And here's chapter 2! The same warnings apply- language, blood, injuries, all that jazz. We're actually getting into the (loose) plot! A huge thanks to all my reviewers- I'm glad you're all enjoying the story!

There's too many doors, Havoc thought angrily as he followed her lead. Half of them didn't even lead to rooms- they were entries to hallways and balconies and closets. And they were all closed. They were going to waste so much time checking them all-!

The crackle of alchemy whined through the hall and a door was blown off its hinges about halfway down the hallway. Ed stumbled out, a bundle of something clutched to his chest.

Havoc bolted towards Ed, who looked up in surprise. "Lieutenant!" he shouted, raising his one free arm to gesture behind him, "He's after-!"

Another shot rang out and Ed lurched, going down to one knee. Hawkeye grabbed him by the elbow and yanked him backwards in time for the second bullet to go whizzing into the floor.

Havoc fired into the room, but his shots were blind and he couldn't be sure if he was doing anything other than making noise. "We need to go!" he called, backing up to cover Hawkeye as she practically dragged Ed out of the way.

Ed was trying his best to cooperate and walk as well as he could, but he was obviously in pain and disoriented. And he still had a death grip on the bundle of cloth. Hawkeye kicked open a door, several feet away from the attacker, and ducked in. It took half a minute before she gave the all clear and Havoc helped push Ed into the room. He kicked the door shut with his foot once they were inside.

It was a bedroom, one clearly not in use. The bed itself was well away from the door so they dumped Edward onto it.

Havoc went back to lock and barricade the door the best he could. He couldn't hear any more shots or sounds of pursuit; hopefully that meant the attacker had decided to lay low. Behind him, Hawkeye went to work on Ed.

"Edward, you're bleeding. How many times were you hit?"

"There's one in my automail, s'not a big deal, the other's just a graze."

From the corner of his eye, Havoc could see Hawkeye reach for Ed's shoulder and roll him over onto his back. "There's too much blood for just a graze, where- Who's child is this?"

The question was so unexpected that Havoc abandoned his task and crossed back over to the others. Hawkeye was staring down at Ed with that look she had when someone was holding out on her and she knew it. It was then that Havoc realized that the bundle of cloth Ed had been carrying was actually a small child. She couldn't have been older than four and was clinging to Ed's jacket with every ounce of tenacity she could muster.

Ed looked sheepish. "The king's."

Havoc and Hawkeye were silent for half a moment. "You- you kidnapped the princess?!" Havoc barely managed to keep himself from shouting.

"I didn't kidnap her!" Ed made to sit up, put pressure on his injured arm, and immediately dropped back onto the bed with a curse. "That guy was after her! I was already in the room when he came in and started firing!"

Hawkeye was rubbing the bridge of her nose, her mask discarded on the floor. "And how did you end up in the same room as the princess?"

"I got lost on the way back from the bathroom. She heard me wandering around and thought I was her guard."

"Where was her guard?" Hawkeye asked. Havoc could already see where this train of thought was going: the princess, left alone without her escort, completely unguarded at just the right time for an attacker to come after her. How convenient.

Ed gave a small shrug. The look in his eyes made it clear he was thinking along the same track. "You tell me."

Here they were, in another country, separated from the rest of their group, right in the middle of a possible assassination attempt. Havoc let out a heavy sigh. "…Why can't we ever just have normal vacations?"

"Sorry." Ed didn't sound sorry at all.

There still wasn't any noise in the hallway, which could have gone either way for them, Havoc mused as he went to work cleaning up Ed's arm. On the bright side, it could mean the killer had fled. On the other hand, it could have meant the killer had followed them and was waiting for them to leave. Mix in the fact that they didn't know their way around the palace to find help, they were essentially stuck.

Havoc's eyes darted over to the girl, who hadn't moved an inch, except to turn her head away when Havoc and torn off the sleeve of Ed's uniform coat to get at the wound. And it was a nasty wound, despite what Ed claimed. The bullet hadn't gone through, technically, but it was definitely more than a graze. A good-sized chunk of flesh was missing from Ed's left bicep. It needed stitches, but there were none to be had. The best Havoc could do was tear up one of the pillowcases for bandages, wrap the wound tightly, and wrangle it all in a messy sling to keep his arm tied in place against his chest.

The other bullet was lodged in Ed's automail, just above the elbow. Hawkeye managed to squeeze the truth out of him as she investigated the damage: Ed had had his back to the door when the attacker had entered and the only reason he hadn't taken the bullet in the gut was because he'd turned to shield the girl at the last second.

