. . .
Envy hadn't been worried when he'd thought his powers were about to come back at any moment – but now that he was aware of how utterly helpless he was, the news of the Flame Alchemist's arrival terrified him. Yes, he knew how that made him look. And yes, he was acutely aware of just how reliant he was on the Elrics – the Elrics, of all people! – to keep him safe right now. But that didn't mean he had to like it.
He had never liked Roy Mustang. The man had always been incredibly difficult, getting in the way of his own work at every opportunity - but this had gotten infinitely worse after Maes Hughes' death. Envy almost regretted the murder, purely because of the trouble Mustang had caused in the year since then. Between his meddling and the disappearance of the Elrics, the Homunculi had been all but stalled in their efforts to find a Stone. It had gotten to the point where Dante had begun planning to have Mustang mysteriously killed in action.
As he remembered this, Envy felt a twinge of… something he couldn't quite identify, down in his gut. And for the first time he wondered; should I say something?
The idea of betraying Dante still rubbed him the wrong way. He had been forced to change sides for the time being, purely for his own self-preservation – but the itch to return to her was still very much present, and he didn't want to jeopardise any chances he still had left. He still wasn't quite willing to sacrifice everything Dante had to offer him; he would rather keep his options open.
Still, that uncomfortable feeling wouldn't go away no matter how much he rationalised his choice to stay quiet; indeed, it seemed to only settle deeper into him. In the back of his mind, he wondered if this was just another thing he would have to learn to live with.
He caught himself glancing over at Alphonse, who offered a smile of reassurance.
"Try to stay calm, okay?"
He wasn't sure he could.
Just outside the room, Ed stood waiting as Roy approached. He hoped that he just looked impatient and annoyed rather than nervous, but it was too hard to say for sure. Especially with how damn perceptive the man could be…
Luckily for the time being, the Colonel's expression seemed neutral enough.
"Ed," he nodded. Ed groaned.
"What is this, a surprise party for my birthday? First these guys show up-" he jabbed a finger in Havoc and Breda's general direction, "and now you? What's wrong, don't you trust them to babysit us?"
"I'm sure you're aware that there are Homunculi in the area," Roy began.
"Yes, I'm aware. Your cronies told us. But we haven't seen them at all, we're pretty sure they're not even after us, so why does it matter?"
"How are you so convinced of that? You can't deny that these creatures seem to have a habit of following you boys around. Aren't you even a little worried that they might be looking for you?"
Ed shrugged. "I don't see why we should be. Al and I have been off the grid for eleven months, surely they gave up a long time ago. Hell, they probably thought we were dead with all the trouble we get into. You ask me, they're pretty bad at their jobs if they didn't have a backup plan."
"Either way, their presence here is making me uncomfortable. We know they're up to no good, that much is certain. We both know that you can't do much to protect yourself if they do come after you-"
"I can do plenty to protect myself," Ed growled. "I'm still not half as useless as you are in the rain."
Roy ignored his slight. "And Alphonse? He still doesn't know, does he?"
Ed flinched.
"You do realise that if it comes down to a fight with them, you'll be forced to blow your cover?" Roy continued.
"I'll figure it out," Ed muttered.
"You really don't think he'll question it? He's going to notice. You've incorporated too much alchemy into your fighting style for him not to. Unless I'm there. If I fend them off single-handedly with my flame alchemy, he's not going to ask why you didn't step in."
"Way to make yourself sound like the hero," Ed scoffed.
"Fine. And I know, I know. Everyone thinks I should just tell him."
"Hawkeye did want me to remind you on her behalf that you will have to tell him eventually," Roy smirked.
"But I'm just – I'm not ready to. Not yet."
He looked towards the door, feeling that all too familiar pang of guilt. Roy sighed.
"Do you think you'll ever be ready? It's not going to get easier the longer you keep it secret. I would imagine quite the opposite."
