"Everyone wants something they don't have."

Indie Greedling and Lan Fan from FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Written by Su

[avaricehosted]

"Disappearing for months at a time and reappearing when you least expect it is what I do best!"

[rpmemesyo]

The World Ends With You: The Animation

sentences taken from the english dub of The World Ends With You: The Animation

"Trapped like a freaking rat."

"You're gonna have to trust me!"

"So, uh... You got a name?"

"You're such a lazy bum!"

"Can't all be go-getters like you."

"I didn't take you for much, but you're actually pretty sharp."

"I spooked you then you spooked me!"

"Teamwork really makes the dream work."

"You know, you say some really depressing stuff every now and then."

"You're trying so hard. I think I know why."

"I think you're fine the way you are."

"Nice to see that somebody's bouncing back."

"You had every right to ditch me, but you chose to stay."

"Don't get weird on me now!"

"You kids better not die on me!"

"I've had my eye on you for quite some time now."

"What a splendid team the two of us will make."

"You are so zetta slow!"

"I'm confused right now."

"Had a feeling we'd make a good team, but I didn't know we'd be that good."

"We could try that teamwork thing."

"As your partner, I'm both offended and concerned."

"How long are you planning to mope?"

"It's no secret that I'm a supremely talented man."

"Enjoy every moment with all you've got."

"Like, just die."

"How's caring about someone the slightest bit wrong?"

"If I had been on my own, I doubt I'd be here today."

"For better or worse, we're partners."

"They may be gone, but you and I aren't."

"Let's back 'em up, they'll hate every second of it!"

"Are you, like, stupid?"

"How is fighting up close safe?!"

"He hurts my brain."

"I thought you couldn't afford to lose."

"Toodles, you little twerp!"

"Oh, to be young and foolish again."

"Do you even understand yourself when you talk?"

"Woot-woot, go girl."

"Being indebted to people is so not metal."

"Can't fix dumb, and that's no doubt what you are."

"Will you just shut your face?!"

"Been ages since I actually tried."

"You bitch."

"Sucks to be you, I guess."

"No more games."

"I trust you."

"Didn't know your smile got that big."

"Perhaps that means everything was necessary."

"Nothing in this world is pointless."

"Aw, do I detect the sound of loneliness?"

"It's a wonderful world, huh?"

[atherissquamigera]

The more Ling talked, the more Aya's smile faded. Her hands balling into tight fists, eyes wide with tears welling up in them.

The news of Bido's fate felt like a ton of bricks on her chest. The tears running down her face as she shook her head. Her voice hiking up in pitch, almost frantic. Staring at the other as if hoping to catch him in a lie or the tell of some cruel trick. "No...no that cant---Greed'd /never/!!"

The expression on Ling's face though...she wasnt sure how but something in her gut told her he wasnt lying to her.

Her back hit the wall behind her with a soft 'thud'...she needed the support as her knees had gone a touch weak. "Whoever came back....thas' not Greed. He'd....he'd never hurt us. We were his." Her voice cracked and she hiccupped, trying and failing to wipe her tears away. They wouldn't stop long enough for her to.

"Don' worry about it....I-I don't wanna talk to him...." The chimera whispered. Maybe it was just the grief talking...she couldn't tell. At the moment, though, the last thing she wanted to do was see or speak to this 'new Greed'.

[avaricehosted]

It was probably the best reaction to the news he could have hoped for; she wasn't accusing him of lying or getting angry with him, but seeing the tears running down her face still made Ling feel guilty.

He took a small step forward, a hand starting to reach out to... help her stand? Comfort her? He wasn't sure, but he decided against touching her anyway and brought his hand back to his side a second later. He just wished there was something he could do to help her.

"...I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I wish I had happier news. But If it brings you some solace, he regrets what he did. I guess when he lost his old body he lost his memories along with it. He remembers everything now, and he deeply regrets what he did to your friend. Greed's not a bad guy, he's just not in the right state of mind at the moment."

[atherissquamigera]

"Its nice to meet you too" She shifted to take his hand but him freezing like that gave her pause. Frowning slightly and retracting her hand as she got to her feet.

