heya! ok, there's like...ten sentences that are supposed to be at the end of this chapter...but, well...the stupid computer lost them, so you'll have to wait untill Ember can resend them to me, k? for now, enjoy (most of) chapter 7!

Armstrong grabbed Ed, Rei and Bella into a tight hug.

"I've heard so much about you three!" he said. Ed pushed him away.

"My god, I thought I was gonna die of suffocation!" Bella muttered to Rei.

"I wonder who told him about us." Rei said sarcastically looking towards Roy. Roy leaned down towards them.

"Well, when I was approached by someone that annoying, I had no other choice than to tell him about your guy's pasts….." Armstrong took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears on his face. (Me: What a drama king :sighs:)

"And that is why I shall take the responsibility of being your escort to your mechanic." He said. Ed and Bella stared at him in disbelief.

"What the hell! We don't need an escort!" Ed said. Riza turned to Ed.

"Edward, are you saying you, Al and the girls are going to leave when there's a chance you'll get attacked by Scar again? You need an escort." She said sternly.

"Yeah, and in the condition you three are in, you do think you'll be able to carry Al?" Havoc spoke up.

"Fine, but does if have to be the Major?" Bella asked, annoyed. Everyone made up excuses why they couldn't escort our young alchemists. Armstrong patted Ed's head.

"So it's decided!" he said. Ed looked at him angrily.

"Nothing's decided!" Ed yelled

"We don't need you to decided stuff for us." Rei said simply. Armstrong bent down so he was face to face with Ed.

"Now, you children should listen to your elders."

"Don't treat us like kids!" Ed shouted. He turned to Al and Bella behind him.

"Hey Al, Bella, we're not gonna take that, are we!"

"Oh brother! This is the first time I've been treated like a kid since I became a suit of armor!" Al said, happily. Ed slapped himself, obviously annoyed. "What about you Bella?" he asked, hoping she would agree with him. She smiled and nodded.

"Ha! Three to one!" He said, pointing towards Roy. Roy gave him an evil smile.

"Well, if insist on being unreasonable, how would you like it if I gave you court-martial for disobeying orders?" he said with a smirk on his face.

"What! You dirty little-" Ed and Bella started, shooting death glares at Roy.

At the Train Station

Rei and Bella sat next to each other across from Armstrong and Ed. (who is being squished) Hughes had come by to wish them safe travels hours ago. Now they were passing by some mountains when Armstrong asked Ed about Risembool.

"It's just a quaint little town" he said. "Actually everything got destroyed because of the Civil War in the East. It might have been a bustling city by now if the military had been more on top of things." As he said this, Armstrong gave him an annoyed look. Ed looked out the window smiling as he continued.

"But, it's a real quiet place. You can get a lot of stuff there you can't in the city." He continued. "Yup, that's me and Al's hometown."

"Speaking of Al," Bella spoke up suddenly, "Don't you think he's lonely in the luggage car by himself?" she asked.

"Nonsense," Armstrong started "I put him in with the livestock so he wouldn't be lonely." Ed turned to face Armstrong, with an annoyed look on his face.

"You jerk! That's worse than the luggage car!" he exclaimed. As he and the Major argued Bella spotted someone familiar. A woman with purple hair a few seats ahead of them was reading the newspaper. Rei looked at Bella confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked, petting Koneko in her lap as he slept. Bella broke out of her thoughts as she heard Rei's voice.

"Huh?" She said turning to Rei. "Oh, it's nothing. I just thought I recognized someone." Rei gave her a confused look, but shrugged it off. That's so strange…… Bella thought, that can't really be her. 'Cause if she's here, that means- She shook her thoughts away, not believing them.

Next Morning

Ed yawned in his sleep, his face pressed against the window. Rei was in the same position as Edward and Bella was just waking up. Armstrong was already awake, reading a book to waste time. He turned his head towards the window as he saw someone familiar (Me: Too many familiar people!) He leaned towards the window, almost crushing Ed in the process. Ed awoke as he was pressed against the window.

"AGH!"

"Dr. Marcoh?" Armstrong asked. The man turned to him as he heard his voice. He looked towards the Major and stared in fright and raced away. (Wouldn't everyone do that? I would. The Major scares me)

"DR. MARCOH!" The Major yelled. Bella looked towards him, sleepily.

"Someone you know?" she asked, drowsy. Armstrong nodded. They were going to get off at this stop to meet the man Major recognized.

"Hey Rei, wake up already" Bella said. Rei stirred slightly. Bella sighed, rolling her eyes. "Ugh….. Wake up Rei!" She said, nudging Rei. Rei fluttered her eyes open sleepily.

"Wha?" She asked.

"We're getting off here real quick, now get off your butt and let's get moving." Bella said, impatiently as Ed and Armstrong were waiting in the aisle beside them. Rei shot her a death glare for waking her before standing up. (Rei's very grumpy in the mornings)

"Finally" Bella said.

"You're impatient today." Ed said.

"Well I wanna get my hand fixed soon. I'm a lefty and I don't know how much longer I can handle using my right hand. It's too hard!" She whined. Ed rolled his eyes Typical Bella…. he thought.

