DISCLAIMER: Ed Elric, Al Elric, Marcoh, Scar, random villagers, Hughes, Armstrong, Gran © Hiromu Arakawa / Marina © author.

Key:

Normal text - speaking/narration

Italics - thoughts

Ch 6: Who Can It Be Now?

The next day, we traveled by train to a small village in the middle of nowhere. "Would Doctor Marcoh really be here?" Al wondered.

I gave him a pointed look. "You never know unless you ask." I then approached some random villager. "Excuse me ma'am, have you heard of a Doctor Marcoh?"

"Doctor Marcoh? I'm sorry, I've never heard of him. You must be asking for Doctor Mauro."

"Yes, that's who I meant. Sorry about the misunderstanding." I replied, a bit sheepish. "Is he around here then? Can you tell me anything about him?"

"Oh yes! He's a wonderful man. My husband was recently in an accident with our tractor, and injured his leg quite badly. Doctor Mauro was able to heal his leg and the result was such that it looked like my husband hadn't even been in the accident!"

The woman's young daughter added, "I saw a bright light when papa was getting his leg fixed!"

"He does sound like a wonderful man. Do you happen to know where he is right now? I have a friend who is hurt fairly badly."

The woman was all too happy to comply. She pointed to a street. "Take a left at that street, and continue for a block. You should arrive at a couple of houses, and Dr. Mauro's is the one at the very end."

"Thank you very much ma'am!" I bowed to her and walked back to Ed and Al with a smug look on my face. "And that, boys, is how it's done!"

Ed looked stupefied. "H-how? W-what?"

I smirked. "I have my ways."

We were following the woman's directions when, out of the blue, Ed pushed me and Al into a pile of hay.

"Brother, what's the big idea?! I'm filling up with straw!"

"Yes Ed, do explain."

"Shhhhh! See that guy?" We all looked out of a gap in the hay and saw a rather tall guy looking around. He wore a military uniform and was bald, except for a curl of blond hair on his forehead and a bushy blond mustache. "He's a state alchemist. I recognize him from HQ."

"Okay, then why is he here? Is he following us?"

"I don't know how else to explain it." After the suspicious man disappeared, we got out of the hay bale and continued on our way.

We eventually came to a plain-looking house. Ed and Al stayed at the base of the stairs as I walked up and lightly knocked on the door. "Um, Doctor Marc––" The door creaked open, revealing a man holding a gun, the barrel pointed towards me. "o."

A shot was heard, and I closed my eyes, waiting for certain death. "MARINA-CHAN!!"

Ed attempted to transmute a wall in front of me, praying it would reach me in time. I reluctantly opened my eyes to find………..a concrete wall in front of me. Ed flew up the stairs and smushed me in a protective hug. "Marina, are you all right?!?!"

"Yeah. Thank you. Erm, Ed, as strange as it sounds, you're squishing me."

"Sorry!.........Wait……WHO ARE YOU CALLIING A––" I cut him off with a quick kiss. Al, meanwhile, re-transmuted the concrete wall back into the concrete floor.

"Dr. Marcoh, please put the gun down. We just want to ask you some questions."

"No……no more questions or orders! I couldn't bear it going back to that place. Or…..have you come to…….silence me? Think you can kill me? Well, I don't have to just let that happen." Al stood between me and the gun's barrel.

"Al?" Ed questioned.

"It's all OK. Shoot if you want, but I won't die. You're the only one who might get hurt."

After what seemed like forever, Marcoh slowly put the gun down and let us into the house.

We sat around a medium sized table while Dr. Marcoh told us what happened, and why the military is after him. Apparently, Marcoh had created a faux philosopher's stone for the military to use in the Ishbal Rebellion. Eventually, Marcoh got disgusted with what his creation was being used for. "So I deserted the battlefield. When I left, I stole all the research I'd compiled; their books, my notes. I have a hunch the military's still looking for me so they can see what I've found out." He went on to explain his guilt over creating something used in a genocide, and how killing him would only be a kind gesture to him. The doctor's eyes darted towards the wall on the left for a split-second, something that wasn't missed by Ed. The blond ran over to the wall, and created a hole using alchemy. What he found was a vial of a thick liquid-like substance. "Brother, what are you doing? This is wrong!" Al took a hold of his elder brother, they struggled, the vial flew out of Ed's hands, and broke. The substance in the vial congealed into a red stone, much to everyone's surprise. Well, except doctor Marcoh.

"The Philosopher's Stone, the Astral Stone, Elixir, the Red Tincture, and the Fifth Element. As the various names imply, it does not necessarily have to be a stone. Crystal Alchemist, hand over the Philosopher's Stone and its research data." Brigadier General Basque Gran, the Iron Blood Alchemist had arrived. The doctor was dragged into a car as the townspeople looked on, distraught. "I haven't grown at all. I can't let my heart stay a shorty!" Ed exclaimed and dashed off after the car.

"Brother, wait up!" Al yelled, exasperated. Of course, we had to follow the blond to make sure he didn't get himself into any trouble.

We eventually caught up to Ed, who had stopped because the car stopped. The car had stopped because of a dark-skinned man standing in front of it. He had a rather large X-shaped scar on his forehead and wore a pair of sunglasses. Let's call him Scar. The Brigadier General got out of the car to question him when Scar lunged at the state alchemist, right arm outstretched. I noticed that said arm had a pattern tattooed around it. Scar grabbed Gran's face, and there was a flash of red light. The state alchemist's face imploded, blood streaming out of the eyes, nose, and mouth. Just like that, the venerable Iron Blood Alchemist had fallen.

Scar then approached Marcoh, who was ready to accept his fate. Ed, however, was not. He snatched the doctor as Scar extended his deadly arm and ran. "Marina, come on!" That was all the motivation I needed to sprint after my boyfriend. We ran by some tunnels, Al caught our attention, we took cover in the tunnel he was in, and the suit of armor sealed the tunnel with alchemy. All three of us breathed sighs of relief…………until a sizable hole coupled with a flash of red light appeared in the wall; Scar had caught up. We turned to run to the other side of the tunnel, but Scar used his destructive arm to block off our only hope of freedom.

"Who are you? Why are you after our lives?" Ed demanded.

"If you people are the ones who create, there are ones who destroy. Alchemists transform objects into evil things. That is blasphemy to the creator of all things, God. I am God's representative……..and executioner." Scar's killing intent intensified so much that it made the air thick and heavy. Sensing this, I darted in front of my boyfriend right as Scar lunged at Ed. As a result, Scar hit me in the chest instead. The blow knocked me back, my motion stopped suddenly by the wall of the tunnel. "Marina!!"

"Stay out of this. Only State Alchemists are my enemies. Why do you endanger yourself?"

Though I was bleeding heavily, I managed to stand up, staunch the flow of blood via green healing chakra, and catch my breath. "I will lay down my life to protect this state alchemist."

Ed ran over to me and Scar readied another attack. However, he was obviated due to spikes transmuted from the tunnel floor. "I'm sorry I'm late. I was asked by the Lieutenant Colonel to guard you." The state alchemist we hid from earlier emerged from the rubble behind us.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?"

The alchemist nodded in confirmation. "Representative of God, try to execute me; the Strong Arm Alchemist, Alex Louis Armstrong!" They duked it out, flashes of red and yellow light illuminating our escape route.