Aurgggg! I'm sorry for dying for almost two months now! About two thirds of the time was justified in a combination of college deadlines, moving into a new house, and my schoolasitics deadline. The other one third was thanklessly ripped away from me by Avatar the Last Airbender. I don't even know why either, it was just randomly "Let's watch the whole third season over again and then read a bazillion amazing fanfics off the recommendations page on TV tropes!"

Hehheh, anyway. Here's the next chapter, and once again, sorry about the wait.

Chapter 34

Selim stared up at the tall man looming over him. His entire body felt frozen in fear. Why wouldn't the shadows work? Somehow he managed to keep himself from tearing up as each attempt to get his only form of protection to manifest itself failed. It took nearly all of the small boy's strength to keep himself at the awkward angle he was trapped in. If he tried to move into a more comfortable position, he had no doubt that the rocky encasement around his leg would cause the bone to snap with little difficulty.

"Now then, where were we? I don't remember giving you any permission to leave, Selim Bradley," Father said, sending chills up and down the child's spine as he said his name. It was the mix of suspicion and total disregard for his life that left Selim unable to respond. He had to get a hold of himself, but the absolute darkness closing in around him was not helping to calm his panic in the least.

Before he was able to do anything, he felt the stone wrapping on his leg disintegrate back into the ground, and collapsed to the floor with the little balance he had left gone. A large hand gracelessly gripped the back of his shirt, lifting him into the air and started to carry him to someplace he couldn't see. He couldn't see anything in this darkness.

"Let go of me!" he demanded weakly, beginning to struggle in Father's grasp. The blonde being placed his hand on Selim's back. "Ahhh!" the child screamed, spasms of electricity causing pain to shoot up and down his body. Pride's container. For a few seconds, Selim couldn't remember which one it was as he hung limply from the monster's hand. This body's was Pride's, that was right. Not his, he wasn't supposed to be here. He was anyway though, no matter how much he wished he wasn't.

He was placed back down on the same table that he'd attempted to escape from, but Father didn't bother with the bindings this time. Selim couldn't see whatever it was he was trying to do in the dark, but vaguely wondered how he was able to move around as efficiently as he was. It wasn't like he could see in the dark himself, right? Of course, maybe after living in the same place for hundreds of years, if Pride's stories were to be believed, he'd just memorized where everything was.

"Pride… please help me. Why wont the shadows work?" he asked, wishing more than anything that the being inside of him would cooperate just this once. It wasn't very likely, but even if he just knew why, it would ease his mind. Or at least, he hoped it would. He still wasn't thinking completely straight after the alchemic attack, random spikes of pain continuing to erupt all over his skin.

"It's completely dark, isn't it? Shadows can not exist where there is no light. Father knows that well enough, he created me, after all. There's no way you could defeat someone who knows all your weaknesses," Pride answered emotionlessly. It surprised Selim slightly that the homunculus admitted having weaknesses so easily, but that thought quickly left the child's mind. There was something wrong with the sin, although Selim couldn't figure out what at first. Suddenly it hit him, and he could feel his eyes widening in realization. Pride always talked about how Father cared about him, and would fix him as soon as he found out what happened…

"Pride… I'm sorry Father just attacked you," the child said, the fog over his mind from said attack beginning to lift. Pride scoffed very openly at this, but Selim could feel a pang of hurt somewhere inside the sin, as if he'd hit a bit too close to home for him.

"Idiot, he attacked you, not me," Pride answered, but the tone of his voice seemed a bit less confident than he had wanted it to be. For the first time, the black haired boy wondered if Pride was still capable of feeling his container. He actually hoped not. He didn't want Pride to feel the spikes of pain that had rang through him.

Before Selim was able to actually ask the internal voice, his attention was turned back toward Father. The tall being was standing in front of him now, and Selim instinctively started to push himself back farther onto the table. He wanted as much distance between them as he could get.

It wasn't enough space though, and Father's hand was once again gripping the child's face, trying to get as good of a look as he could get in the complete lack of light. This of course, wasn't a very good look at all, and he roughly pushed Selim's head away. Breathing deeply, Selim wondered how the chances of him living changed with whether or not he tried to talk. It seemed pretty hopeless either way, but once again the silence was starting to unnerve him. Combined with not being able to tell where Father was half the time, at least if he got him to start speaking, he would be able to guess the direction that he was in.

"Now what?" the boy asked softly, half expecting the ancient being to just not answer him at all. Why should he? He had all the power, he could do whatever he wanted. The thought sent ice up and down his spine, which he unsuccessfully attempted to ignore.

"You claim to have come through the gate of truth, correct?" Father asked, and Selim nodded, before realizing that the ancient being probably couldn't actually see him in the darkness.

"Yes," he answered, wondering if he would try to send him back through. If he did then… he would be back home, right? He still had no idea what this 'home' would consist of anymore though. Would he even still be alive? He had died, when he really thought about it, and, that man… He had said this was the only way for him to live. Suddenly, he wasn't really sure about wanting to go back home, but it wasn't like there was any chance for him to actually escape, and he couldn't just live the rest of his life in Pride's stolen body.

