Chapter Text
"Roy, I don't think this is gonna work." A 14 year old Riza said, eyeing the black haired boy while securing a hand gun under her knee-length skirt. The pair had just gotten back from hunting. They didn't really get much, all they managed to kill was an average sized rabbit. Or you could also say that they didn't get much because a certain idiot tripped and scared all the animals away. Riza was lucky she even managed to shoot one.
It was always like that when Roy came hunting along with her. They sometimes come out empty handed so they ended up just buying meat from the market. She knew it was easier buying it, but it was more fun doing things herself since she would often have nothing to do after school when Roy studied with her father. Plus, meat wasn't cheap.
"It might, or it might not. We will never know until we try." Roy said, not looking up from what he was doing. It has been 2 years since he came to learn alchemy. It took a while for Riza to open up to him, but she eventually did since he was pretty persistent. So now, he was her best and only friend. She was happy that she finally had someone to talk to, but sometimes, he did some really dumb things. Like now.
"Roy Mustang, I may not be an alchemist but I know that time travel is impossible." She stated. Riza looked at Roy who just stared back at her with a smirk. "What's wrong Riza? It won't hurt to try."
"Unless," He started his smile widening, "Oh my, you're not scared are you? But if you are I would totally understand, of course a little girl like you would shudder even at the thought of dangerous time travel using alchemy-" He said dramatically but stopped when he saw Riza's face.
She glared at him. "You do realize that I can shoot you right here and right now right? And I could hide your body then I'll just tell father that you fell in the river and drowned." Her hand moved towards the gun under her skirt.
Roy gave a small squeak and immediately straighten his posture. "Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am. Please don't kill me." He said curtly, bowing his head.
"Good boy." Riza said, patting his head. Roy squirmed under her touch. "Hey! I'm older than you ya know!"
They both laughed a little at that, then their attention was brought back to transmutation circle Roy drew on the ground. Riza cringed. It didn't look like any transmutation circle she's ever seen.
"Roy what the hell is that?" She asked. The circle was fine, what was inside it was another story. It looked like a little kid's scribbles.
He smiled brightly at her. "This," He gestured at the circle, "Is a time travel transmutation circle. "
She eyed him suspiciously and signaled him to continue.
"Once I activate it we will be transported to the future! Isn't this exciting? I wonder what the future will look like. Will we meet the older versions of us? I bet I grew up to be the most handsome man in the country." He rambled more to himself. Riza sighed, though she did find it rather amusing.
"Alright, but if I die because of this, I'll beat you up."
"You're a cruel girl Riza." Roy muttered. "And maybe we'll find out if we ever got married in the future!"
Riza chuckled and shook her head. Roy had told her on her last birthday that one day he would marry her when they grow up. She told him that no one in their right minds would marry someone who has his sense of humor and unbearable personality.
She knew this time travel crap wasn't gonna work. No alchemist has ever done it before. So why would an unexperienced one succeed?
"So, are you in?" Roy asked her, kneeling beside the circle, starting to activate it.
She sighed. This was incredibly stupid. He was stupid. If this causes a lot of damage, her father would kill them. But they were pretty far away from the house... Riza groaned. She stuffed the dead rabbit into her hunting bag and set it down on the ground. She then scooted over closer to Roy.
"Fine, fine. But if this doesn't work, which I know won't, you will have to wash the dishes for a week."
-
"-ake up, Riza wake up."
Her head was spinning. Everything seemed weird and distorted. What happened? Right. Roy did something about time travel. He activated the transmutation circle then there was a blinding flash of light, then everything went black. It probably, no, definitely didn't work. That array looked like it was just scribbles.
"Riza." That was Roy. She opened slowly opened her eyes to see Roy's concerned face. Wait. Why was it so dark? She looked around. This was not her house, nor was it the place Roy performed the transmutation. It looks like they were in a dark alley of some sorts.
She sat up. "What happened? Where are we?"
Roy looked at her with evident panic in his dark eyes. "I don't know." He said, his voice a shaking. "I just woke up here."
Wherever they were, the air was thick. Unlike the country side where they lived. It was noisy. The noise came from the right. She got up and and walked out of the alley, Roy trailing behind her. What she saw surprised her. There were so many buildings. They were huge. There were a lot of people too. She felt Roy stiffen beside her.
"Riza," He whispered. She looked at him, confused. She was about to ask him where they were but she didn't need to.
"Riza... We're in East City."
Riza felt her jaw drop but quickly regained her composure. "Roy, what's going on?"
Roy was staring at a cake shop. Why on earth is he staring at it when they were in the middle of a serious situation? But then he turned to her, eyes wide with fear.
"You know that I just came back to central last week to visit my foster mom and sisters right?" He said slowly. She nodded.
