We were at the train station, getting ready to leave. Major Armstrong tagged along with us, stating that he was the most suited in case Scar struck again. Not that I cared at the moment. Hughes was outside the window Edward and Major Armstrong were at. Alphonse was forced to be with the farm animals due to his unusual position of being in literal pieces and in a crate. Edward, Alphonse, and Major Armstrong insisted that I didn't dress professionally in order to avoid attention from the regular folk of Resembool as they aren't the biggest fans of the military.

I had chosen a black, V-neck tank top paired with a brown halter jacket, dark khakis, and combat boots. A belt looped around my khakis held the two sheaths where I kept my swords. My slightly wavy brown hair wasn't tied up, but my fringed bangs almost reached my blue eyes. I need to remember to trim them or else I won't be able to see at all.

I didn't care about any of that. Right now, I clung to my seat in the train, gritting my teeth, trying not to panic. I screamed when I heard knocking, thinking it was an attacker but when I turned it was just Hughes. He looked frightened as well, as I just screamed. I rolled down my window so I could talk to him. "H-H-Hello," I stuttered.

"Evelyn..." Hughes sighed. "You realized the train hasn't taken off yet?"

"I KNOW THAT DON'T REMIND ME!!!"

"Jeez, you're really pale and sweating already, even though the train hasn't moved yet. Guess Roy wasn't kidding about your paranoia on trains. Anyways, before you bordered, I informed the Major about your position on trains. He's well-aware and will try to help you subtly to the best of his ability."

"T-T-T-Thanks H-Hughes."

"Always willing to help the favorite niece of my best friend."

"I AM HIS ONLY NIECE HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REMIND PEOPLE THAT!!!"

The bell in the station chimed, signaling that it was time to go. The train jerked forward as the wheels slowly turned. I gripped the seat even more tightly now. "Look, just try to grin and bear it," Hughes advised, jogging to keep up with me. "Try to sleep, and don't tear that seat out."

As the train left the station, I stuck a weak hand out to wave him goodbye and he waved back as well. I stuck my hand back into the train and rolled up the window. I now know what hell feels like.

*~*~*~*~*~

Good news: I fell asleep on the train.

Bad news: It was due to over-exhaustion of my body.

I had stayed up nearly all night long on the train when eventually the lack of sleep from the last few nights caught up to me and I collapsed. Major Armstrong occasionally came to me and gave me an "OK" sign, saying that we were going to be fine on the train. Still, I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried.

The train had lulled to a stop and I lazily woke up, stretching from my nap. Glad at least I could sleep for a few hours. By the platform, a middle-aged man with a suitcase came by. Major Armstrong, obviously recognizing the man, slammed the book he was reading shut and leaned out the window, crushing a yawning Edward in the process. "Doctor Marcoh!" Armstrong yelled. "Doctor Marcoh! that is you, isn't it? It's me, Major Alex Louis Armstrong, from Central. Remember?"

The man panicked from being recognized and dashed off. Major Armstrong got off of Edward. "Friend of yours?" He gasped, finally able to breathe again.

"He's a capable state alchemist from Central," Armstrong replied. "He was researching how to apply alchemy to medical treatment, but after the Ishvalan Civil War, he went missing."

"Let's get off, Major," Edward remarked, preparing to get off the train. "A person like him may know something about transmuting living things."

*~*~*~*~*~

We went around town, asking people if they recognized the drawing of Dr. Marcoh Major Armstrong had did. "Do you, by any chance, know this person?" He asked a nearby passerby.

"Wow, Major, you can really draw," Edward remarked, impressed.

"The art of drawing life-like things has been passed down among the Armstrongs for generations," he replied, his usual sparkle by him.

"That looks like Dr. Mauro," the passerby replied.

"Mauro?" Major Armstrong asked.

"During the civil war, the town's doctors were all drafted, which left us hard up. Dr. Mauro really saved us when he came here."

"He doesn't give up on patients, and sees them all," another passerby added. "We're glad to have him."

"No sooner do you see this flash of light, than you're cured!" A girl squealed.

As we trudged up to Dr. Marcoh's house, Armstrong turned back to look at me. "Glad you slept in the train, Evelyn," he said to me.

Edward heard it and turned to get a good look at me. "Yeah, you look a bit better," he remarked.

"Thanks, guys..." I wearily replied.

"Yeah, when you don't have dark circles under your eyes or when you walk like a zombie," Edward snickered.

"Shut it, bean sprout!" I shouted.

Before Edward could yell a comeback at me, we had arrived in front of his house. Edward knocked on his door and Dr. Marcoh opened the door hesitantly, holding a gun in his hands. In a panic of seeing Major Armstrong, fired it but Edward narrowly dodged it, yelling. "What are you here for?!" Dr. Marcoh demanded. "Are you here to take me back there?!"

"Please calm down, Doctor," Major Armstrong held up hie free hand as if he was surrendering. The other one was used to carry Alphonse, who was in a box.

"I don't ever want to go back there! Please, anything but that!"

