This awesome fanfic woke up the sleeping plunnies for this story. Anything but Normal had Pride as the main character, which helped me think of more ideas for Mikado/Pride. So, so far we have on this list:

Ed=Shizuo

Al=Kasuka

Winry=Mika

Roy=Izaya

Hughes=Shinra

Kida=Ling/Greed

Mikado=Pride

More to be added? Hm, where are Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, and Father? That shall be seen. And maybe Hohenheim should be added, too! Shizuo needs to be in this more, seeing as he's Ed. Haha, so used to writing Kida as Ed. Really, both of them are similar, but Shizuo's more interesting.

Chapter 13 reunions and awakening memories

Shizuo picked up his cell phone and found a message on it, from his brother, Kasuka.

He answered it, wondering what this could be all about, having noticed the weird dreams he'd been having.

Was it possible that Kasuka knew something?

Why was it that Kasuka wasn't afraid of him throwing things at people?

"...Yo, Kasuka, I have a question for you. What are you hiding?"

The silence on the other end was deafening. For a second, Shizuo assumed his brother had hung up on him, but after what felt like an eon of silence, Kasuka answered.

"That depends on what you mean, brother. Have you...remembered?"

"Huh? Do ya mean these freakin' annoying dreams that are pissing me off? Because if that's what you mean, then yeah, they're pissing me off! So I figure you know something, Kasuka, fucking tell me!"

"...I don't have much time. But do you believe in reincarnation?"

"Ha, bunch of garbage if you ask me," Shizuo said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"Smoking will kill you, brother." Kasuka said.

"I don't care. Tell me the truth, Kasuka." Shizuo said seriously.

"Well, Nii-san, basically we're the reincarnations of alchemists and we have undead creatures coming after us because they want us dead. Again." Kasuka said.

"...That pisses me off. And it makes no damned sense." Shizuo said, having punched a hole in a building.

"Nii-san, watch your temper." Kasuka cautioned.

However, Shizuo had gone on another one of his fights with Izaya.

"See ya around, Kasuka. Gotta flea's ass to kick."

Kasuka sighed on the other line as he put the phone down.

"How many times can I honestly tell Brother before he'll listen?" He moaned.

"And besides, why did Mustang-san have to become such an asshole?" Kasuka said to himself.

He remembered when the man had been a decent, respectable person.

Mikado wasn't sad, or happy.

Mikado felt empty.

The poor kid needed a place to be in life.

That was why he had created the Dollars.

He had wanted to feel like he had a purpose.

Unfortunately, the eviller part of his mind was now influencing him.

"You know, humans are pathetic," A little boy with gleaming violet, no, blue irises, whispered, wrapping his arms around Mikado. "Why do you control them? Isn't it better to kill them?"

"They are my friends. I'm not a monster!" Mikado shouted back, feeling much braver than he actually was, as his knees started buckling.

The little boy laughed raucously.

"Is that so?" He said, "Well, Mikado Ryuugamine, you don't sound very brave. What about how you flinched when someone said homunculus?"

That word again.

Mikado flinched. "Please don't say it...I'm human!" He whined.

"No, you're not. Humans are weak, you're something more powerful than that." Pride said, "You are pride incarnate. You are Pride. When did you become so weak, pretending to be a human? Pretending to ignore Father's wishes for a better world?"

"I don't know...what you're talking about! I'm human, and so are you! There's nothing wrong with having pride! It's wrong to look down on others."

"Is that so?" Pride said, grinning broadly. His shadows wrapped around Mikado, who screamed. "Relax, they can't hurt you, they can only hurt others. Don't you remember how you killed those gangsters? It was with my help."

Mikado looked on in horror as the shadows replayed the scene. "Please...stop. I only did that because they were hurting Kida..."

"Aha, wounding your friend? Wounding your pride? That sounds more like the ruthless homunculus we are!" Pride chirped, throwing a pen into Mikado's hands. "You have nice aim with a pen. Have you ever gotten hungry for human souls?"

Mikado looked sick. "No...please, go away. I don't want to harbor a monster like you."

