Chapter 24: Family to Speak of

By the time Envy and Winry met with the group outside Liore, Fu and Lan Fan had already gone ahead to Central to scope out the city and pinpoint Mustang's movements. Alphonse seemed to have woken from his unusually long slumber and was talking to Edward and Hohenheim about something. Greed stood off to the side with the four chimeras, but when he saw Envy, he approached him.

"Yo," he said, with a grin. Envy stopped, but Winry continued into the group to speak with Edward. Greed smirked knowingly at him. "Way to make me jealous. That's some woman you've got there."

Envy frowned. Despite helping him defeat Pride and Gluttony last night, he still found Greed's overall demeanour irritating. "What do you want?"

"Hey, hey, is that any way to talk to your younger brother?" Greed smirked. Putting his hands on his hips, he added, "I just thought that since you're working to help me beat the pulp out of our old man, you'd lend me an ear."

Envy raised his eyebrow. "You want to sit have a heart-to-heart? You're pathetic."

"It doesn't happen very often, but I feel a little generous. So, listen up, because I don't usually give anything away for free," Greed replied. Envy tried to push the familiar irritation down. It felt like Greed was being condescending, but the new sides of him were telling him Greed just wanted to help.

"You know the Greed before me had a lot of possessions," Greed explained, "and I've got these memories that keep coming back. I can't get rid of them. I confronted Wrath about them, but I got more bite than breath. I want to know about my past."

Envy snorted, and put a hand on his hip. "You were, and still are, a condescending bastard. Now, piss off."

He tried to move around Greed, but Greed stuck his arm out to stop him. A few heads from the turned, particularly Edward and Winry's. Greed hissed, "You don't really want to cause a scene here, do you? I mean, after all you're still trying to gain their trust. It wouldn't look good for either of us, if we started trying to kill each other. And now that you have both Pride and Gluttony within you, it's temping me."

Envy shoved him away and narrowed his eyes. "I don't give a shit about your memories, scum. If you want answers, talk to our bastard Father. He's the one who destroyed you, after all."

Greed shrugged. "If you don't know anything, I'll accept that as an answer too. But don't think I don't know you're lying. Wrath is in my memories, and so are you. You watched me die."

A hot wind passed through them, carrying dust and sand. Envy remembered feeling the heat of the melting pot Father had used to kill the old Greed. Remembered the way his siblings watched one of their own get consumed by flames. It was always Father's final word. It was also the first time Envy started questioning his own existence.

He turned back to Greed, and said, "You always had to rebel against Father no matter what."

Greed dropped his hands to his sides, and Envy realized he must have not expected Envy to give him what he wanted. Envy continued, "Those possessions you're talking about are the people who used to follow you around. A group of chimera's you called 'friends', who were originally part of an undercover operative assignment started by Wrath to take out prime targets in Ishval."

"In my memories, Wrath kills them," Greed said, frowning.

Envy nodded. "You kidnapped Alphonse, because you thought he had the key to immortality without sustenance. You stepped on Father's toes, because the Elrics are sacrifices. And so, because of that, Father had Wrath hunt you and your group of chimeras down."

"And were you involved in that purge?" Greed asked, narrowing his gaze.

"No," Envy replied. "I was too busy doing footwork for Father, carrying messages between him and Lust. Load of shit."

Greed turned away from him to stare into the desert. He was silent for a while, and Envy thought he might have forgotten he was there at all. Then, he said, "That clears up my questions. I feel a lot better. Thanks… brother."

Brother? Envy watched him turn back and grin. For the second time, Envy was lost for words. He had never thought about the homunculi as family, at least not in the human sense of the word.

"If we survive all this, maybe we'll have a shot at freedom, eh?" Greed smirked. Then, he glanced over at Winry, who was busying talking to Edward about something, and added, "Although, it looks like you might already be anchoring down."

Winry looked back and saw them watching her. A touch of pink surfaced in her cheeks, and she turned away. Envy glanced over at Greed, and said, "That's my business."

Greed held up his hands and grinned. "I know, I know. I'm just glad you took my earlier advice and stopped chasing after Father. You get what you want, I get what I want. Hey, maybe this story has a happy ending after all."

"There's no such thing as a happy ending," Envy shot back. In his two hundred year-long lifespan, not once had he seen things fall together as they were meant to. Not for the homunculi, and certainly not for the humans. It was just a fact he had come to accept.

