A/N - I don't usually do notes first, but in this case I will. This story was 100% inspired by CinderNinja's story, Springtide on FFN. In the note for that story, Cinder says to feel free to write a future fic or continuation of the story. This isn't exactly either of those, but Cinder also says he/she/they would like to know different peoples takes. So, that's what this is. It's my take on the AU and I did PM Cinder, but haven't heard back. In regards to this story, since Cinder left an open invitation, allow me to do the same. Feel free to continue from what I wrote here or what not. Just remember to credit CinderNinja, etc.

Thanks! Now, please enjoy!

Chapter 1

Я сошла с ума

He slowly opened his eyes to find himself sitting up in bed. The room around him bare aside from the bed, an old wooden dresser, and the woman to his right. She was sitting on the bed next to him with a gentle smile on her face; a smile that seemed familiar, but it was only a feeling.

"Good morning, dearest," the woman said, a hand coming to his mouth. Her fingers gently pressing something sweet between his lips. He felt the smooth surface slowly dissolve. As it did, he suddenly remembered something.

He knew this woman.

She was… he had no idea what to say- he didn't know if he could even speak.

"Here, have some more," she coaxed several of those sweet items into his mouth. He obeyed and let her continue to feed him. Once she seemed to be out of whatever it was, she smiled again. "See? Not so bad? Now, do you think you can stand, Pride?"

"Pride?" Was that his name?

"Yes," she moved off the bed, "and while we're at it, why don't I show you how to dance?"

He had no idea what that was, but he carefully climbed out of bed. Pausing only when he realized he knew what a bed was. However, he didn't have time to dwell on the question as the woman drew him into her arms. Next, he was following her around the room, one step after another. Then, the steps repeated again and soon Pride caught on. His hands naturally took their place around the woman's waist and he could not help but realized the two of them were almost the same height.

"What's wrong?" she asked as he came to a sudden stop.

A child.

His mind wandered to a child- but was quickly drawn away from his thoughts as they began dancing again.

"No, wait." He came to a halt again. Something was clawing at the back of his mind- something he couldn't remember. The dance. The woman. Her brown and rose-colored hair- a wave of pain coursed through him. As his knees connected with the floor, Pride realized something else was wrong- His left knee didn't feel any pain.

"There, there," The woman gently patted the top of his head. "You will forget soon enough."

"I don't…" he didn't want to forget. He wanted to remember. Remember everything.

"The past does no one any good," she continued, "Now, I think it is time you rest. You are the newest of your kind, after all."

"My kind?" Pride wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Yes, dear. You are a homunculus, a being without a soul."

"Do I need a soul?"

"No…" the woman said after a long pause. "But there is something else I know you will want."

"What's that?"

"You will know soon enough," she guided him the bed and made him lay down again. "Now, look at me."

He did, only to have her remove something from his face- and it was then he realized his left eye was closed. The moment it opened, Pride froze. The world seemed bigger.

"There," the woman said, setting something on the table on the table. "I kept your eye so it wouldn't bother you when you first awoke."

Pride didn't hear what she said because he was too enthralled by what he was seeing. The waves of air that cascaded through the room, the ripples of sound that left the woman's mouth. The skin under her dress, the muscles that moved as she left the room, the bones in his left hand, the metal gears in his right.

He could see everything and it was overwhelming.

Pride tried to cover his eye with his hand, but he saw right through it. But after some time, he realized the only material he could not see through was his own eyelid. He carefully shut it and laid back in bed, the vision out of his right normal once again.

As he laid in bed, Pride tried to search his memories again. But another wave of pain warned him away from continuing down that road. So, instead, he decided to sleep.

When he woke up, the woman came back with with a bowl full of red stones. Another memory tried to surface, but Pride shoved it back. The woman was right. The less he knew the better, because the one memory he experienced caused nothing but pain.

"Waste not, want not," the woman muttered as she tried to get him to eat what she had brought. Pride backed away until he was plastered against the headboard. He wasn't going to eat those. People didn't eat rocks. He knew that. How, he didn't know. But people did not eat-

One slipped between his lips and it was then he realized what they were. After a second, he reached for more. Because the more he ate, the more he realized how empty he felt.

Perhaps it was the feeling of a missing soul, but somehow Pride knew these stones would fix that problem. But as he ate, unwanted thoughts began to flood his mind. Feelings, images, and he wanted to stop. But deep down, he craved more, because the more he consumed, the more he learned.

The dark tunnels. A city with no sun. A large room and a blade sinking into his chest. The agony was instantaneous, but he couldn't scream. His body was frozen. He didn't even feel his head connect with the floor and moments after, his vision went black

-he felt someone shaking him awake.

Pride groaned and looked up to see the woman still sitting next to him.

"Have some more," she said, offering him more of the red stones. "They will make the memories go away."

"No," he didn't want more. He didn't want to experience that pain again.

"Pride, I don't like when you talk back to me. Eat more."

"Or?" he didn't want to follow her orders.

"Fine," she set down the dish on the floor and reached into the ruffles of her dress. Pride watched her grab something, but whatever it was, it was… invisible. Pride froze. Why couldn't he see what she was holding? Why was his sight failing him- the woman shoved something in his mouth. Like the red stones, it was smooth, but unlike them, round and-

His tongue felt as if it was splitting down the middle as jagged crystals forced their way through the muscle. Pride tried to stop himself, but swallowed reflexively instead of spitting out what was in his mouth. The moment he did, Pride couldn't move. The sensation of the jagged crystals traveled down his throat and the pain in his stomach was immediate.

"What did you do?" he demanded of the woman who was smiling at him like she always did.

"Teaching you a lesson," she replied and Pride wanted to respond, but memories took a hold of him. He could hear himself screaming, but the past refused to let him go. He was an alchemist. A skilled fighter. A brother. An older brother.

Pride doubled over and vomited up a mass of jagged red crystals and blood. The stones no longer smooth, tore into his throat on the way out of his system. Among them, was a small metal ball the size of a pearl.

"I can bring him back to you," a voice said through the torrent of feelings, images that assaulted his mind. "If you do whatever I ask."

"Anything," Pride choked out, along with what was left in him. He knew the truth now- why he died- who he died trying to save. His younger brother. "I will do anything. Just bring him back."

A/N 2: The title of this chapter translates to Ya Soshla Uma- "I've Lost My Mind" in Russian. Read Spingtide s/9994026/1/Springtide