Fullmetal Alchemist

Well, this is my first FMA story and you have no idea how nervous I'm feeling. I finished watching FMAB not long ago and I completely fell in love with this couple. I've been hesitating to post this, but I decided to give it a shot. After Soul and Maka, I ship Roy and Riza with a passion.

So please enjoy my story and feel free to leave reviews. Flames are accepted even though I'll be in tears. This an AU, but I will try my best to keep the characters, well, in character. Also, please excuse my grammatical errors and I'm sorry if this chapter is a little long.

Disclaimer: FMA doesn't belong to me.

Shattered

Chapter 1 - Captive

It was cold and the ground was completely covered with snow. The wind was harsh, but she knew how to endure it. She was a soldier after all and the harsh weather was the least of her problems in that moment. Her feet were killing her since they had practically been walking for miles nonstop. Her stomach was growling with hunger since she had given up her food to carry another gun instead. Her eyes were stiff and her lack of sleep was finally starting to get to her.

Letting out a sigh, Riza rubbed her eyes as she tossed her rifle behind her back. She looked around, but she couldn't find anything suspicious. She and the others had already looked through the entire town, but they just couldn't find the person they were looking for. Riza just hoped that everything they were doing didn't turn out to be a waste of time.

"Sheska? Did you find anything?" Riza questioned her partner as she approached. She was completely out of breath and despite the cold weather, Riza could see droplets of sweat on her forehead. When she stood in front of her, Sheska leaned herself on her knees, trying her best to catch her breath. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said with a small smile. She stayed that way for a couple of seconds before she stood up straight to salute her. "I'm sorry, Sergeant Hawkeye. I couldn't find anything even though we've been looking for hours now. We even split up, but our search seems to be in vain."

"I see." Riza placed her hand over her chin as she thought about what she could do next. Still, she couldn't deny the fact that she and her group were at a disadvantage. They were suppose to be looking for a fugitive under the name of Roy Mustang, but she found it difficult to find him when she didn't even know what he looked like. If she went back to Colonel Kimblee without anything new to report, he would definitely throw a fit and Riza knew that he wouldn't hesitate to demote her again. "Well, I guess we should keep looking then."

"Ugh! This is all just so pointless! How can they expect us to find this Mustang guy when we don't even know what he looks like?! I mean, c'mon! The description they gave us could practically fit any guy here if you think about it. I feel like we're trying to find a needle in a haystack." Sheska commented as she leaned against the wall of a house. She looked completely exhausted and Riza couldn't blame her since she was also tired of everything. "I don't want to complain, but I think we should just leave this town already."

"We're not leaving this place until we're told to." Riza told her a bit harshly, but she wanted her to get the point. Sheska had only been in the military for a couple of months, so it was understandable that she still wasn't accustomed to it. Even so, Riza always hated when people questioned authority. "Let's go."

They started walking down the street and Riza could see how intimated the people were by their presence. It was clear that the military wasn't wanted there. She could see the people's faces filled with hatred as they watched her walk by with Sheska. Riza didn't bother to look their way. She was there to protect them and yet, they dared to give her an ungrateful look.

It was true that Amestris had been in constant state of war ever since King Bradley took the throne, but Riza was sure that with time, everything would get better. She was sure the King wouldn't let the country go down the drain. He was the King after all and he was suppose to look out for his people. The reason the country was in such a bad shape was because of certain person that was threatening to cause a rebellion, a revolution, a riot, and that person's name was Roy Mustang.

Riza didn't know who he was exactly, but she had heard of him from Major Armstrong. Roy Mustang used to be a part of the military. He even had the title of Colonel and his war tactics were pretty extraordinary. However, he betrayed the King and the country. Riza wasn't exactly sure how that betrayal had occurred since Major Armstrong didn't bother to give any details, but she did know that he was sentenced to death along with his friend. However, his death sentenced was prolonged because somehow, Roy Mustang managed to escape.

After that, no heard of him. No one knew where he was and some people were starting to take him for dead. It wasn't until recently that someone reported seeing him and King Bradley quickly ordered the military to find him and capture him. That was the current goal of the military. They needed to stop Roy Mustang before he really rallied up the people, before he really caused a rebellion.

