Riza had thrown on a white shirt with long sleeves and green pants with two gun holsters. "We should go now. We don't know how many there are or if the Elric brothers can hold them off for long." She was all business, all ready to go, and absolutely not about to stay and wait for Roy to return. Her eyes burned with determination and dared someone to tell her not to come. They surely would get a warning shot at least.
Roy wanted to wait up, to see if he could convince the woman to stay behind. He knew that would be impossible, but maybe he could stall. He was suddenly very aware of himself, his presence, and his mortality and knew, as he had when she got so sick, that one wrong move would end life as he knew it. Life without Riza in it was no life at all. And, if he died, he wouldn't be alive to see where this crazy story with this crazy woman ended.
But the Lieutenant was already out of the room and down the stairs. There was no stopping her now. And, really Roy needed to be a little more sensitive. While these people had nearly killed someone very close to him, the person who was almost killed deserved a little vengeance. And this particular person was all too eager to put a few bullets in their heads for what they'd put her through.
The cold night air nipped Riza's skin and she wished she'd had the foresight to grab a coat. She figured, though, that they would be warming up soon enough, and it was just one less article of clothing that could get lost or damaged in the midst of came bursting out of the house a moment later, and they both jumped into a car and sped towards the center of the city.
Roy was oddly silent as he drove, and Riza knew he wasn't thrilled she came along. But, she had to be there to protect him and to make whoever did this to her pay. She looked over briefly at her Colonel who kept his eyes trained on the road. On the other hand, this illness had given them the time together, to be honest about their feelings for one another. Of course, that didn't make up for almost dying, but they wouldn't be where they are now without it.
Then again, they wouldn't be where they were without a lot of different, sometimes terrible things happening in their lives. If he'd never studied under her father, if she'd never gotten that cursed tattoo, if she'd never joined the military, if they'd never gone to Ishval, if they hadn't been together on the Promise Day, if she had never been stabbed in the tunnels… She could go on and on and think for days about all the things they'd been through. And, really, it was all of these things that brought out their feelings for one another. They meshed so well because they'd learned and grown with each other and had figured out how to work with one another. She couldn't live without him and, judging by his words and actions this past week, he felt very similarly about her.
But, now wasn't the time to sit and think about their lives. If they wanted to be able to do that in the future, they were going to have to focus on the battle at hand. They had no idea what they were walking into, how dangerous this person was. It could be one deranged doctor, or it could be a stampede of rebels. Either way, they had to be on their guard.
"Please don't stray too far from me, sir," Riza said with a sideways glance and lightly touched her gun's grip. Her voice pierced the near silence and rose above the buzz of the motor. There was a long pause and she knew Roy wanted to come back with some remark about how he wished she wasn't even there in the first place.
"I won't," was all he said, though.
They came to a screeching halt at the front of the hospital, and Riza reached for the handle of the door, but Roy's hand reached her shoulder first. She turned around, and before she could ask what was wrong, his lips met hers in a very quick, very passionate kiss.
He pulled away and studied her face for a brief moment, the look of shock amusing him slightly, and he appreciated that little light in such a dark time. "Don't do anything stupid, Riza," he said, in the same tone he would use to order her around, but the use of her name softened the command, though it carried no less weight.
"I won't," she managed to get out.
They looked at each other for another long minute before they both reached for their respective doors at the same time. Both were glad for that one moment before the battle and they ran for the hospital, Alchemy ready, and gun drawn.
Riza could feel her heart beating in her throat as they ran up the steps to the hospital. They had no idea what they were running into, and it was obvious that whoever was there wanted one or both of them dead. They'd also been just about to go to bed, and she was not completely recovered, so she felt a little tired and hoped that her aim would not suffer because of it.
They burst through the doors and heard bangs and shouts immediately. They easily picked out Edward's voice, since they were so used to it, but between the crashing and mangled shouts, they had no idea how many adversaries they were about to run into.
Roy ran ahead, and Riza covered his back, as was usual for them. They followed the sounds to a large surgical theater and burst through the doors.
The first thing they saw was a flash of blonde hair, and then another. The sight of Alphonse still took both the Colonel and his Lieutenant by surprise, even though it had been a few years since he got his body back. He was a young, handsome boy that bore some resemblance to Edward, but also looked entirely like his own person. And, he was the only one of the brothers who could perform Alchemy, so Ed was guiding him around.
Edward had a dagger drawn, not unlike the one he used to transmute out of his arm, as he had begun to use since his arm was restored. Riza recalled a conversation where she had suggested he opt for something heavier, like a gun, but Ed refused. He wasn't a fan of guns and besides, he was used to using knife-like weapons. There was no learning curve for him with a dagger, and he had spent years sparing to improve his skill.
Alphonse was fighting with the same woman that broke into Riza's home. Her long red hair was tied up in a bun and she looked absolutely insane with a cut under her right eye and a knife in her hand.
"Ah, so you joined us," Julia paused and glanced to the two who just entered the room.
"Who are you?" Roy growled, "What do you want? Why are you trying to kill us?"
"Because, so many go after the country's leader while they're still in power," she replied in a slick voice that made Riza want to shoot her in the mouth. "We decided to go after him before that happens."
Roy stopped short, his eyes wide. Leader? But he wasn't, and Grumman was doing a fine job as it was. Though there had been rumors he would step down, but Roy hadn't even been promoted past Colonel. No way was he planning on picking him, at least not now. There was too much to be done to reunite the country, and everyone knew Grumman was the best person for that job.
"Well, you did a shitty job," he growled. "You never even touched me."
The woman laughed, throwing her head back dramatically. "That is where you are wrong, Colonel," she smirked and pointed to Riza, the tip of the knife in her hand staring the woman down. Riza glared at her and held her gun steady, ready to shoot if and when necessary. She wanted to shoot now but knew they needed to get more information from Julia. "We did touch you. We almost took away your Queen."
