CHAPTER 9 THE NEW DEAL
It's been sometime since the cryogenic stabilizing took place.
The beaten down alchemist laid silently on the edge of the pool, half-aware of his surroundings. The rain downgraded into a drizzling halt, and the thunder had lost its clamorous passion. Steady breezes swept occasionally along the surrounding area, causing the grasses and trees to sway gently from side to side. There were breaks in the clouds that revealed pockets of light that shone gloriously from the heavens above. The water droplets that settled on the lush shrubbery sparkled beautifully and collectively from the light's presence. There was even a pretty faint, but visible, rainbow that manifested in the far distance, overarching the land of Artmetris with its grace.
The restrained Envy remained still in the motionless bath he was seemingly stuck to, as if he were meditating. His face was plain, having both eyes closed and his mouth shut. His long forest green hair spreaded majestically on the ice's surface like the tentacles of an octopus; multiple strands of hair covered his face, concealing the truth. His true intentions, remained unclear, unknown.
"It's time to rise and shine Pipsqueak, you can't sleep all day." Envy demanded, breaking the eternal silence in the air.
Ed shook a little bit, raising his head to see the still-alive entity in front of him. He felt small portions of his strength come back to him, at least having the ability to speak fluently. "Hehe, don't worry, I wasn't sleeping, I was - "
Seconds later, the boy was cut off by the two needle-like appendages projecting from Envy's available fingertips, centimeters away from his eyes, causing him to flinch with fear.
"Did you believe you had won this fight, Edward? Did you think you could trap me like this? Or did you forget who you were dealing with here?" Envy asked in a calm yet sinister tone.
Ed could barely move his face; his eyes were wide with anxiety as well as his expression. He gulped his throat, sweat drops were beginning to form on his face. He could see that he was defeated, or at least on the verge of it. But then again, was victory ever an option for the determined elric?
"You see, I like a little torture and torment from time to time. Your screams, your wounds, that pathetic look your face; I love it all. So, you're gonna suffer in agony, bleed in despair, die slowly, knowing that your purpose, your entire reason for being, will be for not." Envy revealed, making his intentions finally known to the startled boy.
Ed barely worked up the urge to speak. "But . . who are you? Who are you . . really?" Ed asked as fear and vigor crept up in his voice.
Envy smirked, looking to his right. "Why should you care? I'm a monster, am I not?" Envy asked, teasing the boy's emotions.
"JUST TELL ME WHO YOU ARE GOD DAMNIT!" Ed shouted, losing his patience with the immobilized immortal. Even Envy was shaken up a bit from Edward's sudden outburst, though it was subtle.
"I know that the lot of you homunculi have your own vendettas with me and my brother. Wrath wants the rest of my body because he thinks that'll make him a human, and Sloth wanted us dead because she couldn't stand having motherly memories of us. She thought that if she wiped us out, she would be free of the torment those memories brought her." Ed summarized, hints of guilt were mixed in his voice of reason.
"But you . . . you're different." Ed stated coldly and outright.
Envy wasn't fazed by the proposition, he laughed instead. "How am I so different? I'm a homunculus, just like Wrath, Sloth, and Gr -"
"That's not what I meant!" Ed yelled, increasingly growing more irritated as Envy danced around the subject. Envy giggled at the loudmouth.
"You people maybe be of the same species, but your purpose for living, and more so for killing, are different. Lust killed out of wanting to be a human, as if that goal would give her some sort of enlightenment. Gluttony kills human lives because his stomach is like a bottomless pit, it's in his name. Speaking of names, your name is Envy, but what would you be envious of?" Ed proposed, wanting to reach the truth of the matter.
"Hmmm" Envy hummed as he lost the snarkish expression on his face.
"I mean, you have all of these amazing powers; the ability to shapeshift, superhuman strength and speed, regenerative abilities, and something like immortality. But even with all of that . . . hahaha, I feel like I'm having a deja vu moment right now." Ed realized, laughing at how history can repeat itself.
Envy looked slightly confused with Ed's last comment, but nevertheless looked content with himself. "You're not wrong, so what's your point? Last time I checked, your brother has inhuman abilities and body structure, similar to that of a homunculus." Envy stated.
