victory_road | It's a long, long way...

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It's a long, long way...

Who: Envy

exeggutorhead, Heather Mason

foolishwren, and Alphonse Elric

armouredsoul

Where: All over Kanto!

When: Starting March 22nd and ending...who knows!

Summary: With the return of warm weather, Envy, Heather, and Alphonse set back out on their badgequest. Surely nothing could go wrong.

Rating: Not likely to go above PG-13

Well...technically they'd planned to leave a week ago. But there'd been all the snow still on the ground, and then it was foggy, and then it was just plain chilly and every day they'd just waffled until it was too late to actually get going anywhere. But now? It's warm out, Pidgeys are chirping, flowers are blooming...it's time to get out of Goldenrod and get back to collecting badges. Someone else has already gone and beaten the Elite Four, they've got to step up their game a little.

Although this time, it's not so much a race between them (or at least, Envy and Al); the three of them have decided to all travel together instead, and after a long train ride to Saffron, they're off.

JOURNEY...RESTART.

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Usually when Al wakes up this early he's groggy and slow, taking at least an hour to fully wake up and get moving. But today he's feeling bright and chipper--amazingly so, though he doesn't question it. A good night's rest and the excitement of being back on the road again was more than enough to give him reason to be cheerful.

He makes his way down to the dining room, mostly empty given the hour, and sets about pulling together a bit of breakfast for himself. It's a bit too early for any cooked items to be set out, but there's plenty of cereal and bagels available to sate even a growing teen's voracious appetite.

Al isn't the only one feeling unusually bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. Envy would generally rather stay in bed as long as possible before having to get up, but today? He's just bursting with enthusiasm and good cheer from the moment he opens his eyes.

He also doesn't think to question it, even when he gets summarily booted out of the room by a much groggier Heather and told to go downstairs and get some food or something, they were walking all day yesterday let her rest ya weirdo. Nothing can dampen his mood!

Oh, there's...Alphonse also down here, right next to all the food and impossible to avoid.

...

GREAT!

"They have Carnivine Crunch here?"

EVEN BETTER. There is absolutely no sourness whatsoever to his voice as he talks to his half-brother.

Alphonse turns to Envy with a cheerful smile, nodding in lieu of waving given he's got his hands full of bagel and knife. His own bowl of cereal (milk still in the carton) sits beside him at the counter. "Yup! Still plenty left, I think we're the first two up today."

He finishes spreading on his cream cheese and takes his plates over to one of the tables while Envy helps himself. "Heather still sleeping?"

"Ha, yeah! She pushed me out of the bed and everything!"

Envy doesn't...sound put out or whiny about this in the slightest?

"Joke's on her, I get more cereal!"

Which he pours himself a heaping bowlful of and walks right on over to the same table Al is sitting at, in spite of the many, many other choices of table.

Al laughs in response--why would Envy be put out by something like that? It's hardly any real sort of rejection, just a funny and grumpy reaction out of their friend. "Her loss, and more for us!"

He doesn't make any sort of protest when Envy sits down, simply taking a few spoonfuls of his own before continuing. "Hopefully she'll get up before too much of the day is gone. It's been a long time since I've come here, I can't wait to get a look around!"

"Exactly!"

Just two brothers sharing some cereal, nothing out of the ordinary here!

"I didn't even know you'd been over here. It's been years for me."

Nothing strange in the slightest!

"I visited once with Winry and Brother while they were here. It's been ages, though, so I'm really excited to check everything out."

"Woah, that was a long time ago! They haven't been here in...I don't even remember."

Envy takes another few bites of his cereal, mulling this over.

"I always did like Winry, she was a nice kid. Kind of gullible, but nice."

"Yeah, it's been at least two years since they left, I think." Disappearing for a while himself made it a bit hard to tell sometimes.

Al chuckles and waggles his spoon at Envy with good nature. "I think your definition of 'gullible' is a bit different from other people's."

"Well, it's true that I am very good at lying."

'Happy' can include 'self-satisfied'.

"But she didn't know who I was, so it's not like she would've known better anyway. But she was still nice even after she found out."

It can also incluse 'amused', and Al snorts and rolls his eyes with a grin.

"No wonder you made a profession out of it."

And glossing right past the reasons for that--

"It's just her nature to be kind. She's always working hard to help out anyone she can. Besides, you helped her out a few times before I got here, didn't you?"

Glossed right over Ed, glossed right over Dante, nothing upsetting can seem to stick in Envy's head for longer than half a second.

