Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for Isabella.
No POV
"I heard you on my way in here. You say you're an agent of God. Well, then why don't you try passingjudgment on me? That's Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong-Arm Alchemist?" Armstrong said as Scar gasped. "Don't pray just yet. You're facing the technique that's been passed down the Armstrong line for generations. That's hardly a blessing." Armstrong said as he used a block as material to use his kind of alchemy to attack Scar, but he missed.
"Next shot!" Armstrong said as he used the ground as material, and turned it into spikes. But Scar destroys one of them. Armstrong, then removes his shirt flexing his muscles. "It's true what you said. The opposite ofcreation is destruction. And both must be served. Destroy and create, it's the grand currency of the universe. And it's the charge of the Armstrongs to carry out both." Armstrong said while Scar just stood there like nothing. "That's why I was going to track you down, once Fullmetal and Flower were finished." Scar said when Armstrong attacks him, but he hit his sunglasses, and they fell to the ground. "A unique combinationof alchemy and physical power. God help me." Scar said to himself when Armstrong gasped at Scar's persona.
"You have red irises. Red eyes and brown skin, you must be from--"Armstrong couldn't finish when Scarcharges at him, and he moves aside, and Scar destroys the wall. "But the God your people kneel to forbidsalchemy. It's modernity's greatest sin. I see your rationale. Alchemy has three parts. Determining the makeup,breaking it down, and rebuilding it as something else. You stop at step two so you're saved by a loophole. Like killing for a religious cause. But murder's murder and you're still an alchemist." Armstrong said to him. "I only do as this arm instructs me, contrary or not. Leave it to the prophets to interpret God's will!" Scar saidto him as the two go at it, with Scar charging at him, and Armstrong using his alchemy to attack him, but Scar destroys one of the spikes, and an explosion occurs outside.
"Humankind cannot gain anything, without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equalvalue must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." '
{Opening song}
Ready Steady Go!/ L'Arc~en~Ciel
-The Ishbal Massacre-
Isabella's POV
The three of us made it to the city, and we hid in the alley. Ed checked to see if the coast is clear, and it is. We head towards a shop, and stopped our tracks there. "Edward? What are we gonna do now?" I asked him. "I don't know, Issy. Let's just get some distance from that guy with the glasses." Ed said to me when a dog starts barking at something, and we turn to see military trucks coming by. And Ed noticed this. "Get down." Ed told the two as they hid behind some flowers, and Ed hid his arm, and I was beside him. The trucks drove passed us, and the dog kept on barking at them. I then turn to face a woman in front of us. "Ma'am? Have you got a back door?" I asked her.
FF*
The three of us made it through the back, thanks to the woman's help, and head down an alley. "What about Eastern Command, and the Colonel?" Al asked him. "Nah, there's no way we can go there. With the Brigadier General showing up like that, I get the sense not even Mustang can protect Marcoh right now." Ed said to him. "But still, with the Brigadier General showing up like that, and what Ed said was true, not even Mustang canprotect Marcoh right now." I said. Marcoh gasped. "People from Central have been deployed here?" Marcoh asked one of us. "Just the Fuhrer and his entourage, yeah." I said to him. "I don't understand. Is this for me?" Marcoh asked me. "No, it's not like that. Don't worry." Al said to him.
We reached another part of the alley, and see some kids playing. That kinda reminds me of how I play backwhen I was younger. 'That reminds me of how I was back then.' I though. 'But that was a long time ago, and I can't forget that.' I thought as I walk off with Ed, and Marcoh stood there. "I can't do this." Marcoh said to us. "What do you mean?" Al asked him. "I've run away from it long enough. I won't do it now. I don't care if that man kills me." Marcoh said to him. "And?" I asked him. "How can I whenit's something I deserve." Marcoh said to me. 'Poor guy.' I thought to myself.
