Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for Isabella.
No POV
The whole town of Liore is turned into a war zone, and every single people in Liore are dead, while some were wounded. One man is grabbing another while some people are with him. "If he's really a prophet, who can make miracles whenever he wants, then why is this turning out like this?" One man asked the other. Then everyone in the city are rallying at the church. "Please, cease fighting. Surrender, and the military will not hurt either side. Surrender. This is your final warning." One soldier ordered when the people didn't listen to him. Then one of the soldiers ordered the other soldiers to shoot.
Rose's POV
Some of the soldiers ran from outside, and I was hiding with the children in a house that was destroyed. "But Rose, isn't it bad we're not fighting too?" One boy asked me as I shook my head. "What for?" I asked him.
No POV
Meanwhile, inside the church, Lust and Gluttony sat back to watch the fireworks. "Look at them all. Humans are foolish beyond salvation." Lust said to Gluttony. "Foolish! Foolish!" Gluttony said to her when Envy in his Cornello guise came in. "Don't be so hard on them. After all our planning, I think this mayhem feels nice." Envy said to them when they faced him. "Well if it isn't our personal prophet." Lust said in surprise. "Work well!" Gluttony said to him.
"All this production, just to make a Philosopher's Stone. 'Least I can change now." Envy said when he shape shifts out of his guise, and back into his old self. "Back into this adorable form." Envy said to her. "That one again? You love making yourself look young." Lust said to him. "What else can I do? I've forgotten what I originally look like." Envy said to her when they see Cray there. "Wha-what are you doing here? Where is Father Cornello? The real one! What have you done with him?" Cray asked them. "What should we say?" Lust asked Envy. "Why don't we tell him the truth, Lust? Cornello's been gone a rather long time." Envy said to her. "Can I eat him?" Gluttony asked them with a smile on his face. He walks up to Cray while chuckling, and he begins to eat him.
"Humankind cannot gain anything, without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth."
{Opening song}
Ready Steady Go!/ L'Arc~en~Ciel
-Destruction's Right Hand-
Isabella's POV
The four of us are in a village on our way to look for Dr. Marcoh, with Ed in the lead. Ed begins to look for a direction, but Al said it's that way. So, we went that way.
*No POV*
"Come to mention it, I did hear some juicy information. That curiosity of our has left Central, heading eastward." Envy said to Lust. "You mean the State Alchemist Killer? Hmm. The Flame Colonel's in the East, now. Who else?" Lust asked him. "Well you know the Fullmetal pipsqueak, and the Thought Reading girl are there." Envy said to her.
"Yes. Right now, those two are the closest ones to our goal. We can't afford to have them moving around, acting on behalf of their own interests. Not anymore." Lust said to him when Gluttony finished eating. "I'm done Lust." Gluttony said to her happily. "Now, what have I told you? Wipe you mouth, Gluttony." Lust said to him. "Sorry." Gluttony said to her. "So, what of this killer?" Lust asked Envy.
Roy's POV
"We call him "Scar". That a codename?" I asked Hughes. "I don't know, it's all that we've got. Several eyewitnesses have described a man with a large scar on his forehead, fleeing the scenes of the murders." Hughes said to me. "And you're sure he killed them all? Five well-trained State Alchemists, all by himself?" I asked him. "Nine, actually. Five kills in Central. Four of 'em alchemists. Cops have turned up five more State Alchemists in various other parts of the country. If you throw in aides and guards who got in the way, it's into the dozens. We know it's him because the M.O.'s identical. And it's not the kind of thing you can copy-cat. He explodes their brains, Roy. And we don't know why he's doing it. Everybody's panicked they'll be next." Hughes said to me.
"So all of Central Command made the excuse they were with the Fuhrer, and come here en masses, thinking not even a killer would come to this backwoods place." I said to him. "You're here after all. Those up the chain that gave you this demotion of a transfer three years ago, they're aware of your abilities. You're protection for them." Hughes said to me. "Hell, Maes, now you've got me shaken up." I said to him jokingly. "So that's the big question. Who'll be the next target?" Hughes questioned when a woman comes up to him with a phone in her arms. "Pardon me?" The woman called when Hughes started freaking out.
