A/N: Yay, people like my story! :D It's the reviews that give me the courage to keep going so keep them coming! I hope this chapter meets expectations.

Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape, or form, own Fullmetal Alchemist. All rights go to Hiromu Arakawa. I only own this story.

Hawkeye Household

Year 1888

"Now Riza, what are the three steps of alchemy?"

A chibi-fied version of the Riza Hawkeye we all know and love squeaked "Comprehension, Deconstruction, and, uh, Reconstruction! I think I got it right dad!"

Berthold Hawkeye, as per usual, did not show any signs of approval. He stared down at his books, drinking in the ancient words. He moved onto his next test.

"What is the meaning of one is all, all is one?"

Riza had to think for a moment about this. She thought she had the right answer, but she wanted to make sure, otherwise her dad would be upset. "The one is created from the all, and the one also becomes the all. The all cannot exist without the one, and one cannot exist without the all."

Berthold nodded. "Now show me a basic transmutation. Use only the materials in this room and the chalk that I provide."

Riza nodded eagerly, excited that her father was finally acknowledging her skill in alchemy. For her age, she was exceptionally skill. A large part of that skill came from having a genius father as a teacher. She grabbed the chalk in her hands and swept the floor clear of dust. For a moment she thought hard about what she wanted to transmute. Then, her face brightened and she got to work. A few quick swipes of her chalk later, the circle was complete and she pressed her hands to it. Light shone and a figure appeared in the middle of the circle. "Dad! I did it!"

Her dad turned around and instantly paled. Riza was holding up a figure of a woman. A very familiar woman. One who had died when Riza was only two.

"Out. Now."

Riza's smile disappeared, replaced by concern. "Dad? Is something wrong?"

"Out! Get out! Now!" Berthold's face was white with suppressed rage and grief. Riza gasped in shock and fear, scrambling out the door. The figure of her mother that she had made flew out after her and struck above her head, shattering into tiny pieces that rained down over her. The door slammed shut behind her. She looked at the door in stunned silence, then turned and slowly walked to her room. She closed her door behind her, sat on the bed, and cried.

Hawkeye Household

Year 1897

"Riza, come here. I need to talk to you for a second."

Now 15 years old, Hawkeye put down a mop and stood in front of her father. "Yes father?"

"I have recently taken on an apprentice. He will be arriving in two months. When he arrives, you are not to let him know of your alchemy or help him with his alchemy studies in any way. He must progress or fail based on his abilities alone. You will, however, look after his needs. That means making his meals, cleaning up for him, and providing him with necessary materials. Interact no more than is necessary. Do you understand me?"

Hawkeye nodded submissively. She knew better than to question or talk back to her father. It was a far better choice simply to go along with what he said and figure things out as they came. She subconsciously rubbed her arm where it was still sore. "Is there anything else, father?"

"No. You are excused."

Hawkeye left her father to his books and completed her chores. She then went up to the room and lay on her bed. Her face was impassive but her insides twisted with anger and resentment. Who was this apprentice that he could simply drop in and take over her life? Whatever happened, she was sure that the next few months would be unpleasant at best, hell at worst.

Riza's Apartment

Central City

0640 Hours

Black Hayate sat at the foot of his mistress's bed. He was hungry, but he knew better than to wake her up before she was ready. Riza Hawkeye's wrath was unmatched by any force on Earth before 0645 hours. Hayate knew in just a few minutes, the sheets would move, brown eyes would blink open, and his mistress would begin her morning routine. In fact, she ought to be getting up right about…

...now. Right on cue, Hawkeye yawned and opened her eyes. Sitting up, she blearily recalled the dream she had last night. She frowned at the memory. Her childhood had not been a particularly happy one. Growing up in an isolated house with a solitary genius of a father had not been the best experience for her, and a late night spent sewing transmutation circles had dredged up memories. Ah well. The past was in the past, and she couldn't change anything about it. The only thing for her to do was to put it behind her and move forwards.

She threw aside her covers and began her morning routine. As she fed Hayate she made a mental note to practice at the range before attending the briefing. It wouldn't hurt to get just a little more practice in before she got her assignment. After she had showered and fed herself, she pulled on her uniform coat and tugged on her gloves. A smile graced her features as she remembered colonel Mustang's face when she had pulled a gun on his future children. The was a good friend, but he needed to focus more. The higher ups wouldn't turn a blind eye to her gun-pulling forever.

Elric Temporary Residence

Central City

0700 Hours

A large suit of armor stood menacingly over the bed of a young boy. Its face was shadowed and only its glowing red eye holes could be seen. It slowly reached out towards the young boy, about to grab its shoulder when an automail leg snapped out and knocked it into the wall.

"Brother! Wake up! We're going to be late to our briefing with colonel Mustang!" Alphonse Elric pulled himself out of a newly formed crater in the wall, sweat-dropping when he saw the foot shaped dent in his chest. He would have to get Winry to fix that next time he saw her.

"I don't wanna go! I don't want to spend a week with the colonel! This is probably unjustified revenge for Bourlens! I didn't cause that much damage!"

Alphonse sighed. His brother could be so thick-headed sometimes. "Brother, you single-handedly caused 2,000,000 cenz worth of property damage, paid for directly from your superior's funds. I wouldn't be surprised if colonel Mustang was having his revenge but that isn't the case this time. If you don't get up soon, I'm going to have to carry you over to headquarters."

"No!"

Alphonse walked up to Edward's bedside and, with a pull of one metallic arm, hoisted Edward onto the non-spiked part of his shoulder. Ignoring Edward's screams, he left the building and began the walk to Central Headquarters. Humming a cheerful tune, he thought of something. Had Ed's automail rattled a bit when he picked him up?

