Ishbal

Tuesday, August 11, 1908

"Mommy? Mommy?"

Fire began to spread through the hallway, flames eating up the wood planks of the second floor.

"Mommy--!?"

Within seconds, the whole house burst into a hungry red inferno. The broken roof caved in, crashing down into the house and causing the second level to collapse in on the ground. The little house existed as nothing more than burning firewood now, and the fire still spread…

From the depths of the hell, a small form crawled, bleeding, out. The tiny girl's wide eyes scanned the surrounding area for signs of help, all in vain. Salty tears ran down her cheeks, and she allowed her body to fall defeated to the ground. From there, she screamed bloody murder into the dry earth.

"What are you doing here, Lieutenant?"

Terrified, the girl looked up as the smooth yet sinister voice reached her ears. Heart pounding at an unhealthy rate against her chest, she pulled herself around to face the speaker.

Only he wasn't there.

In front of the shivering girl stood a tall shadow, looming over her like Death. The shadow appeared to be that of a young man with long hair and a muscular frame, with an eerie air about him. Holding her breath in fear, the girl tried to inch backward. She couldn't move. The shadow took a step toward her… Maybe he would help her?

As though he had read her thoughts, the shadow replied: "Why should you live? Why, when many have died before you? Because of you?"

The girl could have sworn that see had seen the shadow's mouth, curled upward in a wicked smirk. She tried vainly to scream, and realized only then that she wasn't holding her breath- she simply couldn't breathe. Shutting her eyes as tight as she could, she attempted to wish this all a dream- this wasn't happening, it couldn't be happening…

"Look at me, Lieutenant…"

She did. It seemed as though she couldn't disobey the direct command, as though the instinct existed deep inside the little girl. Upon opening her eyes, however, the girl discovered nothing but the rising blaze. No shadow, no help, no hope… Once again, the girl found herself alone with Death ready to consume her, take her up and leave nothing left.

And that's exactly what it did, as the fire extended far enough to devour the girl whole.

"No!"

The scream pierced the night like a sword through flesh, hanging on the air with no intent of letting go, joining the other grief-filled cries that had preceded it.

Genna Takeshi bolted upright, glancing frantically around her. Unable to breath, her panic swiftly built up. A million questions ran through her head at once, but for her lack of sight she could not answer most of them. Who was that shadow? What happened to her? Where did the fire go? When did it all disappear? Why did it all disappear? How did she end up in this black abyss?

Was she dead?

Dread filled Genna as she realized that no other explanation existed. A cold, prickly, crawling feeling covered her entire body, almost like icy water. Her lungs refused the oxygen that they required. Nothing but darkness could be seen in any direction, not even when she opened her eyes. Everything hurt, especially her chest, which felt crushed due to the shortness of air.

Truly fearful, she began to pat herself down to check for anything that might indicate her being dead. Nothing felt broken, no wounds cut through her body, and no burns stung her nerves. The pain that caused the most of her suffering felt more like a throb, like the kind one felt during a headache. However, rather than in her head, this hurt covered her entire body. On the other hand, the pain was slowly subsiding into nothing.

Of course, this could not completely calm Genna. The crawling feeling beneath her skin remained- in fact, while the pain began to vanish, the creeping sense grew. Gripping her head in agony, though, the crawl became clear. As she ran her fingers through her blonde pixie cut, she discovered a saline moisture building up. Sweat! Sweat, as sodium filled it, would of course feel itchy and creepy.

She sighed with relief; at least two things had been solved. It took her a moment to realize that she had sighed, however, and when she did she felt even better. Genna also felt stupid; how could she have forgotten to breath, thinking that she couldn't? Maybe she wasn't dead after all- just plain dumb. Sighing again, she ran through her thoughts to clear her head, and make sure she could remember everything else right. She did this by asking herself simple questions, though, after her scare, the answers didn't come as simply:

Who are you? Genna… Genna Frost Takeshi.

There's more to that, isn't there? What did the shadow call you?

…Lieutenant. I am Second Lieutenant Takeshi.

Good! Where did you come from? The South, not far from Dublith.

And where are you now?

I can't see…

Where should you be now?

Genna started as she recalled the answer to this question. Second Lieutenant… As a Second Lieutenant from Central command, where should she be? She knew, of course, but to make sure she placed her hand on the ground. An uncomfortable wool sleeping bag served as her seat, but as she brushed her hand across the land around it, she discovered a softer and colder surface. Picking up a handful, Genna let it run through her hands like water. Just as she thought, the floor was made of sand.

Just as she thought, she was in Ishbal.

