AN- tracyCoder- yah, i agree about Roy. The prob is, its so obvious to an outsider (which is why Hughes is going nuts, lol) but not so much to the person its actually happening to...or somethin like that. XD as for talking 2 each other normally again, yes, in thic chapter they kinda have to. their problems sure as hell aint over tho!
flOofymikO- i know! i dont want it to end either! i have at least 4 more chapters to go, but i can almost guarentee a lot more.
unexpectation- yes, Hughes rocks! i was deliberating as to whether'r not to drag out his lil fight with roy, but i figured Roy had enough to deal with already. plus, Maes's too understanding a guy to drag it out. and happy halloween to you too! (like 5 days after the fact, lol)
MEH, i lied. no action in this chappy, T.T (i wound up splitting it in 2 again). but it does lead INTO the action...for any fan who's seen so much as one fma episode, a large chunk of this'll be a 'no shit, sherlock' moment. please bare with me, a non-anime obsessed friend wants to read this, and i'm trying to make it so she has somewhat of a clue, anyway.
please hang on, action fans, there's blood on the way. the first fight, which is DEFENETLY next chapter, includes Riza and a certain homunculi...
The Beginning
"F-First Lieutenant!"
Havoc skidded to a stop in front of Riza, panting, his ever-present cigarette daggling from his lower lip. She looked at the usually-relaxed second lieutenant curiously, wondering what it was that had him in such an uproar.
"Second Lieutenant Havoc, is something wrong?"
"Where's the colonel? This is major!"
"In his office…" Riza instantly went into work mode, pushing aside all her private problems. Something big enough to get Havoc excited had to be extremely important, to say the least. "Why, what is it?"
"It's…there's a on, I have to tell Mustang!" He scurried into the room without waiting for an answer; Riza frowned slightly in annoyance but followed him in anyway.
Roy and Hughes both looked up when the door was flung open and Havoc ran in, followed by a peeved-looking Hawkeye. Roy opened his mouth angrily, but Havoc interrupted him, talking quickly and waving the file he was holding around animatedly.
"Mustang, chief, you are never gonna believe this!"
"Believe what?" Roy looked at the lieutenant, raising an eyebrow. "Havoc, if this is about you finally getting a girl…"
"No, no, just listen! I found this file—hell, I wasn't even looking for it, I was digging through the back of the storage room. You know how long some of that crap's been in there. Well, anyway, I was digging around, and I found this file, it looked like it was a copy, but here's the weird part—I looked in the military's database down at the library, and the original copy isn't there. It 'doesn't exist.' Someone obviously tried to destroy the file but didn't realize there was another copy, so—"
"Havoc, what the heck are you talking about!?"
Havoc paused for breath, deliberately dragging out the moment because, well…that's just the kind of guy he was. Roy was deliberating as to whether or not snapping his fingers would trash his office along with Havoc, when the man finally spoke.
"Sir…I found a way to kill homunculi."
Dead silence.
Everyone stared at the man like he had two heads, and Riza found herself shaking her own head in disbelief. It couldn't be true…the whole definition of a homunculus was that it couldn't be killed!
Roy blinked, his expression incredulous. "Havoc, you know what, take the rest of the week off. It looks like you've been working waaay too hard."
"I'm serious! Look, it says right here!"
Despite himself, Roy leaned in to take a look, Hughes reading quickly over his shoulder. Riza moved closer to read too, wondering if it was at all possible, what Havoc was saying. If it was—not that there was any way it could be, but if it was…then…
If it was possible, then things had just gotten a hell of a lot easier. They'd been trying to figure out a way to destroy the homunculi for a long time now, ever since they'd first found out that they even existed. Roy and his group—Riza, Hughes, Fury, Havoc, Breida, Falman, and Armstrong—had known about the existence of these creatures, these immortal demons that were supposedly only a fairy tale, for close to five years, give or take. It was Edward Elric who'd gotten them involved at all—he was searching, along with his younger brother, Alphonse, for the Philosopher's Stone, a mystical alchemic enhancement that most said was simply a bedtime story. But, real or not, the legend of the Stone and its power drew hundreds of treasure-seekers and alchemists eager to learn its secrets. With this marvel, it was said, one could bypass all the rules of alchemy--something could be created from nothing, people could be raised from the dead.
In short, the Philosopher's Stone gave its user the power to do anything…the power to play god.
