IV. Scar. The Vengence of Ishval

“That’s as far as you go, Scar.” The colonel dictated, holding a gun towards the skies, a small stream of smoke leaving the barrel of the weapon, showing it was recently fired. To state the obvious. “Hm. That was pretty close, Fullmetal.”

“Colonel?” I asked, “Damn it, that was too close you idiot! Cut it a little closer next time why don’t you?”

“Yes, it’s nice seeing you too, Foresight.” Mustang said with a smirk, before turning back to Scar and the boy, all amusement turned to seriousness. “That man is suspected in the serial killings of State Alchemists. And judging from what I’m seeing, that suspicion just became fact.”

“The world was made perfect by God.” The killer dictated, the anger was clear in his words. “Alchemists change the natural into the unnatural…twist things out of their true form.”

Well…he’s not wrong…though I never thought of it that way…I thought.

“They sin, by defacing God’s creation!” He had pulled his fist up, clenching it, to the point his knuckles were lighter than the rest of his skin. He looked up to his audience, the glare not missed by myself, who could just barely see it through his shades. “I am an instrument of Devine justice!”

There were only seconds of silence before Mustang spoke up himself. “Makes sense. But why do you only target State Alchemists, when there are so many other alchemists you could kill?”

If the Colonel was expecting a direct answer, he didn’t get it. Instead, Scar looked to the other male threateningly. “If you insist on stopping me, I’ll just eliminate you too.” I heard protests from the second Lieutenant, as I turned to see that the Flame Alchemist was about to do something, I knew would be stupid.

“Stay out of this.” He ordered.

“‘Mustang’…the State Alchemist?”

“The one and only. I’m the Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang.”

“Rain, plus pyromaniac alchemist, carry the one…and it equals? Oh boy.” I said under my breath, “This won’t compute well.”

Scar looked to the flame-user alchemist, “I never thought I’d see this.” There seemed to be only the faintest hint of amusement in the murderer’s words, “You turn from the path of God, the come meet judgment on your own free will…” He started charging towards his new opponent, as he said his next words, intent to kill all but hidden in his actions. “What a glorious day this is!”

“You know who I am, yet you still want to fight me? You’re quite a fool!”

“Colonel—!”

“First Lieutenant! Hurry up and stop that idiot!” I exclaimed, knowing full well that the rain would make him more than useless than what he would already be in this situation. Hawkeye didn’t need telling twice before she dropped to the ground, and managed a roundhouse kick to the man with an ego the size of Dracama.

If egos made a sound when they fell, I’m pretty sure it was similar to the sound I heard the Colonel make when he found himself falling on the wet sidewalk that day. I watched in mild fascination as gun shots were fired at Scar, who dodged them almost as though he knew where they would be fired. Almost. “What was that for?!” The Flame both complained and asked.

“You’re useless on rainy days, sir. Please stand back.”

“I second that.” I piped in, raising my hand.

“Ah yeah. Can’t make a spark when it’s all wet out.” Another man—I didn’t really know his name—said, taking note of the wet droplets that were pouring on us.

“State Alchemists…synthesizers…I will eliminate all that get in my way!” He was about to attack, when a giant loomed over him.

“I’d like to see you try!” Realizing I’d be in the way, I quickly made a dash away, just as a fist crashed into the ground, crumbling the area as though it were soft as butter. Looked like Scar had the brains to get out of the way too.

“Watch where you’re aiming!” I scowled, glaring at the newcomer.

“Apologies, ma’am…” He said, before looking to the enemy. “It takes skill to dodge my fists. You brazen insurrectionary! I’ve had enough of you. You want to destroy everyone here? Don’t make me laugh!”

“Is really making a speech right now?” I asked disbelievingly.

“Why don’t you try beating me first? I am the Strong Arm Alchemist, Alex Louis Armstrong!”

---

A fight between the State Alchemist Killer, Scar and, the Strong Arm Alchemist, Major Armstrong, was one of the most…interesting things anyone had seen.

“Did he really have to strip?” Hawkeye asked, while calm on the outside was disturbed on the inside.

“Do you really have to ask? The guy’s obviously crazy.” Havoc muttered, watching the fight rage on. “You know, this is a good as time as any to get that rifle out.”

Eying the situation at hand, the Lieutenant nodded in agreement. “Keep an eye on things.”

+{}+

With his alchemy, the major was able to throw out attacks as quickly as Scar could dodge them. All he needed was some sort of opening…a moment of weakness, a moment where he would leave himself open…dodging and eying Armstrong’s movements were far from simple tasks to do at the same time. Despite his size, he was unusually fast, as was his strength. He augmented his power with his alchemy…

“Now I’ve got you!” There was a moment where his swing was too wide. The moment he found it, Scar went right for it, however, before he could make contact his opponent backed up. He barely dodged the bullet that was fired in his moment of surprise.

