I knew that something was going to go wrong, but to bring Joyce back as a Homuculi is something even I didn't see coming! Now, I suspect the next one to be turned will be Tara. The rest, I have no idea about. But I suspect that Willow will pay the price for using this Alchemy.

I have only one thing to say: WHY DO I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS!

So, it took not only Dawn's soul, but the KEY part of her as well! I knew that messing with something that these two brothers were involved in could only spell trouble with a capital T!

UH UH Dawn! Messing with this stuff is NOT the best way to do things! I KNOW what happened when Elric and Al messed with alchemy to bring back their mom. Trust me Dawn, messing with this is NOT the best thing to do.

Hohenheim? Human Transmutation? Dawn, you should NOT be messing around with this book!!! If I remember from what I have seen on FMA, this is BAD NEWS!

Interesting and engaging even if I find this is one of the most headbanging issues I've had with FMA. EQUIVALENT exchange, a life for a life, a soul for a soul. Does it even occur to them to just catch some people they don't like and use them as the sacrifice? And it's quite explicit as far as I've seen that the failures are the result of attempting a nonequivalent exchange not the operation itself. You can get the soul back if you balance the exchange by sacrificing an equivalent value of souls but no one ever bothers to investigate that for some reason.

Personally I think the Key should have bypassed the Gate or simply opened it and allowed her actual mother back. Instead of trying to shoehorn it into a Lust plot make the story about everyone turning against her even though she does succeed.

Thanks for the review and your comments! Yes, I see what you're saying about why human transmutation failed time and again in FMA. I would think that this detail about the soul was purposefully omitted, as bringing someone back from the dead was forbidden. What better way to discourage it then, especially if you didn't know about the homunculus side effect until afterward?

And yes, I totally agree that someone attempting human transmutation would hopefully think about the soul issue, but I can also see the alchemists not thinking about it, as they only worry about physical matter and not something as metaphysical as a soul. And because it's forbidden, it's not like they can talk about each other's failures, much less learn from it. Plus, bringing someone back from the dead is one thing, but killing someone else to do it? I can't see the Elric brothers doing that. Weak explanation, I know, but it's the best I can do right now.

Your idea of having their mom come back instead of Lust is very interesting. I came from a viewpoint that Dawn didn't actually open the gate where her mother's soul was -- she just opened the door between her world and the FMA one. At the time I wrote this, I was considering writing a longer sequel where the two worlds bleed into each other. And, I have to admit, I liked the idea of Buffy and Dawn having to battle someone that looked like Joyce. :P

Thanks again for your comments! I always appreciate it when readers take the time to write thoughtful responses!

FMA! You wonderful, wonderful girl! Lovely - this goes for all the chapters since I don't think posting the same comment five times would have any different effect than posting once.

Sun! You're on TtH! And thank you so much for the review! FMA isn't the most popular fandom (at least in terms of Buffy x-overs), but I love it. And this plot bunny just wouldn't leave me alone! So it makes me very, very happy that you liked it. :)

Your story is just ... freaky. Well done, you filled me with dread and unease. But if Dawn is no longer the Key, will Glory still hunt her?

Freaky? Perfect!!! Thank you very much!

As for Glory, she doesn't know that Dawn isn't the Key anymore, so I would imagine that she'd still go after her. And when she find out that Dawn used the Key energy elsewhere, she's going to be one unhappy Hell goddess!

Thanks for the review!

I'm eager to find out what equivalent exchange will mean for Dawn. I like what you've done so far and am looking forward to more.

Thanks! I hope to more up in the near future. Thanks for the review!

So she traded the Key for her Moms soul? Thats what its seems like at least.

Something like that... You'll find out soon. ;)
Thanks for the review!

Interesting. Hope you get more out soon.

Glad you like it! And I'm definitely going to try!

Hm. definitely interesting. How are you going to deal with the fact that the gate only seems to go one way, in terms of energy? It funnels souls lost in wars and such in this world to their world to use as energy for alchemic transmutation, or so the show said. She shouldn't have been able to get a reaction at all.

Very true. To be honest, I'm going to take a bit of creative license with this. Before Dawn's attempt at Human Transmutation, the gate *was* only a one-way portal. Dawn's mystical Key energy messed everything up, however, potentially even opening a gate between the worlds.

Hope that's not too far-fetched for you! Thanks for the review!

Oh wow! Great story! This isn't the end is it? I hope not!

Definitely not! I've got a few more chapters left, and I'm considering making it a series. Thanks for the review and rec!