The Sin of a Homunculus

Chapter eleven: The Second Prisoner

Tennessee

Olivia stirred and turned on her side due to the unusual shifting of weight in her bed. It couldn't have been later than two or three in the morning and usually neither her nor Envy would wake until seven or until Ren woke them with her crying, but recently they had been allowed to sleep a little longer.

"Envy?" she asked into the darkness reaching for where Envy's arm should have been if he were lying down, but found it was not there. Olivia blinked hard in hopes that her eyes would adjust to the poor lighting. Slowly in the light of the dim moon she found herself looking at Envy's back as he was sitting up.

Envy reached behind him and, taking his pajama shirt by the collar, pulled it off over his head throwing it onto the floor. He put a palm to his sweat covered face and gasped in heavy pants as if he were having severe trouble breathing.

"Envy, are you alright?" Olivia questioned sitting straight up in alarm and putting a hand on his back, which was so warm she almost pulled it away. "What's wrong?!" she demanded when he did not respond.

"… I-" Envy began but fell backwards onto his pillow, eyes and mouth still open but not saying a word.

"Envy!" she exclaimed jerking his mouth to her ear to hear a soft breathing escape it. "Envy?!"

Not knowing what to do Olivia jumped from the bed and ran into the bathroom to soak a towel in water and run back, ringing it over his forehead and dabbing his cheeks with it.

Envy's hand flew to his chest and he sat straight up, so quickly Olivia gasped in fear. Clutching his chest tightly he coughed twice, again he could feel a hot liquid coming up his throat, but this time there was far more. He bent forward his arm wrapped around his stomach as the liquid that made up his philosopher's stones poured onto the blanket. Olivia jumped backwards in surprise and watched as the liquid turned instantaneously into crystal.

Envy lurched as if about to vomit again but instead he shouted, "Get them!" Olivia dove for the stones without question as Ren in the crib beside their bed began to cry.

"What do I do?!" she exclaimed holding several of them and still picking up more.

Envy began to scoop up the ones she was trying to take up herself, and jamming them down his throat he reached desperately for more from Olivia. He had no more than swallow the first bunch that the same sensation ran through him and again the stones were forced back up his throat.

"What's happening?!" Olivia cried shoving more stones at him, but only to be thrown back up.

Envy lurched for the final time, relinquishing the last of his stones and leaving him face down on the bed trying to get up slowly. The crystals in Olivia's hands and on the blankets suddenly began to melt into a cold grey substance that dissolved into nothing leaving no traces they were ever there.

"Envy!" Olivia screamed over top of Ren's continuous crying.

"It's gone…" he spoke slowly watching the place where they had been his face was chalky white and he shook terribly as if weakened sufficiently.

"What's gone?!"

"The red stones… the incomplete philosopher's stones. My immortality." Again he trembled, this time so badly he almost toppled forward. Olivia took him by the shoulders and lay him down gently, placing the cold cloth on his scorching forehead.

Olivia said nothing in reply perhaps out of shock, just kept her gaze pinned to Envy looking thoroughly weakened as she picked up Ren and rocked her from tears back into sleep.

"…Do you remember what I said to you that if I lost my immortality then four hundred years could come back to me all at once or slowly?"

Olivia nodded.

"… It's been coming back slowly for the past year. Wrath didn't just take away the pain of these shackles, he took away the ability they had to keep my life from crumbling away."

"But how does that make sense? Homunculi can live without the stones right?!"

"It took me a long time to figure it out… these cuffs react with the right type of alchemy, because of this," Envy said holding the cuff away from his skin just enough so Olivia could see what looked like a transmutation circle, and in the center was what looked like a cross topped with two small wings and a crown and wrapped in a snaking line.

"This circle," he continued, "is Dante's creation… designed to seal a homunculus… to kill me. It's broken down the stones and now it's breaking me down."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Olivia scowled, "If I had known I would have helped more!"

"… There would have been nothing you could have done then, but I need you to help me now."

"Anything," she replied, tears growing in her eyes.

Envy sat up and pulled the towel from his head moving closer to her and their child. "I swore I would love you forever. I stand by the promise as long as you do yours; damn it, even if you didn't I would still love you. I was trained not to. You were the only thing that Dante hadn't put in my head, up until then she made all my decisions for me. I thought everything would end the same way for me if I didn't listen…. In a way it has."

"No! Not this time!" Olivia shrieked grabbing his hand.

"I've known I was going to die for a long time now. Please, don't be too upset with me," again he quivered and became limper.

Olivia wiped her eyes and set Ren down in the crib kissing her on the forehead and saying, "I'll be home soon."

