If you clicked that link that said "Lost in the Shadows", then you must have prepared yourself for some dark angst/insanity. You have been warned. Content include: Extreme angst (don't blame me if you are depressed for the entire day), tragedy, some forms of gore and torture, one enraged Fullmetal Alchemist, and a mentally disturbed EVIL Roy.
As I am a writer of good characters turning evil...
Setting: Around the team Ling became Greed and before Al and Ed go to Briggs. Remember, this is AU so there are different plots in the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own FMA. If I did, it would be called Flame Alchemist. Or Ling Yao.
Sidenote: Reread it for fluency and corrected spelling/grammar mistakes.
Chapter 1 - Pride's Shadows
The last breaths of his life hurt; his heart, starved from oxygen and filled with panic, beat heavily in his chest. His mouth opened and shut, striving for air, filling his badly damaged lungs with whatever air it could.
It was getting louder now. Despite the desperate cries of his subordinates, he knew he had little time left.
Babump...babump. It was all he heard; his own heart overwhelming all five of his senses, forcing him to await his own death.
Another tortured breath. Just how many more did he have left? Death should have taken him long ago; taken him to deepest realms of hell as punishment for failing his comrades. He, Roy Mustang, proud protector of his subordinates and colonel of them all, had failed in his duties.
"No, Colonel!" But a familiar voice. Who was it? It hardly mattered now; he was ready to accept Death's embrace. "COLONEL BASTARD, DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP ON ME!"
His dark world was shaking; why couldn't they just leave him be?
"Leave him alone, Edward-kun." Hands were pried off of him and someone lifted his head into the air. He kept his eyes closed; whoever it was wasn't going to discern him from his chosen path. He would accept Death to its fullest. "Stop struggling, Edward-kun. Greed, I want you to hold down Edward and keep him from interrupting the process. Envy, take the two prisoners down to the prison cells. They will be useful later on."
"Awww, but I wanted to stay to watch the fun!"
"Go now, Envy." There were sounds of people shuffling all around him. How could he still hear them? Why hadn't Death claim him?
Someone held down his hands and feet, pinning him to the ground with brute strength. "Now, it's only fair that you replace my dear child since you were the one who burned him to death. Besides, you were becoming rather troublesome of the sorts." That voice...who was it? It was cold and emotionless; full of power and authority. "Don't worry, Roy Mustang. You will still be a sacrifice when the time calls for it."
A fraction of a moment passed, and suddenly something sharp pierced him in the side. He dimly heard someone's desperate scream before his body was overtaken by the excruciating pain he was so familiar with now.
"NOOOOO! Colonel! Colonel, can you hear me?"
"Argh!" It took almost all of his willpower to keep from screaming in pain. His body twisted in agony and his heart beat even louder than before. The pressure in his chest seemed to overwhelm him, destroying all of his senses and replacing them with something else.
"Colonel!" One last desperate cry reached him. He finally recognized the voice...Fullmetal? What was he doing here? Suddenly, he began fighting that abnormal feeling that had invaded his body.
But it was too late. Slowly, he felt all of his willpower being sucked away. Fullmetal's voice no longer reached him. It wasn't Death that awaited him at the end of the road...but Darkness.
Envy groaned with discontent as he dragged the two prisoners down the city sewer. That Roy Mustang had burned Lust to death and he had wished to see the pathetic human being thrown in agony and pain. He chuckled at the thought of the Flame Alchemist pleading mercy from him; it was almost good enough to replace Lust's lowly friendship.
Heymans Breda looked up blearily at his surroundings as the homunculous chuckled. He sighed and let his head drop down on his chest again. It didn't matter where he was going now; he had failed to protect his Colonel and now he was dead.
Breda regretted talking the Colonel into accepting this mission. If he had known this was all a trap set-up by their own Fuhrer, he would have avoided the consequences long ago.
Riza Hawkeye, however, had different opinions. Drugged to the point that she couldn't even move, she had fought to the very last moment. During their investigation of the city sewers, they had been attacked by dozens of horrible disfigured monsters. Mustang did his best to protect everyone, but they lost most of their men.
Then their Fuhrer came. Not even given a chance to react, Mustang was immediately disabled by King Bradley's double swords and taken prisoner by the Fuhrer.
"At least I tried..." Breda murmured besides her. "At least I tried..."
