Title: Transaction at the Nexus
Genre: PG-13 Roy-centric gen-fic. FMA(anime)/xxxHolic(manga).
Words: 6,143
Notes: Why is it that Roy gave up all ambition and waited contently in frickin' FMA-equivalent of Siberia for Ed to return? Why was he spurred to command when the city was under attack during CoS? The Sue/Cross challenge inspired this answer.

Summary: Sometimes the strongest effect comes from the butterfly.

xxxx

If anyone asked him if he believed in coincidence, Roy Mustang used to answer cheerfully that coincidence was the only thing that put him in the right place and in the right countenance to attract the eyes of any females Havoc pursued. Whether or not he believed his own statement was beside the point, as coincidence served him well enough that closer scrutiny was unnecessary.

Learning of the origins of the Ishbal war had firmly dissuaded him from the notion of coincidence. If planning on such a massive scale was possible, if lives could be played like so many strings on a cello, then so-called 'coincidence' needed to be reexamined.

Luck, on the other hand, seemed to exist separately from coincidence. Roy hoped there was such a thing as luck, but as his blood drained into the courtyard of the now deceased Fuhrer Bradley –homunculus, his mind whispered to him– he began to doubt whether or not he possessed any of the positive sort Havoc had often and loudly envied.

He was vaguely aware of an anguished cry; it sounded female, but he couldn't ascertain much of anything through the dull throbbing in his ears. If his luck was poor, Hawkeye was there, seeing him in defeated weakness. If his luck was good, Hawkeye was there, ever ready to support and aid him. He wanted to order her to pull herself together and get him and the boy –the Fuhrer's adopted son was probably traumatized– to a hospital, but he couldn't summon the strength to open his eyes.

Perhaps, his mind whispered solemnly, this is how it was meant to end, the inevitable conclusion to all your scheming.

Logic and sense of proper narrative did not hold much hope for a failed, rebellious usurper of power, after all.

Brigadier General Roy Mustang faded into calm darkness.

xxxx

An amused female voice cut through the darkness. "Well, this is quite unusual."

Roy's head snapped up, startled. A tall, slender woman stood before him, casually slouched in an alluring fashion –she looked as though she hailed from Xing, but he couldn't be certain, since only the patterns and colors of her draped clothing resembled the images in the information files; her body was wrapped in a lush, deep purple robe with rather cumbersome-looking oversized sleeves. Perhaps her country was beyond the Xing borders? Roy wasn't keen on doing unnecessary research, and had given little thought to the lands beyond the countries surrounding the ever-threatened nation of Amestris.

Had he been kidnapped? Or had Hawkeye brought him here for his wounds to be treated? He certainly felt fine. He straightened and snapped a salute, noting and immediately disregarding the fact that he now wore his blue military uniform. "Good—" He paused, eyes darting about the enclosed room for any indication of the time of day for a proper greeting. He suppressed a sense of panic when he saw no windows, and only some sliding doors. The walls were decorated with wooden panels carved into geometric patterns that were very Xingian. Behind the woman, a chaise lounge stretched out, and an innocuous black stuffed animal rested against the pillows.(1) The long ears reminded Roy of a rabbit, but he'd never seen such an oddly rounded rabbit before. He blinked when he thought he saw it move out the corner of his eye, but when it remained still under closer scrutiny he brushed it off as paranoia. "Good day, ma'am," he decided for a general greeting crisply. "I am Col—Brigadier General Roy Mustang of the State Alchemists."(2) Until the military rescinded the rank, he would maintain the title. It might provide him with some protection with this woman, at any rate; better to be a higher-ranked hostage than a lower one.

Her black eyes widened, and for a second Roy's heart thudded frantically. Had he judged the situation incorrectly?

