Edward POV
A smile, a laugh. The familiar warmth of a place I recognized. Faces with no features, but I knew who they were supposed to be. I should have known it was a dream before I opened my eyes and realized where I was, but I didn't. The world I was in now felt more like the dream to me. It seemed hazy and foggy as if it wasn't even real at all.
This had become my life now.
The feeling of disappointment filled my chest as I sat up in bed for what seemed like the hundredth time that night and stared out the window at the stars that were not my own. I didn't belong there. Though I suppose that world was all right in it's own way.
Laying back down in resignation, I allowed myself to pass out for a few more hours. Maybe his body would let me rest at least until the sun came back up.
"Edward! Today's the day!" Alfons knocked excitedly at my door after what seemed like only five minutes after I had laid my head back down on the pillow.
How could I have forgotten?
"Make sure you're there! You can't miss it!" Alfons' happy voice faded as he descended down the stairs.
His rocket was launching today, of course. Alfons Heiderich had become my rock in this foreign world.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Alfons." I said to myself as I pulled myself out of bed and began fitting my prosthetic limbs in place for the day. They weren't as durable or responsive as my automail had been, but they would do.
I had been so enthusiastic about this before. I had even studied rocketry with Alfons until we came to Munich. This was the science of this world, and as interesting as it was, it just wasn't me. I couldn't forget about alchemy, and it didn't matter how many stories I told Alfons about my world, he still didn't believe me. I was beginning to think he thought I was crazy and delusional.
Well, maybe I am.
Tying my hair into a simple tail, I change into clothing drab and dull. It was the way of this world. Nothing flashy, nothing extravagant. Not here. Germany was a strange place full of politics and overbearing law, and there was no shortage of racism. I suppose I was lucky that I was fair-haired and skinned when I got dropped off into this place. I fit in more-or-less, but everyone could always sense something different about me.
It didn't help when everyone I met looked exactly like someone I knew in my world. The stare of disbelief mixed with wonder and confusion I must have had on my face as I talked to each one the first time surely gave away my insanity.
Even Alfons looks exactly like I would have imagined my brother to look if he were a few years older. I suppose it's one of the reasons we had grown so close. You could say he had become my 'replacement' for Al, but that's not something I shared with him openly, especially not since we had become lovers. I didn't expect it to happen, but one night it just... did. We were sitting together, my hand on his leg. I had gotten used to doing that as we got closer, it was a friendly gesture; a way to show him I loved him. He was my rock after all. He still is.
I guess he took it as something else, and he kissed me. He initiated it, and I was startled at first, but found myself kissing back. It was so natural. That's how it started almost a year ago, and we've been hiding it ever since. Homosexuality is a punishable offense in Munich, so we are very careful. As far as anyone else is concerned, we are just good friends who are room mates for the convenience of sharing the rent cost.
I made my way downstairs after my morning ritual to find Alfons scarfing down some toast and a glass of orange juice. He really seemed enthused, and was definitely in a hurry.
"Mornin'." I said casually as I plopped down and cooked myself a slice of bread.
"I'm going to be late!" Alfons kept glancing at his watch as he ate.
I couldn't help but laugh a little. "You're going to get there before anyone else if you keep rushing like this. You've got time."
He smiled at me, his chewing noticeably slowed as he tried to pace himself. He had a beautiful smile, and it reached all the way to his sparkling sky blue eyes. You know how most people smile even when they don't mean it? Well Alfons didn't do that. When he smiled, it was always genuine. He was one of those people that everyone liked. He had no true enemies, save for his own body.
Then he began to cough. Deep, straining coughs that wracked his entire body. I stared at him in worry, reaching my hand to stroke his back in a comforting way as the fit jarred his slight body. It took him several moments to calm his throat, and he looked at me with watery eyes, no doubt caused by the force of the hacking.
"Thanks, Ed. I'll be all right. It's just a little cold or something." He smiled encouragingly at me, but it did not have the desired effect. I knew there was something more seriously wrong with him. People with colds didn't cough like that. But I said nothing, and I did nothing.
There's nothing I regret more than that.
Envy POV
It's so dark it's blinding. I can't see a thing. I don't know where I am, or how I got here.
Memories started to flood back. The gate? I went inside, I knew that much. How long was I inside before it decided to spit me back out?...
I was seeking something... but what? I couldn't remember. My head was swimming and I couldn't control this body... this body. It's not mine. It didn't feel right.
I lifted my head with some effort. It felt heavier than normal, and the shape was all wrong. I was dizzy and it hurt all over.
Somewhere between a hiss and a growl emitted from my throat as I took in my surroundings all at once, desperately looking for something that seemed familiar. Where am I? I scan, and scan, long snout swishing to and fro as I frantically searched, but I didn't recognize anything. I cry out, but instead of my voice, I hear an ear-splitting roar of a beast instead. It scares me, so I try to run. My legs didn't work.
Only then did I abruptly realize I had no legs.
Completely terrified now, I dropped to my belly and began to crawl. It felt more natural than I anticipated, but that doesn't make it any less wrong.
Was I dreaming? No, homunculi couldn't dream. This had to be real. Some sick, twisted joke the gate was playing on me. It had to be.
