Chapter Text
April 3rd, 1915
Surprising Madam Christmas may have been one of the best moments in Maes Hughes’s life. The woman knew everyone’s secrets, especially the big ones, so showing up alive when everyone was sure he was dead had to have been a slight to her skills.
“No hard feelings?” Roy asked her with a sly smirk.
“You’ve learned well Roy-boy, you’ve learned well,” She shook her head with a wide, honest smile and turned to walk away, “Don’t you die on me now boys. I don’t want to see you in body bags and marked as dissidents.”
“Thank you, Madame, for everything. I promise that I’ll repay you,” Roy said solemnly.
“Oh, so you’ll remember me when you’ve made it big? Well, I guess I’ll have something to look forward to, won’t I,” And Madame Christmas disappeared down the tunnel.
Hughes and Roy shared an amused look, “You know, Hughes, I really wish she’d stop treating me like a kid one of these days.”
“You’ll always be her little Roy-boy, no matter how old you get, “ Hughes slung and arm around Roy’s shoulders, “Now, let’s get a move on, we have a government to overthrow and a country to save.”
~*~
When they reached to door to where they were meeting Fuery, Breda, and Hawkeye, Hughes pulled up short. Seeing this, Roy turned and gave Hughes a questioning look.
“I’m pretty sure Riza’ll shoot me if I walk in without explanation.”
“Ahh, yeah, that’d be bad. Give me a sec.”
A few minutes later, the door was opened and Hughes found himself the center of attention. While Breda and Fuery stared at him it delighted shock, Hawkeye glared.
“If we weren’t in the middle of a revolution, I’d punch you.”
Hughes was quick to move out of range.
~*~
April 4th, 1915
Seeing the shocked looks on the faces of Central’s Soldiers was downright hysterical. It seemed his reappearance hadn’t made its rounds through the troops yet. When a few of the privates started whispering about ghosts and zombies, Hughes couldn’t hold back his laughter. This seemed to spur the scared men into action. Over half of them took off in the opposite direction while the rest finally started following their orders. Well, they tried to follow their orders. Shots were fired from the rafters, taking out the remaining men with quick precision.
It was almost beautiful the way the Central Forces were playing right into Roy and Hughes’s hands. Ordering the death of Mrs. Bradley had made their manipulations of the poor woman all the easier. He almost felt bad after seeing the absolute horror on the woman’s face, but they needed her testimonial to sway the nation.
~*~
And sway the nation it did, not that Hughes and Roy were in a position to see it. Running through the underground labyrinth with Riza watching their backs was almost nostalgic, if one were to classify the Ishvallan genocide as ‘good times’.
Riza pulled to a sudden halt, “Sir, here’s where the room was. It looks like someone closed it off.”
Transmutation marks covered the wall. Loud moaning and the sounds of a fight echoed from the other side.
“I guess you could just blow it?” Hughes suggested, “Though it’s probably closed for a good reason.”
“Unfortunately we need to go this way. Hopefully we—“ Roy was interrupted by the ever familiar voice of Edward Elric from behind the closed entrance.
“Dammit! Stop it!”
And then a deeper, unknown voice.
“Look out!”
Roy blew out the wall in a moment of panic. Then, with a deep breath to compose himself, Roy walked in and declared in his I’m-totally-in-control voice, “Things do always seem to get messy when you’re around. Maybe I could lend you a hand, Fullmetal.”
Behind Roy, Hughes and Hawkeye shared a commiserating look as Roy made a quip about new friends before focusing on the surrounding hoard.
Ed’s eyes widened comically, a hand coming up to point at Hughes, “Wha—? Lt. Co—“
“Focus Ed. We need to deal with these…things,” Hughes said as kindly as he could manage in such a tense situation, “I’ll explain everything when this is over, alright?”
“Right,” Ed turned back to the fight.
Watching the surrounding fighters’ tactics, he holstered his gun and unsheathed two of his larger knives. As the first being approached, he shifted his weight, ready for the first real work out in months when Scar yelled across the room to Roy and Hawkeye.
“Save your banter for later. Kill these things!”
The thing jumped at Hughes. Hughes swung. From there, it was a brutal fight. On instinct, he went for disabling points. Cut up the hands. Stop the arms. But the thing kept coming. He went for the neck. It didn’t dodge. Hughes kicked out, trying to catch the thing’s knee. He shoved a knife in the being’s stomach. He threw a punch into the thing’s face. Nothing slowed it down.
