Chapter 3, Bad news. Suspect on the run.

The young woman sat on top of Central Headquarters, watching the people in the city carry on with their lives as usual. She let the cool breeze caress her face, blowing strands of her Alburn hair, into her view from time to time. Deep in thought, she was completely silent, and had gone unoticed by any military personelle whatsoever. Her intentions set on finding any information possible, on a former state alchemist by the name Duncan Strylen, and the whereabouts of a young man, whom she called Allan. Rising to her feet, she jumped from the roof of the building, and headed strait for the Central library.

Once inside, the girl began searching through military records. Hoping to find anything at all on the former state alchemist. Unfortunately for her, there was no records of any such alchemist.

"Something isn't right. There should be some kind of files on him.", she spoke to herself.

She had been through nearly every file, there was. Nothing said anything on a Duncan Strylen ever being in the military's service. Setting the files back in place, she retreated from the library after hearing someone heading her way. Leaving through the window she had entered, she quickly left the grounds. Disappointed in the results of her search so far.

Returning to the small hotel room she had stayed at the night before, she took off her long, dark green jacket, then flopped herself down on the bed. Letting out a deep sigh, she stared at the ceiling. Contemplating on what her next move would be. "He's obviously been here already. How else do you explain all grampa's files to be missing?", shelay there, thinking to herself. "I wonder if they'll notice it soon? Or if they'll even care. ".

"Allan. What are you going to do?", she said to no one in particular.

Eliza Strylen. An accomplished young lady, as well as an alchemist. She had learned at a young age, from her granfather, and since then continued with it. Although only sixteen, she seemed so much more mature. As one of two memebers left in her entire family, Eliza wanted nothing more, than to just let the pain fly free, from her mind. But as long as he was out there, she couldn't do that. She lay on the bed for a few more minutes, before finally deciding to get a shower. It was clear, she wouldn't find anything more here in Central.

--Meanwhile--

Sarah had brought the boys back with her to her home, talking along the way. She had accidenally pointed out that Ed wasn't exactly the tallest guy around. And of course he blew up at her for it, and came back at her with the fact she was about three inches shorter than him. Sara had a nice little tantrum over that. Al only laughed at it. It was funny to see someone other than Ed get upset over their hight. They arrived at Sarah's house shortly, but when they got there, they were hit with some horrifying news. Opening the door to find several military officers inside, and her sister Zowy, sobbing in Zander's arms. Ed and Al weren't completely sure why the military had come to this house, but hey had a feeling it had something to do with the murdurs, and their mysterious killer at large. And judging from the looks on all their faces, something serious had happened.

"Big sisiter!", the little girl ran to her, when she saw Sarah enter the house.

"Zowy, Zander. What...happened?", she knelt down, welcoming her younger sister into her arms.

"Mommy! And Daddy. They can't! I don't want them to be!", the little girl cried.

Ed and Al only watched. They stepped up to one of the officers, recognising him from the cigarette hanging from his mouth. Turning to look at the sobbing child in Sarah's arms, then back towards the officer, Ed began to ask him about the situation.

"Lieutenant Havoc? What's going on here?", his arms were folded across his chest.

"Ed, Al. You two got here at the right time. Or maybe it's not so right for them.", he glanced at the three siblings, then turned his gaze back to Edward.

"What do you mean? What's happened?", Al asked with concern in his voice.

Havoc was about to answer Al's question, until Zander answered it for him. The young man looked at them. His brown eyes full of sadness.

"Mom and Dad... they're...they're gone.", Zander lowered his eyes, and winced in horror.

"W...Wha? Gone? Zander what do you mean gone?", Sarah's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry Miss Kayshati. But there was an attack on one of the villages to the north. Your parents were there. Unfortunatley, they never made it out.", Havoc's answer was calm.

"No! He's lying! Sister tell him he's wrong! They promised! Mommy and Daddy promised they were coming home!"

Tears welled up in Sarah's eyes, and her sister sobbed even more into the neck of her shirt. The little girls tears and denial, made everyone in the room silent, and feeling sad for her and her siblings. Zander looked at the floor, as drops of water began to stain the polished boards just in front of him. Fists clenched at his sides, the boy tried to stay calm.

"Sarah, I...they.", his words wouldn't come.

"Zander.", she looked at him, standing up with Zowy still clutching part of her shirt, "It's okay brother."

