Chapter Four

The more I retell of my story, the more I realize that not only was my life completely empty before I met the Fullmetal Alchemist, but it was also mind-numbingly boring. Who did I have to make fun of back then? Who did I have to ridicule? Whatever did I do without that soft red coat flung so carelessly over my shoulders? 'Dull' is the first word I think of when I remember my life BE (Before-Edward, as I like to refer to it). Ironically, the entire time I spent with the Fullmetal Alchemist was jam-packed with anything but boredom, and I wasn't quite satisfied with the constant life-or-death situations, but beggars can't be choosers, and I was certainly a beggar back then.

I turned toward the door of my bedroom, practically glowing with excitement and ready to disembark on the dangerous mission before me. In case I haven't mentioned before, I was practically a prisoner to Dante's manor. I won't say I didn't love being there, but it was incredibly tedious to be here day after day and if you look just directly above this paragraph, you'll come to see that I do hate boredom.

"Nem," Envy called from behind me. I cringed at the horrible nickname, turning around in a flash. "You know full well that is not my name, Envy." I said through gritted teeth, "And it would be in your best interest not to use it."

He let out a humorless laugh. "My best interest, eh?" he repeated, and I popped an eyebrow, hoping he would take the bait. I could use a practice fight, anyways, seeing as I hadn't sparred in a while. Unfortunately, he knew I was intentionally instigating him and did not offer a fight, so I didn't ask. "Nemesis. My name is Nemesis." I said very seriously.

I took pride in my name. It was the one thing that made me closer to the homunculi than it did humans. I didn't like to think of myself as a human, even though I was very much one. I liked to think of myself as another homunculus. 'Nem', the nickname, was an awful, normal, nickname that put shame to the name 'Nemesis', and I would not stand for such disrespect toward my wonderful name.

I, obviously, did not know what my birth name was at that time, and I wouldn't figure out for at least a year or two. At that point, I was perfectly content being 'Nemesis'. In time, I would come to adopt the terrible nickname 'Nem' and, believe it or not, grow to like it, thus discarding 'Nemesis'. For now, though, Nemesis was my name and I wore it like a crown.

I turned back to the door, reaching for the handle and opening it, but pausing when Envy said, "Wait." Again, I turned away from the door to face him.

"You got a gun?" Envy asked, and I knew it was a trick question. "Guns are weapons for the weak," I rattled on, "It takes true skill to wield a sword, and even more to use a knife." I flashed a grin and, in one swift move, my own knife was out of my knapsack and in my hands.

Again, he rejected my request to spar, so, slightly crestfallen, I replaced the knife in my knapsack and turned on my heel, this time not being stopped by Envy and exiting the room. I was aware he was right behind me as I walked down the stairs, so I instantly stood up a little straighter and tried to make my gait look more graceful. Naturally, because I'd be damned if anything relatively good was allowed to happen in my life, I skipped a step on accident, and would've faceplanted forward if Envy hadn't silently caught me by the elbow and repositioned me before walking past me down the staircase. "Well, you aren't your bright and cheery self today." I muttered under my breath. I was used to Envy's sour attitude, but something about today made him seem extra-angsty. I liked to think maybe it was because he was upset I would be leaving to do something so brave…so dangerous…so admirable…

Maybe I was exaggerating a bit, but come on, would you be as calm as I was if you knew you were going out to kill someone? Highly unlikely.

As I reached the bottom step, he looked at me sternly. "No funny business, got it?" he said, "When you're out there, if you don't act perfectly, if Fullmetal figures you out, then Dante will punish you, if he doesn't kill you first of course."

"Relax," I said easily, "I'm a big girl, I can handle myself. Just wait, this'll be a breeze." That was a lie. "I'm not going to get hurt." I assured. Another lie. "Fullmetal's not going to see what's coming to him. Trust me, I'll be nightmare." This, readers, was absolutely true.

He said nothing, so I figured he mustn't be convinced. "Dante wouldn't ask me to do this if she didn't think I could handle it." I added, which wasn't entirely true. Dante seemed like just the type of person who would assign a task to me that she without a doubt was sure I wouldn't complete.

"Sister!" a delighted cry broke the silence, and within seconds I was being hugged tightly by a small, long haired young boy.

"Wrath!" I sounded just as happy, and I bit surprised, bending down to hug him back. I did after all consider Wrath a younger brother. Besides Envy, he was my favorite homunculus. I was glad I would get to see him before I left. "They told me you were leaving," he mumbled, "When are you coming back?" "In a flash," I promised. (That's a lie, but I didn't know that back then)

"Come on," Envy forcefully pried Wrath off of me, "Let's get going." I pursed my lips at him reprovingly, but smiled at Wrath and waved goodbye.

"An…alleyway?" I frowned, looking around my surroundings. Envy and I had left the manor without any goodbyes to Dante, but to be honest, I don't think she minded much. Now, we stood in a damp and foul-smelling alleyway.

"Look," Envy said quietly, pointing. I squinted my eyes and saw a large building just across the streets. The alleyway we stood in was dark, so it was the ultimate place to see and not be seen. "That's East Headquarters," he informed me, "they'll be coming out of that building any time now."

