A/N: So now finally, we draw away from the original part of the story OR we can label it as "Catalena's background" and finally incorporate her roles into the actual plot of FMA Brotherhood. Oh and let's not forget Zeal and Cain. Shan't forget about them. (Aw, come on, you can't dislike them that much!)
Questions! Exactly how is our aloof original character going to react to the outside world, after confining herself for so long underground? (Not literally) What is she going to do about her friends' deaths? Lastly, when the HELL is Zeal going to leave her alone already!
Warnings: Some angst and emotional crap, then a real surprise at the end!
Listeningto: Still Wang Yi's theme: Teary Edge. I find music alone without the singing keeps the lyrics from creeping out onto the document I'm typing—which is good!
Disclaimer:I do not own FMA or FMA Brotherhood. If I did, I would have let Wrath get just a few more hits in on Greed. Why? Just because.
Rapacious
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| Sometimes it is not so easy to let go of something. |
Chapter 8
Revelations
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"It honestly couldn't smell any worse down here," pressing one of her palms to level her head, the homunculus' free hand dragged along the concrete wall beside her.
She was having trouble walking due to internal difficulties.
Zeal expected—and wished—that the human inside of her would tease the homunculus on her weakness, but Zeal knew she wouldn't be hearing any of that kind of talk at this time. She might never hear of it again if the two of them couldn't escape, but Catalena was too damn stubborn to leave without any clue of her friends' whereabouts.
The only thing that accompanied Zeal as she walked into this endless sewage tunnel was the quiet churning of the wastewater. The dirty visual interpretation of this foul substance had no effect on Zeal. That is before the grayish-blue water suddenly appeared crimson to her.
Rubbing the soles of her rapidly blinking eyes, the homunculus stopped to stare at the bloody water. Hastily, she searched for the source.
"Oh…my," came the dejected tone of Zeal once she saw the bodies.
She felt an odd change in the moaning chorus (Pertaining to the constant wailing of the Philosopher's Stone) of the consciousnesses inside of her, and knew that Catalena had already distinguished the two familiar pieces of body parts swimming around lifelessly in the water, like trash.
Her friends, slashed apart in two before being carelessly tossed into the water like worthless pieces of garbage.
At that point, the human inside of her mentality had cracked.
Like some sort of surge sending shockwaves through her body, the full intensity of Catalena's internal turmoil became Zeal's. Even though Catalena never uttered a word, the homunculus didn't mind jerking her body forward, holding her head and screaming in agony.
After the elongated cry, Zeal pinched her eyes closed, putting pressure onto her skull as if it would smother the montage of negative human feelings.
"Control your damn emotions, Catalena! I can't fucking think when your own head's about to explode!" Zeal had managed to seethe out through her teeth.
Even though the woman inside of her did not retort, Zeal already knew she was caught between the line of impossible and possible—if Greed was still alive or killed. The latter was the obvious reality, which Catalena could not handle accepting.
She would always remember his words: impossible is impossible.
"Look, I don't mean to be an asshole, but face reality.Yeah, with the way Dolcetto and Roa's cut up, I do think Greed's done for too. But please, for my—his sake, stop beating yourself up, and let's just get the hell out of here!"
…
Zeal stopped, staring hard at the bloody maelstrom both in front of her and inside of her. No, nothing could process correctly. Catalena's own troubled, hurt emotions and Zeal's generic, confused ones collided with one another, pending one hell of a freak out in Zeal's case. She couldn't comprehend anything as she felt the feelings Catalena was feeling—dread, denial, the destruction of her own sanity—
The homunculus' physical body stared at the bloodied water in front of her, though all her vision truly saw was the mortified image of Catalena's traumatized, furious, saddened visage, disposition, all together in one unsustainable package within her own and Zeal's consciousness.
Zeal didn't understand as she watched the kneeling figure of her human counterpart cradle her head, biting her already punctured lip in writhing silence.
Was this how the human mind worked? To dwell so foolishly on things you can't change? So what if Greed was gone? That didn't mean Catalena needed to tear her hair out from it. Zeal couldn't say she was running away, because here she was, as if trapped in some sort of endless nightmare.
And as she watched pitifully as Catalena continued to drown within herself and become victim to her emotions, Zeal finally began to understand something that one couldn't learn just by looks alone.