Hawkeye wished she could pat the Second Lieutenant as a way of comfort, but both her hands and feet were tied securely.
"I didn't know they had tortured him so much..." Breda continued.
Hawkeye grimaced. She had wished not to be reminded again of the Colonel's state when she had seen him. After defeating the Chimeras (as Roy had told her) somehow, she and Breda had moved on to find their Colonel.
Instead, they had walked right into a trap. The homunculous called Envy tied them up, tortured them, then thrown them into a cell for days.
They were almost sure that their Colonel was dead until the Fullmetal Alchemist broke in.
"Looks like Edward's efforts were wasted," Breda said with a weak chuckle.
Hawkeye closed her eyes, still unable to think clearly due to the drugs. "Indeed...hopefully, our Colonel will still be alive..."
"If we somehow escape," Breda stated hollowly.
"Shut up, humans." Envy tightened his hold on the Colonel's subordinates.
However, those were unnecessary words. They had both failed their mission and there seemed to be no chance of escaping. Even if they escaped, how would they face the military? Even more...
Roy Mustang was most likely dead. They would hang their heads in shame for the rest of their life if they survived.
A long silence fell between Breda and Hawkeye as they both waited Fate's arrival.
"COLONEL!" Edward screamed. He swore loudly and struggled against Greed's grasp on both of his arms as his Colonel twisted in pain in front of him. "Dammit, Ling, let go!"
"I'm Greed," the homunculous sneered at him. "And no."
Suddenly, the horrible spasms stopped. Mustang sank to the ground, defeated, red static dancing across his body as the philosopher's stone settled in him.
"It is complete." Father stepped back, a satisfied look on his usually impassive face. "Get up, Pride."
"P...Pride?" Edward's breath caught in his throat. A cold feeling slowly crept into his heart.
However, someone else was already questioning the name. "Pride?" Mustang had awoken, staring at Father with a apprehensive look in his eyes. "Who's Pride?"
Father frowned. Something wasn't right. He was sure he had injected the homunculous' spirit into the Flame Alchemist through the philosopher's stone. How come his child wasn't responding. "Pride, come to your senses."
"I'm-I'm Pride?" Mustang looked down on himself, still dazed.
Edward hissed through his teeth, his heart lurching at seeing his Colonel in such a state. "Colonel! Colonel, do you recognize me?"
His words were ignored as Mustang continued to stare at his own hands, mumbling to himself. "I'm Pride...? Who am...I? Pride?"
"Yes, my dear child, you're Pride. I am your Father." The lead homunculous began walking towards Mustang.
As Father neared Mustang, the Colonel shrieked in fright, scrambling on all fours towards the safety of the wall behind him. "Who are you? Don't come near me!"
Father spread his arms wide, greeting Mustang with a motherly look. "I am your Father, Pride. You belong to me-"
He was interrupted by an enraged shout from the Fullmetal Alchemist. "SHUT up!" Edward roared. "Don't listen to him, Colonel! He's evil! You're Roy - Roy Mustang!" He bit back a gasp as Mustang turned to look at him.
"Roy...Mustang?" his formal Colonel questioned, staring directly at Edward. Edward felt his blood ran cold as he tried turning away from Mustang's red eyes, transfixed by the dozens of souls floating past the Colonel's blank look.
Father grunted his displeasure at Edward's outburst, waving a hand at Greed. The homunculous grinned in reply and covered Edward's mouth with a steel hand.
The doors looming before them suddenly creaked open slowly and a familiar figured appeared in the doorway. "Something wrong with him, Father?" King Bradley entered the room, wiping blood off his swords with a clean cloth. "I thought you were letting him be the host of Pride."
"I injected him with Pride's spirit, but somehow, something went wrong," Father replied. "He doesn't recognize me and has completely forgotten who he was." He continued to walk towards Mustang, finally getting close enough to the ex-colonel to knock him out with a swift blow of his hand.
"Hmmm." Bradley frowned at his Father's reply, pondering on what had exactly happened during Mustang's transformation. However though, his thinking was short-lived.
"Bradley!" Even though Greed's hand was covered over Edward's mouth, his scream of rage was still audible. "What did you do, you fake bastard!"
"Hm?" The Fuhrer raised an amused eyebrow at the Fullmetal Alchemist. "He was too big of a threat to us. The simplest way was to disable him and make him a homunculous until the promised day."
