Chapter 2

Scar woke from a light sleep. Clara was no longer on the floor next to him. Crisp, cool air welcomed him to morning. The sun was barely up. It was very early. He stood up and stretched out his sore muscles. He figured Clara must have ran off somewhere, somewhere where she could live her own life. He exited the small shack and looked outside. The streets were deserted. The villagers hadn't woken up yet. He saw a shadow around the back of the shack. He peered around the corner. Clara was standing, hands behind her back and watching the sunrise. To Scar; the scene before him was amazing. She had so much trouble in her life from what little she told him, yet she could find a little bit of happiness and peace in the sunrise. A bird landed at her feet, chirping and jumping around happily. She didn't move, her eyes were glued to the sun.

"Hey." She blinked and looked towards him.

"I think you should clean up." She smiled.

"I haven't seen a sunrise in years..." She whispered.

"It's not ladylike for a girl to walk around with out at least washing her face every morning. Maybe you should think about that, especially after yesterday." He noticed she still had bandages wrapped around her legs.

"Isn't it beautiful? The colors are just dancing across the sky. It's so peaceful..." Her hair swayed across her shoulders, a few strands went to her face.

"Shouldn't you be taking those things off? You're legs are fine, aren't they?" She broke away from the sunrise and looked down at her legs.

"No, I shouldn't..." She pushed down the bandages on one leg a little. Scar's eyes widened at the ugly sight. Something was pulsing and moving under her skin. She pulled them back up. Her smile was still on her face.

"What the hell is that?!" He whispered.

"I don't know. It showed up about three years ago after I got a few shots. The state said something about inner human power to... heal..." She trailed off. Scar felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't want to know anymore what happened to Clara under the Military. She walked towards him.

"Clara..." He grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.

"Are you going your own way now?" She stared at him. She smiled.

"No." Scar stared at her.

"What, do you want to stay with me or something?" She nodded.

"That's a horrible idea. You'll be in great danger every second you're with me. In fact, you're just commiting suicide. Anyone I become friends with gets killed." Clara walked past him and sat down in the middle of the road. She began to run her fingers through her slightly knotted hair. Scar smirked. A poor person's way of brushing hair; but a bit effective. A few people wandered out of their homes, still sleepy. Scar hid behind the shack. A couple of kids went up to her, sleepy.

"What are you doing out here?" She shrugged. They sat down around her.

"Want to play mini soccer?" She nodded. One of the kids laid a small ball in between everyones feet and spun it in a circle. The kids immediatly started batting at it with their hands. Clara laughed and quickly learned how play the game. Scar was amazed. She just escaped a prison filled with horrible memories, revealed whatever it was that was in her legs... and she was laughing? It was all to odd for him. His arm stung him. He bit his lip, concealing the pain. He went to his knees and gripped his arm.

"Dammit!" The tattoos glowed red.

