Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, Roy would've become a homunculous by now.
(Sidenote: Thank you, Toushiro-chan, Mayo2198, Horselvr4evr123, and Fliptoflop for reviewing. It really makes a big difference; I thank you kindly for your encouraging words.)
Chapter 2 - Pride's Weakness
And it was the darkness that foreshadowed upon him, the pain that gripped his heart, and the sorrow that overcame him.
Why must it be so...?
The evil that overtook him, the agony that turned his soul. Not love, but hate…Sorrow, but never joy…
And he stood in the darkest of days, alone. Alone as one to face the world, alone as one to face the betrayal…
For he knew himself no more; nothing he was, a wisp of wind that dilapidated in the air…
He tightened his shadow around the golden-haired boy's body as he formed sharp teeth within the curl of another shadow. Just like all the others he had killed, he would devour them and they would become part of his soul, soon to be forgotten and lost forever.
"Colonel!" The boy was crying now, tears flowing freely from his eyes.
He hesitated, his shadow hovering inches away from the human's face. It wasn't like he felt anything in his corrupted heart; but there was something about those tears...the way it dripped coldly onto a red eye in his shadow.
He decided he was being foolish and moved quickly to finish his job. Just as the sharp teeth opened around the human's body, the boy stiffened, seeming to break mentally.
"Don't do this," he screamed. "I know you're in there...just please stop..."
He frowned, his shadow still inches away from the boy's fragile body. "Be quiet and accept your death, human," he said coldly, irritated at the boy's outburst.
"No..." The human was shaking now, his eyes still closed. "NOO! Colonel, stop this, COLONEL!"
He paused, the human's shout echoing through him...it sounded familiar...and it hurt. Something suddenly passed through his heart; he gasped and let his guard down as he reached one hand to his chest, clutching his heart. What was this feeling? It was so new to him...it was as if his own soul was tearing apart within him.
"Dammit..." He had better finish this quickly before this new feeling corrupted his work. With a hard struggle, he began to close his shadow's teeth around the still-screaming human. However, the process seemed slow to him, and suddenly searing pain burst through his leg, making him drop to one knee.
"Colonel Roy Mustang." An impassive and authoritative voice reached his ears.
He instantly withdrew his shadows, turning around rapidly to face the new threat. The newcomer was a stern human with long, blond hair and piercing blue eyes. She seemed familiar to him somehow...and her voice reminded him of Father's own voice. Cold and commanding.
He reached down and pulled out a small knife from his already-healing leg. It didn't the matter if that human was like Father; he would make her pay for this wound.
"What do you think you're doing, Mustang?" Olivia Armstrong snapped. "Are you the cause of this?" She gestured at the dead soldiers around her.
He smirked and crossed his arms, meeting her glare equally with one of his own. "Of what?" he questioned sarcastically.
The human's eyes narrowed. "I believed I asked you a question, Colonel Mustang."
"I believe you have mistaken me for someone else," he replied just as quickly.
There was a moment of silence. He watched warily as the human rubbed her hand on the handle of the sword. "Do not joke with me, Mustang. If you are not Roy Mustang, then who might you be?"
"My name is Pride."
"Pride...?"
"Brigadier General!" The human he had failed to kill was now looking at the woman apprehensively. "It's not the Colonel...he's...he's..."
"Who is he? Speak up!"
"He's..." The boy's eyes held so much sorrow. "He's..."
He didn't know why, but he hated seeing that human like this. "I told you before, human," he addressed the woman. "I am Pride, the first homunculous."
"Homunculous?" The human looked alert now, her hands tightening around her sword.
"That's right," he replied, the smirk still clear upon his face. "I happen to be the first one too."
She glared at him for awhile longer, hands still resting on her weapon.
"Brigadier General!" Several humans burst through the door behind her, all of them carrying huge weapons. "What seems to be the problem?"
The human turned to address a particular huge man with an automail arm besides her. "It looks like a certain Colonel Roy Mustang has paid us an unpleasant visit, Buccaneer," she said.
"Roy...Mustang? The Flame Alchemist?" The man looked stunned at this.
He sighed. He was beginning to hate being recognized as someone else. With a quick movement, he sent one of shadows darting forward at the annoying humans.
"Watch out, Buccaneer!" The woman quickly flicked her sword upwards, parrying his blow with her blade. The other humans scrambled away from him. He watched calmly as they set up human weapons in a perimeter around him.
"Unfortunately, humans weapons do not work against me." He withdrew his shadow from the human's sword and sent it flying at her again. She quickly sidestepped the move, but one tendril of his shadow stabbed through her foot, making her hiss in pain.
Taking advantage of her lowered guard, he formed another shadow behind him. It flew at the human, its side sharp and dangerous. Just as he thought he had successfully pierced the human clean through, a familiar figure flashed in front of the woman, blocking his move forcefully.
