Author's note: I'll post chapter 10 since I'm taking a small break and writing some other stuff. Don't worry, though, TOS is still ongoing and I plan to finish it. It's just that the process is being a little slower than usual! Hope you will enjoy this chapter, though; surprisingly, the plot thickens. Or something.

Warnings: hum... Stuff pulled out of my ass just to justify the plot? Fear the oncoming angst!

The Ouroboros Sign

A Fullmetal Alchemist fan-fiction by Raven

Chapter 10 – The monster, captured

Alphonse left a week later. He went to Youswell on his own, since the Sins wanted to keep a low profile. Edward had protested, but he couldn't risk being seen when he was supposed to be abroad; he didn't want to raise any suspicion, since if anyone asked Winry, everything would become very difficult. The two brothers stood outside the ruins as the run raised slowly in the horizon, lighting up the ruins with a golden glint.

"Please take care" Edward begged, placing both hands on his brother's shoulders despite the younger blonde being taller than him. "Please, Al… I…"

"I know" Alphonse placed one hand atop his brother's right one, entwining their fingers, gripping tightly. There was no need for further explanation; what Edward had wanted to say was very clear for them both. I don't want to lose you again. I'll wake up and not see you and I'll be scared that you're gone again. Please still be there when we meet again.

"Good luck" Edward said, holding his hand out. Alphonse looked at it, then into his brother's eyes, and a sudden melancholy overcame him. His arms encircled the older teen's shoulders firmly, pulling a bewildered Edward close. The elder brother blinked a few times, before smiling and hugging his little brother back. Everything they'd never put into words, everything they didn't need to say, because it had been shown over the years, time and time again, much clearer than any word they could blurt out, everything was put into that shameless, fraternal embrace.

I love you, brother.

And then Alphonse pulled away and held his hand out, and Edward shook it with a grin and waved as his brother walked off, red coat shifting with the morning breeze, a glint of silver in the distance as the alchemist checked the pocket watch. And when Alphonse finally disappeared, Edward lowered his arm, the grin disappearing and an empty expression fixing itself on his features. Alphonse was gone… Off to lie for him and live without him, off to fight on a different plane against the menace that once again loomed over – or maybe lurked under – Amestris.

On his own. Edward sighed.

"Looking dejected, aren't we, chibi-san? Ne?"

Strong arms hugged Edward's waist from behind, and he snuggled into the embrace, closing his eyes, tilting his head back to rest it on a muscular shoulder.

"I'm scared for him…"

Envy made an undefined gesture with his mouth and shrugged lightly, nipping at Edward's tempting exposed neck.

"He can take care of himself. We gotta focus on the training."

"Mh."

"I love you, you know that?"

Edward turned his head so he could look at Envy, the lazy peaceful smile that the Sin loved curving his lips softly.

"I love you too."

The Homunculi stayed hidden in the ruins for another two weeks, training and sorting out what their next movements would be. They couldn't blindly look for Father and the Virtues across Amestris, because that would be calling for trouble. But the longer they spent in the safety and calm of Xerxes, away from everything, the more stressed and worried Edward became. Envy could understand him, or at least he tried to: Amestris was his country, his homeland, and the place where his little brother was currently living, all on his own. But that didn't stop him from feeling hurt and storming off whenever the blonde took his frustrations out on him.

The shapeshifter was surprised at his own sensitivity; he had always been rather short-tempered and easy to annoy, but with Edward, the smallest things set him off like a rocket. Since the blonde was always too stubborn and prideful to apologize, every little fight led to days ignoring each other. And Envy could barely stand being around the blond Homunculus and not talking to him, hugging him, touching him in any way he could. Frustrations built up, things went unsaid.

If Envy had known love could hurt so much, he would've killed himself again and stayed dead before becoming so addicted to Edward's eyes.

As their fourth week at the ruins started – and the couple set their newest record, four days without as much as looking at each other – Envy found Edward sitting on a rooftop, one leg bent and the other hanging off the edge, the warm sunset breeze playing with his fringe and his ponytail as it warned them about the quickly dropping temperature. His golden eyes, half-lidded, were set on the horizon, where the sun was setting. Amestris was in that direction.

Envy fidgeted nervously. Edward hadn't apologized, but Envy couldn't stand not talking to the other Homunculus anymore, so he approached the boy and cleared his throat, trying to catch his attention. Edward blinked, acknowledging his presence with a small 'hm'.

"Ed" Envy said, softly, as if afraid the blonde would ignore him and humiliate him even further. "Hum… W-Would you like to go in? We've already set the fire…"

"You don't have to do this, Envy."

