I'm back! Please, please leave comments- anything and everything inspires me!

At 7am, he gave up on going back to sleep and stood, ducking into the small bathroom attached to the hospital room and surveying himself.

He was a mess- he slashed water on his face, trying to shake the bags beneath his eyes. He couldn't do anything for his five o' clock shadows, and he did his best to smooth out his wrinkled uniform before he was peering out into the hospital room- Ed was still out cold on the bed.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and a moment later Lieutenant Colonel Atkins and Captain Brown were standing in the room.

Atkins was studying Ed carefully, reading every feature on the sleeping boy's face- Roy hated the cold, analytical way the man would stare at people sometimes.

Captain Brown looked as though a breeze could blow him over- he hadn't been getting much sleep either- his five o' clock shadow was worse than Roy's, and the man looked like he was barely on his feet.

"Captain- wake him." Atkins said simply.

Captain Brown blinked, looking dazed. "Sir?"

"We need him awake. We're leaving as soon as possible..."

"Shouldn't... shouldn't his dad- I mean... the Colonel- shouldn't he do it?" Captain Brown could barely string together a coherent sentence, he was so tired.

Roy cleared his throat, making his presence known in the doorway of the bathroom.

Both men looked over at him, and Captain Brown looked relieved.

"You're here pretty early." Roy remarked, tone cold by not yet icy.

Atkins nodded. "It's light outside. We need him to lead us to the factory."

"And you'd have just woken him up and taken him without me?" Roy asked, letting annoyance seep into his voice.

"No- I would've called your office first. Besides- i knew you were around, it seems you're never too far away from the kid. Now-" Atkins pulled out his watch- a pocket watch, but a civilian model, not the military-issue state alchemist's watch- "we need to be going. I took the liberty of filling out the Major's discharge forms last night, so he's set to go..."

Roy involuntarily clenched his teeth. "You filled out his discharge forms?"

Atkins blinked "Yes. You clearly were busy..."

"Right. Well, did they have any important medical information I was supposed to get?"

"I got you a copy of the papers." Atkins shuffled around in his folder, handing a sheaf of them to Roy. "Please, I know you're touchy about other officers working with the kid, but let's keep this professional. I need the kid in one piece to help with my investigation, you're his legal guardian- we're on the same team here, really. Can you have him ready in ten minutes?"

Roy nodded, letting the ire drop form his expression- for now. "Yes. You can wait outside. He's not very pleasant in the mornings."

"We'll be waiting for you by the elevators, then."

Atkins turned, and Roy watched how the early morning sunlight glinted off the man's shoulder holster, revealing the shining metal revolver tucked into it. Suddenly his mouth was dry and his heart was pounding. Atkins had never worn his sidearm openly before. The man must've been expecting trouble if he was wearing it now, because despite the man's clueless, often awkward bluntness, Atkins was an analysist, the closest thing to a human calculator Roy had met...

He was ripped from his thoughts when Ed hummed and rolled over on the bed, letting ut a contented sigh as he nested further into the blankets.

He placed his hand on the kid's flesh shoulder, giving it a gentle shake.

"Fullmetal. Time to get up."

"Ngguuggghhhh." Ed hummed and brushed him off, rolling over.

Slowly, those golden eyes fluttered open, and Ed blinked up at him and scrubbed at the drool on his chin. "It's early." he mumbled.

Roy nodded- it was barely past dawn. "Yeah, it is." he admitted.

Ed sat up slowly, blond hair falling past his shpoulders, and peered out the window. "Are we going now?"

Roy nodded. "They want us to leave in ten minutes. Havoc brought by some clothes it you want ot get dressed, you should eat something... how are you feeling, by the way?"

Ed shrugged. "Better than I was. I'll live. Besides- if there's a chance that girl is still alive- we have to find her."

Ed stood, grabbing his clothes and heading for the bathroom.

Roy came back with a bagel and a cup of orange juice for Ed, and a cup of black coffee for himself, to find Ed dressed and swearing as he tried to put his hair up.

"Stupid fuckjing bandages..." Ed muttered, looking irked. His flesh hand had been badly cut, and the stitches were well-bandaged, leaving the kid with what looked to be a mummy wrapped hand to do his hair and his automail hand. Needless to say, it wasn;t going well.