"They?" I picked up on the word, "What do you mean 'they'? I thought I was killing one alchemist."

He didn't answer. I clicked my tongue impatiently, again looking around the dirty alley. "Why can't we wait for them somewhere else?" I demanded. "Too many witnesses," he murmured. I blinked. "And, er, what exactly would they have witnessed?" I asked slowly, unsure of what Envy had in mind. I was about eighty percent sure he had no intentions of hurting me, but he did seem to be in a bad mood today, and there was no telling what Envy would do when he was in one of his 'moods'…

"Give me your knife." He ordered. I stared with wide eyes and made no move toward the knapsack on my back. "Nem! Knife! Now!" he barked, and I jumped, too frightened to register he had used the hated nickname, and fumbled with my knapsack, pulling out the knife and hastily handing it to him. "What are you going to do…?" I mumbled, watching the blade. "Come on," he said angrily, "Do you think I'm going to hurt you right now, when we've only just assigned you with the task? You don't have anything to worry about, Nemesis, you're not disposable yet."

A nervous giggle burst through my lips. I had assumed that he was kidding when he said 'yet'. He wasn't. "You're right," I agreed, "I'm much too important to kill."

"Don't move," he murmured, which of course made me want to turn and run down the alleyway, far away from this psycho that I had just provided with a weapon.

Now, don't get me wrong—I do love Envy, but it didn't mean I wasn't just a little scared of him. He could be terribly forceful when he wanted to, and he had a knack for acting before thinking of the aftermath. It was a trait that I myself possessed, and probably picked up from him.

Nevertheless, I stayed grounded (out of fear or obedience I could not be sure) and watched with slight paranoia as he examined the blade. "Stay still," he said, and I squeezed my eyes shut very tightly, hoping that, Envy knew what he was doing, and gasped a surprised, "oh!" when the blade made contact with my neck, and he cut a small incision. I wrenched my eyes open and stared at him in disbelief. "What the hell?"

"Now you have an alibi," he explained in a hushed tone, looking over his shoulder, "Excellent. There they are."

I craned my neck, (flinching in pain) but I couldn't tell who he was talking about, all I saw was a big crowd of people outside a building.

I allowed my hand to subconsciously trail up to the thin cut on my neck, already dripping with blood. "Envy," I said, "Why…?"

"Well, we're going to need a diversion," he said with one of his evil leers, "Now, scream." Unquestioningly, I did exactly as I was told, letting out an earsplitting, well-practiced scream of pure terror. Envy, again, turned to look over his shoulder. "Perfect. They're coming."

I couldn't help but pick up on the fact he said 'they' again, and I had a sickly feeling that he—as well as Dante and everyone else—knew something that I did not. "Well," Said Envy briskly, "I've got to run. Have fun with your Fullmetal boy," he made a clicking noise by sucking in his cheek, winked, and was gone before I knew it. "Wait, boy?" I called after him. That seemed like a strange error to use while describing a State Alchemist. Didn't he mean 'man'? I suppose Fullmetal Man doesn't have the same ring as Fullmetal Boy…but…

I hardly had time to fall dramatically on the nasty ground of the alleyway and force tears out of my eyes before I heard the familiar noise of footsteps in puddles, a strange clanking of metal, and then…I had company in my alleyway.

I tried to play the part of someone who had just been attacked, as Envy undoubtedly wanted me to do, while also sizing up my new guests. I jumped, shocked.

He had to be close to seven feet tall, maybe more. For one reason or another, the man before me was wearing a full suit of armor. I realized with irony that this must be why he's called the Fullmetal Alchemist; because he wears that silly armor. I know Dante said he was paranoid, but was all that really necessary?

I gave but a glance to the young boy next to the man in armor before turning back, because he didn't interest me. From what I saw in the darkness that surrounded me, he had light colored hair, a little darker than my own, and the thing that made me look at him at least a second longer before turning back to armor-guy was his intense golden eyes. They were such a peculiar, intriguing color.

After a third of a second, though, I decided the giant suit of armor was more interesting to look at then some kid's yellow eyes.

I was vaguely aware I was staring, but that didn't stop me from doing it. Dante expected a teeny girl like me to kill a huge guy like this?

I heard the little blonde boy panting for breath, but for some reason, I heard nothing come from inside the armor. "What the hell are you screaming about?" wheezed the blonde boy, and I turned to look at him, cringing at the sharp pain from the cut on my neck.

"She's hurt, Brother!" I was startled by the soft voice that emitted from the armor. It sounded no older than ten. I instead focused my attention on the boy whose face I could see clearly. He was frowning. He wore a long, red coat (I wondered if he was sweating to death) and under that, another black shirt with a large clasp at the top. I could just make out the outlines of an undershirt under the black one. He also wore tight black pants, which again made me question how he wasn't sweating his ass off right now. I also noted white gloves on his hands and boots on his feet. What a freak-show.

