Warnings: Some mild language...

Spoilers: None Feedback: Constructive feedback is very welcome

A/N: I am an evil, evil person. Heh. Sorry. ETA to next chapter is about 1-2 weeks.

Felis Catus: Circle Nineteen

"Anyways, we should probably head back to the tower for the next rotation, huh?" Edward remarked, after they had examined a few more empty streets in silence, as both human and cat went over their own private thoughts.

Mmmm. Roy's mind was still staring at the puzzle border bemusedly.

"Man...I wish Al were here," Ed sighed. "Everything seems so much more practical and in focus when he's around."

Roy felt inclined to agree. His psyche could have used a bit of focus right about now. Thoughts were chasing each other about on a mobius strip.

Edward stopped at the end of the block and turned back around in the direction of the tower. For a short while, there was a companionable silence between human and cat, before Edward spoke up once more.

"You know...I feel as if there's something I'm not seeing, something to do with these chimeras," Edward muttered thoughtfully as his boots made a light noise on the pavement stones. "I bet Al could figure it out right away."

Something...you're not seeing...hmmm. Roy bent his mind gratefully in thought of a problem he could solve.

"I mean, they're out on the own, right? They have human brains, but they're not thinking human thoughts; they're not even human anymore, right?"

Right...so far, they were on the same page.

"So why the hell does it seem like they're split by Districts, and they're limiting themselves to one human each per day? What sort of animal, never mind having a visceral but non-computational human brain, does that? Doesn't that seem strange to you?" Edward muttered distractedly, his brow furrowed with concentration and annoyance. "Like they're hunting in a pack, but somehow dividing up the hunting ground systematically...I can't imagine a creature who only wanted to eat flesh would somehow have the presence of mind to restrain from a bloodbath... It's like they're act similar to bees or ants, creatures with a hive mentality, but that's impossible for higher organisms."

Oh, no. No no no. Roy, with all his years of political maneuvering, was beginning to see the answer all too well. He hissed, a small sound that escaped involuntarily that managed to reach Edward's ears regardless.

"You think it's strange too, huh?" Edward's booted tread became slightly louder as his agitation was transferred through to his walking. "I mean, it's almost as if..." Edward paused suddenly, standing shock still in the night.

Roy hissed again. Follow that train of thought, Edward...

"...They're taking orders from someone..." he whispered in horror. "Someone or something is controlling the chimeras!"

Bingo.

"Oh shit. This isn't good. We've got to tell Hughes. C'mon, let's get back to the tower!" Edward said in a rush, picking up his pace but not full out running, as the rhythmic sound would give away his location.

Calm down, Edward! Roy wanted to shout at him, but the shout came out as a muted yowl. Impulsiveness begets carelessness, and carelessness begets casualty. We can't afford that!

"If someone's controlling the chimeras then that must mean there's some sort of a scheme afoot and we're dealing with something on a whole different level," Ed was saying quickly, as he glided with ever quickening steps back towards the tower. "That means that instead of a practical search and destroy mission, we're now dealing with a game where there's a mastermind using chimeras as puppets. Fuck. Someone's playing games with the humans in Central!" he bit off angrily, as he increased his pace yet again.

Getting excited isn't going to reveal the answers, Edward! Roy's tail lashed the air agitatedly. Yes, Alphonse would come in handy right now to make his headstrong brother stop and think. Puppets had strings, after all, and the strings, tangled though they may be, always led back to the master puppeteer. Their task was to unravel the strings, not to tangle them up more!

"Why didn't we see it sooner?" Ed was raging. "It's so obvious! We were all thrown off track by thinking that the chimeras were organizing themselves because they were human transmutations, but damn it all, they can't think for themselves; their brains are alive but like Hughes was saying, they're functioning without thought and they're completely mad! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Edward growled.

Roy was equally upset at himself for not seeing it sooner. It was a masterful move. The puppeteer was the hidden piece, lurking in the shadows to deliver a crippling blow to his opposition...only to what end? And why? Where was the purpose in all of this...? Was this aimed at the military? The Fuhrer? This was a conspiracy against what, exactly? There was still something they weren't seeing!

"Oh man, I completely forgot about the radio," Edward was cursing, as the electronic device at his waist gave a sharp cackle of static.

"Ed, come in, do you read me?" Hughes' voice came in, sounding very worried.

"Yeah, Ed here," he snapped into the receiver. "I've got news for you."

"Save it, Edward," Hughes said. "Something's come up. I need you to investigate."

Edward's eyes widened. Hughes always called him Ed or some inane nickname. Edward was reserved for serious occasions.

Roy also caught the veiled indication. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

"It's important though, Hughes," Edward said urgently. "I'm heading back to the tower right now."

"Edward, it can wait. We...hell, we've lost radio contact with the rest of the group."

Roy's fur went straight on end as he froze. What?

Edward likewise froze.

"Edward? Ed? Do you copy?" Hughes barked.

"...Copy..." Edward said in a strangled tone.

"I need you to investigate," Hughes replied. "We can't get in touch with anyone, and Hawkeye and I can't leave the tower or we'll risk losing radio contact with the command center and any chance of backup."

"I'm on it. Where do you want me to start?" Edward ground out through his teeth.

"Stick with Major Armstrong's plan - keep radiating through the district following the sweep hand. Check in every ten minutes."

"Got it. Edward, out."

"Roger."

Edward put the radio back into the holster at his waist with trembling fingers. "Oh damn, what's happened to them?" he whispered.

Roy would have given one of his nine lives to find that out too. It didn't make sense. The District was silent; any noise would have brought the entire team over to investigate immediately.

