Do not let this anamnesis trap you in the past and keep you from looking towards the future, for there is where true strength lies.

Within alchemy, there exists what is called a 'dud transmutation circle'.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what it does; absolutely nothing. But it produces light and electricity and gives all the signs that an alchemical reaction is happening. It was using one of these that Roy and Doc planned to make their escape. It had taken the entire next day, when there were no Sentries around to listen, for Doc and Mustang to agree upon a plan of action. Doc, with a great amount of persuasion, had grudgingly agreed that the best way to make sure that the other prisoners would not be killed if they succeeded would be to turn them into chimeras. The irony was thick enough to choke on. In the most likely case, they would be locked in cages and left alone, to later be sold as body guards or research material - that was usually what happened with most chimeras. Any other outcome was too grim to think about.

The other prisoners, though not too happy about it, had surprisingly accepted the inevitable with little resistance. They all knew that they were too weak and starved to make it very far in the escape attempt, and they would risk getting killed in the action by slowing Mustang and Doc down.

"Just promise us," One man spoke up, his voice calm and controlled. "That you will come back for us."

The others shared the same look about them, serious and entrusting, placing their lives cautiously in Doc's hands. The woman, overcome by their faith in her and their confidence in her abilities, promised she would with small tears in her eyes. Roy would be lying if he claimed he didn't find the whole thing touching, too.

"I will definitely come back for all of you, and I'll make everything right." Her voice only wavered a little.

The old man hadn't spoken up or made any indication that he was listening the entire time. Roy began to worry that maybe he really was dead this time. Doc had checked on him that morning to find his breathing had become very slow and shallow. If he wasn't dead within then next day, then it wouldn't be long after that. Roy frowned sadly at the old timer, hating that his last days would be lived out as a prisoner and test subject. But there were more important things to be concerned with, and not enough time for such sorrowful thoughts.

The plan was that, after the other prisoners were "safe", Doc would draw one last transmutation circle, this time one with a dud incorporated somewhere in the design. After assuring Rams and the scientists that it was the circle that would create their Nostrums, they would undoubtedly retrieve Roy from the cell and take him to the circle. Once he was in position, she would activate the dud, and only the dud. It would be tricky, but Doc seemed confident that she could do it. They were hoping that there would be enough of a light show to make people think that a transmutation was happening, enough brightness to cause the Sentries to avert their gaze and close their eyes like they always do.

That was when they would make their move.

Roy wasn't entirely sure what they were going to do once they got to the other side of the doors, but he knew it would involve a lot of running. If they could find a window or some stairs that would give them an idea of how to get out of the facility they were in, then that was great. The less time they spent running around in circles, the better. Roy was also tempted to try and snatch his gloves from Rams' belt when he wasn't looking so he could snap whatever obstacles they met into oblivion, but he knew that that would just be pushing his luck. Assuming that they somehow did make it out and safely away, it was only a matter of finding the nearest town and contacting headquarters.

What put Roy on edge was that the circle Doc would make for him would in fact be a completely functional transmutation array. It needed to be, in order to keep up appearances - a dud looked like a children's drawing next to an intricate biological formula, so only drawing the dud would raise suspicion. If Doc slipped, and activated the other circles, then it was entirely possible that Roy would still be transmuted into a Nostrum, and the Sentries would still get what they wanted.

It was a terrible, risky, stupid plan where too many things could go wrong. But it was all that they had.

The next day, when the scientists and men came into the room, Mustang could tell there was a high-strung feeling in the air. Everyone was tense and anxious. Tensions were high in the cell, as well, but for a completely different reason. They were quickly approaching the point of no return. Roy could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he watched one the Sentries come over to the cell to fetch Doc.

After her bonds had been cut, she strode right up to Rams, glaring up at him. She spoke quietly for a little, and Roy could see his facial expression changing from annoyance to surprise. Rams called out to all the scientists and the other Sentries, who wandered closer and gathered around Doc. They shuffled every now and then at what she said, then, in a great commotion, scattered about the room performing various tasks. Some erased the circle on the floor from a couple of days ago, but most left the room with a couple of thugs, and returned with every kind of animal that they had within their possession.

All manner of beast was brought into the room, large and small. Some were kept in aquariums, others were lead into the room on leashes. Roy, in all his life had never seen so many free standing animals in one room. Doc, however, did not seem surprised with the assortment that she was presented with. They lined the animals all along the far wall, snorts and growls filling the air. Scientists began to draw the new transmutation circle. It took much more time than it had in the past, and Mustang could see that the array was much more intricate than any of the previous ones. There were three different circles, all set into each other. No doubt the fruits of Doc's little epiphany when Roy had told her about arrays within arrays.

