Notes: Well, here is my first work so thanks for reading, so only constructive critisism, please. The goal of these one-shots is to explore some of the more stressful moments for the Elric brother in their perspectives starting with the human transmutation. Solely based in the Brotherhood world, my chapters may include special features with other characters so look for those. Enjoy!

I knelt over the edge of the circle and placed my hands on the lines. Al copied my moves so I smiled at him.

"Okay, this is it, Al." We are going to get mom back! I added in thought.

"Hmm," Alphonse smiled back, understanding my unsaid words.

My spine tingled and my heart quickened as I let the alchemic energy flow into the circle. A blue glow rose from the chalk with flashes of blue lightning erupting at random. The lightning flashed towards the center, licking at the ingredients in the tin tub, and a grin pulled at my cheeks.

This is it! This is truly it!

That's where it went wrong.

Dark plum colored mist rose from all edges of the human transmutation circle, the blue glow turned white as the lighting vanished.

"Um, Ed… Something doesn't feel right," whispered Al. He was right and I could feel it too. I looked around the room for signs of interference, for some explanation why the circle was acting funny.

What is this? Our formula was perfect! Right?

I looked back into the bright circle just as the tub dissolved into the air around it, and a large eye opened in out basement floor. The mist solidified into rope-like vines stretching for the sky.

Al screamed and my head snapped towards him. His hand was broken off at the wrist, a look of horror and pain on his face. My stomach turned to stone

"Al!"

Pain flared across my leg and I shrieked too. My arms gave out and I collapse, fire burning behind my eyes. I looked back and the remainder of my body turned cold. The strange vines now had hands and were liking my leg the way the lightning had licked the tub just moments before. Each time they touched my skin a thrill of pain shot through me, adding to the fire behind my eyes and the moisture in them.

"It can't be; a rebound?"

No, it was perfect. This was supposed to be perfect!

"Brother! Ed!"

My head snapped back to Al. The tiny hands had a firm hold on my little brother, pulling him towards the center of the circle, where a huge door had appeared. He was practically elevated, but he was fighting those bloody hands with all he had. Even so, anyplace they touched caused a hole in his skin revealing the blood and bone beneath without spilling any of the precious blood.

He reached for me and my pain was more of an inconvenience that a barrier.

I reached for him, as the hands touched his head. His eyes suddenly froze while still gazing into mine; the pleading, frightened look iced over. His screams echoed off the cold stone walls.

"Al!"

A blinding flash of white and the pain, basement, and my brother were gone.

My mind felt oddly blank as I noticed several things at once.

I was standing, there was an endless expanse of white, and I didn't quite know what I was standing on. And Al should be with me.

"...Al, wait what was I doing? I just-"

"Hello."

I jumped. I had thought I was alone. A figure, only visible by the shadows that surrounded him sat directly in front of me. It looked humanoid, but not human. It's only facial feature was an annoyingly perfect, toothy, grin.

"W-who are you," I asked, figuring 'what are you' might anger it. And considering I might need its help, I didn't want to go that route just yet.

"Oh!" Gasped the creature in glee, "I am so glad you asked. I am called by many names. I am The World. I am The Universe. I am God. I am Truth. I am All. I am One. And I am also, you."

Arrogant much?

It pointed at me, and I felt a shock of fear freeze my spine. I felt like it had heard my thoughts. A sudden wind pulled at my hair from behind, but I tried to ignore it. Tried giving this thing- Truth? - all my attention. But then I heard a frighteningly familiar sound. The sound the transmutation made before everything went wrong.

"You have dared to knock on the Door. Now, the Door is open."

Right on cue, the rope like hands shot out and grabbed any part of me they could reach. Everything came back to me now, and I screamed as the iron hot pain that came with their touch coursed through me, carried by my own blood. It was pointless. They soon had me off my feet, my struggles doing nothing to slow them.

"Quiet child, this is what you wanted isn't it?"

No. Not at all what I wanted.

I reached out to it -that bastard- trying to make it see. If it would listen then I could tell it what I really wanted. I clawed at the edges of the Doors even while they closed on my, trying in vain to be free.

"I will show you...The Truth."

The Doors closed. It was dark. And frigid cold, but it helped cool the sting of the little hands that held me like a rope.

Images flashed before me before coming all in one endless stream. It was like all the information in the world was being poured into my brain at once. And with it came a huge migraine.

"It's too much! It's too much, make it stop," I scream to the Eye that remained above me, just watching.

The stream backed away, weaving together in a pattern that looked like a D.N.A model. The pain returned as my body began to disintegrate, but the pain in my head and the cool of the air around me had started to take effect and all I could do was whimper as I felt myself being torn apart.

"W-what's happening to me," I called to the Eye. "Stop it. Make it stop!"

