A/N: Yes! Reviews! Squee! Thank you so much! Keep them coming, along with faves and follows!
Tvtropes has taken over my life. Do not go there, for you will never come out.
I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. All rights go to Hiromu Arakawa. I only own this story.
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"Hey."
The Drachman did not respond.
"Hey."
Nothing. Not even a twitch.
"Hey you. Hey!"
Still nothing. Dammit, this guy was a rock.
"Hey! You! Listen! I'm talking to you!"
Ah, finally. A twitch. Edward grinned weakly, choosing not to note that Anatolievich's finger was just a little closer to the trigger.
"Hey, I'm really hungry. Can I please get something to eat? Come on guys, you aren't going to get anything out of me anyways. I don't know anything!" His stomach supported him by growling loudly. The Drachmans had barely given him enough food and water to get by.
Still no response. Edward was getting pissed. He awkwardly hopped over to his cell door, dragging his broken automail behind him. "You know, if you're going to starve me, you could at least let me see Alphonse!" This time the guard glanced over at him, then moved out of his field of vision. He heard whispers, as if the guard was talking with someone else. Then the bolts on his door were drawn back and it swung open with a loud squeak.
"Very well then. Come on. I will take you to see your brother. But only for a few minutes, and you will be monitored."
"Wait, really? Okay then, lead away. My hands are tied." Edward held his hands out in front of him for emphasis. They were secured away from each other with a rigid, reinforced slab of wood.
The guard shook his head and gestured for Edward to go first. He moved slowly at first, but a nudge with a gun barrel persuaded him to pick up his pace. The only sound in the corridor was his automail dragging on the ground.
"So… how's the weather in Drachma?" He broke the silence and tried to make the situation a little less awkward. The guard did not respond, not that Edward really expected him to. "Well that was cold. Get it? Because it's cold up in Drachma? No? Okay then…" The silence seemed heavier after the bad joke. The guard didn't seem to appreciate the dig about his native country.
Soon the pair came to a heavy metal door. The guard motioned for Edward to wait and, without taking his eyes off of him, unlocked and pulled the door open. He then pushed Edward into the room and went in after him, the door locking behind him. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden dimness, he frowned. "Wait… where's Alphonse? You said I would be seeing him. Where is he?"
"Right in front of you. Say hello to your brother, armor boy."
"Brother? Is that you? Hey! What's going on? How's the colonel?" A cheerful, slightly strained voice sounded out from the crates that Edward could now see in front of him.
"Alphonse?! Is that you?! They've been keeping you in pieces? What the hell! What kind of sick bastards would do that?!" He whirled around and advanced on Anatolievich. "That's torture! He's just a kid!"
"I protest that statement!"
Anatolievich held his hands up in a don't blame me pose. "Wasn't my idea to put him in the crates. He was shouting and struggling too much, so the lieutenant ordered him disassembled and muffled with some pillows we had on hand. It was his idea. I was just following orders." Personally, he hadn't entirely agreed with those orders but he had seen the logic behind him. He had no wish to be caught by the Amestrians and Alphonse's struggles would have given them away to hundreds of armed and angry soldiers in Central Headquarters. So many bullets would have been in him that he would have been more air than flesh. Unlike some of the members of his black ops team, his bucket list wasn't fulfilled. "Anyways, you're here to talk. So talk, and don't try anything funny."
Edward growled, but stood down and turned to where he supposed Alphonse was. "Alphonse, are you alright? How are you? Is everything okay in there?"
"Yeah, I'm okay brother! They've taken me out once in a while to let me get a change in scenery. It's helped a lot! They haven't let me do anything else though and asked me a bunch of questions. I think they figured out that I don't know anything."
Questions? Like the ones I'm being asked? Were they using sensory deprivation as a form of torture? "What kinds of questions?"
"Stuff like 'How many troops are there in Central?' 'What are the exact capabilities of the State Alchemists?' 'What kinds of equipment does the military have?' You know, military things."
Edward frowned. He turned to Anatolievich with a questioning look. "Seriously? You guys thought he knew stuff about military operations? He's only sixteen and not a State Alchemist, why would he know anything? You guys really that dumb?"
