A/N: Howdy all! This is yet another fanfic for FMA. It seems that I visit it the most often. I'm currently rereading the series and a few uncommon ideas came to mind. I wanted to write something that is highly FMA canon with lots of character development. Of course I focus on my favorite Colonel and his faithful Lieutenant. For this one I suppose it will be more of a commander/subordinate relationship than any royai... I usually write the ship hard, but I feel it may muddle the quality here so while it isn't labeled as royai it is there if you squint.
This takes place during those winter months they fail to show us in the series. All we know is that everyone makes their plans and acts on them by the time the Promised Day comes.
Writing chimera is very particular and the reasoning must make sense on any level considered. This is why you won't see me write a wolf or big cat chimera.
Please understand that when it comes to animals I prefer the ones that are notable based on their abilities rather than how awesome they look. I admit Arakawa's chimera are totally wicked, I actually really liked Zanpano and Heinkel's designs. For me the lion and the razorback boar are pretty cool creatures.
With this story I chose something less for visuals and more for subtle traits, also the choice is based on the animal's penchant for hiding rather than defending itself. Plus it is a docile and reclusive animal. Also note that the creature I chose is capable of re-growing limbs. Everything correlates to the idea of the story. Before I leave you to the story I just want to thank my beta ClosetedOtakus24. Thanks for reading my craziness and making it look pretty!
Riza Hawkeye followed Fuhrer King Bradley into Labratory number three, slightly confused. Why had he requested she come with him this time? She had asked herself repeatedly. Quite often, when the Homunculus left to check on something at the alchemy research labs, he left her behind to take care of some paperwork.
Today, he had told her it was manditory that she accompany him. As the building loomed over Riza, she tried to suppress a shudder. This was not going to end well, that much she could tell. She was aware that the military had authorized numerous kinds of alchemic experimentation that should have never been contemplated, and it disturbed her quite a bit.
What was worse was that alchemists seemed to care only for their scientific progress, and willingly abondoned their own families in the name of alchemy, and how they needed to succeed when the day of reckoning came. This country needed a leader who could show them how much greater Amestris could be without resorting to such depraved methods.
Now, as she entered the lab, she found herself feeling terribly out of place. Memories of marching down the halls with Mustang, Havoc, and Alphonse came to mind. The fight they had barely won brought back a feeling of regret. They had lost too much that night.
Alchemists and staff members moved out of their way, hastily. She just kept up with the Fuhrer's long strides. He seemed almost impatient, though it wouldn't be the first time. Riza had learned a great deal about her enemy while working under him.
Bradley, or Wrath, as some called him, was quite the temperamental creature. Anger was his default emotion, she observed, and that meant he often wavered in a state of constant irritation. Though capable of putting up a convincing mask, he was ill suited to hide his rage when it reached a certain point.
Yesterday, she had looked over some report that she had not been allowed to see, and even though it was well hidden, Riza had been able to feel the rage coming from him.
Despite this constant rage, he was capable of remaining patient, so long as those around him cooperated. In the office, he was quiet and thoughtful, ruminating on what he was doing, rather than making decisions based on his emotional status.
Except for today. She got the feeling this visit was an outlet for his anger.
When she came in yesterday, the anger had vanished. Instead, he seemed to make preparations for this visit, and had shot her several mysterious grins. Now, as they reached a door, she took his silent pause as a cue to open the door for him. Making her feel that pit in her stomach that screamed something was terribly wrong.
Bradley stepped into a small office, and beckoned to her to follow him in. A strange alchemist with a gold capped tooth was in the room, and he grinned. His eyes were a little off center, as though they refused to look straight ahead.
"Welcome Wrath " The alchemist greeted with an insane amount of excitement rolling from his tone. "Final prep is almost finished."
"Excellent. Tell me, how is the subject?" The pretend dictator asked.
"He put up a strong fight as you warned us he would, but we managed to secure him to the circle." The response came with a sideglance at Riza. She felt like she was missing something important. Who were they going to experiment on?
"But, he is awake and conscious, correct?" This was said with a hint of desire. He wanted whoever they were discussing to know what was happening.
"The subject is quite conscious and lucid. It should make for an excellent viewing experience," Gold tooth beamed. He was going to enjoy whatever horror he had planned.
Riza tried to remain calm and indifferent. The last thing she needed to do was get on the Fuhrer's bad side.
"And the other ingredient?" Bradley asked. He forced that word, as though he were trying to keep Riza from figuring out what was going on. Was it something she would end up being connected to?
"Right here for your inspection, as promised." Gold tooth lifted a small glass terrarium with a lid from his desk.
Wrath looked the black and yellow creature over once and nodded. "This will be a good match."
Gold tooth vanished with the animal Riza had barely caught a glimpse of.
"Follow me Lieutenant. You won't want to miss this." Bradley left the office and headed in a new direction. He took quick, impatient strides. As they walked, he began to speak.
"Discipline is a necessity. Don't you think, Hawkeye?" He asked.
