After that evil cliffy...

Envy: We're back!

Liz: Please hold the applause...

Ed: And review instead!

Al and Wrath: (with a double cuteness factor) PLEASE!

Previously...

"L-Liz... is that really you?"

It was him.

"Edward..."

Ed stood wide eyed with his jaw moving up and down several times in a vain attempt to get words to come out. Then before I could react he lunged to me and crushed me in a tight hug murmuring "Oh my god... you're alive."

I hugged him back, burrying my face in his shoulder. Happiness flooded through me. Edward, my best friend... like my brother... he was here! It had been a whole year since I had last seen him... and it hadn't exactly been a happy goodbye either...

He pulled away and held me at arms length. The first thing I realized was that he was annoyingly and agonizingly taller than me... like, much taller than me. He had an inch on me before but now he was a good half a foot taller. The second thing I realized was that he was wearing his hair in just a pony tail, not his usual braid and he didn't have his red jacket on, which was a bit disorenting for me.

He looked down at me (which was annoying) a huge grin on his face "You really are alive. I never thought... I never thought I'd see you again..." he looked me up and down. "All of this time and you haven't grown an inch."

I promptly stepped on his foot "Shut up pipsqueak!"

Ed looked suprised. I guessed it had been awhile since anyone had actually called him small. But he was quickly ready with a retort "I'm a half a foot taller than you, you little shrimp! In fact I think you shrunk!"

I glared "I did not! And it doesn't matter how tall you are YOU'LL ALWAYS BE SHORT IN MY MIND!"

"You mind is amused..." Truth grinned.

"My mind hates you..." I retorted.

"Whatever" Ed groaned and shook his head.

"So... wait..." I said slowly. "How... did you get here?"

"I..." Ed sighed. "The same way as you Liz... I died."

I flinched at this. If that was true what had happened to Al... how did Ed get here after death? "W-who..."

"Dante."

"Oh" I tried to hide my relief that it wasn't Envy. "I guess... we have alot to talk about." I smiled and gestured for him to follow me. "Let's go for a little walk. I'll show you the town and then you can tell me."

"Right" he followed after me.


"And then I ended up here, met up with my old man and here I am." Ed finished.

We were sitting on a bench in the park area. I had listened wordlessly to him the entire time he had talked. After a long pause I sighed and leaned back against the bench "You should've dodged the spear you idiot..."

Ed winsed and rubbed a hand through his hair with a note of slight embarresment "Yeah... I was still, kind of in shock after you died, I guess my reflexes were slow."

"So do you think Al's alive?" I asked cautiosly.

He sighed "I hope so... something had to have happened to make me come here... I really hope so."

"And what about Envy?" I asked before I could stop myself. "What happened to him."

He studied me for a moment before replying "I don't know... he wasn't there when I came back... niether was Al..." there was a pause before he looked me dead in the eye and said "Liz... about... about Envy."

I tensed. I knew this was going to come.

"Look... I know, you might not want to talk about this but... I've been confused for a year... Hoenhiem couldn't explain it, and I don't have a clue..." he sighed and closed his eyes. "Why... did Envy switch to helping us after he killed you... I saw the look in his eyes. I never thought Envy could possibly look like that. I hated him because I thought he did everything in cold blood but I saw... pain... I need to know why..." I felt his eyes boreing into me though I avoided his gaze by directing my own twoards the ground. When I didn't reply he added a "Please." for good measure.

"Ed... look I uh..." I bit my lip. "I'm sorry. Understand I couldn't tell you then. I couldn't..."

"And now?" he asked cautiously.

"Now?" I let out a bitter laugh. "I don't even think it matters." I spilled what I had hidden, I told Ed everything. Maybe it helped to just let it all out. After one year you start to forget. Talking about it helped.

When I finished he stared at the ground, thinking, for a long time before smiling sadly at me "You really were caught up in this deeper than any of us weren't you? And it was never even your battle to begin with."

I mirrored the sad smile "It became my battle after awhile but... yeah..."

"I think I get it now" Ed said slowly. "It fits... He killed this other girl by accident and then he killed you the exact same way. I get what Dante was talking about to him now and why he snapped at her." He looked at me. "And you... you were starting to like him too... weren't you?"

I felt heat rise to my cheeks and I was sure my face had turned red "Uh... look..."

He waved a hand dismisivly "Drop it Liz, it's fine." He glanced down at his hands. "Back when you and I got into that fight in Risenbol... you remember, the one when I found out that Hughes had been killed."

I nodded. How could I forget?

"Do you think you were subconciously defending Envy there too?"

"...I wasn't thinking about it but... subconciously... maybe." I gripped the edge of the bench. "So about uh... his relation to you..."

"You mean about him being my half brother?" Ed muttered.

"Yeah... I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Ed stared at me "How could you Liz? You never had a chance to tell me!"

"Yes I did" I muttered. "I tried to stop the fight. I could've told you right then. I could've stopped the fight from starting but I didn't."

He blinked then laughed out loud.

"What's so funny!" I demanded.

"Liz, I really doubt you could of stoped that fight" he smiled. "It was... kind of inevitable..."

"Maybe..." I sighed.

"Envy really wanted to kill me didn't he?" Ed murmured after a pause.

"He lost his chance at killing Hoenhiem." I muttered. "You were the product of Hoenhiem's abandonment, he wanted to kill you." I picked absently at my sleeve. "He hated him... so much, he was so far gone with revenge, way deeper than any normal kind, mostly because it was his nature. He had more reason to hate Hoenhiem then anyone else. When he didn't get to kill Hoenhiem, you were the next reasonable target" I smiled bitterly. "He really envied you... you know that right?"

"I understand his name now too I guess" Ed murmured. "I understand... but I still hate him... for doing all of this. For killing Hughes, and for killing you and causing this whole screw up with the gate. Cause now we're stuck here."

"Ed, I'm the one who jumped in front of you." I protested. "That was me. It wasn't your fault, Envy's fault, it wasn't even Dante's fault. That was my choice. Mine alone. I acted on it. You should blame me for this whole screw up."

"If he wasn't trying to kill me you wouldn't of had to jump in the way" Ed pointed out. "Liz... I thought you were dead. I almost lost you... you're my friend..." he stood. "You can hold your own opinion about it an all... but that's mine. Not that it matters any more right?"

I stared at my hands "I suppose it doesn't." 'After all' I added to myself. 'I would never expect you to forgive Envy or remotely not hate him. You guys have repelling personalities.'

"Funny isn't it?" Truth mused. "How two of blood relation can be so different yet in a way... alike?"

"Thank you fortune cookie..." I thought. "And not really... Al and Ed are opposites too... they just don't hate eachother."

I rose to my feet. "Come on, let's head back to the inn. I've been staying there you know, ever since I came to this stupid place... Gracia has been really nice."

"You didn't tell him about me little human" Truth told me with mock hurt in his voice.

"Who would want to hear about you?" I countered moodily.

It was true that I hadn't told him about the annoying voice in my head or about the fact that my old wound still gave me so much trouble. I wasn't even sure why I hadn't told him. It's not like I'd lied... I just omited.

I guess in the end, I would always have a secret to keep.


Ed: Yeah! I'm back in the story.

Liz: For those of you wondering when Envy makes his grand enterance: it'll probably about three or four chapters.

Envy: For now, settle for the authors notes.

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