A/N: I know, I already have about four other stories ongoing that I still haven't updated T.T And yet, I keep getting ideas for new ones...a lot of them, too. I actually have a notebook so I can keep track. Okay, so a few notes so that people won't be on auto-flame straight off. This is AU, so obviously things are going to get a little...off right after the first part. I'll try not to let people be too out of their character, but my stories tend to write themselves these days.

To avoid confusion, I'll address some things beforehand. As far as Fullmetal goes, it'll end up being pretty self-explanatory; but he's about eighteen or so, just after the battle with Father. I mention him traveling to England previously, which was in the FMA anime (after Envy killed him and he was there for a small period of time.) This time, he'll be there for a few months instead before returning. I'm going to probably be taking a little bit of...liberties as far as Spence goes, as I've no idea what his true abilities are on an intellectual level. "He had three BAs and three PhDs by the time he was 24. He has an eidetic memory, an IQ of 187 and can read 20,000 words per minute."

Sorry about the long A/N, but if you didn't read it then you'll be more confused than the ones who actually did. :)

Summary: Ed and Al deal with Truth after the grueling battle with Father, only to discover that things with Truth don't always go the way you want.

"Life is full of unexpected things, but always remember that it's hard to beat a person who never gives up."

-Unknown

Chapter One: The Twisted Truth

"I take it you're here to retrieve your brother? Just how do you plan on pulling an entire human out of here? What's your payment? Do you intend to offer your own body?"

Ed looked at Truth with a serious expression, obviously having no intention of going back.

"Yeah, I've got your payment right here," he told Truth, pointing directly behind him. "So go ahead and take it. This thing is my portal of truth, so I get to make the decision on how it's used! Isn't that right?"

Truth looked at him for a moment, shocked, before he started laughing.

"It's come to that. And you're sure about this? You do realize that you'll never be able to perform alchemy again without your portal?"

"I'm aware of that. This portal, I know it contains every secret alchemy has to offer. However, it's led me astray. I saw the truth that lies within it; I became convinced that I could solve everything with alchemy. I couldn't possibly have been more wrong. That was just arrogance."

"You're willing to cast it aside, to lower yourself to a simple human?"

"What do you mean 'lower myself'? That's the only thing I've ever been; just a simple human who couldn't save a little girl, not even with alchemy."

"You're sure you'll be alright without it? Think carefully now."

Ed smiled softly, hearing the voices of his friends and comrades in his head.

"Who even needs alchemy when I've got them?"

Truth grinned, looking at Ed after he gave his answer.

"You've done it! That's the right answer!" Truth said, grinning at his favorite alchemist. Ed clapped his hands, ready for his last transmutation and slammed his hands on the door. As the door disappeared, he saw Al in the distance coming forward. "Go ahead! The back door is right over there!"

"The back door?! What's that supposed to-?" Ed started to demand, looking at Truth for what he hoped was the last time. To his horror, he realized that his portal was slowly rebuilding itself and Al was no longer by his side. On the verge of a panic attack, he remembered his time on the other side of the gate. Would he be going back to London in the middle of another war or something equally unimaginable?

"Your brother is already on the other side, alchemist. I'm afraid that your work is not done yet, even if you think it is."

"Truth! Why are you doing this?! We had a deal!" Ed yelled, but got no answer in return.

The trip to the other side took minutes, this time having information crammed in his head that gave him a monstrous headache. Just as he started to get his bearings, he felt his headache double. He didn't remember feeling like this as a kid, after getting that information overload. Then again, he was on the verge of unconsciousness due to blood loss. He thought he heard a scream in the distance and initially dismissed it as the pain messing with his mind. He already felt incredibly dizzy and knew that if something was happening, he wasn't sure how much help he would be. The next thing he heard was a dog barking a few houses down, obviously in warning; the bark reminded him of Den and he went a little faster, ignoring the dizziness the best he could when he heard a whine of pain. It took him longer than it usually would, but he found the house. This was the house the scream had come from, he knew, but it looked almost unnaturally dark and eerie. Gulping, Ed forced down the sense of dread that was threatening to overwhelm him. Forcing his pain away, he tried to think of a possible way inside that wouldn't cause too much noise. Inwardly groaning, he noticed that the only way in was up on the roof. Sighing, he knew that it stealth was his only option. Climbing onto the roof, he made his own entrance, unsure if someone could see light but willing to chance it all the same. He couldn't be sure if there was a person in front of the window, and if said person was an enemy or a victim.

