A/N: So, I originally intended to get this done last night, but things happened. Anyways, this chapter is a belated birthday present to my good friend and supporter PWNAGENINJA. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.

Edward woke up feeling mildly irritated. What was that dream? It had seemed so realistic in the moment, but the more he reflected on it the more ridiculous it seemed. Any normal person would have died from a neck wound that deep. Only homunculi or immortal humans had the regenerative abilities to survive a mortal wound. So was the girl in her dream a homunculus? Or was she implanted with a philosopher's stone? Ed shook his head irritably. Why was he thinking so much on this? It was just a dream. And yet, Ed could not shake the feeling that he had seen the girl from his dreams before. Why did she look so familiar? Ed's musings were interrupted by a loud knock on his door.

"Hey, Edward, aren't you ready yet? The library's been open for almost an hour now. Didn't you want to go?" Cobbler called through the door.

"Shut up, I'm awake" Ed snarled grumpily. He slid out of bed and glanced at the clock. Cobbler was right: it was almost 9 o'clock. The door to his room creaked open and Cobbler strolled in as Ed pulled on fresh clothes.

"You just got up, huh? Well, at least you got a full night's rest" she commented lightly. Ed grunted in agreement, stuffing pens, his notebook and several texts into a bag.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."

Ed strode out of his room, making sure to lock the door. Cobbler followed at his heels, carrying a large stack of records. It was time to start fresh. First, he would look into the known ancient cults that had revered immortality or sought it out. Then, using the library archives, he would be able to trace the activities of the cults until the present. That would definitely narrow down the potential groups. He would also need to research non-alchemic methods used in the long quest for immortality. He highly doubted there would be an alchemist experienced enough to make a Philosopher`s Stone that would be willing to associate with a street gang. Maybe he should contact Dr. Marcoh? Ed walked through the front doors of Central's rebuilt First Library and nodded a greeting to the front desk clerk. The library staff all knew him now and respected his work ethic. Regardless of how many books he took out, he would always take the time to put them back properly. Ed headed straight for his usual study room. Cobbler followed him in and placed the records on the desk.

"Do you need any more books?" she asked, watching as Ed unpacked his bag.

"I think I'm good for now" Ed muttered, already in research mode.

"Okay then, I'll be outside if you need me."

Cobble waited for a response, but Ed had already opened on of his books and was completely immersed in his research. Cobbler smiled fondly and stepped out, closing the door gently behind her.

Sometime later, Ed could not say how much, gentle knocking shook him out of his research-induced stupor.

"Hey, Edward, you have a minute?" Clobber's voice sounded tense through the door.

Ed grunted as he raised himself from the floor. "What is it, Cobbler? Time for lunch?" He opened the door to see Cobbler preparing to knock again.

"Oh, uh, you already ate lunch." Cobbler looked like she had been thrown for a loop.

"I did?" Edward massaged the back of his neck wearily. "I don't remember that."

"I need to go out, Edward. For an errand. Can you stay here until I get back?" Once again, Cobbler sounded strangely stressed, her face drawn with worry.

"Sure, I still have some more work I need to do…"

Ed trailed off in astonishment as Cobbler gave him a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Great! You do your stuff. I should be back to pick you up. If not, I'll leave a note" Cobbler called out as she raced away, nodding politely to the two Privates posted beside the study room door. Ed stood by the door, completely flabbergasted.

"Women," one Private said in a long-suffering tone, "Always sending you mixed messages."

"Tell me about it" Ed replied, still in shock. "I'm going to go research… something…" He trailed back into the study room and slammed the door shut.

"That kid's going through a lot" the other Private remarked knowingly. The two Privates exchanged a glance and then, with a shared manly nod, concluded it was none of their business.

Inside the room, Ed attempted to busy himself in his work. What had Cobbler been thinking? Did she act that way with her other brother? Just thinking about the kiss made him blush.

True, it had been an almost motherly gesture, but still… Ahh! Ed shook his head to remove that train of thought from his mind. Focus, ore! We have a murder to solve.

