The Frost Alchemist

Chapter 25: Pride

It took me a while to get back to the place we were captured. Izumi and I had gone through the entire building and it had been empty except for the alchemists we found. There had to be something, anything here that would give a clue to what was going on. Nothing made sense still. Kids who rely on the fact that alchemists generally are not good fighters without alchemy, but still could take down Izumi and her husband. Alchemists of all kinds of level disappearing, but no know attacks on State Alchemists other than me and I put myself into those situations. 

"What's going on?" I asked out loud as I walked down the hallways. 

"Levy," a voice said. I spun around and saw... Selim.

"Selim? What... How?" I asked as I took a step back. "Olivier said-"

"I got away before they could lock me up. I wanted to find you," he said. 

"F-For what reason?" I asked. I hated the hesitation in my voice. He was still Selim, I believed that but Pride's power frightened me. Selim looked hurt. 

"I wouldn't hurt you," he pleaded, "Or anyone."

"Then tell me, Selim. Tell me how you got Pride's power," I instructed. He took a deep breath.

"I got the memories. Pride's memories. They came in... nightmares. He was horrible, all those things he did. I finally understood why people treated me the way they did," he explained.

"Okay. Memories came back, could you always use that power?" I asked.

"No. God knows that the military would have killed me if my powers came out in any sort of way when I was young. When the memories came, so did the powers. But I don't use them. Getting here was the most I have ever used them. When I was trying to break through your ice was the first time I used them in a year," he explained. 

"I want to believe you, Selim, I don't want to believe you're Pride," I replied. 

"I'm not Levy and I swear to you I have nothing to do with this," he pleaded. "Please tell me you believe me."

"Until the moment you give me a reason to not trust you," I replied and he smiled. 

"Now, how are you? Where's your automail?" he asked.

"Hell if I know, but I'm doing okay. Just trying to find out who is behind this since I don't believe it's you," I replied. 

"But everyone else does," he added and I nodded. "Thank you, Levy, for believing in me."

"You've never given me a reason not to," I replied.

"Aw how sweet," a voice said. The girl was standing the doorway of a room. She couldn't be older than fifteen. "And you, little alchemist, I would love to take you out now. You've been a thorn in our side long enough, but I'm not able to. So you're both coming with me."

"The hell we are," I replied.

"And what are you going to do? You can't use alchemy properly and you can barely walk let alone fight," she said and I looked at Selim.

He shook his head. "I can't use it outside Amestris, I'll just... die."

"Come on you two, make it easy for me. Come with me and you don't have to die... yet," she commented.

"Yes, because that makes me want to do exactly what you want," I replied sarcastically. But wherever she wanted to take us could lead me to whoever was doing this. "But it's not like we have much of a choice."

"Guess not all alchemists are dumb," the girl said and I resisted trying to hit her. She wasn't wrong that I couldn't fight properly right now with or without alchemy. But that wasn't a permanent thing. So we followed her, Selim let me lean on him so I wouldn't move as slow. We left the building and kept walking, the girl complaining about our pace every once in a while, but without my automail, I couldn't move faster. It took a couple of hours but we reached a huge mansion and Selim tensed up.

"Selim?" I asked.

"We shouldn't go in there Levy," he whispered.

"We don't have a choice Selim, are you going to be okay?" I asked and he nodded. We went into the mansion and walked down into the basement. Selim's hold on me only got tighter as we went down. The girl walked ahead of us and told us to stop when we got to the middle of the room. The basement was large and dimly lit, it gave me a bad feeling. Perhaps I should have let Izumi come with me. The girl disappeared into the darkness and came back seconds later holding something in her hands. It was a flask with this black thing inside of it. 

"Father?" Selim asked and I looked from Selim to the thing.

"Hello Pride," the thing replied in a high pitched voice. No. This wasn't possible. Ed got rid of Father, Truth took care of it. It wasn't possible that he was here. It just wasn't possible.

"You look so confused, girl," Father commented.

"You're supposed to be gone. Ed did so much to make sure you were gone," I said.

"Ed? Oh yes Hoenheim's boy, he also disrupted my plans. Are you reltated to him?" Father asked.

"I'm Olivier Armstrong's daughter," I stated standing up straight and moving away from Selim.

"Don't know her," he replied. 

"So you're behind all of it? The alchemists disappearing? Where are the ones that weren't with us?" I asked.

"Being put to work, but you releasing so many of them is ruining my timing," he commented.

"Oh I'm so sorry for that," I replied sarcastically. "But I read about you. You can't exist outside that flask, not until you get a body like before. I break that glass and it's over."

"But you can't break it. You would have to get to me for that to happen," he reminded.

"You act like it will be hard. I'm a State Alchemist of Amestris, never underestimate us," I countered. Father smiled.

"And you underestimate me, child," he said. "Pride would never let you ruin our plans."

I turned my head to look at Selim. He was on my side. He was with me. He wasn't Pride. "Selim?"

He stared into my eyes before kicking me to the ground and placing his foot on my back. "That's right Father."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DON'T KILL ME *runs and hides*