Whoa, nice to see yall again! (not that i can really see you...) Anywho, thanks for all your reviews on the last chappie! Sorry I took so long to update! But to make it up to yall, I make this one extra long! Heh, heh! Have fun!

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA...but I've got some Japanese people on the phone...we're working it out. XD (jk)

Warning! do NOT take candy from strangers!



Origin of Sin

Three: Memories


"It's a curse, a damned creature, a child of the devil. It is not of this world. It was created by an alchemist using human transmutation. It's not human!"

Envy let the heavy volumes tumble out of his hands and land with a loud thump on the rickety wooden porch. The words flew through his mind again and again, causing a numbing sensation to overtake his body. I'm…not human?

"It's a homunculus."

Then he was running, away from the house, away from the voices, away from the lies. How could he not be human? How was he supposed to accept that he was some creature not born, but made by an alchemist?

Suddenly an immense, excruciating pain burst from his thigh, causing Envy to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Breathing hard, Envy clawed at the source of the pain; the ouroborus tattoo on his thigh. Images flashed through his mind, leaving him dizzy as he struggled to push himself to his feet.

Envy felt his head grow heavy and his vision doubled before him. Blinking, he realized someone was standing before him, offering out their hand for aid. Numbly, he reached for the outstretched hand, but the pain was over whelming and the world around him turned black.

The lone figure crouched down beside Envy's unconscious form and gently brushed a strand of hair out of his face.

"How long it has been…my child."


Envy slowly wandered into consciousness, easing his eyes open and taking in his surroundings. The familiar scent of rotted wood swept through his senses and he immediately knew he was once again in the barn.

"So you're awake at last."

Envy snapped his head up at the silhouetted figure standing before him. A shiver shot down his spine as the figure drew nearer and he could at last make out the face of the stranger.

It was an old woman dressed in a pale green dress and a faded blue shawl that hung loosely on her shoulders. Her gray hair was tied in a limp bun, a few stray stands falling out down her back and shoulders.

"Child…I have prayed for the day I may lay eyes on you again," she said in a low voice. Before Envy could respond, she reached out and cupped his face in her hands, a serious look in her brown eyes. "Tell me, child. Do you remember anything of your past? How you came to this village?"

Completely taken aback, Envy could only shake his head. The elderly woman's gaze immediately softened, almost to relief.

"Do…do you…know who I am?" He asked, a small amount of hope in his voice. The woman smiled faintly and shook her head. Abruptly, she turned and reached behind her, retrieving a small purple pouch. She pulled it open and gently poured its contents out onto her palm before offering it to him.

"What…are they?" he asked, gazing at the small blood red stones in her hand.

"Eat them," she said. Envy's eyebrows immediately shot up and gave the old woman a crazy look. She chuckled softly, "They are the key to your memories. If you want to know who you are, then eat them."

Reluctantly, Envy took the stones and slowly raised them to his mouth. My memories… in these stones? Every cell in his body screamed for him to not to, but a stronger feeling came over him. Without a second thought, Envy popped a single stone into his mouth and chewed slowly.

He bit down, and the stone dissolved into a tangy liquid that seemed to awaken every taste bud in his mouth. Before he even swallowed the first one, he was shoving the rest of the red stones into his mouth, eager for the powerful, addictive taste.

As the last drop trickled down his throat, pain exploded from within him. Envy doubled over, grasping his stomach that felt like it was being ripped open. Blood trickled out of his mouth as harsh coughs tore at his throat. The last thing he saw was the old woman smirking at him as he coughed and slowly lost consciousness.


"Momma! Momma!"

The woman slowly turned away from the stew she was making, only to see a small blonde blur whiz across the kitchen and latch itself on her. She laughed, brushing a strand of black hair behind her ear as she gently kneeled down and pried the boy off her legs.

"Momma, look at what I made!" The small boy reached behind his back, his golden eyes flashing mischievously. From behind him he produced a small, simple rag doll. The woman's eyes widened as she took the doll from her son's hands and admired it.

"You made this? Did daddy help you?"

The young boy smiled proudly. "Nope. I made it all by myself!"

The woman smiled warmly at her son, patting his blonde head. She quickly rose to her feet and hurried out of the kitchen to the end of the hallway. She yanked the door open, causing the man inside to jump. She rushed over to him, thrusting the rag doll into his hands.

The man stared at her with a confused look on his face and scratched his head. "Uh…what's this?"

