After leaving the north, the Elric brothers went down to East City. They had planned to go to Resembool from there, but thanks to sightings of a serial killer in the area, the train station had been shut down for several days. Ed and Al walked through the city, heading for the hotel that had been recommended to them. Al groaned when he realized they were lost.

"Brother, why did you have to say you knew where we were going?"

"What are you talking about? I did know where we were going."

"Then why are we lost?"

"Because I only knew for about a minute before I forgot it again."

"Wait, does that mean you remembered something?"

"Yeah, but only for a minute. Although," Ed said as he looked up at the surrounding buildings. "This place definitely feels more familiar now."

"Well, that's not really helpful to us right now, is it?" Al muttered.

"Hey, I didn't see you asking for directions," Ed shot at his brother.

"That's because you interrupted me," Al shot right back.

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"No way, I didn't interrupt you at all."

"Yes, you did, but I think we should talk about that later," Al said as he looked at someone standing in front of them. They had found their way into a small alleyway, and the man was blocking the exit. He looked at the two with surprise.

"Elric brothers. What are you doing here?"

"Well, we kinda got lost-" Ed said before Al pushed him roughly aside.

"You know us?" he asked the man, who was rather startled by this response. Al paused for a second before continuing. "Ah, sorry. See, we don't really remember anything from the past five years, so if we met you then…"

"I see. Both of you?"

"Yes."

"Why are you here?"

"Like I said, we got l-"

"We were heading back to our hometown, but since the train station's been shut down, we're stuck here. We were going to a hotel, but stupid brother got us lost."

There was a brief silence. Then, the man spoke up again. "I doubt it would be a good idea for you to go to a hotel."

"Why not?" Ed asked.

"Haven't you heard? The military is looking for you. It would be a very bad thing if they were to find you."

"Wait. Why is everyone so against us going near the military? Yeah, they're jerks, but that doesn't mean that…" Ed trailed off as he saw the look in the man's eyes.

"You really don't remember. If you did, you wouldn't have just said that."

"No, I don't remember. That's why I want to know what we're running from. What did we find out that's so horrible?"

The scarred man began walking away. "It's complicated. Come on, I know a place where you can stay until the station is open again."

----------------------

There was an intense silence in the room as Scar waited for one of the brothers to speak. After a while, he realized that wasn't going to happen. He stood up and checked outside. As he turned back, he saw Ed rubbing his shoulder.

"Is there something wrong with your arm?"

"Yeah, there's some metal stuck in there."

"From the automail?"

"Yeah."

Al pulled a spoon out of his pocket and put it on Ed's shoulder. "It's magnetic too."

Ed grabbed the spoon and threw it at his brother. "Will you stop that?"

Scar watched as the two argued, completely oblivious to the fact that they were in the presence of someone who had tried to kill them. After a while, they stopped, and Ed turned to Scar.

"So, how exactly did we know you, anyway?" he asked.

Scar was silent. He walked out of the room. "I have to meet someone nearby. You two stay here and don't go outside. Use common sense."

As he walked away from the old building, Scar thought of the look on Ed's face. It was a look of trust, a look that Scar had never seen in that boy's eyes before. Needless to say, it had caught him off guard.

----------------

Ed woke up before his brother the next morning. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Scar was standing across from him. When he saw that Ed was watching him, he gestured to the door. "Come with me. There's something I have to do."

Ed quietly followed Scar through the streets to an alley crowded with old crates. "What are we doing here?" he asked as they stopped. Scar observed his right hand for a moment before turning to Ed.

"You said you have metal stuck in your right arm?"

"Uh, yeah, in my shoulder. What-"

Ed felt a hand on his chest, and he was pushed against the wall. Scar placed his right hand against Ed's shoulder. Ed barely had time to react as something happened to his shoulder. He screamed in pain. He could hear his blood splatter on the wall. He felt blood running down his chest, and he tried to get Scar's hands off of him, but to no avail.

Scar pushed against Ed's right arm and put his hand on Ed's shoulder. Ed saw something grey underneath the blood. He lost his strength and collapsed.

--------------

Al ran through the alleys until he caught up with Scar and his brother. As he turned the corner to see the two, his eyes came upon a startling sight. Ed was on the ground, and Scar was standing above him. There was blood everywhere.

"What… what did you do?" Al asked, weakly taking a few steps forward. Scar looked him with an expressionless face and held something out. Al took the bloody metal object in his hands.

"That's what was inside your brother. It shouldn't be a problem anymore."

Al stared numbly as Scar walked off. Then he remembered that his brother was unconscious and bleeding. He went over and turned his brother onto his back. Ed opened his eyes and looked at his brother.

"Hey, Al."

Al gently pulled off Ed's coat and began drawing a circle on the ground. Ed was gripping his shoulder very tightly. Al transmuted a length of bandage from the coat and was about to wrap around his brother's arm when he heard footsteps. Someone kneeled on the ground next to him and took the cloth from him.

"Let me handle this. Are you all right?" the man asked as he looked at Al. His face was incredibly scarred.

