Tessa immediately made a lunge for Ed. Ed managed to avoid her grasp, but then he felt strong hands on his arms. Ed tried to pull away. He could see his brother trying to avoid being captured. Ed tried to figure out why his brother wasn't running. Then he realized. Al was looking for a way to get his brother freed.

"AL! RUN!" Ed shouted. "Get out of here! I'll catch up later!"

Al hesitated for a moment, which Tessa used to grab onto his arm. Ed finally broke free from the man's grip and kicked at Tessa. She let go of Al, and the two brothers made their way to the stairs. Ed made it halfway down before tripping.

"Brother!" Al screamed. Ed tried to stand up, but someone had grabbed his right leg. Ed tried to kick at the person, flailing desperately. Then he realized something that made him want to bang his head on the wall. He could use alchemy.

Still trying to pull his leg out of the man's grip, Ed brought his hands together and placed them on the ground. A wooden hand seemed to grow out of the wall next to the man, flattening him against the other wall. He let go of Ed's leg then, and Ed made his way down the stairs with his brother. Tessa was still after them.

They made it to the front door. Al used alchemy on the lock, and they ran outside. The village was practically deserted. They ran for the road, but Ed stopped. He looked at the carriage.

"Hey, Al…"

"What, you want to steal the horse?"

"No, we'll just borrow it and let it go once we're far away from here."

"But brother…"

"You heard those people, didn't you? The only thing keeping us alive is my identity as the Fullmetal Alchemist! Come on, let's go!"

Al used alchemy to free the horse from the carriage, and the two climbed on as quickly as they could. Behind them, Tessa had made it outside. Ed urged the horse to go forward, and they went full speed down the road, heading away from the village.

-------------------

Once they had gotten halfway to town, Ed stopped the horse. He and Al got off and let the horse wander. Right away it went into the fields next to the road.

Ed began walking toward town. Al followed, constantly looking back up the road.

"Al, calm down, you're wasting time checking for her every five seconds."

"Sorry, brother, but I'm nervous."

"Me too, but we have to make it into town. From there we can figure out where we are and make our way back to Central."

They arrived in town an hour later. Ed resisted the urge to ask someone for directions to the train station, knowing full well that some of the people would not be on their side. Instead, the two walked down the streets, trying to use their senses and fuzzy memories of the town to find the station.

Once there, Ed saw a couple of people in military uniforms at the other end of the station. He exchanged glances with Al before approaching the two. Ed was startled to see that it was Roy and Riza.

-------------------

Upon seeing the two alchemists, Roy decided to buy train tickets to Central right away. He waited until they were all in a private compartment on a moving train before listening to Ed's story. Then he had a story of his own to tell.

"Do you know what she meant by failures, Fullmetal?"

"No. I have no idea."

"That night, when you were getting your bodies back, there was a robbery in Central that ended in murder."

"Yeah, yeah, we know about that."

"Brother, be quiet."

"Sorry."

"Anyway, the items stolen are similar to things that have been stolen from houses all over Central, and even in other parts of the country."

"So they're collecting something. What does that have to do with us?"

"That night, the two thieves made their way through Central and stopped to drop off the items in a certain room of a deserted building. They had no way of knowing they'd find two alchemists inside. I think you know the story from there, don't you?"

Ed frowned as he tried to remember everything about that night. "Yeah, they came in, they paused when they saw me, but then someone else came in, and then…"

"The two were killed, right?"

"Yeah, they were. Right in front of me."

"That's why we thought you were dead. We had no way of telling just what that bloody mass was."

Ed was beginning to feel sick. He ignored it, though. He really wanted to know what was going on.

"But why were they killed?"

"We don't really know the reason, but every time there was a robbery like this where someone saw the thief, there have been similar incidents where unidentified… bodies… have been found. Whoever's in charge of all this must be killing off those thieves in order to protect the secrecy of their mission."

"Their mission?"

"As far as we know, the items stolen are all necessary for some sort of transmutation. All of the people who were killed have been killed with alchemy. Nobody's been able to identify them, either."

"A transmutation? What are they trying to make?"

"That's the problem. We still don't know if that's what they're actually planning."

Ed frowned. He had a very good feeling that Tessa had been the alchemist responsible for all the murders. He just wanted to know why. She didn't seem like the murdering type. Ed realized that she could have easily been deceiving them, but he still didn't like to think of her as a murderer. A freak kidnapper, maybe, but not a cold-blooded killer.

It was quiet in the room for a while. Everyone was trying to think. After a while, Ed began to drift off. He was unusually tired.