"Need help?" Roy asked quietly setting everything on the nightstand.

"Huh?" Ed paused, before he was nodded, eagerly handing Roy the hairbrush. "Can you braid?"

"Maybe. It's been awhile..." Roy admitted. The last time he's braided anyone's hair was when he was sixteen and Riza was fifteen, and he'd done her hair for the youth ball... He didn't have time to reminisce now, and he definitely didn't have the hour it'd taken him to do Riza's hair.

"It might not be pretty. I can definitely do a ponytail, if you want..."

"Yeah, ponytail sounds good. Just try not to make it lopsided. I don't want it in my face." Ed admitted, snagging the bagel off the nightstand and starting to eat eagerly.

Five minutes later, They were heading towards the elevator- Ed had snagged three more bagels from the kitchen and was eating as they walked, he was back in his red and black, and his ponytail was only slightly off-center. The kid was looking the most like himself Roy had seen him in days.

"Gentlemen." Atkins greeted them. The elevator ride to the parking lot was silent, and Ed hesitated as they got to the car- Roy opened the door to the backseat, ushering Ed in ahead of him before he was climbing in after him. Captain Brown was driving, and Atkins was riding shotgun.

The drive towards the school was mostly quiet, until Lieutenant Atkins broke the silence.

"So Fullmetal- how long have you been paranormally sensitive?"

Ed dropped the bagel he'd been eating on the floor of the car. "I... um... I don't know." he admitted.

"That's quite alright. Have you had any other experiences, anything, since I last spoke to you?"

"I met Patrick in the woods while I was unconscious. He showed me his memories- his last day- the factory... Got a glimpse of the guy we're after..."

Atkins had turned around fully in his seat and was staring at Ed with eyes wide as saucers. "Describe everything."

"I... uh... the factory, it's about four stories tall, rottiung away- There's metal catwalks- like, they look like the metal fire escapes in East city, but they're inside, and they run the entire perimeter of the inside of the hbuilding, all three or four floors. They lead off into rooms- on the second floor, there's a body, and there's another one hanging..."

"The killer, Fullmetal. What do they look like?"

Ed swallowed and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose. "It's... it's a man. He's wearing work boots- heavy work boots, I remember how they sounded on the metal stairway- he had a bowie knife, ten inches long, it was bloody. Brown clothes, broad chest, probably two hundred pounds, tall..."

"Did you see his face? Can you describe it?"

Ed shook his head. "I can't- I didn't see his face. I didn't want him to see me. I ran."

"But it was a vision, wasn't it? A psychic premonition of some sort? Why run?" Atkins asked, looking baffled.

Ed clenched his jaw. "Just because your soul isn't in your physical body, doesn't mean you can't be hurt." he said seriously. "Patrick Mullaney got caught in a trap and dug up the stake holding it to the ground. He stumbled for two miles before he bled out. And I felt every second of it."

"You experienced Patrick's death?" Lieutenant Colonel Atkins was looking at him raptly. "This is amazing- you can give us insight, talk to his family about his last moments..."

"No!"

Everyone startled at Ed's shout- Ed had pressed himself into the backseat, and he shook his head. "I'm not- I don't..." Mustang placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, and Ed took a deep breath, pulling his thoughts together. "I don't want to talk to Patrick's family about how he died. They don't... it wouldn't help anything, it wouldn't bring them any comfort, to know... how he went..."

"So you're not even willing to visit them?" Atkins looked surprised.

"Patrick- I... he gave me a letter- I was supposed to give it to his mother, but I won't tell her what I felt, what I saw, when we died..."

"You didn't die, Fullmetal. Patrick Mullaney did." Atkins corrected him.

Ed scoffed. "You're an ass, you know that, Atkins? For someone with no answers or insight in this case before I showed up, you have some balls, telling me what is and isn't real."

Atkins took a breath. "I didn't mean to invalidate you, Fullmetal. I apologize. Do you still have the letter Patrick gave you?"

"I have it." Mustang spoke up, eager to get Atkins to leave Ed alone for a little while.

