DUH DUH DUH DUUUUUUUN! The long awaited, slightly overdue sequel to The Heart Never Forgets (the next installment in the Memories series- and yes, that is it's official series name. ^^) Honestly, the name gave me the most trouble. The dream at the end gave me a bit of trouble, too. But now I'm just telling you what's going to happen, so I shall stop.

You don't really need to know anything for this story that the stories before it couldn't tell you, so I'll go ahead and get down to business.

Full Summary: Winry has been murdered. Edward's having nightmares and seeing things. Threats are everywhere, and everyone he loves is in danger. He knows he has to do something, but first he has to find the nameless murderer- one who leaves no traces behind. If he's to save his family, he's got to find out who this murderer is and stop him or her before it's too late. Definitely not very FMA-like, as this is something that would probably never happen. If you're easily scared, might want to read this with the light on. I've been told some parts are creepy. ROYED

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, or anything associated with it. Get that through your heads already. Saying it depresses me. D=

Warnings: Foul language. Creepiness. Shounen-ai (DUH!)

When he finally came to (how long had it been? It should have been an hour or more. He can't have only been passed out for moments.) they were in the hall. His head was in Roy's lap, and the man was gently stroking long fingers through his golden hair and whispering softly in his ear. Not that he could actually make out what was being said, but at least knowing that he was being spoken to was enough right now. His head was aching, and he felt dizzy and nauseous. Slowly and carefully, not sure about any of his movements, he lifted a hand to his head, rubbing flesh fingers along his forehead and allowing his eyes to flutter open.

The light was unbearably bright; it was as if he had a terrible hangover. His eyes quickly slid shut again, but not before gaining his lover's attention. "Ed?" came the quiet whisper in his ear. He nearly groaned out loud, flesh fingers sliding from his forehead and searching blindly for the other man's shirt. They finally found it, closed tightly in the fabric. Using the hold, he dragged himself onto his side and buried his nose into a toned, clothed belly, closing his eyes more tightly. It took minutes and a hell of a lot of effort to find his voice. The damnable thing seemed to have turned tail and fled, running for either the hills or the nearest ledge, the coward.

"What the hell happened? Why are we on the floor in the hall? Weren't we in Winry's… hotel… room…?" His eyes finally opened wide as he recalled what had happened to his soon-to-be ex-wife (suppose he didn't have to worry about that now, being as she was dead) during the night. The fingers in his hair faltered for a moment, picked up again right where they left off. It was nice; they were even getting all the way down to the scalp, rubbing against it and soothing, just because Roy knew how much he liked it. Even though he still felt sick, he made a soft keening noise, fingers tightening in the fistful of shirt he had a hold on.

"You passed out when you saw… I told you it wasn't a good idea to go in there, but you never listen to me, do you. As stubborn as ever. You shouldn't always push yourself into things. Especially something like this. If you can't go in there and see her… that's fine. You don't have to. It's not something you should have to do," the general murmured, fingers still raking through his lover's hair.

"B-but I wanted to see. I had to see." Edward breathed, voice threatening to fail. The thing really was a coward. They were going to have to have a very long chat about that later. Slowly, he pulled himself into a sitting position, still leaning on Roy for support. His hand was still clutching the man's shirt possessively. Without pause, the strong, lean fingers soothed him, starting with the terrible headache that had begun to worsen. He felt the general shake his head, then ruffle blond bands lightly.

"I'll be right back. I've got to talk to Hawkeye about all this, and then clear a few things up with the police so we can go and get Nikki."

"But I don't want you to go." Ed mumbled, tightening his grip even more; his knuckles were now white, an extreme contrast to the rest of his tan skin. "I want you to stay here with me."

"Ed, I swear I'll come right back. I just have some things to take care of, okay?" Those long fingers pulled lightly through his hair again. The man really knew how to bend him and make him do what he wanted.

"Give me a kiss before you go." At the look of slight hesitation in onyx eyes, he sighed and continued, "Half of Central saw us rubbing all over each other the other day. I think a small kiss will be fine." Then he proceeded to pucker his lips to show that he wasn't going to take no for an answer, and he was going to get that kiss no matter what.

