Disclaimer: Ed:What do you say? Me: I don't own FMA, only OCs Ed: very good. XD Enjoy!

Roy's POV

I pulled Riza's hand, leading her to a clearing in the woods. "We are going to get caught," Riza said worriedly, "Father with get mad."

"Stop worrying," I said with a grin, "He won't even notice we're gone and I'm tired of studying. I need a break." Finally, we found the clearing in the woods. I unloaded my backpack, handing Riza a slingshot and taking out some chalk, quickly drawing my transmutation circle I had been working on onto a piece of bark. We were going to practice our aim, taking turns hitting anything that made an audible sound, although we were to aim slightly to the right, as not to actually hit any animals.

Soon, pebbles littered the ground and small fires were beginning to burn out. Riza was winning and I had one chance to win. She was smirking, sure that she had won.

A twig snapped and I quickly touched the circle, catching a small tree on fire. Riza's face fell as she realized that victory had escaped her and I smirked. Then, I heard the screams of someone with the small fire that I had transmuted. "Help! Please someone help!" the voice of a young girl screamed. Riza's eyes widened in terror and I set out to destroy the flames. After completing my task, I found a small girl. The left side of her face shown fresh burns and she was crying softly, consciousness obviously slipping away from her. I panicked, grabbing Riza's hand and running. She was too shocked to resist. The whole way back, that little girl's screams echoed in my head.

I sat up in bed, sweat coating my skin. I hadn't had that nightmare in a long time, although I wasn't surprised; I had been having nightmares ever since the accident. I got out of bed, stumbling to the kitchen and drinking a glass of water. My body finally began to cool and I climbed into bed. The rest of the night, I slept, dreaming about that poor little girl.

Riza's POV

As I watched the colonel toss and turn in his sleep, I felt a pang of guilt. I was useless and could not even help him. I wondered what he could possibly be dreaming about to give him these degrees of nightmares but of course I would probably never know- it was unlike Roy to tell anyone.

I just hoped he got enough sleep; he needed all his strength if he was going to both recover and lead an investigation. I did not want him to get injured. At least his team was his most trusted men whom would keep him safe and that alchemist girl that the Fuehrer added. I was not quite sure about her. Something seemed off about her; something that worried me.

*The next day

Roy's POV

I woke up at five o'clock, no longer able to tolerate the nightmares that ensued every time I closed my eyes. I dressed and left on foot, going to HQ. My car was totaled in the crash and I had yet to buy a new one.

I arrived at my office, sitting in my chair, looking out the window, reflecting on my wrongs of the past. That nightmare really shook me; it felt so real. I had had so many nightmares just like it, usually depicting Ishval or Hughes.

I don't know how much time had passed, but when I finally snapped out of my stupor, I found that Veronica was staring at me intently from behind her desk. "Hello," I said, shocked at how tired my voice sounded.

"Hello, sir," Veronica replied, then added, "Did you not sleep well, sir?"

"No need to call me sir when no one important is here," I said; formalities really were a pain, "And no, I didn't sleep well. How could you tell?" What a stupid question, of course she would be able to tell.

"You have dark circles under your eyes," she said with a smirk, as if she could tell that I even thought it was a stupid question.

"Right, of course," I said. A silence ensued, and the atmosphere felt awkward as we sat there. Determined to break the silence that was slowly eating away my sanity, I began to ask her questions to know more about her- her file had been very brief. "Do you have any family?" I asked- if she hadn't been on my team, I might have sounded like a pedophile.

"Only a little brother," she said softly, "My parents were killed in a car accident when we were young." My heart panged at the mention of a car accident. She knew how it felt. "I understand what you're feeling, you know," she added, "It feels like your whole world has come crashing down and all you can do is watch." Not knowing what to say, the silence commenced once again.

Thankfully, Havoc and the others walked in after a few minutes breaking the uncomfortable silence. They immediately quieted down when they saw the dark circles under my eyes and took in my tired expression. Silence was not my friend today.

Again, determined not to lose my sanity, I broke the silence. "Anything to report?" I asked, leaning back in my chair.

"Actually, there is," Havoc said excitingly and I nearly fell back in my chair. Everyone's eyes lit up. "We got a tip phone call last night from a woman calling herself "V" saying Cosner is a regular at the Devil's Nest bar."

"Great," I said. We had a lead! I wanted to dance around the room in joy. "I want someone at that bar at all times, understood?" I was answered by everyone's salutes.

I visited Riza's hospital room later, telling her about the lead. I wasn't sure if she could hear me or not but I wanted someone to talk to and I trusted her more that anyone. The doctors had said she was showing some improvement, but only minimal. Chance of survival was only about 20%- I didn't care, it was still a chance. I found myself becoming a little more cheerful. Things were finally looking better for us.

It had been a week, and there was still no sign of Cosner. I was beginning to lose what little hope I had built last week. If he didn't show himself in another week, we would have to start from scratch.

I was in the Devil's Nest, along with Fullmetal and Veronica, enjoying a drink, watching for Cosner. We had already been there for hours and it didn't look as though Cosner would show. Being as stubborn as I am, I waited, still hoping we would get lucky.

Then, I saw him. He had changed a little since his mug shot was taken but the face was unmistakably his. I got up and began to approach him, Fullmetal and Veronica flanking me. Cosner, looking up, saw us and bolted. We ran after him, cornering him in an alley.

"There's nowhere to run so come quietly," I said threateningly.

He laughed, looking from me to Veronica. "Stupid colonel," he said, "You're going after me when the real one you should question is right next to you." I became uneasy. What was he saying? Then he spat at Veronica, "So that filthy bitch tricked a little girl. What did she trick you with, family perhaps?"

I looked at Veronica. Her eyes widened in fury and before I could stop her, she encased Cosner in ice, killing him instantly. Now it was my turn to be furious.

"Alchemist Veronica, what are you doing?" I yelled, rushing at her. She was too fast though and I soon found myself soaked, unable to transmute any flames. Thank God Fullmetal was there as he quickly pinned Veronica on the ground, immobilizing her completely.

Veronica screamed, trying to break free, "Get off me, please!"

I approached her and ordered, "You're going to tell me who hired you. You've been caught and there's nowhere you can go."

Veronica's eyes began to cool and well with tears. "I don't know her name. She has my brother, please, she has my little brother!"

I looked to Edward, "Let's get her back to HQ, now." We took her back without incident.

It seemed all hope was lost, but I didn't know how wrong I could be.

AN

Wow this was long. Hope you like it though. It is almost done and I already have the ending written, just not the middle leading up to it. (details details) So Cosner is dead, Veronica's in jail, and Roy's hopeless. Awwww I'm so mean.

On the bright side, Riza showed minimal improvement. XD

So as I said before, I want you to review… please… or I shall burn the ending chapter that I have written down and never write again… (not really but you know) Please.. pretty please! I know you are out there. Even if you don't have an account, you can still review. And I've gotten a few reviews that are apologizing for bad English (I love you guys for reviewing... I am bad at English too... I just want reviews, I won't call the grammar police because they would most likely throw me in jail.