Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ling had not felt this sore in years. Eleven of them, to be exact. Ever since becoming a homunculus, small discomforts like that had stopped existing for him. Now though, his whole body ached. Even just shifting his position hurt. A quick and admittedly slightly panicked check confirmed that the stone was still there, and more importantly, the one it belonged to was, although a slight poke showed that the other hadn’t woken up yet. Taking a deep breath, Ling opened his eyes to the sight of a dingy alleyway. He was leaning against the wall, and could feel the coarse gravel under him. With a bit of a more forceful nudge in Greed’s direction, and an equally forceful shove against the ground, Ling stood up, stumbling slightly as a wave of dizziness washed over him. A moment later he could feel his friend stirring, waking up properly.

‘Ow. Hey, what the hell did you do to us?’ Greed said upon waking up. And really, therein lie the problem, because…

‘I don’t remember. Do you know how we got here, or what happened? Or what could make us feel so…’ Weak was he word that came to mind, but that wasn’t entirely accurate.  Ling didn’t feel weak, he felt human. After so long, he didn’t think he liked the feeling. The stone, he reminded himself, was still there. He could still hear it. A part of him still wanted to make sure, physically, but he pushed it away. Right now, he needed to focus on the big questions. Who, what, when, where, how, and why? Because Ling remembered finishing a meeting, remembered them going out for a bit afterwards, and remembered laying down to sleep after they got back. But he did not remember anything past that. Every question left him with no answer. Even where. It set him on edge.

‘Last thing I remember was laying down back home.’ Was the answer he got from Greed. And that lined up nicely with Ling’s own memories, but didn’t explain how they ended up passed out in some alley. Briefly, they lapsed into silence, leaning heavily on the wall beside them. Ling tried to think of anything that could fill in the gap of time, and for a moment, he thought he nearly had it. On the edge of his mind, just out of reach, there was something half remembered, but when he tried to focus, to fully bring the memory to the forefront of his mind, all he got was a headache. As Ling was trying to focus on that fragment of something, he felt them stretch. Still sore, but not as bad as when they’d first woken up. Whatever had happened to them was fading fast. They were starting to feel like themselves again.

‘Well, no use sitting around here. I’m gonna figure out where the hell we are while you do whatever it is you’re doing.’ Greed said, moving to the end of the alley that opened to the street and pausing there. They blinked a few times, but Ling wasn’t really focusing on what Greed was doing until he spoke up.

‘Uh, Ling?’ He said hesitantly, tone steeped in confusion. That was enough to make Ling focus on their surroundings. In a matter of moments he noticed the same thing Greed had. The signs outside of the alley were in Amestrian. Glancing around, Ling tried to spot any people, but the street was empty. Checking  the sky showed that while it was morning, it must still be early. More typical reconnaissance it was then.

Moving quickly, they scaled the wall, giving them a good view of the area. Moving along the street from above, they verified that yes, all the signs were in Amestrian. And when they finally heard voices, a hushed conversation between two people that Ling was sure the man’s wife would love to know about, that too was in Amestrian. He supposed at least one question was answered. Now he knew where, but every other bank had just become even more concerning. Traversing the city, just to verify that this really was Amestris, it became apparent that somehow, somebody had moved them across a whole desert and part of the countries on either side without them knowing. Or a more terrifying thought, they had known at one point but had forgotten. And besides that major issue, now that the ache had finally faded, Ling felt almost itchy. Like something was wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. He tried to focus on the feeling, on what was wrong with them, but was distracted once more by Greed.

‘Shit. Ling, I think I recognize this place.’ The other’s tone did nothing to re-assure him. Rather, he sounded like he was braced for a fight. They silently dropped to the ground in front of a building that had clearly seen better days. It had been red at one point, but most of the paint had flaked off, revealing the grey brick underneath. Or, looking closer, the white brick that was dyed gray from general grime and lack of proper cleaning. A small wooden sign read ‘Johnson’s Bakery’ in faded letters.

Reaching out, Greed brushed a hand against the old brick almost reverently. It was a gentleness that was at odds with the tenseness he could feel in the rest of their body and the quiet dread that had accompanied the other’s words, that he could feel morphing into something else. Ling had been through a lot with the embodiment of Averice, but whatever this was, it was different. New. And Ling didn’t like it. When he tried to focus on the other’s emotional state, Greed felt almost fuzzy, distant in a way that he almost didn’t recognize. It had been a long time since the other had remembered anything new from his past life. The feeling was much stronger than normal. He felt their hand tremble slightly, splayed against the wall. It worried him.

‘Ulchi would come here. He’d deny it if anybody else asked, but he told me once that they made the best blueberry pie. He said I could come with him if I wanted to, but... I never did.’ Greed’s voice felt hollow, like he was still in the past, re-living an old memory.

‘Greed, where are we?’ Ling thought he might know. He didn’t know if he wanted to be right or wrong.

‘Dublith.’ The one word carried an enormous weight for his friend. Greed had never gone back, afterwards. Ling had suggested it once, to help him remember, but the other had flat out refused. That life, he’d said, was behind him. Ling had understood and left it be. Now though, they were here, and Greed was remembering.

‘Why here?’ Ling though quietly. Still loud enough to be heard, technically, but with Greed like this there was no response. They walked past more run down shops of various sorts. Their body still felt as tense as a bowstring about to snap, but each step was slow and measured.

‘This is considered the bad part of town, but that’s not true. The people here are great.’ Greed said, and Ling thought it sounded very bittersweet. As they walked, as the other remembered, the tenseness disappeared. At nearly every street corner, Greed would talk. And Ling would listen. The questions that plagued his mind could wait, right now, this was more important.

‘That’s where Roa would get new glasses from when enough broke. The damn things never matched, but he’d still go there. The rest of the gang teased him about being sweet on the lady that ran the place.’ The building in question looked like it was patched together, although you had to look past the numerous flower pots to see that fact.

‘Martel got her cat from there, thought it would be funny to give it to Dolcetto and see what he’d do. He didn’t think it was very funny, but she kept the cat anyway. Named her Chocolate and told Dol that even if he changed his mind, he couldn’t have her.’ The lights were on and while Ling didn’t see any people, he could see three cats napping on an absolutely massive dog through the window and a lizard in a tank on the table.

‘That’s where the Garey boys live. They tried to break into the bar one night and saw… saw Bido on the ceiling. Then they turned around and saw me. Next week, they were telling anybody that would listen that there were real demons in the Devil’s Nest.’ Ling laughed along with Greed and ignored how even now he was still hesitant to talk about the lizard chimera. Time had helped, but that day under central had left a deep scar.

As Greed talked about the past, he moved along a route in the way only somebody familiar with it could. Ling didn’t realize it at first, but once he did, he knew where they were going. There was only one place it could be, but he didn’t think Greed had noticed it himself yet. He was too lost in the past to notice. Ling wondered if he should stop Greed here. On one hand, this could hurt his friend, badly, and they had other problems that they should get back to. Like the fact that neither of them actually knew how they got here. On the other hand, Ling thought this may be good for him. Most of the memories he had managed to recover from his previous life were bad ones. Greed already remembered what had happened in the end, but there was a chance seeing it could remind him of the rest of it. The good parts.

Ling debated what to do while also keeping an ear on what Greed was saying and trying to figure out what felt so wrong. As a result, the choice was made for him. Before he reached a decision, a sign came into view that read ‘Devil’s nest.’ Once they saw it, Greed paused. Ling thought he may turn back now, but then they were moving again. Slowly, hesitantly. The lights were on. It didn’t look like an abandoned building should look. It didn’t look like a place a massacre had taken place. It just looked like a shady bar. Like the kind Greed loved to drag Ling into. Good to know his tastes hadn’t changed.

Ling wondered who had re-opened this place. They were just outside the door now, and he could hear voices from inside. At this point, he wasn’t sure how present Greed really was, the haze of memories so strong that Ling could almost see them. Then the door was open. A couple people glanced their way, but somebody walking into a bar wasn’t uncommon. Ling felt Greed go still for the third time that day. He thought they may have stopped breathing. The dead stared back, but they weren’t dead. They were very much alive, but Ling remembered them. He’d never met them, but he remembered.

The shot of adrenaline that ran through his system was nice, really put his mind into fight or flight mode, and Ling had to think fast, because Greed wasn’t. He pushed his concern down. Handle the situation first. Threats? None immediately, although that could change. Quick glace to confirm. Yup. Marel, Dolcetto, Roa, Ulchi, he knew them second hand, but he knew them. They should be dead, but no time to focus on that now. And there, Ling had seen that one before, Bido. The lizard man was talking to... to Greed. Ling knew it, he recognized the posture, the look, the voice. Most importantly though, he recognized the ouroboros on his hand. Ling slipped his own left hand into his pocket. What else did he have to hide? Eyes, teeth. Those were the most noticeable. Easy enough. He hadn’t had to use this particular mask in a while, but he still kept in practice, just in case. Eyes partially closed, posture loose. Move forward or turn around and leave? They should go. Greed wasn’t giving him much to go off of at the moment, and Ling knew one of them had to keep up appearances, to stay alert. Ling didn’t want to move with Greed, his Greed, being so uncharacteristically unresponsive. But, looking at the man behind the bar that was… impossible, Ling knew there was no way he could stay here.

Making up his mind, Ling turned and left, making it look like he forgot something. He didn’t know if he needed to bother, but better safe than sorry. He kept his pace even and smooth, and when he got a chance, made his way to a better vantage point. Something about being so high up made him feel a bit more secure. More grounded, ironically enough. Putting himself in a hidden crook next to a chimney, Ling let himself feel the world around him, sinking into the dragon’s pulse and nearly instantly recoiling back. Ling realized with a sinking feeling why everything felt so wrong. Amestris felt like it had when he’d first met Greed. Back when it had been under Father’s control. That was why everything felt so wrong. Because it was. Ling wanted to scream that it was impossible, that all of this wasn’t right, but he didn’t. That wouldn’t help them. Instead, he did what everybody in every radio drama did and snatched a newspaper before returning to his hiding spot.

The date was August 14, 1910. Alright. Ling could accept that, because he didn’t have any other choice. He would accept it, he just needed a moment. Just needed to bury the part of himself trying to yell that this wasn’t right, that it wasn’t possible. Another deep, calming, centering breath. Only one of them could freak out at a time and currently Greed was doing just that, so Ling had to remain calm for both of them. One more breath. Alright. Next, importantly.

‘Greed?’ Ling asked, because the other had been silent since they left the Devil’s nest.

‘They’re dead. Ling, I saw them die. I couldn’t save them. They can’t be there.’ It took a lot to throw Greed off, but this seemed to have effectively done it. Ling understood. He remembered the glimpses he’d gotten back then, remembered their vacant eyes. He didn’t think he’d be doing much better if the situation was reversed. Ling pushed the thought away. Not now. Later. He could have an existential crisis later. Right now he had to stay steady.

‘Read the date.’ Ling said, fluttering the paper for emphasis as he felt Greed becoming more aware. There were really only two choices, really. They could run, leave. Or they could stay. Ling wasn’t worried about finding his way back home at least. If this was truly the past, all he had to do was wait. And if it wasn’t, then he’d wake up eventually. He could take the long way around, they didn’t physically age so it wasn’t like they’d be any different, even if re-dong everything would be aggravating.

‘What do we do now?’ Greed asked after a long moment, folding the newspaper and leaning their head against the brick behind them, looking up at the sky. He sounded lost, and well. They just couldn’t have that.

‘Well. That depends, doesn’t it? Tell me, Greed the Avaricious, what is it you want to do?’ Ling asked.

‘I want…’ Greed paused, taking a deep breath himself and standing. Looking over the city, Ling felt an achingly  familiar sense of determination, ‘I want to save them.’

Chapter Text

Greed straightened out their clothes, making sure they looked presentable. Last night, him and Ling had a nice long chat about their… situation. Yesterday he’d remembered so much that he thought he never would. So much that he’d thought was gone, thought that Father had successfully stolen from him. But it was still there, and the city brought back so many memories. They were good, mostly, but they hurt too. Before, he’d remembered the names of his chimeras and that he’d cared and that Wrath had killed them. Now though, he knew who they were beyond just their faces. He knew who cheated at poker and who was most likely to get drunk first at a party. He knew how to make them laugh, knew which games they liked and which would end in a fight. Before, he hadn’t known the full extent of what he’d lost. Now he did. And no matter what it took, he wouldn’t lose them again.

Greed took a deep breath, the kind he’d picked up from Ling, and forced himself to relax. He needed to at least pretend to be calm, unlike the day before. When he’d realized where he was, when he’d started remembering, it had felt like something was trying to drown him. Like even though he was there in the present, all he could see was the past. According to Ling, it’d felt that way from the other end too. The talking had helped. Putting everything into words. And as the past reached out to greet him, Greed kept moving, because there was so much there. He was a bit surprised how much he wanted to remember. Dublith had only been home for a little over five years, but it seemed like every street held pieces of himself. Like he was putting something back together that he hadn’t even realized was broken.

Greed hadn’t thought about where he was going until it was too late to turn back. Until he saw it, his place, the Devil’s nest, almost exactly how he remembered it. He’d known then that something wasn’t right. The moment he saw the sign, he remembered how Bradly, Wrath, had destroyed it in an act that was so petty, but oh so effective. His gang was dead, and Wrath had made sure he saw each of them. Made sure he knew nobody had escaped. Except one had. The bar itself was the only thing Greed had left at that point, and Wrath burned it down. The punishment for disobeying Father hadn’t been just losing his chimeras, it had been losing everything he could call his.

So Greed knew something was wrong, because where there should only be a pile of ash, instead there was a building. He’d wondered if somebody had re-built it. Torn between grateful that he wasn’t faced with an empty scar of land or something strange in its place, and anger that somebody else had taken what was his for themselves. And through it all, there was a faint buzzing white whisper of unease. Because it wasn’t just similar, it was the exact same, down to the bullet hole from a drunken fight below the window that everybody said they’d get around to patching but never did. Down to the mismatched roof tiles where it had been patched dozens of times before he’d ended up with it. (And dozens more after.) Down to the familiar white tortoiseshell staring at him through the bar window.

He’d had the thought that Chocolate had gotten out again and he’d have to talk to Martel about how fur and food didn’t mix. The next thing that came into mind was Martel’s face as he had last seen her, dead, being removed from a suit of armor that doubled as a child. He couldn’t tell Martel to keep the cat in the basement because there was no Martel. Almost unwillingly, he walked to the door. The outside was a near perfect recreation. Too perfect. Only a few details were off. The window on the end should be a different style than the others. The door was the wrong color.

Something was wrong with all this.

The more Greed looked, the more he recognized, and the more he realized was missing. But going inside would break the spell. There would be different people, different things on the walls, different glasses and booze, and he would be ok. It would all make sense.

It was not ok.

They were there. They were there. And… he was there. But he couldn’t be there because he was here, with Ling. He couldn’t be there, because that version of him was just as dead as the rest of them. He had buried his past life. He wasn’t Greed, owner of a shady little bar in Dublith. He was Greed, owner of a nation, Ling’s partner in crime. His gaze felt locked onto the other him. Like looking in a broken mirror.  He felt them moving, but he was focused on the scene in front of him. There he was, talking to a familiar lizard chimera. The one who had escaped. The one who hadn’t.

Distantly, Greed registered Ling leaving, but the scene was still stuck in his mind. Each of them, alive, overlaid by each of them, dead. They couldn’t be there. But he wanted them to be. He wanted it so bad. The one thing he truly couldn’t have. Because death was permanent. Greed had seen what happened to people who tried to play at undoing it. Had seen the effect of what they called Truth. The thought of the name brought with it a flash of white and a faint ringing that he was sure Ling couldn’t hear. A ghost of what could pass for a smile crossed his mind and was gone. Then Ling was talking and Greed needed to listen, to focus on something other than his own thoughts.

What his other half told him certainly qualified as a distraction. The dead were alive again. The year was 1910. Four years before he lost everything. Four years before he died. Briefly, he wondered how, before deciding that it didn’t really matter. What mattered was the fact that he could… change it. He could save them. He told Ling as much, fueled by a fierce determination, the kind he distantly recognized from when they first met. This went past even the purest form of desire. This was a promise. Then Ling had to go and ruin the moment by being practical.

‘Alright. How?’ He’d asked casually, and wasn’t that the question of the year? Of four years. How could he save them? Greed didn’t want to make them leave, not before they had to. Dublith was their home. They’d only been here for a little over a year at this point, but forcing them out felt wrong. Besides the fact that it probably wouldn’t work. Greed’s gang was stubborn, not to mention the past version of himself. None of them would leave without a fight, and Greed knew he couldn’t fight them. Even after all these years, he still had nightmares sometimes about finishing the job Wrath had started.

As he thought, Ling had walked them across a few rooftops, back to the Nest. He’d squatted down where they could see the bar but where they would be hard to spot from the ground. Kid tended to perch them like a bird. He remembered the days before he’d gotten used to this form, the few time he’d toppled down from one of Ling’s perches and the many more times he’d had to catch himself. Now he found himself copying the action on his own. From their vantage point they watched in silence as people entered the bar and a few left. Greed knew what he wanted, he just didn’t know how to get it. Which meant it was time for the next step in a familiar dance. 

‘I don’t know. Tell me, Ling of the Yao clan, how do we get what we want?’ Greed didn’t know when they’d started doing this. He thought it had started as a joke, using the titles they had when they met, the pseudo-formality. At some point though, it had become something else. When Ling would feel overwhelmed, when he didn’t know what to focus on next, where to go, he would ask Greed. And Greed the Avaricious, who always knew what he desired, would answer. And whenever Greed didn’t know how to get something he wanted, he would ask Ling, and Ling of the Yao clan, who was a master of subterfuge, manipulation, and a hundred other things, would know.

‘Well, we have a few options. We could try to ensure Bradly never finds out where they’re at, but that may be difficult, we don’t even know how he found out, or when. Not very practical overall, but an option nonetheless. Alternatively, we can just watch and wait. Do things from behind the scenes, tip off their criminal network when it’s time and lie low until then. Let them know the military is going to be sending in state alchemists. That’s going to be the safest for us. Keeping an eye on everything from the shadows. Or…’ Here Ling paused for a moment, and Greed felt the ghost of a smile cross their face. Nearly a smirk, Greed knew that whatever Ling said next would be good.

‘We could be reckless. Get close, and tell them ourselves when the time comes. Be somebody who just moved to Dublith from Xing. It wouldn’t even be a lie.’ Ling knew him well. Because Greed didn’t just want to save them, he wanted to see them, talk to them. Wanted to know they were alive and well.

‘We’ve always been a bit reckless.’ Greed had said and Ling’s grin had widened. Then Ling had sat them down with some paper and a pen to work out logistics, because while improvising could be fun, time as emperor had taught both of them how essential actually planning things out was Especially something this important. They agreed that they didn’t want to tell any of the Devil’s nest gang about the time travel, which Greed still only believed himself because Ling did. As part of that, they were also not going to tell them about the fact that their duo wasn’t human. Greed thought it would be fine, but Ling argued that it would make them less likely to be trusted, considering what Greed’s family were up to at the time. Ling won the argument, which meant the next thing they’d done was steal some gloves to cover the ouroboros.

Now, Greed was getting ready to go meet himself. Ling was going to get them a job, presumably. He hadn’t really asked for specifics. Greed didn’t know how the former prince would manage it, but he knew that Ling had a silver tongue and could talk his way into or out of most things. Not that Greed wasn’t good at getting what he wanted, but Ling had a certain finesse that they needed here. And…Greed wasn’t sure he’d be able to talk to the chimeras yet, let alone talk to himself.

Greed braced himself as they approached the nest. They walked in and over to the bar and Greed had to take a moment to ensure that this was real. They were actually doing this. Looking at the man behind the bar was no less surreal than last time. That was him, had been him, once. But it wasn’t anymore. Greed had given that life up. It was something him and Ling had talked about, back when the idiot had tried to convince him to visit Dublith. He couldn’t be that Greed, because that Greed had let his friends die. Hadn’t even admitted what they were to him. Thinking about everything he knew now, everything he remembered, Greed found that still held true. They may share the same name, the same mark, but they weren’t the same anymore. He may have memories of his past now, and would always count those years as his, because no way was Ling older than him, but… that wasn’t him. They rested their chin on the palm of their hand as they observed. Looking at the self that he wasn’t anymore, Greed was almost surprised when Ling spoke up, his tone just as determined as Greed’s had been last night.

‘We’re going to save him too.’

Chapter Text

Business had been slow, but what was new? It was Dublith, the people who had money to spend didn’t come to this part of town and those few that did tended to be more trouble than they were worth. If it weren’t for his less legal activities, this place would’ve closed down months ago. As it was they had to spend more than the bar was worth to keep it up and running. But he couldn’t just close up shop, because it was his. Greed tapped a finger against the side of his glass. He was still learning all the things that went into keeping a building up and running. He’d never owned one before.

Greed had been on the run for a long time. In the past hundred or so years, he’d built quite the criminal empire. Most people in the underworld knew his name, which meant that there was no way his family didn’t know he was still out there. But despite that fact, they’d never found him. There had been a few close calls, but Greed had gotten good at running. He stayed on the move constantly, always using hired help and never settling down in one place. It became familiar, in a way.

Now though? He was doing the opposite of that, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. He’d find himself watching the shadows, expecting that one day they’d move and he’d have to go. It was only a matter of time. Sometimes he forgot that, but tonight wasn’t one of those times. Greed didn’t know why, but he felt on edge, like something was going to happen.

Months ago, he’d started making plans, escape routes. Preparing for how he’d get away next time. Thinking about the maze-like structure of the sewars that he had access too. At first the escape plan had just been for him, but it hadn’t taken long to include the rest of the gang. If it came down to it, he was the one wanted by the military, by his family. He could provide a distraction while the gang scattered.

Greed took a sip of the alcohol he held, hoping it would help chase away the thought of the alternative. Instead, he turned his attention to his chimeras, specifically the people that helped him run the Nest. The same way he’d never had a house, he’d also never had a gang before. Sure, in the past he’d had other possessions. But they’d been softer. Easier for his siblings to break. And when they broke his stuff, Father never did anything about it. So, he’d left. But he had stayed away from getting too close to any more humans. He’d supposed Envy had made their point after all. He’d sometimes see someone with a pet, a dog or cat, and wonder how they could stand having something that would leave them. That could be taken from them, like-

Well, Greed had thought that he’d be fine with purely material possessions, and they were nice, but he wanted more. He always wanted more.

About three years ago, he’d heard whispers of the experiments. Turning humans into chimeras. Greed had been fascinated. He’d decided then that he wanted them, and he was good at getting what he wanted. It would be different than before, he’d thought. They were half (sometimes more) animal. He’d seen somebody try the illegal mix before. Or, well, the results, he supposed. Somebody had tried to sell him the hybrid, the thing looked misshapen, but still mostly like a possum. It didn’t behave like a person either, it behaved like an animal. A rabid animal. It would stumble around in circles shaking its head like it was trying to shake something off. Wouldn’t eat or drink anything and died within a couple days. But, he figured, the military would probably make them last longer. It’d be like having a pet. Small steps.

When he saw what was in the cages in the lab under central, he realized he’d been wrong. These were not animals, these were humans. Greed wanted, the same as he’d wanted since Envy had killed- had broken his last possessions, but Greed had lived with that want for a hundred years. It was a familiar companion. He’d leave these humans and return to his underground empire. He hadn’t cared about them yet, leaving had still been a valid option. Then one of them spoke to him. He was a man with round ears and dark eyes.

“What, did the other one finally get bored? You monsters can try all you like, but you’ll never break us.” He’d spoken with a desperate kind of anger. Like he was trying to convince himself just as much as the person he was talking to. Most notably though, he hadn’t been looking Greed in the eyes, no, his gaze had been fixed on the ouroboros. In curiosity more than anything, Greed had raised his hand so that the brand on the back was in clear view of the chimeras. The way many of them flinched back made him grin. Because if they recognized that symbol, then they knew his family. Which meant they belonged to one of his siblings. His family had stolen from him, now he could return the favor. The people in front of him were no longer just random humans, instead they had just become an opportunity.

“Tell me,” He’d said, “Which of my dear siblings do you usually see?” The man who had spoken remained silent, but he was far from the only one there. It didn’t take long for somebody to tell him what he’d wanted to know. The one they’d described was Envy.

“Perfect.” He’d grinned, carbon turning his fingertips into claws. That had been nearly two years ago now, and him and his gang had made a nice little base out of the Devil’s nest. He’d stolen forty chimeras, and thirteen had fled, leaving him with twenty six. Twenty seven. Couldn’t even keep them all alive.

He knew all their names, but it was his prized possessions that helped him with the bar. Each of them had been given a section of the business and the business to look after. Ulchi dealt with weapons, Roa handled manpower, Martel kept track of the routes the drugs took and Bido worked inelegance to make sure those were the only things being smuggled, and if he found a rat (other than Ivan), Dolcetto and his group would deal with it. It was an elegant system that worked way better than he’d thought it would a year ago.

So, it didn’t matter if business was slow, because business wasn’t. But since the legal side of the Nest was open, he was there, mostly talking to Bido or Martel since the two half reptiles were the ones currently also behind the bar. As he was listening to Bido talk about some drama between Drake and Cerys, a kid walked in and sat at the bar, a few places down from their discussion, looking in their direction a bit too intently for his liking. Holding up a hand to pause the conversation he’d been having, Greed sauntered over where the kid was sitting. They didn’t want to risk anybody overhearing something they shouldn’t, even if it was some rich kid from the other side of town. His clothes were too nice to be anything else.

“Hey, kid, get lost. This is a place for grownups.” He said, tone harsh, backed by his two chimeras. There were a few reactions that Greed expected. The one he got was not one of them. Stupid kid just smiled at him, laughing lightly.

“Greed, right?” He started, then continued before Greed had a chance to say anything, “Your bar looks like shit.” It took a moment for him to put together what he’d heard, because sure the place was a bit rough, but nobody was allowed to say that, especially to him. This kid thought that would fly? Hell no. The temptation to show the rich brat exactly why what he’d said was a bad idea was strong, but wouldn’t actually help him. Still…

“What the hell kid?!? If you know enough to know who I am than you should know better than to insult my things! So do yourself a favor, and. Get. Out.” Greed said, crossing his arms and looking his most intimidating. It seemed to have the desired effect, the kid winced and mumbled something in a foreign language. Little shit, looked like the kind of kid that thought he was tough ‘till he got roughed up for real. Fortunately for the idiot, Greed didn’t want anything that would draw the eye of the law, so he’d just kick the brat out, real polite-like.

“It wasn’t an insult- it- ok so maybe- can you- look, if-“ The kid started, interrupting himself half a dozen times before putting a hand to his head and going completely, almost unnaturally, still for a moment, before taking a deep breath and looking back at Greed.

“It was just an observation, and I was going to offer to help do something about it.” Greed couldn’t really see his eyes, but the rest of the kid’s expression read as annoyed. Well too damn bad. Greed leaned slightly closer over the bar, taking his sunglasses off and giving the kid an unfriendly smile that showed off his teeth. Oddly, the kid just tiled his head as though he thought this was fucking funny or some shit.

“Listen kid, we don’t need some uptown punk trying to touch my turf. I’ll tell you one more time. Get lost.” He knew he looked frightening. He knew he looked intimidating and unsettling. The kid didn’t even flinch, instead he leaned closer, matching Greed’s move and putting himself firmly in the homunculus’ personal space.

“Or what?” The kid said lowly, like this was some kind of fuckin’ game.

“Or I have Roa over there throw you out. If you’re lucky I’ll even tell Dol to leave you in one piece.” Greed scowled, pointing a thumb over his shoulder to the men in question. The kid’s gaze darted over to Ox chimera for a moment, and Greed felt adrenaline rush through him. For a brief second, he thought he saw purple in the boy’s gaze. Looking intently as the kid shifted focus back to him, Greed tried to see if he was right, but he couldn’t tell. It could have been a trick of the light. With his recent thoughts about his siblings, they were on his mind was all. This was just some stupid kid trying to get in over his head, nothing more.

Even knowing that, there was still a prickling under his skin. He wanted his shield, and he didn’t know why. This was a dumb kid, but it was like his body was screaming  at him that the dark-haired boy was dangerous, a threat. Ridiculous.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that.” The kid in question said casually, calmly.

“And why the fuck not?” Greed snapped, ready to be done with this and follow through with his threat, but just curious enough to hear what the kid had to say. It was annoying now, but the gang would probably get a laugh out of all this later.

“Because. I know about your arms stash in the old warehouse on 31^st street. And the one on Oakhill road. And, most importantly, I know where you got your chimeras from.” Greed felt his blood go cold, practically baring his fangs, he let carbon slide over his left hand, placing it on top of the boy’s right, claws indenting the fabric of his glove, but not drawing blood. Not yet. The little bastard just gave him an unimpressed look.

“See, before, you could’ve walked away. Now, you’ll be lucky to leave here alive.” Greed didn’t like killing kids, but in the name of protecting what was his, this one had to go. After he found out where that information came from.

“Hm. Too many witnesses.” The kid said, not trying to run. Not even reacting to his shield. Hell, the kid didn’t even have the decency to look afraid. Greed stood up straight, addressing the room at large.

“Alright, bar’s closed, everybody out!” There were a few grumbles, but everybody shuffled out. They at least respected Greed’s reputation.

“Better!” the kid said from the middle of the room. Greed blinked. How had the kid gotten over there? Not that it mattered, Roa was blocking the exit and Greed could see Dolcetto and Ulchi on either side of the doorway that led to the basement. The kid had nowhere to run. He saw the dark haired boy look from Roa to Dolcetto and back, before looking at Greed and grinning.