"It's going to hurt him, Mustang. He's going to hate it. He- he might even hate himself." He trailed off, the mere thought of Al blaming himself for this was making his gut clench painfully. No. Never.
Roy looked around. "Where is Alphonse, anyway? I was looking forward to seeing him in the flesh."
"Oh yeah, you haven't seen him since he was in the armour," Ed said, glancing back at the door behind him.
"I've talked to him on the phone; it's nice to hear his voice without the reverb."
"Yeah," Ed said, a tiny smile coming to his lips. "It really is. He's, uh-" his eyes almost flicked back to the door, but he managed to restrain himself.
"He's sleeping right now."
"In the middle of the day?" Roy asked.
"Well yeah. He's still technically recovering, you know. He hasn't had a body for four years!"
"Oh, but of course! Forgive me. How is he?"
"He's doing a lot better, but he still has a long way to go. What he went through… it's not the kind of thing you get over in a day." He leaned back against the door, fighting bad memories of Al screaming in the middle of the night. Of the first few horrible weeks, when Al couldn't even walk or clean himself, when he was throwing up almost everything he ate and Ed had been so worried…
"Honestly, he might never really get over it. He's probably going to carry the scars for the rest of his life, just like I am." He raised his automail arm for reference.
"Just like we all must carry the scars of our pasts," Roy corrected, his voice a more gentle tone than he normally used. "But he will recover, Edward, and so will you. Scars fade."
Roy cleared his throat, returning to his more authoritative voice.
"In any case, I'll also be staying at the military hotel for the time being. Not just because I want to keep an eye on you, although that is part of the reason," he said, cutting off Ed's retort, "My primary concern is the Homunculi. They're public enemies who have committed several serious crimes, and their movements need to be observed."
He started to walk away. "Should you or Alphonse come into contact with any information regarding the Homunculi, I expect you to come straight to me."
Ed's nerves peaked. "I don't work for you anymore, Bastard!"
"No," Roy said, turning back with a smirk, "but you are still Amestrian citizens. You wouldn't want to get caught up with obstruction of justice, would you?"
With that, he left. Ed cursed several times, causing looks of concern from Havoc and Breda.
"Don't you guys ever knock off?" He grumbled. Breda checked his watch.
"Our relief's showing up in about twenty minutes, actually."
"Oh? Who's next on Mustang's roster of torture?"
"Lets see… That would be Fuery and Armstrong, I think."
Havoc snorted. "Armstrong? Poor Fuery."
"Poor me," Ed groaned. "Ugh. I think I'm going to have an early night. I really don't feel like having my bones crushed to dust."
He walked back down the hall towards his room, casting one last, worried look at Al's.
. . .
It was four in the morning, by the clock on the wall. Envy listened suspiciously, unsure at first what had woken him so rudely from his slumber. He was anxious that it was the Flame Alchemist.
He heard groaning on the other side of his room, and almost jumped out of his skin – before he remembered that he was sharing a room.
The Pipsqueak's brother. What did he say his name was? Alf- No. Alphonse. That was it. The hell is he doing over there?
The noise came again, more urgent this time, and Envy suddenly recognised it – it was the sound of distress. Alphonse was in distress.
The same urge he had felt before came upon him, the strange, uncomfortable feeling in his chest compelling him to act. He sat debating it for a while, unsure if he could even stand long enough to reach the boy.
Then, slowly, he got up and headed for the couch; wobbly, but stable enough.
He tripped over something he couldn't see on the way, just barely catching himself on the frame of the couch. Sliding around until he could see Al's face, he started
"Hey kid, the hell's-"
He froze. Closed his mouth, careful not to make a single noise.
Alphonse was asleep.
The more Envy watched him, the more he understood what was happening. Alphonse might have been in dreamland, but he was restless, tossing around, pained noises escaping him every so often. Envy sighed, leaning his head against the couch.
A nightmare. Fantastic.
Looked like if Envy wanted any chance of going back to sleep, he was going to have do something about this. Should he wake him up?