"Sure did. Once everyone was in this big battle against nightmare monsters with our powers and weapons and everything, and she didn't know what to do. So I killed a monster chasing her and then I gave her a knife so she could fight back too."

WHAT A HAPPY STORY

HA HA HA SURE IS JUST A GREAT AND WONDERFUL THING THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT!

"Yikes! I'm sure glad you were around to help her! But see, that's exactly it! You were putting yourself out there for her, so why wouldn't she want to return the favor?"

"Huh, I guess you're right. Equivalent exchange and all, right?"

That's how to relate to the Elrics, right?!

"Exactly! Or cause and effect, to take a more general term."

"Woah wait, hang on, you actually worked out that those are two different things? When did that happen?"

Envy laughs good-naturedly, and gives Al a clap on the shoulder.

"I guess you're not a lost cause after all!"

Al laughs and grins with a shrug. "Brother's the one that really likes to apply the concept to everything! We really do know which one is which, honestly."

I don't know how long it's been since I've seen the sun, and in the dark around me I know I hear the sounds of more than the infernal songs of those Pokemon. Only sometimes, but I know it's there. It must be. Scratching.

[Envy pauses for dramatic effect, the well worn copy of Dig held up in one hand, and looks across the fire at the other two, a sly grin on his face as he drops his "in character" voice.]

Wow, I wonder what it could be. I mean, Diglett don't have anything to make scratching noises with...

Think we'll find out tomorrow?

[After all, the very same cave from the horror novel is lurking not far outside the light of the fire.]

_{[Heather is already sprawled out on her sleeping bag, arms folded under her pillow. SHE'S ALREADY READ THE BOOK SO ITS EFFECT IS SOMEWHAT LOST ON HER.]}

Well, they can learn Scratch, so obviously they must have something.

_{[She stifles a yawn as she speaks, reaching out to idly rub Cujo's belly-- the Growlithe in question is in the dirt next to her, all four legs sticking into the air at different angles.]}

[Alphonse, meanwhile, has both arms wrapped around Helios's neck and it half-buried in his mane. Scared, who's scared, he's not scared of some dumb story!]

Shut up, Envy! If there were actual monsters in there we would have heard about it by now!

[He sounds a little doubtful, though.]

But I think this is supposed to be like. A much bigger and scarier scratching than a little thing like that'd make.

[Honestly, he is doing this mainly for the very enjoyable benefit of scaring the fuck out of Alphonse. He tilts his head back to glance more in his half-brother's direction, grin wiiiidening.]

I can't shut up, or we'll never find out what happens!

Also, how would you know? This tunnel is probably getting bigger and full of more tunnels all the time, it probably hasn't been explored all the way.

_{[Heather roooooolls her eyes.]

[SHE KNOWS EXACTLY WHY ENVY IS DOING THIS. ... And, well, it is vastly preferable to having to deal with him trying to take out his feelings about his half-brother with his fists. And, okay, it is a little funny. BUT STILL.]}

Envy, c'mon.

You're scaring him. If he wakes up in the middle of the night hollering about mutant Diglett monsters, it's gonna be your fault.

_{[RIP Al's dignity but they have a long day of spelunking tomorrow and sleep is important.]}

[BETRAYAL. Al casts Heather a distressed look that is clearly trying to be offended, but...mostly just comes off pathetic.]

That--I'm not--he's not scaring me!

[Alphonse you are trying to merge with your lion's mane.]

[Awwww, c'mon Heather, it's a little funny!]

[Although Al's loss of dignity is almost as good, technically this is win-win.]

C'mon, we're almost at the best part!

But I guess if you think he'll really stay up all night from terror, I could stop...

[He shakes his head slowly.]

_{[She meets Al's eyes with a shrug. :I SORRY BUDDY U LOOK PRETTY SCARED, SHE CALLS 'EM LIKE SHE SEES 'EM]}

I'm more worried that if you guys are awake all night listening for too-big-to-be-a-Diglett scratchy scratchy sounds, you're gonna trip in the cave and die tomorrow because you didn't get enough freakin' sleep.

But hey, if you absolutely need to hear the ending to this thing, who am I to stop you.

_{[She might be a better influence than Envy, but no one can rightfully call her a good influence.]}

I--

[With his dignity all but down the drain, Alphonse does what any sensible boy his age would do--]

I can handle it! I'm not a baby!

[--and doubles down.]

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It's a long, long way...

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DIGLETT CAVE | starting April 19th

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