But Roy knew only two of them were actually used in the transmutation. The third and outermost circle was the dud, dressed up to look more functional than it was. The other two were so elaborate, with twisting scriptures and arcane symbols, that it made Roy's eyes hurt just looking at them. The words were meaningless to Roy, but he didn't doubt the untapped power that they held for Doc. The woman knew what she was doing.

First they came for one of the women, middle-aged with fine hair. She struggled and cried when they grabbed her bound wrists. As she was dragged past Roy, she stared at him desperately. He tried to give her his most reassuring smile, trying to convey to her that everything would be okay. He didn't think it worked.

She was plopped down in the middle of the circle, and the chains were clasped onto her unbound wrists. She didn't struggle against them, sitting still as she took in deep breaths. She and Doc met eyes, and an understanding passed between them. Roy and the rest of the prisoners watched from behind the bars - four to go.

When the light and the screams died down, the woman lay in the middle of the circle. From where Roy was sitting, she seemed completely human. But when he looked closer, he saw that her hair had taken on a gray shade, her ears were pointed, and there was just the slightest hint of long teeth and claws. Not human enough. But so very, agonizingly close. She seemed more stable mentally, though, and looked up at Doc with a knowing gaze. Gulping as a lead was tied to the rope around her neck, she rose to her feet. The chimera grimacing as her muscles readjusted themselves, and she was lead out of the room, casting one glance back to the cell and Roy. Then she was gone.

Instead of erasing the entire transmutation circle, Doc directed the scientists to only scrub away parts of it for adjustments. As they did so, a man returned to the cell to collect another prisoner, this time picking the other woman. It was relatively the same process for her. The result was relatively the same as well, though perhaps slightly improved. Then there were three.

This time, when the Sentry came back to the cell, he stopped in front of the old man. He nudged the elder with his toe, muttering a demand under his breath. When he didn't so much as move, the Sentry leaned down and pushed the old man's shoulder. The elder fell limply onto his side. His eyes remained closed.

"I think this one's dead," he called out to the Sentries.

"Then chose a different one," Rams said dismissively.

The man looked at Roy, holding eye contact for a few intense seconds. Roy's eyes narrowed into a glare as the man turned away to grab one of the last two remaining men. After he was dragged from the cell, Roy and the last remaining prisoner turned to the old man. It didn't really come as a surprise to Roy, but a sadness still itched at his heart. At least he was at peace, now.

The next transmutation was only a small step closer to the Sentries goal. Subtle traits were stubborn, it seemed, and not subtle enough. Everyday people would probably not notice the chimera in glancing, but if you knew the truth, it was obvious. The chimera was lead out of the room, his breaths coming in small hisses. Doc, becoming frustrated with the other scientists ineptitude, was getting very picky about how the transmutation circles were corrected. At one point she became so frustrated that she shooed away one of them and picked up the paintbrush herself, meticulously working to form the design just perfectly. She stood again, nodding at Rams to bring the last prisoner.

As he entered the cell, Roy and the remaining man locked gazes. This was it. As soon as he was taken away and Roy and Doc were in the clear, then the plan would be set into motion. Anxiety tightened his chest and a dryness took his throat as the near future loomed upon him. It would be foolish to get his hopes up too high, and he was deeply afraid that the plan wouldn't pull through. A warm, rough hand laid itself on Roy's bare shoulder, and he looked up. The other prisoner fixated a look on Roy that emanated with focus and confidence, grounding him to the moment. It was almost as if Roy was looking at a fellow soldier, or perhaps a veteran. Roy never got the chance to ask.

He was taken away, and Roy steeled himself. It all came down to this. These next few minutes were crucial - if one little thing when wrong, then everything would be for not.

Doc was kneeling on the floor making the last adjustments to the circle with Rams glaring over her shoulder. The leader of the Sentries was obviously on edge, constantly stealing looks back at the doors, and it made Roy wonder if something was about to happen. Standing, Doc looked over the circle one last time, and nodded. She turned around to face Rams.

"This is it," She said loud and clear. "This is the Nostrum array."

Rams narrowed his eyes at the circles. "For your sake, it better be."

Then he motioned for his man to bring Roy out of the cell.

