Orphaned

"Well?" Wright asked, impatiently, as he looked to the palm tree-haired boy.

Envy grinned, "Just a few more moments." He promised, "He's just about there."

"The boy's body can't take so much strain." Lust reminded him, "If you kill him now-"

"Lust, Lust, trust the boy." The eldest of the eight interrupted, "I'm sure he knows very well how far Ed's body can be pushed."

The woman said nothing, just gave a small glare before turning her attention back to the green-haired one. Greed yawned and leaned back against the wall, "Can't we hurry this up?"

"Try to control yourself for a minute." Sloth looked to him, tilting her head, "Envy is doing the best he can, after all."

The older man just scoffed, muttering about how it wasn't good enough for him. Wrath looked up to the woman that had spoken, "And we'll get to go home?" he asked, looking like a lost child.

The brown-haired woman smiled down at him, "Yes, then we can go home." She confirmed, shooting a glance to Wright, who nodded in agreement.

"I don't know." Greed spoke again, "This place isn't so bad. I have all the money I can take, all the women I can stand, and all the alcohol I can drink."

"And it's still not enough." Lust reminded him, "It never will be for you."

"But it's enough back home, isn't it?" Pride asked, chuckling, "Or don't you remember ever being satisfied."

"Who would want to be satisfied?" Greed asked, "There's no fun if you can get everything you want."

"Then stay here." Wright ended the conversation quickly.

Greed sighed and waved a hand, "Yeah, yeah."

--

Roy hesitated again; he didn't want to attack Ed, but he didn't want to let whatever was controlling his body continue doing so. He narrowed his eyes slightly, 'What if attacking him just hurts Ed, though?' he thought, frowning. The black-haired man found that his options were limited, though, when the blond boy rushed toward him, running a hand over his right fist to turn it hard as steel. Roy quickly ducked the hand, knowing that one good connection with that limb and he'd be out cold. What he didn't avoid, however, was the short leg coming to kick him in the gut. The man winced as the air was knocked out of him and he was sent flying back. His departure came to an abrupt stop as he slammed into a nearby tree and a noticeable snap was heard. He panted softly and rose to stand once again, holding an arm across his chest; he'd been through worse fights, but he'd never held back before. He had the distinct feeling that if he did for much longer, though, he'd be killed.

Deciding it all in an instant, Mustang sped toward the shorter alchemist in a burst of speed. His breath burned all the way down his throat and his ribs screamed for attention as he raised his hand above his head. He brought his arm down in one, quick motion, snapping his gloved fingers to create a small spark that soon exploded into a wave of fire and heat. The stream of lava-hot material arched spastically toward the younger one, looking almost like a bolt of fiery electricity. It came down at a steep angle right above the possessed boy's head and red-tinted eyes darted up in alarm.

--

It just so happened that at that time, Winry had decided to visit the boys at their new home. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw an arch of flame peak over the top of the wall that surrounded the yard. 'Ed!' she thought, panicked, wanting to yell out but afraid to let Roy know of her presence. She frowned when a bright red light shined from a point not too far away from her, though she couldn't see the source. Not knowing what else to do, she turned and ran from the estate.

Making her way down several streets that she had obviously long since memorized, the blonde woman finally stopped outside a withdrawn house, hidden mostly by trees and bushes of all sorts. She made her way up the path to the front door and knocked sternly, but urgently. A few moments later the door swung open to reveal a smiling brunette. Kanone blinked a few times, surprised to see the girl, but regained his usual, secretive smile in moments, "Winry, come to visit me?" he asked, tilting his head.

The Rockbell girl knew Kanone, and she knew him well. Still, every time she saw that smile she had to remind herself it wasn't honest. "Not exactly, sir." She replied, "Edward..."

"On that boy again?" the golden-eyed boy asked, looking slightly bored, "Dear, I've told you that until something happens, to leave things be."

"But something has happened." She stressed, "I saw a flash of red light and I believe Roy using alchemy."

This caught the boy's attention, "I see..." His mind was racing with thoughts, 'Has it started so soon?' He couldn't be sure, but if this was the end of it, he was damned if he'd be left out. His eyes glistened with excitement, 'If Wright makes his appearance with those seven...'

--

Back in the office at the Underground, Envy gritted his teeth, "He's attacking the kid." He whispered, a slight hint of amusement and desperation in his voice.

"Alright." Wright said, standing up suddenly, drawing glances from most of the others, "Let's hurry, then."

Envy grinned his psychotic little grin and relinquished control of the blond. "Finally some fun." He chuckled, "Here we come, little brother."

--

"Ed!" the fire user shouted as the younger boy suddenly collapsed on the lawn. He raced over to the limp body, kneeling down next to him. He sighed in relief, seeing that whatever had been controlling his body had had the decency to push him out of the way before withdrawing. The worst of the young boy's injuries was a scorched pant leg; Roy only hoped that the possession hadn't done any brain damage.

