Author's note: These updates are taking forever! Sorry again for the lateness D: I have been very busy with getting ready for college and such. I already have in mind what I'd like to write for the next chapter, so maybe it'll go quicker.

To xXxSandwich-chanxXx: I am writing more! No worries, I fully intend on finishing this story. To your question regarding Pride!Ed; when Pride is conscious in the story I write his bit in first person. I do this for several reasons, but the homunculi (like Envy and the others in that mansion), are the only ones who know that he is Pride. Everyone else just sees him as Edward Elric's homunculus, they don't really have a name for him save for the experiment name "AH0906". That's great though that you have found some authors that are restoring your faith! I promise this is not going to be a mushy or lemon filled story. xD -crosses fingers-

To anyone else, if you have any questions or just want to leave a comment those are always appreciated and I'l make sure to answer your questions!

C H A P T E R S E V E N

Time Isn't On Our Side

Aaron turned the leather bound book over in her hands, tracing the worn spine before she flipped through the pages again. She didn't understand anything that was written, and she assumed that was the intent of the book's author. "Reynolds…Reynolds…" she chewed on her bottom lip before it struck her. Dr. Miles G. Reynolds had to be the same man Dr. Thomas had mentioned earlier as far as being one of the few scientists absent from the laboratory.

"Major?"

Visibly jumping, Aaron tucked the book inside her coat hurriedly before she turned around to meet Cody's questioning gaze.

"C'mon, we're heading out."

Aaron hesitated before she cleared her throat, "Right, we should go." She flashed a smile and passed Cody in the doorway quickly. She wanted to tell him what she had found, but another part of her; the part that longed to decipher this book for herself, told her not to. What good would it do anyone if she handed the book over to Cody or Mustang and didn't even know what anything meant? Nothing.

Cody stared after her, both brows raised. Weird, that was all he was thinking, but then again, maybe this whole case was starting to get to Aaron.

…Or maybe it was starting to get to all of them?

Disheveled, Abigail's red curls stuck out at every angle as she laid on the silk sheets of her bed. She was alone, not because she wanted to be, but because she was trying to focus on one of her missing sins.

Pride.

She had sent him long ago with Envy to fetch the newly born homunculus, however, all that returned to her was the envious sin. It had been both a disappointing and irritating thing, but instead of trying to find Pride immediately, she decided to wait; to try and lock on Pride's or the girl's aura to hook into their thoughts and find out what exactly was happening. So far there had been no luck, and because of that her nights had been restless.

The last thing she needed or wanted was to lose two homunculi, especially when lacking numbers was something that would be detrimental to her future plans.

"Or maybe it'll just fuel the fire…" she wondered aloud.

It would. Her plans against Central Headquarters all concerned the state's skepticism and disliking toward homunculi. So, to know that the state took two more non-humans into their grasps to play with them like dolls only meant that she would have more worth fighting the state for to get her revenge. Yes, either way—whether Pride and the girl returned or not—she would win in the end.

"You sure you're alright, Major?" Cody asked as he leaned forward in his seat. He was trying to get a peek at her expression; however, Aaron had cleverly shifted her hair and face so the only one who could see her face was her reflection in the front passenger window.

"Leave her alone, Miller." Mustang groaned from the driver's seat. This had been the First Lieutenant's sixth time since they left the laboratory asking her whether she was okay, and honestly, it was getting on his nerves.

Cody slumped back in his seat, "Sorry for caring?" he grumbled.

Mustang said nothing; neither did anyone else as they drove Alphonse back to his apartment. It was only after the Elric was finally out of the car and safely inside the brick edifice that Aaron looked away from the window, her detached expression had been etched with concern as she looked at the General. "Can I ask you for a favor?"

Cody lifted his hands up toward the roof of the car dramatically; "She speaks!"

Aaron cast the First Lieutenant a dull stare, "I was only quiet because I didn't want Alphonse in here when I told you both about this—" she paused briefly to retrieve the little book she had found early, "—I found it in Dr. Reynolds' office after everyone had left."

Cody leaned forward, eager to see what Aaron was holding while Mustang could only take his eyes off the road briefly to look at the material. "What is it about?"

"It's Dr. Reynolds' theory on 'Reverse Human Transmutation'." And just as the words left her lips a thick silence circled around the car. Aaron hesitated before she continued. Human Transmutation was always a sore topic, and with Edward in the back of their minds…well…things seemed to suddenly take on an even darker theme, as if everyone in the car was making the same assumption. "I…wanted to study this…maybe it would help us in finding out what happened to Edward's body."

