Dear online friends / authors / accidental readers;

I am sure I had not done a very good job so far but I was extremely pleased with the numbers of views and reviews that came in.

I appreciate your words and your love for this story even though it would end very soon; I hope that most of you would read till the end.

Special thanks to Thieving Alchemist and TheCrimsonGhost309 for everything from reviews to encouragement.

Please do enjoy the rest of the story; now, on to chapter 9!

I need you…Riza.

That same voice was calling for her again; it seemed to be a voice of a man. She had heard it during her sleep this morning; it sounded deep and was filled with immense sadness. Where is it coming from? And why does her heart ache whenever she hears it. Almost immediately, pictures flew by her mind; a man was holding a woman's hand to his heart, his own hand was trembling but it does not bother the sleeping woman lying peacefully on the bed. Riza was now right beside the shaking man, who is this person filled with guilt and anguish? She needed to comfort him; it was her duty to do so. She reached out her hand towards his broad shoulders…

"Riza, why are you standing at the door?" Riza woke to the words; she was indeed standing at the door to her classroom with her arm in the same position in her daydream. And the person who had spoken to her was standing haughtily in front of her. Her arms fell to her side as the scene she was thinking about disappeared to the back of her when she realized she had come face to face with the class monitor (Monster Maria Ross). Riza stared blankly; her gaze fell upon the watch that Miss perfect Ross had shoved under her nose.

12.01pm, oh no, she was one minute late again. Riza peered behind the scary girl and noticed that the homeroom teacher had not reached yet, she heaved a sigh of relief though she had settle the immediate problem first, Riza turned back to the class monitor who was half threatening to write her name into her blacklist book and glanced into the class room, two tables from the front and noticed that it was empty. Taking the opportunity, Riza stepped into the room.

"Where is Denny?" she asked calmly and closed the door behind her, the pen from Maria fingers dropped to the floor upon hearing the name. Maria has a crush on Denny, even the mention of his name could give her short term memory loss. And sure enough, Maria was stammering the next few words pink the face "How the hell would I know where he was, it is not...like I would be worried or anything."

"Right…" Riza smiled, she glided across the embarrassment of the Class monitor and step into the classroom, Maria did not stop her instead she had pulled open the door herself and was sticking her head out into the empty corridor looking for the person mentioned, not worried? She was lying to herself. Riza skated through the rows of seat and approached her own desk; she had just placed her bag pack on the ground when a loud crash rang out. She glanced to the door smirking to herself, the reason was pretty was obvious. Denny who had sprinted to the class room had landed on Maria who was at the door, several girls' screamed; visibility upset while the boys cheered; obviously happy. Denny had literally pinned the all and mighty class room monster to the ground.

Riza was not surprised at the strange blend of emotions from both sides after all most of the girls in the class idolized that silly clown while the boys who were jealous of Denny were finally glad that he had seemed to made a choice finally. "What are you doing? Get off of me now." Ross said in a strangely soft tone, she was also blushing slightly though still pissed. Denny removed himself from her grasp which he believed was about to strangle him and stood up, pink in the face. Instead of disappearing into the crowd which he usually does, he put out his hand as though wanting the fallen monitor to take it. "Sorry, are you hurt?" Maria who was in shade of red from embarrassment stared, slowly she took his extending hand. Riza smiled; don't you think it is about time?

Her gaze left the two soon to be couple; wouldn't it be nice to be able to feel love as well? Riza closed her eyes deciding that maybe she should rest for a little while since the home room teacher was not here anyway. She stared at the black board in front of her; chemistry lesson is the first period. What a boring lesson, she can't wait to get to her Archery club later in the day, she loved to aim. That feeling to hitting the target is a joyful feeling. It was shooting without blood on her hands, almost immediately she felt warm around her head, she was watching a person who had long black hair and a rather distinct bosom walking out from the white doors. A homunculus with such a cunning and devious face smiled at her "I will send you to where the colonel is right now" at her words, Riza felt terrible pain in her heart, it felt as though her whole world was stolen away from her, a person that she would never see again. She pulled out the weapons that she had on hand, Bang! Bang! Bang!

Riza woke in shock both from what she had just seen; beads of sweat were forming on her palms. She had shot another person again! Riza rubbed her eyes furiously and was surprised that there were tears on them, she was crying? Why was she killing people for no apparent reason? The glowing people that nearly let a straight path to death just a few hours ago and that person calling for her! Riza clenched her teeth awfully tight; she had a palm over her heart though. And why was so bothered by all this hallucination?

