Chapter VII
The Northern end of Central was an industrial area, complete with factories and workshops of all descriptions.
And being that it was a weekend, the area was almost empty. Much like that of a ghost town; it's silence broken by the sound of the military vehicles moving into the main plaza in the vicinity.
It was only when the vehicles stopped that an entire troop of military soldiers came filtering out of the trucks to line up in the middle of plaza ready to receive orders from their blond haired commander.
What citizens that where in the area watched in awe as the female commander commanded her assigned troops.
Standing calmly beside two men, the trio were a force to be feared.
One was known for his brute yet 'genteel' strength and the ability to shrug off a shirt faster than that of a magician at a magic show. (Also because of his endless supply of 'sparkles,' that was guaranteed to deliver anyone into the realms of madness for trying to figure them out!)
On another note, the other had a quick intellect and was a fast draw with both his knives and his photos. Both were as deadly as the other.
"Third squad! You are to accompany Major Hughes. Fifth squad! Major Armstrong will be your team leader." Risa yelled out over the troops. "And Seventh squad! You are with me."
Major Hughes walked one step in front of Hawkeye and took on an official pose.
"Your task is to find and capture a man who origins are unlike any that you have seen before in Central." Hughes called out thus bringing a few confused faces to appear amongst the troops. "I cannot give you anymore information but to trust in the command of your team leaders!"
"Fall out and report to your assigned leader for more instructions!" Risa yelled. "Seventh squad follow me!"
As the troops received their individual orders, a green menace was watching them with a certain interest while his companion watched with hatred in his eyes.
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"That's the enemy army." the Gate Alchemist pointed out to his warrior. "Do not trust them, as they are known for their deceit."
"Thanks for the warning." replied the warrior dryly. "Perhaps it is time I went down to introduce myself."
The Gate Alchemist turned sharply to his companion, but he had already disappeared in a burst of smoke.
Looking back at the assembled troops in the square, he knew that the unbelievers in the square did not stand a chance.
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The squads were about to head out in their assigned areas, when suddenly they where set on with a large smoke cloud in the middle of the plaza.
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" A loud voice called out as the smoke started to clear.
When the smoke finally dissipated, what it revealed was the very warrior that they had been sent to capture.
The only thing that was similar to the first warrior that they already had in custody was the jacket which he left unzipped and the shoes.
Everything else was completely different, including the way he set his posture.
The man wore a green spandex suit with orange leg-warmers on wed to an orange bandana tied around his waist with the metallic design on the front.
His pitch black hair was that of a bowl cut and his face was framed by the largest black eyebrows anyone had ever seen.
The 'pose' he had taken when the smoke cleared was of one that had him balancing on one leg, the other leg wrapped around the first. His right hand palm up in the air and the left hand was circled around his left eye.
He had a grin on him that seemed to produce sparkles around him that could give Armstrong a run for his money.
"YOSH!" He yelled with gusto. "Prepare yourselves villains!"
The surrounding troops quickly moved their weapons to bear on the … crazed … figure.
"And what would your name be?" Hughes asked slyly.
"I am the great green beast of Konoha!" The man replied proudly as he pointed to himself with a smile, sparkles everywhere. "Maito Gai."
"Well them Mr Maito Gai," Hawkeye told him seriously. "I recommend that you surrender yourself otherwise our troops have orders to take you into custody."
"We already have one of your fellow Konoha soldiers in custody." Hughes told him straight. "I suggest you follow his lead."
"You have a Shinobi from Konoha in bondage!" Gai replied angrily. "YOSH! I shall rescue yon unfortunate individual from your evil clutches!"
"Then you shall first have to get through me!" Armstrong called out as he ripped his shirt off in his bid to show of his muscles which in turn set of another lot of sparkles as he posed to show of his massive bulges.
"A challenger is it?" this green monstrosity called out as he gave himself a new pose complete with some more sparkles. "Well two can play that game."
"We shall see who will win this match!" replied Armstrong in a new pose that was making his muscle and sparkles show up more.
"You shall not best me!" answered Gai in another pose complete with more of those annoying sparkles. "I am a master in the art of Taijitsu; you will not defeat me!" (1 + 2)
"Enough already!" called out Hawkeye fully intending on stopping this stupidity while it was still in its early stages. "You are under arrest Mr Maito Gai. Surrender while you still have a chance."
"Denied!" the green monstrosity told her with a grin and more of those annoying sparkles that were making the surrounding soldiers look ill.
"Allow me Major Hawkeye." Armstrong told her with another annoying pose that made him flex his muscles again.
"And who do I have the pleasure of defeating?" responded Gai as he took on a stance that had one hand behind the small of his back and the other hand in front of him as if ready to motion Armstrong into action.
"I am Major Alex Louis Armstrong! Also known as the Strong-arm Alchemist." replied the muscle bound soldier while happily posing for more of those annoying sparkles.
The soldiers in the area were no fools, they ran for their lives to get behind the Strong-arm Alchemist and away from what ever damage was about to occur.
"Take your best shot Alchemist-san." smiled the abnormal Shinobi as he took up a fighting stance.
"Your funeral." muttered Hughes as he watched Armstrong plough his fist into the ground causing the ground to spike up after the agile Ninja who was moving quickly to get away from the changing ground.
"Interesting technique." marvelled Gai as he crossed his arms in mock contemplation.
"Then try this!" called out Armstrong as he punched a chunk of bitumen at the green clad man.
As the bitumen flew towards the Ninja, it was enveloped by the white lighting of Alchemic powers to transform into a very sharp missile.
Gai who in the beginning of the 'Bitumen's' flight; had thought nothing of this 'uncool' looking 'rocks' movement towards him.
