Quick A/N: I had a question that I wanted to address that I fear was not explained very well last chapter (my mistake!). Riza still has the ears and tail, since the price for reclaiming her soul AND returning her body back to normal would be extremely difficult/"expensive." One way around that was explained a while back in the chapter titled "Blood" - where they could "reprogram" her cells. I have gone back and changed it to make it clearer. Sorry!

"So when the time comes, you are to offer your back and the secrets of Flame Alchemy that it carries," the creature mused for clarification, watching the blonde woman that sat cross-legged in front of It.

"Yes," Riza responded adamantly.

It chuckled in reply. "Well then, if you are offering such a prize," It continued, raising Its hand and clenching Its fist shut, "Why not offer more at once in order to regain the body you once had; why not take back your humanity?" The corners of the creature's mouth curved upward at Its new offer, though Its smile fell when countered back.

"Humanity is not defined by the body you possess. I learned that long before this ordeal, and was taught that lesson by a child," she answered.

"If there is a way to restore it to how it was before without sacrificing even more, then I will trust them. But when the time comes, I will offer my back as payment for my soul so that he will not sacrifice himself for my sake."

Its grin returned, growing larger than before. "If that is what you want," It purred, "I will not stop you…"

With a gasp, Roy's eyes flew open and immediately focused on the blond man hovering over him; Edward's face a mixture of shock and concern. Blinking a few times, he tried to make sense of the position he was in.

Then, all at once the memories returned.

The white figure…

The massive black Gate…

A 'price' It had said…

Everything, he realized, was as Edward had described years before… Human Transmutation.

Had he… Had he honestly performed it?

He knew well enough not to. He had seen the product of such an atrocious act. But if he had, something must have happened that caused him to. Something horrible…

Roy hadn't realized how heavy his chest felt before until something was lifted from it. Fighting through the daze and realization, he propped himself up on his elbows and angled upward, then froze.

Staring back were a pair of saffron-colored eyes, a mess of blonde hair.

No… That's impossible.

Their eyes were locked, but in the corner of his field of vision, he saw it. The remnants of a circle, and not just any circle or array.

One that was designed for human transmutation.

It was true and what he was seeing now…

What he was seeing was not human.

He reacted, subconsciously raising his hand in defense of what he had done, out of fear of what he had done.

His mind was racing, his heart beating so quickly that it threatened to burst through his chest. He remembers wanting her back… This past month all he wanted was to bring her back. And this-this is what happened.

What he was seeing was an image… One created by his own hand.

"Don't lie to me," Mustang snapped venomously toward Edward.

Immediately on the defensive, the blond took a step forward and growled, "For the last time, I am not lying to you. Why the hell would you even think that?!"

"I know what I saw, Edward, and the only explanation is human transmutation. I was at the Gate, wasn't I? That creature, the door; they're exactly as you described from before. It's because I was there that that was made," he snarled.

"That what was made," Edward taunted as he clenched his hands into fists at his side. "Just say it."

Through clenched teeth, the General responded, "For the last time, that was not Riza Hawkeye. She's dead -"

"No she isn't," the blond man argued, "You aren't listening to me. Your memories were taken at the Gate and-"

"I thought it didn't work that way, Edward. As you can see," Mustang said as he raised his hands up, "My body is completely intact."

"Your body is intact but your brain obviously isn't; use your damn common sense," Edward growled back. "Do you honestly think that the Gate only considers taking a physical toll?! What about your eyesight, huh? Your eyes remained but your vision was gone!"

Narrowing his eyes, Mustang answered, "What are you talking about? My eyesight was lost doing battle on the Promised Day. I would never-"

"You were forced to," Edward snapped. "Don't you remember-"

A wide, toothy grin.

"-The Homunculi forced you through the Gate as a sacrifice, along with Al and me-"

It whispered something to him.

"-It took your sight as a toll; because you wanted to see change in our nation."

He remembers wanting to see… something… again. But what was it…?

