Happy New Year!

Well, crap, that was a waste of a Christmas break – I planned to get all this super stuff done, and instead I spent the whole thing lying in bed being sick… I guess it wasn't a total loss, though… I spent the last three days grounded because my room is totally trashed – so at least my closet is clean now! My room is still trashed, but I'm getting there…

So anyway, I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions – I think they're totally bunk. But this year I've actually made one that I really do hope to keep – to write as much as I can during the day (stupid school…) and over the weekend, and to update something, ANYTHING, at least two times per month – every other Saturday. Now, normally I'd be all for "one update a week," but any college-bound student (or one already in college) could totally back me up when I say that that would be nearly impossible… I'd probably end up dieing of exhaustion around week three. So I'll do what I can. I promise.

Now, everyone ready for a new chapter? (Yaaaaay!) Great, let's go! This was originally a part of a much larger chapter, but upon review I decided to break it up as thus… Let me know what you think at the end!

Insert disclaimer here:.

Chapter 22: Lost

"I'm home!" Roy called out as he entered his house. No answer… Roy looked around himself and sighed. The house that the government had supplied him with always seemed more like it actually was – a mansion – when he was by himself in it. Neither he nor Riza had wanted a house that big, but it certainly wasn't their place to refuse the government – they had wanted all their top military leaders as close to headquarters as possible in case of an emergency.

Since Roy was the most influential of the military leaders (being head of the State Alchemy Department), he was needed to be the closest-by of all, and unfortunately the only place that was available was the utterly huge mansion he was in now. He slowly walked through the opulent foyer towards the staircase, footsteps echoing off of the marble floors and the high ceilings. He slowly, tiredly dragged himself up the marble-laid stairs, hand brushing limply along the polished mahogany banister. He couldn't help but remember all the jeers he had received shortly after the invasion of Central and Ed's leaving for the second (and final) time – other officers accusing him of bribing the higher-ups, dealing with terrorists, even purposely killing Bradley just so he could claim what was once the Fuhrer's – a powerful title, a rich lifestyle… an eye patch… Mustang's brow furrowed as he brought a hand up to the coarse black cloth. It wasn't like Bradley's – there was no special power that he held behind it – just a dead eye that could no longer see and a large scar – the only thing that would constantly remind him that even though he may have won his battle against Bradley, he still lost – he failed to save his country, and he had failed to save Edward. The blindness, in his opinion, was just some sort of cruel consolation prize. He shook his head – he had to stop thinking about those things! It didn't do to dwell on a negative past – he knew that all he could do was walk forward towards a brighter future.

He sighed. He knew it was true, but why did it always sound so corny whenever it was him that was saying it? Whenever Riza said such things it always sounded so true…

"Speaking of which, where is Riza…?" he pondered out loud to himself as he reached the landing. He was about to continue up the stairs when he stopped. He turned and stared at the window on the landing, its sash closed, darkening the stairway.

"I wonder…" He pulled back the crimson silk curtain, clean sunlight pouring through and illuminating the gold-patterned paper that covered the walls. He squinted, his eye adjusting to the light. After a moment he was able to look out across the property surrounding the mansion – the willow and pine trees that dotted the grounds, the birds that were gathering at the small feeder in the cherry blossom tree that he and Riza had planted when they first arrived at the mansion… He smiled. There she was, her back to him and completely unaware of his presence, working in the small garden that Roy had begun just over a year ago.

He found gardening to be a great source of relaxation – basking in the simple joy of being able to roam around outdoors and work with nature in its most simple and beautiful of forms. His wife had been more or less opposed to it, claiming it would be another distraction for him, and on principle refused to even set foot near it. Yet with the continued emergence of the terrorist groups along with the trials of day-to-day life in the military, Roy found that, distraction or no, he just simply didn't have the time to work in his garden anymore. He had eventually resigned himself to the fact that the backyard plot would eventually wither away, another fruitless attempt at creating life, until such time as he could try again to renew it… like after his retirement. Yet he had been genuinely surprised to discover one day that the garden hadn't died, but rather had exploded in color, as if under the warm care of some unseen hand. The revelation had baffled him for weeks until his suspicions set in… granted, the trousers with the muddied knees in the laundry hamper had been a big give-away.

And so it was true, while Roy had grudgingly set aside his gardening days, Riza had been secretly taking over for him. She did it partly because she knew it would make her husband happy to see the small plot flourish, but mostly she did it because she found that it was, in fact, quite relaxing – something that she'd never admit to, of course.

Roy continued to gaze out the window, his thoughts wandering from gardens and his wife to other, darker matters… Riza suddenly looked up, as if sensing this foreboding change in mood from the very earth itself. She slowly turned around, spotting Roy peering out the window at her, his gaze upon her but unfocused, as if not really seeing what was there. She hastily stood up and retreated towards the house (not so much out of embarrassment for being caught in the garden she supposedly loathed, but out of concern for Roy), wiping the dirt from her hands and dress, and pinning her long, blonde hair back to a more respectable bun.

