A/N:Wow, the feedback for the previous chapter was incredible! Thank you guys so much!

Sincerely The Sign Painter suggested I do a FMA x Blue Exorcist crossover. Unfortunately, I haven't read enough of the series to do that competently. If I ever do, I'll definitely give it a shot. If anyone else has suggestions, leave 'em in the comments and i'll see what I can do :)

And now, onto the next installment of Adoptables! This is an FMA x crossover!

This one probably isn't up for adoption because, though I haven't finished it, I have plotted out and revealed the ending. If you'd like to adopt this story and want to change the ending, feel free to let me know.

This story features Armony, a character from the FMA games, specifically "Fullmetal Alchemist and The Broken Angel".

IMPORTANT; IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THIS GAME IT DOESN'T MATTER. NEITHER HAVE I. I've watched the youtube cutscenes though and I've explained her background in the story itself so don't worry about it if you've never heard of the game.

If you're interested, look up Armony's letter on youtube. You can find a dub of it. It's worth listening to (it's only 3 minutes)

Anyway, let me know your thoughts on this story and whether it was good or not.


Adoptables

Second Crossover; x Fullmetal Alchemist

Ed had been on this side of the gate for nearly a year. He groaned as it began to rain, cursing his luck and rubbing his metal shoulder port.

"Gah! Stupid rain!" He yelled at the sky, shaking a threatening fist. Despite his frustration at the weather, he was, nonetheless, utterly relieved to have finally made it; before him stood the large, imposing cliff face of the Black Order headquarters.

He huffed. He had been searching for a way to return home through the Gate ever since Truth had thrown him into his current predicament. He had spent a year traveling and hitch hiking around Europe. All over the continent he had been hearing of strange beings called Akuma. At first, he had written the tales off as strange rumours, that is, until he faced one in the flesh. He had acted fast and killed it off instantly using alchemy. It was relatively easy; no where near as hard as trying to kill a homunculus.

After asking around and following the threads of gossip, he had finally found people to point him in the right direction.

Thus, he stood at the base of a very tall cliff, wondering how to scale it. Climb? Use alchemy to raise a hill? Was there even enough dirt under him to raise a hill that high? He was still debating when a white haired young man approached him.

"Hi," the white haired boy said amicably, "Are you going to the Black Order?"

"Yup, just trying to figure out how to get there," Ed replied looking like he was having a staring contest with the rock wall.

"I guess there's no other way but to climb," the boy said.

Ed shrugged, he had been planning to do more exercise anyway, "Guess you're right,"

They began hesitantly, finding footholds and handholds in the crumbly stone. Their progress was slow but steady. Ed was surprised at the boy's stamina. Neither of them found the climb particularly strenuous, so they passed the time with conversation.

"I'm Ed, by the way," he began.

"I'm Allen Walker," the boy replied, looking for another handhold.


By the time the two had almost reached the peak, they had managed to swap many stories. At present, Allen was describing to Ed his anti-Akuma weapon. He then had a brilliant idea and invocated it to see if using a massive claw to climb a sheer rock face was a feasible plan. Needless to say, it was a bad idea. Allen gave a yelp as he restored his arm back to normal, clambering at the cliff face as he fell backwards through the air. Ed rolled his eyes at the foolish boy and clapped his hands, balancing precariously on two footholds. He pressed his palms into the rock and created himself a platform, as well as forming a stone hand to catch Allen.

After taking a two minute breather to get over the adrenaline rush of a near death experience, Allen looked around himself with surprise.

"Is this the 'Alchemy' you were telling me about?" he asked.

"Yup. Useful, isn't it?"

"It really is!" he said, but then his expression fell and he groaned up at Ed, "Do I have to climb all the way back up there? We were almost to the top!"

"What? You don't feel like climbing anymore?"

"No, no. I love climbing, there's nothing better in the world than lugging myself up a sheer cliff face and falling nearly a hundred feet, only to be caught by a nice plush stone fist," Allen shouted back sarcastically.

"Well, I have an idea then," Ed called down. He clapped again and the stone fist withdrew back into the cliff face and created a set of steps. Allen easily ran up the stair case to where Ed was standing.

"And you didn't do this before because…?" Allen asked staring up at the peak that wasn't too far now.

Ed shrugged, "Thought you needed the exercise," he grinned.

Allen laughed with him and they climbed the rest of the cliff face. Ed told Allen more about his alchemy and how it was his 'Innocence'. Allen was intrigued and asked a couple more questions on the topic, but the answers he got were very confusing, so he stopped. As they reached the top, Ed asked about Allen's eye, noticing the scar.

"It's a curse I got from my guardian, Mana," Allen explained a summarised version of the story to Ed. Ed nodded, realising that what Allen had done was not much different to what he and Al had done.

"I understand where you're coming from," Ed said patting Allen's back, but not looking him in the eye. Allen, not knowing Ed's past, doubted that, but accepted the gesture all the same. Two hours worth of climbing and conversation had made them fast friends.

"So…this is it, huh?" Ed said, more to himself than Allen. He stared at the tall dark building that stood before them. It was an imposing structure to say the least.

"Yeah…"

"How do we get in?"

