Just a note before we get on with the story; I just noticed a review from someone called Sakura Siffer that I didn't see before (people who aren't interested in this, just skip to where the actual story starts).
First of all, I'm so glad you've enjoyed the story! Thank you!
To answer your question; I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to describe, but I think it's the translator. Chapter one did initially have severe formatting issues, which you'll notice I did mention in the A/N. But I edited that chapter when I found the fix – and since then, every chapter's looked totally fine to me (I've made it a habit to go back and look through it after posting, just in case).

The only thing I can think of on my end is that some of my paragraph breaks are a little messy, just because I'm used to writing full length novels – which are very different. But I don't think that's what you mean.

I think it's more likely that either your translator's messing with the formatting again, or it's something just lost in translation. If other people start having issues with it too though, I will look into it. I just don't speak Ukrainian, so there's really not much I can do at the moment because I don't know if it's an issue for everyone or just something caused by the translation.
Wish I could be more help! If there's anyone out there who speaks Ukrainian who knows what that might be, feel free to hit me up.

. . .

Ed guided Envy down each step; despite the fact that Envy was fairly certain he didn't need the help. Still, he had experienced enough bad falls recently to humble him, and so he chose not to slap Ed's helpful hands away.
This time.

The Flame Alchemist, he noticed, was watching every step. He was doing his best to look like he was just curious, but Envy wasn't stupid. He saw the constant calculations running behind those dark eyes. How far was it to the nearest door? Could the Hawk's Eye reach her weapon before Envy could reach them? If Envy suddenly turned and attacked Edward or Alphonse, would they be able to stop it?
He couldn't really blame him. Months ago, he would have been running the same calculations - from a very different angle. But he watched, for no other reason than that he was curious what conclusion Roy Mustang would come to.

Satisfaction crept into Roy's eyes, and Envy knew why. He thought he was too weak to try anything. He wasn't wrong.

While this relieved the edges of Envy's fear, it didn't completely erase it. He was all too aware of the gloves on Roy's hands. He joined the table anyway, sitting as far away as he could get. If Roy decided to go back on their truce, he at least wanted a chance.
Ed cast him a nervous, furtive glance. Then, they sat in silence for several minutes.

Roy cleared his throat, about to start speaking; then Envy beat him to it.
"So, what do you want with little old me?"
Ed and Al shared a glance between themselves. While Envy hadn't completely reverted, his attitude had definitely changed once Roy was in the room. He had started to clam up again, and just a hint of that feral animal trapped in a cage had returned to his eyes. They shared a silent agreement; to monitor the situation, and step in if things got out of hand.

Roy, to his credit, made a visible effort not to act disgusted by Envy's presence, or the way he had addressed him. Instead, he met him with a calm and level tone; the one he used for dignitaries he didn't quite like.
"All I'm asking for is your cooperation. Nothing more, nothing less. Do you agree with our decision, that the woman you once called 'Master' is now a threat?"
He crossed his arms. "Yeah, I do."
"And the Elric brothers have told me that she's a threat to you, too. So I'm going to assume that we're all on the same side; at least for now. You don't want to get hurt any more than we do. Can we count on you to work with us, not against us?"

Envy scoffed, looking away.
"Well, aren't you clever? It sounds like you've already got me pegged. So why are you even asking? Hell, what do you need me for at all, if you're this perceptive?"
"It's not so much a matter of 'needing you'; although I'm sure, having worked for her in the past, you have all kinds of valuable information that could help us stop her."
He raised a hand just as Envy moved to speak again, silencing him.
"I'm not going to ask you for that right now. I know you don't trust me, and for good reason."
"Good reason?" Envy asked, amused.
"From your perspective, yes. We've been enemies for a long time. Simple as that. The reason I wanted you here is because I'm extending you the courtesy of being kept in the loop. This situation affects you as much as it does us, so I think you deserve to know what's happening. Consider it an olive branch."