But her newfound understanding of Catalena would be disclosed at a much more peaceful time.
Zeal blinked, watching with an expressionless face; watching the destruction of a human from foolish emotions; watching as Zeal's own understanding of the world seemed to fade into a sheath of black on a par to Catalena's.
Staring hard at absolutely nothing, the gray optics of this stationary homunculus slowly dilated.
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"Whoaaa. Well that was very merciless of you," Greed sighed, standing up straight as his previous wounds began to regenerate again. Glaring daggers into the back of Wrath, he humorlessly added, "You can kill me as many times as you want, but they're not coming back."
"What is it? Have you grown attached to your things?" Wrath faced the older homunculus, holding his two swords in front of him.
Greed looked away, smirking yet not wanting to meet the eyes of his ruthless opponent, "…Of course not," turning his head back there was an almost villainous smile on his face, "But killing my possessions is the same as taking them away from me, and I don't like people stealing my things!"
"Is that so? What about the little bird I keep finding scavenging through our military's classified files?"
Any witness in that particular scene could instantly tell apart Greed's current expression from his receding one. Certainly Wrath could read that he was about to meet Greed's own fury.
"Whatever you're here for old man: leave her out of this."
Raising one of his claws in order to seriously maim Wrath, Greed and the former met weapons again.
But this time, Wrath didn't have the time to play around with his older brother and robotically deflect his attacks; this time, Wrath thrust his swords into Greed with the intention of putting him down for good. Or at least rendering him immobile. Which ever works.
As soon as the two swords hit very vital, immobilizing points of his body, Greed stood in shock, his jaw slightly agape. Once Wrath had two other swords follow after the preceding, Greed's whole body went in a state of unconsciousness.
"Stay asleep for now."
Holding only a single remaining sword in his hands, Wrath quietly watched as his older brother's body fell into the water, lying very still. He wasn't dead, but the way he looked now anyone could mistake him as such. Wrath turned away with the intention of returning back to the armored boy's body and discard the corpse sitting within. [1]
"—!"
A very distraught scream echoed through the tunnel, the pitch further intensified by the narrow walls one could almost hear or feel the mentally crazed feelings of the owner.
But in Wrath's mind, exactly who would be courageous enough—albeit, stupid enough to charge him so recklessly and without judgment of their own actions?
His answer was the shorthaired woman wearing a black blazer, whose anger or confusion flared so immensely one could see nothing when gazing into her blind eyes. The scream dimmed to an almost animalistic growl as the woman unknown to Wrath lifted one of her fists, tracing her fingers along the walls beside her as she raced closer to him.
The material of the wall seemed to rip off of its base, tearing and then flying towards him in an attempt to crush him. Luckily, with his Ultimate Eye, Wrath easily saw a safe path through the crumbling rubble, striding along with his single remaining sword bared to be rid of this new opponent. Silently and with the judgment this woman lacked, Wrath's sword closed in on her torso.
Seeing this, it was too late for the homunculus to recover from her recklessness, and promptly suffered a sword being pierced through her upper body. Had she a heart like a human, she probably would have died.
Clenching her teeth as gray daggers glared up into the different eyes of her opponent, Zeal had neither the interest nor the sanity to question the familiar tattoo he had on the left eye. Zeal gripped the blade, not feeling the pain that coursed through her hand and arm as she hissed, wrenching the weapon from her chest and then forcing Wrath away with all her remaining strength.
Wrath watched with an undisturbed nature as the potentially fatal wound he inflicted upon the woman was wrapped in a red light. He wasn't sure if this woman had animosity towards him, or if she just lacked self-control. Studying how she was able to reassemble her broken chest without lifting a finger, Wrath was fully aware of her species.
"…A homunculus?"
Zeal could only wheeze, as if breathing her last dying breaths. Though in her defense it felt like death for her, enduring both her own and the entity inside of her distraught emotions. Zeal whipped her hands through the air again, pushing them together and then pulling them apart to transmute a staff-like object out of thin air.
She wasn't good with weapons; in fact her ability was only Catalena's former ability, further enhanced by her inhuman speed, strength, and regenerative abilities. Catalena's deconstructive and reconstructive alchemical abilities were even stronger thanks to the additional Philosopher's Stone Zeal pilfered from Warner's body.
