So. How was your Father's Day? I hope it was good. x3
I'm going to Seishun Con on Saturday, which is why I went ahead and posted this chapter now. Because after that con, I'll be editing pictures. By the time I finish with that, it'll be not only Independence Day, but my grandpa's birthday. So I'll be editing even more pictures from Nash Farm's annual celebrations and the birthday. Yay. xD
But if you're going to Seishun Con, try to find me in my manry cargo shorts and Alphonse hat(Or possibly Kon if I can't find my Alphonse hat x.x). I'll… Er… Photograph you. XD
The Lovely Daaaarlings!
IceFire Dragon Alchemist73: I loved that Scar/Riley dream. I couldn't help myself, adding it a second time!
DramaQueen524: About time, ne? xD
Fmagurl123: Aww, yay! Haha, I'm glad I had you laughing. My job is done. And no, I haven't read the last manga chapter yet. I've gotten so uberly behind on FullMetal Alchemist, I'm nowhere near finishing the manga or the Brotherhood series. I heard it was really good though!
Warning746: Haha, thanks! I'm still on the fence about the whole Al/Hannah thing, really. If there is any "interaction" between them, it will be very subtle.
I have read the manga, but not much of it at all. I'm still trying to finish Yu Yu Hakusho and Bitter Virgin, as well as trying to start back on Amatsuki and -Man. I've watched the first few episodes of Brotherhood, but I've watched the entire first series about four or five times, as well as the movie. I heard the ending was really good!
Haha, it's a palindrome!
AirMage99: WINRY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO DRIVE A TRACTOR, MWAHAHAHA!
ArmstrongIsWeird: The sky is falling! Dx
Bloody Bonez Alchemist XD: Of course she is! Kukuku…
yumiXjaganshi: Haha! ADD always has to kick in when it comes to Riley and Ed.
Lunarfox's Silverdusk: Why thank you! I'm glad you liked it!
YaddaGirl: Even funnier now? Alright! Aww, I love it when people can read something of mine over again. Means it's not too boring, haha.
Katsekala: Who knew she was the jealous type? xP
Want to Be a Lovely Daaaarling? Review! Bwahaha…
Bluurg. The first half of this chapter's boring.
If I owned FullMetal Alchemist, Riley would be in it. And the manga wouldn't have ended. SO THERE.
I do own Riley, which is why she would've been in FullMetal Alchemist if I owned FullMetal Alchemist. SO THERE.
Chapter Thirty-Seven:
A Militia Reunion
"Kill me. Kill me now…"
That was the only thing going on in my head. How could moments twist so easily? Damn it, one minute we're all fine and dandy and the next, everyone's all depressing. It was pissing me off. Things changed on the drop of a hat around Ed and Al.
It was night out, and we were all sitting near the bike. Ed, Al, Hannah and I sat around each other, blankets over all of us but Al. Marta sat several feet away, glaring at the ground. She had found out about what happened at Dante's. I kept my mouth shut after that – I didn't want Marta trying to kill me because I defended Ed and I didn't need Ed leaving me in the desert because I defended Marta.
"So," Marta mumbled bitterly, "You're the one."
Ed stared over at her with a frown. "Yeah… I killed Greed. And I'm not sorry either," He said, causing me to glare over at him.
He didn't have to say it so coldly. He also didn't have to glare at Marta like she was some rotten monster or something either. Apparently Al sensed Ed's foulness as well. Waving his hands, he looked down at Ed, saying, "Brother, this isn't the time."
Ignoring Al, Ed continued frowning. "Marta. I'm not sure where you stand on all this, but I want to make sure you know where I'm at. I regard you and Greed as criminals, especially Greed. He murdered Dante," Ed continued, but after hearing this, I didn't want to listen anymore.
Greed didn't kill her.
I knew he didn't. I was there. I saw what happened… Sure, what I saw could be taken two different ways. And I'm sure if Ed saw what I saw, he'd say that Lyra chick was just defending herself. But that look in her eye… It wasn't defense. Greed was most definitely just another victim in that house. I couldn't tell Ed that… Hell, I couldn't tell anyone. Just trying to think about it, a lump rose to my throat.
