Key: "Spoken Words"

*Sign Language*

~Telephone Conversations~

Written Words and Emphasis

Newspapers

****LINE BREAKS*****

Golden eyes flicked open, adrenaline suddenly rushing through his body. Where was he? This wasn't… this… a hospital? He's in a hospital? How did he get here? His lips parted in confusion, air escaping. Then he quickly shut his mouth. Air? Just… His eyes widened as he stared up at the lights above him. His throat. The ManiaK. Everything came rushing back. Isa… was she okay? Ed had to find her. He… He couldn't. His leg, his arm. They were gone again. Hospital procedures, for the most part. Some would at least give him a plastic leg but… he could see enough of his body to notice that the blankets were flat where his leg should be.

Ed went to speak but nothing but air escaped him. His eyes shut tightly as he tried to think. There was no way he had used his internal philosopher stone. Last time he had -his hand gripped his stomach tightly- he could feel the difference. This time, there was no difference. It didn't feel like he had lost anymore time. So what had… what had he used? The only thing that could have healed him was a philosopher stone. If he hadn't used his own.

"Ed…?" A soft voice asked.

His head snapped up in surprise. How had someone gotten in here while he was awake? Then he relaxed, seeing the green eyes of Isa. Her hands were fisted in her dress, her eyes were staring right at him. A soft sob escaped her lips as she stared. Only air escaped Ed as he tried to say something, before he just smiled weakly at her. It seemed that was a cue for something, as she rushed over to his bed and climbed onto his bed. A soft grunt escaped him as she hugged him tightly. It hurt, old and new injuries protesting. However, he didn't push her off.

"You're alive!" She cried into his hospital gown.

He was. It was… shocking. So many times, he should've died. But somehow he just, he was still alive. His eyes fluttered closed, until he heard a familiar voice walking past the door. While he kept his eyes shut, he focused on listening in. He recognized that voice. It was on the tip of his tongue.

"Doctor Maryam, we need a list of all the patients currently in your care. There were two witnesses to the murder of Adyn and Fayre Nash. If they have come into your care it is imperative that you tell us. One of the witnesses is their daughter, Isa Nash, and the other we believe is Edward Elric." Mustang… Mustang was here.

Ed didn't know if he should call out or stay silent. The ManiaK… Ed knew that they had an in with the Military. While he trusted Mustang's group, beyond the whole shooting him thing, the Military had access to everything Mustang did. But Alphonse… if he called out for Mustang then he could see Alphonse again. Ed closed his eyes, suddenly remembering. He couldn't call out. However… his eyes flicked down to Isa.

He gently tapped her nose, getting her attention. Then he made a movement with his hands, pointing towards the door. She furrowed her brows in confusion and Ed pointed to his throat.

"You can't… talk?" Isa asked.

Ed nodded and pointed towards the door. It seemed that was enough for her as she got up and moved towards the door. Ed focused in on the conversation outside the door.

"I am sorry, but I cannot give you any information about my patients." Doctor Maryam seemed impressive. Not anyone could just stand up to Mustang. "Doctor patient confidentiality after all."

The door was opened before Mustang could respond. They had been standing right outside. Isa squeaked when she was them, freezing in spot. It was Mustang, Ed had been right. There was a split second when Mustang and Ed made eye contact, Mustang's eyes widening a fraction. Then he turned back to Maryam, who was staring down at Isa. Isa looked back at Ed, who nodded and gestured for them to come in. She opened the door a bit more, stepping back.

"Sir," Maryam argued. However she went silent, glaring, when Ed glanced over at her. "Can you trust him?" Ed nodded and she sighed. "Alright, come along Isa."

Both Maryam and Isa exited the room. Ed let out an exhale, similar to a sigh, before staring up at his commanding officer. It had been awhile, Ed still didn't know everything from what had caused this all to happen. However, he felt that Mustang would be able to fill in the gaps. At least Ed hoped he could.

For a second his commanding officer just stood by the door, before removing his cap and stepping in. The door shut quietly behind him and they stood in silence. Ed gestured for him to come closer before silently touching his throat, feeling the raised skin of a new scar. Hopefully that would be enough information for Mustang to have an idea of what had happened to him. It seemed to be as Mustang nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out a pad of paper and pen. All Alchemist's, or most, kept paper and pencils on them for transmutation purposes. They also tended to keep chalk or backups of whatever they used for the transmutation process.