Even standing she was still looking up at him, he was a good bit taller than she was. She couldn't quite tell how old he was; but she assumed he was somewhere around her own age.

"Mmhm." She nodded, watching him with a confused expression. Why was he suddenly acting so strangely?

"Wait...wait you've seen him!? He got out!?" The confusion was quickly replaced with joy and relief. Of course Greed got out of the raid alright! Her hands were anxiously pressed against her chest, despite her smile at (what she believed) was news that part of her family was alive and well. The part about the secret of immortality completely went over her head for the moment.

"I-I havent been able to find anybody else since the raid! I was starting to get afraid I was the only one who made it out---where is he? Did you see him in Central? When did you see him? Was anybody else with him?" The questions were rather rapid fire but she was excited! She couldn't help it.

Greed took her in, gave her a home. She loved him like family so of course she was ecstatic at the prospect of being reunited with him.

[avaricehosted]

Ah, he probably shouldn't have said it like that... He hadn't meant to get her hopes up, but now she looked so happy, and it made Ling feel like the bad guy for what he was going to have to tell her.

"It's... Okay," he gave a sigh, mentally preparing himself for what he had to do as he dropped his hand to his side and stood up. The usual friendliness in his expression was gone, replaced with a much more serious look.

"This is going to be a lot to take in, and I do apologize. The Greed you knew is... He's different now. His father destroyed his body and injected me with his Philosopher's Stone, so he's... Here. Sort of. And he's okay, physically at least, but we've been through a lot the past couple hours and I'm not entirely sure if it's safe to let him talk to you right now."

He knew it was a lot, and there were lots of details he'd skipped over in his explanation, but he figured it was best to rip the bandaid off as quickly as possible.

"One of your friends... Bido, I believe his name was? He's dead. Greed killed him."

[atherissquamigera]

She gives him a slightly tired smile, it felt like the first time she'd smiled in any way in a long time.

"Glad to know I don't gotta worry" The chimera chuckled, scratching the side of her head.

"It is, Ayana Yao. My father was from Xing"

Though she blinked at his question.

"Doing here...? Im...not sure I know what you mean." She frowned, scrunching her shoulders and scratching one of the patches of scales on her face. "If you mean in Central, I was living in Dublith with other chimera...... and a homunculus named Greed......but the military attacked where all of us were living. I came back here to hide."

"What about you though? Why are you here? I dunno much about princes---but I'm pretty sure they don't normally end up hiding from soldiers in alleys with chimeras."

[avaricehosted]

The use of past tense in talking about her father didn't go unnoticed by Ling, but he decided not to comment on it. Something must have happened to the guy, and hearing the details was something he wasn't sure he could handle right now.

"So your family is from my clan, then. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ayana."

He started to offer a hand for her to shake, but the mention of Greed made him freeze, eyes wide. It made sense, in hindsight - that chimera they'd run into earlier knew Greed from Dublith, too. But Greed hadn't exactly reacted well to seeing an old friend again, and he was still pretty unstable. Ling couldn't be sure he wouldn't try to attack this girl, too.

"Ah-... Greed, huh?" Ling brought his hand back to rub awkwardly at the back of his head, chuckling nervously.

"It's, uh, kind of a funny story, actually. I came here to find the secret to immortality, and, well... I suppose you could say I happened to run into Greed, myself."

[atherissquamigera]

avaricehosted​:

His smile fell when the girl scrambled away from him. He hadn’t meant to scare her, but he supposed it made sense. Nobody would just sleep in an alley like this unless they were trying to stay out of sight.

And with that in mind, Ling was prepared to leave. Find somewhere else where he could rest and figure out his next move without bothering anyone. But then the girl spoke, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise at her question.

“Ah… Yes, I’m from Xing,” he answered with a nod. “The twelfth prince of Xing, to be exact. My name is Ling, I’m from the Yao clan. Why do you ask?”

It wasn’t impossible that she had been sent here to kill him, but even so he felt no need to lie about his identity. Even without Lan Fan and Fuu to protect him, he was very much used to danger. Besides, it was also possible she wasn’t here to kill him. Maybe they could be friends.

