armoured | IC Inbox

[Meanwhile, he probably implied that he was calling up Archer or someone else Serious Business for different reasons and needed a few minutes.

This is actually kind of awkward.]

I asked Zack to give me a few minutes. He probably thinks I'm talking to someone else. If your...BFF [Ha.] cuts in I'm blaming you.

This would probably be better face to face but I have no idea where the hell you are, but...I've been thinking about it, and there's probably something here that can help you with your condition. Whatever it is- I honestly don't care and you don't have to tell me.

[For a moment Al is convinced that Zack must have said something, because otherwise how would Lancer even know what might help? But he wants to believe Zack has said nothing, he wants to trust him, and Lancer doesn't seem sure about anything so...]

What are you talking about?

[It's guarded and wary, but he's trying not to jump to conclusions yet.]

[...well. He opened his mouth. And this is said in tones which clearly implied that he wasn't expecting to be believed.]

I died. Twice. Before I got here. I didn't have a body the second time. I was a spirit sustained by pran- energy. Admin fixed that, admin can help you.

Nobody else knows this besides Archer and now you.

[W...hat?

Shock freezes him in place, his thoughts effectively stilled. Of all the things he thought Lancer might say, this really wasn't one of them. The terms are a little different, but... but it sounds almost like they're the same.]

What are you talking about?

[Even warier, and there's a definite undercurrent of raw distress.]

You've spoken to the Admin? They helped you? I don't understand...

Of course I haven't. [And if they were in the same place there was even odds that he'd turn towards him, and, depending on Al's next words (and if Al had a head) might take a swing at his face.

But. They're not in the same place. So. After a moment.]

If I knew what those bastards were like I would've killed them and saved us all trouble. Nah. I woke up and had a body. I was actually expecting to vanish after the first couple of days.

Sorry.

[The apology slips out quickly and thick with guilt. He regretted basically accusing Lancer of working with the enemy as soon as he had spoken, and even now he's reeling with shock.]

[This thing... it's similar, it seems similar to him.

He doesn't know how Lancer lost his body and became a disembodied soul, but he feels a strange hollow tugging inside his chest. He understands what it's like, and he's actually pretty touched that Lancer is trusting him with this secret in an attempt to help him.]

It's not the same.

[Honour and fairness dictate that he won't try a goofy lie after Lancer has been so candid.]

I already have a body.

[He hesitates, sympathy in his voice.]

I'm sorry that happened to you.

[...yeah, if they were in the same place this probably would be the point in which he'd punch Al, "kid" or not. Hard to call for sure given that they're in two separate places thus the temptation is somewhere else.]

You're missing the point. [Guess who's very clearly ignoring that line about, "I'm sorry that happened to you."] We're dealing with omnipresent bastards who teleported a bunch of guys into the middle of nowhere for whatever reason from different worlds; they have to have something for you.

[He rubs a hand over his face, taking a moment to simply sit and let this sink in before he makes an even bigger idiot out of himself than he has already.]

Maybe.

[He won't rule out that there are answers here, it's something he's already talked over with Ed. But... He sounds reluctant, but he really can't hide this stuff when it pertains so strongly to Lancer, especially in light of Lancer revealing uncomfortable secrets for Al's benefit.]

I think I already might know how they're doing some of this - the revivals and maybe your body, at least. There's something called a philosopher's stone in my world, it lets alchemists do practically anything without restraint.

Really.

[For the record, if this was maybe fifteen minutes ago he'd probably admit Greed told him about it. Because all of this is starting to point to a very...interesting place for Norfinbury's personal cinnamon roll, and given the priest he's damned well aware of how normal people might seem up until the point they stab you in the back.]

Haven't heard about it. What does it do?

[This isn't his favourite subject, which is an understatement, but he's going to make sure to give the whole picture because to do otherwise wouldn't be fair. This isn't like back home in Amestris where access to a philosopher's stone was extremely rare, there might come a time when Lancer is presented with access to one through Admin. Maybe he has already had one used on him for his body, and he deserves to go into this with full knowledge.]

The whole basis of alchemy is Equivalent Exchange, that you can't take more than you give. That's why certain kinds of transmutation are forbidden for alchemists to try, because there's no possible way to make it an equal exchange.

[A pause, and then in a slightly quieter tone.]

Like human transmutation, creating life, because you can't... it's not possible to give something back that's equal to that.

[Sob.]

But a philosopher's stone amplifies an alchemist's ability so that the impossible becomes possible and they can ignore the rules of Equivalent Exchange. Using a philosopher's stone, someone could heal from deadly wounds, or even raise the dead...

[Does Lancer sense a but here? Because it's coming.]

But-- But a philosopher's stone is evil. To make even a small stone means sacrificing multiple human lives and using their souls to forge it. I think... I think that's how they're reviving the people here. I think that's what happened to the original residents of this place.

[All conclusions he reached a few days ago. This is why Norfinbury needs communication. This. Is. Why.

Also, all of this would've been more dramatic if he didn't already have this conversation, like, a week ago (which, by the way, makes him wonder how come so many people seem to know all about this thing which you'd think would be a huge secret, just saying) but he's still going to leave a thoughtful pause here, because, again, this would explain why Al seemed so...upset...and yet...okay with his condition (which was like a bad STD: as long as the rash was getting treated nobody needed to know what was happening down there.)]

Anything that gives you that idea besides resurrections or is that it?

Yeah.

[The way his voice twists makes it obvious that this is a subject that makes him deeply uncomfortable on numerous levels.]

That we're here at all makes me think there's an alchemist using a philosopher's stone. When-- An alchemist who commits human transmutation opens a portal, I think that might be how we're all being brought here.

[Yeah, being unable to access one's power would do that to a Magi, which is what category he's tentatively mentally reslotted Al into. The uncertainty of an unfamiliar situation and the lack of power which they prided themselves on...]

I can't imagine what your world is like if this happens as often as it sounds like it does.

[Or to put it another way, does Al have a legit way of knowing about this?]

It doesn't happen often! Most alchemists only think the philosopher's stone is a legend or a theory...

[Although, he can't deny that the amount of stones in use has dramatically increased recently due to Father and the homunculus.]

I only know about it because my brother and I were researching... ways to achieve something with alchemy. Our research led us to the stone and then to uncovering what it was and what it did.

[He sighs, he still feels sick thinking about it. They had been so hopeful, and the hunt for the stone had consumed them for years.]

I almost wish I still didn't know what it really was. Someone once told us that the philosopher's stone was the devil's research, and he was right. Nothing like that should ever have been made.

...right.

[This was the diplomatic way of saying, "Magi gotta magi and you have such an intimate knowledge of genocide rocks: how they're produced, what they do, and so on. As you try to accomplish...something."]

So, if we find one of these I take it we should let you know so you can dispose of it?

I don't even think I could dispose of a philosopher's stone here.

[He sighs, that's really not a comforting thought.]

Besides, I don't even want to touch one if I can help it. Ed and I promised that we would never use one, not after we learned what they were made from, and it's impossible to destroy one without using up its power first.

[Like when a homunculus was defeated.]

I guess if you do find one... let me know, but there's no reason why you shouldn't keep hold of it and guard it against use yourself.

I'll keep that in mind.

Looks like Zack's ready to move on, kid. [aka: he's going to hang up in a second.]

[He's still a little caught up in the discussion, especially knowing that Lancer somehow had no body before being here, so it takes him a moment to pull back from that.]

R-Right. I guess I'll talk to you some more another time.

[He tries to inject it with a friendly note, before he's just hanging up to go and think this through.]

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