Welly well then...not much to say at the moment, but thank you to all you who've been reading so far. I got more of this planned out, and it's going to be quite a long story if it all goes as planned. I guess we'll see.

Chapter Five: First Sign

The first thing Roy set out to do when they got to their stop was to find and check in at their hotel so that he could wash his hair. It was becoming quite an embarrassment, stuck the way it was. Ed, in fear of another fire set on his clothing, made no comment about it, although he was laughing hysterically on the inside every time he looked up at the Colonel.

It was a nice small town, the one they were in now. No more crowds, just one of those places where everyone was friendly and welcome to you. The streets were filled with activity; merchants selling, children playing...

"Where's that damn inn? They said it was on this street..." Roy glanced down at the little piece of paper with a list of names and places scribbled down on it. He looked back up at the street sign and sighed. "It's the right street."

"Don't get your undies in a bunch, we'll find it eventually. Relax." Ed said, not looking at him. Roy clenched one of his hands into a fist, but said nothing. It would be better not to start anything right now. He had to take care of his hair.

They eventually found it, around evening. Unfortunately for Roy, they had to go to dinner before resuming their search; it was getting too late. So the Colonel had to go into yet another public place looking as he did.

The hotel was a nice one; not too fancy, but better than average. They checked into their room immediately, and Roy rushed into it and to the bathroom. Ed just shook his head and sat down on one of the beds. Their room consisted of a table, a chair, and two twin beds, the one of which farther from the window Ed chose. Let Roy be waken by the sun in the morning. Not his problem.

The blonde lay back on the hard mattress and stared up at the ceiling. How was Al? What was he doing at that very moment? He missed his brother... Stupid Mustang. He made his life hell.

Roy emerged from the steamy bathroom, with only his pants on and a towel hanging around his neck, still dripping. He seemed rather relieved. Sitting on the bed across from Ed, he lay down as well, not saying a word. Not even to criticize Ed for something. The younger one guessed he was just too tired from today to do anything.

It was still really early, but Ed guessed that the train ride had wiped them out. Well, the earlier they went to bed, the earlier they could wake up, and the faster they could catch the murderer. And the faster he could get away from Mustang.

They both fell asleep some time later without even mentioning a word to each other. Sleep felt good after the long day, but Edward didn't get to experience it for long...

His eyes shot open. Roy was muttering something rather loudly in his sleep, something that he couldn't understand. What the hell was he dreaming about? The blonde had no patience for this; he took his boot that was laying beside his bed and tossed it in Roy's direction sleepily, not really aiming. It sort of bounced off his hip, which was facing up since Roy was sleeping on his side, and landed behind the direction the sleeping alchemist was facing. Roy made a startled noise, but was still sleep-talking. He suddenly turned over and grabbed Ed's boot, hugging it closely to his chest. He started sobbing softly, clinging more tightly to the boot, as if it were his source of comfort in his time of sadness. Ed just looked at him puzzled, not sure what to think. Well, one thought crossed his mind. He had to sterilize that boot in the morning. Stupid Roy-germs.

"Roy, wake up, you dumbass," Ed called softly in Roy's direction. The Colonel's sobs quieted, and he started to snore softly. Well, at least he isn't talking anymore, Ed thought sleepily. He then lay back and passed out again almost instantly.

The next morning was pure chaos. The two alchemists were awoken early in the morning by the sounds of people bustling and shouting outside of their room. Roy and Ed quickly got dressed (Roy doing so in the bathroom) and went outside to see what all the commotion was.

When they got down to the lobby, the woman at the checkout counter was sobbing, and a man, apparently her husband, had his arms around her, telling her over and over that everything was going to be all right.

"But it's not all right, John, not without Gregory...!" The woman broke out into another fit of uncontrolled sobbing. When Roy and Ed looked around more at the scene, there were police everywhere, investigating the scene.

Ed walked over to the couple slowly and asked John what was going on.

"Oh, you're one of our guests. We're so sorry about all of the inconvenience..." His wife shot a hateful glare towards him as if to say 'How could you call this an inconvenience?'. He cringed and went on to explain, "Our son, Gregory, he's the young man you saw cleaning the lobby the other night... Well, he was...murdered last night." This statement was followed by and even louder fit of sobbing, almost screaming, causing Roy to put a hand up to his ear, wincing.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Who did it?" Ed inquired.

"That's what we're trying to find out. It was done quickly and silently in the middle of the night, and no one even knew..." John then went to comfort his wife some more.

Roy and Ed exchanged glances.

"Could this be...?"

"Perhaps, but our suspect only goes after alchemists." John looked up.

"Oh...alchemists, you say? Gregory was a State Alchemist briefly, but quit to join the family business." Ed and Roy nodded at each other, then left the hotel. Walking down the street rather quickly, they shared a brief conversation.

"If this was done last night, the killer couldn't have gotten too far. But which direction...?" Roy pondered for a moment. This was a tough one. "Wait, Ed. I got it. There are only two ways out of this town. There just so happens to be two of us. Let's split up and--"

"But how will we know when one of us finds the murderer? And...we're State Alchemists, his targets. If he catches one of us alone..."

"Look, we'll split up, go as far as we can, then meet back at this town just before dark. If the killer sticks to his strategy, then the day is our ally." Ed hesitated, then nodded. Hey, no Mustang. Wait...

"What about fooooood...I got no money, remember?" Roy rolled his eyes and got out his wallet, counting out a few bills to give to the younger one. "This is all you're getting, punk," he muttered as he handed it to Ed, "Better spend it wisely." Ed nodded.

"One more question- what do we do when we find the dude? Say, 'Oh, hi, I'm Ed, a State Alchemist, here to catch you. Will you be so kind as to let me capture you and take you back to my partner so we can take you back to headquarters where you'll be imprisoned for life, or perhaps even given the death sentence?'?" Roy rolled his eyes. But...it was a good question. He sighed.

"Maybe...say you're selling pocket watches." He took his State Alchemist watch out to demonstrate. "Use yours. Lead him to an uninhabited area, then...beat him up and drag him back here." He nodded triumphantly. Ed gave him a wierd look.

"All right. I could do that. The thing is...can you?"

"I'm a better fighter than you'll ever be, Fullmetal." Ed glared, but said nothing in response.

"So, meet back here tonight?"

"Yup." They shook on it, then went their separate ways. After a few seconds, they both turned around to face the other in the distance.

"Hey Roy!" Ed called.

"Yeah?" Roy called back.

"You know what this guy looks like?"

"No."

"Me neither."

This was great. It took more arguing and debating, and they finally came up with a plan. They would each travel to the nearest town in the direction they were heading, wait for nightfall, and catch the man in the act. Whilst not revealing themselves as State Alchemists.

Dun dun dun...so the plot is finally coming together... So, reviews appreciated and all that good crap, and see you in chapter six!