Ew, no. He had seen what humans could be like after bad dreams. No thanks.
But he had to do something…
He glanced at the door. Could he make it?
Now more than ever, he wished he had access to his abilities. Shift into the pipsqueak, walk down the hall, it would be so easy. Damnit, why did this have to happen to him?!
Face it – if you still had your powers, you wouldn't be here at all, his mind whispered to him. He brushed it aside. Well he was here now damnit, and he had no choice but to make the best of it.
He made his way to the door and leaned against it, listening as hard as he could. For a moment, he heard nothing. Then, a loud and booming voice. There was a second one too, quiet and timid, but it was easy to tell who the dominant force in this conversation was.
They didn't sound too close; they certainly weren't right outside the door.
His biggest worry was that Flame Alchemist; who knew where he was? He could be standing right there for all Envy knew. Maybe the pipsqueak had sold him out after all, and Sparky was waiting for him at this very moment.
Another whimper behind him made his decision.
Nope. I am NOT putting up with this all night.
Cringing a little, he cracked the door open as quietly as he possibly could and leaned partially out. Just enough so that he could look around. And there! There were the soldiers, down the end of the hall. Luckily, on the opposite side of where he needed to go, and they seemed distracted enough. He looked down the other side, where he knew the pipsqueak's room was.
Three doors. It was only three doors down. That wasn't that far, right?
If he timed it right, he could make it. He was sure. Well, almost sure. Seventy percent. Sixty at the lowest.
Okay, maybe he really just wanted to go back to sleep.
He waited, watching the soldiers, waiting for his moment. He caught himself subconsciously taking in details of their appearance as he did so – a habit he had picked up for his shape shifting; he was used to memorising people at a single glance. Before he stopped himself he had already noticed the length of the taller man's eyelashes (almost feminine, but not quite), the way the shorter man's glasses sat slightly crooked on his nose, and the fact that the taller man's uniform had been sewn back together several times.
Whoa, focus. Got a job to do here.
Finally, his moment came. The taller man turned, backing the shorter man menacingly into a corner as his voice raised. Not taking the time to question what was going on, Envy ran for it.
Luckily, even without his powers he was nothing if not stealthy. He had always been light on his feet, and managed to make it down to the pipsqueak's door without drawing the attention of the guards.
Okay, now what?
He looked back at the soldiers, who still seemed very distracted, and chanced a light knock on the door.
He waited. And waited. How long should he wait? How long did it normally take humans to drag themselves out of bed? He couldn't remember.
Damnit. He hadn't woken up, had he? Envy silently cursed, and despite the pounding of his heart he tried again; knocking as loud as he dared.
This time, only about a minute passed before the door opened and a very dishevelled Edward spoke.
"Mustang, I swear to God the hotel had better be on fire-"
It was at that moment he stopped rubbing his eyes and realised who he was talking to.
Envy yelped as he was grabbed by the fabric of his crop top and yanked roughly into the room. He stumbled, trying to regain his fragile balance as Ed closed the door.
"What the hell?! Are you trying to get us all caught?" Edward hissed at him. Envy rolled his eyes.
"I think what you meant to say is 'thank you', Pip-Edward," he corrected hastily, not wanting Ed to kick up a fuss.
"And why would I say that?"
"Because your kid brother's having a nightmare in there, and I risked my ass to come get you instead of just leaving him. Which I easily could have done. I sleep like a baby when humans are having a bad time. So you're welcome."
Who are you trying to kid, his inner voice whispered. He ignored it.
Ed's face immediately changed; the emotion Envy recognised as worry carving itself into every facet of his features.
"Stay here. I can't risk taking you back to the room right now." With that, Ed left the room.
Envy sighed, dropping onto the couch in this new room. Awesome, now he could get some sleep.
Weirdly there was something else there; something he couldn't quite pin point, that felt very similar to accomplishment. It was like when he got a mission just right, but… different, somehow.
