I actually had so much fun writing this chapter - the sequence at the Fifth Laboratory is one of my favorites, for whatever reason, and especially in terms of writing the intensity of the emotions made this come really easily. Though you'll see it here, this chapter solidifies some more details of Lissa's particular brand of alchemy: specifically my concept that the size of the reaction (aka the blue energy) varies greatly depending upon how much material is being transmuted, the alchemist performing the transmutation, and the physical proximity of the material involved as well. If anything seems off or anybody needs clarification, PLEASE let me know! And as always - I'd love to hear your thoughts!


"Ed, please… You need to eat," Lissa begged softly, standing beside the hotel room door. The boys had barely moved in over twenty-four hours, and she was getting worried. She hadn't slept the night before, worrying about them, and she was looking at the same thing tonight if Ed didn't eat something. He'd been refusing food ever since they'd found out the truth about the Philosopher's Stone.

He didn't even look at her. He just continued to lay there on the sofa. "I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten in over a day," she reminded him, trying to keep her voice even. "It's not good for you, and you know that."

This time his eyes shifted to her, just for a moment. "I'm fine."

Lissa didn't think she'd ever gotten angry so fast in all her life. "No, you are not fine! Dammit, don't you think I know you better than that?! I know you're upset, but that's no excuse to just—just give up and stop taking care of yourself! Why is this the end, huh? You hit one dead end and it's all over?! What the hell is wrong with you, Edward?!" She ripped the door open, aware he was staring at her with his jaw dropped, but she ignored it. "I haven't given up. I won't give up on you, but I won't sit here and watch you lie around in your own self-pity any longer either!" Seething, Lissa stalked out and slammed the door behind her, tearing down the hall and straight out of the hotel.

But her anger didn't carry her far, before misery set in, and Lissa found herself stumbling to a halt half a block away, where she sat on a bench and pressed her face into her hands. She hadn't meant to lose her temper… But watching the boys just give up like that…

It was more than being cross with them for giving up. She was angry for them too, angry that they'd been handed down something so unfair. What the hell was the point of this Truth entity if it didn't actually live by Equivalent Exchange? Why did that principle exist at all if it didn't really mean anything? They'd given up so much—energy, blood, years of their lives—trying to find a solution… Only to learn that returning their bodies to normal would come at the cost of using human souls. If it had been almost anything else…

But it wasn't.

Lissa tried to push the image away, but it assaulted her anyway… The image of Edward, small and broken and lost, sitting in that too-big wheelchair… And Alphonse, trembling, newly ripped from his body and still trying to look after his big brother…

She clamped her hand over her mouth to keep back a sob. These boys, her boys, had suffered so much… And what could she do to help them? What could she possibly do against all this? She'd sworn to look after them, to help them through whatever came, but she didn't know what to anymore. She didn't know how to make Ed pick himself up off the ground and try, not when he'd found this. Not when it seemed like the cost would be human souls. Ed and Al knew the value of a human soul, more than almost anyone else. They'd never do it, not just for their own gain.

Something flickered in front of her eyes. Lissa felt her heart stutter in her chest as the image solidified, just for a moment—fire, and a burst of bright red light. She heard someone scream, a tiny, high-pitched little girl's scream. Her lungs ached and she couldn't breathe, her whole body hurt, burning fire all over her skin-

"Lissa?"

As quickly as it had come, the moment passed, and Lissa found herself staring into Alex's worried gaze. "Oh, Alex," she murmured, trying to brush off the lingering ache around her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on yours and the Elric brothers' progress," he explained giving her an odd look. "However… Second Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh seemed to think something was the matter with you, and the brothers as well." So that was why he was acting so weirdly… He was suspicious of what the boys had discovered.

She swallowed hard and averted her gaze. It wasn't really her place to reveal this… Yet… If she couldn't trust Alex with it, who could she trust? "Ed isn't eating," she confessed finally. "I got angry with him tonight about it, that's why I'm out here."

"I see. And is there some…underlying reason you're angry about this, instead of worried?"

Lissa clutched at the ends of her jacket, twisting her fingers into the fabric. "I'm worried too. It's just… He's giving up, and I hate seeing that."

He looked at her in surprise. "Giving up? Edward Elric is giving up on a project? That seems most unusual."

"No, he'd never," she dismissed absently—then pressed her hands over her mouth in surprise as she realized her slip. Dammit. Now he'll know something's up. "I think he's just feeling defeated, that's all," Lissa tacked on, trying to cover herself. But it was already too late.

"If he isn't giving up, then what exactly is the problem?" Alex asked, giving her a very stern look.

Lissa sighed and dropped her hands. Fine. If the boys wouldn't listen to her, then maybe Alex could knock some sense into them. "The problem is they did find the answer—but it's horrible. It's completely disgusting. Everything Dr. Marcoh said, about it being the devil's research, about going through hell… He was right, Alex. He was right about everything." She shut her eyes tightly. "The Philosopher's Stone… A complete one, not like the one Dr. Marcoh had… It requires human souls to create. That's where it derives its power."

"Human souls?" Alex's voice was much too soft, unsettling to hear. "Are you certain?"

She nodded solemnly, unable to force her eyes open just yet. "We double-checked everything, but it's true. I wanted to look further, to see if there was more, but Ed was finished with it and Al didn't want to press him. That's why they haven't left the hotel… And that's why I got so angry… It isn't fair for this to be the end of it… They deserve better."

Alex rose from where he'd been kneeling in front of her, and crossed his arms firmly over his chest. "You're quite right, Lissa. It isn't fair. Come! Let us knock some sense into those boys—giving up now is simply unacceptable, don't you think?"

