Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
Bold- What happens in the episodes
"Episode Title"
Narrative
Regular talking/actions
Episode 4: An Alchemist's Anguish
"Alchemy is the science of understanding, decomposing, and reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain something, something of equal value must be paid. This is the law of equivalent exchange, the basis of alchemy. Alchemists have a taboo, and it is human transmutation. It is that which no one must commit."
After the opening song the title screen came up right away.
"An Alchemist's Anguish."
"Well, I can already tell that this is going to be a bad episode." Hughes commented, frowning at the title.
The scene changed to a night sky with a big full moon in it. Brigadier General Grand was shown walking down the night street when he paused with a frown when he saw a man standing in front of him.
"You're the Iron Blood Alchemist, Basque Grand, right?" The man asked.
"What? Scar is being introduced before us?" Havoc grumbled.
"You know you are pouting about a mass murderer being introduced before you, right?" Ed asked incredulously.
Havoc stared at his young boss for a moment before blushing. "Whoops. I got too into the show."
"You know this is about our lives, right? It isn't fiction." Breda pointed out.
"I know, but Chief makes it so entertaining that I just forget." Havoc argued, shooting his boss an accusing glare.
Ed rolled his eyes. "I am so deeply sorry."
"You might want to be less sarcastic when you apologize, Fullmetal." Luke, a Briggs soldier, said amused.
"Who are you?" Grand demanded as Scar's hand was raised.
"Foolish Alchemists who have turned their backs on the ways of God,"
Scar's hand tensed, ready for the attack. "Shall all be punished."
"I see." Grand said as he put his gauntlets on. "You must be the blood
thirsty murderer whose been making a habit to of targeting State
Alchemists lately." He raised his hands up. "Well, this time," He swung his arms out then back together as he clashed his knuckles together.
"You picked the wrong target!"
Grand slammed his hand on the ground to create multiple cannons that fired at Scar. Scar easily dodged all the bombs as he charged at Grand.
"You're fast. Try this!" Grand threw another hand on the ground that caused chains to sprout from the ground and at Scar, who once again, dodged. "A little more!" This time, Grand caused iron walls to sprout up to trap Scar.
Gran stood up, smirking. "Hmph, that wasn't so difficult." He said as he approached his walls. The moment he was standing in front of it, there was a blast and a hole appeared in the wall, surprising Grand. When the smoke from it disappeared, Scar's hand was gripping Grand's face.
"What? No!" Grand said. "How?"
"Now you perish." Scar said. There was a flash of alchemical light before blood squirted from Grand's body and he fell over dead.
"He was killed so easily." Mustang said in shock.
"So, that's it, huh?" General Armstrong growled, glaring at Scar. "That is how you've been killing our State Alchemists?"
"Yes." Scar answered without remorse.
"Ha! If they are defeated so easily, then they were not deserving of their titles." General Armstrong said.
Ed raised a brow. "Isn't that a bit cold-hearted?"
"We're from Briggs, kid. Do you know what our motto is?" Miles asked.
"How could I? I've never been there." Edward replied.
"It's survival of the fittest. Didn't you learn anything on that island?" Izumi growled.
Edward frowned. "How was I to know? Living on an island and living in the north are two different things!"
"Yes, that is it. Only the strong survive." Miles told the brothers, though he was confused about the island thing. "If you're weak, you die. If you're strong, you'll survive. We don't condone this senseless murder, not at all, but that is our motto. It's what we live by up there."
Ed raised a brow. "Oh? Then what about helping your comrades who need help? Will you ignore them because they are too weak to survive on their own?"
"Brother," Al pleaded.
"What? I'm genuinely curious about this." Ed said.
Miles smirked. "I guess you'll have to wait and see."
"What?" Ed asked confused.
"Well, if we're here, it means someone comes north and tells us what is happening. When that happens, you'll see just how we operate at Briggs." Miles replied.
Edward scowled. "Great, more waiting."
Scar faded away as the full moon was shown once more.
"Another State Alchemist dead." Hughes voice said as the scene moved down to the road where Grand lay covered with a tarp.
"This killer is highly skilled." Armstrong said.
"Major, you watch yourself." Hughes said as he put the tarp down after checking the body. "For all we know, you could be the next one he comes after."
"Understood." Armstrong said as a car pulled up next to the sidewalk.
As King Bradley got out of the car, all the soldiers turned around and saluted him.
"Fuhrer King Bradley, Your Excellency, what brings you here?" Hughes asked.
Bradley approached the soldiers, stopping in front of Grand's body. "I got word of what happened." He said. "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, you're the officer in charge of this case?"
"Yes sir." Hughes said. "Should you need any additional personnel, just ask." Bradley said. "The man doing this is a traitor. I want him stopped."
Scar almost snorted at that. Traitor? Not likely. He was never a part of this country, and he was never going to join it. It was a rotten country that needed purged.
"Sir." Hughes said.
The scene changed to the exterior of Eastern Command Center before going to Hawkeye who was writing something down on her work. She held up some papers.
"Lieutenant Breda," she said.
"At long last, we appear!" Havoc cheered, grinning in a silly manner.
"Right." Breda replied, taking the papers from her. "Jeez, the Colonel sure is letting his work pile up again."
"How the hell did someone as lazy as you get to be Colonel?" General Armstrong growled. Damn this slacker for getting so high up the ranks.
"Just like you to push your work on your subordinates." Edward snorted.
"What was that, Fullmetal?" Mustang growled. "This is mostly because of you. Why don't I assign you to office duty for a month so you can see how much trouble you cause?"
Ed frowned. "No thanks. I'm busy enough as it is. Besides, Section 8, Article 12: 'A State Alchemist's research takes precedence unless otherwise ordered by a superior officer.'"
"And I'm your superior." Mustang retorted.
"Ah, ah, ah." Edward taunted. "Section 8, Article 13: 'If A State Alchemist's research is vital and life threatening, the State Alchemist can ignore a superior officer's order if he is of equal status or below the rank of Brigadier General.'"
"I thought you didn't read the book I gave you." Mustang growled. "And it's not life threatening."
"I glanced at it, I said." Ed retorted. "And, it's kind of is life threatening. We don't know where Al's body is. We just think it's in the gate somewhere, and who knows what is happening to it there! I don't have time to waste at a desk."
"Just you wait, Fullmetal." Mustang snarled.
"Ooh, is that a threat?" Ed taunted.
"Would you two behave?" Riza snapped, wishing she had her gun once more.
Breda sat back down and looked at his friend sitting next to him.
"Havoc, give me a hand, will you?"
"I got plenty to do over here already." Havoc replied. A file of Yoki appeared on the screen. "Next up. Who's this?"
"Lieutenant Yoki." Falman replied without looking up from his work.
"Remember? The crook who was using the Youswell coal mines concession to line his own pockets. Anyway, the Elric brothers exposed what that dirty thief was up to and now he's on the run."
"Hmm, Al, do you remember that case?" Ed asked.
"Not really, brother. Where is the Youswell coal mine again?" Al asked.
Ed scratched his head. "I don't know. Somewhere out east is all I recall. Guess it was unimportant."
"You ruined a soldier's life by doing that and you say it is unimportant?" Karley asked amused.
