"How long are you going to do this for?" Pride snarled. Ed breifly thought that it was weird that the shadows didn't seem to have a body or anything like a puppet master... If they did, then that person was well hidden.

"What, are you getting bored?" Ed asked mockingly. He didn't know how much time had passed since he had run away from his Brother and Winry. They had found the tunnels, and Ed hadn't seen the sky since. He missed the stars. No matter how much he changed, the stars were always the same. He missed what they stood for.

"That means we aren't doing are job well enough." Kimblee sighed dramatically, using his alchemy to explode Sloth, who staggered from the sheer force of the explosion.

"We'll have to give you a full refund." Kimblee howled with laughter, not giving Sloth time to recover before mercilessly attacking again.

Ed rolled his eyes. "So overdramatic." But despite what he said, we've delayed the tunnels for long enough. Pride is right... We can't keep this up forever. I might not need food, water or sleep, but Kimblee can't be in good shape after having so few breaks...

Why do I feel sorry for him? They're basic human rights! Oh yeah...

I don't need any of those anymore.

Ed didn't let any of this show on his face and merely ducked under the shadows, kicking the ones that slid on the floor underneath him viciously, straight in the glaring crimson eye.

"You really are interesting, Edward Elric." Pride snapped, and for once the echoing voice wasn't mocking. "You can use alchemy, yet you're a homunculus. You have regeneration, yet you keep your automail. Still, none of that changes the fact you're a pain to deal with." The voice echoed off the dull walls of the tunnel, making it impossible to guess where the speaker was.

"I'm taking that as a compliment." Ed grinned, mind racing with formulas that he could use to impale the shadows, or stop them.

"I have one last question for you. You can't continue this battle forever, so what will you do once you're forced to stop?" Ed hated that voice. Cold, mocking and always so arrogant.

"No idea." Ed lied, swining his arm at the shadows again, only for his target to move away teasingly. I know... I have half the theory on how to get rid of my stone, but... I need to finish it. Then, Al, Winry, everyone... I promise I'll come back.

"Well, you're not going to have much time to think about it," The shadows started weaving around each other, Ed scowled as he tried to figure out what this new tactic was, "because this game is about to end."

Al waited nervously near a run down house, crouched under come cover with May next to him. He, Winry, Armstrong and Lan Fan had stayed in the cave for several days, mostly while Armstrong recovered, but Al would be the first to admit that they were all waiting, hoping that Ed would turn up.

Eventually, they had given up, and Al remembered the look of regret and betray on Lan Fan's face as she realised Ed wouldn't be coming back.

"I really messed up." She'd sighed sadly, burrying her face in her hands.

"Don't say that... But, Lan Fan, if you don't mind... What is brother doing?" Al had asked, worry pouring into his tone.

Her next words still haunted him now.

Going after the homunculi in this area... Only brother would think of something that stupid... It's... Well, maybe it isn't so dangerous anymore... I mean he pulled that knife out of his head and that was it healed... Then again, his only ally is Kimblee... Maybe it's even more dangerous. Brother, what are you doing? What's going on in your head right now?

"Are you ready? He's nearly here." May whispered, smiling reassuringly at him, thinking he was worried about the fact their target was drawing closer. The sudden rush of compassion made Al think back to what had happened after they left the cave.

They had wanted to go and look for Ed and Kimblee, but Armstrong had lectured them in his horribly loud lecture voice, saying that they needed to go and inform the Briggs troops that there was a dangerous criminal nearby.

The three had decided not to tell the military officer about Ed's condition. He didn't know, he'd been knocked out for the entire thing and if Al had any say in it, he would never find out. Despite how badly Al had wanted to believe that the man would keep their secret, they had no way of knowing if he'd tell his sister everything.

So they'd kept silent and merely followed silently behind Armstrong as he talked their way into meeting with his sister in the middle of a blizzard. So they ended up meeting the older Armstrong, Olivier. None of them commented on the fear they felt, or the fact that Olivier Mira Armstrong was downright terrifying.

Still, she was sharp and perceptive and had caught onto her brother's code quickly enough, and before any of them knew it, they were standing in her office, alone except for her two most trusted subordinates.

"Well," she had growled, "talk!"

Needless to say, she had been furious about her brother bringing not one, not two, but three people who weren't involved in the military to her fort. She had questioned them there and then in front of Armstrong, and when all three of them refused to talk, she'd sent everyone out the room and tried again.

"Why are you here?" She had demanded coldly, glaring at them.

"How do you know we can trust you?" Lan Fan had snapped back with equal venom in her tone.

"Obey the strong. That is the only law here in Briggs. Everyone here has things they'd rather keep hidden. I've kept their secrets and I'll keep yours." She had said, sternly but not unkindly.

Lan Fan had hesitated, then decided that it'd be better to have Oliver as an ally than an enemy.

"I was assisting Edward Elric." She'd said quickly. Oliver raised an eyebrow, but Al butted in before she could talk.