"Or maybe it is just some random ass coincidence?" Cody offered grimly.

Aaron doubted that, and from the look on Mustang's face he was thinking the same thing she was. "Maybe, but…"

"We don't have time to study the material." Mustang interjected. "If this Dr. Reynolds is tied to Edward somehow then we have to locate Dr. Reynolds."

"That woman back at the lab said that he was at home with his kid." Cody looked between his two superiors, "We could get his address then go interrogate the guy."

"It's worth a shot." Aaron agreed, "And it looks like it is our only option if we aren't going to try and understand what exactly is written in this book." She added.

Mustang turned in to the back parking lot of Central Headquarters, and once the car was off he turned in his seat to look at both Aaron and Cody. "Alright, in less than ten minutes I want us back out here with Dr. Reynolds address and I want printed copies of all the work he has done at Lab Five and if he does any other work anywhere else; if he does, I want that information too."

"Yes, sir." Both Cody and Aaron said in unison before they got out of the car and followed Mustang inside.

When I opened my eyes everything I saw was unfamiliar.

The walls were dusty, the lighting was terrible, and the floor, as well as my feet, were covered in sawdust. I was grateful it was only my feet, although I wasn't too pleased to find that I was chained to a chair. "Disgusting…" I lifted my head. Why was I so aware? Usually I felt disorientated or groggy, but right now…I felt fine. It made me feel uneasy. And what made that feeling worse was the fact that nowhere did I see any glimpse of a white lab coat. Nor did I see my cell buddy.

When a door behind me opened I turned my head to see who had come into the room. Sure enough it was Grey Hair and his assistant. Both had crimson splatters on their coats, and a little on their face. I forced myself not to ask where the little girl was just in case the answer was something I didn't want to hear, which, I knew it wasn't.

"Wondering why you're here?" Grey Hair asked and left the woman's side to move towards me slowly.

I tensed, "It's on my list of questions, but not the one I'm most concerned about."

He stopped suddenly with a curious expression. "Oh, really? What's that?"

"You haven't told me what the experiment was that you wanted to conduct."

"Well, that's because I told you that you were going to find out…today." He smiled, though it wasn't a comforting one. It made my skin crawl; he was way too excited about something, but there was also a hint of concern in his eyes...doubt. I didn't know what it was about, obviously, but I wanted to know so maybe I'd be able to talk him out of doing this experiment of his—if that's what the worry is about.

"Why can't you just tell me? Either way you seem pretty damn sure that you are going to go through with this either way, so what would it matter if you just told me?" I snapped; I was irked with this guy's reluctance.

I watched as Grey Hair pursed his lips together and moved to kick at some of the sawdust on the ground. Soon enough a white line was visible, then other figures began to be revealed. I didn't' recognize all of them, but as soon as enough of the markings were revealed I was able to realize one thing that made an icy shiver run down my spine.

This was a transmutation circle.

"Very well," he drew in a deep breath before he continued. "Reverse Human Transmutation."

I stared while struggling to form a sentence. "W-What?"

"Reverse Human Transmutation," he reiterated, "that's why you are here… You see," Grey Hair began to walk around the perimeter of the transmutation circle slowly; as if he were a lion stalking his prey…me. "Ten years ago my wife was diagnosed with cancer. She passed away three months later. It was a tragedy, one that hit me so hard that I began to fall ill. I moved from Drachma soon after to Central, wondering if that would help start my new life. It did." He smiled faintly, "I met a young man, Colonel Moore—great man—he was kind and understanding about my wife's death. And along with his personality was success; he was an accomplished alchemist. While he was more aware of medical alchemy, he had also done quite a bit of research on human transmutation, and well…you can imagine what him and I were soon talking about after establishing our friendship..." He chuckled.

My eyes narrowed skeptically; I knew he wanted this information to all sink in, for me to begin to understand and believe that he wasn't the "bad guy" here, that he was trying to help me. But the funny part was that I didn't want or need his help with anything, regardless if he was a good or bad guy. I was content with who I was—a homunculus named Pride. "So, what? You pay him to bring your wife back?" I finally asked although I knew the answer was obvious.

He smiled that happily eerie smile, "Precisely."

