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Chapter Text

As he felt himself being pulled out of the dark pit from whence he came, a sense of relief washed over him. He didn’t manage to achieve immortality, or take over the planet… but he did get what he wanted out of life more than anything else. He’d had enough.

That was his goal, in the end. Greed wanted everything he could get out of life. At a previous time, to him that would’ve meant living forever and holding all of the universe in the palm of his hand. It was only once he met Ling Yao that he realized “the world” didn’t have to mean the planet in the literal sense. It was only in this form that he realized he had managed to take the world in his hands after all. The world felt warm in one hand and cold in the other. The world couldn’t take a joke. The world had golden eyes and golden hair to match, and the world… was actually rather small. He couldn’t help but smile as he started to weaken. The world would have struck him down if it heard that.

He floated without a form. His vision blurred, but he was satisfied. His life ended here, and that was alright with him. He at least managed to debilitate that bastard “father” with his last efforts. Now that he had been discarded, his Philosopher’s Stone would disappear with him. The battle could be won, and the world could continue on without him, as it was meant to be.

He felt hands close around him.

Something was wrong. Father wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Was he that desperate for the Philosopher’s Stone after all? Was this all for nothing?

“You’re not getting away that easily, you bastard…!!”

The voice of the world called out to him. He had forgotten that it had once embraced him, just like this.

“You’re a damn idiot,” it said.

The feeling was foreign. It almost scared him. Never before had anything treated him like this. Like he was alive. Trembling hands hesitated to do anything in return. He knew his true nature; he wanted to hold and never let go. He understood the world’s nature too, however. It would always move forward, towards infinite progress. Greed would want it to be stagnant in his possession. He couldn’t taint its beauty so.

“What are you doing, Ed?” he asked. He could hear Ling snickering in his head.

“Proving a point. You’ve been keeping me safe because you feel like I’m a possession, right?”

Shoving down his conflicting feelings, a sharp grin spread across his face as he finally allowed himself to put one arm around his greatest desire. “You catch on fast, eh?”

“But how do you feel right now?”

The word died in Greed’s throat before he could even process it was there. He couldn’t come up with any smug remark to cover his skin before Ed spoke again. “Safety. It’s something we take for granted. For me, being anywhere without my brother is terrifying. I know he always has my back. But… I’ve been able to keep my nerves down because of you. Being in charge of an interesting group like us must be stressful, huh? Who’s helping you out?”

“Why are you doing this…?”

“No… why are you doing this…?!”

He had come to accept the fact that his desires would eventually consume him years ago. That’s part of the reality of being the sin of greed. He knew he would want without end, that he would never be satisfied until everything in this reality was his, and even then, he may never have been truly sated. He didn’t expect to feel so complete when he gave himself up. Still, the fate he had resigned himself to came for him.

“Ed, you can’t…!”

“I’m so fucking sick of letting people die for my sake.”

"Listen to me, dammit!!"

The world held him in its arms and consumed him, tears staining its beautiful face as it did so.

Chapter Text

Agony.

Every nerve ending in Ed’s body exploded with the pain of accepting more souls than one vessel was meant to hold. It seemed like he wasn’t alone in his torment, either. The screams of the thousands of people that had to be sacrificed just for Greed to exist reverberated in his skull. Of course, louder than all of them was Greed himself.

“Are you a FUCKING IDIOT?!”

Any other time, Ed would have rolled his eyes at the sound of that voice. But now, after almost witnessing its source vanish in front of his eyes, he felt relieved that he was still blessed enough to hear it. His sight kept flickering between the outside world and his consciousness. Ling had come to try and lift him off the ground, away from Father. Greed’s enraged face stood out amongst the sea of drowning souls. Ling’s concerned face again. Back to Greed.

Until finally, staying connected to the real world proved to be too exhausting for a mind and body in this amount of torture.

“Answer me, you little shit!”

Ed wondered if this was what it was like for Ling— sitting in a sea of the tormented, fighting every second to stay afloat. A will as strong as his would never succumb so easily; it’s no surprise he and Greed managed to work out a way to coexist. Ed didn’t think this far ahead when he reached out. All he knew was that he needed to save Greed. He couldn’t let anyone else die because of him. That ended here. After this battle, nobody would have to lay down their life for him ever again.

“…Who the hell are you calling little?!” he snapped at the homunculus. The remark lacked the usual bloodthirsty rage that overcame him whenever anyone mocked his height.

“We’re done playing that game now. Do you even realize how bad you’ve SCREWED yourself?! Homunculi can’t perform alchemy! You can’t let me take over—”

“Who said anything about letting you take over?”

