Maes hurried into Aiden's office. "Aiden! We're needed at Eastern Command. You know that Scar guy we've been chasing? He's heading East, and quickly. Our train leaves in three hours."

And just like a whirlwind he was out of her office before she could comprehend what Maes had said. When she did, Aiden sighed and stared at her team who stared right back.

"Alright guys, be honest. Who actually wants to go? We did just get back from two weeks in the North," Aiden asked. No one raised their hands and she nodded in understanding. "I'll be back when I can, please don't screw anything up. Jack, you have the highest rank, you're in charge until I get back. Is that understood?"

Jack, a tall man with light brown hair and dark eyes nodded and saluted her. Aiden nodded in return and rushed from the room, slowing only to grab her overcoat.

Aiden made packing a small job to do. She did it quickly and efficiently. Yet she felt as if she was missing something. Aiden listed the items off in her head one by one, and she had to do it once again to figure out what she was missing.

"Aha!" Aiden clapped her hands as she thought of it. "I forgot my journal!"

Aiden placed her hands on the corner of the coffee table and when to stand up when suddenly the small table collapsed. Or rather, it disappeared. Aiden fell backwards onto her couch in shock. In place of her table was a small statue of a duck. She wanted it to be a dream but the pain in her leg where she pinched herself felt real as ever.

So, with nothing else but curiosity, Aiden clapped her hands and held them against the wooden duck. Like any other transmutation, she gave the intent to do what she wanted, in this case Aiden wanted the table back to normal. It worked well, and while she was happy for the table, Aiden knew she would punch Truth next time she saw him. There was no doubt in her mind this was her excess payment.

Aiden glanced at her clock and rolled her eyes in annoyance. She grabbed her journal and then she was out the door, making sure it was locked on her way by. By the time she had made it to the station her three hours were almost up and Aiden could see Maes waiting for her.

"Your team not coming?" he asked, surprised. Aiden rarely went anywhere without her team to help her.

Aiden nodded. "Yeah. We just got back from the North. I find no need to ship them to the East."

They boarded the train and Aiden leaned up against the window. Her leg was shaking itself up and down in excitement and nervousness with her newfound alchemic ability. Then she took a deep breath and steeled herself, she might as well catch up on sleep for the ride. Unfortunately she was shaken awake what seemed like moments later. She glanced up at Maes and sighed.

"Let's go," Maes said. He was in an unusually somber mood and the weather, Aiden had just realized it was raining, which only seemed to make his mood worse.

"Maes?" Aiden asked. "What's wrong?"

"Scar struck again. This time it was at the house of Shou Tucker. He and his daughter Nina were killed."

"Shou Tucker?" Aiden asked alarmed. "Isn't he the one who turned his daughter and dog into a chimera?"

"Yeah."

Maes said no more and they made their way to the Tucker residence. Aiden knew that she wouldn't like the scene, and boy was she right. The place smelt of burnt flesh, fresh blood, and death. Aiden broke off from Maes to question Roy while he did the same to the other soldiers.

"What happened here?" she asked.

"First it was the guards outside, and then these two were attacked. We don't know by who."

"Death by spontaneous combustion of the head?"

"You sound as though you were expecting this," Roy uttered. "Fill me in."

The trio, followed by Armstrong, made their way to Eastern Command. They filled in what they could about their murderer. Riza joined them and they filled her in too. They stopped in an empty hallway and Maes and Roy opted to sit down on the bench while Armstrong and Riza decided to stand. Aiden slowly paced the floor as they talked, arms crossed, and a frown placed upon her face.

"Scar? Because of his face?"

Maes sighed and nodded. "Yeah. We don't really know much else about him so that's what we've been calling him."

"Our target is both unidentified and elusive. The only information we've been able to obtain about him is that he has a large scar on his forehead," Armstrong added.

"When we don't look for his identity we know that he kills quickly and efficiently. Always by exploding the head. We don't yet know how," Aiden muttered, her pacing showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

"Yes, I've heard stories about that man. That's who you're trying to hunt down?"

"By order of the military police command center. Meanwhile all my other work is piling up." Maes sighed. "Aiden is probably the only person in Central Command who's caught up on her work. My head hurts just thinking about mine."

