Author's note: How can I not post when I have the complete chapter right here and everyone is telling me "Oh, I'm looking forward to the next update!"? It's like having a bar of chocolate in your hand and a groud of cheerleaders encouraging you to eat it, but not doing so. That is to say, I'd like to have some chocolate right now.

By the way, I've finished watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. This fic would take place two years after Father's defeat, ignoring the "two years later" part of the epilogue. Does that make any sense? No? Damn.

Warnings: Are bad guys made up to thicken the plot considered OCs? Does this have a plot anyway? I'm kidding, I almost killed my brain trying to think up a plot. The fact that I failed doesn't have anything to do with it. Oh, and of course, yaoi, but if you don't know that by now, you must've been reading a different fic!

The Ouroboros Sign

A Fullmetal Alchemist fan-fiction by Raven

Chapter 4 – Confrontation in Xerxes

"Are you sure you don't want to visit the Elrics first?"

Envy looked at Lust over his shoulder, his black hair waving around him – he had freed it from the braid a while ago, because it felt too distracting - when a gust of chilly, wet wind hit the Central train station. The two Homunculi were standing at a platform, trying to look casual, while Sloth and Gluttony carried around a bunch of suitcases and Greed bought Wrath some snacks from a small stand. They were trying to pass for tourists, perhaps a little eccentric ones, but that suited the purpose just fine. Not many families went to visit the ruins of Xerxes in the middle of winter.

"I don't wanna" the shapeshifter replied, and was surprised to find that his own voice sounded a little sad and small. He'd been excited and encouraged when they found the clue to Father's location, no doubt, but since they had returned to the surface, his mood had deflated. Lust tilted her head.

"Are you okay, Envy?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little down. Maybe it's the rain, Lust…"

"I don't remember a time Envy was sad before" Gluttony put a thoughtful chubby finger to his lips, and Envy felt a murderous impulse towards him. But grabbing his fat head and slamming it against the concrete until it exploded in a gory mess could possibly be a hinder for their plans.

"It's because of that stupid Elric kid, isn't it?" Wrath asked in his angry innocence, as his left hand clutched Greed's, and the right one held a lollypop to his lips. "I don't like him! He makes my nii-chan sad!"

"Why does everyone have to instantly assume that fucking Fullmetal has anything to do with my mood?" Envy snapped, and everyone took an unconscious step back. The Sin's head was bowed down, his hair spiking up lightly, and it gave the other Homunculi the feeling that the greenish-black bangs could turn into a bunch of rattlesnakes at any given time, giving Envy a medusa-like look. It was actually quite fitting for the young-looking Sin.

Nobody dared answer, save for Sloth, who sighed and looked around.

"Drama is such a pain."

A vein popped up on Envy's forehead, and Lust quickly changed the subject, while Greed smacked an unnoticing Sloth.

"So, Envy, where are we heading now?"

The sin looked thoughtful for a few seconds, before he replied:

"Well, we should head east, I guess. We could ride the train to Youswell, and then head to the ruins from there."

"Alright" Lust nodded. "Hum… But we don't have any money to buy tickets, do we?"

"We can't waste money on that" Greed shrugged, and Envy gave him a funny look.

"Greed, she's right. We have no money."

"Geez, thanks for reminding me…"

"Seems we'll just sneak into one of the carts when no-one's looking" Lust gave a small sigh. "Hope that doesn't bust our cover. I wouldn't like to have to face the Führer now, he was bad enough when he was Colonel…"

"I won't let Roy Mustang hurt Lust" Gluttony reassured him, and she smirked and leaned down to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, honey."

Beside them, Sloth chuckled lowly at Gluttony's blush and the dreamy look in his seemingly empty white eyes.

Sneaking into the train was easy enough. Envy – morphed into a beautiful woman with twice the cleavage the form he had taken the night he met Edward had – and Lust had no trouble distracting the guard, and soon enough, the six Homunculi were sitting around the table at a compartment that was way too small to fit both Gluttony and Sloth in. It was a miracle they could still breathe if they really wanted to, Envy thought as he tugged a window open. The air had become drier and the landscape less green as they travelled eastward. the clouds were dissipating very slowly, golden rays peeking through, and the shapeshifter felt his heart sink a little.

Edward…

Envy glanced around. Wrath was sitting across from him, leaning against Greed, who in turn was leaning against Sloth. The three of them were sound asleep. Lust and Gluttony were beside him, entertaining themselves with a magazine Greed had stolen from a stand at the station. Everyone seemed distracted, content, relaxed.

