A/n, you guys have no idea how difficult this was to write, I don't even really like it as it is, but it's already been a month since I last updated. …I need to go to bed '-' Goodnight everyone... *yawn*

Previous reviews:

Moofy-Fan:

Thanks about Greed being in character, I want to involve him more, but there's not a lot of room in my chapter plan, he's going to get a few scenes though, so don't worry. Pride's adorable, even when getting attacked by a mouse and freaking out 3 But I fear that all the fluff will be coming to a complete stop soon… /3

Yeah, Sylvie strikes me as one who won't give up on someone, and'll just find excuses for why they're too busy to answer. Oh, wait til you hear the prince of Aerugo's name, it's not as wacky as Sylvie's…I think, but we'll see ^.^

Aw, thanks for checking out my deviantART account, I don't think I'm that good, but I want to eventually post some new stuff. I'm sure your art is awesome considering you're doing an art major, shame you don't have a scanner though.

Greed isn't that relevant at the moment, but this chapter almost where everything goes down hill, now you've been warned.

*0*0*

This chapter…is where everything goes to hell, you've been warned…I've been planning this chapter for a *long time* as I mentioned last chapter, but I'm not that pleased with how it all turned out, but now that I've written it I can finally start working on later chapters, hopefully they'll get written quicker than this one…hopefully…

Arakawa own…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

0 * 0* 0 * 0 * 0

Sin's Child

Chapter Twenty-Five: Known as Monsters

"N-no, you can keep those on, Big Brother!" Pride stopped, leaving the cloth that lay under his robe hanging below his hip on one side, Lust once suggested that if he had a mark like she and Greed did, it should be there, apparently it was better if people didn't see it, but he didn't have one, so it didn't matter. Pride tugged the side back up, waiting patiently for Lust to dig out his new clothes. He caught a glimpse of himself in Lust's mirror, and blushed a little, covering himself up with his hands and looking away. He didn't want to see himself like this, and no one else must see any of him either, especially not his belly-button.

"Here we are. Do you like them, Pride? This is a shirt, a pair of shorts, a pair of socks too, I have some shoes for you as well but we'll get you dressed first." Lust knelt in front of him; slipping his hands through the grey thing she called a shirt, tying the edges together at the front with three black pieces of thread. His arms were uncovered, and he shivered, but the relief that came with realizing the shirt fell below his waist distracted him. She paused, undoing them, muttering something about bows not looking right in a line. The black haired boy blinked, his lips pursed in his usual confusion. There was still so much he didn't understand, but now that he was going upstairs with Lust again, he hoped that he would learn more about the world. "So, what were you doing while I wasn't in, Pride?" Lust asked as she fumbled with the string, crossing the pieces over each other instead, and making 'X' shapes to hold his shirt together. Pride glanced over at his flask as he thought back.

"I saw a mouse, it didn't talk though…and…" Pride wanted to push the memory far from his mind, to forget about it, but he knew he shouldn't keep secrets from Lust- what example would he be setting if he did that? "And it wasn't very nice to me."

She stopped, sensing his unease.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It…it scratched at my hand with its teeth, it didn't like me and ran away."

"It…bit you? And did you bl-" Lust covered her mouth. "I mean, did it break your skin? Let me see." He mumbled a 'no' as she pulled his hand close, pressing different parts with her finger. She sighed. "Thank goodness, if it had you'd need to go to Father right away. It could have made you ill." Pride watched her finish tying his shirt up. "Oh, and animals can't talk like us, Big Brother, they talk to each other with different noises we can't understand." He stepped into his shorts. They were a darker grey, falling over his knees. Lust folded the ends up over them, and kept it tight around his waist with a similar piece of thick string. "What were you doing holding a mouse anyway?"

