"The invite of a white lie, some can't resist the call to join in. But still I thought I knew you better than to give into pressure." -Again

The land-locked country of Amestris was connected by a web of cities and town, spread across the land like pearls in a bridal veil. The crown jewel, Central City, was a hub of life and excitement. As the biggest settlement in the country, it served as a meeting point for railroads and underground tunnels of all sorts. In one such tunnel, far below Central, sat an ancient being. Head lowered, eyes closed, he sat on his throne and contemplated. His want was for knowledge. And what he wanted, he always got in the end.

"Father." Lust greeted, smooth voice echoing throughout the underground chamber. "We brought you something."

This ancient yet timeless man, clothed all in white, looked up with shadowed eyes. Two of his children stood before him, bowing their heads in reverence. The younger of the two, Envy, carried a limp form on his back.

"What is that?" Father asked, voice emotionless.

"It is a human, Father."

"And Envy is touching it willingly?" There was a hint of a smirk in Father's voice.

"This one is..." Envy hesitated, trying to instill distaste into his raspy voice, though his interest in this human was plain. "It's different, Father- An Alchemist." 

The small figure stirred from where it was held carefully on Envy's back. "I'm not an IT." The boy seethed. "I'm a HUMAN BEING." 

The boy was fierce despite the fact that he was dripping blood from where his arm once was, his words slurring with pain and fatigue. 

"An Alchemist..." Father repeated slowly, taking in the boy's golden hair and eyes. "Yes. You did well bringing him to me. Let me see him." 

Envy brought the half-conscious human forward, dropping it carefully at the foot of his father's throne. Father lifted the human's face towards his own, peering carefully into eyes that were cloudy with suffering. Then he drew a small vial from the depths of his robes. His children gasped. "Father?! Do you really-?" 

"Indeed. It is time we had a new addition to the family."

Lust and Envy watched, wide-eyed as Father poured the thick red liquid onto the human's open shoulder. The boy groaned and writhed in pain as his arm regrew- skin charcoal gray and fingers clawed. Next was his leg, in similar fashion. Finally, a blood red mark appeared on the center of his forehead. A dragon devouring its own tail- An Ouroboros. His eyes opened. They remained gold, but his pupils were now slit and glowing scarlet. 

Father regarded this son of Xerxes with cold pride. "You are no longer human." His voice boomed through the cavernous throne room of his dwellings. 

"Wh...What did you do to me?!" The human asked shakily, staring at his new limbs as his heart pounded in his ears. 

"Why, made you better. Given you a new life. You are a homunculus now. You are...My child."

"Your child...?"

"Yeah. Our new brother I guess." Envy leaned his elbow on the new homunculus's head, though he was promptly shoved off. "Hey, what are we gonna call you anyway?" 

"My name is Ed-" He began, but Father silenced him. 

"Your old name, perhaps. But you will need a new name for your new life."

The new homunculus stared at his hands; one cold gray, one flesh. Did he really want a new life? A fresh start sounded nice. To be able to forget the turmoil and heartache of his past, to start over new with a new family. His heart ached when he thought of his younger brother, alone and unconscious on the study floor. 'No... I'm sure someone found him by now.' He reassured himself, if only to ease his own guilt. He raised his chin and looked his new father in his soulless eyes. "Like what?"

Father put out his bone white hand and laid it on the head of his new child. He took in the small boy's limp hair, his ravaged eyes set deep in his gaunt, pale face. This child was one bereaved, one tormented and lost. And Father knew.

"My son, eighth child... My eighth deadly sin. From this day forward... You shall be Despair." 

***Four Years Later***

"Neeeeeext stop, Lior!"

The shrill call of a train whistle cut through the clear sunlight of the morning. 

"Hey, wake up. This is our stop!" The young woman of fifteen shook the shoulder of her traveling companion, trying in vain to wake him up. He mumbled something and shifted, pulling his red coat tighter around him. 

"Fine then, I'm leaving without you!" The girl pouted, picking up her suitcase and stepping forward dramatically. 

