Meeting of the Homunculi

[dante]

As always, the violet drapes of the many windows lining the right wall of the opera house's dining room were closed tightly. Flames roared in the fireplace at the back of the spacious chamber, providing a dim light to the otherwise pitch black room. At the head of the lengthy dining table was sitting none other than Dante herself, clasping a cup of tea in her withered old hand. No-one else was in the room at the moment, but that would surely change soon enough.

It had been too long since she organized a meeting of the Homunculi. Despite being their master, she knew very little about how well the plan to obtain a new Philosopher's Stone was progressing; for her exploits in Dubilith had unfortunately kept her hands tied for quite some time now. She had seen them every now and again, but was mostly dishing out orders through Pride and Envy. There were so many things she needed to be updated on and further elaborate upon for her minions: the situation with Lior and the Military; Tucker and his efforts with creating a Philosopher's Stone; and, of course, his troublesome children.

Dante brought the china cup to her thin lips and took a dainty sip, waiting patiently for the arrival of her Homunculi minions.

[Envy]

*Finally you have summoned us, Dante?* Envy walked in, looking over the room and then his eyes stopped at his master. *As I was saying already, this was getting a bit out of hand. May I?* he asked pointing at a chair opposite of where Dante was sitting. Without waiting for answer he sat down and stretched his arms a bit. *I am tired you know... everything must be done by myself. Got any interesting changes in plan?*

[dante]

She lowered the cup to the table before her as her original homunculus took a seat on a chair opposite of where she was sitting. Dante gave him the same rehearsed, artificial smile she gave everyone before addressing him: "Indeed, Envy, I have a few things in mind; but I would rather wait for your siblings to arrive before I got to them; as you know, I don't enjoy repeating myself. And you'll be pleased to know that henceforward your workload will be significantly less heavy, now that I've more time to dedicate to obtaining a Philsopher's Stone."

"So, tell me, what is the status of Tucker's Stone development and the situation in Lior? I haven't been updated in quite a while, you see," she asked him, taking another small sip of her tea.

[Envy]

Envy looked around the room and whistled. *No, you're not living badly, are you?* He leaned forward, grabed a golden plate and looked a it. He chuckled: *Not badly at all. But I think you are more interested in facts,* he grinned at Dante. *Speaking about Tucker, I've managed to convince that fool to work for our cause. He is currently locked in Laboratory 5 with that brat of his and some stupid canine.* A dark shadow came over his face. *But I don't believe, he will succed, for he is not skilled enough. But if you wish to have your own army of Chimeras, hes the person you should talk to.*

*And Lior? Of course everything is going as planned. I have singlehandely started a massive revolution. So we can just lay down a wait, for some idiot to make to stone at last.* He then stopped and though for a bit. *Well... then there is this Full Metal boy on our trail. He could accomplish our goal, but still he may prove a nuissance.*

[emelie]

((I am doing it this way cause I seriously have no idea what you guys have planned with Tucker, no one has told me the plan))
Wrath ran in. "Isn't someone going to come help me at Lab 5, you jerks left me alone with that idiot, his dopey daughter and his ugly mutt!"
He ran over to Envy and pointed his finger at him. "And you never told me what the plan was so I have no idea what is going on." He said whinely and stomped his foot like a child.

[dante]

Dante frowned slightly as the young homunculus burst into the room and started acting out. She considered herself a fairly lenient matron to her Homunculi, but would not tolerate one of them acting out so immaturely in her presence. Then again, he did have a right to be upset, so she decided to let it slide this once. "Wrath, dear, there is no need to throw a tantrum. Calm yourself and have a seat. Everything will be explained soon enough."

"As for Tucker," she began, her dark hues moving from Wrath to Envy; "you are correct in your assumptions: he is too inexperienced to create a genuine Philosopher's Stone. Which is why I've decided to have him create Red Stones, along with a few chimeras for Pride's use. The task of creating the Philosopher's Stone currently lies with Edward; that is, unless an alchemist in Lior is pushed to the limit and decides to create one, in which case we will lend a helping hand."

