Chapters are getting longer and longer. I don't know if that's a good thing or not because that might mean more mistakes on my part...
But anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter
"Hohenheim!" Ed growled out and was about to take a step forward but Envy beat him to it, his arms having had already finished regenerating and his wounds healed.
"Hohenheim!" He said with a grin, "What are you doing here? And might I add, that was great timing but I would assume we would have all appreciated it if you arrived about, the beginning of the fight," He said with an amused smile.
Hohenheim nodded,"Hello, Edward, Envy, Alphonse," He greeted, then went to answer what Envy had said "Well, the hero always arrives fashionable late, right?" he joked.
Ed resisted the urge to hit him, "Your not a hero, bastard," He muttered.
The Xing prince shook his head, "I'd say he was the hero to this fight," Ling commented and Lan Fan went to agree with him.
"Master Ling is right," She said.
Envy laughed, "See, he was a hero," He laughed, "Now, what brings you here?" He asked.
Hohenheim rubbed the back of his head, "Well, to be honest I was actually following Pride. It would be proven difficult if I had to fight him when I go and fight his Father," He commented.
"That's right, you're going down to Dads lair too, I forgot for a second, took to many head injuries in the fight I think," Envy said.
Ed butted in again, "What do you mean your going down to fight him?" He demanded.
"Well, I'm kind of the reason he even exists. My former masters in Xerxes did use my blood to make him, so since it was my blood that made him, I thought it would be equally fitting if it was by my hands that he died," Hohenheim offered, "Is there something wrong with that idea?" He asked innocently.
"What makes you think that you can just walk back into the picture and kill the homunculi's creator? What right do you have to do any of that you poor excuse for a father?!" He demanded.
Envy started laughing at Eds outburst, "Whoa, calm down Fullmetal Pipsqueak," He said, earning a glare from Ed for calling him short despite him not being short anymore, "Are you starting to form an inferiority complex?" He asked with amusement.
"AM NOT!" Ed yelled, "AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL A GRAIN OF SAND COULD CRUSH HIM!?"
"No one said that, Ed," Everyone said.
Envy laughed again, "Look Ed, if we're going to fight Father, we need everyone we can get. Besides, to be honest, Hohenheim here is the second best alchemist in existence," He explained jabbing his thumb towards Hohenheim.
"Second best?" Hohenheim asked.
"Second to Father," Envy responded with a grin and turned to Ed, "Your probably the third or fourth, maybe even the fifth best alchemist," He said with a frown.
Ed stared at him, mouth agape, "I'm either the third, fourth or fifth?" He asked with disbelief, "WHAT THE HELL?! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!"
The homunculus grinned, "Well, Father and Hohenheim here are able to bypass the laws of Equivalent Exchange, and with his Flame Alchemy, I'd say that if...what's his name, Roy Mustang right? Right. If Mustang wanted to, he could kill you," Envy explained, "Then there's Alphonse, and well, I'd say you guys are probably close when it comes to Alchemy so I can't tell for sure who is better or not."
Ed just crumpled to the ground, "The three bastards are better alchemists than me..." He mumbled.
"So, what about you guys?" He asked, turning to Ling, Lan Fan and Foo, "How did you guys get here and know what was going on?"
Ling just formed a cheeky grin, "We sensed a homunculus, I take it that the one we sensed was you, so we were following it and next thing we knew there were three," He said.
The homunculus nodded, "Well, good thing you came," He said.
"Hohenheim and Mustang are better alchemists..." Ed mumbled still on the ground.
Envy glanced at him before turning his attention to Hohenheim, "So, what are we going to do with him?" he asked, gesturing to the dome that had Pride inside of it, "We can't so well as leave him unguarded, who knows who will come to break him out if someone does."
Hohenheim nodded, "That is true," He agreed, rubbing his chin in thought.
Then, the answer to the two immortals question got answered.
"We could stay and guard him," Ling offered.
Hohenheim and Envy turned to face him, both wondering when he got behind them.
"Really?" Envy asked and added a bit of skepticism to his tone, "What about the philosophers stone? If you guard them, then there is a less chance of you getting one," He pointed out.
