A white room. A grinning figure. A price not paid.

A towering gate with an intricate array creaked open and in a flash the room was gone. The grinning, white figure was replaced by a tall man with long, shockingly red hair. Tawny skin stretched over bony cheeks as he sneered, revealing sharpened fangs that glinted in the moonlight. Long, dark horns twisted from his temples. He stepped forward, red and black armor shifting, reflecting the flames that engulfed buildings as he passed.

Fire was nothing new to Riza Hawkeye. She'd almost become desensitized to smoke and flames. No, what horrified her was what was on fire. The east end of Central was burning and, unarmed and alone, she could only watch helplessly as the horned man ignited blaze after blaze with a flick of his wrist.

How another had come to learn flame alchemy baffled her. And she could see no array anywhere on the man or in the vicinity. How, then, was he using flame alchemy? Had he seen the gate, just as Roy and Edward had? The man was not clapping before each transmutation so she quickly ruled that out.

Unless it wasn't flame alchemy at all?

Riza's head throbbed suddenly and she ducked into the shadows as the man drew closer, a small army of others behind him, some horned, some with wings, all appearing inhuman. As they marched past her hiding place, the horned man stopped. The rest continued to walk, but he breathed in deeply, smelling the air. Riza crouched further into her hiding place, gritting her teeth against the splitting pain in her skull, fighting the urge to cough as smoke filled her lungs. She couldn't afford to move. The horned man was feet from her and would surely see her if she was anything but motionless.

All her sniper training kept her still and focused, but it was for nothing. The man slowly turned and his gaze fixated on her, blood red eyes full of mirth and madness.

"I see you, little one," he spoke, voice a heavy baritone. It sent chills down Riza's spine. "But you're too late. This world is mine now."

His gaze was malicious and she knew she had to run. Panic flared up when she realized she couldn't move. Her head pounded ruthlessly and she fell over, gripping her head in her hands. The pain left her frozen on the ground and she screamed as a blast of fire came barreling at her.

Her eyes flew open and the streets of Central were gone. She was sitting upright in her bed, breathing heavy and erratic. Hayate whined from his place on the floor near her.

A dream. It had only been a dream? It felt so real. She was used to dreaming of homunculi and Father after the events of the Promised Day, even at six months after the whole ordeal. But this was different. Somehow, she knew the people she saw were not homunculi. They were something else. Something that was somehow more sinister, more terrifying.

Riza took a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart and noticed Hayate watching her with worry. She sighed and smiled at him, patting the bed next her. The dog jumped up and nestled in the blankets at her side.

"Good boy," she murmured, scratching him behind the ears.

Sun filtered in through a space in her curtains and a quick glance at her alarm clock told her it was almost time for her to get up anyway, so with one last pat on Hayate's head, she pushed the covers aside and got out of bed, yawning and stretching, ready to put the dream behind her and get ready for the day.

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Roy sauntered into the office earlier than usual that morning. It was an important day for his team and him. It was the day Fuhrer Grumman would give them the details of their assignment in Ishval. If everything went according to plan, Team Mustang would be stationed in Ishval in a matter of months in order to rebuild what they had destroyed years ago. It was finally happening. They were finally moving forward. Roy might not have been Fuhrer yet, but with his new rank of Brigadier General and Grumman supporting his ideas, it was only a matter of time. And rebuilding Ishval was a step in the right direction toward some kind of redemption.

He was mildly surprise to see Riza at her desk, alone in the office, already diligently working, a steaming mug of tea next to her paperwork.

"Captain. Good morning! You're here earlier than usual."

Riza looked up, seeming almost startled that he was there. Like she hadn't heard him enter the office. Roy furrowed his brow. It was unlike Riza to be so distracted, even if she was working.

"Good morning, sir," she replied. "What are you doing here so early?"

There was something off in her demeanor, the way she spoke, and he caught the subtle differences immediately.

"Big day," he answered absently, waving the question off. "More importantly, is everything okay?"