Ed and Al were looking for the stone to right their personal wrongs; in a desperate attempt to bring back their dead mother, they had tried to use alchemy to revive her. To their childish minds, it was a perfect idea…
But in their eagerness, they forgot something very important: bringing the dead to life was a cardinal sin in alchemy, and the cost for such hubris was high.
Very high.
Ed had been lucky, considering: he only lost his leg. His not-so-fortunate younger brother had his entire body enveloped in the idea of 'equivalent exchange', the chief tenet of alchemy, and it was only because Ed loved him that he survived at all. Edward, desperate, had exchanged his right arm for his brother's soul, and then sealed that soul in a suit of armor. Now, one brother had auto-mail in place of his missing limbs; the other was a giant walking 'tin can'.
The two brothers were determined to fix things; Ed, who hated following someone else's orders, even joined the military as a state alchemist, hoping to find some way of getting his brother's body back. What they found instead was the Philosopher's Stone…and the evil that surrounded it.
The Stone was thought to be cursed--anyone who got too close to it died or vanished. The brothers were resolved, though; they were going to get their bodies back, no matter what the stories said.
Those stories, though, were hardly just make-believe rumors…during their long and confusing search, Ed and Alphonse discovered the high price required: living humans. It was human beings who were needed for the Philosopher's Stone to be formed…lots of them, in fact. Whole battlefields' worth.
And the brothers also learned that they were not the only ones interested in finding this elixir of life. It was being hunted as well by strange, mysterious beings called Homunculi: powerful creatures who could not die. Endlessly, they searched for the Stone…or the next best thing, which was anyone strong enough to make one. Powerful Edward Elric became their number one target.
(The stone was no myth…and neither was its curse.)
In theory, this should not have affected Roy Mustang at all. Even if he was Edward's commanding officer, the alchemist had his own goals to achieve.
Roy was going to become the ruler of the military—he'd decided this long ago, and hadn't forgotten once since. It was what he struggled for…what he suffered for…it was his only goal…because only once he had the power to fix the many problems caused by the soldiers in blue, would he finally be able to live with himself and let his demons rest. He had to realize his ambition…had to.
But, of course, things never worked out the way they were planned. The military, under the leadership of President-King Bradley, was embroiled in some strange experiments involving the Stone…in fact, as time drew on, it became all too clear that the higher-ups were in total and complete cahoots with the same homunculi Edward fought.
And, as if that wasn't enough…King Bradley was a homunculus himself.
Considering how ruthless, inhumane, and strong these creatures were, it was a pretty goddamn serious problem. But as of yet, Roy hadn't been able to do much of anything. Homunculi couldn't be killed—even cutting their heads off didn't work. At the same time, though they couldn't use alchemy, they also had bizarre powers…bizarre, deadly powers.
Not helping was the fact that these beings moved in absolute secrecy. He'd been trying for years, but so far, Roy had no idea what these creatures wanted with the Philosopher's Stone, where they'd come from…or even how many of them there were. He knew of a few…King Bradley, of course, as well as a beautiful but dangerous one named Lust…an enormous beast called Gluttony…a vicious monster known as Envy, whose power to transform into anyone and anything was perhaps the most disturbing of all. But Roy knew in his heart that there were more; strange rumors had reached his ears, of a little boy named Wrath who was somehow connected to Ed…of a homunculus dubbed 'The Ultimate Shield', who was said to border on the insane…of a mysterious woman whose face remained unknown, but whose voice was like ice…
The homunculi, thanks to Bradley, ran the government, the very core of the country. If the Flame Alchemist was to ever put Ishbal's mistakes behind him, he would have to find a way to defeat them. But how did you kill something that could never die?!
Unless...!
Riza's eyes widened as she finished reading the document in Havoc's hands. The way it was put, it really did sound possible…
Breida and Falman walked in just then, chatting. When they saw what was going on in the center of the room, they both stopped.
"Hey, what's up?" Breida asked. "T-That horrible beast isn't in here again, is he?" (He was just a bit afraid of Black Hayate, not to mention dogs in general.)
Roy grabbed the papers from Havoc's hands and began reading, his voice shaking slightly with excitement. '"…These odd creatures are not, in fact, immortal, as is commonly believed. Residing in each of them lies a small, red stone, otherwise known as the Philosopher's Stone. Not actually the full artifact of so much fame, these stones are somehow specifically designed to control the homunculi's regeneration process. Although useless once removed, these stones are what, essentially, keeps the homunculi alive. To destroy a homunculus, one must first destroy the stone."'
