Chapter Twelve: The Tables Turn

It was a clear day in Central. Envy stared out the window down at the city that had flourished in the last two hundred years and wondered. His experience in the Doorway of Truth had deeply unsettled him. What his inner soul, or Truth, or whatever it was, had said about him being a lie created by Father uprooted the very foundations he was raised upon. It's true he had been excited about it. He had been surprised to find that he was independent of Father, even though he was apart of Father's soul, his envy.

But that scared him.

When Father had said his true form was the large parasite, he made it clear to Envy that he really had no clue what or who Envy really was. The Truth had made that clear, had opened his eyes. Everything had been so straightforward before: follow Father's orders, go through with the plan. Now, Envy felt like it had all been turned upside down on him. Now that he knew he was not immediately in debt to Father as his soul alone, he didn't even know if he wanted to follow him anymore. Spiting Father had been Envy's plan aside from taking Amestris into Father's palm as a philosopher stone, but it all seemed so pointless now.

Two hundred years…

Two hundred years he had served as just another one of Father's pawns. That was all he was to Father after all, a pawn to be used and discarded when his usefulness expired. Everything he had done his whole life spiraled around what Father wanted, to better Father, to help Father become the perfect being that he'd always wanted to be.

Did he even want to go through with that anymore?

You are a lie created by a lie.

Father no longer had a Truth. He had expelled his Truths as sins, giving them souls and lives of their own without knowledge of it.

What did it mean to have a Truth anyway? Did it make him more human? And what did the Truth mean about Envy being only half his Truth? What was his other half?

Envy frowned as he gazed unseeingly out the window. It was all too deep for him to grasp. He wouldn't have even had these thoughts had he not passed through the Gate. In fact, a lot had happened since he was swallowed by Gluttony. All of these new feelings inside him were swimming around in his mind, just waiting to be anchored on a direct thought, a memory, a moment in time.

"Why did you lie to me?"

Was that guilt or irritation? Envy kept his gaze firmly rooted on the scenery outside the window, deciding that ignorance was the best reaction. It seemed Winry would continue questioning him whether he stayed silent or not. He supposed after growing up with Edward, she was used to having to initiate sensitive conversations.

Did she have to do this now? He had way too much on his mind to deal with her stupid concerns at the moment. He would have thought after seeing him in his 'true' form, whatever it was, that Winry would be afraid to even go near him. But here she was, standing right next to him, trying to look him in the face. The only problem was he was staring away from her, hoping she would get the point that he didn't want to talk about anything right now.

"Ishval…" she murmured quietly, "You shot that poor child…? You were the one that caused the rebellion…? The one who…started the hatred between the people…? The reason…my parents……"

Envy heard her sniff a bit and wipe her nose.

"Not here," he said, sternly. He didn't like the feeling that rose up inside him. It was unfamiliar and unnatural to him. For once in his life, he wasn't sure whether to feel bad or satisfied that he had caused a human pain. Judging from the way he felt, it definitely wasn't the latter and he feared his own insecurities would show through his eyes. He kept staring through the window.

"You…you were working for them the whole time…" Winry continued, "You're a murderer…and this whole time you led me to believe you were good…"

Envy's frown deepened. "Not now," he warned again.

"You... I trusted you!"

Envy growled and turned to face her, grabbing her shoulders firmly. "I said I don't want to talk about it right now!"

That had been a bad mistake. Everything he had been trying to hold back, rose up in him at the sight of her swollen, red eyes. The redness made the blue stand out so vividly, it was hard to look away. His breath had been stolen. Her emotions, her thoughts, everything she usually kept guarded were now being displayed so clearly through her wide blue orbs. That was when he realized their closeness. The reality of what he had done.

Her wound would never be completely healed he knew. And without understanding it, Envy felt a pit of guilt swell in his chest. Normally, he would have smiled, laughed perhaps, but here now with her staring at him like she had nothing left to loose, he felt terribly vulnerable and weak.

Before he could say anything more, he watched a tear slide down her face. His face was suddenly slapped so harshly he was staring out the window again by the end of it. He felt a dam inside him collapse and an emotion he was completely unfamiliar with drag him down into the drain of a basin, drowning him. It took him a moment to realize he was shaking. He let her shoulders go, but refused to look back at her and kept his face turned away.

