Sorry about the wait! I've been so busy with finals, school ending, and the fact I'm going to Japan next week! (Yatta!) But I come back with a vengance! This chapter is somewhat confusing, but it explains a lot. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned any of this, I wouldn't be writing fanfics.


Gracia sat on the couch next to Elysia.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier about him?"

"Because I liked him, that's why. I knew you would hate it if I told you I fell in love with him. I didn't know he was really like this!"

Gracia felt anger and pity for her daughter. She was angry because she wished that Elysia would have told her sooner about the situation, but she pitied her because Elysia was telling the truth, she had fallen in love with Envy and she really didn't know that he would do that. Why she didn't see the warning signs sooner was beyond Gracia. Envy had been cold and heartless for as long as he had been around.

But Elysia cried for hours, non-stop. Gracia left her alone to go to bed, telling her to come get her if she needed anything. Elysia stayed on the couch for a long time, sobbing and screaming and wishing that Envy would just drop dead, as impossible as it was. She knew it was impossible, but she wished to the high heavens that it wasn't.


Envy on the other hand, was quite satisfied with himself. He had ruined another person's life and he was very proud of it. That was just one of his pastimes was breaking people down until they were nothing more than just a pitiful wreck.

Elysia had been so easy to fool. There was a part of her that was much like a child, believing everything that she heard and maybe a little bit more. She thought she could trust him and she ended up falling in love with him. That was pitiful. He wasn't someone who could be loved. He was someone who could be hated, and he was very good at that too.

Srivalli wasn't half as happy when she heard that he hadn't killed her yet. She had ordered him to kill her, and he hadn't responded. He was a full-time rebel. She should have expected it from him. So she decided to take matters into her own hands, or claws, however you looked at it.


As Elysia cried, a shadow slipped into her room. The room grew very cold and Elysia quieted for a moment, bringing her head up slowly, afraid of what she might see. The shadow stood straight up and manifested itself as Srivalli. Elysia's eyes widened and she grew somewhat angry.

"What are you doing here!"

Srivalli grinned under her cloak and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I came to explain a few things to you so you can understand what's going on."

Elysia sat up, her temper flaring and tears pouring out of her eyes.

"I don't want to understand! I want nothing to do with you, Envy, or anything having to do with the Homunculi!"

Srivalli dismissed it with a wave of her claw.

"I don't think you understand the magnitude of what you've gotten yourself into."

"What do you mean?"

"Envy is the last of the Homunculi. He was supposed to have…I guess you could say, died, a few years ago. But he survived."

"Why should I care?"

"Because…it was I who brought him back."

Elysia's eyes got wider and she shook her head.

"No, I don't understand what's going on. How could you bring back something that wasn't supposed to be around in the first place? Isn't that how Homunculi are created?"

"Actually, it's not the same as human transmutation, though a bit of alchemy is involved, I suppose. You see, I'm not an alchemist, but then again, I am. I have some training in the field, and I can do certain types of alchemy, but naturally, human transmutation is not one of them."

By that point, Elysia couldn't have been more confused if she tried. She was already miserable, had a headache from crying so hard, and now had to deal with some mysterious woman in her room. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head.

"Alright, tell me everything. Just say it slowly and put it as simple as possible."

She could tell that Srivalli was grinning under the cloak.

"As you wish. Now, where should I begin…? Let's see… I think about seven years ago. By then, Edward Elric had caused a major tremor in the Gate. The souls coming from both sides were mixing and fighting amongst themselves, some turning into monsters from all of it. And among them was Envy, who had been 'dead' for quite some time."

"What do you mean by dead?"

"I'm getting to that. Now, the six other Homunculi had all died, one right after the other. The problem was, they were getting reincarnated on the other side of the Gate. But the tremor caused their new bodies to literally disappear. But it was only the Homunculi since they couldn't have real souls, no matter what side they were on…"

"So basically, since they had been dead twice in the same world, they couldn't be alive on the other side?"

"Exactly. But something strange happened that was invisible to alchemists, souls, and Homunculi. The tremor began to make a sort of whirlpool. But the souls that happened to be sucked it where none other than the Homunculi, except Envy."

"Why not him?"

