D3ath: WOO HOO! THREE STORY POSTS IN ONE WEEK!! THIS IS A NEW RECORD!!
Ed: (gaping) I can't believe it…
D3ath: (Goes off to dance in some corner).
Allen: Thank you, Snowy-rose, azab, Akky-chan, Giant-flying-radish-of-doom, nellchan0013, Little Patch of Heaven, Firehedgehog, Ramen Brother, and SilentKiller1! D3ath-san was so happy when she read her reviews.
D3ath: (comes back) SO HAPPY! And everyone...(pumps fist in the air) I SURVIVED THE DENTIST!! WOOOOOT!!
Ed: (sighing and burying head in hands) idiot...
Al: D3ath-san wasn't able to find any episode 2s on the internet, so she's resorted to her manga book. If there's anything wrong or different, we are terribly sorry, and we'll try to make some changes.
Allen: enjoy! Oh, and D3ath-san does not own us. ANY of us.
Chapter 3
"Why…do they have…to build the building…up here?!" Edward snarled, arms shaking as he climbed. "This—is—fuckin—ridiculous—"
"I…don't know…" Allen gasped, struggling to pull himself up.
"It's…good workout…niisan," Al huffed, scaling the wall and throwing himself over the edge. "Made…it!"
He was on the top of a large cliff. The sky was dark and ominous, and a large, gothic-styled building sat before him, looming into the black sky. Dark forest scattered around it, and a single, lone path bordered by a black iron fence made its way up to the scary-looking building. Al swallowed, and the other two thrust themselves onto the ledge.
"Finally…" Allen wheezed, leaning back and looking up. "Finally made it…The Exorcist Headquarters…The Black Order…" A drop of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he stared at the black building. He mimicked Al, swallowing, "I hope."
"I've heard stories about this place," Ed said, his chest heaving as he wiped sweat off of his forehead, "but talk about ominous…are you sure this is the right place?"
Allen's golem Timcampy bobbed in the air, his sign of affirmative as he fluttered around his white-haired master. Allen groaned, standing up. His legs were shaky, and he managed to steady himself as he gripped his rolled-up sleeves, tugging them back down to his wrists.
Al sighed, pushing himself up to his feet as he helped his older brother. He smiled cheerfully. "We might as well go check it out," he remarked, looking back up at the building. "We might find something about the Uranium bomb here, niisan."
Ed stretched, wincing as his back popped. "We better," he grumbled, grudgingly following the two younger boys. None of them notice a black, bat-like golem hover near them, focusing on all three of them…
Pictures of the three boys hovered on a screen, showing each individual clearly as they made their way up to the front of the building. It zoomed in on the white-haired boy, taking in each detail, his blue eyes, and his unkempt hair. The shorter blonde glared about, wary and skittish as a black bat flew by. The bright eyes narrowed, and a hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up in surprise at the darker blonde, and he smiled reassuringly.
"Who are these kids?" a scientist demanded, viewing the videos and pictures. He was sprawled out on a bench, a microphone clipped to his ear as he watched. Several other scientists surrounded him, as well as a strange, blue creature with the number '65' printed onto its forehead, and a young, Asian girl with black-and-green-tinted hair. Her uniform was black, and the silver cross on the black fabric gleamed in the dim light.
"Come on, you know the rules; no outsiders," said a man sharply. He looked very similar to the girl, and he adjusted thin glasses as he took a sip out of a coffee-filled cup. A white beret rested stylishly on his head, and his black hair was combed to perfection to sit on his white-clad shoulders. "Why didn't anybody make him fall?" he half-whined.
"Oh, head officer Komui," the man lounging on the bench said, looking up over his shoulder. He was blonde, and his face looked like it had been deprived of sleep for many, many years. His Australian accent was distinguishable as he talked. "Well, it's a bit questionable if they're really outsiders."
A man in the back with curly hair and spiral glasses tried to look over the crowds' shoulders, asking, "what is it, what is it?" as the girl straightened, pointing at one of the pictures. "Look right here, niisan," she said, pointing at the floating yellow golem beside the white-haired boy. His expression changed, showing that something had his attention. Most likely the bat-like golem, for he was looking right at the screen. "He has General Cross's golem with him."
"Excuse me," Allen's voice rang out in the room, and the man with the beret adjusted his glasses again. "I'm Allen Walker, and this is Edward and Alphonse Elric…
"…I'm here by way of Father Cross Marian's referral, while Edward and Alphonse are here to learn about the Millennium Earl. We'd like to request an audience with the head staff of the Order," Allen finished, and the brothers traded glances, looking at the bat-golem. Who was Allen talking to?
