A/N: w00t. First fanfic posted on a site... Mur... I'm a little nervous about it I must say. Hopefully it will be a good foot to get started on, eh? Sighs Well... Hrm... What else does I want to say right now for this...? Well... Nothing I guess o.o. I appreciate all comments you have! Thankies!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist sniff. I do not own the Elric brothers, the military personnel or anyone else whom you may see in this fic. I DO own Nikki... And I am oh, so proud of that because she is amazing and I believe she is my best character yet. nod

Prologue:

What do I know about my past...? Heh, well I can't remember it all... I only remember past my eleventh birthday, unfortunately. However, I can tell you all that I know, what I think happened. Oh, but where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself yet! My name is Nikki Tucker. I am the oldest daughter of the late Shou Tucker; military alias, the Sewing Life Alchemist. I have a younger sister, younger by only 4 years named Nina.

Heh, I would give more away but that would spoil the story for you... My deepest apologies if you wanted me to dig a bit deeper but, I assure you, everything will be explained in due time. For now, I'll let you in on the memory that inspires the telling of this story, and so without further a due, here it is...

Friday, 3:27 pm

The sun was hidden by a group of dense gray clouds. A low rumbling sound echoed in the distance, followed by a vivid sigh and a clank, which sounded like metal on metal. A boy, no older than eleven stood before a large mansion, for lack of a better word. His long, golden blonde hair was pulled back into a braid and bangs hung lazily before a pair of honey hues. This boy was clothed in black from head to toe, save a pair of white gloves and an ankle-length red coat. He folded his arms and shifted, closing his eyes, tapping his foot lightly on the ground.

"Well, Al... It looks like rain..." Edward Elric opened his eyes gently and stared at the ground as a knock sounded again. When he had spoke, a suit of armor turned and looked down at him. It then looked at a man who was standing beside Edward.

He was a man of average height, approximately in his mid-twenties. He had orange-yellow hair that looked as if it had forever been unkempt, as it stuck out every which way, however, it was short nonetheless. A cigarette dangled from his lips as he tapped a finger against his thigh, both hands residing in his pockets. This man wore a blue uniform. A blue shirt, blue pants with black boots and a blue jacket outlined with gray that parted near the lower back and hung just above the ankles. This was a man of the military, Lieutenant Jean Havoc.

As Lt. Havoc raised his hand to clank the metal doorknocker against a metal strip on the wooden door before him for a third time, a man cracked the door open.

Jean blinked and grinned, the smoldering cigarette dangling between his teeth. "Well, it's about time, Mr. Tucker. For a sec there, I thought you weren't home!" He laughed.

The man had called 'Mr. Tucker' smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. A glare in is round glasses hid his eyes from view as he sighed with a small laugh. He wore a black shirt that had the sleeves pushed up a little past his elbows along with a pair of tan-coloured pants. "Yes, I'm very sorry I didn't come the first time. I was down in my basement, working on a new project for my upcoming assessment."

Jean nodded. "I see." He grinned once more and pulled his hands from his pockets, putting his clenched fists on his hips. "Can we come in? There's someone I'd like ya ta meet!" Tucker turned and looked at Edward and the suit of armor, the glare now gone from his glasses revealing a pair of curious blue eyes. "Oh, yes of course." As he smiled, his head bobbed a bit and he stepped aside to let the three of them enter.

Jean let Ed and the suit of armor walk into the house before entering and standing beside Tucker as he closed the door. "Colonel Mustang sends his apologies for not being here on time. He should be here soo-" A knock at the door interrupted him. The two turned and looked at the door and Tucker pulled it open.

A handsome man who looked remarkably young for the age of twenty-nine stood in the doorway, bearing a military uniform like Jean's. His coat, however, was buttoned up the front and bore small crests and ribbons on the chest. His black hair draped down to the tops of his ears and under his arm, he held a military cap. He was rather proper looking and almost too much so at the time.