Ed fumbled a little in his words, just like last time when he got cornered with that mind-blowing comparison. "But . . at least you homunculi have flesh . . . at least you guys can feel pain . . can eat if you so choose . . can feel the touches, the comfort of someone else . . " Ed compared slowly and sadly, just those simply thoughts brought on a new sadness in his golden-colored eyes.
"Hehehehe 'the comfort of someone else' you say? Don't make me laugh with your ignorance, it's embarrassing." Envy pleaded with a hint of reborn aggressiveness in his voice.
"I'm ignorant? How do you explain Wrath's strong attachment to Sloth, or to wanting a mother in general? And how do you explain Sloth's acceptance of Wrath's embrace? At the very least, she cared for Wrath in a loving way, didn't she?" Ed challenged, reminded of Wrath's depressing breakdown over Sloth's death.
"Because he's still an innocent who has moma issues. And Sloth thought that treating Wrath as her son would help with her internal issues . . . and from what I heard, look what it got them." Envy coldly stated, even Ed couldn't argue with those circumstances.
"Both Sloth, dead as she is, and Wrath are particularly young for homunculi standards. They haven't witnessed enough horror, or shed enough blood for that matter. Not to mention, they're in the states they're in right now because of those pathetic human emotions. Lust was the same way, wondering who she was, and where she would go. In my eyes, she had the potential to live a long and resourceful life, but in the end, she fell prey to her own thoughts and motives, and she paid for the consequences. . . " Envy ended almost in a bitter-sounding whisper.
"So are you saying that the lack of positive human emotions is supposed to make you a better person?" Ed asked, not at all convinced of such talk.
"Well, judging from how long I've lived throughout the centuries, what do you think smarty-pants?" Envy tested, feeling quite sure of his reasoning.
"So what if you've lived a long and hardened live? It couldn't have been enjoyable living with a mindset like that, which brings me back to my first question . . . for the last time, who are you?" Ed asked with fatigue and irritation in his voice.
"Do you really want to see?" Envy warned, taking delight in Eds frustration.
Ed inhaled the surrounding air deeply, exhaling afterwards to keep his cool as best he could. 'Remember Ed, he's just playing mind games.' Ed thought to himself in secret.
"Alright, I'll take that as a yes. . . " Envy answered for the flustered alchemist. Few moments later, Envy was enveloped in a white light that scanned through his head. The once spiky-haired person now changed into an older-looking teenage male with golden hair and eyes, the same as Edwards. The newly formed Envy had a smug smirk on his face as he continued to gaze over at the bewildered alchemist.
Edward couldn't believe his eyes, they widened with pure astonishment . . . his inner suspicions . . . came to fruition.
ED POV
"No . . way . . ."
Those two words were the only sounds that I could fabricate out of my mouth. I should've seen this coming, I was starting to pick up on the signs, and yet . . . the revelation still hit me harder than a physical blow from my foe would've. To know that the person, no this creature, that I've been fighting with this whole time. . . was the son of my Old Man. . . and the brand name of "Envy" became all too clear, yet all too complex. My body was as frozen as the icy pool, my heart skipped a few beats, my breathing became disheveled, my eyes and mouth were wide open. And to see the look on his face, it haunted me. I knew this was a trap, formulated from the sadistic bastard himself, but I couldn't do anything about it, I was his prey for that moment, at least . . .
The blonde-haired homunculus took the opportunity to crave a small cut on the left cheek of the traumatized alchemist with one of his sharp elongated fingers. Ed barely registered the pain, it became a normacy to him. The fingers finally retracted back to their sender; Envy took the liberty to lick off some of the fresh blood from his blood tipped fingers.
"You're . . . the son of my old man . . ." Ed uttered out.
"Indeed, but what's with the look Ed? I thought you wanted to see." Envy said as his voice was much deeper than before.
Edward slowly regained his composure, and gulped in the back of his throat. Envy chuckled at such a sight.
"You see, my master and Hohenheim were lovers, and I was once their son. From what I was told, I died prematurely of mercury poisoning, and my amazing parents decided to perform human transmutation, and I was born as a result. I'm the first homunculus to be born almost 4 centuries ago." Envy paused, letting those words soak in for the boy.
"I see." Ed commented.
