Vianka: Yosh! I've taken over!
D3ath: Er—
Ed: (glares at D3ath) …is this true?
D3ath: …maybe…
Vianka: I'M YOUR NEW MASTER!! BOW DOWN TO ME!!! (Insert Maniacal laugh)
D3ath: Evil Overlord rule number 20: Despite its proven stress-relieving effect, I will not indulge in maniacal laughter. When so occupied, it's too easy to miss unexpected developments that a more attentive individual could adjust to accordingly…like this!! (Kicks Vianka out of conversation)
Ed/Al/Allen: …
D3ath: What…? She was in my spot…
Vianka: No! This cannot be! I am invincible!!
D3ath: RULE NUMBER 24!!! I will never utter the sentence "No! THIS CANNOT BE!! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" (After that, death is usually instantaneous).
Kanda: (pops up, angry, w/ drawn muugen) WHERE IS SHE?!!
D3ath: …what'd you do?
Vianka: well…I dug a trap hole…and he had soba…so when I took the soba, he chased after me and fell into the hole…
D3ath: …like I said, death is usually instantaneous…
Ed: from the looks of it, I actually agree with D3ath.
Al: (nods)
Allen: …she's screwed.
Vianka: You guys are so mean!! (runs)
Kanda: Get back here—!!" (Runs off after her, swinging muugen)
D3ath:…well, anyways, thanks Skeddadle-san, nellchan0013, rainbow isis, and DemonRaily for the reviews! And DemonRaily, you're such a lifesaver—I love the episodes!!! (showers with much candy and pocky)
Al: D3ath-san doesn't own us. She also doesn't own the Evil Overlord stuff.
Chapter 10
"Bastard…" Edward hissed, lying down on Al's vacated bed. Al smiled from the table he was sitting at, struggling to eat with his heavily bandaged arms.
"Niisan, if it hurts so much, then maybe you shouldn't break it," Al said, shaking his head and concentrating on his food. Allen, who was still on his own bed, sniggered weakly. He was also 'fixed' by Komui, and had been bedridden for the past few hours.
Ed moaned into the bed. "It's not my fault that I get attacked. I have to defend myself with something!"
Al sighed. "What about your alchemy?" he suggested, and Ed stopped. "You can defend yourself with that, too."
Ed was about to flail his arms when he realized that his nerves were still buzzing. "Dammit, Al, sometimes that isn't enough!"
Komui peered into the room. "Are you three alright now?" he asked, and he got a smile from Alphonse and two dirty looks from the other young men. Komui smiled and nodded. "Good, good! Well, I'm going to be out for a little bit…"
"Wait a minute, Komui-san," Allen said, sitting up. "I have a question…it's been bothering me for a while…but…" he looked up, serious and grave, and Komui stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. "What is Noah's family?"
There was a pause, and a new voice answered him, making all four jump in surprise, Timcampy almost falling from his perch on the head of the bed. "He came 'ere to ask us about it," Lavi said, leaning against the wall by the door.
"Huh…?" Allen blinked.
"When did he get in here…?" Ed asked, a strange look on his face as he observed the redheaded teen.
Lavi grinned at their reactions, folding his arms and closing his eyes as he relayed information to them. "Noah is a name not mentioned outside of historical texts, the name of a groundless family." He looked up, still grinning. "They often appear in the crossroads of history, but they're never recorded in the books."
The others traded stunned looks as he continued on. "Those guys appeared alongside the Earl. That's why he—" He nodded at Komui "—made a special trip." He held up a finger, much like a professor when lecturing a student. "To ask the only guy in the world who knows of unrecorded history. Bookman—"
A small, booted foot collided with his face, and Lavi flew towards the wall, hitting it head-on as a small, old man with heavy black spots around his eyes scowled at the teen. The others jumped again, watching the old man with something akin to shock and surprise. The old man landed gracefully on his feet, and tucked his hands into his sleeves, glaring at the fallen boy.
