A/N: Yo, yo, yo...okay, I should stop that while I'm ahead. Anyways! Here's the next chapter. It's sort of shorterish, as in the song was much shorter so the slots where things happen are longer. However! WARNING this chapter and the next one have some...icky scenes mainly with Kimblee. And I know the Royai fans are pissed at me, but you know what, I said there would be Royai and dammit I'm sticking to it, but give it some time, there's still a ton of storyline to go. By the way, I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, but if I did, Winry's skirt would be drawn longer...that is all.

"My hands are broken and time is going on and on / It goes forever / So I got high and lived all that life / I have taken all for granted

The Rockbell Residence

Fuery knocked gently on the front door twice. Armstrong quickly jerked the smallest officer in the bunch and stated in a loud whisper, "What are you doing? If there's someone in there, you might be alerting them!" Being a subordinate is hard when your commanding officers are crazy, Fuery thought. Armstrong checked the area twice before testing the door. "Locked tight."

Falman rolled his eyes, "It is almost eleven at night, could it be possible, sir, that the girls went to bed?"

"I don't think so. I saw the gals all dressed up heading across the bay," commented a familiar old voice.

"Madam Pinako! You mustn't sneak up on a trained weapon such as me," Armstrong screeched.

Pinako was almost half Armstrong's size, but he still treated her with a multitude of respect. She was, after all, his elder. "Didn't think I'd be seeing you again, Muscles. What are all you boys doing here so late?" Pinako's voice began to trail off as she rambled on, "Though it wouldn't surprise me. I live across the street and I've noticed that Winry's been getting an awful lot of strange late night visitors."

Fuery was ready to spill the beans, but Armstrong rapidly interrupted Fuery before he could get a word out, "I'm afraid that's classified – did you say 'strange late night visitors'?"

"Yeah, something like that. Is there something I should know?" Armstrong tried his hardest to keep the mission to himself. He bit his lip so hard it almost bled. "Do me a favor, big fella', watch out for the kid. She's got a good heart but that head of hers is a little kooky."

Armstrong's face was turning blue from trying to hold in what he knew. "Sir, are you okay?" Breda asked.

"Yeah, you're looking a little flustered. Is there something you need to get off your chest?" Pinako asked.

Armstrong took two deep breaths in and calmed himself down. After a moment, the sweat stopped rolling down from the top of his bald head and he could speak again, "I'm sorry, ma'am. My men and I are off to take a ferry across the bay. Men, move out."

Pinako had come across Armstrong before and knew he was famous for his odd antics. She assumed this was just another case of him being strange.

Armstrong was charging down the dirt road back toward the ferry. He knew his men would never be able to keep up with his world class sprinting techniques, passed down through the Armstrong family for centuries, but the ferry's horn was sounding, signaling that it was time to move out. "Sir, wait up!" Falman screamed. Their feet carried them as fast as they could, but Armstrong was still faster. Finally, the subordinates gave up. "There's no way we're gonna make it to that ferry." Falman said while trying to catch his breath. The three men doubled over in fatigue after their little jog. The world had spent too long in a state of peace and now Mustang's boys were out of shape and out of practice.

From their spot in the road, the men watched as Armstrong hurdled onto the ferry and it took off. Fuery pulled out a pair of binoculars from his pack, "Where do you think he's going?"

Breda let his head drop to his chest that was still heaving with exhaustion, "Who knows! Let me see those things." He snatched the binoculars from Fuery and took a look for himself. The bay wasn't that wide. If the boys were good enough, they might be able to swim, but none of them knew where to go after they made it to the other shore. Breda looked past the ferry and saw a mansion on a hill. He couldn't make out much about it other than there was definitely a party going on. All of the lights appeared to be on and there were many cars lined up in its driveway. "What do you guys make of that?"

Falman put his eyes to the binoculars and looked across the bay, "What's there to celebrate out here?"

"Don't tell me we're gonna investigate a party!" Fuery screeched. "It's just a party. My parents have one to celebrate their anniversary every year, you wouldn't bust that, would you?"