-------------------

Ed woke up on a couch in what looked like a military office. He tried to sit up, but his muscles refused to respond. Roy was standing in front of a desk, talking to someone. He came over to Ed when he saw he was awake.

"Where are we?" Ed asked. Something was wrong. His voice sounded strange to him.

"We're at Eastern Headquarters. Just so you know, you were probably drugged."

"Where's Al?"

"He's with Lieutenant Hawkeye."

Ed tried to sit up again. This time he succeeded. He looked around the office. Sitting behind the desk was an old guy that Ed vaguely recognized. He shook his head. Something was definitely wrong with him. He should know who that person was.

Roy held his hand out to Ed and pulled the young alchemist to his feet. Ed followed Roy out of the office, going much slower than usual. Ed was amazed he could move at all.

Out in the hall, Roy turned to face Ed. "Listen, we came up with a plan to find those people."

Ed recognized the look on Roy's face. "Does it involve me being the bait?"

"Yes, it does."

"Great. As long as you don't make me dress like a girl again."

"No, not this time. This time you need to be yourself."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"I'll tell you when the drugs wear off."

Ed glared at Roy. It wasn't his fault he had been drugged. He walked down the hall with the Colonel, stopping just before the stairs. He felt sick again.

"What's wrong, Fullmetal?"

"Bathroom…"

"Oh, jeez, you're not going to puke, are you?" Roy helped Ed get to the nearest bathroom and waited outside. Ed made it just in time.

Roy came in after a while to find Ed washing his face.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Somewhat."

"You should go to bed. I'm not letting you do anything until you get over this."

Ed didn't argue. He quietly followed Roy to a small bedroom and collapsed on one of the beds, not even bothering to take off his shoes.

-------------------

Roy stayed with Ed for most of the night. He was concerned about Ed, not only because he had thrown up a few more times, but because there had been sightings of Tessa and that man in East City. Roy didn't want Ed to be kidnapped again, and there was no way Ed would be able to protect himself in this state.

Al had been taking care of his brother until about nine that night. Roy looked over at Al, who was sleeping on the other bed. Both of them were exhausted, but Al didn't seem to have been drugged. Why had it only been Ed?

Ed moaned softly in his sleep and rolled onto his side. Roy went over to check on him again. Ed had a fever now, which made Roy more worried. He had requested medical attention for Ed, but the doctor wouldn't come until the morning. Poor Ed was going to have to suffer until then.

At around three in the morning, Riza came in to give Roy a break. Roy gratefully left the room and fell asleep in the room he was temporarily staying in. He didn't wake up until nine that morning. By that time, the doctor was walking down the hall to Ed's room. Roy got dressed in a hurry and went to greet him.

Ed was half awake when they went into the room. His eyes were blank. He looked at Roy for a moment, and then shifted his gaze to the doctor. Roy watched as Ed's eyes widened and became fearful.

"What's wrong, Fullmetal?"

"Why is he here?" Ed asked, pointing at the doctor.

"He's here to help you. Didn't we tell you?"

"But why does it have to be him?"

"What are you talking about? Why does it matter?"

"I've seen him before! He worked for her!"

"What?" Roy looked at the doctor, whose expression was becoming more worrisome. "You mean he's part of that side?"

"Yeah, he is!"

At this point in time the doctor had bolted. Roy caught up with him at the entrance to the building. He had to full-out tackle the man. Once the man was in custody, Roy sighed. It looked like Ed would have to wait for help.

-------------------

Ed had used up a lot of energy when the doctor had come in, and he fell back on the bed exhausted once Roy had gone after him. Al stood up and went to his brother's side, but Riza held him back and brought him into the hallway.

"Let him sleep. He's scared."

"But…"

"Listen. If that person really did work for Tessa, then Edward's probably thinking he'll be taken back to her."

"But he won't."

"No, but he's not really thinking clearly right now. He might do something he doesn't mean to do."

Al narrowed his eyes. He was trying to think. "What now, then?"

"We'll just have to wait for a different doctor."

-------------------

Interrogating the doctor yielded no significant results. All they learned from him was that he had been hired by Tessa to take care of Ed. After he said that, he mentioned that Tessa was unwilling to bring Ed out in public, which confirmed what they already knew. Obviously they hadn't told him anything else, because not even Roy's threats and fire yielded any further information.

