With Barry's presence now added to the list of things Roy needed to keep track of, life in the office had become somewhat hectic – Breda refused to have to keep an eye on him at all times, so the rest of Roy's team (with the exception of Roy himself and the Androids) somehow came to the agreement that they would take turn keeping the butcher in line. Thankfully, though, things had started to calm down again and something akin of normality had finally caught up to them.

They had found their routine. For Roy, said routine was going to the archive room for a few hours in the morning to investigate the thing that got Hughes murdered and left before anyone caught him there, making sure that Riza was capable to make all his moves untraceable by the eyes of the technology. After which, under Riza's strict supervision, he would deal with his paperwork until he could go home. Sometimes, he would make a call to whoever was in the babysitting duty, if only to make sure Barry hadn't butchered them.

Not that it was necessary. Barry would do practically anything Riza asked him to and she had specifically asked him not to hurt and/or kill anyone in Roy's team.

Investigating was a dreary business, though, Roy had found.

"Nothing again?" he asked Riza after their rounds in the archive room.

"None, Sir," she replied, frowning. For days she had searched for anything that was even remotely connected to the Philosopher's Stone, and yet she found none.

Roy mirrored her frown. "This is odd," he remarked, voice soft. "There have been crimes connected to the supposed existence of the stone. How come there is nothing about the stone in the archives?"

"There are some legends, I admit, Sir," Riza said. "But nothing different from all other legends that have spread about the stone throughout Amestris."

"It's almost like some people have purposefully erased the stone's existence beyond myths and legends," Roy stroke his chin in thought. "But why…?" He mulled over it for a while before shaking his head, huffing in frustration. "Honestly, what did Hughes got himself into?" He took another book he had been skimming, settling down to between the piles. "Riza, go back to the office first. I'll catch up with you soon."

Riza frowned. "Sir, I think you know as well as I do that I won't leave you alone just like that."

"I know," Roy shot her a helpless glance, "but today Breda and Havoc are in the office. I want to make sure they wouldn't make too much trouble."

"With all due respect, Sir, you make as much trouble as them."

He couldn't help but chuckle that escaped his lips. "At least mine wouldn't end with cracked windows or smashed potted plant."

The Android's frown deepened. It didn't take long for her to make her decision. "Please don't take too much time, Colonel. And please be careful."

"I will."

She left him in the archive room alone, and Roy waited until her footfalls dimmed in his ears before sighing and slumping down.

He felt bad about sending her away, but sometimes it helped to think on his own. Riza's nature as an Android, however, got in the way of that sometimes. He didn't feel good about lying to her, but at the same time he was grateful that he could. As far as he knew, the ability to lie was one of the few things that differentiate a human and an Android.

He rubbed his eyes with the base of his palm and resolved to finish as fast as he could to alleviate the guilt. He opened the book he had been holding and started skimming, trying to seek information, but the words danced in his eyes as if mocking him. He sighed and rubbed his eyes again. He was tired. Both mentally and physically. He had investigated things for days, researched alchemy and surviving off thick cups of coffee with way too much sugar, but nothing felt as draining as this. Perhaps because this time, it was far more personal.

He laid on his back, pillowing his head on a thick book that felt strangely comfortable, reminding him of a dim house and the smell of burning candles and old tomes. He lifted the book he was skimming and started doing so again, forcing the words to still by shaking his head and blinking hard whenever they started to taunt him.

A knock on the door and the sound of someone softly calling him dragged him back to reality, and he found himself both annoyed and relieved by this. He sat and looked at the door, meeting Sheska's eyes immediately. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Riza passed by me earlier and told me you were here, Sir," the bespectacled young woman told him, an air of nervousness about her. He wondered briefly if it was because of the difference of their ranks. "I just want to tell you that she said she doesn't want you to… slack off too much. And I have to tell you that you can't be here for too long, Sir, someone might come to look for a document or two."

"Ah. We can't have that." Roy's declaration was solemn, and Sheska nodded. "Please give me some time to finish up, Sheska. I'll be out soon."

"Yes, Sir." Sheska's nod was nervous, and Roy wondered if the air of perpetual nervousness he always sensed around her was just natural for her. He decided not to dwell on it as the door swung close.

Again, he tried to concentrate on the book, but again the words refused to still. He sighed and laid back down, putting the opened book on his face to shield his eyes from the glaring light of the room. He needed rest, that was for sure. He made a note to sleep more once he got home that evening.

