Aurifex's Notes: Like I said, this story will take a more dramatic turn. This chapter absolutely KILLED ME to write. I felt so bad at what happens to Envy and it made me want to hug him very hard. O.o
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"I don't understand," Edward said, flipping through the green book he'd thrown at the door. "The sentance goes: 'the array alone is not just enough. Seperate ingredients should be included within the circle. These include."
"Include what?" Envy prompted.
"That's just it!" Edward yelled, waving the book in Envy's face. "The next two pages are gone!"
"WHAT?" Envy gasped. "YOU'RE KIDDING!"
"No! After this page it just goes on to talk about the kinds of chimeras!" He skimmed through the pages again and grit his teeth. "ARGH! DAMMIT!" He threw the book down on the bed. "Useless!"
"Is that the only book you had on chimeras?" Winry asked, her eyes wide.
Ed nodded. "Yeah...beleive it or not."
Envy let out an animal yowl. "I DON'T BELEIVE THIS! DAMMIT! WHY DOES IT ALL HAVE TO GO DOWNHILL FROM H-"
Winry, Al, and Ed all clamped their hands over Envy's mouth. Pinako's footsteps were creeping by the door. Silence filled the room, except for the soft thumping of Pinako's slippers. They dissappeared down the hallway.
They all turned to Envy, their faces shocked and angry.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Edward hissed. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET DISCOVERED?"
Envy sniffed haughtily, and took a step backwards. "Sorry." He said simply, glaring up at Edward defiantly. "Now...what time is it?"
"11:45." Winry asked, glancing up at the clock.
"I'm going to wait for her." Envy said sourly, and leapt off the bed. He edged his way through the door, and dissappeared. He tromped down the hallway, his eyes wide. This was the worst possible thing that could happen. He couldn't do anything about it now...except.
Except.
He broke into a run, and galloped down the stairs. There was one other option for him. He hurried down into the den, and positioned himself on the windowsill, silent and unmoving, staring out at the yard.
Lust came slightly early, at 11:51. "Envy!" She said, furrowing her brow. "What are you doing?"
"Lust, they can't turn me back." Envy babbled. "Fullmetal Dumbass lost pages from the book. The pages that had instructions or something on it. I'm stuck like this."
"Oh my God!" She opened her mouth in shock. "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm coming with you. You have to take me to that person."
"Are you sure?" Lust said carefully.
"Positive."
"Have you told the Elrics?" She asked.
Envy shook his head. "I don't plan to." He said.
Lust looked around quickly. "Fine..." She said, reaching through the window and taking Envy in her arms. Envy curled appreciatively around her neck, and she shut the window.
"We can't go to Master just yet..." She explained. "The other homunculi and I are staying in an abandoned shiphouse west of here. We'll go there first so we can rest."
Envy nodded. "Fine by me..."
They traveled until dawn. The shiphouse, was, in general, a piece of shit. Surrounded by smelly water and made of ancient, moldy boards, it smelled of fish and mildew.
Envy blanched at the sight of the water, and Lust yelped as his claws dug into her skin.
They walked down the rickety dock, and entered silently...almost. The door creaked complainingly as Lust shut it behind her.
The room was lit with one ancient lightbulb. Surrounded by crates and sacks, the room's floorboards creaked with every step. A single table and three chairs were in the middle.
"Wh-where the, where the hell were you, Slo-sorry, Lusht?" Greed's voice slurred. He was sprawled over the table, which was littered with empty liquor bottles. His hair was touseled, and his eyes were glazed as he looked up at her.
"Dammit, Greed, you know very well where I was." Lust scolded, striding across the room towards Greed. She picked up one of the empty bottles and hit him over the head with it.
Greed passed out without another word.
"Wow..." Envy murmured. "He's gonna die of alcohol poisoning." He then grinned. "ALL RIGHT!"
"He can't die of alcohol poisoning, Envy, and you know it..." Lust grumbled, kicking Greed from his chair and then proceeding to kick him across the room.
"Damn...damn damn damn." Envy mused.
"Luuuust!" Sang Gluttony, who seemed to have poofed from nowhere. (But really, he came through one of the doors leading to the other rooms)
"Konnichiwa, Gluttony." Lust said, a half-smile on her face.
Gluttony noticed Envy. "Ooo! Kitty! Can I eat him?"
"No, Gluttony, you can't eat Envy." Lust sighed.
"Pleeeeaaaase?"
"No. Where's Sloth and Wrath?" She asked. Gluttony pointed towards the door he'd just come through, his head cocked. "Arigato." Lust said, and slipped into the room.
Sloth was sitting on a camp bed, while Wrath snored loudly on another of the small beds.
"Hey there, Lust." Sloth said. Her brow furrowed. "What...what's that thing on your shoulder?"
Envy sniffed angrily. "It's ME, you dumb bitch."
Sloth gasped. "Envy? Oh my God!" She stood up, and peered closer at Envy. "You're...You're..."
