Long story short: My laptop crashed and my back up failed me. Means: I lost all I had written and prepared. All my notes, almost done ch. 11, half done ch. 12, my outline, future scenes, my other unfinished stories .. everything -.-

It took me sometime to retrieve enough from my brain to get this story on digital paper again (to rewrite this chapter for starters).
I'm still pretty pissed about the whole data loss, but I'm truly sorry that I'm .. late .. AGAIN. Goddamit!
Please blame my pretty but overheating laptop :( Hope it gets screwed hard at maintenance as punishment.

On the bright side: This is one of the longer chapters! That I wrote twice now! Joy!

Special thanks and a lot of love to IzumiTheMoogle who betad again!

But here we go, hope you enjoy!~

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 11:

Just Once In A While

First Lieutenant Belasco Maverick massaged the bridge of his nose. He stood in a telephone booth and listened to the noise at the other side of the line. Maverick was wearing his glasses tonight. He rarely did.

His superior wouldn't like this. Maverick knew that for sure. But it was his duty to report this, so he would. There was now officially a murder connected to Mustang's case of missing persons.

The victim had been interrogated just before it happened, of all things. This was going to be a scandal. It might even endanger Mustang's promotion. And he took the case to improve his image to begin with.

Maverick turned around as he heard one of the MPs calling him, but the tall man silenced him with a small wave of his hand.

"Brigadier General Mustang speaking." The receiver finally crackled, interrupting the racket of the party.

Maverick straightened up as if his superior had emerged in front of him:

"First Lieutenant Maverick here, Sir. I sincerely apologize for the disturbance-"

"Just shoot." Mustang interrupted the Lieutenant calmly.

"Yes, Sir. There was another sighting of our missing person – Emma Johnson. But more importantly: we've found Emerson Chadwick – the fiancée of Johnson - murdered in her house."

Maverick waited a few seconds for a reaction or a question, but the Brigadier General kept silent, only some cheering and music being heard in the background.

The tall man continued: "A woman living nearby alarmed us. Ms. Johnson walked past the witness who was on her way home – Johnson was covered in blood. We are already interviewing all the neighbors, but it doesn't look as if we'll get truly useful information from them."

Maverick paused again, but only to be met with more silence.

"Mr. Chadwick seems to have been struck dead. The supposed murder weapon was found next to him. We have also found a message supposedly written by the murderer, but I don't want to give too many details since this isn't a secure line."

"Your course of action?" The Brigadier General inquired finally.

"Sir!" Maverick cleared his throat before he continued.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Ah thank you, Riza! You're a life saver." Gracia breathed a sigh of relief and peeked over her shoulder to examine the blonde's work.

"Don't worry about it. I actually have to admire how prepared you are – carrying a needle and stitch with you to a wedding like that." Riza stuck the needle into the middle of the multicolored spool of thread and handed it back to her friend.

"If not to a wedding, where else?" Gracia chuckled. "Did you learn to sew in the military?"

"No," Riza leaned against one of the basins in the bathroom. "Before that. I learned the basics when I was still a child."

Gracia examined herself in the mirror and fixed her dress to fit properly.

"Really, I was lucky you were there. Can you believe the strap just broke like that? I wouldn't have been able to fix it myself. Unless I undressed of course!" The mother laughed. She pulled at the repaired strap to confirm its durability. "Hmm, good work."

Riza grinned, "Of course. I wouldn't have offered my help if I wasn't capable of doing it sufficiently."

Gracia giggled and stepped towards the Captain to fix her properly with her eyes: "You are – no matter how wonderful you are – way too serious about everything."

"It's just common sense." The blonde sighed, unimpressed. Gracia liked to point out her seriousness almost as much as much Rebecca whined about it. The Brigadier General rarely commented on it.

Riza silently watched Gracia pack all her belongings that she had brought to surface as she searched for her sewing kit. Lip stick, a little stuffed toy, a purse that was two times bigger than Riza's and had bright red stitches, a pocket mirror, a comb, patches in pink ... It looked as if Gracia could spontaneously leave the country with her handbag alone. Riza wasn't even able identify every shiny item. She looked down at her own bag. It was the size of Gracia's wallet.