He could hear her breathing, shaky and uneven. "Don't you dare touch me!"

Envy felt his eyes were suddenly getting very dry. His throat was staring to seize up. His frown deepened. What was this? What was she doing to him?

"You are the reason my parents never came home!" she gasped through tears, "And you…shot an innocent child? Why did you…? Just because you were told to…? Or…were you having fun!? I remember what you said about humans being foolish back in the park. You really weren't lying, you really do use us as entertainment, don't you!? Do you enjoy watching us suffer!?"

Envy crossed his arms, but continued to stare out the window at nothing. He blinked to ward away the dryness in his eyes, but to his horror a tear slid down his face. Winry had paused to gasp and wipe her eyes.

"You do…don't you?" she managed. Every word seemed like it was being forced from her throat, "You enjoy our pain…So then…did you enjoy watching me as I suffered as well? After my parents were…gone…did you just hang around because you took pleasure from watching me grieve!?"

The more she said the more terrible Envy felt. The pressure in his throat was building with every second that passed. It was unfamiliar to him, but he understood it completely.

"Just tell me…" Winry managed. Her words were quiet and forced, "…please tell me you didn't kill Mr. Hughes too…"

He subconsciously tightened his crossed arms around himself. He shouldn't have been so surprised really. She was bound to find it out eventually, but he had never anticipated how he would feel if she did. Right now, Envy felt like he would be better off getting tortured by Father than have to face Winry, especially on a topic that was so fresh in her mind.

A voice in his head told him this was just a point in his life where he would have to move on from and forget. It meant nothing. After Amestris was transmuted, Winry would just be one more soul in a philosopher stone to be used as energy.

Envy wished he hadn't thought of that. His rational mind was suddenly overwhelmed by raw emotion and was overthrown. He knew that thought wasn't true.

Winry wasn't just another human.

She never had been.

Not to him.

Envy finally turned to face her. This time her eyes were guarded, but still red and vibrant blue. He didn't even have to voice his answer and she already knew.

"…no, please no…"

"Don't ask a question you don't want answered," Envy said, but his voice was weak and shaky.

Winry hid her face in her hands and sobbed. Envy took a deep breath and went back to staring out the window. He didn't care to comfort her. She had asked for it. She should have been prepared to deal with whatever answer he gave.

"I…I shouldn't have come back," Winry mumbled into her hands. It sounded like she was talking sense into herself, "I shouldn't have…gone looking for you…I should have just stayed in Rush Valley."

For some reason, anger overturned Envy's guilt and he turned back to her and snapped, "Yes, that's right! Wallow in self-pity and think of all the things you fucked up because you were stupidly following your emotions like every other human out there!"

Winry removed her hands and looked up at him wide-eyed like some injured cat that had been kicked for licking her wounds. Her mouth was agape, obviously words escaped her at his surprise outburst.

"Take responsibility and admit that you fucked up, and move on!" Envy snarled, "Pity gets you nowhere."

Her expression had recovered and now she looked as firm as steel. Even her normally warm blue eyes were cold and guarded. Evenly, she said, "You're right, Envy. I was stupid. I fell for you…I won't make the same mistake again."

He felt like a hole had been carved out of his soul at her words. For once he took the blame without defense and stared back into her furious blue eyes with a fire that matched her own. He decided he needed to get out. He needed to vent, to hit something and, if he wasn't careful, it would be her.

He glanced out the window and then decided better of it and turned to the bathroom door. A little too forcefully, Envy pushed it open with both hands and it slammed into the wall with a loud cracking sound as the doorknob was buried into the drywall on the other side. There, in the middle of the bathroom sat Alphonse talking to Edward, who was still naked and had gone ghostly white at the sight of Envy bashing down the door.

"What the hell is taking you so long!?" Envy bellowed, "Get going!"

Winry had managed to wipe away her tears before Edward and Alphonse left the bathroom. Envy hadn't said anything to her after he had bashed in the door and she didn't have to be brilliant to know what she said had deeply affected him. He continued to lead them somewhere, staying a few feet ahead. Instead of staring at him, Winry kept her eyes lowered to the ground.