"But as you can imagine, the Old Man left me behind to start a new family with his perfect wife and kids. You must understand why I hate him, why I hate you, right?" Envy asked rhetorically, piercing Ed's left shoulder with an almost lightspeed fingernail attack.
"Ack! Damn you. . ." Ed said coldly as he tried to released himself of Envy's torture with his remaining arm. Blood started to leak from the point of injury. Envy chuckled all the while. Eventually, the child prodigy successfully transmuted his automail arm into the signature blade in attempt to cut of the spike. As such Envy, retracted the fingernail again before the boy had the chance to swipe at it.
"Look on the bright side, at least you'll know the true identity of your executioner before you die here." Envy declared as he transformed back into his preferred form.
Ed was too concentrated on sealing the wound with his automail hand to worry about Envy's chit chat, but he managed to maintain consciousness.
"So you're gonna use the philosopher's stone to kill Hohenheim of Light, huh?" Ed asked to confirm.
"That's my ultimate goal, yes." Envy answered.
'Hmm, but why would he need the stone to do that if dad's alive? Not unless something crazy happened. . .' Ed thought to himself.
"Ok, then let me ask you this. Let's say that you do use the stone to summon my father, and then kill him. . .what will that accomplish, and what will you do after?" Ed asked, wanting to prolong the conversation.
"Isn't it obvious, squirt? But what are you getting at?" Envy taunted questionably.
"Hmph, seems pretty bare-bones and pointless to me. . ." Ed gloated, clearly unimpressed from the forthcoming.
Envy frowned, staring at Edward with cold snake-like eyes. "What the hell do you know about it." Envy asked in a venomous and gritty tone, feeling quite offended by the disrespectful comment.
"Tell me Envy, what do you plan on achieving by getting revenge on the bastard? Because even if you do find him, and kill him, will you truly be satisfied afterwards?" Ed asked, wanting to promote thought in the detestable creature.
Envy had a smug smirk. "Oh course I'll be satisfied, that's what revenge is for. Shedding blood from that damn bastard will be the day I truly feel alive, and seeing you humans suffer time after time will also add to my happiness. It's essentially why I was born, and my name is a testament of that cause." Envy answered.
Ed chuckled a bit to himself.
Envy noticed and raised an eyebrow. "What are you laughing about Pipsqueak?"
"It doesn't seem right to say this, but you and I are more alike than I originally thought. When I heard that Maes Hughes died, I was filled with so much rage. He was a great pal to me and my younger brother; he was like a ray of light in my process of being a dog in the military. And the fact that no one told me about his death sooner, even when they knew about it . . really pissed me off." Ed stated, pausing his argument to let his words take effect. Envy seemingly looked unsurprised.
"I wanted to take revenge on whoever killed him, and I have a filling that I'm looking at him right now." Ed looked at Envy with sharp and narrowed eyes, they glowed fiercely under the semi-illuminated sky. Envy turned his head to the left to look away from the threatening eyes that gazed upon, a small smile creeped up on his lips.
Ed retained his usual look, calming himself down. "Well anyways, I eventually gave up on that notion, because I was reminded that there were more important things that had to be done. I learned that I needed to move on, because even I could kill you, it wouldn't change a thing. Hughes would still be dead, and there's no bringing the dead back to life . . ever." Ed finished.
Envy turned back to face Edward. "So what? I'm not doing this for anyone but myself, so why should that apply to me, you fool?" Envy asked with bitter malice.
"Well that's just it. If I wasn't talked out of giving into my own emotions at that time, then I would've been no different than you. . .and I can't allow that. . ." Edward barely finished his sentence as his voice shook up from the grief. Tears were slowly starting to form in his eyes. 'Damn these emotions.' Ed thought to himself.
Envy rolled his eyes at the pitiful sight. "Yeah, like I care about how you of all people will turn out as." Envy pointed out.
Ed couldn't contain his encroaching emotions, they started to take over. He wiped his eyes of the teardrops that plotted their venture down his bruised up cheeks. "Yes you do! . . .How could you not damnit?" Ed blurted out.
Envy's eyes widened slowly with astonishment as he bowed his head down, his teeth were clenched slightly. His headband disappeared from his forehead, giving way for his long hair to drop down freely, covering his face. He remained silent, eventually closing his mouth again, regaining the usual intimidation his eyes gleam out. A quick image of someone popped up in his mind momentarily.
