Chapter 12

He slowly and painfully opened his eyes, eyes that seemed to weigh like a ton, exposing his vision to a sea of white. Rather dazed and unresponsive for the moment, he remained motionless, staring into nothingness. Dust seemed to cover his eyes; it felt like he had been sleeping for such an awfully long time.

After a span of two minutes that seemed like two hours, he suddenly realised he was lying upon a surface. With that, he pushed himself upwards into a sitting position, but not with sparks of pain that shot through his protesting muscles. Exactly how long had he been there?

Drowsily lifting his head, he saw, through his bangs of gold, an endless flow of white. White that seemed to encompass the air, the whole area, and even the surface he was seated upon. There seemed to be no walls, no windows, and no other colours – the only intrusion upon the mass of white was his entire being… no, wait.

As his sense of the surroundings grew, he noticed a strange, but somewhat familiar crimson glow towards the left, behind him, and he slowly craned his neck round to catch its colour. There was no object to behold, but the more he stared into the redness, the more he felt compelled by it. He turned his head back to himself and stared at his legs.

Legs that were both fleshy, alive, with blood running through them.

Though he was hit by a wave of surprise for a reason he could not yet justify, it was quickly dispelled by another thought – could his legs hold him up?

It did. Wobbling slightly, but now standing, he slowly turned to his body to face the different coloured light. Staring at it for a full minute, he let his mind slowly relax. It was coming back to him. Everything.

The stone was everything to them.

With a start, he looked again at his hands and feet. Left foot and right hand that were not made of metal. Where had his auto-mail gone? Where in the world was he?

The stone was everything.

Yes, if he made his way to the stone, he might know. It was everything. He might know what to do once he was in close proximity…

Not at all used to a fleshy left leg, he nearly fell when he struck out his first step. Balancing on his right foot and face scrunched in pain, he slowly reached down to massage the new sensation. It felt like pins and needles, and the more he touched, the more pain he got. He stopped and rested for a while, gazing at the stone in the indiscernible distance. Would he ever get there?

Slowly, the pain diminished. Testing waters once more, he stuck out the same foot, gently placing it in front of him, and found that it supported his weight. Hobbling weirdly, he made his way towards the crimson light, making an effort not to rush, though he could tell his heart wanted to.

Finally reaching the source of the ruby light, he frowned upon it. It had less than half remaining, at least, from what he last remembered. In his memory…

A blinding flash of red light before fading into darkness.

A voice, calling out in the darkness.

Trembling, he slowly shuffled forward to kneel in front of the stone. Touching it sent, once again, sparks down his right arm, the arm which he could now feel. Was he restored, then? The feeling was great. He felt balanced, once again able to feel with both hands, and no longer having the need to counter the metal limb's weight. He felt at ease.

He was in peace.

Although, it did not last long. He clearly remembered the price of peace, a terrible one to pay. Equivalent exchange stood with its foundation shaking; he no longer acknowledged the rule in light of what had happened. The price… both past and present… had been too much. And was there a result?

No. There was no Alphonse with him.

Soul and mind were lost; without them, the body was useless. His surroundings started to fade.

It was entirely his fault.

"…No, Nii-san."

Snapping up from his crouched position, he quickly turned right and focused to where the voice sounded from, finding a familiar figure standing.

Alphonse was looking down on him.

"Nii-san…"

Alphonse calmly walked over to him, and grabbed the kneeling boy by the shoulders, shaking gently. The latter could hardly believe it; he was feeling the touch on both his shoulders. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Nii-san, it ISN'T your fault." Al brushed away the unshed tears and continued, "Even if it was, it is not entirely yours to bear." He calmly held on to the now shaking shoulders.

The elder Elric could not speak. He merely continued sitting there, trembling with the feeling of wonder and guilt, both crashing in equal measures in his heart. Here was Alphonse, touching him. He could feel his brother once more. What else mattered?

He would gladly stay here.

"NO."

Alphonse pulled away from him. Had his brother heard his own heart? The younger boy stepped back, looking stern for once. A dark look washed over his face; it was very rare for him, even when he was alive. It did catch the attention he needed, though.

"Nii-san, you have to go back."

There was a very long pause in which neither of them moved. Then, miraculously, a voice other than Alphonse's echoed in the hollow white space.

"…A…Al…Alphonse…" His voice crackled from long disuse. He cleared his throat and spoke again.

"…N…No."

