Episode 11…sorry you guys, you'll have to wait for episode 12. Not that I'm not done with it, but I need time to finish episodes after that.
On with the show….
Disclaimer: as always, it's not mine.
11 Gravel Earth – Part One
Ed and Al paused at the outskirts of Xenotime. Al surveyed the town before them. An aura of neglect clung to the buildings; cracking and peeling paint and overgrown lawns lined the streets. The houses were large, if not simple, but there seemed to be no life in the town.
Al cast a dubious glance at his brother. "Is the Philosopher's Stone really in a desolate city like this? I can't believe that this place was once prosperous with gold."
"That's all the more reason for them to do research on the Philosopher's Stone," replied Ed, shading his eyes against the late afternoon sun that cast an orange-yellow tinge on the city. He resumed walking and started down into the city, anxious to pursue their newest lead. He had insisted that they leave on the first train out the morning after he captured Siren.
"What do you mean?" Al followed his brother, Ed's suitcase firmly grasped in his metal hand since he knew Ed was exhausted from the trip from Aquroya, although he would never admit it.
"Now that they can't mine gold from the mountains, they're probably trying to transmute the Philosopher's Stone. This place used to produce gold, so no one would suspect gold that came out of here."
Al's hollow footsteps clanged against the uneven ground. "The ideas adults come up with sicken me." Ed silently agreed, but didn't say anything.
"Elisa!" A man's alarmed shout echoed in the mountains. He hovered over an overturned mine cart. Wedged between the hard dirt and rock and the heavy cart was a little girl. "Everyone, give us a hand!" he called to the other miners.
Three other men came up and placed their broad shoulders against the cart and pushed. "Damn, it won't budge," one man swore between clenched teeth.
The brown-haired girl looked up, tears streaming down her baby-soft cheeks. "Papa," she pleaded.
Her father knelt down. "Don't worry," he reassured her, "I'll help you out of there."
"What's wrong?" Ed and Al rounded the corner, having followed the man's shouts.
The man turned to the huge suit of armor and blond teenager. The guy in the metal suit looked big and strong. "My daughter is stuck under this," he explained, desperate for any help. His eyes widened in surprise as the young boy walked up to the cart.
Ed crouched down to examine the cart. It had been derailed and the edge of the cart had caught on a rock. The unstable prop was all that kept the heavy metal from crushing the girl. He finally turned his attention to the girl. She looked about seven years old. "Just bear with it a little longer, okay?"
Elisa mutely nodded. Her tears had stopped, but her green eyes were still bright.
Ed strode to the other end of the cart, opposite Elisa. The men watched, befuddled. How could a scrawny little boy like that save the girl? Ed clapped his hands and placed his white-gloved palms against the splintered wood.
Blue light enveloped the cart and Elisa covered her head in terror. The light quickly dissipated. Elisa tentatively lifted her arms and peeked out. The men gawked. Standing next to the tracks, the cart was now a solid block of iron.
"This is great!" Townspeople crowded around the two newcomers. "I didn't know we had an alchemist in town. Thank you so much!" Ed and Al deflected their praises and thanks. The food set before them was thank you enough.
Elisa peeked over the table at her savior's companion. "Thank you, too, armor daddy."
Al was thunderstruck. Ed snickered. "No, we're brothers," he explained. "He's my little brother."
"Little brother?" Elisa repeated, looking at the armored man then again at the boy. "Even though he's bigger than you?"
Ed snarled and it was Al's turn to enjoy a good laugh at his brother's expense. "Anyway, I'm glad you didn't get hurt, Elisa."
The good-natured laughing and conversation came to a halt when the door slammed open. A slim, dark-haired man panted in the doorway. "Elisa! Is Elisa okay?" His hair was short and combed all to one side. Like most of the men in the town, he wore a plaid shirt and suspenders, although, he was much slimmer than most of the town's male inhabitants.
"Mr. Belsio!" Elisa brightened at the man's arrival. Her father gripped her arm and stopped her from running to give the man a hug. "Papa?" She looked up at him questioningly.
"How dare you come here? You made Elisa work there," he raged at Belsio. He turned back to his daughter. "Listen, Elisa, no matter what anyone says, you mustn't help Mr. Belsio out."
The man in question looked down, studying the door frame. "No." His chin jerked back up at Elisa's refusal.
"Mr. Belsio didn't do anything bad," the little girl insisted. I'm the one who wanted to help him out." Her argument dissolved in a fit of coughs.
