"Pride."

Huh? Who's there?

"Pride."

Who's that? Who's speaking?

"Pride?"

Someone's calling me? I'm Pride, right?

"Pride!"

My eyelids snap open-wait, they were closed?- and squinted at the dim light of Father's room.

"Hey Pride! You awake?"

I look towards the voice that had called , and I scowled at Envy's distasteful grin.

"Geez, I know you're stuck in a child's body, but do you really need a nap time?"

"I suggest you wipe that stupid grin off your face before I do it for you, Envy.

His face falls to a pout."Come on, big brother. You'd think after 400 years of life, you develop a sense of humor"

"And you'd think that after 300 years of life, you'd finally learn to keep your mouth shut, you insolent buffoon."

That made Envy pull his lips back in a snarl as rage boiled in his eyes. " High-and-mighty little shit-"

He yelps as my shadow threateningly slides in front of his neck. I feel a dangerous grin firm on my face. I know his least favorite death: decapitation. He always complains about how much of a pain it is to grow a new head.

" Mind saying that again? I couldn't quite hear you over blatant insubordination."

"Pride."

We both go rigid at Father's stern tone. I hate when I get in trouble because it happens so little. And when it does, it feels like judgment day.

"You mustn't let your brother get to you. Emotion shows weakness."

I sigh and retract my shadow. "Understood, Father."

"And Envy. Do not bicker with your siblings. It is unsightly."

Envy mutters "Yes, Father."

"Father."

My attentions goes towards the new occupant of the room. Lust struts over to us, her usually bored yet seductive smile replaced by a frustrated frown.

" What is it, my child?"

Lust let's out a sigh. "There's a soldier digging into the archives. He's seeming very interested in the history of Amestris."

Envy snortes. "So? Let the history nerd play. I don't see the."

"He has a map, Envy."

The room becomes quiet, before Envy stammered out, " You-you don't think he's going to- a lowly human can't possibly figure out-!"

Lust interrupts his rambling. "Do you wish for me to dispose of him, Father?"

Father sits there, expressionless as ever. Showing no worry over a situation that could potentially ruin our entire plan.

Finally, he speaks. "Is he a potential sacrifice?"

"No, just a regular officer. However, he does seem to have ties to the Fullmetal Alchemist and Flame Alchemist."

"Then dispose of him. It is not yet time for them to know their roles."

Lust nods. "Yes, Father."

Father relaxes into his seat and says, "Also, one of you must accompany her."

Envy jumps off from the cord he's perched and said, "I'm going! I could use a good kill."

After his taunting, there's no way I'll let him have this satisfaction."No, I will."

Envy turns to me, a frown in his mouth and sarcasm in his eyes. "Isn't it past your bedtime, Selim Bradley?"

The emphasis on my alias and the deliberate poke at my form? Oh, he's going to pay for that.

"Father, I request to go on this mission."

"Request accepted."

Envy's face is almost laughable. "W-what?! Father! Why does he get to go?!"

"Do not question me, Envy," Father booms.

Envy sinks back, and mumbles, "Sorry."

I grin and walk off with Lust towards the nearest passage running under the Central Archives.

"Who is this human, anyways?"

Her flips her hair over her shoulders showing her ouroboros tattoo. "Just an intelligence officer who can't keep his mouth."

My shadow's coil down the tunnel,sliding up the walls and through the cracks of the Central Archive floorboards.I begin to slide with them.

"Well, we're just going to have to teach him how to,aren't we?"

I groan in frustration. My Gate, this man is stubborn. He just wouldn't give up. He thought that if he got a public phone booth, he'd be able to tell about his finding. As if it wasn't the most predictable move.

Though I have to admit, it's more clever than most humans would have thought of. And he did uncover the plot before anyone else. It is a shame to have to kill off such a clever man.

I follow his trail of blood to the phone booth. I lurk in the shadows as he shouts at the receptionist

"Hurry up! Its urgent!"

I quickly replace my grin for "Selim's" wide-eyed curiosity, while my shadows trailing behind me retain their malice smiles. I walk out of the shadowy alley and over to the phone booth.

"Excuse me?"

He jumps and turns around, and something curious happens. He looks at me as if he's seen a ghost.

"Hey Mister, you alright?"

He blinks, as if out of a trance, and then stutters out, "I-I'm sorry. It's just that you look an awful lot like someone I know."

Odd. Selim Bradley's name is definitely known, the face is another matter. I don't exactly look like Wrath, so who could he be referring to?

He shakes his head. "Nah, it couldn't be, " he mutters, then smiles. "What are you doing out here so late?" I just return the the smile, before feigning a shocked expression.

"Mister! You're bleeding!"

He look towards his wound, and gives me a nervous laugh."Oh, that's nothing to worry about, I'm fine."

"Oh no,it's gonna stain! Let me help you!"

"It's okay, kid, that isn't-"

His sentence is cut short by a gurgle of blood boiling to his mouth. I let my facade drop, and I laugh without restraint as he chokes on his own blood, his shaking hands trying to grasp the shadow now protruding from his stomach.

"There! Now people won't be able to tell it's a stain!"

I retract the shadow, leaving a cavity in his stomach. He slumps to the ground with a thud, just as the call comes in.

"Hughes, if this is about your daughter-"

I push the disconnect button, and the call ends.I don't worry about evidence, homunculi don't have fingerprints. All the more reason for me to enjoy the the cross between pain and rage plastered on the dying man's face.

"You-you little bastard. W-what the hell are you?"

I smirk. "Something far superior to you humans, I can assure you."

He hacks up some more blood, and I turn my heel towards the shadows, to report back to Father. As I step into the darkness, I hear a choked sob.

"I'm sorry, Elicia. Daddy's not...coming home early...tonight."

I shot sounds off, and I turn back to see the soldier limp, blood protruding from his head. The culprit scoffs.

"My Truth, he needed to shut up."

"Envy!" I snarl." What are you doing here?!"

"Helping you kill him, what does it look like?"

He shouts in pain as I stab his leg, dangerously close to his stone, before screeching out "What was that for, you brat?!"

" You disobeyed orders. You're lucky I'm not ripping your stone out right now."

" I get it! I screwed up! Now get this out so we can leave befor we are found out!"

I draw it out, and Envy grounded out a few curses as he regenerates. I smirk, and taunt:

"Quiet your filthy mouth, I'm too young to hear this."

He side-glares me, and then growls,"Then why don't you clean up some evidence and then go back to bed, like a good brat."

I glance back at the corpse, finding no evidence other then the bullet in his skull. Until my eye catches a small slip of paper. I quickly pick it up. It's not legible from all the blood its drenched in. But I can't take any risks. I quickly stuff it into my shirt, before slipping into the shadows.

Soldiers shout as they race to the dead man, and fade as I sink back home.