AN: We've finally reached the climax! I didn't think this day would come to be honest. I fully intended to finish this fic, but, as per usual, life gets in the way. But I will actually do it!

I hope you enjoy the chapter!

RIZA

"Is everyone in position?" Elizabeth asked Maes quietly. He stood to her left, crouched amongst the brush. They had been searching all morning for the assassin's base, but had come up with nothing.

They had rested nearby for some lunch when Alphonse's cat spooked suddenly and took off into the forest. Of course, the young Mage followed him immediately. Edward followed after, fuming that he had brought him along. Elizabeth didn't miss him cursing under his breath.

Not knowing the danger the surrounding area, Elizabeth joined the hunt for the small cat, instructing the others to tidy up their makeshift camp and get ready to move. She was irritated, sure. She didn't need a group of them charging through the forest and possibly alerting the enemy they were nearby. However, she couldn't leave the two young Mages on their own. Plus, getting angry at them would not solve anything. She just hoped the pair would remember where they were.

Elizabeth found them in a small clearing, crouched next to a large tree trunk. Edward stood over his brother, hands on his hips as he glared at the trunk. Alphonse was calling softly into the break in the bark, trying to coax the animal out.

"Al, we don't have time for this," Edward sighed, rubbing his forehead wearily.

"I can't leave him though. He needs help."

"Do you remember where we are?" Edward hissed, irritated. Well, that's good. At least he realises the danger he could be in. "We don't have time to chase around a stupid cat!"

"Edward," Elizabeth announced her presence from the other side of the clearing. "Keep your voice down. We don't want to attract any unwanted attention."

"That's what I've been trying to tell Al," he began. "But he won't listen and keeps shouting on this cat, which shouldn't even be here!" The volume of his voice continued to rise with each word.

"Edward," she barked in warning. She didn't need him screaming the place down. However Edward wasn't listening. His attention was focussed on something beyond the tree Alphonse was crouched in front of.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked quietly, her handing drifting towards her sword. She hadn't heard any movement nearby, but her attention hadn't completely been focussed on her surroundings. She sensed no magic power nearby, apart from Ed and Al.

"There's something back here…" Edward trailed off and walked past the tree. Elizabeth followed, hand resting on the hilt of her sword. He pulled some of the brush apart, revealing an opening in the ground. Beneath the entrance were stairs leading underground.

"Wait here," she told the pair of Mages. Before Edward could protest – she saw his mouth opening to do so in the corner of her eye – she descended underground.

The passageway she entered into was nothing special. It was sparsely lit by torches and was made of stone. The floor was cobblestone and the walls were streaked with water from the ground above.

As she continued down the passage she shivered at the sudden overwhelming feeling of magic power. It was dark. It seemed to descend upon her, blocking out the light from the torches. A great pressure suddenly appeared on her chest, as if she was being crushed. Her breathing became harder and she felt panic overtake her.

Then it was gone.

After bringing her breathing under control and calming herself down, she searched the area, looking for anyone nearby. But there was no one.

She wanted to continue, to find out what had caused the attack against her, but her instincts screamed at her to turn and leave.

Reluctantly, she did so. When she returned above ground everyone was anxiously waiting for her. They weren't happy she had entered by herself, but the damage had been done. She quickly told them what had happened. This caused their disapproval to grow, but she quickly silenced their complaining.

"The damage is done. Let's move past this and focus on the fact that the enemy is here. We found them."

"Yes. Everyone is ready," Maes told her. He had turned to look to Fuery for confirmation.

It was decided Elizabeth, Maes, Fuery, and Roy would move in first and explore. Maes could open the portal to send Roy back through, and Fuery could signal to Falman who would be waiting outside with the rest of the group that it was safe to enter. The rest would hang back and cover them from behind.

As they had descended further underground, past the place where she was attacked, she begun to feel sick to her stomach. The dark magic had become overwhelming, even more so than when they had first entered. It was almost over powering. Maes and Fuery both reacted in the same way and they had agreed this was the place they were looking for. They would tread carefully and pass information backwards and forwards between the two groups to ensure they weren't ambushed.

The passage opened up into an empty room. There was nothing in it. There were no defining features either. It was simply an empty room made of the same material as the passageway they had just left. The only other exit was on the opposite side of the room.