Colonel Roy Mustang grinned. "Sorry I'm late!" He walked into the house and placed his cap on the table at which Ed and the suit of armor were sitting. "Now... Shou Tucker, meet Edward and Alphonse Elric." He said, gesturing towards the two. Tucker walked over and sat down.

"Hm... So... Edward Elric... The famed Fullmetal Alchemist..." He said slowly, resting his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers together. "And... Alphonse?" He asked curiously as his eyes traveled to the suit of armor. Rain began to lightly patter against the windows.

"Yes..." Replied Mustang.

Shou smiled. "S-"

"So." Ed interrupted unintentually. "You know all about chimeras? About all different sorts of transmutations?"

Tucker looked taken aback for a moment. "Oh, yes. I have a rather large collection on the subjects... But... I'll show you what's up my sleeve if you show me what's up yours..." Roy blinked and cleared his throat, narrowing his gaze at Tucker a little.

"S'alright..." Replied Ed, smiling a little. He had stood and shed his red coat. "Equivalent exchange... That's what the world's all about, isn't it? The whole... Eye for an eye sort of thing?" Ed then undid the small clasp of a second black coat that only fell to his waist. It was open from the top down in the shape of an upside-down 'V'.

When he pulled it off, Tucker opened his mouth in a somewhat astonished look. This boy... His whole right arm... It was metal...

Tucker was leaning foreward a little, lips pressed lightly against his laced fingers. "I see... So you tried to bring your mother back to life with a human transmutation and lost your leg... Then, when your brother lost his body... You transmutated him into that armor in exchange for your arm?"

Ed nodded. "Yup, that's pretty much it." He tapped his left leg with his left hand. "But, these limbs have saved me from a few tight situations. Can't really complain, I guess."

The armor, Alphonse; Ed's younger brother, finally spoke. "We're trying to find the Philosopher's Stone. My brother wants to get my body back for me." His voice was soft and childish as if it was coming from a person no older then 7 or 8. In truth, Al was 10 years of age, one year younger than his brother was.

"I see..." Tucker replied again. Mustang cleared his throat once more. Jean was leaning against the wall, puffing his almost spent cigarette. "I've told the higher-ups that Edward lost his limbs in the civil war... I would appreciate it if you kept the truth between us."

Tucker blinked at Roy and nodded. "Yes! Of course!" He said hurrily.

There was a whimper coming from the staircase nearby and a small sneeze. The five people in the room turned to see a young girl with red-purple hair done in two long braids that hung to her waist. She seemed to be seven years old. This young girl wore a pair of brown shoes and mute pink socks. The rest of her attire consisted of a pale green shirt and a denim jumper that reached her knees. She had big, childish eyes and was standing beside a large golden dog, which was panting.
Tucker smiled a little. "Ed, Al... This is my daughter, Nina and her dog Alexander..."

6:56 pm

Nina was sitting at the dinner table staring at the clock in front of her, her feet swinging lazily back and forth. Ed walked through the doorway, stretching his arms over his head, Alphonse close behind. He had put his black long-sleeve coat on over the black tank top he wore and sat at the head of the table, looking at Nina.

"Whatcha doin' ?" He asked curiously. Nina barely mouthed " 6:58" and then looked at Ed, grinning. "Did you find what you were looking fowa? All that weading must be hawd."

Al rubbed her head gently. "No, we'll look tomorrow, though." Ed grinned. "Yeah, right after we go and play a game of tag!" Nina grinned and threw her arms in the air. "Yay! Thank you big brother!" She leaned over in her chair and hugged Edward before she looked at the clock quickly. ...6:59.

The rain was coming down harder now and as the clock chimed 7 o'clock, the front door opened. Nina grinned from ear to ear and pushed her seat back. It screeched against the wooden floor and she ran over to the person who had entered Tucker's mansion. "YAAAY! I thought you were gonna be late!" The person giggled as Nina clung to their leg. "Silly..." It was a girl. "I'm never late, you know that."

Tucker emerged from the kitchen and brushed his hands off. He looked at Nina and the girl as she shut the door.

