So I just got this idea yesterday and I just had to write it.

And just as a bit of practical information first: this story is pre-manga/Brotherhood.

Also, I do not know how often I'll update as it depends on my muse and it is a fairly annoying one at the moment because pollen allergy is messing with my brain and my migraines are acting up, but I am not planning on abandoning any of my stories, even if I am in the middle of a writer's block on most of them. I write when I have the inspiration and my head isn't acting up too much because of migraines (which it has been doing daily for the last three months or so.)

And, because I am so tired of writing disclaimers, I do as I have done with my other fics: I hereby proclaim that I do not own FMA and I never ever will.

Also, the rating is because of swearing and probable violence.

And so I hope you will enjoy reading this!

Chapter one

Ed stood face to face with that thing once again.

And this time too, it was grinning.

It was sitting there, Ed's limbs attached to the otherwise white being.

"Back again to retrieve your brother for a second time? Just what will you pay now?"

Ed clenched his fists, both his automail and his flesh one, knowing that the price would be higher this time as the soul was most likely not attached to Al's body, judging by the fact that Ed's arm had not been replaced. "Anything. Just give him back. Take anything you want from me, I don't care, just give me back my little brother!"

Truth grinned with a little chuckle. "You really are a fool."

Damn that kid for always running in before waiting for backup!

Roy walked into the derelict factory, the rest of the team following him. There were plenty of newly transmuted walls riddled with bullets all over the place. There was no sound of fighting, although there were three unconscious men tied together in the corner, transmuted guns scattered around them. Roy pointed to Breda and Fuery and gestured for them to go to the restrained criminals.

Roy walked further into the building and then paused, holding up his left hand to tell the others to stop and be silent.

And then Roy heard it again.

The sound of a baby crying.

Roy strode forwards in the direction of the sound. He couldn't understand why there would be a baby here of all places. And the child was obviously not pleased.

Roy went down the stone steps leading to the basement, the sound growing louder. Then came a voice and Roy paused again as he recognised the sound to belong to his youngest subordinate.

"Shh, it's gonna be okay. P-please, just stop crying. The others will b-be here s-soon."

Roy had never thought he'd ever hear the sound of Edward Elric crying, but right now he was. And that fact mixed with the words uttered made Roy up his speed to a run as he burst into the room the sound was coming from.

He was not prepared for the scene that met him. There were seven people in the room. Five unconscious men were lying about, their jaws broken, their faces clearly the result of Fullmetal not showing his usual restraint with his automail fist.

And in the middle of the room was a human transmutation circle with a sobbing Edward Elric kneeling with his back to Roy, gently tilting back and forth, muttering to the crying child he was obviously cradling in his arms, his coat and jacket were both gone and he was pressing his face into the crying bundle in his arms.

Roy strode forwards, grabbing Fullmetal's shoulder and turning him around to face him.

Only to have his breath catch in his throat and have words fail him completely.

Blood was streaming down the boy's face from between his partially closed eyelids, his eyes clearly gone, and in his arms he was holding a bawling baby that couldn't even be a day old, all wrapped up in Fullmetal's coat and jacket. "D-don't t-touch him!" the boy shouted frantically, turning away sharply and holding the baby closer to his chest. "D-do whatever y-you want with me, but d-don't you d-dare touch h-him!" Drops of blood kept landing on the wailing baby in his arms.

"Fullmetal! It's Roy Mustang!" Roy said urgently as he pulled off his jacket. "What the hell happened here?!"

"C-Colonel?" the boy said, lifting his head, his lips trembling.

Roy got the last button open and threw off his uniform jacket and pressed it to the bleeding holes in his subordinate's face with his left hand as he kneeled down and held his right hand at the back of Fullmetal's head. "Yes, it is. Now where is Alphonse? What's going on?!"

That caused the boy to begin sobbing for real. "H-he fell i-in."

"Sir," Roy heard Hawkeye say as she placed a hand on Roy's shoulder, pointing to a small pool in the corner of the room. There was some sort of machinery placed in the middle of it, and what Roy had previously assumed was a piece of it, he now realised was the familiar suit of armour.

"I-it w-washed a-away the b-blood seal," Fullmetal whispered wheezily. "I-I had t-to get him b-back."

Roy looked at the wailing newborn in Fullmetal's arms, his stomach clenching. "Havoc, Falman, get this place cleaned up before anyone else comes here. Lieutenant, take the baby, we're bringing the Elrics to the hospital."

"N-no! D-don't take h-him f-from m-me!" Fullmetal cried, holding what was undoubtedly his newborn brother closer to his chest.

"Fullmetal, I'm carrying you out of here, meaning that I need you to keep pressure on your wounds, and you can't do that with your hands full," Roy said sternly.