"He's killed five people in Central, all state alchemists," Armstrong intoned. "His body count nationwide is up to ten."

"Five days ago, he took down the old man, Basque Grand."

"The Brigadier General?" Roy gasped. "But he's an expert in weapons transmutation!"

"And that shows you how dangerous this guy is," Aiden said.

"You should increase your escort and lay low for a while," Maes suggested. "Nobody will blame you. Please, I'm asking you as your friend."

Aiden paused in her pacing. "Is every state alchemist here accounted for?"

"Fullmetal is here!" Roy gasped.

The color visibly drained from Aiden's face and suddenly she was down the hall in seconds, the rest of her friends were only feet behind her. She jumped into the first car available and sped off the moment all five of them were situated. It wasn't hard to find them, they followed the sound of explosions and screaming.

Aiden pulled the car to a stop and stepped out. Backup had yet to arrive and Scar was dangerously close to Edward. Without a second thought Aiden charged, gun at the ready. For a second she thought she would've tackled Scar had he not jumped back.

"Wilson, get back here!"

"Keep the hell away from him!" Aiden snarled, her gun aimed at Scar.

"Lieutenant Colonel?"

"My business is with state alchemists. Get out of my way."

Aiden didn't respond. She didn't move toward him or away, and she sure as hell didn't try to pull the trigger. She just kept her stance in front of Edward and glared at Scar in disgust. The fact that he had the nerve to kill a child and then attempt it again... It sickened her to her core.

A gunshot gained their attention and they both looked at Roy who had fired the shot. Soldiers had rallied behind him. Backup had arrived.

"That's enough!" Roy shouted. "You won't be killing anyone else today, Scar. I'm taking you into custody where you will answer for the murders of at least ten state alchemists."

"Alchemists alter things from their natural form, perverting them into something else, something grotesque. The profane God, the true creator of all things. As an agent of God I am here to hand down his judgement. If you interfere I will eliminate you as well."

A sudden smirk made its way onto Roy's face. "Oh, is that right?" He handed his gun to Riza who looked rather shocked. "You guys stay out of it."

"Colonel Mustang!" Riza protested.

"That's not a good idea Roy!" Aiden called.

"Colonel Roy Mustang? So this is the Flame Alchemist. Volunteering yourself to receive judgement, this is truly an auspicious day!" Scar started running toward Roy.

"So you know who I am and you still want to challenge me? Bad decision."

Roy snapped his fingers and nothing but a puff of smoke came from him. Riza tripped him just as Scar tried to explode Roy's head. He missed and Aiden and Riza took the chance to fire at Scar.

"Hey Hawkeye what the hell'd you do that for?" Roy demanded.

"You know as well as I do that you're useless on rainy days. Please stay back," Riza commanded as the word useless seemed to knock itself into Roy's head.

"Oh yeah," a man Aiden recognized as Jean Havoc said. "I forgot. It's kind of hard to get a spark going when it's raining, huh?"

"It is fortunate that you can't create your blasphemous flames, state alchemist. For I will destroy all who interfere with my mission right here and now," Scar announced.

"I'd like to see you try it!" a familiar voice boomed.

Before Armstrong could land a blow Scar jumped away. "A newcomer!"

Aiden turned away and looked down at Edward. He was frozen and he stared ahead as if not comprehending what was happening around him. She kneeled on the ground and pulled him into a sitting position, noticing how he seemed to come back to the world. Jean and other men joined her side.

"Who is he?" Edward asked. They all knew who he was talking about.

"That's the same man who murdered Shou Tucker and his daughter," Jean answered.

Edward gasped, staring at Scar in surprise. Suddenly small fragments of rock were sent careening their way.

"Major watch what you're doing! We don't want to destroy the city do we?"

"What do you mean?" Armstrong asked innocently. Suddenly his shirt was gone. "Destruction and creation are two sides of the same coin! You must destroy to create, that is the law of the universe!"

"Did he have to strip?" Riza asked.

"Are you surprised, he's clearly insane," Havoc commented dryly.

"Insane or no it's not necessary," Aiden sighed.

"Nonalchemists may fail to see the inherent truth of that statement, but we understand. Don't we Scar."

