Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Remembering You ❯ Throwing Away Memories ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, but I wish I did. Then I would make RoyAi really cannon.

Author's Note: I'm glad some many people like it so far. Splenda has fans. ^^

And Cree, I'm sorry about torturing you with these waits.

Christina, don't worry. You're plot is playing out perfectly well.

Taisa, hurry up with your RoyAi story and I'll work as fast as I can type on mine. Glad you like it, even if it is RoyAi.

Note to all: This part is bolded because it is VERY VERY important. I might lose some readers after this chapter for some of its content. It gets really fantasy like and extremely AU. I think it rocks, but some people don't like AU's. Anyway, please just bare with me in this… complicated chapter.

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The rain stopped, and all sounds ceased. The night skies were glittered with twinkling stars and a bright moon. Puddles from the downpour left scattered in all directions. Silence once again ruled the grounds. Beautiful. Really, it was. All except for one detail. From inside the warehouse, a trickle of blood had started to leak. This little trail moved out, away from two huddled forms. Its crimson liquid stained the once grey ground. Slowly, it started to stick, and it's decent stopped.

Two, count them, two bleeding bodies were sprawled on the ground. One, chest rising and falling with the flow of air. The other… they were still in the grips of death. Blond hair collected the blood, soaking the once golden strands, leaving a cruel reminder that this one was no more in this lifetime. Eyes were closed, pupils dilated beneath the lids. Mouth gaped open as death became more of a surprise then a pain. A hole through the chest was crusted with the dry remains of blood. A pale, cold hand was held out, clutching that of another.

This one heaved deep jagged breaths. Little grunts of their agony would every so often escape thin lips. Shoulder held three gashes, all just beginning to heal. Nightmares flashed before onyx eyes in a grueling sleep. Although, no matter how chilling, the breathing refused to let the other's hand go.

Moments passed, twisting into hours, before eyes fluttered open. Blinking a few times, Roy looked around as the sun started to shine through the murky windows. His obvious unknowing of the situation was easily seen. But he soon looked down to see the one thing he dreaded.

A cold clammy hand rested in his own. Riza's beautiful face, slashed. Uniform was messy with Lust's work. He immediately released her limp hand and backed into the wall as far as it would let him. A jolt of pain shot up his arm when it bumped into the rough cement. He didn't care. It was as if his body had gone numb. He wasn't comprehending what was in front of him. Shaking his head, he tried desperately to get the images away, somehow. Riza's empty, surprised features splattered with blood… her blood. Or was it his? It didn't matter, but the fact that the crimson blood was all over and around her, it was enough.

Leaning over, Roy felt his stomach catch up with him. Vomiting, he let out the misery that now started to sink in. She was dead… How could that happen? And worst yet, she had died protecting him. The guilt was the next to wash over. He felt another push up from his empty stomach, but he wouldn't let it come.

“No,” he muttered, shaking his head violently. Rage was next in line for his jumble of mixed emotions. He pounded a fist against the wall, bruising the skin. “No!” he yelled louder, not allowing himself to believe it. Pounding his fist into the wall again, he found it the best way to let out his anger. Continuing this motion, blood started to slowly trickle down the wall. His skin had split at the knuckles, but he paid no attention to the pain it sent channeling through his body.

He stopped his rage and gasped for breath, the fist falling to the ground. Looking down at the red smeared knuckles, he felt something warm hit his hand. Then he felt them. Tears had found themselves in the Colonel's eyes, slowly streaming down his cheeks. To cry was somewhat of a strong impact of how deeply this cut him. Crying was something he never did, and had never planned to do. But by the death of this woman, Riza, he was breaking down. It was then he made up his mind.

Working fast, he gathered up her cold body and set it out in the center of the floor. He was without something to write with, so he looked down at his hands. Blood. It was the only thing he had to write with at the moment. Tracing a circle around her in the red liquid, he stood back to look at his work. It was perfect. From the transmutation circle to the ingredients. He would use her own body to bring her back. That was enough for equivalent exchange.

Roy dropped to his knees and brought his hands over the circle. This whole time, the tears never stopped. He cried as he had made the circle. He cried when he placed her body in it. He cried now, just before he would make the transmutation. The memories flashed through his head in the few seconds it took to bring his hands to the circle. From all the times Riza had placed her gun to his head and threatened him into working. To her joining the military, and even being transferred to Central. It was all right there, every memory he ever had of her.

Finally, he touched the circle. A second passed and… nothing. Then another, and another. Just as Roy was about to give up, the ground flashed with brilliant colors. The glow blocked his view from Riza. All he saw was the bright colors of white, yellow, and…. Purple?

He moved away from his transmutation, but something was pulling him. An invisible force gripped at his arms and legs, pulling him closer and closer to where the lights flashed.