Envy, it seemed, didn't quite know how to digest this development. He withdrew into himself, only giving a curt nod in response. Mustang met his eyes, and offered him a smile; one that Ed recognised immediately. It was the cordial, friendly expression that Roy used when he was trying to be diplomatic. It never quite reached his eyes, but it was enough to get the point across.
"How about we start with your name," Roy said, "so I don't have to keep calling you 'The Homunculus' this entire time? I imagine that must feel quite demeaning."
"Envy," he bit out.
"Envy. I'll be sure to commit that to memory." He addressed the group. "Now that everyone's present, we should get to the most important matter at hand; this woman. What does she want with you boys?"

Al cringed; unsure how to handle the question now that he was privy to information Ed wasn't. He decided to stick to what they both knew; but he didn't miss Roy's inquisitive gaze as it settled on him, and he had to wonder if he had caught the flinch.
"She wants to use us to create another Philosopher's Stone for her," he said. "Apparently she's been hunting down alchemists for decades now."
"Another? So it is real, then." Roy said. Ed clenched his fists.
"I had to use the prototype during the war," Roy clarified. "The red stones, I believe they're called. I'm sure Doctor Marcoh told you that story already. But I had no idea anyone had successfully created a complete stone."

Ed recognised, with a dull horror, the contemplation in Roy's expression. It both scared him and made him feel a little better; after all, if Roy too was tempted by the Stone's power, that meant he and Al weren't just weak.
The fear came from the fact that Ed knew precisely why Roy might want the Stone. And he already knew it wouldn't be enough. He had to trust that the Colonel was strong enough to resist the fantasy, where ten and eleven year old boys hadn't been.

"It's real, alright," Ed said. "And you have to kill thousands of human beings to make it work."

Roy's face drained of colour. Next to him, Hawkeye made a strangled sound.
"You can't be serious."
"I am. That's the difference between the red stones and the final product. To get from one to the other, the final ingredient is human souls." He chuckled darkly, resting his face in his hand as he was struck by the memory of the day he had first discovered this himself.
"One hell of a recipe, right?"
"That's why we didn't use it," Al said. "That's why Brother gave up his alchemy instead. It wasn't worth the cost."

Roy's relief at Al's words was palpable. "Thank god, you finally told him. I was about to do it myself."
Al frowned, turning to Ed. "Wait, how long did he know?"
"Doesn't matter," Ed stuttered out, flushing. "What matters is that everyone knows now! We're all caught up."
Al didn't miss the slight rise in Ed's tone; he threw him a withering glare. Roy stepped in before it could turn into a full-scale argument.
"You say she's been hunting alchemists for 'decades'?" he asked. Envy nodded from the other end of the table, where his posture had finally started to relax.
"Her Stone ran dry. She needs a new one, or she's going to die."
"Does that mean there have been other victims; before the Elrics got involved?"
Envy hesitated. The impulse to shut his mouth had returned, for just a second. Just long enough to trip him up, and to make Roy's expression infinitely more guarded.

"Yes," he choked out, past the part of him that was begging him not to say anything. "At least five or six; possibly more. Those are just the ones I know about."
Roy's eyes were still narrowed, from the brief moment of hesitation; but it was clear that he at least believed his answer.
"If I wanted to go back to her, I would have by now," Envy said. "I have my powers back; there's no reason for me to stay here. Surely the fact that I'm sitting at this table, rather than cutting your throat, should count for something."
For a moment, Roy didn't speak.
"We'll see. For now, we're still enemies; don't get it twisted. But I acknowledge that it's sometimes necessary to work with your foes to serve a greater purpose."
"I wouldn't expect anything less, Colonel Flamethrower."

It was at that moment that he remembered; he had murdered Roy's best friend. He wondered how he would react if he knew.
An image of himself burning to a crisp floated to his mind.
Nope.

