Morphed

Chapter Thirty Two

Don't feel bad, I hate myself too. :3

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Previously:

Oh, you know what happened. Riza rescued Ed and killed Lust, and Mustang killed Envy. Voila, recap over. On with the chapter. :P

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It's all gone cold...
There's nothing left to gain
It's all so wrong...
But who am I, who am I to say?
To say

~ Cold (Five Finger Death Punch)

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Ed limped along the endless corridors, one arm slung around Hawkeye's shoulders, the other wrapped around himself. Everything hurt. Hawkeye had stripped him of what remained of his shirt and used it to wrap the four punctures in his side, if nothing else but to staunch the flow of blood. Every step he took the small wounds screamed at him, but he gritted his teeth and tried to push through the pain. He had to get Hawkeye out of here before she got hurt.

The four slashes across his chest stung like Hell, but weren't deep enough to cause any permanent damage beyond scarring. His entire body was mottled with painful bruises, and his wrists ached from the chains that had held him upright for so long. Really, he was fine.

He knew Riza had seen...that. Seen what Lust had been doing to him - despite his attempt to distract her from it - but she had yet to bring it up, and for that he was eternally grateful. He never wanted to think about what had happened to him down here ever again, much less talk about it. The moment she'd freed him from the chains that bound him he'd collapsed, but once she'd helped him back to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist to hold him steady, she'd turned her head away so that he could do up his zipper and buckle his belt. As much as he hated that he needed help to do something as simple as stand, he'd rather let her hold him up if it meant she would't ask about Lust.

As they limped along, Hawkeye brought him up to speed on what had happened in his absence; a whole lot of jack shit. Up until they'd tracked him down, apparently nothing had happened. Everything was quiet. No sign of the Homunculi anywhere. At least not until they had ventured down here and encountered Envy.

Riza had been visibly shocked when he told her that Fuhrer Bradley was a Homunculus. She'd sworn viciously under her breath, then schooled herself into practicality. They moved in silence for a short while, and she'd just drawn in a breath, likely to ask him something, when a sudden explosion shook the ground and they swayed, clinging to each other in an attempt to stay balanced. They both swore, then looked at each other. Ed shrugged, and she frowned at him.

"I'm fine." He grunted. Her frown only deepened, indecision written all over her face. "Really, I'm fine. We should check that out. You said Mustang and Havoc were here?" She'd also mentioned Hohenheim's presence, but he didn't care enough about that man (beyond how much he hated him) to warrant mentioning him. She nodded, eyes full of worry. "One or both of them could be down there. They may need help."

This seemed to convince her, because she nodded. They changed course and headed towards the explosion, and he tried his best to ignore the worried glances she kept sending him. He let her guide him, and fell into thought for a few moments.

Despite all the crap Mustang had put him through, Edward still didn't like the idea of the man in danger on his own. Logically, he knew that the Flame Alchemist's fire would prove to be quite the challenge for Envy, and that Mustang's own anger and hatred would probably give the man an edge, but that didn't stop Ed from worrying all the same. Envy played dirty.