Chapter 3: Xenotime
"Xenotime is it?" Nikooru asked Ed while on the train.
"Yup" Ed replied. "Xenotime is kinda a cute name for a town I like it." Nikooru said with a smile. The name Xenotime for some weird reason Nikooru found amusing, along with it sounding cute.
They ended up saving a little girl named Elisa as soon as they arrived in Xenotime. The girl had gotten trapped under a mining cart so Ed helped her get free. Nikooru slapped Ed's back "Good job Ed." Every one around them was also praising Ed then; they invited him back to a local café.
"So what's the name of Elisa's saviors?" One of the people asked friendly.
"I'm Edward Elric and that is my brother Alphonse Elric," Ed said pointing at Alphonse.
"And I'm Nikooru not that it matters" Nikooru said in a sarcastically humorous way not that anyone was paying attention to that.
"You don't mean the famous Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse Elric?" One of the people asked.
"Yup that is us." Ed replied with a smile
Two minutes later they found themselves kicked out of the café forcefully. "You liars the real Elrics have been helping Mugear in his mansion. They helped save this town. Thanks to them our town flourishes again."
"What are you talking about we are the…" Ed was interrupted with his suitcase hitting his head.
"Filthy rats," Someone said as the door to the café was shut.
Nikooru stepped out of the café only a minute later with a confused look on her face, "It appears that someone is impersonating you."
"That's weird." Al said. "My aching head," Ed rubbed his head. "Damn that hurt."
"Yeah it is weird Al didn't think a town with such a cute name would have such rude people" Nikooru said crossing her arms. Al laughed at this while Ed continued to rub his head.
A man then stepped out of the café, "My name is Mr. Vercio I am Elisa's uncle I am so glad that you saved her it was my fault that she was there. Why don't you come stay at my place if you have no other place to go?"
"Okay," Ed said. They all then followed Mr. Vercio back to his place where they learned about Xenotime's history. They learned that there was a time where many newborns were dieing due to some mysterious disease. This caught their attention, and they listened inventively.
That night Ed and Al and Nikooru snuck out to Mugear's mansion to see just who were the ones impersonating them? They crept using alchemy to make a hole in the wall of the mansion.
They found themselves in a library that was full of books about alchemy some concerning the Philosopher Stone. The door opened lighting the dark library. A young man appeared in the doorway. "And just who do we have here? So I take it you are the Elric brothers."
"And you must be the imposter." Ed said pointing a finger at him.
The imposter then proceeded forward to kick the intruders out either with alchemy or force. The imposter though had a red stone which was like the one that the priest in Lior had used. After only a brief 5 minutes of fighting the sounds of guards coming came from the hallway.
"That is our cue to leave Ed we don't need to get caught exactly," Nikooru said.
"Yeah you're right," and with this they all escaped out of the way they had come in.
They paid the mansion a visit the next night this time they ended up coming into a place where red water was running which is an alchemic multiplier sort of like the Philosopher Stone but, fake. The fumes made Ed pass out but, Nikooru only coughed a bit which was kind of strange. Fletcher the younger brother of the imposter appeared, and ushered them out of the passageway, and into the mansion.
In the mansion Fletcher found his older brother who wasn't to happy with him since he had helped the real Elrics. Mugear confronted them all. Mugear began to use an alchemical enhanced weapon by the red stone to fire at Ed, Al, and Nikooru. Ed luckily got the weapon away from Mugear but, then the older brother began to fight them covering for Mugear for the time being.
The older brother used his alchemy to create a hose which ran into the room where the red water was. He started spraying the red water at Ed until Fletcher jumped in front of the red water which was not good for Fletcher. Mugear ran back to where the red water was to protect it from the Elrics who wouldn't allow it any more. They knew that the red water had been used to make the newborns from years back sick in the process of creating the stone.
By the end of the night the red water mine had been destroyed by Ed but, the red water was now over flowing. It was threating to run down to the town. Ed used his alchemy to create a wall around the red water while Fletcher used his alchemy on the trees which made the trees absorb the red water.
In the end the Elrics had learned of a doctor named Marcoh who had cured the red water poisoning in Elisa when she was a baby. With this they left Xenotime now on their way to Eastern Headquarters hoping to maybe find out some information there not to mention Ed had to give his report to what had happened in Lior to the Colonel.
"Hey Ed what is that you got there?" Al said noticing Ed reading a letter.
Ed's face turned red with anger, "Oh nothing Al."
Nikooru snatched the letter out of Ed's hand when he was caught of guard, and began reading. She let out a little laugh. "Hey give that back," Ed demanded.
"Wow I would have never imagined he was only 14 he looked so much older and taller." Nikooru said snickering.
Ed snatched the letter out of Nikooru's hand. "Damn it. I can't believe I am a year older than him but he is that tall already."
Nikooru kept laughing while Al joined in. It was always fun to occasionally laugh at Ed even though they both knew he hated it.