Edward blinked when they came to the park, but found no sign of their friend. He frowned some and glanced at his brother. "Alponse, let's spread out. We have to find her before they do." He instructed. Al nodded and the two quickly went to search the park. Why did she run off? Edward mentally kicked himself for letting her go off on her own. She was probably scared and though he trusted her to handle herself, why didn't he send Al with her?
---
Envy had taken Nova to a hideout he had, away from the bustling streets of the city. The two were catching up, Envy easily falling into the role of Vee and having fun making the teen blush with his teases. They had spent more than a few minutes there, and he sighed quietly as he ran his hand along her hair. "I guess it's time to head back? Like you said, your friends will worry if you don't return." Envy murmured quietly.
Nova blinked and lifted her head from his chest and nodded lightly. "I guess so." She said quietly before slowly pulling out of his loose hold, and standing. "Stay safe, Vee." She murmured. Envy smirked and stood, pulling her against him and wrapped his arms around her. "I swear to you, we'll meet again. Don't look like that, okay?" He said quietly, brushing his lips over the top of her head. "Stay alive, lil lupin." He said quietly, holding her for a moment before slowly lowering his arms. Nova glanced at him and smirked some, though her cheeks were dusted with blush. "I don't plan on dying anytime soon." She said, stepping back and leaving the small apartment and heading back to the park.
She took her time until she could pick up Edward's voice, and broke into a run. They were looking for her? Cripes!
It didn't take her long to make it back to the park, and Edward glanced at her when he heard the crunching of leaves. "You idiot, what the hell were you thinking?" He scolded as he approached her. "You said you'd wait for us in the park." Nova flinched some at his tone and lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry.. I thought someone was watching me so I tucked myself away." She said quietly. Edward sighed and ran a hand over his face, then held the hand out to her.
"C'mon, Al's on the other side of the park. We've got a lead so we've got a train to catch." Nova blinked and nodded some, and easily placed her hand in his. The two then sought out the hunk of armor, which wasn't hard to spot. "Al, found her!" Edward called to his brother, causing him to pause and turn to them. He nodded and they then headed for the train station.
Once Ed purchased their tickets, they boarded the train and found some seats near the back of the cart. Nova sat next to Al, choosing to sit by the window to watch the scenery. Edward sat across from them, and leaned back in his seat. He watched Nova for a moment, then lowered his eyes. "We're heading to a small mining town called Xenotime to look into something, don't leave our side, alright?" He said after a moment, and glanced at Nova. She blinked. "Xenotime?" She asked curiously. "What are you looking into there? There's not really a lot going on out west."
Edward lowered his eyes. "A lead on the philosopher's stone." He said calmly. Nova blinked again and glanced out the window. Why would there be a lead on the stone out there? They were miners and farmers, not alchemists or military. So, why?
Nova fell asleep during the train ride, having relaxed against Alphonse. When the train pulled into the station, Edward lightly nudged her to wake her. "We're here." He said quietly. Nova blinked and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before following the boys off the train. The town felt off, and made her uneasy. Almost immediately, the cry of what sounded like a child reached her ears. "Edward, I hear a child crying." She said, then ran to follow the source. The boys looked at each other and followed her. "I really wish she would stop doing this…" Ed grumbled, not amused by her actions, but he knew she did it for a reason.
While she knew the boys would probably scold her later, she was glad she had run off when a mine came into view. The townspeople were panicking and trying to lift a fallen Minecart off of a little girl. Finally seeing Nova up ahead, Ed was about to scold her when he saw what happened. Looking forwards Al, the brothers immediately went to help, knowing no one deserved such tragedy. Nova stayed back a bit as the boys helped get the minecart off of the little girl. The men thanked them and offered to let them stay at the inn for helping the little girl known as Elisa. Ed and Al shook their heads, telling the townsfolk that they would pay, and that what they did was just who they were. They asked if anyone needed help to go to doctor to get checked out of if anyone was trapped in the mines.