Roy's POV
I was with Havoc when Breda and Fuery are digging for the Major, but they found him anyway. "Colonel! We found him!" Breda called when we rushed down there, and see the Major totally wounded. "Come on, talk tome, Major. What happened?" I asked when we hear Hughes coming by. "Close call." Hughes said when we face him, and he walks up to us. "This is turning into a real mess." Hughes said to us. "That's a hell of anunderstatement. What about Grand?" Havoc asked him."We found him on the road, a few blocks up. Let's just say there'll be some promotions, unless Iron-Blood can survive his brain turning into hamburger meat." Hughes said to him. "But he was the Brigadier General! Hewas an expert in hand-to-hand, right?" Fuery asked him as he shrugs his shoulders. I walk up to him.
"Scar's M.O. No doubt about it." Hughes said to me. "That man..." Armstrong said when we face him. "He's an Ishbalan. I'm sure of it. I saw his red eyes." Armstrong said to us. "Just stay down. You're hurt." Hughes said to him. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Colonel. You sent me with direct orders, and I failed. I hope Elric and Rockbell are okay. But the brown skin and red eyes, I know that man chasing them is from Ishbal. I even confronted him about his God." Armstrong said to him. "Well, well! There's a decent break in the case, Hughes. Now you know why he's killing us." I said in surprise.
No POV
Scar is standing in the rain.
Isabella's POV
"I'm missing the connection. Why do you deserve death just because he's from Ishbal?" I asked him. "The rebellion, right? Ed and Isa told me Mustang was sad about that, too. But why? Ishbal started that war forindependence. They lost lives, but so did the military." Al said to him as Ed looks down. "If all of us swore revenge every time we lost a war, there's be no end to it. It'd be a cycle without a point." Ed said to us. "You're not listening. That was no war. It was a massacre." Marcoh said to us when a girl was laughing, and a flashback begins.
Flashback Begins*
Ishbal first started out as a peaceful place, and several soldiers including alchemists visited Ishbal.
"The people of Ishbal are an ethnic tribe in the East, who worship Ishbala as their one and only creator. They draw from a different history, so they see the world through a different lens. Our world is sulfurs, andnitrogen, science and math. We believe everything can be explained with numbers, and Equivalent Exchange isour sacred cannon. But to them, alchemy is a perversion of the world God has given us. The devil's miracle, corrupting man by putting us in Ishbala's place. As a result of this collision of views, resistance movements would pop up from time to time."
Flashback Stops*
The girl was then hit by a mud ball. "Hey! What'd you do that for?" The girl asked as she runs up to one of the kids who hit her with a mud ball. "One day, during a house inspection, an officer in the military accidentally shot and killed and Ishbalan child." Marcoh said to us as the flashback continues.
Flashback Continues*
The whole riot in Ishbal began."The incident became a rallying cry. Massive riots and uprisings broke out all over the region. It was too much, too fast. The military couldn't control its soldiers in the chaos. More fuel for the fire. It escalated into a full scale rebellion that lasted seven years, until the Fuhrer had had enough. He sent in the problem solvers. The State Alchemists."
Flashback Continues*
Meanwhile, somewhere at the State Alchemists' campsite, Marcoh is talking to Grand. "Why? Because of their doctrines, the Ishbalans have neither alchemists, nor up-to-date weaponry. Want them to demonize us even more? You think that's a long-term answer?" Marcoh asked him. "Did you bring the materials?" Grand asked him as he sighs. "I did, Colonel, but they're still under research. And like I told you, we don't need them." Marcoh said to him. "Have you not seen the reports? The resistance is growing." Grand said to him. "That's because your excessiveuse of force is creating sympathizers. It's easier for the Ishbalans to recruit the other tribes." Marcoh said to him when a chuckle was heard, and Marcoh and Roy turned to face a soldier named Kimbley. "What are you trying to say? That our Fuhrer's great cause is unjust?" Kimbley questioned while he finishes drawing a circle on his hand, and chuckles.