"Our son made it," she burst out, her voice swelling with pride. "Our five year old son made this with alchemy."

The man stared at the doll to his wife and back again. He tossed his messy blonde ponytail over his shoulder and leaned forward to examine the doll. "It's very basic. No extraordinary features…and the seam here is loose. The craftsmanship is rather…poor."

The woman's mouth dropped. "Our…You…" A look of frustration came over her face and she snatched the rag doll out of her husband's grasp. "Our son made this!" She exclaimed. "Our five year old son! Do you expect it to be perfect! You're his father! You should be proud!"

"Dante…" he said gently, easing himself out of his chair, but she wouldn't hear it. She continued to yell at him, and soon he was shouting back at her. Somewhere in the argument, the small rag doll flew across the room and landed out in the hallway.

The small boy slowly walked over and picked it up, dusting it off as he did. He noticed one of the seams had come undone. As his parents screamed at each other in the far room, the boy sat against the wall, drawing his legs to his chest and burying his face in his knees, hiding the tears that fell from his eyes.


The boy watched the wax slowly drip down one of the ten candles burning steadily on the small cake. A few feet away, his mother was washing the dishes from dinner in the sink. He sighed and rested his head on his hands, wishing the day would be over.

The door suddenly flew open, a cold rush of air sweeping in the room and extinguishing half the candles. The boy jumped eagerly to his feet and ran to the door, smiling widely at the tired-looking man that had entered.

"Dad!"He exclaimed, reaching out and fiercely hugging his father. The man seemed taken aback at first, but gently returned his son's embrace.

"Where have you been?" His mother demanded harshly, appearing behind the young boy and his father.

"Dante...I'm sorry. I got caught up in my research--"

"So caught up that you forgot your own son's birthday?" The man stared back at his wife, his eyes widening slightly in shock.

"That...was today?"

Dante didn't answer, but pressed her lips together firmly and glared coldly at him. She strode over to him and snatched the worn leather-bound notebook out of his hands. She flipped through it, briefly pausing to read over some of his notes.

"This," she whispered, her voice dripping with malice, "is more important then your son? Human transmutation!" The man reached to take his research notes back, but Dante threw the book across the room and began screaming at her husband, to which he responded by also yelling.

The young boy quickly moved away from his fighting parents and sat back in his chair at the table, blowing out the remaining candles on the cake. He reached for his father's notebook, which had landed beside him when his mother threw it. He absently flipped through the pages, scanningits contents. All throughout the pages were incomplete equations and formulas, all missinga vital component. Suddenly his face brightened and he jumped to his feet, hurrying over to his fighting parents.

"It's mercury," he said confidently. His parents abruptly stopped their screaming match to glance over at their son.

"What?" his father asked.

"Mercury," the boy repeated, pointing to the equation in the notebook. "The missing part is mercury."

The man cocked an eyebrow at the boy, taking the notebook from him. He quickly scanned the page, his eyes widening as he did. "My god," he said, sounding breathless. He looked at his wife in disbelief. "He's right."


The eighteen year old yawned as he casually flipped through the huge alchemic book before him.

"How's the research coming along?" Dante asked, coming up behind him.

"It's so boring," he sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. "It's so bloody hot!" Dante chuckled as his whining. She took a ribbon from her apron pocket and tied his shoulder lenght blonde hair in a low ponytail.

"Is that any better?"

"A ribbon!" He exclaimed, turning to look at her with a look of horror on his face. "Now I look like a girl!"

Dante laughed. "Maybe if you cut your hair, that wouldn't be a problem." Her son grumbled and turned back tothe massive volume before him. "Could you do me a favor?" she asked.

"Sure mom...what?"

Dante turned to the sink, beginning to wash the dirty dished piled there. "Your father forgot to bring his dishes from lunch out...could you get them for me?" Her son nodded and reluctantly pushed himself out of the chair.

He trudged down to the end of the hallway and gently pushed the door to his father's study open. His father, hunched over his workbench, ignored his presence. The boy walked over and retrieved the small pile of dishes at the end of the table before glancing at his father. His father didn't pause from his chemical-mixing to notice he was even in the room.

As the boy was about to leave the room, a sudden wave of dizziness overtook him. He fell to the ground, taking the dishes down with him. The loud crash caused his father behind him to jump. He whirled around fast, knocking several test tubes off the table and sending them tumbling to the ground.

