RIZA

All Riza could feel was the constant throb in her thigh as she laid flat on her back on the hard cement floor. The cold had turned her whole body numb and it was actually helping to alleviate the pain. She laid still, shivering, and fighting the fever that refused to go down. For the past few days, she estimated, she had been in that same position, drifting in and out of consciousness. Sometimes, when they brought her water or some food to eat, she would will herself to get up and eat what little they gave her.

The food and water was always slid through an opening at the bottom of the metal door where they could slide it open and close it right after. The first time she had to move closer to get it, she felt a jolt of pain erupt through her body the moment she moved. Afterwards, she decided to sleep with her head beside the opening where she could just reach up and take the food without having to move her whole body again.

The food they were giving her was nowhere near sufficient, especially for an injured person who was healing. Sometimes they would give her a piece of bread or a thin soup, and if she was lucky, she got both. In the beginning, she had tried to count the days according to the meals they were giving her. But they seemed to have known from the beginning that she would do something like that, so the water and the food were given at irregular and unpredictable times. She knew this by measuring it with the intensity of her hunger. Sometimes, she would get food the moment she was starting to get hungry, but at other times, she felt like they were trying to starve her. This fever's not helping either. Most of the time, she was passed out and couldn't figure out how much time had passed. For all I know, I might have been here for two weeks already.

The last thing she remembered was the darkness that engulfed her as the door had shut closed. When she had woken up the next time, her leg was neatly bandaged and a small box was placed beside her. They want to keep me alive, just not in a comfortable way. The box contained more bandages and a small bottle of alcohol to sterilize her wounds. When she agonizingly removed the bandages and inspected her wounds, she found that someone had done a good job stitching up both holes and cleaning everything. The smell of alcohol mixed with a little bit of blood was making her sick, but at least it would prevent her from getting an infection that would make her stay even more dreadful than it already was.

They should've given me some pain killers too, Riza groaned in her head. Each time she tried dabbing the wound to clean it, pain shot out and made her breath hitch. Only after taking deep breaths and gritting her teeth was she capable of finishing up quickly and wrapping it in new bandages. I hope this doesn't get infected. This cell isn't exactly the best place to hope for that though.

For hours she stayed motionless, waiting for the moment when someone came to bring her water or food. It was the only time when she could focus on the noise and forget about her thoughts. After all, she had been left in the dark alone and all she could do for hours was think and try to forget about the ache in her leg.

Most of the time when she was conscious, she would think about the men back in the office, wondering how they were faring without her, if everything was being kept in order. They're probably running all around the place. Now that Riza knew the men wouldn't question her leave too deeply, she doubted anyone would suspect she had been kidnapped. At least not yet. Maybe if I'm gone for a month, they'll start to look for me. Maybe. She was sure Fuery had shown the letter to Roy and she was even more positive Roy had gone to look for her at her apartment himself. She just knew it.

They'll probably use me to get to the Fuhrer. She hated the thought of being used against him, because she knew it would work. Damn him. Roy was known by every member of the team that he would never abandon anyone. He would always go out of his way for others and, unfortunately for her, put others before himself. So many times had she fretted over him, hoping everything would turn out well and hoping he wouldn't get himself hurt or worse, killed.

As the time passed and her wounds seemed to be healing well, she would frequently move her leg, flexing it, to get the blood moving and to regain some strength. Little movements like these kept her mind off others things for a few minutes, but she couldn't keep it up for long. She could feel herself gradually losing weight, becoming weaker and more easily tired. Her hair had grown a bit and even her nails. I hate having long nails. Riza would file them on the ground whenever they grew too long.

Every time someone came by to bring her some scrap of food, she would talk to them, ask them about nothing important, since she knew they wouldn't tell her about themselves. Most of the time, she asked what day it was or how the weather was outside or asked them about the food they were giving her and where it came from. She asked all sorts of questions, but not once had they answered her.

Riza was known to be a quiet person, who kept most things to herself and enjoyed her time alone. However, there was a limit to everything and the constant silence was making her anxious and desperate to hear someone else's voice, the evidence that another human being was present. Even the sound of her own voice was a relief. She was not used to spending such a long time in silence. After all, a long period of peace and quiet in the office was a rare feat to come by. Now, she was left alone with her mind and the unknown, left to imagine all the possible reasons and aftermaths of her kidnap.

Now I understand why our instructors told us that solitary confinement can break the mind of a person, even the most strong-willed ones. An easy way to torture someone. Psychological breakdown. It wasn't easy thinking about how everyone else was getting on with their lives, while you were left to rot, forgotten by the world. If I get out, I'll make sure to add some training to defend against different torture methods.

