"Motherfucker," said a muffled, rough female voice.
"Eloquent," came the strained sounding reply.
"Shut the fuck up, Mustang." One of the people in the circle pushed themselves up onto her knees, pushing her golden hair out of her face. Her gold eyes darted around the circle, narrowing in concern when she caught sight of the forming pool of blood beneath the taller black haired figure, "Julian, you idiot, what did you pay it?"
"My hand, I believe," the young man said as he slowly pushed himself up with his right hand, holding the left close to his body.
"You believe?" The woman scoffed.
"It didn't exactly ask, Elizabeth. But based on the crippling -hah- pain, it would seem-"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and scrambled over to him, grabbing hold of his left wrist for a better look. "Well, damn, Mustang, I hope you're prepared for the automail surgery."
"As you have expounded upon many times, one can never be prepared for automail surgery."
She made a 'hmm' sound as she focused on the stump, then her right arm lit up with alchemical energy and she began the process of closing the wound with a scab, "So you were listening, then."
"I can hardly help it; you're so loud, you see-"
"Would you two save the flirting for another time?" One of the others objected. While Julian and Elizabeth had been focused on the former's injury, the other three in the circle had sat up and taken stock. The one who had spoken was male, with wheat blond hair and gold eyes like Elizabeth. Said eyes were fixed on the youngest member of the group at that moment, hands lighting up with alchemy as he placed them on her abdomen.
Elizabeth frowned as she looked on, "What's wrong with Trish?" She demanded.
The girl gave a weak smile, "A kidney, I think. Hopefully just one."
The man nodded, "Yep. Hold on, I need to close and clean up the internal bleeding."
Elizabeth turned next to the oldest woman, "Nina?" She asked.
She shook her head, "No injuries. It took memories, though I'm not sure who of. It said 'someone important to me'. I'm trying to figure out who it was."
The blond haired man looked up, stricken, "Mom or Dad? Uncle Al, Aunt May?"
Nina shook her head, "No. Never mind, I'll figure it out when we're not sitting in the middle of a group of armed and confused military personnel."
The other four looked up and around, startled to find Nina was correct. Around them stood and sat a number of men - and a woman - in military uniform, along with a pair of golden haired young men in civilian clothing. There was a simultaneous intake of breath from nearly all there, then the girl who'd lost a kidney breathed, "It worked."
"Of course it did," Julian said, a self satisfied smirk curling around his lips, "When the nine greatest alchemical and Alkehestric minds in the world put their heads together for a project, the word 'impossible' becomes meaningless."
"Nine?" Elizabeth side-eyed him, "Flattering yourself a bit, aren't you, Mustang."
The man scowled, "I'll have you know that Flame Alchemy is no walk in the park."
"You mean the park you burned down when you were fifteen? I'd say not."
"Will you stop bringing that up!"
"Is that what the Colonel and I sound like?" The shorter of the unknown blonds asked the taller.
"Maybe a little, but they seem a bit more familiar than the two of you." He replied.
"So who are you people, anyway?" The man who asked this was blond and blue eyed, and appeared to be stuck in a wheelchair at the moment. "Also, what kind of crazy alchemy was that?"
"Ah." The blond male belonging to the newly arrived group ran a hand through his hair, "This is probably going to sound kind of crazy, but it's the truth."
"It was Time Travel," Elizabeth cut in.
"El!" The other four admonished her in various tones of exasperation and reproach.
"What? We would have spent ages dancing around the topic if I let Yuriy explain. Probably get treated to a lecture on alchemical manipulation of the space-time continuum before anyone actually said it. At least half of these people wouldn't know a geodesic if it smacked 'em in the face. I figured I'd save us all some time."
"Wait," one of the uniformed men interjected, "Time Travel? Seriously?"
Yuriy shrugged, "It's not that difficult once you understand the basics."
"The real trouble is the cost," The oldest blonde said darkly.
"Speaking of which," Julian nudged Elizabeth, "We know what everyone else paid," he said leadingly.
The short blonde scowled at him, "Not that it's any of your fucking business, Airhead, but I gave up some eggs."
He blinked, confused, "Eggs?"
"Yeah, you know, eggs. Ovum, whatever. The female half of the genetic code necessary to create a kid. Only makes sense, really, but it's almost a cheat how much the things are worth to Truth. I gave up maybe five years worth, and that was that."
"Only five!"
"Human potential," Trisha mused, "Like what uncle did, trading everything he might have done with alchemy. A little less final, though."
"Most of the cost was already paid for," Yuriy said darkly. Then he sighed, becoming thoughtful, "But that does suggest that a woman might be able to travel through time alone..."