The silence that followed was suffocating. Something was wrong... deeply wrong. My hand brushed the top of the chimera’s head, and its wide eyes flicked up to mine. The corners of its mouth quivered.
        “…Are you trying to say something?” I asked quietly.
        Its voice cracked as it forced the words out: “…Ed…ward… Big… brother… Ed…”
        The world dropped out beneath me. My blood ran cold.        
        “…Mr. Tucker,” I said slowly, standing to face him, “When did you first get your State Certification?”
        “Let’s see…” He tapped a finger against his chin, pretending to think. “That was two years ago.”
        “And when did your wife leave you?” My voice was steel.
        “That was two years ago, too…”
        My heart pounded in my ears. “…One more question. Where are Nina and Alexander?”
        Al gasped beside me, horror dawning in his voice, but Tucker only snapped his head toward me, his mask of pride twisting into a sneer.
        “Damn brat. Didn’t think you’d figure it out that quickly.”
        Red bled into my vision. Adrenaline surged through my veins. One second, I was beside the chimera; the next, my hand was clamped around Tucker’s throat, pinning him against the wall.
        “Brother!” Al shouted.
        “Oh yeah, I figured it out!” My voice cracked with fury. “You did it again! Two years ago, it was your wife. And now, you used your daughter and her dog to transmute a talking chimera! You can only get so far with animals, right? Much easier when you start with a human, isn’t it?!” My grip tightened on his neck. “Tell me, did you do the same with Nicole? Did she suffer the same fate as Nina?”
        “I’ve already gotten the results I needed from Nicole, so she’s of no use to me now!” Tucker croaked, but his eyes gleamed with a sick pride. “Thanks to her, I gained the confidence to attempt this. This is how progress is made, Fullmetal. Human experimentation is the necessary step forward. Surely a fellow scientist like you can understand that.”
        “Shut up! Are you actually fine with this?! Messing with people’s lives?!”
        “‘Someone’s life,’ you say?” Tucker’s lip curled into a smirk. “Ha! You would know all about that, wouldn’t you? Look at you, Fullmetal Alchemist. Your arm, your leg, your brother. Those things are the result of your own meddling, aren’t they?”
        “SHUT UP!” My fist moved before I realized it, slamming into his face.
        His glasses flew from his face, skittering across the floor. But he only laughed, blood bubbling at his lip. “Hahaha! We’re the same, you and I! The opportunity was right there, and we took it! Even though we knew the rules, we took it!”
        “No! I’m not like you!” I roared, raining punches down on him. “I’m not, I’m not, I’m not!”
        Every strike was a release; for Nina, for Alexander, for Nicole, for every innocent he’d destroyed. I would’ve kept going, lost in the rhythm of hate, if not for the cold grip of Al’s armored hand seizing my wrist.
        “Brother!” His voice cracked through the haze. “If you keep going… he’ll die!”
        “Edward… no…” A soft, broken voice wavered from the chimera. “…Daddy… Do you hurt… Daddy?”
        I froze. My hand slipped from Tucker’s throat. He crumpled to the floor, wheezing.
        I staggered back, chest heaving, fists trembling with rage and grief. And then I saw her... Nina, shuffling closer, nudging Tucker’s body with her snout.
        My breath caught. The sorrow hit harder than any automail pain could.
        Al knelt with a metallic clank, his massive frame trembling as he cupped her face. His voice cracked as he whispered, “I’m sorry… Even with all our power, we can’t change you back. I’m sorry…”
        Her pale eyes searched his. “Can we… can we play now…?”
        I turned just in time to see Tucker crawling past me, clutching his silver watch like it was a treasure. His expression was one of adoration; never for his children, but for the symbol of his rank.
        “I made it just in time…” he rasped. “I get to remain a State Alchemist. I passed.”
        The words ignited my rage all over again. I stepped forward and kicked the watch from his hands. It clattered across the floor, far from his reach.
        “Like hell you are,” I growled, my voice breaking. “Like hell…”

(Central Command)

        Al and I sat on the steps of Central Command, rain soaking into my clothes and pooling in the cracks of the stone. Neither of us spoke. The silence weighed heavily than the downpour.
        “If ever there was an example of the Devil’s work in this world, this would definitely be it.” Hawkeye’s voice drifted from behind us. She and Mustang descended the steps, their boots clicking against wet stone until they stopped right beside me.
        “The Devil, huh?” Mustang said evenly. “A State Alchemist must be willing to act and able to take another’s life when ordered to, without hesitation. In some ways, Tucker’s actions and our own aren’t so different. When it comes to interfering with people’s lives, we all choose our path, knowing exactly what we’re doing.” His gaze bored into me, cold and unflinching. “That’s the reality, Fullmetal. You’ll see more cases like this. Maybe worse. And you’ll end up with blood on your hands, too. Tell me, are you going to shut down like this every time?”
        I pushed myself to my feet, fists clenched. “We may be dogs of the military… Maybe even cursed as devils…” My voice cracked as the words burned their way out of me. “But it doesn’t matter. I know one thing for sure…”
        My head snapped back, shouting into the rain, “We’re human! We’re only human!”
        My throat ached, my voice raw. “And we couldn’t even save one little girl. What good are we…?” My words fell into the downpour as Mustang turned, walking away with Riza.
        I thought he’d keep going, but the question slipped out before I could stop it. “What about Nicole? What’s going to happen to her?”
        Mustang halted, back still to me, before tilting his head slightly. “We’ll tell her the truth and bring her in. She’ll be questioned, standard procedure. After that, she’ll be removed from the house. For her safety, Tucker won’t get another chance to use her.”
        My stomach twisted. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “There’s no way she knew anything about this. Nicole’s not… she’s not like that.”
        Mustang didn’t look back. “That’s how things are done, Fullmetal. Don’t forget it.”