"Allen-san, is that some sort of transmitter…?" Al asked, leaning in for closer inspection, his brother copying him. Allen nodded, smiling before turning back to the golem.
The Australian scientist looked back over his shoulder again at the man with the beret. "He knows the General! He's still alive," he exclaimed. "He said he was referred here, and that those two are here to learn more about the Millennium Earl. Do you know anything about it, Head Officer?"
Head Officer Komui took another sip out of his bunny-decorated coffee mug. "…I know nothing."
"Hello?"Allen called, slight confusion on his face as he peered up at the golem.
"Please get a physical from the gatekeeper behind you," a voice rang out from the golem, and the brothers jumped in surprise. Allen glanced around, "huh?"
They heard a cracking sound behind them, and all three turned to look at the gate, which had a large face carved into it. It suddenly moved, and the three took a step back. "Hi," Allen said nervously.
The gatekeeper suddenly lunged forward, and Edward and Alphonse stared at it in shock, their mouths hitting the ground.
"This is impossible…" Ed breathed, his golden eyes fixed on the gatekeeper.
"X-ray exam!"the gatekeeper boomed, beams shooting out of its eyes to land on the two blondes and the white-haired boy. "Decipher if they're akuma or humans!"
He stared at them, and the travelers began to fidget when they saw a bead of sweat roll down the gatekeeper's 'forehead'. "Huh? I can't see them? Is it a bug?" He waited for another moment, before something caught his eye; the Pentacle over Allen's eye.
The three jumped when the gatekeeper suddenly howled, large 'X's on his eyes. "THEY'RE OUT!!"
The scientists gasped, their mouths hanging open as the girl gaped, her eyes wide; Komui spit out the coffee he was drinking.
Inside the building, members of the Black Order looked up, startled. One man in particular stood, pulled on his black robes, and grabbed his sword…
Al and Allen fell over in surprise and shock, and Edward stumbled back, his golden eyes wide. "Wha-"
"The white-haired boy's bugged!" The gatekeeper shouted, tears streaming down his 'cheeks'. "He's cursed by the pentacle on his forehead! He's out! OUT!! The pentacle is the mark of an akuma! He's…he's one of the Millennium Earl's men!!"
"WHAT?!" the three shrieked.
"WHAT?!" the scientists of the Black Order screamed, leaning forward.
"Intruder alert, intruder alert!" a voice rang out, and the Australian turned toward the blue creature. "Hey, are the exorcists in the castle on their way—"
"No worries," the blue creature said, bandages covering its mouth as it gestured to the screens.
"Kanda's already there," confirmed the female, her black pigtails swinging as she turned back to the screen, which showed a horrified Allen, and two rather startled blonde brothers. It also displayed a cloaked figure with a sword hurtling towards them.
The cloaked figure landed with a thud on top of the gatekeeper, fingering the sword in his hands. A long black ponytail swayed, and the three looked up in anticipation.
"You've got some serious guts coming here…" he growled, and Allen nearly fainted.
"He wants to kill us…" he moaned, and the brothers jerked.
"EH?!" Al shouted, and Edward attempted to barter with the swordsman.
"W-wait a minute!" he shouted, looking up at the swordsman, clenching his fists as he took a defensive stance.
"There's been some kind of misunderstanding!" Allen shouted frantically.
The man jumped, slicing down. Allen, seeing this, quickly activated his innocence, blocking with his arm. Al and Edward rushed forward, clapping their hands.
"Allen!"
"What the—" The swordsman snarled. He noticed Allen's arm.
"Ow!" Allen gritted his teeth as a long, jagged scar ran down the armored plating on his arm. His eyes widened, and he examined his arm. 'My Anti-Akuma weapon is damaged! The akuma bullets couldn't make a dent in it, but a single attack wrecked it?'
"Hey!" A shout brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see the swordsman staring at his arm. "Hey, you…what's with that arm—" A stone hand erupted from the ground, grabbing the man around the legs and holding him in the air. "shit!" he sliced at it, and the stone broke apart.
"Damn," Ed said, scowling as he watched the pony-tailed man slice their giant hand to pieces. "We forgot to pin down his arms." Al sighed, and Ed clapped his hands, pressing one to his arm. There was a flash, and it elongated into a blade, neatly slicing the ever-present glove on his hand off.