"…And?" I pressed, ready to hear the answer I knew was coming.

"It didn't work," Gray Hair finally stopped walking. "My wife did come back, yes, but not like herself. More like…you. Well, your species at least." There was a pause, "Colonel Moore died six months after the transmutation. Even today I wonder how he managed to live for as long as he did… Anyways, I got a job soon after that to work in the labs for the state; it had always been something I was interested in." He explained, "I kept my wife in the same place I kept you and that girl in; the basement of a research facility. I kept her alive as long as I possibly could; running tests to see how I could help her, and inadvertently becoming familiar with her body structure. As you can probably tell, I was fascinated with my findings…"

"That's how you knew what molecules to use to make the injection in order to knock us out." I muttered, beginning to put the pieces together.

Gray Hair nodded, "Correct. The injection I created doesn't work like your typical sedative. Because in order to render a homunculus unconscious you must be able to stop their immune system, since, when you inject them with a normal sedative their body simply fights off that drug. But mine is special, not that I am going to tell you, of course, but I will say that it is like injecting an infant with a heavy dosage of venom from a rattlesnake." He tapped his chin absently.

"So…you've been poisoning me?"

He shrugged, "Something like that." Gray Hair cleared his throat and returned to the original subject, "As I learned more about homunculi I discovered something spectacular, even more exciting than that sedative; a loophole in human transmutation—a way to truly bring your loved ones back if you have the right tools." With that he drew something from inside his lab coat; a vile containing a thick red liquid. Blood. "This—" he held the vile out toward me so I could see it better, "—is a vile containing some DNA from Edward Elric; the appearance of whom you have taken. It is what connects him still to this world even if his soul is trapped in the Gate."

I snorted, "That doesn't make any sense."

"Sure it does!" Gray Hair grinned, "How do you think you were able to be created? Because surely, as you know, not all human transmutations work, only some. Do you know why?" he paused, but not long enough for me to reply, "Because even with Edward Elric's soul leaving earth he still had DNA that was very much so alive here being preserved here." He pointed at the ground, "When the human transmutation begins the body is sensitive enough to pick up on these very familiar, very unique red blood cells and bring itself into artificial consciousness…that being a homunculus, since you all don't have souls. But you know that." He began walking again, "So, I believe that if you simply reverse this transmutation, using the components that were here on earth when the original transmutation occurred you can call the soul back to its body. While this would seem nearly impossible or incredibly difficult to do, I believe it will work, because it worked for my wife." He stated, smiling softly.

I was skeptical, but still surprised to hear that, "Where is she then?"

His smile faded, "Dead. She committed suicide after realizing what I had done…" he stated grimly, but pushed that fact aside. "She knew it was wrong what I had done, but I knew part of her was relieved that her body was no longer being used as a homunculus. That way she could finally rest in peace…I had her cremated after her death too, just to make sure that I didn't try anything to bring her back ever again."

"But you're willing to try it on someone else even after that lesson?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Of course! Because what if Edward Elric—who I do very well intend to bring back—is not angry, but grateful of his return? After all, it was a shame how he died, and at such a young age…"

I swallowed, there was a lump rising in my throat as fear slowly began to crawl underneath my skin. "Wha-What about side effects?" I asked, "There has to be some sort of price."

"Ah, yes, well, the man I hired to do the transmutation for me did pass away during the transmutation, but this time I fully intend on doing it myself." He paused, "There is also one other thing that could happen… See, since technically you do have a part of your human counterpart within your body right now, there is a possibility that I could end up bringing Edward back and keeping you here as well. Of course, that would mean the body would practically split itself, or just create a replica…" he drifted off, now mumbling to himself so I couldn't hear. I made the assumption that he hadn't thought that part through completely.

But awesome, just fucking fantastic. I would either die, or be ripped apart. Honestly, if I could choose, I would rather die. "You're insane, you know that? You have no idea if this theory of yours will even work again!" I shouted, frustrated.

Grey Hair had pursed his lips together once again and seemed to ignore me while he walked around the rest of the circle, brushing more of the sawdust aside to reveal the circle until it was completely uncovered; save for a few parts near me, but I assumed that they didn't matter if Grey Hair wasn't willing to come closer. When he finished he nodded toward the woman. She soon left, but not before leaving both of us with a hopeful smile.