Grand continues his conversation with Marcoh. "We've lost several thousand men. And the civilian casualties are well beyond that. The whole country isunstable. This isn't a humanitarian. This is war. Now turn them over. That's an order." Grand said to him as he sighs, and sets a case down. He opens it and reveals bottles of red water inside it. Roy is stunned by this, including Kimbley who looks happy at the sight of it. rand picks up one of thebottles. "Dominance in a bottle, men, alchemic augmentation. It's my job to end this war quickly, and with this I can." Grand said to them.
Flashback Stops*
The three of us heard every word from Marcoh, even though it's still raining. "So what happened? How did theIshbalans respond to your weapon?" I asked him. "They didn't." Marcoh said to me. "Every gathering-point of resistance the State Alchemists were sent to, they were all wiped out in a singlenight." Marcoh said to her.
FF*
Marcoh was shocked by this catastrophe, and fell to his knees in shock.
Flashback Stops*
No POV
Scar is in the rain when. "That's him! Over here!" One of the soldiers said when one of them shoots at him, and he runs off. Armstrong is resting and Roy is watching out the window with Riza beside him. The Fuhrer and his secretary came in, and the two saluted and Armstrong sat up. "No more running, Colonel. Take him down." The Fuhrer ordered him. "Sir." Roy said to him.
Isabella's POV
The three of us heard every word from Marcoh. when one of the kids got injured. "My ankle!" The boy cried out when Marcoh runs up to him and kneels to his level. "Let me help you, son." Marcoh said as he takes out the red stone, and used it to heel the boy. "During the war there were alsodoctors who would treat the wounded, like your parents were. It didn't matter what side you were on, Ishbalan or with the state, if you were in need of help, they would treat you." Marcoh said to us when he finished healing the boy's leg. "How's that feel?" Marcoh asked the boy when his leg is healed, and he stood up laughing. "Thanks!" The boysaid to him. "I'm it!" The boy said while running and laughing with the other kids. "How'd he do that? That was cool!" The girl said while laughing. "However, they were casualties, too. Just like how your parents were." Marcoh said to her.
Flashback Continues*
Roy had a gun in his hands after he shot the pair of doctors dead. Marcoh began protesting with Grand. "Colonel Grand, what happened here?" Marcoh asked him. "This became an underground contact point For Ishbalan insurgents. These doctors were involved." Grand said to him. "Involved? They were treating them! They were trying to save anyone they could!" Marcoh protested at him. "That's right. And the ones they savedwere coming back to murder my soldiers." Grand said to him as he growled, and turn to see a picture of a young girl covered in blood on the floor.
FF*
Roy was still in shock of what he did when he killed the pair of doctors. But he couldn't take it anymore, he took out his gun and is getting ready to kill himself. "Stop that." A voice called and he turns to see Marcoh there. "You were a soldier following orders in a time of war. It's my soul that carries the sin. These doctors gave everything in the name of saving lives. I, meanwhile..." Marcoh said to him. "How can we ever make this bearable?" Roy asked him. "If I run away, will you keep quiet, and let me escape?" Marcoh asked him as he gasped, and Marcoh walks off. "So I left with the Philosopher's Stones, and all the research that explained how to create them."
Flashback Ends*
"But I acted much too late. The people of Ishbal had largely been exterminated. I heard that the military letonly a handful survive." Marcoh said to us. "It's grim, granted. But that's no reason for him to come after you." I said to him. "He wants revenge. What could be more legitimate?" Marcoh asked me. "He's dragging people in who had nothing to do with it. How can you talk about legitimacy? He's a fraud. He's on a tirade of personal vengeance and he hides behind this excuse of "God's Will" so he can claim it's noble." I said to him. "Still, if someone took you and brother away from me and Issy. I think we might do thesame thing. Isn't that Equivalent Exchange?" Al asked me.