Falman gave the binoculars back to Fuery, "Come on, Fuery, you're a military dog under one of the greatest leaders of all time, hasn't he taught you to be a little more suspicious of things? Let's put things together: Mustang said he was going to stay behind, somewhere over there." Falman motioned to the city across the bay. "The whole city is dead quiet except for some ritzy place on the hill. Armstrong flips and goes across the bay too. Now, call me crazy, but don't you think it's at all possible that our boys are at that party. And of course I'd investigate your parents' anniversary. Something must be wrong with them to want to get together and create a runt like you." The joke was intended to be nothing more than a quip but it still stung.

"Fine," Fuery said after realizing he had lost, "but how do you suppose we make it over there?"

The answer was obvious and simple…swim.

Armstrong had been lucky to make it onto the ferry. The grueling swim that faced Mustang's boys was almost suicidal.

As soon as Armstrong made it aboard, he began pumping people for information. "Tell me, traveler, would you happen to know where the Sugiyama Estate is?" Armstrong asked a small girl leaning over the railing of the vessel. She pointed to the mansion across the bay. "Fuhrer Mustang, I shall be assisting you shortly!"

Promise me you'll try to leave it all behind / Because I've elected hell / Lying to myself / Why have I gone blind/ Live another life / You

"Sir, how exactly do you intend to get inside?" Havoc inquired as they neared the entrance to the mansion. Men dressed up in the finest of tuxedos and women wearing gowns of silk that flowed like oceans of purple and red from their bust line down to their feet piled into the large house.

"If we can't get in the front door, then we'll just have to sneak in the back." Though the line was cliché during moments like that, it always proved true. The chance of a soldier waltzing into any party unannounced was rare. Still, the chance of someone as famous as the Fuhrer himself walking in on your party unannounced was even rarer.

However, as they approached the entrance, Roy began to suspect that it might be easier than once thought. "This has got to be big if the Fuhrer is here," a woman in an emerald ball gown whispered to her partner. She slipped the doorman her invitation and was immediately let in.

Roy looked at Havoc. They weren't exactly dressed for the occasion. If truth be told, Roy would rather sneak in, but, if they could make it through the front door, they might as well. He didn't want to appear too conspicuous. Showtime, Roy thought as he now stood face to face with the doorman. "Good evening, Fuhrer Mustang."

Roy pretended to check his pockets. Havoc was a little skeptic at first, but then caught on. He too began searching his pockets. "Jean, I seemed to have misplaced my ticket, do you…"

The doorman put up his hand in apology as he interrupted Roy, "Go in, sir, Madam Sugiyama is expecting your company. She has arranged for you and your company to have private seats at the balcony" Roy nodded and Jean followed.

Inside was a zoo of debutantes and socialites. Roy spotted a few of the military's key financial supporters. It wouldn't be hard for him to fit in. "Sir, what's going on?"

"Not now, Havoc, find Hawkeye and get the hell out of here," Roy stated in an almost robotic tone.

"Are those my orders, sir?"

Roy noticed that Havoc had stopped and saluted him. "Yes, oh, and if you see Kimblee, run."

Before Havoc could inquire the implications of Roy's demands, Roy had started small talk with Yurshi Powers, a good friend of the military's. The conversation was quaint and was a good distraction. Roy gave Havoc the signal to flank out and look for Hawkeye.

Havoc brushed past the big shots and moneybags that crossed the large ballroom floor as if it were their own mansion. He had a blonde sharpshooter on his mind; consequently, everyone else in the room was unimportant.

However, Yurshi Powers was not one to be ignored. Roy had to sit still and listen to every word he said, which was good because the man had plans to discuss that deeply involved the military. "You know, Mustang, if this goes as planned the military will be moving in this direction." Roy nodded as if he knew what Yurshi spoke of. "All the big string pullers of the military are in on this, and don't think we won't cut funding if you go against us," Yurshi stated with a laugh, but Roy knew he wasn't kidding. Yurshi Powers never joked about money, and he would never joke about the military with the Fuhrer. "I'm telling you, Roy, we're moving into the future, and I'll be damned…"

Yurshi was interrupted by a voice that sent chills down Roy's spine as if someone had dropped a glacier down the small of his back, "Fuhrer Mustang, Madam Sugiyama would like to speak with you before the unveiling."