Dropping down as silently as possible, Ed took note of his surroundings and noticed that it was entirely too quiet, even if it was the middle of the night. He heard no snoring or noise of any sort and it gave him chills down his spine. Sneaking through the house as quickly as he could without making too much noise, he found someone leaving the house in a hurry and started to go after them. Making his way out the door, he heard a week cough and stopped in his tracks. Forgetting the person who had undoubtedly hurt at least one person in this house, he searched for the source of the noise and froze in horror. He suddenly felt the dizziness return with a vengeance, along with a nightmarish vision of his past suddenly reappearing and disappearing before his eyes. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to find the person who was still alive, if not barely so. A vague sense of irony crossed his mind as he saw a little girl lying on the floor, reminding him of the one he couldn't save. She looked like she was barely holding on and Ed once again pushed the dizziness to the back of his mind. Picking her up, he noticed her terrible injuries and knew right then he wouldn't be able to save her either. Pushing that thought aside, he ran out the front door at full speed and started knocking on the first door he saw.

A man answered, looking irritated until he saw the girl in Ed's arms and went to call for an ambulance. He probably had also noted her terrible injuries and knew the inevitable outcome, as well as Ed, but he had ignored it.

As the paramedics took the young girl away, Ed finally collapsed from the pain and exhaustion. He was tired and didn't want to deal with anything at the moment. She was going to die. Another little girl like Nina was going to die and he wasn't there to stop it.

The profilers looked at the information on their newest case, involving a string of murder-suicide cases. The latest was the Crawford family; including Chris and Allison, along with their two children, Sam and Emily. There was also the Miller family discovered about a month previous,* which had been found the same way...with a few notable exceptions. There were more questions than answers at this point, but there were a few witnesses that reported seeing strange flashes of light as well as a few people running around the property. Unfortunately, the only credible witness that had most likely seen everything wasn't talking to anyone and hadn't since the incident. The other witness had labeled him as "distressed and talking in gibberish that I couldn't understand".

J.J. sighed and looked at everyone. The only witness that was inside that house and still alive was undoubtedly traumatized beyond the realm of speaking to anyone, which meant that the only other person they had was the neighbor who had answered the door and called the ambulance. According to the hospital, they had no name and were labeling him as a John Doe as they hadn't found any identification on him. The only thing they had was an angry ex-husband, Eric Miller*. She couldn't see any connection that he could have possibly had to the Crawfords, but it was really too early to tell. Reid was giving his notes a look as if trying to decipher some hidden clue that had yet to be revealed. Glancing at Hotch, she nodded and waited for the briefing and Garcia to call in.

As the briefing started, everyone noticed how little attention Reid had offered until Hotch finally stopped altogether.

"Reid, is there something on your mind?" Hotch asked, not bothering to address the elephant in the room.

"The neighbor said that he was "speaking gibberish". What does that sound like?" Reid asked, speaking mostly to himself.

Morgan looked at him, trying to figure out where he was going with all of this.

"It sort of sounds like he might have just been speaking a foreign language, and add in that he was obviously under a good deal of stress and anxiety-"

"He'd be very hard to understand." Hotch finished, understanding. "Reid, I want you and Morgan to try and talk to him. Maybe he just doesn't know anyone who understands what he says; the rest of us will be checking up on a few more leads in the meantime."

(A/N: remember that he's speaking German initially. Everything italic is German, and otherwise it's English unless otherwise said. With the other languages, I'll be using Translate- so if the grammar is wrong, sorry.)

"Okay Reid, what exactly is your plan for someone who won't speak to anyone?" Morgan asked as they walked in the quiet hall of the hospital. Apparently, the guy had had high pain levels and was unconscious for almost three weeks when he and the girl were brought in. There was obviously something he didn't want to even acknowledge, even on a subconscious level. As he opened the door, Reid looked back a little unsure himself. Morgan sighed, remembering pretty boy's self-esteem issues.

"Maybe I can try different languages and see if he responds to any of them."

Morgan quietly laughed, walking in just in front of Reid and looking at what he hoped would be a witness. As soon as he felt his spirits soar just a bit in hope, he felt them take a serious nosedive at the despondent look on the young man's face. It felt contagious, as the energy that had been coursing through their veins mere moments ago disappeared. Morgan stopped, feeling a shiver run down his spine. Clearing his throat, he attempted to break the tension by asking the kid a simple question.

"What's your name, kid?"