"What happened!" Dante exclaimed, running into the room and by her son's side.

"The heat," her son replied, shrugging off her helping hands and climbing to his feet. "The heat just got to me."

"Here, drink this," his father said, handing him a cup of water. The boy quickly drank it down, coughing slightly afterward. The boy dusted himself off and began to leave the room.

"I'm fine," he assured them, leaving toward the kitchen. As he made his way down the hallway, he could hear his mother's voice rising as she demanded what had happened, and accused his father of whatever had happened. Just like always, the two were soon yelling at each other over the smallest thing. The boy sighed, putting the cup on the counter.

Suddenly he felt his stomach lurch and his vision doubled before him. He quickly grabbed the counter for balance and clutched his stomach. The pain became over whelming and he collapsed to his knees, whimpering slightly. Coarse coughs tore at his throat, and a tinkling sensation leaked through his limbs. Blood welled up in his mouth and splattered out as he coughed, creating a growing puddle on the ground. The sensation in his arms and legs slowly receded, taking with it all feeling and control of his limbs, causing him to fall forward on his stomach. The coughing continued, hurting more and more each time.

Footfalls echoed in his ears and he heard a scream. Then someone was by his side, shaking him and screaming his name. The boy tried to make out who it was, but his vision was too blurry. He could feel the energy drain out of his body with each cough, and he knew he couldn't remain conscious much longer.

"What wrong with him!" Dante screamed. Her husband crouched down and examined his son. His harsh coughing had finally stopped, but the blood continued to steadily dribble out of his mouth.

"Water," he said, turing to his wife. "He needs water...there's a full pitcher in my room...go!"

Dante lept to her feet, snatching the cup from the counter as she did, and sprinted down the hall. She ran in the far room and quickly grabbed the pitcher. Before pouring it into the cup, she noticed something resting in a small pool in the bottom of the glass. She carefullytipped the cup and let the silvery substance slid out onto the tabletop. As the silvery substance pooled together on the table, Dante immediately recognized it. Mercury.

There...there was mercury in the glass... Dante glanced down and saw a pile of smashed test tubes under her feet. A silver liquid coated the shattered glass. Then it came to her. She quickly turned around and ran back out to her husband, who was still bent over their son.

"Mercury!" she exclaimed, and her husband turned to stare at her. She thrust the cup at him, "There was mercury in the cup! I know there's an antidote, I read about it! First we need to boil water and...turmeric! Turmeric for his stomach! We need to hur-"

"Dante," he husband cut her off. He stood and walked over to her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her will a look of deep sorrow in his eyes. "Dante...he...he's dead."


Dante's mouth curled into a smile as she looked down at her 'son.' He was shaking violently now, sweat shining on his skin. How long I have waited for this day...now he will be a true homunculus. Envy's eyes abruptly snapped open and he shot up into a sitting position. His breathing was ragged and raspy.

"My son...do you now see what you are?" Envy, completely exhausted, fell to his side, wishing this old woman, the stones, and the horrific visions away. But the old woman remained, her voice floating down to him. "You died...by accident from your father's hand. He tried to repent for his sin by undoing his crime...by bringing you back to life. But the transmutation failed...because his son did not return."

Envy felt a twinge of pain coming from the tatoo on his thigh at her words. "N-no..." he whispered softly.

"You are what was created."

Envy rolled over, away from the woman, trying desperately to block out her voice, her lies. His head began throbbing, a pounding sensation that grew at the old woman's words. He prayed she would not continue.

"You...are a homunculus!"

Envy's head exploded in pain, like it was bursting from the inside. He cried out, clutching his face with his hands. Dante smiled and stood, stiding slowly over to his side.

"My child," she whispered, slowly caressing his face and brushing his hair out of his sweat-stained face. "No...not any longer..." She smirked and stood up. "How did those stones help? What's it like knowing your own father killed you? Then when he had you again, he abondaned you," she said mockingly. She began heading for the barn door. Before she left, she turned to look at him one last time. "Now you know the truth...your past, your origin. It's time to become the sin you were created...Envy."

She watched in satifaction as the homunculus before her froze at her words. She watched his eyes widen in shock. Slowly, his golden eyes darkened, all light in them disappearing. Dante smirked and looked down at him, her brown eyes meeting his deep purple ones.


The story is coming to a close/gasp/ Hopefully, there will be at least 2 more parts! Hope yall enjoyed this one! Please review! Thanks!