He tried to figure out what this strange feeling was, but all too quickly it faded with everything else as he sank into slumber.
. . .
The next morning, Envy awoke (feeling much better rested) to see both brothers standing in front of him. He yawned, and shot them a weak glare.
"What?"
"We're trying to figure out if it's worth trying to move you back to Al's room," Ed explained. "Honestly, it might be easier to keep you here."
Something inside him, Envy decided, was horribly uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a room with Edward rather than his brother. He could just imagine how well that would go…
"Alphonse would be switching too, right?"
"No, that would be too obvious! We can't just randomly switch rooms, they'll want to know why."
"Maybe we could," Al suggested. "Could always say that I get a better night's sleep in this room for some reason. They'll believe it. Besides, do you really think it's a good idea to have you and Envy in the same room?"
"What are you saying, Al?"
"That I get along slightly better with difficult people than you do."
As the brothers argued, Envy pulled one of the couch cushions down over his head and grimaced. Ugh, having to share with the pipsqueak. No good deed went unpunished, he supposed. Maybe he should have let Alphonse continue dreaming…
No, he decided. That feeling he had gotten afterwards had been very pleasant. He wouldn't take it back.
"Okay," Al finally said, raising his voice just enough to cut Ed's ranting off. "You just proved why it's not a good idea to leave you and Envy alone, so the way I see it, we have two options. Either we can wait for a shift change and try to move him then, or you and I switch."
Ed immediately started shaking his head.
"I've seen the shift changes; there isn't enough time for us to sneak him through. Mustang must be really strict on them. I don't even know how he got here in first place without being caught!"
"You know if you asked him one day, instead of talking about him right in front of him, you might just find out," Envy said sarcastically.
Ed flushed, and started stammering out an apology. Rolling his eyes, Envy decided to spare him.
"I managed to catch a few seconds where they were… distracted, to answer your question. No idea what the short guy did to trigger the taller guy, but he ripped his shirt off and started flexing at him."
"Sorry you had to see that," Ed said, his tone giving it away that this was a common occurrence.
"Well, that settles it. Unless anyone here feels like triggering another gun show-"
"Nope," Ed said.
"Then we're going to have to just switch rooms. Give me the key."
Al held out his own, Ed reluctantly brought out his, and they traded. Envy couldn't help but notice that Ed still seemed very uncomfortable about the situation.
"Relax, will you?! I haven't murdered him yet. And I don't know why you think I would, when you two are the only thing standing between me and imminent death right now. That would be like you guys straight up admitting to the military that you committed human transmutation."
"He has had a lot of opportunities," Al agreed. "If he really wanted me dead, he would've tried it by now. Hell, he could've done it last night instead of going to get you."
Ed sighed, both his hands clenching into fists.
"Fine. I still don't like it-"
"We know," both Al and Envy said at the same time.
"But we did agree to help him, so we need to do whatever we need to do."
"Besides, we're stuck now," Al said. "If the Colonel finds out now that we've been hiding a Homunculus from him this whole time, he's not going to be happy."
Ed nodded. Then saw the time.
"Ack! We have to go, Al! We're supposed to be meeting up with Mustang!"
"Yeah, about that. Maybe I should stay here."
"Seriously, Al? You're abandoning me in my time of need-"
"Well someone has to babysit our guest."
"Hey!" Envy said indignantly.
"Besides," Al said, "He did say that Lust and Gluttony could find him at any moment. He said something about Gluttony being able to smell him…"
He looked over at Envy, who nodded.
"That's his power. Aside from the acid spit, I mean. His main functionality is that he has a really good sense of smell; he's like a bloodhound."
"If he can smell Envy, don't you think he can smell you too?" Ed said. "And if they know the famous Elric brothers are with Envy, don't you think that'll make them more worried? We don't exactly have good history with them."
"Ah," Al pointed out, "but they won't know the famous Elric Brothers are with him. Not if it's only me."