"So, what now?" Ed asked, dragging him from his thoughts.
"We have to find this woman, before she causes any more damage. If she's done this much in pursuit of you boys, who knows how far she's willing to go?"
"We still don't know how deep this goes," Ed pointed out. "For all we know, half the military could be in on it. It might not be safe to get them involved."
Envy choked on his own saliva. Every set of eyes turned to him.

"I'm guessing he's not wrong," Roy said.
"No, he's not. Whatever you do, don't get the military involved."
"You wanna tell us what you know, Envy?"
"It goes deeper than you thought. You remember I mentioned Pride before?"
"Yeah; you said he's the only one who's allowed to have his own… item."
"That's not all he's allowed to have," Envy muttered.
"Spit it out," Roy commanded. Envy gulped.

"The Fuhrer of this country is a homunculus."

The entire room felt as if it had frozen over. This had even managed to knock Roy off his guard; his shield of diplomacy had completely dropped, leaving pure shock in its wake. Hawkeye's jaw had dropped slightly. Ed had leapt out of his chair.

"The-" Al paused, stumbling over his words. "The leader of our country? Fuhrer Bradley? That guy?"
"Can't be," Roy mumbled, numb. Envy sighed, exhausted.
"What do you think the Ishbalan war was for, Colonel? Did you really think Bradley was genuinely worried about a bunch of angry civilians? Those women and children he had you burn – did you really convince yourself he thought they were a threat?"
That seemed to be too much for Roy. He got up and left the table, the door shutting a moment later. Hawkeye just barely got herself under control enough to speak.
"Perhaps we should adjourn for a short break."
Envy shrugged. The Elrics were silent. After a moment, Hawkeye got up to check on Roy.

"I should've said something earlier," Envy said, unprompted. "I know that."
"We understand why you didn't," Ed sighed. "Even ignoring… our history, how the hell do you drop that bomb? I wouldn't know where to start."
"What are we going to do?" Al asked. The tone of his voice broke Ed; it was as hopeless as when he had once asked the same question in a much smaller voice, sitting in front of a gravestone. "I knew this had to go deep, but the Fuhrer? He's gotta be under 24/7 protection! How do we stop him?"

"We could try to prove it," Envy suggested. "Figure the entire country would turn on him pretty quickly if they knew the truth. But most people don't even know what a homunculus is, let alone believe we exist, so I don't know how we'd do that."
"You might be onto something," Ed said.
"Really? You think so?"
"Yeah." Ed sounded like he was surprised by this. "Maybe not prove that he's a homunculus – you're right, most people wouldn't even know what that meant. Besides," he added, casting a hint of warmth Envy's way, "If there's one thing we've learned about your kind, it's that you're not inherently evil. But if we could prove to everyone in the country that he's not doing what's best for the people, that he has ulterior motives…"

"Like we did with Father Cornello," Al said. "The people of Liore turned on him straight away."
"That won't work."
Everyone looked up at Roy's voice. He was standing in the doorway; he still looked like he might throw up at any moment, but he wasn't about to set anything on fire – which made Envy feel much safer.
"Why not?" Ed asked.
"Did you ever hear about what happened to Liore? They had a civil war. It was far from the united rebellion you're hoping for."
"Yeah, but that was my fault," Envy admitted, trying to hold back his inner joy at his memories of the chaos he'd caused. Roy stared at him.

"Of course it was," he finally said. "I shouldn't be surprised."
"I was following orders," Envy bit out. "Just like you were when you killed all those women and children."
"Hey," Hawkeye warned, "that's uncalled for." But Roy raised his hand, speaking through gritted teeth.
"No, he has a point. I would be a hypocrite if I tried to blame him for that." He turned back to Envy.
"Your fault?"
"Dante had planned on using Cornello to accomplish her goals. She wanted him to start a war."
"Lives for the Stone."
"Right. So when that fell through, she had me pose as him to continue the plan. It's a trick she's used a lot; in fact, it's exactly how she was planning to have you killed."