"You're military?" the woman asked. Then her face split in a wide smile. "Oh, I do love a man in uniform!" She clapped her hands in excitement, and Roy flinched back, all too aware of the power a clap possessed. The woman paid him no mind and turned to the sliding doors, hollering,"Watanuki! We have a guest! Bring some of that plum sake we bought the other day! And ooh!" She turned to Roy with a cheeky smile. "So, Mustang-san, would you like mochi? Or fried fishcakes?" Without waiting for a response, she turned back to the door and added loudly,"And bring some of that senbei! Oh, and some edamame!(3)

"Well, don't just stand there, please have a seat!" She gestured to the side, and Roy saw a small redwood table with two carved wooden chairs he hadn't noticed in his initial perusal of the room. He frowned; he was trained to be a survivor, and stupid mistakes in incorrectly assessing his present situation could prove fatal. Why hadn't he noticed the table before?

Still, the woman didn't appear to be a threat.

And Edward Elric doesn't seem to be capable of dangerous feats either under normal circumstances. Nor did King Bradley.

Cautiously, Roy approached the table and pulled out a chair. "After you, miss..?" He gestured politely to the seat.

The woman beamed. "You may call me Yuuko. Well! And here I thought chivalry was dead!" She allowed him to push her chair in for her. "Please, do have a seat. It's not often a customer just pops into my reception chamber."

He gave her a sharp look, uncertain what she meant and wary of her intent.

She waved one elegant hand in the air. "Really, Mustang-san, you should relax. After all, you're an important customer."

A customer? He glanced at her quickly, reassessing the enclosed room, the chaise lounge, and her oddly draped clothing. Surely she wasn't a prosti– He straightened where he stood; he'd never had any need of a professional, and he did not intend to begin now. "I believe you are mistaken, Miss Yuuko–"

"Just Yuuko is fine," she said firmly.

"Then you may call me Roy, Yuuko, but I believe I'm not a customer," he offered with a charming smile. It was a smile that had helped him with many a difficult date, and he was not above employing it in potential enemy territory.

"Now how many women have fallen for that smile, Roy?" Yuuko asked, one eyebrow raised in amusement, and Roy stiffened. "Oh, please don't be offended," she insisted, and gestured once again to the other seat. "Please sit down. The sake really is very good and Watanuki has proven to have excellent taste in snacks."

Frustrated, Roy inhaled sharply and tried to regain a sense of calm. He'd been in worse situations; surely sitting at a table with a lovely woman couldn't be that difficult. He found himself sitting in the chair stiffly, one gloved hand tracing the vaguely butterfly-like pattern on the table. He tried to assess the elegant woman with the rather loud mouth before him. Prostitute or kidnapper? What the hell was he doing here?

"Yuuko-san, I brought the sake and snacks!" The door slid open with a bang, and Roy was surprised to see a thin, lanky boy not much older than Fullmetal holding a tray. Threat? Or non-threat? The youth had an affronted expression on his pale face, and his dark eyes glanced curiously at Roy from behind glasses. As the boy stepped into the room, Roy saw two young girls peering through the doorway. Their ashen faces stared back at him solemnly, but they made no move to enter the room. Roy turned his attention back to the more immediate threat of the boy and Yuuko.

"Excellent, Watanuki!" Yuuku cheered as the boy brought the tray to the table and began to set out two tiny cups and a small carafe of liquid. "Roy, this is Watanuki, our part-timer. Watanuki, this is our new customer, Roy."

"Nice to meet you," Watanuki said politely with a small bow.

Roy nodded in response, uncertain once more as the data didn't add up. The boy was wearing a uniform of some sort, and was too clean-cut and naïve-looking to be working in a whore-house; the same could not exactly be said of the flamboyant Yuuko or the two silent girls peering through the doorway, but then again none of the females had the usual depressed expression Roy had seen on professionals working the streets. And really, who works at a whore-house part-time, anyway? Watanuki also lacked the sort of hostile edge Roy associated with enemies who sought him out; since he had no quarrel with his 'kidnappers,' it was more likely they had a quarrel with him. Except there was no animosity from either Yuuko or her young assistant. He pulled his hands into his lap, fingers ready to snap any number of defensive walls of fire he'd practiced so well in Ishbal.

While Roy was busy assessing the situation, Yuuko casually pulled out a long, thin pipe and tapped some tobacco into the bowl of the pipe. "Watanuki, do you have any matches on you?"

