It was no surprise that Maes Hughes was a bit of a nerd. After all, he was the head of the Investigation Department.
As a child, Maes would often spend hours studying. He would jump from subject to subject, taking notes every now and then when he found something interesting. Yet, even with the constant shift of material, one subject always seemed to stand out to him: Geography.
Most of the things he read about were, in some way, linked to the geography of the world; ranging from a mere influence to a direct attribution.
As such, Maes had several copies of the world map, copies that he was sifting through now. Even with the lack of verbal responses from the kid, Maes still had something to work of off. That something being the kid's reactions.
Namely, Kaldur'ahm's reaction to Amestris.
His name was already a dead giveaway that he wasn't native to Amestris. Some would reach that conclusion by his appearance alone, but Maes learned a long time ago that appearances could be decieving; seeing how his best friend looks like a Xing native, and yet when Maes gave him Xingnese text all he got from Roy was a blink of the eyes and a confused blank stare.
Names, however, were another matter entirely. And, 'Kaldur'ahm' was a name he had never heard of, Amestrian or otherwise.
Pulling out a blank map of Amestris, as well as a morning newspaper featuring Isaac the Freezer, Maes layed them out on the coffee table in front of him. Running his hands through his hair, Hughes glanced up at the door that led to where the kid was. He'd only been out here for ten minutes and he was already feeling a little paranoid about leaving him unattended. Still, Maes had a feeling that Kaldur'ahm would stay unconcious for a while; whether that was good or bad thing, Maes couldn't say.
Hughes looked over the papers in front of him, thinking back on how confused Kaldur'ahm had been at the mention of Amestris. Him being a foreigner aside, the reaction had still been very strange. Most people knew of Amestris, whether they were from there or not. His confusion, coupled with the random attack, pointed Maes to the conclusion that the kid was suffering from some form of minor amnesia. This wasn't a concrete conclusion, given the lack of information he had, but it would have to do. If Kaldur'ahm did have a minor bout of amnesia, then the map and newspaper Maes compiled should be enough to kickstart his memory. And that's all Maes had, at the moment, to work with.
Leaning back onto the plush comfort of his chair, Hughes closed his eyes. Today and tomorrow were his designated rest days, and while he wanted to help the boy, in addition to solving the mystery surrounding him, he also missed his wife and daughter. Normally, he would spend these days with them, but, seeing as how he had a new charge to look after, Maes couldn't. Before the kid woke up, Maes had told Gracia to take their daughter to the park; he didn't want the stranger close to his family. Not until, he had enough information.
Opening his eyes, Maes straightened and piled the newspaper with the map before standing; he had already wasted enough time. Tucking the papers under his arm, Maes went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water. Kaldur'ahm hadn't had anything to drink since yesterday, as far Maes knew, and, seeing how he has gills, water seemed kind of important.
Glass of water in hand, Maes headed for the guest bedroom.
(Switch POVs)_
The Team stared in apalled astonishment.
Blood was everywhere. From the walls to the ceiling, even the floor, had some amount of dried up blood staining the concrete surface.
A large, intricate circle was etched onto the floor, stale blood covering some of the symbols, with a large 'x-shaped' crack through the middle.
The only thing that made the scene more grisly was the pair of waterbearers to the side of the pedestal in the very back of the room.1
M'gann's choked gasp echoed through the small room, as her hands flew up to cover her mouth. Superboy was stock still, eyes wide.
Robin's face was set in a grim expression, with Kid Flash beside him looking sick.
The first one to move was Artemis, who took slow steps around the circle towards the abandoned water bearers, eyes prickling with unshed tears. She kneeled before them and reached for them, cradling the machinery to her chest as she stood up.
'We need to find him.'2
Robin wordlessly nodded in agreement, stepping towards the circle as he did so. Crouching, he silently started taking pictures of the oddity and of the room, from different angles.
Everyone of them started to search the room, looking for clues that would hopefully lead them to their missing teammate; their missing friend.
The same question resonated through all their minds, heard and thought by the five present.
'How could we have been so stupid?'
(Switch POVs)_
Leaning his head against the window, Roy sighed.
He was headed to Central Command and, because of a slight delay with the train, would arrive in three days, instead of the anticipated two.
Truth be told, the Colonel wasn't overjoyed at the notice he was given, especially since Fullmetal had also been required to come; he had a few choice words to say to him after Roy told him of the summon. It really wasn't Roy's fault that the Führer would send a notice in at the same time that Mustang gave a mission.3
"Sir? I'm back with your coffee."
"Oh. Thank you, Lieutanent." Roy flashed an easy smile at his trusted Lieutanent as she sat down across from him. He truly did enjoy her company.
Taking his cup from her hands, Roy commented, "I don't suppose I'm excused from paperwork while on our little excursion, am I?"
"Of course not, sir." Hawkeye easily repiled. "And I would not advise you to slack off either, Colonel."
Chuckling softly, Roy turned his gaze to the window, as his thoughts drifted to his best friend. Mustang knew that the minute he sees Maes, he's going to be bombarded with pictures and stories of his family.
'Still,' Mustang thought, 'anything's better than being on this godforsaken train.'
Oof. Angst.
We're finally getting to more of the 'meat' of the story. And we also got to see a little snippet of the Colonel and Lieutanent. Here's the update as promised, albeit a little late.
1= The water bearers have been written in! Just not with Kal...
2= The Team was expecting something, but nothing as bad as what they saw.
3= In the first episode, King Bradley doesn't tell Roy about Isaac until he gets to Central. Similarly, Ed and Al don't get debriefed until after they run into Isaac. So, at this point, Roy doesn't know why he's being summoned to Central, he just knows that the Füher summoned him and his team, including the Elric brothers.
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Until, next time!