Outsider Chronicles: Sage of Alchemy

Getting reborn is an interesting experience. Getting reborn into a world consumed with war and bloodshed, at the mercy of an immortal maniac out to become god is a pain in the neck. Still, at least I didn't lose my body. Unfortunately, these eyes make me think that maybe I'd be better as a walking suit of armour.

And here we are with something new, this time a Fullmetal Alchemist idea! Now, you might expect me to be using Ed, but from the summery probably tells you that he'll be Al instead. Now the only question is, what about his eyes makes him think that being trapped in armour would be a better choice? Hehehe, enjoy!

Chapter 1

When I died, the last thing I was expecting was to wake up to see a crying man looking down at me. However, thats exactly what happened. It took a few moments to figure out what was going on, but when I did, I started cussing up a storm. Fortunately, my new body translated that into crying or else my new parents would have been scared out of their wits by a swearing baby. Of course, my problems didn't end there, oh no, I wasn't that lucky. See, I hadn't been reborn somewhere nice and safe, instead I had been reborn into the land of Amastris...AS ALPHONSE GOD-DAMN ELRIC!

So yeah, needless to say, I wasn't best pleased about being a future walking tin can, but I eventually managed to adapt. Considering I couldn't do anything other than drool and shit for a few years, I had plenty of time.

My first few years went pretty much like you'd expect, learning Alchemy from Dads books with Ed, hanging out with Winry and so on. What? You really think I'm not going to jump at the chance to learn something like Alchemy? Although, I have to say that it was a damn good thing I was a science geek last time through or I wouldn't have been able to follow any of it. My respect for Ed and Al in the original Manga went up multiple notches in no time flat.

Anyway, as you can imagine, time continued its march and my Mother's life came to its inevitable end. Even if I was expecting it, it still hit me hard, mainly because there was fuck all I could do about it. The main problem was that I was completely unable to convince Ed that attempting to bring her back was an extremely bad idea. The kid was extremely stubborn and was fixated on the idea. I knew that, even if I declined to help him, he'd do it anyway, so I tagged along. Who knows, maybe I could prevent it later on.

I couldn't. I tried constantly, bu

t every warning I gave Ed over the next few years was ignored or brushed off. Hell, when we started training under Izumi, I pointed out that her very first lesson was about accepting the cycle of Death and Rebirth, but was again brushed off. Eventually, I had had enough.

"Damn it Ed, will you listen to me!" I shouted, "This is madness! You know as well as I do that Human Transmutation is forbidden for a reason!"

"I know that Al, but I've figured out the correct formula," said Ed, leaning back to show me the Transmutation Circle he'd just finished drawing.

"Oh for...why are you being so damned stubborn?!" I growled, "Why can't you just let the Dead rest?"

Ed paused and looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Why are you so determined to stop me Al?" he asked, "Don't you want to see Mum again?"

"Of course I do Brother," I said, "But this isn't right! The dead should stay that way. I would have thought you had learnt that by now that going against the natural order will only lead to disaster. Besides, you really think that Mum would want us to waste our lives trying to bring her back?"

Ed sighed.

"I know," he said, "But...I've come to far. After everything we've been through, we have to try it."

He gave a weak smile.

"Besides, whats the worst that could happen?"

I stared at him.

"You...of all the things you could have said, why did it have to be that?" I groaned, "Now I know that something will go wrong."

Ed snorted.

"You mean you actually believe that crap?" he asked.

I shrugged.

"You really want to risk it?" I asked.

Ed just shook his head and turned back to his desk.

"Did you finish getting the ingredients?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I think Dad needs to learn to check his calculations," I said, "If we tried it with the amounts listed in his notes, we would have failed completely."

"What do you mean?" asked Ed.

"Well, there was way so much water missing that anything we made would have been completely dehydrated and with the amount of Potassium listed, I doubt that the results heart would even start beating," I deadpanned.

"Ah…"

"Yes, ah," I said.

Hey, I might be completely against this, but if Ed was going to do it anyway, I was going to make damned sure he actually has the right ingredients this time. Who knows, it might prevent some of the fallout.

"Alright, everythings set," said Ed as he finished the circle.

"Last chance Ed, we can still back out," I said.

Ed gave me a flat look and I sighed.

"Yeah, I know, I'm wasting my breath. Fine, lets do this."

Now, you might be wondering why I was going along with it considering I was about to be trapped in a suit of armour for who knows how long, but my reasons were relatively simple. Annoyingly stubborn or not, Ed was still my brother. Even if I backed out, Ed would still go through with the attempt and, without me there, he could well end up dieing from the backlash. I didn't want that to happen to him.

We knelt down next to the circle and placed our hands on it.

