Leonahari: Wow, I actually took a look at my traffic and noticed a lot more people are reading this fic than any of my other ones even in the older stats page. Cool. It's too bad people don't review *runs away and cries silently by herself in a corner*... *sobs* enjoy your next *hiccup* chapter...
Chapter Five: Don't Look Down on Me
Envy didn't know what had come over him in the last few days. He felt like he had made a stupid mistake by going out to tea with Winry, no matter how much information he could have scavenged from the visit. Her words that day, what she had said about him being a guardian of her because he had saved her life…
It made him want to puke.
He had ended the coffee break pretty soon after that, making some excuse like needing to get back to work... He couldn't even remember what excuse he had panned out to her, just that he had pretty much left her sitting their looking dumbfounded. He had thought after all these decades, centuries, that he could handle being around humans, but the truth was they made him remember why he was who he was: Envy, the envier of humans. And after what Winry had said – he didn't even know why it bothered him so much.
Guardian, huh? Envy was well aware that he would pull a trigger on anyone without a single thought, even an innocent child. So, why did that tiny word have such an effect on him? He knew it wasn't true, that the first chance he got – if it ever came – he would kill anybody associated with the sacrifices, and that included the gearhead. But there was something else, something he hadn't considered before – at all.
If Winry considered him a guardian then would she trust him? Probably, humans were stupid creatures after all. Envy couldn't shake the thought that perhaps if he showed himself to her again that she would be willing to hand him her friendship on a silver platter. And, if that was the case, Envy could use that to his advantage. He may even be able to use her to help Father. They always seemed to be shorthanded, and with a real human working for them –
Envy stopped mid-thought. It was pointless. Father would never take his advice on anything, so even to consider it was a stupid idea. That got his blood boiling. The homunculi didn't give half a shit about each other. They were just creations, built for the soul purpose of carrying out Father's wishes. They had no emotional attachment to anyone or anything, which was just as well for him, since, in his opinion, logic was more important than emotion. Envy prided himself for his ability to think things through, use logic not emotion to make decisions. That was what humans lacked. They grew attached to things, people, animals, and that made them weak.
Winry Rockbell had called Envy a guardian. It was a similar attachment, and perhaps that was why Envy felt so strange about what it implied. For once in Envy's long existence he felt a little more important. A guardian was someone somebody looked up to and admired, perhaps…loved…? If the human was felt that he was a guardian, then it was possible that she could be feeling that way, but it was impossible to tell. In a way, Envy didn't even want to find out. He had had his fun fucking with her head and now it seemed she had read into it far too much. Yeah, he had saved her life, but really how long could someone hold onto that. It was almost twelve fucking years ago! Move on!
Envy decided he should probably start paying attention to the rest of his siblings. A meeting in Father's lair had commenced. Wrath had managed to find Greed and had presented him to Father as a gift. Envy stared up at Greed and wondered casually when he would be stuck up there, stuck full of blades, rendered helpless to the mercy of his brethren. Numbness settled over him. It would come one day. It was the fate of a homunculus to die by the hands of Father, since nobody else knew how to kill them.
"Where's Sloth at?" Greed was saying casually, despite his situation.
"He always skips out on meetings," Lust replied, smoothly, "He's working right now."
Greed smirked, "Seriously, none of you guys have changed in over one hundred years. And who's this guy?"
Envy's frown deeped at the expression on Wrath's face. Obviously the younger sin thought himself important, because he wasn't facing Greed, but turned towards Father and the other homunculi. It irked Envy to think that even though Wrath was the youngest of all of them, he got special privledges from Father. "I'm Wrath."
"Wrath, eh? Aren't you that human King Bradley?"
"That's right. He's the last sibling Father created to see if homunculi could age," Lust replied. There was pride in her sultry voice that Envy thought was rather misplaced. How could someone be proud of that ability? Homunculi were great lengths above that of humans, Father had said so himself. But with each new homunculi Father seemed to get closer and closer to creating a human, not a greater being. Why waste all that time and energy into creating something so fragile? Envy didn't understand it, but he never questioned his Father's motives for anything. That was something he had learned a very long time ago.
"An aging homunculus?" Greed's eyes widened on Wrath in disbelief, "Is that even possible?"
His question made Envy laugh. In all his years of knowing Greed, Envy had never heard the sin doubt anything. He had always been so convinced that nothing in the world was impossible. He received a cold glare from Greed, which made Envy's grin widen even more. "'There's no way there's no way'," he said, "I thought that was a stock phrase of yours. Don't tell me you forgot? Or are you just going senile?"
Greed smirked, a mischievous glint flashed through his eyes. "Shut your mouth, you ugly shit."
"What was that?" snarled Envy. He felt every muscle in his body tense at his words. He was going to rip him into pieces that stupid fucker!
"Oh, I like those eyes! That's how you ought to be!" Greed smirked, not even the slightest bit bothered by Envy's sudden reaction, "Why don't you show your true colors every once in a while, Envy the Bizarre?"
