Title: My Enemy, My Ally, My Rival
Author: Chibi Envy Chan
Fandom: Full Metal Alchemist
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Swearing, innuendos, some violence, and implied male/male relationship
Summary: With Scar on the move, it is not safe for any state alchemist. Will Ed survive his encounter or will he receive help from an unlikely ally?

Disclaimer: The characters in this fic belong to their respective owner. If I can remember it, X.x I will write it.

Chapter 1

After hearing many reports and sightings of Scar in and around Central, the military personnel at headquarters were busy and chaotic. The normal state military were inspecting and taking care of their weapons or other weapons. Some of them were better off with hand to hand fighting or close range combat with a small weapon. However, this was severely advised against, because the enemy only required one touch and instant death. That also explained why there were many soldiers at the rooting range, practicing their aim.

State alchemists, on the other hand, were in a worse condition. They were the main targets of the enemy. Many of the veterans were reviewing their notes, checking their equipment, and going into a mock battle against other alchemists. They had experience in battle; yet, with every battle, there was that same fear, except they had learned to control it to some degree. The newer recruits were scared out of their minds. They were mainly clustered in the library, researching the different arrays even though they had passed the test. This was the first time they were going to use alchemy in a life or death combat. One false move could mean the difference between staying alive or dying. That was why the library was crowded and a certain state alchemist was more than irate.

"Brother, we could always borrow the books," a seven foot armor said, trying to calm down an annoyed short blond. "The military dorms should be quiet enough for us to continue our research."

"Sure, Al," the blond snorted. Needless to say, he was not going to calm down any time soon. "I'm certain we can find something in those beginners' books." With the frenzy, there were not many books available. Normally, it was the Elric brothers and a few alchemists on any given day, but now, it was a mad house.

"I was only trying to help." The armor pouted a little.

Ed sighed. His brother was being himself, kind and generous. He was too high strung and frustrated beyond belief. "I know that."

Al tilted his head to one side before speaking again. "With Scar on the loose, do you think it is wise for us to be out alone?"

Twisting a little, the diminutive state alchemist replied, "I am not a child. I can take care of myself. We have each other." They were a team and it was going to take more than a serial state alchemist killer to separate them.

The armor paused, allowing his older brother to continue ahead alone until he realized the armor stopped. Al fidgeted as he tried to find the right words to say, ones that would not cause his brother to spazz out.

"What is it this time?" Ed inquired in an exasperated manner. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot, impatiently waiting for an answer.

There was no use going around it. It was now or nothing. "Remember the last time we went up against Scar?" A pause. A twitch. A glare. "You ended up in the hospital, and if it wasn't for the colonel, you would have sacrificed yourself to protect me. Do you honestly think we even stand a chance against him?"

Dark shadows covered his eyes. Memories of his encounter began to surface, unwanted memories of his defeat. He clenched his fist as he remembered how he nearly lost his life to the serial state alchemist killer. "I won't let it happen again. This time I am going to be prepared."

Al was still worried. Brother tended to be brash, stubborn, and completely reckless. At the same time, Al had a point. The two should not be wandering away from headquarters or where the state military were gathered. "Are you certain about it?"

"I'm certain about it. What has gotten into you?" Ed inquired. Al was not this stubborn. Dammit, it was his job!

"It's just? I'm worried about you," Al hesitantly answered. He was afraid of losing his big brother with the way they lost mother. "I know our missions are sometimes dangerous, but you shouldn't have to put your life on the line every minute. What will happen if you die? What about our goal?"

"You worry too much, Al," Ed said with confidence even though he was scared at the thought of meeting Scar again. He learned to control his fear, because he needed to be strong for his little brother. "Who says I'm going to be dying soon? There are a lot of things I want to do and getting our bodies back to normal is one of them."

'Brother, I wish I have the same confidence as you do,' Al thought. He slowly walked to where his brother was standing. ?I just feel better if we aren?t far away from the others? in case we need back up or medical attention.?

"If you're worried about it, then I won't take long," Full Metal Alchemist assured him. It was hard to get him to admit defeat, fear, or any sort of humiliation. He had an ego the size of Central despite his small body. "We'll pick it up and go." Turning back, he started to walk to his original destination.

This was at least better than Ed refusing to go so he supposed he could deal with it. It was hard to get brother to do certain things. The suit of armor clanged as he hurried to catch up to the state alchemist. "Why not eat at the cafeteria? It's a lot closer and cost less."

Upon hearing this, Ed snorted and made a face. "That crap. I've seen what's on the menu, meatloaf surprise." When they say surprise, they really mean it. He remembered the first time he tried it and vowed never to eat the rancid stuff.

Al chuckled while remembering that incident. Brother had been so hungry that he ate half of it before turning a lovely shade of green. There were times where he was thankful he didn't require eating. "I remembered that. You nearly made the Colonel deaf afterwards."

