A/N: One of my favourite parts in the FMA manga was when Riza told Ed about the Ishbal War. I really enjoyed reading the history between Roy, Riza, Maes, and other characters and I've always wanted to write a multi-chapter fic which developed the relationships of the characters even more than was shown in the manga.

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters.

Prologue: Nightmares

Alchemy is for the people, Roy. Make sure you remember that.

Can I trust my back to your dream, Mr. Mustang?

I herby grant you the title "Flame Alchemist"

Major Mustang, the Ishbalan insurgents are over there!

Ahhhh! My eyes…I can't see!

Stay with me! Dammit! Don't you dare die on me!

Please, no. Don't hurt my child…Kill me but please spare my child…NOOOOOOO!

"No!" yelled Roy. Gasping, he looked around. He was alone in his tent. His undershirt, wet from the cold sweat, clung to him.

It was just a dream…

Roy ran a shaky hand through his messy hair. It was the fifth time this week he had woken up in the middle of the night. He fell back onto his cot and stared at the tarp above him, the remnants of the dream playing over in his mind.

Shortly after he arrived in Ishbal, the nightmares began. As the annihilation campaign progressed, the nightmares became more gruesome, as if his mind was replaying all the images he had saw but didn't register earlier that day. He had thought that after a few weeks on the battlefield he would adjust to the environment, but every night the nightmares would come, like a punishment for all the sins he had committed that day.

Why the hell am I still here?

Roy grunted and rolled over onto his side. He didn't know why, but in addition to the nightmares on the battlefield he had also been having flashbacks of his past in his dreams over the last few nights. More importantly, many of the flashbacks involved a certain blonde girl from his past.

Riza…where the hell are you?

He admitted it. He had been thinking about her constantly ever since he had been sent to this hellhole. Though they were never very close during the time he was studying under her father, they seemed to share a deep understanding of each other which strengthened after his teacher died and she shared with him the secrets to flame alchemy.

They had written letters to each other briefly after her father's death but their correspondence stopped shortly before he finished at the academy. He had returned to the Hawkeye residence shortly after he passed the State Alchemy exam to tell her the great news in person but found the house deserted. The neighbors could only tell him that she had packed her bags and left over a year ago. No one knew where she had gone.

Wrapping his blankets closer to him, he recalled the happier times and silently chuckled at the realization that these memories were probably the only thing keeping him relatively sane. Perhaps his desire to see his old friend again was the reason why he thought he saw her a few days ago among the sea of blue and tan uniforms. There had been a girl with short blonde hair standing by the supply crates who, at first glance, looked like Riza. However, when Roy tried to move closer to get a better look, she had already disappeared into the crowd.

Roy smacked his forehead. What was he thinking? The Riza he knew would never be in the military. She was probably somewhere far away making a living for herself, perhaps even married, not out in the middle of the desert killing people. What reason would she have to even be in the military? His mind was simply playing tricks on him and showed him something he wanted to see, that's all.

Sighing, he rolled over and waited for sleep to overtake him. He had another 'mission' in the morning and it'll be in his best interest to be somewhat well-rested for it. As he felt his eyelids slowly droop down, he made a mental note to himself to pay a visit to Dr. Knox in the morning for some sleeping pills.