A/N: Wow. 3 years. You know, I have a real bad habit of only getting on this site in July XD It's weird. Hahaaa well…

So, I've been on this site and all working on some other stories for The 100 (TV show, if you haven't watched it yet, please do. It's awesome) and started re-reading this.

God, anyone get cringe crazy when they read over old stuff? Yeah it had the effect of looking at grade school pictures on me.

Real quick, before I let you read and stuff…I've had a real rough time. Yeah, I get it. It's life. I'm actually an extremely realistic person. Maybe too much so. I've suffered with major depression for years and have a family that is very distant and mocking when it comes to something I truly have no control over.

Long sob story short, I lose motivation easy. I was looking back on this and thought it'd be unfair to leave this unfinished. I'm not the kind of person that settles. I was a weird, spazzy 14-year-old girl when I started working on this. Now I'm almost 18 and forced to wait a year, move all over God's green earth, and backtrack college until next year. Unfortunately, my life has to remain pretty shitty until I'm on my own, with a new family. Just life, though. I have my outlets.

Sooooooooo I have no ideas what I want to do about a sequel. Really, none. I don't think there will be one. This just doesn't have a fanbase. But looking at past reviews…it's really sweet. It is. And to think some dumb idea I had in tenth grade came this far—it's pretty cool. So, enjoy these last few chapters. I'll try to make them good :)

Chapter 16 "A Hero's Duty"

Central HQ – September 28—noon.

The group was exhausted beyond belief. They had all traveled by foot through the desert on rationed supplies. Not to mention Ed, Bella, and Al had experienced some fainting due to the heat. It was about time they made it to town. Everyone was afraid they'd rip each other's throat out until then.

Ed huffed and hunched over to rest on his knees. Scar strolled up behind him, collected, and laid a reassuring hand on Ed's shoulder.

"Think he'll help us?"

Scar remained silent, allowing the large building to consume him. He wasn't sure that Roy, a fire alchemist with somewhat of an ego problem, would help a bunch of puny alchemists. But with Scar around, they all hoped that the physicality would induce a reasonable answer.

A passing officer had marched by at the right time, stopping and looking twice before motioning over some help to the group. A few seemed alarmed, recognizing Greed as an enemy before backing away.

"Hey—he's with us! It's fine!" Ed assured.

Envy, who had been in disguise, crossed his arms. "Can't you see we're starving and dying of dehydration? Do something about it."

The guard held his mouth open for a fraction longer before stumbling over to get help.

"Roy should be thrilled…" Ed mumbled.

The guard came rolling back around a corner with Roy in tow and some other guards to take care of the others who were about to keel over. They tasted nothing but sand in their mouths thanks to the wind. Drinking water and staying awake proved more difficult than walking.

Roy scoped Ed from head to toe and shook his head in silence.

"Fullmetal, I see you've managed for Scar to find you. Good job, although I'm not surprised."

Ed sweatdropped and ignored the daily bantering for the moment. "Hey, look. We need to talk so let's just get everyone inside, ok?"

"You're right." Roy cracked his knuckles. "We do."

"Huh?"

On a very curious note, the group trudged after Roy and his entourage through the hallways of the Colonel's office. The door was left open quickly by Lt. Hawkeye and she slammed the door loudly.

"What have you gotten yourselves into?" Riza demanded, looming over them with a glare. "Now, the entire military's safety is at stake here. Thanks to you and your underqualified friends."

"Lieutenant," Roy motioned, "thank you but I've got a handle on it."

Riza gave him a hard look. "Mention the news we found first. Then let them soak it up."

The door opened and closed again and the room fell silent. Roy brushed his hands over a manila envelope on his desk and slid open the contents for all to see.

Roy hastily frowned at the women in the room. "Before reading, if you don't think you can handle it—"

Camile cut him off with a glare before another word came out of his mouth. Roy nodded and shifted.

"First of all, let me just say how absolutely pissed I am that things have gotten this bad," Roy motioned to the homunculi, now undisguised in the privacy of the office. "For you to ask help from enemies of the state without consulting me first? Tsk."

"Roy, look, we're doing the best we can!" Ed stated proudly. "I mean, look at them. For what we've been through, we're doing pretty damn well."

"You've endangered everyone's lives," Roy sneered.

"No, this is teamwork. We started this and we're going to end it."

"For the record, Colonel, you weren't there in the desert with us when they took my best friend for ransom," Camile countered.

"I wasn't. But these papers are enough proof for me." He slammed his hand down near the scattered papers on his desk. Ed gingerly picked up a long, handwritten note and read it aloud.