"Use this to communicate." Mustang handed it over, standing stiffly.

Edward took the paper and hurriedly scribbled out everything he knew since he fell. He couldn't remember before still, however he could remember after. After was more important at this point. Soon the page was filled with his observations and what had happened and the fragments he could remember.

"Is this everything?" Mustang asked as Ed handed back the paper. Then he flipped it back to the first page as Edward nodded. "It's not a lot."

Ed glared at him and signed, as well as he could with one hand, *Your fault, don't remember before fall*

"Trauma or a head injury?"

Edward just shrugged. Could be both for all he knew. The days after the fall were hazy, he barely remembered meeting Isa and Fayre. Fayre… The flashbacks of last night flicked behind his eyelids. He remembered seeing their dead bodies, the blood pooling around their bed. While he hadn't seen them up close he could imagine how they looked. Throats wide open, blood dripping down their neck. He swallowed and looked up at Mustang.

*Al?* He fingerspelled, eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Outside, armour apparently isn't sterile enough for some of the injuries here." Mustang's lips quirked in amusement.

His fingers picked at the hem of his hospital gown. Not exactly a nervous habit but more of a way to do something as he tried to think of words. Edward wished Isa was still in the room, as he would be able to focus without worrying about her. It was taking up most of his thoughts. He inhaled sharply and then gripped the hem of his hospital gown tightly.

*The Maniac* Ed fingerspelled and looked up at Mustang. *Not caught yet. Need help* Some of the words that required both hands to sign he fingerspelled, causing it to take longer.

"We've got the whole military…" Ed cut off Mustang with a wave of his hand, wishing he had both arms.

*No! Military bad* Ed wished he could make noises, but most of them required vocal chords. He also wished he could remember why the military was bad, beyond the immediate.

"More explanation please," Mustang hissed and sat down in the chair that Isa had been occupying earlier.

Ed just stared at him. The short sentences were hard enough with one hand, he'd never realized how many signs required both until he could only use one. Then he sighed heavily and took the pen and paper back. It wouldn't necessarily be faster but it was better than fingerspelling every other word. He finished writing it out and handed it over to Mustang.

I can't explain it. But the Maniac has an in on the military I think. One of the first things I remember is knowing I couldn't let the military know I was alive and that I can't trust them. Also, Doctor Bram Salem cannot be trusted. I don't know why, but you can't trust him.

Mustang ignited the letter, letting it smolder. Then he sighed and nodded. Ed relaxed back into the pillows on his bed, closing his eyes as he tried to focus. He needed to figure out what to do about this knowledge, figure out what Mustang was going to do about it. They couldn't just let it lie. But then again they couldn't tell anyone about it either, that would just be informing whoever it was in the military that they were looking at them. He grit his teeth together angrily, wishing he could voice his anger.

"Guess you can't snark off at me anymore, can you Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, probably trying to lighten the mood.

He would've growled if he could, instead glowering at Mustang. It was too soon still, as he barely even spent a day getting used to the lack of voice. So he sent Mustang a rude sign in response, which didn't need to be translated. In response Mustang smirked and leaned back, raising his hands in surrender.
"Alright, touchy subject. Anything else we need to know?" Mustang asked with a raised an eyebrow.

*Don't tell military I'm here* Ed stared Mustang in the eye, signing as quickly as he could without slurring the signs together.

"They already know you're alive." Mustang rubbed his fingers together gently. "They'll find you before long. Armstrong and his team headed to Central to check it out. My team and I came here, to Nächste. The two closest towns. As you know, there aren't really a lot of towns around Selbstmord-Klippe. By process of elimination you had to be in one of those two towns."

That threw a wrench in his plans. Not that he really had plans in the first place. However all the hesitant plans he had in the first place required the military not to know he was still around. Yet he could handle it. He'd figure something out. He always did after all. Edward closed his eyes.

*Then don't tell them you found me* Edward eventually signed, opening his eyes.

"And what of Alphonse? They'll get suspicious if he doesn't come back with me," Mustang asked.

*Then take him with you*

Mustang snorted and shook his head. The door opened again and Ed was immediately on edge. Then he relaxed moments later, seeing Isa enter with Doctor Maryam. It was just them. Nobody else had come in after them either, nobody was in the hallway. Isa immediately clambered onto her bed in the other side of the room, Maryam closing the curtains. Mustang sighed.

"If you think Alphonse will leave with me as soon as he knows you're here, then you clearly don't know your brother."