Ed wiped the last remnants of his tears as he looked over at the bewildering homunculus. "Listen . . you have no idea . . just how much I've learned about you within those few moments of your reveal. You can't fool me anymore god dammit, you just can't. . .As much as you would like to hide it, I can still see the pain . . the regret . . the sin . . in your face. Perhaps . . to some extent . . I feel it as well. And as much as I might ha-" The heartfelt speech was cut off by the intervening homunculus, ready to speak their mind now.
"You fool, don't act like you know me." Envy said in a deep resentful tone of voice, his face showed a mixture of malice and anger beneath the thick strands of green hair.
"The nerve . . how can one such as yourself . . . someone I loath so very much . . . think for a moment that they've grasped a full understanding of me? We homunculi, aren't meant to be understood by the likes of the human mind . . ." Envy stated still looking down aimlessly.
"But that's just it, your appearance may not say it, but your identity does . . . " Ed remarked.
Envy grunted, then chuckled silently. Edward continued on "Yeah, keep laughing . . just keep laughing you monst-" Ed's sentence got cut short as he coughed out some blood, how it pained his throat in the process.
"Oh, be careful not to overexert yourself FullMetal Pipsqueak, being over talkative is unhealthy for the soul." Envy mocked the badly-beaten boy.
"Damn it . . . shut up you bastard." Ed demanded, growing weary by the second.
"Make me tough guy." Envy tempted as his fingers transformed into bladed scythes, ready to slash.
'Damn this, I'm getting weaker by the second. I can't pass out, not in front of him! He's just toying with me, right? But the moment I lose consciousness is when I truly lost the fight! Al . . please forgive me for what I'm about to do . . . it's tempting, and I'm out of options . . it's time to make a deal with the devil.' Ed thought to himself as sweat drops rained down his cheek.
"No thanks, I have a different approach now." Ed confirmed. The armed homunculus still kept his guard up, raising an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?" Envy asked.
"Look, we both have our own goals, right? You want to kill my father out of a deep-rooted hatred, and I just want my brother and I to get our bodies back. At the moment, I'm the only one who really knows where my brother is, and to seek him out, I need to be alive. So . . . let's make a deal . . Envy." Ed proposed.
Envy's jaw dropped a little bit, and his eyes were filled with surprise and confusion. 'What is this boy thinking? Not unless?' Envy thought.
"What is this about Full Metal? Huh? You really think that just because you know where you're brother that I'll be at your mercy?" Envy asked.
Ed nodded his head sideways. In a split second, Ed grinned giddily, making light of the situation. "Well, not exactly . . and you may not like this . . . but . . . considering who you are, how about this. ." Ed said as he swallowed in his throat.
"I don't believe this . . spit it out!" Envy demanded, causing the boy to hesitate.
Ed took a deep-breath, and the long-haired homunculus grew ever more impatient. "How would you feel . . . if I were to show you . . that not all humans, like myself, are like my . . Old Man?" Ed proposed, his heart beated rapidly and his body felt heavy, almost out of breath.
Envy couldn't believe those words, he laughed almost hysterically at this point. The sounds of his cackling echoed towards the surrounding scenery, a few birds flew out of the trees immediately. Edward felt very uneasy, not even cracking a smile.
"Oh oh hold on, I think I need to get the wax out of my ears because I think I misinterpreted what you just said Pipsqueak." Envy mocked as he calmed his laughter down to small giggles.
Ed didn't respond, knowing his message reached those ears just fine.
"I simply cannot believe this, you really are a coward, aren't you Edward? But I can't blame you for compiling such a weak-minded offer. This is even better than sending you to your grave at the moment." Envy commented, enjoying the current state of affairs.
Ed just stared on with half-closed eyes, barely muffling up the effort to counteract Envy's taunts. "Believe whatever you want." Ed said as he struggled painfully to get up on his feet. It took more effort than usual, but the young man stood proudly over the frozenly encased homunculus. His extended shadow casted down over top the crystallized pool and Envy all the same. Slivers of raw blood continued to gravitate down from the boy's fleshy wounds. "But I refuse to die at the moment . . ." Edward admitted as he looked into Envy's amethyst eyes.
