Fullmetal Kingdom ~ Chapter 130

Chapter 130: The 5th Laboratory

Inside Hollow Bastion's throne room, Pete waited…

And then, in a flicker of light, the Doberman Genomes, Roscoe and Desodo, appeared before him!

The brothers looked around, confused by what transpired. Pete then said, "(ehem) Uh, h-hey guys, I was hoping to meet with you two. I have a request that pays well, and knowing your reputation, I'm sure a job like this will be a walk in the park." Desodo and Roscoe looked at one another, and then Desodo asked, "…what's the job?" Pete replied, "AHA, so you're interested! Well the job is-…uh…well…" Roscoe then said, "Come on 'Fat-boy', what's the job?"

"Oh that's right, I haven't told you yet."

Roscoe and Desodo turned around to see Crimson slowly floating down to his throne, where the Golem King announced, "Your mission…should you choose to accept of course…will be to find four VERY important relics. These relics hold together the secret locations of the most powerful creatures on the planet." Desodo laughed, "HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-Ha-HAAAAAAAA, 'the most powerful creatures' he says! Look no further 'magic man', you got'em right in front of you. We've cut the throats of hundreds, we can rob anything and anyone, and we've never been caught. We've done all this without giving away secrets, locations, and identities, questioning who the superior animal is would be like stalling for time, and guess what, you're wasting ours." Crimson stood up from his chair and asked, "Hmm…so you believe YOU'RE the most powerful? Then tell me-."

Suddenly, the Doberman's shadows latched onto them and pulled them backwards, causing their bodies to slam onto the floor! The pain nearly caused them to whine, but they withheld their tears as Crimson asked, "-HAVE YOU CONQUERED CITIES WITH A TIDAL WAVE?! HAVE YOU RENDERED AN ARMY TO CINDER WITH ONLY ONE ATTACK?! Have you summoned the dead to bring terror and cowardice to the hearts of men? Have you 'huffed' and 'puffed', and blew fortresses and castles down with just one sigh…WELL, HAVE YOU?!"

Roscoe and Desodo shook their heads, to which Crimson released them and said, "Words of wisdom my friends, 'Do not brag until the explanation is given, only then, can facts be differed from opinion'. Now, the relics I want can be located with this…" Crimson then pulled out a scale of some kind and gave it to Pete, Crimson then explained, "Taharka's Scale, a small remnant of the guardian who protected the relics. He is…no longer of this world, but he could sense the relics through a spiritual connection, and it is the same with this scale. Use it and find the mirrors, if you complete your task, then perhaps I'll consider DOUBLING your payment of two million Gil."

"…Four million…for a few mirrors?" Roscoe asked. Crimson nodded, "FOUR mirrors, for four million, what do you say…partner?" Roscoe smiled, and with one handshake the deal was made!

Minutes later, as Pete, Roscoe and Desodo left, the Phantom Blot appeared before Crimson and said, "Gather the Hearts of Light to create a key to the Door of Truth, and Seek out Four Mirrors to summon an ancient evil, with these plans in that head of yours, it's no wonder you failed to remember the treasure cove of Philosopher Stones you keep buried under the castle." Crimson then asked, "What is your point, 'old friend'?" The Blot considered, "My 'point' is this…use the stones, transport to Amestris, unleash a force beyond their master's comprehension, send them to Hell and leave their bodies buried in the ground for the worms to enjoy! You HAVE the power of God already, so use it."

Crimson looked away and said, "Funny…we want the same thing, so why do I feel-…disgust for you?" Crimson then turned to the Phantom Blot and said, "The reason is simple, 'Blotty', you can't have too much of a good thing. The Homunculus are clever, they can see secrets we try to hide, and if the slightest clue to our operations is revealed, they'll 'blot' it out, like a white-out to a misspelled word on paper. That is why, no matter what they achieve, I will take it all away, and NEVER let them see it coming…I won't even give out spoilers."

The Phantom Blot then asked, "You truly believe they can stop you through knowledge alone?! Take that confidence away from them and strike! I guarantee you; these abominations can't possibly stop-!" Crimson then said, "ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO IGNORE YOUR DUTY TO SIMPLY ARGUE WITH ME?! I want those hearts, Phantom, and I want them NOW! Not before I count to 3, not after I give you orders, NOW! UNDERSTAND?!" The Phantom nodded and walked out of the room while Crimson sat on his chair and said to himself, "The mirrors are being tracked, the hunt for the Hearts of Light has begun, now what we need is for you to unravel the truth…Edward Elric."

