Warning: Roy's point of view is slightly ahead of the others by about half a day.
Roy stared at Edward through his migraine. He waited, praying to who knows what that Edward would wake up. He waited, hoping that the kid's unmoving chest would rise.
Roy watched the boy for so long that time melted together with the darkness. He didn't know how much time had passed by, so all he could do was keep watching the boy as the minutes ticked by. It had been hard to keep track of the minutes when he had his brain splitting in his own head.
A creak resounded through the dark and somewhat dank room. The door to Roy's left was pushed open. Its new arrangement provided much more light.
"Colonel Flame? You're awake. How nice..." A sticky sweet male voice said.
"Who are you?!" Roy demanded through a hiss.
"That is unimportant."
Roy wanted to burn the man. He could only see the man's silhouette, so he couldn't even try to recognize him. He didn't even know if he would know their attacker's face. He was sure he would recognise the man if they had met at one point, but that wasn't a given. And he might have just been a hired goon or something.
"Wh- what is wrong with Fullmetal?" Roy hadn't meant to stutter. That would only show that he cared what happened, and then it could be easily used against him.
Roy expected his captor to laugh at that and say, "Isn't that obvious? He's dead!", but he didn't. Instead, he said, "A heavy drug. The kid was up before you and was being quite a nuisance. We wouldn't want him to wake you from your nice rest." He said that last part mockingly at Roy.
Mustang couldn't help but feel relieved. Beyond relieved. He was able to breathe now that he knew Edward wasn't dead. It weighed heavily on him that he had been sedated, but that was far better than the alternative.
"Did you think he was dead? How sad... I kind of wish he was so that I could see the despair of his death in your eyes. Fear not, though. You can't sell a dead body for much so he'll live. But I can still sell a damaged body."
Icy chills crept up Roy's spine. "'Sell'...?"
"Yes, you two will be quite an attraction. We only have to wait for the bidders to place the price."
Mustang wanted to be sick. They were going to be sold. Sold to the highest bidder.
Investigations was packing up all the evidence and cleaning up the office. The rest of Mustang's unit were all present now. They were sitting in the now vacant mess hall. Lunch had come and gone but no one was hungry. Not even Breda was hungry.
Alphonse sat fiddling with a napkin that had been at the table. He watched the others as they sat, waiting for information on the case. It was unlikely that there would be any this early in the case. At least, not anything of much value.
"First Lieutenant, Ma'am?" Everyone spun around to face an approaching officer. He was a Major with light, creamy brown hair and brown eyes. Hawkeye tried to remember his name, for she knew she had met him once. "We've been informed to tell you to expect the worst. We can't find any ransom note or anything along those lines. We don't know if there will be a call, so until then we don't have any clue on the whereabouts of Colonel Mustang or Major Elric."
Behind her, Hawkeye could hear a few shaky sighs of disappointment.
"I'm sorry," The officer said through a frown. He gathered, from the atmosphere around Mustang's unit, that he wasn't really welcome here, so he moved on.
"Miss Hawkeye?" Alphonse began.
Hawkeye kept her emotions in check and turned to the boy. "Yes, Alphonse?"
"Do you have access to the investigation files?" Alphonse waited for her answer with a painful sting in his abstract heart.
"We are too emotionally attached. They wouldn't let any of us help with the investigation. But I'll try... I want to investigate it for myself," Hawkeye told the young boy. She had already planned on working her way into the case. She felt she, and Mustang's whole team, had a right to be involved in the case. She just hadn't wanted to involve Alphonse. She, along with her peers, had been trained to emotionally unattach themselves in order to complete their task. Not everyone had much control, but, at least, they had the experience. But still they weren't allowed to be involved in an emotionally challenging investigation.
"Thanks. Do you think, if you manage to get ahold of them, that I could help?"
Hawkeye wanted to say no, but she just couldn't. She understood that Alphonse likely needed this. He needed to find his brother's attacker, and possible murderer. Alphonse needed proof that he had really lost everything. "I should say no, but I won't. If I can manage to get ahold of the files I'll make sure you are aware."
"Thank you so much, Miss Hawkeye. I'm going to go back to the dorm. If that's okay?" Alphonse sounded so shaken like it was just all really settling in. Like he was only now realising that his life was falling apart, ripping at the seams.
"Of course, and, Alphonse," Hawkeye waited for the boy's reply, which came as a clanking nod of Alphonse's helmet in a prompt for Riza to go on. "Would you like me to walk with you back to the barracks?"
Alphonse shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. I want a little time alone anyways..."
Riza didn't know how good that would be for the boy. Would he feel better after a quiet walk where he could collect his thoughts? Or would it cause him pain as he was reminded that he was truly alone?
"Okay, but if you change your mind or want one of the others to go with you, just ask."
"I appreciate it." Alphonse stood up and walked out of the mess hall. He filled the halls with the sound of his receding footsteps.
Roy watched the man administer a silvery liquid into Fullmetal's only remaining arm. The light originated from an uncovered light bulb that hung from the ceiling above the table. It was dim, but it gave a glow that allowed for a better look at their surrounds, and at their captor.
He was blonde with blue eyes and was, unmistakably, the man that attacked him and his subordinate earlier.
Roy's eyes widened when he realised that he had no idea how much time had passed since their initial capture. It could have been days, could it not? He didn't know if any sedatives had been used on himself. He couldn't possibly know how much time had passed.
"Oh, Colonel Flame?" The man beamed in a sing-song voice. "Call me when he wakes up. I want to talk with you when you're both awake. Watching someone else's pain is much better when you can feel the same pain, is it not?" The man made his way to the door with a laugh tickling his lips. "Why not use my toys while I still have them at my disposal?"
A/N: Thanks for reading and for all the reviews! I love to read them!
-UNAU/IME
