This story is set in the Mangaverse, Chapter 95

The creature begged for its life.

Good, Roy thought. Now, the concept of Thought was a tricky word for the Flame Alchemist at this moment. All points of conscious mind were suppressed. Roy had been wounded in his emotional core. Like any animal in such a state, a mad, dangerous anger ruled over all saner trains of his mind.

So with a cruel view as unstoppable as his resolve, Roy Mustang kept his vigil on his goal: the Homunculus named Envy, the murderer of his best friend. Or what was left of that fucking thing. Was there a tear in its ugly eye? Did he hear pleas for mercy? Good. Not so high and mighty now? Where's the obnoxious mirth this thing portrayed when he killed his best friend? The pleasure was now Roy's, ready to be expressed once this thing turned into ash.

And then the situation changed. The bitch and the midget were standing in the way of that fulfillment. The bitch aimed her gun at him, betraying him, her superior officer! The midget was now coddling the murderer in his hand. Very well, if they stand in his way, then they too must die…

Such a thought he gave no great consideration.

And there came a blackness that surrounded him. The midget, the bitch, that Ishvalan murderer, they all vanished. Roy did not care about them. Envy had vanished from his sight. Hughes' murderer vanished! Not now, not after getting so close! "Envy!" Roy screamed. His voice set on a journey away from any human tone. "I'll burn you!"
But nothing appeared of the Homunculus. Only one voice came in the darkness. Not from the creature. Not the bitch. Not the midget. It was a familiar voice, but one carried in humanity. "Roy Mustang."

The calling set Roy like a cobra. With eyes piercing, he snapped his fingers and thrust flame at the direction. The light visualized the image of a figure. He had black hair and wore an eye patch.

There was no further consideration. Roy's fury threw a greater explosion of flame.

But the man waved his arms. The powerful flames dispersed and died, leaving only the figure unharmed. "Nice trick. But I've done better."

Finally some sanity arose in Roy, but he used it only for recognition to this stranger's identity. It was not Bradley. So what? He threw more of his Alchemy at the figure. Its destructive force was nothing against the stranger, who sealed the flame's fury to the potency of a light match. "Comes with experience," This man said.

And this stranger's presence became known. It was just as shocking as viewing that creature's impression of Gracia Hughes. For this figure appeared to be Roy himself! Almost. This new Roy looked a decade older. Lines marked his eyeslids. Gray marked the temples of his black hair. But most noticeable was the black eye patch on his right eye.

"Envy!" Roy aimed ready for another barrage of fire on this impostor.

This Elder self flung his own weaponry of flame. The two Alchemies locked and cancelled each other out.

Again, some sense opened in Roy's wracked mind. Homunculus can't perform Alchemy! He remained in his defensive stance, his snarled face awaiting the slightest move of aggression from this lookalike.

In contrast, this Elder man was cooler in movement and voice, speaking as if in a casual conversation. "Can we do something besides fighting each other?"

But Roy's stance was as moveable as a statue. A frowning statue.

This Elder sighed. "Fine, let me do the talking. Consider me another you. One who lived just like you and beyond," his sincerity betrayed a little discomfort. "I'm from a parallel universe. No time to explain more." This Elder impatiently crossed the point. "Just believe that I am Roy Mustang too."

"What do you fucking want?!" Roy snapped with a scream.

The Elder was not offended. "Someone is clearly having a very bad day." The Elder came closer, his calm contradicting Roy's intensity. "You know, that expression will stick to your face if you keep it that way."

"What…do…you…fucking…want?" Roy just growled the question again.

The Elder blinked his one eye. "Like you, to make amends. I can't be with you right now, so I'm in your mind. Again, too much to explain, even in this realm, where time is slower."

"Well, get the fuck out of my head!" Roy screamed, saliva sparking from his mouth. "I've got a Homunculus to kill!"

The cry could send women to tears, and men to run. But before the onslaught, this Roy the Elder endured. "No," strength added to his voice. "That's exactly why I'm here."

Roy's angered face barely changed as he snapped his fingers. Let the man lose his remaining eye! But the Elder waved his hands, counteracting this attack. "Is this always your answer? Fine, if words won't help, then let me show you."

The black fog lifted to areas anew. Roy looked around. He now stood in a wine cellar. Or what was left of it, judging by the rubble and flames. A wave of red flower immediately rushed out. And yet Roy saw himself and the Elder unharmed.

"Where the hell are we?"

"Bradley's mansion," answered the Elder.

