Hello to all, sorry for the delay but I hope the following will help ease any rising frustration aimed at my tardiness. Enjoy :)


Chapter 8: Promise

The creaking and groaning of rotten wooden floorboards could be heard echoing ominously across the dilapidated church. Moonlight streamed from the cracked and beautiful but broken glass pained windows as the pale silvery orb slowly climbed higher into the sky. The sound of a heavy footfalls could be heard stomping angrily against the shuddering floorboards before suddenly stopping.

An aggravated sigh penetrated the stillness.

"Damn it" Envy grumbled to the stale night air as he wandered noisily through the rundown building.

Without giving the noise that he was causing a second thought Envy stalked over to the hidden stairwell and began his trek downwards towards the underground city, taking his time as unbidden thoughts swirled in his mind.

As he passed trough the secret compartments and rock bedded tunnels, uncaring of the immense echo that rattled around him, the shape shifter began to reflect on his anger.

He just couldn't believe that he had lost control so easily.

Him! The oldest of the homunculi and nearly four hundred years old!

Sure perhaps he had a right to feel slightly pissed about those humans taking the stupid, sniveling, alchemy brat, but even then he knew that he hadn't needed to slaughter them all like he had

… but he had done it anyway. The familiar sound of human screams had been music to his ears, and the feeling of their warm blood spilling all over his arms had been a welcome release. He had gotten his revenge on those human scum for giving him the run around.

Then why was he still feeling such a white-hot rage burning in his chest? Perhaps he was still annoyed about all the wasted effort he put into finding that pathetic little human and nothing to show for it.

Envy felt the urge to growl in frustration rise in his chest like bile, but he bit it back down and instead settled for glaring aimlessly down the stone staircase. Eventually the shape shifter reached the worn, aged, elevator that would take him down to the underground city. He crossed his pale arms over his flat chest and ignored the age-old wasteland that rose up to greet him, still lost in his own thoughts.

Suddenly Envy frowned sourly just as the weathered elevator grinded to a halt at ground level. He looked around quietly for a moment before picking up on a familiar sickening stench that seemed to be polluting the stale air around him.

The oldest homunculus debated climbing back into the elevator again and retreating back out into the fresh air of Central, not looking forward to the no doubt ridiculous rant he would receive for his slip up. Envy rolled his eyes as he trudged on forward down the deserted cobblestone streets.

As he continued his journey through the imposing maze of ruin, that all too sickening stench of flowering perfume and decaying flesh, that he was oh so familiar with, grew stronger and wafted through the air again like a sickening disease. Envy sighed and shook his head, wild strands of dark green, nearly black, hair swaying with his movements.

If he had any doubts about it before they were as good as gone now.

Dante was already here.

Envy scowled to himself as he came closer to his destination before picking up another peculiar presence along side Dante. He stopped for a moment before his scowl deepened.

Of course… it was Pride.

Violet eyes narrowed hostility as the expression on the eldest homunculus's face twisted into something between a smirk and a scowl.

That bastard, he had the nerve to send him in the wrong direction and off on wild goose chase to make a fool out of him! He was going to pay.

Envy allowed his trademark smirk to stretch across his face before storming into the grand ballroom where he knew she would be expecting him. As he predicted, there Dante stood, in the center of the room just before the staircase, but not alone.

Envy paused briefly in the threshold and glared menacingly at the taller figure in the lavish, navy, army uniform that stood next to Dante before slowly striding over, similar to a predator gliding effortlessly towards its next target.

Pride turned from the conversation he had been having with his creator to glance at the imposing figure stalking towards them. A slow crawling smirk etched itself over his otherwise stoic features as he took in the older homunculi's tense posture.

"Why hello Envy, did you find what you were looking for?" Pride sneered. Envy had to resist the urge to lunge and attack the prideful homunculus on the spot as he sneered right back, his voice layered with equal venom.

"Have you found those pathetic kidnapper's yet, or should I say their corpses?" Pride's already narrowed green eye crinkled irritability.

"Envy, leave Pride be." A patient but irked voice sighed. Said sin shifted his stance as he heard his name being called. He turned to the speaker, the hostility not yet dissipating from his narrowed violet hues.

