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Post by masterwarlord on Jun 3, 2009 15:49:01 GMT -6
Envy landed outside the mansion of his master, Dante. He’d flown a good while to make it here all the way from Lior after having spent too long on the train ride, taking a good deal longer then he’d wanted. Still in the form of an eagle, Envy casually glided in through an open window and turned back into his main form as he went to search for Dante.
All Envy wanted was to be free of the old hag, but he knew that it was completely impossible to take her out. She was far too powerful. If there was a time to take her out, it would’ve been earlier on, before Envy had fad her so many philosopher’s stones. Unlike the other homunculi, Envy (Namely Greed) fully knew what Dante was capable of and that there was no escaping her.
Then why did Envy go on living? A life as a slave is hardly one worth living, though serving Dante allowed him to kill as many people as possible. . .Seeing he couldn’t escape has servitude, Envy wanted to make the whole world suffer with him. . .Still, this was not enough. He’d killed people for too long. While satisfying at first, it had lost a lot of it’s appeal. However; despite Dante being impossible to take down, she couldn’t keep swapping her soul between bodies forever. Eventually she would die off. Envy knew this from having stuck his nose in an alchemy book or two over his lengthy 400 year life span. He’s always found alchemy somewhat intriguing and envied the humans all the more due to them actually being able to use it.
While Envy could simply serve Dante until her soul was too battered from swapping bodies so many times, Envy wasn’t the patient type. Every second that passed by while he was in servitude was absolute torture. . .He wanted to get out of this as soon as possible. Still, despite being rather impatient, Envy’s intelligence and reasoning was stronger. He’d already waited 400 years, he could wait just a bit longer before Dante finally croaked off.
Still, this wasn’t the main thing that worried him. No. . .Envy was quite paranoid and feared that Dante would betray him before then. Envy had said a good deal of foolish remarks to his master recently and they clearly weren’t making her any fonder of him, thus why Envy was doing his best to behave recently and leave no room for error in his missions. Envy feared that Dante would want him taken out anyway due to him knowing too much, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. All he could do was behave and be patient for the time being.
Envy pondered what he’d do once he was finally freed of Dante’s grasp. He’d never really given it too much thought, as he’d been essentially a slave to her his entire life. He didn’t know any other way to live. He did know that he wanted to try it, though. Considering how much knowledge he’s already gained on philosopher’s stones and his skills in manipulation, he could try making more philosopher’s stones to actually keep for himself. He was already single handedly going to turn the entire city of Lior into a gigantic philosopher’s stone all on his own, there was no reason he couldn’t continue doing what he already was once Dante was gone. But he didn’t want that. He was powerful enough for no human to be a threat to him already, save his master. What did he want, then? He honestly didn’t know, but he’d find out when the time came.
Envy found Dante in the study of her mansion and gave a short bow. He almost did it mockingly, but resisted the temptation. He had to do his best to give a good impression to Dante. “Greetings. . .Master.”. Envy boiled with hate on the inside despite showing nothing outwardly, his ego making him detest having to submit to anyone. “You’ll be pleased to know that I’ve captured Martel. I dropped her off at the military base with Pride and Sloth, seeing that old Pride had something planned for the girl.”.
Envy leaned against a wall and didn’t look directly at Dante to calm himself slightly, but then forced himself to look at her to show more respect. “While I was there, I saw that Gluttony was still alive and kickin’. Greed hasn’t killed him off yet. However; I get the feeling he’d easily come back if you sent Lust down to convince him to rejoin our cause. Not like Lust has been doing much of anything anyway, right?”. While most would assume that Gluttony was torn to shreds by Greed, Envy knew that Gluttony was the cowardly type and that Greed was the type to take pity on those not accepted by the world. Envy figured that he’d forgiven the fat homunculus and acted like nothing happened. . .Pretty pathetic, really. All he was doing was giving Dante another playing card that would inevitably be returned to her hand.
“One last thing that I apologize for not talking with you about earlier. . .I’ve been setting up Lior to be turned into a giant philosopher’s stone. Nobody will know what actually happened and I’ve left no room for error, but if you have other plans I can call it off and easily dispose of everybody involved.”.
Envy grinned as he finished his little report. He hoped that his master would be pleased with him. Despite desparately wanting to be free of her, he was still somewhat fond of Dante as an individual, although her being his mother had nothing to do with it. As far as Envy was concerned, he had no family. Despite this, he admired her sadistic views on life and her cunning plans.
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Post by dante on Jun 3, 2009 19:12:10 GMT -6
Dante turned a page in her book, running her eyes over the ancient text that lined the pages. She had been reading this book for over two days now, but had yet to find what she was searching for. It was quite frustrating, since she clearly recalled seeing the particular passage in this book about a week ago. Perhaps she confused it with another book, which would be very unfortunate if true, considering that she all ready packed up the rest of them.
