Youswell had been quite a headache to the government for some time now, for various reasons. After a few discrepancies popped up in the regular reports, a chain reaction started though the system. First, a military representative was sent to inspect the small island's mining operation. When that report came back clear, the Youswell file was shelved.

Until the next quarterly report came back, also with some red flags.

This time, a State Alchemist was sent. One specialized in gems and minerals. He returned with a very detailed report of the qualities and availability of the mine that mostly just confused the higher ups, but the sheer overload of technical jargon appeased them.

The next quarterly report did not arrive at all. It's absence went unnoticed for several days due to the sheer multitude of reports constantly streaming in. By the time a clerk had noticed, the rumors were already filtering in to Central Command, which is how Roy came to his current predicament.

He stood stiffly at the railing as the ship was tied up and the gangplank lowered by one of the sailors. He returned the young man's salute and briskly made his way down to the pier. Riza followed directly behind, her bag in her left hand to keep her right hand available. Behind her, Havoc carried his and Roy's small cases. They weren't sure how long this investigation was going to take, but clearly there was some funny business happening, and Roy wasn't leaving until he'd gotten it sorted out.

The rest of his crew were staying on the ship for now, but there was no talking Riza out of joining Roy, and he felt Havoc's easygoing attitude (and not too shabby aim) may be beneficial with the locals. They had directions to the only inn from the file, and trio had made it there relatively quickly. Of course, unsurprisingly, word of three blue uniforms beat them to the premises.

Roy stepped up to the front desk in the deserted lobby/tavern, Havoc and Riza flanking him. The former glancing around with an easy smile in a way that could be mistaken for curiosity. The latter staring dead ahead in a way that often made civilians uneasy.

"Well, guests! How can I help you three today?"

Roy smiled winningly as he glanced over the man. He was tall and muscular, with sandy hair, a mustache, and goatee. From the reports, this would be Halling: previous mine foreman and innkeeper, and current mine owner and innkeeper. Talk about promotion.

"Yes, hello. Three rooms, if you please."

Halling smiled broadly, "Of course! And, how long do you plan on staying?" The large miner turned and grabbed three keys from the hooks, then pulled out a ledger. Opening it to a page marked by a slim ribbon, he began making notes.

"We're not quite sure. I'd say at least a couple nights."

Halling hummed an acknowledgment before asking, "And what name or names would you like me to put the rooms under?"

"State Alchemist Roy Mustang, please."

The pen froze for a moment, mid-word, but Halling's face remained passive. He continued his notes and looked up with a broad smile.

"Is there anything else I can help you with today? I'll call my boy to show you to your rooms and take your bags."

Riza chimed in with her 'all-business' voice, "That is not necesary. We can handle the bags."

Roy smiled again in an attempt to counter balance her icy tone, "Yes, we're quite self-sufficient. Just up the stairs, I assume?" At Halling's nod, Roy continued, "Also, if I could trouble you for some of your time later? I have some questions about the mine for an official investigation."

Halling's smile diminished slightly, a sharp glint in his eyes as he replied, "Oh, really? Of course. Though . . . it seems there was a military investigation not too long ago."

Roy continued to smile and tilted his head leaning casually against the front desk, "Yes, well, it seems there's been a lot of confusion with the reports lately, so I'm hear to just clear up that. Also. I hear some interesting rumors about how the . . . recent situations came to be wrapped up."

Halling tilted his head in apparent curiosity, "Oh? What sorts of rumors?"

Roy stared levelly at the man, "Some say the Fullmetal crew had a hand in it."

"Well, now. That's something. We've never really had much trouble with pirates round these parts."

Roy hummed a small non-committal noise before straightening up and grabbing the three keys from the counter. "I'm afraid it's been a long journey. Is there any chance we could have some meals brought up to our rooms? I know it's a bit late, but-"

Halling waved him off, "Not a problem at all. I'll have my wife whip up some trays and the boy will bring them right up."

Roy smiled his thanks and the three soldiers turned and made their way up the stairs.

"Sir?" Riza questioned as the hit the hallway upstairs.

Roy turned and took his bag from Havoc, exchanging it for a key. He handed a second key to Riza before answering.

"It's late. Rest up, get settled, and we'll get started in the morning."

They both chimed in with "Yes, sir's!" and the three of them parted to their rooms. A glance at the number on his key's tag showed that Roy was across the hall from Riza, and a glance down the hall showed that Havoc was next to her. He closed the door behind him and set his suitcase down on a small table next to the wardrobe as he glanced around the room.

Nothing fancy, but clean and fairly large. The wardrobe, table with his case, and a coat rack were to his left from the door. Across from him was a window with a small table and two chairs in front of it. The wall to his right had the bed and night stand, and the one to his left had a framed needlepoint and a door leading to the bathroom.

Roy shrugged out of his uniform jacket and hung it on the coat rack before snapping open his case and removing the pile of paperwork for the case. Crossing to the table by the window, he spread out the papers and a map. He was quickly lost in a list of eye witness reports and rumored sightings.

