Hey, everyone. Sorry it's been so long since I had any new stories or that I haven't updated my stories in awhile. This is my second Full Metal Alchemist story. I was thinking about this one night while I was trying to fall asleep after watching the show. Not much is known about Ms. Riza Hawkeye, except that she is a strict, aggressive, dead-eye lady. Even though she takes no crap from Mustang and is sometimes quit to judge him, she is still loyal to him and would do anything to keep him out of harm's way. That would make them a possible pairing in this or any story. But enough about that. Let's get to the summary so you know what the story is going to be about.
Summary: Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye has never talked about her past, nor does she wish to. But when Ed and Al arrest a thief that is related to Hawkeye, overwhelming issues and past events are bond to rear their ugly heads.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has the Full Metal Alchemist mark. Aniplex and Funimation own Full Metal Alchemist. Perhaps someday will own some type of anime.
Claimer: I do own Rin, the character I made up for this story, some other characters I will make up in this story, and the music that I am listening to right now. I also own a cute little kitten that looks like a Dairy Cow. But who cares?
"Dialogue"
Thought
And now, I give you my second Full Metal Alchemist story, Here and There, Now and Then, and yes, that is the reverse name of another show. I thought it would sound better this way and it would make a good title. So, now,I give you the first chapter of Here and There, Now and Then.
Chasing Lightning
Eastern Command Center
"STOP, THEIF!" the soldiers yelled as they chased the hooded figure down the street in the pouring rain. They tried shooting at the thief but seemed to miss every time. They finally chased their prey into an alley. "Good. That scoundrel can't get away now. That alley is a dead end." Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning. When they turned the corner, the criminal was gone. "But that's impossible! There is no way to get out of here!" The hooded figure watched the soldiers search the alley from the rooftops. In another flash of lightning, the thief disappeared into the storm.
Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of equivalent exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one and only truth. ---Alphonse Elricst
"I can't believe we didn't find anything. Mustang is going to be on my ass again." Ed was complaining about his latest search for the philosopher's stone. He and Alphonse were returning to the Eastern Headquarters to report to Colonel Roy Mustang, and they weren't too happy about it.
"Maybe he'll understand, brother," Al said.
"Sure, Al." Ed quickly deepened his voice to imitate Mustang. "So, you wasted all that time looking for the stone and you couldn't even find so much as a pebble. Maybe if you wouldn't charge into things so fast, that rust-bucket arm wouldn't always fall apart on you. Wait a minute. Where did you go? Oh, there you are. I couldn't see you below my three-foot desk. Ha ha ha!"
"With all that you said," Al commented, "Mustang doesn't have to beat you down. You did his job for him."
"Shut up, Al. Why does everyone have to pick on me?"
"Well, Ed, it looks like you've come back empty handed again." Ed was now in Mustang's office giving him a report on their past mission. Ed knew he was in for it this time. Before he was able to at least uncover some good leads, but this time he had nothing. He braced himself for the beat down that Mustang would give him. "Since you're back at Eastern Command, I have a new assignment for you." Lieutenant Hawkeye handed Ed a file and stepped back as Ed read it.
"What's this about? Who's Ray?"
"We aren't exactly sure, Ed," Mustang answered. "All we know is that he is an A Class thief that has been stealing priceless items and money from the Eastern Command Center Treasury for the past month. Each time he steal's something, he always destroys some part of the building. He's costing us a lot of money."
"There isn't much description on him. He wears a maroon hooded cloak and never shows his face." Ed was kind of relieved. I've been back for this long and he hasn't cracked any short jokes yet. Is there something wrong with him?
"All of our men that have gone after Ray say that he is a little taller than the Short Metal Alchemist." Ed started steaming at this point but held himself back.
"So what do you want me to do? Does he have any information on the philosopher's stone? I'll gladly interrogate him."
"That's the problem, Ed. No one has been able to capture him. Even in impossible situations, this Ray always slips through our grasp. We need you to find him and bring him in alive. There should be a list of sightings in that file. I know you won't disappoint me." Ed nodded and turned around, but not before he caught a glimpse of Hawkeye. She looked a lot paler than usual and she seemed to be tired.
"Hey, Hawkeye. Are you ok? You look a little worn down."
"I'm fine. Sir, would you excuse me?" She quickly saluted them both and ran out of the room. Ed looked back at Mustang for an explanation.
"Don't mind her. She's had a hard month. Her parents were missing for five years. They showed up month ago hanging from a rafter in an old warehouse. She was the one that found them after being assigned to other connected suicide cases."
