AN- tracycoder- i would LOVE to keep working and working on this story, and never ending, but if i did the quality would do a nose-dive once my ideas ran out. plus, once you read the next few chapters/ending, you'll understad why it would be rather impossible for me to keep going past where my last chapter goes. ...oops...did i give too much away right there? keh heh heh
peophin-chan- kyaa, such determination:bows: thanks a billion for the review!
floOfymikO- wait and seeee...heh, like i said above, there IS a reason why i wouldnt be able to keep going besides the fact that the quality would suck. :laughs evily: grr, NO ONE seems to know what Pride does! he's so...grrr, he's annoying. and i dont even know what he does to BE annoying with:sigh: well, i did assume he could see in the future-hence the creepy eye thing he's got going on- so i'll just make it up as i go along, XD
WELL, hello again. i'm warnin ya right now, Sloth 'n Pride might be a bit OOC. hopefully not too badly. had absolutly no spare time, so i only did a very quick once-over in terms of spelling. if you see any mistakes, kindly ignore 'em, heh. XD
here's hoping you guys enjoy cliff-hangers!
disclaimer- yada yada, dont own fma, blah blah blah, so no suing me, so on and so forth.
Reasons
Damn it!
Roy cursed and wiped the corner of his mouth. The back of his hand came away smeared with blood. Bradley raised an eyebrow.
"Tiring already? Come now, Colonel, that was just one punch. I thought you were known for being a talented fighter…"
One punch? The Flame Alchemist snorted- yeah, that was a good one. It was more like a grenade going off next to his jaw. He hadn't been able to block it, even slightly, because in all honesty, he hadn't seen it coming. It was the stupid mistake of an untrained recruit, one he hadn't made in years. After all, that was one of the first rules a soldier learned when he joined the military- always keep your eyes on your opponents, and never let them catch you off-guard. Roy'd learned that lesson well—or so he thought…you'd never be able to tell from that last little encounter! Barely before he had time to blink, Bradley was there, in front of him, fist swinging. The force of the blow had been enough to send Roy reeling back, gasping. The president was so damn fast…not only that, but Roy got the infuriating sense that, as strong as that punch had been, Bradley hadn't even been trying. Something in the homunculus's demeanor suggested that it had been more of a 'test-punch', just to see what Roy's limits were, and to screw around with him a bit. It was the punch of a man who smiled condescendingly as he fought, not using his full strength or worrying whatsoever. It was the punch of a man who would say-kindly, of course-, 'no need to worry, I'm not going to kill you,', and then watch gleefully as the person opposite him grew even angrier, because they both knew what he really meant. They both knew that what he really meant was that he wasn't going to bother to kill the person, because they weren't any kind of threat, any cause for concern…they were useless, pathetic, and Bradley wouldn't even waste his time. Which only pissed Roy off more, because there was nothing he hated more then someone who was so sure they were the greatest that they didn't feel the need to try. (Yes, he'd been guilty of that many times before himself, but hey- who said he didn't hate himself?)
"I must admit I'm disappointed," the president was saying now, smugly. "From what I've heard, I expected you to put up a better fight, Colonel Mustang."
"Gee, sorry for disappointing you," Roy answered though clenched teeth. His eyes searched urgently for any small sign or giveaway that might help pinpoint the location of Bradley's stone. But there was nothing…
"Why don't you try using your alchemy?" Bradley suggested 'helpfully'. "After all, it did help you quite a bit back in Ishbal, didn't it?"
"Yeah…back in Ishbal…" Roy hissed. "Back in that goddamn bloodbath you started!
"How exactly did I do that?" was the cold reply. Roy snickered cynically.
"Heh, you think I don't know? You, and the rest of your homunculi friends-you intentionally picked a fight with the Ishbalans, just so you could have an excuse to get rid of them!"
"Is that so?" Bradley frowned, harshly. "If that is what you think, then you know very little, Colonel."
"Oh really, well, then how about you enlighten me!"
"Yes, it's true, the war was started intentionally, by me. But I didn't do so on a whim- oh, no, believe me, Colonel, I had my reasons."
Roy's eyes widened slightly. "Wha-at…?"
"Come now, Colonel Mustang," Bradley snorted derisively. "Use your head, for a change. Why would I, the president of the strongest nation on earth, bother with starting a controversial war, unless I had a good reason? You don't honestly believe all that garbage they fed you back there, about how the Ishbalans were 'threatening the security of the country', do you?"