He vaguely heard a soft knock, but realized it was too quiet to be his door. After a moment, he decided it had been across the hall. He remembered the promised trays, and began clearing the table a bit. The majority of the papers and files he stacked semi-neatly on the floor beside him. He shoved the chart of Fullmetal sightings off to one side as the knock came to his door.

"Come in!"

Roy picked up his journal and tossed it lightly onto the other chair, not wanting to risk a spill on his priceless notes. He heard a bit of rattling and looked up to see two boys in the hall. The older looking one had long black hair loose around his shoulders, and wore a black jacket, leather pants, and clunky black boots. A sharp difference from the younger boy's shaggy but short sandy hair, dingy shirt and suspenders.

The older boy glanced over at Roy briefly before turning to the other lad. "I've got this one."

"Sure thing!"

The smaller boy picked up one tray off of the cart between them, and disappeared in the direction of Havoc's room. Roy noticed two trays remaining on the cart, and waved at the table beside him.

"Sorry for the trouble so late at night. If you could set it here, please?"

The black haired youth shot a sharp grin at him and nudged the cart into Roy's room. A casual kick behind him of his big boot swung the door closed. Roy froze for a moment, then forced himself to relax. There was nothing weird about closing a hotel room door behind you. It made sense to maintain a customer's level of privacy.

Roy picked up the last few papers and his pen and turned to set them on top of the stack on the floor. He heard the cart rolling toward him and come to a stop nearby as Roy straightened back up. He turned to see the boy lift the dome off of one of the two remaining trays, and watched him turn and set it cross the table from Roy. Roy raised an eyebrow in question, but the black-haired boy suddenly spoke.

"So I hear you're looking for Fullmetal?"

Roy blinked as the boy grabbed the pitcher of water off of the cart and poured some into two of the glasses next to it. He set one down in front of Roy, and the other across the table.

"Yes, actually."

Roy studied the boy's profile as he grinned and replied, "Well, that's lucky for you, I guess."

Roy frowned in confusion as the boy turned and finally set the last tray in front of Roy before lifting the silver domes off of each and setting them on the cart.

"Oh, and why's that?"

The boy finally looked directly at him, and Roy froze as he met the familiar golden gaze staring down at him with a mischievous smirk. Roy felt a sudden electric chill arc down his back as he stiffened.

"Because you found me."

As Roy watched the pirate plop down in the other chair, Roy subtly rubbed his hands on the arms of the chair. Yes, he was still wearing his gloves. Thank God. Fullmetal picked up his silverware and shoved mouthful of potatoes in before beginning to cut up his porkchop. Roy noted that the pirate's plate had three times as much food as Roy's own, still generous, portions.

After swallowing the potatoes, Fullmetal gestured to the tray in front of Roy with his knife and said, "You should eat. Halling's wife is a great cook!"

Roy really didn't like the idea of putting anything in his hands, in case he needed to snap. He compromised by picking up his fork and loading it wih a bite of mashed potatoes.

"Why the disguise?"

Ed looked up at him and blinked in confusion for a moment before snorting a laugh, "Oh, yeah. That. I wasn't sure how many of your men you would bring, and I thought we should talk one on one for this. Plausible deniability and all that."

Roy nearly choked on his potatoes as Fullmetal dropped his silverware and clapped. Instead of creating a sword or who knows what though, the boy lifted a hand to his black hair. Roy watched in amazement as the black faded to the sun-kissed gold Roy remembered from their previous encounter.

Ed raised an eyebrow at Roy, then rolled his eyes, "Would you relax? I'm not here to fight you."

"Then why are you here?"

The boy swallowed another bite of pork chop before shrugging, "Honest? I'm getting pretty tired of dodging you. You're staying too close, making our research hard."

Roy frowned, "Research?"

Ed sighed, "Yeah. Why did you think two alchemists would go sailing around, stealing notes and journals?"

"What are you researching? Why?"

Roy had been around plenty of alchemists, himself obviously included. Such devotion to research only came from two driving goals: Insanity, or something personal. The kid was a hurricane of intelligence and skill, but he didn't seem crazy to Roy.

Somehow, Fullmetal had managed to clear his plate already. Roy made a mental note to never offer to buy the kid a meal.

With a sigh, the young pirate slouched back in his chair, frowning for a moment before pulling out Roy's journal to keep it from digging into his back. Roy tried not to tense up at the casual handling of the book.

Ed glanced up at the older man across from him and sighed before averting his eyes. He sat silently for a moment, then dropped his eyes back to the book in his hands as he answered.

"Neither of those are easy questions. You probably won't believe me, and you'll definitely think I'm crazy."

He opened the book to a random page and skimmed as he flipped through. "But, I think we could help each other, if you're willing to hear me out."

There was a small snort from across the table, "My job is to capture you. Why would you be willing to help me with that."

Ed rolled his eyes again, "Not with that, dumbass. What if I told you that I have proof that the government you're working for is doing some crazy shit. And I mean, epic bad mojo."

He looked up to the older man's eyes and dropped the book on the table. The dark eyes studied him intently for a long silent moment.

"What sort of things? What kind of proof?"