Except for himself.

Edward…

The long-haired Homunculus rubbed his eyes with both hands. Was it any use to try and fight the thoughts of the blonde alchemist, anyway? He had been thinking of Edward – obsessing over Edward – since his rebirth. Perhaps it was a side effect of Edward being his last thought before dying? Envy rested his elbow on the table and his forehead in his hand, watching the scenery through the window sideways. The sun was slowly starting his descent in the horizon, shining golden amongst the scattered white-violet clouds.

Golden and purple. His eyes, and Edward's.

Edward.

He felt a smile curving his lips, as if he were hiding a secret that made him very happy, and that no-one would ever find about. But at the same time, he couldn't comprehend what was going through his own mind, and the tinge of desperation at having to keep it a secret gave the whole ridiculous situation an overall bittersweet feeling. If only he could understand himself…

…Like Edward had seemed to.

"Edward" he whispered this time, and an invisible weight was lifted from his chest. Lust turned to him.

"You say something, Envy?"

"Oh… No, nothing."

"Okay, then. We're almost there."

"So it seems."

Definition of awkward if there was one, but Envy didn't seem to care. Feeling protected by some kind of internal strength, as if a light had suddenly gone off inside him, driving the shadows away, he leaned over Lust and snatched the magazine from Gluttony.

"Gimme that, dad. I wanna do the crossword."

"Mh! Envy, you're mean!"

"You'll wake Wrath up! Be quiet!"

"Yes, mom."

"Yes, baby—I mean, Lust!"

Surprisingly, Lust's cheeks went a little red at Gluttony's slip-up, and Envy found himself smiling at the whole scene. Perhaps even if they were not human, even if they were soulless and technically lifeless creatures, they could still feel love.

Vaguely, Envy wondered who he could fall in love with. It seemed quite difficult to find someone he wouldn't hate straight out, since he hated everyone per default unless they proved him they were worthy of something else. Who could he, Envy, the cause of the war in Ishval, the assassin of uncountable innocent people, the strongest of the Homunculi at the moment, possibly fall in love with?

Edward?

Envy groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. Officially, he had just decided he hated trains. And sunny days.

The sun was setting when they finally reached the eastern border. The people there were very kind to them, completely oblivious to their condition; they believed the whole story of them being a northerner family interested in ruins and history, and nobody questioned them about their motives. Some people were worried about them wanting to venture into the desert, especially with what they assumed to be a little child, Wrath. Envy was tempted to leave his younger sibling there, but he knew Wrath would never forgive him, so he dismissed the idea and told the locals not to worry about them – while his tone clearly warned them to mind their own business. The message went across, and they were left alone. When they finally caught glimpse of the ruins in the distance, the moon was high in the black sky, and the dunes around them were bathed in blue light.

"At least it's not golden" Envy mumbled, as he pulled the coat he had morphed for himself tighter around his body – Greed had received a rather hard punch when he pointed out it looked like the one Edward Elric used to wear – and hissed. The desert was freezing at night.

"Golden?" Wrath questioned from his privileged place atop Sloth's shoulders, and Envy purposefully pretended he hadn't heard him.

"Oi, guys. There they are. The ruins of Xerxes."

The group stopped at the top of one of the dunes, overlooking the grey moonlit ruins. They seemed harmless enough, and yet…

And yet, they could all feel the strong concentration of power inside them, much like anybody else that was trained enough could feel the power emanating from their own little family. Envy placed his hands on his hips, tilting his head to the side, while beside him, Lust crossed her arms.

"It doesn't feel like he's here" she admitted, and Greed frowned, eyes narrowing.

"So it seems…"

"But there's still something in there, don't you think?"

"I wonder… What could it be?" Lust scratched her chin in thought, but before her mind could conjecture anything, Gluttony's voice chimed in.

"Can I eat them?"

"Sure, once we find out what they are" Envy shrugged. "And where."

"Think we should split up and search the ruins?" Greed offered, and Sloth groaned.

"When will we take a rest?"

"No time" Envy clicked his tongue. "Greed had a good idea for once. Lust, you and Gluttony head north. Sloth, go west, take Wrath with you. Greed will check out the east part, and I'll take the south."

"Alone?" Lust bit her lower lip. Envy waved her worry off with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

"Greed and I are the strongest now. We'll be just fine!"

Lust didn't look too convinced, but she didn't dare voicing her thoughts, so she stayed silent as each Homunculus went their way.