Turning her attention to the candle on her desk, she frowned when she noticed it was beginning to grow dim. Sighing, the alchemist reached into her desk drawer and took out a new candle. After she took the melted one out of the holder, she placed the new one inside and lit it with one of the several matches on her desk.
"I could have sworn I put that candle in a few minutes ago," she said under her breath. "Must be losing track of time."
That was probably the case, now that she thought about it. It was impossible for her to tell what time it was. All of the lamps in her mansion were turned off, the only light in the house coming from the lone candle on her desk. The curtains were all closed, preventing the luminous beams of the moon from penetrating the thick darkness that filled her abode. This was mainly to avoid attracting the attention of any unwanted visitors. Izumi had made a habit of coming up recently, and it would be bad if she noticed that the lights were on.
And besides, only in the safety of darkness could she dare to conduct her latest experiment.
Hearing footsteps, she raised her misty violet eyes to the doorway. It was Envy, returned from his mission. "Come in," she said evenly, returning her attention to her book. "And watch out for the blood near the door."
Just as she said, there was a large puddle of blood near the entrance to her study. It looked fresh and could not have been there for more than an hour. On the wall across from the blood was a rather nasty claw mark. Apparently a struggle had taken place near the study not too long before his arrival.
Leaning back in her chair, she listened as he gave his report, ignoring the obvious hostility that was boiling within him. It was no mystery to her that he hated her guts, and honestly she could not care less. So he captured Martel like she told him? Splendid. Soon those children of hers would be in her grasp. "Excellent work, Envy. I am greatly pleased."
She frowned slightly when he mentioned Gluttony. Instead of replying immediately, she waited for him to finish the rest of his report. Turning another page in her book, she ran her eyes over the next page, sighing in defeat when she saw that the passage was not there, either. If she did not find it in the next hour, she was going to give up and retire for the evening. After all, she had been working on her latest project all day, so she deserved a little rest.
"Feel free to continue your efforts in Lior. Just make certain to notify me when you are ready to prepare the Philosopher's Stone." Dante paused then, making a quite note in the margin of the page. "As for Gluttony, I am in the process of replacing him. His presence is no longer required."
As soon as she finished answering, something very unexpected happened. From the basement of the mansion came an utterly demonic shriek, almost loud enough to pierce their ears. The scream itself sounded extremely painful, and very disturbingly, it seemed to be accompanied by the hysterical crying of a little girl.
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Post by masterwarlord on Jun 3, 2009 19:55:58 GMT -6
Envy wasn’t irked at all by the various blood and claw marks. He was more then familiar with Dante’s hobbies and pastimes, and seeing she wasn’t worried about it at all he felt no cause for alarm either. He was surprised Dante was so kind as to give him so much as a warning about it, though, but quickly shrugged it off. It was a rather minor gesture, really.
Suddenly, a loud screech came out of nowhere. Envy was easily annoyed by loud noises and hastily transformed away his ears out of existence, taking a moment before reforming them to ensure it had passed. ”So what was that? Another one of your pets?”. Aside from the screech, it didn’t really come as much a surprise to Envy. Dante was always making various monstrosities. . .After all, she made him, didn’t she? Envy chuckled to himself briefly. ”Mind if I take a look?”. He was curious as to just what Dante’s twisted mind had produced this time. . .
Envy waited for Dante’s reply, then went to follow her to go see what she’d cooked up. ”I honestly don’t care about Gluttony, though you know me. Not much I –do- care about. Just wanted to offer you the option. Anyway. . .On Lior, I was planning on going over there to use my alchemist to transmute the place right after I came back to check with you, so. . .Yeah. Everything’s pretty much set up, just so long as my alchemist doesn’t do anything he’d regret later. He can’t do anything to endanger the operation though, just delay it slightly. You don’t intend on coming, do you?”. Envy raised an eyebrow at this proposition. It was rare for Dante to do anything besides sit and plot, leaving him and his fellow homunculi to do all the actual work.
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Post by dante on Jun 5, 2009 18:03:56 GMT -6
Instead of looking at him as he spoke, she kept her eyes on her book. Her lips curved into a frown when he asked if he could see her latest creation. Even though he was almost as old as she was, he was still a curious boy at heart, so needless to say she was hardly surprised by his request. She had planned on keeping her monstrosity under wraps for at least another week, but she supposed there was no harm in revealing it a little early.
A short pause followed, broken by a heavy sigh from the cruel woman. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt," she conceded, rising from her chair.
Smoothing out her dress, she took the candle from her desk and made her way out of her study. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure Envy was following her, then started walking down the hallway, listening attentively as he gave his report. So everything was ready to go? How surprising. It was unlike him to be so competent. Although he was useful for taking care of her enemies, he always had difficulty with missions that involved careful planning and skilled manipulation.
"Is that so? Excellent work," she congratulated him as walked down the dark hallway. "I hadn't expected you to be ready for at least another week. Feel free to begin whenever you wish. Unfortunately, I need to monitor the growth of your new sibling, so I won't be able to accompany you. But I'm sure you'll be able to take care of things without me holding your hand."
