A/N: To my dearest readers, in this chapter we will do the normal thing, but the next chapter is from a first person view going over what happened and exploring their feelings. Throughout my story, this will happen quite a few times with different characters. I just thought I'd warn you. So, if you read this chapter and go "What is Roy thinking!" read the next chapter and you will know. Oh! And the next two chapters will make it appear that Roy and Riza hate each other, but, I promised this was Roy x Riza, and so it shall be, but right now, we're building the drama, so hold your darn horses. By the way, I do not own FMA.

"And it's all in how you mix the two / And it starts just where the light exists / It's a feeling that you cannot miss / It burns a hole through everyone that feels it
The Sugiyama Estate
Kimblee let his finger rest on the clasp to Riza's bra. The humiliation was building within Riza. The only thing keeping her going was the thought that when this was over Mustang would have Hughes back and she wouldn't remember a thing, or so she was promised.

Just as Riza felt the material binding her upper body loosen from behind, there was a knock at the door. "Damn," Kimblee whispered. "I'm afraid it's time for our show to begin." Kimblee stood up and tried to shake off the arousal that had been coursing throughout his body. "By the way, my little blonde whore, you might want to get dressed before heading out."

The tears had finally stopped leaking from Riza's amber eyes, but only because they had been replaced by a towering inferno. Her only wish was that she could release it all onto Kimblee for shaming her so mercilessly. She wanted to use his skull as target practice, and when she was done, mount it on her mantel to use as an ash try for guests who smoked. She prayed that after all her memories were gone, someone would remind her that Kimblee was evil incarnate and deserved nothing more than unadulterated pain.

Kimblee crossed over to the door and let Shall and one of his helpers enter. Shall was always the lighter of the two Sugiyama's, but insanity and sadism still coursed through the family's veins. "Here's how this works," Shall began. "I can't necessarily point a gun at your head Roy and say, 'Do what I want or I'll kill you,' because you'll try to be the hero and sacrifice yourself. But if my sister finds out that her party is wrecked, it'll be more than just the Fuhrer with a bullet in his head. So, I'm going to point my gun at your friend here and try it again: Do what I tell you or I'll kill him. As for your friend, my friend behind me will point a gun at you, Mustang, and tell him the same. Get how it works?" Shall and his escort bent over and started untying Mustang and Havoc. As told, the two soldiers complied to their own chagrin.

Once the tape was removed from Roy's mouth, he turned his attention over to Kimblee. The fury and rage that laced his voice as he spoke palpitated with the heart beats of everyone in the room to the point where it became part of the blood that ran through the veins of all in the vicinity. "Kimblee, you sick bastard, if it's the last thing I do, I will fucking destroy you," Roy spat.

"Easy there, Fuhrer Hot Head, not in front of a lady, if she can still be considered that," Kimblee stated in reply. "Now, my dear, let's get going." Kimblee looped his arm under Riza's and lead her down toward the Sugiyama's private theater. It was the only place private that was large enough to contain The Gate.

Well you're never gonna find it / If you're looking for it / Won't come your way yeah / Well you'll never find it / If you're looking for it
The Theater
The stage was set up with two chairs in the middle and all the spotlights pointed at them. In one, Riza was forced to sit down by Kimblee. After, he took his spot off to the side of the stage with Bella Sugiyama. Riza was happy to finally be rid of him and his torture. Next, two men carried in Hughes body. Last, Winry entered wearing an elegant black ball gown, a gift from Bella. It was scary to see how slowly Winry was turning into Bella. From lack of sleep and nutrients, the glow in Winry's skin had dimmed down, making her appear almost as pale as her once dead friend. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you could all simmer down. I've explained to you how things will be going down tonight, all that's left is our demonstration. Coroner Valance, if you could please come to the stage and inspect Mr. Hughes."

A man in his mid forties slowly crept onto the stage. He looked like someone Bella would get along with. Though he wasn't that old, his hair was already an eerie silver tone. His metallic eyes matched the thick hair perfectly. His clothing choice was reminiscent of a mourner at a funeral. Riza guessed it was due to the morbidity of his career.

He stood next to Hughes' corpse and waved to the audience. "Coroner Valance," Winry began, "is this man dead?" Valance laid his cold hand on Hughes' neck and checked his pulse. After confirming that there was no pulse, he nodded at Winry. "Very good then, you may return to your seat."

