Ep 12: The Sorrowful Past, An Agonizing Present

Previous part: [link]

O___O The pic turned out A LOT better than I thought it would. I'm shocked I was able to get the sparks to look right. I know I probably got Envy's hair color wrong but it was my first time drawing him. It took me a few days to write the storyline for this but I hope its entertaining for you guys.

Read the storyline below to understand the pic obviously.

Storyline: *Flashback*

"Shen! Hey Shen~" Ten year old Emeara called as she ran towards Fu and the man with long black hair.

At seeing the young girl make her way towards them, both men turned and smiled. As Emeara got closer, Shen's grin grew, "Hello Emeara. It's been a while."

Emeara stood in front of him, panting but smiled widely, "I-I heard from Ling that you would be living in the palace from now on...is that true?" The girl looked up at the man with excitement in her eyes.

Shen chuckled and nodded as he patted Emeara's head, "That's right. I think I told you once that my family serves the Yao clan, right? I'll be serving as a teacher for the prince."

"And he knows close-hand combat so he'll be helping me with training granddaughter." Fu spoke, jumping into the conversation.

"Seriously?" Emeara looked from Fu and then back to Shen, "Then that means we can see each other more from now on."

Shen rose a brow, flirtatiously, his curiosity peaked at what Emeara had just said, "Oh? What's this, Emeara? Have you missed me?"

At Shen's claim, Emeara's face turned cherry red, "I-I...No way!" Emeara turned away so as to hide her face from the two men, "Its just...I wanted to thank you for the other day. You made me feel a little better when you told me all that stuff at Naraku's grave." The Song member looked back at Shen, her cheeks still tainted red, "So...t-thanks."

At seeing Shen's expression grow warmer and loving, Emeara quickly turned away, feeling her heart jump around in her chest. Shen laughed at this and stroked the girl's head again,

"No need to thank me. It was nothing. But you know," The Xing man put a thumb to the girl's chin and moved her face towards him so he could look at her face, "I'm glad you've cheered up. You have a real cute face when you're happy."

And just when the girl thought her face couldn't get any redder...

"G-GAHH!" Without thinking, Emeara pulled away from Shen as fast as she could and jumped backwards, "F-F-FLATTERY WILL GET YOU NO WHERE!"

At seeing her face, Shen laughed whole-heartily while Fu chuckled at the young child. Embarrassed, Emeara ran away from the two as fast as she could. But as she ran, to Emeara's surprise, she had begun to laugh as well.

The girl kept running until she finally made it back to the graveyard her sister was buried in. Emeara slowly walked up to Naraku's grave and stood in front of it, a smile on her face.

"Hey sissy. You're not gonna believe this..." Emeara leaned down in front of the dirty stone, "That Shen guy we met the other day...he's not half-bad. As a matter of fact, he just made me laugh. That was the first time I even chuckled in over a year."

Emeara waited as if her sister was going to reply before she continued to speak of Shen and how nice he seemed. For the next few hours, the twin sat there in front of the grave, going on and on about what Shen was doing in Xing; What clan he was from; What he would be doing now that he returned to his home country; and more. By the time she was all finished, it had grown dark.

'Oh crap...' Emeara thought, looking around at the creepy pitch darkness surrounding her. She had never been a big fan of the dark. The blackness of it especially posed a problem when she was by herself.

"Oh man..." The girl stood up nervously as she felt fear begin to take over her like a virus. Swallowing big, Emeara told her sister goodbye and began to search for the graveyards exit, but not before she jumped or hid behind other graves a few times due to the strange noises coming from every direction in the night. What would happen if she couldn't find her way home in this dark? Or what if an animal attacked her? If there was a time she had ever wished her sister was there to protect her, it was now.

Tears began to fill the child's eyes as she looked around, desperate to find a way out of the horrific cemetery. But no matter where she looked, all's Emeara saw was the same thing; pitch black.

"...someone...help...sissy...!" Emeara began to whimper as she sunk to the ground, covering her face with her hands.

"Emeara?"

The Song girl looked up in the direction the mysterious voice had come from. Out of the darkness descended a familiar person.

