Several hours later found the five of us sitting around the coffee table in conference. Ross and Brosh had remained behind, Ross seeming determined to see this through. Edward and Alphonse sat across from me, furiously reading through the notes, Brosh on the end, and Ross next to me. The fan continued to creak obnoxiously.

I felt fragile after recent events, as if my hope was only a fluttering flame in my heart that could be blown out with the slightest wind. Learning what the philosopher's stone was made of had shaken me, and even as my brothers had rallied, I was finding it difficult to hold on to my determination. But I wasn't ready to give up. Not yet.

Finally, with a deep sigh, Edward set the last page of the notes down on the table and leaned his arms against his legs. Taking the silent cue, we looked up in sudden interest, waiting for the answers we knew were finally coming.

Seconds passed as Edward seemed to organize his thoughts, a troubled expression on his face. "Ed, what did you find out?" I asked, getting impatient.

"For one thing," he started, folding his hands in front of his mouth, "we've been thinking of the red stone entirely wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"We believed that the red stone was a separate entity from the philosopher's stone, and we were searching for it that way; like it was a separate branch altogether."

"…It isn't?"

"No," Al cut in. "All it is is the impure form of the philosopher's stone, at least according to Marcoh. It's just another stair step to get to that end."

"But," I said, already completely confused, "Does that mean that Lust is actually after the philosopher's stone? She said she was encouraging people like Nash Tringham and Mugear to make the red stone…"

"It probably means that she does want the stone. Think about it. If the red stone is the food of the homunculi, and that they need it because they feel incomplete without the 'homunculus heart', then logically, the homunculus heart is the philosopher's stone."

I absorbed that, really taking in the irony of what Alphonse was suggesting. We were looking of the philosopher's stone to restore our bodies and send me home. The philosopher's stone was also the part that made a homunculus whole. Either way, I would need it to survive. "So, what, Lust wants the philosopher's stone for me? She said that she would give me my 'heart'. I find it hard to believe that all this trouble is for one person."

"No," Ed said, "this has been going on for a lot longer than we've been around. I don't think she even knew about you when she manipulated Tringham and Mugear to make the red stones in Xenotime. She told you that she hoped we would make 'another'," he made quotation marks with his fingers. "Whatever her plan is, you seem to be a small part of it."

I frowned, thinking that he might have a point. Maybe she went after all potential homunculi. But then, she also said that there was only one creator, and that I was different because I wasn't created by 'Him'. Something about this just wasn't adding up. "…Okay. I can accept that. But what about what Mugear was going on about? The way the red stone was made biologically and purely was to use the naturally condensing womb of a pregnant woman." And it made me sick to even repeat it.

"He also said that the red stone was a prototype of the real thing. Dammit, how could I have been so stupid!" Ed shook his head in disgust. "What he was saying was only one way of condensing the red stone, not actually making it. It was only a theory.

Nash Tringham's way of creating the red stone was to take alchemical catalysts in mass quantities in the hopes that if enough energy was gathered, it would be enough to create the philosopher's stone. It was a theory that failed. When Lust said they didn't have the guts to make it biologically, she wasn't referring to the condensing process, but using live humans as the energy source."

"Oh great," I said bitterly, "So instead of just killing innocent unborn children, we've graduated to killing everyone." This was hardly good news. Far from it. But at least…at least there wasn't some disturbing infant farming going on. I shuddered in disgust at my own analogy. But that did mean that Lust's 'pure stones' were created by sacrificing human lives.

"Hold on a second," Ross interjected. So far, she and Brosh had been observing quietly, looks of utter confusion on their faces. Edward looked at them in surprise, as if he had forgotten they were there. "I don't know about this whole homunculi business," she scrunched her brow, glancing between Edward and myself and wholly unable to follow what we were talking about, "but are you saying that the military is behind something like this? And in league with this 'Lust' you keep mentioning."

"Is it so hard to believe that the military would sacrifice human life for power?" Edward asked softly. "Even after everything you know about the Ishvalan Rebellion?" Ross's face fell in understanding, her expression grim. No, it was not. But she brought up an interesting point. Ed paused, a look of concentration on his face. "…I don't know. Maybe. Tringham was involved in Xenotime after all, and Marcoh states him as one of the people who worked on the philosopher's stone. Both were commissioned by the military."

"All we know about Tringham was that he disappeared from Central after deserting the military," Ed continued. "He must have found out what it was truly made of and tried to escape. But still, his town was in danger of extinction, and when he returned, Lust must have taken advantage of him through Mugear. If she was working with the military, she would have just sent him back, right?"

