A/N: Sorry for putting this out a day late. For some reason I had difficulty writing this chapter. But I hope you enjoy!

This weeks song: Mirror, Mirror the theme for Weiss in RWBY by Rooster Teeth. (This is my pick for Chloe's theme, at least how she starts out. And since this chapter has a lot of Chloe I thought it would make a good song. Look it up and have a listen!)

Chapter 2: The Rich Man

Amazing what one could get with a state certification and a little bit of friendly threatening. Since she recently became a state alchemist, Liz had flashed her watch more than once to curry a few favors. Why shouldn't she? After being doubted all her life for her stature and age, it felt good to have proof of her talents.

She used to have to give violent demonstrations of her alchemy instead and that always led to property damage and angry mobs. Showing a watch was much simpler and less chaotic.

The watch got her information too. After she picked up her keys to her room with a friendly 'thanks a lot' to the sputtering innkeeper, she wandered over to a table where a rather inebriated was seated, probably having his sixth glass of liquor. She sat in front of him.

"Not asleep yet, are you mister?"

"Beat it kid," he muttered. "Leave me alone with my whiskey."

"Your whiskey isn't nearly as pleasant company as I am." Liz smirked, dangling her watch in front of the man's face. "Its military business, actually. I know your head is a little fuzzy, but I just want to ask a few questions."

"You came about the disease, didn't you?" the man traced the wood on the table. Liz's eyes widened.

"How'd you know that?"

"'Nother state alchemist was asking questions earlier today. To see if there was any foul play. You know. The alchemy type." The man tipped back his glass, emptying the remaining contents before slapping it back onto the table. "We only got one alchemist around here. A nice young man. He's been working to help us. I don't think he has a part in this. If you ask me… its that Conrad."

"Conrad?" Liz asked, leaning forward, her nearly black eyes bright. "Who's Conrad?"

"Rich man in this town. Always gets his way, you know? Don't know if there's alchemy involved but if there's something shady happening, he's the cause of it."

"That's very interesting." Liz smiled brightly. "And where might I find this Conrad?"

"His house is just outside city limits. Big white house on a hill. Can't possibly miss it." The man lay down on the table. "Now leave me alone."

"No problem, I've heard all I need," she rose and started toward the stairs, planning to go up to her room before the innkeeper tried to kick her out. But she stopped mid stride and spun around. "One more thing. The state alchemist. Who was he?"

"Short boy. Blonde hair and a red coat. Called himself the Metal… I dunno, metal was involved." The man waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh really?" Liz raised an eyebrow, a smirk drawing over her face. "Thank you very much, good sir."

"Go away."

"I enjoyed your company too."

With that, Liz turned and hurried toward her room, suitcase in hand. She hadn't stopped smirking.

"So the famous Fullmetal Alchemist is investigating this too," she thought flopping down on her bed. This was probably Roy Mustang's doing. He decided to put them both on the same case without telling them. Did he want a competition? To see who would solve the case first? Maybe he wanted to see which of the young state alchemists was the better one.

"If that's the case, Colonel," Liz said softly, a sparkle of mischief in her eye. "Challenge accepted. I'll beat the Fullmetal Alchemist no problem. He'd just better not get in my way."

After all, she'd come this far to get her state certification. She wasn't about to be upstaged by some hot shot child prodigy who got his certification when he was twelve.

Okay, maybe she'd have a lot to live up to. But Liz always liked a challenge. She flicked a piece of dark brown hair from her eyes, grinning up at the ceiling.

"Just let him try to match me."

Edward went to Conrad's house alone for a few reasons. For one thing, he wanted to take care of this in his own way, without Al interfering. He loved his brother, but sometimes he could be a bit gullible and too nice. For another thing, he wanted someone to keep an eye on Chloe. If something suspicious came to light about her brother, Al could tell him. Besides, Al was better at earning people's trust than he was.

He approached the great white house on the hill, his hands stuffed in his pockets as if he was bored. As if he wasn't taking in every move of the place. There were people all around the outside of the house. Gardeners, it looked like. And some guards. It was the guards that peaked his suspicious. Why keep such security if you didn't have something to hide?

He marched up to the gates, slipping in as if he belonged there. Unfortunately that didn't get him far before the guards stopped him.

"What's your business here, kid?" one asked.

"There's no tresprassing on this land. Its private property," the other said.

"Sorry, I just need to see Mr. Conrad. I heard he lives here." Ed casually pulled his watch from his pocket. The guards drew back in surprise.

"A state alchemist?"

"What is your business here?"

They seemed nervous. Good. That meant that Conrad was even more likely to be the culprit.

