Chapter 3

Bloodied Truth

(-Andrea-)

I hummed happily under my breath, lathering my hair with some shampoo and soaping my arms with a grin.

Ah, finally! A good bath! I will never, ever, ever be thankful enough for Izumi!

Imagine my surprise when I found Izumi Curtis waltzing around the island while I was hunting a pesky little fox who stole my lunch. It was honestly a scary and amazing experience, seeing one of the FMA characters that I idolize the most up close.

The only problem was my natural instinct to throw things at people. Seriously, I couldn't aim a dart to save my ass but when it comes to almost killing Izumi Curtis my accuracy level had gone over 9000.

It was humiliating that I squealed when Izumi transmuted the ground beneath me and used it to reveal my identity. I must've been gaping like an idiot until she snapped me to reality.

Actually, now that I think about it, demanding her to teach me alchemy! Damn it, I wanted to bang my head against a darn wall until I bleed to death. Stupid! Completely stupid!

But I guess I was desperate at that time. I mean, take a look at me; I was filthy, my clothes were slightly ragged, and pretty much hungrier than anyone. I guess seeing a chance of coming to a proper and civilized area I took it quickly, even if it meant that I had to learn Alchemy with Izumi Curtis as my teacher.

Wait…

My alchemy teacher is Izumi Curtis?

As in, the very same Izumi who survived Mt. Briggs for one month and wrestled on huge bear?

Realization dawned upon me and I banged my head against the bathroom wall, a depressing aura covering me fully.

"Oh man, I'm screwed."

(-Andrea-)

After my bath, I spotted some clothes in my temporary room which Izumi arranged for me; An orange colored spaghetti undershirt with a green sleeveless shirt on top with my brown shorts along with my boots. I guess Izumi knew how to sew because the base of my shorts that used to be ripped from my island adventures was now fixed.

I wore my clothes and dried my hair before going downstairs and approaching Izumi, who was sitting on the dining table while drinking a cup of tea.

"Sit." She said.

I complied obediently and swallowed. Uh oh, please don't tell me she's that suspicious of me. I know she has every right to be suspicious, but please tell me that she won't call the military or anything like that! If she did— aw crap, I'll be screwed! Well, more screwed than I am right now.

"I will teach you Alchemy," Izumi said. "In exchange, you will promise me one thing."

I knitted my eyebrows in confusion. "Er, what is it Teacher?" I asked carefully.

"No matter what, in any situation or whatever, you are forbidden from using Alchemy for foolish reasons." She ordered, inspecting me with her dark eyes.

Foolish reasons? Why on earth would I learn Alchemy for foolish reasons? If she meant by human transmutation or anything stupid like that, she doesn't have anything to worry about. I've seen rebound effects before, and the idea of ending up with a missing limb or organs or even my whole body doesn't exactly fancy me.

I nodded determinedly. "I swear."

Izumi nodded before standing up. "Alright. How long have you been in that island?" she asked.

I looked up and placed my finger on my chin. "Er… roughly about three weeks. Why?" I asked her.

Izumi nodded. "Your first lesson is to learn the meaning of this phrase; One is All and All is One. Re-live your experiences in that island and in one week, I want you to report to me what you understand of that phrase." She said before walking off into another room.

"Remember! One week." She said before walking upstairs, leaving me to my musings in the table.

Actually, I could easily answer Izumi's first lesson. The only reason why I decided not to reveal my answer is due to the fact I need to keep it low. If I answered her question instantly, her suspicions would rise up. I can't have that, so right now, I need to act like a rookie-wannabe alchemist.

I took my sweet time in resting the following days. Izumi and I even went around Dublith a few times so I can get used to the area and remember my way around town. She gave me a few combat lessons and pointed out that while I do know a few moves, my stamina sucks and that I wasn't fit enough.

I took great offense in that but since Izumi had the tendency to lash out violently, I settled to accepting my cruel fate.