"So, having fun tonight?" Gracia asked innocently as she retrieved the plush bunny again to place a little bottle at the bottom of her bag first.

"Yes, it's a nice evening." The officer replied dryly.

"You even danced." Gracia stated, her innocent tone unchanged. She closed her bag, finally done with packing.

"I did." Riza closed her eyes. Her tone stayed unchanged as well.

"Just that one dance?"

The Captain understood the implication.

"Yes."

Gracia looked at her friend for a while before she sighed and went to the door.

"Whatever suits you ..." Gracia opened the door, but looked back at Riza before she exited and said gently, "Go and guard your superior a bit more. Come over to a cup of coffee again soon, ok? Elicia would be happy, too."

Riza smiled and nodded, before she followed: "Yes, I'll come by soon again."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The blond man stumbled around, looking around in a frenzy.

"MURRY!" He shouted and placed his hand on another woman's shoulder with chestnut hair.

"Eek!" The woman stepped away from the stranger in horror. He reeked of alcohol.

"Havoc!" Denny and Maria screamed in unison, shocked by his behavior. "What the hell are you doing?"

The man in question slowly turned around, vaguely registering his name. He narrowed his eyes, obviously trying to identify the people that called him. Jean's conclusion was announced aloud:

"Not as curvy! Not Murry!" He screamed while pointing his finger past both Denny and Maria. He was pointing at their swirling doppelgangers.

"What did you say?" Maria barked as she strode over to him. Jean almost fell over his own feet as he tried to flee from the two Marias, but it was in vain – the right one got him.

Maria had grabbed the taller and by far drunker man by his ear.

"Jeez, how much did you drink?" Denny had slowly followed and raised an eyebrow at the back and forth wobbling Havoc.

"Not mu- Ouch!" He cried as Maria yanked at his ear to get his attention.

"What were you doing, Havoc? Weren't you with that West?"

"West?" Havoc looked at her like a little boy that had just dropped his ice cream on the floor. "West! Murry! Have ya' seen 'er? You're a Murry-a, you gotta know!"

Maria just raised an eyebrow: "What?"

"MURRY! Where did cha go?" The drunk suddenly cried and tried to just walk away, totally forgetting his ear-lock. "OW!"

"Ah, I think he lost Mary!" Denny stated, planting himself to Havoc's other side.

"... I wouldn't have guessed, Denny."

Maria's boyfriend just grinned, embarrassed at her comment, and turned to Jean again:

"Where did you see her last?"

"That's not the-" Ross began, but was cut short by her fellow Lieutenant who practically screamed every word:

"She said she'd just go to … what wassit again? Dunno. But she said she'd come again soon!"

"It doesn't matter. You, Sir, are way too drunk! You have to leave now. You smell like you fell into a barrel of whiskey!"

"... Most of it was vodka ..." Jean noted absentmindedly.

"... Are you staring at my breasts, Lieutenant?" Ross gritted her teeth as she followed his eyes.

"Nuh?" Havoc answered innocently, not even bothering to shift his gaze up.

The female officer shoved Havoc towards Denny violently. Her boyfriend just managed to catch him, preventing the walking bottle to fall down terribly.

"Bring him to bed!" Maria snapped before she furiously stormed away.

Denny just forced a smile and nodded.

"You know … I know they're pretty, but you really shouldn't stare like that … specially, since she's my girlfriend and stuff ..."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Riza looked at her watch as she climbed the stairs and memorized the time.

She had spotted Mustang at the other side of the room right away as she had exited the bathroom. She always scanned the room for him, first thing. It was a conditioned reflex from all the time she had served under him.

But she hadn't walked over to him this time. Instead she went upstairs. She didn't know why.

She followed the empty corridor, and at its end a door was open. Riza peeked into the dark room and entered. The room was bigger than she had expected. All four walls were almost fully covered by bookshelves. The Captain reached for the upper light switch. A few lamps on the desks in the middle of the room and those on the tiny tables besides old armchairs and lounges lit up. Riza liked the dim light and left the other switches untouched.

