Warning: Chapter contains gore- body horror and mutilation.

Chapter One

A week had passed since the Promised Day: A week since the defeat of Father- since Edward had given up his Alchemy in exchange for his brother in whole. Mind, body and soul, Alphonse Elric was back.

That should have been the most notable thing- it should have been the thing that allowed Ed to relax. But it wasn't the main thing he had noticed as within that week a dreadful, foreboding feeling within his head had begun to grow. It was almost comparable to the gut feeling one would have when something was about to go wrong, yet at the same time being nothing like that type of sensation.

A hollow pain accompanied the feeling, as though there was something missing in his mind and an unknown (unwanted) force was trying to grow there.

Edward could brush the feeling off- ignore it. He had given up his Alchemy, after all, and it was undoubtable that there would be something noticeably different.

But at the same time what he was feeling didn't match up with the conclusion he had come to. Ed had expected that losing his Alchemy would, if anything, leave a part of his mind feeling empty- something growing in his mind shouldn't have been a factor in it.

While he was unsure as to what it was (even going so far as to ignore it and focus solely on the knowledge that Al was back), a part of him knew. . .

. . . Something was wrong.

He tried his best to pretend that the feeling didn't exist- it wasn't the time to be overreacting at something as painful as a headache and as worrisome as the time he had been impaled up North. Besides, it wasn't his main concern at the moment. What he was more focused on was-

"Brother, are you alright?" Came Al's voice, laced with worry as he snapped Ed out of his thoughts.

Ed blinked. "I'm fine, Al." His brother didn't seem all that reassured, giving him a sceptical look from his place propped up in the hospital bed. "But what about you?" He asked, opting to redirect the question and avoid his own troubles. "How are you feeling?"

Al stared down at his arms for a moment, no doubt thinking about his weakened and fragile (but human nonetheless!) body.

After a moment, Al gave Ed a smile. "I'm doing fine. The doctor even said that I should be able to leave sometime within the week as long as someone keeps an eye on me- just in case something happens. I have these exorcises I need to do too."

Ed matched his brother's smile with his own, undeniably overjoyed by the information. "That's great Al!"

Al nodded. "Yeah, I can't wait to have a slice of Winry's apple pie." He paused, smile and tone becoming teasing. "So brother, is there anything specific you intend to do when we get back? Confess to a certain someone, perhaps?"

Ed's face went red at the implications. "What- no- Al- why would you- it's not like that!"

"Riiight." Al said, words tumbling off his tongue in a way that pretty much said 'everyone knows, stop denying it already' as he rolled his eyes.

Ed buried his blushing face into his hands, not making eye contact at his brother as he mumbled; "Well- what about you and that panda girl from Xing then?"

Al blinked. "What did you say, brother?"

Ed looked up, eye twitching as he pointed a finger at Al, embarrassment still fresh on his face. "What about you and the panda girl!?" He snapped, and it was Al's turn to go an unnaturally dark shade of red at his loud tone.

"Brother!"

"What?" Ed smirked in triumph. "It's obvious, Al. You've even been making plans to visit her when she goes back to Xing- don't tell me your planning on coming back as a prince?"

"That's not the only reason I want to go to Xing and you know it!"

At his own words Al froze, as did Ed. All was silent for a moment, the sounds of birds chirping outside the open window was all to be heard. But then. . .

Al's face gained a look of horror as he realised his mistake in wording.

Ed's smirk warped into a grin- teasing and confident.

"'Not the only reason'?" Ed repeated, slowly. "So that means that it's still a reason, then!"

"A reason for what?"

Both Ed and Al startled slightly, turning to look at the rather familiar girl standing by the door, looking at the two curiously.

"Mei!" Al exclaimed, noticeably panicked as he was undoubtedly worrying over how much the Xingese girl in question had heard. "We were just- it's nothing!" He said quickly in attempt to hide his embarrassment and mortification at the situation. "Thank you for coming to visit again."

Mei practically beamed, making her way over to Al's bedside. "Of course!"

The warmth and light-heartedness of the situation caused Ed to smile as he watched the two interact with each other. It felt natural- Al talking with Mei about his recovery process and Alkahestry, among other things.

