Chapter 10

The Two Guardians

"I probably would have been happier not learning this," Edwina said, not making any attempted to get up. Bosch moved away from her at her request. "If what these documents say is true, then, the raw materials for the Philosopher's Stone are living humans." The girl lowered her hand to cup her chin, her expression angry. "And it will take multiple sacrifices to make just one!"

"I can't believe that something so inhumane was done by an organization under the military…" Bosch said in a low voice.

"This is unforgivable!" Ross cried.

"Second Lieutenant Ross, Sergeant Brosh…" the girl's hand returned to her head for a brief moment. "Please don't tell anyone about this."

"But " Brosh began, but was swiftly cut off by the blonde teenager.

"Please…" she was hanging her head. "Just act like you never heard this."

Meanwhile, in East City, several police officers, The Flame Alchemist, Hawkeye and Havoc had gathered. Mustang, as usual when outside, had her coat thrown onto her shoulders like a cloak. It was a habit of hers.

"Oh boy," said one of the police officers as he stared at the pile of broken bricks and rubble. At least most of the bridge was still standing.

"Was there an explosion?" the other, older present officer queried.

"Dunno," the younger man replied. "Maybe it was a terrorist attack?"

"Hey, hey, hey, lay off. The scar case isn't over yet. It could have been wait a minute, what's that?" He indicated a singed gold jacket.

Hawkeye stepped forward and crouched to take a closer look. After turning over the item to check it fully, he concluded, "This is definitely what Scar wore."

"Is there a corpse?" the female Colonel asked the blonde man.

"We're searching, but it's going to take weeks to get through all the rubble," Havoc stated, a lit cigarette in his mouth.

"I see," the woman rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Regardless, even if he did survive, with the amount of blood to he seems to have lost, he probably isn't in good shape."

"But still, keep your guard up until his death has been varied."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Second Lieutenant?" Mustang turned to her head to the man as she spoke.

"Yes?" he responded, in what could have been a bored tone, further emphasized by his expression, also appearing bored.

"You and the others are to continue clearing away the rubble."

"Urg, come on, give me a break. Your not trying to work us to death are you?" Havoc asked in a suddenly tired voice.

"Shut up! I won't relax or let you have breaks until I see Scar's corpse in front of me. I know it's hard, but I gave you orders, so follow them.

"Oh, I see," the man replied. Geez, what a bitch.

"Second Lieutenant Havoc," the Lieutenant said in his stern voice. "You heard the Colonel, so get back to work like I am!"

Even Mustang was surprised at these words.

Again, none of the three soldiers, this time along with the policeman, did not notice they were being watched.

"I didn't get to eat him," Gluttony said in a sad voice, his finger on his chin.

"Don't worry. Next time, OK?" Lust reassured him. "He can't move for a while after taking that much damage, anyway." She folded her arms, her face returning to its usual sharp expression. "I'm going back to Central.

I have to inform Father."

Back in Central, Ross, Brosh and Major Armstrong were at the hotel at which the Elrics were staying.

"So, the Elric sisters haven't come out of their all day?" Armstrong asked Ross and Brosh.

"Yeah, and they haven't eaten either," Ross replied.

"Hmmm," Armstrong said with his hand on his chin. "The fatigue must have built up. It seems they have taxed themselves."

"Aha," the two lower-rank officers said, slightly nervous, before turning away to mutter together once again.

"It's only natural. The research files they worked so hard to decode turned out to be so…" the woman trailed off.

"It must have really hit them hard. It makes me sick just thinking about it," the sergeant said.

Armstrong suddenly turned around. "What are you two whispering about?"

"N-nothing," they both replied.

Armstrong once again threw off his shirt. Flexing his muscles, he towered over the two as he bellowed, "HOW SUSPICIOUS!"

Ross and Broth yelped.

Up in their dark, unlit room, the Elrics were doing absolutely nothing. Edwina was lying across the couch with Alphonsa sit cross-legged behind it.

"Nee-san, go eat breakfast," Alphonsa said, breaking the long silence, only broken by the air-conditioning fan, that had started ever since the older girl had awakened. "You need to keep your strength up."

"I don't want anything. I'm not hungry," she replied. "…I'm tired of this."

"Me too," the armour girl agreed.

The older girl expanded her automail arm into the air, spreading her fingers. "It's like…just when I start to reach out, thinking it's just within my reach, it escapes me. It keeps going on like that." She clenched her metal hand into a fist. "And this time, when I feel like I finally got a hold on it, I'm knocked down by what I caught, and this time, I wish it had once again escaped." She laid her arm across her forehead as she gave a laugh. "Looks like God hates those who break His rules."