There was all kind of books. Fiction, fairytales, education, science- she stopped in front the little label that said "Alchemy". Hesitatingly, Riza stepped towards the shelf and pulled one of the thick books out.

She opened the book at a random page and flipped through it slowly, only recognizing and understanding a few symbols and formulas here and there.

Her father had owned the very same one.

Riza had held it in her hands a few times as a child. Once her father had walked in and slapped it out of her grasp immediately. He scolded her for hours.

He had never wanted her to learn alchemy. She never did.

But she was allowed to carry the secrets of flame alchemy.

She pushed the book back into the shelf so hard it hit the wall loudly.

Riza shook her head. Unnecessary thoughts.

'I've severed my bond to you and alchemy.'

She stepped away, but still faced the bookshelf.

'But what would you say? If you saw me in my uniform? If you knew I've killed? If you knew I told him your secrets?'

The shelf kept silent. Of course it did.

'I'm being idiotic here …' She shook her head again and turned her back to the alchemy section.

Riza sighed and started to leave, but another book caught her eye on the way out. This time it was in the fiction department, under "Romance".

It was the book she was currently reading: 'Under The Willows'

She pulled it out slowly and examined the cover. It was an older print than hers, and obviously battered and used. But the book looked classy in its own way. Riza let her fingers trace over the golden letters on the spine and felt their smooth borders.

"Party so boring you needed something to read, Captain?" A very familiar voice asked.

Mustang leaned in the door frame, his expression hidden by the shadow cast by the lamps in the hall.

His subordinate dearly hoped he hadn't been standing there the whole time. But considering her intuition, that was unlikely.

"No, it just caught my eye." She answered and put the book back in its shelf swiftly.

Mustang scratched his head and looked over his shoulder before he entered, pulling the door shut behind him.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So are you going to have kids now?"

Edward spit the contents of his mouth back into his glass.

Winry just forced a chuckle and waved the question off: "Not yet, not yet."

"Aw." Elicia pulled a face, but still wore her puppy eyes. "Please get a girl! They're more fun to play with!"

"Oh, don't say that. That's not true; boys are lots of fun toplay with!" Winry slurred slightly and grabbed her glass again, but didn't drink from it yet. She patted her husband's leg to emphasize her point. "I played with Ed and Al all the time as a child!"

"They were nice to you?"

"... Not exactly … but it was still fun." The bride shrugged and gulped half of her champagne down.

Edward scoffed: "Hey, we weren't that bad!"

"... Sometimes we were, Ed." Alphonse cut in, closing his eyes as he remembered the days of their childhood. "Oh god, do you remember when you broke Snuffles and put his leftovers in Den's basket, so it looked like Den was the culprit?"

"I do." Winry dryly stated while she examined the last drops in her glass.

"Oh come on! It wasn't just me! It was your fault that thing fell down to begin with!" Ed barked at his brother, but also noticed the glare from his wife. He sighed and handed her the champagne bottle. She accepted it happily.

"Or when we played hide and seek and just left Winry behind ..."

"Oh man! Just stop it already!" The groom shouted. "I can't believe you remember all that stuff."

"Someone has to remember at least." Al grinned and clinked glasses with Winry.

Ed grabbed the bottle and refilled his glass (to the delight of Winry, since her dear husband had proclaimed he didn't want to drink anymore). "Bet you won't remember that much of that once Mei is back – would ruin your prince image, eh?"

"That has nothing to do with it." Alphonse grinned and clinked glasses with Ed this time.

"Uhm- Sorry, to disturb you Mr. Elric." A squeaky voice interrupted them.

A tiny man, holding a bowler hat in his hands nervously stood right behind Al. He looked like he was afraid of getting eaten by them.

"I- I- don't want do disturb. But- Ah I'm Ricky, the cellist. Actually it's Richard Kean, but everyone calls me Ricky … Fo-forgive my manners, please!"

Alphonse smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder: "No need to be so formal, Ricky. We've meet a few times already!"

