Disclaimer: I don't own FMA

AN: This was just stuck in my head, I had to write it down. I honestly don't know whether it will remain a oneshot or if I'll turn it into an actual story. Guess reviews will decide.

Haunted

By: animeroxsmyworld

'We're still haunted by the memory of a little girl who we once knew. We weren't able to save her… We will never forget that.'

He felt like he was 12-years-old again.

Although he was taller, older, and sporting some stubble along his jaw he could feel the phantom fingers of that silver chain that used to hang from his pocket. Edward had been surprised when his daughter said that a Roy Mustang was calling for him, but as he took a step into the room he could see why.

He's both horrified yet grateful.

Mostly horrified.

Roy looks up from where he's crouched next to the victim as Ed takes another hesitant step into the room, looking too stunned to acknowledge Roy's presence. He had gotten older, years of taxing work for the military beginning to show along his skin and his hair beginning to fleck with grey.

"Fullmetal." He greets solemnly as he begins to stand.

He was no longer Fullmetal. He was simply a researching alchemist…with no alchemic power. A father, a husband. And yet his eyes automatically pull away swiftly at the name, finding the older man's gaze.

"Colonel." He manages. Roy's mouth pulls up into a smirk at the long forgotten title despite himself. It's been so long since he's been a Colonel it's almost nostalgic. But the feeling fades quickly as a simper fills the air, and he remembers why they're here.

"And Alphonse?" Roy asks as he steps aside and lets Ed move closer, the golden haired man transfixed and simply oblivious to the fact that he threw his coat on top of a table full of sullied lab equipment. The chemicals will most likely ruin his jacket.

"On his way. The roads in the city are terrible right now. Who called this in?" Ed asks instead as he now crouches down to a child's eye level, eyes running from the dead body that's broken in half and spilt out across the floor to the simpering thing taking shelter from their eyes behind a tarp and whimpering at each word they say.

"One of our officers. One of the neighbours filed a noise complaint so an officer came to check out the house. Found all of this in the maniac's basement." Roy begins as he gestures around the room. It's a small room yet pristine and filled with all sorts of irregular lab equipment. Shelves of books, both text and handwritten journals, seem to be tumbling from every corner, and then there are the cages. A whole wall just full of cages and animals.

All of them dead.

Roy opens his mouth to continue but the sound of pounding footsteps above stop them. Roy's hand is immediately gloved and poised when Alphonse comes panting into view, his appearance absolutely haggard as he leans against the doorframe to catch his breath. If it wasn't for the unmistakeable resemblance to Edward and the golden hair and eyes Roy would've mistaken him for a foreigner, his clothes all silk and topped up as the latest style from Xing.

"I'm sorry I'm late." He puffs out as he struggles to regain himself. "Traffic was horrid."

"It's alright. I've cleared it so no one else can come onto this scene until you two give the go ahead." Roy explains as Al finally controls himself and seems to take in the scene before him for the first time, golden eyes sweeping over the room and finding his brother next to the broken body, the younger brother following his brother's gaze and tensing.

"…thank you." Ed blinked slowly as he tore his gaze away and nodded towards the flame alchemist, his face serious. Neither of the Elrics' were military men anymore but Roy had still pulled strings to get them in charge of this assignment. It spoke volumes. No doubt people back at HQ would be gossiping about Mustang playing favourites and he would most likely have to endure some heat if things went south but Mustang still had his faithful crew after all these years to help bail him out of any trouble he may get into.

Roy reaches onto the table and pulls two carefully placed books that he had pulled apart from the rest.

"This was found in his bookcase. I'm not even sure how he got it. And we have no clue what to even make of this." Roy says as he hands both a hard written text and a handwritten journal out towards the two.

Ed eyes the books warily from where he is on the ground, Al thanking the older man as he takes them from his hands. From the way Al's face darkens Ed knows the answer to the question before he even asks it.

"Is it…?"

"Shou Tucker." Al answers darkly, the name sounding like a curse word with his now matured voice. "His work, his equations….how did-"

"We don't know." Roy answers tiredly shaking his head. "We thought all of Tucker's work was destroyed or was at least confiscated by the military when he died. But this suggests that either evidence was purposefully left out or our security is more lax than before. But there's something else that's been going on here. Look at the other book."

Al opens the handwritten journal and slowly begins to scan the pages before his brow furrow. "Genetics? What's genetics?" He asks, the word sounding almost alien on his tongue.

"I don't know but this man—"

"Devin."

Their conversation dies instantly at the choked out name, mangled and wet yet still recognizable.

Big wet eyes stare at the broken body on the ground, sobbing whimpers escaping the chimera before its head turns and it realizes the foreign eyes on it. The creature shrinks considerably against the wall but it continues to simper, voice growing quieter and softer. It was a young child's, a boy's voice, hoarse and mutilated and yet distinguishable.

Maybe that's why it was so hair raising to hear it come from the blood drenched, haggard looking chimera.

"Devin…Devin."

Roy stares at the mumbling chimera for several moments before he remembers the situation and shakes his head to steady himself, ridding himself of the mild shock. He turns, ready to talk to the two brothers but stops when he sees their faces.

They're no longer with him at the basement of Devin Nibbler's house.

They're years back at Shou Tucker's house watching a child dog chimera talk for the first time, butchered into experimentation by her own father.

Al looks so frozen that Roy fears he will simply pass out at any given moment while Ed just stares, though his hands are fisted so tightly that they begin to puncture the skin and drip blood down his knuckles.

"Damnit!" Ed swears suddenly as he stands, the motion so quick the creature breaks into a run and upturns one of the lab tables, beakers and dishes breaking along its back and making it break into loud wail like cries.

"Brother!" Al chastises quickly and before anyone can say anything else the soft hearted boy is beside the creature with soothing words sliding softly off his tongue. The small bear looking thing grows quiet under Al's calming nature and the big glassy eyes look up at him as its wails abide.

Al looked like he would've lost his composure then.

Maybe back when he was 14 he would've crumbled and wept for the creature, but it had been years and he simply let the creature lay his head on his knee in distress before beginning to pick shattered lab equipment from his back.

Perhaps all that time with chimeras as his own personal friends had hardened him to the sight of a grotesquely shaped animal. Especially when he knew it to be a child. As he sat and offered soothing words to the chimera, his mind wandered to all those years ago when their lives had been so hectic.

'I'm going east and brothers going west to learn from that region. And if we then combine the knowledge from east and west we might be able to prevent the tragedy that befell Nina from happening again.'

The words rang in Al's head and made a mix of grief and regret swirl inside of him. And yet he knew he had studied for this. He had been in Xing with Mei. She had taught him everything, he knew more now than he had ever known back then. He was sure Ed did too. Together the two of them had practically scoured the whole globe.

Al knew this is why Roy had called them. Mustang wasn't a stranger to their cause and had even called them before, with less gruesome news of course, whenever new research cropped up.

Edward's tension slowly oozed out of him as he paced viciously for a short moment, easing the anger inside of him out that way while Roy simply watched the scene before him from where he stood. Ed finally stopped, lowered his head and inhaled deeply, presumably to regain control of himself.

Roy took that time to speak.

"Can you two do anything or is this a lost case?" He asked, his voice quiet and a little sad as Al picked the last piece of glass out and smoothed his hand through tufts of fur and taut splotchy flesh.

Ed turned to him and although his eyes were practically gleaming with rage and his face was twitching in the way that Roy knew meant his mind was racing, his lip pulled back into a smile.

"Just give us some time." He promised.