Disclaimer: I don't own FMA
For a fma-fic-contest prompt, but I tinkered with it a little to have something to post for FMA Day. RoyxRiza.
Ghost Town
Chapter 1
Don't Forget
"Wow." Alphonse got down on his hands and knees and peered over the edge of the cliff and looked down into the gorge. He put on hand on his head to make sure it didn't fall off in the process and took in the view. The twisted wreckage of the old train in the dry river bed was both fascinating and tragic. The locomotive was rusted and missing it's stack with it's axles contorted and twisted under the damaged frame like tangled limbs of an old tree. The cab was crushed against a rock, compressing it against the floor of the compartment where the engineer would have stood. His head turned to take in the entire panoramic view of the coal car and following cars. He wasn't sure if the frames on rolling stock once were part of a passenger car or a box car, as the wood that made them what they once were was long gone. Either the plunge to the riverbed had shattered the cars or the former river had swept it away. Only one passenger car remained distinguishable and it was the nice steel sleeper car, and even it was cracked in half, rusted and crushed. "Brother, do you know what happened?"
Ed looked at the old map he 'borrowed' from the library as if it would give him answers. He didn't think to do research on the area in this respect. The map showed a train truss crossing the gorge and he had no reason to believe the viaduct would be missing. He had every intention of using it to cross to the other side and reach the ghost town he researched. His golden eyes glanced up at the Colonel who seemed to also be fixated on the train down below and he was thankful the man wasn't mocking him for dragging them out here when the bridge was out. He expected some snarky comment about asking for directions, incompetent research or wasting gas money. He was startled when it was Mustang who answered his brother's question.
"The bridge was in disrepair, the railway that operated this line was having financial issues and the bridge cost too much to replace. The damned thing was made of wood, old and probably made by the early rail pioneers. It should have been inspected and taken out of service, but it takes a tragedy like this to prompt those kinds of standards to be created. This disaster was the reason the military imposed stricter codes on the railroads." Mustang felt like he was a tour guide, his voice so monotone ad emotionless he barely recognized himself speaking.
Riza looked over at him, surprised by the sound of his voice. She knew him too well to not hear the sorrow tinging his words. It was strange that he would know something so trivial about a train wreck like this. He was a brilliant man, with a vast collection of knowledge locked away in his head ,but he wasn't a history buff or a railroad enthusiast. In fact, he hated trains. She took a few steps to look down at the wreck, curious to see what the boys were looking at.
Roy sighed and put his hands in his pockets. "The structural timber of the trusses was rotted and some of the heavier trains that were pushing through this area carrying ore only weakened it further. It was built in a different era when locomotives weren't as large, needing less horsepower to haul smaller cargo loads. Anyhow, the wood finally gave out one day as the train crossed the bridge. Storms had flooded the river, complicating matters and adding pressure to an already strained structure. The intensity of the raging waters and the rattling of the train above, combined to rip the bridge out from under them as they crossed the gorge. The train plunged into the river below, some of it smashing against the cliffs on the other side first."
"Did they reroute the river to look for survivors?" Al asked hoping the reason the riverbed was devoid of water was because someone has stepped in to save the day. Just like they had stepped in to help on so many occasions with their alchemy.
Roy shook his head. "There were no survivors. Whoever didn't die in the first crash, drowned inside the mangled cars. A few years ago they built the dam upriver to create the reservoir and rerouted the river to the east so the farmlands could have better irrigation. Hence the lack of anything but a trickle of water down there."
Riza had turned to watch his face as he spoke. His eyes just staring down below, not taking in the carcass of the train...just staring blankly as he reiterated how the events unfolded. There was a sinking feeling in her gut, she didn't know why but the way he was acting made her feel sick. No emotion from Roy was almost unfathomable. He could look calm and collected on the exterior but she could always see the emotions in his eyes. Now they were just dark orbs not conveying any indicator of his feelings and not seeing anything in front of him. "Sir, why do you know so much about this?"
"My parents died on that train."
Ed felt like time stood still. It was such a simple statement, not laced with anguish or any hint of emotion. He however was overwhelmed immediately with guilt and looked down at the map again, feeling betrayed by his findings. In his research of the philosopher's stone he had found mention of this now abandoned town Elizabethtown being a haven for alchemists after the Ishval War. Nowhere was there a town by that name in Amestris, but more research found a mention that old ghost town Ridgeway have been renamed Elizabethtown after the war. A new home for alchemists who resigned because of what happened during that conflict but still wanted to continue their research to see if they could make amends. The town was stricken from most maps now, as it no longer existed so topographers didn't have a reason to include it. He didn't know it was because the train no longer stopped there since the bridge was gone, along with the train and the Colonel's parents. His eyes searched the old map that still displayed Ridgeway as a town with a depot. Staring at it again like magically a notation would appear that he missed saying "Roy Mustang's parents died here". He looked up as he heard his brother gasp in horror and saw him rise up to his full height and turn to him.
"Brother! How dare you do this to the Colonel after everything he's done for us! I don't care how jealous you are of him! How can you hurt someone like this?" Al snapped.
Roy suddenly regained his focus as the younger Elric's disappointed and furious voice broke the silence. He surprised himself with how easily he just rattled off those facts, emotionlessly providing a history lesson to the individuals surrounding him. It wasn't his first visit to this place, he had replayed the events in his mind so many times as a kid as he searched for answers as to why his parents were dead. He was staying with his Aunt Chris while his parents went on this trip, she never did tell him why they went. It didn't matter because they never came to pick him up. When they finally built the dam when he was in the academy, he had taken his spring break to go see for himself the wreckage and the bridge that had failed to provide safe passage. It didn't provide closure, it just struck him as a horrible place to die. Then he went to Ishval and found out there were worse options in that respect. He was flattered that Al was coming to his rescue, but he didn't intend to share the information for sympathy only to answer the question. "It was over twenty years ago, Alphonse. It's just another wreckage."