"Right, we'll need to put it in the casefiles..."

"No. I'm jut holding it for Ed. He decides what we do with it, it was given to him." Mustang said with certainty.

Atkins blinked. "But it's evidence..."

"Surely you haven't been keeping detailed notes on the supernatural aspects of this case, Atkins. If you were, it'd be career suicide and a one-way ticket to a bed in a psychiatric hospital." Roy said simply. "The letter was in Fullmetal's pocket- it belongs to him. You try to have a letter written by a boy who's supposedly dead admitted as evidence you'll be written off as a lunatic."

"Well, can I see it? Is it... is it real?" Atkins asked, looking at Fullmetal.

Ed blinked. "I don't know. He handed it to me, I put it in my pocket- I never read it. I was just supposed to deliver it."

Atkins turned his hungry gaze to Roy. Roy sighed. "Yes, I saw it."

"And?"

"I can't say for certainty it's authentic- I don't know what the kid's handwriting looks like- but it's not Fullmetal's handwriting, and the lock fo red hair in the envelope may be Patrick's..."

"That's fascinating." Atkins turned back to Ed, who had gone quiet and was staring at his feet. "Do you remember anything else, Fullmetal?"

"There were... there were children's toys, scattered around the room in the factory I was in. Blocks, a toy train, a music box... I think... I think when they weren't being tortured, he let them play..."

"What makes you think he tortured them?" Atkins asked.

Ed's eyes flashed- it was only for a moment, but for a split second, Roy saw the fear on the kid's expression, before he shut down. "I'm not talking about it. You seem to get off on analyzing every detail- you can see it for yourself when we get there. If I keep talking about it I'll throw up in your car."

Atkins looked disappointed, but Mustang shot him a glare, and the man nodded, turning around in his seat and looking back at the road.

They pulled up beside the school- there was crime scene tape around the treeline, various cars and teams had assembled, and everyone got out of the car and started towards the treeline.

"Our star investigator is here." Atkins remarked, striding over to his men. Ed recognized several members of the investigations team, as well as hughes, but he instantly strode over to team Mustang, and they absorbed him into their ranks with practiced ease.

"good to see you again, Ed." Frey said, pushing his glasses up further on his nose.

"You sure look better than the last time I saw you." Havoc joked.

Hawkeye gave him a smile that was slightly forced, and he returned it.

"Fullmetal is certain of the location of the factory- he'll be leading the taskforce. Everyone is to follow around behind him in an orderly manner and be as quiet as possible. Major Elric- lead us, if you would..." Atkins nodded to him.

Ed paused- twenty adults were staring at him, and for a moment he wasn't sure what to do.

A gloved hand was placed on his shoulder. "I['ll be next to you. Just do the best you can." Mustang murmured quietly, and Ed nodded, taking a deep breath and starting forward, ducking into the woods.

Atkins fell into step at Ed's other side, but Ed largely ignored the man, looking back every twenty or so paces to be sure Mustang was within his sight.

Hughes jogged to catch up with them and frowned, looking at Roy nervously. "He's going the same way he went when we found him with the body." he admitted. "The factory is due east."

"I can hear you, you know." Ed turned, giving Hughes a look. "I know where it is. But I have to navigate based on the landmarks I know- where starts at the tree where I died..." Ed turned and kept walking forward, starting to slide down the steep ground and descend into the ravine.

Hughes had gone pale.

"Don't ask too many questions. I don't know how, but he knows... he experienced eveyrthing PAtrick Mullaney did on the day he died." Mustang said simply.

"This is crazy..." Hughes was looking horrified. "How...?"

Roy shook his head. "I don't know. But you'd better keep up, because I promised him i'd be beside him the whole time, and I don't plan on breaking my promise now." and with that, Mustang turned and descended into the ravine after Ed.

On the other side of the steep bank, Ed had crouched, running his bandaged hand over a closed steel trap and petting it, smiling slightly.

"I almost got cut in half by this one." he admitted. "Red grabbed me and pulled me out of the way, though."

He straightened, and Roy flashed back to the night they'd been searching for Ed in the woods, finding a scrap of red fabric caught in the trap...