Unfortunately, the only response he received was a small shake of his head and a look of utter confusion. Reid took his cue, thinking of a possible language the other would probably understand. Going by looks alone wouldn't get them anywhere, as blond hair was pretty popular here and English was spoken by a relatively small number by the rest of the world's standards. He seemed to be of a Northern Europe descent, going by looks alone and the fact that he didn't know even the simplest of English phrases.

"¿Cuál es su nombre? ¿Recuerdas lo que pasó?"** Reid started simply, knowing it probably wouldn't work. "John" looked at him with a little more life than before, obviously trying to put together what Reid had just asked him. Shaking his head, "John" looked at him in a regretful way, as Reid tried again.

"Quel est votre nom? Vous souvenez-vous de ce qui s'est passé?" he asked, looking for a different reaction than before. Obviously, "John" had caught on to what Reid was attempting and hoped this time someone would finally stop saying he was talking in gibberish; at least that's what he thought they said. He only caught every sentence or so, since it had been so long since he had last been on this side. Some of them talked slower than others, and they were a bit easier to understand. But no one spoke the language he was used to or understood the little English he could say because his accent came across rather thick at times.

"My name is Edward Elric." Ed said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. He knew the likelihood of someone understanding him was pretty low, but this guy seemed to know a few languages.

"Was that German?" Morgan asked, unsure if he heard him right. He knew a little of the language, having only bothered to take what was required of him in school. Reid had, of course, understood him quite perfectly.

"Yes, he said his name is Edward Elric."

Hearing his name, Ed looked up at Reid and Morgan, who were both glad to have gotten over that one, particularly difficult hurdle. Nevertheless, Reid looked at Ed and continued their line of questioning.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes," Ed said in English, throwing the two of them off completely. Did he actually know English? "I know little...English, but my accent is more thick. No one understand what I say."

"So you don't speak it?" Morgan said, making sure to speak slowly enough for Ed to understand. It was obvious that the kid wasn't stupid. Looking over at Reid, he wondered if maybe they were both-"

"I speak slower so you can understand. How much you understand?" Ed asked, struggling so that these people could understand.

"This kid is fluent, so you don't have to struggle around him. I only understand some, but I can relearn it if you need me to." Morgan told him, somehow getting the feeling that Ed was going to be a regular in their lives. "Maybe you should try and do the same. I get the feeling that you're pretty smart."

"Fluent?"

"Fluent, as in able to speak the language just about as well as you."

"You must be pretty smart," Ed observed, giving him a shrewd look. Morgan raised an eyebrow and gave a surprised look.

"You could say that, I suppose. What about you? You don't cross me as someone who is stupid, yet you run into a house that was obviously dangerous." And you keep not answering our questions, running us in circles with seemingly no effort. It's almost as if he knows how to run interrogations.

Ed tried to keep up, even though he knew Morgan had tried to purposefully speak slower for his benefit. Looking at his interpreter for as long as the investigation held out, he gave a 'what did he just say?' look.

"He basically asked why you went in that house because you don't look like an idiot. Although you do come across as someone who is probably reckless."

"I...heard noise. It was...loud dog at first and then nothing, which felt off. Then I went there and heard a scream and tried sneak in." Reid and Morgan looked at each other, obviously wanting to ask a few questions, but decided not to interrupt. They knew if they said anything now, he probably would clam up and never repeat it. At this point, he was just lost inside of his own memories and they had a feeling it was about to turn for the worse. "It was dark and had no noise, which I thought was bad. I saw person go and followed but heard girl crying out. Girl reminded me of other girl Nina. I could not save her and I could not save Nina. Too much blood and hurt too bad. I went to next door person and knocked, and they called for help. My head hurt and I was too dizzy, then I finally blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was here and no one understood me when I asked about her. I asked but no one would answer me. I don't even know her name! I didn't save her either, did I?" Ed finally finished, taking a deep breath.

"You remember what the person looked like? I know it was late at night, but anything at all would help." Morgan said, lowering his voice after seeing the dramatic display.

"It was...man, maybe my height not fat or thin. It was too dark for hair, but it was dark color, like red, black or brown. Sorry if that not good enough."

"It's better than anything we have at the moment. Anything else? Like a skin color?"

"Light color...pale."

"Thanks a lot, man. That's a great help, and better than what we had to go on." Morgan said, practically sighing in relief. Reid, however, stood there looking somewhat on edge about the whole affair. Who would talk for Ed when they left? It was pretty rare for them to be able to find someone who could speak it as well as he could only manage some broken English. Struck with a brilliant idea, he ran from the room, leaving the other two to look at each other and shrug. Morgan figured that Pretty Boy was feeling guilty about leaving Ed behind and was probably trying to fix it somehow. Ed looked at him, asking him silently: where'd he just go? "If I had to guess, I'd say to get you a book. He feels bad, leaving you by yourself."