When they arrived at the entrance to the basement, she stopped and looked at the homunculus. "I haven't had a chance to tidy things up today, so watch your step."
Opening the door, she led him down the staircase that led to her laboratory. Knowing how he was around delicate equipment, she would have never allowed him anywhere near her lab, but this was a special occasion. And since she had it cleared out about a week ago, there was no reason to keep him out, anyway. All that remained in the basement was her chimera, and she doubted he would be able to do anything to it.
The main room of the laboratory looked nothing like it once did. The shelves of bookcases and supply cabinets were long gone, and in there place was a large table with a bloody white sheet covering it. Diagrams of the human body lined the walls, along with an iron maiden and several counters covered with torture devices. A thick purple miasma permeated the air, bathing the room in an unsettling violet light. The western wall of the room was missing, along with the hallway that it normally led to. In its place was a massive green tube that led into a pit of darkness. The end of the tube was covered with metal bars, and blood and pus seemed to be dripping from it.
"As you can see, I've done some redecorating," she chuckled sultrily.
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Post by masterwarlord on Jun 5, 2009 19:08:43 GMT -6
Envy smirked slightly as Dante agreed to let him see her latest masterpiece. Several times she’d been rather hesitant to show her plans to the homunculus. . .Perhaps she was finally beginning to trust him? Like that’d ever happen. He was probably reading too much into it anyway. Envy’s ego was continuing to be inflated as Dante actually commented him, but all the previous build up was shot down in annoyance with Dante’s hand holding line, the homunculus rolling his eyes.
”I’m perfectly capable of doing things myself, thanks. Sides, it’s hard to not learn how to make a good plot after watching the master at work for a good 400 years. C’mon. You know me better then that. I can get a little impatient, but I know when to be serious. It’s all worth it to see a good plan come together. . .To see those “civilized” people turn on one another so easily. It’s priceless, really.”.
Envy did feel like he could relate to his master on many levels despite her being. . .His master. He’d even managed to sneak a slight comment in there, rather rare. Envy had no intentions of playing teacher’s pet, but all he could do to ensure his eventual freedom was to stay in Dante’s favor so she wouldn’t kill him off before she inevitably died off. Besides, it was nice actually being given a slightly longer leash to work with rather then constantly skating on such thin ice. Envy was beginning to see how much more competent he could really be when he actually got his act together and didn’t act based on a whim. He hadn’t been working this efficiently since back in the glory days before any other homunculi came around and he willingly served Dante.
Envy believed his current life held little to no purpose, hence why he’d been so uncaring and so incompetent until recently. But now that he finally had a motivation to work, he was showing his fullest potential. Envy had to give Dante credit for that. Without her he’d of never been forced to tap into himself so fully. With all the experience he’d gained, he’d easily be able to make a new world as he saw fit once Dante was removed from the picture. He’d had enough mindless killing for ten lifetimes, although the loss of life still certainly didn’t bother him. Once he was free, he’d bring his own nation up from the ashes that would spit upon the current humans of the world. . .
Envy was daydreaming somewhat and going off a bit too deep into thought and chuckling very slightly to himself, being somewhat absent minded for a brief period. He always had the worst timing for making up his plans, it seemed. Perhaps he worked better under pressure? Probably so, seeing the possibility of Dante taking him out was what motivated him to improve his behavior.
Envy came to once he arrived in Dante’s little lab. He chuckled more fully upon the sight of the room. ”No kidding. I like what you’ve done with the place. . .That feeling of ambiance and death. . .The feel of this place seems just like your handiwork.”. Envy smirked slightly at Dante, but then turned over to the table as the beast under the sheet twitched it slightly. ”And now for the main attraction. . .”.
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Post by dante on Jun 5, 2009 19:57:03 GMT -6
Dante chuckled suspiciously, resting her eyes on the large pipe across from them. "Believe me, you haven't seen anything yet. This room is merely where I conditioned the specimen after I first obtained it. The true chimera is below."
She made her way across the room, her heels clicking against the gravel floor. When she reached the entrance to the cavern at the other end of the room, she peered into the darkness below them. It had taken a good deal of work for her to create this pit with her alchemy, but it was worth it. After all, there was nowhere else for her to store such a massive creature; and considering that its body was growing at a phenomenal rate, her choice had been a wise one.
Walking down the wooden staircase that led into the pit, she began to lose herself in her thoughts. Despite being a useful assassin, Envy was beginning to become a thorn in her side. Truth be told, he was more trouble than he was worth. After everything was in order she would likely do away with him, but until then she had to keep him on a tight leash. And what better way to do that than to introduce him to her latest enforcer? She knew he would not be frightened of it, but that did not matter. Once she completed her creation, it would easily be able to keep him and his troublesome brethren in check.
