Summary: A dangerous killer once speculated that what if Alphonse Elric whole life was a lie. That what if false memories had been planted in them. What if the crazed Sociopath had actually been right and everyone Alphonse thought was his friend wasn't who he believed them to be especially his so called ' big brother'?
I thought of this because I am honestly shocked that nobody had thought, how good of a story it would be, if someone had expanded on the meeting with Alphonse and Berry the Chopper.
I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Enjoy!
Alphonse recently enquired body shook at what he was hearing.
It had been a whole month since they defeated Father and the Homunculus.
He had gotten his body back and was now living peacefully with his older brother, who gave up being an Alchemist for him.
Now hearing that, he should have been over joyed that his brother cared for him so much and to top it off, he got his original body back.
But he couldn't help but feel distant, from the feelings he should have.
In that space, where God resided in and he found his body in.
God had hinted something that had troubled him ever since.
God had said that not nothing is in black and white and that he should question everything around him.
The way God sounded, it reminded him of the conversation with Berry the Chopper.
A conversation that he had forced to the back of his mind, locked it up and throw away the key.
He never thought of it ever again and yet, when he got his original body back, it was like he was more aware of those around him.
He was better at distinguishing what was false and what was the truth.
It was like he had turned into a human lie detector.
He started to notice things that he hadn't seen before, like when Winry treated their wounds later and he saw the brief flash of guilt in her expression, their father before he died in front of their mother's grave site, always seemed to be watching him as if expecting something to happen, always asking about his health.
Even Edward, his dear and loving big brother, had shocked him when he found out that he could see that almost every word that came out of his mouth, and it was all a lie, what disturbed him to no end was that Ed's face always seemed joyous and sincere while lying smoothly to his face.
In fact, all his friends were lying to him one way or another.
It had put him on edge.
What where they hiding from him?
Once he realised that he could see lies, it made him see everything around him in a whole different light.
Nobody would tell him anything and all his friends and big brother were being secretive for some reason.
Against his better judgment, he pretended to leave to go out shopping but what he really did was duck out of sight and ears dropped on his brother's conversation with his friends.
What he heard next shock him to his very core.
"Ed, when are we supposed to do the ritual? Your father said, that it would take several years for it to wear off and it needs to be done regularly. Your father before he died said, that the ritual was weakening and Alphonse is slowly wising up" A familiar voice said, which sounded like Winry.
"We'll do it in a week. Like always, we'll take my brother to the spot and then wipe his memory of the ritual taking place. He still believes that we go to the graveyard just to visit mom" Edward said and Alphonse held in a gasp, Ed sounded nothing like the kind older brother he know, and loved.
"Just bring him, shorty. We cannot afford to lose him. As long as we have him, that country wouldn't dare, try anything" The man who sounded like Roy said, but sounded harsher.
Alphonse shook his head, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Images of his loving brother and his friends flashed through his mind.
He suddenly felt guilt for thinking badly about his brother and their friends.
Alphonse had convinced himself, that this was all some sort of a joke, that his brother wasn't up to anything sinister or evil and he should just let it go.
But the words of God kept playing in his mind and Berry the Chopper, he had the sudden urge to ask his brother indirectly about what was happening.
But his feet wouldn't move.
Why did he feel like doing so, was a huge mistake?
He couldn't understand his newly found conflicted feelings towards his own brother.
He 'came back' when his friends were gone with a carton of milk and a false smile.
As usual, Ed eyes light up at the sight of it, recently Ed was determined to get taller and had taken to drinking lots of milk and it showed, now that Ed was growing slowly.
Alphonse just watched him, he must have been watching him for quite some time because Ed noticed.
"Stop staring at me it's creepy" Ed said.
"Eh?" he said, he hadn't realised he had been staring and scratched his head and said. "Sorry Nii-san. I kind of fell asleep. It's been a long day"
Ed blinked owlishly and said. "You fell asleep with your eyes open? Is there something wrong with your body or something? You need to get to sleep then" before suggestion, "Hey, after you've rested. Why don't we go visit dad and mom's grave next week? We haven't visited in quite a while"
And Alphonse heart stopped, the conversation he heard earlier made him slightly pale, was Ed really planning to force him into a ritual next week?