Edward blinked. "I ruin crooks' lives all the time. I can't be expected to keep track of them all."
"That may be, but they will never forget you." Mustang sighed. Honestly, with all the enemies Fullmetal made, it was a surprise he was still alive.
Fuery was seen tempering with a radio, trying to fix it.
"Master Sergeant Fuery, how's the radio coming?" Hawkeye asked.
Fuery sat up, touching one hand to his headphones. "The receiver on this thing has seen better days. I think I'm going to have to replace it."
There was a clap and a gloved hand appeared on the screen, touching the radio. In a flash of alchemical light, the radio looked brand new. Fuery turned to his left, looking surprise when he saw a smirking Edward and Al standing there.
"Hey, it's Edward and Alphonse." Fuery said.
"It's almost like you planned that entrance." Brody said, smirking.
Ed rolled his eyes. "Yes, because when I am involved, nothing can ever just be a coincidence."
"So, you admit it!" Havoc cried.
Ed bowed his head in defeat. "I can't take much more of this."
"Welcome back, boys." Hawkeye said. "Go on in. The Colonel's expecting you."
An unpleasant look crossed Ed's face.
Mustang appeared on the screen. "Well done on the Liore case, you two. Nice work. I appreciate you resolving the matter."
Ed and Al were sitting on a couch in the office. The older brother had his chin resting on one his hands with his eyes shut. "No big deal. It's not like we did it for you." Ed replied.
"Right. The Philosopher's Stone." At his words, Ed sat up straight and opened his eyes. "Another false lead?"
The screen changed to Mustang, then to Ed, who was staring at his superior. He sighed and turned to look at the ground. "Yeah, after all that, the stone was a fake. Even so, the power it gave Cornello was real enough." He put a hand on his chin, thoughtfully. "He transmuted this huge Chimera right in front of us."
Mustang leaned back in his chair.
"I still wonder how he was able to use the stone to do that." Al said. "I'm not familiar enough with the field of bio-alchemy to really understand it."
Ed removed his hand from his chin and looked at his brother. "Yeah, I'm kind of curious about that too. It might be worth looking into. Who knows? Maybe we'll find something to help restore our bodies."
"Mm-hmm." Al replied.
Mustang closed his eyes briefly before opening his drawer and pulling out a file. "It might help if you consulted a specialist." Ed and Al stared at him confused. "The Sewing Life Alchemist, Shou Tucker."
"Argh, damn it. Do we really have to relive this again?" Edward growled.
"Yeah, it was hard enough the first time." Al agreed, frowning on the inside. He knew this case was particularly hard on his brother. His brother never said it, but Al saw that he had nightmares. And he just knew that this case added to them.
"I know you two never got over this, but surely you can stand to see it happen." Havoc said.
"No, we can't." Ed snapped. "If I see this, I'll just see all the mistakes of where it went wrong and what I missed. I'll see it then I'll feel even worse for not being able to save her when I should have been able to."
"What happened?" Miles asked.
Ed would have replied wittily to get back at the major for earlier, but he just didn't have the heart to do so, not when it was this case. "As Lieutenant Riza said after it happened, the devil's work."
"He's done some heavy research with Chimera transmutation. I'll introduce you." Mustang said.
"You'd do that for us?" Al asked.
Edward blinked once before jumping to his feet and pointing at Mustang. "Okay, what's the catch? You want something, don't you?"
Mustang put his hands on his desk and leaned forward. "Don't doubt my motives. I'm trying to repay you for the work on the Liore case."
"Wasn't that just his job though?" Karley asked confused. "Why do you have to repay him for doing his job?"
"That's just the relationship the Colonel and Chief have." Breda replied.
"Everything they do for the other has to be repaired or the debt just gets longer." Havoc added.
"They make it so difficult that not even I can keep track of which one of them owes the other something." Al said, sighing. It really was that confusing with the two of them. It was like they didn't want anyone to keep track of anything they did for one another.
"Doing you a favour is better than being indebted to you."
The scene changed to look out over the city as Mustang's voice said,
"Two years ago, Tucker successfully transmuted a Chimera that could understand human speech." A military car was shown with boys and Mustang in it. "And earned his qualifications as a State Alchemist."
"Understand human speech?" Ed asked. "You mean, it talks? A Chimera?"
"Yeah, supposedly, it spoke." Mustang replied, looking up from the file.
"It said just one thing." A chimera sitting under a spotlight was show.
"'I want to die.' After that, it refused to eat anything, and died.
"Ring! Ring!
Mustang pulled the string to bell while Ed and Al stood behind him.
"What a huge house." Ed said, looking up at the house. A shadow passed over him before a dog landed on him, causing him to scream. Ed was lying face down on the ground with the dog sitting on his back.
Havoc, Breda, and many other soldiers laughed at Ed's misfortune.
"That dog must really love you, Edward." Riza said, chuckling slight while Ed scowled.
"What is it with dogs and me?" He muttered.
"I can't believe a State Alchemist lost to a dog." Buccaneer said, grinning at the kid.
Edward shot him a glare, but refused to reply. His spirit just wasn't in it. He just wanted to get through this part with Nina and Tucker as quickly as possible.
The door to the house was opened by a cute little girl. "Lots of visitors." She said.
A man came up behind the girl and put a hand gently on her back.
At the sight of Tucker, Edward snarled silently to himself. He could never forgive that man for what he did to his own family. Family was a precious thing, and he threw it all away for power, respect, and to be a State Alchemists. This man disgusted him.
Beside him, Al was feeling the same anger as his brother. He just couldn't show it. They both enjoyed their time with Nina. Despite what brother said, he really did enjoy playing with little kids and making them happy. Both of them did, so it hurt a lot when they couldn't protect their new little friend.
"What's got the kid so mad?" Buccaneer asked, nodding to the Edward. Havoc sighed. It was really sad what had happened. "You'll see soon enough."
"Nina, you have to keep the dog tied up." Tucker said.
Ed was shown still lying on the ground with a panting dog on him before the inside of the house was shown to be a cluttered mess.
"Ah. Sorry about this." Tucker said. "Ever since my wife ran out on me, the house has been like this."
Edward clenched his fists tightly. Ran out, his ass. He knew what it was like to have a parent to run out. It hurt a lot, but it hurt even more to learn that she didn't run out. No, she was probably a good mother and wanted nothing more than to protect her daughter from her deranged husband.
Tucker put down some tea in front of his guests before sitting opposite of them at the table. "Once again, it's a pleasure to meet you, Edward. I'm the Sewing Life Alchemist, Shou Tucker."
Edward snorted. Why the hell did this guy have to be so good at lying? If only he had seen the truth, then he could have saved Nina. There was no reason why an innocent little girl had to go through such pain at those young of an age.
Mustang motioned to Ed. "He is interested in transmuting living things. He says he would love to have a look at your research."
"Sure, I don't mind." Tucker said. Ed and Al looked at each other happily, before Tucker continued, "However, if you want to see what I have up my sleeve, I'll have to see what you've got up your sleeve, too. That's what it is to be an alchemist. Why are you interested in transmuting living things?"
"Oh, uh, he's…" Mustang said, not sure of what to say.
Ed raised a hand to stop his superior. "Colonel."
