Note: I own absolutely none of these characters. But what great characters, amirite?
"You're jealous. You envy us because of that."
Envy's eyes widened, fixated on the golden, furrowed stare of Fullmetal.
Wh – what?
Immediately, viscerally, Envy's chest exploded with emotion.
Not I! He rampaged, tearing apart the words spoken softly to him. No Homunculus dignified enough, worthy of father's love, shared a human's weaknesses! Let alone desired human's weaknesses! Faith, hope, compassion, trust, love – it was all for naught. Easily manipulated, twisted, and made to destroy humankind.
So weak!
Jealous of humans? Pah, what Homunculus, an eternal, powerful superior, would want such cowardice as human nature apart of them?
Envy, defiant, continued to stare Fullmental in the face. But as he gazed, his inner fire flickered. Those eyes bore an unfamiliar … there was something. It was … gentle.
His rage quelled; his thoughts, all his emotions stilled. Fullmetal had a knowing look in his eye. What was that? Envy stomached a brief flare of unease. What's he looking at, dammit? What does he see?! Obstinate, Envy desperately assuaged himself, defending and assuring his dominance: "Fool – you just have to forsake just one little village to save an entire country! Too bad you don't have the stomach to do the logical thing. - Can you really shoot such a sad face? Can you, boy? - I shouldn't be surprised! That's just how all humans are. -This time around, I'll go with a younger, cuter model! Whaddya say? - You humans don't make any sense to me. You throw away your lives for nothing.
Another foolish human."
Human …? Human …?
No.
Envy's minuscule chest clamped, and those molten eyes reached.
Damn it. No.
He can't! He can't see!
Envy coiled, newly enraged. He glared Fullmetal in the face, snarling with as much ferocity as he could muster, and began to squirm. Anything to get away from this presumptuous … this bastard. This human.
The grip tightened. "Hey, what do you think you're doing? Hold on a second!" Fullmetal seemed angry, concerned. This pushed Envy further with indignant effort. "Idiot, where do you think you're going -?"
A finger came to cage Envy, and he ferociously bit down. The hand released, and he fell, plopping firmly against the stone. It was still warm from that wretched flame alchemist scum –
"Colonel, no – !"
No warning: Envy was crushed in a steel grip and yanked from the ground as a snap reverberated through the tunnel.
Flames soared, dancing where Envy had been not a second before –
"Edward, go, get him out of here!"
"Lieutenant – agh, Hawkeye, get off of me, dammit! Lieut – urrgh, HOMUNCULUS!"
Envy was trapped beneath a white glove, and could see nothing. He felt, however, his body hurtling back and forth as the Fullmetal boy ran. Echoing with fury, the Colonel's shrieks ran beside them. Fullmetal was panting as he labored through his sprints, turning corners and twisting through the corridors. Envy couldn't think, frozen in time – he still tasted the Fullmetal's glove on his tongue. His heart, beating still, sprinted just as the boy who carried him. Envy tried to breathe, gasping in nothing more than muffled air. Regardless, he forced his breaths, slowing his heart and feeling his parasitic body calm -
Oh?
It couldn't be. Envy stilled himself, halting his breath, and focused inward.
Faint. It was very faint … but so very distinct.
The lifepulse throb of the Philosopher's Stone remained.
Exasperated and out of breath, Edward looked over his shoulder. As he suspected, wisps of flames were following his trail.
"Fullmetal! Get back here!"
Christ. Edward clenched his jaw, scowling deeply, and drove his heels further against the stonework. He couldn't let the Colonel catch him. The dead, unsettling gaze that the Colonel had when Edward had found the group sent a chill through him – he recognized, even understood the endless grief and fury that filled the Colonel's lifeless eyes. Without question, Edward knew the Homunculus' fate would've been seared shut, had he not arrived when he did.
A life is a life.
With a determined grunt, Edward continued, pursued as many corners and twists as he could, propelling himself into the snaking tunnels. The Colonel's shouts eventually grew fainter. When Edward heard only hints of his voice, he slowed, looking for a tucked-away corner, and then abruptly stopped. He was shrouded in a shadowed side-tunnel. The quiet surrounding him was reassuring. Oddly placating, considering the situation. With a deep inhale, Edward's eyes slipped shut for a moment, letting his free hand run through his hair. What a damn mess.