The home room teacher was unusually late this afternoon; she looked around at her classmate. Denny and Ross seemed to have took their conversation away from prying listeners to the corner of the room, Denny seemed to be trying his best to explain something while Maria was looking at him earnestly blushing as she encouraged him to spit the three words out. The large man Breda who looked like a hardened bully was playing a tamed game of chess with his companions' three rows away from her, the walking dictionary Falman and bookworm Sheska was at the shelves deep in thought as they were skimming through volumes of history books. Nothing was out of the ordinary neither in her life nor her friends; it was probably something bad that she ate last night. Tomorrow the glowing people would go away, please go away… Riza was in amidst her prayers when she heard the door slide open once more; the class went strangely silent and still as a person whom they had only seen once during induction day stride in casually through those doors. Almost everyone returned to their seats and dropped all of this conversation into the void if possible.

The Dean; King Bradley smiled at them warmly as he addressed the class, "Sorry for taking so long, I was having a little chat with your homeroom teacher and forgotten the time." Mr Shou Tucker their eccentric homeroom teacher fumbled into the room from behind, Riza wonders if it was only a little chat as he looked liked be had been through one long drive through Bradley hellish lectures. She heard Edward Elric snigger loudly at the windswept teacher; no one enjoyed the company of this weird teacher even though his daughter was actually very adorable. The four year old Nina had just turned five yesterday, Riza was wondering how she had celebrated her birthday when Dean Bradley cleared his throat, "Now, let us not waste time. Roy; you can come in now…"

A boy who had dark messy hair and the same cold piercing eyes entered the class room; he was donning a long coat and had a white scarf around his neck. It was a rather strange dressing. His face was initially expressionless as peered at his new classmates as if they were some uninteresting specimen of fishes and merely scanned their shocked faces; though his glance lingered a few more minutes on the blonde haired girl sitting next to the far window. Riza stared back though she knew it was rude, Roy? Mustang…? It sounded like a surname she had just made up however it just sounded right and suitable for a mysterious person like him. It was familiar too, she imagined a close friend waving to her even though she had no idea who that friend was she waved back, yes. It was this type of curious feeling. She turned away from the boy and glanced out to the window, a blue bird had just landed out on the window stile. It is calling me again… she was behind a tall person who had an untidy hair; he was talking to her while waving his arms around as though he was an excited actor. He was wearing a glove that had a bizarre drawing on it; there was a typical flame symbol right at the top. Where did she see that before?

The wave of queer of whispers brought Riza back out from her food poisoning hallucination, she turned around only to find herself staring into a dark coat. She looked at the saw the new transfer student grinning at her, what? Was she funny looking or something? The class had broken away from their held silence and was putting their head together discussing about the dark haired odd ball, the young boy spoke in a rather childish tone unsuited from his apparent age "I want the table behind her" and points to the empty table behind Riza. The whispers became intense mutterings, so quick to hit on the cleverest girl already? Riza was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable; however she did not show it instead she glared back. "Oh oh, she is going to whack him!" Said a voice, "No she wouldn't; the dean and the teacher are both around, assurance from another".

"Alright then, Miss Hawkeye. Would you bring this Mr Mustang around the school campus later?" Riza eyes widened, no way, his surname is exactly as what she had thought. Even though it was a pleasant surprise, she have little intention to be near this weird person. But she caught the Dean's overly kind and hopeful grin, she admitted defeat to her annoyance. She nodded slowly though still glaring fiercely at Roy, why wouldn't he look away already? She was never looked at by a boy for more than 3 minutes, they were afraid of her anyway, but this person was looking in such a bizarre interest, it was not natural at all. "Good" she heard the dean approval somewhere far away. He gave Shou Tucker a nod and walked out, leaving the class hanging in mid air; most was unaware that he had exited; they were audiences to the situation between the Hawkeye and the Mustang. It was only until Roy removed his penance stare and took his seat when the atmosphere returned to normal; he left Riza shell shocked, what just happened? She was intimidated by him and was for the first time slightly afraid. His name was a friendly wave but his behavior scared her a little, it does not seem to tally with her initial intuition.