"It's this way." and he was attacking the steep incline, Mustang and the gaggle of blue-clad soldiers right behind him.

Ed was lost in his own little world- every now and then, he'd stop and touch a tree trunk as they walked, before he was leading them to the sloped hill and the clearing with the large tree where they'd first found him curled up asleep next to a corpse...

Roy's mouth went dry when they reached it, and Ed said nothing, simply striding over to the long familiar tree and placing his flesh hand on like he was greeting an old friend.

The wind swirled the carpet of dried leaves around them, and most of the investigations taskforce and team Mustang had caught up by now.

"Are you remembering anything, Fullmetal? Having any visions?" Atkins asked curiously.

Ed shook his head sadly, crouching down and touching a depression in the leaves, pausing. "Right here." he said seriously. "That's where I died."

He straightened up before anyone could ask what he'd meant, turning to the right and striking out again.

There were nervous whispered form the investigations team, and a chill ran up Roy's spine- Ed had touched the exact location where Patrick's Mullaney's corpse had been sitting.

He paused, waiting for everyone to catch up thirty yards later. "We're about to enter the area where the traps are. I remember most of them- form a singlefile line behind me, and I'll do my best to lead everyone around them all- but watch your step, because the lst time I was here, I was running for my life, so I might not remember them all..." Ed frowned, brows furrowed with determination, before he continued on.

Their progress was greatly slowed having to shuffle forward in a single-file line, but true to his word, Ed managed to delicately pick his way through the three dozen traps set lying in wait in the leaves.

He found a large log to sit on for a moment as he waited for everyone to catch up.

"Are we almost there?" Atkins asked. Ed nodded. "Yeah. It's a pretty straight shot from here- you don't have to worry about many traps, but there still may be some, so be on your guard. We're thirty yards away." Ed stood, shielding his eyes with his hand and staring into his trees, before he kept walking.

He stopped dead when he heard laughter, whirling-

"What is it?" he nearly ran into Mustang, who was looking down at him, face etched with concern.

"N-nothing.," Ed stuttered. "I just... thought I heard something. But I didn't, it- it wasn't real." he swallowed, taking a shaky breath and plowing onward.

Within five minutes, they'd assembled in the small clearing where the decaying factory sat.

The decrepit door was hanging by one hinge, most of the glass windows had broken, and the building was starting to sink into the ground itself- wild grapevines had started to invade and wind around the once brick surface, and Atkins nodded. "Right. Well done, Major." he clapped Ed on the back, and Ed said nothing, simply staring at the building.

The team of blue clad soldiers had assembled around him at Atkins, and the older man spoke. "We should assume the killer is armed and dangerous inside- we'll go in stealthily, while he doesn't know we're here..."

One of the upper windows of the factory shattered. A scream rang out, and Ed started hackles raised "What the hell!?"

Wailing floated from the broken window, and Ed turned to Mustang, eyes wide. "Someone's in there, they need help!"

"What are you talking about? Ed, what's going on?" Mustang asked, eyes wide.

Another scream rang out from deeper in the factory, and Ed fell to his knees in the leaves hands flying to cover his ears. "How the hell can't you hear it!? They're fucking screaming, the windows shattered!"

"Give him room." Mustang ordered, and the huddle of blue soldiers widened slightly as he dropped to his knees in front of Ed, taking the kid's face in his hands. "Look at me."

Ed's eyes darted behind him to look at the decaying factory. He could've sworn he saw a bare foot and a sliver of ankle as someone ran inside.

"No, look at me, Edward." Roy ordered, and Ed focused in on his superior's face.

"The window didn't shatter. And no one is screaming. You're... you went somewhere else, again, like you do sometimes. I know you saw it, but it wasn't really happening. It's not... it's not really happening now, kid."

"It's not?" Ed blinked.

Roy shook his head. "No. It's not. You're here, with me, and nothing bad is happening, and no matter what you see, you're fine, because you are my subordinate, and you're not allowed to die before me. Take a couple deep breaths..." Ed nodded, and Mustang let go of the kid's face, watching Ed seem to even out.

"You back with me?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah. I am."