"Mkay," he hummed, leaning down to press a quick kiss to the other's lips. "Are you going to let me go now?" he purred against them.

"Yeah. Go. I'm just going to sit here, if that's okay."

"Of course." Roy gave him one more kiss before he pushed to his feet and walked back into the hotel room. Edward settled back against the wall, pushing his own fingers through his hair and letting out a deep breath.

How could this happen? I mean, sure, Winry had an attitude and she could be a bitch sometimes- especially to me- but people loved her and her work. So… who the hell could have killed her? And… what the hell was with that on the wall and the dream last night? He buried his face in his hands as the thoughts raced through his head. The headache was still getting worse, pounding now and he could even hear his pulse pounding in his ears. It was beginning to make him feel sick. Which is exactly what I need, thanks. Edward groaned loudly, though it was muffled greatly by his hands. What he wanted to do was go home and go back to sleep. After they got Nicholas, of course. His son needed him, and he needed his son.

He lifted his head and watched police walk back and forth to and from the room. But he didn't see the blue military pants he was looking for. Over the years, he'd learned to be more patient. At the moment, though, he didn't feel like being patient. His ex-wife was dead, his son was alone with strangers, and he couldn't do anything about it except sit there and wonder at… well, everything. What he wanted was Roy here right now so they could leave and maybe he could pretend none of this had happened for just a little while.

Finally, a pair of bright blue pants stopped right in front of him. Ed smiled and looked up, taking the hand that was being offered to him. Roy pulled him to his feet, threading their fingers together. "Ready to go?" he asked quietly, twisting their wrists around so he could kiss the back of the shorter man's hand.

The young alchemist did no more than nod his head in answer. He then proceeded to drag his lover out of the building as quickly as he could.

"In a hurry, are we? You never do take anything slow, huh?" His arm draped around the other's waist, pulling him close and kissing his temple. Golden eyes flickered over to him, then a blond head was dropped onto his shoulder. His fingers were squeezed, but he didn't get an answer other than that. "What? Are you not going to talk to me?" The head on his shoulder shook the negative and he frowned. "Ed, you have to talk sometime." The head shook against his shoulder again. This time, he sighed. "Fine then. We won't talk."

And talk they didn't. The walk to the police station was absolutely silent, save for the sounds of the city. The blond's head stayed on his shoulder the entire time, though. It was only when they walked through the front doors of the station that he finally lifted his head and glanced around, looking for his son. He didn't make any move to ask where Nikki was, of course, so Roy took it upon himself to do so.

"Excuse me, we're looking for his son, Nicholas Elric," he told one of the policewomen after he'd stopped her.

"I need proof that he is the boy's father."

"I would think that it was pretty obvious he's Edward Elric. After all, the Alchemist of the People is pretty well-known. I was sure everyone knew who he was."

"And just who are you, sir?" she snapped, looking pretty peeved to have been talked to with that kind of disrespect.

"General Roy Mustang. Flame Alchemist. Hero of Ishval. Any of these ringing a bell?" he barked back, pulling his watch out of his pocket and holding it out for her to see. He knew Edward wanted to go home, and he also knew his young lover must not feel like dealing with any of this shit. Currently, the man's golden eyes were flitting around and he looked rather like a scared deer caught in the headlights of a car.

The policewoman gritted her teeth and jerkily nodded her head; there was no way she could tell a general/state alchemist and another state alchemist no, regardless of how much they were making her blood boil. "Yes, sir, General Mustang. Follow me." She turned and gestured over her shoulder for them to do as she said, then walked off deeper into the station. Roy took Edward's hand, as the young man was still looking around frantically, and led him after her, rubbing a soothing thumb across the back of his love's flesh hand. Still, Ed looked.

"Daddy!"

His attention snapped forward, to the policewoman holding his son. From the look on his face, he was about to cry. His hand slid out of Roy's as he hurried forward and took Nicholas from the woman's arms, smoothing his hair and humming. But he didn't talk. Not even a single word.