He turned the page over, but there was nothing else.
"I looked like hell, but this was all I could find," Havoc commented. "The papers were all scattered, and they're so old…whoever wrote this is long dead, I'd say."
"I wonder who did write that…" Falman mused aloud. "How could they have known so much about homunculi?"
"Not the issue, not right now." Roy was deep in thought, his mind awhirl with the possibilities.
Riza gave him a sidelong glance, knowing full well how caught up and reckless he was liable to become. Normally, she would have said something, but….
"If this is true…" (Riza got the feeling Roy didn't even realize he was talking out loud.) "If this is true…then there's a way to kill Bradley. There's no one to replace him, the higher-ups are too busy bending over backwards to the enemy to worry about that now. Killing off Bradley would start off a whole domino effect, down to the lowest levels of the military….I'd be able to grab power…."
"Hey, hey, hold up a minute there, buster," Hughes interrupted. "Even if you do kill off Bradley, taking control of the military now'll start a whole civil war. You know as well as I do how fanatically loyal some of the big-wigs are—not to mention, you have the other homunculi to deal with. They won't be happy to hear that you off'ed one of their own."
"Heh…if this report's true, then who gives a crap. As long as those freaks can be killed, they're not a threat. And as for a civil war…" His eyes gleamed. "As for a civil war, I'm prepared for that. Have been for a long time. Of course, if anyone here doesn't feel up to the task, then they're welcome to back out…"
Everyone else in the room rolled their eyes. Obviously no one was going to back out.
"Don't kid yourself, chief." Havoc grinned, exhaling cigarette smoke in the process. "I know how much you wanna get rid of us, but we've stuck by you this long, might as well see ya through."
"Yeah, really," chimed in Breida, "You really think any of us would back out after all we've seen with you? The military'd execute us if they found out how deep we are in this homunculi business."
Falman nodded his consent. "That's right, sir. None of us would ever abandon you. We want to see you become the leader of this country."
"Right on!!"
"…."
"…."
"….Hughes…"
"…What? I'm getting into the moment here."
"Alright, alright, I don't want to know," Roy said, rolling his eyes. "You don't have to get all teary-eyed on me, jeeze."
An awkward silence filled the room again. Roy squirmed inside--Riza was the only one who hadn't said anything.
She seemed to notice everyone trying their hardest not to look at her; it appeared that Havoc had informed Breida and Falman about Roy and Riza's coolness towards one another that morning. She frowned, giving them a look that stated quite clearly how stupid she thought they were all behaving.
"It's rather pointless to ask the question if you already know the answer," she said briskly, "since of course the colonel must know that not one of us would ever betray him."
"Yeah, well…"
To cover up his embarrassment, Mustang turned back to Hughes. "I want you looking through every database the military's got, twenty four-seven, understand? See if you can find anything more about this file. Maybe there's another copy lying around. And Falman, get Fullmetal on the phone pronto—I want him up to date within the hour," he ordered. "Breida, find Armstrong and Fury, tell them too. But be careful about who's listening in; I don't want anyone else finding out." Breida and Falman saluted and left, taking Havoc with them.
Roy turned to look at Riza, who was watching him intently, waiting for her orders. He wished he could read minds so he'd know what she was thinking….what thoughts were running behind that calm mask she wore so diligently? She made it sound as if there was never any doubt about her serving him….but why? Why was she so loyal? What had he ever done to deserve that kind of devotion?
"Lieutenant, you should make sure this stays quiet. See if you can make up a good cover-story for all the research," Hughes told her, figuring that Roy didn't look like he was going to say anything any time soon.
"Yes sir," she nodded, and turned to go.
"Hey, Hawkeye," Roy said suddenly. She looked back at him, still expressionless.
"Sir?"
"Ah..." Roy gave her a weak version of his usual cocky grin. "Better not make any plans for a while, looks like we're about to have a crazy time on our hands for a while."
"…Yes sir." Her voice was as cold as it had ever been. The minute the door was closed behind her, he rubbed his throbbing temples.
"Goddamn it, this fricken hangover won't leave…"
"So, Roy…giving her space seems to be working wonders."
"Shut it, Hughes," Roy growled. "I'm not in the mood."