"But the stone…"

He offered her a hand, and pulled her to her feet beside him, his gaze fierce. "This is but one dead end in a long, difficult road. Those boys had yet to face a true dead end until now—and now that they have, it's up to us to set them straight again. Don't you think?"

Lissa considered that. He was right that they hadn't exactly hit a serious roadblock like this one until now…so maybe they really did just need a push in the right direction to keep going. And she'd yelled at them, at Ed. She should've been focusing on helping and encouraging them instead of getting angry, but it was just…so hard to see them so down. How stupid of her, to get so wrapped up in her own feelings that she'd lost sight of actually looking after them…

"Okay," she agreed softly. "I'll try."

In what felt like seconds, Alex had dragged her through the lobby—collecting the very shamefaced Ross and Brosh, who had set him on this path in the first place—and found herself standing awkwardly beside him as he banged on the door to the hotel room she'd been sharing with the boys.

"Elric brothers, I know you're in there!" he thundered. "Open up! This is the Major!"

Lissa winced and exchanged a look with Ross. If the boys didn't listen to him…this wasn't going to end well.

Sure enough, when Ed and Al didn't answer the door, Alex simply busted it open himself, shoving through the suddenly-open doorway with the knob still clutched in his hand, shattered bits of wood sticking out from the brass plate. "I know what it said, Edward Elric!" He barged right in while the boys gaped, stunned, and launched straight into a lamentation for what they'd discovered. Ed scowled across at Ross and Brosh the whole time, on his feet like he'd go after them, deeming them responsible for the intrusion—but he ignored Lissa completely.

She tried to pretend it didn't hurt.

"Imagine the military being behind something like that!" Alex bewailed, shaking his head. Lissa thought he might cry. "Often the truth is more cruel than we bargain for!"

Edward's head snapped up. "The truth!"

Al gave him a baffled sort of look, his eyes a touch too pale, and stood up beside the sofa. "Brother? What is it?"

"Do you remember what Dr. Marcoh said at the station? He talked about the truth hidden within the truth. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about then, but now… It's the same as with alchemical notes. What you can see on the surface is only a portion of the truth." Edward looked across at Lissa suddenly and grinned, his eyes shimmering gold. "You were right to push me, Liss. I can't give up yet. There's still more to find here. There has to be."

She crossed to him then, trying not to be afraid that he'd snap at her—he'd have every right. "What are you thinking?" she asked, wracking her brain.

"Well… If the first truth is what makes the Philosopher's Stone… Then I'd guess he meant something bigger than that, something with a wider effect." Ed tapped his fingers on his automail thoughtfully. "We might learn more if we found out where the stone was made… Major, do you happen to know where Dr. Marcoh was stationed while he was researching?"

Alex looked at him curiously. "Here, in Central."

Lissa stared between Ed and Al for a moment, all three slowly coming to the same page in this. "Can you get us a map of Central, Alex?" she asked, frowning. "Dr. Marcoh sent us here to find his research, but if we're looking for a hidden truth…we need to start looking deeper. Starting with our own government."

Within a few minutes, Alex had procured a map of the city and spread it out on the room's small table, which they all crowded around. Brosh, Ross, and Alphonse all remained standing, while Alex took a couch all to himself and Lissa settled down rather tentatively beside Ed, on the opposite side of the table. They hadn't actually resolved their little fight from earlier, and she was afraid of this tenuous peace shattering at any moment.

"Currently, there are four operational alchemy laboratories in Central that have connections to the government. We can narrow it down even further—Marcoh worked in the Third Laboratory. We should start there. It's the most suspect," Alex suggested, pointing it out on the map.

"Mh…" Ed frowned at the map. He had his gloved hand resting on his chin in thought, as he'd donned a few more clothes to do this rather than sitting in an undershirt. Thankfully. "Al, Lissa, and I have been to all the laboratories in the city. None were doing any remarkable research, we would've noticed."

Lissa chewed absently on her lip as she regarded the map. She knew the four laboratories pretty well, having spent more time in them than the boys, probably—but she'd thought… "Wait a minute. Four laboratories. But… There were supposed to be five originally, weren't there? I remember hearing about it when I was still at the institution. The Fifth Laboratory was built, but afterwards they found structural weaknesses and sealed it off before anyone actually started working there. It was…" Lissa tapped her finger down on the map. "Here. See? It's crossed out but the building is still standing. Seems kind of…weird to me to just leave it there without trying to fix it, or tearing it down and rebuilding it so the space can be used."

"That's it," Ed breathed, looking at her in surprise.

Brosh gave him a bewildered stare. "Huh? How can you be so sure that's the place?"

Ed pointed out the building directly adjacent to the Fifth Laboratory, and Lissa's whole body turned cold. "There's a prison right next door."

"Okay…so?"

"What was the main ingredient for a Philosopher's Stone?" Ed muttered.

The Sergeant looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Uh…you said it needed live humans…" He paled. "Ugh. Oh no."

"There'd be plenty of condemned criminals in the prison. Officially, they'd be recorded as executed." Ed twisted up his mouth when he finished, looking more than a bit uncomfortable with the topic himself.

Ross looked a bit green as she realized. "They're using the prisoners to make the stone…"

When the two soldiers gave him uncomfortable looks, Ed threw his hands up and complained, "Don't look at me like that. I don't like talking about this any more than you."

"Prisons from other jurisdictions could be used too," Al observed, peering over his brother's shoulder. He sounded troubled, but more accepting than everyone else, maybe having processed it better by now. "I wonder if the government really is involved."