"Oh, thanks, I'm very flattered, but I have a three year old girl, see." Hughes said to her all freaked out. "You have a call." The woman said to him. "Oh. Right, sorry." Hughes said to her when she sat the phone down, and Hughes answers it. "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. Go ahead." Hughes said through the phone. "Understood. I'll be right there." Hughes said through the phone as he hangs up and stood up. "Well our question's been answered. They've found a soldier, dead at his guard station." Hughes said to me. "Skull blown from the inside?" I asked him as he nodded.
No POV
All of the soldiers are totally freaked out when they saw a soldier, dead at his guard station.
Isabella's POV
The three of us began talking to the people in this village about where Dr. Marcoh is. "Dr. Marcoh?" One man asked us. "You mean Master Mauro?" The boy asked us also. "No. Marcoh." Al corrected him. "Sorry. This village only has one doctor, and Master Mauro's his name." The man said to him.
*FF*
Then the three of us begin talking to two of the men. "As you can see, folks don't have much money here. Travel's hard. It used to take a half-day trip to East City to see a doctor, before he came." One man said to us.
*FF*
The three of us begin talking to an old woman. "He's a nice man. He'll take in any patient. Even people they said were incurable, elsewhere." The old woman said to us.
*FF*
Then the three of us begin talking to a man and a girl. "When I got my leg caught under the tractor, and thought I was done, he fixed me like you couldn't even tell it had happened." The man said to us. "He treated me when I was sick, too. There was a big flash of light." The girl said to us as well.
*FF*
Al waved at the girl and we walked off. "Flash of light." I questioned about that word. "Yeah, it's gotta be alchemy. This is Dr. Marcoh." Ed said to me. "But he's a fugitive. Why would be become a miracleperforming doctor? He had to know it would draw attention." I said to him when he noticed something. "Down!" Ed said as he pushed the three of us into the pile of straw when Al poked his head up. "Why?" Al asked him. "Al!" Ed said as he pushed Al's head down. The three of us are hiding in a pile of straw.
"This is a bad idea. I'm filling up with straw." Al said to us. "Shh." I shushed at him as we see a soldier there. "A State Alchemist. Ed and I recognized him from HQ. He's one of those guys who came in with the Fuhrer." I said to her. "But why is he here? Did he follow us?" Al asked me. "We don't know how else to explain it. The Colonel said he's never reported Marcoh's whereabouts to Central Command." Ed said to him when the soldier leaves the scene. Ed and I ran out of the pile of straw, brushing the straws off us. "Come on, Al. We'd better go straight to Marcoh's from here." Ed said to his brother when he came out of the pile while groaning.
*FF*
A gunshot was heard when Ed dodged one, Al ducked for cover and me and Alice dodging another. Dr. Marcoh had a terrified look on his face while holding a gun in his hands, pointing it at us. We had our hands up at this. "Easy there, doc, we don't want any trouble." I said to him. "I know what you want. You said you two are State Alchemists. You think you can take me back there!" Marcoh said to me. "Then, you are Dr. Marcoh, the Crystal Alchemist? Is that really true?" I asked him. "No! No more questions or orders. I couldn't bare it, going back to that place." Marcoh said to her. "That's not it! Listen!" Ed said to him. "Put the gun down. Please." Al begged him.
"Or have you come to silence me? Think you can kill me? Well I don't have to just let that happen!" Marcoh said as Al stood in front of him. "Al?" Ed said. "It's all okay. Shoot if you want, but I won't die. You're the only one who might get hurt." Al said to him. "And if you dare to try and shoot at my hair, then it'll take a few years for it to have it grow back." Alice said to him as well when Marcoh is too terrified by all of this when Al's metal chest hits the gun. Marcoh puts the gun down, and calms down when he sees the two of them. "I see. You're them. You're the Fullmetal Alchemist, and the Flower Alchemist." Marcoh said to the two when Ed and I moved them aside with anger on our faces. "No, for the hundredth time. Those names belong to us." Ed and I said to him.
*FF*
The three of us are in his house, and begin talking about his life. "So I deserted the battlefield. And when I left, I stole all the research I'd compiled at the time; Their books, my notes. I have a hunch the military's still looking for me so they can see what I found out." Marcoh said to us as we gasped. "That's it!" Ed said as he stood up. "Why he sent us! We're researching human transmutation." Ed said to us. "Forget it. I can't show you my work." Marcoh said to him. "Why not?" I asked him. "The orders from above notwithstanding. I dirtied my hands with that research. Then the military, they put it to use on those people in that Eastern Rebellion massacre." Marcoh said to me. "You mean the uprising in Ishbal? That is what you're talking about, right?" I asked him.