Roy slowly shook his head- he never had trusted a word of that, but at the same time, he couldn't figure out why the higher-ups would waste so much money and so many men on a pointless conflict that made the members of the military look like demons…
"The Ishbalans didn't serve as any sort of threat, and they never will. How could they? Their religion forbids them from using alchemy, a science that in their eyes 'bastardizes the world Ishbala gave to them'. I believe that's the load of nonsense they enjoy spewing at everyone else, yes?" He laughed, cruelly. "And they wonder why their lives are so wretched? What do they expect? Those few survivors rotting away in refugee camps, or living in squalor and fear as they hide from the military's final justice…what were they thinking? Refusing alchemy, refusing God's great gift to his wayward children…although," he chuckled again, "I'm not exactly one for religion. The Ishbalans are such fools."
"No…they're not," Roy argued, breathing hard.
"How can you say they're not, look at how many of them have died because of their stubbornness!"
"They died because they were better people then…" He stopped, sensing how futile an argument it was. Bradley smirked again.
"Idiot boy…haven't you realized by now that being a 'good person' doesn't count for anything in this world? Life isn't about being a good person, it's about climbing your way to the top, and screw whoever you have to step on to get there." He shook his head. "But I digress. What were we discussing again? Ah, yes, I was explaining to you why I started the Ishbalan Rebellion. 'Rebellion'…heh, what a joke. Those pathetic souls never realized that they were playing right into my hands the entire time."
Roy glared at him. "Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died fighting them, and you're saying you had everything under control!"
"Of course. Those men were all just simply cannon fodder."
"Cannon fodder!? They were fighting—"
"I already told you, humans are expendable. Besides, the whole point of stirring up that little war was for the dead bodies it would produce!" The man-the monster- laughed, his eyes glimmering in the dim candlelight. Roy stared at him in hopeless disbelief. "That's right, Mustang. That's why the war was started, why we purposely made it so that we would look like the villains. Why soldiers were ordered to attack unarmed villages, why the rising body counts on both sides never stopped anyone, why it was always considered a good thing when other tribes would join sides with the Ishbalans in their righteous rage. This war was started…because we needed the bodies."
"W-What…what could you possibly…?"
"You've heard of the Philosopher's Stone, haven't you?"
"The Philosoph-…." Roy snapped his fingers. Flames shot out at the president, who ducked, quite smoothly, as if he'd been expecting it. (Which was impossible, because it had been a rash action born out of anger, something Roy hadn't known himself he was going to do a microsecond before he did it. Perhaps the homunculus had simply figured that the Flame Alchemist would snap sooner or later.) But, whatever- the fire hit the wall instead, and singed the stones to black.
"Now, Colonel," Bradley said calmly, "was that quite nessisar—"
"Shut up!" Roy's face was contorted in fury, his breath coming out of him in angry little gasps. "Shut up! The Philosopher's Stone….you need humans to create it, right?"
Bradley nodded, apparently pleased that he'd figured it out so quickly. "Of course. To create the stone itself, they must be alive, but in terms of test subjects, dead humans make just as good a lab rat as anything else."
"You bastard! You killed thousands of innocent people just for your goddamn experiments! What about the soldiers from the military that were killed, did you use them too?"
"You seem to be getting rather excited, Colonel Mustang," the president observed coolly. "May I remind you that you are the one who is known in the military as being extremely driven and ambitious? There have been rumors floating around for months that you would do anything to claw your way up the ladder, and something tells me you would be the last to deny them."
"I wouldn't start a damn war just for—"
"Ah, yes, I forgot, you're so much better then I. Heh….forgive me for laughing," he said icily, "but I'm sure if push came to shove you'd be able to justify it in the end. It'd be an excellent way to pick up girls, something I'm told you're rather taken with. One thing I can't seem to figure out about you, Mustang…" and here he smirked, "if you love those Ishbalans so much…then why exactly did you murder them?"
Roy lunged at him again, fists flying. He swung at the president again and again, the two of them 'dancing' all over the room. Roy's fists moved in a rush, too fast to be seen as more then a blur. He was obviously the one on the offensive…too bad no one had bothered to tell Bradley that. Even thought Roy was almost as good in a fist-fight as he was in an alchemy battle, he couldn't lay a finger on the homunculus. And it wasn't just because the guy was fast-he was, but there was more to it…something in his movements, in the way he dodged Roy's assault, didn't seem…..right. He was too fluid, too laid-back, too….planned-out.