With that goal to focus his mind, Ed picked up another book and began to immerse himself in the literature. So far he had found three possible older cults that fit the profile he had put together based on Captain Broadstone's observations. First, a group of questers from the area that corresponded with present-day Ishbal had sought out immortality and power to protect their land from invading foreigners. A good possibility since the racial discrimination towards Ishbalans had persisted until the present day. The second option was a little more promising, considering the racial makeup of most of the gangs was mostly Amestrian. The cult originated in Amestris around a hundred years ago. A group of native Amestrians used a local legend of a magical chalice that granted immortality to scam other villagers and steal their money. It seemed like a scheme that could be passed down through a family line. It would definitely be worth investigating. The third option was lucrative; Ed was not even sure why he had originally put it aside. IT was not even based on history! Edward picked up the book from which the idea had stemmed. It was a thin volume, just slightly over a hundred pages. It was a mythology book from some foreign land – a book that Edward had originally picked up from a box to use as a paperweight. The book described the religion of a small tribe in some long-forgotten country. According to the myth, a strange girl entered their midst, spouting prophecies of disaster and death. The tribe, fearing for their lives, begged the girl to save them from their doom. The girl agreed and, in a show of tremendous power, struck down the forces of the attacking tribes. The saved tribe swore everlasting gratitude to the girl, viewing her as a messiah of sorts. Over time, the tribe's descendants began to worship the girl as a god. According to the book, the girl was revered as a representation of death and rebirth, as well as war. However, the interesting part was that the tribe stated they saw the girl die and come back to life within minutes. Afterwards, some of the more ambitious followers attempted to achieve immortality, but the god came down from the heavens and smote them, making the others swear on their blood lines to never attempt anything similar ever again. Ed did not know how much of the tale was true and how much was myth, but it was worth keeping in mind. Anyways, the god girl's description strangely reminded him of the girl he saw in his dreams. Except the girl from his dreams did not seem capable of smiting anyone let alone taking down entire armies by herself. Ed snorted in amusement at the image the thought conjured and leaned back to stretch his sore limbs. What time was it anyways? Ed glanced at the clock on the wall. Six o'clock already? What time had Cobbler left? Edward got up from his seat and padded over to the door.

"Hey, has Sergeant Cobbler left a message for me?" he asked one of the Privates standing guard. The man shook his head.

"Sorry, sir, no one has come by. Were you planning on leaving?"

Ed frowned, not liking what he had heard. "I was going to head out, but Cobbler said she would leave a note if she was late" he muttered.

"Would you like us to accompany you back to your quarters, sir?" the second Private asked.

"No, it's alright. You guys are dismissed. Anyways, you must be tired from standing watch" Ed replied.

The Privates thanked him profusely, insisting they accompany him to the front door at the very least. Ed locked up the study room and returned the key to the front desk. He thanked the guards at the front door and then began to walk back to the dorms. As he walked, he mulled over Cobbler's disappearance. It was not like her to be late. In fact, she had been acting strangely when she interrupted him earlier. She had seemed almost … nervous. Ed was so deep in his thought that he did not notice the person standing in front of him on the sidewalk.

"Oi, watch it!" Ed snapped, glaring up at the person in his way.

"Andrew! What a coincidence!"

Ed froze when he saw Ryan's glittering face beaming down at him.

"Have a pastry. They're fresh."

Ed numbly accepted the warm, cinnamon-scented roll from the other man. "Andrew?" he asked in confusion.

"That's your name, isn't it?" Ryan said, while handing a pastry cheerfully to another passerby. "Unless, of course, your sister gave me a false name. Which would be completely understandable."

Ed glanced at the roll in his hand suspiciously. "What is this?" he inquired, poking it with a finger.

"It's my new product. Go one, eat up. I didn't poison it" Ryan explained, handing out yet another one.

Ed gingerly bit into the fluffy pastry, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Delicious!" In a few mouthfuls, the pastry was only a memory.

"I know, right? They're on sale. Three pieces for seventy-five cenz!" Ryan practically glowed with pride.

"Cheap!" Edward eagerly forked out some change, buying nine pastries. He was starving.

"Have you seen my sister around?" Ed asked the baker around a mouthful of roll.

"Anne? I haven't seen her since we first met and I apologized. I've been handing out samples the whole day; if she came this way, I would've seen her" Ryan replied thoughtfully, trying to snag another potential customer.