She just wasn't about to fight this guy hand to sword.
When their weapons clashed and they were eye to eye, Wrath questioned her again, "Where did you come from, homunculus? Were you the alchemical disaster left behind by that deluded man, Warner?"
Upon hearing the name of her dead creator, Zeal found the last bit of her strength to overpower Wrath and launch him away from her. The woman tossed the rod into the nearby sewage, branding it useless. Though the long gash across the bloodied sleeve of her blazer proved she didn't come out of the conflict unscathed.
Zeal inhaled and exhaled, slowly recovering mentally thanks to the realization of her recent injuries. "…Since you know so much about me, it makes it unfair because I don't know a thing about you."
"I see. I suppose it only makes it right to know the name of the one who is about to take your life. I am called Wrath…the Furious."
For a split second Zeal's irises widened, and then was replaced with a sense of malice and excitement, "Heh. Interesting you'd say that. Well, I guess I might as well tell you my name as well, since I'm the last thing you're going to see, Wrath!"
Grinning, she whipped her hand in front of her, sending a red shockwave to course through the ground and crackle towards her opponent, causing shards to shoot up from the tunnel's base. Yes, she loved to impale her enemies. It was the more amusing and exciting way of dealing with things.
Just like before, he had easily seen through her attack, finding the safest route through the protruding spikes before running this woman through. He sailed through the air, sword at waist's length before skidding to a stop.
Believing now to be the perfect moment to introduce herself, Zeal stared at motionless Wrath, "…The name is Zeal. I'm a human-based homunculus."
She was like him. The body she occupied must have been the acquaintance of Cain, "…So you're Greed's new pet?"
Zeal scoffed, "His pet?" Thinking it over, Zeal reluctantly explained, "I guess you could say that. The way he has a hold on the human inside of me, and she also ties me down, I'll admit I may be wrapped around Greed's little finger."
"…"
"…That is, unless you've torn both hands from his body."
The man went silent; his expression clearly read that the answer she sought would not be disclosed.
Zeal didn't see this though, and the only reply she was granted was from the person she least expected it from.
This man who calls himself Wrath…he's Führer King Bradley, isn't he?
The blatant emotions of Catalena that Zeal had ignored seemed to set themselves aside for the moment. Those sickeningly blue emotions suddenly burned red, and Zeal could taste the anger combusting inside of the both of them.
Taking notice of Wrath once more, the homunculus replied aloud, "Hell if I know. But with all those stars on his military uniform, he seems a pretty important person."
So the Führer is…
"Perhaps when Greed has seen his own end, he will repent for his betrayals of his fellow siblings."
Wrath's voice was sudden, and his vague yet strangely informative reply placed a sense of glee in Zeal.
Forgetting about whatever Catalena was planning or thinking, Zeal smirked, "…not happening."
Raising an eyebrow, the Führer clenched the handle of his sword gingerly.
The human inside of her grew silent, so Zeal continued,
"…He's Greed. There's nothing you guys got that can satisfy him. I'd know." Zeal's smirk widened into a grin as she stared up at the other homunculus, confidently, prideful, "…I've had a taste of it myself. That feeling of desire…rapacious. Predatory. I desire to have more of that passion, that intensity that zeal symbolizes. It doesn't matter how; I just want it!"
"Excitement? So you wish to have work?"
Cackling, Zeal teased, "The only time I've had a taste of it was when I was crushing all of your military men beneath my feet," her gray eyes dilated again, "…oh, it was so much fun~! Exciting, with all the blood and gore flying around everywhere."
She hit a nerve.
"…But I can't get the full intensity of passion through killing. I'm not Malice. I am Zeal. I have to experience all sortsof things before I reach that point I desire."
Satisfied with explaining the mechanics of her sinful mind, Zeal finished her haughty speech with a wolfish smirk. She hadn't exactly experienced death before, even after being stabbed a few times. There wasn't anything she feared at the moment.
In her prideful mind, the only thing she thought was,
What more could this guy do to me?
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Whipping his head around the gaping wall with his tear-ridden face, Cain was only met with the back of none other than Führer King Bradley. It would have been improper had he actually been crying; the condition of his face was because of the pounding rain he was standing in.
Creeping through what seemed to be a giant hole in the wall, Cain addressed the older figure with an almost fearful tone, "Er…Führer King Bradley…sir?"
