Story: It is What it is, Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA
After the next chapter or so, we'll start getting to the confrontation about Edward's self-harm, just a note.
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AEW Dragon said: Good chapter. I could see Kanon being connected to it all. He is so creepy. Well, I'm looking forward to more!
Kanon's definitely connected, but I won't spoil how~ Thank you for reading and for the feedback! ^^
((Finally, a chapter that has a little bit of Alphonse in it~. And other stuff. Also, this festival ISN'T filler. There's a huge purpose for it.
...
The next day, Riza woke up before everybody else. The sun had risen, light spilling through the windows. Slowly, she made her bed, before going to the bathroom and fulfilling her morning nessesities. Afterwards, she then came back into the bedroom, noticing a troubled expression on Roy's face as she passed by.
Kneeling down to his bed side, she spoke in a soft voice:
"Colonel..."
When he didn't respond, she repeated herself a little louder.
Still no response.
"Roy, wake up. You're having a nightmare." She finally said, rubbing a hand on the side of his face. With a jolt, he woke up, looking up at her, the terror in his eyes obvious. However, when he took in his surroundings, he began to calm down.
"Hawkeye,... you called me by my first name..." He said weakly, giving a light smile, despite the pain in his eyes. Nightmares were a fairly common occurrence for both of them to deal with, so Riza understood what he was going through.
Her eyes widened ever so slightly in realization and she couldn't help but blush a bit. However, she quickly regained her composure. "Oh, so I did. Forgive my insubordination, sir."
"No, it's fine." Roy said, in a low voice. "Roy is fine, at least for this weak."
"With all due respect, Colonel, it would be inappropriate for me to speak to you on such an informal basis." Riza mumbled.
"Please, I insist." He told her, as he began to sit up, before letting out a small chuckle. "Besides, you've already called me 'honey'. I don't think it could get more informal than that."
Feeling her ears growing hotter than before, Riza decided to change the topic. "What were you dreaming about...? If you don't mind me asking..."
She stood up and sat next to him, figuring he wouldn't mind. It hadn't been the first time Riza had walked in on Roy having a nightmare, after all.
Roy was silent for a moment, before speaking back up. "Reliving memories from Ishval..."
He had a grim and tortured look on his face.
"I see..." Riza mulled over it. She had figured as much.
"There's always so much blood..." Roy murmured, looking down at his hands. "It felt so real... Like I was still there."
"I know..." Riza mumbled. Even for her, the war was not over in her heart. She knew that Roy felt the same. "I want to say that it's okay because we're not there anymore..., but we both know that in the end, it's not okay, and nor will it ever be..."
Nothing they could do or say would ever give back the lives that had been taken by them in Ishval. They would forever have their hands stained and that was a fact.
Roy placed a reassuring hand over hers. "No, but it is what it is."
"Yes..." Riza nodded. "I'm sorry, sir..."
She herself still hadn't entirely healed from her own past, so she wasn't about to begin to think herself as being capable of healing somebody else when she couldn't even help herself half the time. Inspirational words were true enough, but when the memories struck, it didn't mean they weren't painful.
"Don't apologize." Roy told her, knowing the look in her eyes. "You being here by my side right now means more than any words could have meant to me. I'll probably never get over what happened in Ishval, or what I've done, and maybe I don't deserve to. But... whenever I'm around you, I feel like I'm not alone, like it's a little bit easier to bear because you understand, you know?"
He gave a saddened smirk. "Maybe that's selfish of me."
"No, I don't think it's selfish at all..." Riza shook her head, giving his hand a light squeeze of her own. "It's perfectly normal to find comfort in the company of somebody who understands what you've been through from personal experience during times of suffering."
"You think so...?" Roy mused. "Maybe you're right. Thank you..., Riza..."
Riza gave a small smirk. "Don't mention it, Roy..."
Roy's face heated up a bit at hearing that, before he decided to change the subject just as she had before. "We should probably get around."
"Right." Riza, in reality, could tell that Roy was getting just as flustered as herself, which was somehow charming, not that she needed to say it aloud. After all, she herself might have been getting just a little too close as well.
...
"Cotton Drifting Festival?" Edward rose an eye brow.
"Yes, it's a festival where some of the towns people are going to be gathering to drop cotton balls into the stream a ways down the road." Riza explained.
