Selim's eyes barely took in the sight of the rock and grass that rushed by. The train was still going awfully fast in his exhausted opinion. The confusion didn't help. His head still felt like a hurricane of memories all fighting for dominance. He couldn't seem to sort through them…and wasn't sure he wanted to.
He didn't want to think about what had just happened, and it all seemed to settle behind a numb shield, locked away for him to examine later.
At least the voice had disappeared, although he wasn't sure that was a good thing. Did that mean he'd become that voice? Did he hate or like that idea?
It hurt too much to think about, so he shook the thought from his head. He was in no condition to fight or defend himself; he'd used the shadows far too much. What a marvelous idea that had been. But then again, he'd figured he'd just use the energy from the souls he'd planned on devouring to return his strength.
He paused. Why hadn't he done that again? He could have, couldn't he? Somehow the very idea felt wrong…and right.
Again, he pushed the thought from his mind and tried to focus on jumping from the train. He was not going to stay here and just become a sitting duck for them to find. It wouldn't take them long to come back for him. As pathetic as humans were, it didn't mean they were that incompetent.
Besides, his pride wouldn't allow him to just sit around and wait for death.
He almost scoffed at that thought. His pride, huh? What a joke. A pathetic pun that didn't even deserve to be laughed at.
The train still wasn't slowing as quickly as he would have liked. He scowled. It probably hadn't been that long since he'd used one of his shadows to slice through the coupling between this car and the one the alchemists and soldiers had been in. It felt like an eternity though.
He scowled at the ground again. Perhaps it would be easier to jump from the back of the car? He doubted there had been any more railroad workers on the train than were completely necessary. Greed's former vessel may have been many things, but he, at least, had not been stupid. And as much as he hated to admit it, neither was Mustang. At least comparatively. Nor had either one of them been one to tempt fate more than necessary.
A mirthless chuckle forced its way past his lips.
Ling should have killed him when he had the chance. He'd gotten soft too. This is what a country without war did to people: made them even weaker than normal.
Forcing his eyes open (when had they fallen shut?), he tried yet again to focus on the ground in front of him. He was standing on a small ledge that was a corner of the back of a car, clinging to a hand hold on the side as he tried to prepare himself to jump.
His mind refused to focus though. If this is what humans were like, no wonder they were so weak. Useless bodies, pathetic endurance—they had to sleep every night after all! And now he was just like them. Simply fabulous.
The fact that any of them had survived at all was in and of itself a miracle. Either that or it attested to human determination.
Wait, had he just complimented the human race?
He was stalling, he realized. Jumping in normal conditions wasn't exactly the best idea. Jumping in this condition was suicide. But he didn't have time to wait until the train came to a stop.
Or did he?
Why was he in such a hurry again?
Oh, right. Mustang.
That disgusting piece of scum that—
Just then, something off to the side caught his attention. Two figures dropped from the back of the slowing train.
Selim's eyes narrowed as he tried to make them out. Was that…? Yes…yes it was. It had to be…
Surprise in his condition wasn't good either. The muscles in his hand loosened involuntarily, and he suddenly found himself slipping towards the train's wheels. Somehow he found the presence of mind to push off with his legs, and he managed to avoid landing anywhere near the giant, steel circles. It didn't mean he avoided injury.
Stars exploded before his vision as he landed painfully on his shoulder.
He was unconscious before he'd even realized he'd cried out.
xXx
The voice was gone. Of course it would be. The voice had been him after all…well, who he used to be. Who he now was again? That was what he'd planned, after all. Wait until both personalities had been on enough of a similar wavelength to merge? The Colonel's presence had been infinitely helpful, as had Mandy's little secret betrayal. At that point, Selim had felt resentful enough to identify with Pride, unknowing as it had been.
Pride had 300 years worth of memories, give or take a decade. Selim had 15. It wasn't difficult to believe that he would return to full strength. Actually, it bordered on laughable to even imagine the weak, human-like personality would stand a chance.
So why did he feel like this? Conflicted didn't even begin to describe it. He should have gone back to the way he'd been under Father: Ruthless, heartless, determined and superior. Actually, that last one should have been a given. He was a homunculus! Superiority shouldn't have been a question at all!
Yet here he was, trapped inside an empty vortex in his mind, unable to decide at all.
Humans were inferior.
But all life should be cherished.
He was powerful.
