Genre: Angst/General

Rating: K+

Media: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime)

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Arakawa. Attack belongs to 30 Seconds to Mars.

A/N: Unlike my previous stories, this'll take place in the Anime instead of the Manga. Also worthy of note, there's a part that was taken out of an OVA called Reflections (it'll be towards the end) with a very small change made to the ending of Envy's speech. Oh…and don't be fooled. This story won't have a special, happy-feeling ending (look at genre, if you don't believe me). There are no pairings.

Attack

A stream flowed by a grove of trees, the sparkling clear waters and greenery of the leaves and grass telling of the luscious spring. This ancestral beauty to life itself failed to cheer the being stationed near the stream.

Lavender eyes stared down dully as the water trickled around the rocks he had thrown earlier, the sun filtering through the trees giving his hair a mossy-green shine. His pale face was wet, most noticeably around the eyes.

He sat there with his bare arms wrapped around his bare knees, his chin resting just behind them. A slight shudder vibrated through his body as a cool breeze brushed against his bare back.

"No," he muttered, turning his gaze to the azure sky that showed through a gap in the trees. "She won't win…not this time."

The smallish boy turned away, uncertainty in his eyes. "But…how will I fight back? Can I fight back…?"

Another shudder shook his frame as he stood up hurriedly, staggering away from the water. Eyes flashing defiance and fear, he turned on his heels and stomped his way through the woods.

I won't suffer, be broken, get tired, or wasted

Surrender to nothing, or give up what I…

Started and stopped it, from end to beginning

A new day is coming, and I am finally free

A boy, seeming around the age of twelve or so, stood leaning against a fence-post on the other side of the small woods. He rubbed the toe of his boot against the gravel boredly, sapphire eyes staring at the nearby trees.

"Come on, already," he growled, quickly becoming deeply impatient. "How long does it take someone to walk through a grove of trees…?"

"Hey, Nickie," replied a voice from behind the boy, gold eyes watching him jump and fall in surprise. "Sorry I kept ya waiting."

Nickie was about to yell at the other blonde when he noticed the expression on his friend's face. "Willie…you okay?" A subtle frown settled onto his features when Willie shook his head. "It's not…her again, is it?"

The older-looking boy sighed, closing his eyes and leaning against the fence-post, an expression of agitation on his features. "She's trying to give me orders again." He slowly opened his eyes, a light cloud of gray tinting those gold orbs. "But I suppose I owe her…I mean, she did create me, after all."

"Not that nonsense again," muttered Nickie, slapping his forehead and running his fingers through short blonde hair. "Look: If you keep telling yourself all that stuff, you'll never be able to escape from her." He adopted a more serious, almost business-like expression when he realized he had the older-looking boy's attention. "Just tell yourself that you owe her nothing and that you can live without her, okay?"

Willie looked away slightly, absorbing his friend's words and trying to decide whether to trust them.

The younger-looking boy sighed, waving for his friend to come along as he turned around. "You know…since you got over that ailment, you've been, er…different. It's kinda creepy, you know? And your talk about your mother creating you makes it sound like you died and she brought you back to life or something."

Gold eyes flashed lavender, narrowing in mild regret. "You don't know how true your words are," he whispered under his breath, kicking off the post and following.

"Which is why," the other began slowly, sapphire eyes faded slightly in thought. "You should rebel." This caught Willie's full attention instantly.

"How do we do that?"

A silly-looking smile crossed the slightly smaller boy's lips as Nickie turned his head to look over his shoulder. "How'd you know I was gonna have some involvement in this scheme?"

"Because you never exclude yourself in your own plans."

"You know me too well," the blue-eyed blonde said with a laugh, slapping the gold-eyed blonde when he returned a smirk.

Run away, run away, I'll attack

Run away, run away, go chase yourself

Run away, run away, now I'll attack

I'll attack, I'll aa…whoa!