Riza let out another sigh as she watched the snow fall down on her uniform. She quickly looked up and hoped that a storm didn't come. There was just no time to lose. She needed to find something that would lead her to Roy Mustang. She needed to find evidence, something that would prove his existence. If she ever wanted to be promoted, she needed to gain some points with General Kimblee with the Roy Mustang issue.

"Man, it's really getting cold now." Sheska commented, wrapping her hands around her body. Riza looked at her, but she didn't say anything. It was always cold in Amestris; it was really no surprise. "I think we should start heading back before the snow gets worse. Don't you think?"

Before she had a chance to say anything, Riza suddenly realized that someone was watching them. She could see someone staring in their direction, hiding behind a small worn out house. Riza pretended to not notice, but she quickly surveyed that person with the corner of her eye. She couldn't tell if the person watching her was a man or female because of the long black cloak that was draped over them. The only thing she knew is that the person was looking in their direction. Why? Who was it? Could it possibly be Roy MUutang?

"Hey, Riza?" Sheska suddenly called out to her by her first name. She grabbed her shoulder, but Riza shoved it away. She needed to stay alert especially now that she knew that she was being watched by a suspicious character. "What's wrong? Are you okay? You're face just got really pale. Oh! Could it be that you're getting sick!? Should I take you to the infirmary?! It's probably this weather. It guess it's no surprise that even the tough Riza Hawkeye gets sick."

"I'm fine." Riza told her, but she kept looking at the person that was still looking in their direction. Who could it be? What could they possibly want? She was taken aback when she noticed the person turning around to leave. "Why don't you go find Maria Ross for me? There's something important I need to tell her."

Without objecting, Sheska nodded and saluted her before she departed in the opposite direction. Riza watched her leave for a bit before she ran off to catch that suspicious person she had allowed to escape. She needed to catch him on her own. She didn't want to drag an inexperienced girl like Sheska along with her, though. She was still only a private after all and she still couldn't hold the gun probably. Since the country was under a state of war, new recruits were allowed to tag along with them for precocious measures.

Riza ran to where the suspicious person had been standing, but she couldn't find him anywhere. She turned to look in all directions, pulling out a small handgun from underneath her uniform. It wasn't until then that it suddenly clicked to her. She looked down at the white snow to find big footprints that clearly didn't belong to her. A small smile formed on her face as she began to follow the footprints on the ground. They were bound to lead her to somewhere.

It wasn't long before Riza saw the cloaked person again. They were walking pretty calmly, probably not knowing that she was right behind. Riza carefully followed them, making sure she wasn't spotted by anyone. She would hide behind the houses and trees that would come across her, but the cloaked person never bothered to look back. Still, Riza couldn't help but notice that the suspicious person had dragged her to the deserted side of the town. It was so empty that Kimblee only sent one round of troops to search around.

Her steps came to halt when she saw the cloaked person walk inside a small gray house. Riza squinted her eyes, hesitating to move forward. Should she charge in? What if they were just normal civilians? If she started something and it turned out to be a misunderstanding, she would never hear the end of it from Kimblee. She needed to prove to him and to the King that she was a capable soldier. She couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

Taking in a deep breath, Riza ran toward the house, and leaned her back against the wall. She slowly approached the door, but before her hand could reach the doorknob, Riza heard voices. Loud and annoying voices that clearly belonged to men. Riza flinched and her eyes widen as she started to overhear their conversation.

They were talking about King Bradley. They were talking about the military and estimating how many soldiers had been brought to the town. They wanted to find an escape route and if there was no other way, they were going to cause a distraction by blowing up a part of the deserted side of the town.

There was no doubt in Riza's mind as she stood there. Her hand slowly clenched on her gun, while anger started to build inside her. The men that were inside the house were rebels, people against the King, and she was sure they were on Roy Mustang's side. Maybe if she caught one of them, they would be able to tell her something that would lead her to Mustang. Maybe Roy Mustang was right inside. Determination and survival flashed in Riza's eyes. She turned her body around and got ready to charge inside, but before she had a chance to knock down the door, a dark shadow hovered above her.

Riza's body froze as she felt the strong presence behind her. Then, for the first time, in a while, a pang of fear traveled throughout her body. She was afraid to turn around and find death. She didn't want die yet. She needed to succeed. She needed to become a worthy person before her death. Feeling a knot inside her throat, Riza turned around in a snap, quickly pointing her gun at whoever it was that was standing behind her.

