IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ!
Okay, my loyal minions (and new initiates), here's the situation:
I know I've been updating extremely frequently, but I'm looking ahead to when school starts, and I'm making an executive decision.
I'm going to start updating on MONDAYS and FRIDAYS.
It's my first year of high school, so I really don't know what the workload is going to be like. Not to mention that I'm also going to be in the marching band. I may not have time to write a chapter or more a week. Therefore, I want to have an arsenal of chapters in my archives so that I can continue to update frequently.
I'm going to keep writing at the pace I'm writing, but you'll only get two updates a week. However, one is on a Monday (so you at least have something to look forward to!:D) and one is on a Friday, so you can read it after a long week. Are you okay with that?
(Not like it matters- I'll do it anyways.)
If I write enough, you may get a chapter on WEDNESDAYS as well. But don't count on it.
Anyhow: On to this chapter!
-o-O-o-
September 10, 2011
After turning off and pocketing her cell phone, Karmyn continued to sit against the too-white wall, her head pressed back against the cold paint. The chill from the wall kept her there. It prevented her from losing it completely.
Element 116 was the element that made up the Philosopher's Stone. She had heard that they wanted to call it Dallium, but a more appropriate name would be . . .
Philosophium. She named the new element in her head.
It makes sense, Karmyn reasoned, The Philosopher's Stone was created using human souls, but it's still made of atoms. And considering that there isn't an atom that exists that isn't an element . . .
"Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?" she questioned the ceiling quietly. She didn't receive an answer.
It was only a matter of time, she realized, returning to her train of thought. It was only a matter of time before it was discovered. If I hadn't learned a week ago that Amestris was a real place, I would have passed it off as coincidence. Actually, I wouldn't even have done that!
Any guilt Karmyn had for telling her mother about the Elrics instantly vanished. It was because she had done so that her mother had seen what Element 116 was. It was because she broke her word that she had the opportunity to help her friends.
However, she knew that her state of mind was a bad one to be in.
Moving away from her happiness at doing the wrong thing, she once again delved into the world of her confounding thoughts.
So, Amestris is real, the Gate is real, the Elrics are real, the Philosopher's Stone is real, then that means that alchemy would also be real . . . Karmyn paused. The Philosopher's Stone enhances alchemical ability. If that's real, here on this side of the gate, does that mean that alchemy is also-
Crap. This could be bad.
Karmyn thought about all the destruction that had occurred on this side of the gate without alchemy. If people could use it . . .
She jumped to her feet, hitting her head on the wall in the process. She winced, but didn't allow it to slow her down any further as she raced back into the lab.
"Mom!" she called out breathlessly. All the chemists in the room turned to look at her. Oops, she thought, too loud.
"Mom," she called again, a little quieter. Spotting her mother in the back of the room, she ran over to her. "Mom, let me have the Philo- the stone for a few minutes! I need to test something! Please!"
When Marie didn't say anything, she started getting desperate. "Mom, we both know what it is! Please, just let me have it for five minutes!"
Her mother looked her in the eyes, and Karmyn could see that she understood.
"Let my daughter look at it closely, please. She's been very interested in this project ever since she heard about it. Let her have the stone for five minutes."
Karmyn could tell that the other chemists were wary and unsure. Using this to her advantage, she darted forward and grabbed the small shiny red stone. Shooting a 'thank you' glance back at her mother, she was out the door before anyone could stop her.
She ran until she found a secluded hallway far enough away from the lab. Glancing around to make sure that there was no one else around, she set the stone down on the floor. After doing so, she realized that she felt colder than she had a moment before.
Curious, she picked the stone up again before setting it back down. Again, the same thing happened. Karmyn realized that the stone's power had been running though her, and when she had put it down, she lost that power. With this revelation, she was even more concerned than before.
Searching her jacket pockets, Karmyn was relieved to find that she still had the pencil that she had picked up off the floor a day or so before. It was a tiny thing, only about the size of her pinky finger, but it would do.
Wracking her brains for what she knew, she slowly drew a moderate-sized circle on the hallway floor. Slowly, she began to fill it with the symbols for a simple transmutation circle. When she finished, she stuck the pencil back in her pocket and picked up the Philosopher's Stone.
Preparing herself mentally, she began listing off the elements that made up the flooring beneath her. Slowly, she knelt and placed her hands on the pencil markings on the floor. Concentrating on the warmth that was flowing through her, she attempted to draw on that power to create a hand from the material beneath her.
Nothing happened.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Karmyn opened her eyes once more. The space inside of the circle looked just the same as it had before. Suddenly, the silent hallway was interrupted by a shrill sound. Startled, she looked around for the source of the noise before mentally hitting herself in the face. It was her cell phone.
Flipping it open, she checked the caller ID. She nearly sighed with relief when she saw that it was Edward. Pressing the button with the green phone, she held the device to her ear.
"Okay, Karmyn. I don't know why you called us here, but I had a hell of a time convincing my father that we needed to come. This had better be worth it," was the greeting she was given.
"To tell you the truth," she replied, "I didn't think you'd come."
"We weren't going to."
"Then why-?"