Roy was hoisted to his feet rather easily, the weight he had lost making him lighter than he had ever been before. His knees cracked as he extended his legs fully for the first time in a long time. The ropes on his feet were cut so he could walk on his own, and Roy had to resist the urge to kick out. It would have been unwise to expend his energy. Two men grabbed each of his arms and held him up as they dragged him out of the cell. Rams and Mustang glared at each other. A pair of white gloves poked out of his belt loop, almost taunting Roy with how close they were.

Rams turned away from Roy and saw Doc observing the line of animals with over exaggerated discretion.

"No no," he said, interrupting her. "We'll use that one."

He pointed at the far end of the line, to a large, hooved beast with antlers. The deer's white head drooped, and patches of it's thick brown fur on it's body were missing. Roy recognized it as a species of deer found in North Amestris, a caribou. The poor creature would have been majestic had it not been so abused.

"Why that one?" Doc asked, echoing Roy's thoughts.

"It's strong, it's fast, and it's resilient. Perfect attributes for a Nostrum," Rams said as the animal was untied and lead into the circle. The caribou only gave a small grunt in response.

"I'm sure there are plenty of other animals that are better suited to the task," Doc said with feigned interest. It would be rather difficult for Roy to escape the circle with a giant deer on top of him, he admitted. But Rams just gave her a hard look.

"It'll be fine. Prepare for the transmutation." Just hearing the guy talk was making Mustang mad. The caribou was tied into position, and Roy prepared himself to be cuffed into the chains in the middle of the circle with the animal. They looked like shackles that he could easily slip – a few tricks he had picked up from the days of his youth coming back to him. But the men holding him held fast, keeping him in place. Doc looked just as confused as Roy felt.

"What are you waiting for?" Doc looked over to Rams, an eyebrow cocked. "You told me he would be the first Nostrum, right?"

"He will be one, I guarantee." Rams said, smiling at Roy in a way that made him want to spit. "But he is not the first."

Doc's face turned blank with genuine confusion. "He's not? Then who is? We don't have anymore test subjects."

Rams just smiled at her. A terrible feeling, like he was going to be sick, bloomed in Roy's stomach. Something wasn't right. Mustang realized too late what Rams' intentions were, but he was still one step ahead of the unsuspecting doctor.

"You are, my dear," Rams stated.

Doc was not quick to overcome her puzzlement. One of the Sentries came up behind her and pinned her arms to her sides. Doc yelped and struggled against his hold, but the thug was too strong. Roy called out to her, jerking against his own holders.

"Hey!" She cried out. "Let me go! What do you think you are doing?"

"The military has been chasing your friend, I'm afraid. They've been getting closer to finding us for the past week. We are a little short on time, and cannot afford to leave any loose ends," Rams explained. The tension Mustang had felt in the air when all the Sentries had entered the room suddenly made sense. "You are one of those loose ends. This way, you won't be able to duplicate what you've done and reverse engineer the circles against us. Everyone knows chimeras can't do alchemy."

With little effort, the Sentry holding the doctor cuffed her into the middle of the circle with the caribou, her eyes wild as she found herself on the other side of the procedure.

"Who's going to do the transmutation?" She spat, though her voice was pitched higher with fear. "It has to be someone with considerable knowledge of human and animal anatomy, so it can't be him." She tossed her head at Roy.

"How right you are," Rams purred. "Which is why we've had one of our own alchemist watching you very closely for the last few of months. He's considered a genius in biological alchemy, too. Not nearly as smart as you, but he will do."

The man with the silver goatee stepped up to the transmutation circle. Throughout Mustang's entire stay, the thug had never said a thing. He would stand against the wall and watch the room just like all of the other Sentries, and Mustang thought he was just another goon. As he stepped up to the array, it was clear that his steroid abuse had already taken a toll - his physique was bulky and uneven, his eyes were unclear. But yet he surveyed the circle with a knowing eye.

"Looks simple enough," The man said, his voice deep. "Just gotta make sure I don't over or under absorb the derivative."

Doc was frozen with shock, her eyes were wide and she wasn't breathing. Roy's mind was working in overdrive, trying to strategize a new plan of escape in an instant. But there was no way he could break the hold of his captors and rush over to unchain Doc without getting caught again. He would have to leave her behind - but in his mind, that wasn't an option. Panic flooded him. He cursed under his breath. This was all wrong. This was not supposed to happen.

"No," Doc started softly. Then it all burst out, like a dam had ruptured. "No! I have to get back to my daughter! She needs me! I promise I won't say anything! Please just let me go!"

"I'm afraid we cannot take that chance," Rams said plainly. "Kipps, do it now."

The man with the silver goatee knelt down next to the circle, and the doctor began to scream.