"You piece of shit," Envy gritted his teeth and found himself standing, readying himself for a rather awkward transformation. "I'll kick your ass, if that's what you're asking for!"
"Cut it out, all of you."
Envy almost shivered at the calmness in Father's voice. He hated his voice, it never changed, never showed fear or anguish or fury. Envy had completely forgotten his anger towards Greed and glanced over his shoulder to see Father sitting calmly in his chair. Everything had gone silent, not even Greed seemed to have the guts to break it.
"Please don't fight among siblings, especially in front of your father," echoed the indifferent voice once more throughout the underground chamber.
"Yo, old man. Looks like you've aged a lot since the last time I saw you," Greed said, confidently. If it hadn't been for Father's presence Envy would have pointed out that Greed was starting to sweat.
"Greed," Father said, "You are my son who shares my soul. Why did you betray me?"
Hatred, revenge and betrayal. Envy remembered clearly Father telling him that those were human qualities and that homunculi, the greater species, were beyond such things. But Envy knew what hatred felt like, and now Greed had betrayed his own kind…Did that mean something? Envy was certain his memory didn't fail him, so he wondered why was Father acting like all this was normal, like it was supposed to happen to them. Envy shoved that thought into the back of his mind for later assessment. Right now, he had other things to do, like watch Greed get shit from Father- that never got old.
"'Why'?" Greed was saying, "You of all should know the best. I am Greed. That's how you brought me to life, and that's how I've lived. If I had stayed by your side I wouldn't have been able to obtain everything my greedy soul desires."
"Will you work for me again?" came Father's question and Envy knew this was a last chance.
"No can do!"
"I see…"
Envy watched as the floor beneath Greed opened up, revealing a pit of hot magma. Even though he knew it wasn't for him, Envy still took a small step backward. It seemed that Lust and Wrath had done the same because they were both on either side of him now. Gluttony had made some pathetic sound and bounced his fat ass over to Lust. Any homunculus with their right mind would know that they never wanted to be caught up Greed's situation, but Envy figured Greed never really had a right mind to begin with.
As the shaft upon which Greed was stuck to dipped down into the boiling contents of the pit, Greed gave a howl in pain. Envy stared and watched, like the rest of his siblings, as one of their own was consumed by flames. At the time, Envy didn't know how to react to this. He was disgusted at Greed. Everything about Greed made Envy's blood boil, and his death was rather fitting for someone with such a hot head.
That's not what bothered Envy.
He had spent enough time around humans to know that if one of them died the others mourned. They could be friends, they could be family, they could have even been enemies…That was something Envy never understood. And here, his brother, so to speak, was being burned alive at the stake in front of his very eyes. His screams of pain echoed through the vast, dark chamber in the most chilling way possible. The shadow of his body was still visible, wriggling in agony, through the brightness of the white flames. And Envy felt nothing.
He looked into the faces of Lust, Gluttony and Wrath and found the same nonchalant expressions there. Their eyes hazed over with boredom. Would they look that why upon him when it was his turn? Even after all the things he's done for Father, if he stepped out of line once, was he perhaps looking into his own future?
Once Greed's screams had finally died down, there was a moment of silence and Father held up a cup of crimson liquid before them all, saying, "To the forthcoming day. I pray for the unchanging loyalty of you all, along with peace and order." With that he drank back his soul, the remainder of Greed's philosopher stone.
Now it was back to work for all of them, and Envy followed Lust, Gluttony and Wrath to the exit where they would all assume their roles in the plan. Envy transformed immediately upon arrival into the city into a random officer and walked next to Wrath, looking like some official bodyguard for the King. Lust and Gluttony had turned off in another direction, leaving them to make a slow progress to Central Headquarters.
It was dark out, probably past mid-night, Envy didn't give a shit. He didn't like sleeping anyways. He always had terrible nightmares about the gate. He figured it was just as well, no rest for the wicked.
"You didn't like Father's display tonight, Envy?" Wrath suddenly said, catch Envy by surprise. "I saw your face. You looked disturbed."
"Mind your own business, old fart," Envy snarled, though not willing to admit he was disturbed by his siblings' lack of emotion towards the death of their own. Maybe he was odd one out. He seemed to be the only one troubled by the numbness in his chest at watching a sibling get burned alive; perhaps he should start thinking this was normal, or he would soon draw attention to himself like he already had. He decided to take some of his pent up frustration out on Wrath, the stupid aging homunculus had made himself a pretty available target after all. "Just because Father made you a King doesn't mean you're better than any of us. What was your power again? Oh, yeah…you can age – I'm so scared!"
To Envy's irritation his words seemed to have little effect, if any. Wrath simply chuckled in response, and said, "Why don't you take the night off and vent some of that anger? Go and entertain yourself for a bit. I think Father's been working you too hard."
