Chapter Ten: Evolution of the Species

Dr. Nox's house was a complete mess. When Mustang opened the door to the kitchen it looked more like a disorganized medical library than anything else. Lt. Hawkeye helped Lan Fan into the bedroom where she could rest up quietly. Nox informed them of the nosiness of his neighbors and they were forced to keep the majority of the lights off in the house. Mustang had just hung up the phone in the dark living room when Lt. Hawkeye entered. He didn't even have to see her face to know something was bothering her.

"I'll be heading straight to the Command Center. Will you follow?" Mustang asked her.

"Of course," she agreed.

"What's wrong?"

There was a short silence before she admitted, "I took Winry in for questioning. She should still be waiting at the Command Center, but…I left her there with the Fuhrer's subordinate."

"Did she say anything?" Mustang asked, still staring down at the phone through the darkness.

"She didn't deny giving you the bullet, but she couldn't account for how she had managed to find it and for what reasons she thought they were important to the case. She seemed convinced that she hadn't done anything wrong," Hawkeye explained, "On top of that I could tell she was genuinely confused as to why she was being questioned."

"You don't think she has anything to do with the homunculi?" Mustang said thoughtfully.

"I'm not certain, but I could definitely tell she was lying about something."

"I think we've missed the point up to now," Mustang suddenly said, finally turning away from the phone to stare into the darkness at his Lieutenant, her rigid frame was silhouetted against the faint light coming through the doorway. "You remember what Fullmetal said about the different homunculi and their abilities? Armstrong had done some research into it as well…"

"He told me about three of them, Lust, Gluttony and Envy, I believe they were called," Hawkeye recalled Armstrong going over all of them in great detail according from what Edward had told him and from what he had researched about homunculi on his own.

Mustang mused, "If the only thing Winry can account for is delivering the evidence it could mean either she had someone obtain the bullet for her and that she was acting as a pawn for someone in a higher position, or she didn't do anything at all – not even deliver the bullet."

Hawkeye stared at Mustang like she thought the antiseptics for his wound were finally getting to his head. "We were there when she handed us the evidence, sir," she felt stupid for stating the obvious.

"Remember, Lieutenant, one of our enemies is a shape-shifter," Mustang replied evenly and Hawkeye realized her foolishness. She regained herself by asking, "Then, why would Winry lie about delivering it, if she never did?"

"It would only mean one thing," Mustang frowned, "That she's covering for the homunculus who did."

"Why would a homunculus give us evidence to free one of our comrades when it was the homunculi behind the unfair trial to begin with?" Hawkeye wondered out loud.

Mustang fell silent, thinking deeply about this. "If Winry was lying to cover up for the shape-shifter – which one was that again?"

"I believe it was Envy, sir."

Mustang nodded and continued, "If Winry was covering for Envy then it's possible she did so because she doesn't trust the military, including you and I. That would mean that Envy is a possible ally."

"An homunculus siding with us? Why would he turn on his own kind?" Hawkeye asked in confusion. It seemed highly unlikely to her.

"The most possible answer is that Winry is being tricked into thinking Envy is a friend, and is therefore doing his biding – or in this case, taking the fall for him," Mustang explained, "I don't see any of those monsters coming over to our side."

"And yet, Winry isn't so stupid to be tricked easily," Hawkeye commented.

"It's also possible that she doesn't know Envy's a homunculus, though with Fullmetal around I doubt he'd fail to notice if Winry was meeting up with an enemy."

"Does this put Fullmetal and Alphonse Elric under suspicion as well, sir?"

Mustang's frown deepened. "The Fuhrer did say we were wandering into a territory where it was impossible to distinguish friend from foe…after learning about all this, I'll take his word for it."

"I swallowed them," gasped Gluttony. He pointed at himself stupidly as if a shadow of doubt had surfaced in his mind. He was suddenly tackled to the ground by Alphonse, who grabbed hold of his pincer-like teeth and wrenched them apart, screaming, "BROTHER! LING! Spit them out!"

