Chapter 1

I have to get out... I have to get out... I have to get out! A lump in the corner. A person without a name. Dirted from lack of hygiene, bleeding from the harsh punishments from the State. Her hair was matted down with her own filth and blood. Today was the one day a year she got a bath. Even though she enjoyed freshness, she was still beaten. She hated the pain. Inside this cell for years. She had lost count. All she knew, was it had been over fifteen years. Every time she fell asleep, that dream haunted her. A rat scurried from under the door, fleeing. It opened. She hid her face.

"Move it!" A kick walloped her side. She whimpered from the pain. She was used to it, but sometimes showing she was in pain saved her from more beatings. One man took the pole from his side and hooked it on the collar around her neck. They jerked her forward. She staggered to her feet. The rag that covered her torso barely covered private parts. They pulled her through the door. The other man put on a pair of cuffs. All to fimiliar. She knew him, he really liked to hurt her. He clamped them on her wrists extra tight. She felt her hands getting numb.

"We have her with us. Bath ready?" One said into a phone on the wall.

"It's all set here." He nodded. They pulled her forward, jerking on the collar around her neck. She could hear the moaning of the other prisoners in the labs. Hands sprouted from the cell bars.

"Please! Let us out!! We're soldiers like you! Let us out!!" A gun shot.

"Shut your damn mouths! Unless you want to end up like him, get back!!" A soldier yelled. The pole that attached to her collar unlatched. They pushed her into another room. Guns pointed at her. A single stall in the corner. A few women soldiers were ready to clean her.

"Hands up." She held her arms up in the air. The cuffs came off. They pulled the dirty cover off of her and wrapped a towel around her body.

"In the stall." She stepped into the stall. The towel was ripped from her body. Hot water burnt her skin. A soldier dressed in a chemical suit came towards her with soap and a rag. He scrubbed her body too hard, leaving red marks. He poured soap onto her head, scrubbing with his free hand.

God stop! Make it stop!! I'll escape... I'm going to... I'll run... I heard them talking... I'll have my chance... It's all I'll have! They water stopped. She was pushed from the stall. A few towels rubbed against her wet skin and hair. A new, fresh uniform went over her body. It was white. This time there was a shirt and pants with it. They pushed her from the stall. The pole went around her neck. They came forward with the cuffs. She looked around them room, her heart racing. She was afraid of them all.

Now! Now now!! She hit the cuffs out of his hands and grabbed his arms. He screamed. Small discharges of electricity scattered on his arms. Blood flew from his back. She spun around and slammed her hands into the ground. The walls slammed together, the soldiers were crushed between them.

"Open fire!!" The loudness of the guns firing at her scared her. She ran at them. Her hands dragging on the floor. The soldiers in front of her were enveloped with stone hands. Their blood ran down to the floor. It was clear down the halls. She ran as fast as she could. Fear was in her mind. She didn't want to suffer anymore. She wanted to be free! She found stairs. She wasn't sure what to do. She climbed them slowly. Then heard a fimiliar voice. Anger covered the fear. She stomped her feet towards the door where the voice was coming from. A shadow was on the glass. It was him. The man who caused it all! He made her suffer. She punched through the glass and hit his face. She kicked open the door and glared at him.

"What the hell are you doing out of your cell!?" He yelled. She grabbed his neck.

"You... put me in hell... you killed my family!! You made me kill thousands!! You made me suffer!" She screamed. He stuggled under her grip.

"Dammit! Let go of me!"

"If only you had let me go years ago!" She flattened her hand and stabbed it through his throat. A gurggling sound erupted from his mouth. His blood sprinkled on her face. She let go of him and stood. She was free. The alarms rang. She looked around, fear in her once more. She escaped through the doors and ran. She entered the city just a little ways from there. People were hidden in their homes. Had the men in blue coats taken this place too? She broke a window and slipped inside. Someone was in the corner. They were talking to something. There wasn't anyone there, though. She crept forward, staying hidden. An old man? His hands were clasped together.

