sadisticwarfare | IC CONTACT

[...That's a very interesting statement.]

It seems we're in agreement on that.

[Though apparently Archer can order someone else to harm Kimbley, but that's not the point.]

Well, thank you for not killing him, I suppose.

[Is it obvious that he has no idea what to say?]

[He can't help but laugh at that, though it's a quiet one.]

It's no problem.

...I made the choice to save his life in the first place, you know. He probably would have been shot had I not immediately done something.

He mentioned that. He had plenty of good things to say about you.

[Archer continues staring down at the tea for a moment. He starts to say something, stops himself, and falls silent again. He does this again before finally managing to get the words out.]

...Thank you for that as well. I... I'm not sure he would have lasted very long without your help.

[Even if he had managed to escape the prison, there was no way he would have done anything with himself. He might have let himself get caught again or worse, killed. Maybe that's what he would have wanted.]

[That certainly surprises Greed. He's well aware that he didn't have as good of a grasp on Kimbley as he thought he did. Maybe it's just as well that Kimbley isn't here full time.

Kimblee is someone that Greed certainly enjoy talking to, but he's also an entirely different person than the one he knows. Maybe it was a partnership that was destined to end in failure. Two men who had little regard for their own lives?

It was remarkable that Kimbley and Greed hadn't ended up dead on the floor of the Devil's Nest.]

No. I don't think he really cared, to be honest. He struck me as the sort of person who needed to be kept on a tight leash. Unfortunately I'm not really the sort of person who is capable of doing that sort of thing. I let him do whatever he wanted.

[Which he knows was his problem.]

[Archer kind of smirks at that, it's not the usual confident smirk, but something softer.]

Keeping him on a tight leash wasn't exactly ideal either. He wasn't keen on being cooped up despite knowing that there was nothing else I could do. He also preferred to do his own thing and was very mad when he wasn't allowed to.

Hard man to control.

[Maybe he shouldn't sound so affectionate when talking about the person who was responsible for the death of everyone he knew but it's not like Greed has ever made a good decision at any point in his life.]

I didn't mind it so much, him wanting to do whatever he wanted. The only real problem I had was when he got it into his head to try and turn me into something explosive.

[Because of course he did.]

I can't really say I'm surprised.

[Something in Archer's demeanor changes then, but it's gone in a moment and he doesn't elaborate on it.]

He's certainly interesting, I'll give him that. Listening to him talk about his alchemy was a bit of a surreal experience at first. I couldn't imagine all that advanced chemistry coming from him.

[Greed notices, but chooses not to ask. If Archer wants to talk about it, he will. No sense pushing.]

He's a genius at what he does. Stupid as hell about a lot of things, but he was smart enough to get a certification and I know from what he told me that it's quite the accomplishment. He was young when he did it, too, from what I can tell.

He can figure out a hell of a lot about anything just from a touch. That takes skill, you know. Not even my master can do that.

It's very impressive and nothing like how Kimblee - the one here - does his alchemy.

I'm quite glad I had the chance to spend time with him.

A shame he's not here more often. I never did get a chance to ask him about a number of things I'm not sure he would have been willing to talk about anyway. How much he figured out about me. He knew about the skull, but to be honest anyone could have figured out that it had significance.

[He hadn't exactly attempted to hide it because of the fact that he had trusted Kimbley and the others.]

How does Kimblee's alchemy work, by the way? All that he's told me is that it's different.

His alchemy relies on physics rather than on chemistry, but I'm afraid I can't explain it very well. That's the sort of thing you'll have to ask him.

Physics?

[...huh.]

So even basic alchemy is different between our worlds.

Well, I wouldn't call it "basic", but yes, it's completely different for them. They utilize it differently as well; the Kimbley we know prefers attacking individuals while the other Kimblee prefers doing as much damage as possible. He attacks on a larger scale.

The fundamentals, I mean. All alchemy is a form of chemistry, so if his isn't... well, it's different at the very least.

[Hell, Greed and the rest of the Homunculi had been created with chemistry.]

The differences between their methods are as interesting as the two men themselves, honestly.

Indeed. I've come to learn that they're really far more different than I first thought. In fact, Kimblee's more similar to me than he is to the version we know.

[How weird is that??]

So I've been told.

[And he can see it, too, in some ways. He doesn't know Kimblee or Archer very well, but they do seem to have something very fundamental in common with each other.]

You're already aware that I have little in common with my own counterpart.

Yes, you mentioned as much. I still find it odd that there are people with the same name, yet they're nothing alike. Colonel Mustang is the same; the one I met here was from Kimblee's world, not our own.

It's something that's become an interest of mine. If only I had been here when they were all around.

[Not that Mustang would have done anything for him at all but you know. He'd be bothering someone new.]

Envy told me that Lust from the other world was here at one point. What was she like? If you met here, I mean.

Oh yes, I met her. She was a marvelous woman. Enigmatic and a bit hard to pin down, but interesting to talk to and quick-witted. We only had a few conversations, but she was quite fascinating. Kimblee liked her quite a bit as well, as I recall.

I haven't met the Lust from our world yet, but I suppose I'll have to talk to her at some point.

[Greed thankfully manages to stop himself from laughing. Barely.

Uh. You have fun with that, buddy.]

I only ever met the Lust from our world very briefly and not in the greatest of circumstances. I've spoken to her here a few times, however. I'll give you that she's interesting to talk to.

[Though for entirely different reasons.]

Oh? Were you not on good terms with her?

She was born long after I was sealed so my first and only meeting with her was in a safe house where I lost two of the three remaining survivors of my group. They may have been stronger than normal humans, but I can assure you it wasn't a long fight. I would have had trouble fighting her and Gluttony at the same time.

[Though his tone indicates that he doesn't exactly blame Lust for it.]

Ah, I see. So she serves your master. I suppose I'll have to be careful around her.

[Not that she can really do anything here, but he's not taking any chances.]

You don't have to worry about that.

What do you mean?

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