Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, no matter how much I wish I did.
Alphonse stepped off of the train and into Central City. His blue-grey gaze searched for something, anything that would jog his memory; nothing did. A sigh befitting a weary traveler escaped his lips.
He had come to Central for news of his brother: The Full Metal Alchemist. Though the boy knew that it was probably a futile effort, he could not bring himself to give up, to lose hope. He would do anything to regain his memories and find his brother.
And so he had come here, to search for someone who was believed to be dead; someone who had given himself so that Al would not disappear:
Edward Elric.
The bored receptionist at military headquarters did not even look up to register Alphonse's entrance. "Unless you've got an appointment, you can't go any further," she droned.
"But I need to see-"
"Do you have an appointment?" The woman interjected.
"No, But-"
"Unless you've got an appointment, leave!" The receptionist was getting irritated. When the boy didn't move, she looked up to see who this stubborn boy was. "Sir-" She began, but broke off when she saw the boy's face. Her face paled, could it be? She wondered, but then she took in the rest of the boy's appearance.
His style of clothing was the same; black with a red cloak; and he bore a remarkable resemblance, but the eyes were wrong. Instead of being the color of alchemized gold, they were of a bluish-grey hue. Now that se looked closer, she could see that the hair was a different shade of blonde, as well. Still…
"What is your name?" se asked sharply, almost afraid of the answer. Despite the differences, the sight of this boy sent chills through her. "My name?" the boy asked dumbly.
"Yes, your name. Make it quick."
"My name," he said firmly, "Is Alphonse Elric. I came here to speak with someone; I have been told that he knew my brother well."
So he is the younger one, the receptionist realized. Though she remembered the younger Elric as a hulking man in a suit of armor, she had heard rumor of something happening to him and the Full Metal Alchemist.
"Who is it that you wish to see?" she asked, assuming a much politer tone than before.
"Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist."
Alphonse searched the woman's face, but her gaze had dropped to the pile of papers before her. As she pretended to search through various documents, he could have sworn that he saw a tear glisten in her eye. After a moment, she looked up. "Roy Mustang no longer works here at Central." Her voice sounded strained. "Is there anyone else that you would like to speak to?"
Al felt despair well up inside of him as he dropped his gaze to the floor. According to Winry, Mustang had been Ed's commanding officer. Al couldn't remember that, but he had followed the lead nonetheless, and it had led him nowhere.
"I am sorry," The receptionist's voice, softened by a kind of pity, broke him from his thoughts. Al couldn't answer. Wordlessly, he turned away and left the building, red cloak swirling behind.
Al hung his head as he slopped his way through the rain-soaked streets of Central. Another thunderclap tore through the heavens, echoing the heartbroken cry of his soul.
The young alchemist missed his brother more than words could describe. Though he remembered nothing of the four years that they had spent together in the military, not having his brother there made him feel incomplete; As if there was a giant chunk of him that had been torn away.
He kicked a rock in frustration. Why? That was the question that rang through his mind with every second of each passing day.
Why was his brother gone?
Why couldn't he remember anything?
Why did he somehow feel- know- that his brother was still out there?
Why didn't Ed come back?
These were questions that he could not answer. These were questions that haunted his mind when sleep should have released him from worry. A tear trickled down his already wet face as he looked over the rapidly dissipating crowd. He did not know why he hadn't gotten back on a train for Risembool yet, but something held him here. Maybe he should go back to that lady at Central Headquarters, he thought. Maybe he should ask her if any of Mustang's staff were still there…
A firm hand landed on his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. Al was spun around to find himself staring into the face of a man that might have been called handsome were it not for the black patch that masked his left eye. The man scrutinized Al with such a fierce intensity that the young alchemist felt his body tense beneath his onyx gaze.
Neither spoke, but Al searched the minor fragments of his memory for any recollection of this man's features; he found none. That doesn't mean anything! His mind protested. I don't remember four years of my life! At length, the man dropped his hand to his side.
Al wasted no time and voiced the first question that came to his mind. "Who are you?" he asked franticly. The man did not answer right away, but reached slowly inside his jacket.
Al panicked as the stranger started to pull something out. This man, Al didn't know him, but he obviously knew Al. What if he was an enemy that he and Ed had encountered on their travels? The boy didn't think any farther than that. Reacting to what he saw as a threat, he clapped his hands together, activating the transmutation circles on his gloves.
The man froze at the sound, and then carefully withdrew his hand, empty, from within his coat. "My name," he said in response to Al's earlier question, "Is Roy Mustang."
Al's eyes widened a bit and he straightened, although he did not relax entirely. "I was told that you were no longer in Central," He said warily. Could this man really be Ed's commanding officer? Or was he an imposter, out to get revenge for something that his brother had done? "And yet here you are," he concluded.
"I drop in, now and again," Roy said with a shake of his head. His voice seemed distant, as if he was seeing some old memories come to life. Not once did his gaze leave Al's face. An awkward silence stretched between the two for a moment, both tangled in their own webs of emotion.
"You must be Alphonse Elric," Roy finally said. The named individual nodded. "Yes, I am."
"I apologize for startling you," The Flame Alchemist said, "It's simply that you bear a remarkable resemblance to your brother, and for a moment I had hoped-"
The unchecked words sent Al reeling. Now everyone's reactions to him throughout Central made sense! This man, who claimed to be Roy Mustang, had mistaken him for his brother, and so had the woman at the desk. No, they had not just mistaken him for his brother; they had hoped he was his brother.
He backed away a few steps and clapped his hands together again. Before Mustang had time to react, Al slammed his hands into the ground, causing a wall to rise between them. Then he turned and ran, tears streaming down his face.
All they want is you, Brother, but instead they got me! Am I that disappointing? Oh, why did you bring me back, Brother? They only want you!
Alphonse Elric ran, unseeing, through the pouring rain.