"Hans isn't back yet, brother," Alphonse said walking beside Edward, who was flipping through pages

"Hans isn't back yet, brother," Alphonse said walking beside Edward, who was flipping through pages. "He hasn't returned since yesterday." Edward continued to ignore him as he walked on. Alphonse sighed and stopped in mid-step, deciding that he wasn't going to get through to Edward.

"Hans is probably exploring Central right now," Edward said after awhile, then he stopped and stared at Alphonse. "He can take care of himself for now…I'll tell you what," Edward said and shuffled the papers together, "If Hans doesn't return by tonight, we'll search for him."

"I think you've trusted him a bit too much," Alphonse said, shaking his head.

Edward clenched the papers and glared at Alphonse, a bit angry. "In the past I could almost never trust anyone. Why is it so bad that I put my trust in him?"

"It doesn't matter how many people you can trust," Alphonse said slowly, "but the right people to trust." Alphonse turned on his heel and headed back for the dorms where he could talk to Noa who at least thought through things unlike his brother.

Edward watched him leave and looked back at the wrinkled papers which he found in some Alchemy books earlier that day. It wasn't really new information, just a broader insight. It would keep him interested for now and get his thoughts of things.

It was until a few hours later that Hans had still not reported in and Alphonse had come to report it, which made Edward really think about where Hans could've gone. Edward followed after Alphonse to the dorms, realizing that it was later than he had thought as it was pitch dark outside.

"Rose and Kain already left for Resembool," Alphonse said as he opened the door to their room. "They wanted to spend a few days out there before they headed to Liore again."

"Oh?" Edward mused. "I didn't even know she was leaving."

"It was a sudden change in plans," Alphonse shrugged. "We'll see her when we go to Resembool."

"When are we going?"

Alphonse waved three tickets at him. "Now. We're taking the late train. Hans has been gone far too long. So pack your things."

"But…"

"Just listen to me, brother," Alphonse said and pocketed the tickets. "Be ready in half an hour."

Edward sighed and walked over to his bag and started putting away his clothes. "Was Winry going to call when she arrived there?"

"I would think so," Alphonse said. "Even though she's angry, I think she would at least call."

Edward felt a cold sensation wash over him and he stood up. "She wouldn't be that angry…"

"Do not misjudge a woman's wrath," Alphonse muttered, remembering an incident in the past. He kept himself busy by shuffling through his clothes.

"That's right… I'm not the only one to make a woman angry," Edward smiled. "Good thing she broke off with you… what was it, three years ago?"

"I didn't have the strongest German nor did anything ever work out with her," Alphonse sighed and held his shirt up to gaze at it. "She didn't believe that the car broke down. I had a black eye for a week. I never thought that I would be the first one to make a woman that angry."

Edward laughed nervously. "Winry's wrench was a hundred times worse than that."

"You never got bruises."

"She hit my head so of course my bruises couldn't be seen," Edward shot back at him. "My head ached all the time around her."

Alphonse stood up, his suitcase packed. "We need to hurry up," he said, bringing the conversation back to the present. He walked out of the room and headed for the front desk to say that their rooms would be free. Edward shortly followed after and was waiting by the desk while Alphonse did the talking.

"Telephone for you, Mr. Elric," one of the men said behind the desk. "It's a call from Resembool."

Edward slowly walked over. "Great," he muttered, fearing that it would be Winry. "Hello?"

"Ed?" the voice of Rose came over the phone, "Is Winry there?"

"No… she left the day before you, remember?" Edward said, noting the worry in Rose's voice.

"That's what I thought, but she isn't here. Her Granny said that she didn't arrive by the train schedule, so she just figured that she had stayed behind and had cooled off."

Edward closed his eyes and rubbed them with his hand, groaning. "We're coming. Where do you think she is?"

"I don't know," Rose said. "Come here quick, Edward."

"I will," Edward said and hung up the receiver. He turned and found Alphonse staring intently on him, his eyes hard.

"I knew it," Alphonse whispered. "Hans disappeared around the same time as Winry."

"Don't say anything more," Edward warned and took off to a sprint to the station. Dammit… dammit… He didn't know if Hans disappearance was related to Winry's, but he had a dark feeling that it was… he just hoped it wasn't.

Winry opened her eyes, painful as it was, and waited until the adjusted to the dark room that she was in. Sitting up, she took in her surroundings, finding that she was right- it was a room that contained a bed, a window, and a door. Her things were missing, also. Ignoring the headache that she felt, she stepped over to the door and tried the handle, already knowing it was going to be locked and it was. She turned to the hinges on the door, knowing that she could easily pop them up and get out.