That's when the memories began to grow disjointed and jumbled. Had he really done it once before this...?

Running his fingers agitatedly through his black hair, Mustang fell back into a chair. "You're not making any sense," he muttered as he clapped his hands on the side of his head and squeezed his temples. "None of what you're saying makes any damn sense…"

Seeing this change in the older man, Edward moved to kneel down next to him. When the General buried his face in his hands, Edward heard him mutter, "Why did you let me do it? Why did you allow me to perform human transmutation?"

"Mustang… We did it so we could bring her back. Please, you need to listen to me…"

"I thought we couldn't bring back the dead," the General said through his hands, his voice cracking. "I… You keep saying she's alive, she's here… But how… How is she alive when I have no memory of her?

"You turned a blind eye and allowed me to perform human transmutation and that was the result. An image. Nothing more than a living, breathing, distorted image…"

Hearing a set of footsteps approaching, Edward turned to see Alphonse reappear in the room, carrying a photo album with him. Beckoning him over, Edward took the wrinkled photograph his younger brother offered to him and thrust it in front of Mustang's face.

From beneath his hands, Edward saw obsidian eyes widen for a moment. Then his hands fell away from his face and he slowly reached out and grasped the image, holding it up to his eyes with a trembling hand.

Without looking at the image, Edward knew what it was. The photograph she had held so dearly before was now in the General's hands.*

It was recent and it was from Ishval. The timestamp did not match what he believed to be true; surely it would-

A gasp escaped the General as he released one of his hands to place over his mouth, his eyes widened in confusion. After a few moments, he heard a muffled, "Oh my god," escape Mustang's lips as his confusion turned to shock.

She couldn't get that image out of her head.

Those cold, deadly eyes.

His look of loathing and disgust.

His swift and fluid movements, poised and ready to kill. Should his gloves have been on, and Edward, realizing what was happening, hadn't tackled him in time, Roy probably would have killed her.

After lying here for nearly a day, she began to think that it probably would have been better if his gloves were on; if he had snapped his fingers and disintegrated her. Especially if that meant the image burned into her mind would have been scorched along with her.

Hey.

It would have been better.

Captain…

Better if he had finished the job.

Hawkeye…? Light touches.

Or better yet; if she had given more…

Riza.

Why didn't she see this? How could she have been so stupid?!

Riza!

"Riza."

"Riza."

Blinking a few times, Riza realized that she was sitting upright, her legs hanging off the bed.

Staring back at her was a concerned Alphonse Elric; his face twisted in pain and distress.

Oh… It happened again.

Alphonse had said that his body often rejected his soul once he had returned. She remembers, of course…

She remembered when Edward ran panickedly into the room that she and Roy shared, blathering and babbling to Dr. Marcoh about Alphonse and his unusual state. Roy was unable to follow, but Riza had quietly slipped out after they had left, following them until they reached Alphonse's room.

What she saw was heartbreaking.

Edward had knelt down next to his brother's bed, his hand on his shoulder as he called Alphonse's name over and over again. The younger of the two, however, remained as still as stone, staring vacantly down at the floor as he continued to remain unresponsive to his brother's pleas.

There was a desperation in Edward's voice, displaying a fear that she had never seen in him before. A fear that his younger brother was gone for good.

They later discovered that his soul had left his body temporarily, returning after enough prodding and stimulation to bring him back. From what he had said, it happened increasingly less as time wore on…

"I'm sorry," she muttered as she looked up at him, forcing a smile. "I didn't realize…"

The young man shook his head. "It's okay, I understand."

"Was I gone long," she asked, her question weaker than she intended it to be.

"I don't know," he answered with sincerity. "I just walked in." When he finished his sentence, she saw his eyes wander over to her shoulder as he leaned his body slightly to the left.

Taking notice, she moved to lie down on her stomach; her action noted and appreciated as his hands helped her to lower herself down. Crossing her arms on top of her pillow, she rested her forehead against them and waited as he lifted the back of her shirt. He murmured something about her skin being split open in multiple places. Honestly, she didn't even notice; she was far too numb to feel it… or care.