"I guess I didn't make myself clear, my bad - that's what I was already doing," Envy growled. If they hadn't been in the middle of a main street, overlooked by many apartment windows, Envy was certain he would have kicked Wrath's head in by now. Unfortunately for him, if anyone had happened to look out their window at that moment they would have seen a minor officer attempting to murder the Fuhrer. It might not have gone over too well.
"I'm serious, Envy," Wrath said. His tone was stern and stubborn. "You're starting to slip. Pride told me your performance in killing Hughes was not satisfying. Just consider, if Hughes had survived, word would have gotten out that someone in the military was able to morph into anyone and that would have been –,"
"Fuck you! I don't need a fucking lecture!" Envy suddenly disappeared into an ally way where he transformed an reappeared as a regular civilian. The expression of fury was still written deeply upon his face and his eyes were cold and malicious. He stormed past Wrath and spat, "You can tell Pride to shove it. If the little bastard wants to spy on me, go the fuck ahead! I've got nothing to hide."
Wrath showed no expression as Envy turned on his heel and stormed away in a random direction, all thoughts of taking up his position at headquarters forgotten. How dare Pride spy on him! It pissed him off just thinking about it. And why would he be spying on him?! Did he not think he was capable of finishing the job properly? Well, as far as Envy was concerned they could all go fuck themselves! It was worse when Envy realized he had screwed up the Hughes mission majorly. He knew Wrath was right. If Hughes had survived somehow, he would have been fucked, they all would. But admitting that to Wrath would have made him look weak and incompetent, and he was certainly not either of those things.
He turned and found himself in a familiar warehouse where Lust had been keeping caged chimeras for some emergency use. Without even thinking, driven by rage, Envy unhinged a couple of the cages and let the monsters loose. He wanted to cause Fuhrer Bradley as much difficulty as possible and cleaning up the mess left by the chimeras would have to be his first priority if he didn't want people suspecting anything out of the ordinary. Hopefully Wrath wasn't as dense as Envy thought he was and he would stop asking Pride to spy on him.
"Envy," said the unbodied voice.
Well, speak of the devil…
Envy frowned and leaned against one of the now-empty cages, spinning a broken latch around between his fingers. So, little prick was watching him even now… "Well, if it isn't the little spy? I hope I'm able to entertain you to your satisfaction. Since when does Father ask siblings to spy on each other?" Envy scowled. He glared into the darkest recesses of the warehouse, with the feeling of having several eyes on him at once. He hated that feeling. He was being judged by something he couldn't see for himself. "Why don't you show yourself, you stupid coward?"
"Father will be upset with you when he finds out you let those chimeras out," the voice said, ignorant of Envy's comments.
"Father doesn't have to know about it. It's between Wrath and I – besides, a little fun can't hurt," Envy snickered and threw the latch across the room. It skidded across the floor, falling into a deep shadow beyond the crates. Envy's eyes narrowed on the spot. "There you are," he hissed.
"I'm sure you don't want him to know what you were up to after you had killed Hughes either," Envy frowned again as he waited for the threat to come. He knew there would be one, why else would Pride bring it up? "Envy, I'm curious. Was there a point to your meeting with Winry Rockbell at all?"
Envy bared his teeth. How long had Pride been watching him for? Since yesterday, since last week, last month, last year? It was a little unnerving to think that he would never get any privacy. Not that he had anything to hide from, but the fact remained: obviously Father didn't trust him. Why Father would have that suspicion about him Envy didn't know, but there was no other explanation to why he would send Pride to watch him. It made Envy feel worthless and crushed. He had given nothing but his loyalty to Father in helping him complete his plan, and this is what he got in return?
"But honestly, your actions revolving around that human have confuse me. Was there any reason for saving her life those years ago?"
Envy's breath hitched. So, Pride had been watching him for longer than he thought. Obviously Father's suspicion of him was rooted in something he'd done a long time ago. He couldn't remember. Could it have been something to do with Ishbal?
Deciding that since Pride was not going to leave him alone, Envy bounced off the crate from which he was sitting, raised his hands in the air, high above his head, and gave a long stretch. He would ignore the little bastard. It was the only thing he could do for now, because he knew no matter what he said Pride would not tell Envy why Father was asking him to watch him. Envy was pleased when his new plan to ignore Pride seemed to annoy him.
"You can't ignore me forever, Envy!" the voice said with a hint of frustration. Envy knew Pride was Father's favorite child because he had been his first son, but that didn't mean Pride would be able to push Envy around. Envy may have been the middle child, less important that half of the others, but he could be as stubborn as all of them, including Father, put together. He wouldn't let Pride get to him, and even if Pride threatened to go running to Father, Envy would just laugh at him. He dared him to. No, he had another plan, a plan of his own. He grinned at his own mischieviousness - Wrath had told him to entertain himself, and since Pride was such a good sport Envy figured this could be a little fun...