“You forgot the windows.” He said with a nod, before turning and running, breaking through one of his fucking windows. That little pissant was dead. Greed tried to follow him, but the kid was fast. Greed stayed on his tail for a few blocks, then the kid turned a corner and vanished. It was like he’d just disappeared, leaving no trace. Not that Greed didn’t keep looking, but eventually he had to give up for the night. He could keep going, but he had a business to run and supplies to move. And wandering the streets of Dublith would accomplish neither of those things.

Wasting no time, just in case, everything was moved from 31^st and Oakhill. Greed hoped those were the only two places the kid knew about, but he got the feeling they weren’t. Looks like he’d been right to have a bad feeling about today. When they finally got back to the bar in the early hours of the morning, Greed noticed a distinct lack of broken window. Instead, there was a brand new one, crudely installed. Taped to the glass was a note.

Sorry about the window. Got you a new one. See you soon.

-Ling Yao

Greed scowled. Oh, that kid thought he was gonna be cute, huh? Well, he’d made a mistake with that note. Greed grabbed the paper forcefully, tearing it slightly, and handing it to Bido.

“Now we have a name.” Greed told the gecko chimera, whom just nodded eagerly. Looking closer at the kid’s handiwork, he felt his scowl deepen. He noticed that, unlike the others, this window was made to open. Greed had to remind himself this was better than what he’d been worrying about. At least his siblings still didn’t know where he was. The reassurance didn’t help. As soon as Greed got ahold of the brat, that kid was dead.

Chapter Text

Greed would say that went horribly. He would, if only Ling didn’t feel so damn smug about it. Perched in the spot they’d found yesterday, they watched as the past him got back and saw their handiwork. It was still weird seeing who he used to be. Even though they were too far away to hear the words of those below, Greed could imagine what they were saying. Briefly looking away from the scene, he turned his attention inwards.

‘Ok. I’ve been trying to figure it out, but I’ve got nothing. What exactly is the plan here? Because from where I’m sitting we’ve just pissed everyone off.’ And Ling did have a plan. This specific brand of smug was the familiar feeling the idiot got when one of their plans was working out. It’s just that usually Greed was in on the plan. Really should have insisted on going over the specifics first. Might have saved him some trouble.

‘Greed, if someone came up to you and instantly started trying to get something, even if they were clever about it, how would you feel?’ Ling asked, leaning back against the cool roof tiles.

‘Pretty damn suspicious.’ Greed admitted, ‘But we also run an empire. He runs a bar. And we both know we’re pretty damn good at hiding our intentions.’ Which, for the record, wasn’t technically lying. It was just misguiding someone. Totally different.

‘He also runs a criminal network. That kind of thing tends to put people on edge. I’m willing to bet he’s delt with spies, or at least something similar, before, right?’ Ling asked. And Greed had to focus, had to think. He knew much more about his past now, but plenty was still out of reach. Still…

‘That… that sound right, I think. But why piss them off? Couldn’t we just be normal customers instead of a fuckin’ menace?’ Greed was perhaps still a bit annoyed that Ling had insulted the bar. He had joined his past self in yelling at Ling about it. Although, being inside his head, Greed had managed to be much louder with his complaints.

‘You could have stopped me, if you’d wanted.’ Greed did not like the look Ling was giving him in their mindscape. That was the look he tended to give people when he wanted them to do something that they weren’t doing. Kinda intense, weirdly serious. And not a look that should be directed at Greed. If it were anybody else, Greed would have a snarky response ready, but with Ling…

‘Look, it’s a lot, alright? I just…’ Greed took a deep breath, ‘I wasn’t as ready as I thought I was. And it’s not like I was silent, I just let you do most of the talking. Seemed like you had a plan, even if it’s lookin’ like a piss-poor one.’  Because Ling still hadn’t actually explained himself.

‘Hey! It’s a great plan! But… yeah, we should have worked together on this one.’ Ling started messing with one of the rocks in their pocket.

‘So, here’s what I’ve got. First, we’ve got to be interesting, because if we just went to the bar, even often, they may get to know us, but they also just might ignore us. Especially with the focus on their other, more profitable, business. Not a chance we want to take. Can’t be trying to get too buddy-buddy with them off the bat, that’d just make them suspicious. They’re strangers at best and criminals at worst, not the kind of people someone would tend to gravitate towards. Even now, there will still be plenty of suspicion, no real way to avoid that if we plan on getting close, but this way we get to direct it. Right now, they think we’re just some kid in over their head playing with things they don’t understand. Right now, they want to know how we learned the information I told Old Greed.’ Ling explained.

‘And how does that lead to them trusting us?’ Greed asked, admitting to himself that yeah, Ling had put at least some thought into this, even if his methods were a bit questionable.

‘That all depends on how we answer that question, doesn’t it? We need to find an actual leak to lead them to. And if there isn’t one, we’ll make one. It’s nothing we haven’t done before when we’re working late.’ Greed wasn’t sure which of them was responsible for the grin on their face at that. Nobody had ever suspected that the mysterious figure than ran the underworld in the capital city was the same person who ran the whole country.

‘Additionally, we’ll want to find a way to get close while we do that, be around them somewhat regularly so they get used to us. We need to become familiar. A bit of a nuisance, but not a real thread. Like Ed! That is, if you can handle that.’ And there was that damn look again.

‘I told you, I’ll be fine. I wanted this, remember?’ Greed said gruffly, getting only a considering hum in response. It was fun when Ling did this to other people, it was significantly less fun when Greed himself was the target.

‘What is it?’ He asked, because he could still feel Ling looking at him.

‘Nothing.’ Ling finally looked away, turning their gaze back to the street below.

‘Liar.’ Greed said, but let it drop.

Weird looks aside, Greed had to admit that while it would be tricky, it would also be doable. And hey, it had been a long time since they’d been able to really let loose, what with having to focus on a whole country and all. Of course, there were a few things to take care of first, things that Ling, royalty that he was, hadn’t considered. For as much as his other half could clock what made someone tick in ten seconds flat, Ling could be dense about some real obvious stuff.

The next week would have to be spent taking care of that stuff, if they wanted the grand plan to actually go anywhere. Top of that list being finding a place to act as their base of operations. A couple days of frantic digging based on a feeling Greed had led them to the fact that the man they’d inadvertently spied on before was one Marko Wilder, a man whose name could be seen plastered on the dirty glass of multiple abandoned buildings in the area. He called himself a real estate agent, even though he rented more places than he sold, but Greed called him something a bit less pleasant.

They decided to approach the man after he was leaving one of his nightly ‘meetings’, dropping from above to land silently behind him.

“Hello, I believe we have some business to discuss.” They grinned when he spun around, nearly tripping over himself. Halfway between Ling’s neutral expression and Greed’s own sharp grin, he imagined they looked sufficiently off-putting.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” The man recovered quick, Greed would give him that. As he spoke, he reached into his pocket where there was a distinct outline of a gun. Bit nervous for someone who liked sneaking around in the dark. Real jumpy. You’d think he’d be used to the shadier parts of town.

“No, but I know you. And I’m sure your wife would be very interested in these.” In their hand were some very incriminating photos that showed exactly what, and who, the slumlord lad been doing. A few long moments later, the gun was pointed at their chest.

‘Not a very fast draw. If we wanted him dead, he’d have been on the ground before he even got that thing out.’ Ling commented as Greed leveled an unimpressed look at the man in front of him, slipping the pictures back into their pocket.

‘And look at that aim! He’s not even pointing at anything vital!’ he said, joining in on mocking the gun-wielding sleazebag.

“Hand those over now.” The man demanded.

“Or what, you’ll shoot?” Greed scoffed.

“This is Dublith, people go missing all the time.” The other man said, pulling the trigger. Greed crossed his arms as nothing happened. The man looked confused. A moment later he tried again with much the same result. Ling sighed.

“Look, all we’re asking for is one place, free of charge, in exchange for what we’ve got... Also, your safety is on.” Greed said, which was followed by the man turning the weapon away from them and sideways to undo the safety, fumbling for a moment as he tried to find it. They were right, if they wanted to anything worse than blackmail this guy wouldn’t stand a chance. Even Ling could handle a gun and he was a sword guy. Even Greed could do better, and he barely used weapons that weren’t part of him. At this point, why even bother with the gun? They watched as Mark finally flipped the safety off and almost immediately dropped the weapon from how sweaty his palms were. He did catch it before it hit the ground, unfortunately the barrel pointed towards himself and his fingers were around the trigger. Darting forward, they jerked his arm to the side as the inevitable happened, the bullet missing him by mere inches and burying itself into the pavement.

“Shit! The hell’s wrong with you?” Greed said, wrenching the firearm out of his grip, “We need you alive, you know. Kinda hard to blackmail a dead man.” The man in question looked thoroughly shaken. He quickly agreed to their terms, which wasn’t very surprising, considering they now had the man’s weapon. Greed kept the gun too. Neither he nor Ling had any use for the thing, but neither trusted that man if he was armed, for his sake and others. Had he even tried to practice with any firearm at all before pulling one on a stranger in an alley?

When they started talking about little details like a deed, the man argued that it was too late in the day to do anything. They agreed that yeah, that was fair, and let him go, along with the copy of blackmail they had on them. The way the man paled when he came out of work and saw them across the street the next day had been immensely satisfying. That night they went to their new base, and it was about what Greed had expected. Small, rundown, looked like shit and smelled like rotting meat. It took three days to clean the small house up enough to resemble something presentable, probably would have taken a normal person at least twice that long, and there was still a daunting list of issues. But at least cleanliness wasn’t one of them.

The day after their cleaning spree, six days after their original encounter, they briefly returned to the Devil’s nest. Undetected, they slipped in through the front door in the middle of the night. Usually the place would be open at this hour, but the gang had left to do some business, and the bar had been left unguarded. Something they doubted would happen again when the gang got back and found their gift.

That done, they had another problem, one that came with owning a house, made worse by the fact they had no identity. They needed money. And neither of them were the nine to five type. They quickly decided the best course of action was the simplest one, thievery. All the rich people lived in one area, a perfect target really. It was enough to make them some quick cash, and neither Ling nor Greed had the moral fortitude to be bothered by nicking some small things for, honestly, a pretty fair price from the local fence.

With a dramatic sigh, they flopped onto the questionably floral couch that sat in their living room. It had not come with the place. In fact, anything that couldn’t be cleaned had been disposed of. Greed hadn’t even argued the point. He liked nice things, and what little furniture had been in the house when they got it? Not so nice. As it was, most of the essentials they had came from discount stores, whose selection had been… lacking.

Laying there, looking at Ling, Greed hoped what they were doing was enough, that it would work. In the midst of everything else, they had made contingencies. The kind of looping coverage that Ling thrived in but gave Greed a headache. He really hoped they wouldn’t need to use any. He hoped Ling was right, that this would all work out.

Chapter Text

There was something… oddly refreshing about not having any responsibilities. Sure, they had one very big responsibility to focus on, one goal to work towards, but that was years away. In the meantime, there were no meetings, no politics, nothing that could get them or anybody else killed. No real worries. Ling couldn’t remember a time where he’d had so little to worry about. For the first time ever, he was just… having fun. Living without the constant threat of death or failure to his people was a foreign feeling. Sure, Old Greed wanted them dead, but that didn’t really count. It was like a vacation. They even had a nice little routine.

During the day, they’d walk around the city, Ling memorizing the layout while Greed got back more and more of his past life. There were things, they knew, that would be lost forever, but the fondness in his friend’s voice whenever he showed Ling something particularly interesting from his past was something Ling treasured. These daily walks were good for them both, really. They’d even visited a couple of Dublith’s ‘attractions’. Not really the city’s strong suit, but the lake had been nice.  

That said, the real fun happened at night. When the sun set, they played the part of a thief. Sneaking into houses, always on the ‘good’ side of town. Which really meant the rich side of town. In just a couple weeks, it had become a care part of their routine. Sometimes it was even a challenge, not the breaking in part, but staying completely undetected. They didn’t think anyone had even realized what they were doing the first week, since even though they went out every night, they only took one thing each time.

Usually Greed picked what they took, but sometimes Ling saw something that caught his eye. Most of the stuff went straight to the local fence, thankfully someone Greed had remembered from before. The woman was the very definition of shifty. But she also really hated the military and gave fair prices, so she was exactly what they needed. It was through her that Ling found out they were officially a wanted man. Which was very funny, since neither the police nor anybody else had ever seen them in action. Really, the military police didn’t even have proof the robberies were connected. The only thing tying them together was the complete lack of evidence at any of the scenes. He even had a cool codename, since the police needed to call him something. They were both glad that whoever was in chare of such things hadn’t chosen something stupid.

Ling wondered if they suspected an alchemist. One could, theoretically, enter and leave a building without a trace. Although, not quietly. They’d seen enough of the science to know that it was very loud and very bright. Tonight may actually disprove that particular theory. Some of the richest had already started hiring private guards, seeing as the military was proving ineffective. It wouldn’t help them, but Ling was looking forward to the challenge. An alchemist would have trouble slipping by undetected, if they were using alchemy. Ling would have no such problems.

They watched their target from a few rooftops away as the guards patrolled the manicured lawn. As they watched, one nearly tripped over a newly planted sapling in the dark, glancing around quickly as though to reassure themselves that their clumsiness had gone unseen. It hadn’t, but the man on the ground didn’t realize that.

‘We could get a houseplant.’ Ling suggested, entirely unsurprised by the scoff he got in response.

‘If we get a pet, you’ll be the one watering it.’ Greed snarked back.

‘I’m not sure a plant really counts as a pet.’ Ling said as the guards made another lap. They were actually covering the area decently, from anybody on the ground. Shame none of them had looked up even once.

‘It’s a small living thing that you take care of. Basically a pet.’ Greed argued, doing a few unnecessary stretches. A moment later they were off, closing the distance between them and their target. From the neighboring house they could reach the top of the decretive stone wall that surrounded the property. Not breaking their stride, from the wall they landed soundlessly in a large oak tree, and running along the uppermost branches in a way that nobody would ever consider safe, they could reach a balcony that had a sliding door. The door was locked, odd choice for being three stories off the ground, but it made no difference. A click and they were in. All the people were on the other side of the house, not that it really would have mattered if they weren’t. Neither Ling nor Greed had made a sound.

Ling paused as they closed the door behind them. There was something odd in the air. Something vaguely familiar.

As Greed looked around, Ling focused all his attention on trying to distinguish the chi of the other occupants of the house. It was vaguely unpleasant to do, a consequence of the wrongness caused by Father and his horrible circle, even incomplete as it was. This, he would not miss. At least they weren’t in Central, it was worse there. Still, there was something… something… Huh. Well.

Opening his eyes and tugging Greed away from the knick-knacks he’d been looking at, Ling guided them towards the people.

‘What’s up?’ Greed asked.

‘I think… somebody in this house is a chimera.’  Ling replied, stopping just around the corner from where he could sense the presence. This was the riskiest they’d been. They were very close, close enough to hear, but not close enough to be seen.

“-think they can protect you?” said a woman’s voice.

‘That sounds familiar.’ Greed sounded surprised, but it at least confirmed that Ling had been right. Still, what was someone from the Devil’s Nest gang doing here? From the conversation, Ling could guess, but he’d listen a little longer, just to see.

“Their boss assured me they would be more than enough to deal with any would-be thieves, and we are paying quite the sum. While I’m sure your little group of ruffians are equally as effective, we’ll be leaving it to the professionals sweetheart.” Ling felt Greed bristle in offence. For as much as he claimed to have left that life behind him, the other was still very protective of the group of chimeras. And took insults to his old gang or the bar very seriously, as Ling had found out firsthand. It was enough to make him wonder how much of his old life the other had truly left behind. Wanting to save them was one thing, but… Ling knew how good Greed was at lying to himself. Good enough that he didn’t even realize he was doing it. That was a discussion that needed to happen, but it wouldn’t be easy for either of them. A thought for another time then.

“Hmph. So you say. If you happen to change your mind, you know where to find us.” And oh, Ling was right. He’d thought this could happen.

‘Sounds like Old Greed is taking advantage of our business.’ Ling said, moving away before there was any risk of being seen. Greed picked up a fancy vase with flowers painted on it.

‘Yeah, good for him. But they didn’t know we’d be here tonight.’ Which was a good point. Nobody could predict which house the duo would hit because they didn’t know themselves most of the time. Usually they just went with what felt right at the time. Ling paused, thinking. It wasn’t like they had to be back anytime soon.

‘You want to stick around and watch the show?’ Ling asked, examining the curling brushstrokes of the vines and petals.

‘They may not even hit the place tonight. Or at all.’ Greed argued, but made no motion to leave. They both knew that, based on the tone, something would happen tonight. Her words had been a threat, and if she waited, security would only get stronger. For the next hour and a half, they mostly just looked around the house, moving things around ever-so-slightly and talking about small unimportant things. The occupants had left soon after the chimera, so they didn’t even have to focus on being sneaky.

Ling was in the middle of trying to convince Greed that raiding kitchens would be a great calling card when the silence of the night was broken by a loud crash. Somebody didn’t believe in subtly, apparently. Quickly, they made their way to where they’d heard the noise, staying hidden enough that Ling was confident they wouldn’t be spotted unless someone was already looking for them. A man Ling didn’t recognize was putting a bunch of jewelry into a medium sized bag.

‘Effective, but I’m not giving him any points for style.’ Ling quipped.

‘What, unlike you, the most stylish thief in Dublith.’ Greed snarked back. And Ling could feel him getting prickly at the perceived insult to one of the chimeras.

‘You know, that insults you too.’ Ling said, getting a very strong mental image of a rude gesture in response. Just about then, the guards that had been outside made their way into the house with a lot of shouting and loud stomping. Without hesitation, the burglar took off. He’d already taken what he’d come for. The guards followed in hot pursuit, never even looking in Ling’s direction. They slipped back outside the way they’d come in. While they could have exited through the broken window, Ling preferred the height and stealth that their original point of entry gave them. Rather than heading back to their base though, they watched as the man skillfully evaded the hired security, disappearing into the streets of Dublith.

‘Not too bad.’ Ling commented, moving to follow their fellow thief. He may have been able to evade the hired help, but Ling was a bit harder to lose than that. Especially since the chimera hadn’t realized they were following him.

‘What, you thought I’d have people who weren’t good at their jobs?’ Greed asked, and Ling gave the mental equitant of a shrug, dropping down to land silently behind the chimera, just where they could be seen out of the corner of his eye.

“So! Where are we going?” Ling asked in his most cheerful voice. The sound the other man made was somewhere between a scream and a yelp and was very funny. Ling would give him credit though, he tuned to face them, backed away, and armed himself without breaking stride. If you ignored the sound.

“Who the hell are- wait, you’re that kid Roa was talking about.” The man narrowed his eyes, adjusting the position of the gun he held. Unlike the last man who had pointed one of those at them, his hands were steady.

“Yes, that would be me. My name is Ling, what’s yours?” They were using Ling’s name, because there was no practical way to use Greed’s. The other was doing a very good job of pretending that didn’t bother him. Ling would have to find a way to make it up to him later.

“Why are you following me?” the man said instead of answering Ling’s question. They rolled their eyes.

“We were already robbing the place when you broke in. Not my problem that we ran in the same direction.” Greed said, holing up the vase for emphasis. There were a couple seconds of delay before the man’s eyes widened.

“You’re the thief!” He whisper-shouted. Ling felt a grin spread across their face.

“Gonna have to be a bit more specific than that.” Greed said.

“The, uh, what was it,” the chimera snapped a couple times with their left hand, right still holding the gun steady, “the Phantom!”

“Sure am!” Greed said. Another beat passed, and the man sighed.

“Still got orders to take ya to the boss though, sorry kid.” He said as he tightened the grip on his gun, thumb brushing the safety back. They moved a moment before he fired, just avoiding the shot aimed at their leg and jumping back. At least he wasn’t trying to kill them.

“Now is that any way to treat your burglary buddy?” Ling asked, moving further back as another shot was fired. The chimera didn’t respond and the third shot was much closer. Before he could fire again, Ling jumped onto a fire escape, aiming for height, but they were forced back down, the old metal creaking dangerously as the shot tore through the thin metal. It wasn’t that he couldn’t deal with getting shot. They’d been shot more times than was generally recommended. It was more the problem that getting shot meant a risk of someone finding out what they were. They needed to get out of this situation unharmed. Which meant they just needed to get past the chimera. Easy. Ling adjusted their stance. They’d have to get in close to disarm him.

‘NO!’ Was the immediate response once Greed saw what he planned to do, yanking control back hard enough that they stubbled, shoulder slamming into the wall of the alley they’d ended up in.

‘I’m not going to hurt him! It’s like sparring with Lan Fan, alright? We know how to be careful.’ Ling said through his shock. It had been a long time since they’d disagreed on anything strongly enough that Greed would resort to pushing Ling away from control entirely. Although, he should have expected it, considering…

‘It’s too risky.’ Greed didn’t budge from his stance, and Ling registered a click. He tried to see what was happening with the guy holding a gun, but Greed was still keeping him away. A moment later, Greed looked, just as the chimera finished reloading.

‘Trust me!’ Ling snapped, because they needed to move now, and they needed to move together, and there wasn’t time for him to make a good argument. A couple heartbeats passed in silence.

‘Fine!’ Greed snapped back, just as viciously, very clearly unhappy, but like Ling, seeing no better alternative. As a bullet ricocheted off the ground they had just been standing on, Ling darted closer, feigning an attack, causing the chimera to step back before firing again, another narrow miss. Two more shots went the same way. Ling was getting closer each time. Greed was not helping. An image flashed through his mind, the same man, dead, full of bullet holes. Shot number five connected. Ling felt it graze the side of his leg, but there was no tingly feeling that came with healing. Instead there was the now foreign feeling of blood seeping into fabric.

Quickly, Ling locked down on his response. This couldn’t be good, but they right now he had to focus on getting away. He should have known better than to confront one of the chimeras with how Greed had been acting. Ling rushed the chimera a final time, avoiding the last shot and sweeping the man off his feet. As he fell, Ling swiped the gun from midair. Using the time that would buy him, Ling jumped up the rusty contraption that called itself a fire escape. He reached the roof just as the chimera regained his footing. Ling saw the man attempt to follow them, but in his element and with a head start he outpaced the chimera, losing him in the maze that was Dublith.

Once he was sure he was no longer being chased, Ling sat down to look at the still present wound. It wasn’t bad, but that wasn’t the problem. Ling could feel himself starting to panic. It still wasn’t healing. The only thing stopping him from losing his composure was the vaguely satisfied feeling coming from Greed’s side.

‘What-‘ he started to ask before being interrupted.

‘You’re welcome.’ Greed smirked, and a pressure Ling hadn’t realized was there released, sparks dancing across his skin.

‘We can do that?!?’ Healing had always been automatic, near-instant. It never felt like something that could be controlled.

‘Can’t use the shield and heal at the same time, remember?’ And yeah, Greed was still felling bitter about Ling’s plan to get past the chimera, because he wouldn’t be using that mocking tone otherwise. Ling knew Greed was baiting him, but that didn’t stop it from working.

‘I know that! It doesn’t stop the sparks though!’ Even when it was being blocked, their body would still try to heal, Ling knew how this worked! He felt a spark of anger at the other. Not even for the mockery, Greed could be like that sometimes, but for not trusting him. Ling knew that wasn’t fair, not really, but tensions were starting to run high and right about now he didn’t are about fair. He could feel their body tense, fists clenched tightly, but couldn’t really tell which of them was causing it. After a brief stare down, Greed sighed.

‘Ugh, this is stupid. I think I prefer when we’re at someone else’s throat and not each other’s.’  he said wearily. Ling felt the tension leave their body like a deflating balloon. Greed was right, this was stupid. With a deep breath, Ling let go of the budding anger he was feeling. It wouldn’t help them.

‘Look.’ Greed grabbed one of the kunai Ling kept on him, spreading the shield to cover a small patch of skin on their shoulder and cutting a thin line across the back of their hand. Like Ling expected, it began to spark, but didn’t heal. After a moment, the sparks stopped. This time, now that he knew it was there, Ling could feel the slight pressure. Closing his eyes, Ling focused on the flow of souls. It looked like Greed was holding them back somehow.

‘I can’t do this for long. It starts to get really uncomfortable really quick. It’s something I- well, old me that is, figured out while in hiding. I, uh, didn’t remember before…’ Greed said, and Ling felt something immaterial being passed to him. Ling managed to hold into the feeling for all of two seconds before the pressure was too much and he had to let go. A moment later, the cut was gone.

‘We’ll have to work on that.’ Ling said, because it was useful, but Greed hadn’t been kidding when he’d called the sensation uncomfortable. That was actually understating it a fair bit. The statement was met with a groan and a dramatic flop against the tiles of the roof they were on.

The next few days were uneventful, the only addition to their routing being practicing blocking their healing ability. Turns out, trying to hold back for too long would give them both a splitting headache. In these days, neither Ling nor Greed went seeking out any of the Devil’s Nest gang. Ling was content to play the long game, and Greed was, not that he’d admit it, nervous. He was pretending to be unaffected, but Ling had  been able to tell even before the incident with the chimera in the alley. That had just confirmed what Ling already know. They needed to talk, but still they didn’t. How do you even start a discussion like that?

So, they kept to the routine, and Ling stayed away from the Devil’s Nest. Still, while Dublith wasn’t a small city, it wasn’t anywhere near the size of central. An encounter was bound to happen. It was at night, like before. Also like before, it was as they were going on one of their nightly walks. Greed was the one to notice this time.

They had been enjoying the challenge the hired guards added, and had been planning on hitting one such house, when Greed pointed out those particular guards were members of his old gang. Change of plans then. The house next door had no such security, and they clambered up to the roof, a bit less graceful than usual. One sharp whistle later, and five pairs of eyes were locked on them. They bounced on the balls of their feet, ready to move if they needed to. The hesitation from the group below was clear. Ling watched as they huddled around. On one hand, Ling was right there, on the other, they had been hired to do a job that they couldn’t just abandon. In the end, the group stayed where they were, watching as Ling entered the house they were perched on with a jaunty little wave, courtesy of Greed.

It became a bit of a game over the next few weeks. Get spotted, then wait. Sometimes Ling would wave enthusiastically, sometimes it would be Greed’s much slower and more taunting version. Either one would yield similar results. Always some scowls and general annoyance. A few chases. Greed didn’t have any more protests, although whenever they had to do anything even resembling combat to get away, Ling always led. Greed was still there, but in the same way a turtle was still in its shell. At least Greed seemed able to handle non-combat situations perfectly fine.

From what Ling could tell, none of the chimeras were actually mad at them personally, despite the fact that Old Greed certainly was. Some of the chimeras even seemed to be getting used to him, which meant the plan was working. Just yesterday, one of the had rolled their eyes and smiled, although that had been followed by them miming a shooting motion, but Ling would still take that as a win.

Then, as they were leaving a house, they heard a voice from above them, on the wall.

“Why do you keep doing this?” Ling hadn’t noticed the lizard chimera. Neither had Greed. Usually, Ling was very good at controlling his expression, but usually Greed wasn’t having a minor breakdown. The sight of Bido so close, slight frown on his face, brought forward the familiar image of blood-soaked claws. Of the very same man lying dead. Greed stumbled back, away from the lizard man, and they bolted, with none of their usual grace. Not their best moment, admittedly.

It hadn’t been so bad with the other chimeras, around them Greed was more-or-less normal. It seemed that Bido would be an exception to this. They needed to have that talk, but still they did not.

Thankfully, the encounter was brief and did not repeat. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the last encounter with the Nest’s higher ups that week. It was a full moon, cloudless, providing plenty of light. They had found the group they planned on bothering that night, but stopped short of getting close enough to be seen. There were figures surrounding the property. Armed figures. Counting revealed the chimeras would be outnumbered three to one. Had this happened before? Unlikely, since they were only at this house because of Greed and Ling’s interference. Still, they held. Roa was there, and the others were well trained. They could handle themselves. And they did, at first. It was clear who was winning, and it was not the attackers. Still, as Ling well knew, winning did not always come without casualties.

They saw the shot connect, and saw the man fall. He was still alive, he would be fine. There was no guarantee he would stay that way. They were in motion before Ling had finished that thought. Ling hadn’t wanted to show how proficient they were in combat, but with the lives of the chimeras on the line, he’d adjust the plan. They had made contingencies for a reason. Still, it was only through sheer force of will that the shield didn’t cover them.

They had worked on making the reaction to a fight quick and instinctual, which meant suppressing that instinct cost them a moment of hesitation. A moment that would have had consequences back home, but made no difference here. Ling drew his dao and they joined the fight. The motions were familiar, although the lack of claws was strange. Ling found himself leading during the fight, being more familiar with the dao, but not like the other times. They were still moving together. Ling would slash at one enemy, and Greed would spin them away from the blade of another. At one point, he found himself back to back with Roa. It seemed like the bull chimera was going to say something, but then they were being rushed by the attackers and all that mattered were the motions of the fight. All that mattered was protecting what was theirs.

Something about that wasn’t right, but it wasn’t anything they could focus on. A step to the left, duck and twist, throw, jump, cut. Watch as the enemy fell like wheat to a scythe. Once all the attackers were delt with, some unconscious, others dead, Ling turned to face the group he’d just been fighting alongside. They were all alive, although the one who had been shot was still down.

He was no longer at a safe distance, Ling realized. And now he was the one outnumbered. If they tried to catch him now, he didn’t know if he could avoid them without causing any injury. And he didn’t want to know how Greed would react to that. Ling was tense, ready to run, but unwilling to turn his back on the group. Moments passed and tension grew. He could hear the sound of sirens in the distance. With a dull thunk, the large hammer the bull chimera had been holding fell to the ground.

“Get out of here kid.” He said. Ling grinned, Greed gave the sloppiest salute imaginable, and then they were gone.

