Back in Lior, the homunculi were becoming impatient. Wrath was sitting restlessly against a wall, fiddling with his hair. Lust was leaning up against the throne, upon which Dante sat. Envy was pacing around the hall.
"Where are they?" Envy asked no one in particular. "It's already eleven thirty. She was supposed to be back at noon with Pride, so where is she?"
Lust sighed in annoyance. "Will you stop, Envy? She'll be back. And she'll have your precious Pride with her." Envy stopped pacing to look at Lust.
"What's this I'm sensing? Jealousy?"
"Oh, no, Envy, not jealousy. Just annoyance, is all."
"Enough, you two." Dante commanded. "Sloth will be back. I control her. She must obey me, for her life depends on it."
As if on cue, a puddle of liquid appeared from under the hall's doors. The puddle formed itself into Sloth carrying Sin in her arms.
"About time," Envy murmured.
Dante rose from her seat and approached Sloth. She took one look at Sin and smiled. "You have done very well, Sloth. Set her down over here." Dante led Sloth over to a small bed next to the desk and Sloth set Sin onto it. Dante and all of the homunculi stared at the sleeping Sin.
"Well?" Envy was the first to speak. "What do we do now?"
"We wait until she wakes up." Dante answered and walked back to her throne.
"I will stay with her," Sloth opted. "Someone must be here when she wakes up."
Dante nodded. "Very well. Everyone else, mind your own business and do not get caught up in Pride's business." The homunculi nodded obediently, and Dante got up from her throne. "I am going to go take a nap in my room." She turned to Lust. "Watch me sleep, Lust," she commanded, and stepped through a door on the right side of the hall. Lust reluctantly followed.
Once Dante and Lust had left, Sloth turned to Envy.
"What was the old Pride like?" she asked.
Envy smirked with the memory of her partner in crime. "She was a lot of fun, I remember. Greed would remember most out of any of the homunculi. Then, I guess Lust would. Then Gluttony, more than likely, but…" all eyes turned to the rabid, round man. As if to answer, Gluttony began to drool out of the right corner of his mouth.
"Anyway, what about you, Envy?" Wrath piped up. "What do you remember about her?"
"Like I just said, I remember that she was a lot of fun. Everyday she went around killing innocents." A smile crept across the homunculus' face. "That was my favorite part. But I don't remember much. She was only with the homunculi a year while I was there. Oh, but apparently, she and Lust don't get along much."
Sloth nodded. "Yes, I figured as much. Whenever Dante mentions Pride, Lust becomes…dysfunctional..."
"Lust kicked Pride out!" Gluttony cackled. Sloth, Envy and Wrath turned towards him.
"What did you say?" Sloth questioned.
"Yeah, I remember something like that," Envy chimed. "When Dante made Lust, Pride began to envy Lust. I guess that was when Dante first found out that Pride wasn't like the rest of us."
"Is that so…?"
"Yeah. So then Pride began to form a mind of her own. She no longer followed Dante's commands. I'll tell ya. It was bad news bears from there. That was when Dante made the decision that she was going to kill off Pride."
"But it didn't work, I imagine?"
"Yup. When Dante made the transmutation circle to kill off Pride, the faulty red stones inside Pride's body reacted."
"Faulty?"
"Yeah. Didn't you know?" Sloth shook her head. "Pride's stones weren't like ours. She was Dante's first, after all. She sorta learned her lesson when it came time for her to make Greed, though. You see, Pride's red stones were of a different chemical compound than the red stones inside our bodies. It was this chemical compound that allowed Pride to experience human emotion, not just pride, but others. But the compound also made it so that Pride didn't have to follow Dante's orders, unlike us. Dante holds our life in her hands, but not with Pride, oh, no. Pride held her own life in her own hands. That was when Dante had enough. Now, to continue, when Dante tried to kill off Pride using the transmutation circle, Pride's red stones reacted in ways that our stones would never react." Envy leaned in closer. "They made her human," she whispered.
"So that was how Pride was able to lose her limbs…"
"Yup." Envy sat back casually. "Dante cut them all off, in hopes that it would kill her. Lucky for Pride, the military got to her first."