"Oh, all right..." The boy pulled himself off the train seat and followed her, rubbing the sleep from his amber eyes. His resting hours had been plagued with nightmares of his former life. He shook his head to clear the remaining memories as he stepped off the train and onto the station platform. 

"So, this is Lior?" The girl asked, eyes wide as she took in the sights of a city larger than she was used to. "Look at that huge building! It must be a church, with a steeple like that."

"I guess so." He didn't know what made him venture to say such a thing. Maybe it was the nightmares, stirring up memories, or maybe it was the reason he had come here in the first place. "Winry... He would've hated it here, don't you think?" 

Winry's smile flickered out. "Yeah... He would've." She stared at the steeple as it caught the light, then laughed a little as she wiped at her misty eyes. "He would like this food stall, though. Let's get some food, I'm hungry."

He looked to where Winry was placing her order, a small food stall advertising some sort of kebab. "Al!" She called, waving her arms at him. "Come place your order!" 

Alphonse smiled and joined Winry at the food stall. On his way over, he accidently bumped into the stand, knocking the radio off the counter so that it hit the ground. 

"Oops, sorry!" Al looked sheepishly down at the ruined radio. 

"You better be, unless you can fix it." The owner said angrily. "I'm missing Father Cornello's broadcast!" 

"Not a problem, sir." Al pulled a small piece of chalk out of his coat pocket and knelt down, quickly sketching out a circle around the radio's remains. 

"This is my favorite part." Winry whispered to the gaping stall owner as she took a bite of her lunch. Alphonse knelt down and clapped his hands together, then laid them on the chalk circle as flickers of blue energy traveled up and down his arms. The light faded to reveal the radio, fully restored. 

"Woah! You must be a prophet of Leto, to have power like that!"

"No, sir." Alphonse stood up with a smile, dusting his gloved hands on his pants. "Just an Alchemist.

"But," Winry asked curiously. "Who exactly is Leto?"

"Why, Leto is the sun god that this town worships!" A young woman holding a covered basket approached the travelers. She had long brown hair with lighter bangs, a clean white sundress, and sparkling violet eyes. "If you haven't heard of him, then you must go and see Father Cornello!"

The owner of the food stall laughed. "Great idea, Rose. I'm sure he would be happy to meet these two."

Winry looked at Alphonse carefully. He wasn't adamant about his faith- or lack thereof; certainly not as much as his brother was. Is, Winry reminded herself firmly. Alphonse nodded nonchalantly, much to Rose's delight. The girl was extremely excited, so the two agreed to go with her right away. She led them to a large building, which housed the steeple they had seen from the train station. It was clearly an old structure, as the stone was worn and whitened with time. The inside seemed even more grand. The sun poured through the windows, spilling light across the cobblestone floors. 

"Ah, welcome!" A deep voice boomed through the room. "The Fullmetal Alchemist."

At the top of the stairs stood an old man in black robes. It was clear that he was a preacher based on his garments, as well as his aura of authority.

Alphonse smiled politely. "A pleasure to meet you, sir." 

"The pleasure is all mine." Father Cornello descended the staircase, coming forward to shake Al's hand. Though his tone was friendly, Al noticed that his eyes didn't quite match the tone of his voice. "Rose, if you wouldn't mind waiting outside with this young lady for a bit? I'd like to have a word with our guest here."

"Of course, Father!" Rose nodded and led Winry back outside to the church garden.

Alphonse stood in front of the priest, struggling to maintain a calm demeanor. Something about Cornello made him uneasy, though he couldn't place it. He spoke up politely. "Did you need something from me, sir?"

Cornello clasped his hands behind his back, speaking slowly. "Yes, indeed. Having the Fullmetal Alchemist come here is not good for business."

"Huh?!" Al recoiled slightly due to the sudden malice in Cornello's voice. "What do you mean?"

