Happy New Years Eve everyone! It's been one crazy week for me xD I hope that you've all had a much better week than I! Thank you so much to IzXRose, Attackoneverything, clingykawa, kas3y, gunsAndROSES2656, and Nobodyloser16 for reviewing! I can't tell you how happy it's made me to read your reviews. I sincerely appreciate everything you've all got to say. :D

I try to keep the character's in character, but please forgive me if they happen to be a little bit out of it. My intentions with the way Ed reacts have a lot to do with the Shou Tucker episode and the Scar episode (where he goes after Ed.)

I've also discovered that having a 1 week limit per chapter is a good thing. That way, even if you question your chapters, you're not stuck on them. :D

Now... on to Chapter 4!


Chapter 4

How could Mustang describe the panic welling deep within his stomach? Something felt different about this kidnapping, and he did not appreciate or welcome it. Over the years, as he'd grown in the ranks, Mustang had learned to trust that initial instinct. Without a doubt, every time it appeared, something horrible happened. You better be alright, Fullmetal, otherwise I'm going to have to knock some sense into your tiny self.

Mustang was not known for his sentimentality. At least, not publically. Only one person really knew that he was only human (he denied claims from his crew that he wasn't a pompous asshole. He had an image to keep!) though under the surface of it all, his crew knew just as well as Hawkeye the kind of man their commanding officer was.

Even concentrating on their work, the anxiety oozed through the air of the office. Most especially from Mustang himself. Or rather, his anxiety dominated the room by way of his grumblings. Every so often, a curse could be heard in his office. In normal circumstances, snickers could be heard by his fellow team members, but this day, many of them agreed with their commanding officer.

It was already half-way through the next day, and Mustang couldn't have felt more disgusted with his superior officers by the minute. As soon as it was kosher to speak with someone of higher ranks about needing permissions, Mustang was on the job. The more men out looking for Fullmetal, the better in his book. However, the second he brought up the note that was left behind, the disbelief in his superior officers eyes spoke volumes. The next words out of his mouth Mustang practically didn't need to hear when it was near identical to what he could see plainly on the man's face.

"What do you mean you won't give me more men?"

"Just what you understand, Colonel. This note clearly states that the Fullmetal Alchemist is taking a leave of absence. If, after a month, he doesn't make his presence known to the military, we can then assume the worst."

What the hell did they think they're doing? "A month might be too late! We need reinforcements and backup now!" Mustang growled, his balled fists making a direct statement that he was none too happy with this development. His superior officer stepped up mere inches from his face, irritation plainly seen.

"Whatever the case may be, Colonel, we follow protocol here in the military. You would do well to remember that." They stared at each other for another moment before Mustang brought a hand up in salute, grudgingly replying 'sir' before twisting on his heel and leaving the office.

Since being rejected, his stomach wouldn't cease twisting in knots. It made him all the more anxious to find Fullmetal before it was too late, because this situation screamed 'he'll be dead before you find him.'

Now here he found himself, sitting at his desk, signing the damn paperwork without really looking over everything thoroughly. Every few seconds his eyes would roam to his front door, begging for Fullmetal to open the door in his own boisterous way, their banter resuming like it normally would.

Or at least to have someone from his team slam the door open with new information. Mustang had taken the initiative to send out Hawkeye and the Strong Arm alchemist to search for deeper clues. That had been hours ago. He'd expected his queen to be a while, but to have pushed past the morning and getting well into the afternoon was not the best sign one would hope for.

Mustang glared at the pile of paperwork in front of him, fighting the urge to bang his head against its thick stack. If only he'd been more careful. If only he'd made sure Ed had protection while in town. If only! Except, he could not keep his subordinate on a leash. Especially considering he was a state alchemist. A military of the state. Edward had to learn how to defend himself, and buck up. So far, he had done well. No complaints. Even when other kidnappings happened. Each time, the kidnapper had been detained and taken into custody within a forty-eight hour window. Finding nothing this time was too unusual.

"Dammit, Fullmetal!" He whispered again, having lost count to how many times he'd cursed Ed's name. Sighing in resignation, his fingers too antsy to do any real work, Mustang took a glance out the window. Clear blue sky. Complete opposite of the previous day. Would Fullmetal have been kidnapped (as he couldn't even be considered hostage without a ransom note) if it had been a day like today? Would other's have stopped the event from happening?