Winry stared in shock at the spot in which all three of them had been moments before. Now, it was just empty, silent space.

"I can't, I swallowed them," Gluttony explained apologetically as his stomach sewed itself back up. Winry watched in despair as the former enraged homunculus stood and started sucking on his thumb like an innocent child. She felt a great pit of emptiness open up inside her. Ed…Envy…Ling…they were…all gone…forever? She stared down at her hands and noticed that some of Envy's blood from the wounds which hadn't regenerated right away was still on her hands, all over her actually. She simply stared at the contrast in color between her fair skin and his dark crimson blood. Nothing but an unpleasant calm came over her mind. It was all she could do to block out Alphonse's cries and insistent ramblings about something she didn't care about at the moment.

They were gone…

Ed…

Envy…

Ling…

Winry hadn't been certain what she felt for Envy before now, but she couldn't deny the pain deep within her heart that had nothing to do with the shock. She could doubt it, throw the feeling aside and pretend she was just confused because of what had happened, but there was no other explanation, and she knew it. It was a feeling equal to having her parents ripped from her life a second time.

So…this is what it felt like…to fall for someone and then have them taken from you just like that…

Winry felt a warm tear slide down the side of her face. It landed in the palm of her hand, mixing with the blood there until it looked like a swirl of clear and pink liquid. How could things have gotten this bad? First she had come to Central, looking for a way to make things better and now, somehow, both her best friend and the man she admired all these years end up dead!

"You have a father!?" she heard Alphonse gasp. She looked over at him and Gluttony, an odd numbness had come over her. She didn't care what they were talking about, but Al's raised voice had simply caught her attention.

"That's right," Gluttony nodded, still sucking on his fat thumb. He watched Alphonse with wide, expectant eyes.

"Take me to him! I bet he'll know where the things you swallow go!" Alphonse seemed to remember she was there, because he suddenly turned around and saw her staring blankly at him.

"W-Winry?" he took a few cautious steps towards her, and gently asked, "Are you hurt?"

Winry looked down at her hands and clothes, stained with Envy's blood. A feeling of emptiness came over her and when she spoke her voice was monotone and almost inaudible. "It's not mine…"

Suddenly, her hands were being cupped between two large gloved ones. She hadn't even heard Alphonse approach her. When she looked up at him, he had his head bowed down so she couldn't see his face, not that there would have been an expression there anyway. "I'm sorry…" he said, lightly, "I'm sorry…you shouldn't have gone through this…I shouldn't have brought you here…I'm sorry…"

Winry noticed her tears had stopped falling. Her cheeks felt sticky from the lines they had left on her face, lines, she knew, that even water wouldn't wash away. She dropped her gaze and closed her dry eyes to the dimness of the orange glow of the setting sun. "Are they…gone forever, Al?" she asked. Adding his name made her feel more down to reality, oddly comforted from the shock that seemed to have enveloped her.

"I'm going to find a way to bring them back!" Alphonse declared.

"I…will help you," Winry said, disconnectedly. She didn't even know what she was deciding on, just that she felt like it was the right thing to do at the moment.

Alphonse seemed to hesitate, "I can't let you come with me, Winry," he said, "It's far too dangerous –,"

"I want to help you save them, Alphonse!" Winry snapped. In wake of the emptiness that swallowed her insides, a fire burned brightly, ripe with revenge and determination. Something similar to which she had felt when she had lost her parents. Back then, she had been reduced to doing nothing about it, because there had been nothing she could do. Now, Alphonse was telling her there was a way to bring Edward, Envy and Ling back to life and this time she wasn't going to sit back and wait. She was going with him, whether Al liked it or not!

When Envy came to, there was complete silence and darkness. He was lying face down in a pool of dark liquid, which felt thick and sticky and smelt of rot and copper. A sharp pain seared through his entire body as he realized his leg was still in the process of regenerating. He stood up when it was finished and shifted himself clean. He gazed around at the dark emptiness that surrounded him and tried to recall his last memory.

