Hey, if you're in DC, please be careful. I'm sorry everything is happening.

As soon as the group headed for Central left, Kimblee had the Kanama citizens clear out as well— though he had also sent Marcoh and Yoki into the slum. Marcoh more or less because he was a doctor and while Rosanne was great, there were still a number of things that could be done for assistance. Yoki simply because he would have gotten in the way.

Kimblee, in the meanwhile, had gone to patrol the area while Heinkel kept watch over Alphonse and Pride— but he really should have known better. His sixth sense had been something that had been with him for a long time. Being able to sense when something was amiss or when danger was approaching was something that one needed to have in Araunya, especially with Waller as a father.

So when he got that same feeling that warned him when bottles were about to start flying, Kimblee was on instant alert. He had already been on his way back when the prickling sense of unease overtook his senses. Then a loud 'boom' rocked the air from where Pride, Alphonse, and Heinkel were.

He took off running as soon as he heard the noise, clapping his hands together and holding the alchemic explosion in wait as he approached the Pride-Made clearing.

Flashes of silver steel and a blue uniform were all the indications that he needed.

The worst-case scenario had arrived.

Dust and smoke were rising up from the dome as Pride stepped out, looking over as Kimblee slowed to a halt. Bradley followed his gaze, raising a brow when he saw him.

"Kimblee," the human-homunculus hybrid said evenly. "What a surprise to see you here, the reports from Briggs stated that you were dead."

"Not really," he replied, just as even as he shifted his footing. "Funny, though, I thought you were in Central, Bradley— or should I call you Wrath, now?"

"We don't have time for idle talk," Pride sighed, shadows curling and waving as he stared Kimblee down. "This is your last chance, Crimson Lotus. I will overlook your attack against me if you come with us and Alphonse with us back to Central, now."

Kimblee's fingers twitched. "Someone doesn't know what 'no' means," he sighed shaking his head. "First you're a coward, now you're just stupid? Give me a break. I told you, you can't just expect to leave a man in prison for six years and then drag him back out without some changes."

Pride bristled. "Very well, you'll die like the rest, Kimblee!" he snarled before he threw his shadows forwards.

He leaped back, placing his hands on the ground and sending the held reaction from before through the ground. It tore through the earth, sending dirt and stone up into the air, but it didn't deter Bradley as he kicked off the uneven terrain, swords flashing as he slashed at Kimblee. He bent back, gritting his teeth as he was forced to dodge the two blades and Pride's shadows.

And so began a deadly dance.

When he could, he would force the Homunculus back with an explosion, but it wasn't doing much. He was no match for two Homunculi, he knew, but he was edging towards the dome and the dust cover.

Dodging another slash from Bradley, he cursed as the second sword cut through his skin.

"You can't possibly hope to win against me, Kimblee," Bradley told him, his visible eye narrowed as he leaped back from the Homunculus again.

"I'm not trying to win against you," he said, grimacing at the slash on his arm. "I'm trying to not get dragged back to Central."

Bradley raised a brow at that. "To think that before you had no qualms with simply following orders," he observed, and Kimblee shrugged, arms out as he sighed.

"Things change, Bradley, that's what makes humans human," he said. Bradley just scoffed.

"And here I thought that your golden rule was to never betray your beliefs."

Kimblee gave him a look. "It seems that you've begun to lack intelligence as well, Bradley?" he asked before he leaped back to avoid another swing. "I just told you that things change. The moment you left me in solitary was the moment the collar broke off. My values haven't changed, just the way I go about acting on them did."

He ducked and twisted between Pride's shadows and Bradley's swings, gritting his teeth as the sharp substance stabbed him through the leg, just as he ducked to the side to avoid a stab to the head. Bradley's other sword caught in him in his other arm, stabbing through and he bit back a sharp cry of pain.

He grabbed the blade with his other hand, drawing up power from the Philosopher's stone and shattering it before he leaped back again. Bradley inspected the blade before gazing back at Kimblee.

"Pity," he said, "You could have seen victory and lived out the rest of your life without worry."

"I wasn't ever fond of the idea of Immortality. It sounded boring, so no thanks," he told him in return before he clapped his hands together. He kicked up another cloud of dust, retreating further and back towards the dome.

"Alphonse!" he called lowly, moving as quickly as his injuries would allow him.

"Mister Kimblee!" the boy's voice cried from the dust. "Over here!"

He cursed lowly, quickly limping over to him.

He sucked in a sharp breath at the sight. Alphonse's legs had been transmuted off of him, and he was trying to drag a bleeding and half-dead Heinkel into the dome to safety.

"What happened?" he demanded, kneeling and feeling for a pulse.