"Please, listen..."

"Then, you're here to silence me, is that it?!"

"No, it's not that."

"You won't trick me!"

Major Armstrong sighed as he heaved and threw the box with Alphonse inside at Dr. Marcoh. "Please, all I'm asking you to do is listen to me!" He yelled.

"Al!" Edward and I screamed.

*~*~*~*~*~

Dr. Marcoh, Major Armstrong, Edward, Alphonse, and I sat inside his house. "Imagine, changing your name and living in hiding out in the countryside," Major Armstrong said. "I'd heard stories that when you disappeared, you took top-secret materials with you."

"I couldn't take it anymore," Dr. Marcoh sighed. "Never mind that it was ordered from above, to have to dirty my hands researching that thing..."

"That thing?" Edward asked.

"During the Ishvalan Civil War, so many innocent people lost their lives because of it," He explained. "I could give my whole life, but I'll still not atone for what I've done. Even so, I decided to do all that I could, so I became a doctor here."

"Doctor, just what was it that you were ordered to research?" Major Armstrong asked.

"The Philosopher's Stone," He replied. Everyone gasped, as the Stone itself was huge and powerful and a heavy topic to discuss due to its history. "What I took out of there were my research materials, and the Stone itself."

"You have the Stone?! Where?!" Edward demanded. Dr. Marcoh sighed and he unwillingly pulled out a tiny flask with red liquid inside. "That's the Stone...but it's liquid," Edward said.

He opened the bottle and poured it onto the table. The liquid instantly hardened into a Stone, although it appeared almost jelly-like. "'The Sage Stone', 'The Celestial Stone', 'The Grand Elixir', 'The Red Tincture', 'The Fifth Element'..." He listed out all the nicknames for the Stone as Edward curiously poked jelly-like Stone with his finger. "Just as the Philosopher's Stone is called by many names, its form is not necessarily that of a Stone. However, this is an incomplete product. There's no telling when it will reach its limit, and become unusable."

"Even so, it demonstrated plenty of force during the Ishvalan Civil War," Edward remarked. "The same was true for that false priest of Reloe, according to Evelyn here. It may have been incomplete, but his abilities were definitely increased. If something as potent as that can be produced, then depending in the research, a complete product is not possible. Dr. Marcoh, can I see your research materials?"

"Major, who exactly is this boy?" Dr. March asked

"He is a State Alchemist," Armstrong replied.

Dr. Marcoh gasped, "A child like this? After the civil war, there were so many alchemists who turned in their certificates, because they couldn't bear to be human weapons. And yet, you..."

"I realize how foolish it is!" Edward yelled, clutching the stump where his right arm used to be. "But even so, I have to keep working until I achieve my goal, even if it is on a bed of thorns! Because Al and I have done a human transmutation!"

Dr. Marcoh's stared at him, then walked over to Alphonse. "I see you've committed the taboo," He said. "It's amazing that you are able to transmute a soul. You may be able to produce a complete Philosopher's Stone."

"So, may we look at your materials?" Edward asked.

"No." He replied sharply, despite his praise and amazement a few seconds ago.

"What? Even if it means getting our bodies back?"

"No, you may not. It's devil's research! You'll go through hell..."

"I've already been through hell!" Edward shouted, standing up from his spot at the table.

Dr. Marcoh cowered, as if telling us this was just triggering to him. "...please. Leave." He begged.

*~*~*~*~*~

Major Armstrong, Edward, Alphonse and I were sitting at the train station, waiting for the next train to Resembool. "Are you sure about this?" Major Armstrong asked.

"Yes," Edward replied.

"Incomplete though it may have been, you could of at least taken the Stone from him by force."

"Yeah. I wanted it so bad I could taste it. But..."

"We don't want to get our bodies back so badly that we deprive this town of its source of care," Alphonse explained.

"We gained plenty just finding out that a Philosopher's Stone can be made," Edward smiled. "We'll look for some other way."

"But what about you, Major Armstrong?" I asked. "Are you okay with not reporting back to Central about Dr. Marcoh?"

"All I met today was a simple, small-town doctor named Mauro," He replied, confirming that he was going to keep his lips sealed.

Our train arrived, chugging to a stop. I took a deep breath, preparing for another day on the nightmarous machine. Just as we were going to step on, a voice cried, "Wait!"

We turned around to see Dr. Marcoh running up to us. Once he reached the bench we were sitting at, he bent over and started panting. "If you aren't going to regret finding out the truth, here's a piece of paper that will tell you where my materials are hidden," he explained. "Knowing you, you'll find the truth within the truth...no, I've already said too much. I hope that you will get your bodies back."

Dr. Marcoh's waved us goodbye, waiting for our train to completely pull away before returning home. Major Armstrong had left to put Alphonse back with the farm animals. To distract myself, I decided to talk to Edward. "Ed..." I started.

"Well, we're in luck," He replied, grinning as he read the tiny slip of paper. "Not only we found some information on the Philosopher's Stone, now we got a lead to where we can find more information."