Visiting Rush Valley might have been the greatest experience of Winry's life by far. It was one thing to be an automail mechanic, and it was something completely different to be surrounded by them. Everyone in Rush Valley had the same passion for automail as Winry, the same love of gears and unique prosthetic designs. As soon as she had stepped off the train, Winry could just smell the oil in the air and it got her heart racing, among other things.
As she looked back now at her visit to Rush Valley, she smiled, noticing her reflection in the window of the train. It was raining once again. The water pooled in tiny droplets along the glass on the outside and beyond the sill, sometimes being picked up with the wind and swept away. Yes, swept away…Winry never thought she would be doing what she was doing right now. If only Granny Pinako knew what she was up to, she would probably be more than a little surprised.
Winry had lied to Edward, had told him that she would stay in Rush Valley and apprentice under one of Mr. Dominique's recommended technicians in order to equip him with better automail. While in reality, as soon as Edward and Alphonse took off for Dublith, Winry caught the first train back to Central.
After seeing Edward's determination to continue his journey, Winry had found her own. She had come to the conclusion that the only way to settle the matter concerning her elusive guardian was to take action. Winry was going to find him. She didn't have a plan, but after her experience in Rush Valley she felt refreshed and ready to start again. She may have hit a dead end last time when she had been denied access into the State Library, and she may not have gotten much information out of Sheska, but she was certainly not going to let that discourage her. After all, if Ed and Al had given up hope every time they hit a dead end, Winry knew they would have given up a long time ago.
Winry leaned back into the booth seat and crossed her legs. She couldn't completely give up the chance to equip Ed with better automail. As soon as she had found out everything she needed to know, Winry would head back to Rush Valley and start her apprenticeship. She knew Ed would need a new arm by next week, since she seemed to be replacing it quite often lately.
She closed her eyes and let her head lean against the cold glass of the window, listening to the rain patter against it. It would lull her to sleep soon, and she would just have to make sure she woke up when the train arrived in Central, a couple hours from now. And the first thing she would do once she got there would be to pay the Hughes family a visit. After all, Maes was the head of the investigation department. Winry wondered if he would share any information about the symbol of the ouroboros with her. If anyone knew anything about it, Hughes would.
"Hughes must have realized something when he was researching in the court-martial chamber, because he took the trouble to contact me from outside when he could have just called from inside the building. When I asked, the telephone operator said she heard him say the military is in danger," Colonel Roy Mustang mused. He placed both of his hands in deeply in the pockets of his straight jacket and looked over at his trusted subordinate, Riza Hawkeye, "What could that mean, I wonder?"
They stood next to the murder scene, the telephone booth, where Hughes' body had been found the following morning. Blood still stained the ground inside and around the booth, and the receiver handle had been carefully dusted for prints. The setting sun flooded the sky with orange, red and yellow colors, basking them in golden light. If the topic hadn't been so morbid, it may have been very peaceful.
"Sir," said a deep voice as Louis Armstrong stopped just before the two new arrivals from Eastern Headquarters. He saluted and said, "We have an idea of the ones who murdered Lt. Colonel Hughes."
"Then, why don't you take them into custody?" Mustang said, a hint of anger in his voice.
"We have an idea, but we don't know exactly who they are," replied Armstrong, simply. This answer didn't seem to sit well enough with Mustang. His frown deepened and he suddenly demanded, "What do you mean? Tell me in detail."
"I cannot."
Riza watched the exchange curiously. Mustang didn't seem to be getting angry with Armstrong's unwillingness to speak. Instead, his voice was calm, if not commanding, "I, a Colonel, am ordering you to speak. Are you going to disobey a senior officer?"
Armstrong gave Mustang a firm look, "I cannot speak."
There was a moment of silence where Mustang and Armstrong stared at each other, and Riza was certain there may have been some telepathy going on there. "Understood," Mustang suddenly sighed, "Sorry for calling you out here. You may go."
Armstrong saluted, "Yes, sir."
He had taken a few steps away and then stopped, and said, "Oh, I forgot to mention earlier. The Elric brothers had been staying here until a few days ago."
"Did they find what they were looking for?"
"No. What they are looking for is almost legendary," Armstrong glanced over his shoulder and grinned.
"I see," Mustang smiled back, "Thanks a lot."
After Armstrong had left them, Riza turned to Mustang, confused, "He didn't really tell us much."
"Actually, he gave us a lot of information," Mustang corrected her, calmly, "He specifically said 'the ones who murdered Hughes', meaning there's more than one. They might be working as an organization. If he can't speak, even under order from a Colonel, that means someone with a higher rank than me is imposing silence on him. And the thing the Elric brothers are looking for is the philosopher stone."
Riza let out a small gasp, "An organization with a hand in military leadership, the philosopher stone, and Lt. Colonel Hughes…but how are they all related?"
