Author's notes: Well this is the second chapter, I had the time to finish it in a day because of my tablet being unusable and all. Like I said in the Author's notes of the pervious chapter I thought Envy was female for a long time and I don't know a single person who didn't think the same, so that is why I have Kimblee in this chapter think, on first glace that Envy is a girl. Ummm, thats about all I have to say er, read review and enjoy! ^^
Ishval - 1902.
Chapter 2: The mask of sanity.
Can you imagine never feeling a speck of remorse for any action you ever take in life? No matter how lazy, immoral or irresponsible. Imagine feeling little to no concern for all those around you, including friends and family. There is no conscience getting in your way, nagging at you, you're free to do as you feel with no regrets. Enter the mind of a psychopath.
"Excellent job, First Lieutenant." The voice of a large middle age man boomed. He sat on one side of the room; a large table-like structure separating him from the devilishly good-looking young soldier on the side of the room. "Keep up the good work and you'll be a major in no time." The older man added, grinning blissfully at the raven haired man on the other side of the room. He was cool, calm and collected; the good news curling his lips into a careless smirk. "Why thank you, Major General. I do the best I can." he replied, as cool as ice. The cold raven haired soldier had became quite the favourite amongst his superiors, of course earning him the envy of his fellow soldiers. They could never match him, however, the secret to his success on the battlefield was not pure skill, nor pure luck; it was his lack of apathy for all those around him. It was a 'gift' given to him known as; Psychopathy.
The large man on the other side of the room, leaned in, resting his elbows on the table, and meshing his hands together as he analysed the younger man, across from him. "You're dismissed, first Lieutenant Kimblee, keep up the good work!" He beamed warmly as the raven haired solider rose, nodding to him in understanding and leaving the room. The solider known as Solf J. Kimblee made his way down the corridors of the current Amestrian military base, an old building, which was probably once a place of worship for the Ishvalan people; now taken apart and taken over by enemy soldiers. It was time he joined his fellow soldiers in their bunker, however, the Alchemist decided against that for now, instead taking a detour out of the base- he knew he probably shouldn't of- but spending time with the other soldiers bored him; he didn't like them and he knew the feeling was mostly mutual; after all, he had rather... Conflicting views to that of his comrades. He sent a chill up their spines, there was just something about Solf that they didn't like; it might have been the way he slaughtered those in his path- mercilessly, without a second thought; it might have been the way he almost seemed to enjoy doing so. It could have been the chilling cold in his icy, blue eyes; or the careless smirk painted upon his lips as the bodies of those around him distorted, ripping apart as their limbs and organs were sent hurdling through the air in all directions with a fiery bang. A sight that made most good men shiver with fear and disgust- Kimblee on the other hand shivered with pure ecstasy- This was a trait didn't go unnoticed by a shadowy figure with an ominous presence...
The Homunculus Envy; embodiment of one of man-kinds most negative emotions noticed it all too well; it fascinated the creature. An entire year had gone by since the Ishavalan war had begun and Envy was the very being who had $started it. Ordered to do so by its parental figure- the homunculus made its way to the country known as Ishval- it spent some time nosing around in the shadows, getting a feel- for all the friction and the hatred between the Amestrian and Ishvalan people. Oh the sweet hatered. That was all it took; a small disagreement or a differing view to grow the bitterest hatered between humans and Envy loved it. It was able to manipulate- and play on the hate the Ishvalan people felt for the intruders; the homunculus could have easily created a war by doing the most simple of things- however, being a cruel and bitter sin it chose something truly despicable.
Ishval - 1901
Town square.
Having arrived in Ishval and having spent quite some time lurking around, thoroughly examining the situation the homunculus had pondered and finally came to a decision on what exactly it would do to cause an uproar amongst the Ishvalan people. The homunculus waited as a young soldier past him- he seemed to be on a lunch break of some description and the jealous sin took this opportunity to make its move.
Making its way out of the shadows Envy used its unique ability to shift its form to mimic that of the soldiers exactly, from head to toe; a heartless masquerade. It had collected a loaded gun from one of the military supply ports and made its way into the town square just as a sweet little Ishavlan girl was making her way by, seemly heading towards her mother who was looking over the fresh fruit in a stand nearby. She looked all of about six years old; grasping her companion- a small brown fluffy teddy bear in one hand as she merrily headed towards her mother. Envy stepped out blocking her path ready to set its wicked pan in motion; it gave the young girl a pleasant smile as she looked up, curiously, returning Envy's sweet smile. It turned the homunculi's stomach; it envied her just like the rest of the humans around it, blissfully going about their simple little lives without a worry in the word, without the slightest care. Envy didn't have that- but she wouldn't for long either...