"No it's not!" Al's innocent voice cried out. "You can't lie to us about this! Not us!"
Ed stammered. "Al, I swear...I didn't know."
"It's just a coincidence you drag us out here to this location to cross the gorge? On a railroad truss? Were you expecting us to walk?" Al snapped.
"Al, I swear..."
Al stomped over and reached down to pull his brother's pocket watch away from him. He clicked it open and showed him the etching on the inside. "Don't Forget!"
Ed's shook a little as his brother flashed the watch at him and the sun caught the etched words on the inside. "Al..."
"Don't forget we're not the only ones who suffered a loss. Don't forget that everyone has to move on!" Al dropped the watch and let it hit the ground, the dust obscuring it for a brief moment. "Don't forget we already learned the harsh lesson that this life isn't just about what we want."
"You can see the water tower of Elizabethtown from here...it would have cost us a day to go around. I figured it was the quickest route. We also didn't have to go through Marshallville this way, we could just sneak in and avoid being questioned." Ed rambled through his thoughts, trying to convince Al it was just a mistake. He picked up the watch and closed it. "I...did't know."
Roy sighed as the boys indicated they were about to start a brawl and blow up the damned countryside. He didn't know what the watch thing was about but he really didn't want to get involved. What he was concerned with most was when Ed finally started screaming and his voice alerted everyone in the region that they were here. "Enough. We'll still cross here and walk to that ghost town of yours. Use your alchemy, get us across. I don't care how, just do it. Like I said this accident doesn't matter."
Riza kept her mouth shut and looked back down at the train below. She never asked how Roy lost his parents. She figured if he wanted her to know he could have told her. Her eye caught sight of some movement below and she focused on it. Her trained eyes growing wide as she recognized a figure emerge from the back of the damaged car with a rifle. In an instant she barked, "Get Down!" and launched herself at her Colonel.
Roy had moved to look at her as the words caught him by surprise and his eyes grew wide as as Riza tackled him moments before the report of a shot echoed out of the canyon.
Alphonse slowly descended the stairs he had created with alchemy from the side of the stone cliff and let his mind race. He held up his hands as the man continued to point the rifle at him. He had volunteered to go down to the riverbed to talk with the shooter since he didn't have a physical body but it still unnerved him that someone had a rifle trained on him. So he kept his mind in motion until he reached the bottom.
Being a soul bonded to metal was the only reason he had to vocalize when he convinced the others to let him come down here. In reality he also didn't want the Colonel to come down to the train if he didn't have to. It was stupid, like the man said it was over twenty years ago, but it just seemed so wrong in so many ways. The rational side of him him said that there wouldn't be skeletons down here, the river would have washed those away, but there was still a childish part of him that felt like it could still happen. He didn't want his brother to see anything like that either, it would bring back memories of the thing they created when they preformed human transmutation. Don't Forget still echoed in his mind. It was more than just a reminder that they burnt their house down, it was the start of a move forward to set things right again. Keep moving forward.
"Hello, sir?" Al set foot on the riverbed and saw a small walkway across the stream still running through here. "We're just looking to pass through, not trying to disturb you."
"That so?" Said the man with the rifle.
"Yes. We thought the bridge was still here and were going to cross over to the town." Al stood and checked out the man who was holding the rifle. He was older than the Colonel, but he couldn't tell much else as he still had the rifle shouldered and pointed at him.
"Why do you want to go to an old abandoned town?"
Al didn't want to tell some stranger with a gun that they were searching for the philosopher's stone
and they had come across some journals that indicated a few alchemists were living here now. Alchemists who might have done some experimentation during the war. So he came up with a lie that seemed believable enough, "It's our family vacation."
"Well then, you better get your family down here so you can be in and out of that crappy old town before it gets dark."
"Thank you sir!" Al kept his hands ready in case he needed to create a barrier to protect the entourage from this hermit then shouted. "All clear!"
The hermit walked up to the man in uniform and slapped him in the side of the head. "How dare you send your child down here in your place you coward! What kind of sick bastard thinks it's acceptable to have his son shot at because he's wrapped up in armor?"
Roy winced and backed away from the man, Riza's gun already at the man's head for the act. "My son?"
"Bad enough you take a family vacation to look at a train wreck, but then you endanger the life of your family like this! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"That asshole isn't our Dad." Ed hollered. "An entirely different asshole is our Father."
"And you young lady should be pointing that gun at your husband if he's endangering your kids like this! Step-children or not, he has a responsibility as an adult to not throw them in to a firefight!"
Roy narrowed his eyes at the man as he rubbed his head. "These are my subordinates..."
"Oh I see, you're one of those men. Needing to boost your self-esteem and pitiful self-worth by lording yourself over your wife and children to feel important. You, sir, disgust me!"
"Stand back Lieutenant, I'm going to barbecue him."
"Not before I shoot him."
Al squeaked. "Look, this is just a misunderstanding! We're here to look for the Alchemist refugee camp over on this side of the cliff. Sorry I lied to you, I just didn't know if you were going to keep shooting at us."
"Yeah, quit insulting us and shooting at us and we'll be on our way." Ed said. He was anxious to get into town and find something important to make up for his mistakes thus far.
"The road access is on the other side, why didn't you take that road out of Marshalville?" The hermit asked and eyed them. He had taken in the ranks, uniforms and all the alchemic symbols plastered all over this group like billboards of importance before studying the Colonel's face and eying the gloves he wore. The gloves that were now no longer hidden by his uniform sleeves and displayed a unique array as he rubbed his head from being smacked.
"It was an extra day of travel." Ed said.
"Who are you looking for?"
"You sounded the alarm." Roy said noticing the man's eyes taking in details of everyone surrounding him. "You weren't shooting at us, you were announcing our arrival."
"The military shows up and tries to sneak into town, we've lost enough of us to you dogs. So yes, we have a system in place to ensure you can't pluck any more men out of hiding so they can be forced to work in your labs."