My head started to feel like it was about to burst, then for an instant, it all became clear.

The Truth...Of everything. Mom!

"Mom! Mom, please!"

I reached for her through the pain. She reached back. I almost had her… But then I was back outside the door. The pain had gone entirely but the memory of what had just happened, what it felt like, held me in place until Truth spoke.

"How was it," Truth asked with a smug grin.

I dropped my still outstretched arm and turned towards the Doors: those huge slabs of stone and metal.

"I see…" I started to walk towards them, thinking over everything I had just learned. "My theory of Human Transmutation wasn't wrong. It can be done, it's possible!" I couldn't help the excitement that sprung in my voice as my hopes sang and grew. "It's still just missing something! All of the answers I need are right here. The truth about human transmutation. Please, you have to show it to me again."

"I can't do that." I turned to Truth as he (it?) walked towards me. "I've already shown you all I can for the toll you paid."

"Toll? What toll?"

"This. surely you knew."

Pain sprang from my leg again. If I hadn't already been leaning on the Doors, I would have fallen. I Turned to Truth, who was now right in my face, grinning smugly.

"It's the law of Equivalent Exchange. Right, young alchemist?"

I closed my eyes and screamed as pain radiated from my leg and washed over my mind and body. My leg was gone and I was back in my basement, laying on the cold floor. The circle was still crackling, glowing, and active. I rolled over.

"Ugh… Damn it," I sobbed. "This can't be happening. It can't be." I fought the dark creeping into my vision and assessed the damage and my surroundings. "It… this wasn't supposed to...It's gone, what have I done?!" I flopped onto my side next to the circle that was now winding down its energy. I closed my eyes against the light and the fire screaming from my leg.

"Somebody help me...Somebody…. Please mom, mom please," I opened my eyes expecting to see my mother.

The circle is done, it's over. Mom's here, she'll help.

That is not mom.

My eyes widened as I took in my creation. It was horribly deformed, head backward, bones jutting from under charcoal skin with more limbs that should be possible. It's dot-like eyes shine red, and it gasped through perfect teeth. It reached for me before its blood pooled around it and coughed it's last, and first, breath.

Wrong. I was wrong. No. Mom… No, mom, I'm sorry!

"No… T-this is wrong. T-this isn't what we wanted!" Tears, not entirely from the pain in my leg, blurred my vision.

Al.

"Al... Alphonse… Alphonse... Alphonse!"

Not him. No, please. Not him too. I can't have killed him too!

"This is all my fault! Alphonse no," I called.

Think! Save him, I must save him! How? Bond his soul. How do I know that? It doesn't matter. Not much time, remember?

I dragged my body to the armor closest armor in the corner and knocked it down. Then I crawled around towards the head. I didn't know if Truth could hear me but I spoke to him anyways.

"No, damn it. You can't take him too. Give him back."

I started to draw the seal.

A seal of blood.

My bold.

My only family.

"He's my brother…"

Please…

"Take my leg…"

I'll give anything…

"Take my arm…"

My life...

"Take my heart! Anything, you can have it!"

Even if it's all of me for just a part of him...

"Just give him back. He's my little brother, he's all I've got left!"

I clapped for the first time.

It was worth it.

I was back with Truth, sitting just as he was sitting.

"Give him back," I ordered.

"Go get him yourself. Then the toll will be paid."

"I don't care about the toll! Just open the damn doors!"

"As you wish." The Doors opened and I let the hands pull me in.

Once inside I search. I ignored as best I could the information.

There!

"Take me closer," I called, not sure if the hand would obey. They did, and I grabbed him. I pulled him from his black hand-ropes and to me. The hands held on, but know they were of one mind, racing us toward the Doors, which had remained open this time.

I'm so sorry Al. Hang on. Please don't be dead, I'm sorry.

We here back at the Gate and they closed after the weird hands dropped us on the ground. Then Al faded from my arms.

What?!

"What have you done with him?!"

"He is alive and where you bonded him. Time to pay," Truth grinned, reaching a hand towards me. I ground my teeth together. Whatever was coming was going to hurt.

Oh. Take anything, even if it's everything.

"Take whatever you want from me."

Pain seared my arm as it disintegrated the same way as my leg. I closed my eyes against it and didn't cry out. Then I felt myself leaning against a wall that felt like stone.

Am I back in the basement? Does this mean I'm still alive?

"B-brother," groaned a high, sweet voice.

Alphonse! It worked!

Relief surged through me, almost drowned the pain in my limbs. Or maybe I was starting to pass out from all the blood I'd lost. I vaguely heard the clash of metal and the crash of it on the stone floor.

"Bother!"

I'm sorry, Al.

Darkness took me.

Well, that was considerably longer than I thought. Please leave a review if you liked it, or if you have constructive criticism.