"KUN!" Dixie started crying and pointed toward Al's feet. Nobody paid too much attention to this gesture, as it was close to where Gox had been previously standing.

"Come on, Dixie." Ren said softly as he picked her up. "It's all right, we'll find him and he'll be ok."

"Kun." She whined and shook her head.

"Maybe they dragged him up the mountain." Clen said eagerly. "My balance has gotten better so I could probably get up there in a heartbeat."

"They couldn't have possibly gotten him up there in the time it took for the smoke to clear." Ed said, trying to think of any alternatives. "They could've taken him back to the town. It would be a lot easier to hide that way."

"I hate to say it but I think you're both wrong."

The shock and fear in Annie's voice grabbed their attention. She'd been kneeling next to Ren, trying to comfort Dixie when she realized what had made the little girl so upset. She hadn't been pointing to Gox's absence, she had seen a sprinkled trail of red leading into the mine…several footprints on either side.

"I can't believe we overlooked something so obvious." Al scolded himself.

"Then lets make up for it and get in there to get him!" Ed zipped by with everyone following except Annie who stood with Dixie at the cave entrance.

"Ok, the trail leads this way…"

"Ouch! Clen get off my foot!"

"I'm not Clen."

"I can't see squat."

"It doesn't help that Al is blocking most of the outside light."

"Oh will you just shut up and let me through." Ren's voice came from up front. "At least this thing is good for something." A flash of greenish light illuminated the tunnel for a second. But the second was enough for the Fullmetal to discover he was only inches away from tripping over a large rock.

"Ok, one problem solved…now all he has to do is walk backwards." Lame said.

"I don't care as long as you make sure I don't trip over anything."

They boys made a quick pace down the tunnel, guided by the eerie light and keeping their eyes open. Chanticleer couldn't help but wish it was some one else that had been taken into the mine, that way Gox could find his way without sight … something the rest of them weren't used to.

To make the trip easier Al put a mine cart on the rail and Ren sat at the end, guiding the way like a lighthouse beacon.

As it was typical in most plots when you're looking for something important they came upon a fork in the tunnel…both turned out to be dead ends.

One was blocked up and the other opened up unto a large cave. The drop was steep and a rail bridge, the only way to the other side of a twelve-foot gap was broken beyond any hope of repair. And there wasn't anything that could've given anyone the means to get across. No rope to swing on, no alternate path, nothing. The rock walls beneath them were much too smooth for anyone to climb down, much less with someone who couldn't see.

"Now what?" Clen said softly…feeling hope for his friend slipping away.

"They had to have come through here." Edward said, starting to feel like everything had turned hopeless and knew he shouldn't. "There weren't any other passages…there weren't any tracks outside were there?"

Realizing they may have fallen victim to a decoy they zipped back out of the mine, startling Annie and Dixie with their speed.

"Where is h-" Annie started.

"Check all around for any other tracks that lead anywhere else." Al interrupted.

A lifetime seemed to pass as they searched beneath the towering walls until the only tracks they could find were their own.

The trail, their only clue had been swept away completely.

"C'mon." Annie motioned. "Maybe they didn't swipe away the trail on the top of the walls."

"How could they possibly get back up in the minutes it took for the smoke to clear?" Lame said hopelessly.

"I hate to sound one for a lost cause but he's got a good point." The Dawn said with a heavy heart.

"Are you saying we're giving up!" Ren cried.

Dixie hugged her tail and began to sob heavily into it.

"I'm not saying that at all." Chanty defended. "I'm just having a hard time figuring out how they got away. If they wanted to kill him then they would've just done it here. Whatever he knew about the Nomiad is why he's in this mess."

"You don't think they're taking him back to Caradon do you?" Al asked.

"I hope not." Ren said, feeling the top of his head where a scab from his antenna had been yanked. "The things they might do to him would make death seem like a godsend."

"Ed? You ok?" Annie asked gently when she saw his hanging head.

"No. None of us are." He answered grimly. "We were supposed to keep you all safe and look what's happened…I'm sorry. I'm sorry that we didn't do what we promised."

No one could say anything to that. True, the alchemist trio hadn't fully kept their promise but who could foresee a smoke bomb so they could fight back? But no one was going to blame them – true friends didn't do such things. They were all going to find Goxlin and he was going to be ok. They couldn't think any differently…otherwise all hope would've been lost for good.

The day after Gox disappeared the friends investigated every nook and cranny of the town, giving a brief description of their friend and asking if they could keep an eye out for him to the towns' people.

Like Annie suggested they checked out the top of the mountain walls but except for a few sagebrushes, a horned toad and a rattlesnake there wasn't a thing.

"Maybe we should go back to Central and tell Colonel Mustang about what's happened." Al suggested.

"And what's that gonna do?" Clen asked.

"We need to let the Colonel know." Al insisted. "Maybe then we can get some help out here in looking for Gox."

"By the time reinforcements arrive-"

"Then some of us will stay behind and look ourselves." Ed interrupted.

"Ok, there's a plan." Lame said sarcastically. "So who's going and who's staying?"

"Chanticleer and I will stay here while Al takes you back to the fun house."

"Hey! Why cant w-"

"This way if those guys show up again they cant harm the rest of you." Ed explained. "You will be safe, Al can report to Mustang and Chanty and I can look for Gox. It's not a suggestion, that's the plan."

And so it was. The train left in a few hours and Al escorted his friends aboard. Solemn faces looked out the windows, worry and fear in each one.

Chibi me –oo sill idnt ell uth awout wa appened oo ox!

Me – I'm letting the readers guess what happens to him. Would I kill him or by some miracle is he alive?

Chibi me – or ean.

Me - Didn't you have a way to get rid of the caramel before?

Chibi me – es. Ut it ot ost.