Unfortunately for her, she had only gotten a three hours lecture at the military academy on the different methods of torture that existed and a quick overview of defending yourself against them. In fact, when she had registered, the country had already been in their second year of the Ishbal war. The new recruits had to be trained in a few months and sent out as reinforcements as soon as possible. However, since Riza had shown such rare talent with her marksmanship, they had shortened her training at the academy and sent her out halfway through the program. After that, she had been in Mustang's team and never had any sort of training ever again.

"How's the cell?" asked a mocking voice. Riza jumped and was brought out of her trance. She had been so used to being ignored that she had stopped trying to get them to speak to her. The sudden voice intruding on her silence was stimulating and she felt a rush of adrenaline. She recognized the voice and associated it to the leader of the three men.

"Are you the leader? How long are you going to keep me here?" she asked quickly, hoping he would reply.

"Anxious now, aren't we little one?" She could imagine the smile he had on his face, knowing he was getting to her. She kept her anger in check, as well as all the things she wanted to yell. It's not the time to let my pride get the best of me. If I can't get him to talk more, then I'll lose.

Before she could say anything else, the man continued, "and no, I'm not the leader. My name is Marcus." Marcus! I got a name!

"Who are the other two?" Riza asked. She could hear a quiet chuckle.

"The big one is Rob, the skinny one is Jack." Marcus laughed airily and said, "seems like you're enjoying your solitary confinement Lieutenant Colonel."

Riza growled. "Who's your leader? Where is he?" There was a pause of silence and Riza could feel the cold sweat forming on her skin. Please answer. Please don't leave yet.

"Someone named Victor," he said slowly, "you won't be meeting him though. He's not here."

"Then where is he? Why is he not here?"

"Because he's in the military." Riza's breath caught in the throat as she assimilated what Marcus had said.

"He's the spy?" she said in a voice so low it was almost a whisper.

"You could say that. Although I wouldn't say he's the only one. We have people coming and going. We have connections. That's how we got in," Marcus said with amusement.

Riza couldn't believe what she was hearing. Many people infiltrated the military? She cursed herself for not being able to do anything. She had been in charge of the Fuhrer's security and had let such a thing happen. Now she knew all of this, but she couldn't be of any help. All her friends and the Fuhrer were in danger.

"Victor," she said to herself.

"Stop trying to figure out who it is. You won't know. Do you actually think he'd go in there with his real name?" He's right.

"What do you want from me? What are your goals?"

"Our goal? Classic. We want the best revenge possible. And unfortunately for you, to have been caught in the middle of it, you'll have to be our sacrifice." Her eyes widened. Sacrifice?

"Why revenge? What for and against whom?" she asked frantically.

"I think you already know." She heard clothes rustling and some movements on the other side of the door.

"Wait! Revenge won't erase the past and the pains. You can't change anything with it!" she screamed, hoping he would stop and talk some more. Riza waited, frozen in place, listening for any sound.

"We know," he said suddenly. His voice was deeper and full of hate. "The past won't change. The dead won't come back. Our pain and suffering will stay the same. But, our revenge will allow the dead to rest in peace and give us a moment to relish."

Riza let go of the breath she didn't know she had been holding and listened to his fading footsteps. Marcus, Victor, Rob, Jack. She repeated the names in her head, memorizing them, making sure to remember them. In the end, she still didn't know the exact reason for their revenge but she could assume it was associated to Roy. 'I think you already know' he had said, but Riza knew many things and their reason for doing this could be anything. After all, it wasn't just the Ishbal war that had caused many casualties. Some people had also died during the Promised day and a few of them might have blamed Roy for it, not knowing what had exactly happened. Or maybe they were supporters of King Bradley.

Riza groaned in frustration and she eased her way up to a sitting position against the wall. She felt too restless to continue lying down. I need to get out of here. Her friends were in danger and she was stuck in here like a sitting duck. This is exactly what they want. If I even had the slightest chance of getting out of here alive, then they wouldn't have told me anything.

Riza huddled closer into the old blanket with her good leg bent against her chest. For the first time in a long time, she felt fear. Her heartbeat was loud in her ears and her eyes were wide open, staring into the darkness. I'm going to die. What will happen to the others afterwards? She felt fear, fear for her friends' lives.

She waited a long time in silence, listening for the next person to come. When the footsteps were heard, she waited until the person slid in the food until she spoke.

"Rob?" All movements stopped and she waited a few more seconds before asking, "Jack?". She froze in place as she heard the person shift. Please don't leave.

"So, Marcus has told you our names. You know what that means," he said slowly. It was Jack.

"I know," Riza prodded carefully into the conversation.

