Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Legend of Korra

Mustang

He headed down the hall of the Third Lab with Hawkeye, searching for the entrance to the staircase they'd found when Barry had led them here. He found it without trouble, and they descended the stairs.

He remembered there being two passages, but oddly enough, one of them was blocked with rubble. No matter, they both led to the same destination. They descended swiftly and followed the hallway with hollow steps. He could hear the sounds of fighting echoing distantly.

After a few more staircases and several minutes later, they came upon the doorway to the room he'd killed Lust in. It too was blocked, this time by an alchemic wall. He could hear Fullmetal and the others on the other side, battling whatever enemy they were facing. There was no other option, he was going to have to blow his way through the wall.

"Stand back." He instructed Hawkeye, and then he snapped.

The wall exploded in front of him. As the dust settled, the scene before him was the last thing he'd expected to see.

There were three chimeras, Scar, and Edward, all fighting ugly white monsters. They were throwing everything they had at them, but none of their blows seemed to do any significant damage. He shouted out to announce his arrival.

"Trouble sure does seem to follow you around, eh, Fullmetal?"

"What are these things?" Hawkeye asked in astonishment. She raised her pistol and took aim.

"Save your ammo! Bullets don't even phase them!" Fullmetal shouted to her.

"Homunculi? No, they're not healing themselves." Roy pondered. But they won't die. They must be powered by Philosopher's Stones. As he gazed around the room he realized they were vastly outnumbered, and he could see the group had been fighting for a while. They were all struggling to catch their breath.

He flung his arm out and snapped. Fire raged from his fingers around the room, engulfing all the undead soldiers. They screamed as they burned, and as the fire dissipated, their bodies disintegrated into nothing but ash.

"Where's he been this whole time?" One of the chimeras yelled in annoyance.

"Let's go, we need to find that bastard!" Ed instructed as he moved towards the now-clear door on the opposite side of the room. An explosion in the ceiling stopped him though, and they all looked up to watch as the Xingese girl dropped from the hole, followed by Envy.

Scar was livid. "You fool! Why didn't you go back to your country?"

Mei ran over to him with tears in her eyes. "I just… I thought…"

"Don't cry, it's all right." Scar replied, but his voice still carried the same angry tone.

"Ugh. You whining humans make me sick to my stomach." Envy scoffed. He surveyed the group with a sneer. "So, we've got the Fullmetal Alchemist and the Flame Alchemist. And Scar's here, too. Who wants the pleasure of being first to die?" He cracked his knuckles as he surveyed them.

"You're Envy, correct? You're the one who can change his appearance at will?" Roy asked stiffly. Here was another opportunity, another homunculus to ask. "I want you to answer a question, and I want the truth, homunculus. I want you to tell me who killed Maes Hughes."

Envy glared at him. "Maria Ross did. Isn't that why you burned her to death?"

"Shut up!" He barked. "I know she didn't kill him."

"What? You mean you scorched an innocent girl? It must have been fun telling her parents!"

He could feel his rage burning. He tried valiantly to control it. "Quit running your mouth! I'm sick of you homunculi giving me the run around when I ask this question. Now answer, or I'll burn it out of you, you scum!"

Envy's gaze pierced his, and it was full of wrath. But it suddenly changed to mirth as he began laughing uncontrollably. "Congratulations, Colonel, you've finally found your culprit!"

Roy hid his expression. He was still angry, but he doubted the truth to what Envy was claiming. He needed undeniable proof before he acted.

"You're saying you killed him? I doubt a moron like you could pull off something like that."

Envy stopped laughing as red alchemic energy began sparking from his body and he morphed his appearance. "Oh, really? Who's the real moron here? Because I don't think it's me!" He finished transforming, and Roy's heart stopped as the double of Hughes' wife, Gracia, stood before him.

Envy was laughing again. "I prefer to use words like 'moron' for people who fall for a cheap trick like this! Ha! You should see your face! That was the same look on Hughes' face as his own wife shot him!"

Roy felt his anger come back with a vengeance. Here was his undeniable proof he'd needed.

"Shut up! You were stupid enough to confess and even more stupid to boast. Your words are fuel on your funeral pyre! I think I'll begin by burning out your tongue! The rest of you, stay back, this one is mine and mine alone!" And with that, he snapped. He sent flames into Envy's mouth and scorched his tongue.

