Mustang was shivering. Wherever they were was unnaturally cold. Edward was still slumped over across from him, sporting a few new bruises.

The Colonel was breathing heavily. He felt like he should stand up, but he wasn't sure if his feet would support him. The edges of his vision were rimmed with red and darkening. It took him a minute to realise that he wasn't actually getting a sufficient amount of oxygen into his lungs. He wanted to cry out, but he was much busier trying to breathe and not pass out than to call out for a psychopath to help him.

Edward stirred. No, if I'm going to die please don't let him see that. Roy stopped at that. Was he so sure he would die? Yes, he was going to run out of air. Edward would have to watch him die and leave him in this hellhole alone.

"Edward, don't wake up. Go back to sleep," The Colonel told his young subordinate, nearly choking on the words through the lack of oxygen.

"Colon..." Edward groaned.

"Fullmetal, don't wake up. I'm ordering-" Mustang's hiss broke off as he choked. His throat had closed up, or maybe something had built up in his throat. The already dim room slipped further into darkness each second. His lungs were barely working.

A terrified gasp and a series of shouts followed. That was when Mustang dropped off the edge of understanding and into a cold, growing darkness.


Edward stared in horror at his slumped, literally foaming at the mouth, commanding officer. His calls must have been heard because the next second the door came screeching, ever so violently, open.

"I knew I forgot something!" Their psychopath captor exclaimed, crossing the room to were the table stood. He plucked up a large jagged-edged dagger.

Edward did not want to know what it was usually used for.

The man started sawing at the bonds, nicking Mustang's wrists every now and then. Blood trickled down his arm from old and new cuts at his wrist.

Mustang fell to the ground limply as the last of the coarse rope was sliced through. The man dropped the knife and pulled a handkerchief out of his breast pocket.

"What's wrong?! What happened?!" Edward demanded, shouting at the man. "What did you do to him?!"

"Four," He hissed as he wiped the foam-like substance from Mustang's mouth. The man pinched Mustang's nose and breathed into the Colonel's parted mouth. He pulled away as Mustang choked on his own, closed up, throat, and the forced in oxygen.

"ANSWER ME!!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM, YOU BASTARD?!!"

"Shut up, kid! I just saved his life, but I want you to know that I didn't do it 'cause I care'. I want my paycheck, Fullmetal." The man replaced the handkerchief back in his pocket.

Mustang was wheezing in the background as the man advanced on Edward. "I don't care what happens to you or your bodies when you are sold. You will be so far from my mind as I hold that money in my bloodstained hands. Do you know whose blood will be on my hands? Yours."

"D- don't get n- n- near my su... my subordinate...," Roy wheezed. "S- stay away from him..."

"Colonel Flame, shut up! I'm trying to talk to Fullmetal right now!"

"I don't want to talk to you! You're a creep and a-" The man lunged and grabbed Edward's throat, cutting him off from the surprise.

"I'm giving you permission to speak, little puppy. Don't use this chance for something that will give you punishment."

Edward squirmed at the comment to his size.

"And you must listen because you will likely die, and if you are a good little puppy I might let you write a good-bye letter before I sell you." Edward knew immediately that that was a lie. He wouldn't get to write a good-bye letter if he was good. He was going to die and he would never have the chance to say good-bye to those he loved. They would likely never know what happened to him.

"You are a no-good rotten liar! Don't think I'll trust you!" Edward barked at the man through the strangled hold on his neck.

"You know, you were right... I am a liar." The smirk that slowly crept across his face was disturbing. He tightened his grip around Edward's neck. The supply of oxygen that Edward so deeply needed was cut off by the hand roughly wrapped around his throat. He was choking and gasping to no avail.

"St- stop!" Mustang shouted, still searching and gasping for a complete lung full of breathable air.

"What, Colonel? I'm just letting him know what you just went through." He pulled away his hand, allowing Edward, starved of oxygen, to pant for a healthy amount of air. "Doesn't it hurt? Doesn't the lack of available oxygen hurt? That is what I just saved that dog from, so thank me." The man pointed back at Colonel Mustang and waited.

