Wandering Hitokiri: (Walks out and looks around) Hi there people! For all of you who remember me from my story 'What One May Never See', you may know of me and my perverse sense of humor. The illustrious Lost and Never Found contacted me and wanted to know if I wanted to do a joint fanfic. That is what this is right now.
LNF: Ello! (spreads the skirt of her medieval-style dress in a curtsy)
Ed: (Rolls eyes) Pfft, yeah right. That's what you think. All you two are doing right now is acting like a couple of weirdos.
Wandering Hitokirir: -.-; Ignore him. He's just mad because I pulled him out of an impending fight with Colonel Mustang, so he didn't get to kick flame-boy's butt.
Ed: Why do I have to do this again?
Wandering Hitokiri: Because if you don't I'll pass out embarrassing baby pictures of you to Mustang, Envy, Scar, and pretty much anyone else.
Ed: Where the hell would you get them anyways? Any baby photos that I may have had were burned up years ago.
Wandering Hitokiri: That's what you think. (Pulls a bunch of pictures out of her hakama pocket. Ed walks over and looks at them before going white.)
Ed: Where the hell did you get these?!
Wandering Hitokiri: That's a secret. Now be nice.
Ed: (Glares at Wandering before he smirks) Alright everyone! Take note that neither Wandering Hitokiri nor Lost and Never Found own me or anyone else from 'Fullmetal Alchemist'!
Wandering Hitokiri: (Twitches) Edward Elric, you are DEAD! (Chases after a certain alchemist)
Al: (Walks up nervously) Umm… please ignore Nii-san and Wandering Hitokiri. They don't really get along that well. Enjoy the story though! (Bows and walks off)
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"Voldemort? Are you serious?"
The shriek from the taller of the two teenage girls walking down the street could be heard for blocks. Her short friend barely winced, used to such outbursts.
"Yes, I'm quite serious, though now deaf." she said dryly. "Come on; it took them decades to finally kill the guy, and the only reason the succeeded was because he set up his own doom by killing Harry's parents and shattering his own soul so completely. You gotta admit, Crys, that's way powerful."
Crystal, better known to her friends as Crys, snorted. "Bullshit. Envy could kick him to next week and back."
Rolling her eyes, the shorter girl sighed. "Not Fullmetal Alchemist again."
"Yes, Taylor, again. It is freakin' awesome and you know it!"
"No, no it really isn't."
"Oh, come on! Have you ever watched it?"
Taylor sighed. "Yes, Crys, I have. Remember? You sat me down and made me watch the first six episodes."
Crystal now sighed, her eyes starry as she slipped into one of her eager
fangirl moods. "Mustang, Envy, and Ed... Possible the cutest guys ever!"
Simply rolling her eyes, Taylor said nothing. Barely five foot even, she was a petite girl with wavy red hair that went just past her shoulder blades and brilliant green eyes. Her oval face was highlighted by bangs that just crested her dark eyebrows, accenting her pale skin. Dressed simply in cotton pants, a loose-fitting white button-up shirt, and white sandals, she carried a black bag over her shoulder, a pink ribbon from a toe-shoe sticking out of the zipper.
The exact opposite was Crystal. Easily five foot ten, she towered over her friend and most everyone else outside of her family. Dark, brown hair, in contrast to Taylor's, was almost painfully straight, going clear down to her waist, and her eyes were the perfect shade of storm gray-blue. A heart-shaped face was also framed by bangs, though her skin was tanned from time spent in the sun. Unlike her friend, she was in black jeans, Converse sneakers, and a black message t-shirt with, "I'd rather be eating slugs now than dealing with you" written on it with green letters. No bag was hanging off of her shoulders; she was just walking Taylor home from dance lessons at the request of Cal, Taylor's older brother/legal guardian.
"Hey, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Crystal asked curiously, turning around to walk backwards so she could watch Taylor's face as they talked.
The red-head shrugged. "I have the usually practice time in the morning and evening, but otherwise I'm free. Want to go see a movie or something?"
