Mrs. Bradley, the widow of Fuhrer King Bradley, sat sipping tea in the cool air of the early afternoon, listening to the radio on the front porch of the home she used to share with Bradley.
"In national news, the military has confirmed the reports of a terrorist attack by the terrorist group, the Red Kingdom, on the southern town of Rush Valley yesterday afternoon. Although the military declined to comment on the possible motives of the Red Kingdom's unprovoked attack, eyewitnesses say that a State Alchemist was involved in the fight and personally fought to protect the lives of innocent bystanders. The Red Kingdom ultimately proved no match for the State Alchemist and retreated, leaving hundreds of thousands of Cens in property damage but no wounded. This attack comes just days after a Red Kingdom attack on the restored Ishval region where Red Kingdom chimeras attacked Ishval but were swiftly repelled by the State Military under the command of Colonel Miles, formerly stationed under the command of the late Major General Oliver Armstrong who died the same day as the attack in a Red Kingdom bombing in Central that claimed her life and the life of her driver. In other news, Fuhrer Grumman is set to travel to Ishval today in preparation for the grand opening of the Cross-Desert Railway where dignitaries from the country of Xing are scheduled to arrive on the first train to make the crossing. While many in the country view the new railway as symbolic of a new era for Amestris, some are criticizing the abnormally large military presence gathering near Ishval. We asked Brigadier General Roy Mustang earlier this morning about the military presence in Ishval and here is what he had to say…" the commentator said before cutting to a sound bite of Roy…
"Our presence in Ishval is for the safety of the people of Ishval, the Fuhrer, and the dignitaries from Xing. That is all. No further questions." Roy stated simply before Mrs. Bradley turned off the radio. She was still sipping tea when one of her guards approached.
"Mrs. Bradley, ma'am. You have visitors. A State Alchemist." The guard reported.
"A State Alchemist?" she asked curiously.
"Yes ma'am. Edward and Alphonse Elric. They're accompanied by two women, Winry Rockbell an Automail Mechanic, and Princess May Chang of Xing." The guard said as Mrs. Bradley paused, hesitation in her expressions.
"What do they want?" she asked.
"They didn't say exactly, only that they needed to talk to young Mr. Bradley." The guard reported glancing at Selim as he played in a sandbox nearby. Mrs. Bradley looked at Selim for a moment then back at the guard.
"Escort Selim back into the house and then allow them in." Mrs. Bradley instructed, the guard saluting.
"Yes ma'am." The guard replied. Outside the gates to the Bradley Mansion, Ed, Al, Winry, and May stood outside, waiting for the gates to open.
"Do you think Pride knows anything?" Al asked as Ed, helmet on his head, glared through the bars.
"I only weakened him two years ago. I highly doubt that Pride is completely gone." Ed replied.
"I don't know about this, Ed. From everything we've heard, Selim is just a little boy now. How could he still be a Homunculus?" Winry asked.
"It's our only shot. If Garand did stumble upon the secret of creating Homunculi, we need to be sure. It would explain if that's the reason the Red Kingdom is after him, to keep him quiet." Ed replied.
"May, you can usually sense whether a Homunculus is nearby. Can you sense one in there?" Al asked as May grimaced.
"Yes. I sense the same rancid chi I did down in Father's Lair two years ago. There is definitely a Homunculus inside." May said as Ed and Al both looked at the gates.
"That's good enough for me." Ed replied as the guard approached and signaled for the gates to open.
"Mrs. Bradley has permitted you entry onto the grounds, but she wants to speak with you first before allowing you to speak to young Mr. Bradley." The guard said as the gates opened.
"That's fine. We're not here to harm him. We just need to ask him some questions." Al replied as the guard escorted them inside the grounds. As they walked, Ed noticed a figure in one of the upstairs windows. As he looked at the window he immediately recognized it as Selim, looking out at them with a look of fear. The guard proceeded to escort them to where Mrs. Bradley was, sitting in a gazebo, waiting for them.
"Mrs. Bradley." Ed greeted as he removed his helmet.
