Chapter Text
Ling expects the stone to hurt. He expects the excruciating pain as his body rebuilds itself from the ground up, being barely able to catch the faintest breath before the pain steals it away again, even- somehow- the sensation of being dragged into himself by a rush of foreign souls.
What he doesn’t expect is the warmth. ...Ling? Something that isn’t him whispers, so quiet he thinks he must have imagined it. How could he hear something that quiet over all the screaming? He should be calling back.
He can’t even hear the sounds his body must still be making anymore. But the souls pull him down with enough force it takes all of his will to keep himself together, fast enough to be dizzying, and it feels, in its own way, like being welcomed home. He falls into them.
And something catches him.
Of course he does.
There you are! The voice echoes throughout his soul, coming from everywhere at once as a presence more powerful than all the others wraps itself around him. It vaguely registers that this is where that strange feeling of warmth is coming from. Don’t worry, I’ve got you. You’re going to be just fine.
Another thing that Ling finds surprising, but not in the way he thought he would. It’s the shape of the interaction, not the fact that it’s happening at all. Are you the philosopher’s stone? He doesn’t speak, really, but he feels his words reach the creature, and it feels just as natural. Like he’s been doing it his whole life.
...Guess you could say that. Name’s Greed, and I- I’m gonna get you everything you could possibly want. Really? In that case, this is working out perfectly! I just need one little thing first.
Whatever it is, you can have it. He vaguely thinks this instant agreement might be what finally makes Lan Fan forget her vows and stab him, in part because, if this works out, he’d be able to survive it. If so, he’ll let her. She deserves it after- after everything.
But… well. Like the thing said. This might just get him everything that he wants.
His partner The homunculus hums and tucks him closer to itself. I’m going to need to use your body for a bit, okay? Though I’m not sure you’d actually want those pain receptors right now, considering…
It vaguely occurs to him that he doesn’t seem to have those at the moment. Has Greed already taken them for itself, or are they just so deep inside the signals can’t reach? I probably don’t.
So I can have it?
It probably doesn’t actually matter what Ling says. Greed is literally holding his soul right now. He feels safe at the moment, despite the circumstances and against all common sense, but if it wanted to… He wouldn’t, he could never, not after everything- Best to just go along with whatever it wants for now. It’s yours.
Greed laughs. Of course it is. Try to get some rest while I’m handling things. You’ve clearly been through shit. I’ll have to kill Envy and Gluttony for that later.
You will? Rest… that does sound nice. Ling curls into the homunculus. If it kills him in his sleep, he dies knowing he did the best he could. Right now, he’s nice and warm and… happy, he thinks. And when else is his partner going to be this affectionate?
And then he hears the response, and reality comes crashing back in. No one gets away with hurting what’s mine like that. And… yeah. He really did just sign off his body to an inhuman monster that sees people as things to own, didn’t he?
But there isn’t exactly anything he can do about that that he couldn’t do better after resting, so… sleep it is.
If Greed does decide to kill him, he hopes it makes it quick.
Fuck. Fuck. Shit. Apparently, third time was is not the fucking charm!
Time travel by itself, he never thought he would be opposed to. Mostly because he never considered the idea that it could exist. But apparently it does, and now here he is.
Greed runs a quick tally of his situation. He’s alive- good. He’s with Ling- even better. Ling doesn’t remember him- very, very bad.
Everyone is staring at them, including the father who’s killed him twice now and would definitely not be averse to a round three- This might not be the worst day ever, but only because he’s got a lot of those to choose from.
Immediately breaking loose will just get him melted down again. He’s not letting that happen to Ling, so that’s out. The alternative will involve a lot of lying, which he isn’t thrilled about, but he supposes that’s just what he gets for starting in the first place. Whatever. As long as it keeps Ling safe.
“Sorry, pipsqueak.” He forces himself to look Ed in the eye. That’s his best friend he doesn’t literally share a body with. He can admit that now, if only to himself. Of course, as soon as he’s figured that out, he needs to pretend otherwise. Why wouldn’t he? “Ling can’t answer the phone right now.”
At least he has a template to work from. He just needs to do roughly the same thing as last time, and he remembers doing that. It might not be perfectly convincing, but it doesn’t have to be, does it?
The people he most needs to believe it know he doesn’t lie.
Greed stretches, tries to work out the lingering echoes of reintegration. He tried to be gentler this time, but there really is only so much he could do about the... everything. He was lucky, last time, not to have any memories of what corporeality is supposed to feel like. He didn’t realize the soreness wasn’t supposed to be there until it had faded away.
It’s not like he can use his stone to fix it. It’s what caused this whole mess!