Roy tried his hardest to hide his hatred as he stared Zolf Kimblee in the eye. "Of course, Mr. Kimblee, lead the way. Mr. Powers, if you'll excuse me." Roy bowed to Yurshi and followed Kimblee up the stairs to a private room. Along the way he scanned the crowd for Havoc. Dammit, Jean, where are you when I need you, Roy curse in his head.

Kimblee brought Roy to a dark room at the top of the stairs. The only light came from a table lamp in the middle of the small space. As soon as the door clicked shut, a body was thrown down at Roy's feet. Havoc was tied at his ankles and wrists and his mouth was taped shut. It was one of the few times Havoc was without his cigarette, making the moment even worse for him. Roy put out his hand to snap and create a flame using his alchemy, but before he could go through the motions a voice broke the silence, "Not so fast, Fuhrer Mustang. You might miss and end your boy here." Bella glided out of the darkness in her black ball gown. With all of the black that filled the room, she almost seemed like a floating head.

"What's going on?" Roy demanded. "What are you going to do with us? And where's Riza?" Roy's shouting caused Bella to bring her palm to her forehead.

"Please, Fuhrer Mustang, shouting is so barbaric. Besides, that's no way to treat someone who's going to be doing you a favor."

Havoc squirmed and squealed, trying to bring attention to Kimblee who had swiftly moved behind Mustang to tie his wrists while removing his gloves to keep the Flame Alchemist from trying to retaliate. Next, he gave Roy a hard kick to the back of his legs, causing Roy to fall onto his knees. Kimblee stepped on Roy's calves with all his weight, bent over, and tied Roy at his ankles with another length of rope.

Roy rolled his eyes. He had left himself open and was now in the hands of the enemy. He somehow knew that this was the same way they had caught Havoc. When we get out of this, the boys and I are training…a lot of training, Roy thought. "Well, whoever you are, I'm sure I'd appreciate whatever you're doing here; however, if this is part of the process, we pass."

"My name is Bella Sugiyama," she stated as she lowered herself to his level. "You know what you and I have in common? We're both alchemists, and as alchemists we know that there is no greater feeling than the feeling of accomplishment. We don't need reason! We simply experiment just to know we can. I don't need to bring Maes Hughes back to life. He doesn't mean a thing to me, but I will do it to defy the gods and prove that I could!" A bead of sweat rolled down Bella's face. Her passionate speech shook her from the inside out, and she was sure it was doing the same for the others in the room.

"What the fuck do you know about Maes Hughes?" Roy screamed.

Bella slapped Roy hard across the face, "What did I tell you about shouting, Fuhrer Mustang? I'm going to bring your friend back to life."

There was a spark of hope deep within Roy. How many nights had he sat alone in his office with nothing but an empty bottle wishing that Maes was still alive to be there beside him, telling him that one day Roy would be fuhrer and that he would do anything to help him get there? "What's the catch here?"

"No catch," Bella declared while rubbing her hand and rising to her feet. "I just wanted to prove that I could. However, alchemy never goes without equivalent exchange, you know that." She clapped twice and the door that Roy and the others had previously entered through opened once again. Shall escorted a bound and gagged Riza into the room. When Hawkeye saw Roy, she wanted nothing more than to run into his arms, but she knew in their current situation, that would be physically impossible. For a silent moment that seemed to never end, Roy and Riza told each other all with their eyes.

I'm so sorry. Don't hate me, Roy, I just want Hughes back.

Riza, I don't know what they told you, but there's a catch here. Get out of here!

I'm sorry, Roy. This is what I want.

Riza, please…

Riza cut Roy off by closing her eyes tight, letting a single tear roll down her cheek.

Bella smiled at the scene. There was nothing more entertaining to her than the misery of others. "Well, Shall and I have to introduce the brains behind our little resurrection to the public. Shall, is Winry available?"

