A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for the delay with getting this chapter up for you guys. I really wanted to get this up before finals start. I will finished with school on the 22nd so I have a feeling updates will be more often.

Anyways, I'm seeing the Code Geass movie, Lelouch of the Re;Surrection this week and words cannot express how excited I am. I loved Code Geass, it is great. It falls short of my all time favorite anime. FMA:B still holds that title and it probably always will.

I don't own FullMetal Alchemist or Edward or Roy. If I did, I would have had Roy adopt Ed and Al at the end of the series.

Anyways, enjoy..


Edward's room was kept quite neat. That is one thing Roy noticed. It isn't something shocking, FullMetal has always said he likes to keep all of his belongings neat and organized. It makes it easier for him to find something he needs and Roy can't say he blames his young subordinate since he is the same way.

It made it easy for him to find out what his young subordinate has been researching. After all, he never thought for a second FullMetal would come to this town undercover and not be putting together his own investigation into finding the ring that has all the missing kids.

No matter what any other military official says, there is not a single doubt in his mind Edward was taken. He has heard the whispers from several different military members back in Central as he and his team were getting to leave for South City. They think FullMetal didn't like this city and took off, going back to Resembool. This is not the case; Mustang is sure of that. Edward would have let his superior know what he was doing.

There has to be some clue in this room that will help him find FullMetal. There has to be.

So far, he has seen nothing. Nothing that would help him at least and he can't stand it. What he mostly can't stand is the fact that his subordinate was in the place and he has no wire or backup. If they find out about who he truly is, he hates to think of what they will do to him.

"Boss," he heard Havoc call out to him, "The chief was definitely on to something."

"What makes you say that?" He asked Havoc as he made over to where Havoc has been searching. The second lieutenant was by the desk in Edward's room, looking at several of his papers. That's when he could see the flyers in Havoc's hands. "These are flyers from the missing teens in this case."

"Yeah." Havoc flipped the flyer over and looked at the back. FullMetal had written the words night club on the back. The second one had the word 'mall' written on it. "He was putting together his own investigation. He figured out where all the victims have been taken from."

Mustang could see the uneasiness on Havoc's face, and it entirely concerns to him. "What's wrong?"

Havoc turned to look at his commanding officer. "Nothing."

Mustang shot him his famous don't give me that look.

"It's just.." Havoc began to say but paused, trying to figure out exactly what to say. "This feels too easy."

"What do you mean?"

"Why would he leave this hanging around? He didn't make any attempt to hide it or anything. That's not like him." Havoc paused for a moment and looked up at the ceiling in Edward's room. "He also never shared any of this with me at all while we've been up here." Realization dawned upon Havoc's face. "Boss, he left this here as a clue for us."

Mustang eyes widened, also coming to the same conclusion as Havoc. "He knew he was being targeted, so he left this here for us to find."

This kid is something else. And it is true, Edward is a brilliant kid. He is always quick to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together. That is what made him very important to the military, even after losing his alchemy.

Mustang wishes he could understand why Edward retired from the military after losing his alchemy but he cannot. The kid would easily be one of the best detectives to come out of the military. He has tried to get Edward to change his mind, but it proved to be useless. He would not budge. Eventually, he decided it would be best to allow the kid to get away from the military.

"This is my fault, isn't it, boss?" Havoc's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked at the Second Lieutenant, who took a seat on Edward's bed and had his hands resting on his face. "I should have been paying more attention to him. I should have made him talk to me. Maybe then they wouldn't have gotten to him."

That caught Roy off guard. He would be lying if he said he is not angry about the current predicament he found himself and his team in, but his anger is not directed at Havoc. There is nothing he could have done to prevent things from turning out differently.

Besides, they need to focus on the most crucial task. Solving this case and finding Edward before it is too late.

"Don't beat yourself up." He took a seat next to his subordinate. "This is not your fault."

"Yes, it is!" Havoc argued. Probably not the best idea for him to argue with his superior but he did not care. "You asked me to look out for him, and I blew it. I let you down, boss."

"No, you didn't," Mustang claimed, but Havoc did not hear a word he said. He grabbed Havoc by the shoulders and forced his subordinate to look at him. "Listen to me for a second, will you?" Havoc said nothing, so Mustang continued, "FullMetal knew he was being targeted. He asked the right question to the right person. That put a target on his back." Roy explained, "you had no way of knowing, Jean. Besides, we are going to find him. He's going to be okay. We are not going to lose him." Mustang took a deep breath and sighed, letting go of Havoc in the process.

"I'm not going to lose him." He muttered underneath his breath, hoping that his Second Lieutenant did not hear that but Havoc did, indeed, hear it and it made Havoc feel a little better, but he still could not help but feel as though he somehow is to blame. He should have looked out for the chief more, He was entrusted with Edward's safety by his commanding officer while they were undercover and he failed. Now, the kid is in the hands of a human trafficking ring and who knows what they are doing to him. This is his fault. If anything happens to Edward, it will be all on him and he has no one to blame except himself.

There has to be something he can do make this right somehow and save the chief. But what?

After about an hour, they finished searching the room but they did not find anything else that could point them in the direction of finding Edward.

"Dammit!" Roy cursed. That is not the outcome he has been desiring. Not one bit. He balled his hand into a fist and punched the wall hard to leave a mark. Next thing he knew, his fist exploded with pain and he groaned, gripping it with his other hand.

Havoc was by his side within a matter of second. "Sir?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine, Havoc." He looked and glared at the wall, his hand still hurt like heck but he did not care. Why should he? His youngest subordinate is, no doubt, suffering through worse than he is and the more time he spends at that place, the worse it will get for him. "This is nothing compared to what FullMetal is going through right now."