"I left my flask on the floor, and Greed said the mouse fell asleep inside. It couldn't get out, so I wanted to help it…but…" Lust nodded in understanding, picking him up and placing him on the edge of her bed, pulling the long white things she called socks over his feet, they were quickly hidden beneath his shiny black 'shoes'. "There we go, I think that's everything. Do you want to see what you look like now?" Pride pushed himself off the bed without answering, wandering over to the table, towards the fluffy white pile that sat on top of it. His hand wavered over his 'heart' for a moment, those were the clothes he'd always wore, that he'd worn ever since Father had given him this container. Holding it close to him, he could remember how warm it used to make him, how he knew he was always safe and secure, and now he was just…leaving it behind, it made him feel…

It was a few seconds until he noticed he'd dropped it, the deep violet sash hanging off one of his fingers, following soon after.

"I can't forget…I won't." The homunculus nodded as he decided on what to do, putting his robe back on the table, and scooping up his sash, walking back to Lust. She could sense his sadness he was sure, staring down at the purple fabric. Pride held it out for her.

"…not forget, Lust. Here." He pushed it into her hands before she could decline.

"You're…giving this to me? But why?"

"I don't want to forget about my old clothes, so if you wear this I won't be able to." Lust nodded, tying it around the waist of her human clothes, threading one edge through the other and letting the loose end dangle from her side. She smiled as she adjusted it in the mirror.

"I don't want to forget either then, and since I can't wear this with your sash," Lust motioned to the dark blue ribbon around her wrist. "don't ask why, humans are picky like that." She added as a whispered afterthought in his ear. "You can have it instead, here." It tied a little too tight around his neck, and he made a note to himself to loosen it a little later. "Is that everything, Pride? We really ought to be going." A simple smile was the only answer required, and the two homunculi set off without a word.

0 * 0 * 0

He'd been wondering about it for a while now. Ever since Greed had first mentioned the word that morning it'd been scratching away at the back of his mind.

He knew enough of what he had been saying to understand why his younger sibling was being punished, but without knowing the meanings of that word, he doubted he would be able to tell Greed what he had been doing wrong and correct him on it, and what good would that do?

The sky was dark, a tiny yellow streak shining through the dull, gloomy looking clouds, no doubt the sun, trying to blind him again, but he wasn't scared, not even a little bit, no matter how much he was holding onto Lust's hand.

Despite Lust's warning of 'rain', apparently small drops of water that fell from the sky like snow but faster, it seemed humans didn't like rain much either, or the prospect of rain at least, given their constant looking upwards and less than cheerful expressions. Lust pulled him gently to the stall at her left, running her spare hand through a pile of clothes that she could 'buy' using some method he was not familiar with.

"Hm…do you think we should buy this for Greed?" She held up some sort of short coat with no sleeves "You know how he loves having all those weird clothes." The older homunculus shook his head in a firm no, had Lust forgotten the only reason he had been allowed outside?

"Greed is being punished. We shouldn't bring him a present, he might misbehave even more if he thinks he'll get presents for it." Lust dropped the coat down in an instant, nervously patting it down and stepping away from it.

"O-Oh, of course. How foolish of me to even consider such a thing." She bowed her head a little, no doubt hiding her shame at her mistake. Pride frowned, holding his flask tight to his chest, without a hood to store it he didn't dare let it leave his hands. He shook her arm, waiting for her to look at him.

"It's okay, Lus—Solaris," 'Luna' was far too outdated now it seemed, she had made a new name for herself. His name had stayed at 'Selim' for simplicity's sake, and he'd never used it much before anyway. He was well aware of his new instructions for answering human queries. "You just forgot, that's all, but-" Pride could feel his own query clawing away at his head again, and his attempts to push it away were failing. A few seconds of considering made him think it better to give in, after all, Lust had promised that she'd tell him all about the world, so there was no reason he should keep it to himself. He pulled at her sleeve again "Hm? What's wrong? Pri-I mean, Selim?"

"Well…" He looked around to see if anyone was listening. "When I was with Greed he said why he was being punished, but there was something I didn't understand, a word I mean." She rubbed his shoulder .

"There's no reason to be embarrassed, that's what I'm here for. So, what word was it?"

"He said that he thought that if the humans asked too many questions he was supposed to 'kill' them, but that wasn't right. But…I don't know what that word means, what wasn't he supposed to do?" Lust's encouraging smile dissolved within seconds, she stepped back, staring at him, mouth falling agape.

"D-did you say…kill?" He didn't see the problem, and nodded.