"So alchemists are being kidnapped?" Al asked. "By the military?"
"They quit after the war! That meant nothing to them! The military felt that they still owned them so they took back what they felt was theirs." The man snarled. "We left the military after Ishval because of what you made us do! You turned us against humanity!"
"I know, I was there." Roy hissed. "Fullmetal, can you and Al get us a set of stairs made up that other cliff so we can be on our way? Clearly there are people still in that ghost town and we need to find them before they go into hiding."
"Sending Alchemists into battle wasn't enough? Now you employ children and make them do your dirty work!" The hermit snapped.
"Yes." Roy said dryly. "I didn't realize how little they bitched about their jobs until I met you. That's saying a lot."
Ed watched Al scamper off to complete the request. He noted that the old man was busy insulting Mustang and probably not paying too much attention to someone who might go sneak a look at his private demolished train car. He started to walk in Al's direction, then darted to the right and into the shadows of the rolling stock. Mustang said that it had happened over twenty years ago and the train had been underwater at first, so anything important would have been washed away.
He paused as he came to the end of the box car frame and peered around it to make sure the old guy was still calling Mustang a military dog and various other insults. He could tell from the look on the Colonel's face he was just buying them time and they had better hurry before that guy got cremated. He still wanted to kick himself for bringing Mustang here, despite how much they argued and what a total ass the Colonel could be...he actually did like him. He wasn't jealous of him either, he'd have to straighten out Al about that later. Just because he had said that Lt. Hawkeye was pretty didn't mean he was jealous of Mustang for spending all his time with her.
Riza watched the blond kid in the bright read coat try to be inconspicuous as he jumped over a twisted coupling and climbed into the mangled steel sleeper car. When the old man paused, clearly having exhausted his well rehearsed tirade about the military, she saw him start to turn to see what the kids were up to and rekindled the discussion they were having. "Well now that you're gotten that off your chest, perhaps you can tell us something about this abandoned town? Why here? You could have fled to another country and been provided safe haven with access to materials instead of taking up residence in some remote town."
"It was abandoned after the railway didn't come through anymore, used to be called Ridgeway. Then after the war General Grumman helped set it up as a place for alchemists to reside after their pensions were revoked and the government made sure they weren't employed by anyone else. He renamed it Elizabethtown." The hermit said and watched them react. He wasn't expecting them to have this reaction though.
"I'm sorry who?" Riza said, hearing her grandfather's name.
"He called it what?" Roy stammered hearing Riza's name in the town for the first time. It didn't have significance until he mentioned Grumman, it was just a town name until that moment. She didn't go by Elizabeth anymore, having changed her name before joining the military. Even after everything her father did to her, she still felt like she was shaming the name he gave her by going against his will. Loyal even to a dead man who didn't deserve it. She didn't give it up entirely, she kept her nickname, just left her birth name in her past. Just like that old house and those graves. Grumman knew all this, he probably thought himself clever using the name given to her at birth. Why would he take that chance?
The hermit continued his story. "Grumman. He's in charge of the Eastern region. He helped us establish this town here after most of us ended up in East City after the war. Without the protection of the state and without being logged on the books are personnel, alchemists were starting to go missing. After relocating to E-town, as we called it, that stopped for a while. Everyone just wanted to go back to civilian life, most wanting to go back to returning alchemy to the people where it belonged. They however took their research with them and Basque Grand was not going to have any of that. Set back years because they determined they were not property of the state anymore! That man is who started kidnapping alchemists, I'm sure of it! Rumor has it they are being forced to work at labs in Central, hostages now that they aren't willing participants. Something you should consider since you've been sent here to find us and take us there!"
Roy took a deep breath. Clearly he was going to have to have to challenge Grumman to a chess match very soon and casually mention his little weekend getaway. "So he named it Elizabethtown."
"Yes." The old man nodded. "After a relative. Grumman said that both she and the alchemist she loved should have been living a fairy tale life and instead they were in Ishval losing their innocence . Hands covered in blood that would never wash off because of what were were ordered to do there. So he named it after her, hoping it would make up for the people in her life ruined by abused alchemy."
Riza maintained a stoic facade at the cost of almost biting the inside of her cheek off. Her grandfather said that to some stranger? She felt betrayed even if she knew it would be something he had to tell them in order to gain their trust. If he didn't, these people would have suspected him of trying to herd them into one place so the military could snatch them back up. However it didn't make her feel any less hurt by it. She glanced at Roy and saw the look on his face as he realized his boss thought he was damaged goods and was acutely aware that he was in love with his granddaughter. She was going to slap that old man when she got back to East City. Roy didn't need this today, not while he stood on the hallowed ground where his parents died.
Roy was really going to have to research Fullmetal's proposed adventures a little better after how well this day was turning out. He was handling the train wreck in the background just fine as the belligerent jackass was doing a great job angering him. While he was struggling to keep his temper in check, he didn't have to worry about processing the meaning of wreckage forty feet away. However now he was just overwhelmed. It's not like he completely trusted Grumman, but now he was struggling to rationalize what little trust he had in him. Sure, a secret town to hide alchemists had to be kept secret but if he suspected that General Grand was staffing labs with basically slave labor then a damned town was a far cry from the right thing to do. Then there was Riza who was trying to not react, but he knew those eyes of hers way too well to not see the emotions building up behind them. His thoughts were interrupted as a very unstealthy Fullmetal Alchemist jumped out of the train car with his high visibility coat flapping behind him. He scampered over to the stairs Al made with a leather attache case under his arm. "We'll talk with you again when we come back through. Thanks for the information, you've been of great service. Though I have to ask, if you were so damned protective of your town, why the hell would you give up Grumman?"
Riza hadn't thought of that. She was too busy cursing her grandfather for all of it and hadn't thought about the fact that this man just betrayed him. If they were Grand's people, than this fool just betrayed Grumman. At least Roy was still thinking clearly, she was reeling from the everything that had been revealed in the last hour.