Edward and Alphonse had noticed her odd behavior and had questioned it when they first stepped out of the bathroom, but she shook her head and insisted she was fine. She didn't have the heart to talk about it anymore. After finding out that Envy had murdered Mr. Hughes she didn't much have the heart for anything.

For her, it had been such a shock, and yet not so surprising. Now looking back on their meetings, Winry saw all the warning signs that Envy might not be the person she originally thought he was, starting with his odd comment after he pulled her from the river. The fact that she had even considered him more than a friend after she found out he wasn't human was enough to make her want to slap herself.

Envy was right. She had been stupid. He had never really lied to her, now that she thought about it. He had always been truthful about everything. She had just never wanted to believe that what he said were his true feelings. She always passed it off as an odd sense of humor. In short, she had been ignorant and she was paying dearly for it.

'Take responsibility!'

Now that she thought about it, when she had first asked him whether he knew who killed Mr. Hughes he had never really answered her. Actually, his answer had been a question of mercy, something an innocent bystander would not have cared to ask: 'what would you do if you found Mr. Hughes killer?'

She should have known just by that. She should have read into it instead of passing it off and getting distracted by the minor details of the case itself. She remembered her answer. 'I'd hate him. I'd want to kill him.' That's when she realized she didn't want to kill Envy. Hell, she didn't even know if she hated him. It made her feel helpless and insecure that she couldn't even bring herself to despise a killer – Mr. Hughes' murderer, the instigator of the Ishvalan Rebellion, the indirect cause of her parents' death.

'You're all so hell-bent on revenge. You think that if someone wrongs you, you deserve to wrong them back – you think it's your right as human or something. I have to admit, it entertains me to no end when I see how little you've all changed in the last two hundred years, repeating the same mistakes, making the same stupid decisions.'

'Oh, so what would you do different then, Envy?'

'I would forgive him. Is it really so hard to do?'

She hadn't understood his answer before now. She looked up at the back of his head and frowned. He knew this would happen. He knew she would find out, and she betted her automail shop that he also knew she would reflect back on that specific conversation. After all, his words…they were so well chosen. The fact that he thought he could manipulate to his advantage, even if the cards weren't in his favor…

It made her dislike him even more.

His true face had been revealed to her now.

Yet, still, she could not bring herself to hate him.

Envy suddenly stopped and placed his hand on a doorknob. He turned back to them before opening it and said, indifferently, "Wrath will take it from here."

"Wrath?" Edward repeated.

Winry kept her eyes guarded even though Envy avoided looking at her. The three of them passed him and went into the room. Edward gasped. "Wrath? The Fuhrer King Bradley!?"

Winry saw the Fuhrer sitting behind a table across from Colonel Mustang, who looked stern and a little pale. They walked towards them, Winry followed nervously behind until they were addressed by the Fuhrer. He regarded her darkly, "Ms. Rockbell, if there is anywhere else you wish to be then please leave us. What we will discuss does not concern you."

Thankful to get away, Winry nodded and took a step back.

"Envy will escort you," the Fuhrer ordered. Winry's heart dropped and she knew Envy's must have done the same because when she looked back at him he was giving the Fuhrer a cold glare.

When she exited the room the door closed behind her, and she and Envy were back to square one. Before she could say anything, Envy started walking away. "You're on your own. Do whatever you want."

She couldn't object before he had rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. Suddenly, she felt very alone.

As soon as Envy entered onto the roof of the Command Center he ditched the disguise and took on his usual form, unaware that one other person was also present. It took him a moment to realize who it was before he decided that they were of no threat to him. He went to stand at the edge of the building and leaned on the cement barrier that separated him from a six story drop.

The new guy, Greed, sat a few feet away with his legs dangling off the edge carelessly. He looked over at Envy and grinned, "This kid has a pretty interesting ability. I could sense you from a mile away."

Envy ignored him.

"But I don't need to have an ability to sense your anger."

Growling a bit, Envy turned back around and started towards the exit. He would get no peace up here with this idiot running his mouth.

"Oh, the kid's got a point, though," Greed said, undaunted by Envy's cold shoulder, "You're more human than you let on if you let her get to you."