The homunculus screeched in pain and fell to his knees as he regenerated himself. Fullmetal and the rest walked past the writhing homunculus through the door, leaving him and Hawkeye behind with Envy. Fullmetal shot Roy a concerned look before he disappeared down the corridor.

"You've been dedicated in your search for Hughes' killer. You're a good friend to the end! Out of respect of your quest for vengeance, I'll give you the fight you're looking for!" Envy spat as he morphed himself in a giant green monster. Extra limbs sprouted from his sides, and as he roared, human heads sprouted from his neck. Roy didn't even flinch at the new form, he snapped again and aimed for Envy's eyes.

Envy screamed again. He lost his footing and collapsed onto his stomach.

"How does it feel to have the fluid in your eyes boil? I'd imagine it hurts quite a bit." He sneered. His vision was turning red with anger. He snapped yet again, burning Envy's entire body. The monster squealed as his skin was seared. "Stand up, you monster! Regenerate yourself! You'll suffer a thousand deaths before I'm through with you!" And he meant every word.

Envy's eyes widened. He swung his tail around and broke the wall Al had transmuted all those months ago, sending large chunks flying toward him. He raised his hands to protect himself, and when he looked back, Envy was escaping down the hall inside the door.

"You coward!" He bellowed as he ran to pursue. "Stay here, Lieutenant! I'll deal with him myself!"

He found the hallways to be a maze, with multiple different corridors branching down and reconnecting with others. This place was a labyrinth. He heard footsteps behind him and turned, fingers poised to snap.

He was startled to see his best friend, Maes Hughes, staring back at him.

"Hey Roy. What's up?" Maes' voice leered, then he grinned and rushed him.

He snapped without hesitation, incinerating his friend. Maes screamed as he morphed back into Envy and his body burned.

"What's wrong with you? You'd incinerate your own friend?" Envy screeched in agony.

"Maes is dead, thanks to you. And you dare to invoke his image!" He snapped again, sending a fireball to blow Envy forcefully down the hall.

Still in the process of regenerating, Envy charged him, but he snapped again and boiled his eyeballs from their sockets. Envy fell and squirmed in pain, twisting in agony with his hands covering his eyes.

He felt no sympathy at he watched the homunculus writhe in torment. He could feel his wrath pulsing through his entire body. He snapped again, burning Envy relentlessly, and he found himself relishing in sound of his screams. Envy somehow managed to stand and ran to a ledge, then jumped down to the lower level of the labyrinth.

Cursing, Roy ran over to the ledge, but he couldn't see anything below. It was too far for him to jump. He cast around, assessing his options. Not seeing any, he tried a few hallways before he found a spiraling staircase. He hurried down, eager to finally avenge his friend, once and for all. The staircase ended and he wandered the halls cautiously, prepared for the possibility of an ambush. He heard gunshots and rushed towards the sounds.

He heard Envy shout, "I'm going to throw you at his feet, like a rat!" He turned the corner and found his prey looking the other direction with his arm extended unnaturally down the adjoining hall. He must have Hawkeye pinned. Roy's rage burned even hotter; it was bad enough he had killed Maes, but now he was threating Hawkeye!? This would not stand!

He snapped and scorched Envy yet again. His arm retracted, and he screamed in misery.

"How dare you threaten my subordinate?" He growled dangerously. He snapped again, and again, repeatedly killing Envy, not even giving him the chance to regenerate anymore. He could feel every heartbeat pulsing in his veins as he incinerated that monster, and he savored the feel of every snap of his fingers. Again. And again. You'll die a thousand deaths before I'm through!

He shouted in his mania and released his fury in one final, massive explosion. Envy cried out in aguish. His body froze as it slowly turned to ash and dissipated before his eyes. Out of what was left of the ashes wriggled by a small, green parasite.

The creature began crawling away, crying, "Damn it!"

He marched over and stomped on it, pinning it to the ground. "So, this is your true form? You're ugly." The thing was writhing under his foot, screaming. It was almost done, he just had one more step to finish him off.

"Please don't do it! I don't want to die!" The pathetic monster wailed.

"I'm not giving you a choice!" He barked.

Envy screamed again, waving his limbs uselessly as he tried to crawl free from his boot. As he raised his hand to snap, he was distracted by the sound of a gun being cocked. Out of the corner of his eye, he registered Hawkeye aiming her pistol at his head.

"What are you doing, Lieutenant?" He snarled at her.