Eventually they reached a wooden platform near the middle of the pit. Coming to a stop, she looked to her side and saw many corpses hanging from chains, connected to a smaller pipe that branched off from the main one. Most of them were of large animals and were missing large chunks of their flesh. Others were cadavers she had Lust steal from grave sites during her travels. Each was missing a limb or two, but they were all missing their eyes.
"Your new sibling required a great deal of flesh," she told him nonchalantly as she resumed walking. "Of course, be aware that this is only a prototype. After I gage its capabilities, I will raise it as a homunculus. Soon our latest Gluttony will be completed."
She led him down another wooden staircase. As they descended deeper into the cavern, the stairs became progressively bloodier. After another minute of walking they finally reached the bottom of the pit. To their right was a series of planks that led to a small door, and directly across from them was an absolutely disgusting sight. A massive blob of flesh and bone, far larger than either of them, was sticking out of an opening in the cavern wall. Its flesh was rotten and covered with blood, and it was pulsating rather violently. Small, fleshy tentacles extended from its side and attached themselves to the wall across from them. Several large eyeballs protruded from its flesh and seemed to be fixed on Envy. A small opening at its end was secreting the thick mist that they had seen in the room above.
Dante quirked a brow at the sight. "Hmm... Interesting. It's growing much faster than I expected. Perhaps I conditioned it a bit too much? Oh well."
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Post by masterwarlord on Jun 5, 2009 21:45:51 GMT -6
Envy looked impressed. ”Is that so? Heheh. I should’ve known better. I’ve come to expect only the best from you.”. Envy followed after Dante further still to see what she’d cooked up, getting more and more eager and curious with each passing moment.
Due to his paranoia, Envy wondered if his efforts really were worth the trouble or not. Would they make any difference in the end? All he asked was for Dante to spare his life. He wouldn’t be ending Dante’s life early, simply waiting it out. Still, there was the possibility she wouldn’t even grant him that, and she seemed perfectly able to live on for at least one more generation. . .More then enough time for her to decide to remove him from the picture.
But what would she do if she lost Envy? Gluttony may as well be dead. Lust was a puppet who wanted to become a real girl. Pride was aging like a human, he wouldn’t last long. Wrath was stuck in the mentality of a child due to –not- aging and thus would get too restless like himself, but due to his unintelligence wouldn’t have the sense to hold it back. Greed was obviously the worst case, being a full fledged traitor. The only homunculus who would last all that long was Sloth, it seemed. She couldn’t afford to lose him. . .Could she?
Envy went on with Dante to see the monster she’d created. Upon seeing it he gave Dante a small round of applause. “Not bad at all. Then again, I wouldn’t of expected anything less from you. You made me, after all.”. Envy smirked and chuckled. Upon hearing that the monster was a prototype of Gluttony, Envy twitched slightly and showed some fear. He wasn’t afraid of the monster by any stretch of the imagination. . .”Ah. So –this- is why you don’t give a damn about Gluttony. Figured there must’ve been a reason, was just surprised you let him go so easily when you kept him around as long as you did.”.
What was Envy afraid of? He certainly wasn’t afraid for Gluttony. He was afraid that Dante could so easily make replacements. . .So what if all the current homunculi were going to die off soon? She could replace them just as easily as Gluttony. . .As much as it pained him to realize it, he was no exception. Considering how practically all the homunculi were going to die off sooner or later, perhaps Dante intended to start with an entirely clean slate? It’d make sense. . .She probably only accepted a homunculus as weak as Wrath due to considering him only a temporary solution. This all made far too much sense. . .Envy had been around to see the homunculi get replaced time and time again. If Dante intended to wipe the homunculi roster clean, Envy would without a doubt be the first candidate. He knew –FAR- too much.
So what could Envy do about this? Defeating her before her time comes was utterly impossible. . .Did he really have any choice but to serve her and to hope for the best? His only other option was to just flee from her and hope to outlast her until she finally croaked over. Then again, that wouldn’t necessairily be such a horrible idea. Greed had already managed to do it for quite some time. . .If Greed could do it, Envy could certainly do it. Envy was an escape artist, and more importantly it was all too easy to go about with his presence entirely unknown. Dante would have no way of possibly tracking him down. Why didn’t he think of this earlier? Envy mentally smacked himself.
While he hadn’t done it previously due to that increasing the likelihood he’s die before Dante, Envy was beginning to question which way the odds really tipped in. If he stayed, Dante could betray him at any time. If he left, Envy could at least do something about it. Envy had all too much confidence in himself. . .He’d rather leave fate to his own hands then up to chance.
Envy stared up at the devil which held his life between her cold grasp. . .The look on his face after thinking that all out was rather intimidated due to him not thinking clearly or worrying about his image. Very rare for the homunculus. He quickly shook it off and just got another one of his usual smirks, trying to make conversation to ease up the moment.