Back in Central City's Second Branch Library, Edward, Sora, Alphonse, Ross and Block gathered in the office to discuss Marcoh's Notes…

"You're sure about this?" Sora asked. Edward replied, "I already decided I wasn't going to give up, and if I'm ever going to find a way to change Al back, then I have to make amends for the way I treated you all and compile what I read into facts." Sora then said, "Ed, if you want, I can read it with you. Maybe I could find something you may have overlooked." Edward shook his head and said, "You're not an alchemist Sora, this kind of stuff isn't in your league, and besides, you aren't exactly 'code-breaker' material." Sora crossed his arms in annoyance and said, "WELL EXCUSE ME FOR MY ROLE AS THE SCARECROW!"

Ed smiled and said, "Come on, you know I'm not trying to be the bully, right? I'm still thankful for your assistance. This'll only take a few minutes, guys, so bear with me while I review the notes." As Ed began reading the notes again, Sora looked back at the door and wondered about Mickey…

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Donald and Goofy were still recuperating when Mickey walked in with a nurse. The nurse explained, "These two were lucky. Their bodies should already be healed, but try not to excite them." Mickey nodded, "Thank you mam, this'll only take a few."

As the nurse left, Mickey approached Donald when suddenly-.

"MR. PRESIDENT!"

A hug came from behind! Goofy turned Mickey around, and then hugged him again! "Minnie and me, we didn't know what happened to you, so Donald and I traveled all the way here to find you (choke)!" Mickey hugged Goofy back, happy to be reunited with his best friend, Mickey then said, "…I should have known you two would follow me. We've been doing this for years now."

"So did you find them?"

Mickey and Goofy turned around and saw Donald, awake and sitting on his bed with a serious look. Donald then asked, "The missing citizens of Disney Town…my nephews…did you find them?" Mickey replied, "I found them Donald…I just-…I couldn't find your nephews. You know, they could be in Duckburg with Scrooge McDuck." Donald shook his head, "They were taken Mickey…they were taken along with everyone else that day! We were eating ice cream, I looked away to pay for the scoops, but before they even finished their cones-…all I could find were three unfinished servings of strawberry ice cream. So if you were there-where the others were taken, then you would've seen them, right?!"

"Donald…I didn't see them."

"YOU'RE LYING, WHAT'S HAPPENED TO THEM?!"

Donald's rage surprised Mickey, but the poor Mouse couldn't confess the truth…he didn't see a single 'Uey' in Hollow Bastion. Mickey took a deep breath and said, "Donald, Goofy, it was Edward Elric who saved me, and it was Edward Elric who asked me to bring you over to where he is, the Second Branch Library." Donald sighed and said, "You're really not going further on the subject, are you? Fine, let's go Goofy. The sooner we help this kid find the Philosopher Stone, the better."

"Donald, don't you remember what makes the stone? Edward said it himself, 'LIVE HUMAN BEINGS'!" Goofy said as his friend came out of bed. Donald looked at Goofy and said, "I know that, but there has to be a good reason the president came all this way here for us, right?" Goofy nodded, and the two followed the president back to the Library…

Back in the Second Branch Library, Edward had just finished looking through the notes…

Sora then asked, "So, did you notice anything out of place?" Edward shook his head, "There was nothing, not a single hint or clue to what I'm looking for." Alphonse then said, "Brother, remember what Sora suggested? Maybe we can take turns reading the notes, one of us might see something different." Block agreed, "Al's right, sure alchemy novices like you might think the same thing when reading it, but what if those notes meant something else to someone like-well, y'know, us?"

Sora answered, "Because, Block, this was written by an alchemist…it took some time thinking about it, but I think you can only find the truth within the truth if you're someone of Marcoh's talent, if you were a smart alchemist. That's why Ed and Al are the only ones qualified to read it, if this was the truth within the truth they were seeking, then maybe…maybe this is as far as we can go." Al then said, "If alchemists can understand another alchemist's work, then I should at least-."

"…truth…"

Edward suddenly had a thought; the group looked at Ed as he mumbled to himself…

"The truth…in a truth…within a truth?"

Ed then said, "We deciphered the truth inside a cookbook…the truth within the truth…the cookbook itself was a-…wait…it was a disguise to fool the reader…we found the truth to the creation of the Philosopher Stone…yet…what if…a truth…can be found…WITHIN THE TRUTH?!" Edward stood up with an amazed look on his face, "THAT'S IT, THERE'S ANOTHER SECRET, HE WAS TRYING TO SAY THERE'S STILL SOMETHING MORE! A 'truth within the truth', what you can see in the surface is merely a portion of the truth! Dr. Marcoh wanted us to find it!"