Nina was shown to be outside under a tree with her dog, making a flower crown.
"You transmuted your mother? As an eleven-year-old child?" Tucker asked shocked.
Edward was shown to be standing in the kitchen with his jackets off to show his automail arm with his eyes shut.
"I see, so that's what earned you're the title 'Fullmetal Alchemist.'
You've had a rough time of it for someone so young."
Edward collapsed back into his chair.
Tucker sighed and stood up. "I don't know if it will be of any use to you or not, but why don't I have you look at my laboratory?"
There were the sounds of growls of the Chimeras that Tucker had in his laboratory as it was shown.
"Woah." Al said.
"Oh, how embarrassing." Tucker said as the room was shown completely to show Ed and Al staring at the bookshelf while Mustang had his back to all of them. "I'm popularly regarded as some authority on Chimeras, but the truth is, it hasn't been going all that well."
"And there it is." Ed mumbled to Al.
"The first hint that something was wrong." Al nodded in agreement with his brother. Both would forever feel guilty for not being able to save her.
A pair of doors was opened to a dark room, then a light was turned up to reveal a library.
"Oh, amazing." Ed said.
"Do you love books that much?" Karin asked amused.
"Of course! I love books!" Edward said. Havoc rolled his eyes. "Yes, we know. How many times have we gotten calls at the office saying that a certain alchemist was holed up in the library all night?"
"It hasn't been that many seeing as how I travel mostly." Edward grumbled.
"This is my materials room. Feel free to look around." Tucker said.
Edward looked up at the bookshelf. "All right, I'll start with this shelf."
Al pointed to the shelf he was in front of. "Then, I'll start over here." He said as Ed already grabbed a book and opened it.
"I'm going back to work. I'll send someone by for you this evening." Mustang told the boys, only to be ignored as the boys were already absorbed in their books. He sighed as he was ignored.
"They have incredible focus, don't they?" Tucker asked, smiling.
"They've already shut out the voices around them." He pushed his glasses up. "There are prodigies out there, huh?"
"You really shouldn't lose your attention of the outside world like that." Izumi growled, crossing her arms and glaring at the boys.
"What if someone were to come and try to kill you while you were focused like that?"
Al leaned over to whisper to his brother, "Why does she keep lecturing us? Weren't we expelled?" "I have no idea." Edward replied.
"I can't even figure out how we are supposed to act around her now."
"I know." Al agreed, nodding his head.
The screen faded to black, then lit up again to show a clock ticking. Edward was sitting on the floor with a bunch of books piles surrounding him with one in his hand.
"Damn Chief, it's only been one day. How many books can you read in one day?" Havoc asked shocked.
"Well, how many books are surrounding me?" Edward retorted.
"That can't be good for your eyes or back sitting there so long." Falman said, frowning in worry about the boy's health.
Ed waved it off. "Don't worry. Al usually doesn't let me sit around reading for too, too long. We sometimes take a break to eat or spar so I can stretch my muscles."
"At least one of you is smart enough to care for your body." Izumi growled.
Ed shivered at the tone and leaned over to his brother. "I am more scared of her now that she's not our teacher since I don't know how to talk to her anymore."
Al nodded in agreement.
Al was shown standing in front of a bookcase with a book in his hands.
Nina stuck her head around the corner of the bookcase to look at Al, who glanced over and saw her. Nina, surprised, ducked back around the corner, then peaked out again and smiled.
Edward was staring down at his book when he heard the laughter of a little girl and looked up in confusion. He walked around the library to get to where the noise was come from to see Al playing with Nina.
"Way up high! Way up high!" Al said as Ed simply stared.
"Al!" Ed shouted, stomping a foot on the ground as he grabbed Al's and Nina's attention. "What are you doing?"
"Nina looked like she wanted to play." Al replied.
"Hey, what are we here to do?" Ed asked. As he finished his question, a shadow passed over him again. He looked around in time to see Alexander again as the dog jumped on him again, causing him to scream.
"That dog must really love you." Buccaneer said, smirking. "I think he had it out for me." Ed grumbled, rubbing his sore neck.
"Brother," Al sighed. "You say that about every animal."
"Because they are always jumping on me!" Ed growled.
Hughes smirked. "They jump on you because you are so small and cuddly to them." As he said this, he jumped off the couch he was on and grabbed the boy from behind in a tight hug that he couldn't escape from.
"AHHH!" Edward shouted, struggling in the hold. "Let me go, Hughes!"
"But you are just so cute and small. You fit just right in my arms." Hughes teased, holding the boy tighter.
"DAMN IT! I'M NOT A TINY LITTLE BEANSPROUT!" Edward shouted.
"Hughes, stop teasing the boy." Mustang ordered.
"Right, right. Ruin my fun." Hughes grumbled as he released the boy. And for once, Edward silently thanked Colonel in his head.
Edward lay face down on the ground with Alexander on top of him and licking him while Al and Nina watched.
"Alexander says he wants to play too." Nina said.
Edward lifted his head off the ground. "You've got some nerve." He stood up as the dog was off of him. "They say that a lion uses all of his strength to hunt even a rabbit." An angry twitch appeared in his body.
"So, I, Edward Elric, will use my whole body and soul to take you on, you beast of a dog!"
While Nina laughed, Al sweat dropped as he watched his brother fight with a dog.
The exterior of the house was shown as Havoc's voice said, "Hey, Chief!
I'm here to pick you up. "Edward was shown to be lying on the ground with a panting dog on top of him.
"I can't believe a Dog of the State lost to a dog." Mustang mocked, grinning along with the other soldiers at the sight.
"That dog was damn evil." Edward grumbled.
Havoc stared down at his boss. "What are you up to down there, Ed?"
"You know what, let's just say I'm taking a break from a long day of research." Edward grounded out.
"After all that you must be dog tired." Tucker said, causing a dark look to cross Ed's face and Tucker to chuckle. "Why don't you come on back tomorrow?"
"You're really going to come again?" Nina asked Al excitedly.
"We'll play some more tomorrow, kay, Nina?" Al said.
"Kay."
Ed tiredly followed his brother out of Tucker's house with Havoc following them. The Lieutenant stopped briefly to face Tucker again.
"Ah, Mr. Tucker, I have a message from the Colonel. He says 'Don't forget, Assessment Day is coming soon."
Al watched his brother clench his fist tightly at that. Yes, that was where it all started to go downhill, just from that simple statement.
Ed growled. He heard the Lieutenant say that and he remembered that Tucker said his research wasn't going well. Damn it, why didn't he notice it sooner?
"No." Ed growled and jumped to his feet. He spun around and headed to one of the bedrooms that didn't have a hole in the wall. He just couldn't do this, not again. The soldiers watched him leave, some feeling confused, while
some were understanding as they knew he was the one to discover this horrible truth.
"Brother." Al said, watching him leave. Of course, his brother was having difficulty with this. He was as well, but he didn't think his brother would run from seeing it. Unlike Ed, Al truly couldn't feel anything, but he had his emotions. That meant he couldn't truly feel the pain from this like his brother was. And right now, Al would use that to his advantage because his brother needed him.
(A/N: So, you know, the following conversation between Ed and Al take place while everyone else continues to watch the episode without them.)
