(Author's Note: I really should have done this earlier, but I normally upload in the middle of the night and tag on these notes right before I upload a chapter, so I normally forget. Anyway, I just wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympians and SarahKD! I loved your reviews so much ^0^)

Scar's P.o.V.

Silence reigned in that underground prison cell for what seemed like eternity. All three occupants were contemplating what had just been learned. One of the chimeras growled softly, obviously annoyed by Scar and Alison's presence. The sudden break in the silence prompted Scar to begin the inevitable discussion that followed.

"We Ishvalans…were killed by these Philosopher's Stone…that were created using other Ishvalans." Scar spoke slowly, but his voice rose in volume as he rose of the bed he's been sitting on. "You bastard!" he growled before lunging at Marcoh. "You made my people kill their own families!"

Scar held the trembling doctor high above the ground. Alison, terrified she'd have to witness more death related to the Civil War, ran to Scar. "Please, don't kill him!" she cried, "I know how you feel, I do too, but…haven't enough people died already? I…I don't want to see any more blood." Alison stood trembling harder than Marcoh with her arms wrapped around her ribs. Her eyes were filled with tears, but Scar knew she was trying her hardest not to cry.

He threw Marcoh across the room and turned to the wall next to him. He screamed and punched the wall using all of his rage to strengthen the blow. Solid stone cracked like glass under his clenched fist. But he was much calmer now. Besides, there were things he wanted to know, and he wasn't positive Alison would have all the answers. Still, he'd rather ask her first than Marcoh.

"Alison, what do you know about Kimblee? And why didn't you mention him before now?" he asked.

Alison looked away from Scar. Her silvery hair was covering most of her face, but Scar could still tell she was conflicted about her answer. She sighed and said, "I don't really know much about Kimblee. No one does. He keeps to himself mostly…until there's a fight. He's…sadistic would be an understatement. But he's a skilled fighter and very cunning, so the Fuehrer demanded he be placed high in the military.

"As for why I haven't told you about him, I knew how you'd react. After he was arrested, he was placed in a high security prison. Mustang was worried about me, so he restricted my access to the prison. I'm not even supposed to go close to it. But besides that, the place is filled with armed, well-trained guards. If I'd told you about Kimblee before…then you'd want to go after him. But if you did…if you did then you'd be killed," Alison finished in an urgent whisper.

She waited for Scar to react, expecting him to be angry or annoyed with her for hiding this information for so long, but instead he just sighed. She looked up at him and saw he'd taken a few steps towards her.

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and the look in his eyes told her he understood why she'd kept Kimblee a secret. Then he said, "There's still one more thing I want to know. Before he died, my brother talked about something being strange about Amestrian Alchemy. Most of his research is still in that building. It was left untouched for most of the War."

"Daein's research survived?" Alison asked eagerly. Her eyes lit up and a smile tugged at her lips. Scar was frankly astonished at her sudden change of heart, but then thought it really wasn't all that surprising. She'd worked so hard and spent so much time helping him put those notes together; odds are she spent the last ten years believing all their work went to waste.

In response to her question, Scar nodded and continued, "I went back several times, and each times his notes were undisturbed. I've looked through them, but many are formulas and a language I've never seen before."

"Xingese, the language is Xingese," Alison explained, "The first alchemy tome he found was from Xing, and he preferred their Alkahestry to Alchemy. I don't know the language well, and Daein kept most of his research to himself. It's an Alchemist thing. And if he thought something was wrong, he never mentioned it to me. Hmm…actually, I'd love to see those notes, but Daein wrote everything in code, like I, and most other Alchemists, do." Alison's face contorted into a mask of intense concentration as she tried to remember the code he'd used. "Dammit! I can't remember that code…Marcoh, can you read Xingese?"

Feeling as if he didn't belong in the conversation, Marcoh hadn't been paying very close attention, but he had heard his name and Alison's question. "Y-yes, a little. Well enough to help you, at least," he replied.

