damned_institute | Nighshift 23: Entry Room

Mantis gazed at the world through Riza's eyes. Sight was a fine thing, and it was all too easy to miss. With colour, Riza's world was so much brighter. What did she do to deserve her own vision?

He continued whispering to her, meaningless nothings, as he rooted around in her mind to the keys to take her and steal her, make her a worthless automaton. And she would turn on Roy, and he would be powerless for fear of hurting her...

The statement wasn't finished, and Roy immediately could tell that his subordinate was in pain. As hard as Hawkeye tried, some missions did go wrong, and as a result he had seen her sustain injuries before.

But there was nothing present that could be hurting her, which could only mean that the pain was internal. What was that Psycho Mantis doing to her?

Fueled by rage and concern, he grit his teeth and balled his fists. "What is it? What's wrong?" If he didn't know what was going on, how could he help her? He hated feeling useless like this!

He was so tied up with Riza that he didn't even notice that another group had joined them.

Both hands how gripped the sides of her head as though trying to keep it in one piece, the pain and the pressure threatening to split it. She leaned heavily into the wall again, the movement jarring another tremor of agony from her, her sense of balance fleeing her with her dignity on its heels.

She heard the colonel's words only because their tone was so different from the slithering whispers she couldn't shut out. Why did she have to be the weakness? She was there to help him; it wasn't the other way around, it should never be the other way around.

The voice in her head . . . it all meant nothing, she could make no sense of it, but she couldn't help but listen to it, couldn't stop her desperate mind from flitting from one syllable to the next, leaving little room for rationality. But even as she finally squeezed her eyes shut, she could still see the room among the bursts of light. It was that thing's perspective.

She pointed again, gasping out a message and only hoping she was putting the words in the right order. "He's there, sir! Please stop him!"

"Please stop him!"

The effort Riza made to shout was the final burst which allowed Mantis to finally take control away from her, and he felt a triumph as the last of her defences had cracked away. It was the same triumph that Emmerich scientist once had when he broke into a computer system. The same triumph that despicable soldier once had the second he eluded the guard and slid in where no-one could see him, entering the complex.

She was a strong one, but he was prepared for resistance. After all, what woman could evade him? They had one purpose, and it required no intellectual strength. It was almost funny...to see all those women doctors and women soldiers and women scientists, when the sole reason evolution had birthed them was need to breed, breed, breed -

He decided to make Riza stand.

"" he said, moving her lips. "" He shook her beautiful horrible head. "" He relaxed her posture. ""

And a salute would be the lid on that little toy soldier performance, wouldn't it?

He stretched her arm out and snapped it to her forehead.

Before Roy could think about what he was doing, he was already going for the lighter. There was no space for hesitation anymore. The telepath was going to burn, if he had anything to say about it.

Just as he was preparing to snap in the direction Hawkeye had indicated, eying the array he had carved into the back of his hand and preparing for it to light up with alchemical energy, she stopped him.

He relaxed, but just slightly, and turned to face his subordinate. The pain seemed to have left her, but instead her expression was shockingly blank.

And while Riza had a very clipped tone, he could tell it was not her speaking. Something was undoubtedly off, even if an effort for authenticity was being made.

Psycho Mantis was still doing something to her, but this was even more chilling than the pain she had just been put through. "What are you doing to her?" he snarled under his breath, eyes narrowed.

The sudden absence of pain was startling, confusing, but such a deep relief that she worried it might take the strength out of her knees more effectively than the pain itself. But before she could stand herself straight again, she found she'd already done it, and before she could speak, she heard her own voice, delivered from her own mouth.

She wasn't in control. She couldn't speak for herself, nor silence the lies he was making her say. The violation was deep and terrifying, and she could only witness with muted panic that her commander was responding to her false words. He was relaxing; he thought it was over.

No, no, no!

The colonel's very trust in her was about to turn against him. She saw his face as he turned to look at her, dreading that she might be made to act against him, dreading that he might for one second think these actions were her own, and would not defend himself . . .

But, as a rare, small miracle, when he spoke it was not to her, not in confidence, but to the foe who was manipulating her.

