A/N: Thank you so much everyone for being so patient with this update! This has been a rather difficult chapter for me to write, mainly because it is so long! Thank you again and I promise not to leave you waiting for so long next time! X3
***
You woke up in darkness. The last thing you remember was the choking smoke as it burned your lungs and eyes. That's when you passed out.
You tried to get up to examine your surroundings only to find that you were chained to a wall by shackles. You were already sitting as you leaned against the wall. The iron around your wrists and ankles was tight, and rather hurt. You knew better than to scream though. If what you thought was correct, then Envy had to be nearby. To scream would be to give him pleasure in your pain and fear. You were about to do no such thing.
You sat in silence for maybe a couple minutes when your eyes adjusted to the darkness. You noticed a pair of glowing, reddish purple eyes about twelve feet away. You simply looked at them, not saying a word.
So that's where that sneaky homunculi is.
"I can see you, you bastard," you grumbled bitterly.
Envy started giggling mischievously from his corner. He got up from his crouching position and started making his way slowly towards you. He grabbed your chained up hands and forced you roughly against the wall.
"Now is that any way to treat your father, little one?" he hissed with a large smirk.
You let out a small inhuman growl at him, which only made him smile even more.
"What was that (Y/N)? It sounds like someone is getting a little feisty. Go on. Show daddy your homunculi side..." he cooed evilly.
The insides of you felt sick and stirred up, almost as if something were eating you from the inside out. Whatever it was you resisted the urge to lunge at Envy. That was what he wanted, and you weren't about to give it to him. You turned your head away from him defiantly.
Envy's smirk faded away into a scowl. He grabbed you roughly by your chin, and you squeaked.
"You will obey me!" he growled, before slapping you hard across your cheek. Your head jerked hard to the side, his smack surprisingly harder than you expected it would be. You let out a small cry of pain.
Something snapped inside of you. A mix of sadness and rage burst forth and you squirmed free of Envy's grip. He watched you as you transformed quickly, breaking free of the chains around your wrists and ankles. But at the same time, it was like your humanity was fading away as well. New thoughts replaced your urge to escape. Thoughts of pain and fear, but also thoughts of revenge and wanting to kill. Kill everything and everyone.
"And here we have it," Envy said, chuckling madly, "Agony is born!"
***
Alphonse's POV
...Three Days Later...
Brother and I had tracked down the homunculi to the outskirts of Central. Ed seemed a bit skeptical however, thinking that it had been a bit too easy to track them down. He, however, seemed to be getting as worried as I had been the last three long days (Y/N) had been gone.
Roy had already sent out a couple of state alchemists to try and search elsewhere for (Y/N), just in case on the off chance she wasn't with the homunculi. But I think we all knew that she was with them. It just happened to be a good excuse to get some of the less power state alchemists out of the city, and out of harms way.
Ed, Hawkeye, Roy, and I were all quietly approaching an old warehouse on the very edges of what people assumed to be Central, but it was so far out, it almost was in the middle of nowhere. It made me wonder why a warehouse would be here in the first place, but that didn't seem to be the question on Ed's mind.
Everyone had already discussed the plan. Ed and I would search the lower levels of the warehouse, while Roy and Riza went on the upper levels.
Brother and I entered the lower level as quiet as we could manage. Ed had already transmuted his hand into a blade, just in case. Once we had decided the current room to be clear, we moved on slowly to the next room.
"I don't like the feeling I am getting Al..." Ed murmured.
Suddenly, Envy stepped out from the shadows.
"Well well well. If it isn't pipsqueak and the walking trashcan," he taunted with a smirk.
Edward growled at the insult, getting into an aggressive stance.
"Now now, let's not get hasty. After all, you do want your dearest (Y/N) back, don't you?"
Now it was my turn to get angry. The metal of my armor clanked as I balled up my fists. "Where is she!? What have you done to her?!" I shouted at the homunculi.
Envy giggled mischievously. "Now now. How about we calm down?"
Edward was about to lunge at the homunculi when Envy snapped his fingers. Edward stopped, looking a bit confused. "What the hell was that supposed to do?"
"Do? What do you mean?" Envy said, playing coy.
But that's when we heard the sound of metal chains being dragged on the floor, and the sound of bare feet slapping the concrete.
(Y/N)'s clothing was tattered and bloodied. She had various bruises on her face, arms, and legs, and her face had a gash on her left cheek. She looked weak and miserable on the outside. But then I saw her eyes. They were both glowing a reddish purple, exactly like Envy's. Exactly like a homunculi.
"(Y-Y/N)?" I stuttered, horror in my voice.
(Y/N)'s eyes squeezed tightly shut, and she grumbled. Now that I looked carefully, she was incredibly pale, almost as white as a piece of paper.