Ross grimaced. "Why do I get the feeling we're getting involved in something really dangerous here?"

"That's why we told you to pretend like you never heard anything!" Al told her fiercely.

Alex stood and rolled up his map, stowing it under his arm and stepping away from the table. "This has the potential of becoming a political nightmare before long," he mused. "I'll look into what we've talked about tonight. In the meantime, officers…" His gaze shifted to Ross and Brosh. "Speak of this to no one."

They both saluted. "Sir!"

"And you three…" Alex rounded on Lissa, Ed, and Al with a sudden intensity in his gaze. "Behave yourselves!"

Lissa exchanged a baffled look with Ed.

"I know you three children!" Alex boomed. "You were thinking about sneaking into this building and taking a look around, weren't you? Admit it!"

"We weren't, we weren't! We promise!"

Yet once Alex had left, and Ross and Brosh had taken up their usual posts outside the hotel room door—which had been newly repaired by Alex before he went on his way—Lissa turned and raised her eyebrow at the boys. "So…we're going, right?" she clarified, crossing her arms. "We didn't go through all that for nothing?"

"Tch. What do you take us for, huh?" Ed snickered. "We're going. We just need to lay low until our handlers get complacent."

"Perfect. Maybe I can get a little sleep before we go," she muttered, failing to stifle a yawn. "I didn't sleep last night."

Ed looked at her in concern. "What? Why not?"

She shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Al, realizing he hadn't ratted her out. Edward had slept on the sofa the night before, so she'd stayed up with Al and talked quietly the whole time, unable to rest when she was so worried. "I just…couldn't."

"She was worried about you, brother," Alphonse told him quietly.

His face fell. "Oh. Shit, I… I had no idea." Ed looked down at his own lap, eyebrows furrowed. "I'm sorry. Maybe you should stay behind, catch up on your rest…"

Lissa punched him in the arm, hard, on his left side so he'd actually feel it.

"Hey! What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing the spot and gaping at her.

"Because you're being a dummy, that's why," she told him bluntly. "I was worried about you, I lost sleep looking after you—so do you actually think I'm just gonna sit here while you and Al go check out some dangerous building on your own? Who do you think I am, huh?"

Al giggled at her, rather than defending Ed, who looked offended by the whole thing. "Sorry, Ed, but you had that coming."

Ed grumbled and rolled his shoulder, though he didn't argue the point. "Fine, fine. I was an ass. It's just…difficult, I really thought we had the answer and then…" He sighed deeply. "But you were right. You told me I shouldn't give up and you were completely right, so… Thank you for that. I shouldn't let myself get knocked down by one bad answer."

"I understand why you were so upset, though," she admitted, shrugging. "I was angry for you too… It seemed so unfair to find all this out, after all the work we've done and how hopeful you were… But at least we have a new lead now, right?"

He smirked. "Let's hope it's more than just a lead."

Lissa couldn't return the change in attitude, though. She was still too anxious. "So you…aren't upset with me for going off on you like that?"

"I mean, you probably didn't need to yell at me," Ed teased lightly, "but I'm not upset with you, Liss. You just wanted to help, y'know? You didn't want me to give up like that, and I get where you were coming from, I really do. Besides…look where we are now. We've got a whole new side of this to investigate, and if I'd just stopped trying right there we wouldn't know any of it. I'm not giving up yet—and, well…" He glanced away, suddenly seeming a bit…awkward. "It's kinda nice knowing we have someone who won't give up on us."

She averted her gaze too as her cheeks burned red. "I wouldn't ever give up on you two," she told him honestly. "I never even considered it."

"That means a lot to us," Al told her, leaning down to rest a hand on her shoulder gently. "Really. It's nice knowing we have somebody on our side who won't just let us sit down and stop trying when we feel defeated."

"What else are friends for, huh?" Lissa asked, smiling up at him—then she yawned, again.

Ed laughed and leaned into the back of the sofa, patting his lap encouragingly. "Well, they make pretty good pillows. We've got a couple hours to kill before our bodyguards will think we're actually listening to the Major, so you should get some rest, Liss. We'll get you up in time to go, I promise, we won't leave you here."

Lissa was embarrassed by the offer, though she'd done the same for him on multiple occasions—but…it did sound nice, especially after how anxious she'd been earlier… So she did as he suggested and lay down with her head in his lap, smiling to herself as she felt his hand come to rest on her shoulder. "You'd better get me up," she mumbled, and closed her eyes wearily. "Otherwise I'll get Winry to put your automail on backwards next time."

He just snickered and brushed her hair from her face. "Sure, Liss. Now get some sleep, okay?"

She nodded, already feeling sleep tugging at her mind. It was so comfortable like this, being close to the boys…close to Ed… Lissa felt herself smile just before she drifted off. He was stroking her hair, a sweet, subconscious kind of gesture that made her chest feel tight in the best way possible. How could she ever give up on these two? They meant everything to her, absolutely everything.

True to his word, just a little over two hours later, Ed woke Lissa up with his and Al's plan to sneak out the window. She was alert in seconds, tossing on her usual mission attire—dark trousers, a navy blue shirt, and her black leather jacket, plus her red-pink fingerless gloves—and assessing the situation at the window. "It'll be loud if either of you fall," she observed. "Let me go first, if anything happens I can cushion your fall and make sure it doesn't wake up all of Central."

"That's mostly about me, isn't it?" Al pouted.

Lissa patted his arm encouragingly, but didn't deny it outright. "Don't worry about it. Here, Ed, you tie some sheets to the bedframe and I'll go on down."

"You'll what?"

