Chapter 1: A Philosopher's Stone Heart
The dark green haired malevolent homunculus stared out at the rising sun as the country of Amestris began to wake. He was standing atop the largest hill outside of Central, pondering what this day might bring. He plopped down on the grassy hillock, closed his eyes, and let all of his vices go for just a moment. He's been known to be a sadistic and ruthless being, but every now and then he enjoyed sitting back, relaxing, and being able to think about absolutely nothing. The sunrise calmed him in this way. In that moment, his mind was a clean slate. He no longer had to feel like he was suffering simply by being alive.
Envy put up a narcissistic front in order to cover up his true emotions about his existence. He never felt satisfied with himself. The longing to be human crept into mind more times than he'd like to admit, which made him feel even more disgusted with himself. He was constantly overwhelmed with envy, making it difficult for him to appreciate the things he already had in his life. He wanted to believe that there was something better for him out there, he just wasn't quite sure what it was.
His purpose in life was not to seek out fulfillment for himself. He was created to simply be a pawn in his Father's twisted fantasy. For a long time, he forced himself to believe that he was content with that.
He had six siblings, but none of them seemed to think the way he did. He was closest to his eldest sister, Lust, and although they had their moments from time to time, he still didn't feel like he could open up to her as much as he would like to. She never showed signs of existential crisis; it seemed as though her only goal in mind was to please Father. Envy wanted this too, but his soul simply yearned for something more. At the very least, he wanted someone who would understand how he felt. Maybe even someone who cared for him.
Although these thoughts went through his mind time and time again, he wouldn't dare speak them out loud. The last thing he wanted was for people to know that he desired to feel human.
Envy awoke from his meditative state and slowly stood up, stretching his arms out by his sides in order to better steady himself. He took another glance at the beautiful view; the sun was well over the horizon by now. He shape-shifted into an Amestrian man with jet black hair, light blue eyes, and a tan trench coat and began to walk down the hill into town.
Walking through Central so early on a Friday morning was quite the nuisance. The city was in a frenzy; people were lined up and down the cobblestone streets, leaving almost no space for others to walk around them. Envy sighed deeply as he strolled casually through all the havoc around him.
Suddenly, Envy felt something smack against the back of his heels. He quickly turned around, scowling down at a little girl with dark brown braids and a floral patterned dress. She was looking up at him expectantly with a purple ball in her hands.
"Hi Mister," the little girl exclaimed happily, "Thank you for stopping my ball for me! Do you wanna play with me?" Envy sneered at the girl, then spat on the ground right near her feet. "Sorry, I'd rather not waste my precious time with such an insignificant being. I can't deal with you stupid humans." He turned around with one fluid movement, kicking dirt up with his leather shoes, and started back on the path he was on originally. From behind him, he heard the small child's weeping, but instinctively ignored it. He never let himself get close to any humans, in fear that he would become too intrigued with what he would discover about them. He decided that ignorance is bliss; he would rather hate the humans blindly than try to understand them.
Back in the winding, underground tunnels of Central Command, Envy transforms back into his preferred, androgynous form. As he opens the door to the living quarters, he is greeted by Lust, with Gluttony tagging alongside her. The busty woman is looking as flawless as ever: her long, almost-black hair angled perfectly around her face and her usual tight, black dress flattering the contours of her body. She opens her arms wide at the sight of her darling younger brother, the only homunculus she's ever truly shown affection for.
"Come here, my sweet Envy. Where have you been all day?" Lust wraps her arms around Envy and pulls him in for a sickeningly tight hug. Envy almost immediately pushes her away, feeling an uncomfortable warmth well up in his chest.
"Ugh, get away from me, Lust. Why must you be so overbearing and human-like? It's disgusting."
Lust giggles for a moment, then replies, "Envy, don't you think you should tone it down with the anti-human chatter? After all, the human lives inside your Philosopher's Stone are what gave you life. They're useful for something, you know. The humans are a part of you, no matter how hard you try to set yourself apart from them." With a wink and a smile, she turned away from Envy and Gluttony and walked down the dimly lit hallway and into her chambers.
The short, pudgy homunculus turns to face Envy and proudly declares, "Father said that he has a special mission for us, starting tonight. I just can't wait! I hope I get to eat the humans, they taste so good!" Envy snorts arrogantly at this idiotic remark. "I'm sure you will, Gluttony. I'm gonna go get some rest." He then starts down the same hallway as Lust, turns to the door next to hers, and shuts it tightly.
While in his room, Envy begins to think about what Lust had just iterated to him. He spreads himself out on his bed and clutches his chest, now fully aware of all of the human souls it took to create the Philosopher's Stone at the core of his being. He supposed it didn't mean too much, considering human lives were easily expendable compared to the life of a homunculus. With that thought, he quickly managed to erase the image of the Philosopher's Stone from his mind.
Wanting to abandon his confusing reality for a short while, Envy grabs a short blade from his nightstand and sits on his bed with his legs crossed. He takes a look at his right calf and begins to admire his unblemished, velvety skin. It looks as if he's never been touched by another living being, which might as well be true. He touched his smooth, porcelain skin lightly, creating small waves of oscillation wherever his fingertips met his skin.
He then begins to dig his short, trimmed nails into his leg, forcing a long, red scratch mark to appear. "I shouldn't be teasing myself like this," Envy judges, "I should just go right for it this time. Why do I continue to make myself wait?"
