Ed and Manami eventually caught up with Scar, but were informed that he hadn't found the chimera men and Mei yet… so for now, it was just the three of them as they descended further underground, and they found themselves entering a dimly lit room.
It appeared to be empty until suddenly…
"My, my…"
Everyone quickly turned to face where the voice came from, readying themselves for battle.
"I definitely wasn't expecting company today… I'm sorry to be rude, but you must go…"
A man in a white coat stepped into the dim light, and he gave them a wide, toothy smile…
A smile that contained a gold tooth.
"For you see… I have an important errand to run, today."
Manami's eyes widened. That couldn't be… the gold-toothed doctor Tyberious mentioned in his notes?
"Who are you?" Ed was the one to ask, transmuting his automail arm into a blade.
"Ahh… no one important." The stranger shook his head.
"You must be… if you're dwelling in the enemy's lair." Scar flexed his hand.
"Oh boy…" The man said in a gruff voice. "Should've known this would happen. Oh well."
He raised his hand in the air, and suddenly several men swooped down from overhead.
"Buy me time. Don't kill the kids." The doctor said, and the men charged.
"?!" Everyone braced themselves and fought back to defend themselves. Though they were ordered to not kill them, the men still charged at Ed and Manami with intent to immobilize them or knock them out.
"Who are these guys?!" Ed grunted as he deflected one of the men's attacks.
"They're like the dolls from earlier…" Scar mentioned, fending off two men with swords.
"No… they're humans…" Manami waved her fans to blow the two men attacking her away.
"You're correct, Miss." The doctor spoke from across the room. He seemed to be drawing on the floor.
"They are the men who failed to become King Bradley."
"?!"
"We gathered them all the day they were born… and they endured all manner of training, hoping to be chosen as the next Furher." The doctor explained.
"It was the twelfth experiment that survived and became King Bradley… and we had not much use for the rest of them. After all…"
The doctor grinned, his gold tooth shimmering in the dim light.
"These ones never got the chance to receive a Philosopher's Stone. They're simply spares. All the same, there's no sense in wasting their sixty years of intense training for the art of battle."
"Whoa!" Manami just barely ducked out of the way from a swipe. They were definitely well-trained…
She looked over to see Ed and Scar struggling to fend them off, too… they needed to get out of here!
Or, at the very least… they needed to buy some time.
"Jared Keller!" She yelled out, and the doctor instantly held up his hand… making the men stop instantly.
Perfect. Now she and the others could have a moment to rest.
"... what did you just say, Miss..?" The doctor asked, inquisitively.
"Jared Keller…" Manami repeated, still catching her breath. "He worked for you, didn't he?"
"My… that's a name I haven't heard in ages…" The doctor sighed dreamily. "The Rebirth Alchemist. Yes… but how do you know of him?"
Manami's eyes narrowed. "I know what you did… you killed his colleagues and made him work for you…"
"I did no such thing." The doctor shook his head as he went to continue drawing on the floor. "He and his colleagues were doing forbidden research of Human Transmutation. The military killed his team. I simply pointed him, and his talents, in the right direction."
"If your idea of the 'right direction' is just benefiting you, sure!" Manami gritted her teeth.
The doctor laughed. "Nonetheless, he willingly provided his groundbreaking research, his ideas, equations, and formulas… and perfected the injectable Philosopher's Stone… to create Furher King Bradley!"
Manami's eyes widened. "He… was the one who created Bradley?"
The doctor smirked up at her. "Yes…"
"..." Manami stared at him, frozen in shock.
"Sixteen. Seventeen. Twenty-one. Twenty-three. Twenty-six." The doctor called out. "Come to me. It's time."
Five of the men ran to the doctor and stood around him, and it occurred to Ed first… the doctor was standing in the middle of a transmutation circle!
"Stop him!" He yelled. "That's a transmutation circle—"
But it was too late. The doctor slapped his hand on the ground and sparks began to fly.
"What are you doing?!" Manami demanded.
"Simply initiating the first phase." The doctor stood up. "You seem like smart kids. Tell me… how many research facilities were under the direct supervision of the Furher?"
"..!" Manami gasped. "Five..!"
And right now, there was a circle being activated with five points…
"If all the labs are connected underground…" Ed was realizing it too.
"Oh no..!"
Manami felt rumbling under her feet. She turned to run towards the doctor, but the remaining men blocked her way.
But before Manami could react, something appeared below her feet… she looked down to see giant eye looking back up at her.
That eye.
"Manami!"
She looked back to see Ed dealing with the same situation. Suddenly, black tendrils emerged from under them and wrapped around them to hold them down.
