Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns Fullmetal Alchemist. Under no circumstances will I be making money off this fic, so, please don't sue me. This is an AU story, so, a lot of the characters have been switched around. Also, please be warned that there will some slash/yaoi in my story. If this is not to your liking, please read at your own risk or don't read at all!

(30 Ct.10)

Trisha Elric hadn't meant for things to get out of hand. At the time she had assumed it all so utterly harmless…and yet, she had been wrong. When she had asked her two sons to transmute something for her, she didn't expect them to go out of their way to make it special. They had tweaked the array here and there; and Trisha, not knowing any better, had not doubted their expertise.

How stupid of her to think that two children could try something so dangerous and be able to escape unscathed...

But she had seen them in the past, transmute things from dolls to tiny little figurines, and every moment that they succeeded she would be lying if she thought that they did not look like their Father in that very moment. It was loneliness…and perhaps a bit of an obsession that drove her to ask her two boys for such a selfish favor one day.

"Edward…Alphonse…would you two be willing to transmute something for your dear mother?" she whispered beseechingly to her children, one dark and stormy night, "Something that you haven't tried yet."

(Something that will remind me of him?)

The children had been elated. Bright eyes glittering in excitement as they looked at her and back at each other in sheer jubilation. They scampered off, probably towards Hohenheim's study, in order to do research on their latest challenge and briefly Trisha felt a swell of pride rise within her chest as she thought of her two, incredibly gifted sons.

(They're just like their father. Hohenheim…)

It hadn't even been an hour since they last talked, before the two boys came barreling back towards her, their faces distinctly bright in the darkness of the house. It was Edward, who spoke first, a wide grin stretching from ear to ear plastered on his delicate face. It was Hohenheim's grin, the one that he always gave her whenever he had discovered something spectacular. She remembered how her breath would hitch whenever he gave her such a sincere look and on Edward there was no denying the fact that it still had that same effect on her.

"Mother!! We're ready." he announced as his boyish limbs flailed in excitement, "Actually, we've been thinking of doing this for a long while but it wasn't until you asked that we decided to try it. I think…that it will definitely work! Come and see!"

Beside him, Alphonse was nodding his head enthusiastically as he tugged impatiently on her apron. He, too, could barely contain his excitement and Trisha had to wonder as to what they had planned to show her. Yet, her thoughts were interrupted as she was pulled towards the study by two small hands. She smothered the smile that threaten to break out onto her face. Honestly, her children could be so cute.

(Our children. Not mine.)

Upon entering the room, she saw nothing except darkness and then a brief flash of lighting struck and she saw it. There was an intricate pattern of an array traced into the floor of the study, it's chalky white residue seemed glaringly bright in the darkness. Trisha had to blink in order to see it better. Vaguely, she wondered why it was so dark today and then she remembered that the electricity was out. After all, this was one of the biggest storms that they've had in a long while. Power outages were not uncommon down here in the country.

She was brought back to the present by Al's insistent tugging at her apron and absentmindedly she found herself smiling in his direction. It looked like things were getting started.

"Mother, step back, please." Ordered Edward as he made his way to the middle of the array, "We don't want you to get caught up in the transmutation circle's power."

Obligingly, she did as she was told; all the while watching her eldest. When she felt her apron being released she looked down at Al and found herself frowning as the boy left her side to join his brother in the middle of the array. Suddenly, she felt wrong. The giddiness she had felt before was dissipating and was now being replaced by something akin to fear. She hadn't known it then but back in that room, something was telling her, warning her, of the dangers this would incur. Call it motherly intuition or a sixth sense - whatever it was it had been strong and Trisha immediately felt her insides seize up.

"Edward…?" she whispered urgently as the boy began to chant. Beside him, Al, too had begun to speak but the words were too garbled to understand and they were speaking too quickly. It was in that moment that she noticed Edward had drawn something on his face and hands, as did Al. This disturbed her and in a moment of panic she had stepped forward, her hand outstretched and her mouth and eyes open wide in terror. "BOYS?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!" she screamed but they could not hear her, so enamored were they in their chanting that they could not heed her call. Abruptly, light sprung up from the floor and Trisha felt a pressure pulling at her outstretched hand. She screamed again for her children but by then it was too late, the array had activated and the boy's screams were now mingling with hers. The last thing she saw before the force of the circle knocked her out was her hand exploding in a splatter of blood and bone and her two sons being torn at by spidery black hands protruding from seemingly nowhere.

