UNKNOWN
She sat silently in the alley. The rain pattered down on her long silver hair. Sighing, she put her hood up. This wasn't the time, the place, or anything.
She had a mission to accomplish.
Her red eyes glimmered in the dark as she put her sunglasses on. She had to be ready. That included hiding all features that marked her out.
Sighing again, she stood up. There wasn't time to sit and wallow in self-pity. Not with all those people she had to save.
She knew only a few things about her opponent. He was quick, accurate, smart, and had a powerful and lethal attack.
But she was just the same.
She lifted up her sleeve for a moment, tracing a few of the dark tattoos lacing across her skin. They were all over her body, face, hands, everywhere. But she couldn't recall why or how.
Tomorrow was a military event involving several State Alchemists. He planned on being there, but so did she. She would stop him. She couldn't let him kill any more people.
SCAR
He looked over the small crowd and started pushing his way through them.
If he could just get to the front, then he would have a clear shot at several State Alchemists, including Fullmetal, Flame, and Strong-arm.
People protested as he shoved past. He heard more protests in front of him, and then saw why.
Someone in a white jacket, hood up, stood in his path. They weren't facing the event, instead staring right at him through black sunglasses. He saw a long strand of silver hair in front of their face, but they weren't paying attention to that. Just him.
"I know who you are a what you intend." they said in a clear, piercing voice.
"A woman..." he muttered. Pretending to ignore her, he tried to move around her.
He felt her hand, strong and firm, on his arm.
"No." She was glaring at him, he was sure. Her glasses were too dark to tell. "I won't let you."
"Then I'll have to take you out as well." he warned.
"Hah. Go ahead and try, murderer." she hissed, her grip tightening.
She was surprisingly strong, but not like him. His hand whipped up.
The woman ducked, her hood flying off. Long silver hair burst out of it's confinement, flowing down to her waist. Her skin was dark, laced with black tattoos. But he still couldn't see her eyes. She had been careful enough to secure them when she ducked. "Nice shot, but a little slow." she said, shaking her head.
The people surrounding them had backed off, giving them plenty of room to fight. But he had no time for that!
"What's wrong? 'Fraid of being beaten by a girl?" the woman asked, taking a loose stance, totally relaxed.
His eyes narrowed. She was trying to provoke him into fighting her. He turned, walking away.
"I told you, no!" the woman snarled, darting in front of him. "You aren't killing anyone else today, Scar!"
People gasped and moved away quickly, opening up multiple paths to the grounds on which the Alchemists were. But the woman was quick, she'd demonstrated her speed by dodging him and blocking his path. "And who are you, so bold as to confront me and protect the heretic Alchemists?" he asked.
"I shed my name a long time ago, when I fell astray from God's path. I'm not who I used to be. Now, I'm Scarlett." came the simple answer.
"So, you bear the same name as me. I fail to see what scar you have."
"The scar I carry is one that cannot be seen. It is a scar on my very person. It falls under the same story as how I fell away from the path you claim to follow." For one moment, Scarlett stood totally relaxed without a stance.
He was aware that now the military was starting to notice them. He made up his mind.
He'd have to make this quick!
EDWARD
They were in combat. Scar and some woman.
"Shouldn't we..." Alphonse started.
"Who knows, maybe she just doesn't want him to kill us and take the glory. Let's just wait." he told his younger brother.
The woman recoiled sharply, a yelp escaping her lips. Her sunglasses fell off. "D-damn you... Damn you..." she growled, a hand over her eyes. "Damn... No..."
She removed her hand, still growling and swearing. Her eyes were bright crimson.
"An Ishvalan!" gasped Armstrong.
"Damn you!" the woman screamed, lunging at Scar. Whereas before she'd waited for him to strike and he'd had the upper hand, Edward saw that now she was gaining the upper hand. Her movements were quicker and near-invisible.
"Why is she fighting one of her own?" he wondered.
"I don't know." Mustang answered.
Now the woman cart-wheeled between them and Scar. "You aren't going to. I told you, I'm not letting you kill anyone else!" she screamed, arms out.
"And why is that? Why do you defend the very ones that uprooted our country?" Scar challenged.
"Because I don't hold grudges for one thing! But you're dragging everyone into this mess! Vengeance would be on the ones that took a part in it, but you're attacking even the ones that had no damn part in it! And that's just stupid and childish!" the woman screamed, holding her ground.
