"Look at him. He looks so depressed," Kain Fuery hissed to Heymans Breda and Vato Falman.
They were talking about Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc. He had not been quite himself for the past few days. A while ago, Havoc had discovered that his girlfriend had been cheating on him… with none other than Colonel Roy Mustang. He had fallen into such a state of depression that Mustang had ordered Fuery, Breda and Falman to find him a girlfriend. Major Alex Louis Armstrong had volunteered his sister for the job. Havoc had gone to meet Armstrong's sister, who turned out to be quite beautiful. Just when he was ready to fall in love again, Havoc was turned down by Armstrong's little sister… because she preferred the muscular type, like her older brother.
"We've got other things to worry about," replied Breda. "Where's the Colonel?"
"I'm here! Are you all ready to go?" Mustang joined the group. He had a look of disgust on his face. "I can't believe you're making me do this! Honestly! Are you grown men or not?"
"We are grown men… grown men who are afraid of the ghost that lives in Warehouse 13!" Breda, Fuery and Falman shuddered. Havoc looked quite out of it… a very vacant expression occupied his face, while his trademark cigarette drooped out of his mouth.
"My subordinates are idiots," growled Mustang.
"See you tomorrow!" First Lieutinant Riza Hawkeye waved at them, and the men waved back before they exited the building. They walked into the cool night. Mustang was still in a bad mood, but his subordinates (except for Havoc) were all quite cheerful.
"It feels so much safer with the Colonel protecting us," Fuery sighed in relief. His coworkers nodded in agreement.
"We're at the warehouses now. I will prove to you that there's no such thing as Warehouse 13!" proclaimed Mustang.
"There is! We saw it with our own eyes!" Fuery and Falman pointed at their eyes. "But this time, when the monsters come, you can just blow them to bits with your flame alchemy, right, Colonel?"
"If they don't come, I'll fry you," Mustang threatened. "Enough standing around. I have a date tonight, so hurry up and go home."
"This is so creepy!" Breda whispered as they walked down the rows on warehouses.
"One, two, three," Fuery counted the warehouses as they passed by each one.
"I'm telling you! It's not going to be there! Everyone knows there are only twelve warehouses!" Roy sounded pissed.
"Ten, eleven, twelve…" the group was at the end of the line.
"Nonexistent!" Roy pointed at the space warehouse 13 was supposed to be. "Thanks for wasting my time!"
"Then what do you call that?" sniveled Fuery. He pointed at a small wooden shack standing beside warehouse 12.
"That's a tiny little shed. That's probably where the gardener keeps his tools!" Roy sighed in disgust. "Now go home!"
A blast of wind suddenly blew at their torch. It cast a large, grotesque shadow on the wall, making Fuery, Breda and Falman jump up and shriek in fear.
"Cut it out! I'm leaving you! You can find your own way home!" Roy snapped. He stood with his hands of his hips, glaring at his subordinates.
"C-colonel…" Falman pointed at the shack. Roy turned around. The door of the shack was slowly starting to open. A boy with long black hair and black robes stepped out. He held a samurai sword in his hand.
"EEEEEAAAAAHHHH! That must be the swordsman ghost of warehouse 13! It's come to kill us!" Fuery, Falman and Breda shrieked, jumped into each other's arms and bounded away.
"It's a kid with a sword," Roy rolled his eyes. The boy stuck out his blade and held it to Roy's throat. "Okay, I stand corrected. A kid with a sword and some issues."
"The ghost is going to kill the Colonel!" screamed Roy's subordinates.
"Is it safe to come out, Yuu-chan?" someone called from inside the shed. A red-haired boy carrying a hammer exited from the shack.
"The swordsman ghost's friend has come to bludgeon us!" The three men were quite a sight. Tears were streaming down their cheeks as they hugged and screeched like schoolgirls
"Dammit Lavi! I told you not to call me that!" The ghost named Yuu-chan pointed his sword at Lavi.
"Look! They are turning on each other! We're saved!" Roy's subordinates yelped in glee.
"Shut up! Are you men or little schoolgirls!" Roy barked.