"Oh, yes," Sloth said lazily. "That Colonel Roy Mustang. Yes, I've heard about him."
"Apparently, he was the one who found Pride and took her to Central. Then she became a State Alchemist, a dog of the military." Envy's voice was full of distaste. "That was when Pride ceased to exist, and Sin took over." The homunculus looked back at the sleeping Sin. "But now, Pride's back, and she'll kick ass like never before!"
Sloth gazed at the sleeping Sin and stroked her long, black hair. "Poor Pride," she mused. "You've been through enough. It will be good for you to not depend upon yourself as much. We will all take care of you, and you will forget how it felt to love that worthless Colonel of yours."
Envy's eyes widened. "She loved Mustang?"
Sloth nodded. "I saw them together just before the Elric Brothers left. It was very passionate. I almost didn't think that Sin had it in her to love another after Hansel was killed."
"She loved Greed, you know," Sloth frowned.
"That can't be—"
"Oh, yes it can," Envy pressed. "Lust told me that when Greed was sealed away, Pride began acting strangely. She would close her eyes and try to communicate with him somehow. It never worked, but still, she would always try."
"That doesn't necessarily mean that she loved him."
"Lust said that after Greed was released and he fled the mansion, Pride would disappear for hours on end, saying that she was finding information on the Philosopher's Stone, but everyone knew where she really was; save Dante."
"What happened then?" Wrath asked, intrigued by Envy's story.
Envy shrugged. "Lust said that Pride just stopped going out. I guess she stopped loving him, or vice versa."
"Hmm," Sloth combed through her hair with her fingertips. "Most interesting,"
"You're telling me," Envy nodded. Suddenly, a groan broke through Sin's lips. All eyes turned to her sleeping form.
"She's waking up!" Wrath exclaimed.
"No, Wrath, she's petting a puppy. OF COURSE SHE'S WAKING UP! It's not like we can't see it right now!" Envy snapped at him.
"Quiet, all of you!" Sloth ordered. "Dante, she's waking up!" the homunculus called into Dante's bedroom.
Dante, Lust following behind her, strode into her bedroom. Its wooden planked walls were bare; no pictures adorned them, only one mirror. The room was empty, save a single twin-sized bed opposite the door and a single chair next to the bed. Dante climbed into the bed and gestured Lust to sit in the chair. Lust gave Dante a glare before sitting down in the fragile, wooden chair. Dante smirked.
"Why do you fight my control, Lust?"
"I do not fight your control, Dante, I only disagree with you."
Dante cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? And what is it that you disagree with? Remember that it was your idea to bring Pride back to our control."
Lust nodded. "I remember, Dante," she murmured.
"Then what is it, my Lust? What do you disagree with?" Dante's gaze slunk lazily from Lust to the ceiling. "Is it that I sent Sloth instead of you?"
Lust froze.
"Ahhh…yes, that's what I thought…but you must understand, Lust," she turned back to the homunculus. "Pride knew you, and she resented you. Perhaps you just want a second chance with her, but Sin is not Pride, and Sin is the one that you visited, not Pride. And now Sin is bored of you. She will not listen to anything that you would have to say. But neither Sin nor Pride knew who Sloth is. Sloth was able to infiltrate Sin's emotions, tap into her consciousness, and that is exactly what I needed." She turned Lust's head to face hers. "Don't sulk about it. It isn't becoming of a homunculus like yourself."
Lust frowned. She decided to change the subject. "What do you have planned for Pride?" she asked.
Dante shrugged. "Pride was always independent—"
"But your potion will delete that…?"
"Of course, my Lust. But I am still counting on her to do things by herself, to not want much help with a mission. She is not called 'Pride' for nothing, as I'm sure you know."
Lust nodded. "I know,"
"As you are not called 'Lust' for nothing," Lust gave her another glare, but then quickly turned away. Dante laughed at her.
Suddenly, Sloth's voice was heard from far off. "Dante! She's waking up!" Dante and Lust looked at each other. Dante hurled herself out of bed and Lust bolted up out of her chair.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o i just looooove cliffies... keeps u guessing, doesn't it? XP well, pass ur judgment, please!