Fullmetal Alchemist: The Way To The Top

Chapter 15: Mission II

Everyone searched the tunnels. Roy and Riza went together with the Major and led the whole mission. They went slowly forwards, searching every room they found. They always listened first, trying to gain some more information. Most of the men knew nothing important. Depending on how much were there, the enemies were either shot by Riza or burned by Roy.

In the middle of the tunnel, Riza made sure everyone was far enough, not to hear them. Then she said to Roy: "Here we are again, in the role of the killers." Roy looked at her. She could clearly say he was thinking the same. Then he spoke slowly: "This time, we are doing the right thing. This isn't Ishval. If we don't kill them, we will be killed." Riza nodded: "I know. But even after all these years, I hate killing people." "Me too. I think only thanks to that we can still claim we are humans. But if there is no other possibility, we have to kill people. That's our faith." "Yes, that's the path we have chosen. And though I have to kill, I don't regret my decision." Roy looked at her. She had that determined look in her eyes again.

They reached another room. At first, they couldn't hear any voices. The Major wanted to enter, but the Colonel put his hand in front of him. "I think they know about us. It must be a trap." The Major went a few steps back. The Colonel and the Lieutenant opened the door carefully. The room was dark. Not willing to risk anything, the Colonel sent a huge fire right in the center. The room was much bigger than the other ones. There was a door on the other side. They moved slowly to the other door, when one man jumped over to the Colonel, another one to the Lieutenant. Maria Ross shot them quickly. The Colonel shook his head. He didn't know how he could do such a stupid mistake.

He looked over at the Lieutenant. She looked alright, but very tired. She was starting to breathe a bit heavily, too. 'We have to end this soon. She doesn't tell anything. Maybe she even doesn't feel bad, but only thanks to the adrenaline. If her wound is getting worse, it could end badly before she would even notice something doesn't feel right.' The Lieutenant noticed his concerned look. She smiled to let him know she was alright.

Then they listened at the door again. Some unclear voices could be heard. They were at the very end of the tunnel system. They searched each tunnel, they all led here. The Major opened the door. There was a wall right behind it. "I think we have found the alchemist." He said. He hit the wall with his fist and it broke into pieces. "Not a very good alchemist, I can say."

They entered the room. About ten men were aiming their guns at them. One man stood in front of them. "So, you found us, Colonel Mustang. I haven't expected that you will come so quickly. Good for me, you care too much about your subordinates. You could raise much faster if you cared less about the sacrifices." The Colonel looked disgusted at him. "You sound like Bradley. Nobody wants to follow a leader who doesn't want to do anything for his subordinates. My subordinates would give their lives for me. And I would do the same for them." The man laughed. "You really are as stupid as the rumors say." The Lieutenant aimed her gun and waited for signal from the Colonel.

"If you wanted me, why did you capture my subordinate?" "Because you are not that easy target. And my friend alchemist wanted to do some experiments before you would come. We had to make sure it works." A small man in white coat stepped forward. "What kind of experiments?" The Colonel tried to sound sovereign and not to show his concern. "I am afraid I don't want to tell you yet, Colonel." The man in the white coat answered. The Colonel pulled the glove on his right hand. "I think I have had enough. My last question: Why are you doing this?" The boss answered: "If you think you are going to kill us on your own, you are wrong. My men are good at shooting. They will kill you sooner than you would blink. But I will answer your question. I want the power. I want to become the Fuhrer of this country. Take money from people and make them bow in front of me."

The Colonel shook his head slowly. "You are making me sick." The guns of the men clapped. The Colonel didn't give them chance to shoot. He slapped his fingers. The fire took everyone. After that, only black corpses were on the ground. The room was filled with smoke. But one of the enemies was spared. The alchemist laid on the ground, his white coat mostly burned. He shook from pain. The Colonel stood next to him. "What have you done to my subordinate?!" he asked with anger. "I will never tell you." The Colonel slapped his fingers again and let a spark go slowly to the alchemist. "Yes, you will. I am patient." The Lieutenant watched carefully, ready to act at any time. She knew what was the Colonel capable of on his way to revenge. The alchemist looked at the spark with horror. "No, no, wait! I will tell you everything!" Roy let the spark go. He said with an ice cold voice: "I am listening." The alchemist spoke quickly: "It is my formula. I invented it from many plants, that effect human body and with some alchemy. It brings back the consequence of an injury. The injury doesn't come back, the formula only effects the nervous system. That was the reason why I wanted that guy, it was clearly visible on him. I haven't completed the research yet. I wanted to bring the very moment of the injury. We could torture people whom we needed without blood all around." "How long does it work?" "I don't know. I think not longer than two days." The Colonel looked down at him with disgust. Then he slapped his fingers.

***

As soon as they reached the ground, Riza fell to her knees, breathing hard. When the adrenaline left her body, the pain came again. Roy knelt beside her and wrapped his arm around her. "Lieutenant? Are you alright?" Riza nodded. "Yes, Sir... Just... I think I need a moment to catch my breath..." Roy looked concerned at her. "Are you sure? How is your wound feeling? But I want to heal the truth, not 'it's nothing.'" Riza put her hand on the bandages, still covering the wound. "It will be alright... It seems my lungs aren't healed that well yet... And I think it reopened." Roy looked at her. "You need a doctor to have a look on it." Then he added: "You know, I told you it wasn't a good idea. But you are always a very precious help. I couldn't wish for a better sniper." Riza smiled. "Thank you, Sir." Roy whispered: "You have fought bravely as always. Thank you." Riza nodded. "Go to Havoc. I will be alright. Remember, nobody can see you care about me too much." Roy nodded. "You're right. But it will change soon." Riza smiled gently as Roy left.

Roy went to Havoc. "Are you alright?" Havoc nodded and smiled widely. "Yeah, I'm fine." he looked at Roy. "What's the matter?" Roy asked. "You love her, don't you?" Havoc whispered. Roy's eyes widened with surprise. He recalled their speech in the hospital. "I can not hide anything from you, huh." Havoc laughed. "She loves you, too. The best part is, both of you doubt if the other feels the same. But it is so obvious for people who know you good. She is ready to do anything for you. Actually, that applies to all of us. For other reasons, of course. We are your team and we want you to achieve your goal. No matter what it will cost us."

Roy looked over at Riza, who was now being taken care of by the doctors. Then he looked back at Havoc. "I know. But I think you are doing too much. You know, it feels bad for me to know that you and the Lieutenant were injured badly on my missions." Havoc looked over at Riza as well. "Don't feel guilty for us. We are doing that because we want to. I am sure I am speaking for the Lieutenant as well, when I say that we do not regret it." Roy smiled at him. Just a few months ago, he wouldn't expect to have such a serious conversation with Havoc. "I know. Thank you for that. I know I have the best team. And I want to get you good positions as soon as I achieve my goal." Havoc nodded slowly. "I should thank you for my life as well. If you wouldn't come, I would be killed in a few days." Roy smiled sadly. They were somehow lucky. Both Riza and Havoc survived bad injuries. He did survive a bad injury, too. Even though Maes was killed, Roy had to admit his missions were dangerous enough to have much more dead men. He looked over to Riza. She was sitting on the ground, bandages with lots of blood next to her. The doctors were closing her wound again. An assistant stood next to them with clean bandages and disinfection ready. It sure had to hurt, but Roy knew she was going to be alright. Then he looked at Havoc. He was sitting comfortably in his wheelchair, clearly happy to be out from the tunnels. He will not have to use the wheelchair much longer. In a few days, he will continue with his rehab. Roy didn't doubt he will walk again very soon. Everything was going good. Maybe even too good.