Turning Tides

Turning Tides: Chapter 6

This chapter's a bit shorter than usual, and that's just because I had to split 5 and 6 into, well, 5 and 6 since I normally aim for 3k but then it was 5k, and uh, yeah. Anyways. Happy holidays.

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Sometimes the universe liked to just give a big "Fuck you in particular" to a select group of people.

Unfortunately, Kimblee happened to be one of them. And even more unfortunate, it seemed as if the rest of the group fell into this category as well.

The light had reappeared sooner than they had hoped in the form of flames from a broken lantern. The end result was a nearly fatal wound from Pride to Heinkel. Of course, as soon as a spark of light has been seen, Kimblee had left the three Xingese— Greed's vessel was in full control— to deal with Gluttony, who had been tagging along with Pride.

Pride had never met Kimblee before. He knew he was in an existence, but he didn't know him. He probably knew stories of his... success in Ishval, but he had never seen him. Never fought him or seen him fight.

And he used that to his advantage, drawing forth the madness that such close contact to anguished souls caused in him. Pride had never seen Kimblee fight before, and seeing a slightly startled look on the Homunculus masquerading as a child's face brought delight to his soul. He had arrived with his hands sparking, eyes wide and feral, disrupting Pride's attacks with his own before falling back when Edward arrived.

And with Flash-bangs from the elderly Xingese man— Fu was his name, from what he gathered, and the other's was Lan Fan.

Pride couldn't function in pure darkness, nor pure light with no shadow it seemed, as they all regrouped— the two Xingese citizens, their Prince, and Edward. Heinkel stood a bit behind Kimblee, leaning against Fu and no longer bleeding as much, but certainly in no shape to fight while the two Homunculi were stood opposite of them— Gluttony crying about how Lan Fan and Ling were able to easily combat him in the dark.

"Gluttony," Kimblee heard Pride start, still staring them down. "How many times have you died?"

Gluttony seemed confused but answered anyway. "A lot? I lost count," he admitted.

Pride hummed. "They've beaten me up pretty badly as well... at this rate, we'll be eradicated."

Kimblee narrowed his eyes, shifting his weight as Heinkel growled lowly. Something was up. Pride wouldn't be this calm if he was certain of the fact that they would be defeated.

Gluttony looked uneasy suddenly, backing away from Pride. Pride just smiled a chilling smile, shadows extending.

"No," Gluttony whimpered. "No, Pride!"

Pride showed no mercy, one of his larger shadows shooting forwards and grabbing the other Homunculus around the middle and lifting him high into the air. Kimblee's jaw set as he cried out, begging for his brother not to kill him, but it was all in vain as the jaws clamped down and tore him in two. The upper half of the Homunculus' body dissolved, while the lower half was snapped up by the many shadows, devouring the Philosopher's Stone inside of him.

Pride only looked satisfied as the rest of them watched in various states of frozen horror and disgust.

"He devoured him," Ling hissed from next to Kimblee. "One of his own kind!"

His hands were clenched and he was barely holding in his rage as Pride sighed in relief, shadows rearing and back to full power.

Kimblee's eyes slid from Pride's main body to them. Something was different. His eyes narrowed a bit. The teeth had changed, they had been flat and square-shaped before— like an herbivore's, but obviously not at all similar in anything aside from shape. But now?