"Trust me, I've noticed," he answered dryly. Watching as Mustang sat back at his desk, looking as unhappy as ever, he sighed. "So…you really think that's true?"
"Huh?"
"You really think we're gonna have a 'crazy time' soon?"
Roy looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "Why…you don't?"
Hughes pulled up a chair and sat down next to his friend. "I think you're rushing into this. We don't even have any verification that the file's correct."
"And we never will, unless we try it out. And there's only one way to do that, right?"
Hughes gave him a sharp look. "Listen, Roy, I'm not an idiot. The others may have convinced themselves otherwise, but I haven't. You know as well as I do how risky attacking Bradley would be with such weak data. I know you'd never put the lives of your men on the line like that."
"So…" Roy glanced up at him. "….What's your point?
Hughes grabbed Roy by the collar and pulled him in close, glaring. "You're planning on doing it alone, aren't you? You're planning on trying to fight off His Highness yourself. Dammit, Roy, don't you realize how stupid that is—…." His voice trailed off as he saw the look in the Flame Alchemist's eyes. "….Hold on a second. You do realize, don't you? That's your whole plan…if this file turns out to be wrong, there's no way you'd survive alone, without backup…that's what you want, isn't it? If things get screwed up, then you don't want to come back…"
Roy pulled himself lose without saying anything.
"Roy, dammit, you'd better tell me I'm wrong! You'd better—"
"And why would I want to do that?" Hughes stared as Roy readjusted his collar, coolly. "You're right, Hughes, that is my plan. It makes sense, don't you think? If things get so bad that I have to be rescued…dammit, Hughes, don't you get it? I'll never get another chance to take over if things get that bad! And if I can't run this country, then what the hell's the point? You're crazy if you think I'll spend the rest of my life being the state's puppet…..besides, they'd kill me anyway if Bradley got away. At least this way, they won't be able to trace it back to the others. As long as they escape the firing squad, I don't give a shit what happens to me."
"Idiot!"
Hughes punched his friend across the face, leaving a small, purple bruise. Roy lifted a hand to the wound, too surprised to do anything else, as Maes grabbed him by the collar again, eyes narrowed.
"Listen to me, damn it. I don't know where you got the idea that your life is useless, and I don't care. You want to go around hating yourself, fine, be my guest. But I'll be damned if I'm going to sit here and let you throw your life away."
Roy scowled at him. "Oh, excuse me, I had this silly idea that it was my choice to make."
"It's not!!" Roy blinked at him, his mouth dropping open at the intensity of Hughes's anger. "You got that? It's not your choice. There are other people in this world, and hell if I know why, but some of us actually care about you. You can't honestly think that everyone will just get on with their daily lives with you six feet under. It doesn't work that way, Roy."
"Oh, spare me, Maes." Roy pulled himself loose again and stood up, rubbing his cheek. "Somehow, I highly doubt the world will end if I'm not around. Besides, dying in the heat of battle….best way to go, right?" He smirked. Hughes wasn't amused.
"That idea's so stupid I don't think even you believe it," he growled. "Would you do me a favor and tell me what happened? You've always been a moron, but a determined moron! Not a moron who goes and throws his life away on a whim and a piece of paper!" When Roy didn't answer, he frowned and shook his head.
"Ok, you selfish jerk, you're right, the world won't end. But I'd sure as hell hate to see Riza at your funeral."
Roy colored slightly. "She'd get over it," he muttered, more to himself then Hughes. The Lieutenant Colonel resisted the urge to hit him again.
"You really have it drilled into your head that she hates you, don't you?"
"Whether she hates me or not isn't the point. The fact is, Hawkeye can deal with anything…and that includes someone dying."
"Oh, yeah, totally. She's only spent the last who knows how many years making sure you finish your paperwork and don't jump off a building. She certainly wouldn't care if you died, oh no, not at all. And in case you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm."
"I'm not saying she wouldn't care, I'm saying she'd get over it."
Hughes squirmed in his seat, not looking at the colonel. "Listen, Roy….I'm not so sure about that."
"…Oh yeah?" Roy turned, frowning. "And why is that?"
"…You seem to think she's going to forget all about you if you just ignore her a bit. It won't work, Roy. She's already cried over you, she's not turning back now."
"What!? What the hell are you talking about!?"
"Last Friday, when you bailed on her like that…" Hughes sighed and looked at his friend; Mustang felt his stomach drop. "It was pretty obvious she was trying to control herself, but…she started crying, Roy."