"Blabbermouth!" he said sharply, and groggily, Lavi sat up. "How many warnings will it take for you to listen?! Haven't I told you that Bookman is the only one who can talk about Bookman?!"
"What…?" Al asked, and they all sweatdropped.
"How the hell do they get in here without us seeing them?!" Ed demanded, sitting up.
Lavi grinned from his position on the floor, his tone light and cajoling. "Who cares about somethin' like that?" he asked cheerfully. "I'm going to be the next bookman pretty soon after you, anyway."
Bookman leaned in towards his apprentice, glaring at the redhead. Lavi shrank back from him slightly. "Greenhorn!" The old man raged. "An inexperienced kid like you has a long way to go, you fool!"
Lavi butted heads with the old man, a wicked smile on his face. "Y-you old panda…"
A solid whack to the head laid the redhead flat, and Edward could've sworn he saw a panda for a moment. "O-ouch!" Lavi yelped, clutching his head. The others blinked, unsure if they were supposed to be laughing or intimidated.
"Allen Walker…" Allen perked up at the sound of his name, and he stared at Bookman, a little perplexed. "The child that the prophecies called "The Destroyer of Time."
Allen's eye widened slightly, a bandage covering his left one. "Y-yes…"
Bookman glanced at the two resident blondes in the room. "And you're Edward and Alphonse Elric, correct?" he asked, and they nodded, a little startled. "The ones that would bring the "Unity of Worlds," am I correct?"
Lavi snorted. "How can there be more than one world?" he asked, grinning, and his comment rewarded him with another painful smack on the head.
"Ouch!"
Bookman ignored his young apprentice. "We are colleagues collectively called Bookman," he said, shaking hands with Allen and Edward (Al's hurt too much to do so, so he bowed instead).
"Bookman?" Alphonse asked, straightening up, his stormy gray eyes wide.
Lavi put his hands behind his head. "Our job is to investigate things that don't show up in history, so called "unrecorded history" and record it." He looked up and grinned at the others in the room. "It's a tough job, as you might imagine—" Bookman's fist collided with his head, and he yelped for a third time, clutching at the spot in pain. "Ouch!"
"Keep your mouth shut!" Bookman roared.
The others sweatdropped.
Bookman tucked his hands back into his sleeves. "Now we are becoming exorcists with a duty," he said calmly, as if nothing had happened while Lavi, behind him, swore. He nodded at the two blondes and the white-haired boy in the room. "I have no name, but you may call me Bookman."
"All-all right…" Allen stammered, while the two brothers traded looks.
Bandages lay on the small bedside table, and Bookman inspected Allen's eye. "This is strange…" he murmured, and Allen looked up, looking remarkably odd with one eye completely open and the other one completely closed. The others had already left the room, Edward and Alphonse together, while Lavi went with Komui to Lenalee's room. "That left eye of yours has started to heal, albeit only slightly, by itself." He began tucking the needles he was holding with metal-tipped fingers back into their cases. "I don't think my needles are necessary here."
Allen blinked. "Is that so…?" he asked, while Bookman replaced the bandage on his eye.
Bookman stepped back. "I see you're cursed," he said quietly, and Allen looked down, covering his left eye with his bandaged anti-akuma weapon.
"Y-yes…"
Bookman looked down at the boy, and, seeing that he wasn't going to get any more information about it, said, "At any rate, just take it easy for now. Until Lenalee-san awakens, there is nothing that can be done. There is no need to hurry."
As Allen stepped out of the room, he saw Lavi standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. It seemed as if this was his customary stance. "So? How'd it go?" he asked kindly, and Allen stammered.
"Um…h-he said that I didn't need any kind of special treatment…" he said slowly, casting his eyes to the ground. Timcampy, on his shoulder, fluttered his wings a little.