”So we’ve got a much needed replacement for Gluttony that’s actually obedient to us. . .Who’s next on your list? Greed’s probably never gonna come back, so he’s the obvious choice, but what about after him? I’d say Wrath. He’s smarter then Gluttony, but he’s still an idiot, but he’s still smart enough to not manipulate easily. He was a decent temporary solution, but we could use a more long term one, don’t you agree? After that, we might want to prepare Pride’s replacement in advance. He’s not getting any younger. Hell, we could replace all of em, eventually. . .”. Envy had a long pause, realizing how stupid it was for him to say all this when he was considering fleeing his master. He mentally smacked himself again. Envy’s tongue was that of a serpent’s, it was always his biggest problem with Dante. ”Besides me, of course. . .None of the others can compare to my experience. Sides, I’ve already stuck around 400 years. I would’ve betrayed you already if I was going to, but unlike Greed and all those others in the past, I’m not an idiot.”.
Envy stared straight at his master. His impatience had gotten in the way of his planning as usual. . .He was too eager to know what Dante actually planned to do with him. Envy kept his distance from her, fully considering the possibility of her just removing his Oroboros ((Spelling please)) tattoo right now. Envy was showing fear again. . .His course of action to outlast his master depended greatly on her response here.
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Post by dante on Jun 6, 2009 12:13:20 GMT -6
Dante smiled to herself as her servant tripped over his words, keeping her eyes on the pulsating organ across from her. She knew that he would eventually figure it out. Even though Envy was not the most reliable homunculus in her legion, he was still remarkably intelligent, which was hardly surprising considering whose son he once was. He knew that his time was running out, and she could tell it was making him nervous. And since his suspicions were entirely correct, he had every right to be. She would never let him know it, but he hit the nail on the head.
For a moment she considered responding, but decided to let him wait for a while longer. It was not often that she filled him with terror, so needless to say she intended to relish every moment of it. Deciding to prolong the dramatic pause, she returned to her own thoughts. Although part of her wanted to replace Envy as punishment for his subordination, something inside her wanted to keep him around. His replacement would no doubt be far more useful, but he was still an interesting companion. She hated to admit it, but they complemented each other well. Perhaps she would be merciful and give him time to redeem himself before she made up her mind.
But, of course, she could never let him know that.
After mulling over her options for a while longer, she finally spoke up: "You're afraid I might replace you, is that it? To be perfectly honest with you, I had considered it for a while, but I ultimately decided against it. Even though you are insufferable at times, you are my primary enforcer, so it would be unwise for me to dispose of you. Unless you do something unforgivable, you have nothing to worry about."
Turning, she made her way across the planks that led deeper into the makeshift laboratory. The next room was somewhat lighter than the others, and was by far the most horrifying yet. The stone walls were covered with pulsating, veiny flesh that oozed blood and pus. Its secretions poured into several tubes below, which acted as a draining system. Organs not unlike the one they saw a moment ago filled the room, along with several fleshy tentacles. The left wall of the cave was missing, in its place another massive pit that was filled with a sea of claws, tentacles, and bloody organs. Needless to say it was truly the stuff of nightmares.
"Gluttony has become so large that her body extends past Dublith. A few days ago she started growing upward and started to merge with the foundation of my mansion. In lamens terms, she has become part of this structure. Now come along, we're almost there."
She carefully maneuvered around the room, stepping over the many bloody tentacles that covered the floor. "As I'm sure you can tell, this chimera is rather unique," she explained, walking past a broken claw with small eyes protruding from its side. "I designed it so that its body is essentially indestructible. No matter what attacks its opponent throws at it, it will transform itself and fortify its defenses."
Reaching the sea of pulsating organs across from them, she stopped and examined the staircase that led down to the chimera itself. Getting materials for stairs down here proved to be too difficult for her, so she fashioned one out of a webbing it secreted from one of its many organs. Because it was made only webbing and decayed flesh it seemed rather unsafe, but it was surprisingly sturdy. Placing her right foot on the first pulsating step, she began walking deeper into the laboratory.
Another demonic wail rang through the air, this time much louder than before. Like last time, it was accompanied by the hysterical crying of a little girl. She glanced over her shoulder and saw a large, fanged tentacle mauling one of the largest organs in the pit. "Quite ferocious, isn't it?" she chuckled. "I went through great pains to make Gluttony as bloodthirsty as possible. You recall the conditioning process I spoke of earlier? It entails torturing it in the most painful ways imaginable to increase its hostility."
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Post by masterwarlord on Jun 6, 2009 13:02:11 GMT -6
Envy was rather relieved to hear Dante say that she had no intentions of replacing him, though it certainly didn’t remove the possibility from his mind. Envy was still as paranoid as ever. . .Who knew what was she was actually thinking? Still, the possibility she was actually telling the truth was still there, seeing she was already honest enough to admit that she’d considered it. If she was going to replace him, it probably wouldn’t be for a while anyway. The best way to maximize his life span would be to wait until signs of it actually happening started showing up before leaving Dante. No reason to put himself at risk until then. . .