*Bedroom*
Al closed the door behind him and found his brother sitting on a bed with a pillow pulled to his chest which he had his face buried in. "Brother," he said quietly, moving over to the bed.
At first, it seemed as if Edward didn't hear him as he didn't move an inch, but when Al was standing right next to him, he raised his eyes slightly to show sad golden orbs. "Al, we failed her."
"Yes, we weren't strong enough to save her." Al replied, understanding just how his brother felt. Saying that he was wrong wouldn't help the situation right now. "I know it was a hard truth on you, Brother. It has hurt me a lot as well."
Ed smiled sadly. Yes, they were both feeling extremely guilty for not noticing in time. Neither one of them was alone in this pain.
"Do you really want to hide out in here?" Al asked.
"Why wouldn't I want to?" Edward muttered. "I don't want to sit through it all again to see just how I missed all the clues that could have stopped this."
"Brother, I know it hurts to see it all over again, but I think it might help to see it from a different viewpoint." Al told him calmly. As much as Al wanted to hide out too, he knew they shouldn't. They had to face it all head on.
Hiding from it wasn't going to change the fact that it happened. Ed snorted and buried his face back in his pillow. "How would that help?"
His muffled voice asked.
"It will help us to accept this better and maybe we'll learn from the clues we missed so we don't miss them again when dealing with other people like this." Al suggested.
Ed's mismatched hands clutched the pillow tightly. "I know. I know you're right." His muffled voice replied. "It's not that I'm even afraid to face it."
"Then what is it?" Al asked calmly.
"I don't want to hear it all over again." Edward replied.
"Hear what?" Al asked worriedly.
Gold eyes glanced at Al again. "What Tucker said in his lab."
Al grimaced. He hated hearing what that man said to his brother. Ed's nerves were already strained then, but then to have to hear that, he was pushed too far. "Brother, don't listen to that man." He replied. "He was wrong. You would never do something like that."
"It's not that I even believe…" 'At least, I don't think I do.' "But it hurts to have all my failures thrown at me like that, then to have Nina still talking to us and loving her dad after he did that to her." Ed whispered. "Why did she still love him? He destroyed her chance at life."
"He was her dad, which was all she had left since her mother was gone." Al replied calmly, though there was some anger in his voice. "She loved him. She didn't understand. It's that simple, Brother. You shouldn't think too much."
"Unconditional love, eh?" Edward muttered, not really understanding since he could never forgive his father for abandoning them.
"Please, Brother, I know it hurts, but please come back to the main room." Al pleaded. "We shouldn't hide in here. You always face the horrors and problems of life face on. "After a moment of hesitation, Edward nodded his head.
"Yes, please assure him I know." Tucker replied.
"Right," Havoc replied and followed the boys once more.
Tucker closed the door and bowed his head.
"Daddy," Nina asked, and when her dad looked at her, she continued.
"What's assessment?"
"State Alchemists have to report on the results of their research once a year." A silver pocket watch was shown before it disappeared and
Tucker approached his daughter. "Last year, Dad didn't get a very good evaluation. If I fail this year, I won't be a State Alchemist anymore."
"Huh?" Nina said. "You'll do fine, Dad! You're always studying so much!"
Tucker kneeled and pulled Nina into a hug. "You're right. I have to try hard…" 'Or there will be nothing left…'
"Your mother left two years ago?" Al's voice asked as the exterior of the Tucker's house was shown the next day.
"Dad said that she went back to her parents' house." Nina replied as the scene show Al and Ed with books in their hands.
"I see. It must be lonesome with just you and your father living by yourself in this big house," Al said, looking at the girl while Ed's eyes were trained on his book.
Nina, who was sitting on the floor with her back resting against her dog, shook her head. "No, it's fine. Dad is nice to me," She turned and hugged her dog. "And I have Alexander too! But lately, Dad has been in his lab all the time. I am a little bit lonely."
Ed and Al were now both glancing up from their books when a scene flashed back to when the boys were children, looking around their dad's office door to see him working at his desk.
"That is a lonely feeling that they both share with her." Hughes said sadly.
Fathers should spend as much time as they could with their children. Kids were precious gifts to the world and should have a lot of attention from their parents.
Ed scoffed as he walked around the couch and back to his place on the floor.
"As if I could ever feel anything for that bastard."
"Brother," Al said softly, following after him.
"Isn't the fact that you feel hatred for your father mean you feel something for him?" Charlie asked as none of the soldiers or Izumi wanted to comment on
Ed and Al's sudden departure and return.
"Don't call him that!" Edward shouted. "He is no father of mine."
"Someone has Daddy issues." Mustang said, but quietly so Ed wouldn't hear.
He may tease the boy, but even he knew there were some lines not to cross and he respected that.
Back in the present, Edward closed his book and stood up. He yawned
before stretching his shoulders. "My shoulders are killing me."
"Maybe you should try to move around some, Brother." Al said.
Edward continued to roll his shoulders as he said, "Yeah, not a bad idea, Al." He stopped rolling his shoulder to point at the dog. "Hey, you mangy mutt, looks like you could use some exercise."
Laughing, Al closed his book. "Let's go too, Nina." A happy smiled crossed Nina's face.
"Aww, there's that sweet side of Edward." Havoc teased. "Playing with the kiddies when they are lonely or bored."
"Not as much of a punk as we first thought." Avery added, grinning.
Ed scowled at the ground. Normally he would retort to the teasing or something, but right now, it just hurt so much. Nina was dead. He couldn't save her. Because he was blind, he didn't notice the danger she was in, and that had cost her a chance at having a great life. Why did they have to tease him now when he was already hurting so much?
Ed ran around the backyard with Nina riding Alexander chasing after him. Al stood to the side to watch them.
"Wait up!" Edward brought his hands in front of him and clapped. He changed his arm into a toy and turned the chase around.
Nina then used Al's back as a slide, jumping happily on the ground as Ed was, once again, jumped on by Alexander.
"That dog has it out for me." Ed grumbled.
"How many times are you going to fall for the same thing? Aren't you supposed to learn from past mistakes?" Luke asked the boy, grinning.
Ed glared at him. It wasn't his fault that the dog just came out of nowhere.
Alexander started to lick Nina's face as the scene changed to Tucker's
lab.
"Wait!" Nina shouted. "Alexander, hang in there!"
Tucker was shown with his face in his hands.
"Don't forget, Assessment Day is coming soon." Havoc's voice said.
Tucker lifted his face from his hands to look at his watch on his desk.
"Tell me," Hughes's voice said as East City was shown. "What does it mean that he only targets State Alchemists?" A MP standing guard was shown. "If the military was his objective, he could just attack soldiers indiscriminately. Alchemists, with their special abilities, are not opponents who are easily killed."
"You are wrong on that assessment." Miles pointed out.
"Yes, we truly didn't know at the time just how strong Scar was." Hughes agreed with a frown.
A picture of Grand was shown. "That goes double for those with state certification."
Armstrong was shown standing in front of Hughes's desk. "Perhaps the certification is the cause?" Armstrong suggested. "The enormous pay and various special privileges. There must be many who are envious of them. What's more, 'Alchemist, be thou for the people.' Alchemists, who are supposed to be seekers after truth, are changed into the military's walking weapons the moment they receive state certification."
