Chapter Text
Mustang stared dumbly at the pair of preteenagers reading a book on the floor next to his desk.
He sighed, and dragged it out until the boys perked up and noticed him. The youngest smiled.
“Hi, Colonel ! We were looking over your latest case of serial killer, since you weren't going to do it.”
Mustang frowned. His work was being stolen and done by two kids without warning. Probably Hawkeye's doing. She must have gotten tired of his constant slacking off.
“Considering the patterns, our guy will probably strike in Thurstown Street. I'd even say in the flower shop since he only targets owners who make more than 500 cenz per week but not more than 1000 cenz.” The oldest continued.
Mustang grabbed the papers and looked them over, finding another sheet full of annotations, doodles and diagrams. His face fell when he realized the boys were right.
He probably wouldn't have thought of connecting some of those points.
“You should probably send a team.”
Mustang sank in his chair. “Havoc, Breda, you heard the two geniuses. I want you both at Thurstown's flower shop. Falman, you take care of the paperwork.”
He then looked over at the boys high-fiving and laughing.
Alphonse and Edward had randomly spawned in his office one day, and never left. Much to his despair. Over time, they practically became part of the team and helped with some cases, and were even willing to do the paperwork in his place, as long as they were rewarded with sweets and alchemy books.
Did Mustang mention those kids were literally gifted in alchemy ? Any book given to them was swallowed in half an hour, and they would be left longing for more knowledge.
As much as he hated to admit it, the office had been much more efficient and things had been smoother than ever since the Elric brothers joined. Mustang didn't know where they came from, nor where they went when the clock rang six PM, but he would probably be damned and cursed with piles of not yet filled paperwork.
He assumed they were orphans. No sane parent would leave their ten and eleven year old sons roaming Central's military building free.
But they seemed to do just fine by themselves.
A few hours later, Havoc and Breda called the office to announce the serial killer's arrest. It had gone very smoothly thanks to the boys’ advice and clues.
“And one more case cleared for us ! Elric Brothers -1, Colonel Mustang -0 !” Ed pumped his fist joined by Al. Hawkeye smiled warmly at them and offered the boys a handful of hard candy, which they gratefully took and began consuming immediately.
Mustang's eye twitched when his Queen sent him a disapproving glare. She seemed to like the boys more than him. Because they did more work than he did nowadays. And Hawkeye liked efficiency more than anything.
He was also doing work though ! Just because they were less than half his age didn't mean they deserved congratulations and rewards more than he did !
He lost the stare fight in the end, and went back to filling boring paperwork. Then his eyes fell on a specific sheet.
About a missing woman named Ophelia Tucker. He frowned. Shou Tucker's wife. It had been two years and they still hadn't found her. She was probably dead, by now.
He then thought about something. A way to get rid of the two leeches stealing Hawkeye's attention for a few days, and appealing to their thirst for knowledge. He smirked.
“Edward, Alphonse, come here quick.” He called over. The boys dashed towards him curiously. He chuckled at their enthusiasm. “Are you both interested in bioalchemy ?” He asked.
They shared a look and shrugged. “A little, why ?”
“I know a guy who specializes in just that. His name is Shou Tucker, the Life-Sewing Alchemist.”
He expected a burst of curiosity, bubbles and more excitement.
He instead got confused glances. His smile twitched. “Is something wrong ?”
Edward spoke up. “We already read all of his books.”
Mustang sputtered. “What ? How ? Did you break into his house the way you did in my office ?”
Alphonse then immediately protested. “We didn't break into any house ! Mom is his daughter's nanny, so we had the time to know everything in his library.”
And Mustang choked on his saliva.
He was absolutely convinced the kids were orphans. Not only does he learns they do have a live parent, but this parent is working for a State Alchemist. Fate was a bitchy thing. There was the reason those kids were so advanced in alchemy and such.
“Oh…I see…” He tried to not let his inner turmoil be seen, to poker face, and was pretty sure he was failing. He took a deep breath.
He had to see who was the mother who let her sons work in the military's office.
“I had no idea. But, I was going to meet up with him anyway, so I was planning to give you a ride and have you boys read through the library…though it's almost 6 PM, so I should probably give you a ride either way. Kill two birds with one stone, right ?”
