How did you tell someone that their entire existence was a sham and that everything they had ever believed in was a lie?

By being vague, apparently.

Al and I slowly made our way down the stairs on the outside of the church, careful not to get shaken off the building by the many tremors we could feel from Edward's battle with Cornello. That kid really could be violent sometimes, I mused. I would have been concerned, but well, it was Ed. And he was more than a match for a man that was not even an alchemist, just an egomaniac with an alchemical booster. I wondered how that worked anyway. Did the stone just eliminate the need for all of the principles of Alchemy? Because I was pretty sure that Cornello was not capable of even the understanding of his components, let alone the visualization to create such beautiful works of art as we had witnessed in his demonstration. Still, I digressed. I barely understood Alchemy myself, so who was I to say what was and wasn't possible? Maybe Cornello was actually a genius? Hm…unlikely.

We stood at the entrance of the church, waiting for Edward to appear as the sun sank even lower on the horizon, the golden glow changing to deep orange. Rose stood behind us, stoic and silent, and I was slightly concerned for her. Al was equally as silent, having said his piece to the girl, and watching the entrance for his brother intently. Edward had told us not to interfere in his battle, and so we would wait.

With a resounding slam, Edward finally emerged. He looked worn out and irritated, a deep frown on his face and his flesh arm covered in bruises.

"So…?" I asked slowly when he didn't speak right away.

"It was a fake," he said sullenly.

My heart sank in disappointment, but really I wasn't surprised. It would have been too easy to find the Philosopher's Stone right off the bat. Fate just didn't work that way.

"But we did find out one thing," Alphonse said optimistically. "It is possible to create something that ignores the law of Equivalent Exchange, which means we have solid lead."

Edward nodded. "I still think the Philosopher's Stone is our best bet. If we could just–"

"How could you…" Rose suddenly interrupted him, speaking in a tense whisper. We looked up at her, and I was startled to see that she had tears in her eyes. "How could you just–just take away our hope like this? Everything was fine before you three showed up!" By the end she was shouting, her voice trembling with grief.

"Was it fine?" Edward asked softly. "You heard what he said, Rose. He was just using you and all the people of Lior. He took advantage of this city's drought to gain power, and that was all."

"But he said," she whispered, her voice strangled. "He said he could bring Cane back. What do I have to live for now that I know it will never happen? What do I do! Please, tell me what to do…" Tears streamed down the brunettes face, and she fell to her knees in despair.

"I can't tell you that. No one can…" Ed began to walk away, looking down at the stone beneath his feet. "Live for yourself from now on, and you will find you are strong enough to make your own decisions. A new path is before you, one without anyone else to tell you how to think, so find the truth on your own. Knowledge can be a painful burden, but in some ways, it is when we see the truth that we are the most free."

He strode away slowly without looking back, Alphonse, the physical embodiment of their sin, clanking slightly behind him. I watched their retreating backs for a moment before turning my gaze to the sobbing girl sitting on the steps of her ruined religion. Edward's words really weren't that helpful in her situation. She had just lost everything she had ever held dear, and the hope for ever returning to normal was gone. Not only that, but her situation ran painfully close to home. I had also lost the man I loved, maybe forever, so I understood how she was feeling. But Edward was right. There was nothing I could say that would ease her pain, and she needed to think for herself. It would not be easy, but she would be strong. I knew she would.

I turned away from her, ready to follow my brothers dramatically into the sunset, when a thought occurred to me.

We had forgotten our bags in the pilgrim's quarters.

o-0-o

"Aaaah." I took a deep breath of the mountain air, enjoying the atmosphere of the cool region we had traveled into. We were on our way back to Central, but after two days traveling by taxi in the desert heat, and then one on the uncomfortable train benches, I convinced Edward to allow us to stop at a small village called Xenotime.

It really didn't take much to convince him, since I knew he was just as uncomfortable as I was. And smelly. Both of us really needed a bath, since we literally hadn't had one since Lior. Whore's baths (quick washes in the sink) didn't count.

I stretched my arms above my head, invigorated by the cool air that was so refreshing after spending over a week in a desert.