"Sweet!" Crystal squealed. "Stardust just came out, and the guy playing Tristan looks so dreamy! I mean, nothing against Mustang or Ed of coOURSE!"
The last part of the sentence came out as a squeal as she tripped over a tree branch in the middle of the sidewalk. Taylor could only stand there and laugh as she watched her friend struggle to regain her balance before falling flat on her butt.
"Serve's you right for not watching where you're going." she jibed.
Crystal sniffed as she stood up and dusted herself off. "I totally meant to do that."
"Sure you did. And I saw a pig fly over the house this morning."
Ducking as the taller girl swiped at her, Taylor hurried a few steps ahead of her friend.
"Get back here!" Crystal shouted as she attempted to go after Taylor, only to have the girl expertly lash out with her left leg and knock Crystal's feet out from underneath her. The taller girl landed back on the concrete with a loud 'thump', and Taylor grinned cheekily at her fallen friend.
"Walk much or just read about it?" she joked, her emerald eyes flashing with good humor. Crystal sighed and rolled her eyes in response, obviously not amused.
"Yeah yeah yeah, mock the person with the sore butt," she grumbled as she stood up, rubbing at her bruised backside ruefully. "You should use your powers for good instead of evil; like not knocking me over for example."
Taylor smirked in response. "You might want to try taking dance lessons then. Who knows; maybe you'll be able to walk without tripping over your feet."
"Says you, short stuff."
"I'd rather be short and graceful than tall and clumsy, Crys."
"Are you saying that I'm clumsy?!"
"Yes."
"I am not!!"
"Yes you are!"
Crystal stopped dead in her tracks and looked down at her friend before she gave the smaller girl an unholy smirk in response.
"Taylor, you're shorter than Ed."
Taylor groaned and rolled her eyes. "Crys, he's not real."
"So? You're still shorter than him."
The sound of classical music playing caught both of them by surprise. Reaching into her bag and digging around, Taylor finally pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open to answer it. "Hey Cal. We're on our way... Only a couple of blocks... No, I didn't..."
The teenager froze at her older sibling's next comment, moss-colored eyes narrowing dangerously. Suddenly rolling her eyes, Taylor said scathingly, "Oh, because I so do that on a regular basis! One time, bro, once!" Hanging up the phone before he could respond, she muttered, "Jerk."
Blinking in confusion, Crystal asked, "What was that about?"
"He asked me if I lost my arm again." Meaning her right arm, a prosthetic limb that she had gained after she had lost her arm in the car accident that had killed her parents two years before.
Promptly, the brunette burst into giggles. It was by now an infamous instance. During a dance recital two years ago, when Taylor was still adjusting to the hunk of plastic, one of the straps of her harness had broke and her arm went flying across the stage. Everyone but Taylor thought it was hilarious.
Sniffing in distaste, Taylor walked away in a huff. After managing to control her laughter, Crystal caught up. "Ah, come on Taylor. It is pretty funny in hindsight."
"Speak for yourself." she muttered sourly. "That wouldn't have happened if I had checked the straps before the recital. Hell, it wouldn't have happened at all if I didn't have this arm."
Crystal gave her friend a worried look as she walked besides her. It didn't happen often, but sometimes Taylor would get irritated with the fact that she no longer had her original right arm. Most of the time Cal was the reason behind her uncharacteristic brooding, but a few months ago a boy that Taylor had liked since 6th grade had told her that he didn't date cripples when she had asked him to go with her to the school dance.
Oddly enough, the next day the same boy was found blindfolded and stuffed in his hall locker with duct tape over his mouth and 'jackass' written on his forehead in neon pink highlighter. Even more strange was the fact that Crystal had been fifteen minutes late to her class after lunch, which was around the time that the boy had been 'escorted' into his locker. Strange...
Sighing and shaking off her depression for a moment, Taylor said, "There's my house. I'll call you later and we'll meet up for the movie, kay?"
Without waiting for a good-bye from Crystal, she hurried up the walkway and through the door. She didn't really feel like talking anymore.