"This is more so I can get a feel for the alchemy," he said to her through her terror. "Sorry if it's a little rough." He slapped his hands to the circle without hesitation, and Roy watched his last remaining ally become the first Nostrum, screaming her daughter's name.

The sound was like nothing Roy had ever heard before. The ghostly, heart-shaking shriek of the caribou turned his marrow to ice. Doc's wails filled the air, pain-filled and sorrowful, as her humanity was ripped from her in a storm of wind, electricity, and pain, becoming the thing she had been forced to create over the past few months.

The light was more intense than anything Roy had seen before, and the two beings in the circle drank it in like a sponge. The sounds of their terror gradually became one, the light escalating brighter as each circle was activated. The hair on Mustang's body raised off of his skin through the immense amount of static energy in the air. Roy closed his eyes, desperately wishing for this nightmare to end. He had failed. Doc, the other prisoners - all of them had been counting on him. But he had been helpless to do anything but watch as they all slipped away. When the lights died down and the screaming stopped, Roy knew it was only a couple of minutes until he was next.

When he finally opened his eyes, Roy gaped at what he saw lying in the middle of the circle. The body was still human, but her skin was grey and her hair was white as snow. On top of her head perched two antlers, small compared to the ones the caribou had sported, but still impressive. When she opened her eyes, Roy thought he might burst into tears. The irises were blown wide and a dark gold color, like someone had taken a bar of the metal and drenched it in oil. But the intelligent light within those eyes was gone, and Mustang thought he might weep with despair. She lifted her head slowly, the antlers swinging in the air. She looked around, confused and disoriented. One of the Sentries tried to approach her with a rope. Jerking with fear, she twisted away from them, thrashing and straining against the chains. The chimera opened her mouth, and an airy, resounding cry filled the room. Roy hung his head in defeat.

"Just loose the chains. It doesn't matter what happens to her now," Rams said to the men trying to corral her. They quickly undid the bracelets of the chains and she bounded away with incredible speed, running to a corner of the room away from the door, where she paced anxiously. She looked at Roy once with no hint of recognition, and squatted down in the corner.

"And you," he said turning to Kipps. He threw his hands out wide. "You know how to do it now?"

He had clearly not been expecting these results for the first Nostrum. Rams probably thought it meant that the transmutation circle was no good, but it told Roy that Kipps was simply inexperienced; someone Roy desperately did not want transmuting him. Rams was way overestimating Kipps' alchemical abilities.

"Yeah, I've got a feel for the alchemy now," Kipps said, flexing his fingers. "I was a little confused because at first nothing happened and it threw me off, but then it started to kick in."

Suddenly, a young Sentry burst into the room.

"Sir, the military is here!" He yelled in a panic. "We'll be overwhelmed in less than 10 minutes, we need to evacuate!"

The scientists started to murmur nervously, bustling uneasily against each other like frightened sheep. Rams snapped his head towards Roy's holders.

"Quickly, get him to the circle." Rams hissed.

His captors moved before Roy could react. His shock subsided too late, beginning to fight back as they forced him to kneel. But his struggle were for not. The chains were already around his wrists and he couldn't slip them now. Roy pulled on them with what little strength he had left, knowing full well that it was futile - but something inside his heart begged him to try, just please try. He looked up and saw Rams surveying the animal line, trying to quickly decide on a creature to create the first true Nostrum with. But then Rams paused and took one of Roy's gloves out from his belt. Putting the glove on, Rams examined the array. His eyes caught onto the little red detail at the bottom the cirlce and a smile crept across his face.

Rams quickly walked over to an aquarium on a cart and scooped up a tiny creature from the bottom. He sauntered over to Roy with the creature cupped in his hand, speaking to him as he did.

"They're not the brightest of creatures, and relatively harmless. But they are excellent swimmers and diggers, also incredibly strong in proportion to their size. I'm sure you'll appreciate the irony, too."

Rams tipped his hand and the creature fell from his palm. Sure enough, with a wet little splat, there landed a salamander. Though it was unlike any salamander Roy had ever seen. It had a pitch black body with red stripes branching off from its spine and running down its legs and tail. It had dark red eyes as well, uncommon in salamanders. The creature looked up at him and made a small creaking noise in agitation.

"I think you'll find it will benefit you in the long run. You may not be a Nostrum for the Sentries, but there's no way the military will let you stay as you are if you're a chimera. Then you will come back to me, mark my words," Rams said, removing the glove and throwing it in the circle just out of Roy's reach. He spun on his heel and snapped at Kipps. "Make it quick. We still have to get through my transmutation before the military shows up and ruins everything."