"How can you be so energetic?" Edward griped from beside me, trudging along the dirt road. "Neither one of us has gotten any real sleep for days." He rubbed his tired eyes on the sleeve of his red coat, which he had remade with Alchemy. I wondered how many times on this journey he would remake that thing. For that matter, how many times would I ask Alphonse to do the same for me? It would probably be a lot considering how often we got into trouble.

"Beats me," I said, lifting my arms above my head. It was kind of strange though. I was oddly awake for someone who had been traveling so much without sleep. Whatever.

A little later, we walked through the city gates and got our first look at Xenotime. It was a pleasant village, with quaint buildings surrounded by scenic mountains. If I were in my original world, I would say we were in a place that looked a bit like pictures I had seen of New Zealand. It was amazing to me how quickly the climate had changed after passing the mountain range, but I guess it wasn't unusual. Something about pressure and cloud movement over high and low elevation. I was never good at science or geography, so the exact details escaped me.

"Damn, something smells really good," I said, taking a deep breath. There was a lovely scent in the air that made my mouth water. It was like a combination of the sweetest wine and my favorite food combined, but the exact flavors escaped me. Someone must have been cooking something divine.

"I don't smell anything," Ed grumbled irritably. "Hey look, there's an inn!" He rushed to the other side of the street, and Alphonse shook his head.

"I swear, he's like a little kid sometimes."

"Yay, bath!" I fist pumped in the air and raced after Edward, leaving Alphonse to sigh in my wake.

Edward quickly paid for a room for three, shoving money into the poor receptionist's hands and grunting out our names really fast when she asked. "Ed, Al, and Al," he said impatiently, taking the room key from the bewildered girl before racing up the stairs.

I shut the door behind us as we entered the small room. Like any other inn, it had the simple furnishings of beds, two dressers, and a bathroom. This one was a bit more luxurious than other inns we had been in, and definitely on par with a palace compared to sleeping on a hard train bench. The wonderful scent that I had smelled earlier seemed to be permeating from everywhere we went, and I inhaled deeply trying to place it.

I let out a sudden giggle, and Ed, who had been in the process of taking off his coat, gave me an odd look. "Hey, Al, guess what? I just realized. You're Al and…I'm Al! We are both Al. Get it. Alexander? Alphonse?"

"Um…yeah, I guess so…" Alphonse said, confused at my sudden odd behavior.

"Al and Al!" I giggled for a few more seconds…and then I realized that what I said wasn't funny. I cleared my throat awkwardly. Where did that come from?

"…Anyway," Ed said, "I'm going to take a bath. Then let's get something to eat."

I nodded, still slightly embarrassed about my outburst. When Ed was finished, I sank gratefully into the warm water of the bath and finally washed away all the crud that had collected on me whilst traveling. Finally clean (Al polished his armor), the three of us headed down to the restaurant part of the inn and had something to eat.

"This place is pretty ritzy," I said through my mouthful of potatoes. Looking around, I noticed that the walls were covered in glass cases containing pieces of gold jewelry.

"Xenotime is famous for it's gold mines, although recently I've heard that they have run dry," Ed said, grabbing a bread roll.

"Really…"

The dining room was pretty busy, and the conversation buzzed around us merrily. It didn't seem to me like the economic condition of this town was in jeopardy. "That's a shame," I said, "I love shopping for jewelry."

Edward gave me a strange look. "You like shopping for jewelry?"

"Well, yeah, it used to be one of my favorite things to do." I smiled sadly. "I would always shop with my mother and a couple of women on her side of the family." A pang of homesickness hit me for a moment as I recalled admiring my grandmother's jewelry. If things had not happened the way they did, I would have inherited her collection. In this world, I could not indulge in that passion without turning a few heads.

"You know, sometimes I forget that you were a girl. Especially since you've never acted particularly feminine," Ed said with a slight smile.

"Well…when I came to this world, I guess I sort of locked that side of myself away."

"You don't have to, you know," Ed said seriously. "Even though it isn't that common, there are men in this world that are effeminate. You don't have to hide who you really are to conform to how you think a man should act."