In a dark, poorly lit room stood a woman with shoulder-length purplish hair and eyes that were somewhere between blue and purple. She held a bloody dagger in one hand and the limp corpse of Nickie in her other, the dark-haired boy from the stream staring in shock.

"This is what happens when…" She halted for emphasis at first, however seeming to have lost her train of thought when she saw the emptiness in his pale lavender eyes.

"Why…?"

She dropped the dead body to the bloodstained floor, walking toward him slowly while extending her murder weapon. "Why, you ask?" Gently pressing the flat end of the blade on his chest, she proceeded to make a bloody "X" before making the poor boy grab the hilt. "For your revenge, of course."

He turned his gaze to her, a questioning glimmer lighting it as his body began to tremble. "Revenge…?"

"Yes." Her pale hand gently caressed his face, a small, wicked smile sneaking onto her beautiful features. "William?"

As if responding to a command, a white ring appeared at his feet and crawled its way upward, changing him to the form of Willie. He made little movement when she wrapped her arms around him, lowering his gaze to the less-bloody knife he held.

"I'm so sorry, my Willie-Willow boy…"

He stiffened slightly at his old nickname, tears threatening to form in gold eyes. "Sorry…?"

"Yes," she responded quietly, letting go of him and stepping away. "I'm sorry for what humanity's done to you."

He blinked hesitantly, hurt and confusion readable in his eyes. "What are you talking about?" Nervousness etched its way to his features when he observed the sad expression on her face.

"I really didn't want you to know," the woman sighed, though whether the sincerity in her voice was real or not he couldn't tell. "The one who killed you…was your father, Hohenheim. And poor Nickie…" –she motioned toward the corpse without looking –"…was trying to trick you into killing me, the one who brought you back as a homunculus and your mother. They both betrayed you…humanity betrayed you."

The shape-shifting homunculus staggered backward a step, dropping the bloody knife in alarm. Pupils trembling in gold irises as he stared hard at her, hurt and confusion becoming overwhelming factors. "No…!" Falling backward, his gaze dropped to the corps of his former friend.

She knelt down before him, placing a hand on his knee. "Oh, don't worry," she whispered seductively, leaning forward slightly. "You still have time to exact your revenge. But your appearance? Your human name? All created by Hohenheim. Abandon them. Use the body I created for you."

He nodded slowly, gulping down a sob as he transformed back into that dark-haired, pale-skinned boy from the stream, tears in his lavender eyes. "What should be my new name?"

"Your name…" Her hands once again caressed his face, a small smile beginning to materialize onto her lips. "Your new name shall be Envy."

Envy the homunculus nodded, picking up the knife as he stood up, shakily making his way to Nickie's corps. Dropping to his knees, he whispered, "I believe Master has named me correctly." His voice grew bitter here, an almost invisible tint of mournfulness also entering his tone. "I envy you for being able to escape so easily. Thanks for leaving me behind, traitor…!" He stabbed downward, tears streaming down his face as blood splattered on his chest and the walls.

I would have kept you forever, but we had to sever

It ended for both of us, faster than a…

Kill off this thinking, it's starting to sink in

I'm losing control now, but without you I can finally see

In the same dark room, lit only by six candles arranged on a strange circle with a six-legged star at its center, stood Envy and his creator. This time, at the center of a rather large transmutation circle, there was a pile of substances that looked like colored dust and sand.

The woman stepped forward, getting down onto her knees so she could press her hands against the outer circle. "Let's see if I can bring you back by myself, Maxis," she muttered before sparks and streaks of electricity flew up into the air. Envy shielded his eyes while his master merely squinted as the mass at the center began to move and change.

Having now adjusted to the brightness, lavender eyes widened at a sight that was apparently familiar to them.

"Envy." The woman turned to the homunculus slightly behind her, reaching out a hand. "The Philosopher's Stone." He handed her a small, glowing substance of red and she turned back to the heavy-looking set of doors that stood before them. Holding the Philosopher's Stone out toward the strange-looking doors, she stepped forward while Envy hung back.

