Excessive Pride

by BridgitKiido

Disclaimer: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi, known in America as Fullmetal Alchemist, is the creation of the Japanese manga-ka Hiromu Arakawa. I, meanwhile, am an American of European mutt descent. In short, I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor do I claim to. (However, unless anything similar occurs in the manga, this story's plot is my idea.)

. XI .


If there was one reason that Pride found to be narcissistic, no matter how depressed he might have been feeling, it was the fact that his abilities were, in his opinion, far superior to those of his siblings.

Pride had the ability to turn invisible. Or, in more complex terms, he had the ability to change the way light energy bounced off his molecules, allowing him to produce the illusion of him being not there. He also had the ability, if he used enough energy, to pass through solid objects by expanding the space between his atoms for a few seconds. (Hence how he was able to escape from within his buried coffin.)

He did not have to turn himself completely invisible at any given time, however. He could choose to hide a few of his features while still keeping the rest of himself visible. Which is precisely how his Ouroboros tattoo had remained undiscovered by his human companions – on his trip to Ishbal before "the accident" as it was now referred, he had hidden it in order to prevent any issues there. And, when he lost his memory, it remained stuck like that unconsciously.

Incidentally, he still had to be careful. Depending on weather conditions, he sometimes was unable to render himself completely invisible. This was especially true on bright, sunny days – just because Pride bent the light did not mean that he no longer would cast a shadow. But then, this particular homunculus had mostly preferred to work in the shadows instead of on the front lines anyway.

And so, it was nice of the weather to be cloudy and wet the day that Pride visited his grave… or at least, what the humans considered to be the grave of Brigadier General Maes Hughes.

Wearing his old Lieutenant Colonel uniform under a thick brown cloak, the former as a cautionary measure just in case he should be seen (one could then claim he was a ghost), Pride made sure he was completely invisible before exiting the homunculi's lair. He kept his head down, kept his path to mostly the less used alleys, and walked briskly with an air that said he knew exactly where he was going. In one of the alleys, he happened to notice a small white cat sleeping in one of the cardboard boxes, but he paid little attention to that. Also, in one of his few ventures out of the alleys onto the main road, Pride happened to catch an illegal immigrant – some black-haired boy from Xing – being taken away by some low-ranked military personnel. He paid little attention to this as well.

Finally, after walking for about fifteen minutes, Pride reached the graveyard. He passed through several rows of stones depicting who was buried where before finally reaching his destination. Standing in front of his grave, Pride – no, here he could be Maes Hughes – stood silently and reflected on everything that had happened.


He distinctly remembered the gunshot. How could he forget? Stupid Envy, taking the form of his wife. Just like any normal human would have done, he had faltered when he saw the form of the love of his life aiming a gun at him. Just like any normal human, he had suffered a large amount of pain when the bullet had impacted his chest. Just like any normal human, he had collapsed to the ground from blood loss.

Until that moment, all the facts pointed to him being your average, everyday, normal human. And then he had remembered. Everything.

He distinctly remembered that moment as well. All of the floodgates holding back suppressed memories of his life before the day he had washed up near Roy's house had burst open. He supposed that great traumas could do that to a person. For a moment, he wondered just what had happened for him to forget everything in the first place…

Meh, that wouldn't matter now anyway, now would it?

He touched the back of his neck for a moment, feeling with his fingers the symbol of the serpent devouring its own tail – the Ouroboros mark that he knew was there and marked him as anything but a normal human. For a moment, he thanked whatever had caused his abilities to freeze up when he had gained amnesia. If that mark had shown itself, he never would have…

Again, that wouldn't matter now anyway.

For a moment, just a moment, he recalled a certain conversation that had occurred…

"Hey? Is it over?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes… where have you been all this time?"

"Hiding! If things went bad, someone had to live to tell the tale!"

"You know, next time, could you consider possibly helping us?"

"Forget it! Don't try to drag normal humans like me under the big top with the rest of you freaks!"

Pride scoffed ironically at that memory, still touching the back of his neck as he muttered sadly, "Yeah, Roy, I'm just your average every-day human."


That, of course, is when he heard a voice. An innocent, female voice that called out to him, "Excuse me, sir, would you happen to have seen a little white cat run by?"

He looked up and, seeing a brown-haired young lady looking right at him with no other man in sight, he was shocked. "You can see me?" he wondered aloud, thinking to himself, just perfect, now what?

The girl merely shrugged as though this was your average every-day appearance. "Yes. I'm more or less clairvoyant, so I can see everything. And I can usually hear what I see, too, but that isn't of any importance."

Pride then replied, still somewhat shaken, "I'm supposed to be dead, you know." He mentally kicked himself for saying that. According to the humans, his inner consciousness told him, you are dead, you nitwit!

Said girl merely shrugged again. "Doesn't bother me." And then, as though that entire part of the conversation hadn't just happened, she asked him, "So, have you seen a little white cat run by? She's about yea tall by yea long, with a collar knit from rainbow-colored yarn and sprinkled with tiger-eye gems." Her hands gestured appropriately with her description.