He tried to keep his composure. Thankfully, the boys seemed to ignore it, and the youngest nodded. “It would be very kind, sir !”
Before Mustang had the time to snap his fingers, he was in his car with the two kids basically vibrating in the back, playing some palm game.
“Criss, cross, applesauce, spiders crawling up your back, shames slithering down, tight squeeze, cool breeze, now you got the shiveries !” They sang, then burst into laughter.
Mustang smiled fondly. Those two boys were nothing short of innocent and cheerful. Now they were tickling each other. He sighed.
Maybe Hughes was right, after all.
He hit the brakes in front of the Tucker mansion. He exited the car and opened the door for the kids who ran out. Ed was chasing Al with wriggling fingers, clearly intending to tickle the other one to death. Mustang couldn't help a chuckle from escaping his lips. Hawkeye gave him a look, full of fondness for these boys.
He knocked on the door, and was met with…
A dog jumping him. Literally. He shouted and ended up on the ground. His Lieutenant laughed. Traitor.
“Alexander ! What a bad boy !” Al exclaimed, grinning.
“Alexander ! Come back here ! You aren't allowed to jump on guests !” A woman's voice came from the door. The dog barked and walked away from Mustang, and the Colonel looked up to see a lady with a purple dress and an apron, with a little girl balanced on her hip laughing and playing with her hair.
The dog sat next to her, and Al rushed to hug him. Alexander barked happily. The little girl clapped her hands.
“Big brothers are home !”
The lady smiled as Ed crashed into her legs. “We arrested a serial killer, Mom !” He said proudly. She chuckled and patted down his head.
“You sure did, you big boy. What games are you both playing, huh.” Her eyes narrowed in love for her children. Then they met Mustang's.
And her brain seemed to short-circuit. “The military ? Why are you here ?” She stammered, her hand tightening on the girl and her son. Mustang waved his hands.
“Oh, don't worry. I gave those kids a ride back home from the office. Those are smart boys you've got there, Miss. They put together things the investigators could never !” He smiled. The poor woman's face fell.
“Wait…what do you mean ? Ed, Al, what are you both doing during the day ?”
Al jumped to his feet, face glistening from Alexander's licks. “We go into the office and help the Colonel solve things !”
“Because we are smart !” Ed completed, taking the girl from his mom's arms to play. He tickled her and she laughed.
Mustang sighed. “It turns out that both of your sons found their way to my office and are now beloved members of the team. Geniuses, truly.”
The poor woman turned pale. “B-But…I thought…they were at the library ?”
“You don't know their whereabouts ?”
She cupped her cheek. “They have a curfew…I let them be because I know they are very capable boys, but this is quite sudden.”
Mustang frowned. “However capable, you have to admit that letting children roam free in Central of all places is rather reckless.”
To his surprise, she smiled. “Oh, I mean it, that they are capable. Edward, Alphonse, honey, show the Colonel how strong both of you are !”
An echoed ‘Okay !’ and Mustang was witnessing an actual martial art fight. The little girl was cheering, and the boys were sparring in such a natural way that Mustang was left feeling like he had just been whiplashed.
They were jumping on the fucking walls. Rolling on the goddamn ground and blocking hits and- THEY ARE THROWING IN ALCHEMY !?
Mustang felt his jaw drop as he realized he had let wild beasts into his goddamn office.
“Alright. I see your point, Miss Elric.”
“Missus Elric. I am married.” She chuckled, showing off a silver band with a flower. He sighed.
Insanity runs in the family.
Following this day, Mustang and Hawkeye often brought the boys back home to chat with Trisha. She was a very sweet lady, though the more the duo learnt about her the more they spotted the similarities between her and her children.
Also, they learnt they used to live in a small town called Resembool, but due to the Ishvalian civil war ruining most of their fields, they ended up moving away a few years ago. Back then, Tucker still had his wife, who quickly became friends with Trisha and offered to hire her as a nanny for little Nina who was a few months old at the time. She accepted, and Tucker let her sons learn alchemy in his library and occasionally gave them lessons.
She told them that they were homeschooling since they had all they needed already, and frankly “They are better than high schoolers already”.
Mustang could see it. The boys were nothing short of brilliant. Smart, good at fighting, they would have a bright future, and that warmed his heart.