Hughes pushed the thing back to get some room to think. He didn’t have the superior strength of the bigger men in the room, nor the ability to make any longer ranged weapons than his knives. If he could just make it across the room to Ed, he might—.
His hair stood on end in an all too familiar way just before a wave of fire swept through the room.
In the sudden silence following the destruction of the beings, Roy quietly said, “They were the enemy. It had to be done.”
Hughes knew that Roy was trying to justify his actions to himself, not Ed.
“I’m pretty sure they were suffering more alive than dead, Ed,” Hughes said softly as he moved back to Roy’s side, “Ending it quick was the best release they’d get.”
Ed huffed and turned away from them, his shoulders hunching slightly, “I know it’s just—“
From above, there was a large crash and two figures fell through the ceiling. Knives raised, Hughes was ready for anything until the larger of the two figures spoke.
The panic was sudden, like being hit with a lightning bolt on a cloudless day. He’d barely seen the figure before his lungs felt like they were too large for his chest. He wanted to run away and find a corner to hide in but his legs wouldn’t move. His hands started to shake and it was all he could do to keep his knives in hand. Everything was fuzzy, out of focus except for that thing in front of him.
And then there was a warm, steady hand on his arm. Hughes took in a stuttering breath and looked away from the thing. Roy had moved closer in Hughes’ panic. Not taking his eyes off the smirking homunculus, Roy squeezed Hughes’ arm gently.
“Oh, and there’s the bug I was supposed to kill! Where have you been hiding, huh? You gave me a lot of trouble, trying to find a replacement body and all. We’d hoped you’d turn up in a ditch somewhere, but alas,” Envy sneered.
Roy was quick with a sarcastic retort, “Aww, did you disappoint Daddy? Maybe…”
Hughes made himself ignore the rest of the conversation. While it wasn’t the smartest idea tactically, he knew the panic would overwhelm him if he allowed himself to focus on the thing again. Instead he watched Roy. He felt weak, like a child. He’d gone pale as the ghost he was supposed to be. The strength he’d built up over the last six months had deserted him. And it was all because the thing had deigned to show its face.
Red lightning crackled. Hughes’ breath hitched. Roy’s eyes widened. Gracia laughed.
Focus caught, Hughes found himself looking at his wife’s visage again. And, just like last time, it was a false face on a false being, a perverted distortion of the love of his life. And it was a horrific thought, but that small part of his mind that had never left the bloody sands of Ishval declared he deserved it. That he didn’t deserve any happiness or love in the face of the destruction and murder he’d wrought in the name of the same government currently trying to sacrifice an entire country. The longer he stared, the more Hughes felt he was losing himself, like this was a nightmare. Or maybe he really had died and this was hell.
“Wow! If I’d known you all would react this much I would have gone after the wife and kid too. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to finish up here and go after them later. Father won’t be too disappointed by two less sacrifices. And you, little bug, well I—“
“Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare touch them!”
Finally, it was like a spark was lit. Hughes felt that ever familiar rush in his veins. Any sign of his previous thoughts the overwhelming panic was gone. Roy’s hand tightened around his arm as he turned to face Envy.
“Aww, little bug finally has some fight in him,” Envy cooed in a false mockery of fondness, “I think I’ll enjoy killing you a second—“
Envy was cut off as their tongue exploded. Roy’s face had morphed into a mask of determined rage.
“You will never touch him. And you sure as hell won’t touch them,” Roy readied for another snap.
Envy’s countenance shifted into pained fury. Sparks emerged from their mouth as their tongue reformed, “Fine, I see how it is. Have fun with this.”
Muscles bulged and grew in an explosion of red lightening. The group took a collective step back as Envy’s true form emerged. It brought a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘Green with Envy.’
“That is disgusting,” Hawkeye muttered as she adjusted her aim.
Hughes tightened his grip, his knuckles straining white around his knives. Keeping his eyes on Envy, he addressed Ed, “This is our fight, Ed. Take the others and go on. We’ll catch up.”
