Chapter Text
A month and a half. A month and a half was how long the Fullmetal Alchemist had been missing. A month and a half had passed and people were beginning to think there was no hope. Everyone, that is, except Alphonse Elric and Roy Mustang and his crew. They refused to believe that such a strong-willed, determined boy could be taken down so easily. Colonel Mustang spent days upon days searching for every reasonable piece of information that could be used to find the whereabouts of the young alchemist. He’d somehow managed to convince Al to return to Resembol and let the military handle Edward’s disappearance. Mustang was relieved when the young boy agreed, he couldn’t have lived with himself if both of the boys that he had begun to think of as his own children disappeared…
Colonel Mustang sat behind his desk, face buried in his hands in exhaustion. His gaze was suddenly drawn to the door as Lieutenant Hawkeye burst in. Her manner seemed panicked as she approached the colonel.
“Sir,” Hawkeye began, “We’ve found a lead on the location of Edward.”
At once Mustang stood up suddenly, "Get Havoc, If Fullmetal’s captors have kept him locked up this long, we’ll need backup.”
“Yes sir.”
In less than a minute the trio were driving towards the place where Edward supposedly was being imprisoned. They drove in a solemn panic, the air was tense as they went. Once they finally arrived, the car came to a screeching halt outside of a house that could only be described as eerie.
As soon as the car stopped the team jumped out of the car, Mustang in the lead, and walked up to the door.
Mustang knocked on the door, the fierceness that he put into the few knocks radiated around him. Anger boiling up as he realized how close he was to finding Edward, but the only thing hold him back was human decency. After he knocked, he waited for only a few seconds before trying the doorknob. Locked. Without warning, Mustang kicked down the door out of pure fury. Havoc and Hawkeye followed without question as he led them inside.
As soon as they entered a strong, musty odor engulfed them. The building was obviously ancient and falling apart; floor boards had snapped in half and cobwebs were scattered in every corner. There was a long hallway that led to two staircases, one going up and one going down. On the main floor there were two more halls that branched out into more rooms that were probably in the same state as the hall.
“Havoc, you search the second floor; Hawkeye, you search this floor; and I’ll search the basement.” Mustang commanded. They both nodded and with a swift ‘yes sir,’ the group dispersed.
As Mustang treaded carefully to the breaking stairs he positioned his fingers to snap. He narrowed his eyes and walked down the stairs that creaked with each step. Once he made it to the bottom of the staircase a bitter breeze blew across his skin.
Glancing around for some explanation, Mustang noticed a cellar door that had been haphazardly thrown open in a desperate escape. Then he noticed signs of transmutation on the wall beside him, as well as smeared chalk markings on the dirt ground. With a grimace Mustang leaned down to observe the markings. There was no doubt in Colonel Mustang’s mind, Edward was here.
“Hawkeye!” Mustang shouted, “Get down here!”
Without waiting for a response, Mustang snapped his fingers. The wall exploded instantly, revealing a long, dark tunnel. Almost seconds after he did this, Hawkeye and Havoc came running down the stairs, eyes wide.
“Fullmetal is down here,” Mustang said, walking through the hole he made. Hawkeye and Havoc exchanged a look, but said nothing as the trailed after the colonel.
They trekked down the tunnel for what seemed like hours before finally seeing a dim light. Mustang began to speed up, his subordinates following suit. Soon they found themselves in a dimly lit portion of the tunnel, cages lined the walls. Each cage held a some sort of hostile, grotesque creature within it’s bars. Then they reached the largest cage, it was so big compared to the others it could almost be considered a cell.
Inside the cage sat a creature, back turned. It’s lion-like tail wrapped around itself protectively. It had wings held limply on its shoulder. Dull blond hair ran down it’s back and trailed off between the wings. It’s limbs were covered in peach colored fur and then... then Mustang noticed something odd. It’s right arm and left leg were... automail.
Mustang’s heart dropped and he opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. The creature shifted and turned it’s head slowly. His golden eyes widened as he looked at the people on the other side of the bars. And then, he uttered one word:
“Mustang?”