She hoped that the young man wouldn't catch on to her uncaring demeanor; after all, he had spent hours rearranging the skin cells on her body in order to draw forth enough to cover her exposed back with a few thin layers. She hated having to ruin his hard work…

Riza heard the sound of paper tearing, signaling to her that he was opening a pair of sterile gloves so that he could close the wounds… again. And while he worked, they both remained silent, allowing the awkward essence that hung in the air to thicken.

Every time she asked about him, Alphonse would purse his lips together and remain silent, or would tell her that he didn't have enough information at the time.

That, she knew, was a blatant lie. Though she hated to admit it, the young man carried an aroma that had Roy mixed in with it. He had seen him multiple times. He knew damn well what was going on.

She knew that the boy's feigned ignorance or silence was his way at trying to protect her, but she did not see the reason why. It happened. It was done. There was nothing left.

"Alphonse."

His hands stopped and his heart rate jumped. He was expecting that question again…

"Will you be returning to Xing after this?"

The question threw him. He hadn't been expecting that.

Recovering quickly, his hands began to move as he continued to close the wounds. "I will be here helping you. Brother and I came up with a way to fix this. We can start in a few weeks after you've healed."

Using her own blood, she remembered. Alphonse had mentioned it previously, saying that it was possible to fix. The period of time it would require was long and taxing; the process extremely painful.

She almost laughed at that. She could go through one thousand transmutations and the combined pain still could not compare to the pain she felt in her heart.

"If you want to go, I won't stop you," she answered. "I only ask that you take me as well when you go."

Again his hands stopped. After a delay, he said, "Wait. You don't want to-"

"But I do," she interjected, stopping him midsentence; "There's… nothing left for me here."

"Please don't say that," he quietly pleaded. "You don't mean it!"

"I do," she countered coldly, definitively.

He didn't say anything for a while, defeated, continuing to sew her skin back together with his alkahestry. Finally, he quietly answered, "You're wrong, you know. There is something for you here."

She suppressed the urge to reply with a bitter laugh, but she knew it wasn't his fault. Instead, after another long silence had dragged on between them, she noted, "You haven't explained any reasons."

He sighed, and she felt victorious. After collecting his thoughts, he said, "It took five years' worth of memories from the General," he finally admitted. "We've traced it back to the Promised Day and, well, he remembers Edward and me. I think that if we just-"

"It's just me, then, isn't it," she asked.

After another long pause, he quietly answered with a yes. "We're trying to figure out why, though…"

She knew why without the young man having to probe further, understanding that everything had come full circle now. It all made sense.

Because that day was the day he first said 'I love you.'

She remembers all too clearly that day.

Her throat violently slashed. Being left to bleed out as he helplessly looked on. Gathered shortly thereafter into his arms after being healed. A whispered, "I love you," in her ear before he pulled her to her feet.

It made sense that It would take everything after that point, because the moment he whispered those three words, everything in their relationship had changed. Closer contact, longer stares, prolonged touches. It was only a matter of time after that point that their relationship would grow… and it did.

The notion that that was the breaking point made her heart hurt worse. It would have been better if It had taken everything, because at least he wouldn't have to be plagued with memories of her to begin with.

Riza was drawn from her thoughts upon hearing a set of footsteps approaching. Too heavy to be Alphonse's and May's, too even to be Edward's.

That left only one person in this house…

Turning her head so that she was facing the wall rather than the door, she closed her eyes and relaxed her face, hoping to feign sleep.

The steps were quick and to the point, maneuvering around the room's obstacles until they came to a stop in front of her.

He dwelled there for a few moments; she could feel his eyes on her. At long last he shifted and sat down next to her, his gaze never wavering from her.

She continued to remain as impassive as she could; praying that he would leave after he saw whatever he came to see.

He whispered her name. It sounded so pure escaping his lips…

She felt her ear twitch in response and she silently damned it, keeping her eyes glued shut.