She heard Jack chuckle slowly. "And you don't care about it? Are you sure you know what's coming for you?" Riza didn't answer. "Well, let me tell you. It's death."

"Is this to get to the Fuhrer? Because it won't work," Riza said firmly. When she heard Jack laugh out loud, she frowned.

"Do you actually think you can fool us Lieutenant Colonel? What do you think is the first thing to do when you want to get someone? Hmm?" he asked with a menacing tone. "A background search." Damn it, they know. Not many people knew about her father and his apprentice, but it wasn't that hard to find out about it either. If one dug deep enough, they could easily find people from their town who remembered them. "Your father taught him alchemy. He lived in his teacher's house for five years before he decided to go against his teacher's words and join the military in the hopes of helping the citizens of Amestris. His teacher had a young daughter, a few years younger than Roy Mustang, and they became good friends. That daughter was you, Riza Hawkeye, am I right?"

Riza refrained herself from speaking. Her lips formed a tight line as she controlled the anger that was building up.

"So, don't tell me he won't care. His childhood friend, maybe his lover now, gets captured and-"

"We're nothing like that!" Riza spat out. "We were childhood friends, but that's not how he sees me now. I'm a useful subordinate, nothing more than that. In fact, he sees me as an obstacle when it comes to finding a lover."

"I don't believe you," Jack said before standing up. "Out of all the people we could use to get to him, you were the best one. You know that."

"What happened to you? Why are you trying to get revenge on him too?" Riza knew he was still there, probably contemplating whether or not he wanted to tell her his reason. After a moment of silence he did.

"He killed my wife. He burned the whole house down." Riza waited in silence for him to continue. "It was during the Ishbal war. There was a part of that city where many Amestrians from all over the country lived. Most of them were merchants or long time residents. When the war started, they got caught up in it too. There was a barricade so no one could escape. I was away for work in another city at the time and I couldn't get back to her in time. I couldn't save her. Do you know how it feels to know that your wife is getting hunted down like all the others and knowing you can't do anything about it? I listened to the radio as they announced that the town we lived in got burned to the ground by the Flame Alchemist, the hero of Ishbal. I was lost for many years. Homeless, depressed and waiting to die by myself. I was a simple merchant, with no home or money left. I gave up on life, telling myself I could never get back at him or the military. They were too strong and I was alone and weak. But when I heard he had ascended to Fuhrer, I became furious. How can a killer, a mass murderer become the ruler of a country? It doesn't make any sense! Then one day they found me. This group who had similar views as me, who had the same target as me. Thanks to Marcus and Victor, I now have a new purpose in life before I die. I want to make him suffer as much as we all did, and it starts with you."

Riza felt a chill run up her spine and she had goosebumps all over her body. She knew there were people out there who resented Roy for what he did during the war, but ten years had already past and she didn't think such an extreme group would chose to act now of all times. Most of all, she dreaded the day she would meet these people, because she had been just as guilty as him, killing a good share of the people.

"He didn't want to do it. He didn't want to kill all those people in the war. He had to follow orders, if not it would have been him who'd die. He became Fuhrer to make sure such a thing, a mass genocide such as that one, never happened ever again. He wants to change the country for the better."

"That doesn't change the fact that he killed all those people. He had a choice! He could have said no! If he had just died, he could have spared all those victims he burned!" Jack yelled.

"No, the military would've just sent in other people to do the dirty job! He would've died for no reason. He knows what he's done. He knows he can never atone for his mistakes, but he can damn try his best for the future, to make certain that it never happens again and to make sure that no one has to make that same decision another time," Riza said loudly with force, hoping he could understand what she was trying to make him see.

"Shut up!" he cried, kicking the metal door hardly, making Riza flinch. "Nothing you say will change my decision. And you deserve just as much as him. You're just as much of a killer as him." With that, he left with hurried footsteps.

Riza sighed heavily, dropping her head against the wall behind her and closing her eyes. We can never get away from our past. Riza knew she would be haunted by the memories of the war all of her life. But she didn't want to relive it, to meet the victims' families, or to be reminded of her actions. She also knew how Roy had been devastated after the war and they had almost lost him too. She didn't want him to be reminded of his past mistakes, definitely not from men seeking revenge. It wasn't really the fact that she was afraid they would kill him. She knew that would be a hard thing to do. Roy knew how to protect himself and he had an excellent team, personally picked by her, protecting him. She was afraid that when he found out about their motive, he would let the guilt eat him up and chose to give them his life.

Focus Riza. You need to stay strong. You have to get out of here alive.

A.N.: Hey I wanted to change this chapter and add some more stuff. I've been caught up with exams, but since they're over I think I'll have more time to write. Please look forward to future chapters. Review this one too if you'd like! Thanks :)

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