How is there a philosopher's stone here!? He looked towerds Clara again. If he left, she could easily make a life here. He dragged himself away from the shack, heading out into the desert again.

~~~~-------~~~~

Central

The Furher paced his office. Lust and Gluttony were in with him. Lust was sitting on his desk with her arms crossed and eyes closed.

"So what are you going to do, Wrath? You lost an important piece of Father's plan go and now you can't find it. The human that Hohenhiem implanted the purified philosepher's into is now on it's own. Do you realize how angry Father is with you? Purified Philosopher stones are more difficult to make than the regular ones. You have to gather so many virgins and religious leaders who are not corrupt and sacrifice them to create it. That's harder than you think..."

"Quiet Lust!! I realize what's happened! You're not doing anything to look for it, are you? There are too many places it could be..."

"Maybe I could eat it!"

"No gluttony, it's important. If you eat it, Father will be furious and kill you just to get it out. We're looking for it, not hunting it." Gluttony put a finger in his mouth.

"But I'm so hungry..."

"Yes, yes... I know..." Lust glanced at Wrath.

"Maybe you should try tracking the Elrics a little more thoroughly..."

"Why would I? They don't have anything to do with this!"

"They attract things like it like flies. I mean, they ran into Scar before they knew who he really was and Scar instantly picked a fight with them and made them personal enemies. It could seek them out 'accidentally' and try to become friends or enemies with them..." Wrath sighed.

"You have a small point... I might as well. Those two are starting to get more active..." Lust smirked.

"Of course they are... they're looking for Scar. Troubled beings attract others, don't they?"

"Yes! Yes they do!" Gluttony agreed.

"I'll send another unit to moniter the boys. But I want you to tell Envy he has to look for Scar and follow him."

"Why Scar? Why not just make him look for it?" Lust asked.

"We have two major options who are people that it may run into and stay with for a while. One is the Elric brothers... and two is Scar."

"Why would you presume that? Scar is a ruthless man who doesn't like having anything dragging him down."

"Hm... but do you realize what Scar can act like towards hurt beings? He wants to put them out of their misery. If it finds Scar... I'm certain it'll give away some of what it's been through down in those... labs... Scar will take pity on it and maybe... protect it for a while. Besides, it has the Purified Philosophers in it's blood. If it somehow tries to do major alchemy; if it tries; then that philosophers stone will become active. No one knows what a Purified philosophers stone can do. A philosophers stone can make us human, allow anyone to have eternal life and can give anyone immense power. Father has already told us that the Purified Philosophers stone can kill us instantly if used correctly. If we don't get it back soon... it may actually become a powerful enemy. More powerful than Hohenheim." Lust stood up.

"I'll tell Envy what he has to do. I'm sure he'll be able to find Scar easily."

"Does he know what it looks like?"

"Well... he should... he kind of tortured it every now and then..." Lust and Gluttony left the office.

~~~~--~~~~

Scar leaned against the side of the large wall. The rough bricks rubbed against his back. His arm still pained him. He couldn't understand why. It had taken him a few hours to walk to another town. This one was bigger. There were no State dogs in it. He figured it would be safe for a while. He sat on the ground, holding his arm. He wondered if Clara was doing alright. She would find out soon that he was gone. He hoped he didn't hurt her too bad. A dog came to his feet, sniffing around. It whined and peered into his eyes.

"Heh... you lost buddy?" He petted it's head.

"Well... I am too..." He muttered. The dog sat down next to him and licked his hand.

"Little dog... you have strange taste in company..." He muttered. Night came, the dog left him. Scar layed his head against the rough wall and slept for a few hours. He woke again and stood up. It was still night. The streets were clear and quiet. His arm pain was reduced to an annoying throbbing. He wandered down the streets. The town must have been quite rich. Every building was large and neat. There wasn't a single mistreated house anywhere. The public buildings were all constructed from marble. Most allyways were fenced off. But a few were opened. Everynow and then, Scar passed a fenced off allyway with the fence nearly torn off. He could makeout human shapes laying in the allways. He saw someone running across the street. A few more climbed out of a window and ran the same way he did. They went into an open allyway. Scar flattened himself against the home before the allway. He could hear them.

"So we're leaving them in there. Got it? Erin, did you get the loot?"

"Oh yeah. They had a huge load of cash hidden in the back of a closet. Tch! Such idiots!"

"Man... I gotta tell ya... their daughter was really nice..." The group laughed.

"I can still hear her! Remember how she was? Ohh! AH! Ah!!" The group laughed harder.

"Hello?" A shy girls voice called down the allway. Scar carefully looked down the allway. She standing at the end of the allyway. She was in a cloak.

"Eh? Oh... a pretty little girl, eh? Come here sweety! We won't hurt you!" The group chuckled.

"Um... w-who are you?" They stood up. A few pulled out knives and hid them behind their backs.

"We're friends! Come here little girl! If you're lost... we'll tell you where you need to go..." Scar knew they only meant to harm her. She started walking towards them.