"Dammit," Roy growled, as another one of his punches struck at nothing but air, this isn't working! Deciding to switch tactics, he deliberately aimed for nothing. With Bradley ducked, Roy quickly brought his other hand up and snapped his fingers. A wave of flames exploded right in the homunculus's face. Roy smirked as the other fell back, smoke shielding him from view. Considering the healing powers homunculi had, he highly doubted that attack had done much, but even if it just bought him some time, it still worked out in his favor. He needed every second he could get to try and figure out where Bradley's stone was implanted. From what he'd read, the location of the stone was always right beneath the oriborus tattoo, but he couldn't seem to find Bradley's tattoo to begin with!
Finally, the smoke cleared a bit. Roy looked eagerly, hoping--though he knew the chances were pretty hopeless—that he'd see a glimmer of red before the president had a chance to heal himself up. Instead, his jaw dropped. Bradley hadn't been so much as singed! He had a katana out (one of the several swords he always had strapped to his back like some wanna-be ninja) and was holding it in front of him. Steam was still rising from the metal- it appeared that he'd used the weapon to divert the flames away from his face. Which, in itself, wasn't so surprising- it was a pretty well-known talent a lot of swordsmen had, and Bradley was obviously one of the best. What struck Roy as odd—hell, as fricken weird--was that he'd managed to take his sword out at all. Sure, a swordfighter could whip his out in the blink of an eye, but to have time both to duck, and to use it? It just didn't seem possible.
Roy's mind raced. Maybe…well….if he hadn't bothered to duck, he might have been able to get his katana up fast enough, but come on…it was a body's natural reflex to duck, that'd been the whole point of the fake-punch in the first place! The only way that scenario could work was if homunculi didn't have the same goddamn reflexives as humans, which was unlikely…although Roy wasn't ruling anything out at this point!
"Hmm…" Bradley lowered his weapon, eyeing Roy with interest. "That wasn't bad, Colonel. A clever maneuver. Might have done some real damage if I hadn't known it was coming."
"What do you mean, 'known it was coming'! You couldn't have—"
"Or, maybe I give you too much credit," Bradley continued as if he hadn't heard Roy, "In fact, I'm quite sure that I do. After all, if you really did have any brains in that stubborn little head of yours, you'd have known better then to challenge me in the first place. You'd have realized that no one can defeat me. Even among the other homunculi, I am the strongest."
Roy forced a smirk. "Cocky bastard, aren't you?"
"Heh…I believe the saying is, 'takes one to know one'?" The president chuckled. "Besides, it is in the name."
"…So…" Roy said slowly, "You're Pride?"
"You've heard of me? Why, Colonel, I'm flattered."
"Yeah, well, your friend Greed apparently mentioned you…as he was attacking my first lieutenant!"
"Ah, yes, Greed…" Pride's face wrinkled like he'd bitten into something sour. "I had my doubts about using him for that mission. It was my secretary's idea to involve him-she's been wanting some way to keep him under control for a while now, and she thought that if she could get him embroiled in this whole thing, he'd have no choice but to follow along. Unfortunately, she forgot how idiotic that man is…heh, or should I say, was."
Roy ignored the last comment. He really couldn't care less about Greed at this point. "You should talk, you son of a bitch. After all, deciding to go after Lieutenant Hawkeye wasn't a very smart idea on your part."
"You don't think so?" Pride, seeing his opportunity, slowly shook his head. "Oh, but I disagree. I think it worked wonders. After all, it served its objective-it upset you, didn't it? Although, I must admit that I was rather loath to agree to it, at first…after all, that girl is a good soldier, and very pretty besides." His tone stayed nice and casual, like he was discussing the weather instead of slicing at Roy's biggest weakness. But there was an edge to his voice now…his eyes met and drilled into Roy's...he smiled.
"After I've taken care of you, I think I'll pay her a visit, see if the two of us can't become…'better acquainted'."
Afterwards, it was said that the room became so filled with alchemically-created flames, it rivaled for a moment the Devil's domain.
The wind began to pick up- a sure sign of a storm approaching. The sky had reverted back to its typical charcoal grey. Dirt blew down the street, bits of grit that stung the eyes. Riza wouldn't allow herself to blink, though. Her eyes remained fixed on Sloth, who hadn't moved. She still stood there, in front of Riza, smirking ever-so-slightly.