Roy nodded, though he had paled again, and moved closer to the table. "You mentioned that the last time I saw you. I guess I convinced myself you were only saying it to save your own life."
"Well, you're not entirely wrong," he admitted. "But it's true. Pride was going to order you up North, then I was going to pose as an enemy soldier and shoot you. Of course, the fact that I defected threw a spanner in the works; that's probably the only reason the order hasn't come through yet. But it won't save you forever, I just bought you more time. She has other homunculi she can go to. Lust can make her wounds look like bullet holes. Hell, even Pride; no one's going to argue with the Fuhrer if he says you were a traitor."
"But I don't understand; why are they after me? I know I've perhaps voiced my ambitions a little too loudly in the past," Roy said, glancing at Hawkeye, who nodded, "but if the Fuhrer's a homunculus that doesn't matter. If the whole system's rigged, why do they need to worry about outside threats?"
"They're not worried about you becoming Fuhrer," Envy said without thinking. "They can stop that easily. They don't like you looking into the Hughes case."

Everyone went silent. Envy realised his mistake too late.

"Why do they care about me looking into the Hughes case?" Roy asked. On the outside, he looked as calm as ever; but a tremble had found its way into his voice, revealing all too quickly what his face wouldn't.
"Dunno," Envy said, trying to undo his hideous error. But it was too late; Roy's mind had already started working.
"Unless… Hughes was looking into the corruption at the military. I know that much. And now that we know what we do… it was you! Your master had him assassinated before he could discover the truth!"
Roy's voice had risen to a shout. Envy was too terrified to speak; he had no idea how much Roy had figured out, and he didn't want to out his own involvement if Roy wasn't aware of it. He knew that the moment Roy found out he had been the one to pull the trigger, his life would end. Nothing the Elric brothers did – if they even attempted it – would preserve him.

Roy slammed his hands down on the table, startling Envy.
"Answer me! That's it, isn't it? I've been looking for his murderer since it happened; it's her!"
His heart racing, Envy glanced over at the Elrics. Ed had withdrawn almost completely inside himself, leaning forwards as if cradling a newborn. Al looked like he was close to tears.
A weight came down on his chest.
"Bingo, Flame Alchemist." was all Envy could choke out before he left, heading for his room. He couldn't take this right now. The fear was so thick it was choking him.

Once he had escaped from the chaos downstairs, he flopped unceremoniously onto the bed. He sighed, staring at the ceiling.
He wasn't sure what had changed when the topic of Maes Hughes' murder had come up. He understood of course why everyone else was upset; he had been a close friend of theirs, and now he was gone.
He couldn't understand why suddenly, it was bothering him so much.

Until today, his only discernible emotions towards the murder had been satisfaction with his skill, and mild glee. When he was in the Colonel's presence, there was sometimes that deep rooted fear that he could be caught out; he did not fear many things, but Roy Mustang's flames were certainly one of the few he did.
What he was experiencing now was nothing like any of them. It was a dull, heavy weight that tugged at him. It was the look he had seen on Alphonse's face. It was the pure, unadulterated rage in the Colonel's eyes, burning brighter and hotter than any flame he could conjure. Rage that rivalled Envy's own.
Rage born from hurt.

He had hoped that by removing himself from the situation, he would be able to escape the emotions. But it hadn't worked out that way; rather, it felt as if the emotions of everyone around him had followed him here. It felt like they were suffocating him, and he didn't know how to take a breath.

He hadn't been expecting anyone to follow him; he leapt up when the door opened, convinced for a single moment that the Colonel was here to end his miserable existence.
It was the Rockbell girl. That wasn't much better, but at least he wasn't about to be set on fire; though, he had no idea why she was here. He decided to ignore her; maybe she would go away if he made it clear he wasn't in the mood to entertain.