"Yes Sir," She replied quietly. She was trying to understand what they were talking about. Were they making a chimera? Or was it something totally different than what they were here to see?
"It is my belief that some humans require stricter methods than most. Some instantly learn their mistakes, while others continue to cause trouble," He went on. "Today is the day of the final penance."
While finishing his criptic words, he opened a door for her. "Welcome to the "Observation room"."
Riza stepped into the dimly lit room, with her eyes scanning it for any signs of a threat. But the room seemed as innocuous as her own bedroom back home.
Surely, this was not the place for her. Wrath, as he was called by those who knew the truth, stood facing a closed curtain. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, I want you to pay close attention to this experiment." His gruff voice left no room for questions. She simply nodded, not looking into his dark malicious gleam.
"Yes Sir." She shifted on her feet. There were no chairs in the small dark room, and she had been standing all day as she followed the enemy around like a dog on a leash. She was beginning to feel more and more like a slave around him. The Fuhrer had no good things to say about humans, and instead, sought to belittle those she held in high regard.
Coming here to watch this was about as exciting as watching him sip tea every afternoon, and then hearing him ask her what she thought about the coming Promised Day. Either he pummeled her with numerous questions, or he tried to learn something from her. Often times, he had tried to get a rise out of her by insulting Colonel Mustang to her face. Riza was rarely one for taking bait though, so he just focused on his preparations.
Bradley grabbed the gold braided rope hanging beside the thick black curtains, and pulled it. The panels of heavy fabric split apart and light from whatever was behind them flooded in. As the curtains came to a halt, flanking a large window, Riza stared at the scene before her, trying to remain calm.
In the center of an otherwise empty room made of concrete that bore claw marks and other such frightening signs of struggle, there was a large transmutation circle painted on the wall. Riza recognized the eight pointed star as the symbol for creation. It was one of the few facts about alchemy she could remember. She also noted the four runes for the four elements.
What made it so hard for her to remain calm, was the fact that a human being was tethered to a stone pillar in the center of the circle. It could have been any unlucky soldier bound to that array, but it had to be someone important, and not only to her, but so many others.
Riza turned outraged eyes on the Fuhrer. Her posture remained polite with only her brown eyes ablaze. "What are you doing?" She asked in a weak voice.
Bradley smiled wickedly. "Something that should have been done a long time ago." His voice carried a sort of glee in it. "This is the final penance. Discipline imposed by a higher authority."
Riza turned back to the all too familiar figure sitting in filthy uniform pants and a white wife beater. He sat leaning against the stone to ease the pain on his arms which were pulled back, wrapped around, and tied together on the opposite side.
Black locks of messy hair hid the blue-black bruise around his left eye. There were minor bruises on his shoulders as well. A sheen of sweat glistened on his brow. He had tried to defend himself, she could see that. She suddenly felt very guilty. Her duty was to protect him, and there he sat, facing a situation that she could not stop.
His gaze was pointed down, glaring at something. Riza followed his line of sight, and she stifled a gasp by covering her mouth with her hands. This was more than she could comprehend. Every other worry seemed to melt away as she understood just what kind of punishment the Fuhrer had suggested in the hall.
"That's right," Bradley murmured impatiently.
Riza realized now what kind of circle she was looking at. There in front of Roy Mustang, lied a small yellow and black salamander. The same creature Gold tooth had presented to Wrath.
"Why?" She asked, fighting to keep her desperation from her voice. She waited for his answer, staring at what was about to become a nightmare.
Bradley was having Roy Mustang turned into a chimera. The very thought made her stomach knot up and she felt light headed. They couldn't do this to him. Not when they had already taken so much.
"Please don't," Riza begged in a breathy whisper. "I'll take his place," She suggested, eager to find a way to save him. It was her duty to keep him safe, and she would be dammed if she didn't try.
Wrath merely laughed at her. "That isn't how equivalent exchange works," He sneered. "He doesn't understand the importance of keeping his nose out of things that don't concern him. I tightened his leash, I isolated him, and I gave him a chance to end his silly resistence."
His eye darkened considerably with unbound contempt. "But he refused to behave like a good dog, so now I'm going to teach him just how foolish he is. The one thing I've noticed about you humans, is that you take far too much pride in what you are. You look down on everything else, you even look down on humans who look or believe differently than you. The best way to humble a man, is to strip him of his very core."
Riza listened in disbelief.
"I commend you Lieutenant for your desire to help him, but he brought this upon himself. I know he's still plotting, and I know he's been sharing information somehow. I told both him and Elric that I would not stand for any shenaigans, and yet Fullmetal is missing and Mustang went and found a way to contact General Grumman. Had he been patient and obeyed, he could have spared himself this."
Riza was enraged by what was happening with those who were labeld human sacrifces. Without these alchemists, their plans were unhinged, but that didn't mean they wouldn't have some kind of back-up. If Edward and Alphonse could be found, she was sure they too would be punished in a similar action.
It seemed that everything just continued to spiral downwards, its pace getting faster and faster. With the clock ticking against them, and roadblocks like this one popping up, the goal continued to fall further and further out of her sight.