"Sister.", running to her, Sarah put her arms around both of her siblings.

The three cried together, and one by one the Military officers left the house. Lieutenant Havoc was the last to leave. But before he did, he reminded Ed about the current task given to them by the Colonel. Havoc explained some of the details that the Colonel had given him. Edward litsened attentively, as the Lieutenant described the situation to him, and handed him an envelope containing all the infomation needed. Taking the paper from the Lieutenant, Edward nodded in acknowledgement, and Havoc left shortly after.

The recent suspect, had been spotted around the library at headquarters. Soldiers were sent to track the suspect, and pinpoint their location. Edward was to go and check it out as soon as possible.

Al had gone over to Sarah and the others, trying his best to cheer them up, he showed Zowy the kitten. The little girl's eyes brightened a bit, and she patted the cat. Sarah smiled at him, then turned to her little sister.

"Zowy, this man has someone who wants to cheer you up.", she said with a loving smile on her face.

"Wow! (sob) Big sister, are we going to keep him?", her bright green eyes, were still full of tears from crying.

"No, he's not for all of us. This little ones just for you Zowy. But promise me you'll take care of him okay? For Mom and Dad."

"Okay. I promise.", she wiped her eyes as she took the kitten from Al, "Thank you."

The little girl gave Al a hug, thanking him for the precious gift. He was glad to have cheered her up a little. Sarah had asked them to stay for a while, and the boys accepted. They talked for quite some time, while Zowy and her brother played with the cat in the livingroom. The boys asked a bit on their current assignment, just to make sure Sarah didn't know anything they could use, trying not to be too upfront, or pressure her too much. She told them what she knew about the killer, but it wasn't much help to them. Later, Sarah explained how her parents had always been so busy, travelling as researchers. And how she was the one who looked after her younger brother and sister while they were away. Ed asked her once again about her alchemy, and she explained the story behind it. She told them about when she was younger, and how she had been interested in some alchemy as a child. She wanted to be the one protecting her siblings, and home. Taking up the art of flame alchemy, she became very good at it.

Rolling up her sleeves, Sarah showed them the bands on her wrists. Transmutation circles were carved into the metal. She explained that her father had made them, just for her, so she could be ready always when she needed to use alchemy.

Now the boys understood how she used alchemy without drawing a circle. Looking at the clock on the wall, Ed decided they better get going. They still had to check out the place Havoc informed them on, and he wanted to get it done as soon as possible.

"Well, thanks for the hospitality Sarah. And I'm really sorry about your parents."

"I's okay Ed. It won't hurt this bad forever. I'm just glad to see Zowy's okay."

"Yeah, she seemed really happy to have the kitten.", Al replied to her.

"What about your brother? Will he be alright?", Ed looked towards where Zander and his younger sister were.

"It's been a long time since Zander even shed a tear. I gained an entire new respect for him today. And he did the same for me.", she smiled, "He's a strong guy, I think he'll be okay."

"Well, let's get going Al. There's still a lot of work to do."

"Right. Bye Sarah. And thanks a lot."

"You guy's are welcome here any time. So you better come visit.", she laughed.

The brothers left the house, and Sarah watched them from the doorway. Her heart ached from the news, and she knew it would for a ling time. She began to cry once more, as she went back inside the house. She had no idea why, but she had a gut feeling they were going to see each other again, very soon.

--Elsewhere--

"So this is the place?", Ed comented on the shabby little hotel in front of them.

"Brother, you think they're still here?"

"We won't know for sure til we go in and see. The Lieutenant gave us a description of the suspect. So it shouldn't be too hard to find em."

"Right."

The two went inside, and approched the front desk. They described their suspect to the clerk. Thin, and not really tall, but not short. Wearing a dark green jacket with a hood and no sleeves. They asked if anyone fitting that description had checked in or out in the past couple of days. The clerk scratched his head and thought. Then he remembered someone who had checked in two days before.

"There's someone in room one twenty that might be the person you're looking for."

"Great. Thanks pops.", Ed looked at Al, and the two headed for room one twenty.

When they got to the door, they stopped, and Ed knocked. They didn't recieve an answer, so he tried again. When no one replied, he turned to Al, and shrugged.

"Maybe they aren't here." Al said.

"No, the clerk said they came back earlier, and he was at the front desk the whole time. So they gotta be in here.", Edward replied, tapping his foot impatiently.