Tuning back in, I saw Al hovering over Ed, both looking terrified out of their minds. A snake was beside them, a knife through its head. A brow raised, I looked to them dully. Hannah was smiling nervously, as she saw what happened. But I didn't care. Ed deserved whatever scare he received for talking like that to Marta.
Marta looked skywards, frowning still. "Greed knew he would be sealed again… He wouldn't take that. What is worse for the greedy than having nothing at all? I think he wanted you to end his life, and the pain. My enemies in all of this are the military elite who made us, those freaks dressed up in black…" Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits and she began to slice the snake in half as she finished. "And the rat that betrayed us most of all. Kimblee."
The corner of my lip twitched. Her and I… We were on the same page. We both wanted Kimblee dead, and for similar reasons too.
Marta threw the now dead snake on the ground in front of Ed. "You should eat that. It's good for you," She said calmly.
Ed looked to the snake before smirking slightly, turning to Marta. "Yeah? Then why don't you eat it?"
With a simple glance to Ed from the side of her eye, Marta replied with, "Come on, trying to turn me into a cannibal now, Ed?"
. . .
I could remember when Master Gregory told me about Ishbal. It was during the massacre, before the downfall of my parents' army. He told me you knew Ishbal when you saw it. That the heat there was different than the rest of the desert. He could never tell me why, he just always told me it was.
And, standing there in the middle of Ishbal, I knew what he meant.
We were all quiet. Ed, Al and Hannah were all shocked. I wasn't. I was just disgusted. The huge knot in my stomach made me want to puke. My knees were weak but I was going to stay standing. If I didn't, who knew what else I'd give in to. Hannah grasped my arm gently, sending me a look of worry, but I didn't respond. "It's… Worse than I imagined," Ed murmured out, looking around with wide eyes.
There was nothing. The only thing of Ishbal that remained were parts of foundations for buildings. Nobody or nothing was around. The place was dead. "There's nothing left at all," Al said quietly.
"Scar wouldn't be here. We're back to square one," He muttered bitterly.
Marta turned to look at him as she rested a hand on her hip. "What exactly are you looking for?" She asked the brothers.
They paused and glanced to each other. Ed nodded, so Al looked to Marta. "The Philosopher's Stone," He told her. "Someone told us it was created here a long time ago, before Ishbal was destroyed."
"But that's impossible," She murmured, looking away in thought. "If the Ishbalins were capable of something like that, they would've put up some kind of resistance."
Ed spoke up, confused. "Resistance? What do you mean? There was armed tension between the army and Ishbal years before the war broke out. And when it did, it was because of an Ishbalin revolt in reaction to a soldier accidentally shooting a child," He said. I paused. That was what Marcoh told us. And that was what Marcoh always told me to believe.
Surprise shown on Marta's face before she relaxed, glancing away. "So that's what they told you. I always wondered what they would say…" She leaned down, taking a handful of sand, "But I never got to know. I was locked up in Lab Five for fourteen years."
"But that was when the tension first started," Al said, "You would've just been a kid."
Marta quickly replied with, "I may look young because of the experiments but I'm actually old enough to be your mom."
Ed gained a Cheshire Cat grin and began to replied, "That old?" But before he could get the second word out, Marta's boot slammed into his face. It fell to the ground and Ed glanced away nervously. "I mean, wow."
Marta frowned at him, before explaining the war. How she was Special Ops, and how they were told to attack to prevent an attack Ishbal planned against Central. By the time she was done, I was looking downwards. "Whenever I asked my parents why they would always leave for long periods of time, they would just tell me it was because of a pointless war. They had always been involved with Ishbal so they had to know this… But why didn't anyone tell me?" I mumbled out.
"Parents…?" Marta repeated under her breath. Looking to me, she asked, "You're a Mauler, aren't you?" I nodded and from the look in her eyes, she began to realize we had mutual enemies.
