Chapter Sixteen: When in Central

Edward shifted uncomfortably under Envy's knee, which was digging into his gut. He let his head fall sideways to see that Envy's blade-arm had embedded itself deeply into the ground only inches from his ear. Curiously, he looked up into the violet eyes of his enemy. Envy's face was calm. Edward knew instinctively that the homunculus was trying to make a point.

They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Envy said, simply, "Don't bother me about Winry ever again."

Suddenly, the pressure in his stomach was released and Envy stood up and walked away. Edward sat up and watched the homunculus disappear into the house.

"Brother!" Alphonse ran toward him looking as worried as a suit of armor could, "Are you alright?"

Edward growled in frustration as he stood and dusted the dirt off himself. "Stupid jerk thinks he can just do whatever he wants and get away with it…"

"I thought he was going to kill you," Alphonse said, quietly.

"You really had it handed to you," Pinako suddenly appeared beside Alphonse with a small grin.

"You okay, Ed?" a voice from the balcony above the front door called. Winry was hanging onto the railing with wide eyes.

Edward couldn't help it. He just couldn't be angry with Winry. It was impossible. He gave her a small smile and said, "Yeah, tell Envy next time I'll serve his ass to him on a silver platter!"

"If you want to do that, just use one of the stones I gave you," Envy snickered as he appeared next to Winry, who jumped in surprise at not noticing him there before.

Edward gritted his teeth and pointed threateningly up at them, "I don't need the stones to kick your ass!"

"Keep telling yourself that, pipsqueak," Envy grinned and leaned on the railing.

"You caught me by surprise this time, that's all," Edward excused.

Alphonse sighed. Pinako chuckled, lit her pipe and followed Lan Fan into the house again. Hohenhiem grinned and muttered to himself, "Boys will be boys."

"You guys are going to Central tomorrow then?" Winry asked. Alphonse nodded, "Yeah, we're going to talk to Mustang about what we can do –,"

Edward pointed at Envy again, "We're leaving early so you better be up. We're not waiting for you."

With that he stormed into the house after Hohenhiem. Alphonse was shaking his head in disapproval as he followed behind. The lightheartedness seemed to have put Winry in a better mood, because she nudged Envy playfully on her way to the sliding door.

"So, now you're not angry at me?" Envy frowned, "You're so confusing."

Winry spun around and planted her hands on her hips. She gave him a frustrated glare. A blank look fell on Envy's face.

"You like chocolate, right?" he added hopefully.

"Why'd you beat him up?" Winry asked.

Envy shrugged, "He needed it. It's good for him. Kind of like daily vitamins."

He broke the glare and turned to shut the sliding door behind him. He suddenly felt her arms wrap around his sides as she pressed her body up against him from behind. He froze to feel the way her body curved against his skin.

"Be careful in Central," she whispered.

Even though his feelings were telling him not to let go of her, Envy stepped away. A small smile was on his lips. Winry watched in confusion as he slowly left her alone, closing the door to the bedroom behind him. She took a seat at her desk at stared at the closed door wondering what an earth she had said or done to make him act so coldly towards her. She took a deep breath, telling herself that now was not the time to worry over things like that. She had to finish Lan Fan's arm.

Slowly, she turned back to her project, but her eyes were getting heavy. She hadn't slept at all last night and it was already very late. She decided a few hours of rest wouldn't hurt. She could hone her concentration in the morning with some rest and a cup of coffee.

With that thought, she turned off the light and slipped into bed. Sleep took her moments after her head hit the pillow.

The living room had quieted down. Edward was wandering the room collecting every little bit of the broken door he could find. Alphonse and Hohenhiem were talking with Pinako at the kitchen table about something, and Lan Fan was asleep on the couch. Envy entered the living room and it everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing. It was as if they anticipated another fight to happen. Edward tensed up a bit.

However, Envy didn't even seem to notice the tension in the air. He walked across the room toward where Edward stood. On his way over he spotted a piece of the door and stopped next to it. He looked up at Edward and Edward looked back. Then, Envy bent down and picked up the broken piece, walked over to where Edward was piling them and threw it neatly on top of the pile.

Edward blinked in surprise, and watched as Envy started on his hands and knees picking up the pieces of the door. Edward's gaze softened and he started helping him, though a little reluctantly.