Allen shrugged and turned to Timcampy, who was floating next to him. Allen was about to suggest an idea, but was cut off by Ed's booming voice. Allen had learnt, in the bonding/torturous climbing session, that Ed had a short fuse and limited patience.

"Oiiii!" Ed bellowed, "Open up! We're here to be part of your cult thing!"

Allen face palmed before berating Ed for his bad manners.

Just like Al, Ed thought sadly to himself.

"Go away, outsiders are not welcome!" a voice answered them, loudly. Both boys jumped in surprise and noticed a megaphone on a large pole to their left.

"I'm sorry, I think what my friend was trying to say is that we are exorcists. I was told to come here by my master, General Marian Cross," Allen explained frantically, trying to fix Ed's screw up.

"Oh. Well. That's different. The Gate-Keeper will examine you, then you can come up," the voice fizzled out as the connection was cut.

Ed and Allen turned to face the Gate-Keeper.

"X-ray examination! Determining whether or not subjects are human…" It shouted, examining/freaking out Allen first. It paused for a brief moment, then shouted with vigour, "He's outta here! He's an Akuma in disguise! He's in league with the Earl! The other one's out too, by association!"

Edward raised an eyebrow at Allen.

"Hey!" Allen shouted back angrily at the gate, "We're not friends of the Earl!"

Allen would have continued his protests, had a black haired samurai not appeared behind them, pointing his sword menacingly at his head.

"Tch, stupid Akuma. Walking right up to the Order all alone," the teen said with disgust.

"We're not freaking Akuma, you dumbass!" Ed growled at him, taking a defensive stance.

"Wait, can't we talk this out?" Allen asked, hands held up in surrender at the boy whose sword hovered inches away from his nose.

"No," Said the samurai as he began his attack on Allen. He lunged forward with a slicing motion. Allen activated his arm and defended himself. He was confident that if he could catch a bullet, a sword wouldn't be too much of a problem.

To his surprise, the blade carved a long, jagged gash across Allen's plated arm. Allen cringed in pain. Ed narrowed his eyes slightly. He jumped between Allen and his attacker.

"Look, I admit I'm an Akuma, but I come in peace," He said.

Allen shot Ed a look the Asian man snorted, "Like I believe you'd come in peace,"

"Watch, I'm putting my hands up. Nothing in them," he said clapping his hands to emphasise the point, "I'm putting my hands on the ground now," Ed said, bending down. The tall dark haired samurai watched him, keeping his eyes also on Allen.

Ed placed his palms on the floor and suddenly, the samurai was encased in a rock tomb. It engulfed his entire body, but left his head free.

Shock and anger warped the dark haired man's face. He struggled to free himself, but couldn't move his arms, let alone his sword. He concentrated and channeled his energy for a moment, Ed watching with interest. Allen, however, was busy trying to make peace with the Order.

"We're seriously exorcists!" he shouted toward the megaphone on a pole, "General Cross should have sent a letter or something about my arrival!"

After a prolonged silence, the Asian man broke free of his encasing and began swiping at Ed. A new voice called out,

"Kanda, stop! We've found the letter!" the boy refused to spare even a glance toward the megaphone, instead choosing to continue his attack on Ed.

"Tch, fine the white haired one is an exorcist, but that one admitted to being an Akuma!" He growled with another swipe.

Ed jumped back in a crouch. He had trouble dodging Kanda's sword, flipping away and ducking at the last second, until a Chinese girl with a clipboard floated down.

"Kanda, we told you to stop!" She said.

"I did stop…attacking the white haired one," he grumbled, concentrating his efforts on slicing Edward in half.

"Stop attacking the other one as well, he's been confirmed by another exorcist!" She said in exasperation.

Edward perked up slightly, "Really?" he asked, still in a defensive crouch.

"Hey, Ed, I thought you said that you didn't know anyone here?" Allen asked quietly, un-invoking his Innocence and rubbing his arm with nervousness.

"I don't," Ed whispered back, trying to remember if he had made any contacts. Trying and failing.

"My name is Lenalee Lee. Please allow me to escort you inside," The Chinese girl said with a smile. She seemed friendly enough, though the sword swinging grouch looked nonplussed.

Allen tried to strike up a conversation with him, but the man, Kanda, just sneered and insulted him. Edward looked around the hall, memorising as much detail as he could. They were given a tour around and were finally led to another Asian-looking individual.

"Hello, Allen Walker, Edward Elric," He said, "I am Komui Lee, the Scientific Group Supervisor,"

"Hi," Allen said smiling. Edward nodded briefly at the man before turning to away to examine their .

"Allen, I heard that your weapon was damaged. Allow me to fix it," He said smiling gleefully.

"Sure…"Allen said uncertainly. He waved goodbye to Ed and followed Komui to another room.

"Hey, ummm, Lenalee was it?" Ed asked once the two had left.

"Yes Elric san?"

"Just call me Ed. I was wondering who confirmed me."

"Oh…" She said looking around, "She's around here somewhere. I'll get her for you in a moment. We'll visit Hevlaska first,"

"Umm, who?"

Lenalee smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, you'll meet her soon enough," She said as she lead Ed into another room and began informing him of all the aspects of living in the Order, rules, regulations, missions, etc.


After what seemed like hours of boredom for Ed and many painful sounding shrieks from Allen, they were ready to visit Hevlaska. The two stood side by side on a platform that was being viewed by the silhouettes of pompous looking people, whom Ed guessed were high ranking officers.

