set free. I\'ll hunt you down first thing when I get out of here and make you suffer all over again.” He smirked at the boy.

“You know she left the stones I have correct? Think about it, I am getting out of here eventually and while you\'ve been gaining strength little by little over these last fifty years, you\'re still centuries behind me, weakling.” He leaned in close, his breath hot on the other sin’s flesh. “And think about this, I\'m not even the strongest among all of us. Do you even know which is the eldest? Have any of them ever treated you any better than I did?”

Envy glared, pulling away though he was too stunned to speak. He hated to think about it, but Greed had a point.

“You always get the unimportant missions correct? And when you are involved in something worthwhile you have to go as a subordinate to one of the others. They don\'t think you can handle it on your own, even your dearest mommy still considers you a child Envy. That\'s all you\'ll ever be in their eyes, a short-tempered, whiney brat.” Greed smiled, watching as the other sin slowly sank to the floor, staring off at the far wall with a pained expression.

“I was the only one who ever treated you as anything but a baby, but how do you show your gratitude? You fight me, hiss and spit like an angry alley cat and try to kick me when I\'m down. Such bad manners kid, I thought you had been taught better by your mother. It’s true though, isn\'t it? I\'m the only one that\'s ever treated you like an adult aren\'t I?” Greed leaned in, his voice barely a whisper in Envy\'s ear. The other nodded slowly, his breath soft and short. Smirking, Greed continued, knowing that even now he still had control.

“You shouldn\'t be so angry at me anyway. I always gave you the chance to fight back, or to leave. You could have gone to work with Lust or Pride. Face it, you willingly rolled over and spread your legs for me. You wanted it. Otherwise you would have left, hell you even pleaded with me to let you stay that one time? Remember? When I was going to send your ass back to your mother for disobeying me on that job?” He chuckled softly at the warring emotions crossing through Envy\'s violet eyes. The pain, fear, denial, confusion, it was so refreshing to watch the boy writhe under his thumb even when he was in this state.

Envy tried to speak but he couldn\'t find the words to voice his thoughts. He felt stiff and weak, it was always so hard to try and battle Greed\'s logic, maybe because part of it was truth, but it couldn\'t be the truth. He shook his head slowly, blinking when the smirking sin leaned in and nuzzled his cheek.

“Shh now Envy, don\'t be like that. You were always my favorite. I\'ll tell you a little secret babe. Did you know that when you were still shitting your diaper I was making your mommy squeal? But you know what? You squeal so much louder and better than she ever could. I promise you when I get out of here, you\'ll make those sweet sounds for me again.” Greed\'s slick tongue slowly trailed up the side of Envy\'s pale cheek. “Every single night.”

Envy jerked away, wiping at his face furiously as he stalked out of the room, he could hear Greed\'s oily laughter following behind him all the way down the hall. He bit into his lower lip, chewing it till it bled. A surge of emotion overtook him and he broke into a run, his feet beating the hall and stairs as he fled to one of the old bedrooms on the third level. He threw his body onto the aged mattress, clawing at the pillow as the dust resettled around him. His shoulders shook as he tried to fight back the frustration. How did it always end up that he left that room angrier than he had entered it? Greed always had the upper hand.

The sad thing was, that the cocky ass was right to some extent. None of the others treated him like little more than a child. Sloth was always trying to baby him, so he usually avoided her like a plague. Lust watched over him like a hawk when they were working together, constantly double-checking his every move. Gluttony would trade ‘jokes’ with him, or try to share a meal sometimes, which made him nearly puke whenever he heard the round sin crunching anymore. The fact that Gluttony was the only one who seemed to see him as an equal was possibly more depressing than the fact that Pride utterly ignored his existence unless ordered to impart information to him by mother. Envy scowled, then flopped over and shook his fist at the ceiling.

“Damn that bastard! Why does he always have to be right?” He sighed, settling into a familiar depressed mood. He was rarely happy anymore. His moods switched back and forth between insanity, rage and sorrow. Through it all the beast locked inside clawed his mind and soul, shredding any shadows of his former life, his former joy at just being. In a few more centuries, maybe even decades, would there even be a shadow left of what he had once been? He slowly let his eyes close, trying to fall asleep. He didn\'t need it, but sometimes it was the only way to escape his private Hell.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Brother I don\'t like this place, It’s creepy.” Al glanced nervously over his shoulder back into the darkness, he couldn\'t shake the feeling of eyes on his back.

