Chapter Text
All bloodied and bruised Edward stood before Truth again in that infinite void that haunted his nightmares.
“Come for your brother, eh?” As always, Truth just sat there in front of his gate. “But how do you Plan to extract an entire human being? How will you pay? Will you offer me your entire being?” All those questions he had turned and twisted over and over in his head countless times on their journey, now he finally had the answer.
“I’ve got your payment right here.” Ed smiled. “It’s really big, though.” It was the perfect option, his gate of truth for his little brother. What was alchemy compared to a life anyways?
“The gate of truth lies within every human being. Thus, it is also the potential of those human beings to use alchemy. Will you sacrifice the power to use alchemy and simply become an ordinary human?” Talking to Truth had always felt like taking a test he hadn’t studied for, but this time he had the answers.
“I’ve always been an ordinary human. A little man who couldn’t even save one poor girl they turned into a chimera. Someone who caught a glimpse of the ‘Truth’ and started over-relying on its gift only to fail again and again. It’s all been one long dance.“ Finally he smiled.
“Are you sure you’re alright with losing this?”
“I don’t need alchemy as long as I’ve got my friends.” He had no doubt on his responses for the first time and it felt good. All this time the answer had been right before him.
“That’s the right answer, Alchemist.” For the first time since he met them, the Truth had a nice smile on their bare face. “But it won’t be enough. “
Ed stopped mid-clap. What did they mean with that? They had just said he had the right answer. There could be no other way to get Alphonse back without sacrificing one or more human beings. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he turned around to face the Truth.
“You see, you are the only one who has answered me correctly. So, I will make you an offer, get your leg, your brother and keep your alchemy all for a small favor. What do you say? Equivalent exchange is what you call this or not? A favor for a favor.” They had their head propped on one hand while the arm rested on their leg. Back was their usual sadistic smile.
“What type of favor?” dread settled into him. This was not taking the turn he had hoped for. Then again, when did it ever happen with Truth?
“The homunculus is not the only one reaching for things they should not. Contrary to here, they have no one stopping them. This is where you come in Alchemist, you already fought one person who tried to fool me. What would be another?” The god had spread their arms in an inviting gesture towards him.
“That sounds like an awful lot at risk for you to gamble with it and throw me in there, if that person is just a bit like Father.“ They had just beaten a madman trying to play God, he had seen Al’s body, he was bound to have a long recovery period when he got him back. If they had to fight some crazy maniac at the same time it would be calling for suicide. Bad enough this seemed to be their only option if he wanted his brother back. And damn if he wouldn’t already do everything to get Al back. Fuck Truth and their impossible punishments.
“Why don’t you talk it up with your brother first, it’s the both of you I need for this favor.” The room shifted in a strange manner Ed had almost grown used to, not a moment later Al sat beside him in his original body. His younger brother was just as he had expected in a miserable condition. Even though he had the means to bring him home theoretically it still broke his heart to see him like that. It was a painful reminder to what his stupid idea had made of them. But his brother had to be just as stupid as him in the end with that stunt he pulled.
“You’re nuts, you know that?” Al smiled at the words of his brother.
“Now I’m going to make you the same offer as your brother, you do me a favor and your body will be restored back to full health by the time of your return home.“ Truth addressed Alphonse while he stood up with Ed's help.
“It’s nothing you can’t handle and you would return to this exact moment no matter how much time it takes you two to accomplish what I need.” Strangely enough the god sounded mildly interested in their answer but in no malevolent way. Still their smiles would always be unsettling, even more so when discussing the matter of life.
“He won’t let me get you back home if we don’t go on this fucking suicide mission” Ed scowled hard. No matter if they had his life in their hands, he was pissed.
“Is this really our only chance?” Alphonse knew his brother; Ed wouldn’t come here without a solid plan. So, what had failed?
“Afraid so, this is your only way home.” The God turned slightly to the older brother. “Did you really think all your knowledge was enough to bring back another human soul, not to mention one who has just as much if not more knowledge as you?” Ed froze. “Foolish alchemist, but lucky for you, this was still the right call. In another time it might have been enough to give you the benefit of the doubt.” Truth’s grin stretched even wider. “Have you decided yet?”
Al shook his head while Ed resulted in staring holes into Truth in hopes he would spontaneously combust. “Although I wonder,” Al paused. ”What makes this situation so special that you want to intervene?” This was such a surreal situation, here they stood before the being that claimed to be God and instead of getting punished by them like the other times, they were offered an opportunity to get out of this with cleaned hands. It really made Al wonder how desperate the Truth really was. It had never referred to punishing them before, so why now? Just because his brother answered a riddle?
Truth's smile grew as they laughed. “It's simple, this human you have to stop, they seek to bypass death completely. They want complete immortality without paying the right prize. At other times I would just let them come to me and would have punished them accordingly but this time I fear that they might succeed. I can’t let that happen. But my forces are limited so I need you to give them a little nudge in my direction. In return I would make your wishes come true. What do you say?“ The god opened their arms in an opening gesture.
