I. Mythical
-—Wrath learns something new.
Sometimes, he wishes he is one of the humans he's been taught to despise.
He's a Homunculus, yes, but he's technically the most human of all of them. Their Father didn't create him like he created the others; somewhere, he has a biological mother and father, perhaps siblings and an extended family...
(Or maybe they were killed when he was taken away. The scientists never said, and he knew better than to ask.)
He feels disillusioned, now, perhaps even more so than his "siblings." They are older than him—centuries older—but they've never been anything but Homunculi, created solely for their Father's plans. He, on the other hand, grew up for years as a human. A lab rat, yes—a pawn in others' plans, yes—but he had truly been just like any other human male.
Now that the Philosopher's Stone is infused within him, of course, he is so much more than that. Once he became Wrath, once the Ouroboros was branded onto his eye, something inside him changed. He has never been able to describe it, has never truly had the chance to, but it has always been there...lurking.
Perhaps, he thinks, that is why he fell for a human woman so completely.
She keeps alive the last vestiges of his humanity—if it could be called that—even if it is only when they are alone. He doesn't dare open himself up fully in front of Pride (though he knows his older brother is indeed fond of his "mother"), because he wouldn't understand. What Pride feels, he is sure, is a mockery of human emotion. And while Wrath isn't sure that he is so different, he knows how humans should feel, at least intellectually...because he once had the capacity to feel the same himself.
His wife—a wonderful woman—has doted on Pride for years, treating him as if he were her own flesh and blood. Pride has never mentioned it, never complained, even when they two of them are alone...
It is only after a long time that Wrath realizes the reason. Their Father—whom they would do anything for—is their father only in name. He's never coddled his "children," never truly been kind to them...and though he gives them limited freedom when they are sent above ground, they are never truly free.
It hasn't bothered any of them... They are better than lowly human emotion—why should their Father weaken himself to make a farce of the human family? But whenever Wrath watches a small, true smile spread across Pride's face, he realizes that this is something they're missing... And even if it's not necessary, it's still nice to have.
One day, Pride comes home from school looking vaguely confused, and Wrath's interest is piqued. Before he can ask what the problem is, though, his wife runs in from the kitchen, giving Pride a hug and asking how his day was.
"We've been assigned a book. I don't really understand..."
Wrath knows, somehow, that the confusion in his brother's voice is not quite an act this time. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland—he has never heard of it. As his wife begins talking excitedly about it, how she read it as a child and how they could read it as a family if they'd like, because really it is an excellent book...he realizes that this is a type of book he's never read.
Fiction.
Fantasy.
The concept of something so bizarre as a talking deck of cards or a smoking caterpillar has simply never crossed his mind. Even when he had been human, his imaginings had been limited to what he would like to do as Fuhrer.
But now he realizes that this fantastical imagination—of things that could never truly happen—seems to be uniquely human. His limited knowledge and memory do not help him here as he sits next to Pride, gesturing for his wife to open the book.
"Sure, we can read it together. It'll be our little secret."
His wife smiles broadly at him and opens to the first page, beginning to read in the clear, melodic voice he has always enjoyed. She treats the strange happenings in the story as if they are nothing out of the ordinary, and eventually, Wrath feels himself relaxing. Even if these things are improbable—impossible, even—he finds that there is something soothing about the fact that this can't possibly be real.
He sinks back into the couch and steals a glance at Pride. He is leaning into his mother's shoulder, a rare look of true contentment on his face. He doesn't seem to be acting, not this time—as the story continues, weaves and twists and hurtles through Wonderland, Wrath realizes they are all truly peaceful...at least in that moment.
Soon, they must return to double lives, to plotting and killing and serving their Father—because that is what they are made for—but for now...
They can lose themselves to this fantasy world, and that's all right with him.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Mythical: Wrath learns something new.
2. Dismiss: Envy can't help but think that they aren't prepared.
3. Birth: Father has never felt so alive.
4. Romantic: Lust doesn't understand humans' idea of love.
5. Impulse: Wrath can't always control himself.
6. Hush: Pride revels in the silence.
7. Sunset: Greed sees the human world for the first time.
8. Believe: Sometimes, Lust wishes there is a God.
9. Chew: Gluttony doesn't understand.
10. Hero: Envy finally gains peace of mind.
11. Cards: In which the Homunculi discover poker.
12. Refugees: Greed meets some interesting people in Dublith.
13. Study: Pride is bored.
14. Cozy: Sloth thinks he would be different if he weren't so tired.
15. Revenant: He's only waiting for the right moment to strike...
16. Happy: All Gluttony needs is Lust.
17. Fall: All of his brothers are dead.
18. Doppelganger: Greed and Ling Yao couldn't be more different.
19. Profanity: Pride says something he shouldn't.
20. Preface: He is nothing, and then he is everything, and that makes all the difference.