"You're going to show these people your potential," Komui said dramatically as many white hands grabbed at them from behind.

Allen struggled, not sure what to make of it, but Ed had gone pale. It was the same sensation as being taken by the gate.

"No!" He shouted vehemently. His pupils dilated and a crazed, almost manic desperation rang through his voice "Not again!" He fought off the hands, using alchemy to create his customary blade. He sliced through the ones that were holding him, dodging the other hands that were trying to grasp at him.

Komui, Lenalee and the other Generals were startled by the spectacle.

"Edward!" Komui called, "Stop! She won't harm you!" Ed ignored him, adrenaline, fear and a sense of déjà-vu clouding his thoughts and pushing him to fight. He wouldn't lose to the Gate again; nor would he lose anyone else. He lunged towards Allen and cut the arms that held him too.

Allen dropped to the ground in confusion. While Edward was a good friend, he was inclined to believe that the being, Hevlaska, meant no harm. He tried to talk some sense into Ed, but he wasn't listening to anyone, until a piercing voice shouted to him,

"Ed," a soft voice rang through the hollow room. It made Edward stop dead in his tracks. The voice continued, "Don't worry, it's not the Gate!"

Ed turned slowly toward the voice. Allen looked, too. It belonged to a young looking girl, probably around their age. She had bright red hair that was medium length, just touching her shoulders. She wore the same black and white uniform that Lenalee wore. What was startling about her were, though, were the pure white wings that sprouted from her back. She looked like an angel, floating in the black nothingness that surrounded them.

"A-Armony?" Ed whispered disbelievingly. She smiled at him, "let Hevlaska examine you," she said softly.

Ed was too shocked to say anything, consenting to let Hevlaska's hands and arms to wind around him, checking his Innocence.

She commented on Allen first, saying that his synchro rate was 83% and prophesising that his Innocence would become the "Destroyer of Time".

Next, she examined Ed. "Your Innocence is very strange," She said, "It is much like the Exorcist with the wings," she gestured towards Armony. "It is combined with something…powerful. It is unlike other Innocence in that it is like a parasitic type as it does not require a weapon or a material object to contain it, yet it does not affect your body." She mused about this quietly for few minutes. As she set him on the ground, she prophesised to him softly, "The key to your home lies in your past. In crimson blood and past-shed tears,"

She placed both of the boys on the ground. Once their feet were touching the solid surface, they both pivoted and attempted to punch Komui, who blocked them both with a stack of papers and a clipboard.

He apologised and proceeded to explain to them what Innocence was.

"…the cube shaped substance that we called Innocence. Also known as God's Crystal…"

"And the original Philosophers' Stones," Armony interrupted, making eye contact with Ed. She shook her head slightly at him, indicating that she would explain later.

"Yes, that too, Armony. How do you two know each other anyway?" Komui asked, "Didn't you tell the order that you were abandoned?"

"Yes, I was. Edward and I came across each other at a train station a long time ago. I begged him to teach me some…science, since he's a certified genius. A lot happened, though, and we had to part ways. But that's how Ed became my small but mighty master." She winked at him, "But, he's not so small anymore," she noted. It was true; Ed was taller now. He had grown since entering this world. He hoped that it was a sign that he no longer had to share his energy with Al's body, meaning that Al had regained it. He refused to think of the other meaning.

After a long winded speech by Komui, detailing the rest of the story about Noah, the flood and Innocence, he held his hand out towards both Ed and Allen.

"You won't make a buck, but will you help our cause?"

"Of course," both Allen and Ed grinned and shook hands with Komui.


"So how did you get here?" Ed asked Armony after she showed him to his room.

"After I was used as a sacrifice," Ed shuddered, thinking back. Ed had indeed run into Armony at a train station. Eventually, she begged him to teach her Alchemy though her father had forbid her to study it. He and Al had mentored her anyway and the three of them became close friends. After many mishaps, they discovered that Armony's father had made Armony into the Philosophers' Stone Catalyst. She was then used as a sacrifice by an Alchemist named Camila. Armony died in her father's arms.

"I reconciled with my father and he died with me," Armony explained, "My soul was taken to the gate. I thought that I had died and that was the end. The gate however sensed the Philosophers' Stone Catalyst within me and said that it was enough for a second shot at life on this side of the gate. My father's soul encouraged me to take the offer and I was thrown into this world.

"I discovered that the catalyst within me fused with a piece of Innocence that I had found purely by chance. I was then offered a place here in the Black Order and have been living here for a year." She smiled at him.

"Can you still do Alchemy?" Ed asked.

Armony nodded her head enthusiastically, "I can, but I need a circle."

"But no one else can?"

"No one else knows about Alchemy,"

As Ed mulled this over, Lenalee and Allen appeared at the door.

"It's time for dinner," she said.

"Yeah, hurry up! I'm starving!"

The two girls showed the new recruits to the kitchen, where Allen's appetite shocked them thoroughly. While he stood in line to order and wait for his mountain of food, Ed looked for an empty seat. He was about to join Armony and Lenalee he when noticed a scuffle to the side and watched the exchange between Kanda and a Finder.

"We Finders support you, Exorcists!" A man in a white coat shouted throwing a punch at Kanda.