"I can't say yet, but now that I'm working for Central Headquarters the first thing I'm going to do is look into Hughes' murder. If there are any hints on who the culprit is, they've got to be there," Mustang declared. Riza gave him a soft smile, "It's very unlike you to mix personal issues with work."
"There is no personal issues to mix," he said, calmly, "If I want to become Fuhrer then it is my right to protect those under me. It is both my desire as an individual and as the prospective leader of this country."
Riza nodded, knowing full well the sorrow behind his eyes was not something a Fuhrer would normally reflect. He was too soft, and too damn stubborn. She smiled and started to walk beside him as they made their way back to Central Headquarters.
Winry knocked lightly at Hughes' apartment door, wondering if it was too late for them to accept visitors. It was almost ten at night, after all. Elicia was probably tucked up in bed already. When she didn't get an answer, Winry made her way back down to the exit of the building with the full intention of renting a room for the night. She pressed her hands against the glass door and glanced sideways at a fresh pile of newspapers.
Her breath hitched in her throat at the sight of the front cover. It read Murder of Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes has the Military Investigating Central Headquarters. Winry picked up the paper, mouth agape, eyes wide in disbelief. The picture above the article displayed a funeral where Winry noticed the familiar figures of Gracia and Elicia standing next to a six-foot-deep hole. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. This couldn't have happened. It was impossible. Hughes was such a good man. Winry found her hands were shaking, and she dropped the paper back onto the table from which she had picked it up.
She could feel a familiar burn in her cheeks, and her eyes started to water. How could this have happened? Why had it happened? Winry had half a mind to go up to headquarters and ask if they'd caught the murderer. If they had, she wouldn't have minded a few minutes alone with him, given that she would be allowed a few of her most vicious carving tools. She let her anger envelope her mind. What about Gracia?! What about Elicia?! The military hadn't caught the culprit yet, and Winry found herself thinking thoughts along the lines of how cowardly he was to kill someone and then disappear from society, fearing punishment. She hoped the asshole felt guilt so heavy it broke his heart. She hoped that karma would rap around ten-fold and give the bastard what he truly deserved!
Winry was walking. She didn't know where she was walking to, just that she was moving in some direction or other. The stars were alight in the sky, looking beautiful and oddly large for this time of year. Winry paid no attention to them. She found herself in a park, surrounded by the urban district of Central. The trees made the place look even darker, but it didn't bother Winry. She couldn't even think of what she was doing let alone be worried about stumbling over a rock or two.
She found a bench under a large oak tree and sat, placing her head in her hands. She felt the tears that had swelled up in her eyes finally run down her face. Hughes' death must have been a recent event. The last time she saw him was about five days ago and she'd only been out of Central for three. Poor Gracia and Elicia…it was still fresh for them then. Winry promised herself that first thing tomorrow she would pay her respects.
She gave a small, shuddering breath. She definitely couldn't visit them in the state that she was in now. She would have to get herself together. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of them. They'd had their share of sadness; they didn't need to see hers on top of it.
A sound in the distance made her look up. Her mind froze in fear as soon as she saw a pair of red eyes in the shadow of the tree. Her heart quickened in pace as she became aware that she had nothing to protect herself with. She didn't even know what it was; an animal? A monster? The beast that had appeared from behind the bush was a species Winry had never seen before. Long pale hair covered its dog-like body, and its head looked more like a bears than anything else. It bared its long, sharp teeth at her, mucus dripping down the sides of its mouth in long sticky threads.
Winry slowly, carefully, stood up. She wasn't certain if she could outrun the thing, but it was better than waiting to be eaten alive. She could feel the fight or flight adrenaline rushing through her body, and her movement had caught the attention of the beast. Its crimson eyes landed on her as a low growl escaped its throat. Winry took a timid step back. Unfortunately, this wasn't the greatest idea. The animal reacted to the movement immediately and lunged at her. Winry took a few more steps backwards to avoid its fatal talons, and ended up tripped over a root.
She slammed into the ground, but managed to get herself back up before the beast could come after her again. She managed to find a good sized stone in the darkness and took it up. It was sharp on one side and smooth and dull on the other. She readied herself for the beast to lunge again and it did. She pointed the sharp side at its throat and just as the thing came down on her she shoved it deeply into its flesh. The thing gave a loud, terrible cry in pain and jumped back, all four limbs shaking as blood from the cut stained its pale fur. Winry gripped the rock firmly, eyes wide and fearful. She had missed its throat and got its shoulder instead, but its teeth had grazed her forearm. She could feel her own blood dripping down her pale flesh. It was sickly warm.
Winry wished she would have got one of its legs instead, because the cut seemed to have only angered it further. She wondered if she threw the rock at its head if it would knock it out, or if she was even that lucky. It was worth a shot. The least it would do is stun it and that would give Winry a chance to hightail it out of there. Well, here goes…she threw it as hard as she could…
There was a random thud from where ever the rock landed, and Winry paled as she realized her aim wasn't all that good. It missed! She hadn't really considered that possibility. Now, she was faced with an angry monster and no way to defend herself. She took another step back. She'd be damned if she was going to kick the bucket now. She glanced around for something else to use as a weapon. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough. As soon as she glanced up again the thing had jumped at her. She braced herself for the blow, waiting for the feeling of teeth sinking into her flesh. She closed her eyes in anticipation and held her hands up in front of her face.