A wicked cackle rang out after the gun shot, through the sound of horrified screams; the little girl laid on the cold ground, blood pooling around her small body, seeping from a single gunshot wound to the head; her small brown teddy turning red as it lay beside her. Envy was almost knocked from its feet as the girl's mother rushed to her aid, screaming and crying. A truly pitiful sight the homunculus thought as it gave a haughty snort; catching the woman's attention. She looked up at him with a tear streaked face of horror her mere expression begging for an explanation; the homunculus merely gave her the same wicked grin- a grin which faded as the Ishvalan towns people flocked around her to try and save the little girl and make sense of what had happened.
Envy took this opportunity to morph it's form once more; into that of an Ishvalan woman and just in time! The solider had returned from his break to see what all the commotion was about. The poor man found himself in the target of a now furious Ishvalan mob as Envy stood by watching the horrible scene unfold most amusedly.
Present day: 1902
Outside of a military base in Ishval.
Kimblee gave a smile, admiring the ruin around him, inhaling the smell of death and destruction which lingered in the air. His destruction; It was he who caused most of the wreckage and death that day, with his specialized Alchemy. The Ishavlan people had never seen anything like it; they were like lambs to the slaughter, it brought a smirk to the cold alchemists face thinking about them- their confused and terrified faces as he destroyed them and the world around them. He walked for a while, still admiring his destruction but it seemed- he wasn't the only one lingering on the battle field. His eyes narrowed, as he could feel a presence; but he could feel it was different from normal- it wasn't an Ishvalan- as much as he would like to be. He gave a sigh, calming himself. "I know you're there" he spoke coolly in an attempt to cokes the presence out of hiding. If it wasn't an Ishvalan what was? The Alchemist wondered, its presence felt almost... Inhuman.
Envy smirked, the alchemist it had been keeping such a close eye on over the past year seemed to have noticed it's presence. It pondered on what to do, weather to leave or to confront the solider? – It wasn't what he planned on anyway- he was simply enjoying the carnage, but oh well, why not?
Soon enough- A figure emerged from behind a large chunk of debris, it was an odd one; It seemed to have hips- and it wore a cropped top, exposing its flat, toned stomach, with a pair of tight shorts peeking out from underneath what appeared to be a small skirt with very long, wispy hair, all feminie qualities apart from the fact she or he didn't seem to have any breasts at all. Kimblee raised an eyebrow, looking 'her' up and down. This was unexpected; what would an odd girl be doing lingering around a blood soaked battlefield? More puzzling why was she barefoot and why was she wearing one of the cream 'camo-coats' issued to the Amestrian military. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked curiously, keeping his cold eyes on the girl; she seemed unfazed, in fact his question brought a smirk to her face- a cold smirk; a smirk which he had only seen in the mirror.
Envy carelessly made its way over to another piece of debris, a smaller chunk then the last- It sat down upon it, crossing its legs and smirking across the battle field at the clearly confused solider. "My name is Envy, I'm a homunculus." It grinned, knowing the solider was an alchemist and that he would have to know about 'homunculus' or the twisted version of them the military gave to the public. At least the homunculus hoped. The reaction the jealous sin got from the other confirmed he did.
Kimblee rose an eyebrow at the 'girl' who claimed to be a homunculus, he snorted giving a slight chuckle. "A homunculus? You expect me to believe that?" He asked, placing a hand on his hip, thoroughly unamused at the 'story' the girl was telling him. "No alchemist- or group of alchemists for that matter- has ever been able to create anything close to a homunculus." He stated matter-o factly, frowning across the blood-socked battle field at the strange girl; his retort made her laugh.
Envy gave a hearty cackle at the alchemist "Oh! Well thats what they tell you" it chimed, amusedly "But the truth is far from it." It added with a smile. Kimblee shifted his stance, clearly becoming quite annoyed with the girl "So... You want me to believe that someone not only successfully created a homunculus- yourself- but theres been a government conspiracy to cover up your existence?" He asked, somewhat boredly- clearly not believing a word the sin said.
