A/N: I'm not dead, and neither is this fanfic. I've just been really busy since school started. Anyway, here's chapter 3. I might go back and rework the ending a bit, but I also might not.
Thank you to everyone who's been following this story and has left reviews! You guys are amazing! Keep it up and let me know what you think, or if any part of this is too OOC or just difficult to read!
As Lust exited the office, he could hear Lieutenant Hawkeye fall down into a chair, the brass buttons and adornments on her uniform clacking against the hard wood. He was certain, at this point, that the woman had noticed something strange about him. It was almost impossible of Father and the others to expect him to keep up his little charade while only giving him information about Mustang's habits and lifestyle, not his personality.
Lust had no way of knowing exactly to what extent Mustang and his blonde Lieutenant had been romantically involved, but in the process of testing out those waters, he had accidentally taken it too far by calling her Riza. That woman had gone berserk after Lust had impaled the Colonel back at Lab Three; he could have sworn those two were involved in some sort of illicit relationship. But apparently not. What would he find out next; the prostitutes Mustang frequented were just friends he occasionally talked to?
So as he made the trek back to Colonel Mustang's apartment, he made it a task to find out as much as he could about the man he was supposed to be impersonating. Even if he couldn't fool those closest to Mustang, he could still work harder at making sure he fooled everyone else.
Unlike the other human-based homunculi who existed, Lust was at a distinct disadvantage. He was unable to access the memories and skills of his body's previous host, due to the fact that Mustang's soul no longer resided there. Unlike Greed, that asshole, who still could apparently feel and hear that Xingese kid's soul, and catch glimpses of his memories when he tried, Lust could do none of that. Other than the maelstrom of souls in his philosopher's stone, Lust's mind was his and his alone.
And most of the time, that was perfect. Totally great for everyone because he didn't have to struggle against a whiny host like Greed, or have to wonder about whether or not his original soul remained at all, like Wrath. He knew he was Lust, and could make whatever decisions he wanted, completely unfettered. Just… He wished he had access to Mustang's damn memories.
Whatever. It wouldn't do Lust much good if he was bitching about it. His time would be better spent doing some research, or going out and destressing before he had to face his 'colleagues' once more. Not only would he have to stand under Hawkeye's strict scrutiny, but he couldn't hole himself up in his office again as he frantically read files, reports, and newspaper clippings about the Colonel he was meant to become.
The catacombs beneath Central City were sprawling; almost infinite, and ridiculously complex, making them the perfect place to hold any prisoners.
Roy Mustang guessed his cell was wet. He saw the condensation on the cool, stone walls, and sometimes on his arms and legs. He was also pretty sure there was a sewer nearby; he could hear something rushing if he sat still and made sure not to accidentally make any echoes.
He guessed that below ground, it was cold. Whenever one of the homunculi came to taunt him, he could always see white puffs of steam coming from their mouths, as would come out of anyone's mouth on a an average winter day.
It was just a guess that there was sometimes a breeze blowing below ground. Occasionally, he heard the telltale whistling of the wind in the passages, or he saw Envy's clothes or hair move around, flapping to the right. But then again, he couldn't know for sure, due to the fact that all he had to go off of were visual cues.
Because Roy could feel none of these things. He couldn't feel the dampness, or the cold, or any of the wind circulating air through the tunnels. He couldn't feel it when he banged his hands on the bars of his cell, or whenever the homunculi threw or kicked or hit him around.
He couldn't feel anything.
Driving home, for Riza Hawkeye, was a surreal experience. The car ride was such a deeply ingrained part of her daily routine that it was laughable she was doing it after everything that had transpired that day.
She was absolutely sure of the fact that somebody had put together a very convincing Roy Mustang costume, and had somehow done away with the real Colonel, the whereabouts of whom were unknown. The homunculi had managed to bring down the Flame Alchemist, and concoct an evil replacement in just a short manner of hours. They had managed to defeat quite possibly the most powerful alchemist the State had at its disposal, and by the looks of the Central Command Center and everywhere Roy had been that past night, they'd done so without him even putting up much of a fight.
In just one day, Riza's entire world- the person she'd built her military career on and vowed to support- had been wrenched into tiny pieces and scattered.