But the pain never came, and she suddenly heard a high-pitched whine like a dog getting kicked. Winry peered between her fingers to see what happened, whether her luck had finally taken a turn for the better and the cut had bled out, or –
The monster was lying on the ground several feet away from where it had started. Winry's eyes shot back to where it had been and her heart jumped into her throat.
"What do you think you're doing, you dumb animal? Go eat someone your own size, huh?" Winry watched in amazement as the green-hair stranger, her guardian, approached the cowering beast. He made a show of stomping on it a few times before the thing finally stood and limped off into the darkness, beaten and still hungry.
Winry couldn't believe it. She didn't have to find him, he had found her. She noticed her mouth was still open and closed it just as he glanced over his shoulder, violet cat-like eyes scanning over her briefly. The last time those eyes had seen her she had been five years old and semi-conscious. She felt a small shiver go through her at the look of those eyes now. It was odd. He hadn't seemed to have changed at all in the last eleven years; he didn't even look like he had aged.
Suddenly, and without warning, he turned and started walking away from her. She blanched and panicked, not wanting to be left without a name to remember him by.
"Wait!" she found herself shouting. She was glad to see him stop and look back at her, curiously. She managed to uproot her feet from the ground and go after him. He turned to face her, a small grin riding up one half of his face. Winry came to a stop just before him and suddenly found that all of her words were stuck in her throat as she stared at him. For the first time she was able to take in his entire appearance without her mind being hazed over by surprise.
He was certainly odd looking. He wore black. His feet were partially covered by long socks, heel and toes exposed. His lower section was covered by a garment that looked like a rough cross between a skort and a loincloth. His mid-section was completely exposed, upper chest only partially covered by simple black that rode up his neck half-way, and his hands and wrists were clothed in a type of glove that didn't cover up his fingers. His skin was so very pale, in the moonlight it seemed to glow eerily. His eyes and hair coloring was a different story. How someone could come to acquire such a strange natural combination, Winry had no idea. The only thing that wasn't really that odd about him was his facial features. They were delicate, and very expressive.
Right now he was staring back at her with a blank expression, a hint of impatience lined his words as he asked, "See something you like?" His lip curled up in another grin, and Winry couldn't help but smile back.
She bowed her head a little out of politeness but didn't dare take her eyes off him for fear that he would disappear like he always did. "S-sorry," she said, shyly, "It's just…I'd like to know the name of my savior."
The man suddenly let out a shrill laugh that chilled Winry the bone. She stood straight again and waited until he had finished his fit. Once he did he met her gaze with a wide, toothy grin and Winry couldn't shake the feeling that no matter what she thought there was something dark and malicious behind his eyes. "It's Envy. Satisfied?"
Winry blinked. Envy? An odd name for an odd character, she assumed. "You've save my life twice now. Thank you…Envy."
"Hey, hey, no need to be so formal," Envy frowned.
"So, you are the one who saved me from the river?!" Winry asked, heart swelling with happiness. That was it, she had confirmed it now. He was the man from her memory. She hadn't doubted she could forget his coloring for a second, but without any proof there had always been that underlying doubt at the back of her mind.
"Actually, I thought you were a huge fish," Envy snickered at his own joke, and Winry was too high in the clouds to bother with the insult. "And you saved Edward from that collapsing building?"
"Edward? You mean the Fullmetal runt? I was on my way out anyways and he just happened to be lying there unconscious…"
"And you saved my life just now…"
"The show was really getting good, until you started loosing. You really do throw like a girl, you know."
This comment seemed to snap Winry out of her train of thought and brought her back down to earth. She stared at Envy, confused by his last comment, and said, "You were just watching?"
Envy shrugged and then he put a hand on his hip. A dark, mischievous look flashed through his violet eyes as he stared down at her and said, "It would have been interesting to see who got torn to shreds first. Kind of like the old arenas, right? Live entertainment. It's really too bad they banned those…"
Winry stared at him, mouth agape. She couldn't believe what had come out of his mouth. Was he really that sick? Had he really been sitting back and watching her get ravaged by some hungry animal to sate his boredom? And if he was watching for entertainment, why did he decide to jump in? Winry remembered his comments from a very long time ago when he had pulled her out of the river. They had been just as strange. She figured, or at least hoped, it was his attempt at humor, and decided to laugh instead of snap.
Her laughter stunned the hell out of him. The look on his face froze as if someone had taken a picture of his momentary expression and taped it to his face. His eyes had gone wide in confusion, and his grin had completely faded into a single straight line beneath his small nose. Envy did a mental checklist and was certain the last thing he said should have made her fear him, not laugh. He decided he needed to change the subject or his plan would fail.
