Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fullmetal Alchemist or Rise of the Guardians
Warning: This story will contain spoilers for FMA (Brotherhood anime only, I'm not familiar with the others), and also contains character death early on. Read at your own risk.
The battle against Father was not going well. Bullets rained down everywhere, firing endlessly against the man who had gained the power of God. Soldiers shouted and screamed for the fire to continue, to not let up against the man who stood calmly before all of it, shielded behind a wall of energy. His face was expressionless, almost bored as he gazed down on everyone. He did not move from his spot, simply blocking all of the shots with ease.
Since bullets were not working, others tried alchemy. Colonel Mustang attempted his flame alchemy against the man, despite the loss of his vision. Massive amounts of uncontrollable flames sprang from his hands, flying towards Father's shield. The man turned his head towards the Colonel, still looking as calm as ever as his shield spread around his entire body. His power seemed limitless, and it was becoming clear that no one here could stop him. Al's armor had shattered earlier, in his attempt to protect Mei, and Hoenheim was too injured to stand after protecting Izumi. That left them with Ling and Ed to fight, but even they were not doing well.
When Mustang's flames dissipated, Father still stood tall, uninjured and calm as he sent an attack back at the Colonel in retaliation. It was clear that he cared little for these people around him, that they were no more than bugs to be squashed in his mindset. Hearing the warning from Hawkeye, Mustang quickly transmuted a wall of stone to protect him from the attack, but it was clear that they were making no progress here.
The bullets slowly began to stop, as soldiers ran out of ammunition to fire. Father was going to win, and no one was capable of stopping him now. This was when they made their move, seeing a desperate situation that only they could help with. Ling charged forward, grinning wildly at Father as he swung his fist at the man's face. "Well, if humans are no good, how about a homunculus?" he shouted, while Father began to smile.
The man's eye had vanished, and Ling was grimacing as his arm was slowly being absorbed into his skin. As hard as he struggled, his arm would not pull free from Father's face, even though Ling had managed to be the first to get past Father's shield. "Perfect timing, Greed. You're such a good son." Father stated, his voice pleased. "I needed a little extra Philosopher's Stone. Yours will do nicely." he insisted, sparks now shooting out from where his face was connected to Ling's arm.
Still, it was exactly how they had planned it. Ed was coming from behind Father, ready to attack as Ling began to grin wildly at Father. "Made ya look!" Ling declared triumphantly, while Father began to frown ever so slightly. "I knew you'd lower your shield for a second so you could grab me and drain my Philosopher's Stone!" Ling insisted, watching as Ed jumped into the air, his automail fist raised to slam into the back of Father's head.
It looked like their plan would work, and Ed was confident in his own strength. As his fist moved forward, towards his enemy, it collided with something else, however. A shield had been reformed, cutting off Father from Ling in order to protect him from Ed's attack. His automail fist hit the shield hard, the impact putting far too much strength on the mechanisms within. Still, Ed tried to push through, to break the shield and actually manage to hit the guy that had killed so many for something as stupid as more power. Ed was grimacing, glaring at the shield as his arm struggled with the strength of the shield. Father was far too powerful, capable of transmuting even without clapping.
Ed's eyes widened in shock as his arm shattered completely against the shield. As soon as his arm was shattered, the shield fell apart, and Ed saw his opportunity. Even if he was beaten up and incapable of using alchemy, he would not give up. He kicked out with his leg, but Father rose his arm to block the attack. Ed was flung back onto his back, sprawled out on the ground before Father. Power seemed to be leaking from the man, energy visible in the air around him as Father searched for another source of energy to keep his power in check. With his gaze on Edward, it became clear who was the target for his new stone, for the new source of his power.
Without his arm, and injured from battle, Ed was incapable of fighting back. He was leaning back against a rock, while Al watched helplessly from the sidelines. Father came closer, and all seemed lost. Al had an idea to help Ed, but he was becoming too weak. His soul was fading from the armor, not able to stay in this world any longer as he fell back, the armor now lifeless on the ground.
Father came closer to Ed, reaching out carefully towards the boy who watched with wide eyes, doing his best to get back up and fight back. The man was looking crazed, his eyes wild and desperate as he reached towards the full metal alchemist who was struggling to avoid his grip. "Get away from my friend!" a voice shouted from behind Father, making the man turn just slightly and see Ling charging forward once more.
