Prologue

"Liore… These endless uprisings… The Philosopher's Stone… Human Sacrifices… And the outright genocide of the Ishvalan people… Now this means… How could this even happen and who could have orchestrated something as terrible as this? I have to tell the Fuhrer right away…"Hughes looked up in surprise at the slam of the door. 'Damn, I'm not alone anymore, am I?'

"Hello Lt. Colonel. It's nice to meet you. Well, actually, hello's not the word I'm looking for."

Hughes walked down to the phone room after his slightly messy encounter with the busty homunculus. He held his shoulder as he thought about what Major Armstrong, Ed, Al, and him had discussed earlier. 'Ouroboros… Envy and Lust… So the busty woman with the Ouroboros over her chest was Lust. What a fitting name…' The desk lady started to say something, but stopped short at the sight of his blood.

"Lt. Colonel! You're bleeding!" Duh.

"I need a private line." He reached for the phone and picked it up. He had to tell Roy! But, this wasn't the safest place to tell him. "Nevermind. Sorry. Forget I was here." The lady sputtered but fell upon deaf ears.

"B-but sir!"

Hughes ignored her and walked to an out of the way phone booth to call Roy with.

"Eastern Command"

"I need you to connect me to Colonel Mustang right away," Hughes said.

"I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to connect to an outside line," The lady replied.

"You are speaking to Lt. Colonel Hughes and this is a matter of life and death!" He all but barked.

"Your code, please."

By now, Hughes was frustrated, annoyed, and the slightest bit desperate. "What! Are you trying to waste time?" He sighed. "It's uncle, sugar, oliver, then eight, zero, zero."

"Your code was verified. Please wait while I connect you."

"Will you hurry, it's an emergency!" The click of a gun sounded behind him, signifying another presence. 'Damn, again! I need to start paying attention to my surroundings!'

"I need to ask you to put down the receiver. Please, sir." Hughes started to let go of the phone. "Go on, just hang it up."

Hughes turned around to face… 2nd Lt. Ross? No, not her. Then who was she? "You look just like… but you're not. Who the hell are you, lady?"

"I'm 2nd Lt. Ross, sir. You've lost too much blood-"

"Drop the act already. You're not 2nd Lt. Ross, she has a mole under her left eye!" said Hughes, now suspicious.

"Oh," her voice changed. "You're observant. I can't believe I forgot!" 'Ross' smiled maliciously and tapped under her left eye. Red lightning erupted under her fingertips with the sound of rustling cloth and electricity. When it flickered out, a mole was revealed. "There. How do I look now?"

Hughes gasped. "This is not happening! Please tell me I'm hallucinating or something." He spoke as he turned around to face the inside of the phonebox. He had to tell Roy! He had to tell-

"You really are a smart man, Lt. Colonel. Did you think that could be the cause of your death?" 'Crap, I need to think quickly. My life is on the line, I have information that scares the shit out of me, and the thing threatening me is a shapechanger!'

"Hey, have a heart, will ya? I've got a wife and daughter waiting for me. So the last thing I'm gonna do," Hughes flicked a serrated throwing knife out of his sleeve and spun around, ready to throw 'I'm NOT gonna die', "Is die on them!" But the face of his wife smiled gently at him, still holding the cocked gun at him. He stopped. The damned shapechanger had turned into his wife! He knew he was to weak to hit someone that was so dear to him, even if it was only a mask to hide behind.

"You look surprised." 'I'm going to be killed by my wife.'

"What the hell are you?"

A gunshot echoed throughout the compound.

'The pain!' Hughes gasped at the killing pain now located near his heart. Too close. PAIN. It would only let him live a little longer. The long-forgotten phone dangled just out of his reach as Roy's worried voice came through. PAIN. He needed to reach it, all his hopes rided on the phone located just tortuously out of his reach. PAIN! PAIN! PAIN!

"Hughes? Hughes what-"

A partially gloved hand plucked the hanging phone and proceeded to hang up. The shapechanger smiled maliciously again, "You humans don't make any sense to me. You throw away your lives for nothing." He -or she, it was hard to tell in the clothing it was in- left. Through blurry vision, Hughes managed to make out an Ouroboros on the thing's upper thigh. Hughes finally laid eyes on the blood-soaked picture of his family.

"Gracia… I'm so sorry… Elicia… Remember, Daddy loves you." His voice shook. He was about to die. He had failed. Roy didn't know this crucial information. The Elric brothers will blame themselves for his mistake. They always do. His promise to his daughter was now broken. He didn't want to break that promise. Would little Elicia understand?

In the last moments before his death, Hughes heard a young girl's voice.

"Maes Hughes, I will make sure your family hears those words." Her pain-laden voice softly bounced around in his head. "You have lived a great man, and died a better one. Have no regrets, sir." Her voice slowly faded and he closed his eyes one last time, smiling at her gentle words.

A/N- I hope you enjoyed the prologue of Silver and Gold. Please tell me what you liked and what you think I need to improve on. Constructive criticism, please and thank you!

-doodlemeow