Greed frowned. "Yeah, you've always been a pessimist, haven't you? Not that I would know. Just my memories."

Envy balled his fists.

"Anyways, I'm off," Greed said. "Don't die, brother. It will be interesting to have family to speak of after this is over."

"Uh… sure." Envy watched the younger homunculus leave the group and head in the direction of Central, across the desert. He stared after him, was surprised by the strange sense of comfort he drew from his words. To have family to speak of… He wondered what Greed might have meant by that. Surely he did not crave the affection humans knew. The love given by those related by blood. Surely…

But this was Greed, Envy thought. And a Greed being heavily influenced by a human, at that. Envy knew from his own recent experiences anything was possible.

"May I have a word?"

Envy turned to see Doctor Marco had separated himself from the group to approach him. He figured Marco still felt uncomfortable around him from the way the doctor stood a few paces back. Marco dropped his hands to his sides, took a few more steps forward, and sighed. Envy watched him. Curious to know what he might want to talk to him alone about.

Memories. The fifth laboratory. They fought to forget; he and Marco both. He could still remember the flashes of crimson as Marco touched his hands to the transmutation circle. The wails and cries of the prisoners as they melted away into the Gate. A hint burning flesh afterward: sweet, acrid. Marco's dry eyes, wide. The soul behind them: silent, submissive.

When Envy looked at Marco now he saw that same soul only this time were was fire behind his eyes. A determination to right what had been wronged. A warm breeze touched their skin. Before Marco could say anything, Edward shouted through the group:

"Alright, the day's not going to wait for us. Let's move out!"

The group started to move in the direction of Central. Winry glanced back at Envy, and ran over to him. Envy noticed Marco was not following the group. He seemed intent on having a word with Envy.

"Hey, I saw you talking to Ling," Winry said. "What was that all about? You looked angry."

"Winry," Envy said. He paused to stare after the group. He did not want to see her face when he spoke the words. He balled his fists and growled, "Take the next train back to Resembool."

"What? No! I'm coming with you!" Winry replied. Envy's jaw tightened. He knew it would not have been that easy to get her to leave. Knew she was as stubborn as he was. He closed his eyes and kept his face turned away from her. He could not bear to look at her as he said:

"Winry, we're done."

A silence settled. A tension as heavy as the desert heat. Envy was sharply aware of Marco still standing there, watching. He wanted to scream at the old man to leave, but could not. Slowly, he glanced back to see Winry's wide, blue eyes. Felt as though a knife had been driven through his chest.

"You don't mean that…" she said, voice cracking.

Envy knew she only needed a little bit of a push. Knew that he would have to face her in order to make it believable. He turned and narrowed his eyes on her. Tried his hardest to look disgusted.

"Look at you," he snarled, "you're pathetic. I don't need anyone following me around. Certainly not a filthy human. Get out of my face, scum!"

Tears welled up in Winry's eyes. Her cheeks reddened. There was a moment when Envy wondered if she had been convinced by his act. It was all he could to not to break down and apologize.

"Asshole!" Winry slapped him across the face, as hard as she could. Envy barely budged, but felt the sting on the surface of his skin, deeper even. Without a second look, Winry spun on her heel and stormed back towards Liore.

Envy watched her disappear between the buildings. Knew there was a very good chance he would never see her again. The image of her angry, narrowed eyes would be his last memory of her. He let the dark expression slip off his face. Felt his throat tighten. Knew if he did not start walking after the rest of the group he would run after her.

He turned back and came face to face with Marco.

"That was a very noble thing you just did," he said. "Protecting her like that."

Envy strode past him, not in the mood to talk about it. The words would get stuck in his tightened throat. When he looked out into the desert, the group was far off now. He tried to hurry to catch up, heard Marco close behind him.

"So, my companions say you saved their lives last night when you fought Pride," Marco continued. "And you've managed to gain the trust and love of that young girl. Maybe you really have changed for the better."

"Fuck off," Envy scowled, clenching his teeth. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you, worm."

"And do you think I was ever in the mood to talk to you when you were forcing me to do all those terrible things?" Marco countered. "You might have changed now, but that doesn't mean you didn't used to be a sick bastard."

Envy stopped and rounded on him. "What do you want? Are you still pissed off, because I forced you to make philosopher stones? If I remember correctly, doctor, you were excited to make them. Said you were close to a breakthrough! Who's the sick bastard now?"

Marco did not even flinch. Calmly, he said, "The people you fought against Pride with are good people, Envy. Heinkel tells me he owes you his life for saving him. If this is an act, then it's your best yet."