In any case, it was no use crying over spilled milk. That still begged the question: What did Fullmetals kidnappers want, if not ransom, or other some such nonsense? It was the unknown that terrified the Flame Alchemist. His mind could only come up with one possible solution, and it was already plausible that it was true. That the true intentions of the kidnappers were to harm and kill the Fullmetal Alchemist.

The idea sickened Mustang. Made his stomach twist painfully. Made him all the more restless and jittery to find Fullmetal before that happened. If anyone deserved to live a long, full life, it was the Elric brother's. They deserved to have families who loved and cared for them. Deserved to not be in a world so full of hate and fear and the harsh realities of war. Something the boys should never have been part of. Except, even if they had never committed the taboo, Mustang would have wanted to recruit them. Considering he had heard about their brilliance when he had been there a few years back, his agenda would have been the same. Recruit to further his position in the military.

Things were different now. Had been different for nearly as long as he had known the boys, and it wasn't something he could really explain. At least, not aloud. Now… now Mustang felt guilty every time Fullmetal was hurt on a mission. Sometimes, he wanted to kick him out of the military. Tell his short self to go live a normal childhood. Except… he couldn't. They couldn't. They were unable to live any normal life until Alphonse was once again physically human. It was a sad truth of their childhood turned adulthood.

"Dammit all," Mustang groaned again, swiveling his chair to face the stack of papers. Waiting was the worst. Especially when Alphonse was waiting anxiously for him to have an answer to Ed's whereabouts. Alphonse never strayed far from the office. If Mustang opened the door, he was certain he'd find Alphonse stewing by a chair, or reading an alchemy book, hoping for some clue to walk in.

Damn that Brigadier General for declining his request for backup! If they had more people working on this case - and Mustang was certain that was what this was - there wouldn't be any unnecessary time wasted due to lack of military efforts. He supposed if Fullmetal really did take a leave of absence, it wouldn't look very good on Mustang; but any of his subordinates were worth the risk. Getting to the top was important, but so were the lives of his team. Mustang sneered at the paper he was signing. It was such a bullshitted position he found himself in, damn it!

Though he was lost in thought, Mustang heard the door to the outer area where his team worked open and close. Its sound wasn't quick, but the only two that were away from their posts were Hawkeye and Armstrong. He heard murmurs outside and the clacking of armor, before the door to his space opened, revealing the two people he had been anxiously waiting to hear back from.

"I take it that since I never heard a phone call from either of you, it isn't looking too good out there?" The frowns on their faces were proof enough that he was correct. Hawkeye nodded giving added confirmation.

"We looked everywhere, sir. Searched the shop where Havoc and Falman saw the dented brick, as well as its surrounding area's." As stoic as her voice always was, the frown dawning Hawkeye's face alluded to her dissatisfaction.

"We found some evidences of alchemy used not too far down the road from the shop; however, nothing significant. At least, not when it comes to Edward Elric, sir." Armstrong piped up, unable to hide the gravity in his own voice. Mustang couldn't help his deepening frown. Being given information that they already knew was not something he was hoping for.

"So… you have no idea where my brother is?" Alphonse's voice caused everyone to look in his direction, no one speaking up for a moment.

"Unfortunately not. The clues are just too minimal. Unless we are able to recruit some more military to help with the search, it might take us longer than we expected to find Edward." Hawkeye glanced towards Mustang at the mention of the military.

"Unfortunately, any extra help that we were hoping to have is not going to be given."

"What!?" The Strong Arm alchemist looked shocked, "what is this betrayal of our very own military!"

"Did they give any reason why, sir?" The polite tone in Hawkeye's voice was a little too polite.

"The note given from 'The Fullmetal Alchemist'" here, Mustang propped quoted fingers up to show his disdain, "was enough proof for them not to send out a search party for the month."

"This is an outrage!" cried the Strong Arm alchemist, "such betrayal would never be found in the Armstrong family! Having each other's back has been in the Armstrong family for generations! And I, Alex Louise Armstrong, promise to not let go of that long-standing tradition for as long as I live!" Tears had unashamedly begun to fall down his face as Alphonse awkwardly tried to back away from an unprecedented hug. Hawkeye planted a palm against her face at his theatrics, all the while Mustang smirked, feeling grateful that there were such men in the military outside of his own team.