He didn’t seem like a threat. Something was....off though? He smelled --familiar? No--she’d never met him before in her life. Her exhaustion must just be getting to her.

Dark circles under her eyes gave away her recent lack of rest.

Aya relaxed somewhat, instead of looking ready to run starting to curl back up into a ball. Shifting her bare feet back underneath her and crossing her arms; palms pressed against her arms.

“W-well cause if you’re not from here...ya don’t have any reason to tell the soldiers on me. I can’t really trust Amestrians not t’ blab.” She shrugged slightly, hunching her shoulders and averting her eyes before fully processing what he said and pausing. One elongated ear twitching.

Yao? There was a whole clan that shared her last name?

Her gaze shifted back to him, certainly more curious or maybe confused than fearful now. “Yao clan? That means....you...have the same name as me? I’ve never met anyone else named Yao before.”

Well other than her parents; but she thought that exclusion was obvious. She didn’t care much about the whole royalty business, he was in this alley just like she was after all.

[avaricehosted]

Ling's eyes widened a little at her answer, and he nodded in understanding. Right, that made sense. She was a Chimera, and while Ling wasn't super used to seeing them around, he couldn't imagine most people would take too kindly to them.

"Ah, I see. Well you don't have to worry about that, then. I suppose you could say I'm on the run from the soldiers, too." He gave another smile, but didn't bother to elaborate on that statement.

Her question caught him off guard though, and Ling straightened his posture. Same name? He hadn't expected to run into anyone else from Xing here, let alone someone from his own clan.

A Chimera from his own clan.

He couldn't imagine what she'd been through, but it made him sad to think about it. If he could just get the Philosopher's Stone back to Xing, he could become the new emperor and maybe make some changes that would stop more people from suffering like this girl.

"If your name is Yao, then I suppose I do," Ling answered. "I gotta say, I wasn't expecting to run into someone from my clan here, but it's a nice surprise. Can I ask what you're doing here, though?"

[avaricehosted]

//Ling and Greed platonic soulmates…

[atherissquamigera]

The young chimera was curled up into a ball, sitting against the wall of the alley and hugging her knees tight to her chest. She didn’t know how long it had been since the raid on the Devil’s Nest...but....what she did know was she was painfully lonely. And she didn’t feel like she had any more tears left to shed. 

She was too exhausted to make it back to the tunnels, so tucking herself into a corner of an alley was the next best thing. No one had bothered her since she got back to Cental.

She had actually been lightly dozing when Ling joined her in the alley, startling when he spoke.

Her head shot up and she scrambled backward to put space between herself and the human. Eyes wide with panic.

Wait. He didnt look military, he didnt even look Amestrian. He had features she recalled her father having, he must be from Xing.

"H-hi?" She choked out through the panic, mentally fighting between her fear and her curiosity. "Youre....not Amestrian are you? You're from Xing?"

It was probably a strange comment, so suddenly. But in her mind someone from a different country had no reason to tell soldiers about her.

[avaricehosted]

His smile fell when the girl scrambled away from him. He hadn't meant to scare her, but he supposed it made sense. Nobody would just sleep in an alley like this unless they were trying to stay out of sight.

And with that in mind, Ling was prepared to leave. Find somewhere else where he could rest and figure out his next move without bothering anyone. But then the girl spoke, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise at her question.

"Ah... Yes, I'm from Xing," he answered with a nod. "The twelfth prince of Xing, to be exact. My name is Ling, I'm from the Yao clan. Why do you ask?"

It wasn't impossible that she had been sent here to kill him, but even so he felt no need to lie about his identity. Even without Lan Fan and Fuu to protect him, he was very much used to danger. Besides, it was also possible she wasn't here to kill him. Maybe they could be friends.

[bidotheuncanny]

The tension left his body with a quiet whimper. There was still the future threat looming over his head, but… for now, at least, he wasn’t in danger of being taken to a doctor.

(Usually he’d feel assured in the knowledge that Greed would never take him to a place like that. But right now, Greed was… compromised. He could slip away at any time, it seemed, no matter how hard Bido clung to his shoulders.)