"Oh yeah, think you're a big boy now? How naive. Then tell me why I should even care about such a frivolous offer. Because I don't care who it is. You and the old bastard are literal insults to my existence. So why should I even give you the time of day? Why should I even trust your words!? You should just die where you STAND!" Envy shouted as he proceeded to launch the elongated fingernails back at Edward's face.
"BECAUSE UNLIKE MY FATHER, I NEVER RAN FROM MY SINS!" Edward shouted at max volume. The deadly fingernails stopped in their tracks, right in front of those golden eyes. A brief silence emerged from the absence of the loud eruptive vocal chords from the two opposing forces. The surrounding area stood still in time, not even a small breeze. Edward's eyes flared with pride and grandiose conviction as he leered at the frozen homunculus. Envy's face remained enraged, seemingly unfazed by the words. A strand of hair fell over one of his animalistic eyes.
Slight hesitation formed in the eyes of the alchemist. He took a deep breath, attempting to calm his rapidly beating heart.
"Unlike the bearded-bastard, I faced through my sins, and conquered them in the end . . so don't you dare compare me to him!" Ed demanded coldly as he clenched his kincukled into fists. Envy still eyed the alchemist with sharp and narrow eyes, but his mouth was closed. Simply speechless.
"Listen, do you think it's easy for a human like me to confront a homunculus, to kill one? I still get nightmares of Greed's distorted face as he laid there . . frozen . . ready to die." Edward paused as his voice shook up from the memories. He loosened up his fists. Envy rolled his eyes.
"Even though you homunculi are errors that we, the alchemists, must correct, it doesn't negate the fact that you guys have your own personal motives, upbringings, and most of all . . . your own unique consciousness. It means that like a human, there's always room to grow, thus there's always room for change. And with you . . as much as you like to act all tough and murderous, there will always be that slight hint of humanity that you desperately seem to suppress. You see mankind as weak-minded and pathetic . . . hell even unworthy of your trust and respect, don't you?" Ed asked, still looking down at Envy.
"Hmph, yeah so what?" Envy countered.
"Well, I don't think that it's fair to generalize every human into one bias view like that. Otherwise, you wouldn't be as envious of us as you are now, because I highly doubt that you've lived a wonderful life despite how superior you may be to us humans. Your friend, Lust, wanted to become human, although I couldn't bring myself to trust her completely. Nevertheless, if she desperately wanted to become human despite how dangerous she was, then there must've been a pretty good reason for that drive, one that I may never find the answer to . . . But that's why I've decided to make this offer with you because maybe there's a chance that you might accept it, and in exchange, you leave me and my brother alone, dammit." Ed finished, almost muttering the last bit of words.
Envy continued the unannounced staring contest with the Elric, fingernails still threatening to poke those childish eyes out. He closed his eyes, and smirked ever so slightly, no longer paying no mind to his prey.
"Seems like you've grown softer by the minute Ed, what a change." Envy stated.
"Oh don't get the wrong idea, I don't forgive any of the crimes you monsters have committed throughout the years." Ed paused as anger seeped onto his face, he lowered his head. "And I don't think I ever will . . ." Ed muttered painfully.
"Well, that's something we have in common then, but I wonder . . with the way that you were talking, you're seemingly making yourself out to be someone who has some genuine care for us, homunculi, like we're somewhat capable of redeeming ourselves by some miracle. But would you have said all of that if you had the method to kill me during our little fight, or at this very moment?" Envy questioned, challenging the boy's resolve. Ed's eyes sparked up as astonished by the question. He reverted his sight back to the smirking homunculus who's purple eyes were lit up to see again.
"Well?" Envy asked, patiently waiting for an answer.
Ed swallowed in his throat before speaking. "To be honest, I would've killed you if I had the chance, who wouldn't? It's what a pathetic human's gotta do to stay alive, right? But, I gotta put my foot down somewhere, I can't keep running away from my problems, and sadly, you're one of them." Edward admitted, not taking anything back.
Envy chuckled on and on from the confession.