Alphonse, Hohenhiem and Pinako watched them in silence. The tension in the room evaporated, and after a few more moments conversation resumed.

Once Envy and Edward had gathered the last pieces of the door together, Edward clapped his hands and alchemically put them back together.

"Will you be coming with us to Central tomorrow?" Alphonse was asking Hohenhiem. Edward took a seat at the table and Envy leaned against the back of the couch, observing them all from further away.

Pinako leaned back in her chair to see around Alphonse and said, "You're welcome to sit with us."

"I'd rather stand," Envy replied, simply.

Hohenhiem turned to Alphonse. "I'm not going with you to Central. There's something in Liore I'd like to see first."

"Liore?" Edward said, "I heard they're rebuilding after the civil war they had there."

Envy's frown deepened. Liore had been one of his missions, one of the messes Father wanted him to create. He wondered why Hohenhiem would want to go there at all.

"Wait a second," Edward turned to Envy, "You know something about Liore, don't you? That was the place Al and I caught the old priest with a fake philosopher stone. You guys planted it there, didn't you?"

Envy ignored Edward's question and spoke directly to Hohenhiem. "There's an old spring underneath the church. If you wade across the water you'll come upon something interesting."

"Will you elaborate?" Hohenhiem asked politely.

"Spill it, Envy," Edward spat.

Envy decided telling them about Father's plan could hurt now that he was no longer working for Father. A feeling of revenge washed over him and a sly grin curved over his face as he said, "I need a map."

After Envy had drawn over the map the sites of the blood crests, he connected the dots with the best of his ability and revealed to them the transmutation circle plotted along the boarders of Amestris. As he sketched out the circle, he explained all his knowledge of the plan.

It felt good to let it all off his chest. It felt good knowing he was getting back at Father. Messing up his plan was surprisingly more satisfying than any kill he had ever performed. Just the idea that he was no longer being pulled by a leash was pleasing. And a part of him actually felt satisfied for having helped the stupid humans. It made him feel important. His words, what he said, actually seemed to have weight. Perhaps now they would be more inclined to trust him and stop breathing down his neck at every given moment.

"That's insane!" Alphonse exclaimed after Envy had finished his explanation of the plan, "All those people! Father's going to turn them all into a philosopher stone!"

"Not a philosopher stone," Envy corrected, "He thinks he can become the perfect being."

"All these wars…" Edward mumbled tracing his finger over the line and stopping on each circled city. There was five in total. "He needs these to be the crest points for the transmutation so he's killing people to make his mark on the country."

"There's one problem with this," Hohenhiem said. He tapped the Northernmost circled city and continued, "I don't remember there being any bloodshed here."

"That's the next target," Envy replied, "Northern Briggs."

"The Northern Wall, huh?" Edward said, "What's going to happen there?"

"I never tagged around long enough to find out," Envy smirked, "But, I hear Drachma and the Briggs Wall have building tensions since Wrath replaced the old King. It's my guess Father will use a contact to stir things up between them. I would have put money on Kimblee, but…oops, I think the bastard's dead now."

Alphonse gasped, "So you did murder the Crimson Alchemist!"

"You bought us some time," Hohenhiem cut in, "Father only has a few pawns at his disposal now that he's lost you and Kimblee. But, I don't doubt he'll send someone else to cause trouble up North."

"We should go North then, after we stop in Central and talk to Mustang," Edward said, determinedly.

Alphonse made a little sound and Edward stared across the table at him, "What's wrong?"

"Well, didn't Wrath say that if we got involved he'd…" Alphonse struggled to make words and finally blurted, "Winry won't be safe!"

Envy grinned. "I got it covered!" he exclaimed, "I can't just walk into Central like this. Father thinks I'm dead, so it's best he keeps thinking that."

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Edward agreed, "Nobody will think it's odd that my mechanic is tagging along with me."

"The only one I'll have to avoid is Wrath. His ultimate eye will see through my disguise," Envy informed them, "So, any business you do within the Central Command Center, you're on your own."

"After we talk to Mustang then, we'll head to Briggs and warn whoever's in charge there," Edward suddenly stalled and turned to Envy, "The commander of Briggs isn't one of Father's pawns, right?"