It was a blur from there. Greed remained locked behind Ed’s consciousness as the battle continued, until—

“You have not come alone, have you?”

Ed’s shoulders tensed at the sound of that haunting voice. He hoped this would be the last time he’d ever have to hear it.

He forced a grin as he tried to keep his voice steady. “Sorry, is my plus one not allowed?”

“He’s not the first homunculus to appear here. I suppose I can make an exception. Besides, this isn’t about him, is it? This is about your brother. What do you plan to give up in exchange for his body?”

That day, Ed traded his ability to perform alchemy for his brother’s body. But the things Greed witnessed within that realm never left him. For some reason, Ed’s control over his body was slipping as he sacrificed his door. So was Greed’s sense of self; he watched through Ed’s eyes as he took Alphonse’s hand and walked through the other door that remained. However, once they went through that door, everything changed.

He watched Ed and Al go on without him. It was almost as if they had veered off on another path and he was taking another way home. He could feel himself splitting apart at the seams from the overload of mental strain being forced onto him all at once. How did all of it not bother them? Because they had seen it before? Where were they?

He recalled what that voice said to him.

“You made a sacrifice, too. Take what you gain from it.”

It disturbed him just as much as he felt it disturb Ed just moments prior. Then, just like that, he was outside again. Well, outside inside Ed.

“…And that’s about how it went. All I remember of it, anyway.”

This morning, a few months later, he woke up. Woke up as in roused from sleep, but sleep was not possible for him if he wasn’t in control of his body—

What.

He shot upright in an instant and stumbled out of bed to the nearest mirror he could find. He had forgotten how it felt to be so nauseous. When his gaze met his reflection, he could have sworn he was going to vomit.

This face had been tainted by his expressions, his eye color, his entire demeanor. Ed’s eyes weren’t supposed to be this odd violet. They were perfectly golden, just like the rest of him. Blond hair never suited Greed, but it was perfect on Ed. This was wrong. He already had his protests when that stupid alchemist invited him so freely into his body; but he never even imagined seeing himself like this. It made him ill.

He watched as a hand that didn’t belong to him ran down the face that didn’t belong to him. It pulled at the skin underneath the eye that didn’t belong to him. He needed to peel it off. He needed to set himself free from this. It hurt too much.

“And… have you heard from Brother since you woke up today?”

“Not a damn peep. I’ve tried reaching out to him and the stubborn fuck just won’t answer. I’m gonna be real pissed off if he really did drown in all those souls.”

Alphonse looked upset just sitting with him. It made sense— a homunculus was suddenly inhabiting the body of his brother just when it had seemed like all of the conflict was finally over. Greed felt a pang of guilt ripple through him seeing Alphonse struggle to maintain a straight face. It took him by surprise for a moment, but he shrugged it off as Ed’s influence. This kind of thing happened regarding Lan Fan when Greed had inhabited Ling as well.

“Well… I guess the best thing to do is go to Xing,” the younger brother said after a beat of silence.

Speaking of Ling. Greed took a deep breath and sighed loudly, dramatically, and for several long seconds.

“Ling… he’s been in Ed’s shoes. He’ll know what’s going on better than me. Hey, you mind coming with? I think he’s still pissed off at me for trying to sacrifice myself and shit, and I’m not interested in taking all that heat alone.”

Surprise crossed Alphonse’s face at the invitation, and he bit his lip. “Um… sure. I can. But… you know that’s not going to stop him from being mad at you, right?”

“I know. Man, I know… normally I wouldn’t give a damn about going alone, but I think Ed’s consciousness is fucking with me.”

Greed glanced down at his hand. The Ouroboros tattoo stained once flawless skin. He looked back up to meet Alphonse’s widened eyes.

“I just need you to come along. I’ll take all the shit from Ling. You just gotta be there. Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll figure this out.”

A moment passed before Alphonse’s eyes began to glisten, a weak smile tugging at his lips. “That does sound like something he’d say… I guess he’s influenced you after all.”

“It doesn’t suit me and neither does this look. Let’s hurry up and let Ling know we’re coming.”

Chapter Text

“Thanks for letting me tune up your automail before you go.”

“Yeah, yeah… kinda have to, don’t I? You’re my mechanic and all—"

“You don’t have to play pretend with me. I know you’re not Ed.”

“Mm… what gave it away, huh? Aside from the obvious.”

“You’re not tense enough while I’m working on you. Ed is always so awkward during repairs… you sit like having people do things for you is a regular occurrence.”