"Well, Colonel Mustang, I don't expect you to be leaving this town alive." The man said and watched the Flame Alchemist for a reaction to the fact that he knew who he was. He kept his face steeled to emotion and seemed to be preparing himself to attack if needed. "Did you think a town of rogue alchemists who abandoned the military would take kindly to the 'Hero of Ishval' paying us a visit? You who served as a loyal dog so well you flew through the ranks? Gloves are a tip off. Only fitting you come here to be buried with your parents."
Riza grabbed his gloved hand as he started to raise it, his eyes narrowed and jaw firmly set in rage. "Colonel, please. We need to be going."
Roy felt her squeeze his hand tighter and hissed. "Since you know my name, I'd be oh so flattered to know yours sir."
"Nobody you would know, sir." He wanted to spit on him but valued his saliva too much. "Sgt. Walter Austin. I'm not an alchemist, I was just an injured soldier who stayed on as an orderly with a pair of doctors in Ishval. I was the first one to discovered the Rockbells were murdered for tending to the wounded of both sides."
Roy felt the color drain from his face.
"Their deaths ordered by Basque Grand...their execution carried out by you." Austin growled. "What is even more sickening is that the Crimson Alchemist arrived in your wake and was disgusted by your actions. A man who has been labeled a lunatic and sadist was incarcerated for striking back at the men responsible for that order. Too bad I didn't know your name back then, I would have told him where to look for the cowardly dog who shot those unarmed people. You can go to hell Mustang."
"HEY!" Ed screamed from the stairs Al created. "Would you two quit holding hands down there, we don't have all day!"
Riza reluctantly let his hand go and watched Roy somehow compose himself and walk away.
"Hell? I'm pretty sure I'm already there." Roy said without turning back to look at the man. He had to collect himself and get back to the Elrics before they walked into whatever shitstorm lay ahead. Apparently this was just his lucky day...or judgment day. Guess it was time to find out which.
They approached the town and Roy lead them over to the depot. "Treat this as a warzone. Don't let down your guard, watch each others backs. Understood?"
"What the hell did that crazy recluse say to you back there?" Ed asked.
"He announced that we're not going to be leaving this town alive." Roy replied. Amongst other things.
Riza forced herself to take her eyes off Roy. He had been taking great care to not look at her and she knew it was because had had to digest everything. They could silently express themselves by just looking into each others eyes, and she so desperately wanted to just see those dark orbs for a second. Just a second would all it would take to tell him she didn't care about any of it. She was still his no matter what this damned world planned to throw at them next. She knew he was struggling with it all, or else he would have given her that chance to see behind his confident facade. "What did you steal from his train car?"
Ed sat down next to the platform at the depot and opened up the briefcase. "Seems like our crazy hermit friend thinks Basque Grand is kidnapping alchemists. He's got all their information written down here. What they specialized in, when they disappeared and information about their war records.
"Seems like a dumb thing for a paranoid conspiracy theory guy to leave lying around." Al said.
"It was under a loose panel in the floor." Ed said. "It squeaked a little like that board we used to have in our room where we stashed our alchemy notes."
"So what else does it say?"Al asked.
"Just names and such. Project names, no specifics."
Roy turned and asked. "What exactly lead you to this town? You told me you found journals that mentioned E-town."
"Yeah." Ed looked up at him. "Look, I didn't know that..."
"Forget about it." Roy said. He wasn't about to have a bonding session with the kid over the fact that they both had tragic childhoods. In these days it seemed like the norm, something that was just sickening. "Right now we have more important things to worry about than my long dead parents. From what Sgt. Austin said, this town was secret. How would E-Town get on a map?"
"It wasn't. It was Ridgeway on the map." Ed held up the stupid map for him to see. Now it didn't seem to be such a prize. "But modern maps don't have it on there because it's no longer considered a town. Only mention of Elizabethtown was in..."
"In?" Roy asked as he looked at the map Ed gave him.
"Shou Tucker's library." Ed said and looked away. He hated mentioning that man, bile always rose up into his throat when he thought or heard his name. "It was in some of his later research journals. I guess he came here desperate for help since his work was at a dead end. Made the mistake of calling it Ridgeway once and then E-Town the rest of the time."
Roy groaned. Tucker's research would have been confiscated when he was arrested. That meant General Grand had it. If Tucker slipped up and mentioned Elizabethtown..."Shit."
"So I used census records to find Ridgeway and then the old railway maps to find it's location since it was a depot. I checked Railroad records of the now defunct Eastern Rail Road." Ed said quietly and took his notebook out of his pocket. "Ridgeway had a population of 300 or so, the train would continue on to Cimerron from here which is more of a coal town. Only road access was from Marshallville and it's through the mountains. "
"Ok." Roy stopped him before he rattled off the entire history of the railroad, Amestris and mankind. If General Grand had been here Sgt Austin wouldn't still be down in the riverbed shooting at trespassers. There wouldn't be anyone left to protect. "Here's the problem, these people think I'm the devil and am here to kidnap them and lock them in labs for the rest of their lives."
"Who told them that?" Al asked.
Riza answered. "The Colonel left the war a hero and these individuals quit their jobs disgusted with the war and their government, it's not exactly a stretch that they would take issue with him."
"Basque Grand also came out of the war with many accolades." Roy sighed. "So I'm probably public enemy number two around here. These people aren't safe anymore. We have to convince them to leave with us and you're going to have to be the one to do it Ed."
"Can't argue with that. Your people skills suck, I'm the better choice anyway." Ed said and flashed a bright grin at him as Mustang turned to him with that annoyed, eyes narrowed Colonel Bastard look.
"Since when?" Roy took the bait.
"Since nobody here is a horny fangirl, Colonel 'Must-Bang'." Ed grimaced. The things he overheard in East City sometimes turned his stomach. "Besides, Al and I are great with people!"
"I have stacks of damage reports and a blown budget that begs to differ." Roy growled.