"That's it!" Edward gasped. "The stages of the transmutation process are construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction. This guy just must stop at the deconstruction phase."

"It makes sense but why would he do that?" Aiden asked. "That would make him an alchemist too, wouldn't it?"

"Not necessarily, no. Alchemists destroy and create. Scar just destroys."

Aiden nodded but she didn't think that was how it truly worked. Kimblee destroyed things, that was all he ever did. And yet as far as she could remember Scar would eventually try and kill him too. So what made the two different? Both used alchemy, both destroyed. Perhaps the only difference was that Kimblee was certified.

"Why would he only go after state certified alchemists?" Roy asked, mostly to himself. It was like he read her mind.

Suddenly Scar was cornered and Riza took shots at him. All but one missed. Scar's glasses fell to the ground and shattered.

"You get him?" Roy asked.

"He's too fast, I only grazed him with one shot."

But that shot was good enough to expose the red eyes hidden beneath the shades. Everyone who could see the eyes visibly froze. Aiden knew who he was, but seeing an Ishvalan regardless would make her pause.

"Red eyes and brown skin that means he's..." Armstrong stared at Scar.

"Of course, he's an Ishvalan!" Roy finished. "You might as well give up Scar, you're not getting away."

Scar obviously had other plans when he struck the ground and destroyed it and the surrounding area. Oh crap, Aiden thought as she felt the ground beneath her give way. In a split second decision she clapped her hands and threw them to the ground, making a small outcropping of rock beneath her to land on. Edward, who had been right next to her fell as well, except he didn't land on her. He kept falling.

"Ed!" Aiden yelled.

She lunged from her safe rock and caught his ankle. Edward's momentum was halted, but then Aiden lost her balance. Her pant leg caught on something, a steel beam, and she took the chance to wrap her free leg around it as best she could. Now both Aiden and Edward were hanging upside down, Aiden's legs holding up her weight and Ed's.

"You okay there Ed?" Aiden gasped.

"Uh, yeah. I think so," Ed replied. His breathing was just as bad as hers.

"Fullmetal! Wilson! You two okay?" Roy shouted down.

"Mostly! I think one of us is tired of life-threatening conditions! Armstrong, please tell me you can get us up."

"Yes miss Wilson!"

Suddenly the two were lifted on a rock pad to the surface. Edward and Aiden stayed where they were, Aiden tried to let her blood flow regularly. Normally hanging upside down while adrenaline coursed through you wouldn't be a good thing. It only made the headache worse if you immediately stood up. So she was perfectly happy to stay laying down.

"What are you doing Wilson?" Roy asked.

"Well I was just hanging around but then I decided that laying down was a much safer option. Less headache-inducing at the very least."

She could hear a small snort of laughter to her right and she saw Jean snickering. Blood was slowly spreading itself back where it belonged and Aiden knew her face was changing from red to its usual slightly pale tone. Roy and the rest of his team were to her left and she glanced at them, taking note of the Major towering behind them.

"Thanks again Armstrong."

"But of course!"

"If you get sick due to exposure to the sewer and this rain I will personally come to your house to say 'I told you so'."

"Shut up Roy. One, you didn't tell me anything. And two, if you say that, I will kill you and they'd never find your body. You know I can," Aiden threatened half-heartedly.

Roy rolled his eyes but there was a hint of a smile on his face. He held out a hand and Aiden took it. "Yeah, yeah. And how many times do I have to remind you that I'm a Colonel when on duty? Not just Roy?"

"At least once more," Aiden replied cheekily.

Suddenly Maes popped up out of nowhere, gaining attention as he announced his presence. "Oh! Is it over now?" he asked.

"Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, where have you been this whole time?" Armstrong demanded.

"I thought I best to lay low."

"You didn't think about maybe backing us up?" Roy yelled.

"Of course not! A person like me shouldn't get dragged into a freakshow with you pack of pseudo-humans! It's bad for my health!" Maes turned to the officers next to him. "Don't just stand there, we got things to do!"

"His health?" Aiden mumbled dryly. "I was almost dropped into a sewer. What about my health?"

"Alphonse! Al, talk to me!" Edward yelled, drawing eyes. He'd run from his spot on the ground and to the alley. "Are you alright?"