"What a great assessment. You were almost exactly right, Major." Edward commented.
"There is a reason why he works with the Investigation Department." Hughes said. "Which reminds me, Ed! How about coming and doing some work for us?"
Ed snarled. "Hell no, you damn slave driver! You'll probably just as bad, if not worse, then the Colonel."
"I had no idea that you were so lazy, Fullmetal." Mustang said.
"Argh! I'm busy with my own things!" Edward shouted. "So, get off my back!"
Hughes pouted. "Please, Ed? You have a really good mind. I could really use your help on some cases."
"N-O! No." Edward growled.
"Ever since the Ishvalan Civil War, there are any number of people who would bear a grudge."
There was a knock on the door before Maria Ross came in. "I have something to report, sir." She said before looking at her clipboard.
"Yesterday, at 9:30, a man with a large scar on his face was witnessed on the grounds of Central City Train Station by multiple station employees."
Hughes sat up in his seat. "The train stations? The bastard got away, did he?"
The scene went back to the Tucker's house where the boys and Nina were in the kitchen with Mr. Tucker.
"Our life before my earning state certification was terrible. We were so poor." A picture of Tucker and his wife arguing was shown. "My wife couldn't put up with living like that, so she left us." The scene went to Nina petting her dog, then to the Elric brothers watching Tucker. "I have to pass this assessment, no matter what. I don't ever want to go back to those days again."
'No matter what….' Edward thought angrily. There was another hint. Just after this he asks his daughter to play with him tomorrow. It was so damn obvious…so very obvious that something was wrong. He says he has to pass his assessment no matter what, then asks his daughter to play with him, instead of him working on his research. It was So Damn. Obvious. So why the hell did he miss it? His hands curled into fists and he bowed his head. 'I'm so sorry, Nina. I wasn't strong or smart enough to save you. I was completely blind to the danger you were in when I had so many hints.'
Al wanted to cry, just like his brother wanted to, but both stubbornly refused. They had so many hints, so many clues, that something was wrong, but they were completely blind to all of it. To him, he just saw a father and his daughter, making him think of when all the brothers had was their mother after their dad left. That was when they were the happiest, and Nina looked so happy that he just didn't want to see that something was wrong.
Nina stopped petting her dog and turned to her dad. "It's all right, Dad. If they tell you no, then me and Alexander will get mad at the important people for you."
Al chuckled.
Riza smiled. "What a sweet little girl."
"Just as sweet as my little Elicia." Hughes cried, getting ready to pull out a picture. He was only stopped by Mustang kicking him. "Ow. You don't have to be so cruel."
"No one wants to be subjected to your pictures any more than they already have to." Mustang growled.
Hughes's glasses glinted evilly. "Not even if I have some of Ed and Al?"
"WHAT?!" Ed shouted, shooting off the floor to glare at the man.
"Seriously?" Havoc said, biting down on his cigarette as he smirked. "I want to see."
"No!" Ed snarled at him before turning to Hughes. "When?"
"What's the big deal, Brother?" Al asked confused.
"It's Hughes! Who knows what kind of pictures he took!" Ed said angrily, glaring at the family man.
Avery smirked. "Now I want to see them for myself."
Hughes glanced at Ed, who was glaring at him with his go-on-do-it-I-dareyou glare. So naturally, the Lieutenant Colonel met the challenge head on and whipped out a picture from his pocket, grinning evilly at Ed.
"Give me that picture." Ed shouted, lunging at the man. He managed to tackle the man, but not before the picture was tossed to Mustang, who caught it in surprise. He looked down at it to see that it was indeed of Edward. The boy was lying on his stomach on a couch. His head was half lying on the couch and half hanging off it. His flesh arm was being used as a pillow while his automail arm hung off the couch. His golden eyes were half-opened, still glazed with grogginess that came from just waking up and there was a faint smile on his face. He looked very much like the fifteen-year-old boy he was. Edward pushed himself off of Hughes to shoot his commanding officer a glare. "Give it, Mustang." He snarled.
"Nope." Mustang smirked and passed the picture over to Charlie.
"Damn it!" Ed growled and made to get to Charlie, but Mustang stopped him by grabbing him around the waist and pulling him onto the couch where Hughes was sitting before Ed attacked him.
"Now, now, Fullmetal. Behave yourself." Mustang mocked.
Ed's eyes narrowed to slits. "I'll kill you."
Mustang, in a patronizing manner, patted Ed's head. "No, you won't. You don't have it in you."
"Aww, how cute." Karin cried when she saw the picture of Ed. Her eyes sparkling, she looked up at Hughes. "What else you got?"
"Why the hell did I get stuck in the east with all the weirdoes." Ed snarled quietly to himself.
"Hmm." Hughes said thoughtfully as he pulled out another picture. "What about this one?"
This time the picture was of Al standing in the back of a crowd with Ed kneeling on his brother's shoulder. The State Alchemist was wearing a fond smile and had his automail hand resting on his brother's helmet.
Maria smiled. "How sweet."
"What the hell?" Edward hissed. "Do you stalk us?"
"Only sometimes when we're in the same city." Hughes said, patting Ed on the head. "After all, I got to watch out for my kids."
His words brought a blush to Ed's face so he ducked his head into the Colonel's shoulder to hide it, not realizing he just made the situation all that more embarrassing for him. Mustang jerked in surprise, but didn't push the boy away. As for Edward, he got a waft of his superior's cologne and felt himself relax a bit. The cologne was familiar to him as it reminded him of a time when he fell asleep in Mustang's office and woke up to the Colonel's military jacket covering him.
Chuckling, Hughes sat back down on the couch so Ed was between him and Mustang as the pictures went around to those who wanted to see them.
"You tell them, Nina."
"Nina," Tucker said. "Do you want to play with Dad tomorrow?"
"Really?!" Nina said excitedly.
"Yeah," Tucker said as his daughter launched herself into his arms.
"Hooray! Alexander, dad said he's going to play with us." Nina said.
Edward glared at the screen, body tensing in anger or fear to what he knew was coming, he didn't know. For all he could guess, it could possibly be both of them. Hughes rested a hand on Ed's shoulder in a comforting manner. Reliving this was not going to be easy for the boy.
The brothers smiled before the scene went black, then opened up to the Tucker's house for the next day.
Edward groaned. This came much too quickly for his liken. He glanced at his brother, who was staring at him. Neither of them wanted to enter that house again.
The bell to the house was rung, but when no one answered, Al opened the door to the house. "Hello, Mr. Tucker." He said. "Thanks for having us again today.
"Ed walked in front of his brother to stare into the dark house. They walked in with Al calling, "Mr. Tucker?"
"Hey, Nina!" Ed called, looking around.
They made it to Tucker's lab and opened the door.
"Mr. Tucker?" Al asked when he saw the man kneeling in front of a Chimera.
Edward bit back a groan from escaping his lips when he saw the scene. Why?
Why did this have to happen? Why did it have to be shown to them? Why… Why…. Why… Only the grip on his shoulder from Hughes kept Ed from getting lost in his thoughts completely. He wanted to lean into the warm touch, but just couldn't do it. Not when his own little brother couldn't get any comfort like this in that metal body of his.