"Well, we took a trip to East City for some stuff and that cake shop wasn't there. It was still being built at that time. And looking at how worn out the walls in there are right now, it must have been there for years." He explained. Riza pieced it together. No. It can't be. They couldn't have-
"This wasn't supposed to happen." She heard him mumble to himself. Riza tilted her head. She was horrified, she needed to talk to calm herself. "I thought you wanted to go to the future. Or are you scared now?" She sneered.
He looked at her as if she's grown a second head. She sighed. "Sorry, I'm just trying to lighten the mood."
"Nah it's fine. I didn't think it would actually work though." Roy said. "That array was just random lines and squiggles. I just wanted to make a joke out of it but here we are."
Yep, she knew it. It wasn't supposed to work. Roy wouldn't do something so irresponsible. Wait never mind, he did that all the time. Then a realization hit her.
"How are we going to get home?"
Roy looked at her. Then his face fell. "Oh crap how are we gonna get back?"
Riza was scared. Really really scared. It takes a lot to scare her. And this was a lot. Roy grabbed her arm and practically started dragging her. She cried in protest but he didn't listen.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
"We're going to the train station and taking the first train to Central. We're going to the bar." Was all he said. She assumed that they were going to the bar his foster mom owns. That was probably the best course of action right now.
But then Roy stopped. He looked around. "Damnit."
Riza raised an eyebrow. He turned to look at her. "I think we're lost."
"What? I thought you were here before! You should know your way around!" She said frantically, looking around, she felt so uncomfortable with this many people around them.
Roy looked exasperated. "Well you try to find your way around a city you only visited a handful of time!"
She was about to talk back when a deep voice cut her. "You two seem to be lost, do you need any help?"
They both turned their heads towards the owner of that voice. It was a tall man with brown hair and eyes. He looked at them worriedly.
"You kids really shouldn't be walking around town alone. There's a lot of bad people who kidnaps children you know." The man said matter of factly.
The pair looked at each other. They weren't exactly children, well Roy was turning 16 next month. But Riza was definitely in the kidnap-able children category.
"Uh, sir, would you mind telling us where the train station is?" Roy asked him.
The man instantly answered, well, a bit too fast for Riza's liking. "Of course, follow me."
He gestured for Roy and Riza to follow him. The two exchanged a glance that says 'this guy is fishy but he might not be'. So she grabbed his hand, and they followed him.
"So, you two not from around here?" The man asked as they walked along the shops.
"No, no we're not." Roy replied casually. He could feel Riza tightening her grip on his hand. He couldn't blame her for being this nervous. She rarely interacts with people since the town usually avoids her due to them being scared of her father. She was basically friendless until he came around.
A few moments went by in silence. "So, what are your names?"
Roy narrowed his eyes at him. Something was off. Normally he would answer that question but...
"I don't think we should tell our names to strangers." He stated. The man was suspicious. He even looked suspicious. And ugly. Ok that was rude. And it would be a problem if he recognized 'Roy Mustang' from somewhere and he was a fully grown adult at this time.
"Oh, right of course. Did your parents tell you that?" He asked with a grin on his pale face.
"My parents are dead." Roy replied dryly. The man made an 'o' with his mouth and continued walking. They walked to an empty street which made Riza's instincts tell her to 'run while you still can' but she couldn't bring herself to until...
"It's still a long way so let me drive you there." The man said as he stopped beside a car. There it was. The signal they needed to know who this guy really was.
Roy chuckled nervously. "I think we'll be fine on our own from now, thanks for accompanying us till this point sir." They both turned and started to walk away.
"Oh no I insist." The man said with venom in his voice. Riza felt her heart beating faster than usual. She looked at Roy and mouthed 'Run'.
They made a break for it. They ran as fast as they could, Roy holding Riza's hand tightly so that they won't get separated. The man was chasing them. People were staring. Why isn't anyone realizing that we're being chased by a creep? Riza thought.
They crashed a blonde boy with braids who was walking with a suit of armor and the boy fell right on his butt. Riza heard him shout something but didn't process it properly and shouted back a quick apology and continued to run.
They turned a corner and were met with a dead end.
"This really feels like something out of a novel doesn't it?" She half joked, looking at the wall in front of them.
"There you are. You have no where to run now." Roy and Riza whirled around to face the man. They were cornered. The man... Was holding a knife. He smiled sadistically at them.
"Which one of you should I stab I wonder..." Roy instantly stood protectively in front of Riza. Though she could see in his eyes that he was horrified.
The man started to walk towards them. "Oh, so you would like to die first?"
He started to walk faster till the man broke into a run, knife ready. Roy shut his eyes, bracing himself. At least, if he dies, Riza might have a chance to escape. He felt the man right in front of him. So this is the end huh?
BANG