"S-Shen?" Emeara choked, standing up and wiping an eye.

The man tilted his head in concern and leaned down to her height so he could get a good look at her face, "Are you alright? Fu and the others went to check on you at your house and you weren't there so I thought you might be here. I figured you would probably be scared of the dark at your age so I came to get you."

Emeara felt a small vein pop on her head at his claim, "I-I'm not scared of the dark..."

Shen rose a brow, his expression turning to a highly amused one, "Oh really?"

She nodded, putting both hands on her hips, "Yeah. I'm a big girl so there's no way I'd be afraid of something so childish as the dark. I'm going home now." And with that, Emeara began to march straight ahead.

Shen watched the girl with a smile on his face and shook his head lightly, "Hey, be careful so you don't-"

"W-WAHH!"

At hearing Emeara trip and fall to the ground, Shen ran to her side in alarm, "Are you okay, Emeara?" He asked, leaning down and helping her up.

"I-I'm fine..." Emeara sniffed, holding one of her knees that was now bleeding. Shen touched the hand that was covering her knee,

"Let me see..." He spoke gently as he removed her hand and looked at the wound on her knee, "It's cut up pretty good...that's why I told you to be careful. You could easily trip over a gravestone in this dark." Shen rose and picked up Emeara bridal style, "I'll carry you home and then tend to your wound. Or should I say 'owwie' ?"

Emeara shot a look of fury at Shen and pounded her tiny fists into his large chest, "Jerk! I already told you I'm a big girl! Stop treating me like a kid."

Shen laughed and walked out of the graveyard, Emeara still in his arms. As they made their way down one of the streets of Xing, Emeara felt her face starting to turn red again. How thankful she was it was nighttime was all Emeara could think about at that point.

"Hey...Shen."

The man looked down at the little girl in his arms, "Yeah?"

"...Teach me alchemy."

Shen's eyes widened a fraction as he stopped in his tracks, "What...? You want to learn alchemy?"

Emeara frowned and looked away, "Yes. Naraku was really into alchemy. It was her favorite thing. She always loved reading books about it." The girl diverted her attention to the star-filled sky overlooking Shen and her, "I was never interested in it though. I could never understand why she loved it so much..."

Shen was confused now, "...but if you don't like alchemy, then why...?"

"I want to learn alchemy for my sister. Because she never got the chance to learn it herself. I want to keep Naraku alive in my heart somehow. And I think I can do that if I keep a part of her with me."

"Emeara..." Shen's expression saddened at the child's words but he continued to listen,

"If I keep her love for alchemy in my heart and take that and use it as my inspiration to learn alchemy myself, then I think I'll feel a little better. Please teach me, Shen." Emeara looked back at Shen with pleading eyes.

How could he resist such a fiery look from a cute girl like her? Shen sighed, "Alright. I think I can find time between tutoring the prince and helping Lan Fan with her training. But if you are serious about this, you'll have to listen to everything I say. Understand?"

A small smile painted itself on Emeara's face, "Yes..." A yawn slipped out of Emeara's mouth and before long, she had drifted to sleep in his arms. Shen smiled down at the girl and made his way down the street to take her home.

"What a crazy kid..." was the only thought that crossed his mind as he opened the door to the Song residence and gently laid Emeara on her bed for the night.

_______________________________________________

"Emeara...what have you done?" Shen stared at the twelve-year old girl before him who held the small bloody corpse of an animal in her hands.

Emeara looked up at her alchemy master with a glare that looked inhumane. Shen had never seen such a look before. Worried and slightly scared, Shen carefully took hold of the small bloody animal away from Emeara and then looked her in the eyes, repeating his question,

"What have you done...?"

Emeara licked some blood that was on the side of her chin, "I killed it. What does it look like?"

Shen's blue eyes widened in horror at her confession, "Why did you kill it? I didn't instruct you to."

"But you told me to try out the new spike technique you taught me. I wanted to have fun with it and used it on an animal." Emeara's expression only grew darker as she stared down at the corpse and licked her bloodied fingers.

Shen swallowed hard and stood up,"Fu warned me about this side of you. He told me you get like this from time to time and you can never control what you're doing when you're like this. It's as if you're a totally different person..."