Dante watched her first born apathetically. Her own sharp brown eyes giving away no hint of hostility or anger, only the sheer, cold, arrogance the was usually present in her stoic features.

Envy regarded her unusual tone quietly. She didn't seem angry, though, he was positive that she had already been informed on the situation at hand...But then again the old bat was just an accomplished master of disguise as he was.

Dante smirked lightly as she observed Envy's cold calculating gaze.

"You certainly took your time coming back Envy. I take it you were distracted" She accused with slight frown as her chocolate eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Envy sneered at her comment but made no move to deny it. She abruptly smirked once more, appearing smug for some odd reason that he could not fathom.

"But it's no matter, now that you finally are here I have something for you" At this one of Envy's eyebrow shot up into his dark purple headband. Whatever response he had expected to come out of the old crow's mouth it certainty wasn't that.

'What is she going on about?'

"What?" He asked moodily as his brow furrowed and his frown deepened.

He quickly glanced to notice Pride smirking in his general direction from across the room. As if he knew about something they were keeping between themselves.

'What the hell is he so smug about?' The shorter sin wondered as confusion slowly began to seep into his gut. He narrowed his amethyst orbs, not enjoying the feeling of being left out.

Envy snapped his questioning glare back towards his so-called master for an answer, but she was no longer looking at him. In fact Dante was staring straight past the 400-year-old androgynous teenager, towards the entrance of the grand hall. Envy followed her gaze as he glanced back over his own shoulder as well.

"You can come in now" Dante drawled, feigning disinterest despite the hidden order that remained obvious in her voice.

Slowly the large ornate wooden doors cracked opened.

Black shadows hesitantly emerged on the edge of the smooth wooden foyer, before a dark gloved hand swiftly pushed the doors further apart and a full figure stepped forward into the illumined room.

The first familiar figure that slowly waltzed through the wooden doors was Lust, followed shortly by Gluttony who trailed after her with an almost dog-like obedience. The pudgy sin in turn was clutching another smaller form against him with his giant meaty hands.

Envy felt his glare slip as his violet eyes widen.

"I believe you forgot this in Dublith, Envy" Dante mused as she watched August being half dragged, half carried by Gluttony into the room. Drops of bright blood staining the polished floorboards as she stumbled distortedly after the fat sin.

The child appeared pathetically weak as her numb feet shuffled feebly in front of her while she clutched the monstrous homunculus's arm next to her for support every few steps. Incredibly Gluttony didn't seemed too fazed by his favorite snack hanging off him in such close proximity, though he did seem disappointed and slightly nervous.

Brown crusted over blood had dried over the deep, dark, cuts and scraps that crisscrossed her limbs while a collage of dark and disfigured bruises littered every inch of the girl's pale skin. A excessive amount of large, thick bandages were wrapped firmly over the majority of her right shoulder, and despite being freshly applied, dark blood still continued to ooze from between the dirtied bandages.

Envy stared at the child with a blank face, the shock never leaving his burning eyes.

She looked like shit.

"How?!" The oldest sin commanded harshly as he turned back towards Dante, his mood even fouler then before.

"Pride informed of your little incident in Dublith." At this Envy's shot daggers at Pride's arrogant gaze, silently vowing nothing but pain on the other homunculus the next time he had the chance to be alone with him.

"Honestly all I wanted was a few ingredients from my favorite shop" Dante sighed as she continued on, not minding their standoff.

"…and you can't even do that right" She huffed not so discreetly as she shook her head in mock disappointment.

"So imagine my surprise when none of you returned. Envy. Lust. Gluttony. August." They each flinched respectively as their own names' were call out and August failed to repress a whimper, even in her nearly comatose state. Dante's light smirk fell as she dropped the charade and her gaze hardened with malice.

" And then I come to find out that my dear little student was kidnapped and brought to Central to be branded and sold to the highest bidder like a piece of meat-"

"How did you find her?" Envy snapped once more, effectively cutting Dante off as he finally retained his normal composer and decided that he didn't particularly care for her endless ranting. Dante's glare darkened considerably, almost as if she read his thoughts.

"Show some respect Envy!" Pride scowled from his place against the banister.

"Shut up you damn human puppet!" Envy snarled with all the rage he had previously forgotten upon seeing the girl. Pride nearly flinched at the intense amount of venom in the oldest homunculi's voice, though his namesake refused to let him do so.

