Disclaimer: Santa wasn't generous this year either...so I don't own FMA. I don't own any of the stolen ideas from BLEACH either. TT

Karia: Now showing in theatres: "Chapter Eight"

Al: Um, this isn't a theatre, it's a website.

Karia: Where is your imagination? It's called 'pretend'!

Al: But there's a sign at the top of the page that says AARRGGH, I give up. TV and the Internet have completely slaughtered imagination. Let's just roll the film – Chapter 8, and ACTION!

Fullmetal Alchemist: Hagane no Renkenjutsushi

Chapter 8: Transcendence

Ed was usually a heavy sleeper, but this time, his anxiety kept him from getting a wink of sleep. Aria was completely silent, but she was the type of person who always slept with one eye open and a dagger beneath her pillow, so Ed doubted she was sleeping either. For the most part, his eyes were riveted on the moldy grandfather clock propped in the corner, silently counting each passing second until the proper hour. It was odd that his heart could pound so rapidly when minutes seemed to crawl by with agonizingly slow deliberateness.

At 1:29 A.M., Ed was practically counting each second and willing the clock to tick faster. Ten…

Nine…

Eight...

Seven…

Six…

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One…

…ZERO

With the energy of his long pent-up anticipation, Ed leapt to his feet and shoved his sleeping mat to a side. Aria slipped out of her sheets and stood up in one fluid motion. Pulling open the sliding door, Ed felt a gust of brisk, chilling night air sweep into the room, blowing out the feeble candle flame and sending the room into a pit of darkness.

Ed stepped out of the room and looked up, whispering a silent prayer to gods he did not believe in.

Wait for me, Winry. Al.


"He's not coming." Al heard a cruel, calculating voice coo from a corner. "You should just accept that he's dead." He clenched his jaw at this statement, but said nothing. The chains that bound his wrists to the walls were irritating him again.

Across from him, someone sat in a simple wooden chair, just out of reach – Dante. It seemed like the woman just wouldn't leave the Elric brothers alone until she, or they, were dead.

"Ni-san WILL come." Al's voice still carried that stubborn belief in his brother. He would know if Ni-san died – Al would feel the connection they had as brothers disappear. That intuition between them could span the distance of two separate worlds, so Al was sure Ed was alive. He could still sense Ed's presence somewhere in his mind, so Al was sure his brother would come.

"Believe anything you want, Alphonse, but hope can only breed deeper despair." Dante smiled, showing many ghostly white teeth. "I don't mind – it's amusing to see you struggle."

However, though Al knew he had to appear defiant, he was beginning to wonder whether Ed was alive. Considering the number of near-death experiences they had gone through, Al could not deny that being a State Alchemist was a very hazardous occupation. Plus, what would Dante gain by lying to him?

Dante smiled to herself. Though little Alphonse seemed to be putting up a brave front, she could see the growing doubt in his eyes. She could probably break him in another two weeks, which should be quite a while before Edward ever discovered where she was and what she was doing. Genius he may be, but the information he lacked put her safely out of the reaches of his speculation…

Or so she thought.


The antique shop owner heard the soft tinkling of the door chimes and knew that more recruits had come. There were at least two every night now, but most were only shallow idiots that showed no dedication to their noble cause. However, a few showed real promise and a handful could be classified as valuable assets.

The two strangers who entered his shop tonight were definitely not simple fools, but the feeling they gave him wasn't a passion for the noble causes. It was more of a cold, calculating demeanor determined by the motive and professional advantages only. Then again, the insurgents needed more people who could think on an intelligent level, other than the good Lady Dante.

"Excuse me, is this where we can apply for admission for the Rebellion? My – brother and I were looking for a place to join." The antique shop owner lifted an eyebrow. It wasn't often that a young female offered to join. Her 'brother' was more of the type, with determination radiating from his eyes.

"Yes. Please, follow me."

Ed and Aria followed the old man behind the counter, into the storeroom at the back of the dingy shop. Aria noted various items with a veiled interest, but Ed's attention was mostly focused on the strange alchemy circles doodled haphazardly on the walls. They seem to consist largely of Xing symbols and complex representations of Xing's mythical creatures. The shop owner reached a remote corner of the warehouse and stopped.

