If you've been curious about Emilee's abilities, I have good news for you about this chapter! :D
(The trade-off being a LOT of dialogue in this chapter).
After the next chapter (chap. 7) the updates will not come out quite as frequently as they are now but I'll still always do my best to get at least one out per week.
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As always: read, review, and enjoy! :)
"Wow, Envy. I must say. I didn't think you would see something that I didn't notice. And that she can do it with her eyes closed, that's incredible. I'm impressed. Very surprised and impressed."
For a moment Envy relished in the acknowledgement but then his expression twisted. "Wait. Lust, what the fuck is that supposed to mean? You think I'm not capable of figuring shit out?"
Lust laughed but quickly calmed her composure. "Sloth will want to hear this. We've been at a dead-end for so long—I think this might help us finally clear this mystery."
Envy nodded.
"Hey, Emilee." Lust opened the girl's bedroom door. "Sloth and I wanted to show you someth—Why are you in here?"
Envy looked over from his position on the floor by the dresser. "Watching Emilee."
Emilee's eyes snapped to the door, the book in her hand now resting on the bed.
"But I only asked you to do that yesterday." She looked perplexed.
"I know."
Lust's puzzled expression was replaced by a smirk. "Well isn't that interesting."
"Shut-up."
Emilee looked back and forth between the two, not entirely sure what to make of the weird interaction. It seemed everyone but Envy was frozen in a state of bafflement.
"Something to show me?" Emilee finally asked.
Her question pulled Lust back from her silent focus on Envy. "Yes. We figured something out." She paused. "Thanks to Envy."
Emilee met Envy's eyes and smiled.
He smiled in return.
Lust looked back and forth between the two, not entirely sure what to make of this weird interaction. She slowly backed out into the hallway. "We'll be in the other room."
They walked together from the other room.
Emilee sat on the couch and Envy sat next to her.
"So, what did you guys figure out?" Emilee asked.
"We now think we know what exactly gives you this ability."
Emilee sat up in her seat. "What is it?"
"First, there is something important for you to know. We've known it for a long time but didn't want to bring it up until we knew enough about your circumstances."
"What is it?" Emilee eyed Lust cautiously.
"You aren't human."
Emilee's heart picked up speed and she stood up. "I am human."
Sloth shook her head. "You aren't. Just like us."
"You aren't human?" Emilee's eyes darting between the creatures around her.
"No. Have you noticed our tattoos?"
Emilee nodded. She'd noticed the odd ouroboros tattoos, a snake eating its own tail, already. She'd always assumed they were some sort of gang-related identification.
"Those who have these, like us, are homunculi. We're artificial humans."
Emilee sat down again. She opened her mouth but no words came.
"Which brings us to you." Lust said slowly.
"I—I am—I'm not artificial." Emilee felt like she couldn't control her mouth. "I'm just a normal person. I live in a normal house and have a normal garden. I'm normal." Tears clouded her vision.
"You are not artificial in the same way we are. You have your own complete soul."
Emilee's eyes flitted to Envy. He didn't have his own complete soul? What were these fucking things? "What are you trying to say? What are you trying to tell me?" Emilee's voice was on the verge of cracking.
"We found that men who visited your mother's town and grandmother's village sometimes disappeared. This has happened throughout each location's history."
"Impossible. My family wouldn't hurt anyone."
"At first a murder might have been anticipated, but no bodies were ever found.'
"My family wasn't responsible."
Sloth sighed. "Emilee, you need to calm down. This is the truth and we're trying to help you."
Emilee bit her lip.
"We looked everywhere at first, trying to find any information on someone who has eyes with such an ability. For a while we believed that there wasn't an explanation that we could uncover." Lust paused and grinned at Envy. "But after the revelation that it wasn't your eyes that the abilities could be attributed to, we searched for information on the brain."
"That's when we found it," Sloth tossed in.
"About 110 years ago, there was a doctor and alchemist named Dr. Ren Oenard who was researching methods for improvements in alchemic abilities. His goal was to create a human who was capable of extremely powerful alchemy, focusing on altering the chemistry of the brain." Lust couldn't contain her excitement at the discovery of this information. "He experimented on his daughter, Lynne Oenard, your maternal great grandmother who was an infant."
Emilee cringed in disgust. Experimenting on his own infant daughter?
"He supposedly altered the DNA that controls development of, primarily, the brain."
"What do you mean? What did he alter?" Emilee's face began to turn white in this continued, disturbing progression of her fright.
"That is mostly uncertain. His work was considered far too dangerous and unethical. Ultimately, he lost his funding and his work after that point is unknown."
"You don't know anything more?" She was both curious and repulsed.
Sloth smiled. "Information about his success is unknown—although your existence proves that it was—but we can look at his theories and plans."
