Augh, I had a great idea for this one and I only wrote down 'ep 50 AU/thoughts' to remind myself of it – so, predictably, I forgot just about all of it. Hopefully this will do.

I tend to operate on the assumption that everybody's either already seen the last episodes of both series or know what happens. However, I've realized how dangerous an assumption that is, so - - -

SPOILER WARNING. (Seriously, this was like, 2006 or something. YOU'RE SIX YEARS BEHIND GAIZ) It's slightly AU as in I play with what actually happens, as in I didn't actually rewatch the episode :P

Pen-Name-Kitsune-Chan: I was trying for subtlety, glad it worked And thank you! You've actually just given me an idea for something I haven't tried yet…thanks XD

Guest: Lol, you were expecting happy? You must be new. Jk, you're awesome for reviewing – I'm just not usually one for writing happy things. And I never said it was the last one

Coloroflove: Glad you liked it I really like the idea of Pride, I've played with the character a few time in a few different ways. And that's not predictability, that's your entered name being almost the same as your username. Any reason why you aren't logged in? Just didn't feel like it?

65. Killer

It was supposed to be simple. Punch the git until he won, or something gave in. He may have been a homunculus, but he was still made with the shape of a human – he couldn't do his fancy flips and crazy moves forever. And Wrath intervening hadn't hurt.

It was supposed to be simple. Envy had a true face under all of the disguises – he'd heard him admit it, that his usual form wasn't his real one.

It was supposed to be simple.

He wasn't supposed to be looking down into what felt almost like a mirror, except the person below him was at least two, three years older, and he had slightly different features.

Dimly, he heard Dante explaining. They were Dante's features Envy wore blended with his father's, instead of Trisha's. But in all else…they were the same.

He wasn't supposed to be unable to attack him, of all the people he could be compassionate towards – Hughes's murderer, a deceiver, a liar. He'd been able to kill the creature with his mother's shape. His own mother. He wasn't supposed to be hesitating, trembling. He wasn't supposed to be listening to this bastard's words – he hated him, god he hated him so much for everything he'd done to him, to Al –

It wasn't supposed to be so easy to think of Envy as his brother –

- but he wasn't supposed to be bleeding, either, and his vision wasn't supposed to be fading. He wasn't supposed to be feeling numb from his fingers to his toes, and hearing Rose's desperate cries like they were from far away, and hearing Al whimper his name in a voice that was too young, too young to be seeing this…

…he wasn't supposed to be dying with Al still trapped in a prison he didn't deserve.

The light in his eyes faded.

Envy gazed down at his fallen foe and felt only scorn. Imagine, being affected so badly by a familiar face! It was pitiful, really – and now he was dead.

He could hear Al crying out like a lost child. Rose's screams had woken her baby, too, and his squeals added yet another layer to the cacophony.

"SHUT UP!" he screamed, and they fell silent. Dante, the only one who had remained silent, smiled enigmatically. He imagined she was proud.

"I killed him. Get over it." He twisted his mouth into a smile. "You think it wouldn't have happened eventually?"

"But…you…" Envy rolled his eyes at Al's stammering. "He –you're our brother!"

"Yeah? What's your point?" He turned to look at the body once again. It was strange how different he looked now he'd breathed his last breath. He'd done it.

He'd done it.

So why didn't he feel better about it?