Slowly the man craned his neck to greet Cain. When Cain laid eyes on the Führer, he noticed not a scratch was on him. Gulping, Cain began to wonder what exactly happened down there, and if Zeal, Catalena, or Greed escaped.
"Oh. Hello Sergeant Major. You came just in time to help clean up this mess." Bradley raised his hand to usher in a quick salute before wrapping it behind his back to observe common Amestrian soldiers carry familiar bodies out of the gaping holes on stretchers.
As the groups passed him, Cain could distinguish each of their mangled bodies:
There were two men who seemed cut in two, and even though a blanket was placed on the both of them Cain could recognize the body size to be that of a large man and a stouter one.
There was that armored boy, Alphonse Elric, whose supposedly hollow body was seeping with blood. Major Armstrong was carrying the unconscious boy on a stretcher. The hulking man didn't look like he came out of the assault unscathed.
Cain's hazel eyes glanced desperately from random face to face and the surroundings of this sewer tunnel, trying to find Greed or Catalena or Zeal—
"Looking for somebody, Sergeant Major Ashford?"
From the corner of his eyes the younger man noticed Führer King Bradley looking as content as ever. Now that he got a better look at him, he seemed to be missing four of his swords.
However hesitant and timid on answering, Cain already knew that Bradley was aware he was associated with one of the members of Greed's gang, more specifically, Catalena, "…Hm…a friend."
Amestrian soldiers passed by them, as if they were through searching the tunnel. A single officer stood before Bradley and saluted him, "Führer King Bradley, sir! We've cleared the tunnel of any casualties, and we've left the one you wanted alone."
Cain struggled to guess just who Bradley wanted as the latter replied politely, "Nice work soldier. Now return to getting rid of the bodies."
The nameless officer saluted before trotting off. Cain looked up to Bradley for an answer, because he was certain Bradley knew he was troubled. Although he was fearful he would be accused of treason or something like that, he worried about his friend's fates.
"The one you're worried about, was a brown-haired woman, correct?"
"…Sir?"
Heaving a sigh, Bradley began to fiddle with his eyepatch, "She was interesting to fight with. Although I've never gotten the chance to speak to her, I would love to know what kind of woman she was, " He turned to Cain, smiling.
But that smile didn't look comforting at all. Thankfully if Cain heard Bradley correctly, when he said, "would love to" instead of "would have" Catalena must have still been alive after fighting him. So where was she?
Assuming she was safe, Cain moved on to Greed, "And…the other one?"
"Ah, the reason why she came here in the first place; you don't have to worry about him anymore. I'll take care of him myself."
"Where is she?" His brows furrowed and he tried his hardest not to sound threatening.
Führer King Bradley's gaze was centered on the large gaping hole in the ground. After Zeal had revealed a little about herself to him and promptly angered him, Wrath scared her off after a little more cutting, and she delivered that alchemical discharge on the wall there. The reckless homunculus then escaped through that gaping hole, out into the pouring rain to who knows where.
One thing for certain: Wrath wouldn't see the last of that one.
"…Sergeant Major Cain Ashford, I'm ordering you to forget your relations to that woman and everyone else here. If you can prove that all of your criminal acquaintances are behind you and the Military has your loyalty, then we too can forget your crimes, and you can live your life free and for the military without such burdens."
"…"
"…And at any point, if you fail to do so, I'll have no qualms about executing you wherever you stand. Do I make myself clear?"
Who said Cain ever thought of Catalena as a burden? He already felt terrible about practically betraying both Greed's gang and her, but now the Führer was telling him to forget about them? How could Catalena ever forgive him?
Even if it left a bad taste in his mouth, Cain had to do his best to continue living, so that he may make all of this up to Catalena one day.
Sighing and closing his eyes, he replied,
"…Yes sir."
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It was supposed to be dusk; before absolute sundown; twilight.
But how could anyone tell the difference between dusk or dawn or night with that endless, gray blanket stretching across the gloomy sky?
The woman thought this, standing in the middle of the normally dry city of Dublith as she gazed up at that impenetrable gray sheet that was the sky.
Pockets of the clouds lit up frequently, some call it lightning. Crackles that erupted in one's very ears sounded often as well.