Edward glared at Bradley, his eyes full of hate and scorn. His hands shook besides him and he briefly wondered naively how such a cruel leader could have ever taken the position of Fuhrer. "How dare you..." he hissed loudly. "How dare you-mmph!"
Greed tossed Edward over his shoulder, interrupting him in the middle of the sentence. "Now, now, I'll take you outside this place where you can calm down, alright kid?" He grinned wildly at Edward and walked out of the place as the Alchemist began pounding his back angrily.
As their voices faded into the hallway, Father turned to Bradley. "I want you to take Pride to a prison cell. Have Greed watch over him until he wakes up. Tell Greed to notify me when he does, there's some things I'll need to take care of."
"Understood, Father." Bradley bent to pick up Mustang.
"Also, I don't want any contact between Pride and the Elric Brothers until he is stable. We can take advantage of the fact that he lost his memory."
Bradley exited through the large doors, leaving Father alone in the room.
He had a horrible headache. Shaky hands reached up to rub his neck, wincing as he felt a bruise behind his mass of hair. How'd he get this? He didn't even remember getting hurt...but...
His eyes widened with fear as he recalled the blond, old man that had walked up to him. Maybe that old man had hit him...
"Hey." The sound of another human voice startled him. He barely stifled his own gasp.
A man with black clothes and a tied-up ponytail uncurled from his position on the ground and walked towards him. "You awake, Pride?"
Pride. They had called him that name again. It sounded so familiar and tempting; yet he couldn't bring himself to fully accept the identity. Something held him back...
"Yo, Pride! I asked if you were awake!" The man was staring at him through the black bars.
He shrank back at the lethal tone in the man's voice, keeping a wary gaze on the dark-clothed man.
Greed sighed. Pride was supposed to respond, yet it seemed that the old spirit in the host retained control of the body. It was like Ling and him; they both were spirits in the body, but they got along decently well and switched bodies when needed to. Except...where was Pride in Roy Mustang?
The homunculous raised a hand, breaking the jail door open. Roy took cover in the corner, one hand raised in front of his face for protection.
"Don't worry, kid," Greed said. "I won't hurt ya. Just going to tell you who you are."
"Who...I am?" Roy gazed at the homunculous in a wondrous manner.
Greed bit back a laugh. He almost pitied the Flame Alchemist. The former wide-feared and respected Colonel had been reduced to such a sad state. "Alright, listen up, kid. Your name is Pride, your Father is that old geezer, and I'm your brother. You work for that old geezer 'cause he gave you life. That's all."
"The scary old man?"
Greed roared with laughter. "Yeah, that scary old man!"
"Greed, stop making jokes about me. I thought I told you to let me know when he woke up."
Greed swallowed nervously as he spotted the lead homunculous walk down the stairs towards him. "He just woke up, Father. He acts so much like a little kid."
"Then the only thing we need to do is to wake up the feral instincts in him. Pride is a horribly arrogant spirit that had been part of me. I suspect that somehow Roy Mustang's spirit and Pride's own spirit have combined, losing their memories in the process." Father waved behind him.
Gluttony came stumbling in, grinning eagerly as he carried a Chimera cage in each hand. "I brought what you asked, Fffaatthhheerr! May I eat now?" He set down the cages by Father and patted his stomach.
"Good work, Gluttony. Yes, you may eat now."
"Itadakimasu! Bye bye!" Gluttony disappeared up the stairs.
Once the fat homunculous had gone, Greed eyed the growling Chimeras in their cages. "Are you seriously thinking of doing that?"
"Greed, open the cages and let the Chimeras inside Pride's cage," Father ordered, cutting through Greed's question.
Greed sighed, picking up the cages and setting them in front of Roy's prison cell. "Time for a little fun, kid." He let the Chimeras out, guiding them into Roy's cage with a steeled hand. Then he shut Roy's prison door forcefully, locking it with a key from his pocket.
For a few moments, nothing happened. Then the Chimeras lunged at Roy, growling viciously.
Roy yelped with pain as the first one latched itself onto his arm. The second tore wildly at his leg, ripping off pieces of skin and muscle as it did so. Although the wounds healed itself, the ex-Colonel continued to scream with pain.