But fatigue pulled and tugged on him and foiled his plan. Before he knew it, he fell into a state that was both sleep and not sleep, teetering on the line between conscious and unconscious. But it provided rest, as meager as it was, and he unwittingly reached to that, locking himself in that state, both rejecting the clarity of the waking world and the slumber offered by the dream world.

It was broken, though, when a female voice called his name. The voice dragged him to the waking world at once, and he realized what he had been doing. He took the book off his face and sat.

"How long did I sleep for?" he asked to no one in particular, blinking to shoo away the sleep.

"Um, around ten minutes, I think." Nevertheless, the voice – Sheska – provided an answer for him, waiting for him from out of the door. As Roy gathered himself, his mind whirred, remembering his schedule for the day.

"Um, it may be none of my business, Sir," Sheska began as he dragged himself out of the archive room, "but I think you should take more rest and stop pushing yourself so hard…"

"Hmm," was all Roy could mumble as a response. Sheska meant well, and he could see the wisdom in her advice, but sadly it wasn't an advice he could take immediately. He checked his pocket watch and sighed. "Not much time left until the meeting," he muttered to himself and walked away, calling out to the woman, "I'll come again."

"Okay," she answered softly, perhaps unsure of how to respond. Roy smirked to himself. She may not know, but he was eternally grateful that she agreed to give him access to several storage and archive rooms that were otherwise unauthorized for him when she knew his goal was to uncover who killed Hughes. She was, after all, indebted to him one way or another.

He made sure to stop by the toilet to wash his face before he went to the meeting he had to attend. There was no sense in appearing there looking like a sleep deprived mess, nevermind the slight darkness beneath his eyes. He was grateful for the cold water as it dripped down his hair and wet the towel he used to dry it. As he checked his appearance on the mirror, he realized he wasn't alone.

"Hello, Colonel," Major Armstrong greeted as he pushed open the door of the toilet stall he occupied.

"Hey," he responded.

"Did you lose some weight?" the muscular man asked as he opened a water tap to wash his hands.

"Yeah," he answered, noting Armstrong's bandages and scratches. "Did you injure yourself?"

"I fought a little in the South," Armstrong answered. "It's just a scratch. Oh yes," he exclaimed, "I met the Elric Brothers there. Major Elric came to deliver his assessment in the Southern HQ."

"I see."

"He's planning to continue as Military's dog."

"Fullmetal is soon sixteen, as I recall." His gaze turned grim. "So it has come to this. To return to the old bodies first, or to be sent to a war first…"

It seemed that Armstrong thought the same, because he added, "Like that one…"

Bangs of guns and blazes of fire danced in Roy's eyes, remembering the war that changed him and took lives of so many – her included. He remembered that Armstrong was one of the soldiers who couldn't bear killing so many innocents and was sent back to Central. He remembered that some State Alchemists that fought with him suffered from the ghosts of the battlefield that forced them to remember, over and over again, the bullets and cannons booming and whizzing around them. He remembered her, preferring guns over knives and swords for the sole reason that she wouldn't need to feel her victim bleed to death by her hand.

He closed his eyes and willed the memories away.

Armstrong was clearly still disturbed. "To throw a youth into a place like that… how can you even think that?"

"The Fullmetal Alchemist became part of this knowing the risk of being used as a human weapon," Roy closed the water tap on the sink he was using, which was still opened. "Child or adult, there will be no exception."

Armstrong looked like he was trying to hold in his anger, and perhaps disgust. "Is that your official stance? No one wishes for a world like that."

"As a soldier, do you dare defy the military?" Roy asked harshly, knowing that the answer was clear. It wasn't the matter of a perfect world or not. This was the world they lived in, and it wasn't perfect. It had too much flaw, and they had to endure all of them. They had to fix all of them.

"I do not," Armstrong admitted. "I just want my strength to be used to protect the weak in this nation. I believe it is not an impossible dream, if only some people can wield the necessary power. Only those who understand the horror of battlefields and aim calmly at the top can accomplish that, Colonel Mustang."

"What are you talking about?" Roy asked, feigning ignorance.

"I got too chatty," Armstrong walked to the door. "I'll be going."

"Major," Roy stopped him. "Did you inform the brothers of Hughes' death yet?"

