Edward stared at the empty bed. Wait. This can't be right. I must have fucked up the 60 paces - maybe it was 50 paces - yeah, that was it, through the double doors, 50 paces, maybe this is wrong, maybe… He rushed back and forth, searching frantically in the rooms to the left and to the right, but he kept coming to the same conclusion: No Ritsuka. No Soubi. A nurse was passing; he stopped her.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but could you tell me what happened to the patient in Room 305? Aoyagi Ritsuka? Was he moved?"

She looked momentarily confused. "Aoyagi Ritsuka? Oh, yes, he was the brother of the nice young man who complimented my hair, don't you know…" Blushing, she primped her graying locks. "He said he was taking his brother home."

"But he wasn't supposed to go home… not without a psych consultation, and certainly not until he regained consciousness?"

The nurse was clearly still thinking about her hair and did not answer. "Ma'am! Can you tell me one thing? What did the person who took him look like?"

"Why, he looked just like his little brother, of course! No one could argue that they were related, both with the same black hair and little black ears like that…"

Edward had heard enough. He raced back down the hall, heading for the stairs. Roy. Where are you. I need you. ROY! He slid down the banister and was barreling off in the direction that the stranger had headed when it occurred to him that he had no idea which way he might have gone, or how he might have taken Ritsuka out of the hospital. Again he wished he'd listened more closely to Roy, or that he'd paid better attention to all those lectures about how a soldier was expected to be able to take stock of his immediate surroundings at a glance and be aware of all possible entrances and exits at all times. Damnit, how the hell is he able to lecture me in my head when he's not even here??

There was a small window in the stairwell near the third floor landing. Ed leapt up into it and was about to punch out the glass when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. He immediately spun around, metal fist first, but Roy was well practiced at anticipating Ed's thrusts and he dodged. "Going somewhere, Fullmetal?"

"Roy!" Ed jumped down and latched desperately onto his Fighter. "He's gone! Ritsuka! And Soubi too! It's his brother! Ritsuka's dead brother! I saw him! He's kidnapped him! We've got to do something! RIGHT NOW!!"

"All right, all right, calm down. What is it you need me to do?"

"I… I…" Ed hesitated. Why was Roy asking him what he needed him to do? Why wasn't he just taking charge, like he always does? Damn it, it's this Fighter/Sacrifice nonsense… We so don't need this right now! "I… I need you to…" I need you to tell me what to do. "We need to find him! Ritsuka!"

"All right. In order to find Ritsuka, I need more information, Edward. You need to tell me exactly what happened."

"I told you, his brother, he's here, he kidnapped him…!"

"Damn it, Fullmetal, are you telling me that after all this time you are still unable to give me a soldier's report when I ask for one? How many times have we been over this? When we get back to Central, I am not going to rest until I get daily reports from you, do you understand me? Every time you scratch your ass, I want a goddamned report! This is exactly what they get for treating you like the Golden Boy: no discipline! It's a disgrace, and I wont stand for it, do you hear me? You will report and you will report NOW!"

Edward was stunned into silence, a rare occurrence. He was so angry with Roy that he couldn't decide whether to hit him or order him into silence or tell him to go to hell or everything all at once. What incensed him the most was that Roy was doing exactly what he wanted him to do, taking charge of the situation… But of course he would have to be a total fucking prick about it...! He punched the wall with his right fist in frustration, creating a rather sizable hole in it.

"Nice, Fullmetal. Why don't you throw a temper tantrum. That's definitely going to help Ritsuka."

"I hate you, do you know that?" Ed was seething, his fists opening and closing at his sides.

"Hate me all you want. Just report."

"Fine." Ed huffed and put his hand to his forehead. "I woke up and went to get a sandwich."

"Time?"

"Just a little while ago."

"Military time??"

"Damn it, I don't know, okay? About five minutes ago. I went down the hall to the machines, and I saw someone there. Dressed in black. Black hair, black ears and tail, about your height. He looked like Ritsuka – a lot like him. I asked him who he was. He didn't answer; he just smiled at me, real weird like, and I didn't… I didn't like the way he did it. There was something about him… Anyway, he disappeared down the stairs…"

"These stairs?"

"Yes. Then I went to check on Ritsuka, and he was gone."

"The room was empty? You searched it?"

"Well, the bed was empty, and I didn't see anyone…"

"That would be a negative. Anything else?"

Ed glared at him. "Yes. There was a nurse. I asked her if Ritsuka had been moved. She said his brother had checked him out of the hospital."

"Did you ask her when?"

"No. I assumed – "

"I don't need to hear your assumptions. Did she say anything else?"

If he keeps this up, I'm going to hit him whether I need him or not. "No – wait, yes, I asked her what the person looked like. She said he looked just like Ritsuka. So I know it wasn't Soubi who took him, unless he somehow disguised himself, but that wouldn't explain the person I saw…"

"I said I didn't need to hear speculation. Anything else?"

