(A/N: Sorry about the double-upload. I blame stress - I'm in the thick of mid-terms, why the hell am I spending time on this? DX I noticed when editing that I have a disturbing tendency to write 'Pride' when I mean Wrath. I think I caught all of them, but I'm tired and its hard to self-edit even at the best of times. I also feel very awkward inventing names for side-characters. The FMA names have rather distinctive rings to them, and I'm not sure how well I managed to replicate that.)
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Early on Monday morning, Kimblee woke in darkness to an ice-cold touch on his face. Opening his eyes, he could hardly tell the difference.
"Envy, that had better be you." He said, in a soft voice so as not to wake his roommate and have to answer some awkward questions.
"Thanks for not blowing me up on the spot." Envy's voice murmured directly next to him. "Would've made this a lot more complicated."
He blinked, (not that it made much difference) waking up a little more. "Did you break into my apartment?"
"I don't need to break in. I have a key."
"…Of course you do. Is it safe to talk with someone else here?"
"He's not going to wake up."
"Did you – but I can hear him breathing."
"He's not dead, just a bit of chloroform under the nose. If you wanna be a pal, prod him hard in the morning. He'll be groggy."
"What's so important, then?" He sat up and reached out to turn on his bedside lamp. Envy's hand intercepted his with a grip like cold iron.
"Don't. That's the main thing you need to know: anything you don't want heard by Father, don't say it around any shadows as long as you're in Central. Pitch darkness is safe, and outside Central is safe. Other than that, he might hear you."
Kimblee felt a chill run through him, and it had nothing to do with Envy's icicle-like fingers on his arm.
"Shadows, but not full darkness? Safe from what? Who might hear me?"
"The latter I won't tell you, the former I can't. I don't know everything, and he…he's older than I am."
"A sibling of yours?"
"Yes…I don't think it matters if you know that much. Also, if there is ever…an issue, between you and Father, Greed is the one who will most likely help you."
"Not you?"
"I'm not going to risk my life."
"Yet you're telling me this."
"This is nothing. All children find ways to hide secrets from their Fathers, but I'm not going to commit suicide by rebelling. Greed, though…well, I don't have to tell you how he is. And Father has some pretty high ambitions of his own. They can't both own the world."
"Your Father must know this."
"He knows. And Greed knows he knows. We all know it's just a matter of time."
"Wonderful family dynamic you have."
"Isn't it? And, last…" Envy's voice darkened. "I don't know what you're thinking, if maybe you've changed your mind about all this, but know: you cannot trust the military to protect you from us."
"I don't trust the military much for anything."
"If you want out, take your own life. You could try and run away to another country, but I doubt you'd get far, knowing what you do. Death is better than what Father would do to a traitor."
"Your Father doesn't have agents beyond the gate?"
"Not as far as I know." He imagined Envy with a rueful smile. "But like I said, I don't know everything, even about my so-called family."
"I don't want out just yet."
"It doesn't scare you?" It was difficult to infer tone when talking so quietly, but Envy's voice seemed genuinely puzzled.
"A lot of things scare me. Fear is perfectly natural." He put one hand over Envy's. "Why are you so cold? Did you come here right out of a freezer?"
"A human's body creates its own heat. Mine doesn't."
"So you're like a lizard?" He regretted the question as soon as he said it. Envy removed its hand from under his.
"Cold doesn't make me sluggish or anything."
"Doesn't it…bother you?"
"Your concern for me is touching." Envy's voice was mocking once again.
"I'm only curious."
"I need to go." The source of Envy's voice was raised, allegedly because it had stood up. "Too long and he'll get suspicious." Soft footsteps towards the door, voice receding. "Never refer back to this conversation."
"Wait."
"What?"
"Do you ever want out?" The question came in something of a rush. He knew he was overstepping a boundary, but it was now or never.
"Don't ask me that."
"I am asking." Envy made it clear he wouldn't get the chance to ask again.
"No."
"Never?"
Envy was silent for a long time, long enough that Kimblee assumed he wasn't going to get answer, then,
"There is no out." Its voice was colored by some un-nameable emotion. "I don't…always like my job, no secret in that. That's why it's a job. But what else is there? A world of humans, to whom I'm nothing but a monster. Where would I go, if not here? What would I do, if not this?"
