Chapter Thirteen: A Visit From Mr. Myers
"Brigadier General Harold reporting for the East Wing, Cell Block Three, sir. There's been a disturbance regarding prisoner number 469, Kimblee, also known as the Crimson Alchemist, sir."
The Fuhrer glared over at the Brigadier General and almost knew what he was going to say next, "He's been murdered, and the cause of his death is still under investigation by the Investigations Department."
Anger flooded Wrath. He had had a feeling something like this would happen. "Tell the investigators to hold the case after the coroner is finished with the body."
"But, sir!"
"They need to focus on capturing Scar first and foremost," Wrath ordered, "One prisoner does not concern me at the moment. I can't have anymore of my State Alchemists being cut down."
"Yes, sir," with a bow and a salute, the Brigadier General left with his orders and closed the door behind him, leaving the Fuhrer to himself.
Wrath glared darkly across the room at the door where the General had left and crossed his arms over the surface of his polished desk. A voice announced Pride's presence in the room, "Envy has sent us a message – he no longer wishes to follow us to creating Father anew."
"What do you propose we do about it?" Wrath asked.
"We send him a message back."
"She's alright," Dr. Knox said, putting a damp cloth over May Chang's brow and leaving her to rest on the couch, "Once she gets a little rest she should recover."
"Alphonse?" Lan Fan entered the room looking very worn out and weak. Ling's jacket was still draped over her shoulders but most of her upper body was wrapped in medical bandages. She seemed to be healing well after having amputated her arm herself.
"Lan Fan! You should be in bed!" Alphonse said, coming around the back of the couch to reach her and keep her from falling over.
She ignored his comment and said, "Is the young lord with you?"
"No, but I have a message from him," Alphonse said, handing her the cloth with the Xingese writing on it. Lan Fan took it from him and her eyes widened slightly as she read. After, she smiled and held the message close. "What does it say?" Alphonse asked, impatiently.
"It says he's managed to obtain a philosopher stone," Lan Fan smiled, "Finally, our clan will rise and meet the Emperor with the greatest gift. I must go and tell them right away. Where is the young lord?"
Alphonse couldn't meet her eyes and Lan Fan immediately knew something was wrong. "Answer me, Alphonse! Where is he?"
"The next train to Resenbool will be leaving in about an hour, Al," Ed said, entering the house, oblivious to the tension in the air. He had just gotten back from the train station. If Ling wanted them to refer Lan Fan to Winry then that's what they would do, but something bothered him about it.
"You're going to Resenbool? Now? What for?" Lan Fan asked, curiously.
Alphonse, grateful for the diversion, replied, "You wanted us to refer you to an automail mechanic, right?"
"Yes, I'm not useful in this state."
"When we talked to Ling, he wanted us to bring you to Winry and get you an arm right away. He said it was important that you do it immediately," Edward said, "Though, I don't know if it's such a good idea –,"
"If the young lord requested it, then I will do as he wishes," Lan Fan agreed.
Alphonse and Edward shared a look of concern and Dr. Knox seemed to notice this. "You sure it's a good idea to bring her to your friend mechanic? What if those freaks follow you there? You could be putting your friend in grave danger."
Edward knew it would be a risk, but after what the Fuhrer – Wrath – had said he doubted they could put Winry in any more danger than she was already in. Alphonse was the first to reply, "I know this sounds strange, but I don't think us going there will put her in danger. They already know where she lives and where she works. In fact, if we go there, we'll have more of a chance to protect her if anything happens."
Edward had to agree with that.
"Well," Dr. Knox clearly didn't approve, "don't say I didn't warn you."
"I'll go and get my things," Lan Fan said, leaving the room.
"Kimblee?" Mustang leaned against the car window and stared out at the empty street thoughtfully.
"He was one of the State Alchemists they brought in during the Ishvalan Civil War. Apparently he went insane and started killing his own men," Armstrong said from the rear seat the vehicle.
"The Crimson Alchemist," Hawkeye nodded, "I remember when he got arrested. I remember the look in his eyes, a terrible blood thirst."
"Another one of Scar's killings?" Mustang asked.
"No, the killing style was different than Scar's normal MO. The chest was ripped open," Armstrong explained, "I spoke to the officer in charge of guarding Kimblee's cell block and he said he had been relieved by another officer for his break, and when he came back that officer was missing and Kimblee was dead."
"Routine breaks are strictly fifteen minutes," Mustang said, "That doesn't leave us with a very long window of opportunity. And the officer who relieved him was missing. Has anyone been able to track him down?"
"Apparently, his badge said 'Myers' but there's no personnel file for that name anywhere in the database," Armstrong replied.
"So, the badge was a fake?" Hawkeye suggested.
"Or the officer was a fake," Mustang said, sitting up a little straighter.
"What do you mean by that?" Armstrong asked.