He takes the blade in his hand once again and begins to carve a deep, bloody circle into his leg. The pain/pleasure from the sensation urges him to moan intensely. His breathing quickens as he tears more deeply into his once-perfect skin. Once he finds the flesh wound to be satisfactory, he begins to draw shapes and patterns into his left arm — more lightly than before, but painful nonetheless. Envy throws his head back in pleasure and lets out a coarse, rough-sounding sigh. "Ohhhhhhh fuck yes…" The sensation of an electric current overflows within him and his body becomes drenched in sweat. This blissful feeling is enough for him to completely lose himself in the pure thrill of his momentary self-indulgence, the feeling of gratification overwhelming his entire being.
He thought that this moment simply couldn't get any better, until he heard a loud knock on his door.
"WHO THE FUCK IS IT?! I'M KIND OF BUSY IN HERE!" Envy throws the bloody knife on the ground in rage. He was just beginning to feel happiness in this sick, depressing world.
"It's Lust, baby. Father needs us all to go see him. We have an extremely important mission that he wants to fill us in on." Envy rolls his eyes in resentment. "Okay Lust, I'll be out in a second." He picks up the knife from the ground and begins to lick the blade, tasting every droplet of blood until the blade is licked clean.
By the time he's up and ready to go, Envy's wounds have already healed completely. He sighs disappointedly at the red lightning fading from his body, wishing something as lovely as his self-pleasure would stay permanent for once. He puts the blade back down where he found it, opens the door and shuts it behind him carelessly. "Let's go, Lust."
Envy and Lust walk into the large laboratory where Father does all of his experiments. Under his large spotlight were Gluttony, Greed, Pride, Wrath and Sloth.
"So, looks like everyone's here," Envy exclaimed, "Greed, I'm surprised you're here. What with all the trouble you've been causing on the surface lately. I'm surprised Father hasn't killed you yet." Greed lifted his sunglasses off his eyes. "Yeah you're one to talk, Envy. I know you like fucking around with the humans just as much as I do."
Envy gave him a wide smirk. "Well, I have to admit that there's nothing I love more than the pain and suffering of a human. Their cries and screams are simply music to my ears!" Lust rolled her eyes in disgust, while the rest of the homunculi all nodded their heads in agreement with Envy's statement.
"Hello my children, I apologize for being late. I was doing some research." Their father appears out of the shadows with a book in hand. He walks over to his throne and sits down as the homunculi being to gather around him, staring at him intently.
Envy decides to be the one to speak up first. "Well? What's our big mission for tonight, Father?" Father begins to stare straight through his children, as if engaged in deep thought. He then closes his eyes gently and mutters, "I need you to travel to Dublith and obtain someone for me. She is known as the Ultraviolet Alchemist. Her name is Verona Jacobssen and she is a former state alchemist. She has a great deal of knowledge on the Philosopher's Stone and will be of great use to me in the future, possibly for a human sacrifice. I believe that all of you should attempt to find her because although she resides in Dublith, I'm not sure of her exact whereabouts. So look in the city itself and on the outskirts of the city, too. I'm counting on all of you." And with that, Father gets up, turns to leave without saying a word, and slithers back into the darkness from whence he came.
After a few moments of silence, Pride decides to speak up. "Alright, so this is how the plan is going to go down: Wrath and I will be checking the northern and eastern areas outside of Dublith, Sloth and Greed will watch the western and southern sides, and Lust, Gluttony, and Envy will stay in the heart of the city until we find this woman. Is that understood?"
Greed scoffs at his older brother, kneels down and and grabs him by the shirt. "What makes you think you can make all the rules, huh? Just because you think Father trusts you the most? I don't wanna have to deal with this lazy asshole for the next few days!" He points towards Sloth, who is already falling asleep.
Pride seems unaffected by Greed's sudden outburst, until his shadow creeps up Greed's back and wraps around his throat. Greed drops Pride immediately, grabbing at his own throat in agony. After toying with his younger brother for a short while, Pride decides to let go of Greed's neck.
"You're pathetic, Greed. Come on, Wrath. We have an assignment to carry out." Pride and Wrath begin to stride out of the laboratory, clearly on their way to start the mission immediately.
Envy takes in a long breath, then sighs deeply. "Pride and Wrath, what a couple of assholes, huh Lust? Looks like we're stuck with Sir Eats-a-Lot for the next few days. This is just lovely!"
Lust slaps her younger brother in the face without hesitation. "Don't be mean to your brother. Once we're in Dublith we'll probably split up anyway, so stop complaining for once in your life and help us carry out the fucking mission." Lust could be nice when she wanted to be, but she could be a real bitch when she wanted to be, too.
Envy stayed silent for a moment, the feeling of rejection creeping up on him. He hated being disrespected, but he held back the urge to annihilate her. If it was anyone else, it would be a different story.
The absence of Envy's voice gave Lust the cue to continue. "Now, let's get a move on before Pride and Wrath start looking in the city. It would be a shame for them to have to pick up the slack for us, don't you think?"
Gluttony suddenly began to frown and tug on Lust's dress. "Does this mean I can't eat anyone, Lust? I was really excited…" Lust turns to Gluttony and pats him on the head soothingly. "Who knows Gluttony, maybe someone will get in our way of kidnapping this girl. If that happens, you get to have them all to yourself. How does that sound?" Gluttony begins to jump up and down due to anticipation. "Yes, yes! I would love that, Lust! Let's go right now, I can't keep my food waiting!" Gluttony waddles as quickly as he can out of the laboratory, while Lust and Envy leisurely follow suit.