The sky was so pleasant when it was gray, a soft blanket of clouds coursing over the afternoon. Rain drops sprinkling the wet stones of the streets. I had always loved the rain, it made me happy, content, really. The cold drizzle always took my thoughts into a pleasant stream of consciousness, which was something I was very much in need of at the moment.

I sighed, and watched a couple of military cars drive up to the flagstones. The Colonel stepped out from one of them, and we made direct eye-contact. He had a hard look on his face, a glare that spoke volumes to how angry he was in its utter normality. Hughes stepped out of the car alongside him, his eyes hidden by the reflection of his glances, but his mouth drawn in a tight line similar to Mustang's. I barely registered them as they stepped up the steps, they walked, and walked, and walked right past me.

All the way up to the ashes of the house.

"Zählsargeant Richter..." it was Hughes who spoke first, "I'll need your full report on what exactly happened last night. Would you prefer to conduct it here, or down at the station?"

Huh, how cliché. Though I guess such language was justified. I rolled my shoulders and looked back up towards the sky, a few droplets hit my cheeks.

"Here is just fine," I croaked out, my voice was very small, "I got nothing to hide."

—[Seven hours and thirty-three minutes earlier]—

I rolled up to the Falter's hotel in my car, and parked it on the side of the street. Ed and Al weren't in sight, so I checked my watch. Eleven fifty-two, I was a few minutes early. Part of me desperately hoped they wouldn't show, so that I could forget about them entirely and just do what I needed to do.

When I saw them leaving the hotel doors a few minutes later, I realized just how stupid my hope really was. The car door opened, and the two brothers slid into the back, Edward's glare piercing through the scant gas lamp-lit light to stare me down through the rear-view mirror, "so tell me, Sargeant. Why'd you call us here? Where are we going?"

I shifted gears, and sighed, "the Tucker's house."

"Mr. Tucker's? Why?" Oh, Alphonse, you sweet, sweet tinman, this was going to permanently change you. I felt a harsh guilt over involving them like this, my reasons for doing so was the worst sort of deterministic fate-inspired drivel that would've voted my eyes out back on earth. Still, I kept driving.

"Mr. Tucker... I've been investigating him for a bit, you see. It's part of my job as a Zählsargeant," I glanced at the rear view mirror, partially to see the two brothers behind me, partially to check if we were being followed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Get to the point already." Edward spat, I wasn't expecting the hostility, but I guess it made sense given the circumstances. He knew what I was implying.

"Shou Tucker's chimera experiments, if my hunch is correct, are about to cross a line no man should cross. Legally or morally, it's taboo." I explained.

"H...human transmutation?!" Alphonse exclaimed, and I nodded, taking a left turn as I did so.

"Yes. Precisely... Edward, Alphonse. The only reason I called you to here was because I felt you would need to be here with me to verify this. And you're also of a high enough rank to get away with what we're about to do." I was being honest, even if my planned worked out and Nina was spared from such a cruel fate, I would need Ed and Al to cover for me on an organizational level. I was a sargeant, Ed was essentially a Major in the military—more respected than that, even. His testimony was key.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"... we're going to break into his house, and catch him in the act."

"What? That's insane!" Edward yelled, "come'on, even if what you're saying is true, I don't want to wake up Nina and get her involved in all of this."

"Yeah! And how do you even know Mr. Tucker's going to do it?" Alphonse chimed.

I ground my teeth, "no offense, he's a state alchemist. Most of his ilk committed genocide on the military's command to save their own skin. Shou's recertification is coming up again... soon..." I glanced at Edward, "I'll take a leap of faith, trust me. Just go through with this, and if I'm wrong, I'll resign my commission and never talk to you again. You can hold me to that." I swore that sincerely, I knew I wasn't wrong.

The elder Elric glared at me for a moment, before leaning back and crossing his arms. "Yeah, I'll hold you to that."

"Brother!" Alphonse chided.

The two began whispering back and forth in the backseat as we neared Tucker's home. I switched off the headlights as we approached, I didn't want to give ourselves away. The car puckered to a stop as I parked it on the side of the street a little ways away from window sight of the house. I silently beckoned the Elrics, who had seemingly made up their minds and followed me wordlessly.

Oh man, God, have mercy on me. Have mercy on her and them too, forgive me for what I'm about to do.