Shen shut his eyes, imitating Ling Yao for a moment and then walked over to a tree and buried the animal. After the job was finished, Shen turned back to his student and reopened his eyes, "Come here Emeara."

She obeyed and walked over to him. Once she was standing beside him, Shen placed his hands on the girl's shoulders and made her look down at the newly made grave, "Whether it was an animal or not, you took another living thing's life. How do you feel about that?"

Again, her expression did not change, "...I feel...good."

Shen looked at the girl in alarm, "...Why?"

A small smirk came to the girl's insane face, "Because...killing makes me feel strong. Like I can take on anything that comes my way."

"Emeara..." Shen continued to stare at the girl, studying her uncharacteristic expression, "...According to Fu, you started acting this way off and on since the day your sister died."

The girl turned away from Shen and began to walk towards a small fox that was peaking out from a tree, "Yeah..."

"How come...Hey. Emeara, what are you- EMEARA!" Shen cried when he suddenly saw Emeara run towards the fox with a newly transmuted knife she had created from a stick,"EMEARA, STOP! NOO-"

But Shen's pleas did nothing to stop the girl and within a matter of seconds, Emeara brought the knife onto the fox's head, killing it instantly. The Xing girl picked up the fox's remains and rubbed the blood all over herself as if it was lotion.

"Damn..." Shen cursed as he rushed to Emeara's side and pulled the fox's corpse away from her. A rare expression of anger came on Shen's face as he glared at the girl, "That's enough, Emeara! You-" Shen froze when he saw the horrifying expression had fallen off Emeara's face and had been replaced with an innocent, scared one that was now stained with tears.

"S-Shen...W-Why did I...Why...?" Emeara looked at her trembling hands that were colored with red, "What am...I?"

'So it is true...she really can't control herself when she gets like that. And then after she snaps out of it...' Shen's thoughts were interrupted by Emeara clinging to him as she sobbed into his chest. The man of Xing brought down a hand on her head and began to pet her, 'Why is this girl the way she is...?'

"I-I didn't mean to, Shen! I didn't mean to kill them! But I...I did! And I-"

At that moment, Shen wrapped both his arms around the little girl and held her tightly, his expression turning apologetic for some reason, "It's alright, Emeara...It's alright. I'm here. Just take a deep breath and calm down." Shen forced a smile as Emeara looked up at him, crying. The twenty-year old man brushed her bangs out of her eyes and pulled her into a gentle embrace as Emeara sobbed on and on,

"I'm...I'm a monster! I don't know why I act like this and when I do...I...I can't control it! There's only one explanation! I'm a monster, Shen! A cold-hearted, disgusting, killer monster!" At hearing the girl's words, Shen hugged his student even tighter, shaking his head as she repeated over and over that she was indeed, a monster.

"No, Emeara. Don't say that. You aren't...you-"

"I AM! I AM A MONSTER! And everyone else knows it too...! All the other kids in the neighborhood are scared to come near me and even Ling and Lan Fan are k-keeping their distance now...! Everyone's scared of me...I'm a monster, Shen...I know it..." As Emeara choked out the last few words, she pulled away and jumped back from Shen.

The man stood and tried to walk towards Emeara when she backed away. Now Shen could feel as if tears were threatening to spill, "Emeara. Please come here. I don't think you're a monster and I'm not afraid of-"

"Stay away from me, Shen! I don't w-wanna hurt you...!" Emeara coughed violently from her crying and continued to back away from Shen no matter how much he begged. She knew what she had done previously. The evidence covered every part of her. If she turned into that monster-like state again...then...

"Listen to me, Emeara! You're not a monster! You're just-"

Emeara screamed as loud as she could and took off into the forest before Shen could follow her. As the girl ran, she repeated the same words over and over again...

"I'm a monster...A monster...A MONSTER~"

*end flashback*

..."Because right now, Emeara; You're like a monster."

'But Shen said...I wasn't a monster...' Tears formed in Emeara's eyes as she held her head parallel with the ground.

