Promises Betrayed in Blood

The next morning the command center was bustling with activity as Hughes's wife called asking about her husband and her sister in law because neither one had returned the night before. Roy Mustang arrived in the middle of all this and set out immediately after hearing that the two of them were missing.

He and Hawkeye split up going in different directions both looking for any sign of the Hughes siblings. After several minutes he found Kat asleep on the ground next to the bloody corpse of Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes.

Roy felt his blood run cold and he almost forgot to breathe. He couldn't believe what he was seeing and was sure that he had walked into some sort of nightmare. Distantly he heard Hawkeye call to him but didn't even register her presence until she was right beside him.

"What happened here?" she asked in shock. Roy didn't answer but continued to stare. Riza went over to Kat and attempted to lift her up and Kat suddenly jerked away.

"Get away," she whispered.

"Lt. Kathleen, please, let go of him," Hawkeye told her.

"I said get away!" Kat shouted.

"There's nothing you can do for him now. He's…"

"No! He's not… he's not…" Kat whispered, clinging to her brother. She had a hope in the back of her mind that, if she held on just a little bit longer, he would wake up and smile at her.

Roy finally came to his senses, bending down he grabbed onto Kat's arm and spoke to her softly. "Kat we'll take care of your brother, there's nothing you can do for him. I don't want to think of what is right now either but if we can't get him to the headquarters then there will be no hope," Roy told her anguish dripping on every word.

Kat was still for a moment. Her face was hidden in the shadows of her hair so her expression was indiscernible. Then her muscles slackened and she reluctantly released her hold on her brother's body and she lowered her head in defeat.

"Hawkeye take Hughes back to headquarters and alert the officials to what has happened. I'm going to take Kat home and break the news to his family," Roy said standing up with Kat held firmly in his arms. Hawkeye agreed and without a word picked up the dead Hughes and left.

What happened afterward was all a blur to Kat. All she could remember was being led somewhere, and then she must have gotten clean somehow because at one point she noticed that her clothes were no longer covered with blood. How many minutes or hours passed, she wasn't sure.

"Lieutenant…" Kat looked over to see Riza standing in the doorway of her room looking solemn. "It's time."

"I'm not going," Kat murmured looking away.

"You won't even go to your brother's own funeral?" Kat didn't answer but looked out the window.

"This may be your only chance to say goodbye to your brother. Will you not take it?" Riza asked. When Kat said nothing she walked up and stooped down so she was face to face with her. "You do realize that if Elly was here she'd probably smack you upside the head for acting like this. You know how she hates seeing you all depressed."

Kat's eyes widened and she looked up at Riza. "Let's go," Riza told her softly. Kat closed her eyes before getting up and following Riza to the car where Roy was also waiting.

She stayed silent throughout everything. The ride, the funeral, even when she heard her niece's cries for them to stop burying her father. It was probably the quietest anyone had ever heard her. Slowly, it sunk in that she would never hear her brother's kind words, or his overly joyful face. But she didn't cry. She couldn't. She didn't have any tears left.

Two days later Lieutenant Hawkeye walked into Roy's office carrying some more paper work just like always. "Colonel, sir. If you don't mind my saying I've noticed that Lieutenant Kathleen hasn't been eating or sleeping properly since the funeral and she's been holding herself up in the records room." Roy grunted barely listening to what she was saying. "I've also noticed that you haven't spoken to or even looked at her since the funeral either. Sir, I believe that what the two of you need right now is each other."

Roy's eyes narrowed. "I can't," Roy said finally.

"Sir?"

There had been a number of reasons why Roy wouldn't approach Kat. One was that she was now a living reminder of the friend he had just lost. Even when Hughes was still alive, Roy would always find it uncanny how similar the two were. Another was that he wasn't sure how to approach her anymore.

"How can I possibly face her?" Roy asked in a near whispered. "What am I supposed to tell her? That everything will be fine, that she has nothing to worry about? No… that's the last thing she needs."

"You're right she doesn't need to be told all that. What she does need is a friend right now. Just be there for her….you are one of the only people who really understands what she's going through right now after all," Hawkeye replied. Roy sat there for several minutes before Riza walked up to him and smacked him across the face. "Forgive me sir but if I remember correctly you are the only one that Brigadier General Hughes ever said he trusted with the well being of his sister. Is this how you are going to interpret that trust?"

Roy stared at her for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle. "You really know how to knock some sense into this miserable fool, Riza."