The boy sighed and cast his gaze upwards with exasperation. "Yuuko-san, why would I carry around matches?"

The words sent an odd crackle through Roy, and the room started to tilt to the side. It was as though the air grew somehow heavier around Yuuko's side of the table as she idly twirled her pipe on her slender fingers.

Yuuko pouted at the youth, but her half-lidded eyes rested on Roy's tense figure with distinct smugness dancing in her gaze. "Because your boss likes to smoke, and you should always be prepared to please your boss, part-timer." Watanuki glared at her. She shrugged easily, and turned nonchalantly to face Roy directly, her expression still self-satisfied. "Roy, I don't suppose you have a light?" She placed the pipe in her mouth and rested her chin in the palm of one slender hand thoughtfully.

Roy froze, his body weighed down by her words and mocking gaze. He felt as though he were being judged by the depths of her eyes, and his throat went dry. His eyes darted to his lap where his hands rested, both covered in the specially formulated combustible material the State Alchemists had provided –he'd only had one on when he fought the Fuhrer. Nevermind how you're wearing two gloves now, just ignore them like the uniform. Minor details for later, survival now. He swallowed hard, and glanced back at Yuuko. If her cheery attitude and Watanuki's open curiosity were any indication, they harbored no ill-will towards the man who 'suddenly appeared' in their establishment. But what if they didn't know about the Flame Alchemist? If he lit her pipe, he and his alchemy would potentially be exposed.

This was a test, and Yuuko's chin resting easily on her hand indicated she was patient enough to wait out Roy's deliberations.

It wasn't the result of Roy revealing, however indirectly, his identity as the Flame Alchemist that was his primary concern, then. It was whether or not he wished to pass Yuuko's test. Snapping his fingers would allow him to pass; that knowing look in her eyes told him he had very few secrets hidden from her. But did he want to risk the consequences of passing?

Hawkeye's bemused face came unbidden to his mind: 'It's not like you to be so indecisive, sir,' would probably be her reaction to his dilemma. He closed his eyes and gave Yuuko his most charming smirk. "I believe, my dear lady, I can offer you something more reliable than a match." Locking his eyes onto hers, he reached over the table towards the pipe still tucked inbetween her lips, and gently snapped the tobacco alit.

Watanuki jumped backwards with a startled yelp; Yuuko and Roy paid him no mind. Yuuko smiled and tilted her head to the side. Roy held the gaze firmly, his expression grim.

Well, I've passed your test, lady. Now what?

Yuuko took her pipe out of her mouth and leaned back on her chair, a thin trail of smoke arcing from her lips to the walls. "Thank you, Roy," she smirked, the words stretching across the room, binding one wall to another.

The tension increased, and Roy could feel something dancing along his arms. Watanuki seemed to sense the twisting of space, as the boy's face grew wary.

Yuuko stood up, taking another slow puff on her pipe. "Maru, Moro," she called out, and the two little girls by the door perked up. "Bring it." The two girls scampered away, the sound of their feet muffled by the doorsRoy was saved from having to voice his nervousness. "Bring what?" Watanuki asked, confused.

The woman simply smirked and turned back to the table. "Here, Roy, have a drink. It's a local alcohol, and you look like you could use a drink." She took the small carafe and poured some of the liquid into both of the cups. "Ganpai!" she sang out gaily, and knocked the drink back.

He probably should've been worried about being poisoned, but she had a point: after the day he'd had, he needed a drink. He picked up the cup and downed it in one gulp, ignoring the sweetness of the sake. When he wordlessly held out his cup for a refill, Yuuko obliged.

"Only one more, though, since I'd like for you to be mostly sober for this next part. And believe me, this stuff is potent." She grinned devilishly.

Maru and Moro reappeared at the door bringing in a flat bowl of some sort carried between the two of them. They set it down beside the table, and Roy took a closer look. It was a wrought metal bowl filled with water, which explained why the girls needed to both carry it in. Yuuko reached into one of her billowing sleeves and pulled out a mirror with symbols etched onto its surface; it didn't look like any alchemy Roy had ever seen. Then again, they were starting to blur together; he was feeling warmer, and found himself agreeing with Yuuko that the sake was potent.

