Number of words: 16,711

Published date: June 27, 2014

Began chapter: March 16, 2014

Finished chapter: June 27, 2014


Chapter 33: Created Feelings

For a second, the ladder tottered, and Lily, who was watching from below, gasped and clasped her hands together. Alphonse reached out a hand to steady himself against the smooth, white-washed stone wall and the old woman relaxed, though not completely.

"Please be careful, Alphonse," she called up to him. "I'd hate for you to fall."

"I'm fine," Al replied cheerfully, giving her a reassuring wave before turning back to examine the electrical service connector where the power line fed into the mansion. Greed, ready to lend a hand at the bottom of the ladder, chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure he'd hate it more than you would, Ms. B," he corrected her with a grin, and Lily smiled back before craning her neck to look up the ladder again.

"… What do you think?" she asked after a moment.

Al didn't answer immediately, leaving the two of them below in impatient suspense as he studied the wires, cables, and piping up close. He was in a fairly precarious situation, for the power line connected to the mansion above the living room, where there was no nearby balcony or railing that he could use to support himself with. He only had the ladder to hold his weight and the large windows were situated so that the ladder had to be farther from the service connector than he would have liked, forcing him to lean out uncomfortably far to examine it up close. Al had also told them that he wasn't an expert on electrical equipment, but, coming from an alchemist, that didn't dampen their expectations and, as expected, Al only took a few moments to figure out what the problem was.

"The insulation tape on the wires here has frayed and lifted up," he called down, "and I bet that's what's causing the problem. After all the rain on it, the wire's shorted out. It will need to be replaced. Madam Bradley, didn't you say one of the windows was broken during the storm? Was it this window?"

"That's right," she confirmed, clearly surprised that he'd been able to deduce it. "How did you know?"

"It was just a guess," Al replied. "Whatever broke the window probably also hit this wiring first and caused the power to go out. It won't be hard to fix. I'll just need to get a bit of aluminum, copper, and some insulation to replace the piece here. I think we have some spare materials in the car that will work."

"That's a relief," she said as he climbed down. "I really appreciate it. Selim wanted to have a look, but we couldn't get the ladder close enough for him to see anything, and I'd just as soon not have him scrambling around up there anyway."

"It's no problem. He might know enough to fix it, but I wouldn't want to see him up there either." Al paused for a moment as he went over to his and Ed's car, which was parked nearby, opened the trunk, and then began rooting through a box of seemingly random objects that, to an alchemist, could become whatever a situation called for. "The real shame," he continued over his shoulder, "is that I can't just use alkahestry to fix it, but unfortunately the surface isn't flat enough up there for me to set the circle. Not to mention that I have nowhere near the level of aim that May has. The last time I travelled to Xing, she kind of chewed me out for not practicing more, but the way she throws those knives really never ceases to amaze me."

"Who's May?" Greed asked. "Isn't that that little kid from Xing with the black and white cat who was fighting with us?"

"Yes, that's right, but she's not a 'little kid' anymore. You might not even recognize her now, Greed."

Since Ed and Al had arrived at the mansion earlier in the day, Greed had been sticking near Alphonse when he could, trying to find the right opportunity to ask him about something that had been on his mind since Mason's visit the few days before. It was an opening he'd been waiting for, but unfortunately (and to his mounting frustration), Al had already turned his attention back to the task at hand.

With the 'ingredients' laid out on the ground, Al eyed the service connector again, clearly fixing in his mind what he wanted to create – an exact replica of the faulty piece up above, minus the frayed insulation. Then he clapped his hands together and placed them on the small pile. With a flash of blue light that they were all familiar with, the pieces merged together, creating the part he needed, which was basically a 10-inch long piece of cable. Gripping it with his teeth, he climbed back up the ladder, balanced precariously for a moment as he clapped his hands again, then extended the new replacement out toward the faulty section of wire. In a second flash of light, the parts were swapped and a faint, almost imperceptible hum came from the connector. Smiling, Al climbed back down again.

"There," he said once his feet hit the ground. "I'm pretty sure that did the trick, but we'd better just go around and check everything before putting the ladder away."

The three went around the back of the mansion to the kitchen and Ms. Bradley immediately went to the refrigerator to see if it was running (which it was, noisily, to restore the lost cold).

"I'm so relieved," she said. "You've already done plenty, Alphonse, so leave checking the other rooms to me. I don't mind at all."

"Alright. Thank you, Ms. Bradley. If that's the case, I'll just go put the ladder away. Do you mind giving me a hand, Greed?"

He would have liked it more if Al had phrased it, 'I need your help,' but it was close enough and it finally seemed like the chance he'd been waiting for.

"While we're on the topic of Xing," he said, trying to sound nonchalant, as they walked back around the side of the mansion, "I've got a bone to pick with you."

Al looked surprised. "What?" he asked.

"I found out from Mason, and then Pride admitted it too, that getting to Xing isn't going to be as easy as you made it out to be."

"'As easy as...' Greed, how did saying that needing to cross the desert by foot make getting to Xing sound easy?"

Al said it half jokingly, honestly not knowing what Greed was getting at, and then sobered when the dark haired man only frowned in response.

"Why didn't you tell me that there's been a problem with the trains? Did you think I wouldn't find out about it?"

The question was serious, so Al stopped and turned to face Greed, studying him thoughtfully for several moments before answering as sincerely as he could.

"Greed, I didn't mention it because it won't affect us. I already told you that we can't take the train to get to Xing; we can't get you a passport for obvious reasons, so we really have no other choice but to take the desert route by foot." But even as he explained, Greed was shaking his head.

"Yeah, sure I'm concerned about that and I get the reasons, but from what Pride said, these attacks have shut down the trains almost entirely. It's not just an Amestrian problem, right? The trains connect Amestris and Xing. So who are these bastards? Are they Amestrians trying to prevent trade between the countries? Or are they rebels from Xing? What's their motive? Are they trying to hurt Amestris, or Xing? And what's Ling doing about it? I'll be the first to admit that I'm selfish, but if this is causing trouble for my friend, then of course I want to know about it!"

Al stared, seemingly dumbfounded, and Greed gave him a flat, challenging, and yet somewhat injured look, as if he was both offended that they hadn't realized he might want to know about what his friend had to deal with and worried that he'd be mocked for it.

Then, with a small laugh, Al reached out and clapped Greed on the shoulder.

"You really are a nice person," he said, smiling warmly. "I'm sorry. We should have told you about it. It's just so easy to forget that, to you, Ling is still a goofy prince wannabe, instead of the emperor of one of the largest countries in the world."

"Hey! Don't call me 'nice'! It'll ruin my reputation!" Greed protested, good-humouredly throwing Al's hand away. "And there's nothing you can say that'll make me believe Ling isn't still a goofball even if he has made it to Emperor."

"Maybe so," Al allowed, still smiling, "but he takes his position and power very seriously. He hasn't had it easy in the six years you've been... missed. Xing's political structure is complex, and Ling's determination to protect and defend his people and not have bloodshed when it can be helped hasn't always worked out the way he intended. He demands a lot from his subjects – not in terms of taxes or honour, but in how he's asked them to change. He actually told me, once, that he got that from you – that you taught him to think big and aim for the things that seem impossible."

Greed was touched, but determined not to show it.

"Good," he said as roughly and gruffly as he could while starting to walk again, striding past Al and heading for the ladder so they could put it away. "Little pissant was always thinking too small. Drove me nuts how little aspiration he had. Anyway, so you really don't know any more than Pride or Mason about the trains?"

Al shook his head as they walked. "I'm afraid I don't know anything more than what's in the newspapers. One of the unfortunate side effects of Ed losing his State Alchemist title is that we don't have access to that kind of inside information anymore. I suppose we could call the Brigadier General and ask if he knows anything, but that would be a misuse of our relationship and he's been so busy in the East and Ishval that I know Ed doesn't want to bother him. So all of the questions you just asked... I don't know."

Greed was wholly unsatisfied with Al's answer, and as the two manoeuvred the ladder down from the wall, he unconsciously turned toward the east, wondering about what kind of vague problems Al had referred to and whether his silly, chatty, and pushy old body-mate was really capable of handling it all without him.

"You promised us that you would wait."

"Huh?"

"I know that look. You're thinking about going to Xing right now, aren't you?"

He grimaced, then swore as his end of the ladder banged against the wall before the basement stairwell. He hadn't been paying enough attention to what they were doing. Fumbling for a moment, he managed to reach behind himself to hit the light switch (seeing the lights come on was especially satisfying when they'd been out of power for two solid days) and proceeded downstairs, forcing Al to follow with the other end of the ladder.

"Please tell me I'm not that transparent," he said, trying to avoid answering, but Al would have none of it.

"Whatever's going on, even if it does affect Ling, isn't your problem. As much as I'm sure Ling would like your help, he can handle things on his own."

"It's not about what Ling needs or wants," Greed corrected as they reached the bottom and set the ladder up against the far wall. "I told you; I'm selfish. It's about what I want. And I want to see my friend and help him, whether he can handle things on his own or not."

"You gave us your word," Al reminded, sounding remarkably like a nagging mother.

"Right, right," Greed replied, breezily waving his hand through the air. "Two months. No taking off. I'm not gonna' make that mistake again, that's for sure." The 'mistake' being making a promise he didn't want to keep.

'Good' was the only response he received from Alphonse, who, once they came back up from the basement, headed to the dining room to check on Selim's lesson. Greed went back outdoors, stared at the east for another moment, and then turned his gaze in the direction of Dublith.

He eyed the Elrics' vehicle thoughtfully.

Now that I'm thinking about it, what were my exact words when I made that promise...?