The next morning the headline of the paper read, “Seven Dead in Gang Violence at Beiler Estate.”

“A violent confrontation at the Beiler family estate has left seven dead and local military investigating what is being described as a desperate attack from the remnants of the Eastside gang. The incident occurred late last night and some wonder if this is related to the string of burglaries that have plagued the neighborhood in recent months.

The Beiler family, well-known in the community for their management of the local quarries, had been the target of several break-ins over the past few weeks, prompting them to hire a team of private security guards to bolster their safety, a decision that may have saved their lives.

Around 1:30 AM, as the gang attempted to force their way into the estate, the hired security team, stationed around the perimeter, responded. A fight quickly broke out, gunshots ringing through the night as the guards fended off the attackers. Despite being outnumbered, the security team successfully repelled the gang, suffering no casualties and only minor injuries. Authorities have confirmed that all seven deaths were the result of the team acting in self-defense, with no charges expected to be filed against them. The surviving gang members were quickly apprehended and arrested by local law enforcement. Residents have expressed both relief and concern in the wake of the violent confrontation. While many are grateful that the Beiler family is safe, some worry about the rising violence that seems to be creeping across the streets of Dublith.”

That at least confirmed that the members of the Nest were safe. Greed had been worrying all night. As they read the paper, they were walking aimlessly through the warehouse district, trying to work off some of Greed’s nervous energy. Or at least its effect on their body. That was when they heard the gunshots.

Deciding to investigate was an easy choice. Thankfully, they didn’t find the scene of a crime. Instead they found a familiar man doing some target practice. Ling watched as the crocodile chimera unloaded six shots into empty glass bottles, each shattering on impact. He was fast.

‘Pretty neat, huh? Ulchi is the best shot in the whole Nest. Only person I ever saw shoot better was Hawkeye.’ They watched as he set up eighteen more empty bottles. They didn’t last long.

‘Impressive reload time too.’ Ling commented. It was a good thing that this hadn’t been the person shooting at them the other night. Ling wasn’t sure they’d have been able to avoid getting hit.

‘Ha! Yeah! Wouldn’t expect any less from my prized possessions.’ Greed was grinning. Ling was fairly sure he didn’t even realize what he’d said.

‘And by that you mean…?’ Ling asked leadingly. They’d had this conversation before, multiple times, but Ling wouldn’t hold it against him this time.

‘Huh? What- oh,’ Greed huffed a quiet half-laugh, a fond smile slipping into place, ‘Wouldn’t expect any less from my closest friends.’ Greed said softly, rolling his eyes. A few more rounds with a few different firearms went by before Greed seemed to reach some kind of decision. He walked forwards, making his footsteps loud and deliberate. Neither of them were keen on startling a man that they had just seen take out eighteen bottles in six seconds. Ling was wondering if approaching him at all was smart, but oddly enough when he spotted them, Ulchi put his gun away.

“Hey, if it isn’t the little punk! What brings you here?” he asked, and Ling noticed how he was deliberately keeping his arms loose at his sides.

“How’s J- the guy that got shot?” Greed asked, right to the point. Figures he wouldn’t take the newspaper’s word for it.

“Jamie’s fine.” Ulchi said, waving a hand, “What about you kid, all good?” He was being oddly friendly.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, all good.” Greed sounded like he was having as much trouble figuring out the chimera’s angle as Ling was.

“Good, good. Say, where’d you learn those moves? Didn’t see it myself, but Roa said you sure knew how to fight.” And now it made sense, this was an interrogation! Ulchi was trying to seem all non-threatening so they wouldn’t run. It also explained why he seemed vaguely uncomfortable. Ling could tell Greed recognized the same thing by his grin.

“Say, what did you find out about the name Ling Yao?” Greed asked, moving to sit on an empty crate and leaning forward slightly.

“Not much, unless you’re talking about the kid prince of Xing.” Ulchi said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

“Ha! Yeah, that’s the one. We didn’t lie about our name, I’ll give you that much. And here’s another thing, assassination attempts on royalty in Xing is way too common. Like, concerningly common. So all the little princes and princesses need to know how to fight so they don’t fuckin’ die.” Greed said. And while Ling would like to be offended, he wasn’t wrong… shit. He’d have to re-do all the reform work he’d done on the heirs system.

“So, what? You trying to convince me you’re some kinda prince? Cause last I checked that kid was, like, ten and also, ya know, in Xing.”

“That’s what they want you to think.” Ling said easily, covering up the hole in his story. It wasn’t like there wasn’t a history of clans lying about the age of their heirs in the past.

“Heh, right. So, say I believe all of… this. What’s some royal brat from Xing doing in Dublith of all places?”

They leaned forward a bit more, Ling resting their head on his hand.

“Looking for the secret to immortality.” Because the best lie was staying close to the truth. And this was why he’d come to Amestris, just not this time. Going this route had been a point of contention in their planning, but Ling thought it was for the best.

“Right. In Dublith.” Ulchi was trying to sound disbelieving, but Ling saw how he tensed, how his hand flinched towards where his gun was. How the easygoing expression he worse was a bit more forced.

“Yeah, heard there was someone here who might know something.”

“And where did you hear that?”

“The same place I heard about what you guys are.” Ling said truthfully.

“Right.” Ulchi was reaching for his gun. Very slowly and deliberately. Greed stood up.

“This is the part where we run, huh?” He asked.

“Yeah.” The crocodile chimera said, clicking the safety off as they dashed towards the exit.

Chapter Text

Ling, Ulchi decided, was a menace. The kid didn’t need to say any of what he had. Didn’t have to give away that he knew a bit too much about not just them, but about the Boss too, and now this? He’d wanted them to know, to pay attention to him. It seemed like a lot of the things he’d said were chosen carefully, specifically to get a reaction.

Ulchi watched the kid fade from view, jumping across rooftops as though gravity didn’t affect him. Chasing after him was an option, technically, but he didn’t really see the point. Sure, he’d run after the kid, but that was more to say he’d tried than any real intent to catch Ling. Faster and more nimble members of the Nest had tried already, and they hadn’t had much luck. Ulchi doubted he’d get any closer than they had. And despite everything, after meeting the kid in person, he didn’t seem like a real threat. Or, more specifically, he didn’t seem like a threat to the Nest. Ulchi remembered what Roa had said ‘bout how the kid fought.

But he’d fought on their side, and whenever anybody actually got close enough to land a hit while trying to catch Ling, the kid always just ran away. Almost never really tried to fight them. The few times anyone had reported an actual fight of any kind, it was because they’d actually managed to back him into a corner. Even then, slight bruises were the worst any of them ever got.

And that just proved that Ling could fight well. Better than most anybody else in the Nest, probably. After the incident with Roa, Ling’s fighting ability had been used as evidence both for and against him being related to the royalty of Xing in some way.

It had been a topic of debate in the Nest. Was Ling was lying about who he was? Had he used a fake name? Had he used his real name and it was just coincidence that the name was also shared by a member of Xingese royalty? Ulchi supposed he’d be able to cross that last one off. Thinking on it, if Ling was royalty of some sort it would almost make sense. It would explain how he knew so much about them. Spies, probably. And good ones. If the kid was telling the truth.

Ulchi would admit it felt a bit better that some foreign royalty had the resources to find out that kind of thing than just some random rich kid. Still didn’t feel great, was still super concerning, but a different kind of concerning. As for Ling himself, he was also a type of concerning, but not the kind the gang usually delt with. Exactly how Bido and Roa had described him, Ling was clearly Xingese and looked much older than he was if his story was to be believed. Ulchi would have guessed he was in his late teens or early twenties, but Boss had called him a kid, and Ling hadn’t argued. He certainly wasn’t ten though.

Appearances aside, ten year olds didn’t run like Ling did. The self-assured grace as he jumped off a ledge barely as wide as Ulchi’s hand, like he knew he wouldn’t fall, came with age. It was odd. And that wasn’t the only thing about Ling that was strange. The way he seemed drawn to the gang, always pestering them, but only the lower ranks. Seemed to get flighty whenever the officers showed up-

Ulchi paused, closing his eyes for a moment and resting his head against the cool wall of the building. There weren’t ranks, he reminded himself, they weren’t in the military anymore. Except… in a way, there were. Greed was at the top, the Boss. Ulchi had caught himself thinking of him as the General, once or twice. The man didn’t look the part, but with how he acted, and how he expected his orders to be followed, Ulchi could almost see it. Not that he’d ever say that to Greed’s face. Or to anybody else in the Nest, even though he knew they thought so too. He’d seen the starting motions of a salute more than once after Greed gave an order, always quickly aborted. But Ulchi saw. And he understood. It was so easy to do after so long.

It was easy to think of himself and the other four than ran the bar as Officers. That’s the word his mind wanted to use, although he supposed their role was closer to that of a Captain or Major, each in charge of their own squad. Most of them had been military. And the habits had been drilled into them until they were a force of habit. A habit he needed to work harder to break. One they all did. Amestris had betrayed them, they couldn’t let it control them anymore, not in any way.

Forcefully shaking that line of thought away, Ulchi began the short trek back to the warehouse he’d been using for target practice. As he moved, he turned his thoughts back to the Xingese kid. Did he know what he was really getting into? Reading reports was very different from being on the battlefield, and he wondered if the Nest was what Ling had expected. He wondered exactly how much the kid really knew. Ulchi wondered other things too. Things that had less to do with the fact that Ling was from Xing, and more to do with the fact that he was a kid.

Because every time anybody saw him, Ling was alone. It was possible, technically, that there were people with him that nobody had seen, but Ulchi didn’t think so. Kids shouldn’t be out on their own, provoking crime bosses and dodging bullets. Even if he was a weird kid that knew too much, he should have somebody looking out for him. And it didn’t seem like there was anybody there. Roa had said Ling reminded him of his own kid, who would be a couple years older than Ling by now.

Ulchi was also reminded of someone, when he was talking to the menace, but that wasn’t a fact he would be sharing. Because… Ling? Ling reminded him of Greed. A comparison that the Boss would not appreciate. And Ulchi just knew if he told anybody, that that information would make it’s way back to the Boss.

It was true though. The way Ling acted, his mannerisms, were familiar. He hadn’t heard anybody else talking about it, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t noticed. He thought, briefly, about asking Roa if he’d noticed the similarities, but then the Boss would definitely find out. Even if Roa didn’t say anything, which he would, there was just too much risk of Bido or Dolcetto overhearing. So, that observation would stay firmly in his own head.

There were other things to report anyway. Mainly the royalty thing, and that Ling had come to Dublith, of all places, to try and find immortality. Anything else was old news, things that were odd, but someone else had already talked about. Like how more times than not, he’d use ‘we’ when he was talking about just himself. It wasn’t that the kid never used the singular, but more often than not, it was the plural instead. And Ling didn’t even seem to realize he was doing it.

If, and that was still a big if, he was telling the truth about his origins, that… could explain it, actually. Ulchi was fairly sure that was a thing royalty did, or at least he’d read that somewhere, right? Still weird to hear though.

As soon as he got back, Ulchi would report this whole thing to the Boss. Wouldn’t do any good to delay, he’d been about done anyway. Packing his things, Ulchi took a moment to appreciate the irony that the weapon he’d been using had been the same one given to him by that very kid. The one with a tiny carving on the grip that he was fairly sure was supposed to be a crocodile. Man, that had caused a stir. Coming home from a gang war to realize someone had broken into the bar? Not fun. Although nothing had been missing, Ulchi supposed that technically made them the first victims of Ling’s late night breaking and entering. In the distance, thunder rumbled, and Ulchi walked quicker, making his way to an alley that connected to the city’s sewar network.

The sewers stank, being, ya know, sewers. But if they had anything illegal on them, they had to use the back entrance, just in case. Ulchi ignored the small itch that was trying to tell him to go in the water. That was gross, and he’d never live it own if anybody saw. It was bad enough that he snuck out to the lake to swim sometimes, but it felt so nice.

When he got to the nest, Bido and Roa were there, with Martel upstairs working the bar. Boss was out. He hardly used to go out at all, unless it was on Business, but recently he’d been doing so more often, wandering the streets around dusk. Looking for Ling, they all knew. He’d had as much success as any of them. Which is to say, none. It seemed like the only way to find Ling was for Ling to find you.

If Greed had already left, he’d be out for another few hours at least, so Ulchi opened the makeshift carrying case and started to clean the weapons he’d used. They weren’t really that bad, but it was kinda calming. By the time he was done, Roa had gone upstairs to help with the customers, and Bido was crouched in the corner mumbling and scribbling on a notepad, occasionally flipping to another page before flipping back to write something down. Ulchi wasn’t sure if running the network was really that stressful or if any job would stress Bido out.

The lizard man looked busy, but then again, Ulchi didn’t care. With a shrug, he walked over to the closest non-floor seating option and plopped down.

“Hey Bido, got a question.”

“What?” Bido asked, not looking up from his notes.

“In Xing, do people usually try and snuff the royalty?” As soon as he’d mentioned Xing, Bido had started actually paying attention. There was really only one reason somebody would be mentioning Xing.

“Hm, from what I can tell… yes. The government of Xing seems very… self-destructive…” Ulchi watched as Bido’s tail swished slowly, “Where did you hear that?”

“Finally met Ling, I’d tell ya more, but then I’d just have to repeat it when the Boss gets back.” Ulchi shrugged, leaning across the chair so that he was more laying then sitting. Bido watched him a moment longer, before letting out a small huff and turning back to his notes.

When Greed did finally get back, Dolcetto and Roa were with him. Roa was the old dry one of the group. Another unsuccessful search then. The Boss didn’t look happy. He never did after these walks.  

“Hey Boss, got some info abut that Ling kid.” Ulchi said, shifting so he was actually sitting up again. The statement instantly put a scowl on the Boss’ face. The fact that none of them had even gotten close to catching Ling grated on Greed, they could all tell. And there was something else, something the Boss wasn’t telling them. Ulchi didn’t know what it was, but the Boss seemed a little too determined for Ling to be just some kid, even some suspicious possibly royal kid. Greed gestured for him to continue.

“Well, that thing about him possibly being related to that prince? According to Ling, that’s exactly who he is.”

“You talked to him?” Greed asked.

“Yeah, thought I’d try to ask questions first and shoot second, ya know?” Ulchi smiled, but it was forced. He couldn’t help but be a bit tense when the Boss was in a mood like this. Another old habit, although one that started long before he enlisted. He knew Greed wouldn’t hurt any of them, but old habits die hard.

“And did you get him?” Rhetorical question, clearly there was no hostage with him. Ulchi answered anyway.

“No,” Ulchi resisted the urge to stand at attention, “he got away. He’s quick.” And Ulchi hadn’t really been trying to hit him. Even after the revelation of why he was there, shooting a kid, no matter how dangerous, just seemed wrong. He’d always tried to avoid shooting kids. Aim always mysteriously got worse.

“Did you at least shoot him?” the Boss asked, as though he knew what Ulchi was thinking. Ulchi sat up a bit straighter.

“No. I missed.” His voice was steady. Not… quite true. He was pretty sure it didn’t count as missing if you weren’t trying to hit. He didn’t like lying to the boss, but… he couldn’t afford not to. Ulchi trusted Greed, he did, but he couldn’t help but think of the time Bido had caught a traitor. It was the only time Ulchi had seen the family resemblance between the Boss and his siblings. And even if Greed didn’t see it as a betrayal of some sort there was still the rest of the gang. He didn’t want to think of what would happen if they thought he wasn’t loyal.

Which was stupid. It had been stupid when they were supposed to be loyal to their country, and it was stupid now. The whole concept of loyalty for the sake of it was stupid. There were a lot of things Ulchi kept to himself, a lot of things he would not share with the others.

“Right. That’s… fine,” Greed’s voice came out strained, like he’d really rather say something else.

“That isn’t all though. Ling told me the reason he’s in Dublith.” Ulchi said, and he could practically feel the intensity of the Boss’ gaze, even from behind the sunglasses. Ulchi leaned forward a bit.

“He said he was here looking for immortality. Weird, right?” Ulchi saw Greed tense at his words.

“Has anybody had any luck catching this damn kid?” Greed snapped. Nobody said anything for a long moment, “I want him caught.” They all knew that. Roa sighed, the sound breaking through the tension.

“Some of the boys have an idea, but I don’t think you’ll like it.” He said, the picture of calm, like usual.

“What?” the Boss asked, voice still harsh in a way that set Ulchi on edge.

“They figure if we stop chasing him, he’ll get closer. Like a stray cat.”

“He is not a cat.” Greed’s scowl deepened.

“It… it could work.” Piped up Bido. Which was interesting, the little lizard usually did whatever the Boss said.

“Bido?” Greed seemed almost as surprised as Ulchi.

“Well… he wants something, right Mister Greed? And now, we know what it is. We haven’t been able to figure out why he keeps bothering us, but I think… I think he’s looking for a way in.” Bido said, tapping his fingers together.

“Unless he’s lying.” Greed said.

“I don’t think he is, about most of it, at least.” Ulchi said. It was easier to try and convince Greed when his most loyal follower was on your side.

“You really think this’ll work?” the homunculus asked, tucking his sunglasses on the edge of his shirt and rubbing a hand across his face.

“Better than what we’ve been doing.” Bido nodded.

“Fine… Fine, but if this doesn’t work, we go back to chasing him until we catch that damn brat, one way or another.”

Chapter Text

They got home as the first drops of rain began to fall. It was still a few hours until dusk, and while they had gone out in the rain before, this was clearly going to be stronger than the summer showers they’d experienced so far. It was a good excuse to stay in, if nothing else. A good time to really talk. They needed to talk before something bad happened, no matter how much Ling didn’t want to. He’d been putting this off for long enough already, but…

“Alright, what is it?” Greed said aloud, staring at the stained ceiling from their place laying on the couch. It didn’t surprise Ling that his friend had noticed something was wrong. You didn’t live with someone for as long as they had without noticing these things, and that was true for people who only shared the same house. Sharing the same body, it was no real surprise that Greed had picked up on how he feeling, but Ling had wanted to open the discussion, to direct it in a way that would upset Greed the least. He just hadn’t figured out how. Unfortunately it was too late for that now, he’d waited too long. He didn’t even know where to start.

‘Greed… Eleven years ago, you died, right?’ Ling asked, wondering how much Greed had tuned into his emotions, if his other half could tell how much he Did Not want to have this conversation.

‘ Yeah… but you already know that.’ Greed said, tone slightly suspicious. That at least answered how much was getting through. It was clear that Greed could tell something was wrong.

‘Right, and before that you owned a bar in Dublith called the Devil’s Nest, right?’ Ling knew that too, but this was important. And the best way to do this was to start slow.

“Ling, what are you doing?” Greed asked aloud. Their eyes narrowed, body language matching Greed’s tone.

‘Just… answer. Please.’ Their eyes closed, and now they were looking at each other in their shared space. 

‘I mean, you saw, can see. It’s there.’ Greed was staring at him, trying to figure out what he was doing. Trying to piece it together. Ling forced himself to stare back calmly, although he knew it wouldn’t really do any good here. Greed, he knew, could tell exactly how tense he really was.

‘It is. And you run it.’ Ling said, voice even, calm. Emotions… not that.

‘What? No. I mean that’s- he’s not- that’s not me.’ The response was what Ling had half expected. It had started when they got here, and had just been getting worse. While Greed had always distanced himself from his past, he’d never denied it as his own. Not once he remembered.

‘Except he is, isn’t he?’ Because it was true. Because, even in the past, there was no mistaking his friend. The other Greed may be… sharper, more jagged around the edges, metaphorically, but there was no doubt that the two were the same.

‘He’s not.’ Greed’s tone was harder now, clipped in a way it usually wasn’t. Ling should not have put this off for so long. The denial hadn’t been this strong when he first noticed.

‘Yes, he is. You know it, he is-‘

“No!” With a sharp movement, Greed stood, flinging his arm out to the side and effectively cutting off the end of Ling’s sentence. Now he was truly upset. Now he knew why Ling had been dreading this conversation. And this wasn’t even all of it.

‘You ran a bar in Dublith called the Devil’s Nest. The same one he runs. You are him. He is your past self.’ Ling said it like a fact, because it was.

“That’s not- no, I’m not. I’m not! He let them die, let them all die! I wouldn’t- won’t let it happen. He died-will die-or-Damn it! Just-I’m not him!” Distantly, Ling had the thought that he was glad they hadn’t ended up in an apartment. Nobody to overhear the shouting.

‘It wasn’t your fault, what Wrath did, you didn’t know.’ Ling was aiming for calming, but it was hard when the person you were talking to could literally feel what you felt. There was a reason Ling never tried to lie to Greed, it just didn’t work.

“It wasn’t me! It was-“

‘The Old Greed?’ Ling cut him off with more than words, forcing a memory through from when they first met. Of when Greed had started to really remember. Of when he had proclaimed that his memories weren’t his own, that they belonged to-

‘Stop. Stop that. You said you understood!’ Greed let their body drop to the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut, focusing inward and rounding on Ling, grabbing him. It wasn’t the type of physical sensation you’d get in the real world, more a feeling of pressure from all directions. Ling could tell that even now Greed was being careful not to use too much force.

‘Understanding is not the same as agreeing. You can’t separate your past self from your memories. If you remember them, they are yours. That was you, and still is.’ An echo of something that had been said before, it was hard, trying to keep himself calm. Ling didn’t think he could manage it much longer. He hated this. It needed to happen, but he hated it.

‘Why-‘ Ling knew what he was going to ask. Why now?

‘Because it didn’t matter before! Because they were all dead! Because moving on was best, no matter how you had to do it!’ Ling’s façade of calm broke, leaving nothing but silence in its wake. Ling could hear the clock ticking, faintly. If either of them were in control of their body right now, they’d be breathing hard.

“I’m not him.” Greed repeated, eyes narrowed and tone flat. Why was he so stubborn?

‘Greed-‘

‘I’m not! I won’t let them die! I’ll protect them.’ Greed snarled, and Ling could feel his hurt, but…

‘It wasn’t your fault.’ He repeated.

‘I- he abandoned them.’ Ling paused. He remembered, from borrowed memories… hadn’t Greed fought?

‘You didn’t-‘

“You’re the one who said it! Remember?” Greed said, turning away from Ling and to the outside world, rolling into a standing position and stopping just in front of the window. It was starting to get dark and Ling could see their reflection in the glass. After the moment had stretched on too long without a reply, Greed sent his own memory over, of the same day, of Ling saying- oh. That’s…

‘That’s not what I meant.’ It had been, actually, a little. He hadn’t known Greed back then, hadn’t known nearly as much as he did now.

“Oh yeah? Then tell me!” Sharp words. Greed still wasn’t looking at him.

‘I- you were trying to deny yourself, just like you are now. It’s- someone is with us as long as they are remembered. By trying to forget them, you were abandoning them.’ Ling said, trying to twist the past to work in his favor. To use his words in a way that made still made sense, but would benefit him now. It wasn’t quite the same. Greed no longer wanted to forget about the chimeras, but rather about himself. It wasn’t any better.

“That’s not what you said.” Greed no longer sounded angry, and that concerned Ling. He knew Greed, and this tone spoke of danger. It wasn’t one he heard often.

‘We barely knew each other back then…’ Ling started.

‘And you always have been a manipulative asshole, huh?’ Greed cut him off, turning away from the window as a flash of lightning streaked through the sky.

‘Where are you going?’ Ling asked, trying not to let Greed’s words bother him. They weren’t wrong, Ling knew that, but hearing them from his friend… that hurt.

‘I’m going to prove something to you.’ Greed said, walking out into the rain and climbing. It was a good thing they couldn’t die, because with this weather, Ling didn’t trust that they wouldn’t slip. What was Greed doing? The answer came in the form of two figures that Greed approached, staying high and out of their line of sight. Any sound they made masked by the rain that was coming down in sheets. Even through the downpour Ling recognized them. The past Greed and one of the chimeras, Dolcetto. Anxiety prickled under his skin. He’d been trying to prevent something bad from happening, but had he just made it worse?

‘What’re you-‘

‘Calm down, I’m not doing anything stupid. Just… look at his hand.’ Ling didn’t need to ask which one. The ouroboros stood out even from this distance. Greed pulled their glove off and looked at his own mark.

‘Notice anything?’ He asked. And Ling didn’t, at first. With the rain, it was hard to tell, but there  was something…

‘It’s backwards.’ Ling realized, looking at their own mark to confirm.

‘Whenever we re-form, no matter how badly injured, it’s always the same, because we are the same. This isn’t something that changes. The fact that this is different, it proves it. That I’m not him.’

‘Greed….’ Ling had to think. Because there had to be another reason. Was it because of Ling? Or something Father had done? What had happened to-

‘Ling, stop. I can practically hear you thinking in there. Look, with enough time, we both know you could convince me of whatever you wanted. Wouldn’t even feel bad about it, since you think you’re helping, but you’re not.’ But he was. Greed had to know that. Had to know that Ling wouldn’t do something like this for no reason.

‘But-‘

‘So I’m not going to let you talk about it. And, if you keep this up, I’ll bring up the things you don’t want to talk about.’ Greed said, not letting Ling say anything. His friend knew him well.

‘I don’t have-‘

‘Lan Fan.’ Two words were all it took and suddenly he felt breathless, like somebody had hit him. Damn it. He’d almost forgotten how much that familiarity went both ways. And Greed was right. That was something he didn’t want to talk about.

‘Look, my memories are mine, ours if I feel like sharing, but… I just can’t. He failed them. I failed them. And I can’t be that anymore. I just can’t. Ok?’ And like before, Ling understood. Of course he understood. He just didn’t agree. But it was more than Greed had admitted to before. At least he wasn’t denying that the man below them had been him, once. Ling would like more, but…

‘…..’

‘ok?’ There was a feeling of faint pressure, less like being grabbed and more akin to a hand on the shoulder. Ling sighed. It would have to be enough.

‘Ok. I understand.’ It was the best he could give.

Chapter Text

Greed didn’t like arguing with Ling. It wasn’t something that happened often, but when it did, it sucked every time. Partially because of the whole sharing a body thing, couldn’t exactly walk away, and partially because Ling was damn good at it. Consequence of being raised to be a politician, Greed supposed. Generally the best way to win against the former prince was to change the game. Not let him think too much.

Although, that only kinda worked, because Ling tended to do a lot of thinking beforehand, which meant that he was rarely unprepared. Equally rare was Ling being entirely wrong. It had only really happened a few times, and as much as Greed didn’t want to admit it, this had not been one of those times. He hadn’t even noticed falling back into habits he’d thought he left behind a long time ago. It was too easy, with the past closer than ever before. And he still stood by the fact that the Old Greed, the bar owner and gang leader, that wasn’t him. But… it had been once. Trying to deny that would only be lying to himself, no matter how tempting it was.

Of course, Ling would never hear any of this. As far as he was concerned, Greed had won the argument, point blank. And that was other thing he hated about arguing with Ling. Even winning left you feeling like shit. They were thoroughly drenched, sitting at the small round table that was technically in the kitchen, eating leftovers from yesterday because nether of them were very good at cooking on a good day, let alone one like this. They were cold and Ling had gone silent. Not an angry and ignoring the other person kind of silent, but a thinking kind of silent. Now that they weren’t in the middle of an argument, Greed was fine with letting him take his time. As long as he didn’t try to start anything else. Bringing up Lan Fan had been a low blow, but it had also been damn near the only way to get Ling to back off. The least he could do was give Ling a bit of space.

The silence lasted all through the night and well into the next day. It wasn’t enough time for Greed to get concerned yet, but it was getting close. In an effort to get Ling out of his thoughts, Greed decided they’d go out, like usual. It was still misting rain, but Greed had already made up his mind, grabbing a heavy coat to try and protect them from the worst of the chill and regretting not getting an umbrella sooner. They’d just gotten dry and now here they were, getting wet again. Ling didn’t respond to his grumbling about that fact, nor did he say anything for the next half hour of aimlessly wandering through Dublith. Then he did, and Greed pretended not to be as relieved as he was.

‘Hey Greed?’ Ling asked suddenly, as though he hadn’t been giving radio silence for hours. Thankfully his voice held none of that fake calm from yesterday, nor any lingering tension over how their argument had ended. Just a normal, if a bit resigned tone.

‘Yeah?’ He wasn’t sure what exactly Ling had been thinking about, but he really hoped it wasn’t anything related to him. Greed had had plenty of introspection for the next few years at least.

‘Why did we run from Bido? Why didn’t you want me fighting our burglary buddy?’ Greed sighed. He’d really hoped Ling had gotten all this out of his system yesterday, but apparently they weren’t done quite yet. Just his luck.

‘His name is Drake.’ Greed supplied, purposely not answering Ling’s question. They both knew the answer anyway. Fear. The memory of his friend’s blood on his claws was fresher than it had been in a long time. Humans were so fragile, it would be so easy, too easy, for them to mess up. One wrong move and history could repeat itself. He knew Ling had felt it, he hadn’t exactly been subtle. So why ask?

‘Yeah, that’s what I thought.’ Ling sighed after the silence had stretched on for enough blocks, a response to all the things he didn’t say instead of what he did. Greed said nothing else, and neither did Ling. The coat hadn’t helped. If you ignored the rain, it could be called a decent day, with just a bit of chill in the air and a light, if cold, breeze. The rain seemed to make it worse though. Made the cold really seep into their bones.

When they passed an old bakery that Greed was pretty sure had burned down, he felt them turn abruptly to go inside. The warmth was nice, and he could feel it trying to fight off the chill.

‘You want anything specific?’ Ling asked, and Greed was glad that he finally seemed happy to let the previous conversation drop. Although, the words brought with them something else. Not quite vertigo, but much stronger than deja-vu. Words echoed across Greed’s mind, a brief flash of memory, something that had become common ever since they’d set foot in Dublith. The same question, asked by someone different, somewhere different. The response, that he wanted everything, but since they couldn’t afford that, he’d take whatever.

