Geez...It nearly killed me to write this chapter. I staved it off as long as I could, in attempts to make it the best I could, but there was no way around it. Certain things had to happen, and I still can't believe it had to come to this. Well, oh well. I doubt you can happily enjoy this chapter - just try and like it in that melancholy sort of way.

In the gray drear of the early morning, I shivered, clutching my sides with my arms to keep warm. Rain was pelting me with the force and intensity of a blitzkrieg, soaking me to the bone and drenching my uniform. At least Officer Neid had been sympathetic enough to allow our hats outside.

Zorn was standing next to me. He looked ahead, but down at the grass next to the platform, so not to witness the inevitable. I couldn't read his face, but I knew that somewhere behind that mask he had to be going into convulsions. Part of me was still wondering why I wasn't. There was just something so emotionally draining about knowing what the future held in store – aber wie konnte ich etwas so äußerst schrecklich vermeiden?

Zorn, Lyra, and I weren't the only ones present. There were members of the military, of numerous ranks and positions, that were going to stand idly by and watch. Just…watch, and not raise a finger in protest. It was bitter and sickening to realize no one opposed these sorts of things.

Sad, but, nonetheless, true.

Neid had chosen the perfect morning for what he had in store for us. Large dark clouds, chilling temperatures, and biting rain did the most incredible job of personifying what the coming minutes held. Never before had there been so much rain in August, all at one time – the closing stretch of summer was supposed to be warm, right? However, I supposed, Mother Nature could always make an exception. Es gab nichts Warmes über heute.

And so we waited. All of us – myself, Zorn, Lyra, Lust in her large coat, officers I could pick out from the halls, those I couldn't, and other onlookers. Some of us itched with anticipation; others, like me, silently prayed that time would twist itself backwards so that bad things didn't have to happen to good people. It was a fruitless endeavor.

And when it seemed we could wait no longer, the squishing of mud entered our ears. Shifting my eyes, I saw Neid walking up towards the platform. However, he was the furthest he could've managed from wearing his military attire. His costume clashed harshly with the weather.

Officer Neid was wearing a long, flowing robe made of yellows, oranges, and reds. It trailed down past his legs, picking up mud and wet grass as it swept across the yard. Up farther, my commanding officer's entire chest was covered in what looked like a tapestry: an intricate design was woven onto a sort of fabric cuirass depicting the rising sun. Large, blood red wings sprouted from the costume. Finally, a large orange circle was fixed atop Neid's head. As he passed the three of us from the Sklavenheim, he glanced our way. A grim smile adorned his face, but even through that, I couldn't help but get the feeling of being in the presence of God.

Neid's feet swiftly clicked upon the wooden steps in a sort of pitter-patter, like the rain. In no time at all, he'd ascended to the main level of the stage. His hands flew out from under the large sleeves of his ornate costume, his long, lithe fingers stroking the rusting metal of the lever. As he did so, a small grin floated onto his face, withstanding the rain that cascaded down his face and made his hair cling to his body. A clap of thunder sounded in the distance; it was followed by a jagged burst of lightning, and Neid's eyes flashed along with it.

Moving away from the lever, Neid slowed. He took his time getting to the main event, at the center of the large wooden stage. Clearing his throat, he said, "I trust you two are having a good morning?"

I didn't want to look, but my eyes refused to turn away. Nina and Alphonse were up on the stage, standing upon freezing blocks of woods that sat upon two trapdoors. They both stared out ahead at the darkness. Their hands were tightly bound behind their backs.

Their heads were fixed securely in nooses.

After the incident where Nina and Alphonse had attempted to assassinate Lust, Neid had been uncharacteristically furious. He had ranted and raved at all of us, even going so far as to shoot one of his subordinates in the knee for asking a question. Most of all, though, he'd gone absolutely animalistic towards Nina and Alphonse and was something greater than terrifying. Almost immediately after they woke up, he'd lost his temper in every sense of the phrase. With fire in his voice, he told them what he was going to do.

He was going to hang them and make everyone watch – especially Lyra, Zorn, and I.

Staring death in the face had brought out the true sides of Nina and Alphonse. Al was close to tears; we could all see it in the fluctuating features of his face. As for Nina…drohendes Schicksal hatte ihre dunkle Seite erweckt.

"I'm doing just fine, Neid," she replied, making sure to put all the disgust she could muster into her superior's name. "I'm about to die for merely wishing to be treated equally, like somebody who matters. So, yes, I feel fucking fantastic. I hope you have just as good a morning when you kick the bucket, because it's what a sniveling shit like yourself deserves. No, it's more than you deserve."

Blinking after Nina's rant, Neid burst into laughter. "That's quite funny!"

"What part was?" she retorted in a sinister voice. "Tell me so that I can rephrase it."