"You said that the officer you spoke to said he had only been working in the military for a week, right?" Mustang said and at Armstrong's nod, he continued, "Assuming that the missing officer is the murderer, he would have to have known that the rookie was going to take his break soon, meaning he has a good knowledge of the military shifts and schedules. Given that, he knew the break would only give him a fifteen minute window to commit the murder and leave before the rookie got back from his break. And since the other officer has only been there for a week, he wouldn't know whether the officer is using a fake badge or not."
"So, our suspect has a good knowledge of the military – that doesn't really get us much," Hawkeye said, "I'm sorry, Colonel, but there's a lot of people who –,"
"That's not the only thing," Mustang said, smirking, "From what I know, Kimblee's not an easy target to take down. It took more than five officers to arrest him in Ishval and since all he needs to do is touch a persons skin to kill them, it would be hard to even get near him, and as far as we know there is only one suspect."
"So, now you're saying our suspect has to be skilled enough to get to Kimblee without any help," Armstrong said, "And we know alchemy wasn't used in the murder, so they would have had to physically kill him with their hands."
"I don't know about you, but I remember studying the human anatomy in school and it wouldn't be that easy to just rip open someone's chest with your bare hands. First you've got to cut the skin somehow, and then you have a hard, protective sternum and a rib cage supported by muscles that seize up during shock – it wouldn't be easy," Mustang said, thoughtfully.
"It would be incredibly difficult to pull this off just within fifteen minutes and leave without leaving a blood trail behind," Armstrong nodded.
"Which brings us to the question why wouldn't they just shoot him? Why go through all the trouble when you could just pull a trigger and run off?" Mustang mused.
"A gun is loud. It would arouse attention," Hawkeye offered.
"But I doubt Kimblee died quietly. Having your chest ripped open is probably very painful," Mustang countered.
"I read the coroners file. Kimblee wasn't drugged," Armstrong stated.
Mustang stared at the speedometer of the vehicle. The needle was resting down at zero. He let his gaze wander to the steering wheel and then to the Lieutenant Colonel sitting in the passenger seat next to him. He suddenly said, "I can only come to one assumption and that is that whoever killed Kimblee wasn't human."
This caught Hawkeye and Armstrong's attention immediately. "One of the homunculi?" Hawkeye asked.
Mustang nodded, "And we know which homunculus is the shape shifter. It's the only way he would be able to act as another officer without raising suspicion. He knows the military, since he works within it with the Fuhrer, and the homunculi are fast and strong. Kimblee would be an easy kill for him."
"But why kill Kimblee?" Armstrong asked, "He was still serving his time. It's not like he was getting in their way –," he suddenly stopped and Hawkeye's eyes widened.
Mustang closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he realized the same thing. "You know, you have a point, Major," he said, calmly yet coldly, "It's not like Kimblee was nosing around like Brigadier General Hughes."
"You…really think Envy's the one who killed him?" Hawkeye asked timidly.
Mustang's eyes darkened, "There's no doubt in my mind. I've questioned the Fuhrer, and that woman from Laboratory 3 and neither did it. That fat one you fought a couple days ago seems like a mindless doll. I don't think he is capable of something like that. Envy's the only other homunculus we know of and he seems fully capable."
"When we talked to the Elrics about Laboratory 5, Edward said Envy and Lust had organized the main functions for the laboratory," Armstrong said.
"And when I interrogated Winry about the bullet she – apparently – brought us during the Maria Ross case, we were certain she was covering for Envy as well," Hawkeye added.
"I'll have to question him if and when we meet," Mustang said, "But, something bothers me. Now that you mention Winry's conviction, assume Envy had been the one to deliver us the bullet and Winry was covering for him. Where would that put the two of them?"
"If Envy had been the one to murder Hughes, why would he deliver evidence to solve his own case, especially when Ross was already being convicted?" Armstrong asked, "It doesn't make any sense."
"Unless he felt guilty," Hawkeye suggested.
"From what I understand, after talking with the Fuhrer, the homunculi have no problem stepping over us humans. They feel no association with us at all, no sympathy," Mustang replied.
"But if Winry was covering for Envy, that would mean she was associating with him, right?" Hawkeye asked.
Armstrong grunted in agreement, "Yes, it wouldn't make sense for her to admit to something unless she already had prior knowledge of it. Also, it's interesting that if Ross' trial had been a fair one, that evidence would have freed her from suspicion. Now, aside from guilt, wouldn't that mean that Envy is helping the humans?"
Hawkeye's eyes widened a bit at the possibility of a homunculus on their side, but Mustang frowned and shot his suggestion down, "Not necessarily."
"Please explain, Colonel," Hawkeye said, a little sharply.
"The Fuhrer said something to me that made a lot of sense. He said, 'just as you are proud of being human, we have our pride as homunculi'," Mustang explained, "Just because we are human doesn't mean we always see eye to eye. It's probably the same for the homunculi. It's possible that Envy had a disagreement with one of them about something, maybe the outcome of Ross' case, and he decided to spite them. As for why the disagreement came about in the first place, we may never know."