But she needed the perfect time. She didn't know where she was or why… that's right. Hans had captured her. Winry shuddered when she remembered the glaring look that he had given her and his smirk to go with them. She hadn't known he would do this at all, or at least suspected it. Hans was Edward's good friend… wasn't he?

Obviously some explanation would be needed.

Rain pounded against the window and she headed over, knowing that she wouldn't be able to get out unless she had a lot of strength she's hidden over the years. The boards that ran across the outside of the window didn't help, either. They covered at least half the window so she could only see a little out of it…

She knew where she was. This was an old cottage way on the outskirts of Risembool that had been abandond for a long time, ever since she was a kid. This had been the finding of her, Edward's and Alphonse's camping trip that they decided to do. Winry smiled. Edward could easily find this place and rescue…

She stopped herself. No way, Winry thought, am I going to be damsel in distress. She headed over to the window and peered outside, wondering if Hans would be out there. Nobody was, but she decided to wait there. Come to think of it… weren't Rose and Kain coming right after me the day after? They would've arrived late. Winry gritted her teeth. She wasn't sure what plan that Hans had, but he needed to be stopped, and she couldn't do it by herself. Edward or Alphonse better be over here, quick.

The door sounded like it was being unlocked and Winry rushed over to the bed and stood next to it, ready to speak against Hans, who walked in with a grim look on his face.

"You're looking well," he said and stopped in front of the door. "I'm sorry for the harsh way of bringing you here."

"No hard feelings," Winry said, angry. "I don't mind getting hit unconscious now and then. Why'd you do it?"

"No reason to tell you, yet," Hans shrugged. "I've come to bring you food." He handed over a plate that she hadn't noticed.

She reached over and took it, knowing that she would have to keep up her strength. "I hope you know that you're going to disappoint Edward," she said slowly. "He doesn't take well to being betrayed."

"The boy needs to learn," Hans countered. "Life isn't filled with flowers."

"I think Edward knows that better than any of us," Winry said. "I don't think that you realize that."

"I've heard little of his adventures, true," Hans said. He sighed and brushed a long strand of hair behind his ear and he once again turned a glare on Winry. "No matter what he's been through, he will always be a pawn. Someone of his nature is always going to be like that."

"Why?" Winry asked, her voice strained. "Just because..?"

"Just because he was born here and of what he has to offer," Hans said, a smirk appearing on his face. "He has always been one of the pawns to open the gate."

"I don't think you have the right to decide that," Winry replied, setting the food down on the bed. "Edward will do anything to keep you from winning."

"Even leaving you behind again?" Hans said quickly, smirking even wider when Winry flinched. "I see. That means he won't go down without a fight, which I already knew."

"Hans…" a new voice said behind him. A middle aged man walked through the door, a graying blonde beard and hair covering his face. He was dressed in a suit and he was wearing glasses that made him seem like a high class gentleman. "Grüß Gott, Ms. Rockbell. I am Karl Feder," he said and stared at Winry with black eyes.

Winry blinked in astonishment. "You're…"

"I'm also from Germany, yes," Karl said and turned to look at Hans. "I think you've had enough chatting with Ms. Rockbell. Plans are needed to be set still." He turned and walked out, and Hans followed without a word, closing the door and locking it on the other side.

Winry sat down on the bed and sighed, not knowing where the other man had come from… this was going to be difficult, she was sure. Eating the bread and crackers that she had been given, she stood in front of the door gazing at the hinges. Bending down and reaching the inside of her book, she grabbed her small screwdriver that she kept in case of emergencies. It was a screwdriver…it wasn't until long that she used the screwdriver to unwind the nail in the hinge and quickly finished the others. She put her screwdriver in her pocket just in case she needed to defend herself… and waited a minute, took a deep breath, and pulled the door to the right, holding it up to not make any noise.

She tip-toed out, straining her ears for any sounds. Neither hearing nor seeing nothing unusual, she wandered out of the room and headed for the back door. It wasn't that big of a cottage and she betted that Hans and this Karl guy was in the small kitchen… she reached the back door and slowly walked through the door, trying to be as quiet as she could. She turned around and took another deep breath; she was past one of the hardest parts.

Ducking down, she ran to several bushes to keep out of sight even though it was dark. But she had to get back and soon daylight would come and she would be easily spotted; the cottage was surrounded by trees but the trees only lasted about half a mile until it met nothing but endless miles of grassy plains. How Edward, Alphonse, and herself had ever reached the cottage before now was a mystery to her. Her parents had been there to guide them… That was one of the last times she spent with her parents.

