Chapter Title: A Long Ride
Characters: Scar, Al, Ed, Winry, Pinako, Armstrong, Hughes
Pairings: None! I can't write romance for the life of me!
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I don't own it! Waaaaah!
A/N: Ugh, I had such horrible writer's block on this chapter. Sorry it took a little longer than normal. Also, things are going to start getting a little weird, and the canon plotline is going to start going off on a different tangent than it did in the anime; I'm drawing from the manga here.

Ed and Al were upstairs in 'their' room, packing hurriedly. Or rather, Ed was packing and Al was standing in front of the door to make sure nobody opened it because Scar was out. All involved were discussing what exactly was going to happen now.

"So, are you going to stay here or what?" Ed dug out his pocket watch, "Sorry, but I gotta wear this now…"

"I can't stay, didn't you hear that man in the kitchen? 'That Ishbal rat with the scar blew off my leg' he said. The only way out of here right now is with you," Scar was pointedly ignoring the watch.

"Major Elric!" shouted a voice from the other side of the door, sounding worried, and the door tried to open, fortunately kept from this action by Al, "Is there someone in there with you? We highly suspect that Scar was here, and he might still be close. Sir, I request permission to come in, sir!"

Everyone jumped, Ed motioning frantically at Scar to get back inside Al and at the same time shouting, "Nobody's in here! I'll be out in a minute!" he threw the last few articles of clothing into the suitcase, along with the almost forgotten 'Blackmail Album' and closed it tightly. By this time Scar was safely shut inside Al again, so they opened the door to let the concerned looking soldier in. He took a quick look around before speaking again.

"I must have been hearing things…Major Elric, my commanding officer would like to ask you a few questions, sir."

"We have reason to suspect that Scar might have been here, Major Elric," the serious looking soldier stood in front of Ed and Al, "Please, tell us everything you know."

"Scar?" Ed was doing a good job of looking confused, "Why do you think that?"

"The leader of the terrorists claims that an Ishbalan with a scar blew off his leg with alchemy."

Ed smirked, "Well, he's either lying or crazy. He lost that leg when we were fighting him; didn't get out of the way in time." They had all agreed on a story before the military had arrived, so Ed knew that he wouldn't be contradicting anything anyone else had said if they had already been questioned, "I mean, really, think about it. Scar happens to be feeling heroic one night, so he leaps through the window of a house where two State Alchemists and their friends are being held hostage, saves the day, and runs off without a word. Somehow I doubt it."

The soldier looked thoughtful, "Well, when you put it that way…but, still, we're bound to search the area. Scar was suspected to be here even before this…incident occurred."

"Yeah, Major Armstrong told us. Anyway, I don't see a problem with you guys looking around. Do you see a problem with it, Al?"

"No, niisan. Better safe than sorry, right?"

"That's good, sir. Half my men will stay here, while the rest of us will escort you both to Central right away. Along with the criminals, of course," the soldier saluted again, "Say your goodbyes, and we'll be on our way."

"Right," Ed nodded, and he and Al went into the living room where Winry and Pinako where talking to another soldier, "Hey, we've got to be off, now, so bye."

Winry looked a little sad, "Well, it was nice to have you guys here. Remember, you're all welcome back any time," she glanced at Al as she said this, then turned to Ed, "And you had better take good care of your automail!"

"Yes, and you," Pinako looked pointedly at Al, or rather, at Scar, "take better care of yourself."

From inside of Al, Scar gave a small, unseen nod as the Elric brothers turned and walked out the door.

To Scar, the train ride back to Central had seemed like an eternity. A very dark and uncomfortable eternity. Al hadn't been able to go outside and let him out this time; because the terrorists were also on board, the security was extremely tight, with guards posted outside on every platform. And not only that, but there were several soldiers sitting near Ed, Al, and Armstrong, so he couldn't speak or even move for fear of being discovered. By the time the train pulled into Central station, he was about ready to strangle something. But it wasn't over yet…

"Edward! Alphonse!" a cheery voice that Scar didn't recognize called out.

"Hughes-san!" Al shouted back happily, causing Scar to cringe as the loud noise reverberated around him, hurting his ears.