It feels like home, Ed realised. Their journey to get their bodies back was over- promises fulfilled. It was a good feeling, knowing that they could now begin a new path of their own will. They were free from Truth's grasp, free from the Homunculi and the Philosophers Stone and the military.

"Oh if only it were that simple, young former Alchemist."

Ed winced, slapping his hand to his forehead on reflex as something moved underneath his skin, twitching from side to side (up and down?) as it tried to do something- what? And then, as soon as that feeling had come, it left.

Ed hesitantly pulled his hand away, staring at his gloved palm where he had felt. . . whatever it had been. . . squirming under his skin.

What. . . what was that. . . ? He continued to inspect his (formerly automail, now flesh and bone- that was going to take some time getting used to) hand in some form of morbid curiosity, dread forming in the pit of his stomach as it resisted the sudden urge to dispel his lunch.

"Brother, are you alright?" Alphonse asked for the second time that day, both him and Mei giving Ed confused and worried looks.

Ed's breath hitched in the back of his throat slightly, suddenly filled with the strange desire to get away from everybody as he looked at his brother.

"I'm fine." He lied, though it was obvious that his attempt at a look of reassurance did anything but meet his eyes. Inching closer to the door, Ed added a little less anxiously; "Well, I had better let you two have some alone time," he gave a wink at Al as his brother went red at the implications, "bye!"

And then, while being rather abrupt about it, Ed was gone- not noticing Xiao-Mei's quivering form on Mei's shoulder as he left.

Ed walked through the somewhat crowded streets hurriedly, intent on getting somewhere. Where? He did not know, nor did he know why he was in such a panicked hurry to get away.

Away from what? He wondered, trying to reassure himself that there was nothing there even though his pace begun to quicken, soon turning into a desperate run almost against his will.

The feeling at the back of his mind (the one telling him that something was very, very wrong) was back, clawing its way into his skull, making itself more than a thousand times worse than before and Ed found himself being unable to compare it to anything but one event.

It was almost the same feeling as when his and Al's attempt at bringing their dead mother back had begun. When the Alchemic lights of Human Transmutation had lit the room and the way the eerie eye of which represented the 'Gate of Truth' had revealed itself for the first time- taking both his brother and his leg from him as it had done so.

But even then, what he was feeling now was so, so much worse and he just knew. . .

. . . He knew that something was about to go terribly wrong- and there was nothing he could do to stop whatever were to happen.

And then, as he stumbled clumsily into a discreet alleyway, came the pain.

The first thing he was aware of was that something was forcing its way open on his forehead, multi-coloured sparks not unlike (but at the same time vastly different than) the lights that represented Transmutation flowing from whatever the thing growing in his head was as tiny, but familiar, hands moved around his body- no, not just his body. They were coiling around his entire being.

The hands dug into his clothes and skin, impossibly sharp as they tore at Ed. Ripping cloth and his flesh off in small chunks, bit by bit and deconstructing whatever was no longer attached to him yet showing no sign of reconstructing- violent, eager and uncaring as to the pain they were inflicting.

His blood and bones were the next targets, and by this time Ed found himself unable to move, think properly or do anything else for that matter as the gory remains of his body fell unmoving to the floor- the hands no longer willing to support it as they did their job.

He would have screamed. Cried. Begged. Anything! But he couldn't. Something was there, in the depths of his very existence, grinning as it prevented him from going through with those basic urges as it tore him apart bit by bit until there was nothing left.

Ed could feel it. Through the burning, stinging, unimaginable pain that should very well have left him dead almost as soon as it had begun, he could feel it doing something more. Invading the personal space of his mind, wrapping itself around his soul and altering the very thing that made him Edward Elric in a way that should have been impossible.

No, it was more than that. While tearing him apart, it was preserving him at the same time- keeping a tight hold on his very essence, stubborn and unwilling to let go as it continued to consume him with caution.

The Alchemic, yet strangely non-Alchemic lights flared, shifting into a variety of different colours and, had Ed not been consumed by pain and panic, he would have wondered how he could still see even with his eyes being torn apart within their sockets.

Blue.

Was. . . was this how he was going to die?

Red.

Being torn apart piece by piece at the back of an alley?

Purple.

What about Al? What would Al do when they found the body?

Green.

If there was even anything left to find- the hands were doing an excellent job in making sure there was nothing left of him.