Armstrong knocked on the door at Marcoh's house for the third time. This is was where the people walking on the streets had told them. Ed realized the door was unlocked and opened it slightly, popping his head inside.

"Dr. Marcoh?" He asked quietly as he looked forward to see a gun pointed in his face. He shrieked and jumped back as the gun was fired, barely missing him. There, standing far away from the door was Dr. Marcoh, gun in hand.

"You're here to take me back aren't you!" He asked quickly, fright in his voice.

"Dr. Marcoh, we're here to-" Armstrong started.

"No! I'm not going back to that place! You can't make me!" Dr. Marcoh interrupted. Armstrong threw the crate Al was in at Dr. Marcoh.

"DR. MARCOH! COOPERATE!" he shouted.

"AL!" Ed shouted as Al was thrown at Dr. Marcoh.

"I couldn't stand it anymore……" Dr. Marcoh said. He had let them inside his house finally and the five of them were sitting at the table, with Al on the floor. (poor Al) "Having to obey their orders…….. dirtying my hands to research the things I did…… and then seeing it used in the Civil War to slaughter hundreds of people…" he paused.

"It was an awful war." He said. "So many innocent people died…." Bella looked down at the table. The horrid memory of the Ishbal Massacre still haunted her every day. Rei took notice and gave Bella a confused look.

"I couldn't make up for my actions if I paid for them for the rest of my life." Marcoh continued. "but still I try to do what I can. That's why I work as a doctor in this place."

"What were you researching before you left? What did you take with you?" Armstrong asked. Marcoh paused again.

"I was making the Philosopher's Stone." He said. Everyone looked towards him, astonished.

"I took the stone and the research data."

"Do you have the stone!" Ed asked. Marcoh turned to a cabinet and grabbed a small vile with a blood red liquid inside.

"Stone? It looks like a liquid!" Bella said as Marcoh took off the cork top. He titled the vile and the liquid dripped onto the table.

"WHA!" Ed and Bella exclaimed. It fell onto the table into a perfect circular shape.

"The Sage's Stone, The Stone of Heaven, The Great Elixir, The Red Tincture," Rei said simply "There's are many different names for the Philosopher's Stone, but it looks to be that the Philosopher's Stone isn't a stone at all." She glanced towards Marcoh. "Am I correct?" He nodded.

"It's just for experimental purposes. It's an imperfect compound and it's impossible to know when it will reach its limits and cease to work." He said.

"It may be imperfect but the fact that you made it means that it's possible to make the perfect stone someday, right?" Ed said quietly. He looked at Marcoh as anew hope swept over him.

"Dr. Marcoh! Could you show us your data?" he asked eagerly.

"What!" He turned towards the Major. "What do you mean to do such a thing? Major Armstrong, who are these children?"

"They are state alchemists." he said quietly.

"These children! They have state licensee at their age? They must have been lured by the promises of privilege and research money… How foolish!" he said.

"It may have been foolish, but we had too!" Bella spoke up, determined. "We have to achieve our goals. Even if it means sleeping on this bed of nails." This was the only time Rei had saw Bella actually serious. It kinda shocked her. Marcoh looked down.

"So. You three committed the ultimate sin…." Bella then turned to her immature side.

"Well, not me exactly….." she trailed off. (Well, we all knew that her serious side wasn't going to last long :laughs:)

"I still cannot allow you three to see my data." He said.

"But why not!" Ed shouted, enraged.

"I've said everything I'm going to say. Getting your original bodies back… The stone shouldn't be used for something so trite."

"Trite?" Rei asked, glaring towards the Doctor.

"No one can ever see my research. It's the work of the Devil. And it can go straight to Hell…." He said. Ed looked at him enraged.

"I've already seen Hell." He said. Dr. Marcoh looked at him for a moment then turned his back to him.

"No….." he said "Please, go……" Ed looked devastated. Bella opened her mouth to protest, but Rei gave her a "Shut it or pay" look. Bella nodded, glancing towards Marcoh, and sighed. Here we go…… back to the beginning again………They walked out of the small house back towards the train station and waited for the next train to Risembool.

"Are you satisfied with how that turned out?" Armstrong asked the young alchemists. Ed looked up.

"You couldn't look at the data, but you could have just stolen the stone by force if you wanted to." He said.

"If we stole the thing that healed all those people we saw on the way to Marcoh's just to get our bodies back," Bella looked up towards the sky, her hands behind her head. "We'd just be selfish thieves. I don't want to live that life anymore."

"?" Ed and Rei looked at her confused.

"Yeah, I was a thief in Central a while back. I was pretty well-known." She looked back forward. "Oh god. I hope they don't remember me." She said with a terrified look.

"Lemme guess, they'd rip you to shreds?" Rei asked, raising her eyebrow with a smirk across her face, amused. Bella nodded.

"Actually, more like burn me on a pole." She laughed. "I can thank Mustang for my bad reputation." She shrugged. "Oh well, guess we can forget about that to get our bodies back." She said.

"Hey you!" the voice of Dr. Marcoh called out.

ok, there'll be more...soon, i dunno when!