"Are you alright, Brigadier General?" Edward gasped, straining with the effort from keeping Pride's shadow away from Olivia.
The Armstrong stood up slowly, raising her sword yet again. "Don't be a fool, Alchemist. A weak blow like that won't put me down."
"But your foot-" Edward gazed at the bloody puddle around Olivia's foot with concern.
"Move away, kid." He hissed in displeasure, interrupting the humans' worthless conversation. His chance of killing a human had been ruined again. "Do not interfere with me."
The boy turned, his attention shifted upon him. His eyes meet Pride's red eyes and they glared at one another equally, each trying to make the other look away.
However, it was Pride who looked away first, tearing his eyes from the human's sorrowful ones. He hated with a fiery passion at how the human looked at him; it was almost as if he was pitying him. And yet...he couldn't bring himself to kill that human.
"Tsk." He called back his shadows and turned away from the humans. He'd kill them some other day; he was already late. Father would be displeased if he didn't complete the Bloody Mark today.
"Where do you think you're going?" snapped the female human as he took a step towards the exit.
He paused, but only momentarily. "I have business to attend to. This isn't over though; next time I will make sure all of you have become part of my soul."
The human boy made a strained noise, his eyes still fixated upon Pride.
The homuculous quickly exited the the fort; he was glad to get away from the human boy. The kid had messed him inside and now he couldn't seem to get a good control on his emotions. It wasn't fair: why did that human affect him so much?
Vato Falman pulled his jacket tighter around him as he hurried down the stairs to the lower section of Briggs. Ever since he had been transferred to this cold hell, he'd been trying to adjust to the weather, but his body refused to cooperate with him.
He hoped he could talk something out with the Colonel the next time he met him. The weather was killer.
Right now, he had to deliver a new weapon to the Brigadier and the soldiers nearby him had told him that Olivia was in the lower part of the Fort. Falman began dashing down the stairs, two at a time.
He burst onto the scene only to have a sword point aimed towards his neck. Falman dropped his heavy package, throwing up his hands in fright. "It's Falman!"
Olivia grunted, lowering her sword. "Do you have what I asked for?"
Falman bent to pick up the package, but his eyes caught onto the sight of his General's bleeding foot. "Brigadier General! What happened to your foot?" It was then that he noticed the other people in the room: Buccaneer was frowning with deep concern, Al was unconscious by the wall, and Edward was bleeding from several cuts all over his body. The Alchemist looked badly shaken and it seemed that the sight of Falman did nothing to help him.
"2nd Lieutenant Falman..." Edward gasped.
"Hush!" Olivia rapped the boy smartly on the head. She stood up straight, surveying the people around her with a stern eye. "Everyone that was here - do not speak one word of what happened here. Understand?"
The soldiers grunted while Ed lowered his head sadly.
Olivia narrowed her eyes. "I said, do you understand?"
"Y-yes, Brigadier General," the soldiers replied quickly. Buccaneer saluted his General.
Edward still refused to say anything, his face covered by his messy hair.
Olivia sighed heavily and turned to a confused Falman. "Hurry back to your post, Falman. We have a mess to clean up here."
"But-"
"I said NOW."
Falman swallowed nervously, and began running up the stairs again. If there was one thing he had learned from this wretched place, it was never to disobey the Brigadier General when she was this angry. Nothing good came out of it.
But even so, he puzzled over the scene he had walked in upon. He hadn't been chosen by Roy Mustang for nothing; the Colonel respected his memory skills. His brain was quick and he rarely forgot anything. He was also fast in piecing things together when it came to certain situations.
Falman arrived at his post above the Fort, clutching his small rifle gun as he trained his eyes on the Drachman army below. Though he was looking directly at the army, his mind was quickly working out possible situations that had happened underground.
Firstly, the Brigadier General had been wounded badly in her left leg. He knew that Olivia was an excellent sword fighter and there were very few things that could harm her, especially in her leg. The enemy would have to be very strong and swift to be able to injure the Brigadier General.
Secondly, Edward was badly shaken up. From the short time Falman had known the Alchemist, there was only several things that could possible rile the Alchemist so much. His brother, that childhood friend of his, and possibly, the Colonel himself. Even though the Colonel and Edward didn't get along very well, they shared mutual goals and respected one another. And especially after that Rose incident...
But he ruled the Colonel out. He was busy in central and couldn't have possibly come here.
Falman also remembered seeing Al unconscious in a corner...maybe Edward was shocked about that? He shook his head in frustration. If that was the case, then what would the Brigadier General need to hide?
A gunshot suddenly rang out in the distance, distracting him from his deep thoughts. He would think about this later...for now, he needed to help Briggs defend against the Drachmans.
As multiple soldiers ran Briggs soldiers ran past him, Falman loaded his rifle and followed them onto the battlefield.