"Now, Roy Mustang, if you'll just tell me your birthday, we can get underway."

He mumbled his birthday(4), blinking hard at the woman who was pleasantly blurred around the edges.

And the room spun.

Roy stiffened and looked straight ahead. No, he wasn't seeing things; the air – the very space – was swirling. He jumped up out of his seat, and willed the lurch in his stomach to go away. He leaned heavily on the table, ignoring the dismayed cry of concern from Watanuki.

"Roy Mustang," Yuuko crooned, her voice twisting with the air and smoke, every syllable reverberating in Roy's bones. "You just came from an assassination attempt, both you against someone else and another someone else against you. Your ambition is great, selfish, and unselfish." She winked at him. "Your body is healing nicely, by the way, and your female friend is being rather difficult with the hospital staff."

Roy stiffened. "What are you—"

"You're a long way from home, Roy." Yuuko glanced at him through half-lidded eyes. "Several dimensions and decades, in fact." She snickered to herself as she added easily,"Though time is arguably another dimension as well."

"Are you a homunculus?" he gritted out, muscles tensed in preparation for a fight. She knew entirely too much, and either had some bizarre homunculus ability or had some connection with them.

Yuuko's eyes went cool. "No; I'm nothing like those badly crafted dolls," she sniffed disdainfully, and then glanced in the pool of water once more. "Though I'm inclined to pity them, puppets that they were, puppetmasters that they tried to be."

Roy felt thin limbs pull at his body firmly, and distantly heard Watanuki's reedy voice urging him to sit down before he passed out, and how terribly rude Yuuko-san was for forcing her wares on him, and how he completely sympathized with his predicament.(5) Roy allowed his body to fall heavily back onto the chair, his eyes never leaving the ominous woman before him. His voice was firm and steady as he asked,"Who are you? If not a homunculus, then what?"

She smiled not unkindly, and bowed with a flourish, her sleeves snapping with the movement. "I am sometimes called the Witch of the Dimensions. Welcome to my humble establishment, Roy Mustang. Only those who have need are able to seek me out, for this is a store where any desire may be fulfilled…for an equally valued price." Her smile waned as she commented,"I must admit, it's not often I get a spirit from so far away for a customer."

xxxx

Roy glanced at the little cups and wondered if he was justified in just downing the tiny bottle. He listened to the conversation between Yuuko and her young assistant half-heartedly; his mind reeled with the idea that this woman was a physical embodiment of the Alchemical First Law of Equivalent Exchange. The internal debate concerned whether or not the woman was lying; there didn't seem to be much reason for anyone to craft such a ludicrous lie, which meant that it was more sensible to believe she was telling the truth. But if she was telling the truth, then just by existing in this room he was somehow bypassing the physical mechanics of alchemy, if not the fundamental principles.

While he mulled over his thoughts, trying to come to an internal agreement as what exactly to make of the elegant Miss Yuuko, Roy catalogued the youth's actions absently. Watanuki was giving his employer a piece of his mind –it sounded like a familiar sore point with the boy, and Yuuko's nonchalant dismissal of his concerns only seemed to further infuriate the youth. The two girls –they were a creepy shade of grey, and Roy was increasingly certain they were no more human than Bradley had been— were dancing around Watanuki and repeating choice phrases of the argument in a sing-song chant.

"Yuuko-san, the point is, you're being a pushy salesman again! He didn't even ask for a reading!" Watanuki looked like a small, riled puppy, raging with indignance as he was.

Yuuko leaned back on the chaise lounge, smoking her pipe petulantly. "He wanted answers. I simply offered a few."

"And just how is he supposed to pay?" Watanuki pointed at Roy furiously. "He's a spirit! He has nothing on him! What, are you going to demand a piece of his soul?"

She snorted. "Don't be naïve. A simple reading is not worth the hassle involved with playing with his soul. Besides, his soul is safely tucked in his body back in his home land."