"Armageddon. That's the only word that fits that battle. Women, children, it didn't matter, everyone was killed. And there wasn't any real reason. All they said was the people of Ishbal defied them. Spoke out against the system. So I decided to vanish, and become a doctor. Help people, and slowly work off some fraction of the debt. Now get out." Marcoh said as Ed and I gasped. "Isabella and I are both ranking State Alchemists! We have a right to that research and anything else you know!" Ed stammered at him. "That's right! We have a right to that research and anything else you know!" I stammered at him as well.
"But still, Ed and I are both ranking State Alchemists. We both have a right to that research, and anything else you know." I said to him. "She's right." Ed said to him as well. "You're way too small, and too feminine for these concerns." Marcoh said when Al held Ed and I back. "I bet you two were blinded by the abundant privileges, access to research, and prestige. So you two joined their ranks. A foolish mistake. If you two have been there during the rebellion, you'd feel the same way." Marcoh said as Al let me and Ed go, after we cooled off.
"We know that! We know what we're doing is stupid, okay! It's not our problem." I said to him as he looks down. "Look, Dr. Marcoh, about five years ago, you treated some babies in Xenotime. I just want you to know they're fine now. The red water's gone." I said to him, when Ed gasped and ran up to a wall. "Edward, what are you doing?" I asked him. "Guesswork." Ed said to me as he claps his hands and used alchemy to create a whole. "Don't need circles." Marcoh said as he gasped when Ed picks up a vile. "Is this the Red Water from Xenotime? No, it's looks a lot clearer." Ed questioned when Al, Marcoh, and I ran up to him. "Stop!" Marcoh cried out. "Brother!" Al called when I grabbed him, and he started to wiggle in our grasp. "Get off of me!" Ed stammered at us. "This is wrong." I said to him. "He's on to something!" Ed stammered at me. "Let go!" Ed stammered when he drops the vile and the liquid turns into a stone. We're all shocked by this and I let Ed go. We walked up to it and look at it. "It's not really a liquid." Ed said to us. "No, it's not. It looks more like that ring the Priest in Liore had." Al said to him.
But then we hear the Brigadier General and his entourage come in through the door. "The Sage's Stone, The Celestial Stone, The Great Elixir, The Red Tincture, The Next Element. Did you really think a substance of so many names would be limited to just the form of a stone?" Grand questioned when he picks the stone up. "Brig-Brigadier Grand." I said out of shock. "Brigadier Basque? Well, you've wormed your way up." Marcoh said to him as the four of us gasped, and Grand faced him. "You're damn right, Crystal Alchemist. And now you'll turn the Philosopher's Stone and your research over to me." Grand said to him as Al gasped. "Philosopher's Stone? That thing?" Ed questioned when Grand faced us. "An experimental leap at best, roulette at worst. You never know when it will reach its full limit and backfire. An unstable, defective product, different from the true stone. But during the rebellion, it did augment our abilities. And make us tremendously powerful." Grand said when a flashback of him during the rebellion begins and ends.
"You're saying the military hasn't looked for the Stone, in the past it's worked to develop it?Never mind that isn't perfect, it was made by human hands, and it worked. That proves the concept is possible! The Philosopher's Stone's not a myth! Where are the design specs?" I asked him. "And what do you mean to do with it when you see it? Increase you meddling, Flower?" Grand questioned me as I gasped. "This research is top secret, and falls under my jurisdiction. I can't permit you and Fullmetal access to it." Grand said to me as I look down. "But, sir..." I couldn't finish my sentence. "Let's go!" Grand ordered when Ed and I turn to see Marcoh grabbed by Grand's entourage. "No! Let go of me! Please! I'm sorry I ran! Have mercy!" Marcoh cried when Grand's entourage dragged him out.