"Alright then, good. Scar, I know it's a lot to ask, but I want to see those notes. And I need Marcoh's help."

Scar looked down at Alison. He felt the rage inside him, he wanted to murder Dr. Marcoh. But Alison wanted his help, and Scar wanted to help Alison. He nodded in approval, but Marcoh protested, "I can't leave! If I leave, that village will be slaughtered!"

"Oh yeah…" Alison remarked. She looked around the room, then came up with an idea. "If you were killed, the Homunculi would have no reason to kill the villagers."

Both Marcoh and Scar stared in shock at her words. She smiled at their expressions, then explained her real plan, "A few years ago, I studied human transmutation. The reason why shouldn't be a surprise to either of you but I never actually used it. Still, I remember most of what I learned. I can at least make a fake body."

Both Scar and Marcoh immediately understood her, now much more reasonable, plan. But Marcoh saw a glaring problem, "You might be able to make a body, but were will you get the materials?"

Alison looked solemn as she looked towards the two chained chimeras. "Scar, could you…?" she asked sadly. She turned away as he approached the chimeras. They both tried to fight him as he got close, but neither one was even close to matching him.

While he did that, Alison busied herself with drawing two transmutation circles. "Put that here," she instructed Scar while pointing to the more complex of the two circles. She placed her hands on the edges, and tried not to focus on the corpse in front of her. Her face looked slightly green, but she remained focused. A vaguely human-like shape was formed. She dragged the corpse to a wall and sat it upright. Some bones were left over from her transmutation, and she placed them near the remaining chimera. She kept her eye on it, but it appeared far too afraid of Scar to do anything to her. She placed the bones in a pile then returned to her circle.

She stared at the second circle with a confused look. She took another look around the room, but she didn't appear to find what she was looking for. She sighed and turned to Scar. "Can I borrow, um not borrow, take your jacket?" she asked him.

He looked a bit confused, but handed her the long jacket. She placed it in the second, simpler transmutation circle and transformed it into and exact match of Marcoh's clothes. With help from Scar, she dressed the fake body. She took a few steps back to analyze her worked and appeared rather pleased with herself.

"Alright," she started, "just one last thing. Scar, blow it up." He nodded and complied. The result was messy but effective. Still, Alison thought it was missing something. "It needs something…Oh, got it! Write 'vengeance' on the wall. That way there'll be no mistaking it was you who killed him," she told Scar.

He raised an eyebrow, but did as she asked. The whole scene seemed overdone, but convincing. The assumed manner of death and message on the wall would indeed single out Scar as the killer. And the bones near the remaining chimera would make it seem as if the two had fought. Both looked nearly staved to death, so a fight wouldn't be hard to believe. Between Scar, Marcoh, and Alison, no one could see any flaws.

Clearly pleased with herself, Alison completely erased her transmutation circles and said, "Ready to go, Marcoh? Hey, that rhymed…" Ignoring her last remark, the trio began to make their way out of the compound.

It wouldn't have taken them long, if they hadn't run into one last chimera along the way. They were rushing in an attempt to escape long before Marcoh's "death" was discovered, so each of them failed to notice the giant spider crawling above their heads until it dropped down several yards in front of them.

Alison screamed, more because of the loud sound and intense impact then because she actually knew what was happening. But Scar stayed focused and saw the beast immediately. Unfortunately, he also noticed the spider was a chimera.

The spider stood on three pairs of legs, the pair just behind the front had been replaced by two midnight black snakes, and stared down with venom dripping from its fangs. The abdomen of the chimera uncurled to form yet another snake easily three times the length of the original body of the spider. Scar, Alison, and Marcoh scattered as the snake-tail lunged at them.

Scar turned to face the monster, but couldn't move. He now clearly remembered the moments before Valora, the snake-human chimera he'd fought before meeting Dr. Faust, had bitten him. The fact that such a small wound nearly killed completely astounded him. And frightened him.