"Oh…?" Lavi said, straightening up. He held up a finger and grinned happily at the white-haired boy. "Well, for a change of pace, let's take a walk!" he exclaimed, and Allen blinked.
"Huh?"
Edward and Alphonse were sitting at a café, and Ed watched Al slowly eat with concerned golden eyes, a frown creasing his face as he wolfed down on his meal. "Al…"
Al looked up, in the middle of taking a bite out of some salad. "…Yeah?"
"Is something wrong? You've been really quiet lately," Ed said, setting his fork down. He could always eat later—his brother was his main concern right now.
Al was about to brush it off with a smile when Edward fixed his with a stern golden look. "You can't fool me, Al. I'm your own damn brother."
Al closed his mouth, the cheerful expression dropping from his face. He too set his fork down, a nervous, anxious look on his face as he stared at his plate.
"Niisan…you remember the mission I was assigned to?" he said slowly, and Edward folded his arms.
"Yeah? What about it?"
Al played with the tablecloth, his gray eyes downcast as he stared down. "Well…it was an innocence, but while we were fighting…the innocence protected us, and it was bright yellow…almost like the gate…"
Ed's head snapped up, and he stared at his little brother. "What did you say?" he croaked out, and Al's grip on the tablecloth tightened.
"It was golden, and had all of these little flashes in it. It was just like the light the transmutation circle made when we…you know…tried to bring mom back to life…and there were all of these little black things in it…it later turned out to be clocks, but still…" he tailed off, sweat standing out on his forehead as he stared at the table.
Ed was silent for a long time, contemplating what he should say. "Al…uh…" he scratched the back of his head. "It just made you nervous, right?" he said, and Al nodded. "It was too similar to the real thing, right?"
Al nodded again, and Edward stood up, walked around the table, and gave his brother a one-armed hug. "Don't worry, Al—it'll never happen again. It was just some stupid innocence shit that was similar to the gate, but not the real thing."
"Niisan, didn't Hevlaska say that Innocence was really similar to Alchemy?" Al asked, and Ed stopped.
"Yeah…but they're completely different…" Ed said, and Al brightened up. "I mean, anyone could do alchemy if they really tried. But not everyone can use innocence. Hell, she said that not even Alchemists could reach their full potential…" he stopped, and a thought hit him.
'So…what was it, that I did…back in Italy…? I didn't even clap my hands…'
Al looked up at his brother. "Niisan?"
Ed sat back down. "Al…is it possible to transmute something without clapping your hands?" he asked, and Al stared at his brother with wide, gray eyes.
"Niisan…did you…?"
Envy scowled as he stood next to the Earl of Millennium, watching the akuma wreak havoc on the streets. "That bitch, Dante…" he hissed, watching the chaos out on the streets. "She killed the other homunculi…I can't find a single one of their shitty hides…"
The Earl glanced at him. "You were looking for your friends?" he chortled, and Envy's fist landed by his head.
"They're not my friends," he hissed, and the Earl drew back slightly. "We were kindred, all made by the same person, but never friends. Don't mix them up." He returned to his spot, and the Earl shook his head, focusing on the mass destruction in the streets.
There was a huge explosion, and the Earl looked up in shock. "What—" he stopped when he saw a black-haired man with an eye patch holding his fingers up in a snapping motion. Envy peered over the Earl's shoulder. "Hey, it's the Colonel Bastard," he said, a frown on his face. He suddenly turned on the Earl. "Hey, are these things good against alchemy?" he demanded, and the Earl shook his head.
"I didn't know they had innocence over here!" he said, the smile never leaving his face as his eyes narrowed. "Let's head back," he said, and Envy glared, turning and heading down the alley.
General Mustang had seen the shadows in the alley, and saw the streak of green hair before it disappeared. He did what came first in his mind.
"Breda! Havoc! Fuery! Olsen! Go down that alley and follow whoever went down there, now! Hawkeye, Falman, you two stay here with me. Second Lieutenant Fuery, you'll be in charge of communication. If anything goes wrong, keep following, and try to communicate with me as soon as you can, understood?"