"Oh, Nikki! Welcome home." The girl lifted her head and smiled. "Hi, dad."

Nikki wore a black baseball cap over a curtain of currently stringy and wet chestnut brown hair. Her bright purple eyes were set against lightly tanned skin and a pair of glasses seemed to be sliding down the brim of her nose. Draped over her forearm was a plastic bag with a coat hanger sticking out of the top. Inside the bag was a female school uniform. Nikki must've attended a boarding school of sorts and only came home on weekends and holidays. Nikki wore a pair of jeans that were soaked at the bottoms and on the backs from being hit by the rain. Around her waist was a studded belt that hung lopsided and around her wrist, a matching cuff on her wrist. She also wore a simple black t-shirt that barely had any sleeves and was snug on her torso, rising above her stomach a little.

Nina was snuggling against her older sister who pulled off her soaked baseball cap and hung it on a rack along

with her uniform. She bent over and slid her hands beneath Nina's arms, lifting her off the ground and holding her up against her chest. Nina then took to clinging to her sister's neck.

"Nikki, these are the Elric Brothers..." Tucker said, gesturing to Ed and Al. "They'll be staying here while visiting Central." Nikki looked over at them and smiled. "Hello." Al raised a hand and cheerfully responded, "Hello, Nikki! Very nice to meet you. I'm Alphonse, and this is my brother, Edward."

Ed, whose mouth was opened a bit as his honey-coloured eyes fixated on Nikki, blinked at the sound of his name. "huh...Wh-... Oh, yeah... Nice to meet you..."

Tucker smiled as Nikki and Nina both sat at the table. He rested his hands on his waist. "Well, everything's ready. Let's eat shall we?"

10:00 pm

The faint sound of 10 chimes rang throughout the house. Nikki was stroking Nina's wavy, long hair gently as she slept. As Nikki was bent over her younger sister, she smiled gently with soft, loving and motherly eyes. She kissed her forehead and once more ran her fingers through her hair. She then stood up straight and blew out the candle on the bureau beside her bed. Nikki walked out of the room and into the guestroom. A pair of red, black and white plaid pajama bottoms barely clung to her waist and a black halter-top covered all but her bellybutton, down. Her chestnut hair was dry and shimmering now, done up in a messy bun on the back of her head.

Al looked at her as she walked in. Ed was pouring over a piece of paper he was writing on, his fingers entwined in his hair as he chewed on his bottom lip. Quickly he signed the letter he was writing and folded it into an envelope. He jumped as Nikki returned the wave Al had given her with a small 'Hi'. Ed looked at her in the process of licking the envelope flap and then smiled weakly. He looked down and quickly pulled his tongue into his mouth. "...Hi, Nikki."

Nikki giggled and smiled a little. "Hi." She walked over and sat on the empty bed, which Ed had claimed, as his red jacket was laying on the pillow. Slowly, she glanced from Al, to Ed and the at the ground. She was in desperate need for a spark in conversation. "...So... Where are you two from, anyway?"

Al tilted his head. "We're from-" "Resmbool." Ed interrupted, turning in the chair to face her.

Nikki blinked. "Where's that?"

Ed folded his hands behind his head, crossing his ankles up on the desk. "Well, it's kind of a small town to the east. Nothing like here in Central. It's really quiet all the time. Nothing ever happens there." He shrugged a bit.

Alexander pawed into the room, whimpering softly. Nikki, Ed and Al all looked at him. "Oh... I'll be right back... He needs to be fed..." Nikki said slowly and stood. "No! Al'll do it for you! He likes dogs!" Ed said quickly, lurching forward in his seat grabbing her forearm. Al looked at Ed a bit shocked and then nodded slowly. "Uh... Yeah... I'll go.." He stood and he and Alexander walked from the room.

Nikki blinked, a bit lost. She looked down at Ed's hand clutching her arm. Soon enough, so did he. Quickly, he pulled it back and frowned, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry..." He muttered.

