DB; Howdy Do and a big THANK YOU to mrawgirl09 for being my first reviewer on this story! She's inspired me to totally continue this (I was really wondering if anyone was reading this but I was proved wrong!) HORRAY! Sorry for it taking so long to update, school's a bitch!

Roy; Thank you for keeping our authoress insane and once again, here is Chop Suey Chapter 3!

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Ed looked at the phone, staring as if it would bite him. He tentatively grabbed it. "Hello…?" He almost whispered.

"Did you get your invitation, Mr. Elric?" A cold and smooth voice asked. Unconsciously, Edward shivered. "W-who is this?" He asked, gripping the receiver tighter with his flesh hand. The man on the other end ignored the question completely and continued right on, "We expect your attendance for you see and we have means of… persuasion… to make you come."

"What the he-" Ed was cut off by the sound of screaming. "NII-SAN!" A new voice screamed on the other line. "ALPHONSE!" The other alchemists in the room flinched at the tone of Ed voice.

"Whatever the hell you do don't you dare hurt him, you bastards!" Ed hissed venomously into the receiver.

"Believe me, we won't hurt him…that is unless you don't cooperate." A high-pitched yell erupted from the other line and Ed was forced to push the phone away from his ear. "STOP IT THAT BURNS! NII-SAN, HELP!"

"Assholes…" He whispered. Ed took a deep breath and then said, "What…what is it that you want?"

"A simple request really, we just want you to come to the ball. As you might have already deducted, yes, the invitation was from us and yes, the party will be hosted by one of our affiliates. Can we count on seeing you there?" The voice paused and allowed Ed to answer.

"That's a pretty fucked up way to ask someone to a ball…" Ed let out a small sarcastic 'hmph'

"I suppose so…yet, sadly I'm not the one in control here." The voice said in a board tone.

"What do you mean you're 'not the one in control here'?" Ed slammed his hand down on Mustang's desk, almost smashing a hole through it.

"Oops, too much information there…oh well…it won't be long now."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY ALL OF THIS SHIT?"Ed raged into the receiver.

"Nothing…See you there Mr. Elric."

The voice on the other line hung up and Ed dropped the phone on the desk. "Fullmetal?" Roy reached across the desk and tentatively tapped Ed's hand. "What happened?"

Ed flinched and threw the entire phone at the wall. His whole body quivered as tears softly fell down his cheeks. "S-some bastards have Al." He stuttered. "They…they said I had to come to the ball or else they'd kill Alphonse."

"Oh…Ed." Riza's eyes softened at the small boy's pain. "Well," Maes butted in from his spot, which was leaning casually upon the door. "The question is, do we save Alphonse?"

"Of course we do!" Edward screamed at the bearded man.

"Fullmetal! Relax! That's not what Lieutenant Hughes meant. He was technically saying, do we meet the kidnapper's demands or do we find a way to infiltrate wherever it is their holding Alphonse and ambush it." Roy snapped from his chair behind his wooden desk.

Ed sighed, wiped his tears off on his jacket sleeve and sat down on one of the leather couches. "So?" He asked, looking up at the four other alchemists.

"Hey, Ed can I see the invitation?" Jean asked. Ed nodded and withdrew the cream colored paper out of his pocket and held it up for the cigarette wielding man. "Thanks." He nodded at Ed and began to read the slip of paper for the second time.

"Hunh." He hmphed. "What is it?" Riza asked, seating herself down besides Ed who was much more interested in his shoes than the conversation.

"Well, the 27th is in just two days…that seems like a long time to make poor Alphonse wait in the enemies clutches." Jean said, concerned

"Yes but what choice do we have?" Maes asked seriously. "We don't know who called or where they were calling from. How do we go chasing and searching for a nameless person in a spot we don't even know about?"

"Accurate point, Hughes." Roy said, resting his head in his hands. Ed sniffed and wrung his hands. "Then we don't have much of a choice, do we?" Ed looked up and halfheartedly smiled. "It looks like I'm going to the ball."

"No." Roy said sternly. He and Ed locked eyes, commencing into a stare down. "At least…not without a bodyguard."

"What do you think I am, four? Do I look like I need a babysitter to you?" Ed snarled viciously.

"Not a babysitter." Riza interrupted. "More like a person to watch your back incase the kidnapper decides to take you in too."

"Fine." Ed huffed. "Then who's it?" Roy rose from his seat and walked over to Ed, locking eyes with him and smirking as he did so.

"Edward, will you be my date to the ball?" He said sarcastically and yet truthfully at the same time. Ed flushed a scarlet color, "Bastard." He murmured.

"I think that's a great idea." Jean said, stubbing out his cigarette in an ashtray on Roy's desk. "The colonel is one of the best alchemist we've got and we have no idea how tough this group is. At any moment Ed could get jumped by a bigger, stronger alchemist and then…well, we'd be fucked."

"Indeed." Said Riza. Roy looked over to Maes who slightly nodded and shrugged his shoulders. " It's up to you." The two long time friends seemed to have and unspoken conversation with their eyes and in the end, Roy nodded back.

"Looks like I'm coming with you Fullmetal, whether you like it or not." Roy spoke in a softer tone then before.

"Fine by me. Is anyone else coming?" Ed asked, looking around at the other alchemists. The others exchanged glances and all looked at Roy. The Flame Alchemist sighed, "Jean and Riza should come, for back up purposes."

"Together?" Jean asked, his face turning uncharacteristically red. Furnace face seemed to be contagious to alchemists.

"Yes Jean, together." Maes smiled. "I'll be taking Gracie and then we'll be a lookout from above on the balcony. Is that okay, Sir?"

"Yeah, whatever. Be careful though, we don't need any casualties or hostages on our side, are we clear?"

All of the alchemists nodded and Ed released a breath he was unaware that he was even holding. Riza smirked and then said softly, "So, I take it you all know how to ballroom dance?"

All of the men paled and Riza and Maes simply laughed.

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"So, everything went okay?" An orange haired woman asked to a lanky brown haired man. The man nodded and they exited the semi-lit room. They followed down a corridor that was lit quite brightly with an array of torches.

"It's time to report to Cracium." He spat his commander's name, knowing that the old bag would take credit for his small victory over the blonde Elric.

"Very well then but mind your manners or the Master will here of your disrespect towards Cracium and will have you…punished." She softly kissed the man on the cheek. He blushed and spun on his heel just to face a large white door. He rapped on the door and listened to the echo of his knock all throughout the hall.

"I'll be back later when you're finished with your report, okay? I have to go in for a checkup." The girl brushed a hand through her hair and winced as she brushed over two bumps.

"Okay, good luck." The boy said, knowing of the pain the girl was experiencing.

"No, wish luck to our new brother – he'll need it." The orange haired female whispered. "Good luck Ed."

The girl padded softly down the hall and turned to glance back at her boyfriend, but he was gone. She felt some new emotion welling up in her that she had not felt before. It was like the shell of an emotion she had not felt since Master had taken her in – was it pity for Ed?

She shook her head and continued at a brisk pace down the hall. It was impossible for her to pity Ed because he was an alchemist, the very thing she swore to eliminate in this imperfect world. It was just impossible for her to feel pity for the alchemist.

It was impossible because people like her didn't have feelings. People like her weren't human.

At least, that's what the Master had been telling her for her entire life.

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DB; FINALLY! I spent FOREVER typing this because horror movies were being like the BIGGEST distraction. NOW I FEEL THE NEED TO TYPE IN REDICULUSLY LARGE FONT.

Roy; Please review to keep our authoress nice and insane

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