:Chapter 6:
Pride would, without saying anything, point and lead Al in the direction to get out. The way they crept around the hallways reminded Al of the good old days, when he and his brother would sneak into places where they thought information on the stone would be. It only turned out to be an annoying thought instead of a happy memory, but he couldn’t help it.

He looked so much like him.

The castle looked abandoned and untidy. They’re probably no maids or any workers to clean and look after it. They must have gotten scared and ran away or the homunculi could have killed them all off.

There was another unnecessary thought; Al needed to be focused about getting out of there without being seen.

That was what Pride was a little worried about, but didn’t show it much. He was aware that Envy suspected him of turning into a traitor. With Al as their prisoner, Envy knew he would end up resorting to Edward’s ways and might try to help Al. He had to be cautious and alert, Alphonse was a same way.

If Envy really was suspicious of Pride he would be watching them, he could be anything or anyone at anytime. That made it a problem.

Suddenly Al heard a clank-clank-clank, a noise he knew to well.

Sure enough there was a suit of armor that was walking heavily down the hall towards them. Al froze for a moment, the only time Al saw a hallow suit of armor move was when he was one himself. This is… impossible.

“Envy…” He heard Pride mutter. That brought Alphonse back to the situation at hand.

“I told you, you weren’t going to escape, and what about you Pride? Siding with humans? You’re too soft.” The smirk he gave the two told Al what must be on his mind. There were no second chances; no way could Pride turn back now. He was probably going to kill Al, because Envy was insane like that and was going to punish Pride later.

To put it simply, he must be thinking Adios amigos, Al and Pride…

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Envy watched his pray much like a predator would; sniffing the air to savor the sent of its next meal. That look was enough to send human-like chills down Prides spine.
…Damn…

Pride looked at the human that stood beside him. Envy would kill him, no doubt about it, but HE could stand a chance though. He could get away if he wanted to and leave the poor creature behind, he couldn’t kill HIM. Yeah, why not? It’s just a dumb human; there are a billion others like him, no one would know, not like one ever mattered.

But… this so called ‘dumb human’ is the only living creature to ever treat him like a person unlike the poor treatment he got from the other homunculi. Pride never understood why or was always trapped behind his mental blocks to think about it or defend himself. Maybe the reason for it was because he resembled the very person they all hate.

In any case Al is the only one who treats him like a real ‘Brother’. His brothers and sisters, the homunculi, could go hell for all he cared. They aren’t going to touch Alphonse.

Envy takes slow steps forward getting closer to Al. “If you move it might hurt a bit,” he transfigured his arm into a deadly spike. “So I suggest you stay still- whaa?”

Pride stood in his way, just when Envy only needed one more step to close the distance between him and the human, Pride stepped forward. Shocking both Envy and Al.

“No…” Pride muttered. Looking into Envy’s murderous eyes. Their faces were close to each other, they could feel the heat from each others breath on one anothers face.

“Oh,” Envy laughed mockingly “So you do know how to stand up for your self. But what you going to do now? Fight me? You know you can’t win.” Envy’s speech didn’t phase him. “Back down Pride! Don’t make me have to put you in your place!”

Al closed his eyes not able to watch as Envy jabbed his spike through Prides chest, Al felt his warm blood sprinkle all over his face in tiny droplets. There was no cry of pain, no wince or the sound of a body hitting the floor. Pride stood his ground; he wrapped his hands around Envy’s arm, the one with the spike that pierced his body and slowly pulled it out. A mouth full of blood now trickled down from the corners of Pride’s lips.

“My… my place… is between you… and him.” (A line sorta taken from Pirates of the Caribbean, watched it last night :) Pride muttered out, his facial expression never changed.

“Aww… how no-BLE-!” As Envy finished his sentence the Ed-like homunculi kicked Envy into the wall with in human speed. He turned quickly to Al.

“Run… hide! Before t-the others… come.” Pride ordered. Al wanted to stay to thank him but he wouldn’t let it happen, Pride shoved Al to get him moving.

Al ran down the hall, rounded the corner and leaned up against the wall. There was a mixture of loud swearing from Envy and crashes against the walls. They started there fight, that much was clear, but he couldn't watch to see what was happening or who would win.

Al heard a loud smack hit the wall to his left. Pride was flung across the hall and into the wall. Smearing a trail of blood as his body slid down to the floor from another fresh hole in the same spot as the first one. Al brought his hands to his mouth to suppress his scream. This was the second time in his life where he had to see the dead face of his brother.

He couldn’t stop the tears that slid down his face, staining his cheeks with the wet and salty liquid. Pride’s eyes looked deader then ever before, his lips were apart and blood continued to pour out his mouth. Suddenly Envy’s voice rang through his head.