The doors slowly opened, revealing staring blue eyes peeking out at the two newcomers. When they noticed the glowing red mass in her hands, black hands began reaching forward from the darkness.

The young homunculus stepped backwards, trembling. "M-Master? Can we leave…?"

"Not yet, my child," she answered gently, watching transfixedly as the hands carefully took pieces of the magically glowing Stone. "We need to collect Maxis' new body, first."

The child-like shape-shifter cringed, watching the doors warily, fear flickering in his lavender eyes.

Black hands retreated into the darkness inside the doors, the woman turned to her creation. "Now, we wait." She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gently pressed the amazingly small chunk of Philosopher's Stone against his chest with her free hand. "Isn't this exciting? Soon you'll have a younger brother. You've always wanted one, remember?"

The light faded, and they were both back in the dark room. At the center of the transmutation circle lay a mass of flesh. Among this mass could be seem a vaguely humanoid face, hands, and numerous internal organs and bones. When its creator leaned toward it, a hand instantly shot out toward her breasts.

"Eck!" she hissed, narrowing her eyes at it. "Still as greedy as ever, Maxis."

Envy slowly walked over, instantly clinging to his master's arm. "Erm…perhaps we should call him Greed?" His body relaxed a bit when a flicker of approval crossed her expression.

"That's the perfect name for you," she cooed mockingly, leaning over the gasping mass again. "Don't worry, my dear Greed. I'll get you some Red Stones to eat." With that, she stood straight and walked toward the closed door. The older homunculus didn't follow.

Instead, he knelt down before Greed, the nervousness and curiosity quickly diminishing. A slight crinkle appeared on his nose as he observed the creature feebly reaching out toward him.

"You wanna know something, Maxis?" Envy leaned closer to the creature Greed's face, dropping his voice to a low, almost venomous whisper. "I envy you for having the choice of becoming like this…"

Run away, run away, I'll attack

Run away, run away, go chase yourself

Run away, run away, now I'll attack

I'll attack, I'll aa…whoa!

On the wall of a large, bronze-colored room hung a dark-clad, dark-haired woman. She was hung by stakes stabbed through her hands and chest, although no blood could be seen. A pudgy-looking man paced beneath her, whimpering.

Envy, now looking to be in his mid-teens, walked toward them. Stopping before the woman, a small wrinkle appeared on his nose as he used his powers to lengthen his arms and remove the stakes. She fell into his arms with a slight gasp, the pudgy character at her side instantly.

"Are you okay, Lust?" he asked, milky-white eyes worried.

"Yeah," Lust breathed, straightening herself. "I'm alright."

"You really shouldn't make Master angry like that, you know."

The pudgy man partially hit himself from Envy, clinging to Lust's arm.

She gave the older homunculus a hard look, a mild flicker of hurt in her lavender eyes. "You knew…" Lowering her head without averting her gaze from his now darker amethyst eyes, she said in an almost accusing tone, "You knew she was lying."

The shape-shifting homunculus stood there calmly, giving her a contemplative look as he thought how to answer. "She's not fond of the idea of losing us homunculi." He hardly moved when she almost punched him, a near-invisible flicker of regret skittering through his eyes being the only hint of emotion. "Whether you're happy with that fact or not, you can't make her do something she doesn't want to do."

Lavender eyes flashed angrily, hands clenched into fists. Slowly, she lowered her gaze, her body trembling and beautiful face reflecting hurt.

Envy was about to turn and leave when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him. Amethyst eyes turned down to her, curious yet annoyed by her action.

"I can never thank you enough for your respect and kindness…"

"Lust…"

Lust cautiously let go of the older homunculus, seemingly ignoring his implied question. "If you find you must fight me, understand that I won't be angry with you…" She looked directly into his eyes, sadness glinting in them. "Goodbye, Envy."

"Can I come, Lust?" the pudgy man asked, slowly walking along behind her.

"No, Gluttony. You can't come."