"I don't know."
"The answer is nothing. Nowhere, never. I have never wanted out. Besides," Envy hurried on quickly, as though trying to distance itself from what it had said, "It won't be like this forever. Eventually the world will change, and I – both of us will be…more than we are now."
"Monsters and traitors today, heroes tomorrow. The victors write the history."
"Well said." It sounded like Envy might be smiling, if only just. "We can talk more later; I'll tell you what I can about Father's plan. As much as I'm allowed. Good night."
.
The first thing Envy had done when Father restored its physical form was to run straight into Lust's arms. As though Envy were still young, as though they didn't have years of scheming and manipulation lying like a silent accusation between them. It was an after-effect of the punishment, Envy's need to affirm by another's touch that its body was real, was still there.
Then it was off to silence whatever word had gotten out concerning its transformation and battle with Kimblee.
The first life to take, clearly, was Cramer's. That was Envy's job, while Lust found out from Wrath how widespread knowledge of the incident had become. Envy's job wouldn't be any trouble at all, except that they had to make it look incidental. So either an accident or suicide. Suicide took longer, but Envy was in a bad mood, damn it, and fucking with Cramer's mind seemed like a good way to remedy that.
"Pride." Envy said. The next moment, eyes opened within the shadows all around it. It didn't bear thinking about, how close Pride always seemed to be.
"Let me guess." The childish voice came from no discernible direction. "You want to break the mind of the human who saw you transform."
"You know me so well."
"I do." Something in the way Pride said it made Envy shiver inwardly.
"Want to help?"
"Yes!" It spoke with the childish delight of riding a Ferris wheel or buying a puppy.
Envy ran with the shadows down the darkened streets of central. It passed the place where it had attempted to kill Cramer the first time. The street still showed signs of alchemy. It didn't help Envy's mood.
They reached Cramer's house, a manor of impressive size. Envy knew from research that Cramer came from a well-established military family of which there were so many in Central, and to which he owed both his wealth and his position of authority as a State Alchemist.
Envy shifted into the form of a cat. It was extremely difficult to get that small under normal circumstances, requiring both immense effort and unbroken focus. It was only for a short while, however, just from the gate on the edge of the residence to the shadow of a tree underneath a ground-floor window.
Envy let out a breath as it transformed back. At the same time, it heard a quiet click as the window was unlocked from the inside. Good 'ol Pride. Envy slipped quickly inside, shutting and locking the window behind it.
"Second story library." Whispered Pride in Envy's ear. His voice was gleeful.
"I can find him myself." Envy muttered, locating the flight of stairs. At the top, Envy turned left.
No library.
It backtracked.
"Found him yet?" Pride remarked dryly.
"Shut up."
The dark shot out and sliced Envy's arm, but of course it healed almost at once. "It's that red door on the left." Pride added.
Envy pushed the door open soundlessly. Apparently they kept their hinges well-oiled. A lamp was burning inside, casting a yellow light. Shadows moved on the walls, a pen was scratching frenetically on paper. Envy closed the door tightly. It locked from the inside.
Excellent.
Cramer didn't notice the sound of the door, too intent on whatever he was scribbling. He was not a young man, but he seemed to have aged ten years since Envy had last seen him. It approached his desk silently, anticipation growing with every step.
"What are you writing?"
Cramer looked up, and did a triple-take.
"Y-you're that – that monster!"
He lurched to his feet, causing his chair to fall over, and took several steps backwards.
"Oh yes." Envy grinned, wide, insane. "And, guess who else I am." It switched smoothly into the form of Cramer's wife.
That set him to screaming for around fifteen minutes, until his voice gave out. There was the sound of hammering on the door, but this was the kind of house where everything was made of very sturdy wood. Which, incidentally, was reinforced from within by Pride. They wouldn't get through any time soon.
"Why?" Cramer rasped, finally. "Why?"
"You wouldn't understand." Envy said, switching back to its preferred form. "It's bigger than you could comprehend. But you're very important to us. We like to keep a close watch on you."