"I was alone before. Why does he care?" Ed mumbled, unsure if he was only asking himself or the other man in the room. He got his answer, nevertheless.

"That's just how the kid is. If he sees a person in trouble, he helps." Looking at Ed carefully, he noticed how intense and sharp his eyes could be when he wasn't looking so despondent. It seemed that he was missing human contact more than anything, but there was a deep sadness that had dwelled in those eyes for a long time; it made him look like probably twice his age. For some reason that he couldn't explain, it made him incredibly sad. "I can see you being the same way. Not a lot of people would have done what you did, given the very little information that was given to you. I don't know if it was reckless or brave."

"Reckless? Is that like being stupid? My brother tells me that...all the time." Ed said, paling at the thought of Alphonse being alone like he was in a world that only spoke English.

"What is it? You look like you don't feel good or something." Morgan asked cautiously, unsure of this new territory. He knew the moment that Ed's attitude changed that he needed an actual interpreter and not the little bits that he knew.

"My brother! My brother doesn't speak English as well as I do and we got separated when we got here! This is so bad and I messed things up again. I should have known about this. I thought about it earlier, but it wasn't like I could just leave with no one telling me anything and-"

Morgan glanced at the door to see his savior come rushing back in with several English learning books, along with several others. His eyes widened quite a bit at the sudden change in atmosphere and looked over at Morgan in confusion. Ed was moving more than he had since he probably arrived in the hospital, pacing and mumbling in German at a fairly quick pace.

"Ed? Edward, what's going on?" Reid asked, trying to get a clue as to what was going on. He wasn't one that was prone to violence, but he knew that Ed was just mumbling to himself and didn't care to think about who else was with him at the moment. Frustrated that Ed wouldn't stop pacing, Spencer finally grabbed him the next time he was close enough and didn't let him walk off. He was pretty surprised at how hard it was to make him stay there, as Ed was quite a bit stronger than him. As Ed snapped out of his musings, he blinked and looked at the two.

"Is nothing...I am just uh, is sad for my brother. I am worried."

"Was he supposed to be with you?" Reid asked, beginning to understand. This guy was undoubtedly the older of the two if he was this worried about him.

"Yes. We got...apart, or split?"

Reid nodded, seeing how this could definitely be a problem for the other boy. Ed could barely speak English as it stands, so there was no telling what the other kid was dealing with as he had his own language barrier.

"Could you draw or have someone else do it?" Morgan added, trying to give some ideas for the poor kid. No wonder he seemed so depressed.

"Sorry, I'm tired and it's exhausting trying to listen and say in slow English. He wants me to...write about Alphonse?" Ed asked, giving them both a weird look. Reid shook his head, telling him about sketching his brother, to which Ed laughed. It was a ridiculous notion Ed knew. He could draw just as well as some child, and that wouldn't look anything like his brother. "No, I am a horrible artist. I am a scientist, not someone who draws."

Morgan snorted, nodding in understanding. Not everyone could draw.

"Can you come with us and have someone else do it for you?" Reid suggested. Ed raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded a bit. He'd be happy to finally get out of here, either way. He was grateful that some nurse had let him wear these things they called sweats. He looked for his own clothes and made a shooing motion for them to get out while he changed back into his old clothes. (Think CoS)

-Back at BAU-

Ed had had an artist create a sketch that he thought looked remarkably similar to Al (think end of FMA), to a point that he thought that it really could have been him. He could feel the stares as he came in, which both Reid and Morgan had told him would happen because "the people here were just too nosy for their own good sometimes". He supposed that it was the same no matter where you went. There was no "ignorance is bliss or don't think about it and it will just go away eventually", so for now Ed had to just pretend he didn't notice. Looking at Reid, he wondered why the guy was still with him at all. Was it because of Al or because he just looked like some charity case that needed saving or something? On the other hand, there was that thing that Morgan had said before they had left that wouldn't leave him alone.

"I was alone before. Why does he care?"

"That's just how the kid is. If he sees a person in trouble, he helps."

It grated on his nerves, the way the guy acted so much like...he supposed in a way, he was reminded of Hughes. It was probably because of the way the guy was always trying to help him, getting him books so that he could learn the language and now helping him look for Alphonse? That was definitely something that Hughes would've done. It's like Truth was just getting thrills out of finding new ways to get at him every day. First, it was Nina and now its a blatant reminder of Hughes. This just keeps getting better and better by the day.