"Greed told me. I've never heard of it before."

Lust realized at that moment that, thanks to Greed, all her plans had been torn to shreds, and she considered tearing him to shreds in her own way of saying thank you for ruining Pride's innocence by exploiting his curiosity.

"K-kill…it means…. to make something die, basically." She flinched before he could even digest the words; she just knew what was coming next…

"die? What does that mean?" there we go…

"um…dying is…" Lust was trying to lie even now, to try and repair the bloody wide scar in Pride's purity. "It's when someone goes far away, and doesn't come back for a very very long time; they usually don't come back at all." Pride covered his mouth to hide a gasp, inching backwards, tears already forming in his eyes.

"That means…" He bit into his lip, looking away from the crowd he knew he'd be attracting. "Miss Sylvie must have died too… That's why she's never coming back, isn't it?"

"No, death doesn't work like that." Lust cursed herself at describing it as 'going away' while Little Miss Sylvie was in Aerugo, though, she could have been dead and they wouldn't have told him either way. It was better to leave him hopeful "What I mean is, people who die can never come back, but people who go away aren't necessarily dead, Sylvie will come back one day, I'm sure of it. I'm not explaining this well enough." She paused to sort out what she was going to say. "Ok, ok. So, people only die when their bodies don't work properly and can't keep them alive anymore, and then they stop existing." She was dreading how he was going to react to this.

Pride did not disappoint, staying silent for several minutes, looking around at the humans that were passing him by, no doubt figuring out that, one day, they would all 'die'. It struck him later than she anticipated, and he gasped again.

"Then…Lust, will…will Father die too someday?" Lust had already begun her comforting words about his own mortality before she realized that Pride's selflessness ran far deeper than she ever thought. Her prepared words would need to be altered… She knelt down and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh Pride, I was only talking about humans, homunculi cannot die so easily, Father has his alchemy to help him, I doubt he'll ever die, especially after we make his plan come true. Please don't be scared of dying either, Greed and Father and I will protect you, and even if it doesn't feel like it, your Philosopher's Stone is much stronger than you think. So don't worry, I'll look after you, I promise." Pride smiled, gratefully soaking up his sister's affections.

"Thank you, Lust."

0 * 0 * 0

"I don't understand what you mean, please speak louder." Pride watched as the small human flinched at his words, he tilted his head to the side, blinking at him. The human recovered, readjusted his hat and held up the large pieces of paper again.

"Of course, Mister…"

"Pr-Selim." The human raised his eyebrow, but carried on.

"Prezelleem? Ok…well, this is a newspaper, there's a few in Central at the moment, but my father's is the very best I assure you. He tries ever so hard to get the latest news from around the country, and he does, I can't read, mind you, but he does. He's the best writer in town, and his stories are always one-hundred percent the truth. Not like those other papers." Pride squinted at the words written on the paper, only the top was readable from so far away.

The Central Daily Gazette

Up to date news since 1698

"Would you like one? It's only half a cen, but you can get a weekly subscription for only 2 cen per week, that's two papers for free, but we are planning to have a paper on Sunday as well someday." Pride turned to Lust, he didn't have any Cenz, but Lust looked after all the money, so maybe she'd buy one for him.

"Can I have one, Solaris?" Lust nodded, and within a few seconds handed him the newspaper. It was only two or three sheets, with no pictures, nothing like Father's books. Regardless, the older homunculus tucked his flask under his arm and started reading a column

The royal court has confirmed the horrific tragedy that was said to have struck the Queen late last month, the Queen mother expressed her deepest sorrow at the event, and hopes the nation will have her daughter in their thoughts at such a time. There is currently serious doubt over the stability of the Queen's mental state, and fears are growing as to whether she will recover. Questions as to whether the grand Amestrian monarchy can continue if the Queen is unable to produce another heir during her reign are also rising. The King has reportedly stated that she will be in mourning for an indefinite amount of time, and promises to support her throughout her ordeal.

