Edit: June 2018.

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man or Full Metal Alchemist.

KEY:

"Neah talking"

"Thoughts"

Flashbacks

Another language

Radio conversations

"Normal talking"

Chapter 7

"Thank you, Allen, for clearing some things, there is more I would like to know, but it's getting late. We all need to rest, and we'll meet again tomorrow for more details." The black-haired Colonel passed a hand tiredly over his hair.

"Chief, you are the best." Havoc have a cheeky grin and started to stand up.

"I want you all at 7:30 A.M. tomorrow." He spoke, and the man's grin faded.

"That's not fair, Mustang!"

"We have a lot of work to do." The man grumbled and turned to look at Allen. "Officer Falman brought back your things, Allen. You'll be staying in Headquarters with Alphonse and Fullmetal. It's that alright with you two?" the man asked and looked specifically to Edward.

The younger Elric saw his brother hesitate, and he immediately understood that his brother was struggling. His older brother knew he liked Allen, and wanted to be his friend, but he was also worried the white-haired boy would find about their secret. Or rather his, Alphonse's, secret.

Edward wasn't worried about people seeing his metal limbs, people all over Amestris had seen automail at least once, and the cover story about the train accident always worked. It fit perfectly, and it kept people from asking more questions. But Alphonse knew, there was simply no way to explain, to make people understand, about the blood seal and the hollowness of his armor.

Alphonse didn't mind Allen knowing about it, though. The white-haired teen was nice and polite and hadn't tried to harm anyone. His mother used to say that he was good at knowing when someone was good, and he had no doubt that Allen Walker was a good person and wouldn't judge him or his brother for what they had done. It would also be nice to have a friend close to their age that knew about the secret and wasn't a childhood friend or military people.

But as much as he wanted to, he also had to think about his brother. No matter how much he tried to tell Edward, his older brother would never stop trying to carry the whole guilt with him. And Alphonse knew, that Edward was paranoid, and the more people that knew, the least his brother was going to be able to conceal sleep at night.

Besides, he had no doubt Winry would want to stay the night with them. Normally she would stay with the Hughes Family, but she had gone through some traumatic stuff, and she needed to be with people close to her. Calm she may have been when they left her a couple of hours ago, but she was going to have nightmares, no doubt.

He spoke before his brother could.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but we can't have Allen. Winry is staying with us, and we have no space between our books and her tools." He said politely.

He could feel his brother staring in surprise. They both knew, Winry would take the extra bed, and Allen could take the coach. Neither the blonde or the British had much stuff with them, so it wouldn't take any space, and his brother's clothes were always packed in the suitcase. They had already returned most of the books to Sheska, and the blonde mechanic wasn't a messy person. There was enough space for the four of them.

They both knew that, but Alphonse had to think about his brother and his friend first.

"Very well." Mustang said, started to search for some papers on his desk. "I believe there are some unoccupied rooms on the same floor as yours. Take this to Mr. Jonas when you get to your building, he'll give you a room."

He handed a slip of paper to Allen, and the boy smiled in gratitude. "Thank you, Colonel."

The man nodded. "You are all dismissed, we'll meet again tomorrow."

Everyone slowly filled out of the office and Mustang was left alone with his second in command. Neither said anything, and he continued to read some more papers, and she continued to organize them.

"Damiano and the boys are on the know, Colonel. He said they'll be on watch during the night, they'll just need to know the room number." She spoke casually.

"I'll call them as soon as Falman knows it." The man answered back, not looking away from the set of documents on his desk.

"I told them to prepare the microphones."

"Excellent. He will most likely try to contact someone from that Order."

"So much for trusting and setting the boy free, Sir." She smirked.

Mustang chuckled. "There are things we still don't know about the boy, Lieutenant. Only a fool would lower his guard around a stranger, especially with someone as clever as Allen Walker. He was honest about answering the questions and helping us, but we don't know if the same applies to his superiors."

He clasped his hands under his chin and closed his eyes, his mind replaying the events of the day.