Father scowled, grabbing Ling's arm and once again trying to absorb the stone within the homunculus. Ed was collapsed on the ground, watching helplessly as blood began to trickle down the side of his face. He felt so weak, and he couldn't move his limbs any further. All he could do was watch, his eyes slowly drooping as Ling was absorbed into Father, empowering the man further and stabilizing God's power within the homunculus. They had lost, that was something Ed was sure of. He had never felt quite so weak, and that made him frown as he completely collapsed, his body falling over onto the ground in a heap as his eyes shut. The last thing he remembered seeing was a smiling Father, standing triumphant before the army of alchemists, his power unleashing on them all, adding more souls to his collection and empowering him enough to walk away from the battle, alive and strong in the world.
Al was in a familiar place, one he had never planned on returning to until absolutely necessary. His soul had returned to his body, and he now stood before a strange being that no one truly understood. Al's body was weak itself, thin and naked in a realm of pure white, standing on what looked like nothing before Truth. His hair was long and blond, and his bones were visible bumps on his skin, but that did not stop him from frowning at the being sitting in front of a massive stone gate.
The being had no clothes and no eyes, merely a wide smile visible on his white figure. "Welcome back, I see you've got your soul inside you now." Truth declared, grinning at Al.
Al continued scowling, angry with this entire situation. "I didn't want this, I have to go back to Brother! He needs my help!" Al insisted, only to see a wide smile form on the figure before him. Al could see a single flesh arm on the being, a reminder of what his brother had lost in the battle against Father. Ed needed that arm, if he was going to win.
"Is that so? Tell me, what do you have to offer in return for such a thing?" Truth asked, holding the flesh arm out towards Al.
Al couldn't help but glance away, his hands clenched into fists at his side. He had nothing, the only thing he could have offered was now taken away from him before he had a chance to make a deal with Truth. "I….I can't. I don't know what you want from me, but….if it would save Brother, I would give you anything." Al stated eventually, unsure of what he would lose. His voice was shaking slightly, but he stood tall as he turned back towards Truth, determination deep in his eyes.
Truth folded his arm over his leg, his smile vanishing from sight as something seemed to shudder in the air. Al was distracted, his fierce expression changing into one of confusion as he saw the gate behind Truth shake and threaten to break. Cracks were visible on the surface, and Al could see small pieces of rock falling from the surface. "Well, it appears the time has come. Someone needs to stop that meddlesome being in the real world, tell me, do you think you and your brother are up to the task?" Truth asked, his arm folded over his lap as the shaking seemed to stop. Still, Al wondered if it would happen again, he had not seen anything affect this place in that way before.
"I…I don't understand. What do you want from me?" Al asked, his hand reaching towards Truth ever so slightly in desperation for an explanation.
Truth reached out in return, grasping Al's hand in his own flesh-toned arm. "It is time this world found new Guardians. After all, it isn't often that I get to meet the ones I choose in person." Truth stated, a smile on his face. "Your brother will have to weaken him in the physical world, however, if you succeed in helping me here, I shall grant your request. In return for your body and your freedom, you must join me in keeping my identity separate from the one known as Father. As you can see, his transmutation is still attempting to absorb everything within this realm and bind it to his body. This is something I cannot allow, and only with your help can I remain a separate entity from him." Truth insisted.
Al stared into the empty face of the being, wondering just what to do. His free arm was shaking slightly, his eyes wandering for a moment and turning towards his bony feet on the ground. His body was so weak, he wasn't nearly as smart as Brother was and he couldn't do much to help. Even so, he had to try. The shaking slowly began to stop in his free arm, and even with the weakness in his muscles, he felt his grip wrap around Truth's only flesh hand as he turned to meet the eyeless gaze of the creature before him. Father could not win, that was something he had to keep in mind. Images of the battle back in the real world flashed in his mind, memories that reminded Al of what might happen to the entire world if this place was completely taken over by Father. There was a fire in Al's eyes, an expression of determination usually worn by the younger Elric. Al nodded towards Truth. "Alright, tell me what we have to do.".