Envy stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder. His anger evaporated for a moment as he considered something. "The Xingese idiot is still in there? You can talk to him?"

"Yup," Greed said, staring out at the city before them, "It's a little weird actually. He's just sitting back and waiting to take over at any minute. For once, I don't have a vessel that's completely mine. It's helpful though. He's been teaching me Xingese martial arts, and that sensing ability might really –,"

"That's impossible," Envy said, making his way back to where Greed sat. The other homunculus shrugged. "Nothing impossible about it. He just has a strong will. Too bad all humans can't be like him. On the topic of impossibility, you're not really one to talk."

"What do you mean?"

"You and I are really not that much different," Greed smirked, "We just go about things a different way. You want what you can't have, and I find a way of attaining things that are possible to obtain."

"Get to the point."

"Stop running after something you will never catch up with," Greed said, staring him right in the eyes, "If you do that, you will always get what you want because you'll know how fast you can run. Get it?"

Envy frowned. "No matter how many bodies you jump to, Greed, you're always the same."

Greed smirked, "I could say the same for you – that's another similarity."

"Shut up! I've been here for generations, while you have constantly been replaced –," Envy suddenly stopped himself as he realized something he hadn't before. He looked down at his hands, holding them palms up and wondered.

"That's right," Greed said, watching him with a sly grin, "You've been here for decade after decade doing the same damn thing – following him. And now look where you are: nowhere. He promised all of us that he would become the perfect being and by now I'm stunned that I'm the only one who realizes that his goal is unrealistic. There's a difference between being greedy and being stupid, Envy. You're smart enough to know that even the destruction of such a large country like Amestris will only create another philosopher stone. Father failed to become the perfect being when he destroyed Xerxes. Do you really think a few hundred more humans will make any difference in the result this time around? You're chasing something you can't catch."

Envy dropped his hands and stared back at Greed, for once, considering his reason for turning his back on Father. "That kid in your head," he started, unsure of how to ask what he wanted to ask, "He…must have seen the Truth when he passed through the Doorway. I want to know. Does my chi feel any different since I've been back from passing through it?"

Greed raised an eyebrow at his odd question, but only replied, "I don't know. I'm not him."

"Can't you ask him?"

"Only when he decides to take over me does he bother –," Greed suddenly blinked and his expression went soft, like a switch in his brain had been flipped. "You're chi is the same," he said, "Why do you want to know that? I thought I was just some idiot to you."

Envy frowned and crossed his arms. He hated that he was trying to converse normally with a human, treating them as if they were his equal. He hated knowing that a human had the knowledge about something he didn't. However, his time in the Gate had suggested that there was still much he did not know about the world and even his own life. The fluctuation of his chi, according to the Xingese idiot, was one of them.

Envy gritted his teeth, and said, reluctantly, "What you said about my chi shifting…I want to know what it means."

"Why should I help you?" Ling scowled, "How do I know you're not going to turn around and use this information to better that monster you call Father?"

Envy took a deep breath and looked out at the city of Central, at all its crowded buildings and bustling streets. Humans moved around with their daily lives, oblivious to the fate that had been sealed for them before their time. "What I saw in the Doorway has made me reconsider a lot of things, one of which is my perception of Father."

"If you're no longer following him then why did you fight us when we got back?"

"I never said I was no longer following him," Envy snapped, "I just haven't made a firm decision yet."

"Why? What could you have possibly seen in the Doorway to make you suddenly change your mind?" Ling asked. Envy could see he was still suspicious of his motives. He didn't blame him. He'd played a lot of tricks on him and his friends, and to think that Ling would forget that was foolish.

"You didn't see it?" Envy asked, confused.

"I just saw a lot of white light and then I was dragged through a doorway by these shadow-like tentacle things. After that, I wound up back here."

Envy furrowed his brow in thought. What did it mean if he was the only one to see the Truth? It made him question whether it had been real at all. Had he dreamt the whole thing?

"You know, now that you mention it, your chi has changed a bit," Ling suddenly said. His hand was on his chin and he looked to be in deep thought. "It's more stable than it was before and less pronounced. That must have been why I hadn't noticed before."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. I'm not a professional on it, I just know what I sense," Ling shrugged.

