Hi guys! There seems to be some confusion about the concept of Soul's Directive. Don't worry; once all of this crazy drama is over with, Ed will set the record straight. Flashback and book definitions! But for now, on with the drama! Alex isn't out of the woods yet!

Heart pounding, chest aching, I dove desperately out of the Tucker Estate and into the pouring rain of the late afternoon. My mind was empty and my pupils blown wide. I was nothing more than an animal escaping a predator, and I fled on trembling limbs, my injured hand clutched to my chest and leaving a bloody trail in my wake.

I stumbled down empty streets, not paying any attention to where I was going. There was not a soul around to witness my flight, for the streets were cleared of people taking shelter of the deluge. The rain soaked my soiled clothes and washed the blood from my skin, but I did not feel it. The cold of the early spring air bit through my bones and froze my muscles, but I was already frozen. The only thing in my mind was a desperate need to escape, a last ditch effort for freedom and to live.

I ran until I exhaled in heaving gasps of white mist and my lungs and limbs burned from the cold air, my body pleading with me to stop. Still, I ran on until my legs gave out and I slumped against the wall of an ally. My body trembled and jerked, but I had exhausted myself and could go no further. He's after me, he's after me, he's coming for me–

Over and over my mind replayed the horrifying images of what I had just experienced blood, pain, terror, and I was no longer able to comprehend that Tucker was dead, and that he would no longer harm anyone else ever again. I stared up at the muted sky, heedless of the freezing rain that blurred my vision and made animalistic noises of fear and pain, far beyond the ability of coherent thought. I clutched my hand to my chest, and it throbbed and bled, further soiling my shirt.

In the filthy ally where I sat, a dark figure stood and walked towards me, a large shadow in my blurred vision. I shrieked and fell over, clawing at the ground, my limbs no longer able to support me.

"Calm down," a deep man's voice said softly over the falling rain, "I'm not going to hurt you."

I looked up in surprise. It wasn't Tucker. It was a large man with broad features and a strong jaw, his body wide and muscled. Under a shock of white hair was a tanned face obscured with sunglasses. Even through my blurred vision, I could see a dark red, ropy scar that fell over his brow and cheeks in the shape of an X. He reached towards me with a large hand and I cringed with a small sound of distress. He paused, his hand outstretched. "What happened to you, little one," he said in his deep voice, void of deflection. I shook my head wordlessly, still beyond the capability of speech. He grabbed my hand, disregarding my startled yelp, and inspected my wound. At his touch, a glowing red light lit up the ally, though I could not see its source. The scarred man pulled back in surprise, but did not let go of me.

"What are you?" He frowned deeply. "You poor creature. Alchemists did this to you, didn't they? Don't worry. I will relieve you of your pain." He brushed my soaked hair aside and gently placed his hand on my cheek, like the touch of a lover. Comforted by his soft voice and touch, I relaxed slightly and tears fell down my face, mixing with the rain. I closed my eyes.

FMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMA

"Hehehe," Edward giggled to himself again. Ahem. Laughed in a manly way. A huge grin was plastered on his fair features from ear to ear. Edward and Alphonse were walking back to the Tucker Estate after the exam ceremonies were completed.

"Ed, you're doing it again," Alphonse sighed, clanking along beside his exuberant brother. Still, happiness like he had not felt in a long time reverberated in his soul, and if he had a body, his heart would have been racing in excitement.

"I can't help it Al! I'm just so awesome!" The exuberant young man pulled a gleaming silver pocket watch out of his red coat and began spinning it arrogantly, its smooth metal glowing softly in the overcast sky.

He had done it: he had passed the exam. After he had walked into the building, he was escorted to a dark room. There were several people there, sitting behind a long table and in the center of the room had been a chair. He had had to give his reasoning for wanting to become a State Alchemist. It was pretty intimidating, and he found out later that the man interviewing him had actually been the Furer himself! But somehow, he had pulled it off.

The demonstration had been where he had really impressed everyone. There had been several other Alchemists there, and they were given raw materials of wood, ice, water and earth to work with. At first, Edward had been nervous. How was he supposed to impress them? The first Alchemist up created a huge tower, a graceful beam that shot up into the sky. The second had taken a couple of trees and a splash of water to create a hydrogen blimp. Ed was about to step forward himself, not entirely certain what he would do, when the blimp ran into the tower with a resounding bang, knocking over a part of the architecture. The man who had created the tower was still under it, unable to move after his exhausting transmutation. He screamed in terror.

In an amazing feat, one even Ed had not known he was capable of, the young man snapped his hands together in resounding clap and transmuted the materials into the first thing his mind could conjure: a giant crown of flowers, just like the ones he had made for Nina. Somehow, he had done something he had only ever seen his teacher do: he had performed Alchemy without a transmutation circle.

Later, he found out that the Furer had chosen him on the spot, and the most important man in the country handed him his pocket watch himself with a congratulations and a bracing pat on the shoulder. The next day, Edward would be reporting to Central Command to receive his official rank and Alchemist's Name.

Excitement bubbled up in the young Alchemist's chest and he laughed at the sky. "I. Am. Awesome!"

"Yeah, yeah," his brother ribbed. "Good job, Brother."

The sky rumbled ominously and Edward's smile dropped a little as the scars underneath his automail ports gave a sharp throb with the change of pressure. He rubbed his shoulder irritably. "I can't wait to start research. This automail is killing me."

"At least you can feel pain…" Alphonse mumbled to himself.

Edward looked up at his little brother. "Al…"

"We just have to work really hard. Today we've completed our first step," Al continued, seeming to perk up. After all, it was a time for celebration.