"Mr. Elric. You've certainly grown since the last time I saw you." Mrs. Bradley greeted with a small friendly smile. Ed smiled slightly.
"Thank you ma'am." Ed replied.
"It's the suit. It adds a few feet." May added, earning a glare from Ed.
"HEY! SHUT UP!" Ed yelled at her but May didn't care. Mrs. Bradley laughed in amusement at the sight.
"Still a hunk of mischief as always I see. And you must be his brother Alphonse. I'd heard you had inherited your brother's title of Fullmetal. Congratulations are in order I believe." Mrs. Bradley said as she motioned for them to sit.
"Thank you ma'am but we don't have much time. We need to speak with Selim. It's rather urgent." Al said as Mrs. Bradley's smile faded away.
"Why do you need to speak with him? Has he done something?" she asked.
"No ma'am, but he might have important information that we desperately need." Al replied.
"Selim is the last of the original seven Homunculi that tried to destroy Amestris two years ago. He's also the oldest of them so he would possess the knowledge of how to create more Homunculi. We don't want to know the secret to creating them ourselves but we need to know if anyone else knew the secret outside of the Homunculi." Ed added as Mrs. Bradley let out a deep sigh.
"I honestly don't know if even Selim knows that anymore. Not once in the two years since you brought him to me, has he displayed anything other than a kind and innocent personality…that being said, he does have nightmares on a regular basis. I think a part of him does remember but for his sake, I'd rather he not drudge up those memories. I politely ask you to respect my wishes and not press the issue." Mrs. Bradley said as Ed grimaced.
"Mrs. Bradley, if he does remember, the information he possesses could mean the difference between life and death for untold amounts of people. Innocent lives are on the line. We believe the Red Kingdom knows how to create Homunculi. We've already encountered three that they've created." Al said as Mrs. Bradley blinked in alarm, visibly disturbed by the revelation.
"New Homunculi?" she asked.
"Yes. That's why we need Selim to help us identify exactly who knows how to create Homunculi. It may help us identify the Immortal Alchemist, the leader of the Red Kingdom. And if we know who he is, then we can stop him entirely." Ed said as Mrs. Bradley glanced towards the house in hesitation.
"I…I need some time to think about it. Please. Give me that time." Mrs. Bradley said as the brothers grimaced in frustration but held their tongues.
"Alright. Please let us know your decision as soon as possible. Time is not on our side right now." Al said as they rose to leave. As they did, Ed looked towards the window he had seen Selim in earlier but this time he wasn't there. The four were escorted towards the covered walkway alongside one of the manor's wings that led towards the exit when Ed suddenly stopped. They noticed Ed's having paused and turned towards him.
"Brother?" Al asked.
"Winry, May, go on and get the car ready. Al and I will be along in a second." Ed said but the girls were hesitant.
"You're not planning on running in there to see Selim despite Mrs. Bradley's instructions are you?" Winry asked.
"We don't have to." Ed said as he looked down one of the corridors to their left, spotting something lurking in the shadows. (AC: Pride – FMA:B OST 2)
"It's close." May gulped, sensing the presence of the Homunculus.
"I'm staying with you brother." Al said as he spotted Selim, peaking around the corner of the darkened hallway. Winry refused to move too in solidarity with the other three.
"You can come out, Pride! We know you're there!" Ed said into the darkness. Selim didn't react at first but finally multiple sets of eyes appeared in the shadows, all staring at them. Pride's familiar toothy mouth appeared too but not in the usual grin. Instead his smile was more akin to a frown.
"Why are you here, Edward Elric? Why can't I be left in peace?" Pride asked from the shadows, Selim refusing to emerge from around his corner.
"We're not here to harm you Pride. We need answers." Ed replied.
"We need your help if anything." Al added. Pride's expressions seemed to change slightly from sadness and fear to anger.
"Why would I help you? You've already taken away a good deal of my power, reducing me to this pathetic state. My stone is weak thanks to the two of you. Why should I help you at all?" Pride asked.