‘A blueberry Danish.’ Greed said after a longer pause than there should have been, time Ling spent looking over the menu as though he was considering what to get. Not wanting to repeat the words of his past, Greed had just picked the first thing he saw, but it didn’t look like a bad option.

“Hello! I’d like two blueberry Danishes, one of the cheese ones, a cinnamon roll, two apple turnovers, a chocolate éclair and a few croissants please!” Ling said to the man behind the counter, who jotted the items down on a notepad, moving to grab them.

“Buying lunch for the family?” The man said with a smile. Greed scoffed internally and externally Ling laughed. The laugh was fake, but the amusement was genuine. Both were dulled slightly by the last two conversations, but Greed could tell that they were moving past it.

“Oh, no, these are all for me.” Ling said brightly.

‘Hey, one of those is mine.’ Greed reminded him as the cashier blinked in confusion for a moment before seeming to regain his footing.

“Some for now and some for later, smart.” The man said, nodding slightly. Ling just gave a non-committal hum, paying and taking the order, moving to one of the little tables by the window. Ling grabbed something at random, starting to unwrap it before Greed re-directed them, grabbing what he’d ordered first. Eating things was much more fun when you were still hungry, so Greed made it a point to have whatever he wanted first.

The pastry was pretty good, actually. Warm and flakey. As soon as he was done, Ling finished unwrapping what he’d started on, and Greed watched from the corner of their eye as the cashier tried to mask his dawning realization that Ling intended to eat everything he’d ordered right now.

About halfway through a croissant, Ling glanced out the window and spoke up.

‘You remembered something.’ While not technically a question, Greed knew what Ling was asking.

‘Nothing important. You’d think that there wouldn’t be anything left at this point.’ Greed said, a note of exasperation creeping into his voice. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to remember, really. It would just be nice to go a day not feeling the vaguely disorienting sensation that remembering always brought with it.

It took not nearly as much time as it should’ve for Ling to finish his small mountain of food. Really, it was a wonder they could afford anything at all with how Ling ate. Pausing for a moment at the door, they braced themselves for the chill of the rain outside, the small bell ringing cheerfully as they stepped onto the street.

The day was nearly half over, but there was still a lot to be done. Research, mostly. At least that’s what they’d been calling it. Getting involved in the city’s underworld without tipping off the other resident homunculus had not been easy. It had been the kind of challenge that Ling liked more than Greed, but he’d admit to feeling a certain thrill. It was hard not to pick up on Ling’s determination when they were working on something important, ideas bouncing between them faster than words would allow. And even though it had taken time, they had just about located an actual informant that wasn’t just their own knowledge. While they knew the big things, it would be nice to have somebody to fill in the details.

Between reading and replying to correspondence and looking through notes of things that were mostly half-remembered at best, it was nice to settle back into their usual routine. And even nicer, Ling had finally stopped giving Greed odd looks that he could feel even when he was looking at the outside world. Instead, they spent the rest of the day focusing on the task at hand, methods of payment for the Lieutenant they had made cautious contact with.

The night also passed uneventfully, blissfully normal. It was still raining, but the downpour of the night before had passed. While they had picked up an umbrella on the way home, Greed had made the mistake of letting Ling pick it. Yellow was not a stealthy color, so they were stuck getting wet again. They did see some of the Nest gang working guard duty, with sensible lack umbrellas, and said hello like usual, staying just far enough to give themselves a decent head start, just in case. Oddly, they got a couple waves back. It wasn’t like the other group was always antagonistic, but they weren’t usually so blatantly friendly. Even ignoring the ‘dead or alive’ order Old Greed had on their head, these were gang members. Friendly was not the first word that came to mind.

This odd new pattern held for the next few nights, and they found out why on a slightly chilly Monday afternoon. They had spent the morning traveling all over the city, looking for a plant. Specifically, a small tree. Ling had decided that since Greed had basically already agreed, which he hadn’t, they would be getting a plant. And Ling wanted something that reminded him of home, which he didn’t say in so many words, but Greed knew by his choice.

While Ling rarely wanted things with the same intensity that Greed did, he could be just as determined.  Usually something Greed admired, but usually Ling’s avarice didn’t end with them covered in dirt and walking into yet another plant shop. This one seemed particularly disorganized, which couldn’t be good for the plants. Just walking in, Greed could tell this place wouldn’t have what Ling was looking for, but he also knew that they’d end up looking through the whole shop anyway. Just in case. He remembered the little tree that they’d had in their room at the palace. Greed had never really understood the appeal, but it seemed like Ling had fun, so, whatever.

Still, their search wasn’t getting them anywhere, and Greed could practically feel the idea forming.

‘No.’ He said, before Ling could voice the thought. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but it did have an edge that Greed didn’t like. The kind of feeling that usually showed up before Ling did something stupid.

‘I didn’t even say anything!’ Ling complained.

‘You didn’t need to.’ Greed said, because it was true. Ling just shrugged. And then they both almost jumped out of their skin when a voice that should not have been that close spoke up.

“What are you doing?” said the short bald man. Bido. How? Neither of them had noticed him. Greed had already taken a few steps back before he even realized it, and when he did, he took a few more for good measure, taking note of the fact that they were essentially cornered between rows of plants, the only exit being past the lizard chimera. Another step back. They could jump over the wall of plants. It was tall, normally it’d take a ladder to reach anything on the top, but they could make it. He was fairly sure Ling said something, but he couldn’t hear it over his own thought of the best way to get out.

The lizard chimera took a step towards him, and Greed stumbled back further. He had to run. He had to go, now.

“Wait! Stop! I just want to talk!” Bido said, and Greed froze. He wanted, so badly, to do just that. But he couldn’t. He needed to run, to stay away from Bido. Greed was dangerous, he could hurt the lizard chimera. Any of them, really, if he wasn’t careful. Despite trying to think of anything else, all he could see was his own claws piercing Bido’s body. Watching him die, and feeling nothing as he drew his last breath. A few more steps back. He couldn’t risk it, humans were too fragile, and it would only take one mistake for history to repeat itself.

Greed saw Bido reach out, as though to try and stop him. Ling said something else, and Greed forced himself to listen this time, only catching the second part.

‘-no other choice. Just try to calm down, I’ll handle it.’ Those were not re-assuring words, but there was so much going on that Greed felt frozen as Ling took control. The others were one thing, but they couldn’t go near Bido. Greed wouldn’t let them, he’d- oh. They were sitting down. That… that was fine.

“Alright, but don’t come any closer.” Ling said in a tone that gave no room for argument. With a quick glance around, Bido joined them on the ground, tail tucked under the raggedy cloak he wore. Their hands shook and Ling tucked them into their pockets. Even though Greed wasn’t in control anymore, their body had been flooded with adrenaline.

“I… Why are you so afraid?” Bido asked, head tiled to the side and a frown on his face.

‘Because I killed you, because you died so easily, because you trusted me and never should have, because I could do it again!’ Greed said, not really registering that the words were being shared with Ling. Instead his mind supplied him with all the ways it could happen again. Of all the ways he could kill- could he really change it? Or was it inevitable? If he just- just stayed away. If he never saw the lizard man, then he couldn’t- there would be no blood, it wouldn’t happen again. He couldn’t- wouldn’t-

“I can’t sense you.” Ling said, voice sounding slightly strained. Greed forced himself to focus, to listen, to push the thoughts down and away as far as he could. Ling was in control, Ling wouldn’t hurt the lizard chimera. He had to trust his partner. Greed slid further down, away from the surface. Not entirely, he still wanted to see, to hear, but enough that things were just a bit blurrier than usual. Enough that he wouldn’t be able to take control accidently. If it was only Ling, they’d be fine. Greed just had to stay away, and it would be alright.

“Sense?” Bido asked, sounding confused, even though he had to know about the dragon’s pulse, and likely how it worked to an extent. If he’d looked them up, then he’d have looked up other Xingese things too. Especially related to the royal family. Bido had always been thorough like that. Still was. Ling had to know it too. But he played along.

“Yes. The flow of the world’s energy, we call it The Dragon’s Pulse. I can use it to sense those around me.” This was the tone Ling used whenever they had to do anything political.

“But… you can’t sense me?” Bido asked, and Ling paused.

“No.” He said, and Greed knew it was a lie.

‘Ling?’ He said, because trying to say anything else right now would be hard, but he needed something to focus on.

‘I couldn’t sense him before, but now I can. But…’ And here Ling paused as Bido hummed in thought at what had been said.

‘But what?’ Greed asked, forcing the words to be even, the fake kind of calm that he’d learned from Ling.

‘I’m… not actually sure if it’s anything he’s doing or if it’s something caused by you.’ Greed hated when Ling used that diplomatic tone on him. He knew why, could tell Ling thought he’d react poorly, but right now any distraction from his own thoughts was welcome, even if it was normally something he wouldn’t want to talk about. Right now, it was fine.

‘You think that’s possible?’ he said instead, thinking of everything he knew of the dragon’s pulse and how sensing the flow of souls, of chi, in the world around them worked. He still wasn’t as good as Ling, hell, he wasn’t as good as most of the royal family, but you don’t spend years living with someone like Ling and not pick up a few things.

‘With the way you’ve been blocking out anything related to him? ….maybe.’ Ling said. Before Greed could reply, Bido spoke up.

“Can you sense Mr. Greed?” He asked, and Ling didn’t even try to stop disbelieving sound that left their mouth. Of coarse Bido couldn’t have known, but asking if they could sense a homunculus… Even Greed could find Old Greed. Had already done so once, in fact.

“You could say that.” Ling said with a sarcastic grin.

“Right… is that how you know what Mr. Greed is?” Bido asked casually. Ling hummed thoughtfully. Bido was good at getting information. Ling was sneakier, but not by much. Greed drifted a bit closer to the surface.

“I don’t think I ever said anything about knowing what he is.” Ling said, equally casual. Bido leveled a deadpan look at Ling, and Greed realized he no longer felt like bolting, but being this close was still uncomfortable. The familiarity clashed with his desire to make sure that he wouldn’t hurt Bido again. Greed wanted more of this, but he also wanted to get the hell away before…

“People don’t come to Dublith looking for immortality.” The lizard chimera stressed, rolling his eyes and interrupting Greed’s thoughts. Ling just shrugged in response. The pause only lasted for a moment, Bido glancing to the side, before speaking up once more.

“You know… Mr. Greed said we shouldn’t try to hurt you anymore.”

“Wait, what?” Greed said, before realizing he’d spoken aloud. When had- where was Ling? That little- Quickly, very, very quickly, Greed grabbed Ling and shoved him back in front. That was not ok. What was he thinking?!?

‘What the hell Ling?!?’ Greed snapped, making sure that the other stayed firmly in control.

“Why?” Ling added aloud, ignoring the fresh wave of adrenaline that had flooded their system.

‘To prove that it would be alright. Look, Greed… you aren’t going to hurt him. I promise.’ Ling said softly. But he couldn’t know that for sure. He couldn’t…. but there was something he could do. They both knew that they couldn’t avoid Bido forever, even though that had been Greed’s plan so far.

‘That’s not enough. If I ever get anywhere close to- to hurting him, any of them, I want you to stop me.’ It was something they had tested years ago. While Greed would always be able to overpower Ling in the end, the other could hold him back for a few minutes, longer if Greed was really out of it. Ling hesitated, and Greed focused back on the outside as Bido answered their questions.

“I don’t know.” And Greed realized with an odd pang that he could tell Bido was lying, “But he does still want to talk to you.”

‘Alright. I promise.’ Ling said, and it would have to be enough. Greed was terrified, but he wanted this so badly.

Greed braced himself internally, before moving forward just enough to say, “Yeah, and I’m sure talking is all he wants to do.” The words lacked their usual bite, and Greed immediately moved back, using Ling as a sort of barrier between himself and Bido. But… he’d done it. He’d actually spoken to the lizard chimera. Their heart was racing again from the brief moments Greed had spent in control.

“It is! You can come now! I can take you there!” Bido said, leaning towards them. They leaned back and Greed felt a pang of regret when Bido’s face fell at the action. He just couldn’t.

“How about Thursday? We’ll show up, and if anybody tries to kill us, we’ll break another window.” Ling said, standing slowly.

‘You will not!’ Greed said. Even if his heart wasn’t really in it right now, he couldn’t let Ling think he could just get away with threatening to break his- the bar.

“Alright.” Bido nodded, also standing, and moving aside so they could go past. After a moment of hesitation, Greed vaulted over the top of the isle.

Chapter Text

Ling was odd. Really odd. Trying to figure him out was like trying to solve a puzzle that was missing half its pieces. And the ones he did have seemed to leave more questions than answers. Glancing around the little alleyway he’d tucked himself into, Bido took out his little battered notebook. The writing within weas coded, not quite as intensely as an alchemist’s, but well enough that it would take some time and skill to undo. After using the same cypher for so long, Bido practically knew it by heart. He knew the information it contained too, but now he had more to add. Under the hastily scribbled ‘Chi?’, he added an arrow, and after a moment of thought to orient his mind to the code, added in ‘Dragon’s Pulse->Flow of energy ->Sensing people?’. He only wrote the basics. The notes weren’t for him, they were for the rest of the Nest. That way, if anything ever happened to him, the information at least wouldn’t be lost.

Glancing at the rest of the page, Bido found himself wishing he could answer all the unknowns. Two months and he didn’t even know Ling’s actual age. He didn’t know why the kid was looking for immortality, and more importantly, what had led him to Dublith. He didn’t know… a lot of things about Ling. And what they did know wasn’t certain. Ling was presumably from Xing. Presumably part of the royal family. Presumably had to have connections, good ones at that. But the problem with the info Bido had is almost all of it came from Ling himself. Even the name. There was still every possibility that ‘Ling Yao’ was an alias, a trick of some kind. It didn’t seem like it, but it was his job to consider every possibility. The only info Bido had from himself and the rest of the Nest was Ling’s skill in combat, and his hesitance to actually hurt any of the gang.

Which, while not unwelcome, was odd for a stranger, especially one looking for information. Really, with his skills, it would have made more sense for Ling to try and take hostages, trade information for their lives. Which, for a kid, may be too much, but Bido had heard Roa’s report on how Ling fought, and on how perfectly willing he was to kill. Bido would think that the kid’s friendliness was him looking for a way in, some way to trick them into letting him get close, but then he had another piece that didn’t fit. Someone looking to get close would have tried to get on Greed’s good side. The gang had seen it before with other small fish. Greed usually chased them off, but a few times, for whatever reason, he had let someone stay. But Ling hadn’t even tried. Had, in fact, done the exact opposite.

The kid hadn’t been angry or afraid, just vaguely smug. In fact, whenever he saw Ling, he almost never saw fear or doubt. Almost always, there was a confidence to him. Even when leaping along ledges that were barely big enough to hold him, Ling Yao was not afraid. When being shot at, he was not afraid. When sneaking past armed guards, he was not afraid. And yet. And yet… every time he saw Bido, he was afraid. It was a fact that had bothered Bido since the very first time he’d tried to confront Ling.

Another missing piece.

It just didn’t add up. If it were anybody else, Bido would think it was the tail, or the claws, or the small patches of scales that would show up from time to time, or any of the other things that made him look not quite human anymore. But Ling didn’t seem like the kind to be afraid of something like that. He hadn’t reacted to Greed. He didn’t react to the few other chimeras that had features they couldn’t quite hide. And, when people were afraid of Bido for being a chimera, the few times he had been spotted, they either kept looking at the part that was wrong, whether it was glances or outright staring, or they looked for an exit, an escape. Ling had fallen into that second category, until he hadn’t. After Bido asked him to stay, to talk, Ling had looked him in the eye and never once looked away. And behind the fear that seemed to come in waves, there had been something else in the way Ling had looked at him. An intensity that almost made Bido want to look away. An intensity that made him believe every word about where Ling was from.

Looking down at his page, Bido sighed and snapped the book closed. He hadn’t added as much as he hoped. Although, that might change soon, if everything went well.

Making sure his tail was tucked safely under his cloak, Bido continued on to the Devil’s Nest. It wasn’t too far away from here where he’d first spotted Ling, before tailing him halfway across the city as the kid went in and back out of what had to be nearly every nursery and plant shop in the city. He never did find out what Ling was looking for.

As the bar came into view, Bido felt himself start to relax. He didn’t really know when he’d started thinking of the place as home, but there was no denying that he did. It was far from perfect, but it was the best home Bido had ever had, and he would be forever thankful to Greed for it.

Pushing open the door and stepping in, Bido took note of Greed and Roa behind the counter and Martel arguing with a man who seemed like he should’ve been cut off three bottles ago. Greed noticed Bido right away, nodding a greeting before turning back to his conversation with Roa. The homunculus was leaning against the corner of the bar, and the bull chimera was wiping off the counter, probably from the remains of a spilled drink. If it weren’t for Roa, the Nest wouldn’t be nearly as clean as it was. Moving around the edge of the room, Bido made his way over to where the two of them were, casually tripping the drunk man on his way past. It wasn’t that Bido didn’t think Martel could take care of herself, it was the opposite problem actually. She could take care of herself a bit too well, for a bar worker, and Bido knew Greed was trying to stay under the radar. As it was, they’d had to pay off the police a few times already. While most people in Dublith would be concerned to know how wiling the law was to look the other way, for the Nest it was a good thing. Although, Greed had warned them to be more careful. He’d said the money used for those bribes were cutting into their funds, but Bido though the real reason was he was worried there would be one that they wouldn’t be able to pay off.

Looking at Greed, Bido considered how lucky they all were that, for all that he was a homunculus, Greed was nothing like his siblings. Most of them had assumed he would be, after all, he hadn’t exactly saved them because it was the right thing to do. Bido suspected that fear was why the group that had fled did so. They had been wrong though. Sure, there were moments where it was clear that Greed wasn’t exactly human, but it was never anything malicious. And beyond that, he cared about them. ‘Friend’ may not be quite the right word yet, but it was a lot closer than ‘Boss’, despite that being the word most of the gang used. Bido thought that, given a bit more time, they’d get there.

“And what’re you smiling about?” Greed said with a lazy grin as he approached. Bido felt his smile widen a bit, and he just gave a casual shrug as a response, knowing Greed wouldn’t mind. Although he couldn’t really tell with the sunglasses, Bido could picture Greed rolling his eyes at the non-response. For a few minutes, Bido just stood there, listening to Greed and Roa debate whether or not to try selling a few cases of some new local liquor. Bido didn’t feel the need to comment to be included, it was nice just to let the noise was over him.

As their conversation wound down, Bido sighed, straightening from the slight slouch he’d ended up in. He glanced across the bar briefly, to where Martel was, before turning his attention fully to Greed. Bido was sure there was something about his expression that gave away that he had something important to say, based on the way Greed straightened up and Roa set his rag down to listen.

After another quick glance to confirm they were the only ones in hearing range, Bido spoke up.

“I met Ling. He agreed to come here, Thursday.” He said quietly. Almost instantly, Greed’s eyes narrowed and he glanced around, as though he thought someone would be listening. Bido knew Greed’s behavior towards Ling made some of the nest nervous, but it just made him worry. There was a reason, Bido cold tell there was a reason, but he just didn’t know what it was. He didn’t know what the homunculus saw in Ling that made him so determined to catch him. And more than that, he didn’t know why Greed hadn’t told them. It worried him.

“I told him that we wouldn’t hurt him, just talk.” Bido added when nobody said anything. Greed visibly hesitated for a moment, before sighing.

“That might not be an option.” Greed said, settling back into a lean, arms crossed and a small frown on his face.

“Your orders Boss.” Roa said. He sounded indifferent, but Bido knew better. He knew how Roa’s group talked about Ling, how most of the Nest did, really. They liked him. For all that Greed seemed insistent they treat Ling like an enemy, the gang had grown attached. And for all that it could be a ploy to get information, Ling seemed equally attached to the gang. Bido just couldn’t tell if that attachment was real or not. He thought it was, but he couldn’t put anyone in danger by ignoring the possibility that it wasn’t.

“Bido…” Greed started, with an unusual hesitance, “Tell me, what color are Ling’s eyes?” It was a question Bido had heard him ask before, casually. Nobody ever had an answer, Ling tended to keep his eyes partially closed. Combined with the fact they mainly saw the kid at night, it wasn’t a detail anybody had been able to make out.

A chill ran down his spine when he realized that might not have been the coincidence he’d thought it was. Because Ling had looked at him with such intensity that Bido knew the answer. He hadn’t realized at the time, too used to Greed to realize what it meant, but the only people with eyes like that…

“They… Mister Greed, they’re the same as yours.” Bido didn’t even try to hide the dread that had seeped into his words. Roa looked confused for a moment, before realization dawned and Bido saw him clench his jaw. Greed’s reaction was less calm.

“Those fucking bastards!” His words were practically a snarl, before he visibly collected himself, “Thursday, right?” Greed said, anger quickly being replaced with determination.

“That’s right Mister Greed.” Bido said, thoughts moving quickly. Because Ling, or whatever his name really was, didn’t know that they knew. But… if he was a homunculus, which he had to be… then why? Why would he be afraid of Bido? It was too real to be an act, and even if it was, there was nothing to gain. How did he know so much about Xing? Why hadn’t he acted against them yet? Was that even his plan? How much of it was an act? How much was real? The puzzle had just gotten bigger and Bido was still missing pieces.

“Three days… we’ll be ready.” The other chimera’s tone held the same steely determination that Greed’s had.

Bido was still missing pieces and he was out of time.

Chapter Text

Bido hissed a low agitated noise, his tail lashing back and forth.

“Mister Greed, please, let us be there!” Bido had already tried reason, that a bigger group would be more intimidating, that they could cover each other’s backs, that this concerned all of them. The others had tried too, but none of it had worked. He didn’t really think begging would work any better, but he had to try. Bido wasn’t sure what a meeting between Greed and Ling would look like without the rest of the gang to act as a buffer.

With how antagonistic Greed had been before they’d found out that Ling wasn’t, well, Ling, Bido didn’t doubt that there’d be a fight. And… he wasn’t sure it was a fight Greed could win. It was something Bido had seen again and again as they carved out their place in the city. For all that Greed loved to boast about how indestructible his shield was, he almost never actually used it, not to its full extent. And yes, he didn’t usually need to, but if this ended up how Bido thought it would... with a fight against another homunculus, against Ling specifically... Bido worried. And that worry had turned to agitation, then to anger as Greed refused to let them join him. Refused to even consider it. If even one of the Nest was there with him, Bido would feel better, but Greed seemed determined to do this alone.

“Dammit! I already said no! I don’t want to see any of you around the Nest Thursday! And that is final.” Greed snarled, pushing past Bido on his way out. The loud hissing noise that followed Greed’s departure was low, scratchy, and not at all human. Somewhere in his mind, Bido knew that Greed just wanted to protect them, to keep them all safe. And Bido knew, logically, that against any of Greed’s siblings, they wouldn’t stand a chance. But the soldier in him balked at the thought that he need protecting. It had been a long time since Bido had felt like this, the kind of anger that could only show up when you actually cared about someone. Someone who was being an idiot at the moment. A self-sacrificing, stubborn, idiot.

Even with his emotions running high, Bido hadn’t brought up his final argument for going with Greed. It wouldn’t have worked. With his family involved, Greed wasn’t stopping to think, so Bido would just have to do it for him. Looking around, Bido forced himself to calm down enough to get his thoughts in order, to work out the next course of action. His final argument may never work on Greed, but it might just work on the rest of the chimeras present. Greed wanted his interrogation? Fine. He could have it, Bido could guess how it would go. But afterwards, they would be having their own interrogation, and Bido would fill in his missing pieces.

Shaking any doubts away, Bido turned his gaze to the rest of the group. Ulchi, he thought would be easiest to convince. Roa would be the hardest. One deep breath that was still a little too close to a hiss and Bido began.

“Do you really think Ling would hurt us, any of us?” Bido asked. He knew what Greed would have said, but Greed had left.

“I don’t know what to think.” Roa said softly, leaning his head against the wall behind him. Bido could understand that. Ling had saved one of the people under Roa’s command. Bido imagined that, like most of the nest, Roa had started to like Ling. And to find out what he’d been hiding? It probably felt like betrayal.

Bido himself had certainly felt that way, briefly, although the general terror had nearly drowned it out. Then, he’d started thinking. When, exactly, would Ling have even told them? How would that have ended? They had only just reached what could be called a truce. He wasn’t even sure they could be called ‘friendly’ yet. It may be built on little more than facts he didn’t have and his own intuition, but Bido still believed, truly believed, that Ling wouldn’t hurt them. He just wasn’t so sure that same courtesy applied to Greed.

“Well I for one know exactly what to think. That little bastard is a monster, and the Boss’ll deal with him.” Dolcetto said, voice as sharp as one of his swords.

“And what makes him a monster?” Bido asked, dropping his train of though in favor of focusing on Dolcetto’s statement. Bido had expected a certain amount of resentment, but something about the other chimera’s wording bothered him.

“You should know, you’re the one who found out what he is!” Dolcetto said, and Bido narrowed his eyes.

“He’s the same thing as Mister Greed.” He said lowly, watching as every gaze in the room shifted to look at Dolcetto.

“Tch, yeah, but the Boss is different. Nothing like the rest of his family.” The canine chimera said with a dismissive wave that was followed by an uncomfortable silence.

“He can be.” Ulchi said quietly, and now he was the center of attention, “Remember when Boss caught that guy that was gonna turn us in?” Bido did remember. It was the only time he’d seen Greed use his full shield. The memory passed through his mind, how the man had said that the Nest was full of monsters, that they should be put down like the animals they were. Greed… hadn’t taken kindly to that. Bido remembered the look on his face, a deep anger.

“Oh, bullshit! He just…did what he had to, to protect the gang.” Dol defended, but he couldn’t hide the slight waver in his voice. Greed had told the man that if he wanted a monster, then that’s what he’d get. Bido had a feeling that Greed agreed with Dolcettos sentiment about his family, but he also had a feeling that unlike Dolcetto had, Greed wouldn’t exclude himself. Bido frowned as Ulchi took a step forward, Martel standing up straighter and Roa frowning slightly. Clearly he wasn’t the only one bothered by Greed’s choice, but taking it out on each other wouldn’t help.

“Ulchi, do you think Ling would hurt us?” Bido interrupted before the crocodile chimera could say anything.

“I…” Ulchi started, before pausing, actually thinking about his answer, “I didn’t think so, before. He seemed so determined to not hurt us…”

“I think so too.” Bido said as Ulchi trailed off, cutting off what was sure to be a biting remark from Dolcetto, “Martel?”

“I haven’t met him, so I couldn’t say, but I trust your judgment.” Martel replied.

“Oh, come on! You can’t-“

“He didn’t have to save Jamie.” Bido cut off Dolcetto’s rant, “Nobody knew he was there. He could have just walked away and we wouldn’t have known.”

Dolcetto scowled, but Bido had made his point. Ulchi had a vaguely confused expression for a moment, before his eyes widened. Glancing the direction Greed went, then back at Bido, the crocodile chimera smirked.

“So, what’s your plan?” Ulchi asked. And Bido smiled, he hadn’t exactly been being subtle that something was up, but first he still had some more convincing to do.

“Roa, do you think Mister Greed would win in a fight against Ling?” Bido asked, ignoring Ulchi’s question for now.

When Roa remained silent, Dolcetto spoke up, “Of coarse he would! Right Roa?” But still Roa said nothing, and his silence spoke volumes. Unwilling to say Greed would lose, but unable to say he’d win either. Roa was a strategist at heart, Bido knew they’d seen the same things. And by Dol’s quiet cursing, he knew it too.

“Dolcetto,” Bido said, ignoring the impressive glare sent his way, “You’ve been tracking down Ling with Mister Greed. Do you, honestly, think there’s anyway this doesn’t end in a fight?”

Dolcetto opened his mouth, paused, then shut it with a click. One annoyed huff later and Dol was shaking his head.

“Fine, fine, you win. You’ve proved your point. So?” he said, crossing his arms.

“So… I say that after Greed’s meeting, we have our own. I’ve been working on tracking Ling down, and I’m close. I should have an address in time.” Bido could see Ulchi was interested, and Dolcetto was pretending not to be.

“Boss ordered us to stay away.” Roa said. And that’s why Roa was the hardest. Orders. As much as Bido admired Greed, and trusted him, and as far as Dolcetto’s loyalty wet, Roa had never left behind the belief that orders were to be followed.

“Mister Greed just said to stay away from the Nest.” Technically true, which seemed to be Greed’s favorite kind of truth, but he doubted Roa would appreciate that fact quite as much.

“That’s not what he meant and you know it.” Roa said. And yeah, Bido did know it, but Greed was being stupid and Bido wanted answers.

“Roa, come on. Live a little.” And there was Martel, who had been watching the whole exchange. Bido knew that if he could get Dolcetto to agree than Martel wouldn’t be an issue.  And with all four of them on board…

“If we die I’m blaming you.” Roa said with a sigh, but that wasn’t a disagreement. With a smile, Bido took out his notebook and flipped to an empty page.

“So, here’s the plan…”

Greed was not pacing, even though he wanted to be. He couldn’t really afford to. It was good that he’d managed to get the rest of the gang to stay away. Even knowing his family, even though they’d delt with Envy’s torment, they’d still wanted to come. Human loyalty, Greed thought, was a dangerous thing. Greed ignored the warm feeling that came with the fact that loyalty was directed at him, and instead focused on the growing pit of anxiety.

The door opened, and in walked the very person he’d spent the last two months trying to find. His hands were in his pockets, and Greed saw him glance around before settling his gaze. Greed could feel the prickle of his shield right there, but he couldn’t afford to use it. He couldn’t let his brother think he had the upper hand. Greed reminded himself that right now, he held all the cards.

“Why are you here?” Greed demanded, flatly, getting right to the point.