To make matters worse, he also remembered Alison being terrified of spiders. Any time one would crawl near her, she'd scream and make him or Daein get rid of it. Even the smallest spiders would simply freak her out. Both he and his brother claimed she was being childish, but they'd also both deal with the spiders every time.

Worried for about her, Scar spared a second to glance at Alison. Her eyes were expectedly filled with that same childish fear. But unexpectedly, she wasn't frozen in her fear. She brandished the kusarigama she still carried and used her left hand to wrap the chain around the two snakes on the sides of the spiders. Using her right hand, she sent the sickle flying towards the largest snake. The blade caught the snake and she expertly wielded the weapon to wrap the snakes around themselves. With a deft jerk, the snakes fell free from the main body. The writhed on the ground, but soon fell still.

The spider reared back in pain, but Alison was immediately on top of it. She used the blade to cut off the three pairs of legs and finished by removing the chimera's head screaming, "DIE SPIDER!"

She jumped off of its back and landed in front of Scar. His jaw was dropped and his eyes wide. Of all the things he'd expected her to do that was certainly not one of them.

Seeing his shocked expression, Alison burst out laughing. "Something tells me you weren't expecting that," she giggled.

"That's…an understatement," he managed to reply. She chuckled again, but Marcoh was thoroughly confused. At his asking, Alison just smiled and replied, "I don't like spiders."

"B-but you…that thing…all because…" Marcoh responded in a stutter. Alison burst into another round of laughter and Scar shook his head.

But Alison's merriment was short lived. Her legs were shaking and her knees gave out sending her kneeling to the ground. Scar's eyes grew wide again, but this time because he was worried she'd been hurt. Or that she'd been bitten by one the snakes. "Alison, are you hurt?" he asked with concern obvious in his voice.

"No, I…I'm just tired. I don't think I've slept in…how long was I in that place?" she trailed off at the end. She'd been staring at the ground, but turned her eyes up to face Scar and finished, "Sorry, but I don't think I can walk."

Scar sighed, not because he was annoyed but because he was relieved. "Don't worry about it," he told her. He picked her up and wrapped her arms around his neck so she was riding on his back. She gasped slightly, but didn't protest or resist.

She was surprised by his sudden concern and willingness to help her, but she was far too tired to ask about it. She told herself she'd ask him later, but just before she fell asleep she realized she'd forget as soon as she woke up.

Scar walked slowly until he heard her breathing slow, about thirty seconds after he'd started carrying her. He shook his head and yet again wondered what she went through. Marcoh asked if she was alright, but Scar could only regretfully answer, "I don't know."

Because they'd already been so close to the exit, the group wasn't bothered by any other enemies, much to Scar's relief. He know fully understood the state Alphonse Elric had been in before escaping. He knew it was impossible for him to fight while holding Alison. But he also knew she needed his help to escape, and he wasn't about to leave her behind.

Upon leaving the vast network of tunnels and corridors that made up the Homunculi's hideout, Scar and Marcoh were greeted by the soft blackness of midnight, slightly illuminated by the bright glow of the full moon. Stars glittered in the sky over head, and crickets could be heard chirping all around. The streets were mostly empty, much to Scar's preference, but that certainly didn't mean the two men could take their time walking through the city.

Marcoh fretted about being caught, but after Scar told him angrily that taking time to worry would only slow him down, the doctor was silent. They traveled fast and soon made it back to the familiar alley-way Alison had improved to seem more like a simple home than a side street.

She'd hung blankets high above the street to shield it from some sun and rain. She'd also build simple yet effective wooden lean-tos. A fire pit and dry area for storing food had been built as well. It was shoddy and simple, but it was the best she could do considering inns and stealing homes were clearly not an option.