As mad as Roy is at himself as he is because of this mess he is in, he meant what he said about finding Edward. Edward has always been significant to Roy and he cannot afford to lose him. Before his passing, Maes would always joke around with Roy, calling him Ed and Al his surrogate sons, seeing as how he still went out of his way to check up on them and make sure they are okay. Before, he would always think Maes was crazy. Edward and Alphonse do have a father, who was absent for most of their lives. As time went on, he began to accept that he cares a lot for those two, as if they are his children and he needs them in his life.

He cannot imagine life without them. Either of them.

"Yeah, he is in some of my classes. Never really talked to him though, he seems cool. Come to think of it; the only person he talked to was Luke." The young college girl told Mustang.

That caught Mustang's attention. "Luke?"

"He's another kid in our class. Dark hair. Doesn't have much to say. They ended getting paired together on a project and the rest is history. I always see the two of them together on campus." She explained. "I don't know how he became friends with Luke, of all people, to be honest."

"What do you mean by that."

"It's just that Luke is quiet and reserved, never really has much to say. He is also very timid and is too afraid to stand up for himself. Edward is the direct opposite. He's loud and boisterous if you know what I mean." I know what you mean, I know exactly what you mean and yep, that sounds exactly like FullMetal. "He has no problem letting others know if he has a problem with them or not. They are nothing alike."

"Great. Thank you for your help." Roy smiled before going over to where Hawkeye was questioning several other students on campus.

"Umm," she. began, which caused the Colonel to stop. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you asking about Edward and Luke? Does it have anything to do with the fact that neither of them came in today?"

That should not have surprised Mustang as much as it did. He knew Edward would not be coming in but Luke being absent as well did shock him. Is Luke the kid that Edward was running with? "I can't say, I'm sorry." Which was not a lie; he is not allowed to discuss the details of a case with civilians. "But thank you again for all your help."

She smiled one last time before turning around and walking into the building.

Mustang took a second to scan the area for his first lieutenant. The blond woman was questioning other students on campus so surely; she is still somewhere in the area. He spotted her a couple of feet away from where he is, asking some other students about Edward. He approached her when the two boys went into the building. "Did they give you anything that could help us?"

"No, sir. They have seen Edward around campus but don't have any classes with him." She looked at Mustang sadly.

"I see, I didn't get much to go off either, besides FullMetal made friends with another student named Luke." He frowned.

"Sir?"

"I'm fine, Lieutenant."

Riza has known Roy for years and she can tell when something is bothering Mustang and something is bothering him. As for what, she has no idea what and she would like

to know. "Sir." There is no use trying to deny anything around Hawkeye. She can see right through him and can quickly tell when something is wrong with him. She has been by his side for a long time and knows him better than anyone else. He is sure that she also feels the same way about him. The bond the two of them share runs deeper than just him being her commanding officer.

Of course, it is impossible for the two of them to act upon it. The military has stringent rules about two officers dating, especially a high ranking official and his subordinate.

But Riza is and probably will always be very important to Roy. He cannot imagine not having her around.

"You see, if my suspicions are correct, this Luke kid was the same kid who FullMetal went jogging with the day he disappeared and if my suspicions are correct, they took him too."

"So, what seems to be the issue?" Hawkeye asked, upon seeing that Roy seemed to be just as uneasy as he was before.

"The people from the ring we're investigating only seem to be going after blond college kids." Riza knew that which is exactly why she suggested sending Edward up in the first place and she beats herself up for that every single day. "This kid isn't blond; he has dark hair. Who knows if he is still alive."

Roy is fully aware of the fact that Hawkeye has been blaming herself for Edward's abduction, just like Havoc and Roy himself have, but ten times more than them. She is the one who suggested sending him in, after all. But Roy is, in no way, angry with her. He knows precisely why she suggested it and holds no resentment towards her for their current predicament. Right now, their main focus is solving this case and getting Edward back. Nothing else matters, not to him or the rest of his team.

"Let's go find Armstrong and Miles." Roy suggested," maybe they've been having better luck than we have." "Yes, sir."

With that, Hawkeye and Mustang went back to the area where he and Olivier split up upon arriving at the university. Olivier and Miles did not stray too far from the main entrance to the school and they have been waiting for Mustang and Hawkeye. "Hopefully you have had better luck than we have."

Miles looked at him sadly and shook his head. Roy could feel the disappointment settling in. They are no closer to solving this case and saving Edward than they were when they first arrived in South City and the chances of finding Edward alive keep going down with every second they are investigating. The clock is ticking too fast for Roy's liking.

Hawkeye's phone began to ring and Roy's first Lieutenant pulled it out of her pocket. "Excuse me," she stepped away briefly to answer the call. "Hawkeye!"

"You have been quiet, even for you." That is one observation he made about Olivier and he could not help but wonder what she is thinking. Is she angry at him? He wishes he had an idea but he does not.

It's not like he blames her for being angry with him if that is the case. He is right there along with her.

Much to Roy's surprise, she took the news of Edward's disappearance rather well. She did throw a fit and belittle him like he thought she would. He did not know what to think. Either she is very good at keeping her emotions check or she does not care about Edward as much as he initially thought.

Personally, Roy is leaning more towards the former.

"What do you want me to say?" She questioned, refusing to look at him. "You're the one who screwed up and allowed your subordinate to be kidnapped."

Yep, she is for sure playing the blame game. It is not surprising to Roy at all. "Look, I-"He began to make an argument but never got to finish his thought.

"Sir." Hawkeye joined the group and caught everyone's attention. They could also tell she has some bad news to share with them, judging by the horrified look on her face. "They found a body. They think it could be Edward's."


A/N: I'm evil, aren't I? To leave you hanging with such a cliffhanger, aren't I? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until the next time, I'm out. Later.