The Price of Truth

EDWARD ELRIC

"This was the last location someone saw Bonnie, the Middleton Museum." Wade said.

I nodded and said, "She goes by Envy now. Thanks Wade."

I placed my Kimmunicator in my pocket. Kim thought it was a good idea for me and Al to have one, that way we could keep in touch and I could get some help with research.

Our group made our way to the front steps, when the door busted open.

A suit of armor ran out carrying Kim wrapped in a blood soaked blanket. Green Lantern had dropped the bubble covering the two when they saw the entrance.

The suit had chains that dangled from its sides and the helmet was covered feathers to the point it almost looked like hair. It had glowing white eyes from the dark eye slots.

The suit looked at us and spoke, "Help! She has lost a lot of blood."

I stared in horror, recognizing the voice I heard.

Oh god... they really did it...

I looked at the armor and asked, "Ron...Is that you?"

"Yeah it's him." Green Lantern stated. "Never mind that now."

There were more important matters to address.

He nodded and said. "We'll talk later. Kim needs help. We need to seal her wounds and fast or she bleed out! Please someone help her!"

Mrs. Possible stepped forward and said, "Winry and I know wounds better than anyone here. Set her down here Ronald, so we can evaluate the damage to her body."

Ron delicately set her on the ground. Winry and Mrs. Possible unwrapped the blanket.

"Oh dear god..."

She stared at Kim, who was missing her right leg and left arm, and almost bathing in a pool of her own blood.

Mrs. Possible sat back and said almost hysterical and choking on tears, "My baby girl...what did they do to you..."

The twins hid behind their father. Mr. Possible had tears running down his face.

Winry was not shocked by the sight, she seen it happen to me already.

She looked up to the group and said, "Guys I need two shirts, and some alcohol, and yes I'm talking to you Colonel."

I quickly ripped off my shirt, the Colonel took off his, and handed his flask of Jin to her.

Winry soaked each shirt in the Jin and tied them to Kim's stubs.

She stuck her bag under her feet.

Winry nodded and said, "She is stable for now, but I don't know how long that will last."

I heard the roar of an engine from above us.

I looked up to see Dr. Drakken's helicopter.

Ron wrapped Kim once again and picked her up.

Shego opened the door. She looked at Kim and Ron.

Her eyes widen and she said, "Oh dear god... they really did it..."

She shook her head trying to get back on track and said, "We have to get moving. Now. The museum's alarms are going off and there's a pool of blood everywhere."

I nodded and said, "Everyone in! NOW!"

Everyone got in as fast as they could. Green Lantern ascended up to the helicopter.

"I know a guy that is a expert with artificial limbs." He said through the cockpit window.

Shego closed the door and turned to us.

She looked straight at Kim and Ron and said, "You two really did it? You really saw Truth?"

Ron set Kim down on the floor.

Ron looked at her and said, "It was the only way out, well according to the note Ed sent."

I looked at him and said, "But that's just it. I didn't sent a note. It was a trap. They wanted you to go through Truth."

Ron gasped and said, "We went through that hell, just to be their freakin pawns!"

Ron looked out the window.

He clapped his hands together and placed his hands on the ground. He transmuted a small statue of Envy. He smashed it to bits with his hands.

He yelled, "GOD DAMMIT ENVY!"

"Ron stop!" I look to see Kim eyes were open and staring at us.

The twins yelled, "KIM!" and ran over as fast as they could.

Kim smiled and said, "I'm just glad to be out of that place. By the way Ed the way you described it..."

"Yeah, is nothing compared to the real thing." I said looking down.

Kim looked back at Ron and said, "I still can't believe that worked."

Jim (dressed in red) asked, "What worked?"

Kim's smile faded and Ron sighed.

Kim looked at him and said, "Ron, you don't have to..."

"They have to know. They need to know." He said firmly.

Shego began preparations with her alkahestry and started tending to Kim's wounds.

Mr. Possible looked at Ron and asked, "Ronald, I don't understand, what do we need to know and why are you wearing that suit of armor? Did they hurt you too?"

Ron sighed and said, "Kim wasn't the only one to lose something. But my price was more grave..."

Ron looked at everyone in the cabin, took a deep breath, and took off his helmet.

A gasp came from the Possibles as they saw no one was in there. The only thing in there was a seal drawn in blood.

Tim (green) took a step back and asked, "What are you? Where's Ron?"

Ron placed his head back on and said, "We went through what alchemists call, the gates of Truth. But we had to pay a toll for us traveling there. Kim lost her leg and I lost my entire body."

They stared in horror.

Ron continued, "When Kim saw what happened she went back, paid her arm to bind my soul to this suit of armor. This is the price of Truth. This is alchemy's unforgivable sin."

I stepped up to the twins and said, "Go to the cockpit and tell the doctor you two are to say in there for a while. You don't need to hear this."

The two boys nodded and walked out of the cabin.

I walked up to the Possibles and said, "You need to hear my story, to understand what just happened."

"Fair warning though, it's not a happy story."

I took a deep breath and said, "I suppose I'll start at the beginning, when my brother and I, lost our mother..."

"My god...The horrors you and your brother have seen..." Mrs. Possible said as I finished my tale.

I nodded and said, "The monsters you saw in the mall today are homunculus. Artificial beings with a Philosopher stone at their core. The woman who looked like Bonnie was Envy..."