Yet here she was, hands gripping the steering wheel as usual, feet moving the pedals methodically, eyes on the open road in front of her, making her way back to her apartment.
What she should be doing was finding Roy. She should be tearing apart the Command Center, looking for clues as to where he went and how he disappeared. She should be further interrogating that imposter now that she knew he was a fake. But how?
Other than the fact that she knew the homunculi were somehow behind this, Riza knew nothing else about her situation. She knew she could try snooping around, but would inevitably get caught before she could make any major headway. From her experience under Lab 3, Riza knew that underneath the city, there were countless tunnels, and coupled with the sewer system and any buildings, the task of searching everything was impossible for just one woman.
Before she began acting, she needed to think of a concrete plan; one that would give her information, and at least some idea where she would need to look in order to narrow her search. Any clues about the location of Colonel Mustang at all, Riza needed, before she expected to break him free from his captors.
And she needed to find out who the hell the homunculi had impersonating him. Going over the list of information the Elric Brothers had given her, Riza came to the conclusion that it must be the shapeshifting monster- Envy.
Out of the others, there was no chance it was Gluttony, Lust and Greed were both dead, and it was suspected, by that Xingese prince, that Wrath was Fuhrer Bradley. Other than Gluttony and Wrath, Envy was the only other living homunculus, and the skillset the monster possessed meshed perfectly with the mission he needed to accomplish.
But her hunch could always be wrong. Riza had no real way of knowing exactly which homunculus plagued her until she confronted him about it. But even so, that might not give her any information as to where Roy was being held.
With thoughts of her plan for rescuing Colonel Mustang, Riza reached the parking lot of her apartment complex, and turned the key in the vehicle, shutting the engine off. In the dark, Riza grabbed the files she put in the backseat so she could work on them at home, and stepped out.
The trek up to Riza's small apartment was another easy, routine thing, and she scoffed again, thinking about how Hayate, until he sensed her distress, would also likely follow his little after-work routine, jumping up with excitement and weaving in and out between her legs until Riza sat down on the couch to unlace her boots, and he laid his fuzzy head on her lap. That normalcy, unlike the others, Riza welcomed; Hayate was always phenomenal at calming her down when it was needed.
But the second Riza's hallway came into view, she knew the routine would be interrupted.
Gold shone from the place outside her door, and immediately, Riza recognized the source of the reflection as Edward Elric's hair. The teen turned to face her as Riza's boots clomped into the hall, and Riza's heartbeat quickened.
In all of her worrying and planning and speculation, she had completely forgotten what she wished to say to everyone else about the disappearance of Colonel Mustang. She was at a loss as to how she would break the news to the boy who stared up at her with wide golden eyes.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye, I was just beginning to think you weren't at home," He began, ignoring Hayate's excited yipping room inside the door as Riza approached.
"I'm sorry about that, Edward," Riza replied, giving him a small smile, "I just had to stay a few minutes late at the office," With that understatement of the century. Ed shifted on his feet, and jerked one of his hands toward his pockets, as if he wished to take something out.
"Could I-" He began, but was cut off by the Lieutenant as she closed the gap in between herself and her doorknob.
"Would you like to come inside for a cup of tea?" She finished his sentence for him, and put on her best calm face. Riza had something extremely important to say to the young alchemist, and he had something equally important he wished to discuss with her. So Riza figured tea would be the best way to calm the both of them down so she could tell him with a straight face what had happened to Roy. Edward had a right to know exactly what they were dealing with, and he deserved to hear it from someone who was calm enough to talk about it.
"If that's alright with you, Lieutenant," Ed shifted again, but was met with a smile.
"I have something I'd like to discuss with you, and tea, would be enjoyable while we talk, don't you think?" Riza kept most of her worry under control while they were still out in the open, not knowing if any of the homunculi had taken it upon themselves to follow either her or Ed.
Riza inserted her key into the door to her apartment, and turned the knob slightly, opening it just enough so that she could stick her foot inside, giving Hayate no chance to escape the confines of the apartment. However, it soon occurred to her that she couldn't slip into her apartment as she usually did, due to Edward also waiting to enter. She was so used to coming up alone that she really couldn't remember much of a proper procedure for letting other people in with her. The last time she'd had to do so was when Roy had helped her carry boxes in, directly after their transfer.