(Tucker's Place)

**Nicole P.O.V**

        All my work was finally finished; instead of waiting for a car, like I was advised to do before, I just started walking home. I wanted to make a pit stop before getting home, and it would be so much quicker this way, even with the rain.
        I ducked into the little bookstore I always passed, grabbing a new coloring book and crayons, a couple of sweet treats, and a storybook I knew Nina would love. I stuffed them all into my bag, the thought of her smile pushing me to ignore the heaviness in my body. No matter how weak or exhausted I was, today would be about her.
        By the time I hit the front gate, I was drenched, my breath ragged from sprinting. The rain lashed down, plastering my hair to my face as I pushed the gate shut behind me. I was smiling through the exhaustion.

I froze.

Two bodies lay by the front door.

        One MP face-down in the mud, blood spreading like ink through the rainwater. The other slumped against the wall, his mouth slack, eyes rolled back, crimson streaming from his nose, ears, and mouth. I staggered forward, heart hammering. The stench of iron and bile hit me like a wave. Their uniforms were soaked, and their skin already pale. There was nothing... nothing I could do.
        My body moved on its own, running through the half-open door, shoes slipping on the wet floor as I followed the smeared footprints up the hall. They led straight to Father’s study.

        I shoved the door wide.

        A massive figure, broad-shouldered, with white hair slicked by the rain that had followed him inside. My father rose shakily from his chair. His voice cracked with fear.
        “Who are you? Not military, who are you?! How did you get in here? There were guards out front!”
        The man didn’t answer at first. He only raised his hand, his voice calm but heavy, like it came from the pit of some grave, “Foolish alchemists who turn their backs on the ways of God…”
        In a blink, his hand clamped over Father’s face. Blue light flared. My father convulsed once, blood bursting from every pore, every opening. His body hit the ground like a sack of stones.
        My breath caught, choked in my throat. My father, gone before I could even move.
        The man flexed his hand, flicking the blood from his fingers. Then he turned toward me. His eyes were hidden by black glasses, but I saw the deep X-shaped scar carved across his face.
        My combat training snapped into place. My hand shot to the brass doorknob, will and instinct overriding the terror clawing at my chest. Red sparks crackled as the knob elongated, reshaping into a curved blade of metal. I gripped it in both hands, teeth gritted, my arms trembling but steadying against the weight of fear.
        He stopped, tilting his head as if I were some curiosity.
        “You must be Nicole Tucker.” Rain dripped from his coat onto the floor, each drop impossibly loud, “Lucky me,” he murmured, stepping forward. “I’ll be able to send two souls to God.”
        My grip tightened on the makeshift blade, the metal humming faintly with residual alchemic energy. My chest heaved, but I refused to let him see me falter.
        “Stay back,” I warned, though my voice cracked.
        Scar tilted his head, calm as a predator. “You draw a blade against God’s will? Against His judgment?”
        I lunged first. A scream tore from my throat as I swung the blade in a wide arc, sparks flying as it scraped against his arm. He didn’t flinch; he caught the edge with his bare hand. My eyes widened.
        “Not bad,” he muttered. In the same instant, blue light flared where his fingers touched the transmuted metal. The weapon shattered into useless shards that clattered across the floor.
        I stumbled back, heart hammering. He advanced, each step deliberate, heavy, unhurried.
        Think, Nicole. Don’t freeze.
        The man flexed his right arm with a sharp, audible snap. I braced myself for his strike... but then something shuffled out from behind the desk.
        A large, white chimera staggered toward my father’s body, nudging him with its snout. My blood turned to ice. Without thinking, I threw myself forward, rolling under the scarred man’s arm as his attack came down. I stopped in front of the chimera, quickly snatching a metal figure from my father's desk and using my alchemy to turn it into another blade. Then I planted myself between it and the killer. I didn’t know how my father had made this one, but it didn’t deserve to be slaughtered. Not by him. Not like this.
        Blade raised in one hand, I used the other to shield the chimera and my father’s corpse, waiting for the next strike.
        “Sissy…”
        The voice froze me. My skin prickled, every hair standing on end.
        The chimera nudged my arm again, warm tears splashing onto my hand. My whole body trembled; my heart thundered in my chest.
        “Sissy… Daddy’s hurting… Fix Daddy… no Daddy.”
        Nina.
        The tears broke free before I could stop them. My will to fight drained away. All I wanted, all I needed, was to get her away from here. Away from the man who had destroyed everything...
        I dropped the blade. My arms wrapped around her trembling body as I unraveled completely, sobbing into her fur.
        “I’m sorry, Nina. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry…”
        “Don’t cry, Sissy… Can we play now? Can you still read to me? You promised.”
        Her words were soft, haunting, tearing through me with every syllable.
        “You promised you’d read to me… You promised…”
        I felt something inside me break; my cries shook the room. Footsteps stopped behind me. A shadow fell over us. A large, calloused hand pressed against the crown of my head and gripped it.
        “You poor creature,” the man said, his voice calm, final. “Once you have been given this form, there is no separation. No return. At least your passing will be in peace.”
        My heart lurched. Then pain exploded through me; white-hot, blinding.
        And everything went black.