They found another doctor for Ed, who was still sick. By the time the doctor came into the room, Ed was slightly delirious. Riza had been trying to talk to him, but he kept insisting that she make Shuichi leave the room. Riza had no idea who the heck Shuichi was, but there was nobody in the room other than her and Ed.

The doctor checked Ed's symptoms and did other doctor-ish stuff. Finally he gave Ed some medication and left, giving Riza some pills for Ed to take the next morning. Ed waved and called out, "Bye, Shuichi!" Riza groaned. This was going to be an interesting recovery process.

The next day, Riza had to force Ed down to take the pills. It was definitely a difficult task, one that she only managed with the help of Al and Roy. Al was worried about his brother, but Roy found the entire situation rather amusing. Riza just shook her head at the entire mess.

The day after that, Riza had a much less difficult time with Ed, mostly because she brought her gun out and shot just above his head. Ed was doing considerably better, but he was still very delirious. Sometime after lunch, Riza had to tackle Ed to prevent him from jumping out the window to attack his imaginary foe by the name of Shuichi. Ed began begging Riza to let go, saying, "He's taunting me with his pink Philosopher's Stone hair!"

Riza let go more of surprise than anything else. Then, when Ed made it to the window, he looked outside, turned around, and sat down on the bed, considerably embarrassed. Riza sighed. At least Ed realized he was imagining things.

The next day, Ed wasn't delirious anymore. Or at least, he could easily ignore Shuichi. Once everyone was sure he could function as a normal human being, Roy began explaining his plan to Ed.

-----------------

Ed was actually impressed by Roy's plan. It made sense, and Ed wouldn't even be in much danger. Or at least, that's what he thought. He had no way of knowing that Roy hadn't told him everything.

That night, the four of them headed for the train station. Ed stopped when they left military headquarters. Everyone else stopped too, looking curiously at Ed. Ed held up a finger, and pointing to Roy, shouted, "What's he doing here?"

Roy looked a tad irritated as he responded, "Don't you remember the plan, Fullmetal? I'm supposed to follow you."

"Not you, him!" Ed said, pointing to someone behind Roy. Everyone looked where Ed was pointing. There was nobody there. "Why is Shuichi coming?"

Al shook his head and pushed his brother's arm down. "There's nobody there, brother."

"Oh, crap. Sorry." Ed was turning red. They continued walking, with Ed shooting death glares at his imaginary enemy.

Finally, they arrived at the train station. Roy and Riza boarded the train after saying goodbye to Ed and Al. The two brothers walked away from the station, hoping that Tessa had seen the two on the train.

She did see it. She also saw the Elric brothers walking alone down the street from the station. Sadly for the brothers, they had made their plan a little bit too obvious, because Tessa didn't show herself at all.

Instead, Ed and Al found themselves facing two big men, who didn't give the brothers any time to transmute. Realizing that the plan had been ruined, Ed and Al decided to change tactics. They split up and headed for the train station.

Neither of the brothers made it to the station. Al took a wrong turn and found himself at a dead end, and Ed got unexpectedly sick as he ran, and had to stop. The one after Al managed to pin him against a wall, and as Al struggled, Tessa casually walked up to him. Having nothing to tie him with, Tessa instead took out a circle from her pocket and placed it on Al's shirt. When she placed her hand on it, Al's shirt changed shape, effectively preventing any movement on his part. Then she stuck a chloroformed rag in Al's face.

"You're not going to escape again. Neither is your brother," she said threateningly as Al lost consciousness.

Back on Ed's end of things, things weren't going well at all. Ed had stopped in an alley because of stomach troubles. Once he had gotten to the point where he could continue running, it was too late. The other big man had placed his hands on Ed's arms and pulled him upright. Ed tried to get away, but he was still fairly weak. The man pushed him roughly against a wall.

Ed wasn't really sure what happened next. All of a sudden, he wasn't being pushed against the wall anymore. He stumbled back, and tripped over something – the man's leg. He felt someone catch him. It took Ed a moment to realize that the man was dead.

"That was a close call, Fullmetal Alchemist."

Ed looked behind him. Immediately he broke away from the person. It was Scar.

"What are you doing here?" Ed asked.

"None of your business."

"Then why did you help me?"

"Didn't I say this before? I have no interest in killing you now."

"So? That doesn't mean you had to help me."

"I want you to help me with something."

"And what's that?"

Scar looked from the body on the ground to Ed, who was breathing heavily. "We shouldn't stay here. Come with me."

Ed looked down at the dead man. Their plan had gone to hell, so Ed was going to have to go into hiding for a while to avoid capture. He hoped that Al had made it to the station.