"What if we were to offer you a new stone in replacement of your old one?" Ed asked, startling the other three and even startling Pride.
"You? Offer me a stone? I know you too well, Edward Elric. You would never-…" Pride said, attempting to call Ed's bluff, before May produced the Philosopher's Stone from her hair, holding it up in its phial.
"Right here! Here's the stone! Answer our questions and it's yours!" May offered. Pride was now caught completely off guard. Selim and all of Pride's eyes gaped at the stone in surprise before closing, Pride's mouth turning into a grin. He then started laughing in clear amusement. Selim was smiling at them from around the corner, his body shaking as he laughed. He finished laughing with a sad sigh.
"Oh you poor fools. You must be desperate to offer me, Pride the Arrogant, a new Philosopher's Stone in exchange for information. If only I were the same Pride you knew years ago, I'd be more likely to take you up on that offer." Pride said, confusing the others by his refusal.
"You aren't going to answer our questions, regardless of what we offer you?!" Ed asked. Pride glared blankly at him. Suddenly a black hand lashed out and snatched the stone from May's hand, pulling it into the shadows so that Selim could hold it. Selim and each of Pride's eyes stared at the phial, his faces offering no indication of emotion from him. The other four stood ready to act depending on Pride's actions. Finally Pride scowled at the phial and threw it back towards them, the phial clinking along the ground, May quickly snatching it up and putting it back in her hair.
"Keep your precious stone. I'll cooperate." Pride replied as Selim stepped out from behind the corner, standing in the shadows of the hallway, the familiar purple tint to his eyes and dark spots on his face.
"Just like that? What's the catch?" Ed asked, not trusting Pride at all.
"Don't question my decision, Elric! I already know you can beat me again. I still have some Pride left in me to not allow myself to be killed by a mere human." Pride said, glancing away at the mention of the word 'human.'
"We've a few questions for you. We know what it takes to create a Homunculus. A body and a Philosopher's Stone. Transmute the two together and they create a Homunculus. Are we correct?" Al asked as Pride narrowed his eyes towards them.
"How did you obtain this information?! Who told you how to create Homunculi?!" Pride asked, clearly alarmed by the revelation.
"A little guesswork on our part but the idea mostly came from a former State Alchemist I think you're familiar with. Dr. Victor Garand, the Living Hand Alchemist?" Ed asked as Pride's eyes all widened for a second then narrowed angrily.
"Garand? He's the one who had the idea?" Pride asked.
"He worked for you creating those immortal drones and the Philosopher's Stones to power them didn't he? Or was it his ex-wife, Dr. Elizabeth Morser, who learned to create the Homunculi?" Ed asked.
"Morser as well? Those fools. The last I saw of them, they were trying to revive their dead daughters. A pair of twin girls but neither had the guts to risk a human transmutation. They'd heard too much about the rebounds and they knew Father needed Human Sacrifices but they didn't know what they were needed for, so they refused to perform the transmutation. They instead asked to use a Philosopher's Stone to perform the transmutation but Father was not at all willing. Their method involved making the bodies in a separate transmutation first, then using Philosopher's Stones to bring them to life in a second transmutation. Father wouldn't allow it as it would create Homunculi that were not loyal to him. That's when he ordered the two of them locked away where he could watch them." Pride explained.
"Well they must've escaped his watch, because one or both of them seem to have figured it out. We ran into three new Homunculi just recently." Ed replied, Pride's eyes widening in alarm again.
"What?! New Homunculi?!" Pride asked, his eyes narrowing in anger and his mouth turning to a snarl.
"What's the matter? I'd've thought you'd be happy to hear that." Ed said as Pride snarled at him.
"How dare they create new Homunculi! Are you sure they're Homunculi? Are you sure Garand and Morser are the ones who made them?!" Pride asked.
"They were virtually indestructible and had Ouroboros tattoos. We have evidence that Garand knows how to create them but there's no evidence that either he or Morser created them. These Homunculi serve a terrorist group known as the Red Kingdom. They're after Dr. Garand but Dr. Morser is a member of their group. It's possible that Garand and/or Morser told them about the process of creating Homunculi. We think their plan is to create additional homunculi to create an army of them." Al explained as Pride listened quietly.
