I tripped yesterday, hurt my foot and had to stay home from my volunteer work. Ouch. But hey, you're more interested in the chapter, right? Right. I'll get on with it then.

Edit: Thanks to Turtle Kid for pointing out a mistake in this chapter.

Discalimer: I own nothing.

-SEVEN YEARS LATER-

Chapter One: the Legend of the Elric Mansion

Roy Mustang scowled as he read the letter in his hand. It was from the bank, none-too-politely requesting that he pay back the money he had borrowed last year. He considered throwing it into the fire in the grate, but decided against it. Riza would kill him- probably slowly and painfully- if he did that.

Roy worked as a sort of private detective slash investigative journalist with his team; Riza Hawkeye, Vato Falman, Jean Havoc, Heymans Breda, Maes Hughes and Kain Fuery. They investigated unsolved crimes and published an account of what had really happened- but lately, he was having difficulties finding a suitable mystery. They'd already done the Moor Murderer, and they'd published the story of the Bodies in the Bog. They'd uncovered the fraud at Youswell, revealed the hoaxers in Central... so what to do next?

He thought it over, browsing through the newspaper distractedly. He was skimming over an article about a group of art thieves when he noticed a piece of trivia at the foot of the page: apparently, today was the seventh anniversary of the mysterious Elric murders; the shooting of a well-liked professor and his wife in front of most of the local village, becoming a topic of gossip and speculation, and a major feature in many local horror stories.

Roy grinned.

"Riza," he called, "I think we've got a story."

They arrived in Rizembul the next day and took up lodgings in the tiny local hotel- so tiny, in fact, that they ended up having to go two to a room to avoid taking up all the space. Roy roomed with Jean, Heymans with Vato, Kain with Maes, and Riza all by herself, because she said she didn't trust them not to spy on her while she changed.

Once housed, they began exploring the small local library. They dug out every article they could find relating to the murders and spread them out across the table.

"Let's see... 'The small village of Rizembul was in a state of shock last night when Professor Hoenheim Elric and his wife Trisha were shot in cold blood in front of most of the community. Investigations have begun, but as of yet, it is not known who is behind this tragic event, or what their motives may be. Nothing in the Elrics' large country home was stolen or damaged, and the Elrics had no known rivals. The people of Rizembul are greatly saddened and incredibly shocked by this event: "The Professor and Trisha, they were good people," one resident says. "Really lovely people... Trisha was one of the kindest people I've ever met, and the Professor was always very generous. I can't imagine who'd want to shoot them- they were such lovely people." A service will be held for the Elrics in Rizembul church on Monday the twentieth of October for those who wish to pay their respects. They will be sorely missed.' " read Maes.

They read several other articles, but none had a great deal of information- however, they did find something: it seemed that Hoenheim and Trisha Elric had not been the only ones to die that night.

According to some reports, Trisha had died begging for mercy for her sons- sons that nobody had ever seen or heard of. The Elrics had supposedly been childless, and yet two boys, the Elric brothers of local legend, had been seen on that fateful night, apparently being chased by someone, and had fallen to their deaths from the high rocks around the river that ran through Rizembul. The only witness had been a ten year old girl- Winry Rockbell, daughter of the local doctors.

"So, what exactly happened here?" asked Roy, frowning at the stacked documents.

"I can't figure it out, Roy. I mean, it seems like an average murder at first-" he cut himself off and wrinkled his nose. "Wow, that's a weird thing to say." He shook his head, and continued. "Anyway. It seems like an average murder, but we've got no idea who the culprit is, or what the motive was. By itself, that isn't too interesting, but then there're these boys....." Maes trailed off.

"The Elric brothers?" Vato raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. That's the weirdest part of all this. I'm not talking about them being killed- the murderers were targeting all the Elrics, I'm not surprised they went after the kids too, sad as it is- but why did nobody know about them before they were killed? Even the local doctor had no idea they existed, but that night... Trisha Elric went back for them, at the cost of her own life. I suppose it's possible she was delusional, but I doubt it. Besides, that little girl saw them, didn't she?"

Roy frowned. "I don't know, aren't they just a local legend? You really think they exist?"

"I think they did, once, and I think they might have had some vital clues too. I mean, you don't just keep kids locked away from the outside world without a reason, not unless you're some kind of secret child abuser... which I suppose is possible, but I doubt it. If they were abusing them, why would Trisha go back to save them?"

"Guilt?" offered Riza. "Regret for what she'd done?"

Maes shook his head. "Possibly, but... No. I think there was a good reason those kids were hidden, and I bet that whatever that reason was, it had something to do with their murders."

"Why on earth would you keep two kids hidden away from the world, though? What possible reason could they have that's serious enough to get them killed?" Kain asked.

Maes frowned. "I don't know, but maybe somebody around here does... we should talk to the locals, they might have some idea."

Roy snorted. "Yeah, but how much will they know, and how much will they have made up? Well-liked couple and two mysterious boys suddenly killed in cold blood for no apparent reason... it's a legend around here. It's a small country village int he middle of nowhere, interesting things don't happen that often- and this is definitely interesting. Not to mention that it's been seven years; plenty of time for memories to fade, or for stories to be embellished beyond recognition. "

"That's true, but we've still got to talk to them. They must know at least something."

Roy sighed. "Just make sure you take what they say with a grain of salt. We've got to separate the fiction from the fact."

"I know, I know. But you can't just dismiss them."

Roy rolled his eyes. "Alright. We'll talk to the locals tomorrow, just don't blame me if you get a load of tall stories."

"We should head to bed. Early bird catches the worm after all."

Roy smirked. "Right, because that's what we're looking for. Worms."

It was at this point that Riza interrupted. "Maes is right, we should go to sleep. You can argue about the Elric brothers in the morning."

They went upstairs without argument- after all, the case had waited seven years. It could wait another night.