Riza sat quietly watching the scenes play out before her. Was Winry acting? Or had she changed so much during her quest to open the gate? Whatever it was, the innocence in Winry's eyes had all but disappeared. Her voice was cold, as cold as the lifeless man that sat beside her. Riza took a second to look at Hughes. The more she looked at him, the more she was determined to follow through with her plan to bring him back. Those eyes that were always there to greet her happily on her way to the office were closed tight. That voice that was always there to update the men of the military on Elysia's every move was silenced.

It was Bella's turn to take the stage. As she walked toward Riza, she recalled all the lies she had told in the past few days:

1) She told Winry that none of it could be done without her research, when all of it had been discovered by herself years before.

2) She told Riza that once everything was done, she could start over fresh with her new life, but she intended to let Kimblee take care of her.

3) She told Winry that once the gate was open, she would bring back the Elric's because she was the only one who would walk between the worlds freely, but she actually planned on going through and finding Julia.

4) She told the military's financial aids that they would be researching reanimation for the military; however, she knew that once Hughes was brought back to life, no one would remember he was ever dead. Then, Kimblee would kill Hawkeye, leading the spectators to believe that Winry's real experiment was to bring Hawkeye back to life, and she failed, making her look like nothing but a fanatical loon who had gone grave robbing. Then, Kimblee would dispose of the body through The Gate, Winry would be put in jail, no one would remember a thing about Riza or that night except that Winry was a loon, and Bella Sugiyama would be long gone on the other side of The Gate where she could finish her search for Julia Kimblee.

Bella waved to the audience. Showtime. Winry gave Bella a felt tipped marker. With great skill, Bella began tracing the transmutation circle onto Riza's chest above the top of her dress.

Once the circle was drawn, time sped up. Riza watched as things happened in quick flashes, as if she were a celebrity caught in a storm of paparazzi.

Flash. Bella placed her hand on the circle.

Flash. Riza slowly forgot everything.

Flash. Who she was.

Flash. Where she was.

Flash. The people around her.

Flash. Hughes' eyes flitted open and looked around.

Flash. Kimblee slipped behind Riza and stabbed his knife right into the back of her.

Flash. Riza's body went numb from pain and her eyes slowly closed.

Flash. The crowd grew furious.

Flash. Winry tried her hardest to calm everyone down.

Flash. Havoc and Mustang made their move during all of the confusion to make it down to the stage and get Hawkeye and Hughes out while they still could.

Flash. A large gate appeared in a flash of light.

Flash. Kimblee put Riza over his shoulder and brought her to The Gate.

Flash. Bella threw The Gate open and was immediately pulled through by thousands of tiny black hands.

Flash. Kimblee again took out his knife and cut a thin red slice down from the bottom of Riza's neck down to the bottom of her navel.

Flash. The tiny hands came back and pulled Riza's body through.

Should've done something / But I've done it enough / By the way your hands were shaking / Rather waste some time with you
The Elric's House (At the same time the demonstration had begun)
"Pull everything out, Leni. I'm tired of trying to solve this," Ed said while throwing his notebook to the floor. He had tried everything to figure out Riza's condition. It was hopeless, nothing was going to cure her. It was time to give up on her.

Leni began pulling out Riza's life support, but Alphonse put out his hand to stop her, "Try alchemy, brother."

"It's no use, Al, alchemy doesn't work on this side."

Al looked at the transmutation circle in wonder. "Then why is this circle here? What have you got to lose?"

Edward rolled his eyes and Leni watched in amazement. Her father had tried explaining the rumors about alchemy he had heard to his daughter, but nothing could make her a believer but the real thing, and this was the real thing. As soon as Edward's fingers sat down on Riza's wound, the circle lit up and filled the room with a terrifying blue glow.

A tornado of blue light and noises filled the room. Edward could swear he heard screaming and gunshots, but after a while all he could hear was Riza's horrified ear-piercing screeching.

Flash. Riza was alive.

"Where am I?" she shouted. The voice was harsh and angry.

"Where am I?" she asked again, this time in a softer voice.

"Do I know you?" Riza questioned in the harsh tone while glaring at Edward who still had his hand on her chest.

"I feel like I know you." Riza said in the softer tone while looking deep into Edward's eyes.