“Because Bido said you wanted to talk.” The other homunculus said, with a shrug and an easy smile. But Greed could see the tension in the way he held himself, like he was as ready for a fight as Greed was.

“I mean, why are you in Dublith?” Greed said.

“Looking for the secret to immortality, same thing we told Ulchi.” His brother said, moving closer so that the only thing between him and Greed was the counter of the bar.

“And why would you think I’d know anything about that?” Greed asked, wondering at his answer. It wouldn’t hurt to try and feel out his enemy, even if he would have preferred a more ‘shoot first’ approach. If he could find out what ability the other had, at least, it would help him, but Greed didn’t know how he’d even start that conversation.

His brother shrugged, before gesturing towards Greed’s hand, or rather, the brand on the back.

“I know what that means.” He said while Greed looked at him. His newest brother, because this couldn’t be Envy, was very good at hiding his eyes, even without the sunglasses Greed tended to use. But if he looked hard enough, he could tell Bido had been right. Not that he’d ever doubted it. It was something he’d been trying to find out since they met two months ago. Greed had hoped he’d been wrong, had almost managed to convince himself that it was just paranoia, but in the end, he’d needed to be sure. And as time went on and nobody managed to see his eyes, Greed got more suspicious that he’d been right. He really wished he hadn’t been.

“Oh, I bet you do. And where’s yours?” Greed said with a sharp and unfriendly grin. His brother froze for a moment, going almost entirely still, before a flash of emotion passed across his face, too fast for Greed to identify before he sighed.

“Bido. Of coarse he- when we- yeah.” He said with a slight frown.

“Bingo. See, I know you’re not Envy, that idiot couldn’t keep up an act for this long without slipping up. And I know all my other siblings. But dear old dad didn’t quite have the complete set when I left, which leaves us with-“

“Don’t finish that sentence.” His brother interrupted with a snarl, then a slight hesitation before, “King Bradley is Wrath. We… don’t get along.”

“Oh, and here I thought dad would stop at seven. What does that make you then?” The grin he got in response was as friendly as his own had been, his brother’s eyes now wide open for him to see. With a sharp motion, he pulled the glove off his hand, holding it in front of him so the mark would show.

“My name is Greed the Avaricious. And I’m supposed to be your replacement.” Greed’s thoughts stuttered for a moment. That wasn’t- couldn’t be. But it was. Greed knew it wasn’t a lie. Or if it was, then this sibling was a better actor than Envy could ever hope to be. He’d always imagined his family coming after him, but had assumed they’d be aiming to capture him. After all, he knew Father wanted all his tools, and one being missing would annoy him to no end, something Greed had always taken great pleasure in. But replaced? He... he’d never even considered it. He shouldn’t be surprised, he knew how little he mattered to his siblings, to his Father. He knew that. So why did it still hurt?

“So what, come to get rid of the original?” Greed snarled. The expression the fucking replacement made was almost a wince.

“No. I just wanted to meet you.” He said, and Greed scoffed. While that would be a fine excuse for human siblings, it wasn’t for them.

“Yeah right. Feed that lie to someone else. I know Father sent you.” And Greed pretended that didn’t scare the hell out of him. He knew there was a possibility of him dying if his siblings ever found him, but he’d always assumed they’d at least try to catch him first. But now he knew that wasn’t the case. They didn’t need him anymore. But Greed had made it this long, and he wasn’t about to give up now.

“He didn’t.” the replacement insisted, “None of the others even know where you are.”

“And what reason could you possibly have to be here if it wasn’t for pops?” Greed asked.

“Like I said, I wanted to meet you. And anyway, if you managed to run away, why wouldn’t I do the same?” He asked. And Greed felt something horribly close to hope, for just a moment. He remembered asking Lust to come with him, when he’d left. She hadn’t, but if any one of his siblings would leave, it always would be Greed, huh? It was a nice thought, one Greed let himself indulge in for a moment before shutting it away. It wasn’t true. Even if it had been, he couldn’t risk the Nest like that. He’d make the Replacement leave, one way or another, then he’d take the gang and run, before word got back to Father. If it hadn’t already. The sound that Greed made could almost count as a laugh.

“Listen kid,” he could still use that line, the Replacement had to be younger than him, although by how much was still up for debate, “if you’re lying, I’ll rip you apart until you stay dead and if you’re not then you need to get the hell out of Dublith. This city is mine.” And it was, always would be, even if they had to leave.

“Ha! What are you gonna do, make me? You think you could win that fight?” the Replacement asked, tone harsher than it had been through their conversation so far.

“I would destroy you.” Greed threatened, and he watched as the Replacement’s grin took on a manic edge.

“Fine then, how about this? We fight, and if you win, we leave, but if I win, nothing changes.”

“Hell no. You’re gonna stay the hell away from what is mine no matter what.”

“A bit late for that, isn’t it? I think-“ And then he paused, wincing slightly, before muttering something too fast and low for Greed to make out, “I think you just know you’ll lose.”

“They know what you are.” Greed pointed out, and instead the expected outburst, there was just a resigned sort of smile.

“They would’ve found out eventually.” He said, and Greed narrowed his eyes, considering. Win or lose, this would give him the time he needed to move the Nest. Not that he’d lose.

“Alright, fine.” Greed said, before glancing around at the bar full of things that could be easily broken, “Downstairs.”

The Replacement hesitated a moment, before shrugging.

“Lead the way.” He said, and Greed did, acting carefully unbothered, even though he kept waiting for a knife in the back. The room he chose was barren, they really only used it for interrogations. Perfect place for a fight.

“First one to die loses?” the Replacement said as they took their spots.

“Fine by me.” Greed agreed, dropping his vest and letting his shield cover his arms, turning his fingers into claws. He tried not to react when his newest sibling did the same. The shield was his. The flare of anger gave way to a distinct sort of battle readiness that came with years of fighting. The stance the Replacement took was lower than Greed’s own, and once they started moving, it became clear that the kid was fast. Not as fast as Sloth, but certainly faster than any human. Faster than Greed. It was all he could do to block, sparks flying as the two shields met with a grating sound.

He never had been what the old man had wanted, it made sense that he’d make the next version better. Faster, stronger, more vicious. The realization that he wouldn’t win wasn’t pretty. But Greed didn’t stop trying, even as a leg swung out, unbalancing him and sending him to the ground, his brother effectively pinning him despite the smaller size. Half a second later, Greed felt cold steel slicing through his skin. He had expected claws, not a weirdly shaped knife. Greed had never seen the point in carrying around things like that, his shield was all the weapon he needed.

When his brother got up, Greed didn’t. He found himself surprised, really, that the other had kept to the terms of the fight. That he hadn’t kept coming. Hadn’t tried to get rid of Greed for good. It’d only taken a fraction of a second for the clean cut to heal, but he’d lost. If he couldn’t beat his replacement, how could he hope to protect the Nest. It hadn’t even been a close fight.

“I can teach you a few tricks.” The Replacement said, and where Greed had expected smugness over his victory, there was only a neutral calm, “If you don’t just run off at the first opportunity.” He added. Greed frowned and sat up, looking up at the Replacement, who was looking at him… intensely.

“Your agreement was that nothing changes, wasn’t it?” Greed pointed out.

“It was, but you never actually agreed to it, did you?” his brother said with a smile and small laugh. And damn, the kid caught him. But instead of trying to force him to agree to a deal, the other homunculus just turned towards the door.

“I’ll be seeing you, around, Greed.” He said, waving the hand that still had the ouroboros visible on the back.

“Whatever, Replacement.” Greed muttered, and the other stopped at the door, glancing back with narrowed eyes.

“I think I’d prefer Ling.” He said, walking out before Greed could respond. With a sigh, Greed fell back against the floor. The gang wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. I didn’t feel good, knowing he’d have to leave the bar behind, but he also knew he didn’t have a choice. The Replacement, Ling, was family. Which meant he couldn’t stay.

Greed was being unbearably smug. He’d already said ‘I told you so.’ At least three times. Ling wasn’t sure the interaction with Old Greed was good or healthy, but they had at least had a contingency to fall back on. Even if Ling would have preferred to take the lead in that particular conversation. Greed had been very… antagonistic, which was unlikely to do them any favors.

‘And you thought all the extra planning was unnecessary.’ Ling said in his own ‘I told you so’, because Greed was being insufferable.

‘Not unnecessary, just boring as hell.’ Greed corrected. The fact that beating his past self in a fight made him so happy should be concerning, but Ling knew Greed, and this he at least understood. His other half had been insistent on fighting Old Greed alone, without Ling’s help, and Ling had reluctantly agreed. Greed was a better fighter now than he had ever been before, and that was without the full shield and without Ling, both things that would make their fighting better. Greed was stronger than his past self, and Ling knew that, to him, that meant he could protect the chimeras better.

‘So, you think he’ll run?’ Ling asked. It had been Greed who pointed out that his counterpart hadn’t actually agreed to their terms.

‘Definitely. But he won’t be too hard to follow.’ Greed said. Ling wondered briefly if he’d split up with the chimeras for a while. It would be smartest, but Ling dismissed the possibility. Greed was a bit possessive now, he couldn’t imagine how much worse he’d been before. He’d take the chimeras with him. It was a shame really, Ling had started to get used to the small house that had become their base of operations. It would never get even close to the comfort of any of the places he’d lived at in Xing, but it made up for it in the lack of paperwork and assassination attempts.

‘I can hear you thinking in there.’  Greed said with a playful nudge in Ling’s direction. With a small return push, Ling opened his eyes.

‘The house, we’ll have to leave it.’ Ling said. His statement was followed by a slight pause as Greed thought about it.

‘Ah shit. How much do you think we’ll be able to bring?’ Greed asked, his good mood dimming slightly. Having traveled across Amestris before, Greed knew the necessity of packing light as well as Ling did.

‘More than the average person could, but less than you’ll want to.’ Ling said. And he knew it was true, because Greed would want to bring everything. This was why Ling would be packing.

‘We do have enough to get a car.’ Greed pointed out. Which was true. They did, barely.

‘Or a van.’ Ling said knowingly, his statement met with the expected amusement.

‘Gotta be able to fit all our stuff somewhere.’ Greed shrugged as they reached the street their little house was on. Ling rolled their eyes and slipped out the key. A sense of unease was crawling up his spine, and Ling paused on the top step outside.

‘What?’ Greed asked, suddenly alert.

‘People, inside.’ Ling said, but that wasn’t entirely right. Not just people, ‘Chimeras.’

As they turned away to go back down, they came face to face with someone standing on the bottom step. They were up the stairs and against the door with a speed that couldn’t be a good idea, considering the half-rotted state of the small landing.

“Bido.” Ling acknowledged through Greed’s strained smile.

“I think we need to talk. Inside.” Bido said, taking a cautious step up the staircase. Ling wasn’t sure if it was him or Greed that looked up at the overhang, since they were both thinking it. The question was if the thing would support their weight without collapsing. They decided it was worth the risk.

“Wait!” Bido said, following their gaze  and hurrying up the las few steps. They were about to jump when they heard the cracking noise and a startled sound. And then they were holding Bido from falling, the top step having finally decided that it had had enough and giving out. Greed froze. So did Bido, his gaze locked on to where Greed had grabbed him, the ouroboros no longer hidden. Ling, apparently the only one still thinking about trying to stop the lizard chimera from falling, pulled him up onto the landing.

It wasn’t a long fall, the worst that he would have gotten was a twisted ankle, but Ling couldn’t say anything. They had both been moving to catch him. As soon as Ling let go, Bido’s hand wrapped around his wrist, and he felt Greed get even stiller, a feat that he hadn’t thought possible. Even with Ling in control, they jolted at the contact.

“Thank you.” Bido said, opening the door and leading Ling inside. They could pull away and make a break for it, but Bido’s grip was tight, and Ling didn’t want to risk hurting him, especially with how Greed was at the moment. Bido led them into the living room, where he could see Roa, Martel, and Ulchi. There was no way that Old Greed had approved of this. Bido let go of him, finally, and took up the spot between Ling and the door, Dolcetto coming out of the kitchen with a-

“Hey, that’s my breakfast!” Ling said, causing the dog chimera to startle slightly.

“Well too damn bad.” Dolcetto said, unwrapping the pastry and taking a bite. Ling gave him one of his saddest looks in response, the kind Greed hated and wouldn’t have let him get away with if he wasn’t still being worryingly quiet.

“Dol.” Roa said in a disapproving tone, and he heard a slight snicker from Ulchi that the crocodile chimera tried to hide.

“It’s not like he doesn’t have eleven more out there! And anyway, isn’t this supposed to be an interrogation?” Dolcetto defended.

“I don’t think that’s something you’re supposed to say in an interrogation.” Ling pointed out, sitting on the floor where Bido had put him, right in the middle of the circle of chimeras. Ling could get out, technically, but not without a fight. Which wasn’t happening, Greed was just starting to collect himself and Ling didn’t really want a repeat of what had just happened. That stillness concerned him more than he wanted to admit.

“I mean, technically, we’re not supposed to be here at all.” Ulchi said, confirming Ling’s earlier thought. Roa shot Ulchi a look that implied he wasn’t supposed to say that, and Ling felt a faint whisp of amusement from Greed.

“Hm, you really shouldn’t be.” Ling agreed, resting his head on his palm, “Could be dangerous.”

“Bido didn’t think so.” Martel said from his left.

“Oh?” Ling said, turning slightly to look at her.

“Yeah, seemed to think you wouldn’t hurt us.” Dolcetto said, before narrowing his eyes and resting a hand on the pommel of his sword, “You gonna prove him wrong?” Ling didn’t respond to the taunt, just leveled a flat look at Dolcetto as the chimera took another bite of his muffin. Their position on the floor wasn’t what one would call ‘threatening.’ Running a hand over the threads of the carpet, Ling found himself glad that they’d had it replaced. The carpet that came with the house wasn’t anything he’d have wanted to spend any more time than necessary in contact with and would have made this significantly more miserable.

Ling sighed and Greed closed their eyes for a moment, visibly centering himself before opening their eyes and saying to nobody in particular, “Ya know, we just had this conversation with your boss.”

“Who won the fight?” Martel asked, and Greed blinked in surprise.

“I didn’t say anything about a fight.” He said.

“So you didn’t fight?” Ulchi said with a raised eyebrow.

“Th-hm. Yes. We did.” Ling said, almost slipping up on his words. They did, he’d almost said. His  statement was closely followed by a sharp grin from Greed, “And I won.”

The amusement from Greed as money traded hands was much stronger than it had been earlier.

“You shits bets on this?” Greed asked with equal parts fondness and exasperation.

“You shut up, this is still an interrogation.” Dolcetto scowled, 300 cens poorer.

“Not a very good one.” Ling pointed out, which only deepened Dolcettos scowl, but did get another snicker from Ulchi.

“The Boss, he’s fine, yeah?” Roa cut in, giving him a look that implied consequences if the answer was anything other than yes.

“Yeah, he’s fine.” Greed assured.

“So, did the Boss actually get any information out of you, or did he skip that part altogether?” Ulchi asked, and then Dolcettos scowl was turned on him.

“He got our name, and that none of the rest of the family know he’s here, but I don’t think he believed us.” Ling said, not mentioning that their Greed hadn’t been the one to start the fight.

“And what is your name?” Bido said, leaning forward and causing Greed to tense slightly.

“Greed.” Ling said when it became clear that Greed wasn’t going to. A general sound of confusion rippled through the room, “Father’s second attempt.” Ling clarified, using the excuse they had prepared but had hoped not to need. It wasn’t even a lie.

“I’m not calling you that.” Dolcetto said, crossing his arms. Ling shrugged.

“It is my name, but you can keep calling us Ling if you’d like.” Greed said with an exaggerated put-upon tone. By this point, either of them would respond to the other’s name. They were both always there anyways.

“And who is ‘us’?” Ulchi asked, and both Ling and Greed paused.

‘Shit.’ ‘Fuck.’ They said at the same time, both realizing the mistake they’d made. Had been making from the start, really. They hadn’t even thought about it. It wasn’t something they’d had to think about in years. In Xing, either someone already knew, or if they didn’t, somebody would brief them before any royal audience. They had almost forgotten how not normal the whole thing was. A quick conversation, made up of mostly feeling and impressions, faster than words could ever hope to convey. A debate on how much to tell, and in what way. Greed wanted to tell them the truth, and Ling mostly agreed, with a few minor edits that Greed didn’t argue. Conversation over, Greed turned to look to Ulchi on his right, before addressing the room in general.

“So, just to make sure, you know what I am, right?” The answer would be yes, but checking for reactions wasn’t a bad idea.

“Homunculus.” Bido whispered, and Greed shot him a grin that wasn’t anywhere near as sharp as usual.

“Yeah, but do you know what that means? What a homunculus is?” He asked. Greed had mentioned that by the end they’d all known the specifics, but he couldn’t remember exactly when they’d learned everything.

“Mister Greed said he was a living philosopher’s stone, but…” Bido trailed off with a slight frown.

“A philosopher’s stone is an energy source, one that happens to be made using human souls, which are, more or less, still kinda alive a little.” From the reaction of the chimeras around them, they hadn’t known that particular bit of information.

“In Ishval, the military…. I saw them hand out stones to some of the alchemists” Martel whispered.

“Small stones, each with a few hundred people, sometimes more.” Greed confirmed.

“That’s small?” Dolcetto sounded vaguely horrified. Greed sighed and tapped the back of their left hand.

“You need a lot more to make something like us. If I had to guess, we each started with around seventy five thousand.”

“That’s…” Ulchi said, before trailing off.

“Yeah. And when a homunculus is made, some of that energy goes into forming their body. The shape of who they are. They don’t need a pre-made body, because they can make their own.” Greed said

“They?” Roa said, and Greed held a hand up in way that, in a Xingese court, would be a call for silence. Thankfully it worked just as well here.

“Getting there, let me finish first. Historically, a homunculus didn’t need a human component, beyond the souls in the stone, but Father wanted more direct control over the country, so he made Wrath. And he used a human as the base. But Wrath, he… I guess the best way to put it is that he burned himself out. The human body will eat itself alive if the stone rejects it. And we think Wrath fought that, destroying most of the souls in the process. Pretty fitting for a guy named Wrath. But because of that, he doesn’t heal any faster than a normal human. Doesn’t have enough energy left in the stone for it. He’ll also age, just like a human would. The only thing becoming a homunculus really did for him was give him an ultimate eye. The remnants of the stone may not be enough to heal him, but they’re enough to power his ability.” Here, Greed paused, before continuing, “Wrath, you would know by a different name. King Bradley.” Greed paused as various curses were thrown around the room.

“Yeah, pretty much. We’re pretty sure I was supposed to end up like Bradley. Mostly drained, easy to control. But Ling was a bit too stubborn for that. He didn’t even try to fight off the effects of the stone. Just welcomed me right in.” Greed said, with a fond tone that Ling knew he’d deny later.

“So, what? You stole some kid’s body?” Dolcetto said.

“Not stole, weren’t you listening? He gave it to me.” Greed stressed.

‘Then tried to take it back because he’s a little shit sometimes.’ Greed added internally, to which Ling very maturely didn’t respond.

“So, what? He’s dead now? Or part of that stone?” Dolcetto demanded. Before Greed could respond, Ling spoke up.

“He can hear you, you know?” Then he stood, with one fluid motion that made Dolcetto reach for his sword and everyone else but Bido tense. Interesting.

“My name Ling of the Yao clan, twelfth son of the emperor of Xing. I came to Amestris looking for the secret to immortality, and you could say I found it.” Ling said softly.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Greed said, plopping back down on the floor and leaning back. This, Ling reflected, was the most relaxed Greed had been around the chimeras since they got here.

“So, when you said us…” Ulchi said, looking vaguely unsettled.

“Yeah,” Greed started, “Both of us.” Ling finished.

“That’s fucking weird.” Dolcetto said.

“Would you have preferred it if I’d killed him?” Greed asked, the question earning him a  playful, but forceful, nudge from Ling.

“What?! No!” Dolcetto responded, and they rolled their eyes in response.

“Then stop whining.” Greed said.

“That… actually makes sense. Why are you in Dublith though?” Bido asked, and Ling took over, because there would be a bit of bending the truth here.

“Well, before I met Greed, my Greed, not yours, I’d gotten some very interesting information from some members of the military who were willing to trade money for secrets. That didn’t lead anywhere, but it’s how I knew your faces. As for Greed, yours, not mine, it’s like I told Bido before, all living things have energy that flows through them. A homunculus gives of a certain… distinct energy. Once we decided to run away, it wasn’t too hard to find him. Might want to mention that to him, really. Might be enough to convince him leaving Dublith won’t get rid of us.” Ling explained.

“And we’re supposed to just believe all this?” Dolcetto said, in a tone that implied he already believed ‘all this’ but would rather not.

“I do.” Martel said, looking at them with a sharp gaze.

“Yeah, me too.” Ulchi agreed. Roa didn’t say anything, but he did nod in agreement.

“Yeah yeah, I know.” Dolcetto said reluctantly, Bido also nodding, before pausing.

“But still, if you ran away… why not go back to Xing?” Bido asked. Ling paused and Greed stepped in with a laugh.

“Have you seen the politics in Xing?” He asked, and based on the expressions of the gathered chimeras, they had at least some understanding of what Greed was talking about.

“Assassination attempts, right?” Ulchi asked.

“Yes, all the time. And while we won’t die, I don’t think being brought before the emperor will be pleasant. I do plan on returning, just… not yet.” Ling said by way of explanation, “Any other pressing questions?” Most of the group shook their head no, but Bido hesitated.

“One… one more thing.” The lizard chimera said, uncertainty in his voice, “Why are you afraid of me.”

Ling felt Greed once again get unnaturally still for a moment, before letting out a shaky breath.

‘You don’t have to answer.’ Ling said. While Greed had wanted to be as honest as possible, this fell under a bit more of a personal topic than either of them had imagined.

‘It’s fine. He deserved to know.’ Greed replied.

“I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid of what I could do. You remind me of- of a friend. He trusted me, but he shouldn’t’ve. I… I killed him. That’s why I ran away.” By the time he had finished speaking, Greed was looking down. Ling sighed and picked them up, moving past Dolcetto and into the kitchen. They really didn’t have much besides the pastries Ling had picked up earlier. He very determinedly ignored the whispers from his living room as he made Greed a cup of tea. As he handed control over to Greed, who seemed to enjoy holding the tea more than drinking it, Ling thought.

‘Hey Greed, you know that place a few blocks over?’ He asked, just putting the idea out there.

‘The Xingese place you drag me to every week?’ Greed asked, as though he didn’t enjoy their visits just as much. After ten years, Xing was as much Greed’s home as it was Ling’s.

‘What do you say we invite our new friends?’ Ling said, vaguely gesturing in the direction of the living room.

‘You can try.’ Greed said after a quick pause. He didn’t think they’d want to go, but Ling suspected they would. Partially because living with Old Greed had made them more comfortable around a homunculus than the average human would be, but mostly because Ling suspected they’d like the chance to go digging for more information.

“If your boss isn’t expecting you back until tomorrow… I know a nice Xingese place, has good food. Not quite as good as back home, but the best you’ll find in Dublith.” Ling said, walking into the living room.

“Why?” Roa asked, not even trying to hide the suspicion.

“Because we like you. The members of the Nest is the closest thing we have to friends in the city.” Ling said with a shrug.

“That’s pretty pathetic.” Dolcetto said, Ling just rolling his eyes in response.

“Fine, we’ll go.” Martel agreed after a moment of hesitation.

“Hey, I didn’t agree!” Dolcetto said.

“Then you’ll be the only one, right guys?” Martel asked, getting a quick agreement from Ulchi, Bido, and Roa, then reluctant agreement from Dolcetto.

The evening was nice. The restaurant they went to was used to Ling’s habits, but the members of the Nest weren’t, and Greed spent some time joining them in some good natured mocking that Ling endured for longer than he usually would have before threatening to start telling embarrassing stories about Greed. This effectively made Greed stop, but then the chimeras were pestering Ling to tell them anyway.  Through dinner, conversation flowed freely, and when they went home that evening, Greed felt lighter than he had since arriving in Dublith.

‘Think they’ll manage to convince Old Greed to stay in Dublith?’ Ling asked.

‘Yeah, I think they will.’ Greed replied.

Chapter Text

It had been five days, and they hadn’t seen any members of the Devil’s Nest since the impromptu interrogation at their house. It was intentional, it had to be. Even when they didn’t seek them out, they could usually spot the chimeras out and about during the day. By the third day, Greed had decided to visit the Nest, but the bar had a closed sign on the door, and Ling couldn’t sense anybody inside.

Greed knew he was being restless, that they were fine. Nothing bad would have happened this quickly. Four years, he reminded himself. They had four years. The nest was still safe. This was just a result of their… revelation. Ling had been right, he thought as another day passed. Like usual, Ling had been right, they should have hid better.

He would have thought that Old Greed had left town already, but he could still sense the other homunculus. But it was only him. No chimeras. One more day and Greed found himself focusing in on that one point of compressed chi. Ling had been right, a homunculus really did feel kinda horrible, but it worked in their favor.

Greed was tired of waiting around, if there was one person that would have the answers, it would be his past self. And Greed needed answers. When he declared they were going to go talk to Old Greed, Ling just nodded, like he’d expected it. He had, Greed knew. Ling had probably realized it before he had.

The path they took led them through the heart of Dublith, then to the outskirts. A nice middle-class area that Greed was fairly sure he’d never been to, even in his past life. But there was no denying the presence they were following. They stopped in front of a store. A cobbler’s shop, but one that had slightly faded going out of business signs visible behind the much newer signs proclaiming the place was for sale.

The door was locked, but that didn’t matter to them. Ling picked the lock to let them in, and Greed made sure to re-lock the door behind him. The small set of tools was one of the few things they had from before they were sent back. The other things that had been on them were Ling’s Dao, kunai, and a few lightweight explosives. Useful tings, mostly.  Things they’d usually take when they snuck out. Combined with the outfit they’d been wearing, they had to have done so, but even now neither of them could remember anything past falling asleep. The final item was far less useful, a small river rock that Ling had taken to holding on to as much as Greed did these days. A small part of home. The only part of Xing they would have for years. Greed had never felt what humans called homesickness before, but recently, he found himself missing the country that had become his.

Inside the shop, the floor was covered in a layer of dust, undisturbed except for a very obvious set of footprints leading to the back. Ling walked across half the floor without making so much as a sound before pausing, and very deliberately letting their weight settle on the floorboards just so, a creak making itself heard, louder than it had any right to be for such a nice shop. Experimentally, Greed tested the board again. He knew Ling’s idea had been not to startle Old Greed, but a loose floorboard was the oldest trick in the book, no way was he not going to look.

‘What would a leatherworker be hiding?’ Greed wondered, slipping a claw under the edge of the board and prying gently.

‘Whatever it was probably left with the owner.’ Ling said, adding, ‘Do we have to do this now?’

‘Come on, we’ll only be a few moments.’ Greed said. He had been very eager to find Old Greed, to know what was going on, but now that they were here, the distraction was welcome. Ling’s answering silence was very telling. Ling had always been able to read him, and he’d just gotten better with time. Which, Greed supposed, was mutual. He could, after all, read Ling just as well these days.

‘Just a few moments.’ Greed repeated quietly, finally moving the board just right. Sure enough, there was an empty space under it with three envelopes of various sizes. A quick glance revealed a mix of written and typed pages inside, which Greed tucked inside their jacket. Old Greed, he knew, would have had no interest in them. They weren’t shiny or valuable, but having spent so much time in Xing’s political climate, Greed knew better than to pass anything over without really looking. Greed debated unfolding one of the letters, but… he’d had his moment. He was ready now.

Carefully, Greed placed the board back, just so, disturbing a large amount of dust so it wouldn’t be obvious that there had been anything out of place. He’d do the same with the footprints when they left.

It was odd, Greed had spent days telling himself that he didn’t care about Old Greed, and he didn’t. He didn’t. He had given up that version of himself a long time ago. If Ling wanted to play nice and make friends, fine, but Greed would have no part in it.

And yet, when they actually entered the mostly empty storage room in the back, Greed couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. His past self was just… sitting there. On the floor. One leg stretched out, the other bent, his head was leaning back against the wall behind him. And something was off. It set Greed on edge. Ling felt it too, he could tell.

“So. You really can track me down, huh?” Old Greed asked, slowly opening his eyes and rolling his head slightly to look at them. Other than that, he didn’t move at all. Something was wrong. Greed wanted to pretend he didn’t know what it was, that he couldn’t follow his past self’s train of thought. But that would be a lie. The vague feeling of dread that had followed him to the room formed itself into worry. A mirror of Ling’s own state. Greed reminded himself once again that version of him had failed, that he didn’t care about what the other homunculus was going through.

He didn’t.  

He didn’t care… but he knew. It was easy enough for the small seed of worry to turn into a spark of anger. It felt better that way.

“Yes, we can.” Ling said, and Greed knew Ling was still feeling off, but he hadn’t realized what Greed had. How could he? Greed hadn’t talked about his past much, hadn’t tried to remember any of it before they ended up in Dublith. Had actually done the opposite. Ling knew Greed, but he didn’t know that Greed.

The spark of anger burned brighter when Old Greed just returned to his previous position, head thunking lightly against the wall behind him. This shit? Not something Greed was going to deal with. Neither Ling nor the Old Greed expected him to stalk over to his past self and grab the collar of his shirt, dragging him up until he was standing. And he just let it happen.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Greed asked, shaking the other homunculus for added emphasis. Ling, he could tell, was concerned, but wasn’t interfering. Greed, of course, knew the answer already, but damn if he wanted to admit it.