“Hah… you could tell by something that small. I should try a little harder to act like him. Don’t really want a lot of eyes on me right now…”

“I mean, that’s not a horrible idea, but… don’t try too hard with it, you know? That’ll just make people think you’re trying to replace him.”

“Replace something like him? That’s crazy. I want a lot of things, but even I could never dream of replacing something as perfect as him.”

“You’re ridiculous. Ed’s far from perfect. But that’s why we love him.”

“You got it all wrong, sweetheart. I never said he was flawless. But each and every one of those flaws… they’re perfect. Perfectly Ed. That’s why I need him to take this damn body back. I’m fucking it up. I'm wearing clothes he'd never wear, saying shit he'd never say. I wanna look at him and not be looking at me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m gorgeous… but not with this face.”

“…You care about him a lot, don’t you?”

“Are we done here?”

“Haha… yeah.”

Chapter Text

Even after all the time that had passed since Greed had left the Gate, he still didn’t understand what that voice meant when it said he gained something from a sacrifice. Nothing about him seemed different. He didn’t feel like he had lost or gained anything except this new body, and even then he hardly considered it something he gained. This was the first time he had been strong enough to take control of it for an extended period. There was a question that nagged at him; was it really that he had gained the strength to take charge, or was it that Ed’s soul had weakened? The possible answer made him feel violently ill, so he tried not to dwell on it.

He still hadn’t heard a word from that stubborn blond even as he and Alphonse prepared to leave, even as they made their way to the train station, even as they waited for the train, even as they boarded the train—

Where the hell was he?

“Still nothing?” asked Alphonse as he took a seat across from the homunculus.

“Nope,” Greed responded simply, adjusting the gloves he put on to hide his tattoo.

The younger blond sighed with disappointment, his tired eyes turning to look out the window. Greed wondered if that was so he didn’t have to look at the possessed body of his brother.

Alphonse had come a long way from his condition when he first left the Gate. Greed remembered when he was just skin and bones, hair hanging down to his back. He still wasn’t at his best yet, but he at least no longer needed a cane to walk. His cheeks weren’t as hollowed in, he could move a little faster, but his eyes were what seemed to change the least. They had bags under them, tired beyond his years, like just existing was exhausting for him. Greed figured he wasn’t making that any easier.

Why did he care so much? He never gave Alphonse so much as a second glance back when he was in Ling's body. Was this really Ed’s influence? If that were so, then where was he? Why was he hiding?

“You’re looking better since I last spoke to you,” he blurted out, interrupting his spiraling train of thought.

Alphonse perked up, pulling his gaze away from the landscape to look at Greed. “Uh… thanks? You’re… also looking… different.”

A short, humorless chuckle escaped the homunculus. “Yeah, you don’t gotta be nice about it,” he said with a wave of his hand, “I know this isn’t ideal. Hey, how did I do on the clothes? These tacky enough?”

“I still think you have a better sense of fashion than Brother,” Alphonse shook his head with a weak smile, “You almost got it right, but you’re just barely stylish enough that people who know him will notice, I think.”

Greed clicked his tongue. “Damn. I’m just too good,” he sighed, stretching with closed eyes.

A brief silence fell upon the both of them. Alphonse’s eyebrows furrowed. “Hey… this is a little random, but… you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to— you were with us in the Gate, weren’t you?”

Violet eyes opened again. “Yeah, I was. Freaky fuckin’ place. I thought I told you about that already?”

“You did… but… I was just wondering— what did you see, exactly…?”

Greed felt his shoulders tense. That place troubled him more than he’d like to admit. Thinking about what he saw, even for a second… it made him sick.

“It… it was like… everything. And nothing. Too much at once, but when I came out, nothing had changed.”

He watched Alphonse’s expression grow more concerned. “Could it have been the Truth…? But then… what did you lose?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. That voice told me I made a sacrifice and gained something from it, but everything’s still the same. I’m a homunculus, my tattoo’s right here,” he showed his left hand, but neglected to remove his glove, “I can still regenerate, I have my shield—”

As if to demonstrate again, he hardened the skin on his cheek.

Alphonse stared at him with horror. Greed returned a look of confusion for a few moments until he realized that nothing happened.

“…Wait…”

He tried again. Then he tried one more time, focusing with all his might. Nothing. His hand flew to cover his cheek, the spot suddenly feeling very vulnerable as his breath quickened with anxiety. He’d never had to think about activating his shield before. It just happened. It came naturally. Now he couldn’t summon it at all, not even for the tiniest patch of skin. Was he rusty? He knew he hadn’t needed to use it for some time, but that shouldn’t have caused it to disappear entirely. Unless this was the consequence of trying to turn it against Father—

“That’s what it took from you…” he heard Alphonse speak quietly and shakily, barely audible over the rumbling of the train.