"Are we…going to live the rest of our lives like this?" Alphonsa worriedly asked, her eye sockets devoid of light. Her sister did not reply, instead going onto a different subject.

"Hey, Al?"

"Yes?"

"There's something I've always wanted to tell you…something I was too afraid to say."

"What is it? I won't get angry or anything if it's bad."

"It's "

"No, please! They're still resting!" Ross's voice came from outside the room.

"Huh?" the two girls said.

"ELRIC SISTERS, ARE YOU INSIDE? IT IS I, CAN YOU OPEN THE DOOR?"

The girls immediately recognised the booming voice accompanied with loud knocking.

"Nee-san, what do we do," the younger quietly teenager asked. The previous conversation could wait.

"Ignore him! Ignore him!" Edwina muttered back while mentality cursing the man. She had been so close to telling her sister what she had finally plucked up the courage to tell. It was too late now. Armstrong pulled the whole door handle off in his effort to open the door.

"I HAVE COME, EDWINA ELRIC!"

The sisters screamed. Ross and Brosh arrived behind him.

The major started to cry a stream of tears once again. "What a tragedy! To think that the Philosopher's Stone would hide so horrible a secret! It is a grave situation if this hell-like research was committed by an organization under the Military! I cannot allow this to pass by doing nothing!"

After a few confused, processing moments, Armstrong's words hit Edwina. She turned to the other two soldiers in the room, her expression furious.

"What did you two say?" she hissed.

"Now, Nee-san," Alphonsa said. "There's no need to be that angry."

"I'm sorry," the short-haired woman told her nervously, raising her hands in defence.

"When a guy that annoying and threatening gets as close as he, we have to talk," the sergeant said in an equality afraid tone, than suddenly his expression changed to curiosity as his eyes were drawn to something else. "Your arm is artificial?"

The Elric sisters sprang to their excuse. It was their time to be nervous.

"Eh…I lost it during the East Area civil war," the Fullmetal Alchemist said, a false smile plastered on her face.

"Yeah…that's why we need the Philosopher's Stone, to restore her body," the armour-alchemist added.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Brosh said. "It's bad that it had to turn out this way."

"Sometimes the truth can be cruel," Armstrong chipped in; his hand back to rubbing his chin with his other hand supported his elbow.

Edwina's eyed widened slightly as she realised something. "The truth…"

"What's wrong, Nee-san?" Alphonsa asked.

"Do you remember what Mr. Marcoh said, Al?"

"When?"

"You know, at the station. 'The truth behind the truth'…" she cupped her own chin, hiding her mouth. "I get it, there's something else…something…" Looking up, she turned to the three soldiers and instructed them to fetch a map of Central City. The map was spread out on the table in the room. The five people gathered around it.

"There are currently four locations within Central that are alchemic research institutes for the Military," Armstrong explained and they looked down at the map, Edwina most intensely. "Among the four locations, the third one is the own Dr. Marcoh worked for. This one is the most suspicious."

"Yeah…I passed though all of them after I got my National Licence. It didn't look like they were researching anything big and important," the Fullmetal Alchemist said, leaning closer to the map. Maria flicked through a file she had picked up. Suddenly, the blonde teenager pointed at something on the map.

"What's this building," she asked.

"Previously, that building used to be the fifth research institute. It is currently an unused, deserted building," Ross explained to the girl without diverting her gaze from the file. "However, due to the danger of collapse, entrance is prohibited."

"It's the one," the girl said in an almost-fierce voice. She moved her finger to one side of the laboratory. "There's a prison next to it."

"Nee-san, what are you thinking?" Alphonsa nervously asked.

"To make the Philosopher's Stone you need living humans as the raw materials…which means there's a place where they're supplied with raw materials," she cupped her chin once again. "Now that I think about it, the remains of executed death-row inmates aren't returned to their families. The public is told they're put to death on the gallows within the prisons. But what they don't know is that while they're still alive, they're secretly moved to the research institute. And over there, they're used for experiments for the Philosopher's Stone." She turned to face everyone.

"The inmates are the raw materials?" Ross said, her expression confused.

"Don't give me that look. Just explaining it makes me sick," Edwina replied angrily. Don't you think it's a suspicious that the closest facility is a research institute?"