Envy blinked in confusion, tilting his head to the side as the boy in front of him looked down, biting his lower lip nervously.

"What…?"

"I've been an asshole to you. You don't have to talk to me."

Envy's eyes widened, and he looked away, a strong blush lighting up his cheeks.

"If you want me to, I'll leave."

Edward pressed a hand to his forehead, groaning in frustration.

"Ugh, no! I didn't mean it like that! Could you stop it?"

"Stop what?" Envy frowned, his tone and his pose defensive. Edward glared at him over his shoulder, golden eyes blazing, and Envy hated the desire that coursed through him. Traitorous body!

"This! Approaching me just to run away again! If I'm so cranky that you can't stand being around me, why are you here now, huh?"

"Excuse me for trying to talk again after you've ignored me for days!"

"I've ignored you? You've ignored me!"

"Only because you were ignoring me!"

"Oh, c'mon!" Edward got up, turning around to fully face Envy, tucking a stray lock of golden hair behind his ear angrily. Envy despised him; he was too beautiful, framed by the setting sun, as if he were ablaze. How was he supposed to argue with someone who took his breath away merely by standing in front of him? "You know I'm sorry! You know I don't mean to snap! God, Envy, you know why I'm acting this way! Why can't you try and be less selfish?"

"Selfish? And you taking it out on me isn't selfish?"

"You're supposed to support me, damn you!" Edward closed his eyes, bowing his head, fists tightening at his sides. Envy was surprised to see he was trembling, as if he were about to cry; however, no tears were shed, although Edward's voice sounded a little broken as he whispered: "I hoped you'd help me… B-But you only make it all worse…!"

"How can I help you if you keep pushing me away, Fullmetal?"

"Why don't you try to understand a little more? I made the effort for you! You said you wouldn't forget!"

Silence fell. Edward opened his eyes. Golden clashed with purple.

Envy grimaced, frowning.

"It's not my fault. You decided to help me. I didn't want you to."

"If you don't care, then leave me alone" Edward's eyes narrowed, and Envy looked away, because he knew that if he looked into those eyes a second later, he'd break. And he wouldn't give Edward the pleasure of seeing him beg. The shapeshifter turned around and jumped off the roof, dusting himself off and walking away in a random direction.

Edward sat back down, and angrily wiped the tears from his cheeks. Envy didn't understand.

Maybe humans and Homunculi weren't that compatible.

…But he loved Envy like he'd never loved before.

"I'll talk to him when he gets back" he told himself with a small smile, hugging his knees to his chest. "We'll pull through. We love each other."

Envy ran. He took advantage of his discovery from some weeks ago and unleashed his giant form. His tail slammed angrily into dunes as he kicked up sand, escaping the ruins and the one he loved to the point it was painful. He knew it was stupid, he knew that once he was back, they'd make up – and make out – and everything would be happy again. And then they'd argue, and apologize, and break up and get back together. And despite his earlier words, and despite how he was running away now, he knew he wouldn't have it any other way.

Anything to hold him again. Anything to look into those eyes a little longer. I don't care how much I have to fight. He's mine.

He stopped as soon as Youswell came into view, and he was about to turn back, when a shining in the distance caught his attention. The monster stood on top of a dune, tail wagging softly, big eyes narrowing. The wind played with his hair as he tried to figure out what that red light could be. Was it fire in the town? Were those voices? What was going on?

A bad feeling stuck him, and a second later, the black-haired, green-eyed girl that had stood outside Edward Elric's house during that rainy night was running towards the town, this time dressed in thick winter clothing. Envy didn't make the same mistake twice.

He found the source of the strange shining rather quickly; a huge crowd had gathered around a big fire in the center of a square. A man stood on a platform in front of the people, gesturing wildly and apparently yelling at the top of his lungs. Envy approached the group slowly, so as not to attract any unwanted attention, and as he stood between an elderly woman and a group of young men, he was finally able to catch what the man on the platform – some kind of preacher, it seemed – was saying:

"…Finally arrived! We must fight the Sin so this country might be saved from the flames of Hell! Heed these words: the Angel came to me and told me to fight the Sin!"

Envy raised an eyebrow; the bad feeling increased in the pit of his stomach, but the preacher's words only sounded like a load of rubbish for him. Humans and their stupid religions; he was glad Edward was a self-proclaimed atheist, because he wasn't willing to put up with their stupid fearful rituals. He yawned openly – in a not very feminine way – and the elderly woman beside him let out a disapproving huff.