With a strained grunt, the antique shop vendor heaved a box of dusty trinkets away from the corner. Beneath it was a well-hidden trap door. The old man yanked it open in a shower of dirt and dust, showing a yawning, black hole beneath it. Ed's mind immediately began calculating the rough depth of the tunnel and the possible sizes of an underground lair as the vendor motioned for them to go down.

The old man went down first and was immediately swallowed up by the darkness in the tunnel. Ed guessed that there was a ladder and slid in after him, only to find that the tunnel was a smooth slide all the way down. He yelped in shock, but found himself standing at the bottom of the slide in the blink of an eye. Aria followed him with a bit more grace.

They were in a dimly lit chamber that was roughly three meters high and eight meters in diameter. The vendor was wearing a solemn expression and had walked over to the far side of the cavern. To his horror, Ed realized that he was standing in the middle of an enormous alchemy array, except for the fact that it was drawn so exotically that he couldn't identify what its purpose was. A sharp intake of breath behind him showed that Aria had realized their plight as well.

The old man activated the array and a flash of a strange, purple light Ed had never seen before in alchemy filled the cavern. Ed felt a burning sensation crawl up his legs, but suddenly stopped as if another force had pushed it downwards. His mind was racing. The strange circle was definitely not an alchemy circle, and the light emitted was nothing like the blue light of transmutation. Also, the old man had done nothing to change the matter in the cavern, nor did the 'transmutation circle' follow the basic principles of alchemy.

Ed concluded that, whatever the antique shop owner had done, it was either a hoax or not alchemy. Considering that it would be rather pointless to trick them at the moment, Ed could only assume that the process carried some form of non-alchemical purpose. Could it be – sorcery?

When he was very little, Ed remembered coming across various books in his father's library containing brief excerpts about sorcery. Ed had considered them as complete rubbish before, but now he found that they made some form of remote sense. They said something along the lines of coming from another world and free from the laws of equivalent trade, but if what Aria had told him was true, then the books were mistaken. The burning sensation, if not from an exothermic reaction in alchemy, could have been a 'scrutinizing' enchantment from basic sorcery.

Aria took a deep breath. Though her powers were greatly reduced in this world, she could still manage basic sorcery, though not near as well as she could in her original world. It was fortunate that she realized the scrutinizing spell before the antique dealer could discern their false intentions. With a quick counter spell, Aria had dispelled the enchantment and substituted false information in its place.

The antique dealer seemed satisfied and explained his actions as 'double-checking their loyalty'. He gave no further explanation, but Ed guessed that Aria must have interfered with the scrutinizing charm. The vendor led them out of a side entrance in the cavern and down a corridor that resembled a mining shaft. The air grew noticeably musty and stale, but Ed guessed it was due to slight depletion of oxygen and the decomposition of a couple unstable isotopes of nitrogen. Of course, the burning torch did little to ameliorate the foul air, but light was necessary to navigating the dark tunnels.

They reached a small wooden door crammed clumsily between the walls of the tunnel, and the antique shopkeeper opened it with a rough shove. Immediately, Ed found himself standing in front of a group of three-hundred or more people, all sitting at long, rectangular tables and chatting about various topics. The shopkeeper smiled warmly and said a few words of welcome and briefly summarized the Rebellion's goal and current projects before clapping them both on the back and returning to his post. Ed and Aria mingled into the crowd and feigned passion about the noble cause.

"Edward, we will not be able to find Alphonse or Winry if we mingle with these people. To find them, I fear that we need to associate with the higher authorities." Aria whispered to Ed once they were out of earshot of the nearest group. Ed agreed.

"But how are we supposed to climb ranks right now? We just got here, and it would make us appear power-hungry if we started anything right now."

Aria grimaced. "Then we will simply have to create ourselves an opportunity. Edward, be on your guard." She surreptitiously clapped her hands together before touching to fingers to the floor without being seen. Immediately, a huge stalagmite hanging from the ceiling broke off with a terrifying crack. Ed's jaw dropped in shock and he reacted with instinct.

