Almost as soon as they returned to Eastern Command, Lucca went on a tear through the building, grabbing every scrap of technology that wasn't being used and bringing it back to the office where Hawkeye's men worked. She spent the whole day piecing things together until she had an improvised, dangerous-looking machine almost as big as a person.
"So what's this about?" Crono asked.
"We can't use alchemy, so the stone won't help us there, but I might be able to extract its energy like I did with the Sun Stone," Lucca answered. She placed the small red sphere in a compartment on one side of the machine, which still left it visible. There was a glass container on the other side, which Crono assumed would hold the energy, like with the larger machine that Lucca had used on the Sun Stone. When she fired the machine up, however, there was a small flash of red light, then the philosopher's stone disintegrated.
Everyone in the room was silent.
"Huh," Lucca said.
"What happened?" Crono asked.
"Well, this is just my best guess, but it was probably already almost out of energy," Lucca said. She pointed at the glass compartment, which had a tiny sliver of red light floating around in it. "The machine did extract some, so that's not the problem, although I'm afraid this won't be enough to work with."
"So we're back to square one?"
"Guess so."
"Alright, then. I'm gonna get some sleep," Crono said.
"Good idea," Lucca said. She unplugged the machine, but otherwise left it there.
Crono and Lucca were awoken early the next morning by commotion in the building. They made their way to Hawkeye's office to ask about it, and they ran into her just as she came out.
"Hey, what's going on?" Crono asked.
"Shou Tucker and Nina are dead," Hawkeye answered. "They were murdered last night."
"What?" Lucca and Crono said.
Hawkeye put on a black coat, as it was raining outside. "We don't know who did it yet. I'm on my way to the scene right now. You're free to come along if you like."
"Of course we are!" Lucca said.
They accompanied Hawkeye to Tucker's mansion, which was already crawling with soldiers. On the top floor, where the bodies—which were now covered up with sheets—had been discovered, Maes Hughes and Major Armstrong were there.
"What's the situation?" Hawkeye asked.
"See for yourself," Hughes said. He lifted the top half of the sheets, revealing the two corpses. Tucker's looked relatively normal, except that there was blood coming from his head, with no visible injury. The other body, however, was an abomination. It looked like a white dog with a somewhat human face and long brown hair coming only from its head.
"What is that?" Hawkeye asked, echoing Crono and Lucca's thoughts.
"Despicable, isn't it?" Armstrong said. "In his desperation to keep his certification, he made a chimera using his own daughter."
"Certification?" Crono asked.
"State alchemists have to report on their research once a year," Hughes explained, "and Tucker wasn't exactly in the government's good graces on that front." He put the sheets back down. "Of course, it doesn't matter now. Damn, he's always one step ahead of us."
"We'd better catch up to him quickly, because the way things are going..." Armstrong trailed off.
"This is a known killer?" Hawkeye asked.
Hughes and Armstrong nodded.
"We're going to need the details."
"That's classified information. You sure you trust these three?" Hughes asked.
Hawkeye looked back at Crono, Lucca, and Robo, then nodded. "They did me a great favor in Liore. At the very least, I think they'll be valuable allies."
"Well, I can't argue with you there after the way they dealt with McDougal," Hughes said. "We've been calling him Scar, since we don't know anything else about him. He has a large scar shaped like an 'X' on his forehead. He's been killing for some time now, all state alchemists."
"Nationwide, he's killed ten people, five in Central alone," Armstrong added.
"Five days ago, he took down old man Grand," said Hughes.
Hawkeye gasped. "The Iron and Blood Alchemist?"
"Yeah, this guy's dangerous. With Roy gone, though, there aren't any other state alchemists of note in the area. We have no idea who his next target might be."
"That would be true, but now you've brought Major Armstrong here."
"I guess you're right," Hughes said.
"In any case, we'll have to keep a close watch for him," Armstrong said. "We don't want him getting away again."
"Right... It might be in our best interest to keep him here in East City," Hawkeye said.
"Yeah. I'd thought of setting up a trap, but he seems to attack only when his targets are isolated," said Hughes. "Besides, I'm not sure normal soldiers would even stand a chance."
"Then don't use normal soldiers," said Hawkeye.
Major Armstrong was standing alone in a park square as the rain pelted down. Silently, a figure approached. He had dark skin and white hair, and was wearing sunglasses, a yellow coat, white shirt, and black pants and boots. A large X-shaped scar sat on his forehead.
"You are Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist, correct?" he asked. His voice was gruff and authoritative.
"That's right," Armstrong said. "You must be the scar-faced murderer who's been killing state alchemists."
The man raised his right hand near his face. "Foolish alchemists who turn their backs on the ways of God shall all be punished."
"Very well," Armstrong said, donning his iron knuckles and removing his uniform's top. "If it's a fight you want, that's what you'll get."
Scar started running forward, but suddenly stopped as a blade of wind passed right in front of him. Crono, Lucca, and Robo stepped out of the nearby trees.
"More alchemists?" Scar muttered.
"Not exactly," Crono said. The three of them positioned themselves in front of Armstrong, weapons drawn.
"Then you are not my target. Step aside or judgement will fall upon you as well," Scar said.
"We can't do that, sorry."
"So be it." Scar said, dashing forward once again. Lucca started shooting, but he expertly dodged each time. Robo blasted his fist at him, which Scar caught in his right hand. A blue light flashed, and Robo's arm shattered.
"Robo!" Lucca yelled.
Scar kept coming, and Crono intercepted with a flurry of sword swipes. Still, Scar was able to avoid the attacks, and on one swing, he touched the back side of the blade, cutting it in half. Crono jumped back, tossing the now-useless sword aside. He ducked as Scar tried to grab his head, and a jet of fire from Lucca caused Scar to backstep.
