Seeing Red

Chapter 3

Envy screamed, throwing his head back as another wave of pain washed over his body. He choked, blood splashing into his mouth as he writhed on the table, the slick restraints cutting into his already tender flesh.

"Stop... stop it... stop!"

He screamed again, a thin blade travelling across his stomach in four smooth lines, forming the shape of a square. It went deep, his flesh splitting apart to reveal a mess of organs and muscles beneath.

"Take it all out. See if his Stone really can only heal the most severe injuries."

Envy arched his back, shrieking as a clawed hand sank into his gut, curling into a fist and tearing out the contents with a vengeance. His throat began to bleed, copper splashing over his lips as he wailed again, his jaw cracking from the strain.

"Go ahead and pull out the Stone while you're at it. Find out why it's visible."

"No... no, Mustang, don't—"

He never got the chance to finish, a crooked blade going in right beneath his nose, cutting through the bone and muscle like a hot knife through butter.

"Stop... stop... stop..."

"Hmm, what happens if we cut out his heart?"

"Stop... s-stop... stop!"

"Envy, you have to wake up."

"Stop it! Stop! Stop!"

"Envy!"

Both eyes opened wide, a blinding, white light searing into his pupils before giving way to black eyes and a furrowed brow. Envy arched again, chest heaving as another scream tore its way up his throat, fingers curling through fabric and pulling until it tore.

"Envy, let go of my shirt."

"Stop it, stop, st—!"

Envy jolted as he was shaken hard, his entire body flooded with a paralyzing mix of pain and fear. He struggled to process his surroundings, eyes shifting around the room as he tried to figure out what had changed, all the while trying so hard to stay still that he wound up shaking instead.

"It was a nightmare."

Flinching, Envy looked the other way, trying to find the bloody instruments that had been cutting into him just moments before.

"It was just a dream."

Envy looked down at himself, panting, moving his unrestrained hand to his stomach and pressing down on the clean, fresh bandages. There were no open cuts, no blood, no gaping hole with innards spilling out. He wasn't being cut to pieces on a laboratory table.

"Envy, you need to breathe."

Breathe. Mouth.

Still wheezing, Envy reached up to his mouth, pushing his fingers inside to make sure the Stone was still there. It was, and despite the pain that shot through his skull, he continued to press it, relishing the sensation of his core still within his body. It's there.

Envy choked down a whimper, the excruciating pain just barely worth the sense of safety it brought him. It's there. It's there. Everything was foggy, his mind still caught somewhere between dream and reality, but he knew his Philosopher's Stone was in his mouth. It's still there.

"What on Earth is the matter with you?" Mustang reached out and felt his forehead, frowning. "You're warm. Come on, get up."

Envy shuddered, fingers still pressed to the roof of his mouth, glassy eyes darting from one end of the room to the other. What? He could hear the words, and he understood what they meant, but his ability to apply them to the current situation was completely shot. Come on where? Get up why? What did his warmth have to do with anything?