So here's chapter 2! Hopefully chapter 3 will take a little less time to write.
Thank you to everyone who left nice reviews, favorited, and folllowed! I hope everyone enjoys this next part as well!
Please let me know if anything seems too out of character or rushed.
God, her feet hurt. Thousands of needles shoved their way through the soles of Riza's boots, but she still remained, upright as a tree, enduring the pain. She'd never been standing for quite this long before. Her job required sitting at a desk most of the day, when she wasn't currently assigned on a mission with the team. However, even then, snipers rarely stood. They laid in prone position, which, while not the most comfortable thing in the world, was infinitely better than being on her feet.
Although, the fatigue in her legs and the numbing in her toes could not hold a candle to the lead weights in Riza's chest as she stood there, silent, only imagining what could be taking Roy so long.
He promised he'd come back. He'd given his word.
But that still left ample room for doubt to grow in Riza's mind.
He'd jumped headlong into danger once again, but this time, had done so completely alone. Roy was certainly an accomplished and capable man, one who could take care of himself without a doubt, but even then, Riza reserved the right to worry. Accomplished and capable as Roy may be, there was no telling who or what he would encounter in that building.
Last time he'd faced off against a homunculus, yes, he'd killed her, but not before she skewered him and he'd almost died of blood loss and self-inflicted burns. No way would the rest of the homunculi fall for that same trick once again, and no way would they be caught off guard like the first time. They had been given ages to plan and prepare and protect themselves from any inferno Roy's fingers could conjure. Skilled an alchemist as he may be, Roy's only true strategy for killing monsters was snapping his fingers and transforming the room into a crematorium.
And surely not all the homunculi would be so easy to kill as Lust. Whatever sick puppet master was pulling the strings would not have sent his most powerful marionette to do his dirty work. But even with that said, Lust and even Gluttony had been almost impossible to kill by any normal means. Even incineration required multiple snaps and a long, slow burn. Could the others be too quick to get captured in the flames, or simply just be built durable enough not to burn? Riza had no way of knowing.
Roy had no way of knowing.
As much as she wanted to kick down the entrance to the command center, guns blazing, eyes wild with fury, Riza knew she couldn't. Roy hadn't been the only one to promise something all those hours ago.
Standing by their car, ignoring the glass in her feet, wiping away the sweat beading on her brow, and freezing her face in that determined, emotionless mask was all Riza could do until she spied her Colonel waltz out of Central Command, hopefully unscathed and accomplished. Waiting around was not in the nature of Riza Hawkeye, but she'd resigned herself to that fate the second she'd agreed to accompany her superior officer on this mission.
Eventually, the pain at the bottoms of Riza's feet got so bad that she'd almost collapsed, and had to sit down on the pavement in front of the imposing white prison Roy was trapped in.
Ten hours.
Ten hot, miserable, worry-filled hours, Riza had stood and waited and done everything she could from going crazy. She'd lasted almost half an entire day before she finally gave up and plopped herself down onto the sun-warmed concrete.
There was honestly no explanation Roy would be able to give that would satiate her once he got out- that it, if he got out. Nobody would stay that long in Central Command, not for a simple information-gathering or ally-making trip. Not anyone who knew they had somebody waiting for them outside. Something had to have happened to him.
Riza's feet and their pain were relegated to less and less important positions the more time passed, and eventually the sitting coupled with the worrying seemed to overtake pain completely. Besides, if her darkest nightmares were coming true, Roy was in triple the amount of pain Riza was. She couldn't take his suffering for granted.
Another feeling which heightened with the passing of time was Riza's rebelliousness and her need to get back into the Command Center. Guilt wracked her nerves as she realized she'd been the one to leave him alone-she'd been the one bidding him 'farewell' and 'good luck' as he ventured into the unknown. She was the one sitting on the ground, just waiting for him to reemerge unscathed. She had done nothing the entire time she'd had a sick, disquieting feeling pooling in her stomach, out of some strange sense of duty toward following Roy's orders and hoping for the impossible.
If anyone were to blame for this, it was her. She'd left him alone with no protection, and he was paying the price for it. Riza had failed at her job- the one thing she'd vowed to do, and to dedicate her entire life toward. She'd failed the one person in the world who meant more to her than anything else. Because of her, he was hurt or something much, much worse.
Halfway through the eleventh hour, Riza's vigilant eyes spotted a figure exiting the building and sauntering toward her. Irrational hope tugged at her heartstrings, but it soon diminished once she spotted close-cropped brown hair instead of Roy's unruly black mop.