Dante sighed slightly, her thoughts now on Edward. Just like Hohenheim, he was far too troublesome for his own good. He was on their tails, as she knew, but she didn't know exactly how much he knew. "About Edward: how much has he figured out already?"

[Envy]

*That's the question I would love to know an answer to,* said Envy in frustration. *Lust was supposed to follow the shortie, though I don't know if she found out anything. Last time I saw her, she was begging for my help.* He stretched his fingers and examined them carefully. *And about Lust, she had been action odd lately. Last time I saw her, she was acting.... I don't know how to call it... maybe a bit unsure.* He looked a Wrath and grinned at him. *You should probably talk to her when she arrives, I never cared for someone's feelings. But to asure you, Full Metal is on our trail, that is definite.*

[dante]

Dante clasped her hands on the table, her aged eyes casually resting on Envy. "Pride will be keeping Edward on a short leash from now on; while he'll definitely still be on our trail, investigations and a mess of red table will certainly impede his progress. Should the high and mighty Furher decide to grace us with his presence any time soon, I'll speak with him about it," she said, a hint of annoyance evident in her voice as she finished the last sentence. Out of the six homunculi under her control, only two had the courtesy to show up on time! Tardiness was something she would not tolerate.

The warm and kind expression she adapted for this particular vessel of hers immediately broke as Envy mentioned feelings--and the feelings of a homunculus, at that! Dante addressed the two once again, mild anger showing on her face. "If that's the case, I assure you I'll be having a long talk with Lust when she arrives. Homunculi, as I said time and time before, do not have feelings. Emotions are experienced by those who have souls, something that you all lack. I will not tolerate such foolishness. By the way, where are your siblings?"

[Envy]

Envy immidiately jumped up, anger in his eyes as he screamed in rage: *DO NOT MENTION THE WORD SIBLINGS IN FRONT OF ME!!!* His fist landed on the table, braking it in half. He then teared of one of the legs and threw it againts the opposite wall. Then he turned to face Dante, looking at her in utter madness. *I have no family! Remember that!*

He then calmed down a bit, but was still boiling with anger. *I don't know where the others are!* he snapped. *Probably even didn't bothered to come. You know how they are! Stupid and weak and unexperienced!*

[dante]

Dante observed Envy's tantrum in complete silence, her expression not that of an amused woman. She had a way of dealing with the spikey-haired homunculus whenever he got out-of-control like that--simply ignore him. If a child throws a fit, does the parent lash out in response? No, that would only make things worse. By not taking notice of his behavior, she wouldn't reinforce it; he'd let the anger out, and that would be that. Besides, Dante was never the type to gratify stupidity with a response.

Unfortunately, she couldn't do that this time. Her mindset and body weren't always in agreement: because her body was old and dying, it didn't handle stress or surprise well; which is why she was distancing herself from her Homunculi lately. As soon as Envy broke the table in half and threw one of the legs across the room, the surprise overtook her elderly vessel; her eyes widened, pain surging throughout her entire body. The old woman quickly stood up, tightly clutching her chest with her right hand."Envy, you clueless twit! Remember the state of my body!"

After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Dante sat down once again and turned to Wrath, the rehearsed smile once again on her face. "Wrath, dear, do you know where Sloth is?"

[greed]

---

Greed walked in slowly and sneered some. It was their creator, he looked away and walked into a corner before anyone saw him, or at least he thought it would be. He fixed his glasses and just listened, he wondered if Dante saw him.

[emelie]

Wrath sat down and crossed his arms impatiently. He grew bored of all the talk and was getting very crabby. It wasn't until Envy had his large outburst. He chuckled at the sight. "Yes, she just showed up at Lab 5 and is taking care of Tucker."

[Envy]

*The state of your body?* Envy sneered but calmed down eventually. He walked towards the window, looking from it. *Don't worry, you'll get a new body anytime soon.* But even he started to get uneasy. Where were the others???

[emelie]

Wrath was getting more antsy by the moment. He hated sitting still and listening to people talk, especially Dante. Her voice was monotone and listening to her was tedious. all he wanted to do was go find Edward and kill him to get his limbs.
"So what do you want me to do?" he asked Dante impatiently.