"-The triad grid, on the other hand, is hardly suited for earthen transmutations, at least not for those desiring solidity in the result. The triangle represents change and is more closely associated with gases; although the triad could be successfully employed in a Zintl phase instead of using the tetrad, the lack of the extra guide line over the electric field will almost certainly result in a product that is missing its inherent paramagnetism and the alchemist won't be able to rely on the negative charge of the product. So the triad grid provides instability, which may, in certain circumstances, be desired if one is working toward a non-metal state."

Selim provided the answer in a clear, confident voice, not even bothering to refer to the solution he had written in his notebook, and Lust watched in silent amusement as Edward held his breath as if either biting his tongue or suppressing a sigh. Her brother seemed oblivious to the young man's reaction, but Lust easily read the Fullmetal boy's mild irritation at being lectured to by his pupil.

Seeing how (as far as she was concerned) the Elrics treated Pride as something of a pet project, Lust could only imagine that Edward felt some mild sense of failure whenever the child Homunculus reverted back to his old haughtiness. A haughtiness which, unfortunately, was not entirely without cause, for the Elrics' student grasped alchemy as quickly (if not more so) than the young Edward himself had.

The three were in the dining room, student and teacher at one end of the table with a few books stacked beside them and Lust at the opposite end, the day's newspaper spread out in front of her. She had long finished perusing it, and now the female Sin watched and listened to the pair quite blatantly, no longer bothering to be discreet.

Unfortunately, and dashing her hopes of gleaning any helpful tidbits of alchemy to assist her own studies, Lust found that the conversation was far too advanced for her to follow.

"Good," Ed said gruffly, for Selim's answers left nothing for him to add. "I didn't think any of those problems would trip you up. The post-transition metals are pretty easy," he added as a subtle way to keep Selim from being too pleased with himself. Al probably would have given a bit of praise, but Ed was more stick than honey. Selim huffed lightly at the brush-off.

"As I'm sure you gathered from the text," his teacher continued, "the next topic is the metalloids, which covers Boron, Silicon, Germanium, Arsenic, Antimony, and Tellurium. There are some other schools of thought that add Polonium and Astatine to this list as well, but we'll just leave those out for now, as they can be included in the non-metals instead. The metalloids are most commonly used as alloys, flame retardants, biological agents, and in glass formation." He pulled one of the textbooks in front of him, reviewing the topic's opening pages. "How far ahead did you read already?"

"Not very far," Selim admitted, sounding embarrassed. "Just a few pages into Charnock. It's busier now. It's harder to concentrate with so many more people around."

Edward hummed in acknowledgement and his golden eyes involuntarily slid to the side again. He had been glancing at Lust frequently, his shoulders hunching slightly each time he did so. The boy was so obvious. Clearly he found her presence uncomfortable. She hadn't quite decided yet whether it was flattering, cute, or dangerous. She didn't want him to think of her as a threat, much as it pleased her at the same time. Or perhaps he simply found her attractiveness distracting. That would certainly be acceptable.

To test out this theory, she began to run her gaze up and down his body, pretending that she was trying to seduce him and watching to see how he would react. It wasn't hard to take note of the many salient features that worked in his favour: For starters, he had a nice physique, and the golden eyes were rare and bold and therefore attractive. She liked the slight peek of scars on his right shoulder, just visible around the neck of his shirt. The scars reminded her of the tattoos women sometimes got in certain places (the ankle, shoulder, or back of the neck) that were all the more seductive because they hid from and teased the onlooker. She wondered if the skin was more sensitive too; the spot looked ticklish. She could just imagine the reaction she'd get if she ran her lips up around-

Oh god, she thought, internally shaking her head and cutting off that train of thought. He's still a child. You've been away from real men for far too long, Lust.

Two weeks was an awfully long time to not use her powers of seduction to manipulate some poor man. In fact, she could not recall any time in the past few decades when she had gone so long without doing so. Easier to not think of it when there were no candidates around, but now that the manipulable Elrics were here, men who could possibly prove valuable if she could only figure out how to use them, her old instincts were flaring up.

I'm going stir crazy, she thought. I have to get out of here, get a change of scenery, before Greed starts to look attractive… Of course, it's not really fair to call him a child. Besides, compared to how long I've lived, all of the men I've had were children. And they're more fun when they're young- Stop! Think about something else.

She kept her expression cool and straight, of course, and none of what she was thinking made it to the surface. Lust would have been very surprised if any of her siblings had the slightest inkling of the thoughts that frequently ran through her head, the burden their father had given her along with her name. Pride had made it very clear early in her life that he would not accept – would not allow – his first sibling to act as nothing more than a pleasure-seeking whore. Not because he cared about her, but because he felt it would stain his honour and tarnish the Homunculi's pride if Lust was allowed to act out the sin she embodied. He had drilled into her the importance of pride, how she could not let her own desires turn her into a needy, desperate harlot calling for anyone willing to sleep with her. No, he had told her. Make them come to you. Make them desire you more than you desire them. Be the user, not the used. It was oddly perceptive advice to be coming from her child-in-appearance brother, and it was advice that she had followed, to great effect, for most of her life. But even after 300 years, she still struggled. Against both the desires themselves and against letting her siblings ever know that she had to struggle in the first place.

She felt grateful when Alphonse came into the room, providing a welcome distraction. Although, she thought, I can understand how someone could find the younger Elric more appealing than his brother. Gentle and patient has its own charm.

"I fixed the power," he declared. "It wasn't serious. Just some frayed insulation tape and water causing it to short out."

"That's good," Ed replied, both boys looking up from the textbooks.

"Yay!" Selim gave a small whoop.

"How's the lesson going?" Al asked, pulling up a seat on Selim's other side, but just as Selim was about to answer, movement in the doorway caught their attention.

"Good morning, Envy," Selim chirped brightly. "Are you feeling any better today?"

Their brother looked thoroughly dishevelled, still rubbing sleep from his eyes and his hair an absolute mess, but at least a bit of colour had returned to his face. "Morni- Huh?" Envy paused, looking confused. "What're you guys still doing here?" he asked, the question clearly directed at the Elrics.

Edward raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean, 'still'?" he challenged brusquely. "Surely Ms. Bradley mentioned that we'd be coming over today."

"Yeah, but... If you're both still here, then who just left? Isn't your car the black one?"

"… What?" Ed asked, now equally confused. "No one left. What're you talking about?"

In between a muffled yawn, Envy replied, "Well, I just watched a black car leave, so if it wasn't you guys, you tell me who it was."

Everyone remained silent for a moment, and then Alphonse groaned in a tone as close to swearing as he ever got, "Greed."

"What?" Ed asked.

"It's Greed," Al said. "He must have taken the car. He was talking again about wanting to get to Xing, but he promised he would wait-"

Ed looked alarmed. "You don't think he's headed for the train station, do you?"

"No!" Selim protested. "He can't just leave!"

"What should we do?" Ed thought out loud. "It's an hour walk to Dublith. There's no way we can cut him off."

"What's going on? Is something wrong?" Ms. Bradley asked, coming to join Envy in the doorway.

"Greed's left," Lust answered, not bothering to keep the contempt from her voice. "None of you should be surprised. He's always had a habit of taking off once he gets bored." Personally, she almost felt jealous. And here she'd just been thinking that she needed to get out of the house.

"Is- Is it really such a problem?" Ms. Bradley asked, looking confused by the room's anxiety. Envy rolled his eyes at her, clearly expressing what he thought of the question, but it was Alphonse who answered.

"Yes. It's too risky for him to try to leave the country on his own. If someone recognizes him – if someone who knows him finds out he's alive – it could be very- It will be very bad."

"But why do you think he's trying to leave the country? Didn't he just go for a drive?" she asked.

They all looked at her as if she was crazy.

"I- I mean… He probably just wanted to visit Dublith. He's been cooped up here all this time and he seems like the social type. I've kind of been expecting him to make a trip by himself before this. It's good to get out and have a change of scenery once in a while. And he promised that he wouldn't leave the area, didn't he? It's a little rude that he left without telling us, but I don't think he would go far without saying something…"

Maybe she was right. Maybe they were jumping to conclusions.

"… Greed says he doesn't like to lie, but does he use loopholes with that?" Ed asked the other Homunculi after a moment's thought. Envy laughed so loudly that Ms. Bradley, standing beside him, winced.

"All the damn time! Sure, that asshole doesn't technically lie, but he can twist what he said so around that he might as well have promised nothing at all. He thought it was real funny to pull stuff like that on me when we were younger."

Ed crossed his arms over his chest, turning his eyes to the ceiling as he tried to remember what they had said to him before leaving the first time. "So what were his exact words when he made that promise…?" he muttered to himself. "That he'd 'stay put'? I think that was the term he used…"

Envy sniffed and pointed lazily at Ed. "And what does 'stay put' mean? See? You could have thought he meant he'd stay here, but he might have meant something else entirely. Even he's not stupid enough to promise he'd stay here at the mansion forever."

"… Ms. Bradley, can I use your phone?" Al asked, standing up. "I'm going to call the train station and check what their schedule is, just to be on the safe side. There may not even be any trains leaving for the East today. There are usually fewer passenger trains running on the weekends. And you know what? Greed doesn't have any money, so he can't buy a ticket. You're right; he's probably just gone for a joy ride."

"Not that that isn't a problem in itself…" Ed muttered.

"Is it?" Ms. Bradley asked hesitantly, moving out of the entryway and sitting down in the seat Al had just vacated as he walked past her to get to the phone.

This time, Selim answered her. "I don't think so," he said. "The only people we'd have to be worried about are Mr. and Mrs. Curtis. They know him, but they're in Xing right now."

