"This is even creepier than it sounded," whispered Angel. They stood in front of a decrepit stone building—much like the 5th Lab, but standing alone, a good distance from Terekor. The ancient fence didn't ever require alchemy to break.

"I can see how renovation would be the perfect cover," Edward replied. "They don't have to worry about being seen. Well, the researchers, anyway."

"So, how do we get in?"

"We need…there! A ventilation shaft extending to the outside. According to those blueprints, it should pass right through the supply area, connected to the dock on the right side. We can let you in there, Al. I'm not making the mistake of going in without you again."

"Brother, are you sure about this? It's not as locked up as the one in Central. There's got to be some other kind of security measure," said Alphonse, worry in his echoing voice.

"But we have Angel." Edward turned toward her. "You ready?"

Uncertainty flitted across her features like a shadow. "You really think I can do this? I mean, it's not just playing around."

"Sure—I've seen you practice. Just concentrate on deflecting the light of your surroundings. We'll stay connected, too, since that's the only way to cover us both."

"Okay," she breathed deeply. Ironically, both of them still hesitated awkwardly when it came to actually holding hands. Edward felt the heat rise in his face. Then Angel touched two fingers to her wrist, the air shimmered around them for a moment, and Alphonse gasped.

"How's it look?" asked Edward and Angel at the same time.

"Great, especially in the dark! I can't tell where you are at all."

"Alright," Edward pressed on. "Let's get to that shaft."

They crept across the crack-laced courtyard, if one could call it that, to the vent. Careful not to lose contact, Edward stood Angel on his shoulders. He winced as his automail coverings dug into his skin. She in turn pulled him up while he used cracks in the wall for footholds. They took a moment to catch their breath once inside.

"Okay," panted Edward. "I'd say we have about 100 feet to crawl. Go ahead."

The shaft muffled what few ambient sounds there were to an eerie undercurrent. Pipes running alongside the shaft made steady clanging noises. At some point they passed a room that buzzed with electricity. Finally Edward guessed they had made it.

"No lights are on, and I don't see or hear any sign of activity. Still, be ready to direct any residual light away form us when we land."

Angel nodded. Edward eased the grate before them open, dropped—breaking his fall with his automail leg, though it still jarred him to the hip—and motioned for her to follow. He managed to catch her without toppling over.

"Go let Al in, I'll cover you," she said. She kept one hand on his back, but her attention on the room, particularly a door behind them.

"Any signs of which way to go?" the hulking steel boy asked.

"That door should lead to one of the main hallways. It's creepily similar to the way the 5th Lab was organized," sighed Edward.

"You're sure?"

"I told you I memorized the blueprints, didn't I?" He paused to get a grip on himself. This wasn't a time for losing his temper. "Most of the lights seem to be out for the night. We can make use of the shadows."

The hallways were dark, as expected, and quiet. Too quiet for Edward's taste, clanging pipes or no clanging pipes. Alphonse couldn't help his loud, hollow footsteps.

"Wait, stop—can you hear that?" Angel suddenly asked. After a few seconds' stillness, faint sounds could be heard. Human sounds. A young voice was crying, older voices trying to quell it. They echoed ever-so-slightly from a larger space into the hallway. Alphonse pointed up ahead.

"There's a glow."

The room was large. They entered through the only door, and though there was almost no light, they could make out cages all along the other three walls. The stifling air in the room told them the cages were as full as possible. Prisoners.

"Shh! Shh! Someone's here!" a voice hissed.

"Doesn't seem to be those—things. Can you see who it is?"

"Can't tell. One of 'em has metal boots or something, though."

"Please, I want my mama," the younger voice continued to whimper.

"Resvol, are you in here?" ventured Edward. Shuffling and vague movement to his right made him tense.

"Why? Who goes there?"

"Someone who can help. I also bring word from your wife, Anna. She misses you terribly."

"Anna? How do you—what if—how do we know this isn't a trick? That you haven't captured her too, and you're just trying to rile us up to give yourselves an excuse for more cruelty?"

Edward was about to retort when a hand gripped his shoulder. Angel's. "Let me try," she said. Touching her wrist, she drew as much light from their surroundings as possible, and collected it around her face. "I don't know if you recognize me, Resvol. My father was Kaleb Proctor; we, well he lived near you and Anna in Terekor. I…I was the one who discovered you were still alive. Anna asked me."

"P-P-Proctor…you're that Spirit Child!" sputtered Resvol. "They say you have accursed ties to the dead, that you talk to them and use them for whatever purposes you see fit—stay away! I wouldn't trust you any more than the monsters who keep us here."

Angel stopped in her tracks, halfway between her companions and Resvol's cage. His words stung her. True, she had faced such accusations before, especially before she left home. However, she had hoped the situation would inspire a different reaction.

