Chapter One: Abducted

Border Battles are Getting Hotter

Edward Elric sighed when he saw the headline of the newspaper. Really, the fights in the borders were the only thing the newspaper talked about lately. "Yeah, Colonel Bastard, I can read that. A scrap of newspaper doesn't exactly warrant calling me over, does it? Especially when it doesn't concern me at all."

Roy Mustang's brows furrowed. "Not yet."

Their eyes met, and they mirror each other's looks. Dreadful knowing. "Not yet," Edward repeated, the bravado gone and leaving only tired acceptance.

Years upon years of battles to gain more land had taken a toll on both Amestris and Creta. The relationship between the two countries were rocky at best, but since Führer Bradley's taken the leadership everything went spiralling out of control. The war became more heated, battles more frequent.

And the Führer apparently decided that it was a good idea to make more attacks lately. Amestris had gained more land, but Creta of course was unhappy about this and went full-throttle to get back what they had lost and then some. Table City was one of the towns that was constantly on the lookout, claimed by Amestris in a day and taken by Creta on the next, only to be reclaimed by Amestris again. Many more were the same. Thus, the headline.

"How long has it been, really?" Edward asked quietly.

"Almost half a year," Roy answered. "Rumors of full-blown war have been circulating lately. If this goes on, it might not be just a rumor."

Edward let out a sigh. "And the Führer's given speeches to boost morale and everything. That war might really break soon." His tone was gloomy, but his pose was nonchalant. Roy could see beyond his mask.

"Having both the Hero of Ishval and Hero of the People would surely boost the morale," he snorted. Then he gave that familiar smirk. "But of course. Having a charismatic person in your troop is bound to make people more hopeful."

"Who, you? The troop's gonna meet their dramatic end before they even get to lift their guns," Edward snorted. The tension melted as they found their usual routine of mocking and jabbing. "Is that all, Mustang? Al's waiting for me in the library. I don't want to leave him for too long."

"No, actually. I have something for you," Roy pulled out a file.

"Another case?" Edward scowled. "I don't have time for this kind of thing, Mustang!"

"Trust me, you have time for this one case," Roy assured the boy. "There's been a series of thefts and robberies in Senna lately. The person who did them used a bit of alchemy to break into people's houses and stores, but either this guy is an amateur or he's a really stupid alchemist, since his transmutations are just plain pitiful." He huffed out a silent laugh, raising his hand at Edward who opened his mouth to protest again. "That's not the most interesting thing, Fullmetal. Eyewitnesses have been saying something about the burglar having a red stone on his person."

This shut Edward up. "A red stone..." he mumbled, hands moving to open the file Roy had given him and eyes skimming throuh the letters printed neatly on the paper. "Is it possibly...?"

Roy smiled. "You'll find out once you investigate it. If it's the real deal, I'll see what I can do to make sure the stone ends up in your possession."

"Right," Edward gave his usual cocky grin. "When do I start?"

"Next train to Senna leaves two days from now," Roy informed. "You have plenty of time to get ready. I wouldn't worry if I were you."

"Except for the fact that it's close to the borders," Edward said, eyes locked to the copy of the small map Roy had slipped into the file. "Close to both Creta and Aerugo. Right next to Fotset." His brows furrowed. Fotset was one of the cities where the battles was one of the most heated. With Senna so near to it, was it really safe to go? Alphonse would be coming with him, and he'd never forgive himself if anything ever happened to his brother.

"It's not a place where the battles are raging, Fullmetal," Roy let out a breath of annoyance. "Senna is actually quite safe. There is almost no battles going there, except when the forces in Fotset decides to boarden the battleground. It almost never happens. Besides, do you really think I'd send you to a place in which your well-being will be treathened?"

"Of course not," Edward smiled a dazzlingly fake smile. "After all, you've said it yourself. You have a ladder you need to climb, right? And I'm your pawn." He dropped the smile and wore a scowl. "But honestly. You've sent me to cases where I've got seriously injured. Are you actually old enough to forget all that or what?"

"I didn't forget, Fullmetal. In fact, I remember perfectly that usually, you got hurt because you're a little too reckless for your own good."

"What are you insinuating?" Edward's eyes narrowed. "Nevermind that. I need to get to Al soon."

"Don't get stepped on out there, Fullmetal," Roy smirked when the golden alchemist opened the door.

"Ha, ha, ha," Edward turned to make a rude gesture to Roy. "Like hell I will, Colonel Bastard." And the door closed with a loud, reverbrating slam.

