Quick A/N: A part of this chapter will seem like déjà vu (because I will be using a piece of a former chapter to come full circle in the story). I did include a few new parts to fill in the blanks, so don't skim over it entirely! More romance in this chapter than anything, rounding out this last little arc. And just as a reminder, when I talk about an "apparition," think back to Chapter 9: Escape.

After that day, all she had known was darkness.

When she had awoken after the initial shock, she had felt nothing. Could see nothing. Could hear nothing.

It was almost as if her body had merely become a shell that housed her soul, with no connection between the two whatsoever.

She remained there on her side for what seemed like forever. Every now and then she felt a light brush against her cheek or a gentle hand on her arm, but was unable to discern anything from those touches. They seemed so foreign and strange and kind, so unlike anything she had grown used to. Clearly they were a figment of her imagination.

After a constant battle to remain awake, she finally succumbed to her exhaustion, eventually waking up in an all-too-familiar place. The air was dank and musty, the floor hardened and rough; yes, she was definitely back. But as she lay there, the numbness began to recede, and she began to feel again.

First it presented itself as a dull throbbing in her arm; her heart desperately trying to pump blood back into the damaged tissue. Then, it quickly began to escalate into a burning ache. She knew that if she moved, it would all be over. So she remained there, allowing everything to creep back slowly.

But while she focused on her left arm, she noticed a slight irritation in her right. As the fingers of her right hand regained their mobility, they twitched, brushing past something coiled around her arm. Riza instantly recognized the familiar object. An IV line…

They weren't kind enough to provide fluids or pain medications… Which led to only one other conclusion.

Wrapping her fingers gingerly around the line, she began to tug at it, feeling the needle and tape pulling the skin on her arm. She continued to work at it and work at it until she felt it free itself from her vein, pouring an unknown solution up and down her fingers and arms.

That slight motion, however, caused a shockwave to rip through her, chasing away the last bit of numbness her body clung to.

She was reliving it again. Feeling the piercing metal object tear through her muscles and tissues like it was nothing. Destroying cartilage and bone without care; despite her constant, agonizing cries for it to stop. That devilish, merciless laugh that resonated through her ears before her vision blurred and her hearing ceased.

And now it was raging as if someone had set her arm aflame. She could feel her skin splitting and blistering, shriveling and wrinkling all at the same time. The total feeling: indescribable.

She choked back a sob as a surge of pain tore through her arm, then her entire body, but abruptly cut it short when the sound did not reach her ears.

When the pain had dulled slightly, she found the will to cautiously move her trembling hand up to her face, feeling around her eyes and ears for anything that would obstruct her senses. She found that there weren't.

A fit of panic rose inside of her as she began to frantically feel around her eyes. There was no pain, no numbness. Nothing peculiar….

But then why couldn't she see…?

Oftentimes there was some form of light streaming through the barred window at the top of the cell. Sure, they could have put it out, but that seemed so… unusual.

Taking a deep breath, Riza muttered to herself, straining to see if those words would reach her ears, but to no avail. She could feel the vibrations in her throat and perceive the air as it exited her lungs, but as her lips moved, no sound was produced.

She tried again, trying to raise the volume of her voice. Not enough to arouse detection, but enough so that she was guaranteed to hear it.

Still, there was nothing. Her mind was reeling as hysteria began to set in. Her eyes… Her ears… Her body…

…What had they done to her?

They had taken her one final time, propping her up in a chair the best that they could; though their efforts still resulted in her slouching forward. She could feel weak vibrations circling her over and over again. It did not take her long to realize that she was being questioned.

And that's also when she realized she was no longer able to maintain her façade.

Feeling the air currents around her face shift and change, she realized that one of them had his face inches from hers, screaming.

She contemplated ramming her forehead into his, but decided she did not have the strength. So she remained as still as she could, head hanging low.

Without warning her left arm was jerked up, the metal rod that had been run through it yanked mercilessly. She let go a silent cry of pain as she felt the object catch on her torn muscles.

