"Now there are very few things that can be traded for your brother Edward Elric. You'll need something better than an arm if you want more than a piece of him."
Edward's mind was whirling. He felt dizzy. He wasn't stupid. He knew what he had to trade, but damn him, he was terrified. He'd die for his brother in a heartbeat, but trading himself this sadistic asshole seemed significantly worse than Oblivion or Heaven or whatever. And poor Al! He'd be left alone and would undoubtedly immediately throw himself back into the gate to save his older brother. There was no question that Ed was going to do it, but he needed to make sure this brother wouldn't try to sacrifice himself to save him.
Huntokar stirred in her sleep beneath the cool desert sand. It wasn't difficult for her, shifting under the weight of hundred of pounds of sand, sleeping at a pressure that would have crushed most organisms. But she was a god, and she had been in this desert for long enough for it to seep into her, and for her to pour her heart into body sang with adoration at her little town. Her mind burst with pride over its toughness, its resilience, its ability to bounce back from the barrage of tragedies flung its way, a result of so many versions of itself being stacked atop one another and their tendency to bleed together. She twitched in her sleep and her bliss was tainted. She flinched at that thought. She felt the guilt at what she had done to her beautiful Night Vale always, even in sleep. The sticky heavy feeling was starting to sink uncomfortably into her semiconscious chest again, and she felt like she needed to do something about it. She couldn't do anything to save her town from the state of fracturing realities that it was currently in, the citizens of her brave Night Vale would just have to tread carefully around those jagged edges. But maybe if she did something Good, she could stave off this tar-like feeling of self-loathing. She sprouted her drowsy consciousness outward. Pushing into every reality she could find for a creature that was especially in need of Godly Help. This couldn't be an average plight. It had to be significant. It had to matter a lot, or at least enough. Oh.She stretched beneath the moist and gritty soil. What a perfect addition to my town he will be. She did the godly equivalent of a yawn. He'll do just fine
Truth leaned forward in anticipation. It knew that the alchemist was aware of the only choice it had given him, but It was eager to know what conditions the boy would try to tack onto the deal. It wanted to see the fear in the child's eyes when he sacrificed himself. And then It'd have eternity to entertain himself with the fiery alchemist. The kid could use a little breaking.
dward Elric was breathing deeply now. He had his fists and jaw clenched in resignation. Any moment now.
But Truth was suddenly distracted. As the little alchemist offered himself in exchange for his brother, the God's mind was elsewhere. When the boy asked, begged really, his voice cracked and defeated, that his brother not be able to get him back. That his brother would know that please, this is what Ed wanted, Truth could feel a pressing, insistent Presence. It was quite a powerful Presence too. The Being was shocked, which in itself was shocking. It had been aware that there were other realities, and other gods, of course it had been! But its reality was to out of the way of most others, so it had been, up until this point in eternity, left to its own devices. But here was this feeling. This root-like tendril of thought which obviously belonged to something just as Old as Truth. And Truth was a little scared because of it.
I'll make this payment. It was a sleepy voice. Carelessly powerful. It filled that vast blank of Truth's mind. Let me do that. I want to do something Good.
Truth felt the payment that this Thing was offering in substitute of the Whole of Edward Elric. A mass of energy. The boy's equivalent in raw power.
No, thought Truth. He needs to suffer too. Someone does.
Truth felt a sigh from the being, it reverberated through the whole of his reality.
I'll take him. My domain isn't always… kind. And Truth knew the presence meant it. Truth was disappointed, but also shaken. It wasn't used to other Gods popping in to chat, let alone bargain, and It figured it was better to lose two brothers than start conflicts with powerful gods.
Fine. It said. Have fun.
Hey, sorry to anyone who tried to make sense of the tangled mess of code (? something like that) that decided to attach itself onto this fic. I guess this site doesn't like copy and paste? I tried to make it more legible. This is what it's supposed to look like.