"What's the purpose? Seems a little pointless, doesn't it?" Edward wasn't trying to be rude, but he'd never been the kind of person to hold back from stating his opinion if he had one.
"Apparently, they see it as renewal of the soul. Going by their logic, our sins will wash away with the cotton." Riza told him.
"Sounds stupid to me." Edward muttered. As if anything could ever erase his sins.
"It's a tradition that's been practiced here for about two hundred years, so at least try to show a little respect." Roy flicked him in the forehead.
"Ow! Hey, you didn't have to flick me!" Edward shouted, rubbing his forehead as he glared at Roy. "Great, now you're sounding a bit like Major Armstrong..."
"Either way, you're going to be coming with us." Roy choicefully ignored his comments.
"Huh? Why do I have to go?" Edward really hadn't wanted to. He had his own agenda to take care of, and involving himself in a festival to throw cotton into some stupid river wasn't part of it. He still needed to go and find Kanon. Furthermore, they'd heard about The Suicide Forest and the suspicious stuff going on, so why the hell were they wasting their time with such a thing?
"Because I said so." Roy said flatly, before receiving a dirty look from Riza. "And also because it would look bad on us if you didn't show up. It is a family-oriented festival, after all. Any objections?"
Riza still wasn't pleased with his response, but decidedly let it slide, looking over at Edward.
"No..." Edward lied, not wanting to talk about the boy he'd met the day before.
"Did you have somewhere else you were planning to go?" Riza inquired.
"Sort of... But it's nothing important." Edward said regrettably.
"I see, well most of the stuff in the town is closed, anyway." Riza told him. "So, you won't really be able to go much of anywhere."
It was sheer coincidence that they had decided to come on the week of a festival. Edward found himself cursing his crap luck.
"Great, thanks..." Edward said sarcastically, glaring at Roy.
He was not going to like this.
"Try not to be too resentful of the Colonel, Edward." Riza told him. "You might actually end up enjoying this."
With folded arms and a scowl, he gave one last bitter protest:
"I doubt it."
...
He still was doubting it.
Paper streamers, banners, numerous stands, vendors and various games were set up at street sides.
Over on the far left, towards a string of apartments, some people were serving free breakfast items, like eggs, bacon, grits, oatmeal, and other such things. Each person was getting a fair portion on their plates, the smell of the food wafting in the air around them.
Looking around him, Edward realized just how many people had gathered for this event. "This must be a pretty famous festival..." He mused, though nobody heard him.
Eventually, he decided to go to the line, and about fifteen minutes later, it was up to him, Roy and Riza to get a plate. Edward got a bit of everything, and the man serving even gave him an extra piece of bacon.
Now, Riza was left waiting for Roy.
"How ya been, Alastair? It's been a while, hasn't it?" The server smiled, recognizing his face. He was an older, slightly heavier set man.
"Hey, Dan! I've been alive, at least. How about you?" Roy said, grinning himself.
"Same, to be honest. All we can do is take things a day at a time." Dan admitted, reminding Roy briefly of Caspar's words. "The military may be as unhelpful and greedy as ever, but we've found our ways to keep our heads held high. Speaking of which, who's the lady beside you? Did you finally go and get yourself a wife?"
The man smirked slyly.
"Yup." Roy smiled, pulling Riza to his side in a hug. "This is Elizabeth."
Riza, while looking unphased, was actually taken aback at the physical contact.
"Wow! Good for you! She's a real looker too, so you better take good care of her or I might just steal her away from you." Dan joked.
Before either Roy or Riza could respond, Edward pointed to Riza with his thumb. "I wouldn't count on getting a chance with that one. He's totally head-over-heels in love with her."
Dan stared at him for a moment, before blinking. "Woah, you really take after your mother, little girl."
Edward immediately started seething. "Little... girl?"
His bangs fell in his eyes, shadowing his face.
Roy stifled a laugh, as he walked over to stop Edward from lunging at Dan, who seemed confused.
"No, Dan, this is our son, Alfred." Roy said, patting Edward on the head.
"Got that? Son. I'm a boy." Edward held up his fist.
"Son? Huh, I'm sorry about that! Must have been thrown off by your voice* and hair. There's also the matter of how short you-" Dan tried to say, but was interrupted by Edward.
((*Edward is voiced by a female in Japanese, so he sounds a bit feminine.))