"Do you think that Kimblee's death serves to spite the homunculi as well?" Hawkeye asked suddenly.
Armstrong considered this, and said, "It certainly doesn't affect us very much. Kimblee was in for life after all."
"Whatever it was, I'm certain Envy was the one to do it," Mustang said.
"Kimblee had a serious God-complex," Armstrong said, "He enjoyed ending the lives of innocent people…some called him a psycho."
Hawkeye turned to Mustang with a troubled look. "Winry's assumed affiliation with Envy concerns me," she said, darkly, "If she knows Envy is a homunculus –,"
"The Fuhrer is using her to bait Fullmetal into behaving himself," Mustang said, "Since the Fuhrer seems to have no knowledge of her connection with Envy, it's safe to assume that she and Envy are working together, for our side."
Hawkeye's eyes darkened, "I thought you said a homunculus coming to our side is an extremely narrow possibility? Does this mean you've changed your opinion?"
"No, just reevaluating the situation as it now stands," Mustang replied.
"That would be very helpful, a homunculus working for us –," Armstrong was suddenly cut off by Mustang, "Not working for us, Major. I doubt Envy would take any orders from us. But working with us. That doesn't necessarily mean Envy's on any side, but any aid from him would be helpful."
"And if he turns out to be Hughes' killer?" Hawkeye asked, nervously.
A dark shadow passed through Mustang's eyes, as he said, "Then, I suppose I'll be having a little chat with him…after I become Fuhrer."
"After?"
Mustang smirked, darkly. "I remember some advice Hughes gave to me a long time ago about finding as many people to help me reach my goal as possible. He said in order to reach my goal, I had to have as many people as possible who understood me and my way of doing things. If Envy, a homunculus, has really turned against his kind then he could be a valuable pawn."
This shocked both Hawkeye and Armstrong. "But you just said he wouldn't take orders."
"I didn't say I would order him to do anything," Mustang smirked, "but it might be possible to strike a deal with him."
"Strike a deal?" Armstrong repeated in disbelief.
"Excuse my boldness, sir, but I don't think you have anything that he might want," Hawkeye said.
"Of course, I do," Mustang said, smartly, "If he's turning against the ones he's followed for all this time it can only mean one thing: he wants freedom. I can offer him that as a reward for helping us get rid of the rest of them, or at least he can tell me who's pulling the Fuhrer's strings."
"And what if he declines your offer, sir?" Hawkeye said in a bored tone. It was obvious she didn't approve of the plan.
"Then, I'll just have to avenge Hughes earlier than planned," Mustang replied simply.
Envy crossed the tiny bridge over the raging river back in Resenbool. It was late evening and the night sky was clear and deep blue. He had no worries about disguising himself here. Winry was in Rush Valley, and the Elrics and mostly anyone else who knew him were back in Central. He wondered in amusement whether Wrath had gotten the news of Kimblee's death yet.
He smirked and flipped a tiny red stone between his fingers. He remembered giving Kimblee that philosopher stone back in Ishval and telling him how to use it. By now the stone had no real use, it was almost powerless, and yet Kimblee had held onto it, cherishing it. Envy hadn't really enjoyed digging around in Kimblee's body to find the stone, but he didn't want it falling into the wrong hands either. Besides, Envy needed three stones for what he wanted to do.
It wouldn't be long now. He was surprised it was taking Father this long to track him down. Father had ordered him to release Kimblee and send him on a manhunt for Scar, since they needed fewer disruptions to complete the plan.
However, Envy had recently come to his own conclusion about Father and his plan, and he took it upon himself to kill the only human pawn he had. Wrath would know what it meant. It was a slap in the face to Father, an insult. It was Envy's way of saying 'you can't control me anymore'.
Envy grinned to himself and continued down the edge of the wide, fast flowing river and deep into the dark forest that surrounded it. Oddly enough, there was memory here. The first turning points of Envy's life, where he had met Winry face to face for the very first time. He hadn't known what it had meant then, but he did now. She had made a mark on him that would never fade away no matter how long they stayed apart. She helped him see the truth of his reality, and allowed him to break away from Father.
Now, he would just have to make sure he didn't make the same stupid mistake as Greed and get caught.
Envy found a spot of moist ground, surrounded by brush and close to the riverbed. He knelt down and dug his hands into the dark soil. It was damp and cold. As he dug, he felt the first few raindrops on his neck and shoulders, but he didn't stop until his hand came in contact with a small box.
He pulled it from the mud and cleaned off its surfaces, smiling to himself. He remembered burying it just before he heard Winry fall into the river. Funny, how he kept coming back to this place, one way or another. He wasn't sentimental in any stretch of the imagination, but it did make him wonder about things from time to time. When Father had first asked him to hide the philosopher stones so that no one would find them or know where they were, did he know Envy would be the one to turn on him, and take with him the two stones he needed to complete his plan?