"It was Bradley, Pride was using my head to alert them of our location! Bradley just showed up out of nowhere and broke Pride out!" Alphonse told him, letting go of Heinkel and Kimblee relaxed slightly, feeling a weak beat under his fingers against Heinkel's neck. The Chimera coughed weakly, eyes opening just slightly and hazy with pain.

"Solf?" he wheezed and he nodded.

"Yeah, I'm here, come on, we gotta get you to Marcoh," he said, tense again and listening for movement in the dust. Heinkel winced, shaking his head.

"We'll never make it," he grunted. "You two get out of here… You're the only one who can protect Alphonse, now…"

Kimblee bristled slightly. "Don't be a dumbass," he told him with a slight hiss. "Survival is a victory in and of itself, so don't you go and fucking die on me, you damn cat!"

The Lion wheezed out a laugh, blood dripping from his lips.

"That's right… you did say that…" he grunted, face twisting in pain. Kimblee grimaced before he turned to Alphonse.

"You and your brother are against using the stone to get your bodies back, right?" he asked and the boy trapped in armor nodded. Kimblee clenched his stomach, forcing up both Philosopher's Stones he held and dropping them into his palm. He rolled them between his fingers thinking about what to say next.

"Each soul in the stone is in anguish, using one frees it from limbo, they have no bodies to return to, and no way for us to give them one," he told the boy, "You know your body's composition more than I do."

He stood up, holding the stones between his fingers, holding them up. "These souls in here are ready to fight Bradley for ordering their deaths. Every single one of them was a life stolen from Amestris. Knocking Bradley down a few pegs is an honor for us."

He turned to Alphonse and Heinkel. "Take Heinkel to Marcoh," he told him, "I'll hold Pride and Bradley off for as long as I can."

He knelt back down, eye level with the boy.

"Do not look back," he told him before he grabbed the boy's armored hand, pressing the round stone into it. "This one is stronger, newer. Marcoh will know what to do with it. Get Heinkel out of here and live."

"Solf—" Heinkel warned, struggling to sit up but Kimblee silenced him with a sudden kiss, grabbing him by his shirt. Pulling back, he wiped his lips with his tongue, grimacing at the sharp taste of blood.

"Remember, Lukas hasn't been formally introduced to you. Don't die before you can be," he said, standing back up and stepping away from the two of them, popping the other stone into his mouth for safekeeping.

"Go," he told Alphonse before he took off, Philosopher's Stone between his teeth. He heard the clinking of armor before he continued on. As he neared the edge of the dust cloud that had been providing cover for them, he flicked his wrist. The familiar energy of the familiar stone coursed through his body and he blasted the dust to the side.

"And here I thought you'd be smart enough to simply run away," Bradley said, seeing him walk back out. Kimblee just chuckled, feeling the claws of Araunya creep back into his mind.

"Nah," he said, shrugging. "You see, I do have a bone to pick with you. And I'm still quite mad at Pride, betraying one of your own like that."

"I hardly think you can be one to talk about betrayal, Kimblee," Bradley mused, shifting his stance.

"Oh, I'm certainly no saint when it comes to these matters," he agreed, "But Pride's just a coward. It's fairly pathetic."

Pride sneered. "I wouldn't be so quick to call someone out on being pathetic—"

"You're pathetic and hideous," Kimblee cut in, "A hypocritical being who boasts about Pride and being superior. I'm not your bitch, Homunculus."

The eldest Homunculus bristled, but— unfortunately— Bradley still seemed to have his wits about him.

"The time for conversation is over," Bradley said, and without a second prompt, he shot forwards. Kimblee's formerly impassive face split into a maniac grin suddenly.

"You took the words right from my mouth," he said back before thrusting his palm forwards.

An explosion was set off in front of the Fürher, though he simply moved through it— singed and a bit burnt, but undeterred. Kimblee didn't allow that to shake him, twisting out of the way of a swing from the Homunculus with a slight cackle. He ignored any injuries he got as he dodged between blades and shadow, focusing only on buying time. Perhaps they knew, perhaps not, but the two were relentless either way.

Then a flashbang appeared at Pride's feet. Kimblee twisted away from it, covering his eyes with one hand as it went off.

Kimblee didn't wait, instantly moving as soon as the light cleared to where he knew Bradley was. He pressed a hand to the man's back, sending him flying with an explosion before he heard pride curse as Alphonse came out of nowhere, clashing with him. Bradley got up slowly, face drawn into a deep frown as he pulled his eyepatch off.

"You should have run when you had the chance, Kimblee."

"I'm not really a coward, so no," he said flatly back. Bradley just adjusted his sword before leaping forwards again. Kimblee planted his feet, waiting for the next strike, mind moving, planning and strategizing quickly.