"Yeah." Ed said, his smile returning. "Oh, damn." It started sprinkling and Ed clutched his arm a little tighter. He just knew he was going to regret not taking care of his automail properly that morning. Now water was going to get in his gears and make his ports ache. He hated rain!

"Come on, Al, let's get back. We have to tell Alex and Nina the news!"

"Yeah!" The boys began running as the rain became heavier, every one else on the streets doing the same.

By the time they got to the Tucker Estate, it was pouring. The boys rushed inside the dark entranceway and Ed shook out his long hair. They walked inside.

"Where is everybody," Al asked. Ed looked around. Indeed, the house was dark and it didn't look like any lights were on.

"Alex? Nina?" Ed shouted, "Is anyone home!" Ed's voice echoed off the walls and there was no response. Frowning, he flicked on the hall light. Al gasped in horror.

There was blood everywhere, painted on the walls and dropped on the floor, as if someone had been stumbling around injured. The boys looked at each other before rushing to follow the trail of blood. Ed's heart pounded in his ears as he frantically followed the trail. "Alex! Nina!"

The two Alchemists came to a halt in front of two large doors. It was the entrance to Tuckers lab. With a shaking hand, Alphonse slowly opened the door. Al gasped and Ed's breath hitched.

Inside was…Hell. There was no other word to describe it. Cages littered the sides of the room, dark liquid pooling out of each one on the floor. And in the center was a large transmutation circle, and ominous stain in the middle.

Ed's eyes widened and he began to tremble as images of that night flashed through his mind. The stench of decay and death reached his nose and nausea pooled in his throat.

"B-brother…" Al whispered, his armor clanking in shivers, "this looks like…"

"Human transmutation…" Ed said in horror. He rushed inside, frantically searching for…for…

"Alex, Nina, Tucker!" Ed shuddered to a halt. He collapsed on his knees beside the body of Shou Tucker. "What–" Shou's body was pierced through violently and his eyes were open wide in an expression of surprise. Ed lifted his hand, but could not bring himself to touch the clearly dead man.

"Ed, get over here now!" Al shouted from the other side of the room. Ed's head snapped around to see Alphonse crouching beside a cage. Ed rushed over, desperately hoping beyond hope–

Nina sat inside, clutching the white corpse of Alexander in a pool of blood. Her eyes were wide open with tears streaming down, and it didn't look like she could see them.

"Nina…?" Ed whispered in a halting voice. Nina flinched and turned her eyes slowly.

"Ed..ward..Al..phonse…" she gasped. Alphonse immediately opened the cage and the little girl rushed into his arms, crying hysterically. Her tiny hands, stained with blood, painted the front of Al's armor in crimson.

"Shhh, Nina, what happened," Al said gently, trying his best to keep it together for her sake, even though his armor trembled with emotion and fear.

"Da…ddy…he hurt…Alex…and Alex..ander…he won't move….why won't he move!?" The girl sobbed, pressing herself into Al.

Ed leaned forward in alarm. "Nina, what did Tucker do to Alex?" He asked intensely.

"Hurt…hurt…Alex gone…left me here by myself! He left me…"

"Ed, you have to find him," Al said urgently.

"Right!" Ed jumped up on trembling legs and ran forward, shouting over his shoulder, "Take care of Nina and call for help!"

Al gently stood up with Nina in his arms and walked slowly to the door.

"Da…ddy…where's Daddy…he hurt Alex…"

"Shhh, it's going to be ok." Al whispered to the distraught child, shielding her view of her father's corpse. He walked past the carnage and out of the room, closing the door and leaving the dead behind them.

–

Ed followed the blood trail into the hall and out the door into the freezing rain. There was so much blood, and he had no idea how much Alex was injured, or even if he was still alive.

Please, no, not Alex, how did this happen, please god no–

Terror raged though him as he followed the trail of blood being washed away by the rain. He followed it frantically, the trail getting harder and harder to see. All he could think about was Alex's smiling face and cheerful jokes being gone forever.

How did I let this happen, this is my fault, my fault, my fault –

Alex laughing, Alex crying, Alex patting him on the shoulder, Don't worry, Ed, you can do this, how could that be taken away? The stranger who became his friend, someone so dear to him was hurt and bleeding, maybe even dying, he should have been there!

"No," he shouted desperately as he finally lost the trail. Ed looked around frantically in the rain soaked streets, looking for some sign of his friend.

Alex paused in the doorway to the kitchen. "Thanks guys, I couldn't have asked for better brothers."

Ed tore down the street blindly, looking down every ally, the visibility frustratingly low because of the rain. There! Alex's green coat, stained with dark red, could be seen in an ally across the street. Ed's heart jumped into his throat. Alex was lying on the ground and a large man crouched over him. The man gripped the boys hand, and Ed could see that it was covered in blood. The man had a hand on Alex's still face.

Rage like he had never felt ripped through Ed's body and he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Get away from my brother!" He slammed his hands together in a resounding clap, and blue light filled the street.

Wow guys, that chapter practically wrote itself. Am I possessed? My heart is pounding a little. I don't even know what to say…I think I need to watch a love comedy now or something.

Well, there you go, another chapter down. Yes, Nina will survive (I thought you guys might like that). I never intended to have it happen the way it did in the series because I thought their stay with the Sewing-Life Alchemist would be the perfect opportunity to expand on my sub-plot. Next chapter: A battle, a little bit of explaining, and brotherly moments where everyone gets to calm the fuck down for a little while. And that was scar by the way. Duh.

Please review! I loved all the responses I got to my last chapter. I got some really great guesses. I won't let anyone know if they got close yet, cause I don't want to ruin the plot for you guys. At the end of the story, please feel free to gloat if you were correct. I love you all! See you next chapter!