Edward opened his eyes and lifted his fist, knowing balled in it was an inhuman slug; a parasite without morals; and a creature he never anticipated he might understand. Slowly, Edward gripped the rim of his gloved hand, and holding his fist tight, pulled the glove inside-out, bagging the slug in the fabric. Edward twisted the top shut, much to the squirming dismay of the creature inside.
"Pipsqueak, you little –"
"Shut up, I'll let you out in a second."
Raising the glove sack to his mouth, he snagged it with his teeth, leaving his hands free.
Edward gave a solid clap, and firmly planted his hands to the ground.
The tunnel around him began to shift. The stones crawled before him, building a wall inches from him to intercept the way he came, and lead to a false tunnel. He, too, had the stones reach behind him, closing off the direction the tunnel led. Easily, Edward sealed himself, and the slug, in a mediated, neutral area. No flames, no fights.
He straightened, taking the glove from his mouth and, cautiously, opening it.
Green leaped towards his face – Edward, startled, gave a brief shout when the tail whipped him in the eye. He heard the creature plop to the floor, his eye squinted shut and protected by his hand.
"Ow – what the hell, Envy."
"That's what you get for man-handling me like a prop, Pipsqueak," the narrowed eyes peered up at him. Edward watched as Envy's eyes scanned the surrounding walls; he saw the breaths of the creature, shallow and quick, as it turned in circles. It didn't take long for Envy to see their total encapsulation. Dismayed, the slug crawled onto Edward's boot, a serious look on its face. "What's going on, shrimp? Where are we?"
"Still in the tunnels," Edward rubbing his eye, he bent and gently picked Envy from his boot, placing him to his side. Edward sat, crossing his legs.
Envy's pitch so slightly increased. "And the flame freak?" Edward glanced down. Though dim in their makeshift safe, the slug shook. Perspiration began to coat his body.
Edward, looking away, raised his arms above his head to stretch, trying to appease the slug. "Nah, he's long gone. It's just the two of us right now."
A silence rose.
Then, quiet scruffing. Both Edward and his companion glanced to see a large rat, scurrying along the base of the wall – its clawed paws scratched at the stone. Edward dismissed it, hearing more prominently the tepid breaths of the creature beside him. It seemed that Envy was stumped; stunned into inaction. He gave no snide comments, no sneering bait to set Edward off – the slug simply sat, staring at the rat. Though, Edward didn't mind. It was an odd place to find the two of them. Especially since Edward had addressed –
"Can you scoot over, Pipsqueak?"
With a frown, Edward shot a glance down to the slug. It stared evenly back.
"Tsch," Edward scoffed, shaking his head. He did not move, only placed his hands behind him and relaxed further into his spot.
"Okay, then, if I hit you, it isn't my fault."
Those words shot alarm through Edward's body. He whipped his head, "Hey, what're you –"
Edward looked in time only to see little razor teeth engulf the rat's face. With a disgusting gurgle, the rodent's body began to boil before his very eyes – its fur and skin expanded with the bubbles, growing rapidly. Loud ripping noises tore through the air. Edward cried out, shielding himself with a raised arm, scrambling to move –
A cold, scaled hand slapped him upside the head; Edward felt a hard joint crash into his side, propelling him sideways into the stone wall. "Ow!" The alchemized walls that surrounded him rumbled, the very air wracked with tremors. Keeping his head low, anticipating falling stones, Edward curled into himself; his hands covered his ears in attempts of discarding that thick tearing sound. But as abrupt as the explosion had occurred, the cavern became suddenly still. Edward could feel his racing heart, hitting his chest in a panic. Tenderly, Edward lifted himself, a grimace contorting his face. What the hell just -
Movement caught Edward's eye, and he froze.
... Damn it.
A/N: Solid.
I've just finished FMA and FMA: Brotherhood. Boy, I've been missing out. By far, my favorite character is Envy. What a delightfully complicated character, in both series. I'm here to explore what happened after Envy's jealousy - the very core of his existence - was addressed (FMAB universe). Because of how much of a freakin' roller coaster this guy's emotional state is, the dynamic is really fun to explore.
This is an ongoing plot that I've loosely developed. Enjoy. ;)
edit (6/2): I've combined the first two chapters into one, to make the story flow (hopefully) more succinctly.
