Left Behind: Chapter 3

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The situation looked grave indeed. Despite their best efforts, the armored invaders would soon overtake the last line of defense. Where they had come from or why they invaded became a secondary though. Right now the only thing on their minds was survival.

Riza aimed her sight on the one weak spot she could find. The ventilation slats on the front of the helmet were small, but her eagle eyes and skilled targeting more than made up for the challenge. She deftly placed a bullet right on the mark causing a sick splatter of bright red to spray out from inside. She then continued on, already in search of her next target.

The streets were full of panic as the people ran for their lives and cried out in utter fear. She could even hear the panic start to over take the ranks. Her comrades called out to each other trying to watch each other's backs.

They were closing in fast and there didn't seem to be any end to them. Things looked worse by the moment. Just then Armstrong came running into the battle with his muscles bared. In a flash he used his awesome alchemic powers and took out an entire row of invaders.

But this was too soon to celebrate. The armored warriors were now infiltrating them from the rear as well. Descending down the front of Central Command. It seemed that the end of the battle was close at hand. And the Amestris army looked to be on the losing side. For some reason that fact had not fully registered in the minds of all the soldiers yet. Riza and her comrades continued to fight valiantly, like it made a difference. It always had before. Surely fate would not abandon them at a time like this.

Just when the situation couldn't get any worse, suddenly there was an explosion. Riza's heart skipped a beat, like a young girl back in school. She felt like she was waiting to catch a stolen glimpse at one of her classmates. She waited and listened.

There it was… the snap of the fingers followed by the explosion and the eruption of fire. Then again. It had to be him. How or why she just didn't know. She just didn't care. All that mattered was that she had believed. She believed that she would see him once again. That belief gave her the strength to keep fighting, to keep living.

Everyone froze in anticipation, the battlefield fell silent except for the sounds of the snap followed by an eruption of fire. A stoic form became visible for all on the battlefield to see. Emerging from the flame and chaos amidst the armored bodies. Tall and proud, the figure walked with dignity and purpose. Snapping his fingers and clearing the way with a baptism of fire that was unleashed upon the soulless knights.

It became so quiet you could just about hear a pin drop. Jaws dropped and heads turned. The appearance of Roy Mustang brought joy to the faces of once desperate soldiers. The tide had now turned. Their miracle had arrived. The battle was not over, but some already felt like they had won.

Riza Hawkeye was one of those soldiers. Her heart continued to race and felt as though it would burst. So many emotions flooded her mind and soul. Joy, sorrow, relief, anger, excitement, all conflicting and constricting upon her heart. How so much could well up in one person she did not know. She felt as if she could die where she stood, and yet her heart grew wings and felt like it would soar.

He started barking commands at his former subordinates. They all outranked him now, but those that knew didn't even seem to even remember that. They all obediently complied and scurried to their given tasks. He continued his gait forward. Sending each man he came to on his way.

At last he came to the one remaining soldier left on the battlefield. The lean form of the soldier was like a statue. The utmost of respect shown through their body language. A salute at attention, that was how Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye now stood. Roy came to a stop a few feet in front of her and regarded her graceful from.

"We have been waiting for you." She said as something close to a smile broke onto her face. Despite all that had happened and the grave situation at hand she was happy. He was home. She wanted nothing more than to throw herself into his strong arms and cry herself dry. But that would have to wait for a time more appropriate. Right now there was a battle to be won.

"Are you still willing to follow me after all this time?" The question was accompanied with that old smirk and a fire in his eyes. Expressions of a Roy Mustang that she once had thought no longer existed.

"Do you really need to ask me that, Sir?" Her reply was sharp and witty. It was just like it had been in the past. Riza felt like she had stepped into a time warp where things had never changed.

"Let's go then Lieutenant!" Roy motioned for Riza to follow him as they made their way closer to the building.

Although the heat of battle was never a pleasant place, Riza almost felt in bliss. A gun in her hand, she shot down any threat that hadn't already fallen victim to Roy's flame alchemy. This moment was one she had long waited for.

For so long she had painfully felt Roy's absence. She missed serving under him as an officer almost as much as she missed serving him as she always had. As his protector, his confidant, his closest ally, and after all those years finally as his lover.

They made an excellent team, time had done nothing to diminish their chemistry. Riza was so lost in these long sought after moments that she scarcely noticed Roy leave her side.

By the time she was able to rejoin him he was already in the basket of the balloon that Armstrong and some of the officers had commissioned using the large banner that hung from the roof of Central Headquarters.