"I will never thank you for anything!" Edward hissed, spitting in the man's face. There was a frighteningly calm look in the man's features as he removed the handkerchief from his breast pocket again. He wiped away the spittle from his cheek. He pulled the handkerchief away from his cheek spitting into it for some unknown reason.

"That's really very unfortunate because I don't plan on letting my puppy disrespect me!" Edward opened his mouth to hiss profanities at the scum of the earth that stood in front of him, except he never was allowed another word. The handkerchief was shoved into Edward's open mouth, nearly choking him again in the process.

Edward tried to spit the disgusting cloth out of his mouth, but it was pushed back by the man.

"Shhh, puppy. You have over used your mouth today. You are just getting your punishment."

Edward attempted to shout at the man. He tried telling the man that he was no puppy, but it was muffled by the large handkerchief that had been unceremoniously shoved into his mouth.

"I'm going to say... You've earned seven cuts. Maybe, eight. Let's go with eight. That's more fun." A knock at the door surprised everyone. "What now?" The man muttered under his breath in annoyance. The creaking of hinges followed. "What are you doing here?" The man hissed at the newcomer.

The person was easily recognizable as an MP. He was either a traitor or a fake.

"Jace, I wanted to tell you that everything has gone according to plan."

"Of course, it did! I'm not an amateur. Now, retie the Colonels hands," The man, who Edward easily deduced was Jace, ordered.

"Why is he untied?" The officer asked, glancing at the Colonel.

"He nearly asphyxiated thanks to the way you tied him!" Jace hissed. "You're lucky the kid was awake because, as you very well know, you are expendable while Colonel Flame, there, is not." He jabbed his finger at the Colonel. "Don't hang him up this time."

Edward's was attempting to spit out the handkerchief while the two men were distracted with speaking to each other.

Jace turned back to Edward, shoving the nearly removed handkerchief back in his mouth "Stop that! Kendric, slide that knife over here."

The officer, Kendric, slid the knife that had cut Mustang's bonds across the stone floor, allowing it to make a painful grating sound that made Edward cringe.

Edward felt a twinge of panic crawling up and through his spine.

Jace picked the knife off of the floor. He pulled at Edward's tank top ripping the blade through the material, cutting away, and creating, a decent sized strip of the black top.

"This should stop you from spiting that out, puppy." He tied the black strip of fabric around Edward's head, letting it pass through Edward's mouth as a gag that forced the handkerchief in.

Edward attempted to shout at the man, only to be severely muffled by the gag. He huffed on annoyance and tried kicking the man.

"Knock it off, Fullmetal! Puppies shouldn't try to attack their masters."

Edward had a variety of curses to use on the psychotic bastard that hovered over him creepily. He would have used them if he wasn't gagged, but he could think them.

Edward looked past Jace to where he saw Kendric's creamy brown hair. It was familiar. He had probably helped Jace attack them at the office.

Kendric was tying Mustang's wrists together. As well as binding a rope around Mustang's right ankle leaving the end loose. "Jace," He called. "I need you to deal with this rope."

Jace stood up, and Edward shot him a dirty glare. He crossed the dimly lit room to where the rope was and drew a circle on the wall. He filled it with the correct runes and symbols, adding lines. He activated the transmutation circle, light electrifying the air. The rope was swallowed by the stone wall, successfully binding the Colonel to the wall.

"Now, we don't need to worry about that happening again, do we?"

Edward watched Mustang as he glared at the men. "You will regret ever touching me or my subordinate. I will make you pay." His voice still surrounded a little raspy.

"No." Jace looked down at Mustang smugly. "You won't."


"I'm sorry. That just isn't possible, Lieutenant -Ma'am."

"Please, Sir. I know it is against regulations, but I'm very efficient," Hawkeye was trying to convince Eastern headquarter's head of investigations to allow her onto the case that was being built up, but the dirty-blonde Lieutenant Colonel was holding to his original answer.