But she was already moving, hopping onto the windowsill and then right out the window, mindless of the multiple-storey drop. Lissa just used her alchemy to gather the particles in the air and slow her descent, altering the resistance around her and landing soundlessly in the grass below. She looked back up, grinning, to see Ed giving her a look. "Be careful," he muttered, and disappeared back inside.

Moments later, a makeshift rope of knotted bedsheets sailed down towards her, and Lissa sucked in a breath, preparing to catch either one of the boys if they fell. But thankfully they both made it down all right, with scarcely a sound.

"You know, I don't get to see you use your alchemy at night very much," Al told Lissa, as they headed away from the hotel. "It looks really pretty… Kinda like starlight."

Lissa waved him off, glad the night was hiding the embarrassed flush to her cheeks. "Shush."

"Huh, I never thought about that." Ed grinned and nudged her in the ribs with his elbow. "It really does look like starlight. Hey, maybe I'll put that in my next report. It can be your alchemist codename after you take your exams."

She rolled her eyes at him. "It'll be something stupid, I know it. You lucked out, but you made an impression on the Führer. Think of Mustang, he got stuck with the most blatant one ever. Or Alex?"

Ed laughed and nodded. "Yeah, poor Major Armstrong. He really didn't make out so well, did he? But I bet yours will be better."

"If I ever get to take my exams," she muttered.

"When," Ed corrected, slinging his arm around her shoulders. "Now, c'mon. Let's go check out this lab."

Thankfully they all knew Central really well, and with Lissa's habit of sneaking around at night anyway, it was easy to find the Fifth Laboratory even without bringing a map. That particular area of the city didn't have much nightlife, either, meaning they were able to reach their destination without even coming close to being spotted. It was kind of thrilling, honestly, sneaking around like this in the dark. Lissa was accustomed to daylight missions, or at least ones that were aboveboard. This was different.

They approached the walled-off facility from the same block, sneaking across deserted streets and finally pressing into the wall of the Fifth Laboratory, just around the corner from the front gates. Ed peeked around first, eyeing the front entrance. "Hm… A guard posted at an unused building. Interesting."

Lissa peered over his head, frowning at the sight. "Seems weird to assign someone to guard this place if it's empty."

"It's suspicious all right," Al agreed, looking over Lissa as well.

Not wanting to tangle with a guard or risk being spotted, they ducked back down the alley and stayed in the shadows against the wall instead. Lissa had her arms fanned out to her sides slightly, trying to feel for any disturbances in the air that might indicate they'd been found, but she felt nothing. And the walls of the laboratory were too thick for her to sense anything through just yet.

"So, how do we get in?" Al wondered quietly.

Ed furrowed his brow. "We could make our own entrance," he suggested.

But Al shook his head at that. "No, they'd notice the light from the transmutic reaction. We can't risk being spotted."

"Well, in that case…" Ed stared up at the top of the wall thoughtfully.

Lissa smirked. "The old-fashioned way?"

"You got it. Give me a boost, will you, Al? That barbed wire won't do anything to my automail, I'll clear a space for you to get up safely, Liss." Ed gave her a curious look. "Can you get up on your own, or do you need a lift too?"

She crossed her arms. "I'd be pretty bad at my own specialty if I needed help."

Al boosted Ed up with his hands interlocked, and Lissa watched as he carefully landed at the top of the wall, on his left leg and balancing with his right arm. A smooth landing, especially considering he didn't have her advantage. Sometimes she just marveled at his skill—even after years of practice, she knew she really wasn't as good as he was. He had some natural ability she could never quite match.

Once Edward had cleared off some of the barbed wire, he began feeding a strand down towards them, which Lissa took as her cue. She took a bit of a running start, kicked off the wall, and with just the barest hint of a blue flicker—carefully controlled around her body—she landed in the safe space beside him. "Sucks that your alchemy makes such a big reaction," she teased under her breath, grinning when he stuck out his tongue at her.

Lissa jumped right down while Al was still climbing up, not wanting to take up too much space, and kept an eye out while the boys joined her. Once they were all safely down, requiring her to cushion Al's landing to keep his armor quiet, they hurried across the compound and searched out a door.

"Of course," Lissa muttered, staring at the only back door they could find. "It's barricaded against alchemy. Even if we wanted to risk a bigger transmutation, we can't put our hands on it." The entire door was covered in spikes, with three enormous metal rods wrapped all over in barbed wire sealing off the entrance too.

Ed put his thumb and forefinger to his chin as he considered it. "They're not taking any chances, are they?"

"I could do it," Al suggested helpfully.

But Ed turned that down. "The light from the transmutation would still be too noticeable. We need another way in." He looked round for a moment—then pointed at the wall beside the door. "Hey, what about that?"

It was a vent. A small opening in the wall, not even big enough for a fully-grown adult to fit through. Helpfully, Al lifted Ed onto his shoulder so he could take the cover off and assess it, while Lissa watched from the ground. It looked big enough for her and Ed to fit through, if they sort of belly-crawled it, she thought.

Apparently, Ed had the same idea. "Al, you need to wait here," he told his brother firmly.

"You're fine on your own?" Alphonse asked him, sounding worried.

Ed hoisted his torso into the vent and hung there, one foot still resting on Al's shoulder. "Whether I'm fine or not isn't the issue. You're too big to get through here."

Al slumped a bit. "It's not like I asked to get this big," he mumbled sadly.

"Well, I can fit," Lissa pointed out, as Ed dropped back onto Al's shoulder and regarded her for a moment. "At least the two of us can go check it out."