The brothers shared a look. Somehow this sounded like a big headache coming but was there any other way? This was essentially the one opportunity they had wished for all the time. Ed shook his head in frustration. After everything they did, they’ve been through now it was essentially worthless Infront of Truth. All they’re research meant nothing in the end. Years of their lives wasted. Al saw how his brother grimaced even more. He could imagine what was going on in his head. So, he did what every reasonable brother would do in this situation. He gathered all the little strength he had and hit Ed square over the head.
“Hey, what’s that for!” Ed looked at his brother more surprised than upset.
“You’re being stupid again. I know that look, you had the same one when we found out about the philosopher’s stone. Are you thinking something along the lines of wasted research or not? Well, you are wrong! We may have never found a way to return to our bodies but we saved so many people on our journey. Everything we did led us here, and let’s be real there is no such thing as wasted knowledge brother!” Al might as well have shaken Ed by the shoulders, it would’ve had the same effect. The elder brother cracked a smile.
“What would I do without you Al? You’re right.” He looked up again. “If this is really our only chance then we would be stupid not to take it, but what do we have to do anyways?” still he couldn’t wipe off the frown completely from his face.
“Wouldn’t you want to know?” behind Truth appeared a completely new gate, vastly bigger than any the brothers had seen before. Engraved on it were symbols and sigils that were different from the one they were used to. It felt as though they should know the meaning but the symbols were just slightly off, so that they had no idea about the actual meaning. What caught their eyes the most was the bold threetangle in the center of the gate. From top to bottom it had a line going through and all three sides met the circle in its middle.
“This gate leads to a world different from yours.” Al gasped while Ed felt like the time just stopped for a moment.
“Instead of alchemy they have a power they refer to as ‘Magic’. This power works on different rules than alchemy, for example it doesn’t rely on equivalent exchange.”
“That’s complete bullshit! How is that supposed to work?! Nothing can be obtained before giving something first.” Absolut disbelief flashed over the brothers' faces. Their entire world view had just been thrown out the window.
“As I said, their world follows different rules. Instead of a ‘gate of truth’ they draw their power from around their world constantly. With the help of a ‘Wand’ they can conduct their magic and draw energy through themselves from the world. The older the wizard the more power he has. When the wizard dies all his accumulated energy will be released to the world again.” Truth paused. Al nodded in understanding. Ed still had a hard time comprehending.
“Now you understand why I can’t allow one person to live forever, it would disturb the natural order of things. All the ones who tried before them died off eventually but this one is about to raise an empire. He might succeed in escaping me if no one stops him.” At that Truth actually seemed concerned.
“So, you send us in to kill a funking immortal or what?” again Edward shook his head. This was making him dizzy.
“More or less, yes. You have to stop him, make him mortal. If he dies of natural causes or because you killed him is pretty irrelevant. The important thing is that he ends up here eventually. “ Truth grinned.
For the first time They stood up and walked towards the Gate. “In this other World I have a different role than here, a different name even. As I take the magic from the dead and return it to the world, the people of their world have come to call me death. If you want to return to your world, you’ll have to become the masters of death, it is the only way in this other world to access me.” They turned back towards the alchemists, their back to the gigantic gate. “I will give you a slight advantage in this world.” With these words the brothers suddenly found themselves directly in front of Truth and the other gate. They exchanged a glance
“But as you know everything comes with a price.” These were the last words they heard before the opening doors enveloped them in bling light and pulled them to the other side.
They fell.
The first thing he noticed were the cold stones underneath his skin, still wet from the previous rain. Next was the smell, something not entirely different but unfamiliar to him. This was definitely someplace outdoors but at the same time he could smell smoke although only faint. Maybe a village or town wasn’t far. Suddenly he heard a Tweeting from above. A Bird! That was when it hit him.
He had his body back.
Alphonse sat up blinking his eyes open. The excitement was too great to let the cold really brother him or the lack of clothes. As his eyes adjusted, he realized why his surroundings had been so strange to him. He was in a pine forest. Al had only been in one forest before he lost his body, the forest on the island teacher taught them. That felt like ages ago now that he thought about it. Laughter bubbled out of him more and more as he looked around. He was surrounded by giant trees. How old are these? He had no way to tell from his position.
He could feel the earthy ground beneath his hands, instantly he carved them into the dirt. After so long it felt amazing just to feel again. All these different sensations around him. The forest floor consisted of dirt, levees, little pebbles and an occasional insect that fled over his fingers. As he looked down to observe the ants he felt, his overgrown hair fell into his face. Alphonse laughed. Out of all places where truth could have dropped them, they choose a forest. A truly beautiful forest. Oh right, them . Where was Edward?
Then a grumpy groan reached his ears. Somewhere to his left his brother came as well.
“Where the Hell did the bastard drop us?” Ed rubbed his eyes and shook the last effects of unconsciousness away. Then he saw Al. His brother was playing in the dirt like a little child, butt naked and to top it all off in a cold ass forest in the middle of nowhere. But most importantly;
He had his body back! A slightly banged up body, still better than a soul-bound armor.