"It's Ok Colonel, we can handle it." Al said. "You can look through those files and see if anyone or any project names rings a bell. We'll find the alchemists and see if they can help us. It's sort of what we do."
"They have a point, sir." Riza said. "They have no reason to be hostile to the Elrics."
"Other than them being here with us." Roy reminded her.
"You kidnapped us." Ed said with a smirk. He could definitely convince some stranger of that. "Asshole."
"And made us pose as a family on vacation!" Al added.
Riza raised her eyebrows. "They do a good job of selling it."
Roy smirked. The were a very resourceful pair of kids. The day was already going so well, why not add kidnapping and endangering minors to the list of grievances against him? At this point they were probably both safer on their own until they did some reconnaissance of the area to see what they were up against. "Well Fullmetal, I guess this is one town I can't bitch about you destroying."
Ed smiled,. "Can I get that in writing?"
Riza watched the Elrics scamper off into the town and had to remind herself that this is exactly what those two did on a daily basis. "Thank you sir, I was not sure how I was going to protect you here."
"You still want to?" He asked and leaned against the building, putting his head against it's worn wooden siding and wishing he could close his eyes. Was this judgment day and he just didn't look at the memo? No...she would have insisted he do that paperwork. "In light of recent events?"
She walked over to him and placed a light kiss on his cheek. "I said I'd follow you to the depths of hell and I meant it. I just didn't realize my grandfather named it after me."
He smirked and turned his head and brushed her lips with his own. They were a mere faction of an inch apart and he whispered, "When I'm Furhur, let's name a leper colony after him."
She chuckled and leaned in to kiss him, his hand immediately around her waist and pulling her into his chest. He was welcome contact that they both needed, something to chase off the demons albeit temporarily. "Enough of that, I have to protect what's mine."
He felt a slap on his ass and gave her a seductive grin he reserved for only her. "Damn you're possessive."
"My town, my rules."
He raised his eyebrows. "Rules? Like 'Pants optional?'"
"I'm sure Royville has many interesting laws on the books." She reluctantly moved away from him and was glad they had a brief moment to reset and be themselves. Even if it meant he cleared up valuable space in his head to be a pervert, she knew he could push everything to the back of his mind now and concentrate on the current issue at hand. Later, they would have plenty to talk about. "Back to work."
"Yeah." He shoved himself away from the building and looked around the corner. The Elrics were already out of sight. "Lets figure out how Sgt Austin down there comes up out of that gorge. He's a sentry, so he has to be able to get back up here somehow to be relieved. He probably also has a few armed comrades we should worry about."
"On the drive up here it looked like the topography downstream was a little more forgiving." Riza said and readied her sidearm in anticipation of leaving the safety of the building.
Roy walked over to her side and peered into the depot building to make sure nobody was in there. The building was vacant, the floor having been removed for firewood or surplus building materials at some point. He tugged his gloves tighter over his hands, a habit he could never get rid of, then jumped the tracks and darted across the street to the old post office.
Riza covered him and waited to see him crouch around the corner before moving to cross the street. She sprinted over and back to his side, happy that they were such an efficient team and could do this without instruction. She wasn't surprised when Roy snapped his fingers and set the depot ablaze, either. He would want a distraction as well as a way to give the Elrics something to work with.
"That should light a fire under their asses." Roy smiled. That's right, the Flame alchemist has come to town and you all better find a midget hero to rally behind. Shit. I've been watching too many westerns.
"Fire puns are also illegal in my town."
Roy turned to her knowing full well she thought they were clever and adored his sense of humor. "Then I sure hope you still have those handcuffs because I'm not going to jail without a fight."
"Colonel, get back to work please."
"By the way, Royville is a nudist colony." He said and stood up. "Population two."
"What are you looking for?" Al asked as they left yet another abandoned building.
"None of these houses look lived in." Ed shrugged. "People are not that good at pretending to not exist."
"Maybe they're underground." Al suggested.
"What's burning?" Ed asked and went over to the window missing a few panes of glass. "Oh, looks like Mustang is taking his frustrations out on the buildings."
"I liked the architecture of that train depot." Al pouted as he realized the station was now a inferno. "It reminded me of home."
Ed smirked. "We better get moving Al. He's going to burn down this whole town just to flush us out! That bastard!"
"What?" Al asked and saw his brother's glare. Oh I see what you're doing Brother. If they are under the floor we have to flush them out. "What!? He's that desperate to find us?"
"Well I'm sure he's going to get demoted if he not only can't find these other alchemists but he's going to be in serious trouble if he lets us escape! We've been released into his custody, General Grand is going to be pissed he lost us!"
"Then we need to leave now, Brother." Al chirped.
"Yeah, before he cremates us." Ed said with a heavy dramatic sign. Out of all the buildings they had been in this church was the only one with a floor plan that allowed a basement. They didn't see an entrance, but anything could be covered up with alchemy. He really didn't know where else to look.
"Guess we should get ready to fight."
"Well brother, you know how well that worked out last time." Al said, not really having to pretend on that one.
"Hey!" Ed growled.
"I don't want to give him a reason to burn a church, so can we go?" Al asked and then gasped as he saw a blue glimmer from the shadows.
"Are you boys in trouble?"
Ed whipped around and put on his battle face. "What business is it of yours?"
The man emerged from the shadows and looked at them. "I heard you mention General Grand and Mustang. Are they after you? Trying to take you away to the labs?"
"Yeah, that's right." Ed said and wondered what else he should say to keep this ruse going. "We're forced to work for Grand and Mustang is our..."
"We're pretending to be here on a family vacation but really we're looking for the philosopher's stone and trying to not get killed. Can you help us with any of that?" Al asked before Ed found a way to say more bad things about the Colonel that weren't true. Ed probably already forgot about the fact that his parents died here. They might have even got off the train at the platform the Colonel just burned. Sometimes Ed got too carried away and just stopped thinking until it was too late.
