Prologue

Ed felt a tremendous pain throbbing within the confines of his skull, and he couldn't help but groan as consciousness more aware of his discomfort. Just what the hell had happened? He frowned, trying to remember. He and Al had been out in the middle of some random and isolated town. They had been following up on a rumor that a new version of the incomplete Philosopher's Stone had been developed there. They had scoured the entire village and questioned everyone. In the end, it turned out that the man had only been developing a theory on the Philosopher's Stone, never actually experimenting with it. When he had gone, so had all of his research.

While the lead had brought them to a dead end, the trip had been somewhat worth while. They had befriended the locals and gotten another lead. They acquired the address of the man. It turned out he had moved to a town about a three days' walk from there. They had phoned the Colonel, and had decided that it was best to go look there next. Just as they were leaving the town to search, however, they had run into-

"O'Chibi-chan, you're finally awake."

Envy.