Ling nodded, "Well, that is true, but we could just guard it for a few days until there isn't a chance he'd get to Central in time to help his Father when the attack starts," he pointed out.
Envy raised an eyebrow, "Smart idea from a stupid prince," He commented, ignoring the icy glare Lan Fan sent him for the 'Stupid Prince' comment. After a moment of thinking, Envy clapped his hands, "Alright, it's decided, you three will watch over Pride and his dome for the next three days, then catch a train to Central and well, try to track us down with that Chi Sensing thing if you can," He said, "If not, well, we can have someone waiting at the train station."
Hohenheim nodded, "that sounds like a good plan," He said.
Ling just smirked, "Well then, Homunculus, once we go to central, you better not stand in my way of obtaining a Philosophers Stone," he warned.
Envy returned his smirk, "It's all yours if you want it," He said then turned to the lion chimera Heinkel, "You, you can stay with them, in case a fight breaks out they might need a chimeras strength and stronger senses on their side," He said, it would also do best to have him avoid any heavy combat. He was in the worse shape of them all, having taken direct hits from Prides shadows.
Heinkel nodded, "Will do," He said.
"So, what do we do now," Envy mused.
"Why not go to Winrys?" Alphonse offered, speaking for the first time since the fight started.
Alphonse! I thought your soul was used up for my healing! Envy cried out in his mind. It was true, due to the younger Elrics silence, Envy assumed that Al's soul had been one of the souls that got used for him to heal.
"No," Alphonse said awkwardly, "I just didn't want to distract you in the fight, so I remained silent. But..." He faltered and stopped talking and Envy resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. Wouldn't do good to start making faces among everyone.
But what? Envy thought.
Al hesitated but spoke, "Thank you for saving my brother," He said.
Heh, Pride wouldn't have killed him anyways so you didn't need to worry about him dying. Envy explained and he knew already that Alphonse knew that the homunculi couldn't chance Ed being killed. He decided to change the topic then, So why do you want us to go to Winrys? he asked.
"Well, Brother needs his automail fixed up a bit, it took a few heavy blows from Pride, and then we could rest up and form a plan," He explained.
Envy once again resisted making a face, this time grinning, and pointed out the flaw in that, But last we checked, Winry was in Briggs. We don't know if she's dead, in Rush Valley or still a hostage. How do you plan for us to go see Winry when we don't know where she is?
He could feel Alphonse smirking, "Because Brother would have gotten her out of that situation by now," He said.
Envy just heaved a sigh, and gave Ed a light kick to the side, "Hey, Fullmetal," He said gaining the blondes attention, "Your brother says we should go to Winrys. So, to end our little debate, how is she? She still a hostage, in Rush Valley, Resembool, where?" He asked.
Ed stood up, brushing himself off, "well, we got her out of Briggs, she should be at home by now," He said, "but, it's not a bad idea to go visit her, make sure she's alright and all," He said.
"Then to the Rockbells it is," Envy declared and shoved Ed in front of him, "Lead the way because I don't know where the hell she lives!"
Ed glared, "Hey! Who the hell made you leader?!" He demanded.
Envy stuck his tongue at him, "Because I'm immortal, and I'm sexier then all of you," He said in a cheery voice.
"Why you!" Ed started but forced himself to calm down, "Fine!" He muttered as he began walking away.
"By! See you in a few days!" Ling said waving goodbye to them as they stood by the dome.
Envy raised his hand up in a half-hearted gesture of farewell.
"So, Envy, how are your memories coming along?" Al asked, only to break the silence that had come between the two.
There coming back now, not fast thankful, but there gradually coming, Envy said, he throughly enjoyed the slow pace that they came in. His mind was given enough time to process them unlike when they swarmed his mind. He gave a soft smile at some of the good memories that had come back.
"Hey, Envy," Ed said breaking Envy out of his mental conversation with Alphonse, "I just wanted to say...well, Thanks for saving me back there," He said. He didn't like having to say it, but he was understanding now that he could trust Envy, at least as long as that Bearded Bastard, Father, was still alive.