Al looked away from the screen once more to look at his brother, whose eyes were now filled with horror. He couldn't blame him. If he had his body, he would probably look just as bad as his extremely pale brother. Behind him, even though he couldn't feel the warmth, Riza put her hands on his shoulders in a comforting manner like Hughes was doing for his brother.
He leaned slightly in the touch, wishing that he could feel the warmth of her hands. Even though she didn't understand what was wrong, Izumi, too put a comforting hand on Al's arm. She just knew that something wasn't right here by the way her dear ex-pupils were acting.
"Oh, you are home, aren't you?" Edward asked.
Tucker looked away from his chimera. His eyes glowed eerily in the darkness. "Hey."
The way he said that caused Ed to stare into the room with a frown.
"I did it. This is the finished product." Tucker said. The chimera was shown on the screen as Tucker said, "A Chimera that understands human speech."
There was a flash of lightning and thunder outside the house.
"This gives off an ominous feeling." General Armstrong growled.
Miles looked at the horror-stricken boys with a frown. "Yes, something is obviously wrong here. Something that alchemy did."
Scar frowned at the screen. He remembered killing this man and the Chimera.
The Chimera was killed out of pity; though, he supposed not everyone would see it that way. It was what needed to be done. That despicable alchemy had done this horrible deed. It was best to get rid of the Chimera to save it from any more pain in this world.
"Look there." Tucker said as the boys were standing right next to the
Chimera now. "Listen to me. That person is Edward."
"Ed…ward…?" The Chimera said.
"Yes, well done." Tucker replied as he petted the Chimera.
"Amazing. It really does talk." Edward said before kneeling on the ground.
"Yeah. Now I won't have to lose my state certification." Tucker said as he stood up.
The Chimera turned its head to face Ed. "Ed…ward… Ed…ward… Ed…ward…Big…Bro…ther…"
Those words caused Ed's eyes to widen in horror and shock.
"Big brother?" Maria said confused.
Ed's whole body tensed. He never got over hearing those words from Nina. They were what made him realize the horrible truth of what Tucker had done to his own family. Hughes's grip on Ed's shoulder tightened. No one knew what had happened in the lab, only that Ed discovered this truth. There knew nothing of what was said, just that something set Ed off enough to beat Tucker's face to a bloody pulp. They had all just assumed it was because of the little girl turned into a Chimera, saying his name and big brother which must have shocked and scared the boy greatly. But with the way Ed was acting, was it more than that?
Mustang resisted the urge to grab Ed. Hughes could handle it. He didn't want to comfort the boy. He was to be the boy's strength right now. Someone that would treat him normally when all this came to light. Ed would need that support greatly so he could get through this a second time.
Ed stared into the Chimera's eyes, which caused his eyes to widen even more in horror. "Mr. Tucker, when did you get your state certification again?"
"Let's see," Tucker said, putting a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Two years ago."
"And when did your wife leave?" Ed asked.
Tucker lowered his hand. "Two years ago."
"Can I ask you one more question?" Ed asked. "Nina and Alexander."
He turned his head to glare at the man. "Where are they?"
Al's helmet snapped up in shock.
"Damn brat, figuring it out so quickly." Tucker said.
"I'm confused. What happened?" Buccaneer demanded.
"He used his wife to make a talking Chimera, and two years later, he did the same thing again." Mustang growled darkly.
"No way." Dr. Young said horrified. "He didn't…. not his own daughter?"
Miles pushed his glass up, a dark frown marring his face. "This is truly a devil's work." He glanced at the two teenagers in the room. They were the ones to discover it after befriending the little girl. It must have been really painful for them to go through this. That must be why the elder one looked like he was going to be sick and Hughes was holding his shoulders tightly while Izumi and Hawkeye took care of the younger brother. This was something that children shouldn't have to deal with. Because, no matter how much they went through, they were the ones always in danger, not someone else. When it was someone else on the line, it seemed these boys just couldn't handle it.
"How disgusting." General Armstrong growled. "This man does not deserve life. Human lives are not to be used like this."
Ed twitched. Why? Why did she have to say that? It just reminded him of what Tucker told him that night.
The soldiers glowered at the screen. It was their job to protect the people of the state, yet, one of their own State Alchemists had done something like. And what if the prodigy Elric brothers hadn't been there? Would any of them have realized what had been done? No, they most likely wouldn't have. This really was a cruel world if it would do something like this to a little girl and be possible that only children could realize the truth.
Izumi covered her mouth in shock. His own daughter? She could never imagine doing such a thing to a child, much less one that was her own. Children were innocent and were supposed to be protected, not used like this. How could that man do such a thing to the one he is supposed to love and cherish the most? Her other hand gripped Al's arm more tightly. Oh, how she desperately wished to pull both of her ex-students into a fierce hug and never let go. They didn't deserve having to see this. It was much too horrible, even for adults.
Edward lunged off the ground and slammed Tucker into the wall,
pushing his forearm into the man's neck.
"Brother!" Al shouted.
"Oh yeah, I figured it out. You did it again. Two years ago, it was your wife." Edward growled, ignoring how the man struggled for breath. His eyes were shown, glowing darkly with anger. "This time, you used your own daughter and her dog to transmute a talking Chimera."
Al stood up straight and looked at the Chimera.
"You can only do so much with animals after all. It's much easier when you start with a human, isn't that right?" Edward shouted, tightening his grip on the man.
"Chief," Havoc whispered shocked. He had never seen his young boss this angry and upset before. Even his arguments with the Colonel never brought emotion like this out before. Compared to this, those arguments seemed more like a game between the two.
"A horror like this shouldn't exist in the world." Falman said quietly
"I don't see what you're so upset about." Tucker said. "This is how we progress. Human experimentation is a necessary step. I would think a scientist should understand…"
"He tried to justify his actions?" Hughes snarled angrily. As a father, he could never fathom how this man could care more about keeping his state certification then protecting his daughter. His own daughter was his precious little angel. There was no way he could do anything to hurt her. How could this man even lay a finger on his? He just didn't understand.
"Shut up!" Edward shouted. "Do you really think you can get away with this? Messing around with someone's life like that?! Your own daughter!"
Armstrong frowned darkly. How could this man ever become a State Alchemist? Alchemy was supposed to help the people. Nothing about this type of alchemy could help the people of this country. This was simply a way to harm innocent people.
Al's hands trembled in anger. Not only did this man destroys his own daughter's chance at a wonderful life, but he said so many horrible things tohis brother. He hurt Nina and his own brother. Al was hurt greatly by his actions and words as well, but the words were directed completely at his brother. To see that anguish, guilt, and grief shining in his brother's face had hurt him so much. He wanted to pull his brother away right away, if only to tell him that everything Tucker said was a lie, but he couldn't bring himself to right away. A part of him said that Tucker deserved the pain, while the other part said his brother needed to release his anger in some way, even if was only a little bit that got out.
As for Edward, his body was beginning to tremble. Nina was hard enough on him, then tucker just had to open his mouth. Edward was no fool. He knew that Tucker was trying to justify what he did by hurting Edward where it hit home, trying to convince him they were the same so he would stay quiet. He knew that, but everything he said had felt like the man was ripping apart his soul and putting it back together as his view on what Ed did and why. It made it so difficult to understand that what was said was just a lie.