Alphonse bent down and cupped his brother's face, speaking into his eyes. "NO, Nii-san. This," indicating the space they were in, "is not for you. You DON'T belong here, Nii-san."

Alphonse stood up.

"…This…is where souls come."

All at once, figures with familiar faces appeared around them. They were all smiling, and at ease.

"This, Nii-san, is the center of peace. Where WE belong."

He knelt by his brother this time. Placing his hand on his elder brother's cheek, he spoke softly.

"Your mind and soul, like us, was brought here, just for the moment. You were trapped in your own mind for so long, I was worried." Alphonse gave a sigh, and continued, "We may not have bodies to return to, but YOU do." The figures around them disappeared save for Al, and he finished his explanation. "You have to go back."

His hand was shaken off; the other Elric was firmly declining. Still using his hoarse voice, the latter croaked, "…you're here and… and whole." He cleared his throat again. "…And… and so am I. I'm staying… here. Where you are." He stretched out his hands and placed them Alphonse's shoulders, helping himself up.

Alphonse could not believe what he just heard. His brother just had to act stubborn now, of all times. Before he could utter another word, the elder of the two had turned away and was facing the stone once more.

"…What else do you think you can do, Nii-san?" He curiously looked at the other boy, who was merely gazing intently into the heart of the stone. "I have no body to return to, and the stone here, like us, is like a fragment of what it is; I'm sure it's not as strong as it would be in reality." He took a step towards his brother, who had not moved since he started staring.

"…Nii-san?"

"…No matter what, I've got to try." Turning to face Alphonse, his golden bangs swishing at the side of his face, he gave Alphonse a look of confidence.

"…I'm…I'm sure if we are in some dimension, there's a 'door' to this place too. And from there, using this stone, we can get out. You and I both." He turned back to the crimson block. Alphonse gave a cry, he reached out for his brother's hand.

"No, Nii-san! Don't you get it? I didn't require the stone to get to you!" That brought a small jerk to the other boy, who turned back in wonder. Alphonse ignored it and continued.

"I got through the gate myself; I just had to see you! And when I found what you had become, I merely wanted to shake you awake!" Alphonse was trembling, fearing what his brother might think of next, so he rushed on. "The gate brought me to the other side, where you were, as I had figured. Please," and he was pulling on the arm his hands had found, "don't sacrifice yourself anymore. You've done enough for the both of us. I did the best I could, too."

When a look of confusion painted across the older boy's face, Alphonse let his hands go. Letting them drop to his side, he explained, unabashed, "When Envy scratched the seal, my soul was torn; I could still move the armour back then, but I had to do something quick. In my own selfishness, I touched the stone; I made myself whole again. And, of course, I restored Amestris a little."

He closed his eyes as he remembered his own trauma – first, the feeling of soul splitting, and wrenching itself from the armour. It felt like he had been physically sliced apart, but yet still retaining a form of conscious, still present. Second, trying to keep a hold on the armour of a body, which felt like grasping for thin air. He had reached for the stone…

He sadly looked at the remainder of the stone. He could only do so much for Amestris before the soul lost contact with armour altogether. Streets and cities were mostly repaired, but the cities and towns on the outskirts were not. Mainly the center areas of Amestris were restored; Resembool, sadly, was near the south-eastern border and the aftermath of the incident saw Pinako and family moving to where they were now.

But it seemed like any form of explanatory was redundant in the ears of his brother; the hot-headed youth was now blazing with hope, a fiery look in his eyes, for he had seen something that Alphonse had not. Without waiting for Alphonse to question, he started reasoning on his own.

"You said there was a gate. If a gate can open here… and that you used the stone, before you… you… before you came here," he stuttered momentarily, "then it must have stuck to you which led it to being here." He gave the stone the deepest glare yet. "…And I can bet you, with a gate being able to open here, there's a chance of it being able to open to the real gate, too. And…" he mentioned off-handedly, "…we can use the stone to–"

"–What are you thinking, Nii-san?!" Alphonse was horror stricken. He stepped away from his brother. "You CAN'T think of opening the gate here!? The… the…" he could not continue, as he remembered the awful tentacles reaching out for him.

"They don't take anything," he merely carried on, as if he had read Alphonse's mind. "If it opens on this end, then, hopefully under my direction, it'll bring us to the real gate. I know the feeling…" His voice paused for a moment, remembering something dark. "…I'll know when we are there. I can guide us."

"Us?!"