"You can summon your flames even in the rain," Scar said, calmly. He started toward Lucca.
"Not so fast!" Armstrong shouted, stepping in to protect her. He made a barrage of punches, inching Scar back, but not connecting any of them. Then, in a tiny opening, Scar reached out. Armstrong reacted just in time, sliding back. A gunshot rang out, grazing Scar's face and knocking his sunglasses off, but it wasn't Lucca's. Hawkeye's men had been using the time to surround them, and she was standing across from Scar, holding a smoking rifle.
Scar turned and looked around, revealing for the first time that his eyes were red. Armstrong and Hawkeye both had looks of sudden shock and clarity.
"Red eyes and brown skin, that means he's—" Armstrong said.
"He's Ishvallan," Hawkeye finished.
Scar scanned his environment. "Perhaps there are too many," he muttered.
"We have you surrounded, Scar," Hawkeye yelled. "Just come quiet—"
Scar pressed his hand to the ground, opening a gaping hold and throwing up a cloud of dust.
"Oh no you don't!" Crono said, jumping down into the now-open sewers. Scar was on one side of the tunnel, and started running as soon as he saw Crono.
"Crono, wait!" Lucca yelled. He looked up to see her tossing her hammer down to him. "At least take that with you!"
He caught it. "Thanks," he said, before chasing after Scar.
Scar ran for some time, making sharp turns and trying to lose Crono's pursuit, but then he suddenly stopped, seeming surprised by something. Cautious, Crono stopped as well. A torrent of rats scurried past his feet, running away from Scar's direction. Crono heard splashing, then saw a large, round figure running towards Scar.
Scar readied his hand, and grabbed the figure by the head. There was a flash of blue light, and blood sprayed out, but the figure seemed unaffected, grabbing hold of Scar's arm. Scar brought his hand down, slicing the figure's arm off. Another figure appeared behind the first, this one slimmer and more feminine. It was rushing at Scar, until he touched the nearby wall and caused the tunnel in front of him to collapse on top of both figures. He stepped back, seeming shaken by the experience.
"I hope you realize you just cornered yourself," Crono said.
Scar whipped around, like he'd forgotten Crono's presence entirely. He brought his right hand up again, preparing for combat, but before he could engage, something smashed through the debris behind him. It was the larger figure, only now Crono could see that it looked like a fat man with a child-like face, bulbous nose, and stubby legs.
The second figure pulled her way out after him. Her body seemed broken and misshapen, but as they watched, it quickly repaired itself. The fat one, too, had grown his arm back. The woman was tall and curvy, with long black hair and a dark red dress. She looked at Crono, then smiled.
"My, my, how convenient," she said. "One of the brats who interfered in Liore is here too."
"Can I eat them both? Can I?" the fat one said.
"Go right ahead," said the woman.
The fat one dashed forward again. Scar didn't stand his ground this time, instead turning to run away. He paid Crono no mind, with the fat one following after him. The woman's fingers sharpened and extended, apparently growing along with her gloves. The claws came darting through the sewer, aiming for Crono.
He ducked behind a corner, and, not having his sword or his more advanced magic, decided to follow Scar's lead in fleeing. The woman pursued, and when he tried to block one of her claws with the hammer, it sliced right through with little resistance. He barely avoided another one, which grazed his side. He called a bolt of lightning down on her. She screamed, but quickly regained her composure.
Thinking quickly, Crono hit her with another, then two more. He used the time she spent healing to run around a corner. He then jumped up, kicked off the wall, and grabbed one of the pipes on the ceiling, pulling himself up and hiding among them.
The woman rounded the corner and looked down the tunnel. "Damn brat," she said, chasing after where she assumed he'd gone.
Crono waited until he was sure she was gone, then started heading back, wanting to get out of the sewers as fast as possible.
So, the woman went after that boy. That should make this easier, Scar thought, as the strange fat man chased him. He stopped, turned around, and plunged his flat hand into the creature's chest. He seemed confused by this, and slightly curious. Scar closed his grip, using his arm to spread destructive energy through the creature's entire body. He practically exploded, with bits of flesh and viscera splattering through the sewers. It all disintegrated fairly quickly, though, except for a single chunk, which started expanding. Scar kicked it into the waterway, then ran off in the other direction.
He was wrong in thinking he had escaped, though. He soon heard the splashing of the creature running after him through the water. "I smell you!" Scar heard him say.
Smell, huh? Scar thought. Cringing at the disgustingness of it, he jumped into the sewage himself and started swimming.
When Crono pulled himself up from the rubble, empty-handed and bloodied, Lucca and Robo quickly surrounded him, followed by Armstrong, Hawkeye, and a few of her men.
"You are injured," Robo—who was still missing an arm—said. He started up his healing green light.
"Crono, what happened?" Lucca asked.
"That cut doesn't look like Scar's method of attacking," Armstrong said.
"It's not," Crono said. "I was following him, then we both got attacked by these two people who could regenerate from damage. I'm not sure what happened to Scar."
"Why would they do that?" Hawkeye asked.
"I don't know why they were targeting Scar, but the one who went after me said something about interfering in Liore."
"Wait, you mean there was someone other than Cornello behind Liore?" said Havok, the man who'd escorted them there.
"I don't know, that's all she said before she attacked. She had these claws that could extend out. They cut through Lucca's hammer like butter."
"That's concerning," Hawkeye said. "Let's get you three back to the command center. I'm sure you could use some rest."
"Yeah," Crono said, standing up. "We're gonna need some new equipment too."
"I also need parts to repair Robo," Lucca said.
"Right. Well, unless you want to go all the way to Rush Valley, I think your best bet would be a mechanic in Resembool," Hawkeye said. "I think you'd get along."