Pushing thoughts of Roy out of her mind for the moment, Riza begrudgingly swung her front door open, and like a bullet, Black Hayate fired himself at the blonde teenager waiting in the hallway, knocking him to the ground.
Obscenities spilled from Ed's mouth at the impact, but he soon clamped a hand over his mouth after realizing that Riza was still right next to him. Ed's other hand went to Hayate, first attempting to push his attacker off his chest, but soon realizing, at the sight of Hayate's wagging tail, and Hayate's tongue on his face, that resistance was futile. Instead, he began petting the Shiba, and eventually, calmed Hayate down enough to cause the puppy to leave and nuzzle his head against his owner's legs.
With apologies from both ends, Riza and Ed entered the apartment, Hayate weaving in and out through the Lieutenant's feet. Riza set her work files down onto the coffee table in her living room, and invited Ed to sit on the couch with her as she unlaced her boots and slid her feet into a pair of slippers, offering Ed the chance to do the same. As he took up her offer, Riza walked into the kitchen and turned her kettle on, starting on the tea.
After finishing the rest of the preparations, she took both her jacket and her waist cape off, and hung them up in her room before going back out to meet Ed, who was petting a curled-up Hayate on the couch.
This was it. Riza knew she had to tell Ed exactly what had happened, and she took a moment to steel herself. He deserved to know, as much as anyone, exactly what was going on with Colonel Mustang and the homunculi. She just… She just hated having to tell him news so terrible. Even after everything Ed had seen and been through, he was still so young, and he didn't deserve so much hardship in life. But he had to know; and for that reason, Riza couldn't hold back.
It was just so hard, considering the difficult hand life Ed had been dealt by life. He sat on the couch, looking small as ever, and Riza just couldn't help but feel terrible. Even though she was only the harbinger of bad news, and had not actually been a part of the homunculi's plot to replace Roy with an evil duplicate, it was still her fault for letting it happen. She'd just stayed outside and waited for him, instead of following through on her promise to always watch his back. And God, had that mistake cost everyone dearly. Riza wasn't quite sure how, or even if she would be able to articulate her own feelings of inadequacy and failure to Ed, and how he would feel if she did.
"Edward," She addressed once she walked over and sat herself down on the couch next to him, laying one of her own hands on Hayate's warm belly, "Something extremely important today happened today, regarding Colonel Mustang and the Homunculi, and it's difficult for me to explain, but you need a proper explanation for everything that's been going on."
"Lieutenant, actually, can I say something first? It has something to do with exactly that, and it's really important," Ed looked at her, his nerves obviously returning.
Riza pondered the offer, and ultimately decided to let Ed speak first. Whatever was on his chest, he desperately needed to get off, and if he had to wait to talk until after Riza released her own devastating statements would be a bit cruel, "Tell me whatever you want to, Ed. You know you can always talk to me."
"Okay. Well, uh.." Ed lowered his gaze to the ground, and reached for his back pocket, where he reproduced the pistol Riza had lent him before his fight with Gluttony, "First off, I need to give this back to you, but there's also something else too."
Riza reached out for the gun, and once she pulled it back closer to herself, she noticed exactly the condition it was in. The pistol, once gleaming silver, was now dull and caked with a reddish-brown substance Riza could identify all too well. Dried blood. Unconsciously, Riza's heartbeat quickened, and she wrenched her head back up to look at Edward, "What happened to you that led to this much blood?" Riza turned the pistol over, and felt the weight of it in her hand, and she noticed something even worse, "You didn't fire a single shot. Is this yours?"
At the sight of the usually composed Lieutenant's distraught face, Ed quickly brought his hands up and waved them in the air, "No! No, it's definitely not my blood. Or, anyone's really. Nobody got shot," he gave Riza a small smile for reassurance, "I'm sorry I got it so dirty, but long story short, I got swallowed by Gluttony, and his stomach was like a pool filled with the stuff."
If that last statement was meant to reassure Riza, it had failed horribly at its job, "Swallowed?"