"Are they ever going to stop looking at me like I'm some science experiment to be looked at?" Ed whispered, trying his best to remain calm, knowing that every one of these people probably had the ability to shoot him on a whim. It was like being in a room filled with clones of Hawkeye. Okay, that is one scary image he could've lived without thinking about.

"I did you about them being so nosy. It's not my fault you didn't listen."

"I merely thought you were overexaggerating!"

"Not about them, no. I would say run while you can, but I think my bosses want to talk to you about everything. You might want to hide in the conference room."

Ed did his best not to stomp off after Reid in a form of protest, as it would've made him look like when he was twelve years old again and throwing a fit in Mustang's office. He was just able to contain a growl of frustration as he plopped himself down in a somewhat comfortable chair. He wasn't sure what to expect from either of these guys, so he figured he shouldn't let down his guard around them. He could make it look like he was because that was one of the many things he had learned with Mustang and the rest of them. You could always make yourself look naive or unsure about a situation, or even act totally absurd, throwing everyone around you for a loop later. If everyone thinks you're a fool, well, that's all the better. Making an attempt to look completely relaxed, Ed subtly took in his surroundings and made sure he knew every possible exit in case things got super sticky. It wouldn't be his first time escaping a government building if that were indeed the case. He wasn't fool enough not to realize that there were a few people observing him on the other side of the glass, but he made an effort not to look at the window or even tense his muscles in any way. This was supposedly a conference room, but he wasn't going to be fooled into thinking they weren't going to use this as an opportunity to question him.

Hotch and Gideon watched Ed through the glass as he checked out his surroundings with an aura of nonchalance. Hotch narrowed his eyes slightly at the kid's attitude, not liking how he seemed so unguarded about the whole situation. Morgan came up behind them, followed by Reid; who looked at what seemed to be a completely different Ed. Morgan looked at Reid, a little puzzled by the whole thing. He was about to ask him something, before Hotch interrupted.

"He seems a little too relaxed, if you ask me. For someone who is about to be in a meeting with some people that speak a totally different language then he's used to, he doesn't seem worried at all."

Gideon turned back to the other two and raised an eyebrow, unsure of this particular development. He knew for a fact that this kid was putting on some sort of act. He wasn't dumb; the kid seemed to be intentionally relaxing while being subtle and careful in his movements. That took training and a certain level of patience and intelligence that most people couldn't manage.

"Reid, how did he behave in the hospital while you were questioning him? Was he defensive, shy or maybe aggressive?"

Reid shook his head and looked back at Ed, who was now started to absentmindedly draw imaginary alchemic equations on the table. Confused at first, Reid moved forward to watch what he was doing but gave up as he couldn't quite make it out at his angle.

"At first he seemed pretty withdrawn, which is quite normal considering that no one knew his language. He felt isolated and worried about his younger brother, from what I can tell. He seems incredibly smart, and able to learn pretty fast. He didn't seem as defensive as much as just...lost and sad." Morgan stood there silently, nodding his head every once in a while in agreement.

"Pretty boy here is right, and that's why it makes me so nervous that he's so calm right now. During our interview, he was able to practically direct the questions himself; sometimes he even redirected on occasion."

Hotch frowned minutely at that, and turned towards Gideon. They both knew what that meant, and it wasn't necessarily a good thing.

He has experience in interrogation techniques, and he also seems intelligent and very aware of his surroundings. This could be a good thing if they played their cards right, or an incredibly bad thing if things went south.

"Hotch, let me and Reid go in." Gideon told him, surprising him, to say the least. He wasn't necessarily okay with that. "You can observe from the side, while Reid translates. You saw him earlier."

Hotch acquiesced, knowing exactly what he was saying. As all three of them entered, one thought kept bugging him.

He was checking for multiple exits.

*Since it's AU anyway, I'm not really bothering to take into account the timing between the Crawfords and the Millers, along with the ex being arrested and interrogated by Reid. Eric still gets arrested covered in his son's blood, etc.; Ed just ends up getting there first, right after our fox.

**(here are the different translations)

¿Cuál es su nombre? ¿Recuerdas lo que pasó? - What's your name? Do you remember what happened?-

Quel est votre nom? Vous souvenez-vous de ce qui s'est passé -same question as above-

A/N: Soooo, I'm not exactly sure where this is going, but this was stuck in my archives and I'd honestly almost forgotten about it. I think I'll either have Ed investigated for a bit or have him help them. Yeah, like I don't have so many other fics already. T-T