I looked down at the circle I had drawn, the outline of the transmutation circle I had begun. The base element of the Alchemy I was beginning. I was standing on the concrete basement floor that I had drawn it on. The rest of the ingredients were surrounding me in circular pales, which I repeated in my head. Water, 35 litres. Carbon, 20kg. Ammonia, 4 litres. Lime, 1.5kg. Phosperus, 800g. Salt, 250 g. Niter, 100g. Sulphur, 80g. Fluorine, 7.5g. Iron, 5g. Silicon 3g, and then a trace amount of fifteen other elements.
My name is Elicia Hughes, age twelve, and I was going to bring back my father, using this forbidden alchemy.
I had found the notes on human transmutation in Alphonse's house back in Risembool when I was visiting Winry and Sheska. Alphonse had these notes because he was trying to get this brother back who was taken to the other side. He wasn't currently there, but with Izumi Curtis, training. So I knew that if I took them, he wouldn't miss them. I even left a note explaining where to find them, in case something were to happen to me.
You'd think I'd know not to take this chance, from all I heard from people around me, about the Elrics. But I needed to take this chance, or I would loss the only person I had left.
My mother was getting sick; she collapsed about a month ago. The doctor said it was severe depression that she has been dealing with since my father was killed, something that was slowly eating away at her body, killing her. I couldn't just sit by and watch, I had the power to fix it. If I could just bring back my father, she would heal. I was an Alchemist, and I had the power to do what others couldn't.
I looked over my surroundings one last time to make sure everything was in order, the ingredients, my circle, and my father's soul. For his soul I took the blood my mother had coughed up the night before, and some of her hair that had fallen out. Sure, not a beautiful picture, but she was part of him, as was I. I took a lock of my hair, and some of my blood. I remembered in Al's notes he mentioned that his brother's and his blood wasn't enough. So I thought if I added more I would be at least a step closer.
I told myself it was now or never, I clapped my hands and pushed them to the circle with almost too much force, I could feel that in my wrists. The alchemy had begun, and even now I was having regrets, but knew that it was too late to turn back. Bright lights were vibrating off the walls, and the sounds of things breaking all around me filled the room. Wind was coming from the science working all around me and then it was quiet, I looked all around me but when I looked back I saw what I had read all about in Al's notes, though it was Ed's words.
The Gate. It was a door, extremely big, aged brown stone and at the top it had a sculpture of hands holding, or grabbing at an infant child. All around me besides the door was white, and silence. That was until the gate began to open. I stepped back slowly as I saw what was inside. Eyes, a bunch of deep purple eyes, staring straight at me. Hands were extending from inside, black hands that kept moving and searching for something they could not see. It was all too late, when I noticed they were searching for me. I turned to run as they came closer, but they latched on all too fast, pulling me into the darkness of which they came. I screamed, but no one could hear me. I could hear laughing, crying, talking. The hands were holding me in place, information was being jammed into my scull, and my brain trying to decipher it all at once began to ache. I then began to feel a tug at my arm, and then my leg, I looked down and saw that the black hands were pulling on them, and I noticed all too late, that they were taking them from me, as payment. I screamed, squirming and thrashing in every direction, trying to get away, escape. I knew that I was about to lose more than I ever imagined I could.