…o0o…

The walk was silent as they made their way to their rooms. He was walking ahead of his brother and the white-haired boy, listening to their silent conversation about pets. Apparently, Allen had some kind of pet that was always being chased around by cats… maybe a bird of sorts. He didn't care enough about it to pay attention, it was not important information.

He was more than happy to let them chat away, until he heard his brother brought the topic of rescuing stray cats and not letting him keep them. Again.

The golden-haired alchemist gritted his teeth, but kept his mouth shut. He had the same conversation a thousand times, and his opinion wouldn't change. They could not carry the thing with them, it would get tired from all the moving around, and they wouldn't be allowed to enter the libraries with it. He also feared that they would stay out of food for the poor animal, and his brother would be sad if it dies.

"Why do you guys travel around so much?" Allen asked.

"Research." Edward answered tersely, and silence descended upon them as he refused to explain further.

"Do you travel around a lot too, Allen?" Alphonse asked timidly.

"I used to, not anymore. Now that I live at the Order, I only travel when there is a mission, but they are not too lengthy most of the time, so I get to spend a good amount of time in Headquarters."

"You joined recently?" he heard his brother ask, and he paid attention to the new bits of information.

"About a year ago, but it feels like years." The teen chuckled.

"Are there more Exorcists your age?"

"Just Lenalee. Lavi and Kanda are 19, and the rest are above 20. Except for Timothy, he is the youngest. Way too young." He muttered the last part, but Edward heard him just fine.

"It's there a certain age, when you can join?" he asked, and Allen turned to look at him.

The teen lowered his head and pursed his lips. "Not really, if you are compatible with Innocence, then there is a guarantee that you are in. Central makes sure of that."

"What? You don't get to choose?" Edward raised an eyebrow.

The boy shook his head. "It seems like it sometimes. Some joined to protect their loved ones, and others to get revenge against the Earl and the Akuma for killing their families. Some others believe that what we do is good, and they want to help. But whether you want to or not, the Order will take you in, even if they have to drag you."

"Did they forced you to join?" Alphonse asked quietly, and Allen gave him a sad smile.

"No. I joined freely."

"Why?" Fullmetal couldn't help but ask. He wasn't forced to join the Order, so he said, but why did he join, then? Was he protecting someone as he claimed others did, or was he looking to get revenge?

"There's something I need to do." The boy answered, and the Alchemist couldn't be more confused.

He wanted to ask more, not quite satisfied with the answer, but something in Allen's face stopped him. There was guilt and a great amount of sadness, something he had seen sometimes in the mirror. He remembers when the Exorcist said that he had done something stupid, when he received the scar on his face, perhaps it had something to do with it.

"What about you?" the boy asked and brought him out of his musings.

"What about me?"

"Why are you in the military when you are so young?"

"What do you mean by that?" the alchemist asked with clenched fists, trying not to go into one of his usual tirades about his height. Allen rolled his eyes.

"You're what? 16? I don't know much about Amestris's military, but I'm pretty sure you have to be at least 18 to get in. Judging by how familiar you are with the Colonel and his team, you've been inside a while. So, why did you have to join?"

Ed stared at him surprise.

He was used to the other soldiers not really caring about him being there, perhaps the last four years had given them time to adapt to the idea of someone so young being a State Alchemist. No one had really questioned his admission, Mustang had taken care of it the moment he took him and Al under his wing; now most thought that he needed money to take care of his brother, or that he was looking for an intellectual challenge, being a prodigy and everything.

He opened his mouth to give his usual reply but stopped. Allen Walker was not an ounce of the fool Edward had pegged him to be, and half-good acting skills aside, the boy was more observant than he looked, and even smarter than they had given him credit for. The Exorcist had already figured out something had happened to him and his brother, or else how could anyone's parents would had let their children hang out with the military?

"It's complicated." He finally answered. The other boy simply nodded but did not push the topic.

"Um, this is your room, Allen." Came the soft voice of his brother, and they both looked at the armor pointing to one of the doors.