"Wellll, close but no, not quite." It smiled "See it's a little more complicated than that." It added, hopping down to its feet from the chunk of debris it had perched itself on earlier. "I wasn't created by a human and I happen to have an entire 'family.'" The sin stated, causing Kimblee to give a light-hearted chuckle "You really expect me to believe this?" he said shaking his head- but the 'girls' next move shocked him. Before he knew it, he was standing across from an exact replica of himself; from head to toe the girl he was once speaking to had completely changed her form and now looked exactly identical to him "Could a mere human do this?" his own voice asked him. The alchemist, now shocked and disturbed, took a step back, staring at his own image- which had began approaching him- wide-eyed. "How did you-" he began to ask the sin, now a reflection of himself standing right in front of him; it rose a finger, placing it to his lips to silence him as it reverted back to its original form. "I told you, I'm a homunculus" It said with a grin; this was the first time Envy had seen a falter in Kimblee's cool facade.
Kimblee quickly regained his composure looking down at the now shorter figure- the strange figure of the creature he was speaking to earlier. "What is it you want from me?" he asked now interested in the homunculus, what it was, what it was doing here and what it wanted.
Envy smiled turning around, back to Kimblee carelessly glancing over it's shoulder. "Well, I did only come here to enjoy the carnage." It sad calmly giving a sigh "I didn't expect you to be here; you kind of crashed my party~" it added teasingly "But I guess now that you've found me out I should kill you." It said coolly, the alchemist; ready to defend himself brought up his arms as Envy had anticipated- It had watched Kimblee and the other Alchemists for a while now so it knew how Kimblee's alchemy worked. In that second It spun grabbing Kimblee's arms and holding them firmly, at his side, stopping him from clapping his hands and creating the hexagram which initiates the transmutation. "Unless..." The homunculus started, with a sly grin, pressing its body against Kimblee's "You worked for us." It suggested.
Kimblee attempted to move his arms to free himself from Envy's grasp- shocked and surprised at how strong the homunculus was-with its short stature and slender frame- he was hardly able to move them at all; the surprise of this distracting him long enough for Envy to make its suggestion. "Work for you?" he asked warily as the homunculus loosened its grasp on his arms, soon letting go entirely. "Yes, work for us." It stated "I've been watching you for quite a while now, your alchemy is amazing, it's such a shame to know that once this little war is over it's destructive capabilities will be ignored. You're not allowed to use them once this is all over and you go home." The alchemist frowned, furrowing his brows in thought "Thats why you joined the military, isn't it? To use the form of alchemy you love so much to its full potential?" the homunculus asked tilting its head, causing the alchemist to break away from it, turning his back and taking a few steps away from the homunculus. "And your "people" would allow me to use my alchemy-" he began to ask but was cut off by the homunculus " Whenever and however you please." It said with a chilling smirk.
Kimblee turned back to the homunculus "How is that possible? I would surely be sent to jail." He said, doubting the homunculi's offer. "Fuhrer King Bradley is a homunculus and my youngest sibling." the jealous sin said with a smile "it will all be taken care of if you simply work with us and stay by us." It added, the alchemist blinking a few times in disbelief "The Fuhrer..?" he asked and the homunculus nodded.
Kimblee stood silently; this was certainly a lot to take in so suddenly- but the offer the homunculus was making him- it was an offer he would never get again- it was an offer that was much too good to pass off. The homunculus watched the alchemist carefully; it could see the strain in the alchemists face, he was thinking and the homunculus understood that what it had just told the solider was a lot to take in. "You can go back to your little camp if you wish" the homunculus said giving a dismissing flick of it's wrist "But what I've told you here should never leave your lips; and if it does I will find you and I will kill you." It warned giving a glare, its eyes clouding with malice for a moment as it got its point across to the other- as Kimblee looked up- staring the homunculus dead in the face and giving a cool smirk. "I accept" he said coolly receiving a smirk from the homunculus "I'll be keeping my eye on you, so don't fuck up." It said with a laugh, morphing its form into that of a small black bird and taking off into the sky.
Kimblee watched the creature depart, keeping his eyes on it as it flew away, soon becoming a tiny black speck in the distance. The alchemist then turned around, making his way back to the military compound in quite a hurry; it was high time he did so and he did have quite a lot of thinking to do...