He had been fighting with that little Xingese idiot, and he had been losing…Anger boiled up inside him at the memory of the bastards face, holding his sword above Envy like a King would over his lowly servant. Next time he saw him, he would make him pay for humiliating him…that is, if there was a next time.

That brought Envy to wonder about his location. Where the hell was he?

Wait! Oh, fuck no…Envy suddenly remembered ordering Gluttony to swallow Ling and Edward throwing himself into the line of fire. Envy had gone after him, but had he…had he been swallowed by Gluttony? Shit! This fucked everything up! Envy stomped bitterly through the blood aimlessly, every once and a while he tripped on something, a rock, a piece of wood, a skull. It just pissed him off even more. This wasn't a part of the plan!

Then, Envy realized with sudden shock. "Fuck the plan!" he said out loud to himself, "I'm going to die here…?"

He gazed around again at the nothingness that surrounded him. His eyes widened in fear as he realized he didn't want to die here. Hell, he didn't want to die at all! He quickened his pace in a firm direction, intent on finding an end to the giant pit of darkness and blood. Panic had engrossed him and with it a fine-tuned sense of helplessness. He knew from remembering Father's plan to make Gluttony an imitation gate that his pursuit of a wall or 'end' was unrealistic, but a small sense of hope kept him going in that same direction.

It wasn't until some time later, hours, days maybe, that Envy finally slowed his pace down to a slow walk, finally deciding to face the truth. He would never escape. This was where he was destined to die, alone and surrounded by darkness. He stopped and gazed around, drinking in the ultimate settings of his fate. As he stood there an odd calmness, an emptiness settled inside him, a feeling that he hadn't felt before. This numbness was strangely pleasant. For a moment he had no desires to obtain things he didn't have, no anger, nothing…

Envy closed his eyes and drank in every second of this pleasurable feeling. He had no idea what it was. It might have been the adrenaline racing through him, or it may have been the feeling of accepting his fate. Envy drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring out ahead of him his eyes tried to focus on the darkness. Of all the possible ends to have met, Envy never once thought he'd be stuck waiting for it to happen. That was all there was to do here: wait to die.

Slowly, the tips of his fingers grazed his chest. Both hands were paused over his collar bone. If he waited for death to take him he would be waiting for eternity. An eternity in this place was worse than death in his opinion…he only had one other option…

Just like their creator, homunculus were given a power and choice to destroy themselves…it would just take a few seconds, Envy figured, and the numbness of his state of mind would make it easier to do…

Envy clenched his teeth together and without hesitating he ripped his own chest open, exposing the shimmering crimson stone beneath the flesh. He grabbed it and held it between his hands. His own vessels were attached to the stone, his very core was resting in his palms. It would only take a second to crush it and that would be the end. Father and the others wouldn't miss him. They hadn't even batted an eyelash at Lust or Greed's death, what made his any different?

Envy closed his eyes and covered the stone in both hands, cradling it...he didn't want to die…but, what other choice was there?

He braced himself and didn't notice a cold tear slide down his face. His hands increased the pressure around the stone and he could almost hear each and every one of the souls from Xerxes scream for freedom and release of the pain. It made him add more pressure. He was torturing himself, being hesitant. Fuck, he's killed before! What made this any different? It's not like anyone was going to miss him, pity him maybe, and he hated that. He took a deep breath and –

"…this is silly."

Winry? Envy opened his eyes. He had almost certainly heard her voice among the other voices echoing from his philosopher stone. But that was impossible…was he going insane now? Fuck, that was the last thing he needed. He had stopped putting pressure on the stone to listen intently, and he realized, almost desperately for where her voice was coming from. Was it possible…that she was swallowed too?

