Warning: When you think you are at the saddest part of the chapter, it'll get worse…

A. Leaf

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Remember Me

The confused homunculus was trying to figure out his situation. He kept scolding himself for wondering away from his older brother. His brother always warned him how dangerous that was. Whenever he was in danger, he would scream and his brother would come and kill his attacker. That did not work this time, he must have been too far away for his brother to hear him.

That is not why the homunculus laid trapped in a mattress puzzled; it is because of his captors. He was told that he would be tortured or dissected if he was abducted, but all they did was knock him unconscious a few times and feed him a slice of pie. His own family did far worse to him, but he still misses them. The homunculus felt very uncomfortable with all of the attention the captors give him. Both of them twitch whenever he looks at them. On top of all of that, the two keep calling him the wrong name. Maybe, they think he is someone else and this is a misunderstanding.

The blond homunculus considered the idea to tell his captors his real name. Would they let him or only make them mad? Of course, one of the captors noticed his internal conflict. The blond girl moved to the side of the bed and asked sweetly, "Is something wrong, Edward?"

A grudged sound escaped the homunculus. She called him the wrong name again. The girl inhaled nervously and beckoned the other guy to come closer. "It's okay. You can tell us." She reassured him.

The homunculus glanced up at their faces; they were full of hope and worry. They should let him go and try to find Edward. The homunculus breathed in to steady his voice, "My name is Pride."

Pride watched their reactions cautiously. He instantly regretted saying anything. The girl grabbed her chest as if someone had stabbed her. The guy made the same face when he first attacked him; he was enraged in seconds. Pride never felt so helpless. The blond man snatched a handful of the bed sheet and stuffed it in the homunculus's mouth. He growled loudly his next words, "I don't care what name they gave you! You're Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

Pride would do anything to escape his hard glare. All he could do was squirm in the cocoon that bonded him. The guy made another pained expression, "What can I do to make you remember?"

Pride shrank into the mattress as much as he can. The guy was hovering over him, staring holes into him. The blond man desperately wanted an answer, but Pride could not give him one. He never heard of that name before. It did not make sense to him; he wasn't made of metal.

The blond guy inhaled sharply to yell again. He lost his breathe when the blond girl pulled him into a hug. The guy breathed in and out, still watching the homunculus. The hard inhales became more rapid; he sunk his head in the girl's shoulder and let out a loud sob. The blond girl embraced him and silently led him out of the room.

Pride was stunned by his reaction. He was slightly relieved that could not speak, because there is nothing he could say to them. They wanted Edward Elric, not him. The blond man was too experienced for him and he could not defeat him in a one-on-one match. The only thing he could do was slip away from them.

The homunculus spat out the cloth in his mouth and thought over his possibilities. This is the first time that they left him alone in hours. It is near dawn and the night sky was brightening up which is bad for him. His hair could easily be spotted in the light and he cannot disguise himself, like his brother could. On the other hand, humans need to sleep. All he had to do was wait a few hours and stealthy slip away.

After an hour or two of weakening the cocoon, Pride knew he could get free. Occasionally, one of the blonds would check on him, but that have not happened for a while now. They must have fallen asleep in another room in the house; they're only human after all. A rush of relief and freedom washed over Pride as he sat up on the mattress. Now, all he has to do is leave.

Pride shifted his body to the edge of the bed, ready to get up, suddenly he froze in place. On the other side of the room sat a massive suit of armor. There were glowing red orbs in the eye sockets. At first glance, the armor looked very intimidating. The suit of armor looked up at Pride, making a metallic clicking sound as it did, and said in a childlike voice, "Brother, you're up."

Pride did not respond to the armor, because it was not there. It was his imagination again. He would see the armor occasionally when he traveled, but in this town, it appeared more frequently. The armor popped up from his seat and walked over to the bed. It seemed taller every time Pride imagined it. "Come on, Brother, breakfast should be ready by now," the armor headed to the bedroom door and evaporated before it reached the door.

The homunculus watched the armor every closely. He was not sure what to think of it by now. It is very improbable to have a suit of armor as a brother, but it obviously knew him and anything is possible. Still, following the armor got him in this situation in the first place. The armor led him to the remains of the house and to the guy that attacked him.

Pride turned to the window in the bedroom and back to the bedroom door. He could escape right now and never come back or he could follow the armor again. He knows what would happen if he escapes, he'll return to his family and be punished for wondering off. Pride shuddered at that thought then turned to the bedroom door again. The armor knows something about him; things he don't know and his family refuse to tell him.

"Brother!" He heard the armor calling for him.

Pride clutched his fists as he made his final decision. He quietly rose from the bed and quickly headed to the bedroom door. After a quick check down the hallway, he swiftly headed to the stairs and made his way to the first floor. Pride needed to do a quick sweep of the house to see if the armor appears again, then he could leave.

The homunculus was taken aback by what he saw next. The suit of armor was everywhere; one was sitting on the couch reading a book, one was sitting in the corner holding a cat, one was in wooden box with its head sticking out. There were too many to count, but they were all the same suit of armor.

Pride did not know what to do. He headed to a different room of the house with all the armors trying to get his attention when he walked past them. He found himself in the kitchen and there were a few armors in there too.

"Brother, you didn't drink your milk."

"That pie was for everyone."

"Help Winry with the dishes, Brother"

They were all talking at once. The homunculus could barely make out what they were saying. This only confused him further. This is the first time that this happened. Why are there so many at once? What made this place so special? Who's Winry?