(At least, maybe, this other guy could be reasoned with.)

“Ling,” he repeated. That would be important to remember, no matter how fuzzy his head was. “I was… I was looking for him. He didn’t come back… he must have been in trouble, I thought… since he saved me…”

He was rambling, skipping between thoughts. It was getting harder to put things into words, distracted as he was by everything.

“I thought maybe he’d come home… I waited. But he didn’t. Was he… was he here this whole time? How did you…?”

[avaricehosted]

He'd come all the way down to such a dangerous place just to look for Greed? He really did care about him a lot. Some people would have called him foolish for it, but Ling thought it was admirable.

"Yeah, I guess he was. One of the other Homunculi brought him here, and then that Father guy... Well, after Gluttony brought me here he poured Greed's Philosopher's Stone into me." He left most of the details out, not wanting to needlessly upset or confuse Bido with them.

"After what he did, Greed lost his memories, but I guess seeing you again brought them back. I think he's pretty shaken up by it, honestly."

He expected to hear some kind of retort from Greed about how he definitely wasn't shaken up at all, but the Homunculus remained silent. It was starting to worry Ling, but he had to focus on Bido for now.

"But everything's going to be okay now. I should thank you, if we hadn't run into you we'd probably still be stuck following Father's orders, and that guy's definitely bad news."

[avaricehosted]

//Happy Valentines Day I offer you Edwin c:

[avaricehosted]

@atherissquamigera

Ling stumbled through the streets of Central, eventually ducking into an alleyway so he could catch his breath. He was starting to regret taking control of his body from Greed, but he couldn't risk the Homonculus getting into another fight like the one with Wrath. He wasn't in the right mental state to be making decisions for them.

Leaning against the wall, Ling slid to the ground and closed his eyes. They'd just made a whole bunch of very powerful enemies, they had nowhere to go, no food, and... He wasn't alone.

Ling opened his eyes, forcing a smile when he spotted the girl - Chimera? - next to him. He should have made sure the alley was empty, but it was too late now. He just hoped she was friendly.

"Ah, hello there..."

[bidotheuncanny]

“A doctor isn’t safe!” he exclaimed. Panic was starting to bubble up in his chest again; he gripped Greed’s coat tight. “Maybe you trust this guy but I-I can’t just go off his judgment! He doesn’t know anything! He doesn’t know what…”

He wheezed, running out of breath. He didn’t know what Greed meant by the prince saving his life– maybe he’d been the one to find him down here. And… and chase him down and nearly get him killed. Of course, that had to have been him, because the alternative was… No. No, he wasn’t thinking about that. He wasn’t.

…Wait. Did Greed’s voice sound different, all of a sudden?

“Hang on a minute. You… it’s you, isn’t it!”

So what if this prince kid had helped him out before? He was doing the opposite of happening right now. Putting bad ideas into Greed’s head. Couldn’t he tell how dangerous everything was already?

“Listen here! You don’t know the half of all the horrible things I’ve had to get away from today– a-and if you think you’re going to bring me to another one… if you think I’m going to let myself get poked and prodded like a lab rat again! You bring me anywhere near a place like that and I’ll… I’ll…”

…Get woozy and go limp, apparently. He slumped against Greed’s(?) back, his grip on the coat loosening for a moment before he came to his senses again.

“…Don’t take me back there,” he whispered. The anger in his voice was gone. Instead it was timid, small, desperate. “Please, Mr. Greed.”

[avaricehosted]

Ling had been prepared to disregard Bido's complaints, and the attempt at a threat didn't bother him, but the quiet, desperate plea made him pause. Was he doing the right thing? Was it really okay to bring Bido somewhere he was so terrified of? He didn't know exactly what went on in the labs, but he had a pretty good idea, and he could see why he wouldn't want to go a doctor.

Greed wasn't saying anything, and Ling took that as a sign Greed trusted him to make the right choice. He hesitated, letting out a sigh after a moment.

"I'll see if I can fix you up myself once we're out of here," he decided. "But I'm no doctor or Alkahestrist, if your injuries are too severe then you're going to have to see a real doctor. I know you don't want to, but I'm not going to let you die."