Envy found it amusing how things just seemed to work out.
"What are you doing, homunculus?"
Envy spun around and came face to face with his worst nightmare. His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach and his eyes widened in horror as he gasped, "Father!?"
Then, Envy blinked and studied the man in front of him. No, this man wasn't Father, but he looked like him. He was wearing a long, weathered trench coat and worn out old boots with beige trousers and an old fashioned button shirt and tie.
"Father?" the man repeated, scratching the back of his head. The reflection from his glasses hid his eyes as he said, "I haven't been called that in a long time."
Envy failed to notice the sadness in his voice and jumped right to his own conclusion, "Father sent you here to bring me back to Central, didn't he?" he snapped.
"What are you talking about?"
"How else would you know I'm a homunculus?" Envy said.
"It was a guess," the man said, pointing at Envy's leg, "You carry the tattoo of the ouroboros."
Envy mentally slapped himself for his carelessness and stood up, holding the box at his side, casually. "You must know a bit about alchemy if you know that word," he said, defensively.
"I know a bit," the man replied, "What do you have in that box?"
"It's none of your business," Envy said, and suddenly tried to change the topic, "You know the Fuhrer?"
"What about him?"
"He's a homunculus too," Envy smirked, "Surprised?"
"I had already come to that conclusion," the man said, simply. Envy stared at him in disbelief, completely dumbstruck at the man's comment. The man seemed to notice Envy tense up because he continued without further ado, "I've lived for a long time, homunculus. I first thought it was strange when a man who claimed to only be twenty became Fuhrer and since then hasn't fallen from rank or stumbled once, and now he's – what? Sixty years old – and still he goes into battle as if he's in his prime."
"Some would call that ambition," Envy spat, angrily.
"Only those who are ignorant of the truth," the man countered.
Truth…that word still unsettled Envy. He shrugged it off and asked, "Who are you?"
"Just a lonely traveler passing through," the man replied.
Envy remembered what the Elrics had said about Father looking exactly like their father, and he smirked, "You're not Van Hohenhiem, are you?"
The man's eyes flashed behind his glasses and he grinned a bit. "Did you hear that name from your Father?"
"No, actually, I heard it from your son," Envy smirked, darkly, "Edward Elric, you remember him, don't you? He says he doesn't see you much."
Hohenhiem frowned and his eyes narrowed on Envy. Oops, Envy snickered, he must have hit a sensitive spot. "You know what, last time I saw him he was in the Fuhrer's custody. If I recall, they'd stepped on the homunculi's toes a few too many times."
"Tell that Father of yours to keep away from my sons!" Hohenhiem warned.
"Would if I could, old man," Envy frowned.
"You mean – so, that's why you seemed so afraid that I was your Father?" Hohenhiem said in thought.
Envy's eyes narrowed, "You see, I've stepped on the homunculi's toes a few too many times too."
Hohenhiem studied Envy for a moment before he asked, "I see. That's unusual."
Envy decided he had nothing more he wanted to say to the old bastard, so he turned and started walking towards the exit of the forest, following the rivers edge to the hillside of the Rockbell house. Footsteps behind him announced Van Hohenhiem was following along, and he gritted his teeth. He thought about turning around and telling him to fuck off, but then he was distracted by a sound at the top of the bank.
Someone was talking, he could barely make it out, but the voice was terribly familiar to him. Envy followed the sound with his gaze and saw to his horror that Winry was standing outside the front door of the house. She was facing the direction of the bridge, waving at someone coming across it. "Winry…?" he muttered to himself, "I thought you were going to Rush Valley?"
"You know Winry?" Hohenhiem asked. Envy back tracked so that he was well-hidden behind the brush of the forest as he spied out at the house. Winry had stopped waving and Envy saw to his surprise Edward, Alphonse, and that Xingese girl with the missing arm arrive to greet her.
Envy looked down at the box and considered his plan again. Them being in Resenbool would change a few things, but he could still pull it off. Ignoring the watchful eyes of Hohenhiem, Envy took the philosopher stone he got from Kimblee and placed it in the little wooden box beside the other two, fresh-looking stones. Then, he took one of the two out and closed the box.
"Those are philosopher stones, aren't they?" Hohenhiem asked in awe, "What are you doing with them?"
"Father entrusted these stones to me a long time ago," Envy explained, "And now that we are no longer after the same goal, I plan to use them for myself."
"But you're a homunculus," Hohenhiem said, uncertainly, "You can't perform alchemy. What can you possibly do with a philosopher stone?"
Envy smirked, "Watch and learn, old man."
Envy gingerly placed the newest philosopher stone against his chest and a bright red light glowed gently around it. The stone was slowly and carefully engulfed by Envy's body and swallowed. The spot in his chest where the philosopher stone had been dragged into closed up and Envy gasped like he had choked on something. "That's going to be uncomfortable for a while," he managed.
