This is my first fanfic. Scar gets a bad deal with mostly oneshots and drabbles, so I decided to write something longer. I do not own FMA or the real world, even in AU.

To Live Again

Ultimate Truth

Pain.

That was too small a word. Agony.

That was the first things that registered in the man's mind. Overwhelming agony, especially in his right arm.

'Wait a minute' he thought. 'Arm?' He looked down. There was his arm, with the sinner's marks he had come to accept and despise, and thought he had succeeded in removing from his body.

'… what happened… did the transfer fail?'

"No," said a chorus of voices behind him, "It succeeded. And he has his body, but not his memories of the past four years. We thought that the pain of losing his brother would be bad enough without remembering all the suffering. He gave up enough. Equivalent exchange you see. Suffering earned him his rest."

The marked man turned. Before him was a black door, decorated with a heavily ornate tree, and a huge eye. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

"I/we am/are Emes (1), the Great Truth of the worlds. I am All and we are One, and I/we control the ebb and flow of life."

The man got angry. "I am a follower the one true god! Do not tell me your lies!"

"Do you still believe that, mortal? You asked that I/we show my/ourself/ves (2). Behold!" The black door opened, and the man was pulled in by a wall of black tentacles. The door shut.

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The man lay gasping on the ground before the black door, his mind filled with the knowledge that would send a lesser person berserk with grief and rage. "So it was all a lie… a lie… all that suffering…"

"I/we am/are just the moderator, and have no control over such things. But you are being given a second chance at life. You are needed. Your skill, your determination, your desire for justice will serve you well. And… I/we need a favor…"

"What?" snapped the man.

"The door is a portal between the worlds. One man has succeeded in getting past without our permission, and is upsetting the balance between the worlds. I/we cannot bring people before the Gate, each person must come on his own. I/we can do nothing. An emissary, a great warrior is needed."

"Equivalent exchange – your own words. What will I get in return?"

His answer was the sensation of falling, a loud cry of "Allah-hu Akbar!", a white-hot explosion, the feeling of metal being stabbed through his flesh. His last conscious thought was that Emes needed to learn that asking for more detail was not the same as saying yes.

'Stupid Emes…'

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Pain.

Not the same pain as before. This pain was all over his body, and nowhere near as intense as what he had felt before the Gate.

Something was wrong with his eyes. Everything was black. He thought about it some more.

'A cloth… over my eyes… why?'

Thinking gave him a headache. He dropped back to sleep.

He awoke a few more times to blackness. He could hear a soft beeping.

'What's that?' He tried to get up, but the pain, which had subsided, flared up, making him grunt. He was wrapped in bandages, some of which felt wet. Blood. He decided that going back to sleep would be a good idea.

'At least I'm not tied down…'

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When he woke up a few hours later, he could see dim light shining from under his blindfold. He could hear people talking outside his room.

"Mumble records found mumble mumble –ide bomber mumble mumble lucky to be alive mumble his eyes, scarring, mumble…"

The door opened.

"Where…" he rasped. His throat felt like sandpaper.

"You're awake? Good. You are in the hospital. A suicide bomber blew himself up. We found you only a few inches from the blast center, believe it or not. You are phenomenally lucky to be alive. By the way, I am Dr. Glustein, and I will be treating you while you are here."

"Water… please…"

"Of course." The doctor moved to a corner of the room. He picked up what sounded like a telephone. "The patient in room 663 is awake and cognitive. Please send a nurse with water." He turned to the man in the bed. "You will be taken care of. In any case, I would like to examine you while we wait. Are you up to answering a few questions?"

"Yes."

"What is your name?"

"… Scar." Dr. Glustein hmmmmed, and Scar heard a pencil scratching on paper, but the doctor made no comment.

"Home?"

"… I… It… Hard to explain…"

"Last thing you remember?"

"… The Gate… Emes…"

Scar could tell that the doctor was amused by this answer.

"Oh, I believe you're telling me the truth, don't worry about that." A chuckle. "Most patients are slightly confused after experiencing severe trauma, and some claim to have seen the end of the tunnel. No need to worry."

"…"

The door opened again, and Scar registered the new presence as a young woman, even before Dr. Glustein greeted her.

"Hello Shoshana. Do you have the ice and fresh bandages?"

"Yes doctor."

Something about the voice seemed familiar to Scar. His thoughts were interrupted as something cold and hard was pressed against his lips.

"You won't be able to drink fluids just yet, so you'll have to eat ice chips for now."

'Ice?' He tasted the piece that was in his mouth. It was cold and wet, and started to melt into cold refreshing water. When he swallowed, another chip was ready. He downed each piece eagerly, still to worn out to be embarrassed by his weakened condition.

He was too tired to stay awake, however. He fell back into dreamless sleep.

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Colonel Ronen ben-Aish watched the monitor in front of him.

"Let me get this straight. In this footage, the man is appearing from the explosion?"

"Yes," replied Lieutenant Hajji . "He is not seen from any other camera, at any time. As the bomber detonates, you can see the flash. After the explosion, the man is found lying a mere foot from the epicenter. What makes it even more confusing is this."

Now the video clip was running at one-tenth normal speed.

"See the circle?"

The colonel leaned forward. "Play again. Freeze on this frame." The video was replayed.

On the screen, a circle appeared, not as the outer edge of the blast, but after the explosion itself as a ring of red light. What were those symbols? And now he saw it. The strange man appeared with the circle, just as the flash was fading. It was almost like…

"A… magic portal?"

"The scientists have no explanation for it."

"Where is the man now?"

"In the Elric-Einstein Hospital, here in Ramallah."

"Let's go get some answers."

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Emes – Lit., 'truth'

Well, that's my first chapter. RxR please!