Lust raised an eyebrow at the 'sibling quarrel', if she could even call it that, obvious to the reason for Envy's mood swing. Gluttony stared nervously from Pride to Envy and back again, wondering if a fight would break out.

August blinked once, perking up as she heard a familiar shout through the haze overclouding her senses before cocking her head. Even though her body still felt weightless and her mind was a disoriented scramble, the small twinge of recognition that had sparked in the back of her brain refused to be smothered. August blinked quickly, the fog in her mind lifting slightly.

"Enough." Dante commanded sharply, her voice echoing across the room. They all immediately stilled.

Dante slowly sent her cold glare back upon Envy.

"I have always known about the kidnappings, after all they have been quite profitable in providing ingredients for the red water experiments in Xenotime and Arcadia for some time now." She spoke mildly.

"As it stands, in the wake of its demise by the military as well as an additional unknown source…" Here her glare hardened as she glanced in Envy's general direction. He scoffed and turned his head as he placed a hand on his hip.

"I've made sure that any connections that might have led to us were destroyed and collected any remaining resources that would be valuable to the red-water experiments" At this, Envy eyed Pride from across the room with disdain before flickering his gaze back to Dante.

"By remaining resources I assume you mean the leftover children?" Lust inquired smoothly, an odd expression flickering behind her mauve colored eyes, before disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

Dante simply smiled, but said nothing in reply.

Envy was the first to break the debatable silence that had settled over the room.

"So you were the buyer I assume?"

"Of course" Dante replied simply, not caring to divulge any further into such meaningless trivia as she inspected her dulled nails.

"Why buy something you could have just taken?" Envy mused as he gestured lazily towards a nearly conscious August.

"Appearances"

Envy scoffed at the terrible excuse.

"So what, was this whole kidnapping planned from the start?" He growled, his hands forming into fists as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Dante merely chuckled.

"No, it was not. Though I can't deny that this little incident has become entirely beneficial for me" Envy gave her an exasperated look.

"That is beneficial?" He mocked as he jabbed his thumb once more at the nearly comatose human child behind them that seemed to be using Gluttony as a human pillow. Dante smirked faintly.

"Of course. There is no worry, her wounds will heal soon as the child is surprisingly resilient, and her pain will serve as a thoughtful reminder of obedience for her. After all good dogs must never disobey their master. Isn't that right dear?" Dante cooed mockingly as she smirked at the bandaged child.

August merely blinked in response, a stoic expression plaguing her face as she struggled to comprehend the faces around her, the spark of familiarity blowing into a full blown fire at the cold voice that sent shivers down her spine. That damn fog was lifted even more.

Envy ignored Dante's remarks as he turned to observe the brat's bloodied and vacant face.

One hazy green eye was swollen shut and held a dark purple ring around the swollen socket as the other stared listlessly into the space beyond his form drowsily. She didn't seem to even see him, Dante, or anyone else for that matter.

A part of him twitched in disgust as he tore his gaze away from the sight before him.

'How weak. How pathetic. How human.' He seethed as his hands fisted themselves at his sides.

August blinked as those achingly familiar narrowed eyes tore away from her vision and the odd being's nearly pale back was turned to her. She blinked again, as something nagged her conscious stubbornly.

What was that? A face? A name?

The girl suddenly frowned, the light slowly flittering in behind her glassy green eyes as recognition slowly stole over her stoic features.

Suddenly soft, uneven, footfalls met his sensitive hearing and before he could do anything about it Envy felt a small warmth brush against his leg. The envious sin blinked before looking down at his side.

August was leaning peacefully against his right thigh, hands slightly clutching his black clothes for support. She had closed her remaining functional eye and appeared to be dozing, leaning more of her weight against him and curling into his side. Not that he could feel, nor care about, her full weight resting against his leg as it would hold.

No, it was the action alone that had him in such a sense of shock.

'Is…is she…cuddling with ME!'

"What the hell!" He roared, his expression morphing into a mixture of confusion, shock, and cold fury.