So he had not moved a muscle in his bid to 'show off' his superior strength against this Alchemist who was sporting a pair of steal gauntlets.
It was only when it was just near his position did he realise that it had changed form into that really nasty spiked weapon that he did 'finally' try to move out of its way.
Swiftly, He lept aside; but not before it hit his left shoulder tearing up both clothes and muscle in its path.
"Hey that's cheating," Gai retorted as he jumped a bit further away; a disgusted look on his face.
"It's not cheating." answered Armstrong as he threw a second chunk of bitumen in the air. "This is Alchemy!"
At the word 'Alchemy' Armstrong hit his airborne projectile towards Gai.
Gai was prepared this time and had already moved away from the direction that the projectile was headed.
"Amazing!" Hughes whistled in admiration as he watched Armstrong hit chunks of road-base at their quarry and their 'quarry's' speed in avoiding the attacks.
Finally after a few minutes of this … 'Run-a-round'… Did Major Hawkeye give the order to open fire on the green menace.
Unfortunately, Gai had already been made aware of the various firearms that the military was known to use by that of the Gate Alchemist.
"And with the addition of your warriors," Gai called out as he dodged another projectile. "I bid you farewell!"
As the soldiers took aim, Gai suddenly disappeared.
"Where did he go?" a soldier quickly called out. "He just vanished."
"Quick, scout the area and locate that man!" Risa ordered the surrounding troops. "Do not engage… I repeat… Do not engage. Report back to me as soon as you are made aware of his presence."
The soldiers quickly saluted and ran off in their bid to obey the dangerous Major.
Hughes quickly walked over to where the 'man' had been standing before he had disappeared.
"Risa.." he called over to the blonde Major. "...you might want to put a request in with the Colonel that all teams that go out to hunt down that green man are accompanied by at least one to two Alchemists."
"Why is that?" Armstrong asked.
"He seems to be powerful… Yes," Maes explained. "But he also seems to have no idea as to how the power that the Alchemist weld even work."
"I shall pass that on." agreed Risa as she looked around the roof tops.
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The Gate Alchemist was overjoyed, disappointed and confused.
He was pleased that his warrior had taken up the challenge of fighting the heathens so early.
The only problem being that his warrior was now injured due to his eagerness to challenge the unholy group called the State and was now in his hide-out in the special training room going through exercises that would make that muscle bound oaf 'Armstrong' faint in exhaustion.
Sighing, he knew now he would have to wait until his warrior was healed enough to go and have another go.
"Oh come-on!" an exhausted voice called out. "All I want to do is read! I can't even escape now even if I wanted to so what's the problem?"
"That stupid book for one you stupid Cyclops!" a young male voice yelled back. "What kind of a pervert are you that you have to read that disgusting book in the first place?"
"Hey it's my book that all that matters." the first voice yelled. "That one was signed by the author as well. So that makes it special!"
"I don't care." the second voice replied with an evil tone. "I think I might put it in a safe place. That way if you escape I think that I might burn it."
"I don't think you will." a smug voice replied calmly. "It's a book and I know that you would think burning even one book to be sacrilege."
"Don't be so sure!" the evil tone in the second voice ground out.
In the back ground a lighter could be heard.
"BROTHER WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" a young metallic voice called out in alarm. "PUT THAT BOOK DOWN AND PUT THAT LIGHTER OUT."
"But Al it is a…" a panicked second voice replied.
"IT IS NOT YOUR BOOK! IT BELONGS TO MISTER KAKASHI SO GIVE IT BACK!" an angry metallic voice yelled out.
In the back ground a sound was heard.
The sound of laughter as two brothers started to argue.
And if you listen carefully you might hear a book being turned as the brothers continued their screaming fits.
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Author's notes:
1 – Help! I do not know how to spell Taijitsu. (I was sort of guessing the spelling on it as my grasp of the Japanese Language is rather impaired. Did I get it right?)
2 – Ladies and Gentlemen start your betting on the… Who can produce the most sparkles? Gai or Armstrong? As I fully intend on getting those two to have a 'sparkle' competition! I made it short now, but just you wait until I get through with what I have planned for them in later chapters. (It's not going to show up in the next chapter as I want to give everyone a chance to have a fair go.)
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Reviews...
CuriousDreamWeaver - I noticed that too! I wonder if the Gate Alchemist could be confused enough to wear a green spandex uniform?... NAH! One green catapiller at a time please!
moonlight-reveries - I'M TRYING! HONEST! It's just that I have to work. Pwease forgwive me! (Tries to look innocent and fails.)
Rekka'Zaal - I'll agree with that!
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Sorry everyone on being late. But I have been working very hard over here at the moment and I have also been busy with family, friends and my anime club at the moment. (I'm an Agency Carer and I have to work when I can get it, plus my club is getting busy again –election time again- and my Dad is turning 60; so I have been a busy little bugger… Sorry.)
Also I've been having fun with fish lately. Two of my fish died from the cold weather. (The heater that I had for them had only just broken and I was going to get it fixed as soon as I can… but low and behold the next thing I know they had gone.) So I got two new ones. One of my new fish (Who I had named Donk) however decided to go Kamikaze had jumped out of the tank… (Talk about being properly named!) I just got another one to replace him, so I am hoping that the new one will survive.
Okay. Just as a warning now. It might be as long as two weeks again before I send out my next chapter. (I've just been too damned busy to even find the time to write, let alone sleep.)
But I'm working on it!
But on another note… Happy birthday Honebar. (I hope you have a wonderful birthday!)
Sorry from Tora, your ever loving beta as well. My family is getting ready to move, so I'm pretty busy myself..
