The green grass and trees of the area surrounding Central gradually gave way to brush and sand as Kimblee watched idly through the train window. Amestris was a small country, at least comparatively speaking, but train travel still took hours, and even days, in order to get to any major city, and Kimblee was discontent, merely sitting alone with little to do. Bored of watching the landscape gradually change, he tipped his head back against the seat, mentally reviewing his plans to carry out the job given to him by the Fuhrer.

No one had heard from the Elric brothers for the past few months–nobody that would talk, at least, and so Kimblee was left with little to work with. His best plan of action, he had decided, would be to explore areas that the brothers had been known to be active in. Liore was the first area on his list; after all, they had rather delayed the homunculi's plans there, hadn't they?

At least… he'd heard something about that, by his own deduction, by reading various reports on the events written from a "neutral" point of view, and deducing himself in what way the Elrics had thrown a wrench into the Plan.

Nobody had told him personally.

Sometimes he wondered how "important" he really was, if he wasn't told what he was supposed to know…

In any case, it was certainly possible that the boys would have traveled back to that city; they were both humanitarian enough that they may have wanted to check up on the damage that the riots they were indirectly responsible for had caused. And if they weren't there, Kimblee would pick up on any clues that he could possibly find, and he'd start again. They wouldn't have left Amestris; they were too attached to their friends and family for that, so it was only a matter of finding where within the borders they were hiding.

Kimblee suddenly became aware of the changing light in the train car; the sun was setting through the snow-clouds in the sky, its coral and orange hues lighting up the sky nearly as wonderfully as when sunsets were in vogue seven years ago, when his fiery explosions would meld with the softer colours of the sky. The train would be coming to a stop soon, he supposed.

"Arriving in New Optain in fifteen minutes!" came the voice of the conductor, confirming Kimblee's suspicions. Kimblee listened to the conductor's heavy footfalls, not bothering to look at the man himself, and once again leaned back against the backrest. Just a brief overnight stop in New Optain, and then he'd be back on track. He wished that they didn't have to stop, but most people didn't have the endurance that he did, and, after all, there might be something of interest in this town. Kimblee would make the most of the stop, and return back to his search for the Elrics in the morning.


"Almost there." Mei breathed out the words in a sigh of relief, and Envy felt her footsteps speed up as they descended from the foothills towards the city below. Her hands were shaking–she must be cold too… not that Envy cared, really; it was simply an observation. But, if they had to be carried at all, it would be nice after she was warmer tomorrow, since they wouldn't have to put up with that constant trembling any longer.

The wind blew slightly aside the cloth that wrapped the jar, and Envy immediately took advantage of the chance to actually see something for once, pressing their eye against the glass. The city that they were approaching was mid-sized, smaller than Central, but far bigger than that pathetic excuse for a town that they called North City. Envy could see that it had a sizable outskirts that they would have to travel through before reaching anywhere worth staying the night; the railroad station, it seemed, was the biggest building anywhere within the borders of the city.

Envy watched the smoke from the trains rising up into the sunset as Mei continued walking cautiously towards the city. There were lots of people there, they were sure, getting on and off those machines and travelling who-knows-where. Maybe there was somebody there to come and find them… but the chances were slim, and Envy shoved that hope to the back of their mind. Certainly, somebody would come for them at some time, but it wouldn't be in New Optain; Envy had no connection to the city and nobody would expect them to be here.

But… where would they expect Envy to be?

Really, if Envy could have chosen to go anywhere, they would have gone to Ishval, where it was warm, and sunny, and bloody, and nostalgic… and if it was Kimblee looking for them, then that's where he would go…

Envy was never going to be found, were they?

Mei's soft footsteps echoed through the alleyways as the three companions crept past the railroad station. A train whistle sounded, and Envy watched as the small crowd who had been on the train dispersed. So many people, so many worthless creatures, all going off to their daily lives…

Someone was looking at them.

Envy blinked, and then they couldn't see the person anymore; Mei had moved too quickly, and now a building blocked their view. But somebody–they didn't know who–had seen them; someone had looked them in the eye…

Mei wouldn't be happy; she had wanted to stay as incognito as possible along their trip to Xing, and was only looking for a place to stay out of desperation. As unnerved as Envy felt, having someone look at them after weeks of being hidden from the world's view, they felt a certain dark satisfaction as they told themself that they weren't going to tell Mei that someone had seen them. Every little secret was a victory in this place of humiliation.