The perpetrator had obviously found her scream delightful, for he gave the object a few more tugs before leaving it raised.

By then she was gasping, trembling, shaking. How pathetic she must have looked to them: her widened, unseeing eyes most likely staring at nothing in particular. They probably mocked her feeble efforts.

She found herself fighting through the agony, wondering then about what would happen to her. No longer would she be a source of amusement to them as they ridiculed her for her "valiant efforts" at remaining quiet for everything and anything they asked.

Maybe they would return her to the General? A longshot, she knew. But to return her as shattered goods would certainly fulfill their desire to cause as much devastation as they could.

Maybe they'd continue at the pace they were going. Destroy her bit by bit until there really was nothing left of her.

Or maybe…

A sharp and sudden pain suddenly erupted at her side… and she was suddenly falling. Crashing to the ground, she let out a sharp cry as a layer of warmth coated her flank.

It only took her a few moments to process and understand it, realizing that a sharpened and lethal object had penetrated her side.

Or maybe… they'd kill her.

After being carelessly tossed into what she assumed could only be the cell they had been holding her in, she managed to roll onto her right side, grasping at the fresh wound inflicted upon it.

And there she laid, waiting for her imminent death.

…But at least she wasn't alone.

"I'm sorry," she whispered weakly toward the apparition that had formed beside her. "It looks like… I won't follow you after all…"

She knew that it was simply that; a figment of her imagination. But at that time it was the only thing that she could see and hear and sense. A beacon in that desolate darkness they had subjected her to.

"Will you stay… until the end?"

The vision of Roy nodded gravely and maneuvered her head into its lap. She fully realized that her temple was still resting against the cold, hard floor, but she imagined that he was indeed there with her. "Is this it," it asked solemnly as it ran its fingers through her hair.

She hummed in faint response because…

Riza Hawkeye knew she was dying.

For the past hour she could feel her pulse becoming weaker, the time between beats becoming increasingly drawn out. The only thing binding her to this world was the agonizing pain she felt radiating throughout her entire body… And the fabricated presence of Roy Mustang.

She gripped the fresh wound at her side, taking a sharp breath as she did. This only caused more pain to rip through her. At that point, however, stimulating the wound was the one thing that kept her breathing. Riza had quickly discovered that the oxygen her body had once craved suddenly seemed more like a burden than a necessity. She would have stopped breathing a long time ago if she could, but her body still had an infinitesimal need for air.

She exhaled slowly as the apparition did the same. That small piece of herself that she projected as him had begun to die with her as well.

Her whole body trembled. She could feel the heat leaving it; the only source of any warmth being the sticky, crimson blood that poured from her wound. It hurt. Her whole body hurt. It hurt to breathe. It hurt just existing…

She found herself becoming increasingly irritated at her body's determination to live. Hadn't she suffered enough? Why was her body subjecting itself to more pain by continuing to function? Riza had accepted that there was no one coming to find her. There would be no rescue. Any and all hope of one had died as the weeks and months dragged on. She wondered if the military had abandoned its efforts in finding her, if there were any to begin with. Quickly shoving that thought aside, she decided that, at least at one point, there had been an effort. They- or rather, he- had probably turned the entire Ishvalan town upside-down in his efforts. Roy Mustang never gave up on anyone…

"And he never would," the apparition murmured softly as its presence began to fade.

The thought of her superior officer made Riza's heart ache. She hoped that he wouldn't grieve-

-"You know he will," it interjected.-

But he didn't have time to weep over her. He needed to complete his goal of restoring Ishval and bringing peace. He had to keep his eyes fixated on his dream of becoming the Fuhrer.

"…But it will be without you," it mumbled, disheartened.

Riza felt hot tears stinging her eyes. She hated herself. She hated that she couldn't be there any longer to protect him. Hated that she wouldn't be there to see him accomplish his dream. And most importantly, Riza hated that she would never see him or his true voice again.