"She's waiting at The Gate," Shall said. "I'll bring the guests there. Winry is ready to explain the experiment. That should give Kimble time to…finish up here." Kimblee laughed. "Sister, shall we?" Shall extended an arm to his sister and the siblings left, leaving the room to Kimblee and his three military dogs.

"Well, I know I only need Roy alive for my scene in this little drama of ours, but dammit, I just can't bring myself to waste my homicidal talents on someone I haven't researched. No offense, Havoc, but you just never seemed that interesting," Kimblee said maliciously while taking off his jacket. He yanked off the tape from Riza's mouth and reapplied it Roy's. If truth be told, he couldn't care less if either of them talked. No amount of noise could distract him from his task at hand. "I knew I left that sketch book somewhere, and I was hoping you'd read it sooner or later. I figured you'd read it much earlier though. I didn't imagine it would take you this long, but I can't say I'm saddened by it. If you would have followed up on the men you helped kill, like a good officer, then maybe Riza would have never found herself in such a precarious situation."

Riza looked in Roy's eyes and read his mind, "If you were killed, you'd be dead."

Kimblee chuckled loudly, "Well, Roy, I must say, how could you ever let a genius like this one go? 'If you were killed, you'd be dead?' Well that it is how it works, love!" He clenched Riza's face with his hands. The pain was excruciating but Riza showed no sign of anguish. "I know your records say I was exiled. And yet, no one said a word. God, doesn't anyone do their research around here? No, my dear Riza, I was killed, and if it makes you happy I was dead. However, the Sugiyama's brought me back. Which is good because there are things that I left unfinished. Like you for instance. Now Riza, here's where I get my reward for all my hard work. You see, it wasn't easy getting that airhead, Winry, to fall into our trap. But then I just mentioned seeing those damn Elric's and she came dancing into our clutches, and when Bella asked me what I wanted in payment I had no clue. I mean, sure, money is fun for a while, but it just didn't satisfy me all that much. I wanted what I once had, I wanted fear. That's when you came to town, Riza."

"What do you plan to do with me?" Riza asked with gritted teeth.

"You're dying to find out, aren't you? You've been briefed; you know that to bring Hughes back you need to sacrifice all of your memories. Well, before you forget everything, shall we take a look back at what exactly you'll be forgetting?" Kimblee kicked Riza on the back of the legs the same way he had kicked Roy. He left a dirty shoe print on the back of her red ball gown, and she collapsed to her knees. Riza gazed with terror at Roy. His eyes were filled with rage and she knew she was partially the cause. "Not yet, my pet." He crossed over to Havoc and pulled him to his knees. Kimblee turned Riza's head for her to face Havoc. The force from his hands made her feel like her neck was on the verge of snapping. "First we have our old friend, Jean Havoc, the epitome of a military dog. He does what he's told when he's told. If you say jump, he jumps without having to ask how high. But what's inside the mind of a man like this? Well, he's forever playing second place to that shit stain over there, including with women like you, Hawkeye. Yes, while your prancing on the heals of your Fuhrer, Havoc over here is waiting in the background for you to think twice of him. Unfortunately, Jean, you're just too well off. You see, this little slice of heaven is only attracted to the bad boy. She's only attracted to a fixer-upper like Roy." Again Kimblee kicked Riza, this time toward Roy. Her eyes were downcast and she could feel Havoc's embarrassment. "If I told you the torment this woman endures daily from you, it would make you puke, Mustang. Which is why I won't spare the details. Let me start by saying she was always just waiting for that one fight you wouldn't make it back from. She would jump at any bullet just to be near you, but all you could see was another cog in your war machine. But let's not overlook the sexual tension she suffered. Can you imagine having to look at forbidden fruit every day of your life? And just when she thought she had escaped you, Roy, she found she could not. Sometimes, I sneak into her room and watch her sleep. I watch her toss and turn as she breathlessly screams 'Roy! Oh, Roy!' into an empty bedroom." Kimblee pressed his lips to her ears and whispered, "Why not give us a demonstration, pet?" His voice felt like fire in her ear. Riza twisted her head around and spat directly on Kimblee's face. Saliva dribbled down his cheek, but he knew he still had the upper hand. After all, he was the only one who wasn't tied up. Kimblee retaliated by planting a firm hand across Riza's face. "Come on, Riza. Think of it this way, once we awaken Hughes, you won't remember your feelings for this man; you won't even remember him. You want revenge for all the years he chose random one night stands over the love of a lifetime? Tell him!" Again Kimblee slapped Riza, this time much harder. "Tell him!" Riza stood her ground silently while refusing to make eye contact. "I suppose I could use a little more leverage in this situation." Kimblee pulled out his side arm and pointed it Havoc, "Now, give our Fuhrer a demonstration."

