Good news, people! I have the rest of the plot kind of sort of figured out, so that hopefully means more frequent updates!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter thirteen

Riza was sitting in bed, reading a romance novel that Rebecca had forced her to read. So far she had to say that it was a bit too predictable and not entirely convincing. After reading her way through three chapters mainly dedicated to describing the hero's chest hairs, Riza put the book down with an exasperated sigh. She put the book back in the drawer in her nightstand before she turned off the light and lay down in the pillows, sinking into them while letting sleep overtake her.

She hadn't been asleep for long before the phone on her nightstand began ringing. She picked it up. "Riza Hawkeye speaking."

"Oh, Lieutenant! I'm so sorry I woke you but we need some help!" It was Alphonse Elric and judging by the urgency in his voice, something was clearly wrong.

"What's going on, Al?"

"Brother was attacked and Roy stopped them, but he got drugged in the process. I'm afraid that they might come back for Brother and I think Roy has a fever. We can't get him to wake up. Should we call an ambulance?"

"Calm down, Alphonse, I'll be right over. Where is your brother now?"

"He's looking after Roy, trying to keep his temperature down. I've shut all the windows so that nobody can get inside again, at least I hope so."

"Very good, Al, I'm going to hang up now, I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

Riza hung up and quickly changed into a black sweater and trousers, packing five guns with her for safety, before she went into the car and drove.

She knew Roy had been worried that something like this might happen while Ed and Al were staying with him, although he hadn't really considered himself getting taken out of commission. She just hoped that the attackers wouldn't return before Riza got there. She knew that Al was a highly capable alchemist and a frankly amazing fighter, so she shouldn't really worry, but with Edward injured and the Colonel unconscious, it could still mean that there was a risk of them being injured.

She jumped out of the car as she parked it in the driveway and walked up to the house. She brought out her key to Roy's house, he'd given it to her as a precaution for these kind of events, and unlocked the door.

"It's Lieutenant Hawkeye!" she announced, trying to avoid startling them. She locked the door behind her as she heard heavy clanking from upstairs. Alphonse appeared a second later, looking over the banister. "Oh, Lieutenant! Please, we're upstairs!"

Riza followed him into the main bedroom which contained a heavily sweating Roy Mustang lying asleep in bed and an anxious, dizzy Edward Elric in his boxers and tank top wiping the sweat away with a washcloth. Riza could see red marks around his left wrist and right ankle. Someone had obviously tried restraining him very forcefully. She felt a slight itch to pull the trigger. "Lieutenant Hawkeye! Thanks for coming! Do you know what we should do?" It was one of the very few times she had seen Edward showing fear.

Riza recognised the symptoms that Roy was displaying, and judging by the marks on Ed's wrist and ankle, the attackers were from a group that they were currently investigating. "Edward, he will just have to ride it out. It looks to be the same drug that the group we're investigating at the moment uses when they kidnap people. Am I right in assuming that they were after you?" Riza kept her voice steady and calm, although she was still boiling with anger on the inside. Edward nodded. She turned to Alphonse. "Please phone the rest of the team and tell them that the Black Shadows attacked Edward and the Colonel."

"Okay." Alphonse disappeared downstairs.

She turned back to Edward. "Please tell me everything that happened, Ed."

"They came in through the window, don't even know how they opened it, and tried to grab me while I slept. They were quick and definitely pros. They also knew who they were attacking, because the first thing they did was bind my wrists so that I couldn't clap. I tried kicking them, but that didn't work out and the one holding his hand in front of my mouth threw me to the floor, knocking the wind out of me. Next thing I knew, my legs were tied together too and the bastard covering my mouth was pressing his knee down on my back. He must have known about the flogging, because he said "hurts, doesn't it?" straight into my ear before he dug his knee deeper into my back. Next moment, Roy was there and he attacked them, but he didn't get far before he got drugged. He managed to knock one of them out, though, so when they heard Al coming up the stairs, the remaining guy threw the other one over his shoulder and disappeared out the window. Then Al came and freed me and got Roy into his bed and phoned you. He got a fever almost immediately." Ed looked a bit ashamed of having been rendered so helpless, but Riza didn't blame him.

Ed's feet shook a bit where he stood and Riza put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to sit down on the edge of the bed. "Edward, how is your back?" Riza was worried that some of the wounds had been reopened due to the harsh treatment, and there was nothing she could do for Roy at the time, they still didn't have an antidote for the drug and it didn't have any lasting effects.

"Don't know. It hurts, of course." Ed didn't look up at her. Riza was very proud that she was one of the few people who could actually get almost anyone to answer her honestly, and if they didn't, she had guns.

"Let me see, Ed."

Ed blushed slightly, but turned around so that Riza could lift the back of his tank top, revealing several red stains that had nearly soaked through the bandages. "Edward, we need to redress this." And so she removed the tank top before she left to get the supplies she needed.

