Komm, süsser Tod

WARNING: This story contains violence, gore, angst, lots of foul language and a bit of gratuitous German. It may or may not (I dunno yet) include: non-con, torture, depictions of mental ilnesses and other possibly offensive elements.

AN: Hello, everyone, and welcome to my first ever multi chapter fanfiction!

I've wanted to write something like this ever since I saw 'Conqueror of Shamballa', because I wanted to see if even I can come up with a more interesting story. And let's be real, creating something better isn't that hard - every fic about Ed on Earth in 1920's I've read was more compelling than that train wreck of a movie. (Don't worry, these insults aren't serious... for the most part.)

Anyway, the point is - I like this movie despite its problems, but I still think the story could've been better, if they'd changed a few things (*cough*forexamplegettingridofnoah*cough*).

That's why I decided to try 'fixing it' myself. I even planned most of the story out! I know it will probably be the worst written piece of flaming shit you've ever read, but it's a made with passion piece of flaming shit! So, give it a chance! Maybe it won't give you any incurable diseases.

Also, the name of this fic "Komm, süsser Tod" and the lyrics at the beginning are taken from a song with that exact title. It's great and you should listen to it. It's from "The End of Evangelion"- which is also great, but watch it only if you're ready for 97 minutes of 'what the fuck is happening'.

I feel I'm starting to digress... so, let's stop talking about Evangelion and begin Ed's tortu- erm... I mean, Ed's adventure!

SPOILER WARNING: This fic contains spoilers for the end of "Fullmetal Alchemist" and for some parts of "Conqueror of Shamballa". If you haven't seen them, then... what the hell are you doing here?

Timeline: starts just after Ed's transmutation, but the Earth timeline is moved a few years forward. I don't know if it will be of any importance in the story yet, I just felt like changing the year.

Pairings: All I can say that there will be no incest and/or yaoi. Sorry, not my cup of tea.

Disclaimer: "Fullmetal Alchemist", "Fulmettal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa" and all publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Hiromu Arakawa, studio Bones and Aniplex. The song "Komm, süsser Tod" belongs to Arianne, Shiro Sagisu and Hideaki Anno (apparently he wrote it. The More You Know). The original characters and plot are mine.

Prolog: An des Tores

I know, I know I've let you down

I've been a fool to myself

I thought that I could

live for no one else

But now through all the hurt & pain

It's time for me to respect

the ones you love

mean more than anything

"Komm süsser Tod", Arianne & Shiro Sagisu

He clapped and touched the array on his chest. The blinding light of the transmutation hurt his eyes, so he squeezed them shut. He felt the air changing, becoming lighter; breathing wasn't bringing the dust of the ancient ballroom with it - the transmutation did do something, then. Hoping that all his calculations and measurements were correct, he lifted his eyelids.

Edward thought to himself that he would probably never get used to seeing it. In all honesty, he would rather never see it again; the deep sense of unease that came over him every time he as much as looked at it and the grim causes of every last one of his 'visits' were something he wanted to never again experience. The thought that he would most likely never see this place again, so don't worry about that made his lips curl up momentarily - the morbid irony of that was absurdly hilarious to him.

The Gate's eternal form contrasted sharply with the endless white expanse surrounding him; it stood there, looming over him in an almost threatening way. He ignored the terrifying sculptures at the either side of the door, never turning his gaze from the centre of it; he didn't need a reminder of the sacrifice he was making.

The eye on the front seemed to be staring right at his very core, like it knew exactly what he wanted.

The scariest part was, it probably did.

As on cue, the door opened; thousands of small, purple eyes gazed at him curiously from within it. Swallowing loudly, Edward walked up to the door. Staring at the creatures, he snarled.

"Give me Alphonse back."

Nothing. He felt a pit form in his stomach; he was sure the Gatekeepers knew precisely what he had planned to give in exchange for his brother - if they weren't answering, did it mean that it wasn't enough? Maybe he was supposed to spell it out for the assholes?

