DISCLAIMER: I don't Own FMA. I do own the Ocs in this story.
Chapter 3: Going through the gate
It was the year that me and Kairi turned sixteen and Summomo and Beth turned eighteen that things changed drastically. The enemies and ones responsible had fully invaded our shores in the west, east, and south. They began raids and killing people without mercy and taking women and children to be used for their entertainment. Me, Kairi, Summomo, and Beth were hiding from them in the basement of the high school we used to attend. We had lost our families, a majority of friends, and almost everything because of those bastards.
The only thing I was able to grab a hold of when my parents made me run and hide when they came to my house was the book I bought two years before. I had pulled the book out after a few days of grieving and staying quiet. Kairi was the first to notice it.
"You still have the book?" she said as more of a statement than question.
I looked at her, "Yes, I do. I think now might be a good time to use it. We lost everything holding us to this place." I said turning to the page that I had finally deciphered.
I never told my friends that I had weird dreams where a man visited me that at first warned me but finally decided to help me decipher the book I held in my hands. Of course I didn't know that they had began to have the same dreams after seeing the book for the first time. I was taken out of my thoughts when Beth took it out of my hands. She held it for a moment before laying on the ground.
"I'm with Teresa on this. We should do it because all that awaits us is death by them and I don't feel like dying just yet." she said.
Kairi and Summomo looked at each other and then to me and Beth before sighing.
"You're right. I'm in." said Kairi.
"I don't think our parents wouldn't have wanted us to do something like this but, I don't think they would've wanted us to give up on everything either. I'm in too." she said.
I smiled and turned to Beth who looked over what we needed.
"So what do we need?' I asked her.
"We need some candles, chalk, salt, and obviously us." She said.
I looked at the diagram picking apart each section and then rereading the caption. "We have to wait a month till the full moon to do this. So I need to teach you three everything that I know before hand." I said looking all three of them in the eye.
That's when I taught them what I knew from the book for a month. Needless to say I wasn't an easy teacher. I had them read the material and practice the small bouts of alchemy as it was called in the book over and over again. I thanked god that we were hiding in the basement of an abandoned house. They had gotten all of it down pretty quickly and all we had to do was wait for the day for us top use the ritual to leave the place we were at.
The night before we performed the ritual I had the same dream as I always had but this time I more of his back and a trace or hair. I still couldn't tell you what color it was but I stood about twenty feet from him. I could tell by the way he stood he didn't look too happy.
"I warned you not to do something like this before didn't I ?" he said his voice accusatory tone.
I frowned and stared at his back. "You did." I replied.
He turned around to were I could see nothing but the lower portion of his face. His mouth was in a firm frown.
"Then why are trying to do what I think you're about to do? Don't you know it could cost you and your friends your lives?" he said his voice raised in anger.
I hung my head down looking at the white floor. I could feel my eyes water and hands shake.
"We know that but we lost everything tieing us to this place. Our homes, friends, and families to those bastards. We can't keep hiding from them forever." I answered feeling the tears run down my face.
I continued to stand there and cry, "W…we…we have to try something. If we don't then we'll die anyway. We…just can't do nothing." I added.
The man sighed and came to stand right in front of me. "If you're sure I'll give you this much of advice. No matter what happens you have to keep moving forward. You can't give up or you'll be disappointing yourself and your friends." he said before I woke up to see my friends all getting ready to perform the ritual.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes getting the sleep out before turning to them. Kairi looked at me and smiled softly.
"Good morning sleepy head." she said.
"Yeah we were wondering when you'll wake up." said Beth as she finished drawing the circle.
I stood up and scratched my head. "Sorry bout that. I guess my body wanted to sleep a little more." I answered before standing at the eastern point of the circle.
Beth stood at the northern point of the circle, Summomo stood in the southern point and Kairi stood at the western point.
"Alright let's do this." Beth said closing her eyes and kneeling onto the ground her hands placed on the chalk line of the circle. We all followed suit and focused on what we wanted.
I could feel the air around thicken making it harder to breath. It wasn't until I heard screams that made me open my eyes. I saw Kairi, Summomo, and Beth surrounded by what looked like black arms with tiny hands attached breaking them apart.
"Kairi, Summomo, Beth-chan…!" I exclaimed trying to reach for any one of them but couldn't feeling something grab my left arm.
I turned and looked I saw the same things attached to my legs and left arm breaking me apart as well. I struggled against the black tendrils but it was no use I screamed my lungs out before blacking out.
I soon woke up to being in a stark white room once again but this time there was no figure but my friends and a huge gray intricately carved doorway. I saw to my relief that my friends were alright.
"You guys alright?" I asked as I went over to them.
They all nodded their heads.
"Yeah we're fine but what is this place?" asked Kairi.
I shrugged my shoulders as well as Summomo.
Beth looked at her, "I dunno but I don't like the looks of it." she replied.
We continued to stare at the structure in front of us that we didn't notice any one else till we heard a throat clear behind us. We all turned and saw what looked like an outline of a person with the only things visible were a well tanned leg and arm.
"Who are you?" asked Kairi.
The figure grinned, "I'm what they called many things like the world, God, the Truth, all, one, the Universe, and you." it answered.
The four of us rose an eyebrow and looked at each other before facing the figure again.
"So you're all that?" asked Summomo her voice shaky but impressed that something could be many things.
The figure nodded, "Yes I am. Are you four here to see the truth?" it asked.
"We're here because we want to leave our world behind." answered Beth.
If it was possible the figure's grin went even wider than it was.
"So you wish to leave behind your world that's full of corruption, violence, fear, and doubt. So you can enter a new world that you have no idea about? You still have a chance to go back to your own world before it's too late." it said.
I looked at the figure as it sat crossed legged, "We have nothing to go back to. All that will await us there is death anyway. We lost everything and there's no going back for us. Even if we wanted to go back to our own world again it'll be too late. We've made up our minds. We're going to keep going forward." I said.
The figure laughed and pointed to the gate making it open.
"If you insist. I'll just need to take you toll for you to cross." it said.
"Toll? It was never written in the book that there was a toll?" said Beth her eyes wide.
The figure smiled, "I guess you four read wrong because with Alchemy there is the law of equivalent exchange. In order for you to get something you have to pay something in return and I get choose what it is that I want form each of you." It said.
I could never forget the feeling of my left arm being taken away. Nor will I ever forget hearing my friends screams as their toll was taken from them. The last thing any of us saw was the figure as it grinned manically while we were sucked into the vortex of tiny black hands and arms. I never thought that would be the last I'd see my friends for awhile.
A/N: The next chapter will start off the third person POV I hope you guys are liking this story so far. The next chapter will probably be short b/c I have school starting soon. Well Ja ne Minna.