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After taking Taylor home, Crystal went back to her house, yelled at her little brothers to get out of her room, and did homework until dinner. After dinner, she then engaged in what was known at her house as 'instant ten-year-old death' with her twin brothers... Let's just say that it consisted of duct tape and a lot of blankets. (Use your imaginations as to what she did with them.) It was well after eleven when the teenager was just about to get ready to go to bed before she glanced outside at the storm that was beginning to rage and caught sight of strange flashes of electric blue light shining thought the trees. A thoughtful frown crossed Crystal's face before she started to get dressed again and pack some stuff into her backpack.
Whatever it was going on out there, she was going to find out what was happening.
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That night, Taylor lay in bed, her pillow and her quilt over her head to try and block out the noise of the approaching thunderstorm outside. Even when the wind was hardly blowing, the elm tree just beside the house scratched her window. In storms like these, it was all the worse and sound like the tree branch was actually inside her room. "'Oh no, we can't cut it down.'" Taylor mocked in annoyance. "'That tree is older than us...' Cal, I am so killing you in the morning."
When the branch began to knock against the glass even louder, she growled and threw off the quilt and pillow to try and find her portable CD player; blocking the tree's noise with music seemed like the best option right now. However, she stopped when she actually looked out the window.
For several seconds Taylor stood there in her nightgown and stared out the window at the figure hanging perilously from a large branch protruding from the tree trunk, blinking stupidly in complete and total surprise.
"Ookaaaayyy... I think I'm just going to go back to bed and pretend I didn't see that," she muttered, only to be stopped as the person reached out and rapped sharply at the glass.
"Taylor, let me in!" a familiar voice whined over the noise of the storm. "I'm getting soaked!"
A visible twitch became present in Taylor's left eye as she strode over to her bedroom window and flung it open to admit a dripping wet Crystal. The teenager cast a jaundiced look at her best friend as the other girl stood in the middle of her dark bedroom dripping water onto the carpet.
"Crys, what on earth possessed you to come over in the middle of the night?" Taylor asked seriously, a frown making its way across her face.
Crystal gave her friend an impish grin as she stood up and wiped the rain off her face.
"There's something going on in the woods," she announced. "I saw this weird bluish light coming through the trees, but I'm not sure what it is."
Taylor groaned and rolled her eyes. "Crystal, you got me out of bed at almost midnight just because you saw a funny colored light? You have got to be kidding me."
"Why don't we go and check it out?"
"Wait, what?" Taylor stared at her friend like she had lost her mind. "Why would we even want to go out there? It's pouring, and Cal will kill me if he finds out that I snuck out without him knowing in the middle of the night."
"Then don't let him catch you. Remember, it's only illegal if you get caught."
Taylor shot Crystal a supremely dirty look as she sat down on her bed, her empty nightgown sleeve flapping slightly with her movements.
"You're not going to leave until I say yes, are you?"
"You got it."
"... I hate you."
"Just be dressed in five minutes."
Taylor gave an aggravated sigh as she went over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans, sweater, long-sleeved shirt, and socks out before she began to get dressed. "We are going to get in so much trouble for this," she pointed out as she buckled her harness over the camisole she wore under her shirt and strapped her arm on before jerking her shirt on over her head.
"We'll only be in trouble if we get caught," Crystal reminded before she gave
a nonchalant shrug. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"
"Hmm… let me think. We could get attacked by a rabid bear and have our bodies found horribly mauled by a search party sent out to find us."
"You are way too pessimistic sometimes."
"Only when you decide to act insane."
Crystal just sighed while Taylor pulled on a jean jacket before she grabbed her backpack from earlier and a flashlight. To cure her guilty conscious in case Cal unexpectedly came into her room to check on her, she quickly scribbled a note saying that she had gone over to Crystal's house and would call later, leaving it on her desk in plain view.
"Okay, c'mon, let's go do this and get it over with before I change my mind," the girl muttered. Crystal failed to repress a grin as she went back out into the elements for a second time and helped Taylor down the tree.
Without a word, the two girls flicked on their flashlights and entered the forest behind their houses.
