Bad author, bad author! (slaps own hand)

Sorry readers for not posting yesterday as I had originally planned. I was so swamped with my homework, but the time I got done it was way to late to get on here and post! Here's a nice and long chapter for you to read, and I'll post more on Thursday!

I do want to make a quick comment on the last review by Vegan Star. Some of you may not like the idea of reverting to the manga for this plot twist, but I figured it would be better for the story overall. I mean, hell, why would Winry even join the military and be under MUSTANG'S leadership if he killed her parents? I personally wouldn't want to be anywhere near the man if he had done that to me...The scene in the manga where Winry finds out about her parents, and the interaction between her and Edward...sigh...it's really sad and heart-breaking.

Okay enough emotion...Onto the violence!

Erin

Chapter Twelve

They finally had him cornered. They had fought nonstop since Scar caused the debris to block them and Winry, and Alphonse thought Edward was going to go crazy trying to get through it to get to her. They didn't know where she went, just as long as she was okay. Both brothers kept their position on either side of the scarred man, waiting for him to make a move. Brother seems tired, I'll try to stall to let him catch his breath, Al thought to himself as he glanced at his brother and saw his condition.

"Scar!" Al yelled to the man, "Why do you hate alchemists who go against your God, when you yourself use alchemy!"

He could see Scar turn his head slightly to look in his direction, though keeping an eye on his older brother, "I thought I said this in East City. If you are the ones who create, there must be ones who destroy…"

"East…" Al muttered to himself, "Destroy…" Images of Nina and Alexander before and after they had been turned into a chimera popped into his head. "…What can be created from actions that can only destroy…Isn't it that you only want to use your God's name to justify your killings?"

"…Al?" Edward questioned, surprised at his statements.

"And Shou Tucker," Al continued, "Did you kill his daughter Nina as an avatar of God too?"

Scar turned his face away from the suit of armor and glanced at the ground. "Tucker…I see…You also saw his daughter who was made into a chimera." A moment passed before anything was said, "What does it create, huh? An alchemist I defeated some days ago also told me that 'there is no way you can match we who create'…The art of creating you say?" He turned his head back towards Al, "Wasn't it arrogance like that which created that chimera girl?"

"An art which creates that kind of tragedy…Is that the alchemy which you so admire!" Glancing at Edward, "That hand of yours is what put your brother in that body."

Edward glared as he yelled at his opponent, "Even so…Why did you need to kill her? What gave you the right to take away her life?"

"Didn't you understand? She couldn't return to normal anymore…" Scar said after another moment of silence, "If you left her like that, she would have been used just like an experimental animal, and would never have been treated like a human again."

Al lowered his head, "…That's right. Back then; deep down in our hearts we had the feeling that Nina might be sent to some laboratory. We only postponed a problem we could do nothing about…"

Silence surrounded the three for a few minutes, as no one talked or made any sound. "Certainly, we alchemists have been making mistakes," spoke Edward finally, "But that doesn't mean we're going to acknowledge what you're doing!"

An explosion sounded from down the road, and the three fighters watched in curiosity as the four alchemists from earlier were flung to pipes that lined some of the remaining buildings. Winry! he thought to himself as he recognized the attack. Not a moment later, she walked out from an alley and brushed her gloved hands together to get some dirt off. Edward watched as she looked over to the group, then narrowed her eyes at Scar and began to walk towards them. He noticed she still held her side, though it looked like it didn't bother her too much from the anger he saw in her eyes.

"Stupid girl! What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to hide?" Edward yelled to her, though not moving from his position in case Scar attacked. She ignored him as she continued to walk towards them. She boldly came within thirty feet of the Ishballan, and glared at him. He sneered at her show of courage. "Are you giving up?"

Narrowing her eyes even further, the words flowed off her tongue like poison, "You should have been dead already…You should have died in the war…" She paused for a moment, summoning the courage to continue, "Scar, there's something I want to ask you…Does an avatar of God coolly take the lives of doctors who devote themselves to the people?"

She saw Edward's surprised look from the corner of her eye, but didn't acknowledge it, "Do you remember a married couple of doctors from Rizenbul named Rockbell?"

"Winry…" she heard Alphonse say quietly, and could feel the prickling of tears threatening to form behind her eyes, but she resisted everything except finding out the truth.

"They went forward in the Ishbal rebellion, and even after there was an order of annihilation, they continued helping the people of Ishbal…" Tears formed behind her eyes against her will, her emotions making her voice quiver slightly, "SCAR! Do you remember those doctors who you were helped by and who you killed!"

Edward's eyes widened at the accusation she threw at their opponent. He knew her parent's death had always been a sore point, but how was she able to figure out that Scar did it? How would she have known?

