Chapter Title: Trials
Pairings: None! I can't write romance for the life of me!
Spoilers: YES, MAJOR spoiler for anime!Pride.
Warnings: Cursing
Disclaimer: I wish I owned it, but I don't. Darnit.
A/N: And here it is, the first actual chapter! A little over four pages long, which is pretty long compared to the chapters in Illness…by the way, the spoiler within the chapter can be skipped; it's in the bit right after the line "I would be honored, sir."

Scar didn't know how long he'd been imprisoned in this horrible place. It could have been a week, it could have been a month; he'd completely lost all track of time. Of course, it was difficult to concentrate on things like time when one was constantly drugged; every time it seemed as though whatever they had put into him was wearing off, someone would come in and inject him with more. The first hour or so was always the worst, when he couldn't even think straight enough to remember his own name…or at least, he wouldn't have been able to if he still had a real name. He hated it, not being in control of his own mind, not being able to think. He hated everything about this place. It was dark and wet and cold, although it was the cold that got to him the most. His old clothes had been taken from him and he had been given a threadbare prisoner's uniform to wear; he was always cold now, always shivering. The only times his wrists were unchained were when he was fed or taken to the bathroom, and that was always under supervision by heavily armed guards. He had long lost any hope he might have had that he could escape somehow. He vaguely knew that there was a trial going on for him, but of course he wouldn't be allowed to attend. He was far too dangerous for that. He could only sit here and wait for his sentence, which would probably be execution, or maybe to spend the rest of his life in this hell called prison. He didn't dare to hope for anything less, not when he knew that it was pointless. There was no more hope for him.

It had been a little over two weeks since Scar had been captured, and it was the final day of his 'trial'. This was the day on which his sentence would be given by the Fuhrer King Bradley himself. The jury, of sorts, was made up of those who had been involved with the case. The trial had basically consisted of all of these people discussing how dire the crimes which Scar had committed were, and what they felt should be done with him. The final decision was up to the Fuhrer.

"Having reviewed the case, and heard your opinions on the proper punishment," King Bradley began dramatically, "I have come to a conclusion that I believe benefits the military most. Although Scar did in fact murder quite a few State Alchemists, the fact that it was for revenge, which may be justified in his case, slightly muffles the crime. However, we cannot overlook the fact that it was a grave crime. In most cases the sentence would be life in prison, but this Scar has certain…talents…that could prove useful when employed for us rather than against us. Therefore, my sentence is thus. The criminal Scar will be sentenced to a full year of serving under a chosen State Alchemist, aiding them with their missions and such. After this year has been served, he will be free to go. However, if he is caught murdering State Alchemists again, his punishment will not be so light."

"But who will be the State Alchemist in charge of him?" Hughes asked. Since he had been one of the main investigators of the Scar case, he was part of the 'jury'. He had been the one who had (discreetly) spoken in Scar's favor the most; after their little encounter a while ago, he didn't think he would have been able to look the Elrics in the face again if he hadn't.

"Well," the Fuhrer smiled, "I was hoping that someone would have a suggestion."

Murmurs spread around the table, and several alchemists were suggested. Then Hughes spoke up, "How about Fullmetal? He wasn't a part of the Ishbal Rebellion, so Scar might be slightly more inclined to work with him. He'll also have Alphonse's help."

"Hmmm…" Bradley looked thoughtful, "You do have a point there. All right, it will be Fullmetal. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, you and…" he gave Hughes a long, thoughtful look, "…Major Armstrong will escort Scar to Eastern Headquarters; I believe that is where Fullmetal is now. Oh, and Silver, since you helped to capture Scar in the first place, you may go too, if you wish."

The Silver Alchemist saluted, "I would be honored, sir."

Later, when the Fuhrer was alone in his office, he smiled to himself. None of the 'jury' had known that the outcome had been decided from the beginning. Envy had delivered instructions directly from that person to 'Bradley'…also known to a select few as Pride. That person had made clear, in no uncertain words, that Scar was to be assigned to the Elric brothers. Pride had known that Hughes would suggest them, and had known that he would defend the Ishbalan. After all, he thought as he absentmindedly brushed a finger over his eye patch, he wasn't known as the All-Seeing Eye for nothing.

When the door to his cell was opened, Scar squinted at the bright light that flooded in. Several armed guards walked in, but they didn't have food with them and the drug wasn't wearing off yet, so he didn't know why they were there. When they unhooked the chain from the wall and began to lead him out of the cell, he realized that his 'trial' must have finished and that he'd been sentenced to something. Then he saw who was standing calmly outside the door, and bared his teeth in a snarl at the State Alchemist who'd gotten him caught.

"Well, it seems that a week in prison hasn't completely broken you," the Silver Alchemist spoke, his voice smooth, "But when a year has passed…we'll see," he saw Scar's confused look and chuckled condescendingly, "Ah, that's right. You don't know what your sentence is yet. Well, you were lucky enough to avoid execution; your punishment is to serve under a State Alchemist for a full year."

Scar stiffened in shock and horror. To be a tool of the military… "I would rather die," he ground out from between clenched teeth.

Silver laughed again, "You talk as though you had a choice in the matter! Oh, I would have liked to have you…you would have been quite the prize," he gave Scar an evaluating look that made the Ishbalan feel like some kind of sought-after animal, a trophy rather than a human; it made Scar feel slightly ill, and Silver smirked at the man's apparent discomfort, "I wanted to the one to break your spirit. But, alas, I am only your escort to the lucky State Alchemist who did get you."