"Yeah," Ed knotted his steel hand in his flesh one, "I won't go much into details, but I got swallowed, but got out, and I'm alright now. All of the important stuff I need to tell you happened after that," As Ed looked down, Riza could practically reach out and touch the sadness and fear radiating off of him.
"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked, setting the soiled gun down onto the coffee table with her paperwork.
"Yeah, sorry, there's just a lot going on right now," He reached out again to rub Hayate's head, and before he could continue, a sharp whistle from the tea kettle broke him off.
"I'll go get that, and hopefully that will make it easier for you to tell me what's wrong, alright?" Riza stood, and as Ed mumbled back an agreement, she fetched their drinks.
As much as Riza didn't want to admit it, her hands trembled ever so slightly as she gripped the mugs and poured boiling water on top of two teabags. Edward was sitting on her couch, after having been sucked into that hellish void that must have been Gluttony's stomach. He had literally been eaten by that deranged homunculus- something Riza had had nightmares about ever since her close encounter with the monster- and survived. And he had something even worse, and even more important to tell her.
Not only had Riza allowed Roy to get swept away and replaced by a monster, but she had been one of the deciding factors in whether or not the children should have been left behind to fight Gluttony. She'd abandoned them to fight, and because of that, Edward had been swallowed. Because of her, the lives of children had been endangered, and she'd almost lost someone else who was dear to her.
The pit in her stomach grew infinitely deeper, and Riza struggled to keep her straight face and carry on with her task. However, she willed her heartbeat to slow, and managed to focus back on what she was doing.
With swift efficiency, Riza carried the two tea mugs back out to the living room, and handed Ed his as she resumed her previous position on the couch, legs curled up under her and one hand on her dog.
"After I transmuted us out of Gluttony," Ed began, after taking a moment to decide on his words, "We ended up someplace underground, pretty much under Central Command, and we met some creepy bearded guy named Father, who was apparently the leader of the homunculi."
"Wait," Riza interjected in between sips of tea, "Under the Command Center?"
"Yeah, it's so our esteemed Fuhrer President can get down there with only a few flights of stairs from his office," Ed cringed, and Riza gripped her cup tighter. So it was true, then. No longer was there any doubt that King Bradley was a homunculus.
Hearing the rumors about the Fuhrer's true past had been jarring enough; just hearing the claim, and knowing that if it were true, all the evidence would line up. But having it confirmed was another thing. The Amestrian Military- the institution Riza had dedicated her entire adult life to- was led by a power-crazy monster. The man who children looked up to, and whose birthday was one of the largest national celebrations in Amestris, was just a deceptive homunculus, playing with the lives of his people as through he was playing a game of checkers.
Riza lost her focus on the young alchemist in front of her for a moment, the cavern in her gut breaking wider and wider open. Fuhrer Bradley being a homunculus would just make it that much harder to rescue Colonel Mustang from wherever he was being held captive. She was up against the most powerful man in the entire country.
"But anyway, this weird-ass Father guy did some crazy alchemy, and he healed up all our injuries, and then…" Ed's voice cracked, and Riza broke out of her stupor long enough to have caught that last phrase.
Ed's eyes, though they had been clouded before, almost had a sort of haunted quality to them at that moment, "Then, he just whipped out a philosopher's stone and made himself a new homunculus."
"A new one?" The words tumbled out of Riza's mouth involuntarily, the exact second after she had processed Ed's statement in her head. A new homunculus?
"Yeah. He shoved his philosopher's stone into Ling, and even though this sounds impossible, he made himself a new Greed, using Ling's body as some kind of host for it all."
For what seemed like the millionth time in an impossibly long day, the floor beneath Riza gave out and she was falling. Whoever the hell "Father" was, the man could create new homunculi at his will, and worse still, he used people to do so, ripping any sense of agency they might have had away. He could create a new pawn for his schemes whenever he felt like it, and did so at the cost of human lives.
Had this been Roy's fate? Had he been infected by that goddamn rock, and been overtaken by some kind of sadistic monster?
Was it possible that it really was Roy she'd encountered before? Only now, his soul long gone and new one having taken its place?
Without realizing it, Riza's fingers had curled so tightly around her mug of tea that her knuckles were white, and the blue veins running across the back of them were prominent enough for Ed to have seen from the other side of the couch.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye, are you alright?" He looked up at her with wide eyes, his hand having paused petting Hayate. The dog lifted his head, and upon noticing his master's distress, moved away from Ed and nuzzled Riza's arm.
