i will set my soul on fire, what have i become? i'm sorry.
|-/
•••
"Okay, so what's our game plan here?" Mustang asked the group, who had joined into a circle by then.
"What we've been doing since we got here," Iris stated bluntly.
"Which is what, exactly?"
"We keep running into a bunch of setbacks," Ed grunted, clearly frustrated. "Trouble's come to us, not the other way around."
"He's right."
"Well we can't just wait for the enemy to come to us," the colonel interjected.
"Anybody hear that?" Jerso asks, looking up and around. From above, pipes shift and groan. Voices are muffled through the ceiling. Before Iris has a chance to get a good reading on the qi, the ceiling collapses and two bodies tumble out: one a dreaded monster, the other a tiny Xing warrior.
"Mei?"
"Envy?"
Once realizing where she was, the alkahestrist runs towards her allies, Scar in particular. He's not happy to see her as she is to him.
He growls, "You didn't go back to Xing with this monster to glean his immortality?!"
"I'm sorry!" She continues to explain to him, trying to simmer down his anger.
At the sight of the two of them, Mustang, for one, looks stunned. "I guess I stand corrected. Trouble really does have a tracker on you two kids."
"Well, well, well." Envy stood up off the ground where they fell. They stretched with over-exaggeration as the entire group watched, their eyes glued on the homunculus. "Feels nice, having a more desirable vessel." They licked their lips, absolutely giddy. "Whatever those ugly creatures were, they sure did help."
"They're right," Iris confirmed. "Their soul count definitely grew since they were a little lizard."
The Ishvalan's facial muscles grew tense. "All of this could have been avoided if you had left for Xing!"
"Oh, don't blame her, you brute," Envy called, laughing. "It's all my fault. I'm very persuasive." A whistle let out of their mouth and they smiled a villainous smile. "Looks like we've got a sturdy team here. Some hideous chimeras, Fullmetal, See-All, Flame... even working together with the state alchemist killer Scar! How ironic, huh? Don't you all just wanna kill each other? Your history is sooo bleak! Or am I reading the room wrong?"
Mustang was the first to confront them, stepping forward with a gloved hand at his side, ready to snap at any moment. "No mind games, Envy. We don't have the time."
The homunculus giggled. "I'm just a talkative type!"
"Talkative, eh? Would you care to tell me something, then?"
Iris's fists curl up into balls and she leans towards them with anticipation. She already knew the Colonels' burning question. After all this time, would she finally get to know?
"Who killed Maes Hughes? The truth, homunculus. Or it will be your tongue."
The monster looked to the floor in silence. After a few moments, low chuckles erupted from their throat until it eventually crescendoed into a large fit of laughter.
"It took you this long?" Envy scoffed in disbelief but then smiled with glee. "I take responsibility for that death, Colonel Mustang. No one else. An easy kill, that's for sure. After all, what kind of pathetic human falls for a trick like this?!"
Crimson sparks emerge from the homunculus' body, starting from their feet and changing their form. The farther the transformation went up, the more Iris could recognize who they were mimicking. In a moment, Gracia Hughes was standing in front of them, crazed eyes darting around, eager to see everyone's reaction.
"To see the life rush away from his eyes... Oh! What a thrill! I'll never tire of it. Such a wonderful-!"
Their sentence stopped there, for Iris had heard enough. With a precise throw, she flung Maes' push knife straight into their forehead. Blood squirted out immediately, and they stumbled back for a second.
Her breaths were ragged but her hands were steady. "Do not make a mockery of him. How dare you boast, as if it was an achievement!"
Envy says nothing but makes sure they all watch as the regenerative abilities take place on their body and they change back to their original shape. The bloodied dagger pushes out of their skin and clatters to the floor. Mustang looks to Hawkeye and they share a glance only they would know the meaning of. He readies his gloves.
"Do not engage any further, you hear me, Iris? None of you, as a matter of fact." Without any more warning, he sets down a line of flames to the homunculus. They all watch as their figure is being burned down. Their screams of agony give Mustang a sick satisfaction. Once Envy's injuries heal, they run out of the white room and into the dark tunnels that are behind the door.
"You won't get far!" the Flame Alchemist yells, immediately sprinting after his culprit. Riza follows suit, never leaving his side.
