Izumi Curtis stood solemnly in the center of the circle. She never thought she would see this matrix again, let alone create it on her own volition for a second time in her life. Through her mind rushed images of her infant son who died before he even had a name, and the horrifying black arms that literally tore her apart when she tried to transmute his body back to life.
And here she was again.
She thought of her students, those idiot Elric brothers. She shook her head at the irony of how their journey had ended. The boy who used alchemy for selfish purposes that directly contradicted the laws of that science lost the ability to transmute anything at all. Her lips twitched in disgust when she realized that her inner monologue sounded a lot like Father. But Edward had gained something in exchange, something that was worth everything he had lost leading up to that fateful day. He got his brother back, and to Ed, that's all that ever really mattered.
Just outside the array, Sig stood with his arms crossed worriedly. He had insisted on being there in case anything went wrong.
"I still don't think this is a good idea, Izumi," he said for possibly the hundredth time, although he knew it would do nothing to dissuade his determined wife.
"I know what I'm doing," she replied. With no further hesitation she clapped her hands together, and the ringing sound of a transmutation in progress filled the otherwise silent room. She knelt to the ground and pressed her palms against the array covering the floor.
Ethereal blue-white light shot out from the lines and runes of the intricate matrix. Within seconds, the porthole opened its eye and the black arms once again wrapped themselves around Izumi, pulling her into the abyss.
…
Three months later
…
Sig was just closing up the shop for the day when the bell on the entry door jingled.
"Sorry, we're closed," he said before turning around to see Izumi standing in the doorway. There was a soft smile on her face, and something else that Sig could not quite identify seemed different about his beautiful wife. She walked slowly to him and pressed herself against him, laying her hands and head on his chest.
"Izumi?" he asked with concern. He dropped the broom he was holding on the floor and wrapped his arms around Izumi. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing anymore, Dear," she answered. Her voice faltered and a single tear of joy rolled out of her eye and soaked into Sig's shirt. "I'm pregnant."