"Someone's life you say?" Tucker asked. "Hahaha. You'd know all about that, wouldn't you? Look at you, Fullmetal Alchemist! Look at your leg, your arm," The screen flashed to Ed's hand then to Al. "Your brother! Those things are also the result of messing around with somebody's life, aren't there?"
"Argh," Mustang put his forehead in his hand. "That would explain why his face was beaten into a bloody pulp."
"He deserved it for saying something like that to Chief." Havoc snarled angrily.
Armstrong looked at the boy sadly. He had never mentioned what was exchanged between him and Tucker, but they all noticed that it had left a huge blow on Ed afterwards. And now he understood why. The boy already felt guilty about the human transmutation and his brother, and then he had it all shoved in his face by this man. He was so scared that it was true, but couldn't bring himself to say it to anyone because he was afraid, they would say that Tucker was right. That was probably what the boy was feeling.
Ed's eyes flashed angrily. "Shut up!" He yelled and his automail fist came flying forward to slam into Tucker's face, breaking his glasses and knocking them to the ground. "We are the same." Tucker said with a laugh.
"We're the same!" He turned his head, blood streaming down his mouth. "You're just like me."
Without the adrenaline of punching Tucker in the face this time around, Ed was actually beginning to hyperventilate in horror at Tucker's words. No! He wasn't. He wasn't anything like that man!
"We're not!" Ed said.
"Oh, but yes we are. The opportunity was right in front of us, and we took it. We had to, even though we knew it was against the rules!" Tucker shouted to a trembling Edward.
"No…no…" Ed whispered, hands going up to claw at his hair, breathing now coming in heavy gasps. He closed his eyes tightly, willing the tears to go away. He wasn't! He wasn't like that man. Tell him he's not crazy and deranged like that man!
"Edward." Izumi whispered quietly. She was now kneeling in front of Ed, having left the little brother when he looked at her, silently pleading somehow in that armor for her to go. "Open your eyes."
Ed shook his head. He couldn't. He couldn't do it. He didn't want to see his hands, see the blood that covered his hands from his sins. It was all his fault, damn it! This was all his fault. He killed his mother a second time! He trapped his brother! And he couldn't even save Nina! What use was he when all he ever did was…?
SLAP!
A stinging sensation in his cheek sent Ed's head snapping to the side. His eyes flew open in surprise. His eyes met Hughes's shocked ones, along with the faces of stunned soldiers in his peripheral vision, for a moment before warm hands cupped his face and turned his head so he was staring at his former Teacher's stern, but warm eyes. "It wasn't your fault. There was no way you could have known what was going to happen to Nina, just how I couldn't know that you and your brother were going to attempt Human
Transmutation. We are humans, not Gods. We can't predict the future."
"B-but Mom…. A-al…" Edward whispered. So lost in his despair, he never noticed how all the soldiers turned to look away from him in his moment of weakness so as to give him some form of privacy. They all had weak moments, when their despair at what they've done drags them down to a dark abyss and making them feel as if they would never be able to escape their sins and anguish. In those times, it was up to loyal friends and comrades to pull them back up and give them a reason to live. Now, it was Fullmetal's turn to admit that he was scared and lost, but they respected and understood this despair enough not to mock him or stare at him during it.
"Don't listen to anything that man said, Edward." Izumi said, gently rubbing the tears at the corner of Ed's eyes away. "He's wrong. What you did was out of love. You weren't playing with your mother or your brother. You said it yourself. You just wanted to see your mother again. And your brother, you saved him. If you didn't grab his soul when you did, he would be dead right now and there would be no chance to save him. But you bonded his soul and are now searching for a way to get his body back. You are nothing like this man. What you are doing proves it. You became a Dog of the State to find a way to save your brother. Both of you have given so much up for the other. Does that sound like someone who simply toys with humans?"
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Edward whispered, slipping from the couch and into Izumi's arms. She wrapped them tightly around the boy, burying her face in his soft hair. Ed nuzzled his face in her shoulder while his body trembled.
He wouldn't cry. He refused to cry. As long as his brother couldn't cry, he wouldn't cry. He had to be strong for Al and fulfil his promises.
"No!" Ed shouted, slamming his fist into Tucker's face again. "Not me!" He slammed his fist into Tucker's bleeding face again. "Alchemists don't…" He slammed his fist into his face again. "Do that…" And again. "I'm not…" Ed whispered. Tucker's blood was splattered on his face. "I'm not!" He went to punch the man again, but Al grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"Brother! If you keep this up, he'll die." Al said.
"Nothing less than he deserves." General Armstrong growled.
"Though, Fullmetal should not be the one to do it, especially in such an emotional state." Miles said, refusing to look at the boy as he was still struggling with himself. "No one should kill when they are not in the right state of mind."
General Armstrong cast the child a look before looking away. Miles was right. She may believe the boy to still be weak as he didn't take lives, but she would never ask for someone's first kill to be when they are in an emotional state like this. That would make the realization of what he or she did that much worse later on, and it would most likely destroy them completely.
"Thank God Al was there to stop him." Riza said softly. She didn't even want to imagine how Edward would be if he had killed this man. He was already so upset over what happened to poor Nina. Killing someone right after that realization would have utterly destroyed the boy, and she couldn't see how they would ever have been able to pull him out of it.
Edward trembled in anger, glaring at the man, refusing to let go of his shirt. It wasn't until he looked to his left and saw the Chimera sitting there that his expression changed to horror.
"Dad…"
Edward lowered his arms so he was no longer shoving the man in the wall and dropped him.
"Do you hurt? Dad, do you hurt?"
The exterior of the house was shown to show that it was pouring down rain now.
Al kneeled in front of the Chimera and petted it. "I'm sorry. With our power, we can't return you back to normal. I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"
"Let's play…let's play…" The chimera said. Tucker was sitting on the floor, staring at his pocket watch. "I made it in time…Now…I'll be a State Alchemist again."
Many soldiers frowned in disgust at this man. His daughter was gone forever and all he cared about was the power and respect he thought he was going to get.
Scar growled quietly. Now that he saw what truly happened before he showed up there, he was truly disgusted by what this horrid science brought. Not only did it destroy a little girl's life, but it traumatized two boys who were not able to save her. Even if one of those boys was a State Alchemist, he still felt pity for the boy having to go through with this. How much worse could this country get?
A look of anger passed Ed's face again before he kicked Tucker's hand to send his watch flying through the air and clattering against the ground.
Tucker crawled pitifully after his watch. "Like hell you're staying a State Alchemist. Like hell."
"Let's…play…"
Edward couldn't look at the Chimera anymore so his eyes slid shut and a painful scream tore from his throat as the screen turned black.
East City was shown with rain still pouring down as Hawkeye's voice said, "If ever there was an example of the devil's work in this world, this case would definitely be it."
"The devil, huh?" Mustang replied. "The State Alchemists must be willing to act, able to take another's life when ordered to without questioning. In some ways," Tucker's house was shown with two guards standing guard in front of it. "Mr. Tucker's actions and our own may not be all that far apart. When it comes to interfering with other people's lives." A black boot splashed in a puddle, blocking the guards from sight.