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the tears roll down her cheeks. Taking a quick, ragged breath, she allowed her muscles to relax. It suddenly felt as if a heavy weight were placed on her chest. The once agonizing pain that radiated throughout her had become dull.

Riza knew her time was up. .. In more ways than one.

Knowing this, the ghost leaned forward and whispered, "I love you."

She had never gotten to say it to him before… And now she never would. At least now, however, she could leave having said it out loud, even if it was to a figment of her imagination.

Exhaling, she succumbed to the darkness, using her last bit of strength and her last reserve of air to murmur back, "I love you too…"

She had been so close to leaving, so close to finally finding peace, when she felt a change in the air current around her, signaling that someone had opened the door.

"Someone's here," the vision of Roy said as it reappeared to her again.

She braced herself, expecting to be grabbed roughly and dragged out. If only they had given her a few more minutes…

Instead, she felt a firm pressure on her shoulder. Not rough, but certainly not light either. When she flinched it disappeared, only to return moments later, causing her entire body to shudder.

The intruder was quick to scoop her up and hold her against him, his gentleness genuinely surprising her. Out of habit, her first thought was to struggle away from him and separate herself from him entirely. But she knew the notion was foolish; because what would that accomplish? Buy herself a few moments of freedom before being brutally scraped off the ground? So instead she took advantage of the warmth of his body, feeling her chilled, aching bones slowly begin to thaw.

He was smaller than any of the men she had seen, except for one. Though something had nagged at the back of her mind saying that particular individual was long gone. So if this wasn't him, then who was it?

Before she could even begin to wonder, the unknown attempted to stand, only to crash to the ground moments later. A searing pain ripped through her and she gasped, clenching her jaw shut in an attempt to not cry out. He shifted, and she felt a stream of warm air brush past her cheek as his chest vibrated.

He was talking to her.

Frankly, she was too tired and worn to even formulate a response. That and she did not want to give him the satisfaction of generating an answer from her. After all, this was all a sick, twisted trick.

So for the time being she would take advantage of this feigned kindness, because at least he was unintentionally providing her with warmth. And if they decided to retaliate for her lack of response, then so be it; she would not even be there long enough for them to finish the deed.

In the end, she would escape.

She didn't know how long it had been. Minutes… hours? She didn't know…

All she knew was that the unknown remained adamantly in his position, refusing to move an iota of an inch, almost as if he was afraid of jostling her again. How… kind?

However, all good things come to an end.

Riza felt him shift again and it took every ounce of what little strength she had left to not scream from the agony. Moments later, a second unknown daintily took her from the first's arms. This one was larger and even warmer, possessing a… familiar air about him. Whether it was good or bad, she wasn't sure. He was just that: familiar.

She felt a faint hum in his chest. He too was talking to her.

Then he began to move her back and forth, back and forth; over and over again.

He was mocking her, simulating the rocking of a defenseless child. Had she the strength, she would have pushed him away. But the cold, hard floor was more unforgiving than his mockery. So instead, she willed herself to open her eyes and focus her glare on where his face would be.

He abruptly stopped and spoke again, his face inches from hers. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead until she felt the air currents shift, letting her know that he had backed off. But by then she had grown too tired and too uncaring to even maintain that stare. With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and allowed her head to loll forward and against his shoulder. Her neck muscles had begun to hurt from overuse.

After remaining crouched there for a few moments longer, he finally decided to stand up, sending another bout of pain to course through her. Gasping, she gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes tighter still.

Seemingly ignoring this display, the second unknown whisked her away from her small containment.

A small part of her wanted to be relieved; she was leaving that godforsaken hellhole. But the rest of her screamed in silent panic, for they were now moving her to someplace unfamiliar. So when she won over that small part of her that still clung to the hope she would not return there, her entirety craved to go back.

If they had just given her a few more minutes, she could have spent that time falling asleep in Roy Mustang's arms.

