Solf J. Kimblee's hands were trembling as he was led deeper into the heart of the Amestrian forward camp. The soldiers who lead him had said the King himself had requested the meeting. But that wasn't the reason for the shaking.
Kimblee had just arrived back from the occupied territory inside the walls of the city and adrenaline still coursed rapidly through his body, filling him with a sort of giddy excitement. Kimblee was an artist through and through, and his work today had been some of his best. The death and destruction he left in his wake was all well and good, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of a perfect detonation reverberating through his body and filling his ears with a wondrous symphony. He was close to achieving perfection and each new day brought with it new opportunity. It was as if the Ishvalan extermination was a hand crafted gift from the universe, just for him.
The sun hung low and red on the horizon, staining the sky a bloody crimson. As the air grew cooler the wind picked up slightly, kicking up sand from the desert floor and obscuring the ground beneath them. Kimblee spread his bare arms and enjoyed the touch of the wind on his skin. The soldiers escorting him exchanged glances but passed no comment. Stories of the Crimson Lotus Alchemist had started to spread, it seemed.
As they approached the largest tent in the centre of the camp, the soldiers paused and nodded Kimblee inside.
It was nothing like the tents assigned to the State Alchemists, it was treble the size, for one thing. The canvas walls were decorated with sweeping fabric in a deep military blue interspersed with the gold embroidered crest of the military and a sturdy wooden table stood in the middle with a thick map sprawled across it. A lone lantern flickered on the table, casting shadows into the back of the tent. At the head of the table stood a tall, imposing man, with dark hair and an eyepatch. Kimblee had met the King before, during his State Alchemy examination, but even without that knowledge it would be hard to mistake this man for anything other than the ruler of Amestris.
Kimblee gave a stiff bow.
"Ah, well if it isn't the Crimson Lotus Alchemist." The man said jovially.
"Yes, your Excellency. How may I assist you." Kimblee wondered if his words were a little forward, but why else would he be here?
"I'll get to that in a moment. First, let me tell you about a new weapon which has recently come into our possession. May I ask, have you ever heard of the Philosophers Stone?"
Kimblee shrugged. Of course he had heard of the legendary alchemic stone, anyone who had studied basic alchemy had heard of it. But it wasn't real, at least Kimblee wasn't aware of anyone ever claiming to have possession of such an object.
He nodded once, unsure of where the conversation was headed. Surely the King wasn't trying to tell him that the stone really existed?
"A sceptic I see." King Bradley looked like he was enjoying himself.
"A realist," Kimblee corrected, "but by all means, prove me wrong."
The King's smile grew larger.
"Envy!" He called.
Kimblee was suddenly aware of movement in the shadowy corner of the tent and a figure emerged. It appeared to be a pale teenager, with wild black hair and a slender but wiry frame. They were dressed in strange, skin tight black clothes and wore no shoes. Who was this stranger? They certainly looked like no Amestrian Kimblee had ever seen.
"Major Kimblee, I'd like for you to meet somebody," King Bradley gestured to the newcomer, "this is Envy. They are a… friend to our country."
The teenager bounded forwards.
"So this is the one you were telling me about?" They turned to the King in a manner that Kimblee couldn't reconcile with their young age. Who was this person to be talking to the King as an equal?
A hand was thrust in Kimblee's direction. "Pleased to meet you, Crimson."
Kimblee reluctantly accepted, holding Envy's gaze for a few seconds. Their eyes didn't match the rest of their appearance, they were a deep, striking purple and somehow they looked as if they had already lived a hundred lifetimes.
"As I was saying," King Bradley continued as if there had been no interruption, "the legend of the Philosophers stone is that it can be used with alchemical transmutation to ignore the principles of equivalent exchange. I myself am no alchemist, but I would imagine that the ability to create something out of nothing would give a State Alchemist a significant advantage in combat, no?"
"That would be a logical conclusion." Agreed Kimblee.
"And, if a stone were to be entrusted to you, Major, what use might you have for it?"
Kimblee's eyes glazed over a little as his memories rushed back to the explosions he had produced earlier that day. Amplified by a stone he would be able to use his combustion alchemy to even greater effect… he would be unstoppable.
"I would use it to exterminate every last one of those troublesome Ishvalans." It was difficult to keep the hunger out of his voice, but if the King could deliver on his claims then Kimblee would stop at nothing to gain control of the stone.
"It seems you selected your candidate well." Envy said, clearly amused.
"Of course Envy. Now, the stone?"
Envy placed a small bundle of fabric on the table in front of King Bradley and slowly unwrapped the edges. In the centre of the scrap of fabric a small red stone was nestled.
Envy picked it up between slender fingers and held it up to the light. Kimblee couldn't help but marvel at the untainted beauty. It was sharp and jagged, more a shard than a stone, and it was a perfect, vibrant red. Envy appeared to notice Kimblee's reverent stare.