"Philosopher's stones come at a very high cost." The man said.
"So you know how to make them?" Ed asked incredulously.
"No. Everyone who did is now working in a lab. The high cost is personal freedom." The man sighed.
Ed made a sour face and leaned back to whisper to his brother, "Everyone's kinda preachy around here."
"It is a church." Al shrugged. "And the hermit guy in the gorge doesn't have anyone to talk to."
"Well we need to escape none the less and you should come with us. This town is slated for demolition. That's why we're here, to wipe it off the face of the map." Ed watched the man shake his head. Come on buddy! Play along!
"It was already wiped off the map. I knew we shouldn't have talked to Shou Tucker. He must have betrayed us." The alchemist sat down in a church pew.
"Yeah, that's exactly what happened." Ed said bitterly. Who cared if that man's name was tarnished more. Let them hate him and track him down.
"We couldn't refuse him. He said that his daughter's life hung in the balance."
Ed's face contorted in rage. "Is that what he said!? Well it wasn't because anyone was threatening Nina, it's because he was going to turn her into a chimera if he couldn't produce results!"
Al grabbed Ed's shoulder and prevented him from marching over to beat the hell out of the man. "Please, can you come with us and help us stop this from happening again? Nina was our friend and we couldn't save her...so please let us help you instead."
"Who are you boys?"
"Who are you?" Al asked.
"My name is Felix Troyer." He stood up and moved into the light to check these two over a little better. "What's with the armor son?"
"Uh..." Al wringed his hands nervously. "I'm really into Cosplay."
"He's also a historical reenactor." Ed said. "Huge part of both is staying in character and having the best impression."
Felix scratched his head. "Basque Grand lets you have hobbies?"
"Of course he does." Ed said confidently. "I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist and to keep me happy he lets my brother have his hobbies and cats."
Felix cocked an eyebrow. It was weird enough that they had to be telling the truth.
Al added. "Actually I'm sort of a hostage. My brother doesn't work in a lab, he breaks too much stuff and can't stay quiet. He's more of an action hero alchemist."
Felix looked out the window and then back to them. "Well, that's a good thing I guess. The town's on fire."
Ed turned around and his eyes grew wide. "Shit Mustang! What the hell!"
Al turned to the man named Felix. "You need to get out of here. We can buy you some time, but there is no saving this town!"
"The water tower!" Ed exclaimed. "It has water in it?"
"Yes, rain water."
Ed rubbed his hands together. "Good. It's time for a rematch."
Al cleared his throat. He did remember this was just an act right? They weren't trying to actually immobilize the Colonel. "Brother! We need to leave! If you stay and fight it's going to cost us time!"
"I'm just going to dampen his spirits a bit, that's all." Ed smiled. Just a little.
"Brother!" Al plead. "Don't Forget this isn't about you."
"AHHHH!" Ed growled and turned to Felix. "Alright, lets save your asses and get the hell out of here."
Riza was thrilled when they managed to subdue the soldiers on duty without so much as a shot fired. That joy quickly faded as Roy announced he was now heading back to town, 'To help move things along'. That was about fifteen minutes ago and now he was walking down the middle of the street like he was in some stupid movie. His trench coat billowing behind him, his hand outstretch snapping at little bushes along the way to illuminate his path and advertise his skill without torching a building they didn't clear. He might as well have painted a target on himself.
"Fullmetal!" Roy called out through the empty town. "I'm getting a little tired of your games!"
Riza huffed. So this is why he wanted to come back so bad. To use his stash of ridiculous short jokes. So worth putting your life at risk.
"Come on out, Ed. Look me in the eye..." Roy let out a ridiculous laugh. "Oh that's right you can't!"
Riza was considering shooting him herself.
"What's on the menu tonight? Barbecue shrimp!"
She grumbled. How the hell did she fall in love with that man?
"You're going to be the Short-lived Alchemist if you don't come out soon."
She saw nothing moving as the made their way through town, however it looked a small statue was now in the middle of the road. "Sir."
"Think I can't destroy the town without you, Fullmetal? Cause I'm short handed?" Roy hollered.
"Roy."
"Then you're really small-minded, Ed! A lot of short comings..."
"COLONEL!" Riza finally had enough and walked over to him. "Really?"
"I'm out anyway."
She pointed to the statue in the middle of the road and watched him cock his head to see if he could tell what it was. "I'm sure if Ed was still in town then he would have already come out."
"Mmmm." Roy gave her a smile. "Well then. Let's see what he left us."
Riza continued to check every corner and scan the building as they advanced. Only when she heard a snort from Roy did she take her eyes off the surroundings and look at the statue. There in the middle of Elizabethtown was a heroic statue of Roy Mustang...with his gloved hand pointing to the south. His eyes were crossed, his tongue was sticking out and his fly was open. He was also sporting a belt buckle that said, 'Aw Snap'. Very detailed for a transmuted piece made of dirt. The base of the statue read, 'Roy "Sparky" Mustang. Colonel Cockypants. General Asshole. Not Funny.'
"Little shit." Roy smirked and saw Riza shoot him a glare. "So he went that way!"
"Where to Colonel?" Riza asked as Roy leaned on the hood of the military truck they had confiscated from the sentry outpost. Not really confiscated...more taken at gunpoint from the four men posted there. Thankfully the Elrics moved south with their new friends and found the truck and by the time she and Roy found them, the alchemists were already being talked off the ledge by Al. They were upset about being lied to, but Al explained they were really worried that Shout Tucker's journals would lead Grand to their town. When they protested Al showed him his blood seal and said he had more to hide than they did. It calmed them down and now it was time for their next move. She waited next to the open driver's side door for Roy to announce their destination now that the alchemists were safe in the back of the truck thanks to the Elrics.
Roy looked at the old map Ed had stolen and flipped through his mental catalog of towns hoping one would jump out at him as a place to relocate the four alchemists who were now with their belongings in the back of the truck. His eyes shifted ever so slightly as Ed stepped up on the bumper in order to look at the map spread out on the hood. He smiled and the kid saw it.