"If you wouldn't mind signing some papers, General Mustang, you and Major Elric can leave," the woman told them politely, though it was obvious she was still pissed at them.

"Of course." Having signed papers most of his career- and just getting better at actually doing it- the general stepped forward and quickly read over them, then signed them, listening to Edward humming a song to his son. "Here you are. We'll be off. You know where to reach me should anything come up." Without waiting for a reply, he led the blond out of the station again with an arm around his waist. "Are you going to talk now?"

Finally, Ed glanced up at him, frowned, but didn't say anything. He merely shook his head again. The dark-haired man sighed, but he did understand. What with all that had happened… Well, needless to say that he wouldn't feel like talking, either. Nicholas, too, was silent. It made him wonder just exactly what the boy had seen. Can't these boys ever get a break?

The blond stayed close to his side, and Roy finally put his arm back around his waist. Edward looked exhausted, he noted. To be honest, he didn't think he'd ever seen his lover look so tired, not even when he came home from a mission that lasted a week or more. When they got home, he was most certainly putting them both to bed. Lord knew that they needed it.

"Alright, Edward, straight upstairs. I'll be up in a second. Nope, don't even stop to take your shoes off." Roy said, pushing the blond away from where he had stopped to toe off his boots and towards the staircase. He received a look- one part questioning, one part confused. "Go on. To the bed. Now. Shoo." He motioned with his hands for Ed to walk up the stairs.

And, rolling his eyes, the young man finally did, bouncing his son the whole way. He carefully sat down on the bed and checked Nikki over, as he'd not had time earlier. He looked unharmed. Untouched, even. Whoever had attacked Winry hadn't wanted Nicholas. That was odd. Unless they had specifically wanted Winry and no one else. That he could understand. What he couldn't understand was why.

"Now hold up a foot." Roy was now in front of him, kneeling down on one knee. He frowned down at his older lover, bug held his foot up anyways. The general caught it around the heel, then pulled the shoe and sock off. He let it fall ungracefully back against the side of the bed, holding out his hand for the other one. Edward dropped his heel into it, and the process was promptly repeated. "Go to sleep." An eyebrow arched at him. "You look like hell. You need to sleep, if only until dinner is ready. For me?" A blond head bobbed up and down, and he settled Nikki down on Roy's side of the bed, kissing his forehead.

"Daddy, what bout Mommy?" the young boy asked, the first words he'd said since he first saw his father in the police station. Edward started to open his mouth, but stopped and shook his head.

"Nikki, why don't you and your dad take a nap, huh? It's been a long day, and Ed's exhausted. You can talk afterwards, okay?" Roy to the rescue. The man really was too good for him.

"Okay, Uncle Roy!" The boy immediately closed his eyes, and he received a warm smile and a nod of thanks from his lover. No problem, he mouthed, before exiting the room.

After a long, dreamless nap, Edward wandered downstairs. Nicholas had still been asleep, so he had left him there to finish his nap. No telling when the boy had been woken up by the murderer, and who could sleep after something like that? A little while longer wouldn't hurt him. Besides, it gave Ed time to gather his thoughts.

The bottom stair squeaked under the weight of his left foot; the weak spot was against the wall, since that was where he'd put his foot. All sounds in the kitchen stopped. Now he didn't really want to go in there. Everyone would stare at him, probably ask if he was okay. He didn't want that. But he did want Roy. Instead of going straight to the kitchen, he went into the living room. He stopped dead in the door. The mean he wanted to see was lying across the couch, paper held up in front of his face.

"Oh. You're in here." The paper dropped, and a smile was cast his way.

"Did you sleep well?" The paper went back up now. Ed frowned and walked over, sliding into Roy's lap and shimmying up under the paper. His head pillowed on the older man's chest.

"Mhm," he hummed, inhaling the spicy smell he'd come to know of as his lover's.

"And you're actually talking again?"

"Guess so." He toyed with a loose string on the man's button-up shirt.