Upon entering the alley, Scar found May sleeping with Xiao-Mei in her arms and Yoki sleeping with his thumb in his mouth. Marcoh kicked a tin can and the resulting sound immediately woke May. Her panda was still fast asleep, so she carefully crawled around her and ran to greet Scar.

Worry covered her face when she saw Scar holding Alison, and she was obviously immensely relieved when she was told Alison was only sleeping. May quickly cleared a lean-to making it as comfortable as possible. Despite Scar's assurance, the last time May had seen Alison was during the fight with Envy and Gluttony, and Alison had been severely injured during that fight. Because May didn't know who Marcoh was or that he had healed Alison, the young girl still believe Alison had those injuries.

Upon assuring herself Alison was alright, May finally turned her attention to Marcoh. "Who's your friend?" she asked Scar.

"He's no friend. This man is my enemy," Scar replied while Marcoh introduced himself, "I'm a doctor known as Marcoh."

"Marcoh? I've heard that name before…" May responded. Her small face contorted into an intense mask of concentration for several minutes before she finally remembered the story she'd been told by Dr. Knox about the Ishvalan War. "Knox-san said you were a…medical examiner, I think."

"That's a pleasant way of putting it," Scar scoffed. "This is the man responsible for creating the Philosopher's Stone!" As he spoke, his voice rose to well above shouting. The noise caused Yoki to stir, but he quickly fell back to sucking his thumb while he slept. However, Alison did not fall back to sleep.

She sat up slowly while rubbing her eyes. "Alison-chan!" May cried before jumping into the older girl's lap. Tears were in the younger's as she asked if Alison was alright. The older laughed and wrapped her arms around the child.

"I'm fine, May. Don't worry, okay," she said soothingly. May calmed considerably, but remained in Alison's lap. "How long was I asleep?" she asked while turning to Scar and Marcoh.

"Not long," Scar replied not quite able to remove all the anger from his voice. Much had left, however, because Scar was filled with relief at seeing Alison awake and seemingly in good spirits once again. But an awkward silence was born when no one felt they could add to the conversation. Yoki stirred again, groaned, but otherwise made no sign of waking up.

Wanting to do anything to break the silence, May started, "Wait, you said Philosopher's Stone, right? My quest for immortality, Marcoh-san, could you help me?"

"Don't," Scar replied angrily and suddenly. May was a bit shocked and confused by the venom in his voice, so Alison clarified, "May, the Philosopher's Stone is not something you want to use. I promised I'd help you and your family, but I can't let you use the Stones. We'll find another way, okay?" May nodded and dropped the subject.

"Wait," May started again, "I have another question. Scar-san, you said Marcoh-san was your enemy, so why is he here?"

Before Scar had the chance, Alison thought it would be best if she answered, "Scar's brother, just before he…" she paused, obviously still filled with pain over the war, "Anyway, he found something…strange, I guess, about the alchemy in Amestris. I want to know what he found."

"Oh okay," May replied, "wait! Can I help?" Alison smiled and nodded quickly in an attempt to hide the fact that she'd forgotten May could use Alkahestry. "Yay! So, where are we going next?"

"Ishval," Scar said solemnly.

Alison nodded and added, "But that can wait for tomorrow. It's late, we should get some sleep." As if on cue, May yawned loudly. She giggled, then crawled back to her bed and curled back around Xiao-Mei. Marcoh too sat back against one wall of the alley, not under one of Alison's lean-tos because he felt he was already asking too much of Alison, and fell asleep. Yoki was still fast asleep, thumb in mouth as always.

Alison, like Marcoh, slumped against the wall behind her. She fell to the ground with her legs tucked against her chest and her head resting on her knees. Scar kneeled beside her and asked if she was alright. "Yeah, I just…don't want to fall asleep, I guess. Every time I close my eyes, I see those faces," she finished in a whisper almost too soft to hear but still filled with the horror she'd experienced in the artificial Doors of Truth.