Ed swallowed his mouthful and thanked the baker for his time, letting the man purpose his wares in peace. Where could Cobbler have gone? Edward decided that he would look for her a little while longer and then head back to the dorms. He could report her missing to Mustang. Yes, that would be the right, logical… Ed's thoughts suddenly trailed off as he caught sight of a head of familiar fiery hair. Cobbler was rushing through the crowded street, glancing down at her watch hurriedly. Without a second thought, Ed jogged after her, keeping her in his sights. Cobbler moved swiftly and with purpose, heading towards an area of town with which Ed had become familiar. Cobbler turned into the street on which Lieutenant-General Raveneye lived. Edward hid himself behind on of the large topiaries in the neighbour's yard. He watched as Cobbler rang the bell to Raveneye's house and Carmen opened the door to let her in. One he was certain that both women had entered the house, Ed snuck quickly into Raveneye's beautifully maintained yard. If Cobbler was here on official business, then the Lieutenant-General would probably meet her in the sitting room, which was situated on the far left side of the house. Ed slunk among the bushes beside the house until he reached where he approximated the sitting room would be. He calculated the approximate thickness of the bricks and the location of the support beam, then clapped his hands together. He placed them on the wall and watched with nervous anticipation. The crackling blue light soothed him almost as much as the sight of the tunnel that had formed. His alchemy was really back. Ed could not contain the joyful grin that spread across his face as he began to crawl into the dark tunnel he had made. Sure, he had transmuted a cocoon for the earlier insurgent, but that was purely reflexive. This was something he had made with intention. Damn, he had missed being an alchemist. Ed commando-crawled underneath the wooden supports of the house, stopping only when he heard the sound of voices. Shifting onto his back, he clapped his hands and transmuted a small hole into the floor above him, silently praying that no one would notice. Fortunately for him, no one did and the conversation above drifted down to his waiting ears.

"I really can't stay much longer" Cobbler was saying. "Edward is still waiting for me at the library. I'm running late."

Ed felt a little twinge of guilt at that, but quickly brushed it aside to continue eavesdropping.

"You left him alone?"

Ed frowned a little. Why was Mustang in the Lieutenant-General's home? If Cobbler was just reporting in, why not do it at the office?

"No sir. I assigned two guards to his room to watch until he left."

"Good work. So what have you found?"

"I've been tracking the cabbie's movements before he made contact with Edward. There are two suspicious establishments he visited quite frequently."

There was soft thumping on the floor above Ed's head as Cobbler crossed the room. Ed heard the light crinkling of paper and then Cobbler returned to her original position.

"I see. These are definitely worth looking at. I'll let Falman know and get him to stake them out." Mustang sounded pleased.

"Any leads on Captain Broadstone's murder?" This time it was Lieutenant-General speaking.

"None." Cobbler sounded frustrated. "The whole purpose of letting Broadstone get killed was to create a link back to the gangs in order to cut down on them for the whole immortality business. But whoever murdered Broadstone left absolutely no trace…"

The rest of Cobbler's rant was drowned out by the thundering sound of Ed's heart in his ears. 'The whole point of letting Broadstone get killed'? The Captain's death was a setup? Mustang, Raveneye… even Cobbler had planned it all? Ed could not believe it. What were they doing?

"Damn, I thought Broadstone would be more useful. I really don't want to have to kill Cobbler off as well…"

Cobbler's cold words slipped poisonously into Ed's ears, making his blood chill. He was so caught by the shock of hearing such cruel thoughts from the kind sister-figure that he did not notice the discrepancy in her words.

"Do what you need to" Raveneye sighed. "I'll leave it to your judgement."

Ed could not take anymore. Without hesitating, he slapped his hands together and slammed them against the wood above his head. The floor erupted upward, startling the occupants of the room, and Ed rose amid the debris looking like a raging good of destruction. On reflex, Mustang snapped his fingers towards the apparent assailant, flinging a stream of fire at Edward. The Fullmetal Alchemist transmuted the concrete in the foundation to form a wall in front of him to block the blast, at the same time protecting himself from the knife that flew towards his throat.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he screamed at the people he had respected and cared for. He opened his mouth to shout some more, but gasped as the air was pulled from his lungs. His lips started to turn blue around the edges from oxygen deprivation and he pulled at his throat, struggling to inhale.

"Tara, wait! It's Edward!" Ed heard Cobbler cry out faintly, his consciousness already slipping away. Then, suddenly, he could breathe again. Ed collapsed to the floor, gasping in air desperately.

"Fullmetal, what are you doing?" Mustang asked in exasperation. "We could have killed you."

Ed glared up at his superior officer amidst coughs. "She said…" he wheezed, pointing at Cobbler, "you let… Captain get killed."

Raveneye and Mustang exchanged glances.

"Look, Edward, it really isn't what you think…" Cobbler pleaded.

"You!" Ed twisted to face Cobbler, almost spitting with rage. "You said that you would kill off… wait…" he trailed off as the true significance of Cobbler's earlier words sunk in. "You spoke in third person?"