Suddenly, he stiffened, his eyes diluting in his face and his panicked look slowly faded away to be replaced by a savage one. The shadows behind Roy seemed to fade to life, exposing red eyes and glimmering teeth. Within seconds, both Chimeras were dead by his feet, pierced clean through by two blades of Roy's shadow.
"Good work, Pride." Father sounded pleased at Roy's progress.
Roy stared at his shadows, puzzled but awed at the same time. Those scary things had harmed him and somehow, he had killed him with his own shadow. He smiled to himself at the old man's praise. It was almost as if he craved it; that small compliment from that old man.
"Do you mind if I ask you to eliminate more of them?" Father walked up to Roy, but this time, the ex-Colonel didn't coward back.
"...I think I'll like it."
"Good. We'll start with Section B tomorrow. For now, I'll have you rest in your cell. I'll come by tomorrow, then we'll start."
Roy nodded at him through the bars. "I'm...Pride, right?"
Father almost smiled. "Of course you are, my dear child. Now get a good night rest."
Greed followed Father up the stairs, leaving Roy alone in his prison cell.
"Ugh." He stood alone in front of dozens of corridors. Each corridors were mirror-like, reflecting his own image back at him as he passed through them.
He didn't know how long he had been walking, but it seemed days to him now.
Who was he? He was transfixed by his own image as he passed by each corridor. A dark-haired man with sharp red eyes glared back at him every time. Why did that image seem so familiar to him?
Several times, he thought he saw someone else's image in the mirror. One time, he was sure he saw a golden-haired and eyed boy. He also imagined a voice screaming "COLONEL!" at him.
And that other image. Some blond girl that gazed at him with concern. But he was sure these were mere fantasies; this small world of mirrors and corridors had made it up to taunt him.
Wasn't Pride his name? Wasn't he working for that old man he called Father?
He liked to kill. He enjoyed manipulating his dark shadows, forming sharp, gleaming teeth and sending those monsters their doom.
But he always ended up back here.
But...regret...it was the word that was whispered to him over the wind...regret...like a soft whisper...a hateful reminder.
"Pride!"
But why the hell was it REGRET every time?
"Pride!" Greed formed a fist and punched the ex-Colonel, flat out of patience.
Roy shot up, his shadows already forming behind him as he got ready to defend himself from whatever threat there might be. When he saw Greed, he visibly relaxed. "Don't punch me like that, Greed. You might end up regretting it someday."
Greed laughed him off, smashing his fists together in a display of power. "Getting arrogant already, are we, Pride? No, you amateur, I won't be killed by you. Anyways, Father wants you to find him right now. He's going to give you your first real assignment."
Roy pushed Greed aside, walking up the stairs to find his Father. Two weeks had passed since he was first given the job of disposing runaway Chimeras, and he fully enjoyed the job.
Several times, Envy, his other brother, had came along and told him how much more fun humans were to kill.
"They beg for mercy," the homunculous told him. "They're wonderful to kill. It's like you hold their life in your hands. Squeeze them, and they squeal. Break them apart, and they scream. Give them the choice of kill or survive, and they kill. Humans are so selfish and stupid, it's ridiculous."
Roy said nothing in reply as he stabbed another Chimera with his shadow.
Envy leaned in close to him, a savage smile upon his face. "And best of all, make them succumb to their desires. They talk about this shit about protecting others, but they always end up being selfish to protect themselves."
At this, Roy felt an unbidden rage rise up in him, and before he knew it, he had stabbed Envy through the stomach. The homunculous scowled at him as Roy quickly removed his shadow, apologizing to his brother.
"Humans are pathetic. Just remember that as you kill them. Worthless creatures that filthy our Planet." With that, Envy had left him.
"Ah, Pride. You're here." Father looked up from the masses of papers on his desk. "It's time for the last bloody mark. I want you to go to Briggs, in the North, and start a war there. You know what to do."
Roy nodded, acknowledging his Father's words with eagerness. "I know what to do, Father."
"Good. It will be the last of the Transmutation Circle that I talked to you about last time. Finish this, and we will rule the world together."
Roy walked away, trying to find satisfaction in his Father's words, but found nothing than the usual sense of puzzlement.
"The Rule of Briggs: The survival of the fittest." That had been Olivia Armstrong's first said rule to the Elric Brothers.
