Hello everyone. So sorry about the wait for this chapter, I ended up getting sidetracked with another story, and then I have all this stuff I have to do for real life that I really don't feel like doing, but will eventually. In the meantime though, I will finish up this chapter so you all can stop waiting. I feel like we're getting close to the climax. If it goes the way I want to we should be, at any rate.

Chapter 29

Selim wasn't sure how much longer he ended up waiting inside the old shed, but it was nearly dark out when he could hear the sounds of someone approaching. He'd barely talked to Pride during this time, both silently locked in their own thoughts. It wasn't bothering him as much as it had been before though, having gotten a bit used to the sin's quiet behavior. Plus, it was nice to be able to just sit and think about what he was going to say to the Elric brothers once they returned.

"Hey, we're back, everything still okay?" Edward called as he walked in, his brother, still wearing the armor, coming in right after. Selim nodded and attempted a smile, although it was starting to get hard to see as the darkness set in. Hopefully one of the brothers would start a light soon, he couldn't help but feel venerable in the dark.

Much to his relief, the younger one quickly transmuted a small light for them to all see by. There still seemed to be a look of uncertainty on Ed's face, and Selim didn't really blame him all that much for being confused about the whole situation. He was sure that Alphonse would look the same way, if he could see his face.

"Ed explained to me what you told him on the way here, so we don't need to repeat anything," Al said, and Selim nodded. That was good, they didn't have to waste any time.

"Do you have any idea what to do? I really just want to go home," he asked, feeling completely honest. Even if he wasn't sure what was waiting for him back there, with a father that had tried to end his life, but it wasn't like he could live like he was for the rest of his life either. Ed simply shrugged though, and while it wasn't a no, it wasn't exactly the most reassuring answer in the world either.

"We have a few ideas for what exactly happened to get you inside of a homunculus, but we really have no clue yet how to reverse it, and if you really are dead back wherever your from, then that just further complicates things," the blonde said, and Selim just nodded. Of course they didn't instantly have a quick fix for his problem, but at least they're trying. That was all he could really ask for.

"Don't worry though, we're going to try our best to figure out a way to get you back home where you belong," Alphonse said, and Selim smiled slightly.

"I understand, thank you so much for trying," he said, not really used to talking like that anymore. It was polite and genuine, like how he used to be back home. Since he'd been here though almost everything had been an act or just talking to Pride, which he didn't really go too far out of his way to be polite to like he would an adult. He just talked to him normally, which was a little strange, if he thought about it.

"So, there isn't anything else you can think to tell us that might help in sending you home, is there?" Edward asked, and Selim had to think for a moment. He'd already told them about Pride, how he'd gotten here in the first place, the white figure and the gates. If there was anything else, he couldn't think of it. A bit sadly he shook his head.

"Alright then, we'll just have to go with what we know for right now, it'll be fine," Alphonse said, and Selim just had to believe him.

"Um, what do you want me to do for now?" Selim asked. It felt so strange, he'd been so suspicious and alert for so long, someone saying that it was going to be okay, and that they'd help him was almost completely foreign. Ed just shrugged, glancing around the dim lit room a bit before he answered.

"Nothing really. We'll need to find a better place to hide you until we can figure out what to do. We don't want those guys to find you and snatch you up again like they did last time. You're sure that Pride wont be able to take control again?" He asked, and Selim quickly shock his head. That didn't even really seem like an option, much to a growing annoyance he could feel from the sin bubbling inside him.

"He's never been able to before," he said, and Ed nodded, his mind already looking like it was elsewhere, probably trying to think of a better hiding place then the rundown old shack. Selim wasn't even sure how much longer the place would stay up, with one of it's walls almost completely missing.

"Alright, that's good," the younger brother said, and it wasn't long after that the two were talking amongst themselves. Selim wasn't really sure what to do, not used to letting other people do things for him anymore. Just… sitting there while they talked about things he didn't understand was frustrating.

"Are you sure there isn't anything you need me to do?" he asked after a few more moments, and Edward turned his attention back to the boy just long enough to tell him no. Slumping on his stool just slightly, he tried not to let them notice. He really was glad that they were helping, but he'd only been here a few hours and he was already starting to feel restless. It was… odd, he didn't think he could of ever gotten used to running and fighting for his life at every turn.

"What's wrong? This is what you wanted, is it not?" Pride asked, a mix of annoyance and genuine confusion in his voice. Glancing back to the brothers, Selim shrugged.

"It is, I'm glad they're helping, I just wish there was something I could do," he answered, allowing a bit of the shadows inside Pride's container to seep out around his feet. Edward and Alphonse didn't notice, but Pride did.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice returning to full on annoyance. He never did like when he used his shadows, no matter what the reason. Selim had to admit though, right now he didn't even have a very good reason at all, which would probably just anger the sin ever farther.

"Playing," he answered, concentrating on the spiraling shapes on the floor, carefully trying to get them to follow his command. It was difficult, but he figured he'd made quite a bit of progress from when he first started out. The shadows almost seemed to dance along to floor, following to wherever he'd move his hand. He could hear Pride openly scoff at his statement.

"My powers are not for you to play with. Stop messing with them this instance," the sin commanded, but Selim didn't listen, letting one string of the darkness to rise up off the floor just a bit.

"But I'm bored," he almost mumbled, if it wasn't for the fact that he hadn't actually said it aloud. It was just weird, he almost felt like he could act like a kid again. Almost, not completely. He still wasn't home, he was still in more danger then he could imagine, but there just wasn't anything he could do about it now. At least, that's what the Elric brothers said.