"Ah, Sorry. I- I didn't forget or anything, I just- Sorry, to impose on you!" He fidgeted with his hat wildly, explaining why it looked so worn out. His suit looked worn out, too. His eyes flew into a different direction every second. But he always seemed nervous. So many people must have taken a toll on him.

"Do you want something from me?" Ed pointed his thumb at himself: "Or are you here for Al?"

"I'm here for Alphonse Elric!" He proclaimed firmly, surprising the whole table. But he immediately fell back in his squirrel like demeanor: "Ah … I- I mean … I came for you Mr. Elric. I mean- Mr. Alphonse Elric."

Ricky ran his fingers through his hair, smiling nervously. His receding hairline seemed to win against his magnificent head of hair slowly.

"As I said – there is no need to be so formal, Ricky!" Al patted his shoulder again. "What is it? Don't worry about it!"

"I uhm … I'm a little embarrassed about it, but … could you maybe come with me for a minute? I- I need your help … but it's a little private … I-"

"Sure!" Al stood up and continued to smile gently at the small man. He turned to the newlyweds: "Excuse me for a bit!"

"Have fuu~un!" Elicia and Winry singsonged together.

"Ah, yeah … sorry, just this way ..." They heard Ricky mutter while they left.

"He's such a weirdo." Edward stated, but the two girls didn't seem to listen. Winry whispered something into her little sister's ear with her trademark grin. She was up to something again.

"No! I can't do that!" Elicia gasped and shook her head.

Winry clenched her fist to ignite Elicia's determination: "Sure you can! .. You want to right?"

Elicia gasped again and looked wide eyed from Winry to Edward.

Now realizing the subject was him, Ed twitched.

However, Edward tried to ignore them and concentrated on the music. It was only the piano and sax at the moment, but their duets didn't lack any quality or entertainment.

"You do, right?" Winry grinned a she spotted the desire in the child's eyes.

Elicia nodded slowly.

Winry pushed the little girl gently towards her husband: "Go ask, he won't bite."

Edward slowly turned to Elicia who was standing right next to him now. She looked at him with those big puppy eyes of hers.

He didn't want to ask: "... What is it, Elicia?"

The girl looked back to Winry for support. Winry smiled reassuringly and gave her a thumbs up.

"... What?" Edward was starting to get nervous.

'Baby questions again?' He thought.

Elicia asked untypically timid, "... Would you dance with me?"

Ed just looked wide eyed at her: "That's all?"

Elicia nodded, still rather quiet.

"Uh … sure." The groom stood up slowly. A smile started to form on his lips as he saw how Elicia's face lit up with pure joy.

"Yay!" She took his hand and pulled him to the dance floor, loudly proclaiming that one dance won't be enough – all prior shyness vanished.

"Ahh~, that's going to be so damn cute!" Winry told herself while she refilled her glass yet again. She took Edwards glass in her other hand and clinked glasses with herself.

"… I bet Mr. Mustang is done with his phone call already …"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The closed door muffled the sound of the party in the dim room. He almost felt as if he suddenly was somewhere else entirely.

Mustang stepped over to his Captain. He grinned as he spotted the familiar book in the shelf.

"That's the one you're reading at the moment, isn't it?"

Mustang didn't look at her directly. Instead, he looked past her; seemingly totally absorbed by the books.

"Yes, it is." Hawkeye answered simply.

He could feel her eyes on him. She knew already. And he knew the answer before she had to ask:

"It was Lieutenant Maverick." The Brigadier General stated and pulled the book out of the shelf. He opened it randomly and seated himself in the nearby arm chair.

Hawkeye didn't move. She stood in place and simply watched him, waiting for the rest.

"Hmm, another romance novel isn't it?" Mustang slowly turned the pages, eyes on the book as if he was reading some passages.

"Yes, Sir." His Captain folded her arms and kept waiting.

He could feel her eyes on him still – she was examining him intently, reading him. But he didn't look her in the eye yet.