"Oh, thank you."

"Right. Um, we'll come and get you at 6:45 or something, Falman will pick-up us at 7:00 to meet with Mustang." He said.

"Alright, that sounds good." Allen gave them a small smile and took out his key.

"The showers are at the end of the floor, and our room is 3104, if you need anything." Alphonse said kindly, and Allen nodded in thanks.

"Will do, thank you. Have a good night, see you in the morning."

"Good night, Allen."

"Yeah, night." He said distractedly and moved towards his room. He heard a door shut, and the distinctive metal clank of his brother's armor over the floor tiles.

"Brother." Al said, and Edward turned to look at him. "Are you alright?"

He nodded weakly and sighed. "I'm just tired, Al."

It had been a long day, filled with may too much action and tension. He was used to problems finding their way to them, as well as new enemies, but nothing like the ones from today. He hadn't seen someone he loved, about to disappear right in front of his eyes in a long time, not since his brother. He almost lost Winry today, he almost died today, but he survived thanks to the peculiar boy with the white hair.

"Let's go. Winry is probably waiting for us."

Edward got no response from his brother, but he heard him follow him to their room. As he opened the door and let Alphonse get inside first, his thoughts were back to the white-haired boy.

He was a good liar, but not enough to fool Mustang and Hawkeye, and even himself. But from what he had gathered, the Exorcist was not stupid. The teenager was smart, and charming enough to have the hospital tied around his finger. Havoc and Alphonse liked him, and he had no doubt even Winry did as well, and that was not something to be taken lightly.

Lying about amnesia hadn't been a bad idea, no one would pester him for answers, giving him enough time to recover and get away. No one would get harmed and he could disappear into thin air, just like he had arrived. If that had been the boy's plan, then maybe his brother was right and perhaps they could trust him. But there was something that still bothered Edward, and that was the boy's lying skills.

Was Allen Walker not that good at pretending, or was he simply not trying hard enough to fool them?

…o0o…

When the door closed, Allen breathed a sigh in relief.

"You did well, Allen. It's over now."

"I feel better now that I don't have to lie anymore." He sat on the chair next to the desk and closed his eyes.

It had been a really though day for the white-haired Exorcist, his leg was aching and so were the muscles on his arms and back. He needed to change his bandages and a shower, but he had no energy left to do the latter. He would have to get up earlier in the morning, and the idea of it wasn't any more appealing to his tired mind.

He really wanted to sleep, but there was still something he needed to do. Opening his tired mercury eyes, he sat up straighter and made the familiar hand sign he had seen his Master use multiple times. Familiar and yet foreign words flutter from his lips, and slowly runes appeared in the door and window frames.

"Smart move, no doubt someone is keeping watch on you."

"And listening. Not that I can blame them, though."

"Did you learn that from Cross?"

"Yes."

He remembers when the man, lazy as he was, made his apprentice put up the sound barrier when he was talking with one of his contacts. The red-haired man didn't like people eavesdropping on his conversations, whether because they were spies or simple gossip. The white-haired Exorcist was sure his Master would had used them in the Order if he didn't fear that Central would want to learn about them.

Allen waited a few moments -making sure the runes had been set properly- before he pulled the golden earing from his pocket and turned it on. There was some static, before the familiar sound of Johnny's voice was heard.

"Allen! Hello, how are you doing?" Allen smiled.

"Hello Johnny, I'm fine, thank you."

"How is your mission going?"

The Exorcist sighed. "Complicated. I need to speak with Komui, could you get him for me, please?"

"Sure, give me a minute."

He heard Johnny moving out of his chair and calling for certain Supervisor not keen on doing his paperwork. He pondered on how to explain everything to the Chinese man, and exactly what their next course of action would be. His cover was blown, and now even if Lenalee and the others could get him out, the Exorcist wasn't comfortable leaving the Amestrians to their luck.

