Rae was in a trance. She was staring outside, or at least attempting to, the backseat window of a slow moving vehicle. It was down pouring, making it almost impossible to see anything on the other side of the glass. Colonel Mustang, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, noticed this and couldn't help but wonder what the young alchemist was thinking about. He noticed how quiet she had been since they talked in his office and this gave him reason to believe she was still hung up on it. On top of that, other than telling her that Scar had been spotted and they were going to investigate, he didn't inform her on the major details of the situation, such as the fight between Major Armstrong and Scar or that the Elric Brothers were somewhere in the same city. The Colonel knew well this information would upset her and therefore felt it was necessary to keep it from her and remain quiet for the rest of the car ride.

After what seemed to be a twenty-minute drive, the group arrived at their destination. The rain had now died down to a light drizzle, making it easier to distinguish the surrounding area. Rae opened the door on her right and attempted to climb out of the car. However, to her dismay, her foot landed in a pothole, which due to the rain had now become a deep puddle. Well, Rae thought, frowning, Today just keeps getting better and better. She proceeded to step out of the car, all the while zipping up her coat as far as it could go. The vehicle was parked beside a set of concrete steps which led to housing on an upper level. As she closed the door, Rae glanced around and watched as soldiers moved about the area. She quickly noticed how most of the soldiers were on the upper level, which led her to believe Scar had been spotted there. But before she could make a move, Colonel Mustang stepped beside her.

"Come with me," the man said, and without another word, he stepped forward. The brunette frowned, not liking the idea of being on his invisible leash. Nevertheless, she did what she was told and followed him up the steps. Once at the top, the two soldiers turned down an alley to their right and spotted Jean Havoc.

"Lieutenant Havoc," Rae called, causing the man to turn around and face them. The lieutenant called back to her, but Rae's attention was quickly drawn to an enormous crater beside him.

As Rae hurried over to the crater, Colonel Mustang stopped beside Havoc and asked, "Have you found him yet?"

"Not yet, Sir."

The two men conversed as Rae peered into the crater. She watched as Heymans Breda and Kain Fuery moved aside large concrete slabs. Upon hearing the conversation between the men behind her, Rae turned around to face them. "Who are we looking for?" she asked, but was unable to receive an answer as Breda's voice called from below.

"Colonel, we found him!"

As she turned back to the crater, Rae eyes widened at the sight of a large human figure, one she quickly recognized as Major Armstrong. This came as quite a shock to Rae, for she had never seen the Major in such a weakened state before. He was always so strong and overpowering; never once did she think he could be beaten to the point where he could barely hold himself up. Even so, Rae's mind switched back to the matter at hand. Scar. This must be Scar's doing. Who else could cause this much damage?

The young alchemist was awoken from her daze by the sound of footsteps. As she glanced over her shoulder, she saw Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Havoc walking towards a ladder that led to the bottom of the crater. She decided to follow them. Once at the bottom, Rae stood beside Havoc and Fuery, while the Colonel walked over and knelt in front of Armstrong.

"Come on. Talk to me, Major. What happened?" Mustang asked, but before he could get an answer, the sound of crumbling debris came from behind him. Everyone turned their attention towards the ladder, where they saw Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, standing on a rather unstable slab of concrete.

"Close call," Hughes said as he tried to balance himself while stepping off the slab.

"Maes," Rae called with a faint smile, happy to see her uncle.

Hughes smiled back at her. As he walked over to group, the look on his face became serious, and he glanced to his right. "This is turning into a real mess."

"That's a hell of an understatement," Havoc returned, "What about Grand?"

"We found him on the road a few blocks up," the Lieutenant Colonel added, looking down, "Let's just say there will be some promotions unless Iron Blood can survive his brain turning into hamburger meat."

"What?" Rae gasped, finding such news hard to believe.

"But he was the Brigadier General. He was an expert in hand-to-hand, right?" Sargent Fuery said, having difficulty comprehending it as well.

Maes shrugged, not having a response. While everyone stood silently, processing the information, Maes gave Mustang a look as if to motion him to come closer. Mustang did so, and Maes whispered something to him. Shortly after, the Strong Arm Alchemist began to speak, making everyone to face him.

"That man…He's an Ishbalan, I'm sure of it. I saw his red eyes-"

"Just stay down. You're hurt," Hughes warned.

Armstrong continued. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Colonel. You sent me with direct orders and I failed. I hope Elric is okay."

Rae eyes widened upon hearing a familiar name. Edward? Was he somehow involved in this? The thought of her old friend being mixed up in this scared her, and she felt she could no long stand aside as a bystander. She had to find him.

The men inside the crater conversed for a bit, chatting with Armstrong and learning more about the situation at hand. It was then Hughes looked over his shoulder to where Rae had been standing. "Rae, I want you to-" The man began, but ended his sentence and gasped when he realized she wasn't there. His eyes searched the enclosed area, but found her nowhere in sight.

"Oh no, Roy! She's gone!"