Chapter 38

I have no witty comments. So just read the damn chapter.

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As soon as Ed and Kaylen had regained thier composure, they got to work at the clue.

"What's at the center of this town?" Ed asked, picking at the last line of the poem.

"Actually, Saint Helen's is at the center. To be specific, I think it's the border between us and Bartholemew's. That's where ARL is."

"ARL?" Ed had been on campus for a whole semester and was enraged that there were still things for him to learn about this place.

"The Alchemy Research Lab," Kaylen said. "You've seen it, right? We share it with the boys. Only our seniors and the talented alchemists are allowed in."

"Well, that's our place," Ed said, standing and changing.

"Ed, wait..." Kaylen said softly, tugging on Ed's sleeve. Ed turned to the girl, a fire in his eyes that she'd never seen before. They made the worst move possible by taking Al, she thought. Al gives him the most drive. He'll be harder to beat this way.

Ed suddenly leaned forward and kissed Kaylen gently. "You don't have to come."

"Shut up," Kaylen said roughly. "I'm coming."

They began the journey to the boundary line, to ARL, to Alphonse. It began to rain again about halfway there, rain soaking their clothes and bodies. Kaylen began to shiver from the cold seepling into her skin, so Ed offered his coat to her. She gave him a cold stare and shoved the coat away, wraping her arms around herself tightly.

Night was slowly falling over them, the sky turning a pinkish color as the sun went down. ARL was getting closer, and Ed stared in awe at the building. It was larger than any lab he'd ever seen; if he wasn't on a manhunt he'd love to see the inside. Kaylen grabbed Ed's hand as they reached the entrance, and Ed smiled at her.

"No turning back now," he said. Kaylen kissed him lightly on the cheek and opened the door, revealing the large inside. They stepped inside and found no one—the lab seemed empty at first. Ed ran into the gigantic building, yelling and calling for his brother.

Nothing.

"He's here. He has to be," Kaylen said softly.

"Maybe they've..." Ed stopped, lost in the horror of his thoughts. Maybe they've killed him already... Behind him, he heard Kaylen running, and he turned to see her climbing the stairs.

"This building has three stories," she said. "Maybe they're on the second floor." Ed followed her up the stairs to the second level, a look of determination on his face.

"Alphonse!" Ed called out. This time he heard a response, but it seemed to be light years away. Kaylen frowned; she didn't know where it was coming from either.

"I'll go up another flight. You can look around here," she said before taking off up the stairs. Ed explored the second floor, yelling out for his brother, but found nothing. He didn't even get a response.

Angered, he charged up the stairs, now searching for Al and Kaylen both; she had disappeared as well. He took a deep breath and pushed all of his luck on the hope that he'd find someone—anyone—on the last floor.

"Al! Kay!" Ed called, running off of the stairs and into the room that was the third floor. What he saw stopped him dead in his tracks.

Al was sitting in the far corner, but it wasn't the Al that Ed was used to. A boy of fifteen was staring back at him, eyes wide with the hope that he was finally saved. He was bound by chains to the wall behind him and looked like he couldn't even breathe—the chains were wrapped that tight.

"Brother!" Al called, his voice sounding solid and forceful. Ed rushed over to the boy, clapping his hands on the way with intentions of getting his brother out of those chains.

"Oh, no..." a wicked-sounding voice called from behind Ed. The room began to glow a red-looking color, and a shock of pain brought Ed to his knees. He turned to see the first and last person he ever would've suspected.

" ing ..." Ed said through clenched teeth, pain still racking his body immobile.

Professor Lore was smiling at him, a deep red stone glowing in his hand. Behind him stood Jaysen, who was holding to a bound and gagged Kaylen. Ed could see the fear in her eyes—it only made him want to hurt them even more.

"At last, we meet under these circumstances, Edward," Nolan cackled, an odd smile on his lips. "Like what we did for your brother? This stone is real. We've proved that already, though... Finally we'll be able to bring my father back..." He turned to Jaysen. "What should we do to the girl, Jaysen?"

"Oh..." Jaysen looked at Kaylen with an uneasy stare; she stared back, scared to death of what he would say. "Maybe we should just make it quick."

"No torture?" Nolan asked. "Is that how I raised you?"

Kaylen's eyes widened at these words. She knew that Jaysen had been adopted when he was thirteen—it was the whole reason he lived alone—but she hadn't known that he was adopted by the Lore family. He'd kept his own last name of Roberts and refused to talk about his new family.

"You didn't raise me, Dad," Jaysen said coldly. "Kaylen doesn't deserve this."

"Just be glad I'm not asking you to kill that little bitch Celeste," Nolan replied, and Jaysen balled his hands into fists. Anger was obvious in his eyes, but he said nothing.

"Brother! Brother, are you okay?" Al asked. "Can you move?"

"Of course he can't..." Nolan said, turning back to the Elric boys. Ed cringed as he felt another wave of pain come over him. "You boys shut up until I'm ready to deal with you." He turned back to Jaysen angrily.

"I don't want to kill her..." Jaysen said softly, looking at Kaylen with sad eyes. "You know, right? I don't want to..."

Kaylen nodded and tried to speak, her words lost in the cloth in her mouth.

"But you understand..." he pulled a gun from his coat pocket and held it to the side of Kaylen's head. "I don't have a choice..."

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Not only am I notorious for my filler, but also for my cliffhangers! XD

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