Envy shook his head, "Father's never had contacts in Briggs before."

"Well, I'm still going to Liore to see if I can have a look at that spring your talking about," Hohenhiem said.

Edward folded up the map Envy had drawn on and said, "Do what you want. I'll have to show this to Mustang when we get to Central."

The coffee dripped slowly into the pot at four in the morning. Winry leaned over the kitchen counter lazily watching it with tired eyes. One hand was wrapped around an empty mug while the other held a spoon, by which cream and sugar were readily available.

Something shifted slightly in the far corner and Winry glanced to see Lan Fan turn over on the couch, still in a deep sleep. Despite her feelings of exhaustion Winry poured her coffee and went back upstairs with full intention on starting back on Lan Fan's arm.

She stopped and lingered next to a bedroom door. She couldn't hear any movement inside and so she assumed Envy was fast asleep. The door was ajar and she peeked inside at the moonlit room. The bed was empty. Winry felt a flicker of doubt. Maybe he slept somewhere else? Maybe he didn't normally sleep? The latter was the more possible option, but if that was the case Winry had a hunch Envy would be up to no good.

After going back into her own bedroom, she took a large gulp of her coffee before she set it down on the desk, grabbed her jacket and left to search for the loose homunculus.

"Winry?" called a voice from one of the bedrooms. Winry stopped just short of the stairs and turned to see an exhausted-looking Pinako, "What are you doing up so early?"

"I…" Winry wondered briefly if this wouldn't sound weird, "I'm looking for Envy. He's not in his room."

Pinako rubbed one of her eyes and said, "They left already to go to the train station."

"They… left?" Winry repeated in disbelief, "But I thought the first train to Central didn't leave until five?"

"I don't question what those boys do anymore," Pinako excused. She yawned and added, "Why don't you go back to sleep? It's still so early."

"I've got some work to get finished," Winry replied, as she approached her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and put her coffee down on the workbench. She stared down at the half-finished automail arm with a frown. She had to fix the pressure gauge in the wrist before she continued onto the next step. If Envy hadn't of made her jump, she would have had it perfectly calibrated…

She blinked and looked a little closer at the gauge that read a little higher than normal.

Did you know a pound of pressure can break skin?

"Envy…there's no way…" Winry gasped, staring down at the prosthetic arm in absolute shock, "You…tampered with the gauge? But…how? I was sitting right here!"

The train had left Risenbool at five in the morning bound for Central. The morning was crisp and clear, hinting at a hot afternoon to come. The train compartment was empty save for three suspicious looking people who occupied the back. Ed and Al sat facing each other, while Ed gazed out the window with a forlorn look. Envy was stretched out on the booth across the isle from them with his head propped up in his arms and his eyes shut. He had been like that since the train had started moving and Alphonse was almost certain he had fallen asleep.

He turned back to his brother and sat there staring for another few moments before he said, "There's something that's been bothering me."

Ed glanced over his shoulder at him, but didn't remove himself from the window sill.

"What if the Colonel's being watched by the homunculi? Don't you think that after all that's happened us reporting directly to him will look a bit suspicious? What if we put him and the others in danger?" Alphonse said, venting all his thoughts in one drawn out breath.

"They're already in danger, Al. Mustang knows what he's dealing with and can take care of himself. As far as I'm concerned, the more he knows about what's going on the better," Edward replied, calmly, deflating his brother's concerns, "Besides, I think the only immediate danger right now is not getting stabbed in the back."

"I can hear you, dumbass."

Envy cracked an eye open and stared across at them with a smirk.

"Then, how are we going to get our message across to the Colonel if he's being spied on?" Alphonse

"Father doesn't have enough resources to spy on anyone anymore," Envy said from across the aisle, "The only people you would have to watch for are the men in Headquarters, mostly the Generals and Major Generals, the ones with the power. Fortunately for us, they are only human."

"We're not going to kill anyone," Edward replied at Envy's implied suggestion at taking out the big wigs.

"So, all we have to look out for are only the most powerful men in Amestris…" Alphonse mumbled.

"What's on your mind?" Edward turned to him with a curious look.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Al replied, quietly, "I know what Envy says is true that Father doesn't have the support from the homunculi like he used to, but now… well…"

Edward nodded. He understood Al even before he had finished his sentence. "I know, Al," he said, frowning, "Now everything seems a lot more complicated."