Immediately after he clapped his hands together, a mass of blue sparks leapt from his palms to the falling hunk of solid stone, wrapping around it and shattering it into a shower of thin dust. The dust may have ruined any meals people were eating, but it injured no one. Immediately, someone in a uniform rushed towards Ed, who was at the center of the commotion, and demanded to know what had just happened. Ed explained the 'accident' and his use of alchemy to shatter the stone, changing the officer's indignant attitude to awe immediately.

"So young, and already a master at alchemy…you are gifted, boy. Come with me – we can put you to better use than just giving you a weapon."

"May I take my sister along?" Ed motioned at Aria, receiving a hesitant nod from the officer. Both left their seats (and their ruined meal) to follow the officer out of the huge cavern and into a downward spiraling hallway. Ed shuddered unnoticeable. After his previous adventures, he was rather paranoid about descending below ground, especially not down dark and gloomy tunnels without knowing what lay ahead.

However, even with the dim, shifting light of the primitive torches fastened to the sides of the tunnel, Ed noticed long, scraping marks along the sides. At the entrance, there had been none, but suddenly, they had all appeared along the walls. Ed wondered for a moment before realizing that the scrape marks were most likely shovel imprints, meaning that everything beyond this tunnel was artificial. Ed inwardly grinned. In every organization he knew, only the brass could have nice facilities – or at least nicer than their underlings.

They arrived at set of ingeniously crafted and intricately carved doors that, apparently, could only be opened from the inside. The officer rapped the door smartly with the fancy, iron knocker, announcing in a loud, booming voice, "Sir, new recruits are here to see you! They're alchemists!"

From inside, a hoarse, gruff voice grunted in response, apparently acknowledging their presence, and the heavy stone doors slid open with a mighty boom. Inside, Ed could faintly make out a heavily embroidered rug, a rather overstuffed armchair, a hearty fireplace, and a grouchy looking geezer dressed in about seven layers worth of coats. Ed nodded his head respectfully, inwardly guessing that the old grandpa was probably some higher-ranking officer capable of promoting (or demoting) others.

"I ask for Alchemists and you bring me two children? What can they do, turn water into ice?" The man asked grouchily, apparently expecting something more than the two 'children' he was confronted with. Apparently, he had no idea that both were State Alchemists and one of them was around ten times older than he was.

"We can manage quite a bit more than that, thank you very much." Ed's eye twitched in annoyance at being called a 'child', probably a residual sentiment from the days of his shortness. The officer who had led them there looked scandalized that someone could talk to a higher authority with such a lack of reverence, and Aria secretly pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. The old man raised his eyebrows to dangerous heights and ventured, "Why don't we test your skills then? If they pass, I will give you some kind of important post. If not, expect to be cleaning the halls with a mop for a long time."

"It's a deal. What do you want us to do?" Aria answered before Ed could open his mouth, and the officer that led them here was looking from person to person in bewilderment. The geezer smirked and challenged, "Transmute the walls around you into metal." It was supposedly a very advanced process, considering that stone and wood had almost nothing in common.

Ed was a split second away from merely clapping his hands together when he remembered that he was currently in disguise. Instead, he pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket and started scribbling a simple array onto the walls. Ed thought for a moment. The walls were apparently made of limestone, which meant there were probably water and an excess of carbon nearby. In addition, considering the fact that they shouldn't be too far underground and that iron was probably the most common metal in the earth's crust, it would probably be a better choice to make the walls into an alloy of iron and carbon, even if they didn't mix well. Ed made a few adjustments to the array, moving the limestone away from the walls and using alchemy to heat and mix the surrounding carbon and iron. Within a few minutes, the surface of the wall had changed into a smooth sheet of metal.

The officer gaped in shock while the old geezer blinked in surprise a few times, stroking his beard and nodding in apparent contemplation. Ed waited for a moment with bated breath before the old man stopped nodding and said, "Y-You pass. For the girl, uh, I want her to change the metal into wood." Changing metal to wood was technically impossible, considering that wood was a very complex, organic compound. It seemed like Xing was rather sexist against females. Then again, Ed knew that it should be possible to perform the task if there were any plant seeds nearby, like using alchemy to stimulate and accelerate plant growth.

