I am writing another thing. Sorry, not sorry. This is an au, which came about when I couldn't draw one of Alphonse's eyes, so I simply drew an eyepatch over it. So, depending on how popular, or if it has a high demand, I'll continue writing it. (I do have a plot, and a written outline.) If you have questions, don't be afraid to ask. Enjoy! -Edited story 10/14/16

The sky in the distance was a deep umber orange, underlayed with rich crimson tones. The clouds above the yellow wisps were jet black, like thunderstorm clouds tended to look like. Something was off, however. The waves were calm and the wind was practically non existent, so it could not have been storming near.

It was midday and it really made no sense the sky would be colorful as if it was sunrise or sunset. That left only one explanation; there was an enormous fire burning on land. Jean Havoc dropped his cigar and made his way clumsily up the deck stairs and to the steering wheel. "Falman!" He exclaimed while looking at the fiery shore. "Where is Mustang?" It was not uncommon for the navigator to take over steering when the captain wasn't present, but it was common courtesy to let the quartermaster know where he would be in case of an emergency.

"He went to get lunch a few minutes ago." After giving Falman a quick nod, Jean made his way down two sets of stairs and across a short hall to the kitchen.

"Captain." He stood rigid in front of the doorway, waiting patiently for his superior to give the signal that it was okay to speak. Mustang put his fork down and finished swallowing his food.

"What is it?"

"There's a large fire burning five kilometers due east."

"Is it the Royal's work?"

"It's hard to tell, but it might be." Mustang took a sip of his tea, and grinned.

"Well, there's no harm in checking it out. Tell Falman to plot a course for the fire, full steam ahead. I'll be up when I'm done." Jean nodded his head to the captain and made his way back up to the main deck. By the time he reached Falman, everyone else on the ship had noticed the blazing fire in the near distance.

"The captain ordered us to check it out." Jean called down from the lower deck, and Falman waved a hand to signal he understood. Within minutes, the crew hastily scrambled about to set sail towards the burning town.

Mustang emerged from the hull of the ship when land was finally approachable. By the time they reached the village, the fire had considerably died down. Everyone boarded a dinghy and prepared to attack the enemy in case anyone was still around.

The smoky air smelled pungent and rotten; a blend of burnt wood, weeds, and flesh. The silence was heavy and eerie, not even the bugs or birds made a sound. Gray ash was blending in with the sand, making a snow like cover over the land. Whoever had caused the catastrophe was no longer here.

"Search for survivors and meet back here in an hour." Mustang motioned to the dock, so everyone was clear on the meeting point. Everyone went their separate way to see if they could find any sign of life, or evidence of who burned the village.

Roy was thrilled when they reached shore and had a chance to fight the Royals. The only problem was that nobody was there to greet him. The town was empty and null of life.

The feeling in his gut told him this was the work of the Royals. Maybe the villagers couldn't pay all of their taxes. Perhaps a soldier had a grudge against someone who lived within the town, and decided to take it out on all of them. It was hard to tell the reason, but the Royals could get away with anything.

That was exactly why Roy and his team split away from the military; to escape the corrupt system and help the repressed citizens as often as they could. When news of the town's demise reached other people, the blame would no doubt be put on Roy. It was easy enough to accuse a pirate, after all.

Roy spotted a horseshoe laying in a patch of smoldered grass. He picked it up and carefully inspected it, looking for any familiar marks or designs. Right on the toe of the shoe, there was a small engraving of a three-tipped crown; the insignia of the Royals. Normally, this wouldn't have been sufficient evidence, but the town, Resembool, was not under the Royal's control, and they had no business to be there.

The shoe was only a foot away from a well-used path, from the looks of it, heading outside of the village limits. It looked like it was a fresh trail, and Roy knew it was the path the Cavalry had taken to exit Resembool. With the horseshoe in his pocket, Roy turned to head back to the boat, until something caught his eye.

Next to a destroyed house, there was a crumbling wooden barn. But he could have sworn he saw movement in one of the windows. Figuring there was no harm in checking it out, Roy cautiously walked to the demolished barn.

The inside was fairly bright, given the roof was falling apart and letting the sunlight come in. Random pieces of wood occasionally fell from the sides and added to the ash covered floor. Perhaps his eyes had been playing tricks on him, or maybe it was only a mouse. As he made a move to leave the unsteady building, Roy swore he heard a muffled cry.

He stopped in his tracks and turned his head to locate the cause of the noise, which sounded like it came from the corner of the barn that was destroyed. Even squinting his eyes, it was difficult for Roy to make anything out in the darker part of the building.

Out of nowhere, a fist-sized rock went flying through the air, missing Roy's head by several inches. He went into defensive mode, holding his hand in a snapping position, in case he had to perform flame alchemy.

"Go away!" Roy cocked his head and took a few steps closer towards the voice. It sounded like a child. A few seconds later, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw a young boy menacingly waving a broken stud around in the air. "I mean it!" Roy couldn't help but chuckle, and he knelt down on his knee to get a better look at the child.

What he saw was not all that surprising, but it still created a knot in his heart. The boy was holding a hand over his left eye, which was bleeding quite profusely. Next to him was a woman, their mother perhaps, but by judging her ghastly wounds she was most certainly dead. Beside the mother, there was another boy, but it was hard to tell if he was alive yet.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help." Roy spread his hands in the universal gesture of surrender. The boy dropped his makeshift weapon and used his empty hand to grasp his eye. Roy held out a hand, which the boy reluctantly grabbed, and pulled the child out of the debris. "Hurry up now, we have to leave."

"What about my brother?" Dealing with children so young was not something Roy knew how to do. It seemed a bit odd the boy didn't address his mother; unless he already realized there was nothing they could do for her.