"I wasn't thinking about that," Ed responded, "though you're right. I'm more concerned about his memories. I think he was having trouble remembering things from Dublith and, well, I'd hate for him to have a whole flood of them coming back on him all at once..."

"Bah," Envy said, completely unconcerned, "it'd serve him right. He wants to take care of himself, we should just let him." Then, to change the topic, "Did someone say the power's back on?" He looked to Lust. She nodded. "Good. I'm having a shower."

As he left the room, Ms. Bradley pulled a blank sheet of paper in front of her, beginning to scribble something down as the group waited for Al to return, which only took a minute or so.

"Well, the station says the last passenger train of the day left at noon, so we don't need to worry about him catching that, which is a relief-"

"But you'll still be going to town, right?" Ms. Bradley asked brightly.

"Yes, I think we should. I know Greed can take care of himself, but he still might forget that he doesn't have his Ultimate Shield anymore. I don't want to see him get into trouble…"

"In that case, Selim, here's a little list of things I'd like you to pick up while you're in town."

"What? I'm going with them?" the small boy piped up, suddenly looking excited.

"Of course you are! Who better to show your sister around than you, silly? Besides, don't you want to go? It's been ages since our last trip to town."

"I have no interest in chasing after him," Lust protested, but Lily waved her protest aside.

"You should all get out for a bit," she said. "It doesn't hurt my feelings at all to say you could use a break from spending your days in this stuffy mansion with an old woman like me. Selim, why don't you go find Gluttony and invite him along too?"

"Sure, Mother! Are you coming with us too?" Selim asked, jumping to his feet. "What about Sloth and Envy?"

She shook her head, brown ponytail swinging from side to side. "No, I don't think I feel like such a long walk today. I can wait until next time, and besides, someone should stay here. I don't think Envy should go either; he's still not fully recovered and I'd hate for him to get sick again. You can try Sloth, but don't insist. He doesn't have to go if he doesn't want to."

"Right!"

Selim started to leave, and Ms. Bradley called after him, "And put on something a little nicer, dear."

"'Kay!"

"Chop chop!" Ed barked. "You've got five minutes or we'll head out without you!" For a second, he sounded remarkably like a drill sergeant from the military he'd once served in, and Selim immediately scampered off.

Lust silently stood up and, without his noticing, came up behind Edward so that she was already halfway bent over his shoulder, lips near his ear, when he sensed her and startled back in his chair.

"Surely," she teased in a coquette tone, "you don't mean that you'd leave me behind?"

The boy apparently didn't appreciate the joke. He scowled at her.

"For you, it's four minutes."

She wasn't sure whether he meant it or not. Heading for her room to brush her hair and make sure she looked her best, Lust could only think that obviously the boy's wife was not training him well enough.


"Where did everyone go?" Envy demanded of Ms. Bradley in an indignant, almost panicky, voice, water still dripping from his hair and the towel wrapped around his hips looking remarkably similar to his regular skirt-bottom. She had, shortly after the others had left and with help, pulled a small red picnic table out from the garden shed and was in the process of draping it with a table cloth, using four medium-sized stones as paperweights at the corners.

"They- They left for Dublith while you were in the shower," she stuttered apologetically.

"Bastards! They always leave me behind!"

"We didn't realize you wanted to go too…"

"Who wouldn't want to get out of this stinking house? Like hell I want to stay here babysitting you!"

Ms. Bradley frowned and pursed her lips crossly, but Envy was too wrapped up in fuming to notice, so she decided to try to pacify him instead.

"Sloth stayed behind too," she pointed out, nodding her head across the table in the large man's direction.

Envy rolled his eyes. "Big surprise there," he replied sarcastically. "The dimwit spent a hundred years digging a hole. Boredom's got nothing on him."

Sloth didn't even blink. Ms. Bradley look pained.

"Well! I was going to invite you to join us, but since we're clearly too boring for you, I've changed my mind. We're going to do this jigsaw puzzle all by ourselves, aren't we, Sloth?"

Sloth refrained from choosing either side, giving only a noncommittal shrug and offering his opinion on the matter. "Envy can stay," he said lethargically. "Making him go away would be too much of a bother."

Well, Lily thought, that's certainly true. On her own she had no way to stop Envy from joining them, so she shuffled over on the bench to give the smaller Sin a place to sit before opening the puzzle box and beginning to pick out the edge pieces. Sloth watched in curious silence for a few minutes while Envy proceeded to dry his hair, then, once he understood the general goal of the puzzle, began to pick up the pieces and place them down with unerring – if uninterested – precision. Lily was quick to exclaim over how good he was at it, which made Envy's surprise to discover yet another thing that Sloth was actually good at degrade into resentment when he had to try numerous times to place any of the pieces that he picked up.

Perhaps because he still wasn't feeling one hundred percent better yet, he maturely chose to leave the puzzle to them instead of getting upset.

They passed the rest of the afternoon like that, far more peacefully than the others did.


By the time they reached Dublith, Lust was profoundly thankful that Selim had thought to warn her against wearing her high heels. Heels were all well and good, but not for walking long distances. Even with just the sandals, her feet were starting to ache.

"We'll go and find Greed," Al said, needing to raise his voice over the general hubbub of the people flowing around them. "I have a hunch as to where he'll be, so hopefully it won't be too hard to find him. Why don't you go find the things Madam Bradley asked us to pick up, Selim? Here, I'm sure this will cover everything." He handed over a few bills, which Selim tucked into his pocket without comment. "Show them around, and feel free to take your time. Let's meet at Fountain Square, okay? We'll try not to be too long."

With that, the boys turned and headed down a street to their right, with Edward's voice trailing into the distance, "As long as that idiot's actually gone to the Devil's Nest, which we don't know for sure…"

For a moment, the three former Homunculi remained where they were, watching as the Elric brothers left. Lust was honestly surprised that the brothers hadn't hesitated to leave them alone; if their positions had been reversed, she would never have trusted her enemies enough to let them go off on their own.

They're still naïve fools, she thought. Of all things, she almost felt disappointed in them.

Selim must have seen her surprise, though he misinterpreted it.

"Don't worry," he said. "Big Brother and Teacher would never leave me alone if there wasn't someone else with me. I'm too 'young' to be wandering around Dublith by myself." He paused, perhaps expecting a laugh. His sister did not humour him.

"I did not come along to be your babysitter," she responded, for which Selim rewarded her with a dark look reminiscent of his old self.

That was, until he remembered that they were in the middle of a crowd and that it might be taken as strange for a small boy to be glaring pure murder at his guardian.

"If Mother ever needs you to look after me for a day," he replied only loud enough for her to hear and giving a fake grin, "remind me to give you absolute hell." Then, with more genuine cheerfulness, "Come on. It has been a while since I've made the rounds."

Clearly he knew that his words would make no sense to her, but her brother didn't bother to elaborate and so Lust refused to rise to the bait of asking him to clarify. He grabbed her hand with his own tiny one and began to lead the way through the streets with childish eagerness. Gluttony followed on their heels.

Dublith may not have been important to the Homunculi, being nowhere near the borders of the Nationwide Transmutation Circle, but it was by no means a small or unimportant town and its size showed it. Major highways converged in this hub of the South Area, connecting with Central in the north, South City in the south, Fotcett in the southwest and, one town over, with East City as well. Compared to Central City, with its wide, well-paved and cleanly-kept streets, attractive homes, and well-dressed people, Dublith couldn't hold a candle. Here, the buildings were too close together, only the main streets were paved, and the homes and people were plain and, to Lust's mind, dirty.

Nevertheless, the place bustled with the same level of energy and noise as Central. Especially in the business district, where the Elrics had left them, humans packed the streets. Merchants hawked their wares in loud voices, customers haggled over prices, clanging drifted from various shops as their artisans worked on new products and orders, and over it all floated the noise of people chatting, laughing, and leading their tiny, insignificant lives. Gluttony, turning his head every which way, kept sniffing at the air, and Lust took a moment to test the air herself. Besides the obvious smells of restaurants and grocery stalls, there was the dust of the road and the unpleasant odour of human sweat. It was, after all, a warm, sunny summer day.

Much to her annoyance, they didn't proceed quickly. Selim on his own would have had a much easier time, since being so small meant he could dart around legs and squeeze between objects without difficulty. With Lust and Gluttony weighing him down, he had to match their slower pace, and Gluttony in particular was not fast in crowds, his bulk making it hard to press forward. Luckily, his unusual girth did draw enough attention to encourage people to part for them, and Lust's height worked to their advantage as well. Humans seemed to naturally make way for the tallest of their members. Even without her heels, Lust still matched the height of the average man in the crowd, which in a woman made her stand out. She also noticed that the men who saw her quickly made way, their gazes lingering on her face and curves with varying degrees of surprise and hunger. The women just as often parted for them, but their expressions were usually a reflection of the Homunculi's left-at-home sibling's vice, judgment or resentment disguising the true sentiment underneath.

Lust loved it.

She basked in the attention, soaked it up, let it add a sway and a strut to her walk that she hadn't felt or had the occasion to use since her rebirth.

Yes, perhaps I'm no longer a Homunculus, she thought, letting her gaze linger first on the broad chest of a burly middle-age man who had the build of a blacksmith, then on the younger fair-haired man who was unpacking rolls of cloth from the back of a wagon, his back end deliciously displayed as he bent over, then on the gangly teenager who outright gawked at her and turned bright red when he met her eyes and received a provocative smile in return. And not a true human either. Yet I am the highest example of perfection that will ever be found in a human body. Poor things. She thought it, but did not mean it. The irony was something she loved as well.