Meanwhile, Ed and the others stood away from the girl, wondering if she had finished with her episode. As Emeara went on with her sobbing fit, the others turned to Ed with a knowing look,

"Fullmetal, I bet it was your tactless remark that set her off just now." Roy pointed out, the others nodding in agreement.

"What?" Ed screamed, shocked at the accusation from his own friends, "I never said anything wrong! Just the truth! So how could I have been the one who..."

"You said I'm a monster...!"

Ed and the others looked back at Emeara to see her focusing her wide, green eyes at the Elric boy, the endless amount of tears still falling. Ed frowned and put both hands on his hips and sighed in annoyance,

"Yeah, I did. Why wouldn't I- You attacked Lan Fan and went berserk!" The alchemist pointed a finger at the girl, "You may not mean to act like this, Emeara, but you are a monster when you-"

"BROTHER!" Al shouted, slapping the back of his older sibling's head as hard as he could. Maybe a bit too hard. As soon as the armor hand hit the Elric boy's head, he went falling forward, screaming; His wails only to be ceased by his face hitting the hard concrete.

"Owww...dammit, Alphonse." Ed grunted in pain, rubbing the back of his head and then sitting up. The teen stared back at Emeara with questionable, suspicious eyes before he spoke up again, "If you don't mind me asking...why do you snap like you did earlier? You've had these episodes before...Why do you change into a totally different person at random times?"

Ling flinched a moment and then shot a look at Ed, silently telling him to shut up; However; The Fullmetal boy didn't pick up on the message and continued on,

"Are you mentally unstable? Or even ill? Al and the Colonel said you went crazy back at the hotel when I was out searching for Ling a while back. How many times have you turned into that inhumane side of yourself, Emeara?"

Emeara's pupils doubled in size at Ed's words. The girl opened her lips and repeated his words ever so quietly to herself, "How many...times...?"

More images flashed once more through the Xing girl's mind. They were a collage of memories; many different scenes and such that she hadn't yet seen the full flashback to. One of the memories was of her and Shen after they had done alchemy training. Shen seemed to be badly injured while a thirteen-year old her laughed hysterically at his blood that covered her clothes and face. Then the memory switched to another. This memory was after she became a bodyguard for the prince. She wore armor very similar to Fu and Lan Fan's and wore a mask just as they did. The memory played for a few seconds, just long enough for Emeara to see some bandit come at her and knock her mask off. As the mask flew into the air, the bandit looked at her with a smirk on his face. However, when the man saw her insane smile matching with her blood-lust eyes; the man screamed and turned to run but was soon struck down by the very person he tried to flee from. Many more pieces of random memories came over her mind and played over and over again and in each of those memories, she had that crazy, scary expression carved on her face. Edward's words still echoed in her mind as more memories came back to the seventeen-year old girl,

"How many times have you turned into that inhumane side of yourself? How many times have you become that MONSTER?" Emeara's conscious asked her as she thought back to when Fu first saw that murderous glare from her; and then Shen. Lan Fan and Ling. The Homunculus known as Greed. And even later Edward and Alphonse. Just how many times had she turned into said monster and WHO had she showed that side to?

Grasping her chest, Emeara felt the anguish that had been building up inside her suddenly overflow. And with that overflow came more abusive words from her conscious,

"Shen may have told you that you weren't a monster. Fu and Ling may have told you that same thing. But you knew from the day Naraku died what had happened, right?"

"...I became a monster." Emeara replied aloud as she listened to her conscious,

"That's right. And you've been a monster ever since, haven't you? That hasn't changed. And it never will. You know that."

Emeara felt her heart stop. The girl slowly looked at Lan Fan who seemed to be holding both her knees that had bloody holes in them now thanks to the kunais from earlier. Emeara clenched the bottom of her shirt with her hands,

"Look at what you've done. You just tried to kill one of your childhood friends. Who knows what you would have done to Ling way back after that Homunculus saved you from his brothers. If Lan Fan and Fu hadn't been there, you may have killed him. And today, you may have killed Lan Fan if it weren't for Edward Elric there."

