Over a century had passed since he'd the privilege of eyeing Lust's curvaceous form. Few of those crawling humans could match it.
Although, Greed considered, it disappointing that she still wore the same dreary, old outfit. Dark hair, dark dress, dark boots; very original.
"My, my," Lust purred, her eyes trailing along the glass and blood scattered on the floor. "You sure have made a mess down here."
Greed didn't have the patience to waste with her games.
"This fucking detour took too long, Ox!" roared Greed. Something raw tinged the edge of his voice. He hoped Lust hadn't noticed. "Find another exit."
None of them moved.
Fools. Greed gritted his teeth; if they stayed here they'd all die.
"Go!" Greed reeled round and snapped.
The alpha turned to her pack.
"You heard him! Scout the area for another exit." The dogs bolted off. The alpha, done with the order, took several long strides and came up to his right.
"Greed," sighed Lust, hip cocked to one side. "What on earth enticed you to come here tonight?"
She made a lazy gesture towards the alpha. "And to have this filthy animal barking orders for yo-"
An ugly, beastile growl came from beside him.
"None of your damn business, you filthy cunt" Greed cut her off.
"So rude." A sharp edge came into her voice.
Greed turned his nose up at her and snickered.
"Woman, you rile up so easy."
With a casual flick, Lust's hair was tossed away from her face, as if to batter away his pointed words.
"I don't usually like to be so quick about things," the woman hummed. "As I see it, Greed, you have two options."
With a slow, swinging gait, she approached him
"You can return back to Father willingly," her dark violet eyes drank in his every move. "Or, I put you down like a dog. Again."
"Never!" Greed snarled in defiance, and Lust's fingers twitched. Feet shuffled behind him, and then came a whimper; he'd had forgotten about the darn kids.
Those dogs better find an exit quick, Greed seethed. He didn't like the idea of baby chimera chow.
Widening his stance, Greed thrust his hands outwards. As his armoured plates shafted back up his arms, he curled his hands into bear-like claws.
He bared his sharp teeth.
"I seem to remember messing up that whorish face of yours several times before being put in that cell!"
Something like displeasure curled into Lust's smile. Her posture lowered; preparing for an attack.
"Don't remember?" Greed dove forward, both arms sharp and ready. "How about I refresh your memory!"
In a flash, he was in front, driving his arm up under Lust's chin and through her jaw. Her dark eyes widened, and a dark, guttural sound emerged from the wreck of her throat.
Crimson sparks flew as her lower face regenerated. Greed pivoted to the side and slammed a front kick to her abdomen. Bone cracked under his foot, and he laughed before following it with another brutal punch.
"What the hell?" The Alpha barked behind him. "She can regenerate?"
It was enough to distract him, and Lust seized the moment to thrust her heeled boot into his temple.
His vision spun. Damn his vanity; he hadn't covered his head.
The ground hit his nose hard, and from bruised eyes he saw the shiny points of her boots. A breathy laugh sounded.
"I'm sorry, Greed," Lust said, flicking her palm open. Slowly, dark fingers extended into her Ultimate Spears. "I'm going to need you to hold still."
He threw himself clumsily to the left; a few decades and he'd gotten rusty. Greed's eyes caught sight of four thin spears as they dived down into the ground where his head had been moments before. The fifth caught the side of his cheek.
If he wasn't back on his feet, he would lose his head. Greed ripped his face away from the embedded spear; tearing his cheek off with it. He rolled forward onto his feet before another set of razor fingers could find him.
Blood welled in his mouth, even as it regrew. Damn, he'd forgotten how much it hurt to lose a jaw.
"Stay back, you mongerols," Greed shouted back at the Alpha, poised to leap into the battle. Red spittal flew from his torn mouth with every word.
He grimaced; time to cover up entirely if he wanted to keep his life. Metal plates crawled their way over his neck, up the back of his scalp, and over his face. Lust looked on with a bored expression.
What an interesting paradox, Greed thought with glee. An Ultimate Spear, that could penetrate any substance, versus an impenetrable Ultimate Shield.
Somewhere behind him, he sensed movement, and Greed almost snarled at the stupidity of the damn dog.
"Unless you think you can fight a homunculus, I suggest you tuck your fucking tail and run!" He warned the Chimera.
So much for his original plan; running seemed less ideal than leaving lambs to the slaughter. All he could hope for was to buy those bratty kids some extra time.
A wide smirk crawled across his face. He knew how to keep Lust entertained. She was a vain, self important creature, after all.
"Let see what you can do," he taunted. "If you think you can handle it, that is."
Lust barely battered an eye.
"Here's a funny story," she began conversationally, idly kicking the white-coated corpse at her feet. "A selfish homunculus defies his father."
Cracking his neck, Greed brought himself to his full height. If those damn Chimera didn't have an exit soon, he'd leave them all behind.
"As a consequence, he is locked away in a cell for seventy, long years," Lust continued with narrowed eyes.
He remembered the poisoned shackles. The constant, maddening buzz of the mercury and so, so much time staring at nothing. The damage to his memories was permanent. He would never allow himself to be returned to that silent dark cell.
Face livid, Greed stormed forward in a rage; he wanted to rip apart that gleeful bitch's face.
She laughed. She fucking laughed.
"When he gets out, he mopes around like a child, crying out over his lost -"
Lust paused, biting her tongue as if she'd said too much. He hated it; her sly smile and dainty sneer. The bitch was toying with him, as if Greed were some kind of mindless, raging thug.
Lust had always had such a high opinion of herself. What he wouldn't give to wipe that plush, knowing smile off her smug face.
He tried to breathe, tried to clear his mind. Greed was not so petty as a human. Not so prone to repeating stupid mistakes. He considered the nagging insistence in his gut to return here for answers. Not prone to repeating mistakes most of the time, then.
Greed drew in a deep breath. Lust was expecting him to charge forward, so he decided to do the opposite.
Snatching up a discarded clipboard from the floor, Greed forcefully threw it at her hateful face.
It was so absolutely ridiculous it worked.
Lust sliced the board in half; paper fragments drifted in the air and it brought Greed a moment.
He darted in front of her. Dark claws sank into Lust's chest and ripped out bone. Greed let out an unholy cackle as she screeched in agony, spear-like claws scrabbling his shoulders to try to throw him off.
"Stop moving!" He hissed, digging his hands in further. If he could get to her stone, he could crush it and finally finish the bitch.
"We have an exit," hollered the Alpha.
Some old instinct made him turn to track the Chimera's passage, but it was too soon. Lust got her grip and tore at his shoulder, wrenching him back to face her enraged face before she violently tossed him away.
Greed's vision burst to white as he hit the slick floor. Neck bent at a crude angle, all he could manage was a winded gasp of air.
Someone was yelling, but his mind couldn't lock onto the words. One of the little Chimera? Blurred figures were moving, and the screaming intensified and then they were gone.