"H... hello?" She whispered. He whimpered and looked towards her.

"Please... Don't kill me!" She crawled across the floor.

"I'm not! D-do you have... extra clothes?" She asked. He examined her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm seeking freedom..." He saw the blood on her face. She knew he understood.

"Up stairs... the door to the right. Look in the drawers of the dresser. My grand daughter's clothes should fit you," He whispered.

"Thank you..." She kept her volume to a whisper, too afraid to speak any louder. She ran upstairs and found the dresser. She dug through the clothes. Tan shorts and a white shirt. She saw a brush. She picked it up and ran it through her hair, slowly. It was a new thing to her. A booming sound came from downstairs. She gasped and ran down the stairs. The old man was gone. The door was kicked open. She ran away. Blue coats!

"There she goes!!" She leapt out the window she came in and ran. She had to find safety.

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Edward and Alphonse Elric walked through the crowd, trying to get to the streets. They had abandoned their current mission. They were hunting for Scar. They had information that he was in East city, where they were now. Central had already reinforced their troops to look for Scar too. The Isbalan was wanted everywhere. He was on the top of the wanted list. An X-shaped scar on his face, red eyes and tan skin. He was easy to spot in a crowd. But the problem was approaching him. Scar could easily use alchemy and had killed State Alchemists by blowing their head up from the inside. Ed and Al were housing with another alchemist, Dr. Tucker. He conducted experiments for Central and sent in results that were beneficial for the State. They were closing in on the murderer.

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Scar ran down the street. His hand was bloody from the men he had killed. Fresh blood dripped from his hand from the poor beast he had freed from it's horrible life. What the alchemists had called a 'chimera'. Half beast half human. This was a little girl fused together with a dog. A bullet skimmed the corner next to his head. He quickly ran away. They were getting close. He ran into the crowd of people. He had to hide somewhere. He saw more alchemists ahead. They weren't paying attention to the crowd, they were searching allyways. No guns were visible on them. He hid in an allyway a little ways from him. He stopped to catch his breath. A dead end. A bunch of garbage and boxes were pushed against the wall. He heard whimpering. He saw a girl laying on the ground, her legs were bleeding. She had tears streaming down her face. She was staring at him. She was afraid, Scar could tell.

"What are you doing back here?" He growled. She whimpered and dragged herself further into the garbage, hiding herself. He heard footsteps drawing closer to the allway. He pulled a hood over his head.

"There she is!" The soldiers yelled. They were looking for her?

"You've had your last chance! We've got orders to kill you on sight."

"Excuse us, sir." They pushed Scar out of the way and drew out their pistols. The girl whimpered and pushed herself back into the garbage, she wasn't moving her legs.

"That won't help..." He looked between the girl and the men. Her fear bothered him. She was shaking too much. They cocked their guns. Scar punched the closest one to him as hard as he could. The other turned.

"What the hell!?" He saw Scar's eyes.

"Scar!!" Scar grabbed his face. The back of his head blew out. He dropped him to the ground. Scar faced the girl.

"Well, they're not here anymore. So run away." She didn't move, she kept staring at him.

"Did you hear me? Run away already!" She blinked and lowered her vision. Scar heard something move. The soldier he had punched was pointing his gun at her. She let out a yelp as the shot fired went through her shoulder. He grabbed the man and threw him against the wall, breaking the back of his skull.

"Why are they after you, girl?" He asked. She didn't say anything. Blood soaked her shirt. She clutched her wound, gasping in pain. He bent down to her.

"Do you speak?" She looked at him, she wasn't very afraid anymore. At least not of him.

"What happened to your legs?" Her strength was fading fast. She wouldn't get any help back here. Not if the Alchemists were after her. He heard people enter the allway.

"We have you cornered Scar! Now put your hands up or we'll shoot!" He looked over his shoulder. Alchemists. He wanted to attack them, but this girl was in need of help. He picked her up and turned around.