“Yeah I know Al, I don\'t like it here either. You heard Hughes though, Scar was last seen in this area and if he\'s the one who killed Nina then I want to be the one to take him out.” Ed\'s golden eyes narrowed into thin slits, he clenched his automail hand into a tight fist.

“But Ed, what are we supposed to do if we find him? How do you expect to beat him alone?” He blinked, coming to a stop behind the shorter boy.

“Hey, I\'m not alone. I\'ve got you, that\'s all I need.” Ed offered his brother a reassuring smile. Truthfully he wasn\'t sure what he planned to do if they actually did find Scar inside this catacomb maze. “Were a perfect team Al, you\'re defense and I\'m offense, we work together and nothing can stop us? Not even Scar.” Ed smirked and took another step forward. He blinked as the ground sank under his foot. “Huh?”

A low rumbling sound echoed in the distance, Ed and Al glanced back, then stared at one another and shared nervous smiles. A large slab lowered into the passage just behind them, rows of sharp, blood-crusted iron spikes jutted out from the gigantic block. The two boys gaped, then screamed as the rock began sliding forward in their direction. They sprinted down the hall, the spears hot on their heels as they traded blame back and forth between each other. At length they rounded the corner at the end of the hall, barely making it before the spikes smashed into the wall.

“Well, there goes our exercise for the week.” Ed joked lightly, clapping Al on the shoulder only to find his brother staring at him lamely. “What?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Envy shot up out of bed, the thundering echo of a crash ringing in his ears. His eyes were wide as he scrambled from bed and raced down the halls and stairways. The gnawing fear at the back of his mind frantically insisted Greed had somehow broken free and was lurking around every blind turn to pounce on him. He ran on, only stopping when he could peer into the room and see the other sin looking at the ceiling in confusion. Envy turned back and leaned against the wall, frowning as he thought.

“If It’s not Greed then it has to be an intruder. Probably the damn military dogs.” He growled, clenching a fist in frustration. “I can\'t let them find Greed. Guess I\'ll just have to deal with them myself.” A slow smirk curled his lips as he padded softly toward the upper levels.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Scar paused at the next open chamber he came across. There was a large array in the center of the floor, made from blood. By the look of it the symbol had been created some time ago, but it had taken several lives to place it on the floor by the thickness of the lines and the sheer size of the array. He glared into the room, holding his torch higher so that he could look for any other clues. Alchemists were sickening to him when they turned to this path, using human lives for their own personal gain. He had to bring all of them to justice, for their crimes they had to be punished.

“Well, well, so you\'re the one poking your nose where it doesn\'t belong. You know you shouldn\'t be here, this place doesn\'t concern you. It’s been abandoned for decades.” Scar looked up, somewhat surprised to see a lithe figure emerging out of the darkness ahead of him. It flashed a menacing smirk his way, its inhuman eyes reflecting the light from his torch within catlike pupils. Dark hair draped down its barely clothed body and despite his best efforts he couldn\'t be sure if it was male or female. It placed one fist on its right hip, tapping the stone floor with bare toes.

“I would have thought the others had taken care of you all ready, but I guess Ill have to do it now. Pity, I really hate fighting, but if I have to clean up after them then I will.” Envy smiled, then charged at the human, he may have a hard time fighting Greed, but Scar was no Homunculus.

Their bodies jerked and danced across the room, trading blows and avoiding deadly strikes from each other. Scar\'s right arm was glowing, the intricate array branded onto his flesh pulsing with alchemic light. Envy had changed his right arm into a blade, attempting to sever the man’s limbs with each vicious lunge.
The human managed to evade his opponent’s strike, grasping onto the transmuted limb with his crackling palm. He snarled at the struggling creature, clenching his fist tighter around the trapped limb. In an instant the appendage had been blown off, the force of the energy sending Envy flying to the other end of the room with a pained screech. Blood spurted from his shoulder as he writhed momentarily from pain. As the wound healed and a new arm sprouted into place he looked back at the startled man.

“You\'re going to regret that bastard.” He stood up slowly, clenching his fist again as he stalked forward. Scar took up a defensive position, his arm snapping and popping with energy. He glared at the oncoming beast.

“What are you?” His question was swallowed by a sudden rumbling sound as two young boys came bolting into the room from another door, which was soon smashed apart by a large rolling boulder. The boys yelped, diving in different directions as the mass of rock careened across the room and crumbled the opposite wall. Everything stilled as the dust settled and then four pairs of eyes all took in the situation. Al and Ed jumped to their feet, ignoring the annoyed sin in favor of facing off against Scar.