"That suit of armor is Elric's younger brother, isn't it," Armstrong said. It wasn't a question.

"There must be a really long story behind this one," Havoc sighed.

"C'mon Al, you hear me? Ah!"

The whole group shuddered when Alphonse punched his brother. "Why didn't you run away when I told you to? What kind of idiot are you?"

"No way! I'm not just gonna run away and leave you behind!"

"Which is exactly why you're an idiot!" Alphonse punched Edward again.

"What do you keep punching me like that for? If I had run away you could have been killed! You know that?"

"And maybe I wouldn't have been! Making the decision to die is something only an idiot does!"

"Hey, easy on the idiot stuff! I'm still you're older brother! Got it?"

"I'll say it all I want to! Survival is the only way Ed. Live on, learn more about alchemy. You can find a way to get our bodies back and help people like Nina! You can't do that by dying! I won't allow you to abandon the possibility of hope and choose a meaningless death!" Alphonse's arm suddenly broke off from the rest of the armor. "Oh great! And now my arm's come off because my brother's a big fat idiot!"

"We're really falling apart, aren't we brother," Ed laughed. "We look like we belong in a junkyard."

"But we're still alive."

"Mmm-hmm, we are."

Aiden smiled fondly at the boys having their moment. She could faintly see Edward shuddering from the cold and she walked over to him and set her coat over his shoulders. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt underneath the jacket so she didn't feel nervous about having her tattoo spotted.

"Good grief, I've stumbled into an extra special kind of freakshow huh," Maes concluded. There was a worried look on his face as he stared at the boys.

"Yeah. Sorry."

Aiden rolled her eyes at the men and smiled down at Edward. Armstrong, Jean, and Riza joined her side to make sure the boys were okay. Aside from the missing limbs, Aiden would say they were fine. Which is a line she never thought would exist.

Anyone not in the know was given a brief explanation of how and why the Elrics were the way they were. There were a few pitying looks sent their way but both boys brushed them off. The overview of the Ishvalan war was right to the point. The tension in the East until that moment thirteen years prior when a soldier shot and killed a child. The seven years had gone by before the Alchemists were called to arms. The war had ended two years later.

"That man is an Ishvalan survivor. In a sense, his revenge is justified," Roy monotoned.

Edward scoffed. "No way! There's no justification for taking revenge on people who had nothing to do with it! He's just dressing his ugly lust for vengeance in the mantle of his God and calling himself an agent of justice."

"Still, the fact is; he's coming at us with full force. We can't let ourselves be killed for his cause. Next time, there will be no more talk. Got it?"

The room answered with a collective 'yes sir', save for the boys, Aiden, and Maes.

"Well Ed? Alphonse? What are you two going to do now?" Maes asked. "What's the plan?"

"I'm going to keep moving. I can't just sit around, not as long as we're still alive." Ed was determined to get through the setback. "But before we can make any headway on getting your body back, we have to get my arm back to normal. After all, I'm the only one who knows how to bond your soul to the armor."

"Right," Aiden nodded. "If Edward can't use his alchemy then he's just..."

"A brat who swears a lot," Jean suggested.

"A regular old pip-squeak," Breda said.

"Useless. Just useless!" Roy added.

"You have no room to talk," Riza reprimanded.

"Sorry, brother," Alphonse apologized. "I don't know how to follow that..."

"You're all picking on me!" Ed pouted.

Aiden grinned and slung an arm around Ed's shoulders. "Don't worry. We'll still love you! Well, I will anyway." She leaned down and whispered conspiratorially. "I'm not so sure about Roy."

"Hey!"

Edward sighed. "It seems we have no choice. It's been a long time, we need to pay a visit to our mechanic."

The room dispersed but Aiden, Ed, and Al were asked to stay behind with Roy. Armstrong, by default, was waiting outside the room to carry Alphonse to the room he and Edward were assigned. Maes stayed because he wanted to.

"Care to explain what happened down there today, Wilson?" Roy asked.

Aiden's hands clenched and she glanced out the window she'd moved to. "Normally I'd play dumb but we all saw what I did."

"You performed alchemy with no transmutation circles."

"That's right!" Ed gasped, as if suddenly remembering.

"So tell me," Roy said lowly. "Who did you try to bring back?"