Finally, the sixth and last day of my first lesson came. I was reading a book about medical procedures that I picked out from Izumi's shelf when said person entered the room.

"Teacher!" I said as I sat down properly on the sofa. She gave me a nod before staring at the title of my book.

She raised an eyebrow. "'The Human Anatomy' and 'The Medical Procedures or Alchemy'? Why would you read that?" she asked.

I smiled. "I was a bit curious. Since tomorrow is when I should answer the first lesson, I decided to review a few things. Though," I said with a sheepish grin. "I'm haven't exactly concluded everything yet." I lied with a grin.

Izumi gave me a small smile. "I'll be looking forward to your answer tomorrow. And remember this little detail; you fail to answer, I'm kicking you out of this house." She said.

I paled slightly and nodded vigorously. "Y-yes ma'am! I won't let you down!"

That, I promise.

(-Andrea-)

The following morning came and I was sweating buckets. I had breakfast with Izumi and Sig as usual and after having a small sparring session (which Izumi kicked my ass by the way) she looked at me expectedly.

"So? What is the meaning of the phrase 'All is One, One is All'?" she asked with crossed arms.

I gulped before exhaling and looking at Izumi straightly in the eyes. "From what I learned, everything in this world is connected like one big circle of life. Us humans, plants, and even animals; every living thing is interconnected with one another. All signifies how we are connected through everything in this life, and that we are all one. One signifies that everything in this life is interdependent with each other, and without one, there will be no all. So, All is One and One is All!"

My voice sort of cracked at the last sentence Izumi stared at me with slightly wide eyes before chuckling. I blushed in embarrassment.

Izumi nodded at me and gave me a smile. "You passed. Do you know why I asked you to learn the meaning of this phrase?"

I nodded. "Yeah, while I thought about this, alchemy came to my mind."

"Hm? How so?"

"Well, in alchemy, you need the basic transmutation circle. The circle sort of made me think of how all beings of earth are connected with one another. You know?" I asked, a bit unsure with my own statement.

Izumi seemed honestly surprised before her cool demeanor came back in. A smirk curled up her face as she readied herself in a battle stance.

"Alright. Now come at me. We're going to first train your body then we'll move on to the mind." Izumi explained.

I looked at her and stood up, a confident smirk on my own.

"HIIYA!"

(-Andrea-)

Having Izumi as a teacher is both thrilling and scary as hell.

For one thing, Izumi sure knows how to explain the concepts of Alchemy in simple meanings instead of those complex mumbo jumbo you find in her books at the shelves.

The only problem with how she teaches alchemy? She explains it while she makes me try to land a hit on her. It sort of annoyed me that she can dodge all of my attacks by side stepping, ducking down, or leaping above them without looking away from her book.

Izumi made me memorize the Alchemy symbols, something that took me roughly a few weeks. She also made me do practical tests; which meant that she made me do Alchemy a bunch of times.

The first time I did Alchemy was when she made me use the Earth symbol. She told me to understand the structure of the Earth and try and decompose it then use the ingredients and reconstruct it into a new being.

The only time I succeeded in doing so was my twelfth attempt. I managed to create a medium sized dog. I guess I was a bit too excited because I kept of cheering and yelling 'Hell yeah!'

I was studying in the Curtis' Residence living room, a few papers and alchemy circles scattered across the floor. I was wearing my night clothing which consisted of a white dress with a thin strap and blue shorts. My dark curly hair wasn't tied and my eyes were much too focused on my theory.

"It's getting late Andrea. You need to sleep so you can grow." I heard a deep voice scold me from behind.

An irk mark appeared on my forehead. "Are you saying I'm small?" I snapped while shaking my fist.

Sig Curtis appeared from the hallway, shaking his head. "No, but you will stay that height forever unless you start sleeping."

"I drink milk anyway!" I protested. "The Calcium strengthens my bones and elongates them!"