"Monster? Me, the monster? I have had to dwell for 16 years within an idiotic, weak, pathetic human like you. Only recently have you been of some use to me. Nonetheless, I'm not killing you, as that would mean killing both of us. What I'm interested to know is if you actually want to know what homunculi are. Do you? And what of Kida? Don't you know who he is?"

"Stop lying to me!" Mikado shouted.

"He's-or was, one of us. He's not anymore. He's not like you and I. Most of them are busy dreaming their lives. It's time for us to awaken all of them to their memories. It's just best if we dispose of that meddlesome guy."

"Meddlesome guy?" Mikado asked, getting up, glaring at the other boy.

"Shizuo Heiwajima. He stands in my way. If he regains his memories, he's worthless."

"I won't let you use my body to hurt him! He's innocent."

Pride smiled and then started laughing insanely.

"What's so funny?" Mikado demanded.

"It's funny that you say he's innocent. He's the one who caused us to be like this!" Pride flicked Mikado's forehead. "Remember, I am always watching you. You are never alone, Mikado Ryuugamineeee~how long until you can wake up and become a true homunculus?"

"Stop it! I'm not like you! I'm not a cold monster!" He shrieked.

"Aw, that's so sweet, he thinks he can fight back. You're always hiding behind Izaya's back, behind that girl Anri, behind Kida. Admit it, you're useless." Pride said.

"I'M NOT USELESS!" Mikado cried, glaring coldly at the other.

"That's it, that's it!" Pride purred, "Unleash that cold side of you. Let the shadows take over you!"

"Mikado!"

Mikado looked around.

"Ah, a meddler. I bet it's that irritating blond friend of yours." Pride said, shrugging his shoulders.

Mikado was still shaking.

"Mikado, wake up!"

Mikado tried to move, but he was frozen stiff.

"Why can't I move?" He moaned.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to say that I can induce sleep paralysis in you unless you do as I say?" He said cheerily.

"Mikado, wake up, dammit!"

"...I'll help you..."

Pride's smile widened.

"But if you do anything to hurt my friends or Heiwajima-san, the deal's off, all right?"

"All right, then." Pride said, "Go ahead, wake up, your true mission will come later, Mikado."

Pride faded into the shadows of Mikado's mind as Mikado awoke, looking wildly around his room.

Kida was above him.

"Thank goodness, Mikado! I was so worried about you, you were talking to yourself in your sleep and screaming, then you wouldn't move! Is something wrong, Mikado? Why are you...?"

Mikado let the tears fall down his face as he buried his face in Kida's shirt and let the tears fall.

"Mikado...hey, stop it, buddy. I can help you, you know."

"N-No, you can't..." Mikado's voice was smaller, but growing more laced with desperation. He could feel his friend was losing his fucking mind, and goddammit if Kida Masaomi wasn't pissed off by it. "There's a voice in my head...he's telling me to hurt other people...he says I'm not human."

"Say what?" Kida asked, looking at him with a mixture of shock and confusion. "Mikado, you're-"

"I'm not crazy!" Mikado moaned. "Could a crazy person do this?"

Suddenly, Kida and Mikado's shadows connected to reveal several black shadows coming out from behind Mikado's prone form.

"What the hell is that?" Kida asked, backing away slightly.

"I don't know..." Mikado moaned. "I'm a demon..."

Kida hugged him again. As quickly as they'd appeared, the shadows retreated as soon as Mikado's anger abated.

"You mind explaining what's going on?" Kida asked.

"Kida-kun...have you seen a tattoo like this before?" Mikado asked before googling up a picture of an ouroboros symbol.

Kida's eyes grew pale.

"Yeah, yeah I have." He said softly.

"Where?" Mikado asked.

"...The thing is, Mikado, you might want to check out your back. You have a symbol like that there." He said quietly. "It feels more like a birthmark."

Mikado's eyes widened. "What he said is true...I'm a monster!"

"You're not a monster, Mikado." Kida said, "If you are, then I'm-"

'Just as bad.' He thought, his eyes narrowing.