Envy frowned and put a hand on his hip.

"But don't mistake me talking to you now means I'm convinced you've turned over a new leaf," Marco continued, voice trembling in anger. "If you try anything, just remember: I destroyed Envy once before. I can do it again."

"You still haven't taken care of them yet?" shouted Brigadier General Clemin. "There's only five of them!"

"They've increased in numbers!" replied an officer surveying the radio channels. He glanced back at Clemin with wide eyes. "Apparently, they're currently the size of a platoon!"

Clemin slammed a fist down on the desk in front of him. "Our casualties! Report!"

"59 injured, no deaths, sir!"

"None?"

"The men are up against the hero of Ishval and the 'Hawk's Eye'," said another officer in shock. "The bodies should be piling up. It's amazing nobodies been killed."

Clemin gritted his teeth. "They're mocking us."

"There's smoke rising from the city," Edward said as the group reached the crest of a hill at the edge of Central. Trees covered them from view of the soldiers in the streets below. Envy stared across the tops of the buildings and saw it for himself. The dark stream of cloud rising from Headquarters. "Looks like the Colonel and the men from Briggs have begun to make their move."

"We've prepared the counter for the nationwide transmutation circle," Hohenheim said, "but it wouldn't hurt to stop it before it's activated. Father is basically just how he was in the flask, but bigger. If you destroy his container, he should perish."

"But…" Zampano asked, nervously, "how we get to him?"

"We can use the underground path to get to his lair," Envy explained. "It's like a maze down there, but I know the way."

Scar nodded. "Right. The same path I took with Mei in the past. But there are tons of deadly chimera down there."

"It shouldn't be a problem with our current party," Jerso said. "We've got a homunculus on our side after all."

Envy smirked. "They won't be a problem."

Darius turned to Heinkel and Marco, and said, "You two should stay back. Heinkel, you're in no state to fight right now, and the doctor could watch over you."

"Right, sorry…" Heinkel grumbled, holding onto his bandaged arm.

"You too, Yoki," Jerso said. Yoki looked relieved to not be going into the city with them. He nodded furiously. "Thank you!"

"Let's go!" Alphonse ran down the hill and Envy followed after him. He could hear the siren in the distance, the city-wide alarm ringing through the streets.

To be safe, he transformed into the blue-eyed officer and led the group to the edge of the city. They took cover from the armoured trucks driving by and hid behind a perimeter fence that surrounded the older district of Central. The dilapidated buildings were being swarmed by soldiers. Envy peeked between two planks in the fence and saw them patrolling the streets right in front of the entrance laboratory three.

"This sucks," Edward said, right beside him. "The soldiers are gathered right in front of it. We won't be able to sneak by them."

"We could force our way through," Envy suggested, grinning at the idea of some real action.

Edward shook his head. "We don't want to pull attention away from the Colonel. They don't know we're here right now. I'd like to keep it that way – Envy! Come back!"

Envy jumped over the fence and ran towards the grouping of officers standing near an armoured truck. They looked up when they saw him, a blue-eyed officer. He shouted in a voice unlike his own and pointed down the road, "He's been spotted! Colonel Mustang's over there! Let's move out!"

Edward watched as Envy led the officers away from the entrance and down the street. Darius chuckled, "What a guy… I wish I could shape shift."

"Now's our chance!" Edward hopped the fence and rushed through the gate and into the building.

Envy managed to reroute the officers before he snuck away, disguised as a black cat. He ran as fast as he could on four legs before he returned to the laboratory entrance. Only to find Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye entering the building. Envy slipped between Mustang's feet, almost tripping him.

"What the –?" Mustang cursed and stared down at the black cat. Envy hissed at him, chuckling inwardly at the look on the Colonel's face. Then he transformed into his usual form. Hawkeye drew her gun.

"Nice to see you again, Colonel," Envy sneered.

Edward followed the stairway down to the lower level and found the wall that had been transmuted to hide the entrance. "This is it."

He clapped his hands together and crafted a door. When they entered into the tunnel they were faced with two different pathways. Edward glanced back and forth between them. "Should we split up?"

"Maybe we should just wait for Envy to get back. He'll know the way," Darius suggested.

"No, we can't waste any more time," Hohenheim replied. He pointed left, and said, "I'll go this way. The rest of you can go with Edward and Alphonse that way."

"You're going alone?" Jerso asked.