Lust could barely keep her mouth closed as her jaw nearly went slack in surprise. Gluttony let his pudgy eyes widened, wondering why the girl was hugging Envy. Pride blinked his one good eye in astonishment, clearing believing this human child had been born without a sense of fear. Dante was the least expressional of them all, as her eyes only narrowed slightly in contemplation at the scene.

Envy on the other hand…He continued to scowl down at August.

"How many times do I have to tell you to get off of me?!" He growled dangerously, grabbing her shoulders in an attempt to throw her roughly away, and perhaps flying into the next room.

He paused.

Red liquid began to drench his cold hands as he gripped the slightly open wound on her tiny shoulder too hard. The small fists holding his skort tightened considerably and he could feel the child's bony body begin to shake against his side. He felt a warm wetness that had nothing to do with blood, fall from where the girl had shoved her face into the side of his abdomen.

August gritted her teeth and struggled to cease crying as another sharp stab of fire raced over her body and bite into her bones. She felt her shoulders shake as she sobbed soundlessly into the black fabric.

Envy felt something unknown and unpleasant quickly settle in his chest and twist sharply in his gut. He quickly retracted his hands as if he had been viciously burned.

Everything was once again deathly silent in the imposing ballroom. Not a sound was heard save August's ragged breaths coming out in short pants of pain.

None of the other homunculi moved as they watched the display, each schooling their own features as their minds tried to dissect the situation. Envy remained frozen as well, a unusual expression flickering over his features for the briefest of seconds as he stared down at August.

A second later loud clapping resonated around the ballroom and the spell of silence was broken.

Dante smiled tightly as she broke the silence and all eyes rounded on her.

"As touching as this little reunion has been..." She suddenly sneered "You all have your own duties to attend to, am I correct?" The master of the homunculi frowned as her expression returned to her usual one of cold indifference and arrogance.

"Go see to them." She commanded sharply, her words leaving no room for argument as she effectively dismissed the entire audience.

Without missing a breath Lust stood from her normal perch on one of Gluttony's broad shoulder and swiftly turned on her heel at the dismissal. She spared a fleeting glance back towards the odd scene behind her, of the little girl and the deadly homunculus. She smirked slightly before quickly taking her exit.

"Come Gluttony" She called back without pausing as she slid gracefully out of the elaborate ballroom. Gluttony paused as he too quickly glanced back at the small child clinging to the oldest of his kin and back towards the door were his companion had disappeared behind. He finally made up his mind as he took off running after Lust.

Pride merely stood rigid for a brief moment, an unreadable expression plaguing his hard features as he stared at the odd scene, before he too swiftly departed. He chuckled under his breath.

"Well, well, this day had proven to be quite interesting after all" Pride smirked at Envy as he past the two towards another room. Envy scowled dangerously at his retreating back.

The sound of the door slamming shut echoed noisily across the dynamically decorated room before everything evaporated into silence once again.

As the three sins left the room only the girl, the envious homunculus, and their master remained. The stillness that presided over the room, seem to stretch on for what seemed like ages before it was abruptly broken.

"Envy" Dante spoke, watching as his gaze slowly traveled back to her. Good he was still listening after all.

"Take the girl back to Dublith. Wait with her there until I return. I still have other matters to attend to here" she ordered patiently before heading towards the room that Pride had chosen to wait for her in. Without a second glance back at the silent pair, she slammed the door shut behind her.

Again the heavy wooden doors slamming shut echoed off the lavish walls of the ballroom before all was silent once more.

August nearly cried again in relief as the chilling presence that had nearly dominated the entire room disappeared along with the ice-cold woman, and the warmth of the room finally began to soothe her frazzled nerves. Or maybe that had to do with the warmth she was curled up against.

Who knew?

Suddenly the warmth disappeared and August felt herself begin to tip backwards. She yelped in surprise when she found herself airborne in a brief free fall. The girl closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable sensation of hitting the hard wood below.

It never came, instead August felt someone strong, grab her good shoulder and hoist her effortlessly upwards before she felt herself being crushed against something firm and soft.

Her tensed muscles relaxed despite herself as the warmth flooded her entire being and she began to feel herself being carried away from the too bright lights of the imposing ballroom Gluttony had so gracelessly dragged her into. August let her chin drop down onto her chest as she forced open her heavy eyelids and glanced up ever so slightly.