Nikki smiled softly. "S'ok." The room somehow became deafly quiet. Nikki didn't know when, she didn't really know how, but it did. The silence wasn't just deafening, it was awkward, which was perhaps worst of all... It was at the point of driving her mad. Finally, she realized something that was... Odd..

Ed had removed both gloves, causing both hands to become exposed. His right hand... It was... Silver... Not just silver... It was... Metallic. Edward felt her gaze upon him and looked at her eyes that were focused on his auto-mail limb. Nikki looked up at him and quickly turned her head.

"...What?" He asked softly, standing and plopping next to her. "You want to know how I got it?"

Nikki looked back at his hand and then shrugged gently. "Iono..." She replied distantly.

Ed smiled a little. Normally he'd be reluctant to tell someone what happened but... There was just something about this Tucker girl that made him feel like he could say anything and maybe... Just maybe... Not be judged... She hadn't even called him short, yet! "Well... When Al and me were younger... Our mom got really sick and... She died... We were both so upset that we began to take alchemy lessons... We had a great teacher, too. She really knew her stuff... Well, after we had developed all the necessary skills to perform alchemy, we began to look for a way to bring our mom back, and we did; Human Transmutation."

"...What's that?" Nikki ventured.

"Well, I guess it's kind of like... Or... It is a sin against nature... We knew that but we were so riddled with grief... We just wanted our mom back... Anyway... When we preformed the transmutation... I lost my left leg," He tapped it. "and Al lost his body." A small gasp was heard from Nikki. "...I came-to and realized I was alone... I was willing to sacrifice anything just to get him back... So I lost my arm in exchange for his soul... And I sealed it in that armor..."

"That's... That was a really brave thing for you to do for your brother, Edward..."

Ed looked at her and smiled a little. "...Thanks. You would do the same for Nina... You shouldn't act like it's something you wouldn't do if you had to."

Nikki smiled a bit. "I suppose you're right..." Her bright purple eyes fell on his arm again, smile fading. "...Edward...?" Nikki raised a hand to her mouth and held her thumbnail between her teeth. "...What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"...Having limbs like that... I mean..." She removed her hand from her face and touched his mechanical one gently, lacing her fingers between his. "...Can you feel?"

Ed blinked a little, seeming a bit taken aback by her question. He'd never actually thought about that before. "Well... I guess... I'm not really sure." He tapped the back of her hand gently with his metal fingers, contemplating how to better respond. For some reason, Edward didn't feel satisfied with giving her such a weak response. "...I guess... You could kind of say it's not really... Feeling... But in a way... It is... I dunno. It's almost like it's... Numb. I'm... I'm aware that your hand is there... But I can't feel it as well as I could with this one..." Ed raised his left hand and squeezed it gently into a fist.

Nikki watched him and nodded gently. "Oh..." "But, I mean... It doesn't bother me." Ed continued. "These auto-mail prosthetics have gotten me out of a lot of different situations." At this he grinned, which made Nikki smile softly. "Well... If you're happy with them, if they help you so much... Why look for the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Well..." He said slowly. "It's for my brother more than for me. You can understand that, I'm sure." Nikki smiled a bit and nodded. "Yeah, I can."

Sunday, 4 am

Ed and Al were sitting in a mass of books that they had taken to their room from Tucker's library. Ed was sitting at the desk, his red jacket draped over his shoulders. He appeared to be pouring over a book but, in truth, the young alchemist was staring at his auto-mail hand, contemplating something. He rubbed the smooth, cool metal slowly and sighed.

"Big brother..?" Al's voice reached Ed and he turned to look at his younger sibling.

"Yeah, Al?"

"We've been looking through these books for hours... Can we take a break?"

Ed sighed gently and stood up, pushing his arms through his coat. "Yeah... I'm hungry anyway. We did miss dinner, after all."

Al nodded slightly. "Alright, big brother." he said through a small laugh. With that, the two Elrics headed out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen in the mansion.