"Of course, sir." Riza's reply was quick. Automatic. Forced. "As you said, it's a big day."

Roy was unconvinced, but he nodded and passed her to sit at his desk. If she didn't want to talk about what was troubling her, he wouldn't press the subject. She'd tell him when she wanted to.

They worked in silence for over an hour before the rest of the team filed in and soon the office was a buzz of chatter as the team discussed the new assignment that would be waiting for them in just a few months. There was still something bothering Riza and though he laughed and talked to his men as if it were any normal day, Roy kept his eye on his most precious subordinate. Her behavior was only slightly off. Any normal person wouldn't even notice a difference. But Roy Mustang was not just any normal person. He knew her better than anyone.

"Captain," Roy spoke up late that morning. "I need to speak with you in my office, please."

Riza looked up, a questioning look on her face as she nodded and stood to follow Roy into his interior office. She closed the door behind her and faced Roy who stood leaning against the front of his desk, arms crossed, concerned gaze scrutinizing her carefully.

"I know I asked you this morning, but are you sure everything's all right? You seem… distracted today."

Riza's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she regained her composure.

"I… It's nothing, sir. I had an… odd dream last night and it's been on my mind. Nothing I can't handle myself."

Roy frowned. He opened his mouth to respond, but a knock on the door interrupted him. He sighed heavily.

"What?!"

"We've got investigation duty," Havoc's voice came, muffled through the closed door. "There was a fire in the east part of the city last night and no one can figure out who or what caused it."

Roy groaned and went to reply to Havoc, catching an odd look cross Riza's features that worried him even more than before.

"Head over there. We'll follow you shortly."

"Yes, sir."

Havoc's footsteps receded and the team left the office, the door slamming behind them.

"What was with that reaction, Captain?"

Eyes wide, Riza looked up at Roy. She seemed astonished, like Havoc had just delivered the worst news of her life.

"My dream," she breathed. "I dreamt that someone was burning the east side of Central last night."

Roy paused in the middle of putting on his coat, turning to her with narrowed eyes.

"I'm sure that's just a coincidence."

Riza nodded, not quite believing him as they left the office.

Roy was trying to reassure her. Logically, there was no way her dream could have been relaying actual events from that night. But when they arrived at the scene, the evidence was hard to dispute. The exact block and buildings that the horned man burned in her dream were charred and ruined before her eyes.

Roy caught her gaze while he was questioning another officer. The unspoken terror behind her eyes was enough to make him nearly push past the man he was listening to and run to her side. He held back, biting his tongue as the investigations officer finished his report. Talking to her would have to wait until they were finished.

Returning his attention to the man in front of him, Roy nodded, as if he'd been listening the entire time.

"Do we have any suspects yet?"

The younger officer shook his head.

"No, sir. We've been at it for hours and there are no leads yet."

"Keep me posted. If this isn't just an accident, we need to catch whoever did this before they strike again."

"Yes, sir!"

The young officer saluted and hurried off to resume his investigations duties. Roy was finally able to make his way back over to Riza and he stopped at her side, looking around in a nonchalant manner as he spoke to her in a quiet voice.

"You still seem troubled."

"This was the exact place that was burned in my dream."

Disbelief flashed across Roy's face and his head snapped to look at her.

"We'll discuss this later. Wait in the car for now. You look pale."

"No, I… ah... " Roy glared and her and she sighed. "Yes, sir."

She gave a half hearted salute and walked back to his car to wait for him and collect her jumbled thoughts. It was supposed to have been a good day, a positive day, but instead it took a turn for the strange and unsettling.

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Hey everyone, thanks for reading! This story is a crossover between FMAB and my original novel, Grim Aria. I know I haven't finished Through Eyes of Flame yet, but this idea has been stewing in my mind for the past few months and with the release of the prologue to my novel just a couple of days ago, I really wanted to start writing this. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Comments are always loved and appreciated!