In the end, none of them had to reach out to Roy Harper to tell him about his best friend's disappearance.

Because he came to them.

"Y'know, it's no wonder you all decided to stay as sidekicks. None of you can handle a mission like actual League members! Instead, you acted like children and held a grudge against your leader, which messed up the simple retrieval mission you were assigned and led to his damn disappearance!"

And he came pissed.

For the most part, they didn't really talk back and try to interrupt Roy's rant- even Wally was keeping silent. Mainly because he wasn't wrong, Robin surmised.

Kaldur'ahm was gone. Their leader- their friend was gone because they let their personal feelings cloud their judgement and now they didn't even know what became of him. With the amount of blood they found in the cave and his tracker dead...

No.

Robin willed his mind away from those stray thoughts. Kaldur is alive and they will find him. Besides the blood was dry, there's no way it could have belonged to Kaldur.

Right?

Robin sighed as he focused back on the ranting redhead in front of him.

"Listen, Roy, we know we screwed up. Believe me, we know that." Robin maintained the taller teen's gaze as he centered his glare on him.

"Really, do you? Because I think you don't. You're all just lying around, waiting for your babysitters to give you the okay to go do what should be common sense!"

"If you're talking about finding Kaldur, we've been doing that ever since we got back! We're making progress, but whatever took him knew who they were dealing with!" Robin looked over at Artemis who was fixing her own heated glare on Roy.

"Now you can either help us or get out of our way! You don't think we've thought about what you've said already? We know we messed up, we know that Kaldur not being here is our fault. But we're trying to move on from that and do something that'll actually help him. Moping around isn't going to do shit. And lecturing us about what we already know is going to do even less."

The room stayed silent as both archers stared at each other, postures tense. Finally, it was Artemis that broke the silence once more.

"You can either do something or do nothing. Your choice, Harper."

Robin let his gaze travel to the older archer as he stared down Artemis, his face still screwed up in anger. He watched as Roy closed his eyes and heaved a sigh before opening them once more to meet his gaze.

"What exactly have you already found?"

Robin couldn't help but heave another sigh as he relaxed in bed. Or, at least, tried to relax.

He'd already contacted Alfred and let him know that he'd be staying at the Cave for the night- a statement that surprised him no doubt, as he never really used the room he had in the Cave anyway. But he had the distinct feeling he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight and he'd rather work in peace than run the possibility of bumping into Alfred, or worse, Bruce. All things considered, Batman was preoccupied at the moment with League issues and, according to him, wouldn't be coming home either, but Robin would rather not take any chances.

Rolling over on his side, Robin stared at the wall as he looked back on today's events. Having Roy be in the loop would help eventually, but for right now they haven't really gotten any closer to unraveling the truth than before. The only thing of substance that he could look into was the possibility of magic runes having an involvement. And for that, he would have to ask Zantanna, which would need to wait until morning.

Robin frowned as he listened to the sounds of the ocean outside. Granted, they weren't very audible since the Cave was positioned high up, but he could still hear them. He still remembered when the Cave first got refurbished and he and Wally insisted that Kaldur get the room with the clearest visage to the ocean.

It didn't matter that the three of them had scarcely had time to hang out amongst each other before then or that Kaldur wasn't as knowledgeable as them in the customs of the Surface world. They were teammates now and both he and Wally had decided that they would help Kaldur acclimate to the change no matter what. They pushed him to socialize (even if it was just him reading in the living room with the others present) and asked him questions about Atlantis and his people so he could relieve some of his homesickness, which he never would come out and say he had.

Kaldur, in return, would give them advice and indulge them in their games and hobbies, even if he didn't know what he was doing half the time. Robin cracked a smile at the thought. Kaldur is an awesome hero and leader- as much as his pride didn't want to admit at first. And an even better friend. The only thing about Kaldur was that he was secretive and quiet, especially at the worst times.

The dude could get shot in the leg and try to cover it up as a papercut. He'd always had trouble opening up to people and just as he was starting to open up a bit more to them...

He shut down. But, this time it wasn't because of some mystery situation or something that he would have to uncover piece by piece. Because he already knew all the answers.

Frowning, Robin sat up and rubbed his eyes, frustration and guilt mixing inside him into an ugly ball that sat heavy in his stomach.

If- When- Robin saw Kaldur again, he was going to organize an entire buffet of Atlantean delicacies for him as a huge apology for being an idiot.

Unbeknownst to a lot of people, Kaldur'ahm liked to eat- he was just picky with his food.