"He attacked a civilian!!"

"Get him!" They opened fired. Scar leapt down the allway and hoped over them. He ran out into the crowd. The people had scattered. He had to find a safe place. She needed medical attention.

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"Scar was here?!" Ed yelled. He couldn't bare to look down the allway. The outline of a skeleton of a little girl, bloodied, was imprinted on the wall. His brother wasn't near the entrance. The first few seconds he saw it, he cried.

"Sorry, Ed, he left. Some men saw him running a while ago. There's a report that he was carrying a girl with him."

"A girl?! Do you know who!?"

"All we know is that she wasn't from here. We don't know who she is. We know she's a civilian." Ed punched the wall.

"Why didn't you stop him!?"

"Fullmetal!" Mustang yelled.

"Control yourself. I understand that this is extremely hard for you to take, but learn to deal with loss. Scar is wanted everywhere, it won't be long before he's seen again. You'll be filled in."

"But Colenel!"

"Brother... we really should... get out of here..." Al said. Ed looked from his brother to Mustang.

"Dammit..." He muttered. Why would Scar take a girl with him? That wasn't anything like him... They left the scene, Edward took one last look back at the bloodied skeleton. He quickly turned away, sickened by the horrible art.

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Scar looked out the broken window. A few people wandered the streets, other than that; it was bare. He managed to find a small town just outside of East City where the military rarely came. An abandoned house that had been ransacked by lowly thugs. The girl was laying in the next room over. The clothed robe he had was used to wrap up her wounds. Extra scraps of cloth were laying by a bowl of water. He could hear her strained breathing from where he crouched. He stood up and stretched his arms out. His eyes wandered to his tattooed arm. His brother's arm. Made only for destruction. He walked back to the room where she lay. An old, scratchy blanket lay over her body. She seemed extremely withdrawn. The entire time he ran with her in his arms, she only clutched her shoulder and took deep breaths. She didn't whimper or cry in pain. He knelt down beside her and put his hand to her neck, checking her pulse. It surprised him. It was perfectly normal. Her breathing was still strained, but her heartbeat was below eighty. He checked the wrappings around her shoulder. There wasn't much blood. He unraveled the bandage and checked her wound. Something else surprised him; there wasn't a wound. There was barely a scar. She opened her eyes.

"You're awake," He muttered. She looked at him curiously and tilted her head to the side. He glared at her and threw away the bandages.

"Your shoulder healed amazingly fast. There isn't even a wound anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if your legs healed later tonight." She sat up and shook her head. She looked around the room.

"I'd like some answers in return for caring for you and taking you away from those Military dogs who tried to kill you." She made an unhappy face.

"I'd just at least like to know your name. What is it?" She tilted her head to the side.

Name? My name? What is my name... What did my parents call me...? She licked her lips and looked up at Scar. His piercing red eyes glared into hers. The word formed on her lips.

"C... Cl..." She tried to pronounce it.

"Do you not know even your own name?" He said. She tried again.

"Cla... Clara..." She whispered. Scar grunted.

"Clara? That's all? So you don't have a last name... That's fine with me. I won't judged you based on your name. Will you talk more?" She nodded, a little hesitantly.

"You're not used to talking, are you?" She shook her head.

"Tch... So why were they after you? Those military scum? Did you do something wrong?" She bit her lip and lowered her eyes. Clara turned away from him. Scar blinked.

"Are you ashamed of it?" She shook her head.

"I don't want to... talk about it..." She whispered. He could hear the hint of sadness in her voice.

"Did they do something to you?" Clara started to shake. She crossed her arms and gripped her skin. Scar looked into her eyes.

"They did something horrible, didn't they?" She took in a quick breath.

"Did they kill someone?" She let out a whimper and turned away from him. Scar grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards him.

"Did they do to you what they did to me?! Did they kill your entire family, all your friends, and neighbors?" She pushed him away and tried to drag herself away from him. She started to sob.