"Wait for me!" She cried out. Riza's swift run to catch up to him turned to panic as she realized he wasn't waiting for her. The balloon started to lift off the ground and it was already out of her reach as she prepared to make an impossible leap.

Her body heaved backwards at mid-lunge. A large and powerful arm swept around her small waist and restrained her from going any further.

"No way! You can't!" Riza cried out in disbelief as she realized her lover had once again left her behind.

"There is only room for one person with the power I must wield." Roy's voice grew smaller as the balloon lifted him farther out of her sight.

Riza just wanted to die at that moment. Not once but twice now, Roy Mustang had left her behind. How could the man she devoted her life and her heart to just leave her again like that? He had phrased it in a way that sounded nice. But really what he had just said is that she would just be in his way.

Armstrong finally let go of his hold as Riza tried desperately to regain her composure. She had gone through so much already. The pain and longing she had felt in the past had been just as sharp. Through it all she never had shown her weakness to her comrades. She wasn't about to let it happen today either.

Unshed tears never found their way down her cheeks. She stood tall and proud as she straightened her posture. The others had faith in Roy, she needed to show her faith as well.

"He'll be back. Don't worry. The spark has been lit once again. The man we all knew as Roy Mustang has returned and I don't think he will ever leave again." Armstrong spoke only the truth as he looked down into Riza's eyes, his hands on her shoulders.

"I know." Riza could only return Armstrong's gaze and give him a weak smile.

She felt in her heart that there was no way he would leave Central again. But still, the ache in her heart resounded with the knowledge that at this momenthe had once again left her behind.

Armstrong was carrying the bodies of the fallen armored invaders, clearing away the waste and rubble from the now crumbling city. The flying ship broke free of it's hold and started to fly away.

"Is it over?" Armstrong asked, although he lacked any kind of enthusiasm.

"Yes." Was all Riza could manage in a quiet voice. She surveyed the scene and lowered her gun, deciding the threat was now over.

Meanwhile up in the sky on the floating ship Edward was giving instructions to his crying brother to destroy the gate. He planned to return to the other side of the gate with the flying ship and to destroy that gate as well.

Mustang held back Al as Ed severed the ship from the large mass that the other two were standing on. Not willing to bear the burden with anyone else he planned to go back alone and of his own free will.

Al pled with Ed not to leave."Whatareyou going to do about Winry?" Al's voice was pained as the image of their childhood friend crossed his mind. All this time she has been waiting.

"Tell her I said thanks for this". He held up his arm and smiled sadly back to his brother. With that Edward turned his back and entered the ship.

"I will destroy the gate on this side." Mustang said with a smile to Alphonse.

Al nodded and Mustang helped give Al the boost he needed to make the jump through the air onto the ship that had started to drift away.

Roy was glad that Al could finally be reunited with his brother. They all had thought Ed was still alive, but where he had gone they just didn't know. Although the case seemed to be closed on this particular story Roy couldn't help but have a little regret in his heart.

That poor young girl had had everyone she had ever loved taken from her. Save the grandmother that had raised her since Roy himself had killed her parents by Colonel Gran's orders during the war. Ed and Al were like brothers to her, she had been waiting all this time for them to return. No matter how long she waited it now seemed her desire would never be fulfilled.

Her personality reminder him of another certain blonde woman he knew. That certain woman was devoted as welland waited endlessly for her love to return to her. At this point it was clear that she would accept no other. Would Winry do the same? Would she spend her life pining away for a love that would never return?

The severed piece of the flying ship drifted ever closer to the ground as Roy allowed himself those moments to be lost in though. What was he going to do now? After all that time he should have had it worked out. That was why he left, right? To work out his problems and make amends for the wrongs he had committed in his life. To pay for his foolish mistakes.

He hadn't planned to come back yet, so he had yet to resolve every issue. He had hoped that she would've given up on him by now. Maybe he even wanted her to hate him. Deep down he figured that would never come to pass. But still, it was an easy out and to want an easy out was human nature.

He had known this woman since she was still just a girl and he barely a young man. They had become close over time and her devotion to him was always very clear. He knew her so well that withjust one look in her eyes he knew she was still in love with him. Devoted as ever.

Roy felt like a coward. He felt he didn't deserve her and therefore hurt her in the process of doing "what was best for her". Removing himself from the picture, trying to make that choice for her.But was it really fair for him to decide such things when all it did was leave her alone in this world?

As the piece of the air ship collided with the ground Roy was jarred to his senses. His personal problems would once again have to wait. Right now there was a gate to destroy. One that held another world on the other side. A world where Ed and Al now resided and would be trapped forever.