"That's enough, Colonel! I'll take care of him from here." She replied sternly.

"He's as good as dead. Lower your weapon!" His rage had consumed him, and all he could think about was dealing Envy the punishment he deserved. No one would stand in his way, not even Hawkeye.

"I can't obey that!" She cried. Simultaneously, the ground beneath his foot heaved and sent the screaming parasite up into the air and into Fullmetal's hand. Roy hadn't even noticed his approach until now.

He eyed his subordinate angrily. Scar stood beside him with his arms crossed in disapproval. How dare they interfere.

"Fullmetal. Give him to me." He extended his hand out to Edward. Seeing him hesitate, he added, "That's an order. Give it to me right now!"

"No, I won't!" They glared at each other.

"That thing deserves the worst death possible! Give it to me!" Roy didn't recognize his own voice, so tainted by hate as it was. He didn't care. His only concern was avenging Hughes.

"No." Fullmetal defied him again.

"If you won't, then I'll burn up your hand along with it!" He raised his voice to add authority to the threat.

"Try it then! If it's a fight you want, fine, but maybe you should take a good look at your face! Is that the face you plan to wear when you're leading this country!? Is that what you want to be, Colonel? Another monster?" Fullmetal roared at him.

"Colonel! I can't let you kill him! That being said, I have no intentions of letting him live." Hawkeye stated strictly. She was still aiming her gun at his head.

"But I did it! I finally ran him down!" His hand was shaking, and it was still poised to snap. He realized vaguely that he was snarling, and he could feel his face was twisted in rage.

"I know that! But still." Hawkeye replied, almost gently. "Still. You're about to do something reckless, and this will not help your country or your friends. This is pure hatred, and I will not let it take you. You're better than this. I know it."

His adrenaline was starting to ebb. He noticed his hand shook, but not from fury. He could feel his heart being ripped open; torn apart by the pain he was feeling. He kept picturing Maes, his best friend. All the times they'd laughed together, the shared pain in Ishval, even his relentless bragging about his little girl.

The heartache and sorrow slowly overcame the rage. He lowered his hand slightly and relaxed his fingers a little. When he spoke, he could hear the ache in his own voice. "If you're going to shoot me, then do it. But then what will you after, Lieutenant?"

Her voice was full of misery. "I can tell you that I have no intentions of carrying on alone. After this is all over, I'm going to end my life, and take my secrets of flame alchemy with me."

His grief increased tenfold at her words, and as he cried out in heartache he snapped his fingers to release his emotions down the hall. The fireball exploded harmlessly away from the group.

"That can't happen." He replied in despair. All he felt now was torment. "I can't afford to lose you. I've done it again." He turned to face Hawkeye, "I've hurt you. Please, forgive me."

He reached out his hand to her gun and gently lowered it. She didn't fight the movement and stood gazing at him with incredible pain etched on her face. The adrenaline rush was gone completely, and he collapsed to the ground as his legs gave out beneath him.

"Are you a moron?" Envy yelled from Ed's hand. "You make me sick, are you humans always so pathetic? Why don't you just listen to your gut and do whatever you want?" Roy looked over his shoulder to see Envy pointing at him. "Colonel Mustang, have you forgotten? Scar is the one who was trying to kill you! And he killed the parents of the pipsqueak's friend! And Scar, have you forgotten what Mustang and Hawkeye did to your Ishvalen countrymen during the war? How can you four hope to team up? How?"

Envy looked between them all with incomprehension in his eyes. "Never, never, its impossible. How?" He screeched.

Ed spoke softly. "Now I see. You're jealous. You're jealous of us humans, aren't you? Even though we struggle and fall, again and again, we pick ourselves back up. And our friends and family are always there to help us. You're jealous of that."

Envy gazed silently at Edward for a moment before fighting to free himself. Ed tried restraining him with his other hand, but Envy bit his finger and jumped to the ground. He crawled slowly, muttering, "Humiliated, ending up so pathetic like this. Trampled on by humans, the lowest of beings." Roy saw tears flowing out of Envy's eyes as he cried loudly. "I've been humiliated! Me? Jealous of humans? How could this pipsqueak see right though me? It's the ultimate humiliation!"

He reared up and sat back on his tail. Suddenly he laughed. "I guess we'll see how long this adorable alliance lasts. Best of luck with that!" He opened his mouth wide and ripped his Philosopher's Stone from his throat. His body and the Stone disintegrated to nothing, and with that, Envy was gone.