Mei continued walking on, and Envy curled up against the jar's glass wall, just… hoping. Somebody had looked at them, and maybe that meant… maybe it meant that they'd be rescued before long. Most likely not, but–well, they could hope.

It's funny, really, how Envy's mood would fluctuate so hugely now, ever since being imprisoned like this, from hope to anger to complete and utter despair…

There was a footstep behind them.

Envy felt Mei whirl around. "Who… who's–"

"Oh, relax, dear." That voice… "You don't need to worry. Although I apologize for sneaking up on you like this; I only did because you seemed to be in a hurry. I only have a few questions, really, that's all…"

"I… am in a hurry." Mei sounded apprehensive; Envy felt her clutch the jar close to her chest. "I'm very sorry, but I don't feel like I have to tell you anything."

"Then I suppose that we're at an impasse."

It had to be Kimblee. There was no way that Envy could forget that voice, although it was older, and… weaker than it had been in Ishval. It was unsettling, but hardly different, but the contrast was still noticeable–although Envy should have remembered that from earlier, shouldn't they? When they had so briefly seen him and given him orders… Envy had nearly forgotten that meeting; it was so long ago, and so brief, and during a better, easier time. Of course, there had been no special reason for them to remember the event; all that they were doing was obeying Father in sending out another servant on a quest, albeit a servant that they'd specifically chosen and had some rapport with. There was nothing that terribly important about it…

But Kimblee was here now. He'd come to find Envy; they'd known that he would. Of course he had–Envy had never doubted it; he was always so dependable, and that's why they'd chosen him, of course…

"I do think it would be best if you answered me," said Kimblee, his voice losing its smooth edge that was reserved for public interactions. "You are an illegal immigrant, no? So there's that to report, and I'm sure that there's a dozen small infractions of the law that you've committed in your stay that I could easily dig up. And if you try to run away…" He laughed under his breath. "Well, I could easily capture you, I'm sure. So perhaps you want to rethink your stance? I only want to know about an acquaintance of yours–is that really too much to answer?"

Envy felt Mei's arms around the jar tighten once again. Just take me from her, already. There was no need for Kimblee to question her. All that he had to do was take the jar from Mei and revive Envy. Envy didn't care what happened to Mei after that; she could run back to Xing for all they cared–

Envy wasn't quite sure who attacked first. There was a rapid movement, and a flash of light, and Envy's jar was flung aside, hitting the wall with a clang. Envy gasped as they hit the jar wall, falling down in a pathetic little heap. Out of the corner of their eye, they could see Mei's feet dashing past, and sparks of light flying from where she had drawn one of her circles. Kimblee's long white legs strode casually past the jar, moving lightly away from Mei's attacks, and why wasn't he coming to help them? It didn't matter if Mei escaped; what mattered was Envy, and didn't Kimblee know that?

There was the bang of an explosion, and a quiet cry, and then it was silent. Envy, too impatient to wait for Kimblee any longer, struggled, rocking the jar from side to side until the fabric covering came loose, falling away from the sides of the jar.

Several feet down the alleyway from Envy, Mei lay slumped against the wall, clothes singed, a bruise blossoming out across her temple, and Kimblee stood casually across from her, straightening his hat.

Envy… didn't like seeing Mei like that. Of course, they didn't care about her, but she'd never done anything to purposely harm them, and the paleness of her face was so unlike the flushed cheeks and friendly smile that they had seen on their trip towards Xing. It was unsettling, and Envy hated being unsettled. And Kimblee still hadn't spared them a glance!

"You didn't have to do that, idiot." Envy forced their voice into a lower, more commanding pitch. "She's just a stupid little girl; it's not as if she'd have done much if you'd let her run off."

Finally, Kimblee turned, and knelt, and held the jar in his hand, staring down through the glass. Envy stared up, and tried not to shrink from his gaze; his eyes were very… unsettling, as was his expression. It was almost as if he didn't recognize them; it was almost as if he hadn't been looking for them at all…


A/N: So, they finally meet... that's all I really have to say, this time! I hope that the pacing is okay; that's one of the biggest issues for me, so I hope that I'm balancing introspection and action well enough. As always, thank you so much for reading; I really appreciate everybody who bothers to read this! Thank you again; and I promise that I'll try to keep the chapters coming fairly regularly.