A subtle frown settled onto the shape-shifter's face, finding her reaction to Gluttony's question peculiar. Amethyst eyes widened slightly, although he made no movement toward the door the female homunculus had exited out of. He turned around, clearly not liking what was going to happen. "Lust," he whispered, turning his head toward the door without turning his body. "I envy your courage…"

Your promises, they look like lies

Your honesty, like a back that hides a knife

I promise you (I promise you)

I promise you (I promise you)

And I am finally free

"Lust…!" Gluttony called in a whiney whisper, roaming into a room with white walls, a bed with green furnishings, and a gold lamp sitting atop a small wooden table. Envy was sitting on the bed, staring at an outline of a square on the wall where a window used to be. Lying in front of the table was a character in a hulking suit of armor, limbs tied to the sides. Through a crack (or large hole, rather) in the armor could be seen a red glow almost identical to that of the Philosopher's Stone.

"She's not here," the shape-shifter said irritably, giving the pudgy man a hard, almost angry look. "Go ask Master."

"Lust…!" Gluttony gasped despairingly, waddling out of the room and continuing on down the hallway. "Lust…!"

The armored head of the suit of armor turned from the door to the older homunculus. "Is Lust that woman he usually hangs out with?"

"Yes," Envy answered aloud, though he added in a whisper, "Unfortunately." Turning amethyst eyes down toward the captive, he asked, "Why?"

"she was at the Fifth Laboratory…"

"Ah, so you remember."

"You seemed to get along with her very well."

"Yeah? So?"

"Then certainly, you must know where she is."

"Perhaps I do," the shape-shifter responded a little on the slow side, keeping the tone of bitterness as low as possible. "But does it really matter?"

"How could you talk like that about your own comrade!?"

Envy smirked at the alarmed, angry and almost panicky tone, expertly masking the flicker of hurt that almost lit his eyes. "Easy, really. Just get into the mindset that you're gonna lose someone, so it's best to not get attached. Does that make sense?"

The being in the suit of armor was silent for a moment, then lowered his head. "I suppose it keeps you from going completely insane…I can only imagine the anguish you must've felt before you found that mindset."

A wrinkle appeared on the homunculus' nose, a cold-tempered scoff being hotly emitted. "Don't be a fool. We homunculi don't have 'emotions' or what you humans call 'feelings'," he explained in a low tone that mimicked anger exactly. "Even if I weren't in that mindset, I wouldn't care. Now, sit still and shut up 'till Master comes, will you?" Amethyst eyes turned back to the square in the wall, flashing for a second. Then they drastically calmed and a glimmer of sadness lit them, almost as if he were still trying to convince himself yet never quite succeeding.

Run away, run away, I'll attack

Run away, run away, go chase yourself

Run away, run away, now I'll attack

I'll attack, I'll attack, I will attack

Envy had decided that he had had enough of taking care of the "child" in the suit of armor and was roaming among the long-abandoned city's streets. Although the area was clearly a few centuries old, there was only a thin carpet of dust, probably a result of the city being hidden underground for so long.

Reaching the outer edge of the city where a tunnel lay, he happened to look up toward a balcony of sorts and saw someone he clearly wasn't expecting. Amethyst eyes narrowing, he leapt up a flight of badly-cracked stairs and noiselessly landed about fifteen feet away from a character standing on the edge.

"So this is… 'The City that Disappeared in One Night'?" the boy asked, blonde hair swaying slightly as black boots took him a step forward. Gloved hands clenched into fists, gold eyes flashing angrily. "Damn you, Hohenheim… Where are you? Why did you do it!? I know you did this!"

The homunculus made no discernable reaction to the boy's shouting, seeming to be more occupied by the fact he was standing there, existing. A slight frown settled onto his face, amethyst eyes hardening.

Without noticing the shape-shifter (who had transformed into a stone gargoyle), the blonde made his way down the cracked stone stairs, blood-red cloak flying after him. "Whatever your reason is, I'm going to find out!"