"How's that?" Ed asked. Al said nothing, only waiting for Ed to realise the obvious.
He could see the exact moment it happened, Ed's entire face changing as if he had just discovered the real secret to human transmutation.
"Oh shit."
"Yeah, there it is," Al said with a smile. "Go on Ed, really. We'll be fine here. Worst case scenario, we have our guard detail; I'll just have to figure out a way to hide Envy from them."
"What do I tell Mustang? He really wants to see you."
"Just tell him I'm sick or something. He'll believe it; my immune system's probably trashed."
. . .
And it was exactly that excuse that Ed ended up utilising as he sat in the hotel restaurant with Roy Mustang, noting the increasingly disappointed expression on the older man's face.
"You boys sure you're not lying to me about Alphonse being back in his real body?" Roy joked. "I mean I still have yet to see it for myself."
"Hey, he can't help that his immune system got wrecked! Trust me, he wanted to see you too. He hates that there's still so much he can't do; it's killing him."
"I imagine it would; it's been almost a full year. I would be frustrated too."
There was a brief break where Ed shovelled food into his mouth. "So why did you want to meet up, anyway?"
"I wanted to keep you updated on what's going on. I know you're not in the military anymore, but you are a known point of interest for the… criminals in the area. It's only fair that you know what's happening."
"Is that your way of saying you think of us as friends, Mustang?"
Roy realised too late the trap he had fallen into.
"Fullmetal, don't you dar-"
"You care about us! Awwwww, who knew the famous Flame Alchemist was such a softy?"
"Maybe I shouldn't tell you," Roy pretended to speculate with a grin. "After all, if they kill you I won't have to put up with your heinous attitude anymore."
"Okay, okay." Ed laid off the teasing, and his countenance sobered. "What were you trying to tell me?"
Roy too adopted a more serious expression, leaning in slightly closer and dropping his voice so that no one else could hear.
"I've getting getting reports of a strange, dark haired woman and an overweight man wandering around. That, you already knew. But I've been watching them, and I have new information: they've started asking questions about the recent doings of the Fullmetal Alchemist."
Ed suddenly felt very cold.
"What kind of questions?"
"Nothing that gives away much," Roy said. "They're mostly just asking what you've been up to, whether you're still in the military, where you've been for the last year."
"And what kind of answers are they getting?"
"Nothing serious right now, just what the public knows. You retired from the military after Maes Hughes' murder, and you haven't really been in the public eye since. It was pretty obvious that you two were close to the Hughes' family, so most people are just assuming the events are connected."
"I mean, they're not wrong," Ed pointed out.
He suddenly became very aware of the fact that Al was alone with Envy, and leaned forwards urgently as his heart rate soared.
"What about Al? No one's said anything about the fact that the Fullmetal Alchemist's younger brother stopped wearing his armour, right?!"
Roy shook his head. "Not yet; don't worry, I've been listening out for that too. Honestly, I don't think most people even know who he is."
"Good," Ed said, leaning back. "That's how we're trying to keep it; at least for the time being. With him still recovering, and my… condition, the last thing we need right now is for old enemies to start thinking it's a good idea to kidnap him."
"What do you mean 'how you're trying to keep it'?"
"Well we've had a couple of fake identities for him, just in case - but I usually don't even have to introduce him at all. He's always been so quiet, and now that he's not a seven-foot suit of armour, he just kind of… fades into the background most of the time. Especially next to me, no one really pays attention to him anymore."
He shrugged. "It does suck for him sometimes, but we've both agreed that it's for the best right now. Besides, he likes it better than being treated like a freak all the time. He said it's nice that he can disappear off the radar sometimes, instead of people always being so aware of his presence."
"I can definitely understand that," Roy agreed. "Though at the same time, knowing Alphonse, I can't help but wonder if he's really that okay with it."
"Yeah, that's my concern too," Ed admitted with a sigh. "Sometimes I wish he'd just talk to me."
"That's hypocritical," Roy pointed out. "You don't talk to him."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I need to tell him."