"...I almost think he'll show up again at some point. I just hope I can get his name next time… I want to thank him for everything he's done. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be alive and neither would Ed..."

"Winry?" he called, feeling a little stupid. There was no answer and he felt even more idiotic.

"Human's are so pathetically fragile." Wait a second, that was his voice. Hell, he'd definitely lost it.

"…we are, but that's why we can appreciate the value of every life." He wanted to laugh at this statement, to mock it, to tell the speaker that they were foolish and driven by worthless emotion…but he couldn't…because the memory of that specific conversation had surfaced in his mind and he could almost see Winry's face when she said it, her exact expression and tone of voice. She had meant every syllable down to the last breath, and for the first time, Envy noticed she had said every life… not only human, but animals and plants and…monsters…like him as well.

Envy didn't know what to call the feeling that suddenly rose up within him. He hadn't been sure about what it was about her that kept him intrigued, kept him guessing at why nobody in the world had managed to occupy so much of his focus until now. That was why he had made her untouchable, so that he would have time to figure her out and figure out what it was about her that confused him, made him feel…human?

He had wanted to feel human. Is this what it was all about? This need, this growing uncontrolled desire to be there with her to hear her speak those words of gratitude for him, praising him as if he were some…guardian. The numbness lifted and left behind a sense of despair that he wasn't familiar with. He felt lost and terribly alone. He let his chest close back over his philosopher stone, keeping it safe again, and he gazed into the unending darkness and dropped his hands to his sides. Guardian, huh?

"Envy, do you know who killed Mr. Hughes?"

If Envy had a heart, it would have stopped at hearing that question. Almost instinctively, he knew who would be the one to answer it.

"What would you do if you found out who his killer was?"

"I hate him for causing Gracia and Elicia so much pain, because I know what it's like to loose my parents…If I could, I would want to kill him…"

Guardian, huh?

"Winry…" Envy mumbled to the disembodied voice, "You know who I am and what I am, and you still stood by me like a fool. What would you have done if I had told you the truth? Would you have continued being a fool? After all, you're only…human…"

What was this new feeling inside him? He felt sorrow beyond words and anger at himself that he seemed to have only felt while in his parasitic form, but it wasn't based on humiliation. No, this was much different. Was this what humans called guilt?

"How could I forgive a murderer?"

Her words rang through the darkness as sharp as knives. Envy felt them tear through him like his body was made of soft butter. Envy hated this new feeling and tried to shake it away, but he couldn't, it clung to his soul and refused to let up. She was right. How could he be forgiven? He was a cold-blooded, cold-hearted psychopath. In actuality he was worse than that. He didn't even have a heart! Unable to be forgiven, unable to forgive…

Envy struck out at the darkness with his fist, hitting nothing, but venting his sudden flare of anger all the same. He shouted, "What do you want from me!? I killed him and I enjoyed watching the blood drain from his body! I know he was your friend, but I don't give a fuck! I'm just Envy, I'm just that cold-hearted bastard everyone including his own Father can't trust!"

Envy found himself kneeling over in the blood pool of Gluttony's stomach, his hands supporting his upper weight as he leaned forward, bowing his head and hiding his face from the imagined presence of Winry before him. He whispered, barely audible, "So, why do you trust me?...I don't understand…"

Suddenly, something caught his attention. It was very quiet, yet very distinct. Someone was talking. It sounded like murmuring from where Envy stood, but it was most definitely a presence besides his own in this place. Envy spun on the spot to see if he could see anything and his eyes immediately noticed a glimpse of flickering light in the far distance to his right. It looked like a small flame, but it broke through the darkness and doused everything around it in an orange-yellow glow.

His non-existent heart rose and he started walking in the direction of the light. From this distance he couldn't really make out who it was, but he didn't need to see them to know it was Fullmetal and his Xingese friend. That strange calmness had settled on Envy again. He had no desire to torture them or to see them in pain. Rather, after being surrounded by nothing but darkness and memories that made him feel things he wasn't used to, he was just thankful for the company. Enemies or not, they would all die here. At least he wouldn't die alone.