(Hohenheim…how could I let them do this? Why did I…?)

(I'm a monster…I gave into my selfish desires and now….this.)

When she later awoke, pain assaulted her right hand. She tried to wiggle the fingers, thinking perhaps that maybe they had fallen asleep, but was startled to feel nothing. She tried once more to wiggle her fingers but again nothing happened and finally she was able to open her eyes. It was bright now, light was streaming in from outside and vaguely she could hear birds singing. She struggled to move but her body felt heavy and now her entire right arm felt numb. Blinking her eyes warily she looked down at where her arm was and froze. Her mouth fell open and a fine sheen of sweat broke out on her brow.

Her hand…her hand was gone. In its place, lay tattered strips of flesh and broken bone and Trisha had to control her self, for a minute, because a sudden sense of hysteria was starting to rise up within her. She was going into shock, she knew it and slowly she began to feel her body rear up but then a fleeting thought brought itself to her attention.

(The boys, Trisha. How are the boys?)

She gasped as she wildly looked about her, as a familiar voice broke through her numb senses. It was his voice. Hohenheim's! Where was he?! Frantically, she looked about and almost cried out in joy, despite her pain, when her eyes landed on a figure lying just a few feet away from her. It had his hair and even though it was slightly smoky within the room she could make out the wide golden eyes that had haunted her dreams for many nights. Trembling she reached out a hand to him and whispered, "Hohenheim? Dear?"

Hope had filled up her wretched frame for that one millisecond but as the smoked waned, it left her as quickly as it came. The next thing she heard was her own scream as she stared into the face of Edward. In that one moment, her world came crashing down all around her. She felt as if her heart was being twisted and torn out through her chest. She tried to speak but all that came out of her throat was a strange keening sound. Trembling she tried moving and found, that no matter what she did she could not stand. Instead she tried crawling and found that that worked. Wincing, she pulled herself across the ruined array and to the still body of her eldest son and abruptly she found herself seizing up again as she laid her eyes on who was beside him. Her eyes widened in terror as she took in the sight of her youngest son's bloodied form.

"ALPHONSE!!"

(How could you let this happen, Trisha?)

Later that day –

By a cruel twist of fate, what started out as a simple transmutation turned into a nightmare. Neighbors had heard the screams the night before but none had the courage to go and investigate the Elric household. In the wake of the storm, it was the Rockbell's that decided to go and see what had happened. As neighbors waited with bated breath, their worst fears were confirmed when they heard Mrs. Rockbell's shrill screaming. The next thing they knew, Mr. Rockbell had come running out of the house with his hands and clothes bloodied and the most devastated look upon his face. As the townspeople crowded around him, he looked back hauntingly at them.

"There's been a terrible accident." He said before promptly collapsing before their feet.

Later there were whispers and speculation about what went on in the Elric Home the night before but none of the stories people came up with could explain such a bizarre incident. It would later be revealed that the two sons, Edward & Alphonse, had been brutally killed. Details were vague as none were allowed to enter the household accept the authorities. Ultimately, all that the town doctor revealed was that the Elric's had dabbled in some sort of serious transmutation and had made a critical error in the creation of the array. In their naiveté they disregarded the Law of Equivalent Exchange and had paid dearly for it.

Days passed and people began to return to their regular lives. The investigation had concluded that the boys had, in fact, wanted to do alchemy and against their mother's wishes had engaged in some sort of human transmutation. The case was closed and the Rockbell's along with some other friends began to prepare for the funerals. All throughout this chaos, Trisha Elric, who at first was a suspect, but was later cleared, had become a shut in within the Rockbell home. She only ever spoke to Sarah and occasionally to Grandma Pinako but never shown any sign of ever really acknowledging them. Whenever she saw Winry, she'd break out into tears and would grip desperately at the place where her right hand used to be. And soon it became clear to everyone that she would never be able to recover from the shock.

The day of both boys' funerals was a dark day. It rained and the sky looked gloomy and foreboding. Everything seemed so surreal and it was not an uncommon feeling amongst those present that this was all some sort of daydream. Many expected the boys to just run out from behind a tree whilst laughing at each other but no such thing occurred. Loud sobs broke out amongst those present as the priest said a few words. At the very back of the crowd, Trisha Elric, stood. Her once luxurious brown hair was now limp and lanky from the rain and her green eyes, which were once filled with life, now seemed vacant. When asked if she would have liked to say a few words, she stared unnervingly at the priest before walking away.

It was the last time anybody ever saw her again.

3 Years Later –

Izumi Curtis watched as the rain dropped steadily from the sky. Every once in awhile she would find her gaze shifting to one drop only to have it disappear amongst a million of other rain drops hitting the floor simultaneously. Laughing silently to herself, she closed the door and turned to look into the dark living room where her charge sat shivering at Sig's side. Clucking her tongue, she ran her hands through her dreads before collapsing tiredly onto her favorite chair. After all, it had been a very long week…and they hadn't gotten any proper rest.

Six mornings ago, Izumi had awoken to Sig's loud shouting and was shocked to find that the company they had presently been keeping had flown the coop. Up until that point, Izumi had committed herself to an unpardonable cause. That cause was Human Transmutation. She knew, of course, what the risks were of such a dangerous ritual but she had understood where the distraught woman was coming from and had agreed, at the woman's own risk, to show her how to do alchemy. For she had once been in her shoes and despite all the forewarnings she had heard from her own teacher - she had wanted to do it anyway. What a fool she had been, then. And yet it seemed like she still hadn't learned from her mistakes. The quote, 'All is One, One is All' came to mind but at this point it hardly held any meaning for her anymore. People died all the time. It was the way that life was…nothing lasted forever. But where there was alchemy, there was a way and of course, there were always people willing to risk their lives to bring back the ones they loved. She sighed when images of the past began to flash into her mind.

It was five years ago, she had given birth to a baby after so many months previously of trying to get pregnant. However, the child was born prematurely and had stopped breathing shortly after five minutes of being alive. That day, she had cried, yelled, writhed, and beat herself up for what had happened. In a moment of desperation, all logic had escaped her mind and she had committed the ultimate sin. She had offered her very life in order to bring back her child, but in the end she was punished even more severely for her crime. For what came back was not her son but a monster…

She had no choice but to kill it. Well, actually, she gave it to the gate and like the greedy little bastards that they were – the hidden within the gate had accepted it. She thought she could go back to living out the rest of her natural life but then she felt the pain in her stomach and blood had spurted past her lips. Izumi Curtis knew then that her life had no purpose. How could she go living with the sin that she had committed, heavy upon her shoulders and this ailment plaguing her? Her life was virtually over. At least that was the case until two years later - when 'she' came along…

Izumi and Sig had been walking home from dinner one dark night, when Izumi had felt a presence. She looked across the way and found her eyes locked with that of a slender brunette's. Trisha Elric, the wife of Hohenheim of Light, and mother of two sons currently deceased. There had been an instant connection between the two women. Both were grieving mothers who had lost the ones they loved. It was almost like fate had brought them together, which was ironic, since Izumi didn't believe in crap like that. At first she had been dead set on leaving but when she noticed how serious the woman looked, she had stopped dead in her tracks. It was her eye's that got to her. Those eyes that spoke of suffering, of fear and most of all remorse. She had recognized the look right off the bat because it was the same look she had adopted shortly after Micheal had died. Before she could even think, she found herself unfurling her hand and offering it to the stranger. The woman blinked her eyes slowly, walked forward and grasped the hand.

"Izumi Curtis?" she inquired in a scratchy voice. At Izumi's nod, she shook her hand once and released it. Izumi noticed that her right hand was automail – rough and ugly, so, unlike the woman it was attached to. She also noticed that it was poorly maintained.