Today's casualties would no doubt attract the Earl, and he wasn't going to let more people become his victims. Perhaps, there wouldn't be more Akuma attacks, or perhaps they would, but either wat, Allen wasn't comfortable leaving the Amestrians to their luck. He needed to at least help them prepare some kind of security plan.

"Allen! This is Komui, how is everything going on there?"

"Not good, Komui. There was an attack today, 15 Level Ones."

"Tell me everything." The man's voice had turned to the familiar serious tone the Supervisor used when there was a severe situation or was dealing with the Great Generals and Inspector Leverrier.

Taking a deep breath, Allen proceeded to tell everything to his Supervisor. From the moment his eye activated, to his time detained in a police precinct, and finally to the conversation where he explained everything to Colonel Mustang, his team and the Elric Brothers.

At the end of his explanation, he heard his Supervisor sighed, and the Exorcist could perfectly picture him rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Certainly, this just became a problem. Any signs of the Noah?"

"None so far. But I don't like any of this. This might just be the beginning, they didn't send that much of Akumas, it looked almost as if it was a reconnaissance mission."

"And now they know for certain that there is a piece of Innocence nearby, no doubt they'll want to go and check it out." The man sighed again. "Lenalee and the others are already on their way, they'll be good back-up. I would like for you to come back as soon as possible, we haven't gone that far trying to hold back Inspector Leverrier, and I fear he will suspect something is going on."

Allen grimaced at the thought of the stern Inspector. He had forgotten about that special and rather important detail, he wasn't supposed to go on missions unsupervised. Komui and Link couldn't hold him back for more than a couple of days, and there was no way to tell how long this mission was going to take.

And yet, the image of Alphonse running for his brother and Miss Winry, the relief of his voice when he saw them safe and sound, wouldn't leave his mind. What if he hadn't been in Central City when the attack had occurred? What would had become of Alphonse if he had lost both his brother and friend?

He didn't know them that much, but he just couldn't leave them like that. Not like he did with Ms. Moore or Mei-Ling, not if he could help it.

"I… I don't know, Komui. These people, they don't trust others easily, they still don't trust me. I'm not quite sure how they'll react if someone else took my place."

The man didn't answer, but the white-haired teen knew he was thinking of something.

"I agree with you on that, and under normal circumstances I wouldn't object, but…" the man sighed. "You are on thin ice and with one little slip, you'll go straight for execution, Allen."

Allen winced, and instinctively touched his neck.

"You know he is right, nephew. That man is only waiting for you to make a mistake."

The teenager sighed and closed his eyes.

"Understood, Komui."

"You'll stay until the others get there, in the mean-time you can continue to explain some more about the Noah Family and the Akumas. You can discuss some aspects with them about Innocence, but nothing about the Heart and Hevlaska. The Ark is off-limits as you know, when you return you'll have to take the train until you reach Poland."

"Yes. I was thinking about helping them with security measures, do you have any suggestions?"

"Lavi and Lenalee might be able to help them more on that matter, but in the mean time you can help them to design a patrol group of sorts. Set a schedule time and make sure they go out at night."

"Alright. I'll them tomorrow that back-up Exorcists are coming."

"Don't worry about that. We already contacted the Führer, he'll probably inform Colonel Mustang about everything. Your departure and the arrival of Lenalee and the others."

"Oh, okay. Got it."

"There's something else, I would like to talk you about. Is this channel secure?" The man asked out of the blue, and the boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yes, why?"

"I would like to discuss some matters regarding your… host."

The boy's eyes widened. "Oh, right. It's safe, you have nothing to worry about, Komui."

"Good. I don't like to do this, but it's necessary. How do you feel regarding his… presence? Are there any troubles?"

"None."

"Alright, I know I told you about mentioning the Noah Family, but keep quiet about the 14th. I'll tell Lenalee and the others to not mention anything, as well."

"Why? I mean, sure I won't tell them my connection with him, but I don't think there's anything wrong if they know he betrayed the Earl 35 years ago. Right?"

"There shouldn't be, but I don't there to be any unnecessary questions. The less they know, the better it would be for them. Hopefully their country won't have to get more involved in this Holy War."