"Don't call me short!" the blonde fumed.
"Now, Alfred..." Riza decided to intervene. "Remember the benefits we talked about... not being as tall as everybody else?"
"...Fine." Edward muttered, before surprisingly backing up, allowing Roy to lead him off.
"I'm sorry about that." Riza sighed.
"It's fine. I totally understand, kids will be kids and you've got a mighty feisty one there." Dan laughed a little.
Riza gave a small smile of fondness. "That we do."
"I'm making you and your husband a plate, and I'll just put a bit of everything on it, so you can go on and look around. After all, if I keep my other people waiting much longer, I'm pretty sure one them are gonna start blowing a fuse."
"It's well appreciated. Thank you, sir."
"Don't mention it." The man smiled, as he handed them to her.
Riza smiled as a gesture, before she began to walk off after Roy and Edward. It was at that moment that Dan called back out to her. "Oh, and Elizabeth, you have a good man there. I can see in his eyes that he thinks a lot of you, so don't go breaking his heart now."
She gave a light smile, before walking off. A part of her briefly pondered the bond that she and Roy shared. It wasn't something that either one of them had ever bothered to put a name to. The mutual understanding they had for each other was enough. But now she couldn't help it, because of the way Roy had been acting. Where was the line to be drawn between friendship and love? Could he be-
"Ah, Elizabeth!" Roy snapped her out of her thoughts. He was grinning. "We were just talking about going to play some of the games around here."
Roy and Riza may have business here to look into anything suspicious, but that didn't mean Roy cared or planned to spend one hundred percent of his time doing his 'job'. And doing something like playing games were better than nothing. He wasn't entirely boring. He did like Chess, after all.
However, noted by Riza, it was somehow hilarious to hear Roy talk about playing games like a kid.
...
After they finished eating, they threw their plates into a nearby trashcan, before walking around to look at the different stands, before finally coming across a dart game.
It caught Riza's attention immediately.
"You wanna try? Unless you want to win a prize, you can play for free." The man, at the stand offered. He had a name tag that read 'Toni'.
Roy and Edward looked back at her.
"Of course, I'd love to." Riza said, smiling a little.
"Alright, here." Toni handed her five darts, before he stood to the side to avoid being hit.
Riza stepped back a bit to make it more of a challenge.
She held up one of the darts, aiming it. Roy and Edward watched as she began to throw one after the other getting a bullseye for every single one. Having practiced shooting guns day in and day out made a feat like darts seem like nothing.
"Woah!" Edward shouted, amazed.
"You're really good at this, ma'am!" Toni complimented, as he handed the darts back to her again.
"That's my wife for you." Roy smirked proudly, almost sounding like Hughes. Edward couldn't help but look down at hearing that. All of the reminders were causing him to hurt more and more.
That was when Riza held the darts out to him, noticing the forlorn expression on his face. "Here, try it."
He gazed up at her, a bit of uncertainty in his eyes. It was obvious that he also hadn't expected her to offer him to play. He waved nervously. "No, I couldn't. I wouldn't be any good at it."
"Ah, who cares about good?" Toni said. "Just have some fun. It's not like I'm getting any business right now, anyway."
"Yes, I insist." Riza said.
Edward looked to Roy for some subconscious sense of approval.
"Go for it. Then I'll do it and we'll see who's better." Roy challenged. "How about that?"
"You're on." Edward gave in, smirking. "But don't come crying to me if you lose."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
...
In the end, Edward lost, but surprisingly did get one bullseye, while Roy got four.
"This game is rigged." Edward muttered, pouting.
"Now what was that about somebody coming to somebody crying?" Roy put his hands on his hips, bending down to eye level, more than ready to rub it in his face.
"Just shut up... You only won because you've trained..." Edward retorted bitterly. He left it ambiguous, but both Riza and Roy knew he was referring to their training in the military.
"They do say practice makes perfect." Toni echoed.
"He's right." Riza said. "I'm sure you could get better if you kept at it."
Even though Edward had got only one bullseye, he'd come awfully close on a few of the others.
"Can I see those again?" Riza asked.
"Sure." Toni handed her the darts again.
"Alfred, stand here." Riza told Edward, who complied, a bit confused.
"Huh? What is it?" Edward blinked.
"Take this." Riza held out one of the darts.