Raveneye heaved a sigh, massaging her brow wearily. "This complicates things."

Cobbler looked apologetic, patting the other female office on the back sympathetically. "Sorry," she apologized, "I shouldn't have taken so long to investigate. I should have known that he would get impatient."

Ed felt his boiling rage subside, leaving only dazed confusion in its wake. These people were acting so strangely. He had accused them of murder and they had basically just shrugged it off. "What is going on?" he asked incredulously.

At that moment, just to add to the confusion, Ryan burst into the room, waving a bag of pastries in front of him triumphantly.

"You will not believe how many new rolls I sold today. I think I've set an all-time recor… Wow, what happened to your floor Tara?" Ryan looked around and spotted Ed crouched on the floor, staring at him in confusion. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"No shit, idiot" Cobbler groused irritably. "The proverbial cat is now out of the bag and dancing the polka for all to see."

"So, what's really going on?" Ed asked, leaning forward in his chair to glare at Brigadier-General Mustang. "I want to know the truth."

It had been some time since Ed had burst into the sitting room, screaming for justice. Much to his dismay, Lieutenant-General Raveneye had made him repair the floor, and she recruited the others to clean before agreeing to answer Ed's questions. His temper was just a strand away from snapping again.

"Where to begin?" Tara Raveneye mused, easing back comfortably into her armchair. Ed could almost forget that she had tried to kill him only an hour ago. She basically oozed serenity and calm.

"Fullmetal, it may be better to sit this one out. It's not something you want to be caught in" Mustang tried to coax his former subordinate into the reasonable course of action. If it was the younger Ed, he may not have had a chance, but Ed had grown into a mature young man. Maybe, if he was lucky…

"Screw you!"

So much for mature.

"Well, if you insist, I will not stop you." Raveneye sighed. She gazed pensively at Edward, fixing him with her fierce orange eyes. "Do you believe in magic, Major Elric?"

Ed laughed derisively, the small chuckle gorwing into as trange barking laugh. "Magic? Seriously? It's a parlour trick – just slight-of-hand. Of course I don't believe in it!"

Raveneye glanced over to where Cobbler stood in the corner and gave a small nod. Cobbler signed and walked over to sit in front of Ed, who watched the exchange while wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. And that is when it happened. There was no flash of lightning, no gush of wind – not even a shimmer. One second it was Cobbler sitting across from him, the next, the girl from his dream was staring back at him from her perch.

"You!" Ed exclaimed, shooting up from his seat.

There was no doubt; this was the girl who had been haunting his sleep from the last couple of weeks. Granted, she looked older in person, the chubbiness exchanged for muscle, but Ed would recognize those eyes anywhere. The coffee-brown irises stared at him from beneath lazy eyelids peering over her rectangular-framed glasses.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ed pointed an accusing finger towards the woman, staring fiercely at her relaxed form.

The woman frowned a little, her drowsy gaze sharpening. "I don't believe you've ever seen me in this form. Are you mistaking me for someone else?"

"I saw you in my dreams!"

Ryan chuckled at that, hiding his mouth behind a well-manicured hand.

"I'm flattered, but I think you're kind of missing the point here…" the woman replied patiently. It was then that Edward realized that her voice was exactly the same as Cobbler's.

"You… where's Cobbler?" he stuttered, sliding back into his chair. "What did you do to Cobbler?"

"Absolutely nothing" the woman responded briskly. "I am Cobbler. At least that's what I made you believe." The woman picked up a mug from the side table, and held it in front of Ed. "What do you see?" she asked seriously.

Ed examined the cup with some skepticism. "It's just a plain white mug, made of some sort of ceramic" he replied off-handed.

The woman smiled and turned the cup around to display the stunning red floral pattern on the other side. "My dad made the same mistake" she chuckled. "Basically, Cobbler is the white side of the cup while I'm the patterned side."

Ed frowned as he tried to puzzle through the analogy. "So… what I thought was a plain cub was actually decorated… and the person I believed was Cobbler was in fact you?"

"Yup. See, I told you he'd get it!" The woman beamed at him proudly while Ryan simply rolled his eyes.

"But how is that possible?" Ed persisted. "If you can change your appearance, are you…"

"I'm not a homunculus" the woman interrupted shortly. "Jeez, what's with you and your obsession with homunculi? I already told you that they were not involved in this. I cannot modify my body like that; I just use illusions to convince people otherwise."

"Illusions?" Ed scowled, thinking of all the fake 'magic' illusions of which he had heard.