"Impressive, isn't it. We finished it's production yesterday." They held the stone before Kimblee but when he reached for it was snatched away.
"Now, now." Envy wagged a finger.
"Envy," King Bradley snapped, "stop messing around."
"I just thought he might like to know how it was made. After all, some humans can be a bit twitchy about things like that."
Externally Kimblee kept his face calm, but he was growing more confused by the second. Something was definitely going on here which he was very much unaware of. Humans, Envy had said... but what would that make them?
Suddenly Envy was pressed up against him, he could feel their lips by his ear.
"Would you like to know? Are you sure you can handle it?" They whispered with an evil laugh.
"If I need to know before you'll let me use it…" Kimblee said coldly.
Envy stepped back and shared a look with King Bradley.
"Very well," the King began, "it was made using the souls of Ishvalans-"
"So, so very many Ishvalans." Envy cut in gleefully.
Kimblee tensed. It wasn't the idea of the deaths which bothered him, (logically it made sense, after all equivalent exchange could never be ignored, Kimblee couldn't help but marvel at the science behind it) it was the casual manner in which the Fuhrer King of Amestris spoke about it. Was this not the sort of thing a King should oppose?
Envy cocked their head and peered curiously at the Alchemist.
"Oh, I think we upset him."
"I don't know what's going on here," Kimblee chose his words carefully, "but I'm not opposed to using the stone… even knowing its history." He glanced at King Bradley, trying to read the mood. Was this a test? He had taken great pains to keep much of his nature disguised during his military career and it would not do to endanger his presence in Ishval by breaking character now.
"Wow, you're quite different to the others," Envy glanced at the King, "I think we've found our man."
This time the hand which offered Kimblee the stone was not withdrawn. He plucked it out of Envy's open palm, entranced by the simplistic beauty and the thoughts of what he could achieve with it.
"You realise that no one else can know about this. Only us and a handful of my most senior officers even know of the stone's existence." King Bradley said.
"Of course."
"Do you know why we're doing this?" Envy asked, casually moving to sit on the edge of the table.
Kimblee had been wondering this for almost the whole duration of the conversation. Hearing the King speak so openly about the creation of the Philosopher's stone implied that he was not against the methods used. Kimblee knew how one should react to hearing something like that, and it was not with the apathy shown by King Bradley. And to complicate matters further the strange pale teenager, Envy, had implied they weren't human, although apart from their unusual eyes they seemed human in most other respects. Their manner and interactions with the King were certainly unexpected, what was their involvement in this?
Kimblee was aware of eyes on him, they were waiting for a response. He shelved his curiosity, plenty of time to re-examine this conversation later… for now he would have to make an educated guess.
"To aid in the Ishval campaign?"
"That's part of it… and it's all you really need you know. So you're in?" Envy leaned forward eagerly.
Kimblee smiled and pocketed the stone, almost disbelieving how easy this had been.
"I'm in." He confirmed.
"Thank you Major. That will be all." King Bradley turned away and Kimblee supposed that was his cue to leave. But Envy stayed sat still on the table, watching Kimblee with an uncomfortable intensity.
Kimblee opened his mouth to speak, but without knowing who the youth was he was struggling on the correct way to address them.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Envy teased, clearly enjoying themselves.
"I…"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Kimblee couldn't help the words coming out. His usual calm composure was slipping, something about Envy unnerved him and yet he was fascinated to find out more.
Envy let out a harsh laugh.
"I don't think that's something you need to know. For now. I suppose I could tell you that I'm not quite like you, but you already knew that, didn't you?"
Kimblee nodded mutely.
"Good," Envy slid off the table in one fluid movement, "I'll see you around… Crimson."
A/N I realise there is a slight issue with this version of events. Kimblee killed all the officers who knew he had the Philosopher's stone but obviously he never tried to kill Wrath so it doesn't make sense that Wrath was the one to give it to him. But also Kimblee didn't really achieve much when he murdered them all, yeah he kept the stone but at the cost of years and years in prison (probably his whole life if it wasn't for the Homunculi). And fairly sure that Father would have been keeping track of all the stones anyway and knew that Kimblee must have kept his. So basically I conclude that he wasn't thinking rationally when he did that and that's why this version of events where Wrath gives him the stone doesn't break the story… (Haha since writing this I actually checked the manga and realised there was a scene where Marcoh gave him the stone so I guess this is a slight AU, but the rest of the story after this can still work unaffected I think)
This started out as a oneshot semi-prequel for my other fic 'Envy had Forgotten', but I think now that I might add a few more chapters at some point (though I don't think that will be for a little while). I can't work out if it's a bit boring... anyway... thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters.