Title: Penitence.

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist.

Characters: Mostly Envy-Centric.

Series: Invidia.

Chronological Order: Third.

Spoilers: For all the anime, although this piece diverges from the series around the start of episode 32, with little side details.

Beta: DramaQueen, Dynast and Althea Astera Renata.

Rating: R, for violence (Envy), swearing (Ed).

Genre: Drama

Pairings: Roy/Ed, Scar/Al, though nothing concrete.

Feedback: Please! If you spot typos, grammar, continuity (but bear in mind this is an AU fic), do tell me. I tend to write late at night and although my beta's are skilled, they can't always catch all my slips.

Quote: "The passion of hatred is so long lived and so obstinate a malady that the surest sign of death in a sick person is their desire for reconciliation." Jean de la Bruyere.

Word Count: +/- 9 150, on this installment, over all+/- 50 000. Notes: This was originally the first story I wrote for the series, but I got side tracked with the background until I decided to make that into a different story. This one is… well, it's rather scary on size, so following one of my beta's advice, I decided to break it in parts, so your brain doesn't melt halfway through it Dearly hope you like it, the Roy/Ed in this story is dedicated to Lady Jade, who's the best thing since chocolate ;) You don't have to, but it'd make much more sense if you read Sinner and Judgment first.


Invidia: Penitence.

"The passion of hatred is so long lived and so obstinate a malady that the surest sign of death in a sick person is their desire for reconciliation."


It was unusual, and it rubbed Ed the wrong way, but he was the Führer, and he couldn't outright defy him. As he and Al walked back to Izumi's home, he mulled over the facts, thoughtful.

"Al?" He paused, as the house appeared in the distance, "I have a plan. Or the start of one."

"Brother, the Führer said-"

"That everything was under control, yes, yes," Ed smirked, "But he never said anything about not being able to check out the forest."

"Ed, I'm not sure that's a good idea," The empty voice sounded mildly scolding, Al seemed to frown, "Teacher said-"

"That's the thing," Ed had the decency to look sheepish, "I need you to tell teacher we have to leave very quickly, but that we'll come back soon."

"She's going to flip," Al shivered slightly, the metal rattling as he did so, "Really, really badly."

"Yes, but this whole thing is not right," Ed looked at his brother almost pleadingly, "Trust me on this one, Al, I have a feeling this is important."

"Alright," The younger Elric sighed, "But if she dents me, you're going to fix me."

"Sure thing," Patting a metal arm, Ed smiled, "I'll see you at the station."

The large suit of armor watched as his brother scurried away and sighed loudly. He just hoped Ed knew what he was doing, because if not… Al shuddered, he really didn't want to go make Teacher angry for nothing.


"Did you find him?"

Envy's eyes were unreadable as Wrath's call reached him, and he noticed with a faint sense of satisfaction that the golden eyes widened pathetically.

"Nah," The green haired Homunculus smirked, "Just some burnt wood and stuff," Standing and turning to look at the younger inhuman, Envy shrugged, "The pipsqueak's gone."

Ed let out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding, his mind already stumbling upon itself to explain the curious occurrence. Envy wasn't going to let Wrath kill him? Was he going to kill him himself? What was the Homunculus planning? What did he want? He cursed his carelessness for getting trapped and walking into his enemies' clutches, though said enemies weren't particularly inclined to use that to their advantage.

"You're useless," The new voice was acrid, and despite his efforts to hide it, Envy flinched.

"He's small!" He countered reluctantly, "The stupid little shit scrambled away before we could catch him!"

"That's not true!" Wrath wailed, stomping his foot to prove his point, "He's just stupid! He let him get away! The kid slipped right through his fingers and he let him go!" Ed was biting his lips hard to keep himself from retorting something, slightly taken aback by Wrath's words.

"You keep out of this!" Purple eyes narrowed into slits as Envy finally snapped, snarling.

Wrath wailed and ran away, disappearing through the woods. Neither Dante nor Envy seemed to care.

"As it is," And then Ed could see the woman, approaching at a slow pace, face coldly calm, "You have failed me enough times already, my dear," Envy tensed again, fists clenched tightly as he looked at anywhere but her eyes, "Elric," Envy flinched again, "Is the key to the stone," Her eyes, icy and dark, rooted the shape shifter on the spot, as a butterfly under a pin, "He always is."

"Yeah, well," Envy shrugged, voice gruff, "We can always get him back in Central. Everyone knows his little brother is his biggest weakness. We get the brat, dent him a bit, and then you have your pretty little shit to do the stone for you. Big fucking deal."

Ed felt nails digging into his left palm, through the dirty glove and straight into skin, tearing it and bringing out blood as his eyes narrowed into slits. Envy was pointedly ignoring the mountain of debris to his side, polishing his best acting skills as he gave a careless shrug.

"That's not the point," Dante's voice was soft, mockery of maternal love peeking behind her tone as one of her eyebrows arched at the green haired teen, "Wrath is right, you have gotten lax, my dear," Envy held himself stoic, dark eyes narrowed. Golden and purple eyes widened, ironically at the same time, as elderly hands clasped together, "And I… well, I have no use for lax things, do I?"

Releasing the dark blue bolt of energy against the elder Sin, Dante watched without remorse as Envy was flung backwards, slamming against a tall tree with a dry 'thud'. Smirking, the old woman walked towards the fallen Homunculus, her face showing an unnerving amount of cruelty.

"Sloth?" The painful tug was unexpected and disturbing in Ed's heart, and he gasped soundlessly, biting his lips again, Please… not her "Seal, but do not harm him. I will deal with him at a later date," She looked down disdainfully at Envy, "I have no wish to waste more time on this… nonsense."

From his hiding place under the fallen trees, Ed watched with a morbid fascination as the familiar Sin sealed Envy against the trunk of an oak, placing a shard of bone on his forehead, before collapsing the ground around him into a deep hole. He thought it was strange that the green haired Homunculus hadn't struggled or cursed or said something while she sealed him, he remained silent, watching as the other worked with an alien glint in his eyes. Then, after making sure everything was in order, the woman, Dante, left with an air of carelessness, Sloth on her heels.

Ed fell against the stone behind him, releasing the tension of the moment, now that he was sure everyone was gone.

And then he laughed until he cried.


"Lust was right," Envy breathed as he fell slack onto Ed, shivering, "You're so goddamn stupid, you will actually succeed."

"What do you want?" The Fullmetal's voice was eerie calm, his eyes gazing down at the exhausted Sin he had just dug out of earth itself.

He was trembling and exhausted. His body was trying hard to change appereance already, the hair spiking and skin going shallow already. Ed was mesmerized by the apparition, the soft blonde hair, the rosy skin, unnaturally pale, but darker, a strange shade that was painfully familiar. The soulless eyes that stared up at him were purple, though, and that was enough to remind him who he was dealing with. Was this eerily familiar figure the Homunculus' true form? Ed licked his lips nervously, the small piece of bone that had kept Envy in place had crumbled away to nothing when he removed it, and he wasn't exactly sure what to expect.

"I want revenge," Envy stumbled back against the rock wall, pupils slitting into thin lines, "And I want redemption."

"Revenge? Redemption?" Ed asked mockingly, golden eyes glinting with something dangerous, "You have no soul, Envy, how do you expect to achieve either?" He sneered, "Or are you actually telling me you'll become human? Is that what you want?"

"No," The smirk was rather sinister, Ed decided, as Envy's eyes twinkled with murder, "I want Dante's death… and my own," The blonde stared at him, taken aback by the vehemence in the Sin's voice. Envy grinned slowly, it was a different grin from the usual: dark, ill-humored, "I'll give you the stone if you do."

Ed pulled back, scorched by the words, eyes widening despite himself. He remembered the forcefulness and the beating he had taken at the hands of Envy back at the fifth laboratory. The maniac grin, the glinting knowledge of Ed's weakness… the price of the stone.

"I will not make a stone," The blonde gathered his wits, standing as tall as he could, back stiff as he glared, "I'm not going to kill innocents for you."

"And if I told you…" Envy's eyes were half lidded as he rested his weight against a chunk of bark, voice soft, too soft, "If I told you I knew of another way… if you knew you were not taking innocent's lives, if you could keep your goddamn human guilt away… if I showed you how?"

Silence stretched for a long moment, the tension so high it left a bitter aftertaste in their mouths.

"What do I have to do?"

Envy grinned and Ed knew he had just sold his soul all over again.


When Ed had met him at the station, he was pale and limping, and he was carrying something in his arms. By the way Ed was holding it in such a tight grip, it looked as if were something very valuable… or very dangerous.

In retrospect, Al now understood it was both. The small cat Ed had been carrying turned out to be Envy. The Homunculus looked tired, though he tried to hide it, and his attitude was snide and insulting. But after a little discussion – in which Ed's arm turned into a blade no less than four times and Envy morphed into Al's human self and their mother at least twice – they had decided, reluctantly, that the Homunculus had a very good point.

"I don't give a rat ass about what do you do with the stone," Envy informed them with a snarl, "All I want is to stop her from getting it."

"We'll make a deal, then," Ed said finally, managing to keep his nerves in line, to stop the sudden need to stab the smirking bastard in the face, "It's a simple thing, Envy, equivalent exchange."

"What do you want?" The Sin narrowed his eyes, defensive and offensive at the same time, looking imposing.

"You'll help us fight Dante…" Ed raised a hand to stop the Homunculus from interrupting, "And you will not kill humans while we're at it."

"What?" Purple eyes glowed as Envy snarled.

"Take it or leave it, bastard," The Fullmetal Alchemist snorted, his automail hand twitching, "I wouldn't mind scoring a hit or two on you."

"What's in for me, shrimp? I don't fucking do charity work."

"We'll carry through," The older Elric said with a sharp nod, his left eyebrow twitching at the comment, "We'll make sure Dante will not get the stone, and then," Golden eyes shifted to the suit of armor, who was listening intently. Ed swallowed hard, "Then I'll do what I promised."

Al wanted to ask, wanted to know so badly what his brother had offered, but something told him it was not the right time to ask. Instead, he watched the handshake, tight and painful, and wondered if it was wise to make a deal with the devil.

The rest of the train ride was eerily silent.


Edward walked into the office quietly, eyes strangely distant and shoulders tense as he moved towards Mustang's private office. Al followed him as usual, though he too seemed even more silent than usual, even his armor seemed to be muted. Havoc and Fuery shared a look of curiosity, while Breda and Falman suddenly found the reports they were reading to be of utmost interest. Mustang himself looked up from his desk at the sudden tension in the air, that settled in the office as Ed stood before him, all serious calm that preluded a hurricane.

"What do you want, Fullmetal?" Arching an eyebrow, the dark haired Colonel smirked, "Your debriefing is scheduled for tomorrow morning, yet… are you so eager to see me again you just had to come in the shortest time possible?"

Havoc flinched at the comment, expecting as everyone else the explosion that was soon to follow, while Brenda gave up and hid behind his desk. Neither of the Elrics moved.

"Call in Hawkeye, Colonel," Ed said softly, too softly, "And tell her to close the door."

Taken aback by the quiet request, the Colonel did as told, watching the brothers expectantly as Hawkeye locked the door behind her. Ed looked at Al, who was standing behind him, eerily in silence, and smirked. It was a grimace, more than a smirk, really, and both adults tensed as 'Alphonse' glowed. Reshaping back into a crouched figure in the floor, with long green hair and black clothing. Envy stood up slowly, eyes closed as he breathed deeply. When he opened them, he fixed them directly on Ed's golden ones, his lips twisting into a similar smirk.

"What's the meaning of this!" Standing abruptly, Mustang glared at the Homunculus, while Hawkeye felt her hand fly over her gun. Ed sighed, looking back at him with an almost pitiful expression, "Fullmetal!"

"What is it always about, Mustang?" The blonde grimaced, "Equivalent exchange. Should I introduce you properly? Envy, the Bastard Colonel, Colonel? Envy."

The Flame Alchemist stared at the abomination before him, unsure of what to do that wouldn't result in murder. Ed looked strangely subdued, but not drugged… Equivalent exchange? Had he been blackmailed? Hawkeye met his eyes from the door, awaiting his lead on the subject before taking action. Roy licked his dry lips as his mind rushed over to tie loose strings. This was, very obviously a Homunculus, a shape-shifter at that, and one that had managed to get something on the Fullmetal. Random facts rushed around his mind as he tried to figure it out when one stuck out like a sore thumb. Murdered. Bloodied knives. Two different women. Struggle. Truth. Knowledge.

"You killed Maes Hughes," The Colonel said after a moment, fists tightening at his sides, "Didn't you?"

"Hughes…" There was a pause as the purple eyes turned glassy, as if remembering something distant. Roy felt his jaw clench shut as Ed swallowed hard, "Yes, yes, I remember him. I killed him," Envy smirked then; it was not a pleasant expression, "And a hundred more before him…" His eyes darkened, "But that's not important now," Mustang's eyes narrowed dangerously, "No… the only lives I want now, are those I cannot take."

"How dare you, Edward Elric," The cutting glare of the dark eyes fixed on the younger Alchemist, "To bring this monster here? To me?"

"I dare because I agree," The blonde's voice broke ever so slightly at the edges, but his eyes remained fixed on Mustang, "I agree that neither Hughes' death… nor anyone's… not even my mother's is more important than this."

"What is this, then?" Hawkeye asked before the Colonel had a chance to explode, "What could possibly be more important than your mother, Edward? Where's Alphonse?"

"My brother's at the dorms, keeping watch… And preventing a sick twisted hag from blowing up Amestris seems more important now, doesn't it?" The Fullmetal looked straight into Mustang's eyes, challengingly, "And preventing her from creating a new stone, from sacrificing innocents for her schemes, from killing Al and you and everyone I might have remotely cared about in my life," He leveled Mustang with a glare, one that spoke of judging, "Preventing the Ishbal Massacre from happening again."

The Colonel's hands fisted, as his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"He's loyal and shit," Envy replied mockingly, breaking the sudden, tense silence as he shrugged, but Ed paid him no mind, "But all I want is to kill the bitch," Inhuman purple eyes met Roy's, pupils slitted, "Kill me after she's gone, Colonel, but I won't let you until she's dead."

Hawkeye blinked, noticing a decidedly Ed-tendency in the Colonel as he bowed his head, trying to hide his face behind his bangs. He grimaced and silence stretched for a long moment.

"No one," There was a glint of warning in the cold dark eyes, "Will ever know of this conversation. As everyone knows by the report Edward will hand in next weekend, the Homunculus was destroyed. Permanently. Edward will continue his search for the stone, Lieutenant Hawkeye will continue to torture this office into order, Envy will continue to rot at wherever his kind go after death and I…" He smiled thinly at them, "I will continue to try and get said Lieutenant into a skirt. Am I clear?"


Al watched Ed sleep, but for the first time in a long time, he was not the only one. With a mental sigh, he moved as silently as he could to the window. Another glance proved that his older brother was still asleep and with little effort, Al opened the window, letting the night chill into the room. Ed muttered something under his breath and curled tightly under the covers, but nothing else. Looking back outside, Al took a step back. Seeing the creature was still unsure, he retreated back to his bed, wincing a bit as the springs protested. After a moment, a raven flew into the window, standing wearily on the edge.

"It's quite alright," Came the soft whisper from within the empty armor, "There're some muffins in that bag, I hid them from Ed for later…" He sent a mental smile at the bewildered bird, "But I figure you could use food more than me."

The bird looked at him for a long moment, then dug into the brown paper bag half hidden under the desk, tearing the chocolate flavored bread with startling ease.

Al smiled.

"Isn't it uncomfortable?" The youngest Elric asked curiously as the bird finished one of the chocolate treats. Small black eyes fixed on him, "To be a bird, I mean," Al made the smallest of movements with his metal shoulders, causing a small rattling sound. A shrug, "You could, you know… sit down like a human and eat. It's safe," He added with what a certain light hearted tone in his ghostly voice, "No one knows you're here."

There was a muted glow and a shift in reality as Envy curled atop the desk, crouching as inhuman purple eyes met Al's.

"I need you to stop my master," Envy said lowly, a murderous glint in his gaze, "Fucking make her suffer the agony she made us go through. I need you to be your pathetically stupid selves and stop her silly ploy for world domination," He snarled softly, still aware Edward as asleep and not really in the mood for a confrontation with the brat, "I didn't ask you to pity me because I don't need your fucking shit of friendship, clouds and rainbows. Get this, we're together in this because we want essentially the same things, not because I've decided to stop being myself."

"I see…" Al made that quiet rattle of shoulders again, and Envy felt himself twitch at the sight, "But if you don't eat… you'll get sick."

"Homunculi don't get sick!" The Sin hissed back acidly, "Only stupid human shitbags do!"

Why wasn't the kid yelling? Why wasn't he starting a fight? He was an Elric too, wasn't he? He was supposed to be a firecracker, like the rest of them! Envy lowered his head some more, as a panther that prepares to attack, waiting for the reply to his attitude. They always reacted, in the end, humans were too hypocritical to ignore him, even if they preached politeness and good manners.

"But you do need to eat," Al said calmly, with the same even tone of voice he used with Ed when he was being particularly stubborn, "And, if you really need to see it like that, if you don't eat and get sick, well, you won't be of much help to us, right?"

The Sin bristled angrily at the comment, but said nothing more, instead tearing a large bite off a muffin and curling back against the wall in what in any other being would have been a sulk. But of course, Envy didn't sulk.

"Envy?" Inhuman eyes glinted in the dim light, staring at the polite inquiry – doesn't he get tired of being polite all the fucking time? – the Homunculus paused in his meal to grunt in acknowledge of the boy, armor, whatever, "Do you want to sleep here tonight?"

"Do you want to die?" Came the testy reply, as he swallowed the last chunk of chocolate.

"Oh," Al stared at the flash of light and then watched with certain amusement as the raven flew out of the room with ease, "Good night."

And then grinned as Ed snorted in his sleep and kicked the covers off with a grunt.


The door closed softly and after a second the lock clicked. The dark haired Alchemist didn't look up from his work, writing at a furious pace as the blonde officer walked slowly to his desk. The pen stilled as silence fell upon them for a long moment. Riza Hawkeye had been at his side for years and prided herself in knowing him inside out. She knew the meaning of every little gesture he made when he talked to people, tilting his chin and arching an eyebrow, twisting his lips or crossing his arms. Thus, she knew the meaning of the hunched back, the tired circles around his eyes, his frantic need to do something.

"He hated it when you did this," Her voice was soft, softer than others would ever hear, the ting of professionalism leaving her, until a small smile settled on her features as she added, "Sir."

Roy Mustang was a man mourning loss. He was a man who had lost much during the war, the stupid struggle that kept cropping up lives at a pointless rate. He had lost one of his pillars of strength and he hated himself for knowing he would need the aid of the one who had stolen it.

"He also hated the thought of his daughter and his wife alone," The Colonel replied in a clipped tone, knuckles white under his gloves.

They engaged into a silent glaring contest, Mustang burning with a fury too big for words, Hawkeye patiently giving him a resigned look. Roy hated that look, and she knew it.

"I'm not going to forgive him," Roy said, softly, fingers clenching tightly around the pen in his hand, "I'm not going to pretend he didn't kill him, that he didn't enjoy it."

Hawkeye was silent for a long moment, watching him measurably, then nodded, almost absently.

"I wouldn't expect you to," She gave him an empty smirk as she turned to the door, "That'd be too human of you."

And before he could reply properly, she was gone.


It was something that ticked Ed off. The feeling in the pit of his stomach, an unease that gripped its cold and clawed fingers around his spine. He. Was. There. Always. Like a shadow that fell upon them. He couldn't really say where, but the fact remained he was around. Watching them attentively as they went along with their lives, following like a bothersome pest that you couldn't chase off because you didn't even know if it was there or not. In the library, while he was poring out on an ancient tome, he could feel the flicker of eyes observing him, judging. When he walked on the streets, there was the feeling someone followed, matched his steps perfectly and made himself invisible in the crowd. But it was at meals, when they sat in an awkward silence in their dorm room, when Ed's nerves were grounded to nothing.

It was aggravating to have nothing to hate in the Sin beyond his presence. He wasn't polite, but he wasn't being rude either. He was mute. Someone had gone and pressed a button and all Envy did was sit there, with them, poking a bit at the food Al brought them and eating very slowly. He looked… well, bored. Empty somehow. And Ed was irked to realize he didn't like it. It irked him more to realize he had no way to change it, since… well, he had no idea what Envy was in truth, beyond a word. 'Homunculus'. It was a pretty word, it rolled off his tongue with a startling ease and made decisions easier… it also carried a heavy amount of heartbreak.

But beyond the obvious, that he wasn't human and he was a failed attempt at resurrection, much of the Homunculus was unclear. Such as that blond apparition that had been buried and held in place with a sliver of bone, that had shrugged off his own body as fast as he could, going back into the infernal green haired, purple eyed monster that usually kept him on his toes. Why did Envy act like that? What had Dante done, that it made him, for lack of better wording, afraid? And who was Dante, anyway? The old hag he had seen sealing Envy away had displayed a frightening amount of Alchemic power, but to instigate utter obedience from the so called immortals?

"What are you doing now?" He asked as the plate of Xianese food was settled in front of him. Envy blinked, startled, then smirked.

"Right now? Trying to eat," Ed hated the bastard, for being a smartass and for not embarrassing himself with the chopsticks, "Something I see, you're failing horribly at."

Al sighed inwardly as his brother's face heated up and Envy grinned cockily. The Sin had grudgingly accepted to stay at night with them, rather than prowling around the city doing god knew what. He even talked to Al sometimes, when he wasn't terribly annoyed with something, and it was the closest to pleasant he could get. At least it was an improvement on their situation, even though he didn't sleep much and ate even less, but all of the youngest Elric's concerns had been shunned away with a gruff 'It's a Homunculus thing' and he left it at that.

"I mean," And Al had to admit Ed was making a real effort to tame his temper, "While we're gone, what do you do?"

"Oh, but aren't you cute," The Sin cackled as he sneered down at the blonde, "All worried about pretty old me, now?"

"Answer. The. Damn. Question."

"Fine," Envy seemed to measure out the situation and didn't deem it worthy of a full confrontation. Especially, not when they were in the dorms and almost anyone could walk in on them, "I check the city, make sure Dante and the others are not around. Kill time."

Ed nodded, then grimaced as the slip of fish and rice slipped from his chopsticks and plopped down into his bowl with a horrible sound. Envy snickered as he ate his own share of food with ease. How long has it been? He mused inwardly, A hundred? Perhaps a hundred and fifty? Xi Tze must be dead by now… but the children… the children must be still alive. A crippled lot of old bones, but alive nonetheless.

"…How much do you know about Alchemy?" Ed said softly, breaking the train of thought and old memories the Sin was sinking in.

And for the first time in a few centuries, Envy allowed his grip on his chopsticks to loosen enough, that the next 'plop' came from his own bowl.


"You're alone sir, why?"

Envy looked down from his brooding at the small girl that watched him through large, awed eyes. Her silly dark blond hair was pulled up into two pigtails and her black dress was strangely misfitting of her. The Homunculus snorted.

"Because, now go bother someone else," Came the gruff reply from among the branches in the tree.

The girl frowned, looking ridiculously funny as she did so, and managed to drag a smirk out of the irritated Sin. Then, without warning, she set to climb up the old oak, in itself a rather difficult feat while wearing a skirt. Envy watched her struggle with the wood, scraping her hands against it as she fought hard to reach him. Twenty minutes, two long tears on the skirt and a few dozen scratches later, the sweaty girl balanced precariously on the same branch as Envy, watching him through wide eyes, her breathing ragged.

"You…" Her voice was breathy and her cheeks were flushed and Envy found her, for lack of better wording, cute, "Now you're not alone!"

"What the-"

Elysia hugged him. The Homunculus froze as the tiny arms wrapped around him, tightly, and the annoying child buried her face into his chest, nuzzling softly. Envy found he couldn't move, couldn't breath actually. She's… they never… Why would… Staring down at the girl, he watched her a sort of enraptured fascination.

"You're so cold all the time, my, I'd say you're a corpse if you weren't so lively!" The dark haired man winked at him, playfully, and before he could answer, he was being hugged tightly. Safe.

Lust would kill her. Crack up her knuckles and kill her, no questions asked… but Lust was gone now.

"Vy, Vy, Vy…" Came a soft voice from under the large oak in the garden, "You are so terribly bad at this. Emotional trauma much?" The old woman laughed, amused at his distress and that distressed him more… until she pulled him against her and petted his back while pretending not to notice the tears.

Sloth would stare at her impassively, because… well, that was all Sloth did. Ever.

"Oh, you are back! Here, here, I made your favorite!" The chocolate scent was almost as sweet as the feeling of slender arms wrapping around him, and he allowed himself a small smile as the woman cooed at him. He was home.

Gluttony would have eaten her, of course, as he did to everything that ever came close to him.

"You are helpless. Absolutely helpless," The old crone smirked at him, smudging the ink of his scrolls and smirking when he snarled. But she hugged him to calm him down, and he hated it because it worked.

Wrath would probably enjoy the feeling for a while, then turn and disembowel her, because that seemed to be all he could do on his own, instinctual bloodlust after all.

"What do you need the stone for?" She demanded, black eyes blazing, "It is but a chunk of crystal that only causes fear and pain. It is not worth it, nothing is ever worth it," And in the smoldering dark eyes, he understood, he understood, so when he was being embraced, he didn't say a thing. He didn't need to.

Greed… Greed, that fucking self centered bastard… he would do what one with no dignity would, as usual. And besides, he would be gone soon, gone to somewhere he would never come back from.

"I wish… I don't know. I don't know what I want, is that bad? I think it's what makes me human," She was a pretty girl, small and lovely. And she curled against him, asking questions that had no answers. He hugged her first, and felt strangely better as he did.

Pride was the ultimate sinner, the one that would always remain alone. Homulunculi were shunned away and abandoned, but only Pride would seek solitude, only he would abandon his own for his gain. He would abandon the girl as he would abandon everything else, because he could.

"You are who you wish to be. If you wish to be your Father, then you will be… but I would much rather you to become yourself," The ancient creature lowered its majestic head next to him, nuzzling his chest and almost throwing him back. And in that instant, that heartbeat, he understood

But Envy was not Lust or Sloth or Gluttony or Wrath or Greed or Pride. He was not Dante. He was not his father. He was not those stupid people who had dared to touch him before, who had given him time, who had given him words. He was himself, and he realized with an amused smirk, that a child understood him better than he did himself.

Elysia Hughes felt a rush of warmth as she was hugged back, and settled comfortably against her new best friend.


"O-okay."

Ed sat on bed, staring at the upside down hanging Homunculus that was perched from the closet rack. Envy looked up at him and shrugged. Closing the book with one hand, he stretched the other to touch the floor and untangled himself from the small closet with startling ease, much to the amusement of the older Elric. Al snickered slightly as he shrugged. He had found Envy's reading habits strange, but given the Sin's tendency to crouch or perch on things, rather than to sit, they really should have expected it.

It didn't mean it wasn't a disturbing image to wake up to.

"This shit is boring," Envy said with a wide yawn, cracking the bones of his back loudly enough to make the brothers wince, "Find something by Melquiades, that bastard actually knew what he was talking about."

"Mel-what?" Ed furrowed his brow, trying to remember any stray facts about that name, "That's Ishbalan, right?"

"Yeah," Envy threw the book into the pile on the desk, then perched on it, resting his chin on his bent knees, "I think… yeah, the big idiot got killed around… 1750."

The brothers gaped at him.

"1750?" Al's glowing eyes got ridiculously large, which made Envy arch an eyebrow curiously, "But… even if we found notes about him, who could read that? Ishbalan people talked an odd dialect by then, to translate it all…" He lost himself into his own personal monologue, musing about the possibility of coming across notes from the ancient man.

Ed muttered something insulting under his breath as he got out of bed and started dressing himself. It was… awe inspiring, really, the quantity of Alchemy information the Sin had at his disposal. He knew names and dates and places that they had never heard about before. Stories and theories that never quite made it into official books and had a knack for making connections that weren't really logical at first sight. Ed was willing to swallow a bit of pride and admit it, Envy was a fucking genius. That, however, made him shiver and be thankful that it wasn't him who got the chance to use Alchemy, because there wouldn't be much of Almestris left if that had been the case. He wanted to ask, because curiosity always got the best of him, if Envy knew how to chalk arrays, but hadn't really found any reason to ask that wouldn't get him into a fight with the Sin.

And for his own sanity, he had been trying to avoid confrontation. Trying being the key word in question. They fought, a lot actually, but they managed to keep to verbal encounters, rather than to degenerate into physical violence. Al was grateful for small miracles. They still didn't know what Envy did during daylight hours, but the stalking feeling in the pit of Ed's stomach had dropped considerably, and he was thankful for that.

"He got killed or you offed him?" Ed asked nastily, golden eyes narrowed.

"Any idiot knows that you do not mix nitric acids with alkaline solutions. Especially not those that are at the ends of the spectrum," Envy informed the Fullmetal Alchemist with a roll of his eyes, "For your information, Melquiades offed himself quite majestically by leaving a six meter crater in his wake," He paused for a second, "Fucker… he owed me dinner too."


Elysia blinked when she reached the usual branch in the oak tree. Balancing there for a long moment, a look of puzzlement fell into her face as she turned around, trying to find the elusive and strange but rather nice boy she liked to play with. Well, not so much as play as listen to. He told pretty stories, even if he used the 'f' word a lot. Instead, she found a pretty black bird perched a bit higher than her, and she let out a squeal of delight upon sight. The raven looked down at her in a strangely familiar way, then ruffled its feathers and gently soared down to where she was. The girl looked positively ecstatic. The bird let her coo at him for a while, before cawing loudly and jumping back on the branch, away from where she could reach him. There was a familiar glow, and Envy was suddenly there, perched precariously in front of a bewildered Elysia.

He found he was strangely used to diving around the tree to keep the girl from killing herself from the fall. Not that he really knew why he didn't want the girl dead. Probably because she was amusing.

Probably.

"You're an Alpinist too!" The girl said excitedly, once she was safely nestled against him and no longer hanging ten feet over the hard ground.

"Er…" The Sin blinked, translated the mispronounced word and shrugged, "Alchemist," He corrected absently, "And no. Fuck no."

"But you change things," Elysia tilted her head to the side, "Well, you change you but it's change… so it's Almery right?"

"Alchemy," Envy snorted dryly, "And no, it's not."

Elysa physically deflated.

"Oh," The girl looked down at her hands, sighing, "I wanted you to teach me. The circles and triangles and traspertansion thingies. It's so pretty."

It took Envy a moment to be amused at the girl's definition of The Art, then another moment to snicker at her pathetic attempt at the longer words, until he finally realized what she meant. He stared incredulously down at her.

"Alchemy? You?" He sneered, however lightly, "How old are you, runt?"

"I'll be five next winter!" Elysia said brightly, eager and content and completely ignorant of the attempted insult. Really, Envy always called her that, so it had become her pet name of sorts.

The sin snorted again.

"Four and wanting to learn Alchemy," He muttered absently, "This is ridiculous."


Colonel Karl Guttenberg shifted nervously as he stood before the Führer himself. He was an ambitious young man, talented. Mixed feelings coursed through him as he waited for the man who owned Amestris to speak. He felt intimidated by the sheer power that seemed to be oozing out of the Führer's pores, but he also felt proud of himself, because damnit, he had worked hard, and he deserved recognition.

"You strike me as… ambitious, Colonel," The eyes of the Führer glinted strangely as he said so, "It's not exactly a flaw, but your drive to be better is truly something unique."

Karl began sweating. He was so nervous and so focused in the man in front of him, that he never noticed when his secretary slid into the room, her strangely colored eyes almost glowing.

"Tell me, young man," And the Führer smiled, in a strange way that made Karl wish he could run far, far away, "What do you know of the Fifth Laboratory?"


Roy looked resentfully at the blonde lounging on his couch. Really, it was all the little shit's fault. The moral struggle, the guilt; when looking down at it, all the mess he was in was his fault. But even so, the Colonel knew that he was at fault too. He wasn't the epitome of perfection most of his subordinates thought of him as, really, he was a bastard. But his already complicated life had taken a turn for the worst when the blonde Alchemist had stomped into it.

Because Edward Elric hadn't walked in… no, he had stomped and made a racket until he acknowledged him and then had made himself comfortable for a long stay.

Like he was doing right then and there, lounging on his couch, breathing his air and then daring to ignore him in favor of a stupid old and winkled parchment.

Roy Mustang seethed.

For his part, Ed was oblivious to the discomfort he was creating in his superior, rather interested in the notes he had managed to sneak out of the library. Damnit, Envy knew his way around obscure books. Better than the idiots who archived them, it would seem, because all the ones he had taken out were of public domain. Ed could hardly believe it. But the notes were good, written in the same disorder as he usually did his, thus much more understandable than any scholar book. Most importantly, they were real. Very, very real, and very detailed.

The door to the office banged open and Ed fell off the couch with a yelp.

"Sir!" Hawkeye stared at him wide eyed, "Scar's been sighted in the city."


Envy arched an eyebrow at the uneven lines and sighed for the umpteenth time in five minutes. He was really, really starting to regret his self made vow to not kill the little girl. She was cute and gave him chocolate, fine, but she was too damn annoying.

"Don't push it, runt," He snapped irritably, trying not to mind when she flinched a bit, "It's fairly simple, but you need to do it right. Not almost… right. Perfect even"

With a pout, Elysia used her foot to erase the lines on the dirt and with her stick, set to retrace them carefully, pink tongue peeking out of her lips.

He had changed his appereance again, once he was forced to leave the secure confinement of his tree, opting instead to look like a small boy, perhaps a year or two older than Elysia herself. She didn't seem to mind, actually, she said he looked cute. Envy felt the murderous urge rise and fall almost instantly, and told himself it was nothing. It had taken Elysa a good three days to learn to draw the outer circle perfectly, and Envy had the faint suspicion she had gone and redecorated her whole house with them. Explaining the mechanics of things was a bit more difficult, even if she was an eager student.

It was frustrating and therapeutic at the same time, some sort of catharsis for all that knowledge he had cramped into his skull. Formulae, circles, shapes, meanings, chants, elixirs… When he became a Homunculus, and could no longer perform Alchemy, he hadn't given it up. He had read and memorized every text he could get a hold of, killed time making up theories and arrays in his mind, imagining the rush of power, the ultimate control…

Yes, he had missed Alchemy, and his ability to morph at will had been a cheap replacement for it, but he rarely let anyone know about it.

Will is everything, that's what he had been told, a long time ago, before all the rules and regulations had appeared and guilds and the military took control of things. So he taught Elysia as he had been taught himself. Will is everything, but will is also consequence. It was disturbing the ease with which she accepted his words, no doubt, no suspicion. If he said it, then it had to be true. Envy understood power when he faced it, knew how to use it and abuse it… but he also knew he was not human. He knew what abuse of power meant, first hand, and he really didn't feel as low as to do it.

Humans always forced their will into things. That was the heart of Alchemy. That was why Homunculus normally couldn't do Alchemy. They willed, but they couldn't really change the world around them.

Envy grimaced.

"Is that good?" The hopeful tone made him want to flinch; instead, he looked over at the rather simple array, running his eyes critically over it.

"Yeah," Elysia shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other. Envy cleared his throat again, "Pretty good, runt. Now tell me what it says."

"Um…" The girl knelt down, pointing at the symbols nervously, "It's… er, water? And that's air… and that means bring," She looked shyly up at him, "So it's a… bring me air and water albeit?"

"Array," Envy nodded, "It's a summoning one. Easy. Just a bit of water to wash your hands, for instance."

"Oh," Green eyes fixed on the marks for a long moment, "Can I try it now?"

"Not yet," Envy allowed his small body to plop down unceremoniously and watched with amusement as Elysia did the same, "First you need to know where you'll get the water from."

"Nowhere?" The girl tilted her head to the side, frowning in that ridiculous fashion of his, "Almery is magic, no?"

"Alchemy," The Sin corrected automatically, "And no. It's… it's willing things to happen, but there are rules."

"Rules are boring!" A pout, and Envy flinched inwardly. That was awfully familiar in all the wrong ways.

"Well, yeah. But they're useful too," Rules are meant to be broken, but at the right time. Do you understand that? The key to gaining power comes from your will and the control you have over it. The Homunculus cleared his throat to ignore his thoughts, "You have to imagine the tiny bits of water that are in the air. All the water there is, floating in very little drops. And then, you have to will them all to come to the array, and imagine them taking shape."

"Oooh," Elysia nodded eagerly. No matter what he said, it had to be magic! "But what's air for?"

Smart kid, Envy mused as he smirked, observant too.

"Air is what will keep water floating," He waved a chubby hand to illustrate his point, "You don't have a bowl here, do you? So you need to will air to hold water in place," He arched an eyebrow at her, "If you work hard, you might even learn how to do figures with it."

"Dragons too?" Elysia squealed at him, "I love dragons, they're so pretty!"

My favorite? Dragons of course! Do you think that your father we'll let us go see them then? When you're cured?

"Smart runt," The Homunculus growled softly, petting her head absently and firmly telling himself he was not growing attached to a human.

Again.


Adrenaline pumped their veins as they ran after the Ishbalan. Neither Ed nor Roy doubted they were running right into a trap, but they just couldn't let him run away. Not after that man… Ed's jaw tightened. Dodging a new formed crater, he kicked the wall to keep up with the dark skinned man, Roy hot on his heels. They avoided the explosions more or less gracefully and managed to keep up with Scar, though their nerves were fried.

And then they realized they were at a nearby park. A nearby park full of children.

Scar smirked at them.

A second later, the shrieks of fear rose in the air, causing shivers to run up and down the Alchemists' spines as the children scattered around, afraid of the explosions. He wasn't hurting them, of course, but they were a major distraction that Scar was all too willing to use against them. As Ed and Roy tried to stop the psychopath Ishbalan, the blond Alchemist noted two children that hadn't run. One was a girl remarkably familiar and the other an older boy with light red hair and green eyes. Both were crouching around a patch of earth, enraptured with their battle. And then the boy growled loudly, glowed and walked decidedly towards them, his shape shifting back into the familiar long limbs of the Homunculus.

Ed had a moment to ponder what exactly was Envy doing in a park with a girl, before the Homunculus gave Scar a nice kick in the back.

"You!" Came the enraged howl from the Sin, purple eyes glowing eerily as he snarled at the taller man.

Roy had never seen the Homunculus fighting before, and he felt slightly taken aback by the fierce movements and graceful twist of body as he tried to beat the living daylights out of Scar. The Ishbalan didn't look particularly happy about the situation, rather surprised at the malevolent attack on himself, but tried to grab the annoying pest and blast it away. Ed didn't waste time pondering why, he started casting volts of energy and rips of earth against Scar and trying to attack on his own as well. He knew Envy's fighting style, how difficult it was to score even the slightless hit, and even if Scar did manage to harm him, the Homunculus would heal too fast for it to be important.

