(I'm pretty sure I remember editing this chapter... forgive me if there are any glaring mistakes in it, they'll get fixed later, I promise. I've been really bad about updating lately, but I've been working, so I'm trying to make up for it a bit now. Err... otherwise... This was probably one of my favourite chapters while I was writing it, but I sort of feel it worked better before I put that extra chapter in. Happy Holidays!)

Within the caves that served as Akatsuki's headquarters, things were far from quiet. They had been lucky a month ago when their trump card arrived by way of a discovery Itachi had made while wandering between several of the villages. Command of his powers would be even more useful than having control of the Kyuubi sealed within Naruto.

The young man Itachi had brought back was short to say the least, but somehow managed to command a very imposing presence. He couldn't have been more than eighteen, but something behind his eyes showed that he had seen a lot more than most teens, even those that were ninjas, were likely to see. When he had arrived with Itachi, several of the other members of the organization had hypothesized that he was another one of the man's paedophilic fancies and dismissed him. They soon found, however, that the boy was working for Itachi in a different way. It was common for the members of the group to keep secrets from each other, but they were never allowed to keep them from the leader. As soon as he found out, and forced the boy to demonstrate his abilities, the rest of the group was immediately put to work waiting on the boy. His little demonstration of his power had left one of the members incapacitated – not only drained of his chakra but apparently completely cut off from the world's energy. It was enough to convince them that this boy was worth supporting. Itachi had found someone who was trying to find a way to harness all the power of their world into one person – himself. And unlike the usual crackpots and nutcases who claimed that they would be able to perform this feat, the skills the boy was able to show them proved this point. Their captive was willing to work for them, as long as they provided him with shelter, food, and materials. It was a sacrifice this boy had made before – offering himself to a group of people with questionable morals and ends to support his own research and goals. This time around, it was more out of frustration than anything else. Last time he had gone to do his research of his own initiative, with people he chose himself and trusted, and in the end it had led to disaster. He considered himself lucky to have been found by these people who had the means to support him and were willing to stay out of his way. If he happened to help them along the way, so be it, as long as they were willing to provide for him. He didn't care what they did to this forsaken world; it didn't belong to him or anyone he cared for. What he really wanted was to just finally find a way home.

At least in this world he was able to draw on the power he was used to relying on. Mechanics had betrayed him in the end, and he turned his attention back to the only other place he knew to look: direct research on the gate. In his concentration he barely noticed that he was cloistered so secretly away in a cave in the woods. It felt more like an underground lab, and he used it as such. The power was different in this world, and it seemed to operate on a slightly different principal than equivalent trade. The sacrifice, it seemed, was more mental and personally physical than manipulating the elements themselves, though things could still be done in the latter fashion. It was the former than piqued his interest, though. Power here could be pulled from without as well as within. If he could borrow enough of this power, perhaps he could get back to the gate and back home. Daily the amount of power he drew into the caves grew, and the members of Akatsuki fed off of it. They knew that the influx of power would draw people in, and soon they would have more company. They expected those that were closest to appear first, and soon they did, answering a call of fate. Their potential allies would feel the pull and come to them, and they would be prepared. The urge to battle was upon them.

The small groups of rogue ninjas from the surrounding areas were the first to appear at the entrance to Akatsuki's no longer secret hideout. Their guard remained up, but those that survived the challenges outside were welcomed within, though kept separate from the group members that didn't want to be seen. And it wasn't long before greater powers from the farther reaches of the influx appeared.

Orochimaru arrived with Sauske in tow at the height of the power's draw. Glares and even some snickering greeted him, but he found none wanting to fight. Sauske was pale, and his eyes showed only hate when he noticed his brother. He said nothing, however. He didn't utter a single word while within Akatsuki's lair. He only sulked and glared, cursing Orochimaru for betraying him by coming here. This was not supposed to be part of his training. He wasn't permitted to observe Itachi here, and if he were to attack him and test his strength, he'd be killed seven times before he even got close. Sauske watched the way Itachi treated the boy in the red coat. It seemed almost as if he had adopted him as his younger brother. This, more than anything else, made Sauske loathe Itachi even more. He knew, however, that the boy in the red coat was the one Orochimaru was here to see. This boy, Orochimaru believed, held the key to the problem with his jutsus. Orochimaru knew, from something someone had once told him, that it would be this boy that would be the one to finally solve the one problem with his body-switching jutsu. He was prepared to say whatever he needed to in order to be allowed to get close to the boy, and he did. The members of Akatsuki had laughed when he accepted the offer to re-enter the group at the lowest levels. It was an affront to his dignity, but with the power of the boy, he wouldn't have to worry about Akatsuki at all. He knew that once he got close enough, his problem would get the boy's attention, and after that he would be at his fingertips. After almost a week of supplicating himself to Akatsuki, Orochimaru laid out his offer: one piece of information that they all needed, in exchange for an hour to talk with the boy. Itachi, against his own best judgement but with the leader's urging, granted it.

"Thank you," Orochimaru smiled. "Now I will tell you what you wanted to know. The leaf is the only village watching you right now, and even they aren't serious about it. If you're careful, you can get what you want while they're not watching."

"This sounds like you are just trying to get us to get revenge on them for you."

"Oh no, I will take down Konoha myself when the time comes. But if you're not careful with this boy's draw of power, they will move in on us and put a stop to things before you get whatever it is you want from him. And in that case, I will still get my revenge. But you will not get what you seek."

"Very well. Do what you can to prevent Konoha from interfering."

"Thank you. Kabuto is already training the ninjas of the Sound for that very purpose."

------

Orochimaru walked into the dark study near the back of the caves. It was remarkably isolated even within the headquarters, but he could feel the draw of the power stored within. The boy had promised not to draw on any of their chakra, but one didn't get to the top without being at least a little distrustful, especially of people that Itachi randomly found lying around the woods. He tried to keep himself as neutral as possible as he stepped between the heavy doors. He watched the figure bent over a pile of notes and well-worn books scrawling things into a small notebook as he grumbled a greeting that basically meant "Wait until I'm finished." Orochimaru turned his attention to the walls. They were covered in strange circles and symbols, none of which he'd ever seen before. They had a kind of flowing grace to them though, and had they not been glowing with the strange power he'd felt outside of the room, he would have doubted their use for anything other than strange decorations. There was one in particular that all the others seemed to feed into, and in the centre of its wing-shaped design sat a small stone. It was a deep shade of red when looked at in the right light. A small step to either the left or right of the angle though made it appear a very deep blue. It was strange, and despite his instincts, Orochimaru leaned down to touch it.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," the boy said without looking up from his papers. He was still writing, evidently recording very detailed results from the day, or perhaps writing out some kind of epiphany he'd had earlier and couldn't afford to forget. Orochimaru pulled his hand back. The stone had a strange warm aura around it, but when his hand got too close he could feel his chakra being drained out into it. Still it pulled him in though, seeming to promise that as soon as his hand touched the stone, all of its power would be his. He restrained himself, though. Any boy powerful enough to get the members of Akatsuki to wait on him hand and foot, through whatever means, deserved a little respect.

Finally the boy put down his pen and turned to Orochimaru.

"Okay, what do you need me for?"

Orochimaru grinned and stepped forward towards the boy.

"I have a problem I think you might be interested in." With a great amount of effort Orochimaru raised his left hand and pulled his right sleeve back, revealing the skin on the lower part of his arm. "A few years ago, I formulated a jutsu that would allow me to switch bodies. A key to immortal life." He paused to laugh. "I had intended to use it for the pursuit of knowledge. I would learn every jutsu in the world once I gained the use of the Sharingan. But something was wrong. At first I thought it was part of the jutsu that Sandaime had performed to seal my soul, but it continued even after I transferred by soul to another body." He looked down at his arm. "It started at the top of my shoulders and worked its way down. I know that it's not the host body's fault, though I'd like to put the blame there. I think the problem has to do with my transfer technique."

The boy pushed his chair back from his desk and stood. He took Orochimaru's hand in his and stretched his arm out by his side, pushing the sleeve further up his arm and looking at the strange affliction. It was no doubt the same degeneration of the body he'd seen in his father when he'd admitted to having transferred his soul to other bodies over several hundred years. What could this man give him in return for what he knew, though?

"How did this Sandaime seal your soul?"

"It was a jutsu the previous leader of the village invented. Using your own power, you draw out the soul of your opponent and seal them into the spirit world behind this gate." The boy froze at the word gate, and barely heard what Orochimaru had to say next. "He was only able to seal my arms, though."

A gate where souls were sealed away? And there was a way to open it here… This was much more interesting than the gates he'd heard about advanced taijutsu users opening. Perhaps the concept was the same, but a jutsu that could extract someone's soul was far beyond the bounds of taijutsu. This fit with his theory that the gate wasn't a purely physical thing. He wondered if perhaps this unnerving pale and jittery man in front of him actually knew anything about the jutsu himself. He'd said he wanted to learn every jutsu… surely he'd learned something about one he'd experienced directly? The boy was almost certain that Orochimaru's illness was related to the fact that part of his soul had been pulled from his arms. It would make sense that the symptoms were the same as those when the soul began to break down from being transferred from one body to another. But here there was no philosopher's stone. It was nearly impossible in alchemy to transfer a soul into a living host and even more difficult, perhaps entirely impossible, to transfer a soul into a body that already had a soul without the help of the philosopher's stone. How had he done it, then? As far as the young man could tell, the closest this world had to the philosopher's stone was the small rock he was using to collect the power here. Perhaps some bartering for information was in order.

"How much do you know about the sealing jutsu?"

Orochimaru raised an ominous eyebrow. This boy was strange.

"You're interested in that more than immortal life?"

"I know enough about the ways people delude themselves into believing they've found eternal life. All things eventually break down. It's a law of the universe. I want to know why. So what can you tell me?"

"Are you saying you can help me?"

"I might be. But there's a price. Do you or don't you know the sealing jutsu?"

"I do."

"Good. Then you'll teach me how it works, and then I'll show you where you went wrong." His answer sounded more like a threat than an offer, and he punctuated it with a glance down at the stone. Orochimaru chose to ignore the double meaning.

"I want to know more than that. I want you to fix it."

"Give me a few days, I'll look into it."

"Good. Oh, and one thing Akatsuki would like you to know: Save the power from Konoha for last. They are the ones watching us, and if they feel it, they will come for us too soon." Orochimaru turned and left, closing the door softly behind him.

Edward Elric put his head down on his desk and tried to steady his breathing. He was shaking now, but no longer made an effort to hide it. These men were scary and hollow and power-hungry. Far scarier than even the Homunculus had been in their quest for power. At least they had only longed to be human. These men didn't bother with concepts like "humanity." The only way to deal with them was to pretend that you knew something they didn't. Power was the only effective weapon against them. At least he'd played his cards right when he met them. Dealing with the military had taught him that. He'd even kept them from having the power of knowing his real name – they knew him only as Hagane. He was sick of having to act tough, and he was sick of having to act like a bad guy, he was sick of not being able to use his right arm, he was sick of walking with a limp, and most of all he was sick of trying to find a way to make things right only to find himself even further away from where he longed to be. How did all of these trials and tribulations even begin to fit into the law of equivalent trade? It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all.