"Considering that this is a prison, I wonder if this means the government has some involvement in it…" the light-brunette man said. "We don't know whether the ones involved are warden level or governmental lever…"

"Somehow I feel like we poked our noses far too into something bad," the Second Lieutenant stated.

"That's why Nee-san told you to act like you didn't hear anything," Alphonsa scolded.

The Strong-Arm Alchemist folded his arms. "However, that is ultimately speculation at present. The nation may have no connection to this. This research organization may have acted independently."

"Yeah," Edwina said.

Alphonsa suddenly stood up, her hands on the table, making her sister jump. "Who's in charge of this organization?"

"That would be the 'Iron Blood Alchemist', Brigadier General Basque Grand."

"Then we'll try talking to this Brigadier General Basque and "

"You cannot," the Major said, cutting across the older Elric. "He was killed by Scar the other day."

Edwina also stood up, her eyes widening.

"Many State Alchemists afflicted with the higher rankings of the military were killed by Scar. Among those that were killed, there may have been some that knew the truth." Armstrong picked up the map from the table and rolled it up. "Should there actually be anyone of high rank other than Brigadier General Grand involved in this research, then it is inevitable that this will become more complicated. I will probe into this matter further and inform you later." He stood up and tucked the map under his arm. "Second Lieutenant, Sergeant, you are to keep quiet on this matter!"

"Yes, Sir!" said soldiers said, saluting.

The major turned to the two youngest people in the room. As for you two, Elric sisters, you are to stay put!"

As the man turned his back to them and began to walk away, the Fullmetal Alchemist scowled at him. Armstrong spun around, as though having sensed the teenager's rudeness.

"YOU WERE THINKING OF SNEAKING INSIDE AND INVESTAGATING WERE YOU NOT?!" Armstrong asked the girl in his angry, bellowing voice. He moved closer them, making them both feel that small and powerless. "YOU WILL NOT! EVEN THOUGHT THERE MAY BE A WAY TO RESTORE YOUR BODIES AT THAT PLACE, A CHILD SHOULD DO SUCH DANGEROUS THINGS!"

"I get it! I get it!" Edwina cried, waving her arms.

Armstrong backed away slightly.

"We won't do anything dangerous like that," the girl said.

"We'll just wait for what the major has to report," Alphonsa squeaked, clasping her hands together, trying to look innocent.

"Good." the Major left.

That very night, the Elrics stunk out when Ross and Broth were not aware.

"Like hell we would stay there," Edwina said to her sister with a snigger as they ran though the dark, empty streets towards Laboratory 5. "It's our fault our bodies are like this."

"That's why it's our reasonability to find a way to restore them," Alphonsa asked as she clanked along behind her sister.

As they approached their destination, they slowed down, and when on the pavement opposite it, they stopped.

"Hmmm…" The Fullmetal Alchemist said quietly as she looked at the building and spied an armed soldier standing next to the gate leading into it. "A guard for an unused building, huh? Strange." They moved to the wall the of the research institute that was just around the corner from the entrance.

"We could make an entrance," Edwina whispered.

"No. The guard will stop us from the light from a transmutation," Alphonsa replied.

"Well, that leaves "

In perfect sync, the younger teenager made a foothold with her hands, on to which the older one stepped. The younger girl then flung her sister up and onto the wall surrounding the building they were beside. Edwina then unravelled some of the barbed wire fence she had barely missed, and threw it down for Alphonsa to climb. Not being to feel pain she climbed without a fuss despite her weight.

As she did so, Edwina said, "At times like these, I'm glad these aren't my normal limbs."

Alphonsa giggled, reaching the top of the makeshift rope. "Me too."

The two landed on the ground and walked the short distance to the entrance.

"Argh, it's tightly sealed," Edwina said in frustration when she saw the board and barded-wired covered doors. Then something else caught her eyes. It was an air vent. "Perfect!" she again received a leg-up from her sister, this time by climbing on her shoulders to reach it. She removed the covering and peered inside. "Looks like it continues all the way to the end." She climbed inside, only any to be in a crawling position. "Al, wait here."

"Not like I have a choice," Alphonsa replied, in an almost sad voice. Just like that, she was back to hating her armoured form.

"I'll only be gone for a little bit," Edwina tried to reassure her.

"I hope that, if I get my body back, I don't end up big like this," she said, sitting down, drawing her legs and wrapping her arms around them. Her sister left.

Little did the sisters know that something was indeed happening inside the laboratory. At first, there was no other noise but the drip-drip-drip of a tap. Then a voice spoke.