Her father grabbed a glass of water off the table and handed it to the girl. "Sorry, here, Elisa, drink this." Her violent coughs subsided as the cool liquid soothed her throat.
Belsio placed the basket of lemons he carried on the table. "Sorry," he apologized before closing the door after him.
Elisa looked at the closed door then at the basket of lemons. "Mr. Belsio said that your lemon pie was the best, Dad, and it's sad that there aren't many farms left."
One of the townspeople piped up. "Once the Philosopher's Stone is complete, the city will prosper again," he said confidently. "Then we can buy fruits." The crowd murmured in agreement.
"The Philosopher's Stone?" Ed thought he had heard wrong. Not many people knew of its existence, much less conversed about it openly in public.
"Yes, yes." A man turned to them. "You two came to help with Mugear's research, didn't you? The Philosopher's Stone research."
"Huh?" Ed was sure he must have missed a step somewhere along the way.
Ed and Al found themselves backed against the wall, crushed between the stone and the anxious townspeople. "Mr. Alchemist, please help make the Philosopher's Stone. We want to regain the city of gold, Xenotime. Please."
Ed shot a bewildered look at Al. "It seems like things are complicated, but I guess I'll try talk to this Mugear person." Diplomacy definitely was not one of Edward Elric's strong points.
"By all means, do so. By the way, may we hear your names?"
"Our names?" Ed grinned cockily and thrust a thumb at his chest. "I'm Edward. Edward Elric."
"And I'm the little brother, Alphonse. Alphonse Elric."
Their introduction drew murmurs from the crowd. "The Elric brothers? The State Alchemist?"
Ed nodded. The name Edward Elric was rather famous and he was damned proud of it. His eyes popped open in surprise as he felt a large hand grab him by the scruff. He fleetingly toyed with thought that it was appropriate for a dog of the military to be treated so. His amusement quickly vanished as the hand tugged and the room began to spin.
The world came to an abrupt halt when Ed's face collided with hard dirt. Slightly dazed, he pushed himself off from the cold dirt road only to be knocked back down as his suitcase came flying after him. He spun back to the house, golden eyes flashing angrily. "What was that for?" he demanded. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Al also dusting himself off. He glowered at the crowd gathered in the doorway. It was one thing for him to be kicked out, but treating his little brother the same way was inexcusable.
"Shut up," the man at the door yelled. "The real Elric Brothers are up there!" He jabbed a finger up at the mountain where a lone mansion was perched on a ledge. "Come again when you feel like telling us your real names." The slamming of the door punctuated his order.
Shadowed in darkness, the mansion sat on the mountainside imposing and unapproachable. Of the fifty rooms, only one window was illuminated with yellow light. In the room, a tall, light blond boy held up a flask to the light, examining the clarity of its contents. He squinted at the red liquid, ignoring the lock of yellow hair that fell over his right eye. Hovering near his elbow was another boy, years younger, with short, cropped hair of the same shade.
Above the masks they both wore, the older boy's blue eyes glinted with determination while the younger's reflected doubt and worry.
Ed peered around the corner of the stone wall, the coldness seeping through his glove, numbing his left hand. "I wonder who the hell is using my name."
Al worried his hands nervously. "Niisan, are you really going to sneak in?"
"Of course." Ed spun away from the wall, dismissing the two armed men guarding the entrance. "I'm gonna catch those imposters and get information on the Philosopher's Stone from them."
The brothers tiptoed their way past the guards alongside the house and hid in the relative safety of the shadows. After the patrolling guard had passed, Ed briskly clapped his hands and placed them against the stone wall.
Al stood behind his brother's smaller frame, the large armor blocking most of the blue light from the watchful eyes of the patrol.
Inside the laboratory, the two brothers started at the blue light that illuminated the window. The younger boy turned to the teenager, his voice tiny. "Niisan, that was…"
"A transmutation reaction," finished the older boy. His blue eyes never left the window.
Cold air wafted into the library from the open slate door Ed had transmuted. Oblivious, the brothers perused the room's contents. "Look, this is all data regarding the Philosopher's Stone."
"Then are they really trying to create the Philosopher's Stone here?"
"There's no doubt about it." Ed was already engrossed in a thick blue text he pulled off one of the many dusty shelves.
The door creaked open. "This is a restricted area."