As he drew nearer he heard the foreigner say, "Someone's coming…"

"Oh, so it is you guys," Envy called out to them across the sea of blood. The flames from their torch danced over the liquid surface making it look like glass. He noticed both of them jump to their feet and he decided if he came any closer he would be asking for trouble. He figured it was probably best if he kept a neutral attitude, unless the pipsqueak provoked him – they were all going to die anyway. He could now have a bit of fun with this sacrifice.

"Envy? So, you're here as well," Ling said, darkly. He looked ready for battle again, but Envy simply found a tall rock and sat on it. It kept some good distance between them.

"Tell me the way out of here!" Edward shouted, hopefully. Envy's frown deepened. There it was again…that feeling. Another human was willing to trust him, knowing who he really is.

"That's really cowardly of you, Ed!" Ling gaped, "You can't trust him he's an enemy!"

"Unfortunately," Envy said, speaking over Ling, "there is no way out of here."

This seemed to get their attention, and Envy sighed, leaning his head into the palm of his hand, "This is just great…This was never supposed to happen. Now, even I, Envy, got dragged into this mess…"

After a moment, Ling asked, "Where is this place? Are we really in Gluttony's stomach?"

Envy glanced up at them to explain, "We're both inside his belly and not inside his belly. Fullmetal pip –," he caught himself and something inside him told him to play nice for now, "- Alchemist, you've realized what this place is, haven't you? You've experienced it before after all."

Fullmetal's eyes widen a bit as he seemed to realize something. "Now that you mention it…" he gazed up at the darkness above Envy's head, and Envy absently wondered what he saw there, "The moment Gluttony swallowed us I had this familiar feeling…" He suddenly gasped, "The Doorway of Truth! But…it wasn't like this there. Everything was very bright…"

"So, that's what the real thing looks like, huh?" Envy frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Gluttony is a failed attempt by Father to create a Doorway of Truth, but Father couldn't create one, not even with his power. This is a defective doorway. I guess you could call this an area between reality and truth. There are no exits or ways out," Envy felt sweat drip down his face and he ignored it, "All we can do is use up our strength and wait for our lives to end. Guys, all we can do is wait around in here to die."

Edward bared his teeth at Envy. "I'll be damned if that's true!" he shouted angrily at him. Beside him, Ling had gone ghostly white and his eyes were unfocused, staring straight out ahead of him like he had lost all hope of survival. Edward continued to deny the truth, "Don't go telling us shit like that, Envy!"

He couldn't blame him for not taking his words at face value. After all, who would trust an enemy? Envy understood how Edward thought. As far as he was concerned he believed Envy was hiding the exit from them and would make his escape when they had given up, leaving them there. Envy decided there was nothing more he could say to make himself any clearer.

"…There's really no exit?" Ling finally mumbled. He dropped to his knees, still staring helplessly out in front of him. Edward shook his shoulder, "Hey, snap out of it, Ling. Don't listen to him! We'll find a way out of here, we have to! There are people waiting for us back home, remember!"

That seemed to be enough for Ling to gather most of his wits and stand back up. The blank expression that had been on his face had been replaced with determination as he nodded. Edward seemed to calm down a bit and he turned to Envy, and said, "And about that…"

Envy's frown deepened as he guessed what the pipsqueak's next words would be. "You shouldn't give up either, Envy. I wouldn't want you to disappoint Winry."

Envy blinked in surprise. He definitely hadn't expected that. He had thought the pipsqueak would accuse him of stealing his girlfriend or something, but he was actually encouraging him to go back to her. He would have thought for sure Fullmetal wouldn't have wanted a homunculus around anyone he was close to. What the hell was going on?

Envy's mouth opened slightly before any sound came out. Once he had figured out how his voice box worked again, he said, "Have you gotten soft? Don't you want to keep me away from her instead? Have you forgotten I'm an enemy? What if I'm just using her to further Father's plan?"

