Okay, so I may have had a bit too much fun in the second part here, but they need some way to cheer themselves up with all that is happening and while they still can't do anything.
Chapter seventeen
It had been four days since the funeral now. Eleven days since Edward was found dead.
Yet it didn't get any better.
It still hurt just as much as it had the day the General had called her. Since she'd seen the tortured remains of Edward Elric.
Riza put yet another red rose on the grave. Alphonse had told her why they had gone with the red ones instead of white. Because right now she really wanted nothing more than for Edward's blood to be pumping through his veins again. For this to have been some sort of nightmare.
Because it sure felt like one.
Riza was suddenly alone. The others had been reassigned to other officers in other cities. Breda was up North now together with Falman. Havoc had been sent to Central to work under Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong and Fuery was sent West.
And Riza felt just like half a year ago.
Because now she was working under Major General Freeman. She'd found out his name yesterday and today she got reassigned.
Which told her just how big this was. They were everywhere, because this time, they weren't just the homunculi and the higher-ups. This was every officer that wanted the General out of Ishbal. And people still feared the Ishbalans, so there were many sympathisers.
But this time around, she wasn't a hostage. She was just there for Freeman's sadistic sense of fun. He gloated at her as often as he could, hinting towards how horrible Roy Mustang was for hitting those boys.
Riza knew that Freeman had killed Edward. It was plain as day because of the many hints he gave her. He was having fun, showing her just how big this was. And Riza had to tread carefully because the rest of the team were still in danger if she messed anything up. And she could be framed as well, although Freeman still seemed reluctant to. Being the Führer's granddaughter had it's benefits after all.
"I'm sorry, Edward. I will find a way to get him. You're just going to have to wait a little longer." She walked forwards and put a hand on the gravestone. She felt a tear running down her cheek.
"Captain Hawkeye?"
Riza quickly dried her cheek and looked around to see a stranger with a red ponytail and a military uniform saluting her, a card of some sort under his arm. He walked forwards and handed her the card. "I'm First Lieutenant Greg Wilson. Me and some friends have made you a card with our sympathies, this must be especially hard for you, even if General Mustang turns out to have killed them."
Riza took the card a little surprised. And of course angry that this man still considered the General to be a killer. "Thank, you Lieutenant Wilson, that is very kind."
"Well, I hope you have a good day." Wilson then lay down a red rose on the grave too and left.
Riza opened the card slightly and saw a small message of sympathies and a lot of different signatures. Her eyes fell upon the handwriting and gasped slightly, but acted as naturally as she could.
Riza walked home where she was instantly greeted by Black Hayate. She scratched him behind the ear and then sat down at the kitchen table, grabbing a pen and paper. She knew that handwriting anywhere, she'd been his assistant for much too long not to recognise it.
Dear Captain Hawkeye,
We are so sorry about the situation you are in and we hope that this card may cheer you up a bit.
Our condolences may seem futile, but remember that you still have people that believe in you.
She looked through the names one by one and gasped, tears running down her face.
William Everett Alexander Roberts Eleanor Samuels Anne Fiona Evans Bobby Olsen Dennis Yorke West Alfred Stocke Freddie Avery Kevin Epson
Riza blinked repeatedly. There was no way that she'd read it right.
She did it over again and then a third time, still leaving her with the same message.
WE ARE SAFE BODY WAS FAKE
WE ARE SAFE BODY WAS FAKE
WE ARE SAFE BODY WAS FAKE
Which meant that Ed was still alive.
And judging by the way it was written without any orders for help or anything, it would seem that General Mustang was reunited with his boys once again.
Riza smiled, tears running down her face.
Then she sat down on the floor and hugged Black Hayate to her.
The battle wasn't lost yet, and by the sound of it, the General would contact her when the time was right. She just needed to wait a bit longer.
Al lay on the couch, laughing and coughing. They were feeling a lot more cheerful today after having delivered the message. It had been decided unanimously that Hawkeye would receive word about Ed's condition after Angela informed them yesterday that she was about to be transferred to Freeman's team. They felt really bad about it and Dad had needed to pin Ed to the floor as he tried to run out of the flat to have a word with "THAT DAMN RACIST BASTARD!"
And so they had decided to let her in on the secret instead.
Right now, however, they were laughing their heads off because they were playing a game, reading through the newspapers and reacting to them like either General Armstrong, Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong or Teacher. It helped remind them that there were still people who believed in them. And so Ed was General Armstrong, wearing a long, blonde wig that Greg had forgotten back in their flat, while Al was Teacher and Dad was doing a ridiculous, yet precise impression of Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong, throwing off the striped hoodie and flexing his muscles.
"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! GENERAL MUSTANG WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO EDWARD AND ALPHONSE ELRIC! NOW I MUST GO TO THE NEWSPAPERS STRAIGHT AWAY AND RUB MY BEAUTIFUL MUSCLES IN THE EDITOR'S FACE UNTIL I SCARE HIM FROM EVER PUBLISHING ANYTHING OTHER THAN FLUFFY BUNNIES GETTING NEW HOMES! I SHALL INTIMIDATE HIM IN THE WAY PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!" Dad announced while Ed and Al were laughing loudly.
Al knew they were doing this to keep their minds off the fact that none of them could walk outside and they had had to stay indoors in a small flat for three days straight now and it was driving them a bit insane.
It was Ed's turn to read. He picked up the next newspaper headline to read that. What made it really funny was that they did every single page, which meant that a few rounds ago, Dad had had to read one about advice for home births, which seemed to scare him quite a lot as he read it out loud. His facial expressions as he kept reading made it absolutely hilarious, even if it gave them some unpleasant flashbacks to Rush Valley.
Once Ed had gathered himself enough to actually read it, he threw a black blanket over his shoulders on top of his blue hoodie and readjusted his wig so that he had a long lock of blonde hair covering his right eye.
However, instead of reading out loud, he turned towards Dad, scoffing, clearly in character. "Put your shirt back on, Alex! You are a military officer, not a swimwear model! Besides, that is not how you flex your muscles in the Armstrong family way!" He then threw off his hoodie and blanket, standing there in his black tank top. "THIS IS HOW!" He bellowed, flexing his own muscles in a more feminine, yet violent way. Then Edward pointed towards Dad with an imaginary sword. "You see, Alex! That is why you shall never be the head of the Armstrong family!"
Al was gasping for air because of his laughter. Ed was looking so incredibly stupid, it was a marvel to behold.
The best part, however, was the fact that Dad actually accepted the challenge and began flexing his own muscles.
And so began a furious battle of shouting and flexing until Ed decided to tackle Dad and sit down on his back. "YOU'RE STILL TOO WEAK, ALEX!"
Ed was having a great time, Al was laughing his head off and Ed was finally letting go of some of his frustration even if it was in a bit unusual fashion.
And besides, it let him forget just what the headline had read.
And so the newspaper lay forgotten on the floor, hidden beneath the bed while announcing that it had now been issued an order that if any officer saw General Mustang, they were allowed to shoot to kill.