With a quick nod, Ed started forward. When Envy tried to block their route, Roy sent a wave of fire to push the homunculus back. Then, when the room was cleared of all but the trio and Envy, Hughes allowed himself a small smirk, “You know Riza and I are useless against this thing, right?”
“Oh, so I have to do all the heavy lifting? Typical,” Roy grinned savagely, sending another wave of fire, “This is why I got that promotion.”
“And I got a higher promotion. To a General, so I can delegate tasks to underlings.”
They could practically hear Hawkeye roll her eyes behind them before, “Enough boys,” and then she added, “We’ve got your back Colonel.”
The fight was incredibly predictable. While Roy gleefully turned Envy into a burnt crisp over and over, Hughes and Hawkeye kept a sharp watch. It wouldn’t do for Roy to finish Envy off then be swarmed by more of the white figures from earlier.
When Envy finally switched tactics and took off into the tunnels in their smaller form, the trio was were quick to follow. Roy took point, his eyes constantly roving as the group moved through the tunnels. With Hughes just behind and to his right and Hawkeye twice the distance to the left, Roy felt a modicum of comfort. It was an old configuration, one they’d made and perfected in Ishval.
“There!” Hawkeye called, her aim swinging to an opening on her left. She let out two shots before ducking as Roy’s flames passed over and around her. The heat was severe, the fire burning blue with its intensity.
A high-pitched screech sounded as Roy’s flames ate at Envy. The trio was quick to approach and surround the figure. Envy was crumbling, their body whisping away into ash and smoke. A small green creature crawled away from where Envy’s head had been.
“Dammit, this again?” Envy whimpered. Their voice was pitifully small and tears collected in their large eyes.
With a flick of his wrist, Hughes sent one of his knives toward the ground in front of the creature, not caring that the move would probably wreck the blade. The resulting clash and spark stopped Envy in their tracks.
“I want to be surprised at how ugly you are, but I’m really not,” Hughes said as he knelt over the prone figure, “Only something as paltry as you could have such a sense of arrogance.”
There was a moment of silence before Hughes spoke up again, “So, who wants to kill it?”
Before, it had always been an unspoken truth that none of the trio would truly be able to surprise the others with their actions after the unity and understanding they’d found in Ishval. And yet, here was Maes Hughes shattering that rule and stunning his cohorts into silence.
Roy, as first in this as he was in most things, was quick to speak up, “But—, it—, Hughes! It tried to kill you! And it came so damn close! Why—“
“But it didn’t kill me. And it won’t, not like this,” Hughes sighed and leaned back to look up at his sputtering friend, “I’m still pissed, make no mistake. I just…can’t do it. Call me an idiot, but I’m starting to feel sorry for the damn thing.”
“Lieutenant Colonel,” Came the startlingly soft voice of Edward Elric from behind Hughes. The boy looked frightened yet relieved, like he’d expected a much harsher scene. Seeing the slight tremble of Ed’s body and Scar’s protective stance behind the boy, understanding dawned.
“No, Ed, this isn’t revenge. That’s not who I want to be.”
And then Envy decided to pipe in, “You stupid, sentimental moron! Not taking you revenge when you have the chance? Letting someone go because you feel sorry for them? What a load of bullshit! Don’t you pathetic worms know how to take what you want? Follow your gut? I tried to kill you. I threatened your wife and child! And Scar over here tried to kill your best friend and the pipsqueak. He did kill the little girly’s parents! You tried to exterminate his people!
“All of you are in the perfect positions to take your revenge, the ultimate opportunity! Fight each other! Grovel in the dirt like the worms you are! How can you think to work together when you’ve been enemies for so long, hurt each other so much! There’s…There’s no way you…no way you can...How? How could you do this? It doesn’t—How?”
As their raving had progressed, Envy’s tone had become increasingly hysterical.
“Oh,” Ed’s voice was even softer than before, “You’re jealous of humans, aren’t you?”
Envy just stared.
“We’re supposed to be lesser to you homunculi. And yet we keep defying expectation, getting up when the world beats us down, finding strength in friends and family. And that makes you jealous, envious, because you don’t have that.”
“Out of everyone, all the useless worms it just had to be you, Pipsqueak,” Envy croaked out, their voice withering along with their strength, “It’s the ultimate humiliation.”