Yellow.

It hurt. . . It hurt so much. . .

Orange.

He shouldn't be alive- there was no way he could be alive through this torture!

Silver.

So many colours flashed indecisively throughout the area, somehow going unnoticed (maybe even ignored) by the few people who passed by on the streets.

Aqua. Magenta. Fern.

Soon, the never-ending change of colours lulled him- almost made him forget the pain and the world around him. Then, the hands touched the only remaining part of his non-existent body.

Please! Please. . . just make it stop. . .

As though answering to his unvoiced plea, the lights stopped flashing through different shades as the hands wrapped themselves tightly (protectively) around his impossibly still beating heart.

Gold.

Pure, ethereal gold sparks intensified, filling all of the alleyway as the hands begun their violent deconstruction process on themselves, only to reconstruct moments later in the exact same position but, at the same time, becoming a darker shade of the same colour as to reflect the sparks.

Ethereal light.

Eerie darkness.

Both flowed in sync as his heart was destroyed, leaving nothing of his body left- only to force the reconstruction process upon it moments later. The organ beat, yet there was nowhere to pump its precious blood to.

The hands went from the heart, squirming and splattering on the dirt-covered ground, to the blood. Greedily they bathed in the unnatural amount of the flowing red liquid of life as they begun working on constructing a solid form out of it.

Bones begun to form, the hands coiling around them as to hold their shape in their concentrated attempt to re-create the proper skeletal structure.

Vertebra and Fibula? No, no, that wasn't right!

The hands faltered, agitated at the mistake as they tore apart the bones and deconstructed them once again before reconstructing them in their proper places over and over until the structure was complete and unmistakably that of a human.

The lights flashed around Ed, hands sinking down into the bones and suddenly he felt much more than just pain.

The skeleton somehow opened its jaw on reflex as the feeling of lungs and other internal organs flooded through- Ed feeling the strong need to breathe. To prove that, however impossible this all was, he was still alive.

With the innards reconstructed, the next and final parts were focused on. Hair of uncommon golden blond grew at a rapid, unnatural pace as the scalp formed. Eyes of gold twisted and churned uncomfortably in their bony sockets while they were held in place until eyelids had finished forming.

Muscles. Veins. Skin-

And soon enough, the whole process was over- the pain fading into nothingness.

Edward gasped, desperately taking panicked breaths as the lights died down and hands retracted back into the thing on his forehead.

He pushed himself up, inspecting his fully clothed and functioning body before looking around for anything that could tell him if what had happened had been real- nothing was out of place, just the average alley lit dimly by the early afternoon sun.

"What. . . what just happened?" He wondered aloud, eyes shakily inspecting the area once more for anything that could have explained what had occurred. "That. . . that couldn't have been real-"

Something metallic caught his eye, easily recognisable and scarily familiar. Ed hesitated, taking a fearful breath as he reached out for his detached automail leg (supports, ports and all), feeling the cool metal of the prosthetic limb through both of his gloved hands, inspecting it as though it were something foreign to him.

He gulped at the feeling of something below what he had grown so used to being the stump of his left leg- unable to deny the sudden thought that it had somehow been returned to him while he had been torn apart.

Panicked at the absurd theory (There's no way that actually happened!), Ed pulled the material covering what he needed to see up, making a strangled noise of more-so shock than surprise as he tried to back away from his very own, very real, flesh leg.

It was horrifying- the thought that what had occurred had been real and the undeniable confirmation in the form of his leg. The pain, the being ripped apart uncontrollably while still being conscious of what was happening and now- and now he had regained that of which he had grown to accept would be lost forever. The constant reminder of his childhood Taboo.

And that reminder was gone- replaced by the flesh and blood that was his original leg, the one he had naïvely given up in a poor attempt to bring the dead back to life.

Bile built up at the back of Ed's throat, stomach churning as he unwillingly held back the urge to throw up, taking a closer look at his newly restored leg.

"How. . . ?" He muttered in disbelief at what he found.

Closer inspection showed that, while the leg was most definitely his own, it didn't appear to show any signs of the muscle deterioration that his arm had had.

He looked from his leg to right arm, clenching the gloved hand experimentally as to see if the feeling of weakness was still there. It wasn't.