Aria shrugged and traced a strange symbol onto the wall, unlike anything Ed had ever seen before. She placed to fingers against it and intoned strange words in a language Ed could barely understand. Something along the lines of, "Circle of Creation, I call upon thee. From Earth, do I draw upon Metal, and From Metal do I draw Water. From water, Circle, I summon forth Wood.'

Technically, this would make no sense, but Ed had learned the language when studying a set of books explaining ancient sorcery. Ed's eyes widened. Aria could use sorcery in this world because it was adjacent to her original one!

There was a flash of white light and, when it had faded, the wall of metal had been replaced with something that was unmistakably wood. Ed smirked – he had to ask Aria to teach him how to do that – and admired the stunned expressions on the Xing insurgents. The old geezer again blinked in surprise before nodding and stuttering, "Y…You also pass."

And then, his next statement almost made Ed blow his cover and whoop for joy.

"Alright then…one of you two can look after the prisons? That's always a post in need of applicants. The other…well…can help Madame Dante herself with her needs."

Even if Ed was an atheist by nature, he couldn't help but inwardly thank whatever God or higher deity might exist.


In half an hour, a bundle of keys was jingling from Ed's hands and he was making his way down the hall. Every time he passed an opening though, Ed slapped on an expression of formality, just to simplify matters if anyone should bump into him. As he descended into the dungeons, Ed was keenly aware of the unpleasant increase in humidity and the sudden drop in temperature. In other words, the dungeons were a cold, damp, paradise for uncontrolled growth of mold and gloom.

The dank atmosphere brought Aria's words back to mind. She had given him a cryptic warning before they went of to perform their respective duties.

"Be careful, Edward. The next time you see the gate, something will be taken away from you. You may regret it dearly. It will make you and the ones close to you suffer. "

Ed gritted his teeth – if Winry or Al had suffered in anyway, he would make whomever did it to them pay tenfold. However, rescuing them in the first place was his highest priority, and Ed couldn't help but notice his heart pounding in his ears when he final reached the thick, oaken door leading to the prison cells. Ed picked out the right key and squinted through the extremely poor light to find the keyhole. He inserted the key and turned it, receiving a satisfying click and a wave of relief.

Then he gasped. In the farthest cell down the hallway, he could make out his brother's limp form, chained to the wall and shivering with cold. However, the moment Al heard the door open; he raised his head and glared fiercely at whomever it was approaching him.

"Hey, Al, it's me!" Ed whispered through the bars, barely able to see anything but his brother's bare outline and Al's bright eyes.

"What do you want this time? I'm not going to help you!" Al's harsh tone shocked Ed at first, but then he realized that Al couldn't possibly recognize him in the darkness.

"It's me, Ed!" Ed prompted, but then realized with a jolt – they didn't speak the same language anymore. Al knew that his brother couldn't speak Xing, so when Ed babbled a phrase in Xing, Al immediately assumed it was something unpleasant. Then again, Ed didn't speak or understand Amestrian anymore, so it was technically impossible to communicate.

"I can't understand you, so it won't do you any good." Ed had no idea what his brother had said, so he merely resorted to the simplest form of communication he knew. Ed dashed all the way out to the hallway, grabbed the nearest torch, and dashed back; clapping his hands together and alchemizing his hair and eye color back to normal.

This action earned a shout of, "Brother!" from Al, which Ed still couldn't understand. Ed tried using sign language that he had learned on Earth to talk to Al, but to no avail. Ed racked his mind – what had Aria done to make him speak Xing?

Then it hit him – Equivalent Exchange. Ed's mind raced as he mentally calculated the formulas and precautions of messing with mental knowledge, forming complicated theories and corollaries on the spot. He went as far as pulling out a pocket book and doing some calculations on it, much to Al's amusement, before figuring out what he was supposed to do. The information given to him by the Talisman last time he crossed the Gate was priceless, and Ed was fairly sure it would work.