That gave Watanuki pause in his rant. "Wait, but you said he's a spirit."

"He is."

Watanuki folded his arms and looked confused. "And that's different from a soul?"

Yuuko laughed gaily. "Now, when did I say that? I've told you, the soul can be measured by many things. You should be more attentive, Watanuki."

"You're the one who's not making any sense –and hey! I won't be distracted! You can't wrangle a payment from someone who had no intention of being a customer!"

"He paid in advance, silly."

"With what?" Watanuki roared, flailing his arms wildly.

The smug smile crept across her face, and she turned to gaze at the man sitting at the small table. "A risky gamble," she murmured. "The most costly flame to touch my pipe in a while." Roy's head snapped up, and he met her gaze sharply.

Watanuki frowned, then sighed. "You're not making any sense again, Yuuko-san."

Yuuko shifted her body and propped her chin on her palm thoughtfully. Maru and Moro twirled away from Watanuki to stand at either side of the chaise lounge, cheerful faces covered by a mask of eerie calm. "Actually, Roy's payment exceeded the price of my little reading, so he's owed a little more." She glanced over at the table with a sly grin. "What do you say, Brigadier General Roy Mustang? What can my humble store do to satisfy your desires?"

"How about you help send him home?" Watanuki suggested pointedly.

With an exasperated sigh, Yuuko closed her eyes. "Because he doesn't need any help getting home. He's a spirit who managed to trip through universes without any help beyond a concussion. I daresay he'll be fine getting home on his own. Besides, I said I owed him a little more than just the reading. I don't think there's enough in his balance to equate my ripping a new hole in the continuums." She exhaled, a line of smoke slithering across the room.

Roy clasped his gloved fingers together and leaned forward on his knees, his eyes fixated on a spot on the paneled floor. Without glancing up, he asked quietly,"Tell me, are you able to see the futures of other people?"

She gestured at the neglected bowl at his feet. "With that method? Not with who you want to know about. Besides, that's not what you desire."

He glared at her sharply. "If you already know what I want, then why even ask?"

Yuuko smiled haughtily and placed her pipe to her lips. "To make sure you know what you want, my good man."

Years of practiced restraint kept him from a sarcastic retort. "Very well." He inhaled sharply. Breathing confused him; he was supposedly a spirit, so why did he need to breathe? Habit, perhaps? For that matter, how can I get buzzed off alcohol? Roy shrugged away the idle thoughts and focused his dark eyes on the sinewy female before him. This caught her attention, and she had the audacity to raise an eyebrow at him, to look at him as though he were some child to be patronized.

He gritted his teeth. He didn't doubt that being unpleasant to this woman would be detrimental and dangerous. "Then I will be to the point.

"I want to know if Fullmetal –Edward– succeeded."

Yuuko sighed. "That's only half the question, but that'll do to start. Maru, Moro, bring me the crystal ball from storage."

As the two girls scampered off, Watanuki looked askance at his employer. "Since when do you do the hokey crystal ball thing?"

Yuuko slapped him on the back jovially. "Why, since it wasn't a hokey crystal ball!"

xxxx

It was indeed a hokey-looking crystal ball, set in a metal stand that resembled dragon claws. Yuuko fussed over the ball, muttering about scratches and trying to polish the surface with her voluminous sleeves. Roy and Watanuki gave it identical skeptical looks, before exchanging glances and shrugging in unison.

"I saw that, you two. Watanuki, I expect compensation tomorrow –I want a chocolate torte. With powdered sugar. And wasabi ice cream. You may leave to go clean up the shop, now."

Watanuki made a face and crossed his arms, but did not say another word as he marched out of the room. Roy would have smiled sympathetically had he been less on edge; the interaction brought to mind many a similar scenario where he was scolded by Hawkeye. In an attempt to divert himself from the nostalgic pang Watanuki's predicament caused, he cleared his throat. "So how exactly will this work, Yuuko?"

Yuuko gave him the thumbs-up and a cheeky grin. "I stand here and look into the crystal ball. I could wave my arms around it, but there's really no purpose for that beyond showmanship." She crossed her arms and peered into the clear globe.

