X. Hero
-—Envy finally gains peace of mind.
Every time Envy looks at Edward and Alphonse Elric, it's like he's looking at a whole different class of mankind.
He can impersonate anyone; he can make himself look and sound like any human, animal, or thing on the planet. But there's something about those two boys...he knows that if he ever tries to copy them, he will be found out in a heartbeat.
He's never been able to pin it down; he's never known exactly what it is about them that irritates him so much. They're barely out of diapers; they're young and rash and naive; so why are they such a threat to his Father's plans?
They're Hohenheim's sons. But that, really, doesn't matter much; they have the Xerxesian skin and hair and eyes, but that shouldn't make them so bold and irreplaceable and dangerous. They have seen the Truth; they are some of the best alchemists in the country; their martial arts skills are nearly unrivaled...
But none of those things are irreplaceable; none of them make Envy so angry that he barely stops himself from destroying them on sight.
So why?
This would be easier, he thinks, if he had a human's mindset, if he could think and feel and live as they do. He knows Edward flies off the handle at any negative comment about his brother; Alphonse has to restrain himself from punching anyone who threatens Edward. Envy knows that—for some reason—they are inseparable; they will do anything for each other; they will fight and bleed and die, if only to keep the other safe.
And they do this because they are brothers. He doesn't understand; he has brothers—Pride and Greed and Sloth and Gluttony and Wrath—they are born from the same Father to further his plans. But Envy doesn't feel this same bond to them; he would save his own skin before he would sacrifice it for them. So why?
He thinks it must be a human emotion, some weakness inherent in mankind that tells them all to protect each other. This is an imperfection in their creation, because they, the Homunculi, do not feel that way; surely, it will only drain their numbers and weaken their strength so his Father can overcome them easily?
(But he also knows that because of that strange, irrational drive, he will never be able to truly impersonate them—not really. And because of this, he can't shake the feeling of worthlessness and idiocy and imperfection he's felt all his life.)
The Promised Day is soon, and he knows the Elrics and Mustang and Curtis and so many others are trying desperately to stop it from happening...but he knows it is a desperate, hopeless dream. Surely, their plans are flawless? Surely, there is nothing a small group of humans can do to stop that which has been unfurling for centuries...
But...
When he looks at Edward, when he looks at Alphonse and Mustang, he sees something else. He doesn't know what it is...not for the longest time...
Not until he is upon the brink of death, clutched tightly in an automail hand and staring down the business end of an ignition glove.
Edward Elric, the sixteen-year-old child who is a major player in his Father's plans, finally understands. He understands Envy's pain, the desperation and want and need that's been brewing below the surface for hundreds of years. Whatever it is that Edward and Alphonse Elric have between them—Envy wants it, needs it. It is so strange and yet so reassuring, he imagines, to have someone always there to watch your back...
He wants what he cannot ever have; he wants what the humans take for granted, and he hates them all for it.
But now, he is alone and stranded and hopeless in the tunnels underneath Central, and he knows that this is it; he will never have what he has observed for centuries. Mustang, he can see, is still barely controlling himself; Edward Elric is staring down at him, some unreadable emotion in his eyes...
Envy has never wanted to die...but dying and finally being free from this pain, he thinks, might be bearable now that this man (insignificant, important, weak, strong, stupid, brilliant, idiot, hero) understands how he feels.
And when he tells the Fullmetal Alchemist good luck, he truly means it.