*Don't tell him. Please. He cannot know.* Ed hated not having both arms. Fingerspelling the words he couldn't sign was time consuming.

At first it looked like Mustang was going to argue, but instead he slumped down and rubbed his forehead. Something must of been showing on Ed's face. Desperation? Edward didn't know. Whatever it was, it had managed to convince Mustang not to argue.

"Why don't you tell me why you don't want Alphonse to know." Mustang said.

Ed clenched his fists, time to admit everything. He had said he didn't remember much after the fall. But before, he didn't remember why they were chasing him. Couldn't remember why the military had sent Mustang and his team to track him down. There were, pieces missing still. His subconscious seemed to remember things, such as Edward being unable to trust the military.

*I don't remember*

"I need more than-" Edward cut him off with an angry wave of his hand.

*Not like that. I don't remember, before. Before fall is nothing.* Then he cocked his head to his side and amended. *Remember bits and pieces. Not much. Mostly words* His hand was beginning to cramp. It had been a while since he had to sign and it was only one hand signing.

"Alright. Don't make me regret this Fullmetal." The Colonel stood up, putting something on his bedside table before leaving the room.

The shining of metal caught his eye and he turned. On the table was his pocket watch, cleaned of the blood that had once stained it. Ed reached over and carefully picked it up. Then he closed his fist around it, tucking it back in his pocket.

**************ALittleMore***************

As he left the hospital room, Roy began to doubt what he was about to do. While he had done it multiple times before, lying that was, he'd never lied about something like this. Omitted some truth's but, he'd never actually said a blatant lie about someone being alive before. It was for the best, he insisted to himself, after all the military (specifically Armstrong) would grow suspicious if he didn't return with Alphonse.

"Did you find him?!" Alphonse's voice broke through his thoughts. "Did you find Brother?!"

"No." The lie felt bitter on his tongue. It stung the second Alphonse practically deflated, which was an odd sight to see for a suit of armour. "The little girl was. He probably dropped her off and fled."

"Isa was there?" Alphonse perked up. "She must know where Brother is!"

"You will not go interrogate her Alphonse." Roy hissed at him. "She's gone through enough."

Then he rubbed the bridge of his nose. The Elric Brothers were going to give him gray hairs. By his side Alphonse nodded, looking as put-out as a suit of armour could.

"Good, now we need to regroup back at Central. The scene of the crime should be getting evaluated now by the forensics team." Roy stood in front of the rest of his team.

They had all spread out around the hospital. Most of them looked slightly discouraged as there had been, for them at least, no sign of Edward. A few of them might have come across Isa Nash. His eyes flicked over to his First Lieutenant. Hawkeye stepped forward, looking as professional as ever.

"We didn't find anything besides the horse. There's no sign of either of them, sir." Hawkeye handed over a piece of paper, a vets assessment of the horse.

Roy glanced over the assessment, noting that the horses name was on it. Either Isa and Ed had given the name to the vet, or the vet was Fons' normal vet. However he couldn't be sure and handed the paper back to Hawkeye. It seemed the blood on Fons hadn't been the horses, which meant it was probably Edward's.

"Move out," Roy ordered.

His team returned to the military issued car. Alphonse stepped up besides him and Roy forced his face flat. The horse being here still put a slight damper on lying to Alphonse.

"Colonel…" Alphonse started, voice soft. "If the horse is here, then where is Brother?"

No questionings on if he was telling the truth. If the situation was reversed he knew that Edward would be fighting him, accusing him of lying. The accusations would be warranted, but he still wouldn't say a thing. However with Alphonse, it was harder to keep it a secret. Yet he had to. Otherwise everything Edward was planning, which he had wished to be a part of, might fall apart.

So he had to stay quiet and hope for the best. Maybe, just maybe, everything would turn out okay in the end.

Back at the scene of the crime, Roy and his team met up with Armstrong and his group. For the most part, the scene had been processed. It was still surrounded with the police tape and some military personal, but otherwise they had everything they needed.

"Major Elric wasn't found at Central." It looked like Armstrong had been crying. "Neither was little Isa or the horse."

"Central is a pretty big place," Sergeant Denny Brosh spoke up, "It's possible he managed to slip under the military's radar. Especially if he's trying to hide from the ManiaK and keep the girl safe."