Ed felt awkward. And he felt weak. And his back was hurting like hell, but he let Hawkeye work on redressing his back where he sat on a stool in Roy's bedroom. "So who are these Shadow jerks?"

"The Black Shadow is a group that specialises in assassinations and kidnappings. They used to be based in Central, but recently they've expanded to East as well. We were given the case right before you were reassigned. The drug Roy is currently under the influence of is the one they use during the kidnappings. They cause fevers and nightmares but nothing more. The fevers are never dangerously high. The kidnappings are usually related to ransoms and the victims are always returned in that drugged state after the set amount has been paid. There have been cases of kidnappings involving punishment of other members and their families and the results haven't been pretty. The victims in those cases, as well as the members that were punished, were all found dead after a longer period of torture. If these people are after you, I can only guess that it's a warning for us to stay away."

"Or they wanna laugh in your faces by torturing me," Ed said gloomily, wincing slightly as the Lieutenant pressed a particularly sore spot on his back.

"Yes. Which is why I'm very glad you and Al called me over here. We'll have the team here within the next half hour and we'll be able to properly guard you."

Great. So much for a week off.

"But how did they know which room I was sleeping in?"

"I don't know, Edward, but they tend to find out this kind of information. I'll have Fuery search the house for hidden microphones and cameras, and then we'll be moving you three to the military dorms from tomorrow on."

"So now I need a babysitter?"

"Edward, if you'd seen those bodies, you wouldn't be questioning us."

Ed shivered slightly. There was a kind of deadness to Hawkeye's voice that he'd only heard during the brief mentions of the Ishbalan war. He decided that he'd be very pleased not to end up as a tortured corpse.

"But you said the three of us? Why are you putting Roy under protection too?"

"Because he is the leader of our team and they were obviously targeting him as well by taking you. We're not taking any chances."

"So are the rest of you moving into the dorms too?"

"I think we'll have to."

"Great."

"Right, Ed, you're done."

She stood up and helped him back into the tank top.

"Thanks, Lieutenant."

Ed went over to Roy and looked at him. He was sweating and groaning occasionally. Ed grabbed the washcloth and put it into the bowl of water that Al had placed on the nightstand. After wringing the excess water out of the washcloth, Ed placed it on Roy's forehead. Ed then walked a bit unsteadily over to the windows and clapped his hands, transmuting the wall and floor to cover them in order to offer some extra protection.

"Ed. No. Don't. No. Edward, I'm sorry," Roy said, a look of agony crossing his face.

Ed looked at Hawkeye slightly confused.

"Edward, talk to him. It's the only thing that helps."

"Uh-uh, you know him better than I do."

Hawkeye put a hand on Ed's shoulder. "Listen, Edward, I know that look on his face. He's dreaming about Ishbal. He needs someone who weren't there to talk him out of it. Besides, it's you he's calling for. I'll be out in the hallway so you just shout if something's wrong."

She then removed her hand and went out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"I'm sorry, Ed. Please don't hate me. I can't. I don't."

Ed moved over to Roy's side and sat down. Ed was frankly thankful to be sitting again, the room was spinning slightly. He was still unsure about what the hell he was supposed to do.

"Please stop. I don't. I never. Don't. Ed!"

He saw that Roy was weakly snapping his fingers and Ed grasped his hand in his, prying the fingers apart to stop them snapping that way. "Hey, Roy, whatever you're seeing, it's not real. I'm fine. Al's fine. You're just having a nightmare."

"'M sorry. I don't want. I swear!"

"It's not real. It's not real."

"Please don't die. I don't want you to. I can't. Stop it!"

"I'm all right, Roy. I'm not dead."

"Ed. Please! Don't wanna. Can't! Ed!"

Roy was getting more and more agitated. "ED! No! Don't! PLEASE!"

"Listen, Roy! It's not real! Whatever the hell you're seeing, it's all drugged up bullshit!"

"Al, please. I didn't mean. I never wanted him to. NO!" Tears ran down from the corners of Roy's eyes.

Ed didn't know what to do. He just lay down beside him and hugged him. Roy was sounding so desperate. So scared. And so tortured.

And Ed knew the feeling so well from his own nightmares. From the nightmare he'd created three years ago.

"Listen, Roy, I'm not dead. You haven't killed me." Ed felt weird that the thought of Roy killing him brought the man so much anguish. That it made the immovable, invincible Flame Alchemist cry. It was in a sense comforting, but it was still disturbing to listen to the man pleading with some unknown force as he killed Ed over and over again.

And so the night went by. Al joined him in trying to keep Roy calm, but it didn't seem to work.

Ed just hoped that the man would wake up soon, because he didn't want to listen to him screaming anymore.