"W-what's that?" Selim's head quickly shot up at the sound of the younger brother's question and saw that he was indeed starting at the ever growing mass of shadows he was morphing into strange shapes in front of him. Not realizing how large he'd allowed it to get, the black haired boy quickly shrunk it down to almost half it's height, only coming up to about his knees, and smiled sheepishly. When they said that Edward had explained what he'd said, he thought that had meant everything, including his control over Pride's powers.

"Pride's shadow, I'd gotten a little bored, so I was playing with it, sorry," he apologized, watching as the armored boy slowly nodded his head.

"Oh, oh right. Ed had explained how you could use the homunculus's power on your own, I'd just hadn't expected it to look like that, I guess," Alphonse said. It wasn't long before the two continued talking to each other, and by now Selim had started to just block them out, instead of trying to actually follow what they were saying. So many alchemical and other terms he didn't understand, and constant references to the gate and the truth, which he guessed was the giant doors and the white figure, but after a while of getting lost, he'd stopped. The shadows could make excellent entertainment.

"Alright!" Edward declared after what had to be at least an hour, standing up off the ground and gathering Selim's attention almost instantly. Quickly, he drew Pride's shadows back inside, watching the older teen for whatever it was he was going to say.

"We've been thinking over places where we could hide you, at least temporarily, but the only problem is we don't know what places are safe anymore," Alphonse started, and Selim nodded. That made sense, especially considering how fast Envy had found him with them last time.

"Right, and with what happened last time, it isn't safe to have you with us constantly either," Ed said. As Alphonse started up again, Selim couldn't help but be a little bit impressed with how easily they were able to finish each other's thoughts. They had been talking to each other about this for a while now though.

"So, we were wondering if maybe… you could stay here, just for tonight, and tomorrow we'll be able to scout out a place for you to hide," Al finished, sounding a bit apprehensive about leaving a child they were suppose to protect alone in a half collapsed shack for the night. Selim just nodded though. He'd spent so many nights alone so far, one more wouldn't hurt.

"That's alright, I understand," he said, and the brothers looked a bit relieved that he was so comfortable with this. As long as the homunculus didn't find him, it'd be fine.

"Good, we're going to leave then, the longer we stay here, the higher the chances are that the homunculus could find you. You'll sure you'll be safe for the night?" Ed asked, and Selim nodded once more. Without anymore fuss, the brothers left him again, leaving Selim alone, and still at a loss for what to do with himself.

Maybe he should just sleep, it was getting awfully late, but he wasn't really all that tired. The thought that someone was helping him, was going to try and figure out a way to get him back home where he belonged, was keeping the child awake. Standing up, he started pacing around the edges of the room. He had to sleep, but he couldn't.

"Pride?" he called out to the open air, not having to keep his thoughts inside now that he was alone.

"What?" the sin asked, his voice sounding blank and bored. Selim ignored it though, it wasn't like he had anyone else to turn to at the moment.

"I'm feeling anxious, I don't know what I should do," he said, and he really didn't. He knew he should just wait for the Elric brothers to come back in the morning, and let someone who actually knew what they were doing fix his problems for him, but he just didn't want to be useless. He actually wanted to help. He could hear Pride sigh inside of him.

"And talking to the voice inside your head is suppose to help that?" he asked, and Selim supposed that what he was doing would be rather silly, if the voice in his head was just that, but it wasn't. It was a completely separate being, so yes, it could help. He knew Pride could hear what he thought, and felt him roll his eyes at it. "Go to sleep then, and wait for the Elrics to come back in the morning, if they actually do, that is," he said.

Selim ignored the doubt Pride was trying to put in his head. He knew they would come back, they were nice people, they wouldn't abandon him. Thinking of the sin's actual suggestion though, he nodded slightly, and started towards the cabin door.

"Where are you going?" Pride asked, not seeming to have expected the child to actually leave the shack. Selim wasn't really sure if his plan was the best, but it was at least a good thing to always be cautious. Hopefully it would help and keep him alive if he was.

"Outside, if your homunculus friends saw the Elric Brothers coming in or out of here and decided to check it out, it'd be bad if they found me asleep. I'll find somewhere in the forest and hide there, then come back in the morning before Edward and Alphonse come back," the black haired boy explained, quite satisfied with the slightly impressed feeling he could detect from Pride.

Once he was outside, he didn't see anybody, and carefully made his way into the dark forest. The moon was out a bit, as well as a few stars, but it wasn't really enough to see by. He wasn't even sure if it was enough to make any shadows, but decided not to think about that. When he decided he was far enough away that anyone looking for him in the cabin wouldn't find him, but he could still head back pretty easily in the morning, the child curled up in the roots of a large tree.

They really were huge, coming up high out of the dirt, allowing for him to partially hide himself if he really laid down. Thankfully, he found there was still enough light for him to form the black cocoon as a shell around him, further hiding him from any prying eyes.

It wasn't long before the black haired boy finally managed to get some sleep. He didn't mind that it was in the dirt, with bark as a pillow and pure darkness as a blanket, instead of at least in some semblance of a house. He'd gotten used to it, like so many other things he'd almost wished he hadn't.

It was just one more night. Ed and Al said they would find a place to hide him tomorrow, and hopefully soon after that, a way to send him home. He just had to be patient and listen to what they say.

Hopefully.

Finally finished this chapter. Once again, sorry for such a long wait, and then not much even happened in this one either T_T So sorry. I promise the next one will not take as long, and will hopefully be more exciting. Heh, hopefully seems to be the word of the day, doesn't it?
By the way, by neighbor used to have a tree with huge roots that came out the ground like that. My sister managed to break her arm on one once (she wasn't looking where she was going, and playing a digimon video game as she tried to balance on them), they were so huge.

Well, I hope you still liked this, and please review.