"'In the middle of the meadow - far away from the mansion but near the pavilion and right next to the lake - a few weeping willows stood. The oldest, tallest was my favorite. My mother never liked them, saying they looked too miserable. But I always appreciated their beauty.'" Mustang pretended to read aloud, but it was the very first paragraph of the novel – and not anywhere near the page in front of him. He finally looked up and met the Captain's eyes. She seemed to have noticed that he had recited the beginning of the book:

"So you've read it before?"

"Yeah." Mustang closed the book and averted his eyes to the ceiling.

"Emerson Chadwick was murdered."

Hawkeye's arms fell from her chest and her eyes grew wide. She immediately stepped towards her superior. She could've expected something happened, but a murder?

"He was found in Emma Johnson's house. Just a few hours after they had interrogated him. It has already caused a big ruckus."

"Sir, we have to-" The Captain began, but was cut short by Mustang's raised hand.

"You know Maverick – he's already taking care of everything. I've given him additional instructions, too. There's nothing we can do until we return. Even if there was a train before tomorrow morning, there is nothing we can do now."

"So we just-"

"Enjoy the party. And let the others enjoy it."

Hawkeye stared at him for a few seconds longer before she walked over to the writing desk next to the armchair, leaning on it with her hands. She was clearly distraught, but not many besides Mustang would have seen it.

"Understood." She finally said and thus affirmed her silence over the matter.

Mustang leaned onto the arm rest and let his head rest on his arm. He looked up at his Captain, trying to read her for a change.

Her amber eyes were the ones not looking at him now.

It wasn't just the murder. They were used to people dying by now – as horrible as it sounded. It was surprising the weird but harmless case finally took a crueler turn … But they had been aware of the possibility from the beginning. That's why they had wanted to solve it as soon as possible. But his Captain also knew that his promotion wasn't possible anymore before the case was closed and the culprit caught. And they had no solid lead whatsoever.

"Did they find any leads?" Hawkeye looked at him again.

"Plenty." Mustang drummed on the book in his lap with his fist as he leaned into the back rest. "He didn't give me many details, but Ms. Johnson apparently was there, too. She is our prime subject as of now."

The Brigadier General smiled, but he was far from happy. Their objective hadn't changed at all. They still had to find Ms. Johnson. Magnificent.

"I shouldn't have made this my case, right?" He asked more weakly than he had intended to.

Hawkeye looked at him a little surprised before she sighed and turned around. She leaned on the desk again, now facing the shelf just like the Brigadier General. Smiling she said:

"You did what you always do."

Mustang groaned heavily and stood up.

"We'll get him. We'll solve this and bring whoever is behind this to justice." He proclaimed, eyes on the ceiling.

"Yes, Sir." Hawkeye matched the determined tone of her superior, but kept on smiling slightly.

Mustang turned to his Captain, letting the book rest on his shoulder.

"You're smiling a lot today." A smile formed on his lips as well as he spoke.

"You're the one who is in an absurdly good mood today, Sir." She locked eyes with him, but didn't move an inch.

"Until you got that phone call at least." She added in a low voice. The Captain averted her gaze again – she focused on the little flower in his buttonhole instead of his eyes now.

"Enough of work for now." He chuckled, but it felt hollow.

Hawkeye smirked, seeing how he ruffled through his hair: "You never stop working, Sir."

He watched her blankly for a moment before he stepped over to her, grinning broadly now.

"I do. Very often even."

"For sleeping?" His Captain asked, eying him sharply.

"Not only." Her amber eyes pierced through him. Her eyes were the only thing he was always able to read. Most of the time at least.

Mustang came closer without realizing it. He had that feeling again. It had surfaced a few times today already.

"Are you suggesting I should go on even more dates, Captain?"

The air in the room was suddenly different.

They were alone.

Her lips caught his eye.

This had happened before.

He should just leave. Go to where other people were. But his body didn't do what his head told him to.

Mustang stood right in front of her now. Hawkeye still hadn't moved, she only pressed herself harder into the table behind her. He could see that her grip on its edge had tightened.

"Maybe." His Captain answered him in a hushed voice. Her eyes flew over him.