This time Ed banged his fist on the door. Yelling as he did so. Alphonse tried to shush his brother, saying that people might be sleeping. But Ed simply put his brothers word aside. Deciding there was no other way but to barge in and see for themselves. Al argued against it, trying to find a less destructive and noisy way inside.

But Ed wasn't listening. He had already found the door was locked, and used alchemy to open it. The door swung open, and the two went inside. Ed looked around the room, but there was no one there. A scowl came across Edwards face, as he stood in dissapointment.

"See. I told you they must have left.", Al stated.

"I don't believe this. Thats just plain suspicious to me.", Ed stood scratching the back of his head.

He walked over to the window, which was left open, and peered outside. He frowned when he didn't see any sign of an escape attempt. Bringing his head back inside, he turned to Al. Deciding his brother may have been right after all, and stepped away from the window.

They started to head for the door, when a powerful gust of wind came strait through the window. It knocked Ed over and threw Al against the wall. Then a figure ran past both of them, and out the door, slamming it shut behind them. Ed jumped to his feet, his face was red and sore from hitting the floor.

Letting his anger get the best of him, Edwards cursed, and immediately went in persuit of the cause of his rage.

Ed swung the door open again, and headed down the hall after their suspect, with Al trailing a bit behind. He followed the person through the building, out through the lobby and around to a back alley, where he had finally cornered them. Al didn't seen where Edward had gone after he left the building. Wondering which way his brother went, he took a guess and headed in the opposite direction Ed had gone.

Edward had the person cornered. And he wasn't about to let them go for smashing his face into the ground. The person was looking around for a way out, only to find that there wasn't one. Ed came up behind them, and laughed. Confident, and cocky as usual, he was determined to get their suspect, and get back to headquarters.

"Hah! I've gotchya now! Why don't you just come peacfully, so I don't have to hurt anyone.", he said grinning.

"Hmph", came the reply.

Taking a defensive stance, the person wasn't about to surrender. Ed shook his head, and readied himself for a fight.

"All right then. You asked for it."

Lunging forward, Ed moved quickly, but apparently not quick enough. Just as he went for a direct hit to the face, The hooded figure moved out of the way. Grabbing his left arm and twisting him around. Ed was thrown backwards, stunned at the speed of his apponent's movement. He tried again, but this time his leg was caught, and Ed was thrown to the ground. He was getting angry. Jumping to his feet, he ran after the person. They turned and headed strait for the wall. Ed was sure he had them now, but just as they reached the wall, the suspect ran up the side and flipped right over Edward's head, landing behind him. They crossed their arms in front of them, and sat crouching on the ground. Wind began to blow intensely towards Edward. Picking up a long chain from the ground nearby, and whipping it towards Ed. He was now tied up, and unable to get free. Not only surprised with the transmutation, Ed was furious.

"DAMMIT! You got a lot of nerve pal!"

"Not as much as you. Don't you know its not polite to barg in someone's room without permission?"

Ed's face went from angry to surprised upon hearing the person's voice. The alley was dark, but there were lights. Stepping into one of them, the figure removed their hood, and reveiled the face bebeath it. Ed's eyes went wide, and his face flushed. Standing before him was a girl about his own age, with Alburn hair. Two long tails down to her hips tied back, and the rest shoulder length, loosly resting on her neck.

"Thats right, I'm a girl. Surprised?", she finished his sentence for him.

"Well... sort of.", Ed barely managed to spit the words out.

"Hmph. Men. You're all the same. Look I don't want to fight.", she shook her head, and walked towards him.

"What are you doing?", Ed regained his alertness to the situation.

"I'm untying you dummy. What do you think I'm doing?", she snapped.

Slightly confused, he let her approche. She untied the chains, and dropped them to the ground. Ed dusted himself off, then looked at her, still confused. This annoyed her greatly.

"What the hell are you staring at?", she barked at him angrily.

"N..nothing. I thought..."

"What? That I was the serial killer on the loose? I was snooping around yes, but I'm not a cold hearted murdurer."

An awkward silence tainted the air around them. The girl began to walk away, when Al finally found them. Staring in shock, he looked towards Ed, who was equally surprised by the result of their chase. Then he glanced at the person they had been in pursuit of. Al's eyes widened, when he saw her.