"Shit! Edward!" an angry voice rang over all of the other voices.

Crap, the homunculus had a sinking feeling in his chest. He was a sitting duck waiting to be captured. Pride glanced around the kitchen and spotted a door. He sprinted through it and nearly fell down a staircase. He went to the basement, not outside; he's trapped now. Pride heard loud footsteps behind and he jumped from the staircase. Next thing he knew, he was hiding underneath the stairs.

Pride barely had time to feel accomplished for his fast thinking. The door swung open and a circle of light started to scan the basement. The homunculus could see the guy through the cracks of the stairs. The blond man appeared to be extremely stressed; he did not look like he got much sleep at all. He scanned every inch of the basement several times with a flashlight. If he had looked down, he would have found his target.

A glimpse of metal caught Pride's attention. He could have sworn he saw the armor once more. It was different than the others. It wasn't transparent, and the light reflected off of it. Pride realized that was it, the actual armor. Pride grew impatient waiting for the man to go away. He needed to talk to the armor.

The man finally turned off the flashlight and left the basement. Pride immediately left his hiding spot to go over to the suit of armor. It was the same one alright; it had the same symbols on the shoulders like the ghost armor and it was enormous. Pride thought something was wrong. It wasn't moving; the armor stood there like a statue.

Pride slowly reached for the armor's hand, watching for any movement. It took both of Pride's hands to grasp one of the armor's hands. Pride pulled the hand towards him; he heard a familiar clicking sound. He gently shook the armor's arm trying to get a reaction from it, nothing happened.

The homunculus slouched where he stood. He started to regret ever listening to his imagination. It was just a normal suit of armor after all. Without realizing it, Pride pulled on the arm again causing it to tip over. The armor fell on right on top of the homunculus, and the chest plate crushed Pride's ribs.

Pride struggled to move. The homunculus had to wait a few minutes for his ribs to heal before he had the strength to get the armor off of him. He was still in pain as he positioned the armor to sit on the floor. Pride noticed that the head of the armor was missing, then images of the headless armor still being able to move and talk flooded his head. He remembered that when he put the head back on, glowing red orbs formed in his eye sockets.

Pride searched for the detached metal head. He reached for it without taking a step away from the armor. Pride held it carefully in both hands and gently placed it back, nothing happened. Pride deflated again, he removed the head. This time he noticed a red circle in the back of the armor. Was that important? He glanced at the head again and placed the head back in place, still nothing happened.

A muffled sound came from behind him. Pride glanced over his shoulder to see his two blond captors watching him. They looked very distraught; they were shivering, huge tears were running down cheeks and they were holding each other up. It did not matter to the homunculus; he did not want to be in captivity anymore. The blond guy held his hands up in surrender, "If you want, I can wake the armor for you. There's…" His voice broke, "There's a trick to it."

The offer shocked Pride; that was very considerate for him. Pride looked back at the lifeless armor and to the blond man. He would be indebted to him for waking up the armor; he wanted to talk to it for months. The homunculus did not respond to the blond man, he simply stepped to the armor's side. He still had his hand on the armor's shoulder.

The man let go of the girl. She had to readjust her weight to stand by herself. He slowly walked to the homunculus and the empty armor with the homunculus observing every move he made. Suddenly, a loud clap broke the awkward silence and the guy slapped the armor, then he rushed back to embrace the blond girl. Was that it? I could have done that, the homunculus thought.

Pride started to think that he was lied to. He flinched when he saw the armor's limbs started to move. Pride sucked in air to contain his excitement and nearly skipped to front of the armor. The glowing red orbs were in place and the armor did not need help to get on its knees. It stopped to stare at the homunculus in front of it. Even on his knees, Pride was a foot shorter than the armor.

Pride lost his words; too many questions came to him at once. He decided to start with the oldest and simplest one. The homunculus asked the armor, "Am I your brother?"

A slight gasp echoed in the armor. The armor nodded and replied, "Yes, you are. I've missed you, Brother."

A blanket of emotions wrapped around Pride. He was thrilled to have finally found his armor brother, and then he became very guilty. The armor could see Pride's dismay on his face; he reached out to touch him. "I don't remember your name." Pride unexpectedly confessed. He forced a fake smile, "I'm a bad brother."

A low growl echoed in the armor. It quickly made a fist and hit the homunculus on the top of the head. Pride grabbed his head in disbelief and murmured, "Ow."

"Don't you ever say that again! You're the best big brother in the world!," the armor stared down the small homunculus.

Pride stared back at the suit of armor, puzzled. His hand still on his head. How could he say that after admitting something like that? "I am?" that is all the homunculus could say.

"Yes, you are." The armor repeated his words. "Please brother, promise you won't leave me again, please."

Pride thought that was fair. "I promise."

The armor snatched Pride's arm and pulled him into a hug. Pride wrapped his arms around the neck of the armor.

Alphonse and Winry stood on the other side of the room watching the heart wrenching scene. Alphonse ducked his head and whispered to Winry, "It's a start."

A/N: It's finally done! Oh My ***********. That was hard to write! You deserve a cookie for reading it all the way through. It was WAY longer then I first anticipated.

Thanks for all of the support. I do notice every new follower and whenever someone favors this story. I appreciate every single one of you. Tell me what you think and be honest I can take it. I'll go cry now.

A. Leaf