Michael constantly checked behind him as they walked away from the market booth that had previously held him captive. "Looks like your brothers are playing it smart and not following. I didn't want to keep using this thing on you, but if you give me any trouble, I will have to start it again."

Aura had gotten a little more steady on her feet, but was still weak from his attack. "Honestly, I don't think I have the energy to fight back right now. But don't make the mistake of thinking my brother's won't eventually come looking for me."

"I have no doubt they will, but by then if all goes as planned it'll be too late. We'll use you to open the portal to your old world, and I'll have my family back and the artificial life I created will see its wish fulfilled."

"And what wish is that? I wasn't here the last time one of those homunculus things was running around. What could it want so badly that it's causing all these problems?" Aura said as they continued through the market, getting further from the busy areas.

Michael thought for a moment then answered. "It wants freedom. Right now, it can't support itself without a container. This is why your brother referred to it as a dwarf in a flask. It's contained inside a glass flask for the time being, but soon he'll have the energy he needs to create his own living container and be free to move around on his own."

"The philosopher's stone. That's what he needs to do this, but you do realize how many people would have to be sacrificed to do that, right? From what I've heard from Ed and Al, our entire nation was destroyed to create the first one. Hundreds of thousands of people gone, how could you allow that to happen again?"

"That homunculus shared with me the way to get my family back. It gave me hope when I was so full of despair. I can't simply turn my back on something that I owe so much to! If having my family with me again costs the lives of a nation, then I consider it a worthy price. I know you have suffered the loss of family, your brothers have too. Don't try to judge me for what I'm about to do, when you know this pain yourself!"

Aura began to answer him back, but was cut short when he led her to a shed with a recessed cellar door on the side. He walked her over to the shed and leaned her up against the wall. He then opened the cellar door, retrieved her and descended down the stairs.

...

"I swear that I can find her Edward. Let me go alone. I won't attempt to take her back or interfere, just simply locate her and return. You can decide how to approach them from there." Lan Fan pleaded with Edward, confident she could find Aura with her ability to sense a person's chi.

Edward thought about it, then nodded his head. "Only locate her and come back here. We have to do this carefully so he won't have a chance to hurt her anymore or activate the portal he's intending to use her for. Be careful." Lan Fan gave a faint smile before sprinting off and jumping onto the nearby wall and climbing up to the rooftops, as silent as ever. She knew that with Aura's unique body her chi was unmistakable.

In the market center, she climbed to a higher building and paused for a moment to focus her mind on the chi energy around her. It wasn't long before she sensed an unusually strong chi and went forward in it's direction. Luck was with her as she approached the side of a rooftop overlooking an abandoned shed. She saw Aura being led down into the cellar beneath it by the man who had taken her. No time was wasted as she noted the location and ran back to inform the others.

...

The lighting was dim, she didn't see much to identify where she was. They ended up in a large underground room with a few chairs, work tables, and half-empty shelves that held books and random chemistry equipment. There was a low bed in the corner that didn't look very comfortable. Michael led her over to one of the tables and offered her a seat, which she gladly took as she collapsed into it with a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry if I came off as harsh earlier, but this is something I've been planning for well over a year. I have to get my family back, there's nothing for me without them." Michael said as he put her travel bag on the table between them, opened it and took out the manipulating device and set it near him.

Son of a bitch, so that's where he was hiding it. He must have slipped it into my bag at some point when I wasn't near it. Aura was exhausted from that device's manipulation of her heart, but she tried to keep a clear head and keep him talking. She figured the longer he talked, the more time they had to find her and stop him before anything happened. "I don't agree with you wanting to sacrifice so many lives, but I understand the loss and despair that got you to this point. When I lost my mother I wished for a way to bring her back and would have given anything to see her again. Looking back on it honestly, if I had the slimmest notion hinted to me that there was a way to do it, I would have tried. Guess it runs in the family." She paused for a moment, thinking of how her brothers did attempt it. "You don't happen to have a picture of them, do you? Of your family?"

Michael was surprised that someone that he had taken hostage would ask him such a question. "Well... yes, of course I do." He went to the shelf and rustled through a stack of papers. He found the picture and grabbed one of the portable lamps, lit it, and brought it over to the table. He handed her the picture and positioned the lamp where she could see it clearly.

"You're kidding me, this is your wife and son?" She saw the rage start to burn in his eyes, so she continued to speak quickly, "I remember them from when I was living on the other side. The mother would stop at my cafe every now and then with him and get coffee and hot chocolate."

Michael's expression went from anger to joy. "So they are there? I knew it! And you said you saw them regularly? How were they, did they look well? Happy?"

"Yeah, they both looked well whenever I saw them. And the boy was about as normal as a kid his age should be. But whenever he asked her if his father was joining them, she would get this sad look and tell him that his father was working late. I never saw the father while they were out, I remember it made me sad to think that they weren't able to spend enough time together."

"Is that so? It seems my counterpart and I are just alike, working all the time. When I got to see my family, we had such joyful times together, but so short. I worked so much because I wanted to provide them with what they needed to live comfortably. I felt that if I could just get that one breakthrough discovery, that I could forget about working and spend more time with them. Enjoy my wife's cooking while it was still hot. Watch my son grow and discover the world around him. I thought my chance had come with this project in Amestris. I moved them there and began working on that energy project, hoping that would be our way to the life I wished for. But then the bombing happened and destroyed every reason I had for living. From what you've said, it sounds like I have a second chance to do things right."

Aura didn't know what to say, she felt sad for this man who let his grief and regret get the better of him. But she knew she couldn't allow all those people to die. She hoped that her brothers would work out a plan to stop him before he could cause any harm. He didn't seem the type of person that would want to hurt anyone. He'd even apologized several times for having to hurt her, so he wasn't truly evil, just desperate. The sound of another voice brought her attention back to what was going on before her.

"Yes master, you'll have your chance. It is nearly time for us to get what we've wanted for so long!"

The voice had an echo, like it was talking inside of a tightly enclosed space. Aura looked around to find the person talking, but couldn't locate them. It wasn't until Michael stood up and approached the bookshelf again that she saw where the voice was coming from. He had been telling the truth, for the voice she heard was coming from a large flask on the top of the shelf. A large black mass swirling about the bottom. A single eye that watched her as she stood up to get a closer view. So this is a homunculus, the dwarf in the flask. The creature we need to stop.