He felt a hand press against his forehead.
"Your burning up." Ed said with concern in his voice, his eyes was on his little brother forehead so he didn't see how Alphonse eyes widened, seeing through the layers of deceit and said. "Now, you have to go to bed. I'll bring you something up later"
"Okay, Nii-san" Alphonse said, he couldn't help but notice those words sounded so wrong in his ears and Ed must have noticed it too because he frowned before sending him up to bed.
Alphonse could feel Ed's eyes on him as he made his way to his own bedroom.
Alphonse head was a mess, he pretended to be asleep when Edward came in to check on him and give him food.
That's when Alphonse saw another thing he had gained besides being a human lie detector.
As soon as his eyes landed on the food that his brother bought, he saw a clash of colour in the soup and bread and now that he looked around his room, there were several objects that had a clash of colour in them and even his clothes and bed sheets.
Alphonse was freaking out, suddenly he truly did feel sick, he didn't dare touch his food and found a corner in his room that was away from the clashing colours.
He needed answers.
So in the middle of the night, when he was sure Ed was asleep, he went through his father stuff.
After all, his father had lots of experience with the unnatural.
He looked through several of his father journals before he found a book that he wasn't familiar with, it had an ominous feeling to it but he had the feelings, he would finally get some much needed answers if he opened it.
He dusted the book off and cracked it open, immediately he realized this was his father personal diary.
He pushed down the feeling of wrongness for invaded the man personal life.
Because he needed answers.
The first few pages were about his father meeting the being that was later known as 'father'.
He skipped that along with the suffering his own father went through for being the cause of a whole town being wiped out while giving a human form to his home town killer.
He skipped that too and finally got to the part where his father fell in love and twins were born.
But for some reason, he felt oddly detached.
Wasn't he supposed to feel warm reading about how much his father loved him and his brother even though he never truly showed it until the very end?
He read until he had to stop at a certain line.
"Alphonse was born weak and continued to get weak. I fear he won't live that long"
Alphonse felt his heart stop.
He was born weak and sick, but right now he was strong and healthy so what changed?
For some reason he didn't like where this was going.
"I couldn't save him. Alphonse had managed to hang on for life for six years before passing away in his sleep. How am I supposed to tell my wife that one of our children is dead?"
Alphonse felt like the world around him had stopped.
He couldn't be dead!
Perhaps his father had used Alchemy successfully and actually brought him back from the grave.
As he flipped over, he was fully expecting to read about the Alchemist ritual that his father had done to bring him back to life.
Instead he got this.
"I can't bring him back. Nothing good comes from Alchemy. There is always a price to pay and there is no guarantee that what I call back will be him. So I had to look for another solution"
And Alphonse wanted nothing more than to close the book and forget everything he learned tonight.
He quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts but for some reason, he couldn't look away, he was turning the page already.
"There is a Kingdom in the south, it was a powerful Kingdom which would soon try to go to war with this country. I have no doubts in my mind that they will win and the losses will be great on our side. They have a Prince who bores a startling resemblance to Alphonse and is about the same age"
And Alphonse, against his better judgment flipped over.
"what happened next was not something anyone would be proud off. I and a group of follow Alchemist made our way to the South and kidnapped the child. Even to this day, I can still hear that sweat and innocent child screaming for his parents and family, as I force and a selected few forced him into an illegal ritual, whenever I look into those eyes".
And Alphonse felt his world shatter around him, Berry the Chopper voice had come back to haunt him with vengeance as he was forced to continue reading.
"the ritual was designed to transfer memories from one person to the next. The boy would not only believe he was Alphonse but he would also hold a strong loyalty towards those who he was bound too. I had my other son participate in this as well. I know it would be beneficial if Edward was aware that his Brother was dead and that someone else had taken his place"
Alphonse couldn't stop the tears from falling.