Roy growled. "Take me back!"

The saliva hit the Elder's face. He just wiped it off. "This is all in your head. In reality you are still down below looking at Envy. But right now I'm giving you an illusion of my story. Like your Envy, the Homunculi took away Maes..."

"Don't mention his name!" Roy shouted.

"Why?" The Elder kept his ground. "He was my best friend too. You should remember that."

Roy fell silent.

"I suspected the shape-shifter Homunculus did the crime, but as far as I was concerned, it was Bradley who was truly responsible." The Elder betrayed a glare equal to Roy's own face.

"Makes no difference!" Roy interrupted with widened eyes. "Let all those fucking monsters die!"

The Elder continued as if the reply didn't occur. "However, in my world, certain events came differently. Bradley didn't blackmail me with Riza's life. The Homunculus never needed me. They wanted me dead, period. So Bradley ordered me to invade another nation, planning my assassination there. But I outsmarted him, secretly coming back here."

All this nonsense failed to register in Roy's brain. What did register was a figure appearing in this play. He was dressed in civilian clothes. Blood ran from an arm, as well as his cut cheeks. This was Roy too.

"That's me," the Elder said. "About your age, and in the same mood you're in. Once I knew the truth, I wanted Bradley dead." His calm voice also grew strained. "He had to pay…for Hughes. But things didn't go as easy."

A loud noise came in the burning rubble.

"Is my species of consequence to you now?"

Roy knew that voice, but never in that monstrous tone. From the inferno came the most disgusting figure ever seen! This creature waved a sword with a familiar speed and stance. Indeed, this monstrosity grew tissue and features, regaining his form as Fuhrer King Bradley. He laughed, but in a new tone that shivered Roy. "I haven't had the chance to test my Homunculus traits much. I wanted to see what would happen if I let my whole body explode."

Like lightning, Bradley plunged his sword into this Roy's chest, sticking him to the wall like a tack on paper. Roy noticed his Elder rubbing his chest uncomfortably. Roy the Younger touched his stomach.

"You really wanted my position badly, didn't you, Mustang?" This Bradley played with his victim. "I can appreciate the vanity of ambition, but you should have been more patient about it. Even if this had somehow worked, the council would have found you out, and they'd never let an assassin back into the fold."

And then the Roy of this illusory world spoke, groaning in his painful position. "I didn't do this for politics. I couldn't forgive myself for being blind for so long. This was the only way I could atone for the friend I didn't save."

"Well, then by all means, let me help you with that," Bradley's voice came out with this monstrous hiss that showed his true self. "Give my best regards to General Hughes!"

And this third Roy screamed. Enough of this, Roy raised his hand.

"Won't do us any good!" The Elder said, wincing a little at the screams of his younger self. "We're only shadows of things that happened." His next words came cold. "Believe me, we are nothing here."

"What's going on?" A little boy entered the room.

"Selim!" The glaring Roy was alerted. "Another Homunculus!"

"No," His Elder was unmoved. "It would have been better if he had been one." He paused for a second. "But in my world, Selim was just an innocent human child." More instability marked his tone. "I had sent Riza to get Frau Bradley and the boy out of the mansion so I'd be free to deal with Bradley alone. I…didn't predict the boy would return to his father. Revenge doesn't allow one to think correctly."

Calmly, Bradley let his victim remain pinned on the wall. He came to his son, touching him like a father would. Roy felt sick at this mockery of family. He remembered how Bradley criticized Hughes' parenting. Hypocrite!

Suddenly, Bradley cringed in pain. "What have you done? You idiot!"

The child took out something, a wrapped-up ball. "I just got it from your safe. You said your life depended on it." And Bradley the monster returned. His hands gripped Selim's neck. The child pleaded with terror and confusion. Roy's hateful memory of his Selim vanished as heard the swift snap of the child's neck.

The Elder closed his eyes, leaving Roy to see the illusory self quickly free himself of the sword. Bradley threw his son away, the final lie of this father of the country.

"You are foolish. All of you!" Bradley's voice whispered hatred, mixed with regret. "Even my own son!"

Still, Roy's hatred was unmoved by this Elder's mistake. It only confirmed that this soulless demon in man's form must die like all the lives he ended. He saw the illusionary Roy knelt defiantly before Selim's corpse. He took out that same ball. It became a skull.

And Bradley grew sweat on his face. It seemed fear was not a part of his expression, so all he could show was more anger. Still, it was a face that made Roy smile.