Somehow my arm and leg must have been reconstructed to fit with the rest of my body properly, Ed realised. "But that- that shouldn't be possible." He said, still shaken by the whole ordeal.

"That is correct." A distorted and terrifyingly familiar voice spoke, tone sadistic and mocking as it echoed throughout Ed's very being.

"You!" Ed shot up, searching for any sign of the speaker, yet already knowing deep down that he would find nothing on the physical plane. "What- what's going on?!"

"I'm surprised that you haven't figured that out for yourself yet, young former Alchemist." The voice of Truth started in sarcastic surprise. "Shall I elaborate for you?"

Ed grit his teeth, mind racing as he tried to piece together everything that had happened but to no avail. Human Transmutation hadn't been done, so there was no need for Truth's presence- how had it even been able to get into his. . . his mind?

No. It was more than just his mind, but Edward couldn't figure out what- his scientific side screaming that what was occurring just wasn't possible.

"Oh yeah?" He snapped, glaring at the opposite brick wall as though it were the cause of all that was happening. "And what would you take away from me for that information?"

"Nothing." Was Truth's (excited?) reply. "If I could give you back your leg without taking anything then why would I take something for such trivial information?"

"That was you?!" Ed shouted, shocked yet knowing it to be true.

"Yes. Quite the interesting process, wasn't it?"

"What the hell did you do to me?" He asked, doubting that Truth had done all of that just to give him back a leg and fearing what the answer would be.

"See for yourself- the truth is on your forehead."

Ed shuddered, remembering the thing that had been there before he complied, slowly bringing his hand up to his head in fearful hesitance.

Gloved fingers traced along skin and Ed was about to sigh in relief once it seemed as though there was nothing out of place- that was, until he felt a thin line right in the middle, skin splitting vertically in an almost completely unnoticeable manner.

As though acting on uncontrollable impulse, Ed found himself digging curious fingers into the opening between flesh, wincing as he felt fabric jab at something hidden underneath the surface before pulling his hand away altogether.

"What was that. . . ?" Ed asked, fear etched into his voice as he stared at his fingers. A part of him knowing that he already knew the answer.

"What do you think it was, young former Alchemist?"

Ed could practically feel Truth's grin widening as it baited him into answering for himself- forcing him to accept the reality by uttering the words he didn't want to hear. "An eye- no, your eye. But how? What. . ." He trailed off, eyes going wide in realisation. "When I gave up my Alchemy in exchange- you did something!"

"That I did." Truth agreed. "Though you still don't seem to understand the true implication of what giving up Alchemy means, now do you? Besides, that eye isn't mine- it's yours."

Ed gulped, dread continuing to grow in the pit of his stomach as he shivered. "What does that mean?"

"The gate you destroyed, young former Alchemist-" A pause, as though Truth was trying to be dramatic. "- represented Alchemic laws- laws of which, through you, I am no longer bound to."

The gears turned in Ed's head, puzzle pieces fitting together as his face went a ghostly pale with horror at the implications- at the thought of what he had unleashed on the world in an act of desperation.

Truth laughed- sounding even more horrific than before. "Oh no, nothing like what you're thinking." It said. "I just have complete control over your body, mind and soul now."

"W-what?"

"Your entire being, young former Alchemist-" Truth spoke, words slow and dangerous. "- is for me to control. I can alter any part of you that I so desire to. At any time."

"N-no!" Ed stuttered in protest. "You can't do that!" This couldn't be happening- he had finally gotten his brother's body back. They were going to go back to Resembool together to surprise Winry with their success on proud display, then she would throw her trusty wrench at him before going to bake the apple pie Al had desired for so long.

This can't be happening!

"Oh, but I already did."

The words acted as a slap in the face, snapping Ed out of his panicked thoughts. He was frozen, blood running cold as he processed what had been said.

"That was- what else did you do?!"

"I reconstructed your being in a way that could host my power." Was the bland answer he received.

Ed took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself and his steadily growing fear. "Why. . . why would you do something like that?" He asked, suspicion mixing into his panic.

Truth fell silent at the question, as though contemplating what it should answer- what it should tell and what it should leave out. Eventually it spoke; "I want you to destroy anything that has the possibility of doing what that man did."

Ed frowned at the vague answer. "Who?"