"They should have a health citation for it. I can't believe they're still serving it." Ed was not a happy camper that day. The people on the streets were getting out of his day though many were annoyed about the inconvenience.

"I can't believe there are people who eat it," Al commented thoughtfully. If no one ate it, then they would not be serving it in the first place. "But why out here? I mean there are good restaurants near headquarters and the library."

Full Metal had that 'no duh' look on his face. "Their cuisine is okay, but Antonio's serves the best noodles with meat sauce in all of Central." There was that mischievous look on his fact. It only meant trouble and by the truckloads. "I wonder if they're willing to part with their secret recipe."

"It wouldn't be much of a secret if he told anyone? Al reminded his older brother as several sweatdrops appeared on his helmet. "Besides, you rarely cook and?"

"Don't even go there," Ed scowled. He could never hate his younger brother, annoyed and irritated yes. "I can cook. It's just not as good as other, but it's still edible."

"State alchemist, your culinary skills won't matter where you are going."

It was that voice; that one voice Ed was not looking forward to hearing. It must be his imagination. Yes, it was his imagination, running wild. It had to be. There could be no other alternative. Despite it, Ed turned around and paled at the sight. Those crimson eyes were bearing down on him and that hand was moving quickly to him. In those few seconds, Ed saw his life flash before him. He saw him looking at his brother for the first time. He saw the two of them trying to sneak a peek at Dad's alchemy books. He saw them getting ready to bring back their Mom. He saw his teacher explaining things while she taught them about alchemy. Ed stood there like a deer frozen in headlights.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and then?

A certain homunculus was laughing his head off. "Ochibi-san, you should have seen the expression on your face. It was priceless! I only wish I had a camera to capture the moment."

Three.

Two.

One.

"Who are you calling an ultra midget who can easily be squashed by a speck of dust?"

Before Ed could do any serious damage to the laughing homunculus, the suit of armor restrained him. Al wished Ed learned to control that temper of his especially when his height was involved. Could armors even frown? "That wasn't nice, Envy."

The homunculus finally calmed down to a few giggles here and there. "It wasn't supposed to be nice."Humans could be such idiots.

"You androgynous idiot! You nearly scared me half to death." Ed fumed, struggling to get out of the armor's grasp. He waved his arms around wildly as if it was going to help procure his freedom.

Now the very dangerous and homicidal homunculus was pouting. "Aw, only half? It should have been completely." He paused a minute before wincing. "On second thought, half would be better. The last thing I want to hear is That Person screeching." Her voice was grating on his nerves.

"That Person?" both Elric brothers thought, pondering the identity of this person. Obviously, he or she had some control over Envy and maybe the other homunculi.

"What do you want?" Ed growled. With Envy if he wanted something, then the homunculus was going to get it. Also he seemed to be the type to have a motive or reason behind everything he did.

This time Envy pretended to be hurt, which looked completely off of him. "Who said I wanted anything? Is it a crime to visit my favorite pint sized alchemist? It has been awhile since we've seen each other."

"Who are you calling the world's smallest shrimp?"

The suit of armor restrained the Full Metal Alchemist once more. He just shook his head or rather helmet. "Brother, you are drawing attention to us." It amazed him that his brother paid attention to certain words that are synonymous with the word short and ignore the others.

"What attention? They're only dirty cats," Ed scoffed before smacking himself for saying it. "Don't you even think about it, Al."

It was Al's turn to pout. "But brother, they need good homes and loving owners. Don't you have a heart?"

"We've had this discussion before," the state alchemist reminded him. He had yet to be released. "It is going to be tough on them and us. We are constantly on the road and our diet? My diet isn't the best."

"But we could always try," Al protested as he tightened his grip on his brother. He really wanted a kitty. They were such cute creatures.

The state alchemist felt the grip tighten. "We're on missions and missions mean danger. Kitties won' last long in fights."

As the brothers exchanged words, Envy glanced back and forth between the two of them. He hated being left out so when a perfect opportunity to insult Full Metal appeared, he eagerly grabbed it. "The same could be said about a certain miniature state alchemist." That was certain to rile up Ochibi-san.

"But you don't know that," Al whined, being as stubborn as his older brother.

"What do you think they can do, scratch our enemies' eyes out?" Ed asked rhetorically. ?Cats are just good for eating and sleeping.?

He was being ignored. Envy hated being ignored. "It also applies to you, Ochibi-san." There was no way he was going to be ignored.

"They're good companions and independent," Al pointed out. He was not about to let Brother win this argument. A kitty's life was at stake!

"Alphonse Elric, you are completely missing the point," Ed argued. This was going nowhere and fast.

