It had been a normal day. As normal as normal could be for the Elric brothers. Still, it was generally a quiet day for the two; at least, until some crazy-ass alchemist bent on revenge on the military started fighting Ed and Al. How the hell did they get into the middle of this? They were just walking home from the library, one of Ed's favorite places to research and unwind.

"Al, duck!"

Al narrowly dodges the alchemist's attack, his weapon of choice being a water 'snake', a controlled entity of water used to attack and drown.

"Ed, look ou-" Ed's hearing is cut off as the water snake slams him, enveloping him in water, leaving him unable to breathe. "BROTHER!"

With quick thinking, Al uses alchemy to create a giant sponge in the path of the snake, catching Ed and leaving him once again able to breathe.

Ed catches his breath long enough to watch the rampant alchemist re-form the snake, sending it straight for Al. With his oxygen-deprived brain, Ed doesn't realize just what's going on in front of him. He watches as the snake slams into Al, the scrambling suit of armor dragged into the writhing torrent of water. "Al..?"

Al soon stops fighting, and the alchemist has the snake release him. Ed, still watching in confusion, sees the armor shell slam to the ground, helmet bouncing off from the impact. Awareness sets in, and with it, a slowly-growing horror. Ed scrambles over to Al, looking right inside, calling Al's name weakly.

The seal is gone.

Ed doesn't even remember what happened. All he can remember is seeing his brother dead, feeling himself snap, and finding himself standing over the attacking alchemist's dead body, his automail arm shaking as it hovers above the man, its blade slick with blood. He stares at the man, knowing internally that he'd killed him; but he doesn't really care. He stands without even willing it, walking over to Al's lifeless shell, leaning down to redraw the seal. He is not going to lose Al, not again.

Mustang arrives at the scene finally, having been tracking the ruckus. He runs forward with Hawkeye at his side, gasping at the sight that welcomes him. He spots the murdered alchemist, a trail of blood leading from him to Ed, stained haphazardly in red; where Ed is finishing re-drawing Al's seal. Ed claps his hands and places them to Al's chest, not even twitching when Roy calls out his name.

Ed finds himself at the looming doors of the gate, still coated in blood and still shaking. He looks over to see Truth sitting not far, grinning his odd grin, expression unreadable. Ed's own face reveals the moderate loss of sanity at losing his brother. He is silent; it's Truth that speaks first.

"You're here again, little alchemist. Did you lose something?"

"You know why I'm here," Ed hisses, walking toward Truth. "I'm here for Al."

"You have to be careful.. you keep losing your brother. If you do it again, it just might be for good!"

Ed narrows his eyes, looking at Truth intently. "..You'll give him back, then?"

"Of course I will! I love the story of the Elric brothers. Only.."

Ed sighs, a twisted grin appearing on his face. "Payment. There's always payment with you."

"Exactly~!" Truth crows, standing and meeting Ed's height. "I'll be incredibly generous, though. I'll take the payment.. slowly. Yes, slowly. At the end of a year, the payment will be complete."

"What is it you're taking from me?" Ed asks, but just receives a laugh in reply.

"I think I'll let you discover that by yourself. Just remember one thing! Though your arm and leg can be returned to you, this payment cannot. Find that little red stone of yours or not, this payment is mine to keep no matter what. Now, you're sure you want to continue?"

Ed clenches his fists tightly, glaring at Truth. "Of course I'm going to. I'd pay anything to keep Al."

"As you wish!" Truth's cackle is all Ed hears as he finds himself laying on the ground, shivering from the cold and wet of the blood and water he's laying in. Though still traumatized to a degree-especially now, with the confusing blur that's going on around him-he doesn't fight when someone pulls him to dry ground and wraps their arms around him. All he can think about is Al, and from the way that he's being comforted and.. reassured? He can make out some words now.. Al must be fine, as the voices are trying to get Ed to open up.

"Brother? Brother, are you okay?" It's this voice that snaps Ed back to reality, nervous golden eyes looking up to meet the familiar red ones from the armor.

"Al.. I got you back," Ed says weakly, reaching up from under the blanket he hadn't known was draped over him. "I got you back; I'd never lose you, no matter what."

Al looks down at his brother's trembling, blood-soaked form; at the slightly delirious smile on his face, and the still-visible blade of Ed's automail arm. He had seen the alchemist's body before checking on Ed; he could tell that Ed had outright murdered him. This had scared Al; and now, the look on Ed's face.. well, he knew that Ed had lost it. And all because of himself, his little brother. He knew Ed was protective.. but to this point? And not just that.. but Ed had done something else unthinkable. He had ignored the risks and done human transmutation again, to get Al's soul a second time. But at what cost?

"Watch over him," Roy orders to Riza, who had walked to Roy to check on him; he had been staring at Ed carefully, worriedly. "He just went after his brother a second time. Watch over him until this is over; then bring him to me."

The rest of the day was mostly a blur. Ed had been ushered to the dorm room he shared with Al, where he cleaned himself up and re-clothed himself, unaware that Al had been watching him carefully.

Ed hadn't said a word since he'd been back at the crime scene. Nothing about the gate; not a word of anything. Then again, Ed didn't really seem to be all there, mentally. He seemed to be lost in some other world, and Al hoped dearly that Ed's mind, nor his sanity, wasn't the payment for his own soul.

Alas, he's reassured when Ed is about to leave, having been summoned by Mustang. Ed stops at the door, turning to walk to Al and look up at him. His face is showing emotion now; it's worry. "Al, I.." He looks off to the side, searching for the words. "I'm sorry. But you know I'd do anything for you, right? I-I just can't lose you. You're all I've got left.."