Pride didn't know who the newspaper was talking about, since Sylvie was only a Queen in Amestris, and she was in Aerugo at the moment. He wondered about who this other queen could be, but disregarded it, carefully folding the paper in half. Lust looked to the sky thoughtfully and sighed

"We should be leaving soon, Pride, if it starts raining the ink in your newspaper will end up running and it'll be ruined." His head sank at the realization that their 'outing' was already at its end. "Well, I could go by myself and take the paper back with me, and then come back, does that sound better? We'll be able to spend more time outside, but I don't know if-." Lust suggested, it was against her better judgment she was sure, but Pride hadn't been outside in so long, he looked so happy; surely she could make an exception just this once like Father had.

Pride nodded in approval, telltale signs of delight shaping his features. Lust gently ran her hand over his hair, and left a brief goodbye kiss on his head.

"Alright, you just stay around here and I'll come back as soon as I can, ok?" She tucked the newspaper under her own arm, and started on her way back to Father.

"S-see you, Lust" The timid little sin turned as well, walking with quivering steps back to the stall where that smaller human was. Said human was currently organizing his father's newspapers again, far too focused to notice him. Pride knelt down in front of his stall, resting his flask on it; parts of the stall were rotten, and flaking a bit, and the pieces stuck up and stabbed into his arms. Something bubbled up from his stomach, and he grimaced, squirming a little in hopes of attracting the human's attention. Such isolation felt strange. It was different to when he was at home, he was never truly alone since Father was always there, but this…there were so many humans, and not one cared anything for his being there. The feeling began to spread, up past his heart and pooling in his head, and it hurt. The seconds dragged on as if they were hours, the human kept on working in silence, his sense of longing continued to grow. Pride's reflection flickered solemnly in his flask, and he sighed, relenting.

"H-Hello again" The human looked up from his work.

"Oh, hello there, Mister Prezelleem. Did you want to subscribe to father's newspaper after all?" Pride shook his head, the boy's smile twitched, and his eyes narrowed. "Then what do you want? Did they send you? Because I…" His voice wavered, cheeks flushing. The homunculus didn't understand who 'they' were, but carried on.

"My name isn't…whatever you said, it's Selim. My sister is taking the newspaper home, so I need to stay here…That's ok…isn't it?" The human shot him another accusing glare, but then his expression softened.

"It's fine, but please don't mess up father's newspapers." Pride nodded again, smiling contently to himself, even if the human was only letting him sit nearby, the acknowledgement felt rather…nice.

It might have meant nothing in comparison to Lust and Father's and perhaps Greed's affections, but it was nice nonetheless.

But, homunculus he was, he was well aware that they were merely insects, and the knowledge that this human would one day die didn't bother him in the slightest.

0 * 0 * 0

He didn't understand. He was used to not understanding some things; Lust was usually always there to explain it for him. But she wasn't here now; he'd need to figure it out for himself. The human was shivering, eyes fixed on the much taller boy, staring intently as he watched him skim over the paper and scoff.

"Silly tart, should've known she'd even screw up getting preggers, can't do anything right, damn monarchy couldn't care less about us lot." He glanced down at the smaller human. "and yet you, Squirt, you and your old man keeps buttering them up, making them feel all good about themselves while we scrimp and scrape and…" the older looking boy shook his head and tore the paper to pieces, the small human cowered and stepped away, his movements smooth and rehearsed, as if he was used to such occurrences. Pride just watched with his usual curious eyes. The human turned to him. "who's your friend, Squirt?"

"M-My name's Selim, I'm…ten years old." The three boys behind him erupted with laughter, but he hadn't said anything that was in the least bit amusing. After a minute or two the laughter died down, and the first human wiped at his eye with a grin.

"Right little liar you are, but I ain't seen you around here before. Where d'you live?"

"I live with Father…and my sister, um…" he'd never been given a fake place to live. "we live under the ground in a big room. This is my first time out in a while." They chuckled at that, focusing their attention fully on him.

"Bit o' a shut-in eh? Well, that's your new name now. So, little Shut-In, you wanna explore a bit with us? You look like you could do with our official Central town tour. Free of course, not like some people."

"Well, I am supposed to be…" The smaller human looked at him briefly, still shuddering, but he gulped, and even smiled, miming a 'go on'. "Alright. I'll come with you." They looked surprised, and laughed it off as usual.

