This isn't much different from the original, I'm just rewriting everything. Hope it's better than before, and thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, including the plot and characters. I simply own the main character.
The warm spring air smelling of flowers and freshly cut grass floated in through the window, ruffling the white curtains that blocked out the early afternoon sun. Newborn birds chirped while their mother sang to them in the large cherry blossom tree that sat outside of the window.
The lilac room that the window belonged to looked like any normal young girl's bedroom. But the girl that was lying in the white framed bed was oddly still and even cold to the touch. Her usual tan skin was pale and adorned a yellow, almost sickly, tint to it. This look was not helped by the signs of malnutrition, her skin clinging to her bones. Even her long, curly black hair was dry and brittle. All of this coupled with her petite frame made her look extremely fragile, perhaps some would say she was a corpse. Yet the house surrounding her was still and held an eerily quiet aspect to it. It was almost as if the house containing the death like girl and the world around it were from two different creations, since they seemed so far apart.
Then again, all silence must end, even it's with a deafening scream emitting from the lone girl. She was no longer still, but rather shaking, sweat from fear rolling down every inch of her skin. It would seem that she just had a nightmare, but she knew that what she just witnessed was anything but reality, even if she wished it was just a bad dream.
As her blood started flowing properly through her veins, she noted how different it felt, how wrong it felt. She fully understood what she was, now no longer an innocent girl, but a monster in every sense of the word, and she knew nothing else but that.
She sat trying to sort out the thoughts that were rushing in her head, attempting to push her closer to insanity. She couldn't remember anything. Where she was, how old she was, and even her own name eluded her.
Once she composed herself enough, she pushed back the dark purple sheets and noted the familiar color surrounding her, feeling the comfort it brought. She let her feet touch the ground and stood up so quickly that she almost fell over. She felt as if she should be weak, but instead was much stronger than she knew she ever was, which was strange. But what was stranger was the intricate transmutation circle sketched in white chalk on the dark wood floor surrounding her bed.
Figuring she had much more pressing matters to deal with, she decided she better explore her surroundings. Carefully placing one foot in front of the other, she managed to be silent just in case there was possible danger lurking beyond the four walls of the room.
With a deep breath, she grabbed the cold brass doorknob and hesitantly pushed it back. A quick surveillance of the area made her realize that there was no one else in the house but herself. No longer attempting stealth, but still on guard, the teenage girl moved to the staircase taking in every detail of the house that she was in, from the light wood floors to the warm yellow walls. On the staircase she noticed pictures of a family on the wall. Each person in the frames seemed so familiar, and her head started to pound painfully again. Using the railing for balance, she managed to get to the bottom of the stairs. At the bottom was a mirror, and as she looked at her reflection she was only able to note her sunken cheeks, chapped lips, and dull black eyes before her head felt like it was being split in two. Another scream racked through the small body as it collapsed on the floor.
It was like a switch finally turned on and she could remember the answers to questions that escaped her only a few minutes prior.
Her name is Emmeline. This is her home. The woman in the pictures was her mom, but she is dead. The man was the woman's husband and father to Emmeline. He, too, is deceased. But it was his own doing.
'Our idiot father… He caused this. He turned us into… into this monster,' a voice sneered with anger and betrayal that made her jump in surprise and search for the voice. It took her a few moments to realize that it was in her head. The voice was similar to hers, but much deeper and simply sinister.
'That's not true… My dad was a good man. A loving husband, wonderful father, and a skilled alchemist. He taught me everything.'
'Lies! We were going to die and be with our mother! We accepted death a long time ago, it was only a matter of when it would happen. He decided to turn us into this instead. A monster. A vial creature and a pathetic excuse for a human being! A Homunculus! However he couldn't even do that right, he turned us into a mutt instead!'
No matter how much she tried to clear her head, the voice just kept on repeating itself, demanding a response. 'It doesn't matter! It happened. We must figure out what to do next.' She didn't really believe those words, she was terrified. She was terrified of what she had seen, what she currently was, and the voice that was currently speaking to her in her head.