Al nodded. He was still stunned that Scar had done something like this to his brother, regardless of the good that would come out of it. Al looked back down at the metal object in his hands. He wiped it off and stuck it in his pocket. He remained silent as the man helped his brother, and continued his silence as they carried back to the old building where they had been staying. He only spoke once he was sure Ed would be all right.

"Who are you?" he asked the man, who was now checking Ed's forehead. He looked up at Al after a moment.

"Ah, right, you don't remember anything. I'm a doctor. We met once over a year ago, when the two of you were looking for a way to regain your bodies."

"Oh," Al said. He sat next to his brother and pulled the metal from his pocket. "I wonder if this is still magnetic now," he muttered as he pulled out a spoon. It was. Al smiled and put it back in his pocket. Ed moaned in his sleep and began to roll over. Al gently placed a hand on his brother's chest, effectively preventing Ed from putting any weight on his bad shoulder.

"Al…" Ed muttered faintly. "I'm sorry…"

------------------

Ed slowly opened his eyes. His arm was aching, but it wasn't nearly as bad as when he had lost consciousness. He stared at the ceiling. Someone was in the room with him, and he leaned over Ed with a concerned expression on his face.

"How's your arm?"

"It hurts."

"Well, I guess you have to expect that. He was rather harsh when he did that. Even considering that it was slowly killing you, it could have been done in a less painful manner."

Ed blinked. "Killing me?"

"Yes. It was slowly dissolving into your bloodstream. You would have died from the contamination."

"Was it really that bad?"

"It was. Even so, he was rather cruel when he got it out. Even if you were ene- Listen, can you sit up?"

Ed pushed himself into a sitting position with some effort. The man gently took Ed's right arm and placed it in a sling. "You should avoid moving it as much as possible. It's clean, so it should heal nicely, although it'll take a couple of weeks."

"Right. Thanks." Ed stood up. "Where's Al?"

"He went off with Scar to do something. They should be back soon."

"Okay." Ed stretched his left arm and walked over to the old couch nearby. He sat down and looked out through the semi-boarded window. "So, what exactly is the big deal about Scar? He's weird, sure, but he seems nice enough."

"I think that's a story for another time."

"Why?" Ed asked, but that question wasn't answered. Someone was standing in the doorway. He looked at the two with a smug expression on his face.

"Well, it seems I finally found you, Marcoh. And look, it's the Fullmetal Alchemist. Or, I suppose you aren't the Fullmetal Alchemist anymore, are you?"

Ed stood up. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the man. He had transmutation circles tattooed on his hands, and long black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. "Who are you?" he asked with suspicion in his voice.

"Oh, I suppose you wouldn't remember meeting me. If you did, you would be behaving rather differently. So tell me. Why are you mingling with fugitives? Wouldn't you be better off at home?"

Ed took a step back. "Maybe, maybe not. Who the hell are you?"

The man took a step forward. "My name is Zolf J. Kimblee. I am a State Alchemist, just like both of you used to be. Now, come with me. Dr. Marcoh is wanted back in Central, and you shouldn't be wandering around when there's a serial killer on the loose."

Ed looked at Marcoh. The old man looked very conflicted, but he took a step forward. Ed decided to follow suit. Then he heard footsteps from outside, and his brother showed up in the doorway, followed by Scar.

Kimblee's eyes flashed when he saw Scar. Scar's eyes grew cold as he saw Kimblee standing in front of him. Al looked at the two before turning his gaze to his brother. "What's going on?" he asked.

"This man is responsible for killing many of my people," Scar replied.

"And this man is responsible for killing several State Alchemists. He nearly killed you as well, Elric."

Ed looked from Kimblee to Scar in shock. "What do you mean?"

"It's exactly how it sounds. He tried to kill you for being a State Alchemist. Now step back. He needs to be dealt with."

Ed looked from Scar to Kimblee again, unsure of what to do. Al hadn't moved at all. Ed looked back at his shoulder and made up his mind. In two swift movements, he had joined his brother in front of Scar. Kimblee looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, so you're willing to protect someone who would willingly kill you?"

"Even if what you say is true, he isn't trying to kill me anymore. He saved my life."

"Is that so? Well, if that's the case, then I won't try to reason with you. Get out of the way or I'll just kill you instead."

"No."

Ed felt Scar's hand on his good shoulder. "Don't try to protect me. I don't deserve it from you. Get out of here. Now."

Ed and Al exchanged glances and broke off, each running in two separate directions. Ed grabbed Marcoh's arm and ran through the back door of the room, which led to another room. Kimblee went to chase after him, but Scar was attacking him, so he had to deal with that first.

Ed pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket and drew a circle on the wall. He pressed his hand against it, and a door opened. It led to another alley. One end was closed off, and the other end was blocked by a group of military policemen. They pointed their guns at the two. Ed held his hands in the air, not knowing what else to do. Marcoh did the same. Just then, someone came walking up to the two. He was an old man, wearing a military uniform.

"Oh, this man isn't one of Scar's comrades. You can let him leave. He wouldn't know anything helpful."

"Then why is he here?"

"By accident. Don't worry about him. I apologize for the trouble, sir. You may go."

Ed looked with surprise at the man. Marcoh did the same before walking off. The old man looked Ed over once before walking down the alley. "Come on. You shouldn't stay here. It's dangerous."