Selim first stopped them in front of a small store that did not appear especially popular. Lust's first guess was that it was an automail shop, what with the wires, metal parts, screws, and nuts and bolts displayed at the base of the window, but, peering in, she could see a shelf holding several radios and telephone parts, making her revise her opinion to technical equipment store.

"I'll just be a minute," Selim said, releasing her hand with the implied order that she and Gluttony wait for him outside and pushing on the door. It was heavy enough that he had to take a second run at it to force it open enough to wriggle inside, and it would probably have irritated him to know how cute that was.

True to his word, it only took a few minutes before Selim returned practically dragging his purchase on the ground, his body being too short and the bag heavy enough that he couldn't carry it properly. He handed it to Gluttony to carry without giving Lust the chance to see what it was, then grabbed her hand and dragged her off again.

They repeated a similar process for the next several stops, and Lust began to see what Selim had meant by 'making the rounds', for the small boy seemed to make a point of stopping at stores and stalls where the people knew him and greeted him by name. Selim, too, knew the names of everyone he spoke with: Mr. Bleeker, the shoe cobbler, where they picked up a pair of ordinary black leather boots (Lust couldn't imagine who they were for; the size was clearly too large for Selim and they didn't suit Lily at all…); the pharmacist, Mrs. Garrison, where Selim replaced the bottle of cold medicine they had forced into Envy; and the chandler, Mr. Morris, who gave them some new candles free of charge when Selim told him they'd used their last ones in the storm.

Of course, everyone they met required an introduction to Selim's new family members, which Selim gave in a cheerful but slightly rehearsed voice, and because he was only a child, Lust was expected to answer the questions about where they were from, how long they planned on staying with the Bradleys, what she thought of the South Area and Dublith, how well they were settling in, and a dozen other bits of inane chitchat that Lust bore only because it was necessary. Naturally, she found humouring the men not completely intolerable, and it was easier to dodge answering the more difficult questions by simply smiling coyly and redirecting the conversation, but the women were sharper and not as easily thrown off by a change in topic.

The work was exhausting, but oddly exhilarating at the same time. It almost felt like her old job. Lust felt gratified that she hadn't lost her touch in manipulating people, even on this smaller scale.

Their last stop was a prosperous women's fashion boutique called Little Central, which seemed to be suggesting that they were current on the latest fashion trends in Central (where most big Amestrian designers were located). Lust, despite being old enough to have witnessed several fads that were outright ridiculous (the corsets that tried to force a woman's waist to be as wide as her thigh came to mind), found it hard to believe that the styles on display could possibly be popular: the dresses and dress suits were bland, placed the waistline low on the body, and seemed to de-emphasize the chest – which was completely unacceptable.

The weather being so nice, the shop had extended into the street to better display its merchandise and entice potential buyers. A clothing display rack was pressed up against the wall between the shop and its neighbour, a hat rack stood near the edge of the large window with mannequins peering out at them, and a table in front of the window held a collection of jewellery.

At her side, Selim gave a gusty sigh.

"I hate this place," he whispered as if confessing a secret. "Mrs. Chanel can be a bit… um..." He paused, clearly hunting for the right word. "… exhausting, but she and Mother are good friends and she asked me to say hi for her…" He sighed again, then squared his shoulders, let go of Lust's hand and headed over to a young girl who was busy rearranging some dresses on the display rack.

"Uh, excuse me…" he started, tugging lightly on the hem of her skirt to get her attention. "Menny?"

The girl turned so Lust could get a good look at her. She was a rather slight and bland thing, probably around 13 or 14, with medium-length chestnut-brown hair held back by a simple clip, large brown eyes, and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks. Completely unnoteworthy. But when she saw Selim, a grin split her face and she clapped her hands excitedly.

"Selim!" she gasped. "I haven't seen you in ages! You're still adorable, of course!" She reached out, patting him on the head for all the world like an impertinent older sister. Selim protested and tried to swat her hands away, only to have her poke him on the red mark in the middle of his forehead instead.

"I told you not to do that!" he complained, taking a few protective steps back, but the girl only giggled, not taking him seriously at all.

"Make me!" she countered, sticking her tongue out, and Selim could do nothing more than glare in return. It was amazing, Lust thought, how her brother's glare hadn't changed much and yet the difference in not having his powers made it almost funny instead of terrifying.

"Hey," Menny exclaimed, looking around in sudden surprise. "Where's your mom? Isn't Ms. Bradley with you?"

Selim shook his head. "No. She's at home." He turned, drawing her attention to his two companions. "Menny, this is Lust and Gluttony. They're staying with us. Lust, Menny lives in the next house over. She plays with me when Mother visits Mrs. Chanel."

The girl stared at her with her mouth hanging open. Lust appreciated the reaction, though it was a little over-the-top.

"Is Mrs. Chanel in?" Selim continued, but Menny ignored him. Spinning around, she ran straight into the store. They could hear her high voice yelling to someone, but they couldn't make out her words.

"… Okay, that was weird. Even for her," Selim muttered, looking somewhat apprehensive. "Does that mean Mrs. Chanel is here?"

His question was answered quickly enough, for Menny came back out practically hopping with excitement, followed by a woman who could only be Mrs. Chanel, though she was not at all what Lust had been expecting.

"See?" Menny squealed, blatantly pointing at Lust. "Isn't she gorgeous? She'll make the perfect mod-"

"Yes, yes," the woman interrupted, "but you're going to scare her off like that. Go on inside and put the kettle on. There's a good girl." She spoke absent-mindedly, barely paying any attention to Menny at all and clearly expecting immediate obedience – which she got, for Menny darted inside to do as bidden without another word.

The woman who faced them was neither tall nor particularly attractive and she did not fit the stereotype for fashion boutique owner at all, having a somewhat heavy and solid build – not fat, but far from the thin and lean body type that the fashion industry most catered to. Her shape was easy to overlook, however, for she clearly had expertise in her field: Tasteful makeup gave her a refined look that belied her less-than-perfect face, her dress flattered her figure, and she was wearing a smattering of bracelets and dangling earrings that matched her outfit well, being neither too bold nor understated. She looked to be in her early 30s, perhaps, though the makeup made it difficult to be sure.

It wasn't her physical appearance that stood out, though, for this was overshadowed by the woman's sheer confident presence. Her gaze was intense and hawk-like and she stood tall and self-assured. Lust found herself torn between respect and irritation; while she could appreciate women who ruled their domains with an iron fist, she did not appreciate being treated like one of their subjects, and this human was eyeing her as if she had already decided that Lust would make a good meal and she only needed to decide how best to cook her.

Men and women both acted as if males were the more aggressive of the sexes. Lust knew this to be complete nonsense. They hadn't even spoken to each other and already they were in a fight, but only the two of them knew it.

"I'm so sorry about that," the woman started politely. "Menny's a nice girl, but still untrained. I hope she didn't cause any offense."

"No, it's fine," Lust smoothly replied. "I understand. You must be Mrs. Chanel. Selim has just been telling me about you."

"Selim?" she repeated, only then glancing down and noticing that Lust was not alone. Menny, it appeared, had not thought to mention it. "Why, Selim! I haven't seen you in quite some time." She, like Menny had, reached out and patted Selim on the head. He ducked down so that she couldn't see his grimace, but otherwise made no protest. "What brings you to town?"

"I'm running errands for Mother," he told her.

"Of course you are!" the woman laughed, obviously not taking Selim's declaration seriously. "Lily's not with you, then?" He shook his head. "That's too bad. It's been far too long since she's visited. And? Who is this you've brought with you?"

Although she had phrased it as a question to Selim, she looked at Lust expectantly, and Lust could practically hear her brother's teeth grate at being dismissed in such a manner, which likely accounted for the small bite in his voice when he answered.

"This is Lust, and that's Gluttony. They're relatives who've moved in with us."

Mrs. Chanel gave Gluttony no more than a cursory glance before returning her attention to Lust.

"Ah, yes, I believe I heard that tidbit through the grapevine," she said, tapping her lips playfully. "The next time I see her, I'm going to have to chew Lily out for not filling me in. Imagine having a fine, cultured Central lady move in with her and not even mention it to me! It's a pleasure to meet you, Lust. As Selim said, I'm Mrs. Chanel, but please just call me Pearl."

Lust accepted Pearl's proffered hand. "Yes, a pleasure," she agreed, then continued curiously, "What makes you think I'm from Central?"

"Come now, don't be coy! It's written all over your demeanour. Only women from Central ever look so well-put together. And you just have that certain something, a 'je ne sais quoi' - to borrow the Aerogan term. Not to mention Lily is a Central-bred woman. It's not hard to put two and two together."

If I remember what Pride told me correctly, Greed only said we'd been to Xing, not that we were from Xing, Lust calculated. So there shouldn't be any harm in allowing her to believe that we're from Central. Even so, safer not to agree one way or the other.

With that thought, Lust merely gave a small laugh. Pearl took it as proof that she'd guessed right, not noticing that Lust hadn't actually confirmed her statement.

"My, but isn't it hot out here?" she commented, making a show of fanning her face with one hand. "Please, come in. The kettle should be hot by now; I'll make some tea. Selim can keep Menny company minding the store and, erm-" She glanced at Gluttony. "-I'm sure I can find some cookies or biscuits to go around."

Their tubby brother brightened immediately, but Lust had no interest in humouring this woman more than was necessary in order to be polite and Selim probably wanted to get away as well. Keeping in mind that their lives would not be helped by offending Ms. Bradley's friend, Lust tried to refuse politely with the first excuse that came to mind.