Lust nodded. "His theory was that if he created a system, by which souls could be absorbed and directed into the brain, the souls could be harnessed as energy. This didn't create a philosopher's stone, but seemed to open the gate and provide knowledge. Father has seen the gate many times and has similar abilities to you."
"What do you mean 'the gate'?" Emilee asked.
"It's a body of immense knowledge that allows the use of alchemy to those who have it." Sloth said. "It's like the essence of life itself."
"Every time a soul is absorbed, as the theory implies, the gate opens either again or further, giving an increase in power." Lust said.
"But how could that even work? How could I end up with this if it was done so long ago?"
"My guess, is that he changed the genetics so that the brain and other parts of the body contained or formed structures that were shaped like transmutation circles. If he got that far, I doubt making it hereditary would be much of an issue, if not already incidental." Sloth said.
"I believe that your mother and grandmother periodically collected souls throughout their lives. Since we know for certain it happened every time of conception, it probably occurs during sex. A soul absorbed during pregnancy likely starts the process within the descendant, possibly along with part of the souls already collected by the mother."
Emilee just stared at the table. "What the hell does that make me?"
Lust and Sloth looked at each other.
Envy began laughing so hard he could hardly speak. "A succubus?"
Emilee stood again, this time with confidence. "You are all lying. That is impossible. It's just speculation. It's a coincidence. I am a normal human who you kidnapped. You're messing with my mind." She turned and walked back to her room without speaking another word.
Emilee lay in bed for a long time, just staring at the ceiling in silence. Who were they fooling? That was insane. She wasn't a succubus.
She sat up and glanced at the 41 marks on the wall, then looked at her hands. She needed to escape.
But Emilee let her hands fall and she collapsed back on the bed. She had no idea where the exit was. She could just transmute her way through the walls…but she had no idea where she was and the noise would alert all the "homunculi". If she was in a mountain, the wrong direction could send her to an immense wall of rock, with the homunculi easily able to recapture her.
She remembered her attempt to escape on the first day and hesitantly peered down at the scar on her arm. Who knows what they would do to her if she tried again. Lust probably wouldn't intervene this time.
Emilee cried into her sheets with the revelation that she might die in this prison.
Her door opened and Envy walked in. He walked across the room and sat against the wall where he always sat. The room settled in silence for a few minutes.
"You know, absorbing human souls is pretty fucking cool."
"Shut up. It's just a fucked-up lie."
Envy sighed. "It's not."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because it's the truth." He rubbed the back of his head, stood up and sat on the edge of the bed she was sprawled across.
She refused to look at him.
"Don't hate it or you'll just hate yourself."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Accept it and be proud of it. Emilee, you're better than humans, more powerful with more potential. Why be so dissatisfied with an amazing fact?"
Emilee wiped tears from her eyes and sat up. "Why do you always know what to say?"
"I've been around for 135 years."
Emilee laughed sadly. "Yeah, right."
He stood turned to face her. Suddenly he was a tall ishvalan. Then a young woman with tight, blond curls. Then he was Envy again.
"What the hell are you?"
"Like Lust said, we're homunculi. We all have abilities like this. Just like you, we are better than humans. Much better."
She stared at him. "I don't want this."
"Well. It's what you've got."
She looked down.
Envy grabbed her shoulders, pushed her back onto the bed, and placed his lips against hers.
Emilee's eyes widened for a moment until the initial sense of shock passed. She let her eyes close and placed her arms around him, kissing him back.
The moment lasted for a few minutes but, to Emilee, felt like mere seconds.
He pulled away and brushed hair out of her face. "You should get some sleep."
It was morning. Envy was lying in bed. Finding out Emilee wasn't human had seemed to break a barrier in his mind. She could certainly be annoying, but she annoyed him much less than everyone else. Was that love?
He laughed at such a ridiculous thought and sat up, wondering if Emilee was awake yet.
He crept through the house, placing bare feet on the cold stone floor, on a straight path to her room. He opened the door and saw her reading on the bed, as usual.
She looked up at him and set the book down. "Envy. What's up?"
For the first time, he sat on the bed instead of his usual spot. "Just got bored."
It was a lie. He'd wanted to see her, but he would never admit it.
There was a period of silence. Their feelings remained confusing and neither of them was sure what exactly to do.
He turned and kissed her for a moment but then pulled his head back. She stared at him, disappointed.
"You know," Envy said. "I only like you because you're not human."
Emilee's face twisted in confusion. "Why?"
"Because I hate humans."
"But I don't."
"I know." He smiled and pressed his lips against hers again. "I have a feeling you'll change your mind eventually. I mean think about that horrible human who tested on his own child."
"What if I don't?"
He smirked. "As long as you aren't human, I can accept it."
He pressed his lips against her passionately and pushed her back onto the bed. She gasped a bit as he left a trail of kisses down her jaw before biting her neck. She leaned her head to the other side, offering more of her neck.