“Did you get him, Lieutenant?”

“No. He’s fast. I only grazed him.” The sunglasses the man wore fell from their place on his face. The killer’s eyes an angry glaring red.

“Red eyes and dark skin!” Armstrong exclaimed.

“He’s Ishvalan!” Mustang managed to shout once the shock had worn off.

The State Alchemist Killer reevaluated his surroundings, eying everyone who was in the vicinity. “Maybe, there are too many of you.”

“Don’t try to run for it.” The colonel dictated. “You’re surrounded.”

---

He evaluated the scene one last time before he raised his arm and slammed the palm of his hand onto the ground he stood on. The area around him started to lose structure, and with the debris, he disappeared. Barely had I had time to make it the ledge that wasn’t about to collapse, gasping for breath, I hung on to the ledge, finding that most my strength was all but depleted at that point. “Dammit…” I muttered.

“Christian Eric, aren’t ya?” A male’s voice spoke up. I looked up seeing the second Lieutenant from before. His hand held out to allow assistance. I gratefully took it, and sighed in relief upon finding solstice on the solid ground again.

“Yeah, that’s me. I don’t think I caught your name though, sir.”

“Jean Havoc. I work under the Colonel, and I take it you do too?”

“More or less, I guess…”

“Lieutenant Colonel Hughes where have you been this whole time?” I heard Armstrong’s booming voice ask of the man I hadn’t even realized was here.

“I’ve been in hiding.”

“You didn’t think to maybe, I don’t know, help us out?” This time Mustang shouted, seeming annoyed…no, he wasn’t seemingly annoyed. He actually was.

“Are you crazy? This is a circus of freaks, and I’m as normal as they come!” I palmed my face with my flesh hand, unbelieving of the guy. Then again, I worked under him until I was transferred to East City, his antics shouldn’t really have been getting to me at this point. “You there! Get to work! We got things to do!”

“Yessir!” The MP in question saluted before getting down to business.

“ALPHONSE!” I looked up seeing Ed running to his brother, almost falling once without balance of his right arm. By then I had walked up to Mustang and Hughes.

“I envy them.” I finally admitted. “Edward and Alphonse I mean.”

“Because of their bond?” Hughes asked. “Ah, right, I remember you once saying you and your sister don’t always get along.”

I nodded as I watched the brothers. The moment, however, was ruined when a loud resonating slap came from Alphonse actually punching Edward. I flinched, my right hand, instinctively going to my cheek. That looked like it really hurt.

“THAT’S WHAT I MEAN BY STUPID!” Alphonse’s voice rang out as another punch went to his older brother’s face. This time, I wasn’t the only one to flinch at the scene.
“Why? If I had ran away you might have been killed!”

“I might not have been killed too!”

“When there’s a way to survive and then you choose death, that’s what IDIOTS do!”

“D-Don’t talk that way to your older brother!” With Ed’s comment, Alphonse grabbed his brother’s shirt, pulling him face to helmet, the glowing eyes of the younger Alchemist seeming to intensifty with his anger of his brother’s choices just prior.

“I’ll talk to you however I want!” Al shouted. “You have to live…and keep living…so you can do more research! You have to find a way to get our old bodies back…and maybe even save poor girls like Nina!” I couldn’t help but notice the pain in Al’s voice when he mentioned the girl. Who was Nina? A girlfriend? No…that didn’t seem right. “I won’t let you throw that chance away! If you did I’d never forgive you!”

Just as the younger Elric had finished his rant, his arm snapped from the main armor, the hand still gripping his brother, who fell to the ground, seemingly in shock. I didn’t know if I should laugh, or keep quiet…I assumed the second option. But Al’s second comment made that a little more difficult, “Oh great! Now my arm came off ‘cos my brother’s a big fat idiot!”

“Foresight, you said you were envious of the brother’s relationship.”

“I did.” I answered, as I watched Hawkeye walk to the older male, placing her military jacket over his shoulders. “As you heard from Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, my sister and I never really got along. See, shortly after I was born, our mother died. Mel’s been blaming me for her death ever since. Saying that if she had never of had me, she would’ve still been here.”

“Christian’s had a hard life, Roy. Perhaps not completely as bad as the Elrics, but I’m sure you saw, right?”

“You would have to be blind not to.” Mustang’s eyes looked down to me, but I still held my ground as I looked up at him. “Just like Fullmetal, you don’t use a circle to conduct your transmutations.”

“And your point, Colonel?”

“We’re talking about this later. Here isn’t a place to speak as freely.” Fair enough.

“On another note, I don’t envy you. That’s one tough customer y’got there.” Hughes spoke up after a small silence, in favor of changing the topic.

The Colonel glanced to his friend, and nodded in agreement. “Yeah. And now we know he’s Ishvalan.”