Overall, I estimated he was about…thirteen, fourteen years old? He wasn't very tall, so I didn't consider he'd be older. "What happened?" the blonde demanded, "Someone attack you?"

I nodded hollowly, remembering how important this was and forcing myself not to blow it. "Y-yeah," I said shakily, hoping I looked frightened. "He was…different," I mumbled, a plan already forming in my mind, "At first…he just looked like a regular guy but then…something happened…"

"What happened?" asked the armored one kindly, and I was still marveled by his soft, gentle voice. He sounded so young, how in the world could this be the alchemist I was supposed to kill?

"He…changed…" I whispered, and watched the two exchange glances. "Envy?" said armor-guy, and the blonde boy nodded grimly, "Sounds like."

Excellent. "Here, let me help you!" said armor-guy politely, bending down and holding out a hand to help me up. I stared at for a few seconds, and then pushed myself off the ground without taking it, brushing myself off. "What would Envy want with some girl?" the boy directed at armor-guy. I frowned, not really appreciating to be talked about as if I wasn't standing right there.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat loudly, "I'm right here!"

"O-oh!" stuttered armor-guy, "I'm so sorry! My brother can be awfully rude sometimes," he sent a reproving look at his brother, which may seem difficult to do when you're wearing full-body armor but armor-guy seemed to pull it off. "My name is Alphonse Elric," Alphonse Elric introduced himself in that soft, kind voice of his, and I made a mental note: Armor-guy/Fullmetal = Alphonse. He continued, "And this is my brother—" "I can introduce myself!" interrupted the snappy short boy, turning to face me and jerking his thumb toward himself, raising his chest a bit in slight arrogance, and announcing, "And I'm his older brother Edward, more commonly known as the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

My laughter echoed through the empty alleyway. This shrimp, the Fullmetal Alchemist? Ha! He stared at me irritably, and I realized I had made a grave mistake. If this were the Fullmetal Alchemist, I had just given away the fact I knew the name and didn't expect him to look like that, which meant, if the brat was really as perceptive as Dante warned, he would be figuring out right about then I was suspicious.

I quickly saved myself, coughing quickly and saying, "Did I hear you say older brother?" I hoped he would take this as an excuse for my outburst. Luckily and unluckily at the same time, he most certainly did.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A HALF-PINT BEAN SO SMALL HE COULD BE SQUISHED BY AN ANT?" Edward Elric the alleged Fullmetal Alchemist shrieked so loud, I cringed. "I'm so sorry," I wasn't sorry at all, in fact I was quite amused by his reaction (trust me, this would not be the first time), "It's just, you're so much smaller than—"

"GYAHHH! DON'T CALL ME SMALL!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "I won't, I won't!" I guaranteed hurriedly, "Never again!" This, readers, was the biggest lie I would ever tell to Edward Elric, including everything I had planned next.

The Fullmetal Alchemist, as he supposedly was, still looked agitated. "What about you?" he said rather rudely, and I was beginning to wonder why his mother never taught little Eddie proper manners, "What's your name?"

"Nem—" I broke off before I said my full name, mentally kicking myself. Well, damn. I couldn't exactly tell him I was named 'Nemesis', which was pretty much equivalent to getting a tattoo on my forehead that read, "I'm actually in cahoots with the homunculi and plotting to kill you".

Since I didn't want Elric to think I was actually in cahoots with the homunculi and plotting to kill him, I bit my tongue (literally, not metaphorically) when Alphonse Elric chirped, "Nem?"

I cursed under my breath at my horrible luck. Damn, damn, damn. "Yes," I looked at armor-guy—excuse me, Alphonse, I mean, and gave him a large, sweet, entirely fake grin. "Nem. That's my name."

"That's a weird name," Edward snorted, and I felt the urge to hit him. It was an urge that would never go away.

"Is it short for something?"

"Yep," I confirmed, stretching and fingering the bloody gash on the side of my neck. It had stopped stinging by now and I almost forgot it was there—like most of you readers, I'm sure.

"What's it short for?" Edward shot at me, and I scowled at him for being so nosy. "My full name, of course." I replied simply. I heard Alphonse contain a slight giggle, which for some reason sounded as though it echoed in the ridiculous armor he was wearing.

"We should get her to a hospital, brother," piped up Alphonse to hide the giggle, which unfortunately for him Edward had picked up on and was frowning at. "Naah, we should get her to Headquarters, I'm sure Mustang will be interested to hear about a girl getting attacked by a homunculus."

"What's a homunculus?" I asked brightly in mock curiosity, playing dumb. "Mustang will explain everything to you when we take you to Central, it's right back there." Edward shrugged me off. I narrowed my eyes. "Or you can explain everything to me right now." I said fiercely, biting my tongue again in regret instantly afterwards. I forgot I was supposed to be playing the part of a terrified little wimpy girl. The Elrics must've been realizing I was up to something around now. Or perhaps they would give me the benefit of the doubt, and think maybe I was just strong-willed.

Either way, I was screwed, whether they would grow to trust me or not. I'm sorry to say that they would eventually trust me, and I feel even worse telling you I would betray that trust.