The figure approached Riza, and she rose to her feet, mind running through every possible thing this soldier could tell her. Either the man would deliver a heartbreaking eulogy for the Colonel, or he would demand Riza uproot herself from her place on the sidewalk and leave without a word. Neither option was appealing, and Riza steeled herself, hoping for the second. Even if it gave her no news of Roy, it did not confirm the horrors in her imagination.
"Excuse me," The man called out once he was within a close proximity. Riza saluted, noting the stars on the soldier's shoulder, indicating his rank of Major.
"Sir," Hands dropped back to Riza's sides as she stood, feet together, back straight, waiting for what was to come. The honorific rolled off her tongue too easily, and reminded her too much of the Colonel still held captive in the Command Center.
Once the soldier had approached close enough to note the stars and stripes on Riza's uniform, he finally addressed her properly, "Lieutenant, my name is Major John Douglass, and I order you to tell me what the hell you've been doing, camped out here since the middle of the night."
So he was here to shoo her away then… "Major, late last night I accompanied Colonel Mustang to the Command Center for a meeting. The Colonel ordered me to wait for him outside and hasn't returned," Riza attempted to keep her voice as devoid from emotion as possible, giving the officer only facts. She hoped that in return for her bluntness, she would receive the same treatment and uncover the information she seeked.
"You stood here and just watched the door for God knows how many hours just because you were ordered to?" Douglass paused, irritation very evident in his gravelly voice, "Are you aware of how suspicious it looked for an armed woman to plant herself in front of the most important building in the country and just watch the door?"
"No, sir…" Came Riza's honest answer. The entire time she'd stood watch, the thought that she looked suspicious had never crossed her mind. All she'd been occupied with was Roy, and what exactly had happened to her Colonel.
"You didn't take the hint after about hour three that he probably forgot you were out here and began doing something else?" Another annoyed comment from Douglass, trying to prompt Riza to show something more on her face than an indifferent mask.
His comment though… Roy couldn't have just forgotten she was there. He'd promised to return as well, and Riza knew he cared enough about her not to disappear without a trace, leaving her to agonize on the sidewalk for ten hours. Roy couldn't have…
"He ordered me directly to stay here and wait for him. To ignore a direct order from my superior could result in being court-marshaled," Again, it was difficult to speak about Roy without showing the worry in her voice, but Riza did so anyway, trying not to give away more information than necessary.
Douglass looked at her for a moment, then sighed loudly, "Well if you keep standing here, you will most definitely be court-marshaled. These orders come directly from General Clifham, who wants you going back to your normal job at once," He snapped, Riza's heart deflating.
Not a single word about Roy or his condition had been uttered in their conversation. And even though the Lieutenant still clung on to her last shred of hope that he was well, and just still occupied with his mission to find allies, she needed to know the truth. She needed to know what was happening.
"And… The Colonel?"
"I saw Colonel Mustang downtown about an hour ago, lazing away in his office with the rest of his subordinates, where he should be. Not at any meetings," What? "He must have forgotten you were out here, Lieutenant," With those words, Douglass turned sharply on his feet and motioned for Riza to follow him back into her workplace.
What that man had told her was impossible. His statements made Riza's head spin, and she almost fell over as she took her first step. No. Roy couldn't have…
Anger flared in her chest, and propelled Riza to steady herself and march behind Douglass, matching his pace.
It just didn't make sense for the Colonel to have forgotten about her like that. Even if her presence outside Central Command had slipped his mind, his memory surely would have been jogged when she didn't show up to work a few hours ago. Usually when that happened, he had the sense to check up on her and make sure she was alright. He should have remembered her then.
Something about the entire situation felt off to Riza, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.
After speaking with General Clifham about why she stood suspiciously in front of Central Command for hours, Riza was ordered back to work.
The walk was agonizing. Fluorescent bulbs in the ceiling cast strange shadows over the faces of soldiers Riza passed, and made the white walls almost blinding. That ugly tile floor reflected everything back into Riza's face, and she was forced to stare at her disheveled, worrying visage as she marched toward the office. Any announcements or letters posted in the hall faded into the background, despite the fact that Riza began her morning by reading them on most days. Her sole focus this morning was finding Roy, and uncovering what he'd done while she suffered outside in the sun.
The office door had always creaked, but the noise seemed louder than usual when Riza pushed the thing open and stepped into her workplace. Concerned faces from the rest of Roy's team snapped up to meet hers, silent questioning in their eyes.