Sig shook his head. "Sleep. Before I tell Izumi that you've bee—"

"SORRY MR. CURTIS BUT IT'S LATE AND I HAVE TO SLEEP NOW!" I cried, quickly running upstairs and into my room with my notes in tow.

Sig sweat dropped.

(-Andrea-)

Izumi watched as I drew a new type of transmutation circle; the symbol of life.

"What are you planning to do with that circle?" Izumi asked. I looked up and gave her a grin.

"I've been thinking lately about biological alchemy." I said. "And they said that the symbol of life could help speed up the average plant growth timeline. I sort of theorized a few nights ago if I could do this, you know, just for keepers."

Izumi hummed as I placed a small seed in the middle of my transmutation circle. Placing my hands on the rims of the circle, the circle started to glow bright blue whilst lightning sparks appeared around.

The seed in the middle of the circle started to decompose. I then fought and summoned some more focus and tried reconstructing the seed into a tree while adding a few nutrients from the soil for good measurement.

Once my transmutation finished, I only managed to create a small seedling that was roughly about 5 inches tall.

I looked at it then sigh. "It looks like I need to research more." I muttered.

Izumi inspected the seedling and analyzed my circle. "The circle formula… how did you manage to create this equation? It's highly complex yet you were able to form this." She touched the soil and turned to me.

"How are you able to simply break down years of bio-alchemy study into a single and simple explanation?" she asked.

I blinked, mildly confused. Huh? Say what? Bio-Alchemy was difficult and it took years to study it? Whoa mama, I never expected that sort of news today.

"But it was simple to understand, really." I reasoned. "I mean, it's like basic alchemy. You try to accelerate something, you need more components and ingredients. Or… that's how I think."

Izumi looked at me blankly. "… we're continuing our sparring tomorrow. Continue your research here and tell me the results later on, alright?"

I nodded and stared at the seedling while Izumi entered the house. I poked its leaves, feeling very proud of my first creation.

(-Andrea-)

"Yo."

I opened my eyes slowly, blinking a few times before I was able to scan my surroundings. I twitched my eye before a crooked smile came up my face.

"You…!" I growled.

Truth waved a hand nonchalantly. "So how's it going?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HOW'S IT GOING YOU BASTARD?!" I practically yelled. "STICKING ME IN YOKI ISLAND AND NEARLY MAKING ME EAT MY OWN SHOES IN THE PROCESS! THE HELL?! AND THEN YOU HAVE THE GUTS TO TAKE ME BACK HERE?!"

Truth was unfazed. "It's expected that you are punished." He reasoned out. "What you have done to me nearly tipped of the balance of my realm. Something of that stature is unforgivable, and the least you can pay for is everything you have."

I was about to yell at Truth again, but hearing what it said made me halt. "Wait… what do you mean? I haven't done anything wrong! The only drastic and dangerous thing I've ever done in my life was making my own mother angry." I said before paling at the memory.

It was mom's birthday, and I was ten years old. I received my test paper that day and I was super scared of going home with only a 5/20 in History. When my mom found out, she went ballistic. Of course, since I was pretty flustered and annoyed that my mom expected too much from me, I said;

"If you were able to remember that, then that means your old mom!"

Worst. Decision. In. My. Entire. LIFE.

I don't even want to start thinking about the time I had to hide from her because she was waving a giant butcher's knife around so I decided to get to the point.

"I… I'm just another normal human being!" I said as I gestured to my chest. "I have no special abilities or anything that's praise worthy! I lived in a normal house with a norma— somewhat normal family!" I said, pausing.

I looked at Truth straight at its face. "Why did you take me here?! What have I done wrong?! My life… my life isn't something you can toy with."

Truth's grin stretched. "The Circulation of Souls." He stated.

I blinked, confused. "Circulation of… what?"

"I would like to tell you," Truth said. "But that isn't the reason why I have called you. I have… a bribe.

I raised my eyebrow. "Bribe?" I asked, puzzled.

