A crescent moon laid in the sky behind the First Branch of the Library. Lust stood amongst the bookcases, a candlestick in her hand.

Lust: "Finding a book in this mess will be a pain." As she continued to walk, Scar turned the corner, watching her.

Scar: "Is she..."

Lust: "Who is it?" Scar walked into the light and glared at her. "What is it, Mr. Scarred Person?"

Scar: "You look very similar to her, but that can't be true."

Gluttony: "I smell him. I smell him. I smell a blood-covered Ishbal man." Scar's clothes were clean, but the smell could not be masked.

Lust: "You were trying to do something to the Full Metal boy again, weren't you?" Lust leaned against the railing. I can't have that. I still need them to go after the Philosopher's Stone."

Scar: "What do you mean?"

Lust: "Oh? Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

Gluttony: "Can I eat another?" The thing smiled to show his blood covered teeth. Lust smiled and with odd quickness, Gluttony raced towards Scar. On the outside, the windows glew with a strong bright red light.

Marco Notes

Ed: "We're here at Central now! All right, now let's head to the First Branch!"

Al: "Brother, wait up!" Ed had pulled into a full sprint towards the library.

Armstrong: "You don't need to hurry like that: the library won't run away."

Ed: "We've finally gotten hold of a reliable clue. I can't stay calm."

Woman: "Major Armstrong, we've come to pick you up." A man and a woman stood infront of you, saluting. The female had short black hair, and dark eyes. The male was blond, with brown eyes.

Armstrong: "Good job." He saluted as well. "I'll be heading to headquarters now. From here on, these two will escort you."

Woman: "I am Lieutenant Maria Ross."

Male: "I am Sergeant Denny Bloch."

Both: "We're honored to take this job, FullMetal Alchemist sir." Ed was in the corner because again, they were talking to Al.

Bloch: "You look just like you're second name. You have quite a presence."

Ed: "Oh... This happens all the time but... I'm already used to it."

Bloch: "What? Then the small one here is..." Ed turned to him and he had a very scary look on his face. "No, um... I wasn't expecting such a child."

Ed: "Forget it! Major, I don't need any bodyguards. Al, Lita, and I are perfectly fine now."

Armstrong: "I wouldn't mind if you three were alone but..."

Ross: "We've received information that Scar has reappeared in Central. That's how it is. Just bear with it for a while. Full Metal Alchemist, sir. Just leave it to us."

You: "You don't like much protection to me. Just don't get in our way." You pushed them out of your way and walked down the street.

Bloch: "There's a car waiting for you."

Al: "I'm sorry. She's like that sometimes. Please don't take it personally." And he walked after you and Ed.

Armstrong: "Although she acts like that, she has gone through many things in the past. Please try your best to bear with her." Armstrong had tears in his eyes.

Ross: "I'll try... But... Because of the fire yesterday, most of the First Branch was destroyed."

You: "You have got to be kidding..."

Ross: "From the testimonies of the witnesses, we believe the prime suspect is the wanted Scar." Ed reached down to pick up one of the books, but it crumbled to pieces in his hands.

Al: "Brother..."

Ed: "Our clue burned away..."

With Roy and Hughes

Hughes: "No! I'm serious! I want to let you hear it. She's a genius! And she's only three! How should I say this... An angel's voice. There's a 90 percent chance she'll become a diva!"

Roy: "Lieutenant Colonel, I'm working here."

Hughes: "What? What a coincidence! I'm working too!"

Roy: "Really? Is there no Alchemy technique to burn a person through the phone?"

Hughes: "You sure asked a scary question, Flame Alchemist. Putting those things aside... About the case... We're sure Scar was involved in it; witnesses saw him. But having looked at the scene, we highly doubt he did all that by himself. There are some clues indicating that he fought someone."

Roy: "Any news on Scar?"

Hughes: "The fight extended outside of the site to the waterways. We found his clothes covered in blood at the lower reaches. But we don't know if he is still alive or not. There's a rumor going around that Colonel Mustang will be coming back here because of Brigadier General Gran's death. But there are some that say that you were behind all of this."

Roy: "Idiotic. But... Return to Central City, eh? Not bad."

Hughes: "Be careful. You have a lot of enemies in the higher-ups."

Roy: "I'm prepared for that already."