Mustang and Hawkeye were shown walking out of Eastern Command Center. "We choose our own path, knowing full well what we are doing."
He stopped on the stairs. "That's the way it is," The screen pulled out to show Ed and Al sitting on the stairs. "Right, Fullmetal? You will more than likely come across cases like this again in the future," He and Hawkeye continued down the stairs. "And you may end up having to get your own hands dirty as well. Are you going to shut down like this every time?"
"Harsh, Colonel." Havoc said.
"It's not my job to baby him, but prepare him for the horrors he will face as a State Alchemist." Mustang growled, refusing to look at his subordinate that was slowly getting himself back under control.
"We may be called Dogs of the Military," Edward said. "We may even be cursed as devils. It doesn't matter. Al and I are still going to get our bodies back." His hands gripped his red jacket tightly. "We know the truth." Mustang and Hawkeye stopped again to look at Ed out of the corner of their eyes. "We know we're not devils. We know we're not gods." He stood up; head still bowed. "We're human." He raised his head to face the sky and yelled, "We're only human!" Mustang and Hawkeye continued down the stairs without a word. "We can't even do anything to save one innocent little girl. So what good are we then?"
Edward took a deep, shuddering breathes. He couldn't do this. He couldn't be this weak, not when his little brother still needed him. There were still so many promises he had to fulfil. He had to make up for not being able to properly protect Nina. And the only way to do that was by fulfilling all his promises and helping those who needed help to the best of his abilities. That was his duty right now. Nina was beyond his ability, but all those that still existed were not.
Taking another deep breathe to calm himself, Edward pushed himself away from Izumi. He gave her a smile to show his thanks. Izumi replied with her own smile, glad to see her student was back to normal.
Edward stood up, grabbing people's attention on him, but he ignored them in favour of moving over to his brother. Al, noticing him, raised one of his hands to his brother and curled it into a fist to show that everything was alright with them after what Tucker said. Ed responded by bumping the fist with his automail fist. Without a single word, Ed sat down and leaned his back against Al's arm to continue watching the show. And like that, everything was alright with their mental attitudes again. That was just how the brothers were, able to jump back to it when it was needed.
The scene changed to a room in Tucker's house where Tucker was sitting with the Chimera in front of him. "I wonder why nobody understands, Nina." He said.
The boards creaked as a man stepped into the house, causing Tucker to look up in surprise. There was a flash of lightning that lit the man up brightly before it disappeared to reveal the man was Scar.
"Shou Tucker, right?" Scar asked.
"Oh, right, Scar killed them." Edward said, frowning. He didn't condone the man's action. In fact, he despised the man, especially for what he did to Nina. He was also arguing with himself. Was it alright that he, did it? He knew Nina was in great pain and could never go back to normal. She would have been used as a subject for experiments and be put through more pain, and eventually killed off probably. That didn't make it alright to kill her, but was it the right thing to do to save her from those horrible experiments? He just didn't know.
"Who are you? You're…not with the military, are you?" Tucker stood up in fear. The scene changed to the two military guards, lying dead on the ground in their own blood. "How did you get in here? There were military policemen out front."
"He's there to pass judgment on a horrible man." General Armstrong growled. She, like Ed, didn't condone Scar's actions of killing State Alchemists, but this man deserved death for what he did to his family. There was no possible way she could ever respect this man.
Scar ignored him and continued forward. "Alchemists who have turned their backs on the ways of God…" He raised his hand and slammed it into Tucker's head.
"Shall perish." Tucker's body convulsed as blood sprouted from it and he fell to the ground. The Chimera walked forward and nuzzled Tucker's hand.
"Dad…" Tears spilled from the Chimera's eyes. "Dad…Dad…"
"It truly is really sad." Armstrong said sadly. "She still kept a part of her mind and still loved her father to the very end. She was truly a wonderful daughter."
"It is tragic what her fate had to be." Maria Ross murmured; eyes downcast. Alchemy, it was not as great as they all thought if it could do something as horrible and painful as this.
"You poor creature." Scar said. "Once you have been given this form, there is no way of separating you again." He took a few steps forward to the Chimera. "At least," he put his hand on the Chimera's head. "Your passing will be in peace."
There was a flash of lightning and when it died down, Scar was walking out of the house.
"God," he said as the room was shown with two dead bodies lying in a puddle of blood. "Hear me. Two human souls have just been returned to you." Scar walked passed the gates of the house. "Please accept them into your loving arms. Please grant these poor lost souls everlasting peace and salvation."
Scar reached up and removed his sunglasses to raise his eyes to the sky, revealing them to be blood red. Ed and Al were shown to be standing on the steps of Eastern Command Center one last time before the screen went dark to end the episode.
"This was a really horrible episode." Darius said, looking quite ill at everything they saw. He couldn't believe that had happened. He and his buddies were Chimeras, but they could change their bodies at will between an animal and their human self. That poor girl was stuck as a dog, then killed.
How could alchemy do such a thing?
"Just think, that could have happened to us." Zampano said quietly to his companions so no one else would hear and know about them. It wasn't something that they liked getting around. They hated these bodies. They had lost so much because of these bodies. No one else needed to know, needed to know how they were deformed. In a sense, they sympathized with Al. Like them, he was stuck in something he didn't like or want. It was something they could understand with.
"It is just showing us that alchemy is not all that great. As was proven in Ishval and here, alchemy has its dark side. While it is said to be used for the people, the truth is much darker than any of us realize." Edward said, frowning as his thoughts travelled to what he discovered about the Philosopher's Stone. "And what is shown here and the Ishvalan massacre is only the tip of the iceberg of how dark it truly is." He looked at Al with a sad look. "Right, Al?"
"Yes, nothing could match up to that." Al murmured.
Mustang frowned. "What are you boys talking about? You never saw Ishval. You don't know how horrible our alchemy was used there."
Ed shook his head, but kept his eyes trained on the screen, but they seemed to be more distant than anything. "We don't have to see it to know. You've killed hundreds, maybe more, with your Flame Alchemy, but that is nothing compared to this. Just imagine, Al, how many lives it would take…"
"I'd rather not, Brother." Al said quietly.
"Damn it, Fullmetal, Alphonse!" Mustang snarled. "What do you two know that we don't?"
"No, it will come up without a doubt, Colonel. In fact, I'd say it will be coming up real soon. Yes, because it was what we were working on just before we were brought here." Edward said. "Still, the truth within the truth. Just what are we missing?"
General Armstrong, just as annoyed with the cryptic words as Mustang, leaned back in her seat and smirked. She may be impatient to know, but she could wait a little bit for a few answers. Then, they would know just what was wrong with this country.
A/N: Okay, so how'd I do? I never liked this episode, except where Tucker and Ed were arguing in the lab. I don't know why, but I just loved that part. Anyway, how'd I do with the emotions? I had Ed break a little because I believe he needed someone to comfort him and I just love how Izumi handles the brothers so she was chosen. Ed needed to break a bit to show that he is still just a kid, but he's seen more horrors than the soldiers would ever see.
As for the Chimeras, it was mentioned in the first chapter that there were a bunch of soldiers around that Mustang didn't know. That included Darius, Heinkel, Zampano, and Jerso. They were just never mentioned to now, but they are most certainly there.
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