We snuck in through a window I pried open with my knife. Careful as to not make a sound, my heart beat swiftly, and I nearly swore in surprise when I stepped from the window onto a squeaky floorboard. I heard whispers behind me, and whirled around, what were they thinking! Oh, of course, Alphonse was staying behind at the window because he couldn't fit. Edward's golden eyes glared at me through the dark, like a lion's gaze. My chest felt increasingly heavy, my stomach increasingly ill. Relax, Richter... just press forward. Through the door, around the hall, through another door, turn left. Ah, finally, the lab.

I pressed my ear against the doors, and only heard snoring from the various creatures contained therein. Good, he hadn't started yet... but when would he start? Early in the morning, to be sure. I scanned the room, looking for a hiding place... aha!

I jerked a few thumbs at Edward, my hands illuminated by the moonlight filtered through the window, and I mouthed out what I wanted him to do. He nodded, and went and hid around a corner. I was quite thankful the manor was so big, as I was able to do the same around a different corner, both Edward and I out of sight from the path leading from the bedrooms to the lab.

I stretched my hand in discomfort from my position kneeling. Really, I had no idea how long it would take. And my eyes stung from weariness already. I checked my watch, fifteen till' one. Daylight was roughly around six twenty. It was all luck from here on out.

I stifled several yawns, simply waiting for something to happen. I peaked around to see if I could see Edward a few times, but he kept himself well hidden. Good.

...

I was in a strange state of boredom, sleepiness, and nervous anxiety. Really, it was only the sickening feeling in my gut keeping me awake.

Then, I heard it.

A creak there, a whisper there, getting closer and closer. And then a loud yawn.

"Daddy... I'm tired..."

"Now, now. Nina... don't wake the neighbors." Her father responded, his voice disgusted me, so smooth, yet with a hint of anxiety in it. He knew what he was doing was wrong. I heard the dog yawn... wait...

The dog, Alexander.

CRAP! He would sniff us out for sure, and the whole plan would be bust! What do I do? What can I do?

"After all, you promised to help with daddy's experiment, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh!" The sleepy girl responded cheerfully, "me and Alexander too, right?" She giggled, her father didn't say anything in response.

They crept closer and closer, and I held my breath, I knew that if I turned the corner now one of them would see me.

Then I heard a growl, crap.

"Alexander? What's wrong?" Nina asked curiously.

"He probably saw a bird, or something." The dog barked, loudly. Then I heard an impact, and a whimper.

"Daddy?! Why'd you kick Alexander like that! You should apologize!"

"Hush!" Tucker responded, his voice noticeably angrier and a bit on the crazy side. "W-we can't have him waking the neighbors! That would be rude!" Yeah... sure rudeness was the reason, psychopath.

But then I realized Alexander didn't say make a noise after that, did... did Tucker really, albeit accidentally, save us from being outed? I guess a wicked man really is his own destruction. Whatever the case, I simply sighed in relief.

The door opened, and they went in.

"Daddy?" I heard Nina say, "w...what is that on the floor?" Alexander growled.

"It's... a failed experiment, really, I'm so sorry for not cleaning it up... what a mess I am." The alchemist responded in a strange, sing-song manner. "Here, Nina, to help daddy with his test, I'm going to need you to take this..."

"W-what! But I hate shots!" She yelped. I clenched a fist, so that's how he got her in a state where he could transmute her.

"Oh, hush. You'll barely feel it... you won't even remember taking it!" Sickeningly jovial, I could practically see the man's grin.

"O-oh, alright..." she nodded.

There was some shuffling, but it was mostly quiet save Alexander's whimper and a gasp from Nina. There was some muttering, and then all went quiet.

"Nina? Nina?" Tucker's voice rang slightly, but received no answer. The alchemist hummed. More shuffling, footsteps. I rounded the corner, and saw Edward on the other side of the lab doors. We slowly, yet carefully peaked around the door's corner.

Inside was, for all intents and purposes, a hellish sight. A circle in white chalk was sprawled all over the floor, filled with alchemic signs and symbols. Nina and Tucker laid unconscious upon it, the whole room lit by a pair of gas lamps. Tucker was using a broom to sweep away the gooey remains of a 'failed experiment.' It was obvious what was going on. I looked over to Edward, who's eyes had widened in horror. A state of utter shock on his face. Good, he was processing what he was see—

"Hello, Zählsargeant... Edward..."