Tears began pouring from Envy’s eyes as they let out a wailing cry. Hughes felt his heart break a little more as the creature sobbed. This was why he couldn’t end it, couldn’t take his final revenge. For all that Envy had been a despicable being, had spent lifetimes manipulating and distorting humans into serving their father’s purpose, Envy was so naïve. They were almost child-like in their emotions, in their grief. And Hughes pitied them.
Reaching into their mouth, Envy pulled out their philosopher’s stone and gave a faded goodbye.
Ed looked stricken. Hughes could see what innocence Ed had left slowly leaking away. If it had been any other day, any other time, Hughes would have wrapped him in a hug and never let go. As it was, Hughes settled for standing and setting a hand on Ed’s shoulder. Ed leaned into the touch.
“It’ll be okay, Ed. No matter what, it’ll be okay.”
They spent a few more seconds letting Envy’s final act settle before moving on. They had a country to save.
~*~
Giant man-eating eyes were going to feature in Hughes nightmares for a very long time. Hughes hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away from the screaming Ed as he was torn apart and pulled into the portal.
And now they were back to fighting the King Bradley Rejects. And damn, were they fast. Wincing as a sword caught his hip, Hughes felt his body tiring. He wouldn’t be able to keep up much longer. Dodging a swing by a hairsbreadth, Hughes whirled, readying himself for the next attack.
Then, Riza’s gun jammed, Roy’s gloves were cut, and one of the men moved just fast enough to put a sword to his throat and make him drop his knives. Scar was in a similar situation across the room.
Hughes shook slightly as his adrenaline high started to ebb. The doctor was trying to convince Roy to open the portal. Part of him wanted to laugh. Roy Mustang could be more stubborn than an ornery mule until you pushed to right buttons. Unfortunately, two of those buttons were in the same room.
“Lieutenant!” Roy cried out. Hughes barely kept himself from calling out alongside him. A visceral fear was growing inside him, urging him to keep quiet, let attention fade away from him. Yet a small spark of instinct knew it wasn’t going to happen.
The more the doctor tried to cajole Roy into complying, the worse the feeling got.
“So tell me Mustang, what will it take? Your woman’s already bleeding out. Maybe some more incentive?”
Hughes blood froze. The sword at his neck dug in slightly.
“No! Don’t you—“ Roy cried out, struggling even harder against the men holding him.
The doctor smirked, “How about something a little different this time. Number 17, bring him here.”
A hand met Hughes shoulder and pushed him forward, the sword at his neck moving with him, keeping the pressure steady. The adrenaline from earlier flooded back and Hughes made a stupid decision.
At the next push, he planted his feet and swung his head back. The crack skull against nose was incredibly painful and almost sent Hughes reeling. Working past the feeling, he then swept the arm with the sword out of the way and made to leap at the men holding Scar, hand reaching into his jacket for another knife, when his feet were swept out from underneath him. He fell heavily, landing beside Hawkeye.
Hughes scrambled to push himself up, but before he could even get to his knees, a foot landed on his back and pushed him back down. He tried once more for the knife when his hands were grabbed and pulled forward by the man he’d head-butted. Then, hands forced together and placed flat against the stone, the man on his back stabbed his sword through them and into the floor.
Hysterically, Hughes first thought was for how sharp the blade must be for it to pierce stone so easily. Everything felt surreal. Distantly, he could hear screaming and shouting. And then he registered his name being shouted over and over. Finally, it clicked and reality came rushing forth, bringing excruciating pain with it.
“Hughes! Hughes! Maes!” Roy’s voice became more hysterical with every word.
Barely able to move, Hughes forced his head to turn far enough to see Roy writhing in the grip if his captors.
“R—Roy. I’m okay, it—it’s okay,”
“No it’s damn well not okay! I—You both—” Roy was breaking, his walls crumbling down around him.
“Colonel don’t y—you dare. Don’t make everything w—we’ve done worthless. Don’t do it,” Hawkeye rasped, her voice strained. Hughes desperately wanted to turn his head and look at Riza but he couldn’t move, his strength spent. Instead he watched Roy, cataloging every shift in expression.
And then something changed. Roy’s head dropped, resigned. But Hughes could see the all too familiar glint of resistance. He was up to something.
“I won’t do the transformation!” Or maybe Roy was having a hard time thinking. Hughes wanted to throttle him.