Kanda scoffed at him, "That's because supporting is all you can do" he grabbed the Finder by the neck and squeezed, "…your insignificant life means nothing,"

Edward dropped his tray and marched over to the two. He grabbed Kanda's wrist with his automail hand. There was an audible crunch as Ed crushed bone. Kanda dropped the Finder. Everyone in the vicinity winced at the cracking noise.

Edward locked eyes with Kanda and snarled; "No life, your irritable shit, is insignificant,"

"You're just begging for me to lob your head off, aren't you?" Kanda growled back, ignoring the horrible throbbing in his wrist.

"Stop, you two!" Allen said, trying to pry Ed's hand off Kanda's wrist. He was still trying in vain when Armony placed her hand on Ed's shoulder, "Ed, let go," she said, her quiet plead ringing in the silence of the cafeteria.

Ed released his grip and stalked off in the opposite direction, just as a voice called to them, cutting through the tense atmosphere "Hey, Kanda, Allen, Ed, Lenalee and Armony, Komui wants to see you in ten minutes!"

Kanda picked up his tray and dropped it on Jerry's counter and walked out of the cafeteria. The multitude in the hall burst into eager whispers and sidelong glances at Ed. Allen walked towards the table Ed and Armony were currently at and placed his mountain of food down.

In between mouthfuls, Allen asked, "Hey, Ed, how strong are you? I mean you snapped Kanda's wrist like a twig,"

"That's just because it was my right hand,"

"What's different about your right hand?" Armony looked to Ed and he smiled reassuringly. He removed his white glove and showed Allen his metallic hand.

"Wha…?" Allen wondered. People were surreptitiously attempting to catch glimpses of Ed's hand.

"I made a mistake. I have, hopefully, corrected it," Ed said determinedly. He wondered how Al was going, had Ed succeeded? Was Al even alive? Armony shared a tentative smile with him, trying to cheer him up.

"What do you…"

"Long story, don't want to talk about it," Ed muttered, getting up. Allen had, too, finished and they were both escorted by Armony and Lenalee to the tailor for fittings.


Allen and Armony arrived, about forty minutes later, at Komui's office.

"What took you guys so long?" Komui asked. Kanda was sitting in a chair, meditating, or possibly sleeping, his wrist having healed extraordinarily fast. A red haired boy with an eyepatch who was introduced to them as Lavi was grinning happily and sorting through a few papers.

"We had some problems…" Allen groaned, remembering the ordeal.

"Problems…? The uniform looks great on you, by the way, Allen," Allen adjusted the sleeves of his brand new jacket and grinned,

"Thanks," he said.

"Now we're just waiting on…" Komui was interrupted as Ed flung the office door open, nearly knocking it off of its hinges. He was followed by a slightly annoyed Lenalee, who was tapping an irritated pen against her clipboard.

"Where's your uniform, Ed?" Komui asked, noting Ed's normal attire; the red traveling cloak and black jacket, shirt and pants.

"I don't wear uniforms," Ed grumbled.

"It's regulation. You have too." Komui said.

Ed shot a glare towards Armony, who had just spent nearly half an hour trying to drill the same thing into Ed's thick skull. Unfortunately, it takes something considerably larger than a drill to crack Ed's stubbornness.

"I never wear uniforms, and I was in the God-damned mili…" Ed cut himself off, "Never mind," he grumbled, "I don't wear uniforms; that's that." Lavi raised an eyebrow, listening keenly to what was going on around him, as a good Bookman apprentice ought to.

Attempting to avoid an argument, Komui decided to compromise, "Fine. Will you at least wear the Rose Cross Badge?"

"I don't believe in God," Ed snorted.

"You wear that snake-cross thing on your back, though," Lavi pointed out.

"That's different; it's not religious. Who are you?"

"I'm Lavi, Bookman in training,"

Ed nodded, "I'm Edward Elric,"

"Well, then, wear the Rose Cross as a sign of our Organisation, not as a religious mark," Armony reasoned. Eventually, Ed sighed in defeat.

"Fine," Ed groaned, pinning the badge that Komui passed him onto his red traveling cloak, "So what's this mission anyway?" He asked as he fiddled with the clasp.

Komui cleared his throat and pointed to a map, "These marks here are recent Akuma attacks. They're colour-coded, white means only one or two, blue means three to five, red means five to ten and black means more than ten," The teens looked at the map and nodded.

"There are finders here and here. We need two teams of exorcists at these places to get rid of the Akuma, of which there are a lot. Ed, Kanda, Allen you're going here," he pointed to a rather large city "I don't wanna go with him" Both Ed and Allen pointed at Kanda who was sitting in his chair, pretending that this was all just one of Komui's not funny jokes.

"Too bad." Komui shrugged, not really caring about their intragroup hatred, "Lenalee, Armony and Lavi are headed here," Komui pointed to a random country town in the whoop whoops.

"Now, off you go!" He pointed to the door.

Ed muttered a string of curses, followed by Allen, who was not happy, but keeping a cooler head than Ed. They went to pack their belongings ready for an early departure the next morning.


The six exorcists sat comfortably on their train. They would ride on the same rail for three hours, then Ed, Allen and Kanda would depart, leaving Lavi, Lenalee and Armony to continue on a different line for another hour. To kill time, Allen brought out a pack of cards.