“You killed Nina! You\'re coming with us Scar to face trial for your actions!” Ed glared, pointing at the quiet man as menacingly as he could. Al stood grim and silent behind him, backing his brother up one hundred percent. A loud cough turned their attention to the pissed off figure behind them.

“Why the hell does everyone have to show up here ah? I don\'t recall leaving a welcome mat out at the door.” Envy glared at the boys, padding around them to point at Scar. “I had him first kids so you\'ll have to wait in line. Ill let you have the body if you behave like good little boys and get out.” He smirked at them.

“He\'s coming with us! We have jurisdiction here anyway as military officers!” Ed snarled, annoyed that this person was trying to keep him from his goal.

“Military? Why would they hire a pip-squeak like you?” Envy blinked, somewhat stunned that children could be part of the meddlesome government police force.

“Who are you calling a pip-squeak you pathetic excuse for a palm tree!” Ed raged, waving his arms around and nearly frothing at the mouth. His brother gently restrained him, laughing in slight embarrassment.

“Palm tree?” Envy gaped, then snorted. It was at that moment that the ceiling began to rumble. All three glanced up, then over to Scar who was literally bringing the building down on their heads. They had little time to do more then shout as the upper floor collapsed, bringing down the walls of the above ground levels with it. Al crouched with his brother who rapidly clapped his hands and created a dome over their bodies. Envy unfortunately was crushed under the weight of the numerous rocks that slammed into the aged chamber, cracking the floor beneath and continuing down into deeper levels.

As stone and glass smashed through the ceiling, Greed barely managed to roll to one side, blinking over the rim of his shades in surprise at his good luck. The array had been broken in half all the way through. A wide toothy smirk slid into place as he began to worm his way to the edge of the floor. All he had to do was throw himself into the room below.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Amidst the vast amount of rubble and dust settling in the room a large granite fist surged up toward the gaping hole in the ceiling, freeing two blonde youths from the pile of stone and wood. Al slowly took in the damage while Ed frantically scanned the area for Scar. He shouted, striking the ground with his automail fist.

“Damn it! He got away Al. It’s all that stupid palm tree\'s fault! If he, or she, whatever if they hadn\'t of been in the way we would have caught him!” He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. His brother sighed beside him.

“Hey brother? Speaking of that person, do you think they survived the collapse?” He frowned at the towers of crumbled debris, nervously chewing his lower lip. Ed winced, thinking better of his fury in light of the unnamed person’s likely death.

“Maybe, he could have gotten away, he seemed like he knew this place pretty well after all. Just in case though, we should see if we can dig him out.” He dusted off his black top and strode toward the nearest pile, clapping his hands and setting them against the stone to move the wreckage. Al followed suit, scribbling intricate arrays on the stones before touching them and sliding them piece by piece into a neat stack against the far wall.

“Hey Al, look at this! I found some old books under all these stones. I wonder if It’s part of the researchers notes on whatever they studied here.” Ed tapped his chin while pulling several of the cracked tomes out of the mess. Most of the books were torn and dirtied, but it wouldn\'t be hard to fix that with a little alchemy.

“I think they were studying alchemy brother, did you notice the huge array on the floor earlier? It looked like it had been drawn with blood.” The younger boy shuddered faintly, uncertain about the history of this dark building, and even less certain that he wanted to delve into that past. Ed frowned deeply, stacking book after book beside him.

“If that\'s true Al, then we need to find out exactly what they were up to. We should take these back with us.” Ed finished gathering the books and set a few pieces of broken wood and stone around them. He clapped his hands, then made a small crate with wheels around the tomes for easier transport. His brother smiled, then let out a sharp gasp.

“We forgot that person! They might still be trapped under one of these piles! Come on they may need our help!” He frantically started drawing arrays again while Ed scrambled to clear more rubble. As they were working some of the stones in a pile a few feet behind them began to shake and roll, before the entire mound of rock exploded from the force of an angry kick. The grumbling, cursing figure of the person they had been hunting for strolled out, dusting off its skirt and stomach while shaking a fist at the ceiling.