Envy shrugged, "your welcome," He said, they both understood that there was no need to prolong that conversations and keep it going. Envy saved Ed's like and Ed was grateful for it, that was simple enough that it didn't need a full length conversation to explain.
"So, how's Kimblee up in Briggs?" Envy asked, he knew Kimblee was in charge of carving the Blood Crest since he left so he wanted to know if the explosive bastard did it or not.
Ed shrugged, "He wanted me to capture Scar, Marcoh and carve the blood crest, I didn't do any of them even though I wanted to turn Scar in," Edward said, "I don't know if he carved the blood crest or not though."
"Chances are he did," Envy stated as they walked, he was just now realizing how close to Resembool they were.
Ed nodded and pointed to the house up ahead, "There's Winry and Pinakos house," He said as he began hurrying to it.
Envy sprinted after him, and made a quick thought to Alphonse, I guess it's now or never, Al
"You can do it, Envy." Alphonse assured him as the group neared Winrys home.
Ed didn't waste any time and opened the door as though he owned the place.
"Um, shouldn't we knock first?" Hohenheim asked as they walked into the house.
Envy rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I kind of agree with Hoho," He said, ignoring Hohenheims horrified expression at the nickname Envy gave him, "It's kind of rude, and why the hell do I care!" He muttered hitting the side of his head. Alphonse! Your behavior is rubbing off on me! He mentally accused.
"Heh...sorry?" Al asked, not sounding sorry at all but quite pleased.
Envy mentally rolled his eyes, Bastard he thought.
"HEY!" Alphonse cried out sounding hurt. "That's not nice!"
I'm not nice, get over it, He retorted instantly. Honestly, they could keep this up for a few days if they wanted to. Only an amusing thing came up that distracted both from there mental squabble.
That distraction was a fist ramming into Ed's face the moment he opened the door to another room.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Ed cried out clutching his nose.
Envy raised an eyebrow and then stiffened a little when he watched Zampano and Jerso walk out of the room. More of Kimblees chimeras?!
"Oh! It's Ed!" Zampano said surprised to see him, "Sorry, we thought you were some guy sent by Kimblee or the military to capture Miss Rockbell," He explained as Ed stood up glaring at the chimera.
Ed huffed, "Well, at least your protecting her." He muttered, then looked up, "Hey...what's wrong?" He asked.
Glancing around, he saw that Zampano and Jerso were poised to attack, glaring at Darius and Envy, only Envy ready to rip the two Chimeras heads off on his side. Ed realized instantly what was wrong.
"Oh, it's alright guys! Envy and Darius are on our side, and Envy, these two are on our side too," Edward explained quickly, jumping between them in case he needed to keep them from fighting.
"Zampano, Jerso, what's going on down here?" Winry asked, walking down the steps and stopping as she stared at the ragged group that were between the door and two chimeras. Then she saw Ed's automail.
"ED!" She yelled, "What happened to your arm!? Why is it so dented up!?" She demanded, launching herself from her spot on the stairs to Ed and grabbing his metal arm, examining it up and down, seeing each dent and busted part, each one she saw, the more horrified and angry she got. His arm wasn't in as bad condition as it was when he usually came. It was in good shape compared to the other times, but it was still so damaged that Winry couldn't stand it.
Envy just laughed, grinning he shook his head, "You can thank my older brother Pride for that," He stated and Winry noticed him finally. She must have only noticed Ed's automail then instead of them. "You can say that his automail is what saved him from a severe beating," He added.
Winry just stared at him, "Envy," She said, surprised to see the homunculus there, "Are you..." She seemed to struggle with her words struggling a little with how she should phrase it. Envy raised an eyebrow, silently urging her to continue.
She took a deep breath to calm her surprise at seeing him here and not having a glaring match with Ed or saying something to start a fight, "Are you here as a prisoner, or are you helping Ed?" She asked.
He just laughed again, it seemed like he was doing that a lot. Humans were just so amusing it was hard not to laugh at some of the things they said and did, and the ones he'd been around lately seemed to have everything they do and say be something to laugh at.
