Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, Square Enix, FUNmation and anything else I've forgotten.
Warnings: Angsty-ish, dark-ish, deathfic-ish, you know,
all that jazz. Also some very minor spoilers to the movie that
you probably won't see unless you looked carefully. And as much
as I hate admitting it, some OOCness.
Risk for You
Roy Mustang, in his own special way, was a gambler. He loved betting with himself, taking the risk over his life in mission. He never mentioned his strange hobby to anyone, save once.
"Riza, do you like betting?" he asked her as he stepped out of the car to look at the Fuhrer's house.
She shook her head. "No, I don't." She answered curtly.
He smiled darkly, the kind that showed teeth. "Well," he started. "I'm going to make a risky gamble."
At that time, she could've just looked at him strangely and bailed out of the mission... But no, she didn't. Instead, she just blessed him with one of her rare, genuine smiles and merely said, "I trust you."
Oh, Roy kept thinking to himself. Why couldn't she just tell me I was a crazy loon, and leave me? But he knew deep in his heart that she wouldn't, and that even if she did, he wouldn't be able to let himself let her leave.
Anyhow, the mission had been a success, except with just one more unplanned casualty that he hadn't expected. One more unintentional death he hadn't been prepared to deal with.
Roy often wondered to himself many things. Of which the most, he'd like to ask, Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it be him? He was the one that made the sick risk. As much as he hated admitting to himself, he wanted her back; he needed her, more than anyone could tell.
If only, if only... Roy could almost swear that those two words were stamped into his brain, and came out attached to every thought processed through his mind.
If only, I hadn't dragged her into this...
If only, I never said anything.
If only it was me instead...
---
Panting heavily, Roy sprinted as fast as he could to his destination in mind. 'Stupid hill,' he thought briefly when he ran down it. He slowed down, looking around. He was now surrounded by rubble, the empty remains of King Bradley's once beautiful mansion. Also to him, the place where he lost his other most trusted subordinate. Instead of feeling the familiar sense of anger rising from his belly, Roy felt...nothing. His head was finally clear of the events of the late. No more helpless homicidal thoughts filtered through his mind, and he finally felt at peace.
As Roy casually leaned against the remains of the burned fence surrounding debris, looking out at the rubble, he briefly wondered to himself, 'Is she gone, now? Forever?'
Slowly, Roy pulled himself together and stood up straight. In his mind's eye, he no longer saw the ruins of the end of his lifelong goal, instead he saw everything play out all over again. The fire, the head, the pain...her sweet voice speaking into his ear, and her hand gently holding his face. Everything abruptly disappeared, and the clear day before him came back again. Interestingly enough, he could almost hear her voice in his head.
Roy, she'd say sternly. You're being silly again. Get back to the matter at hand.
And so, the matter at hand... Roy reached into his pocket and pulled out his silver state alchemist watch.
"Riza," he murmured, looking down at the item in his hand. "I'm leaving now. They are sending me away, to the borders, so I can be a private." He looked away, up towards the setting sky. "I don't want to go." He whispered, closing his eyes. "I don't want to be alone." Pause. "I don't want to go without you."
He could barely feel the tear fall from his good eye and slide down his cheek, and one would not be able to make it out in the growing darkness. Roy's hand impulsively tightened around the watch that he'd held onto for many years. "There are no more state alchemists," he stated tonelessly. "After all, why do we still need any when everything now became a parliament? There are no more alchemists, or Fuhrers; the military is gone, too." He was rambling, he knew. But he couldn't stop, for fear that if he did, then the words that he'd meant to say would never be spoken.
"Anyway," he took a deep breath and tried to still his shaking hands. "I'm supposed to give this back to...someone." He said, referring to the silver amulet, laughing mirthlessly. "But," his voice dropped down to a whisper. "How are they supposed to know if I give it back or not?" And slowly, he dropped his state alchemist watch to the ground; first letting the watch itself slip through his fingers till he was left with holding the end of the chain, and let go of it for the first and last time in his life.
"I finally lost to myself." Was the last thing heard, save for a firm snap of his fingers, as Roy unevenly made his way back down the street he came. Behind him, starting out as a tiny spark, the watch came up in golden flames. Even so, the now private kept walking away as if there was no fire behind him, and...kept walking. Kept walking into the darkness, until he was completely enshrouded by the inky night...
---
Remnants of Previous Fuhrer's Mansion Once Again Comes Up Into Flames
...Late the night before, the last renowned Fuhrer King Bradley's house erupts into flames. Only last week was the once-alive Fuhrer assassinated by Brigadier General Frank Archer. Also found at the scene was the half-alive Colonel Roy Mustang and the body of his First Lieutenant, Riza Hawkeye. Though the Fuhrer's body was not found, we can safely assume that he is dead, by the testimony of the eye-witness Mustang, also known as the Flame Alchemist, who said he saw the entire thing. Apparently, the Flame Alchemist and his subordinate arrived at the scene as Archer terminated the military leader. Immediately afterward, First Lt. Hawkeye was killed, and with much difficulty, Mustang executed the Archer, walking away without too many major injuries. He is now recuperating on his own, however no one is quite sure if Mustang's eye will ever heal completely.
Sill, that doesn't help with the mystery of the fire last night. Rumors are flying; from the Fuhrer saying his last goodbye to the military, to Archer expressing his anger at Mustang by stealing his flames, to even the three ghosts left at the house arguing with each other. Found earlier this morning at the site is the twisted remains of what we suspect is a military state alchemist watch. However the shape is so grotesque from the melted metal, we can't be too sure if it was a missed piece of Bradley's possessions. Again, the officials today are scouring the grounds for any other missed items. Caution: No citizens allowed into the grounds as of yet. – Written by Alice Green for The Central Times Newspaper
---
One could wonder to oneself why Roy went to the remains of the homonculus' house instead of the cemetery to say his final goodbye. To the Flame Alchemist, the Fuhrer's house was where Riza died, not the cemetery, and that is where her spirit would be hanging, regardless of the fact that it held the ghosts of the deceased Pride and Archer.
If one were to look at the watch closely before the Flame Alchemist snapped his fingers, they would see that as the silver amulet fell open, out spilled flint and steel. If one were careful, then they'd notice that a shiny, white item stuck out stark in contrast in the dark evening. And if between that two second timeframe before the watch went up in flames, one were to look at the item closely, they'd realize that it was an intricate, silver-plated locket that hung onto a thin, shimmery chain with a gold band, set with a dark, crimson ruby. And one would have to take the last millisecond to become aware that wedged tightly into the locket was a wad of folded paper.
Anyway, Roy Mustang didn't believe in ghosts, spirits or anything of that nature. He just wanted closure and a time to tell her things he never told her but wanted to...so badly. Because he didn't think that she'd haunt him forever, along with Archer...or Pride... Or...
Yeah, that's what he kept telling himself.
-fin: Part I
A/N: This piece is dedicated to hakubaikou-chan, as she adores eyepatch!Roy. It came out a bit darker than I intended, I'm planning on writing a second part/sequel to this because I left out the last scene I had been thinking of writing about in mind, so I'll try to make it happier (and hopefully, it'll explain the OOCness here)! Just don't expect it anytime soon, since I haven't even started writing it.
In response to Silverwitch07's review, I have no plans of continuing Good Morning, but I kept your words in mind as I wrote this one. Though this piece doesn't explain or show you the details of Riza's death, it's plenty vague, and I hope it'll give you and all other readers an idea of what happened. Basically, I want you to use your imagination when reading this. If you don't like it, I'm terribly sorry, but it's how I write.
I dearly hope that everyone enjoyed this piece. Please R & R!