He shifted to make sure Bido wouldn't fall off before he continued walking. The exit wasn't too far, he just had to focus on getting them there and - preferably - keeping Bido conscious until he could make sure he wasn't in danger of not waking up.

"Oh, and it's not Greed anymore. Sorry about that. You can call me Ling. How did you end up down here, anyway?"

[avaricehosted]

By the time Greed realized Bido was no longer right behind him and glanced back to see what was wrong, the Chimera was already starting to catch up again. He frowned, deciding not to comment on the awful condition Bido was in, but he did slow his pace down to make it easier on him. If nothing else, they needed to make it out of the tunnel.

“He can hear you-”

‘Tell him he’s very welcome.’

Greed gave an annoyed groan, but the added roll of his eyes was just to be dramatic. “So you guys are gonna talk through me now, huh? He says you’re welcome- Bido?”

Glancing back again, he noticed Bido had stopped walking, and Greed ran to his side to make sure he was okay.

Well, clearly not okay, but conscious, at least. It hurt to see him in so much pain, to know this was his fault, but he couldn’t afford to focus on that right now. Greed turned around and crouched down so Bido could climb onto his back.

“Get on, I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”

‘Greed, let me take control.’

“What? I’m not-”

'I know someone who can help him. He’s a doctor, he saved a friend of mine before.’

“You really think this doctor of yours is gonna be okay with helping a Homonculus and a Chimera?”

'He won’t be happy about it, but he will help. Trust me.’

Greed thought it over for a moment, and then gave a heavy sigh. He didn’t really have any other options, there was nowhere nearby to take Bido that was safe.

“Alright, fine, but you better not get one of my possessions killed!”

'I wouldn’t dream of letting anything happen to your friend.’

[bidotheuncanny]

He barely noticed Greed until he crouched down, the way his head was swimming. But the offer for help, he recognized before it was spoken out loud. Everything hurt too much for him to even consider declining; he practically collapsed onto Greed’s back, letting his sticky pads do the brunt of the work of clinging to his shoulders.

And he might have drifted off into unconsciousness there, were it not for one word that instantly set off every alarm bell in his brain.

“N… no!”

The sudden gasp left him choking a little on the blood in his mouth. He swallowed heavily, then kept on stammering. “No doctors! Tell him no doctors– please, Mr. Greed!”

Being told that Greed’s host could hear him just fine had apparently gone straight over his head. In his mind, just telling Greed wasn’t enough– after all, surely Greed already knew how bad doctors were for someone like him. Didn’t he?

“I’ll be okay! We just need to… to get somewhere, and I can lie down… and have something to eat…” Oh, he shouldn’t have said that. Now he was aware of how hungry and thirsty he was, too. He gritted his teeth, trying his hardest to focus on the pain instead. “Just as soon as… as soon as it’s safe…”

[avaricehosted]

Greed fell quiet for a minute. The panic was clear in Bido's voice, and he hated adding on that level of stress when he was already hurt, tired, and hungry, but...

"There's nowhere else to go," he said finally. "Nowhere safe for you to get the rest and medical attention you need. And no offense, but you're not in any condition to travel very far. Besides, the prince might be a pain, but I've come to realize he's pretty dependable. He already saved your life once."

He wasn't going to explain what that meant if Bido hadn't already figured it out, but he let the statement hang in the air for a second before continuing. "He said he won't let anything bad happen to you. If he knows someone who can help, I trust him."

Greed didn't wait for Bido's response before relinquishing control of their body to Ling. The prince looked back at Bido with a reassuring smile as he stood up and started walking.

"Hey, don't be scared. We're gonna get you help."

[avaricehosted]

//The real reason Greed is giving Ling control is so he can stop having to relay messages back and forth between Ling and Bido-

[bidotheuncanny]

So there really was a second person in Greed’s body. That lent a lot more sense to the past couple of minutes. The thought of Greed being destroyed, though… it made him feel faint.

