We've had such nice weather lately, and now it's gone all grim again... ah, well. Not much else to say today, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Two Blonde Boys

They walked up to the mansion in silence, the conversation with Pinako Rockbell replaying in their minds.

"Let's take another look at the boys' study," said Riza. "Maybe there's a clue there?"

"Worth a shot," agreed Maes. "And I want to grab those journals, too. I don't know why we didn't bring them back last time…"

They made their way through the huge house to the dining room. Maes began handing out instructions.

"Alright, Roy, you move the table, and Jean, pull up the-" he cut himself off. "What the hell!?"

The dining room lay in disarray; the table up against the wall, the carpet pulled back, and the trapdoor wide open.

"Oh my god."

Roy took charge. "Alright, Jean, Heymans and Vato, I want you to go down. Be prepared; we don't know who or what is down there. Everyone else, split up. Search the house, gardens, everywhere- and be careful!"

Riza felt gravel crunch beneath her feet. She couldn't help the feeling of apprehension that gripped her, making her heart beat just that bit faster, making it just that bit harder to breathe.

Who would come here? Why? What if it wasn't the Sins, and the real killers have come to get rid of us?

She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned towards it-

-and her heart skipped a beat.

There were two teenage boys holding heavy-looking bags, sneaking away along the side of the house.

It can't be- there's no way- the Elric brothers?

"Hey!" she shouted, and raced after them. "Hey! Come back!"

The shorter of the two spun round, golden eyes glaring daggers at her. "Just back off!" he shouted, spitting fire, and took off running again.

"Oh- no- you- don't!" Riza growled to herself. "Hey! HEY!"

She pushed herself harder, but they were already far ahead of her, running for the main road beyond the mansion grounds.

"Please, come back!"

But it was too late.

They had reached a car parked in the lay-by. The one with sandy brown hair- Alphonse, she thought- turned around to face her.

"I'm sorry!" he called. "But please, trust us- we don't need your help!"

They threw themselves and their bags into the car, and the driver- a fierce looking woman with dreadlocks- turned to glare at her before screeching out of the lay-by and onto the road. The car's number plate was missing.

Riza slowed to a halt and stared after them, mouth wide with disbelief.

"Oh…" she, murmured, out of breath. "…Bloody hell."

"Roy, there's no-one down there- but the journals are missing, and someone's thrown ink all over the arrays."

"I didn't find anyone upstairs-"

"-There's no-one in the forest-"

"They're gone."

All eyes turned to Riza. She looked windswept, and she was breathing heavily.

"Riza, what happened?"

"I think… I think the Elric brothers happened." she said. "They ran off when I saw them and got into a car… told me they didn't need our help."

"You… the Elric brothers?"

"Yes," she ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "And I didn't get the chance to even try and talk to them… the car had no number plate. I think they were expecting us."

"And the journals are gone… damnit!" Jean cursed.

"The journals?" asked Riza. "I see… that's what they were carrying."

"They took the journals and then hightailed out of here." muttered Maes. "That's just great."

"Okay, it's true that the journals are gone, and that's bad," said Roy, "But… just think for a moment."

"We've seen them," said Kain, catching Roy's drift. "We know they're alive now. I mean… okay, Mrs Rockbell did tell us, but we've seen them now."

Riza nodded. "And I know what one of their guardians looks like. We might be able to find her."

"And if we find her…"

"…we find them." Roy smirked.

Maes grinned "Riza and I will head back to the hotel. The results of the age-up should've arrived by now, so Riza, you can compare them to the boys you saw. Everyone else should stay here and see if they left anything behind that we can use."

Roy nodded. "That'll work. See you later, Maes, Riza. Everyone else… let's start looking."

Riza studied the two pictures at length.

"They had longer hair than this," she said, brushing her fingers over the picture, "But… the face- the eyes- it's them. I didn't see them too well, but… well enough to recognize them. They were the Elric brothers, I'm sure of it."

"Can you describe the woman?"

Riza nodded. "She was pale, with long black dreadlocks… I didn't see much else, but I'd say she was fairly tall. She looked angry."

Maes jotted down what she'd said. "Well, I don't expect the description to yield much, but I'll ask people to keep an eye out."

"At least we know what the boys look like," Riza sighed. "Why don't they want our help?"

"Maybe," muttered Maes, "They think we're in danger… after all, look what happened to them."