Hawkeye tried hard to block the thought that came into her mind, but if Edward hadn't gone to Mustang's office, would Roy have died as well? They had been informed that Mustang never left the building, but Edward had been spotted, by the receptionist on duty, coming in late at night. The young woman had mentioned that another man came in. She hadn't stopped him, which was why she was sobbing right now.

Riza didn't care that the woman was sobbing. She probably would have tried to convince the woman that it wasn't her fault, but right now she just didn't care. She wanted to empty five guns into the man who did this, but she couldn't because they didn't have any suspects. The receptionist didn't remember anything about the man that had come in. She had said so when asked.

"Second Lieutenant, please, stay here while I call the rest of the team and tell them what happened."

That's when Havoc visually flinched. "Riza, what about Alphonse?"

Hawkeye took in a deep breath and let it out as a long sigh. "I will go to him in person."

Havoc wanted to relieve her of such a weighing task, but he couldn't. He couldn't even stomach the idea of being the one to say such a thing. "Yes, Ma'am."

She left and Havoc felt a pulling in his gut.


Hawkeye looked down at the phone in disgust. It was the phone she had just used to inform her colleagues that their commanding officer was probably dead. Not only that, but also that one of the people they had gotten to know as a friend was also probably dead.

Alphonse was next. This wasn't going to be like the others. She wasn't going to call and say that his family was likely dead. Brutality murdered. She couldn't just call a kid and tell him that his family was gone because someone decided that human life wasn't as important to them as it was to others.

It was funny how being so deeply in thought can make everything blurry. But then Hawkeye realised that it wasn't the thoughts looming in her mind that caused the blur. They were tears. Tears for her Colonel and tears for Edward. Tears for her commanding officer and young, hot-headed subordinate.

That reminded Hawkeye of her mission. It reminded her that she needed to tell Alphonse about his brother. He would be devastated. He would grieve, but he wouldn't cry because he couldn't. Hawkeye felt numb as she started to walk. The dorms weren't far away, but the walk seemed to take decades. It was not until she stood in front of the barracks that she realised how much time had already passed. She entered the building climbing stairs upon stairs to the floor Alphonse and Edward lived on.

The door to the Elric's dorm was so close yet still so far away. She came closer until she was standing right in front of the doorway. She held her hand right above the surface of the wood. Her hand pulled back a little before coming down on the wood, rapping on the door.

"I'm coming," Alphonse's voice announced. The sound of his armour feet clanking on the floor as he approached the door came through to Hawkeye. She tried to think. She tried to think about what she would say. The words she would use to tell Alphonse.

The door was opened. "Brother, is that you..." Alphonse stopped and cocked his helmet head. "Oh, Lieutenant, what are you doing here? Brother isn't here. He went out last night. He will probably be back a little later."

"Alphonse, your brother... He isn't coming back."

"What are you saying? Of course he's coming... No, no, whatever you think. It's wrong! He will come back! He always comes back."

"Alphonse..." Riza sighed long and shakily. "Your brother and the Colonel have been attacked. All... all evidence points to them being murdered." Alphonse shook.

"No, please, no. I can't- not without him!" Alphonse's metal knees gave out, and he fell with a loud clatter.

"I want to see him! Let me see my brother!" Alphonse wailed.

"Alphonse, there aren't any bodies. We have Edward's coat covered in blood and surrounded by ruins."

"But then, he might still be alive." Alphonse jumped to his feet and ran past Hawkeye. Riza knew exactly where Alphonse was headed.

"No, Alphonse, don't go!" Hawkeye ran in pursuit of Alphonse, but he was taller with longer legs and didn't run out of energy in the slightest.

After a few minutes Hawkeye was left racing after Alphonse through headquarters. She hoped that he would be sensible enough to stop before going into the office. He wasn't, though. He went right up to the door and looked in.

"No... no..." He fell to his knees with a huge crash. Hawkeye knew that he must have felt so sick.

She came up beside him. It was too late to stop him from seeing the coat and the blood everywhere, but the least she could do was try to console him.


Alphonse wished he could cry. He wanted to so badly. Tears could clean away grief. Not all the grief but some of it. Yes, crying might hurt, but tears were vital. They were cleansing.

Alphonse just wanted to look away and cry because it hurt. It hurt to see the blood and Edward's coat. It hurt to know that the lieutenant was right about Edward being gone. But she couldn't be right because Edward couldn't be gone. It wasn't possible. Alphonse had only just seen him alive. Edward hadn't even been gone very long, right?

"Alphonse, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The Lieutenant's voice sounded pained as well. How could Alphonse not realise how much pain she must be in. She had lost someone too. She had lost someone close to her.

"Alphonse," Havoc's voice resonated through Alphonse's helmet. His hand came to rest on Alphonse's shoulder.

"He isn't gone... I don't believe it..."


Mustang woke with sore shoulders and a splitting migraine pounding right behind his closed eyes. He cracked his eyes open, venturing a peek at his soundings. Darkness filled the room.

Roy could see the silhouettes of things around the room. He had only just enough light to make out some of the objects in the space. Above his head, his hands were bound and bleeding. He knew because he could feel blood trickling down his arm, and could see and feel the braided rope as it ripped apart the sensitive flesh surrounding his wrists.

To his right was what liked like a table, and right in front of him seemed empty, but it was too dark for him to be completely sure. He let his eyes wander to the left. That was where the door was. He knew because he could see the light seeping out from the crack under the door. And that was where the only light in the room came from.

There was something else to his left. It was still and had a familiar shape. It was small. Small like a child. Roy nearly threw up.

"Fullmetal...?" He whispered, begging for an answer. The kid couldn't be dead, right? That would be the cruelest of torture. An innocent kid's body laying face down cold on stone beside him. That was what Roy assumed the could hard material he sat on was.

"Came on, Fullmetal..." Roy prompted the still kid. "No, wake up." He had to keep his voice low in a whisper to avoid detection of whoever brought them here.

A silence almost sickening followed. Nothing at all moved. Roy bit his lip. If Edward were alive, his back should have been moving up and down with the patterns of his breathing. No, no, please, no... He can't be dead. I can't be alone with his body. No!


Thanks for the reviews! They mean so much and always encourage me to write the next chapter right away.

-UNAU/IME