"I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric." Ed said with a bored tone. He shined his watch snobbishly on his jacket. "I'm passing through. And I heard that anyone who is anyone should talk with Mr. Conrad. He's quite the business tycoon, isn't he?" Ed asked, placing his hand on his hips. "I just wanted to talk to him. See if there's anything the military can do to help his town. I'm sure he's as concerned about this disease as anyone else. And if we're to help we have to stop at the top man, right? Help the wealthy man and it will trickle down to the rest."

"Right," the guards exchanged glances. Ed fought a grin and tried to keep a look of detached snobbishness.

"Now are you going to let me pass, or am I supposed to stand here talking to you all day. I'm busy. I have things to do." Ed waved his hand impatiently.

"Uh, right sir. Come this way." The guards moved with him toward the house. "We can't promise Conrad will see you. He's a busy man."

"I'm sure he'll make time," Ed said mildly. After all, with a state alchemist at his door, he'd want to know how much the military knew. He would definetily get his audience.

Halfway to the door, something caught Ed's eye. A flash of metal from across the lawn. He turned just in time to see someone's coat snap around a corner and disappear from sight. Was that a person? Whoever it was they had been moving fast.

"Mr. Elric?" one of the guards asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Ed said, slowly turning back toward the door. "Lead the way."

Alphonse didn't necessarily like his brother's assignment to him. He didn't like spying on someone or trying to learn their secrets. But he supposed, since he was sure Chloe and her brother were innocent, it wasn't so bad to spend a bit of time with Chloe Brooks.

He came under the guise of wanting to find out more about her alchemy. Which wasn't even a lie. He was very curious about her alchemy and how it worked. In all the reading he had done he had never heard of alchemy being used as a tool to make up for being blind. He'd never heard of it being used to make up for any physical or mental disadvantages. And Al was always keen to learn about new things.

"You're really curious?" Chloe asked. She seemed surprised when Al asked if she'd like to go on a walk with him to talk about alchemy. Al wondered if she ever got a chance to talk to anyone about alchemy. The only other alchemist in town was her brother and he seemed always shut up in his cellar. Even today when Al went to the house, he still was not available. Al wished he could meet Chloe's brother, but then again, he was doing important work. The sick people of the town were more important than guests.

"Of course I am." Al said. "I think you're alchemy is really amazing."

"Not very flashy though." Chloe said, tapping her foot against the wood floor. If it was anyone else, Al would think it was some kind of nervous tick or sign of impatience. But for her it seemed like she was trying to get a read on something.

"Alchemy doesn't have to be flashy to be interesting." Al said. "My brother might disagree. He likes to put on a show. But I think it's all pretty incredible."

Chloe smiled. She had a very nice smile, but it didn't always seem to reach her eyes. Her unseeing eyes had a sad look to them. Maybe that was just how all blind people's eyes looked, but Al wasn't sure. A sort of melancholy seemed etched in her face. He couldn't pin down why. "Well in that case, Mr. Elric, I would be glad to talk with you."

"It's just Al." the armor said, rubbing a hand behind his head.

They walked down the road at a liesurly pace. Chloe seemed more than willing to talk about her alchemy. In fact, it seemed like all of her knowledge was built up inside of her. Like a pipe with too much build up finally being released.

"—Its alchemy, but not entirely alchemy. You know, alchemy books are hard for me to read. But there's this country across the dessert, Xing, you know about Xing?" She barely paused to see him nod. "Well they have alkehestry. Similar in a lot of ways but much more developed in the medical area. The culture altogether is more developed medically. They actually have books written for blind people. It's a new thing. They called in braile. Its raised letters that I can feel out with my fingers." She mimed the motion. "So because of that, I studied a lot of alkehestry. A few years ago, brother got a lot of money. He did some kind of work for someone, I don't remember what. But he was able to buy us books from across the dessert. And that's where I found out about alkehestry. It puts a lot of emphasis on the flow of chi. Its kind of a… new way of sensing things. The presence of things. Some people use it to be able to enhance their senses. I use it to make up for mine." She tapped her foot again. These circles help concentrate the chi flow. I can tell where things are that way. Kind of like vibrations but not. It's hard to explain. It's like… the energy of souls." Chloe paused her breath. "I'm sorry, I've been rambling. Do you have any idea what I'm saying?"

"I'm mostly following it," Al said. "I don't mind the rambling. You seem really happy to talk about it." It was true. When she talked about her alchemy, her whole face lit up and she didn't look so sad anymore.

"I am," Chloe murmured.