Roy was seeing red and just barely stopped himself from lunging forward and strangling the woman. "What do you mean?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"With her out of the way, there's no chance you'd become Fuhrer," she said. "You'd be too sad." She brought a fisted hand to her eyes and made a crying motion. "Then we take out Grumman and Armstrong and storm the Capitol in the confusion. It's a brilliant plan, really."
"Yeah, so brilliant that you're telling us all about it now," Edward rolled his eyes.
"Oh, you won't live to see it come to fruition."
"You're too cocky," Alphonse glared. "But then, who else are you working with?"
"The shadows," she replied cryptically. "It's a small operation, but a strong one and you'd never catch us all if you tried." She then brought an open palm to her mouth in a fake yawn. "Now, it's late and I'm tired. Let's be done with this."
She grabbed her knife and lunged at Roy. Riza began shooting, but she dodged all the bullets. Alphonse put his hands to the ground, morphing the room to his will, but Julia barely stumbled as she made her way to Roy. He snapped his fingers and set off a blaze of fire, some of which she caught, and her sleeve burned off, but she continued forward.
"Colonel!" Riza shouted, trying to aim a shot at her leg before she made it to him, but she was too quick. The tip of her blade dug into Roy's shoulder and he cried out, jumping away as blood littered the ground. Riza was furious, but she could tell the wound was not deep. Roy was still moving his arm freely and snapped his fingers steadily, lighting the room up with dazzling light.
This played out for several long minutes, Julia dodging every attack and Roy, Riza, Ed, and Al, charging after her as she bounced around the surgical theater. They weren't able to get a scratch on her-she was too fast. They also found themselves dodging each other in the small room, and tiles from Alphonse almost hit them at every turn.
And then came the scream. Riza would know the voice anywhere and she jerked her head around to the corner of the room where Roy was. He was grasping at the shoulder that had been cut and from across the room, Riza could see the sweat dripping from his forehead. He dropped to his knees and Riza ran.
"Colonel!" she shouted, dodging an ill-timed attack from Julia, as she ran to the man's side. "What's wrong?" She dropped to the ground and placed a hand on his uninjured shoulder. Julia gazed over at them and laughed.
"Ah yes, about time it kicked in," she chortled, "I was starting to get a little tired."
"What did you do?" Riza roared, fire dancing in her eyes. Edward and Al exchanged a glance. They rarely saw her like this, and only when the Colonel was badly injured. His wound looked alright, but they couldn't see what was happening below the surface.
"Oh, just finishing what I tried to start a few nights ago," Julia smirked. Hawkeye glanced between her and Roy before it clicked. The poison. She had dipped her blade in poison, and when she stabbed Mustang, the poison transferred into his system. Riza's eyes snapped to Roy, who was struggling to remain conscious and she gently placed a hand on his cheek.
Her mind was reeling, and before she could do anything, Edward was charging. "Brother, watch out!" Alphonse shouted as the woman's blade narrowly missed the older boy's head.
Roy moved and tried to stand, but Riza pushed him down. "Rest, sir. We'll finish this and get you help immediately," she said. He glanced up at her and met her worried eyes. He gave her a weak smile and touched the hand on his face.
"I'm okay," he said and Riza wanted to smack him. He was absolutely far from okay, and they didn't have much time. She just glared and stood, drawing her gun. She glanced to Alphonse and nodded her head to Julia, and he knew she wanted him to distract her.
Alphonse morphed the room again and a fist came flying out of the wall. She was so busy with Edward that she missed that it was coming, and she was flung against the opposite wall. Alphonse rushed up and placed his hand on the wall. The pipes came out of the wall and wrapped around the woman.
"Where's the antidote?!" Edward shouted, his sword pointed at the woman's throat. She chuckled again, looking completely unfazed by her capture.
"How presumptuous," she laughed. "An antidote? You really think there is one?"
"There always is," Edward replied confidently. "If you're playing around with that stuff, and you make a mistake, then you're dead. So, there must be an antidote to reverse the effects."
"If we make a mistake, then we are better off dead," the woman replied with a slight eye roll. "Creever has no need for those who make silly mistakes."
"So you do have a leader!" Edward felt proud he'd at least gotten that out, though he was sure there had to be some sort of cure for the poison. He stole a glance at Mustang who looked like he was struggling to keep awake. He was kneeling, crouched over, with his face flushed, and Riza stood in front of him, protecting the man with her body and her gun.
"Of course, dumbass," Julia sighed. "Congratulations, you figured out the most obvious thing."
"Where is he?" Alphonse asked. His own brow was caked in sweat and he was having trouble holding the woman in place. The pipes were beginning to leak and would soon burst, and he wouldn't be able to regroup in time to stop her from going after one of them.
"Like I would tell you," she laughed. "If I knew at all. But I don't, honestly. Our boss is a mysterious one, only appearing when needed to give orders."
"Tell me where the antidote is!" Edward pushed the sword closer so the tip was scraping against her neck. She smirked and pursed her lips, but Edward watched as she glanced to a door. Her eyes quickly moved back to him, and he could tell the movement was involuntary, but it gave away that it was somewhere in the hospital. She must have been working here on the poison in the first place.
"Brother, I can't hold her any longer!" Alphonse shouted as the pipes burst and the woman was released from the bindings. She dodged the sword's tip and lunged forward, her blade poised to hit Edward square in the chest. He wasn't going to be able to jump back in time.
Three shots pierced the air, ringing out like heavy bells throughout the room.
Here's another round of "Kat's bad at writing the bad-guy trope!" Thanks again for all the comments and favs and all that! Hope you enjoy! Only 2 chapters left!