When they arrived, Edward smiled at a plate of food on the table covered with plastic wrap. Thinking back to 7 pm yesterday, Nikki had poked her head in and told him that she had left him some dinner. Ed walked over to the table and sat down, pulling the dish towards him. The silverware was still set in place for him. Obviously, the Tucker family had anticipated the two to join them.

Ed leaned back in the chair, his empty plate in front of him. Both hands rested on his stomach as he sighed, his mouth open, exhausted from wolfing down a few plates of the wonderful dinner. "Boy, Al... I'm stuffed..." Ed raised a hand to the back of his head and rubbed it gently, braid shifting a bit. "It was great, though..."

"Obviously!" Al said in an exasperated tone. "You ate all of the leftovers they had from dinner!"

Ed grinned sheepishly and tapped his stomach with his fingers. "...I wonder who made it..." He muttered. Just then, someone could be heard walking down the stairs and through a corridor that led down into the library. Ed and Al both turned and Ed raised a brow slowly. "Hm... Wonder who that could be this late at night..?" Al seemed a bit puzzled as well.

"Maybe it's Mr. Tucker?"

"Maybe..." Ed replied slowly. He stood and softly followed. Al blinked. "Hey!" He held the back of the chair with one hand as he turned. Al reached his other hand towards his brother. "Ed, wait for me!" Al quickly stood and followed his older brother.

The two walked on down the corridor and into the library. They followed the footsteps to the back of the large shelf-filled room and through a door, which stood ajar. Ed glanced around slowly and gasped a bit. This small room was filled with nothing but cages... Cages that held vicious looking animals... You couldn't even call them animals... They were... Mutations of sorts. Ed and Al looked at the creatures slowly. Sweat ran down Edward's face. "...This must be where Tucker kept all his failed chimera experiments..." He said softly to no one in particular, though he knew Al heard him.

As the threatening, yet mournful yellow eyes of the many chimera flickered as they watched the Elrics pass across the room to another open door which seemed to actually be lit, they howled or hissed or... Whatever kind of sounds they made, in extremely painful tones... These creatures were suffering.

The two boys advanced into the room. They stared around, a bit taken aback by the sight. The entire room was a bit cold, as it was made entirely of stone. On each of the three undisturbed walls, was a large black circle. Each had their own unique design and a foreign scripture Ed couldn't interpret if his life depended on it. On the floor was a much larger circle that seemed to be a merger of the other three, design wise.

"Very good..."

The two boys looked down at Tucker who was crouched down in front of something that looked like a large dog.

"Very good, indeed." He told the creature, rubbing its head gently.

It tilted its head around Tucker and looked at Ed and Al unblinkingly with beady black eyes. Tucker turned and looked at them as well. He smiled and stood, stepping aside to reveal the creature he was talking to. Ed blinked and gaped at it. It was a creature unlike one he had ever seen. The main fur colour of this creature was almost off-white. It had a hunched back and there was a crease where the spine would be. From that crease sprouted long reddish-purple hair that fell down to its feet. Those were almost human-like... But they seemed to have a more fur-covered dinosaur-like build. This animal also had a muzzle like a dog and a nose like a dog. A very odd thing indeed, this was.

"Isn't it amazing?" Tucker said, grinning. "It's the final product... The chimera for my assessment... It can speak human tongue!"

"...Speak?" Said a slightly dazed Ed.

"Yes." He nodded. "Watch." Tucker turned and bent down to the chimera. "Now, do you know who this boy is?" He extended a hand back towards Ed. "...This is Edward... He's a friend."

The chimera opened its mouth. "...Fre-... Ed... Ed... Ward?"

"Yes! Very good!" Shou rubbed the chimera's head.

"WOW! That's amazing!" Said Ed, who's jaw was almost to the floor. "How... How'd you get it to speak so fast!" However, Ed never got his answer, for the chimera had approached him and was tugging at the bottom of his jacket with its mouth. Edward squatted in front of it, looking at it curiously. "B-... B-... Big... Brother?" Ed's eyes widened slowly and he stared dead at the chimera.