Envy let out a rather uneasy laugh. ”Heheh. I knew you had too much sense to get rid of me.”. Envy proceeded to follow Dante deeper and deeper. . .How did she get this all built, he wondered? She clearly had far too much time on her hands. He raised an eyebrow upon realizing that the new Gluttony was female considering how masculine the last one was, but quickly shrugged it off. He smirked slightly as he heard her scream. ”Raising a chimera by torture? That’s incredibly sadistic. . .But also highly scientific. I like it.”. Envy chuckled slightly. ”A shame its so huge though. You think Wrath has problems concealing his identity? We obviously can’t hide this thing. . .Much less get it out of here.”. Envy went o look over the beast, putting his hand to his chin in thought. “It doesn’t exactly look too intelligent either. We can probably use it for one job and that’ll be it, assuming we can even get it out of here.”.
Envy was beginning to get more comfortable as he realized that this seemed to be another temporary homunculus replacement. ”If we want it to be more long term, we’ll need to get it into a more compact form and increase its’ intelligence enough to actually understand orders.”. Envy folded his arms. ”Then again, this is just a prototype, right? It’s not even an actual homunculus yet, just a chimera. You of course have plans to make this beast more usable in the final product, I imagine?”. Envy was always fond of advising Dante’s plans and seeing them at all. . .It was pretty much the only time he felt he could relate to Dante when they could just sit and plot together, and he needed to get the best relationship going he could if he didn’t want to take the risk of abandoning her later on.
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Post by dante on Jun 6, 2009 23:46:07 GMT -6
Dante carefully descended the fleshy staircase, making sure to watch her step. Even though it was sturdier than it looked, it was coated in a thick slime that someone could easily slip on if they were not paying attention. Considering how deep the pit below them was, that was not something she wanted to risk. She acknowledged that it was horribly unsafe, but she simply did not have the time to transmute better stairs. After all, tending to her latest creation required a good deal of work.
"Everything is going according to plan, I assure you," she said evenly as reached the bottom of the staircase, casting a glance at him. “Bear in mind that it is still far from complete. After I raise it as a homunculus, it will look nothing like it does now.”
Pausing briefly, she turned away from him. “Remember that appearances can be deceiving, Envy. It might seem like a mindless beast, but it is about as intelligent as you, perhaps even more so. Right now it has a strong sense of self, but I intend to change that before I create the final product. I want this homunculus to be a ruthless killing machine, so allowing it to think for itself would be a mistake. Once I finish sculpting its mind, it will be nothing more than a mindless dog that exists only to carry out the will of its m aster.”
She started walking again, her eyes resting on the dark path ahead of her. In this area the monster itself was nowhere to be seen, but there were a lot more pipes than before. Some of her lab equipment that she decided to leave behind lined the walls, along with several operating tables and a shelf stocked with medical devices. This was the room where she originally grafted the main body of the creature, long before its extra appendages began to spread through the ground. Apparently it was still in use, as each of the operating tables had a cloaked body on it.
“Here I am using its excess flesh to create smaller chimeras. Each will have a unique set of abilities that I intend to test in combat by next week. Whichever proves to be the most lethal will be used as a base for the final product,” she explained to him, looking at one of the bloody sheets. “Their bodies are finished, but I have yet to combine them with human hosts.”
Moving past the operating tables, she walked to a small stone staircase at the end of the room. At the bottom was a large metal door covered with chains. They were finally there. She had a feeling Envy would be impressed by what he was about to see. On that note, she was surprised that he had such an interest in his newest sibling. He rarely remarked on her experiments before, but today he seemed to be full of comments. Then again, it was an exciting project. After years of tireless labor she was finally close to creating the perfect homunculus.
“Here we are,” she looked back at him, smiling. “Try not to get her worked up. I just finished… conditioning her before you arrived, so she’s rather exhausted.”
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Post by masterwarlord on Jun 7, 2009 17:19:52 GMT -6
Envy followed his master down the staircase. . .He noticed how slippery it was, but didn't care all that much. If he slipt and fell into the miniature abyss he could just turn into a bird and fly back up. Because he was following behind Dante who was being rather careful, he got somewhat impatient trailing behind her. He noticed how she was actually very slightly worried. . .The great Dante afraid of some mere stairs? He chuckled very subtly to himeslf.
"As I suspected. Just making sure. . .I'm liking what I hear so far. The last thing we need is another homunculus to rebel. Strange that you bothered to make it intelligent if you didn't want it to think for itself, though.". Envy shrugged. "So might I ask how you intend on compressing this into a more usable package? The obvious answer would be to cut off all these extra parts of it going out for god knows how far, but if you were gonna do that I imagine you'd of just kept them from growing in the first place. You've intruiged me.".
Envy looked rather uninterested with the smaller chimeras who served as nothing more with lab rats, particularly when Dante mentioned humans would be involved. Why use the weakest of creatures when so much better ingredients were available to add to the mix? Envy didn't comment on them, simply nodding in acknoweledgement before continuing.