Winry glared at the scarred man, her tears finally breaking the barrier she had set up and slowly spilling down her cheeks. His silence confirmed her guess, as her legs gave out from underneath her, causing her to hit the ground hard. She held a hand up to prevent Edward from coming near her, as she saw he was about to do, and looked in Scar's direction.

"You don't deny it? Just because they helped alchemists was a good reason for them to die, even though they helped YOUR people?" Anger began to flow stronger through her as she imagined him killing them, blowing them up from the inside. Her stomach turned from the thought, and she clutched it in hopes of preventing herself from being sick. Because it was becoming difficult to breathe Winry feared one of her lungs might be bruised or punctured from when she landed on the table earlier.

"So you're those doctor's daughter…" Scar said as the girl still tried to calm herself, "You have the right to kill me…" She looked up at the Ishballan man. He narrowed his eyes and raised his arm, "But this arm commands me to kill you, and I follow its orders!" He began to run towards Winry before the brothers had a chance to react.

"Winry! Dammit, she's gonna get herself killed!" Edward yelled as he began to run towards her, but stopped when Alphonse yelled at him, shaking his head and pointing in her direction. He had noticed she had quickly clapped her arms and grabbed her left arm, much like she did in the exam. Winry waited until Scar was within a few feet of her before letting her lighting rain from the sky. Numerous bolts of lightning erupted from the few clouds in the sky, all aimed at the scarred man. He dodged all but the last bolt, which knocked him across the street into a building. The ground shook and crumbled in many places where the bolt tore through it, sending chunks of earth flying everywhere.

Scar scrambled from the wreckage and looked around for any of the teens, when Winry came from nowhere and punched him in the face with her automail arm. He tried to step back, but was caught in the stomach with a kick from her right leg. Scar landed on his feet this time and charged towards the girl. She ducked his attack, but was too slow as he caused chunks of earth to turn into spikes, in hopes of impaling her. She jumped back as each one formed next to her, and glanced to see Ed and Al were still busy trying to get through the wreckage she had caused with her lightning bolts.

She quickly jumped on one of Scar's spikes, and used it to leap towards him, clapping her hands before she landed on the ground. She transmuted her arm into a blade, and went in to attack the Ishballan. Winry began to wear out as she fought the strong man, her strength weakening from not only her wounds, but from her lightning attack earlier.

As the two faced off, Winry glanced around quickly hoping to find any items she could use to her advantage. Scar saw this opportunity and slammed his hand to the ground, causing the ground to explode in her direction. This time she wasn't able to dodge it totally and was flung against a wall. She could vaguely hear Edward yelling as her head pounded against the concrete, causing her vision to fade in and out. Scar walked up to the girl and looked down to her, "You should have given up, it would have been easier for all of us." Winry heard the voice, but couldn't see her attacker from the blow to the head she had just received. She swung her arm blade around weakly, hoping to connect with his skin.

"Pathetic. I will take care of you, but first…" Scar grabbed one of the pipes that was connected to the building and transmuted it into long chains. He set it on the ground and slammed his hand next to it, hurtling it toward the brothers. They had just cleared over most of her debris and were rushing to their friend's aid. The chain came from nowhere and wrapped itself around the teens, preventing them from coming any closer, and keeping their hands apart so they can't transmute.

"Bastard, don't you lay another hand on her! I'll kill you!" Edward yelled as he tried to escape the chains. They not only kept his hands apart, but were wrapped tightly around each hand, preventing him from doing anything else.

"The cycle of hatred cannot stop until either side falls!" yelled Scar, as he turned back to face the girl. She rubbed her eyes, trying to make them work, and weakly waved her blade around as she heard him approach again. "Leave me alone! Don't come any closer!"

"Leave her alone!" she heard Edward scream, as he and Al fought against their bonds. "Winry, don't let him near you! Get up!" She attempted to get to her feet, but was quickly pushed back down by the scarred man. She whimpered as she fell back to the rubble. She felt blood sliding down her face, and didn't know how bad she was injured.

Winry's vision began to slowly come back, and she was able to make out light and dark objects in front of her. She saw a big dark area, and assumed it was Scar because it moved. With her dwindling energy, she threw a desperate punch with her left arm to the darkness. She felt him grab her fist and squeeze.

"I remember doing this to your friend over there. At least you won't be playing tricks on me anymore…"

Winry's body and mind screamed in pain as he destroyed her automail arm. The pain she felt was worse than what she had gone through getting the surgery done. She clutched the place where her left arm was with her right hand while her body shivered in pain and shock. Her screams burned their way into Edward's memory, causing him to cringe at the hurt she was going through. He became reckless in his attempt to free himself, pushing himself against the chains and screaming her name though she did not appear to hear him at all through her own sobs.

