Prompt 164, Pills, "Devil's in the Details"
Title: Devil's in the Details
Characters: Roy Mustang
Rating: PG
Word Count: 475
Series: Manga/Brotherhood
Summary: Some things can never be forgotten.
When he gets to Ishval, the sand and the heat and a bottle of pills greets him. He pockets the pills as he steps out into the blistering sun, more focused on what he’s here to do than anything else. He doesn’t think about the pills again for weeks until he’s finally worn down and unable to sleep, worried about his men, his conscience, and the hollowness of what the military stands for. He’s noticed that no one but the alchemists have these pills. He finds a spot to lean against the wall and pulls the light weight out of his pocket. He opens it and pours several pills into his hand. They gleam red in the dying light and match the dustiness of the area perfectly.
He drops them back into the bottle and reads the neat scrawl on the label. It tells him they’re stimulants to help alchemist and alchemists only to be more alert and carry out their tasks more efficiently. Roy snorts because that’s the last thing he wants to do. He drops them back into his pocket then forgets about them for several more weeks.
One night he's struggling to stay awake while he's on watch. He paces, he stares at the fire, he recites chemical components, but at some point he drifts off...only to wake up to gunfire and shouts. He scrambles for his gloves and his gun, cursing himself for falling asleep. He was supposed to protect them. He's their commanding officer. Even as he runs toward the source of the commotion, his mind still feels sluggish and he doesn't hesitate as he takes cover behind a crumbling wall to gulp down a pill.
The effect is immediate. It feels like new energy pours through his body, sharpening his mind to crystal clarity along with every other sense. His steps are sure and he feels none of the dragging exhaustion that's been plaguing him for weeks. He rounds a corner and sees Amestrian blue sprawled on the ground facing down a barrel. He doesn't think. He snaps and the figure holding the gun bursts into a fireball with heat more intense than his earliest days mastering his alchemy.
It ends quickly. Only a pile of ashes left of what was once a person. Roy doesn't have time to dwell on it. He swallows and continues forward to save his men. They suffer only minor wounds and injuries that night but it never should've happend. Roy tries not to think too hard about what the pill provides him even as he begins to take one daily. He won't let himself endanger his men again.
After the war ends, he never finds mention of the pills or what was in them but he has his own suspicions. The thought of them has him awake and pacing more nights than not.
Characters: Roy Mustang
Rating: PG
Word Count: 475
Series: Manga/Brotherhood
Summary: Some things can never be forgotten.
When he gets to Ishval, the sand and the heat and a bottle of pills greets him. He pockets the pills as he steps out into the blistering sun, more focused on what he’s here to do than anything else. He doesn’t think about the pills again for weeks until he’s finally worn down and unable to sleep, worried about his men, his conscience, and the hollowness of what the military stands for. He’s noticed that no one but the alchemists have these pills. He finds a spot to lean against the wall and pulls the light weight out of his pocket. He opens it and pours several pills into his hand. They gleam red in the dying light and match the dustiness of the area perfectly.
He drops them back into the bottle and reads the neat scrawl on the label. It tells him they’re stimulants to help alchemist and alchemists only to be more alert and carry out their tasks more efficiently. Roy snorts because that’s the last thing he wants to do. He drops them back into his pocket then forgets about them for several more weeks.
One night he's struggling to stay awake while he's on watch. He paces, he stares at the fire, he recites chemical components, but at some point he drifts off...only to wake up to gunfire and shouts. He scrambles for his gloves and his gun, cursing himself for falling asleep. He was supposed to protect them. He's their commanding officer. Even as he runs toward the source of the commotion, his mind still feels sluggish and he doesn't hesitate as he takes cover behind a crumbling wall to gulp down a pill.
The effect is immediate. It feels like new energy pours through his body, sharpening his mind to crystal clarity along with every other sense. His steps are sure and he feels none of the dragging exhaustion that's been plaguing him for weeks. He rounds a corner and sees Amestrian blue sprawled on the ground facing down a barrel. He doesn't think. He snaps and the figure holding the gun bursts into a fireball with heat more intense than his earliest days mastering his alchemy.
It ends quickly. Only a pile of ashes left of what was once a person. Roy doesn't have time to dwell on it. He swallows and continues forward to save his men. They suffer only minor wounds and injuries that night but it never should've happend. Roy tries not to think too hard about what the pill provides him even as he begins to take one daily. He won't let himself endanger his men again.
After the war ends, he never finds mention of the pills or what was in them but he has his own suspicions. The thought of them has him awake and pacing more nights than not.