"I need your help…." She continued and Izumi jerked when she realized that the woman was looking at her again. Sighing, she and Sig brought Mrs. Elric to their Meat shop where they began to talk and discuss the details of the other woman's past.

She spoke of the loneliness she had felt at the disappearance of her husband and how spending her days with two children that looked like him nearly drove her mad. By the time, she had realized her folly, her sons had committed a critical error that had cost them their lives. By her description of the bodies, post transmutation, Izumi surmised that it was an aging array that Trisha had seen that night. The boys had wanted to show her what they would look like when they got older. They probably had thought that it would be harmless. But they must have misread something. Izumi neglected to mention that doing alchemy to alter one's biological being was in, itself, a violation of the Law. She felt that by this point there was no reason to add to the already growing guilt Trisha was accumilating, so, she kept her lips sealed and listened to what the woman was saying. As Trisha recanted the tale once more, the dark haired woman found herself paling in dread. Afterall, she knew what did it. What had gone wrong.

"Tell me…!" Trisha snarled thru gritted teeth as she watched the woman's reaction. She felt like she shouldn't tell her but knew she was backed up into a corner – in the end, she found herself reluctantly revealing the truth to her. That night Trisha had caused an unnatural imbalance within the circle when she had reached out to her sons. From what she gathered Edward was some sort of prodigy, so, there was no way that he would mess up on such an easy array. What he didn't count on was for Trisha to interfere and stir up a chemical disturbance within the circle that night. Their plan had, basically, backfired.

And the stone cold reality was that Trisha had inadvertedly, killed her children.

After that startling revelation, Izumi saw Trisha's health decline unnaturally fast. And yet, despite her deficiencies, her mind was still as sharp as a tact. She demanded that Izumi teach her alchemy and would not let up on her unless she got her way.

Two days later, Trisha was looking over the extensive Curtis library for ways of getting her boys back. Izumi was never good at saying no to people who needed her help, even if it involved something as dangerous as human transmutation, and the fact that she had somehow become 'friends' with Trisha didn't help either. It had taken 3 long tiring years until they had completed their research and it seemed Trisha was on her last leg. She was sick – with some sort of incurable disease. But she pressed on nonetheless and just recently, had returned with the remains of both her sons. Izumi recalled blanching at the stench emitting itself from the bags she carried. Briefly, she wondered if she should call the whole thing off but when Trisha's feverish green eyes bore into hers with that determined look within them – she found herself floored once again.

Which brought them back to the current situation at hand. From where she sat in the living room, surveying all that there was, she took note of the fact that they were more or less ready for the ritual. All the materials were present. Everything that composed the human body sat nearby in various amounts of buckets. They had doubled the amount since they were bringing back more than one person. And the boys' bones sat in vats in the middle of the array. It was really a grisly sight but the transmutation could not be done without them. Deep down, Izumi knew that this was not a good idea but no matter how many times she tried to back out - Trisha's eyes would flash in her mind and bring her right back. Regardless of whether or not she cooperated, she knew that the woman would continue on no matter what. Even if it meant the creation of Homunculi. She cursed inwardly, hating herself for allowing such a thing to happen and for committing yet another sin. But over the years, morals and values had lost their hold on her and she could feel herself letting go. Sig probably felt it, too, since he continued to stay by her side despite the fact that what they were doing was technically forbidden. My, how far she had fallen...

"You know what…?" came Trisha's voice from where she sat on the living room floor. Izumi looked warily in her direction, her features tense in agitation. "After digging up Edward and Alphonse…I went back home and burned everything up."

She opened her mouth to speak but closed it, when she heard the other continue. "When I went inside, nothing looked out of place. It was as if, nothing had changed." She paused for a moment then and looked up at Izumi with eyes that, while glazed and sickly looking, shone brightly in the dim light. "I almost wanted to believe that everything was normal and we were a family again. But I knew that would never happen...so, I burned the damn thing down."