Robin turned his head towards the nightstand beside him, snatching up his shades in one quick movement.

He'd relaxed enough. Now, it was time to get to work.

Kaldur fought the urge to fiddle with his collar as he followed both men to Hughes' study. Given how dinner had progressed, he couldn't say he was surprised when his audience was requested by Hughes- and even less surprised when Mustang tagged along.

All throughout dinner he couldn't help but feel like he was the latest attraction at a circus for the guests' to stare at. Despite the small talk and Edward's outbursts when someone would make a remark on his unfortunate height, he could tell that he was being studied by the alchemists' at the table. The brothers' stares were more tolerable, given that they were more curious than anything.

But Mustang's inquisitive stare felt like he was up next for the executioner. The man seemingly was processing every move he made and filling it away for further studies.

To say that Kaldur was unnerved was an understatement.

Things didn't help much when Edward pointed out the webbing between his fingers. Luckily, Maes had supplied him with an explanation for that particular 'oddity.'

"I was diagnosed with a rare form of Syndactyl at birth, which is characterized by the skin between digits fusing together. It was more concentrated and evenly spread out than most documented cases under the same name. Since I was not heavily affected by the condition, my parents did not pursue further treatment."

"Syndactyl?" Edward raised an eyebrow before lowering his gaze to Kaldur's hands. "I think I've read about it back home."

"Yeah, I remember reading about that too, Brother." Alphonse chimed in. "Actually, didn't one of the shop owners from the market have Syndactyl?"

Seeing an opportunity to steer the conversation away from him, Kaldur decided to point out something peculiar that he had noticed since dinner began.

"Alphonse, are you not hungry? I doubt you will be able to eat with that armor on."

But aside from that, dinner went fairy well. He had ended up relinquishing his room to the brothers for the night, despite their protests, and had assured Maes that he would be fine in the study room. And that was when Maes had pulled him aside to lead him into said study room.

Given how Mustang was side eyeing him, he could tell he was not going to enjoy the following conversation.

Entering the room, Kaldur hovered awkwardly by the door as he surveyed the two men in front of him. Mustang had made a beeline for the bottle of- was it called whiskey?- pointedly ignoring Maes' disapproving look.

Kaldur simply shifted his weight from one foot to the other, keeping his face as impassive as possible.

"You both wanted to talk to me?" He watched as Maes moved his attention from his best friend to him.

"Yeah... remember what we talked about before? Well, I've already let him know the gist of it, he just wanted to ask a few questions himself." Maes gave him a small smile, in an attempt to ease Kaldur's nerves no doubt. It might have worked had it not been for Mustang piercing him with his own gaze.

Kaldur frowned. "You do not believe me."

"You'll have to forgive my disbelief but I am a man of reason. What Maes told me... It doesn't add up to what we know to be true in this world." Mustang paused to take a sip of his drink. "But that can wait. I'm more interested in continuing the discussion we were having before dinner, Maes." Kaldur looked at Maes, a little perplexed at what Mustang meant.

"Right... Kaldur? Would you mind taking off your jacket for us? It'll make explaining this next part a little easier."

Kaldur raised an eyebrow as he looked from one man to the other. He wanted him to show them his gills? While he was a little uneasy with the idea, he also realized that maybe this could help his case with convincing Mustang that what he said was true.

Regardless, Kaldur had agreed to cooperate with Maes, so he took off his jacket, slinging it over a nearby chair.

He felt his gills flutter a little in response to being freed by the rough fabric, but his attention was quickly snatched by Mustang's reaction. The man had previously been leaning against the table and had his whiskey in hand. Had it not been for Maes catching the glass, Kaldur doubted Mustang would have noticed that he had dropped it.

"Are those...?" Mustang trailed off as his wide eyes locked onto his gills before becoming narrowed slits. In two wide strides, Mustang closed the distance between him and Kaldur, prompting him to tense and shift slightly into a defensive stance. Thankfully, Mustang stopped before he got too close, choosing to center his complete focus onto his gills.

As for Maes, Kaldur was vaguely aware that he had also come closer, probably to intervene if necessary.

"Roy? I know it's a shock but-"

"He has gills, webbed hands, and I might as well assume he has webbed feet too." Mustang shifted his gaze from his gills to Maes. "You didn't think that maybe you should have mentioned this first?"

"Roy, I know what it looks like but just give me a second to explain-"

"Explain what? That he's a chimera?!"

Kaldur blinked. A what?