"Who?" Scar was slightly relieved that it wouldn't be this terrible man, but it could very well be someone just as bad or worse. He was beginning to really feel sick to his stomach…the military had a knife in him and they knew just how to twist it to make it hurt the most.

Silver just smirked before gesturing to the guards and turning to walk away. One of them gave Scar a small shove forwards, and proceeded to lead him through the prison corridors and outside. Scar had less than a minute to enjoy the warmth of the sun before he was pushed roughly into the back of a military transport truck. From there it was about a fifteen minute ride to the train station, after which he was led onto a waiting train. Into a baggage car. He was luggage. There were four armed guards in there with him; they looked a bit nervous.

'As though I could actually do anything when I'm full of this thrice-damned drug…' he thought grimly as the train jerked and began to move.

It had been several hours since the train ride to Eastern had begun, and Hughes was getting slightly bored. The train's phone was broken, so he couldn't bother Mustang, and his two seat partners weren't saying anything. Of course, the silence could be attributed to the Silver Alchemist; his presence completely deadened any conversation he and Armstrong might have had. Hughes would rather have sat with Scar than Silver, but Silver had made the train arrangements and hadn't told either Hughes or Armstrong all the details. Details like where the person they were supposed to be escorting was. Finally, Hughes could take the silence no more.

"So," he began carefully, "where exactly is the person who we're 'escorting'?" He couldn't seem too eager to go see Scar, not around someone like Silver.

Armstrong nodded, "I have been wondering that myself."

"Oh, in the baggage car," Silver waved a hand nonchalantly, "Don't worry, there are plenty of guards, and he's been restrained and drugged."

"Oh," outwardly Hughes was calm, but inwardly he was horrified. Scar may have been a criminal, but he was still a person! He stood up, "I'm going to go see how that's going, then."

Armstrong stood as well, "And I shall accompany you."

Silver didn't protest, but simply shrugged as the pair left their seats and began to walk down the aisle in the direction of the baggage car.

Scar's guards were getting bored. He was sitting quietly on the floor, and had barely moved at all since the train had started, and this was not quite how they had imagined guarding a dangerous convict to be. One of them shifted from his position against the wall, turning to his fellows.

"Hey, any of you guys got any chalk on you?"

One of them nodded, digging through his pocket until he'd procured a small stick of chalk, which he handed to the first guard, "Yeah, here. Why?"

The first guard gave Scar a smirk that he didn't like at all, "A close friend of mine lost both his legs and an eye in the Ishbal Rebellion. This guy here seems like a person who appreciates revenge…I've heard that Ishbalans can't stand alchemy. I think I'll test that theory."

"Hey, doesn't matter to us," shrugged one of the others, "So long as you don't physically hurt him."

"Good," the man advanced towards Scar, who scooted backwards across the floor with a nervous look in his eyes. Then he felt a wall against his back, and closed his eyes tightly. He could handle it, he'd seen plenty before…he could just pretend that it wasn't happening…that was when he felt the chalk dragging across his face. He jerked away in surprise, lashing out with a foot which connected with the guard's leg.

The guard cursed, then called over to his fellows, "Hey, would you get over here and hold him down for me?"

They discussed it amongst themselves before agreeing, walking over to where Scar sat and pinning him to the floor despite his struggles. One of them held his head still while the first guard finished chalking a transmutation circle on his cheek and brought forth a stone about half the size of his fist. Scar, who had by now figured out exactly what the man was going to do, was thrashing and struggling as best he could, but was unable to get away. The stone was pressed against the transmutation circle, and Scar closed his eyes tightly…but it didn't block out the light, or the crackling noise like lightning as the transmutation began. He could…he could feel it against his skin, could feel the stone changing texture, shifting into another form, violating everything he believed in. He was really struggling now, desperately trying to get away from it, but four against one wasn't exactly fair odds for him. His mind was filled with horror and utter revulsion; he thought that he must have started shouting, because a hand was now forcefully clamped over his mouth. And now…it was changing again…and again…and again…too many times to count…he was too exhausted to struggle much any more, his shouts had degenerated into small whimpering noises…and still it continued to change. He was afraid that it would never stop…every minute felt like an eternity and it just kept changing…

Suddenly, a loud voice that Scar recognized but couldn't quite place boomed, "WHAT IN BLAZES ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?"

A/N: Oh man…-spasms of guilt- Now I feel absolutely terrible for writing that…anyway, I know that normally Scar-san might not react quite so strongly (or maybe he would, you never know), and that he'd beat the living daylights out of those guys even without his Arm O' Doom, but remember he's spent two weeks with heavy mind-dulling sedatives in him, and they're still in him, and that's weakened him quite a lot in both mind and body. And also his hands are cuffed behind his back, so…yeah. Nyeh…I wasn't even originally intending for that to happen, it just did. Oh, and also, you've probably noticed something about this chapter: it's twice as long as most of the chapters in Illness. Add school, and…yeah, this isn't gonna be updated nearly as quick as Illness was, but I'm gonna try not to be sporadic. This is also going to be a lot longer than Illness, as it spans over the course of a whole year as opposed to eleven days)!