"Well, little Shut-in, let's get going then." He followed them without a word, flask in hand, reasoning that they wouldn't be gone for too long; they'd be back before Lust was, surely.

The paper-boy watched them go; wiping away his tears; if they had Selim to bother then they'd leave him alone, at least for a little while. He picked up the shreds of what remained of one of father's newspapers, he hoped, he hoped ever so dearly, that someone would pay for the subscription now, it could explain why his money would be out of balance. It was the same every day, they would never truly let him be, but with that peculiar boy occupying their time…maybe it wouldn't happen tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that. It was selfish, and cruel and deceitful, the guilt clawed at his insides, until he couldn't focus on anything else.

With a nervous gulp, the little human stumbled away from his stall, and hurried after that strange boy that he might one day call a friend.

0 * 0 * 0

The clouds looked darker than ever, Pride knew it was going to rain soon, he quickened his pace. Lust would probably be back soon, but he knew he couldn't just leave them without saying goodbye. He looked closely at his surroundings, trying to figure out where they wanted him to meet them.

They'd wanted something from him, a gift, and if he found them something they liked from the market and brought it to them without getting caught they'd tell him their names, and be friends with him, all of them had needed to do it at some time or another. But he couldn't, his clothes would not allow such a thing, how was he supposed to hold something they liked and his flask at the same time? It was simple, he couldn't, and he would just have to explain to them that he would join their little community once he wore something that allowed him to store his flask elsewhere. They might have been humans, but they must be able to understand the simple reasoning of it all.

He recognized the lamp that hung outside one of the streets and turned. Pride could see them now, the alley ended in a wall for some reason, and they were standing there, laughing to themselves.

"Welcome back, Shut-In." The tallest grinned at him, holding out his hand. Pride smiled back, and uneasily held the flask under his arm, shaking the boy's hand. That was what humans did when they met each other; he wondered why they hadn't done that sooner. The human scowled and pulled his hand away. "I don't want to shake your hand, you idiot! I want you to- I mean, we would like to see what you have brought us from the market." He looked him up and down for any sign of the new object.

"I…I didn't get anything." The boys tensed, staring at him now. "I had nowhere to put my flask, so can I bring one next time? I might be wearing new clothes then." Something thick was trickling down his cheek "I've cut myself… It must've happened when I fell over on my way back, but that's ok." Pride smiled, his cheek flaring red as it healed. The humans huddled together, whispering to each other, looking at him from time to time. Their words only reached him in a disjointed mess.

Did you just…I mean he… Maybe he's a… Or a demon…

Nah…too thick…

And he has the nerve to…

He's holding that…

Maybe we should…

That'll teach him…

They stood in a line again, glaring at him

"Well, Shut-in, we've come to a decision." Pride still smiled, oblivious to their change in tone, to their posture and all the other things that would serve as a warning to all who saw it. "We've decided that since you haven't brought us a gift, we will have to confiscate something of yours until you do." Pride looked puzzled, he had nothing to give, his pockets were empty, and he couldn't give away Lust's ribbon. He looked aimlessly into his flask.

But he couldn't see his reflection in it.

He flexed his fingers around it, yet he couldn't feel the calming cold of the glass, they sank straight through. Reality crashed over him, and a shiver shot up his spine. Pride looked up, and there it was, his perfect, flawless flask, in the dirt-covered hands of a human.

"What are you doing? W-Why have y-y-you…?" His pale, slender fingers grasped upwards, the tiny, almost painful spasms working their way down his arms, his breath coming in shuddering gasps.