Kim interrupted and said, "No, it was Bonnie...She gave herself to them...She willing gave her body up..."

Ron looked down and said, "No...Why would she..."

Kim looked up and said, "Me...She was jealous of me..."

I turned by to the Possibles and said, "The fat one's name is Gluttony, Kim and Ron were literally swallowed into him. The homunculus is a failed attempt at trying to make a portal to Truth."

"They were brought to a world with no light only darkness, old structures, and an endless sea of blood."

They looked over to Kim.

She nodded and said, "A lot of this blood is actually from there. It got in my shoes, clothes, even my hair. Which by the way is really gross."

Shego glared at her and said, "Stop moving or your wound won't set right!"

Kim sighed and laid back on the ground.

They looked back at me as I continued. "The homunculi know that the only way out of there is through Truth. So they planted a box with everything to open the portal and a note, saying it was from me. They set the whole thing up, so they could get more sacrifices."

Mr. Possible looked at me and asked, "Sacrifices for what?"

I replied, "I'm not quite sure. The only thing I would think would be a Philosopher Stone."

"What's that?"

"Shhhh! Jim! They'll hear us."

I turned around and looked at the bathroom door.

I clapped my hands and transmuted the door open. The twins fell out of the of the bathroom.

Mrs. Possible looked at them and asked, "How long have you been there?"

They both said, "Busted."

Izumi stepped forward and said, "You are suppose to listen to your elders. Do you want to know what I did to Edward every time he didn't listen?"

I looked at Teacher and she gave me a glare. I said in a frightened voice, "Please don't do it again! I'll listen to you Teacher!"

The boys looked at each other and said in unison, "No, we're sorry."

The boys made a quick dash for the cockpit.

Izumi sighed and said, "I'll go up there too. To keep those two out of trouble."

I sighed with relief when Teacher left. Colonel looked at me and asked, "What makes you and Al turn to mush when Izumi comes around?"

I turn to him and said, "She left us on a deserted island for a month with a knife and told us to survive and figure out a riddle."

They all looked at me and I said, "But that's a story for another time."

I turned back at the Possibles and said, "The boys did bring up a good point, besides Mustang and Winry, none of you know what is a Philosopher stone is."

Ron looked at me and said, "I did read a little about it. It allows the user to transmute without the laws of equivalent exchange. Theoretically, it can make things out thin air, like money, weapons, or even bodies."

I nodded and said, "The stone exists, but what is used to created it, is the reason we will never use it."

Shego looked up and asked, "Why?"

I looked down and said, "The main ingredient of a Philosopher stone is... human lives."

A gasp came around the room.

I turned to Ron, Kim and Shego and said, "That's why I'll never use that stone."

The room fell quite for a while. Shego continued to treat Kim's wounds.

She growled in frustration and said, "All this damn blood is messing with my matrix's! I can't do anything else until it's cleaned up."

Kim held up her good arm, smiled and said, "I wonder..."

She placed her hand down on the ground and began to transmute.

She drew all the iron in the blood and created a little iron statue of Truth sitting in front of the door with little arms coming out.

I looked at her, smiled, and said, "Well, well someone can still transmute."

She smiled and said, "I still have one good arm and it still has a matrix, so transmuting was relatively easy."

She laid down flat once again and said, "What wasn't easy was getting the details on that freak of nature."

I walked over and picked up the statue.

Winry stepped behind me and asked, " Who is that?"

I replied without looking away, "This is Truth and his doorway."

I placed it in her hands. "Kim just made it possible to show you for the first time in my life what we saw and who exactly we dealt with."

She sighed and placed it back on the ground.

She looked at Kim and said, "I can make you some automail, if you want."

Mrs. Possible cried out, "Kim! Don't! We almost lost you today, I don't want that to happen again..."

Kim looked at her mother and said, "Mom, I understand that you want to protect me, but I have to help or these homunculi will kill innocent people. I will not sit by when I can help."

Her mother gasped and said, "Kim..."

Kim looked up at the ceiling and said, "Plus I have to help Ron, Ed and Al, get their bodies back and I can't do that without an arm and leg."

Mrs. Possible looked at her and said, "Alright Kim. But please be careful."

Kim smiled and turned back to Winry.

"That sounds amazing Winry. When can you start?"

Winry sat down and took some measurements on her good arm and leg.

She smiled and said, "As soon as we get back to the castle. Shouldn't take me more than 3 days to have your arm ready. After that it will take about a week with the leg after that."

I looked at Kim and said, "Not going to lie, it hurts like hell to get this installed, and it takes about a month before you can do anything like flips and fighting."

She laughed and said, "I'll tell you what's hell. Not being able to do anything, that's my hell. So yeah Winry, go ahead and make the automail and thank you for doing it for me."

She smiled and said, "You won't be disappointed."

Izumi walked out of the cockpit and said, "We're here."

Then a red glow to the left caught her attention.

An adult male with a gold visor covering his eyes was staring at her.

"Looks like you could use some assistance."

"Who are you?" Izumi demanded.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Scott "Cyclops" Summers."

A few seconds later, the sound of thunder was heard and a African American man stepped through a portal.

"The name's Cyborg. It's my understanding someone is in need of artificial limbs."