"Yes. Us." He looked towards Alphonse, who had all fear evident in his face. "If we can open the gate without the stone, and you could guide yourself to the real world without any sort of price, then I can guide us to the real gate. Hopefully…" his voice softened, "…hopefully the Truth will accept the stone, and give us your body back."

He had thought about it clearly. Unfolding the steps in his mind like a map, he would first make sure of the insignia to open the gate. That would require Al's help. Then, making sure he had the stone and Al with him, he would guide them towards the center, the real gate. Like a spider's web, he had felt it the last time he opened the gate, the second time in his entire life – the real gate lay in the center of everything. And… remembering clearly as though it had just happened, that same time that he had opened the gate… he saw… the skinny, malnourished body of his brother. Hair overgrown for there was no way to cut it, trapped in that void of a dimension still pretty much unknown to all. That body had told him, personally, "You're not my soul. I can't come with you."

That had been when Al was absent; he could not then fathom a way to bring Al's soul there without first dislodging it from the armour safely. But, now, with Al's soul present, whole and with him, he was sure that the body can make it through.

He just hoped for no more set-backs. As long as Al can come back, it mattered not whether he lost another arm, another leg, or internal organs.

Alphonse had been staring at him the whole time. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and echoed eerily through the void.

"…My… my body? I can… I can go back to my body?"

The older boy held his forehead between his thumb and forefinger. Had Alphonse forgotten already? He had told him after the Gluttony incident… And, in any case… He removed his fingers from his face and pointedly ignored the question. They had to try it now, and soon. He suddenly felt there was a time running somewhere… and he did not want them to remain too long in limbo where he himself was unsure what constituted the place.

"Al…" Turning to look at his petrified brother, he threw the words as quickly as he could for the least impact it might have on Alphonse.

"…Al, show me how you open the gate."

000 00 000 00 000

They were more or less ready. The transmutation circle, which could not be drawn out as they had no material whatsoever, was described as fully as possible by Al. Keeping it firmly in mind, the former state alchemist slowly pictured it on the surface at their feet. Kneeling between the red stone and Alphonse, he placed Al's hand fully upon his right wrist, and made it hold on tight. His left hand, he made a tentative touch, drawing out sparks, before getting used to the feel and placing his palm fully onto the hard surface. Alphonse shivered; even though not directly touching, he could feel the stone all the way through his brother's hand. He gave a hesitant look to his left where his brother was.

"Are you sure you can handle the stone?"

"No time worrying about that now; at least, with you holding on, I'm sure both of us can control enough not to use it in the process."

They took a last look at each other before facing the floor. It felt like the beginning of everything. The first time they carried out that failure of a transmutation. They were so naïve back then. Now, they had nothing more to lose. Al took the lead. Placing his hand on the floor to visualise the circle, he sent a mental image running through their hands into his brother's own mind. The latter then placed his palm onto the cold surface, drawing out a great flash of light as the visualised circle glowed distinctly on the floor, and sparks flew from it.

Before either knew it, they were in the clutches of many arms. Pulsating black hands grabbed them from every corner. Both of them were panting – the stone was glowing, flickering faster and faster, and although the glow kept the arms away from it, it meant that it was getting harder to control. Both boys held on to each other tight – Alphonse first noticed the directional waves in the sea of arms.

"…Nii… Nii-san… over there…" He indicated with his free arm.

They made their way through the black jungle; they were now using the stone to push their way forward, but at the same time, controlling to their best effort not to utilise the stone. Following the flow, they headed to where the core of the arms were, the center of it all. Alphonse felt his brother's arm tremble; he looked worriedly to his left. His brother seemed tense, and was staring at the heart of the jumbled mess they were in.

"…This is it."

At those words, the heart seemingly split open; as the blackness pulled apart, some white showed through. As it further stretched, it became a gigantic eye. The same eye that both brothers had seen; the same eye that took everything from them. They stared at the eye, and the eye stared back.

Now, a new set of arms reached from behind the eye and grabbed them all. The tangle of arms started to break their souls apart, but there was hardly a look of worry from either of the brothers' faces. It was inevitable. They shut their eyes simultaneously.

Sure enough, when they reopened them, they were in another realm, a realm that both were sure they had been, once before. They finally let go of their firm grips and took a look around.

Strangely enough, there were now four giant doors. One of which was right behind them, and Alphonse assumed that was the door they just emerged from. There was one on the right, and one straight ahead.