"This is my fight, too!" Iris declares.
Mustang replies, "Stay back! That's an order!"
"Like I ever listen to you!" The girl starts to run after them, but Edward grabs her by the upper arm tight.
"Hey! We can't be splitting up, Iris!"
"But Roy-!"
"Don't worry about him," Zampano adds in. "Did you see the way Envy scampered off? This won't even be a challenge for a state alchemist with a power like that."
As if on cue, screams of terror and pain are followed by fiery explosions that light up the entryway to the tunnels.
Iris walks over and picks up the push dagger. She wipes the dirty blood onto her shirt, then pockets the weapon. Her grip on it, however, remains. She looks off into the distant darkness of the intricate tunnels that are lit up in flames.
"I know he'll win over Envy. But at what cost? His humanity... I can feel it ebbing away in his qi. Please, we don't have much time. We have to find him."
The entire team seemed to easily understand. Iris headed into the tunnels and they all followed her. The ground was flat at first, but getting further in, pipes of all sizes turned into a ground floor that they had to walk on. There were drop downs that were easy to fall into, and just like before, this was a labyrinth. The fire was a big indication to where they were going since their qi was hard to pinpoint exactly.
Ed notices that Mei seems like she has something to say, so he stops to listen.
"Mr. Mustang seems a little untethered, but I'm sure you can snap him out of it. I don't think any of us are going to be much help, though," she advises, gesturing to herself and the chimeras. "I can track down Father with my qi, and with Iris, you can catch up with us later. But we need to capitalize on this."
Edward nods in agreement. "Sounds like a good plan. We'll see you soon then."
The two new groups part ways. Iris says a brief goodbye but is distracted once again by a scream of anger from Roy followed by another blast of fire.
"This way!" she yells, then races down yet another corridor. Finally, they've found them. Riza is bloodied on her shoulder, and her hair has been let down. Mustang has an infinite hatred swimming in his eyes, which are locked onto the ugly lizard in his hand that is Envy. The homunculus is hanging from their tail by the Colonel's fingers.
"Envy..." he growls from the deepest part of his throat. "What an apt name for you. Surely you'll be jealous of the dead after what I do to you. But don't worry, you'll join them soon."
He readies his other hand to transmute.
"Burn in hell."
His finger moves to slide off his other. But he's quick to still once he hears the safety of a gun click off right next to his head. His body is frozen, but he looks to the left at his lieutenant.
"Give it to me."
He takes a breath and says, "What are you doing? It's done already. Lower your gun."
"If it's as good as dead you'd hand it over. This time I'm asking something of you, sir."
His stiff pose has alchemic sparks growing around him, becoming angrier the longer they remain untransmuted. It's amazingly terrifying to Hawkeye that Roy's pure fury is causing this maelstrom of alchemy.
"This creature is mine," he growls, tightening his grip of Envy.
"Not anymore!" Edward yells, then suddenly appears with Iris and Scar from behind a corridor. He quickly transmutes the floor beneath Mustang. The flat hardened dirt turns into a ragged upward shape, causing him to stumble. He lets go of Envy in the process of trying not to fall.
Ed acts swiftly. In midair, he catches the lizard, then hands it off to Iris. She holds it in both hands as it tries to climb out of her grasp.
"Let me go, girly!" Envy yells, high-pitched and pathetic.
Mustang, on the other side of the transmuted dirt with his lieutenant, holds out his hand, his palm facing upward. His voice is calm, but the dark undertone can't be ignored.
"Oh. Iris, hand me that, would you?"
She holds it close to her as if protective of the creature.
"I... I can't."
He frowns furiously. Through gritted teeth, he asks, "Why is that?"
"You'll never be the same if you do this, Roy."
He takes another step forward.
"I'm already not the same! Ever since Hughes died I've been committed to finding the one who killed him, my best friend. And you have it, right there in your hands, yet you do nothing! Don't you feel the same grief?! Don't you want this vile creature to suffer, like Maes had to?"
"More than anything. More than anything. But what good will it do? Bring me temporary relief for a wound that'll never truly heal! The phantom pains of my heart that ache for Maes won't go away just because I kill the killer."