Ed's fist slammed into a stone wall. "But how could the military start a war without provocation?" He growled out. "How come no one stood up to tell the people what really happened?"
"No one ever knew about it," Marta replied simply.
Ed spun around to look at the woman. "You did!" He said.
"Well let me finish my story," She said before jumping onto Al's shoulders.
Ignoring Al's protests, she slipped into his body. Ed and Hannah both shivered at it, a bit alarmed. "I… Think I'm missing your point," Ed mumbled awkwardly.
She then went into another story. She explained how she, and the rest of the soldiers like her, were turned into Chimeras. I was surprised, to say the least. I had never heard any of this before. Did Master Gregory know about the experiments? He couldn't have. "They could further their research and silence all of us at the same time… But why?" Marta asked.
"They didn't want the real reason for the war to get out. It's part of some greater truth."
Ed was shaking from anger. He glared at the ground as he began pondering out loud. "But what the hell for? What could they profit from Ishbal?" Angrily, he stepped forward a kicked a rock into a stone wall.
We looked to the wall to see two people dart their heads back behind it. "Someone's here!" Al exclaimed, tightening his head back on. God, that sounded weird.
"Yeah, our next lead," Ed replied, taking off after the two. We followed quickly as Ed shouted at them to stop. They ignored this of course, so Ed clapped his hands. He sent a Sand Monster high into the air, falling toward them. The sand landed and a pile was formed over and around the two mysterious men. "Alright, fess up. What are you guys doing out here, following us?" Ed asked firmly, standing beside the pile as Hannah, Al and I made our way over.
A pause came, and then a muffled answer voiced its way through the sand. My brows furrowed as I tried to figure out what they said. The voice seemed oddly familiar somehow. A second later, another familiar voice came through, clearer than the first. "We're here on orders. We're supposed to check the security of the old Ishbal region," He said.
Yes. I most definitely knew that voice!
Ed didn't seem to recognize it yet. "Then why didn't you just come ask us about it instead of hiding like a couple of spies?" He asked the sand pile.
"My brother may not look it, but he's a State Alchemist. And a tough one!" Al added.
The sand seemed to jump slightly and my expression turned deadpan. Did they really not recognize it? One of them started whistling as the sand began to push away. "What are these guys, moles?" Ed asked, confused as he watched the moving pile.
"For the love of… Come on out! I know it's you two," I said, hand on my hip as I glared at the pile.
It stopped, as though considering what I said, but began to continue again. By this time, Al was beginning to recognize the voices so he walked over. He stuck his hands into the pile and fished out the two military officers I knew to be Breda and Havoc. Breda scowled as Havoc let out a nervous grin, cigarette hanging loosely in the corner of his mouth. I shook my head as Havoc waved at us. Even if they were hiding from us, it felt kind of nice seeing them again. Well, seeing Havoc's nervous grin that is. Breda had been scowling ever since we saw him last. "You two?" Ed asked in surprise, "Then that means the Colonel's here…"
The reunion that was about to come had me jumping for joy… Ugh.
. . .
"I can't say I was expecting to see you here, Ed." That was Mustang, alright.
Ed and I sat side by side as Al and Hannah sat on either side of us. Mustang and Archer stood in front of us, with Riza to our left. With my hands in my lap, I was staring at the ground like it was about to shit diamonds or something. Ed glared at the side, which I was sure he usually did when he met with Mustang. "Yeah, I get it. Wouldn't expect to see me since I'm so short, you couldn't distinguish me from all the grains of sand," He mocked. I rolled my eyes, about to retort with some sarcastic reply, but Ed jumped up to glare up at Mustang, "Very funny!"
At the sudden movement, Archer moved to attack, but Mustang stopped him. Looking back to Ed(and me too, no doubt), he said, "I see you've been making quite a mess of things. Southern Headquarters… And an escort train full of Ishbalins?" Ed sat back down between Al and me and crossed his arms, glaring once more at the ground. Mustang's smirk vanished. "No more. From now on, you'll be working under my command."
