Part I: Chapter VII:

Initiation

~1911-two days after Edward joined the military~

"Say, Brother...do you really think we'll be able to get our bodies back...?"

"What?! Of course we are, Al! Trust me. We'll get our bodies back for sure!"

"...alright. Thank you, Brother..."

"No problem, Al."

~1912-one year after Edward joined the military~

"Are you okay, Brother?"

"...yes."

"Are you sure?"

"...I'm sure."

"...but you aren't okay. Not really."

"I don't know how you want me to respond to that, Al."

"It's okay to tell me things, you know. I know you're feeling upset."

"Well...I guess, maybe I am. It's...well...I'd rather not say. Just...please, Al. Can we drop this?"

"...you do know that I'll be here for you if you need someone to talk to, right? I'll always be here for you. No matter what."

"...thank you, Al."

~1913-two years after Edward joined the military~

"It's been a long time, huh..."

"Do you...do you think that we really will get out bodies back, Brother? I mean.."

"What! Don't say that, Al! We'll find a way, no matter what. The stone, some transmutation circle, something, anything-that will help us. And then you'll be able to eat whatever you want, sleep as much as you like...and..."

"...Brother..."

"...I'm getting your body back, Al. No matter what. And that's final. I'll do whatever it takes."

~1913-two years after Edward joined the military~

...

'Brother!'

'Hello.'

'Who...who are you? Where...where is Brother?!'

'Ah, I'm so glad you asked. I am many things. I am All, I am One. I am the World. I am God. I am the Universe. But most importantly...I'm you.'

'...You didn't answer my-where is my Brother?!'

'You'll see him soon, young Alchemist...'

...

'What's happening to me...? I feel like my head is about to burst...all the knowledge...'

...

'No...'

...

'It can't be...'

...

'It's not true! Stop it, I know it isn't true!'

...

'...it's...true...'

~1914-three years after Edward joined the military-Edward's fourteenth birthday~

'Bro-'

"-phonse. - -! I - know...Y-..."

'Brother..?'

"-?! I - -!"

'Why can't I...?'

"- -! I -..."

'...hear anything...?'

"- -. - - -."

"-..."

"- al- h-. - is - -. - - -."

"...please - -..."

"-. - - go- - - - -?"

"..."

"-?!"

'What is happening!?'

"Yes..."

'...I see...'

'So, it's...I can't believe it...'

It was all a lie.

~1915-three years after Edward joined the military-three days after Edward's death~

Alphonse stared at the hidden door in front of him with a giddy smile on his face. After quite some time, he had finally arrived at the secret entrance to the Homunculi's-or rather, Father's lair. Edward was still thrown over his shoulder, though to any other person, it would look like Alphonse was holding a carpet, and not a body he had stolen from the morgue right under the Investigation Department's nose. Considering the amount of soldiers that were patrolling the street, Alphonse tried his best to be very careful about who saw him. Which was to say, nobody. The blanket wrapped around Edward was merely a precaution.

The large grin on his face remained unwavering as Alphonse pushed the piece of cardboard covering the secret door to the side and waltzed right in, walking down the steps, his grin becoming wider and wider. 'Time for my plan to be set in place...'

Winry paced back in forth in her hotel room as her thoughts ran wild in her head. She had immense trouble trying to sort them out, and what she had just been told troubled her even more.

Roy Mustang had called her the morning after she and him had finished their discussion of recent events involving the Homunculi, and even while her mind was still messed up, it somehow messed up even more

Alphonse had escaped from Central Prison and took Edward's body...

Winry couldn't help the shiver that overcome her. What was even happening? Everything was just going on way too fast for her to comprehend anything...She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard someone clearing their throat, and turned to look at Ling, who was sitting criss-cross on her bed, Lan Fan sitting right next to him.

"Sorry, Ling...I got distracted..." Winry apologized, though she could tell by the faraway look in Ling's eyes that he was partially distracted as well. "...is something wrong?"

"Hm?" Ling's head snapped back towards her in surprise. "Ah...uh...no, I'm sorry..." He gave a sheepish look before turning serious once more. "So...Colonel Mustang told you the whole story, huh?"

Winry nodded gravely. She added her own input to fill Colonel Mustang in on what she knew about what the Elric had been up to, but she didn't really know much. "I also told him about when I met you two and..." She suddenly frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. "Hey...where's Fu?"

Ling and Lan Fan exchanged a look before Lan Fan explained. "My Grandfather has been doing recon around Central as per the Young Lord's orders."

"I wanted him to watch out for any Homunculi, and a little while earlier, after you told me about Edward and Alphonse...I asked him to look out for those two as well. He hasn't come back yet, but he should be back soon." Ling elaborated.

