Stand Up and Walk

No Matter What

"Can't focus; my body is still puzzled about what to do. I'm trembling; I can't stop even if I try to control myself. Although neither sun nor moon are on my side, I've got no choice but to try... Those were the words I muttered to myself. The odds aren't on my side, but running away would be weakness. Even if I can't see the future, I'll just have to win it over with courage. I need to keep distance from the targets as I hold myself back. All that's needed for victory is pride to win! Will we celebrate with the wine of victory? Or will we end up kissing their feet in defeat? There are two outcomes to everything... I want to control destiny! I need to seize this golden opportunity with my hands! I'll finish it up with my best poker face, and drag them into a world of illusions. I'll find my way out of this endless pressure game, and leap over the borderline of honor. How many? What will I need to sacrifice to make it happen? What's the one thing I don't want to let go of?"

—Sukima Switch, Golden Time Lover

※※※

Envy leads you and the boys down the long, winding halls, his bare feet padding quietly along the metal floor.

As you reach the end of the corridor, he presses a button, and an elevator door slides open. As he steps inside, you and the boys hesitate, crossing your arms and shooting a suspicious glare at the teen homunculus. "Where are you taking us?" you demand, but he only glares back at you. He crosses his own arms, mimicking your body language without seeming to realize he's doing it.

"Just shut up and get in," is all he grumbles, and then he leans against the cold metal wall inside, propping one foot up against it casually.

You and the brothers exchange a wary glance, but it doesn't seem that you have much of a choice. You are the first one to step into the elevator, pressing yourself into the far corner away from Envy, who only rolls his eyes.

※※※

The trip up is long, and you spend it in silence. Envy transforms his appearance with a flash of red; by the time the elevator door opens with a ding, he has taken on the form of an innocuous soldier in uniform, his face perfectly average and forgettable.

As you all exit the elevator, you take in the opulent hallway, something about the interior seeming familiar. "Is this—?" begins Ed, and you all rush over to the window nearby, peering out at the grounds below.

"We're inside Central Command!" you breathe. "We were directly underneath!"

"Hey!" snaps Envy the soldier, and the three of you turn toward him, where he is scowling down at you. "You're caked in blood and filth. You need to bathe!"

※※※

The shower in Central Command, it turns out, only gets to about lukewarm.

You stand beneath the weak spray, letting the blood-soaked water drip down from your hair. It runs down your back and over your feet before swirling down the drain.

You're so grateful for the opportunity to finally get clean that you don't even mind the tepid water. You drag the bar of soap through your wet, heavy hair, working up a red lather as you scrub the dried blood and filth out from your locks.

Your mind swirls with all that's happened recently. You can still hardly believe that Führer Bradley is a homunculus. Given the elevator straight to Father's lair right here in Central Command, the whole military could be in on this conspiracy, for all you know!

As you scrub at your wrists and arms, you reflect back on your fight with Gluttony, on the time you'd spent in the creature's stomach.

You recall the many days you'd spent with only Envy by your side for company, the many hours that you'd spent talking.