A/N: I actually have this whole story planned out- a big first for me. Now I have no excuse not to write it, besides laziness. xD

Warnings: The f-bomb is dropped a few times by a peeved Envy and there is an over usage of semi-colons throughout.

The Grand Design

Today I had that dream again
I roamed among the stars
On the wings of an amazing flight
(Mr L, do you feel OK?)

To a place beyond our time
Where the sunlight doesn't warm
And colour bleeds into the night
(We may have to increase your dose today)

My eyes snap open and I'm in that dark, cold place once more (Inside the Gate? Back home?). It's strange. I know that I'm dreaming, but I won't wake up. Or at least I think that I'm dreaming. It's hard to know for sure, considering my current situation in an insane asylum. Maybe that's the dream. All this nonsense frustrates me to no end; I can't stand it. I need to focus. Taking a deep breath in, I glance around. The place is the same as it had been before. That strange creature isn't here yet, or if it is it's hiding well in the darkness. I have a feeling that it's just waiting to show its nonexistent face.

"I know you're somewhere out there."

There is no point in waiting for that thing to show itself first. I'm not going to let things happen like before. There is no way in hell that those arms will hold me back this time.

"Show yourself!"

The creaking of old, rusty doors resonates around the area, and light gradually flows in. I much prefer this way of lighting the area to the last time. It's better on my eyes. Turning towards the source of the sound, I see the doors of the Gate opening. All I can do is stand and stare in puzzlement. I have always pictured the doors of the Gate to be different. More grand and intimidating- not decrepit and worn. These doors look as if they would fall apart with a light shove.

"Ugly, aren't they?" I hear a voice ask from my left. Knowing who it was, I don't even spare it a glance. "It's a first I've seen them this way, actually. Usually when alchemists come to this land, those Gates are huge and magnificent. It's always an enjoyable sight. But this…" The voice pauses to laugh, and I can't help but glare over at The Truth. Once it is able to overcome its mirth, the figure continues, "It's hideous. A glimpse to what's inside the soul of the person who has conjured it, perhaps? What an ugly creature you must be then."

My eyes narrow into slits, and I briefly see red.

I can't lose control… I can't lose my temper! This may be my only chance to learn the truth of what is going on!

I once again take a deep breath and say nothing.

"Edward Elric's Gates…. Now those were something to see," the creature muses. "Grand, beautifully constructed architecture. He truly is a good person. Such a shame he had to do something so very stupid. Ah, but that's the beauty of humans, isn't it? They climb high, they fall hard, but they always get right back up on their feet."

"You speak foolishness," I spit out, irritated with the thing's talk. I want answers, not more riddles. "If those doors did give insight into a person's soul, then they wouldn't even appear for me. I'm a homunculus. I have no need of a soul."

"That's not completely true, now is it?" the Truth asks, his grin growing all the more wide. "I mean, the part about you not having a soul can't be argued. Why would a creature made in the image of man have that which man has? That would be incredibly stupid, but there is no denying the fact that those doors are here, proving that some sort of ugly secret is hiding within you. Can your simple mind figure it out?"

I know I said I need to maintain my temper, but hearing him make a mockery of me really tests my patience. I know that I'm not a pretty sight; I do not need to be reminded of that, especially now that I have an appearance that better suits me. I'm not difficult to look at now, so why must he insult me? Closing my eyes in an attempt to relax and calm my nerves, I take some time to think on the question asked. It makes no sense for the Gate to open its doors for me, a creature with no soul. Father had tested other homunculi to see if an inhuman creature could open the Gates, but no homunculus was able to accomplish that. What exactly was special about me that the other homunculi lacked?

My eyes snap open. Human souls. That was it. I have countless souls within my body, but they aren't exactly mine.

"By that look on your face, I think you've figured it out," the Truth says, amused. "Your body contains hundreds of souls from people who were brutally massacred in the land of Xerxes- a massacre caused by your own kind. You hate these souls, don't you? You blame them for the revolting body you're stuck with. I almost feel sorry for you, sharing a body with the silently screaming souls of hundreds killed."