It was all so familiar and nostalgic to her, and she was happy to be able to feel the cold, wet droplets pelting her bare skin once again. Even more so she was ecstatic to feel this skin as her own like before.
With all that insanity literally behind her, it felt good to be human once again.
Almost.
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"The Führer was really scary back there wasn't he?"
With all of his cuts and bruises cleaned and bandaged, Edward displayed a slightly annoyed look while taking a bite of his mashed potatoes. He chewed angrily before swallowing and calming himself down, "…Yeah, he sure was. Major Armstrong looked pretty out of it too when we mentioned Hughes."
"We haven't seen him for a while, though. Maybe after we get your arm fixed we should head for Central. Have some more of Mrs. Gracia's quiche?"
At the mentioning of the quiche, the quality of the mashed potatoes prepared by the currently bedridden Izumi Curtis was unappealing to the young, growing boy, "…Yeah. I could probably use some of that at this point."
Alphonse rubbed his chest piece, as if it were growling, "Easy for you to say. I can't wait until I actually get to try some of it."
Edward displayed an empathetic face as he was about to remind Alphonse that they would eventually succeed, and that Edward would get both their bodies back to normal. That is, until a knock on the door ensued.
Both of the Elric brothers' heads lifted, and the two of them scurried to meet this unexpected visitor before Sig or Izumi woke up. As Alphonse stood behind him, Edward quietly rotated the brass knob, sliding the door open.
Glowing red eyes and golden ones looked startled as the figure stood before the doorframe, soaked with both rain and dried blood, with as much motion and expression as a mannequin.
Then she took a step inside; a dress shoe caked with mud splattered on the wood floor of the Curtis residence. Edward and Alphonse remained still and bewildered as the woman's whole body stepped out of the rain and collapsed on the floor in front of them.
Within her pounding ears, she only heard frantic voices.
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The scent of fresh linen wafted through her nostrils. She felt completely safe and serene, and just like the rain from before, it felt good to have a clean pillow against the side of her face like this.
She could question about the reality of there not being solid dirt beneath her face and she was welcomed by the hot-headed brat, but that would have been something she wanted to ponder about another day.
All that mattered was that it was Catalena in charge, and there was no sign of Zeal within her consciousness. Smiling to herself to have a moment's peace in such chaotic times, the woman tossed over in the bed.
To meet stern, golden eyes staring down at her.
Her gray eyes, which had pupils instead of slits thanks to Zeal's absence, opened and looked deprived of sleep. The appearance of Edward Elric did not appeal to her, "…Edward Elric, right? I apologize for dragging myself into your home."
He was on another bed beside her, and it was clear that he had gotten into a little fight as well considering what used to be an automail arm was now a bandaged stub. Catalena assumed Greed taught him a lesson or two. "It's not my place to get angry at you. This is my teacher's house, after all. But I'll admit you looked like you'd seen hell and back."
At first it wasn't humorous to her, but after realizing just how right Edward was she had to smirk as she sat herself up, "…I'm not usually one to dwell on things you can't change…but after I experienced it firsthand, I realize reality is a hard thing to swallow."
"Is that what you think? I find it hard to believe the thing that's sitting in front of me right now. Al told me you were a homunculus; is this true?"
Catalena looked around the room, finding the window beside her to be of particular interest. It was still raining outside. "…That's true. The homunculus inside of me was a result of poor decisions. And those poor decisions led to what happened today."
He watched the back of her head, his tone steady and low, "It looks like that even a homunculus comes to regret decisions they've made. That just makes you even more human than you guys think you are."
Catalena craned her neck at the boy, a little confused, "Who told you that homunculi were any different than humans? The only thing that sets us apart is this thing inside my chest."
Edward rested his head on his palm, watching the homunculus with a glazed look in his eyes, "…It's this other homunculus I met. Hey, Greed mentioned he didn't have anything to do with 'the other homunculi'. Is that the same with you?"
"…It looks like you don't know a thing about me. I'm just an ordinary woman who made poor choices. You may notice that my personality differs than when we first met. That's because the one you met was the homunculus side of me; her name is Zeal. When we first met, she told you her name was Catalena, which is my actual name."
"…No wonder I'm not as angered talking with you than I was back then." He snorted.