Now here he was, clutching her and holding her as closely to him as possible, as if she would vanish if he loosened his grip.

The moment he had walked in, she knew something was horribly wrong. Her small smile of greeting had quickly vanished when she peered up at his expression. Devastation was the only word she could use to describe it. Devastation was painted across his paled, bloodless face. Devastation was consuming his dulled eyes.

Devastation for her…

"…Roy?"

He was suddenly there; seated on the edge of her bed. She spoke his name again, but he did not answer. Instead, he guided his arms behind her and lifted her upward into his embrace.

"Roy?" He was beginning to frighten her now; his lack of response uncharacteristic. "Ro-"

"I love you."

She exhaled sharply, his name becoming lost in her sudden breathlessness. It took her a moment to process the words, breaking them down and reconstructing them in her mind over and over again. They seemed so foreign to her. The way he said those three little words was familiar, all the way down to the way enunciated them. She had heard that tone before, but never with this combination of words.

I love you.

"I see you."

There. Just like that. Just like in her dream… And just like he had uttered when she said the same: the day she truly saw him again.

The way they had exchanged those words that day had been enough for the two of them. A silent declaration of their feelings without having to say it, just like they had always done.

And here he was… Breaking the roles and saying them outright.

They were foreign. Against everything they had spent years building. Inappropriate. Ludicrous. And…

Something she had come to realize she wanted so badly to hear.

So here he was, wringing the emotions out of his heart for her to see, confessing everything to her in those three little words. Love. Pain. Elation. Sadness. Joy. Despair. And…

…And devastation.

Devastation that could only come from one thing…

He knew.

He now knew what haunted her nightmares every night. Knew what plagued her every time she unconsciously flinched at his touch. And knew what had driven her into the darkness corners of her mind.

Here he was, now sharing with her those horrendous memories of suffering and despair.

And…That wasn't fair.

Suddenly feeling guilt swell within her, she wanted to apologize to him. He should not have to burden himself with any of this. Her pain was now on his shoulders, and it didn't need to be.

"I'm here…"

Why had he-? That's when she noticed that her face was wet. …When had it started to rain?

I'm here…

That tone was shared with the words he had spoken previously. They spoke of hope and reassurance and love.

I'm here…

Despite everything, here he was; still loving her regardless of her brokenness and flaws. Here he was, still a beacon that shone brightly through the darkness, chasing away the shadows that loomed behind her eyes.

He was willing to stand beside her and not take the burden… but help to carry it. And because of that, his words had assured her: she was not alone any longer.

She reached up under his arm and grasped his shoulder, burying her face into his jacket.

She was not alone.

Actually, she had never been alone.

He was here and he saw her, just as she saw him. He loved her just as she loved him.

So she repeated those three simple words back to him, finally allowing herself to say something she had long known and felt.

She loved him. And in that, she knew, she was definitely not alone.

Hearing a knock on the door, Edward watched as Dr. Knox disappeared from the room in order to answer it. After hearing him exchange pleasantries with the person that arrived, he looked on as the doctor led Lieutenant Colonel Rodin into the living room. "Yeah," Dr. Knox mumbled as he gestured to the couch and took a seat himself, "He made it here alright. Looked spooked though." Eyeing Rodin over the rims of his glasses, he asked, "You know why?"

Edward saw the Lieutenant Colonel look toward him briefly, raising his brows in a silent greeting, before turning back to the doctor as he sunk into his seat. "Yeah… The bastard baited him, saying he wouldn't talk unless he told the General a 'story.' And, well," the subordinate officer admitted softly, "It was a hell of a story."

"Yeah," the doctor replied as he chewed the toothpick in his lips, "Must've been. He ran in here like a bat outta hell."

Edward saw the Lieutenant Colonel watch the doctor for a few moments, probably wondering whether or not the man would press. Knox, however, simply leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "I can go grab him for you," Knox muttered.