"Okay."
"An important thing to realize when it comes to darts is that when you aim for a bullseye, aim a little above your target, because otherwise, it will go lower than you want it to." Riza explained.
"Alright." Edward said. "I'll give it a shot."
Aiming, he threw it, amazed when he succeeded. "Hey, I got one!"
Excitedly, he turned to Riza. "I want to try again."
"Of course." Riza gave a small smile. "Here."
Edward, this time, missed by about an inch. Trying again, he got another, and when he finished, he'd finished he'd hit bullseye 3/5 times.
"Good job, kid." Roy smirked.
"Yes, you did great." Riza beamed light, gently rubbing him on the head.
Edward felt his heart melt at the praise, and for the briefest moment, he forgot that it was supposed to be an act. He cursed himself afterwards, for once again, having so much fun. He couldn't allow himself to grow this attached, he knew, because not only were Riza and Roy doing this partially as a show, but he would find it much harder to pull away when it came time to.
As time passed and it became noon, the heat of the sun set in. At that point, most everybody else was wearing short sleeves, causing Edward to stick out like a sore thumb.
"Aren't you hot in that?" Riza asked Edward, who'd kneeled down to pet a white cat that happened to be passing by, receiving a glance from Roy.
"No, not really. I'm used to it." Edward said a bit nervously, before speaking in a lower voice to prevent too many from hearing him. "Besides, I'd rather not show off my automail if I can help it."
The last time that happened, he ended up getting pick-pocketed by Paninya. There's no telling what kind of people were around here this time.
But that wasn't the only reason he insisted on long sleeves, of course. It was true, however, that Edward's automail had warranted unwanted attention in the past, on several occasions, which was something he wanted to avoid if possible. And it was also true that he'd grown used to it; to wearing long sleeves, to the point he didn't feel comfortable going without them, and it wasn't a habit he particularly wanted to break.
After all, the main issue was the cuts. It terrified him to think that Roy and Riza would be disappointed with him if they found out, if not angry. So it was a situation he needed to avoid at all costs, and he was somehow grateful that he could use his automail as a believable excuse to cover up such a thing.
"I see..." Riza said, even though she didn't entirely believe that that was all there was to it. She could see it in his face that he wanted to say more.
"Sir... I think there may be something we're not being told." Riza turned to whisper to Roy.
"That's my guess." Roy nodded. They both looked down at the boy who was happily playing with the cat.
...
"So did you hear? There were five bodies found last week in Selbstmordwald."
"Was it asphyxiation again...?"
"Well, three of them. Two of them were probably normal suicides."
"How scary. Sounds a little suspicious, doesn't it?"
Roy, Riza and Edward happened to pass by some teens on a bench, who were discussing The Suicide Forest.
"Excuse me, ladies?"
Riza and Edward looked up when Roy decided to interject their conversation.
One girl had dark red hair and light blue eyes, the other had black hair and brown eyes, as well as light tan skin, carrying the obvious facial features and appearance of somebody from Xing.
They looked up over their shoulder at him, wondering what he had to say.
"Yes? Can I help you?" The Xingese lady questioned politely.
"I couldn't help but notice that you were discussing Selbstmordwald." Roy said.
The women grew tense, exchanging glances, as if they had been discussing something they really shouldn't have been.
"What about it?" The red haired lady asked, a wary look in her eyes.
"You said that the deaths are by asphyxiation, right?" Roy wanted to know.
"Yes." The girls nodded, wondering what he was getting at.
"Has there been any other specific pattern that links the deaths to each other?" Roy inquired.
"Come to think of it, they've all been found after each Saturday this past month, haven't they...?" The Xingese lady mulled over it, looking up to the other for confirmation.
"Oh, yeah, you're right." The redette echoed, thinking about it.
"How many has died so far this month from asphyxiation?" Roy asked.
"...Twelve in total so far, if I'm not mistaken..."
"Three every Saturday?"
"...Oh god..." The Xingese lady's stomach turned at the realization. "Yeah."
With Roy's suspicions confirmed, he thought about it. Somebody had to be behind it. It wasn't even an argument anymore. And if it was asphyxiation in a manner that that murder had not been suspected... It had to be some kind of drug.
Roy soon thanked them before departing.
"So what do you think?" Riza inquired. She had her own guesses on the causes, but she wanted to hear a second opinion on the matter.