Well, that was one half of Greed’s question answered.

He was making good progress.

He freaked out.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” his voice was a harsh whisper so as to not attract the attention of the other passengers (to no avail— a few wandering eyes found him, but were quickly deterred by a stern gaze from Alphonse), “No, this— this is a joke! That place took my fucking shield away?! I didn’t ask to be there! Why did I have to lose— it was mine—! I need it…!! I still need it, I can’t—! How am I supposed to—?! Without it, I’m— I won’t be able to protect— no, no, no, this is bullshit, it has to work—”

He kept trying. His skin was still soft and squishy. Weak. Panicked hands ran through blond hair that wasn’t his. They pulled at it until they were grabbed and pushed away by another pair.

Greed looked up. Alphonse was suddenly closer to his face, now capable of making eye contact with him. The surprise of that fact was enough to stun the homunculus for a moment.

“You have to stay calm, Greed. This is a lot. It’s a lot to deal with all at once, for both of us. But we’re working on trying to figure things out, okay? We’re going to figure out what happened to Brother, and we’re going to figure out what happened to you. It’s okay to be worried, but I’m not going to let you start pulling out Brother’s hair. He worked hard to grow it out.”

Greed blinked once. Then twice.

“…That was real embarrassing of me, wasn’t it.”

Alphonse’s half-hearted smile returned. He seemed relieved that Greed was at least trying to go back to normal. “A little.”

Greed shook his head, tearing his arms free from Alphonse’s grasp. “What the hell… me, needing some bullshit comfort from a human… gross. Get back in your seat, you little pissant. You’re gonna forget what just happened, and if you ever bring it up again, I’ll skewer you.”

“With what claws?” Alphonse jabbed back as his smile turned smug.

“You fucker.”

They laughed, Greed’s a little more forced than Alphonse’s.

Greed never saw himself capable of getting along with Ed’s brother like this after their first encounter in Dublith was so… rocky, to put it lightly. But as the conversation took a turn towards the lighthearted side, he decided the little bastard wasn’t so bad. He knew this alliance was shaky at best; Alphonse was clearly only in it to get his brother back, not caring much for Greed himself. Hell, that’s how Greed felt too; nothing else mattered right now except finding Ed. Though, he wouldn’t mind trying to figure out what the hell he “earned” from the Gate along the way. Most importantly, their main goals aligned. Greed could work with this.

“Yes, we’ve confirmed that both Elric brothers are on this train. But, sir… there’s a problem.”

“Problem? What do you mean?”

“Well, based on the description you gave us… the Elric brothers are supposed to have yellow eyes. But… for some reason, one of them has purple eyes.”

“…Purple?”

“The rest of his physical appearance matches that of Edward Elric. Could it be someone attempting to pose as him, sir?”

“…You’ve carried out your duty well, soldier. I will take it from here.”

Chapter Text

Having to make a stop was less than ideal, but the trains were going to stop running soon, and making it to Xing in one day was a nearly impossible task unless they had gotten up at some unholy hour in the morning. Greed valued his beauty sleep. Not that he technically needed sleep, but it certainly did wonders in keeping him looking young, aside from his Philosopher’s Stone. He especially needed to keep the new face he now wore as perfect as possible. It’s been tainted enough by the fact that he was even using it to make expressions. It had the wrong eye color. Its muscles weren’t meant to move like this. It was all wrong. This feeling of inadequacy was terribly human. He was more human than he liked to admit sometimes.

He never harbored the bitter hatred for humans that his siblings did, but it was still a hard pill to swallow that he was just like them. He possessed abilities that humans did not, struggled to understand humans’ thought processes— though, now he was even closer to a human than ever, he supposed. Now that his Ultimate Shield had mysteriously vanished, the only thing left going for him was his regeneration.

Of course, he wasn’t just going to accept that his shield was gone; as he and Alphonse made their way to a hotel for the night, he kept trying to harden the skin under his sleeves. The more nothing happened, the more lost in thought he became. That Gate was all about equivalent exchange. He saw Ed give up that door for Alphonse’s body. The door was supposedly the thing that let him do alchemy; once it was gone, he never performed another transmutation again. But the door was the only way out, so when it disappeared—

No… they left through another door at the other side. That was where Alphonse’s body was. As far as Greed knew, Alphonse was still capable of alchemy. Did that mean that door belonged to him? Which implied there could be multiple—

Of course there could be. He never paid much attention to his father’s schemes, but Greed knew he was obsessed with this Gate. Hell, Gluttony’s existence was a failed attempt at creating one from scratch. The purpose of Promised Day operation was to open the Gate of the whole world. But in all that massive white void, Greed could only see Ed’s and Alphonse’s doors.  How many could there really be? He was pulled away when the brothers went through the remaining door together.