"Homunculus." Truth elaborated. "The Dwarf in the Flask of whom foolishly tried to take my power as his own."

Ed couldn't help but roll his eyes at the flaw in Truth's explanation. "If that's the case, then why have me 'host your power'- doesn't that make me the same as him?"

"Foolish former Alchemist."

He gasped as a sudden, horrifying wave of pain coursed throughout his head and chest, falling to the ground and letting out a spine-chilling yet mute scream as his body spasmed from the sudden, unexpected feeling.

"Edward Elric," Truth begun, tone losing all amusement, "unlike Homunculus, you are no longer protected by the law of Equivalent Exchange. If you were to try and take all of my power and claim it as your own as he did- I can erase you. I can alter the information stored in your mind. I can transform your body into one more monstrous and disgusting than Envy. I can even warp your very soul in a way that will turn you into a mindless killing machine."

"Then why didn't you do that in the first place?" Ed ground out through clenched teeth before adding; "Bastard."

Truth laughed, tone returning to its former amused self. "That's exactly the reason! Even in a situation like this you don't lose that fire in your eyes- it amuses me!"

"Right." Ed muttered, disbelieving. "And why should I believe a word of that?"

"I am Truth- I tell nothing but the truth. How about a demonstration?" The sickeningly sweet tone Truth used alarmed Ed, putting him on high alert as the recognisable sound of footsteps entered the alley.

"Young man, are you alright?" Came the concerned voice of the owner of the footsteps, causing Ed to look up in the direction of a woman (hairs greying and definitely old enough to have grandchildren) holding a walking cane in one hand and a paper bag filled with candy in the other.

"Hmm?"

"I-I'm fine." Ed choked out, forcing himself into a sitting position as he gave the kind old lady a strained smile in attempt to reassure her, even with the foreboding feeling growing within him. At her 'I don't believe that for a second' look, he added; "Look, really, I'm fine-"

"Allow me to show you, young former Alchemist, just how much hold I have over you."

It was obvious that he was the only one able to hear the voice, menace mixed in with sadistic amusement as something within Ed's soul pulled, twisted, ripped and then altered. But as suddenly as the feeling was there, it was gone- almost like it had never been there in the first place. Almost.

Ed closed his eyes calmly (too calmly) and took in a slow breath, sighing as the lady moved closer to him in concern.

Blood. Bones. Red. White. Eyes? Brown. Smile. Frown.

He didn't know where the urge had come from- nor did he care to think about it. All he knew was that he wanted to see blood. He wanted to see what the lady would look like turned inside-out, to see the pain on her face as she slowly died. Killed by the one that she had foolishly showed concern to.

And, without any second thought, he acted on that desire. Holding up his hand to the lady he smirked a monstrous smirk, the golden lights from earlier encasing his fingers as he willed them to, shooting outward and creating a wall as to block off the only way of escape- completely ignoring the law of Equivalent Exchange as he did so.

"Y-young man?" The lady questioned, backing up against the newly-made wall as delicious fear practically radiated off of her.

Blood splattered.

He stared down at the unrecognisable and mangled corpse- innards no longer on the inside, eyeballs long since removed, bones being snapped in unnatural positions.

Boring. He thought. I'll go find someone else, then. I wonder what Al would look like-

He gripped his chest, clutching desperately at his heart at a sudden flare of pain before blinking. What- why was I. . . ?

Ed stared at his bloodstained hands and then to the lifeless body, blood and who-knows-what-else splattered across the walls around. . . it (it just. . . it couldn't even be considered the same thing as that kind old lady anymore).

His hand covered his mouth, ignoring the blood on them as he trembled- overwhelmed and absolutely horrified at what was in front of him. It worse than the result of the Human Transmutation he and Al had performed in childhood- and he was the one who had created the mangled thing in the alleyway.

The feeling of joy in its purest form as he ripped open her stomach- as he gorged out her eyeballs in a way similar to that of the hands that had done it to him. All of it- it was all so fresh in his mind. So real.

He backed away from the mutilated corpse, scrambling as he did so while at the same time trying to indulge in the urge to throw and finding himself unable to.

"No." Ed muttered- chanted. "No. nonononono. This- this can't be- this isn't- I didn't-"

"Now do you understand?" Truth asked.