"I was a bit skeptical at first, but it does sound like murder to me." Roy decided.
Edward listened to them, but once again said nothing, opting to just take in what info was thrown at him before making a solid conclusion of his own.
"Do you think it could a be a drug causing the asphyxiation?" Riza asked.
"It's likely. Perhaps, the killer is somehow administering it to them by force..." Roy pondered it. "It would have to be somebody that works at a pharmacy or has experience with creating those kind of drugs."
That's when it dawned on him. "A drug dealer..."
Riza put a finger to her chin, deep in thought. "Up to this point, it's been every Saturday..."
Her eyes widened at the realization and implication. "Sir, that means three people are probably going to die today."
"Yeah..." Roy nodded, before his eyes narrowed grimly. "Unless we do something about it first."
"That bastard is probably smirking because he thinks he's gonna get away with it... As if I'd allow him too." Edward muttered, remembering Kanon's mocking face. He'd seemed suspicious from the start, but Edward found himself becoming sick at thinking that Kanon was even worse than he'd originally imagined. It almost had to be him behind it.
Now it really was personal.
...
Alphonse had been dealing with a lot. When it came down to it, he was beginning to realize that cats were honestly a handful to look after, they loved to scratch into things, to jump on top of fridges and knock glasses over.
Racheal, who Riza had sent Alphonse to meet, had left him in charge of her cats for the day. It wouldn't have been a huge problem if she'd only had about three cats, but the woman had nineteen! She hadn't bothered to get them neutered nor declawed because she felt that it would have been a perversion to the way they were made to be and also felt it would have been cruel to take all that away from them.
Racheal was a pretty nice and laid back lady, but also appeared to have a bit of a temper. Earlier that morning, she was yelling on the phone about somebody cheating her out of her money. And while he understood her frustration, from the unrepeatable things that he had heard her shout before she stormed out the door to meet up with somebody, he was terribly glad that he wasn't on her bad side and hoped it would stay that way.
"What time is it...?" A little boy's voice murmured groggily, as he traipsed into the living room where Alphonse was. He had short black hair, big blueberry colored eyes and was wearing a dark blue long sleeve v-neck shirt, alongside a pair of khaki pants. Freckles covered his nose and the skin beneath his eyes. He appeared to be about eight years of age.
It was Rachel's son, Len. She had left Alphonse in charge of looking after him. She told him that while she wouldn't have normally trusted Alphonse with him, it was a different matter since Riza trusted him.
"Oh, good afternoon, Len. It's a little bit after 1. Your mom said that she'll be back at around 5." Alphonse explained, as he poured some milk into the cats' bowls.
"Oh... Alright." The boy said, walking over to a table. There was a depressing undertone to Len's voice that suggested that he was upset about something.
"Is something wrong?" Alphonse wanted to know.
Len looked off to the side. "Nothing much. It's just... she's been more and more busy lately, so I feel like she rarely has time to spend with me anymore."
Alphonse felt a little sympathy for the boy, knowing what it was like to having wanted affection from his own father who was never around.
"Where is your father?" Alphonse asked. He hadn't seen anybody else around and not once had Racheal mentioned a man.
"He died a few years ago..." Len said simply, as if he wasn't really bothered by the ordeal. "But I don't really know what to think about it. I never had the chance to grow attached to him, because he was constantly arguing and fighting with mum. They were separated, and he wasn't really capable of taking care of me."
It was obvious that the boy had been through a lot for his age and his eyes reflected it.
"I see..." Alphonse said. "It probably gets pretty lonely around here then..."
"Well, usually, she brings me to my grandmother's, if she can't look after me. Mom isn't mean or anything. She's as nice as they come, but she just has a lot to deal with is all. I do sometimes wish she would spend time more time with me, though. Am I bad for wanting that?" Len looked up at him with desperate eyes, wondering if he was wrong for desiring more of an emotional connection to his mother. Even when it came down to it, he had never felt that close to his mother, as much as he wanted to. They had different interests, different feelings about certain things. Maybe it was selfish of him.
He was taken aback when Alphonse patted him on of the head.