"Are you deaf as well as stupid, you lousy runt?" Pride didn't know which one of them was speaking, only aware of the fact that he still wasn't holding his flask, why hadn't he got it back yet? He pushed himself onto his tiptoes, but he still wasn't tall enough, his container wouldn't stretch, why wasn't it working? ! "You'd think that being locked up with that senile old man of yours for so long you'd have cleaned your ears out once in a while." All was silent, to Pride at least; his whole body shaking, his teeth clenched in hopes of calming himself. But the humans were insulting Father, he who had founded to entire country, without him…

A low pulse started up in his head, Pride recognized it, it was the emotion he seldom felt, but this was understandable, and reasonable this time, he let it grow to a size he deemed suitable, feeding it with the echo of the human's words. His flask was still dangling over him, taunting him, no, not it; the humans were using it to taunt him. Angry tears were burning down his face, and for a moment he lost himself, rushing forward, and slamming his weight into whatever he hit. He heard it yelp in surprise, and a round perfect sphere landed in his outstretched hands.

The cold calmed him down, and Pride nuzzled against his flask, promising to never let it go again.

A human snickered, and he opened his eyes. He tried to stand his ground, squeaking out a weak 'I don't appreciate taking things without people's permission', but nothing he would consider worthwhile. There was no point, he needed to go home, go home and forget about this, and maybe come back in fifty years or so, when all these humans were gone. Pride turned on his heels, padding uneasily away, flask close, pressed up against his chest, near his neck. He could still hear them laughing, but ignored it.

"So…you're not only a liar, shrimp, shut-in, idiot and a monster, you're a bloody hypocrite too!" Something smashed into his back, no…two things, with fingers… they felt like hands…

The human had pushed him.

Pride's feet didn't even touch the floor. He fell, slowly, eyes widening, unable to look away as he watched the ground rush up to meet him. He never saw it, but he heard it, and felt it, the high, clear sound ringing in his ears, its smooth surface beneath him, buckling under his weight, and shattering in one brief moment.

The truth didn't sink in straight away, it couldn't, Pride's mind wasn't willing to accept it. It never really did, the physical pain reaching him first, the strange sticky substance he could feel leaking out between his fingers, warming all his chest and neck and stomach, remnants of his flask tearing through his soft, once human flesh. Not that' he'd ever know of such things.

Not parts of flask, flask isn't broken…flask is fine…

A scream wanted to wrench itself from his throat, but no noise came, only the bubbling of what sounded like water and poured out his mouth. Pride pushed himself up, and his hand tightened around something slippery and smooth that was stuck in his neck, and tugged at it. He gasped and flailed about at the sudden pain, letting go and flopping down onto his elbows. He wanted to scream, he needed to scream, screaming would make it all better, Lust would hear him and everything would be fine…

His body wouldn't work anymore…and that meant he-

Pride shivered at the thought, his naïve mind denying it, he couldn't die, he couldn't. Lust said homunculi couldn't die…but only if she was there to protect him…

The four humans were staring at him again, he could imagine what they were saying about him, calling him a demon and a monster, whatever those words meant, they sounded like horrible things, things he wasn't. If anything, it was they, selfish and cruel and ungrateful humans they were, that were the demons.

"You…" the air flowed into his lungs from the hole in his neck, something in his throat twitching and pulling as he tried to speak. "humans." Pride flinched, eyes darting around, trying to locate the other voice that had suddenly appeared. He couldn't see anyone. "You're the ones who- should di-" He retched, Philosopher's Stones continuing to spill from him, staining the path and the dull boring stones that made it up. Little drops of water fell into his crimson puddles with quiet 'plops'.

It's raining…

Pride might have smiled at the odd things the weather did, but not anymore. "not me…I'm nothing like you…" His voice wouldn't stop alternating between his real voice and another that he couldn't describe. "I'm not human like you…"

Pride could feel that funny little thing from long ago throbbing inside his head, the one that had been waiting for something. It didn't know that it would be waiting forever… but it made him smile, and laugh, until he choked and coughed up so many of his Philosopher's Stones he was sure he had no more left to give, the stone that made up his heart beating softly now, it no energy to keep him alive. The pulsing steadily increased, becoming stronger and more restless, as if urging him to continue, he couldn't stop smiling, glowering through his unfocused eyes at the boys in front of him, another one there now, the one from before, who sold newspapers… who'd sent him off with them.

It was all his fault, he'd probably planned it from the beginning. Pride could see his mouth moving, he couldn't hear him, but he could guess what lies he was spouting about him, insulting him like the rest.