*FF*
The three of us are outside as we see Grand's entourage drag Marcoh to the car. "You can't take me back! I can't go back to that place! It's too much! I can't take it! The testing. The experiments! My hands are already stained! Please!" Marcoh begged when Ed looks down. "This is just like before." Ed said when he remembers Nina. I stared at him with my eyes on him looking down. 'It is just like before, Edward. It is just like before.' I thought as the Brigadier General and his entourage are leaving with Marcoh. Ed then runs after them. "Brother? Isa?" Al called while I followed Ed. "Maybe Isa and I haven't grown an inch since then. But we can't let our hearts stay stunted, too!" Ed said to himself. 'He's right. He and I haven't grown an inch since then. But we can't let our hearts sat stunted, too!' I thought when the car stopped and Ed and I gasped at this turn of events. A strange dark-skinned man nicknamed Scar used his own kind of alchemy to destroy the car, and Al catch up to us after we stopped our tracks. When the smoke clears, Grand and Marcoh are on the ground when Scar walks up. "Who is that?" Ed questioned me. "I don't know." I said to him when Scar walks up to the two.
"Finally. The Iron-Blood Alchemist. Basque Grand." Scar said when Grand stood up while chuckling. "Your timing's too bad. Just as I got my hands on this." Grand said when he pulls the stone out of his pocket. But Scar had his hand on his face, and Ed and I gasped at this. "Get away!" I called when this Scar character blows up Grand's head, and blood pours out of it. Grand's corpse fell to the ground and the stone landed in front of us. Ed and I are shocked by this, and our eyes widen in shock. My hands are over my mouth in shock at this. 'That face! That's the guy, Isa and I saw in Central, three years ago. I'm sure of it. But never mind that. This is messed up. My mind's telling me to run, but my legs are frozen stiff.' Ed thought out of shock.
'That face! That man is the same guy Ed and I saw in Central, three years ago. I'm positive. But forget that. This is messed up. And like Ed, my mind's telling me to run, but my legs are also frozen stiff.' I thought out of shock when Scar faced Marcoh. "Crystal Alchemist, Dr. Marcoh, I heard you were dead. I'll have to take special care..." Scar begins to walk up to him. "...to wash you out of this world for your transgressions." Scar said to him. "I see. Yes, go ahead. How can I protest?" Marcoh said to him. "In the name of the great almighty One, thou shall perish." Scar said when he was about to kill him, but Ed grabbed him and ran off, and I followed him. "It's okay. Leave me behind." Marcoh said to us. "You've really gotta work on that attitude." I said to him. "Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, and Flower Alchemist, Isabella Rockbell, you two won't escape either." Scar said when he runs after us. 'He knows mine and Isa's names, too? What's going on here? What have we ever done to make enemies? Okay, bad question. But nothing bad enough to kill us over!' Ed thought to himself as we keep on running.
We turned to another direction and ran away from this Scar character when Al showed up. "Brother, Roberta. This way." Al called when he used alchemy to create a wall, and we started panting. But then we noticed something, and the wall was destroyed, and we ducked for it. That Scar character came in and Al grabbed Marcoh. "Come on!" Alice said as we started running when Scar used his own alchemy to create a dead-end, and we gasped at this. "There goes our way out." I said when Scar came up to us, and Ed and I faced him. My eyes widen when she recognized that dark-skin on him, and those red eyes underneath those sunglasses he's wearing. 'He's an Ishbalan!' "Who in the hell are you? What are you coming after us for?" Ed asked him. "If you're the creators of this society, there must also be destroyers." Scar said when Al set Marcoh down. "You can't understand. Please, Ed and Isa, leave me and run!" Marcoh said to us when Ed clapped his hands, and grabs a pole, and transmute it into a dagger.
I clapped my hands together and used alchemy on the ground to transmute a spear for myself, and Al got into a fighting stance. When Scar noticed something in Ed's eyes, and mine. "You two have kind looks in your eyes. My older brother's were exactly the same." Scar said when a flashback of his brother and his lover began. "Eyes that were strong, and peered into the endless distance, as if seeing something we could not." Scar said as the flashback ends. "It was three years ago, yes. I was glad that you two had given up being State Alchemists, so I can take you two off my list. But now..." Scar trailed off. "Yeah, now. Too bad, isn't it?" Ed questioned when he charges at him. "My turn now!" I said as I charged at him as well, but he missed us.