"Your hands are cold. Both of them; I can feel them through the shirt." Roy informed him. He could feel the words rumble in the chest he was laying on. It was rather soothing; he'd hate to lose it. But he merely shrugged in response to the statement. "Oh? Not going to talk anymore?"

"That's not it," he mumbled in reply, forgetting about the string and dropping his hand onto the chest beside his head.

"It's fine, Ed. You don't have to talk unless you want to." The page was turned. Ed's eyes skimmed over it, but he didn't see anything particularly interesting on it. Nor did he see why the hell Roy read these things all the time.

"We can stay here… Nikki and I… right?"

"Well, I can't think of a reason why you couldn't."

"Tha-"

"Hey, lovebirds. Dinner's ready. Come get it now, or don't eat." Mei was standing behind the couch, looking down at the two men practically twined together on the couch.

"Okay, Mei. Thanks," Edward mumbled. There was no bite to the words. They were simply… flat. His legs untangled from Roy's; he had no clue how they'd gotten like that. He must have twisted their legs together at some point.

"We'll be there in just a moment." The paper was set aside, and a kiss was placed on the top of his head. Mei faked a gag and walked off, but she smiled the moment her back was turned. Edward might not be her favorite person in the world, they might argue, and they might act terrible to one another, but she did kind of like him and want him to be happy. And, if nothing else, Nicholas deserved a father. Especially now that his mother was dead.

"Don't be too long, boys. If you're not in here in five minutes, we're eating without you, and I will gladly let you starve to death."

"Whatever," Ed grumbled back, sliding down so he was sitting up between his lover's legs and glaring at Mei's back.

'Ed, I can't get up with you sitting between my legs." Roy pointed out, sitting up a bit more.

"You talk like you mind it," the blond muttered under his breath, sliding up and over the arm of the couch so his lover could get up. The older simply chuckled and stood, leading the way into the kitchen. Not that he was actually hungry, but he could make an attempt to eat so as not to worry anyone. If all else failed, he could at least push the food around his plate. He took his seat- it was left empty for him today, he was pleased to see, as Alphonse usually insisted upon sitting there- and stared at his plate.

Dinner was awkward, to say the least. The conversation didn't make it that way. How could it, when nobody said a word the whole time? He was pretty sure it was because of him. Everyone was worried they'd say something wrong and they'd send him over the edge. Well, he'd already been there. Was there, even now. He was just really fucking good at hiding it. He didn't eat, save for a couple of nibbles when Al or Roy was watching him intently to make sure he got some kind of sustenance in him. It was near the end of the awkward meal that he heard Nicholas start crying and calling for him. It was the perfect excuse to leave the dining table and not feel like he was being rude about it.

The upstairs hall was dark, but Edward didn't bother to turn on the light, for he knew the way to their room very well. It was when he got halfway there that he really started to regret not flipping the switch up when he passed it. Eyes were boring into his back, he could swear. And it wasn't just a watchful gaze; it was a glare, and it was scaring the hell out of him. He sped up his pace a little bit. There was the tail end of a chuckle behind him and he spun around… quick enough to see the remnants of a shadow disappearing inside the open door at the very end of the hall, and a vase teetering on the table outside the opening.

His eyes widened, heart hammering in his chest. It was so loud he could swear whoever had run into that room could hear it. His stomach clenched and he turned, running as quietly as he could the rest of the way to his and Roy's room. He scooped his son up in his arms and barreled out of the room, taking the stairs two at a time. The moment he skidded to a stop in the kitchen, all eyes were on him, and the young boy whose face was buried in his shoulder, flesh hand on the back of the young child's head.

"There's someone in the house." Much as he tried, the fright still leaked into his voice, and he hated himself for it. He had to be strong for Nicholas, and this was the opposite of strong.

"You sure?" Al asked, dropping his fork.

"Ed-"

"Well why the fuck didn't you stop him? You're supposed to be the shit at hand-to-hand combat! Oh, great, now he's going to come down here and kill us all." Mei whined, panic written clearly on her features.

Edward stared at her for a moment, then pointed to Nikki and said, "Baby?" At which point he promptly forgot Mei was even there and turned back to Roy. "Go check. I saw him go into the last room, opposite direction of ours."