They were worried about any injuries that people had. The men explained that the mines were clear, the only ones inside were them, and the minecart derailed. But they don't know what caused it. Elisa coughed some and Nova frowned. Her father, glanced at the boys. "Are you guys hungry, at least?" He asked. Edward nodded, but frowned when he heard the girl cough. "Sure, but where's your doctor at? Your daughter isn't sounding good." He said, motioning to the young girl. The man placed a gentle hand on her head. "We don't have a village doctor anymore, he left some time ago. We have medicine for her, but it's back at the inn." Nova nodded. "We'll follow you then, sounds like she needs it."
"If you don't mind us asking, what happened that your doctor left?" Ed asked curiously, but cautiously as they walked with the father and daughter. There was something weird about the town, he could feel it. It didn't take long for them to reach the inn, and the man went and made the traveler's something to eat while Elisa went to take her medicine. The brothers nodded, asking no more, but both of them found it suspicious and worrying. They grabbed a table for the three of them to sit. "So, what do you think?" he asked Nova, the brothers already having a suspicion in their heads.
Nova mostly picked at her food, not having much of an appetite. "I dunno, it's too early to tell." She murmured quietly. "But something is definitely going on.." She added, resting her head on her arms with the forming of a headache. She could feel something off with the town, the air was thick for being out in the country. "This used to be a gold mining town, but it seems the mines have dried up and that's why no one is down in the mines working." She spoke quietly. "Are you feeling okay, Nova?" Al asked worryingly while Ed went to check her temperature. She was warm to the touch, and he frowned some. "How about we just sleep today off, and try to find some information tomorrow?" Ed offered.
Nova was warm, but it wasn't anything to fuss over. "Just a headache." She said quietly. She nodded lightly when Ed spoke about sleep. "Sleep.." She murmured. "Yeah, we'll ask around tomorrow. Ask that guy about a room?" She asked. Ed nodded his head, giving Nova's shoulder a squeeze as he walked over to man from earlier. "Hey, I don't mean to be a burden, but, would it be possible for us to get a room?" he asked curiously, worried about his friend. The man smirked some. "'Course, my offer still stands." He said, offering him a key. "It ain't much, but there's a couple of beds to sleep on. Go right up those stairs, and it's the room on your left." He said.
Edward smiled, taking the offered key. "Thanks, it was a long ride out, we're not quite used to sitting the entire time on a train." He laughed softly, giving the man a salute as he walked over to the table. He picked her up after handing Al the key, and led the way up to the room. He set Nova on one of the beds, flopping onto the other as he stared up at the ceiling until he fell asleep. Normally, the brothers would start getting to the bottom of things, but Nova came first. Nova was surprised by Edward picking her up and carrying her to their room, but she did little to protest. Once she was set on the bed, she soon drifted off to sleep.
She woke early the next morning feeling worse than that night, and now had a fever. Her body ached, which was what first woke her up. What was going on in this town? Al was up, since he didn't sleep and turned to Nova. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked worriedly. She was not looking good at all. He didn't want to wake up Ed because he knew his brother would worry a lot and do something reckless like the was known for. Nova slowly sat up and held her head. "My head's pounding.." She murmured quietly, stifling a cough with her arm. Al frowned at that as he quietly walked over to her. "Is it because of this place?" he asked worriedly. Nova slowly shook her head, but she wasn't saying no. "I dunno, Al.." She murmured quietly, glancing at him. "We'll ask around when Ed wakes up.." She said quietly.
Al nodded his head sadly, hoping they found a reason for her sudden illness. "Is there anything I can get you until then?" he asked softly. Nova offered him a soft smile. "Let me use you as a pillow?" She asked quietly. Al laughed quietly, nodding his head. "Of course you can. Come on, you need some sleep to." He said softly, patting the spot next to him, knowing that's how she liked sleeping. Nova slowly got down from the bed and curled up next to Al, resting her head on his armor. It didn't take long for the coolness of his metal to sooth her back to sleep until the townspeople began to stir. Al smiled as he watched Nova sleep, sifting back as he waited for them to wake again. He felt less lonely at night when Nova fell asleep against him like this.