No such luck. He heard her voice a moment later; timid, but determined.
"Are you alright?"
"I am so not talking about this to you."
"Why not?" And now, he detected a touch of confidence in her tone.
Okay, so the Elrics had told her he was an enemy; they hadn't told her he was a literal monster who was responsible for the deaths of thousands. He knew enough humans to recognise that she would not be behaving so boldly if she knew the truth.

"Because I guarantee you wouldn't understand any of it," he said. "Now go away. Go maintain the Pipsqueak's arm, or whatever it is you do."
"What if I don't want to?"
He restrained the childish urge to throw something at her; partially because he knew she was important to the Elrics, and partially because he was still a little afraid of her after their last encounter. Still, he couldn't understand why she wouldn't leave him alone.

"Why are you here?" he eventually spat out, sitting up and throwing his most withering glare at her. She shrank back, her eyes widening a little; but it was far from the 'running and screaming' response he would've been able to elicit with that face a few months ago.
Why had he lost his touch? Because she had seen him vulnerable? Or because he had gotten soft?

He groaned, turning away from her to face the wall. He knew it was childish; but if he couldn't get away from her, he was going to make damn sure she knew he didn't want her there.
"I'm here because you looked upset." It was her voice again. "I wanted to see if I could help."
"Well, you can't."
"You know, not everyone's out to get you."
"No, but everyone's out to annoy me, from the looks of things. I came up here to get away from everyone."

He felt like he was trying to explain basic alchemic concepts to a child. He shouldn't have to explain that if he ran away from everyone, it was probably because he wanted to be alone.
Eventually, Winry sighed; and he felt her weight lift from the bed.
"Okay. Well, if you change your mind, come and find me."
"I won't."
She left. And Envy realised that now he was alone, he didn't feel better – he just felt hollow.

. . .

He wasn't surprised that no one else went looking for him. What did surprise him was how much that bothered him.

It was like an itch; a bug, crawling just beneath his skin. One that he couldn't quite see to swat away. He had always dealt with his problems by running off on his own; why wasn't that working now? Why did he regret turning the Rockbell girl away?
He had grown too used to Alphonse; that was it. The boy was incessantly hanging over him, asking if he was okay or if he needed anything. He had gotten used to that; and now, he didn't know how to handle being alone anymore. He should've known it would make him weak.
That was all it was.

But as much as he told himself that, it wasn't really convincing him. It certainly wasn't doing anything to fill the hole in his chest; the one that was making it hard to breathe or think, the one that was all too reminiscent of the sword he had taken through the chest.
His thoughts were getting jumbled. His emotions had turned into an unreadable swirl, like water going down a drain.
Darkness took him.

"I quite enjoy this one," Mary said, pointing to the poster on the wall. Envy scoffed with a smirk.
"Miss Sarah Sampson? Is that so?"
"What's so funny about it?"
"It just sounds very.. feminine."

She slapped him; but it was a soft, playful gesture; devoid of true malice.
"It's a tragedy, I will have you know."
"Oh, that does sound like something I'd enjoy."
"Honestly," she laughed. "You're hopeless, Envy."
"You don't seem to think so."

She turned – and squealed.
"It's a fair! Envy, the fair's in town! Come with me, would you?"
"Ugh, must I?"
But he smiled, seeing her excitement. The way it made her bounce on the balls of her feet, as if she was one of those ridiculous new 'rocking horses'. There was something cute about it. He watched as she darted around the various attractions, oohing and ahhing. Finally, she stopped at one in particular.

"The rope dancers," she squealed. "Oh, they're so daring!"
He looked up, following her gaze. It was nothing special; a simple tightrope act. The poor man looked as if he could fall if the slightest breeze befell him. Envy couldn't help but scoff.
"What?" Mary asked.
"It's but a tightrope," he clarified. "I could do that."
"Could you really?"
He leaned towards her, his smile growing.
"Do you doubt me?"
"I would rather like to see it proven."
"Very well; as you wish."