"Mr. Tucker..." Ed said, eyes now covered in shadow produced by his bangs. "...How long ago did you say you made your first chimera?"

Shou blinked. "Hm... About a year ago."

"..And when did you say your wife left you?"

"...That was a year ago too."

"... I only have one more question for you, Mr. Tucker."

"Hm?" Shou looked at him.

"Where exactly are Nina and Alexander!" Ed threw a vicious and disgusted glare at Shou Tucker, his eyes harnessing all the hate that he could muster.

Tucker lowered his head, grinning munificently. "...I hate nosey, perceptive brats like you..." He said softly, in a tone of amusement. "They always get into trouble." Before the last word had finished pouring out of Tucker's mouth, Ed had him pinned against the wall, punching him repeatedly across the face.

"YOU SICK BASTARD! FIRST YOUR WIFE, NOW YOUR OWN DAUGHTER AND YOUR DOG!" Ed screamed through hard, merciless punches.

"Brother!" Al ran forward, his hand extended to Ed. "Stoppit, brother! You'll kill him!"

Ed's fist froze in mid-air, shaking violently, and the metal it was made of rattled softly. Blood streamed down Tucker's face. There was a sick grin on his face and his wide blue eyes made him lock even more psychotic without his glasses, which were across the room, broken in two.

"Brother, please calm down!"

"Why Al? WHY!" Tears began to stream down the still enraged Ed's face. "Don't you know what he's done! What a sin he's made! He's sick! He deserves to die!"

"Come, now Edward. Is it really that different from what the two of you attempted?" Tucker said, in a rather raspy tone of voice, the grin remaining on his face. "You committed a sin against nature as well. We're alike, you and I."

"SHUT UP!" Ed punched him hard once more. "WE'RE NOTHING ALIKE! YOU-! I'D- I'D NEVER-!"

Al turned as he heard the chimera stand and trot to the doorway, whimpering a little. It turned to face the wall beside the door inside the other room and sat. A shaking, pale hand reached out and rested upon the top of its head gently. "...Big... Sister... We...Play hide and seek... Now?"

Nikki whimpered behind the wall.

"You... Not... Tired... Anymore?"

Heavy, broken breathing came from Nikki as she clapped a free hand over her mouth, the other shaking violently as she pat the chimera's head. "...Oh, Nina... I'm so sorry..." She said softly through a heavy exhale.

"Nee-... Ki... It hurts... Make it stop... Stop... The... Hurting... Please?"

A louder whimper came from Nikki as she pulled her hand from her mouth, wisps of chestnut hair clinging to the streaks her tears had made as they ran down her face. "Nina... I'm sorry."

"It's... Alright... We play hide-and-seek now?"

Nikki smiled faintly and then nodded. "... I promised I would..."

Ed frowned and trembled as he saw her lean forward, embracing the chimera around the neck. It whimpered and rested its head on her shoulder. "Nikki..." It said slowly. "...I... Love you." Ed could see Nikki's arms pull tighter around the chimera as it spoke. He still had the collar of Tucker's shirt in his hand as he looked at the ground, eyes hidden in shadow once more.

5:30 am

"What's the matter with you! You can't just take Nina like that!" Ed screamed.

Four men wearing the State Alchemist military uniforms walked out of the house. On one of each of their shoulders was a long metal bar. Attached to the two metal bars was a large cage that held a frightened and spastic chimera. It was turning about in circles in the cage. Ed could tell; she was looking for Nikki. She wanted Nikki to come and help her, to protect her, and he could swear he could hear her calling out her name in her head.

The men walked over to a large armoured car and slid the cage into the back slightly. One man climbed in, past the cage opened it, and then slipped out as the other three men pulled the cage out, slamming the doors to the back of the truck.

"Bastards! Listen to me!" Edward raised a fist and blinked as something tightened around his wrist. He turned his head, honey-coloured eyes staring blankly before filling with rage again. "Mustang! Do something! Make them stop!"