That smirk soon turned into a sigh, following the sound of hands slamming against his desk as Mustang stood. He stared at his desk for a moment before walking around and towards the three in his office.

"I think it's time that we did some detective work. We need to find Fullmetal as quickly as we can. So for now, we can assume that his kidnappers have ill intentions toward him and us. Something bigger could be at work here and we need to nip it in the bud before it blossoms."

Mustang dearly wished that he could speak with Hughes right then. If Hughes had been around, the underground dirty work would be far less annoying to have to deal with, as he wouldn't have to do the annoying details. He'd much rather face his enemy head on than spend his time in the shadows. That wasn't to say he wasn't good at it, however. No, Mustang had had his fair share of detective work in his blotted and stained past. Almost every time was successful. He couldn't let this time be an "almost". Wasn't about to let it be that way.

With the short walk from his office into the open where his team worked tirelessly every day, Mustang stared them down. It was hardly necessary to gain their attention when he already had it. Hawkeye and Armstrong stood on his right side, while Alphonse moved to stand in one of the corners, his body movement giving no indication to what he was really thinking. Poor kid. If Mustang was struggling with this news, he could hardly begin to understand the pain Alphonse was feeling.

"So, what's the plan?" Feury asked, knowing they wouldn't go down without a fight. None of them liked that their youngest team member was missing. Mustang glanced at all of them. He had a good team. Picked each person to be on his team for good reason. They would find Fullmetal. Of that, Mustang was certain.

"Alright. In case you didn't hear, we will not have military backup. Which means, we are on our own. Because we are on our own, we will be doing a little bit of our own dirty work. I will need each and every one of you to be on the lookout from the moment you step outside for any signs of Fullmetal. I, myself, will be going to talk to a couple of friends that are trustworthy enough and well accustomed to these kinds of situations." Nods were seen halfway through his speech.

"We're already on day two of Fullmetal's disappearance. Let's not let it get too much longer than that. Understood?"

"Sir!" A unanimous chorus was heard, each team member saluting their superior officer. Satisfied, Mustang left the paperwork on his desk to be done another time, heading home to change into civilian clothing then straight to Madame Christmas to hopefully gather hidden information.


Blackness of night was all Edward saw. His eyes looked up, emotionless, at the ceiling now blanketed with a veil of dark that came when night fell.

How long had it been since they had touched him?

Toyed with him?

Defiled him?

Throughout the entirety of the experience, not once had they released Ed from his shackled prison. It left him more weak, sore, and sick than he had been since he'd been kidnapped. Even as Macabé and Karly dressed themselves, watching Ed as they did so, his stomach flopped unfavorably before he quickly turned his head and hunched sideways - as much as he possibly could - to throw up on the floor next to him. Very little came out, and he could almost care less that some of it landed on his bare skin. Almost. What little he did throw up, the site of its white color made him gag and dry-heave a second round. He gasped heavily, trying to spit out the horrendous taste in his mouth.

Sweat and scratches covered his body from head to toe. His hair, so mussed up and oily that it clung to his face (stinging the wound on his cheek) no longer held its long braid. His breath, no matter how hard he tried to control it, came out ragged. Macabé and Karly never bothered to dress him again (not that he had any clothes that weren't now ruined,) though Karly did throw Macabé's used and sticky dress-shirt over his lower torso. His cut and bruised leg, having been trapped underneath its wooded prison, felt a little too swollen. A little too torn and rubbed raw. He could hardly stomach a glance at his leg when he realize that the skin which had been rubbed raw no longer consisted of a range near his ankle. It made him queasy to think about it.

How could this have happened?

How could he ever face Alphonse again?

Why? Why couldn't Mustang and his team have found him before any of this had happened?

Why the hell!

Silent tears came unbidden to his eyes for the umpteenth time that day as he stared out at the now darkened sky. He hardly noticed the goosebumps which littered his body from the cold, nor could he tell if the goosebumps were actually because of the cold or because of his shaking. Shaking that had nothing to do with the cold at all. His eyes hurt. Not only from the constant crying that he was unable to control, but also because of the images his mind couldn't unsee. His head pounded from a headache that had begun a while back, and his heart (which couldn't seem to stop thumping) was in agony.