A bit later, she woke to the sound of a man yelling, then a little girl saying something like, "it wasn't uncle Belsio's fault. I wanted to help him." It sounded like Elisa and her father. Edward groaned as he heard the shouting, turning in the bed with a frown. "What's going on?" he asked sleepily, his brows pinching together at the noise. Nova curled up closer to Al when the door was shut rather hard, then she could hear the little girl coughing. Slowly, she sat up before heading downstairs despite how she felt.
"I'm sorry if you heard any of that." The man spoke. "What did he do to rile you up like that?" She asked curiously as the man handed Elisa a glass of water. She shook her head. "It wasn't his fault. I wanted to help uncle Belsio with his work." Elisa spoke, coughing a bit and drinking her water.
"It doesn't matter, once we finish the stone we can make and sell our own fruit, and once more be the prospering gold mining town of Xenotime. Maybe you guys can help us out once more?" Nova didn't like where this was going. Edward found himself joining Nova near the end, catching something about a stone. "What stone are you making?" he asked curiously, yawning in his hand as he looked over at Nova, worried about her. Al told him about her waking up earlier that morning and using him as a pillow. One of the other guys grinned. "A philosopher stone." He said. Elisa's father nodded. "There's a guy up in a mansion on the hill, leading the production, his name's Mugear. If you're alchemists, you can help him." Nova folded her arms lightly. You couldn't just make a stone, it wasn't that easy. Unless the guy had plans he wasn't telling the townsfolk.
It took everything ounce of self-control Edward had to not demand answers. "I see… is that why so many people are looking sick?" he asked calmly. The man shook his head, and explained to them about the chemicals in their water, it being something they always had an issue with. But they didn't know how to cleanse it, it was one reason they needed this stone to be finished. So people wouldn't have to be sick anymore. "We need to see this Mugear." Nova mused, her hand balled. She was pretty good at feigning being alright, so the townsfolk wouldn't worry and cause a fuss. But she was pretty sure she couldn't fool the brothers. Edward looked over at Nova and nodded his head. "Yeah, we do need to talk with him. Let's get Al and head out." The sooner they did, the sooner they could get down to business.
The man nodded and told them how to get to the mansion, then smirked some. "You might even meet the Elric brothers." Her said. Nova blinked. The hell? Shaking her head, she gave Edward a light nudge as a way of telling him just to go with it, then headed upstairs to get Al. Edward bit his cheek to stop himself from speaking when Nova nudged him. "So, the Elric brothers, huh? When did they stumble into town?" he asked, almost forcefully. They needed to get as much information as they could if they wanted to understand everything going on. The man smirked and told him about the brothers that stayed in the mansion with Mugear, and when they arrived, having no idea who he was actually talking to.
It took everything Edward had to not blow a gasket. Why did people never think he was who he was… he was always mistaken for someone else.
Nova went into the room and sat on the bed of a moment. "Al, we're headed to a mansion on top of a hill to talk to a guy named Mugear. We should go before Ed starts a fight." She murmured. "Yeah, brother only has so much patience…" he agreed readily and headed down with Nova. Nova nodded and stood, her vision swimming for a moment. Shaking her head and steadying herself, she headed back down with Al. "Thanks for the room and board, we'll be going now." She said, taking Ed's hand and leading him out of the inn. Ed was grateful for Nova grabbing him, and the three headed out. It took a while to find the mansion, even harder to get to it with the amount of traps and guard animals around.
Nova did her best to keep up with the boys as they headed to the mansion, but the longer they were the here, the worse she felt. Nova had to stop for a break, and stifled a cough against her arm. Al noticed Nova lagging and let his brother know. He was worried about Nova, not liking the way she seemed to be getting weaker so quickly. "Come on, get on." Ed told her softly, kneeling down so she could climb onto his back. "This is affecting you too quickly… whatever they're doing up there isn't healthy for anyone…" he murmured quietly. Normally she'd protest, but she wasnt in it right now. She nodded lightly and got up on his back.