"They're both dead." He put bluntly. They needed to leave before the entire barn fell down, and there was no time for desensitizing. "We need to go."

"Not without Brother!" The stubbornness of the child was infuriating, and if they didn't leave soon, they would be crushed from the debris. With a sigh, Roy leaned down again and looked into the boy's golden eye.

"What is your name?"

"A-alphonse." He stuttered and averted his glance to a spot on the floor.

"Well, Alphonse, I am sorry for your loss. If we don't get out of here, you will be dead, too." It was blunt, rash, but most importantly, true. Alphonse had to understand that, or he'd be doomed to death by being crushed.

At the most inconvenient of times, the boy lying next to the mother whimpered and groaned. "Please save my brother, mister." Alphonse looked into Roy's eyes and pleaded; he was practically on the verge of tears.

"Wait outside, and stay put." The little boy obliged and hurriedly dashed out of the barn. Once he was out of view and into safety, Roy crouched and moved closer to the child who was trapped underneath a support beam. "Stay still." He commanded, not that he expected the boy to be conscious enough to understand what he was saying.

The situation did not look promising; the boy's left leg was crushed, twisted at odd angles, and bleeding a dark ruddy color. If he managed to survive through that much blood loss, he'd be a cripple for the rest of his life. Still, if he was able to save the brother, at least Alphonse would not be alone.

Roy lifted the beam that was crushing the child, and he quickly grabbed one of his arms and pulled him out before the beam could fall back down. Getting the boy out in such a harsh way was not not a smart decision, but it was all he had time for.

"Mom." The boy grumbled and reached a hand for his mother. Roy scooped him in his arms and carried him out of the barn. The mumbles increased, and the boy sounded angrier the farther away they went from his mom. "Mom!" It was impressive he could holler with such ferocity when he was so gravely injured. Alphonse was patiently waiting outside like he was told, and he looked horrified when he saw what type of shape his brother was in.

Without hesitation, Roy set the injured boy on a patch of blackened grass, and he tore off a large piece of his blue cloak. He wrapped it tightly around the boy's leg to cut off the circulation, then he easily carried both boys over his shoulder so he could make his way back to the ship as soon as possible. The brother, whose name he didn't know, started to hit Roy on the back of his neck while crying out for his mother. The barn came crashing down, causing both boys to shriek.

"I'll drop you if you keep doing that." The boy was starting to get on his nerves with the constant hitting and yelling. That threat did not work in the slightest, if anything, it made matters worse.

"Captain!" Hawkeye called out and waved her hand when Roy was in view. He let out a breath of relief and quickened his pace so he could set the brothers down. Most of the black smoke that acted as a cover for Resembool had dissipated into the air, and the fires died down considerably. Occasionally, there were loud crashes from surrounding buildings falling down.

"Knox," Roy set the injured boy carefully in the ship's doctor's hands. "Take care of him first." Knox nodded, boarded the dinghy, and went to the ship as fast as he could so he could treat the boy's injuries right away. "Were there any other survivors?"

"Not that we know of, sir." Hawkeye replied solemnly.

"I thought as much. Once Knox takes care of the boys, we'll have to quicken our pace to make up all this lost time."

"Sir, what is your plan?" All eyes fell on him, even Alphonse's one uninjured eye. The young boy looked helpless and in a daze, and one little hand was grasping the fabric of Hawkeye's cape.

"As soon as they're both recovered, we'll send them to an orphanage up north."

"Sir…" Alphonse burrowed his face into the cloak, but Hawkeye didn't seem to mind there would now be a large bloodstain on her cerulean blue cloak.

"We don't have time or the means for raising two little brats."

"Sir, you realize what would happen if you sent them to an orphanage? We both know his brother will have no use of his leg." Hawkeye spoke quietly and calmly, while patting Alphonse's head. "He'll be a cripple. No one wants a deformed child, and you know he will be separated from his brother. Do you want that to happen?"

"They'll have to learn sooner or later the world is not a fair place. Might as well start now." As soon as the words slipped from his mouth, he knew he made a mistake. Hawkeye looked irate, and it seemed like she wanted to shoot him for saying such a thing.

"As soon as they reach adulthood, sir," the way she spoke was venomous and frightening, so Roy moved his gaze from anywhere but her eyes. "they'll leave the orphanage and live on the streets. Then they'll be nothing more but beggars and thieves. An absolute waste for society."

"What would you have me do?"

"We can provide for them much more adequately than any Royal orphanage, sir."

"By what? Condemning them to be pirates and criminals at an early age?"

"They both will become criminals, no matter what happens." Deep in his heart, Roy knew it was true. People wanted to adopt able-bodied children that were capable of doing farm work; no one wanted a disabled child.

"Fine, bring them with us. I am not taking care of them, and they will be in no way my responsibility. Understand?"

"Yes, sir. Fuery!" The boatswain of the ship hurried over to see what Hawkeye needed. "You will be in charge of the children."

"Yes, ma'am!" That was how things worked; there was no arguing or fighting, for the most part. Everyone followed Mustang and Hawkeye's orders with no backlash, and it was a system that worked well for them. Once Fuery ushered Alphonse towards the rest of the crew to make introductions, Roy could finally tell Hawkeye about his discovery, and he pulled the horseshoe out of his pocket.

"This is from the Royal cavalry; I know they were here. They nearly killed everyone off, but I don't know why."

"Should we tell the brothers?"

"No. We'll save that for another time, when they are ready. I want them to learn why the Royals are evil, but I don't want them to blindly hate the military. Also, we need to restock our coal supplies soon, otherwise we'll be running solely on wind power. I don't want to be vulnerable out at sea if there is no wind."

"Yes, sir." They watched the sparkling blue ocean until Resembool was out of sight. Roy hoped he made the right decision by taking in the orphaned boys.