"Well... I... I'm looking f-for... um..." Her voice was barely a whisper. The group surrounded her. Scar couldn't believe how stupid she was.

"You're looking for... a good time?" One asked.

"W-w-what??" She studdered.

"Well you found a good time!" The group laughed and started grabbing at her.

"No!" Scar ran down the allway. He punched one of the men in the head, sending him flying to the ground.

"What the hell!?"

"Stay out of our business if you know what's good for you!!" They yelled.

"You shouldn't be doing such shameful things to a girl! And shouldn't you return what's not yours to that family back there?" He said. The girl took immediate action. Instead of running, which was what Scar expected, she began to attack them. Her kicks and punches here weak but fast. Then she did something that Scar never expected. She slammed her hands into the ground. Small electric currents ran through the dirt. Large stone hands came up and grabbed each thug and held him tightly to the ground. They struggled against the hands. She stood over one of them and stared at him.

"Never do wrong again... or I'll kill you..." Her voice made Scar a bit scared.

"W-we got it!! We swear we won't-!"

"You're lying..." She bent down over the thug and poked his cheek.

"Lying... is a sin... sinners... get punished..." Her finger wandered to his eye. She quickly pressed down. A spurt of blood and a scream filled the air. She stood up.

"Shut up." He immediatly bit his lip to conceal his scream. She looked to Scar.

"I found you!" She whispered. Scar blinked.

"E-excuse me?" She walked towards him.

"I found you!" She whispered again. She ran to him and hugged him. Scar knew her now.

"Clara? How did... how did you find me? Why didn't you stay back there?!" He gave a furious hiss. She smiled.

"I don't know!" A few drops of blood were on her face.

"Why did you destroy his eye?" Clara stared at him. She shrugged.

"They did a bad thing and..." Scar pushed her away.

"A little girl like you shouldn't do things like that." Clara grabbed his wrist.

"I'm not a little girl!" She said.

"Oh? Then how old are you?" Scar glared at her.

"I'm 20 years old!" She was 20? To Scar, she didn't look anywhere near twenty.

"Fine... now let's hurry up and get out of here... I'm sure the townspeople will wake up soon because of what you did..." He walked away. Clara followed him, a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry..." Scar ignored her.

"You shouldn't even be following me in the first place."

"But..." Clara let out a sad sigh. Scar saw a train station a little ways away.

"We're getting on a train once it gets here. We'll have to get on the back or something. I can't let anyone see my face. Plus we have no money." Clara undid the cloak she was wearing and put it around Scar's shoulders.

"Huh?" He looked down on her.

"You used up your cloak on me and... well... it gets chilly at night..." She whispered. Scar began to take it off.

"And it has a hood!! You can hide your face!" She said suddenly. He stopped. He understood now. She was trying to repay him. He put the cloak on and pulled the hood over his head.

"Thank you." She nodded and looked at her feet as they walked.

Morning came slowly. The first train arrived. A few people were lined up to get on. Scar lead Clara to the other side of the train. He showed her how to hand onto the bottom of the train and sneak into the cargo section of the train through a bottom hatch. Clara hung on for dear life. The noises around her were scaring her. Scar could see her shaking from where he lay. The train whistled. He heard the door above them close.

"Ok, I'm going to open the hatch." He quickly grabbed the hatch and started to undo the lock. It was jammed.

"Dammit! I can't do alchemy on this with so many people around!" He grunted.

"Is it... stuck?" Clara asked.

"Yeah, but I can get it!" He strained against the turn handle with all his strength, it would move. The train let out a hiss. The brakes were let loose. The train began to inch ahead. Clara slowly crawled towards Scar.

"Let me see," She whispered. She placed a hand on the turn handle and closed her eyes. There was a loud snapping sound, the hatch opened. Scar quickly climbed in and helped Clara, just as the train left the station. Scar closed the hatch and looked around. It was packed full of luggage and boxes. A few animals were in cages. Clara sat in front of a small fox and began to play with it's tail. Scar sat down and wiped the sweat from his face.