[dante]

Dante heard the door open and footsteps shortly after Wrath told her the location of Sloth. Glancing over at the door, a frown quickly stained her face as she saw Greed. "Well, it seems our Greed managed to find time in his busy schedule to join us," she said disdainfully, making no effort to hide the sarcasm. In actuality, she hadn't expected the Ultimate Shield to show his face, seeing as how she believed him to be nothing more than a freeloader.

The old woman paused after Wrath asked her what she wanted him to do. After a few moments of thinking it over, she responded: "Wrath, I'm entrusting to you a great responsibility: I want you to oversee Tucker's activities at Lab 5 on your own. Before you depart, I will give to you a note that you are to deliver to Mr. Tucker, detailing exactly what he is to be doing. If you come across Sloth before I do, please tell her that she is to return to Central under the Juliet Douglas persona. Do you think you can do that for me, dear?"

[Envy]

As Dante have mentioned Greed, Envy have turned aroung quickly and looked at him. *Well, I'll be damned. Is it really you? Did the Ultimate looser really find a way here?* he mocked him. *Why have you come, I don't understand. Or you want to beg us to be part of our company. Stupid...* He turned his back on Greed, walking straight to Dante. *And do you have anything interesting for me? Sloth told me to get the ingredients in Laboratory 5 and then return to Lior. Since those guards in prison didn't know Gran was dead, it was an easy task, so this part is prepared.* He chuckled and looked at Wrath. *Do you believe this kid could manage at its own? Isn't he too unexperienced?*

[greed]

Greed sneered some at the both of them. He narrowed his eyes at Envy, "The reason I am here has nothing to do with you so shove off." He growled at the idiot near him. He rolled his eyes and pushed his sunglasses up so they could cover his eyes.

[dante]

"Good point, Envy. But Wrath is the only Homunculus I have at my disposal to oversee the operations of Lab 5. Normally, I would entrust you with directing Mr. Tucker, but I need you in Lior. I admit I am a bit wary of his competence, which is why you will be helping him for a few days after you retrieve the ingredients. Once you believe him to be set, you'll return to Lior as Sloth said," she explained, her gaze slowly moving over to Wrath. "And if it proves to be too difficult, Wrath, notify me and I'll gladly come down and help."

Dante clasped her hands on her lap and glanced over at Greed, her thin lips curving into a frown. The nerve of him to interrupt her while she was talking! The arrogant twit just waltzes into the base, obviously without the intent of obeying his master, just to cause some trouble. "Then what, Greed, is your reason for being here? I sincerely doubt it's to help with the plan."

[Envy]

*The indregients are ready, Dante* said Envy with a smile. *We'll now just have to wait for the Full Metal shortie.* He crossed his arms. *We need to lure the bastard in, and that was supposed to be Lust's job!* He was starting to get mad again. *I can't do everything on my own!* He shook his head, regaining his serenity. *I think Wrath will manage on his own, because I would rather go to Lior. Sloth told me, that everything is doing fine, yet, it's still not enough. And we need Pride sent the army there. Blasted, where are they???*

[dante]

Dante tilted her head to the side slightly, the frown growing. Judging by what she heard from Envy, she was growing a bit suspicious of Lust. "As I said before, I'll be having a long talk with Lust about what's expected of her as a member of our group. And you're in the right, Envy: you've been working very hard lately and I appreciate that, but you are not responsible for baiting Edward... at least at the moment. This is troubling me: our Lust is not only failing to perform her duties, but she's also losing herself in a delusion of having feelings."

She surveyed the room carefully, mentally counting how many homunculi had arrived already. Envy, of course, she expected to be the first to arrive; being the eldest, he knew that she expected respect and would not tolerate tardiness. Wrath she was surprised to see without Sloth at his side, who was certainly living up to her sin. Dante hadn't expected to see Greed at all! "Sloth is living up to her sin... a little too well, I must say. And I'm very surprised with Pride: being my masterpiece and extremely instrumental in our plans, he should have the sense of responsibility to obey the one who created him and show up. Then again, he is the Furher, so he may be under a heavy workload. Regardless, he should have notified me if that's the case."