Guys like him shouldn't be kept in empty rooms like this. That shit was for peons like Envy.
The room was dark; there was barely enough light to make out the blank faces of a growing army as they hung upside down like carcasses in a butcher's window. Shadows filled their empty cheeks and danced inside of their gaping mouths. It was creepy as hell, and he was already tired of guarding these stupid things. Something interesting had better happen, and soon, because otherwise he was going to have to make a complaint.
Something dripped ominously in the distance, echoing eerily against the endless lines of piping. It was rather dank with an overpowering smell of mold. How depressing.
"Yo, Greed!"
His head throbbed painfully all of a sudden, sharp and fleeting, like a swift kick or the stab of a sword.
"I need to send a message." Huh. It was the prince.
Well now that was interesting. Ling's voice echoed inside his head, bodiless but solid. It actually sounded like he was standing right next to him. He could even picture the kid's face staring at him, determined and squinty with his arms folded over his chest. This would take some getting used to.
He spoke back to him mentally, leaning against the cold wall behind him as he did so. "Ah, glad to see you're still with me. You've been quiet for a long time. I thought you'd given up or something." He had figured the prince would change his mind about cooperating at some point, that he would maybe try to rebel or just plain give up. Which one would it be? He started idly calculating the odds, quietly hoping for "rebel." Having the kid around was interesting, and he wasn't ready to give up such entertaining company so soon after acquiring it.
"I need to let her know that I'm okay."
"What's going on? You're not going soft on me, are you?"
"Of course not!" Ling paused before continuing, "She's badly injured, and I don't want her coming to a place like this in that condition." Greed pondered this. The little alchemist had mentioned someone's name earlier, something about her waiting. It was probably the same girl. While he tried to determine how he felt about letting the kid contacting her, the prince kept right on talking. "And she'll come looking for me if she doesn't hear from me."
Was that a threat? Oh man, he was going to have a lot of fun with this one.
"Your girlfriend, huh?" He stretched the words out, slow and speculative in his mind. "Is she hot? I can't say I'd mind a visit in that case."
"She is a loyal servant who has given me more than I can ever repay her. The least I can do is ease her worry."
"I see, I see."
"Well?"
"Do you love her? Now be honest because I need to know how much sap I'm going to be putting up with over this."
"A true king loves all his people."
"Okay, but that still doesn't answer my question. Are you sweet on her or not?"
For a moment the kid was silent, finally speaking only barely above a whisper - as if anyone else would hear him anyway. "She is very dear to me, yes."
"That's so cute, really, it is."
"You'd let her come here, then? Likely to her death?"
"You just gave me your body and now you want it back? No way, too late for that buddy. I told you if you were going to resist you should've done it before. This is all mine now."
"And it still is, but I need to borrow it for just a few minutes. To send her a message. She's waiting for me, Greed."
If he was honest with himself, he didn't much care for the idea of an injured girl coming to look for them down here. The others wouldn't show her any mercy, and well, he never really liked seeing chicks get hurt. He wasn't honest with himself all that often though, even when he was being honest with himself. Was that a paradox? It didn't really matter; if the kid wanted this so badly, he must have something good to offer.
"What's in it for me?"
"Afterwards, not only will you have my body, you also will have my respect."
So the kid would respect him, huh? What kind of homunculus did he think Greed was anyway? As if something as abstract as respect would be worth giving up control for. What kind of precedent would he be setting if he agreed to a price like that? They were going to be together for a long time, he didn't want to seem weak-willed on the first day.
He said she was hurt...
Really, he must be going soft in his old age or something. He didn't know why he was even considering this, but the prince had been nothing but true to his word so far, and he really didn't want to be responsible for this chick getting herself killed. Not to mention he did want the respect. Hell, he wanted everything. What was wrong with him?
"Oh fine - but I'm not doing this for you, just so we're clear. I can't have a young lady's blood on my hands like this."
A short while later, as he sat in the background watching Ling paint words he could not read with congealing chimera's blood, he swore he could see the prince smirk. Crap, had he just been played? Now there was something interesting. Nice finesse, kid.