Ed frowned at her. "Yeah, but if we both go then we're screwed if something happens. Al couldn't get in to help us. Liss, why don't you hang out here for half an hour. If I'm not back by then, come in after me, because I've either found something or I'm completely lost, so either way I'll need help. Besides, you'll sense if anyone's coming way earlier than us. We need you to make sure no one finds out we're here."

"But I can't sense anything down in there, Ed," Lissa protested anxiously. "The concrete's too thick, I'm not getting anything. I have no idea what might be inside here."

"I'll be fine. Just half an hour, okay?" He flashed her a grin. "After that you can come chasing after me. Promise."

Lissa rolled her eyes at him. "Dummy. Just look after yourself, okay?"

"I always do, don't I?"

Al glanced at her in a way that told her he was just as unamused by that as she was, but it was too late—Ed hauled himself back into the vent and crawled away, disappearing into the darkness in seconds. Lissa considered just going after him for a moment, but as much as she hated to admit it… He was right. If they both went right in, then they had no backup at all. If it took half an hour before he got a door open or could report back…then something was already going on. They needed that information before the only other person who could fit through the vent followed him in.

Some part of her hoped that he'd come right back, or that the door would burst open—but nearly fifteen minutes passed without a single peep from inside the laboratory, and Lissa thought she'd go crazy with anxiety.

"Dammit," she muttered, sinking down and sitting with her knees to her chest and her back against the wall. "I don't like this, Al. I hate him going in by himself."

"Me too," he admitted, and sat down beside her. "But brother likes to do things on his own."

Lissa scowled down at her hands, tugging on her gloves as though they were the source of her frustration. "He's an idiot. I should've gone with him anyway, it's stupid going in there by himself when he could have a partner."

Al looked down at her, his emotions unfathomable—sometimes she could read him, but sometimes it was just impossible. "You care about him a lot, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Lissa told him, feeling a bit confused. "I care about both of you, you're like family to me. I'd be just as worried about you, Al. But you're smart enough not to go running into places like this by yourself."

He shifted and began to speak—but Lissa jerked her arm out in front of him and cut him off. "Wait. Something's…" She closed her eyes, tried to focus on the feeling that crept up the back of her spine as soon as she released the energy, let go of the faint buzzing around her ears and actually let her senses take over. I've sensed this before… This exact thing… But where? It's so particular, I know I've felt it before…

"Did you feel something?" he whispered, trying not to disturb her.

Lissa nodded slowly. "It's…familiar… This is so weird, Al, I know I've felt it before but I can't place it…" She dug her fingernails into the palms of her gloves, trying desperately to focus. "Something's wrong, but it's not inside—I can't sense anything in there, not even Ed."

Al rose to his feet with a few clanks, stepping off the ledge and looking around worriedly. "So it's out here? Is somebody coming?"

"No one entered the compound… We would've heard the gates and I didn't feel it like that…" Lissa leapt up and staggered away from the wall, her adrenaline spiking as she felt something above them. "Alphonse, look out!" She lunged and shoved into him, knocking him back just far enough to avoid the sudden presence hurtling downward at them.

Lissa tucked into a forward roll and spun round, backpedaling beside Al as some guy in armor wielding a damned cleaver began attacking them, much quicker than somebody his size ought to be able to move. She felt Al kick off the ground beside her, and knew he was leaping backwards—so she used a burst of alchemy to boost herself high into the air, flipping once midair and landing behind their assailant, opposite to where Al had landed. Pinning him between them would force him to pick his target and leave something exposed.

"Huh." Their assailant yanked his cleaver free of the dirt and pointed it at Al threateningly. "You move pretty well for your size. If you didn't, though, it wouldn't be worth the effort to cut you down."

Rotten meat… He feels like rotten meat and salt and…and choking, like all the air's being squeezed out of my lungs…

"Who are you?" Al demanded.

"I'm Number Sixty-Six," the armored man told him, almost gleefully. "Well…that's the name they gave me when I came to work here, anyway." He pulled out a second blade, a sort of meat-carving one, and crossed them in front of his face. "I'm going to cut you two up, nice and neat. All you have to do is sit back and scream."

Apparently deciding Al was the more important target—an insult, really—the cleaver-wielding man raced for him first, only to be knocked back with a single, hard punch to the face. He growled and went at Al again, but the second attack worked just as well as the first.

Lissa straightened out of a fighting stance as the armored guy flew past her, glancing up at Al as he stepped to her side, hands still at the ready. "Well, he's a pushover," she noted, watching him picking himself up out of the dirt and running in for another attack. "But…be careful, he's the thing I was sensing before, so I know him from somewhere… I just can't figure it out yet."

"Then I'll buy you time until you put it together," Al told her fiercely, darting in and executing a perfect kick that sent Number Sixty-Six flying yet again.

"Damn it!" he groaned, and leapt to his feet once more. "Why can't ya sit still for a second and let me cut you up, you big bucket of bolts!"

Lissa raised an eyebrow. "We're supposed to just stand here?"

Incensed, the armored man turned to attack her—but that was his mistake. Al lashed out with another well-placed punch, only this time…the man's entire head flew off.

Or…just his helmet.

She took a step back in surprise as Number Sixty-Six stood there, tilted partially towards them to reveal that the inside of his armor was completely hollow.

"You're empty!" Al gasped, looking to Lissa for a moment in shock.

Number Sixty-Six laughed gleefully. "There's a bit of a story behind that. Would ya like to hear?" He crossed the yard and picked up his helmet, but rather than putting it back on, he just tucked it under his arm. "It's a pretty good yarn. You probably already know it, though. It all starts with a man by the name of Barry."