Pride smiled. Well, she's persistent, I'll give her that. Then, recalling what he had seen on his way to his present location, he replied, "Actually, yes, I did. When I was walking around a bit earlier, I saw a cat just like that sitting in one of the alleys. I can show you where, if you want."

"Thank you, sir," the girl replied. "That's very kind of you."


The pair of them walked down the street. Any civilians would have merely seen a young girl talking to herself on occasion as she walked. Perhaps if said civilians had any psychic abilities they would have sensed Pride's presence slightly, but there would be no reason to think he was anything more than just a random spirit.

Of course, things were mostly quiet until said girl asked, "So, from the way you're dressed, I take it that you were in the military? A Lieutenant Colonel, by the insignia on your uniform."

Pride was slightly shocked by the sudden question, but sighed. "Yeah, I was. I had a lot of friends there too. But one moment of hesitation and one gunshot later… here I am now."

The girl frowned. "I'm sorry if it's a touchy subject, but…"

Pride didn't hear the rest of the question, as he finally noticed that they had been walking through a part of Central that he had intentionally avoided before. And the reason for that avoidance happened to be sitting right on the doorstep of the house they were passing at that moment. Immediately, Pride had ducked into an alley, although that didn't save his companion from being pounced upon by an ecstatic Elysia Hughes.

At least, she was ecstatic until she discovered that she had not, in fact, found her daddy.

Pride snuck around behind the next row of houses, waiting until he was safely an entire block away to stop and wait for his companion. Of course, he couldn't prevent himself from crying slightly.

Lo and behold, the young girl showed up a few minutes later, slightly frazzled but otherwise alright. When she noticed Pride's condition, however, she asked, "Are you alright?"

Pride wiped his eyes and attempted a weak smile. "Yes, I'm fine. I just couldn't bear to see them right now. It's hard enough having to leave my family behind to begin with… but enough about that. Let's keep going; the alley where I saw your cat is just up ahead." And thus, the two of them continued walking down the street.


Back at the Hughes house, Gracia held a sobbing Elysia in her arms, attempting to comfort her daughter while failing at holding back her own tears. The little girl, however, would not stop babbling about how she had seen her daddy, repeating, "I know I saw him, Mommy! Why won't Daddy come home? He's not gone, I saw him!"

All Gracia could reply to her daughter between sobs was, "Elysia…"

Inside, Mili hopped about her cage a little bit before staring out the window for a minute and emitting a sad cooing sound.


"Well, this is where I saw your cat," Pride told his companion when the two of them reached the appropriate alley. "It would appear as though it moved during this time; I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"Oh no," the girl replied, an honest smile on her face. "This is far enough. Thank you so much for setting me on the right track. I just wish I could do something in return."

Pride chuckled. "There isn't really much you can do for a dead man."

"I know that," the girl replied, "but I still feel as though I need to repay you somehow. Like, how alchemists always follow equivalent exchange, and how many of them even bring that principle into their own lifestyles."

Pride turned slightly pale at the mention of alchemy, but the girl appeared to ignore that fact as she thought for a moment. "I know," she said suddenly. "You see, I'm a slight bit of a fortune teller, and you seem to be somewhat lost in your current situation, so I'll offer you some advice." Without waiting for Pride to respond, the girl walked up to him and whispered in his ear, "When it comes to decisions, follow what your own heart tells you. Then, what you do will be true to who you are."

"That is a good piece of advice," Pride replied. "Thank you for that."

"No no," the girl replied. "It was the least I could do."

"Well," Pride replied, "I need to be getting back."

As he walked away, he watched the girl wave after him, calling, "Thank you, sir, and please remember my advice!"

Kids these days, Pride thought to himself. They're getting wiser by the day, I'll tell you.

(Incidentally, had Pride stayed behind one second longer, he would have seen Roy Mustang enter that same alley from the other end. But that's not really important.)


The next day, Pride dared once again to venture outside. This time, however, he didn't go toward his grave. No, his target was his old house and his human family. Regardless of how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, he just had to see them again.

On his way there, he happened to pass by a news stand. The headline of the day read in bright bold letters, "2nd Lieutenant Maria Ross, Convicted as the Murderer of Brigadier General Maes Hughes". Pride scoffed at how ignorant the military could be; if he was investigating, he would have looked for a lot more evidence before making a conviction.

But then, why would he be investigating his own death?

Several minutes later, Pride had almost reached his old house. Gathering the courage, he had made it to the door and was about to knock when who should show up to visit but Winry Rockbell.

Needless to say, this interruption caused Pride to dart into the nearby alley out of fear once again. And when Elysia answered the door excitedly, she was let down once again to find out that it wasn't really her daddy at the door (even though she could have sworn she felt him there).

And as Pride watched Gracia escort Winry into the house, he put his hand on his forehead, muttering to himself, "I'm such a coward…"


Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Serina Kat, whose review of chapter 10 was very inspiring. I will be attempting to take many of your points into account, and I hope that this chapter is to your liking.

Sorry it took so long to write this. Truth be told, I'm not quite happy with the ending of this chapter, but I don't know exactly how else to do it. But the good news is that I know exactly where I want to go with this. In fact, I'd estimate there are approximately five more chapters and an epilogue to go. Until next time though, please review!