Summary:
2nd Lt. Ross and Sgt. Brosh is horrified to discover that the Elric brothers have snuck out of their hotel room in the middle of the night and angrily rush to their charges in the most likely place – the abandoned Laboratory 5.Deep in the lab, Edward continues his fight with the armored guard known as Number 48, and although they seem evenly matched at first, Ed suddenly notices a nagging sting that suggests something is wrong with his automail arm. He remembers being told by Winry that his new model is less durable than its predecessor and decides to finish the match quickly, but soon finds himself on the run from Slicer’s increasingly vicious attack, earning a collection of small injuries as he barely maneuvers his way out of the way razor sharp swords again and again. Amused by Edward’s antics, 48 applauds his agility and vigor, but notes that the boy’s continued blood loss and increasing exhaustion will be his undoing, before assuring Fullmetal that his “partner outside” is being treated the same way by a second armored guard and will not arrive as backup. Hearing this, Edward asks if 48’s ally is as strong as him, to which Slicer replies that 66’s strength is a close second to his own, but Edward laughs and notes that in that case he has nothing to worry about because he never he couldn’t beat the “partner outside” in a fight even once.True to Edward’s word, Alphonse seems to have the clear upper hand against the attacker and easily deflects all of number 66’s ferocious attacks, much to the guard’s annoyance. But the encounter takes a sudden turn when one of Al’s wounds knocks off 66’s helmet, revealing the armor to be empty inside. Number 66 explains with dramatic flair that he is actually Barry Chopper – a butcher-turned-serial-killer infamous in Central City for murdering twenty-three victims before being caught and executed. But 66 goes on to explain that his execution is only the official story; in fact, he was offered the chance to live in exchange for guarding Lab 5, and his soul was ripped from his human body and bound to the armor. However, 66’s attempt to scare his prey is disappointed when Al not only reveals that he too has a hollow armored body, but that he grew up in the country back east and doesn’t know the famous killers from the capital. Al takes offense at Barry’s assumption that he too is an executed criminal, and explains that his brother saved his life by binding his soul to the armor after his physical body disintegrated. However, upon hearing this, Barry slyly suggests that Al’s story and memories are lies and that his soul is a fabrication created by an alchemist who calls himself Al’s brother. After all, with the actual existence of a “soul” still up for debate and his physical body supposedly being “destroyed”, what evidence is there that he was ever human other than hearsay from other people? Al, beginning to doubt himself, wants to know how Barry can be so certain of his own existence under the same circumstances, to which Number 66 replies – after quickly killing a soldier who came to investigate the noise of their brawl – that his love of killing is all he needs to be sure of his existence.Meanwhile, inside the Fifth Lab, a clever trick Edward pulls gives him an opening to hit his opponent and cut off his helmet, separating the Blood Rune from the rest of his body and releasing it from the 48’s control. With his opponent clearly defeated, Edward returns the blade on his arm back to normal and begins questioning Slicer about the Philosopher’s Stone. However, the talking helmet declares that the battle is not over as his sword plunges into Edward’s side from behind. When the badly injured alchemist turns to see that the body has risen to its feet independent of the head, 48 then informs his young adversary that when the Cutter was finally caught, the authorities discovered that the killer was actually a few people. – killing brothers.Slicer’s younger brother speaks from the body and reveals that his own independent blood rune is below, inside the torso. Not giving Edward time to transmute another weapon, the younger Slicer attacks and Edward, helplessly wounded, feels the panic of impending death. However, in this panic, he senses a familiar feeling and remembers his encounter with Scar. He claps his hands as the younger Slicer reaffirms that he won’t give the little alchemist time to make another weapon, but instead of turning his hand to his automail or the floor, Edward thrusts it at his opponent as he crouches under another attack and , using the same the Deconstruction Alchemy method patented by the killer State Alchemist, detonates the body armor at the waist. The Elder Slicer admits true defeat and asks Ed to hurry up and destroy them. Edward states that he is no murderer, but Slicer replies that only killing people counts as murder.Meanwhile, Alphonse, troubled by these new questions, is having much more trouble keeping the 66. Edward tells Slicer that if he considers his brother human, he considers them human too. Amused by this answer – as both brothers have been called inhuman monsters throughout their long and hard lives of crime and are only now being recognized as humans after being stripped of their flesh and blood – the elder Slicer offers to tell the little alchemist everything. he knows about the Philosopher’s Stone. The elder Slicer states that he and his brother will be eliminated anyway since they failed to eliminate the intruders, noting that – while he doesn’t know enough about alchemy to provide any real details about the Stone – he can at least give Edward information about the creatures , who created it, and ordered them to guard the lab. But before Slicer can say another word, his helmet is impaled by a familiar pair of long dark blades as Lust emerges from the shadows with Envy at her side.