…So where the hell did he go? There wasn’t another exit as far as he could see. And if being in that place really took his shield from him, what did he get back? Or… did the rules not apply to him because he was a homunculus?

That would just be fucked up, wouldn’t it.

He tried to harden his skin. Nothing.

Checking into a hotel was as mind-numbing as ever. He and Alphonse answered a little too hurriedly when asked if they wanted two separate beds. Yeah, they were getting along better than before, but they were never going to be that close.

The room was silent save for the quiet breeze offered by the ceiling fan. Greed and Alphonse sat on their respective beds. Greed remembered how much he hated silence when his thoughts weren’t loud anymore. Did he just like to hear himself talk? Maybe. He didn’t know. He also remembered he didn’t know a lot about himself. He was sure of few things and remained confident in those things to mask how little he truly understood of himself. Didn’t help that he had never been less confident in his existence than he was sitting in that room, wearing Ed’s skin, shieldless.

He decided to attempt reaching out to Ed again. If he could just get that idiotic blond to talk, maybe something about this would finally start to make sense.

Ed.

Ed, come on. Seriously. You can’t do shit like this…

You can’t just put me in charge and leave. Dealing with your brother is your job, not mine. I'm having to babysit him while he’s worried about you. Do you even see what you’re making me do? You’re really making me crawl all the way to Xing for your sorry ass just because you wanna give me the silent treatment? Ling is gonna beat the shit out of me for what I did.

Hey, this is your body. He’s technically gonna beat the shit out of you, too. Wake up. Wake the fuck up. Ed!

…Yeah, that went about as well as he expected it to.

“Well,” he announced loudly and suddenly, earning a flinch from Alphonse, “it’s super confirmed. My shield is gone and Ed is also still gone.”

Alphonse blinked at him for a few moments before sighing. “Okay, then… that’s great. Always good to double check, right?”

Greed huffed and flopped back dramatically, letting his head hit the pillow with a satisfying thump. “I’ve been thinking about it. Maybe I didn’t get anything at all. Like, I’m a homunculus. A lot of rules already don’t apply to me because I’m not human, you know. Who says it didn’t just take my shield for shits and giggles?”

“I really want to doubt that…” Alphonse replied hesitantly, “there’s a lot of things about the Gate and the Truth that I’m not sure about, but… I don’t think it’s evil like that. If the rules didn’t apply to you, I don’t think you would’ve lost your shield.”

“Isn’t this the same thing that made you have to live as a suit of armor for ages? And you’re saying it’s not evil?”

Despite not looking at him, Greed could feel the mood shift. He definitely brought up a sensitive subject. The lack of response from Alphonse let him know he had only a few seconds to rectify this mistake.

“Anyway,” he rushed out hastily, “I’ve got a damn headache from thinking about it so much. Y’know, brain working overtime all day… let’s just sleep on it, yeah?”

Alphonse seemed satisfied with that. “Do you even need to sleep?”

“Nope. Doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“Huh…”

Greed let his eyes close. Normally, sleep wasn’t difficult for him to achieve. A few seconds of silence and darkness, and he’d be out like a light.

His muscles tensed and his heart raced to the point it hurt. He could feel sweat beginning to form on his forehead. That’s not what sleep was supposed to be like.

He sat upright, a hand clutching his chest. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Alphonse standing, staring at him worriedly. He hadn’t even had a chance to turn off the lights yet.

“What the hell is this…?”

His breathing got quick again. Just like earlier. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t control it; his breaths were shallow and short. His hands began to shake, and his eyes darted all around the room. He knew this feeling. He recognized this feeling.

He was going to die.

He wouldn’t have any problem with meeting his end if it weren’t for the fact that he was in a body that he couldn’t let die. He couldn’t die yet. He needed to save Ed. Death couldn’t come for him yet. It was too soon.

“Greed?” Alphonse’s voice sounded miles away.

“The curtain,” Greed barely managed to wheeze out, fighting his closing throat.

“Huh…?” Alphonse turned his head towards the window, the curtain still open and allowing a view to the outside world.

“Close the damn curtain!” Greed snapped.

Alphonse flinched again. The sudden shift in Greed’s attitude seemed to have left him stunned. That only made Greed angry. Did this kid understand anything? They were in danger. They were being watched. Even though it didn’t make sense, and he had no proof, Greed just felt it in his body—

He had to do something about this. If Alphonse wasn’t going to do it, then he had to take matters into his own hands.