Ed and Al both turned towards the open door. A tall, blonde teenager stood negligently in the door frame, hands tucked into brown trousers. The sleeves of his white collared shirt were absently rolled up to his elbows. From behind him peeked out a boy of about eight in a green jumper and matching headband and earflaps.
"You guys must be…"
"So you've appeared, you imposters!" Ed took a threatening step forward.
The mysterious teenager eyed the two intruders. The armor reached almost the top shelves, and the boy with the blonde braid and red jacket came up to about his breastplate. "So you must be the real Edward," he mused.
Al was dumbstruck. "Me?" He pointed a questioning finger at himself.
Ed's irritation at being impersonated then overlooked by his impersonator exploded into anger. "No, no!" He yelled, waving his arms furiously. "I'm the real Edward. Me."
The younger boy picked the wrong moment to find his courage and voice. "Huh? You're the older brother?"
The familiar mistake still had the power to rile Ed like nothing else. "Do you have a problem with that?" he growled, baring his teeth, his intense golden eyes burning with irritation.
The boy flinched at the intensity of Ed's golden gaze, retreating back behind his brother. The older one merely smiled. "Don't get so steamed up," he admonished mildly. "The guards are gonna catch you."
At that sobering truth, Ed's anger fled. The other blonde boy stepped into the room and strode towards the brothers. "So, the real little brother wears armor, eh? He doesn't look fourteen at all."
"Did he do research on us?" Al whispered.
His even strides came to a stop two feet in front of Ed.
"What?" Ed drawled irritably. "You want to fight?"
"If you two go home quietly, I won't fight." The boy looked down at Edward. Ed barely reached his collarbone. "Let us be like this for a while."
Ed's finely honed radar picked up the light jab instantaneously. "Is that supposed to be the attitude of a person asking for a favor?" He pointed a finger to the cold stone floor. "Sit."
His command was met with utter silence. The fake Edward didn't move a muscle, not even his slight smirk twitched. In a flash of annoyance, Mustang's signature smirk came to Ed's mind.
"Don't look down on me!" he snapped, jabbing his finger towards the ground again and again.
The other boy shrugged carelessly. "I guess it makes sense that you're disturbed. You're fifteen and you're only that tall."
That comment hit home with all the subtlety of a Mac Truck. Ed's reaction was just as quick and usually just as hazardous. He threw a punch with his right fist.
The imposter dodged it easily, shifting slightly to his right side. Ed threw another series of punches, all of which the taller boy easily avoided and deflected.
His left hand caught Ed's right fist. The impact stung his palm, but he refused to let the pain show on his face. Only a thin layer of white fabric separated him from the unforgiving steel of the other boy's fist. "Auto-mail, huh? The real one has had his troubles, it looks like."
Ed ignored the veiled condescension in the observation. "And you seem to have had a not-so-easy life as well." Ed's heavily booted foot shot up and connected with the taller boy's jaw. The imposter flew back and skidded a few feet towards the doorway in a crouch.
Ed sprinted forward only to be met with the other boy's fist. He staggered back.
The fake Edward got to his feet. "Show me a State Alchemist's abilities," he taunted.
"You'd better not regret it," Ed warned with a maniacal grin. With a clap and slap of his hands, four spikes shot out of the stone floor.
The imposter threw himself to the side just as the vine-like spikes crashed into the ground where he had been standing a split-second before. "Pretty good," he panted. "No transmutation circle, eh?"
Ed gritted his teeth in consternation. The other blonde jumped out from behind a bookshelf and slammed a palm to the ground. Instead of blue, red sparks flew as four identical spikes hurtled toward the brothers.
"The imposter doesn't need a transmutation circle either?" Al gasped. He didn't have time to ponder the new information any further as Ed tackled him to the ground, out of the path of the spikes.
"Do you have it? The Philosopher's Stone," Ed demanded of the blonde boy.
The imposter smirked.
Ed glared back in response. His cheek was beginning the throb in time to the vein in his forehead.
Clamoring footsteps echoed in the outside hall. "What was that sound?"
"Over here!"
Ed stiffened at the sound of the approaching guards. Looks like they weren't getting any answers tonight.
"Dammit. I'm hurting all over," Ed groaned, lying back on the chilled ground.
Al drew his knees up. He and Ed were miles away from the mansion resting on a deserted hill beyond the village. Al couldn't feel the cold air, but from the faint puffs he saw of Ed's breath, he assumed it must be fairly chilly. Not that they could go anywhere. Word had already spread about their impersonation and no inn would take them in.