Minutes later, Mickey arrived with Donald and Goofy, as they came in the office; they noticed Edward was reading a large map of Central City. Alphonse noticed them and asked, "Hey guys, come sit here, brother's on to something!" Mickey nodded, and the trio sat between Alphonse and Block. Mickey then asked, "So Edward, what's all this?" Ed answered, "The 'Truth within the Truth' Mr. President! It came to me a couple of minutes ago when I realized Marcoh was involved with a few secrets in the Stone while still under the employment of the military! Sure the secret to the stone was written in code, but he had to have been somewhere to discover it! That's where this map and these case files come in. According to the files, Marcoh worked in a laboratory, one of 4 labs, the 3rd laboratory."

Ross then asked, "So you plan on investigating the 3rd Lab?" Ed shook his head, "No, Al and I already searched around that lab and others, nothing remarkable there but a bunch of loud-mouth bureaucrats." Goofy then asked, "Wait a minute, Gwarsh Mr. Elric, if there are four labs, then what's with this one? The building's shape seems almost identical to the other labs." Maria answered, "That was the 5th laboratory, well, before it was closed down a few years ago. It's abandoned, reasons say that it was because of the fragile structure, so they made it off limits to keep the public safe."

"…or keep the public unaware." Edward guessed. Block then asked, "Wait, you don't think-?" Ed nodded and explained, "You got it, what better way to conduct research and experiments than in an 'abandoned' lab. The building next door should also provide the lab with enough test subjects." Sora looked at where Ed was pointing and read, "…2nd…prison? You think the prisoners-?!" Ed nodded, "Yup, think about it, plenty of men and women in death row are sitting right next to the grim reaper." Donald then asked, "Sure, they're bad guys, but to use them for the ingredients of the Philosopher Stone? What kind of animals would-?"

Sora then asked, "If we're talking about Marcoh and the research of the Stone's creation, then it should be a 'no-brainer' guessing the animal that was in charge of the facility…Marcoh's old boss, Brigadier General Basque Grand!" Al remembered, "That's right, Dr. Marcoh knew the Brigadier General from a long time ago, it only makes sense why he had such distaste for the creation of the Stone, the Brigadier General must have made him do it." Sora then said, "Which brings up the question, now that he's dead, who's looking after the lab?"

Ed scratched his chin while thinking, then after a while, he said, "…who knows? For now, it looks like the next step for us." Mickey then asked, "Hold on Edward, are you seriously thinking of going there?!" Ed nodded, "Of course, we don't have any other choice, so unless anybody sees a store full of Philosopher Stones, I think the 5th Laboratory will provide all we need. Come on Al!"

"JUST HOLD ON A MINUTE, ED!"

Maria Ross stood from her seat and came before Edward. She then continued, "From here on out, this is grown-up's work!" Ross's words frustrated Ed, "What are you doing?! We're close on this, and you want to lock me up-?!" but Ross explained, "With Scar on the loose, you'll be a walking target! You can't afford to run around Central." Ed then asked, "I know that, so what's the problem?" Ross replied, "The 'problem' is Scar, he kills State Alchemists, remember?!" Ed then said, "Come on Lieutenant, that's been like-what, a month ago? I'm pretty sure we can handle Round 2, don't you Sora?"

Sora noticed everyone looking at him, so he said, "…Ed…I think…Maria's right."

"WHAT?!" Ed and Al asked in surprise!

Sora stood up and explained, "We've found the answer you were looking for, Ed, you should be happy. Right now, we have the Lab spotted and waiting to be uncovered, but right now, it's night time, Scar's still on the prowl, and I can't protect you with an eye full of sand, neither can the rest of us. We can try looking tomorrow, can't we?" Ed then approached Sora and said, "NO, we can't, the 5th Lab is there Sora, and if we know about it, then what's stopping someone from removing the evidence?!"

Ross then said, "Edward, I understand this is an urgent situation, but with Scar still out there, you'll need to avoid a quick death. Since he only targets State Alchemists, then let Block and I go, we'll go and investigate. We'll be your eyes to the ground and find out if there's anything out of the ordinary. If we see ANYTHING, we'll give you a full report! In the meantime, you and Alphonse can stay here with Sora guarding you. At least then, you'll be safe."

Mickey then said, "She's a good soldier, Edward, I think it would be wise to trust her. Friends don't want to see other friends getting hurt, y'know? So how about it, can you give them a shot?" Ed looked at Ross as she awaited Ed's answer…

"…(sigh) Alright, I clearly can't argue with you. You guys can take care of it." Ed said.

Ross smiled and saluted Ed, "SIR, it's the right choice!"

Minutes later, the 2nd Lieutenant and the Sergeant went out into the night to the 5th Laboratory…

…Little did they know that the Elric Brothers had other plans in mind. With Sora, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy outside the office, Edward and Alphonse made a rope out of all the curtains in the room, climbed out and down the rope, and headed out through the streets towards the 5th Lab…

End of Chapter 130