"Hey, Forty-Eight!" it called into the dark main room of the laboratory.

"What is it, Sixty-Six?" Forty-Eight, another male voice, responded in a disgruntled manner.

"We got some rare guests."

"Really? Do these ones look like they will provide some entertainment?"

"I'm not expecting much. They're two girls, a shorty with a flat chest and a piggy-freak in armour."

The constant between the voices was quite noticeable. The first sounded rough, with the other was smooth and almost solemn. However, both were hollow and slightly echoing.

"Freak'?" Forty-Eight said in the same disgruntled tone. "Of all people, you're saying that?"

Sixty-Six laughed and moved the conversation forward. "Gehehe, I'll let you take the shorty." He slowly pulled out a large meat cleaver. "I'll mince up the piggy."

Meanwhile, the Fullmetal Alchemist was making her way through the air vent.

"This is more cramped than I thought," she said to herself in an annoyed manner as she crawled along. "But still…a normal-sized girl with a decent chest wouldn't fit thought. For once I'm glad my body is small " the girl yelped at what was coming out of her mouth. "I can't say that! I hate being small!"

She kept going until she saw another covering. She pushed it onto the floor (wincing at the clatter it made) and jumped from the vent onto the ground. Looking around, she saw the floor was filthy and covered with debris from the cracked ceiling and walls.

There's enough light for me to see a little bit ahead, she observed. She went into her usual 'thinking pose' of her fist being against her mouth. "What did they mean by 'currently not in use." She paced up and down for a few moments. "…Bingo."

Back outside, Alphonsa was growing worried. "Nee-san's been gone a while…"

"Hyooo!"

Alphonsa tensed at the noise. Suddenly - with a slash and a whoosh - something tried to slice her with a cleaver. She quickly moved aside, just avoiding the blade. The newcomer landed on the floor.

"Wha..? Who are you?!" she demanded to know.

The younger Elric's assailant was a man dressed in a rather creepy suit of grey armour. It had a helmet resembling a skull, and a bushy white mane going down his back. The helmet had two horns, the number '66' painted on one side, and two sharp, canine teeth on each side of the mouth. He had dressed the armour in a tunic, the upper-right side of which was missing, apparently sliced off, revealing the armoured shoulder and upper arm underneath. He has tried a belt around his waist, and brown boots on the armour's two canine two on each side of the mouth feet. As well as the cleaver, he also held a short sword in his left hand. Like her, the man's eyes glowed though the eye sockets.

"For a big guy, you move fast. Your voice doesn't match your size. You sound like a ten-year-old little girl," the figure said as they pulled the cleaver of the ground. "You asked my name, so I'll tell ya. It's Number Sixty-Six! This is only the name I go by when I'm working, though. I got a real name, but you'll shriek when you hear it. I'll tell ya when I finish you off."

"…You're going to kill me?" the girl asked.

"Geh heh heh," the man laughed. "What? I'll take you apart, nice and neat. I do love chopping up girls." He crossed his sword and cleaver over one another. "Don't worry. Just scream."

Alphonsa readied herself for a battle.

Edwina, meanwhile, had reached the large, square, main room of the laboratory. She tensed when lights suddenly illuminated on the pillars in the room. She saw a huge Transmutation Circle with a cylindrical pedestal at its centre, in the centre of the room.

"What is this?" Edwina asked as she stepped onto the edge of the circle and looked around. "Is this what is used to transmute the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Correct."

The teenager's plait whipped in the air and she turned to her head to the source of the voice. What seemed to be a man dressed a suit of dark grey armour walked out from the darkness on the opposite side of the room. The man had dressed the armour in a torn white tunic, armoured boots, and metal shoulder pads. A piece of white cloth covered the mouth of the helmet. Another bit of fabric was attached to the back of the helmet and covered the neck. Instead of two eye-sockets, the helmet had a single shot, though which two glowing eyes looked. Like Alphonsa, the helmet had a long thin ponytail of white hair coming out of the top of the helmet. It was wielding a thin sword, more akin to a rapier.

"I don't know where a girl like you came from, but you seem like you want to learn about the Stone," the armour said as he came to a halt. "I am one of those left with the task to guard this place. For now, you can call me Number Forty-Eight." He slashed his sword in the air, and Edwina eyed it carefully. "I am ordered to remove all outsiders that enter. don't think badly of me, girl."

"Ditto," the girl replied. She clapped her hands together and placed the left one on automail. She alchemically created her favoured blade once more. "Don't feel bad about losing to a girl."