Envy let out an irritable growl and leaned on the cement barrier again, looking straight down at the Command Center entrance below. It was all very frustrating. He couldn't decide on whether to trust what he saw in the Doorway, and if he could what he should do about it. On top of it, Father would want to include Winry in his plan. He'll probably use her as a hostage to make the Elrics behave, which meant he would have to face her more than he wanted to.

Someone was leaving down the steps of the entrance and Envy realized it was Winry. He watched her sit down on the bottom step like she was waiting for something. Perhaps she was finally leaving to go back to Rush Valley like she had wanted. Whatever it was, Envy didn't care. The further from him she was the better off they both were.

"You want to know something about your chi that I find most interesting?" Ling said, looking down at the dot of Winry with a small grin. Envy didn't reply, but he continued anyway, "The way your chi shifts when you think of her – for a homunculus it's an unusually human response."

Envy shot him a look. "Human response?" he repeated.

"Human's have a chi as well. Chi is spiritual energy. Yours is just different because you aren't human – I've never sensed your kind before," Ling explained, "But what I've noticed is your chi still reacts to stimulus the same way as any human's chi would."

"I am a descendant of human," Envy stated.

"That's interesting," Ling mused. Envy fell silent and Ling decided to elaborate. "You're a descendant of human and yet you claim to be much better than us. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe we might be something you can learn from?"

"Learn from you humans? Don't make me laugh."

"Well, then, I can't be so sure you mean that after how you helped Alphonse distract Father to save Winry's life," Ling said. Envy felt his eyes on him and he refused to meet his stare. He found he had nothing to say to that. Ling continued, "Greed was right, you know? Why do you follow Father if you know it will lead to nothing? If you have feelings for Winry, even if she's human, why don't you follow them through?"

This time Envy turned to stare at him in disbelief. "That doesn't make much sense, if you think I'm your enemy."

"You're already considering leaving Father's side. That's enough of a turnaround in my opinion. Though, you're right. I don't approve of your skewed sense of morality, I certainly can't choose for Winry."

Well said, Envy decided. For once the Xingese bastard was making some sense.

"That's definitely a first I would think," Ling's voice was suddenly different and Envy realized he would have to get used to Greed and Ling changing back and forth. Right now, Greed was eyeing him closely. "A homunculus with a human – now that's strange. I guess it's the same as Wrath and his wife, though. He chose her himself, after all. It's not like Father pushed him to marry."

Envy blinked at this news. "He did?"

"Yeah, it all worked out for Father in the end so you probably didn't hear much about it aside from the fact that Wrath had gotten married to a human to pursue his Kingly image," Greed explained, "and after the placement of Pride as their son, it all worked out."

"Really?"

Greed nodded, "But you're situation is different, isn't it? Winry actually knows what you are."

That brought Envy back to the reason he came up to the roof in the first place: to clear his mind. In his opinion, Winry knew a little too much now. If only he had kept his mouth shut about the Ishvalan Rebellion none of this would have happened. Things wouldn't have been so complicated.

Below, a taxi stopped to pick up Winry and she stood with a bag in hand. He watched her get into the car, and look back up the staircase at the tall building before her. Briefly, he wondered what was going through her mind right then.

"What are you still doing here?" Greed smirked.

"You're an idiot if you think I'm going to run after her like some dog."

"Well, why not?"

Envy shot him an icy glare as the taxi drove away down the road. He had more important matters to deal with than Winry and her drama. First, being –

"I thought I told you to escort Winry?" came a cold voice from behind him. Envy spun around to see Wrath standing there, hands clasped before his body, looking very stern.

"I did. She's left already."

"Then Father has a new task for you," Wrath announced, "Do you still have those philosopher stones from laboratory 5?"

"I only have two left. I'll have to retrieve them from where I hid them," Envy replied, wondering why Father would want him to use them at all, especially now.

"Good. Marcoh has been killed by Scar. We need you to pass an assignment on to an old helping hand, Kimblee. I think he will be useful in silencing Scar for good." Wrath said and Envy rounded on him, "I thought Pride was watching him? He was a perfect sacrifice!"