“Nothing’s fucking wrong, back off.” Old Greed said, shoving him back. But still, he didn’t use nearly enough strength. Not even enough to dislodge Greed’s grip

“Then why does it feel like you’re giving up?!?” Greed snarled, slamming his past self into the wall behind him. Old Greed did nothing to stop him, “We are Greed, we don’t give up! Not ever!” Greed continued. Even when Wrath- when he’d lost everything, he hadn’t given up. He had kept fighting. Not well, not nearly hard enough to win, but he’d kept going until he physically couldn’t. And this idiot thought he’d get away with doing any less?!?

“Don’t act like you know me!” Old Greed said, finally throwing him off properly.

“Ha! I know you better than you know yourself!” Greed snarled, taking a step forward, carbon sliding across his fingers and up his arms before he was roughly shoved out of control.

“Alright! That’s enough! Both of you, stop it.” Ling said, placing them a few feet away from Old Greed, who seemed vaguely wrong-footed at the sudden change in demeanor and expression. His newfound anger slipping into momentary confusion. It was one thing to hear about them, but quite another to experience.

Then Ling spoke up internally, ‘Are you going to do this every time?’ He asked. He sounded stressed, which wasn’t fair. Greed was the one who should be stressed. And it wasn’t Greed’s fault that his past self was acting like a stupid fucking idiot! Some of that must’ve gotten across because Ling gave him a very unimpressed look before taking a deep breath and closing their eyes for a moment, shaking off the shield.

“Greed,” Ling started, gesturing to Old Greed, who seemed to have finally realized the truth to what Greed had said, if his stormy expression was anything to go on, “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you to show up.” Old Greed responded, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

“Right. And we attacked him because…?” Ling trailed off, the question clearly aimed at Greed.

“Because he’d given up.” Greed said again, continuing before his past self had a chance to comment, “Ling, assuming we were working for Father, what can he do?”

“Take the chimeras and leave.” Ling answered. It was what they had assumed he’d do. But that was before they’d talked to Bido and the others. And Greed knew Ling was smart, but sometimes his thoughts got so twisty that he missed the really obvious things.

“Ling, we can track him. He can’t run away, can’t win in a fight, so he sent the rest of the Nest away and gave up.” Greed explained.

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.” Old Greed said harshly before Ling could respond, to which Greed just rolled his eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry, would you prefer we have this conversation internally?” He asked mockingly. He knew the answer, it was the same for everyone. While the switching could be a bit disorienting, nobody wanted to be left out of part or all of the conversation. Especially when it was about them.

“I would prefer if you didn’t at all.” Old Greed said, doing his best to look intimidating. It wasn’t bad, really, it just wouldn’t work on him and certainly wouldn’t work on Ling.

“Yeah, well-gah. Hey! Ling, what the hell!” Ling had stopped them from breathing mid-sentence, cutting off Greed’s words in an unpleasant way.

“If you two can’t have a conversation like mature adults then you will not be talking at all.” Ling was using the same voice he used when council meetings got too chaotic. Fortunately, Greed had a response. Unfortunately, so did his past self.

“Fine by me.” They both said at the same time, before glaring at each other, Ling stepped back in with a sigh.

“You are both acting like… well, I suppose we are brothers in a way. Is this how sibling usually act?” Ling sounded resigned, but with a hint of smugness that Greed was sure Old Greed missed entirely. Ling was clearly baiting him, not even trying to hide it, but Greed didn’t care.

“Hey! What do you mean we? He’s not your brother!” And he wasn’t Greed’s either, but that was Ling’s cover story, and while Greed wouldn’t lie, he also wouldn’t deny what Ling had already said, unless asked point-blank.

“If you got to steal my siblings, I can steal your only good one.” Greed narrowed his eyes, but he couldn’t really argue with Ling’s logic. He called Mai his sister all the time. But still.

‘Yeah, but he isn’t really my brother either.’ Greed pointed out, getting dismissive wave from Ling.  Fine. Whatever. This wasn’t worth arguing over.

“So, was he right?” Ling asked Old Greed, whose scowl deepened at the question.

“I didn’t give up… but nothing adds up with you, and I don’t know what to do about it.” Old Greed said. Greed resisted the urge to scoff.

“Like what?” Ling asked, face set in a pleasant smile. A pleasant smile that hid his racing thoughts.

“Like you, for one! What kind of Greed would be willing to do so much… sharing?” He asked, saying the last word as though it were unpleasant.

“I mean, he didn’t, at first. It was weeks before I was able to get any control of our body at all! And that was just for a moment.” Ling smiled, as though it was a fond memory and not a time when he had been held prisoner in his own mind. Ling always had been a bit of a weird kid.

“What changed?” Old Greed seemed honestly curious, and Greed had the answer to that one. As much as he didn’t enjoy talking to his past self, he’d take the chance to annoy Ling.

“You try having someone in your head that won’t shut up and see how long it takes for you to compromise.” Which he would, eventually. Although, Ling had said he wanted Old Greed to not die, so who knew how they’d work that out. Greed shook that thought away. It was a problem for the future, and they had plenty of problems for right now without adding more.

“Sucks for you.” Old Greed said, Ling making a vaguely offended sound as Greed rolled their eyes.

“Nah, Ling’s great. A bit of an annoying brat, but I wouldn’t trade him for the world.” Greed said, doing the closest approximation of a hug that he could with Ling, who was pushing him away. For all that Ling had encouraged him to be more open, the former prince sure got embarrassed when he was the topic Greed was being open about.

“Thanks.” Ling said dryly when their little internal scuffle was over.

“So yeah, there’s all  of that.” Old Greed said, gesturing to their whole body, which had stumbled slightly as they shoved against each other, “But also the fact that you’re here. How old are you anyway? It took me a hundred years to leave my dear old dad, and you expect me to believe you did so in, what, one? There are recorded sighting of Prince Ling Yao recently. And I got pictures, you look close, but you don’t quite match. Why lie about that? Why bother? And if you’re here for Father, which you have to be, what’s the point? You haven’t killed me, haven’t tried to drag me back. Hell, you even helped the Nest! You don’t make any damn sense!” Old Greed said, getting more animated the more he talked. Greed could feel Ling thinking, but he got the feeling that this time, it wouldn’t work. Not that Ling couldn’t weave a good story, but Old Greed would never believe it. And while Greed didn’t care what his past self-thought, Ling did.

Matching Ling from earlier, Greed took a deep breath, centering his thoughts.

“Alright, the truth then. All of it.” He could feel Ling’s thoughts come to an abrupt stop, uncertainty, dancing to the forefront.

Ling was almost hesitant when he asked, ‘Are you sure?’ At least he wasn’t trying to argue the point. He could see it too, that Ling’s carefully placed threads had already unraveled.

‘Yeah, I’m sure.’ Greed said, sitting on the dusty floor. He didn’t particularly want to be standing for this conversation. He didn’t particularly want to have it at all, but here they were. After a moment of tense hesitation, Old Greed took up the spot he had abandoned.

“Just… listen first. Then you can choose what to believe.” Greed said, taking one more deep breath before launching into his life’s story. Greed expected to feel something as he recounted events that Old Greed remembered, and ones that he would never experience. But instead he felt almost numb. His voice stayed steady, even as he described the raid on the Nest. But he couldn’t bring himself to admit the rest. It was Ling who told Old Greed about how his memories had been messed with, and how he’d first gotten any back. About Bido. And afterwards, attacking Bradley, finding Ed, Darius, and Heinkel. About the months spent on the run and the promised day, and about Xing. When it got to the most recent events, Greed took over once more. He talked about seeing the chimeras again, about finally remembering more than the pain, about how they wouldn’t let the same tragedy happen twice, about how they would destroy Wrath. And now, he no longer felt numb, but rather like he couldn’t stop talking. He spoke quickly, with an almost desperate fervor. He told his past self about their plans, about the contingencies, about how they would take down Bradley, and when it would happen. Greed spoke until there was no more to say. It was more than he had planned on telling, but there was no going back now.

Through it all, Old Greed kept his promise to listen, although Greed could tell he wanted to interrupt. Eventually, there were no more words, and the silence was tense and heavy. His past self had a pained expression that faded into something hard as he thought.

He could tell Old Greed was thinking, but for once had no idea what those thoughts were.

“Time travel, huh?” Old Greed said eventually, violet eyes locked on his own, unblinking.

“Yeah.” Greed said. Another few moments. Greed could hear his heartbeat. He tried to remind himself that he didn’t care what his past self thought.

“Alright.” Old Greed said eventually, standing and dusting himself off.

“Alright?” Ling asked.

“Nothing about you made any damn sense. Now it does. It all fits, all adds up. And if it were a trick, it would be a pretty shit trick, yeah?” Old Greed said, shrugging as Ling rose as well.

“It would be... And our plan? What do you think?” Ling asked.

“The gang gets back in two weeks, meet us at the Nest then, we’ll talk.” Old Greed said with a small but sharp grin. One that Greed couldn’t help but return.

Chapter Text

Thirteen days until the members of the Nest came back.

Greed hadn’t realized how much he’d gotten used to the constant noise that came with having other people around all the time. You’d think, being alone for so long, that he’d instead be used to the quiet, but in the time he’d known his chimeras, he’d gotten used to having them near him. Now that they weren’t, his own thoughts seemed louder than ever.

Thirteen days felt like forever.

There was still plenty of time to back out. Greed considered it. He could still run. He could go. Without him, the Nest would never become a target. Without him, his family would have no reason to go after the chimeras. And it was him that Ling could track, not them. It would be the smart thing to do…. but… he just couldn’t. The nest was his, and he just… he couldn’t.

Envy would call it a weakness.

When he’d sent the gang away… he hadn’t really expected to still be here when they got back. Greed could imagine how Envy would taunt him. First for being willing to take the fall for a bunch of humans, then for not at least following through when things went sideways. Envy loved calling him weak. Greed formed his shield, flexing his claws before letting it fade again.

It wasn’t weakness, it was his nature. The same way that the want that clawed inside him was, so was this. He was made to be a shield. To protect. He’d just chosen to protect what was his instead of what belonged to Father. It stung knowing that he wouldn’t be enough. The thought of leaving crossed his mind again, briefly, but Greed shook it away.

Even staying he’d have to fight not to lose the nest. And Greed wasn’t talking about the fight against his family. Or, he supposed in a twisted way, he almost was. See, Greed knew himself. And if that other Greed was really him… then the Replacement would want to take the Nest for himself. And Greed couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t let that happen. The question of how he’d stop the other was still in the air, but Greed knew he would.

First, he’d have to make up the ground he’d already lost. The Replacement and his pet human had been doing their best to weasel their way into the Nest. And it had been working. The gang trusted the other homunculus. They trusted the Replacement, and that hurt, because Greed didn’t even know if they trusted him.

Because when his prized possessions did their interrogation, when they put themselves in danger, they hadn’t even told him. A part of him wondered why, wondered if they were still afraid of him. They had been, at first. Greed knew that, but they’d gotten past that. At least, he thought they had… unless the Replacement had said something. He could have. Or it could just be the gang wasn’t as used to him as he thought. Greed hated not knowing.

Thirteen days and then he could just ask.

The silence made the desire within him ache in a way that it hadn’t in a long time. He wanted his gang here, now. But there was no way to get them back sooner, Greed had made sure of it, just in case. He paced another lap around his room. He should go out, but he didn’t want to be around strangers that weren’t his. They would be, one day, because the whole world would be his, but right now they weren’t, and Greed didn’t want to be near them. He didn’t want to be alone, but he didn’t want to go into the city either. The feeling was incredibly unpleasant. None of this had gone right. Greed scowled to himself.

Another lap. Greed felt restless. He wanted to do something. The thought of the little training area the chimeras had put together flashed through his mind, but was quickly dismissed. He didn’t want any reminders about how useless he’d been in the fight against the Replacement. How easily the other homunculus could have destroyed everything if he’d wanted to. How easily, in another time, a homunculus would.

But now, Greed knew. Now, he could stop it from ever happening. The thought of working with this… other version of himself… it felt wrong. He didn’t trust them. Didn’t trust the look in their eyes. Pride had that look. Envy had that look. Greed didn’t.

Greed didn’t trust them, but to keep the nest safe, he’d do what he had to. He hated to admit it, but he needed the Replacement’s skills to protect the Nest. So, he’d use them. He’d have to let them closer to the chimeras. The thought made an unpleasant feeling curl in him, but he knew he wouldn’t have a choice. The Replacement wouldn’t accept anything else.

He hadn’t named a price, but he hadn’t needed to. Greed could fill in the gaps just fine. Somehow this felt worse than giving himself up. He had admitted to killing the only survivor from the massacre, and now Greed would have to let him near them. He didn’t want the Replacement anywhere near the Nest, but that was the price he had to pay.

Thirteen days until they told Greed their plan, until he could know how he fit into it.

Until he could know if he was supposed to survive it. It was clear that the Replacement didn’t want him to. With Greed gone, it would be easier for the  other to claim the Nest as his own. Ling seemed to disagree, but despite how much the whole… situation there seemed even, Greed knew better. They’d mentioned the Replacement being in complete control before, which meant between the two, he was the stronger one.

Yesterday’s conversation replayed in his thoughts, and he couldn’t help the slight shiver he felt at how wrong it had all been.

The way that the other had talked about the Nest… It put Greed on edge. The tone he’d spoken in had reminded Greed of the way some of the Nest would sometimes talk about Ishval, flat and broken. Greed couldn’t imagine ever sounding like that. Sure, he would do everything he could to protect what was his, but he’d lost possessions before. And yeah, it sucked. It… it hurt, but Greed got over it and moved on. It was what he had to do. The Replacement… hadn’t. Greed didn’t know why, but no matter what happened he wouldn’t let himself turn into that, he couldn’t. He was stronger than that. He ignored that clearly, he wasn’t.

But he would be. He wouldn’t turn into that Greed. He wouldn’t let himself be dragged back to Father. Wouldn’t be anything like the Replacement. His fake brother... himself, in another life. Greed could see how it could happen, could see how the pieces fit together. He’d gotten too attached, clearly. Dangerous, because he already knew the chimeras would die one day. Ignoring the feeling that came with that thought, Greed reminded himself they were still just human. Humans broke. They got sick, they got old. They could be killed- they died. Point being, he couldn’t afford to get so damn attached that he lost sight of who he was. Greed the Avaricious. He wanted everything, and he would have it. It may take time, but he had plenty of time. He liked his possessions, but when they broke, Greed would move on.

He'd already decided that whatever he would become, it wouldn’t be whatever his… brother… was. Not only because he’d gotten too attached, but also because his thought from before still held true. That was the Greed Father would want, nearly perfect. He was vicious and clever and deadly in all the ways Greed wasn’t. He had a sharpness that Greed didn’t. That Greed didn’t want.  

Thirteen days and he’d have to see the Replacement.

And, he supposed, his pet human too. Greed wondered if he’d get used to the strangeness of the other homunculus. If he’d get complacent, let himself forget they were a threat. Clearly, he could. But he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t let himself forget. He might be able to look past the sharing, but he wouldn’t let himself fall into the trap of trusting. He knew, after all, that his siblings weren’t to be trusted. This one would be no different.

Thirteen days and he’d make his opinion clear.

He hated this. The worrying, the waiting. He hated that Ling had shown up and thrown a wrench in everything he’d been building. He just wanted things to go back to normal. But that wasn’t an option anymore. Now, he knew too much. Too much to ignore. He wanted to hate that too, but he couldn’t. One more lap around the room.

Twelve days.

Chapter Text

Going back to normal should have been easy. They had a routine of a sort, and it should have been easy to fall back on that routine. In a way it was. The actions were familiar, but there was something missing. It had become a habit to look for the members of the Nest. Ling hadn’t realized how often they did it until they weren’t there. He’d thought it was Greed’s way of reassuring himself that they were still... well, alive. He hadn’t realized Greed wasn’t the only one looking.

Ling would like to say that their absence was making Greed restless, and while that was true… he was surprised at how much he was affected. This whole plan was always supposed to be something that was, at its core, for Greed. Ling had seen their deaths, he could remember them even though the memories didn’t belong to him, but he hadn’t known them. Whatever it was that had given them this chance, and he wished he could remember, Ling had made the choices he had for Greed’s sake. For his closest friend.

Ling wasn’t supposed to get so attached. But that always had been his biggest flaw as a royal heir. He let himself care about people more than he should for his station. More than he should for their safety. Being someone a member of the royal family cared about was not a good thing. It was not safe. But they weren’t in Xing. Ling swung his dao through the air, hitting nothing.

‘Why don’t you let me try for a bit?’ Greed asked, nudging Ling over. Ling let him. Three days ago, Ling had woken up to Greed pacing their house, full of restless energy. Ling had grabbed his sword and given that energy direction. They were in a rarely-used warehouse. One that they knew had a hidden weapons stash for the Nest. Ling had used some scrap to set up training dummies. They would need to be perfect if they wanted to fight Bradley. The practice felt more useful than pacing, even though the forms were so familiar Ling could do them in his sleep. Should have been able to.

It was too easy to get lost in his thoughts out here. Ling’s mind kept wondering in a way that it hadn’t since Lan Fan had lost her arm. He hadn’t slept in three days. Neither wanted to leave the other alone, but they were too restless to sleep at the same time. It was one of the few disadvantages to their situation. One’s emotions impacted the other, if they were strong enough. Ling knew he should be focusing better, but the intensity of Greed’s emotions dancing through him was distracting.

Not that he’d blame Greed for it. His friend couldn’t help how he felt, even though Ling wished he could tune out the mix of loneliness, anxiety, and downright paranoia that seemed nearly constant.

They had started practicing five hours ago and hadn’t stopped since. Now, it was finally dark. As night fell, they set out. One task into another. Neither of them had been resting. Ling knew they needed to, at some point, but it was so much easier to just keep going and ignore all the things he wanted to ignore.

The past couple days they had been doing harder heists. It was more of a distraction that way. It made them focus, gave them another place to direct the nervous energy. They hadn’t slept in three days and Ling wasn’t even tired. It was all a mess. They were a mess. Ling really wished Lan Fan were here. She would know what to do. Right now, he was worried about Greed and Greed was worried about him. All because they both were worried about the Nest. And the cycle just kept going.

Ling focused on the smooth wood beneath his fingertips, pulling himself out of his thoughts. They had to focus. Up, over. Watching, avoiding, slipping around corners and right through the door. Looking. A good distraction. Another perfect crime. There was a mirror. Ling stepped forward. Greed raised a hand, running it over the edges.

‘Real silver. Classy.’ He said and Ling agreed with him. They took the mirror. Fragile and tricky. A challenge. When they got home it went into what was turning into a display room. It had definitely been a child’s room at some point. There was still a faded rainbow painted on the wall that Greed had wanted to keep, and neither Ling nor Greed had gotten rid of the height marks by the edge of the doorway. Ling had to explain to Greed what they were.

Quickly, they walked to the kitchen and grabbed some bread and jam. He resisted the urge to go back out. To go to the places where the chimeras should be. The food wasn’t good, but it was food. Enough to keep them going, at any rate. Usually, this is when they’d sleep. Tonight, neither even made an attempt.

Last night, Ling had given into the urge to go out into the city and just… look. Even though he knew nobody would be there. Well. Somebody had been there, but not who they were looking for. Ling had known they were still gone, he couldn’t sense their presence at all, but for a moment, when he’d heard voices there…

Ling really hadn’t realized how attached he’d been getting.

‘When I realized we were in Dublith… I was worried that there would be something else where the Nest used to be.’ Greed had confessed, and Ling understood. So, they didn’t go out.

Instead, they reviewed plans. Escape routes made up of hidden passageways that had likely been used by smugglers in the past and underground tunnels that looked like they were supposed to be part of the sewer system, but didn’t always connect properly. The hidden parts of Dublith were a maze, and Ling intended to know every twist and turn. They would know it so well that they wouldn’t need to see where they were going.

For the Nest, they also had lists of ways to avoid being shot. And beside that, a small stack of paper that had started out life as a pamphlet on how to avoid alchemists and had grown from there. Greed and Ling planned, they gathered information and organized it. Because right now it was all they could do. And somewhere deep down, Ling knew it wasn’t going to work out. No plan involving the homunculi ever did, but he’d still be as prepared as possible, and Greed would make sure the rest of the net was too.

Ling ignored the empty spot where a third voice should have joined theirs. Ling ignored it the same as he had been for the past two months. Lan Fan was fine. Fu was fine. What they did here would have no impact on Xing, all the way across the desert. There was nothing he could do, so he’d ignore it for now. And when they got to Amestris… he’d worry about it then.

They had gone over what they had more than ten times. There was nothing else they could do but wait. They couldn’t just wait. For hope of a distraction, Ling and Greed opened the envelopes from the cobbler’s shop. It was, as it turned out, a good distraction.

The first note started with, “If you’re reading this, then I am dead.” Which was always a good start, if a bit dramatic. It went on to detail some deep corruption in Dublith. Info that ran right through the heart of the military force in the city. Which, Ling had known it was corrupt, Greed had done his far share of bribing them to look the other way, after all, but…. This was worse than they had imagined. Worse than even Greed had known about.

Ling and Greed spent a few days spreading the info out into three sections. There was just that much of it. Although, technically there had only been a taste in the shop itself, but whoever the cobbler had been, they had left a key. A key and a coded message that they had broken only because Ed had asked them to help him with this kind of thing before. Once they had the location of the safe the key opened… that was when the fun really started.

The first group they sorted out was the documents that said anything about the Nest, one even having Greed’s name on it. Those were set on fire immediately. If someone else had found this… Well, they hadn’t before, but who knew what their presence could have changed. Best not to take chances.

The next group was prime blackmail material. They had managed to make a couple military contacts, but it was slow going. This would really speed things up. All kinds of dirt on what had to be over half of the city’s police force. This was tucked away somewhere safe and the code that led to the location also burned.

The third section was material that they intended to do something about. Abuse of power and evidence of false confessions, the kind of really dirty stuff that they would never let see the light of day.

All of it made Ling wonder what sort of person the cobbler had been. This was the kind of information a spy would have, not the kind a shoemaker would. And yet, here it was, staring him in the face. Just who was R. Steele? Ling thought that it was a question he wanted to the answer to, later.

For now he had to decide what to do with the third group. He couldn’t take it to the military in Dublith. He had proof that showed why that would be a bad idea. He didn’t want to get the Nest involved, and Greed agreed. Too dangerous for them. This stuff was the kind of thing that would get somebody killed. That seemingly already had. It was Greed who pointed out the solution. There was someone Ling had delt with many times as emperor. A man he didn’t necessarily trust, but that he trusted to do what was right, at least with this.

Finding an untraceable route to one Lieutenant Colonel Mustang was not easy, but they managed. It took time, which was only a good thing. It kept them busy. It did not keep their mind off the Nest, but it helped.  And, when the time finally came to send off the copies, Ling felt like it was only fitting to sign the name Ruger Steele. While they may have organized the information, and trimmed it down a bit, Steele, whoever he had been, had been the one to find it. And, more importantly, they didn’t have any association with the man, so it couldn’t be traced back to them.

By the time this was done, there were only two days until the chimeras were due to return. They spent a full day reviewing their plans and notes, and then another just wandering the city. Ling was too distracted to do anything productive, and he knew Greed felt the same.

And then, finally, finally, Ling felt a familiar chi. Chimeras, while nowhere near as potent as a homunculus, still felt different than the average person. It was a difference Ling had never been so happy to feel. He hadn’t realized how much Greed’s anxiety had been affecting him until it was gone. Like a dam breaking, he could think clearly again, and it was only that that gave him the presence of mind to stop Greed from running straight to the Nest. The group had just made a long trip, they would need a little time to settle back in.

Greed reluctantly agreed. A few hours had never felt so long, but finally, here they were, standing in front of the entrance to the Devil’s Nest once more. With only the slightest moment of hesitation, Greed opened the door.

Chapter Text

Bido watched as Greed glanced at the stairs that led up into the bar. Again. He’d been doing that since they got back, even though the bar was closed. If he was expecting trouble, he’d tell them. Bido had to believe that. Even though they hadn’t left on the best terms, Bido had to believe Greed would warn them of any danger. Which meant whatever he was expecting wasn’t quite somethin that counted as danger.

He wondered if it had something to do with Ling. Bido had known that something would happen the moment Greed ordered them away. While he knew they’d already talked, technically, the mood that Greed had been in worried Bido.

When their group had confessed that they’d confronted Ling, Greed hadn’t been happy. No, that was an understatement. Greed had been livid. They’d come back and drawn straws over who would be the one to tell Greed what they’d done. Ironically enough, Roa, who had been the most against the plan, had drawn the short one. Bido had just been glad it wasn’t him. Still, they’d all gone together. It didn’t feel right not to be part of the discussion in some way.

“Boss,” Roa had started, practically standing at attention, “you know how you told us to stay away from the bar?” Roa did not shift nervously, but Bido did. Roa tended to fall back in military habits to cover his nerves, and he looked like an officer about to explain to his general why an important mission had failed. Which wasn’t too far off, really.

“Yeah?” Greed had said, tilting his head slightly.

“You… didn’t say to stay away from Ling.” Roa said, not making eye contact with Greed, who had taken off his sunglasses. It hadn’t taken long for the homunculus to connect the dots.

“What did you do?” He’d sounded angry, but more than that, he’d sounded afraid. Afraid for them, Bido had realized, feeling vaguely terrible.

“We… went to his house and interrogated him.” Roa said. Roa did not stutter when he was nervous, but the distinct pauses between his words were a clear tell. Roa did not want to be having the conversation he was having. Frankly, Bido couldn’t blame him. Just standing there was bad enough.

“And who is we?” Greed had asked, voice low, gaze locked on Roa.

“Uh… all of us.” Dolcetto had admitted, gesturing to the whole group when Roa failed to speak up.

“I-We-We needed information! It was my idea. I’m sorry, but… you wouldn’t let us help!” Bido interjected, his emotions warring between shame at going behind Greed’s back and the same anger that had led him to the decision in the first place. He’d needed to say something. This whole thing was his fault.

“You could have died! All of you!” Greed snarled.

“But we didn’t!” Bido yelled back. The anger felt a lot better to latch onto.

“Not the point! You are mine, you aren’t allowed to risk your lives!” Greed stalked towards him, practically looming.

“You can’t decide what we do!” Bido replied.

“Yes I can! The Devil’s Nest is mine!. And that means you do what I say!” Greed had shouted. Then Bido had said something he instantly regretted.

“Than maybe I don’t want to be  part of it anymore!” Bido had matched Greed’s volume. He hadn’t meant it, he’d just been angry. The kind of angry that makes it feel good to hurt someone else. But the complete silence that had followed his words had brought gravity to what he’d said. His own heavy breathing sounded so loud. He’d tried to take it back.

“Wait-“

“Fine. Do whatever. All of you.” Greed had cut him off. It was like all the anger had drained out of him. He’d just turned and left.

“Wait, Mister Greed, I-“ Bido tried to follow Greed only to have a door shut in his face. That evening, Bido had snuck into Greed’s room, leaving the notes detailing what they’d learned about Ling. Greed must’ve read them, because the next morning he was sending the Nest away. All of them. On a series of small missions that had kept getting shoved back because they simply weren’t important. They were to stick together, and not be back for three weeks. Usually Greed would tell them about missions for the Business with a grin. Usually he’d joke around and they’d end up leaving an hour later than planned. This time though, Greed stood perfectly, militarily straight. Bido hadn’t even realized he knew how. He’d delivered the orders in a neutral tone, then he’d left. He hadn’t looked at Bido even once.

A few people had tried asking Greed what was going on, but he’d just ignored them. Bido should’ve gone after him, should’ve apologized, but no. Instead he’d followed orders like a good little soldier and driven himself sick with worry.

He’d been so sure that when Greed had sent the whole gang… he didn’t plan on being there when they got back. Bido had been so afraid that interaction would be their last. But when they got back, Greed was there waiting for them like nothing was wrong. Asking about the missions, about if they enjoyed the trip. It was like he was ignoring everything that had happened before they’d left. And he kept glancing at the stairs.

Bido wanted to ask. But he was afraid that if he did, Greed may take it the wrong way. Bido still hadn’t apologized. It just didn’t feel right when Greed was acting like nothing was wrong. Eventually though, once the small fish had left for the night and it was just the six of them, the others noticed too. And apparently didn’t have the same reservations that Bido did.

“Hey Boss, we expecting company?” Roa asked. A slight frown formed on Greed’s face and the jovial act became a bit more strained.

“Ling’ll be stopping by.” He said, trying to sound casual. Instead, his voice sounded slightly strained.

“Holy shit, really? What the hell happened while we were gone?!?” And there was Dolcetto’s usual lack of tact.

“We talked.” Greed said, crossing his arms and not elaborating any further.

“And… are you alright?” Bido asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Greed answered, only sounding slightly bitter. It was the kind of response Bido expected. It also confirmed to him that Greed was not, in fact, alright. But instead of commenting on that fact, Bido just watched as Ulchi got out a deck of cards.

It was when Dolcetto and Greed looked towards the stairs together that Bido knew Ling was here. Greed went upstairs to meet him, and a few minutes later, he came back with the other in tow. Greed was tense. Ling… wasn’t.

“Hey! Greed and I talked some things out. Good news, he no longer thinks I want you all dead!” Ling said with a smile. Bido was pretty sure it was Ling, at least. Greed said nothing, just stood there and glared.

“And I’ll be stopping by more regularly. I’ve got some pretty useful military contacts and besides that, I’ll be teaching Greed how to fight better!” Yeah, Bido was pretty sure that was Ling.

“I didn’t agree to that.” Greed spoke up.

“What, you don’t want pointers on how not to get your ass kicked?” Ling’s cheerful expression morphed into a smirk, and Greed said nothing. But if looks could kill, Ling would be dead.

“We already have military contacts.” Martel pointed out.