"Ho! So that's alchemy?" Forty-Eight observed. "Come on. Show me what you can do." He rushed at the girl, his sword ready to slash.

He's fast! Edwina thought. She just managed to jump aside to avoid the blade - only to be sliced by another quick attack. Lucky, she blocked it with her automail arm, and only the shoulder and sleeve of her jacket were slashed.

Forty-Eight pulled back. "An arm made of steel right up to your shoulder, eh?" he said. "That just saved your life. However…" the man rushed forward to strike another blow. "My blade can cut through steel!"

"Don't joke around!" Edwina cried, blocking the blow with her own blade, causing a metallic clashing sound. "My mechanic will kill me if I break this again!" She blocked another blow, then took a few steps back and delivered a hard kick with her left foot, resulting in a loud clang and the man staggering back. Her eyes widened and suddenly the battle stopped. "Wait a minute! That sounded hollow." She suddenly grinned. "You couldn't be hollow on the inside can you?"

The now-revealed suit of armour straightened up and hoisted his sword onto his shoulder before saying, "I'm surprised. You found that out quickly."

"I spar a lot with someone like you," the teenager replied.

"Ho! So there's someone else like me on the surface."

"I can't believe this. There's another idiot besides me that would think about binding a soul onto a suit of armour."

"I will introduce myself once more," the armour man said. "The 'forty-eight' of my name is my death row number. When I was alive…if that's what it should be called. When I had a body of flesh, I was a killer called 'slicer' by the public. To the rest of the world, I was executed two years ago. The skills of the slicer were respected and used as raw materials for an experiment. Now I serve as the watch dog for this place."

Edwina's eyebrows lowered before she replied. "So, where's the seal that's the median between your soul and the armour?"

"Hm, so I didn't need to explain everything." He pulled one side of the cloth around the mouth of his helmet, allowing it to fall to the other side. He then lifted his visor. On the back of the inside of the piece of metal headgear, near the top of the neck, was a blood rune that bared a similarity to Alphonsa's seal. "I don't know much about alchemy. But, it seems the blood is connected to the soul. So, the iron inside the blood is synchronized to the metal of armour. Yes, this is my head's blood seal. Destroy this and you win."

"Well, that makes it a bit easier, doesn't it?" the girl rhetorically asked, an almost cocky grin on his face. "Thank for telling me your weak spot. You're a nice old man," she added sarcastically.

"Fuhaha, I'm the sort of person who likes to break the tension in a fight. And, for the record, I'm not an 'old man'," Forty-Eight replied, returning the visor and cloth to their original position."

"Since you're being so kind, you wouldn't mind letting me go like I am now…right?"

"Would a killer ignore and allow his prey, right in front of him, escape?" After that rhetorical remark, the armour man readied his sword. "Now, I will come at you!"

The two, the girl and the man, readied themselves and charged.

Hello, dear readers! I would have had this chapter up on the 15th of June, but due to having no internet for past few weeks (or months), that was not possible. It is a shame; it would have been a new record for how fast I can upload a new chapter :(. I limit myself to thirty days per chapter, and I do hate it when I go over that.

This chapter and note is the first chapter I have posted in my new room, in my new house. I really thought I would be going to a completely different part of area, but it turns out that I was only moving a few streets down, to Blochairn, which is both a good thing and a disappointment. I am also right opposite the stairs, which I hate, and I do not even like being in an upstairs room anyway :(. My wardrobe is a big improvement. It is part of the room, has mirrored doors and enough room for clothing and a shoe rack (though I do not exactly have an extensive collection). Finally, I have a comfy shag rug, a new computer desk, even though I like the old one and a new chest of drawers (even though, again, I like the old one.

The house in general is much bigger than that of my previous one, and I am glad of that. There are even two bathrooms, one with a shower and another with a bath. For the few weeks or so, I had to sleep on my mattress on the floor, but I did not mind. It was not the first time.

Mum gave me a 'new-home' card.

Two sets of our neighbours are a gay couple, and I do not mind this in the slightest, though I worry if any homophobes live near them.

Now that my house is sorted out, I should be ok.

The final bit of news I have to share is bad. For me, it is very bad indeed. I got my exam results a few days ago. I got a C in RMPS, another C in Higher English and I failed biology. I cried. How pathetic. I cried about exam results. Laugh at me if you will. I cannot get in collage! What shall I do? I am an idiot as only idiots fail exams!

Anyway, I am off to sort some things (ok, alot of things) out and look at my many e-mails and messages.