As both friends started to bicker in hushed tones, Kaldur became lost in thought. Chimera? The only time he'd ever heard of the word was back during a party the Justice League had hosted a few years ago. Wonder Woman had begun to tell stories about her conquests, among them being the mention of a chimera. But other than that, he had no prior exposure to the word and was quite lost in how such a word could apply to him.

"-he's not a chimera, if you would just let me explain-"

"-if explaining means going back into how he's from another dimension, save it-"

"-you're being insufferable right now-"

"-and you're acting insane-"

And Kaldur was starting to lose his patience. Clearing his throat, he raised his voice a tiny bit, hoping to be heard over their arguing, while at the same time being conscientious of those already sleeping.

"If I may interrupt, I am afraid I do not know what a chimera is. I am Atlantean and have always had these traits since birth."

Having regained both of the men's attention, Kaldur looked at Roy as he spoke next. "I understand why you may not believe me. However, I assure you that what I speak is the truth and that I would not intentionally, nor otherwise, attempt to construct a 'tall tale' for the purpose of obscuring the truth. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have for me, within reason of course."

Mustang raised an eyebrow. "Within reason?"

"I believe that, as an individual, I do not need to disclose my entire life story to you. I will answer what is necessary and ignore what is not."

Kaldur didn't break Mustang's gaze as he watched the man straighten his posture, refusing to squirm under his inquisitive stare.

If he could survive one-on-one meetings with Batman, he could survive a stare down with Roy Mustang.

A few seconds passed before Mustang shifted again, moving back towards the table that had the bottle of alcohol resting on it. Except this time, he didn't reach out towards it. As he watched him lean against the table, Kaldur felt the brunt of Mustang's infallible stare yet again.

"Alright. While I'm not convinced about your story and even less on you not being a chimera, how about we start from the beginning? Let's suppose your story is true. Can you tell us about anything that happened right before you jumped?"

Kaldur hesitated. He already knew that this question would come up. Maes had asked him this same question yesterday too, but he had managed to evade it then. He knew he couldn't fool the man, he was undoubtedly intelligent and the best he did then was just avoid the question.

He had concealed his Team and the Justice League up until now, but if he wanted to go back home he would have to yield some information regarding the circumstances surrounding his appearance in their world. Whether he liked it or not.

Still, maybe he should omit the word 'superhero' from the discussion right now. He wanted to be believed, not doubted further.

Sparing a brief glance towards Maes, Kaldur cleared his throat. "The circumstances surrounding my 'jump,' as you called it, are quite strange and require a little more explanation on my background." Pausing for a moment, Kaldur pressed on. "Back in my world, I am a part of a team designed to take covert operations, in addition to acting as a second to the primary front-lining team."

"Wait, so you're... part of the military?" Maes frowned at him.

"Yes and no. We are not directly affiliated with our government but we are approved by them. Me and my teammates were.. scouted by their primary team."

"You're seventeen and work for a covert operations group?" Kaldur raised an eyebrow at Roy.

"Yes. Is there a problem with that? From what I understand, you should be no stranger to children being employed by their government. After all, Edward is only fifteen and he is a State Alchemist, a soldier of your military."

The only response he got from Roy was him narrowing his eyes.

"If you two are done criticizing each other, can we get back on track? This covert operations team that you're a part of.. how does that relate to you traveling dimensions? Was it a mission gone wrong?"

Redirecting his gaze back over to Maes, Kaldur nodded. "In simple terms, yes. All I remember before waking up here is coming across a large circle with strange symbols on it in a room covered with dried blood. There was a glowing rock at the farthest end of the room, which is what I was sent out to retrieve. But the minute I touched it, I lost consciousness."

Kaldur paused, steadying his breath. His head had begun to hurt a few seconds ago and his heart rate felt like it was increasing.

"Kaldur? Do you need to sit down?" His eyes refocused on Maes as he processed the question he was asked. Sitting down might not be too bad of an idea, now that he thought about it.

Nodding his head towards Maes, he took a seat on a nearby chair.

"And it was after that, that you woke up here?" Mustang had spoken this time. Kaldur lifted his head to meet his gaze as he considered his options. He could omit the fuzzy memory of the white void he found himself in or he could tell them in hopes of them having an answer for what he experienced. Risk nothing or risk it all. If they weren't convinced he was insane up until this point, then they surely would after telling them such a thing, assuming they didn't believe him. On the other hand, if, by chance, they did believe him, he might not only convince Mustang of his plight, but he would also be able to get a clearer picture of what exactly happened in that white void.

Worst comes to worst, he could always flee. Assuming this headache backs off.