“Yeah, but not ones this high up. Dear old dad wants to tie up loose ends. Your boss here? A loose end.” Ling said, and the statement sent a chill down Bido’s pine. If he never saw Envy again it’d be too soon.

Ling kept to his word. Over the next few weeks, he started coming by to teach fighting techniques. This usually involved Ling doing any actual teaching and Ling’s Greed taunting theirs. And the more Ling was at the Nest, the more Greed seemed to hover. It got worse when Ling started giving pointers to the other members of the Nest.

It was like he was afraid they’d disappear. It wasn’t until he overheard a discussion between Ling and Greed that Bido realized that’s exact ally what Greed thought would happen.

“So, what’s the plan?” Greed had said, and Bido assumed they were talking strategy like usual. The discussions were always tense and usually ended in a sparring match, but it did seem like they were at least making progress with their plans. Bido didn’t move from where he’d been napping on top of a bookshelf. He was comfy.

“Which one?” Ling had asked. Bido knew it was Ling, because he was always the friendly one.

“For the Nest. Once you get me out of the way.” Bido had felt like he stopped breathing. Greed had said it so matter-of-fact. Like it was something inevitable. The laugh that came from Ling’s Greed set Bido’s hair on edge.

“Oh, you got it all figured out, huh? It’s not a bad plan, really. You die a hero protecting the Nest and then I take them for myself. Only one tiny problem.... Ling hates that plan.” The newer homunculus sounded annoyed by that.

“Yeah, but he can’t really stop you, can he?” Greed asked, sounding bitter. Ling’s Greed sighed.

“You don’t get it, do you? Yeah, I could overpower Ling, but then what? Trust me, this princeling can hold one hell of a grudge, and he doesn’t want you to fuckin’ die. So we’re not trying to kill you, no matter how much easier it would make things.” He said.

“But you don’t have to be the one doing the killing, right?” Greed bit back.

“Greed. I, we, already decided. You won’t be fighting Bradley. We will.” Ling said.

“Right.” Greed scoffed in response and the conversation moved on. But Bido didn’t. His mind kept replaying it. Now, at least, he knew where Greed’s newest annoying habit had come from.

It didn’t take long for Bido to tell the other members of the main group what he’d heard. That week, Ulchi invited Greed out for lunch. The boss tried to play his acceptance off as doing a favor for Ulchi, but the speed at which Greed accepted told them all they needed to know. Slowly, they began doing it more often. Lunch and hangouts and planning sessions for the Business, until Greed started feeling less like their Boss and more like their friend. And the more they brought him along, the less he hovered over them at the Nest.

Bido knew better than to ask, but he thought that as much as he considered Greed a friend, Greed had started feeling the same, even if he’d never admit it.

Chapter Text

Ling and Greed were on top of one of Dublith’s taller buildings, looking at the stars. Well, Ling was. Greed had dozed off about three minutes ago. They’d been in Dublith nearly a year by this point. Ling… he liked it. The city had grown on him in the past year. He liked what they had here, and knew he’d miss it when they left. Because they’d still go back to Xing when the time came. Greed agreed, and Ling had tried not to be surprised. But Xing had become Greed’s as much as it was Ling’s, and once he had something, Greed didn’t give it up easily.

They’d visit, for sure. Once Ling got everything to calm down on the political side… again. Greed would probably try to get the gang to go with them, unless Ling could talk him out of it. But they wouldn’t leave his past self, and Old Greed wouldn’t leave the whole country. Even leaving Dublith was only supposed to be a temporary thing. Ling hoped it was.

Ling sighed and got up, stretching.  Stargazing was more fun with someone else. The way home took them past the Devil’s Nest, and Ling paused to look. By now they were closed, but Ling could see a light on and someone moving around. He debated stopping in to say hi, but decided against it. If Greed woke up to find Ling talking to his past self, he’d be in a mood about it for the rest of the night.

Like oil and water, those two. In the first few months, when he’d had much more free time, his main focus had been trying to get them to stop fighting at every little thing. It had been an uphill battle, but it had taken up some of his time. Not enough, but some.

He’d had so much free time. Practically a foreign concept back then. The last  time Ling had ‘free time’ before coming to Dublith was when they’d hired someone to kidnap them. It was well planned out, they’d even gotten Lan Fan to agree! (Greed had told her that this was the less drastic plan.) See, you couldn’t trust some stranger trying to kidnap the emperor, but with the specification of ‘alive and completely unharmed or you don’t get paid’, a good kidnapping was a great way to skip out on work for a couple weeks with a valid excuse!

Because there was always work. Being emperor was very time consuming, it turned out. It was rare that they didn’t have something to do. Even with the looming threat of Bradley, even with the two Greeds at each other’s throats, this was still the most peaceful time Ling had ever had. The camping trip with Ed, Darius, and Heinkel came in second, but Ling had been busy wearing Greed down then, so it didn’t really count.  The lack of anything he needed to do was nice, for about a month, but then Ling started to get bored.

Sure, he got a certain enjoyment from watching as Greed grew closer to the Nest. As he re-connected with old friends. And made new ones. And Greed watched as Ling did the same, he knew. Even though Greed said he hated sharing, the prodding to get Ling to interact more with the chimeras told a different story. He kept doing it for months, even when he didn’t need to. Ling didn’t complain though. He’d shown Greed his world, they’d lived it for the past ten years, it was the least he could do to let Greed show Ling his. It was shared with a hundred little things. It was Roa’s stew on a cold day, it was the way Dolcettos hair stuck up when he got rained on. It was the way Martel cheated at cards and the way Ulchi would wave when he saw them. Greed had even gotten comfortable around Bido, even though it had taken longer than it really should’ve, in Ling’s opinion. But, he was patient. He understood.

Old Greed though, Ling was still working on cracking that nut. He got along decently with the other homunculus, when it was just Ling. As much ‘just Ling’ as there could be at least. Which mostly meant his Greed was keeping the insults internal.  But when the two of them interacted? Hoo boy. Both of them were hostile. Ling thought they may be making progress, but it was hard to tell. The first month, they had made the opposite of progress, the tension between the two only growing. He’d managed to stop them before they hit a breaking point. That would’ve been ugly. While the situation now wasn’t as bad as the ‘ready to throw down at a moment’s notice’ they had gotten to at their peak, they still weren’t quite where they’d started.

While trying to mediate that whole mess, Ling had found himself learning more about Greed’s past self. The other homunculus eventually started relaxing around him, as long as Greed didn’t pop up. The first time Old Greed had invited Ling to the Nest for anything other than their weekly training exercises, Ling had given him a genuine grin and done his best to hide his surprise. Greed had even kept from ruining the moment. Barely. He’d had the “fun” of talking Greed out of being jealous at himself. It wouldn’t be the last time they’d have that talk. After a few months, Ling was close enough that he’d call Old Greed a friend, despite his Greed’s best efforts.

These days the two Greeds measured in at  work acquittances on a good day, but progress was progress. They’d get there, even if Ling had to drag them. And those first months, it had been tricky. But it was the only challenge he’d had.

Even their late night trips had gotten, while not boring, routine. So, Ling had dug into the only mystery he had. The life (and presumed death) of one Mr. Steele. And what they’d found was… nothing. No birth certificate, no death certificate. No… anything. Which, if he was born in some middle of nowhere town like Ed was, and if nobody reported his death, then fine. Sure. But there had to be some paper trail somewhere. It was Greed who found the records from when the cobbler’s shop had been purchased.  Sure enough, Ruger Steele was the name on the deed. It was the only scrap of info either of them had.  And even that had been harder to find than it should’ve been.

Besides that, the man didn’t exist. No records anywhere. Even their contacts had nothing. Even their good contacts had nothing.

It was Greed complaining to Bido that finally netted them a lead. Apparently the lizard chimera liked a good challenge, and this? Was a hell of a challenge. Ling did not ask where Bido had gotten the information he did. Greed did ask, but was firmly told that information was for ‘members only’. Ling noticed how Old Greed had smirked at that one. Unsurprisingly, his Greed refused to work for his past self.

Still, the thin folder of information was appreciated. And while there wasn’t much, it was far more than him and Greed had managed.

It turns out the cobbler shop had been a front, and with some good old fashioned breaking and entering, Ling was able to confirm that Steele had been a detective, just like Bido’s file had said. The shop had a hidden room! A hidden detective’s office! When Ling asked why it was so secretive, Greed explained that in Amestris, the military did all the police work. Anything like this, a true detective agency, would be under intense scrutiny. They would have to give detailed reports to the local military about every case. Considering the kind of info Steele had, Ling could understand why he did not want to do that

Another interesting tidbit, nobody seemed to have ever seen the man. There were a few people who had talked to his secretary, but even those were few and far between. It seemed like most all of the business Steele did was through a somewhat secure series of drop-points and letters. That was when the idea had started to form.

And Greed was curious too. They went through Mr. Steele’s office, through records and contacts. They glanced through his old cases. Some that the military would definitely not appreciate. And when they found the drop locations, well… apparently nobody knew Steele was dead, because the most recent case requests were only days old. And they seemed… interesting.

Nobody knew Steele was dead. Nobody had, apparently, ever seen him. The reward was a lot of money…

It didn’t took too hard.

They took the case. They took the reward.

And then they did it again. And again. It was lucrative to be an underground private detective. Dangerous, but lucrative. When someone tried to get the drop on Greed while they were working a particularly twisty case, Ling just kina felt like this was how it was supposed to be. Which was, admittedly, a bit messed up, but he’d missed the thrill of someone wanting them dead.

On those rare times somebody needed to be seen in person, either Ling or someone from the Nest would fill in. And they never claimed to be Steele himself, just… an associate. Steele remained perfectly anonymous.

It was shockingly effective at relieving boredom. Not a line of work Ling had ever considered. (The only line of work Ling had ever considered was Emperor.) But you couldn’t argue with results. And they got results.

Around six months in, their little house had become so filled with paperwork that Greed had put his metaphorical foot down and they had found a front themselves to work out of. There was a nice shop still for sale. A bit smaller than it looked like it should be, unless you know what it was hiding. Although there was no way they were keeping it a cobbler’s shop. It just didn’t match their style. But then, what would it be?

The argument over that answer was the biggest they’d had in a while. Nothing that required manual labor. Nothing that sold living things. (Greed tried to veto the idea of a store altogether, but Ling won that one.) The list went on. Eventually, they settled on a fabric store. It hadn’t been the fist choice for either of them, but sometimes compromise was necessary.

Then came the horrible realization of what was involved with running a ‘legitimate business’. Sure there was the paperwork, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was they had better things to do than play the role of a shopkeeper. They’d have to hire someone.

In the end, it wasn’t so bad. It was actually… kinda nice? They knew people who knew people that needed a job, and the few people they ended up with met both Ling’s and Greed’s standards. And the shop actually made money on top of what they were getting from cases and their nightly strolls! It didn’t need to, but it did. Really, Greed wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chapter Text

There was a letter on Roy’s desk. Well, technically, there was an envelope on his desk. It was plain white, no visible sender, no writing at all other than his name. He didn’t think anything was particularly odd about this. He asked the room at large who had put it there. Nobody knew. It had already been there when they arrived. There was, at this point, still no reason to suspect anything particularly odd. Someone had probably left it here because they would be busy elsewhere. Not that uncommon.

Now, after opening the envelope, there was a letter on Roy’s desk. It did not contain any of the things he thought it would. No requests or reminders from other personnel at Eastern Command. Not even a personal note from anybody else he knew, although that hadn’t been high on his list of possibilities. Double checking confirmed that, yes, it had just been sitting there. It had three sentences, typed out.

The first line was the address of the local postal station, specifically the one for civilian use. The military had their own postal network, but apparently the sender did not want to use that one. The second line told him to ask for a package that would be addressed to him, to be picked up by only him. The  third line said, ‘Tell nobody.’

Roy immediately told Riza.

It sounded strange, they agreed on that, but whoever sent the letter had caught Roy’s attention. It was odd, certainly, but didn’t seem dangerous. Roy wondered if someone was playing a prank on him. He ignored the edge of paranoia whispered that it was a trap, that this was a bit too odd. Hawkeye would understand his caution, if he were to voice it, but Roy didn’t see the need. This was too public to be anything drastic. The worst it could be was blackmail of some sort, and even that was just him giving in to his paranoia. So, while the whisper of ‘danger’ danced around the edges of his mind, Roy ignored it in favor of speculating with his team what it could be.

It was a brief distraction that Roy put aside until the end of the day. Only at this point did he head to the postal building. He’d never actually been here before, most military matters were handled internally and he didn’t get much personal mail. The building was nothing special, nestled on a corner with apartments above it.

The package was wrapped in plain brown paper, and was shockingly heavy. He almost dropped it when the woman behind the counter handed it over. There was a bit of debate on whether to take it back to Eastern Command or just take the thing home. In the end, practicality won out. There was no way the team wouldn’t want to know, and it would be easier for them all to see at once than to relay the information. And as a bonus, if his paranoia amounted to anything, he’d already have backup there.

When he opened it the next day, he had the thought that he should have been more suspicious, probably. This was absolutely a trap, just not the kind his mind had wondered to. The contents of the box were made specifically to torture him, there was no other explanation.

It was full of paperwork.

No wonder it had been so damn heavy.

Roy, famously, occasionally needed to be threatened with bodily harm before he would do his own paperwork. As it was, he sneaked a glance at Hawkeye to make sure it wasn’t some kind of cruel way to get him to do his own work, but no. She looked like she’d been ready to shoot the box of papers at a moment’s notice. Apparently he hadn’t been the only one a bit paranoid, although in fairness, Hawkeye usually looked like she’d be willing to shoot anything at a moment’s notice, so maybe not. Roy kinda wished she would anyway.

Reluctantly, Roy picked up a few off the top to get a better look. He’d already gotten this far, may as well see what exactly had been sent to him. Thumbing through his selection, most of it looked typed out, with a few handwritten notes in the margins. Most importantly though, was the fact all of it looked completed. Although that still left the question of why he’d been sent a box of somebody else’s paperwork with a note that had said to ‘tell nobody’.

That question was answered by a single handwritten note on the top of the pile of papers. He recognized the handwriting as the same that had been on the letter. They both seemed to have been a group effort, two distinct styles of handwriting present in both.

The note said,

‘We’ve got a lotta good dirt on some shit cops. In this box you will find documents outlining corruption in the force stationed at Dublith. And boy is there A Lot! Lucky you! Use caution, but we believe that you can use this information to benefit all of us.

Don’t fuck this up, signed Ruger Steele.’

Digging further into the box, Roy found that the papers were roughly organized by department and rank, and contained evidence that… well, if this was all true… the city of Dublith had a problem. Roy had always heard bad things about that city, but he hadn’t realized that the threat came from more than just criminals. In Dublith, at least, the call was coming from inside. Roy looked at the size of the box before him in a new light. If this was all the same as the top layer of documents? Well, somebody had found some paper trails that Roy suspected weren’t supposed to exist

After digging through the thing, Roy could confirm it was as the note had said. It was all evidence, good evidence at that, outlining everything from a murder of a general that had found out about the corruption to arrests of innocent people with proof the guilty party had paid off the officers in question. There was so much, so many names. Dublith may be the beating heart of this ring of corruption, but the rot had spread all through the south.

Colonel Roy Mustang was a State Alchemist, which meant he was intimately familiar with the darker sides of the military. But there was still a part of him that believed they could help people. A part that had hoped, even though really he knew better, that the branch that delt with civilians would be better somehow. He had solid proof right in front of him that wasn’t the case.

Which brought up another question. Roy had to wonder why this had been brought to him, specifically. Was it because of the title and fame he’d gained after Ishval? It was the most likely, because why else would this Steele, whoever he was, send this to Roy? And how had he done so? Eastern command was secure. But somehow, somebody had gotten into his office unseen. Which meant the man had military contacts or at least some powerful people that owed him a favor. Roy would say he was military himself, but based on some of the wording, it didn’t seem like it.

Roy tapped the desk in thought. If he played his cards right, this would be a major boost to his reputation. It would also, undoubtedly, put a target on his back. There was the question of what this Steele guy was getting out of it, but considering the stuff in these documents, Roy could guess. It would be nice to be recognized for something actually good.

There was a lot of information in this box, but Roy doubted his… informant… had caught everybody. This would make Roy’s life harder, but that was something he was wiling to deal with.

------------------------------------------------

For a few weeks, Roy did nothing. Not nothing, but nothing that could be considered taking action. He took all the documents to one of his safehouses, not trusting wandering eyes at command, or even the security of the house he officially owned.

During these weeks, he verified everything he could. He checked names, dates, claims. Compared signatures, made sure every single document that looked to be official actually was. Roy may hate paperwork, but he believed in being thorough. And it all checked out. Everything that could be verified matched.

And it looked like this had been a group effort. Most of the handwriting was the same, but there were a few points where another person wrote something. The smaller and less frequent notes matched what had been in the letter. Apparently the two that had sent this to him hadn’t been the ones doing the majority of the legwork. He wondered which one was Steele. It had to be a fake name, a quick search hadn’t brought anything up.

He hadn’t wanted to dig too deep. Eastern command wasn’t what would be called close, by any means, but Roy wasn’t taking any chances on who might pick up on something they shouldn’t. Not with this. He was careful, he was cautious, and he only told a select few people. He’d seen that this had spread all the way to Southern Command, he didn’t know how much further.

Maes would have a field day with this, but unfortunately he was in Central and none of this was something Roy wanted to just send along. If the wrong people found out, it would all disappear before Hughes ever got it. Really, even sending it to him had been a risk.

While he’d been verifying everything, Roy had also been trying to figure out how to take action, when the time came. This should be Southern’s jurisdiction. Technically, Roy should send them what he had, but there was no way he was doing that. If he wasn’t sending it to Maes, he sure wasn’t sending this to southern.

In the end, he put together a thick folder with some of the worst things in it to show Grumman, to convince him to let Roy take his team to the south and deal with this problem personally. It was easier than he’d expected. Apparently General Scallion had been a friend of Grumman’s, and the old man had his own suspicions that he could never prove.

It took more time to prepare, longer than usual because they were doing so quietly. Quietly, but properly. A delicate balance. A copy of everything was sent through the proper channels, the slowest ones possible so it wouldn’t reach anyone who could do anything before Roy was in Dublith. They were striking right at the heart.

Roy put himself with the group sent to arrest just over half of the police force in Dublith. Of course, the documents that had to be sent through first weren’t marked as anything special, and Roy knew (or at least hoped) that the people signing didn’t actually take the time to read what they were signing. Roy had gotten good at slipping things in otherwise boring documents. Whoever needed to approve them tended to just skim them.

Everything seemed like it would go smoothly until they entered the city itself.  Technically, nothing changed, but instincts honed on the battlefield told him he was being watched. Plenty of people glanced their way, but this was something more intense. He didn’t see anybody, but he knew. Somebody was watching. It made him expect trouble. There was a chance somebody had gotten word of what they were doing. That there would be an ambush or resistance. But there wasn’t.

The whole station was gathered when Roy’s group arrived, just as the orders that had been sent through requested. Different squads were sent to do the same thing at the other station and the seven substations through the city, but this one was the main station, and seemingly where it all started.

“If I call your name, step forward. You are under arrest for corruption.” Roy began, loud murmurs following his statement. He began reading names. The list was not short. The more he read off, the louder the gathered crowd became. Roy was glad that they’d had the foresight to specify no officers should have weapons on them. He imagined this would be going quite different otherwise. As it was, Mustang’s group were the only ones armed. The whole process passed nearly without incident. Nearly.

“No.” Spoke one man, “You can’t do this.”

He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, and Roy could see the circle drawn on it. The only problem was, well, it was a piece of paper. The man yelled as it was burnt to a crisp in his hand. His eyes were panicked, but he was unharmed. Roy had enough control to ensure that. Still, a demonstration of the Flame Alchemist’s ability was enough to quiet the whole room.

“Anybody else?” Roy asked. For some reason, there were no further objections. When he got the reports from the other squads, he saw that while most had a bit of trouble, only one had any real issues. A group had broken away and run for it at one of the substations. Apparently they’d gotten word of what was happening. The group sent to arrest them had given chase, but hadn’t been able to catch them all once they split up.

Oddly, very oddly, they had gotten the ones that had gotten away. A kid had come up to one of the lieutenants insisting that a monster had told her to go get them. The kid had led them to an alleyway, but refused to enter herself. There hadn’t been a monster, but there had been the rest of the group that had run for it. They were all various states of injured and conscious.

And when questioned half insisted that they’d fought a monster that could disguise itself as a man while the other half admitted that it was some Xingese looking guy that was ‘freakishly fast’. Whoever it had been had clearly known what was happening and was on Roy’s side, although he didn’t have the time to look into it further.

And the whole time, Roy couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.

Chapter Text

Ling didn’t really know when he’d started seeing the Nest the same way Greed did. He’d expected to become friend with them, there was no reason not to really, but they were supposed to be Greed’s family, not Ling’s. He’d mostly been messing with Greed when he started calling Old Greed his brother, but the same logic applied here. The Devil’s Nest was, for Greed, a lot like Fu and Lan Fan had been for Ling. Not related by blood, but by a deeper bond. Ling missed his own family. He really missed them. Ling had been trying not to think too hard about it. He’d been mostly succeeding. Fu was alive.-He’d stay alive. There was no point in worrying before he could actually do anything.

Ling remembered that Lan Fan and Greed had a rough start at first. He’d had to act as the voice of reason more than once. (Him, being the voice of reason?) Ling remembered when Greed had found out Lan Fan’s birthday. Ling had barely managed to talk him into staying reasonable. Well, reasonable for Greed. Lan Fan had still been entirely unimpressed. The Nest wasn’t anything like that, for Ling. It helped that they didn’t start out hating him, but even with that, it was just so… easy.

Ling thought about how, in the future-past, himself, Lan Fan, and Greed had barely needed words to communicate with each other. Well, Ling and Greed literally didn’t, but that wasn’t the point. They had been close. For a long time, Lan Fan had been the only one he really knew he could trust. That… was gone now, wasn’t it? Lan Fan was still out there, whole, unharmed. Fu was alive. So was, well, Ling. A different version of himself, trying to do anything to gain the emperor’s favor. They were a whole desert away.

And here, there was the Nest. And Ling cared about them. The same way Greed had figured out a few important things about Lan Fan, even early on, Ling knew so much about the Nest that he’d never learned from Greed.

 He could tell who was walking into the room by the way they moved, without ever needing to check the dragon’s pulse. He knew each of the gang’s tells when they played poker. He’d known the exact brand of polish to get Dolcetto for his sword on his birthday.

And it went both ways. It wasn’t just the basics, like being able to tell which they were talking to. On their birthday (theirs, because what was Ling’s was Greed’s and that included birthdays) Ulchi had gotten Ling an engraved set of throwing knives. (Greed had gotten a set of five little brass animals.)

Ling truly didn’t know when he’d started to care so deeply. He would, of course, blame emotions leaking over from Greed’s side for starting this whole thing if anyone asked. Only to himself, and Greed, if he wasn’t being an asshole, would he admit that he’d started caring so deeply so early on. The chimeras would always be a weak spot for Greed, so it didn’t really matter if they were for Ling too. That had made it easier. That, and they would be safe here, in Amestris. Where none of his half-siblings could hurt them.

Ling sighed. Greed was asleep and it was easy to get lost in the possibilities. Easy to think about what had happened and what could happen. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Ling let his mind wander.

Early on, everything between the nest and them had been more tentative. Somebody would invite them over for something, usually cards and a few drinks, and usually when Old Greed was out. The general animosity between the two Greeds had been so bad that it seemed like the Nest as a whole had taken the stance of ‘do not let these two be in the same room unless absolutely necessary’. Which, Ling could understand, even if it had made his job of trying to get them to calm the hell down significantly harder.

Ling would try to compensate by inviting the whole Nest, Old Greed included, over to their own little house. That had created more than one argument with Greed, but Ling didn’t back down. The few times that practically the whole nest had shown up, they’d barely had room for them all. Usually it would be ten, at most. Old Greed never took him up on the offer, even though Ling kept making it. Greed didn’t like it, but he did stop complaining after they got past the worst of the hostilities.

When they started working cases was when Greed started showing up to the Nest uninvited. Usually, it was under the excuse that they needed to ask Bido about something related to a case. Greed may not outright lie, but he was one of the best at bending the truth. See, you’d think ‘needing help with a case’ would mean they needed help to solve the case. But more often than not, they would already have a lead. So, what they needed help with was solving it faster.

Old Greed didn’t really like Greed just showing up, Ling could tell, but by then they were at least past the point where he’d be wiling to start a fight over it. When he found out what excuse Greed was using, he did insist they pay the Nest for “services rendered” though. Ling easily agreed before Greed could say anything. It was only fair. And if they started fighting again, Ling was going to fight both of them himself!

A few weeks ago was he first time the other Greed asked for their help was when the Nest was going on a dangerous mission and had to split up. Old Greed could only go with one half of the gang, and he was worried enough to ask for help. Old Greed didn’t put his people in dangerous situations often, but sometimes they really were unavoidable in his line of work.

It looked like it physically pained him to ask, but he did. Ling had to bribe Greed into not taunting the other homunculus with his response. In the back of his mind, Ling wondered how much Greed actually disliked his old self at this point and how much was just knowing Ling would offer him something if he’d behave. When they’d actually gone though, Greed had been unusually quiet. It had gone… not great, but everybody made it out alive.

‘They didn’t all make it, last time.’ Greed had told him. He hadn’t remembered until afterwards. Last time it had been one of Dolcetto’s team, a wolf chimera. It was probably good that Greed didn’t remember until afterwards, really.

‘They did this time.’ Ling reminded him. There was still an old feeling of failure that lingered, but Ling’s words seemed to help a little.

It was concrete proof that they could change more than small things.

When they went out the night after they got back, Greed took the lead. By the time they were heading home, he’d felt almost back to normal.

They were theorizing about the how of time travel when they’d noticed a kid walking behind them. They’d been distracted, but not quite enough to not notice they were being followed.

“Hey!” the kid had said, jogging to catch up with them when they turned to look at him, “You’re him, right?”

“Who?” Greed had asked.

“The thief! The one from the papers! That’s you, right?” The kid asked, taking a step closer into the streetlight. Ling had thought the kid was blonde, but with more light he could see that hadn’t been quite right. The white was just so dirty you couldn’t tell. Red eyes looked up at them with an expression of awe that Ling hadn’t seen since he’d been emperor.

“Uh… yeah, but how did you know that?” Greed had asked. Because yeah, if a kid could figure them out, that was bad.

“You always come through here. And I saw you with the flute that was in the paper!” The kid said excitedly. They did not always come this way, but… they probably did more than they should, especially if random kids were recognizing them. It was one of the easier paths from the ‘good’ side of town to the side that people who didn’t live or work there tended to avoid.

“Thanks for the heads up.” Greed said, turning to keep walking.

“Wait!” The kid said, running a bit to keep even with Greed’s quick pace, “Teach me! I’m already really quiet and sneaky!” The kid was not being either of those things at the time. It was a good thing the street was deserted at that hour.

“No way, we work alone.” Greed said, as though that sentence made sense.

“If… if you don’t, I’ll-I’ll turn you in!” The kid had threatened. The threat sounded very hollow.

“Kid, if I believed you, that’d be a really stupid thing to say. I could kill you right now if I wanted to.” Greed said. At this, the kid stopped. Greed kept walking.

‘You can’t just say that to a kid!’ Ling said.

‘I’ve threatened to kill plenty of kids. You never had a problem with it before.’ Greed argued back. That… wasn’t wrong, but those kids had either been Ling’s siblings, which barely counted, or Elrics, which barely counted for a different reason.

“Well, I don’t think you’ll kill me!” And there he was again.

“Why?” Greed sounded honestly confused.

“You’re a thief, not a murderer.” The kid said. Greed laughed.

“Kid, I’ve killed lots of people.” He said.

“Oh… But… you still won’t kill me.” The kid sounded slightly less confident in that.

“And why do you think so?” Greed asked, not bothering to look down.

“Because I’m still alive!” Infallible logic, truly, but Ling was thinking by that point.

“Kid, what can I call you?” Greed asked.

“My name’s Ike!” The kid had said, which, while not the first hint that something was wrong, was certainly the biggest.

“Listen Ike, you’re not wrong, but I’m still not gonna teach you. So, scram.” Greed had said, taking a sharp turn down a dead-end alley. He was planning on escaping upwards. Ling could feel the vague discomfort of the situation. Greed wasn’t bad around kids, but he’d never really figured them out either. Part of never being one, Ling supposed.

‘I think we should listen to him.’ Ling had said, stopping Greed from following through with his planned escape route.

“What?!?” Greed said out loud.

‘It wouldn’t hurt to already have an Ishvalan on our side later.’ Ling said. It was a cold, calculating way of looking at it, but Ling had been raised to be both those things. Really, it was probably mostly Fu’s influence to blame for him being a halfway decent person. His choice had nothing to do with the fact that this kid clearly wasn’t being taken care of, that was true for lots of kids. Those kids had never directly asked them for help. Ling could practically feel Greed thinking about it. He could also feel when Greed’s thoughts ground to a sudden stop.

‘Fuck.’ Greed had said wearily.

‘What?’ Ling asked.

‘I have an idea.’ Greed’s tone made it sound like his ‘idea’ was trying to fistfight an alligator.

‘Which is? Ling asked when Greed failed to elaborate.

‘The Nest’ Ah. While working with Old Greed was one thing, this would be going a step farther. The more Ling had thought about it though, the more he realized Greed was right. The Nest would be better for the kid in the long run than they would be. Neither of them knew how you were supposed to take care of a normal kid.

“Alright, I’ll make a deal with you.” Greed had said, turning to look at Ike.

“Yeah?” How old was this kid anyway? Twelve would be Ling’s guess. Neither of them had asked.