"….Ah…" An atomic explosion could have gone off, and Roy wouldn't have noticed. He just stood there, mouth agape, staring at Hughes in utter and complete disbelief.
"She cried…because of me?" Hughes nodded. Roy fell back into his chair, paleing rapidly. "Holy shit…"
Hughes gave him a sympathetic smile. "Surprising, huh?" Roy didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything! He'd gone completely numb.
Riza cried…that can't be true…she's Riza, she's so strong…
But Hughes wouldn't joke…well, he would, but not about something like that! Riza actually cried!
Riza actually cried because of me...
"See, that's what I keep telling you, Mustang," Hughes sighed. "You act like a big know-it-all, but most of the time, you have no idea what's going on."
"Uh-huh…"
"Sometimes it's like you're blind, deaf, and dumb!"
"Alright, Hughes."
"I mean, it's really funny sometimes! You're always so out of it!"
"Okay, Hughes, I get the picture."
"Really, really out of it!"
"Hughes."
"So out of it, it's scary!"
"Hughes!!"
"I swear, all the alcohol you drink must have rotted your brain! Considering your reputation, you just better hope that weakness of the mind doesn't spread to weakness of the di—"
"Hughes!"
Ring ring. Ring. Ring ring.
The sound of the phone split through the large, well-furnished office. The setting sun tried to shine in through huge, floor-length windows, but found itself blocked by the heavy, dark-colored drapes pulled over them. Everything in the office was dark, actually, from the carpet to the ceiling fixtures. The scene was gloomy, dismal, uninviting.
Ring ring. Ring. Ring ring.
There was movement from the only person currently in the room, a pretty young secretary with long, brown hair and pale features. The ringing of the phone had surprised her; a second before, she'd been staring off into space. She looked at the vibrating handle for a moment, a smirk sliding across her face.
Ring ring. Rin-
"Hello?...Ah, King Bradley, sir, I thought it might be you…" She paused for a few seconds, listening. "Oh, really? Interesting…I was under the impression that the file had been destroyed. Yes…yes, I understand. Of course, sir. I agree whole-heartedly, he's getting in far too deeply…." Another, crueler smirk appeared on her face; her ice-cold voice dripped with malice. "With all due respect, sir, I don't think it would be wise to have him killed just yet. He's too famous...and too important for our plans. We've recently been made aware that he knows the truth about you, but even with this new information, he is still far from understanding everything. He poses no threat….yes sir. I understand. May I suggest giving him a friendly little warning…?" Another, longer pause ended with the answer she wanted; her sneer grew larger. "Don't worry, sir, I'll handle the details. I already have someone in mind. …Yes sir. Understood." She hung up, still smirking.
Opening a desk drawer, she pulled out a huge folder crammed with papers. She opened it up and began flipping through. Every so often, a name would catch her eye- Cain Fury, Jean Havoc, Maes Hughes…everyone who'd ever so much as bumped into Roy Mustang was in there.
Another few seconds passed before she finally paused, scanning the contents of a particular page. Then she smiled to herself and picked up the phone. Dialing a number quickly, she held the phone to her ear and waited. This time, when the person on the other end picked up, her voice was much less polite.
"Envy? It's Sloth. I have a little job for you. …No, it doesn't involve the Fullmetal runt. Oh really? Well, in that case, where's Greed?..." Her voice grew harsher. "Yes, I am aware he refuses to join with you. That doesn't matter. Find him. Tell him Pride wants a nosy little colonel taught a lesson. …Oh, he'll come. Trust me…" The sneer was back. "He'll be all too eager to come." She looked down at the open file in front of her. "It won't be too hard a job. A simple assassination. But for someone like Greed, it should be plenty of fun--I hear the target puts up a good fight. Yes…yes…I know. Don't worry about it. The man's said to be a complete wreck inside…one more little 'incident' will push him over the edge. …It will. The person I've chosen is a very…special person to the colonel. He'll have a hard time getting over the loss." She glanced at her watch. "I have to go. I want Greed here by tomorrow, understand?"
Without waiting for an answer, Juliet Douglas hung up. She was still smiling as she left.
The folder was still open to the page she had found so important. On the top of the page, Douglas had circled in red one certain name…
'First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye.'
EDIT 4/28/07-- I have no time for anything these days, but considering it's been months since I last worked on this thing...