Chapter Title: Manipulation and Deception
Pairings: None! I can't write romance for the life of me!
Spoilers: For the 5th Lab (obviously…)
Warnings: Cursing, Tucker (What? He ought to have a warning…)
Disclaimer: I wish I owned it, but I don't. Darnit.
A/N: Dundundun…and despite my predictions, the chapter is late again. -sigh- I've decided that I really, really dislike writing Barry. Ed gave me some trouble, too, but Barry was definitely the main reason for the lateness. That and the fact that the theater ate all my inspiration and free time for a two week period during which I was unable to write much at all. After what happened with these last few chapters, I'm not making any promises, but I'll try my best to get the next one out in a more timely fashion.

The fight between Al and Number 66 had been going on for not even five minutes, but to Al it seemed as though it had been hours. He'd decided on a strategy of waiting until his opponent tired, since he couldn't feel fatigue himself and thus would have an advantage. But the guardian didn't seem to be tiring at all, and every second Al's worry for Ed and Scar increased. By now it was obvious that something was very, very wrong with this 'mission', and for all he knew they could be hurt or in trouble and need his help. He needed to beat this guy quickly.

"I've got you now!" the guardian shouted in a psychotically gleeful voice, as he used Al's momentary distraction to stab his knife through the leather of the boy's left elbow joint.

For once feeling very grateful to be a hollow suit of armor, Al easily snapped off a good portion of the tip of the blade by sharply bending his elbow. Then while 66 was surprised, he landed a punch right in the guardian's face, sending him flying backwards. But when he landed…the skull helmet simply fell right off.

"Oh dear, you've gone and made me lose my head…" 66 sighed, standing up and scooping up the fallen helmet.

Al gasped in shock, "Your body…"

"Yeah, due to some unfortunate circumstances I wound up like this," he tossed his helmet up and down, pointing into his completely empty armor shell, "I bet you can't tell who I used to be, huh?" he waited for a few seconds, and when Al didn't answer, continued, "Oh, come on, how can you have forgotten? It's thanks to you guys catching me that I was condemned. Number 66 was my label on death row. While I still had a flesh and blood body, my name was…" he paused dramatically, positioning the helmet back in place, "…the serial killer, Barry the Chopper!"

For a moment, Al couldn't place the name, "Barry the Chopper?" but only half a second later, the memories came rushing back to him of that day three years before, when a psychotic serial murderer had nearly killed both Ed and Winry, "Barry? You mean from three years ago?"

If Barry was still in possession of a moveable face, he would have been grinning maniacally, "That's right! After being caught and executed, I've come back from the depths of hell to take revenge against you!" after he finished his statement, he began cackling psychotically, obviously expecting a terrified reaction from Al.

But Al just tilted his head to the side, remarking casually, "You don't say."

Barry ceased his laughter, confused, "Huh?" he waved his arms around, exclaiming, "Whaddaya mean, 'you don't say'? You're supposed to get scared that an executed prisoner is still alive! And what's more, when a suit of armor has lost it's head and still moves around, you're supposed to be more like 'Gyaah!' or like 'Waah!' or like 'What's the deal with your body?' or like…" he stopped short when Al lifted his own helmet off his shoulders, then screamed "Gyaah! What is up with your body?"

Al put the helmet back on, replying calmly, "That's awful. You'll hurt my feelings, you know."

Now Barry looked thoughtful, "So, you're a fellow executed prisoner too?"

"I'm no criminal!" Al protested mightily.

Barry just shrugged, "Even so, now that I know what you are, this fight is all mine! I know what your weakness is! If I destroy your bloodseal, you die!"

"But that goes for you too," Al pointed out.

"Well…you don't know where my bloodseal is!"

"You don't know where mine is either."

"You…well, I'll just have to chop you up until I find it!" the guardian shouted, rushing Al once more.

The fight between them dragged on, and as Barry grew more and more frustrated, his moves became more and more haphazard; he wasn't even getting good hits anymore. Al just wanted the fight to be over so he could go look for Ed and Scar, but the battle was at a stalemate, since neither side could tire nor feel pain.

Finally, Al just stopped, "Look, can we just call this a fight? I'm getting worried about my brother and my friend…"

Barry stopped too, tilting his head to the side curiously, "Oh? One of those guys that went inside is your brother? The short kid or the tall guy?"

"Don't call him short, he doesn't like it."

"Ah, I see," Barry said condescendingly, chuckling to himself.

"What?" Al asked, beginning to get somewhat annoyed with the guardian's vagueness.