“You work for my aq-broth-en-r…” Greed paused for a moment, he’d closed their eyes so he could really focus on glaring at Ling, who was in turn giving him an innocent grin, “You join my… brother’s… crew for a year, and afterwards, if you still want, we’ll teach you how to steal shit.”

Ling had to give Ike some credit for not immediately agreeing. He had actually thought about it, a small frown on his face.

“You don’t sound like you like your brother.” Ike said. Greed scoffed.

“I don’t. Doesn’t change the offer.” Greed said.

“… fine.” The kid agreed.

They took the kid home for the night, Greed telling him about seven times not to touch anything. Currently he was asleep on the couch. Ike was, at least, quiet when asleep.

In the morning, they left for the Nest. The bar wouldn’t be open, but Ling had gotten a key a long time ago. It’s not like the lock ever stopped him anyway. Ling had been right, the kid didn’t have any parents that he remembered and had been found and raised by a few other street kids. Amestris was always at war, and that tended to leave kids without anybody to look after them. Ike wouldn’t say much about the group, besides the fact there were a lot of them and they took care of each other.

When they got to the Nest, Greed tried to get Ling to be the one to talk to Old Greed. Ling refused. It was Greed’s idea. Greed nearly turned around and left right then, but Ling suggesting he was afraid of his past self was enough to get him to stay.

It wasn’t that Greed didn’t know what Ling was doing, it’s just that he couldn’t turn down Ling’s challenge of, ‘Prove me wrong then.’

‘Fine.’ Greed grumbled, leading Ike downstairs. Despite his earlier bravado, Ling could tell the kid was nervous. In the main room, there was Old Greed, Roa, and two members of Roa’s team.

“Hey Replacement, Ling.” Old Greed greeted. The other homunculus seemed to really like that nickname, in part because Greed really hated it. Ling thought it was still better than anything Ed would come up with. Greed gently tugged Ike around to stand in front of them.

“He’s your problem now.” Greed said, placing a hand on each of the kid’s shoulders. Then, before, he could get a response, Greed turned around and left.

‘I don’t know if that counts as proving me wrong.’ Ling said as Greed climbed the stairs.

“Shut up.” Greed muttered, heading in the direction of Ling’s favorite breakfast place. Ling shut up.

It was a month later that Roa asked them to go with his team on a mission.

“Greed already approved it.” Roa told them. ‘Greed’ always meant Old Greed whenever it was one of the Devil’s Nest saying it. They had agreed to help, because of course they would. And then it… kinda kept happening? Ling realized what was going on long before Greed did. He’d been outplayed by his past self. Greed would never follow an order if Old Greed gave it, but he just couldn’t say no to the chimeras. Ling thought it was hilarious.

Greed started the first real fight he’d had with the other homunculus in nearly a year when he found out. Yes, Greed won, but it wasn’t worth much when Old Greed  and Ling wouldn’t stop laughing at him. And yet, the very next day when Martel approached them for some extra backup in case something went wrong, Greed barely hesitated before agreeing.

While they didn’t lose track of time, each new year always felt like it snuck up on them. It was easy to get lost in they day-to-day. Easy to focus on cases and helping the Nest.

But they never really forgot. They couldn’t. Their time here was precious, and they wouldn’t take it for granted. Sometimes, they would read over the plan they’d already read hundreds of times, just to make sure. It had to be foolproof. Perfect. Ling hoped it was enough

When the year rolled over to 1914, Ling bought a calendar and they started marking off days. Ten months left. Each red X brought them closer.

Tension grew. Ling was sure the Nest felt it too. It felt like the countdown to the promised day all over again. September 27^th, a letter came from Mustang. They wrote each other often by now, Mustang was one of their best contacts, and Ling imagined the man would say the same thing about them.

The fewer days that were left, the harder it was to sleep. To do anything other than worry.

They prepared, as much as they could. They listened; they gathered all their resources. Then the 7^th came and went. Nothing happened. He knew Bradley was still coming, thanks to Mustang’s letter, but they’d changed something. Wrath was late.

Ling watched for the vehicles he knew he’d see, but he didn’t. Not yet. He did see Ed, which was odd, but not that odd. He had said his teacher lived in Dublith and that Greed had kidnapped Al. This time there was no kidnapping, but Ling supposed he had already been in Dublith when that happened, so some things, at least, were happening when they were supposed to.

Although… wasn’t that how Ed had said he knew what a homunculus was? Ling didn’t take a chance, he slipped a note into Ed’s pocket explaining the important bits, just in case. Then it was back to waiting.

Five days later, it finally happened.

Chapter Text

Greed was suspicious. He’d learned a long time ago not to trust any of his siblings, and while the Replacement was technically not one of those, he was close enough. The other homunculus may have been… Greed… but that didn’t make him any less dangerous. Really, it may make him more dangerous. He was sure that the other homunculus wanted the Nest. And Greed didn’t know how to stop him. He hated how close the Replacement was with his chimeras. Even now, he wanted to tell the other homunculus to stay the hell away, but he didn’t. That was the deal, he had to let the Replacement in, had to watch as he tried to take them away. They hadn’t, yet, but Greed was sure it was only a matter of time.

Greed kept watching, waiting. He didn’t know what he was waiting for, but it wasn’t this.

This? Didn’t add up. He’d been getting a report from Roa and two of his team, Rand and Rob, on the last mission. Then the Replacement (Greed wasn’t sure if he liked the fact he could tell it wasn’t Ling) came down the stairs, uninvited, with some kid, interrupting them. And just as fast as he showed up, the Replacement was gone and Greed was looking at what they’d left behind. Greed hadn’t, as a rule, spent much time around kids, but even he could tell this one looked scrawny. The silence waited just long enough to get uncomfortable.

“So… what was that about?” Rand asked from behind him. This caused the kid, who had just kinda been standing there, to smile nervously.

“The Phantom said he’d teach me if I joined your gang.” His voice shook a little with nerves.

“Who?” Rand asked. Greed was glad somebody else had, because he was wondering the same thing.

“Ling.” Roa clarified. And yeah, that’s right. The local news had given the prince that stupid title. Greed had forgotten about that.

“Huh. Did he say why?” Greed was suspicious. Ling, he could almost understand doing something like this. Ling was a bit crazy like that, but the Replacement? Greed didn’t trust it. Something was wrong here. Was the kid supposed to be a spy or some shit? But no, because the nest would already both Ling and the Replacement way too fuckin’ much.

“No, but, well.... You’ll let me, right?” This kid had the biggest damn eyes Greed had ever seen. Generally, he had a no kids rule. He barely knew how normal humans worked, let alone the little ones. He was pretty sure they needed extra stuff though. And, like, other specific human shit. Greed should tell him no. But… what was the angle here? Why had the Replacement not taken him if he wanted him? Or done what Greed would have done and told the kid to get lost? Was it because of Ling? Greed just didn’t get it.

“How old are you?” Roa asked while Greed was thinking.

“I’ll be sixteen in a few months!” The kid said. That was a good number, right? Like, almost an adult? Greed was pretty sure he remembered meeting some soldiers that were, what, a year older than that? That was way back, but that meant this kid was basically an adult, right? Old enough to buy alcohol at least, Greed knew that much.

“What’s you name kid?” Greed asked.

“Ike.” It just didn’t add up. What was the deal here?

“Boss, you’re not actually considering this, right?” Roa asked. But the thing is, Greed was considering it. He wasn’t one to say no to more stuff. And… the other Greed had only had the chimeras. There was still a specific hesitation. The reason why he only had the chimeras. This was a full human. The last time he’d had actual humans- but he hadn’t had anything like the Nest back then. And he’d have something the Replacement didn’t. He wanted that.

“Actually, I am.” And with that, it was settled. Ike ended up assigned to Bido’s team, relatively out of danger. It didn’t take long for the kid to just become another part of the Nest. Greed had twenty-seven again. It was shortly after he’d talked with his Prized Possessions about his plan with the Replacement that he got number twenty-eight. A friend of Ike’s, apparently.

Greed had learned what size kids were supposed to be. If Ike had been scrawny, this one was worse. The whole world would be Greed’s one day, and he had to make sure stuff didn’t get broken before then. That’s what he told himself at least. The second kid joined the Nest.

Over the next year, the Nest would grow. Not all the new members were as young as Ike, but a lot of them were. Greed had overheard Dolcetto and Roa talking about it. The wars had left a lot of orphans behind.

Not all of the Nest was happy with the changes at first, Greed had to break up a few fights, but it didn’t feel like a bad thing. And each time, it got easier.

They were mostly street kids and vagrants. People with no place to go that were desperate enough to join up with somebody like him. Apparently, word spread that Greed took care of the Nest in a way most people in his position didn’t. Which, duh. You had to take care of nice things if you wanted to keep them that way. Greed didn’t understand why the leaders of the two other Dublith gangs didn’t do the same.

And the wildest part? Somehow, they were loyal. Greed had expected someone to try and turn on him, and technically he’d been right. But before any of Bido’s team had ever found out, Greed had. And that had been because Ike and a group of kids that he’d brought with him had beaten the man half to death when he tried to recruit them to turn against the Nest. The idiot had even admitted it, right in front of Greed! Greed thanked the group, took the man away, because Roa said you weren’t supposed to kill people in front of kids, and finished what the group had started. Really, they’d nearly taken care of it themselves. A couple of them got re-assigned to Roa’s team after that. A couple more to Marel’s.

In the following months the Devil’s Nest became somewhat of an open secret in Dublith, if you knew who to ask. And yet, somehow, the officers of the local police ended up hearing less about them. The amount they had to pay in bribes had gone down a noticeable amount. So had the amount the bar paid for supplies. Greed wasn’t sure how that worked, but he wasn’t going to question it.

Life was good.

Until it wasn’t.

The Replacement was there when it happened. Somebody wanted out. Greed could remember Bido’s threat from a year ago. He’d tried to ignore it, had succeeded, really. Nearly forgotten. But the thought showed up from time to time. What if he had? What if he’d left? Or any of the others. They belonged to Greed. He’d never figured out what he’d do, tried not to think about it. But now he had to. Now, it was happening.

She’d come up to Greed and she’d looked afraid. People should be afraid of Greed, but members of the Nest were an exception. Something was wrong. Her name was Nance and Greed remembered when she’d first arrived. She’d been seventeen and her sister had been one. He hadn’t realized humans could even get that small. Roa said they were even smaller when they were born, but Greed wasn’t sure how. He’d made sure they were taken care of. And now-

“Um… I’m-I just, uh, I need to-to go. I need to go.” She said, and Greed didn’t understand, at first.

“Where?” He’d asked and frowned when she’d hunched her shoulders.

“Away. From here. From the Nest. I-I’m sorry. You’ve all done-so much, but… I need something better, for my sister. I’m sorry.” It had taken a moment for the words to really mean anything. Then they did, and Greed was…  angry. He could feel a familiar ache flare in his core. Better? What was wrong with the Nest? And-and she was his, they all were! Greed wanted to tell her no. He was going to, until a hand closed around his wrist. Ling.

“Talk to me for a moment.” Ling said, pulling him away. Greed let him. Greed wasn’t sure he could have stopped him, really. Ling was serious. Ling only got serious when something was important, Greed had learned. He knew he wouldn’t like whatever it was the prince had to say.

“You need to let her go.” Ling said once they were out of earshot. And how did he sound so calm about that?! How was the Replacement not just as upset as Greed was?!

“Why?!” Greed asked sharply. Ling gave him an unimpressed look and Greed glared right back.

“They trust you.” Ling said after a moment, “If you don’t let her leave, you’ll break that trust. You know that.” Greed did, on some level, but it wasn’t easy. It hurt. Greed stalked back over to Nance.

“Fine.” He said, walking past her. Fine, but he didn’t have to like it. That night was the first time he’d gotten drunk in a long time. And she wasn’t the only one, just the first. There weren’t many others, but there were enough. And it hurt each and every time. Greed had said he wouldn’t get fucking attached. And look at that. He failed. Just like he always did. Couldn’t be a good guard dog for Father, couldn’t save all the chimeras, couldn’t keep what he did have from leaving.

Then Ike came to him with one of his chimeras. One of Martel’s group. Greed, by now, recognized the expression people tended to make when they were about to say something he didn’t want to hear.

“No.” Greed had said. It had been barely a whisper, like was fucking begging. He couldn’t take this.

“We want out.” Ike said, voice firm. That’s all he said. Most people at least gave an explanation. But there was nothing. The chimera beside him said nothing. Wouldn’t even meet Greed’s eyes.

Greed wanted to say no. To ask why. But instead, he just said, “Fine.”

 It was all he ever said, when someone wanted to leave. If he tried to say more, Greed knew he’d regret it. So, he didn’t. It didn’t matter.

After that, he started trying to distance himself from the Nest. Just a little. He wasn’t supposed to care so much, that’s what the Replacement did. Greed had already resolved to be different. He’d failed, but he could still undo it. If he could, then it wouldn’t hurt so much.

He’d been right, hadn’t he? In a way the replacement was stealing the Nest away from him. He’d brought Greed people that would leave. He must’ve known. And Greed was just letting it happen. But what else could he do. Ling was right, he couldn’t stop them. Greed remembered how that felt, being trapped somewhere. But he couldn’t… he couldn’t keep caring. If the Replacement wanted the Nest, then fine. Greed had been on his own before. The very thought sent such a strong wave of agony through him that Greed swore it physically hurt, but if they were going to leave anyway, he might as well make it on his own terms. Get it over with.

He couldn’t do it.

The next time Ling said he had someone he wanted Greed to meet; Greed told him to do whatever he wanted with them. He was done caring. He tried to be done. But it still hurt. How did the rest of his family do it? How did they not care? Greed wanted to meet them, but he refused. They’d just leave, and if Greed never met them, then it wouldn’t hurt when they left. He hadn’t realized how dull that ache of want had gotten until it was back. Greed hated it.

A few weeks after that, Nance was in his bar. Roa had to practically drag him out of his room. Greed stilled when he saw her. He felt… a lot, actually. Angry, at what she had started. Glad she was alright. Afraid she wasn’t. Why else would she be here? Mostly it just hurt. Greed was tired of hurting.

“Hey,” She tried for a smile. It was small and shaky, “I have someone I want you to meet. Ling said he tried talking to you, but… Listen, Greed, he needs help. And you help people.” That… wasn’t true. They smuggled weapons and drugs. They were hired guns and thieves and-

“I don’t help people.” Greed said. He had been, he knew that, but look where that had gotten him.

“Right. Right, I forgot. But… will you please meet him anyway? He came all the way here from Metso.” That was… nearly forty miles away. Greed reminded himself he didn’t care, he couldn’t. He couldn’t.

“Why?” Greed asked despite himself.

“Because he heard it was safe here.” Greed wanted to laugh. There was nothing safe about Dublith. About his gang, or being near a monster like him. She’d realized that. Surely. And the others. It wasn’t exactly a secret in the Nest that he wasn’t human. Why else would they all leave? This kid would too. Greed should just say no now, send him away now. But Greed wanted. So badly. It would hurt later, but if it could help how he was feeling now... Greed wanted so much. And so, he agreed. Even knowing it was a mistake. Envy was right, he really was weak.

The nest gained a new member. For now.

It was a few months later he heard from Ike. The kid had dyed his hair black and gotten a job with the railway. He’d written a letter. The railroads are what moved people, goods, and information across Amestris. Ike wrote saying he wanted back in. Greed should have hesitated, probably. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. The ache of desire within him wouldn’t let him.

Not everyone came back, but Ike wasn’t the only one. Greed wanted to yell at them. Why? Why had they left if they would be back? Why had they hurt him for no reason?! Greed ended up half drunk and yelling at Ling instead, which had the unfortunate side effect of the Replacement also hearing him, but Greed didn’t really give a damn at that point.

Still, the moment their posture changed, Greed shut up. Having the Replacement be an unfortunate observer and actively talking to him were two entirely different things.

“Did you tell them they could leave Dublith, dumbass?” the Replacement asked. He… hadn’t. But that should have been obvious. Why would he need to tell them that?

“People leave Dublith all the time.” He pointed out. The Replacement rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, on missions. Then they come right back.  Had this problem in Xing. You gotta tell people shit. The other Bosses? They don’t, ya know, let people go.” Greed was not having this discussion with the Replacement.

“Bring Ling back.” Greed said. The Replacement threw his hands in the air with an aggravated noise.

“He’s right.” Ling said with a small frown. Greed scoffed and finished the bottle he was holding.

Still, he informed the Nest that they were free to move around as they pleased. And… people stopped leaving. Was it that easy? Really? Was that it? All that pain over a stupid fuckin’ misunderstanding?! Why had none of them just asked him?!

Greed stated looking into the other gangs of Dublith with Bido’s help. And, it explained a lot. Greed had known they didn’t treat their people well, but… Well, by the end of the year, Dublith would be his and his alone.

Over the next few months, as things settled down, Greed stopped trying to draw away from the Nest. It… hadn’t been working anyway. Greed started going places with members of the Nest again, and Ling was annoyingly consistent getting him to come to the weekly poker games Ulchi hosted. Ling always left with more money than he’d arrived with. Greed always had less. He knew they were cheating, somehow.

It was during one of these meetups that Ling said he had a different sort of person he wanted Greed to take into the Nest, temporarily.

“He’s a spy, for my contact in the city.” Ling said.

“And you want me to let him in the Nest?” Greed said. The ‘Are you out of your mind?’ was implied by his tone. Greed knew Ling’s contact was military.

“It’ll be fine. He’s after me, not you.” Ling said, then, “Or, I guess technically, he’s after Mr. Steele.” Greed didn’t like it, but unfortunately, he trusted Ling’s judgement. And he had to admit; he was a bit curious about how good a military spy would be.

Reluctantly, Greed assigned the man to Dolcettos group. No way was he giving the military access to the stuff Bido and his team had. In the end though, Ling was right. The man, Breda, asked a lot of questions. Specifically, a lot of questions about Ling. He was good, Greed would give him that. If Greed hadn’t known he was military, he wouldn’t’ve guessed it. Really, he thought that the other homunculus was playing with fire there, but it truly was not Greed’s problem this time.

Half a year later the man was gone. Nothing really changed in the Nest. It hurt a bit less, knowing he would be leaving before he’d even arrived. Weirdly, Breda still sent letters sometimes. Greed would answer them when he was answering the others.

These days, a lot of people sent Greed letters. He hadn’t realized how many connections he’d made until Bido pointed it out. They had people everywhere in Dublith and the surrounding cities, in all walks of life.

And they would have to leave it behind.

Greed had known that, but it hadn’t really hit him before.

The day grew ever closer, and where once he had planned with Ling about what do with thirty people, the number now was closer to sixty, more if you counted the people that didn’t stay in Dublith and the ones that weren’t technically part of his gang, but were still, undeniably, his. Plans were modified accordingly. Old journals that hadn’t been opened in years were brought out. They all had to be perfect. Greed swore he’d do better. He swore he wouldn’t lose the Nest like the Replacement had.

His family would be expecting chimeras. So, they’d send the rest away, and as many of the chimeras as they could manage without seeming like they knew what would happen. Slowly, over time, Greed’s network had grown. They already did jobs that took them away from Dublith, they’d just be moving their central location for a while. It was necessary, for the best, but that didn’t make it any easier. Leaving things behind was not in Greed’s nature.

Then Ling told him he would be leaving, afterwards. That he’d be going to central. That he had other people he needed to save. Greed almost offered to help him before he caught himself. This was a good thing; he tried telling himself.  And it would be after Wrath showed up. It would be fine. They had plans. They knew what to do, what to expect. This would all work out.

And it almost did.

Chapter Text

Roy had been right about the effects of what happened in Dublith. He would have done it anyway, but after dealing with the horrifically blatant ring of corruption he experienced a major boost to his reputation. There was a lot of attention from many officers of a higher standing, most of it good. He even got a medal that was, honestly, mostly for show. Roy Mustang should be happy. And, he was, to an extent. This was precisely what he’d planned. But it didn’t sit right with him, taking the credit for someone else’s work. Sure, Roy had made the arrests, but he hadn’t been the one to find the information. And he wanted to know more about the man who had.

Once the ‘Dublith Incident’ was resolved, or at least all arrests were finalized, Roy dug deeper into ‘Ruger Steele’. Or tried to at least. At first he found nothing, the man may as well have been a ghost. Roy had known the name was likely an alias, but he’d still hoped to have some sort of lead.

At the very least, Roy could assume the man had connections to Dublith, but that wasn’t much to go off of. After about a month with no luck, Roy gave in and contacted Hughes. While Roy wasn’t bad at a certain amount of intelligence work, most of his contacts were in the East and central. And Roy could admit he was nowhere near Hughes’ level, nor did he have the number or quality of contacts Hughes had access to.

That man was damn good at his job. Within a few weeks, Roy had a lead. There wasn’t much on Steele, but there was some. There was, if you knew where to look, a tiny paper trail. Roy now knew the following things.

First, Steele was a private detective, acting outside the law. Second, he was based in Dublith. Third, nobody had ever seen him, or even talked to him. And finally, he had bought a storefront that had closed down about half a year ago. None of this helped to actually contact the man, but it gave Roy some insight into what he was dealing with.

While Roy was well aware that Steele’s business was illegal, plenty of people had much worse criminal contacts. Really, Roy was relieved he was just a private detective and not something worse like a mob boss. It helped to cement his desire to contact the man. It took a bit of time, but eventually Roy was able to send a letter through that he was reasonably certain would reach the detective. A convoluted web of channels that Hughes had called ‘impressive’. The letter Roy sent contained thanks for the Dublith information, paired with some of the most minor blackmail Roy had on some officers that were more trouble than anything else.

A calculated play, on Roy’s part. He didn’t want to scare Steele away. Hopefully he came off as helpful, or at least useful. Of course, Roy fully intended for it to be the other way around. Steele had already shown his skills, and Roy wanted that on his side, legalities be damned.

A couple weeks later, Roy had a response. Once again, a plain white envelope with only his name, left on his desk. Inside was some much more incriminating blackmail that what he’d sent. And on the same exact people. Some of it Roy knew about, some of it… he didn’t. The rest of the letter essentially said ‘do better’.

This started a chain of letters that were mostly innocuous, the sort of things you’d write to a friend from out of town… mostly. Every so often, Roy would mention how some officer was ‘annoying’. Steele’s next letter would, without fail, have helpful information. Sometimes blackmail, sometimes political rivals of the officer in question. It was baffling how a man from Dublith had so much information. Months had passed when Roy received a different sort of letter from his pen pal. A request for information on a former state alchemist. A request for classified documents. This, Roy knew, was a turning point. Steele had done a lot for him, but it hadn’t technically been anything illegal on Roy’s part. This would be a point of no return, either give Steele the information, or cut contact.  

He couldn’t threaten to turn Steele in like most people did with their criminal contacts. He didn’t really have any leverage against Steele. Sure, he knew the man was an illegal detective, but without any way to catch him, Steele could just vanish. And the detective wasn’t a contact Roy wanted to lose… The alchemist in question had retired from the military years ago. Sure, the information was classified, but it wasn’t exactly current. With those justifications in mind, Roy made his choice. He sent the documents.

Steele sent back a thank you and some intense blackmail on a few of Roy’s more problematic roadblocks. This wouldn’t be the first real trade of information, nor the last. Whenever Steele asked for something, he’d always send Roy information afterwards, even when Roy hadn’t asked for it. Roy knew that if he ever got caught, he’d almost certainly lose his certification, but Steele really wasn’t a contact he could afford to lose. That became his go-to justification when dealing with Steele. The detective was just too damn useful.

Whenever Roy needed information or help from Steele, the detective never failed to deliver. And Roy would send something back to Steele in return, the same way the man did for him. Although, it usually wasn’t information Roy sent. He discovered that Steele received more concrete gifts well. Money didn’t seem to do much, but the wine Roy had sent once had apparently been appreciated.

Roy had never seen Ruger Steele, but he felt like he knew the detective. Pen pals indeed. It was in the summer of 1912 when Roy finally felt like he could ask the big question.

A meeting, face to face.

The request was swiftly denied. Thankfully, Steele didn’t break off contact, but Roy still felt like he’d made a misstep. The next few letters were shorter, less friendly than usual. They went back to normal fairly quickly, but Roy got the point.

Eventually though, he got lucky. It had been years since Roy had started talking to Steele, but finally the man had let something slip. The Devils Nest was a bar in Dublith, but Roy thought it must be something more to Steele. Why else would the man ask Roy to keep an eye out for anything with that name on it?

Later that year, Roy was transferred to Central. Most of his team joined him, but he had something else for Breda to do first. A short detour. Roy kept up his correspondence like usual while Breda was to find out hat he could about the Devil’s Nest and, more importantly, about Steele. A month after getting sent to Dublith, Roy found out that Breda had apparently joined a gang? Which is what the bar was a front for, apparently.

But that wasn’t the real trouble. While the man did learn about Steele, he also learned so much more. Chimeras, human chimeras, created by the military. Roy trusted Breda, he knew the man wouldn’t lie, and wouldn’t relay something like that without proof. Even then though… Chimeras had been one thing, but apparently there was something worse in Dublith.

A myth in alchemy, an impossible creature. A homunculus. And there were two! Roy couldn’t help but think of the Elrics. On one hand, this could help those boys. On the other… Breda had described these creatures as ‘unkillable’. He’d said they could slice a man’s head off with their bare hands. (And that they had done so. Gleefully.) One had taken a gunshot to the head and barely slowed down.

The warning bells were screaming ‘danger’ louder than ever before. Roy had to resist the urge to pull Breda out early, no way was he sending two children to deal with that. Al… may be fine, but he could see Edward starting a fight he couldn’t win. He’d let Fullmetal keep following his leads, and then, when he was older and (hopefully) more mature, then Roy could tell him about the… homunculi. Hopefully they’d find what they were looking for before it got to that point.

Even with the new information making Roy re-arrange his worldview, he stayed in contact with Steele. It was more important now than ever before.

Ruger Steele, real name Ling Yao. Or, apparently, Greed. A homunculus! He’d been talking to a myth all along! Roy felt a lot like he was believing in fairy tales. Roy also felt like his letters carried more weight than before. Like he really couldn’t afford to lose Steele. Roy was glad he’d refrained from pushing too far too fast.

Now though, every time he saw the Elrics, he had the thought of telling them. First, he thought, he’d see how they reacted to chimeras. Some people couldn’t handle the idea of them. And Fullmetal was… volatile.

Roy remembered an alchemist in the East, Tucker, that did chimera research. He’d have the boys go there and get used to chimeras as a concept. If they could handle the animals, then they could move on from there.

It was a choice Roy would regret. He’d taken the first train East when he’d heard. He’d been so wrong. When he saw what had been done to that poor kid- Well, Roy was a professional. Roy was a professional and so he didn’t shoot the man in front of his- his daughter. He could only imagine what Hughes would think of this…

Roy was a professional. Roy was a State Alchemist. Roy knew what would happen to Nina. Nothing good, especially after learning about the state’s more secret chimera research. Smuggling her out of the city wouldn’t be easy. Roy couldn’t afford to; it would be too suspicious, too dangerous. The Elrics… weren’t in good shape. But that was- well, getting away for a while would be good for them. God, Roy didn’t know how to deal with children. But he knew how to deal with soldiers, and that would have to do.

The brothers were on the stairs, just letting the rain hit them. Edward would end up catching a cold at this rate.. Roy let his conversation with Hawkeye carry.

“We choose our own path, knowing full well what we’re doing. That’s the way it is, right Fullmetal?” Because Edward knew. There was no destiny or fate, especially not here. Their paths were what they chose for themselves. Roy’s was covered in ash and blood. Edward’s was covered in regrets. He didn’t get a response.

“You will come across cases like this again in the future, and you may end up having to get your own hands dirty as well. Are you gonna shut down like this every time?” Roy had to know they’d be able to do what he was going to ask of them. For a long moment, Roy didn’t think he’d get a response.

Finally, Edward spoke, “We may be called dogs of the military. We may even be cursed as devils. It doesn’t matter. Al and I are still going to get our bodies back. We know the truth, we know we’re not devils. We know we’re not gods. We’re human. We’re only human!” The alchemist was nearly crying. Grief was powerful, Roy knew that, but he needed them to be strong right now. He need Fullmetal, the state alchemist, not Edward, the child. They were the same.

“We can’t even do anything to save one innocent little girl. So what good are we then?” Roy couldn’t afford to sympathize. Not now. They were just kids. Roy lowered his voice.

“Listen to yourself. She’s not dead. But… there won’t be any life for her here.” Roy turned his gaze to the window above, “If you want to save her, take her with you on your next mission, to Tobha.” Roy couldn’t read Edward’s expression. He saw hurt, anger, grief, but there was a spark of something. Roy didn’t know if he’d gotten through to Fullmetal or not, but he’d have to take it.

“Now, Fullmetal, unless you would prefer to leave her here?” Roy said, turning away. It would be hard on them. Roy knew it would be, but if he waited it may be too late. He needed her gone before word reached the wrong ears.

The kids had already left by the time the news came in that Tucker was dead. Scar. Roy was glad he’d sent the Elrics far away. He drafted a letter to his pen pal that was sent before the day was over.

With everything going on, he nearly missed it when he heard the name. A passing comment, nothing more, but unmistakable. It was easy enough to seem mildly curious about a place called ‘The Devil’s Nest’.

A raid. On the last remaining pieces of organized crime in Dublith. Led by the Fuhrer himself.

Looking into it brought forward documents. Records that could have convinced him Ruger’s friends were the sort of criminals that the papers claimed. But some of the records were dated years ago. And they hadn’t been there before. And besides that, Roy knew the truth. More than he’d ever thought he would.

There was only a moment of hesitation. This was, very literally, treason. But, it had been for a while now, hadn’t it?

A second letter was quick to follow his first.