So were Alchemists, and some humans that worked hard enough and had enough inane talent for swordplay, martial arts and/or projectile weapons.
Humans were pathetic, weak and not worth his time.
What did that say about homunculi? Humans had bested him and apparently Father as well (not to mention most if not all of the other homunculi—he'd have to somehow find out what happened to them).
He could not dismiss one side or the other. Such indecision would cause hesitations and hesitations would cause weakness. Both sides of him could agree on that, but the realization didn't help him to come to any sort of conclusion.
It felt as if his very soul would tear at the seams.
Of course, that didn't matter much, as Mustang would undoubtedly find and kill him easily enough. That one wasn't as weak as the others. Perhaps that's why Pride…Selim…they hated him so much. He wouldn't give them another chance. And they couldn't seem to wake up.
Too much shadow usage. It had been a reckless move, but Pride had believed that he would replenish their philosopher's stone so it hadn't mattered. Then Selim had stopped them.
It had been stupid, but they didn't regret it. Or did they? They didn't know…and that knowledge only continued to bother them.
The worst part was that 'they' were really 'he'. He couldn't even agree with himself, but then again, how could he?
After all, humans were weak.
But they were also strong.
And nothing, it seemed, would change either opinion.
xXx
He wasn't dead. That fact registered in his brain as he slowly made his way back to reality. It also surprised him. He could tell it had been a while since he'd fallen asleep (his stomach could attest to that), but had he been lucky enough to land in a place that could hide him from the military?
He was neither naïve nor hopeful enough to really believe that.
Not anymore.
He was lying on his back, and something had been draped over him. His shoulder stung and ached in a constant throb, but he could tell the wound had been tended to. Had he been captured after all then? It was dark (a ping of both fear and annoyance zinged through him, although he would not admit outright to either) after all. He was also moving. The steady clacking of a train that had become so familiar to him recently reached his ears and sent uncomfortable jolts through his body.
It would stand to reason that he'd been captured and thrown into a holding cell of some sort as they transferred him back to Central. Interesting and a tad disappointing. He'd thought better of the fifth sacrifice.
"He awake yet?" a soft voice managed to puncture his thoughts.
His brow furrowed. That voice had been so familiar…
"Can't tell," another, deeper voice answered.
"It's been almost four days," the first voice said.
"Then he'll be mighty hungry when he wakes up."
A pause, and then, "Who would have shot him like that?"
"We've been over this before, Bon."
Selim's eyes flew open. Bonnie and Marlin?
"What?" he croaked, trying to push himself up and failing miserably.
How utterly humiliating—showing such weakness in front of humans.
"Well I guess that answers that question," Bonnie said dryly. In the darkness he could only see what looked like a box or two in front of his face. That was promising. If he could see something, it meant there had to be light somewhere. If necessary, he could use his power.
Unfortunately, his aching body was telling him that would be a very bad idea at this point.
"Hey, kid," Marlin voiced from somewhere to his right. He focused on turning his head to look at the source of the voice, and succeeded marginally. Then he found himself watching what seemed to be a large hand advancing towards him.
"Don't touch me!" he said, flinching back and hissing at the movement.
Fortunately, the hand backed off. Relaxing slightly, Selim managed to force his way past the pain and saw two dark figures above him. He could barely make out Bonnie's light hair in the darkness, let alone any features, but he knew it was them.
"Alright, kid," Marlin said placatingly. "We understand, but we need to know how you feel."
His first response was something along the lines of: "Why should I tell something as useless as you?" His second response started in on the conflict all over again. "I feel horrible. Is there anything you have for the pain?"
So he settled for something somewhere in between. "I got shot and fell off of a train. How am I supposed to feel?"
"Alright, alright," Marlin said, a little put out. "So you hurt. You up for something to eat?"
"Yes!" Oh that response had been pure Gluttony, and far too large of a blow to his pride. "I mean, yes," he amended calmly.
Marlin chuckled, and he could see Bonnie's figure visibly relax. "You got it, kid. We don't have much, but here's some bread."
"Thank you," he blurted out before he could stop himself. Ugh, he'd actually said that to such lowly beings. Then he felt bread against his lips and almost completely forgot. Almost.
Stupid Gluttony. He'd never regretted absorbing his 'brother' so much. Still, he would not be reduced to being fed by those hands, and forced himself to move. His arms responded sluggishly, but succeeded in grabbing the bread. He didn't even have the strength to sit up to eat after that, but managed to get the whole chunk down without choking.