Grrrrr. He was definitely being ignored and on purpose too! What did it take to get their attention on him? Nobody ignored the Ultimate Monster and got away with it. Well except maybe That Person. Changing his arm into a blade, he charged at the brothers only to completely miss them.

As the homunculus was charging, the two brothers fought and somehow, Ed managed to free himself. This caused the two of them to separate and Envy to completely miss his target. And the result? Envy crashing into the wall and leaving a lovely Envy shaped dent.

Unfortunately for the Sin, the two brothers just happened to look in that direction. He wanted attention, but dammit not when he was humiliated. While Al was looking with worry, Ed was laughing uncontrollably.

"So now you look," Envy grumbled as he pulled himself from the dent. He then glared at the laughing blond and rolled his eyes. "It's not that funny." If it had been anyone else, he or she would have been killed the first moment he heard the laughter.

"Says you," Ed wheezed out, clutching his sides. He had come to know Envy as a graceful and well coordinated homunculus. "If we only had a camera."

Now it took a lot for Envy to become pissed off except when it came to a certain subject. The midget was making fun of him. It was supposed to be the other way around! "If you even take a picture, I'll shove that camera up your ass."

Ed scoffed. "As if. What are you doing here?" He asked when he realized that the homunculus had not attacked him, just scared him half to death.

"Did I not answer this? I'm here to visit my favorite midget." Envy taunted. Now this was more like it. He grinned when he saw Full Midget lunge at him. Stepping aside, he allowed the blond to pass harmlessly past him. "Too slow as usual."

"Envy, you must have a reason for being here other than to annoy my brother," Al calmly pointed out. He had to have the patience of a saint to put up with the Full Metal Alchemist on a regular basis. Yet at times, he had his limits.

"This must be the smart one," Envy thought sizing up the suit of armor. "Actually, I was just in the neighborhood so I decided to drop by." He shrugged casually before dusting himself off.

"So you decided to annoy the hell out of me for the fun of it?" Ed growled.

"What else is there to do?" Envy asked rhetorically. He placed his hands behind his back and rocked back and forth on his heels. "I mean Al is no fun to mess with. He's too patient and understanding to pick a fight with unlike you."

"Thanks, I think?" Al said hesitantly. "Brother, we should be going back. Scar can be anywhere and you know you are on top of his list."

"We?ll be fine," Ed scoffed. There was no way in hell he was going to appear weak in front of his personal tormentor. It gave Envy more ammunition against him. "I can handle him." Crossing his arms over his chest, he silently dared either of them to say anything. "And besides, we had the conversation already."

"Remember our last fight with scar?" Al brought up. It was also an excuse to get away from Envy without appearing to be one. Al, always polite even to enemies.

Before Ed could say anything, Envy commented, "You landed yourself in the hospital and a wrench to the head from a certain mechanic." He had a smug smirk on his face. Information travel quickly when it concerned the youngest state alchemist.

Going into his accusing mode, Ed growled at him. "And how do you know that. Were you spying on me?" That palm tree wannabe was severely asking for it.

Envy snorted. "As if I would go through that trouble to find about your medical condition." It was the truth, not like Ed was going to believe him for that matter. "A little birdie told me."

"You're such a bad liar." Ed started before going into another full fledged Edward Elric rant when concerning any word that was closely similar to short.

"Brother," Al said in a calm and patient voice. Unfortunately, brother was caught up in his rant and Envy's taunts were not helping either. He ended up grabbing his brother and hauling him off his feet. It was completely uncharacteristic of him, but given the circumstances, it was understandable.

"Put me down! I can walk!" Ed failed around and succeeding in tiring himself out as well as giving Envy a good laugh or two. "Oh shut up, Palm Tree."

As usual, Al ignored in favor of getting to the restaurant as soon as possible. The longer they stayed away from the others the more chances Scar had to catch them alone. Then there was the fact a homunculus was lurking close by.

Envy watched as the two disappear from his sight. He had no intention of following Ochibi-san. Oh great, now how was he supposed to entertain himself? He supposed he could pose as scar and scare the hell out of the state alchemists. No wait, it was getting boring. Half of the Scar sightings were him in disguise. It was fun that time, because of the recipient.

"If Scar is here, then Lust and Gluttony should be nearby. They had been assigned to keep an eye on him. I wonder if I am going to see them anytime soon. Heh, I can't be desperate for something to do, can I?"

Shrugging, he sauntered off in search of something to do. He did not even bother to disguise himself, preferring to stay in his preferred form. "Palm tree. Like he could be any more original with his name calling."

Oh wonderful, Envy was reduced to talking to himself. It was a sure sign of insanity, but who ever said that he was sane in the first place? He mingled with the crowded and headed away from where the state military were concentrated. Right now, he wanted to do something fun; however, That Person specifically told him to keep a low profile. It was such a pain at times.