And the player of this story arose with that skull, drawing a transmutation circle on his hand with his own blood. And Roy saw the player's face of vengeful hatred. It was a reflection. "How many times must I kill you before you die?"

The flames surrounded Bradley, who screamed with utter vulnerability.

Roy's heart beat faster. What a scene! There would be no more regeneration from this butcher. Such also will be the fate for his Bradley! He did not notice the Elder's shame.

The shape within the prison of flame dwindled. Soon it became a lump. Then it shrank into a puddle. And then nothing. Nothing.

Everything peaked to a climax that never came. The excitement lessened from Roy, returning his anger. This death was not enough. Similarly, the player also lost his strength. His face showed not victory, but confusion.

"So…Roy, enjoy that scene?" The Elder returned to his words, though his voice appeared to have trouble regaining the previous smugness. "Expect anything more? Did you expect Maes Hughes' ghost to appear, giving the thumbs up for a job well done? Is there a feeling of illumination in the face you see before you?"

The player's rage was gone, replaced with a sorrow not seen since that day he learned Hughes was killed.

"No!" Roy shouted in denial. "Don't say it! Don't!"

The fog returned, giving darkness around these two Roys.

The Elder despaired. "This…victory maimed me. Whatever dreams I had. Whatever ideal man I wished to be. It was killed along with Bradley. Along with that innocent child…"

Roy glared at this man and his stupid truth.

"And worse, it gave no closure to the loss of my friend. It made me feel all the more sadder and alone. How long I suffered…"

"Save the sermons!" Roy lashed out his distaste. "Revenge is wr-oo-ong!" His tongue mocked his Elder's message. "I've heard it all before."

"Then listen this time, you fool!" This time the Elder shouted.

A loud voice sounded filled the area. "Take a good look in the mirror! Are you going to be the leader of this country with that mad face?"

The Elder nodded to such a point. "Hate to say this, but Edward sure hit the spot!" he cried.

"Shut up! You saved a nation by killing Bradley. You broke the Homunculus' control of mankind!"

The Elder frowned. "So what will your act do? Will killing Envy save the world? Will it cut the strings his kind has on ours? Will it bring back Maes Hughes?"

The Elder received a punch to the face. Enough of this stupid moralizing! Roy disbelieved everything. This older Roy, that voice of Edward: All tricks to confuse him! To cheat him from making Envy pay! He grabbed for his tormentor, eyes widening for cold death. "Want to burn too?"

The Elder swung his leg against his younger, depriving him of standing. "Dammit Roy! I am trying to help you!"

Roy arose, throwing his hands again, but the Elder clasped both with his own, countering his alchemy. "I won't see you throw your life away!"

"I'm throwing nothing away!" Roy became wilder in the struggle. "One vengeful kill won't destroy me!"

"So when will the killing stop?" The Elder proved equally strong in the wrestle. "Is this an end, or a beginning? This is the real world, Roy. You won't balance things!"

Roy pushed with his strength. "Fuck your words! I will become Fuhrer! The ends will justify the means."

But his Elder was just as resilient. "And then what? What if someone kills Elysia? Riza? Grac…?" The Elder changed words, but not his point. "Will that man die because you say so? What if it comes to someone who just disagrees with you? Will you burn him up too, even if he has a point?"

"A someone like you?" Roy opposed, but he festered to these horrible words. How dare this Elder say those things! He won't believe them, he won't! But the Elder's sane eyes struck much into Roy's enraged pupils. "Kill Envy now and you have no right whatsoever to be Fuhrer!"

"Stop it! Stop it!" Roy's eyes burned. Literally did they enflame this dark domain.

But the Elder parried each blow. "Get it through your head! You'll become another Bradley!"

And Roy calmed, but it was a stability set upon the razor's edge, a calm between storms. In that struggle came a whisper of a voice. "He killed my friend."

The Elder paused. "I know."

The younger quivered in his pained insane voice. "Hughes was the most honest, caring man I knew."

"Feeling's mutual. My soul, the good that remains in me, I owe to him."

"He joined the army…" The younger snapped that phrase, before toning down, "because he wanted to be with me. Ishval hurt that gentle man. He took lives. But he still lived on to the fullest. He found a love that few people get or deserve." The pain gave into rage. "And that inhuman bastard twisted that love…" The flame began to rise again. "He shot him as his wife!"