"Does it really matter," she was interrupted, "Just come up here and tell us where we're supposed to go!"
"Right, I'll be there in ten."
Snapping her phone shut, she slid it back into her pocket. Grabbing the Stone, she ran back to the lab and handed it to her mother.
"I'm bringing the Cirles down here," she whispered to Marie, using the Elrics' alias, "Can you somehow get everyone out?"
She didn't wait for an answer. To onlookers, Karmyn was a blur as she once again raced out of the room.
-o-O-o-
Breathless, she arrived at visitors' lobby. Leaning against the wall to catch her breath, she brushed her blonde hair out of her face. When she looked up, she smiled weakly at the Elrics- Edward, Alphonse, and Hohenheim.
"I apologize for this," she told Ed and Al's father, "Especially after I said I wouldn't get involved. But-"
Once again, she paused to catch her breath.
"-There's something I think you need to see."
Hohenheim didn't say anything as Karmyn motioned for the trio to follow her. She waved to the receptionist and began to lead them into the labyrinth that was the Boston Researcher's Lab. She stopped cold when an alarm filled the air.
"What?"
She whirled around, looking back at the assembled group. Ed was at the rear, looking shamefaced as he pointed to the doorway they had just gone through.
"Metal detectors," he mumbled, "They hate me."
What? Why-
Oh. Right.
"I forgot," Karmyn admitted, "Sorry. I'll take care of this."
Five minutes later, they were away from the security and travelling down to the lab.
Edward was the first one to break the silence.
"Wow, this is worse than the sewers system under Central!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing in the empty hallways.
Karmyn had to agree to that. "At least it's cleaner," she called back to him.
"Yep!" It was Alphonse who had spoken.
No more words were exchanged as they made their way through the rest of the corridors. Finally, Karmyn found herself back at her mother's lab.
"One second," she told them before opening the door and sticking her head in. Seeing that only her mother remained, she opened the door all the way and ushered the Elrics inside.
Marie Dallas stood upon seeing the trio. Striding over to Hohenheim, she took his hand in a handshake. "Hello. I'm Marie Dallas, Karmyn's mother. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cirle."
Karmyn had told her mother about how she wasn't supposed to tell anyone about the Cirles being the Elrics. She was grateful that her mom hadn't given it away.
While the grown-ups were busy, Karmyn made a 'come here' beckoning motion with her hand to Ed and Al. Spotting the gesture, they complied.
"Follow me," she whispered as soon as they were within earshot.
Quietly, she led them over to where the Stone was sitting. As they got closer, she heard audible gasps from the boys behind her.
"Is that-?"
"It looks like the Philosopher's-"
"This is what my mom's team of chemists got when they combined millions upon millions of Element 116 atoms. This is, essentially, Element 116," Karmyn interrupted.
"The element you showed me up with on the first day of school," Edward grumbled, recognizing the name.
"Yes. And, as you can see, it looks shockingly familiar to a Philosopher's Stone."
Karmyn turned back to the two boys, their wide eyes giving away the fact that they were shocked. "Sit," she ordered them.
Apparently too surprised to protest, the two grabbed chairs and did as they were told. Karmyn picked up the Stone and held it in her hands, the power once again humming through her veins and giving her warmth.
"If this had been completed even two weeks ago, I would have completely disregarded this tiny thing as mere coincidence," she began, holding the Stone between her right index finger and thumb. "However, this is not two weeks ago, this is today."
"Well, duh," Edward said sarcastically.
"Brother! Shut up!"
"Thank you, Al. As I was saying, this is today. After learning who you two are, I know that this is by no means a coincidence." Karmyn took a breath before getting into her speech.
"We all know that the Philosopher's Stone is created using human souls. But, do we know what those souls turn into in order to give the Stone a physical form?
"The Stone is a tangible item. Therefore, it is created of millions, even billions of the microscopic particles we call atoms. Every atom in this galaxy is one of the elements on the periodic table, or an element that we may not have discovered yet. This includes the Philosopher's Stone. The human souls are transmuted into atoms; therefore they are also transmuted into a new element. However, can I assume that nobody on your side of the gate has discovered what element they create?"
Ed looked perplexed, as if hard in thought. "Yes, I guess you could assume that. I've actually never heard of this theory of yours," he told her slowly.
"It makes sense, brother," Alphonse said eagerly, "Everything that Karmyn has said is true! The Philosopher's Stone is comprised of atoms, just like everything else in this world, and ours. All atoms are at least one of the elements, maybe more . . ."
"You're right," Ed agreed, his eyes watching the stone, "But why hasn't anyone thought of this before? Why haven't we?"
Karmyn began to speak again, turning the Stone over in her hands. "What I can infer, from all the information I've gathered throughout the manga and both anime series, is that all you alchemists have been so caught up on the fact that it's created using human souls, you haven't taken the time to consider it. Either you're after it for power, in which case you don't care, you steer clear of it, in which case you have no reason to care, or you're so repulsed by the idea of how it's made that it doesn't cross your mind."
Ed nodded his head slowly. "True," he said.