"Riza," he murmured again, brokenly. "Please…" He had seen through her façade…

Upon hearing his plea, she willed herself to open her eyes and allowed them to wander up and find his face.

Wide, obsidian eyes gazed back, conveying the helplessness of a boy rather than a man. Her heart began to ache again…

Seeing that she was watching him, he slid off the chair he was sitting on to kneel next to the bed, getting himself as close to her as he could. Reaching up, he slowly moved his hand and placed it atop hers, causing her to flinch. He drew back, but must have sensed that she wanted it, because he placed it there again. This time, however, she did not move it; and they remained there, unmoving and not speaking until he finally cleared his throat.

"I'm so sorry," Roy murmured as he squeezed her hand tighter. "How I responded… How I reacted was inappropriate." Dipping his head slightly, his gaze growing distant, he took a deep breath and continued. "I woke up and suddenly you weren't there in my mind anymore. Five years gone, just like that.

"I woke up believing that you have been gone since the Promised Day; that you never made it back with me. And now I know that you've been here beside me these past five years, just as you've always been. Edward and Alphonse… They told me what happened; what we've done and what you've gone through.

"I've tried so hard to call forth those memories, and every time I do it hurts. Edward, Alphonse, the team… They're all there. It's like there's a blank space or static that clouds my mind whenever I get to the parts where you should be. And this past month… This past month all I remember is thinking about you constantly, wanting to 'bring you back.' And now I know why…

"It seems that this was the price I paid. But you," he said as he looked up at her again, his expression pained, "You gave up your back and the secrets of flame alchemy while I got off easy-"

She raised her brows in response to the middle of that statement.

Seeing this, his face softened as he explained, "My flame alchemy is gone. The notes in my mind, the secrets we shared; all gone."

She hadn't meant for this to happen. She wanted the secrets on her back gone, but it seemed the creature misinterpreted, or rather, twisted her words, and expelled flame alchemy from the Earth. Everything was gone. He was the Flame Alchemist no more…

"… I'm sorry," she finally said, sincerely. "I never mean for that to happen-"

"No, no, no," he interjected apologetically. "No, Riza, I don't mean that. I could care less that it's gone. All I want… All I've ever wanted," Roy murmured as he squeezed her hand tighter, "Is you."

Her heart leapt again as he looked, really looked into her eyes, obsidian darting about in order to find out whether or not she felt the same. Despite what had happened, losing his memories of their most pivotal and crucial years, he still did not bat an eye in saying that. Despite the fact that she had been torn to shreds and pieced back together, an incomplete version of who she was before.

Despite everything, he still loved her…

"Please stay," he quietly begged. "I… I can't lose you again."

"Roy…" she began.

"Please," he asked again, his eyes growing wide and his voice tinged with desperation, with fear of loss. "I can't lose you again..." he said as he bowed his head, as if in prayer.

"Roy," she said again as she pulled her hand out of his, causing him to flinch this time. Guiding it under his chin, she raised his head so that he could look into her eyes.

Despite everything… He still loved her.

Her.

She watched as his eyes light up, seeing the soft smile she felt spreading across her face. "I have always been here... And I always will be."

A/N: I hope this chapter wasn't too disjointed or confusing. The next chapter, aka the final chapter, will clear up any remaining confusion. Just remember that Roy's memories are intact (ex. He knows and remembers Edward and Alphonse) but Riza is not in them; as he had mentioned(think of it like whiting-out his memories for the past five years). You'll see a bit of what that's like next chapter; plus it will house an explanation for Roy's confusion over this first (forced) human transmutation.

*For the photograph, think back to Chapter 17: One Team (toward the beginning).

Also, I hope the end wasn't corny or cheesy… But that was the ending I foresaw so therefore it happened. See? I'm not too horrible a person. ._. Especially if I tell you that the final chapter will be full of fluff and happy endings?

Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows so far. See you for the final chapter!