"...Stop...please..." Emeara begged, her eyes still locked on Lan Fan. The Xing warrior rose a brow at her,

"What?" Lan Fan asked, unaware of the inner conflict Emeara was having with her mind.

Just like a broken record, the abusive words from her conscious did not stop, "A monster. That's all that you are. And that is all that you'll ever be. Now that your memories are coming back, there's no way of escaping it now. You know it, Emeara."

And it was then that Emeara realized the thing hurting her from the inside-out was not her conscious; but the very monster she held deep inside her that occasionally found its way out and took her over; Terrifying the very person she showed that side to.

"I'm a monster...please...someone kill me." Emeara choked out as she forced herself to cease her crying.

Shocked by the sudden and unusual request, Ed's expression and tone of voice changed drastically, "Now hold on a minute..."

"We can't do that, Emeara!" Al started, "Look, I can tell it's not entirely your fault when you change into that other side of you. Given its horrible when you do but...I don't think killing you is the answer!"

Ling looked from Al and nodded," Alphonse is right! We aren't going to kill you, Emeara! We just need to get you some help and-"

"What person would want to help me?" Emeara burst out, jumping up, "I see that look in all your eyes. You're all afraid that I'll snap and go back to being that monster again. I know for a fact that Lan Fan is terrified of me now! No one can help me get over this. I can never rid myself of this side of me because it has been a part of me for far too long! That's why the only thing left to do is to kill me!"

The others froze up at her talk of murder again and suddenly, they all felt their hearts drop to their stomachs. Emeara looked straight at Fu, Ling, and Lan Fan,

"I want you to kill me...you're the only ones I can trust with this. I'm a monster and I don't deserve to live-"

"Hey, hey, don't flatter yourself. Frankly, all humans are monsters who don't deserve the right to live."

Ed, Emeara, and everyone else shot a look at where a familiar voice had suddenly come from. Ed bit his lip hard as the figure appeared in front of them; His green, palm-tree like hair blowing in the wind.

As he silently cursed to himself, there was only one word that escaped the young dog of the military's mouth, "...Envy."

The Homunculus smirked and winked playfully at the boy, "Long time no see, pipsqueak. I've come to retrieve something that had...'escaped' from us." Envy's eyes moved to where Emeara was standing. The living deadly-sin smiled an innocent smile at the girl, "Well, well, aren't you a sneaky one. You were able to escape from right under our noses. But I can assure you..." Envy turned his arm into a metal cable and slapped it around one of Emeara's wrists, "That won't happen again, girl."

Without so much as a word of warning, Envy yanked his arm back, pulling Emeara from her spot and into his arms. The Homunculus then stretched his metal cable arm and tied it completely around the girl's body, making her unable to move anymore.

"Dammit...!" Ed spewed, clapping his hands and slamming them on the roof.

"WOAH!" Envy shouted, jumping back away from the giant spike that had shot up from the concrete, pulling Emeara back a long with him. Envy looked to the Fullmetal Alchemist as if he were the one crazy, "Holy crap, kid, you nearly killed me and the girl just now! What's with you?" Envy pulled Emeara close to him and stroked her head as she struggled in his grip, "I just came back for what was rightfully ours. Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave no-"

"Take this!" Ling Yao flashed behind Envy in a matter of seconds and slashed his sword to Envy's neck, instantly cutting of the Homunculus' head.

While Envy was distracted with regenerating, Ling pulled at the metal cable tied around Emeara's body as hard as he could. The more Ling appeared to struggle, Emeara felt worst and worst about what she had acted like earlier. She had become a monster, both in front of Fu, Lan Fan, AND him. How disgraceful, she thought. Ling grunted as he yanked on the cable harder but it was no use and now, they were out of time...

"You bastard...how dare you kill me?" Envy shouted, his head now back in one piece, as he turned his other arm into a sword and tried to stab Ling. However, the Xingese prince was too quick and dodged before he jumped back a few steps. Envy smirked, chuckling to himself, "Well, well, aren't you the flexible one. Not bad for a spoiled little prince from Xing. However," Envy's smirk grew as he looked to Emeara who had stopped struggling in his grasp, "I wonder how flexible your feelings are when it comes to this girl."