"I really can't allow it. You may be very efficient, but you are also to personally attached to the victims. In a homicide case such as this one, we can't risk any mishaps due to a woman who is suffering from the loss of two friends." The head of investigations was shaking his head. "I'm very sorry that this happened, but it is unavoidable. You are not permitted to be on this homicide team."

Hawkeye wasn't going to win this. She knew it, but she wanted to do something to catch the people who had done this.

It was growing close to the end of her shift, which had technically been cut off. She and the whole team were being laid-off as they waited to be reassigned under a new commanding officer. They would likely be split up and spread out across the country.

As the end of the day drew nearer so did an idea. She had yet to inform a few people of Roy and Edward's demise. The Rockbells; she planned to ask Alphonse if he would rather tell them, Madame Christmas, and the one who could help her with her predicament, Maes Hughes. It would be hard for all of them to hear it, but it had to be done. It should have been done immediately, but she had already told enough people that they were dead, or likely so.

Hawkeye was making her way toward Eastern Command's front desk.


When the receptionist saw Hawkeye as she approached she began rambling. "I'm so very sorry I didn't stop him!" The woman was now breaking down in sobs. "I don't know why! I just thought I'd seen him come in before. He looked familiar!"

The woman at the front desk wasn't aware of the importance her words spoke. "It's fine. You didn't know. I wanted to ask, though, to use the phone again."

The receptionist was nodding as she sobbed in exhaustion and guilt. The young woman had yet to go home after a long night, and now, nearly an entire shift later, she was still there in headquarters. She had said that she wanted to say sorry to the team before leaving, and because she had yet to see them all, she was still there. She was quite clearly sticking to that wish.

Hawkeye made the first call to Alphonse Elric. The wait was twice as long as it usually was. Duly so.

"Hello?" Hawkeye couldn't help but notice the deep depression in Alphonse's voice.

"Hello, Alphonse, it's Lieutenant Hawkeye. I was wondering about the Rockbells..."

"Oh, yeah..."

"I can inform them," Hawkeye offered quickly so that the boy would know that he didn't need to.

"No, but thank you. I'll do it myself."

Alphonse hung up the phone without so much as muttering an attempt at a good-bye.

Hawkeye frowned dialing the next number. It was Hughes that she was attempting to contact now. A few rings then the phone was picked up.

"This is Central Command," A young female voice came through.

"I'm First Lieutenant Hawkeye, calling from Eastern Command. I'm requesting to be patched through to Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes."

"Please, wait one minute." Hawkeye was waiting, attempting to come up with something to say. Words were jumbled up in her brain, ready to explode. "Here you are," The woman said. There was a click as the phone lines were connected.

"Hello, Lieutenant! How are you?! Where's Roy? Did he not want to call me?!" Hughes excitedly asked over the phone.

Hawkeye steeled her voice. "Lieutenant Colonel, Roy is missing... Investigations assume the worst."

Hughes lost ever ounce of enjoyment at that. "...What?" His voice was quiet and cracked a bit as he said the word.

"They were attacked in the office..."

Being part of investigations Hughes was good with details. Has picked one word out of that.

"'They'? Riza, was there someone else in the office? Are they okay?" Hughes was already making a case in his head.

"Yes, he... He wasn't alone. But, No, they aren't okay. It's safe to assume that he is dead as well." Hawkeye's throat was coming dangerously close to closing up.

"Who?"

"I was going to tell you, Sir. I didn't want to-" She was interrupted.


"Who?! Who was it?!" Hughes didn't really want to know. He wanted to get on a train and rush over to East City, telling everyone that Roy wasn't dead. Logically thinking that was very unlikely. He didn't know what had happened, but an entire team saying that they were dead weren't very likely to be wrong. It was like a slap to the face.

"...Edward Elric," Was Hawkeye's reply.

"No!" He had met the kid and his brother while they and Roy had been in Central about a month ago. He was too young to have suffered this fate. Though, Hughes knew that that wasn't true. He had seen so many bodies, and a depressing amount of those had been children. "I'm coming there, Riza." He hung up, calling his wife to inform her.


Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Please tell me what you think!

-UNAU/IME