I froze, what the hell?

Tucker slowly turned his head towards us, a disturbing grin upon his face. "A little birdie told me you were coming, Zählsargeant, but I didn't expect the Elric! So you're both in on it..."

"A little birdie? What the hell do you mean?! Spit it out, Tucker!" I yelled.

He cackled, his body remaining oddly motionless while he did so. "It means precisely what it means, just a little bird! That's all it really took..." he glanced at Edward, his smile widening. "So how do you like it, Edward? I'm sure you can see what I've designed."

"Y-you bastard! That's your own daughter!" The blonde growled between grit teeth. His golden eyes were burning with anger, his gloved fists clenched tight.

"And you tried to bring back your own mother! We're both breaking the taboo, we're both the same! The same!" He snapped, cackling like the madman he truly was.

"It was no different with your wife, either." I spoke up. Edward jolted at my words, so I explained, "how do you think he made a talking chimera?"

The blonde's eyes widened in horror, "that's... not... no, it couldn't be..." he muttered. I was taken aback, he sounded so genuinely confused and concerned, his voice sounding more childish, more his age.

I silently and discreetly drew my knife, I knew what I had to do, but as my hand shook, I was afraid to do it. But I was startled out of my thoughts my rattling. The awakened chimeras in their cages began screeching and clawing, angrily yelling for freedom.

After all, the circle was... a rather complicated transmutation, large, and required a lot of energy. What would happen...?

"Well you've done your homework! It makes sense for the state's little runt of a policeman to do so... tell me, you hated me from the first moment we met, didn't you?" I flinched, and he laughed again, "my little birdie told me all sorts of things, Mr. Richter... really, I don't even know where to start, I'm sure your friend here would be fascinated to know allll about you, and who you really are."

...

H-how...

...

Of course...

...

Little... birdie... the interloper, the original interloper... that's why I was here...

"W-what the hell do you mean?!" Edward yelled, turning his glare on me and thrusting a pointed index finger in my direction, "what's going on?!"

"Edward... My past is complicated, if—" my eyes widened as Tucker made a mad dash for the circle. "SHIT!" I scrambled. How could I let him get the drop on me?! I threw my knife, as fast as I could.

It stopped mid-air, and fell to the ground harmlessly, Tucker slammed a his palms onto the cages, activating circles I hadn't seen before on top of the largest one, and their doors burst open, unleashing a frantic swarm of various chimeras. And the rushed stuff Edward, who despite clapping his hands and slammed them on the doorframe to expand it and augment it to hit many of them, was overwhelmed and jumped by them.

What the hell? Why didn't my knife work? WHY DID IT STOP MID-AIR?! Tucker... Tucker! I ignored Edward, who yelled out for help, I couldn't help him, I had to stop Tucker... I had to...

A few chimeras jumped at me, my reflexes kicked in and I dodged them as I ran towards the circle, which had already began flickering with energy and life. Shit, where was the knife?! I whirled around to see one of the beasts attacking Edward clutching it, shit! Shit! What the hell was I supposed to do?!

My mind went into autopilot, I needed to fuck up the transmutation. The energy flowed red from it, Nina and Alexander started glowing, before I thought about it I had already donned my glove and pointed it at Tucker.

God, please, make this work.

I snapped. A surge of electricity went through my entire body, my ears rung, I heard a scream, and then silence, my vision blurred, my last sight being a hunk of gray, and last sound being a dull rumble, the smell of smoke in the air.

And then it went quiet, all too quiet...

Hughes nodded, and deftly wrote something on his notepad. Finagling his umbrella to rest in the crook of his arm awkwardly as he used one hand to hold the notebook and the other to write.

Mustang glared at me, I averted my gaze. I winced, my arm stung. It hurt so, so much. Yet strangely it wasn't fried, no, this time I had gotten off easy. But the house hadn't. And neither had anyone in it.

"Richter... when did you wake up?" Hughes asked.

"Roughly twenty minutes after the incident." I admitted softly, I could put any strength into my words.

"... are you aware?" The Colonel asked. His voice was so sharp, so commanding... I felt his iron gaze hitting my cheek, I shunted further away.