"So who wants to play?" Allen asked, shuffling the deck.

"I'm up for it!" Lavi said, accepting a hand. Lenalee declined politely, Kanda snorted derisively and Armony agreed hesitantly.

"Uhh…sure, what are we playing?" She asked looking over her hand.

"We'll play normal poker. I don't have any chips though." Allen decided that with a girl playing strip poker would be highly inappropriate, "Ed, can you make some?" Ed shrugged, clapped his hands and placed them on the wooden floor. He drew dye out from the carpet to create chips of various sizes and colours. He gave a handful to each of them.

"Are you playing?" Allen asked him.

"Sure, I guess." Allen handed him his cards and explained the rules to Armony. Ed looked over his cards and frowned.

"Place your bets." Ed wagered a small green chip. They made a system where green was the least, then blue, then red.

They all laid down their hands, Allen holding a Straight Flush, grinning wildly.

"How'd you manage that?" Lavi asked skeptically.

"He's obviously cheating," Ed grinned, reminiscing back to his military days. Mustang, Havoc, Breda and Fury always had some running bet or card game that they would drag an unwilling Ed into. Fury always lost, Havoc and Breda always cheated and Mustang usually ended up setting the cards on fire when he lost, erasing all evidence.

"Goddam Mustang…" Ed muttered under his breath, remembering the many burnt fingers and singed gloves as Mustang set alight the cards that they were still holding!

As the rounds progressed, Armony dropped out, losing all of her chips and Allen explained his traumatic past with General Cross. By the tenth round, Ed was losing, with only four chips left.

"I'm betting it all on this hand," Ed said, pushing his chips into the middle.

"That confident, huh? Well I'll see your bet and raise you two more chips!" Lavi grinned, confidently. Allen did the same, they both looked at Ed expectantly.

"I don't have anymore chips!"

"Then I guess you're out," Ed clapped his hands and produced another stack of chips. He placed two in the middle.

"Happy?"

"That can't be fair." Lavi whined.

Lavi showed his hand; a Full House, Allen and Ed laid their hands down, showing Royal Flushes, but Ed's was of spades.

"Looks like my win," Ed grinned, gathering the chips and adding them to his newly created stack.

Three rounds later and Ed was sitting, with a satisfied grin, on a tower of chips.

Allen eyed him suspiciously and asked, "Why do I have two queens of spades?" he showed them to Ed.

"Why do I have five aces?" Lavi frowned, accusingly at Ed.

"Uhhh…"

"You cheated with Alchemy?" Armony laughed.

"I don't see how it's any different to him cheating!" Ed pointed an accusing finger at Allen.

"You've ruined my deck!"

"Be thankful I didn't set them on fire!"

"You might as well have! I can't use them anymore!"

"Quit your griping, I'll fix them," Ed looked over the deck and changed each individual card back to normal.

"Why do you have to look at all of the cards? Why didn't you just clap your hands and fix the whole deck at once?"

"I'd have to redo all of the cards, since I don't know which ones were missing. Same reason why I can't just fix a book with paper and ink. I'd need to have read the book,"

Allen looked confused, "It's like trying to draw a picture of something you've never seen," Ed explained.

Allen nodded. Allen and Lavi continued playing cards and Ed pulled out a book. They had another hour to kill before arriving at Ed, Allen and Kanda's stop.


"So, where are we going?" Ed asked Allen, who was holding the map.

"Well, there have been a few Akuma sightings here and here, apparently." He jabbed his finger at various points on the map.

"Let's find the hotel first, beansprouts,"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE COULDN'T BE SEEN EVEN THROUGH A MICROSCOPE?" Ed yelled. People stopped to stare at the three oddly dressed strangers, two wearing long black coats and the other wearing a red travelling cloak and screaming bloody murder.

"Tch, looks like the taller beansprout has a temper,"

Ed wasn't sure how to react; he was called both tall and short in one statement. He decided to let it slide and observe the people around him.

He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, until a little girl bumped into him. He stumbled backwards and caught the girl, making sure she didn't fall. Her long hazel braids whipped around her as she steadied herself.

Ed paled, cold sweat forming on the back of his neck. He whispered, "Nina?" The little girl looked up at him.

"Oopsie! Sorry big brother!" she skipped off down the road, into the huge throng that enveloped the market area. Ed watched her go disbelievingly.

"Ed? Ed? You okay?" Allen asked.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Fine, let's just go," Ed turned around and headed for their hotel.


They sat in Allen's room two days later. They found nothing. They were discussing how to draw out the Akuma when the door opened. Kanda, who sat in the corner with his eyes closed, sipping at the green tea he had ordered from room service, cracked an eyelid.

"Sup, guys?" Lavi said, making himself comfortable on the bed. Lenalee and Armony walked in after him.

"What are you guys doing here?" Allen asked.

"Nii san said that you guys hadn't finished your mission and since this city is on our way back we'd thought we'd come and help." Lenalee said, taking a seat behind a desk.

"So how's it going?" Armony asked, sitting on the floor next to Ed.

"Pretty shit. Nothing's happening! I'm soooo bored! How was your mission?"