"I see," Hohenhiem said, and somehow Envy knew from the look he gave him that he understood what he was going to do.
"Now, stop following me," Envy snapped, "It's time that I get to work."
There was a flash of red light and Envy had changed into the old fisherman with the mechanical arm. He carried a tackle box in one hand, which held the remaining two philosopher stones. Without turning back to Hohenhiem, Envy slipped out of the forest and started up the hill towards the Rockbell household.
Winry had gone to Resenbool to loose herself in the mountain of work Granny Pinako had left for her. Her aim was to forget everything. Forget Central, forget Envy, forget pain. If she concentrated hard enough on her automail work, then she found her mind was able to escape all her worries and memories of the last few weeks. Granny Pinako had been a lot of help. She knew from the moment she saw Winry return that something was wrong. She demanded little of her, letting her sleep in on days she felt like it, and not pushing her to do too much around the house.
There were a few nights Winry would wake up wondering about the dream she just had. Most of them revolved around Envy and the rest of the homunculi, and she would wake up feeling angry and exhausted. However, last nights dream had bothered her even more than the rest. She hadn't woken up angry or exhausted. In fact, she had woken up yearning for him, Hughes' killer.
Winry shoved the metallic hand she was working on aside and put her head down on her workbench. Envy was teasing her thoughts again, but in a different way this time…
Her last dream…it had been so vividly detailed. Just thinking about it made her skin crawl. She could admit she had been attracted to him since the day she saw him outside Laboratory 5, but when she reminded herself of the things he had done she wanted nothing to do with him. And yet, the more and more she thought about him, the more excuses her mind started to conjure up for his misdeeds.
She was just so confused.
"Winry?" Granny Pinako called, "You have company. An old customer has come to visit you."
Winry opened her eyes, pushed Envy from her mind, and joined Pinako at the front door. She opened it and went outside and stood on the front steps of the house. In the distance, she could see three heads appear over the hillside from the direction of the train station and she smiled briefly upon seeing them. She waved at them as they slowly approached the house.
Edward and Alphonse accompanied a young girl with black hair and black eyes. Winry had seen her when she was hiding inside Alphonse. She had been the girl Ling was talking about, Lan Fan.
"Ed, Al, what's this all about? Don't you warn us before you drop by?" Pinako scowled, playfully.
"You know us better than that to think we give any notice at all," Edward replied, and then he turned to Winry, "Winry, I hope you're not too bogged down with work. I have a favor to ask you."
His voice was gentle and Winry turned to Lan Fan, "You want me to make you up an arm?"
Lan Fan nodded, "How fast can you do it?"
"Well, it'll take me no time at all to build one for you, two days on a rush order," Winry said, "But your recovery period will take longer – it depends on the person. Sometimes it can take up to a year –,"
"I don't have a year," Lan Fan said, stubbornly, "The young lord needs my help now. A month will be sufficient."
"A month? Are you insane?" Pinako said, puffing on her pipe.
"I have no choice," Lan Fan insisted, "I can't sit back and wait any longer than a month."
"You can do some serious damage if you get moving to quickly before you've fully recovered, and I don't want you blaming me for your automail malfunctioning!" Winry scolded.
"A month," Lan Fan said, determinedly, "If it depends on the person, then I have the right to choose."
"Well," Winry said, disapprovingly, "You may as well come inside then, so I can measure you."
They followed Winry and Pinako into the house and Winry showed Lan Fan to a workbench where she proceeded to measure her height, and opposite arm length. "Do you mind if I take your jacket off?" Winry asked, but before she could make another move, there was a knock at the door and Pinako went to answer it. She shot Edward a look, but he lifted his shoulders and shook his head. "We didn't bring anyone else over," he excused.
Winry couldn't see the person at the door as Pinako answered it. She continued to work with Lan Fan, listening curiously to who would be stopping by so late with no notice at all.
"Yes, can I help you?" Pinako asked.
"Oh, Mrs. Rockbell, I'm sorry for showing up so late, but something's happened to my automail and I can't move my wrist."
Winry put away her tape measure and jotted down a few last minute measurements before she forgot them.
"That's alright, we have a full house already," Pinako said, "It seems everyone has an emergency of some sort tonight. Why don't you come inside?"
"Thank you."
"Winry will see to you after she's finished with her first patient," Pinako said, and Winry turned around to see who she would need to see to next and her breath caught in her throat. Just as she had managed to push Envy from her mind, here stood the fisherman who she had seen on a few different occasions that reminded her strongly of him. The sleeve was rolled up on his automail arm and he nodded to Winry when he saw her looking.
"Hello, again, Miss Winry," he smiled kindly.
"Would you like something to drink while you wait? I've got some tea brewing," Pinako offered.
Edward immediately asked for some and the man nodded politely and thanked her again. Winry turned away from the man to see to Lan Fan and was shocked by the dark look in her eyes. She leaned in to Winry and whispered so that no one else noticed, "That man…he's not human. I've sensed him before."