She didn't get a chance to pull the trigger since it was quickly knocked out of her hands. Finding herself defenseless, she rapidly reached for her rifle, but she found her movements suppressed when a strong arm grabbed her, pulling her back by the neck. Unable to see her captor, Riza was about to fight back when she felt the edge of a knife hitting neck.

"Look at what we have here?" A voice said in a sarcastic tone. Riza growled underneath her breath since she hated being mocked at. She couldn't stand being humiliated. "A female soldier. Is the military really that desperate that they're going as far as to recruit female soldiers? How pathetic. I guess Bradley will do anything to keep himself king."

"Let me go! Who are you? I demand that you tell me right now!" Riza barked at him, showing him now sign of fear. In turn of that, though ,she felt the knife a millimeter closer to her neck. The guy that was holding her seemed serious and Riza had the feeling that he wasn't intending on keeping her alive. Gulping, Riza felt a shiver go down her spine, but she didn't let her captor notice. "I said who are you?!"

She received more silence, but this time, her captor pulled her toward the door and pushed her inside. Riza landed on the ground and not wasting anytime, she reached for her rifle. She pointed it at the man that had pushed her in. Riza couldn't shoot, though because she found herself surrounded. Four guns were pointed at her head and if she made the wrong move, she would find death. Gritting her teeth, Riza kept her rifle in place. Her hands were shaking and her palms were starting to sweat.

She was in the enemy's territory.

…

"I can't believe you let this stupid woman follow you!" Roy suddenly yelled at his comrades as he placed his hands in his pockets. He was furious at the woman, at his crew, but he was more furious at himself. He should have told them to be more careful. He should have warned them that the entire town was flooded with Kimblee's rotten soldiers. "What the hell were you thinking?! You should've told me you were heading out!"

"I went to go supervise the area just like you told me! I had no idea this woman had noticed me!" Fuery quickly responded, but he knew that he didn't tolerate excuses. There was only a few of them and Roy had warned them a million times to not make mistakes. One mistakes could ruin their plans they had worked so hard on in the past few months. "As far as it goes, there's no way out of this town. There are soldiers everywhere. We'll be spotted easily if we try to escape from this town."

Roy turned to look at the woman who was still pointing the rifle at him from her knees. Her hands were quivering despite her sturdy and firm face. She was definitely one scary woman. "Forget about that for now. We need to deal with this problem first."

"No." She suddenly said, aiming her rifle and furrowing her eyebrows at him. "You're going to tell me who you are and if you don't I'll shoot you in the head. I'm not afraid about dying if it's Roy Mustang I'm shooting at."

Roy stayed silent as he looked at the woman in front of him. There was nothing particularly alarming about her and her rank was too extraordinary either. She was only a sergeant and yet, her eyes seemed so cold and heartless. That's what war did to a person, though and King Bradley was the one responsible for everything. He was the one that was plunging the country of Amestris into war for his own personal gain. He wanted wealth, he wanted land, he wanted power and he wasn't afraid to sacrifice his own people to gain his desires.

"You're Roy Mustang, aren't you?! You fit the description they gave us perfectly." She told him, her finger threatening to pull the trigger. His comrades didn't hesitate to take another step closer toward the woman, pointing their guns directly above her head. "Tell me! Are you Roy Mustang or not?!"

"Whether he is or isn't, what's it to you?" Havoc suddenly intervened even though Roy didn't ask him to. He gave her a sly smirk, lifting his cigarette in his mouth. "Why do you care?"

"He's the one that's causing all the chaos around here." She spoke to him without any sign of fear in her voice. "Roy Mustang wants to start up a rebellion. He wants to get the people of Amsetris to rebel against King Bradley. He wants throw out our King. I'm not going to let him do it. I'll kill him first. I won't let him get to our King!"

Roy let out a yawn, completely mocking her. She was about to charge toward him, but his men quickly held her down. They grabbed her hands firmly and Roy saw this chance to take her rifle away. Now, that she was left completely defenseless, Roy could hardly call her a threat. He took a stepped toward her as his mind slowly started to formulate a plan. "I am Roy Mustang, but you're completely useless now, aren't you?"