"Oh, but that's not what she goes by anymore," he says, his smirk widening, "She much rather prefers her new name. Isn't that right Agony?"
(Y/N)'s eyes snapped open, and she trembled a bit as she answered. "Y-Yes E-Envy..."
He walked over to her and patted her head. She flinched, bowing her head down with each pat. "Atta girl."
Edward gritted his teeth. "Enough of this bullshit!"
Edward charged right for Envy, who easily dodged out of the way.
"Agony! You get the tin one! You know how to kill that one!" Envy commanded.
(Y/N) nodded determinedly at Envy, and focused a glare on me. It was almost like she didn't even know me. There was a small, dull purple glow. (Y/N) morphed into a humanoid form. Her entire body seemed to be made from shadows and darkness. Her fingers were long and her hair flowed suspended all around her, as long as she was tall.
"(Y/N), please... I don't want to hurt you..." I said quietly to her, backing away slightly.
"I no longer go by that name..." She said, her voice sounding like three combined into one: one fearful, one sad, and one angry.
Instead of attacking me like any other homunculi, she slowly approached me eerily, her hand extended as if to touch me.
"Alphonse! What are you doing?!" Edward yelled at me.
I was frozen in place. I couldn't hurt (Y/N)! Even if I wanted to! I liked her too much to let anything worse come to her.
Edward swooped out in front of me and sliced at he hand. It seemed to do nothing, almost as if she were made of vapor. Her hand reached out, and touched Edward's chest, solidifying as soon as she made contact. Edward yelped, and his eyes went wide. He went limp and fell to the ground, trembling and unmoving.
"Brother!" I yelled worried.
Envy snickered. "So much for the Fullmetal brat. Now to get rid of the tin can... "
(Y/N) came closer and closer to me. All I could do was back away cautiously, until I was up against the wall. There was no way I could get her to go away, since she was made completely out of vapor.
"(Y/N)... please.. it's Alphonse!"
The glow in her eyes flickered slightly, but it did nothing to stop her. Soon, her hand was right on my metal armor.
Memories of sadness rushed through my head all at once like an avalanche. Memories of me being ripped apart bit by bit when Ed and I committed the ultimate taboo. The memory of me trying to save my dying brother. The day that our mother died.
I tried my best to block out the thoughts, trying to replace them with happy memories, but it was like my mind was locked on only those sad memories. I whimpered as I had to relive them all over and over. I became paralyzed with fear and sadness. My armor body slid down the wall and onto the floor.
(Y/N) used her other hand to take off my helmet, examining the blood seal on the inside.
Edward looked up at me, still trembling. He must've still had the memories paralyzing him. "A-A-Al..." he whimpered.
I tried to fight back against the memories being forced into my head. I tried to replace them with happier memories, like the times that Ed, Winry, (Y/N), and I used to play together as kids. I thought of the times that (Y/N) and I would hang out by the pond near our house when Ed was busy learning more about alchemy.
(Y/N) froze and whimpered, her shadowy form flickering away. It was almost like my happy thoughts was making her... weaker. I started gaining control over myself again, as did Edward. Ed got up.
"I got this..." I said quietly as he was about to interfere.
He nodded slightly and went after Envy who had fled upstairs. I gently put my hands on (Y/N)'s shoulders.
"I know you're in there (Y/N), and I know you can hear me..." I said softly, channeling my favorite memory of her and I. I thought of when I found out she had came to Resembool but was sick with a fever. I thought of when I had been holding her hand as she slept quietly, leaning over her protectively as I thought of how cute she looked while she was sleeping. I thought of how I thought how beautiful and cute and amazing she was as a person, and how much I realized I was falling for her.
After only a few moments of that, she collapsed to her knees, human form, and human eyes. I quickly wrapped my metal arms around her.
"(Y/N)," I said gently, my voice cracking with worry.
She slumped gently into me. "A... Al... w-what... you shouldn't be here..." she mumbled in an exhausted tone.
I looked down at her, and her eyes were loosely closed. She was quite pale and looked very worn down. It looked like Envy tortured her.
"Shhh..." I said softly. I scooped her up gently in my arms, bringing her in close to me.
"Alphonse! Are you okay?" Edward called out, running quickly into the room. Roy and Hawkeye followed quickly after. They were relieved to find I was okay.
"What happened?" Edward asked worriedly.
"I got through to her but she just kinda collapsed. We need to get her some help," I said quickly, rushing past them and upstairs. They nodded and followed quickly after. Riza caught up and put a hand to (Y/N)'s forehead.
"She feels like she's burning up!" she exclaimed nervously.
"I'm sure we can get her into the infirmary quickly once we get into the center of Central," Roy assured her, but you could tell that he was worried himself. She didn't look like she was doing very good.
We need to hurry. I'm not going to lose her again.