Her sudden movements seemed to snap Roy out of his reverie. Feeling slightly guilty for catching his wife off-guard, he quickly scurried up the stairs least she find him loitering. But although his movements were rapid, his thoughts were still low and heavy, and his mood became that much graver as the curtain fluttered back in its place, casting Roy in shadow.

…

After several minutes of frantic packing, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Trisha had said their quick good-byes to Tom the inn-keeper, who was currently occupied in wiping down the bar. Hagrid had apparently gone to bed, as his great form was nowhere to be seen in the pub's constant haze of smoke. As soon as their small group had exited the Leaky Cauldron and stepped onto the cobbled streets of London, Fawkes, who had been perching on Trisha's shoulder, vanished in a sudden burst of flames. Even though the great bird had warned her of his departure, the spectacle still made Trisha jump in surprise, her heart racing – even though she had been in this other, magical world for almost a week now, she still had trouble getting used to the things that wizards found so commonplace, such as people disappearing in the blink of an eye…

And sure enough, there she went, in the blink of an eye and amidst a roar of wind and light. After a quick "pop," Trisha found herself staggering in the drizzly, rural streets of Hogsmeade. Harry let go of her hand, an action that caught Trisha completely by surprise. She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she had failed to realize that she and her wizard friends had spent the last ten or fifteen minutes walking through the bustling streets of London, and then down a deserted alley so that no home-bound passerby would see them apparate – Harry had noticed that Trisha went into a deep trance almost as soon as they had stepped foot out of the pub, and so had taken her hand in his to make sure that she didn't get left behind or lost. Upon realizing all this, Trisha began to blush, eyes downcast. Harry looked at her concernedly. Ron stepped over to her, stooping a little to wave a hand in front of her face. Startled, she looked up and shook her head, trying to bring herself back into focus. They were all staring at her – even Hermione looked concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"Did something happen?"

"You were so quiet – we were worried!"
"Yeah, you didn't say anything, even when we talked to you."

Trisha looked at them all. Here they were – her friends (she even considered Hermione her friend, although a stern one, by this point), people who cared about her and trusted her despite everything that had happened – her sudden appearance and trying to attack them, shouting in a library and getting herself and Ron kicked out… Her face flushed red with embarrassment and at having worried them. Her eyes began to sting, her heart grew heavy, and she felt herself grow warm with discomfort and longing. She blinked hard several times, trying to clear the water that was distorting her vision. In a surge of light and heat, Fawkes was on her shoulder, gently nuzzling her cheek. Finally she could no longer hold it in – the one thing that she had been wanting to do – almost desperate to do – since her arrival in this strange land… Trisha crouched down in the deserted street, holding her knees, and began to cry.

Her friends stood around her, unsure of what to do, as the fog turned to rain and cold water poured down on them from a darkened sky.

…

Sigh… so, how was it, really? I really did like the chapter title this time around… I've found that they're actually quite hard to come up with, but I think my splitting the original (humongo) chapter up helped out a bit… Concentrate on that, though (the title, I mean), because next chapter is going to be a complement to it… including the title of the chapter… Yeah… Only I would think of something like that, huh? Maybe not? Yeah, maybe not… The point is, concentrate on some of the "deeper" aspects – really read into it. I'm not mean, so all of those "hidden meanings" really aren't hidden, so much as they're loosely covered with sand… You know, like hiding it somewhere that isn't really hidden? Because you can still see it? Yeah… Ok, I'm done now… Happy New Year! 2007! WOOT! SENIORS! YEAH! WOOO!

Oh, and don't forget to drop me a review, ok? Especially all of my fanfic buddies – sorry I haven't kept in touch! (For some reason we only communicate via reviews… shrugs) – but please, no degrading comments or flames, because the last person who did that to me got their ass kicked, metaphorically speaking. I just don't tolerate it, is all I'm trying to say. You're free to your comments and I respect that, but just don't be mean. No one likes a mean person. Ok, I'm done now. G'night!

-The New FMA

Ok, ok, I'm sorry, but two quick "house-keeping" type things: For starters, for anyone who cares to know or cares at all, this story is right now at about 56 pages and approximately 28,000 words. Second: I'm going to do a "Q&A" session in an upcoming chapter – probably ch. 23 or 24. So, start coming up with questions! I'll answer every single one and post them at the end of the chapter, or maybe as a separate "chapter" – if there are repeat questions, then obviously I'll just post the question once. So, now would be a great time to clear up anything you might be confused about, etc. Just send me a review or a P.M., and put "Q&A" before your question so I know. Thanks! I'll mention this again in my next update.