"I would love some tea, but I'm afraid we can't stay. We're meeting up with Selim's teachers; they'll be expecting us in a little while-"

"Nonsense," Pearl said, overriding her in a tone that brooked no argument. "I won't take no for an answer. Besides, waiting on a woman never killed a man; they'll be fine if you're a little late. Come, come."

With great skill and in a flurried, bustling manner, she went around behind Lust and practically pushed her into the store. Meekly, Selim and Gluttony let themselves be herded after her.

At least Mrs. Chanel was lucky; if she had had her Ultimate Spear, Lust decided, she would have taught the woman a thing about proper respect.

By permanently removing her head from her body.


While Lust found herself wholly regretting her decision to visit Dublith, Greed was thoroughly enjoying his first trip to 'the city'.

Truth be told, he had no idea where he was. He'd parked in the first street wide enough to do so and then, following his gut, had meandered along with no clear destination in mind, acting as a tourist and picking whichever direction had the most people in it. Naturally, that had led him through the same marketplace that Selim and the others passed through in his wake, and Greed had keenly felt the emptiness in his pockets as he casually perused the goods and merchandise in the shop windows and stalls.

The mansion is nice and all, he thought, but it's awfully bare. It'd be nice if it had more stuff in it. Like that. A pack of playing cards. And that. A smoking pipe. Not that he had anything to smoke. Yet. Oh, and those are nice. A set of shot glasses. I already have a chair in my room, but that one looks cushier. Hell, it never hurts to have more than one! And ooh, those are some handsome throwing knives. Not that I really need them, but it couldn't hurt to have a pair on me. He paused seriously in front of the bicycle shop, for without a car, a bicycle seemed like a practical and useful thing to have, then shook his head in disgust. You're thinkin' too small, Greed. What's that fancy new model? The EZO 16? I'm not settling for anything cheaper than that. No, it's been six year, so there's probably a later model out now. The EZO 18 then and nothing less! He also paused in front of a store selling signs, liking the 'KEEP OUT' one for his bedroom door, and even went so far as to ask the seller whether he could add the words 'DEBAUCHERY INSIDE' underneath. The man had a good sense of humour, laughing and replying that if Greed could spell it, he could paint it, and Greed left with the promise that he'd return once he checked his dictionary.

The thing that filled him with the most regret was a store that sold lamps and lights. Greed suspected that the owner's decision to display his prize possession in the window did not help business with the average consumer, likely being taken as tacky or gaudy, but to Greed, it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen:

A lamp shaped like a woman's leg, complete with fishnet stocking and black pumps.

Oh, how he wanted that!

Not now, Greed consoled himself, finally tearing himself away from the window. It'll be the first thing I buy once I get some money. And I bet Ling'd like it too. As Emperor, surely he has enough money that he can buy a whole room of them. One would definitely not be enough.

While looking around the marketplace was fun, eventually Greed passed through to the other side, leisurely wandering into a residential area which was noticeably quieter and more peaceful than the street he'd come from. This, too, was pleasant in its own way, though Greed preferred the noise and rawer passion that came from crowds; they reminded him of his vice, or as he thought of it, his gift, pure and unbridled desire for life. But here, though the humans had reined greed in, he could still see it in contained forms: in the fences that surrounded many of the homes, clear boundaries that said 'This, this small piece of earth, is MINE'; in the chain around a bicycle that tied it to a street post to prevent anyone else from taking it; in the decorations adorning many of the homes and yards, a blatant cry from those who lived within that they were unique, they were different, they were not just a faceless part of the masses.

Greed was hardly a philosopher and he did not like for others to realize that he thought far more than he let on, but he knew that his ability to see humans as individuals rather than as all the same indistinguishable ants had been the thing to set him apart from the rest of the Homunculi. Pride saw only that every human was beneath him; Gluttony saw only sacks of meat; Sloth saw only noisy creatures that tired him out; Lust saw only bodies that could not satisfy her; and Envy saw only creatures that were unfairly happy when he was not. And yes, it was true that at their core humans were all the same. They all wanted comfort, health, pleasure, love, to be special and unique, to be respected, to have power, to be happy. But the way they pursued those goals was different for each individual human, and it frankly fascinated Greed to sometimes see two humans take completely opposite actions and yet claim that they'd been aiming at the same thing.

They were like the ultimate collector's item: no two humans exactly the same, and each one trying, in their own way, to fill the emptiness in them that Greed had known his whole life.

No wonder that he felt some liking for them, then.

He continued on, occasionally whistling to himself. Once or twice he smiled at a pretty woman passing him in the street, and at one point he nearly had his legs taken out from under him by a whooping pack of small boys who were either following or chasing another boy, but eventually, the area began to change and Greed felt… something… settling into his shoulder blades, a strange sense of déjà vu that made him feel tense and at ease at the same time.

I've been here before… I've definitely been here before, he thought, glancing around in the hopes of catching sight of something that would jog his memory. The streets had subtly grown narrower and more winding, and the atmosphere had changed as well. The people who went about their business had a different air to them, a vibe of mistrust and tough exteriors and the grudge of getting the short end of the stick in the game of life. Well, that wasn't true of everyone. There were a few people who were happy and carefree, which undoubtedly had something to do with the liquor bottles in their hands, talking and laughing too loudly and flushed in the face, but Greed didn't judge – he liked to drink as much as anyone else and hoped to have the chance to drink these lushes under the table, but it would have to wait for another day.

Despite the unfriendly vibe, Greed remained unfazed. His memory refused to cooperate, but he knew this place in his bones. Maybe not this place in particular, but the essence of it.

This was 'the bad part of town'.

With some other stranger, the locals might have molested him or tried to teach him that an outsider had no business being in their neighbourhood, but because of the way he held himself, they left Greed alone. He met cold stares with a straight look, kept his usual balance of confident casualness, and walked as if he had a clear destination in mind while not being in any hurry. It worked and no one bothered him.

Or maybe they left him alone because he didn't have any money on him. Greed thought he looked decent enough in terms of dress to not be taken as broke, but perhaps they could still tell.

The street names did nothing to jog his memory. No landmarks stood out to guide his feet. So when Greed ended up in front of little more than a hole in the wall, stairs leading down into the ground like a tunnel, with a small and simple sign hanging overhead bearing the name Devil's Nest in red on a yellow plaque, at first he didn't even realize what had made him stop. If anything, he felt a tad disappointed. The place didn't look very impressive at all, and he didn't want to think that he'd chosen a back alley hole like this of all things after leaving his fellow Homunculi. It hardly looked any better than their lair underneath Central!

Nevertheless, this was where his instincts had led him, he had the whole day to kill, and there was no harm in checking the place out.

He followed the tunnel down into the earth.


In short order, Pearl had Lust seated in her living room on the upstairs floor above Little Central, forcing a cup of tea into her hands without asking whether she even liked tea and shooing Selim and Menny off to mind the store downstairs. Apparently Menny was being groomed to work in the boutique and already had some experience in taking care of things on her own, which seemed surprising because of her young age. Even so, Pearl asked Gluttony to keep an eye on them, and despite his reluctance to leave Lust's side, a tray of sweet cakes kept him from being too difficult to persuade.

The living room was very tasteful and fashionable in keeping with the owner's style. Large bay windows overlooked the street below and the furniture all followed a golden-beige colour scheme. Everything had little accents and embellishments: the chair Lust sat in had curling feet and beaded tassels along its edge.

Over their teacups, the two women sized each other up.

"So, Lust, how are you and Lily related?" Pearl asked to break the ice.

"I am the daughter of Lily's older sister."

"It's so funny," Pearl said, leaning forward slightly, "but Lily rarely talks about her family at all. I've asked her several times and she always changes the subject. Is there some dark secret or skeleton in the closet that she's hiding?"

She was smiling as she said this, clearly joking, which made Lust almost laugh as she lied, "Oh, no. Our families have just had a tendency to fluctuate in closeness over the years. My side has done a lot of travelling, and we'd been out of touch for quite some time, so it's natural she would have nothing to tell you." She then redirected the topic before Pearl could start asking about their supposed 'travels'. "I must admit, when Selim told me you and Lily were good friends, I was expecting someone... closer to her in age."

"Hmm, well, I suppose it is a little strange and it makes sense for you to think that, but Lily and I hit it off right away and age had nothing to do with it! She's a cultured woman, and from Central, so I was able to pick her brain about Central fashion before she left the city. None of the women here are exactly what you'd call 'refined', if you know what I mean!"

Her direct manner of speech, Lust thought derisively, suggested that this woman was far from 'refined' as well, much as she did well to hide it.

"So you don't think much of Dublith, then?"

Pearl sat back in her chair, looking a little taken aback by the bluntness of the question.

"Well, I wouldn't put it quite like that. It could be much worse. At least I'm able to run my business, and there aren't any other towns large enough in the South Area other than South City and Fotcett that could support this type of venture. But there's not much of anything in the way of culture here and I would rather live in Central if I had a choice. I miss the glamour of the big city!"

Lust found this response puzzling. "If you dislike it, then why are you here?"

"Well, my husband grew up here – he works at the train station - and he's close to his family, who live here too. Whereas I wasn't really attached to any one place – I was born in Pendleton in the West, actually, and my family moved a couple times when I was growing up – and I wasn't all that close to them once I left home. It's true, I would prefer to live in Central instead, but I figured I'd rather have the man, you know? A sacrifice for love. I mean, you don't look like the type to want to live here either, and yet here you are. We all do strange things for love sometimes, isn't that right?"

Lust felt her hackles rise. Love? The gall of this woman! How dare she accuse me of such a thing!

"I assure you, I am not here for such a petty emotion," she corrected, her voice smooth but scathing. "It is simply the way things worked out. We wished to return to Amestris and got in touch with Lily, who just so happened could use some help taking care of Selim and her home. It is an Equivalent Exchange. Nothing more than that."