Selim, don't move, we'll go and fetch you a doctor, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…Selim? A-Are you-?

But what had he expected? He was only a human. Pride just smiled dopily at him, it filled with a strange emotion that wasn't in any way sincere.

"And I...I'm-" Something snapped in his throat, but he ignored it, far too occupied by the task at hand and the incessant, desperate pounding in his ears. His pupils narrowed themselves to slits without him realizing, and his scarlet stained lips curled into a toothy, malice filled grin. "…I'm Proud that I'm not." The funny little thing exploded again, flooding his psyche more violently than anything he'd ever felt before, even with his eyes open he couldn't see a thing, just quick flashes of black and bits of wall. It wasn't content in overwhelming his thoughts, flowing down the rest of him with as much force. His container wouldn't hold, if the glass hadn't already killed him he might have been worried about being torn to shreds by the sudden surge of energy ripping through him. His body quaked though the strain, and after it was over he couldn't move, feeling hollow and cold, his hands weakly cupped around the remaining cork from his flask, it red and bloated with his Philosopher's Stones.

Then there was nothing but screams, his own, he supposed, he might've been in too much pain to feel anything, but was screaming nonetheless, just like he wanted. The finality of it all hit him, he was going to die, his body wouldn't work properly anymore, it was just going to stop, and he'd stop existing with it, he'd never see Lust or Father again.

Pride trembled at the very thought, or maybe it was just the cold. He didn't want to die, there was so much he'd never seen or done, or heard about, how could he help Father if he was dead? It wasn't right, he shouldn't- He felt his eyes welling up.

Desperate and childish as it was, Pride wondered if perhaps he could drink the Philosopher's Stones again, whether they would keep him alive even if they would spill out again; just long enough until someone found him. With what energy he had left, Pride leant forward, towards the small red puddle he'd vomited up. How shameful, the indignity of the idea welled in his chest, but what choice did he have?

His elbow slipped, and Pride sank down in a sticky red heap, he hadn't even the strength to whimper as the shards of glass were forced further into him. The liquid now pooling around his mouth, mixed with his tears and the rain, he took a helpless gulp. He spat it back out. He hadn't expected any better, it wasn't the same, it didn't even taste the same, and all his useless experiment had done was destroy any optimism he had left. Moving clouds of black framed his vision, and he just stared ahead, lungs burning, breathing little more than pauses between his quiet sobbing, laboured and forced and ever so shallow, feeling heavier than he ever had in his life. He couldn't feel his heart anymore; he knew he never would again.

Father…Lust…

Pride could picture them in his mind, they were smiling, at least…Lust was. Lust who had left him. Lust who hadn't protected him like she'd promised.

The broken form of his container just shook and wept, curling itself up as if going to sleep, listening to the cries dying away as meaningless echoes, blending into the sounds of the rain pattering over his skin, the pain dulling to a blunt, almost soothing ache. His mouth fell open in a half-formed sigh, vision blurring, eyes fluttering shut as the shadows of death enfolded him.

Pride could see from somewhere else now, somewhere above him, he could see his container sprawled on the ground, pools of Philosopher's Stones around it. The humans from before were on the ground too, but they weren't moving, pieces of them were missing. What looked like the smallest one didn't have a head or neck anymore, and one of them was in two pieces. Pride frowned, Father would be so ashamed that he'd let himself die, he wouldn't be there when that happened, he wondered if Father would be sad, but he didn't want to make Father worry about it him like that, he had more important things to attend to, surely. He didn't want to ruin everything even more than he already had.

Pride stared at his container wistfully, wanting to reach out somehow, and he willed himself to go through the motions, but only a dark, sharp-fingered hand that wasn't his moved closer instead, darting out of sight as soon as he noticed it. His container didn't stir, its shadow seeming longer than before, some of it climbing up the wall and arching out over it, shielding his weak, broken body from the rest of the world. The lamp from the wall was swaying in the wind; he watched it overbalance, and fall, and saw it smash over the cobbled floor with a muffled crash. The rain quickly went to work on the open flame, and with that the light faded away, and he was again lost in the comforting embrace of the darkness.

0 * 0* 0 * 0 * 0