SCARLETT
"You two are bloody cowards. You wanted to come!" she snapped.
"Yeah, but... You weren't her student..." Al whimpered.
"Oh, for... Just knock already, before I bash Ed's skull in!"
They knocked, and a large man, rather like Armstrong, answered. Ed and Al were both terrified. She didn't see why.
"Who's your friend?" the man, Sig, asked slowly.
"This is Scarlett! Scarlett, Sig!" Ed answered quickly and nervously.
"Nice to meet you, sir." she nodded.
They were led around the side of the house. Edward and Alphonse were quaking with fear. She still couldn't understand why.
Unless this woman is powerful enough to take down a whole damn army on her own, these two are just being weak!
The door was kicked open and Ed went flying. She understood then, and lowered her glasses to take a quick look.
Alphonse went down quickly as well. The woman turned to her and she jammed her glasses back up. "So, that's why they were so terrified of coming here." she said simply.
"And who might you be?" the woman asked, her hands on her hips.
"I'm called Scarlett. I shed my real name quite a while back."
"You have some interesting tattoos there, Ms. Scarlett." the woman said, approaching.
Watch out!
She leaned backwards, barely avoiding the quick move. Her arm snapped up, ready to strike...
But...!
"Aw, shit!"
She spun away just as the array-covered blade shot out of her arm. She screamed as small red dots littered the lawn. "Shit... Shit, it hurts so damn bad... Why does this happen..." she growled.
"Because you're afraid!"
She gasped. There was truth in that statement. Every time the blades had ripped through her tough skin, she'd been afraid.
"What was that?"
"They do that... When I'm scared..." she gasped, still clutching her arm. The silver blade refused to vanish.
"Th-that's part of why we c-came here, Teacher..." Ed stammered from his place on the ground.
"Because of your friend's mysterious arrays activated by fear?"
"Yes... They said if anyone could figure it out, you could. But with the complexity they have and what they seem to do, I think the only ones able to tell us are the ones who gave me these tattoos." she said softly.
EDWARD
He was shocked. Izumi had openly admitted that Scarlett's arrays were on a totally different level from her!
Izumi had figured out quickly that Scarlett was an Ishvalan. Scarlett had been scared right then, and more blades had cut her skin open.
But why was Scarlett so distracted then? She had seemed to be listening to something only she could hear. Like a voice in her head.
Maybe she does have voices in her head. Maybe she has split personalities from being experimented on. Maybe the Alchemic trans-mutation combining her with the titanium not only changed her bones into it, made her skin super-tough, and made her eyes super, but gave her hearing a boost? Who knows?
"Anything else you'd like to add?" Izumi shocked him out of his stupor.
Scarlett seemed a little at war with herself. "A... A little..." Her fists were clenched. "I feel that there's someone out there that knows my name. Not as I am today... But who I was. Yuuki, the Brave One..."
"So your name meant the Brave One? It suits you. How do you feel someone you knew is alive?" Izumi asked.
Scarlett's fists were clenched even tighter. "I have these dreams, every night, with this little demon. She always laughs, telling me to become brave, I must release fear. I tell her, no that's insanity. Bravery is from over-coming fear. But she just laughs, growing into me. She tells me I'm terrified and I need to release fear. Normally, something bad happens, either in real life or my dream. But recently, I've started to consider accepting her deal. But when I reach for her hand, I hear someone yell my name. I whip around, but I'm left standing alone in a train-yard. The train-yard shows signs of a battle that was there... a water-tower spilling water, two exploded coal-cars, ripped-up track, tire skid-marks, bullet-holes, and even faint traces of blood. But I'm all alone, and there's no one there, not even the demon. And recently, I don't even have to be asleep to hear the demon."
Now she gasped, her heads whipping up to her head.
"Scarlett!" they all yelled as she fell off her chair and lay unmoving on the floor.
SCARLETT
"No! Shut up! I don't need you!" she screamed, hands on the sides of her head, tattoos flickering.
"But you do! You need my bravery, not the fake stuff you call bravery!" the demon cackled.
"Shut up, damnit!" she screamed, lashing out at the demon. But as she did, she felt like someone had struck her in the side of the face. "Damn you! Don't you dare punch me!"
"I didn't." The demon was holding the side of her face as well. "You hit us. Don't you see, Yuuki? I am you. Anything you do to me, it bounces right back!"
"Then... Then..."
Grinning wickedly, the demon extended her hand. Hesitantly, she reached out to take it.
"No, Yuuki!"
She spun around, and this time...
The four she'd befriended stood there. The Elrics and the two she'd known for a long time. "If you take her hand, you'll be swallowed by insanity! Don't listen to her!" the all yelled.
"Oh, but you should, Yuuki..." the demon purred, turning her face the other way.
The demon still wore her face, but now it was different. It looked more like the one she'd seen when she was combined with the titanium. Hair flying in the wind, blades protruding from her body, eyes glowing blue just like her tattoos. It was winter with the demon.
"No! Don't go to her!" someone yelled, grabbing her hood.
Turning, she saw the younger of the two brothers from Ishval. He stood in a forest of green.
"Don't listen to them."
It all vanished, and she was left alone in the wrecked train-yard... No...
A young girl stood behind her, a young boy in front of her. The boy had gray hair and purplish eyes. On his forehead was a silver star. The girl had blue eyes and golden hair. On her forehead was a black moon, and in her hair was a blue bow. "Don't listen to them, Scarlett." they said, in the same voice and at the same time.
"Why... Why shouldn't I?" she gasped.
"If you let everyone choose the path you walk, you'll become lost. Follow your own path, Scarlett. Don't let anyone influence you into choosing the wrong path."
"But... aren't you...?"
They were gone.
"Yuuki..."
She turned...
And saw Scar.
She shot awake. The Elrics and Izumi hovered over her. "Are you alright, Scarlett?" Izumi asked.
"To what extent?" she answered.
SCAR
The two smiled at him. "Follow the path you have chosen, Scar. Don't let anyone try to lead you astray. You'll find who you're looking for at the other end." they said.
"Wait..."
Too late. They were gone. He was left on a path. Slowly, he followed it.
It let out into a wrecked train-yard. In the middle of the train-yard was someone he felt he knew.
"Yuuki..." he murmured.
The girl turned...
And he saw she was Scarlett.
His eyes shot open. Quietly, he sat up.
"Yuuki..." he murmured. "Are you alive, Yuuki?"
EDWARD
It'd been a few days since Scarlett's collapse. Izumi had found out their secret, exiled them, then excepted them back. Scarlett had seemed far more independent, strongly objecting when people tried to make her do something against her will.
Something happened when she passed out...
That had to be the answer. But whenever he confronted her about that, her tattoos flickered and he ran away, afraid she'd mastered the mysterious Alchemy and would stab him. He'd seen the blades. They were huge, disobeying the law of equivalent exchange if they were just her bones!
But when Al went missing, he had no choice but to ask her for help.
However, he couldn't find her either...
"Darn it, you'd think I'd be able to keep track of a tattooed teenager and a seven-foot suit of armor!" he swore.
"I can help..." Turning, he saw what looked like a Chimera.
SCARLETT
He's fast, can regenerate wounds, and has a carbon-based shield he uses to cover himself.
They're all Chimeras, loyal to him. There's one inside Al. One of the Chimeras went to fetch Edward.
"So, who are you? You never answered."
"Sorry. I always assess my opponents' strengths and weaknesses first. And I don't exactly have a name anymore, just call me Scarlett. I'm a friend of the Elrics. One of whom you seem to be holding captive." she said nonchalantly.
"Scarlett, be careful!" Al warned.
"I know. You saw me remove these. You know I know what they are and what they're capable of." she sighed, tapping her glasses.
"Oh... right..." If Al had a body, he'd be blushing.
"From what I understand, there's something special about you. And you don't smell exactly human, either." One of the Chimeras said.
"Because I'm not. I'm an Ishvalan survivor, saved by pure dumb luck and subjected to horrible things in exchange. Including becoming a Chimera myself. Not like you... I'm on a whole 'nother level." she smiled, removing her glasses as the tattoos on her right forearm glowed. The large blade shot out and blood splattered the floor.