A Shadow Of Who He Was (A Fullmetal Alchemist FanFiction)

Chapter One

Edward was tired.

Hands -Yes, hands. One his own, and the other so completely not- dangled above him, suspended by thick chains, each individual link made out of a material he felt as though he should know, but at the moment his mind was to clouded, to far into shut down mode, for him to be able to name it. They chaffed at his skin and the other arm, the one that wasn't his, that would never be, enough to draw blood and send it dripping slowly to the ground.

A blindfold was wrapped securely over his eyes, digging into his head and entangling itself into what little remained of his braid, knotted, uneven, and lacking its healthy shine. His automail leg had been removed as well, replaced with another limb that wasn't his own. He had never thought he would want his automail, and yet, ironically, it was when he had flesh and bone again that he did.

Edwards heartbeat was dangerously slow, his breathing abnormally shallow and each breath was further apart. The door to his cell creaked open, the all to familiar sounds of boots clacking on the stone floor sent a wave of hopelessness through His body.

It was already time again...?

The answer seemed to be yes as Edward felt the pressure on his bloodied skin loosen, and the seemingly always cold leather of a collar made its way harshly onto his throat.

The material made a soft sound, almost a slithering noise, as it brushed harshly against his skin, the buckles metal pinching into his skin and making it even harder to breath, even harder to live.

And Edward fell limp.

He missed his brother, so there was no way he was going to let himself die, not while he still had his mission. His mission to get Al's body back. He missed Winry and Pinako too, as well as Riza, Havoc and the rest of the team he had come to secretly think of as family.

Hell, he missed Roy for fucks sake.

Pain exploded in Ed's side, and he realized that whoever it was that held the chains binding his hands and the leash that he was sure had by now been connected to the collar, -Stupid blindfold. If he could just see, everything would be so much easier,- had kicked him.

He ignored it. If that was the worst they could do, he'd gladly take it over what they would do if he proceeded to play the good boy and stand, to be manhandled, abused and changed.

The steel toe boot thudded with a crunch into Eds ribs, driving the breath from him. Something was at the very least fractured, he could tell as he took a slow breath, almost crying when the effort send waves of blinding, white hot pain coursing through him.

He could sense the next kick coming before it hit him, and Edward let out a pitiful yelp, shaking his head frantically. The kick didn't come, instead the man, -or whoever it was, it didn't really matter at the moment,- grabbed the leash, pulling Eds face upwards.

"Will you be a good little dog?" The man, as the voice was definitely masculine, purred in his ear.

Ed hesitantly nodded, cursing himself for how weak he had become. He had to be stronger. For Al.

The man roughly pulled him to his feet, and Ed moaned from the sudden loss of the numbing ground. Now the pain would return, damn it. Already it crept slowly through his veins, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, for the perfect opportunity. The moment that would make Ed break.

Ed was close to that point as it was, and he felt that the pain had somehow become a sentient being, knowing just how and when to strike that would drive him further to the edge.

Then he was being forced forward, the chains clinking softly as he moved, dragged forward by the leash and collar, which dug even more tightly into his neck if he didn't manage to keep up.