-—-
A normal morning like each one of the week.
Ed, nestled into a bunch of blankets he stole from the whole house, felt his mom's hand hover slightly above his head, before softly settling down on his hair and brushing it lightly.
“Hey there, handsome.” She called out, the smile in her voice making him unfurl his curled legs. He sat up, bumping into her hand for more pats and with a smile, he stretched and yawned.
“Hi, mom…” He rubbed his eye with his right hand. Always the same hand. He blinked with teary eyes at his mom, already up and about. She was so pretty, hair in her usual loose side ponytail and apron white with a small stain of chocolate that never went away. She tilted her head and ruffled his hair, pecking his forehead before standing up.
“Alright, honey. How about we wake up your sleepyheaded neighbor now ?” She pointed at Al's bed. A grin made its way on Ed's lips.
“Without jumping on him.” The grin faltered into a pout. “But I know another way…” She wriggled her fingers with a sly smirk, and his eyes brightened as he jumped out of bed.
The two of them pounced on Al to tickle him. However, they were not prepared for him to already be awake and having heard of that plan. This failed tickle attack was turned into Al chasing his big brother around the house. A truce had to be negotiated eventually, in the bathroom to get ready while Mom was making breakfast. They quickly brushed their teeth while elbowing the other, and at some point Ed shook his wet hands in his brother's face, which had him tossing his glass of water in his face.
The boys rushed out when they smelled the savory aroma of eggs and toast. Al almost fell over with how quickly he lunged at his chair, bowl of cornflakes ready with his toast and his eggs. Ed instead ran for his jar of strawberry jam. Mom laughed at his eagerness, sitting down in between the two.
“Ed, honey, do not eat all of the jam. It's for your toast only.” She warned rather blandly, amusement present in her tone of voice.
Maybe because Ed was already digging his spoon into the jar and eating straight from it. He chuckled nervously and put it back down on the counter, then dug into the food.
Mom watched them both, sipping her morning coffee while Al poured himself a glass of milk and Ed inched towards the coffee machine.
A normal, average morning.
“Mom, aren't we running late ?” Al spoke up. He had a flake stuck to his cheek. Ed snorted at the sight.
“Oh, you're right ! Oh no, boys, finish quickly and put on your shoes !” Mom hurried to her room to get her purse. Her sons blinked at her, then at each other, and quickly finished their plates before scurrying to the front door where the shoe rack was. They laughed and cracked jokes before they ran out along with Mom.
They split up before the Tucker mansion, Mom kissing them goodbye and also wiping the cornflake on Al's cheek before entering the house while they made their way to the military building.
Really, it was their usual Tuesday morning. The boys couldn't wait to solve crimes !
-—-
“Ah, it's time for us to go home !” Al exclaimed, making the whole office smile and wave then goodbye. Hawkeye gathered her paperwork and tossed it at her superior, who gave her a desperate look. She turned to the siblings and stepped out, knowing they would follow.
Once they reached the Tucker mansion, she let them out.
“Thank you Lieutenant !” Al said.
“You drive so much better than the Colonel, it's crazy.” Ed grinned. Both of them hurried to the entrance of the mansion.
Tucker welcomed them in without looking at Hawkeye. She raised a brow, before going back to the office.
-—-
Ed and Al held onto each other while they stared at the chimeras. They were practically vibrating with excitement. They were going to help Mister Tucker with his experiments after all !
He had caught them at the front door right when they came home, with Nina in his arms while Mom was busy, and asked for their help. He told Nina he would be playing a game with them, but that she wasn't allowed to tell Mom and let her go play upstairs. Then, when they asked what game it was, he admitted that he needed them for his experiments and didn't want Nina to bother them.
“This is so cool…” Ed marveled, turning towards Al. Al nodded, though he was a little creeped out. Those beasts seemed…in pain…
Then he suddenly cried out, eyes going wide when he saw-
“Brother ! Behind you-”
Thwunk.
Ed crumpled to the floor, knocked out. Al screamed, dropping to his knees and pulling his older sibling close. He looked up to see their mother's employer staring him down with a grin. And a crowbar. Al shivered, backing away.
