A/N: This drabble was born of a half hour of exam study avoidance and a love for Fullmetal Alchemist : Brotherhood AUs where there is somehow a Lust!Riza (LuRiza? Rizust? RizLust?). I don't know how it happens, but just that it could happen after the night Pride confronts and first threatens Riza, and chaos ensues from there.

Left as "in progress" because I rather like this AU, and I may dabble on it more in the future. Who knows, maybe I'll slap on other ideas to this from time to time :)

- Margot

Inside Out

Pain comparable to a migraine, or a concussion, or more accurately, thousands of times worse always remained after those bouts where Lust tried to surge back into control. Maybe this was what gunshots to the skull felt like, in those fleeting seconds before darkness was absolute. How Riza had held out for this long - a week now - she had no idea. The Homunculus, who internally manifested itself as a series of dark spikes which managed to flow like water, grew increasingly violent each time it was repressed into the surge of life energy that Riza had begun to identify as the Philosopher's stone… energy that surrounded, suffocated- she had no plans to return there.

The attacks had subsided in frequency after Riza had taken her body back that first time. Three, four times a day, Lust tried- always tactical. However, on the eighth sunrise, Lust had lashed out three times within short succession,within minutes, barely withdrawing before those spikes, and that will, retaliated once more. Riza was left slumped against a doorway, one hand pressed against her pulsing forehead and the other on her knee in a desperate effort not to collapse.

Lust was beyond upset- there was a specific motivation behind the sudden volley of attempted control…

"Lust, are you okay, Lust?"

…but whatever the reason behind the attack was, she had no idea. Riza was too distracted to listen to the words the archetype screamed at her, too frantic to keep her mind in control of her body and to not again become an observer.
Even Gluttony's soft plea was lost on her.

A fourth surge left the Lieutenant audibly cursing before she felt the unmistakable chill that came from premonition, or instinct, both of which had become heightened in the past week. Something to do with the stone.

Something drew near. Gluttony noticed the same. Where Riza backed into the furthermost room in the half destroyed cabin that once acted like a safe house, Gluttony happily trotted to the gaping hole that he had previously created. Like a child, he happily teetered his weight from heel to toe, and waved a massive hand.

"Envy, hi, Envy!"

'Envy-?' Another of the Homunculi- Barry the Chopper had mentioned him, mentioned that he and Lust had worked together in the 5th Laboratory…

"Yeah, Gluttony, let me through already." The voice was strangely, uniquely pitched, and warped by strain as if they always yelled, along with.. something else. Footsteps which were overtly loud traversed through the cabin, and Riza found herself furiously yearning for the firearms Pride had stripped from her. Sounds and lighting gave her all the angles, but she had nothing with which to take the shot.

"Lust! Have you managed to get yourself together yet?" The tone was impatient, and if she had been in the mood for humor, she may have equated it to how Edward Elric behaved at times. The door to her hiding spot opened with minimal surprise or effort. Instead of a frontal attack, Riza was met with the face of an androgynous being staring down at her, with a hand on one hip, and one brow raised behind thick bangs of hair.

The curious expression soon warped into a grin. "Hey, Gluttony," Envy turned to look behind him. An index finger gestured down at her. "Guess what? That's not Lust."

"What!?" There was almost pitiful confusion in the Homunculus' voice, a cry reminiscent of a minor separated from their caretaker. "No, Envy, Lust is right there, you see-?"

"Nope," A tinge of amusement slipped into Envy's voice. "That's the Colonel's human lady, and she's beating Lust up from the inside."

"Uh-uh!" Gluttony managed a graceful waddle past his companion, and came to stand uncomfortably close; Riza leaned away, all too familiar with how those hands had once been at her throat. However, the stout Homunculus simply stood his ground, and waved an arm in a passionate gesture. Blocking her. Defending her. "Lust is right here! Father gave her the new body, like he always does. And she says that she is my friend and that we can be safe here until the Promised Day."

Envy tilted his head, and Riza dared not compare the thing to Black Hayate, even if the move was similar. "So she's your friend, huh?"

"That's right!"

A brief silence fell between the two before Envy tilted his head back and burst into roaring laughter. Gluttony smiled soon after, and nodded his head, as if proud of his words.

Envy cracked his neck as he settled down, then motioned with a thumb toward the side of the house which no longer existed. "Hey, pal-" It was directed at Gluttony. "-go outside for a sec, will ya? Make sure nobody like Pride comes in. I have a message for 'Lust.'"

"Okay!

Where she had been wary of Gluttony's proximity just seconds before, Riza then found herself yearning for the protection the naive Homunculus gave her. With him gone, Envy turned to face her, with a wicked, toothy grin that warped his features beyond what would be humanly possible. "I will admit it, girly, I'm impressed. You're keeping down one of us, and convinced Gluttony to be your pet. Not bad, especially when that Xingese prince gave up so easily."

Riza pressed an arm into the wall behind her, and was thankful for how she - somehow - did not waver when she stood. Lust had quieted with the appearance of Envy- she lurked, observing, wanting something..

'Were you waiting for him to show up?' Riza cast inward as she ground her teeth. 'Why?'

"What, you don't want to talk to me?" Envy put a dramatic hand on his torso to accompany the words. The childish motion lost whatever comedic value it had thanks to the sinister nature in those overly-expressive eyes. "I am hurt," The words were hissed. "So, how about we compromise?" His voice changed until it was deeper in octave, then smoother, until the sound was one that sent Riza scrambling backward until her back hit the doorknob to small closet. Along with his voice, the rest of Envy changed in suit, with red, alchemical lightning erasing the Homunculus, and leaving its place the worried eyes of Roy Mustang.

"Lieutenant?" The voice came, as accurate as it had been over the phone weeks before. "What's wrong?"

"What the hell is that?" Riza screamed in response to the imitation. She shook, once, in a rage fueled fear; Lust surged forward in a feral, calculated response.

She almost lost.

Riza was forced to the floor, with hands tearing at hair which had long since fallen out of its clip. Sheer, physical effort was all that kept her in control- it was becoming more difficult each time. With bleary eyes and white knuckles, she glowered upward. The imitation knelt near her, the posture, to sight all too familiar. Dammit, what was that trick, how had he done that, mimicked the Colonel so flawlessly, down to the subtle raised brow of concern that accompanied a white, gloved hand extended toward her-? How-?

"Lieutenant?"

"Burn in hell," Riza barked, and slapped the hand away from her. The Colonel's face contorted into a cruel smile before he laughed, the sound so foreign, yet so well done that her blood ran cold. A boot to her head sent her into the adjacent wall, where splintering wood dug itself into her neck and shoulder.

"I think this is actually a blessing in disguise," Envy crooned, still abusing the Colonel's tone. "Keep fighting, Lieutenant. Who knows." With a snap of his fingers, a new wave of red cascaded across Mustang's form, and Riza was left looking at a mirror image of herself, down to the kick and cuts she had just received.

"If things don't go well with you, maybe I can use your face, instead."