Pearl looked taken aback by the vehemence in Lust's voice, but then, of all things, she laughed.

"Heavens! I used to feel the same way too when I was younger! Carefree, independent, unattached. Flirted my way from Pendleton to New Optain in my younger years, and boy, do I miss those days." Pearl looked nostalgic, while Lust felt herself slightly warm to the woman, only to have her next words bring the chill right back again. "But you'll grow out of it someday, same as I did; everyone needs to settle down eventually. You should enjoy it while you can."

Lust wanted to retort and reduce this human into a blubbering mess over her misconceptions about love and the fact that humans only formed stable communities to ensure the race's survival, but she doubted she could maintain her equipoise and so chose to take a sip of her tea instead.

"You mentioned 'Equivalent Exchange'. Are you an alchemist?"

"What? No, I'm not." She had to deny it; too risky that the Elrics or Selim would hear and suspect her ill intentions. Although, truth be told, they had little to be concerned over; she had been making very little progress on her studies and was rather annoyed with herself over it. "I know a little about alchemy, but I'm not a practitioner."

Pearl placed a hand against her cheek. "That's a shame. I have yet to meet a woman in the field. It seems like it's only men who take it up... Well, except for Izumi, I suppose, but only one female alchemist in a town this size still isn't much. Say, Selim studies alchemy under the Elrics. Perhaps you could ask them to teach you while you're here."

Pushy, aren't you? Lust shrugged. "Perhaps," was all she allowed.

"Or if they said no, there are a few alchemists here in town who might be willing to teach you. From what I hear, Lujon is unattached right now, and he's very good-looking. Maybe I'll introduce you to him." She gave Lust a playful wink.

"Speaking of Selim, though, I must say, Lily's done an amazing job with him. Taking care of him at her age. And he's turning out so well. Normally I can't stand children – they're rude, hard to understand or talk to, dirty, and noisy. But he's polite and smart and really very well-behaved. Don't you think so?"

"I'm sure they would both be happy to hear that."

Pearl reached forward to pour herself a new cup of tea, gesturing to ask whether Lust also wanted a refill. She nodded and accepted the new cup graciously, though she was starting to grow impatient with the small talk. Is there any point to this, or does this woman just like to talk?

"I've thought about having children," Pearl said, settling back down in her chair, "but I get worried that I wouldn't make a good mother since I barely know what to do with the children that come in." A short sip. "What about you? Ever thought of having children?"

Lust choked on her tea and stared up at the woman across from her incredulously.

"Me? Children?" The question was so ludicrous that she had no idea how to answer. "I- I've never thought about it."

Pearl raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? Not even once?" Lust remained silent. "Well, having children's not for everyone. And just between the two of us, I hate to think what it would do to my waistline. Not to mention how difficult it would be to run the store with a brat or two clinging to my legs. Bless the folks who have them, but I think I'll wait a few more years yet!"

Lust nodded in agreement, smiling at her frankness, though her reasons, while good, had never crossed Lust's mind before. Homunculi could not reproduce. It was as simple as that. There had never been any reason for her to think on such things.

And now, finally, it seemed that Pearl had worked her way to the topic she truly wanted to discuss, for her eyes took on a steely edge and focus that had been absent before.

"... You know, you really are lovely, Lust," she sighed. "I can't think of any woman who's as beautiful as you are. And you give off that polished, sophisticated air. I hope this isn't too impertinent, but I'd love for you to do some modeling for me."

"Modeling?" Lust repeated slowly. "Wait. Is that what Menny was so excited about? She started to say-"

"Yes, but it's not nice to just jump into a request like this. I thought we should get to know each other a bit first." Pearl paused, calculation written all over her face as she planned what she should say next. "To be perfectly honest, recently has been a bit of a dry spell. For the store, I mean. These new fashions from Central aren't going over so well. Women are trying to be taken more seriously in the workforce, but changing the styles to be more masculine... Well, it's a hard sale."

"I thought they were hideous," Lust opined bluntly.

"Right!" Pearl agreed with good grace. "Well, I was discussing it with some other ladies, and one of the ideas we came up with was to have some posters and advertising done using a local model. I've used local models in the past, but they eventually move closer to Central or get pregnant – nothing against them, mind - and have to give it up. I've been trying to find someone to do it, but there's also the problem that the latest clothes don't look all that appealing.

"But," she continued, holding up a finger, "with someone like you, that won't be a problem! I doubt we could hide those curves of yours even if we cut up a tent and draped you in it! People will see a gorgeous woman who has all her feminine appeal without flaunting it. They'll come back to the store in droves."

Lust remained silent, contemplating her tea.

"Naturally I'll pay you for your work," Pearl added, sounding just a little bit anxious that Lust hadn't automatically agreed.

"I-"

"Luuuust!" Selim's high-pitched voice called from the stairs, accompanied by the light sound of shoes on the steps as he came up and ran into the room. "Big Brother and Teacher are probably waiting for us by now. Can we go yet? What're you two talking about for so long?"

Lust rose and placed her teacup down. "Just girl talk, Selim. Nothing that concerns you." She said this for Pearl's sake, for the woman would surely find it strange for someone of Lust's age to confide in their 6-year-old cousin. "But you're right; we really do need to be heading out, otherwise those boys might leave us behind. Thank you very much for the tea, Pearl, and I will think about your offer."

"Offer?" Selim piped up. The two women ignored him.

"The pleasure was all mine. Feel free to drop in anytime, Lust. Be sure to send my regards to Lily, and please do think on it. I can't think of any woman more suited for the role."

"What was she talking about, Lust?" Selim repeated as they made their way downstairs and headed for the front entrance. "What offer?"

"I'll tell you later. Gluttony, we're leaving," she called, only to stare at him with a raised eyebrow.

She wasn't sure what kind of game they'd been playing, but both Menny and Gluttony appeared to have been enjoying themselves, for her brother was currently decked out in a wide variety of accessories. Several necklaces were draped around his neck; a fluffy pink feather boa was wrapped around his shoulders; he held a shiny green snakeskin purse that he either didn't know what to do with or couldn't fit around his thick upper arm; and Menny had just gotten up on a chair to place a broad-brimmed hat on top of his bald head, with more feathers and ribbons trailing down around him.

"... What are you two doing?"

Menny giggled and Gluttony merely grinned at her.

"It's okay," the young girl said. "We were just playing dress-up. Here, I'll help you get these things off, Gluttony. Although the hat looks very good on you." He blushed at the compliment and she giggled again.

With her foot tapping her impatience, they stripped off the merchandise, Gluttony grabbed the rest of the sweet cakes and the bags Selim had had him lugging around, then the trio (finally) headed out, Menny waving good-bye behind them.


Despite its outward appearance, once he entered the main bar room, Greed found his doubts about whether this had really been his bar dwindle to almost nothing. Appearances were deceiving, and the Devil's Nest was much cosier on the inside than its look from the street had suggested. The lack of windows and low lighting created an intimate atmosphere that Greed found quite appealing. There was the main bar counter tucked against the left wall, ringed by bar stools and with the obligatory shelves of liquor bottles, a row of wine glasses hanging upside down on the wall, and a few taps and spouts. The wall behind the bar was covered by a large mirror, reflecting the bottles and lights attractively. There was a door leading off the bar counter deeper into the building, and from the light smell of food coming from that direction, Greed would have bet a considerable sum that it lead to a kitchen (though he didn't hear any banging or clanging from that direction, so he supposed the kitchen didn't serve food until later in the day). Opposite the bar was a small stage, presumably for live entertainment, and the rest of the room was taken up by booths, tables, and an assortment of couches for those who would rather lounge.

In all honesty, it wasn't much different from every other bar in the world, but the overwhelming sense of familiarity made that point for Greed irrelevant.

It was still early in the day, so there were only a few patrons, and the man behind the counter looked bored when Greed came in, absently cleaning a mug while flipping through the daily paper. He and the three other men in the room instinctively glanced up as Greed entered, returned their attention back to their business, and then, almost comically, did a double-take. Apparently it was rare for the Devil's Nest to get strangers – at least at that time of day.

"Welcome," the man greeted from behind the counter as Greed walked over and settled down on the nearest stool. "What can I get for ya'?"

Greed rubbed his chin for a moment, then shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me, Pops. Surprise me."

Barkeepers almost universally had a stoic, unflappable air to them and this man was no exception. Wordlessly he pulled out a bottle and glass, poured a drink, handed it over, then watched as Greed downed half of it in a single gulp.

"Ahh," he gasped, giving a gusty sigh, "that hits the spot! 'Specially on a scorcher like today." He took another chug. He had forgotten how nice liquor was; Ms. Bradley only kept wine at the mansion, which he didn't really care for. Too refined for his tastes.

"Haven't seen you around before," the man commented neutrally, looking for information but not forcing Greed to answer if he didn't feel like it. Luckily, Greed was also looking for information.

"No, I just moved into town a few weeks ago. This is the first chance I've had to get out and check out the old haunts."

The barkeep looked surprised. "Oh? You an old patron then?"

Greed nodded. "Sure am. I was a regular here years ago. Knew the old owner real well." Here, now, he had to be careful about what he said, but despite what Lust or Pride might have thought, Greed knew a bit about making conversations go his way. "Where is that old devil?"

The barkeeper suddenly looked uncomfortable. He avoided meeting Greed's eyes, instead glancing over at the three men across the room. Greed couldn't watch the men behind him, so he didn't know whether any signal passed between them, but the man behind the counter seemed to take some reassurance from their presence.

"You didn't hear about the raid, then?" he asked cautiously.