"Well, he put you in that armor, right?"

"Yes, he risked his own life to anchor my soul."

Barry laughed again, "Oh, brotherly love is so beautiful, isn't it?" his voice lowered menacingly, "Even if it is only fake. Just like you are."

Now Al was really getting annoyed, "What are you talking about? It's not fake! And neither am I!"

"How do you know? Hmmm? How do you know your memories and personality weren't just implanted in you?" he chuckled again, "You can't prove your soul is real. It's not something you can see. Your so-called brother and all the people you know…they could have been tricking you all this time."

Al, meanwhile, had frozen in place, "W-what? No!" he banged a fist against his chest plate, "I'm Alphonse Elric! A real human being!"

But Barry could hear the doubt creeping into Al's voice and latched onto it, speaking smoothly, "Face it, you're just a fake!" and with that, he rushed at Al, ramming into him. When he was pushed away, he kept up his attack, swinging his cleaver and cackling, "What's the matter? You've gotten slower!" he forced Al back up against the outer wall, "You're not real, you're not human. Just accept it; you'll feel better."

"I…I'm…" Al stuttered; this had thrown him completely off balance, and he found himself thinking back to Resembool, while they were both in pieces and Scar was still an enemy…Ed had wanted to tell him something, something that he was afraid of how Al might react…had it been that he wasn't real at all? Doubt flooded his mind as he unconsciously began to analyze everything that had happened since he'd woken up inside the armor shell, looking for anything that might have pointed to him not being real. What if everyone else was in on it so he wouldn't suspect anything? Could it be possible? Everyone…Winry, Pinako, the Colonel, Scar…wait. Scar. Al felt the doubt begin to seep away. Scar treated him like a real human, and the Ishbalan was the pickiest person about that kind of thing that he knew. He wasn't deceptive, either, and if Ed had 'let him in on it' he wouldn't have ever even begun to treat Al like a person. If Scar thought he was human, then surely he must be, right? He would have to somehow ask Ed about this later, but for now he had his confidence back.

His metaphorical eyes narrowed in determination, "I am a real human being!" with renewed confidence, he practically threw Barry away from him and readopted his fighting stance.

The guardian was stunned; he'd thought that he'd had his opponent thoroughly tricked. Now this was just getting annoying. His victim was actually fighting back, and being very stubborn about it, too. There wasn't even anything but metal to chop! However…there was one way to remove this pest from existence…he gave a dramatic sigh, "Oh, this is getting boring. You wouldn't be much fun to chop anyway…I guess you can just go in."

Al hesitated, confused; he didn't trust this maniac serial killer at all, but what if he were telling the truth and had just given up out of frustration? He relaxed slightly, but didn't drop out of his stance, "You mean it?"

"You think I'm lying?" Barry threw his arms in the air in mock sorrow, "So distrustful! Here, I'll even open the special door for you; it leads right into the heart of the lab," he said smoothly, walking towards the wall of the lab and placing his hand on a section of the stone. It slid back to reveal a large red button, which the guardian pressed, then began to sprint away, "So long!"

"Huh? Wait!" Al called after the guardian's fleeing form, but was quickly distracted by an ominous rumbling sound. This was definitely not good. Just how not good it was became very apparent a few seconds later, when the world exploded around him.

By the time Barry set off the detonation, Ed and the older Slicer brother were too deep into the twisting, maze-like passages of the Lab's lower levels to notice more than a small tremor.

"You're absolutely positive that there weren't any more traps?" Ed shot Slicer a suspicious look.

"Positive," the former guardian answered resolutely. He might have nodded as well, but that might have been somewhat difficult, as he was now no more than a helmet being carried by his vanquisher. The rest of him, his younger brother, had committed suicide back in the room where they had been defeated, leaving him to guide Ed to the room where the incomplete Philosopher's Stone was. After defeating them, the young alchemist had demanded to know what was going on in this place, and as promised, the Slicer brothers answered as best they could with their limited knowledge.

Ed, understandably, was now both hopeful and suspicious; if the Slicer brothers were right about there being a Philosopher's Stone here, then he might have just found a way to restore his and Al's bodies. But, at the same time, Scar had said that the main ingredient of the stone…that it was the souls of live humans. Had this been the original purpose of the lab? Had the military actually condoned…? It certainly seemed like it, what with the prison next door and the convicted criminal he was currently carrying. Either way, there was something real messed up going on here, and he intended to find out what it was. He was about to ask Slicer another question when, suddenly, a loud, heavy footstep echoed in the gloom.

"I thought you said there weren't any more traps!"