Ed motioned for Al to step back against the wall, having learned his lesson with the backlash during this specific transmutation on the train to Xing Central. He clapped his hands together, gave Al a forced smirk, took a deep breath, and pressed two fingers to his forehead. Then, to his horror, he heard the echo of Aria's warning in his head before the transmutation started.

The next thing he knew, Ed was standing in from of a very familiar set of Gates again. The long, black tentacles reached out from the Gate and drew him inwards inexorably, and Ed saw the blinding glow of the Talisman of Knowledge again. He braced himself for the exchange of knowledge when, to his surprise, did not happen.

Ed was assaulted by a torrent of information again. Tons of knowledge concerning language, customs, history, and sciences were crammed into his head at an alarming rate, causing Ed to groan in anguish. He didn't scream in pain anymore – grown men do NOT scream – but the feeling wasn't as painful as when he and Al failed to transmute their mother.

Then everything dissolved into a whirl of darkness and Ed found himself sweating and panting on the ground of the dungeons. Al was by his side, helping him sit up. Ed blinked a few times to clear his vision and shook his head vigorously to straighten his thoughts, bringing a hand up to his throbbing forehead in the process.

"I am NOT going to try that ever again." Ed groaned, standing up with Al's help. Al blinked and said, "Brother, you're speaking Amestrian again now."

Ed blinked his eyes in realization. "I am?...Hey, I am speaking Amestrian again! But then, why can I still speak Xing?" Ed looked at Al questioningly, and then finally got a good look at his brother. Al's wrists were ridiculously bruised and his clothing was torn. Mud and filth covered him from head to toe, and Al looked pale and rather underfed. Ed's eyes narrowed in fury towards whoever was responsible for Al's injuries, but, before he could voice his thoughts, a familiar voice rang out behind him.

"Edward Elric, you actually came." Ed whirled around, desperately seeking the source of the voice. Gold met sapphire as Ed locked gazes with her, but Ed stumbled backwards a step when he saw the coldness and anger in her eyes.


Winry was standing at the doorway, holding a simple, Xing-styled sword in her hand. She, unlike Al, was in perfect health and dressed very elaborately in a traditional Xing gown.

"Winry, what the hell!" Ed was bewildered by how Winry of all people was acting towards him. "Is something wrong?" Winry merely drew the sword, hiding her eyes behind her bangs. Ed watched, confused, until he found the blade pressed against his neck. His eyes widened.

"Win…ry?" Ed was bewildered until he saw Dante appear behind her, smiling cruelly. Al gasped sharply and moved forward, as if to intervene, but Dante merely smiled and muttered something under breath. Ed, however, barely heard Al's yelp of surprise when Al found the chains around his arms suddenly immobilizing him completely, and his voice was muted.

Ed's mind was in a very serious mental traffic jam, genius or not. Winry was holding a blade to his neck and tears were rolling down her face. Ed was completely shocked, but managed to choke out softly, "Winry…what in the world…?"

Her eyes hardened, and Winry was completely unaware of Dante and Al. Her eyes were very cold and she answered.

"Edward Elric…don't play dumb with me. I know what you're doing and who you really are."

Ed was lost, but found his voice faltering. He opened his mouth to talk, but found a lump in his throat preventing him from doing so. Winry's eyes narrowed and she explained.

"Someone was planning to destroy Amestris and Xing together by summoning something with Alchemy. The same person was messing with forbidden taboo and trying to resurrect the dead and travel between worlds, forming huge conspiracies and causing large numbers of deaths.

"That person also used many people to gain what he wanted, throwing them away when they were of no more use and he no longer needed his cover, and the people he used never even suspected that they were being used. Mrs. Izumi, Grandma Pinako, the government, the military…we were all used."

"And then, Dante figured out his plan and tried to stop him. He silenced her and eliminated the brass in the military to prevent the knowledge from leaking out. Then, he erased the memories of his own brother and escaped to another world. The identity of that cursed man…

"…IS YOU, EDWARD ELRIC." Winry's voice had started soft and elevated to an almost-shout. Ed was stunned by the ridiculous accusations pouring from Winry's mouth. He opened his mouth to protest when Winry cut him off again.