Lissa's whole body went icy cold. "Barry?" she whispered. "No… No! You're that—that serial killer from three years ago! You kidnapped Winry! You tried to kill Ed!"

"What?!" Al recoiled in shock. "He's—but how? Are you sure?"

She glowered across at him, recalling the day, finding Edward overcome by sheer terror, cuts all over his body, and crying, something he never did… "Rotten meat," she hissed. "I remember the feeling. Rotten meat and salt and the feeling of suffocating. It's just like what I felt when we found his shop."

Barry—or Number Sixty-Six, as he was called now—let out a maniacal sort of laugh. "Oh, so we've met before have we? Yes, I think I remember now…" He jammed his head back on and his eyes glowed a sinister red. "You're that interfering little brat who kept me from chopping up the blond kid."

Lissa snarled, dropping into a fighting stance immediately. The air around her crackled with transmutic energy. "You fucking piece of shit!" she growled.

"Lissa, stop," Al told her firmly, stepping in front of her. "You need to go find brother. I'll handle this creep, okay? But if we ran into a guard like him out here, then…"

She swallowed hard, trying to push back the tide of anger suddenly threatening to swallow her whole. "Then Ed probably ran into one inside the lab too. Dammit. Are you sure you've got this? Knowing who he is…"

He nodded, full of conviction. "I'm sure. Look after yourself, Lissa."

"You too, Al." She pushed off the ground with a short burst of alchemy, and dragged herself up into the vent just as the two met in battle again, the harsh clang of metal on metal making her flinch in surprise. He'll be okay, she told herself, as she began to crawl along the air vent. He has to be, Al's plenty strong enough… I just hope knowing who that was didn't unsettle him too much…

Lissa crawled on her stomach until she reached a vent that had been kicked out, a sense of dread growing deep inside her abdomen as she dropped down and surveyed the hallway she'd come out in. A faint tinge of amber in the air guided her, pulling her down the hall, and with no better options Lissa followed her senses, hoping they'd lead her right. She needed to find Edward. Now. If he wasn't already facing another hollow guard, he would be soon, and even if it wasn't an old adversary it could still be a horrifically tough fight. Neither of them could beat Alphonse on their own, so the chances of Ed taking down another soul bound to a suit of armor…

She cursed under her breath and raced down the hall.

A few turns later, Lissa suddenly found herself pressed into the ground by some heavy, awful force, staggering to her knees as the weight of it shoved her down. It was like…what she'd felt at Dr. Marcoh's, only a hundred times stronger… Blood, the sick iron-copper tinge of it, and death, the ashy, throat-clenching feeling of death…

What happened here?

Lissa pushed back her senses, reducing the horrible feeling to that buzzing around her ears and neck simply to find the strength to get back up and keep searching for Ed. There was something terrible about this place, she knew it for sure now. And if she didn't find him soon… But that wasn't an option. She would find him, and if he were in trouble, then she'd save him. No matter what it took. That was the promise she'd made, after all.

The deeper she went into the Fifth Laboratory, the brighter it got—more and more running lights along the walls, near the floor, and even a couple overheads, until finally she found a set of double doors swung open to reveal an enormous stone chamber. Most of the floor was covered by an immense transmutation circle, bloodstained and clearly used, with a pedestal at the very middle.

And at the far end…leaning against a pillar…

"Edward!" Lissa cried, sprinting across and skidding to her knees in front of him, and watched his gaze turn up to her. His eyes were wide, his chest heaving, blood caked down the right side of his face, with visible wounds soaking through his left shoulder and side as well.

"Liss," he gasped at her, his body trembling faintly. "Y-you're here, what…happened, is…"

She gently pressed him back as he attempted to get up, careful to push on his automail instead of his injured shoulder. "Shh, don't try to move… You're hurt, Ed, it's really bad…" Lissa bit back the panicked sob that wanted to scrape past her throat. She had to stay strong, for Ed's sake. No matter how badly she wanted to break down over the state he was in—bad didn't begin to cover it. She had no idea how he was still conscious. With trembling hands, she fumbled her handkerchief out of her pocket and began cleaning his face, gently as she could, wiping the blood away from his eye with her other hand resting on his cheek. "I've got to get you out of here," she told him quietly when she was finished. "You need to go to the hospital."

Not wasting any more time, Lissa shifted to a crouch and began to pull Ed's automail arm over her shoulders, pausing every time he winced or made a pained sound. Yet before she even had lifted him away from the pillar, she heard a shout from nearby.

"You can't leave yet," a deep, male voice told her sharply. "Come on, boy. You won. Hurry up and destroy us."

Lissa recoiled and shot to her feet, hands up and ready for a fight—but the voice was coming from the shattered suit of armor lying a few feet away. "Hang on…" She scowled down at the pieces in frustration. "You're Number Sixty-Six's partner, aren't you? Another soul bonded to a suit of armor left to guard this place. Right?"

"Close," the voice told her, emanating from the helmet.

"We're two souls bonded to parts of the armor," a slightly higher voice added on, this one coming from the torso.

She wrinkled her nose and crouched back down beside Ed. "Two souls? Shit. We only had one to face outside, I think." Lissa hoped that it was just the one creepy asshole—otherwise she'd left Alphonse to something much worse than she'd originally assumed.

Ed looked up at her anxiously. "Is Alphonse okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine… It seems like this guy was much worse, the one we encountered wasn't anywhere near as good as Al." Lissa shifted her attention to the wound on Ed's side, finally piecing it together with the wickedly sharp katana she saw lying discarded beside this suit of armor's…broken bits. He'd been injured by a sword. "Ed…let me see your side, please," she murmured.