"Now then," he rubbed his hands together and smiled. He actually looked normal this time around, but that didn't keep me from going rigid when he knelt down near the perimeter of the circle. "Ready?" he asked as he took the vial of blood and poured some of it within the circle.

"No," I muttered grimly.

Grey Hair waved me off before he brought his hands together in front of his chest. He held the clap for a moment before he finally pressed both of his hands to the edge of the circle.

Immediately the lights in the room went out, leaving us in darkness until the transmutation circle turned red, then purple. The light swirled and danced around me, blocking Grey Hair from my view until I saw nothing. Following the darkness was a sharp pain in my chest that forced me to scream; it hurt, and bad. I looked down to find a hand that had shoved itself into my chest; there was no face, no body, just an arm, and when it finally pulled out of my chest I could just barely make out what looked like a heart before it vanished.

A heart…

My heart…?

I hit the ground hard, disorientated. Everything was black. Blacker than black; it was a true darkness—an endless abyss of somewhere or of something I'd never seen or been to before. I panicked. Was this the Gate?

"Pride..."

I stared upwards where a pair of fiery amber hues were boring down at me. It was too dark to see their face, but I felt as if I knew this aura. I focused harder, but before the name could surface from my lips pain struck me again in my stomach.

I looked down, and in horror I watched as I was literally torn in half with an invisible blade.

It took nearly thirty minutes to reach Dr. Reynolds' home outside of the city. It was more time then what Mustang or any of them had wanted to waste getting there, and it meant that they would have to execute their plan quicker; get inside, speak with Dr. Reynolds or his daughter, figure out what this theory of his means, and then find Edward before the unexplainable happened.

Aaron was the first to the door and didn't hesitate to knock and ring the doorbell. It took a few moments, but sure enough someone was home and running to answer the door. As it swung back a girl, looking to be in her early teens stood in the doorway. She had short, choppy brown hair that was mostly covered by a pink beanie that she wore as if it were the middle of winter out. Her attire was the exact opposite. It was puzzling, but, neither of the officers were experts on why teenagers did the things they did.

"Can I help you?" she asked. Her smile had faded into a frown when she noticed that the three standing on the front porch before her were all working for the state.

Mustang cleared his throat and stepped forward, "Hopefully… This is the home of doctor Miles G. Reynolds, correct?"

The girl hesitated, "Yeah…that's my dad."

"Then you're his daughter Lexi?" Aaron asked and stepped into view.

She nodded.

"Is your dad here?" Mustang asked.

Lexi glanced over her shoulder before shaking her head and answering, "No. He went to go run a few errands."

"But we were told that he came home to be with you today because you were sick." Mustang loft a brow, suddenly skeptical. "Shouldn't he be here?"

"He's getting my medication; hence the errands." Lexi replied without hesitation. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but I was right in the middle of doing something. Do you think you could come back later? My dad should be home around nine."

Cody glanced at his watch, "That's in three hours." He informed everyone.

Mustang nodded, "We'll be back."

With that the trio turned and head back to their car. As soon as the front door was shut and they weren't concerned about being overheard, they stopped and looked at one another.

"Think she's lying?" Cody asked.

Aaron nodded, "I was watching her eyes the whole time. Cerulean is a hard color to not admire."

Cody snorted, "Awesome, but do you mind filling us in on why you think she was lying instead of your fascination with cerulean?"

"She looked down and to the left nearly half the time she answered Mustang. Usually when someone is lying they don't make eye contact. Not unless they are incredibly good liars. A girl this age and not involved with anything that would teach her something like that means it is pretty obvious."

"But she didn't hesitate when she answered."

"Doesn't matter; that could be something she is used to saying." Aaron stated. Cody rolled his eyes and got into the car. "Don't pout, Cody; this is why the interrogating was always either left up to me or Edward." She laughed and got in along with Mustang.

"Whatever," Cody fastened his seatbelt. "So what do we do now? Go back to headquarters and dig around for some more information on this guy?"

"Yes and no." Mustang answered.

Aaron and Cody waited for him to elaborate.

"We are going to do some more digging, but not at headquarters—"

"Lab Five." Aaron muttered.

Mustang nodded, "I want another sweep of his office, and of the building."

"Sounds like a plan." Cody stretched his arms above his head. "You know, who would've thought that a dead person could make for such an exciting case." He pointed toward the ceiling, "Elric, wherever you are; thank you for always making this job entertaining."