"Alison…" Scar murmured, just barely a hint of concern in his voice. But that hint was just enough to cause Alison to explain everything that happened. She spoke slowly and softly as the scene replayed yet again in her mind. When she started to explain Envy's appearance, tears filled her eyes.

"All those people, they were in so much pain but I…I couldn't do anything to help them," she finished with a quiet sob. Seeing her like this, Scar couldn't help but want to comfort her, but he was afraid she'd be offended if he tried. Still, he couldn't bear to see her this upset.

He slowly and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. He expected her to pull away from his touch, but instead she turned towards him and buried her head in his chest. "Afraid, I was so afraid," she muttered as she started to cry.

Again, Scar only wanted to calm her, but he thought he'd made her more upset. He was confused and didn't know what to do, but he thought he needed to say something. "It's over now," he whispered softly.

Much to Scar's still growing confusion, Alison responded by saying, "I'm sorry." She pulled away and laughed, but her voice was quiet and broken. Wiping her tears, she continued, "Normally, in stories when characters have conversations in the middle of the night, it's so they can try and cope with everything that's happening to them. But whenever we have those kinds of talks, I just start crying. I'm sorry."

Scar shook his head and it was Alison's turn to be confused. "What's wrong," she asked, worried she'd done something that had offended him. In response Scar stood and turned away from her. He rubbed his face then said almost too quietly to hear, "Don't apologize. Stop apologizing; you've done nothing wrong."

"I'm so-, I mean, I…I don't know what I mean," Alison tried to reply. Instead of trying to say anything else, she just started at the wall directly across from her. Scar stood near her, but returned to his seat beside her after only a few moments. Unable to think of anything more to say, Alison remained silent. Scar, also not knowing what else to say, fell into deep thought.

He thought about what Alison had said about story characters and decided he should analyze his own story. More remarkable events had happened to him in the past few weeks than any time since the war had ended. And most remarkably, he'd been traveling with Alison all this time.

He glanced down at her and noticed her eyelids were dropping. She was falling asleep. As she fell into deeper sleep, she steadily started slumping towards Scar. With a slight smile, she unconsciously leaned against him. He felt slightly awkward with her that close, but she seemed happy and in peace, so he left her alone.

He knew she had to be exhausted, but he was still far from falling asleep as well. Instead, a more pressing thought occurred to him. He knew the life he had was incredibly, extremely dangerous. Alison had willingly joined him, but after the events that had recently occurred, he'd begun doubting his abilities to protect her.

When Father had said she was dead, Scar realized he'd had feelings for her. After seeing her after Father's words, he'd felt more joy than ever before. But while he considered both good events, they also brought another feeling. He wasn't sure he could protect her.

His feelings still confused him, but he knew he never wanted to see Alison hurt. He also knew he possessed great strength, both from his right arm and martial training, but what he didn't know was whether that would be enough.

He remembered the Homunculi calling Alison a "sacrifice". Whatever they meant by that, he knew they'd come after her again. He had enough problems already fighting them. He wanted her to be safe, but the Homunculi were simply too strong. He wanted to stay by her side, but he decided she'd be safest if she stayed by Colonel Mustang and her friends in the military.

The Homunculi obviously wanted to stay hidden for now, if they attacked her while she was surrounded by high-ranking officers, their cover would definitely be blown. Not to mention Mustang was a skilled State Alchemist. And Scar'd heard rumors about his First Lieutenant's skill with guns. If there was any one place Alison would be safe, it was with them.

He decided to convince her to stay with them as soon as she woke up tomorrow.

(Author's Note: 100 PAGES LONG! This is officially the longest thing I've ever written! Anyway, I had a hell of a hard time writing the end to this. I knew how I wanted it to go, but I just couldn't get anything to sound right…

Next Time- Alison's boyfriend (who doesn't have a name and was in this way less then I originally planned, will make one finally appearance. Making total appearances about…3. Oh well, afterwards it's off to a ghost town! Yay!)