"Yes, I am very well aware that I'm a cat." Envy said sourly.
"You're...you're..."
"ADORABLE!" Sloth squealed, pulling Envy from his perch and cuddling him in her arms, stroking behind his ears and holding him in a tight hug.
"ACK! LEMME GO!" Envy yowled, straining to get away.
"Mama? What's all the noise?" Wrath's voice came. He was sitting up, his hair mussed up and his eyes shadowed by drooping lids.
"Look, Wrassu, Envy's a kitty!" Sloth held Envy at arm's length, towards Wrath.
Wrath's tiredness left him immediately. "HAHAHAHAHAHAH!" He cajoled, falling over backwards onto the bed again and curling up into a little ball, grasping his ribs as he laughed. "ENVY REALLY IS A CAT! I THOUGHT LUST WAS LYING! BUT HE'S REALLY A FUZZYBALL!"
Envy growled. "I'm aware. I'm also cute, fluffy, soft, and apparantly, adorable." He explained. "But I also have claws."
The next words made Wrath stop laughing almost at once. "Uhhhhh..."
"Bastard." Envy grumbled. "I'm tired, Lust. Where am I gonna sleep tonight?"
"I suppose wherever you want." Lust sighed. "I don't care..."
Envy wriggled from Sloth's grasp, and landed lightly on the ground. "I'll be in a windowsill somewhere." He grumped, and hurried out of the room.
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Envy woke up in the middle of the night, feeling like he was being watched. His eyes slitted open to find themselves face to face with blank, white eyes.
"I'm going to eat you now." Came Gluttony's voice.
An excruciating pain drove through Envy's tail and up his spine. "MRREEEEEYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW!" He shrieked, struggling to free himself from the hold Gluttony's teeth had on his tail.
The light clicked on, and Sloth and Lust stormed into the room, Wrath trailing behind them.
"GLUTTONY! NO! BAD, BAD GLUTTONY!" Lust smacked the other homunculus on the head with a broom she'd snatched from the doorway. "YOU PUT ENVY-CHAN DOWN! NOW!"
"OHMYGODHELPME!" Envy yelled, as he hung upside-down from Gluttony's mouth, tearing at anything he could reach with his claws. "GET ME OUT OF HERE! HELP MEEEE!"
"LET! HIM! GO!" Sloth barked, hitting Gluttony in the back of his head.
"Ptooey!"
Gluttony spat Envy out, and he promptly raced to the other side of the room, quaking from head to tail, his eyes wide and glassy, his fur puffed up in fear.
He'd never been so scared in his life. Never, in the 400+ years he'd been alive, had fear held him in such a deadly, icy grip. He swallowed hard, and backed slowly into the corner of the room.
Sloth was still disciplining Gluttony by hitting him with the broom that Lust had abandoned. Lust was walking near him. She knelt down in front of the trembling cat. She furrowed her brow. Were those tears welling in his eyes?
She reached towards him, and lifted him up. She held him against her chest, and could feel his rapidly beating hard pounding against his ribs. He was shaking very hard.
"Sloth...I'm taking him into my room." Lust said quietly, as Envy let out weak, choked mews that could have been a cat's version of sobbing.
Sloth nodded, and abandoned her relentless walloping of the unfortunate Gluttony.
Lust took him into her room, where another cot resided in the far corner. Placing Envy down on the bed, she bound his bleeding tail with a strip of fabric she had torn from one of the many cloth sacks in the warehouse. She then sat down on the cot, leaned against the wall, and coddled Envy like a child. The traumatized cat continued to whimper and cry for a few hours before he finally fell into a deep sleep.
Lust had been stroking his hair soothingly the whole time. How horrible had that been for Envy? He'd been picked up by a VERY tender limb and swung around, probably whacked by a broom once or twice, and then nearly gotten the limb bitten off! She felt a deep sympathy for him. She knew she would've been scared if she'd been hung upside-down like that.
She gently eased Envy from her chest, and lay him down on her pillow. He gave a very faint 'mew', curled into a ball, and fell back to sleep. She lay down as well, and pulled the blanket over herself. What could she expect in the morning from Envy?
The answer came in the form of a lick on the nose.
Lust opened her eyes, and found slitted purple eyes obstructing her vision. Envy was sitting up and staring at her. Just staring. She blinked, and sat up.
"G'morning..." She yawned, and stretched.
"Lust..." Envy said quietly.
"Hmmm?" She turned to look at him. He hung his head.
"I...umm...thanks." He said in just above a whisper. "Can...can you not tell Greed...about...about what happened?"
"No." Lust stood up and pulled on her gloves. "I won't tell him." She picked Envy up, and let him rest on her shoulders again.
She yawned again, and strode across the room, pulled open the door, and left the room.
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Auri's Notes: AHHHH! -huggles Envy-kitty- That was really, REALLY OOC, I know, but I think it's adorable. XD
Arigato- Thank you
Konnichiwa (MAY HAVE SPELLED THIS WRONG)- Hello