“W-Why ? Why are you doing that ? Mister Tucker ?” He stammered. Tucker then grabbed Brother by the back of his shirt, and threw him in a cage, before walking towards Al until he was backed into the same cage. He kept smiling.
“Dear Alphonse, this isn't personal. Both of you were just the perfect subjects.” Alphonse barely realized he was in the cage until he tried to spring forward and was met with the latch being slammed closed. His nose crunched under the impact, and pain flared. He screamed again, mind blank with the pain and the fear.
He backed into the corner of the cage, watching Tucker hum to himself and approach a transmutation circle.
Al's eyes widened when he took a look at it. His throat went dry, and his tongue felt like it was too heavy.
A circle to fuse two humans.
To fuse two young boys.
Or at least was meant to do so. Something wasn't right with it, after all.
Al grabbed his passed out brother and held him tight. As if it would do anything.
He had nothing to perform alchemy right now.
Nothing except his blood. He gasped when he realized, dabbing the blood coming out of his nose with his fingers and quickly putting together a circle. The cage twisted and turned and-
He was knocked out too.
When he came to, he was tied up. Brother was too, next to him. They were back to back in the middle of the circle.
Brother was pleading with Mister Tucker.
“I'm curious. That's all, dear Edward. I already tried to make a talking chimera, but I wanted to see if I could do more.”
Al craned his neck to see their captor.
“Wait…your wife…Miss Ophelia…” Brother whispered. Al's blood ran cold, and he yanked on the ropes holding his wrists and Brother's together. He stopped and muttered an apology when his Brother yelped.
“Yes. I fused her with a stray. It must be why she let herself die. The stray probably took over. Why would my Ophelia ruin my experiment, after all ?”
Al felt dizzy. He and Brother probably had concussions. He squirmed in his bonds, prompting his brother to do the same.
“Why us ?” Al asked. He didn't like Tucker's chuckle.
“Your mother is a simple nanny and a single mother. Even if she tried to do something against me, I'm much more wealthy than she is, so any charge would be dropped. Plus, who would care about two missing kids either way ? You boys don't even go to school. I'll just have to fire Trisha, and I will be rid of her.”
Ed snarled. “Leave our mom alone ! You're just crazy !”
Al nodded, though the motion made his vision swim and his head hurt.
“You're already inseparable, what's a little more ?”
Al began to cry. He was scared. Brother squeezed his hands.
At least…they would have each other. Always.
He closed his eyes, preparing for the pain. Then something burst. Ed shrieked. Al opened his eyes, squinting because of the light, and shrieked too when a man with a scar on his forehead grabbed Tucker.
“Who are you ?” Ed asked. The man glanced at him.
“I don't have a name.”
Then the boys went still when Tucker slapped the ground. The scarred man's eyes widened, and he stammered when a big eye opened in the middle of the circle. The boys both shrieked.
Screams of pain. Blood burst.
The man who would soon be known as Scar watched as Truth was summoned, but, instead of fusing the boys as intended, came and took a leg from each. The ropes came undone, and Tucker fell from Scar's hand, mouth agape as he saw what he had done. His eyes looked so much more unhinged than before as he screamed, incoherent.
The eye closed and the brothers were left with pupils swallowing the gold of their eyes, trembling and instinctively reaching at each other. They fell into the other's arms and both backed away, far from the circle and staring at the two older men with scared eyes.
Tucker screeched and ran out. Scar tried to go after him but something tugged at his pants. The tallest boy, with soft eyes, looked up.
“It hurts…” He whispered.
Scar didn't know what to do. He kneeled over and patted the kid's head, looking over their injuries.
If only his arm could create instead of destroying. Maybe he could give those kids their legs back.
Then he got kicked in the jaw. He sputtered and looked up to see a woman with brown hair and mad green eyes. Her jaw was tightened in fury, and her fists were clenched so tight that it was drawing blood.
“What…are you doing…to my kids !?” She shouted, voice dripping with vitriol. Scar stood up.
“I wasn't fast enough. That is my crime.” He answered. The woman didn't seem to take that for an answer, going for another kick that he dodged. In the corner of his eyes, he saw the two kids stumbling into a standing position, relying on the other.
He had to kill the alchemist. He couldn't afford to waste time on a simple mother, he decided. He could just break her arm and have her out of his way.