Bradley was strong— obviously— and much stronger than anyone else he had fought before. But he was Waller's son, born with blood on his hands in the heart of Araunya's hell. He learned two things from Waller— how to drink, and how to fight.

Kimblee caught the first blade between his palms as it came down on him, his grin never leaving his face— simply widening to reveal the Philosopher's stone clenched between his teeth.

He saw Bradley's eye widen as red alchemical sparks exploded from his hands as he deconstructed the sword in moments. But Bradley wasn't idle, swinging his other sword up and across Kimblee's chest. He dropped down to the ground backward at the last second— avoiding a fatal gash, but the blood still managed an impressive arc as it followed the path of the sword.

Using the momentum of his fall, he braced his hands on the ground and pushed off and back. His heel connected with Bradley's chin as he kicked up and over before leaping back. He stood, watching Bradley carefully as he pressed a hand to the gash to staunch the blood flow. The Homunculus hybrid tossed his broken blade to the side.

"Humans are quite persistent and stubborn," he said. "Just give up and die peacefully."

"Now you know I can't do that," Kimblee said, wincing a bit before blinking as Alphonse was tossed into the air and crashed down next to him. Pride gracefully leaped down from a stone structure that Alphonse probably made as the armored figure clambered to his feet.

"You have no chance of winning," Pride sighed, "None of you do, not while Father still remains in central."

"Perhaps, but that's what makes humans so interesting," he told the two Homunculus as Alphonse stood up. Kimblee placed a hand down on the boy's shoulder, locating a gap in the armor.

When he had kicked Bradley in the chin, he had dropped the stone onto the ground— only to place his hand on it and pick it up before Bradley saw.

And it was currently in the hand placed on Alphonse's shoulder. He dropped the second Stone into the armor before he stepped away from him, cracking his neck.

He could see Marcoh with Heinkel just barely in his line of sight, but edging into it— and Yoki had arrived with a car that was most likely stolen Military property.

Good.

Alphonse shifted into a ready to fight stance as Kimblee adjusted his own. Bradley watched them both like a hawk, as did Pride, and then Kimblee clapped his hands together. Bradley surged forwards, prepared to rush headlong through an explosion, only that wasn't what happened.

Kimblee dropped down swiftly, exploding the ground under Alphonse and sending him flying up into the air— unharmed, but certainly startled. The boy cried out as he sailed through the air, slamming into the ground not far from the car and missing Marcoh by a hair as he forced Heinkel into the stolen vehicle.

Bradley thrust his sword forwards and Kimblee grit his teeth, still grinning as the blade stabbed him through the shoulder. He clapped his hands together, only to get kicked in the chest and sent back several feet. He felt his ribs bend and crack under the force of the kick, but he was quick to recover.

"YOKI, GET THEM OUT OF HERE!" He yelled despite the rough landing. Marcoh was smart enough to catch on, as the doctor hurriedly forced Alphonse into the car as well— struggling to keep Heinkel in at the same time. Kimblee stood, still grinning despite the pain. Marcoh spared him one glance behind him at him, and Kimblee simply gave him a two-fingered salute.

The doctor swallowed before he hurried to climb into the car. Pride snarled, moving to send shadows after them, but Kimblee sent an explosion through the ground at him instead. It kicked up enough dust to act as cover as the car sped away, leaving the three of them alone.

And then faster than he could blink, shadowy jaws snapped shut like a steel trap around his throat. Pain shot through his body, but he couldn't scream, couldn't breathe as blood seemed to cover his entire line of sight.

He felt his feet lift up off the ground and then he was suspended and Pride was moving. He could see the sky through the haze of red, burning pain welling up in his chest and throat.

He couldn't breathe—

He saw the car in the distance, and if vaguely occurred to him that Pride was holding him up for them to see, like some sort of trophy.

He felt his vision going hazy as he was flung upwards suddenly, blood dripping from his lips and wounds.

"Filthy human," he heard Pride snarl from somewhere far away.

He felt his body hit the ground, hard and he wheezed out a gasp.

Kimblee wasn't afraid of death.

A shadow fell over him, Pride, with his eyes slanted upwards in delight as he stared down at him. He was speaking, but Kimblee couldn't hear a word of what he was saying.

The shadows were spreading.

Kimblee wasn't afraid of death. He knew from the beginning that he was more likely to die here than see this through to the end.

A thin tendril grabbed his arm and darkness loomed above him. The whites of Pride's teeth were almost too much and he squinted.

"Any last words, Kimblee?"

Kimblee spat blood at the Homunculus and a laugh sounded in his ears. More and more tendrils grabbed at him, lifting him higher, higher, and towards the waiting jaws above.

For a moment he saw red.

And then he felt blinding pain— like swords and teeth digging into him, into his body, ripping and tearing into him.

