Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or the Shining

Summary: A submission for fma_fic_contest that is getting expanded on. This is a crossover with The Shining, which worked way too well for this. An Alternative path to the Promised Day. RoyAi

AN: 4-8-15 Did some editing and reworked the last chapter. I've never been happy with how I ended this and it's bothered me since I posted it. Just one of those stories I wanted to be done with so I rushed to finish and it's haunted me.

The Shining

Chapter 1

Highway to Hell

Roy looked at his bloodshot eyes in the reflection of the mirror behind the bar and set the shot glass back down on the worn mahogany bar-top he was leaning on. It was 0400, Riza was asleep and his son was snuggled up in bed beside her in the caretaker's quarters. Yet here he sat at the bar, unable to sleep and unable to turn his mind off.

He ran his hands through his hair and thought about his long list of mistakes. A lifetime of mistakes that lead to him sitting here in an empty ballroom staring at the man he hated most, himself. He really didn't know where to begin on his daily dose of self-loathing and attempts to kill his liver. Should he start tonight at his war crimes? Perhaps revisit his best friend's death? Oh, no.. it was Thursday. It was time to remind himself about how he let everyone down, including the woman he loved. It was his favorite day, the day it all came crashing down.

It was innocent enough, he loved her and she loved him. Why wouldn't they make something of it? He was her commander, she his subordinate...but what did that matter to a man looking to take down his Fuhrer? I mean, really, when compared to treason and a coup d'etat what was a little fraternizing? She kept him sane and safe, he gave her the love she always wanted and deserved...it was perfect. They were going to climb to the top together and change the world.

Then something they relied on too readily failed them: something so simple as her state issued, government manufactured birth control. Something Bradley later chuckled about as he rattled off the list of reasons why the Hero of Ishval was being dishonorably discharged. It was funny because a man of his reputation, a philanderer, should have covered all the bases. However at that moment when she stood in front of him and told him they were going to be having a baby he could safely say it was one of the happiest moments he had ever experienced in his life.

That was, until reality set in. Colonel Roy Mustang had knocked up his Lieutenant. He would figure it out, he had a way to come up with plan for everything. She'd just resign, they'd get married and along would come Maes nine or more like seven...six months later. They were going to have a family, them, and they were going to do it right because they had both lived the childhood that should have never have been allowed to happen. He lost his parents and she did too since her father was just a hallow shell after her mother died. They were going to give their kid the life they didn't have and they were finally going to be a real family. Everyone would rejoice, as for some reason it was something way too many people fantasized about even to the point of having a code word, RoyAi, for the couple everyone just adored. Well, everyone adored it until it became a full blown scandal and he got them both fired, destroyed his goals and let everyone down.

It was clever, nobody could ever accuse Furhur Bradley of not being a cunning man or monster, whatever the hell he was. He knew they were together, that little shit Pride had been watching them screw on damned near everything in his office. Bradley had Riza's prescription altered, she was taking sugar pills instead of birth control, and he gave it two months before requiring them all to have blood drawn for medical records. Or was is for some vaccination? Shit if he knew, he didn't read the announcement. He just did as Riza told him to and flirted with the nurses as they groped his arm. He had to keep up appearances and it wasn't hard when he had four nurses fawning over him in the infirmary.

The end result was that he was in Grumman's office looking at the results of a blood test for his girlfriend, his lieutenant, the love of his life. Roy could just imagine what he looked like, his jaw must have been on the ground and he must have looked like a ghost. He could play off so much but standing there seeing that the military now knew Riza was pregnant made him almost pass out. The old man barely concealed his joy and tried his best to pretend he was upset that his unmarried granddaughter was having a baby. He hugged him and helped him figure out how to proceed to avoid it becoming to big of a problem. Grumman had apparently gotten a few girls pregnant in his time and knew way too much about dancing around the rules. Roy never thought he'd find comfort in that kind of information, but in that moment it was a blessing.

He left Grumman's office confident, he had a plan! He just had to let Riza know that the secret was out and they had to act fast. Convenient time for the Fuhrer to be visiting Eastern Command. Convenient indeed. He practically walked into him as he left Grumman's office. For the second time that day, he felt his heart stop as Bradley's smile made the color drain from his face. What happened next was a whirlwind of questions, accusations and threats. Bradley sat him down, told him what was going to happen and informed him that he had brought this all on himself. Roy Mustang got his best friend killed, not anyone else. Roy Mustang got his lover pregnant and ruined her promising career along with his own. That day it really sucked to be Roy Mustang. Especially since he was going to be escorted out of the office today and leaving his title of Colonel and State Alchemist behind him.

