"Do you really think we'll find the Philosopher's Stone in a run-down town like this? Looking around, it's hard to believe they ever produced much gold at all."
It was Al who posed the question. Jessie and the boys had just stepped off the train in Xenotime. Glancing around, the town didn't look to promising.
"Which is why they're all the more likely to be developing a Philosopher's Stone." Ed countered, "Now that their mines are no longer producing gold, they've got plenty of reason to want to transmute it. And they can only do that with a Philosopher's Stone."
"With this being a former gold mining town, it wouldn't even look all that suspicious." Jessie agreed.
"Is money all that grownups think about?" Al sighed.
In the distance, a loud crashing sound echoed through the air. Curious, the trio moved to investigate.
What they found was a young girl trapped under a mining cart at the entrance to one of the mines. The men surrounding her tried to get her free, but they couldn't move the cart that lay overtop of her.
"What's wrong?" Ed called out to the men.
"My daughter," One answered, "She's trapped."
Ed and Al immediately moved to help. Jessie stayed back, knowing the boys could handle it easily enough. She kept herself apart from them for now, keeping their relationship a secret. She'd learned a thing or two from their time in Yewswell, and she was putting it to good use now.
Checking the position of the girl, Ed did some quick thinking and used a simple transmutation to alter the form of the cart. Changing it to a solid column standing beside them, the girl was freed.
"I mean it. We're sure lucky to have a real alchemist show up when you did. I can't begin to thank you enough."
The father had taken Ed and Al to the local inn for dinner, as thanks for saving his daughter. Jessie hung back and observed from outside, still pretending not to know the boys.
She couldn't make out many of the words from the conversation, but she could tell by her brothers' body language what was going on. At one point Ed pointed to himself proudly, and Jessie knew he was telling them his name or about his state certification.
Unfortunately, as happened in Yewswell, the people in the inn didn't take too kindly to hearing his name.
When the front door was opened and the boys were shoved out onto the street, Jessie kept hidden but slowly inched closer, trying to hear what was being said.
"What was that about?!" Ed demanded.
"Shut up! The real Elric Brothers are already working to save our town up there with Mugear!" The father said, pointing to a mansion on a hill on the edge of town, "Come back when you're ready to tell us who you really are."
With that he slammed the door, and Jessie moved to Ed and Al.
"You guys okay?"
The boys nodded absently, already distracted by thoughts of the mansion and the "real" Elrics.
"Well, come on then," Jessie sighed, "If you're gonna check this out, we might as well get started."
...
"Now why would someone go around using our names?"
The trio stood to the west of the main gate that fenced the mansion. Two guards stood at the entrance, so going in that way wasn't an option.
"Brother, are you really gonna sneak in there?" Al questioned, and Ed looked to him.
"Of course we are," He said, "To confront this impostors and get them to tell us all about the Philosopher's Stone."
Sneaking around to the back, Ed used a quick transmutation to create an opening in the back wall of the mansion. Crawling inside, they found themselves standing in what appeared to be a library.
Ed immediately went to a shelf and began scanning books.
"Look at this," he said, "All these books are about the Philosopher's Stone."
"Then this must be where they're making it, right?"
"No doubt about it…"
Ed pulled a book off one of the shelves and skimmed through it. He was so focused that he didn't hear the squeak of the door opening somewhere behind him, and didn't realize anyone had approached until he heard them speak.
"In case the guards weren't a clue," a smooth voice began, "This place is off limits."
Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the light behind them, two boys stood staring into the room. One was considerably smaller than the other, and seemed to hide behind the taller one.
"By any chance, are you the ones-"
"Stealing our names?" Ed interrupted, stepping forward so that Jessie was behind him.
"I take it that means you're the real Ed, in the suit." The taller boy said, looking to Al.
"Me..?"
"No, you dolt!" Ed cried angrily, "I'm Ed, not him! Why does everybody always think that?!"
"Huh?" The smaller boy said, "So you're the older brother?"
"Damn right!"
"Try to tone it down a notch," The taller boy warned, "Or the gunman will realize you're here."
Ed paled at the mention of gunmen, and Jessie stepped closer to him while still staying behind.
"How bizarre," The taller boy said, walking closer, "The real younger brother wears a suit of armor to protect himself. It's hard to believe you're only fourteen."
"How do you know so much about us?" Al questioned.
The boy didn't answer as he stopped before Ed.
"You wanna start something with me?" Ed asked, staring up at the boy who was at least a foot taller than he.
"No I don't want to fight with you, Ed, so why don't you turn around and go home? Leave us to take care of things around here."
"That's not the way you beg someone to do something," Ed countered, "On your knees!"
The other boy simply stared at him.
"I said get down on the ground!"
"What, so we can see eye to eye? Surely you must be used to people looking down on you."
"Uh oh…" Jessie sighed. She knew what was coming. And by the look on the other boy's face, he had a pretty good idea as well.
"Snarky bastard…"
Ed threw a fist at the boy. The boy dodged it. Ed threw another one, and was dodged again. The tried several more in rapid succession, but all failed as the taller boy grabbed his fist.
"An automail arm, huh? I guess the real Ed's seen some action too."
"And I'm glad to see you have some skills," Ed said, "I'd hate for you to be damaging my name!"
He kicked at the boy that time, missing by mere inches as the other jumped back. Ed charged after him, but quickly saw what a mistake that was when a right fist connected with his face.
"Edward!"
Jessie ran to his side as he fell back.