His hands began to unbutton her blouse but she grabbed them to stop him.
He cocked his head to the side, confused.
"Beyond the fact that, if I am what they say I am, that would kill you—I'm not ready for anything like that, Envy. I'm sorry."
He sighed and rebuttoned the two he'd managed to get undone before her rejection. His violet eyes met her blue. "Are you a virgin? If you weren't, you wouldn't be so uncertain about the killing me part"
Her face turned bright red. "I don't have to answer that question."
"So, that's a yes?" He smirked, and kissed her lips again.
"Envy, what are you doing?" Lust stood in his doorway.
"Reading." He didn't pull his face from the book.
"No," Lust sighed. "I mean, what are you doing with Emilee?"
Envy shrugged. His eyes remained focused on the page.
"I thought you hated her?" She smirked.
Envy finally set the book down. "I hated her when I thought she was human."
"Well that's superficial."
"Maybe. Who cares?"
"Emilee?"
He picked his book back up. "She knows. She doesn't care."
"Is this just sexual? I've never seen you care about anyone before."
He laughed. "She didn't want to have sex so I'd be in deep shit if that were true."
Lust approached him. "You know what they say about fraternizing in the workplace." She rubbed his head, messing up his hair.
"Hey, watch what you're doing." He pulled his head away from and turned it to glare at her.
"Why do you even care so much?"
"It's not that I care. It's because I don't care."
Emilee woke up, a few days later, and glanced at her wall. Her eyes widened when she realized she hadn't added a new scratch to it in two days. She covered her face with her hands. "What's happening to me?"
"Me." Envy laughed.
Emilee jerked over and saw him sitting in his spot. She pulled her sheets up to cover herself, hardly dressed. "What the fuck are you doing in here?"
He shrugged. "Watching you sleep." He winked.
Emilee's mouth dropped and she threw her pillow at him. "Get out of here."
He caught it and laughed. "You really need to get better at throwing things."
"I am amazing it throwing things. You are just abnormally good at catching." She crossed her arms.
"Wanna work on your alchemy?" He tossed the pillow back to her.
She returned the pillow to its designated place at the head of the bed and sat up, still covering herself with the sheets. "I guess. Let me get dressed first."
"Okay."
There was a pause as Emilee watched him. He staring at her, retaining his position.
"I meant get out of here so I can get dressed," she growled.
He rolled his eyes and left the room.
Emilee blew up fifteen books in a row, each shortly after closing her eyes.
"Nice job, Emilee. But try waiting a bit longer now." He placed another book on the ground.
Emilee closed her eyes, paused a moment, and heard a pop. She opened her eyes with joy, but her face dimmed to a frown. She had only destroyed one corner of the book.
"Why do you look so upset? You managed to deconstruct it."
"Yeah, but just one corner."
"Practice makes perfect," he sang.
After a few more tries she managed to get half of the book. Another after that and she managed to get almost all of it. She ran and hugged Envy who reluctantly hugged her back.
"I'm getting better!" She spun around but then stopped and grabbed her head with a wince.
"You okay?" He examined her.
"Yeah," she laughed and shook her head. "Just a headache."
He rubbed her head. "That's a sign that we should stop. I don't want you killing yourself from overuse."
Emilee frowned. "Am I so much weaker than my mom, that I can only do this much before I reach my limit? I guess she was always stronger than me."
He brushed hair out of her face. "Maybe it's because she absorbed a lot of souls first. If you're a virgin, you've only absorbed one soul, that of your father, and maybe some from your mother's reservoir."
Emilee leaped away from him. "Fuck that. I'm not going to go whore myself out and I'm definitely not going to kill anyone."
He laughed and walked to her, patting her gently on the head. "I don't mean go out and have sex with a bunch of disgusting humans."
Her cheeks flushed. "I'd end up killing you and—I don't want to yet."
He grinned. "I have a lot of souls. I can spare one or two."
Her eyes widened. "Lots of souls?"
He nodded. "I didn't get them your way, however."
"But what if I absorb more than one or two? What if I take them all and kill you?"
He smirked. "Guess we'll just have to figure that out." He picked her up bridal style and started to carry her out but she shoved him away.
"I already told you that I'm not ready yet."
He sighed and set her down. "What are you waiting on?"
"I'm not going to just give myself away like that. Are we even in a relationship yet? I don't even know what we are." She was staring down.
He watched her curiously. "Are you still holding onto those odd human ideals?"
She glanced up at him before letting her gaze roll back to the floor.
"Don't let those zealous standards of 'waiting before you give yourself away' that humans vomit out, stop you from enjoying yourself."
"No one else has made me feel this way. I just don't want to have sex with anyone until I feel like they aren't gonna ditch me afterwards."
"Emilee, if I were to ditch you afterwards." He put his hands on his waist and leaned down to her. "Where exactly would I go?"