Hohenheim nodded. "I'll be fine."

He turned without another word, and left them, disappearing into the darkness. They stared after him, before Darius said, "Let's go."

Screaming. Thousands of people screaming. They froze and stared into the darkness, listened as the screaming continued for several seconds longer before dying out. The silence that settled afterward was heavy.

"W-what was that?" Zampano asked, eyes wide.

"I don't want to wait around here to find out," Edward replied. He turned and started running down the hallway, Alphonse clanking loudly behind him. They stopped when they came to a large room with a giant door on the other side.

"What is this place?" Darius asked, as they stared up in awe at the huge door. "How do we get this open?"

"This is the place," Alphonse stated. "This is where the Colonel fought Lust, another homunculi."

"Talking about homunculi…" said Zampano. "Where the hell is Envy? He's been gone forever."

"Come on…! Open…up!" Edward pinched his fingers between the doors and pulled at them with all his might. They did not budge. Alphonse caught him when he fell backwards when his hands slipped.

"Step aside," Scar said, readying his destructive alchemy. A creaking sound echoed through the chamber as the doors inched forward slightly. They watched, breath held, as it opened slowly, stone rubbing loudly against stone.

Their eyes widened as a skinny body was pushed through the opening, and then another, and then another. They backed up, watching as the drooling, moaning, mass of people-shaped monsters poured out of the doorway.

"What the hell are these things?" Jerso asked, voice shaking. The monsters looked up and rushed at them. Edward transmuted his arm into a blade and slashed one away from him. Alphonse used his bulk mass to shove them away from the group. Scar grabbed the face of one with his hand and blew its brains out from the inside, but it just stood back up.

"Why aren't they dying!?" Zampano shouted, as the room filled with the creatures.

"We can't let them get outside!" Scar yelled, and Edward transmuted a wall to block their escape, effectively trapping them in the chamber with the monsters.

"Sorry…" Edward said, slashing at another doll. "Guess we have to deal with these guys first before we give the old guy a beat down."

"Brother," Alphonse said, "these are… they've sealed souls into them. They're like dolls. Immortal dolls!"

Zampano, Jerso and Darius all transformed into their chimera bodies, and started beating down the immortal dolls. Edward was starting to feel the exhaustion. They just kept coming. When they beat down one, several more would slip through into the chamber.

"Can't underestimate the power of a philosopher stone, I guess," said Darius as the group backed into each other. They were surrounded.

An explosion blew apart the wall Edward had sealed the exit with. Smoke and debris clouded their vision for a moment before it settled to the ground. Among the confusion, one voice rang out:

"It's always so unruly wherever I find you. Shall I lend you a head, Fullmetal?"

Edward looked up to see Colonel Mustang and Hawkeye followed closely by Envy, whose eyes widened a bit at the sight of the mannequin soldiers. Mustang spotted Scar fighting, and furrowed his brow. "Scar…?"

Hawkeye drew her gun and aimed at one of the dolls, but Envy said, "It's no use. They're infused with philosopher stones."

"Not again!" Hawkeye grumbled, raising the barrel.

"Are they homunculi?" Mustang asked, making Envy snarl, "Don't insult me, bastard. These are just mindless dolls."

"In that case…" Mustang raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Envy felt hot air explode around them as the room was set ablaze. Sweat dripped down his face, his eyes widened. Within seconds the flames dispersed, leaving nothing but dust in its wake.

Envy could not help but glanced at the Colonel out of the corner of his eye. Would that be the kind of power that would eventually end his life?

Someone gasped. He looked over at Edward, whose eyes were wide, hands shaking. Mustang said, "They were enemies, Fullmetal."

Edward glanced back at him and Envy raised an eyebrow when he met his gaze. Envy knew what he was thinking. If the souls in his stone were alive, then Mustang essentially just murdered hundreds of innocent people. But Envy knew what was done was done.

"We have bigger things to worry about right now, pipsqueak," Envy said, though his voice came out gentler than he expected it to. He winced at the softness leaking out. Mustang was giving him a curious look.

A rumble in the depths of the dark hallway beyond the door drew their attention. Everyone looked up at the ceiling. Watched as the wires and pipes bulged and then exploded, sending dust and bits of pipe everywhere. Envy saw a tiny Xingese girl and her cat fall onto the top of the door, looking winded.

"Is that you, Mei?" Scar yelled up at her. Then the dust started to settle and someone coughed. Envy's breath caught in his throat as he saw himself coughing and waving at the dusty air. He gritted his teeth.