"I understand."

"I know they already know what you earring is, but I would like you to keep contact with us at the minimum. Colonel Mustang seems to be an honorable man, but I wouldn't trust Amestris's government just yet. We don't know anything about their intentions, and the lesser interactions we have with them the better. Call only if something else happens."

"Roger."

"Is there anything else you would like to talk about?"

Allen thought about Alphonse Elric gigantic armor, and the way both his arm and eye would twitch anytime the boy was nearby. He knew there was something going on with the Elric Brothers, and whatever it was it had something to do not only with Al's armor but with Ed's limp was well. It was not that noticeable, but it was there.

"None." He replied at last.

Everyone had their secrets, and their sorrow, and he wasn't about to get involved into something that wasn't his business. Strange as it was, it was nothing relevant to the mission anyway, why bother telling his Supervisor about it?

"Excellent. Take care Allen and come back home safe."

The boy smiled at the Komui's kind words. The man had always made him feel at home, warm smiles and the cheery 'Welcome back' he always dedicated to him, always brought a smile to his face. The Head Chief looked after them and made sure that everyone had what they needed. He worried about them, and prayed for their safety, he went to visit them to the infirmary and made them laugh.

He was a great man, and Allen was grateful someone as smart and kind as Komui Lee was the Supervisor of the European Branch.

"Will do. Thank you, Komui. Good night."

He turned off the communication and sighed in relief. Lazily he raised his hand and muttered some quick words to dispel the runes. He wouldn't need them anymore.

"Time to go to sleep." he lazily dragged his feet to the bed.

"Allen, there's something you need to know, it's important."

"What is it?"

"There's… there's something strange going on here. I felt it when you were outside fighting off the Akuma."

"Something strange? What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure, there was some kind of… presence of sorts. But it wasn't anything good Allen, it was bad. Really bad."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" the boy frowned at his uncle's actions.

He heard the Neah sighed. "I thought it was the Akuma at first. But when they took you out of the precinct, the moment you set foot on the street, I noticed it again."

Allen pursed his lips in thought. He hadn't sensed anything as Neah was saying, perhaps it had something to with his Noah powers or the like.

"Was it something like Dark Matter?"

"I'm not sure, I only felt it, but I can't know for sure its nature."

"You should had told me sooner. Maybe warn Komui about it, or even Colonel Mustang."

"And tell them what exactly? That your uncle, which happens to be the 14th Noah, felt something? Or that you sense something with your eye? It wouldn't had worked, Allen, it's common knowledge you can only see souls, not evil spirits or presences. Komui knows this, and now Mustang knows it, they wouldn't had believed you."

The Exorcist sighed. "Okay, you are right. Still, you should had told me sooner, perhaps I could had helped you figure out what is was."

"Perhaps. We can look around tomorrow, but right now, you need to sleep. You look and move like a dead person."

"Yes, yes. Good night, Neah." Allen answered with a roll of his eyes, falling over the bed, not bothering to get out of his clothes.

"'Night, Allen."

And then, the boy fell asleep.

Author's Note. I had to fix all of this, because I didn't do justice to Allen's acting skills the first nor the second time I wrote them. I made him look stupid, and we all know our dear Exorcist is smart and had training from both Mana and Cross, enough to fool a great deal of people. Perhaps not Mustang and Hawkeye, since they are pretty smart, but at least he could had pulled something more convincing.

I know Komui was supposed to talk with Mustang on this part, but it didn't seem right after I re-read it. They will talk one day, but I want to wait for now. I tried making our dear Supervisor more child-like the first time, but Komui Lee is a very clever man and I believe that he needed to be more serious since Allen – and basically everyone at the Order – is on a very delicate situation with Central and Leverrier. I needed to fix and show that side of his, since I don't think I gave him that much credit the first and second time.

As for Allen's usage of Cross's spells… well, I thought it made sense Allen would know something, he did spend almost four years with the man, after all.