She had taken a stance, one where she shifted her weight in small circles, staying on her toes. The movements were still quick, and she wasn't going to let Scar through any time in the near future.
"Put your hands up!"
The two Ishvalans had been surrounded. The woman complied, putting her hands in the air. Scar growled and pulled a quick escape. The woman glared into the ground after him.
He, Al, Mustang and Armstrong approached the woman. "Who are you?" Mustang asked.
"I don't have a real name anymore. Just call me Scarlett." she replied, eyes closed.
"You carry Scar's name? So then why do you protect us?" he asked.
"... Because I'm still young, so when you're my age, you're determined to stop pointless death." she said after a short hesitation.
"Young? How old are you?" Al asked curiously.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Her glare averted their gazes.
SCARLETT
She was supposed to be interrogated. There wasn't much she could tell them, she knew that. She sat patiently, cross-legged on the floor.
They had been curious about her tattoos, and were currently in a private conversation about them. She'd told them what she knew about them, and that'd sparked their curiosity.
Ishvalans weren't supposed to know Alchemy.
She knew that. But the tattoos were Alchemic trans-mutation circles. They were all over her body.
Even on her bones...
She couldn't let them know that. No way, no how, could she let them know that she had trans-mutation circles on her bones!
"You said you were young... Just how young?"
She looked up, glowering at the question. She mumbled her reply.
"What?" asked Flame in confusion.
"I said I'm nineteen!" she shouted in aggravation. "Cut me some slack."
"Why is your body covered in circles?" Fullmetal's brother asked.
"I have no effing clue! I don't know how to use 'em, what they're for, or any of that crap!" she yelled.
"Reports say that Scar did manage to get you, but nothing happened?" Strong-arm asked.
She bowed her head and stayed silent. "No comment." she said.
"You should tell us." ordered Flame.
She glared, sighing. "Why? Not like you'll believe me!" she huffed.
"We would."
She hid her surprise as the younger Elric removed his helmet to show an empty shell. "Fine... Some ninny picked me up in the war and combined me with a chunk of something they called 'titanium.'" she sighed, looking away.
She counted three seconds, then glared up at them. "See?"
MUSTANG
The look in her eyes...
The girl was telling the truth. "Can you elaborate on what it is?" he asked, filling the silence.
"It looked like silver... They had to use expensive mining methods, because it's rare and hard to find... It has a high melting point, up in the thousands, and a low freezing point, down in the negative thousands. It's harder than even a diamond... It's chemical make-up is complex and confusing... And a single wire of it can support more weight than that of a house." she said, leaning back and thinking
"And you say you were combined with this stuff?" Edward asked.
"Do I need to say everything a million times? Yes, I'm combined with almost a hundred pounds of titanium!" Scarlett exploded.
They were silent.
"Umm... Just how extensive are your tattoos?" Armstrong asked cautiously.
"They're even on my b-"
She clapped her hands over her mouth.
"On your...?" he asked.
"No. No, I'm not telling. Then you'll want to examine those too." she said, turning away.
"You said they're all over your body. If you mean that literally, I'm going to assume you mean they're even on your bones." Edward guessed.
Scarlett jumped up. "You aren't examining them! I've been cut up more times than I care to count!" she yelled.
EDWARD
Someone had tattooed this girl's bones...
He looked at her with shock. She'd been scarred, not just physically. Her name was appropriate. Scarlett had been combined with a chunk of metal, tattooed inside and out, and treated like a test-subject.
She was terrified right now, but she refused to show it. Her face was determined, but her eyes were that of a hunted animal.
"It's okay. We aren't going to hurt you." he tried to soothe.
"I've been told that too many times to believe it anymore. I hardly believe anything I'm told anymore. I've simply heard it all too many times." Scarlett told him, her head bowed.
"You want to hear the whole story, don't you?"
Her question startled them.
"I can tell. That's the other thing about why Scar couldn't lay a scratch on me and why I was so miffed over losing those glasses." she said, a small smile on her face as she tapped her temple. "These eyes... The titanium had an unusual side-effect on me. Now, I can tell a lot of things just by looking at a person or object. It can be overwhelming, but if I wear sunglasses dark enough, it filters it all out and I can't see it. So... Do you want to hear the story?"