"Great." Roy pulled him to his feet, nodding to Atkins. "He did his part. He's done with this investigation."

Atkins blinked. "What?"

"He led you to the factory. You don't need him to apprehend the killer."

"But he knows where the bodies are! Don't you want to help lay this all to rest, Ed?" Atkins frowned.

Mustang and Atkins were both looking at him, and Ed sighed. "Fine. I'll help... I'll help you find the bodies. But if I... if I go somewhere else, and it gets too much..." Ed frowned, looking at Mustang hesitantly. "You'll get me out of there?"

Mustang nodded, though he didn't look pleased. "You don't have to do this at all, Fullmetal. You've done more than enough on this investigation..."

Ed looked behind him. On the second story, a boy of about five was waving at him. "Oh my god."

"Look how tall I am!" the boy smiled at him, looking excited.

There was a shadow behind the kid- Ed recognized the silhouette- it was the broad chested man, the one with the knife he'd seen before in Patrick's memories...

"Kid- run!"

Ed turned, pushing past Mustang and ducking into the factory, panting.

"Ed!"

"Wait!"

To his credit, Mustang was the first to recover, and was barely three strides behind Edward.

The entire team of twenty adults rushed into the building, stealth be damned, only to find Ed standing in the middle of the floor, staring at a large stain on the ground.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, approaching him cautiously.

Ed looked over his shoulder at Mustang forlornly. "It wasn't real, was it? It happened again?"

Mustang nodded. "Yeah- it did."

"Wow. This place is large." Atkins remarked, striding over to him. "Well- now that we're all inside, Edward- why don't you show us where the bodies are?"

Ed turned and gave Atkins a glare, pointing at the large red stain on the floorboards in front of him. "Look up." he growled.

Everyone did. There were gasps of horror, as people saw the corpse of the girl strung up by metal wires like a bird in flight, hanging from the catwalks on the third floor.

Her skin had dried in the sunlight and stretched over her bones like paper, showing every bony ridge. The black hair hung to obscure her face.

But what Ed wasn't expecting was the second body- a girl, barefoot and in a white nightgown, blonde, hanging by the neck from the fourth floor above her.

"Oh my god." Havoc muttered.

Ed blinked, shocked. "She wasn't there before."

He took a breath, trying to steady himself.

There was a large thud somewhere above them, and Ed blinked.

"Wanna play hide and seek?" a voice asked.

Something scurried at his feet, and he jumped a mile- it was just a rat, just a rat, but he darted forward towards the staircase anyways- just in time to watch a little girl of about three sprint across the open floor, wide eyes never leaving him, before she disappeared into the wall of the building.

"Fullmetal- Ed, what do you see!?" Atkins asked, looking excited.

"It's not real." Ed said simply.

Somewhere above, frantic wailing sounded- a child was crying, someone was outright sobbing, and Ed whirled...

There were more loud thuds- Ed recognized them as the sound of heavy workboots on the metal catwalk, and he looked up at the stairs from the second floor to the first metal catwalk landing and blinked. There was the man again, in a rough brown shirt and jeans, an axe held in his hand...

"Hide!"

A boy who couldn't have been older than four took off running, wailing, and a girl with a pixie cut shoved him out of the way, running around the stairs and dissolving into mist.

Ed watched, hypnotized, as the man made it to the landing and turned- he was wearing a gas-mask, an old-time one soldiers in war wore, that obscured his features.

"You're not real either." Ed said seriously.

The man let out a loud laugh.

There was shouting, clamoring-

"Ed!"

"Edward, get back!"

"Get the hell away from there kid!"

"Get away form the stairs!"

He was pulled his daydream when the man raised the axe, getting ready to throw it- he never got the chance.

A gunshot rang out- the bullet hit the man in the forehead, and in slow-motion, the axe fell form his hand and clattered onto the metal catwalk, and the man's body sagged like a puppet with the strings cut, pitching forward and rolling down the metal stairs to land at Ed's feet in a twisted heap, stone dead.

Ed blinked, watching the blood pool at his feet.

"Huh. Never seen that happen before." he said quietly.

