Color Theorem

Summary: For someone who managed to become a State Alchemist at the age of 12, Ed sure was dense. A color collection for Fullmetal Alchemists golden couple, Ed and Winry!
Author's Note: This is more AU – it's kinda outlandish but I've been daydreaming about this for days now so I decided 'what the hay!' and wrote it out. I'm probably wrong on some aspects but I hope you can still enjoy it! Hmm, these one-shots are more like story-prompts to me... eh, they're snippets in time, technically one-shots XD

Please review!

Disclaimer: If I owned Fullmetal Alchemist, Riza would be an All-Star basketball player.

014: Black

It was an accident.

It wasn't suppose to happen – not to her of all people. Not to country-born Winry Rockbell. She was the intruder here. She was the enemy. She was to be blamed.

She was not suppose to be wondering a highly-restricted military-operated building in the first place.

She faintly wondered what would have happened if she had only stayed inside Riza Hawkeye's office like she had been ordered to instead of sneaking out and meandering around the giant building, inevitably following a passage that felt strange and elicited a gut feeling that just told her to follow it. She had been faced with a clearly transmuted wall and she had crushed it open with her wrench, watching the rest simply crumble away. It did not take a genius to know the alchemy had been weak. Whoever had done it was obviously not very good, severely distracted, or weak for one reason or another...

But those thoughts vanished when she saw a narrow hall and a looming door.

She wasn't suppose to open it. She wasn't even suppose to bethere, panting and alone, listening to the eerie whistle of air, and watching the strong wooden door obsessively.

After all, she had traveled to Central only to show Riza the new automail project she had been working on, since the older woman took some genuine interest in her life's work.

But she could not have let it happen...

Not again.

Never again.

Even though access to this particular area was strictly forbidden to the likes of her, she could care less as she stared at the five dead bodies that surrounded that devil's circle. The once-looming door behind her seemed so small, so weak, now that she stood before something greater than even herself.

She was there, whether she believed it or not, standing at the doorway, staring wide-eyed at the familiar geometric shapes and streaks that painted the room like a sick masterpiece. The whole room was aglow with an ominous color, a violet so dark it nearly resembled black at it's darkest shade. She could feel the energy prickling around her; surging through her body as she watched that man, his eyes dull and haunted, slap his hands together as all alchemists did whenever they were preparing to preform a transmutation.

Only she recognized these symbols.

She had seen them all those years ago, when Ed and Al had done their first human transmutation. She had glimpsed them before her grandmother pulled her away from the crime scene. She had also seen it in Ed's little travel log; the half-hearted doodle in the back, though this replica was scarily perfect in nature.

She remembered all those awful memories that never ceased to remind her of how close she had come to losing them. Over and over and over again. And how she had finally, once and for all, lost them both five years prior to the very gate which was going to be open in that moment.

And she hadn't felt true fear like this since Ed had come back from that other world with a half-working arm and leg, eyes exhausted and wasted and his skin a pasty, sickly, white.

He's going to... She parted her lips as the alchemist summoned that crackle of energy.

This alchemist was going to preform the ever-forbidden human transmutation.

"No," she whispered, barely taking notice of the sudden ruckus around her; how those twisted scientists that watched eagerly were starting to encircle her, ask her who she was and how she entered.

But she had come in the brink of time, the man took no notice of her as he concentrated and slapped his hands on the chalky concrete floor.

"NO!!" Winry cried, bolting forward and grabbing the man by the collar.

But she was a tad too late.

Suddenly, sound ceased. Winry froze as she stared at the abrupt tear in dimensions. Her hand weakened on his collar and she hastily backpeddaled, eyes widening at the phenomenon. She saw something that made her stomach want to turn over and expel her lunch: hands. Hundreds of thousands of hands bursting through a screen of charcoal, aiming right towards her despite being partially out of the transmutation circle.

The opening itself was pitch black, ringing with laughter, cries of agony, whispers, chatter, screams, as hands reached out and gripped her so tightly she could feel them fondling the very marrow of her bones. She reached out for the man who had started this in the first place, watched his expression go from fascination to horror as he was trapped within the hands as well.

This is the first time, she realized with escalating terror. This is the first time it actually worked! She didn't know if she should feel relieved or sick.

She didn't even have time to scream, all too soon she was being pulled back. She felt that fearsome sensation of falling as the world tipped over on itself and she was pulled into an abyss of nothing. An arm clapped itself over her mouth, muffling the petrified scream that was only swallowed the overwhelming cries of lost souls as she fell and fell and fell...

She could feel them – touching her, gripping her, scratching her – and she shut her eyes and forced herself to scream so hard she would not be surprised if she had deafened herself.

Then, it stopped.

Winry opened her eyes and gasped.

She was staring point-blank at stretching stone doors.

These doors loomed over her ominously, embellished with symbols she had never seen before. Words and odd shapes encrypted this door as well but all Winry was focused on was the noticeable slit that split it in half and gave it the rightful title of a door, a gate.