"Sooner rather than later," Roy insisted. "I don't want to sound like a nagging parent, Edward, I really don't. But it's only going to get worse the longer you let this continue. If you think he'll be angry about it, he's going to be even more angry if he finds out you've also been lying to him."
"I know that."
They fell into a tense silence.
"Alright, I'll stop lecturing you now," Roy said. "I'll admit that it's probably not my business anyway; you boys have done a good enough job taking care of yourselves so far."
"Yet you seem to love shoving your nose where it doesn't belong," Ed bit back, though not entirely seriously.
. . .
Meanwhile, Al was settled on the couch reading a book while Envy stood, pacing back and forth -well, as well as he could given the circumstances - with an air of anxiety.
Looking up as Envy's shadow passed over him yet again, Al sighed and sat up.
"You know, there's nothing we can do right now."
"We should at least have a plan."
"I agree. But we can't make one until Ed's back."
"Why?"
"Because good plans require the input of all involved parties," Al explained patiently. "What happens if we make a plan, and then Ed gets back and immediately says 'no, that won't work and here's why'? We've just wasted all that time."
"We're wasting time now," Envy complained.
Al got up, causing Envy's anxiety to spike. "Where are you going?"
"Relax, I'm coming back. I'm just checking who our guard is right now, and who our next guard's going to be. That might be important when we do get to the planning stage."
He made it to within two feet of the door, then paused to readjust his fringe, which had fallen into his eyes.
That brief pause went on to become the only reason Alphonse Elric survived that day. In years to come, the boys would attribute this to the famous 'Elric Luck' that had so often saved them from many a tragic end to their journey.
For mere milliseconds after he stopped moving, so fast he could barely register it, there was a thin, black blade less than an inch away from his face.
Both people present in the room went dead still; Al still trying to catch his breath from the literal centimetre away he had just been from death. Envy's eyes raced back and forth as he put the pieces together, figuring out what must have happened-
Al was faster.
"Get down!"
They both dropped to the floor as several more blades pierced the wooden door, some of them hitting the wall behind Envy.
"Damnit, I thought you said we had a guard," Envy swore at Al.
"We should!"
"Well where the hell are they?!"
Al's breaths were still coming shakily, as his mind raced to come up with something, anything. Lust hadn't broken through the door yet, but he didn't know how much time they had. Gluttony had acid spit; how long would it take to burn through? He found himself calculating how long it had taken to decimate his armour body, transferring those calculations to wood…
They didn't have long.
"We can't rely on them. we have to assume for now that something happened to them. We have to assume that Ed and Mustang won't make it back in time," he met Envy's eyes.
"We have to assume that we're all we've got."
"Then we're fucking doomed."
"Maybe not- aaagh!" He rolled backwards as he saw Lust's nails retract from the door, just barely making it out of her reach before she struck again. "Maybe not. There has to be something. Anything!"
"What?!" Envy all but shouted. "What can we do, Alphonse?! You're still recovering from the armour, I'm still recovering from whatever the hell happened to me; unless you're about to tell me that you just happen to have a gun with you-"
He stopped, noticing the way that Al's eyes had just widened.
"You don't have a gun with you, right?"
"Don't need one," Al said.
Those three words were enough for Envy to understand.
"What do you need?"
Lust's nails retracted from the door once again, and both of them tensed. But nothing came. Finally, Al realised what was happening.
"I bet she's asking Gluttony to burn through the door. Quick! I need metal; any metal you can find will do, but the stronger the better."
Envy had already started moving the second the word 'metal' had left Al's mouth; Al himself now did the same, rifling through everything they had available to them. Envy threw a fork at him from what must've been Ed's most recent room service order; it just barely missed taking out Al's eye. Al picked it up, putting it on the coffee table with a couple of tiny screws he had found.
A thought came to him. He ran for Ed's suitcase, pulling out all the carefully stacked clothes inside, tossing aside Ed's journal.