"Of course not. I think it's perfectly normal to want to know that your mom still cares. I fully understand." Alphonse said, understanding his feelings all too well. Multiple times, he wished that his father hadn't left him and his family. He didn't know why he did it, but he figured he must have some important reason, yet Alphonse would be lying if he said it didn't hurt sometimes. And unlike Edward, Alphonse had never hated Hohenheim. He still believed that one day he would come back.
"Hey, I have an idea." Alphonse thought of something.
"Hm?" Len blinked.
"I think you should write her a letter." Alphonse suggested.
"But I'm not good with letters..." Len pouted.
"It's okay, I'll help you." Alphonse said in a kind voice.
"Really?" Len looked at him hopefully.
"Mhm." Alphonse nodded.
"Okay. Let me get some paper!" The boy smiled, excitedly.
It was in that moment that Alphonse found himself thinking about Edward's hatred towards Hohenheim, and the way he kept most of his feelings about things to himself. Edward would never write a letter, unlike Len.
He wished, more than anything, that Edward would open up to him more. They were brothers, for pete's sake, they were supposed to be there to support one another.
I wonder how Brother is doing...
...
Edward was walking by a stand that was selling koi fish streamers, when suddenly he spotted a shock of white hair.
Immediately, he took off in the direction he saw it, ignoring protests and questions from Roy and Riza. However when he approached the boy that assuradly turned out to be Kanon, he didn't know what to think when he saw an older man fussing at him.
"I've told you it's forbidden so many times, Kanon. What would your mother say?"
"She wouldn't say anything. She's dead because of you, just like Lyra." Kanon shrugged nonchalantly, but there was an edge in his eyes that Edward hadn't seen until now. He stopped dead in his tracks when the older man hauled off and slugged him in the face, knocking him down.
Over at the side, Lana stood, not wanting to get involved, an awkward expression on her face. Several people were watching them, but nobody interfered.
"I didn't do anything to her, you brat. Alchemy is what killed her. She died because she tried to step on territory that is an insult to god. Do you want to go down the same path as her and lead yourself to ruin?!" The man roared, his logic not even making any sense and sounding contradictory to his previous statement.
"No..." Kanon muttered, nonetheless, rubbing his face where he'd been punched.
"Then start listening to me, or you might just be next." the older man said, in what appeared to be a threatening tone, as he picked him up by the collar, and proceeded to punch him in the face. Unlike the day before, Kanon made no attempt to fight back or defend himself when the latter punched him in the face again.
"You hear me?" The man glared, pulling his arm back to throw another one. It was at that moment that Edward lurched towards him, catching his arm with his automail hand.
"I hear you." Edward growled out, catching the surprised attention of Kanon. While he wasn't the type to usually get involved with people's affairs, and he may have not liked Kanon that much, he also wasn't the kind of person that would just stand back while a father mercilessly beat somebody in the face, especially not his own son.
"Who the hell are you?" the man barely spared him a single glance.
"I'm not inclined to tell you anything, pops, but I do suggest to stop punching him if you don't want to end up in a hospital. And trust me. The bills won't be cheap." Edward advised boldly.
Kanon's father saw Roy and Riza approaching him, right as Edward was saying that. Something in him decidedly gave in.
"Tch...! Come on, Lana." he growled out, snatching his arm out of Edward's grip, before walking off, pulling Lana with him by the wrist.
"Nobody asked you to save me, you know." Kanon simpered, bringing irritation to Edward.
"Well, maybe you should have defended yourself like you did with me yesterday." Edward turned his head away briefly. "Furthermore, I did just stop him from pumbling you so you should at least try to show a little appreciation...!"
"Are you okay?" Riza asked Kanon, noticing the bruising on his face. Seeing the sight had been no easier for Roy or Riza, so they probably would have interfered had Edward not. The fact that everybody else had just stood back while it was happening was kind of frustrating.
"Yeah, don't touch me." Kanon murmured, moving away.
"You two know each other?" Roy asked, a little interested.
"Yeah, he picked a fight with me yesterday." Edward then glared at Kanon. "which we still have yet to settle, by the way."
"What's there to settle? It's clear that you've already lost." Kanon smirked. Edward was pissed at hearing that.
This was going to be a long day.
...
A/N: I hope this turned out well... The suicide forest ordeal should be settled (along with a couple other things) by the end of the next chapter, and then we'll be getting back to focusing on Edward's depression. I just haven't wanted to make that the entire focus of the story since Riza and Roy are still on a mission.