Following the day their Colonel had been made into a homunculous, Bradley had sadly announced to the military that Roy Mustang, along with two of his subordinates, Riza Hawkeye and Heymans Breda, was confirmed MIA (Missing in action) in a mission and was most likely KIA (Killed in Acti
The Elric Brothers, however, knew the truth, but said nothing as Bradley had cautioned them about his hold on Winry. It was either spread meaningless rumors and end up losing one of their most precious childhood friends, or stay silent. They chose the latter.
Edward had informed his brother on what had happened, shocking Al and making his brother wish he had been there. Al scolded Edward for his foolishness, but regretted that he had been studying in the library on that day.
They ended up chasing the Panda Girl, May Chang, all the way to North Amestris. And finding themselves in Briggs.
Vato Falman, Roy Mustang's 2nd Lieutenant, had been shocked by the news the Elric Brothers delivered. Their Colonel...defeated. And First Lieutenant and his buddy, Breda, gone.
News of May Chang along with the run-away criminal, Scar, soon reached the Northern Wall of Briggs, sending the Fort into a state of frenzied work. Ed and Al were sent a couple of times to find the criminal, but they always ended up failing.
There were small alerts here and there, but nothing too big as of yet.
But as they woke up one day to another cold and tiring day, the alarm rang throughout the Fort. As Ed and Al rushed outside to the balcony of the Northern Wall, they were greeted with a grim sight.
Thousands of Briggs' long time enemy, the Drachmans, stood lined up before the Fort. There were tanks and missiles and other dangerous military weapons at the ready. The first defense of the Fort had been pierced already; an unknown threat had entered the Northern Wall of Briggs.
"We gotta do something, Al!" Edward slammed his hand in a transmutation, forming a sword on his automail. He ran to meet the other Briggs' soldier that had lined already lined up in quick counter to the Drachmans' attack.
"What I'm confused about," Olivia Armstrong told Edward. "Is that I get reports that the Drachmans haven't moved at all. But all our front line soldiers have been killed already. Check the situation for me, Alchemist."
"In front of the fort?" Ed questioned.
"Yes, and you better hurry it up!" the Brigadier General snapped in reply.
Al and Edward rushed to the elevator, waiting impatiently as the slow device carried them down the fort. As the Elric Brothers stepped off the elevator, they were met with a grim sight. All of the lower defensive soldiers had been brutally stabbed through the chest and murdered. There were no survivors in sight.
A familiar feeling crept up Edward's spine, and he barely dodged a spike of a shadow that erupted from the floor next to him. He gasped as he recognized the familiar red eyes and sharp teeth; Selim Bradley had utilized them well during his small fight with Edward.
"Pride? He's alive?" Edward breathed to himself, blocking a gleaming teeth with his automail.
"Very much indeed."
Al covered his mouth in a gasp as Edward suddenly remembered who the new Pride was. A familiar figure blurred into view as Edward took a defensive stance.
"Colonel..." Al said in a quiet whisper of horror.
"Did you say something?" A line of shadow shot out from Pride's shadow, curling around Al's body and lifting him into the air.
"Put him down, dammit!"
"Put him down?" As Pride walked closer to the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward finally got a good luck at him.
He tried convincing himself that the homunculous in front of him was not his former Colonel, but there was no such luck. Pretending that it was Envy in disguise made no difference.
His Colonel looked different now. His once dark and intelligent eyes had been replaced by crimson, savage ones. The impassive and calm mask that Roy Mustang had prided himself on wearing in front of his subordinates now clearly showed all his emotions.
Right now, it was bloodthirsty, his mouth twisted into a sardonic smile, and his eyes danced with flames.
Stunned by this new development, Edward barely had time to defend himself as another strand of Pride's shadow lifted him up next to his brother. Edward stared at his former Colonel sadly as he made no effort to resist at all.
"Well now?" Pride said. "How would you like to die?"
Edward's hand tightened next to him.
"Saying nothing at all? You aren't making this fun at all. The other humans were screaming for mercy." His Colonel almost sounded like himself now. Cold and collected, but this time, instead of an order, it was a threat.
He couldn't give up hope; he was sure his former Colonel Bastard was in there. Some stupid homunculous might have overtaken his Colonel's body, but...
Pride's hold around his neck seemed to tighten. "Well then, human. Say your goodbyes."
A/N: I know everything hasn't been made clear yet, but it'll piece together soon. Also, I do keep my characters as in character as possible, and I assure you that Roy is not OoC.
-KuroRoy