Kimblee had a distinctive smirk on his face as he watched Pride approach him. "So you're Pride?" the Crimson Alchemist questioned, the amusement in his tone clear.
"What of it?" The homunculous narrowed his eyes. He'd barely met the human for more than a few minutes, he already disliked his new partner. Solf J. Kimblee was a maniac and acted much more powerful than he actually was. It was only because of the Philosopher's Stone that Envy had given him. Otherwise, the fool wouldn't be able to even a single house.
Kimblee chuckled lightly. "Nothing of it, Pride," he said. "I've told the Drachmans to advance already."
"Good. I eliminated about most of the lower defense Briggs had set up so there will be quite a bloodshed."
Kimblee laughed again. "Enjoying yourself?"
Pride glared at him. "I certainly can't enjoy anything when you're around," he said icily.
"Why, that's awfully rude of you," Kimblee replied, lacing his tone with mockery. "And I was about to tell you about your new assignment."
"Hmph." Pride waited for Kimblee to continue.
The Crimson Alchemist smirked. "We're supposed to catch Scar, the runaway Ishvalan," he explained. "I suppose you can handle him yourself?"
"Are you throwing your responsibilities on me?" Pride snapped testily.
"Oh? You can't defeat him by yourself, Pride? I didn't know you were so weak inside."
The homuculous felt a distinctive flare of anger within him and it took almost all his effort to keep his shadow from stabbing the infuriating man through his weak body. "Know your place, human," he cautioned as he began walking away.
"Know my place?" Kimblee frowned, crossing his arms as he did so. "And who are you calling human, Pride? You have no right to look down on us since you were once one yourself."
At this, the homunculous stopped his tracks, his hands balled in a fist and shaking with obvious anger. He almost stabbed the Crimson Alchemist clean through, but he sensed a certain amount of truth in Kimblee's words. Instead, he calmed himself, turning his anger to hatred.
"I was never human, Kimblee," he said coldly as he disappeared over the snowy hill.
Kimblee's laughter followed him all the way down the down the path.
"Lieutenant Haweye! Lieutenant!" Breda grunted in pain as he tried reaching a hand through his cage towards Hawkeye.
"First Lieutenant Hawkeye!" he whispered desperately again. However, she did not stir. Breda grimaced, giving up and leaning uncomfortably back onto the wall of his cage. He'd been trying to count how long they'd been stuck in these cages by marking the hours on the ground as they went by. He'd gotten to about the twentieth tally until he lost track. There were too many screams and roars from the inhuman things around them and they distracted him greatly.
Several times, he had tried craning his neck to get a better look at his surroundings, but the cage hardly allowed any space for movement. He was sure those things screaming things were Chimeras. That's what his Colonel had called those monstrous things they had been fighting until he was taken by the Fuhrer.
There was a groan besides him and he instantly felt relieved as Hawkeye opened her eyes groggily. She was still alive and seemed to be alright. "Second Lieutenant Breda...?" she mumbled, trying to focus her gaze on him. "...How long was I out?"
Breda glanced at his tally marks on the ground. "About...twenty hours, I suppose."
She grunted in reply, and struggled to sit up in her cage. "Here's the problem now..." she said as she placed one hand on the wall behind her to steady herself. "How do we escape?"
Breda took another look around the place. "Fat chance," he said. "Firstly, we're in cages, secondly, this place is most likely guarded and locked."
Hawkeye sighed heavily. "How about keeping us alive? Wouldn't they have to bring food?"
"Food...?" Breda pondered the possibility. "Oh, right...we could knock them out and make a dash for it."
Hawkeye laughed weakly, resting her head onto the cage bars. "It's an old and overused tactic, so I doubt it would work. But I do wonder what they plan on doing with two lowly humans."
"It sounds grim, but keeping us alive really has no use for them," Breda replied.
The instant he finished speaking, a laugh echoed around the place as a familiar figure approached them. "That's right," Envy said, pausing in front of their cages. He placed his hands onto his hips, grinning sardonically. "We really have no use keeping you lowly humans alive. However, Father has granted you another privilege."
He signaled behind him and two Chimeras appeared, each holding ropes and chains. Envy walked up to Breda's cage, taking out a key and unlocking it. The Chimeras grabbed Breda on each of his shoulder, securing him tightly with the ropes as they dragged him out.
"Breda!" Hawkeye sounded worried. "Second Lieutenant-!" Somehow finding the strength, she shook her cage violently by its bars as she glared at Envy hatefully. "Where are you filthy homunculous taking him?" she demanded. "First you do away with the Colonel and then...why can't you just stop there?"
Envy scoffed, casting an unconcerned eye towards Riza. "Filthy? Who are you calling filthy? It's you humans who pollute our world. Honestly - human and their spiteful ways." He laughed and disappeared up the stairs, motioning the Chimeras to follow
Too weak to even resist, Breda could only look hopefully at Hawkeye as he was dragged painfully across the ground. Hawkeye shook her head desperately, clearly telling him to resist. But beyond that, they both knew that resisting had no point to it anymore.