Kipps nodded and knelt by the circle again. Roy was watching the salamander numbly, his body and mind going cold and emotionless as he succumbed to his fate. He was somewhat fascinated by the creature as it bounced at him in an aggressive fashion, the little amphibian still so full of energy. Just as Kipps slammed his hands onto the circle, Roy heard Doc give a small whine from the corner.

When Roy Mustang was around nine years old, about three years before he firmly decided that he wanted to study alchemy for a living, he had a deep-seated passion for animals. It wasn't obvious, with his quiet demeanor and destructive tendencies, but just like any child, he had a simple fascination. Only Christine Mustang knew about her ward's secret obsession. She had lost count of how many times little Roy-boy had begged her for a pet. Didn't matter what species, just some sort of companion for him to call his own. A puppy, a kitten, a bird, a frog, a snake(that one was shot down immediately), and countless other species were brought up almost everyday at every meal, it seemed. Roy was a tough negotiator, too. But Chris was tougher.

But it was hard to keep pets in the residence quarters of the night club. It wasn't that they had a policy against pets, though. The Madam before Chris, Madam Celestine, had kept her own cat in the building - a white long-haired thing that had a face that looked like it had run into a brick wall and went by the name of Snowball. Roy loved that cat, too, despite how many times it had scratched the snot out of him for bugging it and trying to pick it up. But having someone else's creature stalking around the club only seemed to fuel his drive to have one of his own.

"I'll take care of it."

"No."

"I'll clean up after it."

"No!"

"You wouldn't even know it was there!"

"For the last time, Roy! NO!"

"The Madam gets to have a pet, why can't I?"

"Because she's the BOSS, Roy."

For the longest time, Chris wasn't exactly sure what ends Roy was trying to meet by having a pet. He was busy at school, he read strange books filled with circles and symbols in his spare time, and it wasn't like he was lonely. There were other young children that lived with their mothers at the club, albeit they were all girls. Those little girls liked having a boy to play with and torture, too - Roy had lost count of the number of times he had been forced to play dress up and succumb to a makeover. There were times, however, that Chris had caught Roy laughing with them at their little tea parties. But, Chris mused one night after another round of begging from Roy, it wasn't like he was completely alone, right?

"He's growing up, Chris. Those girls won't hold his interest for much longer," Madam Celestine had said to her as Snowball curled up in her lap. Chris had come to her with concerns over Roy's fixation on pets. Was this normal? Was he going to be emotionally scarred if he didn't have a pet? Would he grow up to be sad and bitter because he had never had an animal companion? Celestine had just chuckled and poured her a drink. "I have no problem with him keeping a small pet. I think owning a pet helps teach responsibility and commitment in the best way possible. But he won't be any worse off if he doesn't get one. The question you have to ask yourself is if you think he can handle it."

The answer to that question was an obvious YES to Chris. Roy himself had made that abundantly clear, and she didn't doubt that in the slightest. Maybe it was time she really contemplated the idea of letting him have one, instead of just brushing it off like she always did.

These same musing followed Chris into the morning when she sent Roy off to school, and lingered through her workday. She asked some of the men she serviced what they thought. Some of them shared stories about their childhood pets, how they had been their best friends, had always been there. But there were also tragic stories of them running away to either get run over by cars or to never be seen again. Others just offered advice and warnings about the responsibility. Most had said what Celestine had said, leaving it up to her, mostly because they had wanted to go ahead and get what they came for.

At the end of the day, she was sitting at a high table by the window that looked out to the front of the club, waiting for Roy to come walking home from school. She had decided that he could have a pet. But what kind? Maybe one little turtle wouldn't be a bad idea. But they smell, and live forever. A parakeet? No, too loud, too many feathers. Snakes and most other reptiles were out of the question. Chris would have been fine with a puppy, if it weren't for the fact that they still had old Snowball prowling the halls. Another cat wouldn't have been any better. A hamster? But those are nocturnal, right?

It was at this point that she spied Roy strutting along the sidewalk on his way back, his book bag and lunchbox swinging. She smiled at the sight of him. In the mornings, he left looking like the perfect student with a straight jacket and tie. But in the afternoon when he came home, he was a train wreck. This time, his blue and silver tie had gone from around his neck to around his head. His jacket was tied around his waist and his shirt sleeves were rolled up, the top two buttons undone. It was late spring, and everyone could tell that summer was coming, but it was still cool enough even though Amestris was starting to warm up. Chris got up and started toward the door. She could only imagine the look on Roy-boy's face when she would tell him he was getting his wish.