"Because he was already sustaining a form of his own, and it wasn't human at the time. He could will himself to stay far away from the whirlpool, unlike his so-called 'siblings' who were pulled in. Thus…I was created…"

There was a long and heavy silence between the two. Elysia stared at Srivalli for a long time in shock.

"You…were created from the whirlpool?"

"Yes, I am a combination of all of the Homunculi, except Envy. I am primarily Lust, but I have Wrath's alchemy powers, Greed's impenetrable armor, Sloth's ability to turn into water, Pride's all-seeing eye, and Gluttony's ability to devour anything. But I am against Envy, and I presume that you are too."

"Why are you against him?"

"Because he is the one I need. I need to merge with him to get the shape-shifting ability. Without it, this body will not be able to sustain itself for more than…two years I suppose."

"I see. But why did you order him to kill me?"

"I never did. He used that excuse to get away with it and make it seem like I was the one to blame. He's a lone wolf. He does everything for himself."

"I thought you were his master?"

"No, not really. I can control him in a way because I control his thoughts…sometimes. That, and I'm the only one he can go to. I'm the only one who knows his pains, his strengths, and his feelings. I know that Homunculi aren't supposed to have feelings, but he's a different story. Actually, he may have been the most human of them all."

"I don't believe that."

"He tries desperately to get rid of his humanity, but it doesn't work. That's how I can torture him to do what I want. I force his memories of his human life upon him."

"Oh… So how am I wrapped up in all of this?"

Srivalli tilted her head to look out the window at the bright full moon, but Elysia couldn't see her eyes, so she wasn't sure. The clawed woman looked down at her hands and shook her head.

"Envy kissed you, did he not?"

"Yeah, so?"

"And now you know that the Homunculi still exist in a different form?"

"Yeah…"

"Then you are permanently involved. You have traces of the Philosopher's Stone in your body for making contact with him. That, and I can't have you going to the military and telling everyone that the Homunculi are still a threat to the entire country. That would be terrible for you, your mother, and everyone around you. There would be more chaos than there was meant to be if you stay quiet."

"What about the traces of the Philosopher's Stone? What does that have anything to do with me?"

"Plenty. You, in a way, contain part of Envy's life force. Should you die, it will make him stronger, and vice versa, if that's possible. If he gets stronger, it will inflict so much damage on everyone that there will be nothing we can do about it. He'll really turn into a monster."

The very thought that Envy could be a monster sent a chill up Elysia's spine. There was a part of her that didn't want to believe Srivalli and wanted to protect Envy, and a part of her that hated Envy with all of her being and wanted to help Srivalli. The part that wanted to help won.

"I'll help you get Envy to merge with you…"

"Really? And what do I give you in return?"

"You have to promise to do two things."

"What would those two things be?"

"You have to fix the Gate somehow so it works properly, and you have to erase my memories of any of this."

"Fixing the Gate might be hard, but erasing your memories will be no problem. What are your reasons?"

"I don't want anymore souls getting ripped apart in the tremor. And I don't want to remember Envy."

"I can understand… Thank you Miss Hughes. Your help will be much appreciated."

"How long do you think this will take?"

"Anywhere from a month to three years."

"What will we have to do?"

"Find a way to confuse him, stall him, then take him. We can formulate a plan later."

Elysia nodded in agreement. She didn't really trust Srivalli, but at the moment, she really didn't trust anyone except her mom. Srivalli nodded with a hint of joy in her. She then walked up to the window and waved to Elysia.

"Thank you Elysia Hughes. You will not regret this."

"I'd better not."

And with that, Srivalli went back into the shadows and disappeared into the night.


Srivalli returned back to her lair where she stared at the ground, a sick grin on her face and her fingers tapping together deviously.

"That was too easy. The girl will be easy to control. I thought I would have to do everything myself. I guess it was a streak of luck to find someone as gullible as her."

Envy emerged from the shadows.

"What did you do?"

"What you couldn't do. She'll be dead within a month, I can assure you."

"Are you going to kill her?"

"More like both of us. I'll set it all up, and you'll follow the plan."

He sighed with annoyance and spoke with a whiny voice.

"Why am I always the puppet?"

"You make a good one. Don't worry. She won't suspect a thing. She was all for it. But if you slip up this time like you did last time, I won't prolong your life another minute! You got that?"

He lowered his head.

"Yes ma'am."

She smiled in satisfaction.

"Good boy."