"That imposter was strong."
Ed scoffed. "It must've been the stone's power."
Al trod carefully around his brother's already bruised pride. "Then is the Philosopher's Stone complete?"
With a grunt, Ed sat up and mimicked his brother's pose. "I'll be sure to find out," he promised vehemently. He didn't have to say it. Al knew he would. It was what they had come for. What they had traveled for. What they had sacrificed everything for. Both brothers knew it.
Al broke the silence. "I wonder what those brothers' names are. Those two must have real names." A thought occurred to him. "Hey, is the elder brother older than you?"
The clang of Ed's right fist plowing into Al's armor echoed in the still night. Al fell to his side in a heap. "Don't jump to conclusions based on height alone!"
The younger blond boy toyed with a plant leaf. Its ends looked almost singed, a dark red border creeping up and overtaking the green. The room was lined with potted plants, most of which were green, but a few were brown with a red tinge. His brother sat at a table cluttered with bottles and flasks of red liquid. One flask was clutched in his right hand as he jotted notes.
"Niisan, let's stop doing this." The boy's worried voice was muffled by the gray face masks both boys wore. "What are we going to do if those two tell people the truth?"
"Don't worry," the older boy tossed back, focused on his notes. "No one will believe what they say. Let's hurry up and complete the Philosopher's Stone and then get out of this city."
"Will it really work?"
He swirled the flask's contents, raising it to the light. "I'm not letting Mugear get famous from Father's life research."
"But –"
"Don't worry!" He cut off his younger brother's protest. "If worse comes to worse, I'll be sure to at least let you escape."
The boy gazed at his brother's back with tears in his eyes. His brother just didn't understand.
The candles that lined the walls of the underground cavern burned bright. Shadows flickered over the rough boulder walls that surrounded the tunnel's wooden frame. At the end of the tunnel, the narrow walkway opened into a clearing where red liquid gushed forth from a crude stone fountain.
A gray-haired, portly man stared transfixed at the flowing liquid. The water of life. Clearer and thinner than blood, but just as potent. His eyes burned as bright as the candles over his brown face mask.
"Is it okay for you to just stand there?"
The man turned in the direction of the husky voice. A woman sat in the shadows of the cave, perched five feet up on a boulder ledge. She wore the simple white and brown dress of the village peasants. Even in the darkness of the shadows, her skin was paler than white.
"You were here?"
She ignored the question. "I've heard that outsiders have come here." Her throaty voice barely echoed in the small confines of the cave.
"Yes, but don't worry," he hastily assured her. "The Elric brothers have gotten rid of them."
"I wonder about that," she replied doubtfully. With a toss of her head, she shook off her hood and long, black hair fell free spilling over her shoulders in soft waves. "Those kids might be the rascals themselves."
He watched as her red lips curved in a slight smile, her raven tresses framing her beautiful face. "What?" Her statement barely registered in the man's mind.
"Now that it has come to this," she continued, "the military will find out about the research eventually." She gracefully lowered herself to the ground from her perch. "You'll have to remove your hands from this soon, Mugear."
"Please don't say that!" Mugear snapped back to attention. "Let me work on this a little more," he pleaded, beads of perspiration popping up on his forehead. "Please give me some more time. I promise I will complete the Philosopher's Stone."
The woman looked down at the man groveling on his knees before her. "Hurry up then," she said simply. "Use whatever means necessary."
The man's seedy eyes widened first in surprise then comprehension dawned. Yes, any means. Anything for the Philosopher's Stone.
"Your cheek has swollen up."
Ed pressed his abused jaw to Al's metal thigh. "It's so cold and feels so good," he sighed.
Al giggled. A strange sound to hear coming from a suit of armor. But he couldn't help it. Being a hollow suit of armor didn't come with many perks. "I'm glad that my body is useful to you."
Dirt crunched behind them. Instantly alert, both boys turned at the sound of footsteps. A slim man with black hair stood on the slope of the hill, a long stick slung over one shoulder.
"You're the person who came to the shop this afternoon," said Ed. What was his name? Belzo? Benicho? Belsio.
"If you have no place to stay, come to my place."
Al shot a surprised look at Ed. They hadn't thought anyone would take them in, not even an inn. Ed shrugged then nodded gratefully at Belsio. He didn't much relish the prospect of spending the night out in the cold on the ground.
In silence they followed the man to a modest home at the base of the mountain. Once inside, Al spoke. "Thank you. You saved us."