Senna. A city south in Amestris, close to both Creta and Aerugo. It stood east to Fotset, closer to Aerugo than to Creta, which made it a bit weird that the border battles with Aerugo usually ended up in Fotset instead of the other cities closer to Aerugo. However, seeing that the small town of Tahdu, which stood even closer to the actual borders compared to Fotset, was famous of housing forces from both Aerugo and Creta, Edward supposed it made sense. After all, it would be easier to attack a town close to where your own soldiers wait than going around to farther towns with no guarantee of winning.

He never really heard of this town before. Senna was one of those cities which was quiet and unnoticeable, its own reputation outshined by its neighbors. The only thing Edward had actually heard about it was that it was close to Fotset and sometimes, once in a blue moon, the battles spread so dangerously close to the heart of Senna and yet, miraculously, no civilian had ever got seriously injured.

Hearing about the town was one thing. Actually visiting it was another.

Senna was a lively city. Unexpectedly so. Being so close to the place where the most intense border battle was taking place, one would think that Senna would be gloomy and deserted, its people long gone to other towns where they could be safer or curling up in their homes as if by ignoring the bloodshed just a town over it could disappear and not touch them forever, as if the damage to Senna in the past where Fotset's fires spread had disappeared like it was never there. But no. Senna was loud and brash and full of laugh, its people chattering like a flock of unruly birds not caring about the world. Yet, when Edward listened carefully, he would always hear words like 'guns', 'fire', 'closer', 'not safe', and 'death' thrown into conversations that sounded awfully innocent.

"Brother?" Alphonse's call snapped Edward out.

"Coming," he answered as he pulled his bag to his side and ran towards the hulking suit of armor.

They headed straight to the first inn they saw, which was a deep pink building that looked like it had seen better days. The pink paint was peeling in many places, dulled and subdued. The wooden board that hung upon the entrance was worn with age, the red paint reading The Poppy Cottage in elegant cursive and a bouquet of three red poppies underneath fading. The inside, however, was in a much better shape. The air was clear, and sunshine came into the building from the numerous windows.

"Welcome!" the man at the counter quickly greeted. "How may I help you?"

"We'd like to book a room for two, please," Alphonse requested politely. "And a map of the city, if you have one."

"Of course," the man nodded with a smile. A key was soon placed into Alphonse's gauntlet. "You can take room 210. We have great view to the town." Then he gave an apologetic smile. "And we don't have the city plan, unfortunately. But I'm sure the city library have one."

"Can you tell us where it is?" Edward asked immediately.

"Sure," the man gestured towards the door. "Just go to the fountain in the middle of the town first, it's not far from here - turn right on the junction out there and walk down the street for about five minutes and you're there. The library's near the fountain. You'll find it once you get there."

"Thanks, old man," Edward nodded. "And by the way. I heard there's been some robberies here lately?"

The man's brow furrowed. "Ah, yes. It's been quite frustrating. We haven't gotten so much of petty crimes like this. Senna is peaceful, you know?"

Alphonse nodded. "Yeah, it's a really nice town."

The man's furrowed brow was unraveled at once, and his face now housed a brilliant smile. "Well of course. The people here are friendly. Well, except when we get bar fights. When that happens, the pent-up frustration people have just blows up and the fights get real bloody real quick."

Note to self, Edward thought, Check one of these bar fights later.

"Anyway, the robberies," the man brought his attention back to the problem. "There are traces of transmutation circles everywhere, I heard. This burglar actually went and destroyed the walls of empty and unmanned shops to raid the cashier using alchemy and ran away before anyone can catch him. He's been quite the thorn in everyone's side."

"Can you tell us the places where he robbed, please?" Alphonse requested without wasting any time. "We want to see just what kind of damage he's done."

"You two are a pair of strange tourists, you know that?" the man asked with a raised brow, making both Edward and Alphonse laugh nervously. They didn't bother telling that they were from the military since Senna, although quiet and almost unheard of, was popular for being one of the towns that despised the military. "Well, there are a lot, and you can get the complete list in the library, too. But one of them is near the fountain, you can't miss it."

"Thank you," Alphonse told him. The two brothers quickly deposited Edward's bag in the room and made their way to the fountain. And they saw the one place the robbery took place that the man in the hotel spoke of, and it wasn't pretty.

It was clear for the brothers that the gaping hole was meant to be a doorway since it resembled a square of some kind. But then again either the alchemist miscalculated or he stopped at deconstruction state, because the hole ended up being a sorry blown up gaping mouth of bricks and cement. And the transmutation apparently affected not only tne area of the blown up wall, but the whole wall itself. Traces of imperfect transmutation snaked the whole wall, ignoring the dusty transmutation circle drawn with chalk that surrounded the hole. Both Edward and Alphonse knew that just a touch can make the wall crumble.

"This burglar must be an idiot," Edward commented.

Alphonse didn't comment on that. "Come on, Brother."