He clapped them together.

His body.

Ed’s body.

He remained frozen like that for a few moments, widened eyes staring ahead of himself. Alphonse appeared equally shocked, and he still hadn’t moved from his spot by the light switch. Seconds ticked by that felt like hours. Greed felt odd.

“…This body’s fucking with me,” he said finally, quieter this time.

“Were you… feeling paranoid?” Alphonse asked, his voice barely audible.

“Happened to Ed a lot, I know… I can never fight against a body’s muscle memory. It was just— physically ingrained in him to stay on edge. And how about this, huh?” Greed finally separated his hands from each other, waving them awkwardly with a weak smile, “Alchemy shit. His first instinct when he’s being attacked.”

Alphonse finally seemed to be calming now that Greed was doing the same. His eyes fell to the floor. “Yeah…”

Another several moments of silence. Greed sighed, stretching his arms upward.

“Gotta say, Ling’s body was a lot more helpful… with him I was actually able to hold my own against Wrath. He wrecked my shit in my first body…”

He twisted his torso to face the wall, leaning forward until his hands touched the wooden surface. The stretching was definitely helping to relieve some of the tension in his aching muscles. Man, he wouldn’t have felt so endangered if he just had his shield. He keeps embarrassing himself in front of this damn baby. That was the second time today he’d freaked out. He needed to find some sort of substitute for his shield that would make him feel more secure, like this stupid fleshy casing that contained him wasn’t so vulnerable.

He was blinded by a flashbang, and then felt something heavy land beside him on the bed.

Wait, they were actually being attacked? That was just stupid paranoia, they weren’t supposed to be—

He was up in an instant, stumbling away from the bed on unsteady legs, nearly crashing into Alphonse in the process. He didn’t know why he assumed a defensive stance; there was no way he would be able to do much in a body like this. No— don’t think like that, Greed. You’re still a badass. Shield or no shield, you’re a badass.

Sure enough, there was a slight cavity in the wall. Greed’s eyes remained trained on that, waiting for any sudden movement, but Alphonse’s gaze beside him was focused elsewhere. Greed noticed that the younger blond’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his skull. Everything was still. Greed narrowed his eyes.

“…What’s your deal?” the homunculus whispered, “Get your shit together. We might get attacked.”

“You know,” Alphonse spoke weakly, his stare unblinking, “I used to think you were just full of yourself whenever you said you always got what you wanted… b-but I’m…”

“What the actual fuck are you talking about? There’s a fucking crater in the wall, can you—…”

Despite his insistence that he was focused on the bigger issue, Greed allowed his gaze to follow Alphonse’s. No matter what was there, there was no way it could be a bigger deal than the now distorted wall. Greed was definitely not paying for that, by the way.

A rickety wooden shield rested on the sheets. It was round in shape, something similar to what a medieval soldier would have used if it was more structurally sound. Just to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating, Greed blinked. A lot. A little bit of rubbing his eyes, too. Just to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating, Greed returned to the bedside. Just to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating, Greed reached for the shield and picked it up. It looked like it would fall apart if it got so much as tapped, but it was certainly solid. Confirmed: Greed was not hallucinating.

He looked back at Alphonse as if to silently demand an answer to a question he had yet to ask. The boy nodded shakily.

“…Alchemy.”

Chapter Text

“Remember when you kidnapped me?”

“You’re really bringing that up right now?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought we were chilling.”

“’Chill’ doesn’t mean I forgive you. Anyway… your goal was to learn the secret behind how my soul was bound to my armor. To gain immortality, right?”

“Uh… yeah, that was it…”

“I hope you know it wouldn’t have worked anyway.”

“…What.”

“In the time leading up to the Promised Day… that body started to reject my soul. I kept blacking out and getting sent back to the Gate for longer and longer periods of time. Eventually, I think I would’ve been forced back there permanently, unless Brother found something else to bind my soul to… it’s a good thing he got my body back when he did.”

“…All that effort to find and catch you, and you’re saying it wouldn’t have even worked? Dude, what a load of shit. You asshole. I didn't need to hear this information. Don't you humans say ignorance is bliss or something?”

“Haha! I thought you deserved to know."

"You mean you wanted to piss me off."

"Real immortality is just a myth anyway. You would've figured that out sooner or later! Probably!”

“If you told me this back when I was still an idiot, I think I would’ve killed you. Man, immortality… it really is a joke. It was never what I wanted or needed. I only kept trying to get it in hopes I could… be satisfied.”

“Being satisfied… as Greed. It sounds kind of impossible.”