He wanted to pull away – he had to – but instead he came even closer. He bit his lip as he leaned forward – only to put the book onto the desk behind her.

He was too close.

His heart was beating so fast and loud it absorbed the noise from outside. Even more so as he noticed that her eyes rested on his lips.

Was it the alcohol that suddenly took its toll on them?

"Captain," Mustang titled his head slightly as he spoke. "do you happen to have some time today?"

He wasn't allowed to say something like that. Yet he heard himself say it. But to his surprise his Captain started to chuckle and pulled away.

"I actually don't have much time anymore."

Mustang titled his head again, this time caused by confusion.

"I have to die-" Hawkeye glanced at her watch. "in 13 minutes."

Her superior raised an eyebrow: "The evil killer got you? You of all people?"

"Yes. On my way here."

"It surprises me you're even playing." He laughed but didn't move away. Something deep inside him didn't let him.

"Well, I wasn't asked." She whispered lowly.

"And you wanted to spend your last 13 minutes finishing the book you're reading currently?"

"I had no objective in mind when I came here." She looked at the book beside her. "I just happened to stumble into this library."

Hawkeye turned to Mustang and locked eyes with him yet again.

"You should step away." Her voice was sharp. Her eyes weren't.

"I know." Mustang simply stated, but he was breathing heavily. "You should push me away."

"I know." Her voice was firm, but her eyes were fixed on his lips again. She smiled weakly.

Mustang felt lost. The lump in his chest tightened and urged him further. Neither of them pulled away. Neither of them pushed the other away.

He leaned forward slowly. His left hand positioned itself next to hers, his right reached for her face. Her head came closer. And slowly their lips reached for each other, until they finally met.

They immediately parted after their first contact – shying away just for a moment -

just to dive in again, more passionately this time.

Hawkeye placed one of her hands on his chest – first meaning to keep him away, but it ended up caressing him. Her other hand found his belt and two fingers sneaked between it and the fabric of Mustangs pants, pulling him closer.

He on the other hand was more than eager to follow the demand of her fingers and pressed himself against her – a moan escaped Riza's lips.

They parted, both breathing heavily. Roy rested his forehead against hers, his eyes still closed.

"We shouldn't do this."

"I know."

"I mean ever."

"I know."

"Yet we do."

"I know."

"Again ..."

"Yeah ..."

Roy sighed and let his head slide down on Riza's shoulder.

"Just once in a while ..."

"You always say that …"

"You always complain."

"You never listen."

"You're not listening to yourself ..." Roy breathed into her ear, embracing her tightly.

Silence.

"Just once in a while ..."

"Just once in a while."

Roy grinned against her neck, enjoying her smell and that her hand had found its way into his hair. He let his hands slide down her sides until he reached her waist. He gripped her gently and lifted her onto the table.

"Bad place, though."

"And bad time. Like always." Riza gave him a grin that made his heart beat even faster than it already was. Her eyes shined even in the barely lit room, but they also seemed darker.

"We're in a hurry, too ..." He said mockingly: "Don't give me that look – you were the one who set the time limit, my Captain."

Riza chuckled and glanced at her watch again: "Two minutes left actually ..."

"Hmm, a challenge suits me just fine ..." He whispered against her open lips.

Their kiss wasn't as passionately now, yet it was even more intense. They kissed slowly. Gently. Lovingly.

Roy felt like he would explode any moment. He wasn't sure if he was the one pressing her down or if she was the one pulling him down. It didn't matter.

Roy caressed her bare leg and let his hand slid up her belly …

But then they heard them. Screams from downstairs.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"SOMEONE! Someone please, come help!" It was Vanessa who stormed into the dance hall, screaming so loud the music stopped and everyone turned to face her.

"Someone! A doctor!" She frantically screamed.

Falman stormed forward to get a hold of his girlfriend: "What happened?"

"Mrs. West she-" Vanessa gasped. "She's bleeding! She needs help!"

The small woman pointed towards the door that led to the toilets and pulled Vato back with her.

Many of the guests pressed themselves forward to see what happened. A few had arrived before Vanessa had returned, but just stood there, too shocked to act immediately.