For a moment I was at a loss for words, shocked. I guess I had never really thought about it that way. I had been afraid that in this world, which seemed locked in the 1920's technology wise, I would be ridiculed for not acting masculine. "Is that okay? Wouldn't I be looked down upon?"

Ed snorted. "Do you think Teacher is looked down upon for being too masculine?"

I smiled. He had a good point. "Look," Ed continued, "even if others look down on you, you just need to beat respect into them until they don't."

"What brother is trying to say," Alphonse interjected hastily, "is that we and the people who care about you won't judge you for how you choose to be. Just be you."

I looked between the two boys, my mouth hanging slightly open. A wave of appreciation washed through me at their words, and it was as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. All this time, I had been trying to suppress my passions because I had not thought it was appropriate for my new body in this era. Now that they had put my mind at ease…I smiled and continued eating, the three of us falling into comfortable silence. I wanted to thank them, but I didn't think words were needed. Not anymore.

Two men walked into the bar, talking loudly over the buzzing around us. Slightly annoyed, I tried to tune them out, but to know avail.

"…like they made a new breakthrough," one man shouted, sounding excited. "It looks like we won't have to wait much longer before we can start selling gold again!"

Everyone in the restaurant looked over to observe, and slowly the buzz died down.

"You mean those kids actually did it," a man shouted from behind us. Excitement rose palpably in the room, and we looked around curiously.

"Not quite yet, but Mugear just told us that they are getting really close!" The people of the inn cheered.

"Excuse me," Alphonse said politely to a woman that was sitting at a table next to us, "but what are they talking about?"

The young woman looked slightly intimidated by Alphonse's appearance, but I gave her an encouraging smile and she smiled back. "He's talking about the Elric brothers creating the Philosopher's Stone to save Xenotime!"

"…"

For a few seconds all three of us sat in silence and replayed what she had said in our heads. At first, I felt alarm. How could they possibly know we were trying to find the Philosopher's Stone? But then I realized she couldn't possibly recognize us, or else she wouldn't be talking about us as if we were not there. Plus that guy had said that we had somehow made a breakthrough on creating one, but we had barely even heard of the thing, much less knew how to make it.

"Wait," Alphonse said. "Did you say the Elric brothers were making a Philosopher's Stone?"

"That's right, the Elric brothers, Edward and Alexander. Edward is actually considered the hero of the people because of his exploits in Youswell, and he's an actual State Alchemist!"

We all looked at each other in confusion. "What about Alphonse Elric," I asked. The girl frowned in confusion.

"There are three Elric brothers? I thought there were only two. They are working on the stone up in Mugear's mansion in order to bring the mine back to life. Soon we will have our town's gold production back in business!" The girl gave an excited smile and turned back to her companions at her own table.

We looked at each other, shocked at what we just heard. Ed stood abruptly and gestured for us to follow. We left the inn and walked to a small park, away from prying ears.

"So…what the actual–"

"Alex!"

"Heh, sorry Al. But seriously. What is going on here?"

Ed sat on a park bench and folded his arms. "Obviously someone is trying to use our names to create a Philosopher's Stone."

"But why would they need to do that?"

"State Alchemist's get a lot of respect. Maybe they are just second rate and needed our names to get the credit to be trusted with the project."

"And there must only be two of them, which is why one of us got left out," Al said, slightly miffed.

"Hey, just be happy someone isn't impersonating you," Ed said, equally angry. "I'd love to get my hands on whoever it is and teach them a lesson."

"That aside," I waved my hand beside my face, "do you really think they can make a stone? Does it even have the capability to create gold?"

"Sure, it can theoretically make anything," Al said. "Creating gold is strictly forbidden, though. I wonder why they are so open about talking about it. Aren't they afraid the State will get involved?"

"Could be another reason why they need our names. Maybe they think that if Edward is involved, it means that the State won't interfere."

"Idiots," Ed grunted. "If they think that, they must be out of their minds. If that much gold were suddenly created, it would be a problem for everyone. Inflation and all that. The military would be all over this place like bugs on candy."

