A.N. : my apologies to Edward, Nina, Winry, Alphonse, and anyone else I kill, torture, maim, destroy, etc. it had to be done. I felt a sadistic need to prove that Nina's cruel fate was indeed, necessary. Flame if you must. I'm used to venting.

I guess this could be considered a hay-fic because of all the citing (?) again Flame to your hearts content.

Code: ( ) sounds. " " Talking Italics thoughts

Three Paths Lead to One

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(Clap Splash Fizzle)

Edward played and replayed the day's events in his mind. A cute little girl; four years old, to a beast, to…this.

I could have saved her! I know I could've. There was no reason for it to end like this.

(Clap Splash Fizzle)

White gloves, now permanently stained dark crimson. Hot salty tears mixed with sky-borne ones

(Clap Splash Fizzle)

A large metal hand gently tapped his shoulder. "Brother, the major"

At this turned around to see a figure darkened by the surrounding shadows of the ally.

"There's no use kid. You can't go around trying to bring every living creature that dies on you back to life Edward It's not possible and it's not healthy."

Edward started at the man; seriously considering beating him down, but was stopped by what he said soon after.

"Anyway, who would you be helping bringing back a malformed Chimera? It's an ugly world out there and it's only going to get uglier on the path you've chosen. Just be glad it wasn't you and get on with your life"

"GET ON WITH MY LIFE?!!" Edward said, no, shouted louder than intended. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Before he had time to react, Mustang grabbed his wrist. "There's a reason why you became a state alchemist right Ed?! Can you afford to get distracted by every little lost cause?"

'Lost cause' he says. Nina, the little girl Edward had almost come to love like a little sister….A lost cause? How? How?!

In the background he heard cars hummed to a halt and car doors opened soon after.

"It's up to the investigations department now. Step aside."

Edward bolted. He didn't need to be told twice. He dully noted the sound of mustang and Officer Hughes, along with every other sound that night. None of which the voice of the little girl he wanted to see the most.

Little big bwuder, you pwomised you'd come play with me

Where are you going big bwuders aren't you coming back?

Big bwuder….Big bwuder…. Brother!"

"S-Stop!!! I!!…uh…." Edward looked around, remembering where he was at once; their room in the mansion. Basque Gran had said that they were no longer allowed to stay there, but since their next assignment required them to be here, anyway, they stayed the night.

"Brother, the major called. He said they'll be sending someone with details of our first mission." Alphonse said patiently.

"Ok." Edward replied hoarsely. "I'll get ready, thanks Al." Alphonse paused momentarily, but then turned and walked out the room. Edward in the meantime, sat there in a bit of a daze, wiping of the cold sweat that had settled on his skin.

Great job hero can't even save a damsel in distress.

Edward winced at the thought partly because on some level it was true. He still felt he could have done something to help her, to earn a happy ending.

If there was a way to go back and fix things…. No! Stop that! You know all too well what could happen if you tried.

Throwing on his clothes, he grabbed his state watch, and headed outside to wait, but then stopped.

There's a reason why you became a state alchemist right Ed?

There was a reason alright, and he couldn't afford to forget it. Before leaving the room, he flipped open the watch and started carving.

Soon After he joined Alphonse, but refused to say anything.

(Flip. Click. Flip. Click)

He passed the time with mindless fidgeting, waiting anxiously for anything, anything, to keep his mind off of recent events. At last a black car pulled up to the house and a sandy blond a haired officer stepped out.

Finally

"Why so glum Elric?"

"This job's a little more real than I bargained. Maybe I just need something to take my mind off this whole mess. ….So, uh what's this assignment you've got for me?"

Havoc smiled an Ironic little smile as if he knew that the duty asked of Edward would be coming far too soon; just a day or so later. He pushed aside the door revealing the new task.

"'ere you go"

Sounds of growling and roaring from various chimeras, screaming piteously in their abnormal voices, flooded the room Ed's eyes went wide with shock they wanted him to do this?

"Your orders are to go through and organize all of this stuff. You should familiarize yourself with the results of all Tucker's experiments."

"You mean you want me to take over THAT MANIC'S REASERCH?"

"True, he might have gone about it the wrong way, but some of his findings could be of great use to the military"

"WHY DON'T YOU LET THAT WACK JOB HELP YOU HIMSELF!"

"He can't. He's dead. His guilt was so obvious that the higher-up's decided to forego the embarrassment of a trial and skip strait to the execution."

"So they covered it up! HOW COULD THEY-----"

"We don't question the law of the military. See that's the first law of state alchemy Ed."