Roy wondered how long he would have to wait, or how much patience he had for this nonsense. The room certainly did not feel any different; there was no spinning sensation as there was with the mirror in the bowl of water, no alien power skittering across his skin. If anything, he was beginning to feel foolish; there was still the entirely rational possibility that Yuuko was a con artist of a higher sort.

"Edward Elric." Yuuko's voice slid through his veins and bound him in place. He stared at her; he was fairly certain he'd only told her Fullmetal's first name. Her gaze was unfocused, as though looking out across a distance within the crystal ball. "He is currently…previously…at my competitor/predecessor's place."

He crinkled his brow. "Your predecessor?"

Yuuko observed him through the corner of her eye. "There has always been a nexus of the dimensions, and there has always been an entity to function as the manager of that nexus. Your people know it as the Gate. Those that know of it at all, at any rate. Such a place is always accessible, though the means and form it takes differs greatly." She paused thoughtfully. "Every universe is connected through an infinite amount of points and times; an infinite number of access points to the dimensional nexus, though not all points are active at all times. The Gate either exists in the same time as me, or before me; it never exists after me." She shot Roy a guarded look. "In the time and place you are from, Roy Mustang, Edward Elric has died."

The words might as well have been a blow. Roy flinched, and he felt his blood drain from his face. It was not what he'd expected of the Fullmetal Alchemist; Edward's determined confidence made people want to believe his unbreakable truth of inevitable triumph. "I see," he murmured through the thickness closing his throat. Fullmetal can't be dead. He's practically the expert on surviving the impossible.

Yuuko turned her attention back to the globe. "I said he died, not that he remained dead, Roy."

That threw him for a loop, and he uttered blankly,"What?" His head snapped up and he lost the struggle to maintain his composure as the words sank in: he gaped at Yuuko, jaw slack and eyes wide. "How-"

"The younger brother exchanged his life for the elder's at my predecessor's place. How foolish." There was a detectable trace of scorn in her voice.

The sorrow threatened to overwhelm him again, and he struggled to ask, "Then…Alphonse is dead?"

She shook her head. "I did not say that. The elder then foolishly threw away that which was so preciously bestowed upon him: he exchanged his gifted life to bring back the younger." Her disdain was clear. "Of the two, the elder brother is by far the more naïve and foolish. Who can possibly be happy when that happiness comes at the cost of a loved one?"(6)

A frustrated groan escaped Roy, and he dropped his head into his hands. "Woman, be clear. What has happened to the Elric brothers?"

Yuuko gazed at the crystal ball silently, observing what could only be seen by her eyes. Then, quietly, she smiled. "Well," she murmured,"it appears my predecessor has more of a sense of sympathy than expected. The younger awaits discovery in a ruined city beneath a ravaged city. The elder simply waits at the Gate." Her gaze grew pensive. "They do not have enough to pay the price for both full lives."

"Explain," Roy barked out; he couldn't be bothered with manners after the woman's deliberate twisting of words.

"My predecessor is willing to let your so-called 'law' of equivalent exchange slide. But still there must be sufficient payment. As it stands, however, the elder Elric will wait, whole and aware, at the nexus of dimensions for an eternity, and the younger will never awaken, though he will live." She gave him a side glance. "They need something extra to serve as barter, as catalyst.

"That is why you are here, Roy Mustang." Her voice gentled. "Your desire is to help these boys who grew into young men before your eyes and under your care."

Roy stared at her blankly, his mind sorting through the facts piece by piece, struggling to find a solution. Then he straightened his back and smiled wanly. "Well then, Witch of the Dimensions, what do you suggest?"

She snorted. "Oh, no, buddy, you don't get to wriggle your way out of thinking about this quite that easily." She placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head back cockily. "Luckily for you, the Gate has placed restrictions on the situation. Edward Elric can only go forward through the Gate, not backwards to Alphonse. Alphonse will lose something as well, to add to the fuel needed to push Edward Elric through the doors before him." She smiled wickedly. "To help you through the thought process: all you need to do is add the extra fuel needed to tip the balance and send young master Edward towards his future."