Breda, Havoc, Fuery, and the greenhorn saluted. "Yes sir!"
"Good, now move!" They took off down the alley, following after the suspicious people their General had seen. Havoc spotted the green hair again, and he swore under his breath.
"Damn it, that bastard is still alive? I thought the Fullmetal Chief killed him…" he hissed, and Fuery paled considerably while Breda looked on grimly. Sydney Olsen, the greenhorn, glanced at her superior officer in confusion.
"Who killed who?" she asked, and Havoc shook his head.
"Questions later…let's go!"
Slowly, they trailed after Envy and his strange companion, and they steadily wound through the alleys, undetected and keeping a close eye on the green-haired homunculus. Finally, they peered around a corner, and saw Envy stepping through a glowing portal with a number on it; number three.
Havoc took a quick glance around, beckoned hurriedly to the others, and readying their guns, they stepped through.
And what they saw completely blew them away.
They stood in a white city, clear, quiet, and still. It seemed to be inside some kind of barrier, and all around there was nothing but white ceramic walls and still streets.
"This-this is—" Havoc whispered, and Fuery looked around, uneasy.
"Captain Havoc…something's not right…" the bespectacled man said, his dark eyes looking around wildly. Captain Breda frowned, readying his gun as Sergeant Sydney hefted hers, her fingers resting on the trigger. Havoc motioned for them to follow him, and slowly, they made their way through the still town.
Fuery noticed something hanging off one of the doors, and he tapped his superior officer on the shoulder. "Captain…" he pointed at the paper, and all went to investigate it. The paper was completely blank, save for one word and an arrow pointing down at the door it was resting on.
"England…" Breda read over Havoc's shoulder. He made a face. "What the hell is an 'England'?"
Havoc shrugged. "I dunno…" he said, and he slowly eased the door open, peering out. He almost dropped his gun in shock.
"Another…town?" he gasped, and the others crowded around him while Sydney kept an eye out for any suspicious movement behind them.
"What is this place?" Fuery asked, and Havoc frowned.
"He must've gone through here…" he said, and he darted into the alley of the bustling, peaceful city. "Let's go!"
"Yes sir!"
"Sir, are you sure they're going to be fine?" Hawkeye asked, loading her gun as her superior officer snapped again.
Mustang smirked confidently, watching the explosion in the street as the strange monsters came down one by one. "I'm sure they'll be fine. I have a feeling it'll lead them to him. Especially if Envy's involved," he smirked, and he snapped again.
Hawkeye repressed a smile. It seemed as it Mustang was waiting for Edward to come home again, and taking aim, she shot.
"Niisan, get up! We're going to miss the train again!"
"…zzznk…no…dun wanna…zzz…."
"Niisan!"
Komui peered into the room Alphonse and Edward were sharing, watching Alphonse try and get his brother up and running. Behind him, Lenalee, Lavi, Allen, and Bookman stood, all waiting to go and fully healed. Komui sighed, and turned to Allen. "Allen-kun, can you help him?" he asked, and Allen suddenly got a wicked grin on his face. Komui shied away from the white-haired boy as Allen entered the room, producing a bucked of ice-cold water. "W-we'll just meet you at the train station, okay?" he asked, the Allen barely responded, proceeding to dump the offending bucket onto Edward.
"THE HELL?!!!"
Komui and the others left quickly, not wanting to deal with Edward at his current mood.
"Niisan, we need to go!"
"Let's go, shorty!!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING FUCKING SHORT, BEANSPROUT?!!"
"My names ALLEN! Not Beansprout!! You're the beansprout!!"
"Niisan! Allen-san! We need to go!"
Several minutes later…
"Dammit! We missed the train!" Edward shouted, kicking a nearby bench. Beside him was a very annoyed Alphonse and an irritated Allen, both of whom were glaring at Edward. Edward turned on his brother and the white-haired boy. "Dammit, why didn't you wake me up earlier?!"