I made a weird face as I imagined that disturbing image. "Still, if they are really attempting to make the stone, then we should definitely check it out."

"Yes, let's," Ed said, standing up with an incensed expression. "No one gets to use my name without my permission. It's time to pay these imposters a visit." He cracked the knuckles on his flesh hand.

"That might be difficult though. We can't just say who we are now. No one will believe us," Al reasoned.

"We'll break in of course!" Ed rubbed his hands together.

"And then what, burn the place down?" Al said sarcastically.

"…Maybe."

"Ed!"

o-0-o

I lay awake in the bed beside Edward who snored softly in slumber. The sun was just going down, but we had decided to get some rest before we headed to Mugear's mansion to investigate. Only problem with that was…I couldn't sleep. I was too excited. For some reason, this town had me jumping off the walls. I turned on my side and tried to get my whirring mind to rest so I would have enough energy to spy later, but I soon had to give up.

I sat up with a sigh. Alphonse, who had been reading quietly while we rested, looked at me over his book. "What's the matter?"

I shrugged my shoulders and wandered over to where he was sitting. I peered over his shoulder to see what he was reading. Was that…a romance novel?

"Wow, Al, I never pinned you as the romantic type."

"I'm not, really. There was just nothing to read in the library downstairs but this." He looked down at the pages. "The hero of this story is a bit silly. He seems to think that as long as he loves someone enough, he can claim that person even if they don't love him back."

"That actually sounds kind of dark."

"It's subtext. I think it's supposed to be a light, happy story, but I'm just cynical."

"You are way to young to be saying that, kid."

"Yeah, well, technically you're two." So there, he seemed to say. Not really sure how to respond to that without giving myself a headache, I grumbled and went back to bed. It took a while, but I was finally able to nod off.

Later that night, or should I say early morning, I ran in between Edward and Alphonse as we dashed across an open space in the garden we were lurking in beside Mugear's mansion. Alphonse was making so much noise, it was a wonder the guards hadn't heard us yet. We stopped along the side of the stone wall of the large house, and I regained my breath as Edward checked around the wall to see if anyone had noticed us. I tugged my jacket around my shoulders. It was a bit chilly.

Edward moved back into the shadows and motioned for us to stand aside. With a quiet clap of his hands and a not so subtle flash of lightning, he created small door and swung it open. I giggled as both Alphonse and I had to bend over to get through it, but Ed walked through upright. He glared over his shoulders and held a finger in front of his mouth, shushing me, and I stifled my laughter with my hand. I stumbled a bit when I climbed over the threshold, but neither boy seemed to notice.

We entered into a library. Books lined every wall, and I was uncomfortably reminded of Tucker's library. Then I saw that the moon was filtering through a window. Pretty…

Edward and Alphonse immediately began looking through the books, although Ed was merely handing things for Alphonse to read, since the suit of armour had perfect night vision.

"All of these books are about the Philosopher's Stone," Alphonse whispered.

"So this must be where they are making it, no doubt about it. Hey Alex, could you…Alex what are you doing," Ed whispered, irritated.

That…was a good question. I was staring up at the moon, my mouth hanging slightly open and a dazed expression on my face. It just felt so nice to stand there and…breathe. Everything felt nice. Mmmm.

"In case the guards weren't a clue, this place is off limits. What are you doing here," a smooth male voice said, causing us to whip around in surprise. I squinted in the sudden light. Standing in the doorway was a tall blonde man, his hair swept beside his face in a classic style that I had only ever seen male models pull off. Behind him stood a young boy, no older than ten by my estimates.

"So you're the one's who have been stealing our names," Ed said angrily.

"Ah, I see," the man said, slowly walking forwards. "You must be the real Elric brothers. I take it that that means you are the real Ed, in the suit."

Al pointed at himself, "Um, no I'm Alphonse."

The blonde man widened his eyes in surprise. "You're the youngest brother? Then…" He looked over at me.

"For you, handsome, I'll be anyone," I giggled, my words slightly slurred.