And you never would have thought it in the end / How amazing it feels just to live again / It's a feeling that you cannot miss / It burns a hole through everyone that feels it
Gracia's House On the Other Side of The Gate (At the same time the demonstration had begun)
"That was wonderful, Gracia, thank you so much," Hughes said while laying his napkin down on his plate. This was his last chance to visit his fiancée before he left on another mission.

It was quiet for a minute and Hughes could tell that Gracia was thinking of the right words to say. Finally, after a long awkward silence, they came, "Maes, I don't want you to go. I don't want you to get involved in any of this. I just…I couldn't imagine what it would be like…having to go to your funeral." The irony was that on the other side of the gate Gracia Hughes had been to her husband's funeral, and it had saddened her to the pits of her soul.

Maes crossed the room to stand at her side. She was sitting at the dining table with her head in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. He grabbed a box from his back pocket and got down on one knee, "I know this is a little late, but I was running a little broke that night I asked you to marry me." Maes opened the box to display the most amazing ruby ring Gracia had ever seen. "I know it's not an engagement diamond, but it's something physical to commemorate us while I'm gone." Gracia wouldn't have cared if it were just a volcano rock (A/N: haha, a RIZA:P) taped to a piece of wire, she finally had an engagement ring.

The ruby mesmerized and captivated her like nothing else. The depth of the color made her feel like she had been immersed in a pool of crimson water. "I love it, Maes. But where did you get this…Maes?"

Maes had doubled over in a shocking pain. All of the sudden his heart felt like it were being ripped from his chest. "Gracia…I think…I'm having…a heart…attack." Gracia quickly got up and ran toward the phone, but Hughes grabbed her ankle. "No…there's no time. Gracia…I…love you…so much. And I can't…imagine…dying…without telling you…that."

"Help!" Gracia began screaming, hoping the neighbors would hear her. But as she looked down at her fiancée writhing in agony before her, she knew she was too late. "I love you too, Maes."

Flash. Maes was dead.

Gracia repeatedly checked his pulse, not wanting to believe that the man that took her so long to find was gone.

Well you're never gonna find it / If you're looking for it / Won't come your way yeah / Well you'll never find it / If you're looking for it
The Hughes' Household (The day after)
As soon as the large oak front door swung open, Elysia ran from her mom's side to the entryway. Gracia had been patching up one of Elysia's favorite jumpers that had gotten ripped when Elysia tried flying by jumping off a swing at the peak of its arch.

"See, I told you, mommy, daddy was gonna come home," Elysia said in her high pitched voice as she hugged her father around the legs. Maes bent over and patted her on the head.

As soon as he got the chance to set his briefcase down, Maes instinctively pulled out the toy he picked up for his little girl. Elysia didn't even need to ask if he brought her home something, it was required of him to bring a toy if he was going to be gone for more than two days. Elysia thanked her dad and flopped down on the floor at his feet and began playing with her new doll. "What's she talking about, Gracia? You been telling my kid I wasn't coming home?" Maes asked jokingly.

Gracia shrugged and ran into the arms of her husband, "I have no idea, Maes. However, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever, husband." Gracia stood on her tiptoes to plant a welcome home kiss on her husband, but it quickly escalated to a where-have-you-been-all-my-life-kiss. Gracia greedily shoved her tongue into his mouth and began exploring it as if she hadn't done so in years. Hughes, of course, responded with the same vivacity and emotion. But something was wrong and he caught himself thinking I'm married to Gracia, this must be a dream. His eyes shot open at the thought and he stopped kissing. "Is something wrong, sweetie?"

"It's probably nothing."

Hughes quickly got back to where he left off, but he was once again interrupted. Elysia tugged on his trousers from her spot on the floor with her new doll. "Daddy! Guess what happened today!"

Maes knelt down to her and smiled. It was hard being one man and having two women constantly vying for his attention. But Gracia knew that as the mom she would have to wait, and then the wife could have him later. "What's up, princess?" he asked her.

Elysia pointed to the photo on the other side of the room. It was a photo from the Eastern Office's Christmas party. Gracia had tried her hardest to get everyone in the photo. Havoc stood in front of the Christmas tree with his hand around Hughes' and Fuery's shoulder. Riza stood on one side of Fuery with Black Hayate wearing a Santa cap, Falman knelt on the floor in front of Havoc, and Breda knelt next to him. Mustang; however, was slumped over on the couch dead asleep in the very left corner of the photo. Looking at the photo now, Riza was missing. "Hawky disappeared from the picture," Elysia said in a very matter-of-fact tone.