Allen and Alphonse glared at the angry blonde. "We did, niisan," Al said in a dangerous voice, and Edward's golden eyes went wide.
"You…did?"
"Yes, and now we've missed the train because of you!" Allen said, folding his arms and glaring at the golden-eyed blonde. "Now we're stuck with the next one, and won't get back home until later! (A/N: This happens to my brother all the time—we'll wake him up, and he'll ask us why we didn't wake him up. Very frustrating, so Allen's reaction is very similar to mine :D) I wanted to eat Jerry-san's cooking…" he moaned, and flopped over the bench. "Sooo hungry…"
Al sat down next to him. "I wanted to check out their library…" he sighed, and Edward sweatdropped.
"The hell?"
A few drops of rain pattered down, and it was soon followed by a rainstorm. Edward scowled. Just to make his day even more miserable.
At the Black Order, everyone was wondering where their three new exorcists had gotten to.
Komui sat in his office, sipping coffee as he doodled on some paperwork. "Where are they?" he asked, looking up as Lenalee walked into the room, carrying a tray of coffee. She shook her head.
"I don't know, Niisan." She glanced at Bookman and Lavi, who were also in the room. "Did they miss the train, then?"
Lavi snorted. "Seems like it."
Havoc gaped as rain began to fall steadily down, and he watched the city in awe. "What…it's like this place isn't as advanced as where we come from…I haven't seen a single car..." he murmured, and behind him, Breda was wiping off his gun, standing underneath a balcony to keep himself dry, accompanied by Fuery and Sydney. Havoc was currently looking around the corner, and he was searching for the homunculus and his large companion. "We need to blend in more…" he muttered, wiping sodden blonde bangs from his eyes. "But…where—?"
"Here!" He turned at the sound of Sydney's voice, and found her digging through a box of clothes that was marked as 'Charity.' She grinned. "What luck!" She pulled out something for the two men, took one look at Breda, frowned, and pulled something out for herself. "Sorry, Captain Breda…I don't think there's anything in your size…" she said apologetically, and Havoc and Fuery repressed a snort. Breda scowled, and grabbed a jacket, unbuttoning his military-issue jacket and replacing it with the new one. It came a little short at his wrists, and he scowled as the others tried not to laugh.
Sydney looked away while the other changed, and she watched a train pull into the station, one of the last ones of the day. She watched in interest as three boys stepped off the train, all three wearing a black and silver uniform of sorts. She caught a flash of golden eyes as one looked around, and she blinked.
"Golden eyes…?" she murmured, and Havoc jerked upright, in the middle of putting on a jacket.
"Where?!" he demanded, and she pointed, only to find that the three she was watching were gone.
"Huh? They were right there…" she said, and the others looked over.
"Boy or girl?" Havoc demanded, and she blinked.
"Boys…three of them. One had golden eyes, but I think one had white hair while the other two were blonde…"
"Was one really short?" Breda asked gruffly, and she thought for a moment.
"Yeah…how'd you know?"
The three men traded startled glances. Havoc slid his gun into his pocket, along with the extra ammo. "Boys, I think we found our missing alchemist," he said with a grin, and the others nodded, leaving Sergeant Sydney completely in the dark.
"Huh?"
In the dark alleys of England, the rain began to stop as a boy with strange wheel shoes rolled back, his eyes wide with fright as he watched a skeleton enter into a man. A large shadow beside it cackled, and drifted away. The boy gasped as the man sat up, twitching, and his brown eyes shrank in fear. Slowly, he brought his hands up to his face, took a deep breath, and…
"IT'S AN AKUMA!!!!"
Edward, Alphonse, and Allen were leaving the train just as the shout echoed through the town. "IT'S AN AKUMA!! YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!"
