(DISCONTINUED) The Flames of Envy (Envy x OC)

Chapter 5

Alexis woke up back at the hotel room, where Ed and Al were both sitting on either side of her. Ed had fallen asleep on her lap and Al was staring off into space.

She opened her eyes and sat up. Ed and Al jumped to attention. "Alexis!! Thank goodness!" Alphonse said, relieved that she had finally woken up. Edward let out a sigh and said, "Oh, Alexis! We're so glad you're awake! When we saw you passed out, we were worried you might not wake up for a while! Alexis, you've got to tell us what--"

"Brother, give her a moment," Al said in an attempt to calm Ed down, "She has been out of it for some time now." Alexis tried to recall what happened when she fainted, but it was fuzzy.

She put her hand to her head, finally remembering everything.

"H-how did I get back here...? What happened to...?" "Envy?" She finished her sentence in her head. Alphonse said calmly, "Greed disappeared before we could finish him off." Alexis sighed. "They don't know about Envy...?"

Alexis explained what happened, though she left out the detail about Envy being able to shapeshift. Ed said, smiling kindly, "Well, we're glad he didn't hurt you. You say he's the boy from the Fifth Laboratory?" Alexis nodded and said, "Yes...why?" He said, "Because I have a bone to pick with that crossdressing palm tree."

A few days passed by. Alexis decided it would be safer for her to tag along with the Elrics whenever they left the apartment. They soon decided to head back to Central to visit and got on the train. Alexis, of course, had a cup of coffee in hand as she boarded the train. She sat across from the boys and gazed out the window, happy to finally see Roy, Riza, and the Hughes family again.

Edward, Alexis, and Alphonse talked the entire trip back.

Back at Central, the trio were greeted by Riza, who hugged Alexis as if she were her daughter just returning from a long absence, and Roy.

"We're so relieved you're safe," Riza said, letting Alexis go. Alexis laughed a little and said, "I'm fine, Lieutenant! Really!" Roy said, "Glad to see you and the Elric brothers' return. Now, if you'll follow me, the Fuhrer would like to speak with you three."

In Roy's car, the trio remained silent, nervous about what the Fuhrer might want with them. Alexis grew suspicious, but kept quiet.

"Why does Fuhrer King Bradley keep taking interest in such low-ranking soldiers...? It seems...strange."

The car came to a stop at a mansion which Alexis assumed to be the Fuhrer's own home. Roy and Riza led the trio to the front door and Roy knocked. The door soon opened and a young boy, no older than nine or ten, opened the door.

"Yes? Are you here to see my father--" He stopped mid-sentence, seeing the famed Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, and his brother, Alphonse standing behind Roy and Riza. "You're the Fullmetal Alchemist," he practically yelled, filled to the brim with excitement, "and you're his younger brother, Alphonse!" Alexis smiled at him and he said, "And you're the Pyre Alchemist! You and the Elric brothers are the famed trio of Alchemists! Is it true that your arm and leg are really made entirely of metal?! Can you and Alexis really transmute without a circle!? Oh my gosh! You three are my idols! Could I possibly get autographs?!" "Selim, where are your manners?" The Fuhrer, smiling at the boy, Selim, apologized for his behavior and invited everyone inside.

"Selim seems to have taken a liking to you, Alexis," Fuhrer King Bradley chuckled as Selim sat on her lap without ever looking away from her blue eyes, clearly in a daze about the famed trio of Alchemists being in his own home. Alexis laughed nervously and said, "I-I-I noticed...!" King Bradley laughed heartily and said, "Not too fond of children, Alexis?" Alexis blushed a little and said, "A-actually, sir, I-I quite like children! It's just...."

"I can't say anything about...that...not with Selim around. He's still so young and innocent. I'll explain later if I have to."

"N-nevermind." "Alright. Let's get down to business."

The Fuhrer talked about important military issues for an hour before he took a look at the grandfather clock in the corner and said, "I'm terribly sorry, but I must be going." Roy said calmly, "Very well, then. We must be on our way, too, Sir." King Bradley chuckled and said, "Alright, then. Please feel free to visit Selim any time you wish. I'm sure he would love to have the famed Alchemy trio around again soon."

Selim gave Alexis one final hug before the group left the mansion. "Come back soon, Alexis! You too, Edward and Alphonse!"

In the car, Ed noticed that Alexis looked a little down and said, "What's the matter?" Alexis shook her head and looked out the window. "N-nothing." Ed noticed a tear fall onto her lap and said, "H-hey...what Selim said earlier...i-it occurred to me that...that I've never asked you...uh...h-how can you transmute without a circle...?" Roy and Riza stayed quiet.

"She hasn't spoken about that in years," Roy thought, "I wonder...if she can tell him...?"

Alexis bit her lip. Her gaze remained out the window. She said, "Y-you already know how I can transmute...you've seen it...."

Ed sighed, "I was afraid so...wh-what did you...?"

"..."

"What did you give up...?"

"My...my reproductive system."

"When I was little, my mother was killed...she was murdered in the Ishvalan war...so, I began to research the one thing that should never be done in Alchemy...H-Human Transmutation...I felt ready a few years later, when I was nine years old...so, I did it."

Ed sighed and looked at Al, who he could tell also felt sympathetic as well.

"After I saw a bright light, I felt a massive pain in my gut. I saw...something...it wasn't my mother...i-it wasn't...i-it wasn't even human...so I ran outside. I ran into the streets, but collapsed before getting too far. I woke up in a hospital bed, attached to tubes and wires, with Roy sitting next to me. He told me...what I was missing...because of what I had done...now, I'll...I'll never have a proper family...all because I tried to bring my own family back...."

Ed gazed at the back of her short, red hair and said, "I...I had no idea...." Riza said, "We took her in after that. Roy trained her in the art of Fire Alchemy, eventually naming her the Pyre Alchemist." Roy sighed and said, "We're here."

The Elric brothers got out of the car and went inside their apartment as Roy, Riza, and Alexis drove off to their own home.