Chapter 4: Humans and Time

After the last of the boxes were packed up, Havoc left and Elysia and the two Elric brothers were in a sort of laboratory that used to be the cellar of their home. The brothers were amazed by the assortment of books and technology that was in the cellar of a home.

"Wow, Elysia…are you sure that you need our work when you have all of this?" Edward was very impressed by all the research she had done. He looked down at a table and saw what looked like blue prints to a new design of transmutation circle.

Elysia Hughes was a perfectly normal little girl until her father was killed by the homunculus Envy. After that life turning event, she became infatuated with alchemy, wanting to be the next pioneer of alchemy research. Although she was a little pale because of staying in the laboratory for days sometimes, she was already developing beautifully, with her mother's eyes and her father's smirk. She was tall for a 10-year-old; and she also had rectangular glasses like her father.

"Well of course I do! You two have been as close as possible to the Truth. Or so you've told me…That's why I need you're research, it's vital for what I have planned for the Exam." She was riffling around the box, and pulled out a necklace with the flamel that Ed wore on his jacket, and the tattoo on Alphonse's left arm.

"Oh yeah. I was saving that for you, Elly. It's a powerful symbol that can magnify one's alchemy power." Al looked at the glee that was on her face as she undid the clasp and wrapped it around her neck.

"She reminds me of myself before…" Suddenly, he had a horrible flashback of the gruesome sight that met his eyes so long ago…the thing that wasn't even human…the homunculus Sloth…his soul ripped out of his body…and then the blood all over his brother…He shook off these thoughts and continued to look around the lab.

"Thank you Alphonse! I really like it!" Elysia had a big smile on her face as she continued to unpack the boxes.

"Anyways, what is this circle for Elysia? Please don't tell me that it's what I think it is…" Ed lifted up the blue print after further inspection, he realized that it closely resembled the transmutation circle that they tried to use to revive their dead mother, Trishta.

"Umm well…I know it looks like a life circle…but it's what I've been researching for a while now…it's what I'm gonna use for the exam. It's a Time Circle.

Both the brothers turned and looked dumbstruck. A Time Circle? They could figure out by the name what the idea was…but time-travel?

"How does it work?" Edward's eyes were full of excitement and curiosity. Time travel…all the possibilities that could be…

"Well first off, since time isn't solid, the Law of Conservation of Mass is useless, and the Law of Natural Providence can't really hold up to my theory. How can it work without the basic equivalent exchange, you ask? Well, that's why I created this!" Elysia went to the back of the lab and pushed something large on a rolling table covered in a cloth.

"Gentlemen, I give you…"She pulled back the cloth, " The Time Module!"

"The…time module? What the hell is that?" Edward blinked stupidly at the device. To him, it looked like a clock, except the hands were flamels with small transmutation circles attached to them. The face of the clock looked like a 3-D transmutation circle, and the center was a red substance that was all too familiar to the Elric brothers.

"No…no…It can't be…I made sure that it was all destroyed…" Ed looked horrified to see the Philosopher's Stone once again. The images of the Fifth Laboratory…the way Tucker tricked him into helping the homunculi concentrate the Stone…

"Br-brother….get it away from me! Make it go away!" Alphonse was breaking down, memories of being in the suit of armor for so long, Dante sending Envy to kidnap him… when Gluttony was devouring him alive when he was the actual Philosopher's Stone… Al ran out of the laboratory, leaving a very confused Elysia behind.