Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm late, I know. But I've been busy. Really busy. Buuuuuuut... I found a beta! Yay~ Cutekawaiikoneko is now beta'ing this story- and soon others- for me. ^^

Anyways, enough rambling. On with the story.

Warnings: Foul language- duh. Uhm... slight, slight, slight violence-ish... stuff... We've got Evil Ed in here, okay?

Enjoy and don't forget to review!


A new day could shed new light on a situation, it seemed. When he'd walked back into the master bedroom the next morning to change his wrinkled sleeping clothes, Edward noticed damp red dirt on the creamy beige carpet near the foot of the bed. In the past day or so, he hadn't been anywhere to get red dirt on his shoes, nor had he worn his boots past the front door, so there was no way that could be from him. Considering that was where his duplicate took a seat the previous night, he assumed the dirt came from his shoes. If luck was on his side, the dirt would have been carried from the spot he had Roy trapped.

"Al! What's Tai's number?" he yelled, tone betraying the urgency he felt. Tai was the new head of the investigations department in Central, and she hated when people called her Miss Sarith. Naturally, even before Alphonse had called Edward, he called the investigators.

"What?" Al, Nicholas holding onto his leg, asked as he walked into the hall. His brother nearly rammed right into him in his haste.

"What's Tai's number? There's red dirt in mine and Roy's room from the bottoms of my clone's shoes." There was a little bit of excitement in his voice now. He didn't know of many places with red dirt around it in or near Central, and there was no way the Other Edward could have gotten that far from the city and still be making trips to visit.

"It's written on the notepad by the phone. I didn't want anyone to forget it, so I wrote it down when she gave it to me."

"You're a lifesaver." Ed called over his shoulder as he raced back into the hall. He heard Nicholas laugh and waddle after him, then felt him fall into his leg. As he picked up the phone and punched in the number with one hand, he set the other atop Nikki's head, ruffling his hair lightly.

"Up, Daddy! Up!" he insisted, stretching one arm up.

Just as the line clicked, Edward replied, "Not now, Nikki."

"Huh?" That was Tai's voice; Edward had met her a few times; she was fairly young, only a few years older than him.

"Sorry, Tai, not you. My son. Listen, the guy who took Roy broke in last night, and-"

"Really? Did you get him?" Tai interrupted excitedly.

"Erm… not quite… I tried to, but he got away when he slammed my head into the bed frame." It was only stretching the truth a little bit. After all, he'd had the clone pinned down against the bed, then he had pushed Ed off and gotten away. "But he left red dirt behind in the carpet. Most places in Central are paved or have dark brown dirt, not red. We need to make a list of all the abandoned places that are surrounded by red dirt and search them. But quietly, that way he won't catch wind of it."

"Did you get a good look at the guy?"

"Uhm… Yeah, by the light of the moon. He looked just like me."

"Do you have a twin or something, Ed? I didn't know that." Tai sounded extremely surprised. Just barely, Edward could hear paper rustling over the line; the soldier must have been taking notes.

"I didn't know it, either, but I guess I do." A long-lost twin with homicidal tendencies would be a hell of a lot easier to explain than an exact copy of himself being formed from a small piece of his soul. If that was what had happened, of course; it was just a theory that Ed had been working on the previous night.

"Well damn. He must really envy you to go and do something like this. I'll have my men compile that list for you and bring it over later."

"Thanks, Tai."

"See ya later, Ed. Take care."

With that, the investigator hung up the phone, leaving Edward to do the same. Then he knelt down to pick up his son, who had been patiently waiting his turn to receive attention. "Hey there."

"Found Woy yet, Daddy?" he asked, finger in his mouth.

Edward didn't answer him for a few moments; he bounced Nicholas in his arms, taking a step towards the window and looking out at the street. "Not yet, but we're getting closer to finding him. We'll have Roy back soon." His heart clenched at the mere thought. Sure, he might have Roy back, but in what state? The other Edward had apparently wasted no time in getting in his pants, and there was no doubt in Ed's mind that his duplicate would only make things worse from there. "You really miss him, don't you?" he asked, looking to his son.

Soberly, Nicholas nodded, removing his finger from his mouth. "Yeah, Daddy. He bounce me on his knee."

"I miss him, too, Nikki." Edward murmured, looking down at the floor between his toes. Much as he tried to stop them, tears filled his eyes and eventually spilled down his cheeks in salty rivulets.

Nicholas put his chubby hands on his father's cheeks, making him look up at him. His bright eyes glistened with tears that he hadn't yet shed. "Don't cwy, Daddy. We find Woy. He be okay," he tried to assure his father. When Ed gave him a teary smile, he was positive it had worked.

"I know, baby. Thank you," he whispered, kissing Nicholas's temple and the laying him against his chest. Truth was, he had no idea if they'd find Roy in time. He could only think of what was being done to the man…


Eyes glinting murderously, Edward stroked fingers across Roy's cheek, trying to rouse him without having to resort to actually hurting him. What were these feelings? They were so foreign. Never before had he felt such a thing. Only anger, envy, the want for blood and vengeance. But now he felt kindness for the man in front of him.

