Hey again everyone! I'm back! Sorry about the long wait but it was unavoidable ;)
Anyway, enjoy this chapter!
Varishi x
"He should have been back by now, Colonel." Al stated firmly. But Mustang knew only too well that his subordinate should definitely be here by now. A full hour had now passed and there was still no sign of Ed. The Colonel didn't know which direction the boy went in, but Al had already confidently said that if he went anywhere he'd only go around the block. The Colonel knew that there was no point in waiting any longer; if he hadn't turned up already then he wasn't coming. Even more worryingly, there had been no calls saying that Ed had ended up in a hospital or something, so the Flame alchemist knew that it was more likely that he was gone or lying unconscious or worse in some abandoned corner somewhere undetected.
"Come on, let's go and look for him." Colonel Mustang suddenly blurted out, gesturing for Al to follow him. Both he and Al had been a little startled by the obvious distress in the Colonel's voice. Al had been nervous when just twenty minutes had passed since Ed had reportedly left the grounds, but now that it had been a full hour if he could cry he would have been struggling not to. Ed wasn't properly rested; in fact when Al had gotten him up earlier that day he had been worried at the sight of the dark circles under his eyes and the dull expression on his face that had made him look unwell. If there was ever a time that Ed would definitely need his brother if he got into a rough patch, it was then.
The two remaining alchemists scoured the streets for any sign of the small blonde. It was only when they were halfway around the block that Al froze at the sight of something on the ground. He had seen the small object glitter in the distance but had assumed it was a piece of broken glass or something along those lines. But as they approached the object they identified it as an object which undoubtedly belonged to Ed: his silver state alchemist pocket watch. There was no way he'd drop that by accident, that watch was dear to him because in that watch he carried his resolve. It was where he had engraved the date that he and Al had burned down their home, signifying the beginning of a journey that they would not sway from until they had their original bodies back. If it wasn't clear before, now it was set in stone. Ed had been abducted.
"What do we do, Colonel?" Al panicked, his artificial eyes frantically darting here and there just in case there were any clues, when Mustang had finally said what they were both thinking out loud. Mustang turned away from the anxious suit of armour so that he could take some time to think as clearly as he could under the circumstances. As the Colonel turned away from him, Al knelt down and gently picked up his brother's pocket watch. He stared at the small silver object worriedly; he could only hope that Ed wasn't hurt. Al gripped the pocket watch tightly and rose back up to his feet once more. Don't worry, Brother, Al thought, We're coming for you. Hang in there.
Really, it was likely that the current case the three of them were working on together and Ed's recent abduction were connected. So the logical thing to do would be to continue on their previously decided course of action, go to Lieutenant Hawkeye and see whether they could figure out where the criminals were hiding out. But something was compelling Mustang to forget reason and just run after the young captive recklessly. But the Colonel knew that going to Hawkeye was probably the most sensible way to go, that way they would probably find Ed and his captors quicker.
"Come on, Alphonse," Colonel Mustang spoke softly so as to avoid startling the concerned younger Elric. Al watched Mustang's back, noticing that his shoulders were slightly more hunched than they had been before. It was yet another sign that Mustang wasn't as cold and emotionless towards Ed and his brother as he liked everyone else to think. Mustang gestured for Al to follow him as he started to walk back to headquarters, "I think our best bet of finding Fullmetal is going to my Lieutenant as planned."
"What does that mean? Do you think Ed was taken by the same people who attacked him and tried to kill Hughes?" Al's shaky metallic voice emerged from within the large suit of armour that was now loudly following the Colonel. Mustang responded only by nodding his head, the Colonel balled his fingers on both hands up into tight fists as he tried to control his anger. First, Ed had been attacked and ended up in hospital for a full week, next he finds out that the same ones who had made an attempt on Ed's life tried to kill Hughes too. But now they had taken his subordinate? Just the thought of what could be happening to Ed right at that moment made him sick to his stomach. He quickened his pace as a frustrated grunt escaped his lips.
The very moment the two of them stepped back inside headquarters they climbed into a shiny black car and then gave the current location of Hawkeye and the men that Mustang had sent to help her. At the sound of the Colonel's gabbling voice the driver knew that this was urgent so he pressed down on his pedal making the tyres squeal against the paving before speeding out of the front gates. Whilst journeying out to where Lieutenant Hawkeye was waiting as ordered, Al and Mustang didn't say a word to each other. Not only because they didn't want to worry each other anymore than they already were, but also because they were too lost in their own thoughts.