"No," Rodin replied as he shook his head. "I just wanted to be sure he got here alright. When I saw him leave, I honestly didn't think of calling. I just reacted and followed after him." Rubbing the back of his head, he added, "I even lost him a few times, he was going so fast."

"He tends to do that when he's got his mind set on something," Knox responded matter-of-factly. When the Lieutenant Colonel nodded in agreement, he said, "Well, you're more than welcome to stay until he's ready. In the meantime, is there anything I can get you?"

Again the Lieutenant Colonel shook his head, this time getting to his feet. "I really should get going," he murmured. "I… cancelled the rest of the questionings for the remainder of the week; even I'm not up to asking anything more for now. Will you just tell him that for me?" When Knox nodded in reply, he began to leave when he stopped and turned back to the doctor. "Give the Lieutenant my best too. The General told me about what she wants to do and, well, I think it's very brave."

"Yeah," Dr. Knox grumbled as he stood as well, refolding his arms across his chest. "Brave but impatient. She wants to get it done next week already. It's an opportune time with the way she's healing, but still, you can't help but notice that she's running."

"I know what you mean," the Lieutenant Colonel answered. "But I can see a semblance between her and the General- at least from what I've heard about her. Both of them have a sort of… determination to them."

"Got that right," Knox grumbled.

"But like I said, I really should get going," Rodin explained as he turned back toward the home's entrance. Allowing his eyes to stop on Edward, he smiled warmly and said, "Be sure to keep an eye on them for me, 'kay Ed?"

Edward nodded and said, "I'll do what I can."

"I know you will," Rodin complimented before adding, "But make sure you watch yourself too." When Edward raised his brows at the statement, he clarified with a chuckle, "Be sure to give yourself breaks every once in a while. They're going to be depending on you and I know the kind of person you are; one that is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. So please, make sure you take some time to keep yourself in check."

"Yeah, no problem," Edward murmured as the Lieutenant Colonel raised his hand to wave goodbye.

"I'll see you later," Rodin said with a smile as he dropped his hand, following Knox out of the room.

Edward watched after the Lieutenant Colonel for a few moments before rolling his eyes and turning his attention back to the book in his lap.

It was quarter past midnight and, save for the occasional inebriated individual, the streets were quiet and empty.

Deciding that the coast was clear, the massive individual that had concealed himself among the brush lumbered out into the dimly lit street and made his way to a nearby phone booth. As he approached, the phone rang. Squeezing himself inside, he managed to pick it up on the third ring.

"Hello," he grumbled into the receiver.

"Glad to see you've found the line," the voice on the other end of the receiver praised. "How have things been looking?"

"Fine," the scarred behemoth mumbled in response. "Saw that little blond brat run outside a few times to pick up more firewood, but otherwise quiet." Lifting his head, he looked around cautiously, noting that the streets were still empty. "Do you want me to do it tonight," he growled deeply into the line, his hands twitching in anticipation.

"No," his Leader commanded. "I want you to wait. Keep an eye on them, but do not make a move until I say so."

Shrugging off his growing irritation, Giordani rumbled, "How long?"

"Just wait," his Leader purred. "You will have your chance soon enough…"

A/N: I hope the Royai was in character and the scene with the two of them was not disjointed, because I'm a paranoid person O.O Let me know if you think it was though...

After mulling over what I have left to this story, I've concluded that I probably have no more than ten chapters left if I don't add another side-story. It's crazy to think about… I've already started plotting out the second to last chapter (it's a doozy) even though I'm nowhere near complete with the other chapters…

Anyways, classes are becoming hectic, as exams are starting, so I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but I'll try. The next chapter will have Riza's automail surgery in it, but it won't have too much detail graphically, though it will probably have medical terminology and such as well as some description. Plus some parental stuff because I don't want to overburden you with just romance!

Finally, thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows! I'm truly honored and gracious. On that note, see you for Chapter 27!