Al's young, invisible heart breaks at Ed's broken spirit. "Don't worry, Ed. No matter what happens, we're together. But if that ever happens again, think of yours-"

"It'll never happen again!" Ed suddenly yells, eyes widening at his own reaction before he glances at his automail hand. "I won't let it happen. I'm going to find the stone. This year, I promise. I have to find it for you."

Al frowns. "Brother.. what happened at the gate?"

Ed just looks up at Al, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. "I brought you back. Don't worry, Al; I'll never let you go." He turns and heads out the door, ignoring Al's protests. Mustang wants him, and he'll use this as an excuse to not burden Al with the details of his time at the gate. All of the details, in fact, which he doesn't know yet. What's to come in a year? What is he to lose? Something vital to life, no doubt. Just what, he really can't imagine.

As Ed walks into his office, looking like an intimidated, abused dog with its tail between its legs, Roy stands. He instructs Ed to the couch, himself closing the doors to the office. He turns, surprised that Ed had obeyed his order and is now on the couch. "Ed." At a lack of answer from Ed, he continues. "What did you do?"

"Whatever do you mean, Colonel?" Ed asks, looking up at Roy with a malevolent grin on his face.

Roy grits his teeth at Ed's expression, wondering if Ed had indeed gone slightly mad during that last alchemy attempt. Ed had been so silent afterwards; so dead to the world. "You know damn well what I mean."

Ed leans his head to the side, closing his eyes. "I brought Al back," he replies casually, grin still on his face.

Roy walks over to be directly in front of Ed, towering over the already-short boy. "Edward, tell me what happened after you used alchemy on your brother."

Ed opens one eye, glaring up at Roy with distrust, the smile vanishing. "You know what happens when you cross that line," Ed says darkly. "You come back with more scars on your soul. Why the hell do you care what happened there?"

"Contrary to what you believe, or what I may have led you to believe, Ed, you're not just some little kid I get my kicks from by messing with you or manipulating you. I care about you and what happens to you. I know your brother does too, so maybe you should be a little less reckless."

Ed grits his teeth when Roy mentions Al, leaping to his feet, his hand grabbing Mustang's shirt collar. The grip of his automail hand is nearly tearing the fabric. "You," he hisses, "leave Al out of this. Don't say his name again. The only time you ever say his name is when you say you've found the cure to make him human. You don't know what the fuck goes on. If I wasn't as reckless as I was, he wouldn't BE here." Ed shoves Mustang away then, knocking the man back nearly on his ass.

"Fullmetal," Roy warns, voice dripping with anger, as Ed turns to leave.

"Unless you have a possible lead for the stone, I'd appreciate it if you kindly fucked off and left me and Al alone for a while." Ed had stopped at the door, awaiting Roy's reply.

"Ed, get back in here. You can't just-"

In reply to Mustang, Ed exits the door swiftly, slamming it behind him. He's going home to Al, since that's who he needs right now. He needs to make sure Al is really there.. because with what he'd gone through in the last 24 hours, he's starting to doubt his own sanity.

Confirming that Al is fine, Ed waves off his brother's worry, saying he's going to the library to read. He needs a quiet place to think. He needs to focus his mind, if he's going to find out what Truth took from him.. not to mention if he's going to focus on finding the stone for Al before it's gone.

With a sigh, Ed leans back in his chair at the library, closing his eyes. What could Truth take from him? And how would he know? Would it be another limb? Would he get an infection at the last minute and it need amputation? What about his heart? Would he suffer a massive heart attack in a year, or many heart complications leading up to a final demise? What if it were a lung? That would half-cripple him, but he could live without that. Even, as he thinks painfully, his genitals. That would be hell, but he would live. He sighs, groaning. "What the hell did you take from me?" he mumbles, unanswered due to being alone.

Well, Truth did say it would take a year. That gives him one full year to fit in as much as he can to find the stone. He's got to restore his brother, because honestly, who else can?

{No more breaks. No more rest.} Ed would pour his heart and soul into finding an answer for Al. He begins now, forgoing the faint hunger in his stomach in favor of the books. He begins going through his books, to see if he had missed anything from before.

Ed's first week had been spent poring over every bit of notes they had, every book he could find in the library, and everything he could manipulate Mustang into divulging. Unfortunately, Mustang's end also meant much work for Sheska for copying books and information that Ed asks for, including certain subjects that made Sheska wonder what the hell he was talking about.

That first week concerned Roy too, and he noticed that whenever Ed would visit him, he'd rub at his eyes tiredly. Ed was getting barely any sleep, and barely any food too; he had noticed Ed's lack of energy. When commenting on it, Ed would only snap at him in reply, then look lost in thought, worried. Upon bringing this concern to Al, he just receives a defeated sigh in response.

"Ed said we should focus on finding the answer. He said that nothing else matters until we do that. It's not like him, but.. I think what happened scared him. I think he wants to fix our bodies before anything bad can happen to us."

"You have to watch him carefully, Alphonse. From the way he's been acting.. you have to make sure he doesn't make any reckless moves."

"I have been. So far he's just learning as much as he can. And as much as I try to help care for him, he's neglecting his health anyway. He's determined, and there's nothing I can do."

Roy sighs, the image of Ed returning to mind. It had been earlier today; Ed had reported to him for any possible new information Sheska may have thought of or come across. Ed obviously had not gotten two hours sleep in the past three days; he'd also forgotten to shower, or even shave. How could Roy forget? Ed's old enough now, even Ed has to shave. Though Ed had tired, shifting eyes and was acting a bit more loony than usual, all Roy could focus on was Ed's facial hair. It was yellow, just like the hair on his head. But, damn, Ed looked exhausted.

"I'll watch him when I can. Keep trying, Alphonse."