“Ha… I know. The name suggests it’ll never happen, right? But, you know… as I was dying, I was thinking to myself… I’m done. I've had enough… crazy shit I never thought I’d hear myself say. Settling for less isn’t as bad as I thought it was. Everything you already have is just as important as having everything. In a way, it… already is everything. When you think of it like that, it doesn’t feel like settling for less at all. I wanted everything… and I realized I had it. I was satisfied.”

“…Are you upset that Brother saved you?”

“Not as much as everyone else is, I bet. Are you upset?”

“A little. But it’s… slowly getting more bearable, I think.”

Chapter Text

A black-haired leader held a piece of paper given to him by his most trusted subordinate.

“…You’re sure it’s him?” he asked, his grip tightening.

“Without a doubt,” she answered.

He folded the paper in half and tucked it neatly in his pocket. “So Ed’s in trouble and is making his way here for my help. I didn’t think I’d be seeing him so soon… I’m not even emperor yet.”

Lan Fan stared at him expectantly. She could tell he was thinking about something. That was the look he’d have when he had a plan.

“…I want you to ensure they get here safely,” Ling said finally, his brows furrowed, “I think something is wrong… that wasn’t Ed’s handwriting.”

Lan Fan’s eyes widened slightly. “You’re saying he didn’t write the letter?”

Ling took the paper out of his pocket again. He didn’t entirely know why; maybe to confirm that he wasn’t just experiencing delusions. His eyes scanned the written words at least three more times.

Ling,

Bet you didn’t expect to be hearing from me already. Something’s come up, and I need your help. You’re the one who knows best about this bullshit kinda situation I’m dealing with. Don’t worry, you don’t have to come here— I’m already on my way to Xing. You’re the emperor by now, right? You won’t be too hard to find, in that case. By the way, do you take meetings by appointment or something now? I probably should’ve thought about that. You always find a way to get to me though, so I’m not worried.

See you soon,

Ed

He remembered what happened on that day better than anyone else. If only he had seen what happened in the time Ed disappeared, then maybe he would have an explanation for what he was seeing now.

That day, Greed sacrificed himself when Father was trying to reabsorb him into his body. Greed separated himself from Ling to save his life… he lied to him. That was the worst part of all of it, Ling thought. Greed lied to him. It felt like all the trust in each other they had built up, all the time they had spent together, it was going to amount to nothing. Greed accepted his end when Ling wanted that battle to mark a new beginning for both of them. He remembered feeling cold once Greed left him completely. He had forgotten what it was like to be alone with his thoughts, and he wasn’t sure he was a fan of it anymore.

The end Greed had welcomed never came. Whether in an impulsive or calculated move, Ling saw Ed reach for Greed. The poor fool was trying to save him, even as they were all watching him fade away.

And to Ling’s absolute shock, it worked. Ed writhed on the ground in agony, but he had same Ouroboros tattoo on his hand that Ling had moments prior. Greed was somehow still alive… though there couldn’t have been much of him left after almost being completely reabsorbed into Father. That’s why Ling wasn’t too surprised when Ed awoke as Ed. The blond idiot finished off Father, performed one final transmutation, recovered Alphonse’s body, and that was the end of it. Despite seeing confirmation that Greed was alive, Ling didn’t get a chance to talk to him before it was time to go home. After that stunt he pulled, the prince resolved to give him a very stern talking to once they met again.

“His hands wrote this letter, certainly,” Ling explained, “but not his mind. Remember when I gave you the message that I had obtained a Philosopher’s Stone?”

“Yes… I thought your handwriting was only off because it was written in an… unusual way. Not on paper, that is,” Lan Fan fixated her gaze on a particularly interesting wall, a little embarrassed to recall any memories during the time she was incapacitated without an arm.

Ling shook his head. “No… it was because I had that message written for me. By Greed.”

“Greed…?! Then you mean…”

“Ed’s in trouble, alright. For Greed to be able to take him over in his weakened state… and it seems like Greed isn’t happy with this, either. I need you to try and track him down. I don’t think you’ll need to do anything, but should something try to impede his travels here, you can intervene. Just try not to draw too much attention to yourself— ah, what am I saying? I trust you.”

Lan Fan nodded, bowing deeply. “I will make sure Edward and Greed arrive unharmed.”

Ling blinked, and Lan Fan had already become one with the shadows.

------------------------------------------------------------

A black-haired leader held a piece of paper given to him by his most trusted subordinate.

“…You’re sure it’s him?” he asked, his grip tightening.

“Without a doubt,” she answered.