"What- what did you- do to me- why did I?" Ed asked, dry-heaving as he did so.

"I temporarily altered a few things in your soul." Truth explained. "If you don't cooperate, I could always make it permanent. I wonder how that brother of yours would react if he saw you do something like what you just did?"

"Al. . . Oh god Alphonse! I was about to-" Ed said in panicked rambling, remembering what he had thought about (planned) on doing to his brother not moments prior. "How could I even- oh god."

The worst part about all of it, though, was the fact that he had been aware of what he was doing- what he had been thinking. And he hadn't even been able to notice anything off about any of it.

Ed dared to stare at the body once again, gulping as he took a shaky step towards it. Then another. Then another, until he found himself truly unable to deny the reality of what had happened- of what was still happening.

How would he be able to look Alphonse in the eye (to smile as though everything were okay) with the blood now staining his hands- with the knowledge that he had killed an old lady trying to help him?

The answer was obvious. He couldn't face his brother. There was no way that he could be anywhere near Al after what had just occurred. He couldn't let Al get close to him again, not knowing what he could do at any given moment- he had to protect Al from himself. And everyone else, for that matter.

"Alright." Edward started, terrified eyes shining with determination. "I'll do what you want me to."

"Very good, young servant."

Journal Entry No. 1

That day had started well. Brother and Mei had come to visit me again and after brother left, Mei and I had begun to properly plan my eventual visit to Xing. She told me to wait until I had recovered enough, and then suggested that brother come along and try studying Alkahestry at its place of origin. Perhaps he could find a way to replace his lost Alchemy, even.

But that was the last time I saw brother, my thoughts of Alkahestry long forgotten when I had received the news. Edward had disappeared without a trace.

~ Alphonse Elric

End Chapter One

Bonus One: Puns

"See for yourself- the truth is on your forehead."

Ed blinked, processing its words before slamming his palm to his forehead, groaning. "You- you didn't just-"

"Didn't what, young former Alchemist?"

"Oh- oh my god just no!" Ed begun to snicker. "That's just too horrible!"

"What- what? No seriously, what did I say?"

Bonus Two: Midgets

"Very good, midget servant."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT THEY CAN'T EVEN SEE ABOVE A SPECK OF DIRT, BASTARD!?"

Truth fell silent at Ed's outburst, nervousness etching itself into it as Ed continued to shout angrily. "You. . . ?" It would regret its choice of words for all of eternity as Edward begun an endless rant on how 'I'm not short damn it!'

Chapter Notes:

*Edward's transformation could have gone the same way as Ling and Wrath's had- it's the same concept of deconstruction and reconstruction as that of a human-turned-Homunculus. Why wasn't it like that? Truth wanted to experiment- to use its new form of freedom the best it could. As is why the scene was as it was. I felt that Truth would relish in the fact that it had complete control (even if just over one person) and would, essentially, get carried away while testing out the different things it could do to Ed's body first hand while also reconstructing him with a goal in mind.

*Why didn't Truth just outright 'alter' or 'erase' Ed? From the series I personally found that Truth viewed Ed as a form of entertainment- watching in morbid amusement and perhaps even fascination as Ed struggled on his journey. As such, it wanted to preserve that part of him- wanting to see how Ed would deal with it all, rather than just straight out re-programing him, so to speak. It would be boring if Edward wasn't. . . well. . . Edward, after all.

Authors Notes: I'm admittedly more than a little paranoid about the rating of this story now, even though the gore scenes have been toned down quite a bit from the original draft. . . I'm trying to keep this in the 'T' rating- I don't really want to go into 'M' territory, so hopefully those scenes weren't that bad? I'm not sure. . .

Even though in the first scene of the chapter I threw in a couple of hints of some ship-y stuff, pairings won't be a notable focus of this story. There might be little pieces here and there as to fit in with what had been developed in Brotherhood, but apart from that, nothing. No romance.

On another note, I have a poll up on my profile- just a quick 'yes' or 'no' question regarding all of my stories, but if anyone is willing to take a minute to vote. . . it's something I'd really like the readers opinion on! *Poll closes on the 25th of August.

Other than that. . . I do hope this chapter was. . . enjoyable? (Not quite sure if enjoyable is the right word) to read!

'Till next time! - ef07