Changing back into the dark-clad, dark-haired teenage form, Envy stealthily began to follow the smaller-sized male. Eyes cold with hate, he hissed with a venomous grin, "I am going to destroy you, son of the bastard who betrayed me and Master…!"

Run away, I'll attack, I will attack

Run away, I'll attack, I will attack

There was nothing but a black spanse of space, occasionally a flash of gold or white lighting up the space. Buzzing above were several random images ranging from memories to simple ideas. Voices echoed in the vastness, one of which belonged to Envy.

"Damn, he left," the homunculus said, although his personage still couldn't be seen. "And not just him…everyone's gone. Lust, Gluttony, and Pride are gone." He took a breath, changing his tone from that of solemnity to that of a factual tone, "Wrath's probably alive out there, but we'll likely never see him again." His voice dropped again as he added when a flash of images showing a woman transforming into a greenish-colored gas flew by, "Same for Sloth."

Images of Lust flew by, showing her on her hands and knees, breathing deeply as if she had finished regurgitating. "Lust…" Envy's voice said with almost a touch of gentleness, "In the end, I heard you say, 'Did I want to die?'" His tone took a different note as he continued, "So the reason why we wanted to become human, even though we had eternal life, was because we wanted to die?" A laugh echoed, mocking and with a false hint of amusement. "What a nice goal!" The words dripped with sarcasm, images of Envy grinning mockingly flashing by. "Don't make me laugh…I don't want to die. I will live and watch it happen! Of all those humans, suffering, tortured by guilt."

Then, flashes of Nickie flew by, his sapphire eyes gleaming happily with a slight tone of mischief. Standing next to him was William, a similar look in his gold eyes. Abruptly, just as they had appeared, they were replaced by images of the red-cloaked boy with blonde hair and gold eyes. Envy's voice rang out angrily, "Damn you, Pipsqueak…why do you do it? Why do you remind me of him!?"

Angry amethyst eyes flashed by, a hateful scowl accompanying them. "All of you guys…and you. And you. And you!" A semi-sadistic smirk appeared as the crazed homunculus continued, "You will all eventually die…and only homunculi will survive."

An image of a town engulfed in flames flew by, barely showing a group of shadowy figures standing in front of the gates of the city.

"Then I'll finally be able to forget…" More images of a younger Nickie and William flashed by, both of them running and appearing to be laughing as they played.

Then an image of a mass of internal organs with a vaguely humanoid face appeared, and kneeling before it were the woman Envy had come to call Master and a man with dark-blonde hair and old-gold colored eyes, both of them trembling at the sight in front of them.

"I will…forget the reason I was born!"

Run away, run away, now I'll attack

I'll attack, I'll aa…whoa!

In a large room with a high arched ceiling, a traditional style for European castles, lay a large, serpentine dragon. Dripping out of its mouth was human blood, bodily remains still clinging to the fangs.

Amethyst eyes identical to Envy's turned upward toward the hole near the ceiling, watching dully as the white and gold shrank, the opening slowly closing.

"So…" Envy's voice whispered out of the throat of the dragon, eyelids lowering tiredly. "I've killed Hohenheim, a desire I've had for as long as I can remember…now what do I do?" The power-drained shape-shifter rested his head on the floor, life slowly ebbing away from his eyes.

He snorted suddenly, seeming to have remembered something from his distant past. "If I hadn't listened to her…if I had rebelled, even with everything to lose, how much different would circumstances be…?" His answer rumbled through the castle chambers with no response, revealing the eerie emptiness of the place.

A sigh escaped the dragonoid shape-shifter as the last bit of life erased from amethyst eyes, darkening them to black and the body going completely limp.

The hole near the ceiling widened very faintly, the humanoid form of Envy standing there, staring into the light. Doubt flickered in onyx eyes, dark hair that once had a mossy-green shine swaying slightly from the wind exiting out of the opening. "I've been given false lies and believed them foolishly. Is this another lie for me to believe?"

Your promises (promises)

I promise you (promise you)

I promise you (I promise you, promise you)

END