Roy once again had the urge to inform them that Edward was safe, that he was receiving medical treatment, that he was now permanently mute, but he refrained. It wasn't his place, right? Fullmetal was the one that needed to tell everyone he was alright, once his plan had reached fulfillment. Or did he even have a plan? Was he just hiding until he had all of his memories back? Roy wasn't sure. But he could turn back now.
"We believe that Major Elric is somewhere in Nächste, we found the Nash's horse, Fons, at the veterinarian's office. However, both Isa Nash and Major Edward Elric was nowhere to be found." First Lieutenant Hawkeye spoke up on his behalf.

Roy dearly hoped that Edward would be able to leave Nächste before the military swarmed it looking for him. Not even Doctor Maryam would be able to hold back the military. When it came to the military, doctor patient confidentiality was thrown out the window. If the doctor wouldn't tell them anything, they would pull the files off the shelves themselves.

"The Colonel said he found Isa though," Alphonse spoke up.

Roy had forgotten that he had informed Alphonse of that. At the looks coming his way he cleared his throat. "Thank you for reminding me Alphonse, I did find Isa Nash at the hospital in Nächste. However there was no sign of Major Elric being a patient there."

"Did you ask for their files?" Armstrong asked.

"I was unable to get their files. However, I was allowed to go through the hospital and peek into the various rooms. None of them held Major Elric, though that was how I found Isa Nash. I will be returning tomorrow to question her about the crime."

"That means Major Elric was in Nächste." Sergeant Brosh seemed slightly surprised. "He could still be there."

"Or he died from his injuries," Third Lieutenant Giffen added into the conversation, walking by.

Everyone looked over at him. Giffen rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, Roy narrowing his eyes.

"It's just uh… he fell off the cliff and then got attacked by the ManiaK? He might be in the morgue of the hospital as a John Doe?"

"Brother isn't dead!" Alphonse shouted, voice shaking.

"Whoa! Kid I wasn't trying to upset ya, but you gotta face the facts. With all that blood?" the Third Lieutenant put his hands up.

"He's not dead! He's stronger than that!"

"Calm down. Third Lieutenant return to your duties. Alphonse, stand down." Roy ordered.

Once the Third Lieutenant had disappeared back inside the house, Alphonse seemed to calm down. The quiet voice from inside the armour apologized. No one seemed to hold it against him and Roy let out a weary sigh.

"Uh sir," Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc spoke up. "Did you just say Third Lieutenant?"

"Yes, what's that got to do with anything?" Roy rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"There is no Third Lieutenant in the military."

***********ToTheLeft****************

Winry Rockbell was not one to be left behind. While Alphonse went with Mustang and his team to go find Ed, Winry took to walking the streets of Central. It was mostly empty, due to the recent rise in killings from the ManiaK. A few brave souls were out and about, even a few skittish ones joined them, but all were constantly flinching away from the others. Some were whispering about the recent death of the Nash's, which had already reached the newspapers. There was even speculation about why them, so far from Central, had been targeted.

A common theory was that they were known personally by the ManiaK. It would make sense, the theorists argued, since they had to know a lot of doctor's since they lived near the cliff. Winry tended to ignore these theories, but with all the chattering around her it was difficult to just brush them off. The newspapers were full of theories.

"Huh?" Winry accidentally kicked something. It didn't sound like a petal. She looked down.

There was a plastic cylinder, sitting innocently near her feet. Kneeling down, she silently scooped it up. It looked familiar, like… a thing of film? Where was the camera it was part of. Winry glanced around before peering inside a dark alley. After a seconds hesitation she tucked the plastic roll of film in her pocket and went inside the alley way.

Now this wasn't the smartest thing Winry had done in her life, but she had her trusty wrench and some knowledge of how to fight. Her and Alphonse had trained together occasionally while Ed was recovering from automail surgery. They thought she hadn't continued to practice but she had, with a little dummy she had created. It wasn't the same as fighting with another person, but it at least kept her in shape.

"Is there anybody here? You dropped your film…" Winry trailed off.

On the ground was a ponytail holder, some jewels had fallen out and there was a couple of strawberry blonde hairs trapped inside still. A quick glance around didn't show anybody nearby. There was a smear of blood on the surface of it, Winry backing away to the wall. She heard something shatter underneath her foot and she flinched away. There was some glass? She knelt down to look at it and saw a few more pieces of something.