Ed grinned, apparently their uneasy truce with Envy would finally give some positive results to get Mustang out of his damned sulking.

There was a rush of fire against the white haired man, which he dodged with certain ease, then a volt of energy that hit him square in the chest and flung him backwards. But when Envy threw a punch at him, Scar managed to grab his hand. There was a pause.

"Uh huh," The Sin's eyes widened as the Ishbalan grinned maliciously at him, "Shit."

And his left arm exploded into a bloody pulp. Envy shrieked as he fell back, then snarled loudly at his attacker, purple eyes glowing. Before Ed or Roy could do anything though, and just as Scar was leaning forward to grab Envy's head, there was a loud scream.

"No!"

And suddenly there was a torrent of water collapsing against Scar, throwing him far away from them. Ed and Roy turned to look at the young girl that had her small hands pressed tightly against the still glowing array in the dirt. Not knowing where the attack had come from, and thinking it was reinforcement from the military, Scar blew up the floor under him and escaped. Envy blinked.

"Fuck, I knew we should have started with fire runes," He muttered to himself as he sat back properly, holding his bleeding shoulder in a tight grip.

"Damnit, he's gone," Roy called over the dying curtain of smoke that had hidden Scar's retreat. He risked a glance over at the Homunculus and his stomach did an unpleasant twist.

"You okay?" Ed called tentatively as he risked placing a hand on Envy's shoulder, "Er…"

"What the fuck do you think?" Came the testy reply, as the Sin glared at him, shrugging his hands off himself. Hissing through his teeth, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

Bits and pieces of himself flew to attach themselves back in, place glowing slightly as they rearranged properly. As the sudden light faded, the green haired teen opened and closed his hand a few times, then stood up and cracked his back. Ed flinched at the familiar and sickening sound. Roy frowned as he turned to the small girl, then he recognized her perfectly. He froze in place… and so did Ed.

"Elysia?" Envy said smoothly, in a velvety voice that promised pain. The girl flinched, "What the fuck did you think you were doing!?"


Scar rested his weight against the dirty wall of the alley. Breathing shallowly, he held his left side, wincing. Whoever had cast the water number on him had known what they were doing; he was sure he had at least a broken rib or two.

"You're pathetic," Came a voice from the entrance of the alley, childish and cruel at the same time, "I don't know why Dante thinks you'll be useful."

Scar turned to face the young boy, tensing as he saw his glowing purple eyes. Just like hers, he thought distractedly, before scowling. The brat walked towards him, smiling mockingly.

"What do you want?" Despite his best efforts, the Ishbalan's voice was raspy as he spoke, and he tried to cover it by standing tall.

"My… Master wants to see you," Wrath's eyes glinted maliciously, "Offer you a deal."

"I do not deal with those of your kind," Scar replied dangerously, his right hand clenching slightly.

"Well…" The Homunculus laughed, "Lust would have certainly disagreed."


"You taught a four year old Alchemy? Are you insane?"

"I was bored! What else was I supposed to do anyway! The fucking runt will follow me everywhere and wouldn't leave me alone! You'd rather I killed her?"

"It's almost the same! She could have hurt herself!"

"But she didn't! And it wasn't my fault she decided to be stupid instead of running away!"

"If you hadn't been around her in the first place, this wouldn't have happened!"

Al petted Elysia's head gently and quietly told her that 'no, it was not her fault' and 'yes, that was how her friend and the blonde mister solved their differences'. Colonel Mustang wasn't exactly sure when he had lost control of the situation, but he had been eventually shut out of his own bedroom as the two volatile teens started yelling at each other.

He was thankful they had at least been able to hide Envy from the military reinforcements that had arrived moments after the Homunculus had healed himself. What he was not thankful for, was the fact his apartment had ended up as the battleground for an Edward vs. Envy fight of Apocalyptic proportions. Al brewed him a cup of strong coffee and thanked him again for his patience. Elysia merely asked him how he knew her friend and if he would go visit her some time soon.

Roy clenched his jaw.

How dared he to get close to Elysia? How could that murderer taint the poor girl's innocence with his mere presence? It made him seethe. More so when he saw the absolute devotion in the wide green eyes of his goddaughter. She adored him, and Roy couldn't really see why. He was rude, he was loud and he had such an annoying condescending air around him, as if he knew all the answers and their attempts at moving on with their lives bored him.

"No!" There was a loud crash coming from his bedroom and he stood up briskly at the sound of Ed's panicked voice.

When he opened the door, though, all he saw was red faced Ed staring horrified at an amused Envy. Who had the fucking nerve to wink at him as he sauntered out of the room, grinning. Roy looked at Ed, wanting an explanation, and frowned when the teen merely blushed harder and muttered an excuse to leave.

Ten minutes later, while the Elric brothers promised to take Elysia home, he was left alone in his department, trying to puzzle out what had happened and wishing more than anything for a nice shot of scotch.


"I have need of your services, Alchemist," Kimblee whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice, mocking him, "Oh yes, it's dear old me…"

Eyes widening, the Crimson Alchemist clapped his hands, ready to make the intruder explode.

"Now, now," The Shark Man smirked, showing off his dreadful teeth, "No need for that. I don't want to kill you yet, you understand? Follow along like a good boy, Kimblee, and I might make your death painless."

Kimblee kept his palms pressed together, back tense.

"Or you could try and piss me off, and then I could rip you apart, limb by limb."

The monster cracked his knuckles as his hands turned into the frightening claws. Slowly, Kimblee's hands fell to his sides.

Greed grinned.