"Wha–No! I'm Edward dammit! How does everyone always get that wrong," Ed seethed.

The man looked away from me, his face still a little disturbed, and glared at Ed. "Why don't you tone it down a notch, unless you want the guards to realize you are here. I'm afraid I need your name for just a little longer, so why don't you just leave."

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me," Ed grit through his teeth. The Edward imposter stopped to stand right in front of him, and Ed had to crane his neck to even look him in the eye. The muscle in Edward's neck twitched.

"I don't want to fight you, Ed, so why don't you turn around and go home. Leave us to take care of things around here." The blonde lifted his head and smirked down at Edward.

Uh oh. Ed really didn't like to be looked down on. With a furious expression, Ed whipped his fist into the imposter's face. The man caught it. "Well well, an automail arm. So the real Ed has seen some action too."

"And I'm glad you've got some skills," Ed grinned evilly, "cause I wouldn't want you to damage my reputation!" Ed snapped his leg up and hit the taller boy in the chin. He fell back with a grunt.

"Ed, not his face! You'll ruin it," I yelled from across the room.

"Dammit, Alex, stop taking his side," Ed shouted, momentarily distracted by my nonsense. Taking advantage, the fake Ed punched the boy in the face, and Edward slid back into the bookshelves behind him.

"Hey," I shouted, suddenly angry. I pulled out my tonfa and lunged forward, whipping one of the weapons around. Inexplicable power suddenly surged through me, and I would have decapitated the boy if he hadn't dodged at the last moment. My tonfa crashed into the shelves in front of me, pulverizing the wood. I stared at it dumbly as the battle continued behind me. What the heck…?

The young kid, the blonde guy's brother, who had been standing to the side stared at me with wide eyes, but ducked behind the door as I looked over at him. I breathed in deeply to calm myself… and began to giggle uncontrollably. My tonfa were just so green…

I was jerked back by the collar of my shirt, and I gagged, spinning around to run with Edward, who was pulling me along roughly. "What the hell's wrong with you? We need to get out of here!"

"M'kay," I said with a bright smile, running after my two retreating brothers amid the sound of shouting guards.

Some time later, we sat on a hill on the outskirts of town to catch our breaths.

"Brother, did you see that? He was using Alchemy without a transmutation circle."

"Yeah! He had to be using some kind of booster! When I get my hands on that guy…and you! What the hell was that?"

I held my tonfa up to the moonlight, amusing myself as I watched it change colors as I moved it. Green, black, green, black…heh…I looked over at Edward's infuriated face and started giggling uncontrollably again. The boys watched me in confusion. Ed's so angry…heh…heheh…wait…that's not funny. I froze and my smile slowly dropped from my face. Why was I laughing?

"Alex," Alphonse asked in concern. "Are you okay?"

I sat up abruptly, causing Ed and Al to jump. Just what had I been doing up to that point? I vaguely remembered that blonde guy, and fighting…and somehow breaking a bookshelf…but it was all kind of blurry. Alphonse came over and lightly touched my arm. His concern filtered through our link.

"You don't feel ill…" he said uncertainly.

I shook my head. "I have no idea what happened. I feel fine…"

"Well," Ed said, flipping open his watch to check the time. "It's really late. Maybe you are just tired. Let's head back to the inn, and we can figure all this out in the morning."

"Ok…" I said. Al and I exchanged a look, doubtful. We could both feel that I wasn't tired in the least. In fact, I felt like I could run a marathon. I shrugged and he stepped back, and we followed Ed back to the inn. I hoped that in the morning, Ed would help me figure this out. Something strange was going on in this town, and something strange was going on inside of me. All I knew was that tonight I would be getting no sleep.

Wows guys, there is a LOT of foreshadowing in this chapter. Some of the stuff I put in here should make sense later, so trust me, it's not random. I do plan these things...sometimes.

Poor Alex. He has no idea what's happening. Laughs evilly.

Am I making Alphonse too much of a stiff? Maybe I should give him a few comedy lines...Anyway, next chapter: why are so many people sick? And Alex stops eating. Alex, what's wroooooong!