Chapter Text
Edward blinked. His eyes felt dry, and the blinding white that surrounded his didn’t help. His eyes were running over everything in the stark sterile whiteness, trying to find anything that to focus on. He began to speak, but found that he couldn’t. His throat was too dry. Clearing it, he tried again.
“Truth! I’m here, you bastard! Where the fuck are you?”
Out of the corner of his eye, a shimmering appeared. It was almost the same color as the background, but a grey outline showed a vaguely humanoid figure. It had no features. It was a blank slate, filled only by the lazy grin that pulled itself across where a face was supposed to be. It was terrifying. It was puzzling.
It was Truth.
“My, my, my. What a tem-per, my young Alchemist. And what naughty language for one so small.”
“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT-” Edward cut himself off. A slight smirk was twisting its way onto Truth’s face. Normally, he would play his part and finish his rant. But he didn’t want to be played with any longer. Not today. Not when there was so much at stake. Not when Al was at stake.
Taking a deep breath, he started again. “I have something you want, you bastard.”
Truth never stopped grinning. “And what is it that I oh so desperately want?”
Ed swallowed. His eyes were no longer quite so dry. His Gate. His alchemy. The second biggest part of his life. But the thought of voice of the first (“Brother!”) made him square his shoulders. I can do this.
“I will trade my Gate for my brother’s body.”
Truth paused and tilted it’s head. “Do you know what that means?”
“Yes.”
“Giving up your alchemy.”
“Yes.”
“Giving up everything that makes you powerful, admired. Your only valuable asset in an extremely dangerous time, where it might be the only thing keeping you alive, because there are many people who don’t like you, and if you’re powerless, will come for you.”
“...Yes.”
“Hmm.” Truth stoked it’s chin in thought. “No.”
For a second, Ed couldn’t comprehend it. “What?” Then it dawned. “WHY THE HELL NOT YOU FUCKHEAD!?!”
Truth shrugged. “Every person has a Gate. Some are weak and some are strong. Yours may be more rare than that of a normal person, but it’s not worth your brother’s body.”
“Not worth it?”
“Well technically, your alchemy is worth about a hundred of dear Alphonse’s bodies. But you send so much business my way with all that you do. Without alchemy, you become worthless to me; and there’s so many things that you do without even realizing it. All the energy of those who you’ve bested flows through me. There’s no way that I’ll give you up when there’s still so much potential energy that you can bring to me.”
Ed felt dizzy. “I feed you?”
“Indirectly. Much like that first Greed who got a bit too greedy, still fed his Father.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
This time, the deity even let forth a bark of amused laughter. “Well, I am the Truth, aren’t I?”
Most people would have shut down from information overload. But Ed had the remarkable ability to process at a level that went beyond the imagination of most people. And this ability went overdrive when it came to his younger brother. And it was this ability that allowed him to prioritize. Alphonse always came first.
“I’ll give anything. Anything at all. Please. Just give my brother back his body.”
Desperation cracked and wove through the words.
Truth thought for a moment. Anything was a pretty large range after all. But almost nothing was worth the energy that Ed had supplied him, and had the potential to supply him wi-
A low horn filled the white space. It was a sound that did not belong; it was alive and lucid, and much too clear to be in the surrealness of the moment. It was sharp like a bullet, cutting through the many muffled layers of dreams and Truth.
Ed heard the sound. It rang through his skull, and slowly he turned to see something completely unexpected.
A silvery train plowed through the distance. Steam bellowed out from it’s top like the mouth of a dragon. Huge wheels pumped at it’s sides. The sides were smooth and magnificent. Clunks came from where the wheels turned on the tracks. But as soon as the last set of wheels ran over the track it disappeared. It seemed almost more than a train. It seemed sentient, and proud. In gleaming letters on the side were the words HOGWART’S EXPRESS.
Another low boom filled the air, before it wove out of the whiteness, and out of sight.
Ed was dazed and slightly in shock. “What the hell was that?”
When no witty or perplexing answer came, he looked once again at Truth. And was even more shocked. The permanent grin had became an angry slash that almost seemed to rip the head in two. Whatever the train had meant, the deity had not liked it at all. It almost seemed repulsed by the sight of the train, but Ed couldn't imagine why.
Suddenly, Truth’s attention snapped to Ed. He had the feeling that for the first time, someone was truly analyzing him. He felt transparent in that moment. Almost as if while that much focus was singled on him, he didn’t exist. When Truth spoke, he almost didn’t hear.
“I’ll take you up on your deal.”
“What?”
Annoyance found it’s way onto the slant of Truth’s scowl. “I will give you brother back his body.”
“HELL YES!” For a second, everything was forgotten in the euphoria and knowledge that his Alphonse might finally be able to touch to taste, to live again.
But then he thought about what he could never again forget. “Equivalent Exchange.” he whispered. Then he straightened. “What do you want from me?”
Truth was silent for a moment. “I have a Task for you to do.”
“What is it?”
Truth suddenly walked over to Ed. “Hey! What are you doing?” The deity's hand touched his forehead though, and everything went blank.