"Holy shit! Holy shit!"

As Apathy watched Greed run around like an idiot, she distinctly remembered silently telling Dante that sending her, Greed, and Envy on a mission together was a very bad idea.

All those two had done was glare at and argue with each other during the entire journey there. They'd stayed at a motel overnight; even though she was tired, Greed had sweet-talked her into having sex. It was really no big deal - after all, if you loved someone and had had sex with them before, shouldn't you do it if both people wanted to? She was in love with him, had lost her virginity to him (at least, since becoming a Homunculus), and wouldn't take that first time back. If their love was mutual and they enjoyed it, why shouldn't they do it?

And of course Envy was in a foul mood the next morning, as they were traveling through the desert. He had asked Greed what "all that racket last night" was about, complaining that he hadn't gotten any sleep.

Greed had smirked, wrapping his arm around Apathy. "Oh c'mon, you know what that was," he'd commented smugly. "Oh wait - no, you don't. You've never heard what Sweetie sounds like when she's been satisfied."

And that was when Envy got mad. It was the first time either of them had seen his true form. It was a giant green beast, with long black hair, and an odd set of eyes that were different. He stood on four legs, and he'd immediately begun to chase Greed around.

While Greed freaked out and tried frantically to escape Envy's jaws, Apathy just stared. It did surprise her a little, of course. His true form was such an ugly thing but at the same time... it was also kind of cute, in the most bizarre way. She was thankful, at least, that they were the only people around here.

Envy picked up Greed in his mouth, growling and beginning to use the other Homunculus as a chew toy. Greed, meanwhile, was having a complete spaz attack. "C-Come on, Envy! Y-You can have her, okay? If you just put me down, I swear I'll never touch her again!"

Envy smirked and spit Greed out, propelling him in the other direction, towards that mountain over there. "And you better fucking mean it!"

Apathy glanced in that direction for a few seconds before turning back to Envy's new form. "I can't believe he'd give me up so easily, just like that, because his life was in danger. And after he gave me the ultimate gesture of love last night..."

"He doesn't deserve you." Envy trotted over to her. "Didn't I tell you that already, Apathy?"

"Yeah, you did." She took his snout in her hands and nuzzled her own cheek against it. "I'm sorry for not listening."

"Mmm, this is nice. I should show you this form more often."

"No, no..." She kissed the bridge of his nose. "We have to go find Greed, dear. He may have fallen into someone's water supply."

Envy snorted. "Boy, talk about your poisoned wells."

Apathy could only watch from the bloody waters as Envy got fully pissed off at the humans. Anguish ran into her arms, and she held the child loosely, more concerned about Envy at the moment. What the hell was he doing?

Envy stood up, wavering and looking like he was going to fall off the rock. For the first time, Apathy noticed how incredibly lithe he was. He was taller than her, and that extra two and a half inches made a difference; his arms and legs were very slender, and it was all the more apparent when he was swaying back and forth like that. Obviously a bit taken aback by Ed's hostility, he looked lanky standing up there, and furious to boot.

She watched his face change, from the joyful reverie of killing Ishval to the angry heat of wanting to beat up on Ed - and quite possibly Ling as well. Not even that time he'd gotten mad at Greed and first shown his real form could compare to what she was witnessing now.

He finally steadied himself, and his glare was focused totally on Ed and Ling now. "I'm gonna show you two boys somethin' neat before we die. Apathy's already seen it, and she seems to like it - so let's see what you think." His skin was already turning green, his hair growing longer and changing color, and his revealing closed being torn as his body grew and distorted. Even his voice, deepening and becoming far more demonic. "Consider it a parting gift!"

Apathy hurried off to the side, a little closer to Ed and Ling, so she was out of Envy's way. She didn't know what he was going to do, and he needed room to move anyway. If she could she was going to try and convince him to knock all this crap off; he was going to spend all of his strength. His true form took a shitload of energy to maintain, and then he would die faster. Then she and Anguish would be all alone again.

Anguish followed her, clinging to the older for dear life. "Mommy, I'm scared!" she wailed, big tears already rolling down her cheeks. "I want Wrathy and Auntie to come keep us safe!"

"Wrath can't be here right now, Anguish!" she yelled over the sounds of Envy transforming. "And Sloth sure as hell wouldn't do any good against a two-ton Envy, now, would she?"