Catalena answered his reaction with a chuckle, "Speaking of the overzealous character, after we escaped from the Devil's Nest, I haven't heard a word from her. Really, I can't understand her at all. At one point she's excited and bloodthirsty then the next she's as quiet as a mouse. But I must thank her, because she is the reason why I'm still alive right now."
Edward stood up straight, looking reprimanding, "Now this is what I'm really curious about. Why the hell did you come here? Did you think I was going to take care of you or something? Because there's a fat chance at that."
Amused by how cooperative Edward was being, Catalena leaned her head on her hand, "…I just wanted to see a face that won't kill me. For once. Back at the pub, seeing everything through the eyes of Zeal, I remember the looks of disgust that were imprinted on my late friends' faces." Catalena stared down at the sheets wrapped around her waist, "…Just rarely would I see a friendly face in Greed."
Edward went completely silent, and Catalena was fine with that. He didn't understand homunculi; much less understand relationships between homunculi. And she was grateful for his naïveté.
"I don't mean to sound like an ass, but unfortunately for you, Al and I are leaving for Rush Valley tomorrow. You can't stay here, and I don't know what my teacher would do if I told her a homunculus was living in her house."
"Ha. I've heard of that somewhere. Anyway, like I said before, I just want a moment's peace. I'll be out of your hair sooner than you notice it yourself."
"No, I don't mean that. I would actually prefer you stick around, you being an alchemical discovery and everything. For payment of our hospitality, it'd be real nice of you to not scramble off," Edward demanded, raising his index finger in the air.
Catalena looked surprised, her own hands resting in her lap, "You want me to tag along with you and your brother?"
Edward shrunk into his blankets, turning his back on her to hide the nervous expression on his face, "Don't think it's personal or anything! I should actually seriously hurt you after what you and your gang did to my brother. It's just that you're a homunculus, and I can't let this opportunity pass by."
Falling quiet on her end, Catalena thought about it. What was she going to do anyway? It was clear that Zeal wasn't nearly strong enough to kill Wrath, so a personal vendetta was out of the question. It wasn't like she had anywhere to go anyway. Also, the ingenuity of this boy may someday help her in reclaiming her body as her own.
But the consequences were huge in comparison to the benefits.
When would she know when Zeal would return and take over? What would happen then?
If Edward Elric was a State Alchemist, then he had relations to the military. The idea of a human chimera, even more so a homunculus was a secret hidden by the government. Anyone who dug into classified matters that secretive would be executed. She could bet Bradley wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who did so.
And then there's Cain. What if she met him somewhere along the lines? What would she do, and what if he was already dead because he was allied with homunculi?
Then she finally decided. She would follow this boy, at least for a while. Just until she found some way to throw Bradley out of power, and get revenge on all he'd done. To be honest, the idea of a homunculus being the Führer of the country deserved to be killed.
Lying down on the bed again, there was only one thing she promised herself.
Do not let Edward Elric learn too much too fast, or he'll come to regret it as much as she regrets all she's done herself.
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About three hours to sunrise, she was unable to catch any amount of sleep. She would toss and turn in her blankets, and she envied the snores that erupted from the sleeping boy beside her.
Drifting on the edge of awake and asleep, she could hear voices inside of her head. That was probably what kept her from blissful sleep.
Hey, human. Can you hear me?
Her eyes shot open, completely awake. Oh, so the thing keeping her up was Zeal. Damn, just when Catalena thought she was permanently gone, she had crept into her dreams.
Keeping mind of the people sleeping in the house, Catalena spoke aloud to her, "I have a name. And I've been hearing you for the past 5 hours. What could you possibly want?"
Oh, really? Maybe you should have answered me sooner, then.
"Maybe you should make yourself more noticeable, considering there's about a thousand other souls inside of me. This is the first time I've attempted to fall asleep as a human-based homunculus, and now I see why your kind don't sleep."
Heh. Well, you didn't think everything I've told you about us was a lie, huh?
"…Hey, Zeal. What do you think about all of this? Were you listening the entire time?"
Ah, you mean since the moment you realized I handed control of your body back? Yeah, I've been listening since then. That Wrath beat some sense into me, and I was kind of tired too.
"So what is your opinion?"
My opinion? I could care less as long as I have some fun. You should know me by now.
She groaned, low enough for her ears alone. The remnants of a long, continuous rain dripped from the roof over her head, "…I should have guess you would be no help, referring back to the freak out back at the Devil's Nest."