But she stopped and stared as Roy did a sudden right-face and gazed into the grass lawn in front of the club. He stared intently at something, and the next thing Chris knew, he had bolted into the grass and gotten down on his knees and plunged his hands into the ever-present puddle by the porch. Chris groaned. She had thought he had gotten over his compulsions to get dirty a long time ago. Boys will be boys, she thought. He was digging in the mud, slapping his hands here and there, one on top of the other, as if he was trying to catch a fish. He finally scooped his hands together after a few moments, looked at them, and beamed. He got to his feet and raced to the front door. Chris moaned. Oh no, he's found something...

This certainly wasn't the first time Roy had brought an animal home with him, exaggerating the animal's dire situation and how it absolutely needed Roy to take care of it. The first time had been an injured sparrow that had had the misfortune of coming across Snowball when he hadn't been fed yet. Roy snagged it from the cat before the cat could kill it, but it was obvious to Chris that it didn't have long in this world. Chris moved to meet Roy at the front door so he didn't track mud into the club and placed her hands on her hips as he came pounding up the concrete steps, his muddy hands keeping a firm but gentle hold on whatever was in them.

"Look! Look!" He said cheerfully, holding his hands up and completely ignoring the scowl on Chris's face. "It was lying still in the mud, I think it was injured by Snowball, but managed to get away. Mom, it's hurt real bad."

At this point, Roy looked up at Chris, and she could practically see the beginning of his stream of begging forming in his eyes.

"If you would just give me a chance, I could take care of it. I would take complete responsibility for it and feed it and-"

Roy cut himself off when Chris raised her hand. He prepared himself for the denial that always greeted him at opportunities like this. But not this time. This time he was determined to win this one out. This time-

"What is it?" Chris asked, eying Roy's muddy hands.

Roy blinked. His adopted mother had never before cared what kind of animal it was. If it had fur or feathers or scales, it was an automatic 'no'. But something was different in her eyes this time. Roy looked down at his hands and opened them ever so slightly.

"Um, I think it's a newt," Roy said as he felt the tiny animal squirm in his hands.

Chris leaned down closer as Roy presented the animal to her. It was still covered in mud, but she could tell by its flat, broad head and slimy skin that it was some kind of amphibian. Its right front leg was missing, but barely bleeding. Its tail swished agitatedly. Chris sighed. It wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but it would do for now.

"Take off your shoes, and don't let it go," Chris stated. The look on Roy's face was better than she thought it would be. No matter how strict or tough she tried to be around him, his pure unimaginable joy always turned her insides warm and fluffy.

Roy toed his shoes off and stepped into the club. He followed Chris behind the bar and into the small, barely used kitchen. Chris brought down a bowl from the pantry and Roy dumped the newt into it. She ran water over the creature, rinsing the mud off into the sink. Roy and Chris both leaned over the bowl to get a better look at the now clean creature.

Its body was black and slender, with small dapples of light gray. Its feet were more like paws, and its tail was fat and short. Chris had to admit, now that the thing wasn't covered in mud, it was actually pretty cute. She put her hands on her hips and faced Roy, who immediately straightened with an anxious look on his face.

"Okay, Roy," she said sternly. "I'll help you set up the proper home for this little guy, but after that, it's all up to you. You think you can handle it?"

Just when she thought Roy's eyes couldn't go any wider, they were the size of dinner plates, and his smile was so big she could count all of his teeth. He jumped on her, laughing at the top of his lungs and kissed his beloved guardian. She laughed and pulled him off of her, trying not to be angry about the mud that now stained the front of her dress.

"It's your responsibility now, Roy-boy," she said kneeling down to his eye level. "It's not just a toy. This is a living organism. It's relying on you to take care of it."

"I understand, mom," Roy said, unable to keep his smile off of his face. She smiled at him and kissed him on the forehead.

"Your first order of business," she said, "Give it a name."

Roy looked into the bowl and down at the newt, who had seemed to have calmed down and was looking up at Roy expectantly.

"I've got it," he said, a gentle smile on his face. "Freckles."

Chris burst with laughter at the sheer simplicity, yet appropriateness, of the name.

A/N: I know there is a lot in this chapter, but this was the only good place to end. Things will start to pick up after this. The salamander from Roy's childhood is a Marbled Salamander. The one he was combined with is pure fiction.

EDIT: This chapter has been heavily edited for grammar and content.

As always, read, review, and enjoy!