The woman sighed, guessing his thoughts. "Not those kinds of illusions – what I do has a much more scientific base. Essentially, I interrupt the neural processes from your eyes to your brain and feed in the information that I want you to process. That way you can look at me and see someone else entirely. And I can do the same for all your other senses. For example…"

As the woman trailed off, Ed felt a sharp pain in his right bicep. "Ouch!" Ed hissed in pain, glaring at Mustang who was sitting on his right. "Shitty flame, why'd you pinch me?" he snarled.

Mustang smirked and shook his head.

"Oops, that was a bit harder than I intended." The woman grinned mischievously. "Believe me now?"

"When I had first met Priya I also doubted her abilities, but I assure you Major Elric that this is real. We are not lying" Lieutenant-General Raveneye stated calmly.

"Priya?"

"Ah, that's my real name" the woman admitted. "Cobbler was just an alias."

"Okay." Ed massaged his temples, trying to hold back the threat of a raging headache. "So, you," he pointed at Priya, "can somehow manipulate an infinitesimal number of signals to the brain and disguise yourself as random people, right?"

Priya nodded.

"Disregarding the practicality of it, what does that have to do with the situation or the gangs? Why was Broadstone killed? And how are you all related?" he continued, gesturing at the room's occupants.

"We hired Priya to help us with the case" Mustang stated. "Raveneye and I often have our hands tied due to our position in the military. We needed someone who could maintain a low enough position in the army so as to not draw suspicion, and could also do undercover work on the side."

"And him?" Ed glared at Ryan, who simply grinned.

"Unfortunately for you, Priya and I come as a package. I've been helping out by collecting information around town. Being a handsome, single young man has its perks." Ryan winked suggestively.

"I'm sure it does" a voice stated dryly from the doorway. Carmen watched with amusement as Ed spun around in his seat, eyes wide as he drew the connection.

"You're a part of this too?"

"I'm also a part of the package" Carmen replied, perching herself on the armrest of Priya's chair. "I do surveillance."

"All three of them have been instrumental in this investigation" Tara Raveneye spoke up.

"And Broadstone?" Ed persisted.

"Present." Priya raised her hand.

"What?" Ed could not believe it. "Captain Broadstone was a veteran! He served in the Ishbalan war!" he spat out angrily. "You can't be Broadstone. Or was his life all a lie as well?"

"I haven't lied to you, Edward" Priya stated, eyes solemn. "I was Broadstone. I served under Lieutenant-General Raveneye for most of my career. I was the one who informed her about Envy trailing her. I helped her escape Amestris when she would've been killed. I came back to serve under her when she called. I am Captain Charles Broadstone."

Ed's eyes widened in muted horror and comprehension as Priya's voice deepened until she sounded exactly like Captain Broadstone. "But how… is that even possible? You would have to be at least sixty years old."

Priya shrugged. "Let's just say that I'm older than I look."

"But you died!" Ed was grasping at the straws now, trying to find some way to disprove the facts with which he was being bombarded.

Priya gave him a sympathetic glance. "I know I did. And look, it was enough to give you back your alchemy."

"No" Ed whispered, horrified. "That can't be."

"It's true, Edward. I died so you could get your alchemy back. A soul is a heavy price for the Gate, but in the case of someone like me, it was worth it" Priya explained. "I made a deal with the one you call the Truth and because of that I had to die. I was given the right to decide the circumstances of my death, so we," she gestured to Mustang and Raveneye, "came up with a plan that would try and draw all attention to Broadstone and force the ring leader's hand. That way Broadstone's death would not be meaningless. Cobbler had been on stand-bye for quite some time, so I would still be able to contribute even if my main persona was killed."

"Where do I fit in all this? Were the threat letter even real? Why did you sacrifice yourself to give me back my alchemy?" Ed challenged.

"The letters are real, Major Elric" Raveneye interceded. "Priya believed that it would be in your best interest if you had alchemy to protect yourself should the situation demand it. As for your part in all this, well," she smiled grimly, "that is completely up to you. Originally we did not want to involve you any more than necessary, but you seem to have a habit of seeking out trouble, Major. You have the facts now; you know the truth. We've played our cards, young Elric. Now, it's your move."

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that! A little side-note, I chose Cobbler's name with intention :) Aislynn is a Gaelic name which means a dream or a vision. And, apparently, a cobbler is slang for someone who forges passports. Also, Major George S. Patton (from a couple chapters back) was named after the tank named after a military man of the same name.

Note: Ore - a masculine form of 'I' in japanese.

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