He was grateful for the privacy that the room provided, no matter how cold it was. While he had been defiled and used in the most grotesque manner (unable to block out what he had seen,) Ed still had some pride left. He didn't want them to see the tears he shed when no one was looking.

His privacy - what little he did have - was shattered soon enough. When the sound of the door creaked open, Ed flinched, whipping his head in its direction to see his captor, the impostor, the fake, walk in. He looked unconcerned as he closed the door and flipped on the light with a gloved hand. Ed winced at its brightness, blinking a few times to let his eyes adjust to the artificial rays.

Seeing his captor look him over, Ed couldn't help the feelings of shame well up inside him, and embarrassment at being naked in front of this man. No, this kid who thought he could do whatever the hell he wanted just because he wanted to become someone else.

Not watching the fake stare at him, Ed heard his sigh rather than saw it.

"This place has suddenly gotten a rotten smell to it. I wish you wouldn't throw up on my nice wooden floor. That'll be hard to get out."

"As if you actually care," Ed whispered, angry that he was afraid of what this fake would do to him.

"Now now, Ed, be nice. Remember what happened the last time," The rebuke angered Ed. What an asshole! Ed wished he had more strength to deck the guy in the face. Fake Edward walked slowly into the room, shutting the door behind him, coming to a halt less than a foot away from Ed.

"If you weren't so belligerent, and making such a fuss, things would go so much faster."

"Faster doesn't make better," Ed mumbled, unable to look his captor in the eye.

"True! Sometimes slow is necessary to be able to enjoy some occasions." He closed the gap between them and knelt in front of Ed, casually reaching a hand to trace some cuts on his skin. Ed hissed, flinching his scraped back against the wall trying to avoid the touch. The hand only lost contact for a second, before reaching up to cup his cheek for a moment, then slapping hard against the slowly healing wounds.

Edward kept his mouth shut, eyes squeezed tight, muffling any cry of pain that would have sounded. No way in hell would he give this impostor the satisfaction of making him cry out. If he had to cut his lip or even bite his tongue to stay silent, he would do it. Fake Edward dusted off his hands briefly, before standing.

"If I want to become you, Edward Elric, I need to see how you react to certain situations. You're such a brave soul to be a part of the military, especially when so much hurt and destruction is caused from it. I just can't help but feel that you deserve a rest. You deserve to have someone take your place so you don't need to be there anymore. In order for me to really be able to be you, for us to be truly the same, I need to see for myself what you do. That way, when the time comes to take your place, it will be as if you never left. Our brother deserves that much, doesn't he?"

"Shut up," Ed grit out, breathing heavily.

"I know it's tough to understand right now, but I'm going to put you out of your misery. In the end, you'll thank me for taking your place." He patted Ed's head endearingly, a look of pity on his face. Then after a moment fake Edward made a noise, as if remembering something, all the while stuffing a hand in the pocket of Ed's coat. "You can stay here in this nice room so that you don't have to suffer the malicious intents of the military anymore."

"You're no different than them when you keep me chained up like this, you bastard." A cough found its way up and out of Ed's mouth, the sound coming out weakly. The fake Edward cocked his head, a darker glint in his eyes at the curse word.

"Me? No different from them? I don't catch your reasoning. You're here to help us both out. In the end, you'll be grateful."

"Grateful my ass," Ed mumbled, glaring with as much loathing as he possibly could create. Why the hell did the guy think he could take Ed's place at all? In the first place, the guy was tall- (ack! You're not small!) well, not quite the same height as him. That spoke volumes in Ed's book.

As the wannabe paced, talking quietly to himself, Ed watched him warily. This kid was bad news. Something wrong with him in the head. It was people like him that you stayed away from. Made sure you weren't friends with because they're crazy. Fake Edward held his hand closed over whatever it was he pulled out of his pocket, giving Ed a once over.

"You're pretty strong for such a young alchemist." He stated, contemplatively. "I half wonder what it would take to break you.." The thought caused another once over, musing "that could be good research."

Edward squinted, wishing he could block the sound from his ears. He was pretty sure that whatever the kid was talking about, it was not something he wanted to be a part of. Damn you, Mustang. I swear, if you don't find me quickly, I'm gonna beat you to a bloody pulp!

Irrational though his thought may be, cursing his commanding officer was the only thing that comforted him in this living nightmare.