She was most definitely not okay, no matter how she tried to spin the situation. Even though she prayed desperately that the homunculus working in her office now was Envy, wearing Roy's face, she now knew that there was an intense likelihood that it was not.
Roy could be lost to her forever; turned into a monster much worse than Envy or any of the others.
"Lieu- Lieutenant?" In response to Riza's silent terror, Ed ventured to call her name out once more in order to break her out of her sinking thoughts.
"Ed," Riza managed out, as if she had not just lost the most important person in her life, "I'm sorry for freezing up on you like that. I just…" She just what? She honestly had no good excuse.
So instead of an excuse, she turned the subject to her one glimmer of hope, "Is being turned into a homunculus permanent?"
"I don't know."
Riza deflated, "Oh."
"But I do know that even though you can't really just take the philosopher's stone out and reverse everything, that person who's soul rightfully owns the body still exists inside the homunculus. "
If Riza's head could have gone any faster when she looked back at Ed, it would have snapped off.
The person whose original soul it was could still exist within a homunculus. Roy was still alive somewhere, even if it was trapped, motionless and powerless in his own body, it was still alive. His beautiful, wonderful soul was still in this world somewhere, and could be saved.
Roy wasn't dead. Even if he was a homunculus, Riza could fix that.
"After we fought the new Greed for a little while, we started trying to reach Ling, and we got him so riled up that after a few seconds, he was able to break through for a moment or two," Edward continued for the Lieutenant, who drank up his every word like someone lost in the desert would drink water.
"He definitely isn't powerful enough to be in control, but at least we know he's alive, and I guess that's the important part," Clenching both his fist and his teeth, Ed looked down again, and Riza remembered exactly how terrible he must also be feeling.
How could she have managed to neglect Edward's feelings this entire time, only selfishly thinking of her own sorrow at the thought of losing Roy? She was awful; the entire reason she'd invited Ed inside was to give him tea and make him more comfortable, but all he'd gotten was cheap tea and someone who was entirely too wrapped up in her own issues.
"Ed," She ventured out to say, and the boy in question brought his gold eyes up to meet her mahogany ones, "Are you alright? Not just your injuries, but everything else too?"
He paused for a brief moment, just thinking to himself about what to say, until he finally sighed, "I'm alright, Lieutenant Hawkeye. It's just been a really long day."
"So it has," Riza agreed, and just sat in silence with Edward until the both of them had finished their tea.
Neither Riza nor Ed wanted more to drink, so Riza decided to break her news to the teenager while he only had Hayate to comfort him.
"Edward," She started, not knowing how else to open, "Thank you for telling me everything about the homunculi," He nodded, "But as I mentioned before, I also have something important to tell you."
Staying silent, Ed urged Riza on with his eyes, and the Lieutenant took in a deep breath before beginning. How should she begin? Starting right off the bat by saying Roy was either being impersonated by a homunculus or had been turned into one would no doubt shock Ed too much. Besides, before she voiced her thoughts, which she knew were right, she would need to line the evidence up for Edward, so he would come to the same conclusions.
"As you know, after the Colonel and I left you and the others last night, the two of us continued on to Central Command, in hopes of mustering up support from some of the generals there, and to see who we could trust.
"Colonel Mustang went inside the building while I waited out front for his return. But… It never happened," Ed's eyes widened.
"Wait! Mustang was there with me when the both of us talked to Bradley. He was fine then!" Ed attempted to fit the pieces of Riza's tale thus far with those of his own, "I walked in there with Al, and Mustang was just sitting in the Fuhrer's office. Bradley threatened me for a little while, then got Envy to take us away while Mustang stayed. Did the Colonel never come out?" Panic rose in Ed's voice as he realized something was extremely wrong.
"Well, he never came to get me, so I waited outside the Command Center until someone from in there came and ordered me back inside. Then, I went to the office…"
Riza looked down at her dog, sprawled across the space on the couch in between her and Ed, tongue lolling out of his mouth, and paws to the air to welcome belly rubs. She had no idea how to least painfully phrase the next portion of her story, so she looked back up and just stated the facts with as straight a face as she could muster.