Another voice was heard. Scar. "If you wish to cross over to this side of hatred and rage, then I won't stop you. Just that…I will be curious to see what kind of world will be created by someone who falls down to the ways of animals, yet feigns a human being and leads the country…"

The Elder joined in to Scar's statement. "Don't give into the anger, Roy!"

It had little effect. Roy was at full power. "If you're willing to protect that shit, then maybe Hughes didn't matter at all to you."

Words like that are as strong as a fist. The Elder shuddered by its impact. Roy smirked. If this man truly was Roy Mustang too, than he will retaliate!

The Elder bowed his head, teeth clenched. "You're right." The raised head revealed a face of sorrow not rage. Again the voice choked with pain. "I failed Maes. If I loved him so much, then why did I let him down? When our promise meant so much, why did I let my anger destroy it?"

Roy's cold face cracked. This Elder's face of sorrow did more impact than a weapon or argument.

The Elder fell to his knees. "You of all people know this stance is unspeakable to all Roy Mustangs. But I beg you…I beg you…don't do this!"

Still Roy fought back with equal sorrow. "I can't let Envy get away with it! He can't!"

"No, he can't," The Elder gave his own support. "But not by your hand. Not for the consuming revenge that wishes it."

Roy's head danced to a mad rhythm. "I'm not innocent. My hands are stained!"

"Like a soldier." The Elder continued the words, gaining strength. "But not a murderer. We kill to defend, to protect. Not for hate."

"It's too late now! I've destroyed Envy's powers." His voice dribbled with madness. "I can't stop now!"

"It's enough. You've neutralized him as a threat. He can no longer use trust and love to harm people."

"Please…" Roy shrieked for understanding. "Let me finish the job!"

The Elder grew in stature. "Roy…by Ishval, this Homunculus took a huge chunk of your soul! Don't let him take any more."

Roy furiously grabbed the Elder's shirt. He got no resistance but sorrow.

"He won't forgive you for this, Roy!"

"There is no god!" Roy growled.

"I was talking about Hughes. Don't betray your friendship. Honor it. Be human and let that anger go!"

"Please, Colonel, stop!" A woman's voice cried out. And Roy heard and knew. The bitch will kill him. "Go ahead and shoot me…" He shouted. "But what will you do with yourself?"

"I will destroy my body, taking with it the Flame Alchemy that drives men to madness!"

And the last blow hit Roy. The bi…Riza will do that? Confused stares fast overwhelmed stares of rage.

"She knows the truth, Roy. Your revenge will only bring more pain and death."

Roy backed away. He looked for every escape only to find none. He cringed to the floor, wheezing to breathless takes. Too much had happened in this hour. Too much for Roy Mustang to contemplate. But it was enough, pain fought with pain, struggling to find the only answer. And that choice was made.

And then he made a cry of such rage, madness, pain, and revulsion.

This cry did not occur in reality. In that plane, Roy Mustang was very still, his eyes tormented. "We cannot lose you that way. What a wreck I am now…Being scolded by a child…Preached to by someone who thought me his enemy...And to corner you into taking such a drastic action. I am such a fool. Lower your gun Lieutenant. Forgive me." Those were his words, but his demeanor remained strong and sure.

Not so inside. Inside was a different Roy. Forgive me…

A man broken. A man who let out all the raw grief and pain he contained for months since that horrible day. Forgive me...

Roy now mourned Hughes, now felt the excruciating loss caused by the monster named Envy. A creature that committed suicide in defiance to the compassion and endurance he saw of humanity. A humanity Roy himself almost abandoned. Comfort was small for this Roy. For coming so close, for seeing Hughes' murderer kill himself, for the insecurity of the final decision. Forgive me…

Comfort came from other sources, like the Elder who lived his life, known its horrors, performed its failures, and thus very understanding, and very proud, of this younger's success. He gave support.

"I failed."

"That you failed to break your promise to Hughes?" The Elder commented. "Yep, you really blew it."

"I failed him. I let him die."

A pat touched his cringing shoulder. "Heed the words I was given by a person special to me," The Elder advised. "You didn't mean it."

"I'm all alone…"

"Bullshit. You still have friends."

"But none of them like Maes Hughes."

There was silence. "He's not gone from this world. There is this little girl..."

Roy shrugged. "That child of his will never know what a wonderful father she lost."

"Oh I don't know. She must remember him. She has her beloved Uncle Roy to make sure of that," a confidence lit on the Elder's sad face. And then he was gone.

Roy's thoughts on that man of the future became like quicksilver, dropping away from memory. All he had left was disappointment, and a sadness that was now free, but no longer consuming.