Armstrong froze. It took him a moment to answer. "No. I couldn't say it."

"They will find out eventually," Roy pointed out. "The fifth laboratory and the Philosopher's Stone, and the living humans needed to make one." He could feel Armstrong's surprise, and he took it as an invitation to continue. "That guy liked to help others. He found out something interesting after poking his head into the Elric Brothers' business, isn't that right? The brothers will be hurt if they find out Hughes died because he tried to help them, isn't that what you're thinking?" He took his jacket that he had taken off and remarked, "You're a nice person."

Armstrong ignored the compliment. "You found out quite a lot."

"Just a bit more." The two walked out of the toilet as Roy wore his jacket.

"Please be careful," Armstrong said as they parted ways. "You don't know who might be listening."

"Yeah."

Roy honestly couldn't recall most of the meeting. It was simply too boring, and he didn't see the importance of it. One might think being a colonel meant dealing with serious business, and while most of the time they were right, other times the things he had to deal with was downright useless, in his opinion.

He climbed into his car and drove back to the HQ, mourning the fact that the meeting was held in another building and that Androids weren't allowed to be brought in fear that someone might hack them and obtain information somehow. He knew, though, that she would be waiting in front of the gate to the HQ for him, just like every time he had to attend meetings outside of HQ. When he got there, though, he was met by not only her, but also three other familiar faces.

"Hello, Fullmetal," he greeted the teen as he climbed out of his car, noting how his eyes lit up with recognition. "Alphonse," he nodded at the boy trapped within Android. Then he squinted at the girl with them. "I'm sorry, didn't we meet before? In Resembool? I can't quite remember your name. Is it Wendy?"

"Winry, Sir," the girl corrected, a bold yet polite glint in her blue eyes.

"I didn't know you'd be here," Edward said. "Was there a case that required you to come here or something?"

Roy stared. "I got transferred, Fullmetal, a few days ago."

"I've already sent a message to you," Riza added. "Did you not receive it?"

"Uhhh," the golden eyes boy gave an uneasy glance to Alphonse before he held out his automail hand and pressed on a small button on the outer side of its wrist with his flesh hand. Holographic projection came out, and he swiped and tapped at it before he smiled sheepishly at both Roy and Riza. "I, uh, didn't read it. It got buried in other texts and notifications. Sorry."

"Please make sure to at least check on the important ones," Riza sighed.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Honestly, Ed, I built that feature into your automail so you can communicate with others more easily," Winry scolded him. "Don't disgrace my creation like that!"

"Hey, it's not my fault! I need to do research!" the defense got an eye roll from the girl. "Argh, that's not important."

Winry's eyes glinted dangerously. "Not important?!"

His experience with women had taught Roy when to do what whenever dealing with pissed-off ladies, and he knew instantly that he needed to change the course of the conversation soon or Edward would be a pulp. "By the way, Fullmetal, what are you doing here today?"

Edward seemed to be grateful by the distraction Roy provided, and gladly played along. "Oh, just to gather information. I want to look up stuffs regarding Philosopher's Stone and Homunculus."

Roy snorted as he wore his jacket. "Homunculus? Give me a break. How the heck do you expect to find information about that when human transmutation is forbidden?"

"Is that so?" Edward's tone was full of challenge, but he soon let go. "Oh yeah, one more thing. I want to go say hi to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. How is he?"

Roy froze, and he couldn't help the single hurt glance he threw at the three teenagers. They looked too innocent, expecting only the best of all news. Even Edward, the child that had been touched by tragedies from early age stared at him with a wide, expectant smile. It didn't take a second for Roy to make his decision.

"He's not here."

He couldn't bring himself to look at the teenagers when Edward gave a confused 'huh?'. Roy chose instead to walk inside. "He went back to the countryside," the lie sailed smoothly from his lips. "Recently there have been a few disturbances here, and he's worried about his family. So he moved back. I heard that he's taking over the family business. So he's not here anymore."

"I see… too bad." Edward said, but still Roy couldn't bring himself to look at him.

"It's dangerous in the military after all," Alphonse added.

"Still. I wanted to see him," Winry sighed.

Roy decided he couldn't take it any longer, so he opted to go inside. "Philosopher's Stone and Homunculus, right?" he asked Edward, still not looking at him. "I'll contact you if I find anything on that. Let's go, Riza."