"That's not the only thing I know. You burned our house down that night, to get rid of Grandma Pinako and me, and to pursue that Shadowen girl. I would have died in that fire…but Dante and her patrol got me out of there. Grandma Pinako and Den are probably gone now…BECAUSE OF YOU!" At this, Winry raised her blade and slashed down. Ed jolted out of his shock and dodged, just in time.

"WINRY, GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" Ed dodged her clumsy attacks and tried to talk sense into her. "WHY WOULD I DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT! THINK ABOUT IT!"

Winry shook her head, and Ed saw the tears that were flung from her eyes. "I WON'T LISTEN! YOU'LL JUST TRICK US ALL OVER AGAIN!" She raised the sword, as if to strike, then brought it down, quivering.

"I…I don't know what to do anymore…Ed…" Her eyes silently pleaded him, showing him the sadness, confusion, anger, and tears pooling in them. He felt his own chest clench, but the reprieve was over.

Winry screamed in frustration and thrust the sword at him, attacking him despite her tears. Ed focused on dodging until he caught sight of Dante smiling a cruel, twisted smile at their fight. Ed's eyes sparked with fury.

"Dante…THIS IS ALL PART OF YOUR PLAN, ISN'T IT!" In that brief moment of diverted attention, Winry brought her sword down on Ed. Ed noticed it too late to dodge, and everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

Ed ducked to the right, stopping the blade from cleaving his head in two, but not far enough to dodge it completely. The blade bit deeply into his left shoulder, causing him to wince in pain and Winry to freeze in shock. Ed's right arm moved in autopilot and punched Winry in the chest, hard enough to knock her out.

Ed's eyes widened in horror as he saw Winry fall, and he moved to catch her when she did. Winry landed heavily in his arms, expression peaceful now in her unconsciousness. Ed's eyes were gentle as he brushed the hair out of her eyes and wiped away the angry tears. He pulled the weapon from her grasp and threw it to a side, lowering Winry gently onto the floor. Winry's hands were bleeding from grasping the hilt far too tightly in her frustration.

Then he stood up slowly and turned to face Dante, who was still smirking cruelly. Al, because he couldn't speak or move to help his brother, could only watch silently as Ed struggled to get through the situation. But Al caught sight of his brother's eyes and felt a wave of terror wash through him. He had never…ever…seen Ed with that kind of expression in his eyes.

"Dante…I don't know what you told her. All I know is that…over five years ago, I promised myself that I would prevent anyone from making her cry or bleed…and punish the ones that did. I'LL KILL YOU."

Dante's smile did not waver. "Ah, Elric, such strong, harsh words for such a young mouth. I thought you'd enjoy seeing your dear girlfriend again."

Ed answered by transmuting his automail into a blade with a very well practiced motion. Dante's smile did not waver, but she pulled a gun from her pocket.

"Very well. I'll be honest and tell you that my intention was to let you suffer a bit before finishing what I started." Dante locked the gun, pointed it at Ed. Ed saw her motion, and made as if to leap out of the way before Dante's sick smile stretched wider.

"Are you sure you want to dodge? Because if you do, she's going to die." Ed realized, to his horror, that Winry was laying unconscious right behind him.

Dante smiled evilly, and fired.


A/N:

KYAAAA! Another chapter is finally finished, and OHOHOHOHO, didn't I stop it at the perfect place?

I know, I know…it took me forever to update AGAIN but LIFE KEEPS GETTING IN THE WAY! Plus, this chapter was difficult to write…and IT STILL TURNED OUT HORRIBLE WAAAAAAAAH!

Oh, for those of you who've read the Bleach Manga past chapter 140, you might recognize the scene I stole out of there. You know, the totally angst-sy HitsuHina scene when they fight each other? OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHHITSUHINA 4EVER! Of course, it's not exactly the same, for plot purposes.

Oh, and one more thing: REVIEW…REVIEW!