Or maybe that was the blood loss. Either way, one moment he was sticking faithfully to Greed’s heels and the next Greed’s silhouette was several feet ahead of him as his field of vision slowly tilted towards the ground.

Shaking his head furiously, he managed to right himself again. He stumbled forward, chest heaving as he caught back up; suddenly he was ten times more aware of his own body, the various aches and pains spread out across it. Had his feet always been so sore? Why did his upper back feel like burning every time he swung his arms?

(Right. He’d taken a fall. At least he could still stand.)

“Tell him thanks… from me, too,” he said. Greed’s hand, where he’d clasped it, was shining with something wet and dark. Blood, he realized. His own. He wiped his hand on his cloak, almost absentmindedly, leaving a long smear down his chest. “Can he… can he hear me? Is he… ah…”

Bido trailed off, stopping in the middle of the tunnel; with safety had come the ebb of the adrenaline flooding his system. The pain was starting to become too much to ignore. He knew this was no time to rest. But maybe just for a moment…

[avaricehosted]

By the time Greed realized Bido was no longer right behind him and glanced back to see what was wrong, the Chimera was already starting to catch up again. He frowned, deciding not to comment on the awful condition Bido was in, but he did slow his pace down to make it easier on him. If nothing else, they needed to make it out of the tunnel.

"He can hear you-"

'Tell him he's very welcome.'

Greed gave an annoyed groan, but the added roll of his eyes was just to be dramatic. "So you guys are gonna talk through me now, huh? He says you're welcome- Bido?"

Glancing back again, he noticed Bido had stopped walking, and Greed ran to his side to make sure he was okay.

Well, clearly not okay, but conscious, at least. It hurt to see him in so much pain, to know this was his fault, but he couldn't afford to focus on that right now. Greed turned around and crouched down so Bido could climb onto his back.

"Get on, I'll carry you the rest of the way."

'Greed, let me take control.'

"What? I'm not-"

'I know someone who can help him. He's a doctor, he saved a friend of mine before.'

"You really think this doctor of yours is gonna be okay with helping a Homonculus and a Chimera?"

'He won't be happy about it, but he will help. Trust me.'

Greed thought it over for a moment, and then gave a heavy sigh. He didn't really have any other options, there was nowhere nearby to take Bido that was safe.

"Alright, fine, but you better not get one of my possessions killed!"

'I wouldn't dream of letting anything happen to your friend.'

[avaricehosted]

//Tumblr's beta editor is so functional <3

[bidotheuncanny]

He nodded along mutely. The world was still swimming around him, and half the things coming out of Greed’s mouth weren’t making any sense at all. But to hear the words we’re going to be okay…

How many times had he imagined it? A hand on his shoulder, a familiar laugh. Words of comfort. Some days that had been all he’d had to keep him moving. And now it was real. He was safe. They were both going to be safe.

He felt his eyes well up with tears again.

“Is that… is that who you’re talking to?” he asked weakly. Sure, he could probably wait until they were someplace less horrible to tackle the big questions looming over both of their heads. But this could at least explain why Greed looked like a totally different person. He’d taken over someone else’s body? How had he figured that out? Did this mean he’d cracked the secret of the soul in the suit of armor…?

[avaricehosted]

"Ah, yeah. It's a long story." Greed started to walk, with no real destination in mind other than as far away from Father as possible, and motioned for Bido to follow him. They'd both been through a lot, and if they were going to start catching up, they needed to get somewhere at least a little safer while they were at it.

"Pops wasn't too happy with my rebellious phase, so he decided to destroy me. Then he remade me using the prince's body, except get this: The kid actually wanted me to have control! Said the Philosopher's Stone'd help him become the next emperor of Xing. He can be a real pain in the ass, but I gotta say I like his spunk."

He saved you, too, he thought to himself, but he didn't dare say it out loud. He wasn't ready to admit how close he'd come to killing Bido, or that it was because of him the others were gone.

Ling, however, could read his thoughts, and Greed could practically feel the smug look on the prince's face. 'You're welcome.'

"Yeah, yeah, thank you. Ya happy?"

'Well, I'd be happier if you let me have control for a bit-'

"Not happening... At least not right now. Maybe later."