"Ed, I'm positive Colonel Mustang has been turned into a homunculus," Automail shattered porcelain, and pieces of Ed's tea mug flew everywhere.
"What?!" The mild panic Riza had observed in his face moments before was nothing compared to what she saw in him now. Thankfully, Ed remained on the couch, but looked like he wanted to jump up, before taking note of the sharp debris from his accident, "Shit! Wait, I'm sorry! God damn it!"
Hayate jumped away in the confusion, so Riza extended a hand toward Edward in hopes of calming him at least slightly, "It's alright about the mug, trust me. I'm fairly sure I took that one from work anyway," Ed just stared at her with an open mouth, "But I do need you to hear the rest of this, so you and Alphonse will know exactly what's going on."
It took him a minute, as the initial shock wore off, but Ed finally replied, "You really think Mustang is homunculus?"
"I'm positive, Ed. The second I walked into the office, something felt off, and after talking to the 'Colonel', I knew that there was no way in hell it really could have been Mustang," Riza rubbed the back of her head, trying to think of ways to explain exactly how she knew it wasn't Roy, but the truth was, it was all of those different mannerisms and small things which had led her to the conclusions she had come to.
"I don't have any definitive proof for you, and I apologize for that, but please trust me when I say that I know I wasn't talking to Colonel Mustang; only someone stealing his face.
"At first, I thought it was that shapeshifting homunculus, Envy, impersonating him, and they have him locked up somewhere, but after what you told me, I honestly think it's possible they could have tried to turn him into a homunculus. I need to find out which one it really is, but I know that instead of the Colonel at work today, I was talking to one of those monsters."
"Fuck," Ed breathed out, clenching his fist, this time thankfully with nothing in his hand, "I don't… I don't want to believe that this could have happened; that Al and I dragged another person into our mess. But Lieutenant… You know Mustang better than anyone else, and I guess if anyone would be able to tell it wasn't Colonel Bastard, it would be you," He lightly punched the couch with his flesh hand, "God damn it! I should have noticed something was up in Bradley's office."
"Ed, this isn't your fault," Riza gently moved his hand away from her furniture, dumbfounded at the fact that Ed somehow managed to blame himself for the situation. He had no way of knowing the homunculi's plans, and had his own issues to work through, "How could you possibly have known this was what they were planning on doing?"
"They just got Ling. I should have been more on guard."
"If it's anyone's fault, it's mine," Riza digressed, willingly sacrificing her ever-strong façade in order to unburden Ed, "I was the one who waited outside all morning instead of doing anything."
"No, it's not," He argued back, and though Riza wanted to argue with him in order to convince him she was responsible for this, she knew she had to keep on topic.
"I wholeheartedly do not put any of the blame on you for this Ed," Riza looked at him intently, making sure here stubborn eyes met his, and refused to look away until he understood that he was not the one at fault for any of that day's events. Or at least, that no matter who was at fault, the more important issue was how to remedy the situation.
He needed to make the difficult decision to set aside his guilt, shove it to the back of his mind as he, Riza, and everyone else decided what to do about their homunculus problem. Even though his negative emotions would still sometimes over him like a dark storm cloud, Ed would need to decide whether or not to get rained on or stay dry.
It had been the same difficult decision Riza had made earlier that day, even though she wanted to scream. She knew that the only way they would ever succeed in bringing Roy back, or expel a parasitic homunculus from his body would only ever happen if she could set aside emotions and focus on the mission.
That was the tactic that got her through most situations. It was what she should have done back at Lab Three after having shot Lust. Managing to compartmentalize her feelings into the back corner of her brain was what got her through Ishval. And it was what was going to get her and Edward through this.
Though Ed was only half her age, he had been through nightmares that people twice Riza's age could never even dream of. So he understood the Lieutenant completely, and methodically clenched and unclenched his steel fist to draw his rage away from his mind. He managed to put his guilt aside, and the aftershocks of his incredibly arduous day, and got right down to business, knowing all too well that dwelling on negative feelings would lead to chaos.
If it was possible, Riza could have sworn she saw the already too mature boy grow up some more.
"So how are we going to deal with this?"