"Hawky?"

Elysia nodded. Her little pigtails danced up and down with her head. "Yeah, the one with yellow hair!"

Maes finally realized who she was talking about, "Sweetheart, Winry was never in that picture." Maes' tone went from the high pitched daddy voice to the low toned serious tone he used when speaking of military business, which triggered Gracia to listen closely. "Speaking of Winry, there was quite a shake up with her during that mission I was on. I'll tell you about it upstairs."

Gracia shook her head at the thought. "No, sir, when we get upstairs we are getting you out of that uniform and you are performing your duties as a husband."

Should've done something / But I've done it enough / By the way your hands were shaking / Rather waste some time with you
Central Headquarters
Roy knew it would be hard to testify against a friend. If Edward knew that Roy was going to have point the finger at Winry, he'd probably strangle the arrogance out of him. Even though Roy knew Edward was long gone and there was no chance of that happening, guilt still piled in his gut, and the only cure for a guilty gut was a good bottle of whiskey.

Once the alcohol set it, there was nothing left to do but sleep off the thought of the night before. Winry apparently had some sort of mental breakdown, caused a public disturbance, and was put away in jail for a few weeks. He knew it wasn't a big enough of a crime to get her put away for that long, but the people who vouched for her arrest were the country's string pullers and wanted to see her behind bars. The most Mustang could remember about that night was something about Winry going crazy, Hughes being there, though he didn't recall asking for back up, and Kimblee sneaking out the back door. Armstrong came just in time to catch Kimblee. Kimblee had been in violation of his exile. The conditions were that he stayed in a certain proximity to his home, and he was way out of bounds. A few hours later, the rest of Mustang's men showed up, soaking wet, but in the knick of time. The party had turned on Winry and it was getting out of hand. The paperwork that had piled up from that night would take him days to go through, and he still had to go to Winry's trial, and he had to figure out what to do about Kimblee violating his exile terms. However, if that paperwork sat unfinished for too long, his Lieutenant, Jean Havoc, would have a field day on him, even though Havoc was just as lazy.

Once Roy had successfully fallen asleep and shaved off the days stress, he found himself in a peculiar dream.

Roy was leaning over a balcony of an extravagant house that he could almost remember. He could feel the cool air surround his skin and sweep his dark hair across his face. He caught his reflection in the pool that sat under the balcony. He was around eighteen. Before long, another face joined him in the reflection. She was the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She wasn't that much shorter than he was, but with her long blonde hair and gorgeous amber eyes, his perfect opposite, he had to have her. But the way she spoke to him told him somehow that he already did, "My dad's gonna kill you if he finds out you climbed up here again. But I'm glad I got to see you before you went off for training." Roy went to speak but she put her finger to his lip. "Don't ruin this for me. I know I won't get to see you for a long time. Just so you know, my dad thinks you're the best alchemist he's ever trained. I just wanted you to know that you finally won him over. So…maybe…if you don't get yourself killed…you could come back and see me." She removed her finger and replaced it with her lips. The kiss felt wonderful. Her mouth was warm and visions of sitting in front of a fireplace danced in his head as her tongue danced in his mouth.

But he had to break it. His manhood was cursing him, but Roy couldn't take it any longer. If he was going to have a whirlwind teenage romance, even if it was a dream, he had to know, "Who are you?"

Roy woke up a second later trying to fall back to sleep. But it was no use. He had somehow woke himself from his magnificent dream, and there was no going back. At least, not tonight.

Should've said something / But I've said it enough / By the way my words were faded / Rather waste some time with you."--The Used
So this chapter is el done-o…yeah that's not real Spanish and is probably offense to anyone with eyes, but you know what, not everyone can be a genius. So, I bet you're wondering why I'm underling things, well it's because there are two different souls in one body in some cases and I need to differentiate between the people. You'll get used to it. Also, I bet you're wondering how Havoc got promoted to lieutenant so quickly. Put it together, dummies, just kidding, I love you all...seriously. So the next chapter is pretty much this one again, but from Roy's perspective. It'll be sweeeeeet. Please review!!!