Ed's eyes narrowed and Al leaned forward, "But Colonel…!" I said nothing.
"You're lucky Havoc's patrol found you. It's dangerous out here," Mustang said.
Al was quick to reply. "But you know how we work. We should be able to conduct our own investigat-"
"It's the rules, Al," Ed said, standing with crossed arms still, "I'm their dog. When war starts, they put me back on their leash." Still, I said nothing. I stopped listening as well. The rest from here would be about military plans and what Ed knew anyway.
. . .
"Why Scar, though?" Mustang asked Ed.
We all sat at a long table, food in front of all of us. Ed had the most of course as he happily ate. I couldn't eat. Whether it was the fact I was in the same room as Archer, or the fact I knew Kimblee was around somewhere, or the fact I was sitting just a few people away from the same naïve officer Ed decked back at the escort train… I just couldn't eat. Ed vaguely answered about Scar being a criminal as Al picked up a roll and went to drop it into his armor. Riza smiled up at him, "You don't have to pretend to eat for us, Al. It's alright."
Al paused. "O-Okay…," He mumbled, and placed the roll back on Ed's plate.
Hannah and I glanced to each other and she snuck her own roll into her purse, saving it for Marta for later. Falman began messing with some documents and Hannah glanced over at me after she closed her purse. "What's wrong?" She murmured out.
Shaking my head, I looked down at my food. "Not hungry," I replied simply. It was awkward, to say the least, that I was in the same room as Mustang when the last time I saw him, tears were streaming out of my eyes. Mustang sat across from me and I could feel his own gaze bore into the top of my head. I glanced up at him dully, having my own questions to ask. "So where's Kimblee?" I spat out with disgust.
Mustang's eyes widened but before he could say anything, Ed had shoved a picture into my face. I backed up to see it and noticed Ed looking down at me. "Pay attention, Riley," He scolded. I scowled, but looked back at the picture nonetheless. My eyes widened when I saw what it was.
It was a picture from a surveillance balloon of the target town, no doubt. But what was surprising was the markings in the ground. The transmutation circle. "It's throughout the entire town," Al stated. Hannah leaned over my shoulder to look at it, but didn't understand what it meant. "But who would do that?" Al asked, still surprised.
"Scar…," Ed muttered out.
With his attention shifted back toward Ed, Mustang immediately asked, "And why would you say that?"
Riza looked him in the eye, "You wouldn't happen to know something about it, would you?"
"…No," He mumbled, looking down at the picture once more. "This city… What's it called?" He asked.
Fuery replied with, "It's Lior, sir. Last year, the so called profit stepped down and the military was hoping it could go in and restore the peace."
He was about to continue, but Roy stopped him. "That'll do, Fuery. He's familiar with its past," Mustang said, looking to Ed, who at this point was shaking as his fists clenched onto the table cloth. I didn't know what he meant, so I stayed quiet. It had to have been before we met.
Ed and Al couldn't make sense of the matter. Havoc stepped in, explaining how this priest guy stepped back in after the brothers left. Conflict occurred because of Ed and Al's appearance there. Once he had finished, Ed was scowling deeply. "Why didn't anyone tell me all of this?" He shouted, looking to Roy for answers, "As far as I know, we helped!"
Mustang calmly looked up at him. "I got the report from Hughes," He started, causing me to tense up almost immediately at the name, "And I made the decision not to tell you."
Slamming his hands on the table, Ed wasn't done. "But why?"
"Because it was too big for you," Mustang replied simply. Ed glared at the table, his grip on the cloth tightening.
. . .
It was quiet for a while as Mustang and I walked down the halls. I was originally looking for Kimblee, when Havoc ran into me. Literally. He felt how hot my arms were getting so he went and told on me to Mustang, who knew exactly why I was heating up like an oven. "How long have you known he was part of the military again?" I asked dully, finally speaking up.
He sighed. "I just found out on the train here, so don't ask me why he's back. I don't know myself." I said nothing in response but when I felt his hand on me, I looked over at him quietly. "Don't go after him while you're here, Riley. Archer already hates you as it is."