"No goddamn it, and will you quit it with the Colonel-Stick-Up-The-Ass routine? I've told you everything I know; now we need to find this asshole before he gets away with Ritsuka."

Roy paused for twenty, maybe thirty seconds. "Right. Front desk. They will have passed through security by now. We'll get more information there." He started immediately down the stairs.

Ed ran after him. "But… but how do we know they took Ritsuka out that way? Shouldn't we get outside as quickly as possible and start looking for them?"

"Yes, we should definitely alchemy ourselves out a window, announce our presence to the enemy in flying colors, and give them every opportunity to get themselves out of sight. By all means. Would you like me to set the hospital on fire, too? I'm in the mood."

"Look, Captain Sarcasm, you don't have to – "

Roy stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to face Edward. "That's Colonel Sarcasm. I haven't been a Captain for quite some time. Now listen to me: we are about to exit onto the main floor. It is imperative that we keep a low profile until we find out exactly what's going on. Stay incognito and keep your eyes open. And Edward?"

"Yes, Sir?" Ed rolled his eyes.

"Trust me?"

Sighing, Edward nodded.

Ed stamped his foot impatiently as they rode the elevator to the 6th floor. He hated feeling like this. Ritsuka was somewhere nearby, in serious trouble, and he needed to do something about it now. Precious minutes were slipping by – whoever took Ritsuka could be halfway across the city by now – but Roy had insisted on going back upstairs and doing a thorough search of the room before they left the hospital.

Ed did in fact trust Roy: he had witnessed his calm, military, information-gathering strategy time and time again. It almost always proved effective, but it drove him batty nevertheless. How does he manage to stay so composed in these situations? To look at him, you'd think he was taking a stroll through the park. It's maddening.

Roy had gone right up to the security desk and started his interrogation. They had found out that someone going by the name of Aoyagi Seimei with black hair and ears had in fact checked his brother out of the hospital 20 minutes ago, though they had no information as to where he had gone after that. Questioning the few bystanders outside had proved fruitless. No one had seen them. No one knew where they might have gone. No one, including the security guards, had seen the older brother come back into the building after the two had left, nor had they seen him leaving a second time. Roy had questioned them very specifically about this.

"Why were you asking them whether he left and came back?" Ed had wanted to know. "I don't get it. Couldn't he have just gotten the water from the vending machine on the way out?"

"Pay attention, Fullmetal. The man said he had checked out 20 minutes ago. That's 0400. You told me you saw him at approximately 0410. That's after he checked out. The water was completely irrelevant. He came back to tag you. That's the only explanation."

"What? Me? Why? What the hell does this have to do with me?"

"I don't know, Edward, but that's what he did. And he obviously didn't want anyone else to know about it."

Ed had been able tell by Roy's tone of voice that this fact deeply disturbed him. He was still wondering about it as they got out on the 6th floor and proceeded to the ICU.How the hell could this have anything to do with me? How does that creepy bastard even know who I am?

Room 305 was, by all appearances, still very empty. "See, I told you…" Ed began.

"Nevertheless, I want you to check everywhere, Edward. In the corners, under the– "

Ed, who had in fact been looking under the bed, suddenly let out a terrible scream. Roy came rushing over, white-faced. There underneath, crouched close to the wall, lay Agatsuma Soubi, trembling and covered in blood.

Ed had to clamp his hands over his mouth to keep himself from screaming again. He turned around and clung desperately to Roy, trying to block the image he had just seen out of his head. Seeing things like that always brought back… memories that he would rather not recall. Roy held him tightly to his chest. He was shaking like a leaf.

Nurses poked their heads in to investigate; was everyone all right? Roy spoke to them softly, in tones he unknowingly borrowed from Soubi. Everything was fine. His son was distraught. You would please forgive the disturbance. They disappeared.

Roy pulled away from Ed long enough to bend down and make sure Soubi was not in need of immediate medical attention. Although there was a lot of blood, Roy did not detect any other signs of serious injury, though it was hard to tell as Soubi would not come out from under the bed, nor answer when called.

Standing, Roy took Ed firmly by the shoulders and looked him directly in the eye. "Edward. Let me handle this, all right? You go. Just go. Retrace your steps. See if you can find anything." Ed nodded slowly, looking away. "Whatever you do, I want you on recon only, do you understand me? Do not – I repeat – DO NOT, under any circumstances, engage with the enemy, is that clear?"

Edward's head snapped up. "After this you are telling me not to engage? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm going to kill that bastard. I'm going to kill him right now. And since when do you give me orders?"

Ed was about to continue in the same vein when he saw the look on Roy's face and stopped. The angry Colonel mask was gone and suddenly a lifetime's worth of pain was visible, etched into his features like deep scratches cut into glass. "Edward. Don't make me lose two of you."

He's not talking about Ritsuka anymore. Edward closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'll… just go."

Roy suddenly pulled him close, kissing the top of his head. "Please be careful. Call me and I will come immediately."

Ed nodded and closed the door on his way out. Roy sighed, got down on the floor, and tried to prepare himself for the bleak task that lay ahead of him.