Hazy green orbs blinked blearily in the dark as they found the familiar slender curve of a pale jaw. August titled her head farther back in slight shock as her eyes struggled to open wider.

It was Envy. He was the one carrying her.

As if on cue, Envy looked down to see August staring drowsily yet curiously at him. He paused in mid stride as he stared expectantly down into her bruised little face.

They stayed that way for a long moment, each staring straight through to the other as if searching the other's soul, or lack of there of. He was the one to finally break the silence.

"What is it brat?" He grunted, his scratchy tone lacking its usual hostility.

August blinked once and for the longest moment she did nothing but continued to stare deeply into his dark lavender colored irises.

Suddenly she started to cry.

Envy suddenly made a strange, half strangled, half startled, noise as he started to shake the child harshly.

"What the hell is wrong with you now?! Stop that! Stop crying brat!" August didn't hear him as she balled her hands into fists and hid her crying eyes behind them. The little child continued to sob soundlessly. Envy shook her again, a irritated yet exasperated look adorning his features.

Damn it, he didn't even do anything yet!

"Shut up already kid" He grumbled as he begrudgingly held the child closer to him, tightening his hold around the tiny thing that shook in his arms. After what could have been only minutes, but seemed like hours, August finally stopped crying.

Envy watched in annoyance as she peeled herself away from his chest to take a peek up at him. Her face as well as his shirt were riddled with tear stains. He just glared at her.

"Finished?" He huffed, clearly annoyed with the sniveling brat. He watched at her closely noticing that she looked pained for some reason.

"I'm s-sorry" The little girl suddenly hiccuped aloud as she rubbed her damp face tiredly with her one free hand. Envy merely raised a brow at the vague apology.

"For what?"

"I-I didn't listen (hiccup), I'm s-sorry, so sorry. Those guys caught me, and I-I wasn't strong e-enough to get l-l-loose. I'm sorry!" She balled again as a new batch of tears sprang up from her puffy eyes. Envy started flabbergasted at her.

"Are you serious? That's what your upset about?" He snorted disbelievingly. 'This kid...what an idiot'

"Enough" He suddenly commanded as he abruptly picked the child up and plopped down with her in his lap on a spare piece of stone rubble he had found to sit on during her little tirade.

"Hey, look at me."

August merely hiccuped again in response as she buried her face deeper into her hands. Envy rolled his eyes before roughly grabbing her chin between his fingers and snapped her face back up to him.

"You heard me you sniveling brat, enough. Shut up and stop crying already, you make me sick just looking at you." Wide, puff, green orbs stared at him as he sneered down at the now silent child in his lap.

"Look here kid, what happened wasn't your fault, it was those bastards'. So shut up and stop feeling sorry for yourself. There wasn't anything you could do" The sin hissed coldly, his eyes becoming cloudy with anger. August winced as he gripped her face too tight but held still at the scary look in his eye. His gazed snapped back to her again.

"After all your just a weak, stupid, little human, and you're going to stay a lowly, weak, human." He spat the word as if it were poison. "You'll never be strong enough to fight someone off. Just look at you. You can't even run errands right." He sneered mockingly at her.

August swallowed the knot that had form in her throat and felt her hands shake as something burn widely in her chest at the jealous sin's taunts.

"That's not true, I can do lots of things!" She suddenly shouted aggressively at him.

Envy simply smirked.

"Oh really now? Tell me then, little bug, what can you do?" He purred as his lips stretched out into a wide, taunting, grin. August felt herself flush.

"I can do Alchemy for starters! That's something you can't!" She huffed. Envy scowled sourly. "And what good is that if you can't even defend yourself?"

"I can too protect myself. I blew up half that entire place and held off all of those guys when I helped the other girl escape! And I almost got away too right before-" August paused suddenly and stiffened while going pale. She rubbed her shoulder gingerly and it didn't take Envy much to figure out what she was thinking about. He glared slightly.

"Hm. Let me guess, it was that mangy mutt wasn't it?" Envy nodded towards her bandages shoulder. The girl nodded mutely. His hand twitched slightly and his lip curled as he felt the urge to kill that damn chimera all over again. A hushed silence fell over the pair as they became lost in their own thoughts.

"Your right..."