By the time Havoc was done, Ed had reluctantly pulled off his mask and shoved it to the side of the bed where Havoc had left his. The kid was sweating and starting to shake, but at least he was still conscious. Havoc eyed the bandages as Ed shifted on the bed. It was hard to tell how much blood Ed had lost- he'd smeared plenty all over the bedsheets, but so far nothing was leaking through the dressing. He would have liked to get Ed water to drink, but there was no attached bathroom and they'd have to go wander the halls and hope to find either a washroom or help. They had managed to corner themselves- the bedroom didn't even have windows.

Hawkeye had taken to investigating the room, digging through drawers and shelves, even rummaging under the bed. Her search was largely unsuccessful. She'd found a blanket in the chest at the foot of the bed, which she handed over to Ed. Surprisingly, Ed accepted it without a fuss.

Aside from that, Hawkeye's search had found a letter opener, a shirt thin enough to tear into more bandages, and a small matchbook. None of it was immediately helpful. They still needed to figure out how big the situation actually was. Were other members of the royal family targeted? Had there been an attack at the party? Had anyone at the party even noticed?

Havoc sighed and slid into the chair parked in the corner. It was almost one in the morning, according to Ed's pocket watch, which meant they'd been missing from the party for almost an hour. Maybe their absence wouldn't have been noted yet, but surely someone would have realized the princess was missing.

And speaking of the princess… Havoc glanced down at the bed. Princess Maribella, the only child of the king and queen, current heir to the throne of Creta. She hadn't said a word the whole time, and he had to wonder if she understood what was going on. Ed, apparently, knew enough Cretan to understand whatever she had said to him before the attack and she was satisfied with staying in Ed's protective grip. And it was undoubtedly protective- even after being shot, Ed had positioned himself to shield her from anything coming from the direction of the door.

Accidentally abducting the princess probably would have been their foremost problem, but Ed had been silent since wrapping himself up in the blanket Hawkeye had provided. He hadn't moved, either. Silent and still weren't traits Havoc associated with Ed and he had to wonder if shock was setting in. They couldn't dress his wound properly and couldn't even give him anything for the pain.

Ed was definitely not having a good time right then.

Hawkeye turned away from a shelf that she'd already searched three times before. "I'm going to wait ten more minutes," she said quietly, "then I'm going to go find the Colonel."

Alarm raised the hairs on Havoc's arms and he pushed himself out of the chair. "Hawkeye, we don't know what's out there, it could be a trap."

"We can't sit here, Havoc. We need to find the others and regroup."

"We shouldn't split up, either. The last thing we need is to start getting picked off."

Hawkeye frowned and Havoc could already see the order forming on her lips. "Lieutenant-"

"I can wait," Ed growled from the bed, butting his way into the conversation. He'd lifted his head enough to scowl at them. "Someone will come looking when they realize Maribella's missing."

"It may not be someone we want to find her."

Ed's glower deepened. "We don't know what's waiting out there! We could be walking right into a firing squad!" He shifted, clearly ready to argue some more, then froze. "What was that?"

Havoc frowned. "What was what?"

Hawkeye shook her head; she hadn't heard anything either.

"Sounded like scratching." Ed glanced around the room then craned his head to look at the wall the bed was pushed up against.

That, Havoc heard- like nails on a chalkboard, but muffled. It wasn't coming from their room, but the room next to them. Havoc felt his skin prickle. Something was happening, but he didn't know what, and that made it even worse.

A high-pitched shriek tore into the room and Ed heaved himself (and Maribella) off the bed at the same moment Hawkeye yelled "Down!" Havoc dropped to the floor without bothering to ask why.

Light flared in the room and the wall shattered inward. Alchemy, Havoc realized belatedly as plaster and wood sprayed over him. Someone had blasted the wall apart to get to them.

Ed had rolled to his knees, putting the princess behind him and freeing his one functional arm. He clapped, an awkward move with his left arm still bound up in the sling, and slapped his automail hand to the ground.

"This entire wing of the palace is the oldest," the queen mother's voice echoed in his head as Ed's counter transmutation lit up the room, "It's built right over the catacombs and we still have problems with the floors. No support, they're always sagging in the middle!"

He thinks the floor's on solid ground, Havoc realized with alarm. "Ed! Stop!" Except the transmutation was already going and Ed probably couldn't even hear him. A stone barrier rose from the ground, blocking their attacker. A literal lifesaver in most situations, but not here. Havoc could feel the floor under his fingers being pulled towards the barricade. "Ed!"

No luck. The barrier grew, and with one loud, final groan the floor gave out and down they went.