Author Note: I have to tell that I'm going on a trip to Japan on the 11th and I won't be back till the 19th so I won't be able to work on the story till then.
Disclaimer: FMA and its character belong to Hiromu Arakawa
Chapter 35: The Fight Against Darkness
The shadows around the armor became sharp and pointed as they shot out towards the group. Though most of them were surprised by the nature of the attack, everyone managed to dodge in time. Greed cursed as he dodged another attack. Why did it have to be him? Greed thought as he continued to dodge. The thing laughed as it watched them all jump around to avoid his attacks.
"I'm surprised Greed…that you've joined up with them…I didn't think you were that weak."
"Shut it Pride!" Greed yelled at the insult as he ran.
"Pride…you mean he's…" Edward went to ask but another attack cut him off.
"Yeah…he's my oldest brother." Greed said knowing what Edward was trying to ask him.
"Heh…you've become a real hindrance Greed…so I'll take it upon myself to eliminate you." Pride said as he focused his attacks on Greed.
"Jerk…impersonating Al like that." Edward muttered angrily to himself.
"You are wrong Edward Elric…I am not impersonating him…I'm controlling him." Pride said clearly enjoying the way Edward's face paled at his words.
"Damn him." Edward said as he prepared to join the fray between Pride and Greed. However, he noticed that Darius and Heinkel were hiding in the trees. He yelled at them for hiding but they insisted that their animal instincts were telling them not to fight Pride so Edward just left them there and charged at the enemy. I'm an important sacrifice…he won't kill me. Edward thought confidently. However, Pride wasn't against injuring him severally. Edward stopped and transmuted a rock wall when Pride's shadows came his way. The shadows went straight through it with no trouble at all. Thankfully, Sarah had run over and carried Edward out of the way before they skewered him. Greed wasn't so lucky. He was suddenly wrapped up in the shadows, though they couldn't pierce him because of his ultimate shield. Pride then threatened the lives of Greed and the villagers of Kanama.
"Edward…shadows can't exist without light." Edward heard Sarah whisper into his ear so that Pride wouldn't hear them. Realizing what she meant, Edward used his alchemy to create a black out in Kanama, thereby limiting the amount of light to what the moon provided. Thankfully, the moon was engulfed in the clouds so there wasn't really any light for Pride's shadows to form from. Unfortunately, now Edward could barely see. Sarah, aware of Ed's trouble, grabbed his arm and pulled him to where the others were. It was easy for her because she could sense Greed's energy.
"What now?" Heinkel asked when he smelt the other two's approach.
"As you can see Pride manipulates shadows…however he has a body that he inhabits. To manipulate the shadows he needs to be nearby." Sarah said, surprising everyone with her knowledge. "I've been hunting the homunculi for years is it so hard to believe that I've learned a thing or two about them?" Sarah asked, somehow knowing that they were wondering how she knew all this.
"She's right…that is how Pride's power works." Greed informed them, not that he needed to for none of them doubted Sarah's words.
"So if we want to stop him we need to attack his real body." Edward said, quickly picking up on what they were saying.
"Yes…from what I saw his body is somewhere behind Alphonse as that is where the shadows possessing him were coming from." Sarah said as she focused her senses. She was quiet for a moment as she searched for Pride's energy. "Found him." She said with a smirk. She then crawled over to Heinkel. Sarah whispered Pride's coordinates into his ear so that he would know where to go. Heinkel asked why he had to be the one to go so Sarah explained to him that his sense of smell would make it easier for him to find and attack Pride. "I can sense him but I can't really see anything. I could easily run into a tree or something." Edward suppressed a laugh at the mental image.
"Ugh…Fine." Heinkel agreed with a groan. He then quickly scurried away towards where Sarah had sensed Pride.
"What about Alphonse?" Greed asked.
"He hasn't moved…we would hear him if he did." Darius answered. "However, we can't go near him, it could be a trap." Edward was quiet as he thought of what to do.