Nothing about the scene in front of her seemed particularly out of place. Fuery still had screws and other assorted radio parts strewn across his workspace, Breda still had a sandwich in one hand and a pen in the other, and Falman still raised his hand in a stiff salute to the Lieutenant as she entered. They were all three in the middle of their normal work routines, which for some, involved a minimal amount of actual work. The only thing out of place was Riza, and her sudden late entrance.
"What had you all tied up this morning, Hawkeye," Breda set down his sandwich and twirled his pen between two fingers, attempting nonchalance, but failing, as his worry about Riza still showed through. The Second Lieutenant and Riza had always been friends, and the sight of her tired face must have been extremely off-putting.
"Nothing of any real concern to any of you," Replied Riza curtly, internally cringing at how rude she must have sounded. She still cared for her unit, but right then, her top priority was Roy, who was now only separated to her by one wooden door to his personal office.
"Are you sure?" Fuery piped up, noticing the worried cracks in Riza's stoic façade more easily than he should have.
"Yes," She nodded, then turned her eyes to Roy's office, "Is the Colonel currently occupied with something?" She inquired, changing the topic.
"I don't think so," Falman spoke this time, "But earlier he did say that he was feeling like he wanted some time alone, so he shut his door on us."
"I see…" Murmured Riza in response, and turned to the barrier between her and the Colonel, observing the white door in all of its glory- chipped paint, black scuff marks, squeaky handle and all, "I'm going to go talk with him now. I will be back to begin my work momentarily," Riza turned away from her friends and walked up to the door.
It wasn't locked; Riza had an easy time opening it, and stepped into Roy's office, not knowing exactly what to expect.
Maybe she had opened the door thinking she would see her commander lying dead in a pool of his own blood, or sputtering his last breaths out as a homunculus chomped down on his bones. Perhaps she had expecting something out of her twisted fears to materialize itself into the office. Something to that nature honestly would have shocked Riza less than the sight in front of her.
Colonel Roy Mustang, leaning back in his black office chair, waving a pen around in his right hand and fingering the edge of a form with his right. He was in one piece. And he smiled as he heard the wooden creak of Riza's arrival.
There was no blood; no homunculus; no props come straight from a horror film. There was only confusion as Riza slammed the door behind her.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye, I was beginning to think you were skipping work today, he began, taking in the sight of Riza's rumpled uniform and crooked hair, "Maybe you should have; you're not looking immaculate as usual," A small smirk played on his lips.
What kind of greeting was that? Especially to the person who had waited for him all night and all morning, just to find that he'd left her? Even with the lingering dread in her gut, Riza's blood simmered.
"Sir," Riza breathed deeply, ignoring the whirlwind of emotions attempting to overtake her system, "Why didn't you inform me of your decision to come directly to work after your meeting with General Raven? I was still waiting for you outside by the car," She stared down at the Colonel, unable to quite place the look in his eyes.
It was… different. Perhaps it was just the irritation spotting Riza's vision, or her obvious shock, but Roy's eyes had somehow changed. He watched her now, eyes sharp as a hawk's-sharp as hers. His lips may have been curled into a playful smirk, but whatever had overtaken his gaze was as far from playful as anything could possibly get.
"Oh, about that... After my meeting wrapped up, it was late, so I came directly here. I thought you'd show up on time too," He replied, fiddling with the pen in his grip. This was strange too…
His gloves, now a far cry from the pristine white accessories which remained ever-present, were now black; darker than night, and more disconcerting than any other change in him or the office. Roy swore by wearing white gloves everywhere. 'Timeless, classy, and elegant,' he called them, always wearing a pair even with his civilian clothes. Black gloves had never even been considered an option before.
"Your orders were that I wait by the car for you, sir."
"Yes, well, things change, Lieutenant. It's time for work now," He dismissed her, casual as if he were ordering from a restaurant. He so flippantly dismissed the woman who had stood waiting for him for what seemed like an eternity. Roy hadn't even apologized. Who the hell even was this man anymore?
Nothing seemed right in the office. The lights, Roy's eyes, his gloves, and the way he casually spoke of Riza's earlier predicament were indicative of something. Thinking about what the hell could be going on made Riza's head spin and her brain overheat. This wasn't just fatigue wearing her down; these factors refused to add up, no matter how many times Riza may have tried.
"Do you know exactly how long I stood there, Colonel," Riza retaliated, stepping closer to the man, "Over ten hours, damn it. If you think you can just wave your hand without even saying sorry, then you are sorely mistaken," her voice's pitch was raised, not loud enough to pervade through the wall and disturb the rest of the team, but enough to almost make her flinch. Roy kept his gaze locked onto his Lieutenant, calm as ever.