So this was the infamous gate she had heard Edward and Alphonse speak about when they thought she was asleep.

This door... this massive door. That meant—

"Hello."

Winry gasped and stepped away from the gate she had been steadily raising her hand to touch. Her frightened blue eyes stopped on the child sitting idly on the floor a few feet away. But it was only a silhouette – a blurry outline of something that resembled human.

She could see no face, no characteristics that would deem it male or female. But Winry was sure the voice was child-like in tenor.

"Hello." Winry was surprised she could even speak. "Who... Who are you? I'm-I'm Winry... Rockbell..."

"Well, at least you have more manners than most mortals do when they come to visit me," the child replied, standing up, sounding very jovial.

Winry felt unnerved by the fact that she could see nothing but white all around her. Even more when she noticed this child, this thing standing before her, was merely a smudged out, translucent, shadow of something greater. The knowledge, the twisted wise tone, everything about it made her feel small and insignificant.

"I am many things," it responded, almost boredly. "The universe. The world. The Superior Being. God. Or as Edward Elric prefers to call me: Truth." The mention of his name was planned, she was sure if it. The tension between them grew in intensity, as the being stared at her piercingly.

Someone moved beside her, which roused Winry from her queasy thoughts. She turned to see a man, the very man that had preformed that abhorrent alchemy, recoil from both of them. He stared at Truth, fear vivid in his eyes, before gaping with realization.

"Is he your trade?" Truth pipped innocently enough. But to Winry it sounded like a death sentence.

"No! He's not!" she denied fervently, almost stepped infront of the alchemist as if to shield him from Truth's hungry gaze.

"Oh?" Truth queried, awfully intrigued. "So you are his trade?"

"What's this trade you're talking about?" Winry asked hysterically, watching the alchemists face dawn with realization before shifting to fear."I - we - just want to go back home!"

"Oh, humans," Truth slurred with disgust. "What I mean is, is he your trade for your passing to the other side? That is what you both want, after all."

Somehow Winry knew that Truth was looking at her specifically. She could just feel the way this creature's eyes bore into her, dissecting her every thought and laying them down on the table one by one; prodding intimate thoughts and laughing at others.

She never felt more exposed in her life.

"We aren't any one's trade!" Winry shouted, ignoring her own uncertainty. "Just take us back! We just want to go back." But, Ed. Her eyes flashed to the gate. They, he, was beyond those two stone doors. Her eyes shakily shifted to the alchemist, the sinner, the blasphemer.

All she had to do was confirm he was her trade, right? She knew equivalent exchange – this was no different. A human soul for a human soul.

A cold spell washed through her body.

How could she think that?

"But you see, Winry Rockbell, I simply cannot do that," said Truth, a terrible amusement slicking his child-like voice. "To return to the place you belong or to cross to where you beloved Edward Elric is requires a toll. Everything does, you should know this very well," he spoke pointedly to the alchemist.

"But I never wanted to come here!" Winry cried, shooting a glare at the man still cowering under Truth's enigmatic form. "I wasn't suppose to come here! I wasn't—"

"But you still did," Truth interrupted, disdainfully. "You still came and it was for your own foolishness that you are here now, suspended in time, with me. Now you both must chose. Who will be the trade?" Truth calmly sat down, propping his leg up and resting his chin on it in an almost innocent gesture.

But to Winry the position mocked her.

She brought a quivering hand up to cover her mouth to muffle a choke as her stomach heaved. Blood zinged through her veins, pulsed fervently in her arteries. Her body refused to respond, felt bolted to the floor. Time was running out, slipping through her fingers like sand, and she knew that if she did not say something - do something - he was going to chose one of them.

Or perhaps none of them...

"SHE IS!" the alchemist shouted abruptly, breaking the silence.

Winry froze.

"She's my trade! She's my toll!" The man continued, still pointing at her.

N-No! Winry thought, appalled. NO I'M NOT! I'M NOT YOUR TRADE YOU DAMN—

"Very well," Truth conceded. "She is your trade, then..."

"N-No," she whispered.

"What was that?" Truth nearly purred, turning back to face her seized form.

"No, I am not his trade," she said, more audibly. "I'm not his trade! He's..." She stopped. She couldn't say it, could she? He's my trade? Her stomach gave another roll.

I can't say that. How can I say something so selfish? She thought heartbreakingly. But he's willing to trade me to save his life. He's willing to save himself by using me as a sacrifice! If anyone deserves to be a trade it's him! She convinced herself poorly.

"You filthy mortals will have to chose soon," Truth said, cutting through her thoughts sourly. "One of you will die here today. Choose. Now."

"She's my trade!!" the alchemist roared.

"No I'm not!!" she roared back.

Truth faced them sharply. "Enough of this, you both bore me! You, Winry!" Truth pointed. "Tell me why I should let you live."