"That sounds…reasonable," Roy said cautiously.

Yuuko's wide smile could not be trusted to be pure innocence. "Doesn't it though?"

The catch that he clearly did not understand was quickly figured out. "So what is my share of this…transaction?" That wide smile did not bode well, and Roy steeled himself for the worst: his life, his soul.

He forgot (how could he forget?) that there were worse things than dying. Yuuko's smug expression was an extra jagged edge to the blade of her words: "Why, your most valued possession, of course. This is an inter-dimensional outing, and, since this is a collaborative effort, there is an extra surcharge: my predecessor is somewhat overpriced." She licked lips. "Your price would be your ambition to be Fuhrer, as well as all memory of this encounter."

xxxx

"I refuse." The words left his lips automatically. "I put aside proper protocol in going after King Bradley; that does not mean I have given up my ambitions."

"I know. If you had, I would have had to ask for something else, of equally personal value." She watched him wrestle with the decision, then cheerfully added,"Keep in mind that the Gate is being rather generous. Your ambition would serve as the catalyst energy needed to nudge the Gate open for Edward Elric, intense and powerful as it is; in essence, it's a loan. It will be returned to you in due course. A little worn and rundown by the use of its raw potential energy, naturally, since it's likely to fuel a little ambition in the elder Elric, but the fundamental motivation to see your goals through will remain."

Roy frowned, and asked hesitantly,"How long would this 'loan' take?"

Yuuko gave a little snort. "My, you're greedy for details, aren't you?" Her tone was wry and amused, as though she were used to her customers simply agreeing with her wild suggestions.

He smiled tightly. "In my life, I've learned that one can never have too much
information."

"Well, I suppose I can offer you this: when Edward Elric crosses the Gates a second time, he will bring the remnants of your ambitions with him. Once in your homeland, the energy will be of no use to him, and will naturally seek you out as the proper possessor." Her smile turned cold, and Roy shivered involuntarily. "Make no mistake, however. Your memories of this entire meeting will never return. My generosity only goes so far, and a definitive price must be extracted."

It would have been easy to refuse, easy to hold onto the hope that he would be able to shape Amestris' government into badly needed reform and the nation into equally needed rebuilding. It was a simple balancing of hundreds of thousands of lives against that of two individuals. Simple math, the purest of sciences.

Yuuko waited for his answer patiently, a calm expression of knowing that irritated him and made him want to behave in a contrary fashion. He was a mature adult, though, and such antics were beneath him.

In the end, there was only one choice. Principles of the Philosopher's Stone be damned: a million lives could never equate one. One life only ever equates one life. He met the steady gaze of the Dimensional Witch.

xxxx

Watanuki reentered the room cautiously, and glanced around for any sign of their military customer. Brigadier General Roy Mustang was nowhere to be seen, and so he turned to Yuuko. "He went home, then?"

She nodded, gazing at the crystal ball. "I wonder if he knew he'd be going back to a body minus one eye."

"What?" Watanuki's reaction was sharp. "You didn't sneak an extra charge onto him, did you?"

"No, dear boy, I didn't." Yuuko shook her head and crossed her arms. "His body was missing the eye long before his spirit appeared."

"But he looked perfectly fine to me."

She smiled softly. "A spirit is often a projection of how the individual views the inner self. It's not necessarily accurate or up-to-date." She stared off into space thoughtfully.

Watanuki frowned and gazed at the floor. After biting his lower lips a while, he asked,"So. Were you able to help him?"

Yuuko only smiled.

xxxx

Roy Mustang hardly defended himself at his trial. His close friends and companions were troubled by the calm man's acceptance of his demotion, and Hawkeye found herself wondering how she had not noticed the dimmed fire in his eyes during his recovery in the hospital. His lack of drive was not the result of overwhelming guilt as far as she could tell, and upon prodding him, first gently then more firmly, she realized it was the complete absence of aspiration that had taken the boldness from his eyes.