Anatolievich shrugged. "Protocol. He hangs out with the military, never know what he might have picked up. Now, your time is up. Come on." He shouldered his submachine gun and gestured for Edward to walk in front of him. Broken automail or not, he was not about to let the Fullmetal Alchemist walk around without escort.
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"Come on Riza, stay with me. Come on, open your eyes. I know you're in there. Wake up, please! Wake up!" Mustang hugged Riza in his arms, trying to squeeze some life back into her. His hands were covered in blood from her wounds, her muscles were still spasming from electrocution, and her breathing was too weak! This was all his fault, he should have told them what they wanted to know, he should have cooperated, he should have saved her, he should have been there for her!
"Gah… r… Roy is… tha… that you?" Riza's eyes were open, but they were glazed over and unfocused. They seemed to be almost looking through him rather than seeing him, fixated on something only she could see.
"Riza! Come on, say something! Stay with me, what do you need?"
"Roy? I… asked you… not to wake me up this… early… y-you know school doesn't… start for another h-hour… you know I don't do… mornings…"
Realization hit Mustang. She wasn't in the here and now. This was far earlier, sometime back when he was still learning at Master Hawkeye's house. "Mmm… why are you in… my room? You know… f-father doesn't want… us to get too close, not that… I'm complaining…"
Mustang quirked a smile at the memories. Back when Riza and he lived in Master Hawkeye's house, she was actually rather upbeat and open. Despite her hard childhood, she had managed to make the gloomy household seem bright and happy. Too bad it couldn't last. "Hey, Riza, we're not at your house, remember? Come on, wake up, work with me here." He gently shook her to get her attention. Her eyes blinked and focused in on his face and she gasped as the world came back to her.
"Colonel? What… what happened? I-gah! Agh!" She cried out in pain as the reality of her wounds hit with a vengeance.
"Shit! Riza! Don't move, just stay still! Let me take care of your injuries, don't try to do anything!" Mustang was panicking on the inside. How was he supposed to take care of her like this? He didn't have any medical supplies, and the cloth on hand wasn't enough.
"It's okay sir, it's just… a scratch. Really, they didn't do… too much. It's worse than it looks." Actually, most of the bleeding had already stopped. The bullet hole in her leg was starting to concern her though, as was the increased detachment with which she was seeing her wounds. "Just… wrap up the bullet wound and I think I'll be good. The bleeding pretty much stopped already."
Now that she mentioned it, most of the blood was already dried and crusted. The various stab and blunt force injuries had stopped bleeding a while ago. The only fresh blood was coming from the wound in her leg. He let out a breath, he could deal with simple bullet wounds. Some cloth ripped off his pants, while not ideal, would do. He set about bandaging her wounds, trying not to hear her gasps of pain. "Sorry about this. I should have told them something just to satisfy them, you shouldn't have to go through this." He shuddered as he felt a death glare pierce through him.
"Don't you dare tell them anything sir! Anything you tell them could be used against Amestris and the safety of the country is more important than anything. No matter what happens, you are not to tell them anything!" He didn't respond, and she reached out to get his attention. "Do you understand me, colonel?!" Wait. Reached out?
"Yeah, I heard you the first time. Now please, just rest. You need to recover from your injuries!" Riza wasn't paying attention though. Wait a second. My hands are untied. Well, shit. I can finally do something! Better to wait until the colonel is out of sight though. If I use my alchemy in front of him, well…
Better not think about that. This is the only job I have. Father to his men that he was, Mustang still knew a threat to his career when he saw one and, like it or not, he would have to deal with it. Riza would cross that bridge when she came to it. For the moment, she simply sat back, let Roy work on her and plotted her escape. With the colonel, of course.
Central City
HQ
0100 Hours
The lights were off in Central Headquarters. Only the night guard was there, burning the midnight oil and regretting the career mistakes that had put them there. One particular private had accidentally spilled his coffee on a colonel and was now standing guard in front of Investigations. He re-shouldered his rifle, trying not to doze off and piss off his superiors even more. The man almost succeeded too, when a door suddenly opened down the hall. The private jumped, bringing his rifle to bear and aiming down the sights just like the manual said to do to do. "Who's there?" There was no answer. Nobody came through the door, no spray of bullets cut him down, no grenade flew through and blew him away. The private breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that his fears had not come to pass. He turned around and checked behind his back, just to make sure nobody was coming behind him. It only took a moment.