“No, let me go!” He yelled out to no avail. Continuing to struggle and fight against… whatever this was, he looked around. It was all a blur. Nothing was really any distinct form. But then… it all stopped. Whatever had been pulling on him only seconds ago had let go. The lights had stopped flashing, blinding his vision. All the blurred images seemed to finally come in tact.

He dropped to all fours and gasped for breath that didn't seem to come. `Where…. Where the hell am I?' he thought frantically looking around. His head was spinning, and heart pounding. It hurt to just to inhale, but how he got like that, Roy was clueless.

And then that's when one of his questions was answered. Before him stood something he had hoped never to see. A large set of doors towered over him. Inscriptions were written everywhere the eye could see. And then, slowly, they started to open. What looked like black eels were swimming around before him. But what startled him most was a large violet eye staring, unblinking, at him. He had the weirdest feeling of Déjà Vu. And then it was clear why. Edward had once described this place. That meant it was only one thing…

“No, this wasn't supposed to happen!” he cried, his voice hoarse from all the strain he had already put on it. How could he be at the Gate. Everything was perfect from the transmutation circle to the ingredients. So how could everything go so terribly wrong?

“No! Don't touch me!” He struggled to his feet and tried to run from the black `hands' that had now grabbed him. They were going to take him away, to the other side. No, not if he fought. So Mustang did just that. He thrashed and tore at whatever tried to grab him, but there were too many, and slowly, he was growing too weak to fight. And after minutes of tearing at these vile creatures, he gave up and they started to pull him towards that cursed Gate. This was the end. He would never again see any of his subordinates. No more women. No more…. Riza. And then he remembered why exactly he was here. Every memory of her flooded back into his memory, just like before he put his hands to the transmutation circle to bring her back.

“Stop!” Commanded a voice somewhere above Roy. The creatures pulling on him listened and recoiled back to the open doorway, the Gate. He looked up to whatever had made these things stop. Light poured down from what seemed like an endless white world. He squinted and was able to make out the figure of one person. That is, if you could call it a person.

From the looks of it, they looked female. Large wings sprouted from her back. Blond hair cascaded down her back in silky layers. As this angelic being came closer, he could make out auburn eyes and a pale, flawless face. She wore a beautiful white gown, laced with intricate patterns so appealing to the eye. The wings never flapped like he would have expected, but curved around her body, being at least as large as the rest of her body. The heavenly figure stayed floating above him, not coming any closer, so he was unable to make out any other details. The blinding light behind her was the cause of that. But as he tried to look close, he couldn't help but think he had seen her face before.

“Roy Mustang…,” she started. Her voice was so beautiful. Light and caring, like the sweetest song he could ever imagine. It melted his heart and soothed his frantic heart.

In a shaky voice he replied, “Yes.”

“What you did was foolish. You know the laws of alchemy. But, I can't let these messengers of the Gate take you away. You have a mission to complete, and for that, you need to be alive and all in one piece.”

“A mission--“

“Yes, but please don't interrupt. You will see in due time. For right now I give you a choice. In exchange for your memory, I can give the woman you were trying to bring back life. Know, that she will not be a whole human.”

Roy opened his mouth to answer but then stopped and closed it. His memory. That was everything. Memory to bring back Riza. It was a fair trade when he thought about it in alchemy terms. “I…,” he paused, still thinking if what he was about to say was the right decision. “Yes. Please, anything. Just give her back, I'm begging.”

She nodded and went on, as if there were more to the deal. “Fine, that it will be so. Even though I am erasing your entire memory, you will remember one thing. And that one thing is this young woman I'm bring back. Every memory you have of her will stay. But everything else will be gone.”

“Will I know who I am? I mean, that I'm Roy and the Flame Alchemist.”

The angel, as he figured she was, thought over this for a second and then slowly nodded her head. “I guess that could be considered. Fine, those two things will also be remembered. So is yes your final answer?” She bore down on him with those stunning amber eyes.

Slowly, Roy nodded and closed his eyes, waiting for an impact of some kind. Instead, there were more flashing lights. Even through closed lids, he could see white light started to surround him. His body felt weightless. But he also felt violated. Something that felt like tiny fingers were rummaging through his brain, shuffling through every memory of his. Most were tossed aside, but a few stayed and he recognized the face of his Lieutenant. And then, for the second time, everything went black.

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Author's Note: It didn't come out the way I had expected it to. The ending was crap, I know. Sorry about that. And I'm also sorry about the wait. I won't have chapter four up for a while because I'm going to be away. Also, if there are any grammar mistakes in the chapter, sorry. I haven't had anybody edit yet, but I wanted to post this before I left.