"I thought so, it always amuses me when people, like you, do that. You'll play yourselves out to be more benevolent than you actually are, just to survive in a world with arbitrary standards you human's have established for yourselves. It's just like when someone's doing a job interview in the hopes to get the job. They could speak their honest truths as to why they want to work, which is always to earn money, but that won't cut it. They would have to come up with some fabricated answer that usually doesn't reflect their true feelings. But it's all about lying to work, especially if you're working solely to survive, and not caring about how your own well-being will hold out in the struggle. And this idea can applied to many other situations, like this one." Envy said. Edward remained speechless.
"Hmm, the silent treatment you're giving me says it all, so don't even try to get out of this through lying . . although, I guess I should've expected something like this. Not only do I detest you, but I you're also no different from the many encounter's I've had with people in the past. You really are a joke, and you're not a true hero of the people, you're just a mere selfish alchemist." Envy outright said, and Ed grunted in response.
Envy sighed deeply, which lasted for a few moments. "But, as much as it pains me to say this, I do appreciate the honesty. No one has ever negotiated with the likes of me under these types of circumstances, it's pretty bold of you. And at the moment, I am in need of accessing your brother's hiding quarters. Plus, it would be such a waste to kill you now, I still have more pain and misery to inflict on you, little alchemist." Envy taunted, giggling at Ed's ticked off face. Strain marks emerged from within the boy's forehead, his teeth were clenched in a fiery glory.
"So, does that mean you accept the offer!?" Ed let out in self-contained rage, keeping his temper in check.
"Hmmmmmm . . . perhaps." Envy confirmed.
Edward quickly relaxed himself after the words registered in his brain; that was all he needed to hear as he collapsed onto the ground on all fours. His faced nearly kissed the ground, yet he felt overjoyed, he smiled even. Small bits of subtle laughter could be heard from the grounded alchemist.
'I . . I can't believe that worked . . . I thought I was gonna die there . . Alphonse . . there might be a chance that I'll pull through this after all.' Ed thought to himself.
The imprisoned homunculus sticked out his newly elongated tongue that slowly shifted into a slender red-colored snake. The snake slithered completely out of the mouth, leaving the once trapped Envy to be turned into dust, which leave an oddly shaped hole in the ice to take its place. Once the snake was out of the pool and beside Ed, it transformed back into Envy's regular form. He stood overtop of Ed, and with both hands on his hips, he took the liberty of pressing his left foot on Ed's exposed nape. Ed finally kissed the dirt, though he was obviously uncomfortable, made aware of the shapeshifter's dominant presence. To talk back, he adjusted the angle of his head towards Envy's direction.
"Damn, how did you get out so fast?" Ed mumbled due to his squished left cheek.
"Oh please, you really thought a simple trap like that would hold me? I decided that now's the time to emerge from my bed." Envy boasted, making the pinned down alchemist laugh a little.
"Hm hm did you find that amusing? Well, just remember that I have the power to end your life in an instant, so you better not cop out of your promise. After all, it is your philosophy. I just wonder if you're already starting to regret this decision, it might've been better if you just let me kill then, but oh well, more fun for me." Envy announced as he released his pressure on Ed only to receive a few grunts.
"Don't catch an attitude with me, now c'mon, get up. We're heading back to the campsite." Envy stated as he waited for Ed to pick himself back up.
"Who said you could start giving orders?" Ed questioned, not in the mood to follow Envy's lead.
"Who said you had time to complain, Pipsqueak?" Envy challenged, as Ed growled in rage.
Envy smiled on as his leaned in closer to Ed's personal space. He took a few whiffs and quickly back off. "Ew, better yet, go take a bath first shrimp, you smell terrible." Envy pointed out as he pushed the unprepared Edward into the icy pool with his butt in the air.
"Hey! What the hell Envy? You could've snapped my neck just now!" Ed complained as he adjusted his body upright.
"Hurry up." Envy said as he already started to walk off to the campsite. He disappeared into the trees.
It was almost evening time, and the sunlight glimmered through the breakage of the blanketing clouds. The wind kept a steady breeze as always.
Moments have passed, and the dirty alchemist was situated, naked, in the self-made bath that was heated with special alchemy to create a hot bath. The warmth of the water soothed Ed's beaten-up body, healing his soul. However, some of the boy's blood diluted into to the water, giving the water color a slight purple stayed in for what felt like forever, watching the day go by, wondering if he made the right decision or not.
CHAPTER 9 DONE