Roy shook his head. "Coward. He took the easy way out."

Edward

They'd gotten turned around during the incident with Envy, and he couldn't remember the hallway they'd come from. They'd picked one they thought was right and were following it, hoping to catch up to the others. Or find that bearded bastard themselves. He walked with Mustang beside him, and Hawkeye and Scar followed behind.

"Where's Al and the Avatar, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked as they walked.

"Al is trapped with Pride, keeping him out of our hair today. And Ayana, I don't know where she is." He was concerned about what it meant that she'd never showed up in the room where the hallways converged. "We split up at the first staircase leading down here. I haven't seen her since."

Mustang looked over at him. "You split at the bottom of the stairs? How is that possible? When we passed that spot, one hallway was blocked. We were forced to go down the left tunnel."

He thought about this. Maybe she'd blocked it to prevent anyone from interfering in her standoff with Bue? Or maybe Hohenheim had done it. "Someone must have blocked it after we split. It wasn't me."

They walked through a doorway and found themselves in a large, circular room. There was a man kneeling in the middle, drawing a transmutation circle on the floor. He looked up at their entrance. He wore what looked like a lab coat, and the eyes behind his glasses gave him a maniacal look.

"Oh! I wasn't expecting to have visitors. You're going to give me performance anxiety."

Ed clapped his hands and transmuted his automail into a blade. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

The man made a show of thinking for a minute. "Hm. You might know me as the man who created King Bradley. That is my most proud accomplishment."

"You created the Fuhrer?" Mustang questioned heatedly.

"Is that you, Colonel Mustang?" The man peered at them as he adjusted his glasses. "And here I thought you were at the radio station! You don't know how much trouble you've saved me." He raised his hand in the air, and immediately several swordsmen dropped through a hole in the ceiling. He instructed them, "Why don't you keep them busy while I finish up, here."

The men charged the group, and they all dodged and dispersed themselves throughout the room. Ed swung at one, but his attack was blocked easily. "Who are these guys?"

"These men were once candidates for the role that King Bradley took. You could call them the leftovers." The crazy alchemist answered. He was still intent on drawing his circle.

Ed didn't have a chance to respond as two of the swordsmen rushed him, and he focused all his attention on not getting skewered. He heard gunshots as Hawkeye defended herself, but these guys were fast enough that they even dodged her bullets easily.

These guys were good. He wasn't sure they were going to be able to beat them.

After several minutes of fighting, the alchemist stood and examined his work. He called his men over to him, and they stopped attacking and immediately ran to stand in their assigned places.

"Here it goes!" The man yelled joyfully and slammed his hand down to activate the circle. Blue alchemic energy filled the room.

"What have you done?" Ed yelled above the sounds of the alchemy crackling.

"You seem like a smart boy. Tell me, how many laboratories are there here in Central?"

He thought about it. There's four operational, but… He suddenly remembered the Fifth Laboratory, and the transmutation circle he'd seen on the floor there. The pieces clicked in his brain.

"The entire city is a transmutation circle!"

The alchemic energy disappeared, and a terribly familiar aura filled the room. Black arms emerged from the ground and touched the swordsmen, deconstructing them before their eyes. Ed was frozen in terror. No, this can't be happening!

The eye of the portal of Truth opened up beneath his feet, staring at him blankly. He attempted to move but found he couldn't, since the arms had already deconstructed his legs. He tried to reach for the alchemist, but his arms were nearly gone, too. His vision was starting to blur.

"You bastard!" He bellowed, and then everything went black.

Alphonse

It turned out Yoki was a terrible driver. They'd barely made it into the city when he'd crashed the car into a utility pole, rendering it undriveable. They'd been forced to abandon it and go on foot the rest of the way.

They were closing in on the Command Center when the ground shook suddenly, and they all gazed around as blue alchemic lights shot into the sky like beacons. It was coming from multiple different places; Al could see two spires of electricity from where they stood.

He was astonished when the lidless eye of the portal of Truth opened beneath his feet.

"What!?" He yelled in alarm.

It was too late for him to react; the black arms had already snaked their way up and were deconstructing him. He saw the others watching in horror as he disappeared right before their eyes. There was nothing he could do; his legs were gone, so he couldn't move. Eventually his head was deconstructed, too, and he couldn't see or hear anything.