The Hawk's Unwavering Flame

The Secrets of Flame Alchemy

"What do you want?" Riza asked her captures coldly, not letting her voice shake and give away her fear. Roy had taught her many tricks, holding in her emotions was one of them. She wasn't always good at it, but it came in handy in situations like this. At this moment, memories flooded her mind. Riza thought about her time in the war, when she was first reunited with Mustang. Then she thought about when she was near ending both of their lives at the end of the fight against Father and the Homunculi, to hide all flame alchemy from the world. Roy was good at hiding all emotions except his hatred. Riza was good at hiding all emotions except her hatred for herself. Roy was the only one who could see through her shield, that's how close they were, and her captures knew it. That's why they captured her instead of him. They were using Riza to either get her to spill her secrets, or draw in Roy. 

"We want the secretes to flame alchemy, or how to destroy it at least." Said one of the chimera's. Riza's eyes widened briefly. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Flame alchemy is almost dead. Why bother?" The chimera laughed. "Exactly. We want to destroy it as well." Riza paused. She sometimes hated herself for giving the secrets of her father's research to Roy. When she wasn't hating herself for it, she was thankful for his protection and power. He had used it for good and bad things, and the bad things had ruined a part of him, the kinder part of him. "I don't have the research." She spat, and turned away to face the stone wall she was chained to. There was a handcuff around her left wrist, and her right ankle. She had enough room to use a small sink and toilet in the corner. "We know you have the tattoo." The second chimera spoke with a hint of sensuality. "And we know the Fuhrer has seen it." He took a step towards her cell. "So show it to us and we'll let you go." Riza laughed out loud, throwing her head back. Her hair fell loose from its pins and she sat against the wall. "He burned it off my back during the war." She finally managed to say. "It's gone. So you'll have to get me or him to talk before you get any of it." She curled up in a ball and pillowed her head on her arm. The chimera's left her to report to their boss, knowing she was done talking, for now. Riza fell into an uneasy sleep, full of nightmares and her worst fears about Roy and his alchemy. She half hoped he would save her, but also didn't want him to. If he came after her now, her not talking would be pointless. 

.....

"We need to find Pride?" Al asked, taking a step back. "He nearly killed us all last time, he's practically more powerful than Father was."Ed put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Well, I've got the basics of alkahestry down... But  Ling and May will be more help than me this time around." He looked sadly at his hands. "Why should I help you, after what your military did to me last year?" Olivier was livid about the military's zombies that they planned to take over the country. "Let's just work together..." Al tried to speak, but Alexander started going on some rant about how his sister needed to take a step back, and how he could handle this. The siblings got into a spat that Roy ignored. He focused his eyes on Edward. "How much power do you have?" He asked. "Not enough. Plus, Winry will try to join." He folded his arms, refusing to let her join. "She could be helpful, I mean, Riza and her had a connection." Ross interjected. Edward glared at her. "She has no place in this fight." He shot back. "People! If we can't work together, then I'm going alone." Roy stood angrily. "NO!" The group shouted as a whole. 

"Get Scar." Olivier said calmly. Everyone looked shocked. "Yes." Roy said. "He can help wonderfully." He sat back down, and rested his head on the back of his chair. Everyone exchanged looks, worried for their Fuhrer. "Enough talk." He whispered, put out by all the stress. "Come back when the Ishvalan and the two from Xing arrive." The group disbanded, leaving Roy to rest. He wouldn't go home. He would stay in Central and plan until they were ready. Roy was caught up in his planning. So distracted that he didn't notice he was still being watched. He didn't know that Riza wasn't actually what Pride wanted. 

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The point of all the dialogue was to show they need to learn how to work together :3

Thanks for reading!