-----

Olivia's head was high and her shoulders strong, her chest filled with courage she'd never had before and her back straight, her hand acting as a pillow while her lap acted as a bed. On it lying Envy who had begun to look worse and worse with each passing minute, his eyes had grown far away, his hands were clenched into fists, and at some points the chills that racked his body sent shivers down Olivia's spin even though they were not her own. And the constant jostling of the cab they were in did not help them stay calm in this situation.

The man driving had been somewhat shocked when Olivia told him it was not the hospital they were going to, and even more surprised when Envy ordered him to abandon church on the outer rim of the city. But at any rate they were headed there.

Olivia stroked Envy's hair, gently pushing it off his face so she could take the damp cloth from his forehead, turn it over so it would be colder, and place it on his skin again.

Envy shook and looked up at her. "I don't want you to come with me," he said.

"You can barely stand," she said shaking her head. "I need to."

"If you do Dante'll kill you."

"I don't care."

"Please don't."

"Envy…."

"Olivia… how old were you when I first saw you?"

Olivia blinked at the suddenness of this question. "Around seventeen?" she said slowly.

"… You were so interesting. I just couldn't figure it out, why I liked you that is. I couldn't break you."

"I don't know, I think you did a pretty good job of that."

"Maybe I did, I would just convince myself I hadn't so I could keep you alive a little longer."

"Why?"

"You intrigued me. I don't know why, you just seemed different, someone who would give a person of a life of evil another chance. In some ways I wanted to see if it was true."

"For a long time I didn't want to think about you like that because of what you had done."

"I know it doesn't mean much now but… I'm sorry."

"I don't care whether or not you're sorry, I just want you to be alright."

"But I am sorry. Don't you ever miss your family?" Envy knew if she said yes what he would have to do and it made his stomach turn inside out.

"Yes… but you're my family now."

Envy sighed, now he had to tell his secret. "I don't want you to be alone…" he said avoiding what needed to be done.

Olivia shook her head, "I won't let you die."

"That's not entirely what I meant…."

"If you go back Dante become your master again," she stated quietly.

"Most likely, but I'll make sure you and the baby are safe when I can. Besides, wouldn't it be better to have someone on the inside to protect you?"

"Not if I never get to see you again… but no, if that's the only way to save you, so be it."

Envy placed his hand on her arm causing her to jump.

"You're so cold." Olivia said taking his hand.

"… I feel cold," Envy replied curling closer to her. This didn't feel right, not with what was spinning around in his head at this moment.

Olivia leaned down to kiss his cheek but he cut her short.

"… Wait," Envy said his eyes rolling back into his head, "I-… I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" she asked putting on a smile to mask her fear.

"I didn't…. H-he's not-… don't hate me," the sin pleaded.

"I'm not going to hate you. Just tell me," she said holding his head up.

"He's alive."

Olivia's heart skipped a beat. "Who, Envy? Who's still alive?"

"His name was-… it was…."

"What was his name?"

"I can't remember."

"Tell me!"

"Liar!" Envy exclaimed, his eyes misty, "You said you wouldn't hate me!"

"Envy, I'm sorry!" she cried pushing hair out his eyes. "I promise I don't hate you. Who is it?!"

"His name was… David. I-I think."

Olivia's face went blank. "He's alive… are you sure?"

Envy nodded.

"David? David?"

"Yes, he was another Ishvalan."

"…He was my brother."

Envy lifted his head, "… He was. He told me. When I left I tried, to get him out…. Really I swear, but I couldn't."

"Is he-…?"

Envy shook his head. "Dante, must've killed him after I was gone. I didn't want to tell you because… because I knew you'd try to get back."

Tears welled in Olivia's eyes and she wrapped him in a hug.

"Thank you," she wept after some time.

"F-for what?"

"For letting me know you love me."

Envy gave a short laugh and placed a hand on her shoulder. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve this, maybe just showing love had gotten him love. But truth wasn't the same thing as love, was it? Human emotions were so strange, he disliked that one would lead to another, couldn't they come separately of each other? Yet at the same time he didn't feel that love was an emotion or feeling, it was a thing he could touch without feeling it, but it was real.

"Sir, sir, stop here," Olivia said wiping her eyes as they began to pull past the church. She handed the man what he was owed and stepped from the car, helping Envy out.

"This is it?" she asked struggling to support Envy.

"Yes," he said simply.

The two continued into an area that looked just as a normal church would with no traces of a passage as Envy had told her about.

"Okay," Envy said approaching the altar, "Stand back."

Olivia nodded as Envy kicked the front of the altar as hard as he possible could, causing it to crack and cave-in with a large puff of dust. Olivia caught Envy by the shoulders as he tottered slightly.

"Down these steps," he said softly.

"… I hear water," Olivia said stopping half way down the stairs.

"Underground lake," Envy said quickly.

Olivia nodded and they continued to the bottom of the stairs for her to see an area far larger than the church above. Filling the room was a pool of clear rippling water, around the edges were what seemed to be large relics, and vines and plant life grew up and around the walls and stone figures.

Envy trembled as if remembering something horrible.

"Are you alright?" Olivia asked.

Envy shook his head.

"Sit down," she said as he slid down the wall, his head between his knees. "I'll go ahead okay?"

"No, don't go alone."

"Don't worry, I'll just be up ahead." Olivia smiled and continued around the outer rim of the lake and out of sight.

"Idiot," Envy told himself, "Get up! Go after her!" He lifted himself up slowly, but found his own weight was too much for his own legs and again fell to the ground, his head hitting the stone floor.

"No, no, no!" he exclaimed as his vision began to become slightly fuzzy. "If you stay down you'll regret it forever!" Again the sin tried to stand but gravity forced him back down.

"… She's strong," he panted, "Sh-she'll be fine," he said vocalizing the sound of his inner voice. "Just stay put and she'll come back for you." Envy pulled himself off to the side so he could not be seen lying between the wall and one of the larger statues wrapped in vines. His eyes were open yet his vision seemed to go black forcing him to bring his eyelids down.

It could have been five minutes Envy stayed down, or it could have been an hour, the sin had slipped in a place between sleep and consciousness with no strength to get up and no one telling him needed to, he lay.

It wasn't until the ringing sound of high heels on the stone ground quick with urgency broke the flowing water's music did his eyelids flicker.

"Envy?" called a female voice, but Envy's head was too swimmy to recognize who it was. "Envy, I know you're here."

Envy raised his head and slowly got to his feet, but who he saw was not Olivia and made him wish he hadn't stood up. But before he could get back to the ground two long black daggers raced past his neck and into the wall behind him, threatening to slit his throat.

"Don't move," Lust said sternly.

"If you kill me I'm not coming back," Envy growled.

"I don't want to kill you!" she exclaimed, still without removing her fingers.

"Then don't."

"Just listen."

"I'm not listening to a word you say!"

"Rejoin our master."

Envy scoffed and turned away.

"Rejoin Dante!"

"Heh, and why would I do that?"

"There's nothing left for you if you don't!"

Envy snarled. "I have more to live for than you know!" he shouted, a quick image of Olivia holding Ren raced through his mind.

"I know what you had. You're a fool to just let it slip through your fingers," Lust said shaking her head in pity.

Envy's eyes grew wide. "Where is she?! What have you done with Olivia?!"

"I haven't done anything to her, what Dante's done is another story, and you won't be quick enough to keep your spawn safe…."

Envy lurched forward. "Where is she?" he said his voice trembling.

"Gone."

"Let me go!"

"Envy! I told you I didn't want to kill you!"

"Then get out of my way, or you'll be forced to!"

Lust's fingers backed an inch or two from the wall.

"Envy there's nothing left for you. Rejoin Dante and she'll take the cuffs off."

Envy's lip curled in disgust.

"Fine, go. But when you see… you'll have wished you stayed here…. Master's already sent Gluttony, you'll never get there in time," she sighed as her fingers returned to a normal length and Envy turned towards the stairs. "Envy wait!" she called as he took the first step.

Envy stopped and turned just in time to be caught in a hug. "Don't do anything stupid, you idiot."

Envy immediately pulled away. "Don't touch me."

Lust drew back in shock, no one had ever told her to get off and she had certainly never expected it from Envy.

"… You really love her, don't you?"

Envy nodded slowly.

Lust shot a backwards glance in the direction of the underground city.

"Then hurry. I'll see what I can do here."

"Is she still alive?"

Lust nodded.

"Thank you," Envy said.

"Envy… there's something else…."

"What?"

"You had another prisoner, didn't you?"

Envy nodded.

"Olivia's brother?"

"Yes."

"… I never told Dante about him…. After you left… I set him free. Not long after, he was taken to a refugee camp."

Envy opened his mouth as if to form words but found he couldn't say a thing until his tongue moved, involuntarily saying, "Don't tell Olivia, I'll do it," before using what strength he had left to dash up the stairs and into the streets.

Thanks for reading this week! I just wanted to let you know that next week's chapter will be the last! BUT there might be… something… else X3

Please check my profile for a link to pictures and please join us next time!

Tennessee