"They're led by some guy known as the Immortal Alchemist. Ring any bells?" Ed asked as Pride's gaze narrowed.
"The Immortal Alchemist…no one alive has ever borne the title of the Immortal Alchemist. Father perhaps but we all know he's dead. To be Immortal would mean being either a living Philosopher's Stone or a Homunculus, but as Homunculi cannot perform alchemy, to be called an alchemist would be impossible. The names negate each other…unless…" Pride said as he pondered.
"Unless what?" Winry asked.
"Long ago, during the process of selecting the candidate to become Fuhrer King Bradley, the new Wrath, the Alchemist Doctor who created him postulated on the possibilities of creating a Homunculus capable of performing Alchemy. Father was intrigued by the idea but stated the only possible way of accomplishing this would be through a difficult human transmutation. It would require four things, a body, a Philosopher's Stone, and at least two alchemists." Pride explained.
"Why two?" Ed asked.
"Because the transmutation would require one to give up their body and transmute their soul into the vacant body with the stone inside of it while stealing the alchemical powers of the other alchemist all in one transmutation. If done correctly, it would give birth to an alchemy capable Homunculus. The problem was that the alchemists didn't know how to steal another's alchemical powers and Father was loathe to tell them for fear of their trying to create a new Homunculus that could try and overthrow him. Not even I know how to do it." Pride explained.
"So the Immortal Alchemist is someone trying to become an Alchemy capable Homunculus?" Al asked as Pride shrugged.
"How would I know? I don't know anyone who…wait, on second thought, I do know at least one alchemist that knew about the theory of an Immortal Alchemist. Dr. Morser was one of the alchemists present for the conversation when Father refused to explain how a person's alchemy can be stolen." Pride explained.
"So it's Morser…she's the Immortal Alchemist?" May asked but Ed and Al seemed unsure.
"I dunno. Garand said the Immortal Alchemist was a guy. Maybe it's someone else." Ed commented.
"What if it's someone else? What if it's another alchemist? Was there anyone else besides Doctors Marcoh, Garand, or Morser that worked in Laboratory Five?" Al asked.
"None left alive at least. The rest were all turned into Philosopher's Stones. We made sure of that." Pride replied.
"Then perhaps it's someone else entirely. But we know that Doctor Garand is fighting them. He came here to Central to warn the military of the Red Kingdom's plot!" Al suggested.
"And we at least know how a homunculus is created which means that now that we comprehend their construction…" Ed said as Al caught on to his meaning.
"They can be deconstructed! The three steps of any transmutation!" Al finished.
"If only that were so. Unfortunately, their Philosopher's Stones safeguard them against such an action. The only way to kill a Homunculus is to deplete their Philosopher's Stone." Pride corrected.
"Yeah but I bet it would take a fair chunk out of them! If they have to keep regenerating their bodies all the time then we'll eventually beat them, just like we did with all the rest of them two years ago!" Ed replied with a grin. Pride grinned at him, Selim smiling in dark satisfaction.
"Good. See to it that those imposters are destroyed. As the last of the original seven Homunculi, it disgusts me to think that there are three, maybe more, lesser Homunculi in existence. I've been quite proud of the fact that I, Pride the Arrogant, am the only Homunculus left in the world! I frankly don't want that to change." Pride said, earning a glare from the others, especially Winry.
"Oh will you stop pretending to be so arrogant!" Winry yelled, startling all of them, including Pride.
"Winry?" Ed asked. (AC: Lapis Philosophorum~Piano Solo~ FMA:B OST 2)
"You think I can't tell when someone's pretending to be strong?! I watched these two pretending to keep it together for four years! I know pretending when I see it! You're not as proud as you'd like us to believe!" Winry yelled at Pride who stood stunned in surprise. He quietly lowered his head with a sad smile on his face.
"How appropriate…how very appropriate that a human can see right through me." Pride said, further startling the others save for Winry.
