Title- Not an Option
Disclaimer
Arakawa owns all
Rating PG-13
Characters/Pairing- Roy, implied Roy/Riza
Timeline/Spoilers- set within FMA:B episode 59, 'lost light'
Warning- gruesome canon torture
Summary- She had just endured so much, Roy couldn't fail her now
Author's Note- yeah this could be so much longer and could have spanned two issues of the manga or a handful of anime eppies if I let it. Thanks to the handful of people who chimed in with the episode number. I appreciate it. fma_fic_contest's (on livejournal)'set in a specific chapter/episode' prompt. I won fourth
XXX
Fire couldn't burn this much. Even the slightest movement dragged more of Bradley's swords through the flesh, nerve and tendon of Roy's tortured hands. Roy wasn't ready to admit defeat yet in spite of the pain and the coppery scent of blood in his nostrils. He might never use his hands correctly again, but he couldn't let everyone down. Failure was not an option.
Those hands had just held Riza tightly in front of everyone, betraying them, but he couldn't help it. She had been dying before his eyes, willing to give everything to keep him from breaking the taboo. She wasn't going to let Bradley and the homunculi win. Neither would he. Riza was as safe as she could be, cradled in the chimera's arms. Roy couldn't even give the homunculi what they wanted now, pinned like a macabre butterfly to the center of the array. The look on Riza's face, the flood of red down her shirt, kept him grounded. She was stronger than him but he would prevail.
A dream that lasted until he heard the words 'we will force you,' and he felt renewed agony as Bradley yanked his swords free. Pride's 'arms' imprisoned him. Roy didn't have time to be afraid for himself. What frightened him most was the fear in Riza's voice just before the world pulled apart.