The strange voice just laughed, not a laugh out of amusement, but resentment. 'You idiot. I am apart of you. I know everything you think and everything you feel. You're weak and pathetic. We have the answers to be stronger. We have the power to be stronger. And to survive, strength is something we need.'
She was going to question the voice until everything seemed to click into place. With all of the new information she had forgotten, she almost disregarded what she had seen not even a few minutes ago. Her soul was at the Gate, ready to pass over when the time was right. However, her father was there. It was an odd sight. He was crying and begging for his daughter to be saved, to be brought back to life.
Originally, that had confused the lost soul. She knew she wasn't dead, but why did her father believe so? She wasn't given much time to ponder it because the voices of the Gate, many swirling into one, laughed and granted the man his wish. It knew she was watching, and knew what she was about to see would only scar her further.
The Truth.
She had seen it, and it petrified her more than enlightened. The young girl may have been naïve, but she was definitely not idiotic. She completely understood the weight of the information she had been given, and how much others would kill for a glimpse at what she had seen. That is why she could never tell anyone, it was too risky and easy for it to fall into the wrong hands.
But that voice was correct. She did have the necessary makings of becoming stronger, all she had to do was implement and perfect them. And with her being on her own, she had only herself to look out after her, a concept that was utterly foreign to her. 'Get up. There is no use in wallowing all day in self-pity.'
Deming the voice was right, Emmeline pushed herself back onto her feet, a little more confidence in her step. She turned the corner and almost jumped at the sight of the oddly dressed person who was lazily draped onto her couch appearing to be asleep. She couldn't really tell if it was a man or a woman, but the person had long, dark spikey hair, almost cartoonish, only wearing two strips of black fabric covering all things that needed to be covered. One purple eye became visible looking in the direction of Emmeline, but obviously not really caring about her presence. It unnerved her how relaxed they were in someone else's home.
Soon she realized that the man or woman would not introduce themselves first, but her voice was raspy and even deeper than her normally deep voice from the previous strain she caused earlier, "Hello. May I ask what you are doing here?"
With one fluid movement, the person was sitting, "The name's Envy. I guess you could call me a friend of your fathers. But looking at the current predicament, and all the yelling, I can guess things didn't go as planned." Unfortunately, the person's voice wasn't any help on deciding the sex of the person.
"What do you know?" the black eyes hardened with distrust and skepticism, and her stance quickly became guarded.
But the person just laughed, "Relax, brat, your father asked me to be here should anything go wrong. By the way, I'm guessing you're hungry." They reached into a sack that was lying next to them and pulled out a handful of what appeared to be red candy. "I know it looks weird, but eat it. You'll feel better."
Wearily, she moved closer, constantly on guard, to the odd person and took the red colored crystals. Slowly, she moved her hand to her mouth and licked. The taste was overwhelmingly horrible, but she couldn't help but continue shovel the substance down her throat.
It took a few moments, but she felt the increased strength the candy brought. With that strength came the ability to think more clearly, and her senses were sharpened. It was if someone simply fine-tuned her perspective.
With the new clarity, she walked with a newfound poise and grace towards the newcomer. The almost smugness and attitude in the way she carried herself came almost like a second nature and she had to admit, it felt wonderful. The little frightened girl she had been a few moments ago started to melt away, and it was replaced with the feeling of control.
'There we go.' The voice breathed in the new frame of mind with vigor. Envy also noticed the change in demeanor, and smiled wickedly taking in the girl in front of him. Her outer appearance was completely different from the aura surrounding her. It was always astounding how quickly a Homunculus changed from weak and wretched to dignified and deadly just by consuming Red Stones. Soon, she'll look exactly how she feels, a bit of training is all she needs. Then again, she is an oddity. A Homunculus created by a still live human.
Emmeline was currently standing in front of Envy, unflinching under the person's evaluating gaze. After a minute, Envy finally nodded, "Well, let's go. Dante isn't one who enjoys waiting."