Edward woke up with a start, sitting up in a flash, his right hand pressing to his forehead. He was drenched in cold sweat, and every muscle in his body was tense. His right arm and left leg hurt as if they had been pierced by a million needles. He hadn't had a nightmare like that in almost a whole year, he had thought the whole human transmutation issue was behind him, but it obviously wasn't.

He had dreamt about it again, with a few variations. He was lying on the floor, bleeding, Alphonse calling out to him from the distance while he looked up at the suffering, horrible monster he had transmuted. The creature spoke with its hoarse voice, begged to be killed… Why did it seem so familiar? And suddenly the transmutation circle started glowing red, and in the creature's place was Envy, badly injured, his blood creating a big puddle under him. He looked at Edward with eyes full of pain, a begging look that made the once-alchemist's heart twist painfully.

"Ed!" the Homunculus cried out, thick blood dripping from his arms, his middle, his lips, his hair, everywhere. "Ed, help me! Please, help me!"

But before he could do anything to assist the fallen Homunculus, a hand reached out and grabbed Envy's hair, tugging the screaming Sin back into the shadows. Envy cried out and held his hand out, but just as Edward reached for it, just as his fingers brushed Envy's bloody, cold ones, he was awakened from his restless slumber by the sound of something breaking downstairs.

Yet, he couldn't get himself to get up and go check what was happening in his kitchen. There were more pressing matters, like the fact he couldn't move his right arm or his left leg, or that there were hot tears running down his cheeks. He whimpered in frustration, squeezing his eyes shut.

"D-Dammit! Damn it all!"

Quick footsteps ran up the stairs, and a soft knocking on his door followed.

"Come in, Al… D-Dammit…"

"Ed?" his brother's eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight as he opened the door and walked in, blond hair falling over his shoulders. He looked much like him that way. "Did you… Did you have that same dream too, nii-san? The one about Envy and Father?"

"Y-Yeah" Edward grunted. "It hurts…"

"Can I—"

"No, Al, I don't want anything. I'll be fine. Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, sorry about that. I-I dropped a glass in the kitchen."

"Thank you for waking me up, anyway. That was horrible… Dammit…" Edward placed an arm over his eyes, blocking out the moonlight. He still didn't know where all the anguish came from. Perhaps it was the feeling of helplessness that invaded him when he saw Envy being taken away, knowing he couldn't help him? And why Envy, of all people?

What, would you rather have Al, or Winry?

Edward grimaced. It was selfish of him to think that way.

It's probably because I'm a little worried, because we haven't heard from the Homunculi since they left for Father's lair…

"They're probably all dead, right, nii-san?"

Alphonse's shaky voice shook him out of his trance, and he turned to see his brother looking down, eyes narrowed and hands clenched into fists. Edward tried to smile and reassure him, like he had always done during the years, but it was harder when they were both grown and more aware of everything.

"We have to be positive" Edward sighed finally. "Help them with our thoughts, you know."

"I could've done something" Alphonse stared at his own hands. "I still have alchemy…"

"But it was too dangerous…"

"So? You would've gone with them if you still had your powers!"

Taken aback – and caught – Edward looked away. His brother was right, but once again… He wasn't willing to risk his brother, the person he loved the most, for a bunch of Homunculi that had suddenly decided they were good guys.

Still, as his resolve told him that, his subconscious poked them with the memory of Envy's pleading eyes in his dream. Edward shook his head, gritting his teeth. He knew he pitied the Homunculus, but hey, it was none of his business if he died.

Ed! Ed, help me! Please, help me!

"Damn…"

Alphonse rested a hand on his brother's shoulder. He knew Edward hated feeling helpless, he couldn't stand impotence, he always wanted to help, to contribute. He was sure most of his brother's turmoil came from the fact that he was useless against Father now.

"Nii-san, go back to sleep. You'll feel better in the morning, you'll see…"

"If they don't come back… Al…"

Alphonse bit his lower lip for a few seconds, before saying, in a very calm, very cold voice.

"It's the path they chose. Probably Auntie Pinako and Winry thought the same when we left Resembool. But they couldn't stop us."

"Heh" Edward smirked despite his pained expression, and gave his brother an amused look. "So this is how Winry felt, huh? No wonder she was always angry. I'd love to kill Envy with my own bare hands at this very moment."

"You will" Alphonse smiled amusedly. "I'm sure of it!"

Envy had been walking for what felt like hours. Everything looked the same around him, and he could happily consider himself completely lost. If it weren't for the stones of the other Homunculi pulsing softly in his mind, he would've completely freaked out. The other pulsing, that other unknown power, was also present, stronger with each passing second.