He winced, but obeyed anyway and gingerly lifted up the side of his shirt for her to see. Lissa sucked in a sharp breath as soon as she saw the laceration. It had to have been almost a direct hit, but by some luck it had gone straight across, not in, because if that sword had actually pierced him… She cut off the thought. "This needs to be bandaged," she observed quietly, catching his wrist before he could lower his shirt. "I know it's not ideal, but…" Lissa touched her hands to the base of her shirt and transmuted it, quick as she could, creating a couple long strips of fabric and leaving her stomach exposed. Then she bound Ed around his middle, as tightly as she dared without restricting his breathing, just to keep pressure on the wound.

"Thank you," he breathed, finally letting his shirt drop. "I'm sorry, I did my best… I think I damaged my automail again too, Winry's gonna kill me."

Lissa shook her head fiercely. "Don't say that. You took out these guys, that's plenty. And now we've seen this transmutation circle, so we know the stone was created here too, we've learned a lot already. But we have to go, I'm worried about all the blood you've lost. Are you lightheaded?"

He grimaced at her. "Unfortunately, yeah. But, Liss… If I get up right now I might pass out, honestly."

"Shit." Lissa sank back onto her heels as she considered that. "Okay, two minutes. And if you still feel like that, I'll just use alchemy to get us out. Screw being spotted, we can't worry about that now, not when you're this injured." She sat down beside him and eyed the two pieces of Ed's adversary. "Who are these guys, anyway?"

"Number Forty-Eight, they said," he told her, shrugging with his right shoulder only. "Apparently the people running this place stuck convicts' souls into armor to use as guards."

Lissa thought of Barry the Chopper up above and shuddered. "That's creepy." She nudged the base of Number Forty-Eight's torso with the tip of her finger. "Hey, Forty-Eight… Why do you want to be killed so badly? Wouldn't you want to get your armor fixed up and go back to…whatever it is you do?"

"And what sort of life do we have?" the head demanded sharply. "You should just kill us and be done with it."

"No," Ed told him firmly. "We're not murderers."

The head scoffed at him, almost offended by the claim. "With bodies like these, are we really even people?"

He looked down at his lap for a moment, his expression darkening. "I consider you people whether you have physical bodies or not. If I didn't that would mean I didn't believe my own brother is a person either." Ed looked up and scowled at the pieces of Number Forty-Eight. "I know that my little brother is a human being. That means you guys are humans too. I will not take the life of another person."

Lissa rested her hand on his leg, feeling the way his muscles trembled beneath her palm though his voice remained steady. It was all he could do just to keep it together, she knew that much. Fine. If she had to use alchemy to clear a path out of here and carry Ed out herself, so be it.

Suddenly, Forty-Eight's head began to laugh. Loudly, raucously, like that was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"Brother?" the torso questioned, baffled.

Lissa exchanged a confused look with Ed, utterly lost as to what was so damned funny here.

"My brother and I have been lying, stealing, cheating, and killing together for as long as we can remember," Number Forty-Eight's head told them. "And now that we're in these pseudo-bodies, we're being treated like humans for the first time." He barked a laugh. "Don't you see the irony?"

She felt…something, nearby, inside the facility… Something that felt like…writhing… "Ed," she tried to whisper—but her voice came out hoarse and too quiet to hear.

"For that, boy, I'll give you a parting gift. I'll tell you everything," the head offered, like it was an enormous concession. Maybe it was, Lissa didn't know or care. She was paralyzed with a sudden onslaught of fear, her senses pushing past her usual block to scream at her to run—but her body wouldn't cooperate. "I'll tell you who made the Philosopher's Stone and ordered us to guard this place."

Out of the darkness of the doorway, two long, ribbon-like tendrils with wickedly sharp edges raced forward, and stabbed clean through Forty-Eight's head.

Ed recoiled into the pillar as a woman with long, dark hair and bright red lipstick painted on stepped into the entryway, the spear-tendrils retreating into her gloved hand as though they were part of her, yanking the helmet along through the air like a toy. "My, that was a close call," she all but purred. "Number Forty-Eight, you should know better than to talk about things that don't concern you."

Another person appeared behind her—this one skinnier, but still muscular, with dark hair falling in spikes from their head. Lissa couldn't quite pin a gender down. "Well, well, would you look at that," they crowed. "What's the Fullmetal pipsqueak and his little girlfriend doing here?"

The woman clicked her tongue. "Such troublesome children. Tell me, how did you find out about this place?"

Still pierced by her spear-hands, Forty-Eight's head let out a cry of distress—moments before she snapped him in two, severing his blood seal and killing him instantly. Lissa flinched when Ed did, knowing they were both thinking of Alphonse in that moment, of what could happen if he suffered the same fate…

When Forty-Eight's torso began to yell for his brother, panicking, the second creature—for they didn't feel human, they felt so very different—crossed the room and snatched up the discarded katana, which they began to stab furiously into the blood seal at the back of the armor. "Quit your pathetic blubbering, you idiot!" they snapped. "You were trying to kill one of our most important sacrifices! Do you understand me?! You could've messed up the entire plan! What would we have done then, huh?!"

Sacrifices?!

Lissa focused for just a moment, risking the loss of control, and got a burst of blood and that horrid writhing sensation, like worms, hundreds and hundreds of worms wriggling in the dirt, before she snapped her senses closed and returned to herself.

What the fuck were these two?!

They both strode across the room, the shorter of the two slinging the katana across their back like it was nothing, coming to stand before Ed and Lissa like they were in complete control.

