Torn
Envy was always known to be one of the more ruthless of the homunculi. He was also strong, agile, and quick-witted. Always ready with something to say, he was sharp-tongued as well. His words flowed out from between slender lips like venom from a snake, and somehow, his speeches, as short or long as they were, were always dark, menacing. He could stare into the eyes of the strongest soldier and force them to quiver with fear, and make children squeal in terror.
No one knew the real side of Envy. They didn't know how much hatred he really hid in his soul, even though they knew he hated Hohenheim Elric. They knew he hated Edward and Alphonse Elric, his sons, for carrying his blood. They didn't know just how much he despised them, or his true relationship to the Light Alchemist.
Envy had been an innocent little kid, like any other, growing up. He liked to play and hated certain foods and, as most children, had a certain tendency for mischief. He would run outside in his bare feet and jump in mud puddles, despite the wishes of his mother, and climbed trees and tore the clothes she had worked so hard to tailor for him. But he was an intelligent little boy, and promised to be a great scholar and gentleman.
His mother would prepare wonderful clothes for him, and said that one day, he could be royalty. She remarked on how handsome he was, and how tall he was growing. It was like any other household on Earth. Except for one thing. His parents were alchemists. They sought what was known as the Philosopher's Stone, and his father stayed in his laboratory for days on end, most times not even coming out to eat. This caused concern in the young boy, and soon, he began to question his father's motives. His mother calmed these doubts, explaining that he was close to the truth.
Soon, the boy's eighteenth birthday came, and he had a small celebration. He had long since become a man, but now that he was eighteen, he had more of a say in things, and was more responsible. His mother and father kept telling him how proud they were, and gave him a beautifully crafted gold watch. He wore that watch every day, opening and closing it repeatedly to here the lovely music that played within it; a music machine built just behind the watch face. It was a song he knew well, as his mother had sung it to him time and time again when he was a boy and when he was ill.
Soon after his eighteenth birthday, his father began to close himself up in his laboratory even more. This worried the young boy, since whenever he did see his father, he was a gaunt man, with eyes that constantly wandered astray. The lab door was always closed, whether he was in there or not, so when the one day that it was open came to pass, the boy could not help but satisfy his curiosity.
He had slipped into the empty laboratory that rainy day, swift and silent as a cat, creeping on his tiptoes down the old wooden steps. Despite his being so careful, the creaking protest of the steps seemed to clamor throughout the room, threatening to betray him and announce his entry. However, he arrived to the bottom of the stairs and stood upon the cold cement floor without being seen and looked around at what stood before and around him. The walls and ceiling were of cement, just like the icy floor beneath his unprotected feet. All around him, on the surrounding him on all sides, were transmutation circles of many different sizes, and with thousands of different symbols and runes inscribed within their bounds. Some were drawn upon the wall with oil paints, ink, or what looked like blood. Others were carved into the stone, at some parts at least six inches deep.
To the left of him was a long desk, covered in papers and books, beakers and test tubes. To the right was a large bookcase, standing at about seven and a half feet tall and spanning over a distance across the floor of five feet. Each shelf was covered with books to its capacity. Directly in front of him and behind him on either side were shelves upon shelves of beakers, viles and bottles with labels scrawled upon small sheets of paper taped to them, filled with different chemicals.
Stepping over to the concealed top of the wooden structure, the boy peered over the books and papers, reading bits of words from them. Two words were mentioned over and over again; Philosopher's Stone. He had read about this mystical stone. It was fabled to be an all-powerful alchemical amplifier, which could ignore the principle known as 'Equivalent Exchange.' But why did his father want it? He couldn't be sure, but as he leaned closer to one of the books to read it better in the dim light provided only by a single lantern, he saw the silvery shine of a liquid in a bottle next to him. His attention diverted to it, he sidestepped so that he was standing directly in front of the bottle and stooped down so that it was at eye level with it.
The liquid shone with brilliancy unlike any he had seen before. He lifted the bottle and tipped it to the side and nearly gasped in amazement. The liquid moved all at once like a solid! He knew that common liquids moved so that some was left behind, and that it took the form of it's container, but this seemed to have a form of its own. Curious, he unstoppered the bottle and poured some of the liquid onto his hand. Instead of spilling into a slivery puddle, it shaped itself like a dome and ceased to move in his hand. Interested, he tilted his hand back and forth, watching not as the liquid spilled, but as it actually rolled in his palm. A smile escaped his lips as he watched it with intrigue and he nearly didn't notice the voice upstairs.
"I'll be up for dinner tonight. What are we having?"
It was his father! Was he coming back to the lab? If he was, he'd kill him! Quickly, he put the mystery liquid back in its bottle and stoppered it again with the cork. Then he crept up the stairs and into his room, where he placed a hand over his racing heart, trying to control his breathing.
Several hours later, he started to feel funny, and soon after, he was bed ridden. A doctor came to visit the house, and diagnosed him with Mercury poisoning, saying also that there was nothing that he could do to stop it. He confessed to his father that he had went into his lab and played with some shiny liquid. His father shook his head and held him for a very long time.
The next thing that Envy knew was that he was on the floor of his father's laboratory, his old man leaning over him, a somber look painted onto his aged features.
"Father?" he asked quietly. He wanted to know what happened. Why did he feel better all of a sudden? Why was he leaner, with tight, dark clothing that barely qualified as decent? And his hair! Long dark green locks now replaced his golden hair.
"I'm not your father, and you're not my son. You are a homunculus. Your name is Envy."
Throughout the years that followed that night, Envy had become ruthless, and unfeeling towards mankind. He hated those beings, with their fragile souls, their love, and their desperate need for companionship. He needed none of that, and he didn't want any of it either. It would only hinder him, to have such feelings, and so he cut himself off from them, building a barricade of thick ice around his heart.
Sometimes though, he could be found on a ledge of a cave or on a hill or even on the limb of a tree. His arms would be placed upon slender legs, staring into the distance, with sometimes a nostalgic look upon his face. Other times, bitter tears would cascade down his pale cheeks. He never really knew why they appeared like that, but during that point, shivers and shudders would rack his entire thin frame, and he would cry out like a small child. But no one knew this side of Envy. He never showed it to anyone. If a poor and unfortunate traveler happened to walk in on him in this state, it was his last moment on Earth, and beautiful, bright crimson would nuture the ground below his feet. He could not afford to show anyone this side of him. He was ruthless. He cared about nothing and for no one! He didn't want or need love or care or anything. All he needed was his hatred and his strength. But somewhere inside, a child screamed. Envy was torn.
So this is Torn! Once again, it's Study Hall-based boredom, but I wanted to give Envy a little twist, kind of like in the Sins that Bind Us, but with more depth. SO I hope this is good, I haven't revised it yet. Gomen nasai! Anyway, I hope you like it. Please review, I'd love to hear what you guys think of my stories.