Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ The Sound of Silence ❯ Questions ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: April is National Child Abuse Prevention month. As such, and because I think it's an important thing to make people aware of, I have decided to post this story on MediaMiner.

 

Please note that this is not a recovery story. This is a realistic look at how abuse can impact the lives of people who are abused. If you feel uncomfortable with this, I would invite you to refrain from reading this story. I have no desire to hurt or offend anyone.

 

This story is diverges from the first FMA anime after the Barry the Chopper incident. It is also slightly AU in that there are no homunculi.

 

 

The Sound of Silence

 

Prologue

 

Questions

 

 

First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye turned off the car and listened as the rain beat heavily on the thin metal roof. It made a hollow sound that seemed to reverberate through her whole being. She wanted this all to be over; just wanted it all to be a bad dream.

 

But it was no dream.

 

There would be no waking up, no escape from this living nightmare.

 

Thunder boomed, followed immediately by a flash of lightning, and she felt a chill pass through her. Despite the uniform and the heavy black trench coat, the cold damp weather seeped into her, taking its toll on her body.

 

Grabbing the keys, she pulled them from the ignition and opened the door. Without bothering with an umbrella, Riza hurried through the raging storm to the building. The rain was cold and it drenched her hair and overcoat, but it didn't matter. This storm would soon be gone, leaving the world a cleaner, fresher place.

 

Opening the door and stepping inside the prison, she felt as though she were entering the real storm. But there was nothing natural about this one; the world wouldn't be better for it.

 

With trembling fingers, she brushed at the damp strands of blonde hair stuck to her face as she spoke briefly with one of the guards. They knew who she was; they were expecting her.

 

When she'd called to request a visit with the prisoner, they'd denied her access; said she was wasting her time. He hadn't said anything, and he wasn't going to; not to them, and not to her.

 

Not that it mattered.

 

He was guilty.

 

Plain and simple.

 

But still, she requested the visit. It had taken time and a lot of pressure on her part, but after pulling every string she could, Riza had finally gotten her request granted.

 

Two guards were chosen to escort her. They led her to a heavy metal door which unlocked with a small electric clicking sound. As the door opened, a long sterile hallway was reveled that seemed to stretch on forever.

 

They passed through the doorway and after a moment the loud booming of the closing door reverberated through the cold, gray walls of the hallway, making her shudder. She wondered if this was how it would feel being shut up in a tomb… But then, wasn't that what this place was?

 

A grave for the living?

 

A place to put society's unwanted population.

 

The living dead…

 

The sound of their shoes against the hard floor echoed hollowly around them as the guards led her down a dim corridor to a small, cold interrogation room. A small, flimsy table sat in the middle of the floor with a metal chair on each side. She pulled one of the chairs out, sat down, then grimaced. The cold from the chair oozed through her clothing and touched her skin in a violating manner that made her want to stand. When they left her alone to retrieve the prisoner, she rubbed her hands together trying to generate some feeling in them.

 

Riza waited, shifting uncomfortably on the chair. She tried to be patient, but she was failing miserably. Nervous apprehension caused her heart to pound heavily in her chest. Would she be able to get him to talk to her, to tell her why he had done it…

 

Three days ago she would have never thought this was what she'd be doing with her Friday night.

 

No.

 

Not at all.

 

It seemed her whole world had been turned upside-down since it happened. At first she had felt shock and disbelief, but that had slowly given way to hurt and confusion. She had so many questions… She didn't know what was going to happen, and although she was desperately trying to get information from those in authority, a part of her didn't want to know. Part of her just wanted to separate herself from all of this.

 

Her feelings were so conflicted…

 

The sound of a lock clicking met her ears and she looked up to see the door open and a guard walk in. Behind him, a short eighteen-year-old with greasy blond hair, held up in a pony tail, walked in as he was prodded by another guard from behind.

 

Ed's hands were locked securely in a large slat of iron that kept his palms from touching. Heavy chains ran down from his wrists to his feet, and then from foot to foot. The eighteen-year-old looked pale and tired; dark circles under his eyes betrayed the fact that he hadn't been sleeping. The bland gray of the prison clothes didn't help his appearance at all; making him look washed out and dead—just like the rest of this place.

 

The guards had her stand while one of them pulled the table onto its side and folded the legs under it. Apparently it was for her `safety'. He leaned the now flat table against one wall and slid two of the chairs beside it.

 

When he was finished, the guard sat the remaining two chairs in a way that they were facing each other, but not within touching range.

 

So many precautions were being taken.

 

She didn't blame them.

 

They were afraid of what he was capable of, but she wasn't. What had been done, hadn't been done with alchemy. She didn't believe he would try to hurt her. Or perhaps... She didn't want to believe it…

 

The guards had Ed sit in one of the chairs and she sat in the other before they moved to one side of the room to stand watch.

 

“Would you please leave us?” Riza asked. If these men were in the room, she knew for certain that Ed would hold his tongue. If they left, she might have a chance.

 

The two men looked at each other nervously, then one said, “Ma'am… Are you sure you want to be left alone with him? He's a very dangerous alchemist…”

 

“I'm not afraid,” she responded in clipped tones. If only she believed it… “Please go.” The two men looked at each other again, but finally did as she requested.

 

Riza sighed tiredly, and gazed hard at the young alchemist again. His eyes were cast down in his lap, refusing to look at her. Here was the cause of all the trouble. Why had he done it? She didn't know.

 

No one knew.

 

He'd refused to talk to anyone about it… about anything. Riza doubted there would even be a trial. He had done it. There were witnesses. His own brother was one of them… But why he had done it still remained a mystery, and Riza wouldn't rest until she found out.

 

“You don't look very good,” she said softly. His head lifted slightly, and he peered at her through greasy bangs.

 

For a moment she didn't think he'd say anything, but he surprised her by whispering, “Neither do you...”

 

The lieutenant smiled ruefully. “I guess that's true.”

 

An uneasy silence filled the room for few long minutes before she spoke again. “Alphonse has been staying with me.” That seemed to get his attention and his head lifted so that he looked her in the eyes. He didn't need to speak for her to know the question that was on his mind.

 

“He's doing okay, but... He hasn't slept well, and I think he's getting sick. You know his little body is still quite frail…” She trailed off at the look of anguish in his eyes. Of course Ed knew how frail Al's body was. He was the one who had gotten it back after all.

 

Riza decided not to tell Ed about Al's nightmares, about the terrified screaming in the middle of the night that she couldn't calm him from… From how the teenager was taking what she'd already said, she wasn't sure he'd be able to handle it.

 

Too much guilt.

 

“Ed…” Riza began gently. “I… I need to know…”

 

The alchemist looked down into his lap, but he didn't look away quickly enough for her to not catch the look of fear and shame in his eyes.

 

“Please…” Her voice caught and she stopped. Riza had no desire to cry in front of him, but try as she might the tears formed and one trickled down her cheek. “I just don't understand Ed…”

 

“No one understands…” His tortured whisper tore at her already wounded heart.

 

She blinked and another tear silently escaped her eye. “We would if you'd just tell us.”

 

“You say you want to know, but you really don't. If I tell you, you'll wish you never knew…” he said quietly.

 

She pressed her lips together for a moment. She wanted to know, but she was afraid too. She had to decide…

 

Finally she said, her voice shaking, “Ed, I want to know.”

 

With eyes filled with an unknown suffering, he looked at her, then away again, but in that moment she saw him consider her request. “Ed…” Riza whispered, “Please…tell me why you killed Colonel Mustang…”