But for some reason, he took all of her insults, dodging her punches and hits.
If he had come in just a few minutes earlier, those kids would have been spared. Though, if he had been any later, there would have been one kid rather than two.
When she seemed to calm down, panting heavily, he moved to leave. However, she seemed to have other things in mind and lunged at him, and suddenly her image overlapped with that of a man who blew things up and he couldn't control himself and readied his arm and-
“Mom !”
Another high pitched shout.
Blood stained the mother's apron. Blood from the arm of her oldest son, that was now gone just like his leg was.
Scar looked down at his hand. His arm.
He just took an innocent kid's arm.
The kid fell to the ground and screamed in agony, and his brother soon followed, holding him tight. They were pressed into the other, and their mother silently stared down at them.
“No…why…” She mumbled. Scar heard sirens. He perked.
Unfortunately, he had missed his shot. The guilt of that day would live on with him for the rest of his life, and he accepted it.
“I apologize.” He said, before dashing out of the mansion. She followed him, and the last thing he heard was Tucker's twisted voice cackling behind.
-—-
Mustang didn't know what he expected when Trisha Elric called him over, asking if he had seen her boys.
Certainly not this butchery. Blood and flesh was strewn around, discarded and useful only for the investigation.
The bright kids that Hawkeye had been giving candy to the day before were currently silently hugging the other, hidden away in a corner.
Edward was missing his right arm and his left leg. Alphonse had a broken nose and his right leg was also gone. Both of them seemed concussed and were barely reacting to what was outside, just looking at nowhere aimlessly.
They almost looked like one single person with how much they were pressed into the other. Which was all but tragically ironic considering what was about to be done to them.
Mustang's heart was breaking in real time. He understood partially what happened here. Tucker was to blame, that was for sure at least. The fusion circle was incriminating enough. However, something was weird with the circle. It seemed like something…something taboo. Something had to be wrong with it, since the children were two. Thankfully, he guessed.
He tried to look as comforting as he could, smiling at the kids. “Hey there, Edward, Alphonse. How about we-”
His attempt at comfort was cut off by Alphonse shrieking. “Back off !” He screamed. That seemed to trigger his older sibling who snarled, but his eyes were so unfocused it was obvious he didn't react to the danger but to his brother's warning of danger. They looked like two cornered animals.
Havoc had arrested Trisha a few moments ago. They had caught her beating up Tucker, and she hadn't been in her right mind, rattling off at how she would “kill him for what he had done” to her children. She scratched his face so bad she drew blood, and he had a few broken bones. He seemed completely gone too, laughing and cackling about what he had done without an ounce of regret. Disgusting. Arresting Trisha might have been a mistake though, because now that the mama bear was gone, the cubs were utterly lost.
So Mustang brought in his trump card. “Lieutenant ! I need you here !”
Hawkeye appeared. She saluted, then looked at the children and her eyes widened. She went pale.
“They are reacting badly to me, Lieutenant. I believe that they would be more cooperative with a woman that they practically consider on the same level as their mother.” He stated. He didn't fail to notice how her eyes softened.
She nodded and crouched. She slowly crawled towards them, and the boys didn't freak out. Ed was too out of it to focus on her, relying on Al to watch out. Said Al merely stared at Hawkeye, eyes less wild than with Mustang.
“Hi, you both. Do you know who I am ?” She asked gently, stopping at arms distance from them. Not too close.
Alphonse looked her over, eyes narrowing. His older brother stayed mute, eyes lidded. “Lieutenant Hawkeye…” Al whispered. She nodded.
“Yes. It's me. Do you think you and Edward could step out a little ? I have the Colonel here. The Lieutenants Havoc and Falman are supposed to come to check you both over.” She spoke slowly, mindful of the boys’ concussions.
Mustang assessed that Ed's seemed worse, considering the kid looked like he was hooked up on shrooms with how dazed he looked, eyes floating around the room. Alphonse on the opposite seemed on high alert, watching out for him and his sibling.
Al seemed to think over the words, slowly crawling out. Mustang hissed at the sight of the kids in the light of the room.
“Can I touch you both ?” Hawkeye asked. Al considered the words before glancing at Mustang. He nodded, keeping an eye on him.