Should she get someone? A MP perhaps? Winry wasn't sure, following some of the pieces on the ground. It looked like the pieces of a smashed up camera? There was some more blood, small droplets here and there. It slowly registered to Winry what exactly she had discovered. Her face paled and she tightened her grip on the roll of film. Who could she trust to deliver this to? Surely the MP's would have found this by now. Her first thought was to go to Mr. Hughes but… She shook the thought away. Alphonse? Alphonse technically wasn't part of the military but he would know what to do with this right? Maybe she shouldn't go to him…

"Well, well. What do we have here?" Winry tensed at the new voice. She turned around, paling when she noticed Third Lieutenant Kace Giffen. "Contaminating evidence. I'm going to have to take you in."

"No, you've got it all wrong. I just stumbled across it." Winry was reaching behind herself, something didn't feel right. "I was just about to go find someone."
"I can't let you do that." He stepped closer.

Winry wrapped her fingers around the wrench in her pocket. Usually this particular wrench was reserved for Ed, but she figured it would serve a purpose here. She let it fly, hitting Giffen in the face. Then she ran off, going deeper into the alleyways of Central. Surely there would be someone to help her. An arm wrapped around her and she screamed, it was quickly muffled.
"Sssh, I'm here to help. Come on." They dragged her deeper inside. Winry only relaxed since it wasn't the voice of Giffen. She would trust them, for now at least.

Giffen ran past where they were hidden. They both tensed, as quiet as a mouse. It was only when Giffen disappeared around the corner that they relaxed and the hand around her mouth disappeared. Winry immediately turned to see who her savior was. She didn't recognize them, but it definitely wasn't a military member.

"Congratulations, you survived an attack. What're you doing in the alleyways of Central?" the man asked, dark eyes focused on her.

"I was, looking for the owner of this." Winry lifted up the roll of film. The man narrowed his eyes.

"You thought the alley was a good place to start?"
Winry flushed. "Well, it was right outside the alley. I figured they just dropped it."

"You clearly aren't a local. Central is a bad place to be right now." The man reached for the roll of film.

Winry yanked her hand away, holding the roll in a tight fist. Her eyes narrowed, "You may have saved me, but I'm not giving this to you."

He dropped his hand, before sighing. "My name is Preston Ismael. I work for the newspaper. I used to be the partner of Barbara Junes, one of the victims of the maniac. That roll of film might've been left behind, her camera was missing."

"I didn't get this from a camera, I found it on the ground."

"She must've taken it out! Do you even know how to develop film?"

Winry's face flushed. Then she tucked the roll of film in her pocket, frowning. Preston seemed to be honest, if a little desperate. There were no signs that he would betray her. Besides, he had saved her. What would be the point of saving her if he just wanted to murder her a moment later.

"Well, no. I don't. But how can I trust you?"

"You can't trust anyone, anymore." Preston's eyes were dark. "The one chasing you was a military man, wasn't he?"

"Yes. Third Lieutenant-"

"Third Lieutenant doesn't exist. Come on, let's get that film developed. Proof is what we need at this point and that camera might just have it."

*********ALittleMoreToTheLeft******************

Kace Giffen liked to think he was a calm man, slow to anger, and fairly level headed. Recently he'd been frustrated. First, the man that had given him the in to the military had messed up. Third Lieutenant?! What's a Third Lieutenant?! It wouldn't be long before they figured out that it wasn't a rank. In fact, Giffen was fairly certain that they'd already figured it out. He couldn't return to the military now. Second, the Nash's. They just had to save the Fullmetal Alchemist. At least they were all taken care of now. Little Isa was still alive too. Besides, if Fullmetal had survived the removal of his larynx there was no way he'd be able to squeal. Not that there was anything for him to say. Giffen had been careful.

But now that girl had a roll of film. That roll of film had his face on it, from that Barbara Junes girl. He'd thought he'd gotten rid of it. Apparently he hadn't been thorough enough.

The lamp shattered on the ground, flame flickering before turning to smoke. It wafted up, surrounding his face. The once handsome features had contorted, eyes bloodshot and pupils shrunk to pinpricks. His hands shook as he gripped the table, the wood creaking underneath his hands.
"Everything." He spat on the ground. "Everything I've worked towards… Gone if she gets it out."

He paced, looking towards a curtained off spot of the room. Then he moved towards it, ripping the curtain away. It fluttered down, cascading around the bed there.

On the bed was a girl, hair a halo of darkness around her head. Stitches amassed most of her body, scarring the almost translucent skin. Multiple pieces of equipment were hooked up to her, IV's, oxygen tanks, a heart monitor, and more. The heart monitor was still beyond the occasional pulse, which was few and far between.