"How did you do that?" He asked. Clara didn't look at him.

"I don't know..."

"Do you know alchemy?" He asked.

"What's that?" Clara asked. Her voice was still a whisper. Scar grunted.

"Never mind..." She didn't know what alchemy was? He thought it was suspicious. She had performed alchemy twice in front of him so far. Yet she didn't know what it was. She didn't even need a circle. Just like Edward. He watched her carefully. Whoever she was, whatever she was, she was different than normal humans. It must be a result from when she was being experimented on under the Military. A few minutes went by. Clara started roaming around the cargo and jumping up onto crates like a curious child. She peered out the small window in silent awe. Scar stared at the fox she had played with before. It had laid down, some pain was in it's eyes. In the corner of it's cage, there was newspaper with some spots of blood on it. It was a sick animal. The fun it had playing with Clara must have brightened it's day up a lot. There was a loud thump sound coming from where Clara was.

"Clara, be careful. The train has rough spots. I suggest you try to not stand on the crates. They could tip over." He peered over to where she had been standing. She wasn't there anymore. He shook his head. She was probably just laying on the floor, momentarily shocked from the small fall. He looked at the fox again, it's eyes were open and it was looking towards where Clara was at; his eyes seemed worried.

"Hmm..." Scar stood up.

"Clara?" He saw her hand, laying limp behind a pile of old clothing.

"Clara?" He walked over to her and stopped. Blood was dripping out of the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were dazed and blood was sliding down her cheeks. He knelt down beside her and took her pulse. It was uneven and faint.

"Clara!" He tapped her cheek. Some of her blood rubbed on his skin. He ignored it and shook her.

"Wake up!" He yelled. She didn't move. He listened to her breathing. It was very light and short. The animals that were in the cart with them began to whine and yip. Scar looked around. The female animals were clawing at the locks, trying to get out. The males were laying down and making worried faces towards Clara. It was odd. It was almost as if Clara has a special connection with animals. His right hand touched her face. His arm stung.

"Dammit! The hell?" His arm was glowing faintly.

She doesn't have a philosopher's stone with her, does she?! He tried to ignore the pain and began to wipe away her blood. He undid the cloak around him and laid it under her head.

"Clara! Wake up, dammit!" He muttered. A faint, white marking on her forehead glowed a little. It was in the shape of a circle with a dot in the middle of it. Her eyes opened, she sat up straight. She took in deep, sudden breaths. Her eyes were still dazed. She frantically looked around.

"M... Mother?" She whimpered. Scar blinked. Mother? What did she mean by that?

"M-Mom?! Father?! Oh my god!!" Tears dripped from her eyes. She scooted herself against the crates behind her.

"Brother!! No! What do you want!? Why are you- Agh!! NO!!" She screamed, she held her head as if someone was pulling her hair. She kicked and screamed in agony.

"Let me go!! NO! W-what?! I... I don't know!" Her eyes widdened in fear.

"B... but I-!" She clamped her hands over her mouth.

"Brother!" She whispered. She crawled forward.

"Brother! I can't leave you here! No!" She felt for what Scar thought to be a hand.

"I can't leave you! I just can't!" She stopped, as if she was listening.

"Hurry brother! They're coming! Hurry!" She started crawling away, tugging at an unseen hand. She looked around.

"I'm sorry brother!" She whispered. She crawled away and hid between two crates. She cried, then she held her breath. After a few seconds, she let out a sudden cry.

"Ahh!!! Brother!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. She looked up above her.

"No! No! No please!! NO!! I don't want to die! Please stop!! No!!" She sobbed and screamed over and over again at an unseen person to stop and go away. Scar couldn't stand hearing her scream anymore, he understood what she was reinacting. It was when the military dogs came to her village and massacred her whole town.