Another gust tugged at Riza's hair, trying to pull it loose. She ignored that too. She glanced quickly down at her watch, and discovered that another five minutes had gone by. She had only four left if she was going to keep her promise….
Well, enough was enough. Riza's mind was made up. She reached down and pulled out her gun. She paused for only a second, staring at the gleaming weapon. Only a second, as her mind, used to obeying her superiors, adjusted to the fact that she would now be shooting at one. Much to her surprise, she found that it was not nearly as hard an idea to get used to as she had assumed.
Her heart wasn't racing, her stomach wasn't twisting, her thoughts as she gripped the metal were controlled and steady. She felt calm. Too calm, maybe. Without waiting any longer, she leveled the gun…and aimed it at Sloth.
"Move."
Sloth chuckled softly. She seemed delighted at having a gun pointed at her face.
"I'd think twice, Lieutenant. You know what the penalties for assaulting a higher-ranked officer are, don't you?"
Yes, Riza knew. She knew what would happen if things didn't go well today. She'd find herself staring down the barrel of a gun…of several guns, actually, as many as made up a firing squad. She knew….and she didn't care. Roy needed her. She had never once, in her entire life, acted impulsively…for once, to help the colonel, she was willing to head in eyes closed and gun drawn, if that's what it took. The thought of any punishments that might come her way later as a result were only distant dots on the horizon. Her grip on the gun didn't falter.
"Move. I need to get past."
"I see…how admirable…" Sloth eyed her. "You really would risk life and limb for the Flame Alchemist."
Riza clicked off the safety. "Move."
"I suppose the best question….would be why. Why are you so determined to protect him?"
Why? Riza blinked. Why…? ….What did Sloth mean, why? She had to protect him, because…because he…he was her colonel. She couldn't just let him get hurt. She wanted to help him….but why? Well, because she loved him—she'd certainly had her faire share of grief swallowing that bitter pill, but she'd swallowed it none the less. That was why she had to protect him, of course, because she loved him.
…….
But why?
Why did she love Roy Mustang? He was cocky, he was full of himself, he was headstrong and stubborn and reckless and not a little perverted, when you got down to it. He was selfish, he abused alcohol a little too often for her taste, he never focused on his work, hell, he took naps instead of filling out forms like he was supposed to…he was, in short, the exact opposite of whatever image she'd had of 'The One" as a girl. He managed to push all her buttons without even trying, and he alternately either frustrated her to no end, pissed her off, or an oddly annoying combination of both. Plus, at the same time, he managed to make her feel completely unlike herself, just by looking at her! Just by looking at her, her focus died and her clear-headedness went out the window. He brought out a side of her she couldn't stand! A weaker side, a more vulnerable side…he was the kind of man she hated! And she would have hated him, too…
If only she didn't love him so damn much.
Why do I love him? Why…
She slowly looked up at Sloth, who stood smirking and waiting for an answer.
"Why…?"
"Yes. Why are you so obsessed with being his shadow, his bodyguard?" Her lips curled in contempt at the word. What foolish, emotional children these humans were.
"…" Riza looked down again at the gun in her hands. It wasn't hers, she realized now—it was Roy's. She looked at the gun, and thought of Roy, and of her life as his first lieutenant, and of the first time she'd ever seen him, so many years ago, when she'd wondered what kind of a man he could possibly be…
"I'll always protect you. I promise."
"You want to know why I follow Roy Mustang…"
"I promise..."
"In all honesty…" She aimed the gun at Sloth again, determinedly. "…I really don't know."
And she pulled the trigger.
Where is he…?
Roy took a step into the wall of black smoke engulfing the center of the room. It was impossible to see much of anything, but at least the smoke was beginning to fade a bit. Eyes narrowed, he glared as he looked around for Pride. His fists trembled at the thought of what he would do to that bastard once he caught him.
I'm going….to kill him…
Behind him, Pride stepped quietly out from the poisonous grey curtain. Slowly, he raised his sword again.
The bullet hit Sloth right in the center of her forehead, and her eyes widened in shock as the force spun her around and sent her crashing into the wall behind her. Her body lay slumped where it fell. Riza had to admit she was surprised…she hadn't been expecting one bullet to do so much to a homunculus. Still, she wasn't about to start complaining- she stepped over Sloth's prostrate figure and hurried down the street. As long as the homunculus stayed down, even if it was only for a few minutes, it would give Riza enough time to put some distance between them…
"Lieutenant. Kindly stop where you are."