"Just doing my duties, sir," she said before walking out the door.

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It was very late and Kat was asleep against a bookshelf amongst scattered papers and records. Sheska had gone home hours prior, telling Kat not to work herself to death. She stirred when she felt someone tap her shoulder and whispered for her to wake up. She opened her eyes and groggily looked up.

Her eyes instantly flew wide opened when she saw the face of her brother smiling down at her. "How you doing kiddo?"

"Bro…" she whispered. Her mind felt like it was in a fog and she wondered if she was dreaming. "I… I thought you were…"

"Come on, do you really think I'd really leave my one and only little sister?" He asked her.

She looked down guiltily. "Well…"

"It doesn't really matter I guess. I have something I want to show you, it should help Roy rise in the ranks a little too," Hughes said smiling. He gently grabbed onto her arms and helped her stand up. "Come on. As soon as we get this done we can go see my adorable daughter and gorgeous wife."

A weak smile passed over Kat's weary face and she nodded. "Okay." She followed him out of the library, not noticing the smirk that flitted across his lips.

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"I'm sorry, sir, but Lt. Kathleen isn't here," the soldier told him.

"Where did she go?" Roy asked suddenly worried.

"Well sir I saw her leave just a few minutes ago with someone who looked an awful lot like Brigadier General Hughes. But that's impossible….right?" the soldier asked scratching his head.

He glanced up only to see that the Colonel was already gone. The moment he heard that she left with someone who looked like Hughes he knew that she was in trouble. He asked every officer he came across if they had seen Kat and if so which way she had gone. "I already lost Hughes to these people…I won't lose Kat to them as well," he declared angrily.

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"Bro, what are we doing here?" Kat asked him as her brother led her through the furnace room under central headquarters.

It was sweltering hot and she was already breaking out into a sweat. "What, don't you trust me?" Suddenly she felt pain lance across her face as the back of his hand swiftly met her cheek. "You really are a pest, you know that? Always asking questions. How did I manage to survive growing up with you?"

Kat put a hand over her stinging cheek as she looked up at her brother's smiling face. "…What? Bro, this isn't like you…"

"Then maybe you didn't know me as well as you thought," he interrupted her. "Yes, I said and did what I could to make myself out to be a good older brother. But dealing with a brat like you, it was a miracle. And don't think I'm the only one who thinks that too. You're just a pest to everyone you meet. The only reason I or anyone else is nice to you is because they're sorry for you. Kind of hard not to be considering how pathetic you are."

"No," Kat said shaking her head, her breathing getting heavier with the growing heat. "That's not true."

"Really? Why do you think the Colonel Mustang is always sending you off to work every chance he gets? Because he can't stand you. The only reason he has you working for him is because you happen to be related to his best friend and because you can use alchemy. Beyond that, you're useless to him." Kat lowered her head. "Oh what, you going to start crying again?"

"Take it off," Kat whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Take off that face!"

Hughes suddenly screamed as two shards suddenly pierced his eyes. Kat had used the beads of sweat of her forehead as a weapon. "You really shouldn't have done that kid….it might have been easier on yourself if you had just kept believing that I was your dearly departed brother," Envy sneered as he turned back to normal.

He then wasted no time punching her in the gut and leaving his fist there. "Heh, in this place you are as helpless as a little child." He turned his arm into a weapon and went about slashing her arms, legs, side, and any other part he could reach. Then he once more took on the face of her brother. "You won't have to fret any longer kid cause I'm going to send you to see your brother." With that he knocked her backwards till she hit the wall and then pushed his blade through her left shoulder.

Kat let out a scream as she felt the blade dig deeper in to her flesh. "Yes that's right. Scream all you want. No one's coming to help you."

"Wrong," Kat distantly heard a voice say. She heard a snapping noise echo in her ears, followed by a loud roar of flames and Envy's screams as he was engulfed by them. He withdrew from Kat and she slumped onto the ground, clutching her shoulder in pain.

The screams died away as Envy dashed through an opening and escaped. The next thing she noticed was a hand on her shoulder and a kind voice calling out to her. "Lieutenant, say something, dang it. Stay with me alright, it's Roy. I won't let you leave just yet, at least let me apologize for the last few days," Roy Mustang said picking her up and taking her to the infirmary. "You're not dying lieutenant. That's an order."

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CM: Will Kat and Roy be able to help each other get over their loss? And what's happening with Elly and Scar? Stay tuned!