"The Sin disguises itself as humans, so you must beware!" the preacher roared, and some people stepped back. "People with red eyes and black hair! People with skin cold as ice! They will try to deceive us into believing their intentions are pure, but they're embodiments of evil!"

Envy blinked, placing a hand on his chest without even noticing. That sounded… But it couldn't be… Yet it sounded so much like…

Like them.

"Such horrible creatures" the elderly woman beside him commented, leaning in towards him, as if to make the conversation more intimate – taking it for granted that Envy cared about what she was saying. The Homunculus in disguise nodded softly, his mind reeling too fast for him to react in any other way.

Maybe it wasn't what he was thinking; maybe he was mistaken, but he started feeling paranoid as soon as the idea occurred to him. He noticed the determined faces all around him, some of the people carrying torches or pitchforks, children crying as they clung to their mothers' dresses.

"All of them carry the red mark!" the preacher went on with his rant. He didn't seem to care whether people were listening or not anymore. He was frenzied, in a trance. "The Ouroboros sign!"

Envy's free hand flew to his left thigh, as if wanting to cover the mark that wasn't actually there. He tended to forget he was in disguise, and even after remembering that fact, he didn't remove his hand. The red Ouroboros sign… The Sins… And torches and pitchforks. It was the perfect moment to run for the hills; or the dunes, for that matter. As the preacher went on describing the Sins' powers – regeneration, inhuman resistance, strength and speed, alchemy - he started to back away slowly, trying to get away as stealthily as he had arrived.

He didn't see the pitchfork someone had dropped behind him, and when he tripped and fell backwards with a small yelp, he didn't think it would attract that much attention. Nor did he realize why eyes widened and mouths fell open all of sudden around him when a small cut in his arm healed itself quickly, with a crack of red lightning.

And then it fell upon him. Humans don't regenerate, idiot!

The preacher, with his loud booming voice, was the one to say out loud what everyone was thinking.

"She's one of them! A Sin in disguise! Get her! GET HER!"

Envy felt strangely dazed; he sat on the ground and watched, confused, as torches were lit and pitchforks were raised, as angry screams of "Sin! Monster!" filled the air and the crowd started advancing on him.

The sight of the fire triggered the panic, and suddenly he was running, screaming frantically, avoiding the fanatics trying to catch him. He could see flames everywhere, lit torches brushing his clothes, his hair, his arms; and a fear he could only remember feeling once, when he was about to die, took over him. He thought of unleashing his giant form and crushing the entire town, but as he was about to carry out that idea, he heard the preacher screaming:

"Find it! It can't have gotten that far! Search the entire town! The desert! The ruins!"

Envy's eyes widened.

The ruins?

He practically welcomed the familiar feeling of the Philosopher's stone pulsing wildly inside his chest, and the irrationality that brought along. He enjoyed the blindness of fear, the stupidity that came with terror, the blissful oblivion of unbearable stress. Everything was game when one was so desperate.

The humans with the torches wanted to search the ruins!

My family…!

He didn't stop to think of how quickly the term family had come to his mind. He didn't try to remind himself that his family were in fact six fully-developed Homunculi that most likely could defend themselves against a bunch of pathetic humans. He didn't think at all; he merely jumped out of the alleyway he was hiding in and transformed into his real form before the shocked eyes of a group of people with torches.

I won't let them get close to the ruins.

A smirk. A flick of greenish black hair. Hands on curvy, androgynous hips.

"Aww, just look at you, humans!" Envy chuckled, his tone teasing and playful. "You look as if you were just chasing after some monster, ne? Why don't you let Envy help you?" he licked his lips, his smirk becoming more devious, and his eyes glistening dangerously. "Envy likes to play…"

A man took a step back and dropped his pitchfork, while another raised a torch, fire reflecting in Envy's purple eyes. The Sin snarled softly; he had just decided he didn't like fire too much.

"Put that away" he warned, but it went unheard as more people ran towards the small crowd gathering in front of Envy. The Sin stood straight, proud, a slight breeze playing with his hair and his loincloth. A woman caught glimpse of the Ouroboros tattoo on Envy's thigh and screamed.

"M-Monster…!"

"Ne, that's not a very nice thing to say!" Envy pouted, although it was obviously playful. He didn't feel pain at being called a monster; he didn't mind it when it was a stupid, panicked human. "And here I am trying to be nice to you!"

A pitchfork flew his way, and Envy stepped aside with a yelp, frowning.

"Hey, will you stop that? You could've hit me!"