If he could, he probably would have screamed.

For a moment there was nothing.

And then there were wails of torment everywhere, echoing and resounding like a cruel symphony in his ears.

.:.:.:.:.

Part of Edward was angry— no, beyond angry.

He was fucking pissed off.

How the fuck was it fair that after all this time (six months! Six!) the last time that Edward saw that bastard Firework-show was inside of Pride?

Not in Kanama with his humanity back and laughing at some horrible joke that one of the citizens made. Not in some far off city with Heinkel talking about the pros and cons of wearing military-grade boots everywhere no matter what the style of one's clothes were otherwise. Not behind bars with a smug look still on his face as he teased he and Alphonse about something trivial. Not even on death row months in the future like the man would sometimes joke about.

No, it was just after that old man had told them that he expected all of them ( not just Kimblee! All of them! ) to come back. It was the day after the bastard had jokingly told him that when all was said and done he'd teach him how to tie a necktie from behind bars.

It was irrational, especially since there was an even bigger battle going on above them, but Edward Elric was pissed off.

(Deep down he felt like he had known, though, that Kimblee must not have gotten out alive against Pride when Pride showed back up, sneering and gloating.)

It hurt something inside of Edward when he turned himself into a Philosopher's Stone and invaded Pride. Not because of the process, but because he saw him, standing as calmly as could be among the millions of anguished souls, still dressed in that black tank top that Edward had transmuted his shirt into. Still dressed in those cargo pants that Greed had told him looked unflattering on him only to get an explosion to the face.

Hurt because goddammit he promised he would teach him!

Because what the hell was he supposed to tell Heinkel, who most definitely knew about it already because he had to have been there.

Because what the hell was he supposed to tell Darius or Alphonse or even Scar—

Because even though he didn't want to admit that the psychopath meant something to him, he did.

He remembered— he knew, somehow— that his birthday had passed. Wished him a happy birthday the day before.

He had taught him a lot about the ins and outs of the world that wasn't in books but something found in cultures. About people that others wouldn't bother to think twice about in a positive light.

He had put Alphonse before himself and faced two Homunculi alone and goddammit he had promised!

In a flash of anger, Edward wanted so badly to kill Pride— to destroy him entirely instead of reversing him to what he was at the very beginning.

But something stopped him. A pair of piercing silver eyes.

"You have a resolve not to kill…"

Edward closed his eyes and forced himself to let go of the anger for revenge.

The last glimpse of Kimblee he saw was a faint smile and a wave over his shoulder as he walked into oblivion.

.:.:.:.:.

With one of Alphonse's bony arms wrapped around his shoulder, supporting him, Edward gazed back at Truth, the white figure sitting alone watching them in front of the Gate.

"Would you take something from me if I asked you something else, Truth?" He asked suddenly. The being's head tilted, the grin never leaving their face.

"Normally, yes, I would," they said before holding up a hand. "But you have certainly made life more interesting for me. I'll give you one free question."

Alphonse looked up at him, brows furrowed and worried, but Edward had one thing he had to ask Truth before returning to the other side. Truth would be the only one who could answer it, after all.

"An alchemist was consumed by Pride. His name was Solf Josiah Kimblee and he was a genius with a photographic memory," he began. "When all the souls from the Homunculi— from the Philosopher's stone in Pride— were released… did they come here? Did he?"

Truth seemed to pause before giving a shrug with their ever-present wide grin.

"Who do you think paid your toll for your brother instead of you?" the deity asked and Edward felt his blood run cold, deep sadness taking root in his heart. The white being 'tsk'd, but continued.

"But the one you seek… that I cannot answer you. That is for you to find, Mister Alchemist."

I watched Hamilton recently and I've got The Reynold's Pamphlet stuck in my head.

Anyways, the only reason why Kimblee was able to match wrath at all was uh. fanfiction. I literally don't think that Kimbelee could match and dodge him in canon, especially after being in prison for 6 years.

Extra Notes:

Kimblee handed the other stone to Al so Pride wouldn't be stronger, but he was given power and fixed up by Father when he and wrath returned anyways. I killed him because I literally couldn't think of a way to make it so that Edward didn't get possessed by Pride.

The reason why Kimblee didn't step in when like, Roy was being forced to transmute, was because he was still assimilating since in this AU Kimblee's absolute fucked up and insane "i love to listen to suffering" side had to overtake the "Welcome to Kanama, my name's Josiah my brother is Jonas and he likes to kick my shins" side. So it takes more of him mentally becoming that Ishval-madness-self before he can keep his own separate form. and then he proceeds to, in a tldr, call pride a bitch.

Also, angy ed is angy because Dadblee ™ But Ed gets to keep his alchemy from a cost that was paid in advance.