Chemistry lesson was a little overly subdued, Shou Tucker was droning about Chemical processes. How two elements adjust the structure of its molecules to combine and form a compound that was of the same mass and value. But even he could tell that the class attention was even more distracted compared to other days, and the cause was, he adjusted his frame and threw his glances at his dark and blonde haired students, the Dean had only mentioned that this boy was the key for their success. What success? He watched in disapproval, as the boy whose name was Roy kicked the chair in front of him while Hawkeye's face was contorted with contained rage. The class was having a live action movie at the moment, he was about to finish up his chapter when the bell rang. Wanting no part in the awaiting conflict that was sure to happen, Shou Tucker left the room silently. (What a coward just like his anime character). Maria Ross leaned to her right and tugged the hem of Denny's sleeves, he understood her meaning, and both stood up at the same time and headed to the door, which brought the rest of the students back to reality. One by one, they left the room; Sheska closed the door slowly behind her, would Riza murder him? She shuddered as the door snapped shut; she bounced away with her friends, hoping that they would not return to a scene of blood.

Riza who had been tolerating the kicks on her chair of a while now snapped, "Have I offended you?" her voice and body was trembling, this person was too strange! He is rude and childish and a hopeless odd ball…Riza was staring at the empty seats in front her, fearing that peering into his eyes would show the truth; that she was shaking because she was somewhat afraid of him. This is not how Roy mustang was, though not understanding why she said so since she does not know of any person with the same name before.

"I love you…" What?

Riza had to turn around; she could not believe what she just heard only to twitch in surprise at what she saw. Roy was holding a single pink rose in between his fingers and was looking at her in a serious face as though he really meant what he said. What is going on?

Back in the real world, Colonel Mustang had just received an urgent call from Edward.

"I just realize what the tattoo on the lieutenant shoulder could really mean!" Edward shouted across the phone.

"Edward, would you please not shout? I am not deaf." He replied though a bit giddy from the state he was in, he should not have slept in a single position for 3 hours; blood must have drained from his brain. He had fallen asleep next to the lieutenant with his head bent; on her bed, it caused his neck to be in dire pain. The colonel had, picked up the receiver in a sleepy state and was not at all pleased at the tone which Edward was using.

Edward who ignored the colonel continued "I just remembered the ouroboros tattoo, when Greed had taken over Lin yao's body, I mean Emperor Yao; that tattoo appeared on his hand. It may be a wild guess here, but I believe that the green circle on her shoulder was indicating that something had invaded the lieutenant!" The last few words entered the colonel's ears; all of the pain in his neck receded. Invaded? He heard the receiver on the other end pulled away from Edward, Alphonse began to talk rapidly as well.

"Sir, it may not be a desired dream after all. The alchemy is trying to force the lieutenant to stay in the dream however the people or objects within the dream is only taking the appearance of what she wants to see the most, they can't cross time. One day, they would all just disappear. And if the lieutenant is convinced that staying in the dream would let her stay with the people she loves the most, she would disappear as well!" the colonel pounded the wall next to him, but before he could say another word, the receiver was taken forcefully away. Edward's exasperated voice rang out. Stop snatching the phone already!

"This transmutation is flawed, the Symbol C and the Inverted one was to join and become a symbol O instead! In the many books I had read on my travels, Symbol C had no meaning but O however is widely recognized as the representation of time. A circle such as a letter O would mean that time could flow forever in that path, but now since the Circle is broken, time within the dream would never move. And as such, the people and objects which were form; just as what Al explained earlier, would disappear into nothing after a while. And so will the lieutenant if she continues to stay in it, you got to persuade her to leave that world!" persuade her? The colonel's jaw jumped slightly and he cocked his head to one side, "I don't understand you? How do I exactly persuade her…?"

He heard the older brother Tsk loudly; obviously irritated at the colonel's stupidity. However the receiver was taken away again, the colonel pressed his ears closer. The whole situation was rather tensed, he had not breathed properly ever since answering the call. He did not want to risk and pull away from the phone in case he would miss something important. Who was going to talk to him now? He waited with batted breath.

"Colonel? Didn't you understand what Ed meant by flawed?" behind in the back ground, the colonel could hear Edward shouting "Winry! Give me back the phone!" Winry Elric sighed when there was no reply, "It means that she can hear you if you spoke to her, especially you!" Winry's calm voice cracked "Don't you ever let her down, I am sure she wants to return to your side one way or another. Talk to her and treasure every word, if it is sincere enough, she will wake up! You Moron!" The colonel thought he heard a sob, Enough, Ed. He knows what to do now, you have already said enough. We do not have to baby sit him. She was talking to Edward, without another word she hung up.

Mustang's team, Major and General Armstrong, Edward and Alphonse stared at Winry who had just hung up the phone. Breda sighs "I hope he knows what to do, that was an abrupt ending."

Falman and kain slouched in the sofa without speaking. They had gathered at Mrs Hughes house for that night, Winry arrived to central an hour ago after speaking to Edward over the phone. She too was worried about the lieutenant.