"I'm going to go to where Heinkel and Pride are. Once Pride's taken out you guys get Alphonse." He said suddenly as he started to crawl away towards where he thought Heinkel had gone. "Ow! Damn it!" He yelled out when he hit his head on a tree. Suddenly the image of Sarah walking into a tree wasn't so funny. Sarah sighed as she made her way over to where Edward was. "Ahh!" Edward cried out in surprise when he was suddenly lifted up into Sarah's arms. Sarah held him close then carefully made her way to a place where there weren't many trees. Once she was sure that there weren't any nearby she jumped high into the air. Edward held onto her tightly as he felt them leave the ground. While they started to descend Sarah turned her body so that they would descend down to where she sensed Pride's energy. Despite their weight they landed softly and almost without a sound. Sarah carefully put Edward down so that he could catch his balance. Edward placed a hand on a nearby tree so that he could gather his bearings. He sensed Sarah next to him and that made it easier for him to adjust. Edward didn't bother to ask why she had decided to carry him, as it was clear that there was less of a chance of him or her walking into trees this way.
"What?" Edward asked when he heard Sarah suddenly gasp.
"So that's how they knew we were here." Sarah said to herself. "They had Gluttony use his sense of smell to find us." Sarah explained to Edward.
"You mean…?"
"Yes…Gluttony is here as well…and he's fighting Greed and Darius." Sarah said.
"We've got to help them." Edward said as he turned to start heading back to where he thought the others were. Edward stopped when Sarah grabbed his shoulder.
"Don't worry…" Sarah smiled though she knew Edward couldn't see it. "Help has already reached them." Edward wondered who had showed up to help but decided that there were other things to worry about. Realizing this, Sarah started to carefully direct Edward to where Pride was. They both stopped when there was a sudden presence in front of them. Sarah barely stopped herself from attacking the person; she needed to know who it was first.
"Here you are." The person said.
"Fu?" Edward asked when he recognized the voice. "Oh…so it must be Lan Fan who's helping Greed." Edward said when he realized that where Fu was, his granddaughter was almost sure to follow.
"Yes…wait did you say Greed?" Fu asked.
"Yes he's here." Edward replied wondering why the man wanted to know.
"I'm glad." Fu said honestly; the one who was absorbed into the prince was nearby.
"How can Lan Fan fight against Gluttony in this darkness though?" Edward asked.
"We can sense the chi of the homunculi, which allows us to determine their location." Edward took in the information then realized that it was similar to what Sarah does. He didn't really know how but he knew that Sarah could also sense the homunculi. Fu then explained that they had sensed a large amount of chi here so that was why they had decided to come here.
"Must have been Greed, Gluttony and Pride." Edward reasoned. Fu agreed but then he said that he had also sensed even more chi in Kanama while on the way here. Edward knew right away that he was talking about his father but didn't say anything about it. "Can you tell us where Pride is exactly?" Ed asked Fu who agreed that he would try to determine his whereabouts. They fell into silence as Fu focused his senses on the chi nearby. Less than a second later he fell back and scurried away from the two. "What? What happened?" Edward asked the man but Fu wasn't paying any attention to him.
"Y-you…" Fu whispered fearfully as he stared in the direction of Sarah. The energy coming from the girl wasn't just strong…it was unnatural. It was not normal for anyone to have that kind of energy. The energy that Fu had sensed in Kanama earlier was similar to this energy but it had been stable and pure in the sense that it wasn't twisted. This energy was unstable and twisted; something happened that forced two energies together resulting in this girl before him. However, the merge was incomplete, which was why the girl seemed like something that didn't exist anywhere else. She was a mix of several things…an abnormality among all the other abnormal things in this country. Fu gasped when he felt the energy swirl around him threateningly. It was clear that this girl…if she could be called that, didn't want him to say anything regarding what he had sensed. Fearing for his life, Fu resolved not to say anything. The energy backed off, as if it had sensed Fu's thoughts; this he didn't doubt. An explosion that had gone off nearby distracted them all. Sarah threw herself over Edward as debris rained down on them. Sarah grunted when a fallen tree fell onto her back…it didn't hurt but she hadn't been prepared for it so she was forced to adjust to its weight. It was definitely uncomfortable for her though because now her sheathed sword was pressing against her back.
"Sarah!" Edward cried out worriedly when he felt the extra weight on them; it wasn't hard for him to figure out that something had fallen onto Sarah, which is why he was worried. Edward shuddered when he felt Sarah's breath hit his ear as she chuckled softly; when Sarah threw herself over him her face ended up pressed against the side of his head.