With that, he left her; following the line of the rope to where it began, even as her worried cries echoed behind him. He circled around to the ladder, and was on the rooftop in seconds.
There, he dropped to his knees. He rested his cheek in his palm and waited, lazily, as the man finished his walk.
The performer's face twisted in confusion as he saw Envy. "Excuse me, Sir. But I don't believe spectators are meant to be up here-"
"Not a spectator," he said, getting up. "Oh – apologies. I believe I'm about to upstage you."

He stepped onto the rope – and almost fell off immediately. He had been practicing his acrobatics; but balancing on a rope, as it turned out, was harder than he had imagined from the ground.
Somewhere below him, he heard Mary shriek.
He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and focused his attention on finding his centre. He couldn't feel through his shoes, damnit!
Taking a huge risk, he reached down as quickly as he could and yanked them off his feet. The movement very nearly toppled him; and the sound of them clattering to the ground brought his nerves to a fever pitch despite his immortality.

Now with bare feet, he felt his way to a more comfortable position. He waited until he had reached footing that felt stable enough; then he took one, tentative step forwards.
He refused to let his fear get the better of him. He was a homunculus, damnit – not some weak human! He practiced the technique he had found, of feeling his way to stable footing, and took a few more steps.
Once he was relatively sure he had the technique down, he dared to open his eyes.

He really was very high off the ground, or else his mind was playing a cruel game; the people below looked miles beneath him. Far from frightening him though, it made a sort of pride rise in his chest.
Here he was, in his rightful place – above them all.
The smirk returned to his lips, and his confidence growing, he decided to show off. He fell forwards into a trick he had practiced many times, on firmer ground – a handstand.
It was hard, and he couldn't hold it for long; it was mere seconds before he found himself falling to hang by his hands from the rope. But it had gotten the crowd cheering, as if they had never seen anything like it. And better still, Mary was clapping. For him.
He swung himself back around the rope until he was on top again, resting on his knees. Then, slowly, he pulled himself back to his feet and finished the walk.

It had been a simple enough manoeuvre; but by the time he finished, the crowd was screaming their approval. He climbed back down the ladder, and brushed a stray hair out of his face as he started looking for Mary.
She found him first; running to him, as if he were a lifeline.
"I shouldn't believe it, if I had not seen it for myself! Envy, that was astounding!"
"It's not that hard," he said. "You just have to adjust your centre of gravity to the limited space you have."
He did not tell her that had he fallen, unlike a normal man, he need not have feared death or injury.

Her eyes sparkled, and she pulled him close. He tensed for just a moment, before relaxing into it.
"And you did that for me… Oh, that was wondrous! You're wondrous! May you never leave me, Envy Doe."
"May I never," he said, laughing.

His eyes opened; and for a brief, blissful moment, he had forgotten where he was.

Then the memories struck him; and with them, the emotions.

His gaze drifted over to the window, and he sighed. His eyes slid shut again, as if by some miracle he could return to the dream world he had just escaped from.
"May I never," he muttered.

. . .

This chapter's a little shorter, and I know that's weird – but this felt like the natural end point. I didn't want to end up resorting to filler just to hit a word count.

Allow me to draw back the curtain for a moment: This is also the scariest chapter for me to write so far, because this easily has the most original content of any chapter in this story thus far. When you're writing original content, you don't get to hide behind established characters and plot points – you have to stand on your writing ability alone. And that's scary.

Also because I'm really starting to try to delve into who Envy is, and why he is, and how he's developed to the point he's at in the show proper. And this is the part I was so worried about fucking up. This is where it might all go to hell.
I'm scared; be honest with your opinions, but please also be kind.

Oh and for anyone who's worried about this; Mary is not going to end up being a cringey self-insert. Don't worry. At least, not intentionally. I introduced her to serve a purpose; hopefully that purpose will become clear as the story continues.

I'll see you guys next time! Bye!