Reluctant tears began flowing from Riza's eyes. "Roy! Roy! Oh Roy!" Riza screamed at the top of her lungs.

"You're going to have to sound a little more desperate than that, pet. I don't think Mustang can hear the lonely nights quite well enough. He can't hear your footsteps to your empty apartment. He can't hear all those thankless nights after you saved his ass."

"Roy! Roy! Oh Roy!" Her voice was breaking and her lungs were gasping for air. Roy couldn't bare the sound of her misery and anguish. He couldn't even count how many times he had wished he could have Riza Hawkeye sweating, breathing hard, and screaming his name, but this wasn't what he imagined in the least. And to have the cause of all this being his new arch enemy was nauseating. But the more she was forced to scream his name, the more reasons he had to place more bullets in Kimblee's head.

Kimblee could see the unfiltered rage in Mustang's dark eyes. "Don't worry, Roy, there's more where that came from. Riza, you won't remember any of this; however, our brave soldiers definitely will. So, let's give them something to remember." Kimblee ran his tattooed hand up Riza's back and rested it gently on the zipper to her dress. After making Riza well aware that he had a gun still pointed at her friend's head, he pulled the small piece of metal slowly toward its starting position. "Sweetheart," he began whispering in Riza's ear, "would you help me take this off, I'm afraid one of my hands is a little occupied." Riza slipped a hand under the strap of her dress and brushed it off her shoulder then repeated the process on the other side. Slowly, the silk barrier that separated Riza's personal assets from the viewing pleasure of three men in the room fell toward her hips. The undiscovered land that was her breasts was still well out of sight because of her black lace bra that kept them trapped. Silently she prayed that Kimblee's fingers wouldn't trace up her back and unhinge it as well. Instead, Kimblee lowered his lips to the top of her left breast and kissed it softly, giving it a quick lick before bringing his head up. "Oh, Roy, Jean, you've got to try this."

The only way out is letting your guard down / And never die forgotten / Forgive me my love / I stand here all alone and I can see the bottom

A Munich Street Corner on the Other Side of The Gate

Colonel Jean Havoc stood on the corner waiting for Hughes to come with the report. The war was slowly escalating and Havoc felt as if his morals were being tested. He had been asked to take families into the 'care' of the military, and so far he had been noticing that they all had been of Jewish descent. However, this Jean Havoc, similar to the Jean Havoc on the other side of The Gate, did not question orders.

"Havoc, we found her," Hughes shouted as he crossed the street.

"Hughes, the German military isn't in the business of shouting classified information through the streets." Havoc used a harsh tone, but Hughes knew he wasn't angry. Havoc pulled a match from his pocket and lit up another cigarette. "How's your fiancé?"

Hughes quickly saluted and answered, "It's a whirlwind romance, Havoc. I can't believe I took this long to…"

Havoc put up a hand to interrupt him. "I was just making small talk, Hughes, keep your love life to yourself. Where is she?"

"A personal friend of mine, Edward Elric, took her into her care recently. He's investigating her condition."

Promise me you'll try to leave it all behind / Because I've elected hell / Lying to myself / Why have I gone blind/ Live another life / You"

- Breaking Benjamin

Well, it's not hard to tell that you're all pretty confused as to what's going on, right? Well me too! Just kidding. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease review! It would be most appreciated.