"No! That isn't how the principle works! Haven't youlearned that yet? Destroying lives doesn't bring lives back. We all just need to live and be content, while wecan..." I said to him as he, Ed and Marcoh look on at what I just said. Ed then walks up to his brother. "Come here." Ed said as he used alchemy to fix his brother's arm, then all of asudden it hits me. "Dr. Marcoh, why don't you let us hide you in our hometown for a while. It's just three dayson a train from here, right?" I said.
"Not at all. We have friends there, the Rockbells they are Issy's family. They make auto-mail. I'm sure they'll be--" Ed couldn't finish when he sees Marcoh there in shock at what he said. "Rockbell? No, no I can't. I can't go there. I'm sorry." Marcoh said to him as he runs off. "Dr. Marcoh, what?" Al called out when Ed and I ran after him, and Al followed us.
Riza's POV*
Our forces pointed their guns on Scar. "Foolish troops. Don't think you'll be spared! You're all using weaponswith alchemic modifications! God judges you!" Scar shouted when he used his own alchemy to destroy the ground, and sending our troops flying. Scar was about to walk off, when the Colonel shoots up, signaling him to halt. "That's far enough." Roy said to him. "Colonel Mustang, wait!" I called when Scar faced us. "Colonel Mustang? Flame Alchemist Roy Mustang?" Scar questioned him. "The one and only." Roy said when he tossed the gun aside. "But sir!" I protested when I catch the gun, and he was putting on his glove. "I'm awfully sorry about you grievances. But no one hurts my men." Roy said to him.
"Yet another soul who departs from God's path. Death will be swift." Scar said to himself. "Brave enough to attack the Flame Alchemist. I'll make you a funeral pyre." Roy said to him. "Colonel!" I called when he and Scar are going to goat it, and I growled at this. "Stubborn man!" I cursed out as I swift-kick him to the ground, and I shoot at him. But he ran off. "That's noway to get promoted, Hawkeye!" Roy said to me. "Relax, sir, I just saved you life. Your flame attack's no good in the rain." I said to him as he turns white.
"She has a point, Colonel. Wet gloves can't make a spark." Havocsaid to him when Scar destroys a part of a building. "Fire!" I ordered as we fire at him, but he ran off by climbing away. "He's certainly a fast one." I said to them. "After him! Now!" Roy ordered the other soldiers. "Lieutenant Breda, go to the train station. Wait for Fullmetal and Flower." Roy ordered Breda. "But how do you know they're going there?" Breda asked him as he stood up. "Isn't it obvious? They're shielding Dr. Marcoh. They'll try to get him out." Roy said to him.
Isabella's POV
The three of us chased after Dr. Marcoh, and he stopped for breaths. "Marcoh! Wait! It's your call. We don'thave to go anywhere you don't trust. We're not trying to steal your research." I said to him when he faced us. "No, Isabella. There are other reasons I can't go there with you. I'm a stained man." Marcoh said to me when we hear some gunshots, and we saw Scar coming down in front of us. He turn to face Marcoh and was getting ready to attack him, but Al stopped him from doing that. "This time I have an attack made just for you!" Scar shouted at him as he destroys the right side of Al's armor.
"Al!" The two of us cried out as Al falls to the ground. Ed charges at Scar. Ed was fighting Scar when he grabbed Ed's auto-mail hand in his hand, and Ed's eyes widen at this. "By clasping your hands, you make an array with your body, and circulate the alchemic reaction within. I know your secret, and without this sinful arm you can't transmute quickly. That is your weakness." Scar said to him as he used alchemy to destroy Ed's arm, and his eyes were wide when he did that. He fell to the ground and I gasped at this. "Brother!" Al cried out. "Edward!" I cried out when Scar was coming towards him. I growled at this and started charging at him while shouting, but he grabbed my wrist. "Too slow." Scar said as he tossed me to a nearby wall, and I fell to the ground.