Riza whirled back around, and her eyes widened slightly. Not only was Sloth up, but there was no sign of blood anywhere. Even homunculi bled as they healed themselves…not to mention, there had been no telltale flash of light to suggest she'd healed herself at all. It was as if she'd never been hit in the first place...as if she had simply been acting. The realization hit her hard. It made no sense- Riza saw the bullet go through her head! - but she was suddenly sure it was true.
Two minutes left…
I don't have time!
Riza aimed and fired again, without thinking. Once again, the bullet was true to its mark. It hit Sloth right through the forehead…and kept going. Or, to be put more accurately, it went through Sloth's forehead, but never actually touched any skin or bone whatsoever. It never had a chance to. Because, right before it hit her, that area of Sloth's forehead became blue, wavy, and liquid…became water.
Riza gasped--she couldn't help it. Suddenly, it was all very, very clear. She understood now…understood everything.
The homunculi were always one step ahead of us…they always knew everything, right as we were about to do it…
Hughes stepped inside, wrinkling his nose as water burbled up around his feet. 'Darn leaking roof!'
"It looks like another part of the roof is leaking, sir."
Sloth was a homunculus. Homunculi had special powers. And it appeared that Sloth's was turning into water. Riza's weapon was as useless now as it had ever been against Greed.
Sloth smiled primly. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, you are aware that insubordination comes at a price, correct?"
Riza heard a small splash, and looked down to find a small stream of water running past her where there hadn't been any a moment ago. The water trickled down the street from its place of origin, which was Sloth- her entire arm was now blue and wavy….was water….the liquid dripped from her 'fingers' and fell to the pavement. Slowly, she turned around….just in time to see a pillar of water rising up behind her. This tall, narrow, and physically impossible pillar snaked out at her, giving her absolutely zero time to dodge, or even block herself. It smashed into her and sent her flying into a wall. Her head banged into the bricks, her legs buckled, and she caved to the floor dizzily.
"Nngh…" She struggled to climb back to her feet, only to find that she…couldn't. "W-What!"
She strained with all her might, but it was no use- her arm was stuck tight. Her stomach sank when she saw how it was stuck. The building she'd just been knocked into was abandoned (most of the buildings in the area were; largely unused these days, the old factory district had been rotting away for years.) and the bricks were loose and crumbling. The pipes that the bricks were supposed to conceal stuck out in many places, and Riza's sleeve was caught-tightly-on one of these rusted metal tubes.
Sloth's entire body was water now, except for her face- it was a freaky sight, to say the least. The pillar was getting larger as she pumped more water into it. Clearly, she was going for the kill. Riza tugged frantically on the knot, trying to pull her arm free. It didn't budge in the least, and the fabric was too thick to rip out. For the first time, she found herself cursing the durability of her uniform.
Sloth watched her struggle for a few moments, curving her lips into a small smile. She always loved it when her prey was helpless…it would be most enjoyable to watch this one die.
Riza tugged one last time at her sleeve and cursed. There was simply no way she could get this knot out by herself, not without fiddling with it for an hour…which she most definitely did not have. Her fingers went to the buttons on her jacket, but her uniform was wet from before, and the buttons were slippery and hard to grasp left-handedly. Hearing the sound of rushing water, she looked up to see the water pillar rushing at her all over again. Never mind drowning…once this thing crashed into her, the force alone would be enough to crack her head open. She pulled desperately at the last button, her fingers numb by now from an emotion very much like fear…
But it was no good. The way things stood now, Riza's life was about to be rather abruptly cut short….and there was absolutely nothing she could do but sit there and wait.
AN- so, were the 2 homunculi ooc? sorry if they were! i'm reasonably sure Pride's perverted comment WAS, but i had to have him say something that would piss roy off immensly, 'n thats the only thing i could come up with. XD. also, i honestly have no clue what roy knows/doesnt know about what the homunculi's plans are/arent anymore anime-wise. i have to go back a bit an rewatch some episodes. just keep in mind, that if this differs in that regard from the show, it's cause i'm intentionally NOT following that storyline. too restricting.
and yes, Greed is dead. o.o;; i'm as surprised as you are, i wasnt exactly planning on KILLING him when i first brought him in! -.-;; i wish i could make up my mind about these things ahead of time...ah well, neways, sorry to all you Greed fans, and more on that in later chapters!
ciao!
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