"Almost there." Giffen took a frigid hand, which stayed limp in his grasp. "Just a few more and you'll return to me. Just a bit longer, meine Schwester. You won't need to wait much longer."

Giffen stood up, carefully resting her hand on top of her stomach. Then he moved to a cooler he had brought. Opening it with careful hands, he pulled out the larynx he stole from the Fullmetal Alchemist. He set it aside, near the bed his sister lay upon. Then he put a mask over his mouth, pulling on gloves, and walking over. A scalpel raised, before gently cutting through the pale throat.

The operation, if it could be called such, lasted a few hours. By the end the larynx belonging to Edward was in her throat. The last of the thread was pulled tight before snipped off. He cleaned everything up, before drawing a symbol on his hand. Giffen was careful to make sure nothing was out of place, before drawing the complimentary symbol on his sister's throat. Then he pressed them together, watching the flare of alchemy. When he pulled his hand away, the wound was healed and he removed the stitches.
"Not much longer. Then you will run in the meadows you loved with me again. Get better Tresa." He placed a kiss upon her head, before hanging up the curtains again and turning off the lights.

Under the light cast from the moon outside, Tresa's body lay still on the bed. Besides her bed, the flowers had wilted. Their petals fell, turning to ash on the table. The rest of the flower dissolved under an invisible breeze, the ashes scattering until it looked like nothing had ever been there.

************ALittleLeft***********

"Lusty! I found him!" Gluttony called, beady eyes staring up at the beautiful woman.

"Good." Lust came over, hair curled delicately over her shoulder. Then she rested a gentle hand on her waist. "Show me."

Gluttony headed towards the city, Lust following closely. Her mind drifted, thinking of all the things that might've happened to Edward Elric. She had managed to get information out of one of the military members, their body left on the ground to be found later. Elric had clearly been injured, there had been blood left at the scene that was not the Nash's girl or the Nash's themself. A few believed it could be the ManiaK, but Lust knew that wasn't the case. Gluttony knew the scent of the Elric.

She had never imagined Elric to be in the hospital. Stealing a nurse's outfit was easy, letting Gluttony eat the nurse to keep anyone from finding her. A soft sigh escaped her lips, even as she straightened out the uniform. It was just not flattering in any way. Even Lust couldn't pull it off.

"Stay here," Lust demanded.

"But Lust-"

"Stay."

She tucked her hair up into the nurse cap, letting a few strands frame her face. The Ouroboros tattoo was covered by the high collar. It was easy to sneak by the front, grabbing a random clipboard and acting like she belonged. Anyone could sneak in here.

"Excuse me," a woman demanded, rushing over. "You're not allowed in this section. Who are you anyways?"

Lust eyed the woman up and down. Plain, unassuming, probably not easily missed. Then she noticed the name stitched on the uniform, Dr. Athena Maryam. She tsked softly. That was bothersome. A doctor wouldn't be as easy to cover up as a nurse, especially in such a small space.
"I was tasked with giving Mr. Elric his meds," She lied smoothly.

"No one but me and one of my nurses are allowed to be in his room. Who gave you this order." Not easily lied to then. Lust's eyes narrowed angrily.

"I did." She quickly pierced the doctor with her nails.

Dr. Maryam's eyes went wide, pressing a button in her coat. Lust caught her as she fell, sighing dramatically. Such a messy situation. Lust dragged her into a closet, shutting the door. Then she straightened her coat, stepped over the bloodstain, and continued on to the room.

It was too late, Lust realized as she opened the door. The window was wide open, curtains blowing in from a light breeze. A frustrated growl escaped her lips, fingers cutting through the door in her anger.

Elric was already gone.

Bookworm here, I'm so sorry for the late update! I know I promised some of you I'd do it over Winter Break but I was not expecting just how busy I'd be! For those of you that don't know, I've recently started college. I've had about 17-18 units these past semesters and when I'm not in class, I'm doing homework or at my job. It's been super busy and I'm really sorry. I promise I have not abandoned this fic and I'm going to update whenever I can (even if it is like a year later). If this chapter seems rushed it's because I am trying to get to the end but still trying to keep my past pacing. But hey, you guys know who the ManiaK is now! Nobody managed to guess. You also have a hint to his motive. Again, I'm really sorry but school and my work are going to come first before this. I'll update when I can but it might be months between updates.