After sharing a look they all silently walked towards the doorway.

"Tell the next group to come in," Elizabeth instructed Fuery quietly. Her voice echoed in the new passage and she cringed at the volume.

Fuery nodded and muttered a spell under his breath. She felt the magic trail leaving their group, travelling back the way they had just came.

"Do you both still feel that?" Maes asked quietly. She didn't need to ask him what he was talking about. This passageway was dimmer, as if shrouded in darkness. The air felt thick above them and Elizabeth felt her breathing change. It seemed harder to do so.

"Yes," they both answered. "The magic has grown stronger. We must be close."

"I can feel it too," Roy added grimly. Elizabeth turned to him, surprised. She didn't think he would be able to sense the magic power after his attempts at it beforehand. "I almost feel nauseous."

Elizabeth nodded. "I feel the same. It's almost overwhelming."

"I've even cast a dampening spell," Maes added. "But it doesn't seem to affect the power that much."

"A spell can do that?" Roy asked.

Maes nodded. "It helps if the opponent is manipulating their own magic power as a weapon and using it against you. But this… Is unbelievable to be completely honest. I don't even want to think what they have done to create this much power."

Thoughts of these people torturing Roy flashed through her mind. She pursed her lips and shoved the thought violently from her mind. She couldn't bear, or afford, to think about something like that right now. She needed to focus.

"I can show you if you like?" came a smug voice from behind them.

The group whipped round. There was barely enough time for Elizabeth to shout "duck" before a ball of dark energy was thrown towards them. She cursed her lack of awareness as she rolled into a crouch. She was very surprised she didn't at least hear their assailant approach from behind.

She noticed she had become separated from the other three. She was the only one who dodged to the left. Another ball of dark energy came barrelling towards her, causing her to roll backwards, further away from her comrades. Their assailant continued their barrage, pushing her further and further back, down the passageway. She wasn't allowed any time to draw her bow and at least attempt retaliating.

The dark magic attack ceased as she entered another open room. This one was much brighter than the others. Light filtered from the ceiling above. She briefly looked up once assuring the attack had stopped and confirmed the ceiling was made of glass, yet covered in foliage from outside. The sun shone brightly in the sky above, casting a warm glow upon the room.

"How nice of you to join us, Princess Hawkeye," a gravelly voice spoke behind her.

She draw her bow as she turned, notching an arrow. The bow was quickly forgotten about as her eyes settled upon her former fiancé who stood to the right of an elderly looking man in white robes.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Literally.

She blinked a few times, just to ensure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. She briefly thought about pinching herself.

"This is not a dream, I assure you," the man spoke.

She couldn't tear her eyes away from Roy.

He was alive.

She had been told. She had known for some time he was alive. But she had thought he had been dead for a long time – what felt like an eternity – so she guessed she subconsciously didn't believe Roy when he had told her. Now, seeing him with her own eyes, it was like a blow to the stomach. She was reliving that day she had found Roy in the forest. She was reliving the moment Roy had told her he had been attacked by her fiancé.

"He is alive, yes. I am sorry you were led to believe otherwise."

Elizabeth sapped out of her trance and turned her attention to the man sitting next to Roy. She properly looked at him this time. At first she had thought he was elderly, but scrutinising his appearance now he realised he wasn't. However his hair and beard were extremely light blonde, which had led her to assume his age.

He looked towards her, looking extremely impassive. She highly doubted the sincerity of his apology.

"But we needed him."

Anger spiked inside her at his comment. This group took the man she loved away from her because they "needed" him. The bow in her hands shook in her anger. Before she could properly think about her actions she raised it and released the arrow.

She released all her anger and all her pain from the last few months into that arrow, wishing it to embed itself in the man's head.

But he didn't react. Before it could even come close it burst into flames and turned to ash at his feet. He glanced down at the remains impassively then returned his gaze to hers. This only infuriated her more.

"Thank you, Roy." There was no reply from him, he just continued to stare past her. "As I said, it is nice of you to join us, Princess. I have been looking forward to meeting you for quite some time."

"You know where I live," she spat. "Why didn't you come and visit." She could almost feel her blood boiling inside her. How dare he sit there and converse with her so casually.