Her lips pulled up into a sad, but sick smile then and the older woman had to control herself from shivering in fear. Trisha did not look well at all. In fact, she looked like she was going to collapse at any second. Izumi watched as she gave a sort of hollow laugh before gripping the chalk so tightly in her hand, that it broke in two. Noticing that she was done with the array at her feet, she weakly pulled herself up into a standing position with her hands pressed tightly together. She shot another look at her then and Izumi gulped as she realized how those eyes had lost any semblance of humanity in them. As she got up from her chair she came to stand before the other woman with her hands pressed together as well. The last thing she heard before they both clapped and had bent down to touch the array was Trisha's voice.

"It's an adult's responsibility to take care of their children…isn't that right, Izumi?"

In a flash of light, everything had gone bright. All around her she could feel the power of alchemy take over as the array began to work its magic. She gritted her teeth as she felt her stomach toss and turn and almost choked when she felt the blood rise up from her throat. It exploded from her mouth and she winced as a sharp stab of pain rose up within her. Vaguely, she heard Sig's voice shouting from outside the array but she ignored it, instead looking over to where Trisha stood. She was in no better condition then she was. In fact, she looked like she was dying and deep within her chest, despite the pain, she felt her heart lurch. This had to work. It could not fail. She wanted this to succeed. If not for her, then for her friend. A mother, who had lost so much in such a short amount of time…

However, the light was turning red and Izumi noticed that the flesh before them was not forming into something natural. She should have known that this was going to happen. Actually, she knew it was going to fail but some part of her refused to believe it. 'What would happen now?' her mind wondered as she watched the mass of flesh before her writhe and contort. She winced as the reaction grew stronger and she felt her whole body shudder. In her mind, she knew that she was going to die. But before she lost consciousness, the last thing she remembered was hearing Trisha's scream and Sig calling out for her.

And then she knew nothing…

Later -

Dante had felt a strong pull coming from the dusty little town of Dublith. Even though he had been confused at first as to why his senses had brought him to such a backwater place - he knew now what it was that had drawn him here. A human transmutation was in progress. And from the looks of it, this one was a big one. He sighed tiredly as he leaned against the wall and waited. Absentmindedly, he flicked a stray piece of lint off his jacket and watched as red light bounced off of the walls from within a small shop.

After wandering the world for so long, he felt like now was the time for him to act. Stories of the philosopher stone had once again arisen in this part of the country and the idea that someone could actually develop the thing made him giddy with joy. Once again, immortal life was well within his grasp yet under his current circumstances it was still a little far off. The journey to obtain the stone was a hectic one and he simply did not have the strength to make that journey alone. He was weak and the body he was currently occupying was not going to last. He needed to recreate the Sins. Hence the reason why he came.

"Hohenheim…I will find you. You can't run away from me forever." He whispered to himself as he watched a tall, muscled man run out from the shop he had been surveying. By the looks of it, it seemed like the transmutation had concluded and like always it did not go successfully. He watched as the bloodied man ran down the street shouting for a doctor, that Dante knew would not be able to make it back in time. The ritual had been completed and like always human transmutation could not be done without taking a sacrifice from someone. Whoever had done the deed tonight was dead and no amount of first aid would bring them back. That is unless, someone else did yet another transmutation. He giggled humorlessly to himself as he idly flicked a hair out of his eyes. Today was going to be an interesting day.

"Looks like its time for me to make my appearance." He singsonged quietly to the darkness around him and briskly he made his way to the now silent little shop. It was time to get down to business.

When he had entered the building the first thing that assaulted him was the rotten smell of flesh. The room had been thrown into disarray and from where he stood he could clearly make out the bodies of the two people who had attempted the transmutation. One was tall with dark hair while the other look like a small brunette. Dante hadn't wanted to stare at the two for long since he knew time was short and it would only be a matter of time before that man came back. He didn't want to get into an altercation. No, that would be bad. Yet, it was truly a shame. Both women must have been true beauties at one point…but due to the harsh reaction from the circle it seemed like their bodies were no longer recognizable. Yes, it really was a waste of human flesh. He made a move to investigate the array a little better but stopped when his senses picked something up.