Belsio placed a bowl of warm water and a towel on the wooden table and slid it towards Ed. "I can't let children sleep outside."
Ed's golden eyes followed Belsio as he walked back to the sink, dubiously weighing the man's intentions. "You're not going to ask our names?" he asked suspiciously.
"You're the Elric Brothers, right?"
"Then you believe us?" Al stood up abruptly, pushing his chair away from the table.
"No. But I believe that people have their reasons." He didn't so much as glance at his reluctant guests. "But I'm not the one who will be responsible for it. You two will."
Ed pressed the warm towel to his swollen jaw. "You don't seem to be interested in the Philosopher's Stone," he observed.
At that comment, their host turned around. His eyes were shuttered. He looked everywhere but at the two boys. "The people in this city can't forget the wealth that gold brought them, so they're acting exactly the way Mugear wants them to." His gaze finally came to rest on a bowl of lemons.
Morning came and with it another visitor.
"Good morning, Mr. Belsio!" Elisa bounced into the kitchen through the side door.
Belsio was at the sink washing dishes, his back to his new guest. "Your dad's going to get mad at you for visiting me again." Belsio's reminder was mild and not unkind.
"It's okay," Elisa dimpled, crossing her arms behind her head. "Dad is talking about the gold mine right now. He doesn't know."
"Good morning." Al's groggy greeting preceded him down the hallway. Ed trudged in front of his brother, his shoulders hunched and his normally intense eyes were dull with fatigue. Belsio only had one extra bed and the boys had to share it. Needless to say, Al took up quite a bit of space, leaving Ed with less than a third of the bed. Although Ed would be that last to admit it, and no one with the slightest bit of common sense and knowledge of the tempermental alchemist would dare mention it, the left over space was small even for someone of his stature.
Elisa turned to the two boys. "So you two were here." She spotted the bruise growing on the blond boy's jaw. Ed hastily covered it with a white-gloved hand. "Does it hurt? That must be punishment for lying."
"We're not the ones who are lying, but they hit me like I'm some child molester," Ed grumbled. Al couldn't tell if his lack of articulation was from fatigue or because his jaw hurt when he spoke.
"So you two were the ones who snuck into Mr. Mugear's mansion?" Her large brown eyes widened.
"Of course!" Ed burst out. "We can't let the imposters roam free." He crossed his arms across his chest sulkily. "Trying to create gold using the Philosopher's Stone is –"
"Niisan." Al's hand fell on Ed's shoulder stopping the flow of words. The little girl was now staring at the floor, her expression crestfallen.
Ed didn't say anything. For a moment, he thought he could see Nina in the young girl. He brushed aside the unwelcome thought. "I'm going to take a walk," he said abruptly and left.
"Niisan," Al called after his brother. Ed didn't turn around. Al hunched his shoulders and clenched his hands, exasperated with the elder Elric.
"The big one there…"
"Yes?" Al turned at the call. He had almost forgotten Belsio's presence.
"Can you go to the pharmacy?" At Al's nod, he continued. "I want you to get Elisa's medicine and you need a stupe for your brother as well."
A few villagers aimlessly wandered through the town, running errands, pausing to speak in hushed whispers now and then. None of them paid any attention as a small blond boy dragged a wooden crate over to the window of the town pharmacy. Climbing up on the makeshift stool, he grasped the window ledge and peered inside.
Inside, there were more people than there were milling the streets. Huddled together on benches, they eyed the suit of armor that entered and sank deeper into their whispered conversations.
"Hey, that armor person is an imposter," said one middle-aged woman to her friends.
"Really? I hope he leaves soon," another said, deliberately raising her voice louder. Weren't they the ones who snuck into Mr. Mugear's mansion last night?"
Al strode to the single counter in the small store, ignoring their scornful comments. As he passed the benches, he noticed a few men wearing face masks and many others seemed to be plagued with the same coughing bouts as Elisa.
"Hey, you!" A shrill, crotchety yell drew his attention back to the counter. A tiny woman about mid-fifties stood in the doorway leading behind the counter, a mop brandished in her hands. "What do you want here?" she demanded accusingly. She took a few steps forward, completely unfazed by the armor that towered a good three feet above her.
Al took a precautionary half-step backwards. If there was one thing Granny Pinako taught him, it was not to underestimate tiny women, especially when said woman is armed. "I-I came to get some medicine…" he stammered.
