Seto'sgal29: Second chappie! Thanks to all my reviewers, ok now let's get this party started!

Once Upon an Eastern Rebellion

By: Seto'sgal29

Chapter 2: Fire

Staff Sergeant Riza Hawkeye watched the mighty flames leap into the air, higher than God himself would dare fly. They waved their mighty feathers, taunting the earth with their beauty, their power. Her eyes glowed read, orange and yellow in their reflection. From a top the roof of an old warehouse she watched carefully through her scope as the soldiers down below burned a hotel. She knew full well there were still people in there, but it was a fact she attempted to block out of her mind. The heat was oppressive, the smell of ash would be almost impossible to wash out of her clothing. Her sniper grew heavy on her shoulders, and she struggled to maintain her current body position. You have a job to do, you need to concentrate. The words seemed blurry in her mind, she was so tired.

Are there children in there?

Are they crying?

The men below watched with envious, greedy eyes as the flames devoured everything in their path. Direct orders, the building was to be burned to the ground, and Hawkeye was to watch out for Ishbalan insurgents as they did it. With her strong shoulders and watchful eyes, she would protect them as the burned the flesh of Ishbalan children.

It was her duty.

The mesh hall was abuzz with activity. Hawkeye, being not only highly unsocial but a woman, was a natural outcast when it came to the social scene of war. When the guns were silenced, she served no purpose to her fellow soldiers, even though few tired to make her useful.

"Hey Sergeant, me and a couple of guys got a bottle of bourbon, wanna have a little fun? You bring the lacy thong, and we'll bring the good times!"

The man howled with laughter as his friends slapped him on the back. Riza closed her eyes and desperately tried to remember her home in Central and the ice cream stand near by. She tried to remember going there after work. But all she could remember was that laughter.

This was her prison, and now she couldn't even remember her home.

Hawkeye strained her ears to listen in on the conversation a couple of Second Lieutenants were having a few seats down.

"You can't be serious!"

"I heard it straight from Colonel Jackson, they're gonna be sendin' 'em any day now."

"Damn alchemists, they're always stealin' the glory from us real soldiers! Just because I can't draw some fancy circle and make shit come out from it doesn't make me any less important, but they treat those guys like fuckin' gods!"

"Baker, who gives a fuck? You looking for some metals or something? The Fuher sent them in to end this thing fast, and I say good riddance. Us regular soldiers have been fighting in this goddamn oven for forever, so I really don't care if they send them in. Less work for us."

The man named Baker growled.

His friend grinned. "Lighten up man, have a drink, we got plenty more buildings to burn tomorrow!"

Riza stood up from the table. She had heard enough, she had to wash the ash from her uniform, and it was going to take a while. Returning to her small tent, Hawkeye slumped into her lumpy cot. Her head was spinning, the State Alchemists were coming to Ishbal. To be honest she wasn't that surprised, they were going to come sooner or later, they always did.

I wonder what they're like?

To Hawkeye, State Alchemists were like the tooth fairy, or Santa Clause, she had heard stories of them, but had never seen one up close. To her they were like a secret clut, a strange culture of men who could create gold from iron. They held in their hands an understanding of the world she would never have, Baker was wrong, they were gods on earth. They could recreate would God had created, would could be more powerful? More divine?

More foolish?

And now they were coming to end the war.

Hawkeye's eyelids began to slowly close, her ash stained clothing long forgotten.

"We got plenty more buildings to burn tomorrow!"

She could feel the heat of her tears burning her cheek.

Seto'sgal29: Next, Roy comes to Ishbal, and Riza is a bit curious…R&R!