"It deserves punishment!"
"I know! But you don't deserve the kind of mental torment you'll go through if you do this. I can't let you."
Roy's gloves drip fire and sparks onto the dirt below him. His jaw is tense as he exhales a long breath through his teeth. He shakes his head.
"I don't care what you have to say! Give it to me, before I burn your hand in the process!"
Iris backs away as the sparks grow around Mustang. He raises his hand to snap, and Edward immediately goes in front of her, his back pressed against her chest in protection.
"Resorting to burn her just to get Envy back? Don't you see Colonel? If you do this, you're just another monster!"
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes!" he screams.
"Even hurting your sister?"
From behind, Riza puts a hand on his shoulder.
"This will not help you, Colonel. Not your country, not your friends, not the ones you love. Please stop being so blind to that. This is pure hatred, and I won't let it consume you."
His eyes glisten, desperate to release tears. He holds them back, and a scream rips from his throat instead. He shoots flames into an empty tunnel on his side. Shadows cover half his face from the fire as he breathes heavily in short breaths.
At the heat, the lieutenant steps back. She points her gun at the back of his head again for defense.
"If you do this, it proves flame alchemy has no place in this world but hatred. I'll have to dispose of myself if that is the case. There can be no more flame alchemy if it's not you and I who wield this heavy burden."
He inhales a gasp. Slowly, he turns around. The barrel of her steady gun is right between his eyes.
"I can't have that," he whispers, hanging his head down low. "What kind of madness has this tragedy made me succumb to? Losing sight of what's important, my family, my subordinates, my country... How foolish can one man be?"
Roy looks into Riza's eyes. He studies this moment, her face beautiful and strong, but hurt. The pain he's caused is reflected through her eyes. Carefully, he raises his hand and sets it upon hers, which cradles the deadly weapon. He lowers it slowly to her side. After a moment, she turns the safety back on. Mustang crawls his fingers to hers to hold. The gun clatters to the floor, then so do they.
Iris runs over as soon as they kneel on the ground. She sits to the side of them, Envy cradled in her hands. Mustang looks at the creature with an emotion he can't even place himself. The homunculus, however, has a distinct look of disgust.
"This is unbelievable!" they shout, utterly confused. "Mustang, just moments ago you were fired up and now you're down to your knees? You humans really are so submissive! Too forgiving! I can't make sense of it! Look at how much grief you've caused each other, just in this instance! How could you hope to scrounge up a team together when you have so many differences and grudges? There's no way..."
Edward comes to the group then, squatting down next to Iris to see Envy, troubled and going on a tangent. Scar watches from afar.
"There's no way..." the homunculus repeats several times.
"I think I understand," Edward tells. "You've come just as you are. You can't help it, but you're jealous. You're jealous of us humans."
The truth hangs in the air for a moment as everyone realizes Envy's own sin taking control of itself.
"We're able to band together and put differences aside for the greater good. We lift someone up when they need support, and in turn, they do the same. You can say humans are weak as one, but together, we're unstoppable."
Iris holds the lizard up with one hand and looks into their eyes to make sure they hear what she has to say. "You have no one who truly loves you, not even your Father. I pity you for that. But I'm happy you're jealous of me. That proves I have people worth fighting for, and who will fight for me too." She looks around to her teammates, who are just a fraction of the people she's referring to. Looking back to Ed, she catches him smiling at her.
The alchemist sets the creature down on the floor. They wriggle around like a worm, trying to hold onto the last bit of their life force. They scream curses and threats to them all, but the group simply watches at this shameful sight.
Eventually, the emotional episode ends and they lie on their back, a steady flow of tears pooling their lizard body.
"Filthy humans," the homunculus manages to croak out. "I can't bear to have this envy coursing through me anymore. It's no use."
With their stubby arms, Envy reaches inside their mouth. Farther and farther they reach until they find their core. With the strength they have left, they pull out the Philosopher's Stone. It shines with blood.
Almost immediately does the homunculus Envy start to disintegrate. The stone suffers the same fate, no souls left to power it. All everyone does is watch.
Moments pass, and soon enough the group is left with a pile of dust and a whisper in the tunnel wind saying, "Goodbye, alchemists."