To his horror, Edward actually smiled a bit, and said, "Don't think I've developed a soft spot for you, Envy. It's actually the opposite. I can't tell if you're using her or not yet, but I know one thing for sure. Winry cares deeply for you, enough to put her life on the line when you and Ling were fighting…"

Envy was pretty confused by that too.

"If you give up here, then you'll be disappointing her. I saw how her parents deaths effected her," Edward said, "So, I won't allow you to simply give up and put her through that again."

"That's very inspirational, pipsqueak," Envy scowled, "but just how do you plan on getting out of here anyways? It's not like you can just make a door way and walk –,"

"Who are you calling a tiny cell-sized bacterium that can only be seen under the microscope!?"

Envy smirked, but Ling intervened, "This isn't the time to start a fight! We need to use all our energy to find a way out of here."

Envy almost expected to see steam blow out from Edward's ears as he cooled down a bit. He growled loudly. "We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for that guy you call Father!" he glared over at Envy, and continued his rant, "Making homunculi and fake Doorways of Truth…Tell me, Envy, who is he? King Bradley?"

Envy let out a bark laugh at the thought of Wrath trying to push him around in the name of Father. Hatred rose up in him. "Bradley, yeah right. He's just a homunculus."

"I knew it!" Ling said.

"Laboratory 5…using human lives to make…Philosopher stones…Homunculus…" Edward thought out loud, and then he turned to Envy with disgust written on every line of his face, "If the Fuhrer is one too then are you guys behind the Ishval War?"

At the mention of Ishval, Envy's spirits rose back up and he couldn't help himself. His eyes widened and he laughed at the joyful memory. "Ishval!?" he grinned widely, "I've never had a job more delightful than that one! Do you remember what the trigger was that started the uprising?"

Envy could see from the emotions that passed through Edward's eyes that he was becoming guarded and angry over his reaction to what he knew was a sad moment in history for the human race. Ha! More like the Ishvalan race! What a joy!

"As I recall, a military officer accidentally killed an Ishvalan child," Edward replied and Envy sensed his anger in his tone.

"Yes!" Envy grinned widely, "And I, Envy, am the very person who shot that child!"

Just as Envy had expected Edward and Ling's reactions were very pleasing to the eye. The look of horror and disgust in their faces was enough to make him bowl over laughing his ass off. Instead, he refrained himself and continued, "That felt so good. The civil war flared up right before my eyes, all over one bullet. Man, that was a real thrill!"

Edward's expression turned into suppressed rage. There was a strong flame in his golden eyes. He started towards Envy, fists clenched at his sides and teeth bared. Envy carelessly continued, "Ah, and incidentally, the officer that I had turned into was a moderate, who opposed the militaries intervention in Ishval. And the guy couldn't even account for himself and was court-martialed! You humans really are easily manipulated creatures."

He let out a little chuckle as he heard Edward start speaking. Fury was dripping from every word, "So you're the one who shot that innocent child? Who ruined our home, and drove out the Ishvalans? The one who made Scar so hell-bent on revenge? The reason…why Winry's parents were taken from her?" Envy's smile faded a bit at the feeling that rose up in him again, "Why…you!!"

Edward's fist connected with the side of Envy's face and they both seemed to freeze in time. Envy hadn't budged. Edward's strength hadn't been enough to even move his head. He could feel the sharp knuckles of his automail dig into his skin as Edward stalled on the spot, realizing he hadn't even managed to push him over. Envy pushed down the unfamiliar feelings that had rose up in that moment of hearing Winry's name and quickly replaced them with a more welcoming feeling of anger. He glanced over at Edward, past the fist that was currently in his face and scowled, "You want to fight, punks?"

Edward's breathe hitched as red sparks rose up from around Envy's body. He backed off quickly in shock as Ling shouted across to him, "Ed, get back!"