"Winry! Winry!" Edward continued to yell, as he and Al continued to try and break free. Scar waited until he decided the girl was not going to die from shock, lifted her up into a sitting position, and placed his palm on her forehead. She didn't seem to resist against his hand, "I will give you a moment to pray to your God," he said to the girl.

"I don't have a God to pray to, though if I did I'd wish for you to have a painful death like my parents did, you bastard…" Winry said between gasps of breath, keeping her eyes closed.

"Anything else?" Scar said after a moment of silence.

Winry tried to think through the pain she was going through. She could hear the boys yelling still, and Edward seemed frantic to free himself from whatever Scar did to him. "I do have one thing…"

"What is it?" he said after she was quiet.

"I'm not ready to die yet…" she whispered, as tears flowed down her face.

Scar lowered his head, and pushed harder with his palm, "You really don't have a choice in the matter…"

"Yes she does!" came a voice from the side, as a large fist slammed into the Ishballan, causing him to fly across the street again into another building. Winry's head lifted as she recognized the voice, but the toll of her injuries were too much as the girl's body finally gave out.

Meanwhile, Edward, in his frantic state, had managed to wiggle his hand free, and was able to reach a nearby nail. He quickly etched a circle into the chain, and broke it, releasing his brother and himself. "Al, check on Winry! I'm going to help Major Armstrong!" The younger brother nodded and rushed over to where his friend lay unmoving.

Alphonse lifted the girl up into a sitting position, and tried to rouse her. "Winry, Winry, please wake up…" he kept repeating while he rubbed her arm. She didn't respond at first, but he eventually saw her stir slightly. The moment she did caused her to freak out and try to get away from whoever was near her. Her eyesight wasn't back to normal yet, and she thought Scar might still be in front of her. She frantically tried to stand up and back away, but her limbs did not want to work properly.

"Winry, it's just me, Al!" he exclaimed, trying to calm her down. Hearing her friend's voice did calm her down somewhat, though her body still shook with pain. She looked up in Al's general direction, "Where's Edward? Is he okay too?"

Alphonse nodded accidentally, forgetting she couldn't see very well at the moment, "Yeah, he's helping Major Armstrong fight Scar right now…"

Major Armstrong sent many strong attacks in the Ishballan's direction to steer him away from the teenagers. He thought it had worked, until Edward appeared by his side, ready for another go at the murderer. "Edward! Get back! You're already wounded, and will be of no use here…"

"Screw that! He hurt her, and for that I'm going to rip him limb from limb," Edward growled, as he faced the attacker. Major Armstrong had already taken his shirt off and had tried intimidating the scarred man with his muscles, but Ed had not noticed any of it.

"Please, stay to the sid-"

"Fat chance!" Ed said transmuting his arm into a blade, as he charged towards Scar, "You're goin down!" Leaping towards his target, Edward attempted to slice the Ishballan, only to be kicked aside. He immediately slammed his hands to the ground as he landed, causing many spikes to spring from the ground toward Scar. Edward ran up one of the spikes as Scar dodged them, and flipped over the man to land behind him. A second wind of energy filled him as he swung his blade hard, and successfully sliced the back of the alchemist killer.

Scar yelled out in pain and stumbled forward and used one of the spikes for balance. He quickly broke it off and hurled it towards the teen. Edward dodged it and came in for another attack. As Edward closed the gap, Scar moved his hand to nearby spike. Ed could hear the Major yelling for him, but paid no attention to his warning.

As Edward came close enough for another attack, Scar broke off the end of the spike he held and shoved it into the teen's side. Then Scar quickly pushed him against another building, placed his hand on the wall, and caused an explosion, causing parts of the wall to fall towards Edward. With the spike still protruding from his side, Edward tried to get away, but realized he couldn't. The rocks began to fall on him, just as Major Armstrong heard the teenager clap his hands together.

"Edward!" yelled Major Armstrong, as he rushed to the rocks to free his comrade. He heard Alphonse running up from behind him, with a conscious Winry in his arms. "Brother!" he yelled, as he set the girl down gently and began to pull rocks off the pile. Armstrong saw Scar running from the scene, and informed Al that he was going to try and catch him, so to keep taking rocks off of Edward. Al nodded his head and continued to pry boulders off the mound of cement and rocks that filled the area.

Winry's vision was becoming clearer, and she was able to see the entire encounter as Alphonse tore pieces of a nearby banner into tourniquets for her cuts. She cried out as Edward was stabbed, alerting Al, and ordered him to take her over there. He obeyed, and they got there just as the rocks fell on Edward. Al frantically threw rocks off of the pile, in hopes of getting to his brother. After Al set her down, Winry stood as fast as her body let her, and hurried over to the pile. With her one arm and weak state, she moved as many rocks as possible. When she thought her body would give out from exhaustion, she pushed harder. She didn't want Edward to die.