He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to one side, leaning it on one of his fists, "I sincerely apologize, Lieutenant, for forgetting to walk out and drag you back into the office," He said after a long enough pause, annoyance creeping into his voice, "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a headache, and I would like to sit here in peace."
"Is that all you have to say to me?" Scoffed Riza, placing a hand on her hip. Roy Mustang or not, no man was ever going to treat her with such outright disrespect. Nobody was ever going to demean her and act like all of her hard work was for nothing.
Roy never would have said this to her. His cocky, arrogant act was just that- an act; in reality he cared deeply for Riza and the rest of his precious subordinates, and would never utter words like he just had. Honestly, if Riza was concerned, her Colonel cared too deeply for those who worked beside him. His obvious disregard for her feelings and her work was something extremely uncharacteristic of Roy Mustang.
Even if he seemed safe and unscathed, that was obviously not the real case.
"Look, if you want to talk, we can do it after work, alone," Roy stood and took a few steps around his desk and toward Riza. For someone who had a headache, his gait was controlled and commanding, and showed no outward signs of Roy's pain.
"After work, sir?" That was puzzling, seeing how after work they should be checking up on the Elrics or doing something more important in the way of gathering information.
"Yes," he stepped closer, causing Riza to instinctively back away, "We'll talk then. In the time being, you and I both have work to do," The Colonel advanced until Riza was almost up against the door, then opened it and waved her out.
Every second of the remainder of that day was torture.
Every ounce of determination Riza had was put toward keeping her eyes from creeping to Roy's office door. The act was irrational, and would not even help toward solving the predicament with the Colonel, and it lowered Riza's productivity so much that she had to get up and physically move herself into a different room to complete her forms.
Thinking back upon her conversation with Roy, Riza was certain that he was hiding something from her. His intentions had mainly been to remove her from the office, and maintain his self-imposed isolation for as long as possible. That was the most logical explanation for why he had dismissed her so easily and practically pushed her out. Even so, secrets alone did not change the fact that he had not properly apologized for leaving her out to dry in the sun.
Just the simple fact that he'd left her out there in the first place, when he'd had so much time and opportunity to walk five minutes and retrieve her was the unbelievable thing. When Roy promised something, like his return, he always followed through. Especially when the one he promised such things to was Riza. Their bond was so strong that Roy would never have even dreamed of making a promise that was impossible to keep. Both he and she respected and trusted one another enough that they knew each vow was sincere.
Each vow, it seemed, except the one they had made outside in the early hours of the morning in the lamplight.
Riza was confident that Roy cared about her enough not to have just neglected her like that.
So that was what puzzled her so much. Even if he had been unable to collect her for whatever reason, the man would have apologized profusely the second Riza had walked into the office. Despite their relationship being nothing less than professional, it was obvious that Roy and Riza cared for each other more deeply than either cared to admit. That bond normally would have made Roy at least verbally apologize to Riza, and with his penchant for shopping, buy her gifts to help get his point across. At least, that was what he had always seemed to do in the past.
Now, Riza was faced with some kind of new Roy Mustang, twirling his pen away in his office, donning his strange black gloves and willfully ignoring all of the friends and subordinates around him. And the more she thought about what explanation he could possibly have for that morning, the larger and larger her anxiety grew. Would she find out this was all just some elaborate act while he and his team remained under the scrutiny of the homunculi, or had something truly changed within Roy's heart?
Anticipation, fear, and curiosity eventually got a rather bedraggled Riza through the rest of her day, and finally- finally- it was time for her meeting with Roy alone.
He stalked out of his private office almost ten minutes after work had officially ended, and the rest of his unit had left for their homes, only Lieutenant Hawkeye waiting patiently by her desk.
"I believe you have some explaining to do, sir."
"Ah, yes, Lieutenant," Roy replied, walking over toward the place in which Riza sat with swift efficiency, "What would you like to discuss?"
Riza softened her hard expression and stood up to meet Roy, "What exactly were you so occupied doing that caused you to forget about me waiting outside?" It was a simple enough question, but still loaded enough to make Roy take a moment to think, one black-gloved hand stroking his jawline.
"I had my meeting with Raven, then it was time to report in for work. I figured you would follow along after long enough," He looked down into her mahogany eyes with his sharp ones, and unease settled on Riza's shoulders. Something about his glare turned her stomach in knots, but Riza forced herself to hold eye contact, refusing to back down.
In that moment, so close to the Colonel and so intent on studying his eyes, Riza noticed something she should have before. In this light, his irises looked almost… violet.
Usually Roy's eyes had a blueish tint to them, only visible when he was out in the sunlight, and almost never under the harsh office fluorescents. This, however was not just a tint. Roy's pupils were actually discernable from the color which surrounded them- an extremely rare, almost impossible occurrence. In fact, the longer she stared into the depths of Roy's eyes, the more certain she became that they were, in fact, tinted violet, and it wasn't just shadows cast by the white bulbs illuminating them from above. In fact, in any other lighting, the color would have appeared even more vibrant.
"Well, Lieutenant," Roy spoke again, snapping Riza back into reality and out of her thoughts. She had stared too long at yet another factor that gave the entire situation a foul, suffocating air and ran her mind in loops, so close to collapsing. He stepped closer to her, much closer than he normally should have for a private conversation of that nature, and the bubble around Riza's personal space popped, slowly filling in with heat.
"Colonel, you made me a promise," Replied the Lieutenant, hoping to somehow snap Roy back into reality as well, and dispelling this evil version.
"Did I, now?" His eyes flicked to the side, a move indicative of an attempt to remember the past. But how could he have forgotten?
"Yes, you did. I only let you enter the Command Center alone after you promised me you would come back, unharmed, for me," Riza jogged his memory a bit faster. She felt uneasy the longer he stood so close to her, and all of her muscles screamed to step backward; she would have done so, had there not been a desk blocking her path.
After a pause, Roy finally spoke again, "You are correct."
"And that's it? You just forgot?"
"I did."
Riza couldn't hear anything else Roy might have said over the sound of her own heartbeat. Something more than just a simple lapse in memory had to have happened. That wasn't the whole story and she knew it. And judging by the look in Roy's eyes, he knew it too.
"You forgot, even after that whole conversation we had?" She reiterated, studying his face closely for what followed.
"Yes, even after our conversation, Riza."
Riza. Riza? Since when had he gotten into the habit of referring to her by first name? Roy only called her Riza when he had to announce her whole name for some kind of order or official purpose. Not since the pair were teenagers that they referred to each other by their given names.
So why would he have called her that? He should have known her first name wouldn't help him curry favor, and at this point, she guessed 'Lieutenant' might have come more naturally out of his mouth after having to say it for so many recent years.
"Are you done talking to me now," Roy once again broke her free from her mind and filled the uncomfortable silence settling over the two.
Not knowing how to respond, Riza nodded curtly and watched as Roy took two steps back, toward the coat rack, "Be on time tomorrow, Lieutenant," He turned from her and walked out the door without saying goodbye.
Without realizing it, Riza fell back down into her chair, still shocked, and no less satiated by this conversation than their previous one. They'd essentially just repeated the same things back to each other, Roy giving no clearer explanations to what the hell had made him just forget about his Lieutenant. The only thing that had changed was Roy's presence. In the office, it had been disquieting; just now, it had been suffocating.
This new feeling- this new pit in Riza's stomach was not the Roy she knew and vowed to follow. This Roy, who had black gloves and violet eyes with an almost malicious glint in them. This Roy, who was seemingly followed by shadows and hot, unbreathable air. This Roy, who flippantly disregarded Riza's feelings and their promises to one another.
This wasn't her Roy.
That much, at least, Riza was certain of. Even though it was his face staring back at her from behind his desk, the person inside was different.
While Riza stood and waited outside, she had imagined Roy being shot, stabbed, beaten, and tortured- all physical punishments and tortures. But she had never even begun to consider their enemies doing something to his mind. Instead of Roy's throat leaking blood onto the carpet, she had never wondered about what they could do to him psychologically.
She never considered what they could have done to brainwash him or compel him into doing their bidding and becoming something he was not. Because, with what Riza had just witnessed, that was what had to have happened.
If this was still even Roy, that is.
Everything added up. In a brilliant, terrible epiphany, Riza realized something. All the hints and the subtle changes, and her stomach willing to overturn its contents in his presence, Riza made what was possibly the most important realization in her life. There was no way in hell the person she had spoken to was Roy Mustang. And the real Colonel- her real Roy- was still trapped somewhere, being subjected to God knows what.
She had still failed, and was no closer to any sort of answers than she had been at the beginning of that day, sweating on the sidewalk. But this time, she couldn't just wait; she was going to do something and find out exactly what had happened.