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At six AM the next morning, the Elrics were up and walking briskly through the halls of Central Command, bound for one office in particular. While it would normally be worrying for Edward to be up so early, and honestly, still was worrying, he couldn't help it. He'd had a miserable night and gotten about a collective ten minutes of nightmare riddled sleep, and leapt up as soon as it could be considered morning. He had too much weighing on his mind to "piss around any longer".
It didn't help that all his waking hours had been taunted by images of Nina, what she had been and what Edward had let her become. He had more than one more thing to be guilty about now, and if he was ever going to get the tiniest bit of mental peace, he needed information.
After about two minutes of walking, receiving odd looks and ignored greetings from officers, they burst in to Colonel Mustang's office, Edward having forced the door open with his foot. They entered to the sight of Mustang, asleep on a pile of paperwork that Ed could have sworn was built into a pillow.
"Mustang!" Ed growled.
Roy's head jerked up from the desk in alarm. "Wha- oh, it's just you." He rubbed his face tiredly and cleared his throat. "Well Fullmetal, by all means, come in…"
"Oh cut the crap Mustang," Edward seethed, plopping into a chair in the office, "It doesn't suit you. And anyway, I have more important things to discuss now." Ed rested his right ankle on his automail knee, and couldn't stop his right knee from bouncing with anxiety. Alphonse muttered an apology for his brother's behavior, and sat across from him.
"That's Colonel Mustang to you, pipsqueak," Roy started, pausing for effect. When Edward barely flinched, he slouched a little and continued boredly. "And secondly, what could possibly have you of all people traipsing around my office at six in the morning?"
Ed cast an angry sideways glance to the Colonel. "You couldn't guess, you-"
"We need to know," Al cut his brother off, earning a dissatisfied grunt from Ed, but nothing more. He looked to Mustang. "Well, what will happen to Tucker? What will they do with Nina?"
Roy glared a little, but let the outburst slide. Groaning, both out of fatigue and frustration, he shuffled through a folder and produced an official-looking document. He then cleared his throat and read it aloud.
"The 'Sewing Life Alchemist', Shou Tucker, is to be stripped of all military titles and executed on account of his continued crimes, including but not limited to Human Transmutation, unauthorized human experimentation, and torture leading directly or indirectly to death."
Edward paused, sitting on that outcome before responding. The term "Human Transmutation" made him shift in his chair. After a moment, he simply stared ahead and asked, "And Nina?"
Roy put down the paper and reached into the same folder for another. He gave Edward a look, but understood that this was something he needed to hear. After all, these documents were only confidential to the general public, and if he didn't tell Edward, he'd find out anyway. He smoothed the paper and read, "Nina Tucker will be taken to a-"
Just then, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye burst into the room, cutting off the Colonel. A discreet look of urgency was displayed on her otherwise carefully neutral face, and she held another folder. It was just one, though, enough to know that this wasn't an ordinary paperwork dump.
Roy put the paper back in it's place and calmly got up, saying, "Excuse me." And nothing more. He met Riza at the door, who whispered something to him, hand over her mouth. She cast a concerned, sympathetic look to the Elrics, before saluting and walking off unnecessarily briskly. Roy stood still for a moment, staring at the floor. After a second he composed himself and returned to his desk.
"Well?!" Edward stood up, crossing over to the large desk and gripping the edge. His gloved right hand made a louder than anticipated thunk on the wood. "What will happen to Nina?!"
"Nothing." Roy stated simply, his face carefully neutral.
"What do you mean?" Alphonse walked over to the desk, standing next to his brother. Even without facial expression, one could tell he was as anxious as his older brother was.
Roy frowned slightly, but looked straight into Edward's eyes, not one to cower away or coddle.
"Nina Tucker is dead."
There! A feels sucky chapter. Yay.
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