He started walking towards me and I look up at him. "No, Isabella! Get up and run with brother! Get out of here! Take Ed and run!" Al shouted when Scar grabbed me by the throat with his left hand, and lifted me up so I wasat his level. "I will give you a moment to pray, Flower." Scar said to me. "Thanks for the gesture. But I don't believe. Stopped a long time ago." I said to him when he raised his right arm. "No! Don't kill her! Don't kill my friend!" Al cried out when Scar faced him. "I'm afraid I can't do that. As long as she's an alchemist, I will kill her." Scar said to him when he faced me again.
"Do you have any final words before I take you to God, Flower?" Scar asked me as I teared up andgasping for air. "Suck my dick..." I said weakly as he raised his hand to aim at my head. "In the name of the great almighty One, thou shall perish." Scar said when he was almost at my head when. "Wait!" I hear Ed's voice called as Scar faced him. He was sitting up holding what's left of his arm. "Don't kill her, please." Ed said to him as he sat me down, and I gasped for air. Then Scar came up to him. "Back in the tunnel, you told me you lost your older brother. Died in Ishbal, right?" Ed asked him. "Correct, Fullmetal. He was killed by a State Alchemist." Scar said to him. "Well I'm the oldest brother, so take my life instead of Isabella's and go. That's an Equivalent Exchange, don't you think?" Ed asked him. "No! What are you talking about, brother?! You just said it yourself, a life doesn't equal a life!" Al cried out.
"You stay out of this, Al, I'm doing what's fair! He's not a State Alchemist. I should be enough instead of Isabella." Ed said tothem as I gasped at what he said. "Edward..." I said weakly. "I promised before God I won't hurt your brother and friend. But you should listen to them, Fullmetal. Your life for another is not a fair exchange. There is nothing in this world that can equal the loss of my brother and my people. Nothing will make it easier tobear." Scar said to him as he reveals the markings on his arm.
"Really? Then why are you murdering all these people?" Ed asked him when Scar placed his hand on Ed'shead. The three of us gasped at this. "Brother! What are you doing?!" Al cried out. When I was tearing up. I clenched my hands and tear up. "I don't want this... He's going to die instead of me..." I said to myself. "No!" I cried out when Scar's arm felt a strong pain, forcing him to stop.
But Marcoh was there with the stone in his hand. "Dr. Marcoh? Don't you have any sense? You should be long gone by now!" Ed shouted at him. "I investigated some ancient texts written by your people in Ishbal. I remember discovering the alchemic drawing you have tattooed on your arm. Maybe this had flaws, but it is a Philosopher's Stone. And sure enough, you arm is responding." Marcoh said to him. "Don't say it! You know nothing!" Scar shouted at him when I wiped my eyes at this turn of events.
"It's some kind of reaction. Dr. Marcoh, what's going on? Is there a different way of using the stone?" I asked him when Scar charges at him, and he throws the stone at him, causing him to cry out in pain and we look on when his arm absorbed it. He runs off and runs into the soldiers including Roy and Riza. But he used his ownalchemy to destroy the ground, and he escaped when the smoke clears. Roy, Riza and Havoc looked down atthe sewer. "The classic sewer escape." Havoc said to Roy. "Don't follow him." Roy ordered him. "Damn it, I was about to jump in." Havoc said to him when Hughes and Armstrong showed up.
"Nice mess. Is it over yet?" Hughes asked them. "You know, you could try to help while you can, Hughes." Roy said to him. "Lay off. I'm about as normal as they can and this is a contest of freaks. What do want me to do, fire my slingshot at him?" Hughes asked him when Fuery sees Al in a real mess with Alice beside him. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, take crowd control. I don't want anyone getting close." Roy ordered her. "Yes sir." Riza said to him as she runs off. Ed walks up to the brother. "Say something, Al. Are you still with me?" Ed called tohim. "You idiot!" Al cursed out as he punched him in the face. "What's that for?" Ed asked him. "Why didn't you and Isa run away when I told you to?" Al asked him. "Because, hair for brains, then he would've killed you!" Ed said to him.