Suddenly, the stone in Envy's chest started to pulse again, violently. Envy felt his mouth go dry and he swallowed thickly, gazing over his shoulder to see the preacher from before standing behind him. From his neck hung a chain with a blue stone, which shimmered under the lights from the torches. Envy's eyes narrowed. It looked so much like… But it couldn't be…

Philosopher's stones were red, right?

The preacher stepped closer, and the pulsing in Envy's chest became almost painful. He felt his knees buckle a bit under him, but his defiant glare didn't waver, even though fear was slowly spreading to his limbs, making his hands tremble. What was going on?

The preacher stepped closer, grabbing the blue stone and holding it out towards Envy, and the Sin's legs finally gave out.

"Wrath…"

Wrath turned around, still toying with the necklace he had borrowed from Envy earlier that day. Edward's golden eyes immediately went to the green snake around his neck and stayed fixed on it, the red light from the Philosopher's stone reflecting in the Homunculus' golden eyes. Wrath blinked, confused.

"Hum, Edward-chan… Did you want something?"

"Oh, yeah…" Edward looked up, apparently a little distracted and absent. "Hum… Have you seen Envy? He's been gone for a few hours now…"

Wrath looked around, as if expecting his missing sibling to come out of an alleyway at any moment.

"Hum… No, I haven't… Last time I saw him was before he went to talk to you on the roof… What happened?" the little Sin frowned suspiciously, and Edward felt a drop of sweat rolling down his temple. Caught.

"Hum… W-Well… We kinda had an argument…"

"Edward-chan…!"

"I didn't mean to upset him that much, and he made me feel like crap, too!"

Wrath put a hand to his forehead, sighing and shaking his head, and Edward smiled knowingly.

"Heh, you remind me of Al, Wrath."

Wrath blushed, glaring at Edward from under his hand.

"Don't try to sweet talk me now, Edward-chan. I'm mad at both of you."

"Al and me?"

"Envy-chan and you!"

"Oh…" Edward looked down, smiling sheepishly, and Wrath placed his hands on his hips, in a way that reminded the blonde of Envy.

"Seriously, you guys are supposed to be in love, and yet all you do is fight! If that's how it is, I'll never tell my love how I feel."

"Your love?" Edward raised both eyebrows at that, and Wrath looked away, blushing even more.

"Yeah, there's someone I like. But like hell I'm telling you!" the little Sin crossed his arms, nodding, looking satisfied with his resolve. "And about nii-chan, don't worry, he'll come back when he cools off. Just try not to upset him any further when he does, yeah?"

"Alright" Edward smiled, nodding. "I didn't mean to, it's just… I'm nervous."

"Okay. But don't take it out on him, alright? I'll talk to him when he gets back, too, so he stops being an emotional wreck."

"Thanks."

The two of them stayed silent for a few minutes, enjoying the soft, cool breeze. It was that cold out yet, but it would be soon. Wrath offered a hand to Edward, and the blonde blinked, looking at the other Homunculus insecurely.

"C'mon" Wrath grinned. "We'll set the fire inside, yes?"

After a few seconds, Edward smiled and took the outstretched hand.

"So, you're not mad at me anymore?"

"Don't push it, Fullmetal-chan!"

"If you forgive me, I'll get Al to ask you out."

"S-Shut up, Edward-chan!"

"Maybe once this is all over, we can all go out together" Edward smiled thoughtfully. "You know, the four of us. Me, Envy, Al and you."

Wrath stopped and turned to him. There was a dead serious look in his purple eyes, and suddenly Edward realized two things he hadn't noticed before.

One; despite how young Wrath looked, the Homunculus was obviously no kid. And the more he got to knew him, the more the volatile Sin struck him as a rebellious teenager, rather than the innocent child he looked like.

Two; Wrath looked a lot like Envy when he got serious.

"That a promise?" Wrath asked, defiantly, and Edward nodded.

"Sure. Just the four of us."

Wrath stared at him for a few more seconds before turning around with an annoyed huff.

"Just try not to break up with nii-chan before that happens. You promised me!"

Edward chuckled, following after the smaller Homunculus.

"I know, I know. I won't."

When Envy regained consciousness, the moon was high in the blue sky above him, and he was freezing. His body felt sore in various places, and he couldn't move his arms or legs. He was completely tied up, chained to a post on the same platform the preacher had been standing on while talking about the Sins. The chain around his naked waist felt rough, cold and hard, and it was a little too tight. His feet were tied together with rope, while his hands were held in front of him by a thick chain, from which the blue stone dangled, shimmering and making the stone in his chest pulse weakly.