"I'm sorry about that," Ed said. "I hope she finds peace. Excuse me, Colonel." Ed quickly saluted and walked out of the building. He saw Al sitting on the outside steps waiting for him. "I guess we won't have much of a break, Al. We got a new case."
Ed and Al went to the place that Ray was seen last. As they looked around, they discovered that there was no way to get out of the dead end. Then they found something bizarre.
"Ed, this part of the wall sounds hallow." Ed knocked on the spot that Al pointed out.
"This wall is supposed to be completely solid." Ed quickly clapped his hands and pressed them against the wall. When the transmutation was complete, a hidden staircase was revealed. "Al, we aren't just dealing with an amateur. The person we are hunting is using alchemy for selfish ways. I have to track this person down. Let's go to the treasury. We're going to have a stakeout."
Ed and Al waited in a room with Hawkeye. Hawkeye was assigned to surveillance with the boys, but Ed was still worried.
"You sure you're up to this, Hawkeye?" Ed asked. "You still look…"
"I'm fine. I'm ready for anything that comes through that door." Hawkeye grabbed her handgun and cocked it. Ed just sighed and decided it wouldn't work.
"We should be alright," Al said. "There are about thirty men guarding this place. Security is pretty tight. If Ray comes in here, he'll have a hard time getting away." Suddenly, there were screams coming from outside. The three ran to the window to see what happened. All the men were unconscious. The front doors were open. Hawkeye, Ed, and Al went to the stairway, ready for the thief.
"Why isn't he coming up?" Hawkeye said. "This is the only way to get to the vault." Then Ed had a brainstorm.
"Wait a minute. He can use alchemy, right?"
"Yeah, Ed. Why do you ask?" Al asked.
"If he can use alchemy, then he doesn't need stairs. He can…" There was a huge explosion and they all flew back against the wall as the vault door swung open. Money flew around the hooded figure as he stuffed a bag of red diamonds in his cloak. "He can come up through the floor." As he turned around, his red eyes flashed through a black bandana-mask.
Hawkeye saw her opportunity and shot at him, getting him in the shoulder as he ran towards them. He stared right at Hawkeye before shutting the vault. Ed quickly got up and tried to open it. He heard a noise from inside as he blew a hole in the vault. When he and Al got through it, they ran up the stairway that the thief created, leaving Hawkeye behind to think. Why did he hesitate? He could have killed us all. Instead he looked at us and ran away.
The thief ran across the rooftops, clutching his bleeding shoulder. He finally jumped into a courtyard. When he landed, he found Ed and Al staring at him.
"You're pretty good," Ed said. "You avoided the law for so long, but I hate those who use alchemy for evil. I'm going to take you down." Ed clapped his hands and transformed his metal arm into a blade. Just as he charged at him, the thief pounded his fists together and shot lightning at Ed, just barely missing him. "You…don't need a circle."
"That's not all, Ed," Al said with a hint of caution. "He uses lightning and static electricity. Be careful."
"Great," Ed said. "He's just like Mustang." They continued to fight. Ed dodged the bolts of lightning except for once. Ed hadn't fought anyone this strong since Mustang. He was getting tired. "Well, Ray, I have to hand it to you. You're pretty strong." Just as Ed made another move, Ray fired a powerful bolt of lightning, but it missed Ed and hit a wall. The wall started to fall and would crush Ed. That was when Ray did something that completely shocked Ed and Al. He ran towards Ed and pushed him out of the way, but that wasn't that surprised them. Just before he pushed Ed to safety, Ray yelled something.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Ray yelled. When the smoked cleared, Hawkeye came running behind them.
"What happened here?" she asked.
"I think we caught Ray," Al said. "But when he yelled, it sounded like a…Wait! He's stuck under the rubble!" All three of them started digging until Ed uncovered a hand and pulled Ray out. When he did, Ray looked pretty beat up, but the thief was still breathing. That was when Ed decided to pull off the hood and mask. He was shocked when he did. The culprit's long blonde hair was pulled into two ponytails at the nape of Ray's neck. But that didn't surprise Ed. It was the fact that…
"Ray is a girl?" Ed asked. Hawkeye and Al were in shock as well. They couldn't believe that the infamous thief was a she rather than a he, but that didn't matter.
"We need to get her to the hospital quickly," Hawkeye said. "She's losing a lot of blood, and she could have internal bleeding." Hawkeye carefully picked Ray up and carried her to the car. After Ed and Al got in, they drove to the State Hospital as fast as they could.