The bread did little to truly sate his appetite as usual, but the food in his stomach felt much better none.
"There you go," Marlin said after Selim had finished inhaling the food.
"What happened?" the homunculus managed to ask.
"We were hoping you could answer that," Bonnie said shortly.
Selim paused, unsure of what to say. He couldn't tell them the truth without endangering himself, but a large part of him did not want to lie to them. It was ridiculous. A lie could easily fix this—but it could also put them in a great deal of danger, and that started the inner conflict all over again.
Finally he decided to appease the kinder side for the moment, just so he could actually do something.
"It's a little fuzzy," well, that was the truth. Two personalities merging to an extent and regaining a few centuries worth of memories could do that to a person. "Something to do with the military…lots of shooting and yelling…and danger. Something very dangerous…"
They didn't have to know that the most dangerous person on that train had been him. If they ticked him off at all, they'd find out anyway, he promised himself. The compromise appeased the harsher side of him somewhat.
"How did you find me?" He asked, changing the subject.
"We never got off like we said. Hid in the back and all," Marlin responded.
"Weren't you going to try and get into Xing?"
"We were told in no uncertain terms that if they caught us without papers again that we would regret it. We found it a tad deterring."
Cowards, Selim thought then shook the thought from his head, focusing on the other's words.
"Anyway, so we were thinking of heading down to Rush Valley or something in that area," the large man continued. "And then the train started to slow down. Someone had uncoupled the cars, which is strange because doing so while a train is moving is practically impossible without slicing directly through the coupling."
Selim didn't say anything at all, staring up to the dark ceiling of the car they were in. A baggage car again, he realized. That was why it was so dark. And rather cool too. Ah the joys of winter weather.
After a few moments of quiet, Marlin continued. "Anyway, we figured something had happened, and had just hopped off the train when we saw you fall."
"Got yourself pretty banged up," Bonnie interjected. "One shoulder dislocated, the other shot clean through. You're lucky you survived, kid."
"I'm kind of hard to kill," Selim muttered.
"Noticed," Marlin said with a smile in his voice. "Good thing too. Anyway, we did some fast first aid and debated leaving you there for your girl to come back and find, but we also figured that whatever had shot you couldn't have been good for you. So we decided to take you along with us. Figured that once you woke up you could call whoever you needed to and let them know you're alright and let them come and get you."
Selim couldn't help his scoff. "You thought it had something to do with the FFO and Falk, didn't you."
"The thought had crossed our mind," Bonnie answered with a tight voice. "But we also saw the Military before the train stopped, so that was at the top of our list."
"We figured that there was a clash between the Military and the Xingese guards and you got caught up in it, actually," Marlin supplied.
Selim sighed. "Yeah, something like that."
They sat in silence for several seconds before Marlin spoke up again.
"You're still tired," the large man said. "You get some more sleep if you can. We'll wake you up when we stop."
"Where are we heading?"
"Don't know," Marlin said with a shrug. "South somewhere. We caught the first train we came across. Traveled for two and a half days with you on my back before we crossed some tracks. Took another hour or so to reach a town. We got you to a doctor there who said you were just tired and would need rest. He said you'd need to relieve yourself when you woke up, but you'll just have to hold it to the next stop."
"You would focus on that," Bonny muttered.
Selim blinked, realizing that the man's words were true…very true. Ugh. As Pride, he'd rarely had to worry about that. Most of what his body didn't use would get converted to energy and stored in his philosopher's stone. Any true waste products were usually small enough that he rarely had to expunge such products from his body. Having to do so every day was nothing short of disgusting.
Still, he was determined to hold it and not show an ounce of discomfort in front of these two.
"Anyway, it wasn't too difficult to hop a train headed south. These towns are small enough that no one thinks anyone in them could do any wrong, so they don't check." Marlin said offhandedly.
"Why didn't you leave me at the doctor's?" Selim asked.
"We still felt like we owed you one," Marlin muttered. "Besides, we've grown a bit attached to you."
Bonnie snorted, but it sounded like she'd done so in good humor.
Selim didn't say anything, but the irony was not lost on him.
They rode for almost an hour before the train began to slow down. Marlin helped Selim to the door and held him as they jumped down. The plan was to buy tickets in town and head legally the rest of the way to Rush Valley or whatever their destination happened to be. Now that they weren't carrying an unconscious passenger, they would be far less memorable.