Incensed, Ed struggled to his feet and stared them down. "Tell me who you people are," he demanded, panting hard. "What plan are you talking about? What do you mean when you say important sacrifice?"

"Oh, my," the spiky-haired one laughed, getting right into Ed's face. "The pipsqueak's rarin' to go. I think I made it angry!"

Lissa grabbed Ed's arm and tried to pull him away, but he didn't budge. "Don't call me pipsqueak again," he snapped, through gritted teeth. This was his sore spot—the one thing he just couldn't take. Having his size insulted. And this creature seemed to know that all too well.

They grinned even wider. "Then what would you prefer? Eh, pipsqueak?"

She sensed the displacement in the air as Ed shifted, prepared to strike, and yanked back on his arm hard enough to stumble him backwards a few steps. "Ed, no!" she told him fiercely, putting her arm in front of him. "You're too hurt for a fight!"

The creature snickered and backed away, nodding in agreement. "Listen to your little girlfriend, she's right. There's no need to fight here. Someone might get hurt, you know."

"This is a fight that you started!" Ed snarled, clapping his hands together and lunging past Lissa's hold. "So come on!" But then, with a sharp metallic clang, his automail arm gave out and swung uselessly to his side, completely immobile.

The woman eyed him dully. "Technical difficulties?"

"Lucky me!" the other one cackled, dancing forward—but Lissa stepped into their path and squared her shoulders, putting herself directly in front of Ed.

"Well, I'm not having technical difficulties," she sneered. Lissa rolled forward, the air sparkling with blue energy as she slipped between air particles and shot to her feet in a twist, ramming her foot directly into the side of the spiky-haired creature's head. They staggered backwards a couple steps, more amused than injured, while Lissa sank into a fighting stance and readied herself.

Dammit! They're so solid, I don't think that hurt them at all!

"Wow, who knew the little girl had it in her?" they snickered, grinning at her. "You gonna defend your boyfriend then, hm? I wouldn't recommend it."

Lissa stared them down, trying to pretend she wasn't afraid—even though she was terrified. "What the hell are you two, anyway?" she demanded, in an attempt to buy her some time. She had to keep Ed safe, somehow, until she figured a way out of here. But she'd be damned if she let that creature get one hand on him… "I can tell you aren't human, so what are you, then?"

The woman gave her a curious look, as though she hadn't expected that. "We knew you were an excellent potential sacrifice… But I have to say, that's quite a leap to make. I'm impressed."

So she hadn't denied it…but she hadn't answered, either. Yet she'd given something away—that Lissa was some kind of potential sacrifice, whatever the hell that meant. Maybe she could keep them talking until she found an escape. "It's not so hard," she sneered. "With those—spears or whatever of yours. Pretty obvious to me. You don't even seem human at all." Behind her, she heard Ed's breathing increase, felt it brushing against the back of her neck—she'd remembered to put her hair in a ponytail at least—and her pulse kicked up immediately. This was taking too damn long!

Lissa growled to herself and twisted her hands midair, summoning the particles she could find in the air to use for an attack—but a yelp from behind her cut her off immediately.

She turned, her heartbeat pounding in her head, to see the woman had extended one of her spears and jabbed it up against Ed's wound, nearly through the makeshift bandages Lissa had applied, not quite piercing him yet but making the threat very clear. "I won't kill him," the woman told her softly, "but I can make this much worse before he's in danger of dying. Do we understand each other?"

Ed cringed away from the spear, but another slipped in behind him and jabbed against the wound in his shoulder, making him cry out. "Don't—don't worry about me, Lissa," he ground out, though the extra pain made him shiver all over. "I'll be f-fine!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," the woman murmured.

Lissa bared her teeth, furious and helpless all at once. She was torn between trying to free Ed or giving up, knowing damn well he wanted her to fight, though she doubted he'd stay conscious if that woman made his wounds worse—but she didn't get the chance to make up her mind. A hand snagged the back of her ponytail and yanked her head back. Lissa tried to wrench free, heard Ed yell her name, but she didn't make it in time.

The knee rammed into her chest with a crack, and Lissa knew immediately they'd broken her ribs. She knew that pain. She coughed as she sank to her knees, stunned into submission, and watched blood splatter on the floor in front of her. That's bad… That's really bad…

"Lissa!"

"Ed, no, wait-"

With a horrid ripping sound, Ed tore past the woman's spears and flung himself down beside her. She knew he'd ripped his bandages, she could see fresh blood trickling down over his belt, but he didn't seem to notice. "Liss, talk to me, are you okay?"

She lifted her head and scowled at him, aware of blood trickling down from the corner of her mouth. "Idiot," she snapped, though the act of speaking made her chest burn. "Why did you-" But she broke off and coughed deeply, the first threads of true panic taking hold in her mind as she spat out more blood. How was she ever going to get him out now?

"You piece of shit!" Ed snarled, trying to shove back to his feet. "I'll fucking kill you!"

The same creature who had attacked Lissa knocked him back down in an instant, and Lissa watched, horrorstruck, as Edward collapsed beside her, his breathing shallow and his eyes fluttering. "Liss…get…get out of…here…"

She felt her arms shudder and give out, and crashed down beside him. In her last few seconds of consciousness, with darkness crawling into her vision, her whole body giving up, Lissa fought her way to Ed and curled her body over his, unable to do anything more. I'm so sorry… I failed… I couldn't protect you… I'm so sorry, Ed…

Distantly, echoing as if through a tunnel, Lissa heard the woman say, "Blow it up."

Then darkness took her, and she fell unconscious.