What was going on here?

"Hughes, I can't find any trace of them, anywhere!" Edward panted into the radio. "I've gone through the entire District at least four times! It's like they've vanished with no trace!"

"Get back to the tower then, Ed - this isn't good. The other teams from the rest of the districts have also called in to report missing team members."

"Shit. I'm on my way. Ed, out."

"Hughes, out."

"What the hell is going on here, Spitfire?" Edward's eyes were wide and worried, and beginning to look a more than a bit panicked. "None of this makes sense!"

It has to, Edward, it has to, Roy thought just as frantically. These were his men, his team - the guys who watched his back! He had a duty to protect them! Hell, these were his friends!

Vanished with no trace.

The words played over and over in Roy's mind.

Vanished with no trace.

It was Ishbal all over again. Vanished comrades. Dead comrades. Helplessness to make the killing and the dying stop. No. Not again. Never again. He'd sworn that he'd protect his own, and he would, blast it all! This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening!

And the worst part was that there was nothing he could do about it.

Vanished with no trace.

"We'll find them, cat. If it's the last thing we'll do, we'll find them," Ed was saying grimly, as he almost flew through the streets back to the tower, golden eyes glinting with an angry fire. "And we'll make the ones who took them pay."

But in what shape will we find them? Roy cringed, his eyes wide and unseeing. Will their limbs be shattered? Eaten? Gone? Will their eyes, blank, staring, accusing be fixed on me, wondering, why? Why? We trusted you, Colonel Roy Mustang, we trusted you - gave you our lives, our service, our devotion. Why? Why did you not save us from this fate?

Save us, Roy, save us.

Roy shuddered limply.

"Hey now, I need you," Edward said sharply to the small bundle on his shoulder. "I don't know what's going through that feline mind of yours, but I need you. Don't you dare flake out on me now!"

I'm useless like this! Roy wanted to howl. If you count on me, you'll just get yourself killed!

Like them. Like everyone else.

No no no, please no, not like Ishbal, not again, flames licking through the streets indiscriminate over friend or foe, rising inferno from the poisoned red rings they all wore - were forced to wear - to amplify their powers raging through the streets, the smell of roasting flesh, the screams, oh dear God, what God, where was there a God in any of this, all of this madness, screams, stop the screams, the screaming, the pain, the guilt, he'd never wanted to kill, evereverever, stop the war, stop the screaming, please, just stop stop stop stopstopstop...STOP

"I need you, Roy. C'mon, stay with me here, I need you. Riza needs you. Your friends need you. Central needs you. Ametris needs you. Don't give up. You can get past this. You can change this. We need you, Roy, damn it, come back to us!"

Hughes...?

That's right. Hughes saved me from making an irreversible mistake, Roy thought foggily, coming out of his brief daze. He brought me back from the edge that time. I can't "flake out" now; there are people who need me. Maes needs me. Riza needs me. My team needs me.

"I need you here, you stupid cat! Don't you dare go chickening out on me now, after all your fussing about sticking with me!" Edward's voice sounded strained.

Edward needs me.

"We can do it...we can bring them back!" Edward growled, eyes staring ahead with a steely, grim, almost inhuman determination.

Roy recognized that look in Edward's eyes. It was the same look that had captured his immediate attention at their first meeting: golden eyes with the sparks to an untamable conflagration.

You could beat down flames. You could put them out and smother them. But you could never, ever, extinguish the spark that birthed the chaos...and it only took one.

Snowball rolling down a hill...

How could he have forgotten that...? It was the spark that counted, not the array, not the gloves, not the flames, not the fire, no, not the intense rawness of the element Roy dared to call his own, none of that counted. It was the will. It was the will that sharpened the spark that began the blaze, the heat - the sheer, unadulterated joy of mastering the most difficult element. Sheer willpower. It began everything.

When there is a will, there is a way.

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it" - Roy lived by those words. He had set out to invent his own future and bent his considerable will towards achieving it. He'd set up the board - all he was waiting for was the spark to set it all in motion.

Then he'd found Edward.

Edward was gold tempered in fire. His fire - he'd counted on that, provided the tinder, the motivation. Edward had a will. Roy gave him a way. At every step of the road, despite all the obstacles, Edward's will never wavered and Roy never stopped helping him find his way. Gold. Fire. Destruction. Rebirth. Alchemy. Redemption.

Edward.

"I need you."

You...need...me?

"Stay with me here."

Are you sure? Do you know what you're asking?

"We can do it."

We can...? Yes...yes...that's right. We can. Roy sat up straighter.

"Because nothing is going to stop us."

Not while we have the will to keep on going.

"Nothing can stop us."

Together, we are invincible.

"As long as we stick together."

Together. Yes, Roy echoed. And smiled. A real smile. Had Edward been able to see the smile on Roy's human face, he would have been stunned. As it were, a small purr escaped, prompting Ed to break his tirade to glance at his cat.

Who sat perched on his shoulder, sitting proudly, dark eyes glowing with renewed vigor.

Edward grinned fiercely with relief. "Now that's the right attitude. Let's go save our friends and kick some chimera ass."

Roy's heart sang.

I'm with you. Let's do this.

To be con't...

Quote is from Alan Kay...it's one of my favorites.

Yes, yes, you all hate me for the cliffhanger...I know, I know! Ireally didn't mean to leave one; I just got off on a new tangent so I have to change a few things around in my head to make this work. The story's turning out nothing like what I intended, but I'm having fun...and hope you all are too!

Thanks to everyone for all the great reviews!