She could feel herself start to deteriorate… just like when they passed through the portal last time.
"Gah! No!"
And then everything went white, and Manami's eyes widened in horror.
She was being pulled through a portal… it felt just like the portal of Truth.
She squinted her eyes shut and screamed.
But then she fell through. She landed harshly on her side, against cold, hard ground.
"Ow…" She groaned and opened her eyes, seeing Ed lying down a few feet away from her.
"Son of a…" He pushed himself to sit up, and he looked to her.
"You okay, Manami?"
"I guess—"
WHOOSH! Someone came falling from overhead, and Ed's eyes widened when he figured out who it was.
"Teacher?!"
"Izumi?!" Manami gasped, watching in disbelief as Ed ran to her to help her up.
"Ed? And Manami?" Izumi blinked at the sight of them. "What are you two doing here?"
"No idea…" Ed shook his head. "We just ended up here…"
WHOOSH! Manami looked up to see yet again something else falling, from right above her.
"!" She barely managed to jump out of the way, but it was when she heard the loud CLANK as they landed on the floor that she realized...
"Al?!"
"What?!" Ed whipped around to see Manami running to Al's side. His eye holes were dark, and he wasn't moving.
Was he unconscious?
"Al!" Ed and Izumi joined Manami at Al's side.
"What's going on?!" Izumi asked, looking to Ed.
"I don't know..!" Ed replied, panic in his voice.
"Al! Wake up!" Manami cried, going to shake his shoulders.
But then, someone's voice spoke, and they all froze.
"One… two… three… four… and five."
They looked up to see… something indescribable. It looked like a person, but with black skin and eyes plastered all over its body.
Manami's eyes widened in horror when she saw a leg sticking out of its shoulder… and at its stomach, there was a face…
"Hohenheim!" Ed gasped, eyes also wide.
"Edward… it looks like he got you and Manami… Al too… and Miss Izumi… I apologize that you have to see me like this."
"What the hell is that thing?!" Manami gritted her teeth.
"A clone of me." Hohenheim answered. "The one the Homunculi call 'Father.'"
"The bearded bastard?!" Ed asked. "What the hell happened to it?!"
"That's none of your concern." Father frowned. "Hohenheim, you need to keep your mouth shut."
"!" Hohenheim's eyes went wide, as his body started to disappear inside Father's body.
"What are you doing?!" Izumi demanded.
"I tried to simply absorb the Philosopher Stones inside Hohenheim, but it didn't go as planned… but at least he's still under my control." Father said, as Hohenheim sunk completely into Father's body.
"Now then… I welcome you, my sacrifices, to my palace. Make yourselves at home."
Ed and Izumi stood, getting in battle positions. Manami, meanwhile, didn't get up.
"Al, wake up..!" She went back to shaking Al's shoulders. "Come on..!"
Ed gritted his teeth, but looked back at Father to see Pride emerging from the shadows beside him.
"I've made it, Father."
"Wonderful timing, my son. We will begin soon… once Alphonse joins us."
"Like hell!" Ed barked. "We're not going through with your plan!"
"You don't have a choice." Father frowned at him. "I've got you five all where I want you…"
Manami was desperately looking down at Al. Why wasn't he waking up?! He couldn't be…
BOOM!
Everyone looked up to see that there was an explosion in the ceiling, and Father frowned.
"Who..?"
In front of Ed and Izumi landed Mei.
"Mei?!" Ed gasped.
"And once again, my home is being destroyed." Father glared at Mei. "How dare you, girl."
"He may look different, but there's no mistaking it…" Mei pointed to him. "He's the one behind all of this!"
Her attention moved to Al, unconscious on the floor.
"Alphonse?!" She fell to his side, across from Manami. "What happened to him?!"
"I-I don't know…" Manami stammered. "He won't wake up..!"
She desperately went to shake him again.
"Al, come on! Wake up! Please!"
And suddenly, his red orbs appeared, and he quickly sat up.
"Alphonse!" Mei gasped.
"Al!" Manami cried, throwing her arms around him. Al instinctively wrapped an arm around her as well.
"Manami?!"
"You're okay..!" Manami hugged him tighter.
"Al!"
"Brother!" The suit of armor looked over to see his brother, pulling out of his hug with Manami before looking back at her.
She was back in her regular clothes, and her hair was brown once again.
"Wh-Where are we..?" Al asked, as he went to stand and help Manami up.
"That's…"
"Finally…" Father spoke over Manami before she could respond. "All five sacrifices are here!"
"If he wants us all together… we need to run—"
"There's nowhere to run." Father cut Izumi off, then pointed up to where the ceiling had burst open… it appeared to be sealed by the same black goop that his body was made of.
