Ed leaped back in shock. "AL! Get over here!" he yelped.
Al came clanking over as quickly as his metal body allowed him, ready for anything… well, almost. Neither of them was ready for what Ed had found. Ed was clutching the thing from the bushes, and it was making little noises. Al leaned in for a closer look, and so did Ed, as Ed slowly opened his hand. "What did you do that for?" they heard a tiny voice say. Sitting in the middle of Ed's palm, holding its head in its hands, was a… fairy. They had no better way to describe it. It was small, small enough to fit in Ed's hand, and it was humanoid in shape, and had large moth-like wings. Both the brothers' jaws dropped. The whatever it was let go of its head long enough to look up at them. "Oh, hello. I suppose you'll be wanting an explanation then?" Ed and Al were still too stunned to speak. Ed's mind was crossed between wanting to squish the thing in his hand and dropping it on the ground and running for it. Al had a bit more common sense; he shook his brother out of his stupor.
"Put it down, Ed. It won't run away, it could have done that by now," Al explained.
Ed hadn't been worried about that, but he put the creature down anyway. It wobbled a little when it hit the ground, but started talking almost immediately. "Well, I'll start with why you're here. You're looking into the lab explosion, correct?" Al nodded. "Right. I've been watching you, but not in a creepy way, so I know a little bit about you. You're searching for the philosopher's stone, yes?" Not waiting for a reply, the pushy little creature continued. "That's not quite what the alchemists here were working on, but it's still something that would interest you. They were working on me; I'm Ferra by the way. I'm a top secret intelligence gathering unit based on the material of humans and moths, meant to be used as a spy for the group who sponsored the project. They were going to create a species of loyal spies, but I don't know exactly what they wanted to find out. Don't bother asking me, I don't know who that is," the fairy thing said, to disappointed looks from both Elric brothers. It was fairly obvious to the brothers by now that she was female. "The alchemists who were working on me weren't bad guys, they were just under the orders of some higher ups. Anyway, I was designed to be a transmutation between moths and humans, and I was the best prototype they made. That's how I escaped, you see; I can do minor feats of alchemy. I know you saw my protective shield, that little piece of metal you unearthed the other day. I escaped from the blast because I saw it coming, but I didn't see who did it, his back was to me. I don't think he was a worker in the lab though, I'd never seen him before. Now, I know you are looking for the philosopher's stone, and that's where I come in. I was raised in a lab; I know all about alchemy, even if I can't do all of it. So, I can help you; take me with you on your search for the stone, and I will help you any way I can. What do you say?" she finished her long speech, not even a bit out of breath. Ed and Al looked at each other, trying to decide what to do, and if the creature was even telling the truth or not. They huddled up a little ways further into the forest to discuss it.
"Brother, what do you think? She sounded like she was telling the truth," Al whispered.
Ed shook his head. "I don't know, I don't trust anything that pops up suddenly and offers us information about the case and the philosopher's stone."
Al looked at his brother. "But Ed, what if she can help us? Are you going to risk losing the stone for your mistrust?"
Ed knew his brother had a point. He sighed. "Fine. But you have to take care of her."
From the bushes where they left Ferra they heard an angry yell, "Hey! I am not some pet! Oops," she said, as she realized they knew she could hear them.
Al grinned. "Come on Ed, let's at least ask her what she knows. Maybe she knows where the philosopher's stone is!"
They trudged back to the outskirts of the ruined lab. Al stuck out his metallic hand. "I'm Al, pleased to meet you," he said, and Ferra touched his hand in greeting.
"I know. I'm Ferra, as I said, but polite introductions are in order here." The two looked at Ed. He merely said, "Hey, you've been watching us, you already know our names." At a look from Al, he continued. "I'm Al." Ferra nodded towards him.
Formalities over, Ed and Al started to interrogate her. Ed squatted down, face to the ground. Al thought, he didn't have to bend far. "Okay, Ferra, tell us what you know. How can you help us?"
Ferra looked back and forth between the brothers, settling to look at Ed. "Okay, well, I am highly useful as a spy, and I can fly." She demonstrated by hovering a bit off the ground, then swooping upwards to land on Al's shoulder. "Secondly, I have a camouflage technique similar to a moth's, watch." They watched as Ferra became seemingly transparent. She moved her arms a little and they could see her better. "My body changes colors to those around me, I can't become completely invisible, and it doesn't work as well when I'm moving, as you can see." Ferra flew down to the ground again and started pacing while she spoke. "I know how to find an alchemic amplifier. It's very similar to a philosopher's stone, it could even be the same thing, and the scientists used it to make me. It involved many complicated procedures to get it just right, you see. Find their research and you may find the stone. But I don't know where it is."
Ed looked into the distance, deep in thought. "So," he mused, "there was a stone, but there's no sign of it now. It might have been destroyed in the explosion, or the ones who blew up the place took it. That means they were the ones who were after it! Alright, but that still doesn't solve who caused all this. Do you have any idea at all? This is important, Ferra." Ed looked at her with these last two sentences.
She opened her mouth to reply, but hesitated for a moment. "Ed, Al, why do you want to find the philosopher's stone?" she asked simply.
The Elrics looked at each other. Ed replied, a touch coldly, "You don't need to know that," obviously still mistrustful of her.
She sighed. "Very well, I'm sure you'll tell me eventually. I do know this: a group of three men visited the facilities often, I think to check on the progress of the project, and they had just left when the 'accident' happened. I believe one went by the name of Samneric."
Ed grinned. That's more than enough information for now, he thought. He stood up and brushed himself off. "Well Al, we'd better get to work. Gotta find this 'Samneric' guy."
He held out his hand for Ferra to climb on, and instead she flew up to Al's shoulder, an snub in retaliation for his coldness earlier. Ed started walking back towards the inn, Al and Ferra in tow.