A soft squelching sound from the back of the room had attracted his attention and from the looks of it, it seemed like he had found his candidate. Looking up and across the room, he saw what the two women had risk their lives to bring back. And, boy, was it a grisly sight!

The mass of rotten flesh had become so distorted that even Dante, himself, could not look at it for long. It was revolting and the way that it shuffled around pitifully was simply pathetic. Had he no purpose here, Dante would be more inclined to vanquish the thing back to whatever hellhole it had fallen out of but he quickly squashed that thought. No need to get distracted. Afterall, he did have a reason for being in this pit hole.

"Well, well…you look lost." He murmured softly as the mass shuffled a little closer to him. "How about I help you out there?"

Crouching down to get on his knees, Dante winced as the smell became stronger around him but he held his place. His hands were outstretched and a fake smile had somehow made its way onto his face. He had done this more than enough times to know that being gentle with them the first time was key. Yet, when the mass had crawled into the light, he felt the smile slipping from his face as a sudden sense of confusion took over him. He hadn't noticed it before because of the darkness that permeated the room but now within the moonlight he was able to see the form more clearly.

"There…are two of you?" He inquired as he eyed the thing more critically. It gave him no answer but instead continued to crawl towards him, it's flesh rippling obscenely in the light while globs of congealed blood dripped off of it.

Dante warily watched the thing for a few more seconds before mentally shrugging. Afteralll, two sins were always better than one. It looked like lady luck was on his side!

"Sorry, boys, but it looks like I'm gonna have to separate you two." he whispered more to himself than to anyone else and vaguely he felt the stirs of his alchemic power rising from his hands, "I hope you don't mind." In a sharp upward motion he had managed to separate flesh from flesh. When the smaller bit of flesh had fallen away from the bigger part it had not gone quietly. Dante winced as the thing began to let out a shrill scream at the feeling of loss it had experienced from being separated from its other. Vaguely, Dante wondered if the thing had some sort of attachment to the other mass of flesh. Had they known each other in life? Once again he found himself disregarding that thought before holding out his hand to the things - a pile of red stones glittering temptingly there. He didn't even have time to say a word before the larger of the two had started slurping up the stones. It shocked Dante for a bit but he quickly regained his composure before pulling out some more to offer to the smaller bit of flesh (which happen to be crying still). He watched as the grotesque looking figures started to lose the globs of distorted flesh that they had been trapped in. The figures becoming more defined by the power of the stone. Features became more visible and limbs began to come together. After feeding them what felt like a week's worth of red stones, Dante was surprised that underneath all that mass of flesh were two of the most beautiful boys he had ever seen…

(Go figure…!)

The oldest, who looked about, 15-18, was obviously the more attractive looking of the two. His hair was long and a pale shade of blond, almost white and looked soft to the touch. Judging by the lightness of it, Dante surmised that his hair may have had a more golden blond tint to it in life but due to the powerful reaction from the transmutation - it had lost most of its pigment hence the lack of color. Genetic alteration was not uncommon after transmutation but apart of Dante wondered if that was really all that changed… The boy blinked his purple slitted eyes and looked warily up at him. And oh…was that where his oroborus was? He found his gaze tracing the blood red symbol, which had made itself at home between the boy's collarbones - directly in the middle of his naked chest. In fact, he was totally naked. Not bad…not bad at all!

Dante continued to eye the boy - no, teen - up and down before nodding sagely to himself. The homunculus was truly a sight to behold. A little on the short side but very good looking. He snapped his fingers and the teen looked up at him again, his gaze unfocused but aware. "You are Lust. Get it? L-U-S-T? Lust." He found himself reciting the word to the teen and he smiled as the thing tried to follow up with the same letters. When it looked like the kid had got it down, he turned to look at his other charge and sized him up as well.