Truth's smile returned, a wide grin as the gate behind him began to open. "Excellent, then let us begin." he stated, shadowy hands reaching out towards both of them. Al stepped back on instinct, but Truth's grip kept him close to the being and the gate as the shadowy tendrils wrapped around both of them. Al's startled yelp echoed around them, while Truth remained as calm as ever, being dragged along with Al into the gate. "This place will fall, however, one thing will always remain. Use your alchemy, bind both of us to the Gate of Truth. Nothing can destroy it, and so long as I remain inside, my remaining power will remain beyond the reach of that meddlesome man. Once he is stopped, I will release us both and allow you to return to your world." Truth added.
Al gasped in shock, realizing what this would mean. That place had so many awful things within, filled with darkness and so much knowledge that it made his head feel like it would explode. Being in there, for any amount of time, it would be unbearable and Al wondered if he would manage to keep his sanity. Still, his expression hardened, Ed's face flashing in his mind. Brother would do it, for him. That was what made him nod, pressing his hands together as sparks danced within his grip. As the shadowy tendrils drew both of them into the gate, Al slammed his hands against them, forcing the shadowy material to bind itself to Al and Truth. Images were dancing around both of them, endless knowledge on alchemy and everything that existed in the real world. Even so, Al did his best to ignore the pressure building within him, entrapping them further within the shadows of this gate. When the transmutation was finished, Al was trapped right next to Truth, both of them holding onto each other's hands as they sat in a shadowy embrace, lost in darkness as knowledge was swarming around them. This was how they would both remain for centuries, with no knowledge of the outside world or sense of time flowing around them. Al only had one thought, one thing in mind that helped him hold on to who he was and what he wanted. "Brother…please, hurry and let me see you again."
Ed groaned as he sat up, frowning in confusion. His mind was blank, completely empty of anything as he stared up at a moonlit sky. Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric. Ed heard, almost like it came from inside of him rather than outside. He was lying down in what looked like nothing but rubble. The ground itself seemed to be torn up from something, rocks from the cement ground piled up in strange places. Remains of what looked like a stone wall existed to his left, making him frown and rub his head. For some reason, he had a massive headache and he couldn't remember a thing. Ed did not even know how he got here, but he felt like those words from before told him something.
Glancing down at his lap, Ed could see his arms resting there. One of them was normal, flesh-toned skin that was loosely resting on the leg of a pair of black pants. Next to it, was an arm entirely made of metal. Both limbs seemed to function the same way, the metal arm responding just like his normal arm, even if it felt a bit heavier on his shoulder. Following the limb upwards, Ed could see that it wasn't just the hand that was metal, but the entire arm as well. At the shoulder, it looked like something had been torn apart within the mechanism, the wires somewhat worn down where it now connected to the rest of the arm. Still, it flexed when he moved it and tested the range of his motion, bending at the shoulder and at the elbow with a quick response to his desire for motion.
His chest was covered with a black tank top, but for some reason, he felt like he was missing something still. He rose to his feet, sighing as he gazed around the rubble for any sign of someone that could help. As destroyed as this place was, Ed didn't feel too confident in finding anyone. He took a few steps forward, noticing that one of his legs was heavier than the other as well. He didn't even have to look down to see that one of them was metal as well, and it made him frown and try and focus on remembering anything, even a tiny detail that could give him a hint about what had happened to him.
He stopped moving, finally letting out a cry of anger into the empty air around him. His arms were thrown into the air, before he let them fall back into his hair with a glare on his face. "Aww, come on! What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I remember anything?" he demanded angrily towards the sky, his voice echoing around him. He scowled when there wasn't a response, only the silence of the wind blowing gently around him, his braid swaying behind his back in the slight breeze.
Ed let his gaze fall back down to the ground, before his entire body went still, his eyes wide as his glare vanished from his face. There were people here, he realized, he just hadn't noticed before. Beneath the rubble, sprawled out on the ground, Edward could see bodies everywhere. Blood splattered the ground in places, though some bodies seemed to have just collapsed from weakness, no sign of injury on them. A few were trapped beneath rocks, while others had fallen with weapons by their sides. Ed's hands slowly clenched into fists, shaking at his sides as he moved towards one of them, kneeling by a man's side. He had dark black hair, and was wearing a blue uniform that matched the others. Based on the medals Ed could see, he seemed to be of a higher rank than the other soldiers, but Ed had no idea how he understood that about their uniforms.