"Hmmm?" Envy asked, as he was distracted from his daydreams of slaughtering wolf chimeras.

"I am weak, I guess. I mean, I couldn't even stop the guy from almost ripping my arm off" August mused as she let her head drop back into her hands and sighed. Again, Envy felt the urge to spastically kill someone, but hid his frown with a smirk.

"Good to see that your finally realizing how weak and pathetic you and your kind truly a-"

"But that doesn't mean that I can't get stronger!" She suddenly yelled, abruptly cutting of the surprised homunculus as she pointed a finger dramatically at him, nearly touching his nose, with an almost comically serious look for someone her age.

"You watch! One day I'm going to get stronger, so strong that I'll be able to take on whatever happens to me, whenever it happens. And then when that happens I'm going to come back and beat you with my super strong alchemy, and then you won't get to call me weak anymore! Just you watch Envy, I'm going to PROVE YOU WRONG!" August yelled heatedly as she used every last bit of her strength to glare challengingly at him with a bright and wild fire blazing in her livid emerald eyes.

Envy just started at her. His face devoid of all emotion except for blatant shock. It was quite for the longest moment before he broke the tense silence yet again.

August watched as the jealous sin incredibility threw his head back and unleashed an earsplitting howl of loud laugher. Envy clutched his sides as he laughed. August felt her confidence deflate like a ballon as the sin continued to chortle evilly.

"You- haha-beat-ha-me! What a joke! Hahaha!" August felt herself blush scarlet as she struggled to get out the laughing creature's strong grip.

"Hey, cut it out, its not funny! That's is a promise! That's my promise, I will beat you!" She yelled, embarrassed as she tugged against his lead-like arms.

Abruptly the laughter cut off and with a shriek of painful surprise August once again felt herself being yanked up by her good shoulder. Envy glared at her from the corner of one eye as she fussed slightly in his arms again.

"Ha, your going to take me on? You've must have lost too much blood brat, your delusional." Envy mused as he casual caught the child in his arms again and stood. He felt the child suddenly go limp and heard her sigh beneath him. He glanced down in distaste.

"What now brat?"

Nothing was said for the moment as August struggled to fight the sudden wave of wariness that began to creep into her acing bones. Then suddenly, as if a light switch had switched on, the little girl did the most strangest thing she could have done.

She smiled softly, at him.

Envy blinked.

Once, twice, a third time…

August blinked as well before her eyes began dropping once more and she yawned widely. Envy watched her as she struggled to stay awake.

"Hey" He spoke up. August glanced blearily up him.

"Quite struggling already, go to sleep" She stared up again at him, something flashing briefly behind her drowsy green orbs.

Was that fear he saw behind her eyes? Envy paused.

He couldn't belief he was going to say this. He nearly growled but bit back the urge as he sighed.

"I'll be here" Envy sighed irritably.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt the bundle of nerves and muscles in his arms shift before unexpectedly cuddling deeper into his chest and grabbing a few strands of stray hair that jutted out loosely from his headband. Envy tried very hard to not drop the child in both disgust and shock.

He sighed again before shifting the child in his arms into a more comfortable position and once again began leaving the underground city. He paused once more when he caught the few soft words that slowly spilled from the girl's mouth as sleep slowly claimed her conscious.

"...Thank…you…Envy"

Envy stayed rooted to the spot, unable to believe what his keen sense of hearing had no doubt heard. He watched the little human child in his arms breathe deeply and slowly against his chest, a sure sign that sleep had already claimed her entirely limp body.

The stony face homunculus said nothing as he glided effortlessly past the large stone buildings and the mazes of cobblestone streets, all the while holding the slumbering child close to his chest. As his arms tightened slightly around the sleeping girl he was left with nothing else to do but ponder silently on the one solitary thing that plagued his mind like a disease.

Just what the hell is wrong with this brat?


Fluff. It got to me. I couldn't resist. Bleh... :p Regardless, I needed to get something out there already. Hope you liked it. A shout out, thanks to all of those who have read, reviewed, and/or favorited or followed this story. It means a lot to me! Thank you very much.

On a side note: anyone know where I can find a beta reader? It would be much appreciated.

Hope you enjoyed, and please continue to review.

- Happy (Late) Halloween, Mara Gin