Edward stopped complaining about the rain, and looked up, searching the town for a brief moment. He could've sworn he saw a blue military uniform, but he brushed it off, telling himself that it was impossible, and raced after Allen and Alphonse, both of whom had taken off without him.
"Wait a minute, dammit!" he shouted, racing after them. They paid no heed, and continued to run doggedly through the streets, until they skidded into one alley…
"Are you all okay? Where's the akuma?!" Allen demanded, and Edward stumbled to a stop beside them, glaring at his younger brother.
"Dammit, Al, you could've waited," he huffed, folding his arms. Alphonse ignored his older brother, examining the small group that stood in a circle around a small boy…namely, the one that shouted. They all stared at the three exorcists.
One man scowled, a vein throbbing in his bald head. "Does it look like there's an akuma?" he asked irately.
"Eh?" Allen and Alphonse traded looks as the man hit the small boy on his head. He was wearing a hat with goggles, and with his red and white striped shirt and rolling shoes, he stood out like a sore thumb.
"Look, Jean! Just because you said everyone was going to die!" the bald man said as the boy clutched his head in pain. He glanced back at the three exorcists. "Sorry; it was just this kid's prank. Always screaming about akuma or whatever." He glanced down at the boy with distaste.
The boy jerked upright, swear rolling down the side of his face as he protested. "I'm not playing around, you idiot! There really is an akuma!" he exclaimed, clenching his fists. "They've started to invade this world, one by one!"
Allen took a step forward, and his eyes fixed on a man in the back, with a dark hood covering half of his face. He looked pretty sinister, but he smiled slightly as he watched Jean. Jean was unaware of this, and continued to rant on. "Just now, this guy was killed by some rough-looking guy in a hat!" he said fiercely, gesturing to the man with the hood.
The man grabbed Jean and covered his mouth with strong hands. Jean's eyes widened with fright as they stared up at the man. The man gave a laugh. "Sorry! It was nothing," he said as he held Jean back. He glanced down at Jean with wide eyes. "He's always bugging me to play with him, and he got a bit too into it…" he chuckled a little, and the others scowled at Jean.
"I knew it!" the bald man said, scowling.
"Next time you scream, we're not going to come and rescue you, Jean!" another lectured. They all turned, and left. Jean squirmed, frantic cries escaping from his covered mouth as he tried to get free.
Allen and Alphonse watched the boy for a few moments, and Edward waited until everyone was gone before lunging forward and punching the man in the face. "Let the damn kid go," he growled, before turning away. The boy gasped, and whirled around to face the man, scrambling backwards.
A black pentacle appeared on the man's forehead, and he reached out, his hands turning into guns…
Allen's weapon was suddenly sticking through the akuma, and Allen glared at him. "You can't hide from my eyes," he said harshly, and the akuma split apart to reveal the skeleton before blowing up before their eyes.
Edward gaped. "I didn't even know that was an akuma…" he said, wide-eyed, and Alphonse sighed.
"Niisan, you'll never make a good exorcist if you keep this up," he said in exasperation.
Jean gaped up at Allen who smiled and replaced the glove on his red hand. "So, Jean, was it? You see to know a lot about akuma, but—" He was suddenly tackled by the strange boy, and the boy squealed as Allen fell.
"Oh my god, a real exorcist!! This is the first time I've ever seen one!!!" he cried, pumping his fists into the air. "Was that your anti-akuma weapon?! Can you please…show…me…?" he trailed off at the sight of Allen, knocked unconscious by hitting his head on the ground from Jean's wild excitement.
Jean rolled along as Edward, Alphonse, and Allen walked along behind him, all three of them staring at Jean's shoes. 'What strange shoes…'
"My dad's a scientist in the Black Order," Jean said cheerfully, rolling along. "He hasn't been back for a long time, so I read his research notes one day while I was bored," he said, grinning at the three exorcists, "and I learned about akuma. Those guys from before don't know anything, so I'm patrolling the town in order to protect it from akuma invasion," he said, his brown eyes shining with ecstasy.