The two alchemists spent the majority of the time working in silence. The silence, however, was getting to Alphonse. It was also starting to bother him that Edward wouldn't talk very much. So he tried to start up conversation for the third time that day.

"Interesting, looks like Mr. Tucker was doing a lot of research on the philosopher stone"

"woopdi flippen-do." was all He got in response.

"(sigh) How long you planning to sulk like this brother? Do you have any idea how much power the philosopher stone holds for alchemists? We can bypass all the laws of alchemy! Including the law of equivalent exchange! We can do the things we weren't able to do before. We can----"

However Alphonse was brusquely interrupted be a bag of feed thrown at his face.

"WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING BECAUSE IT DOESN'T EXIST! IT'S JUST A BEDTIME STORY!"

Still, the younger brother was undeterred, and continued his attempt to prove his point.

"But if a bonafide state alchemist like Mr. Tucker was doing research on it----"

"WHO GIVES A DAMN ABOUT HIS RESEARCH?! THE MAN WAS A LUNITIC!! OR HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ABOUT NINA!!!"

Now he'd done it. He'd yelled at Al. He didn't mean to be so cross with him but he just couldn't take it; not yet, not now. At this moment Ed stormed out of the room, and ran blindly down any random hallway, so long as it wasn't in that room. However, it didn't take long to get lost in the grandiose Tucker mansion, particularly when one wasn't paying attention to where they were going. His hurried pace slowed to a walk as he wandered down hallways he wasn't allowed to go through before. The rules didn't seem to matter much anymore did they? Now that no one lived here….

Within the maze of concrete and wood, he found a room decorated in baby blue and various shades of yellow that housed at least fifteen teddy bears, he could only assume were once Nina's. On the floor, lay a couple sketch books, one of them lay one top of the pile open to a page with sloppily drawn transmutation circles, and pictures of Alphonse and himself wearing smiles on their faces. This alone seemed like invitation enough to look through the sketch books. The sunlight poured gently through the window, brightening the room significantly. The sunny yellow colored curtains were closed, but gave off an even more golden cast to the child's bed room. It couldn't be more inviting. Without thinking he moved his feet slowly into the little girl's room.

He picked up one of the discarded sketch books from the floor and started flipping through it. The drawings were sketchy at best, but since the artist was only four, they weren't that bad. Smiling suns, smiling flowers, Alexander, her dad… the sick bastard...

Her mom, smiling sun's again. He flipped through the book a bit more and found many of the pages were blank. There were more pictures but they were spread further out.

"Ed! Where are you? We need to report back to the Colonel." Alphonse called from down the hallway. This made Ed jump a little. He closed the book, slipped it into his coat pocket and stepped out into the hall so that Alphonse could call off his one man search party for the night.

"Sorry, Al. Let's go."

"It's a no go kid"

"But why not?! What if that serial killer you guys have been chasing really did kill Nina? I could help you find him!"

Ed's voice sounded whiny… needy even. It wasn't the same tone of voice he usually had.

"And the job you were ordered to do? Have you finished analyzing Tucker's research?"

"Uh…I couldn't do that. Fine, in that case I'll investigate on my own."

"Right investigate on your own, and leave that here." Mustang said, insinuating the state watch. "Yeah I intended to." Ed responded in defiance.

With that he marched out of the Colonel's office. Alphonse was waiting just outside the door. Ed walked right past him.

"Hold on Ed, you're not the only one who's upset, we're alchemists not police. We can't catch a killer. What we can do is put our talent to better use doing research, so that if another girl like Nina ever came along, we'd be able to save…."

Edward didn't hear anymore, nor did he care to. No; no another girl like Nina can never come along. This can never happen again.

Edward broke into a run, heading to the library.

The night passed faster than he could ever remember. Closing time rolled around and Ed could be found buried behind a fortress of books.

"Mr. Elric? We need to close for the night. Mr. Elric, wake up."

"Huh? Oh I'm sorry" Ed apologized. He quickly wiped the drool hanging from his mouth that formed in his sleep and started to collect the books and put them away. The librarian gave a sympathetic little grin, and told him he didn't need to do that. "Just take care of yourself Mr. Elric."

Edward thanked the woman and started back.

He had nothing. For all the time he spent there, he had no leads, no possible suspect, nothing. Feeling more than a little frustrated he shoved his hands in his pockets. That's when his gloved fingers felt the spine of a book he'd picked up earlier that day. The young girl's sketch book now had a crease down the middle from sitting in his pocket for so long, but the pictures were still in relatively good condition. Ed once again quickened his pace, this time almost into a run to the Military Dorms.

He didn't know where the hair-brained idea came from nor did he bother to think on it too much more for fear of backing out. What the hell, what's the worst that could happen?