The Multiblood Alchemist

Envy's Return

      "Do you ever get that feeling that someone's watching you?" I mumble to Ed. He looks at me with a puzzled look on his face. "Um, kinda. Why?" I glance behind me at a shady looking soldier. He wasn't there before, yet he acted completely natural whenever he was confronted.
     "Do you know that guy?" I whisper while pointing behind me. Ed follows my gaze and looks back. He shakes his head. "I don't know who that is. I mean, there are a bunch of soldiers, we just might not have noticed him. Just....... Relax, okay?" I couldn't shake the strange feeling that I got from him, so I lied and nodded my head.
      My horse bobs beneath me as we continue down the path to hunt the homunculi. "Hey Ed," I call over to the blonde. He turns towards me, giving his attention to me.
     "Have you realized that the horses don't have names?" I ask.
    
"Yeah, so?"

"We should give them names," I say while going over different names in my head.

"Alright....... Um, maybe Jean? No, that's Havoc's first name," Ed mumbles.

"I was thinking Aries for mine," I say. Ed gives a small sound of approval while he thinks about his horse's name.

"Well, if you're going for mythology, I think I'll do the same........ Zeus?" Ed says. I smile to show that I approve. He grins at my reaction, and I grin back.
     My stomach growls and I groan. "C'mon!" I whine. "Now that it started growling, it won't stop!" Ed looks at me with a puzzled look on his face.
     "What're you whining about?" He asks. I slump over and cling to Aries neck. "I need food," I mumble. My stomach growls once more and Ed laughs at me. I glare at him once I hear his laugh.
      "This isn't funny!" I shout, flustered. He laughs even harder at my frustration as I push Zeus's side and Ed veers off course. I laugh and shout, "look who had the last laugh, Elric!"
      Ed finally gets Zeus under control and finds his way back to me. "That was unnecessary," he mumbles. I slump backwards in my saddle and groan. "It was completely necessary, and you sound like Mason," I say.
      Ed looks taken aback when I mention my brother's name. The two boys have had a rivalry since the incident in the ally. I smirk and he glares at me. "I'm just telling the truth," I say with a shrug. He rolls his eyes and concentrates on the path ahead.
       The sun starts to set and my stomach throbs from the lack of food from today. I rub it to try to soothe the pain, but it doesn't subside. I mumble something vulgar about Mustang and press forward. The group ahead of us starts to slow down, and we do the same.
      "I can't believe that we couldn't eat!" Naomi complains. "Even we were allowed to eat during the Ishvalan War," she continues. I nod as I flop down next to a bush. Naomi continues to complain and Assassin weakly lays next to me. I run my callused hands through his matted black fur. Soon I find my fingers unknotting the tangles in his coat. "They really are killing us with this hunt, huh bud?" I mumble to the Chimera. He looks up at me, his red eyes glinting in the firelight. Mustang is slowly killing us, I think to myself while looking up at the starry sky.
      "Hey," Mason whispers. I groan while he shakes me awake. I slowly open my eyes and shoot daggers with my glare. He immediately scrambles back. "Mason! It is in the middle of the night! What do you want?!" I sharply whisper. He opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off by Assassin's growling. I turn towards the Chimera to see his gaze points right to the strange soldier.
     I turn towards Mason, point at the soldier, and put my finger to my mouth. "Who?...." Mason says before I clap my hand over his mouth. The soldier must've heard my hand connecting with his mouth because he turns towards us and walks over.
     "Hello," I mutter as he leans in. A sneer spreads across his face as he says,"what are you doing up this late?" I turn towards Mason to see he's doing the same. Mason turns back to the soldier. "I should be asking the same thing," he responds. The soldier laughs at him. "What's so funny?" Mason asks. By now, Ed had stirred from his sleep. "What's going on?" he wearily asks. The soldier looks at him. "Go to sleep, pipsqueak," he snaps. Ed's eyes widen in realization. "Get away," he says while pushing me back. I stumble back and glare at Ed. "Why?" I ask. Ed glances between the soldier, who had a malicious look on his face, and I. "Because, Cassandra, that soldier," he says while pointing at the man, "is Envy."
      I look at him, dumbfounded. At the sound of his name, Envy starts to shift back to his regular form. I watch in horror as his pale body starts to come to view. Ed grabs my arm as he runs back, taking me with him. "Mason!" I scream as my brother lays on the ground looking up at Envy in horror.
     "Ed! Let me go!" I scream while twisting in his grip. He looks at me and back at Envy.

"Cassandra, I need you to calm down," he says while grabbing my other wrist to turn me so I'm facing him. I continue to wriggle as he tightens his grip.
     "Look, that's Envy. I know you're a skilled Alchemist, but you're no match against him. Alone, at least. If I distract him, you have to transmute a weapon or something so I can attack him," Ed explains. I nod as he smiles and gives my hands one last squeeze. He then turns around and runs towards Envy.
     "Hey palm tree!" Ed yells. Envy glares at him as I run and dive next to Mason. I grab his arm and drag him behind a rock. "Stay here," I whisper before I sprint behind a different boulder. I skid on the ground and start to draw a transmutation circle.
       "Aha!" I exclaim once I draw a transmutation circle. I smash my palms against it and think of a sword. The circle glows and a tip of the handle emerges from the ground. "Cassandra! I'm really gonna need some backup here!" Ed shouts. I sigh as I grip the handle to prevent the weapon from falling on me. "I'm working on it!" I yell back, flustered.
       "Jeez! Why isn't anyone waking up?" I harshly whisper to myself. The blade now starts to emerge from the ground, and it soon breaks off. "Done!" I yell as I run towards Ed.

"Took you long enough!" Ed says while slicing at Envy with a blade he transmuted from his arm. I nod as I swipe at Envy's leg, successfully landing a blow. Envy turns towards me, a crazed look in his eyes. He raises his arm that had taken form as a blade above my head, and he swings down.
       I close my eyes, preparing for the ending blow, but it doesn't come. I open one eye to see ice shards around me. "Mason?" I mutter as I look up. Sure enough, my brother was standing above me, protecting me from the homunculus. "Mason!" I scream. He looks at me and forms a thick dome of ice around me. "Mason!" I scream once more before grabbing my sword.
      I repeatedly swing at the ice, and shards start to break off. With one last swing, I hit the ice and my sword breaks. "No!" I yell, and I start to kick the dome, but it doesn't work. I watch helplessly as Mason uses attacks on Envy until he has him pinned to the ground.
       Mason then transmutes a long blade of ice sharp enough that it can be lethal. He raises it above Envy's chest and plunges it down. Envy screams in agony and goes limp. After Mason turns towards me, fire spreads across the dome. The ice melts and a very tired (and angry) Mustang stands behind Mason.
      "Cassandra!" Mason happily shouts. He hugs me and I look at him, confused. "We did it!" Mason happily shouts.

"Mason, there are seven homunculi," I say. Ed then walks up beside me. "Yeah, and they're all immortal. That ice won't kill him," Ed says. Mason opens his mouth to speak, only for the words to be stolen by the blade going through his chest.