"I want to exchange my mind, body and soul for his. It's equivalent."

Still nothing. Apparently, it wasn't. He needed more. He pondered about what more could he give. If he was giving all of himself, then what more could he use?

At that moment, an idea came to him. It was rather unfair, and he had doubts if it would even work; if it did, he would be doing a terrible thing to his brother, and, quite frankly, to himself. It made his heart clench, but he had to try. He gritted his teeth and straightened his back. Fierce golden orbs full of determination stared into the darkness and at the purple eyes in it.

"In exchange for my brother, I'm giving you myself, and his memories from the time as a suit of armor." He tried to convince himself that this was better – these four years of their travels were painful, full of sadness and almost completely devoid of happiness. Al could get a second chance for a childhood. It's better this way. Besides, it was the only thing he could give – he sure as hell wasn't taking any of Alphonse's body parts.

And still nothing. What? Still not enough for you? Anger flared through him; he didn't have anything else! What were these bastards thinking? Four years worth of memories was a lot – add his life to it, and it was more than equivalent!

"Bastards, I'm giving you more than enough! Are you even more greedy than I thought? What more do you want? Do you want me to beg? Because I'm begging you!" His voice cracked; anger melted into despair. "I need him to be alive. Please! He's the only one who matters, he needs to live. I don't care what happens to me. Kill me, keep me in this darkness with you, I don't care!"

He knew he looked pathetic, trembling in front of these creatures, eyes welling up with tears and voice shaking.

He didn't give a fuck. Al was all that mattered.

"Please, I'll do anything. Send me to hell, torture me for all eternity if that's what you want, just give him back!"

Silence. And then - a terrifying noise reached his ears. Laughter.

The Gate was laughing.

It was so absurd, Ed almost thought he started hallucinating. But no, it had to be real. The Gatekeepers were cackling; a piercing, high- pitched noise that made his skin crawl. It was probably the most grotesque and distressing sound he had ever heard.

Anxiety welled up in him. Anything that made these monsters laugh like that probably wasn't anything good for him. He didn't care if he lived or died, but torture didn't sound that great. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut, damn it.

The Gate's horrifying laughter died down after a few minutes. For a moment Edward thought he was back to square one, and prepared himself for more pleading, but something caught his eye. He gasped, and all of his worries, fears, everything - stopped mattering.

Thin hands emerged from the blackness, holding a small, pale boy. He looked around 10 years old; disheveled, sandy colored hair was shading his eyes. They were closed now, but Edward knew them to be a lovely, gray-green color – just like their Mother's beautiful eyes. The hands laid the boy on the white ground, and returned to the Gate.

Alphonse lay there, unmoving. Ed rushed to his side, and hugged him instinctively. Joy overcame him, and he couldn't suppress the tears that poured down his cheeks. He did it. He gave Al his body back.

But before he could check this brother's pulse or try to wake him up, that petrifying laughter begun again. He looked up, and saw the same black hands reaching greedily for him. That was it. He laid Al down carefully and stood up.

He wasn't afraid anymore. He fixed his biggest mistake, but he was ready to pay for it one last time. Al was back in his body, and he could be happy with their friends. He didn't need him. Winry and others were more than enough.

Edward didn't try to run when the arms wrapped around him. They pulled him inside the void and everything disappeared.

To tell you the truth, I wrote this in like three hours, and after I had finished chapter one - one evening I just thought "Wouldn't it be cool if the story had a prologue? Prologues are cool, right?" That's why this exists. No other reason.

I hope you like the story so far, even though there's not much of it. Don't worry, regardless of the amount of reviews and hits this gets, I'm uploading chapter one tomorrow. But still, any and all reviews are a good thing. Want to congratulate me on my (lack of) writing skills? Tell me your life story? Yell at me for getting everything wrong? Doesn't matter, it's all appreciated.

See ya!