And the door on the left…

"…Th-that's…!!!" Alphonse took a step forward.

"Yea, Al," replied his brother, who was standing where he was, staring in turn at all doors, and processing some inner thought. "…That's you."

He shook his head and seemingly thrashed out his thoughts from his mind. Walking to the side of Alphonse, he took a deep sigh of relief. From the distance, seated down, the body of Alphonse turned around to look at the newcomers. Seeing Alphonse's soul, however, its eyes widened, and it slowly stood up.

Alphonse was shocked at the state of his body. It was so thin, and bones were obviously showing up in places on taut skin. Unkempt hair, running past the waist, were tossed back as body-Al tried to get a better look.

Alphonse took more steps towards it.

"That's… that's my…"

"…Yeesss… That IS your body, silly."

Both brothers looked around for the source of the third voice; the Truth had finally joined them. Alphonse gave a shout of surprise; having turned his head back front, he jumped in shock he came face to face with the presence of the Truth, who seemingly appeared in a matter of split-seconds. Alphonse stumbled a few feet back; his brother rushed in front of him and struck out a star pose, wanting to protect his little brother.

"…Oh? Look who have we here! TWO friends of mine! How absolutely NICE to see you once again!" The Truth gave a truly hollow chuckle. "Care to spare me more of your limbs again? Though I don't actually have many choices left, do I?"

Alphonse gave a start. "Nii… Nii-san, your arm, and… leg…"

The former state alchemist could hardly be bothered; he glared with loathing at the humanoid shape in front of him. The humanoid shape that possessed his right arm and left foot. He felt his metallic foot scrape the ground as he took to a firmer pose.

"Oh, no, no, no…" The Truth faked a sad face; although, without any facial features, all they could tell was from the gap in the space that seemed to be its mouth. The Truth walked away from the duo, and placed some distance between itself and the brothers before settling down.

"…Don't get so uptight and tense now, lil' alchemist!" A twitch in golden eyebrows. "Oh! You don't like that now, my bad." It gave another hollow chuckle. "I'm telling you, I'm really glad you guys showed up. It's been a while since YOU came in, but, the same can't be said for the soul behind you."

Alphonse gave a gasp; his brother's pose slackened as the older boy threw a question back at the entity.

"…Wait, what do you mean by that?" He turned back to look at Alphonse. "You came here here before? When?"

Alphonse was all a blur.

"…I… I don't know…"

Another chuckle from the Truth brought the Elrics' attention back to their front. The entity slowly brought itself to its feet.

"Of COURSE he doesn't know!" The Truth slowly made its way towards them; instinct from the elder Elric made him bring his arms up again. "That dear boy had his memory taken as a price, trying to sneak around me like that." It paused, somewhere in front of the brothers. "Too bad I could only take that little bit, however; nothing much you can get from a soul but its data."

The Truth turned around and walked back to where Al's body was standing. "And that," continuing his speech, "can be considered its memory."

Alphonse gave a slight shiver. He realised he himself was no more solid than the Truth itself, and he glided past his brother, who dropped his arms in surprise.

"What ELSE did you take from me? What other memories have you obtained?"

The Truth did not chuckle, but put on a serious face. In a flash, it disappeared, and only its voice could be heard echoing around the dimension.

"…Say… I don't know… Why don't you try recalling something?" An evil cackle followed, and it resounded all around.

"STOP screwing around!" The golden haired Elric had shouted. The echoes ate into the evil laughter and for a moment, both brothers could hear nothing but the last bits of the yell reverberating in the distance.

"…SURE…" Alphonse gave a second shout and moved away, for the voice had sounded directly in his left ear, and there was the Truth again. The entity was serious now; it made its way to the other being in the void, and addressed him alone.

"Let's stop screwing around, then. What do YOU want?" It appeared to stare into the eyes of the boy. "I could tell you what I took, no problem, and, surely… you know there's a price," it encircled the youth, like evaluating its prey, "for everything else that you ask for…"

"Sure hell I know, and I want to know," came a fast reply, and the boy never took his golden eyes off the stalking entity. "When did Al come in here? How much of his memory did you take from him?"

"…And?"

"And here's my request – I want that body back." He indicated Al's body, still rooted to the same spot in the distance.

The Truth looked round at what the boy was pointing at, and gave a hoot of laughter.

"HAH! That?! You want that? For what?! Surely YOU are not the one to make the request?!" It turned towards the other Elric, and now addressed the soul. "You, I'm sure, are the one who needs it, don't you?" It zipped towards Alphonse in a flash, giving the poor soul another shock.