"Go ahead, say it." Ed growled.
"Say what?" Roy asked innocently.
"Height related insult." Ed mumbled.
"Sorry, I'm coming up short today." Roy said and wished he had brought a current map of the area with him. It was still back in the car they left on the other side of the gorge. He decided on leaving the car there for Sgt. Austin when he finally figured out he was alone out here. Austin and the four sentries would have a way out, he wasn't going to leave them here to die. Hawkeye called him an idiot and reminded him those men were trying to kill him. He smirked and told her he was hoping those stool pigeons returned to their roost and informed their keeper what happened. He wanted to see Grumman's face when he got back, checkmate old man.
"Ass."
"Belle Point. They have hot springs there. Small off the beaten path resort area."
"Why can't we take them back to East City with us?" Ed asked.
"It's not safe." Roy responded. He had to figure out what the hell Grumman had to do with this place and until he discovered his motives he wasn't going to tell him where his hidden scientists were. He didn't want to use these men as blackmail to get information out of his commander, but he wasn't exactly thrilled with his actions. He also didn't need to have spies reporting to Central that he rolled into town with a truckload of missing alchemists either. How this one damned teenager could create all this work and chaos was just unfathomable. If he didn't have some part in the end of the world, Roy would be amazed. "We have a lot of information to sort out right now and the last thing these gentlemen need is to be in the open when we start stirring up a hornets nest looking for answers. Our responsibility is to keep them safe."
"Right."
"Also want a full report on my desk next week..." Roy smirked. "Explaining why you're so jealous of me."
"What!?" Ed almost slipped off the bumper. "I'm not jealous of you!"
"Al said it not me." Roy shrugged and folded up the map. "Now get in the back with all your new friends and debrief them. I expect that report to be in my hand when we get to Belle Point."
Ed watched him walk to the passenger side door and jump in the truck as Hawkeye did the same. He stared at him through the window and screamed. "I'm not jealous!"
Roy reached over and honked the horn. He watched Ed jump and lose his footing, then fall backwards off the bumper. A poof of dust rose in front of them indicating he indeed found the ground. He could feel Riza's disapproving glare and turned to her with a smile. "What?"
Riza watched Ed stand up and dust himself off before stalking to the back of the enclosed truck with his fists clenched and muttering to himself. She started the truck and put it into drive to begin the trek down the mountain. She wanted more than ever to be able to head home, slip into a hot bath with Roy and just hold each other in silence before spending the night sorting through the days events. Instead they were now on a next leg of their journey and there was no telling when that would happen. She glanced over as he opened up the leather case Ed had stolen from Sgt Austin and dove into that to avoid thinking about the day's events. She however didn't have that luxury and she fought to stay focused on the road as she thought about everything she had heard today; things that she didn't know about the two men she loved most in her life.
"It's amazing isn't it?"
"What's that, sir?"
"In a country of 15 million people that the same 20 people keep crossing paths." He said quietly and shook his head. "If my life this far hadn't been made up of coincidences like this I think I'd be more shaken by today's events. Instead it's just another chapter in an already incredulous story. Standing there looking at that train that my parents rode to their deaths, being reminded that I took someone else's parents from them..."
"Sir..."
"It was like that day we stood in the Rockbell's house recruiting Fullmetal. Of all the places in the world to find that kid, he's in the Rockbell's house and I get to take him away from Winry just like I took her parents. Fate is one cruel bitch."
She didn't even want to get into the other coincidences in their lives. Instead he started flipping through the papers again to indicate he didn't want to carry on with that train of thought. She sighed wishing fate would pick on someone else for a change, Roy Mustang didn't need any more reasons to hate himself.
Roy sat on the rusty railroad track and stared up at the beautiful night sky, undimmed by the lights of the city or any lingering clouds. He held his watch chain between his fingers and swung the golden timepiece like a pendulum, mimicking the ridiculously consistent swing of emotions that plagued him daily. The highs, the lows and the inevitable swing back again. On a good night he would lie down beside Riza and they would fall asleep in each other's arms, then he would wake them both in the night with his nightmares. Her hands would stroke his hair as he lay cradled in her arms, her soothing voice telling him she would always be there for him, her comfort and caresses always allowing him to close his eyes and return to sleep with a smile on his face.
The watch swung up again and he recalled the times they shared together as kids that would be dampened by her father's rather harsh criticisms or demands. His elation when she told him she'd share Flame Alchemy with him, only to see how it was etched into her skin. Celebrating his certification as the youngest state alchemist ever, only to be used as a weapon for his skills. With each high, there was a sweeping low and he crawled back to the top...only to drop back down. It was life, he wasn't expecting it to be without it's highs and lows, but his always seemed to be so drastic. Not a graceful fall, but a plummet. Swept up into a high by the intoxication of a victory, only to fall back down when he realized the cost.
Roy looked over his shoulder as the clink and clang of armor announced the arrival of Alphonse. "Hey kid."
Al looked down at his hands, "Can I join you?"
Roy wondered exactly what he had done to make the kid like him so much. He didn't treat either one of them like a doting adult should, not like Hughes did. Hawkeye often dropped her professional facade for them and the rest of the staff treated them like one of the guys. He, however, was the last person he would think a kid would want to sit with. "Sure."
Al sat down on the track with his back to the Colonel so he didn't make the other man feel so awkward.
He let out a surprised gasp as the Colonel elbowed him.
"What's wrong kid?"
"Can you really get over it? Losing your parents?"
Roy spun the watch in his hand and decided to be himself. Clearly that's what these kids saw in him, his lack of pleasantries. "I don't have to tell you that tragedy defines you. You can either rise up from the ashes or wallow in it, there is no other option."
