Later one night, Hughes continued his investigation on the problems in Liore, the fifth laboratory and the Ishval Civil war, trying to find a connection. As he looks into the news of recent Letoist riots in Reole, a strange realization causes him to rush to the record room alone. He needed to confirm it was true.
As he reached for the knob to the record room, it was yanked open from the inside, revealing a girl in a dull red cloak. She adjusted her hood, as if she had just pulled the hood up.
"Ahh, it's been a while—"
"Shh!" Raven shushed him. "You're not supposed to use my real name in public, remember?"
Even though no one was around but them, Hughes understood. "Sorry, I forgot about the whole 'alias' thing for a moment." he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, trying to bring his usual cheery voice into it, but the distressed feeling in the pit of his stomach only grew.
"Here to do some research?" she asked, picking up on his vibe that was unusually humourless.
Suddenly pulling down his façade, his face went serious, something uncommon for Maes Hughes. The dim lighting made his features look more stoic than they appeared, adding to the grim atmosphere. "Yeah. And you were doing the same thing?" he guessed.
She nodded. "Just needed to do a bit of research for our next assignment tomorrow."
"Good luck." he said.
"Yeah, you too." she responded.
They began walking again, but just as they passed each other, Raven stopped. "Colonel, be careful, okay? You have a wife and daughter you need to get back to."
Hughes nodded firmly, "I know. Thanks. Take care of yourself." He added and Raven nodded in response.
And with that, the two resumed what they were doing before they ran into each other.
Not too long after was a funeral held for Maes Hughes, who had been promoted to Brigadier General after his death. Later in the afternoon, Mustang stood by his friend's grave. A white wreath was placed upon it. Another separate white flower sat next to it, but Roy paid little attention to it, already knowing full-well who had placed it there. He was both devastated and enraged by his friend's death, but being who he was, the Colonel tried not to show much emotion. That didn't last long in the beginning as tears began falling from his eyes.
(A/N: This was supposed to be a part of Chapter 4, but I figured it'd be too long. Anyways, please don't hesitate to review and give some feedback, it'd be greatly appreciated!)