Winry felt her heart drop and she quickly said, "Don't say or do anything. I'll deal with him. Act normal."
Lan Fan shot her a look, but Winry met her eyes with one determined glare. Slowly, carefully, she nodded and agreed to stay silent and unassuming. Once Winry was finished with her measurements and rough fitting, she said, "Okay, it's going to take me a couple of days to put it together, but in the end it'll be a great arm."
"Alright," Lan Fan said, she managed to stand and walk past the man sitting on the couch without so much as a glance in his direction. She went and sat at the kitchen table next to Edward, and Winry noticed her give him a meaningful glance. Winry turned, and mustering all her courage, she smiled and said, "Well, Mr…?"
"Myers," the man replied.
"Can I please see your arm?" Winry realized she was being a little too formal, but it couldn't be helped. She was, to put it mildly, scared. She had no idea why Envy was there, and she knew it was him by the way he looked at her and from what Lan Fan had said.
Pinako came over with a cup of hot tea in hand and gave it to him. "Mr. Myers, eh? I'm sorry, I don't remember making an order for a Mr. Myers, but maybe that's my old age catching up with me. What was your model?"
Myers froze and looked between Winry and Pinako. Winry would have laughed if she hadn't been so nervous. "I-it looks like a M23-G, right?" Winry said, quickly, and the man nodded, "Yeah, that was it."
"Please come and sit here," Winry said, pulling out a stool next to the workbench. She turned around briefly to open up her tool kit when she suddenly had an idea. If this was Envy, she would want to talk with him in private to find out what he was doing there.
She turned to him and nervously took his automail arm to examine it closely. It was odd how a normally casual task had her shaking. She was so angry and so afraid. What if he was going to kill all of them? No, he wouldn't. He would have done it by now, right? Then, why the hell was he here? Winry had questions running through her mind at mach speed, but she shoved them away and tried to focus on the automail in front of her.
She popped off the forearm plate and a few nuts and bolts to see the loaded springs of the wrist, and, as she expected, found nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, she found nothing at all. The arm was empty, a shell. It was too be expected of a copycat who new nothing of automail and its working features. Obviously Envy missed that part of his disguise.
Yet, Winry acted stupid, as if this was normal and looked up at him and said, "Oh, well, no wonder it's not working…" she stood up and added, "Follow me to my shop. I have to get a few additional tools."
He picked up his tackle box and followed her into the garage next door and she allowed him inside before she shut the door firmly behind her, and locked it. Without further ado, she spun around and saw that he was eyeing her shop curiously, and hadn't bothered to loose the disguise. She watched him wander, wondering how to open this conversation without being too hostile. She bounced a few ideas around before finally just saying, "So…your automail's empty. How'd that happen?"
"Not very many people see the inside of one. How the hell was I supposed to copy it?" the man smirked. There was a flash of red light and Envy was wandering around aimlessly picking things off her workbenches around the room, looking at them, and dropping them again. He carried a small wooden box in one hand, and Winry briefly wondered what he had in it.
"What are you doing here?"
Envy snorted, "What no 'hello'?"
"I think we're past that, Envy. Now you better tell me what you're doing here or –,"
"Or what? You'll kick me out? I'd like to see that," Envy grinned, darkly, and stopped his wandering to stand next to one of her workbenches. He gazed down at it, curiously, and ran his hand along one of the many prototypes there. Then, he turned and faced her. Winry was glaring at him through the dim lighting.
"We need to sort a few things out before –,"
"We don't need to sort anything out, Envy," Winry snapped, "You killed Hughes, you started the Ishvalan War and you're a monster, end of story!"
Despite the anger growing inside him, Envy grinned and said, "Yeah, about this monster thing…You were never supposed to see that. But Father's wrong, it's not my true form."
"No offense, but I'll trust him before you," Winry said, coldly, but her mind did a flop and she quickly asked, "What's your true form then?"
Envy gestured to himself, "I don't have a true form, but I prefer this form."
Winry felt her anger settle down a bit as she managed to numb her mind in order to take in this new information. It was obvious to her that Envy wasn't looking for a fight. In fact, it just looked like he wanted to explain things to her, make her clear of a few issues. Just as he had said he didn't want to talk to her about anything when she had first asked him, he seemed to have come back on his promise and tell her when he was ready. For that, Winry would give him the benefit of the doubt, but it didn't make everything better.
"So, now that we've cleared that up and you're not imagining me as some horrific freak show, I have a few things I want to tell you –,"
"Why?" Winry said, defensively, and at his narrowed glare, she added, "Why do you want to tell me things? From what I gathered, you're not the type to sit down and have a heart-to-heart with anyone, let alone with a lowly human."
"Don't call yourself lowly," Envy mocked with a grin, but he quickly added, "You're right, I'm not and I hate to do it."