Bradley chuckled while he sat in Grumman's chair and told him everything. Everything. He was getting tired of the meddling, he was tired of hearing about Mustang this, or Mustang that and quite frankly he just wanted him to go sit this one out and wait his turn. They had plans for him and until the Promised Day, he really just needed to be a good boy and forget about saving the world. Right now he had a family to worry about and unless he wanted his son to grow up without a father, just as Roy had, then it was time to accept the consequences and move on. It hit him hard, not the threat of being executed for treason, but the idea of leaving his kid to grow up without a father.

He accepted everything without protest and by the end of the day he was just an ordinary citizen. Even his State Alchemist certification had been ripped from him, just for good measure. He couldn't be trusted. He violated the rules. He was a despicable man who took advantage of his adjutant and abused his power and privileges. Oh, and don't make us bring up what you did during the war. It would be a shame if that information leaked to the press, wouldn't it Mr. Mustang?

He did try to salvage it, he used his savings to give Riza the wedding she deserved. Everyone was confident the storm would pass and Mustang would rise up from this and climb back out of the ashes. It never did. Five years later, he was still blacklisted. Bradley made sure he couldn't get a job. His business failed. His life was in shambles and he could barely support his wife and kid. He was back to tending bar at Christmas's place just like he had done as a cadet. Although he was grateful for the childhood his foster Mom had given him, he wasn't about to let his boy grow up in a bar like he did. So when the job offer came for the caretaker position at this damned hotel he didn't scrutinize it, he didn't ask why someone would try to extend a helping hand and help get him back on his feet. He didn't ask questions and jumped at the opportunity, placing him right back in the employ of his favorite homunculus, King Bradley.

So here he sat drinking in the ballroom of an old hotel in the North that was shut down for the season due to the impassable roads and the horrid snowstorms. A caretaker of a hotel in the middle of nowhere where he could be watched and forgotten. It was also a way to push him over the edge and drive him mad. Apparently the Overlook Hotel had a way of doing that to it's caretakers. What a lovely piece of property to have in the investment portfolio, Fuhrer sir. A imposing Goliath of a building in the frozen tundra of the North, warm and welcoming when it needed to be and a cold, creepy prison when nobody was watching. Fucking homunculus.

"Another drink?"

Roy cocked an eyebrow as Envy strolled over with a new bottle of some whiskey from the basement and interrupted his thoughts. "Not going to bother to change shape today?"

"Nah..." The homunculus shrugged. "What's on the agenda today, Mustang? Do you hate yourself enough today to kill your family? Huh? That nagging bitch and that brat of yours must be getting on your nerves?"

"You're the only nagging bitch I want to kill." Roy muttered. Then there was that. The fact that they wanted him to go crazy and kill the people he cherished most in this fucked up world. It was getting old. "You voyeuristic assholes need to find a different hobby."

"Come on Mustang, what's a little human transmutation on top of everything else you've done?" Envy leaned over. "You know she hears you talking to me and thinks you're already crazy. It's why she locks the door at night when you get up and leave. She thinks you're going to go all Barry the Chopper on them and hack up the bedroom with a cleaver."

"Not my style." He mumbled. "Ask Lust...oh wait you can't. I barbecued that bitch a long time ago."

"That was where you went too far." Envy smiled. "You killed one of us, that's a feat. That made you dangerous."

"Good to know." Roy smirked and flicked Envy between the eyes. "You're next."

"Doubtful." Envy frowned. "You're hardly that ambitious anymore. Without me harping at you you'd forget to go check on the boiler in the basement everyday."

"What a use for flame alchemy! Tending to the boiler room in an old hotel so the pressure doesn't blow the place up." Roy looked at his drink. "Kimblee apply for the job too? Blowing shit up and wearing white seems like it would be right up his alley."

"You're so funny." Envy said dryly. "Still cracking jokes, we'll see who's doing the laughing when we're helping you draw transmutation circles on the ballroom floor while your family looks at you through unseeing eyes. I think it's going to be interesting to see how Lust does in your wife's body. You think you're jealous now, wait til she gets a makeover and every man alive is drooling over your woman. Pride wants your body next, arrogance being your downfall he thinks it's pretty ironic. Plus he's sick of being a little boy. He's thinking that with your good looks he could take over this country without much of a fight. Wrath is getting old, eventually someone will wonder how he doesn't age. I'm actually going to laugh when he's throwing temper tantrums as your son. What the perfect family! What a legacy the Mustang name will have. Interesting to see how it plays out, it will be entertaining for sure."

"Well I'd appreciate it if you toned down the entertainment." Roy hissed. "I don't want Maes playing with Pride in the playground igloo, you morphing into some melting burn victim in the bathtub in room 237 or those damned chimera hedge animals stalking my boy. Leave my kid alone."

"He's a prodigy." Envy said. "You should teach him alchemy."