"I'm surprised to see your friend is still alive after our questioning. He's got quite a spirit, don't he? Unfortunately, the fact he's yet to tell us the total truth is still a bit of a problem. You see, we don't make deals with anyone. Now that we lost a valuable member of the company, Jordan, we have quite the bone to pick with you people. Hopefully, Colonel, you get a leash on those alchemists of yours, or the city will have hell to pay. You have until October 1st to meet us at the lost ruins of Xerxes. That kid of yours will know what that means. Blood for blood. A sacrifice is only fair, then we'll let your friend go."

Ed paused. "I-It's signed at the end…with his blood. Wyatt's blood."

Bella held back tears and turned away so no one would see her cry.

Roy snatched the note back. "Signed with their symbol and everything. I don't know who these people are but I don't appreciate that they know who I am."

"They're demi-gods," Scar noted. He was huddled in the corner, arms crossed, and everyone began to stare at him.

"What?" Ed demanded. "Now you tell us? How in the world are we supposed to defeat him?!"

"You're not. Their offer was clear. One of us has to die for there to be equal pay."

"And they won't kill us all then—due to the fact we know about their existence," Roy retorted sarcastically, scoffing slightly. "Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourselves into, Fullmetal?"

Camile spoke up, shaking her head. "It's not his fault. It's mine."

Everyone stopped to look at her, now fixated on some hope for peace to finally be achieved.

"Whatever this place wants from us, for whatever reason, that's why we're here. Me, Wyatt, Bella, Luki…we're all here for some retribution to pay. I just wish things weren't so complicated."

"What are you implying?" Roy asked.

"If they want someone dead, there has to be a reason. A real reason," Camile sighed. "Whatever I did, this must be my punishment. But I won't let the rest of you suffer. I won't."

"Truth," Ed breathed. "Truth is doing this…"

"We're all disappearing. I know that sounds bizarre and insane and it is but, Bella having her hand go through her forehead, me looking down to see right through myself…we're on a time limit in this world," Camile hitched. "And I know Truth has something to do with it."

"What the hell?" Envy growled. "This is not going to end like this. It can't. We'll find a way to kill these bastards, demi-gods or not."

Camile shook her head sadly, ignoring Envy's seemingly nurturing concern for her. "This only ends one way…"

Envy breathed heavily, about to give her a piece of his mind before Roy interjected.

"We need to figure out something now. They gave us until October 1st. That's three days in case you were wondering." Roy rolled his eyes.

"We can't do this in three days!" Bella sobbed. "They'll kill my only cousin!"

"Calm down, we'll figure out something. But before you leave my office we need to have a plan. I don't care how fatigued everyone is; the military is now involved."

"Then we'll be here a while," Envy grumbled.

"We obviously need all the help we can get," Greed spoke up. "My—minions—are gone. But while we were traveling they must have had an entire army hidden on the outskirts of Aerugo."

Roy eyed him skeptically, but everyone else gave him a reassuring nod. "Give me an estimate."

"A hundred or two. Can't be all, though. I'm smelling some extras underground somewhere."

"Easy," Roy nearly laughed. "They'll be sorry they messed with us with those numbers."

"Roy, you don't get it! They were highly trained assassins. I don't even want to think what they did to Wyatt out of torture. So if we need help from anyone, we need—state alchemists." Ed groaned. "Never thought I'd say that."

Roy rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "They must expect us to take this offer. I presume your friend Wyatt told them things about us. But they also must expect retaliation."

"We need to have a backup for our backup. They're twenty steps ahead of us, Roy."

"They will want to double cross us, no doubt. But they must have thought we were smart enough to figure that out. So, we need to find a way around that."

"Expect a fight," Camile sighed. "There's no other way around it. They'll bring their men to kill us and we'll bring ours. Simple."

"I can't afford to waste manpower like that," Roy snapped. "Not against a demi-god like TMK. But…."

There was a long pause and a look of hurt in the Colonel's eyes. "It's a risk we must take."

"Lt. Hawkeye wouldn't go for that," Ed refuted calmly.

"No, she wouldn't. She'll do something stupid to risk her life for mine. We're not telling her about our plans."

Ed nodded. "So we'll need to practice right?"

"In the meantime you all can rest. We'll get everything sorted until then."

Camile leered in front of his desk. "Excuse me? Three days for us to rest? We don't have time to rest! We need to prepare now!"

"She's right, Colonel," Envy rebutted.

"Shut up," Roy sneered.

"That's my friend out there."

"And these are my men out here." Roy adjusted his gloves. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"You say you love your men," Camile glared, "prove it. What would you do if they were being captured, interrogated, and being held ransom?"