"Yes," Riza replied, reliable as ever.

"Fullmetal," he called for the last time, "Don't jump to conclusions and do anything rash." He continued his stride, feeling the boy's confused stare on his back.

As they walked away, Riza remarked, "You only treat him like a child when situations like this arise."

"There is no need for him to know yet," Roy defended himself. "It would be better for them if nothing disturbs their process." He felt Riza's gaze on his back, scrutinizing. He snorted a laugh. "I called Major Armstrong soft-hearted for this, yet I'm doing the same thing. How hypocritical of me."

"But, Colonel, it's not a kind action."

Riza's words caught him by surprise, and he turned to meet her brown eyes.

"It's cruel."

The simple truth clogged up his throat, and Roy found himself speechless. He stared at the Android, once perplexed by the conundrum that was her. He saw the truth in her words, knew that his action would hurt Edward and Alphonse as well as him, and wondered if he should have taken a different course of action.

But then a question crossed his mind. How does an Android define kindness and cruelty?

Before he could ponder on the question, Riza sighed and took a folder. "Nevertheless, about Major Armstrong. He has a subordinate who is a suspect in Brigadier General Hughes' murder."

"Really?" Roy started, staring at her.

She nodded. "2nd Lieutenant Maria Ross. She denies the charges."

Roy read over the files in the folder quickly, brows crinkling. He handed the folder back to her. "We need to go to the office soon."

The two strode quickly to the office, and when they arrived, Roy didn't waste any time approaching Falman. "Do me a favor and run an anonymous search," he requested.

"What about?" he responded quickly.

"Anything that links with 2nd Lieutenant Maria Ross."

Falman nodded. "To what extent?"

"Down to the last bit, and do it fast." Roy watched in satisfaction as Falman nodded. "This is top secret, understood?"

"Understood, Sir."

It didn't take long for Falman to fetch the documents and sent them to Roy's watch, and when he did, Roy read everything as fast as he could. He gritted his teeth as his mind went on an overdrive, connecting dots and drawing conclusions as words passed by his eyes.

"Sir, it appears that they have already convicted 2nd Lieutenant Ross as Brigadier General's murderer," Riza piped up all of a sudden, frowning, before her eye flashed to project an article from an online newspaper, showing the short haired officer's photo for all to see with a caption that outed her as the murderer.

Roy frowned. "Has she been put on trial?" he asked Falman.

He shook his head. "No, not yet."

Roy stroked his chin, coming to the conclusion that Maria Ross was innocent and sacrificed as the killer. Probably to soothe the public. Most likely to feed Roy lies. "Who is in babysitting duty?" he asked.

"Today is Breda's shift, Sir," Havoc announced.

Roy held out the hand bearing the wristwatch and made a call to Breda, telling him to put Barry on as well. It didn't take long for a plan to hatch in his mind, and he quickly organized and gave directions to the team.

"Fuery, exchange places with Breda," he ordered. "And Breda, before you get here later, I want you to fetch some items. I'm going to send you a list later."

"Sure, but what for?" the redhead asked, most likely wondering where he should get the items Roy was going to request.

A ghost of a smile graced Roy's lips. "We're going to need a corpse."

A/N: I should probably say that I'm using the FMA manga as my guideline of this fic instead of Brotherhood. There isn't much difference, sure, but I just find it easier to track manga pages than anime episodes. And I just found out that Riza's "it's cruel" line is Brotherhood-only, even though I've read the manga more times than I watch the anime. *buries face in hands* However, I also realized that now I'm really holding on to the manga like a lifeline. In this rate this story isn't going to be much of an AU but just a novelization. So I'll probably have to distance myself from the manga later to make sure that the AU forms nicely.

I think I'm going to rewrite Chapter One. I can't help but feel that the first chapter is weaker than the other three, and I don't like that. It's in the process of rewriting, actually, but I'm still unsure about it. It wouldn't really have any new info, I don't think, but I hope the writing could be improved. Hopefully. Let's see if I can do it soon and upload it before Chapter Seven.

And I just realized that I've been writing this exclusively in Roy's POV. I hope it doesn't get redundant or weird or OOC or something. (Lots of somethings.) Do you think I should change POV sometimes?

What do you think about this chapter? Do you find it good or bad, or just so-so? Leave me a review, tell me what you think. Have a nice day!