Winry stopped laughing as soon as she felt a soft brush on the side of her arm. It was followed shortly by a painful sting and she winced. Looking down she noticed Envy had briefly poked at the tender flesh where the beast had managed to bite her. Envy said, "That animal's mouth is probably infested with disease. You should get that cleaned up before it gets infected. It would be a shame for you to die now after all my efforts to keep you alive."
He dropped his hand and Winry frowned. "There are still a few things I want to ask you."
Envy abruptly turned his back on her and started walking away, "Yeah, of course, you do. Human's never shut up. It's question after question, like that little pea sized alchemist a few days ago – the idiot was bleeding to death and he still didn't quit. You humans really are foolish…"
Winry's eyes widened at the implication of his statement. Something in the back of her mind rose up from her memory and pulled at her conscious, something Edward had told her long ago. He had been reading from one of his fathers large alchemy books. It looked older than the rest, worn down like someone had used it far too many times. Winry strained her mind to remember what it was…an artificial human. Could it be...? Was that even possible? Winry remembered Ed and Al saying how nobody had succeeded in making one before, but that was the only other explanation for Envy's odd comments. "Are you…a homunculus?"
Without warning, Envy spun on his heel to face her again, his casual exit completely forgotten for the time. He had to congratulate this poor soul. He didn't actually think she even knew that word, but he didn't doubt where she'd heard it from. A wide, toothy smile spread across his face and his eyes closed, hiding their sharp violet orbs for moment. Like a small kid on too much sugar he clapped his hands three times, and said, "Very good! I'm surprised you know that."
Then his face fell, all feigned happiness deleted from his mask, as he stepped towards her a couple of paces. His flashed maliciously, a maddening grin was starting to replace the smile. Winry shivered at the dark look in his eyes, but she held her ground, clenching her fists and crossing her arms defensively in front of her chest. "But you know," he hissed darkly, just loud enough for her to hear. The glint in his eyes flashed again, "Now that you know my secret, I'm going to have to kill you."
Envy savored her expression of fear as it seeped into her face slowly with the realization of what he had said. Her eyes slowly widened, pupils dilating, taking every little inch of his face in, looking for a hint of a lie. Envy's grin widened with the pleasure this brought him. Ah, that felt good to finally get a reaction out of her that wasn't her laughing in his face.
And then, Winry suddenly gave her head a little shake and her expression was stern and stubborn, the same look Envy had seen her give Edward when he was saying something she didn't like. This confused him. Shouldn't she be running for the hills right about now? Envy started getting frustration with this turn of events.
What the hell? Why doesn't she leave already!? I've told her I'm going to kill her! Is she really that stupid!?
"Do you really think I'm going to believe that even for a second, Envy?" Winry said, suddenly putting her hands on her hips in defiance. It almost looked like she was trying to handle an obnoxious toddler, not a mass-murdering homunculus.
Deciding that he didn't want to fall into her trap, Envy played the joker and bounced back a couple of feet, smirking and hissing with fake laughter. "You almost did! You should have seen the stupid look on your face!"
The game had changed. This human couldn't be pushed around easily it seemed, not with bodily harm at least. That was odd for a human. Envy wondered idly if he should threaten killing Edward instead, but that would be anti-productive to his plan, and Father's too for that matter. This little game of his might be his own, but if he didn't play his cards right he would fuck everything up. He glanced around at the darkness. He could feel the eyes of Pride on him and he smirked at the thought. Envy had told Pride earlier that if the little voyager wanted to keep watching him then Envy would go out of his way to give him a show. He knew that if his actions even came close to endangering the mission while he was showing up to Pride, then there was a good chance Father would call Pride off in order to remove Envy's motive to put himself in those situations.
Of course, Envy could have just gone up to Father and asked to have Pride off his back, but that would be the weak way out, and Envy certainly wasn't weak. He would show Father and Pride that he would do things his way this time, since it was his neck on the line. The worse that could happen at the end of it all is Envy could have given some information of the homunculus to the gearhead, which would result in him getting a lecture or two from Father. Not a big deal.
Envy could already tell from the tension in the air that Pride was not pleased with the situation. Not only had Envy given his name to the girl, but he had also admitted to her that he was a homunculus. Really, he didn't know why Pride was so upset. He was only endangering himself, not the others. Envy just figured Pride had more than one stick up his ass, as his name implied. Oh…gearhead was talking again; maybe he should pay attention…
"You don't know my name. I'm Winry Rockbell," she was saying, and Envy resisted the temptation to tell her he knew almost everything about her and the Elrics. He stopped when he realized that would come off as just a little bit creepy. "Uh, please excuse my forwardness, but did you want to go to a coffeehouse or something? It's getting late and we really shouldn't be in the park when it's so dark."