Envy continued on with Dante to reach where the creature was being kept. . .He'd been wondering just how deep the thing was buried in this hell-house. He smiled back at his master and flung opens the doors to look at the beast.
Envy liked Dante's designs for this particular homunculus even if it might eventually mean his death. While he was disgusted with her other more humanoid creations such as the other main homunculi due to their foolish nature to rebel, this thing had no brain. It existed to serve its master. While the original Gluttony was that to some extent, he still had a will of his own, and thus his lack of a brain turned out to be more of a problem then an assistance. This thing though. . .It was just a tool to be used. A living weapon.
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Post by dante on Jun 7, 2009 18:00:31 GMT -6
Dante reached into her dress pocket and removed a small golden key. As she began unlocking the door, she listened as he spoke to her. "You misunderstood me earlier, it seems. I never said I made it intelligent. The specimen all ready had standard mental capabilities when I obtained it. And you're correct: after I remove its extra limbs, I will fashion its body into a more suitable form. However, I plan to use its unnecessary parts in the creation of future chimeras."
Pushing the chains that barred the door aside, she put her key into the final lock and turned it. Slowly pushing the door open, she led him into a pitch black room that seemed to be much chillier than the rest of the laboratory. She closed the door behind her and made her way deeper into the room, her candle guiding her through the darkness. The candle shone dimly, revealing a varnished wooden floor below them. It seemed this room was in much better condition than the others.
"When I explained that it was all ready intelligent, I was alluding to the fact that its human core was still intact. I assumed that you knew I was using a human in this chimera. Didn't you hear her crying before? Without a human component, turning it into a homunculus would be impossible."
She came to another door at the end of the room. Placing her hand on the knob, she looked back at him. "Remember to behave yourself."
Opening the door, she stepped inside and looked around. This room looked absolutely nothing like the others. It was a warm and cozy bedroom, so well decorated that it looked like it belonged in a fancy mansion. Several lamps bathed the room in light, revealing a carpet on the varnished floor and several paintings on the walls. At the end of the room was a large bed with crimson sheets, and resting in it was a little girl with dark brown hair.
"How are you feeling, dear?" Dante greeted the child with an artificial smile, making her way over to her bed.
The girl forced her eyes open, giving her captor a small frown. Her skin was pale and clammy, and she seemed to be having trouble breathing. Her eyes were dilated and full of sadness and despair. "...Hurts..." she whimpered in pain.
"That's hardly surprising. After all, you've had quite an eventful day, haven't you? But don't worry, the pain will be gone soon enough..." Dante told her as she made her way to the bedside.
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Post by masterwarlord on Jun 7, 2009 18:37:00 GMT -6
Envy watched as Dante removed the locks and unbarred the door, his anticipation only growing all the more. Envy nodded at Dante in response to her comment. ”Ah. . .I see now. I take it you’re planning to remove its intelligence from it eventually? Also good to hear that you didn’t let it grow so much for nothing. Can’t let this all go to waste, now can we?”.
Envy wondered why the room was so dark, but he didn’t mind it himself. Perhaps it was to drive the chimera more insane? ”Heh. . .So easy to forget our roots. Hard to believe that the base for homunculi are mere humans. A shame. It’d be a lot simpler to control and all the more feral if we could make one completely out of beasts.”.
Envy rolled his eyes slightly as Dante urged him to be careful for what seemed like the millionth time. ”Yes, mother.” he said in a slightly mocking tone, annoyed at Dante’s nagging. He was annoyed at how Dante was treating him somewhat like a child. After saying it though, he wished he could take it back. He’d been on such good behavior until now. . .”Sorry. . .” he mumbled, practically under his breath. It pained him greatly to apologize to anyone due to his ridiculous ego.
Once the mother and son pair finally reached the girl who was the source of all this, Envy was far from impressed. . .All that build up. All those flights of stairs, blood, giant tentacles, test tubes and what not. . .Just for a little girl? Envy rolled his eyes and sighed slightly. His impression of the “perfect homunculus” only went down further when she uttered out “it hurts”, making it seem all the more like just an innocent little girl. Still. . .Not like he could blame her for that, at least. Dante was only turning a perfectly normal human into a killing machine through torture.
Truth be told, he actually felt somewhat sorry for her. The other homunculi had it all too good, Pride in particular as he was pampered by his underlings, but this one. . .Torturing it until it lost all sanity. Good god. He didn’t feel all that sorry for himself and his being bound to Dante for so long anymore. He came into view of the girl slowly. ”Just relax while you can. . .The worst of it’ll be over soon. Soon you’ll be out on the surface. Just keep going a little bit longer. . .”. While Envy hardly ever pitied anyone, it was because he felt that they didn’t have nearly as much to deal with as himself. This, however, was the rare exception. He’d been much more eager about Dante being so sadistic earlier due to thinking she was torturing an already mindless beast, not stripping intelligent life of its right to think for itself.