Shaking his head, he smiled, "Yeah, I'm helping the alchemist. They're going to need a homunculus' help no doubt about it if they have any chance at beating Daddy Dearest," He said then paused as if to think something through, "Oh, Al just said 'Hi, it's great to see you again, Winry,'" He added.
Winry smiled, "It's nice to hear that, your right, your help will be a huge contribution. Also, hi to you too, Al."
Envy and Winry just nodded, smiling at each other, both feeling an awkward air surround them, both waiting for the someone to give them an opening to do or say something to get out of this dreadful situation. It was an awkward situation for the both of them, though for slightly different reasons.
Thankfully, Ed came in with an opening for them.
"Hey, Winry, mind fixing up my arm?" He asked, "I mean I'm going to need it in the best condition condition if I'm going to fight Father, and maybe my leg too?" He asked.
The blonde girl smiled this time not an awkward one, "Of course! I can't have you use that dented automail! I'll have it fixed in no time!" She said dragging him off, "Zampano? Jerso? Can one of you get the others and the other explain what's going on to Envy? I'm sure he's got questions since he missed out on a lot after he left Briggs!"
Jerso nodded, "Sure thing," He said, "Zampano, you go get the others, they should be studying those research notes right? I'll explain to the homunculus."
"Alright," Zampano said as he left to fetch the 'others'.
Envy just raised an eyebrow, "Others? What the hell did I miss?" He asked.
His question got answered soon as Zampano came back, he returned rather quickly, then again it's just one house so of course he would be quick. Following him was that Xing girl May, then there was that one doctor, Marcoh. Yeah he had some memories of Marcoh, not a lot but some. Behind him was some black haired weak looking guy who Envy didn't recognize, nor felt any interest in even figuring out who he was. But who came in last had both Envy and Alphonse seething.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?!" Envy and Alphonse yelled, even though only Envy would hear Alphonse. He pointed a finger at Scar, glaring at him. He wasn't innocent himself, but he didn't like Scar at all because of everything the scarred man did.
"A homunculus?!" Scar said and he was ready to attack. Seemed everyone who knew what Envy was, was ready to attack when they saw him.
Jerso raised his hands up, "It's alright Scar! He's with Ed, all of them are," He explained.
"Scar is what allowed us to get Winry out of Briggs, he's on our side," Zampano told Envy who was glaring at Scar.
Envy rolled his eyes, "I'll believe it when I hear Ed and Winry say it," He stated.
"It is true, unfortunate as that is"
Speak of the devil and he will come, Envy thought as he turned around to see Ed flexing a new automail arm. Winry was right when she said she'd have it fixed quick, that speed didn't seem natural.
Winry nodded, "I'll make some dinner then we can explain everything while eating. I'm sure you guys are hungry. I mean you fought off two Homunculi in one night, that's impressive," She said.
"We didn't exactly beat either, Pride killed Gluttony and Hohenheim here sealed Pride up in a dome. But Pride isn't beaten yet though. just one hole in that dome and he can fight," Envy said, earning a glare from Ed for telling the truth. Why couldn't Ed accept that Pride would have killed them? Envy may not love his brother but he knew how outmatched they were. Stupid humans and there pride. he thought.
"You have pride too," Alphonse pointed out.
Shut up Envy muttered, he knew it was true, he had pride, he was proud to be a homunculus. Though his pride wasn't as deep as Prides was, none of theirs were.
The group sat around, talking about what happened before they finally ate, agreeing that the food was good. Winry loved the compliment. She then explained what had happened at Briggs after Envy left, how they teamed up with Scar to get her out. Ed then stepped in talking about his fight with Kimblee, Darius and Heinkel and how he almost died and then joined the two chimeras.
After they explained there half and everything up to Envy running into Ed and then the group arriving at Rockbells, it was Envys turn. He explained why he left, going over his mental breakdown and epiphany. He then explained how he ran into Hohenheim and how the idiot had a plan already in motion again Father.
He even told them what Fathers plans were exactly and what a 'Human Sacrifice' was. He explained to them how Father had only four Sacrifices so far and needed one more. He wasn't knowledgeable as to if Father had gotten a fifth sacrifice or not though.