"So you decided to die instead of Isabella? That's really smart!" Al said to him. "Don't call your older brother an idiot, idiot!" Ed said to them as Al grabbed him by the collar. "That's not how we do things. Live, and be content while we can. Live to research more alchemy, so one day we can get our bodies back. That is how we do things, brother! Dying, and dying by yourself instead of Isa, and leaving me on my own? That's something we won't let you do." Al said to him when he turns to face me with my headdown. "Isabella, don't you have something to say to brother, too?" Al asked me as I nodded. I stood up and walk upto Ed, and kneel down to his level. "Isabella." Ed said as I raised my hand up, and slapped him across the face. He grabbed his cheek with his left hand and faced me.
"What was that for, Isabella?" Ed asked me as I tear up. "Why the hell did you decide to spare my life, so he can take yours instead, you idiot?!" I asked him out ofanger. "Because, doughnut head, then he would've killed you!" Ed said to me out of anger as I clench my hands into fists. "And why didn't you run away with me when Al told you to?" I asked him. "Because I'm not gonna leave you two behind!" Ed said to me. "You're such a pain..." I said to him while tearing up. "Why am I such a pain?" Ed asked me as I sat up with tears in my eyes. "Because you are, and that you're an idiot for not running away with me!" I said to him out of anger. "Don't call your partner an idiot, idiot!" Ed said to me as Istarted to hiccup. "You damn idiot..." I sobbed when I placed my hand above my mouth to shut my sobbing up.
But Ed placed his remaining hand on my shoulder making me look up at him. "Isabella, it's okay to cry ontome, you know." Ed said to me when I placed my hands on his shoulders and I buried my face into his chest, and cried onto him. He wrapped his arm around me, and he consoles me. "It's alright, shhh..." Ed cooed when Al's arm fall of. "Oh, this is perfect! Now my arm's fallen off too! Today is a terrible day!" Al stammered out. "We're really falling apart at the seams, aren't we? Everyone who sees us must think we're a joke." Ed said to the two while consoling me. "But we're alive, right?" Al asked him.
"Yeah... We are that... And so is Isabella..." Ed saidto her while he's consoling me, and I cried onto his chest. Roy and Armstrong are in the sidelines watching us. "A hollow suit of armor... I've never seen a soul transmutation that actually worked." Armstrong said to Roy. "Yeah, they must've risked their lives to make it possible. What do you think makes the bond between those four so strong?" Roy asked him when Riza showed up. "Colonel. The Fuhrer's secretary has arrived." Riza said to him. "Has she really? And what does shewant?" Roy asked her when they face the Fuhrer's secretary whose name is Juliet Douglas there.
"I have orders to take Marcoh into the Fuhrer's custody. He assures you that the doctor will not come toharm." Douglas said to him. "But... Yes of course." Roy said to him as he turns to face the four of us and Marcoh. I finally have the energy to stop crying and faced him. "Marcoh, don't." I begged him. "It's like I told you, Isabella, I can't go with you. Your hometown is not a place where I could ever be welcome." Marcoh saidto me. "Why not?" I asked him. "The two doctors that we executed in Ishbal, their names were Rockbell." Marcoh said to me as Ed and I gasped at what he said.
Roy looks down and Ed looks away with me in his arm. And Marcoh walks off towards Ms. Douglas. "Let's get going, sir." Douglas said to him as Al gasped at that voice on her. Ms. Douglas opened the door, and Marcoh stepped in. "Brother? I think I just heard Mom's voice." Al said to his brother. "Come on, Al, you've had a brush with death. Don't go unstable on us now." Ed said to him as I sat up. "He's right. Don't go unstable on us." I said to him as well.
{Ending song}
Tobira no Mukou e by YeLLOW Generation