I slithered and snaked my way around fallen logs and shrubbery, seeking something that I wasn't yet consciously aware of.
I was drawn to some force, some lingering power that at the time I felt had been taken from me. It drew me closer and closer, until I realized I had reached a city. It wasn't a city I recognized, far from it in fact. I hadn't noticed at first that people were pointing and screaming in my direction, shouting things in a language foreign to my ears. I understood it, but it didn't sound right somehow.
It all seems like a blur to me now, how quickly I was bound and tied up and taken to yet another place I didn't recognize. I was angry, and scared, and hurt. All of these emotions flared inside of me as I screamed and wailed into the sky as sharp projectiles pierced my hide and the ropes that were slung over my elongated form were tightened until they dug in.
I tried to change into something smaller, something more nimble and easier to control. I failed. There was no alchemic surge, no red sparks. No overwhelming feeling of euphoria that I had come to expect each time I changed my form. It made me feel like a superior being, something untouchable. That power had been stripped so carelessly from me that I now felt naked without it.
Fat salty tears leaked from my oversized reptilian eyes, squeezing shut in agony as my captors abused me. Was this what it was like, to feel powerless and weak? It had been so long since I had felt this way, I could barely remember it anymore.
Edward POV
I heard commotion outside. It interrupted our breakfast, catching both Alfons' attention as well as my own.
"What's going on out there?" Alfons questioned, moving to peer out the window to the street.
"I don't know." I muttered. In this place, it could be anything. Fights broke out almost on a daily basis since the war began. I didn't expect to be surprised by what I saw outside, but I was.
I stood next to Alfons and gazed out the window, pulling the curtain back further to get a better look. There it was, a giant, snake-like monster that was already tied up and bound to the point that it coudn't move at all.
It was green and scaly, but it was also writhing in pain. What's more, when I looked to it's face I saw something I would never expect to see on a beast.
There were tears.
It was crying. I could tell that much just from my point of view, which wasn't great since I was indoors and peering out a clouded old window. How could those men not notice?
Rage pooled in my heart as I saw the animal—or whatever it was—being tormented relentlessly.
Alfons went to say something, but it was too late, I had already ran outside before he could stop me. I sprinted to the monster, to the men that captured it. I stood with my legs apart, knees slightly bent, arms at my side as I confronted them.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I yelled, causing the men to stop their abuse and turn to glare at me.
"This creature is being detained. It crossed into city boundaries and posed a threat to the people! It must be eliminated." The man replied, malice in his eyes that belied his false speech of 'protecting the people'.
I knew better. These were poachers. They saw an opportunity and took it, and likely just wanted the creature's hide. Real authority wouldn't behave in such a manner as this.
A growled ripped in my throat. "Let it go." I demanded, and they gave me a stupid look.
"What are you gonna do it about it? You fucking cripple." He began to laugh and anger only rose in me further. In this country, cripples were laughed at and ridiculed. They were viewed as useless and a waste of air and food. I tried to keep it a secret, the fact I had artificial limbs, but it seemed my secret wasn't as well-guarded as I originally thought.
"Oh yeah? Well can a cripple do this?" I spat, taking my flesh hand and grabbing my prosthetic, forcefully turning the joint until it snapped backwards to reveal a pulley. I yanked it, and immediately the fake, skin-toned silicone covering began to melt away as my metal prosthetic was revealed. For lack of better explanation, doing that basically supercharged my metal arm for a short burst of power if I really needed it.
I considered this to be one of those times.
Rushing forward, I grabbed the guy who dared make a verbal strike against my prosthetics, and flung him to the side. At the same time, the other two advanced on me. I punched one right in the jaw while nimbly dodging the incoming fist of the other. Once I got my balance back, I kicked the guy I had originally dodged right in the gut with my metal foot.
It was an easier fight than I expected, as they all seemed to give up after that. Apparently they weren't expecting the 'cripple' to pack such a punch with his metal limbs.
Even after the men left, the bystanders didn't go about their business. Everyone was staring at this giant reptilian creature who was still bound up and bleeding from the various wounds the men had caused. It wasn't a sight these people were used to seeing.
I had to do something fast before the police arrived, otherwise my efforts would have been for naught.
Envy POV
It felt like hours before the tormenting ceased, and the men cleared as I was evidently put into my final resting place. At least, that's how I viewed it from my muddled consciousness. I thought they had left me to die. It was quiet now, and I painfully opened my eyes to get a good look at the place I was going to die, but I was met with a sight I hadn't expected.
A golden haired boy stood before me, metal arm showing though his tattered sleeve and he looked a little disheveled as if he were just fighting.
His face was blurry through my wet vision, as the tears still hadn't cleared from my eyes. He reminded me of someone, but I couldn't remember who. He looked so familiar. Did I know him?
I opened my maw to say something, but nothing came out. Sputtering, I realized I had been stabbed in the neck. I tasted copper in the back of my throat and realized it was my own blood. Since when do I bleed?...
The last thing I remembered then was the concern in the young blonde's eyes, fading to black as I lost consciousness. Was he the one who saved me? Why would he care so much for me?
I'm a monster. I remember that much.