This one must be the youngest. He figured this was the case because the boy did not seem as old as the other, at least his features didn't suggest that. Unlike his brother, because they really did look like they were related, this one had a more quiet beauty to him. His hair was a light golden brown and was short but not too short. He shared the same delicate features that his brother had and was a bit more bigger than the former. His beauty was modest and pure but deep down Dante knew that it was also a dangerous sort of beauty. The purple eyes that he sported were a lot more harder than his brother's and the smile that he shared with Dante did not seem innocent at all. Such a shame, really, since he felt that this one seemed the most human out of the two. He wondered, briefly, if in life this child had been as innocent as he looked? Perhaps the illusion could be used for all their benefit.

"And you are…Wrath! W-R-A-T-H? Wrath. Yes, I think that suits you very well." He said as he watched the other's grin grow more darker by the second. When he was certain that both pairs of eyes were on him, he placed his hands upon their shoulders and hauled them up to a standing position.

"Welcome to the group - Lust & Wrath." he greeted and he watched as the two politely inclined their heads. He nodded approvingly before continuing, "I think that its about high time that we left. Why don't we find some clothes for you two before heading back into the city….?"

He made to usher them out of the room but stopped when he noticed that the oldest was looking at the brunette's mangled body.

"Lust?" he inquired as the platinum blond stared unnervingly at the corpse. The homunculus looked up upon hearing his name and shot the man an unreadable look, his eyes searing right into his. He looked like he was about to say something but shook his head, the fine strands of hair that fell about his face, moved with the motion.

"I-It's nothing…I just thought she looked familiar." Was all he said before his nude body casually walked through the door and into the other room. Wrath, too, had stopped to look at the body but unlike his brother he did not seem as calm as he did. Dante was almost shocked to find a troubled look upon those features and he had to stifle the rise of irrational fear that caused itself to rise up within him.

"Wrath? Aren't you going to follow your brother?" He asked.

The other looked up at him then and the troubled look melted away from his face, he nodded stiffly before following the shadow of his brother's retreating form, without so much as a word. Dante hadn't wanted to think about it at the time but he briefly wondered if their memories were still in tact. He had hoped not, because the last thing he needed was for his homunculi to rebel against his cause. Casually, shrugging his shoulders he followed the two into the next room and silently began to make plans for the future.

Soon…the philosopher stone would be his! Nothing would stand in his way…and Hohenheim! He would pay dearly for all the pain he put Dante thru.

Author's Note: Yes, I know. People are probably upset that I totally butchered Trisha's character...but I've read one too many stories where she has been nothing but kind and I wondered what would have happened if that wasn't the case. I wanted to write a what-if story where Hohenheim's departure had a more stronger effect on her. Plagued by loneliness and abandonment - I imagine she'd loose a few marbles. Of course, later she realizes what she has done but by then you all know that it was too late. Then there is Edward and Alphonse. At the time of the Aging transmutation - Ed was 10 and Al was 9. My theory was that because they didn't give up something of equal or lesser value to appease the law of Equivalent Exchange and their mother had interefered with the alchemic process - their plan had basically backfired. Also, in my world using alchemy to alter one's natural being is in direct violation of the law and would result in failure as well. Edwards must have read the instructions wrong...er...anyways! Another thing I wanted to mention is that I know Izumi probably would never say, 'ok' to a human transmutation ritual but since she related to Trisha - I made it so that she helped in providing the materials and whatnot, but did so reluctantly. And over time they did become friends and you know how kind Izumi is. I can't imagine her abandoning a friend in her most desperate time of need. Even if she refused Trisha would have found another way - she was that determined. Lastly, I made Dante male because well...no reason...I just thought it would be interesting! ;) Post transmutation, Ed and Al have had their bodies altered. Mostly due to the fact that so much time has past but also because of the aging process they went thru during that flawed transmutation. Also, I made Ed Lust as opposed to Pride because I felt that his character was always lusting for something in life. In the anime/manga, he was always chasing something to the point of exhaustion. Plus, he's good looking as hell. And Al was given the title of Wrath because I thought that the whole concept of innocence being overidden by a more cruel and dangerous mind - makes for a very interesting juxtaposition. Well! I think I covered everything very well. In the next chapter, Lust and Wrath make their debut! And Dante searches for the next two sins. All I'm gonna say is that it'll be awesome! Please review my story if you have the time. And I'll see you next time!