"So if we consider this revelation in which the Philosopher's Stone is created of a new element, it brings us to this: even if someone, somewhere, had thought of this, why hasn't the research been furthered? The fact is, you don't have the technology. The Philosopher's Stone cannot be created this way on your side of the gate due to the fact that in order to do so, you would need a high-power nuclear smasher machine thingy like the ones that my mother works with."
When Karmyn noticed that both Elrics were giving her odd looks, she turned defensive.
"What?" she asked, "I don't work with these things! I don't know all the names!"
"Could've fooled me," Ed muttered to Al under his breath.
Composing herself, she continued with her monologue. "Our world is a parallel universe to yours. Therefore, we do have the same basic laws of chemistry and physics. Meaning, any elements that you have, we do as well, even if they are harder to come by. Either way, Philosophium is a man-made element on both sides of the gate."
"Philosophium?" Edward asked.
"It's what I'm calling it for now, okay? Now shut up and let me talk!"
Heaving an irritated sigh, Karmyn once again started to talk. "When I was thinking through this earlier, after I called you, I remembered that on your side of the Gate, the Philosopher's Stone enhances your alchemical abilities, seemingly bypassing the laws of Equivalent Exchange. This is due to the fact that the Gate takes the souls inside the Stone in payment, so in reality the laws still reply. Yada yada yada, blah blah blah, you already know this, so I'll move on."
"Wait, no- explain that bit again," Alphonse requested.
Karmyn sighed. "When one possesses the Philosopher's Stone, they believe that they are bypassing the laws of Equivalent Exchange. However, the Gate, or Truth, takes the souls that created the Stone as the fee for the action. The law still applies. Think of it as prepaid tuition for college. It may not seem as if you're paying all that much, but that's only because you paid part of the fee beforehand. That is why the Philosopher's Stone can be used up- the Gate takes away from it every time you use it. Understand?"
When Al nodded, she moved on. "In any case, the Stone enhances alchemical ability. This concerned me. I know that alchemy is supposedly impossible on this side of the Gate, but what if one possessed the Stone? Considering how much damage we have caused without alchemy, this greatly concerned me. Earlier, before you got here, I tested this. Using a pencil, I drew a transmutation circle on the floor a few hallways away. Using the Philosopher's Stone, I attempted a transmutation. Much to my relief, it didn't work."
"What if it isn't actually the Philosopher's Stone?" Ed interrupted once again.
"Brother!"
"It's okay, Al. I would have come to this conclusion as well, if it hadn't been for one thing," Karmyn said, "Edward, hold out your hand."
When Edward complied, albeit confused, Karmyn neatly dropped the Stone into his outstretched hand. Almost instantly, she felt the heat recede from her blood.
Edward's eyes widened and Karmyn knew that he must have been feeling the heat that she had just lost. She nodded at Al, who was looking on curiously.
"Go ahead. You can touch it too."
Al did so, and Karmyn could see that he was feeling the power as well. "Brother! This-"
"Yeah, Al. This feels exactly like the Stone," he looked up at her. "But why didn't it work?"
She smiled. "I knew you would ask that. I have a theory for that as well. Alchemy is impossible on this side of the Gate. I realize that events occurred on the Original Anime storyline. However, if you take a theory from Brotherhood and the manga, the Gate is what gives an alchemist his or her power. When you gave up your Gate in Brotherhood, you could no longer use alchemy. If I use this information, I can infer that people on this side of the Gate don't actually have Gates. Therefore, we cannot use alchemy. However," she paused, looking both of them in the eyes, "I know for a fact that you two do have Gates. You just can't use alchemy on this side for some reason. However, if you possessed the Philosopher's Stone . . ."
"Then we might be able to! And using that, we could possibly get home!" Ed said, realization dawning upon him.
"Karmyn!" Alphonse exclaimed, "You're a genius!" In his excitement, he jumped off his stool and gave her a friendly hug. Karmyn smiled, hugging him in return. Edward had a wide grin on his face.
The three of them were interrupted in their celebration by a slow clapping noise. When they turned to face the sound, they found Hohenheim standing a few feet away, Marie Dallas hovering a couple yards behind him. When did he get here? Karmyn wondered, slightly nervous. How much did he hear?
"It seems I've underestimated you," he told her, "I heard what you said, and I must admit that I'm pretty impressed. Even I hadn't thought of some of that, and I've lived for centuries longer than you have. I apologize for what I said before. After hearing you speak, I'd be hard-pressed to insist that you stay away."
Did that mean she could help them? The three friends glanced at each other, and then back at Hohenheim.
"Boys, we will not be moving to Zimbabwe any time soon. And now, I do believe that you have an experiment to try," he said, nodding at the Stone.
Nothing could stop the overwhelming tidal wave of glee from crashing down upon the girl named Karmyn Dallas.
-o-O-o-
Epically long chapter- right here! 3,000 some-odd words, right there.
Every single theory that Karmyn states is my own. I looked none of it up. None of it is someone else's.
Oh, and please don't tell me 'that would never happen,' 'They'd never get past security like that' blah blah blah. I know. I know that some things would never happen okay? Just roll with me.
Please review! Reviews get me writing faster, and that might lead to me posting on Wednesdays as well. So please!