"Now, now, bring the human this way." Envy sounded excited; the way he had sounded when he had played with them during the few days they had been captured.
Breda felt himself being tied onto some sort of bed. Chains were bound around his entire body, restraining even his arms and feet. Envy's face hovered into his field of vision, peering down upon him with a sardonic grin on his face.
"Let me tell you what, human. You get to choose."
Breda frowned. "Choose what?" he asked, his voice muffled by the chains around him.
"Do you want to be..." Envy seemed to be holding up small pieces of furry objects. "Do you want to be a...zebra? Or donkey?" He laughed, bringing the fur up close to Breda. "Or...how about a fox?"
Breda's eyes widened. "...no way..."
"Was that a yes?" Envy cackled, prancing out of Breda's field of vision towards a desk in the room. "Alright then, fox it is!"
Nothing happened for awhile, but then a sharp needle pierced him in the side. Excruciating pain tore through his body, making him twist and turn in agony, but the chains held tight. He almost screamed out loud with pain, but kept his teeth firmly bit on his lip to restrain him from doing so.
The pain ended almost as fast as it had started. As his vision began to clear again, he saw Envy peering over him. "Wasn't that fun?" Envy questioned sarcastically.
Breda glared at the homunculous and spit the blood in his mouth into his face.
Envy hissed in disgust, wiping away the red specks on his face with hand. "How dare you spit on me, human," he spat. "May this next one provide you with even more enjoyment."
Once again, the needle was inserted within him, but the pain didn't start instantaneously. Breda lay shaking on his bed, waiting for the agony to start once more. Suddenly, a huge crack sounded across the room, followed by dozens of smaller sounding cracks. Roy Mustang's Second Lieutenant did his best to hold back his screams, but as soon as the pain began to reach his chest, he could stand it no longer.
It felt like every single one of his bones was breaking into a million little pieces within his body, starting from his feet and working its way up. As he screamed in pain, he dimly saw Envy's face hovering above his, a cruel grin upon the homunculous' face.
"That's right..." Envy said. "...THAT'S RIGHT! Suffer, human, suffer! I want to hear your screams! Louder and louder!" He laughed loudly and stabbed another needle into Breda, allowing him no time to recuperate.
He barely even had the energy to scream anymore; his entire vision was clouded with a hazy red of pain. His body continued to twist on its own, and along with his bones, he also felt his muscles constricting within him.
"Wonderful...simply wonderful!"
As the pain died away, so did his vision. The last thing he saw was a grinning Envy...then all was dark.
"The battle has stopped on either side...for now." Olivia addressed a grim-looking counsel as she took her place in front of the desk. On either side of her sat Al and Ed, and directly facing her was Buccaneer. "The bigger issue here is..."
She fell silent and cast a dangerous glare at Edward and Alphonse. Edward grimaced visibly and turned away. Alphonse said nothing as the red orbs in that represented his eyes faded.
"Edward Elric. We have no time for feelings," Olivia snapped harshly. "I want you to tell me about Mustang...NOW."
Edward's body shook for several moments before he slammed his right hand onto the table loudly. "He was sent to patrol the City Sewers and he was caught!" he gasped, his sentence rushing out in a disorganized jumble of words. "And the Fuhrer did it...and then...they made into a homunculous! No! Father did...was that his name? I...I don't know!"
Olivia's gaze hardened. "The Fuhrer did it?"
Edward nodded. "King Bradley. He's...a homunculous."
Olivia's hand came down hardly on the wooden table. "Impossible. Our Fuhrer-"
"No...no...you have to believe me..." Both of Edward's hands were curled into fists before him, shaking visibly with anger and sorrow. "He doesn't know who he is anymore...they...they turned him into a killing machine!"
Olivia stood up, knocking her chair into the wall behind her. She raised a hand, punching the Alchemist hardly and sending him crashing painfully onto the other side of the room.
"Brother!" Alphonse gasped.
"Now is not the time for emotions!" Olivia roared. "We have more important issues at hand! Get a hold of yourself, Alchemist! I want the whole story - now. No stuttering."
Edward took a shaky breath, ignoring a bleeding cut on his side. "I...I..."
He was interrupted as the door flew open and a disheveled looking Falman tumbled in. "Brigadier General! Was...was my Colonel here earlier?"
Olivia hissed, stabbing her sword into the ground. "I'd thought you put it together sometime, Falman."
However, Mustang's formal Lieutenant was focused on Edward. "What about Breda?" he asked, almost desperately. "What about First Lieutenant?"
Edward said nothing for awhile, laying motionless by the wall. "I believe...that they're dead."
~KuroRoy