I fell onto the ground with a thump.
Actually, the terminology ground was a bit misleading, as the surface under me was not what I would usually describe as ground. It was slick, smooth and black, spreading out in the distance for what seemed like forever.
Only one thing marred the landscape. There was a massive set of doors suspended in space. An eye stared at me, emblazoned on the Door's side. "Oh," I said. "Is this… Is this Amestris?"
Nope, a voice echoed, in my head and in the air around me all at once. You still have a ways to go.
I turned around slowly, blinking dazedly. A white figure with a massive smile lounged behind me, looking at me despite the fact that it had no eyes that I could see. "You're Truth," I said.
You know me, it said. Surprise. After all, I am you, and you are me.
"Edward Elric told me about you," I said, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. I hadn't expected to ever have to face down Truth alone. On my imagination, the four of us had demanded entryway into Amestris together, and Truth had backed down. Of course, I had forced my way here by acting like a selfish idiot, and now I was alone.
It serves you right, Truth said, as though it knew what I was thinking. You thought that this would be easy? You were wrong. And, if I remember correctly, you promised me anything.
"I did," I said. "And I'll still give it to you."
Truth walked towards me, putting one white hand on my arm. I did my best not to flinch away from its presence. How about an arm? Its voice whispered, in my head. What are you going to do with an arm in Amestris? Isn't it your utopia? I assume you thought that nobody needed arms there. Or a leg? I'll admit, a leg is a good thing to keep, but you have a price to pay. And a much bigger one than anyone else who's come this way.
I found that my breath was coming in short gasps. Sweat trickled down my hairline. "What do you mean?" I asked. Truth repulsed me. It terrified me. But I had made it a promise, and this was the price of my foolishness.
Look around yourself, Truth said, waving a hand. I looked. Everything was black, except for the doors, me, and Truth. I frowned.
"Wasn't everything supposed to be white? That's what Ed told me."
Truth's smile seemed to grow a few inches. Ed came when the Portal was open, Truth said. This is the closed version. Your price includes opening this whole place up once again. My heart sank. The place was massive. According to Ed, several homunculi had died just to open the Gate the first time. What was I going to have to give up to open it again?
Truth's grip on my arm became painful. I think that I will be taking this arm, it said. And what else… You need to pay for passing through the Gate as well. You know what you don't need? A kidney. You have two of them; me taking one isn't going to kill you.
"So that's my price? An arm and a kidney, to open the Portal of Truth and pass through it? That doesn't seem like much." I knew pointing it out was probably a stupid idea, but Truth knew what it was doing better than me. Why was the price so low? The idea of losing an arm and a kidney didn't much appeal to me, but it was better than losing my head, which is what I'd been expecting.
Oh, there's more, Truth said. After all, the homunculi that opened the Gate last time… They had to die to open this place. Do you think that it's fair that you get to stay alive and they don't? Swallowing hard, I shook my head. They died because of the energy they contained, Truth explained. But now that you've woken me up, I am all the energy this place needs. I won't need the homunculi anymore. So I'm giving them to you.
"Oh, God," I whispered. The price was much, much more than I ever could have imagined. Because of my selfish desires, I was releasing a scourge on the city of Amestris. I hadn't even been there yet and was already destroying the place that I had hoped would one day be my home.
Truth seemed to reach inside its body, which evidently wasn't as corporeal as I'd thought, and began to pull. Something long and clearly serpentine was dragged out, eyes closed. "Envy," I said, recognizing the dragon-like creature. Ed had spent a long hour explaining everything about Envy to me. The shape-shifting homunculus had fascinated me in a way the others had not. "He's the most dangerous," I murmured aloud.
Truth dropped Envy to the floor and he fell with a crash. His lips pulled back from his teeth in a sleepy snarl, but he remained asleep. Don't worry, Truth said. He won't wake up until he's back in Amestris. Truth immediately reached inside itself again and pulled out a wild-looking black-haired boy.
"Wrath," I said. "I hope he's still on the right side… I'm going to need all the help I can get with Envy back in Amestris."
Gluttony, too, Truth reminded me, pulling a horrific monstrosity out of its body. I flinched and walked backwards, away from the massive multi-limbed horror Truth dropped to the ground at my feet.
I looked down at the three sleeping homunculi, gnawing at the inside of my cheek. "What have I done?" I whispered.
