A few days later, the three Elric siblings were sitting in an outdoor restaurant in the markets. Ed and Al were face-first in their breakfast plates, while Aura just stared at her food.

"How can you guys just stuff your faces when something so dangerous is going on? This is my life in the balance and you guys act like you don't even care!"

Ed looked up from his plate and struggled to swallow his mouthful of food before answering, "Of course we're worried about you sis, but c'mon, a mans gotta eat, right Al?" To which his brother nodded without even looking up from his meal. "See? We have all day to start looking for this guy, so chill out and eat something. You'll need the energy."

Aura was through with this nonsense. "That's it! You guys can stay here and enjoy your breakfast, but I'm going to take care of that guy with or without you!" She stood up suddenly and rushed off, grabbing her travel bag as she left. The boys called out to her, telling her to come back, but neither one rose from their seat.

"She always gets so impatient with stuff like this. I'm sure she'll be fine until we're done. Pass me more of those waffles, Al." said Edward. The brothers paid less attention to their breakfast and more to the surrounding people and tables. It wasn't long before Al noticed someone at one of the far tables stand up and leave in the same direction as their sister, and nudged Ed to alert him to it.

"Haha, gotcha now, you sneaky bastard." Edward grinned as he wiped his face with his napkin and stood up to give the signal to Lan Fan, who was perched on an adjacent rooftop. She nodded and disappeared out of sight.

"I hope this is going to work out brother, I don't like putting Aura into danger like this." said Al, as he got up and started walking out of the restaurant in the direction Aura and the suspect were headed.

"You know I hate it just as much Al, but this is our best shot of catching the guy without causing further harm to anyone else. Aura's pretty tough though, she's been involved with worse things so I'm sure she'll be okay. Let's try to catch up before Lan Fan and her group decide to take this guy out on their own. I don't want to miss anything this guy has to say."

Aura had taken the path through the alleyways that they had mapped out the previous day. She continued to look upset, and in doing so, made herself look to be careless and lost within the back areas of the city. As she grew more flustered, she began to notice footsteps behind her as she tried to figure out which way to go. She heard the footsteps grow closer as she chose the alley with a dead end, and when she reached the end, turned around to see the same man that had kidnapped her brother and made her pass out from that incredible pain in her chest.

"Whaa? You again?! Who are you and what are you doing here?" said Aura, pressing her back against the wall.

"I'm sorry I never introduced myself properly. My name is Michael Quan. I'm a scientist here in Xing, and until recently I was working in Amestris on a project involving energy production. But now that project has been cancelled, and I've found something more important to contribute my time to. Which brings me to you, Aura. My new project requires someone of your unique abilities, the power you are capable of is what I need to get them back."

Before he could continue with what he was saying, Michael was surrounded by Lan Fan's trained guards. "Well, I have to say I'm impressed. It did seem a little strange that I could corner you so easily. Not sure what else there is to do now." Michael said as the guards restrained him and bound his arms behind him just as Ed and Al arrived.

"You could start by explaining to us exactly why you're so hell-bent on taking our sister. He didn't hurt you did he Aura?" Ed said as he walked over to Aura.

"No, I'm fine, and he was starting to tell me what he was doing here when the trap was sprung. Something about 'getting them back'."

"Is that so? Well then, lets get this guy somewhere more comfortable so he can tell us what this is all about." The guards walked Michael with the others following until they came to an empty market booth with a table and chairs. The guards sat Michael down and tied his hands behind the chair. Ed, Al, and Aura sat across from him. He held his head down for a while before speaking.

"It's your fault they're gone. You don't even realize it, but that's the simple truth. And you look down on me because I'm attempting to fix what you have broken? How wonderful it must be to be so blind and ignorant."

"And it was justified for you to kidnap and terrorize my wife or make something that caused so much pain our sister passed out? Don't cry to me and expect pity, not after seeing what they went through."

"Shhh Ed, I want to hear what he has to say. Just what do you mean when you say it's our fault they're gone. Who are 'they'?" asked Aura, curious to what the man was referring to.

"I moved to Amestris with my family while doing research on alternative theories for energy production. Over a year ago, there was an incident in a little town called Kanama. Some madman bombed the place. While I was away working on a way to create better energy sources, my wife and son were killed in one of those blasts. I found out later through some military friends that it was an attack meant for you and your sister, Fullmetal. I lost my family because of you!"

"Look, I'm sorry for your losses, but the fact is that bomber killed them, not us! How can you sit there and blame us!" yelled Edward.

"I know that he was the one that detonated the bombs, but none of it would have happened if you hadn't been there. Once I learned the identity of the person that made the bombs, I waited until the right moment to avenge my family. Their killer is dead, but the reason for his carnage has a part to play in this plan as well."

Aura had grown quiet, she thought back to when that bomber had tried to destroy half of Kanama just to kill them. She hadn't been told about the casualties of that disaster, it pained her to realize how much that destruction had hurt others. "I'm very sorry for the loss of your family. But you said that you needed me to 'get them back'. How do you expect to make that happen?"

"After the bombings, I stopped working on the energy production project. But while we were doing research, we noticed some of the old texts in the old Xerxes ruins referenced possibilities for less wasteful methods of power and energy. I took what we learned from those writings and began working on my own."

Edward interrupted him, "Wait a minute, the old Xerxes ruins, you were able to understand what most of those writings said? What did you make out of it, specifically."

"Well it involved a method of early alchemy that involved bloodletting to create an artificial life form. Something that was said to be impossible. But I made it happen. With my own blood, I created it, a living being! That's what you wanted to know, right? I succeeded, I created a homunculus, new life in a flask! And I need your power, the power of your unique philosopher's stone, to make it whole and bring my family back over to me!"

Ed had heard enough. "You dumb bastard... Do you have ANY idea what that creature is capable of? The whole reason that Xerxes is a dead civilization is because of that damned dwarf in the flask! And if you think Aura is going anywhere near it, then you're more insane than we thought! It has to be destroyed, where is it?!"