On arrival the two of them climbed out of the car and were greeted with a fantastic view of the valley around them. It was covered in green, and on a bright, sunny day such as this one the buttercups and other wild flowers that covered the valley sides were glowing in their collective multi-coloured beauty. The image of the blues, red and yellows that covered the ground seemed to compliment the perfect azure blue sky perfectly. But as Al took in the scene he could see that this was all wrong. His older brother had been abducted, so the beauty around him was the exact opposite of how he was feeling – still, he couldn't help but note how this pretty hillside was nothing in comparison to Resembool it the late spring. Mustang seemed in awe at the landscape, it was rare that people came out this far from Central so the area was completely unspoiled by man.
As the car had stopped on a road at the top of the valley, Mustang saw that it would be a short walk before he and Al would reach Hawkeye and the others. As he scanned the deep hillside for her, his eyes rested on what looked like her form at the very bottom of the valley, next to the river that ran at the bottom. Now Mustang could understand how his Lieutenant had lost track of Goodman, he could have easily lost her using that river. After waving the driver away, Mustang and Al started to carefully make their way down the steep hillside towards where the team were waiting.
While the Colonel made long confident strides down the sharp decline, Al took much shorter and more awkward steps due to the limitations of the armour he was bound to. Still, the pair kept up a fairly rapid pace which was mainly born of panic at the sudden disappearance of Ed. As Mustang seemed to race ahead – how was he already that far ahead? – to meet up with his Lieutenant, Al couldn't sway his attentions from his older brother. Why had he been abducted? Was it not those who attacked him in the first place who allowed him to leave and recover? The young Elric simply couldn't make sense of it all. Ironically, Al thought, if the brothers were to switch roles the younger brother was certain that Ed would be able to make sense of it, or at least have some sort of theory.
Having finally caught up with Mustang who was waiting for him patiently, but still holding an air of urgency around him, the two of them walked the last few steps to a waiting stony-faced Riza Hawkeye. The Lieutenant had already twigged that something wasn't right, most obviously was the absence of Edward Elric. But even if the older of the two Elric brothers were present, after years of working with him, the look in Colonel Mustang's eyes would have been enough to tell Hawkeye something had happened: and nothing good for that matter.
"Where's Edward?" Hawkeye inevitably asked when the two remained in silence when they had made it to her side. Mustang raised an eyebrow and flicked his eyes towards Alphonse as though the gesture would ask the suit of armour a question that only the two of them would understand. But the younger brother kept his eyes fixed on the ground, he wished he could tell Hawkeye all about it, but Al was simply too shocked and worried to say a single word. So instead the Colonel took the responsibility that had been handed to him and explained what had happened since she had left his company. He told her everything of the investigation so far and the Lieutenant listened attentively and found nothing that would explain the Colonel's concerned expression that, really, only she could see beneath his emotionless mask.
That was, until the Colonel paused the flow of information before continuing once more, "We believe that Fullmetal's been abducted by the people who attacked him initially." And there ended Mustang's report. At this last piece of new information the Lieutenant's eyes bugged in shock. She wondered how exactly Edward had managed to get himself abducted with both his younger brother and his superior officer watching over him. Hawkeye took her time to process the onslaught of new data that had been pumped into her before nodding comprehensively. So what the boys were thinking was that if they found where Goodman – or rather, Envy – was heading, they may well be heading towards where Edward was being taken. If not? Well, they'd be forced to cross that bridge when they came to it.
In return for Mustang's report, she gave him her own and finished with showing him the different routes that her unit believed Envy could be taking. Alphonse hadn't been paying much attention to most of what was being said, but there was one route that stuck out to him more than the others. One of the routes that Envy could well have been travelling in headed to Rush Valley. It was only an instinct that had piqued Al's interest, but he trusted his instincts and wracked his brain for why Rush Valley was relevant to this case.
As Mustang and the search unit puzzled over which route was their best bet, Al thought hard. It was a little while before it came to him, but it did come to him. The Goodman family used to live in Rush Valley, in an isolated place just out of town too. So one of the routes had a slight link to the case, it was weak, but at least it wasn't nothing altogether like the other routes seemed to be. After being silent since he and Mustang had departed from Central, Mustang started slightly when he heard Al's quiet voice announce which route he thought was best. Usually Al didn't voice much of his own opinion in the company of anyone apart from his brother, but this was for his brother. He couldn't be shy now. Not when his brother needed him. But there were no opposing ideas; they were to head for Rush Valley as soon as they could manage.
Right then, Ed needed Al. It wasn't the other way round as it usually was. Al wouldn't let down his brother; in fact, he would take the burden straight from Ed's shoulders and protect him. He had to.
Finally, chapter 12. I'm sorry about the two week wait, but it was unavoidable. But never mind about that now, I'm back so faster updates will be starting again.
Thanks for being patient and all of your support.
Varishi x