"What the hell?!" the man hissed, turning towards them. "What was that? And you—" he turned toward Allen "—what's with that arm?!"
Allen's face was expressionless. "It's an anti-akuma weapon. I'm an exorcist."
"And that was alchemy," Ed said, bending into a defensive position. His brother nodded, clapping and pressing his hands down to the ground. There was another flash, and he pulled a metal staff out of the ground, swinging it experimentally before pointing it at the swordsman.
The swordsman paused for a moment, his dark eyes narrowing before he turned onto the gatekeeper.
"GATEKEEPER!" he barked, and the gatekeeper jumped, wilting under the Japanese man's glare.
"But, well, you know!" he blustered. "How am I supposed to tell if I can't see his insides? And the other two—I can't read them at all! What are we going to do if they're akuma?!"
"I'm human!" Allen cried, pounding on the gatekeeper's chin. "Yeah, I may be a little cursed, but honest to god, I'm human!!"
"GYAAAA! Don't touch me, idiot!!"
"I didn't even know about akuma until yesterday," Ed growled, brandishing his arm-turned-sword, "and alchemists are technically the closest things to god," he added thoughtfully, and Al nodded seriously, shifting his metal staff.
A pale hand slid along the side of the sword. "Hmph…no matter…" the swordsman growled, facing the three. "We'll know once we see their insides." He swung the sword as looks of horror crossed their faces. "Anit-akuma weapon invocation! I'll tear you to shreds with my 'Mugen'."
Allen, Edward, and Alphonse backed away nervously. "A sword-shaped anti-akuma weapon!" Allen breathed as the swordsman leapt forward. He panicked. "WAIT! Seriously, hold on! I swear I'm not your enemy!!
"Master Cross should have sent a letter of recommendation!" The man's eyes widened, and his sword stopped a centimeter away from Allen's forehead.
"From the General?" he demanded icily, "a letter of recommendation?"
"Y-yes, a letter of recommendation…" Allen breathed a huge sigh of relief, shaking from fright as he eyed the sword that was a few centimeters-no, millimeters away from his face. 'That was too close…'
"It was addressed to someone named Komui."
The entire science department stopped and stared at the man named Komui, who was cleaning off the coffee he spit with a dainty handkerchief.
"You there!" his hand snapped towards a hapless scientist.
"Y-yes…?"
"Check my mail!" his hand snapped toward an atrociously large pile of paperwork and letters, covered in cobwebs. It trailed from the desk, to spread out across the floor, acting as a carpet.
"Check that…?" the man stammered, looking at the pile in disbelief, but he did as he was told and started to shift through the enormous pile.
"Komui niisan…" the girl sighed, watching her brother as a sweatdrop rolled down her head.
"Head officer Komui…" the Australian groaned, and the entire science department stared at the man.
Suddenly, he turned around. "I'll help you too!" he called, clasping his cup of coffee.
Moments later…
"Found it! Here it is!" the science department member declared, his hand shaking as he held up a tattered envelope from Cross, looking like he had survived the war. "It's a letter from General Cross!"
"Read it!" Komui declared, tossing the letters he was holding over his shoulder pompously.
"To Komui…I'm sending over a kid called Allen soon, so take care of him. –Cross," the man read, sighing as he slumped down into the piles of paper.
Komui turned around, leaving the room. "Well, there you have it," he announced. "Section leader Reever, stop Kanda. I'm going to get another cup of coffee."
"Clean your desk once in a while, will ya?" Reever snapped, before turning to the screen. "Kanda, cease your attack!"
Komui turned to his sister, who was following him. "Lenalee, I want you to help me with the preparations. It's been a while since we've had newcomers." He winked at her before refilling his cup of coffee. Lenalee nodded.
"O-open the gate!" Reever shouted into his microphone, and Komui smiled to himself.
"A kid sent by Cross, huh? And two boys that know alchemy…?" he smirked as he took another sip of the brown liquid. "It'll be fun to evaluate them. "
Ed/Al/Allen: (stare)
D3ath: (smirking) I like ending on cliff-hangers.
Ed: Damn it, D3ath, stop doing that! You know the readers would like to keep reading!
D3ath: Oh? You actually care for the readers? I'm surprised, chibi-chan!
Ed: WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE COULD FIT THROUGH A NEEDLE?!
Al: (exasperated) niisan!
Komui: I'm going to get some more coffee…Reever, do my paperwork.
Reever: WHAT?! YOU DO YOUR OWN WORK!!
Allen: (sweatdropping) review, please?