Hughes: "Be sure to get as many allies that will understand and support you as you can. So... You should hurry up ... and get married."

Roy: "Shut up!" Roy slammed the phone down angrily.

Hawkeye: "Please Colonel. Don't take it out on the phone."

Later

Male Librarian: "We've been looking since this morning... These were the only books we were able to find." There was a small box on the table with a few books in it.

Bloch: "They're in horrible condition." Ed took a red book out of the box and rubbed his sleeve on the front.

Al: "Brother." Ed continued to search through the box.

Female Librarian: "We found no books written by Tim Marco in the First Branch. If it was moved from a branch, there would be a record."

You: "Is there a possibility that someone borrowed it?"

Female Librarian: "Yes, but the records of who borrowed what were lost in the fire."

Ed: "I see."

Al: "Maybe it was just burned with the others."

You: "If only we could confirm that it was in there at all. Who else worked there?"

Female Librarian: "He and I were the only ones that worked in the First Branch."

You: "Only two?"

Female Librarian: "Only State Alchemists are able to access the First Branch, so..."

You: "There was a girl with glasses the last time I was there."

Female Librarian: "Oh, you mean Scieszka? She was fired a little while ago."

Ed: "Fired?"

Male Librarian: "She was a little weird."

Female Librarian: "She's a bookworm."

Ed: "Worm?"

Break

Bloch continued to slam the gold knocker against the wood of the door.

Bloch: "Is she not home?"

Ed: "The lights are on inside. Let's open it."

Ross: "You mustn't!" Ed opened the door and peeked inside.

Bloch: "What are those mountain of books! Does someone really live in there!"

You: "Scieszka, are you home? Scieszka?"

Al: "No response."

: "Help me..." You all yelled and ran inside, trying to dig through the mountains of books.

Al: "Someone's buried under this!"

Ed: "Al! Dig!" A large stack of books and gravity turned out disastrous as it crashed on the four of you.

Break

You had gotten Scieszka out and she sat on the floor, a cup of tea in her hand.

Scieszka: "Thank you so much. I accidentally knocked over one of my stacks of books. I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die."

Ed: "Scieszka, you used to work in the First Branch of the library, right?"

Scieszka: "Yes. I kept reading the books while I was working there, so I was fired. I have to send money to my sick mother. But the only thing I can do is read books."

Ed: "Scieszka, did you see a book by a Tim Marco in the library?"

Scieszka: "Tim Marco?"

Ed: "I think it was a thick hand-written research report."

Scieszka: "Thick hand-written research report. Tim Marco? Oh! Yes, I remember it! A leather-covered book with hand-written manuscript, right?"

You: "Are you sure about that?"

Scieszka: "Yes, I remember all the books in the First Branch."

Ed: "So that means... Damn it, we have to start all over now."

Al: "Brother..."

Scieszka: "Yes, it's painful when you can't find a book you want to read. I understand how it feels. There were times when I scaled these piles of books for days but I still couldn't find the book I wanted to read. I became so sad..."

Ed: "Scieszka, thank you. I was able to confirm the book was there, so I'll try to do something on my own now."

Bloch: "What? You have a backup plan?"

Break

You all stood infront of the remains of the library.

Ed: "I will all the ashes here and restore all of the books."

Bloch: "Wow can you really do such a thing?"

You: "You don't know us at all do you?" You and Ed nodded to each other and clapped. A strong wind blew all of the ashes away.

Bloch: "What about those ashes? Can you still do it after some have flown away?"

Al: "It's still impossible, brother."

Scieszka: "Um, I can make a copy of the book. I remember the contents of every book I've read. I've read most books in the First Branch so..."

Ed: "Really? You can really do such a thing!"

Scieszka: "It's a stupid ability, but it might come in handy for you."

Three Days Later

Scieszka: "Thank you for waiting! There was a lot to write, so it took me a while to write it all out."

Ed: "This is Marco's research report? Are you sure?" Ed stared down at the large pile of papers on the small oak table.

Scieszka: "Yes. It has simple appetizers for party dinners with guests... "Today's Menu, 1,000 Dishes" written by Tim Marco."

All: "Huh?"

Scieszka: "Yes."

Ross: "One spoon of sugar. A pinch of salt and pepper. These are really recipes."