The colonel knew. He knew, and while he was still in danger, at least he would see it coming. He could stop her. And for once, she was only too thankful not to have a gun in her hand.

You're a fighter, aren't you? he whispered to her, holding onto her with all his might.

He commanded her to smile at Roy.

"" he said, in her voice. ""

Despite the calmness of Riza's voice, he was nervous. If Roy realised what was happening, then he may have to resort to more desperate tactics.

That smile wasn't her smile. For one thing, she barely ever allowed herself to smile, and when she did, she really meant it. It was for something important, not simply a gesture to be accompanied with a status report.

He was not just trying to scare them. While Roy could not claim to understand what was going on by any means, he knew that much. There was no answer to his earlier question, so he doubted asking any more would help him.

Where had Mantis gotten to? Roy closed his eyes, wondering if he could sense... But no, there was nothing.

"Show yourself. If you're as powerful as you claim, then you should have no need to hide!" If nothing else, this sort of tactic might work...

You're a fighter, aren't you?

She was supposed to be. She was supposed to be strong and independent and steadfast. But this was the second time that she'd lost her own control in this place, though the first time had been more sinister, possibly more deadly. What was the weakness in her? Why couldn't she fend them off?

He was using her to speak again, to communicate with her commander, but she couldn't feel where he had a hold of her. She didn't know where to push to thrust him out of her. But the colonel still wouldn't fall for it.

You won't have him that easily.

She tried moving her own body, tried to force it to step back, anything to know she could resist him, but it was as though the connection between her mind and her body had been severed. She was helpless, and that was the worst feeling in the world for Riza.

Mantis cried with surprise in Riza's voice as he felt the muscles in her stomach clench. She was resisting, and yet she was suffering. It was always more fun when they resisted.

He crept his own smile up her lips.

"" he addressed him, spreading his arms wide. "" He crowed a little in satisfaction. ""

He moved in close to him, letting her hands run up Roy's chest, gently holding the end of his jaw, fingertips resting against his cheekbones.

"" he said. ""

He knew all the answers already; written out in his mind. It was just more fun making him say them.

"" he said, pressing her beautiful healthy disgusting body against his, ""

He laughed.

"" he advised. "."

It was a valid question. If she had been taken over without Psycho Mantis having introduced himself first, would he have even known something was wrong? And yet he wanted to believe that yes, he would have. He knew Hawkeye better than most, but at the same time...

Roy knew that people started to act strangely here. This place bore down on a person, caused them to change - if not physically, then mentally. Sometimes it was only something small, trivial - even so simple as being a little more high-strung than usual. But still, it was affecting them, and he hated that.

When Riza (except it wasn't really her) started toward him, he didn't like that he felt tempted to take a step back. She was not supposed to be a threat! He tensed when she came too close, putting him into a position that didn't make any sort of sense. She would never do this!

But he was more concerned with what she was saying - or rather, what Mantis was saying through her. It was hard enough to listen to without it being in her voice. Of course he felt emotion! He wasn't a monster...

"If you can read my mind, you should now how hard I'm working so that orders like that will never be given." He was avoiding the question, but that was because he didn't even what to consider how he would answer.

But he had to face this head-on. "I won't follow orders that don't make sense." He had done it once, and he would not repeat that mistake. "I'm not mindless," he hissed. "I don't just do what I'm told."

Riza's anger, a truly rare but potent force, flared to hear the words Psycho Mantis was making her say. How dare he speak to him like that; how dare he assume such callousness of the colonel of all people; how dare he force those implications on him.

But it wasn't only that. In all the years she'd known him she'd never faced him like this, never been so close that she could smell him, never had her hands on him. She had never even dreamt it, though any other woman would have by now, regardless of the necessary boundaries. And yet that was where Psycho Mantis had put her, forcing her to exhibit the female characteristics she ignored in her daily life.

And she could only see what Psycho Mantis was directing her to see, and at this nearness, she couldn't help but take full account of the eye she wouldn't ask about . . .

No. She built her resistance again. Even if it was hopeless, she couldn't remain an idle witness while this thing used her to degrade the colonel. She found she'd been hoping he would be the one to push her away, but she couldn't leave that burden to him.