As the Truth begins laughing once more, I feel blood rising to my cheeks in fury. Its words blend together into a babbling mess of insults and mockery, and in my growing anger I am unable to differentiate one insult from another. Every word it spits out is the same as the last, a derision targeted towards my appearance, my intelligence, and even my species. The feeling of sharp pain in the palm of my hand pulls me out of my enraged stupor, and I glance down to see blood seeping out from the cracks of my balled fist. I open it to see deep finger marks embedded into my flesh, ones that won't heal. Even in this dream world I have no powers, but if I dwell on that thought much longer I'll slip into an angry state of mind again.

Frowning, I focus in on the Truth once more, who surprisingly has ceased its string of insults. Instead it stares at me, or at least I can only guess that it is. It's hard to know for sure where a being with no visible eyes is staring.

"Don't go feeling special, homunculus," it begins. "I don't harbor any biased hatred for you or your kind. I don't hate. Both homunculi and humans share the trait of foolishness, only homunculi vastly more so than humans. Where one makes mistakes and learns from it, the other continuously follows the same pattern of obedience and duty. You're such an amusing creature, Envy." Hearing the thing say my name sends shivers down my spine, but I remain calm and say nothing. For once in my life, I'm able to keep level-headed and quiet. "But so very, very foolish. Maybe that's why you're so amusing to watch. Throughout the several hundred years of the homunculus's existence, it has done nothing but follow the commands of a single person. Your kind is simply unchangeable. Even when Greed had broken free from the chain, he made mistakes and never learned. Unlike humans.

Now they have a future ahead of them. Do you know that, in another world, humans have already achieved the power of flight? They have made it possible to fly among the clouds and to even visit the stars in the sky. A homunculus would never be able to achieve such a feat. They are simple-minded creatures who follow their orders dutifully like a dog to its master," it says in a sneer. "Never changing and never learning- that is the way of a homunculus. Your kind is an abomination to life; a spit into the face of the one who gave life to all."

"Why are you telling me all this?" I finally ask, my voice trembling with loathing.

"Because your kind is not long for this world," it replies, almost joyously. "You were never meant to be. Homunculi are the only living creatures who are never to be welcomed into this land, and soon your kind will be rid from existence. You are the second to be erased; only six more remain."

The confusion of the Truth's last statement quells my disdain for the nonsense it speaks, and I take some time to think on it. Six more remain. Six homunculi? No, that doesn't add up. I can only imagine that erase means death, so using that logic only one homunculus is dead: Lust. I'm apparently the second. That leaves Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath, Pride, and Greed. Five. Unless Father is being added into this equation as well? Now that is the biggest load of shit I have heard so far!

Laughing nearly hysterically at the concept of Father being killed, I throw at the Truth, "You speak a lot of nonsense yourself. You think Father will be killed sometime soon? Father? Our plans are nearly complete! The country of Amestris is ours, and the transmutation circle of the land is nearly finished. We- homunculi –will soon have our dreams come true! Not humans; they are the ones who are foolish and stupid! They fight amongst themselves; warring and killing! Humans are vastly more savage than we homunculi, and they don't even try to be! They condemn savagery while I wholeheartedly enjoy it, and yet compared to the human's history, a homunculus is practically saintly. Who are the ones who nearly wiped out an entire race? Humans! Who are the ones easily manipulated? Humans! Who are the weaker of the two? Humans! They are the only species on the planet who rely on machines to protect themselves; we homunculi use our own power. We don't need anyone else's power. We are the superior creatures!"

"But at the end of the day, humans have one another."

That simple statement ends my laughter, and I stare at the silhouette in front of me, eyes going wide. I know where it was going with this talk, and I don't like it.

"Humans have family and friends; loved ones and comrades. No matter what disaster may befall them, whether on account of their own faults or not, they manage to get back on their feet and rebuild. They care and love one another more than they destroy and harm, unlike homunculi who do not feel or love or even think for themselves. This is the reason why you were named after the Sin of Envy; you are jealous of what humans are capable of: feeling."