At first, I didn't say anything. When he squeezed my shoulder, I sighed. "Fine. I won't go looking for him."
Nodding, he let my shoulder go and continued walking. "Good. Instead, you should worry about Ed."
"…Why should I worry about Ed?" I asked, eyes narrowed at Mustang's back. He stopped and looked over his shoulder, almost surprised I didn't know already.
. . .
"And when were you going to tell me about this?"
The edge of the desk I was I gripping at began to melt, and Ed glanced over at me, smirking nervously. "Actually, I was going to have Fuery tell you once I left. I figured since you can't hurt Fuery, you'd be less angry if he was the one to tell you," He replied casually, as though I wasn't melting a desk because of anger toward him.
Thanks to Mustang, I had just found that not only was Ed leaving all of us here to go scout out Lior, but he planned all this with none other than Archer. I wasn't sure which factor made me angrier. "Tell me, what part of your brain died on our way here?" I shouted, glaring down at the blond who, at the moment, I would've put off Kimblee to kill.
Ed sighed, standing up once he had his things packed. "Riley, I need to do this." Before I could shout, he added, "And I know if I told you before, you'd argue with me about coming like always and like always, you'd win."
"Yes, because I'm the one with enough common sense to know you don't need to do this alone!" I retorted. I stared him in the eye, trying to figure out what the hell he was planning. Trying to make sure he understood what he was doing. He looked back at me and paused. Sighing, he raised his hand to motion to me but I shook my head and left quickly, slamming the door. I left the area, ignoring Ed's one final attempt at stopping me by shouting my name.
With Ed
(Because Riley's Being A Hormonal Woman.)
"…"
Marta, Al and Hannah all stood by the bed quietly, glancing from the door to Ed, who still stared at the door after Riley left. Before she stomped away, he could see her eyes start to falter even farther from the usual annoying look she had when she looked at him. She hadn't had the look in a while and it was worrying Ed just as much as it was annoying him.
Growling, he glared at the door before pointing at it and looking to the three that were still in the room. "How is it she can make me feel guilty about something I know I'm right about?" He shouted. The three all sat down, shifting uncomfortably under Ed's annoyed gaze. "Even when I go this far to win in an argument, she still manages to win with one stupid look! What's with that look anyway?"
With a Cheshire Grin, Marta rested her chin on her hand. "She's just worried about you, Kid."
Hannah quickly nodded in agreement, "We've all been traveling together for a long time. She's afraid, Ed. She has been for a while now."
Looking down, Ed fell quiet as he remembered his and Riley's conversation the previous day. Sighing, he headed across the room. He quietly opened the door and left without a word.
With Riley
(Because Ed's Sympathizing With Riley.)
I sighed, leaning against one of the columns that held up the building quietly. With my arms gently crossed, I rested my head onto the column. A few minutes had passed since I left the room, and I was finally starting to cool down.
"You're jealous, not self-conscious. You didn't get along with that Winry girl either. You don't like any woman in his life," Nicole stated.
"That's not true! Winry doesn't like me. I liked her," I pointed out.
"Because you're a threat to hers and Ed's relationship. Just like you're feeling that Maria is a threat to yours," Nicole explained. I twitched, and she continued, "You don't feel like Ed needs help, you feel like Ed needs you."
A frown etched on to my face, I thought back to the more serious conversation Ed and I had just recently had.
There was more to the sick feeling in my stomach then just the concerns of our enemies' plans. With every day Hannah and I spent with the Elrics, it just got worse. If I had any sense left, I'd probably take that as a sign to leave – but no, I did just the opposite. That sick feeling wasn't for me, or Hannah. I could tell. I felt something bad would be happening, and I was worried about them.
Worried about Ed…
And then there I was throwing a hissy fit because he wanted to go off alone. The pipsqueak was going to go and get himself killed one of these days and it was all that moron's fault! If I wasn't so worried about his damn health, I'd kick his ass! When the thought came to my mind, I began to scowl.