"Then, I'm asking why."
"Fuck if I know," Envy said honestly, and Winry crossed her arms, "I suppose I could say I've been feeling a little off since I passed through the Doorway of Truth, but that would be just an excuse."
"Doorway of Truth? Ed talks about that sometimes," Winry said, thoughtfully.
"Yeah, when I got swallowed by the fat idiot, Gluttony, Fullmetal runt did a few tricks with his alchemy and got us out of there, but it required each of us to pass through the Gate," Envy explained.
Winry stared at Envy, studying his expression, and said, "You saw something there, didn't you? Ed saw something when he first passed through the Gate when he and Al lost their mother. He didn't…talk about it much. He just told us that ever since he saw it he could do alchemy without a circle."
Envy met her gaze and his lip turned up a bit. "You remember when Father said that humans are like worms to us homunculi?"
Winry nodded, anger flashed through her eyes.
"I don't agree with him," Envy said and added, carefully, "…mostly."
"Mostly?"
"Well, a lot of you are incredibly stupid, and easy to manipulate. You crave attention, money and power, so it's easy to see why," Envy frowned, "I would consider those who fall into that category as worms."
"And what about Granny, Ed, Al and I? What do you think of us?" Winry said, though there was a bit of anger in her voice. She silently agreed that even the people who were devoted to attention, money and power were insects, especially if they neglected others because of it. She didn't voice this thought.
"Do you honestly think I'd be standing her trying to explain these things to you if I didn't give a fuck about you?" Envy replied simply, but there was a hint of annoyance in his tone as if it bothered him to state the obvious.
"Okay," Winry let her gaze fall to the floor and she asked, quietly, "And what about Hughes? Why did you have to…?"
"I was ordered to silence him," Envy said, sharply, "He was sticking his nose in where it didn't belong and Father needed to do something about him before he informed someone about what he had been researching. Plus, it was fun."
His last comment shocked her, but she refrained from letting her anger take over. She knew it would get her no where with him. She gritted her teeth and, for her sake, pretended he hadn't said it.
"You know he has a child?" she said, resisting the urge to start sobbing.
"It's not my problem," Envy said, coldly, and before Winry could refute, he said, "You know people die everyday from the common cold? Are you going to mourn all of them? And what about the military? You're friends with Riza Hawkeye and Roy Mustang, right? They killed many innocent people during the Ishvalan Civil War. They were ordered to. It was their job. Do you hate them?"
"I don't hate them…" Winry managed, but her throat was tightening up. She knew he was right. She respected Ms. Hawkeye and Colonel Mustang, even though she knew they had killed people. Somehow calling it war masked the sharp bite murder tended to have on people and they passed it off, label it as victory or defeat when really it was just mass murder. It was the reason she had hated the military from the start. The military had been the reason her parents had been asked to leave for Ishval, and somehow Winry had managed to turn her hate for the military against the people affiliated within it. However, the people she knew, like Hawkeye and Mustang and even Hughes, she respected because her mind had let her forget about their misdeeds and focus on their positive attributions.
"I was doing my job. I was ordered to kill Hughes, so I killed him," Envy said, simply, "If you asked me to kill someone, I would kill them for you."
A shiver went down her spine at his comment. It was cold and there was something behind his words that Winry didn't quite understand, an odd sense of devotion.
"That's what I don't like, Envy," Winry said, plainly, "You have no conscious of what you do, and how your actions affect other people. You could care less about it. At least, Ms Hawkeye and the Colonel feel guilty for what they did in Ishval. Do you feel guilty for killing Hughes?"
Envy frowned, "If I said the only reason I feel guilty is because you're pissed off at me for killing him, would that be sufficient?"
Winry gave him a look like she was truly horrified and shouted, "No!"
"Okay, then, no reason to shout," Envy frowned, "You're going to make Fullmetal runt panic and run over here to save your ass."
"How can you not feel guilty?" Winry breathed as she quietly tried to imagine herself in Envy's shoes, going around killing without so much as a faintest regret. She couldn't do it, couldn't imagine how he managed to shove those feelings aside and go on with life like nothing ever happened. It must be nice, she thought as an aside. If she could do that then maybe she wouldn't be bothering with Envy right now. She could just push her feelings away and ignore him for the rest of her life. That's when she remembered something he had said a long time ago, and it made her wonder.
"Envy," she said, carefully, "A while back you said to me that I was the only human you actually liked."
Envy's frown deepened. He had hoped she would forget that particular comment. He had said it when he was trying to win her trust, when the old plan of his was still in motion. "What about it?"
"If you claim to put none of your trust in emotion, then why did you tell me that?" Winry asked.
Envy bit the inside of his lip and thought about how he should say this without her getting all defensive. He supposed the first step to getting her to understand him and his way of doing things was to tell the truth and all of it, whether it hurt her or not. Well, here goes.