His hand shook with the rage he felt just holding those simple orders. Deal with the homunculus. The homunculus. There was still a homunculus out there. That meant not all of them were handled on the Promised Day. And based on this report, this one wore Edward Elric’s face. That wasn't a careless mistake; the former Fullmetal Alchemist was impossible to mistake for someone else. If military personnel were reporting that this homunculus looked like Edward, then it had to be true. There was another homunculus and it looked like Edward. He didn't even know why he asked.

He already knew that Selim Bradley (or as Roy could only see him, Pride), had survived. By special request of the former Fuhrer’s wife, he had been allowed to live since he seemed to have no memories of being Pride at all. He aged alarmingly quickly from a baby to the same age his body had physically been before he had been defeated, but appeared to have stagnated there ever since reaching that point. Of course, it had been made clear to her that if he showed any sign of regaining his memories, he would be dealt with swiftly. As long as he believed he was just a normal boy, the military had no issue with indulging Bradley’s wife, but this was another story.

That day, Roy Mustang’s sight failed him. It was stolen from him by force, and now he doubted nearly every memory he had of that decisive battle, including those from before he had been blinded. Even after being healed by Dr. Marcoh, the uncertainty lingered.

A homunculus that wore another’s face.

It took all he had to not scorch the paper to ashes. “Envy…?” he muttered with a voice that tried not to tremble.

His lieutenant, who still stood in front of his desk, shook her head. “No, it can’t be. Remember, we saw him take his own life.”

“You did,” Mustang corrected with a scowl, “I can’t be sure of anything. This might be something I need to confirm for myself. In any case, there’s a homunculus out there. How could one have gotten away?”

Hawkeye sighed. “I understand that you didn’t physically witness this, but… there was a homunculus that Edward tried to save. It could be that he’s facing the consequences of that action now.”

Mustang set the paper down to avoid crinkling it in his iron grasp. “I have my doubts that this is Fullmetal at all. You said he tried to save a homunculus; not that he succeeded. It could be entirely possible that there is another homunculus we had no idea about… or that someone else is out there trying to create more.”

Hawkeye’s expression remained as stony as ever, but her brows furrowed just slightly. “So… what should we do, sir?”

The orders were clear. The higher-ups did not want this homunculus captured or restrained; they wanted it dead. They were as serious about this as they were about Pride. Arguably, the existence of this other homunculus was even more dangerous than Pride himself; despite how powerful Pride was when he was at the peak of his capabilities, he now believed himself a regular human child. As long as that remained true, Pride was harmless. Whoever this wandering homunculus was, the fact that it wore Edward Elric’s face was already enough for it to be a problem. Edward was easily recognizable by a lot of the general public and citizens seeing him looking and behaving differently could cause unrest. On top of that, if this was a brand new homunculus, there was no way of knowing what it was capable of. That brought the situation from concerning to dangerous. Mustang caught his train of thought, however; this was all just speculation. Before any action could be taken, they needed to confirm the facts.

“…I don’t think my direct intervention is needed just yet,” Mustang said, pushing his chair away from the desk so he could stand, “But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to send someone else to find this Fullmetal lookalike and keep an eye on him.”

Hawkeye saluted. “I’m on it, sir.”

She froze when he raised his hand, her usual stoic demeanor faltering and being replaced with slight confusion. There was the smallest smile on Mustang’s face at her reaction. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself. I wasn’t talking about you.”

“Why not? I’m perfectly capable of following discreetly and making reports.”

“I just think that in case the homunculus were to notice you, you’d be in a lot of danger. You know just as well as I do your guns are useless against homunculi.”

Hawkeye immediately recognized that he was making a jab at her common remark whenever he’d try to use his Flame Alchemy on rainy days. Her eyes narrowed into a glare. “With all due respect, that’s not entirely true, sir.”

“I’m mostly joking.”

“Mostly?”

Mustang continued on, ignoring her quietly growing frustration. Hawkeye wasn’t sure if he was doing it on purpose or not. “We have to send an alchemist. Someone capable of defeating the homunculus should the need arise. But it can’t be me— I draw too much attention to myself just by existing…”

“Oh, do you now.”

“Do you know who I’m thinking of?”

She tried to keep up her annoyed expression, but eventually sighed and averted her eyes. This conversation bothered her. She didn’t entirely agree with his course of thinking, but she couldn’t deny there was a bit of truth in his words. There were countless times she witnessed homunculi shrugging off what should have been fatal shots. She watched bullets clatter to the floor after uncomfortably squelching their way out of the entry wound. She knew guns meant nothing to homunculi; which is why his choice of alchemist baffled her even more.

 “Yes… I believe I do.”