"My brother is a homunculus." He blurted, and he didn't even have time to regret his words before Olivier smirked. She knew what a homunculus was, Armstrong had just explained it to her.

"He isn't evil or anything. He'd never ally with the guys in Central!" Al assured her quickly, but her smirk only grew.

"Well... He would make an interesting ally... Where is he now? Or were you searching for him?" She asked with a smug grin.

"Searching for him." Winry had supplied quickly, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Very well... I hope this will turn out to be beneficial. You can stay, but you'll have to work." She'd said and that had settled it.

The next days were spent doing useless chores while Winry got to work on a new type of automail. Then groups of soldiers from Central arrived, to deal with the combined threat of Scar and Kimblee. Although they probably weren't working together, they were both still dangerous. These soldiers questioned the Ice Queen's authority, something which annoyed her to no end. Then, while Al had gone to look in the North's library, he had accidently run into May...

The somehow ended up as part of an uneasy alliance between Scar's group and Olivier's forces as they struggled to crack the code on Scar's brother's notes, and avoid being caught by the troops that just seemed to keep on increasing in numbers.

"Alphonse, are you ready?" May whispered, jolting the suit of armour out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry!" Al mumbled guiltily. This was no time to be spacing out! They had lured here, and now they were planning on attacking him. May nodded, and from then onwards, he focused only on alchemy, and the little alkahestry he knew. It was familar, and to some degree, reassuring. Just like with Brother... Brother...

An image of Envy laughing, covered in his brother's blood flahsed through Al's mind. He remembered the look on his brother's face and a second later, Envy was sent flying by a particually nasty explosion.

Al turned away as he heard Envy snarl something and Dr Marco yelling. He had to trust the doctor here. He won't lose. He's stronger than that. He know's a lot about Philosopher's stones. Wait! Maybe he knows how to help Brother! But does Brother want to be cured? Is he happy? No... I don't think so... He was crying the last time I saw him...

Al stared at the small creature in the jar. This was Envy's true form. Ugly. Al glared at it, hatred shining in his soulfire eyes. The sin seemed to notice his gaze and turned around to face him, and if possible, it smirked.

"How's your brother?" Envy's voice echoed of the jar and was strangely high pitched, but it still made Al flinch.

Everyone fell silent, and stared at Envy, who seemed to enjoy the attention.

"You wouldn't know, would you? Last I heard from Pride, he's completely lost it..." The homunculus sneered. Al stared in horror. Brother... What happened? Is he okay? Why... Why did I ever let him go alone with Kimblee? Why didn't I look for him? Brother, what happened to you?

"What do you mean?" Al demanded, stepping closer to the jar.

"His little ally betrayed him." Envy laughed, and that was enough to make Al stumble away. No... Brother... Why?!

"Oh, and how's the guy who stole Greed's stone doing?" Envy continued, turning to look at Lan Fan who glared back.

"On his way to Xing. That stone is his proof of immortality." She snapped.

"Xing... Immortaility..." May whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. Al took a second to understand. She had been a part of the race, and now she'd just realised that it was too late. She'd failed, and all the hopes of her clan were crashing down around her.

With a sob, she raced outside, and Al hesitated for less than a second before following her.

May had collapsed in the snow, Shao May curled beside her. Al slowly sat down next to them, and wrapped a heavy metal arm around her shoulders. She paused then burried her head in her hands, then leaned against his side and sobbed. They sat there, offering silent comfort to each other, because they'd just both lost everything. Al, hating more than ever that he couldn't cry, let the snow fall down instead of tears.

How... How did this happen?

Ed stared numbly at his leg. It shouldn't... It shouldn't be like that. How... How did everything change so quickly.

Mere seconds ago, he had been fighting Pride with him. Then all of a sudden, everything had lunged forward, but not at him. He'd frozen in place before begining to struggle furiously against the shadows holding him in place, while slowly, he had been swallowed by the shadows, teeth flashing in the darkness.

"Something to remember me by, boss!" Kimblee had raised a hand in a salute, his palm suddenly flashing with light, and before he could register what was happening, his leg exploded just as Kimblee was swallowed.

But it wasn't his flesh leg. There had been a familiar, satisfied pulse and suddenly, his automail was flesh. The shards of his metal leg lay scattered around him. He now had both his legs back... It felt so wrong!

What about my promise? I... I betrayed Al... How could I?

I'm a horrible older brother. I'm a monster... What about my promise to go back? I can't, anymore... I broke our promise... Monster...

Kimblee... Why would he do that?

Ed felt rage stir inside him. Kimblee. This was his fault. But he's dead... Pride ate him, and now I can't even get my revenge...

Wait!

Pride ate Kimblee! Not killed him, ate him! Kimblee now lives on as part of Pride! So if I kill Pride...

Kimblee dies as well! That's perfect! Two birds with one stone! Watch out, Kimblee, Pride, because I'm not stopping until you're dead.

Ed rose to his feet, unsteady on his new leg, but it was almost exactly like his metal one... "I," he snarled, glaring at Pride, eyes blazing with rage, hatred and something else, "am going to destroy you."