"Envy!?" Edward gasped. Mustang glanced between the Envy standing beside him and the Envy that had just fallen out of the ceiling.

"What the hell is going on…?" he breathed in confusion. Envy watched as his twin looked up at the group, and spotted him standing amongst them. His violet eyes widened.

Mei slid down off the door and rushed to Scar's side.

"Fool!" Scar shouted at her, "Why didn't you return to your country?"

The group and both Envy's watched as Mei stuttered an apology, and Scar waved it away. "It's okay," he said. "Don't worry about it."

"Man…" said pseudo-Envy, drawing everyone's attention. "Human traits like this make my skin crawl. Don't tell me you can stomach it."

Envy frowned when he noticed pseudo-Envy was addressing him.

"But wow, this is super weird," he continued. "Father told me about an Envy that had gone rogue, but I never imagined I'd see you for myself. I thought you were dead! We all did."

When Envy did not reply, pseudo-Envy continued, "I heard you fell for a human. That's not actually true, right? Because I would never do something so disgusting."

If there was anyone Envy could fool, it was himself. He knew his tricks. Knew that if he stayed silent, his doppelganger would talk himself in circles. Mind games. Envy was the master at them. And he was two hundred years older than pseudo-Envy. Excitement boiled inside him at the thought of what kind of challenge awaited him. Could he best himself?

Pseudo-Envy put his hands on his hips and frowned. "Giving me the cold shoulder, huh?"

Then he glanced away from Envy to stare at Edward and Mustang. They must have been following Envy's lead and staying silent, because nobody said a word. The only one talking was pseudo-Envy. Envy felt this might be the calm before the storm. Could almost feel the static in the air. One false spark…

"The Fullmetal Alchemist and the Flame Alchemist. In addition, Scar," pseudo-Envy's eyes glanced between the group as he continued, "The shitty chimeras I owe a favour to from our time up north…"

Jerso and Zampano tensed.

"Now… I wonder who I should take care of first," pseudo-Envy sneered. Then, he paused, and added, "Wait. You're both here…"

Envy frowned when his twin turned to Scar, pointed at Mustang and said, "Is this okay, Scar? He's the state alchemist that single-handedly turned Ishval into a hell on earth!"

Envy sighed, realizing what his doppelganger was doing, and resisted the urge to shake his head. Scar simply replied, "Yes, I know."

Pseudo-Envy's eyes widened, and he turned to Mustang. "What? You're friends now? How boring… It was more fun when you guys were trying to crush each other's windpipes."

Envy snorted, and hid behind his hand as he snickered at pseudo-Envy. This drew the group's attention, and he could not help but laugh loudly as if a balloon inside him had just popped. When he settled down he saw his twin staring at him with slight confusion.

"You're hilarious!" Envy gasped, trying to catch his breath. "I'm hilarious!"

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Envy…? Are you okay?"

"I can't believe you!" Envy said, still laughing at pseudo-Envy, who now had a deep frown on his face. "You actually think we're too stupid to know what you're trying to do? Idiot. You're pathetic."

He knew he had hit a nerve when pseudo-Envy balled his fists and snarled at Mustang, "You know, this is the Envy who killed your dear friend, Maes Hughes, right?"

Envy's grin faded. He turned to see that Mustang was staring at pseudo-Envy, lips curling down in a frown, onyx eyes narrowing. A silence settled on the group, a tension so heavy Envy was grateful he did not have a heartbeat or he would be hearing it now.

Slowly, Mustang said, "I know that."

Envy felt a bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. Knew that reminding Mustang of the debt he had yet to repay would only make him angrier. Pseduo-Envy was glancing between them with wide, violet eyes. Confusion evident on his face. Indeed, Envy remembers when he used to be dumbfounded by decisions humans made, who they kept as friends. Now he felt he understood, at least just a little bit.

He and Mustang have a common enemy. An enemy greater than either of them can handle on their own. Envy understands now that some greater evils require many alliances to overcome. Some of those alliances need to be brokered in the light of past rivalries. It surprised him he never saw it before. It made so much sense now.

Pseudo-Envy put his hands on his hips, and scowled. "You guys are no fun at all. Come on… Envy, you used to love this game! I know, I can see your memories."

His memories? Envy's eyes widened. How is that possible? He never lost his memories like Greed did. He's always remembered everything, even from the very beginning. He would not have been able to tell Winry all the stories from his past during their time in Briggs otherwise.