Envy almost blanched. Did she just ask him on a date? He gave himself a mental slap. No, not a date, she just wanted to pick his brain. Though, just the implication of it made him feel a tad more important than it should have. It was strange to be standing in front of a human in his favored form and after having failed at scaring her away he seemed to have made an odd, sort-of, acquaintance of some kind. He didn't really know what to make of the situation yet, but he had to give the gearhead credit: she was easy to read, but hard to predict.
Then, the thought of repeating his experience at the coffeehouse went through his mind. "No can do," he said quickly, "I don't like being seen in public."
His breath caught in his throat as he realized he had actually let that slip off his tongue. Why in hell would he tell her that? It wasn't like she needed an explanation of why he didn't want to go, but all of a sudden he had willingly given her an excuse, not an excuse, the truth. He really hated going out in public in his favored form, he always felt out of place. Though there were times when he wanted to feel out of place, in which case he would be killing people. Truth was he never went out in public unless he was disguised as someone else, another human.
His answer seemed to deflate her earlier hopes, whatever they may have been. "You're in a public place now," she said, with a hint of frustration, "And don't you live in Central, the busiest city in Amestris?"
"I don't live here. I work here," Envy corrected.
"Work?" Winry blinked. She really couldn't picture someone like him with a steady job anywhere. "What do you do?"
Envy bit the inside of his lip. He really hadn't thought to make something up, but he couldn't just come right out and say that he was some sort of assassin spy for a man he called Father. She might think that to be a little odd – well, considering she probably thought he was odd enough already, it might not be such a leap.
"Odd jobs," Envy grinned at his own brilliant wording. Winry raised an eyebrow when he failed to elaborate. Then, she smiled warmly, "Like saving my life? Was that apart of the job –,"
"No! That was a fucking chore!" Envy seemed to explode at this. Winry had no idea what she had said to push his buttons, but it must have been a sensitive spot because he didn't look at all happy. His face, angled at the ground, was half-covered in shadow, while his gaze looked up past the ridge of his eyebrows at her. The violet coloring in his eyes seemed to reflect in the darkness, making them look as if they were glowing red in the shadow of his face. It was the darkest look Winry had seen him wear so far and she had half a mind to turn and run. But then, as if a switch had been flicked, Envy looked up and grinned again. Most of the darkness had left his face and the small amount still there was present only behind his eyes, which Winry still worried about. It was like the calm before the storm. This man, he was a time bomb waiting to go off. Winry knew she would have to tread lightly if she didn't want to see that dark look again.
"Human's are so pathetically fragile."
This was a statement Winry could whole-heartedly agree with. She nodded and said, "Yeah, we are, but that's how we can appreciate the value of every life. We may be physically weak, but we have wills of steel. If we put our minds to something we always overcome any obstacle before us. I think that's what makes us so special."
A shrill laugh cut the air around her and she glared up at Envy. When he had finished, he snickered, "You think you're special? That's so lame. Just face it, you're weak, and homunculi are the new evolution that surpasses a human at every angle."
Winry jumped at that, her blood start to boil again, "Oh, so this is a homunculi versus human argument now, is it?" She received a wide grin in response, "Well, all right then –," and then she seemed to run out of steam as she realized something, "I…don't really know anything about homunculi, so I can't really compare." She growled in frustration and pointed a finger at Envy who was shaking with silent laughter, "This isn't a fair argument!"
"It's an argument, someone's side has to win, so technically it's never really fair," Envy replied. He shrugged and started taking a few steps towards her, saying, "Well, guess that means I win! Lucky me! So, it's only fair the winner gets a prize, right?"
"Prize?" Winry blanched. What did he mean by that?
Before she could ask, one of his hands had snaked to the back of her neck, pulling her forward. She stumbled at the force of it and steadied herself by grabbing his shoulders. Then, he crashed his lips onto her own in the most painful manner possible. Winry panicked at the sudden action and pushed against his chest to pull away. To her surprise, he obliged, but much too quickly and suddenly. Her support that had been there a moment ago wasn't there anymore. Winry fell right on her face in the dirt. She heard his shrill laugh echo through the darkness around her and she looked up to see that he was nowhere to be seen.
Without thinking, she screamed, "Get back here so I can beat your ass! That hurt!"
She sat up on her knees. His laugh had faded into silence and she knew he was probably long gone by now. She tenderly touched her lips and was glad to find there was no blood. She growled in frustration, and promised herself the next time she saw him she would teach him what the true wrath of a female human was really like – she would have to remember to bring her wrench…
Leonahari: Phew, this was long. I had a really hard time writing this since I was completely out of it and still am. I really, really, REALLY hope this chapter worked out okay. I sense some OOCness here, but I hope I'm just being too over critical. I figured this was a good place to end it, since it was getting waaaay too long. Anyways, though it was nonconsensual, I still had fun writing this little kiss scene. Everything will be explained in the next chapter. Review pls!