He heard footsteps behind him as he was about to turn around a corner, and he froze, a shiver running down his spine. There was someone behind him. The pulsating of the unknown force became stronger than ever.

"Envy?"

Envy's eyes widened, and time seemed to stop. He turned around very slowly, as if in slow motion. That voice…

Edward Elric smiled in relief at him. He looked just like he remembered him from the old times: red coat, braided hair, but the automail was missing. His golden eyes glinted beautifully in the moonlight as the blonde approached him, his coat shifting around him with the chilly breeze.

"I'm so glad I found you" the alchemist confessed, standing right before the confused Envy, hands in his pockets. "I thought you were all dead…"

Envy frowned, ignoring his stupid inner self, which was currently rolling around in glee because Edward had been worried about him.

"Not like you care or anything" the Sin spat, and Edward blinked, obviously taken aback.

"Hey, why do you say that? Of course I care about you!"

Crash!

Envy's walls collapsed like a sand castle, and he was rendered a stuttering, blushing mess. Sure, he had hoped… But he had never expected the alchemist to just admit that out loud! And why was it affecting him so much? Why couldn't he speak to Edward? Why couldn't he pry his eyes from the alchemist's? Why was his Philosopher's stone pulsing so strongly and quickly inside his chest?

Vaguely, he heard an explosion in the distance, but his brain was too melted to register the sound or what it could mean.

"Y-You…" he breathed out, his eyes fixed on Edward's. "Y-You… You… Y-You actually… Care about us?" actually, he wanted to ask Edward if he cared about him, but it would've sounded too wishful. Edward smiled again, eyes brightening up, and Envy felt a tightening in his chest that had nothing to do with the Philosopher's stone. Another explosion resounded, this time closer, but Envy was still too distracted by all the different shades of golden in Edward's eyes to think of anything else.

"Of course I do. And…" Edward looked down, blushing a bit, his voice becoming quieter and shier as he continued: "I especially care about you, Envy. You're… Special."

Another crash was heard. Envy couldn't be sure if it had been something in the distance, or the stone in his chest that had broken from pulsing so hard. Edward stepped closer, looking up, straight into Envy's eyes. Envy shivered, his nerves peaking. He had to keep the alchemist talking.

"E-Eh… Special? Special how?"

Edward shrugged lightly, his left hand brushing Envy's right one. Envy trembled, he wasn't sure why.

"I don't know" Edward confessed, a slightly troubled look clouding his eyes. "I just realized, when hours passed and you didn't come back… That I actually wanted you to come back. I felt so restless without you, Envy…"

Envy felt lightheaded. Edward was so close now, he could feel his unsteady breathing on his own lips. Edward's hand now gripped his, while the free one came to rest on his cheek, pulling his face closer to that of the alchemist.

"I know how you feel, Envy" Edward sighed. His breath smelled so delicious, so tempting… "I understand how you feel, remember? I understand you…"

Envy closed his eyes, but opened them again as he heard a fourth noise, this time right behind him. The stone in his chest pulsed so hard that it hurt.

"E-Ed…"

"Shh" Edward's eyes were half lidded, as he pulled Envy closer, smiling reassuringly. "Don't be afraid, Envy… I love you too…"

CRASH!

But this time, Envy didn't react. He was stunned speechless as those words left Edward's lips; the same lips that were now on his, pressing softly, invitingly. The Homunculus' eyes fell closed as Edward kissed him. The lightheadedness became stronger, and his chest felt as if it were about to be ripped in two, but the kiss felt like nothing he'd ever experienced before…

And suddenly, a sharp pain struck his back, and as his eyes shot open he could see Edward smirking, the boy's arm morphing into a blade that was pressed to his neck.

"Foolish monster" Edward snarled, his voice not sounding like his own at all. Envy trembled, daring glance over his shoulder to see a blond man with long hair and white clothes standing behind them. From his shadow, spikes had emerged, and at least half a dozen of them were now stuck in Envy's body, paralyzing him. He looked like Edward; or rather, like a younger version of Father, with a younger-looking face and no beard. His eyes were an icy blue color, and there was a blue Ouroboros tattoo on his left shoulder.

A homunculus.

Eyes wide with panic, Envy turned back around to face Edward, only to find him gone and replaced by a girl with short, straight blond hair and a long white dress. She looked very nice and gentle, save for her left arm, which was morphed into a sharp blade and still pressed to Envy's throat. A cut on her dress showed her right thigh, where the same blue tattoo was.