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Twenty minutes later, and having found nothing, Taylor's mood had taken a turn for the worse. "Remind me why I listened to you again," she grumbled moodily as she swung the beam of light around, illuminating countless tree trunks and plants scattered about the forest floor.
Crystal just sighed and shook her head in response. "That's because you thrive on adventure and you'd be bored without me."
"Yeah right. If it weren't for you and your sense of 'adventure', I'd be at home and asleep by now."
It was just then that Taylor's flashlight fell onto the outer edge of a circle carved into the earth within a decent sized clearing. Both girls let out a startled gasp before they swept their flashlights around the clearing, illuminating a large circle carved deep into the dirt that took up the entire clearing with weird runes written inside of it.
"Holy cow," Crystal breathed in awe as she knelt down and examined the outside of the circle closely. "This looks almost like something out of Fullmetal Alchemist."
"Yeah, well I don't think that they did this in FMA," Taylor stammered nervously as she backed away from something. Crystal turned around to see what had unnerved her friend, and bit back a startled curse when she saw what looked like some sort of stone alter covered in dead animals standing at the very edge of the clearing.
"Is that...?" she muttered hesitantly and Taylor nodded empathetically in agreement.
"Some sort of Satan worship?" she suggested nervously, indicating at the heap of dead pets and other small animals. "I know Cal mentioned a few days ago about how a bunch of dogs and cats in the neighborhood have gone missing, but he thought it was probably a pack of coyotes running around. But this… this is just sickening. There is no way a bunch of coyotes did something like this."
Crystal, who was at a loss for words for once in her life, merely made a strangled sort of noise as she stared in utter horror at the corpses.
"I think we should go home now," she suggested. "Calling the police would probably be a good idea too."
Taylor nodded in agreement, and just as they were about to turn around and leave, a harsh laugh rang out from behind them.
"Well lookie here. Seems like I won't need another few dozen sacrifices if I have you two. This'll save me a great deal of time and effort."
Taylor whirled around to face the speaker, a grubby man in his early twenties with a nasty smirk etched across his face.
"You better not try anything! Our parents are right behind us!" she spat out defiantly. However, Taylor unfortunately wasn't the best liar in the world, and the man obviously knew it. He gave both of the girls a sickening smile as he stepped forward towards the alter and ran a hand lovingly down the jaw line of a dog that had obviously been dead for a long time. Both Crystal and Taylor took several steps backwards, their eyes widening in disgust as they tried to put as much distance between them and the man as possible without bolting. The young man let out another mocking laugh as he watched them in obvious interest.
"Oh really? Then why aren't they right here with you? I can assume that most loving parents would be here with their children if they were out walking in the woods at night," he stated, brown eyes shining with a mad light underneath dirty blonde bangs. "Unless that is of course their daughters snuck out for a little romp outside in the storm."
Taylor looked like she was about to throw up while Crystal's grip on her left arm tightened. Neither of them were able to think clearly as they stared at the man before them in horror.
"What do you want?" Taylor finally ground out, her expression defiant. The man smirked at them as he crossed both arms over his chest.
"Why what everyone wants of course," he declared proudly. "I want money, fame, women, and most of all… Power! All I need to do is have a potent enough sacrifice and I will receive all of that from the divine Irikuchi!"
Taylor and Crystal stared at the man for several seconds in complete and total disbelief before they even dared to respond.
"Ookaaaayyy... " Taylor muttered slowly as she glanced at Crystal out of the corner of her eye, indicating silently that when she gave the signal that they should make a run for it. "Well, as much as we would love to help in your summoning Ikirichi or whoever, we really need to get home. Bye!"
With that parting statement, both girls took off across the clearing like the hounds of hell were after them. The man waited until the two teens had reached the middle of the clearing, and consequently the center of the circle, before he knelt down by the outer edge.
"Power and fame will be mine!" he declared with a sick grin as he pressed his hands on the edge of the circle, and the clearing became filled with blue light.
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Umm… FYI, Irikuchi means Gate in Japanese. So yeah, senoir psychopath pterry much worships the Gate. What a nutball.
-.-;