Part two. This is when things get interesting. I'm glad to see someone cared about the second chapter. :D Also, if you have any questions you want to ask, send them to me in a note, and I'll answer them in the next chapter's author's note.

*Also, I'm so sorry for the late update. I got the stomach flu last Friday, and my dad wouldn't let me near the computer, just in case I ended up sick again.

"Hey, look at me!"

Tyki almost fell down out of his chair when he saw Road and Wrath had morphed together at the hip down. "I can wiggle his leg, and mine!" She showed this to them.

"My God!" he cried. Lust only looked on in boredom. Gluttony was whining about his hunger pains. Greed was flirting with Lulu Bell, who obviously didn't like the attention. Envy was all but asleep. Sloth smiled fondly at her "son."

"Come now, Wrath, don't play during our grown-up talk." she said. She patted her lap for him to sit on her legs. He grinned like a child, clapped his hands, and climbed out of Road's middle. The light in the sadistic girl's eyes faded. The little boy climbed up, resting his head on Sloth's chest. He was asleep in seconds. She continued to stroke his hair as the meeting continued. Road sat next to a still disturbed Tyki, taking part in the battle plans.

"James, you'll need to lay low for a while." the Earl continued. Even though the akuma had dyed his hair, as ordered, it was obvious he wasn't too happy with the change. And neither was his girlfriend. Pride had seemed a little depressed since his hair color darkened drastically.

"Yes, sir. I'll continue to keep in touch with anyone on the field from here, and report back to you." he answered. His hair today was pulled back in a tight braid, not a hair out of place. Pride was fiddling with a ribbon she'd found in her pocket, twirling it around. She looked bored, and after two hours of talking, she was ready to get out on the town with her lover. She'd found a new love hotel, pretty cheap, and her girlfriends in Amestris said it was a lovely place; the food was great and the beds were soft.

"Good, good." he cackled, then turned to Pride. "Didn't you have a plan for getting across enemy lines?"

"Yes, I do." Pride sat up straighter, slipping the ribbon back into her pants. "I've got a new position in the Black Order."

Edward glared at Kanda the entire trip back to England. He and his brother had been assigned to protecting the exorcists in the Black Order, and he wasn't too happy with this guy who cracked short jokes every five seconds. Wait, what was that?

"WHO CALLED ME SHORT?" he screamed, his little brother again holding him back. A woman with black hair pulled back into a small ponytail looked at him with innocent eyes.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't talking about you. I told my friend that my hair was cut a little too short."

Edward felt weird about the girl. Her eyes were strange. He felt like she was looking through him, but he apologized and turned back around. Still, that woman's gaze stuck in his mind like a festering wound, until he turned around to look at her and caught her staring at him. She quickly turned around.

"Brother?" Al asked him. "What's wrong?"

He waved it away. "Nothing, nothing!" he laughed. "I'm just hungry, I guess."

"Should we order you a bread crumb?"

"I'm going to kill you!" Al spent the next five minutes holding his brother away from Kanda. Lavi grinned like a kid in a candy store, and Allen was sleeping. Lenalee was being taken back to the headquarters in a different train, made especially for transporting the sick. The scientist sitting next to him dazed out the window. His sister must have reached the tower by now, Ed thought lazily.

The scenery passed, and the crossed the border into England, into the city of Gloucester. Large building passed by the trains as it pulled into a stop. There, they got off to catch a train that was headed straight to London, where the Order would allow them rest and food.

The girl Edward had noticed got off as well, allowing him to notice her more. She wore a turtleneck green sweater, prepared for the rain and cold winds, and a white lab coat. He noticed the black suitcase in her hand.

"Well, just one more stop." Komui said gleefully, dusting off his clean beret. "We'll be back to the Black Order in no time."

The woman perked up. "Excuse me, did you say the Black Order?" she asked, her voice getting more excited. Komui nodded slowly, looking quite confused in her asking. But the woman grinned widely.

"I'm the new scientist at the Order!" she said. "You must be Section Leader Komui Lee, am I correct?"

"Yes." he answered. He seemed to be a little surprised to hear this, but he soon gained a look of recollection. "Ah, yes, I remember now! Miss, ah, Miss…?"

The woman grinned, and Edward felt a wave of nausea settle in his stomach. Something about those eyes gave him a wary feeling. "Just call me Clare, sir."

Now settled in their rooms, they had a chance to dry off. Alphonse's hair was sticking to his cheeks, a little fuzzy from being scrubbed dry. Edward sat in his brother's room, sitting on the bed. The image of the new scientist, now in the lab, was stuck in his head. Nothing settled right with her.

"Brother?" Alphonse asked after a moment of silence. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," he admitted, lying on his back. "That woman, Clare. I can't get her out of my head."

"Don't tell me you're in love, brother." Al laughed. Edward brushed off the taunt.

"No. I don't know how to explain it." He rolled into his side, facing his kid brother. "I mean, the best way to put it is that I feel like I can't trust her."

"Maybe it's because you thought she called you short?"

"Absolutely not! I already apologized for that!" Edward sat up, reaching back to braid his damp hair. "But…I don't know."