"Truth is, Winry, when we first met and I told you that, I had other objectives," he started. Winry immediately caught the use of her name and knew right away that what he was about to say was important and he wanted her full attention. She prepared herself for something she knew she probably didn't want to hear.
Envy continued, "When I first met you at the river, pulling you out and saving your life was a complete accident. I wasn't there for you, I was running an errand for Father and I happened to be in the area."
Well, Winry had figured that much already. She crossed her arms and adjusted her stance, shifting from one foot to the next.
"Do you remember meeting with that nerd in front of the State Library in Central?" Envy asked, and when Winry nodded, he continued, "That was me."
"What?"
"I had sat in as the Major during the meeting you all had after Laboratory 5 to find out how much you knew about us, the homunculi," Envy admitted, "and when I heard you saying to Fullmetal that you thought I was your guardian, I became interested. See Father has this annoying habit of being an ass, and my siblings, well, they're not even my siblings by blood. I thought that if I could get you to trust me, then I could –,"
"Obtain something they don't have?" Winry said suddenly, and at Envy's shocked look, she added, "You're name implies you desire the things others have. It's just a guess, but I assume you're envious of humans. We have people who support us and love us, and you don't understand how or why humans can be so selfless when it comes to the people they care about. Am I right, Envy?"
Envy stared at her and Winry noticed his gaze was completely unguarded for once. She felt her heart swell in pity for him, despite all the terrible things he had done in the past. The look he was giving her, it was hard to remove and separate all the emotion that he was suddenly projecting to her.
"I've been alive for over two hundred years and you're the only one who understands," Envy mumbled, "A human is the only one who gets me…I don't know whether to be offended or…"
"Well, I had some help," Winry gave him a small smile, and ignored the latter comment, "You hide behind a mask, Envy. If you hadn't of given me a few hints I probably wouldn't have figured it out."
"Like what? I played you the entire time!"
"That night when you visited my dorm in Central," Winry said, biting her bottom lip a little nervously. Blushing she said, "You came to give me an update on Ms. Ross' case and tell me about the evidence you had delivered, but I don't think kissing me was on the agenda, was it? You walked into it blindly. I didn't know it then, but looking back now I can see you weren't putting on an act. It was just something that happened, something you couldn't control."
Envy suddenly decided he didn't want to be there anymore. He didn't want to talk because he knew no matter what he said, he could no longer hide the truth, and the truth, he realized, was something he didn't want to face. He had wanted to face Winry, wanted to clear up all her false ideas of him, but the closer he came to what it actually was he wanted to tell her, the more stupid he felt. He wanted to hide away behind his mask of a cold sadist, wanted to run from things he couldn't.
"So, that's why you put on the act, is it, Envy? You wanted to understand how humans could care and support each other, and you wanted to use me because I already had a false image of you in my head. I was easier to manipulate," Winry said, "And that's why you can kill us without a second thought. You hate us because we frustrate you."
Envy managed to pull off a small grin in reply, but it felt awkward and unnatural. Stop running after something you will never catch up with…Greed's words ran through his mind and he paused in thought to mull over them. His original goal was to become a perfect being like Father wanted to become, and now he knew his goal was unrealistic and could never be obtained. He should have known that from Father's failed attempts.
You will always get what you want if you know how fast you can run…
"You should have known it wouldn't work," Winry was saying, "That plan of yours is one-sided. To obtain trust you have to have effort from both sides. You can't understand something if you don't feel it for yourself. You have to trust to understand what trust truly is."
Envy knew that. He had figured that out while he was wandering inside Gluttony's massive stomach, just before he had crushed his philosopher stone. He stared over at her and crossed his arms. It would be a stretch, but something inside him told him he had to try. Slowly and quietly, he asked, "Would you…trust me again?"
He sounded stupid. He hated the unfamiliar feelings inside him. Some part of him wished she would just tell him to fuck off and then it would all be over and things could go back to how they were before. Then, he realized, things would never be the same again. He had wronged Father a few too many times already. If she said no, he had no place left to go. It wouldn't be with her and it wouldn't be with Father, and as soon as Father got a hold of him…
Winry looked up at him, both of them had their arms crossed defensively over their chests. A tear slid down her face. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she said, "I'm sorry –,"
Envy felt the heart he didn't have plummet, and as soon as Winry had uttered those two words the door to the garage flew open and Edward appeared looking pale and out of breath. "Winry, we've got company – Envy!?"
Leonahari: We're reaching the end here pretty soon. I hope you guys like it so far. I'm partial on this chapter. Some of you might be wondering about Mustang's reaction to finding out that Envy's Hughes' killer. Personally, I read the manga up to the latest chapter and I really didn't think Mustang's reaction in the manga was realistic or believable (this is completely my opinion and I'm not trying to persuade anyone into thinking I'm right). So, I wrote it how I thought Mustang would have reacted given his character and how he deals with things thoughout the storyline. Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Depending on your responses I may have to change the ending a bit.