Before the older alchemist had time to react, he heard a child's voice calling out Ed's name. "Ed!" Al cried, running over to the pair, fear struck and worried. His blue eyes shot up to Roy, "What happened? Is he okay?" The soft-spoken boy sounded out of place talking so rapidly and loudly.

The black head just shook in response, "I don't know." He confessed. Again, something drew his attention. This time it was a portal, the same shimmering red color of Ed's pendant. He narrowed his eyes as a man he recognized all too well emerged followed by seven figures, clad in black. Three he recognized from the other night as being the ones that attacked him. He quickly looked to the younger brother, "Al, take Ed and get inside." He whispered in a hushed voice as the intruders pressed forward, nearing closer to the three.

"But-" Al began to protest, quickly cut off with a firm 'now' by his adopter. Deciding not to argue, he nodded and with some difficulty slung Ed's arm over his shoulder and started to haul him into the large house.

"Not so fast." Envy spoke as Lust's fingers took on a life of their own, reaching out well beyond any normal length and striking the ground right before the two boys. Al let out a small yelp and stumbled back, dropping Ed to the ground and landing with an oof right next to him. "We want to play a bit."

"Can I eat them now, Lust?" Gluttony asked, looking up to the woman, "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry." She reminded the obese boy, "But have at the little one, we've no need for him."

"I didn't realize a woman was making the calls now." Greed muttered, as bored as could be. Fighting was necessarily his thing, though he wouldn't hesitate to land a few punches. He'd much rather kick back with a beer and a few women, but some things just got in the way of that.

Lust ignored him as Gluttony let out a small, piggish squeal of glee and he barreled toward Al. His large size slowed him down considerably, though, and Roy jumped on the advantage, snapping his fingers quickly to send a exploding ball of flames in front of the boy. Now hindered from his meal, Gluttony became confused as he looked back, pleadingly to Lust. The black-haired woman just sighed, "Leave it for now." She suggested, "He'd probably upset your stomach anymore."

"But he looks so good." Al sweatdropped at this comment, but soon realized the position he was in and once again attempted to get his unconscious brother up and inside.

"You don't listen very well." Lust chided to the blond, raising her hand again.

"I'll take care of the brat." Envy spoke up suddenly, stepping forward, a psychotic grin plastered on his face, "I've been wanting to play with my little brother for a while now, anyway."

"Little...brother?" Al asked, more confused than ever. He looked to Roy, but the glare directed at the green-haired boy told him that his adopter knew nothing.

"Well, of course." The lithe teen chuckled, glancing to Wright who simply nodded. "You and that other boy, you know you two are just like us."

"Just like you?" the younger Elric echoed, "What...are you?"

"What are we? We're not human, that's for sure." Envy replied, crossing his arms and closing his eyes, "I don't know for sure, and I don't care... what I do know..." His eyes snapped open once again and he raced toward the pair, "Is that you're a traitor, and traitors need to die!"

The skinny boy was much quicker than his overweight friend, and Roy couldn't quite react quickly enough. He sent a few bursts of flame, but they hit the ground a split second after Envy's foot left the spot. "Al, run!" he shouted. The young boy was struck with fear, though, and all he did was throw his body on top of Ed's to shield his brother from whatever attack might come, not realizing that Envy was only after him.

A half-naked foot hit the soft soil as Envy raised his leg to bring it down on the younger boy. Roy took the pause in motion to flick his wrist toward the group when all of a sudden Wright muttered something and Greed nodded, quickly dashing to stand in Roy's way. The man glared at his opponent and jumped back to give himself room to fight. Just as he was about to attack, Envy's voice was heard, "What the hell?!"

All eyes snapped to his location to see the ground underneath him erupted and cracked, Envy himself had stumbled back and fallen to the Earth's floor. He glared but quickly realized what had happened. He turned his head to the entrance of the estate, where Wright and the remaining five Sins were. Wrath noticed the almost fearful look his older sibling gave and looked to their boss, gasping. He stepped back, away from Sloth and pointed behind the leader, who narrowed his eyes, "What's your problem, boy?" he demanded.

"Boss, look." Greed suggested, his and Roy's fight having been halted.

Glancing over his shoulder, the eldest of the group paled at the sight of the boy at his side, "You."

Kanone smiled a rather cheerful smile, "Hello, there, Stephen." He greeted his underling with as friendly of a tone as he had when first meeting Roy.

Said man narrowed his framed eyes at the brunette, "This is it." He muttered to his comrades, stepping back to put a bit of distance between him and Kanone.

The latter chuckled, "Now, now.. running away, are you?" he asked, mockingly, "Well, I wouldn't blame you. After all, I hired you for your organization skills and brain, not your abilities."

"He's not strong?" Roy asked, a bit taken back by the news. He'd figured Kanone's second in command would have amazing power.

"Not at all." Kanone informed him, "In fact, he's as human as can be, not an alchemic bone in his body."

"He can't perform alchemy...that's why he created these guys, to fight his battles for him." The black-haired man put two and two together.