Bloch: "Maybe you got the author wrong." He whispered into Scieszka's ear.

Scieszka: "What? But I only copied what you told me to copy."

Ross: "Unfortunately, we've wasted our time here."

You: "No. You're sure this is written word for word?"

Scieszka: "Yes! I'm sure of it."

You: "You're amazing. Thank you. Lieutenant Ross."

Ed: "Give this amount of money to Scieszka." He handed her a piece of paper and gathered up some of the papers on the table, you and Al getting the rest. "If you go to the State Alchemist Organization and show them that, they'll give you that amount from my research fund. Al, Lita, let's go." He pushed open the door and walked down the stairs.

Ross: "Wait! Sergeant, take these."

Bloch: "What are they going to do with that book?"

Scieszka: "Yes..." They looked at the paper Ed had given them and freaked out. "What the... That much!"

Bloch: 'Is he really giving her this much money! He is indeed a State Alchemist." Ross ran infront of you and held out her arms.

Ross: "Please wait! Where are you going?"

You: "We're going to stay at Central Library for a while, since that is the best place for this kind of work."

Ross: "What? We still don't know Scar's whereabouts... We can't guard you in a place with so much traffic."

You: "Then report it to your superiors. And get out of my way." You pushed past her and continued on to the library.

Al: "This is a clue we've been seeking for a long time. We're sorry."

Ed: "Marco's research report."

You: "It may look like a cookbook at first glance..."

Al: "But the secret is written in here somewhere, right?"

You: "It's encrypted to prevent abuse. They even say that Alchemy was born in the kitchen. This will be a cinch, you just wait and see." The brothers nodded and Al gave you an admiring glance. The two went off to find books while you set up the work space.

Al: "She's so smart, brother." Ed slid down the ladder and handed Al another book.

Ed: "And people say you can't be smart and good looking too." Al giggled and peeked around the corner. She had taken off her jacket and had taken a shower a while before. She had put on a simple black shirt and a black frayed mini skirt. Her hair was down, her red locks rested on her back, all curly and sexy. Her black eye make-up contrasted beautifully with her silver eyes. She had long legs and a beautiful body. She had her glasses on and she looked so smart. "Al?" Al jumped out of his daze.

Al: "Okay, I really want to get out of this body."

Ed: "Why?" Ed looked around the corner to see Lita. "Oh. Don't touch that my friend. She'll tear your heart out." Ed chuckled as Al's armor blushed.

You: "Who's she?" The brothers jumped to see that you had appeared behind them.

Ed: "Oh, nothing." You rolled your eyes and walked up the ladder and grabbed a book. Ed made the mistake of looking up, seeing right up your skirt. "Holy crap, girl. You work out." You jumped off the ladder and hit him upside the head with the thick leather book you had grabbed.

Al: "Don't touch that, brother. She'll knock your head off." Al laughed as Ed massaged his new bruise that was forming on his head.

Break

You and the Elric brothers had finally gotten to work. After a good six hours of searching Ed's head hit the table.

Ed: "I thought that I could decipher this easily... What a difficult code..."

You: "This is Marco we are talking about."

Al: "If only we could ask him directly."

You: "He abandoned the research. We can't rely on him."

Hughes: "Hey, Ed, Al, Lita! You doing well?"

You: "Lieutenant Colonel! We haven't seen you since we got here!"

Hughes: "It's because of Scar's reappearance. I've been busy. Al, did he fix your body?"

Al: "Yes."

Hughes: "Is that so?"

Bloch: "Those three are talking to the Lieutenant Colonel like he's a friend."

Ross: "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. We will not be able to protect these three if there is an emergency. I believe they should go back to their lodgings at headquarters."

You: "I told you to leave us alone!"

Ross: "As long as we don't know where Scar is, we should reexamine security procedures."

Hughes: "Lieutenant Ross is right." Hughes crossed his arms and sighed.

You: "Don't say that..."

Hughes: "But I can't do it at my discretion. You should ask Major Armstrong."

Ross and You: "No, not him!"

You: "Hughes, we're really close here. Please."

Hughes: "We can't do much because of the Scar incident. On top of that, all the case records were destroyed. So we can't help, even if we wanted to."

Ed: "Case records. Those were in the branch, as well?"