Hughes tuned out Roy’s heroic speech. Mind straining, he tried to come up with some sort of plan, something to give them the advantage. Hughes wouldn’t be of much use with his hands injured, but he could still use his legs, still call out warnings. Scar would be their best bet as he was the least injured and best equipped to take the men on.
Mid-sentence, the doctor disappeared.
Things happened fast after that. One of the chimeras and the child from earlier dropped from the ceiling and the fight was back on. Roy broke free from his captors and ran to Hughes and Hawkeye. When he reached them, there was a moment of indecision before he grabbed Riza and covered her wound with his hand.
“Maes, I’ll get that—“
“Roy!” One of the Bradley Rejects was head straight for Roy’s back. Hughes tried desperately to twist his body and kick out at the attacker. Pain flared higher as his hands ripped more along the blade. Roy was barely able to turn his head before another chimera, the gorilla one, swung down and kicked the man away.
“Let me get that for you, “ He said and gently grabbed the sword pinning Hughes hands, “On three.”
The chimera pulled it on “two.”
“Fuck!” Hughes cried, “Y—you ass!”
“Eh, didn’t want you to tense,” he shrugged, turning to punch another one of the Rejects.
Using his elbows, Hughes levered himself to a sitting position then reached for the other man,”Help me up Asshole.”
The world spun and jolted as he reached his feet. Hughes squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and took a deep breath. He had to stay present. There was a fight going on.
Planting his feet, Hughes guarded Roy and Riza as the fight raged around them. It didn’t last long.
Just as the fighting stopped and they could all take a breather, Bradley showed up. A hysterical giggle bubbled in Hughes throat. He barely pushed it down.
Once again, things happened fast. Next thing he knew, Roy was pinned to the floor, the doctor was dead, and the homunculus, Pride, forced Roy to open the portal. And then Roy was gone.
~*~
Looking down into the writhing, bulbous black masses was nauseating. Hughes stood next to the gorilla chimera.
“Riza, how are you?” Hughes asked.
Voice quiet but strong, she answered, “Been better.”
“General, I gotta know. How the hell are you alive?” asked the boar-like chimera as he turned to help the green one sit.
Hughes let out a small chuckle, “Envy missed,” At Riza’s unamused glare, he added, “And I know a crotchety old doctor who fixed me up and hid my continued existence.”
His vision started to tilt sideways and his body must have followed because the boar-like chimera grabbed Hughes around his shoulders and helped him sit next to the green one.
“Woah, there. Just lean on Jerso for a bit. I’ll find something to bandage those with,” he said, “Oh, and I’m Zampano. Monkey-boy over there’s Darius.”
They found a small, forgotten roll of bandages one of Darius’s pockets. Zampano worked quietly. Tying the last knot, he patted Hughes hand lightly and went over to Riza and Darius.
The ground rumbled and a black mass rose from the hole in front of them.
“The hell is this!” Darius called out just before the mass engulfed them.
It felt like eternity. The darkness was suffocating and slimy and filled with a sense of horror. And then it was gone.
Heaving a huge breath, Hughes immediately turned to check on Riza. She was looking back at him with wide eyes.
Jerso was the first to break the silence with a whispered, “Holy. Shit.”
Above, blue lightening shrieked. Below, crashes rumbled. Behind them, a pair of soldiers clad in Briggs winter gear ran up and one called out, “Don’t move!”
Following them was a more ragtag group that included Major Armstrong. They stopped in shock at the sight of Darius holding Riza and an alive Maes Hughes leaning against Jerso.
“Lieutenant Hawkeye? Lieu—General?” Major Armstrong gasped. Excluding the other large man, the group stared at Hughes in utter confusion, “You’re ali—“
A man riding a column of fire shot up from the floor and continued through the hole in the ceiling. He was closely followed by older version on a pillar of rock. Then, finally, Roy appeared. He was riding a giant, stone hand and being supported by a dark-haired woman. Hughes barely registered the other column of rock or the shout of “Izumi!” from the other large man. Instead, he ran a critical eye over Roy’s form. Nothing looked to be missing, but he’d heard that the gate could take anything, including organs.
“Colonel!” Riza exclaimed relieved. Roy’s head swung towards her, but his eyes didn’t connect. They were widened, searching. Roy made no move forward, instead dropping to his knees were he was standing. His sight was gone.