"That's what I'm guessing." Kanone concurred, glancing to Wright, "Otherwise, he couldn't do a thing on his own."

The target of the insults just glared, "What would you know?" he spat, "You're just a power hungry brat that doesn't know when to give up."

"Lecturing me like you're the elder of us?" Kanone asked, laughing slightly, "Well, you always did think quite highly of yourself."

"I still don't get that.." Roy interrupted the two bickering men, "Kanone..you said before you were much older and now again..."

The brunette tilted his head at the unasked question, but Wright answered for him, "This annoying boy has used alchemy to keep his appearance up, not to mention keep his body alive long past when it should."

"Used...alchemy?" Al whispered, glancing down to his brother who was beginning to stir from his unconscious state.

"See, I'm much older than any of you, in fact, I'm much older than all of you." Kanone explained, "But I couldn't do a thing as an old bag of bones, now could I?"

"So you just extended your life indefinitely?" Roy asked, wrinkling his nose at the thought. Humans were human for a reason.

"Well, of course, are you telling me you wouldn't do the same?" the golden-eyed boy flashed his gaze to Mustang, "Can you stand there and tell me, if you had the opportunity, you wouldn't extend the lives of yourself and.." those same orbs flickered to the brothers, "those dearest to you?"

Roy hesitated and another voice filled the air, "And you?" Everyone's attention turned toward the two boys, the eldest of who was now sitting up and rubbing his temple, his own gaze fixed on Winry, who had arrived with Kanone. "You knew about this the whole time, didn't you?"

The blonde, who had remained silent until this point now nodded, "I did." She answered softly and before Ed could completely turn his attention away from her, she shouted, "But, Ed, I had to!"

"Had to?" he demanded, giving her a critical look, "Why? Because he told you to? Do you even really know anything about him?"

"I do, I've been by him as long as I can remember. He's a good man, he wouldn't hurt innocent people, he just wants what he rightfully deserves!" Her voice was desperate, if anything, as if her tone alone could persuade the boy.

"You sound like a brainwashed lackey." Edward muttered, "So you approaching us was no coincidence, in fact... us being homeless... that wasn't a coincidence, either, was it?"

Al gasped softly as he turned to the woman that had taken them in when they had nowhere left to go. Was Ed really accusing her of being part of their mother's death and their house burning down? "Winry...that's not true... right? Tell him it's not true."

"It's not." She insisted, "I wouldn't have done a thing like that, and neither would Kanone."

"Why should we believe a word you say?" the elder Elric demanded, "Everything else you've told us is a lie. That's why you let Roy have us so easily, isn't it? You knew all about him from the start; you didn't care if he'd take good care of us or not, it was all just according to plan."

"That...that is true." She whispered, "But Roy had no part in this, he was left in the dark the entire time."

"So that's better?" Ed spat.

"How did you know he'd even come to an orphanage or choose us?" the more timid of the pair asked, "You had to have some planning go into that."

"That was us." Envy boasted.

"That was me." Wright corrected him, looking to Al, "I approached Roy and suggested that it were in his best interest to take you two on."

"Why?" Ed asked, "Why would you possibly want us with Roy?"

"So you could know where they were and keep surveillance on them." Roy realized, now cursing himself for playing right into his ex-boss' hands.

"That, and to keep them away from me." Kanone added, "See, I knew Wright had a great interest in the boy, which is why I indirectly kept him from you two. It seems, though, he was a step ahead of me at the time."

"And you just went along with it?" Roy's boyfriend (ish) turned to him.

The elder man shrugged slightly, "The employees weren't to question their superior's orders." He offered, "Besides, he said the order came direct from someone higher up than him, and if I wanted to keep my job, I'd follow them without question."

"Which was mostly a lie." Kanone pointed out, "I never gave such an order, it'd be like stabbing myself in the back."

"But he would have lost his job and his life if he'd decided to disagree." Wright glared at the middle-aged alchemist.

"I lost my job, anyway." Roy reminded him, "And I figure my life's forfeit by this point."

"So you're not a complete idiot." Kanone's second-in-command commented.

"What? No way!" Ed interrupted, standing up and glaring, "You're not dying, you bastard, you're not allowed!"

Kanone sweatdropped and laughed at the outburst, "Now, now... I'm sure you two will be together in the end." He said, smiling. Winry frowned to herself at the gesture-- that smile never meant good things.

"Kanone..." she whispered, giving him a worried look, "Don't forget what you told me."

"I've told you many things, dear." He glanced over his shoulder at her, "Which one in particular are you speaking of?"

"You know exactly what I'm-!" Kanone cut her off with a wave of his hand as the ground under her trembled before striking up and sending her stumbling back, "Kanone!"

"It's time for the boys to play." He informed her, "You can watch from the sidelines, though." That smile again, this time, aimed her way, "Be my cheerleader."

"I've had enough of this." Envy sighed, annoyed. He turned to Ed, "Alright, little brother, timeout's over."