Ling's eyes, as well as the others, went wide when they saw Envy put his arm sword to Emeara's neck as he began to back away with her. Ling went to step forward but Envy brought the sword closer to the girl's neck. Finally, Envy and Emeara made it to the edge of the roof. The jealous Homunculus took his arm sword from the girl's neck and waved politely at the others,

"It's been fun but we really must be going. Later, Fullmetal and Xing Pri-" Just as Envy was about to jump off the roof with Emeara, Ed cried out,

"STOP! Envy, wait...!"

Envy sighed, knowing what the alchemist was going to say. Before Edward could speak so much as a word, Envy stepped forward, "Look, kid. I don't feel like fighting you today. And like it or not, I'm taking this girl with me back to Father. She's a sacrifice and-"

"What is all this about a sacrifice?" Al asked, his tone getting more shaky from the anxiety he felt staring at Emeara in Envy's arms.

Envy smiled and turned to jump off the roof again, "You'll find out in due time, Alphonse Elric. Everyone will. Now then, lets-"

And once again, just as Envy was about to jump away with Emeara, he was interrupted by another plea.

"Please, don't!"

"Ahhhhh...Who now?" Envy huffed in annoyance looking back only to see Ling Yao had dropped his sword and fallen to his knees, now a look of fear had painted itself on his face,

"Please...don't take her. She's of no use to you, I assure you. Don't..." Ling flashed backed to when he first met Emeara for a second and then continued, "Don't take her. If you do, I'll..."

Envy rolled his eyes, not the least bit scared by the prince's threat, "Oh shut it, you arrogant Xing bastard. I don't have time for you."

Ling stood up and stepped forward in anger, "Don't you dare take her away like you tried once before! I'll stop you before you-"

"You know, I'm aware of this girl's past."

Ling froze, his mouth immediately shutting up. Envy smirked in amusement at noticing the prince had 'taken his bait'.

"Wait, you...you know about her...her-" Before Lan Fan could finish, Envy turned and nodded and then put a finger to his mouth as if he were saying 'shh' . Lan Fan began to tremble, "How could you know about..."

"Now, now, if you don't let me leave with her peacefully, I'll tell her EVERYTHING. Xingese Prince and girl with the mask, you know what's going to happen to her when she regains ALL her memories, right?" The Homunculus' eyes widened in even more amusement at the fearful expressions from Emeara's childhood friends, "Let me go or I'll tell this girl everything. It's bad enough she's already remembered fifty-percent of her life...another fifty would probably be the death of Amestris. If you know what I mean, Ling Yao." Envy focused his eyes on to Ling at his last sentence. Ling narrowed his eyes to the ground and swallowed big.

Envy giggled and waved a hand once more, "Well then, Bye bye-"

"Wait just a damn minute!" Ed demanded, pointing at Envy and Emeara.

Envy twitched and face-palmed, "AGH. WHAT IS IT NOW?" Envy screamed, turning completely around with a pissed off expression.

Ed crossed his arms and raised a brow, his expression growing skeptical in the process, "I don't believe you. Lan Fan has a point. Just how WOULD you know about Emeara's past? She isn't from Amestris and I doubt you Homunculi have ever been to Xing, her birth country. You were created here in this country, right? How could you find out about a girl from Xing's past, anyways?"

Envy's expression turned to curious and somewhat happy, "...You saying you want me to prove to you that I know about her past?" At seeing Ed nod, Envy smirked insanely, "Okay Edward Elric. I'll prove to ALL of you that I know about this girl's past." Envy looked down on Emeara who looked back at him in terror, "Well, well, girly. I wonder...have you remembered THIS man yet?"

Within a matter of seconds, Envy's hair changed to long black hair pulled back in a low ponytail and his bangs now hung in front of his face; His height increasing and his clothes changing to Xingese attire in the process. Following that, Envy's eyes changed shape to look slightly foreign and the color of them changing to a light blue. However, Envy's psychotic grin didn't leave his face even though his appearance changed to one that Emeara, Ling, Lan Fan, and Fu were all too familiar with.

"I-Impossible..." Fu mumbled, his eyes trembling with shock.