"Wait, you mean she's right?!" Ed asked as Pride looked at them, looking straight at Ed.
"You killed me, Edward Elric. Two years ago, you killed Pride the Arrogant. Shattered it. You left me in such a helpless form, that I could easily have been finished off by anyone. But then you handed me over to Mrs. Bradley. From that point on, I slowly discovered that I had been bested by the species I thought beneath me. Humans…they're superior to Homunculi in every way. They're shorter lived but their lives are so much more fulfilling, capable of incredible feats but…while some are arrogant and prideful, others…they display something different. Something that you and Mrs. Bradley have shown me. You've shown me the opposite of Pride: humility. I used to think humans were beneath me and my kind, but now I have to really try hard to merely get a glimpse of them as they tower above me. You asked me why I was willing to cooperate despite the offer of the stone, and here's why. I'm…I'm thankful for what you've done for me. I feel a different sort of pride now. Instead of feeling pride as a superior species, I feel pride every time I see Mrs. Bradley smile at me. You know, Fuhrer Grumman has pondered if humans and Homunculi can coexist together. Well, I'm willing to make an effort to see to it that we can." Pride said as the four smiled at him.
"I guess this is goodbye then, huh Pride?" Ed asked, earning a surprised look from Selim.
"Huh?"
"We'll leave you be. We won't bother you again unless we have no choice." Ed said as Selim and Pride smiled.
"Thank you Edward. But may I ask one final favor? Can you make me human? It's all I want anymore. To stop being a Homunculus and to become a true human and finally be of the superior species. To cast away these memories as Pride and live fully and truly as Selim Bradley." Pride said but Ed and Al exchanged sad looks.
"I'm sorry, Selim. But we don't know how. If we ever do find out how to make you human, we'll gladly come back and make you so." Al said as Selim gave them an understanding nod.
"Thank you anyway, Alphonse Elric. Now hurry. I still don't like the sound of those inferior creatures running amok out there." Pride said before the four heard footsteps nearby. They saw Mrs. Bradley quickly approaching.
"Have any of you seen Selim?! I can't find him!" she asked before Selim suddenly rounded the corner.
"Mommy!" he exclaimed with a cheery smile, colliding into her with a hug.
"Selim! There you are! Where have you been?!" Mrs. Bradley asked with a relieved smile.
"I've been playing with my new friends! They were really nice to me. Can they come back and play some time Mommy?" Selim asked, looking towards the four with a pleading expression. The four smiled at him in response.
"Well that's up to them dear. But as far as I'm concerned, they can come back and visit any time they want." Mrs. Bradley said with a smile.
"We'd love to stay, but we've got places to be. We'll come back another time, okay?" Ed asked with a smile, Selim nodding with a smile. (End AC)
"Okay. Bye Edward, B-…" Selim said before he froze midsentence, a look of alarm on his face before it contorted into a look of anger as he looked away. The four looked at him for a moment, concerned, until May quickly sensed why he was reacting the way he did.
"Alphonse! They're here!" May exclaimed (AC: Envy Revealed – FMA:B OST 2). Suddenly they heard gunfire from nearby coupled with the occasional scream of pain and horror from the soldiers guarding the manor. Suddenly one of the guards nearby saw something and raised his gun before a black tendril flew in and snapped his rifle in half. The same tendril then whipped around before stabbing him through the chest and tossing him away. The four grimaced in frustration as they saw one of the Homunculus twins emerge from around the corner, the tendril retracting into her right arm. She then looked towards them with a smile.
"Oh it's you. And here we thought we'd have to look all over for you." The twin said as her left arm extended into a black tendril, cracking it to her left and destroying the gazebo with ease. Mrs. Bradley had her arms around Selim in an effort to protect him while Selim glared angrily at the sight of the homunculus.
"Winry, take Mrs. Bradley and Selim and run for Central HQ! Get General Mustang or General Armstrong!" Ed ordered.