"Raid?" Greed repeated, pretending to be surprised. "What raid?"

"Ah, then I hate to be the bearer of bad news, stranger. It was near on seven years ago now. Military came in and wiped out the lot." The man did look, if not sad, at least honestly regretful. Greed appreciated that. It was his death (and his friends) that they were talking about.

"What? No way!" he responded, not needing to feign the emotions, for the memories of Wrath's attack had already resurfaced and they tinged his voice with anger and pain, though the passage of time had lessened both. "Why? What happened?"

"No one really knows," the man said, shaking his head. "If you knew the old gang, then I don't need to tell you they were a tight-knit and tight-lipped group. Didn't have much to do with outsiders. No one - at least none of the old-timers in town - ever really knew what they got up to." He hesitated again, eying Greed suspiciously, but also curiously. Perhaps he thought Greed might have some light to shed on the Devil's Nest's old occupants. Greed, however, chose to ignore the unspoken question, continuing to appear caught up in the news.

"... One rumour had it," the man continued, "that the old boss kidnapped some kid for some reason or other and that's what got them into trouble. Personally, I don't put too much stock on that. The old Fuhrer Bradley himself was involved in the showdown, and ain't no reason he'd show up if it weren't something more serious than a simple kidnapping. Then there was another rumour that said they tried something funny with a State Alchemist, and that's what brought the military down on them. Myself, I suspect it was closer to the latter, though I don't know why anybody'd be stupid enough to bother with those Military Dogs... Oh, excuse me!" he exclaimed, waving a hand apologetically. "Didn't mean to say your friend was stupid or nothing. I'm sure he had good reason for whatever he was doing."

Greed gave a forced laugh and the man looked relieved, taking it as evidence that he hadn't offended his customer.

"Don't worry about insulting me, Pops. Everybody's got faults. The leader here always had good reasons, but his avarice tending to get him into trouble. He must have just bitten off more than he could chew for once." He hated to admit it, but considering how long Wrath had lasted – despite being mortal – Greed could grudgingly admit that there was no shame in having been bested by the man in his first incarnation.

He took another drink, using the pause to make a point of looking around the bar again. He noted, out of the corner of his eye, that the three men on the other side of the room were listening in on their conversation (though they were trying to hide the fact) before turning back to the barkeeper.

"If the old boss and his gang were taken down, then I'm kinda' surprised this place is still going."

Now the man appeared nervous again, and Greed thought he heard the men behind him shift in their seats. He had to be careful. He didn't want to cause any trouble, and it occurred to him that this was not a nice, law-abiding part of town; it wasn't inconceivable that he could get into a bad situation if he said the wrong thing.

"Not that I'm complaining," he added hurriedly. "It's good to have places like this. The law is so uptight, you know? The world needs joints where people can just relax and enjoy themselves and the finer things in life." He swirled his drink, indicating that he considered it one of those 'finer things'. "Do you get many of those damned meddlesome Dogs out here often?"

This seemed to be the right comment to make, for the barkeeper relaxed and actually grinned at the words, and from behind him, one of the other patrons spoke up for the first time, butting into their conversation.

"Hmph, them Uniforms may be meddlesome, but they ain't stupid enough for that. They show their faces here too often and we'll send them straight back to their cozy headquarters on their self-righteous asses." The speaker had an angry voice and face, which was clean-shaven but pinched. He looked like he wanted to spit and the only thing stopping him was the fact that the floor was wood and not dirt.

"Hear, hear," one of the other men laughed, holding his own glass up in salute.

"Listen up, kid," the man continued, pointing a finger at Greed. "Dublith takes care of its own. We don't need – and we don't want! – anybody getting into our business. Something like that hasn't happened in ages, and we keep our wits about us to make sure it don't happen again. So if anybody, especially strangers, start poking their noses in where they don't belong, or anybody rats out on his own, they'll get a lesson and it won't be an easy one, you got that?"

An angry drunk. Wonderful, Greed thought, not really sure how to answer. Luckily, he didn't need to.

"Oh, come off it, Cenn, and leave the poor fellow alone," the third man said. He was younger than the other two and looked the friendliest of the three. "He's not here to stick his nose into anything. You heard him: He didn't even know the old owner'd been done in." Then, turning, he addressed Greed directly. "Don't pay any mind to this old goat. He's still convinced what happened to the old Devil's Nest group was an inside job."

Cenn held his ground. "You don't know nothing, Thom. It's the only thing that makes sense-"

"You've told us your theory before, and it doesn't hold up. No one ratted anyone out; like Joe said, they were too tight-knit for that. You're just being paranoid and pointing fingers 'cause you're a suspicious old fogey and you didn't like any of them. Not that you like anybody. It was just bad luck. It could have happened to any of us."

Cenn muttered under his breath, then replied stubbornly, "Well, it didn't happen to anyone, it happened to that group of weirdos. And I swear, I've heard it from guys who saw it with their own eyes: They weren't all human. As far as I'm concerned, town's better off without them bringing the police around-"

Greed had heard enough.

"They were good people," he said, cutting Cenn off. Thom and the nameless fellow looked startled by Greed's tone, low and dangerous. Cenn looked startled too, but quickly took on a belligerent look. "They were good people," he repeated more loudly. "Maybe secretive and maybe a little different from regular folks, but they were good people and they took care of each other, and if you think otherwise, you'd better get out of here right now, because I'm not going to sit here and let you badmouth them in their own home."

Cenn's face grew redder than it already was, and in the heat of the moment, Greed forgot that he'd been trying to avoid causing trouble. The pair stared at each other, both refusing to back down. Greed could practically hear his opponent's thoughts: Cenn was clearly indignant – in the way that any man could get when he'd had a few drinks in him and felt he was being insulted – and it was also clear that he thought Greed was being far bolder than he had a right to be. However, Cenn was not a young man any longer, and Greed was obviously in good physical condition. Greed was alone, but Cenn's companions hadn't backed him up, and he appeared uncertain whether they would come to his support if it turned into a fight, despite what he had just declared about the people of Dublith sticking together.

Joe broke the stalemate.

"Here now," he said, coming out from around the counter and standing between them in the middle of the room. "There's no call for this. Cenn, you don't mean that and you know it." Cenn opened his mouth, about to protest and looking very sour, but Joe didn't give him the chance. "I'm not denying they were a strange lot – there's no denying that – but they were Dublithers just like the rest of us, and whether they were all human or not makes no difference to that. You aren't honestly saying they put everyone else at risk without caring about the rest of us, now are you?"

Cenn looked somewhat embarrassed. "That wasn't what I meant," he muttered.

"Course it wasn't," Joe reassured him, and Cenn look mollified. Greed felt his respect grow for the man, although knowing how to handle a wide variety of personalities was one of the main skills of the successful bar operator and so it really wasn't all that surprising.

Joe then turned to Greed.

"And while I'm sure you're right, stranger, you've been a long time absent here. This may have been your hangout years ago, but it ain't any longer, and I'll be the only person who has any say in who leaves this bar and who stays. You got that?"

Greed resented it, felt his natural avarice pipe up and protest that this was still his bar! before reminding himself that no, it wasn't any longer.

"Sorry," he said, doing his best to sound contrite. "You're right. They were just my friends, you know? I didn't mean to pick a fight or anything." Joe nodded at him, taking the apology in stride, and Thom shook his head in a way that said it was already forgiven and forgotten. Cenn crossed his arms over his chest, but seemed satisfied and calmer than he had been a moment ago. Greed decided that he was probably the hot-tempered type who flipped his lid one moment and then forgot all about it a minute later. Dolcetto had had a quick temper, too, he remembered.

"Really," Greed continued as a thought occurred to him, "I ought to be thanking you guys. If it weren't for you taking over the bar and keeping it running, I wouldn't have a place to come visit now. How'd you end up taking it over? I'd have thought the military would have seen it shut down."

Again, the guarded look came back to Joe's face, and Greed was finally able to see the pattern and put two and two together.

"Hell! I get it now!" he exclaimed, laughing and smacking his leg. "Were you worried I'd be upset to find out you stole the place? You don't need to be worried about that; I ain't gonna' rat you out or anything!"

The others looked at him sceptically and Joe still seemed hedgy.

"You're a stranger in these parts," he mumbled. "It's none of your business. And how do we know we can trust you? There's nothing to stop you from telling the authorities..."

"Listen, Pops, I'm saying you can trust me and I make it a policy never to lie. And why would I go and bother with the authorities? Doing that doesn't get me anything, and I prefer to stay out of things that don't give me something in return. Anyway, I knew the old owner well enough to be sure he'd rather see someone take it over than let the place go to waste, and I doubt he got the place legitimately either!"

The four men laughed at that, and Thom gestured for him to join them at their table instead of sitting by himself at the counter. Grinning, Greed got up and pulled up a chair. As far as he was concerned, with that simple gesture, they were already in his pocket.

"You know, you're a strange one," Thom said, "but you seem all right. Joe, bring us another round. It's on me. You know how to play Craps?"

"I'm only strange enough to get by," Greed responded, leaning forward eagerly. "I'm a fast learner. What are the rules?"


By the time the Elrics managed to find the Devil's Nest, several more patrons had settled down in the bar, the waitresses had shown up for their shifts, the kitchen had started preparing food for the evening meals, Greed had won more games than he'd lost and now had a few coins tucked into his pocket, and a sizable crowd had grown around his table, the whole group laughing uproariously at a joke they all knew but which Greed had mixed up (purposefully because he knew it would get more laughs that way).