"Pretty good. The townsfolk were quite helpful and we found a piece of Innocence! We had to take out a few Akuma to get it, but it was pretty easy," Armony showed Ed the cube. He examined it. It was pearlescent white and hard as diamond. He tossed it up and down and tried doing some alchemy with it. It didn't respond. Armony tried too, drawing a circle and attempting to make paper out of nothing, but it failed. Lavi watched curiously, but wasn't really able to make heads or tails of what they were doing. After a while, Ed and Armony gave up.

"Hey, Allen, toss me the missions briefing," Allen passed the folder to Ed. He read it through. It was sloppy, contained relatively useless information and it wasn't in any particular order. Ed had a new found appreciation for Mustang's military precision and coherent structuring.

He gave the briefing a cursory glance, then something caught his eye. He read it through carefully, Shou Tucker, Science Department: Stationed in the city. Shou Tucker was originally a Finder, but transferred into the science division. He, along with other Finders, reported the increase in Akuma activity in the area, He is credited for his work on Akuma, most notably taming one, which after muttering the words "I want to die" committed suicide…there was a great spike in activity four years ago. If the exorcists are having problems or are in need of any assistance, Shou Tucker's address:…

"Oh, shit!" Ed shouted, leaping up from his seat. Allen, who was doing one armed push ups on a chair while keeping his body completely vertical, slipped and fell on his face. Armony squealed with surprise and spilled ink all over her mission report to Komui, Lenalee jumped about a foot in the air and Lavi fell out of his seat, where he had been previously sleeping. Kanda spilt his hot tea on his leg. He pulled out Mugen and waved it threateningly in Ed's face.

"This better be important," Kanda snarled as Allen rubbed his neck and picked himself off of the floor. Armony was pretty pissed, having nearly finished the report and Lavi laughed, happy that, finally, he wasn't the only one being threatened with Mugen.

"We need to get to Shou Tucker's house right now!"

"Shou Tucker? The scientist?" Lenalee asked.

"The one who did all that research on Akuma and won the yearly research grant?" Lavi asked.

They looked to Ed for an explanation, but he was already running out of the room. The five exorcists followed Ed out and through the city. They came to a halt outside a grand house on the outskirts of the city. Ed was about to bust down the door, when Allen and Lavi grabbed a hold of him.

"Ed, what's wrong with you?"

"Calm down and tell us what's going on!"

Lenalee rang the doorbell, but no one was responding, "I guess he's not home,"

"Let go of me! We need to get in there before it's too late!"

"Too late for what?" Allen and Lavi struggled to control him.

"Let Ed go; he's usually got good instincts when it comes to this kind of stuff," Armony said, attempting to pry Lavi off of him.

Ed shrugged both of them off and broke down the front door. The house was a lot like Tucker's Amestrian house, so Ed navigated easily through the library and into the back room. The six exorcists noticed the Shou, standing over a small girl, who was lying, unconscious, on the floor.

"Oh, exorcists," Shou said, noting their uniform, "I'm sorry, I mustn't have heard the door bell,"

"Give it up, Tucker; I won't let you hurt Nina again!" Ed shouted, his eyes full of anger and accusation.

"What are you talking about, Mr Exorcist?"

"Four years ago, the 'tamed Akuma' was your wife, wasn't it?" Ed yelled, "You made a deal with the Earl to turn your wife into an Akuma so that you could get a research grant from the Order!"

Tucker adjusted his glasses, "I don't know what you're talking about,"

"Admit it, you bastard! Now you're trying to do it again with Nina! Your file says that your accreditation is coming up!"

"You may be right, but I guess no one will ever know," Tucker said, a maniacal gin enveloping his face. Behind him, the Millennium Earl emerged from the shadows.

"Why, if it isn't a bunch of exorcists!" he said, floating on his umbrella, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am the Millennium Earl," He gave a mock bow and with a sweeping gesture of his arms he indicated to the back wall of Tucker's house. Allen's cursed eye began to whirl. He clasped a hand over it and tried to shout a warning, which was drowned out by an explosion. The back wall was blown apart, "And this is my army of Akuma,"

A huge multitude of Akuma floated outside the house, "Shou Tucker here has done something quite unique; he has willing given me loved ones to turn into Akuma. He is a mole in the Black Order. It is in my interest to keep him alive. Therefore, exorcists, you must die!"

The exorcists all invocated their Innocence. Lenalee jumped up, creating a huge tornado to blow back the Akuma in order for them to escape from the small room. The exorcists jumped out of the room, Ed grabbing the unconscious Nina.

"Drop her off somewhere safe!" He yelled to Armony through the commotion. Armony nodded and picked up both Ed and Nina. She beat down with her large white wings lifted the three of them up easily. Ed shouted and flailed around wildly. As they got higher, Armony began to notice his shrieks of protest, "What was that, Ed?"

"I said, 'WHAT THE HELL?!'"

"What? STOP STRUGGLING! It's getting annoying!"

"Then put me down! I need to help them!"

"I thought you wanted me to take Nina somewhere safe?"

"Yeah! Nina! Not me!"

"Urgh, I couldn't hear you! It's too late now anyway, just hang on,"

"Hang on?" he shouted gesturing to the fact that Armony was clutching his automail arm in one hand, leaving him pretty much dangling in the air, and cradling Nina in the other, "How the hell are you carrying both of us so easily anyway?"

"My Innocence fortifies my bones and allows me to do super human things," Armony said simply.


Allen used his massive claw to cut through the Akuma, tearing into them while praying for their happiness in the afterlife. As he fought, his anti-Akuma weapon began to evolve. He was able to change its shape and turn it into a cannon, which he used to fire a green missile at an Akuma that was attempting to sneak up behind Lenalee.

Lenalee noticed the explosion to her left and locked eyes with Allen. She noticed his cannon-arm and shot him a quick smile before launching a round house kick into an Akuma's head, causing it to detonate. She used the shockwave of the explosion to launch herself at two more Akuma, landing on one and pushing off of it, sending it hurtling into the ground and killing it. She used her speed shackles to quickly appear behind the other Akuma and launched a twister at it. The Akuma, a level two, dodged it and flew right into one of Lavi's seals.

"Seal of Fire!" Lavi shouted. A glowing red talisman appeared. He struck it with his giant hammer and a fire serpent leapt out, engulfing three Akuma, including a level two that was giving Lenalee problems. He directed the serpent into another two Akuma before it died out. He then used "Heaven's seal" to kill off various Akuma. He fell forward, however, when Kanda knocked into him, pushing him out of the way and parrying an Akuma's blow with his sword.

"Move it, Rabbit," he growled, slicing through the Akuma. He used his sheath to block another blow and simultaneously cut down a large level one. He side stepped a large bullet while striking out with Mugen. He ran his blade through an Akuma, positioning himself in the middle of a ring of Akuma. He released the first illusion, hell's insects, but didn't stay to watch them devour the Akuma, opting instead to attack another group. He invocated the second illusion, his double blades cutting down Akuma swiftly and efficiently.


Floating above the battlefield was a little girl, standing on an umbrella next to the Millennium Earl.

"Well, Road, what do you think?" the Earl asked, grinning wildly at the bloodshed.

"I like that kid with the white hair, he's cute. That girl is pretty too," she licked at a lollipop and pointed to Lenalee, who was dancing circles around the Akuma, "I think she'd make a nice doll. With curled hair and a pretty dress," Road said, smiling.

"And the others?"

"Mr Swordsman down there looks quite boring. I don't like him. The red haired pirate looks quite funny! I like his hammer!" Road sat on the umbrella.

"Ahhhh!" Road and the Earl looked up. They saw a red haired girl with large incandescent wings slap her forehead with her palm. The next thing they knew a teenage boy with blonde hair was barreling into them. He knocked Road off of the umbrella and they both hurtled to the earth. Ed, instincts kicking in, pulled the small girl into his arms and landed heavily on his automail leg. He grunted and rolled with the impact.

He gently set the girl down and shook his fist at Armony, "I'm going to kill you later!"

"Sorry, Ed! I told you to stop squirming!" Armony laughed as she joined the battle. They had dropped Nina in the hotel, Armony having activated her "swift winds" invocation. She dropped on an unsuspecting Akuma, furled her wings and did a back flip off of it, sending it falling onto another Akuma, both thrown off kilter. She then snapped out her wings and shot a flurry of feathers out, hitting the Akuma and destroying them.

Ed looked around, his head swimming. "Sorry, kid," he said and ran off to join the fight. Road watched him run off. She smiled. What a handsome boy! And how kind of him to attempt to save her, taking the brunt of the impact. She watched him curiously as he clapped his hands together. He looked like he was praying to god. He touched the ground lightly and she gasped as twenty Akuma were impaled with stone spikes. That took care of nearly all of the Akuma close to the ground and with the angel girl shooting out feathers that destroyed the Akuma upon touch she cleared the sky of their Akuma army. The addition of a mere two exorcists to the battle proved the fatal turning point for the Noah.

"Interesting. Those two exorcists are quite the dilemma. Come on, Road, we should go," Road tore her eyes off the cute blonde who was grinning at the other exorcists. They thanked him and remarked that his skills were impressive.

"But Earrrllllll I wanna watch a bit mooooorreee," she whined.

The Earl looked at her. He shrugged and left her to her own devices. Road quietly changed her form and watched the exorcists.


Ed concentrated on all the Akuma he could see. He clapped and pressed his hands into the ground and formed twenty meticulously crafted spikes, making sure that each rose at the precise spot where an Akuma was hovering. He caught all of them by surprise, killing them all easily. He made sure to avoid the three other exorcists on the ground, Allen, Kanda and Lavi. He grinned as they turned to find him dusting off his hands.

"It's about time you got back!" Lavi grinned, cradling a broken arm.

"Stupid mechanical freak, coming late," Kanda muttered, choosing the nickname based on the metallic arm he could see, Ed's glove having been ripped off when he fell. He limped over to wear the others were standing, his leg foot looked twisted in a weird way.

"Ed, I'm glad you're back," Allen waved Ed over. He was covered in various cuts and bruises, not having to worry about the poisoning of the Akuma blood like the others. He had quite a large gash across his back.

"Yeah, well we've got some unfinished business," Ed said, walking back to the house. Inside he found Tucker.

"You…where's my Nina? What did you do to her?" Shou pointed at him.

"Me? WHAT DID I DO TO HER? YOU'RE A SICK BASTARD IN EVERY WORLD!" Ed snarled, punching Tucker in the face.

"I need her back, I need the money! I need to continue my research!" Ed's rage grew with every word that came out of Tucker's mouth. He aimed another punch at Tucker's face.

"Ed, that's enough." Armony stepped forward and caught his fist, having to briefly invocate her Innocence to hold back Ed's hand.

"Why? Why does someone always stop me from killing this bastard? I hope there's a Scar equivalent of this world waiting for you," Ed snarled quietly. He turned briskly and headed back to the hotel.

Ed sat on the bed and found Nina where they had left her. Ed, Armony and Lenalee went to bed straight away, though Kanda, Lavi and Allen had to be treated at the local hospital for their injuries. The next day, the group ventured back to Shou's house, Lavi's arm in a sling, Kanda using crutches and Allen's torso wrapped and stiff. Ed went in first and found Tucker's body on the ground. It had been impaled through the head with some kind of pointy, conical object, judging by the puncture wound. He warned the squeamish to stay outside. They all came in anyway. Lenalee broke down into tears at the sight. She then thought about the fatherless Nina, "That poor little girl," She whispered.

"This is better than the alternative. We were lucky to get here in time," Ed said, shaking his head.

The other exorcists looked at him critically; Lavi decided to voice the unasked question, "How did you know all of it, Ed?"

"I got it wrong the first time. I learn from my mistakes," Ed said simply. He walked out of the house and down the street.

There were many concerned neighbours gathering around the house. They noticed the exorcists and asked them what had happened, many hoping that little Nina was okay. One particularly frantic woman ran up to them and demanded to know what happened, whether Nina was okay. The other exorcists motioned for her to step back, but Ed asked them to let her through.

"How do you know her?" he asked.

"I practically raised that child for four years! Ever since her mother divorced Shou. He became a recluse and barely took care of Nina!"

"Don't worry she's safe. Unfortunately, though, we were unable to save Mr Tucker from the Akuma,"

The woman looked tearful at the news. Ed gave her a reassuring smile, though, and said "I've got a proposition for you,"


Nina woke slowly. After a minute, her eyes adjusted to the room and she looked around, "Oh," she said quietly when she noticed Ed, "You're the big brother I ran into this morning!"

Ed smiled weakly, "Yeah,"

"Where's my daddy?"

Ed paused. He had been debating various different scenarios to tell Nina, but hadn't come up with a good one.

"Sweetie," Armony said gently, taking her small hand, "He was killed by Akuma,"

"What? No! Daddy…" Nina began weeping. Lenalee picked up the small girl and held her.

"I'm sorry, Nina," Ed said, moving towards the door, "Here, though, I got this for you in town," Ed opened the door to reveal a massive Labrador. It was a light shade of blonde, almost white and was wagging its tail frantically.

"His name is Alexander. He was a final gift from your dad. His last request was for us to buy you this dog specifically," Ed said. Nina, through her tear filled eyes, looked up at Ed, "Really? Daddy said that?" Ed nodded solemnly.

The dog bounded up to Nina and began to lick her. She giggled, "Thank you, big brother, and thank you daddy. I love you…" She whispered.

"Nina?" Nina looked up to see the woman from earlier that morning.

"Oh, Mrs Hughes!"

"Nina!" Gracia enveloped her in a hug, "I'm here to adopt you, Nina," Gracia said with a smile.

"How do you know you can trust her, Ed?" Lenalee asked as they oversaw the final bits of paperwork, "After all, she could be lying."

"Don't worry. She's got a daughter the about the same age as Nina. I'm sure they'll get along," Ed watched Gracia Hughes take Nina's small hand in her own and lead her back into town. Nina kept one hand on Alexander's golden fur and smiled gratefully up to the motherly woman and Ed felt overwhelmingly that something was right in the universe for once.


End of Story

And that's that. Just in case you were interested, this was the intended trajectory for the story;

I foreshadowed some intended Road interaction. I was hoping to incorporate her into the story a bit because I liked Road's character. Eventually, my plan was to have Armony be the "Heart". As I've explained, she is able to do Alchemy, but she shouldn't be able to (no one in the DGM world is able to do Alchemy, even if they learnt the principles behind it); Ed can because his Innocence is the ability to use Alchemy. But Armony's Innocence manifests as her wings. It was supposed to be this huge revelation sort of thing where they realise that Armony can use two sets of Innocence, but that could only be possible if she had the "Heart" otherwise known as the "Original Philosophers Stone", as I've alluded to.

The final scenes would have been some huge battle between the Noah and the Black Order. Armony dives in front of Ed at the last second to save his life, probably taking a bullet or something that was meant for him. With her dying breath she'd release the Philosopher's stone into Ed's hands and beg him to use it to cross the gate.

After a tearful death scene, Ed would summon the Gate and trade the philosopher's stone to go home, thus he would, in essence, 'destroy' it. With the "Heart" destroyed, the DGM world would be rid of Innocence and dark matter, the Noah would return to their human forms and the exorcists would no longer need to fight.

I thought it would wrap up the entire series pretty well.

Anyway, please leave your thoughts and comments below. Hope you enjoyed that.

If you've got any suggestions for future crossovers, let me know that too.

I love words of encouragement so feel free to leave some of those too!

:D Laughing on the Inside :D