"That's what they did... isn't it, Clara?" He said. She glanced at him over her shoulder. Scar stood up.

"I've been through the same. I've survived a genocide, saw my friends, family and comrades fall dead before me. My own brother sacrificed his life to save mine..." Tears streamed down her face. His cruel and stern expression was carved onto his face. A lifetime of heartbreak and massacre had set it on him. She bit the side of her finger and turned away from him.

"M... my family... was very close to me... Our... our village was set to b-be cleared out. W-we didn't know a-about it... until... until they came... T-They were looking for c-certain p-people with something in th-their blood... I-I was... the only one in my v-village..." She whispered. Scar's expression softened a little.

"W-when they found me... I had... I had to..." She closed her eyes.

"I had to watch... them all die..." She whispered. Scar understood her feelings. Having to watch everyone you know and love die and being completely helpless was all too fimiliar to him. That was probably the reason why she didn't want to talk. Clara might be scared of people.

"Th-Then..." Scar was drawn back from his thoughts. Her eyes opened, wide and scared. Her body shook.

"They... they made me... kill the rest..." He gasped. They made her kill her own neighbors? Anger filled his heart again.

"All... I remember wa-was the... the faces... and the... screams... and... the gun..." A small whimper escaped her lips. Scar lightly touched her shoulder.

"I can understand your feelings from having to watch you friends and family die... but to be forced to kill them; that's something I am happy I've never felt. Those military dogs have put you through too much. I understand how painful it is for you to even talk about this, let alone talk at all. I won't quesiton you any further." Clara buried her face into her arms, crying. He heard a few shouts from outside. He hurried to the window. The military.

What the hell are they doing here so early?! I thought it would take until tomorrow for them to catch up! Now what do I do? I can't leave Clara here... They're looking for her too. Damn! He punched the wall and went back to Clara. She was still crying.

"Clara, the military has already caught up to us. Luckily, it's getting dark out. We can hide under the cover of night to escape and th-"

"No..." She whispered. He stopped.

"No?"

"We... stay here..." She whispered.

"Huh? If we stay here, they'll find us and they will try to kill us. It's best to run." She shook her head.

"I can't move yet... even... if you carry me... my condition won't get better fast if... if I move..." Clara rubbed her legs. Scar growled.

"Dammit!" He hissed. He turned back towards the window.

"Don't worry... they won't find us..." She whispered. Something about the tone of her voice bothered Scar. It seemed a little too careless. Almost as if she was in a trace. He turned back to Clara. She was still, her hand resting on her leg and her breath still. That also bothered him. He walked to her side and bent to her level.

"Clara?" He touched her shoulder. She didn't move. Her eyes were dazed, almost as if she had died. There was a knock at the door. Scar quickly removed his hand from her back and whipped his hand around. Clara stood up and quickly walked to the door.

"I thought you couldn't walk!!" He hissed. She didn't answer him. She opened the door. Two military officers stood there. Scar cursed under his breath.

"Hello miss, we've gotten information here that Scar is in this town. If you see him, will you give a hollar?" One said. She nodded.

"Thank you. Have a nice day..." She whispered. Clara closed the door and immediatly sat down in front of it. Scar looked out the window. The military didn't even examine her face!

"Why didn't they know you!?" He said.

"I told you, they won't find us..." She whispered.

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Dark came, Scar and Clara quckly left the small town. Scar had wrapped Clara in blankets and was carrying her on his back. She had fallen asleep shortly after the confrintation with the military and hadn't woken up since. Her sleep was deep but noisy; it seemed obvious to Scar that her dreams were haunted with horrible things. Scar ran in the deserted plains for about five hours until he finally came across another town. This one had a hospital in it. A small, abandoned shack became their shelter. Scar slept on the floor a little ways from Clara, giving her space. That night was uneasy for him, again. Sleep was light. He had a feeling that tomorrow would be a bad day.