“Heh! Do you remember this? Probably not but I do. This was the same way I killed you the first time.” Envy stepped into Al’s view and walked up to Pride’s motionless body. He blinked a few times, revealing the fact he was still alive. “But this time how ever… you won’t stay dead!!” The sin kicked the other injured sin just below the gaping whole in his chest. Though he knew it won’t hurt him but Envy also knew there had to be some extent to Pride’s strength.

He raised his foot back, ready to strike the sin again. “NOOOOO!” Envy heard the loud plea and the next thing he knew he was smashed into the wall by a large transmutated fist. So big his body was hidden behind it.

Al ran to Pride. “Stupid… boy. I-I told you… to run!”

“I couldn’t! I wasn’t going to! After what you do for me…” Al offered to help him up and tried putting his hands on Pride's shoulders but was shoved away. Pride sat up against the wall on his own. The hole in his flesh wasn’t healing as quick as it should. Al realised this.

“Red… stones…” Pride muttered.

“Red stones… oh, I get it! You need them to survive, right it’s all come back to me now… damn where can we get some? Can you show me where?” Pride nodded in response. “Ok here.” Al took off his coat but heisted about throwing it away. It was the only air loom he got from his brother but had to. He tossed it off to the side and got Pride on his back so he could give him a piggy back ride. Getting rid of the coat was the only way to get close to him.

“What… what are you d-doing…” Pride asked.

“Before you object let me first tell you, I’m not letting you die! Call me old fashioned but you look to much like my brother to just leave behind. It’s a habit you’re going to have to get use to.” Al stood up, holding Prides legs that were bent by his hips and Pride held on to his shoulders.

“Ok, before Envy wakes up lets move. I don’t what to be left out in the open.”

:Chapter 7 starts here:

Al did a good job walking the hallways of the homunculis castle hideaway with a low level of sound and without being caught, while still carrying Pride on his back, pointing and mumbling to Al on where to go. He was surprisingly light and Alphonse wondered if his real brother would have been the same, if he was still the same size or…

Al had to stop his thoughts, he felt the sting of his tears start the build and struggled to hold them back. He had to stop doing this to himself…always thinking of Pride as his brother when he knows he’s not. If he did cry he might lose the strength in his arms and would end up dropping Pride, making him pissed. Though he seemed too be a cool and collective character, you never know with homunculi, there moods and minds could change in a snap.

Unexpectedly Pride finds the sudden energy to jump off Al’s back and ran for a door in the hallway. Not using the doorknob, Al watched as he just pried the door off its hinges and threw it to the floor. He rushed into the room quickly and started searching. The younger boy fallowed him into the room; it was a large storage room. Pride seemed to be desperate at this point, opening boxes and cabinets. Al decided to assist him, when all of a sudden Pride found what he was looking for and just as his legs could no longer support his weight he fell to the floor.

In his hands was an old bag with what Al thought it looked like it held marbles inside but he knew better. Greedily the Ed-like sin started shoveling red stones in his mouth, almost eating the inter bag in one large hand full. Al figured that was as close to a ‘near death experience’ as immortal beings are going to get and Pride… may have actually panicked.

Pride hasn’t eaten any red stones a long time, and felt like he needed a lot to replenish what he carelessly should have been taking, and not supply his body with what he needs.

Al kneeled down beside the sin before he could finish off the rest of the bag, “hey, hey wait.” Pride stopped chewing the red rocks in his mouth. “I have a feeling we should save some of them for later… you know… just in case.” Pride looked at him and handed the bag over to Al; the few stones he ate will last him a long time and saw the point to Al’s idea. Though Pride did seem to have over reacted a little bit he gave no mind to it and continued to give Al a mood less expression instead of, say, an embarrassed one.

It was also easier for Al this way. The chat he had with Envy when he first woke up in that cold room, everything he said was lies. He did know one are two things about the stone. Maybe he did know more the he let on but his memory was just as great as Prides (Al could only remember a few things when he was a suit of armor, but everything before and after that experience he remembers) and taking a bag of stones with him would save him the task of learning how to make more.

The only thing Al was never going to forget about the disgusting truth of the philosophers stones was the main ingredient… Al gulped… human lives.

“We need to get out of here, do you know the fastest way?” Al watched Pride think, considering all the ways they could get out, without being caught and only came up with one way. Suspiciously the sin looked at the lone window in the whole room. “Well, is there?” Pride glanced back at the human. If he could evilly grin, he would have.
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All the while, Envy had finally recovered from his full blunt blow and smashed the fist made of stone and tiles into little sized pieces and scattered the debris everywhere. He stepped out of the hole in the wall he and the fist made, brushed his shoulders to rid himself of all the dust and get some of his dignity back.
“Damn, both brats are gone.” He said looking one way then the other. It was completely quite and empty.

“Hey Envy-whoa! What the hell happened here!?” Wrath asks as he strolled up to him causally.

“What the hell should be my question!! There are two prisoners that escaped and we need to find them! Go get Sloth and Lust! And wake up that lazy ass Greed.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk… you of all people let two prisoners escape?! What a-”

“Oh shut up-!!”

“WHAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa!!” They hear a loud scream that starter to fade.

“There they are.” Envy evilly grinned and ran in the direction of the scream.
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“No, what are you doing!!??” Al yelled when Pride grabbed his hand. “You’re a maniac!!!” He said when he was led to the window. “WHAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa!!!” Al screamed in terror when Pride jumped out still tightly holding on to him. Pride must have been insane, it's at least a 5 to 8 story drop.
Pride touched down flat on his feet, one of his homunculi privileges of being able to jump great heights and not break his legs on the landing. Al, along the way down, some how ended up in the sins arms, bridal style, but was quickly dropped back into a standing position. Before Al could recover from his shock he was running behind his Ed-look-a-like franticly into the bushes of a near by forest. The other’s were sure to have heard them, so they needed to move.

Safely behind the bush, Pride peeked around to see if they were fallowed. Muttering and mumbling caught his attention and turned to Alphonse. He had a weird kind of expression on his face, like he was having trouble talking and waving his finger in the air. He wanted to give the sin a piece of his mind about carelessly jumping out of windows. “Whatever!” Al said finally giving up on what to say “We’ll talk about that later, lets go!”

He stood up and started to lead them down the uneven dirt path, lucky for them there was one. The forest looked to thick to just simply walk through, like some one with an axe could only hack a path with difficulty. They must have been deep somewhere in a forest. He needed to ask Pride where to go until there surroundings started to get familiar.
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They walked down the dirt road until they came to a clearing, then walked for another hour or so till they came to a country land scape with fields and meadows. The sin didn’t understand how he was supposed to regain his memories at a place like this.
“Do you remember anything here?” Al turned and asked suddenly. No verbal answer, Pride gave him a simple shake of his head. “You will if you spend enough time here, maybe. This is where we grow up, me and my brother. A good friend of mine lives here, we’re staying at her house… oh man” Al smacked his own forehead. “She’s probably worried sick!” saying it more to himself then to Pride.

A yellow house came into view over the soft, round hills and Al couldn’t have been happier to see it. As they got closer the “Automail shop” sign could be seen in the.. darkened window. Is anybody even home? Al asked himself.

They walked inside; Al called out Winry’s and Granny Pinako’s name repeatedly. With no responses.

“No one is home…” Alphonse thought out loud. “Ok Pride…uh” the homunculus gazed around the house, somewhat fascinated about everything there was to look at. Al cleared his throat “Pride?” He finally got his a attention. “You can go into the living room and make yourself comfortable if you wish. I have to go take care of something, feel free to look around but be careful with everything, ok?” the sin nodded again. Then Al turned away and went upstairs, thinking if it’s a smart idea to leave him alone. He’ll be fine…
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Ring…Ring…Ring
“Hello!? Make it quick, we’re busy today!”

“Uhm… teacher?”

“Oh… Alphonse??”

“Ya, hi teacher-”

“YOU IDIOT!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?? WINRY CALLED ME ASKING ABOUT YOU!!! YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN INTO ANY TROUBLE, HAVE YOU!!??” She yelled so loud Al had to hold the phone at arms length to stop his ear drums from popping.

“N-no, no I haven’t been in any trouble…” Al lied “I need to ask you about… homunculi.”

“Why do you wanna know homunculi?”

“Teacher… I found out news about my brother, h-he… died…” Al mumbled out painfully.

“I was afraid of this, Al I’m… sorry.”

“Well…” Al slowly paused “There seems to be a new Homunculi…”

“…”

“…T-teacher?”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S A NEW HOMUNCULI!!! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TOO ALPHONSE ELRIC!!!”

“Gulp, I-I haven’t done anything!!! I swear, I’m not the one who tried to bring him back… my dad did…”

“Why would he-… wait are you trying to say there is a homunculi like Ed now?!”

“I’m not sure… and ya. But it’s ok, he’s here with me at Winry’s house, maybe I could try and get his memories back and-”

“No Al! I think it’s better to stay away from him!”

“I can’t, I won’t!”

“Think about what your doing!!”

“I already have… Please listen teacher… I understand about you and Wrath now, and just like him and Edwar- Pride… they both reassemble the people we love. So I can’t leave him alone. Even though he looks like my brother and he’ll never replace him, I still wanna help him…”

“Plus… I don’t what someone causing trouble while wearing the face of my brother, keeping him here is for the best, for now. I can wathc over him.”

“Al, wait-!” Al hung up the phone with a light click. That was pointless… and he didn’t get a chance to ask any of his question’s, all he really accomplished was making is sensei worried.

“Damn, I’m such a moron…”
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Pride looked around like how Al offered. The room gave him an eerie feeling after a while, though he felt something that was warm and comforting about it as well. The same as it did when he first saw it: bright, small but softening. He scanned the features of the room, trying to figure out just where he was.
It’s all… so… foreign… but familiar…

Before he could think anymore, the door creaked open…