He didn't even think of trying to free himself. He was a hundred percent sure that it wouldn't work, and that he'd only succeed in making a fool of himself. And he wouldn't give his captors that pleasure.

So the blue stone did something to his Philosopher's stone – much like the Virtues had, though even stronger. Envy felt weak, and judging by the cuts and bruises covering his legs and shoulders, he obviously wasn't healing. Also, his chest hurt and he felt lightheaded and dizzy. He rested his head back against the post he was tied to, closing his eyes, trying to suppress the horrible feeling of something warm crawling up his throat – he guessed it was nausea.

Okay, let's rewind. How the fuck did I end up in this situation in the first place?

First it had been the argument with Edward. Such a stupid issue. He should've just left the blonde alone, given him some space or simply held him until he calmed down, perhaps told him something comforting, or joked about something to lighten the mood. Or something else. Hell if he knew how to distract the blonde!

Then, running away from the ruins. Why the hell had he done that? Idiotic decision if there had been one. The ruins were safe. The rest wasn't.

Third, checking out the stupid red light coming from the town. So what if it had been on fire? The humans could all burn to death – and he suppressed a shudder at the thought. The humans, not me, them! – for all he cared! But curiosity killed the lizard, he guessed.

Speaking of which, if the power from his stone kept being drained, he knew he would eventually switch back to his tiny parasitic form, and he didn't want that humiliating thing to happen again.

Fourth, and the one decision he couldn't get himself to regret: stopping the humans from searching the ruins. Yeah, the other Homunculi could handle it; dammit, he himself could handle them on his own! But he had seen the angry faces and the sharp metal and fire, fire, fire, and he didn't want to imagine what could've happened if, by chance, the Homunculi lost to those humans – which they probably could've, if the little bastards had more of those blue stones.

The blue stone. Envy looked hopelessly down at his bound wrists. He was powerless.

Ed…

"Pride…" he sighed. He heard footsteps coming his way and looked up to find the preacher looking down at him. He was truly a disgusting man, with a big round belly, thin legs, a dirty beard and a shimmering bald head. His eyes were hidden behind small, comical glasses that reflected the light from the torches that were placed around Envy. The fire was unnerving the Sin to no end; he could clearly imagine one of those torches falling over, setting the whole wooden platform on fire… Burning him along with it, in his weakened state… The searing pain and, this time, without Edward to protect him from the vengeful flames…

He shook his head just as the preacher spoke, and when Envy's eyes fell on him again, he could see the man was holding another small torch. The Sin growled. He hated fire, dammit!

"Where are the other Sins?" the preacher asked unceremoniously, and Envy had the feeling that, before going nuts, the man had been a drunk and a generally disgusting, impolite person. The Sin tried to compose an inexpressive face, which was made easier by the fact that he was tired and demoralized beyond belief.

"I don't know" he lied. "I had a fight with my lover some time ago, and I haven't seen them since" he half-lied this time. His tone was flawless, his face showing pure nothingness. The preacher swallowed it all, but still didn't look convinced.

"So there's not any more of you around?"

Envy shook his head convincingly.

"No. I came from the ruins, there was no one there."

The preacher seemed visibly relaxed at the perspective of not having to search the desert or the ruins for the other Sins; perhaps that was why he believed Envy. He actually wanted to believe that. Envy rolled his eyes mentally; humans were so foolish.

"We should kill him now!" a male voice called suddenly, and the preacher turned around to address the other man.

"Oh, no!" a woman's voice screamed then. "Let the military handle this! We have to let the Fuhrer know about this!"

"That bastard doesn't care!" another woman countered, and Envy saw a flicker of fire behind the preacher. Dammit, why fucking fire? "Let's get this over with!"

"I agree with Mary, we have to inform the authorities" the preacher nodded, and everyone fell silent. The fire disappeared from Envy's sight. "Once someone from the military arrives, we'll decide on what to do. We wouldn't want the Fuhrer to turn against us by thinking we're doing stuff behind his back, right?"

"Right."

"Agreed."

The preacher shot Envy one last vicious glare before spitting next to his feet and descending from the platform, leaving the Sin tied up there, exposed to the cold, the merciless wind and the starry sky, to which the Homunculus' eyes turned, a hopeless expression on his face.

"If I were human, I'd believe there's a way out of this" he commented, smiling tiredly, closing his eyes. "Right, Edward?"

To be continued sometime soon, I hope! Thank you to everyone who read and supported this story, I hope I won't disappoint you!