Winry frantically tried to pry rocks off of Edward, ignoring Al's pleas for her not to for fear of her passing out again. The pile of rocks shrank quickly after Major Armstrong came back with no luck of capturing Scar. Winry crawled up the pile, towards where she thought Edward was when it fell. Her hand and nails were bleeding from clawing at the rocks she wasn't able to move. Tears flowed down her face, as she continued to move smaller rocks with her one hand.

Just as Winry was about to pass out from exhaustion, she moved one more rock slightly and found Edward's hand. Grabbing it with her remaining one, she yelled to the Major and Alphonse that she had found him. They began to climb up the pile in her direction, being careful not to cause the rocks to crush him further.

Winry peered into the hole Edward's hand stuck out of to see he had formed some sort of earth mound over him before the rocks were able to hit him. There wasn't much room because he had to work quickly, but it was enough for him to breath.

"Are you okay?" Winry asked weakly. Her body and head hurt, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold out. She saw him nod slightly, but then he coughed and blood came up. "Hold on, Edward, we're getting you out of there."

"He hurt you…" she heard his voice whisper from the cramped space. Winry gripped his hand tighter in reassurance and felt him squeeze back.

"It's just a few scratches…Don't worry, though. We're going to get you out of there, and then we'll all be okay again soon…"

Winry looked up to see Al and Major Armstrong were almost through the pile of rocks. "Edward, they're almost there, just hang on a few more minutes…" Silence came from the hole for the next few moments, and Winry feared he might have passed out from his injuries. She didn't know how she was able to last as long as she had, for her head continued to pound terribly, and she was feeling lightheaded still. She was about to call out his name again, but didn't as she felt his hand squeeze hers again.

"I've found it!" Winry heard Al yell from the side. The major and he quickly removed the rocks that covered the damaged concrete and dirt-mixed mound and transmuted the top to move it out of the way, and carefully removed the injured teen.

Major Armstrong watched as the girl reluctantly let go of Edward's hand so they could pull him from the wreckage. Without discussing what to do next, Al gently lifted Edward from what was left of the building. It appeared the teen finally fell into unconsciousness and was dead weight in his arms. He turned around to see the Major picking up Winry as she began to fade in and out of consciousness. Her head still was bleeding badly, but she had refused for Al to tend to it once she saw what happened to Edward.

"Major, do you know where the hospital is? I haven't noticed one this entire time we've been here…"

"There's a small clinic on the edge of town that may be able to take care of them temporarily. I don't know if they have the capability to handle something like what these two have been through," replied the major, turning his head and surveying the damage. He would have to drop the two off with Al and come back to clean things up.

"What exactly happened to these children?" asked the doctor suspiciously as he examined the teen's injuries. "Did this have anything to do with the explosion that happened earlier in the town?" He lifted his head and arched an eyebrow at Al, who had been left while the Major went to fix the town destruction, pay off the inn fee, and gather the teen's bags. The late afternoon sun's rays shone through a nearby window and onto the teens, highlighting their pale faces, showing Alphonse just how much blood had been lost.

"We, uh, ran into someone who didn't quite like us…" Al said quickly. He didn't like the way the doctor kept looking at him; it made him feel uncomfortable.

The doctor stood slowly over the two beds, and put his hands on his hips, "Well, I believe we can stabilize them until the next train arrives, which will be two hours or so. This one," he said, pointing at Winry, "has at least one broken rib, maybe more. But from listening to her breathing, she may also have a punctured lung. We can give you enough oxygen to keep on her until you get back to Central, so it shouldn't be so bad. I've heard there won't be any stops for the train ride, since it's a late night ride, which will make your trip much shorter as well. This one over here," he said as he pointed to Edward, "will be fine. That stab wound didn't hit anything major, so we can get it stitched up fairly quickly. He just has mostly cuts and bruises. I do fear for her though. If you do not get her back to Central to have her lungs checked out, I don't know if she would be able to recover fully."

Alphonse nodded at the doctor's information as he called in nurses to help clean the teens up. They quickly put an oxygen mask on Winry, to help her breathe better. "We're also going to sedate both of them, so they will be comfortable on the trip back. I don't think it would be pleasant to wake up on a train in their state. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll make arrangements to have someone transport you and them to the train station when the time comes…" The doctor walked out of the door to make the appropriate phone calls while Al watched the nurses begin to clean their injuries.

Al spent the next hour waiting by his brother and friend's bedside. They both slept peacefully with the help of the sedation, and for that he was glad. Major Armstrong finally showed up with the teen's bags in his hands, and relayed to Al that the mess had been cleaned up entirely, even the damage to the surrounding buildings. He also stated that the innkeepers were upset at first, until he explained the situation and fixed their building. Escorts arrived not long after the Major, and with the use of stretchers, carried the teens to the waiting cars. Without delay, the passengers boarded and began their trek back to Central.