"Patrolling?" Alphonse asked, and Jean nodded, putting his hands behind his head.
"My friends are too!" he said happily, grinning. "This one friend of mine, Leo, he's really awesome! I'm also patrolling to learn more about the akuma, to investigate, you know."
"Why are you investigating them?" Edward muttered. 'They're not that interesting if you ask me."
"Isn't it obvious?" Jean asked, wheeling about so suddenly that it caused Allen to stop quickly and for the other two to run into him. "One day I want to be an amazing scientist, and make a weapon that'll wipe out an akuma instantly!" He pumped his fists in the air, riling himself up.
"Umm…" Allen said, holding a hand up to calm the boy down.
"That's nice, Jean," Al said, and Jean stopped, looking up at them in sudden realization.
"Besides that…" he said, and Edward glared at the boy.
"What?"
Jean looked at the three of them flatly. "I never thought that such weak-looking people could become exorcists," he said, and all three facefaulted.
"What was that?!" Edward screeched, lunging for the boy, and Allen fell into a bout of depression as Alphonse struggled to hold his raging brother back.
Jean folded his arms, adamant. "My image of an exorcist was a macho man, completely the opposite of you three!" He glanced at Allen, who was now in the fetal position, facing the wall. "But it turns out like you three became pretty good exorcists. Why did you become one? How do you become one?" he couched down beside Allen. "Did you pull some strings?"
"I don't think pulling any strings would help…" Allen muttered, depressed.
"So where did you get that anti-akuma weapon?" Jean asked, peppering the three with questions. "What're your weapons?" he asked Ed and Al, and then he turned back to Allen. "When was the first time you destroyed an akuma with it? How did you feel then? How many akuma have you destroyed?" A sad look crossed Allen's face, and he looked away, up at the darkening skies. He looked at his left hand, and clenched the fist.
"Jean, you shouldn't poke your nose where it doesn't belong," Allen said, if not a little coldly. You also should stop patrolling with Leo and your other friends." Jean took a step back as Allen glanced at him. "If you do too much and the Earl of Millennium catches onto you, you'll be in danger."
A frown crossed Jeans face, and he tossed Allen something. "Here."
Allen caught it, and stared at the small onion in his hands. "…An onion…?"
"TAKE COVER!!!" Ed screeched, both he and Al diving away as Jean put his goggles on. It exploded in front of Allen's face, and Ed laughed as he watched Allen claw at his eyes.
"M-my-my eyes!!!" he wailed, and Alphonse cast a sympathetic look over at the white-haired boy, elbowing his brother to stop him from laughing. Jean stuck his tongue out at him childishly.
"Heh, heh! That's my invention, the onion bomb~!" he pulled his goggles up, and started to roll away. "Sorry for trying to stop the akuma from invading our world!" he called, and he left. "I'm more useful than you think, Allen!" he called over his shoulder, disappearing around a corner.
Allen stepped after him. "Jeez, I don't know…" he muttered, rubbing furiously at his eyes.
Al handed him a handkerchief. "You're sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong," he said with a grin. "Here, let's go."
Allen gave the tall blonde a lopsided grin, taking the handkerchief. "Ah, thanks, Alphonse-san."
Later...
At headquarters, the members of the science department were lying on various tables and books, moaning.
"Ah…it just never ends…" Johnny moaned, falling over and landing on the floor, not even bothering to get up again.
"If it ends, it'll be a miracle…" Tapp said, not even lifting his head from the table.
Nearby, Edward and Allen were looking through all of the research with a vigor that hadn't been seen in the science department for years. "I don't understand what's wrong with you," Ed said, going through the notes easily and writing down equations. "This stuff is great! It's so easy, too!"
Alphonse beamed, nodding. "I haven't seen stuff like this since we were studying for the national state exam, niisan!"