Turning the man's face towards him, Ed grimaced at the sight of a middle aged man, with his face free of wrinkles and facial hair staring emptily at Ed. Beside him, a woman lay collapsed with blond hair and another army uniform, a gun in her hand now loosely held on the ground. For reasons Ed could not fathom, he felt a deep pain in his chest over seeing these two people like this, lifeless and empty just like the rest of this army around him.
Ed reached his arm down, seeing the faded look in the man's eyes. He must have been blind when he was alive, based on the look in the man's eyes. Now, Edward couldn't help but feel rage rise within him, his shoulders shaking as he closed the man's eyelids, letting him rest in peace after the horror that must have happened in this place.
Slowly, Ed rose back to his feet, now scowling even deeper than before as he finally found a single person left alive in this place. A man was standing before him, with scraggly long blond hair around his face. His skin was incredibly pale, and it almost looked as if he was sculpted, his body thin and toned, like a work of art in a way.. "Finally, I have enough power to control this world. Still, I need more!" he declared, his arms raised to the sky.
Ed expected to see something happen, with how ominous that voice sounded, but nothing changed. Slowly, the man began to frown, his teeth showing as he clenched them together and clenched his hands into fists. "Damn it! Why can't I reach it? I killed them all, stole away the souls of everyone here to become God, and yet it is still beyond my reach!" he declared, glaring up at the sky.
Hearing that, Ed felt something harden within him, a fierce look on his face as he instinctively clapped his hands together, pressing them to the ground and creating a spear from the stone within. He would use this weapon, and end this man before him with ease. "You…you did this to them." Ed said quietly, his head turned towards the ground before he rose to his feet, the weapon in his grip. "I cannot allow you get away with this, with stealing away all of their lives for something as pointless as power!" he shouted, charging forward with the spear in hand.
The man turned towards Ed, his eyes widening fractionally as he leaned backward, dodging Ed's careless charge with ease. The young alchemist ran past the man, gritting his teeth together in irritation before stopping and using the back end of his spear instead to attack, trying to slam it against the man who frowned at Ed. "Edward Elric, I thought I killed you. It appears you are going to be more meddlesome than I first anticipated, but it a small matter to deal with." the man insisted, making Ed turn to look over his shoulder. His spear had collided with something, based on the fact that it wouldn't move any further, but that something was not the man's body. Instead, a shield of energy seemed to exist around him, blocking any attack from reaching the man behind Ed. "Still, it would be a waste of my regained energy to battle you. In the end, you are little more than an inconvenience to me, I have better things to spend my time on."
Ed glared at him, still angry over what he had heard. "Hey, get back here!" Ed shouted, watching the man turn to leave. His footsteps didn't even falter, while Ed pouted and decided to try and follow instead. "You know me, god damn it, tell me who you are, you bastard! Who the hell am I? If you know what's good for you, you better start explaining!" Ed demanded.
This time, the footsteps stopped, while the man turned back towards Ed with a small frown. His arms rested calmly at his sides, and Ed could see he hadn't even bothered with the effort of stepping to turn around, simply turning his neck and at the waste to gaze at the younger boy. "Is that so?" he asked, before smiling widely at Edward. "Then it seems I do not have to worry at all about you. Without your memories, you cannot even hope to have the strength you once held. This is farewell, Edward Elric, for if our paths cross again, your soul will be mine." he added, this time leaving Edward still as he left.
Ed stood there still, gazing up towards the sky after a few moments with his hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides. He was weak, incapable of doing anything to protect the people that lay dead around him. Rain slowly began to fall, clouds covering up the night sky as it dripped down Ed's face and soaked into his hair. Still, he did not move to leave. Instead, he remained where he was, looking determined as he stared up into the clouded, gloomy sky. He would find that man again, and make him tell Edward all about this place and his past. Edward vowed to grow stronger, to one day defeat him for all of these people here that had lost their lives for one person's dark plans.
This is going to be the first new story of many that I am posting between tonight and tomorrow. I've run out of steam on a lot of my ideas, and rather than just starting a hundred stories that I'll never finish, I decided to start posting what I have and ask readers for suggestions on the path to take for these stories. Since I've run out of steam on a lot of these, I do not guarantee writing it to its conclusion, but feedback will help improve the odds of my coming up with a real ending. In addition, I am considering putting a poll up on my profile to see requests for which story to make my main focus. Currently, it is Karma of Contradictions, but if enough people prefer something else, that may change. For now, feel free to review and tell me what you think thus far!