They reached the library in no time. Edward went straight to take a city plan while Alphonse asked the lady at the counter about the robberies. While Alphonse and the lady chatted, Edward looked around the library, noting that it was so scarce of any sign of life aside of the three of them. The closed door made it look even more closed off from the bustling town outside. Frowning, he voiced his thought, "Hey, Lady, is it normal for the library to be this deserted?"

The lady laughed bitterly. "I'm afraid so. People aren't very interested in books here."

"Is that so," Edward muttered. "Well, thanks for your help. We'll get going now."

"Have a good day!" the lady waved good-naturedly. Both Edward and Alphonse waved back, walking to the door calmly. Edward placed his hand on the knob and turned, only to find the door locked.

"Huh?" Edward muttered, pulling and turning the knob in confusion. "Uh, Lady, do you have a key for this? The door's locked."

"Oh, is it?" She asked with the same smile. "That's weird. Let me see."

Edward frowned in suspicion, but he sidestepped away. His eyes was locked to the lady's delicate fingers while she pulled and turned the doorknob without success. She reached to her pocket, revealing a bunch of keys which jingled with each other.

Edward blinked. Was it just him, or did the keys blurred for a moment there?

"Hmmm, this is certainly weird," the lady muttered. Her voice echoed in Edward's head, and his vision blurred once more. He blinked and shook his head in an attempt to clear his suddenly foggy mind, struggling to keep himself upright as he lost power in his limbs. His knees buckled and he crumpled to the floor.

"Brother?" Alphonse called in alarm, moving forward to get a hold of Edward. "Brother, what's wrong?"

"Wha...?" Edward couldn't even string a coherent sentence. The golden pools lifted up to meet the lady's autumn bronze.

"Oh dear, it's started already?" she muttered. "I thought it would take longer than that. But considering your size and your metal limbs, I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"What are you - WAH!" Alphonse's question was cut off with a scream. "Stop! Get off me! Don't - No! My head!"

"What the... Al!" through the fogginess in his head and the general sense of weakness in his body, Edward noticed how Alphonse's hold was yanked away from him oh so cruelly, making him feel alone and scared because I can't move, why can't I move, why is it so hard to even think?

The lady kneeled before him and lifted his chin. Once again, golden met autumn bronze, and even through the cloud of cotton stuffing his ears and muffling his usually sharp mind, he could feel the implication of her words deep in his bones. "Beautiful, isn't it? We developed this gas for a long time. We're practically immune to it after having brethed it for so long... but for those who aren't used to it, the gas will put them to sleep slow and nice. It's sightless, tasteless, odorless. By the time you realize something is wrong, you're already trapped."

The sounds of metal clanking and Alphonse screaming was like a sword in Edward's conscience. "Al..."

"Don't worry about him, Sweetie," the lady smiled pitifully, and Edward despised the look instantly. "No harm will come upon him. Now be a good boy and just go to sleep, will you?"

Edward didn't want to. He wanted to fight, to stay awake, to defy this person and her cronies and whatever plans she was having. But what could he do? His body no longer listened to what he told it to do, and he could feel his mind being filled with so much warm fuzziness that was impossible to fight. The lady gently pushed him to the floor so he was laying down on his back, and he was powerless to resist. Then she used her hand to cover his eyes.

The darkness engulfing him was more comfortable than he thought it would be. Despite knowing the danger he was in, Edward couldn't help but welcome it. His eyelids slid close before he was even aware of it.

He felt his body being lifted and he struggled instantly, not liking the idea lf being manhandled at all. But soon he lost all power in his muscles, and he found that he didn't really care about anything that was happening around him. He was so tired, his head was fuzzy, he wanted to rest and sleep and not wake up for a whole week.

"BROTHER! NO! DON'T TAKE HIM!"

The last cry of the horribly familiar voice almost snapped him to the world of the waking once more, but in the end fatigue won and Edward knew no more.

A/N: I'd like to thank Cutiepie120048 for this idea. In her review to another story of mine, The Strays and the Keepers (yes, this is also an ad to my other story, deal with it) she raised the idea of kidnapped Ed fic, and hell if I don't write it because a whole lot of feels and needs just consumed my whole being and I had to write the story.

You have no idea how much time I spent pouring over the map of Amestris just to decide on the place this story takes place alone. I originally wanted to use Tahdu as the place, but considering how Fotset is where most battles take place I figured using Senna would be better. After all, Mustang wouldn't put the brothers in harm. And Tahdu being a town where Cretan and Aerugian soldiers lurk kinda becomes a a headcanon of mine that I simply must write into this story...

Anyway, that's the first chapter of the story. It's kinda short, but oh well. I hope you enjoyed it.

And please review! Reviews send me rainbows and sunshine and butterflies, which I need desperately right now because winter is harsh and it's been raining nonstop.