Again she tightened her resolve, harder this time, like jamming a rod into the gears of a machine.

Get out, get out, get out!

For a second, Riza's body suddenly shot up like a puppet on a jerked string, swaying limply, teetering on the end of her feet, arms hanging by her sides - the faintest gasp escaped her lungs as her head rolled back.

She was resisting, and she was good.

No!! Mantis wailed, clawing back, trying to suppress Riza. Already his vision, through her eyes, was blurring - his mind was being forced out.

So he clung, and eventually Riza shifted back into natural movements, although he was still aware of the great gust of her anger threatening to blow him away.

He tried her voice again; a thin sound came from her throat.

Shaken, he ordered her to speak again.

"" he started, still choking over her words (he had to keep control no no no no). ""

As he stepped her back, she wobbled like a drunk, no longer standing straight.

"" he gasped, ""

A sudden surge of anger dropped her knees into a sway, and he corrected her stance.

"" he continued, almost sadly. "" He extended a long, trembling finger, but had no idea himself if it was trembling because of the lack of control or because of his own anger. ""

Her spine arched violently; he gasped a little, correcting her stance again.

"" he screamed at him. "" he spluttered, Riza fighting off his vocal control, ""

The lurching of her body made Roy feel slightly sick. He wasn't certain if he had ever seen someone move in quite that way, most likely because it wasn't actually physically possible. Mantis was controlling each limb, causing her to swing around like a puppet.

He wondered if she was aware of what was happening. He hoped she wasn't, that once this was over she would open her eyes and ask what had happened. Though when Mantis explained that she was fighting back, Roy had to accept that she hadn't been that lucky. He knew she was trying her hardest, and he could only hope that she would soon be able to fight him off completely.

But then Mantis was yelling at him, accusing him (in her voice) of the destruction he had caused. This man could see into his head, see just how much he had done (secrets he kept from everyone, the Rockbells, oh hell) --

Roy tensed at the mention of his homunculus eye. Hawkeye probably already knew, but to have someone come out and say it that bluntly... He grit his teeth, not knowing how to respond to words that he couldn't deny.

For so long, that screaming had kept him up at night.

This was just a strategy of Mantis', though, to set him off guard. He wished he could fight back somehow, but the only other physical body in the room now (he had heard others, but they had been smart enough to not linger) was Hawkeye, and attacking her certainly wasn't going to do any good.

Riza was under no delusions concerning the deeds of a soldier at war. She knew what her colonel had done there, and she knew how great his wrongs had been. The orders that had been given were not grounds for absolution, and the blame could not be shifted. This was what it meant to be a soldier: not just to dirty one's hands, but to stain them.

But Colonel Mustang shouldered that responsibility as few were willing to do. He sought to right something that could never be right, but his struggle was part of the ideal, it was part of the Amestris they both wanted. And she, knowing she amounted to little on her own, chose to support him in that struggle.

Psycho Mantis could deal the colonel no insult he didn't already know. There was no need for further punishment.

Riza's anger solidified in a deep will to protect him. She was on the edge of control: though it continued to slip from her grasp, she had at least felt it again as it escaped her. And now, knowing it was possible, she reached for it again with determination, trying to fill herself and her senses to capacity so that there would be no room for the unwelcome. The accusation of the homunculus eye still rang in her memory, but there was little that could change him for her.

He tugged and pulled at her, trying to stay in control, but there was a jerk and a twist and he lost his grip - his vision blanked and his head pulsed in pain. He let out a long rasping scream, too disorientated and weakened, the sudden shock causing his invisibility to melt away. He was revealed, blind, and vulnerable, for a fraction of a second -

There he was! Roy did not hesitate this time, his hand gripping around his lighter, flicking and sparking it.

His left hand started to glow with a light that filled a good portion of the room, and then a ribbon of fire was shooting toward Mantis.

Would it hit? Or would he dodge? And how about Hawkeye? Did that mean she had beaten him out of her?

Before he could even get the chance to see if his attack hit, night ended and the ground dropped out from under him.

Nighshift 23: Entry Room

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject