XXX: I do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist. I am just a huge fan! :XXX

Every chapter brings us closer to the big event I've been planning since I began writing this story! I am so excited to get it out there!

Enjoy!

Edward POV

"I can't believe this! I had to go through so much crap just to have this ability and Envy just decides out of nowhere he can do it too." I groaned in complete frustration.

"Ed, you can't let this bother you. Envy's been alive for a long time, he knows things," Al defended the sin. "Besides, he was just telling me about the flow of energy he used to change his body. It was exactly like how you described the way you perform your alchemy, so I threw the idea out there. If you have to blame someone, blame me."

"Damn it, Al. This has nothing to-" I was cut off by a loud explosion. "What the...?"

Al and I ran outside, just in time to see Envy clap his hands together and slam them on the ground. A thin wall of earth flew up just in time to take the impact of the flames that flew towards him. The wall collapsed and I could see that Envy was shaken to the core underneath his mask of calm. He was barely concealing his fear.

Then I noticed Colonel Mustang standing across the yard from him, evidently the source of the flames. He was poised, ready to hurtle more flames at Envy. Lieutenant Hawkeye was with him, her hand placed on her gun's handle.

"Wait a minute, damn it!" Envy yelled.

Mustang snapped, sending more fire at Envy, which was met with another weak wall. "Why would I do that?"

"You're going to hit her!" Envy pointed to Rose. "Let her move out of the way!"

Rose was not having it. "I don't think so! I'm not going anywhere." She turned to Mustang. "You need to stop attacking him! You don't know-"

Apparently the colonel had no patience. "So you're on their side then? Too bad for you."

I started running towards Envy and Rose as I saw Mustang raising his arm. Just as he snapped, I clapped my hands together, and created my own wall in front of the two. It was much thicker and more sturdy than anything Envy had been able to create, so it took the blast from Mustang's attack like it was nothing.

The colonel turned to me. "Fullmetal, what are you doing?"

"If you'd let one of us talk for just a second, you might figure out what's going on!" I spat at him.

"There's no time for talking when the enemy is right there!"

"He's not the enemy!" my little brother yelled. "Envy's human now! He's not with the homunculi anymore!"

"Human?" Mustang said the word like he was tasting it, trying to understand what it meant. After a moment of deliberation, Mustang lifted his hand. "People don't change. If he's human, that means he's vulnerable." He snapped again, this time using his uncanny ability to pinpoint his aim, sending the flames around my wall before I had the chance to react.

Somehow, Envy managed to pull up a wall beside himself quick enough that the flames couldn't reach him. This wall didn't collapse and was even taller than mine. It was too good to be Envy's work, I soon realized.

"Envy, what have you gotten yourself into?" Dante's voice came from the other side of the field.

My entire body tensed. The fact that she was in my home town frightened me. She could annihilate the entire town of Resembool without even working up a sweat.

Envy looked helpless. He had fallen on to his ass and was staring at Dante with a mix of fear and sadness. Seeing her was exactly what he didn't need at the moment.

Dante looked at Mustang. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Colonel. I can't let you kill this one." Her eyes went back to Envy, the sardonic smile still plastered on her face. "I see you've embraced the human lifestyle. Look at you, you look like a real man."

Envy had no reply for his old master.

Rose did, however. She stood up and started walking towards Dante. "I don't know who you are, or who you think you are, but you need to leave him alone."

The ex-homunculus reached out to stop her, but couldn't find the strength to stand and catch her. "Rose, don't go near her!"

Dante chuckled. "How comical. You care about her, don't you?" She pressed her palms together, sending a rock formation in the shape of a snake towards Rose. It picked up the girl in its mouth and brought her to Dante's feet.

"Rose!" Envy found a hidden reserve of strength, got to his feet, and ran at Dante. I thought he was going to get close enough to use alchemy, but once he was in range, he kept running.