"This dimension's balance has been tipped. Because of what you have caused, nothing is predictable. I am the universe, the world, the ones you call 'God' itself, but my being is restricted from leaving this realm." Truth explained, a frown on its face.

"That doesn't answer my question." I snapped. "Why am I here in this dimension? You said it yourself that you're not allowed to leave this realm. Then what does my presence here affect? And why can't you just fix the balance yourself?"

Truth's frowned remained. "It is forbidden for me to directly interfere with mortal's lives." He reasoned before smiling and gesturing to me. "And that's where you come in."

My eyebrows knitted in confusion as I stared at the eternal being in front of me. "What do you mean? What am I supposed to do?" I asked before gasping. "Don't tell me you were the one who made me die at that canyon!"

Truth shrugged. "I control both dimensions, yes. If I am to pull you to the opposite side, you must first die." It said nonchalantly.

I felt tears of anger well up in my eyes. "You bastard!" I cried. "You can't do that! You can't just… just take me away from my home! You have to send me back! My mama and papa, they're waiting for me!"

"Then if were you, I would finish my mission quicker so I may return to my home as soon as possible."

I froze. Truth's grin stretched, which I found revolting and frustrating at all times.

"This is my bribe, human. You will be my pawn." Truth said. "If you are able to correct all the mishaps and gaps in the parallel dimension, I'll give you a free ticket home. If not… your soul will be swallowed by the gate and you'll never see the ones you love ever again."

I stared at Truth wide but furious eyes. 'Smart asshole…' I growled in my head. 'Giving me a bribe like this… it doesn't fit right… but for now, I'll have to listen…'

"I… I… I agree." I said reluctantly. My eyes hardened as I faced the being in front of me. "But you have to swear; no matter what, my family stays safe. They won't be hurt at all!"

Truth hummed in agreement. "Equivalent Exchange, mortal. Smart choice." He said before I sensed a gate appear behind me. I turned around and watched as it slowly opened and as a huge ringed eye stared at me greedily. Black arms snaked from the doorway and slowly came up to me, pulling me gingerly inside.

Though I knew that I wouldn't get hurt, I still had the urge to go against being pulled into a place void of all things. I aggressively pulled at the arms, trying my best to get away.

"Which reminds me…" Truth hummed. "You'll find a little present tomorrow morning. Put it to good use, would you human?" he said in a sickeningly taunting tone.

I glared at Truth and gritted my teeth in rage.

"TRUTH!"

(-Andrea-)

I gasped and bolted up, sweat dripping from the side of my face. I breathed in short gasps as I tried to calm myself down.

I looked around and was relieved to find out that I was still in my room at the Curtis' residence. I sigh and placed my right hand on my chest before lying down on the soft pillow once more, my eyes closed.

'Was that… all a dream?' I asked myself as I opened my blue eyes. 'Or… did I really meet Truth again?'

I bit my lower lip in frustration before banging my right arm on the side of the bed angrily. "Damn it!" I cursed under my breath. My eyes then widened once I felt a small object inserted into my hand.

Crushing my fist, I felt the object's surface. It was smooth, but rather hard and solid. I started to shake, pleading that in my mind that I wasn't holding what I think I was holding in my right hand.

Shakily, I turned my head to the side, opening my right hand. Sitting on my palm, a small red stone glowed brightly. The sun rays hit it, causing its color to glow and shine against the light.

I could almost imagine thousands of withering human souls, all concentrated into one small stone that I held in the palm of my hand.

"The Philosopher's stone…" I gasped.

Oh no.

[A/N:] Haha! You didn't expect that to happen, did you? ^^

My exams are scheduled for the day after tomorrow, so I'll only be able to update next week. I apologize for the delay in advance, but I'll make it up to you guys by giving you an extra-long and eventful chapter next time. I hope you guys don't mind! My school is sort of demanding. (_ _")

Bye-bye, and please review your thoughts about this fanfiction! ^^