All reasonable thought flies from my mind.

How dare it. How dare it bring my insecurities into this argument. Why does it know all of this? Why does it enjoy making a mockery of me? Of me of all people!

It will pay. I don't care if it's a supernatural deity that guards the Gates between life and death; it will PAY. It will SUFFER and scream in remorse for the jests it has dared to belittle me with. I will have it begging and shrieking for the mercy of a quick death. It had better hope to whatever God it has that it's even capable of death; otherwise I will take great pleasure in experimenting with new forms of agonizing torment for this godforsaken creature.

I lunge. My hands ball into tight fists and draw back, ready to connect with the cheeky-grinned face of the smug bastard.

The Truth vanishes. My hand hits nothing but air, causing me to stumble forward and onto the ground.

"Come BACK here!" I shriek, refusing to allow my vengeance to slip away. "Get your fucking ass BACK HERE!"

All there is is laughter.

Ridiculing laughter.

And darkness. The light disappeared along with Truth.

"Do you honestly think you can escape me? I've killed inhuman things before! Chimera, homunculi, horrific creature spawned by alchemy gone wrong! I wouldn't mind adding an all too high and mighty being such as yourself to the fucking list!"

I laugh. Nothing's funny. In fact, it's the complete opposite. My position terrifies me. I'm alone in the dark with a creature on the same levels of God Himself (if one exists). But I laugh nonetheless. Even if the Truth were to return, how would I even harm it? My powers are gone. I'm weak.

Weak. Weak weak weakweakweak WEAK.

My sanity feels as if it's shattering. I just…can't accept that I'm powerless.

Almost as if I was human…

Shaking in distraught laughter, I climb up to sit on my knees, holding my head in my hands as I shake back and forth.

There has to be a way out of this mess. There HAS to be.

I'm in a dream- a horrible, blood-curdling nightmare.

So I just have to wake up.

At this sudden realization, I feel things wrapping around my body: cold, slippery appendages that circle my arms, my legs, my torso, and even my neck. I fight back the urge to panic and fight, and instead I allow the arms to take me away. I'm being led out (waking). Soon I will be out of this hellish land.

My eyes squeeze closed despite there being no light as the feeling of weightlessness washes over me.

Without even having to see it, I know that I'm being thrown through the Gates.

-

Screaming, I bolt upwards, eyes wide in panic with my body trembling. As my chest heaves heavily up and down for air, I frantically look around the room. Sunlight flows through the bars of the window, covering the room in a gentle, luminous light. Room… I'm in a room. Four walls, a floor, a ceiling. No longer am I surrounded by whiteness as far as the eyes can see. No longer is there ridiculing laughter echoing around me. No longer are there Gates towering over me. Best of all, no longer is that thing sitting before me with its toothy grin.

I give a sigh of relief and wipe away the sweat from my forehead.

"Mr. L…?" I jump, panicked. Who else was in here with me? Looking to my right, I see the nurse hovering beside me, worried and anxious to get a response from me. "Are you alright? You've been rolling around and screaming in your sleep. Do you feel well? Is it dreams?"

With another sigh of relief, I let my gaze fall from the woman and onto the bed sheets. Upon seeing my bandaged hand, I can't help but think about how I injured myself in my dream, but this wound is from something else- from yesterday when I foolishly pounded my fist into a steel door. Not that horrible dream. I look back up to the nurse, seeing her talk but paying little attention to what she is actually saying. My mind is too cluttered with confused thoughts. What is the connection between this world and mine or even the connection between the world of the Gate and this one? I have just received so much new information on my predicament, but all it did was confuse me even more.

"We may have to increase your dose today," I hear her say. "But right now we must get you ready for your appointment with the doctor."

I stare at her blankly. Doctor? Ah, right… She had mentioned something about that yesterday.

Mentally exhausted, I try to prepare myself for what I feel will be a long, long day.

-----

A/N: Phew, all done. More confusion added to the confusion of my story. Next chapter will finally have someone else in it besides Envy; a doctor with a very familiar face. Who could it be? X3