Mary West sat on the ground, leaning against the wall, only a few steps away from the toilets. Her eyes were closed. Blood was running down the side of her face.
She didn't react to any of the people calling her name - she didn't move at all.

Falman knelled down and checked her pulse.

Unrest spread and people started screaming as it became clear that someone was hurt.

A young man came storming in from outside, stopping in the open door that led to the garden. It was Alphonse:

"Is she alright?" The younger Elric shouted.

"Alphonse!" Winry screamed as she saw him. Edward and she had shoved themselves to the front. Alphonse's head was bleeding, too.

"It's okay, she's still alive." Falman finally said. He turned around and commanded the people standing around the scene to make room.

"We need a doctor here!" Winry turned to the guests, scanning the mass of people for her Grandmother at least.

Vanessa practically jumped at Alphonse, her eyes still wide from shock: "What happened?"

"A man." Alphonse breathed. "He was hunching over her. I asked him what he was doing and then-"

"He hit you?" Winry gasped. Al nodded, suddenly putting his head on his forehead – as if he had just noticed the blood streaming down his face.

"Al!" Edward stepped towards his brother. "Did you follow him outside?"

"Yeah." Alphonse nodded, "But I lost him. So I returned to check on Mary."

Ed turned around only to find the military personnel already gathered behind him. Mustang and Hawkeye were just pressing themselves through the crowd.

Edward and Mustang exchanged a look before they nodded at each other.

"Breda, Ross, Armstrong and Hawkeye. Go with Fullmetal and search for whoever did this."

"Yes, Sir." They said in unison and followed Edward out of the door.

"Falman, Catalina, Fuery, Brosch and – where the hell is Havoc?"

"Drunk, Sir." Brosch informed his superior.

"... Falman, Catalina, Fuery and Brosch secure this place and close all exits."

"Yes, Sir." They said in unison.

Mustang raised his voice and turned to the rest of the hall:

"First of all: If a doctor is present please come forward immediately! Also: I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but no one can leave now. Please stay calm and obey our commands. And who is responsible for security?"

"Me!" A man dressed in black only a few feet away waved.

"Please come over here. We need to join forces right away."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Mei and Al put Mary gently into a secure lying position. Pinako examined the singer as thorough as she could at the moment.

"She's out for good." The elderly woman forced her eyes open and observed her pupils. "Seems like a strike on the head. But doesn't seem too bad."

Mei produced her iconic knives out of nowhere and threw them around Mary. "Step back – I'll stop the bleeding for now."

The canvas lit up, but Mary still didn't react. Not even with a groan.

Alphonse placed his blazer over Mary to keep her warm. But Mei immediately pulled him to the side and sat him down to look at his wound.

"Something is different about her ..." The Xingese girl pondered as she pressed a cloth on Al's forehead.

"What do you mean?" Winry inspected Mary once more – something was missing. "Her necklace! That big-ass golden locket!"

"Yes. But all of her jewelry is gone." Falman stated calmly. "No rings, no wristband, no watch."

"A robber?" Vanessa gasped.

"Would be the first conclusion ..." Falman knelled down again. He stroked his chin pensively.

"Why would someone rob someone at such a crowded place?" Winry asked, but something caught her attention. "What is that?"

She reached for Mary's décolleté. Something was peeking out of her bra. She slowly pulled at the white edge and produced a playing card.

The Joker greeted them with a wide grin.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Author's Babble:

You know ... I could have interrupted them, before they kissed … *ducks*

So, this closes the first part of the story!
No fried puppies, but another crime, woot. And Royai gone physical.

So what do you think till now? What was boring? What was interesting or at least entertaining? What do you hope for? What are you interested in the most (e.g. which characters)? I'd love some opinions :)

Thank you like always! For reading, reviewing and alerting! It is very much appreciated! Everything gave me a lot of motivation, specially with all this crap going on, thank you lots!

Stay tuned for ch. 12!

cheerio,

the currently very unlucky but still striped one

PS: 'Under The Willows' is a fictional story as well and has no relation to existing works.