Mustang grabbed him by the shoulders and bodily pulled him away form the base of the stairs, looking shaken. Ed looked behind him to see nearly every soldier had their guns drawn- Hawkeye was standing, her pistol smoking- she'd been the one to lay the fatal shot, but eve she looked rattled.

"I told you to get away from the stairs!" Mustang was near shouting. "That maniac almost killed you!"

Ed blinked. "Wait- that was real? You guys could see that guy too?"

"Ed- that was the serial killer, wasn't it?" Atkins asked.

Ed blinked. "Yeah. Looks like him. But he- he's real? You guys can see him too?"

"Yes, and you were in lala land and almost got axed!" Breda said, running a hand through his hair nervously.

Havoc had pulled a box of cigarettes and a lighter form his pocket and was struggling to light it with his shaking hands.

"So it was real..."

"Of course it was real, you almost died!" Mustang shouted. "Why the hell didn't you listen to me!?"

"I was watching the kids!" Ed protested. "They keep bumping into me and running around, and one minute they're asking to play a game and the next they're screaming- it kinda drowns everything out!" Ed admitted, looking annoyed as he shook Mustang off him.

Mustang had paled. "You- you can see children here?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah. But those must not be real, because you can't see them either. And they don't... they're scared, they don't say much, they keep running and hiding..."

"Let's all take a deep breath and regroup" Atkins stepped forward, hands up. "Since your Lieutenant so easily dispatched our killer, we're now free to investigate this place. Ed- do you know where the other bodies are?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah. He's upstairs." he turned, stepping over the twisted corpse of the killer at the base of the stairs and starting up the steps to the metal catwalk that wrapped round the first floor. He strode to the first door on the left and opened it, stepping inside.

The stench wasn't as bad- the corpse had been here for awhile, now, and it was just as Ed remembered it- some crumpled newspapers scattered in the far corner of the room, some blocks and a few toys scattered about...

The twisted corpse of the eight year old boy was still nailed to the wall, limbs twisted in awkward positions- the eyes had long since sunk away, and Ed crossed the room, sitting down cross-legged and fumbling in the darkness for a moment before he found the music box, turning the switch and letting it play.

Roy placed a hand over his mouth when he entered to room, trying to tamp down his shock- Ed was sitting dross-legged before a brutalized corpse nailed to the wall, a music box playing a tinkling little song in his lap.

"You've seen this place before, right Edward?" Atlkins asked.

Ed nodded, holding up the music box. "Yeah, I have. I found the body. And the music box."

"Right. This was definitely one of our victims..." Atkins strode about the room, photographing every detail. Ed sat on the ground, seemingly unbothered by everything. The music box ran out of winding and stopped playing, and Ed frowned, winding it up again and letting it continue to play.

"Edward- get away from there. Put that thing down." Mustang ordered. He hated the sight of Ed sitting so close to the corpse.

The door to the room behind them moved a little bit- Ed saw a small face peer in at him before the person noticed him watching and turned and ran.

Ed was on his feet, music-box forgotten. "Hey- come back! Don't run- I'm here to help!" He stumbled back out onto the metal catwalk of the first floor, only to come face-to-face with a bunch of baffled soldiers.

"That kid- where did he go?" Ed asked.

"There wasn't anyone, Ed- you're seeing something again." Hawkeye admitted with a frown.

Ed shook his head. "No- I saw him, I swear..."

Something yanked his ponytail, and Ed whirled onto to come face to face with a cloud of dust.

"Stop running away form me! I'm trying to help you!"

There were smudges on the wall- dark, charcoal soot smeared, like someone had taken a piece of charcoal and drawn on the walls with it, and Ed frowned, examining it.

"Is he having another vision!?" Atkins had abandoned the room with the corpse nailed to the wall, looking interested.

Ed blinked. "This wasn't here before." he motioned to the large black charcoal mark on the wooden door.

"Um Chief... you're the only one who can see it." Havoc said simply.

Ed turned back to the mark, intent on studying it, when there was a wet, slapping sound of bare feet on the ground...

"Hello?" he turned, frowning. There were small, wet footprints on the metal grating, but they were clear as day. And they smelled weird...