Roy's eyes fluttered, as if he were trying to wake up. The murderous look slowly left his own golden eyes, leaving them blank. He wasn't really sure what to feel anymore. But he knew what he could do; it was what he knew, after all.

Ed turned the blade so the sharp edge was pressed against the man's skin. He dug it in and drew it across, producing a shining line of blood. Roy remained silent but attempted to turn his face away from it all the same.

"I wonder what you look like all cut up, Roy…" he purred, leaning forward to lap at the blood. He groaned. The dark-haired man growled.

"Too bad you'll never find out."

"Oh? Do you want to bet, baby? Our little Edo has not the faintest idea where you are~ I've got plenty of time to do all that I want with you."

To that, Roy had no reply. All the better. Edward slipped him a bit of sedative and watched as he slowly fell unconscious again.

"You're mine," the clone whispered, leaning close to him again.


"Yo, Ed. Wake ya ass up. We got work to do."

Tai's voice floated to him from what seemed a far off place, when really it was right in front of him. He blinked wearily, feeling someone patting his cheek roughly and Nicholas shifting against his chest.

"What time's it?" he asked, words slurring together, as he opened his eyes and rubbed them. Cocoa brown eyes frowned down at him from behind a mess of auburn bangs. A tan hand, which belonged to the auburn-haired investigator, still rested against his cheek from where she'd been patting it.

"Nearly six. We need to get a move on. We've only got five days- well, less, now since it took us this long to compile that damned list- until your twin or whoever the fuck it is offs Roy. I know you want to find him, and I want to find him just as bad as you. So let's get your ass up off the couch and take care of business." Tai straightened up and pulled a list and a map from her coat pocket.

"Come on, Tai. Calm your tits. It's not like I've been asleep all day. Nikki and I just fell asleep waiting on you." After all, there wasn't much he could have done besides try to contact his duplicate- or, rather, peek into his head- in his dreams. This time, he'd gotten a few flashes. A dark room, a window at the top, cold concrete. Roy was chained to the wall. He'd gotten to see the outside, too. Sun shining through leaves, making everything look weird and way too colorful, and a house made of red and brown brick. It had been small and homey, complete with a smokestack from a chimney.

Tai rolled her eyes and knelt down at the coffee table near the couch, spreading out the map and opening the list. "Get your white ass down here, pretty boy, and help me."

Carefully, Edward transferred Nicholas from his chest to the couch and knelt down beside the girl. "It'll be in the woods," he informed her quietly, picking up the list to look at it.

"What? How do you know?" Tai asked, shock coloring her voice.

"Call it twin telepathy."

The girl snorted, peeking over his shoulder at the list. "Twin telepathy doesn't really exist."

"That's an opinion. Plus, I just said let's call it that."

Tai frowned and moved somewhat away from him, eyeing him carefully. "There's something you aren't telling me, isn't there?" When the man showed no intention of even answered that question, she sighed and pulled a marker from her pocket. "Those soldiers were right. You Elrics are damn secretive. Too damn secretive."

Edward smirked, looking over the map. "I could always tell you that my keeping quiet was all to save you, but that wouldn't be entirely true. I'm really not telling you the whole truth because there's no damn way you'd ever believe me, and neither would anyone else. So let's call it twin telepathy and get on with it, yeah?"

The investigator huffed and flopped down on the carpet, circling a spot Edward pointed to. "No fair, Elric. No fair," she muttered, doodling something on the inside of her hand.

"Oh, just hush and mark."

By the end, they'd marked every spot outlined on the list, then marked out the ones that weren't in the woods. They had four locations, and four days to search them, since it was after eight and Tai had to get back to record information.

"I need the map," she told Edward, frowning apologetically. "But you can keep the list."

Edward smiled at her as he leaned against the wall by the door, folding the list in two again and sliding it between his fingers over and over. "Thanks, Tai. I'll come by first thing tomorrow and we can start looking for him. Sound good?"

"Fine by me. Don't be late, pretty boy. Or I'll have to shoot ya~" she warned playfully, making a gun with her fingers and pointing them at him. Then she giggled and waved. "See ya, Eddo." She pulled open the door and trooped out in the cool fall air.

"Bye, Tai," he called after her, looking down at the list once more. "And thanks for this."

"No problem."

As she got into her car, Edward closed the front door. He was relieved to have somewhere to start looking for Roy now, considering he'd had diddly-squat the previous day. "Four days. Four places. I'm going to find you, Roy." He muttered, looking down at the folded piece of paper in his hands. Then he stowed it in his pocket and went to pick up Nicholas, who had returned to his many toys as a way to entertain himself.

"Time for dinner, Nikki," he announced as he picked his son up and settled him on his hip.

"Yay~ Food!" the youngest Elric cheered, throwing his arms in the air.

Edward laughed slightly. "Yeah. You're mine." He kissed the boy's cheek as he carried him into the kitchen. With any luck, he'd be able to find Roy within twenty-four hours.