Roy stared at her a long time, both frigidly cold in their mannerisms. The room fell silent and the others shifted uncomfortably. Roy put the classified documents back in their rightful place and shooed the group out with is hand.

"We're done talking for today. Get some rest."

Camile, still glaring, hadn't moved an inch before the others piled out of the office. Envy waited on her, tapping his foot impatiently before moving up behind her and grabbing her by the forearm.

"Come on, he's not worth it."

Camile gave Roy one final, unrequited stare before Envy led her out of the room.

She was seething. "Does he even have a heart?"

Envy remained silent for a moment, giving her some time to breathe. "Well, since you're human and everything you need some rest so try to get some."

"Why are you helping me calm down?" Camile grumbled. "What do you even want from me?"

Envy sighed, looking at her blankly before giving her a nod in the direction of the hotel outside. Whatever she was mad at him about they would discuss in the privacy of their own room. It was bad enough he was in an uncomfortable form of a young man.

At the hotel, the group was dead silent. Checking in for free, courtesy of Roy, and trudging up the stairs to their rooms. Camile had long passed the stage of tired and was now restless; sitting on her bed looking more pissed than usual.

"Before you attack me, let me just say how idiotic I think you're being."

Camile looked at him with a flash of hurt, shock, and then anger. "What?"

"You're going to get yourself killed! That's exactly what Truth wants! Knowing your stupid friends, they'll try to resurrect you and—"

Envy halted, unable to finish his last sentence due to a deep resentment.

"I'll try not to," Camile mumbled and looked away. "But, what I want to know is why you're so concerned about me. I'm just an annoying, dumb human who has no idea what the heck is going on anymore."

She was expecting Envy to delay his reply and was nearly stunned when he answered her immediately.

"Because I care about you, idiot!"

"Say that again." Camile shifted on the bed, facing him and looking at him with hopeful eyes.

Envy rolled his eyes before enunciating. "Idiot." His chest morphed open so that she could see the Philosopher's Stone more clearly. The red liquid had transformed into a shape of a heart and was beating rapidly. "Courtesy of yours truly…" he grumbled.

Camile wanted to laugh, cry, or hit him. She wasn't sure which she would do first.

"This isn't supposed to happen," Envy scowled, crossing his arms. "You idiotic human. This is unnatural."

Camile let out a soft laugh before moving over to sit by him.

"Hey, you know what? I'm just glad someone cares about me." Envy didn't reply. "I care about you too."

Before Envy could make another snarky comment, his eyes snapped open as her lips were suddenly against his. He was frozen; cursing himself, cursing her, cursing Truth.

She, on the other hand, let it happen. A homunculus and a human. It was a twisted play on the natural event of life; something forbidden, strange, and totally surreal. Camile thought if her last day was freeing Wyatt then she would kiss someone who had proven himself to her on many levels. Sure, Envy was a total ass most of the time. He was a psychopathic murderer who found masochistic enjoyment of gruesome things.

Somehow, he made a masochist of himself from loving Camile. He'd immediately saw her as different; as independent, weird, strong, and outright stupid at the same time. He wasn't sure the feeling would be something he'd ever get used to. The feeling humans referred to as love. He'd protected her as best he could, hide how he felt by being verbally abusive to make up for it. But it didn't work. Worst of all: she knew he was hiding it. So technically, she wasn't an idiot.

Camile pulled away quickly, giving him an apologetic look before snuggling under the covers. Within minutes, she was asleep. Envy continued sitting on his bed, still in shock from what just happened. He touched his lip gently, enjoying the tingling that remained on the surface.

He eventually struck out of his daze, moving over to tuck the covers over Camile. He slumped back down on his bed, watching her for a while.

"You better not get yourself killed," he warned, met only by the silence of her slumber. "That's something I won't get used to. But if you want to see Wyatt again, I'll help you. Not that dumb Fullmetal. I'm not doing this for him…"

He found some enjoyment in watching her sleep, knowing she was half awake to whatever he told her. So, he talked to her like that for a while, watching a blink here or there as she unconsciously listened. There was simplicity in moments like those, knowing he'd never forget.

Not even when Truth would attempt to steal her away from the world. Truth would have to do everything it could to keep Envy from giving up such a prized possession.

OH MY GOD. YOU GUYS. I FINISHED A CHAPTER. HOLY COW I AM PROUD.

So, only thing I have to say is that I am sorry if there's some errors somewhere. It's quite late and I'm saving my free time and best writing for the final chapter. Until next time!~