"Yeah…"

Edward gave Al a reassuring grin, and said, "But we know who we can trust. Mustang and Hawkeye are in Central. We need to talk to them."

Al looked over at Envy, who had closed his eyes again. "I know," Al mumbled.

Al turned back to Ed with a small sigh, saying, "It's just…Envy working with us, the military working for Father…I feel like everything's been inverted. It used to be so simple."

Ed shook his head, "No, Al. Aside from Envy, everything else has been the same. We just didn't know about it before."

"I guess you're right," Al said. There was a hint of optimism as he added, "And now that we know, it's to our advantage…"

Al fell silent again. He stared out in front of him. Edward watched him quietly mull over something, and finally asked, "Is there something else bothering you?"

It took a moment for Al to reply. "I don't think we should have left Winry alone… not after what the Fu – I mean, Wrath – said."

"She'll be fine," Ed assured him, "We'll make it a habit to call her and check up on her."

"I just worry, especially after I brought her into Father's lair. You heard him, Ed. He said she knows too much…" Al rambled, "I should never have let her follow Gluttony and I down there. Now, if something happens to her it'll be my –,"

"Shut the hell up with your whining!" Envy snapped, "I'm trying to get some sleep over here."

Ed and Al looked over at Envy. "You not at all worried?" Al retorted in offense.

"No," Envy said, simply, "You humans dwell on stupid shit."

Ed and Al looked at each other; neither had a reply for that.

By the time the train had reached Central it had started raining. The patter of droplets against the window and tin roof woke Envy from his uncomfortable sleep on the compartment bench. He sat up and noticed Edward and Alphonse reaching for the small amount of luggage they had packed. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window at the miserable grey of the afternoon and sighed.

He found it odd he had slept soundly. Normally, his sleep was disturbed by dreams of the Gate, odd alarming dreams that surrounded him in cold darkness. Since he had experience the Gate, however, those dreams had not returned.

He brushed blonde hair out of his face as he stood up. Winry would not be a difficult disguise to pull off, especially with the runt and tin can as his accomplices. As they stepped off the train the rain hit them like a wall of cold pellets. For summer it was incredibly dreary. They were soaked before they left the station. Envy followed in Ed and Al's footsteps cautiously.

The small hairs on the back of his neck stood on end at the thought of being just above Father's lair. He would have to tread lightly.

"Winry," Ed turned to him with a look that clearly meant he disliked the idea of bringing him along altogether. Envy blinked rain out of his eyes. "We're going to see if Mustang's at the Command Center. Why don't you go and wait for us at that coffee shop down the street? We won't be too long."

Fine with him. Envy didn't want to step one more foot closer to Headquarters. He nodded and watched the two brothers make their way down the long miserable street. Above the paved horizon loomed Headquarters like a death omen. He was having second thoughts about coming to Central. Something felt off.

He made his way through the street absently musing over what could be nagging his mind. Perhaps it was the fact he was now traveling with unlikely companions that had him feeling so misguided. It felt odd to be on speaking terms with the Elric brothers let alone help them obtain their goal. Shit, did he even have a goal?

Envy stopped outside a small shop selling flowers and frowned. Winry said he would only have to say 'sorry'. A sly grin crept across his face as he stared down at a small bunch of wrapped flowers.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" said a clerk coming up to him with a wide smile. Envy smiled back and pointed at a random bunch of flowers, saying, "Could you wrap those up for me? I also need a note attached to them."

"No problem," the clerk nodded and grabbed the flowers he was pointing to. On her way over to the desk, she turned back to him and asked, "And what would you like the memo to say?"

Envy resisted the temptation to smirk.

"Sorry."

Just as Envy put it. I'm sorry for the delay on updating this. I've been hiding in a hole studying for my MCAT. I wrote it this past June and I am off to Grad school in September. Woot! Go me!

Okay, okay, I'll get to the grit of it: I'm back with updating this and I hope I didn't discourage anyone from reading this story. Updates should be regular now that my exam is over with. I'm just so excited I'm going to be a doctor! OMG! Okay, okay, I'll calm down now... phew. See you in the next chappie.