“Kid didn’t last that long, really. All I had to do was approach him, and he was out like a light.” His partner doesn’t even stir when he talks about him, that’s how tired he is. Which… is actually sort of concerning? He was never this out of it last go-around, at least when his consciousness wasn’t actively under attack. But he seems comfortable enough, so Greed leaves it be. “He didn’t even try to fight me!”
It works like a charm. Within fifteen minutes, he has everyone convinced that he definitely doesn’t hate the other homunculi with every fiber of his being.
...He might also have successfully faked Ling’s death completely by accident. That… probably helps with the other thing, actually? It’s just that he needs to clear that up before Lan Fan’s in any position to kill him.
This is why he doesn’t like lying. It’s way too much trouble.
Ling doesn’t fully expect to wake up again. The homunculus could snuff him out in his sleep so easily, and it has plenty of reason to do so. But wake he does, still nestled against the intruder in his body.
Took you long enough. Greed nudges him, and Ling realizes he can see outside himself again. His body is standing in front of a shower that looks uncomfortably cramped, with only a set of labels to suggest it might actually have hot water. Yeah, this won’t be the most luxurious arrangement, but at least we don’t have to go out covered in blood. You weren’t too attached to most of our clothes, right? Coat’s salvageable, but I don’t like the odds on the rest of it.
Those specific clothes, no, but Amestrian clothes are… They’re not so bad, really. There’s a reason he’s been mostly sticking with what he’s got.
He has to admit, though, the current state of them is… not great. To put it mildly. He hadn’t thought about it before, but in the light, and away from any immediate physical danger… Are blood diseases still a thing I have to worry about?
Shouldn’t be.
Okay. Great. One less thing to worry about.
Even by those standards, his pants are still unsalvageable.
It’s strange, watching someone else move his body. The homunculus seems to know what it’s doing, positioning them in the one way it can turn on the shower without instantly getting blasted by ice-cold water. He feels like he should be trying to intervene, except Greed’s doing all the same things he would. Get the water running. Remove the ruined clothes. Try not to look too hard at all the dried blood clinging to his skin.
There are many, many reasons that Ling is lucky to be alive, and the thing still curled around his soul is only one of them. In both directions. I don’t think you want to see the state our hair’s in. If I didn’t basically have a comb built in, we’d have to cut it short. Must have cleared out Lust’s things already, we’re lucky to still have soap...
A what?
...Right, you haven’t seen it yet! And suddenly, the hand in front of him is a set of claws. Which… okay. Okay. Given the other homunculi he’s seen, this is actually on the less-disturbing side of things. It doesn’t even surprise him, at this point. The Ultimate Shield. Comb, pencil, and bottle opener all in one. Among other things. What do you think? It sounds like Lan Fan did when they were kids, and she had a new knife to show off.
It’s an apt comparison. Ling would be surprised if those claws weren’t just as deadly. Pointy.
That we are, kid, that we are. Greed steps into the shower, now properly warmed up. ...Here. Should be safe to let you out for a bit.
It takes a few seconds for Ling to register that he just took a breath under his own power. The world inside of him vanishes, replaced with the feeling of the ground beneath his feet and the water hitting the back of his neck. His claws itch.
He’d question why the homunculus is doing this, but he already knows why that might just make it change its mind. He continues what it started in cleaning up, but slowly. The longer this takes, the more time he’s in control of himself, the more time he has to think. To figure out if he needs how to regain control of the situation.
Step one. What happened while I was unconscious?
It’s a very bad sign that his partner it takes a moment to respond. ...Promise you won’t be mad?
...No. Unlike some people, He’s not about to make a promise he can’t keep. What did you do, Greed?
So I have good news and bad news. Good news, as long as we keep our head down, my family should eventually be convinced I don’t hate them and then we can make a run for it while they’re not looking.
...And the bad news?
For one thing, we’re stuck with them until they’re not looking. He’s in full control of his body, but he can feel the other inhabitant fidgeting. ...And also I may have kinda sorta convinced everyone we both know that I destroyed your soul.
You did what!?
I swear it was an accident!
So. No one will be coming for him, then. He’s stuck with a monster in his body and no one he can turn to for help. If Lan Fan’s smart, she’ll be getting out of the country as soon as she can, maybe give or take a stop by Rush Valley to acquire her dream automail. Ling isn’t sure he’s ever faced worse odds.
But he’s alive, and that means he has a chance. He just has to remember outsmart one homunculus that only managed to get his body in the first place because he wouldn’t have survived otherwise and proceeded to cut off all his support. Easy.
...He isn’t going to say for sure this is the worst day he’s ever had, but that’s only because the Promised Day was a thing he’s got a lot of those to choose from.