That moment was all that the figure needed. It crept up to the private while he was still looking the other way and wrapped its arms around the private's arms, mouth and nose. The soldier's eyes widened and he tried to whirl around but he couldn't. With the arm cutting off his nose and mouth, his lungs were burning. Slowly, his struggles and muffled grunts died away as he slipped into unconsciousness. The lock on the door gave way to a lock pick and the figure slowly crept into investigations. "Crown to Castle. I'm in."
The door closed behind the figure. It took out a flashlight and moved quickly. It moved through the room with the air of one very familiar with a certain location. Arriving at the "Ongoing Investigations" section, it scanned down the filing cabinets to "M". Then, moving more slowly, it panned the flashlight over the M section. "Mordred - Mustang. There you are."
A lock clicked open and the cabinet rolled out. A manila folder labeled "Mustang Disappearance" was carefully extracted from the mass of otherwise indistinguishable manila folders. "Time for you to mysteriously disappear." The folder vanished into the figure's overcoat. The next day, investigations would arrive to find that the newly gathered evidence on its investigation into Mustang's disappearance had itself disappeared, deemed an administrative blunder, forcing them to regather it. Coincidentally, the private on guard outside the department would be found sleeping in a nearby closet. He would soon find himself stationed in an insignificant outpost near the Eastern Desert, far from any important events or career advancement opportunities.
Back in Central HQ, the figure silently closed the door of the broom closet. He then stood up, straightened his overcoat, and walked back down the hall, manila folder safely under his clothes. "Castle, this is Crown. You're clear to proceed."
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The door to the cell opened and two guards walked in. Mustang, still holding Riza, shot his head up in surprise. It had barely been two hours! It couldn't be time for more!
"Alright colonel, up and at 'em. The lieutenant wants to see you again."
Riza stirred in his arms, mumbling something incoherent. He smiled a bit at how beautiful and peaceful her face looked while in his arms. Funny how you don't notice how beautiful things are until you lose them. He glared at the soldiers. "Come on! It's been two hours! You've got to give us more time than this!"
"Too bad! Let's grab him boys."
The guards grabbed him roughly and pulled him away from Riza. She fell to the floor with a gasp near the sink and her eyes flew open. They cycled through shock, alarm, fear, and finally settled on desperation. One hand reached out for him as they dragged him towards the doorway as the other cradled the wounds in her side. "Colonel!"
He could not bear to look into her eyes, see the desperation and fear in them. They did not deserve to look like that, should not look like that. Instead, he closed his eyes, grit his teeth, and turned his face away, bracing himself for whatever was to come.
Dammit, again?! It had only been two hours! They weren't ready for this! Roy aside, her body couldn't take anymore. Anymore and she might just break. Add to that Roy and she had to do something! Anything! She couldn't move and in agony from her various injuries with no weapons anywhere near her. Well, actually, not entirely true. She did have one.
Her gloves were heavy on her hands. Her body was screaming at her to use them, but her mind stayed reluctant and uncertain. Could she really risk everything, risk being able to help Roy, by using alchemy?
In a rare moment of vehemence, her brain decided.
Fuck it.
It came in the form of surprised shouts from the guards, and a glow that lit up the insides of his eyelids. He felt himself being dropped and the soldiers bringing their weapons to bear. Before they could fire though, two shots rang out from ahead of him. Two bodies collapsed to the floor behind him, followed by two more shots and two more bodies out in the hallway. He snapped open his eyes and whipped his head around to the source of the shots. There lay Riza, half of the sink gone behind her, gritting her teeth in pain as water dripped over her, pistol in her hand and the remnants of alchemical energy still sparkling around her gloves.
A/N: Must… not… watch… SAO! YOU WILL NOT TAKE MEEE!
*Willpower crumbles*
*3 hours later*
Oh Kirito, you silly thing. Maybe I should actually write my story now. Meh.
Anyways, I dislike this chapter with a passion. Not one of my better ones. Any review with advice and constructive criticism are welcome! Anything that helps make this story better is ok in my book. (Not that you should stop the praise. Keep that coming. :))
As always, hoped you did enjoy this chapter anyways! Thank you for taking the time to read and Review, Fave and Follow! Until the next chapter!