That was exactly the problem, wasn't it?
Before, I didn't have a problem with Ed's little escapades because I knew that in the end he'd get right back up with even more strength than before. And I still did know that he would always just get stronger, mentally and physically, no matter what hit him. But unlike before, I didn't care whether that was true or not. I just cared about him getting those hits. I just cared about whether or not he'd be coming back.
I… It's hard to believe that maybe… Nicole was right all along.
My own… Feelings… Were getting in the way of everything. I couldn't think like I normally did, and if it kept up, Ed and Al damn sure wouldn't find a way to make the stone for their bodies. Besides… I was staying in the military, even after all this ended. Ed wasn't. He wouldn't want to be around me then.
So that was that then, wasn't it? I would just ignore it and hoped it went away for everyone's sake?
"Riley…," I heard from behind me.
Jerked back into reality, I looked over my shoulder and saw Ed walking toward me. The dull glaze over my eyes never left as I mumbled out a weak, "What do you want?"
With a small sigh, he had reached my side. Standing there for a few moments as he stared at me, I began to feel awkward. "We need to talk about this before I leave…," He said dully. At first I tensed, fearing he meant what had just gone through my head no more than five minutes before. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," He started, causing me to relax tremendously, "I know you're worried, Riley, but I have to do this alone. You're going to hate to hear this but in order for me to go, I had to leave Al here until I got back and without Al there I… I can't protect you and Hannah if something happened."
He was about to continue, the look on his face showing he was certain I'd start yelling after hearing that. And I'm sure on any normal occasion I would have. But instead, I cut him off as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders tightly. He stumbled back in pure shock and after a few seconds of silence, he stuttered out under his breath, "Y-You're not trying to choke me out of rage, are you?"
Tightening my grip, I dug my face into his shoulder as I mumbled out simply, "I should." Sighing, I let go of the grasp I had of his jacket. "Be careful, okay?… Don't you dare leave Al behind," I whispered out, frowning deeply.
More silence passed between us. I felt Ed move slightly as he turned his head toward my own, but he couldn't see me. My face was still hidden. "…Riley. If I don't come back," I winced at the thought but said nothing as he continued, "I want you to take Al with you and Hannah. Do whatever you can to keep him safe and don't let him try to bring me back. No matter what. Just take care of him for me."
"…" I finally glanced to the side of my eye to see him looking straight at me. He was the most serious I had ever seen him before. "I promise I'll take care of him," I mumbled out, looking him dead in the eye. He nodded, grinning slightly as a blush started on his cheeks.
Then it got awkward.
Blushing, I jerked away from him and stood with my hands by my side as I glanced away. So much for trying to ignore that. Scowling, I mumbled out, "Just hurry there and get this over with, alright?"
With a lopsided grin, Ed nodded. "I was planning on it."
. . .
"Well don't you look sexy."
Ed blushed as Hannah and I walked down the steps toward him, Al, and Armstrong. He was in a disguise; brunette wig with a dress and scarf. He was leaving for Lior. Havoc sat in the car that would take Ed there, just a few feet behind us. Hannah giggled as Ed glared up at Al. "I thought I told you not to let her see me like this!" He exclaimed.
Covering his mouth, Al tried not to laugh as he said, "Sorry Brother."
"Don't be such a girl, Ed," I smirked out, arms crossed as I raised a brow. He glared at me but I could only laugh.
His glare began to fade, and he shook his head. Turning to walk to the car, he grumbled out, "Yeah, yeah, get it all out while you can Riley…"
As he climbed into the car, I gave a grin. "I was planning on it," I said. Sitting in the car, he glanced over at me at that. Grinning slightly, he shook his head at me and waved lazily at us before the car drove off quickly. I sighed, glancing back to the building behind me. Now that he was gone, I had my own things I needed to do before he got back.
Mustang and Ed both were going to be utterly, royally pissed at me for this.
Be Responsible. Don't Flame and Drive! Rawr.