"Don't let it bother you." Al said, putting his shirt back on. "I'm sure that she's really a sweet girl."

Clare, after initiation into the science department, sat in her room, sheathing her coat. It had been a hard day of paper signing, and her hands ached. The door opened, and Reever walked in. Clare looked back, pulling her shirt back over her stomach and scowling as he checked the hallway to make sure no one saw him, and then closed the door.

"You couldn't have waited until after I changed?" she asked, sitting on the bed. A clown with sad tears painted on its face grinned over its control of a broken marionette from the canvas over her head. Reever shivered.

"That's a creepy picture. Take it down."

"I like it." she said. Reever changed and Envy squatted to the floor. He dragged his finger across, and then looked at it.

"You're swimming in dust."

"If you don't like my room, leave. I don't have time to waste on you. Now, face the wall so I can change." Envy turned around as she stripped off her sweater. He shifted his weight in his corner, and sneezed. Clare pulled in a lighter blouse, examining the makeup on her throat. The Ouroboros tattoo's red color was showing through only slightly.

"The Fullmetal boy is suspicious of me." she said, clicking her tongue to let Envy know he could come out of the corner. She took out her makeup bag, a lovely gift from James, and began to rub a wet mixture onto her neck. Envy stared at her with disgust before continuing the conversation.

"Well, make sure he isn't. Don't act like it's a job to be buddy-buddy with him. Your job is to sneak records from the exorcists and try to find something we can go on."

"Personal records? Mission records? Discovery records? There are a lot of files to go through here, not to mention Chief Komui's desk." She shuddered at the thought of going through that mess.

"Anything that will help break the alliance and start another war."

"What will that do? A military full of men ready to blow heads off and clergymen who have vowed never to kill a human. Yeah, that'll get somewhere."

"I'm sure they'd turn into an army if the need called for it. Besides, casualties would weaken both sides for wipe out. Those who died would more than likely be turned into akuma, anyway, and the duke would be happy about that."

"I thought he was an earl?"

"Same thing." Envy waved his hands to the side, changing the topic. "Anyway, use that weird power of yours to find out what we can use." The homunculi changed shape, turning into the innocent, puffy haired Johnny. Johnny grinned evilly, peeked out the door, and left.

"Stupid boy." After applying a little powder, spraying it and then patting it to look more realistic, she fixed her collar and left the room, tying her hair back as she walked. She bumped into a young woman with curly black hair. Both fell back on their haunches, though the other woman was up faster the Clare.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Oh, please tell me you're alright!"

Clare looked into the face of a female exorcist. Her soft accent heralded German origin. Clare smiled, being friendly. "I'm fine, thank you. I'm sorry; I wasn't watching where I was going." She accepted the small woman's hand.

"I'm Miranda." she said. "I'm so sorry for knocking you down."

"It's fine, don't fret over it." She brushed down her skirt. "It's nice to meet you, Miranda. Clare."

The woman smiled, looking, for some reason, relieved.

"Oh, could you show me where the dining hall is?" Clare asked, rubbing her belly.

She really had no appetite, but she had to feign the hunger in order to keep up with her human appearance. She even had James practice with her. One meal when you woke up, one in the middle of the day, and one at night, plus a snack or two in between on occasion. And being female, she was allowed to skip snacks, and even a meal, in the name of retaining her "perfect figure." Also, being in the science division made her lose track of time (and location) while on the job, meaning decreased meals. She was sure to take that detour when possible.

"Yes, I'll show you. I was just headed there." She took Clare's hand and turned her around. Clare frowned from behind her back. She really preferred James's hand, not any human's hand.

The two Alchemists were standing with Allen. She'd noticed the way Fullmetal had been eyeing her. She knew he was suspicious about her. She thought about playing it cat-and-mouse, but it would be better if she played dumb. After all, he'd be the one who looked like an ass in the end.

James lay back on the bed, stark naked under the covers. His black hair was wet, sticking to his shoulders and neck. The TV in front of him was blaring some Spanish soap he wasn't even paying attention to. His mind was somewhere else, in his blood-streaked past. He sighed heavily, sitting up.

"Well, someone's tired." Clare grinned from the doorway, clad in her favorite black silk robe. The akuma sat up, watching her as she walked around the bed to her normal side. She shed the robe slowly, aware her lover was watching her.

"Not tired. Bored." he corrected, unable to control his eyes. She pivoted and climbed under the bed sheets.

"I must thank Road for helping me transport between the Order and your house every weekend."

"You already have, every day since this started." After only a month of working in the biology division of the science department, Clare had managed to cover the files of the number of parasite type Innocence that were in the exorcists' hands and how they worked. James had not been too happy about seeing someone else was allowed to keep his silver hair.

"Yes, but she's such a lovely girl."

"My master is too sweet on her." James admitted, putting his arm around her hip. Clare leaned against him, drawing her knees against her breasts.

"Well, as the oldest, she has privileges." Clare giggled as James fingered the Ouroboros tattoo on her neck. "Stop, stop it! That-that tickles!"