"however the Ritual isn't perfect. It has to be done again every few years for it to be strong. Like I said, I am not proud of my actions. With the boy now convinced he is Alphonse, I can keep him under close observations and make sure, he doesn't start questioning the memories in his mind. Who knows what would happen if he starts remembering a life away from home."
And Alphonse was in full denial.
It can't be true!
He was Alphonse Elric, not some prince from a faraway Kingdom!
He remembered the memories that made him, him.
The time when he broke his leg at the age of four, his brother had carried him on his back, all the way back home. He remembered the smell of mommy making her famous pies in the kitchen and Dad, cooped up in his room, only coming out, when he and his brother had to drag him out.
Was this journal telling him that he was remembering someone else's childhood!?
He refused to believe it, he waited for the warm feeling that he usually felt when he thought about the past to prove that he was him.
But he felt nothing.
HE FELT NOTHING!
Alphonse wanted to cry, scream, shout, wake up in his bed and find out it was all a dream.
His entire world had turned upside down by mere words on paper.
"It was Chaos when it was discovered that the Prince was missing and it only got worse when one of the people saw Alphonse playing with his brother from afar. The Kingdom demanded to have their Prince back and at first we denied ever knowing there was even a prince before the Kingdom not only found pictures of the original Alphonse and their Prince, before loading a Giant Canon at a random town, we were fools. Thousands died because of our arrogance, so we could only use him as a bargain chip"
Alphonse didn't know what hurt more, his head or his heart.
"we held the boy hostage without him even knowing it. We told them that no harm will come to the boy if they signed a peace treaty with us. They were naturally outraged by this but we had the advantage. As long as no harm was done, the Kingdom was safe"
Alphonse eyes were red and puffy from crying, no matter how much, he tried to deny the man guilt written words, it was too detailed to be made up.
He skipped past several pages, he didn't want to know more about the life he had that was based on nothing but lies.
"Today, I was surprised to find my own two sons come to me. At first I thought that Alphonse was wearing a suit but it turned out that he had lost his body, when they both tried to revive their mother. If that Kingdom found out about what happen to their Prince leaving him nothing more than a spirit in a piece of Armor, more than one person would die and blood will be everywhere. Luckily the people they were working with, were connected to the government who kept everything under wraps. At least now, nobody would be able to recognise him"
It's was amazing how he went from loving the man who had suffered so much to hating the man who took everything from him even his own identity.
"I feel my strength fading and I know I will be dead soon, me and the Father are connected after all. I've left instructions for Edward and those around him to keep Alphonse oblivious to what's going. All the evidence that reveals what I've done must be burned immediately, including this book. I hope that someday, I'll make up for my sins and perhaps finally join my wife in heaven"
And Alphonse saw red.
His entire life was a lie.
Ed was not his big brother.
He was used as nothing but a tool to stop a war.
His whole life had been taking from him and now he didn't think he could even look Edward in the eye without trying to strangle him.
That night, Alphonse didn't even sleep.
Before Ed could wake up, he had decided enough was enough.
He wasn't going to stick around for a ritual that would take away the freedom, he had gained.
He grimaced when he saw his own coat glowing and ended up packing anything that didn't have a tracker or some enchantment on it.
Which meant packing mostly Edward clothes and taking the cash that he had saved up in hopes to start a business with Edward.
How can he stay in the house, with a boy who was an accomplice to his own kidnapping?
Before the sun, reached high into the Sky, he had left the house and headed south, in hopes of finding his true family.
Four hours later, Edward Elric would realise his little brother was missing.
And scene!
This One-Shot, has been on my phone for months! Honestly, I've got a story line for this but I don't have the time nor effort to try it so I'm handing this over to anyone who wants this. Just PM me saying you want this and please credit me. Review, please!
P.s. this title was made, because I originally had the idea of Amestris trying to prevent a war with another Kingdom which made them do terrible stuff but in the end, Alphonse ends up with his true family and with nothing to hold it back anymore, the rival Kingdom goes to war for not just for the thrill of concurring Amestris but for revenge on kidnapping and enslaving their Prince.