"It's okay Edward…this is nothing." Sarah reassured him softly. To prove her point she easily rose off him with the tree still resting on her back. In one quick movement, Sarah threw herself back so she was sitting upright, sending the tree flying off her. The tree crashed into another one nearby. Fu stood there in shock having heard but not seen what had happened. It was obvious though that the girl was stronger than she looked. Edward rose off the ground and turned quickly towards Sarah. He brought his hands up and ran them over her arms and back, checking to make sure that she wasn't seriously injured. He sighed in relief when he saw that she wasn't. However, he froze when he accidently touched the back of her neck. He felt something warm and wet soak into his glove. He drew his hand back and brought it up to his face. He brought his hand to his lips and just barely brushed the tip of his tongue against one of his fingers; he didn't want to do this but this was the only way for him to figure out what the liquid was. The metallic, coppery taste proved that the liquid was what he feared it was…blood…Sarah's blood. Edward paled instantly; both disturbed and concerned by the revelation that Sarah was bleeding and that he had just tasted her blood.
"You're…You're…" Edward muttered horrified. Sarah's hand flew to the back of her neck to see what had caused him to react this way. She hissed when her hand irritated the wound on her neck, which she got from a branch piercing into her. Crap I'm bleeding…and I can't heal in front of them. Edward was sitting there still horrified and bothered.
"Edward it's okay…I'm okay…it's nothing." Sarah reassured him, not liking the horrified silence.
"But you're bleeding." Edward said, now upset by her dismissing it.
"Not that badly." Sarah said as she pressed her hand into the wound to hinder the oozing blood so that he wouldn't know how bad it really was. Edward went to protest but another explosion cut him off. Sarah's other hand shot out and pulled Edward to the side so that the bits of rock didn't hit him. Seeing her chance to distract Edward from her injury she asked Fu if he had any arsenal like Lan Fan did. Fu said that he did. It was then that they noticed that the lights in Kanama were starting to go back on.
"Crap…we have to deal with Pride now." Edward then turned to look at Fu. "Will you help us?" Fu nodded and they started towards where Pride was fighting Heinkel. Sarah stayed behind a moment. She quickly healed her wound and wiped the blood off her neck. Thankfully her coat was black so the blood wasn't really visible; she just had to make sure that Edward didn't see how damp it was. The trio ran even faster when they saw that a forest fire had started. They arrived in time for Edward to deflect one of Pride's attacks on Heinkel. Sarah dragged Heinkel to safety while Edward deflected Pride's attacks. Pride's attacks weren't doing much to Edward's automail because he had transmuted his northern automail so that it was similar to Greed's ultimate shield. Realizing that his attacks weren't doing anything, Pride sent his shadows to possess Alphonse again. However, Edward had expected this. Edward threw his arm up signaling to Fu. In response Fu threw a flash grenade into the air. Pride cried out as he covered his eyes. His shadows disappeared leaving him defenseless. As soon as the light died out he attempted to attack again but Edward just threw another flash grenade. Pride cursed as his shadows disappeared again. Gluttony, Lan Fan and Ling arrived right after the light faded. Gluttony waddled over to Pride and started complaining about how he had been killed several times by Lan Fan and Ling. Pride glared hatefully at Ed and his group before he suddenly thought of something. Pride smirked and looked over at Gluttony. Gluttony backed up when he saw the strange look Pride was giving him.
"Wait…wait you can't…" Gluttony said fearfully. However, Pride didn't listen to him. Pride's shadows snaked towards Gluttony.
"No!" Sarah yelled out when she realized what Pride was planning but it was already too late. Gluttony cried out when he was eaten by Pride's shadows. Edward stood there horrified; how could Pride devour his fellow homunculus even if it was to absorb his power. Pride breathed in deeply, looking satisfied. He opened his now purplish eyes and stared at the group confidently. He suddenly began sniffing the air like a dog, his sense of smell now stronger than before. He tilted his head to the side and commented on Hohenheim being nearby. He jumped to the side just as Sarah's blade came down right where he had been standing. He backed up as Sarah slashed at him again. Pride continued to back up and Sarah continued to attack him. Eventually Pride created enough distance and used his shadows to attack her. Now Sarah was the one to jump back. The two stood there staring each other down.