"I can't..." Replied the Colonel. "It's not my doing... This is all being done under the orders of General Basque Gran..."

Ed winced and clenched his hands at his sides. "But..."

"I know it's not fair... But there's nothing we can do..." Roy put his military cap on his head and walked over to one of the buggies, climbing inside.

Ed watched as the four cars drove off down the cobblestone road. Alphonse walked up next to him. "Brother..? Are you alright?"

"No, Al... It's not fair..."

Al sighed and folded his arms. "Wha-?" He said in a dazed sort of voice as he watched his brother take off down the road. "Brother! Wait for me!" Al started after him.

Nikki watched them from her window and winced a little, wiping the black streaks from her eyeliner off her pale cheeks. She sighed and turned her head stubbornly, breathing hard like she had been running. With an exasperated sigh, she grabbed her jacket from her bed.

"Brother! What're you going to do!" Al called as Ed stopped a few feet away from the line of buggies, which were stopped at a red light.

Breathing and shaking with fury, the 11-year-old state alchemist clapped his gloved hands together. He dropped swiftly to one knee slamming his open hands on the concrete ground. Beneath his hands, long blue lights sparked spontaneously in every direction. As the lights increased rapidly in appearance, the ground cracked and lifted as if a set of invisible hands picked it up from one side flicked it like a long rug. The buggies flew into the air and crashed to the ground.

Ed stood up and watched as the back door to the buggie Nina was in flew open. A bit shaken, the chimera jumped out of the back and spun around in confusion. She then darted down an alleyway.

"N-Nina! Wait!" Ed called, reaching out a hand. Al watched her leave and ran after his older brother who continued to call her name.

Nina finally reached an alleyway with a dead end. She wheezed and whimpered from running and blinked as she spotted a figure sitting in the corner of the alley. Cautiously, she approached him.

He looked up. He had a dark complexion, like someone with Native American blood. A large scar in the shape of an 'X' crossed the upper half of his face, across his bright red eyes. He was wrapped in a tattered sheet, though he did wear a yellow pair of sweatpants and matching sweatshirt.

"...Poor creature..." He said as he ran a hand through his white hair. The man extended his arm and pat Nina's head.

"...Who would create such a sin against God?"

Nina licked at the palm of his hand and whimpered.

"...You're in pain..." He sighed and looked up, pulling the sleeve of his right arm up, revealing a complicated tattoo resembling a sort of transmutation circle. "...Don't worry... I'll put you out of your misery forever... Be happy with your creator..." He gripped the top of Nina's head with his right hand. The tattoo glowed red and there was a sound like an explosion. Nina yelped loudly.

Ed panted, looking around as rain began to beat down hard on the ground, soaking his hair instantly. "Nina! Where are you!" Ed began running again, Al coming up behind him.

"Brother! Slow DOWN!" Al panted as they passed the alley. Ed stopped, sending Al skidding quickly to a stop. Ed took a few backward steps and looked around in the alley quickly.

"Nina!" He sighed and stared at the dead end wall. A look of horror was frozen on his face. Al stood near the entrance and stared as well.

"Brother... Wh-...What-?"

But Ed never answered. He just continued to stare at the large blood splatter on the wall. The blood splatter, however, wasn't normal... It looked like the bone structure of Tucker's chimera.

Al gasped softly as Ed's lip trembled, clenching his teeth slightly. "Brother... It looks like..." Al and Ed both turned, hearing a soft whimper from behind them.

Nikki was also staring at the outline, trembling violently, her face paler than it had been when she left to follow them. Without warning, she collapsed to her knees, her hands on the ground in front of her, and cried uncontrollably, whimpering and inhaling sharply.

Ed stared at her sympathetically and walked over, kneeling in front of her. Nikki barely looked up before Edward pulled her against his chest and rested his chin on her head, stroking her wet hair slowly.

"It's alright, Nikki... Please... Please don't cry..." he choked, as tears streamed down his face as well.

A/N: Well... That's how everything started. I hope you liked it. No flames. Comment, please! -Tasha