"Yeah," I croaked. "Fullmetal... is in the hospital. Unconscious." I swallowed thickly.

Silence.

"Actually... he woke up an hour ago." Hughes commented, my eyes widened, and I shot up out of my slump.

"What? Why didn't anyone tell me?!" I exclaimed, I felt a chain on my chest snap, my heart was elated.

"You're not on a need-to-know basis. Zählsargeant." Roy darkly stated. I flinched, remembering the two guards position to my right. Of course... I was under arrest... sort've. They hadn't forced me to leave due to a lack of space, but I'd pretty much been trapped where I was for awhile under careful watch.

Hughes nodded, "he's sustained a pretty bad burn to the edge of his shoulder and hip, but is otherwise fine. He's actually able to move around, and his auto mail limbs aren't malfunctioning... the more serious problem is he got a chunk bitten off his good shoulder... but that should also heal."

My heart sank, fuck, I shouldn't have left him like that...

But Nina...

"However, Nina Tucker hasn't regained consciousness... but the doctors say she'll be fine. The burns she took weren't nearly as bad as the ones on Edward, the dog took most of the beating."

Guilt.

...

I killed Alexander.

...

I killed her dog...

...

"And a State Alchemist." The Colonel said, cold as ice. I jumped slightly, had I said my thoughts out loud? The glare told me yes.

Mr. Tucker... was dead, yes. This was true. I wasn't really surprised. The voltage I had sent at him wasn't even slightly controlled, coupled with the fact it disrupted the transmutation... yeah, the explosive rebound that occurred... he was probably dead after that, as was Alexander.

And poor Alphonse, who had apparently burst in last minute, only had enough time to grab me and Nina off the floor, Edward hobbling after him. After we got out and the fires really consumed the house, Edward collapsed.

It was a nightmare, all of my planning had gone awry.

...

Why did the knife stop? If it had only reached the circle, nothing would have happened, what grabbed it? What on earth stopped it?

I couldn't answer, there wasn't an answer, I mindlessly walked towards the edge of the smoldering ashes and stared at where the lab used to be... was it still there, somewhere? Lying discarded, in the grip of an ashen, burnt-out skeleton of an abomination?

"ZÄHLSARGEANT!" I blinked, and was jostled around, hands painfully gripping my shoulders, to come face to face with Mustang. "Do you have any idea what you've done! You killed a State Alchemist! You nearly killed two! And you risked the lives of three children instead of coming to me! That was not your jurisdiction, that was not your call to make!" His spit hit my face, his burning glare bored into my eyes.

"Roy!" Hughes yelled, pulling Mustang off of me. The Flame Alchemist allowed himself to pull away, but his words remained with me, ringing in my ears. I felt myself fall onto my butt, but I was barely aware of myself anymore.

I was such a fuck-up.

This wasn't a game, it wasn't a story anymore... I killed someone, I was incurring the penalty for my actions.

Could God forgive me for that? For taking another's life?

...

"Richter..." Hughes sighed, a hand to his head, "there will be a trial over this. Trust me, higher-ups will want to know exactly what happened... and it isn't going to be easy—"

"No need for that."

The three of us turned around in surprise to see none other than the supreme leader of our country, Führer King Bradley, standing in full military uniform behind us. Completely shocked, I saluted weightlessly, as my superior's also snapped to attention.

"At ease." He waved a hand in dismissal, and we returned to a casual form.

"With all due respect, sir. May I inquire as to why you've decided to visit here so spontaneously?" Hughes asked. I almost laughed at that, I felt just as confused about what was going to happen next as anyone else. That was a first. Until now I'd had nigh omniscient knowledge of everything.

"Seeing as a State Alchemist was killed here not a few hours ago, I felt a need to see it with my own eyes as soon as I could... what I was most surprised to hear was that Scar wasn't responsible." His sole eye stared at me, "from what I gathered from the Elrics in the hospital, and from what I overheard just now... you are the one responsible for the Life-Sewing Alchemist's death?"

I hesitated. But what was the point of hesitating? Might as well be absolutely honest.

"Yes, sir."

Bradley stared at me for a moment, "and did you take his life intentionally?"

...

"Yes, sir." I stated again. Mustang looked at me with a brief flicker of surprise, but I ignored him.