"That wouldn't have ended well and you know it."

"What do you want from me?"

He finally rose from his chair and stood before her. It felt like he was towering over her. If he was aiming for intimidation then it wouldn't work. She was too furious.

"If you were to join us then there would be less resistance from your Father. Our plans would succeed."

"Like hell I would."

"Who said you had an option?" He paused, letting his threat sink in. Elizabeth acknowledged it, yet refused to let his threat intimidate her.

"Then I am assuming you are telling me this because you have no intention of letting me leave."

"Absolutely not. You have willingly walked in here, seeking us out."

"Not for the reasons you believe. I simply came to seek out my fiancé."

"Ah, but there are ulterior motives too, aren't there?" He eyed her critically, almost daring her to lie to him. When she said nothing, he continued. "You other companions are being held up by my assassins, and I have noticed there is a doppelgänger among them."

"And who was it that brought him here in the first place? Because it sure as shit wasn't us."

"Tch, such language." He turned to face away from her, walking past her towards the doorway. She tensed as he passed and she cringed at the power within him. She almost flinched. It didn't feel dark, nothing like the power emanating from Roy just a few feet away from her. She just felt pure energy coming from the mysterious man. It was almost as if he wasn't truly human.

Speaking of Roy, he was the source of the dark magic they had all sensed. She hadn't completely noticed it when she entered the room. Her anger and the adrenaline coursing through her masked her unease. Now, she felt extremely nauseous standing so close to him.

Despite her instincts screaming at her to run, she was disheartened somewhat. He hadn't reacted to her presence in any way. She knew it wouldn't be easy to get him back home, but he hadn't shown any sign of recognition, which would make that job much harder. She knew one thing for sure anyway. She wasn't leaving here without him.

"Roy from Central City was brought here by accident. He was wandering somewhere he shouldn't have been and stumbled upon our portal. We cannot be held responsible for his actions."

"Nevertheless, it is your fault I'm here." Elizabeth turned and saw Roy standing in the doorway. He was breathing heavily, as if he had ran a long distance. "I certainly didn't come here willingly."

She was surprised to see him here. If she was being completely honest, she had totally forgotten he had been pinned back by an unknown assailant. Her worry grew as she thought of Fuery, Maes, and the rest of the group. What had become of them?

She noticed her fiancé shift in his spot, a slight frown gracing his features. She shivered as she looked into his dark eyes. However, he looked past her and stared at Roy. Elizabeth watched as he recognised him. His eyes widened slightly, then he glared. However, Roy and the man continued their conversation. They were oblivious to the other Roy's actions. Elizabeth half turned back to the two men in the doorway, keeping her eye on her fiancé. He looked ready to pounce.

"I am tired of discussing this trivial matter," the man announced. He returned to his chair, placing a hand on Roy's shoulder. Elizabeth tensed at the contact, not wanting the man to touch him. He had turned her fiancé against her enough. He spoke to him softly, too quiet for Roy and her to hear, and then moved to leave the room.

Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest. He couldn't just leave! She had a score to settle. She took a step forward but was blasted back by a ball of dark energy. As it touched her skin it burned her flesh. She hissed in pain at the contact.

"Elizabeth!" Roy called. She opened her eyes, blinking away the tears from the pain. "You all right?" he called. He too was dodging balls of energy, although more successfully than her.

Her Roy remained in the same spot, his black eyes darting around, following Roy's movements.

"Yeah!" Elizabeth drew her bow and released an arrow, testing his reactions. Again, before it could reach its target, it crumpled into ash. Roy barely flinched or looked towards her. His attention was completely focussed on his twin.

Okay, so no bow. Let's try the sword.

She rolled out of his field of view to behind him and silently drew her sword. She moved closer and closer to him. She faltered as he turned in one swift movement, completely facing her. Her heart stopped as he looked into her eyes for the first time. Although they were solid black in colour, her actions stopped with that one gesture. He had been brainwashed, she knew this, but this was her Roy. He was seeing her for the first time. Recognition flashed across his features and her heart fluttered in her chest. Hope welled inside her.

"Roy?" she whispered, her sword hanging limp by her side.

Her heart sank as he snarled.

The first word he had spoken in words filled her with dread.

"You."