Central City

HQ

0730 Hours

A second magazine fell to the floor at Hawkeye's feet. She nodded to herself in satisfaction. More bullet holes now decorated the center of a target 50 meters away. The pistol was reloaded, and she checked out of the shooting range. Thirty minutes were left until the briefing was due to start, so she had time to get a few papers from investigations and make the morning coffee. She made a mental note to requisition more ammunition from Logistics.

Humming lightly to herself Hawkeye walked into the investigations department and flicked on the light. "Sergeant, can you get me the papers for…" Blinking, she stood still in shock for a second. The people in front of her were not from investigations. Facing her were 10 men dressed in unfamiliar uniforms. Then, her mind realized three things. One, those were Drachman uniforms. Two, they were moving towards her. Three, her gun was not out yet. Her body swung into action. Papers fell out of arms as her pistol appeared in her hands. She downed four men with double taps to the chest, then moved to reload her pistol. Her eyes widened in shock and dismay when her hand met only empty air where there should have been another magazine for her pistol.

Damn! I used my other bullets down at the shooting range! Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit!

She thought fast. Ducking under the swipe of one Drachman, she swung her steel-toed boot between the legs of another one. A surprised oof met her ears as the man's eyes widened and he stumbled back. A savage punch met the stomach of another man as Hawkeye turned to run for the door. She never took the first step though as an iron bar of an arm clamped down over her neck.

"Dammit, this wasn't the plan! We were not supposed to have been discovered this early. Now we are four men down and we need to dispose of this bitch."

"Hold up, I recognize this one. She is the Flame Alchemist's aide. We might be able to use her against him."

"She killed four of our guys! I say we snap her neck here and now."

"Stand down! I'm op leader, and I'm going to decide what we do with her. Knock her out and stash her somewhere secure. We're improvising from here on out."

Hawkeye's vision was slowly turning black, but before she went under she felt a hand clamp a cloth over her mouth. As the chemicals took hold she feebly reached out.

No… can't let them… take the colonel… can't let them… use me…

...colonel…

...Roy.

Central City

HQ

0815 Hours

"Crap! I'm late for the briefing! Hawkeye's gonna kill me!"

Roy Mustang ran down the halls of Central Headquarters, shoving people out of the way. He'd arrived at his office only to find no Hawkeye waiting to berate him for arriving late. It was then he remembered the Very Important Briefing due to take place at 0800. It was now 0815. He was about to get chewed out by the higher-ups, he just knew it. In fact, it was not his superiors that he was worried about, but rather his lieutenant. She'd probably chew his head off when he got to the briefing. Secretly, he knew she was just covering up her relief at seeing him okay, but that didn't mean it was any less terrifying. And just to rub it in, Fullmetal would probably be smirking in the background.

Mustang skidded to a halt outside the door of the Investigations department and flung open the door. He rushed in, intent on apologizing for his tardiness and begging for forgiveness from Hawkeye. Instead, he was met with a rifle butt to the face and a boot to the small of his back. He fell to the floor with a gasp of pain and his hands flew up to cradle his face. His attackers took advantage of his state by grabbing his hands and pulling them to his back, where they were bound. They also ripped off his ignition gloves and threw them to one side.

"Get the cloth! I want this to be nice and clean. No struggling like with the woman."

Hawkeye? What did they do to her?

"Who are you? I demand to know who you are and what you are doing!" Mustang shouted as he struggled against the ropes binding his wrists and ankles. Instead of an answer, two hands grabbed his head and forced it against a cloth.

Mustang gasped in reflex, then mentally cursed as he smelled the chemicals soaked into the rag. It was only a matter of time now before he fell unconscious. He was already growing weaker.

Shit...Riza...What have they done with her?... I recognize their accents, it's Drachma… oh crap Fullmetal! What do they want with us…

Slowly his struggling stopped and he fell limp against the floor.

Central City

HQ

0845 Hours

"Damn Mustang, making me get up so early! Alright, where is the investigations department?" Edward Elric walked through the halls of Central Headquarters with his brother in tow. Soldiers jumped out of his way at all costs. One did not get in the way of Edward Elric when he moved with a purpose.

"Uh brother? We passed it a while ago."

"Dammit! Why didn't you tell me Alphonse?"

"I did. You just weren't listening. Really, we should get a kitten. They really help with stress."

Edward screamed with frustration. "For the last time! We are not getting a kitten!"

Alphonse suddenly started crying, which was strange because he was a suit of armor. "You're so cruel brother! How could you do that!"

Edward sighed, used to this by now. He turned around and walked back towards investigations. Alphonse followed him with tears streaming from his eyes. Ed glared at Alphonse as he yanked open the door. He stormed in, fully intent on tearing Mustang a new asshole. Suddenly, an arm reached out and pulled him into the room. There he was slammed into the wall. He gave a surprised grunt as his face met the paint. He lashed out with a vicious kick and one of his attackers flew backwards. His fist came around and met the solar plexus of another one. He was about to finish off the third one with an epic spinning kick when his automail leg shuddered, rattled, and collapsed. With a cry, Ed fell heavily to the ground. Instantly his attackers were upon him, binding his wrists and ankles. Soon a cloth was forced over his mouth and nose and he began to lose consciousness. He saw Alphonse rushing in to rescue him, and him getting his metal limbs taken off with a barrage of suppressed bullets. Now disabled, Alphonse was packed away into prepared crates by his attackers. Then, as the chloroform in the cloth took full effect, he saw no more.

A/N: This chapter was written while a Dead Space Walkthrough was playing in the background. :)

I don't like how this turned out at all. Criticism would be greatly appreciated in making this chapter better. Ugh, this is what the internet will do to one's writing process. Lesson kids: never internet while writing. Thank you to all who reviewed, faved and followed.