Author's Note~
I probably should be updating Benefit of the Doubt but I just can't bring myself to finish chapter 4. So in the meantime, please enjoy this little drabble that came to me last night.
Disclaimer: *sob* Fullmetal Alchemist does not belong to me. I'm just a loser playing with someone else's toys.
Ishval Extermination, day 36.
Two miles outside of Hamadad-Mohai, a major Ishvalan city.
2355 hours.
Roy stared at his pocket watch as each minute came and went. It was amazing how many things could be done within a minute. He could wipe out hundreds of Ishvalans in that amount of time. Was a minute that slow or is his power that monstrous?
Is his power the monstrous thing or is he himself the true monster?
2356 hours.
This was a ritual for him. Every night, he would sit on the ground with his back against the side of the tent and take out the pocket watch he had received when he became a State Alchemist. Once, the sight of it filled him with pride and confidence.
Now, it only served to remind him of his deepest mistake. A mistake that can't be fixed nor forgiven.
2357 hours.
A feeling of anxiety filled Roy as the watch slowly ticked towards a new day. He wished that time would just stop. If it did, there would be no tomorrow. If there was no tomorrow, no more people would have to die by his hand.
It was childish to wish for such a thing. Roy, however, clung desperately to it, wondering each night if his wish would finally come true.
Each night, fate ignored him and a new day dawned.
2358 hours.
Every time the watch struck 12 a.m., he would spend the next hour reminiscing about the day before.
How many innocent lives did you take this time, Roy? he would ask himself. Each sensation he had felt that day would then flood back to him. The taste and smell of burnt flesh. The sight of red eyes filled with terror and hatred. The sound of screams as flames devoured the bodies of Ishvalans. The feeling of soot and human fat that filled the air around him.
He would spend the entire hour in Hell.
2359 hours.
Who was he kidding? Each second of each day was Hell. In order to keep himself from going insane, he would completely shut himself down.
During the day, Roy Mustang didn't exist. Only the Flame Alchemist. It hurt so much less that way.
However, when he was alone in the safety of his tent, Roy Mustang would return and the memories would hit him like a speeding train. At this point, he knew deep inside that redemption was far beyond his grasp. The only thing he could do now was suffer.
As the hand of the watch neared the twelve, Roy made his usual wish. Maybe this time, the impossible wish will be proved possible.
Maybe this time.
0000 hours. 12:00 a.m.
The Hell Hour began.