"Too slow." Scar said when he extends his arm at us. Al gasped at this. "Brother! Roberta!" Al cried out when he took the hit, making me and Ed fall to the ground. Al looked at his damaged arm and Ed and I stood up. "Al!" Ed cried out. "No!" I cried out as well. "Don't mistake your fortune. That alchemy was designed for human flesh. That's why you escaped with only a dent, this time. Stay out of this. My only enemies are State Alchemists, and those who stand between." Scar said to Al. "But why? Why are you after us?" I asked him. "Alchemists are those who take things away from their natural form and convert it into something grotesque. In hubris, they profane God, Creator of all, claiming they have a better design. I come as a right hand, an agent of God, to carry out his judgments." Scar said to me as Marcoh sighs. "I'm a alchemist, too. I may not have state certification, but..." Al was cut off when Scar faced the him. "Why do you seek death?" Scar asked him.
"We don't. But you mentioned you had an older brother, didn't you? Then you should understand why I can't just sit by and watch my brother and friend get killed. Even you should-" Al was cut off by Scar. "I do. I understand how it feels to watch your brother and friend murdered before your eyes, when you two can't do a thing. In fact maybe... I'll show Ed and Isa." Scar said to him as Ed and I gasped at this. Ed begins charging at him when Scar grabbed his arm. "I told you, you're too slow." Scar said to him as I gasped at this. I begin charging at him also. "No! Don't you ever lay a finger on him!" I shouted when Scar tries to destroy Ed's arm, but he was tossed back and I gasped at this and tripped over and fall on Ed. Scar begins to notice why he didn't destroy his arm when Ed stood up to reveal his auto-mail arm after I got off of him. "Auto-mail. So your right arm begets nothing but destruction, also." Scar said to him. "Don't you start with that. We're nothing alike, pal." Ed said as he turns his arm into a blade.
He was about to attack him when an explosion was heard, and someone used a type of alchemy to attack Scar. But when the smoke cleared, it was a soldier named Armstrong. "That State Alchemist, what's he doing here?" I questioned when Al and Alice got into a fighting stance, and Marcoh becomes terrified. "You've come for Dr. Marcoh?" Al asked him when he walks passed them towards me and Ed. I dropped my spear when Armstrong placed his hand on Ed's shoulder. "I'm sorry I'm late. The Lieutenant Colonel ordered me to tail you as protection." Armstrong said to us. "What? You mean Hughes did?" I asked him as he nodded.
Then he turn to face Scar. "I heard you on my way in here. You say you're an agent of God. Well, then why don't you try passing judgment on me? That's Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong-Arm Alchemist!" Armstrong said when Scar smirked. "What a righteous day this is turning into. That you would come here, and save me the tribulations of finding you. Blessed God, full of grace." Scar said to him. "Don't pray just yet. You're facing the technique that's been passed down the Armstrong line for generations. That's hardly a blessing." Armstrong said as he used a block as material to use his kind of alchemy to attack Scar, but he missed. "Next shot!" Armstrong said as he used the ground as material, and turned it into spikes. But Scar destroys one of them.
Rose's POV
The soldiers came in, and I was protecting the children. "As you can see, it's only children in here. I doubt the guerrillas you're looking for are four-feet tall." I said to them when one of the walks up to me, and grabs my chin. "Does this mean you've abandoned the so-called teachings of your little priest? All right then. Tell us where the rebel faction is that's resisting the military governance." The soldier said to me. "Why should I?" I questioned when he slaps me across the face. "We came here to liberate this town from that tyrant Cornello. We're trying to help you. What, are you blind?" The soldier asked me. "You're not interesting in helping. You're here for control. This is our village, not yours. We're the only ones who can make it better. We'll fix it ourselves. We've got legs, we'll get up and use them!" I shouted at him.
Isabella's POV
The four of us kept on running when, me, Ed, Al and Marcoh running. We finally made it out, and we began panting for breaths. Ed finally caught his breath and gives Marcoh the stone. "You dropped this." Ed said to him as he gladly takes it. "But isn't this what you're after? Didn't you think about taking it yourself, and leaving?" Marcoh asked him. "Of course. And a younger me would have walked away with it, without a second thought. But I can't forget the faces of all those people we saw today, and you use that in their treatments, right?" Ed asked when we remembered the people we saw today. "That Stone belongs to them. And so do you." Ed said to him.
"You ready?" I asked him as he hummed. "Then let's head out. We've gotta find someplace where the military and that killer won't find us." I said to him. "You think we can escape?" Marcoh asked me. "You've got legs, don't you? Let's put 'em to work." Ed said to him. "That's right. We should put those legs of yours to work." I said to him as well as he smiles and stood up.
{Ending song}
Tobira no Mukou e/ YeLLOW Generation*