His flame had not been seen since the fateful day of the failed rebellion. The Central military supply warehouse noted a distinct drop in orders of ignition-cloth gloves; gossip quickly established that the ever-showy Roy Mustang had ceased showing off. Weeks went by without a replacement order, and then months, and gossip turned to speculation that the ambitious Roy Mustang had finally crumbled under the weight of his own shattered dreams.

His loyal former subordinates waited for him to recover, firmly believing that their cocky leader would return. In the vacuum of Roy's placid docility, however, they found the absence of the equally fiery and loud Fullmetal Alchemist overwhelmingly obvious. They mourned the loss both males in private, though never gave up the faint hope that both were simply missing.

When Roy didn't contest his reassignment to the freezing borders of Amestris and a neighboring country, Riza Hawkeye didn't contest his leaving. Surprisingly, Kain Fuery was the loudest voice objecting the transfer, railing at the man as his fellow companions sat back in quiet disappointment. In the end Major Mustang merely gave them all a thin, weary smile and stepped onto the train that would take him out to a cold exile.

xxxx

Major Mustang maintained his vigil at his lonely post, his mind wandering to the visit Breda and Havoc had graced him with recently. He understood that he was missed, but he simply couldn't dredge up the sense of urgent righteousness he'd held for so long. The fight with Bradley had taken the wind from his sails, or so everyone said. He was tempted to agree, except he felt no guilt about exacting Hughe's revenge from the homunculus.

Instead, he felt as though he was waiting, but for what he could not imagine. Sure, you're just waiting, not hiding from the world like a puppy who got smacked for the first time, he thought dryly. You're not psychologically damaged. You're just waiting for the opportune moment, the right catalyst, some sign from somewhere.

He sighed and watched his breath drift into the cold air. It was something he'd taken to doing, watching patterns form from his breath. The shapes were abstract at best, and simply dull at best.

Today, he thought he saw the shapes of butterflies in the grey mist, and he rubbed his eyes tiredly. He glanced out over the snowy, desolate landscape, and wondered if perhaps he really was finally losing it, hallucinating such distinct shapes in the fogginess of his breath. The barren stretch of land had driven many others to various forms of madness, and Roy doubted his mind was any less susceptible. Perhaps a temporary change of location was needed, one which involved the possibility of seeing real butterflies.

Come to think of it, his superior had been needling him to come into Central for a report.

Roy gazed over the flat fields of white once more, before shrugging and entering his hut. He had to pack his meager possessions, as well as sheets of data (nothing ever changed out here, but regular records were a matter of course), odds and ends, a framed picture of his unit from happier times.

He paused at the sight of dusty white gloves in the top drawer of the hut's sturdy, cheap dresser. Then, with a mild shrug, he dusted the gloves off and tucked them into the pockets of his blue uniform. They hadn't been used in years, but it never hurt to be prepared.

...end...

Additional notes: This is not the original version which was voted on at the Sue/Cross challenge. The original version, which placed second (which thrills me to no end, BTW), can be found at the Prima Materia site.

I welcome constructive criticism, and I hope that those who read the original SueCross entry find this to be an improvement.

1) Mokona Modoki. I'm going to assume he has the same ability as the white Mokona in serving as a universal translator. Without his presence, I doubt Roy would be able to understand Japanese.
2) This was the rank Roy was given by King Bradley when he was sent off to fight (and die) at the end of the anime. Roy wound up trying to overthrow the government, but I don't recall that his rank was taken away at the time.
3) Edamame –there's a reason why Ed often gets referred to as a bean ('Edo'-mame) in the series. It's a Japanese pun.
4) I had little luck finding out Roy's birthday. Add to that the fact that Amestris likely has a different calendar system and the wonkiness of the Gate's time/spatial relations, I figured Mokona would translate that concept as well.
5) The first time Watanuki meets Yuuko, she gives him a reading and then takes his pocketwatch as payment. He gets very angry about being coerced into a consumer exchange without his permission.
6) Yuuko's disapproval of the self-sacrificing nature of humans is taken from the Spiderweb Arc.