“Lieutenant, how are your injuries? And where’s Hughes?” he asked.
“I’m here,” Hughes said quietly before letting Riza take over the rest of the conversation.
~*~
In the end, it had been ridiculously easy, at least compared to expectations.
Hughes had watched his friend’s backs as Riza directed Roy’s blasts. With artillery raining down and the physical fighters giving as many hits as they could, Father had eventually fallen to the incredibly pissed Edward Elric and Greed. After recovering from the last two blasts Father had doled out, by way of losing control of the powers he’d stolen, Hughes stood with his friends and watched Ed prepare what became his final transmutation. He watched as Ed did the impossible and brought Al back.
Now, Maes Hughes was ensconced in a hospital bed watching his best friends silently moon over each other. Having pulled rank to get them all placed in the same room, he’d hoped the two would finally confess and reach the ultimate bliss of a romantic relationship. Now he was regretting it. How Roy was pulling off moon-eyed stares when Riza wasn’t looking was a mystery Hughes never wanted to solve. And Riza kept reaching out to take Roy’s hand before remembering his wounds.
It was driving him crazy.
“Please just kiss you two. If I have to deal with your pining the entire time we’re here, I might just—“
“Hughes…” Roy’s eye was twitching, and Riza looked ready to commit murder.
“What?” Hughes said, exasperated, “Anyone can tell you’re in love. I think it’s time you finally admit it and put the rest of us out of our misery. And haven’t the last months proven that time is limited?”
Cheeks bright with a blush, Riza turned to look at Roy. He was clutching at his bedsheets, hands white-knuckled and cheeks slowly turning an embarrassed red, “I…,” she paused a moment then mustered her strength, “Roy, he’s right. Screw chain of command. I love you, you idiot and if you can’t handle that than—“
She was cut off by Roy standing and moving to her bed with uncanny precision, “I love you Riza Hawkeye.”
Hughes looked away as they kissed, trying to give them the closest thing to privacy they could get.
~*~
April 5th, 1914
The next morning, Hughes was alone in the hospital room. Riza had been taken for a minor surgery to repair the muscle damage in her neck and Roy was getting the same thorough stitching process on his hands that Hughes had the night before. Now, with the room quiet, Maes could think.
Had it really been six months? It felt like he hadn’t seen his family in decades, like a normal life was only a dream from long ago. He’d been hiding, living in fear for so long that going back to an open life was intimidating.
And if he was being honest with himself, Maes was terrified. He wanted his wife and daughter, wanted to spend forever hugging them, but he had changed, become harder. Was that the man he wanted to be around them? A man who’d lied about being alive for months, who’d help take down a government? And yes, all of his actions were for good reasons, meant to protect others, but at what cost? Guilt and regret swirled through his mind. Everything he’d been pushing back, bottling up since he was shot was rising to the surface. Maes’ breath hitched, his chest tightening.
Alone, Maes felt like he was dying all over again.
“Daddy?”
Hughes whipped his head up. Elicia was standing in the doorway, clutching at the frame. Her eyes were teary and she was trembling.
“Eli—Elicia,” Tears pooled in Hughes eyes and he opened his arms, “Elicia.”
She hesitated for a heartbreaking moment before running forward and launching herself into his arms, “Daddy! You’re back!”
“Yes, baby, I’m back. I’m back, I promise,” He promised, voice thick. He clutched her tight, not giving a damn for the pain in his hands.
“Elicia? Sweetheart where are—“ Gracia stopped in the doorway, the bouquet in her hand dropping to the floor, “M—Maes?”
“Hey Beautiful,” Maes reached out a hand, the other keeping Elicia pressed firmly to him. Gracia brought a hand to her face, disbelief and shock fading away into confused joy as she moved forward.
“Maes! You idiot!” Gracia wrapped her arms around the two, almost collapsing into the bad with the rest of her family crying, “Why would you—How—Damn you Maes Hughes.”
“I’m so sorry. So, so sorry. I missed you so much.”
Explanations would come later. Maes had a lot to make up for and quite the story to tell. He could deal with the guilt and regrets later. For now, he just wanted to hold his family and revel in the first piece of safety he had felt since the first crackle of red lightening and the extra few moments of adrenaline that saved his life.
Fin