"Sir, please start working on those papers if you don't want to create another Mount Everest out stacks of undone documents in the office" Riza said, stern as usual, as she stacked another pile of papers on top of the old one that was lying on his desk since yesterday. But that entire attempt was only replied with a sigh or a moan by the lieutenant colonel that was lying back on his chair, and an ice bag on top of his head.

"Hey, lieutenant Hawkeye! Lieutenant Breda and I brought you some new documents from New Optain! General Hakuro said that they all due next week!" Havoc said, as he went in and brought a cardboard box filled with folders and notes.

"Oh…Thanks, Lieutenant Havoc. Please put them somewhere in this room. Right! Paperwork… just what lieutenant colonel Mustang and I really need at the moment!" she said, adding a funny intonation at the last sentence as she walked towards him just to change his ice bag. After Havoc and Breda brought all the boxes in, they found their poor old superior still no different than yesterday except that he's not drunk and crying anymore.

"Don't worry, poor daddy Roy! I'm sure Ed will be back in your arms back soon." Havoc said, as he gave two taps to his superior's back, only to get screamed on his ears.

"WHAAAT? ED? WHO WANTS THAT PEST BACK ANYWAYS? THAT BRAT ALMOST RUINED MY WORK AND MADE ME WORK HARDER TWICE ON MY WEEKEND AND IT'S ALSO HIS FAULT THAT I'M DRUNK LAST NIGHT!"

"Wow, talk about personality overhaul" Breda commented

"Ever heard of the statement that when you're drunk you're being honest?" Havoc whispered

Riza just sighed and dragged the two out of the office.

"Havoc, Breda, I know you guys know what happened last night to him. Tell me"

Of course they won't tell if she didn't said that with the stare that says 'I-am-going-to-get-my-gun-if-you-don't-tell-me' The boys still want survive until they at least can see her marry Mustang so they can't help but tell about what makes them lose their dates with the bar girls last night and ended up going to work with a pain on their necks because the 24-hour spa was closed due to renovation.

"Okay, that explains his headache and the funny crack that you both made every time you turned your heads. I'm truly sorry that my father's apprentice had bothered you. I'll remind him that he owe you guys lots"

"It's okay, Hawkeye. He's having a great headache and we all know how stubborn he is. He just won't admit how much he loves Ed…MMPH!"

"Ssh, Havoc! Did you hear that?" Hawkeye said, with her left hand covering her subordinate's mouth and the other on her right ear, implying that she's trying to hear something.

"Heww Fwat?"

…Help me! Help me!…

"Ed?"

All eyes in the room directly turned to the Lieutenant Colonel, now sitting straight and the ice bag slid down to his laps. Looking at his face, they didn't doubt anymore that the one whose just been speaking was him. But before they could move another muscle their ears had already caught loud voices of footsteps echoing down the corridor, along with the voices of people who seemed to be talking about something unpleasant.

"SIR!" Falman barged in, snapping them off their focuses on their hearings and now back on their normal mode looking at him who looked as if he just ran some hundred miles away.

"Warrant officer Falman? What's with all the noises?"

"EMERGENCY SITUATION, SIR!"

As Roy Mustang stepped out of the HQ building, he found a figure of a man with a big scar on his face, holding a golden haired boy in his arms.

"EDWARD!"

Just when he's about to step out, the scarred man stopped him with his voice

"One false move and this poor soul is dead"

The deep, rough, yet calm voice froze everyone. This man is not your everyday kidnapper, Roy thought. He tried to calm down, as he reached into his pocket for his trusty old fellow, ignition gloves. But his thoughts drive him into a part of his memories. A voice echoes in his mind.

"…Alchemy…The culprit was using alchemy…"

Too late. Major Armstrong already made a move. His big fists almost landed on the scarred man's head, only to have one of them caught. As Armstrong tried to release away, a red light appeared from the man's tattooed arm. Before everyone could digest everything that was going on, an explosion occurred, shattering the metal knuckle bars into pieces, and the Major was pinned against the wall. The enlisted troops slightly moved backwards, making a larger distance between them and the man.

SNAP!

A spark of fire appeared out of nowhere, right in front of his eyes. The scarred man fell, bumping onto Ed's small body. The broken shades shatter into pieces, some stuck on his forehead. As blood started to flow out of the cuts on the tanned skin, he opened his eyes.

"An Ishbalan!"

A soldier cried, and they all reacted in unison, but producing different voices. The troops moved closer, but they all have to shove away, as the flame alchemist stepped down the grand marble stairs to the ground of dirt, followed by his loyal companions. The breeze was getting harder all of a sudden, chilling their bones. But Mustang didn't show any fear at all. He kept walking closer and closer towards the man that they all feared, making them all hold their breaths. They who hated him for stealing their girlfriends now respect him with all of their souls. The Ishbal war hero is a real hero, now that they've seen his true charisma.

"Flame Alchemist…Roy Mustang"

"What do you want here?"

"I want to get my revenge for all those Ishbalans you killed"

"That is nothing to do with that boy. He is innocent"

The sky is getting darker, as if the sun feared the scarred man too. The breeze is getting harder. But none of them leave.

"Why did you keep silent, tell me! What is the relation between getting your revenge and kidnapping that boy?"

"He is just a bait. Before I kill you, I wanted you to feel how it feels like when you lose somebody that means a lot to you, flame alchemist"

Mustang suddenly raised his hands and snapped his fingers.

The battle begins.

It goes unpredictable. They're both like waves on the sea, going up and down, moving backward and forward, attacking with their alchemy fortes. Fire and transmutation reactions spark around them. Roy himself is putting himself a bit slower, as he is trying not to hurt Ed too.

"Just give it up, flame alchemist" the Ishbalan said, as he sparked his arm and tried to grab the military man's head. But he shoved quickly. He is getting tired himself, his headaches were flowing back again and he just wanted to end this quick.

"You give it up! For your information, that boy means nothing to me except that he is my golden ticket to rise up the ranks! He's just an assignment that the Fuhrer gave to me, my guinea pig! My research object! Hah, if you thought that I'm going to play soft because of that sassy goldilocks boy, then you're wrong!"

Most of them now lose some of their respects to the lieutenant colonel. They all agreed that those words are too over to be used to a little kid like Ed, if he does understand or hear them…Except his close subordinates of course, they knew he's just too stubborn, even in front of a kidnapper. Meanwhile, some are starting to question about Ed. He is almost like dead, seeing him just clutching on his kidnapper's shoulders. But he is awake, right after that sentence, the boy opened his eyes, as if a jolt of thunder had sparked him on. He looked up and shocked them all. When his golden eyes met his obsidian eyes, the flame alchemist stopped his moves.

"…Ed?"

WHACK!

The reddish eyes met the obsidian eyes. A tanned tattooed arm holding his chest. The golden haired boy is not clutching on the Ishbalan man anymore. But why can't Roy Mustang make a move?

This is the perfect time to bash up that guy. Oh, that's right… he's breaking your bones, almost breaking your neck and your shoulders and that hurts so much that you cannot move! Idiot, maybe that blood loss due to that rock that hit your head when you fell on the ground makes you having some short-term memory loss...