There! He'd found it. Just as he was coming back up to the table, Envy too arrived with what looked like the metal parts from a curtain rack. Al noticed him looking over his shoulder curiously.
"Ed always keeps scrap around for his automail," he said by way of explanation.
"Are you like your brother, or do you need something to draw with?"
"I don't remember the Gate, no," Al said, fiddling in his pocket and pulling out some chalk. "So it's lucky I carry this with me."
He knelt down and started etching, his past with combat alchemy making him surprisingly fast and accurate. Envy half sat, half fell to the ground next to him, his violet eyes locked on the door as he started to see the beginnings of Gluttony's acid bubbling through. He was just about to tell Al to hurry the hell up when a bright blue light flashed in his peripheral vision.
Seconds later, Al threw something to him. Envy barely caught it, recognising once he had it in his hands that it was a sword of sorts; though it was slightly shorter than normal, likely to conserve materials. Not long after that, Al had a weapon of his own and was rising to his feet.
"It's not enough," Envy said even as he followed Al's lead. Al shook his fringe out of his face again, taking a deep breath as they watched the door.
"It's enough to make sure we don't go down without a fight."
Envy looked at him, and nodded once. They waited, letting the Homunculi come to them, standing ready. As the door lost more of its structural integrity, they could now hear Gluttony's voice.
"He's definitely in here, Lust! I can smell him! I can smell someone else too, but I don't know who it is!"
Envy's sword wavered. Al caught it out of the corner of his eye and turned to face him.
"Envy."
He shook his head. "I don't know if I can do it."
It was the first time the Homunculus had openly admitted to any kind of weakness in front of Al, let alone an emotional one. He had to admit, he didn't quite know how to respond.
"There have been a lot of things I didn't know if I could do. Ed, too. I didn't know if I could survive in the armour, if I could even stay sane in there. He didn't know if he could go through with the automail surgery. If he could ever walk again. Neither of us knew if we would be able to burn down our mother's house."
"But you did it all anyway."
"Exactly. Because we had to; and sometimes you just have to do what you have to do."
Envy scoffed.
"Damned if I'm ever going to be weaker than a human. Especially if I'm about to die."
"That's the spirit."
With that, the door finally collapsed under its own weight. Al and Envy now had nothing standing between them and the Homunculi.
. . .
The second the door fell, Lust opened her mouth to speak – only for her jaw to drop in utter confusion at the scene that stood before her. Not only was Envy alive, unbound, and seemingly totally unharmed – he was with a human, and it looked like they were on the same side. More disarming was the fact that Envy was armed and looked ready to fight.
"Envy. Our master's been searching for you. Do you feel like explaining what's happening here, and where you've been this whole time?" Was all she could say as her mind whispered one mantra on repeat.
Please no. Please no. Please no. Images of Greed flashed through her mind, the older brother she had never had the chance to meet on positive terms.
Envy flinched a little under her stare, became just a little uncomfortable - but not enough. There was something new inside him, a determination she had never seen before.
"Yeah, about that. I'm not coming home."
Though she would never admit it, or let it show on her face, she felt as though one of her own spears had gone through her chest.
"I strongly urge you to reconsider."
"I can't." And it did seem as though there was a level of regret; Lust didn't know what, but something was genuinely making him feel as though this was a choice he had to make. The only choice he could make.
Still, her – their – master's orders were resolute.
"Then you know what must happen," she said. Envy sighed, a weary sound.
"You have a choice, Lust. You know that, right?"
"No I don't."
"Yes you do. You can walk away and tell Dante you never found me. Or that I died. Hell, that's not too far from the truth. She wouldn't even expect a body."
And truthfully, she was tempted. Envy was right; she could just leave and pretend none of this ever happened. If she said she hadn't been able to find him, Dante wouldn't question it.
But it wasn't Dante running into Envy on the street that she was worried about.
"You know better than anyone; I can't do that."