"Come on; tell me the request. Say it. Say what you want." It seemed to make Alphonse feel like he was a small kid.

Alphonse looked dubiously at the entity, then looked to his brother for advice, only to see an irate look upon that face. He knew he had to be careful; the Truth was sly.

"…I, I want… my body back." It came out as a mutter.

"Sorry? I didn't quite catch you. Say it again, say it again~" The entity was toying with him. Alphonse now got irritated too.

"I said I want my body back!" Even that sounded really loud in his ears. The Truth chuckled once more.

"Good!! VERY good! Let me see," It paced around Alphonse, who now took to staring at the encircling being. "Let me see… You want your body back!... Hmm… Well now…"

It strode away from the boy's soul and walked behind the body of the Alphonse. It threw its arms, one of flesh and one of pure energy, around the shoulders.

"…Hmmm. Nope. Sorry." It enjoyed the look of pure fury on the brothers' faces. "No can do."

"WHAT do you mean by that!"

"Simple, shorty." The Truth appeared in an instant, near the former state alchemist. "No, means NO."

"But we are going to offer something in return!" cried Alphonse, whose soul was now quivering in confusion.

"WE?!" The Truth turned towards Alphonse then, and scornfully continued. "We?! The request came from you! I would have to take something from you! And sadly," it turned away from Alphonse, "you have nothing else to offer." It went back to the Al's body and pulled it so that they both sat down. It started stroking the head of the body. "Not that your memories are… fascinating…"

It looked at the soul of Alphonse, who was now shaking visibly, and continued speaking. "You came sneaking around, trying to get out, didn't you? From your plane to this plane; that's your door over there." It inclined its head to the door on their right. A flash of realisation played across both Elrics' faces; the Truth chuckled. "And from what I've just seen, I pretty much guess that you've understood. YES, you guys create a new door each time you come in here. That's proof of toll you gotta pay. And…" It focused on stroking the hair of the soulless body again. "You really have nothing to offer."

"WAIT!" The older Elric cried out. The entity stopped stroking. The boy pointed at the red stone that was some distance behind them all.

"We are offering that! That is the Philosopher's stone! It's…" he suddenly faltered, as if he came to realise another matter, "…it's… highly… pursued… and valuable… …" He broke off.

"…Highly valuable and rare in YOUR world, if that's what you're trying to say." The entity hit the nail on the head. The golden haired youth flinched. "What ever can I do with that? It means nothing to me." It continued stroking. Al's body never moved, but its eyes were following the moving body of the other Elric, who had made his way to the stone.

Touching it, he broke off a small piece. There was nothing else he could do, but keep moving forward. He turned around and moved towards the seated entity and his brother's body; he had to try.

Reaching them, he held out the hand that had the stone piece. The Truth cocked its head to the side; it stuck out the fleshy arm that once belonged to the boy standing before it, and caught hold of the red piece that the boy released. On instant contact, a small burst of red light resulted in a reaction in the Truth's entity; it sprouted an eye. It looked eerily weird, and at the same time funny, for there was no socket to contain the eyeball. Instead, it was merely hanging and revolving in one part of the head of the being. The Truth smiled then.

"Oh HO… so that's what it can give me." It stood up from the soulless body and made its way to the stone. Reaching forth a finger, it touched the stone, a little. One ear appeared on the right side of the head. It turned back towards the Elrics.

"Just to reassure you, I didn't take much from him," it spoke, indicating Alphonse. "Like I said, there's nothing much I can gain from a soul, and, memories are worthless to me." It turned back to the stone.

"This, coming from the two of you, fine. I accept." The brothers heaved a sigh of relief on two accounts.

"But."

The Elrics looked sharply at the entity; it was grinning madly now, with a distinct mouth in its place. It was slowly gaining parts of a human body, and from the way different organs were popping up, it was hard to keep a steady watch over it. The entity now used the new mouth to speak, retaining its own hollow voice.

"Coming from the TWO of you… it means you are sharing. That's… not going to be enough."

The entity had finished absorbing the stone; it was quite a sight to look at. Mismatched skin colours indicated different body parts having belonged to a different human, and it had one black and one green pupil for eyes. Overall, it seemed like a patchwork. But the entity minded not. Some parts were evidently missing; the stone was not enough to render it a full body. It was, ironically, still missing a right leg. And hair. If Alphonse was sure, there were bound to be missing organs within the body of the Truth as well. Nonetheless, the entity took a deep breath; smiling, it addressed the brothers once more.