Neid calmed down. "Brauche ich einen Grund zu genießen, wie erbärmlich Sie sind?" Extending his arms out to display the regality of his appearance, Neid stepped up to her. "So sorry you won't get to see the sun rise," he commented in fake sympathy. "I know it's your favorite part of the day." He nodded to Alphonse, then turned to face us.

"Ah, so many familiar faces in the crowd," he declared in a deep, rich voice. "And so many I don't have the pleasure of knowing. Nevertheless, I thank each and every one of you, from the bottom of my heart, for coming out today to witness justice." There was a snort from Nina, which Neid did his best to ignore. "These two who stand before you, inches from their demise, are there because of their defiance – their defiance of me, as their superior, of the Grand Fuhrer, as their leader, and most importantly, of the Master Race itself." Roars of disapproval for Nina and Alphonse arose from the crowd.

I kept silent, as did Zorn and Lyra, and I think that perhaps we were the only ones. Now I could see Zorn shaking, and I hardly believed it was from the cold.

"Let this be a lesson to all those who carry doubt within their souls. That much is not a crime, but acting on the impulses of the Devil – who makes men take pity on those not of the Master Race, who promotes equality – most assuredly is. So I bring before you an example of Satan's artistry in hopes that you will see the error of that path. My wish is that this will teach you the moral lesson of crushing the influence of darkness in your hearts. For if the Devil be pure of mind, I will not be allowed to pull the trigger and end the lives of two of his agents – but I shall, to prove that there can only be one light at the end of the tunnel." Applause erupted from the crowd, building to a haunting crescendo over the thunder.

Smiling triumphantly, Neid turned and stalked towards the lever, his long robe following him the entire way. And as he placed his hand on the handle, noises from the crowd died down. There was only silence.

Alphonse shifted on the block of wood, crying silently and sniffling in frantic breaths of air through his nose. His face was contorted in horror. Turning to Nina, he mistily told her in a tear-stricken voice, "Das ist nicht schön."

Nina didn't turn to him. She breathed deeply, shutting her eyes for a quick moment then reopening them. Staring ahead, I saw reflected in her eyes true fear. But as I looked past her, I could see violet reaching up over the horizon. The sun was rising.

Sighing, Nina replied, "Es ist nie."

Neid pulled the lever, and the trapdoors flew open. There was a gut-wrenching crunch as both of their lives ended at the same moment. A bolt of lightning eclipsed the rising sun, and for a brief instant, it looked as if Neid himself was the sun instead.

Before I knew what was happening, something was clutching at my sides. Peering down, I saw that Zorn had latched onto me – he was crying into my uniform, gripping my clothes so hard I was afraid of them ripping. But what could I do?

In the end, I patted him on the head and told him that everything was going to be okay. What a lie.

Later on that day, Neid had allowed Zorn, Lyra, and I to return to the Sklaveheim and rest up. Although he said it in a nice, guardian-like way, I knew that by rest up he meant "prepare for me when I come knocking." It was a terrible prospect to think about, especially after the execution of Nina and Alphonse.

So I ended up rubbing Zorn's back as he sat on a cot, shaking and whimpering.

How could anyone be as heinously cruel as Neid? It was one thing to order the execution, but to force someone like Zorn to watch…? Someone who had searched for so long to find friends in those two, only to watch them hang…? I couldn't wrap my mind around it.

"It's…it's not true…" Zorn murmured. "They can't be gone…."

I rubbed harder and faster. "Sorry, but they are."

He turned to me, eyes big and glossy from crying. "Please don't say that….I don't want them to go yet. Just let me hold onto them a little longer." And I almost broke down right there, but I had to be strong now. As the oldest one in the Sklavenheim, I felt it was my sort of…duty to carry on where Nina and Alphonse had left off.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice Zorn leaning in. Soon after, his lips were touching mine and he was working his tongue around my mouth. Eyes drooping, I didn't protest. But I also didn't join in.

When he was done, Zorn disengaged and I saw that his face was bright red. "I…I can't help it," he told me. "I need somebody – somebody I can love." Airily, he added, "I love you, Ed."

And it almost broke my heart to do it, but I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Zorn," I replied. Already, the look of hurt was working its way across his features. "But I can't love a man that way. If I did…" My hands curled into fists. "If I did that, I'd turn into him…." Neid was the last person I wanted to be like.

But there was always that nagging voice in the back of my head, asking me if I was truly so different from him. To use others...to hurt them...did that make me evil...?

aber wie konnte ich etwas so äußerst schrecklich vermeiden? - but how could I avoid something so utterly terrible?

Es gab nichts Warmes über heute. - There was nothing warm about today.

drohendes Schicksal hatte ihre dunkle Seite erweckt. - impending doom had awakened her dark side.

"Brauche ich einen Grund zu genießen, wie erbärmlich Sie sind?" - "Do I need a reason to enjoy how pathetic you are?"

"Das ist nicht schön." - "It's not fair."

"Es ist nie." - "It never is."