"Finally!" Edward grated out as the brothers entered the bar and caught sight of the errant Sin. Ed started forward, his metal leg stomping heavily on the floor as he wove his way around the tables, and Greed noticed them before they made it to him. Irritating Edward even more, Greed didn't look the least bit embarrassed or apologetic when he saw them. Instead, he grinned and raised his glass in greeting.

"I thought you guys'd be here ages ago!" He practically had to yell to be heard over the hubbub. "What took you so long?"

"'What took us so long!?'" Ed burst out. "You stole the car!"

Alphonse was more reasonable. "We had a hard time finding the bar again," he spoke over Ed. "It's been a long time since we've been here."

"What the hell were you thinking, taking off like that?! You promised us you wouldn't run off! What happened to always keeping your word, huh?"

Greed instantly sobered at the accusation. "Hey now, I didn't run off. It was a short day trip. There's no harm in that. I was just thinking of heading back soon anyway. And I didn't steal the car, I just borrowed it. Don't get your panties in a knot."

A vein stood out on Ed's forehead. "Don't give us that! We were worried about you!" he hissed, speaking low and leaning closer to Greed's ear so that the surrounding people wouldn't hear. "Have you forgotten that you're not immortal anymore? This isn't exactly a nice part of town-"

"And despite what you think," Greed replied, equally low, "just because we're friends doesn't mean I'm 'nice' either. I never called myself a 'good guy' and I'm not about to now. And I haven't forgotten anything; I saw an opportunity to do something I wanted and I took it. If you were expecting anything less, then you're the ones who've forgotten who you're dealing with here. Greed the Avaricious, remember?"

Ed opened his mouth to counter, but Greed cut him off by standing up and addressing the people around them.

"Well, everyone," he called, getting the room's attention, "it's been a real pleasure, but looks like my ride is here." There were sounds of disappointment around the room, although one man began packing up the cards spread out on the table with a relieved look. Greed didn't miss it. "Don't you worry, Stroech. I'll be back to win the rest of your money some other night!"

His companions laughed and Stroech gave him a good-natured, "Don't bet on it!"

"Hey, Al, you wanna' take care of my bill?" Greed called over his shoulder as he took his jacket off the back of his chair and shrugged into it.

"Uh, sure," Al said hesitantly. "How much is it?"

Greed didn't answer, instead simply gesturing to the table.

There were at least three stacks of empty plates and bowls spread out where Greed had been sitting.

"… Greed," Al said after a moment, "I know that you probably couldn't help picking up some of Ling's bad habits, but..." He sighed, not quite sure how to finish the sentence and fishing for his wallet. "Please just don't start collapsing in the street like Ling did."

"Not to worry," Greed replied, already heading for the door. "Ling told me he did that on purpose to get people to pay for him."

"I knew it!" Ed crowed. "That rotten, no good-!"

Al counted out a fistful of bills, gave them to Joe, then hurried to catch up with the pair. With the sun starting to edge toward the horizon, the three headed for Fountain Square.


As they left Little Central and began heading for the rendezvous point, Lust could barely keep the relief from her face. She must not have done as good a job as she thought, though, because once they were back on the street and out of earshot, Selim tugged on her dress to get her attention and grinned up at her.

"I told you she was exhausting," he said.

Lust had no reason to contradict him.

It was still light out, but the fact that the sun had sunk low enough on the horizon to leave many of the streets in shadow, the taller buildings blocking any direct sunlight, indicated that they had been waylaid for at least an hour, probably more, and Lust wondered if the Elric brothers and Greed had been forced to wait for them. She hoped so – it only seemed fair that they suffer too – but when they finally made it to the assigned waiting spot, their runaway brother and the two men were nowhere to be seen.

Luckily, Fountain Square was a good waiting place. Alphonse had picked well. The square was large enough that it didn't feel crowded even though several streets converged on it, and the namesake fountain (a large, circular pool with three stone fish spouting water from their mouths into the air) had a fairly high and wide stone rim, perfect for sitting. Striding over to the fountain, Lust sat down, stretched and then crossed her legs, and dipped her fingers in the water, although what she really wanted to do was lie down and have a nap. Gluttony followed her example, though he had to try twice before he was able to get himself up onto the edge.

Selim was too short to even try to climb up onto the edge too, and for a brief moment, Lust watched him grapple over whether it was too pathetic to ask her for assistance, but eventually the child in him won out and he asked her to help him up.

"So...?" he said while hunching over to remove first his shoes and then his socks. "What did Mrs. Chanel want to talk about?"

"A great many things," Lust sighed, "but primarily she wants me to model for her store."

With his socks off, Selim let his feet dangle in the water, smiling and splashing playfully for a few kicks.

"Good," he said. "Mother suggested to her that you'd make a good model. It was my job to bring you to her so she'd have the chance to ask."

"You mean to tell me all that was planned?" She had a hard time believing it, but Selim nodded as if it was of no great consequence.

"Uh-huh," he confirmed, pulling out the piece of paper on which Lily had made her list. Leaning forward, Lust could see Introduce Lust to Pearl in the old woman's cursive handwriting. "I won't pretend to know much about fashion, but even I know you'd be perfect for the role, and Mother thought you might like a job of some sort. She's still trying to figure out what the others can do, but for you, modeling seems like an obvious choice."

"The fact that you three plotted this without my knowing makes me even less interested in doing it."

"Hardly a plot," Selim replied, sounding slightly annoyed but pretending to only be interested in his splashing. "And I will point out that Mother never lied to you; it was only Mrs. Chanel who fibbed. She's rather pushy when it comes to getting her way. If I were you, I would just say yes now and get it over with."

"Are you actually suggesting that I let a human win over me?"

He frowned and remained silent for a moment.

"... No. You're free to do it or not, but it's not about winning or losing. It's a calculated and smart move. It's an easy way to get some contacts in town and to earn a bit of money for yourself, and it's not every day that a job offer falls into someone's lap. There's no good reason to reject it."

"How about my pride?" she challenged.

Selim looked startled, then, of all things, hurt.

"Low blow," he muttered.

"I have no interest in becoming involved in these humans' lives, Pride."

"You'll need to eventually," he said softly.

"As you have?" He kept his expression neutral, though his kicking slowed. "You were awfully friendly today. It was very... sweet... to see your act. I must admit, I've never seen you turn on the kid charm so well before."

It was harsh, but she hated the thought that he'd manipulated her behind her back, even on a small scale.

"... It's no act. The people here are nice," he said after a pause, "and they've helped Mother and me out. Why shouldn't I be nice to them in return? No human gets very far alone. They were able to beat us when they stood together. I think there's a lesson in that."

"The lesson being that they're weak. A fact we've always known," she asserted, but now Selim only seemed to grow frustrated.

"Look," he said in an annoyed tone. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to. We can't force you. But if you're trying to change my mind about the Stones, forget it. I'm not budging."

She hadn't realized that was what she'd been trying to do, but heeded the advice and changed tactics.

"Even so, I'm not sure having my face plastered all over town is a good idea. I thought the idea was to keep a low profile. What if someone like Mustang just happens to see my picture?"

"Oh. I didn't think of that. Good point." Absently he picked at a scratch on his bare leg. He'd probably gotten it in one of his and Greed's practice fights.

"Hey! Did you guys come to pick me up too? Turns out I'm super popular today, huh?"

Both Selim and Lust twisted around. Across the square, Greed was waving and grinning at them, and Edward and Alphonse were trailing a step behind him. Ed still looked mildly irritated; Al just looked bemused.

"You guys been waiting long?" Greed asked once they got closer.

"You look awfully pleased with yourself," Lust said coolly, ignoring the question.

"I just had a great time. Made some new friends. Had some drinks. Saw the town. Got some money in my pocket. Life is peachy. The fact that you guys were all worried about me is just the cherry on the cake."

"Of course. We were worried about you. Thank goodness nothing happened." She tried to sound sincere, though the sarcasm in her mind felt so obvious she might as well have been hitting him in the head with it. She brought her fingers up and brushed them against her lips, leaning on her other arm and pulling her shoulders back to draw his eyes to her bosom like a moth to the flame. "I'm so... happy... to see that you're alright." She patted the fountain edge invitingly. Beside her, Selim pretended to gag.

Greed wasn't stupid. She had never accused him of being stupid. But his avarice often made him try for things when he should have known better, and maybe the alcohol had something to do with it. When he took her invitation and sat down beside her, he was on guard, but not enough.

A quick, well-placed jab with her arm left him with half his shirt and a good part of his pants soaked.

Too bad Alphonse could remove it with his alchemy. She had hoped they would make him walk instead of getting water all over the inside of their car.


Author's Notes:

Electrical service connectors: I have no idea if this is even remotely accurate. My searches didn't produce much useful information. To any electricians out there, feel free to correct what I've written. In particular, should Al have switched the fuses or somehow stopped the power flow from Dublith before working on the wires? And would there be any danger from suddenly restoring power in such an abrupt manner?

Menny: Watchers of the 2003 series may recognize Menny, who also appeared in the manga but who was only named in the 2003 anime. She is the little girl whose cat died and Izumi teaches her that death is not something that can be fixed.

EZO 16: Manga-readers-only reference. A fancy new car model that is purchased by a rich young man for his beau, only to have it destroyed or stolen several times by main characters as a recurring gag throughout the manga.

Leg lamp: Anyone recognize this? It's from A Christmas Story, a movie that (at least in Canada) plays every year with the Christmas specials. It is very easy to search 'leg lamp' and get hits of what it looks like. I had some trouble brainstorming things that Greed might like, but as soon as I thought of this, I couldn't get it out of my head!

Very, very sorry for the long wait on this. In my defence, I did not expect the chapter to be this long, and I actually took out some stuff for later because it was becoming too lengthy.