The new voice, apparently 'Hughes', spoke again, seemingly having walked over to where the brothers stood, "Nice to see you, boys. You have to see these new pictures of Elysia! Look at her in her new pink dress! Isn't she just the cutest thing you've ever seen?"

"Not now, Hughes," Ed grumbled, "Why was it so important for us to come here?"

"Well, just the other night…well, the 1st Branch of the Library burned down…"

"WHAT? H-how?" Ed sounded like he was in shock.

Hughes' voice grew serious, "We aren't sure. It looks like arson, but we don't have any real suspects. Quite a few people are thinking Scar, but it didn't look like his work. Anyway, I'm supposed to take you to the scene now, so let's go."

Armstrong's voice spoke, "Well, this is where I leave you thr- two. Goodbye, and good luck."

And with that, Al began to walk again; one of the horrible parts of being inside him was that Scar couldn't see what was going on. It made him slightly nervous, but he trusted Alphonse enough now that it wasn't frightening as it had been the first time. But now he had no idea how long he'd be stuck in there; they'd just assumed that they'd go to some alley and let him be on his way as soon as they reached Central, but now there was no telling how long it would be before they were alone enough to do something like that. They seemed to be in a car now, and Hughes was babbling about someone named 'Elysia', but Scar wasn't paying attention to that. He was paying attention to how part of Al's shoulder was jabbing him every time the car jostled, in other words constantly. 'I am never doing this ever again. Ever.'

Eventually they reached the charred remains of the 1st Branch, and then came about two hours of standing around and asking and answering questions. At one point Ed leaned over to Al and whispered, "This can't go on forever. Just…don't jump out and run off, because we'd be in so much trouble if you did that…"

Ah, that's right. If they were found to be harboring him, they'd be punished severely, along with the Rockbells and Armstrong. All the more reason to get away as soon as he could; he didn't want them to be hurt because of him. Finally, after what seemed like ages, it was back into the car with Hughes.

"Gracia wants you to stay with us while you're both here in Central," the man said cheerfully.

"Er…" Scar just knew that Ed was glancing at him while he said this, "I…guess…"

"Great! Oh, Elysia will be so happy to see you again…" the car slowed to a halt, and they all climbed out. A few more steps, and then, suddenly, Al stopped.

"What is it, Hughes-san?"

"Al," Hughes spoke up, "Whoever's hiding inside you can come out now."

A/N: Dundunduuuuuun…I'm sure you're all wondering how the 1st Branch burned down. Well, the Homunculus did that all by themselves, on purpose, like they did in the manga. See? I'm not breaking canon, just mixing it up a bit. Anyway, this story is wrapping up; I think that the next chapter will be the last. But never fear, because I'm starting the sequel fairly soon. Anywho, I have a funny joke for all of you: Scar is armed and dangerous. Think about it.
Scar: That phrase is a source of endless amusement to you, isn't it, Ieva?
Yep! Oh, and also I wanna tell you guys about the water skiing; it was really fun (but slightly painful). We also tubed, and I liked that better. I drew a funny picture of us tubing; it'll be up on my website as soon as I can get my stupid scanner working again. Anyway, review time!

Roxie Faye: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Hehe...that line amuses me too.
Anasazi Darkmoon: Yes, they do. Lots and lots of horrible things...-cackles evilly- Ahem, anyway. Scar kinda sorta learned to almost paddle around with a lifejacket on (like he had a choice), and he didn't panic TOO much...(Envy: -laughs- Are you kidding?Yes he did! Scar: Quiet!)
crazyanimefreak15: (Scar: -eye twitches- Edward...) Scar-san, there will be no mauling of Ed! Oh, and he thanks you for the water wings. (Envy: -teary puppy dog eyes- IT WASN'T MY FAULT! Why does everyone hate me for something I had no control over?)
Cyon Wavaer: XD That would be the greatest thing ever... (Scar: Says you...anyway, thank you for the floating things.)
MoonGlitter2: Thanks!
ImperialJedi: Very interesting indeed...glad you liked the flashbacks!
no one's friend: I'm going to miss it a lot too...there's always the sequel, but it won't be the same...-sniffle- And yeah, I'm definitely starting other stories. Great quote, by the way!
candidus-lupus-full Moon: Hehehe...funny. I'm glad you like it so much!