“Damn military bastards! Can\'t build anything worth shit! It’s a wonder this whole fucking place didn\'t drop flat!” Envy snarled and glared at the ceiling as though it would wither in fear under his hot gaze. He eventually turned around to look at the two boys, his lips pulling back over his small fangs. “And you! You gave him a chance to escape! You know I was going to let you both live but now, I think Ill take your heads instead of his!” The sin charged at them, his arms transmuting into twin scimitars as he neared the startled pair.

Ed and Al had barely enough time to duck and roll under the precise slashes, the hair on their heads getting shaved a few inches in some spots as they dove across the ground. Al desperately whipped out his chalk and began to draw on the floor while his brother turned and raced back toward their attacker. He focused on getting the array correct, ignoring the sounds of Ed\'s transmuted automail blade clashing with the twin blades of their assailant.

“Now brother!” As soon as Ed heard Al’s shout he leapt to the side, leaving a startled homunculus to take the full force of the rushing stone block that pressed his slender body into the wall and then toppled it, raining bricks onto him. The two boys grabbed their cart of books and ran as quickly as they could to get out of the building before they were attacked again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Greed smiled as he strolled through the darkened recesses of the building. Not even Envy had prowled this deep into the facilities myriad of passages and labs. While the boy had known that some form of research went on in the building, only Greed and a few select others knew exactly what type of research and testing was done here.

The homunculus paused before a room with several large cages embedded into the walls. He offered the snarling occupants a wide shark-toothed grin. Strolling forward with confidence he faced each set of glowing eyes and held his arms out in welcome.

“Hello there. I’ll offer you all one chance. Join with me and we\'ll bring Hell to the humans above. Refuse me and I\'ll slaughter you where you stand.” He smirked, letting his hands transform into wicked black talons. The flesh glinted like finely polished steel in the dim light from the sickly green lamps. There was silence for a moment in which he stepped forward again, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. “I could use a good work out.”

“I’ll join you.” He turned to face one of the cages, smiling almost warmly at a slender woman with strange markings down the side of her face and neck. He walked to her cage, slicing through the bars with a single swipe of his claws.

“Me too.” A deep male voice sounded from the back of the room. Greed smiled wider as he headed back to it, his ears detecting the shuffle of footsteps at his sides.

“I’ll go as well.”

“And I!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Envy threw the rubble from his body. That had been twice now he had been squished. He scowled, furious that not only had he been flattened again but that the brats had escaped! Perfect, now he had lost all the trespassers and the building had collapsed. He didn\'t dare hope the damage on the surface levels had gone unnoticed. By the next morning the place would be swarming with military dogs, all investigating into the causes of the destruction. He was going to have to figure out a way to move Greed.

“Oh shit!” Violet eyes flew open wide as the sin raced back to where Greed had been sealed. He pleaded with the silent halls for the other sin’s room to have been unaffected by the chaos. The sight of the half smashed, and more importantly empty room forced him to his knees. He panted, nervously glancing around before bolting back up to the surface.

“Damn! Greed\'s free again. I\'ve got to report this to mother. She\'s going to be pissed.” He grumbled as he darted over rooftops in the slumbering city. At least if he faced her wrath and unpleasant punishments he would be safe from Greed. The other homunculus wouldn\'t dare go near the woman when she hadn\'t been the one to release him. Eventually he would face the other sin again, but for now retreat was a better option.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ed sighed and shoved another book to the side of the coffee table. He and Al had been reading ever since they got back to their apartment that night. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon and they still hadn\'t found out much. Well, unless you counted animal research on chimeras much, but they had studied that with Tucker.

“Brother look at this. There are notes in this book by a man named Marcoh. It says here that the research in the deeper labs was unknown to all but a select group. It was still primarily chimera research but-brother, they were using humans.” Al’s voice faltered as he looked up at Ed. The two of them instantly thought back to little Nina Tucker, wincing and scowling in turn at the twisted images of her transmuted form.

Ed took the book and flipped forward a few pages, arching a brow and gasping as he read. Al leaned over, his amber eyes curious at the sounds of startled shock coming from his sibling.

“Al, this guy Marcoh, he wasn\'t researching chimeras himself, he was researching something else. The Philosophers Stone.” Ed glared at the book, his eyes focusing on the list of researchers and their projects scrawled across the page. Marcoh was the sole alchemist studying the stone.

“This is it Al, our next lead. Were going to find out everything we can about Doctor Marcoh.”

**To Be Continued**

UGH another chapter done at last…Yippy! Thanks to Red for beta-reading for me this time and to Duck and Bey chan for doing it before!