Come to think of it, she sighed, that was one of the last times of ever having a joyful childhood with Ed and Al.

The cottage was soon out of sight and she was reaching the end of the trees. She quickened her pace and broke out into a run once she reached the grass. She was in enough shape to run some distance and get far enough away. Even her already pounding head wouldn't stop her. Nothing would.

"It seems your bait has run away," Karl said as he heard the back door being open, as quiet as it was.

"I'm trusting your so called machinery will keep her here," Hans said. They were sitting in the kitchen, drinking some old coffee. "You said you had watchmen out there?"

"During my five years here I didn't just keep to myself," Karl said. "I gathered followers from many different places, but most of them are just outcasts with nowhere to go."

Hans kept silent.

"She would've been proud of you," Karl said, sitting down next to Hans. He leaned back and rubbed his beard in thought. "This is exactly what Eckhart would've wanted and we can't let it fail again. Edward Elric is the first Alchemist that needs to go to show that Alchemists are not all powerful... he defeated Eckhart," Karl ended in a murmur. "He deserves what is coming to him, including his brother."

Hans slightly nodded, still keeping silent. "Excuse me," he said and stood up, pushing the chair back with a loud creek. He headed out the back and stood outside, scrunching his eyes against the dark. Winry wasn't in sight anymore and it wouldn't be long until he would be seeing her again. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air. 12 more days.

Winry sagged down to her knees, exhausted. She had been running for a long time it seemed and already the sun had started to rise. She flopped down onto her back and tried to breathe properly again. She was getting nearer to her town, that she was sure even though there were still endless grassy hills around her.

After five minutes of resting, she sat up and stood up again, starting off in a walk. She wasn't sure if she had been gone for a day or half a day; she would figure that out when she reached home.

A bursting strike of pain shot up her leg and she collapsed to the ground, biting back a yell. She glanced down at her leg and saw that it was caught in a simple hunting trap and cursed. What was this doing out in the middle of nowhere? Ignoring the pain shooting up her leg she sat up and tried to move the trap off, but it caused even more pain to shoot up her leg, causing her to yell. She let go of the trap and placed her hand on the ground, feeling light headed. "I have to reach home… and warn them…" she whispered. "I can't give up here…"

A rumbling came behind her and she glanced over her shoulder to see a car driving up. A car door opened and she heard several people step out.

"Oh? She escaped?" a voice came behind her.

"She was caught even before we caught her," another laughed. "By a simple trap."

A rough hand grabbed her arm and the other quickly undid the trap, causing Winry even more pain. They pulled her up and let her walk back to the car not offering to help her. Winry wiped tears of frustration away from her eyes; they wouldn't help her now. She looked at the car and almost let her mouth gape in amazement; the car had a gun of some design sitting on the front. It was crudely made, but it was clearly dangerous. The man behind her pushed her to go into the car and she sat down painfully, reaching down to her foot which was seeping blood and struggled to get off her boot.

Twenty minutes later she was sitting back on the bed she had woke up, her boot off and covered in her own bandages from her clothes. She had glared at Hans on the way in, but he had ignored her look.

I didn't get very far with this, Winry thought to herself. I just wanted to help. I thought I could do it.

But I won't give up.

Edward sat on the bench impatiently, watching the trees pass him by. It was near morning and he was almost in Resembool… he was almost there. He glanced over at Noa and Alphonse, who had both fallen asleep in their chairs. Once he reached Resembool, he need to contact the Military. He had left without telling that Hans had gone and Winry was missing, which should have been the first things he did. He cursed; he wasn't thinking straight.

"Brother, you alright?" Alphonse asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

Edward realized he was rubbing his forehead during his process of thinking and he nodded, putting his hand down. "I'm just thinking."

"Want to talk?"

Edward shook his head. "Nothing to say what you already know. I think…" Edward turned his head to stare at the familiar station coming up, "I think I'm just angry at myself for not stopping her," he mumbled. The train stopped with a loud noise and he sprang up, walking over to No and putting a hand on her shoulder, waking her up. "Time to go. We're here."

We're coming.

Sorry for the long update. I've been writing a lot of my own stories and poems in my free time and have been struggling at starting this one. School is almost out for me (two weeks!), so I might get more free time, depending on whether I get the job I applied for.

For people who hate damsels in distress… Don't worry a bit :)

Colonel Bastard: It might seem like he's narrating the story, doesn't it? I sort of wanted him to 'reflect' on what happened, so I'm ok with the first paragraph, but I will change the last sentence on your suggestion, because it does sound way better XD

Thanks for reviews!