Hi there. Once again I'm apologizing for taking forever on getting the chapter out. I actually shouldn't even be writing right now, but the urge to write has been coming less often lately, so I'm taking it any chance I get. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the swing of things, and everything will be okay.

"Pride speaking."

"Selim's mind link"

Chapter 18

"He's stuck in my head."

The two brothers were silent, looking back and forth between each other and the small boy in front of them. Selim really wished he could go back in time and word what he had said in a way that made him seem less insane, if there was such a way, at least. After what felt like forever to him, Al spoke.

"Um, what do you mean, he's stuck in your head?" the armored boy asked, and Selim tried to calm him nerves before speaking again.

"I took control of his body by accident, and he's in my head now. I-I can hear him and things, but I can't see him, although he can see what I see…" the black haired boy trailed off. He didn't even dare to look up at the brothers, not wanting to see what their faces looked like. Well, Edward's face at least. There was just no way for them to believe him though. Hey, he didn't even believe him, and he was the one saying it.

"Wait a minute, took control of his body? What the? Then where's the body?" The shorter teen asked. Selim didn't try to figure out if those questions meant he believed him or not, just deciding to answer, and hopefully try and dig himself out of the crazy hole.

"Right here, this is Pride's body," He explained. Pride had grown rather silent all of a sudden, although the black haired boy guessed that was a good thing, he could just focus on the brothers. They were silent now too though. Glancing up, he saw the shock and confusion clearly written on both of them, surprisingly. Staring back at his feet, he began to scuff at the dirt.

"You don't believe me, do you?" maybe this was all a mistake after all, but he hadn't known who else to go to.

"N-no! It's not that!" Selim's head snapped up at the younger brother's protest. They had to be insane to believe him. Edward sighed, pulling his hand down his face before starting up again after his brother.

"Look, just, start from the beginning. Who are you and how did you get into a homunculus' body?" He asked. Now it was Selim's turn to be shocked. They were giving him a chance to explain everything, and not just cart him off to the nearest police station? That really was a surprise.

"Okay…okay, I'm Selim Bradley, and I… I got into Pride's body after I died…" Glancing up off the ground, the brothers didn't look shocked or in disbelief, they were just staring at him, listening. Ed nodded, although he did look a bit confused.

"If you're Selim Bradley, and you're in Pride's body, then why does Pride look just like you?" the teen asked. The black haired boy began to get fidgety again. They were hearing him out so far, but there was no telling when something he said would cross the line, and if it wasn't that Pride was stuck in his head, it was most likely going to be this.

"I… I don't know. Pride says that Selim Bradley is just a fake name he made up in pretending to be the president's son, b-but where I'm from I really am Selim, but then my father he… he…" urg, why was he so emotional all the time? Why couldn't he act calm and collected like the Elric brothers, or even Pride? Instead he was trying, and failing, to not cry when just thinking of what his father did to him and unknowingly put him though. He didn't want to act like such a child all the time.

"You are a child," The sin's voice echoed though his head, the tone of voice that of someone stating the weather, or that it was Tuesday.

"Be quiet Pride," Selim said, not really caring that he said it out loud, although the brothers definitely noticed.

"Hey there now, it's okay," Alphonse said, kneeling next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder in an attempt at comfort. Selim just nodded and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Yes, what had happened was emotionally scarring and traumatizing, but he had to keep a hold of himself now if he ever wanted to get back to a normal life. Once he appeared calm enough, Ed started up again.

"What did Pride say?" the teen asked, and Selim rubbed his eye quickly for the last time before answering.

"He just said I was a child, it's nothing…" he explained. Taking a deep breath, the black haired boy decided to just hurry up and say it, it wasn't like saying it would make it happen again or anything. "My father killed me, and I woke up in Pride's body," the quickness and suddenness of what he said almost made it go over the brothers head, but it sunk in rather quickly.

"Maybe we should go back to the hotel before we talk about anything else," Alphonse suggested, and his brother nodded in response before turning towards the child still standing behind the bench.

"That okay with you?" He asked, and Selim nodded without much thought. They might be trying to catch him, but his instincts told him they weren't, and so far his instincts hadn't been too wrong. Following the two it wasn't long before they reached a decent looking hotel and headed inside. The walk had been eerily quiet for the young boy, not even Pride saying a word, or at least protesting.

Sitting down in a chair agents the wall, Selim tried to speak to the voice in his head before the brothers started their questioning again. "Hey, Pride?" he asked, although there was no response. Before he could try for a second time though, the Elrics were in front of him and the door to the room closed. Under normal situations, like if he was back home, a blaring, danger, danger, warning would be going off, but this wasn't a normal situation, and he could easily escape with the use of Pride's powers.

"So, let me get your story straight," Ed started, "your father killed you, and when you woke up you were in the body of a homunculus named Pride, who looks exactly like you, and is only pretending to be the president's son?" Selim nodded. It sounded really bad when put like that. "This is crazy…" The teen grumbled, although he was quickly chastised by his brother.

"C'mon Ed, I know it sounds strange, but we should hear him out, I mean…" the armored man trailed off, and Selim's head shot up. It wasn't anything that had been said, he just couldn't believe he'd actually forgotten. Sure it was a long shot that they knew anything, but whoever that person was is the cause of all this and he'd left him out.

"The white figure…" he said without really thinking, causing the two brothers to turn their attention back towards him.

"The what now?" Edward asked, and Selim shook his head as a way of almost clearing his thoughts before answering.

"W-when I died, I was in this really weird place, it was yellow at first, but then I went thought this scary door, and then it was white, and there was this white figure. He said I could live. He's the one who put me in Pride's body…" the black haired boy was still beating himself up a bit on the inside for letting that little detail slip his mind. Sure it had been a while since he had really analyzed just what had happened before he was trapped in this situation, but he still shouldn't have forgotten.

Looking up he was just able to see the end of what must have been some sort of conversation without words between the brothers. He had no idea what it was about, but apparently something he said had rung some sort of bell.

"This white figure, what did he say to you, exactly?" Alphonse asked. Selim had to think for a bit. He'd almost blocked all this from his mind for a while there, just focusing on surviving day to day.

"When I first say him, I asked who he was, and he just called himself, the truth, I don't know what he meant, but…" looking at the shocked expressions on the Elric brother's faces, it was easy for the black haired boy to put the pieces together in his head, even if he was just a child, "but apparently, you two do."

The subtle nod and serious looks of the Elrics actually managed to spark some hope in him. Trying to contain it, there was still many things that could go wrong, he started to be the one to ask questions.

"Please, Mr. Elric Brothers, could you tell me who that person was. Do you know what he did to me?" he asked, slipping back into his instinctive politeness. The two glanced at each other before turning to answer his question.

"Well, we're not sure what he is, let alone who," the older teen answered. Selim sank down a bit in his chair. He shouldn't be disappointed, he knew that there was a very slim chance of them having any idea what all this could possibly be about, let alone be able to just fix everything. Alphonse obviously sensed his disappointment and made a quick attempt to say something encouraging.

"D-don't worry! We know where that guy is, sort of, and well, we can't just go there, but I'm sure that we'll be able to fix you," the armored man said quickly, and Selim nodded, surprised that he actually was a bit encouraged. They knew where he was, that was a huge start.

"Oh don't you two trouble yourselves with that."

All three beings in the room froze at the voice coming from behind them. Overcoming their shock at a much faster rate then Selim, the two brothers spun around to quickly face the new, fourth occupant of the room. The black haired child couldn't move any more then a stone could, Pride speaking up for the first time since he had almost cried.

"I told you it was only a matter of time," The sin said, the smug tone back full force as Selim stared helplessly at who he assumed was sent here to pick him up. He hadn't seem this person since he'd gone underground that first time, but he was wearing the same strange clothing and had the same odd hairstyle.

"Thanks so much for taking care of Pride here. Guy must of gone off the deep end or something, didn't you? Don't worry yourselves, we'll fix him up good as new," The stick thin man said, walking towards the three. Selim knew he should be doing something, anything, to protect himself, but wasn't able to think straight. Thankfully for him, the Elric brothers were, quickly getting into fighting stances.

"Envy! I'm not sure what's going on here, but we're not letting you take him," Edward said, transmuting his automail arm into a sharp blade. The green tinted haired sin didn't look too worried though, chuckling, even.

"Oh pipsqueak, when will you learn that you really don't have a say in the matter?"

Yay, new chapter after such a long time, and the action is returning again, double yay! If you must sacrifice me to the updating gods for treason, please, be gentle.

Well, hopefully I'm still managing to keep you all entertained with this story. I don't feel as though I'm going to get into any more ruts, so hurray.

Well, please review.