„Al, we did it, you’ve got your body back!“ he grinned widely. He couldn’t believe it. After all their travels they did it. He was able to fulfill his promise. Both brothers beamed at each other.
An involuntary shiver ran through Al. The cold was catching up to him after sitting on the ground for too long.
“We better get you something to wear Al or else you’re going to experience a cold in this new body of yours.” Ed chuckled. “They said this world is magic, I wonder...” He clapped his hands and slapped them onto the next best tree. Without disappointment the familiar feeling of a transmutation went through him. Not a moment later the wood had transmuted itself into a red coat. Smiling, he handed it to his shivering brother.
“This must be the advantage they told us about Al, we can keep our alchemy.”
Al shook his head. “Yes, but why do you have to force your terrible fashion sense on me?” he grinned while trying to put on his brother’s coat.
“It's not terrible! You just don’t have any idea of true style!” Ed pushed him lightly with his right arm. The light caught on it made him somber up really quick.
“Now I see what they meant, everything has a price.“ Als eyes were glued to the masterpiece that was Winry's automail, fully restored as if she had just repaired it. The consequences of their quest were now clearer than ever.
Find the immortal wannabe and kill him until he is dead. Oh, and become the masters of death.
Edward pulled up his pant leg. Underneath was gleaming metal. He was still half metal. At least this time truth had the decency to not let him bleed out somewhere if they were already fulfilling their request.
“We should go looking for some kind of civilization. We better get some kind of meal for you.” The older Elric stood up. With the way Als condition was at the moment he would have to carry him most of the way. More so because they had no idea for how long they had to wander.
“Can you smell the smoke brother? I think we're already near a village.“ Al had to lean onto the tree behind him so he could stand up. It would take time for him to get used to being weak.
“Come here I’ll carry you.” Ed turned his back to his brother so he could give him a piggyback ride. “Tell me where this smoke of yours is coming from.”
Al let himself get carried by his brother while directing into the direction where he could smell it the best. His senses were heightened tenfold after being neglected for so long. Not long after, Edward could smell the smoke as well and soon they found themselves In Front of a particularly large tree. The smell emanated the strongest from it. From the left a trail led to it as well but it just passed it by and continued into a different direction.
“Do you think wizards hide their city’s?” Al asked.
“Don’t be stupid Al! that would be impossible and even if, why would they?“ Ed shook his head.
“Then why do you think this tree smells like smoke?” Al challenged.
“I don’t know, maybe these wizards have a strange sense of style and like trees that smell like smoke!” Ed threw his hands up.
“Or they have a way of making things invisible or they have a way to bypass time and space completely, like a portal that teleports you somewhere.” He was mostly joking while he said these incredible theories. Just to play with his brother a little. But the other half of him was thinking about what truth told them, wizards could do their magic without equivalent exchange. He couldn’t really imagen what people could create without consequences. No wonder there was someone who thought himself to be God. Al chuckled.
Edward looked horrified onto the wood like it had personally offended him. To be fair as a man of science and some kind of magic wood it probably had. Then an idea struck him.
“Oh yeah? Then how about we test that theory then?” he looked around him, until he found a decently sized rock. Without further ado he chucked the rock onto the tree. But instead of bouncing off it flew through. The brothers exchanged one look, then Ed scrambled to the other side. There was no rock. Both looked back.
“Okay maybe they can bypass time and space. Either that or I lost more blood in that fight against Father than I thought.” Edward shook his head in disbelief. Slowly he rounded the tree again, this time he kept his hand on the wood so he wouldn’t miss the entrance. Instead of his hand dipping into nothingness it just continued on the wood.
“it’s official I’m completely confused.” Al tapped on the wood as well.
“What are we doing that is different from the rock?” He mumbled.
“Speed!” Edward punched the tree.
“NO!” Alphonse screamed at the same time as his brother’s fist passed through just like the rock before. Ed retrieved his arm from the tree. He stepped back with Al still on his back.
“Ed, I don’t know how you do it but somehow you manage to solve everything by punching it.” Al slapped his brother lightly.
“You know, if that worked, we should test it again.” Edward stepped further back.
“I agree but shouldn’t we be closer to the tree so you can punch it again?” the younger Elric asked sarcastically.
“Nop.” The only warning he got before Edward ran full speed into the tree. They passed through like it was nothing. On the other side they found themselves in a street with half-timbered houses that looked like they were built by someone drunk. The houses curved in impossible angles. There were shops with the most ridiculous names like Ellerby & Spudmore Flugbesen (Ellerby & Spudmore Broomsticks), Bücherwurm Buchecke (Bookworm book nook) and Zaubertränke für unvorhersehbare Ereignisse (Potions for unpredictable events). They could see a marked place in the distance with various stalls. Ed would have sworn he saw some kind of bird-horse lurking behind one of them. The streets were filled with people whose clothes already screamed wizard. With their long cloaks and pointy hats, they looked like they jumped out of a children’s book. Someone flew by them on a broomstick shouting something along the lines of ‘Newspaper with the freshest news’.
“What the fuck.”
“Alphonse!”