"I thought when we burned the house down that it would mean we wouldn't want to go back. Really we just wanted to erase what we did, we're the ones who tainted that house with our taboo. We really destroyed it that day, but it took us longer to grow the courage to burn it. One of the memories we wanted no traces of, because we ourselves were the embodiment of the memory." Al looked up at the stars. "We said that there was nothing for us there. It's not true. It was just a house, Mom made it a home. Granny and Winry, they make Resenbool our home. I want to go back there even more because I want to just see them...and Mom. Even if it's just a stone with her name on it, at least it's a place she's residing. It only keeps hurting."
"It fades, you learn to cover it up with some other emotions and bury it somewhere in your mind." Roy spun the watch and then swung it up into his hand. "The world doesn't stop just because one person left it. Those of us left behind just have to try and protect the ones we love...the ones still living. Only by protecting each other will we be able to make some kind of a difference. Stop someone else from feeling this way."
"I miss her."
Roy nodded. "Good. Because you shouldn't forget her. What keeps her alive is your memory."
"Don't forget." Al whispered.
"So why ask me?" He looked over his shoulder at the giant hunk of metal that held the soul of a scared boy.
"Brother takes it personally when I talk about it. He makes everything his fault."
Roy frowned. He knew how that was. "But why me?"
"You understand the importance of truth." He said. "That day you came to the Rockbells and you got angry at Ed...its what he needed. Someone who wouldn't look at him with pity, someone who would shake him and make him realize there was still a lot of life to be lived and we could fix this."
"I'm glad you feel you can confide in me since I have no problem picking on the handicapped."
Al giggled. "Not what I meant, but it's what sent him forward again."
Riza watched Edward swing his watch around as he stared into the fire. He would let the chain wrap around his finger, spiraling up the digit until the watch rested in his palm, then click it open and shut it a few times before repeating the process. She continued to clean the rifle she had taken from the guards, not trusting another soldier to maintain his weapon to the same standards she did. It was part of their training, the gun a part of their equipment, but not everyone cared to treat it as the instrument she did. Not everyone had someone to protect that was a moron who waltzed down a street of burning buildings like it was a cinematic epic.
Ed had clicked open the watch countless times already, yet didn't focus his golden eyes on the etching at all. He stared into the campfire as wood crackled and embers floated up from the flames before burning out and being rendered into ash. Finally he looked at the words, "Don't Forget 3. OCT .11" and let the flames fall out of focus. Flames that consumed their home, their memories, their anchor to the past.
Or so he thought. It seemed simple. There would be no turning back. Nothing to go home to, except that home wasn't confined to the four walls of a building. It was supposed to keep him focused on what mattered and it did. However in the process everything outside of that little circle was put out of focus. He tended to forget about the other people sometimes. They met so many people on this journey already, people that needed to have someone walk into their lives and shake things up. Sure not like grab them by the shirt and shake them and call them an idiot but..."Fuck."
Riza raised her eyebrows. "Everything OK?"
Ed snapped the watch closed. He did not look up to the Colonel, because if he did it would just be some lame ass short joke. He wasn't jealous of him because of Hawkeye, he just liked blonds and thought they were pretty. He liked to see girls do a guys job and prove they could. Sniper..mechanic. "FUCK."
"Ed, do you need to talk?" Riza noticed the four alchemists at the other campfire turn to look at them as the young man started cursing without cause. "You're scaring the recluses."
"It's just been a long day." He mumbled.
She took a deep breathe and prepared to be the responsible adult and see if she could help the teenager work out his issues. It made her feel old. "Don't forget?"
He looked over at her and she looked back at him with those brown eyes of hers. "Yeah. The day we burnt our house down."
She couldn't imagine being their age and destroying their home and their memories. Two kids making sure they only had each other and couldn't turn back. She knew all too well how fire consumed everything, leaving nothing but a pile of ash in it's wake. She looked into the campfire and saw another young man, the man she loved standing in front of a conflagration alone. He destroyed homes, families, memories and lives. Her heart still ached for that man she saw walking through the desert , a mere shadow among the inferno. It wasn't his choice though and this wasn't about him. This was about two boys who chose to give up everything material that they had in order to start a journey together. For them the flames were a start of something new, like a forest fire needing to level the old growth. "What were you afraid you'd forget?"
"That there was no going back." He said and stretched out his legs.
"Maybe instead of telling yourself you can never return, you should be looking forward to going home when this is all over." She said quietly. During the war she wondered if she could ever return to normal society a feel like she belonged. A murderer walking amongst the innocent, just going on with her life like he didn't have lives to answer for. When this cruel war is over, they'd go home to the people they loved. That's what the normal soldiers said. Instead she knelt in the dirt and buried an Ishvalian child and wondered how she could ever go back.
"I don't want to give Al false hope. I already feel guilty enough about everything I have taken from him. I can't give him a promise of going back home and having everything be normal again." Ed sighed.
Riza nodded. To ease her guilt she made the man she loved destroy her past with his flames. It seemed so simple then, they could put it behind them and burn their mistakes. She should have known how it would haunt him, how every time he looked at her body all he saw was how he let her down.
"He gets pissed at me because I focus on the wrong things. I forget that we're not the only ones who have suffered losses. We lost our Mom, but Winry lost her parents too. We got to see Mom, Winry never got to see her parents again. The Colonel too. Just waving goodbye and not thinking it would be forever." He looked over at the alchemists who were still a little jittery about his outbursts. "Those guys. They had to give up their life's work, their jobs, their families, homes...just to avoid being used for evil."
"Ed, don't be so hard on yourself." She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Trust me, anyone who has dealt with alchemists knows how focused you can get. It's an occupational hazard."
"I guess." He gave her a smile. "Thanks Lieutenant."
"Besides, you're a team and one of you has to be the responsible and calm one who calls you out on my stupidity. " She went back to cleaning her rifle. "It's a full time job, but someone has to do it."
Ed frowned. It was definitely time for bed. Tomorrow they were going to Belle Point and then forming a new strategy on how to attack the new problem at hand. How would they shut down Basque Grand's lab rat project?