"Ahh… that's how breathing feels like. And… no," picking up from where it had left off earlier, "it's not enough. Soul data, I refuse to take." It turned away from the boy's soul, and eyed instead the fleshy leg of the elder Elric brother.

"But… I could really do with a proper right leg."

"NO!!"

Alphonse cried out, his own hollow voice sounding throughout the dimension. "No! I can't have you sacrificing yourself, Nii-san! Not again!" He glided towards his brother who was not looking at him but at the Truth, contemplating. "Nii-san!!!" He hovered in his brother's gaze. "Stop thinking about it! No, Nii-san!"

"Well I say it's a yes, judging your brother's reaction." The Truth had dragged the soulless body towards them. "Well, here it is. I accept the exchange." It pushed the body towards the older Elric, who caught the frail figure.

"No, Nii-san, don't accept it! I can't have you do—hey?!"

Alphonse could barely finish his sentence, for his brother had held out a hand of his own body and stuck it through his soul. For a still moment, nothing happened. Then, like a vacuum, Alphonse's soul spun, sucked back into his own body. Instincts always on the dot, the elder Elric gently held the frail body, for it had gone rigid during the merger. The eyes of his brother, now in flesh, were closed. He carefully watched, as said eyes slowly fluttered, and opened. Golden eyes stared into brown; the latter's become wet with tears and a soft voice came from the frail being, only both could hear.

"Nii…san…"

But Alphonse was still frail; being the older brother, he heaved Alphonse onto his back, like a big brother would, and faced the Truth again. Alphonse could not protest; his now weak body prevented him from either shouting or stopping his brother.

"As promised, you can have my leg." He gave the entity a look of pure repugnance, and watched carefully. The Truth looked at two of them, a strange light in its face. The golden haired youth took a wary step back.

"…Yea… but, you know…" Behind them the gates had already opened; without warning, hands started grabbing them again. The elder Elric struggled; the arms were pulling Alphonse from him and at him as well.

"…I was suddenly thinking…" The look on the Truth's face was madly distorted now – smiling horridly, it chuckled, "…I actually HATE how perfect he's gonna get outta here. Now that he's valuable once more…" A bigger arm came out of nowhere and grabbed Alphonse's leg. The weak body could not do a thing about it.

"…I think I'll take HIS leg, instead!" The entity erupted in evil laughter. A clap sounded in the chaos; the former state alchemist transmuted the arm that had hooked around Alphonse's leg.

"You'll NOT disfigure him AGAIN!" roared the alchemist, and with the agility from the past, he picked up Alphonse and ran for the door.

"Oh… not so fast…" The Truth gave his mismatched fingers a snap; the gate started to close. Throwing all caution to the wind, he looked down at his little brother in his arms as he ran.

"Al… I'll see you on the other side."

And with that, he tossed Alphonse's body through the closing gate. Alphonse had no time to respond before the gate closed with a loud boom; the remaining Elric fell to his knees. Picking himself up, he turned and glared into the eyes of the Truth. It calmly stared back, mouth still grinning.

"…You scum."

The alchemist could no longer hold in his anger. He launched himself at the truth. However, his drawn back fist was easily caught by the other being; he later found himself flying towards the door that had just closed and landed hard against the floor. Slowly picking himself up once more, he could barely get his legs straight when he was slammed against the door itself. The entity was gripping him hard by the hair – he felt several strands part ways with his scalp.

"…Scum, am I? I am EVERYTHING." It used the other hand and held the struggling Elric by the neck, nearly lifting the poor boy off his feet. "You have angered me, but no matter." It placed a hand on the boy's right leg, and gave it a squeeze.

"…No matter." It repeated, and the gates opened again. Once more, a large hand appeared and grabbed the same leg as the Truth relinquished the hold on the boy.

As Edward Elric disappeared through the gates, the entity stood grinning madly.

As the gates snapped shut once more, a new leg materialised and merged itself with the patchwork of a body on the body of the Truth.

"I STILL claimed my price…"

A/N: Sorry, this thing actually took 11 Word-doc pages, and at font size 9 too! It's really long, I hope I didn't get carried away, but still, it's finally up. One more chapter, and this story is done. I'm really, really sorry it took so long. 5000+ words. Enjoy.