"All it really is is alchemy, and she has a State Alchemist who believes her!" Alphonse argued back. "We've investigated a place like this before. We're here to set all of you free!"

A murmur of traveled around the room. Several people gestured at Angel's feat with the light, especially considering there was so little light to begin with. The trio saw now that the faint glow they had first spotted came from a single lamp at the back of each cage. The packed people obscured them.

"Bah! Who do you think brought us here in the first place? All the more reason not to trust you, alchemist," Resvol bit back.

"Fine then, you don't have to come," growled Edward. "But anyone who wants to go home, follow us." He clapped his hands together, and positioned them close to the bars of the first cage. The glow of alchemy lit up the fear on the prisoners' faces, which turned to amazement when the bars drew back, leaving a sizable hole.

"It's okay, we'll get you to safety," Alphonse reassured them. One, by one, the prisoners crept timidly out of the cage. Edward repeated the process with the other cages. Soon the room echoed with low murmurs of wonder and confusion.

"Sir Alchemist, this man is ill. I'm not sure how far he can travel," a haggard woman told Edward.

"I can help," Angel spoke up. "Al is probably better suited to protect a large group than we are, anyway."

"Go on ahead with the rest, Al," agreed Edward, checking the man's vital signs. "We'll meet you at the town fountain."

"Follow me, everyone, and don't say anything," Alphonse instructed.

As the prisoners left, about thirty in all, Edward rolled the prone man over. Angel suddenly recoiled.

He was almost unrecognizable—filthy, unshaven, and gaunt. But there was no mistaking the proud forehead and straight nose she saw in the mirror every day. They were kneeling over her father.

Kaleb Proctor stirred weakly, catching Angel off guard. She tried to scramble backwards, only to fall over Edward's boot. The movement drew Proctor's attention.

"Who…who's there?"

Angel clenched her hands so hard her nails dug into her palms. She should have expected to see him, knowing he was a prisoner here, yet some part of her had hoped she wouldn't. Words completely escaped her. What was she supposed to say to a man who had turned her out seven years ago? When he continued to strain to see her in the darkness, however, she finally settled for pulling the light to her face.

"Oh my g…I c-can't believe…y-y-you…what are you…?" Proctor gasped.

"I must say, I'm just as surprised," said a cold voice behind them.

Angel and Edward whipped around. A single man in a white coat stood in the doorway, flanked by four hulking chimeras. He surveyed the deserted cages and room with the same coolness with which he spoke.

"Impressive," he congratulated them. "Ripples of alchemy have been tripping my sensors for some time. I confess I didn't catch on that it was intruders until your armored friend had to free himself from the fence you ruined."

"I'd hardly say we ruined it," Edward quipped wryly.

"But you have created quite a disturbance. You have no idea the importance of the work you have hindered."

"Oh, I know more than you think. That's why I'm going to stop you."

"Stop me? A couple of kids? Foolishness!"

"Who're you callin' small! I'll stomp you, you son of a—!" Edward's tirade became incoherent as Angel fought to hold him back. A moment later, both of them were lifted off their feet by the chimera bodyguards. The researcher who controlled them smiled.

"Ahh, I see now—hold him tight, I can see his State Alchemist's watch from here. You may yet prove useful…but no one, not even other dogs of the military will stand in the way of my goal. "

"No matter how many fellow humans you sacrifice?" spat Edward. He grimaced when the chimera holding him twisted the automail secured to his shoulder.

"As many as it takes," purred the researcher. "The state was never willing to acknowledge my talents in alchemy, though many considered me a prodigy once. So I will make them see. Incredible forces are at work in this country, and I will be an invaluable asset to them if I perfect the Philosopher's Stone. I'm so close. So you see, I can't let you halt my progress now."

"You're a real piece of work. Sick work," Angel whimpered. Angry tears welled up, unbidden, in her smoky eyes. Behind her monstrous captor, her father didn't seem to be moving.

"Put them in the cage with the old man," the researcher rapped. "You will lock yourself in, boy."

"I will?" Edward challenged.

"Srrrnnsss!" roared the chimera behind him, ramming Edward's head into the bars. He managed to hold onto consciousness, but felt blood trickle through his long hair.

"No, don't!" cried Angel.

The researcher leveled a pistol at her. "You're a champion of the people, alchemist. Would you risk her life with your stubbornness? Or the pathetic prisoner's, for that matter?" He shifted his aim to Proctor.

"No." Edward slumped in his captor's grip, face screwed up against pain and dizziness. "No, I'll do it."

As soon as the bars were back in place, the researcher waved his chimeras into guard positions. "Make sure they don't slip back out. I have work to do."