She gritted her teeth at him, a low growl escaping from her mouth. She was furious and if Breda and Falman weren't holding her back, then she would probably send a fist flying toward his face. "I hate you. You're the cause of everything! You're the one that has sent this country into war! You're the reason the King can't trust anyone!"

"You're wrong, you stupid woman." Roy told her as he took another step closer. He grabbed her face tightly, forcing her to look up at him. "I'm not the one causing all of this. You're precious King has you and everyone else fooled. He's just using me as a distraction. He wants to purge this world into war and with the military he has, he just might be able to accomplish that. To put it for you short, your King Bradley is a corrupted old man who doesn't give a shit about anyone and especially not you."

"How could you say that about your King!?" The woman suddenly shouted at him and Roy was really starting to find her attitude annoying. She was a soldier, a brainwashed soldier who couldn't do anything without the King. "I've heard a lot about you, Roy Mustang! I heard that you were the one that betrayed him first! You were charged for treason and you were suppose to be hung to death, but you managed to escape. You don't have any rights to disrespect the King in that manner. You're just a fugitive."

Roy smirked as he shook his head with disapproval. That woman didn't know anything and he wasn't going to go out of his way to explain it to her. He looked down at her with pity, feeling sorry that she had been fooled to believe in King Bradley. Letting out a sigh, Roy let her go and turned around to look out a small peak hole. The snow was still falling, but the abandoned house didn't get any colder. It remained the same.

He hated him. He hated King Bradley with a passion and he would never be able to rest until he killed him with his own hands. Of course, he wasn't telling his comrades that. They were following him with the idea that he was going to free the country of Amestris from the clutches of a tyrant king. In the past, that used to be his aim. He wanted Amestris to become a country that wasn't ruled by the military. Roy wanted to get rid of the King to establish a democratic way of living or at least make it less appressed. That was his way of thinking in the past. That's the way he thought before the death of his only friend.

Curling his hands into fists, Roy could feel hatred swirling inside him as he thought about Hughes. It was his fault he was dead, but it was King Bradley that had sentenced him to death. They were both overheard when they were speaking about the freedom they could have if King Bradley was gone. In a heartbeat, the King accused them of treason and sentenced them both to death without a trial.

Hughes was was hung first and King Bradley forced him to watch the death of his only friend. It was an image that Roy was never going to forget. He was never going to forget the smile Hughes sent his way as the rope was slowly hung around his neck. Roy was suppose to be hung the next day, but he wasn't. He wasn't because he managed to escape. Falman, Fuery, Breda, and Havoc all helped him get out of his cell and they all ran off with him. They thought the same way he did and they also thought the country of Amestris would be better off without King Bradley around. They dropped the military life for his sake, knowing there was no turning back.

Roy wanted to killed King Bradley for revenge. He wanted to choke him with his own hands. He wanted him to feel the feeling of despair and hopelessness he had felt when he saw his best friend's eyes close. He was going to get him. He was going to get him even if it was the last thing he ever did.

"What should we do with her?" Havoc suddenly asked him, snapping him from his thoughts. Roy turned to look at him before he looked down at the woman. His silence seemed to have calmed her down a bit, but that didn't mean she wouldn't miss the chance to assassinate him. "Do you want me to kill her off?"

"No. Tie her up." Roy commanded and Breda quickly grabbed a thick piece of rope that happened to be lying around. All together, despite the woman's struggles, they managed to to tie up her hands. Without her hands, she wouldn't be able to get him so easily. "We'll keep her breathing for now."

"Why?" She quickly asked him, watching him with hateful eyes. "What do you want from me?"

"You're going to help us." Roy told her with a smirk and he could tell how offended she was by the mere order. Walking toward her again, Roy looked down at her as Havoc and Breda pushed her down on her knees. "When the time comes, you're going to guide us to King Bradley personally and you're going to help us invade his palace. How does that sound?"

"I would never do something like that. I would rather die than betray the ruler of my own country." She snapped at him, but she quickly quiet down when she saw Falman pointing a gun at her. "I won't do it. I'm not helping a scumbag like you."

"Well, I'm sorry." Roy told her, giving her another smirk. "It looks like you don't have much of a choice."

…