"Clara! Snap out of it!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

"Look at my eyes! Look at me... come back to reality. Just forget the past. Don't relive it. Look at me," He said. Clara stared at him, her frightened eyes filled with tears and terror.

"Forget... your past. You're here with me, Scar. Remember me? Just look at me. Come back to reality. Snap out of it," He said again. Clara closed her eyes and sank against his chest. Scar craddled her limp body against him. She was like a small child. When she was frightened, she sought out comfort and someone to cry to. When she was joyful and happy, she wanted someone to share it with to make them happy and joyful. When she was angry, she threw a temper tantrum like a small child. Scar petted her hair and waited for her to calm down. She was sobbing into his chest. She had let herself go so suddenly, now she had to recover from the traumitizing memory. She clutched his shirt tightly in her delicate hands. She was shaking all over. Scar wondered to himself how she could live with such a horrible past and live with having to dream it every night. He felt Clara raise her head. She peered up at him like an innocent child and rested her lips on his chest. He could feel the heat radiating from her trembling body. He peered down at her.

"Just relax. I know it's a horrible thing to live through... I completely understand..." He whispered. She closed her eyes and let out a hot breath. She wrapped her arms around his middle and tugged him closer to her. To Scar, it looked like she was sleeping against his body. Her soft, brown hair drifting down over her pale face and delicate, smooth, pale hands clutching the back of his shirt. Her thin body resting between him and his arms. Her smell filling his senses. Her breathing became smooth and deep. She was asleep. Scar carefully laid her body down on the cloak near them. He sat by her and watched her sleep. Clara was strange to him. But she was also innocent, alone, and beautiful. Scar's eyes drifted towards the animals that were yipping earlier during Clara's strange attack. They were all laying in the cages, peaceful and asleep. He sighed and looked at Clara's face again, she was staring at him.

"That was a short sleep," He muttered. She blinked and smiled softly.

"Why'd you let go?" She whispered. Scar stared at her.

"What?"

"You let go... I was comfortable. Now I'm cold." She sat up and tilted her head to the side. Scar looked away.

"So what? It's not that big of deal. Get a blanket or something. There's plenty."

"But the floor's too hard... Please? I don't want to sleep on a cold hard floor. I feel like I'm... back there again..." She whispered. He felt guilt rise up in his gut. Scar scratched his cheek and didn't look at her.

"Fine..." He mumbled. Clara crawled over to Scar and rested her head against his chest. She sat on his lap and pulled his arms over her body. She cuddled up against his chest and closed her eyes.

God, this is embaressing... Her body went limp in his arms. He looked down at her. Her mouth was open a bit, her chest rose up and down with each deep breath. Her scent filled his senses again. He let out a sigh. Her head rolled to the left a little bit. Her hair drifted over her face. He made a smooth move to brush it out of her eyes. His fingers brushed against her skin. It was smooth and soft against his rough fingers. Scar crossed his arms over her again. She shifted suddenly in her sleep, her hands drifted over his arms; her fingers gripped his skin gently. Scar rested his chin on her head and took in a deep breath of her scent.

"No..." Scar retracted his chin from her head. She was still asleep. He smirked.

Sleep talk...

"No..." She curled up into a ball in his lap. It must be a bad dream.

"No! Don't like... peanut butter..." She muttered. Scar felt a laugh climb up his throat. She shifted and turned her head to the side.

"Bad! No....... stupid... yellow back... ugh... reed flies..." She muttered. Scar bit his lip, a laugh at the tip of his tongue. He let out a snickered and took in a deep breath. He shook with concealed laughter. Clara moaned and jumped out of his arms.

"Oh my god jellyfish!!" She screamed. She looked around and bit her finger.

"Oh... uh..." She looked behind her. Scar had his hands clamped over his mouth, his eyes wet with tears.

"Something wrong?" She asked. He shook his head.