Anguish began to cry even harder, burying her face in Apathy's trenchcoat, which she'd taken.

Apathy could hear Ed and Ling talking to each other. "Ed," Ling called, "did you notice his footprints? Back when we were all fighting in the forest?"

Apathy contemplated that, trying to recall anything that related to that. She remembered that sometimes when she and Envy (or Greed and Envy) would fight, it would often turn physical. And if Envy were to fall down or collapse, the imprint he made in the ground was huge. No matter what form he was in, the tracks he left in the Earth were way deeper than they should have been. He may have been able to change his appearance, size, and shape, but all that mass had to be concentrated somewhere. All that happened was that there was more weight than there should have been if he was, say, what he normally looked like. Was that what they were talking about?

It looked like Ed was having another flashback. Well, either that, she reasoned, or he was really thinking about something. "What?" He glanced at Ling, blinking twice. "No... what's your point?"

Ling backed up, urging Ed to go with him. "Just that he's freakishly heavy for the size of his body..." A shadow fell over both of them as Envy's transformation completed. "He might be a bit bigger than he looks..."

Apathy just stared at the creature before her, blue eyes wide with an almost child-like curiosity and her mouth set in a little "o". This form had changed since she'd seen it last - not much, but enough to disturb most people. Faces lined Envy's shoulders, down the sides of his back. Horrible, nightmarish faces... dozens of them, all screaming different things in deafening unison. It was enough to unnerve Anguish into running to hide behind Ling.

Apathy instead chose this as a chance to allow herself a deeper understanding of Envy, an opportunity to tap into a connection that neither of them had any idea was there. She treaded through the crimson sea, her bare feet and ankles creating ripples as they were forever stained with it. That was the only sound besides the howling of the faces, was her walk. She reached Envy's monstrous form, and gently touched a smooth area of skin between two faces. "The souls from Ishval... Xerxes," she remarked softly, barely able to be heard. "So this is what happened to them during the war. You integrated them into your Philosopher's Stone and..."

That one unusual, shades-of-violet eye peered at her from inside the silver irides of the orb. She couldn't tell if he was sad or angry, but a slight grin told her that it was the same feeling they'd both had during Ishval. A sort of sick, delighted black hole: enjoying something but selfishly wanting more at the same time. It was similar to avarice, yet somehow... different. Was he trying to say he missed her, without actually saying it? He had never been good with emotional expressions, unless it was said during either the heat of lust or jealousy; sex or madness. His eye blinked, very slowly, and with his muzzle he gently nudged her to the side, away from him. "stay out of the way now, Apathy," he smirked, his attention returning to Ed and Ling. "Wouldn't want my unfeeling princess to get hurt."

With that, Envy snapped his teeth at Ed and Ling, knocking her over in the process. He was chasing them just as he'd chased Greed all those years ago, only this was far less comical. This time he was actually endangering Anguish's life; if he managed to get a bite out of Ling, he'd get a bite out of Anguish too.

Apathy backed up and took a running start, aiming for the top of Envy's back. She only had one shot at this; if she missed she'd land in the blood, and the "floor" beneath was enough to wound her to the point of immobilization, breaking at least one bone. She ran and leapt into the air, hoping she'd land on Envy. She felt herself land on what seemed to be skin, and saw she'd landed on his neck. She grasped onto his mane and held tight. "Envy!" she yelled, desperate to be heard over all the noise. "You're going to use up all your strength!" She pressed her face into his flesh, a sudden surge of emotion welling up inside her and pouring out in the form of tears. "Do you want me to die alone? Is that what you want, Envy? HUH?"

Ling and Ed were dodging every time Envy ran at them or tried to bite. "How the hell is that a Homunculus?" Ling shouted. "They're supposed to be artificial humans, right?"

Apathy was too busy trying not to get thrown off to hear what Ed and Ling were talking about next. After a few seconds she saw Ed transmute a sword, and meanwhile Anguish was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, probably not far from getting her own head cut off. "Anguish!" Apathy shrieked, pulling on Envy's hair to try and calm him down. "You're going to get killed! Get over here now!"

Anguish sobbed all the way as she trudged breathlessly through the blood. "I want Wrathy!"