Apparently Dante had figured the same thing I did, because she looked equally surprised as myself when Envy ran up and punched her square in the jaw. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, skidding a few feet back. Envy bent down next to Rose to see if she was okay. This left him wide open. I saw Dante begin to transmute some sort of blade from where she sat.

"Envy!" I heard myself yelling. "Watch out!"

He turned just in time to see what was happening. Dante finished her blade and ran at the two in front of her. Envy didn't have much time to react so he simply turned and sat with his hand out, a protective gesture. Seeing him in that position, in combination with the familiar way Rose had braided his hair that morning, gave me a hard case of deja vu. I saw myself in him. I had sat exactly like that in front of Winry protecting her from Scar once upon a time. I knew how useless it had been at the time, but I also remembered that it was the only thing I could think to do. Envy must have realized offering his life was the only way to protect Rose's. And the fact that he was willing to make that sacrifice spoke volumes to the kind of person he'd become.

I was suddenly very thankful that Winry had decided to go to the neighboring town with Pinako for some special ingredient for dinner.

Dante stopped short. Her look of surprise slowly faded into a dark smirk. "So... You've got a girl now, you've taken up alchemy, without using a transmutation circle... And you even braid your hair. You're so much like your half brother already-" She grabbed Envy's wrist. "-so why don't I help you get one step closer to being exactly like him?"

Things started to move in slow motion, most likely because my brain had put together what was going to happen. Dante lifted her make-shift blade high in the air and began the downward swing. Rose screamed, trying to pull Envy out of the way, unable to move him because of Dante's grip. Realization of what was going to happen to him spread over Envy's face. He, too, tried to free himself, to no avail. Even though I knew it would be of no help, I started to run towards them, a sad attempt to stop the carnage that was about to occur.

The blade connected with Envy's right arm, and continued in it's arc as if nothing impeded its journey. It sliced right through the limb, removing the arm all the way up to the shoulder.

Exactly the amount of arm I was missing.

Blood started pouring from the fresh wound. Envy watched as Dante threw his arm on the ground next to her, then turned his head slowly to the stump that was left. He gazed at it for a moment before a scream of agony ripped up his throat.

"Envy!" Rose's voice echoed off the mountains around us.

Time went back to moving at regular speed. I clapped and slammed my hands on the ground, sending a rock fist at Dante's face. She responded with one of her signature serpents, smashing it into my formation. I turned to the colonel, who had been frozen where he stood with his subordinate. "Colonel! I could use some help here! If you haven't figured it out yet, that woman is the enemy here!"

He shook his head and regained control of himself. "Right."

Multiple explosions happened around Dante. She covered her face in defense against the heat and flying rock bits.

I transmuted my automail into a blade and swung at her. She was able to move enough out of the way so that I only grazed her arm. I tried to recover quickly and swing again, but she punched me in the back, right in the perfect spot, knocking the wind out of me. I fell, gasping for air, just as a dome of earth closed over me.

"Damn it!" I choked out between gasps. After I regained my breath, I was able to think clearly enough to break down the dome over me.

Dante was nowhere to be found.

I turned to Mustang. "Did you see where she went?"

He shook his head and he ran up to me. "No. I was trapped under the same thing you were."'

"Ah hell."

"Envy, hold on!" Rose pleaded.

My legs took me over to them. Rose was holding Envy somewhat in a sitting position. He was leaning back on her, his head resting on her shoulder. His eyes were shut tight in pain, his left hand gripping where his arm used to be. The guy's blood was all over the ground around him and Rose's hands and shirt.

"We need to get him bandaged up. He'll die if we don't get the bleeding stopped soon," I said. "Al! Come help me get him inside!"

My brother ran over to us and took Envy from Rose's lap. He practically sprinted back into the house.

I helped Rose to her feet. "Are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me. He's the one who's in danger." She began walking towards the house. "I have to go bandage him up. Winry's not here to do it."

Once again, I was grateful that Winry had been absent.