Aiden hesitated. She couldn't very well say she'd never performed human transmutation, and she couldn't tell them she'd met Truth who asked himself, 'What will fuck her up the most and entertain me'.

Pros of saying she committed the taboo; reason for the alchemy, no need to hide alchemy if she ever used it. Cons of the taboo; losing the trust her friends have in her, unwanted attention drawn, Father may think of her as a potential sacrifice. The cons outweighed the pros, so admittance to human transmutation was out. What could she do? What would a protagonist answer with?

A half lie! Aiden thought. It wouldn't be the entire truth, nor an entire lie. Guilt coursed through her at having to lie to her friends, Roy and Maes especially. She steeled herself and shoved the guilt away, feeling it all the same.

"I came into this world being able to perform alchemy without circles," Aiden said slowly, thinking over her phrasing.

"You mean you were born like that?" Al asked. Aiden shrugged, her answer wasn't a yes or a no.

"But how is that possible?" Ed asked. "The only way to perform alchemy without circles is to perform human transmutation!"

"Apparently not." Aiden bit her lip and looked at the ground.

Apparently one could skip over from another universe to say hello, among other things. Maes was silent, sitting next to Roy who had migrated to the couch across from Edward. Roy had a dark, yet thoughtful, look on his face.

"Prove it."

"What?" Surely she'd heard Roy incorrectly.

"I said prove it," he repeated, dark eyes glancing up over his folded hands. "If you haven't performed human transmutation then something wouldn't have been taken from you in equivalent exchange. While I will not ask you to do something you do not want, I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me. Tell me you didn't perform the taboo."

Something she didn't want... Oh. Most people ended up losing limbs or organs, which would show upon close examination. Roy had implied the chance of having her strip. Aiden shuddered lightly under his stare but didn't look away. She crossed the room quickly and knelt so that their heights were almost the same, Roy being just a few inches taller.

"I swear to you," she said. Aiden glanced over at the others and then back at Roy, "I swear to all of you. I did not perform human transmutation."

Aiden could sense the relief in the room and she smiled softly. Even she felt some weight lessen from her chest, she didn't have to lie to any of them. A hand reached her shoulder and she turned to face Maes.

"Thank you for telling us the truth Aiden."

"That does raise a question," Edward said. "How can you do it?"

Aiden shrugged and grinned, "In my life, I just tend to not ask questions."

Despite the smile on the outside, Aiden felt even more guilt settle at the bottom of her stomach. She hated lying, especially to these people. It's like stealing from someone who's owned nothing but that one thing you stole. It's horrible, and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

The Elric brothers had set up a train to leave the next morning, Ed saying that they had no time to lose in getting their bodies in working order. Armstrong was to accompany them to Resembool, Ed was not too happy about the arrangement.

Maes knocked on the train window, gaining Ed's attention. "Hey."

"Lieutenant Colonel? Aiden? What're you doing here?"

"The folks at the Eastern Command Center were a little too busy to make it down here today. So we came here to see you off instead."

"Great but would you mind telling me what the Major's doing here?"

"Well normally I'd go with you," Aiden spoke, "but I have stuff here to get done. Armstrong was more equipped for the job. You have no way of defending yourself and let's face it, the chances of him being incapacitated are slim to none."

"Children can be so stubborn," Armstrong added, mostly to himself.

"Hey shut up! I'm no child!" Edward shouted back. "Anyway, are you sure Al made it on board?"

"Of course! I put him with the sheep in the car behind us! I thought he might get lonely."

"My brother isn't some kind of farm animal!"

Aiden laughed and reached through the window, grabbing Ed before he could attack Armstrong. "Lighten up Ed! It could always be worse! The Major was just trying to be considerate."

"Yeah, I guess," Ed sighed, slumping into his seat.

A bell rang and Aiden quickly extracted her arm from the train. The train let loose a whistle and started moving forward.

"Well, it's time. You boys have a safe trip!" Maes saluted them and Aiden followed suit. "Stop in and give us a shout next time you're in Central."

**********

Aiden: I can do alchemy without a circle. No one must no my secret.

Also Aiden: CLEANSE YOUR BUTTOCKS IT'S GOING TO BE A BUMPY RIDE.