Envy stood up, swaying slightly from side to side from the light headedness this particular transformation brought on him. He looked down upon Edward and Ling with cold fury as he said, "We're all going to die here anyway. Let me show you something before you pass on!"

Envy gritted his teeth as his body changed into a form he deeply despised. This particular change was never a comfortable one. He stood on his hind legs as his face changed shape and size. His long snout protruding outward like a dog's, and the last of his limbs grew out from his body. He finally landed on all six legs when he was done, taking pleasure in seeing the looks of horror on his enemies' faces. These idiots had no idea! They had just walked stupidly into the dragons den, asking for death!

Edward and Ling jumped apart as Envy smashed his long tail down on the spot where they had stood. Despite his size, he was incredibly fast. He whipped his tail around and caught something. He watched with glee as Edward's body flew sideways into a large rock and slide down into the pool of blood. Ling was shouting to Edward and Envy chuckled at his futile attempts to save him. He took a swipe at the Xingese annoyance and sent him flying into the same rock. He landed next to Edward, gasping in pain.

Envy snickered and leered down at them as they stood up, gasping. Edward clapped his hands and produced a sword, which he threw to Ling, and then modified his own arm into a blade. "Can we take him?" Edward asked.

"I'm not sure," Ling replied, "I mean, with the way he's built. I can't tell where his vitals are. What's more, he broke two or three ribs in that last attack."

"I'm in similar shape," Edward said, "Nonetheless, we have to pump this guy full of hurt!"

Envy smirked at their stupidity. He brought his tail slashing down upon them, and watched as they jumped away as he expected them to do. He grabbed Ling in mid-jump and slammed his body against another rock. He heard the air escape his lungs and he fell limply into the pool of blood beneath him.

"Ling!" Edward shouted, "Damn!"

He ran forward, blade ready. Envy slashed at him, but he slipped just under his claw and dodged it. Then, just as he made to attack Envy, he stopped, or rather froze on the spot. Envy stared at him, confused at why he would hesitate. One of the faces of Xerxes was staring him in the eyes, but Envy doubted that could be the reason. He had assumed the Fullmetal runt was smarter than that. He couldn't possibly pity those beings inside of Envy's stone, could he? Well, he was human after all…

"Humans are so foolish," Envy said more to himself than anything, "I'm done playing around."

He grabbed Edward while he was shocked still and slammed him down onto a large, circular rock. Edward cried out in pain as the air was pushed out of his lungs. When he landed, he looked broken and so terribly fragile. Envy felt odd the way the usual satisfaction of winning a battle or beating the shit out of a human didn't rise up in him. Instead, he felt empty again. His own emotions, though he paid little attention to them most times, had him running in circles over something he couldn't grasp.

He could heard Ling yelling for Edward to snap out of it as Envy wrapped his long, arm-like tongue around him and dragged his limp form into his being, swallowing him up for use of his own philosopher stone. Just as he thought he had managed to get ride of the runt for good, he felt a foot knock out one of his teeth. He winced in pain, but gasped in surprise at the idiot's persistence. Did he really want to die painfully?

"Let me out, Envy! You stink!" Edward shouted, "We might be able to get out of here after all!"

Envy's eyes widened.

"Work with me, Envy!"

Work with him? He would have no choice if he wanted to get out of here and by the sounds of it the runt had found a way to do so. He roughly spat Edward out and watched as he landed into the blood unceremoniously. Ling ran over to help Edward stand up. Envy had to admit, he'd never been in a situation where trusting in a human would save his life, but he supposed he hand no choice.

"That's great, Envy," Edward said, weakly.

"We can really get out of here?" Ling asked, hopefully. Edward nodded, "I think so."

He started walking towards the rock which Envy had slammed him down on and said, "Look at this, it's a part of the Xerxes ruins," he rounded on Envy, "These are inside of Gluttony to hide the evidence, right? I'm starting to understand what you bastards did to Xerxes. You used the people to create a philosopher stone! Am I right, Envy?"

