It was a feverish night for Edward, his reclaimed arm felt heavy and numb as though it had been stolen from him again, he could feel the coolness of metal and could hear the grinding and whirring of the gears that should no longer be. He was desperate to open his eyes, but a heavy hand seemed to cover them, keeping him in the dark.

There was nothing to hold on to and no one to reach out to as the light faded into recollection while hooks pierced his mouth and skin, dragging him further away into the abyss.

Edward woke up with a burning sensation jolting through his arm as though it was being shredded and hammered into him, hot tears began streaming down as he realized that he could only lift his head. Searing white blinded him for a moment as the Door appeared. Please, not again he pleaded as his voice struggled to be heard.

"Bro..ther…we can…play…here" fear grappled him as he resisted facing the familiar voice, "Ni...na…?" A small musical ball rolled and stopped at his head, followed by a thudding run, "Bro..ther!" A wet nose touched his forehead and began nudging him, "play…with". "Nina...you are…"

He could not believe what he saw, even though Nina was still a chimera, she looked as happy as when she was a human running around with Alexander. Her forelocks were tied up in a ribbon and her fur looked smooth and healthy, though panting, she looked as though she was…smiling? "Nina?" Edward called out again, reaching out his hand to touch her. She bent down and pressed her muzzle against his hand, tail lightly thumping.

Slowly releasing caged breath, Edward slowly closed his eyes in relieved satisfaction as he rubbed Nina's head, "Good girl". "EDWARD!" boomed a happy voice as the owner scooped Edward up, "Hello my boy! How is my daughter? Getting prettier and prettier like her father?" Hughes proudly chuckled as he put Edward on his feet. This must be a dream he thought to himself as involuntarily his hand reached out to touch Hughes, gripping him into a firm handshake, Hughes laughed, "What a well-mannered boy!" before he could even make sense of the situation, Edward swiftly turned with a sharp realization, the Door!

The imposing and mute but screaming Door stood there closed, Edward could feel his body shaking but there was no running away, there never was! Gritting his teeth, he crouched into position, focused on the Door when Hughes slapped his back. "Bro…ther…Ed…ward?" Nina softly questioned as she stood by Hughes. Dotingly, Hughes bent down till he was eye-level with Nina while lovingly stroking her face, "Good girl! We will play with Edward after, your paws are all dirty now, I found a new ribbon for you! Do you like yellow or green?" Nina whined as she looked at Edward with irresistible puppy eyes.

"Fullmetal! You are here", Edward quickly swerved, hand protectively raised before Nina. Truth stood before the Door. "Your instincts and habits treat you well even though you are useless here" Truth stated plainly and laughed. "You seem to have forgotten your pain," Truth tilted their head and observed as Edward himself became conscious of the tingling sense of life pulsing at his fingertips. "Sit Fullmetal, the others will be here, let's talk till then."

In resignation and accepted wisdom Edward sat across Truth who placed an empty glass between them. "It has been nearly two years since you gave up alchemy, do you miss it?" Edward smiled in contentment, "I got my brother back and like I told you at that time, I was always a mere human and now I can live a life like that." Truth nodded and filled the glass with tea. "You have been seeking knowledge along with your brother, haven't you? Have you learned what you sought?" "There is still a lot to learn." Tipping the filled glass over Truth spoke in a low tone, "There never is an end to it Fullmetal but you already know the extent the seekers are willing to go." The warm tea pooled at Edward's feet.

Pangs of nervousness began swirling in Edward's stomach, this was unfamiliar to him, things were never calm here, Truth did not speak in such acquainted tongue, "I am you; you are me" Truth sharply invaded his thoughts, "I am All and I am One, have you forgotten me Fullmetal?" Edward's brows narrowed in concentration, "What is this you may wonder Fullmetal, consider it a gift" Truth continued in riddles as they filled the cup again. "I know the truth of your despair; your regrets and sorrows cannot escape my knowledge."

"Don't taunt my son so!" Hohenheim interjected as he crouched besides Edward. Truth looked and locked eyes with Edward, with a wave of the hand, everything plunged into nothing leaving the stoic Door, grinning Truth, and an overflowing cup. "What is the only and constant truth?" "The Law of Equivalent Exchange" Edward offered as he looked about himself. "To gain something, something of equal value must be lost. What is the most valuable commodity a person has to offer?" "Themselves?" "Correct, is it just their body?" although Truth had no face, Edward thought that their smile looked kind. "It is their soul" Truth roared in laughter as they slapped their knee, "Of course you would know that you stole Alphonse's soul from me. A soul's weight in the end depends on the memories and deeds imprinted on it. This cup is your soul Edward." Edward remained in shock after hearing his name, Truth pushed the glass towards him and continued "This cup keeps overflowing because we feed it too much and do not share the burden. Your despair is overflowing." Edward looked down at the cup as it continued to flood itself, filling itself to the brim and flowing without restriction, it was crying just like Edward began to.

"Marks made cannot be undone, you can bring a building down and rebuild it, but you cannot deny its truth. You will always have to bear the burden of hurt and harm you caused." Edward began sobbing harder, "I did what I had to, but I could not save them", Edward sunk to his knees. Truth nodded their head, "I will give you a chance of comfort Elric." and waved their hand again.

Edward fell backward into his mother's lap, "Mother?" he sputtered in disbelief. He sat up straight and found himself surrounded by old friends, Nina stood there with a ball in her mouth, Hughes and Hohenheim chatted away as Greed stood with Truth, "This cannot be real, it really cannot be." "It is not," confirmed Truth, "you of course are still sleeping." "Consider it a shortcut" Greed shrugged in mischief.

Edward cried in happiness clutching his mother's apron, "Oh, my brave boy, both of you have done so well, I am so proud of you!", she gently wiped away the tears and led him away to chat with others, Truth stood at a distance as Edward talked and laughed with others learning that Nina was being looked after especially by Hughes, Greed was able to find a friend in Hohenheim. Edward was so happy watching all of them that he did not even notice the glass slowly emptying itself.

"Time to leave Edward Elric" Truth announced as the Door began creaking open. Feeling somewhat at peace Edward looked back at the waving smiling faces as the door shut on him.

"Brother!" "Edward!" the rough and urgent shaking woke him up as he saw Winry and Alphonse standing over him worried, "Are you okay?" they asked in unison as Winry touched his forehead, "You are burning up!" Taking a few seconds to adjust to the light, Edward could not help but smile at Alphonse's blond hair and Winry's glimmering eyes. Pulling them both into a tight hug, "I am fine" he laughed loudly, pressing his cheeks into their faces. "Oh, you idiot!" Winry swatted him, "You had us worried!" Chortling away, the three of them piled onto the bed and began chatting till the voices permeated the walls.

At some point, Edward noticed the one third filled glass by his bedside. "Did I drink that in my sleep?" Winry paused, "There wasn't a glass here before." Smiling to himself, he continued the conversation.

Author's note

This is inspired by a recent support I received from a reader which reminded me of all the support I have received even though I don't write much now.

Thank you all!