The dark-haired general got up without argument, but Ed swore he heard him mutter "Oh, so you want me to die, do you?" when he walked by him. They waited for him right there, all frozen to the spot and holding their breath- except for Nicholas; the young boy seemed to have recovered quite quickly and forgotten all about the serial killer skulking around upstairs. When Roy finally came down again, the blond wanted to grab him and demand to know why he hadn't heard a struggle. But, again… baby.

"Well?" he asked expectantly, switching his son from arm to arm.

"There was nobody up there. Not even any evidence to suggest that anyone besides the five of us had even been in any of those rooms." Roy answered, looking worried for Edward and his sanity.

Ed, on the other hand, was gaping, which changed to sputtering, which changed to gasping like a fish out of water. And everyone was watching the spectacle like he really was insane, even Nicholas. "But I saw them! Their shadow, at least… I even saw the vase on the end table about to fall off!" he insisted, desperate for someone to believe him.

"Babe, it was dark up there. Your eyes were probably playing tricks on you or something. It's okay. I promise, I checked the upstairs thoroughly, and it's clear. You don't have to worry about anything. Just sit down and take a breath, okay?" His coal black eyes flickered over to Mei, who quickly stood up and took Nicholas from Edward's arms. Which was probably for the better, as they fell limp moments later and he collapsed into a chair, staring blankly at his lover.

"B-but I saw it… and so it must be true. If you can see it, then…" the young alchemist trailed off, gaze falling to the mismatched hands resting in his lap. Seconds later, Al got up and both he and Mei left the room; Roy must have gestured or conveyed a telepathic message to them, but Ed didn't know. All he knew was that his lover was kneeling on the ground in front of him, cupping his face in his hands and gazing up at him.

"Ed, you've been through a lot these past few days. It was no doubt a trick of the light or your eyes playing tricks on you. That's all. You're safe here. Nikki is safe here. We're all safe here."

Edward wanted to tell him that no, it wasn't a trick of the light or the eyes; he'd heard someone laughing at him, too. He wanted to tell him no, they weren't safe here; they weren't safe anywhere and he knew it, but he didn't know how he knew. Wanted to tell him about the dream last night. The writing on the wall. The amazingly foreseen death of Winry.

But he couldn't, and so he didn't. He just nodded his head and muttered, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry for freaking out." One of the hands on his cheek left and was replaced by the backs of fingers slowly stroking across his cheekbone.

"Don't worry too much about it. You've been through a lot. I understand you're going to be a little bit… out of sorts for a while." Then he kissed his younger lover's forehead, keeping his lips pressed there for a few moments.

"If you say so…" he trailed off, hoping the doubt didn't color his tone so much that it was noticeable; it did, but he pretended that it didn't. "Come read with me?" he asked, eyes brightening with hope.

"I swear, you get more excited about reading than you do anything." Roy mumbled, patting his cheek lightly. "But of course I will." He got up off of his knees, scooped Edward up, and carried him down the hall to the library, where he ungracefully yet carefully set his young lover down on the couch. The book they'd been reading was still open on the side table, so he picked it up and settled down with Ed, the shorter crawling between him and the book, leaning his back to Roy's chest; it was much the same position they'd been in on the couch in the living room earlier.

Edward, though he'd taken a nap earlier, wound up falling asleep on Roy's chest, minutes after they'd begun reading; he was still exhausted. The general, of course, didn't have the heart to move him. So, when he was finished reading, he set the book aside, turned off the lamp, and settled down to sleep. After all, it wasn't the first time they'd done this.

This time, it wasn't an alley or a street or whatever the fuck that place from his dream last night had been. No. Tonight was much worse. He was in the middle of the upstairs hallway in Roy's house. Except it didn't feel like the house. It was freezing and eerie, not warm and comfortable like he usually felt around his lover.

