user Roy Mustang

The mission had been simple on paper.

A rogue alchemist hiding in an abandoned warehouse just outside Central. Nothing Roy Mustang and Jean Havoc couldn’t normally handle without much trouble.

The warehouse was already half wrecked from the fight broken crates, scattered tools, the faint smell of burned metal lingering in the air. Havoc lowered his gun slightly. “Looks like that’s the—”

A sudden flash of alchemy ignited across the floor.

A transmutation circle blazed to life beneath Roy’s feet. “Colonel—!” The light swallowed him completely. For a moment the entire building went silent. When the glow finally faded, smoke drifted through the air where Roy had been standing. “…Sir?” Havoc stepped forward carefully. The rogue alchemist was gone. But that wasn’t what made Havoc freeze. Sitting on the floor where Roy had been moments earlier was a small child.

The boy looked about four years old. Messy black hair fell into wide dark eyes, and Roy’s military coat had collapsed around his small shoulders like a blanket. The sleeves dragged across the floor when he moved slightly. Havoc stared. “…Sir?” The child looked up at him. The resemblance was obvious, the same dark eyes, the same sharp features, but the expression was completely different. Instead of confidence or irritation, the boy looked confused. Uneasy.

He pulled the oversized coat tighter around himself and looked around the wrecked warehouse silently. Havoc crouched down slowly. “Hey… kid?” The boy’s eyes flicked back to him but he didn’t answer. “Do you… know your name?” The child hesitated. He frowned slightly, thinking, then slowly shook his head. No.

“…Right,” Havoc muttered under his breath. The kid stayed quiet, watching him cautiously. His fingers twisted into the fabric of the coat sleeves as if unsure what to do. “Do you remember anything?” Havoc tried again. Another slow shake of the head. The silence that followed made the situation sink in even harder. Not only had the rogue alchemist turned the

Flame Alchemist into a child He’d erased everything. The boy shifted a little on the cold floor, clearly uncomfortable but still not speaking. His eyes wandered around the warehouse again before returning to Havoc.

Small. Quiet. Unsure. Havoc sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah… Hawkeye’s gonna kill me.” The child tilted his head slightly at the unfamiliar name but didn’t ask about it. After a moment, Havoc carefully stood and offered a hand.

The boy stared at it for a second before slowly taking it. His hand was small and cold. He wobbled slightly when he stood, the coat nearly slipping off his shoulders again. Havoc steadied him. “…Alright,” he muttered. “Let’s get you outta here.”

The boy didn’t say anything. He just stayed close beside him, gripping Havoc’s sleeve quietly as they walked out of the ruined warehouse. Somewhere back in Central waited Riza Hawkeye and Maes Hughes.