"Right!" Winry said, grabbing Mrs. Bradley by the wrist, the three hurrying towards the exit only to see the other Homunculus twin emerge from a hallway in front of them, blocking the exit.
"Going somewhere?" she asked.
"Your constant escapes have been really annoying for us Fullmetal." "It's time for you to come with us." "No more running. No more hiding." "Either you surrender now and come with us…" "…or we kill everyone here…" "…starting with the pretty little blond." The twins said eyeing Winry who scowled at them.
"Don't listen to them Ed! You've got to fight them!" Winry yelled before she was grabbed by the left arm by one of the twins which proceeded to slowly crush her arm, her bones snapping loudly, causing Winry to cry out in pain and drop to her knees.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Ed roared as he put his helmet on his head and leapt at the attacking Homunculus but was intercepted by the Nina Homunculus as she pounced over the two and then pounced at Ed, slashing his armor across the chest and damaging some of the circuits, causing him to fall onto his back, the circuit damage rendering him barely able to move his arms or legs in the suit, effectively disabling him.
"Brother!" Al exclaimed, clapping his hands together but before he could perform a transmutation, he was ensnared by the neck by the other twin and yanked up into the air then slammed down hard onto the ground, stunning him.
"Alphonse!" May yelped as she pulled several Kunai from her sleeves and prepared to attack but stopped when the dazed Alphonse was raised up by the neck as a human shield.
"Ah the Xingese Princess. We've been looking for you too." The twin said, May snarling in response.
"You're here to kill me, right?" she asked angrily.
"Yes but not right away. We actually have orders to capture you too." The twin replied.
"Capture me? For what?" May asked.
"Why, for the Immortal Alchemist of course." The other twin replied as she kept Winry in her grasp. Winry tried to attack her with her wrench, the wrench sinking into her skull. The twin only gave her a bored expression as she reached up and removed the wrench from the indentation in her skull, the damage repairing itself. Winry blinked in horror at the sight before watching as the twin bent the wrench into a bow shape before it finally broke in her hand. She then tightened her grip on Winry's arm, her bones breaking even more.
"That was a mistake, girl. However, killing you would be counterproductive." The twin said over Winry's cries of pain. The other twin then looked over towards her sister.
"Sister, correct me if I'm wrong, but at last count, weren't we three shy of our quota?" the sister said as the other twin smiled at Winry, Mrs. Bradley, and Selim.
"Why yes. We are." She said.
"Oh Nina, stop playing with the short one and apprehend those three if you please." The twin said as Nina, perched atop Ed's chest, sniffed the air curiously towards the Bradleys.
"There's something funny about them. One of them smells…odd." Nina said, looking between Mrs. Bradley and Selim. Mrs. Bradley seemed scared while Selim quietly glared angrily at the three. Nina grinned at the sight of Selim's fearlessness.
"You don't seem too scared of us." She said as she crawled towards the two on all fours.
"Please, do whatever you want to me but don't harm my son!" Mrs. Bradley pleaded as Nina sniffed Selim who continued to glare at her.
"You smell…old." She commented before seeing Selim's eyes turn a shade of Homunculus purple. Suddenly the shadows beneath Nina's body burst up in a set of sharp spikes, impaling her in multiple places, alarming the three Homunculi.
"What?!" "Nina!" the twins exclaimed as Selim scowled at them, tossing the injured Nina Homunculus away.
"Silence, fools!" Selim/Pride ordered in a low tone, alarming Mrs. Bradley.
"Selim?!" she asked in alarm.
"It's alright mother. I apologize for deceiving you, but I wanted to keep my remaining strength a secret in case I needed to protect you from harm. These three fools apparently were never informed of who I am. You three stand before the last true Homunculus: Pride the Arrogant!" Selim/Pride introduced as the twins grimaced in alarm.
"We were never told you were still alive." "We thought you were killed along with Father and the rest." "This changes matters." "But you don't have to be the last Homunculus anymore." "The Red Kingdom plans on creating a new world of Homunculi!" "Join us and you can have a family again." The twins said but Pride scowled at them for a moment then burst out laughing.