"You know, I've always wanted to find out what a bona-fide State Alchemist is capable of."
"And I think you're gonna be sorry you asked!"
Ed brushed Jessie off and slapped his hands together, thrusting them to the ground a moment later.
The impostor avoided the attacked, calling out from behind a bookshelf.
"Not bad. You don't need a circle, huh?"
Since they couldn't see him, they had to rely on his voice to give away his position. But suddenly he ran out from behind a bookcase and slammed his own hand to the ground.
"The fake you doesn't need a circle either!" Al gasped as Ed grabbed him and Jessie and pulled them to safety.
The boy said nothing as he calmly walked to the end of the row they had taken shelter in.
"How did you..?" Ed asked, staring up at the imposter as the pieces fell together in his mind.
"You have a Philosopher's Stone?!"
Before he could answer, voices were heard from outside the room
"What was that commotion?"
"It came from in here!"
The trio had no choice but to flee, and surprisingly the impostor let them go.
...
"Dammit, I feel sore all over."
Jessie and the boys were sitting on a hill on the edge of town. Ed's body was bruised and his face was swollen, and when he spoke his words came out sounding odd.
"The fake you was pretty powerful, huh?" Al asked.
"Heh, he had something giving him a boost." Ed scoffed.
"Does that mean they've finished making that Philosopher's Stone?"
"I don't know, but we're gonna find out."
The trio was silent for a moment, before Al spoke again.
"You know, I wonder what those brothers' real names are. Or if they're really even brothers at all."
He glanced at Ed then, chuckling slightly as he continued.
"And I wonder if the older brother's actually much older than you are, or – ah!"
"Size doesn't mean anything!" Ed protested as Jessie sighed.
"Edward, don't shove Alphonse down the hill."
"It's starting to swell up pretty good."
Ed pressed his face against Al's armor with a relieved sigh.
"Ah, your cold metal feels just like an icepack."
"Heh, glad I could be of some comfort to you, Brother, even in this armor."
The trio heard footsteps behind them, and turned to look. One of the men from earlier was approaching.
"Hey, you were the guy with the lemons before, right?" Ed asked.
The man didn't answer, but said, "If you need a place to board up, you can come with me."
Not looking forward to spending the night out in the cold, the boys were more than happy to take the man up on his offer.
"You guys go on ahead," Jessie said, "I'm gonna do a little digging and see what I find out on my own."
"You sure, Jess?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. Go on."
The boys turned to follow them man at the bottom of the hill, and he led them away. Before they got far though, he looked back.
"When you're ready to call it a night, there'll be a bed waiting for you too."
...
"This is such a bad idea…"
Jessie stood outside the mansion once again. She knew she had to get back inside, but this time she planned to go through the front door.
"I really hope this doesn't get me shot."
She didn't know what possessed her to try talking to the boys who'd stolen her brother's identity, but after their last encounter she knew they'd get nowhere if something wasn't done. So she swallowed her nervousness and approached the front steps.
"Excuse me, I'm here to work with the Elrics. Could you let me in, please?"
The guards scowled at her.
"This place is off limits. The Elrics are very busy with their research."
"Yes I know. That's why I'm here to help. Edward sent me a letter telling me about his research, and he asked if I wanted to come and help. So here I am."
Jessie giggled then, acting like a swooning teenager.
"I don't think he's expecting me so soon, so I can surprise him."
The guards looked between each other for a moment, and one shrugged.
"Well, you seem harmless enough. It's not like a little slip of a girl like you could really cause that much trouble anyway. Alright, I'll take you inside. Come with me."
Jessie followed the man with a relieved smile.
"Thank you for this," She said, "Really. If I were late, Mugear would be angry with me."
"I thought you said it was Mr. Elric who asked you in."
"It was, but he cleared it with Mugear first. No one does anything without clearing it with Mugear."
The man didn't answer that, but nodded, and Jessie was left with the impression that she'd somehow said the right thing without even knowing it.
The two moved down a long hallway, stopping before a large steel door. The guard knocked on it and called out.
"Mr. Elric, your assistant is here."
"Assistant?" The older boy's voice echoed from inside, "What assistant?"
"What assistant?!" Jessie echoed indignantly, "Me, you silly idiot! Don't tell me you already forgot – it didn't take me that long to get here!"
No answer was heard from the room, but after a moment the door opened and the boy stood staring out at Jessie and the guard.
"Surprise!" She grinned as she threw herself at him, "Made good time, didn't I? Now we can really get to work!"
The boy was slightly taller than Jessie, and strong – he didn't stumble as she threw herself into his arms. It took him a moment to respond, but then she felt his arms slip around her waist. She had to mentally shake herself to focus on the task at hand and not the warmth of his embrace.
"Help me out before I get shot," She whispered in his ear, "Please!"
His hands suddenly gripped her tighter as he pulled her into a hug.
"Jessie! Wow, you really did make good time! Your letter only arrived yesterday – we weren't expecting you so soon."
The guard looked between them for a moment, seeming unsure.
"So, you really do know this girl?"
"Yes, this is Jessie." The boy said as though he'd done it a dozen times before, "She's here to help us with our research, as I'm sure she told you. I thank you for not detaining her. Now, we have much to do, so if you'll excuse us…"
Apparently satisfied that the girl wasn't a fraud, the guard left the kids to their work and returned to his own. As soon as he was gone, Jessie pulled away from the boy and stepped back, ignoring the slight chill she got from his absence.