The termagant cut him off. "We have no medicine that cures liars!" Clutching the mop handle like a sword, she swung the mop at his head, advancing forward until her unwanted customer was out the door.
She slammed it shut with relish. Al stared at the closed doors in dismay. "Oh boy, I can't buy medicine now."
"Umm…" Al turned at the small voice behind him. It was his imposter. The metal armor clanked as Al stiffened. The young boy still wore the same green jumper from the night before. Right now, his head was tipped downwards, his eyes to the ground. "I'll buy the medicine for you," he offered shyly.
"Huh?"
"It's equivalent trade," the boy explained, "to return the favor for lying." He raised earnest blue eyes to Al's white eye lights.
At Al's tacit agreement, he disappeared into the pharmacy. Wisely opting to remove himself from the store's vicinity, Al wandered over to a more deserted part of town. Fifteen minutes later, the boy emerged from the pharmacy and joined the suit of armor. The two silently walked together and climbed up a stack of large, unused underground drainage pipes. They sat at the top, their legs dangling over the wall bordering the town square.
The boy handed a paper bag to Al.
"Thanks." Al accepted the bag. He didn't look at the other Alphonse. "We both have trouble with our reckless brothers, don't we?" Since the other boy was making the effort to be nice, Al's sense of fairness and politeness forced him to do the same.
"You're not mad?"
Al turned to face his imposter. "You have your reasons, don't you?"
The boy hesitated, unsure what to make of Alphonse Elric. He and his brother were ostracized from the town because of him, and here the real Alphonse was offering forgiveness. "I'm sorry," he said finally. "We needed famous names to participate in Mr. Mugear's research. The Elric brother is the only young State Alchemist."
"Do you need the Philosopher's Stone that badly?"
The boy kicked his dangling feet. "It's something my dad researched his whole life," he said quietly.
"Your father was an alchemist also?" Al absently noticed how much larger his metal feet were compared to the boy's worn sneakers.
He nodded. "But one day he just disappeared all of a sudden, so Niisan is forcing himself to finish Dad's work." He felt the sting of his short nails digging into his soft palms before he even knew he had clenched his fists tight on his lap. The words he had just spoken registered in his mind. Why had he told him that? He hadn't ever told anyone.
"That's the opposite of my brother."
The boy looked up at the armor's soft confession. "My brother hates our alchemist dad. Our dad was too involved in alchemy and made Mom sad." Al spoke impartially; he had been too young to remember his dad leaving, much less life before he had left. "We've seen many other people who have suffered because of alchemy. If your brother is doing something wrong, only you can stop him." He looked down at his imposter, realizing that they had more in common then either of them had thought. "You can't let another person do it or your older brother will get hurt."
Leaving those words of advice for the boy to mull over, Al jumped down to the ground with a thud. Wordlessly, the boy followed him and together they walked through the town. They came to a pause before a large building that parted the street they stood on in two.
Before they parted ways, Al had one more question for the younger boy. "It's been bugging me, but this city has a lot of people who cough, doesn't it?"
The blond boy flushed guiltily. He managed to utter a murmur of agreement through his rapidly tightening throat. Luckily, Alphonse didn't seem to notice.
"I wonder if this medicine is to stop the coughing." He considered the package in his large gray hands.
"That's…" The younger boy stopped on a gasp, his eyes drawn on something past Al. Al turned. The elder Elric imposter stood silhouetted at the end of one fork. He leveled his dark blue eyes at the pair then turned and strode away.
"S-sorry, I have to go now!" The boy began to run after his brother.
"Hey, you, what's your name?" Al yelled after the boy.
He paused and threw a smile over his shoulder. "Fletcher."
Al watched Fletcher disappear down the road. Once the boy had disappeared from view, he decided to return to Belsio's and consider what Fletcher had told him.
A flash of red, black and yellow whizzed past him in a flurry of heavy bootsteps. "Niisan?"
Ed halted, mid-stride, and fixing a slightly puzzled gaze on his younger brother. Al was careful not to mention that Ed's right jaw was still swollen, giving him the appearance of a lopsided chipmunk. "What's wrong?" he asked instead.
"I found the imposter," Ed exclaimed. "The elder brother. Did he run past here?"
"Um, yes."
Al expected Ed to go running in the direction Fletcher had just gone, but to his surprise, Ed stayed where he was. "That guy was posing as a good person, fixing plows and transmuting wheels," Ed ranted.
"I think that's better than doing something bad," contradicted Al.