Having made his decision, Kaldur took another deep breath. Distantly he wondered when he had become such a risk taker. Maybe Wally had rubbed off on him.

"No. I awoke in a strange place devoid of any color, surrounded in white. I.. The memory is fuzzy at best, but I remember.. a large stone gate covered in symbols and runes. And at the front, there stood a white.. being. Humanoid in shape but..."

Kaldur felt an involuntary shudder run through his body at the memory. That thing, whatever it was, was anything but human.

Shaking his head lightly- which he quickly regretted due to his head's ever increasing pounding aches- Kaldur willed his focus back into the conversation.

"I.. don- do not remember much of our conversation, but shortly after, the gate opened and-"

Kaldur sucked in a breath as he felt a spike of pain run straight through his head, his posture slouching as his hands came to cradle his aching head. The room melted away as he was flung back into the memory, staring up at the monstrous door before him and the horrific eye peeking from within.

He felt his body collapse, his skin crawling with pain, just as a single black tendril pushed the gate open.

And suddenly he was back in the Hughes' study room, gasping for air as he stared at his hands on the floor, everything eerily quiet.

What... what was that?

"Kaldur!" He felt a hand touch the side of his face and swivel him to see the concerned face of Maes Hughes, flanked by a serious-faced Roy Mustang.

Maes was moving the instant he saw Kaldur's body slump forward, Roy not far behind.

He was concerned for the kid from the moment he noticed his behavior becoming distracted. He had exchanged a glance with Roy, silently letting him know not to push the conversation if Kaldur stopped talking. He'd endured enough for the night as is.

Skidding to a stop next to Kaldur, he was relieved to find him awake but it was short lived when he saw the boy's eyes. They looked cloudy and scared as if he was staring at something neither of them could see.

And he was also hyperventilating. Not good.

"Hey, Kaldur! Kid! Can you hear me?" Maes shook him on the shoulder gently, hoping to illicit some kind of reaction from him, but it was like the kid never heard him.

"Has this ever happened before?" Maes felt Roy behind him reaching around to touch Kaldur's other shoulder.

"No, not really. He's fainted before, but that was in his early days here. It hasn't happened since." Maes looked into Kaldur's eyes, mind racing on what he could possibly do to snap the kid out of whatever nightmare he was stuck in, when Kaldur suddenly took a gulping breath in.

Maes backed away a bit, startled, before immediately grabbing Kaldur's attention.

"Kaldur!" Placing a hand to the side of the kid's face, Maes gently turned his head so that he could meet Kaldur's gaze. "Hey, kid, it's okay. Can you take deep breaths for me? Don't worry about answering me, just focus on breathing for right now."

Regardless, Kaldur still nodded before focusing on the task Maes gave him. Damn, the kid was polite to a fault.

Moving his hand to Kaldur's shoulder, he gave him a gentle reassuring squeeze before looking over his shoulder to Roy. "I think we're done for the night."'

Roy nodded. "That we are."

Maes sighed as he looked back at Kaldur, relieved to find that he was breathing more steadily now.

"I'll help you." Maes looked up at Roy, who had stood up and was dusting off his clothes. "I'm not entirely convinced, I'll admit, but I don't think he's lying either. Although I do now know what my next questions for him are."

Roy looked from him to Kaldur.

"And I wonder, what exactly was taken from him for crossing paths with Truth?"

And that's a wrap for this chap!

Slowly but steadily Maes and Kaldur are winning over Roy, plus Kaldur has finally gotten to be more transparent about where he comes from. I also wanted to open with a glimpse into how the Team is doing right now, since it's been quite a while since we last checked in with them.

I did want to say sorry if Roy seems a little OOC or lukewarm in response to Kaldur's retelling of his trip to the Gate, but rest assured that that lukewarm response is just in response to having been overloaded with enough shocks for the night. Kaldur's existence is a lot to unpack for alchemists apparently, lol.

Also, as some of you may know, I have started crossposting on AO3 since I tend to read fics from there a lot lately. Updating there is slow going as I'm not as far into the story there as I am here, but once I'm done polishing up the rougher first chapters I'll start posting new chaps there too! Everything's under the same name, if you wanna go and check it out~

Plus, tags are fun.

Anyway, as always, thank you guys for everything and I hope you enjoyed the chap for today!

I greatly appreciate any feedback you guys give me, so fav, follow, or leave a review to let me know what you think so far!

See ya'll next chapter!

P.S Also, as I've stated in the past, I do not have a beta reader, so please go easy on my poor soul.