"It just doesn't make sense," Al said. "I don't think we have enough information to come to any conclusions about that just yet. Maybe we should just focus on what we believe the military is up to." After a pause, Edward nodded in agreement. "We know that Marcoh was developing the philosopher's stone during the Ishvalan Rebellion, and that the military was using it as a weapon."

"That's right," Ross said softly. "It was rumored that that was the power behind the massacre."

"So, we need to find out the truth. And to do that, we need to find out where Marcoh was doing his research." Edward spread a map of Central over the table. "Marcoh's notes indicate that they would need a massive facility to forge the stone, because it takes huge refining equipment."

"Well," Brosh spoke for the first time, though he looked a bit ill, "there are currently four alchemical laboratories operating under the military's watch." He pointed to a complex of four labs arranged next to each other on the edge of town.

"No, that can't be it," Ed said. "I've been to all four of them and there was nothing interesting going on. Just a bunch of bureaucrats trying to get a leg up."

Al shifted and pointed to the map on the other side of the city. "What about this one?"

"Lab Five?" Brosh shook his head. "It's abandoned. They shut it down shortly after it was built. Something about structural integrity."

Edward studied the map intensely, then exclaimed. "That's it! Look what's next to it."

"A prison," I said, leaning closer.

"So they have a lot of federal ground," Ross said. "What does that matter?"

"If people are the key ingredient of the philosopher's stone, then wouldn't it make sense for them to use convicted prisoners on death row? You couldn't have a cleaner plan; just use people who wouldn't be missed for experiments."

"Who was running the lab," Al asked.

"Basque Grand," Ross replied. "But he was killed by Scar not too long ago."

I shuddered in memory of Brigadier General Grand. Good riddance. He was a nightmare walking, and definitely ruthless enough to run such an operation.

"What do you think we should do now?" Al asked.

"No choice," Edward replied. "We are going to have to see it for ourselves."

My expression hardened. Finally, we had a direction, and we were going to find out the truth.

"Now hold on just a second," Ross interjected strongly. She got to her feet. "From here on out this is grownups' work." Ed visibly bristled, but Ross plowed on. "Besides, as long as Scar's on the loose, you are a walking target. Let Brosh and I be your eyes on the ground. If we find out anything, we will give a full report. It's our duty." Her expression was unyielding.

Edward stood in stunned silence. He glanced at Al for help.

"…She has a point brother," Al said.

To my utter surprise, Edward agreed. "Yeah, I guess your right. Ross looked up with a large surprised smile. "I guess I can't argue with you."

My mouth dropped open. Were we really just going to let this go? "Ed…!" Alphonse shook his head discreetly, and I quieted, a deep frown on my face.

"We won't let you down, sir!" Ross and Brosh snapped a salute, serious expressions on their faces. "You boys should get some rest. We'll see what we can find out." With that last, the two walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind them.

As soon as the door clicked shut, I rounded on Edward angrily. "Are you serious! We are giving up just like that? I thought–"

Ed's devious grin stopped me in my tracks, and I rocked back on my heels. "You thought right," he said mildly. The alchemist strode to the window and looked down it carefully. "Al, it's a little too far to jump. Any ideas?"

"Already on it," Al said, gathering sheets and swiftly drawing a circle on the floor. Edward drew the curtains so the light of alchemy could not be seen from the outside, and a flash of light later, we had a length of rope.

Flicking off the light, Edward reopened the window and threw the length down, securing it to a bed. "Let's go."

Feeling slightly staggered at recent revelations, I stood stunned as my two brothers made there way down the rope. We were doing this. We were really going to go to Lab Five.

"Alex, come on," Edward hissed from somewhere out the window. Jolting, I rushed to follow.

A sudden rush of foreboding settled in my gut just before I touched the rope. I glanced down at my bag nestled against my side and took it off, setting it down gently against the wall. This was going to be dangerous, and I didn't want to risk getting Jäger hurt. Jotting down a quick note on a piece of paper and setting it on top of the bag, I followed my brothers out the window, leaving my friend behind.

Okay, really, I need some feedback for this one. Did it make any sense AT ALL? It's times like these I feel like I really need a beta. PLEASE let me know if I've contradicted myself drastically so I can fix it. I've been working on this one for days, going over all that I've written they've found out, and I think I've been looking at it too long. And yeah, this one is quite a bit shorter since I didn't want to throw too much at you lot at once. Absorb and reply! I don't want to make a huge snowball mistake that could ruin a bunch of crap later. Thanks. Really.

Next chapter: Infiltration of the fifth lab! Finally! I've actually already written this part, I just had to keep coming back to this conversation because I didn't like it. I'll probably be posting the second half in a couple hours or so.