Ed frowned. "I don't like how he's doing it. He's ignoring the principle of equivalent trade. Al, we're going to sneak in again tonight."
"What? But it's only been a day since we first snuck in!"
"That's why."
Al sighed. When Ed had that look in his eyes, there was no stopping him.
Russell bent over the microscope, slowly bringing the red crystals into focus. Fletcher hesitantly approached his brother.
"Niisan, there's something I want to talk about," he began timidly. His brother gave no indication he had even heard the plea. Fletcher's shoulders drooped.
Outside the walls, Ed and Al once again tiptoed their way past the guards. Pausing in the same place they had the night before, the shorter Elric looked up at his younger brother. "We're going with the mole strategy today," said Ed.
"Mole strategy?"
With a quick glance to either side, Ed brought his palms together then bent to press them to the ground. Yellow light shot up from the spot in a thick column, blue sparks wriggling along the ground. A second later, the light vanished, leaving only the bright moon overhead for illumination. Ed stared down the hole he created. It was about three and a half feet in diameter – more than half as long as Ed himself.
Al followed his brother down into the tunnel. As they crawled under the mansion, Al was forced to lie almost completely on his stomach, using only his elbows and knees to propel him forward to keep his back and head from clanging against the ceiling of the tunnel. They were a good distance below the mansion, and the odds of someone hearing the clanging was minimal, but every time Al scraped the top, he was showered with tiny bits of dirt and rock. In front of him, Ed easily crawled on all fours, a comfortable distance between his uplifted head and the top of the tunnel. Not for the first time, he envied Edward his smaller stature, even if it was a little too small for his age with the heavy steel limbs weighing him down.
"Okay, we should've reached the bottom of the building by now." Ed paused and sat back on his heels.
"Are you sure?"
Ed eyed the top of the ceiling. With a shrug, he clapped his hands. "At any rate, we should end up somewhere anyway." He raised his palms to the rough surface above his head. Light once again emerged from beneath his palms, then disappeared, leaving behind another circular tunnel. Ed could see something purple at the end.
"There it is."
Al stared at the stream of clear red liquid rushing past them. He and Ed stood on a narrow walkway in what appeared to be an underground waterway for the liquid. A red fog settled low to the ground, rising only as high as his knees. "What is this?"
"This could be the water that's the source of the Red Stone."
"The Red Stone?"
"I read a book about it in Central City." Ed's golden eyes were transfixed on the water, almost mesmerized by its clarity. "It's a compound very similar to the Philosopher's Stone and it's a stone that can be created with red water."
"So they can create the Philosopher's Stone with this water?
"It's not going to be exactly the same," Ed qualified. "I heard that some alchemist named Nash-something was researching it, but it didn't go well."
As the last words left his mouth, Ed bent over clutching his throat. Sweat beaded at his temples and ran down his face.
"Niisan? What's wrong?" Al couldn't feel, but he didn't think it was that hot in the tunnel. And heat wouldn't cause his brother's shoulders to shake or his face to go pasty white either.
"All of a sudden my body feels…" Ed's eyes rolled back in his head.
Al caught his brother as he pitched forward, unconscious. Al shook the limp figure in his arms. "Niisan? Niisan!"
"This way!"
Al's head shot up at the new voice. "Who's that?"
Fletcher stood at the doorway of the stone tunnel. "It's me," he yelled, his small voice muffled by the mask covering his nose and mouth. "Hurry!" Al stared at the small boy. "Hurry up!" he screamed.
Ed moaned. What the hell had happened? He opened his eyes.
"Niisan, are you okay?"
Ed struggled to a sitting position. His left hand met cool metal. He was cradled in Al's lap. The world righted itself in sharp focus. "Where am I?" His sharp eyes raked the strange room, past the lab tables and plants and landed on the other person in the room. Ed fixed a glare at the blonde boy. "Why are you here?"
"I-I'm sorry," Fletcher stammered.
Ed's irritation deflated just as quickly as it had flared at the tears in the younger boy's baby blue eyes. "Why are you crying?"
"Fletcher, if you know something, please tell us." Ed's eyes snapped back to his brother. How did he know the boy's name? "You don't like doing this either, do you?"
Fletcher stared at his small hands fisted on his knees. "That red water is very dangerous to humans," he confessed softly, "but we need it to create the Red Stone."
Things began to fall into place. The villagers' coughing. Ed's faint. The need for the Elrics' names. "Is that the reason the people of the city are coughing?" Al asked.