Hawkeye gently took the boys in her arms. Al immediately latched onto her, and upon seeing his brother do that, Ed followed. It was uncanny to see the usually stubborn, loud and boisterous older kid completely rely on his younger sibling for safety and decisions.
Mustang stayed a few feet away. He didn't want to scare the kids again. Hawkeye lifted the pair of boys and brought them out.
“Close your eyes. The light may hurt your head.” She said. Al complied, after closing Ed's eyes himself.
The Lieutenant sat outside on the couch with the boys. She rubbed their backs gently. Al was sobbing now. Ed seemed like he was half-asleep. Hawkeye kept telling him not to actually sleep.
Mustang tried to approach again, this time received with a wary glance but no claws from Al. He crouched down in front of them, and held Al's hand in his, rubbing his palms with his thumbs.
“It's okay. The medics are on their way. For now, Havoc and Falman will take a look at your wounds to see if they can help, okay ?”
Ed whined, burying his face on Hawkeye's side. The Lieutenant's face softened, and she began to rub his head. Al pouted.
“I don't want to…” He said. “It's gonna hurt…it hurts…” He whispered. Mustang sighed.
Tucker was a sick bastard to hurt those kids. He couldn't blame Trisha for beating him up. The only problem was that the woman was going to be in legal trouble for assaulting a State Alchemist. It was a serious crime. Even with paperwork, he knew it would be hard, downright impossible to spare her completely. Except if…
That's a thought for later.
Ed and Al needed their mother. Their mother was in cuffs for assaulting someone who had almost merged her sons together.
Havoc and Falman came, with the first aid kit. Havoc hissed. “Geez kid, that's gonna leave a cool scar.” He told Al with a grin. “You'll have to show everyone.”
Al blinked tiredly, giving a small smile. The initial shock was wearing off. He let Havoc wrap his leg up, and Falman take care of his nose. Havoc then looked at Ed, and frowned. The kid was snoozing off. Havoc sighed, trying his best not to jostle the kid. Knowing how irritable he was on a good day, taking care of his wounds while he was half-asleep seemed to be the best course of action.
Mustang didn't want to meet Ed missing two limbs and being pissy about it. He was sure that once he was coherent, the kid would mean business and try to join his mother in Tucker beating. Hawkeye made sure the boy didn't actually fall asleep, because with the concussion, it could be disastrous.
Finally, the boys were mostly taken care of. But then the dreaded question came.
“Where's Mom ?” Al asked in a high pitched soft voice. By now, both kids were tucked in Hawkeye's jacket, tightly holding onto her.
The two officers shared a look. “She'll be here in a while. She's busy with the other officers right now.”
“What's going on ?”
Everyone almost jumped when they finally heard the other voice of the siblings. Ed still wouldn't open his eyes but was grabbing at something, frowning softly. Al grabbed his hand.
“My stomach hurts…did I eat too much candy ?” His voice was slow and confused.
“Only the stomach ?” Al asked with a snort. Falman crouched in front of Ed.
“What is the last thing you remember, Edward ?”
Ed scrunched his nose, eyes fluttering open. He seemed to move to rub then, but then slowly looked down when he realized nothing was coming to his eyes. Al's hands flew to his ears, and in retrospect, Mustang should have done that too.
Because when Ed saw his stump, he loudly screamed. Hawkeye had to tighten her grip on him to prevent the kid from jumping to the floor. Falman winced.
“Hey, chief, it's okay ! Try not to scream, you're going to hurt your ears-”
“My arm ! Where's my arm ! Where is my arm !? My head, it hurts ! Damnit ! My leg, my arm !” His voice grew quieter and quieter, until he went silent, eyes wide.
“Edward, are you alright ?” Havoc waved his hands in front of the kid, cigaret bobbing in his mouth. Al sniffed loudly, and burst into tears.
“My head hurts ! It's all swimming ! Make it stop !”
Ed stared at his brother. “You saw it, too ?”
Mustang raised a brow. “Saw what ?”
Al looked at Ed, tears suddenly stopping. He became eerily calm. “Yeah…”
Mustang was getting unnerved. “Ed, Al, what did you see ?” Maybe they hallucinate something ? A symptom of the concussions ?
“The…the Truth.”