"For you see, you're already inside me."
"Then we'll fight our way out!" Manami pulled out her fans.
"You… with all the eyes. You're immortal, aren't you?"
Everyone looked to Mei, who looked strangely confident. Father was silent.
"So you don't deny it…" She pulled out her small knives. "Everyone, I'll take care of him."
"U-Um…" Al stammered.
"That's not the best idea…" Ed said quietly.
"It's fine!" Mei assured them. "He can't control my Alkahestry. The rest of you keep the puny Homunculus out of my way."
Though they also knew… the 'puny Homunculus,' Pride, was just as strong…
"You're not going to take him out on your own, as much as you want to." Manami said to Mei. "I'll back you up."
"..." Mei frowned, but before she could say anything, Ed and Al went to charge for Pride, transmuting spikes to shoot at him.
"Why must you rude children keep destroying my home?" Father asked.
"Just behave like proper guests—"
One of Mei's small knives sunk into the side of Father's head, though it didn't seem to phase him at all. He looked back at her, seeing her readying another knife.
"Give me the secret of immortality!" She demanded.
"..." The knife suddenly sunk inside Father's skull.
"?!" Manami's eyes widened.
"This is yours." Suddenly, the same knife shot back at them, though it was bigger than Mei's body. Father must have used his stone to increase its size!
Boom! Both Manami and Mei dodged the giant knife, but Mei jumped off of it towards him and aimed a kick.
Suddenly, Hohenheim's face emerged from Father's stomach.
"WAIT, STOP!" He yelled. "He can attack without moving!"
"!" Manami gasped and looked to see Mei, about to land her kick on Father…
She quickly waved her fans, but Mei had still barely touched the tip of her foot against Father's forehead and sparks flew as Manami's wind got to her and carried her away.
"GAH!" Blood spurted out from Mei's body.
"Mei!" Al cried.
Manami ran up and caught the girl before she landed on the ground. She looked her over, and sighed in relief when she confirmed that she was just unconscious… but that didn't change the fact that she was still hurt.
She looked back and saw shadows emerging from Father and shooting towards them.
"!" She quickly raised one of her fans to blow a gust of wind that deflected the shadows away.
"Attacking… a precious sacrifice?" She panted.
"You don't have to be uninjured…" Father smirked. "Just alive."
"?!" Manami's eyes widened at the sight of more shadows coming right for her, more than she could deflect. She gritted her teeth and turned her back to him so that her body would shield Mei, squinting her eyes and bracing herself for...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Manami's eyes opened when she realized the beating never came. She looked back to see Al standing in front of her. He had shielded the two of them from the attack.
"Al..."
"Are you two alright?" He asked her.
"Y-Yeah…" Manami nodded, but then looked around. She could see Ed fighting Pride, and Izumi transmuting a cannon to shoot at Father.
"Help me!" Al's cry snapped her out of it, and he clapped his hands. She gently laid Mei down and then stepped up to do the same, and they both slammed their hands on the ground to transmute spikes to shoot at Father.
No matter what, Father morphed his body to completely dodge whatever was thrown at him.
"Damn it..!" Manami gritted her teeth.
"We have to get Mei out of here!" Al told her.
"Point me to the nearest exit and I'll be right on it!" Manami said with sarcasm.
"Playtime is over." Father spoke, and suddenly shot out shadows that wrapped around Al and Manami before they could deflect them.
"!" Manami struggled to break free, but to no avail.
"Manami!" Al struggled to reach his hand out to her.
"Al!" She did the same, but just as they were just about to brush fingertips, they were both lifted into the air.
"Gah!" She could see Izumi and Ed also lifted in the air, constricted by Father's shadows.
He suddenly slammed them all down on the ground around him.
"The time has come… do your work, my sacrifices!"
"No!" Manami struggled in her bind.
"Damn it!" She heard Ed yell.
"This planet of ours, have you ever considered the possibility that it might be a life form?" Father asked. "Actually… it would be more accurate to refer to it as a vast nervous system. One that's retained it's every memory since it's inception… and has witnessed the universe unfold!"
He held his arms out. "Just think of the massive quantity of energy and information that such a system would hold! How much power could one gain if someone were to open that system's gateway?"
Everyone gasped.
"And now that I have you all gathered here… I shall use you as sacrifices to open this planet's gate!"
"That's a pretty good plan, pops…" Someone else spoke, and Manami looked up to see Father's get blown into pieces, and from behind him…
"I hope you don't mind me taking that plan for myself!"
Manami's eyes widened at the sight of Ling… or, as it was right now, Greed…
"This world…" He smirked devilishly. "Will finally belong to me!"