It was pretty late by the time they got done, Winry had asked Zampano and Marcoh to go send the rest of the food, some blankets and some bandages to where Ling and the others were so they weren't left out. apparently they were just leaving when she got back, Pinako had been watching over them and did the automail surgery for Lan Fan. She was now in Dublith doing some automail repairs for one of their customers who's leg got damaged during a small car accident. Some of the wires and steel had to be replaced. A simple job that didn't need much time and she wasn't due back until tomorrow.
Now the group was talking to themselves, trying to devise a plan to defeat Father without putting to much risk into it. Envy had already told them everything he knew, and that wasn't even everything he had originally known. The other homunculi hadn't finished filling him in on everything yet before his betrayal so the information wasn't perfect.
He quickly excused himself, lying about needing some air and walked outside. He knew Ed was watching him, the Fullmetal Alchemist didn't trust him completely yet it seemed. He did gain some trust from saving him but he knew Edward still didn't like him. He didn't care though but he knew Alphonse was hurt a little bit each time Ed turned his untrusting, hatred filled look towards them because everything he saw, Al saw and in a sense, that look was directed to Al too.
He shook his head, not sure who it was to though, to Alphonse, to Edward or even to himself. Glancing up at the house, he noticed a light flicker on and a frown formed on his face. Envy took a step back before leaping forward onto the roof then knocking on the window to catch the attention on the inhabitant.
Winry opened the window, looking surprised to see him, "Envy, what," She began but Envy put a finger to her lip as he climbed into her room.
"Winry, I have something to tell you," He began, "It took me a while and I have to give credit to Alphonse, he was a major help and a major trigger to it. I doubt this would have happened had it not been for him," Envy said.
He could sense the happiness from Alphonse at what he just said, and resisted smirking as Al wisely stayed silent. He didn't need him coaching him on what to say.
"I know at the beginning I was a jackass, both beginnings actually, and I want to apologize," He said, "But, I want you to know this," He said.
Winry tilted her head to the side, "Envy, what are you talking about?" She asked.
dammit! He was taking to long and he was losing his nerve. Was it this difficult the first time he did this? He really wish he knew the answer.
"I have recovered enough memories to know and understand about...well...us," He said awkwardly, his face heating up and Winry blushed as well as she understood what he meant.
She nodded her head, "Yeah, well, look, Envy. If you don't still, you know, I'll...I'll understand. Your not the exact same anymore so it's only natural for your feelings on things to change too," She said.
Envys eyes widened a little, "No! No, that's not it!" He said quickly, "I...uh... Damn it! Why is this so damn hard!?" He growled clutching his head out of aggravation.
Winry reached forward to offer him a comforting hand on the shoulder, but Envy grabbed her by the shoulders stopping her action.
"Winry I never said this before, I don't think I knew this before Father killed me, but I know for certain now!" He said and took a deep breath, it was now or never, literally. "Winry, I love you!"
He had figured out who the girl he had been dating a little bit after confronting Pride. Then it didn't take long for the memories to start coming back and him realizing that he was in love with her.
Winrys eyes widened, "Envy...I...I don't know what to say," She said, her eyes started to glisten as tears formed, "I..."
Envy gave a soft smile as he pulled her into a hug, "As a friend once said, 'Friendship and love are bonded through the soul not the mind', to bad it took me forever to realize just how true it was," He said, "I, I understand if you don't love me anymore too, hell, I'm not going to be surprised that if you don't love me, you've fallen in love with Edward," He said with a laugh.
She hugged him back, "Envy, I've known for a while, I've just been waiting for you to say it first. But I love you too," She said then pulled back, tears running down her face, "It took you a while to finally figure it out though. I'm pretty sure Alphonse knew it before you did, am I right, Al?" She asked.
"Honestly, I figured out that you were in love with her when you had your first breakdown," Al admitted with a laugh.
Envy laughed, "Did everyone know before me?" He asked with mock horror causing the two to laugh as well. He grinned and started to lean in towards Winry who began leaning towards him as well.