You've started a lot of things, Leoma, Truth said. I think it's time to head on and see what you've created. I heard a loud screech, and something grabbed my waist. I looked down to see a black hand circling around me. I felt another tap, and turned around. There was a swarm of little hands coming out of the doors, reaching out to grab me and the three homunculi. The homunculi were pulled in first and vanished inside the now-open doors. The little hands still held me tightly, but didn't pull me away.
Truth stepped towards me and grabbed my left arm. Immediately it began to dissolve, and Truth's smile grew massive as my arm was absorbed into its own. And now for the kidney, it said. It plunged its hand inside my abdomen. There was no pain, only the strange sensation of something being pulled away. And then Truth removed its hand.
The blackness around me burst into a dazzling white. And the Portal is now open, Truth said. Thank you for helping me, Leoma. You're the first person in a long time willing to give up anything for something they love.
The hands began to drag me back, but I resisted, straining to stay near Truth. "Wait," I panted, reaching out for him. "Ed. Al. Noah. They need to get through here too. You have to let them."
Don't worry, Truth said. The Portal is open now. This time, I will be keeping it open as well; I won't let them close it. On that you have my word. You can come home any time you like. And they can come to Amestris any time they like. I will not stop them. It turned away from me and began to walk into the blinding whiteness, and the hands finally managed to jerk me off my feet.
I was dragged towards the doors, and didn't resist. Isn't this what you always wanted, Leoma? I thought to myself. A way into Amestris. Now you have it. Plus, you've managed to endanger the lives of thousands of people. An added bonus!
I was almost inside the doors. Truth was watching me go, and it raised my arm and waved at me solemnly. Good luck, I thought I heard it whisper, though I couldn't be sure.
And then the little hands yanked me through the doors, and everything transformed into a world of pain.
"Auuuugh!" I screamed, clutching at the stump of my arm. "Aaaah! Noooo!" I had no idea where I was, and because of the extreme pain emanating from my arm stump and my abdomen, I didn't feel like finding out.
I turned over and vomited blood. It splashed over the white surface beneath me. I looked up dazedly and took in the buildings around me. It appeared as though I was in some kind of underground cavern filled with buildings. This is the place where Alphonse opened the Gate the last time, I thought, grimly. I guess it makes sense that I should come back to this place. My mouth felt metallic, and I opened my jaws and watched as more blood flooded onto the cold stone beneath me. My arm was still gushing blood, and there was a rapidly-growing pool of the stuff around me.
I heard a soft groan, and turned to look. Wrath the homunculus lay a few feet away from me. He was blinking dazedly and moving slightly. Gluttony lay a few more yards away. It didn't look like he was ready to wake up yet, which was fine with me. In my pitiful state I'd be snapped up in no time.
Envy was curled up on the bell tower of the church above me, his serpentine body lithe and dangerous. He could be coming around any second. I have to get out of here. The Gate crackled and sparked a few feet to my right. There was no way I was going back through there. Not even if I died alone down here.
Wrath suddenly bolted to his feet. "Please!" He yelled, eyes shut, as if he were in pain. "I just wanna go home, to where mommy is! AAAAHH-huh?" He opened his eyes. His expression changed from one of pain to confusion, and then realization, and then…anger. "What is this?" He growled. "I was with mommy! Why am I back? Who brought me here?" His furious gaze turned to me. "Who are you!" He snapped. "Is this your fault? Were you the one who took me away from mommy?"
"I… yes," I whispered, blood trickling down my chin. Wrath was going to kill me. I knew he would. I would never even get to really see Amestris. I was going to die in this underground place. I coughed, bringing up a little more blood.
Wrath hissed and lunged, crouching next to my prone head. "Why would you do that?" He yelled. "I was happy! I was with mommy!"
"It was… an accident. I didn't mean to bring you back. I'm... ack… sorry." Wrath stared at me for a minute, his huge eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"You're dying, human," he said, looking at the blood. "What happened to you?"
"The Gate," I wheezed. "I paid the price… for trying to get through. I opened the Portal. So Truth brought you back."
Behind us, Gluttony snorted. "You should run…" I said. "Gluttony is waking up. Envy's here too. They hate you."
"You know all about me, human! How?" I coughed again, and from the amount of blood that splattered from my parted lips, I knew my time was almost up.
"I… I can't…" My vision was dimming. My abdomen ached, and my arm burned like fire. I was dying.
I felt something grab me, and I was lifted into the air. "You have to stay alive, human girl," Wrath whispered. "Cuz I've got a lot of questions." I tried to answer him, but my tongue was too coated with blood to make a sound, and gradually everything spiraled away.