"Pride had been sent away briefly to clean up the mess you and Gluttony made back at the cottage," Wrath scowled, "You could have at least been a little discrete! Any hunter would have been able to pick out both your track marks."

"I was swallowed by Gluttony, you aging bastard!" Envy snapped, "I didn't have a chance to –,"

"Which brings me to another topic," Wrath frowned, darkly, "Why did Gluttony swallow you?"

"That idiot was about to swallow a sacrifice, I tried to push Fullmetal out of the way and got –,"

"Are you being honest?"

"What is this, a fucking interrogation!?"

Wrath's hand rested on the hilt of his cutlass as he stared Envy in the eyes and said, "I heard some interesting news while talking with Mustang today. Something about him having connections within the homunculi circle."

Envy's face fell. Anger flooded him and he snarled, "Oh, come on, Wrath, you don't really think I have anything to do with those humans, do you? You're more stupid than I thought if you fell for that Flame bastard's trick. He wants you to be on edge. He only said that so you would start cutting down your own."

"Normally, I would agree with you," Wrath's eye darkened, "but after how Father mentioned your display of defense for Ms. Rockbell, I'm going to have to ask you just once. Be truthful, Envy. Are you in league with Mustang and his men?"

"You're an idiot."

"I'll only ask once."

"You know me better than that, Wrath. I don't give a shit about these humans," Envy snarled, balling his fists, holding back his anger to the best of his ability.

Wrath's hand relaxed and his smile returned. He suddenly looked like the human Fuhrer he was meant to be, as he said, "Well, Father was hoping you'd say something like that, because we've decided what to do with Winry Rockbell."

"Why did you leave without saying anything!?" Edward shouted into the mouthpiece of the telephone at Central Headquarters. Him and Alphonse were in the lobby and had recently split up from Colonel Mustang after having talked with the Fuhrer. According to him the homunculus were holding Winry hostage to keep them in line. After they had left the meeting, Edward and Alphonse had searched high and low for Winry, afraid that the homunculus might be keeping her in some god forsaken place. However, they had received her phone call a few hours later, informing them that she had simply gone home to Resenbool.

"Are…you okay, Winry?" Edward asked, "You haven't noticed anyone suspicious following you, no hang-up calls, stuff like that?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for…your concern though."

Edward frowned at her monotone voice and asked again, "Are you sure you're okay? You sound…odd."

There was a short pause before Winry answered, "Ed…I'm sorry I didn't listen to you before…about Envy. I shouldn't have been so stupid…"

Edward blinked, "So, that's what this is all about? Winry, just forget about him."

"I can't!" Winry snapped, "How do you expect me to just forget everything that's happened? No, nevermind… I'll be fine."

"Winry," Edward said, gently, "If it's any consolation, Al and I have met a lot of different people since we left home. Many of them are kind-hearted and selfless and even looked after us when we had no where else to turn to, like you and Granny. But we've also met people who we thought we knew and we really didn't, they had a true face only when they had done something terrible. What I'm saying is, don't beat yourself up over the fact that you failed to see who Envy really was until it was too late. Sometimes you don't see the warning signs until you've crossed that line and gotten hurt, but there's nothing you can do about it. You just have to move on."

"That's funny…" Winry said, there was a sad smile in her voice, "Envy said the same thing."

Edward raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Then, for once, I think you should take his advice."

"Ed?"

"Yeah, Winry."

"Why didn't you tell me that Envy started the war?"

Edward frowned, "I didn't know until after we had been swallowed. He told me everything about it. I…was going to tell you, but…"

"Did he also tell you…about Mr. Hughes?"

Edward's heart stopped. He glanced over at Alphonse, who was sitting patiently next to him, waiting for him to finish his phone call. "What about Hughes?" his voice was suddenly dark, guarded like he knew what Winry would say next. It caught Alphonse's attention immediately.

There was a pause before finally Winry whispered, "He killed him, Ed…Envy killed Mr. Hughes…"

Edward gasped, "You serious?"

"Yes…"

"How do you know?"

"He told me."

There was a short silence and Edward suddenly said, "Thanks, Winry. That's all I needed to know."

Winry's voice was suddenly masked with concern, "Ed, what are you going to do!? Ed!?"