It wasn't too difficult to get into the station and thankfully to a bathroom. It was late, though, and no one was at the ticket window. Bonnie and Marlin argued for a few minutes as to whether they should stay there and wait or just hop the train again.
Selim was just thinking that all small train stations looked the same when exhaustion overtook him again.
xXx
It took him far too long to really wake up the next morning. It seemed his body was still recovering, but the bullet wound was healing nicely according to Bonnie (who apparently had some skill in that area). It still hurt immensely. Sleeping on the station bench again hadn't helped there either. No wonder humans avoided such trivial wounds. Selim was half tempted to just kill everyone right then and there, replenish his stone and have the wound healed in minutes. Then that stupid corner of his mind recoiled at the thought and outright refused to allow him to do so.
He grit his teeth as Bonnie wrapped the bandages tightly, half in annoyance at himself and half from the pain. They would put his left arm in a sling so the wound wouldn't become more agitated than it already had been. Apparently, he was also to try and refrain from using his other arm for fear of popping it out of place again. It ached in its own right, so he didn't argue
Thankfully Bonnie also carried some pain medication that helped a good deal. Perhaps humans weren't so completely useless after all.
He'd just swallowed the large pills when Marlin came back to the waiting room, swearing loudly.
"What is it?" Bonnie asked.
"We should have hitched a ride on the train last night," Marlin grumbled. "It'll be three days before another train comes south.
"I could have told you that," Selim muttered.
"You could have," Bonnie said as she tore the bandage and tied it off, "if you hadn't been the one to fall asleep last night. You were the reason we stayed, you know."
"A simple solution would have been to just carry me aboard," Selim pointed out with a frown. The last thing he wanted was to have these pathetic beings blame him for everything.
Marlin cut in. "You needed the sleep. And frankly, so did we," he shot Bonnie a pointed look. The Ishbalan raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. "What's worse, though," Marlin continued, "is that there doesn't even seem to be an inn in this place. It's a farming town that doesn't have much use for outsiders."
"Fabulous. So what do we do?" Bonnie asked.
The older man sighed. "We find a nice farmer to put us up and help them out in payment for a few days. It's either that, we stay here at the station, or we start walking, but the next town is a good day's journey in either direction."
Selim rolled his eyes. Seriously, what had he been reduced to? Humiliating didn't begin to describe it.
Marlin, however, wasn't finished. "The good news is that we can put Selim on a train back up to East City when the train makes a return trip today. We just have to call your mother and let her know you're coming home. We can even take the train to the next town ourselves and see if we could get a room there."
Selim's face went neutral. "I can't do that," he said softly. "Falk, remember?" And Mustang and the whole of Amestris' army. Not that he could tell them that.
For the first time it struck him as to how bad the situation had become. He quite literally had no where to go. If he went back to central, the military would find him and undoubtedly kill him, especially if he went to see his mother. Where else could he go though? He had no friends or family that could (or would) help, and he couldn't even really leave the country. Being an Amestrian in just about any country besides Xing would be asking for trouble. The tension between countries right now was palpable and only a breath away from more outright war.
War which he actually had no wish to be apart of this time around, strangely enough.
"Well at least call her and work something out," Marlin insisted. "Let her know you're alright."
At first he opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Then he closed his mouth thoughtfully. He wanted to call her. Actually, he was surprised at how much of him wanted to. It wasn't the smart thing to do; calling his mother could easily paint a target over his head that blared brighter than electric lights. Then again, he already had a target on his back anyway. Well, they'd know he was alive, and in Amestris (and that was if they were tapping his mother's phones because he doubted she'd say anything to the government about him…at least he hoped she wouldn't), but they wouldn't know exactly where he was. Besides, Selim desperately wanted to hear her voice and confirm for himself that she was alright. The Pride part of him felt that contacting her would be appropriate, if only because not calling her would make Bonnie and Marlin suspicious.
He most definitely didn't care about her. He didn't.
Sighing, he reached delicately for his shirt and began the painstakingly slow process of putting it on again. "Very well. Where is a phone?"
"Surprisingly it seems that there are several around here," the gray haired man said. "But all of them are privately owned. We'll have to ask to use one."
"How utterly depreciating," Selim muttered as he stood. Bonnie reached out to help him with his clothing, and he flinched away.