"I won't." He snapped. "Because he deserves to be a kid. Even if it's in a haunted hotel on the Drachma border with a pair of homunculus assholes. "

"Hey now, Pride is his "imaginary friend" Tommy." Envy enjoyed using the air quotes and flashed his teeth at him. "Don't confuse the poor boy. You keep enough secrets, it's getting hard for you to juggle them all."

"I just want to know why the hell he's writing RedRum on every mirror in the house." Roy narrowed his eyes at the thing in front of him as Envy swirled his finger around in the whiskey.

"Spell it backwards." Envy smirked. "Riza already did."

RedRum...Murder. Roy got off his bar stool and turned away. He didn't know how much more they were going to be able to take of this. Between cabin fever and the homunculus trying to tear apart his family he really didn't know if he was going to keep it together. He was always teetering on the edge of losing his temper, they infuriated him by taunting his son. He just wanted to watch them writhe in the flames and delight in the screams, but at the same time he feared becoming that man. He was terrified that he would lose it and finally unleash the hell they were asking for and become a monster just like them. Just like they were asking him to do. "Well your company just about killed my mood. I'm going to bed. See you two in the basement again at noon."

"Sweet Dreams, Roy." Envy cooed as the man walked out of the bar. He tapped his fingers on the bar-top and wondered why the damned human was being so stubborn. He saw it in him, he saw Mustang's fingers rub together every time he struck a nerve and wondered how much more they were going to have to push to get him to break. Father wanted him as a human sacrifice which meant that they had to get him to perform human transmutation. That was the whole point of this ridiculous vacation, to have Mustang take that next step and turn himself into the perfect sacrifice. They took everything from him and now all he had was his family...and if he lost his family he had nothing else to lose and would willingly give whatever truth wanted to have them back. Then they'd have their sacrifice and also eliminate the alchemist they worried about the most. Whatever Truth would take from him to give him back his family would not come cheap.

"Daddy?"

Roy looked over at Maes as he let himself back into the main area of the caretaker's quarters hoping to not wake Riza. He glanced at the clock on the wall. 0500. Several lights were on and his son was wrapped up in a blanket on the old sofa chair with an alchemy book on his lap. He couldn't read, but he liked to copy the transmutation circles onto his sketchpad with his crayons. "Hey kid, what's wrong?"

"Bad dream."

Roy knelt down and his son came over, happy to be lifted up into his arms. "I have those too sometimes. Want to tell me about it?"

"Tommy said you were going to hurt us."

"Tommy is a damned liar." Roy growled. Fucking Pride! He hoped that little shit was lurking in the shadows with his stupid little eyes and tendrils. He didn't know which one of the enemies he wanted to destroy next, Pride or Envy. At least Envy could hold a conversation, Pride was creepy as hell and obnoxious.

"Can we go home?"

Roy sat down in the plush sofa chair and let Maes rest on his lap. He picked up the sketchpad and noticed the kid had used a glass to trace for a perfect circle. he was resourceful. "Snow is moving in, it's a bit too late to leave. Besides, it's my job to keep this place safe."

Riza walked into the main living area and looked at them. Maes stood and hugged his father, clearly unable to rationalize the bad feelings the hotel gave him in addition to the bad omens Pride whispered in his ear. "Come to bed, both of you."

Roy looked up at her and smiled. The one thing they couldn't take from them was how they could look at each other: they could always read each other's eyes. Pride couldn't see what they were saying to each other in silence, no matter what shadows he was lurking in. He might hate himself for getting his family into this hell, but his wife still loved him and believed in him. She'd always have his back, no matter what mess he managed to get them into. Always his lieutenant, by his side in whatever hell he lead them into. Now if he could just figure out how to stop making bad decisions. He held Maes close to his chest and stood up, then walked over to her.

Riza kissed him as he stopped in the doorway to look at her. She ran her hand through his dark hair and down his scruffy cheek. She hated when he couldn't sleep and walked the hotel by himself. She knew they preyed on his self-esteem and kept the fire stoked with whiskey to ensure he stayed unstable. However they had to think they were breaking them down, they had to think that after five years of taking away everything Roy had worked for that they finally had him beaten. It killed her to allow that to happen. Inside he was like a broken glass, the cracks were there and it was only a matter of time before they finally won and the glass shattered. She hated watching those cracks expand because neither one of them knew when it would be one too many.

He leaned into her touch and she gave him a reassuring smile. Let Pride and Envy think they won, the cockier they got the more careless they were. As for the Mustangs, they had those two exactly where they wanted them; Isolated in a old combustible hotel with a very temperamental furnace. Once the Elrics obtained reinforcements from Briggs, this damned place would be their funeral pyre. He gave her a reassuring smile, he wasn't beaten yet.