Edward slowly hung up the receiver and turned to Alphonse with a determined, angry look in his eyes. "What is it, brother?"

"There's something I have to tell the Colonel. Al," Edward started walking away, "You coming?"

Alphonse nodded and stood up from his spot on the floor.

"You know they will take advantage of that kind of desperation," said a voice and Edward and Alphonse whipped around to come face to face with Ling, no Greed.

"Ling!?"

"I told you, it's Greed," he sounded exasperated.

Edward braced himself for another fight, but Greed simply watched him with a bored expression on his face. "What do you want!?"

"Your pal asked me for a favor," Greed replied. He produced a long piece of fabric from his pocket. On it was symbols stained in red ink.

"Ling did?" Edward said, snatching it away from Greed and attempting to read it, "It's in Xingese. What does it say?"

"I don't know. Can't read it," Greed shrugged carelessly, "He said to give it to the girl waiting for him."

"Lan Fan?" Edward growled, defensively, "You're not going to follow us and kill the girl, are you?"

"As if I'd do anything so petty!" Greed scowled, "Besides, I have no interest in fighting girls. I live by the creed of never telling a lie. Which reminds me…another favor: take that girl and get your automail mechanic to fix an arm for her right away. Go with her as soon as you can."

Edward looked taken back by the strange favor, but he nodded anyways, "We were planning on introducing Winry and Lan Fan eventually, but –,"

"Go with her today," Greed said, urgently. Edward frowned. That would mean his news to the Colonel would have to wait until they had time to discuss it. He nodded reluctantly and turned to Al, "Let's go then."

The prison halls, normally silent, flanked with guards and steel cell doors, were suddenly bustling with panic as guards flocked in and out of a particular cell, confusion written on every line of their faces. The prisoners shouted taunts through the tiny holes in their cell doors, but no one gave them a second thought. Major Armstrong, who had been passing by the wing had been approached by a nervous-looking informant who saluted with the wrong hand in his haste.

"Major Armstrong, sir!" he said, "There's been a disturbance in the East Wing of Cell Block Three, sir."

"What's going on here?" Armstrong frowned, after these last few weeks he was ready for anything, especially after Mustang had briefed him and Lt. Hawkeye on everything that the Fuhrer had revealed.

The officer's face paled, "I'm sorry, sir. I was relieved by an officer to take my lunch break and when I came back it had already happened!"

"What's happened?"

"It's prisoner number 469, the Crimson Alchemist, Kimblee, sir."

Armstrong's heart dropped into the bottom of his stomach as he remembered the bloodthirst the man had shown back during the Ishvalan Civil War. "What about him?" he asked, darkly.

"He's dead, sir."

"What?"

"The investigations department is already inside examining the scene, but I didn't know who to report this to," the officer said, lowering his faulty salute, "I've only been in the army for a week, sir, so I don't know what I should do."

"Where did the other officer go? The one who relieved you for break," Armstrong asked.

"He was gone when I got back, sir. I don't know where he went."

"Did you see the body?" Armstrong's voice was low, haunted by so many images of death in the last twenty years, things he had witnessed first hand.

"Y-yes, sir…"

"Was it…did it look like…" how was he supposed to explain this without too much description, "Like he was blown apart…from the inside?"

It wasn't possible for the officers face to go any whiter than it already was. Slowly, his eyes darkened with memory and he shook his head. "No, sir," he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking, "It was terrible…It looked like…someone had ripped open his chest…It was –,"

The officer suddenly looked green and Armstrong quickly said, "Dismissed!"

He watched him run down the corridor in search of a bathroom, holding his mouth as he ran. Slowly, Armstrong surveyed the prison district and decided against going to see the body. He would report directly to Mustang about this before anything else.

Leonahari: I hope you liked that climax chapter. I see a lot of people are reading, but not giving feedback :( I'm going to cry now... Btw, my new years resolution is to win the lottery, and if that falls through I'm just going to have to stick with plan B - passing my MCAT exam to get into studying for my Psychology Medical Thesis. Wish me luck!

PS: the only reason I updated so fast is because my semester starts next week and until I know how my workload is going to balance out, I'm safer just pelting out chapters until it starts.