"How old are you, anyway?" Ed rasped, hoping to divert the guy's thoughts.

"Me?" His look-a-like asked with some surprise, "why, I'm fifteen and a half, of course!" A skeptical brow rose on Ed's face.

"No, you moron, what's your real age?"

"Age doesn't matter. What's important is that I make everything the same!" He smiled, fake innocence plastered on his face. Feeling braver for just a moment, Ed couldn't help the eye roll.

"Fat chance of you pulling this off. Tch. Crazy coot." Ed glanced down at his body, seeing goosebumps risen on his flesh. He'd almost forgotten that the cold air from the open window, having been hot because of… well, he refused to let his thoughts go any further as bile stirred in the back of his throat.

"In any case, preparations must be started for the rest of your time here! I need to make sure everything is in its proper order." He bent his tiny form forward, hovering over Ed, "Now," With surprising speed, the fake's hand shot out to roughly and painfully grab a clump of Edward's hair, tugging his head just a little too high to be comfortable. "Be a good alchemist and keep your eyes open."

"What!" Ed's eyes went wide, staring down a bottle liquid in his captor's hand which he tantalized in front of Ed. An exhausted fear overwhelmed Ed, and he tried to thrash out of the fakes grasp, but the action only brought more pain. "Stop!" He yelled, afraid what the liquid would do to him, "keep that away from me, dammit!" In an effort to halt the impostors progress, Ed did the opposite of what the creep wanted and slammed his eyes closed.

The wannabe tsked, the sound loud in his ear.

"If you don't make an effort to cooperate, I'm going to have to bring Karly and Macabé in here." Ed couldn't quite contain the whimper that escaped his lips. The very idea that they would be back scared Ed. But then, so did whatever this bastard was trying to do to him. There was no better option.

Even so, he couldn't bring himself to actually open his eyes, thereby knowing that his assaulters would come back. The fake sighed, but held fast to Ed's hair, so much so that Ed worried his hair would be pulled out forcefully. He didn't even want to contemplate how that would feel.

"Come now, my fellow alchemist. It's not going to hurt. This I can promise you." Ed held fast, scoffing at the ridiculous promise given. If he wasn't planning on hurting Edward, he wouldn't be in this position right now. Edward made no plan to open his eyes, not wanting to know what that liquid would do. The fake had mentioned something earlier about eyedrops, but that was so long ago and so much had happened since then, Ed's brain couldn't quite bring up the memory.

"Leave me alone!" Ed yelled, pain wrangling his voice. His breathing was hard, his chest puffing with strain, engulfing him in the pinprick pain that hundreds of nicks and cuts caused. Still, fake Edward held firmly to his hair, nails digging into his skull.

"Fine, then. You leave me no choice." Ed could careless about the irritation in his kidnapper's voice. He did, however, care about having to see the other two.

"Wait!" Ed cried out, feeling his eyes well up from the pain, "I'll open my eyes!" And he did as he said, opening his eyes to see a close up smirk of his captor. The fake held the bottle of liquid near his face.

"Good choice. Now…" Fake Edward moved his the hand holding the liquid upside down, allowing a drop to form on the tip of the bottle. He wrenched Ed's head backwards, so all Ed could see was the ceiling and the oncoming drop of liquid to his pupil. Ed tried not to panic, he really did; but when his head was forcefully thrown into an uncomfortable position and the looming doom headed toward his eyes, he couldn't help the automatic response to shut his eyes closed.

"Ah ah," the fake reprimanded, "you only get one more chance. I won't hesitate next time to call in Karly or Macabé." The warning was enough for Ed. He did the best he could, terrified of what the liquid would do to him. He didn't get much time to ponder that question for, as soon as his eyes opened, a droplet fell and landed on his pupil. Immediately, Ed's eyes closed again, this time from the shock and cold the drop created. Relief filled his chest when Ed realized that his eye was not searing with a fiery pain.

"Come now, Edward, I need to do the next one." Fake Edward shook Ed's head just a little in his impatience. Edward winced, deciding he had nothing more to lose as there had been no pain from the first drop. Except, as soon as Ed opened his eyes, the blurry difference was noticed immediately.

"What the hell did you do!" Ed exclaimed, angrily. Not only could he not focus his eye, he could barely leave it open for more than a second. The light from above too bright for his now dilated pupil.