Envy closed his eyes and screamed.

Wrath… Lust… Greed… Gluttony… Sloth… Are they all…? …E-Edward…

If I die, he'll be defenseless against Father.

Envy's eyes narrowed.

No fucking way!

Red lightning cracked, and the female Homunculus jumped back, hissing in pain when Envy's own arm-blade cut hers off clean. Envy stumbled forward, freeing himself from the male's spikes, quickly regenerating himself as he jumped onto a half-demolished wall, crouching there, smirking despite his inner self screaming and tearing at his insides with its little sharp claws.

I fell into the trap. I fell for it. I fell for Edward. Why? Why? WHY, WHY, WHY?

"Very smart, you guys" he sneered at the two blondes, who in turn glared up at him, icy blue eyes narrowed with disgust. "You almost had me there! Perhaps if you had brought more of you along, we would've been even!"

The girl twitched, a grimace of pure hatred distorting her otherwise kind features.

"You disgust us, monster!" she yelled, jumping up into the air, ready to deliver a flying kick to Envy's head. The Sin made a flawless backwards flip, dodging the attack and landing in a crouching position on the ground, but he had to run away when the wall was blown to pieces by the man's shadow spikes.

It's just like the old Pride's attack! Envy thought as he ran, explosions following him left and right. Edward's voice called his name again, and when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw the girl, once again morphed into the Fullmetal Alchemist, chasing him. He forced himself to ignore the calls, which were making his mind race and the stone in his chest throb painfully.

"Envy! Envy, help me! This guy is attacking me! Please, help me!"

"Shut up!" Envy screamed, jumping onto a roof and taking off into another direction. "He's not attacking you! You're not Fullmetal!"

"Don't run away from me! I love you, Envy!"

Envy screamed out in rage and pain at those words.

"DON'T SAY THAT!"

Don't say that with his voice! I don't want to heard that! It's a lie!

"Gotcha!"

Envy was pushed to the ground, the Homunculus morphed into Edward straddling him, grabbing his hands and holding them over his head when he managed to roll onto his back. Envy struggled, snarling like a wild cat, but the other Homunculus held him down, leaning down to look straight into his eyes. Envy swallowed; those golden eyes…

"Disgusting" 'Edward' spat, frowning in his rather pouty, childish way. "And to think you must actually be enjoying this…" and as to prove his point, the female shapeshifter slammed her body down against Envy's. The Sin cried out, still struggling.

"G-Get off! Get off, bitch!"

"Are you calling me a bitch?" Edward's voice teased at Envy's ears. "But Envy, I lo—"

"DON'T SAY IT, DAMMIT!"

The punch caught the female Homunculus off guard. She fell off the roof, and Envy jumped off as well and ran, feeling the whisper of the shadow tentacles chasing after him. The other Homunculus, the male one, was still lurking around. As he sprinted into an alleyway, he came face to face with Wrath, who was standing there and sniffing softly, wiping his eyes.

"W-Wrath!" Envy cried, but immediately frowned and pointed an accusing finger at the little Homunculus. "Who is 'mommy'?" he demanded, and Wrath gave him a confused look.

"L-Lust, why?"

"Which one of the roles in our 'family' did I choose myself?"

"Nii-chan, what are you talking about?"

"Answer me, Wrath!"

"Uncle Sloth's!"

"What did I tell Edward when he said he was tired of all the noise we were making?"

"…Y-You apologized."

Envy relaxed, but still felt paranoid as he approached Wrath, looking over his shoulder all the time.

"What's going on, nii-chan?"

"I've been attacked. That asshole has the old Pride's powers, and the bitch can transform like me. That's why I asked you all that, I had to check if it was really you."

"Oh… Sloth and I were attacked too, but he told me to run and hide… I'm scared, Envy…"

There was an explosion behind them, and smoke filled the air. Envy launched himself at Wrath, pushing him to the floor and shielding him with his body as black spikes shot out in every direction, one of them piercing Envy's right arm. Envy gasped, but otherwise kept silent, willing the blonde Homunculi to go away. Finally, the spikes retreated, and they heard a soft male voice:

"Come out, Sins. The time of judgment has arrived."

Envy stood up slowly, Wrath clinging to his waist all the while. He smirked, the wound on his arm healing itself quickly.

"Judgment" he chuckled. "Judgment my ass."

Author's note: For some reason, I particularly liked this ending! Heheh, I'll be looking forward to your reviews, people! xoxo