Elise looked up at Alphonse needing to take a moment to process what he just said.

"Alphonse…I don't…What are you saying?" Elise stammered with mixture of confusion and horror.

"Brother don't deny it. I know it's you." Alphonse calmly whispered.

Elise was absolutely terrified. If Al told Tucker, the whole plan would be ruined, and the other two that were with her would be in danger too. Elise decided to first find out Al's proof and see if she could persuade him that her and his brother weren't the same.

"Where is this coming from, Alphonse?" Elise asked making sure not to call him "Al", for that was a nickname that Edward would call him.

Alphonse sighed and whispered, "First off, you and brother look really similar. Unnervingly so."

Damn the stupid limits on the cloaking device. Elise could change gender and general appearance but couldn't change genetic things like hair and eye color. That resemblance was definitely there as Al said.

"Also, I left my room to help Mr. Tucker with dinner and saw you running to the bathroom in tears," Alphonse continued, "The song you were crying about was a song only me and Brother knew about. How would you know the meaning that song if you didn't know about it?"

Elise wanted to kick herself for not looking behind her before running off like that. Now because of her own stupidity, Al was suspicious, and she was super close to having her secret revealed to Tucker. So damn pathetic. So stupid…

"I told you why at supper, didn't I?" Elise whimpered.

"Doesn't mean it's true." Al bluntly said in tone that told Elise that if he had a body, he would be deadpanning right now.

Elise was starting to agree with some of the insults Mr. Tucker threw at her.

"What a coincidence that you started crying when we started talking about my brother's disappearance." The suit of armor continued spelling it out for Elise.

"That doesn't mean we're the same," Elise said with some newfound composure, "That doesn't prove anything."

Elise hoped that this would throw him off her tail. She felt awful lying to her dear brother, but she knew that it was necessary for his and Nina's safety. Of course not. In fact, Al hit the final nail in her original plan's coffin.

"If that's true, take off your gloves," Alphonse said, "If I'm right, one of your arms will be metal."

There was no getting around that. As always, Alphonse won the argument. In fact, any arguments they had in their youth were always won by Al. Whether Elise took off her gloves or not, her secret would be out. So, she decided to uphold what little dignity she had left and take off her gloves. The only thing running in her head being…

This is all your fault…

"So, I was right." Alphonse said in an unexpectedly sad tone.

"Okay, you win," Elise admitted, "But, you can't tell anyone I told you this."

Even though he couldn't show it, Elise could tell that he was confused and hesitant. Despite that, he chose to believe his brother's words.

"Okay, but can you tell me how you ended up like…this?" Alphonse questioned.

Elise did her best to explain the world trotters, how her stone worked, and the cloaking device. Safe to say, Alphonse believed her, but was still shocked by the whole thing. But this certainly went a lot better than it could've. He could've run off to tell Mr. Tucker and she would've been tortured in the shadows once again. It would've been like the last two months had never happened.

"Elise, could I at least tell Mr. Tucker?" Al asked her as she noted the fact that he had the courtesy to call her by her alias.

"No, Al," Elise sternly replied, "Especially not Tucker…"

"Why 'Especially', Elise?" Al questioned suspiciously.

Elise knew she couldn't keep this conversation going much longer lest Tucker get suspicious. Thankfully, she had an idea on how to give her brother the answers he needed while keeping Tucker off of the trail.

"We can't stay here. He's gonna get suspicious." Elise said before writing him a note.

"Go to the place on the note when Tucker and Nina are asleep, and I'll explain everything." Elise quickly told him before racing to meet with her friends.

Alphonse looked at the location on the note and decided to follow his crazy brother's directions. He wouldn't be pulling off a plan for two whole months without a reason. Al decided not to keep Nina waiting by asking himself questions he couldn't possibly know the answers to yet and left his room.

…

Elise quickly ran to her friends and practically yanked them aside to tell them the news about Al. She quickly explained that Al now knew who she was and was gonna go to the warehouse to hear the truth.

"He's not gonna rat us out anyway, is he?" Tiffany nervously asked.

"Al's not that kind of person, Tiffany," Elise replied, "He wouldn't rat us out if he knew we didn't want him to know."

"That's great and all, but what if Tucker knows more than he lets on?" Dani asked.

Elise flinched when that question was brought to light. What if he already knew who she was? What if he was already plotting what to do to everyone? Elise didn't know how to answer Dani without sounding like a moron.

"He may…I won't even lie," Elise began, "All we can do is hope he doesn't."

"And if he does?" Tiffany quietly squeaked.

Elise shook her head and said, "We'll just have to take a stand and do the best we can."

The time for mission talk was up when they heard Nina and Alexander coming out to the courtyard ready to play.

Nina excitedly ran up to Dani and said, "Okay, what are we gonna play first?"

Dani smirked and ran to tag Nina, "You're it!"

Although Nina was supposed to be it, everyone was mostly running away from Alexander who seemed to want to be it instead. It was the first time in a long time Elise truly felt like the kid she was. Everyone laughed and played until nightfall when Nina had to have her bath and the trio had to go to pick up Monica.

The group managed to track down Kevin's group and retrieved Monica from their hideout.

"Thanks a lot for watching her, guys." Elise smiled.

Kevin laughed and said, "No problem! She was actually a lot more chill than I thought she would be, considering she's a baby."

Monica seemed to be ecstatic that Elise was back as she was giggling and reaching for her. Elise took a moment to calm the baby down before setting out for their makeshift home. The group returned to the warehouse in order to prepare for Alphonse's arrival and get Monica all set for her nightly routine. The trio all knew they would need to explain to Alphonse who Monica was, but it was all the more proof against Tucker. What Elise did next shocked the other two…

"Dude! You're gonna go in your real body?" Tiffany wailed.

Now in his original body Edward turned to Tiffany and said, "It's not like I have anything left to hide."

"Yeah, but what if Tucker has people looking for you?" Dani panicked.

"This place has been abandoned for a long time," Ed answered in an unnervingly calm tone, "Any troops Tucker would get wouldn't think to look here."

"Doesn't mean they won't!" Tiffany argued.

"Even if they did, I locked the doors and windows to make sure we would know if someone's trying to get in." Ed explained.

"If you're sure…" Dani said.

Tiffany sighed and said, "I hope you're right, Ed."

After their decision was made, Edward went to put Monica to sleep in the makeshift bed the trio made for her. It didn't take long for the baby girl to fall asleep after Edward quietly sang his song to her. It had to be quiet, or any enemies passing by would hear it and tell Tucker. Once Monica was asleep, the young alchemist looked up at the window that was on the roof and said…

"Tonight, you'll learn the truth about that monster. I'll make sure of it, Al."