It took a moment, but then Envy understood what pseudo-Envy was doing. Playing a mind game. His eyes narrowed on his doppelganger. He wondered if he should try and outwit him at his own game. He smirked at the though.

"Really? What kind of memories?" Envy asked.

Pseudo-Envy grinned back at him. "Well, memories of your human pet, for instance. No, wait… Those are quite recent."

Envy felt the color drain from his face. Edward gasped, "What are you saying? You mean, you guys have Winry?"

It felt like ice had slipped into his veins. Envy stared at his twin with wide eyes. How is it possible he had kidnapped her? Is this just another game of his? He thought Winry went back home to Resembool. Father and the homunculi would have had no way of knowing about her location.

"Oh, yes, it was great!" Pseduo-Envy sneered. "She thought I was you. How disgusting! How can you keep her around? She's so needy!"

Envy narrowed his gaze, balled his fists.

"Let her go, you bastard!" Edward shouted, "She has nothing to do with any of this!"

Pseudo-Envy ignored Edward and continued, staring straight at Envy, "I wonder if she'd let me close to her like she does with you… How would you like it if I let you watch as I seduce her? And then you can watch as I tear her heart out with my bare hands! That would be great don't you think!? She could look on as the love of her life kills her! I bet crimson is her color – Ah! –,"

Mustang had snapped his fingers. Pseudo-Envy was thrown back as a burst of flames exploded in his mouth. "Seems like there's quite a lot of fat on that blabbering tongue of yours. It burns quite well, Envy."

Edward looked back to see Envy was clenching his teeth, fists balled, muscles tensed. He looked ready to strangle pseudo-Envy.

"Fullmetal," Mustang said, suddenly, "and Scar. Go on ahead. This one is ours."

"But –," Edward started, but Envy snapped, "Time is running out! Do you want to see your country reduced to ashes? Get out of here!"

The red sparks around pseudo-Envy's mouth had finished their healing. As Darius took the first step to pass him, he held out a giant fist, blocking his way.

"I didn't say you could leave!" he snarled. Mustang snapped his fingers and pseudo-Envy's eyes exploded in two steaming masses. He screamed and fell to the ground, claws tearing at his face as red sparks worked to mend him. Envy felt another bead of sweat roll down his chin. He could not push it from his mind: eventually it would be his turn to face the Colonel.

Slowly, Scar led the group through the doorway. Edward glanced back at Envy, before following them. Hawkeye remained. Envy glanced over at Mustang before pseudo-Envy's eyes could finish healing. Without words he hoped the Colonel understood what he was about to do.

"Shit…" pseudo-Envy fumbled to his feet. The last red spark went out and he stared up at them, frowning deeply. "You piece of shit! Every bit of pain I endure, I'll take it out on your precious human pet!"

"Go right ahead, it's not like I care what happens to that human," Envy replied, calmly. It took everything inside him to keep his anger under control. Pseudo-Envy blanched, eyes widened. Envy was sharply aware of Mustang and Hawkeye staring at him, but neither had said a word.

"What?" pseudo-Envy breathed. "But I thought –,"

"If that's all you've got on me, you're pathetic. An embarrassment," Envy said. "Do you really think I care about what happens to that girl? It was just an act for that stupid pipsqueak alchemist. You're an idiot if you think I've been helping the humans and not Father all this time."

"You asshole!" Hawkeye suddenly screams. She points her gun and pulls the trigger. Envy feels hot pain in his shoulder.

His shoulder? Envy turns on the Colonel and Hawkeye, putting a hand to his wound. "Stupid human. You'll pay for that."

"Let's tear them apart, limb by limb," pseudo-Envy said, grinning.

Envy grinned. "Sounds like a plan. I've been itching to let loose since I joined up with these insects anyway."

Pseudo-Envy sneered and faced Mustang. Envy waited for him to make his first move. Knew he would try and use Hawkeye to get at the Colonel, because that's what he would do. As soon as pseud-Envy took a step forward, Mustang snapped his fingers and he burst into a giant ball of flames. His gurgled screams echoed through the chamber. Mustang yelled, "Now, Envy!"

Envy launched himself at his twin, and reached into the fire. Felt the hot flames lick at the skin of his arm. He winced at the burn, but saw the flash of crimson within the charcoaled mass of limbs and ash. His fingers wrapped around the philosopher, his philosopher stone, and with all his might he tore it out.