Centimeters away from each other, Envy abruptly pulled back.
"What's wrong?" Winry asked, looking hurt and rejected. He just admitted to being in love with her but then avoided kissing her?
Envy just rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah well, I thought I'd save Alphonse an awkward experience. I mean this is technically his body so I don't want to kiss you and have Alphonse horrified by the experience," He said, "You understand, right?"
Winry nodded, still a little disappointed, "Yeah," She said.
The homunculus kissed her forehead instead, "Well that just means, next time we kiss, I'll have my own body and Al will have his body back," He promised and Winry smiled.
"You better not be lying," She warned holding up a wrench menacingly.
Envy laughed, "I may not be Greed, but that's a promise I'm not going back on," He swore.
The door opening pulled their joking and reunion to a halt and they turned around to see Ed standing in the doorway with an unreadable expression.
"Envy...can I speak to you in private?" He asked.
Envy nodded, a little bit nervous though. He knew that Edward loved Winry, and he didn't know just how much he had heard. So he was prepared to face a pissed off alchemist out for blood.
He followed Ed who walked down the stairs and out of the house. He didn't know where they were going but he followed Ed down the dusty path, getting farther and farther away from the house.
Al, any idea what's going on? He asked.
"Sorry, Envy. I don't know." Al said apologetic and Envy shrugged, showing it was alright.
They continued to walk until they made it to what looked like the remains of some house.
"That's our old house!" Al said surprised that Ed took them there.
So the Edward had taken Envy to where he burned his house down. Now what did the alchemist have up his sleeve?
"Envy...I may not have heard everything, but I heard enough to know you and Winry love each other," Ed stated, and Envy didn't know how to react. A simple 'Alright' wouldn't suffice, and apologizing for being in love with each other? Why would he apologize for that?
Ed continued on though, "I...I'm not happy that it's you that Winry chose to love, but I want Winry to be happy, albeit I wanted to be the one to make her happy, but if you make her happy then there is nothing I can do," He said.
Envy nodded weakly, still unsure what to say. But how Edward was handling this was surprising. He was expecting an assault, a fight, not Ed accepting it.
"But," Ed warned, his golden eyes flashed with anger, "If you do anything to hurt Winry, I swear to whatever God there may be, I swear to the Gate and Truth that I will hunt you down and drag you to the deepest pits of Hell," He warned.
The homunculus nodded, he knew how to respond to this one, "Ed, If I ever hurt Winry, you have my full permission to do that," He responded, "But all of that's only going to be effective if we beat Father."
Ed nodded and gazed at the ruins of his old house, "About that, Envy...I have something I want you to do if things don't work out great during the fight. I need to know I can trust you to do this," He said, his eyes were pleading and Envy knew that if it was to stop Father, Ed was going to be willing to do anything.
Envy nodded, "if it's to beat that bastard, you can count on me," He assured him.
Just before any confusion or accusiations;
1-Envy did not just realize he was in love with Winry. He had figured out about a chapter or two ago that he had been dating Winry. Then there was some flashbacks that were between chapters and never mentioned until now that made him realize he had been and was still in love with her.
2-Ed is NOT happy about Envy and Winry being together. He's only accepting it (reluctantly) because it's something that makes Winry happy. And if someone is truly in love with someone, wouldn't they only want that person to be happy, even if it meant watching them be with someone else? In my opinion it's a true, selfless love (Though some people may have different opinions, and I respect that) and that's the kind of love Edward has.
3- I'm not sure if it was clear or not, but Envy to would accept (reluctantly) if Winry wanted to be with Edward instead because he makes her happier.
4- Edward does trust Envy a bit now, not a whole lot, but he trusts Envy to do as what he's planning if it comes to that being needed. He only trusts that Envy is going to work with him as long as their both fighting Father.
Also, Roy may or may not be a better alchemist compared to Ed, but Envy was just saying that to piss off Ed.
Please review and tell me what you thought. Also, this chapter is probably going to be the only on with any big romance scenes. So you don't have to worry about there being a whole lot of En/Win