"This is it," muttered Ed.

"Ed…"

"No."

I sighed and we activated the circle. As expected, less than twenty seconds after the Transmutation started, everything went to hell as the light turned purple and shadowy arms began to wave through the air.

"Can I say I told you so?" I said weakly.

"Shut the hell up Al!" said Ed, right before one of the arms lashed out and slaced off his leg.

"E...AHHHH!"

I screamed as one of the arms lashed out and slashed me across the eyes, filling my world with red hot pain as everything went black.

"Oh, whats this?"

I opened my eyes and found myself floating in the endless void with the Gate behind me and the Truth before me.

"How interesting," said the Truth, "I don't think I've ever seen a being quite like you before. An Outsider...fascinating."

"So, is this where you show me the Truth then kick me back to my body?" I asked, "What did you take? My eyes? It certainly felt like it."

Truth cocked its head on one side.

"No, your Toll was paid in advance," it said.

"Eh?"

"Your previous life is your payment," said Truth, "However, I think you may leave this place with more than you entered."

I blinked.

"Er, hows that possible?" I asked, "I thought this world ran on Equivalent Exchange?"

"Oh, it does," said Truth, "However, what you gain here does come with a cost. With the power it will grant you, you will have to face Father and later, an even greater threat."

I narrowed my eyes.

"What threat?" I asked.

"One that can, and will, destroy the world," said Truth, "But for now, have fun."

It waved as the Gate opened and dragged me inside. The experience was...harrowing to say the least. The knowledge that poured into my brain went well beyond meer Alchemy and into Magic, the history of the entire planet, knowledge of forbidden arts, other worlds and finally, a monstrous silhouette a single, glowing purple eye. Then, I found myself stood before Truth once more.

"Oh you have got to be fucking KIDDING ME!" I yelled, "Was that the…"

"Yep."

"And the power…"

"Yep."

I groaned and dropped my head to my hands.

"Well, at least you were nice enough to give me the knowledge of how to use them," I muttered.

"Yes, but you'll still need to master a multitude of other skills if you want to beat Father, let alone her," said Truth.

"Eh, I'll figure something out," I said, "So, can I go now?"

Truth just grinned.

I jerked as I found myself in darkness. I let out a pained groan as my body reminded me that, even if I didn't lose anything, getting caught in an Alchemical backlash FUCKING HURTS!

"Granny, I think hes waking up!" called a familiar voice.

There was the sound of running footsteps and I felt a warm, rough hand on my forehead.

"Easy there Alphonse," said Granny Rockwell's voice, "I don't know what you boys were doing, but you're badly hurt."

"Wheres Ed?" I asked.

"Eds fine, or at least, as fine as you can be when you've lost an arm and a leg," said Granny.

"Thats a relief," I said, "Why can't I see anything?"

I reached up and felt bandages wrapped around my eyes.

"Well you see…" said Granny, "Whatever you two were doing completely destroyed your eyes. I'm sorry son…"

I grunted and reached up to remove the bandages.

"Wait, don't!" said Winry's voice, but she was too late and the bandages fell away.

My eyelids felt like they had been sewn shut, so opening them took some doing, but I managed. To my surprise, despite the fact my eyes had been destroyed and regenerated into a new form, I could see perfectly. I turned to look at Winry and Granny, only for both Rockbell women to recoil at the sight of my eyes.

"Wha...no, thats impossible!" said Granny, "I checked, your eye sockets were empty!"

"Amazing," breathed Winry, "Al, your eyes are beautiful!"

I shifted my gaze to the mirror that was conveniently placed over Grannys head. Staring back at me was a pair of purple orbs without visible whites and a pinprick pupils with concentric circles rippling out from the center. I looked down at my hands and focused, smirking slightly as my skin seemed to vanish and the flow of energy beneath my skin became visible.

"What are they?" asked Granny.

"The Eyes of the Sage," I muttered, "The Saṃsāra Eye, the Eyes of the Six Paths, the Ultimate Dojutsu. Just like the Philosophers Stone, these eyes go by many names. But the one thats easiest to say and their true name is the Rinnegan."

And done. I think this might be my most overpowered Outsider yet, although he doesn't have any Jutsu other than the inbuilt skills of the Rinnegan yet. Still, Alchemy more than makes up for that lack!

Incidentally, I have the bare bones of an idea that will eventually cross this idea over with Swirling Dragon, which means that, even if I don't continue with this idea, we might be seeing this Alphonse again.

To be honest, this entire idea came from seeing an image of the Eye in the Gate when I was looking for something completely unrelated.

To be clear, because Al only lost his eyes in the rebound (which was from something completely unrelated to passing through the Gate), Ed lost both his arm and his leg.

And done. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!