"Oh, no!" She exclaimed suddenly. "Drills, drills! I'm going to be late for drills! Stupid nightmares, keeping me busy! I'm surprised the higher ups didn't come in and shoot me awake!"

Scrambling around for her clothes, Genna clumsily pulled her navy blue jacket and side skirt over the rest of her uniform- plain navy blue pants and a white shirt, tucked in- and then fumbled around for her boots. In the process, she ended up tripping over her feet, landing at the foot of the exit to the huge military-purpose tent. Groaning, she spat out the disgusting sand that had filled her mouth.

There! To her left, a pair of small, sand-caked boots. She grabbed them and swiftly pulled them over her feet, standing up while she did. Nearly falling over again, Genna hustled out of the shelter and into the chilly Ishbalan night. No- it must be morning now. She could see the red sun steadily rising on the horizon. It seemed impossible that she could make it to drills on time! How did she manage to sleep in?

The lieutenant broke into a run, toward the flattened area the section used as a training ground. Straining her ears to listen for the familiar drilling sounds of shouts and marching, Genna hoped that she could make it. At last, the grounds came into view...

Nobody was there. Genna froze as her brain comprehended- nobody? Where could everybody be? Sweat rolled down the side of her face as she imagined what could have happened- did the Ishbalans attack? How could she have slept through that? Did they all go on a raid without her? No way! They would need her just as much as they would need the State Alchemists in this section.

"What are you doing here, Lieutenant?"

Genna nearly jumped out of her skin as the all-too-familiar words reached her ears. She spun around, expecting to see a dark shadow standing over her. Instead, she found a young man clad in a blue uniform, her black hair falling into his narrowed onyx eyes. White gloves, the right bearing a symbol of some sort, covered his hands. Resisting a sigh of relief, the lieutenant snapped into a salute.

"Major! Excuse me, I was not woken this morning, I don't know-" The man cut her off with a laugh, holding his hand up to stop her.

"It's alright, Takeshi. Today's an off day. The soldiers are taking the day off, at least until something happens." He explained, clapping a comforting hand on Genna's shoulder. Another bead of sweat formed on her forehead.

Oh.

"You can relax, by the way; I didn't put you in an attention stance." The major smirked. Genna smiled sheepishly, letting her shoulders slouch out of the attentive position.

"Sorry, Roy. Habit." The lieutenant apologized, cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment.

"It's alright; I know you're not used to the field. HQ's a lot easier, isn't it? Sitting at a desk all day and only saluting during training. I look forward to being my own boss when this war finally ends…" Roy Mustang chuckled, tucking a hand into his pocket.

"I'll probably end up working with all the technology… Assuming I make it out of here alive." Genna sighed, brushing her bangs from her bright eyes. "It's only a matter of time before I get killed, with all the close combat crap I do."

"I still don't know what the higher-ups were thinking, sending a seventeen-year-old to war. And with the alchemists! You have a whole life ahead of you, and almost without doubt they'll be throwing it away."

"Like you being here is any better. You just turned twenty-three the other day, didn't you? You could live at least fifty more years, but instead you became a State Alchemist."

Roy looked away at this comment, out into the desert. His eyes dulled, giving the major a saddened appearance. Subconsciously, he traced the chain of the silver pocket watch hanging from his pants.

"I realize my mistake in that now."

Genna nodded solemnly. Nobody wanted to be a part of this war, with the unusual inhumanity of it. The lot of State Alchemists had been sent in to completely eliminate the Ishbalan race… No survivors were to be left. The madness of it all was enough to drive even the strongest man insane- Major Mustang in particular felt great remorse for all the people who died at his hand, to his alchemy. Genna knew the man cried some nights, after a massacre. The genocide gave all soldiers chills and nightmares.

"Dreams again?" The lieutenant asked. Roy nodded in response, still watching the horizon. The sun began to shrink as it rose higher into the sky, warming the summer air.

"I can almost sense an end to it, though. The war. There are only a few districts remaining… Kanda, and some others. Can you believe that we've already killed seventy districts worth of Ishbalans?" Mused the alchemist.

"Kanda… I think I've been assigned there for tomorrow. It's too bad they sent Major Armstrong home… I think I'm meant to be his replacement." Said Genna.

"That's good. You'll be a lot stronger in Kanda than he would be. The Ishbalans there are particularly defiant… Especially with those Amestrian doctors there. That couple's what's making the Ishbalans arrogant, I'm sure. Armstrong would be killed in an instant."

"If that's the case, I should go back to bed. I'll rest up for a rough day… Just, wake me if something bad happens, alright?" Genna grinned, turning away from Roy and heading back to the camp. The major watched her as she left, a somber look in his eyes.