"Both of you! Stop fighting!" the third member of the 'ghosts of Warehouse 13' stepped out of the shack. The cigarette dropped out of Jean Havoc's mouth when he saw her face. She was a girl with long, silky black hair tied into pigtails. She was wearing a uniform similar to her companions', but more feminine. A trickle of blood dribbled out of Jean's left nostril.
"I'm sorry about my idiot teammates," the girl apologized to Roy. She pointed to the white cross that decorated her black uniform. "We're with the Dark Religious Organization. I'm Lenalee Li."
Roy reached for her hand to shake it. Jean decided then and there that he had to have Lenalee. He would not let Roy Mustang steal another girlfriend! He had to make his move before his womanizing superior did! It was now or never! Jean dashed between Lenalee and Roy. Crouching down on one knee, he took her hand into his. He looked deep into her dark eyes.
"Lenalee Li," said Jean in as charming of a voice as he could muster. "Will you marry me?"
Everyone gasped in shock. Somewhere in Central Europe, chills ran down Komui Li's spine, and the hairs on the back of his neck pricked up.
"Um… that's very flattering," Lenalee sweatdropped. "But I don't even know your name."
"Jean! Jean Havoc!" Havoc produced a red rose out of nowhere and tucked it into her hair. "I am your knight in shining armor!"
"Or a Second Lieutinant in dirty military wear," Roy rolled his eyes. He pushed Havoc aside. "I am Colonel Roy Mustang. You can call me the Flame Alchemist!"
"I'm Allen Walker," a boy with white hair and a pentagram seemingly tattooed under his right eye exited the shack. "Lenalee already introduced herself. The exorcist with the hammer is Lavi, and the one with the sword is Kanda."
"You don't look like you're from around these parts," Roy told Lenalee and Kanda.
"Like Lenalee said, we're with the Dark Religious Organization. We're here on a mission," explained Lavi.
"Dark Religious what?" Roy frowned. "Never heard of it."
Allen, Lavi, Lenalee and even Kanda all gaped at him in shock.
"The Dark Religious Organization? Exorcists? We're fighting against the akuma? Trying to defeat the Earl?" Allen tried to explain.
Roy wrinkled his forehead in deep thought. "Doesn't ring a bell. You're going to have to come with me to Headquarters."
"Wait… what country are we in?" asked Lenalee.
"Amestris. You're in Central," replied Roy.
"Ame-stris…" Lenalee sounded out. "I've never heard of it before. Are we still in Europe?"
"What's Europe?" Roy frowned. "Come on. Let's go to Headquarters. We can talk some more there." Roy motioned for them to follow him, and stepped forward. He felt something large under his boot, and stopped to pick it up. It was a sparkly, translucent ornament in the shape of a cross. It gave a delicate glow that allowed the exorcists to identify it immediately.
"An Innocence!" gasped Lavi.
"Is this yours?" asked Roy.
"Well, not really, you see, an Innocence is-" Allen started to explain.
"Yes. I'll take it," Kanda cut him off. He extended his hand, and Roy dropped it into his palm. The footsteps of someone running sounded down the alley. A blonde woman approached them, carrying a file in her arms.
"Colonel! Colonel! You forgot the work you said you'd finish at home!" the woman called to Roy.
"Yes… forgot… thank you, Riza," Roy sighed, taking the file from her.
"Who's this?" Riza stared at the exorcists.
"They say they're not from Amestris. I was just taking them back to HQ to question them," explained Roy. "This is my right-hand woman, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye."
"Pleased to meet you," Allen and Riza shook hands and he introduced his friends.
"You look a little bit like a kid I know," Riza peered at him. When she went to shake hands with Kanda, the Innocence in his hand started to glow brighter. It freed itself from Kanda's fingers, and hovered excitedly around Riza's head.
"What's going on?" asked Roy.
"What's happening to the Innocence?" questioned Allen.
Riza instinctively pulled out her gun and pointed it at the glowing cross. It twirled around her head a few more times, then shot into her gun. The gun blazed brilliantly white, then both the glow from it and the Innocence faded. When Riza examined her precious firearm, there was a white cross embedded onto the barrel of her gun.
"What just happened?" demanded Roy.
"I think we've found both the Innocence…" Lavi slowly deducted . "And its owner."