Hey, I'd love to see you suffer from your stupid human emotions without knowing what they were to begin with. I'd also love to see you fight Wrath. He'd tear you to bits in no time.
"…I've decided to help the Elric brothers for a while. Maybe it'll help me throw Wrath out of power."
So now you're living for the cause of revenge? Hm, I never thought I'd see the day.
"Unlike you, I'm not a heartless being."
Uh, hello? I'm a homunculus? Do I have to spell it out for you?
Biting her lip, Catalena demanded, "Go back to how you were before; when you didn't exist."
Careful, inconsiderate thinking like that and I might have to kill you.
"Shut up!" Catalena whisper-shouted, clenching her fists as she pounded them into the pillow, pretending it was Zeal's face.
"Um…Miss Catalena?"
It was a metallic, childish voice, slightly fearful and nervous. Catalena slowly sat halfway upright, weighing herself on a single forearm as she faced the armored boy.
Great, it's mister cries a lot.
"…Alphonse Elric…you're still awake?"
He had a grip on the door, which he quietly and hesitantly pushed behind him as to not wake up Edward. "I don't sleep. It's one of the disadvantages of just being a soul attached to a body."
Feelings of sympathy rose in her. She couldn't believe that she had desperately wanted to be like him, and she was being inconsiderate by wanting something like that so badly; at the same time being blind to what that boy had to do to be like that.
"…if being how you are is truly terrible, then why did you do it in the first place?"
Trying to sound as inconspicuous as possible, Alphonse tiptoed to the feet of his older brother's bed, "…Back when we were kids, we were just as attached to our mother as any normal child would have been."
"…"
"But unlike most children, we were raised by only our mother, who had to be the most kind and caring parent there ever was.
At the time my brother and I had no idea where our Father was, and before we knew it as we devoted the most of our life to alchemy, our mother was stolen by illness."
"You lost your body and your brother lost his arm and leg…because the two of you tried to bring her back to life," Catalena summed up, in a voice devoid of any emotion.
"Well…actually my brother lost only his leg, but gave up his arm to bind my soul to this suit of armor."
"…"
"Three years after that, we decided to search for the Philosopher's Stone to gain our bodies back. We burned our house down…and I'll never forget that day."
"Why did you burn it?"
"To keep us from straying from the path we swore we'd follow. We have to keep reminding ourselves that we have no home to return to, until we finally get what we wanted to achieve in the first place."
The things they'd seen and what they'd done made Catalena's own troubles pale in comparison. She truly was inconsiderate; she truly was selfish; she truly was greedy.
"I don't want my brother to think that I blame him for what's happening…not anymore. All we have is each other."
"…If you could, would you change something you did in the past?"
The helmet piece lifted, meeting Catalena's stone-like gaze. Alphonse probably knew that all of her friends were dead, and could relate to why she'd ask such a question. Thinking over something that the realist wouldn't object to, Alphonse replied,
"Wouldn't every one? All of us humans have something we couldn't agree with within ourselves. But that just makes us even more human. Just because you have a homunculus inside of you doesn't make you any different."
Laughing quietly, her fingers entwined within her lap. Catalena watched her fingers wrap around one another. He was absolutely right and she had thought the same way. She just wanted to know if she was any different than another human.
"I'm relieved you think that way. …Can I ask you something else?"
"Sure, what is it?"
…
Just as Zeal did not understand how humans were able to take pleasure in one another, neither had Catalena.
She secluded herself from the light of the world and chose to confide herself in greed.
The only two people who had ever gotten close to finding out how she ticked were Cain and Greed.
But now Cain was dead to Catalena, and Greed was literally dead.
There wasn't much difference between them.
.
.
.
[1] – If it gets on anyone's nerves, I am aware Martel dies afterGreed gets beaten the crap out of. I just switched it for the sake of this story.
A/N: Zeal needs to get laid. Unfortunately, she gets a muzzle for a while now.
Who KNOWS what's going to happen from this point on. Just so you know, the story will sometimes alternate between Cain and Catalena, though Cain faintly because he doesn't seem to be liked very much. I really tried to make him sort of humorous to read, but the angsty part of the anime came too soon before Cain grew favor from you readers. :P
Oh wells. I shall try my best regardless.