Envy raised his weapon. "So then. This is how it has to be."
"This is how it has to be," Lust agreed.
She sent out her spears, aiming straight for the red nodes she knew would weaken Envy enough to capture him. But he was ready for that trick, catching her with his own blade. For a moment they stood, locked in a battle of strength. Then like a flash, Envy ducked under and around her blades.
"You really don't want to do this, Lust. I have at least four hundred years of experience and practice on you." He dodged her next strike, landing on his knees and parrying her again. "Do you really think you can beat me?"
Nearby, Al was fending off Gluttony as best he could; he was trying his hardest to keep his distance, well aware of the creature's deadly saliva. It was hard not to be; Gluttony was currently drooling at the prospect of his next snack, leaving tiny holes in the floor wherever he went.
Al figured as long as he could watch out for that, he would be alright. Gluttony as a whole wasn't much of a threat; he was slow and bumbling, already Al had managed to chop off his right arm twice and his left once. It was that mouth he was worried about, as well as Gluttony's massive, hulking weight. If he got on top of Al, it was over.
"Remember," he called out, "all we have to do is wear out their red stones!"
Upon hearing his voice, both Lust and Gluttony froze. Lust turned towards him, her eyes narrowing.
"You… Where have I heard that voice be-"
She gasped and choked as Envy's sword went straight through her chest, falling limp as her wound started to spark. Envy started trying to pull the weapon back out, using his foot against her stomach as leverage.
"You think I don't know that?" He shouted back.
He got the weapon back just as Lust came to, coming forwards for another strike. This one went straight down her left shoulder, severing the arm. She cried out.
"See? I told you. Four hundred years of practice, versus… how long has it been? Thirteen, fourteen years?"
"Long enough," Lust gasped through the pain, using her remaining arm to slash at him. He dodged, barely, but her swing caught the blade between her fingers and yanked it out of his arms. It clattered to the ground somewhere on the other side of the room.
Al leapt to the side as Gluttony charged him, trying to avoid being trapped in a corner. He started forwards to chance another strike, but was forced to back off as Gluttony approached; the drooling had worsened, and he was afraid to get too close.
He had managed to avoid injuries thus far, but he was worried. His body still wasn't used to such rough handling, and far too quickly he was already starting to tire. He knew Envy couldn't be much better off in his current state.
He braced himself for the fact he had known all along: they were probably going to lose this fight.
Suddenly, his world caught on fire. Lust and Gluttony were both caught in the blaze, consumed to ash in minutes.
"Damnit, be careful! Al's in there!" And Al recognised the voice.
"Brother?"
He looked and confirmed his wildest hopes; Ed was standing at the door with a worried expression, Mustang by his side with his gloved hand extended. Al's mind flooded with relief, immediately followed by panic.
Ed seemed to understand his concerns, nodding a little.
Behind him, Lust and Gluttony reformed. They turned, angry and seemingly ready to fight – only to back off a few steps as they saw Mustang get ready to snap again.
"Gluttony, we need to go," Lust said.
"But what about-"
"Now!" And just like that, they were gone. Mustang pursued them for a few steps, sending several bursts of flame in their direction, but missed every time.
Ed stepped into the now fire damaged room, coughing from the smoke as he pulled Al to his feet.
"Where's Envy?"
Al turned, afraid that Envy could have been caught in Mustang's attack – only to see him scrunched up in the corner behind the bed.
"Here. I was trying to make sure your Flame Alchemist didn't see me. I don't think that would work out very well for any of us."
"Nice hiding spot; we almost didn't see you," Ed said. "Are you hurt?"
He shook his head. "Almost. I got cocky; should've been more careful."
He stood up, stepping towards them.
"Step back, boys! Looks like I missed one."
Everyone in the room jumped at Roy's voice behind them, turning to see him back in the doorway – and now aiming his fury at Envy.
Envy chuckled nervously, hoping he wasn't about to be set on fire.
"Hi."
. . .