"N-no!" the child sobbed. "P-please!"

Roy sighed. Fullmetal was grief-stricken and panicking and wasn't thinking clearly. Roy looked over at Havoc who was white as a sheet and nodded at him, silently telling him to restrain Fullmetal. Havoc quietly walked over to stand behind the trembling boy and Roy gave him a nod and so Havoc grabbed Fullmetal's upper arms, causing the boy to scream. The baby wailed even louder and Hawkeye was taking it from Fullmetal before the kid knew what was happening.

"NO! STOP! GIVE HIM BACK!" Fullmetal screamed, fighting against them, forcing Roy to help in on restraining the boy as those automail limbs were highly dangerous. Roy ended up straddling the boy's waist as Havoc and Falman held his arms in place. Roy ripped off his shirt, leaving him bare-chested as he used it to stem the alarming flow of blood. "Fullmetal, you're safe! Your brother is safe, so you need to cooperate so that you don't bleed out!"

"GIVE HIM BACK!" the distraught thirteen-year-old screamed at him, obviously not even registering his words. Roy could understand why, though. He couldn't see, he must be in agony and all he could hear was his newly reborn little brother wailing.

Not bothering to reason with him, Roy pulled out a piece of chalk from his trouser pocket and drew up a simple transmutation circle on the floor and he threw his uniform jacket onto the transmutation circle and pressed his hand to it, transmuting the fabric into ropes. He then nodded at Falman to take over the task of pressing the shirt to Fullmetal's face while Roy and Havoc began tying up his arms, turning the kid's hands away from each other so that he couldn't clap. Finding them to be sufficiently restrained, Roy turned around and tied his legs together too.

Roy got off the boy and then scooped him up into his arms, pressing Fullmetal's face into his chest, using it as a way to press the shirt against the bleeding holes in the boy's face. The kid had stopped struggling and was sobbing into Roy's chest, hopefully having regained some sense. "P-please, j-just give him b-back. He n-needs m-me."

"Fullmetal, we're taking you to a hospital. You and your brother will be fine, Lieutenant Hawkeye is holding him as we speak." Roy turned to the others, knowing that if Roy were to keep the military from finding out that the kid had performed human transmutation and then take Alphonse away to some lab, they needed a cover story. "And as you all know, Fullmetal and his brother were kidnapped and Alphonse was experimented on to reduce him to a newborn while they tortured Fullmetal. These people are dangerous criminals and they will say anything to reduce their sentence, so nobody is to believe a word they say."

"Yes, sir," the others said, nodding, all of them looking pale and shocked.

And so Roy was going to let as many people as possible know that lie in order to stop the higher-ups from taking the Elrics away. He was doing his hardest to keep his mask, keep his emotions in check, think clearly and calculating and get this mess cleaned up. But it was damned hard even so. The crying child in his arms had just lost his eyes, his only family had been turned into a baby and Roy was his CO and should never have let this happen to him.

There came the sudden sound of running and Roy turned around sharply just as three people with guns came into the room, but they never got further than shouting "HEY!" before they fell to the ground, a red spot in the middle of each of their foreheads.

Roy turned around to see Hawkeye readjusting her grip on the bawling Alphonse, her gun already tucked away. "Those were the alchemists and torturers, sir," was all she said before she returned to trying to soothe the distraught baby, her eyes holding a large amount of horror and anger.

Roy nodded at her and began walking towards the exit. Fullmetal was still sobbing and he had begun struggling again at the sound of the guns going off. "Al?! Al?! Where is he?! Is he all right?! Give him to me! Yo-you're scaring him!"

Roy held him tighter to his chest and began walking towards the exit. The kid weighed a tonne because of the automail and he needed medical attention right away. "It's okay, Fullmetal, your brother is all right."

"Give him to me! Please!" Fullmetal cried, trying to get his face away from Roy's chest, but Roy didn't let him.

"Fullmetal! You are in no condition to take care of him right now! Now trust us to take care of your little brother until we reach the hospital so that we can keep you alive too!"

"P-please! L-let me hold him!"

Roy kept walking, trying to block out the sound of the wailing baby being carried behind him. "I will once we have stopped the bleeding! Until then, I doubt you want to cover your brother in even more of your blood!"

Fullmetal froze at that, ceasing his struggling. "Wh-why are y-you h-helping m-me? Wh-why are y-you covering u-up for me?"

"Because you're my subordinate no matter how stupid you're being," Roy said sternly. "Now trust me to help you and then we'll figure out this mess."

And do leave a review, but please no criticism as they are highly discouraging, while positive ones always help inspire me further!