It took Selim a little while to notice that Father had actually lit a few candles on another table. They were a bit too dim and a bit too far away for him to create any real shadows though. Even if he could, he didn't doubt that Father would just put them out and attack him again.

Father was standing with his back turned to the child now, and a thought ran through Selim's head. It was stupid, there was no way for him to just sneak out while his back was turned. He'd just be killed. He couldn't see a thing, and Father would notice before he was able to get far enough away. The thought wouldn't leave him alone though, and the longer that Father kept his back turned, the more he couldn't help but glance around.

It wasn't worth the risk. He was probably going to die anyway. If he got caught, Father would hurt him again. If he escaped, he might be able to live. There was no way he could actually get out. There might be a chance…

Pushing himself off the table, he tried to be quieter than he'd ever had before. The humanoid being didn't seem to have noticed yet, and the child took a few tentative steps. He couldn't see anything, and after every step he looked back to where Father was very faintly aglow in the candle light. Three steps, nothing… Five… Seven… Ten…

Selim felt his heart drop into his stomach when his foot seemed to get caught on something. All of his muscles seemed to lock up in his panic, but all that did was cause him to fall to the ground, creating even more noise. He could just barely hear the sound of Father's sandals hitting the stone floor. Everything else seemed to be blocked out by the blood rushing in his ears. He wasn't breathing, but he imagined the old monstrosity could hear his thumping heart beat.

"Attempting to escape again?" Father asked, his featureless tone more frightening than any anger that Selim could think of. Without thinking, he shook his head, staring up where he assumed the fake man's face to be in the dark. He wished he could see. His foot was still lodged in something, he guessed those wires that seemed to be lying all throughout the area, but he didn't dare try to remove it. He knew this wasn't going to work! Tears were starting to form at the edges of his eyes now. What was he thinking?

The next thing he felt was a huge push on his back, his pupils dilating from the shock. In the crackling red light of a transmutation, he could see… something… something sharp sticking out of his stomach. Selim couldn't even scream as the pain hit him.

No. No nonono. The word just kept repeating in his fading mind. No no no no no. Pride said Father would never kill him. He wasn't Pride. He wasn't… He wasn't going to die. He couldn't die… die… Oh god, he didn't want to die again. He didn't want to! He couldn't feel the tears streaming down from his eyes as everything faded to black.

He wasn't sure what was going on now. Selim didn't recognize the white space at first. There didn't seem to be anything there, but once he turned around he gasped in shock. It was that door or gate or whatever people called it. It was the second one thought, the one he came out of. Spinning back around on his heel, the white figure was back again. He was still smiling, the only feature Selim could see, and the child didn't know what to say, if anything. So instead, he just stood there, gaping at the being, who chuckled slightly.

"No… not yet," the Truth said, completely confusing the poor boy even more than he already was. Selim gasped as wisps of darkness shot out of the now open gate and wrapped around him, beginning to pull him back. Even in his panic, he couldn't help but notice how similar they were to Pride's own power. They were just bindings right now, but he didn't doubt that they could turn into spikes, or hands, or whatever the white figure wanted of them.

The next thing he knew, his eyes were shot open. He still couldn't see anything, and he wasn't entirely sure where he was or if he was even still alive. Feeling his stomach, there wasn't anything there. It had completely healed… Slowly, the panic started to subside, and he started to become aware of the world around him once again. There were dried streaks of tears running down his face, and the candles were still flickering lightly across the large room. He was still in Pride's body, and he was alive…

Finally, he managed to focus on Father again. The ancient homunculus was staring down at him, and Selim found himself unable to form words as he looked up at him from the floor.

"Get back on the table," Father commanded, and Selim didn't even think about disobeying. No wonder Pride was so obedient. There wasn't any wound left, but he'd still… he just killed him, without a second thought… Of course, he wasn't Pride, so it wasn't like he was actually doing it to the true owner of the container, right? Selim wasn't too sure.

"Pride?" the child asked softly, beginning to get more and more confused. Was Pride telling the truth when he said Father would never hurt him? Did his container count as him, even if someone else was in control? He was probably just doing all of this in order to get Pride back in control, so it was for him in the end. The answer he received didn't exactly reinforce any of those thoughts.

"Shut up…" the homunculus said weakly.

"B-but," Selim started again. He wasn't able to get past that though, Pride quickly cutting him off after the first word.

"Shut. Up. Shut up! I am not talking to you anymore! How dare you force Father to attack me!" Pride yelled, leaving Selim stunned silent. He hadn't forced Father to do anything. He was just a little kid, and he was powerless now. There were a million other ways he could have dealt with him besides attacking, let alone killing him. He wasn't going to try to tell Pride that though. He probably already knew, but just didn't want to accept it.

Sneaking a glance over at the humanoid beast called Father, he wondered just what he had done to deserve such undying loyalty.

And done! Once again, I'm so sarrry! (Insert whiny JackJackJack voice my brother does). I hope that this chapter was at least semi worth it. All I have to say it, poor Pride. Why does he have to be so pitiable?

Well, please review, and thank you all for being so patient with me.