"I don't really have time to go into all of it tonight. But, I'll leave you with some stuff to sink your teeth into. I wouldn't recommend taking any of it back to your office, though. Probably a good way to get yourself killed and all if they find you with it."

"Then what are you here to talk about tonight?"

"Well, maybe I'll answer your questions. At least, partway. A . . . token of good faith. Then, when you see the stuff I leave you, you can decide if you want to work with me or not."

"Alright."

Ed blinks. He hadn't expected such an easy response. Of course, the guy was still wearing those crazy gloves, but, you know. Progress.

After a moment, Ed nods and continues, "You remember my brother, Al?"

It's kind of hard to forget the guy running around a ship out to sea in full armor, bouncing around like it was made of paper. "Yes, I recall him."

Ed snorted, "When we were kids, we messed up. Bad. We . . . thought we were doing the right thing, but our calculations were . . . off. Way off." Ed glanced down at his automail hand and watched it clench into a fist before forcing himself to relax it and set both palms on the table.

"A rebound?"

"Not . . exactly. But, close enough. And it wasn't just me. Al . . . he's got it so much worse than me. As his big brother, it's my job to fix this. Make him whole again."

"Big brother? You're not the younger-"

"Watch it mister! One more word, just one! And I'm out the door right now, and I'm taking your poorly coded notes just cause I can."

Mustang glanced at the book on the table and held up appeasing hands, then gestured for Ed to continue, "You've heard of the Philosopher's stone?"

The officer scoffed, "A child's tale."

Ed side-eyed him, "Is it?"

Roy stiffened again, but didn't' reply.

"There are lots of rumors out there. Al and I chase them down. We don't have too much concrete info right now, but that's where you come in."

Roy frowned, "Me?"

Ed nodded and leaned forward, "You're a State Alchemist. And and officer. You have access to the State Libraries, military reports, who knows what else. If you feed us intel on the stone, I'll feed you info on the conspiracy rotting this country from the inside out."

"You want me to give you government intel . . . on a fairy tale?"

Ed threw himself back into the chair and groaned, "Ugh. I'm telling you, it's not as fictional as you think. You were in . . . Er." Ed paused. That may be a touchy subject. "In the war, did you ever hear of a Red Stone?"

Mustang's face was so blank that Ed knew he'd hit the mark, and smirked.

"That . . . it wasn't a Philosopher's Stone. It was just an alchemic amplifier."

"Sure. It wasn't a full stone. But we, Al and I, we think it's like . . . a first step toward one."

Roy shook his head in frustration and leaned back in his chair, "This is all crazy. What makes you think a couple of kids, talented or not, can do what alchemists have known for years to be impossible? Why should I believe anything some kid with a God complex is saying?"

Ed's eyes narrowed as he leaned slowly toward the older man. In a low, dangerous voice he said, "We're not Gods. We're only in this mess because we thought we could tread where only Gods should."

The two stared at each other for a long moment before there was a knock on the door, just a heartbeat before the door was shoved open.

"Brother! We got a message on the radio. We need to be going!"

Ed nodded and stood, taking two steps toward the door and his baby brother before he paused. glancing between Al and Mustang, Ed sighed.

"C'mere, Al. I think . . . we should show him."

Al suddenly went that unearthly still that only an animated suit of armor could manage. After a moment he whispered, "Brother . . ." and hesitantly crossed the room to stand beside Ed.

Glancing between Ed, who was staring at the floorboards, and Mustang, who mostly just looked confused, Al sighed. He reached up slowly and took off his helmet and tilted his torso forward slightly to reveal the blood seal inside. Roy knocked his chair over as he scrambled to stand up at the sight.

"Talented enough for you, Mustang?" Roy's wide eyes snapped to Ed at the burning tone of his voice before Ed continued, "Leave him the stuff, Al. I'll see you at the ship."

Roy watched Ed start to the door and clap his hands. By the time he was stepping into the hallway, the boy's hair was a deep auburn color. The door swung shut behind the young pirate, but Roy continued to stare silently after the frustrated youth for a long moment.

"I . . . don't know exactly what he said to you, Mister Mustang. But, you should know that my brother's a genius. If he says the Philosopher's Stone is real, you should believe him."

Roy looked up as Al situated his helmet . . . head? . . . back onto his shoulders.

"He tries to take all the blame, but we both messed up, that day. And, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Who was it, Al? Who did you two try to bring back?"

Because it was obvious to Roy now. There was only one branch of alchemy that held such a high price.

Al opened his chest plate and pulled out a stack of papers tied up with twine. He reached out to hand it to Roy, who took it gently. After closing his armor back up, Al crossed back to the door and pulled it open.

He turned his head back to look at Roy for a long moment before he whispered, "Our mother."

Roy wasn't sure how long he stood there, clutching the mysterious documents and staring at his closed hotel room door.

AN:

Apparently, I'm going to just keep writing this. In all the spare time I don't have.

Anyway. I feel like so much of the story will stay parallel to the anime, that I don't want to just retell everything. Instead, I'm just picking a few scenes that I think would be interesting and highlight the differences of this 'world'.

Always open to suggestions if anyone has anything they'd like to see, though.