"He isn't a trap."

"Whaddaya mean, 'he'? There's a person down here?"

"If you can still call him human."

As Slicer finished his ominous statement, a huge silhouette became visible in the darkness, and before long the creature was completely visible and standing a mere seven feet away from the pair. It looked like some sort of brown bear, save that it stood erect upon two feet, and from this angle it didn't seem to have a face. In addition, what looked like two human arms sprouted from the back of the shoulders and curled over and around the bear arms. As Ed simply stood there in something akin to shock at its appearance, it spoke in a hoarse whisper, "It's been a long time, Edward…" it lowered its 'head' to reveal a horrifyingly familiar, albeit upside-down, face that grinned down at the stunned alchemist…the face of Shou Tucker, formerly known as the Sewing Life Alchemist.

"You!" Ed threw off his shock, dropped Slicer, and flew at the creature that had once been a man, seizing him by the throat and growling, "Why are you still alive, when Nina…?" he trailed off as his mind played back flashes of the smiling young girl…and the chimera she'd been made into.

The former man looked down at him with something like sorrow, although Ed could still see the madness flickering in his eyes, and placed one of the brown paws on his automail arm, "It is for Nina's sake that I still live, Edward."

"What's that supposed to mean, you sick bastard?" Ed snarled furiously, pulling his hand away from Tucker in disgust.

"Come with me, I'll show you," Tucker smiled and turned to walk back the way he had come.

Ed was torn for a few moments between the somewhat pleasant idea of killing the psycho right then and there, and his own curiosity. In the end, curiosity won out and the young alchemist leaned over and picked up his iron guide before following silently after Tucker.

By the time the dust of the explosion had settled enough for Alphonse to see, Barry the Chopper had vanished entirely. Al wasn't about to go looking for him, either; Ed and Scar were inside that lab, and he was in going after them. Who knew what could be happening in there?

Fifteen minutes of wandering later, poor Alphonse still hadn't found either his brother or Scar, or even any signs that they'd been there. And now he'd gotten lost, too. Sighing in frustration, the animated suit of armor decided to try calling for them again, "Niisan! Scar-san! Can either of you hear me? Nii-"

"You won't find either of them that way, boy," a woman's voice spoke from behind him, and he whirled in surprise. An unnaturally pale-skinned, black haired woman was only a few feet away…he hadn't even heard her come up!

Fearing that she might somehow be yet another 'guardian', even though she didn't look like one, Al jumped backwards and raised his fists, "Who are you?"

She smirked, "There's no need to be so defensive. I won't harm you…unless, of course, that brother of yours won't do what we tell him to."

It took less than a second for Al to realize exactly what the woman meant by this, and he took a step backwards, his metaphorical eyes widening, "W-what? You mean…?"

"That's right, boy. Now just come along quietly and this will be a great deal easier," her eyes flashed dangerously and she took a few steps towards Al.

Al put up his fists again, voice determined, "No way am I coming with you."

She laughed, "What makes you think that you have a choice?" in a single movement, so quick that Al couldn't even see it, the woman extended the nails on her left hand, pinning Al to the wall in such a way that he couldn't move.

"Now can I eat him?" a childish voice asked from the darkness behind the woman, and a huge, fat man walked out into Al's line of vision and grinned hungrily. He didn't wait for a reply before opening his gaping mouth and biting right through Al's armor.

Al was now thoroughly terrified; he wanted to scream more than anything, but all he could do was stare in horror as the man continued to devour his arm. 'What…what are they…? Niisan…Scar-san…help…'

Meanwhile, Ed was completely unaware of his younger brother's plight. He was busy with the transmutation circle Tucker had led him to, in the room filled with tanks of red water. He'd also been shown the large tank of the liquid stone in the room above, and had just finished altering the arrays to be more powerful. The fact that the designs of the walls and the circle were highly similar to those on Scar's right arm did not escape his notice, but after what the Ishbalan had told him the night before last about said arm, he didn't pay it much heed.

"Well," he said quietly to himself as he brought his hands together in a clap that echoed in the large room, "Here goes…" he reached down to the circle, but just a second before he activated it, the ceiling exploded in a massive blast that rocked the room and sent chunks of wall flying everywhere. As the dust cleared, Ed sat up from where he'd fallen to the floor, coughing and squinting to see what had happened. Then his eyes widened in shock as he realized that there were now people lying all over the floor, "Why are there people here…?" he wondered out loud before turning a confused glare at Tucker, "Were there other researchers left besides you?"