Winry took in a deep breath and slumped into the couch. Her entire mind was a mess right now. There was just too much going on, and she was scared that once she found out the truth behind Edward's death...it would turn out to be horrifying. The sharp intake of breath caught her attention as she snapped her head towards Ling, who opened his mouth to speak. "What is it, Ling?"

Ling closed his mouth shut and frowned. After a moment passed, he opened his mouth once more to speak, though hesitantly. "Winry...do...do you think maybe we might be able to figure out what the transmutation circles were for if we...looked at Edward's notes?"

Winry furrowed her brow. "His notes?"

Ling nodded. "I remember Edward telling me how alchemists always encrypted their research. He told me that his were coded in the guise of a travelogue, if I recall correctly."

"I...I think that might be right. I wouldn't know. Edward never told me." Winry felt her mind racing as she thought about the possibilities reading Edward's notes could bring. There could be a chance that those mysterious transmutation circles might have a connection to Edward's death, and if they were in his notes...Suddenly, the thought struck her, and she felt her disappointment rise as she realized the issue with trying to figure out what happened through Edward's notes was. "But Ling...we...we aren't alchemists. How are we supposed to crack his notes?"

Ling paused, then slumped. "You're right."

The group sat in silence for a moment before Lan Fan spoke up. "But still...we have to at least try. Young Lord, you can't give up now. The fate of the Yao clansman resides on your hands, and you still have to solve the mystery of what happened to Edward." She turned to Winry, eyes shining with determination, sparking Winry's own perseverance once more. "Neither can you, Winry. You promised yourself to solve this mystery, and you will. No matter what. We need an alchemist to help us? We'll get an alchemist. So..."

Ling and Winry looked at each other, both knowing that the Xingese bodyguard was right. They couldn't give up now. Not so easily. It's barely even been a day! Yes, all the dread had been catching up to them, but...

A few moments of silence passed through the group once more, before Ling and Winry both cracked into grins, to which Lan Fan gave a knowing smile.

They knew what they were doing today.

Envy had no idea what was going on. And he was sure that neither did Wrath, Lust, or Gluttony-though, that much was obvious. Even Pride, that arrogant shadow freak had no clue about what might be the truth behind the murder of Edward Elric.

Father didn't know either. And that was concerning. Father knew pretty much everything. After all, who else could be able to create seven artificial human beings using Philosopher's stones that he cultivated by his own hands?

But when he just sat there silently in that gigantic chair of his right after being told that Alphonse Elric had escaped with Edward Elric's body, Envy and the other Homunculi knew that something was wrong.

"Well? Father, what should we do?" Lust spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

Father didn't respond. Instead, he merely kept his head bowed, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the hand-rest of his chair.

Lust and Envy exchanged a look, a silent conversation relaying the severity of the situation.

The group sat in collective silence, before Father perked up, alarming the Homunculi. They tensed up as Father stood from his throne, and stared at the large entrance door. Envy narrowed his eyes and tensed as well, hearing the cries from the guard chimeras. Followed by banging. Followed by silence.

...followed by footsteps.

The door opened, revealing a golden haired boy holding what looked like a body in a blanket, grinning broadly. The boy dropped the large blanket over his shoulder and dumped it on the ground, causing the blankets to slip off and reveal an exposed Edward Elric.

Alphonse Elric smirked as he put his foot on Edward's body and cocked his head at Father, who stood incredibly still, his face remaining emotionless. The Homunculi just remained completely still out of pure shock. "Hello Father," Alphonse's grin seemed to have rivaled Envy's in terms of mentality. "My name is Alphonse Elric, as I'm sure you already know."

It was at Alphonse Elric's next sentence that everything was set in motion. Where everything began to slowly unravel.

"...and I would love to make a deal with you."

Initiation Definition: "the action of beginning something"

Defined from online google dictionary

A/N: WOW. I am so sorry I've been gone for so long, but...I kind of procrastinate a lot, and school just started for me, so...

Anyway, I'm starting to get a little worried about the quality of this story. I feel like it's going down. I would really appreciate it if you people gave me some feedback on the feel of this chapter.

On the subject of you guys, considering this is the final chapter of Part I, and Part II is starting next chapter, I'm going to thank all you reviewers. I probably should've done it sooner, but I have this weird thing with consistency...so, anyway: All your reviews are appreciated SO MUCH. They make me feel so happy. I read all the reviews for Chapter 6, and I couldn't stop grinning like an idiot for the next twenty minutes.

Well, sorry for the long ass wait. I would appreciate some feedback on the quality of this chapter(Most likely though, Part II will be better in quality). And I love you people so much.

This is Jewel, signing off~