Chapter 1: Separation
Central city lies in ruin. Wounded soldiers fill the hospitals. Fires from the fighting continue to rage, but all of this is nothing compared to wreckage that was once Central HQ. Corpses of the fallen soldiers lay strewn throughout the crumbling building, accompanied by the mindless dolls that killed them. But regardless of all these facts, this moment calls for celebration for the mastermind of it all was defeated by our hero, Edward Elric. But not all was right for our hero. Though he may have defeated Father, he lost his brother again, and that is a loss he will not accept. Edward panicked, frantically thinking of a way to bring back his brother while keeping his promise they made to each other. Their father Hoenhime finally stepped in.
"Edward I know I haven't been there for you or your brother, so let me help now… use me. I have just enough souls to restore your bodies."
"I've already told you, you bastard, we made a promise never to use humans to get our bodies back! Why do you insist on sacrificing yourself for our sake anyway!?"
"Because I'm your father; this isn't about logic or reason, I'm your father… I love you boys and I want you to be happy. I'm to blame for your loneliness after Trisha's passing and your attempt to revive her. It's my fault that the both of you suffered so much and I can't express how sorry I am for it all. Please, let me act like a real father and help my children."
"SHUT UP YOU ROTTEN FATHER! If you keep talking like that, I'll knock you out." Edward cried, tears welling up in his eyes. "Now back off and let me think."
Theory after theory pledged his mind on some way to bring his brother back from the gate without breaking their promise, when an idea finally dawned on him. Edward wasted no time, he picked up the nearest pipe he could find and began drawing a human transmutation circle.
"Guys, I'm leaving to go get Al, I'll be back soon." Said Ed as he attempted human transmutation for what he hoped would be the last time he would ever need to.
"Edward don't!", his father scream running toward his son, the last living remnant of Trisha, his love, and the last bit of family he had left in this world.
"Dad, don't try and stop me! I'm getting Al back, no matter the cost, I'm his brother. I have too. I'm his big brother!"
Hohenhime, fearing for his sons' life grabbed him, trying to stop the transmutation, but Ed was too driven. He proceeded with the human transmutation and, thus they were both transported to the space housing "The Truth".
Edward and Hohenhime found themselves in the all-white plane each with a large metal door behind them, engraved with archaic markings and symbols, depicting powerful transmutations, both being unique, the two of them waiting to confront the entity known to them as Truth, ready and willing to give anything to get Alphonse back.
"Hello again Edward; and what a surprise, Van Hohenhime, I thought you swore off of human transmutation?" spoke the white silhouette sitting before them "Why are you both here? This is getting very tiresome for me; soon I will halve to take more than just a few limbs if this continues" the being chuckled.
"I'm here for my brother, I won't lose him again." Spoke Ed, with unending resolve.
"And what do you plan on giving for him this time hmm? Your father seems like a nice candidate for a trade, body for a body." Chuckled Truth.
"No, he's not even supposed to be here right now." said Edward glaring at his father, irritated at the fact he was interfering.
"I'm sorry Edward; I just can't bear to lose you, first your mother, then your brother…. I know I've been a terrible father towards you both, that's why I can't let you do this."
"What do you mean you da-"
"Truth, take me as payment, me and the philosophers stone." Spoke the Hohenhime, cutting off his son.
"NO!" screamed Ed "I have a plan; I'm giving up my alchemy, my gate of truth, to get Al back! Don't use the souls of those people on us. We swore we would never use the philosopher's stone to get our bodies back!"
"How very torn I am. A father and his son both wanting bring back the lost brother. Both offering something precious that I have yet have offered to me throw-out all these millennia of existing. I tell you what, Ed you may keep your gate, and Hohemhime, you may keep your life. I will even give you back Alphonse. What I have planned is a far fitting and entertaining payment."
"What do you mean by that?" questioned both Ed and his father, now more worried than before. 'what could this entity be thinking'
"First off, Ed, I will need that arm back"
"Wha- AAAAAA!" shrieked Ed as the arm Al returned to him, was once again lost to the omnipotent being.
"Edward!" cried Hoenhime "YOU MONS- aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"And I'll be taking those extras souls you have trapped in that husk you call a body"
" What are, y…you planning" gaged Ed, still in shock from having his arm striped away once more.
"I'm giving you two what you asked for." Snickered Truth "I've returned Alphonse back to Amestris in his original form. But that still leaves me with the matter of you two."
"What… do you mean?" heaved Hohenhime "You… rejected all of… our offers. What... are you planning?"
"I'm sending you both to a place where alchemy is a lost art. A place where it, among other things, were abandoned for pursuit of other scientific works. A different world. A world called earth. Germany if you want to be precise."
"Why? Why are you doing this?!" blared Ed, now too infuriated by the fact that even though his brother is safe, he won't be able to be there with him, Winry, or any of his friends. "Is this some game to you! THIS IS CRUEL!"
"Why am I doing this, Mr. Alchemist? I'm doing this because you keep returning to me, trying to play god, and I am SICK of it. I am sick of how persistent you are. I am sick of how greedy you are. And I am sick of seeing you time and time again, wanting to create a life, long lost to you. That is why I am doing this. You will spend the rest of your days, knowing that you will never see your brother, your friends, or your home again. I am doing this so you can suffer, Mr. Alchemist, because frankly, I am sick of you."
"Stop this, punish me instead, Edward doesn't deserve thi-"
"SILENCE HOENHIME! You are just as much to blame here. You are the absent father that allowed the sacrifice of your son and the creation of a mutilated abomination to occur."
"I had to leave, I need to stop the homunculi from creating another philosophers stone and taking countless more innocent lives. I need to prevent what happened in Xerxes to ever happen again."
"That would not have been necessary if you did not help create Homunculus in the first place. He was made from your blood and you could have stopped him from the beginning but you chose knowledge. You had him teach you and allowed him to work through you. Were it not for you, the kingdom of Xerxes and its entire people would still be alive today. I suppose in a sense, you are correct Hohemhime, for if it were not for you, Ed would have never have lived to infuriate me as he has done." Roared Truth, "But before you go, I can't really have you dying from blood loss as soon as you arrive so I'll give you back your automail. Let's call it a gift for being a frequent customer. "
Once again Edward scream in agony as his limbless stump of an arm fused with metal again, connecting nerve to wire, and steel and alloys grafting to bone and flesh, the event being like his 1st operation but all in the span of a few moments"
Truth stared at them, smiling once more, " So farewell to you both and may I never see either of you again" as those word were said each of the two's respective doors opened and long black tendril like hands dragged them inside
"Truth you BASTARD." Both Edward and Hoenhime roared in unison "we will be ba-'' they were cut off as the their doors slammed shut.
"Oh I expect it Mr. Alchemist" Truth chuckled, "I expect it".
AN: well faithful readers this is my 1st fan fic, I probably wont be updating often but i do have stuff in the works for this. This 1st chapter was is honestly only half of what I to originally post but the second half I'm still working-out the kinks and I know myself well enough that I would never post anything if i did not post something now. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, it will let me know that what I'm doing is being read, so rant away.