Okay, in this chapter Envy hardly ever shuts up. He reveals why he wants Freddy. I'm sorry for any errors, I had a little trouble trying to get my point across in this one. It's mostly a lot of talking, but important talking. There will be much more action in the next chapter, I promise! Here goes!
My Misadventures in Alchemy
Chapter 9: A Plan for Freddy
I shivered. I couldn't help it! While I was so thankful that Ed had come to save me, I was frightened by the look in his eyes, the tone of his voice. It scared me to know how enraged he was. He had obviously met Envy far too many times under bad circumstances. I wondered if Al felt the same.
Speaking of our steel-made friend, where was he?
I glanced behind Edward to see nothing but shadows, and I felt a wave of concern for Al. The sound of arguing brought me back to the two men standing in front of me and I watched as Envy laughed at Ed's request.
"Let Winnifred go? Why would I want to do that, Pipsqueak?"
"She has nothing to do with this!"
"I can't just let her go! She's much too handy to have around!"
I felt like a trinket, ready to be pulled out and used when plans fell through the floor. I clenched my jaw as stared in anger at Palm Tree. Edward had very much the same expression and I noticed that his fists were clenched. I had never seen him so infuriated and I was pretty sure that soon things would be going 'splody!
"Handy? She's just a plain girl! She can barely do a simple transmutation!"
Normally that would have pissed me off, but today I nodded enthusiastically as Envy turned to me. Anything to convince me that I'm not as important as he seemed to think. Edward continued.
"She's pretty unimpressive."
Envy scoffed, grinning as he walked over towards me. I grinned and kneeled, giving him my very best 'innocent as a newborn kitten' look.
"I'm okay with being unimpressive. I sleep better at night. Can you let me go now?"
I held out my bindings to him, continuing with the kitten look. He nodded his head once, almost looking as though he were convinced. Then, quick as a flash, his hand shot out, catching my throat and dragging me up, pinning my back against his chest so that I was facing Ed. I had the urge to kick Envy, thrust my elbow into that spot that was particularly painful for men, but his hold on my throat tightened and I decided that my need for oxygen outweighed my thirst for revenge. Looking up at Ed, I saw him clench his teeth as Envy spoke.
"Unimpressive, eh? Well, one man's junk is another's treasure! A perfect sacrifice!"
I was starting to get tired of hearing that. I was a person! A living, breathing person! I wasn't a sacrifice! I wanted to say so, but Edward whispered something that caught my attention.
"Like Al…"
I had my mouth open to shout at Envy, but I stopped when Ed's words reached me. My heart began to beat painfully fast as Edward's expression changed. His eyes softened in a somewhat scared way, and his swallowed hard in disgust. He knew what Envy wanted to do to me, he knew what I was going to be a sacrifice for. Because he'd also had to protect his brother from it. I had the sense that if Ed was scared, it was time for me to panic, and I did.
"What's like Al, Ed? What does he want me for!? A sacrifice for what? What's he going to do!?"
Edward didn't answer me, but was looking at me as if seeing me for the first time. Envy spoke over my shoulder in a low, dangerous tone.
"Starting to figure it out, aren't you Runt?"
"Figure what out, Ed?"
I screamed, tears streaming down my face. Why did Envy want me? Why was Edward just standing there? I began to fight against Envy's hold, ignoring the way it tightened, not enough to make me black out, but enough to make it hard to breathe. Envy's sneer caused me to gasp.
"How is it that an ordinary girl can pass through the Gate and come out in one piece? Even you didn't manage that, the Fullmetal Alchemist, the genius prodigy!"
At the end of his sentence, his hold cut off all air and I choked, coughing and gasping. His grip loosened and I gulped air. Edward's anger flared back into life and I could only watch as Envy continued to taunt him.
"An arm and leg taken, your brother's body gone! And all so you could get back what you'd lost! How selfish, how pathetic, how careless! What does Al really think about that little failure? How does he feel about his 'dear big brother' knowing that he was turned into the ideal sacrifice that day?"
Edward looked as though his anger and his guilt were battling each other. Dammit Ed! Don't be psyched out now! Stop, you have to keep it together! Envy continued his psychological torture.
"And then Sacrifice shows up, so conveniently appearing on your doorstep! 'A girl is staying with Fullmetal! Did you hear she's supposedly from another world? From in the Gate?' Talk sure makes its way around that military base of yours pretty quickly! All we needed was to get Sacrifice alone! It was so easy!"
I felt a shift of Envy's body against my back and I gasped to see Mustang lean over my shoulder, glaring at Ed, speaking in Mustang's voice.
"You know, Runt, you really ought to be more careful who you take your orders from!"
My heart skipped a beat as Envy transformed back into his spiky haired self. Edward growled and stepped forward, a silent gesture that he was ready for a fight. Envy's grip on my throat was released, but he held onto my bindings, leading me into the corner where I was shoved into Gluttony's grasp. I had almost forgotten he was here! At the prospect of a meal, Gluttony gave a grin, which faltered as Envy smacked him over the head as a warning that I better not be eaten. I turned to watch Envy walk over to Edward, circling him.
"'Go to Youswell, Fullmetal! There have been some complaints, check in on them!' There's nothing wrong with the mines, Runt! We figured you'd leave Sacrifice behind and we'd be free to snatch her up! But no, you had to take her along! More work for me!"
I cried out as Envy suddenly swooped in, his fist aimed to strike Edward in the face. Ed miraculously dodged a second beforehand, turning and countering. I watched in amazed horror as the two began a battle, moving in and out of each other's realm in a fashion almost like a dance, Envy continuing his session of story time as the movements picked up in pace.
"Did you know that you have a puppy dog, Pipsqueak? At the train station, she didn't even question that it was you! Blond hair, gold eyes, shorter than most! It's easy to pull an impression of the Fullmetal Runt! She tagged right along! She figured it wasn't you all too late! She screamed your name for help well enough, though!"
"You better not have hurt her, Envy!"
"So protective! I knew you'd come to get her! You have a weak spot for innocent people that you can't save…"
Envy moved incredibly fast, so much so that Edward was starting to have trouble catching up. What was Envy? He couldn't possibly be human! I struggled against Gluttony's hold, trying so hard to break free to help Ed. I could only watch as Envy's next line hit Edward, stopping him in his tracks, delivering a blow that seemed to crush his heart.
"Like Hughes, like Nina, like your mother!"
Wow! Drama llama! Poor Ed, I know that was a bitchy thing, but it's going to plant the Seed of Wondering into Freddy's head, so I put it in there. Okay, I'd like to take a moment to say thank you for all the reviews! I can't believe the support I've gotten for this! Especially for the last chapter! Thank you so much! See you next chapter!