Envy spread its arms, and, as if on rehearsed cue, Pride's eyes blossomed in every corner of shadow.
It wasn't longer after that before Cramer shot himself with his military-issue pistol.
"He didn't even use alchemy to do it." Pride commented in that puzzled, all-too-innocent voice. "He must not have been a very good alchemist."
"Doesn't seem like it." Envy agreed, dipping a finger into the pool of blood and tasting it. "Pro'lly lucky we got Kimblee instead."
"Lucky for you." Pride said brightly. "Father would have done something worse if you'd caused a scene and come back empty-handed."
And just like that, Pride was gone. Envy shuddered.
Just to be extra thorough, Envy checked what Cramer had been writing. It was, alarmingly enough, an account of what had transpired between Envy and Kimblee. Apparently Cramer had observed quite a bit from a distance. Envy crumpled the paper, then frowned. Who knew how much he had written about it? It might have to search the whole damn library...
The pounding on the door was louder now, it sounded as though they were actually trying to break it down. And, now that Pride was gone, they might succeed.
With a casual swipe of its arm, Envy pushed over the lamp. Cramer had been drinking scotch, and Envy pushed that over too. The flames spread quickly, first to the documents on the table, then sparks made their way to the carpet. It fed the crumpled paper to the blaze, enjoying the warmth on its fingertips, allowing itself to take a moment's satisfaction in a job well done.
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Not a long while later, Envy reflect on how it disliked standing in front of Wrath's desk, like an officer being briefed or, in this case, berated. Lust stood a few paces behind Envy, leaning against the wall, neither defending nor rebuking.
To other witnesses of the incident, the Fürer President had issued the following statement: the incident had been the doing of the military, concerning the escape of an experimental chimera. However, as the event was of a highly secret and – obviously – dangerous nature, they could say no more on the subject.
The fact that the issue had been contained, however, did not mean that it was erased.
"Plenty enough will know our story for the lie it is." Wrath said. He had removed his eye patch, and the Ourobros mark gazed accusingly at Envy. "Men who should have known about any such project – alchemists, doctors, high-ranking generals – will question why, and what other secrets are being kept from them."
"Let them suspect." Envy said, unwilling to concede the point. "We'll kill them too, or bring them in on the truth."
"That doesn't change the fact that what happened was disastrous. By some miracle, no one was injured except our new alchemist and there were no casualties, but that was a stroke of sheer luck and people will know it. I do not intend to rule a city where monsters rampage uncontrolled on the streets!"
"You don't rule anything." Envy spat. "Father gave it to you!"
The resulting fight demolished half of Wrath's office, and ended only when Lust threw herself between them, claws flashing.
"That's enough, both of you!" She growled.
They both stood down, whether in desire not to hurt her or in fear of the 'ultimate spear' is anyone's guess.
"You're lucky I can't transform here." Envy muttered, glaring daggers at Wrath, who was cleaning his sword.
"Go ahead, Envy. Give Father an excuse." Wrath sheathed his sword with a sharp hiss of metal-on-metal. "Give me one."
"I said, stop it." Lust snapped, glaring at both of them. "You're lucky I don't inform Father about both of you."
"He already knows." A voice came from nowhere, making Envy and Lust jump. Wrath was too accustomed to living with Pride to be taken unawares. It must say something about the younger homunculus's nerve, reflected Envy, that he could live with that thing every day and not go as stark-raving-mad as Cramer.
Not that Envy cared.
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When Envy and Lust were finally allowed to leave Wrath's office, Envy hesitated on the threshold of the door that would take them back undergound.
"I want to go let Kimblee know we dealt with Cramer. He seemed concerned about it when talking to Father."
"You mean you're not in a hurry to go home and deal with Father's punishment for letting your temper get away from you. Again."
"That goes without saying." Envy responded quietly. "I won't be long." It turned to go.
"Envy?"
"What?" It turned, annoyed. She held up a key.
"I had it made while you were…indisposed. I figure you've had enough of breaking in for one night."
Envy took the key from her gingerly.
"Thank you."
It never quite knew how to respond to favors from family.
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(A/N: 'So you're like a lizard?' Another smooth pick-up line from the Red Lotus Alchemist XD Thanks for reading!)