Havoc stood in the corner, he was looking at the darkened sky "Colonel, you better bring the lieutenant back to our side."

"But why only the colonel? We could have all spoken to the lieutenant as well" Major Armstrong posts the question to the floor. His sister threw him a wicked glare and whacked him in the knee using the blunt side of her Sword, "Baka! His relationship with the lieutenant is stronger compared to the rest of us, it is most appropriate and likely that she would only wake with his words." She turned away from his laggard of a brother and peered over to the Elrics.

Edward nodded "To call someone soul back; regardless from where, you need a great deal of emotions and a strong will." He glanced at his younger brother. That was how he pulled back his brother's soul; he could not lose him because he was his only brother. Relationship and ties between two people are the ingredients of a strong will.

"I don't understand something, why did you call him a moron…" Edward asks as his caught the glimpse of winry's tear stricken face. He patted her head gently, "I have no idea, for dramatic effects, I guess…" Her answer caught Edward by surprise; she gave a half giggle while the Mustang's team laughed out when they heard her answer. General Armstrong smirked; even Alphonse had his hand to his mouth trying to stifle a snort. Ah, winry…

The colonel dropped the phone and rushed to the lieutenant room, Moron? That is the second time in a single day. He ran down the corridor and opened the door to her room; the colonel was half expecting to see no one in the bed. The lieutenant would disappear too! But the woman was still sleeping in her bed, uncaring about the colonel's windswept hair or his unkempt look. He gave a sigh; went over to the lieutenant side and plopped down on the chair. He could call her back without alchemy; the flame flickered back on once again. He put her hands between his but was surprised that they were cold, hoping it wasn't a sign that she was disappearing. He placed his lips on back on her hand, what can I say in order to persuade you, you were never a person who would fall for a persuasion. Not mine anyway. He blew his warm breath on the skin of her hands. Several minutes passed…and he grinned…

"Do you remember quite a long time ago? I asked you a theoretical question about the possibly of us getting married, you threw that eraser in my face and I discarded it after being slightly angry? Look what I have here?" he pulled out the eraser from his pocket and placed it on her palm. "I went looking in the bin for it and kept it all this time, It is to remind me that the next time I ask a question as stupid as that, I should have prepared a ring to go with it to show you how determined I was." He grabbed her hands tightly and placed it right next to his cheek, her hands were indeed soft…

The colonel returned the eraser back to his pocket, "I am a reckless person, and you know it, don't you lieutenant? You were always there by my side to stop me from making mistakes. You could have shot me in the head however you did not; instead you were willing to die. That word made my blood run cold, I could not face the prospect that I may lose you forever, and that thought was the one which calmed me down. I cannot let you die, bec…because you are also the reason to why I am living and breathing now, being the leader of a country is nothing if you weren't there by my side." His eyes burnt painfully, gosh, he was crying again. What a wuss he was. The colonel played with her long hair, letting each strand fall from his hand then taking repeating the motion. He was going to say something that he may regret, but he had to say it…

"If you can hear me now, lieu…no, Riza. I am not going to force you to return to my side, if what you are dreaming at this very moment is what you really want and it could make you happy, for once…"the colonel felt himself quaked at his own words. "You can sta…NO!" the colonel nearly screamed. He placed his arms around the lieutenant body and held her close to his chest. "I am sorry…I am a very selfish person, I can't bear watching you leave my life just like this so I am never letting you go this time, and I never going to give up. If you want happiness, please give me a chance to show you with the rest of my life that I am able to let you be truly happy!"

"Why don't you start by doing your work on time?" the colonel recoiled, it was a weak voice and it was familiar. He released his hug of the lieutenant's body and looked down. The pair of honey colored eyes which he had not seen for what seemed like an eternity glanced back, Riza struggled to smile properly, How did her muscles get so tense? She watched as the colonel dark eyes regained its glow, his lips touched her dry ones. A single drop of tear slide from his eyes to her own cheeks, don't be sad already, colonel. I am back here with you once again. Her own hands made that extra effort to wipe that streak of water from his face, "It is not good to cry this much, Roy…" she whispered, it was the first time she called his name.

Thank you, Roy…both of you…

Hohoho, this is not the end. There is still two more chapters coming, but I felt that some readers may not like draggy stories. In order not to bore them, I decided to reveal part of the ending here.

I appreciate reviews and comments.

Much sorries if it was badly written or the grammar is not of good standards, forgive me! I was in a rush too. (Sob sob). I will try my best to finish the other two as fast as possible!