"Don't," he warned. Then, seeing the look on her face he forced himself to smile. "I would like to do it on my own."
Bonnie shrugged. "I can respect that. I'm going to throw these bandages away and wash my hands. I'll be back soon."
By the time she returned, he'd managed to get his shirt and coat on. Thankfully Mandy had asked that they keep an eye out for their bags and coats, and all four items had been returned before they'd left Xing. He hadn't bothered to tuck in his shirt as it hurt quite a bit to bend either of his arms to do so.
"Well," he said stiffly as Bonnie returned to the group and grabbed her supplies. "Shall we?"
Marlin and Bonnie exchanged glances. "Hey kid, we were wondering if you're alright? You sound…different than before."
"I am perfectly sound," Selim lied. They didn't have to know of his inner conflict. What could such incapable beings do? "I am assuming you got a list of places where we could locate a telephone?"
Marlin stared at him long and hard for several seconds before shrugging and standing up. "Sure do. Follow me."
Selim didn't like the idea of following anyone, but also didn't want to make a scene. It would make tracking him all that much easier.
They walked out of the station and onto what had to be the only paved road in whatever backwater town they'd landed in. In the distance he could see a cluster of houses that all seemed to be fairly new. As they approached, he could see a miniature market had been set up for the locals to come and sell their wares. It probably only happened once or twice a week, given the size of the town.
"The first place is just at the end of the street here, I think," Marlin muttered as they passed through the marginally busy market. Most people were holding quiet conversations as they bartered and traded their imperfect wares, and while everyone cast curious glances their way, no one seemed particularly interested. Good.
"It's market day," Bonnie muttered. "We'll be lucky to catch anyone at home before afternoon."
"Late afternoon," Marlin agreed.
"We could simply ask these…people," Selim pointed out, quickly changing the derogatory term he'd been about to use.
Marlin must have caught the disgust in his voice. "Don't be too hard on them. They're simple people living in a simple town. You won't find any of your Central upper class here."
It took a moment for Selim to realize that Marlin thought he was referring to the people of the town instead of the human race in general. So much the better. He hated having to rely on these two, but he also knew that they were the best chance he had at living through the weekend.
Once his arm healed, he could head off on his own and not worry about or rely on anyone else. Of course that brought up the whole idea of 'where' he could go a second time. He didn't like the thought of hiding in the woods like some sort of hermit at all. Just the suggestion of running way until he healed grated on his nerves, so he simply could not fathom doing so permanently. The problem was he also knew that even twenty years ago, when he'd been at full strength, taking on the entire military would be suicide, especially with people like Mustang at its head. He may have been many things, but stupid was not one of them.
Well, at least now that he'd gotten his memories back.
In front of him, Marlin stopped before the door to one of the few houses they'd come across and knocked loudly. After several minutes of waiting, they concluded that no one was home and moved onto the next one. Bonnie suggested they find the local businesses as they'd have to have phones. Marlin replied that he had started with the businesses. The place he'd just been was supposed to be something of a smithy. Glancing back over his shoulder, Selim could indeed see a small hovel in back of the house that looked as if it could be used as a very basic blacksmith. No smoke came out of the chimney.
It struck Selim just how small (but probably spread out) this little community was. A lot of it looked new but that didn't say much. It probably had a name that no one had ever heard of and wasn't even on a map. It was the kind of settlement where everyone had a little niche, and every family had their own trade. Newcomers had to make their own place and visitors tended to be extremely rare.
Selim sighed when he realized just how long this day was going to be.
Once again he considered killing and devouring Bonnie and Marlin to replenish his stone. It wasn't like anyone would know they'd gone missing. Of course, he'd have to make sure no one was watching if he did. He had to stay hidden until he had enough power to take on Mustang and the other State Alchemists. That would take more than a couple of lives.
No, he had to bide his time. He could be patient, and even endure this small but constant pain. He would wait and see what would happen and that was all there was to it.
He completely ignored the fact that he really didn't want to kill them either and refused to admit even to himself that he was making excuses.
xXx
"Brother!" Edward Elric nearly fell off of his chair at his younger brother's exclamation. He dropped the book he'd been reading and it slammed shut, probably bending a good deal of the pages and losing his place.