James grinned. "Sorry."

"No you're not."

The two of them quieted their laughter, using each other as props. Her long hair brushed against his skin. She breathed heavily, watching the bluish screen flash.

"Clare?"

"Hn?"

"You and the other homunculi are trying to become human."

"Yeah, of course." She looked up at him with inquisitive eyes.

"Why?" James looked to his hands. This was a conversation that they both had been trying to avoid. Clare frowned at him. "Why would you want to become so weak?"

"It is the only reason we live. It is what our creator wanted, and so it is what we want." Clare held her hand against her lower belly. "You may think it is silly, but I have always wanted a child, a baby of my own flesh and blood."

James only smiled. It was so like her. Cruel and merciless as she was, Clare was certainly the motherly type. A child driving her need to be human didn't surprise him in the least.

"Do you not want me to be human?" she asked, light fading from her eyes. James only sighed, running his hand through his disgusting black locks.

"It's not that." he admitted, biting his lip before continuing. "I mean, you know I've been with other women before you." He tensed as she did. They both didn't like his sexual past. Not enough excitement for him, and pure raging jealousy for her. "It's just, every woman I've been with, until now, has all perished by my hands. You continue to live no matter how many times I accidentally kill you. You actually seem to enjoy the pain."

"In the height of lust, anything feels wonderful." she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and looking strangely proud of herself. "I wonder, do you wish you were human?"

"Now I do." he answered. She only smiled with as much pure love as a homunculus could, and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

Clare, back at the Order after a wonderful love making at James's room, was sneaking through the hallways. She was quiet in the shadows. Being caught meant she was dead, and though she was sure the Great Generals would be gladly rid of such a pest, her regenerative powers as a homunculus meant that sneaking out of the Order would prove difficult, with two alchemists who knew how to kill one of her kind under the same roof.

She stepped quietly into the science department. She heard the crinkling of paper and turned around swiftly. Chief Komui was sitting at his desk. He smiled at her, wearing the light blue shorts and ruffled white nightshirt. "You're a little early for work."

"S-sorry, I think I left something in here." she lied, biting her lip as her eyed her.

"Did it hurt? Your 'tattoo'?" he asked her. Her eyebrows shot up and she covered her neck with her hand. He smiled knowingly. "I don't want to know what one of you is doing in here. My guess is you're a spy?"

Clare hissed profanities as she dropped her hand. "You're smarter than I thought, Chief."

"Oh, I love to relax. However, my job is to look out for the exorcists." he said, suddenly serious. That scowl of his, like he had just smelled something bad and didn't know where the source was, pissed her off incredulously. She couldn't believe such a small gesture was so annoying. She bent her fingers violently, popping the joints. It was her habit of getting ready for a fight. But Komui only broke out into a grin that made her shake with anger. "Go ahead, kill me. You'll only find yourself guilty, proving me right. Hevlaska noticed it, too."

"What, could she feel the stones inside of me?" Clare broke into an agitated grin. She was playing right into the chief's trap, and she knew it. But she was not the only one who would escape scathed and battle scarred.

"She could hear those poor souls crying." Komui suddenly looked saddened. "I have never seen her cry before, until she inspected you. However, she has a pity for your kind. She wants to believe that you are on our side."

"She's sorely mistaken. As soon as I can find the tiny nook your security overlooks, the akuma and Noah will come in, and not even your precious 'Destroyer of Time' can stop the Earl."

"I do pity you." he said, as though her grand speech had never been uttered from her tongue. She bit her bottom lip, a habit out of anger, hard enough to make it bleed. Her teeth in her skin made it impossible to heal. "After all, I wonder what memories flood through your mind. I wonder what your reasons to becoming human are. I've read books; homunculi are created against their will, exist because of someone else's selfish desires."

"Bastard!" she screamed, flinging herself at him. He hit dropped his mug as the two bodies collided, and fell into a large, cushioning pile of papers. White sheets flew like rectangular snow as she held his throat in a grip like a noose. Komui's face turned a light pink, but he did not let his superiority falter.

"Yes?" he asked hoarsely.

"You son of a bitch! Don't you dare pity me, don't you even think about it!" Her hands were shaking, and spit leaked from her crying lips. "I hate all you damned exorcists, claiming that God chose you!"

Then, Clare began to laugh. It was a hysterical, witchy laugh. Komui seemed surprised, letting that smug look of a cat that had cornered a mouse it was tired of playing with go into the wind.

"God? God! Hah, you poor, naïve 'disciples!' There is no God!" She released his throat, catching his collar and pulling his eyes to meet hers. She saw only the tiniest flicker of fear. It was almost too small to be seen, but it was there, giving her some form of hope. "You wanna know what there is? There is the Gate, and the tiny demons that live within, offering wonderful treasures that would make even your 'God' a pauper of the street." She let him fall to the ground. She wiped her mouth and let him off the floor. Then, as though nothing had ever happened, she went back to her desk and retrieved the files she had been looking at. "I'm working overtime, Chief, if that's okay with you."

An evil gleam in that tiny woman's eyes told Komui he had better be okay with it.