Al heard a sound like moaning not far away and he looked up in alarm. It was coming from a large nearby building. "What was that?" he asked.

"We're passing by the place where we keep the sick." Chloe said. "There's always a lot of moaning going on in there."

Al felt sick. "That's… that's horrible."

"It is." Chloe agreed. "I always walk by here when I start feeling too selfish."

Al looked down at her in surprise. "Selfish?"

"My brother… well, I love him but he's always working. A lot of times I want someone to talk to. But I don't really have any other friends in town. It's just me, alone and the people we pay to read to me aloud. They don't talk much with me though." She shrugged. "But its selfish of me. These people need my brother more than I do. I just feel lonely sometimes."

"It's not selfish to want company." Al said. "I guess I wouldn't know what its like to be lonely. I'm always with my brother." He laughed softly. "To be honest, he's a handful sometimes. Always loud and getting into fights. And he never thinks things through. But I love him all the same."

"Yeah," Chloe tilted her head up, as if to look up at him. Al noted she was very good at that. Moving her head in about the direction of other people's faces. "I…had a question Al. About you and your brother. Since I've answered your alchemy questions."

Al froze a bit. "Uh… what questions?" Did she suspect him of trying to pick up information from her? Did she know?

"Its just… what have you been through?" Chloe asked. "How is it that your brother only has two limbs? And you? Why are you only made of metal?"

Al stared at her. "How… how did you know that?"

She tapped the toe of her boot against the ground. "I could feel it from the moment I met you two. Metal gives off different vibrations from living things. And yet there's still a soul in there. A soul with metal."

"That's… your alchemy is really amazing Chloe." Al said breathlessly. He shook his head. "I am hollow. I'm just a suit of armor attached to a soul. But I'm sorry, I can't tell you why." He looked up at the horizon, toward the house where his brother now was. "Its personal."

"I understand. I'm sorry I pried." Chloe said. And just like that she continued walking along, hopping from stone to stone on the street like there was nothing wrong.

Al would have smiled if he had the face to do so. For all of her melancholy, Chloe was a very kind girl. Very accepting.

If her brother was anything like her, the town was lucky to have both of them.

Conrad was a pudgy business type with round cheeks and a thin mustache. His head was shaved clean and his eyes seemed full of greed every time he spoke. Maybe because he was trying to curry favor with state alchemists to avoid any further inspection.

Ed took an instant dislike to the man the moment he laid eyes on him. And said dislike only grew as the man continued to speak.

"We are of course very glad to have you as a guest," Conrad said. "Always good to meet a state alchemist."

"Right," Ed said, observing the book shelves lining the room. It didn't seem like a lot of alchemy books. "Do a lot of alchemists come through here?"

"Not so many. We are far out East, as you can see." Conrad rubbed his hands together. "Not many alchemists in these parts. I don't know any alchemists myself. We have one, working to combat the disease but I suppose it's not enough."

"No." Ed shook his head pacing about the room. "I've heard you've been lucky though."

"What do you mean by that?" Conrad asked.

"Well your workers and their families… I hear none of them have caught the disease. All the people who work for you seem in good health, actually. It's the people who don't who are getting sick." He looked innocently over his shoulder. "I guess you keep your workers in good health."

"Any good business man does." Conrad slowly, but his brow was furrowed with suspicion now. Good. "I'm nothing without my workers."

"Of course, of course." Ed said. "It is kind of amazing though. You apparently don't pay your workers very much for the work they do. I mean, one would think that the people getting paid the most would best be able to avoid sickness. But apparently not."

"Who said that? It's a lie! I pay my workers just as well as anyone." Conrad slammed his fist against his desk.

"I'm just repeating things I've heard, sir. Just speculating." Ed held up his hands in a placating fashion. "I'm here on business myself, you know. State alchemist business. It seems that this disease is a little odd and we want to find out if there's a reason behind it. And since you're the man with the most influence, we thought you might know something."

"I'm no alchemist. It wouldn't be able to say." Conrad said.

"There was a man not too long ago. His name was Mugiar. He wasn't an alchemist either. But he hired them." Ed tapped a finger on his chin like he was thinking. "And then… well he eventually could use alchemy. With the help of something… a special stone."

There was a flash from behind Ed and he whirled around to find a cluster of guns, made from the floorboards, pointed right at him. Conrad now had a red stone in his hands. "Very good, Mr. Elric. You're a smart one. But I suspected your true intentions. And now…" A grin split his face. "I'm afraid you won't be leaving here alive."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that cliffhanger! I promised cliffhangers, didn't I? Be sure to review if you're eager for the next chapter and I'll see you next week!