Far more enraged than he had been since he was first kidnapped, Ed was not willing to be the patient and obedient captive any longer. He thrashed, willing the chains to break, even with how weak he felt.

For all that he struggled... the more he resisted... the greater and painfully inflamed the grip in his hair became. Fake Edward growled.

"Open your damn eyes! I don't want to do anything worse to you right now; but mark my words, if your eyes don't open, you will live to regret it!" Spittle landed on Ed's cheek, his ear ringing from the low scream conveniently next to it. Ed's shaking became more visible, as fear wracked through him. His knowledge of the sciences gave him enough insight to know that dilation drops were only temporary, but that still begged the question: what would he do if he couldn't see? How would he escape this damn hellhole?

It took great effort to listen to his masochistic captor. Which annoyed him to a small degree; and it annoyed Ed, that he felt so terrified not being able to focus his one eye.

A heavy pressure pressed against his other cheek. He smelled Fake Edward's disgusting breath in his nose. When he opened only his good eye, Ed could barely see the crazy look in the fake's. His tongue stuck out, as if he were working really hard to accomplish a task. Ed supposed that was true to some degree. Unfortunately, Ed was unable to fully process the look on his imposter's face for more than a few seconds as, in their struggles against each other (one resisting, while the other held tight) out of his peripheral, Ed could make out a drop which landed in the eye that had not already been forcibly dilated.

His head automatically tried to move away, but it was to no avail.

As soon as the drops were in his eyes, the fake dropped Ed's head, allowing for Ed to plump the small distance painfully on his bare butt. He squeezed his eyes tightly, panting, feeling sweat and possibly blood fall down his temple on either side. They must have put the liquid in his eyes earlier that day, which was why his eyes had been so sensitive to the light before. He dreaded the morning.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Fake Edward commented, rustling about, before Ed heard his hands smack together as if wiping off dust. If his eyes had been able to open at that time, he would have rolled them. Ed really wasn't that disgusting. Well… he hadn't thought so before.

"Screw you, bastard" Ed snarled. The next thing he felt was a kick to his gut. Hunching over from the pain, Ed could barely catch his breath. This nightmare was going to end soon, right? Without being able to focus on anything with his eyes open, as well as the sensitivity to light he had to now deal with, Edward kept them closed for good, willing himself to fall asleep. Maybe if he slept off this nightmare, he'd wake up to find that that was all it was.

Damn, not only was he exhausted, tired, disgusted, achey, violated, and dirty, Ed only then remembered (as he concentrated inward) that he was extremely hungry. Not once had his captors given him food. It worried him a little, that they never offered even a small loaf of bread. Were their plans to torture him and watch him starve to death as they did so?

More attuned to the effects and damage done to him throughout his crappy day, Ed coughed, before cautiously changing sitting positions to make his body feel less achy. With all the cuts and bruises and skin torn off, that was the most he could do for himself. While doing so, he had momentarily forgotten about the other presence in the room. Had time really passed that slowly?

"Wow, that definitely looks uncomfortable. Sadly, we don't have any better accommodations for you." Boots thumped on the ground, close to his flesh arm. Could the guy not make a decision on where he wanted to stand? Listening, Ed's body shook as he waited, unsure of what he should be expecting. One try at opening his eyes to make out his surroundings was all he needed to know that, with the lights on, that was not a good idea. A hand reached forward and patted Eds head. He flinched away from the touch, for more reasons than because of the tenderness that still resided. Turned out that he had good cause to do so. The fake's hand once again tugged on his hair, taking a massive clump. Ed pressed his eyes shut harder, trying to stay quiet, though his breathing seemed loud even to his own ears. Fake Edward bumped his head against Ed's, as if he relished in Ed's unwillingly cultured fright

"Don't worry. You won't stay here forever. Trust me." His voice of doom tone was not something that Ed was particularly fond of. Fake Edward roughly yanked his hands out of Ed's hair, before standing the small length of his height, smirking loudly as he turned and slammed the door shut. All the while never turning the light off.


Yeah... Fake Edward is kind of a creep, eh? xD Hope you liked this chapter!

You know... I always feel like I should have more to say at the end of these, but I never remember what it is. So... until next time! Please R&R As it always makes my day! Not to mention I love hearing your thoughts. :D

Ja!