"I have heard stories about the young traveler in the red coat, going from town to town seeking a way to find the lost." Alphonse stiffened at the preacher's words, but the old man continued heedless. "Such a clever person might... Expose me, don't you think? Therefore, it is time that you leave. Permanently." 

Two men in dark robes stepped out from behind the pillars suddenly. Al raised his arms defensively, realizing they wanted a fight, as Cornello's laugh resounded amongst the sound of shots being fired.

***

"So, Rose," Winry said conversationally, swinging her legs as she sat on a stone bench in the garden. "You seem to really have a lot of faith in Father Cornello."

Rose fingered the leaves of a flowering bush and smiled. "Yes, he has earned it by performing so many miracles."

"Miracles?" 

"Yes! He has even promised to bring my boyfriend back to life." Rose's face was graced with a smile.

Winry closed her eyes and looked down sadly. "Oh, Rose. People don't come back from the dead."

"B-But Father Cornello said-! And if anyone can do it, he can! He's the messenger of Leto."

Winry reflected on the day, not so many years ago, when she finally found out why Alphonse was traumatized, and Edward was gone. "No." She looked up at Rose, eyes full of sadness. "No one can. It's been attempted, and it only leads to deeper heartbreak."

"Y-You're wrong." 

Winry opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by the sound of gunshots. "What was that?! Was that from inside?!" 

An enormous crash sounded, and a figure came flying through a nearby window. Winry recognized the red coat and jumped up. "ALPHONSE!!" She ran over to him and lifted him by his shirt. "WHY ARE YOU DESTROYING THEIR CHURCH?!"

"Oww..." Al groaned. "Sorry, Winry. But it's not like I asked to be thrown through the window."

 "Oh...Well, what's HAPPENING?!" 

Alphonse stood up, wincing in pain, and turned to face the church. "Cornello's gone crazy! He's got some sort of stone, and he's mutated himself with it."

"I'll start getting people away from here, you take care of things."

"You got it." Alphonse ran back into the building, transmuting a staff out of the ground as he did so. He took a flying leap at the mutated preacher, who had grown immensely and become muscular. He struck hard with his staff, causing Cornello to fall backwards into a statue of Leto. The statue teetered and began to fall, trapping the priest underneath as Al dove out of the way.

The Alchemist stood, coughing from the dust, and observed the damage. "Cornello... Are you still alive under there?"

Despite the battle he had just undergone, Al was still concerned for the life of the preacher. A weak groan rose from beneath the statue's ruins. "All right then." 

Al walked staggeringly outside to where Winry was watching anxiously. "I'm guessing you got him?" 

"Yeah, but this kind of ruins the whole 'stay inconspicuous' thing I was going for. Let's get out of here before things get too crazy, okay?"

"All ri- Rose?"

The young woman of Lior stood staring at the disheveled church, horror painting her face. "How could he... The father would never try to hurt anyone..." She burst suddenly into tears. "Now what am I going to do?! He was going to bring Cain back!" 

Al looked at her with gentle sympathy. "You're just going to have to keep walking, Rose. Remember those who will support you."

The Alchemist and his friend turned away and headed into the dusk, wondering who exactly was supporting them in the quest they had undertaken.

***

"So, this is Lior?" 

"Yeah, looks like something disturbed the peace. Perfect."

"Don't be hasty, Envy. No blood has been shed here."

"B-Blood..."

"Aren't you used to it by now, Despair?" Envy asked pointedly.

"Give him time." Lust tsked. "He hasn't had decades to do it and remember- He wasn't always one of us."

"He's close enough! Better than Greed, anyway."

Despair watched his siblings argue, trying not to feel lightheaded as memories plagued him. They didn't come often, but sometimes he would catch glimpses of a golden-haired little boy, looking up at him with such admiration. He felt sick thinking about it, being reminded of what he had done. He clutched at his head and whimpered softly. Lust and Envy stopped bickering when they noticed his anguish. 

"Not again. Don't worry, Des, the memories will fade out soon enough." Envy comforted, putting his cold hand on the boy's shoulder.

That's exactly what Despair was afraid of.