"I'm sorry," the boy repeated, his eyes filling with tears again. "I'm so sorry."
"Geez, what a mess." Ed stood up and paced the room. "I'll get rid of it."
"I can't let you do that."
Ed turned. The older imposter stood at the other end of the room. He held out a stone that from Ed's distance, looked like the color of blood. It was perhaps the length of the teenager's thumb and twice as thick. "The Red Stone has grown this big. Father sacrificed himself for this. His death would be meaningless if the research didn't succeed."
That boy really thought that creating an imposter stone would make someone's life meaningful? "So what about that worthless stone?" scoffed Ed.
Russell's blue eyes narrowed. He slipped the stone in his pocket and wrapped his hand around a desk lamp sitting at a nearby table. A red glow enveloped the lamp and in a flash a slender sword was now gripped firmly in his hand,
Ed's blood was pumping now. "That sword is a fake, too, right?" He clapped his hands and ran his left palm over the back of his right hand. Blue sparks flew as an auto-mail blade jutted out over his right fist. He brandished it with a grin. "I'll break it along with your stone!"
With a war cry, he sprinted forward and the clang of the two blades reverberated in the room. Ed steadily applied pressure to the sword listening carefully to the scratching of metal on metal. The iron blade began to crack and chip, tiny shards of metal falling to the floor between them. "Mine is the real thing."
The imposter swore and instead drove a knee into the shorter blonde's mid-section. Ed flew back, the wind knocked out of him, but he managed to stay on his feet.
Red light danced around Russell's hand as he slammed his palm against the steel door behind him. The red sparks formed a circle and Ed gaped as the boy brandished the newly transmuted tube before him.
"It's the red water," he warned. His hand clenched the handle at the end of the tube. Ed's eyes followed the length to the steel door it emerged from, behind it lay an intricate piping system that led to the underground river.
"If you get soaked, you're done for. Sorry, fainting isn't the only thing you'll be doing."
Ed grinned. "Bring it on," he invited, clapping his hands beneath his auto-mail sword.
Red water and blue light clashed in a fierce battle for a brief instant as Ed completed the transmutation. He braced his legs apart and held the auto-mail umbrella in front of him to ward off the violent onslaught of water. The powerful stream hit the umbrella straight on, spraying water in all directions.
"Niisan, don't be so reckless," Al yelled.
The imposter locked his arm against the pipe, struggling to keep the gallons of water aimed at the State Alchemist. "Just like your brother said, 'Go home!'"
"No." Ed easily withstood the assault. "I won't lose to a guy chasing after his dad." Resentful thoughts of his own father rose up unbidden, but he quickly squelched them.
Russell responded with a twist of his wrist, almost doubling the water pressure. Even with his left arm bracing his right, the force of the new attack sent Ed slowly, but steadily inches back.
The gallons of red water began pooling at Ed's feet, staining his boots with the blood red substance. Ed shifted his weight minutely, but his focus remained on the jet of water and his boots skidded on the slippery floor. The force of the water shot Ed clear off his feet.
A loud thud echoed in the room.
Ed lay a good two feet from the treacherous pool of red liquid and instead in it shivered a whimpering Fletcher.
Al ran to the younger boy and gathered him in his metal lap, away from the debilitating effects of the water. "Fletcher, get a hold of yourself."
Russell stood mute at the door, pipe hanging limply from his fingers.
"Niisan, Dad researched the water to make people happy, remember?" Fletcher cried. "But what we're doing is making the people in the city suffer. Niisan, you know that."
"Who cares about fame? Dad…" Fletcher winced, the fumes of the red water emanated from his soaked clothes. "Dad wouldn't be happy about this!"
The older boy jerked his head up at his brother's outburst, hurt and remorse etched in his gray eyes. What had he done?
A shrill whistle pierced the air.
Thanks for reading. Review please.
Flower Kid: Thanks for the name help. I usually forget which names I really looked up and which ones I just got off the A-Keep subs. A-Keep used Psiren, but I think for now I'll stick to Siren since that's what the official website says for her.
Wyldcat, Ronya, SongSwifteye, InuBecka, WildfireDreams, DeathbyTexas, blurred3883, Dark-Angels-Tears, and Storm Alchemist: I've never really thanked you guys for leaving reviews, so here I am now. I'll try from now on to leave a thanks at the end of a chapter. But if I forget, I'm sorry. I really do appreciate your guys' encouragement!