Due to feeling sorry for the future homunculus, his impressions of her power only dropped all the more. Then again, he trusted Dante knew what she was doing. . .He imagined she’d show her a presentation of some sort as to what the girl could actually do. She looked too innocent to be a sin that was supposed to be as vicious as gluttony without all her extra extensions.
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Post by dante on Jun 8, 2009 19:48:39 GMT -6
Hearing her son whisper words of comfort to his newest sibling, Dante raised a brow in curiosity, but kept her eyes on the girl in the bed. Never would she have suspected that Envy would show sympathy for the child. In fact, she thought he would be tempted to verbally harass her. For a moment she suspected he only empathized with her because she was a fellow homunculus, but she quickly dismissed that notion. After all, he seemed to view his siblings the same way as the worthless humans that she had him slaughter.
She was tempted to tease him about his newfound compassion, but she decided against it. Instead, she read his expression and noticed that he looked largely unimpressed with her horrible creation. "Remember what I told you before, Envy: appearances can be deceiving," she echoed her words from before, grabbing the top of the blanket.
With one fluid motion she pulled the sheets down, revealing the true form of the chimera. Everything below the waist of the little girl was missing, in in its place was a massive umbilical cord made of decayed flesh. It descended through a massive hole in the bed and attached her to the main body of the monstrosity, which was apparently directly below the room. Two long tentacles were dangled from the sides of the umbilical cord, and began swinging violently after the sheet was removed. Most noticeable about the monstrosity was a gigantic, almost demonic head that was right below her waist.
The head turned its attention to Envy and glared at him with its beady, bug-like eyes. Opening its mouth as wide as it could, its tongue came flying out and wrapped itself around his right arm. Its saliva was apparently extremely acidic, as it quickly began to burn through his flesh. Before it could pull him into its mouth, Dante clapped her hands and placed them on its face, deactivating its mind and knocking it unconscious. Its tongue released his arm and fell to the ground, the saliva burning a hole in the floor.
"What you see before you will be used to create the body of the final product," she told him evenly, resting her eyes on the disgusting abomination. "The body of the girl herself will also be used, but after it is raised it will resemble the monstrosity beneath it."
She smiled sinisterly, running her hand down the face of the little girl. "After I turn it into a homunculus, I will modify its genes before I feed it red stones. That way I will be able to draw out its true power, choosing what abilities it will have instead of allowing them to be randomly assigned like they usually are. In other words, in a few weeks time I will have created a god."
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Post by masterwarlord on Jun 8, 2009 20:51:23 GMT -6
Envy looked far more impressed when he saw just how little of the human template was left over in this massive monstrosity. . .”Should’ve known.” he casually remarked.
As the beast lashed out at him, Envy quickly transformed away his arm to get out of the monster’s grasp before reforming it, though the action was largely unneeded due to Dante stopping the beast from doing anything too harmful. ”Think you made it aggressive enough?” Envy said in an annoyed fashion.
After that little display, Envy didn’t feel so sorry for the host which ultimately served as nothing more then a power source anymore. That’s all she was at this point. An ingredient in the mix. She’d had her brain wiped already. There was nothing to be done for her. . .No. Not her. It. This thing didn’t deserve to be called anything more then that.
”A god, eh? While what you’ve created is without a doubt very impressive, I wouldn’t say that. . .It’s not gonna be able to think for itself, right? It’s just a tool to be used. It exists to serve others. That’s not a god. . .That’s a living weapon. If anything, you’re the closest thing to a god here, being the one who controls all the power. You choose who lives and who dies. . .You control the whole world, really.. Envy chuckled slightly. ”I don’t feel so pathetic serving someone when I think about it that way. Passing down judgment from god. . .”. Envy stopped chuckling and straight out burst into laughter.
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Post by dante on Jun 11, 2009 19:47:01 GMT -6
Dante remained silent as he spoke to her, eyes resting on the sleeping child below her. Perhaps she was not a god in the way Envy defined it, that much she would concede. Indeed, it was a living weapon, but it had the potential to become far stronger than either of them would ever be. Although it was a mindless tool as he said, it was still by far the strongest chimera she had ever created.
And in a matter of time it would be her most deadly homunculus.
"I suppose you're right," she admitted, not wanting to debate it with him. Once she started working on the improved models, he would be eating his words. "And that was rather poetic of you, dear; I never thought you had it in you," she added with a chuckle.
But he was right about one thing. Although her monster could be considered godly in its power, she was the only true god around here. She remained in the shadows, weaving the threads of fate from behind the scenes. A word from her mouth could decide whether a nation faded into obscurity or rose to power. Few knew the full extent of her power, but as long as she remained in complete control, she was perfectly fine with that.
Never again would she bend to the will of another being, never again would she let herself be vulnerable to another person. She was still paying for letting her guard down last time, for falling in love with that worthless fool. But soon he would fall into the darkness, forever forgotten in the pages of history....
And she would conquer her decaying form and live on forever, if everything went according to plan.
--FIN--
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