Cursing under his breath (a habit he'd picked up since getting married—no one swore aloud around Winry and got away unscathed), he stood quickly, shoving his office chair back and turned to glare at the door. He could hear Al's steps as he practically ran through the house. Honestly, what kind of deal did he find this time? Admittedly he was better than just about anyone Ed knew at bartering, but his exuberance over such finds could get bothersome. Ed frowned. Al tended to be excitable, but still, he hadn't been this worked up since before he'd gotten married.
The door burst open to reveal a panting man in his mid twenties with short, blond hair and round eyes that looked entirely too innocent on a person his age.
Immediately Ed knew something was wrong.
"What is it?" he asked. Then his own eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"
Al nodded. "I just saw him with two other people leaving the market. He didn't see me. At least I don't think he did."
The older blond swore aloud this time, grateful in the back of his mind that his wife wasn't there to hear his colorful vocabulary. Actually, he was glad she wasn't in Risembool at all. As soon as they'd received the call from Mustang about Pride evading them and possibly coming for revenge, they'd sent Mai, Winry and the kids to Rush Valley.
Ed, on the other hand, refused to leave Risembool to Pride. He was determined to do something if the homunculus was indeed coming after them. If they weren't there when Pride got there, Ed doubted they'd have a home to come back to…again. He didn't want Winry to lose her late grandmother's house.
When Al had heard his reasoning, he'd insisted on staying too. He hadn't needed to point out that Ed wouldn't be able to fight Pride as effectively without his alchemy, and the older blond had been far more than grateful. He had never regretted his choice to give that up, but that didn't stop him from longing for his old ability.
"Wait, you just left him there in the market?" Ed asked sharply. "What about the town? Did he look like he was coming in this direction?"
"Not really, actually. There were two other people there and they were going from house to house. They might have been guards of some sort."
"Where would he get money to hire guards?" Ed asked incredulously. "And why would he lower himself to do so. That makes no sense. Maybe he's with them because he can't use those shadows of his?"
Al shook his head. "I don't know. All I could tell is that one of his arms is bandaged and in a sling and it looks like he didn't want to move the other either."
Ed frowned. "He's not healing? He's had days since the incompetent general lost him. He's had plenty of time to gather more energy."
Al shrugged. "I don't know, and I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, but either way he must be down to his last life again. It will make him desperate."
"And all the more dangerous," Ed nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Absently he realized he hadn't shaved that morning, but brushed the thought to the side hurriedly.
"I wish we had more backup. Where are the men General Mustang sent?" Al wondered hurriedly. "Weren't they supposed to be here yesterday?"
Ed's eyes hardened immediately. "No clue. Don't care."
Al sighed. "Edward—" he started, but Ed cut him of.
"If I had my way, we wouldn't be having anything to do with that…" he paused, glancing around as if expecting to get caught. Then he took a breath when he confirmed that he and Al were alone in the room. "Besides," he muttered, continuing the train of thought—best not to get back into the habit, after all, "if we don't at least make an attempt to catch him, I'll never hear the end of it." He could feel a vein throbbing on his forehead.
"But Ed, you're not even in the military anymore. You won't have to listen to—"
"He'll find a way," Ed grumbled. "That son of a…" he stopped out of habit again, then decided that Mustang just wasn't worth finishing the sentence. Normally Al would push in a teasing comment about how Winry had him trained well, but the younger brother seemed to be far too distracted, so Edward continued. "He'll find a way to discredit me or publicly humiliate me if I don't do anything." Reaching into his closet, he brought out a large shotgun. It wasn't much, but it could do a lot of damage and it was better than nothing.
"Brother," Al tried again tiredly.
"Fine, you wait here, but I'm not going to let anyone get hurt just because we're not there," Edward said as he pushed past his brother determinedly.
Al simply sighed and fell into step behind him, saying something that sounded suspiciously like 'I thought you'd outgrown this.' Ed didn't answer, though. He'd been waiting for this day for fifteen years. Somehow, he'd known it would come. He'd known it when he'd handed the small form of what was left of Selim Bradley to his adoptive mother. He'd known and done it anyway, and as far as he was concerned, no one else was going to pay for that decision.
One hand trailed down to his metal leg, brushing the hard surface through the material of his pants. After all, Ed was in the habit of paying for his own mistakes.
A/N: I"m planning on 20 chapters, but I hit a bit of a writer's block around chapter 16 and had to stop for a while, so I may take a short hiatus, just as a warning. If I do, it will not be more than a few weeks. I would like to get this done and get onto more fics. :)
Please review. It really helps to know what you guys think, good or bad.