Envy simply stared down at the runt alchemist. This wasn't getting them anywhere. "What do you want me to do?" he said, changing the subject, "You said you think there's a way out, so start making some progress. Put your stupid emotions aside and think straight, human. You're only wasting valuable time and energy into interrogating me over something that's already been done. It's in the past, let it die."

"He's right, Ed," Ling said, "We can worry about that later. Our first priority is to get out of here."

Envy shook with laughter. "You're friend has brains," he mocked.

Ling rounded on him, snarling, "Don't think I'm siding with you, monster. I'm just as eager to get out of here as you are, but as soon as I'm out of here you can spew everything you know about Xerxes and the philosopher stone!"

"Yeah? It's not like you can make me," Envy snickered.

Ling smirked, slyly, "No, but maybe I can get Winry to trick it out of you since you two seem to be so close?"

"Hey! Hey! Don't bring Winry into this!" Edward snapped, defensively. Envy pushed the uncomfortable feelings back down as he thought about Winry's trust in him breaking. He suddenly realized if they got out of here Edward wouldn't hesitate to tell her everything he had said about Ishval…

Ling ignored Edward's warning, gesturing at Envy, saying, "Look, Ed."

Suddenly Envy noticed both humans were staring up at him with wide eyes. He wondered what the hell they were thinking and why they were looking at him like that. It made his anger boil up again.

"I don't get it," Edward said to Ling.

"I felt it before too," Ling explained, "Every time Winry's name is mentioned his Chi shifts a bit, like its changing form or something."

His Chi? Envy had no idea what the squinty-eyed bastard was talking about, but he didn't like it.

"So, that's how it is, Envy?" Ling smirked, "You call humans foolish and pathetic for trusting so much in our emotions, but, in reality, you're just in denial of your own."

Edward made a little sound that could have been a half-formed gasp. He gazed up at Envy in disbelief. "No…way…" he breathed, "So…you're really not…using her?"

What were they playing at? Why did he feel this way all of a sudden? It must be a trick of some kind, but…why would they trick him if they need his help getting out of here so badly?

Envy loomed over them, trying to make them doubt their own conclusion and said, darkly, "You need more of those pieces? There are some scattered around here. I'll go and bring them back to you."

He turned around and continued back into the dense darkness, away from those meddling humans. They knew nothing of him! He had emotion, but he didn't use it. It was pointless…it was…pointless? Envy stopped abruptly. He was far from Edward and Ling now, and he stood before a piece of the ruins, but he didn't touch it. Instead, he just stared at it, not really seeing it at all. Something inside him had clicked.

"…I know you're a homunculus, but I don't feel in danger when I'm with you. I feel safe, and that I can trust you."

"Winry..." he said quietly, "…I…get it now…"

Leonahari: Phew, between studying for Finals and writting this chapter, I don't think my brain is working anymore - overload! When I was writting this I stopped at one point in the middle and actually couldn't think of how to spell "shook"....Yeah....I actually sounded it out a couple of times before realizing "Omg, am I that tired?"

Anyways, I'm posting this early again because my finals are over and I'm going away on holiday to Palm Springs, CA for a week to vent some stress. I'm looking forward to the hot whether, since I come from Canada and it's freaking cold up here right now. I think today with the wind chill it's -17 celcius. It just sucks. So, I leave you with a good, long chapter to mull over until I get back. Then, my updates should be pretty regular again since I don't go back to school until the second week of January. Let's see if I can finish this story before then, eh?

Update!! That story I was talking about a long time ago is being written right now as well. You can check my profile for current updates and the first publishing date of it. I decided I would start posting it after this story was done, so by all means visit it after you read this one. It's not a sequel though.

Anyways, I know I'm mean, but you now have a full week to muse about what Envy has figured out. I won't give you any hints. Oh, I just love open-ended endings!