Timeline: Naruto Shippuden (Undetermined years after the war) / Fullmetal Alchemist (2003 Timeline)

Chapter 0 – Fractured

It wasn't supposed to turn out this way.

They followed all the instructions.

The equations, the ingredients, and the circles… everything.

Nothing was to be out of place.

And yet, why was his little brother gone?

More importantly, why was he not greeted by his mother's smiling face?

How did they mess it all up?

"Damn it all!" Edward cursed out loud, despite knowing that there would be no one to chastise him. His golden eyes peered over beside him – where his brother was supposed to be – and all that was there was the rumpled white shirt and pants that were worn by Alphonse earlier. Tears streamed out of his eyes as he slammed his fist on the ground. His knuckles began to bleed.

"Al!" His hand reached to the darkness, "Alphonse!"

Big brother.

Alphonse would always reply back; this time, his soothing voice wasn't there to quail Edward's desperation nor was he there to grasp upon his hand. Edward's screams echoed in the study room as his head dropped down.

He needed to think fast. He can't lose another person he cared about.

He didn't want to be alone.

With pure adrenaline rushing through his veins, Edward pushed himself to the nearest object he could find. Mustering up what's left of his strength, his small hands grabbed onto the edge of the black suit of armor that was positioned in the corner of the room. Edward gritted his teeth and dragged it down to the floor. It fell with a thud as the helmet rolled away from the main body.

"Bring him back." Edward's voice cracked, begging, "He's the only family I have left!"

Bloodied fingers touched upon the cool metal of the armor as the young alchemist drew an intricate circle. Afterwards, he used the same finger to draw symbols upon his two arm and palms. Knowing he might pass out from blood loss, Edward had to act fast.

He clapped his hands and the sound echoed around the room.

"You can't take him from me!"

With his battle cry, Edward felt the lightning bolt energy pumped in his veins as the markings flashed with bright blue. Soon, the once dark room was filled with an exhilarating ray of light.

Edward closed his eyes and –

He was gone.

A memory appeared.

He remembered, not too long ago, how his teacher had alluded to him and his brother about encountering the Truth.

Both Edward and Alphonse never realized how much weight it carried or why their teacher was adamant on never transmuting a human. They were too young to understand the consequences that would follow. Before the end of their training, their teacher told them one thing:

"Never, ever transmute a human being." She said to them. Though her voice was stern, her eyes expressed a different story. Edward would never forget the look of not only warmth but sadness and bitterness.

"Promise me, you fools." Her voice rose when she received no proper response from the two.

"We promise!" The Elric brothers replied in unison.

A small smile formed upon her features as she placed a hand on each of their heads. It had been a while since Edward and Alphonse had felt a motherly touch that Edward recalled both of them quivering – the reminder of their own mother prominent.

Their mother.

The very reason why they had gotten this far with alchemy.

It was all because they wanted to see her again.

"Edward."

Golden eyes fluttered open as his ears twitched to a mysterious voice near him. An incoherent groan left his lips as his vision slowly cleared to notice the endless white above him.

I'm here again.

At first, he couldn't move. His body had an uncontrollable pain that Edward couldn't easily shake off. He tried concentrating to move a bit of his fingers and toes but alas, it throbbed. Unbearable, Edward gritted his teeth to suppress another scream. He was done being so powerless; his only goal in mind was to retrieve his brother back from wherever he went.

This is where the transmutation had taken him.

"Liar."

There it went again. At first, he thought he was going crazy, however, the source of the voice was not from his head nor his mouth. It was somewhere at a place near him.

But why? Why was he being referred to as a liar?

However, the real question is: who was calling him that?

His senses moved slowly back together and finally, Edward's hands twitched and flattened to the floor. Amidst his painful grunts, he exerted his body to sit up. Once he did, the first thing his eyes had landed on was the large door filled with patterns that were both foreign and familiar to him.

Edward stood and staggered towards the door. Almost delirious, his hands reached and placed it upon the door. His fingers scrolled on the carvings, seemingly searching for something that could unlock what was behind the towering structure. At this moment, Edward only wanted to drag his brother back the best way he knew how.

"Liar!"

It was louder this time and Edward covered his ears. The voices multiplied from all around him that it became insufferable.

"Stop it!" Edward shouted, hoping his words would be enough to halt them. "I just – I just want my brother back. I'll do anything to get him back, even if I would have to lose half of myself in order to do it."

Rolling his one hand into a fist, he banged against the door as hard as he can.

"Give him to me now." He ordered, "Give Al back! He's my brother! He's all I have and if I can't…"

Edward sunk, fists battered and bruised. His knees buckled and fell upon the ground of the endless white infinity that was around. The blonde tried to fight back the tears but he knew, it wasn't enough to retrieve his brother back.

First, it was his limb and now…

"What do you want?" Edward barely managed a whisper, "What do I have to give up?

"So the liar has come to face the consequences."

The voice was closer to him now. More or less, a presence was near him. A shiver was sent down his spine for he had assumptions at who or what might be in this infinite white vastness. Despite being afraid, Edward stood his ground. He will not be afraid.

Fear crept into his system for he was expecting that whatever was here, it wasn't human. The voice itself sounded strangely ambiguous but at the same time, it left a familiar feeling to Edward.

Slowly, he turned his head around.

And he was met with a wide, sinister smile upon a face of a – woman?

"Hello."

Edward nearly doubled over but instead, he fell onto his bottom. Something didn't feel right with this person and it was even more unnerving that they were human. What made it even scarier was that it took a form of something that a child like Edward would trust in a vulnerable position.

The woman seemed to float in his eyes but that was only because her feet was covered by the stretched white dress garment. The more Edward examined her, the more he saw the intricate markings on her dress. He could not make up what they are or what they pertain to; all he knew was this woman – or thing – held all the answers.

What was most bizarre about her was her facial features. Her eyes were almond-shaped but the color of her irises were fully white though he could almost a slight green if he had time to squint. A purple diamond shaped symbol was placed on her forehead, which led his golden eyes to look at her – pink? – colored hair.

To him, her face could look normal and even delicate, if it were not for the wide, ominous grin.

Nonetheless, the young boy stood his ground.

"W-Who… what are you?" He questioned, his expression carrying a mixture of dread and curiosity.

Her lips twitched and her smile only broadened.

"Who am I, you ask?"

Her feet moved and she walked. In a state of shock, Edward couldn't bring himself to even lift a finger as he watched her. She made her way closer as each step, she spoke.

"One has called me the Universe."

Step.

"Others have called me the world."

Step, step.

"Some have deemed me God or the Almighty."

Edward's breath hitched as their distance was closing.

"Perhaps, I am the All or I am the One."

Another step and her face leaned to him.

"Which means, I may perhaps also be – you."

Her eyes bore into him and Edward couldn't look away, no matter how much he had tried.

"And you, child – a dishonest one – have committed a transgression against me. As such, I will be the Truth of your punishment and despair."

The large of her shadow had loomed and all that awaited Edward was only darkness.

A/N: This story contains an AU! Sakura in which she is a dimensional being similar to Kaguya Otsusuki and a sort of – stand in for the Truth. How she got there and whatever else - more on her character will be elaborated as the story progresses.

This idea had been going around my head for about a year and I am simply experimenting with this story. I have a backstory and a couple of summaries to go by with
this story but for now, we will see how this goes. This is, of course, only the prologue so not much is revealed aside from the small details that were set up and chapter one will come at a later date.

Please leave your reviews and/or constructive criticisms.