Stand by You

XI

"Yeah, we weren't," Edward scoffed as Alphonse helped him climb out of the room Ross and Brosh tied him down in. They raced over to the laboratory, only to find the entrance blocked with guards. "A guard placed at a suspicious building, huh?" Edward commented.

"That's suspicious," Alphonse added. "How do we get in?"

"We could make our own entrance."

"They'd notice the light from the transmuted reaction."

"In that case..." Edward had Alphonse jump up off his armored hands and pulled at the barbed wired top to the concrete wall, making a rope. He pulled it down, making a rope for Alphonse to climb on. They jumped down on the other side and scanned the wall they faced. There was a door there, but it was locked up tight. "It's locked here, too?" Edward sighed. He scanned the building some more until he found an open vent. He had Alphonse help him up again as he climbed into it. "Al, wait here," he ordered.

"Will you be all right by yourself?" The younger Elric asked.

"All right or not, with your huge size you can't get through here, right?" Edward laughed as he climbed in fully.

Just as he crawled his way in, he could hear Alphonse sigh, "I didn't get this big because I wanted to."

Edward crawled his way slowly through the vent, careful not to make any noise to attract any guards below. It seemed as the more he crawled through, the tighter the space got. "Damn it," Edward muttered. "It's even tighter in here than I thought. I couldn't have gotten through here if I were regular-sized. Luckily, my body is smaller." Edward paused, and realized he insulted himself, cried out, "Oh no! I just called myself a tiny little pipsqueak!"

He found a lose panel and banged it, breaking it so he jumped out. In the corridor, he saw lights on the side of the walls. "Lights on, huh?" He sneered. "'Not currently in use' my foot."

He made his way through the corridor and ended up in a large room. There, in the center, was a huge transmutation circle with dried, old blood splattered around it. He gasped, praying that the blood didn't belong to Evelyn. "What is this?" He sputtered, taking in the surroundings. "Is it possible that this is for transmuting a Philosopher's Stone?"

"That is correct," A voice replied. Edward was not expecting a response. In the shadows, he could see a suit of armor wearing several pieces of cloth as if they were clothing. "I don't know who you are kid, but if you can tell that just by looking at the transmutation circle."

"Who are you, pops?" Edward demanded, staring straight at it in the shadows.

It stepped out of the shadows, approaching Edward. "I am the one charged with guarding this place," it stated. "I'll go by the name 'Number 48' for now. And by the way, I'm not your pop. I have orders to dispose of any outsiders that come in here. Don't think ill of me, kid."

"I could say the same," Edward added. Using alchemy, Edward turned his automail arm into a blade. "Don't go thinking ill of me once you're defeated by a 'kid'."

"You're an alchemist, are you?" Number 48 asked. He dashed up and was in Edward's face. "Let's have a look at what you've got."

The suit of armor slashed his sword downwards and upwards. Edward used his metal arm to block both attacks. "Your prosthetic arm saved your life," Number 48 laughed. "However, my trusty sword will pierce even steel!"

Edward jabbed Number 48 before kicking him straight in the gut. It slid back, still remaining balance. "Hey, hey, hey!" Edward smirked, the pieces falling in quickly. "Let me guess, pops, you're hollow on the inside, aren't you?"

"I'm impressed that you realized that," 48 awed.

"I spar against someone like you all the time, you see."