The chimera smiled hauntingly, "Look closer. These people are wearing prisoner's uniforms, not lab coats."

"Why are they here?" Ed shouted angrily, "If I had activated that circle, they would've…"

Tucker just threw his head back and laughed maniacally, and a horrifying revelation dawned on Edward: he'd been supposed to transmute these people. If that explosion hadn't occurred, he would have killed them all without knowing, and if he'd ever found out about it at all, it would have been too late. But…how had they all gotten here in the first place? He opened his mouth, about to ask them…but before he could speak, a woman's voice interrupted him.

"Well, boy, what are you going to do now?"

Surprised, Ed whipped his head around to see a woman in a black dress standing near the door…and next to her stood Scar, an unreadable expression on his face. For a few moments, Ed could only stare, but then he raised an arm to point at the Ishbalan, "Scar…? What are you doing? Who the hell is that?"

The woman answered for him, "You don't need to concern yourself with who I am, boy. There has been a minor setback, but all the ingredients are still here. Now, if you would be so kind as to continue creating the Philosopher's Stone?"

Ed's eyes narrowed at her, and he looked over at Scar, expecting the Ishbalan to be angry and disgusted at the idea of him creating the stone using these prisoners. But Scar only gave a slow nod, seemingly uncaring, "Do as she says, Fullmetal."

"What? What's wrong with you?" Ed glared at Scar, highly confused by the Ishbalan's sudden change of heart.

The woman smiled, "There's nothing wrong with him, boy. We simply came to an agreement. Did you think he would remain loyal to you, a State Alchemist? Did you think he cared at all about you?" she gave a soft laugh, "Such naivety!"

Ed looked back at Scar in disbelief, but the Ishbalan did not protest the woman's statement. His eyes held nothing but cold aloofness as he stared back at Ed, the crimson orbs containing no spark of warmth or familiarity as they had before. Ed frowned; something wasn't right. There was only one explanation, but he was having trouble believing that such a thing was possible. But it was the only thing that was possible. He narrowed his eyes, glaring directly at the Ishbalan, "You're not Scar."

'Scar' simply raised an eyebrow, "Then who am I, Fullmetal?"

"I don't know, but there's no way you're him. For one thing, the real Scar calls me Edward. The real Scar would never support the creation of the Philosopher's Stone. And most obviously of all, the real Scar," Ed smirked widely, "happens to have a bruise on his left cheek where I punched him yesterday."

"Very clever, boy," the woman smirked at him before turning to 'Scar', "Envy, you made a careless mistake."

"Heh," the imposter shrugged, at the woman, "Thought that bruise came from you guys. Tch, whatever. Might as well change back now," a bright white light engulfed his form, which shifted and changed until a lithe, pale…person…with long, brackish hair reminiscent of a palm tree was standing where the false Scar had been a few moments before.

Ed covered his shock with a slightly weakened smirk, "So I was right. Scar wouldn't act like that. You'd better hope he doesn't find out about this; I doubt he'd be very happy about someone pretending to be him and doing such a bad job of it."

'Envy' smirked, "I don't think we need to worry about him at all anymore, boy."

It took a few seconds for the meaning of the words to sink in, but when they did, any lingering thought of Ed's argument with the Ishbalan was wiped clean from his mind, and he growled, "Where is he? What did you do with him?"

"We tried nicely to get him to cooperate, but he refused to even consider helping us," the woman smiled, "So we…took care of him."

Ed's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, "You didn't…I don't believe you…" his fists were clenched so tightly that his arms shook. They couldn't have killed him…he couldn't be dead…they had to be lying…they had to be…anguished rage welled up within him, and he rushed at them, fists raised, "WHERE IS HE?"

A/N: -gasp- ZOMG! Oh noes! Is Scar really dead?
Scar: If you don't know the answer to that question, then you obviously don't know her very well…actually, you don't know her at all.
Damn straight.
Envy: I'm finally in one of her real stories! YES!
Yep. And unlike Barry, you're lotsa fun to write. I'm glad you finally get to be in a story. And speaking of Barry…I apologize to all of you readers that the first page and a half were a rendition of stuff that happened in the anime. It was really, really awkward feeling when I tried to start it later than that.
Scar: Also note a first for her: I do not actually appear anywhere in this chapter.
Yeah…if you had, it woulda kinda ruined the 'suspenseful dramatic cliffhanger' dealie…that doesn't really exist unless you don't know me at all. Ahem. In other news, I got myself a livejournal account (username: ievakasku). So if you have one too, I'd be happy to friend you. Farewell 'till next time!