"And why, precisely and in your own words, did you do so?" The Führer inquired further, and I frowned.

"To save the life of his daughter, sir. He was in the process of transmuting her into a chimera."

He nodded, taking that in stride. What was his game? As the Führer, he was here on civil business, but as Wrath... I could never be sure where his ulterior motives led him. "This corroborates everything I've heard..." he spoke, "and while this was certainly a botched mission, you haven't actually overstepped your authority."

I... what?

Hughes, Mustang, and I all looked at one another, bewildered. Seeing our palpable confusion, Bradley chuckled.

"Breaking the Taboo is a hefty crime, sacrificing someone to do it doubly so. A Zählchemiker such as yourself has special dispensation to eliminate any State Alchemists caught breaking any of these regulations." Bradley lifted his chin slightly, "I don't see a reason you need to be punished beyond a reprimand of your method of handling the situation."

"Sir! With all do respect sir!" Mustang interjected, "I must protest, as his superior officer, I was not informed of this action prior, sir!"

"As a State Alchemist, he has legal discretion whether or not to inform you of such duties, Colonel... but yes, he should have contacted a superior officer... and did, in fact. The Fullmetal Alchemist accompanied him of his own accord and at his request, I doubt I need to remind anyone he possesses the rank of Major, do I?"

What... what the heck. Was Bradley sticking up for me? Why would he do that? I hadn't even thought of half of the excuses he had made for me! And while as far as I understood he was ostensibly correct... it felt... wrong to receive such a defense from a person in the process of breaking all civil laws. He who was an unjust Tyrant actively supporting more heinous acts that Tucker had even committed.

Sickening, absolutely revolting.

I glanced towards the colonels. Hughes kept a straight face the whole time, not revealing the slightest hint of discomfort. Mustang knotted his eyebrows together and turned his face aside. The Führer, seeing no argument left from either of them, abruptly turned to walk away, stopping only briefly to turn his good eye back around to glance at me.

"Keep your chin up, soldier." His order was firm and direct. I flinched, and straightened my posture. He nodded, and walked away.

Silence reigned, none of the three of us made a peep. I was so lost in my own thoughts I barely noticed when Hughes loudly sighed, breaking the silence. "Seems it's your lucky day, Richter."

I blinked, "huh?"

Mustang grunted, so Hughes continued, "there doesn't need to be an investigation anymore. The Führer himself just gave you a pass... well, I guess I could try to tie up a couple of loose ends but if that description of Zählchemiker authority is to be believed, your actions were likely justified."

"I... see..." my stomach hurt, my throat doubly so. What was the point? The whole operation had been my screw-up, my error, and I got a free pass? No, no I didn't. I glanced at Mustang, the cold fury on his face was obvious, as far as I could see, I may have irreparably damaged the trust between me and one of the central players in the plot.

Not the best of circumstances.

The Colonel walked away, Hughes following suite, leaving me alone to my own devices. I stood for awhile, simply taking the sprinkling of rain as it came. I felt the need to throw up, but couldn't muster the strength to wretch. So I wallowed there for an hour or so, before I became so frustrated at my own waste of time that I took a walk. The light drizzle tapped along my shoulders. I tried to get my mind off of last night, but I couldn't. I had killed a man, and whatever pretense of legality afforded to me felt hollow, and excuse I thought of added up like ash in the back of my throat. Part of me wanted to be deterministic, 'he was fated to die anyways' was an easy cop-out, but no, I could've prevented that if I had been smarter. There was no excuse.

In my weariness, I made my way back to my apartment. I opened the door, and flopped on my bed, falling fast asleep.

Creak...

A familiar sound. Floorboards creaking. A wafting, baked steel in the air. The room was home, white fog at the edges, easy to ignore. Turn the corner. Man, cooking, humming in his kitchen. His kitchen? Yes, his kitchen... our kitchen.

He turns to me, and smiles. Why does he smile like that? Don't smile at me like that. Stop. Please.

On the floor, floorboards. Crying? Chest hurts, face, face reflected on the floor? Look up, man, smiling. Hand on shoulder, kneeling. Smiling. Why? Smiling. Hands around me. A hug, smiling.

I miss him. I miss his smiling.

AN: Double Upload, more next chapter.