"It can't be...how...?" Lan Fan asked, covering her mouth in horror.

"No way..." Ling stepped backwards again, shaking his head slowly as he did so.

And finally, Emeara. Tears formed in the girl's eyes as she looked up at the new man holding her. Everything about him was so pleasant. His hair, eyes, and his body. It was him. It had to be.

"S-Shen...?" Emeara asked, tears falling down her cheeks as she reached up a hand to caress his cheek.

As the girl's hand got closer to his face, he grabbed her wrist with his free hand and looked down at her with an expression from Shen she had never seen before. The expression made the girl's stomach churn and her heart ache with sorrow. No. This wasn't Shen.

"Not quite~" Envy mused, looking down at the girl through Shen's skin.

Emeara felt like she would be sick at any moment, "No...why do you look like that? Stop it...stop pretending to be Shen...YOU MONSTER!" At that, Emeara kicked Envy in the face but not hard enough to knock him down.

A moment of silence passed before Envy looked back at the girl with lustful eyes, "A monster? Now that's just rude, Emeara..." Envy changed his appearance again; this look even more shocking and disturbing then the last, "How could you call your own SISTER a monster?" Envy's voice changed into a little girl's and stood below Emeara's height now.

Now Edward Elric stood to the side of all this with a dumbfounded expression, "What the hell's going on? Who did Envy turn into? The form looks just like Emeara herself, only..."

"That is Naraku Song." Fu finished causing Ed to eye him in confusion,

"Wh-What? You mean that..." Ed looked back at Envy who was now in Naraku's child form, smiling up at Emeara who had dropped to the ground, "...That was Emeara's sister? Or that form at least..."

Fu clenched his teeth in anger as he pulled out a kunai, thinking he would go up to Envy at any moment and stab the weapon right through his head if he continued on with his form-changing, "Damn that bastard...He's torturing Emeara with his magic or whatever the hell that is..."

Envy tightened the grip he had on Emeara's wrist and rolled his eyes at the girl before him in despair, "You humans are so pathetic. Just one little thing like this and you drop to your knees and cry. When humans die, they stay dead. If you could just understand that, then you wouldn't be so sad when you talk or hear about that dead person again. But then..." Envy patted Naraku's hand on Emeara's head, "Crying and whining over the dead after they're long gone is what you humans are known for. That probably won't ever change. Oh well."

In a flash, Envy changed back into his regular form and threw Emeara over his shoulders. This time she neither struggled nor cried out for help. She just didn't care anymore. Whether he would take her to his so called "Father" or if he'd kill her, she didn't mind either way. The creature could do whatever he wanted to do to her. Emeara felt her emotions and heart go dead just as they had done many years ago when she had first lost her twin.

"Wait~" Ed cried, running towards Envy with an extended arm. But before the alchemist could reach the two, Envy jumped off the roof and disappeared with Emeara in a matter of seconds.

Shocked by the realization that he couldn't save Emeara or stop Envy, Edward fell to his knees and looked down at the ground below himself, "...Damn it all..." The alchemist clenched his head with his automail and then stood up and looked towards his friends from Xing, "I'm really sorry, Ling."

No one could tell what kind of expressions the Xing members had as they held their heads down and looked away from all of them. Roy looked to Riza who nodded knowingly. Roy returned the nod and walked over to Fu with a stern look,

"Do not worry. We will get our finest men on this and retrieve that girl as soon as possible. She is of great important to us as well and-"

"Forget it. We didn't ask your country for help." Ling mustered as he and Lan Fan jumped off the roof and to the ground below. Fu soon followed and looked back up at the Elric brothers.

Just as Al was about to demand they not leave, Fu waved a hand goodbye and the three took off in the opposite direction at the speed of light.

"...What do we do now, brother?" Alphonse asked, unable to think up any kind of plan as to help Ling and the others regarding Emeara.

"I don't know, Alphonse. I just don't know..." were the only words Ed spoke before he walked back to the hotel and locked himself in his room for the rest of the night.

To be continued.....


Base used was from FMA
Envy and all the other FMA characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa
Emeara, Shen, and Naraku are mine

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