He wrinkled his nose. "Smells like vinegar..." he turned- the footsteps went further up the stairs, and he was following them, the soldiers on his heels.

Halfway around the catwalk of the second floor, a door to his right slammed, and Hawkeye grabbed him, shoving him behind her.

"So you saw that too, huh?" Ed remarked.

"Yes. That, I saw. We may not see everything you do, Edward, but I can feel the wrongness in this place." Hawkeye admitted.

Ed shook his head. "It's not wrongness. It's fear. They're afraid."

There was more ash smeared on the walls, but it was fainter now, and Ed frowned.

He kept walking, stopping when he noticed a door to his right.

He was so hungry he was nauseas, and he paused at the sudden lightheaded feeling that nearly overcame him, stumbling.

"Chief?" Havoc steadied him, looking at him nervously.

"I'm fine. But this door..." Ed turned, trying to doorknob and frowning. The door was locked.

Ed paused, pressing his ear to the wood. A tiny groan floated to his ears, a scratching sound...

Ed recoiled from the door like he'd been burned. "Someone's alive in there."

"Someone's what!?" Hawkeye sounded horrified, trying to pull him away, but Ed pushed her off him.

"Get away from the door, I'm gonna kick it down! It's okay, I'll have you out in a second..." He slammed the heel of his automail leg into the door, and it flew open. Ed was sprinting into the room before anyone could stop him, only to find a small form huddled on the ground...

Ed turned them over, anxious to see their face...

Mustang was pulling him back. "Don't touch it! They're beyond saving, Ed."

Ed stared. It was a corpse of a boy- he had to be around eleven, but he was stark naked, and the skin around his ribs was pulled tight, gaunt over his cheekbones...

The kid's leg was bent at an odd angle, and bruises littered the now decaying skin.

Desperate blue eyes that were unseeing met his own, and Ed blanched.

"But I heard- I heard him just now, he was... oh god, he was scratching at the walls..."

The kid was missing three fingernails from where he'd been clawing weakly at the walls.

A wave of dizziness hit him...

"They... they locked him in here to starve..."

"Is that what you're seeing, Ed?" Atkins voice crept into his vision.

There was a corner filled with human waste the kid had been using for a bathroom- desperate shouts echoed in his ears, pleading, begging, banging on a locked door that rarely opened- and when it did, it was only to deliver beating or a small amount of rancid water, not food- never food. Never what he so desperately needed...

There was a thunk- he'd fallen to his knees and he didn't even realize it, hands were holding him up, there was something wet on his face...

"Why would they do that to you!?"

"Edward, snap out of it!" Mustang ordered.

"They... they locked him in here to starve! They only every opened the door to beat him! He lived for a month in here, just waiting to die!"

"That would confirm a cause of death, then. I'll make note for the medical examiner." Atkins voice drifted over to him- the silver-eyed man stood in front of him, snapping his fingers in front of his face. "Come back to us, Fullmetal. Compose yourself. We still need you, the most recent girl hasn't been gone long, she may still be here..."

"He's had enough." Mustang said seriously.

"We need him, Mustang. He's shaken up but his nose isn't even bleeding yet. Let him calm down and then we'll continue." Atkins argued.

Somewhere in the distance, he could hear splashing.

"Edward- listen to me. You say the word, and I'll take you out of here- I'll carry you, you can close your eyes so you don't see anything else- and you'll never have to see this place again." Mustang spoke hurriedly.

But something ran by then in the hall, laughter floated to his ears...

"How the hell can someone laugh in this god-forsaken place?" He asked, wiping the tears from his cheeks and standing, feeling years older.

"You with us, Ed?" Havoc asked, brown eyes surveying the teen anxiously.

Ed nodded.

"Do you want to continue?" Mustang asked, and it was clear from the way he was asking he was hoping Ed would say no.

But Ed nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, it just got to me for a second... I'm okay."

More laughter in the distance, but then there was the sound of something striking flesh, and it turned into wailing...

"You think you got something, Ed?" Atkins asked.

Ed nodded, turning and heading back onto the metal catwalk. There were still wet footprints leading him up to the third floor.

What do you think? Was anything unexpected?