Chapter <•8•>

<•Warehouse House district, just out of Amestris• 3rd Person POV•>

"I'm Terklin, nice to meet you, Mustang."

The name sounded familiar. But Roy couldn't place it exactly. It may have been in one of the many files he had browsed in previous times. He pulled the gloves on tighter, and put on a smug smirk for show.

"Now then, I guess this is going to have to happen the hard way." Mustang stated, and motioned for the two soldiers behind him to step back, to which they obeyed.

"You see, Mustang," Terklin took a few strides forward casually. "You are a huge threat to my plans, which have been disrupted after you made peace with the Ishvalans. "

The way Terklin was able to speak so calmly, and almost ignore Mustang altogether simply pissed the colonel off even more. What made it worse, was not being able to place who exactly the man was standing before him. Roy kept his cool, as much as possible, and for a split second his eyes met Rizas as she was across the room, held by Bald who seemed none too caring of how careful he was, grasping her arm tightly as she held her free one to her abdomen.

Blood stains covered her hair, face, and clothes, but all the same she remained the most beautiful women he had ever seen. But no, he wouldn't be able to verbally express any of this with out stumbling over his own words hopelessly.

"Who exactly are you, 'Terklin'?" Mustang demanded, looking straight at the tattoo'd man. The alchemy also rang a bell inside his mind, he'd seen those signs before somewhere... Kimblee. Some of them resembled the ones if Solf J. Kimblee, and ex state alchemist with an almost non human blood lust.

"I'm disappointed. Thought you'd piece things together quicker. Kimblee, sure you've met him, wonderful boy, apprenticed under me. How else could he have learned all he knows?" He said rather casually, except the fact it was not, in any manor of speaking, casual.

Mustang's eyes widened, and realization struck. The files he'd skimmed when trying to dig up information on Kimblee so long ago, hints of who he was tutored under. No one knew who he was for sure, nor where he lived. The only question left, was why lash out agains the military? Against mustang? That didn't matter. No, not as long as his subordinate was in danger.

"I don't care," Roy said, gripping his hand into a fist. "Give back my lieutenant."

Terklin gave a sly grin, and Bald didn't loose his grip. He waved his hand and the third person over there, who didn't seem familiar, went over to stand closer to Terklin.

"Last chance Mustang. All we want, is you. " as if to add emphasis he pointed a finger at him.

"In your dreams." Roy snapped his fingers, sending a flare of flames towards the opposing man.

There was a sizzling, and the scent of burnt human flesh. The other man who had stood beside Terklin, likely dead, was a charred mess. Mustangs nose twitched, and Terklin looked at the charred body in a mess on the floor. Terklin barely looked impressed.

"Finally, the great power of the almost Flame Alchemist!" Terklin laughed as a volley of flames wafted towards him.

Before anyone knew it the final man behind Terklin combusted into flames, screaming in agony before it ceased yet another dirt wall that was constructed to protect Terklin himself. Mustang didn't risk letting his flames get close to Bald, Riza being used as a shield.

When the flames dispersed and smoke hung in the air, blocking everyone's vision. Roy narrows his eyes and listened.

As the smoke started to clear and Roy stood ready, the startling image before him was Terklin charging forwards, a deep cut in his side and a weapon transmuted from his own blood, as he charged towards mustang at a surprising speed.

At the sidelines all Riza could do was watch the fight unfold, the two of them going back and forth. Flame and Blood. Bald's metal hand bruising her arm and the corners of her vision fading slowly. Strands of her blonde hair messily falling in her eyes as a plan unfolded in her mind, looking at the burnt corpses just to her side. Their weapons left in the dirt.

Mustang evaded Terklins fast blows just barely, fighting in such close range giving him the lower hand. The blood blade scratched the side of Roy's face, as he almost lost his head.

Riza took a deep breath, and reared her leg back to kick Bald right in the crotch, and his iron grip loosened allowing Riza to slip out of it and dive onto the ground, fumbling for the gun and pulling it up as Bald recovered, his face red in pain. There was no hesitation to fire off a few shots, every one finding a home inside of his flesh.

The sound of a gun going off was background noise as Roy snapped his fingers, two's fight evenly matched. But when a shot tore through Terklins arm it all stopped, and caught the two's attention.

Riza dropped the gun, Balf a few feet away seemingly motionless. She could see the fury in Terklins eyes seeing his backup was gone, though every other feature was relatively calm.

"Well then," Terklin breathed as Roy was about to finish it with a snap of his fingers. "That was fun. "

Two things happened at the same time. Roy snapped his fingers, and Terklin clapped his hands together to make a hole in the ground that he fell into to make his escape.

But that wasn't important to Mustang at the moment, for he turned and ran to his lieutenant falling to his knees by her side and pulling her head into his lap.

Riza's Hazel eyes were half closed and Roy was just at the edge of her vision that was fading, a soft smile on her lips in relief.

"Lieutenant... Don't you dare break your promise not to leave my side... To hell and back... " Roy's voice said for only her to hear, and just before she lost consciousness she managed the words,

"To hell and back..."

[A/N] I'd be surprised if y'all are still reading after such a long haitus,.. Oops. BUT ANYWAY this chapter is dedicated to @simpleinsecurities For telling me about another person who had copied this and was posting it as their own work!

Also my apologies on how awful the fighting is I'm terrible at that stuff.. But oh well! Next chapter will be better, promise!