"Why should I go with you?" her tone and posture were pure defiance. But that didn't seem to matter to Envy, "Look, brat, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. If you come with me, I'll give you more Red Stones. If you resist, I'll knock you out and drag you with me. Your choice."
Quickly realizing that she didn't have much of a choice, she pouted, crossing her arms, "Fine. Let's go."
Envy's sinister grin returned before walking out of the room and out the door with Emmeline following closely in tow. She almost ran into Envy's back, which had stopped abruptly in front of her to crouch down, "What are you waiting for, brat? Get on. It'll be faster."
Emmeline was about to argue until Envy turned around and gave her a threatening look, and wordlessly she hopped on. In no time, the both of them were practically flying through the woods. Trees quickly flew by them in a blur and all that could be heard was the sound of wind whipping in their ears. It was freeing.
An hour later, Envy started to slow down and eventually halted at a clearing to let Emmeline down before starting to walk again with her following. Soon enough, she saw their final destination. The mansion was absolutely stunning in presence. It had a pale yellow color that was warm and inviting in contrast to the intimidating deep red of the roofing. Balconies, large windows, and detailed trimmings only helped the overall grander of the home.
Emmeline was almost halted in awe, but realized that Envy wasn't going to stop so she could marvel. Therefore, she just followed the odd haired person through the house, noting and mentally complimenting the continued theme of pale yellow walls and rich dark wood flooring with simple dark green squares boarded by the same wood as the flooring that ran along the bottom half of the walls.
Many twists and turns later, the two finally ended up at the door to a study. Envy didn't waste any time knocking and entered the room with the simple statement, "Here you go. I'm leaving," and left back out the door.
Emmeline watched the person leave and turned her attention to the elderly woman who sat behind a dark wood desk. Her smile was welcoming, but there was something lying underneath the surface that Emmeline could tell there was something off about the woman.
"Please sit, dear," the elderly woman motioned to the traditionally maroon padded chair. She waited for Emmeline to comply to continue, "I apologize for Envy's behavior. He doesn't have the best manners." Emmeline made a mental note of Envy's gender. "My name is Dante, and you must be Emmeline. Since you are here, I'm guessing your father is dead, and you, my dear, are a Homunculus." Dante held up her right hand to silence the young girl before she objected, "Your father told me his plans because he knew about my expertise in that area. I tried talking him out of it, but the man was stubborn. Nonetheless, I agreed to help him if need be."
The woman moved to closer to the young Homunculus, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Emmeline stopped herself from flinching at the contact, nothing about this woman seemed right. Dante's next words confirmed Emmeline's suspicions about the women, especially the promise of a threat highly noticeable in her tone, "Now, it is a matter of what to do with you, which you do have some choice in the matter. You have two options. The first is to follow every command I give you loyally and obediently. The second is you can leave right now, but be warned, I will track you down and kill you."
'Guess we don't have much of a choice. Seems like a lot of that today. She obviously isn't joking. We'll figure out something later, the old hag probably won't live much longer anyway. Maybe we'll get information out of her. In the meantime, don't back down,' the dark voice floated in Emmeline's head, offering her the only good option she had. Her large black eyes remained emotionless as she blankly stared at the old woman, and she kept her voice equally blank, "I'll stay."
Dante's soft smile contradicted the deadly conversation, "Good choice, my dear. I think you will find it is pleasant here soon enough. However, before you start working for me officially, you must undergo some training, and of course I must examine you. I have never encountered a hybrid such as yourself, and I must admit I am quite curious…" She trailed off obviously thinking about the future, and most likely painful, experiments she could conduct. That lapse was quickly over, "Anyway, first things first. The name Emmeline will simply not do. It is too innocent, too sweet. You are no longer human, and therefore should not be called like one. Still, the seven deadly sins are already accounted for and reserved for pure Homunculi. We will have to pick another name to call you."
Emmeline tried to keep the malicious intent she had for this woman out of her thoughts, but it was not good enough. Dante noticed it, and smiled that ever so gentle smile, "That is a great idea. Your name will be Malice."
Hope you enjoyed! Please review and let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!