"Me? Join you?!" he laughed, earning surprised looks from the two homunculi.
"You pathetic, insignificant, fools are nothing more than pale imitations of true homunculi!" Pride declared as the twins and the recovering Nina all glared at him in surprise.
"You would rather defend the humans…" "…than to join your fellow Homunculi?" "Why?" The twins asked as Pride scowled at them.
"Because humanity has proven itself the superior species. They are capable of so much more than we Homunculi can accomplish. Their lives are shorter than ours but are by far the most fulfilling. Therefore I choose to protect them, to repay a debt I owe to the Elric brothers, specifically Edward Elric." Pride said, glancing at Edward who was still pinned to the ground. Edward looked at Pride from upside-down, a look of surprise on his face. Pride was still glancing at Edward when a number of black spikes burst up from the shadows around him in time to catch one of the sister's whip-like hands as it lashed towards him but the spikes kept the arm immobile. Pride glanced disdainfully towards them in response.
"So you choose humanity over your fellow Homunculi." "Then it seems we have no choice…" "…but to destroy you along with their pathetic race." The Twins said as Nina got onto all fours, growling at Selim. Pride was outnumbered and he knew it. However none of them noticed May reaching into her hair.
"Pride! Remember that thing we offered you?!" May asked but before she could move she was grabbed by the throat by the sister that was previously holding Winry captive, having tossed Winry to one side.
"What are you hiding, Princess?" the Twin asked. Pride immediately spun and launched a burst of spikes flying out in all directions, the spikes then converging towards the twin, impaling her multiple times. (End AC)
"You will not have it." Pride hissed before suddenly letting out a pained grunt of agony.
"SELIM!" He heard Mrs. Bradley cry out in horror. He looked down to see a humanoid hand pierced through his chest from behind. Pride's eyes were widened in surprise. (AC: Resembool's Lullaby – FMA:B OST 3). Selim slumped forward, the spikes and shadows around him fading away, his eyes wide open in surprise. The Sister then flicked him away, his body tumbling along the pavement near the mansion's front doors.
"An old relic from a bygone era." The twin said as Mrs. Bradley broke down in tears, attempting to rush to Selim's side but blocked by the Nina Homunculus.
"Pride!" Ed yelled in alarm at the sight of the defeated Homunculus but the hole in his body wasn't repairing itself. The twin holding May then reached into her hair and pulled out the small phial holding the Philosopher's Stone. The sight of the stone made the twin recoil in surprise.
"A stone? You carry a stone?" the twin asked. May attempted to turn and fight her but stopped when she saw Alphonse being pinned down by Nina, her claws close to his face.
"You alone versus three Homunculi? I think you would only succeed at getting your friends killed." The twin near the gazeebo ruins said as she approached, several chimeras emerging from the bushes, leading at least three of the mansion's staff into the courtyard.
"This time you come with us. Signal the truck. We're taking them to the Immortal Alchemist now." The twin near Winry and May said as Ed looked towards Al, the brothers exchanging defeated expressions as one of the twins effortlessly picked Ed up.
"His disabled armor will make an adequate means of keeping him submissive." One of the twins said as a military truck, obviously stolen, rolled up to the mansion. As Ed, Al, Winry, May, Mrs. Bradley and her staff were lined up near the truck, men in military uniforms but wearing Red Kingdom armbands approached and gagged each of them as well as binding their wrists. As the foursome were loaded aboard the truck, they saw at least four other people, all civilians, similarly bound and gagged. Two of them, however, Ed, Al, and Winry recognized: Elicia and Gracia Hughes.
As the truck drove away, May suddenly realized that something was missing, or rather, someone. Xiao Mei was missing. As the truck drove away, Xiao Mei poked his head out of the bushes near the mansion, watching in distress as May disappeared. He then heard a strange fizzling sound and followed the sound towards the entrance to the mansion. What he saw made him quake in fear as he watched the hole in Selim's body slowly repairing itself, the stunned expression on Selim's face suddenly narrowing into an angry scowl.
End Chapter 15