"It's time for me to repay you for last time." Sarah said with a smirk. Pride narrowed his eyes at the girl in confusion until he realized who she really was.
"Oh…you mean when I slashed through you in the tunnels under Briggs." Pride said, smirking back at her. So he was the one who injured her then. Edward thought. It's no wonder she put her self in danger to separate us from him.
"This time it won't be so easy." Sarah replied just as confidently. Pride sent his shadows in all directions: most Sarah's way, some Ed's way and the rest Greed, who returned, and Lan Fan's way. Pride did his best to keep the others at bay as he attempted to take Edward hostage but it was proving difficult. Sarah was just too fast for him to catch so he decided to focus on Lan Fan and Greed. Lan Fan, now unable to fight because of a problem with her new automail, could only dodge Pride's attacks. She retreated to a high branch in a tree but this proved to be a poor move. The tree toppled over as it was slashed through, causing Lan Fan to fall right towards Pride's shadows. Sarah ran and jumped over the shadows, grabbing Lan Fan in the process. Sarah put her down and immediately went to help Edward who was being surrounded. However, Pride wouldn't let her. Sarah was forced to move further from Edward as Pride's shadows came at her from all sides.
"Damn it." Sarah cursed to herself. Greed was also having a hard time against the shadows. Lan Fan cried out when Greed was knocked down, worried about the prince. Edward was also knocked down, which distracted Sarah enough for Pride to injure her. Thankfully it wasn't serious but still Edward looked at her with worried eyes. Angry and frustrated, Sarah recklessly charged at Pride, surprising him and the others. This proved to be an effective move as she managed to inflict some damage but it also proved to be a bad move as she sustained another injury. Now her shoulder was bleeding but she ignored it and continued to attack Pride. Pride also became angry so he let her get close to him and wrapped her up in his shadows right before she could inflict more damage. Sarah cursed as the shadows closed around her tightly, threatening to crush her. However, instead of crushing her Pride flung her away. Sarah crashed through several trees then slammed into a large sturdy one. Pride smirked while the others winced at the sickening crack that was heard. Sarah fell to the ground, bleeding from the large splinters of wood piercing her. She remained there on the ground motionless.
"Sarah!" Edward cried out as he attempted to get up and help her. Pride ignored him, as he knew that Edward wouldn't be able to do much. Instead he focused his attention on Greed. However, before he could devour him a sudden appearance distracted him. Pride retracted his shadows as he stared warily at Hohenheim. Hohenheim looked over to where Edward was and gasped when he saw him sitting next to Sarah's bleeding body trying to determine which wound was the worst and also looking for a way to hold her without worsening her wounds. Hohenheim turned back to look at Pride and admitted to him that he couldn't defeat him. What's he planning? Pride wondered as he stared suspiciously at the man. He tensed when he sensed something behind him and he instinctively brought his shadows up. He turned to look and saw Alphonse wrapped in his shadows with a hand reaching for him. Pride smirked at him.
"What a feeble attempt…you just made it easier for me to possess you again." Pride said as he started to seep his shadows into Al's armor. Pride turned to taunt Hohenheim but froze when he saw red sparks moving around him, meaning he was transmuting something. He went to release Alphonse but it was too late. A large rock wall formed up and around them, completely enclosing Alphonse and Pride. Alphonse just barely had time to glance at Edward before he was engulfed in darkness. Edward was still kneeling next to Sarah and staring at him with wide eyes.
"Al!" Edward yelled out but there was no time to jump in now; he was forced to watch his brother be confined in the dome along with the homunculus.
Author Note: Another hint about Sarah. I really didn't want to have Edward taste Sarah's blood but I couldn't figure out any other way for him to know she was bleeding; it was so annoying writing that scene because techinically none of them can see anything. Sarah really doesn't seem as invincible as she did in the beginning of the story but let's face it...Pride is a tough opponent to beat.
I kept doing terrible things to my character...I'm so sorry Sarah please don't hate me!
Please Review.