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Drabble the Twenty-first: 5th Lab: Window

The pain in Scar's right arm had gotten steadily worse as he had progressed, but he knew that if he tried to go back he'd most likely wind up becoming even more lost than he already was. There was just no winning in a situation like this. Suddenly, he was very thoroughly distracted from his arm by a garbled cry coming from somewhere up ahead. That was Alphonse's voice…so the boy was still alive. And it sounded like he was in trouble of some kind. He continued on, heading towards where he had heard the cry; as he got closer, other, less distinct voices were heard. Eventually he reached a small, narrow window set into the stone wall, and it was from this that the voices were coming.

Scar's first look through the window showed him a scene that he did not like one bit. Fullmetal was there, moving a large glass tank of what appeared to be red stones in liquid form into a small depression in the floor which corresponded to a large transmutation circle. There were other such tanks all around the circle, and the walls seemed to be full of the red liquid as well; at least now he knew just why his arm hurt so much, if there was this much of it all in one place. In the center of the circle was a large group of men in prison uniforms, and he could see the fat homunculus standing off to the side. What in the name of Ishbala did Fullmetal think he was doing?

"Foolish boy," he growled quietly, "I should have sent him to the kingdom of God."

But he had heard Alphonse…Scar peered around the rest of the room, trying to find the boy. There! Over in the corner…he was missing his arms and legs, and the female homunculus had one of her claws pointing at something inside him that Scar couldn't make out. But it was immediately apparent that she was threatening his life; anger slowly began to rise in Scar's chest, but he shook his head slightly and repressed it. He had to focus…when had he become so concerned about the boy's safety? There were two others standing next to Alphonse and the female homunculus. One was a lithe woman…no, a man…woman…yes, it was a man, with black clothing and long, brackish hair that reminded Scar of a palm tree. The other was a grotesque creature that looked like a combination of a bear and a monkey, with half an upside-down human along the back…whatever it was, it was a disturbing sight; it was holding something that looked like a furry child in its arms. The woman homunculus stood up and moved away from Alphonse, and now she and the strange-haired man were talking to Fullmetal, seemingly giving him some kind of lecture about how he needed to act like an adult and that sacrifices were necessary. Alphonse was shouting, protesting that 'they' were human; Scar supposed that he meant the prisoners.

Scar turned his attention back to Fullmetal, now noticing the sunken, defeated expression on his face as he stood in front of the transmutation circle. Apparently, these other…people…were threatening Alphonse so that he would do something for them, something that looked like it involved the deaths of all those within the transmutation circle. What would the young alchemist do? Crimson eyes narrowed as Fullmetal slowly touched his hands together and reached down to activate the array. Seconds ticked by like hours as the alchemist moved his left hand down towards the circle, and then…stopped, lowered his head, and in the silence Scar heard him mutter an apology to Alphonse. Scar's eyes narrowed further, and his right fist tightened; he wasn't going to just stand here and do nothing. Enough was enough.

A/N: Wheee, and now Scar-san SAVES TEH DAY! -cheers- Hehehe…Scar-san saves Ed and Al's butts a heck of a lot more than he tries to kill them; it's highly amusing. But, yay, I'm now officially 17! -hops up and down- And this morning I got to open a present, and it was a freaking perfect official replica of Ed's watch (like, the really nice kind that actually does look exactly like a State Alchemist watch) and it came with an actual chain and the watch part works and OMG it's so cool and shiny and pretty…
Scar: Something tells me that I should be a bit annoyed that she's so happy to get a State Alchemist watch, but since I know that in a few days she'll swinging it around and playing catch with it and many other forms of abuse, I somehow find myself not really caring.
Right, I am a pocketwatch abuser...but whatever. Thanks everyone for all your happy birthdays and e-presents that you've given me so far! -hugs everyone-