Edward glanced around, shivering in his coat. It didn't really look like the hall he'd become accustomed to; at least, it was decorated different in this dream than the one in real life. He felt a frown tug down on his lips as a picture hanging on the wall caught his eye. That wasn't supposed to be there, was it? Curiosity killed the cat, but he couldn't stay away. His curiosity and interest was something he could never deny, after all.

Slowly, he walked across the hall, from the top of the stairs to the picture frame. His finger traced along the edge as he tried to see it in the dim lighting. It was all of them- Roy, Nicholas, Winry, Mei, Alphonse, and himself- settled in like an actual family… or the Addams Family. Except Winry's face was scratched out in red. He dabbed the tip of his flesh forefinger against it-noticing there was no glass to protect the actual picture- to see if anything came off. It was wet and sticky. When he pulled it back, glistening blood- fresh- stained his skin. His eyes widened, and he wiped it off on his pants with a disgusted noise.

Instead of walking away and getting the hell out of Dodge, like he knew he should have, he looked closer at the picture, trying to see if there was anything he'd missed. There were bloody slashes through every face but his own. And his face… wasn't even his own. It was smirking at him, eyes glinting insanely, and he looked like a madman; that expression had never twisted his features. Not ever.

There was more of that cackling behind him. Ed had heard it so much that you must think he was used to it and it didn't bother him anymore; well, if you thought that, you were dead wrong. It was even creepier now that he'd heard it in his own house, not to mention it was louder and lasted longer. His blood ran cold when an icy hand slid quickly down his arm and squeezed his wrist. He whirled; the feeling disappeared and… there was no one there.

"I'm gonna get your brother~" It was tauntingly sing-song, changing notes and holding the last two words out in certain places. He spun to his left, where the eerily familiar voice was coming from, just in time to see a dark shape disappear into his brother's and Mei's bedroom. Fear punched him in the gut and he took off running down the hall; he had to make sure Al was okay. But when he looked in the room, there was no one there.

"I'm gonna get your lover~" It was still in the same tone, coming from the direction he'd run from. He spun to the right. This time, the dark shape held up a hand and flapped his fingers at him in a mocking wave before it quickly slid into his and Roy's room.

"No!" he screamed, racing back to their room. He skidded to a halt in the door, nearly ramming into himself. If he hadn't known better, he would swear there was a mirror there. Except he knew there couldn't be a mirror there. For one, the hall wasn't cast back at him as well. And the other Edward was wearing the same expression as the one in the picture: smirking and crazed.

"Boo." The other spat, smirk widening when the real Edward flinched. "My god. Am I really like this? Scared by a few skeletons in the closet- or, you know, myself showing up in creepy dreams?" Real Edward wasn't looking at him, which pissed him off. "So, who should I kill next? Alphonse? Maybe I'll go after Roy… Or maybe, just maybe, I'll slice your little boy's throat. After I torture him, of course. It's no fun unless you make them scream." Other Edward continued, poking out his bottom lip at the last sentence for effect.

Real Edward growled, eyes flashing dangerously in the dark. "Don't you dare lay a finger on my family! I don't know who the hell you are, but I want you gone! You don't belong here. You're not real. You're all in my head, and when I blink, you're going to be gone." He closed his eyes, counted to three, and then opened them. He silently rejoiced when the space in front of him was empty; honestly, he hadn't been sure he was right, and half of him thought that the duplicate would still be standing there when his eyes opened again.

Breathing a long sigh of relief, he reached over and flipped the light on. The moment his eyes slid up and caught sight of the wall behind the bed, he wished he'd left it off. Dug into the wall with what looked like a knife- constantly dipped in blood to keep the gashes bright red- were nine large words: Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light? And then, below it, smaller: I'm going to kill them all, Ed. And there's nothing you can do about it.

Aaaaaaand, that's the end of the first chapter of Duplicate. Read, enjoy, laugh, hug your golf club tight to your chest... and after all that, review to let me know what you thought about it. Because feedback... is fucking sent from Heaven. So, yeah. Review. REVIEW... REVIEW! REVIEW! -spazz attack- Bet you won't forget to REVIEW now. =P

Ciao!

hugs&kisses~ Madarao