Hughes: "Yeah. All the testimony records and name lists were there."

You: "LC. You're in luck." (I'm not being lazy by typing LC, that's what she really said)

Break

Scieszka: "What! Me!" She pointed at herself as she freaked out. "I've read police records and suspect lists before..."

You: "Now you'll be fine."

Hughes: "Well, if what you're saying is true, that will help us a lot."

You: "Well, if I recommend her..." Hughes nodded.

Scieszka: "The only thing I can do is read books... And they want me in the court-martial office?"

You: "It's not as stupid as you think. What you can do is amazing. I wish I could do it. You're kinda like me. I have a photographic memory as well. But not with books. I just need to take one look at my surroundings, and I can memorize things. I've also helped the investigation department with that. You'll do great. You should be more confident about yourself."

Scieszka: "Thank you. I will work my hardest. I accept the job." She turned to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes and bowed.

Hughes: "Okay! Now that it is decided, lets make this official. Our place pays well."

Scieszka: "Thank you!" You gave Hughes 'the look' and he chuckled.

Hughes: "Fine. For library security, I'll send out some people from the court-martial office."

You: "What? Thank you. I never intended that, though."

Hughes: "Liar."

Ed: "Sure you didn't." Ed picked you and carried you out of the house, laughing.

Later

Hughes: "Bye! Don't overwork yourself!" Hughes shut the door and began to walk down the stone steps.

Ross: "Please wait, Lieutenant Colonel."

Hughes: "Lieutenant Ross. I know what you want to say. But they wont give up that easily. Especially Lita. I'll dispatch the security personnel tomorrow. Please manage with that."

Ross: "Why do you listen to them so much? You're letting them continue their work when you know the danger that lurks around it! They're still children!"

Hughes: "That is why I am going to protect them. Only they can do what they're doing right now. One of the jobs of an adult is to watch over children so they don't screw up. I'm counting on you."

Break

Scar: "Brother!" Gluttony ran at Scar and Scar extended his arm, his fist closing around Gluttony's head. Blood spurted out of the back of his head, but it did no damage. The fat boys hand stuck through Scar's stomach and the Ishbalen began to bleed from the mouth. Scar's hand touched Gluttony's arm and it exploded. The bookcase he rested against was cut into and Lust stood in the handmade archway. From Scar's pursuit, he began to bleed from his forehead. Fire began to spread from the candle that Lust had thrown. "You bastards are ... Homunculus."

Lust: "Oh? There are still people who believe in our existence?" Scar put his arm on the wall he was leaning against and the whole inside exploded, expanding the flames.

Gluttony: "I missed my chance to eat him."

Lust: "I wanted to look at Marco's research report. But there is no use in that anymore." Scar jumped awake.

Boy: "Are you awake? That's a suprise. I wasn't expecting you to come back to life."

Scar: "Where am I? Old man, you're from Ishbal, right?" Scar looked up and glared. "Don't worry. This is an Ishbal City. Grandpa! He came back to life!" Scar limped across the dock to where the little boy had lead him. An old man sat at the end, holding a fishing rod.

Grandpa: "Oh? You gained another life, young one. You're that, um ... wanted person, right? Don't worry. No one here will set out a comrade."

Scar: "There were this many Ishbal survivors."

Grandpa: "This isn't the only place. Our people have created villages throughout the land and are living on. This entire world is enveloped by the arms of our God, Ishbala."

Break

Bloch: "No progress today either?" Bloch stretched out in the wooden chair outside the wooden doors of the room where the three of you sat. "I don't know what they're looking up, but I'd appreciate it if they would give up."

Ross: "Those children won't give up until they find something. It's our job to protect them until then."

Ed: "What the hell! Now I understand why they call it the Devil's Research. And the reason Marco abandoned his research. Now I understand clearly. The Philosopher's Stone uses human beings for components."

Bloch: "What? What's the matter?" Ross had heard everything after Ed had yelled.

Ed: "I thought... I thought that we had finally reached our goal."

Boy: "You're leaving?"

Scar: "Thanks for your hospitality."

Boy: "Stay here."

Scar: "I cannot do that. I am the man who has betrayed the ways of God."

Boy: "That arm looks incredible."

Scar: "Yeah. It's an incredible arm a family member gave to me."