Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist and its characters are the property of Hiromu Arakawa, Square Enix, BONES, and Aniplex. In other words, it doesn't belong to us and neither does anything else we might happen to reference. Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories is the property of Square Enix and Disney Interactive.

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A World Without You

How long had it been? Envy couldn't tell. It seemed like forever. He was alone. He had tried to reach the other side of the dimension beyond the door, intent on finding Hohenheim, and had been met with failure. The distance seemed infinite. No matter how far he went, he never got closer.

The shadows were all the company he had. Everything else was glowing gold. The hands had welcomed him in, but now he found they probably wouldn't allow him to leave. Not the way he intended to anyway. It seemed like ages since he had watched Edward Elric crossover. Why couldn't he follow? Why had he been left alone in this place?

---

"... that's definitely not a Heartless," came a voice.

Then out of nowhere, there was someone else. Envy could tell straight away this wasn't someone from the familiar world. No, he was from somewhere else. It was the first time he had resumed his prefered look since he'd been in the dimension beyond the door. It felt better to be in a humanoid form he thought. Why had he abandoned this form for so long? He didn't know the answer.

A silver-haired youth with a sword seemed to be under the impression that he was under attack. Perhaps if they had met earlier, Envy would have struck. "You're not human," Envy spoke offhandedly. Perhaps it seemed like a strange accusation coming from a homunculus who could rival a palmtree. Still, it seemed to fit.

The silver-haired youth nodded. "I guess you could say, I am one of the darkness."

"Envy," he extended his hand.

"My existence, my past... it's all in a fog, so it shall be my name. From now on, I shall be called Kiri." The silver-haired boy, apparently called Kiri, had accepted the handshake. It was unknown to Envy at the time that this boy would remain with him for several months to come.

---

It turned out that they had a great deal in common. Both had been created to replace someone who had already existed. Both had been intended to do the bidding of their master. Both of their masters had been killed. Neither of them could really be called human. That was where the similarity ended.

Envy had been created as a result of failed human transmutation. The person he was destined to replace was already long since dead. He could transform himself into anything. He was a shapeshifter. Kiri had been created to replace someone who still existed. He had been given false memories, made to believe he was the person he was intended to replace. It must have been a depressing existence.

---

Two years had already gone by. Envy had learned that much when he and Kiri decided to pry Brigadier General Roy Mustang for information. Then, for some unexplainable reason, he had felt drawn to Rizenbul. Curiousity perhaps. He wondered what Edward's sacrifice had accomplished for Alphonse. As much as he might have hated to admit it in the past, they were still technically brothers. The fact that Edward was gone from this world was also very much his fault.

What he learned was startling. From eavesdropping around the Rockbell house, he discovered that Alphonse had been restored as a ten-year-old boy, now twelve. And he was still studying alchemy in an effort to locate Edward. It was touching somehow. Perhaps the time he had spent within the door had changed him. Envy thought about it. He had changed.

---

At first Envy had been surprised to see Wrath, now equipped with automail where the Fullmetal Alchemist's limbs had once been. It had been while he and Kiri were exploring the woods, looking for someplace to stay in secret. There was no sense drawing attention to themselves if they could avoid it. Wrath had apparently been looking for him.

"How did you know I was back?" Envy had asked the young homunculus.

"I heard the door," was the reply he got from Wrath.

It had occured to Envy that Wrath had spent a number of years within the dimension beyond the door. Lost and alone, probably afraid. Of all the homunculi, Wrath had been the most human. Envy recalled the way he had treated the young homunculus before, back when he was still taking orders from Dante. He kneeled down and pulled Wrath into a hug.

"I'm sorry," Envy understood now. It was like slow torture. How had Wrath managed to put up with so much at his age?

---

Several months had passed. They had taken refuge in a log cabin outside of Rizenbul. Envy was curious to see what had really become of Alphonse Elric. Wrath had begun to look up to him like a big brother. Envy and Kiri shared a certain understanding and when Kiri spoke of leaving, Envy wasn't surprised.

"You're not from this world," agreed Envy. "And you have someone you mean to protect. It's only natural. Perhaps when it's all over, you'll come back."

Kiri nodded. "This memory is real. That we are friends isn't an illusion. I'll be sure to come back, if I can."

And then Kiri had left. Disappeared just as suddenly as he had appeared. Envy hadn't really thought about it until then, but they had been friends. It was something Envy hadn't experienced before.

---

Envy rested on the grass at the base of a tall oak tree. He watched the stars flickering through the gaps between the leaves. "Perhaps if I had known then... things could have been different."

"You're thinking about Edward again, aren't you?" Wrath settled down next to him.

Envy shrugged. "I don't even know why I care."

"He's your brother," supplied Wrath. "And you feel guilty."

"Maybe," mumbled Envy. Perhaps it was true. What could he do about it though? Isolation had changed him, but it was too late. Perhaps Edward could find his own way back. He was persistent enough. If anyone could find a way, it was him.

Wrath jumped to his feet. "Should we go home?"

It was such a simple, human concept. It was also true. "Sure, why not?" Envy sat up and stretched. He couldn't very well continue brooding with Wrath grinning at him like that. He suspected there was going to be candy involved. Or a game of tag. Maybe the bed was about to become a trampoline again. It didn't matter, they did have a place to return to.

As he reflected on it, Envy realized something. He wasn't alone anymore. It was a warm feeling he hadn't felt before. Perhaps if he had been treated more like a human being in the first place, he wouldn't have become so cold.

Although he wasn't human, Wrath had the innocence of a child. Envy had tried to change him, to make him join the rest of the homunculi (except Greed). Even then, Wrath had continued to express himself like a human being. Without their powers, homunculi were the result of human transmutation. Still technically of human origin.

"Perhaps we can find a way to live in this world," Envy mused to himself.

"That's silly. We're already alive," Wrath laughed.

Envy couldn't argue with that. "Then we'll just have to go on living."

---

"I'm back," Kiri had returned. He'd brought Namine with him. Castle Oblivion was such a troubling place. Perhaps she could be happier in this place. He'd found reason to be happy here.

Envy grinned from the couch. "Welcome back. I was beginning to wonder if I'd have to go looking for you."

"This is Namine," Kiri introduced the girl he had brought with him. "I think she'll be safer here."

It was good logic. Part of being safe was being happy. It one wasn't happy, they were likely a danger to themself.

"You're going to stay with us for real now, right?" Wrath had latched onto Kiri then, with a fierce hug.

Kiri had smiled. "Sure. You don't mind, do you Namine?"

"I think I might like it here," Namine laughed. She was glad to see that the one formerly called the Riku Replica had found a purpose for himself.

It was a good start.

The End...