"Because—because," Winry glanced at the man, who watched her darkly. "I... don't have a real reason to live. I've committed many sins in my life but..." I need to live for the people that need me back in Resembool. She thought despairingly. I need to...but Ed. I can use... Her eyes flicked to the man, who stared at her with an expression close to murder. I won't die here. Not yet. "I deserve to live because I wasn't the one who wanted touch lands that are forbidden to us! Not like him!" she said accusingly. "I wanted to stop it! We shouldn't be allowed to tread on areas forbidden to us... lands that are meant for-for," she suddenly remembered Rose, with her pink bangs and kind smile, speaking of the sun God, Leto, with fondness. "Gods. We aren't Gods. We're human. Just human. This," she motioned with disgust. "isn't for us. We aren't mean to be here! Not until... not until," she remembered Ed and Al, and how they tried so hard to bring their deceased mother back; for the longing they felt at just wanting to see her smile one last time; how that yearning was enough for two boys to sacrifice everything, "not until we die. We're just human," her eyes watered, recalling Ed's anguished words. "I'm just human."

I don't belong here. We all don't.

Her voice echoed in the emptiness.

Only the nameless alchemist's soft snort and her own labored breathing could be heard.

Suddenly, laughter.

It took her a moment to realize that it was coming from Truth, who seemed to be clutching his sides as he laughed a laugh that only made her stomach plummet to her ankles.

"You humans entertain me so!" Truth laughed. "Mortals and their narrow-minded thoughts! But life has taught you well. Better than Edward Elric, anyway," Truth smirked coldly. "He got what he deserved, that selfish brat." The statement was vindictive in nature.

Winry felt a surge of wrath. "So a child deserves to lose an arm and a leg? His brother deserved to lose his entire body? Is that what you're saying!?"

"Yes," he replied calmly. "It was his own ignorance and greed that got him what he deserved. It was only fair, after all, like you said, mortals aren't meant to touch the lands of the Gods," the laughter in his voice made her head cloud with rage. "But mortals will be mortals and try. Foolishly try to attain something beyond them, unreachable." Truth's grin stretched wide. "Unattainable dreams are the best ones, after all."

Winry balled her hands, azure eyes drowned with hatred. "He only wanted to see his mother smile again! He only wanted to see her smile one last time! Is that so much to ask for?! He was only ten! TEN! How was he suppose to know? TELL ME HOW!!" she screamed.

"He misused his knowledge and blatantly ignored the warning. He knew what he was getting into," Truth continued, nonchalantly. "They wanted a power they could not have. Those who die are not meant to come back. They can never come back, not for the price Edward Elric was willing to pay, not for any price. It does not have a toll, for no price can be enough to bring the dead back to the world of the living. He know's this very well now," it drawled slyly. "Now, enough chat. You," Truth said, pointing at the fallen alchemist. "will be her trade."

"W-what?! NO!" He yelled, pulling himself together for the last time. "You never asked me why I deserve to live! It's not fair—"

"Are you stupid?" The child asked rhetorically, making Winry's stomach squirm again. "I am Truth. I am the one being in this whole universe that know's it all. I am all-knowing, I am everything you pathetic humans wish to become. I am one in all. I was always aware of your intentions, fool." He turned to Winry, an eerie grin on his face. "And I was always aware of yours, too, Winry Rockbell."

Dread crawled within her.

"Such a selfless speech, full of innocence and naiveté, strength and knowledge," Truth mused, walking to the side of the humongous gate and leaning against it. "But you were never as selfless as you portrayed yourself to be, were you? Your greedy ways kept getting in the way of what was right. Your want kept you from doing the right thing." He looked up and stared into her wide eyes. "You gave yourself to temptation, girl." It laughed again. "All those words and without a pinch of sincerity... how bold of you to think you could fool me." His voice lowered dangerously, taking on a hostile and vicious note. "Filthy human."

It happened in between heart beats.

Next thing she knew, the nameless alchemist was gone. Her eyes barely managed to scrape past the gate as it closed, to see the swirling figures beyond it, followed by the scream of terror that would be forever etched in her mind.

"Where," she asked tremulously, "w-where did you take him?"

"That is none of your concern," Truth dismissed. "Now, miss Winry Rockbell, I would hold onto that toolbox of yours if I was you." He was back to his sitting position, resting his chin on his knee. He gave her a wicked grin that made her insides freeze. "Until we meet again."

Winry never even saw the gate throw it's doors open, releasing the onslaught of arms that wrapped around her body once more and spurned her into it's dark labyrinth of horrors. Her shrieks resounded off the blank abyss of Truth's domain, high and terrorized. The hand that reached out to him, desperate; eyes that begged for redemption and stained with regret, met him.

They were strange creatures, mortals.

"Humans..." Truth mused aloud, once the gate had closed and her voice had faded from the emptiness that abounded. He closed his eyes and rose his hand, feeling as skin knit itself upon the translucent outline. "...are such fascinating creatures." When he opened his eyes, they were black and grinning, resembling the fallen alchemist which had served as Winry's toll.