Hi everyone, here is a new chapter just in time for holiday cheer. Sorry for the delay, life is a bitch.

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or the characters

He seemed so much worse now.

That was what Lust noticed the most, every time she saw him, he seemed so much worse. At first he was just more quiet, didn't give out a smart remark, then he just stopped talking. Now he refused to even get up, Lust could almost feel the depression coming off of him.

She still remembered his request, to set him free. Lust didn't know if she could do that, she was certain she couldn't. She was aware that there was more at risk if she set him free then she originally thought. Whatever Dante was, she was powerful and deadly.

But seeing the creature in such a pitiful state, it was painful to see.

Dante herself had been acting stranger, taking in a deep interest in Lust that didn't go unnoticed.

It was getting creepy, when she was around Dante. All her boss would do, if she wasn't giving her orders, was compliment her on how she looked, or stare. It was starting to freak Lust out.

But Lust was more concerned about the Homunculus then how Dante was acting. The creature seemed more and more lifeless each and every day, and despite everything, she was worried

It felt odd, worrying about the creature. But she worried about him anyways.

She was also scared, scared that the creature might take escaping into his own hands, and take drastic measures.

Lust rubbed her temples as she sat at her desk, the homunculus was invading her mind again. She couldn't get the small creature out of her head and it was getting on her nerves.

She looked back at the paper work that Dante had given her earlier, she had just a few more papers she had to sort through and then she could go on her break. Lust should be able to get through it all in twenty minutes, that would give her enough time to go to the sandwich shop before the place got busy.

"Lust," Dante called from her office, "Could you come in here," She requested.

So much for getting to the shop before it got busy, Lust mused to herself as she got up from the desk.

"Coming," She responded as she walked to the door, hesitating for a second before she walked into the room.

Dante was sitting at her desk, looking through a couple of papers. The homunculus was still in its jar sitting atop of her desk as well. When she saw Lust walk in, she smiled brightly.

"Please, sit down," She said, gesturing to the chair across from her desk.

Lust obediently sat down, and she could have swore she saw the homunculus roll his eyes.

Placing the papers down, Dante leaned forward, "Lust, I was thinking, what would you think about becoming heir to Syn corporation?" she asked.

Lust was silent in shock, after a few minutes she regained her ability to speak, "What, the next CEO of Syn? But, why me?" She asked in disbelief.

Dante leaned back a little, "I'm getting old, Lust, and don't you dare deny it. I'm getting old and Syn needs an heir," She explained, "You seem the best fit. You're a good worker, your loyal to our products, and you have a brain."

Once again, Lust could have swore the homunculus was rolling his eyes at what was being said.

"Well, I don't know what to say," Lust admitted.

Dante stood up, a smile still on her face, "You think about it, I need to go get some papers that will help explain everything to you better then I could," She said, and glanced at the homunculus. Lust didn't miss the cold, warning look she had in her eyes, despite the smile on her face.

Walking past Lust, Dante left the room, closing the doors behind her.

After a minute or two, the homunculus just scoffed, "You are so screwed right now," He muttered.

"Excuse me?" Lust asked.

He rolled his eyes for the third time that day, "You aren't going to be made the next CEO, well your body will but not you."

Lust still didn't quite understand what he was talking about, "You aren't making much sense," She pointed out.

The homunculus sighed, "Alright, you know Dante is over four hundred years old, you remember me telling you that, right?" He asked, and Lust nodded. "Well, if you remember on the news, she was young and then began ageing normally. There was a CEO before her, who was young and aged naturally," He said slowly.

"Wait, you mean she steals bodies?" Lust asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Ding, ding, ding. And we have a winner," It said sarcastically. "Yeah, she finds a woman, has to be pretty for her tastes, gets her to work for a while as her assistant or something like that. After a while, when her own body is old, she makes her assistant the heir to the company and after a few weeks or so, she puts her soul in the new CEOs body, her own body, and the soul she kicks out will die. She gets a young body, continues to own this company, and will live longer."

Lust shook her head, "So that's how she has stayed alive for so long? How hasn't anyone grown suspicious?" She demanded.

"Alchemy, it's a 'myth' now, no one suspects someone knows alchemy, and is skilled enough to place a soul in a new body. That's freaking difficult even for an expert alchemist," the homunculus exclaimed, "That's why she needs a philosophers stone to do it."

She knew a little about the stone, but what she knew didn't make much sense, "So, how does she get a stone? From what I hear, it's not simple," She stated.

The homunculus pointed at itself, "Me." He said.

"Excuse me?" Lust asked, for a second time.

The homunculus sighed, "I'm a philosophers stone, at least, my core is. She takes bits of my stone, it'll last for a couple of decades. She'll feed me the souls of the bodies she takes to help replenish the amount she took, and when the one she took is finished, she'll take a new portion off."

Lusts head was spinning now with all this new information, but she understood she was in danger now. Dante was going to kill her.

Almost as if reading her mind, the homunculus stood up and pressed against the jar, "You need to get out of here, Lust. Before it's too late," He said.

Lust hesitated but she was now certain this was the right choice. She grabbed the jar and quickly ran out of the office and to her desk, grabbing her bag.

"What, what are you doing?" The homunculus demanded as she stuffed him into the bag.

"Getting you out too," She said, zipping it shut and hurrying to the stairs. She didn't want to run into Dante on the elevator.

She wondered for a moment just what she might have gotten into.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Those of you who have been wondering what Dante was planning with Lust now know.

Send a review and tell me what you guys thought of this.