"Or since I started to build rockets!" Edward said. "This stuff is way better than what we researched!"
Reever looked at them wearily. "…And what was that?" he asked, and the brothers didn't even look up.
"Just something for alchemy. No big deal," Edward said, hardly stopping.
Allen peered into the library, sweatdropping slightly when he saw the science department members. "A-ano…"
"I can't…take it anymore…" Johnny said, and Allen blinked in confusion. 65 floated past them, toting another large pile of paperwork.
"There's still more to do! It all starts from here!" he said, floating towards the Elric brothers and dumping it beside them. They gave him a grin before returning to work. Allen gave a sigh. 'Even though Lenalee said headquarters was home…' he looked up at the fallen science members. 'I can see why everyone doesn't want to come back…'
Lenalee walked in cheerfully, carrying a tray of coffee. "Anyone want coffee?" she asked, and a few members called for some with relieved grins as they stopped working for a moment.
Allen walked up to her. "Ano…Lenalee…"
She glared at him. "What?" she asked sharply, and Allen blinked.
"Eh? Um…is Russell-san here?" she glared at him for another second, pointed him in the right direction, and stalked off. He stared after her, confused.
"Oh, Allen-san," Al said, not looking up from his work. "She wanted me to tell you not to go into the cafeteria for a while—they're having some problems with jelly or something like that." Allen, still a little startled, nodded slowly before heading off to talk to Russell.
Allen approached the man in the corner, who was hidden behind a large stack of books and miraculously still working. "Um…I met Jean yesterday…" he said slowly, and the man didn't look up from his work. "He said he was patrolling the town to protect it from akuma." He bowed to Russell. "So please, as his father, tell him to stop doing a dangerous thing!"
Russell sat up. "I got it! I understand!!" Allen jerked back in confusion.
"Eh?"
Russell pushed up his square glasses, grinning. "I finally found it after three days! I see…I messed up on this calculation!" he hunched back over his work. "I can't let another week go to waste! Once more, from the top!"
Allen sighed.
Inside the cafeteria, Jerry lifted up a platter. "It's complete! The party for Allen, Edward, and Alphonse's welcome home party is now complete!"
Around him, decorations hung from every wall and food was on every table as the finders and members of the science department cheered. Jerry showed everyone the platter.
"Let's party our hearts in celebration of Allen, Edward, and Alphonse's first successful mission!" Around him, the guests cheered.
"This is bad!" They all looked around at the sound of Lenalee's voice, and she dashed into the cafeteria. "I can't find them anywhere!"
Lenalee raced down the hallways of the Black Order, running into Edward. "Have you seen Al?" he demanded, and she shook her head, wide-eyed.
"Eh? We're looking for him too. You, Alphonse-kun, and Allen-kun," she said, confused. "I wonder where they went…"
Ed scowled. "Dammit! I bet they went after Jean again…!" he raced down the corridor, Lenalee right behind him.
"Wait! What are you talking about?!"
D3ath: Dun dun DUNNN! I decided to split this episode—it would've taken too long at the rate it was going. Hope you liked!
Al: Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, D3ath-san has managed to update the last seven chapters weekly, so please, review her and thank her for her efforts!
Ed: Why would anyone want to review?
D3ath: Jerk!! (kicks him)
Ed: Ow, DAMMIT! THAT WAS MY LEG!!
D3ath: that was the point, baka!!
Allen: Please review…
—Omake—
Lavi was having a very entertaining day.
He had found a new victim, other than his usual Yuu-chan. Two new victims, actually.
Victim one: A boy younger than him, with white hair. Entertaining results when you take his food away or call him 'moyashi.' Reacted very strongly, and was amazing at poker. Note to self; never play poker with Allen Walker, or you'll find yourself stripped to your boxes. No joke.
Victim two: Someone his age, with blonde hair and golden eyes. Very short. Very very short. Shorter than Allen Walker. Call Edward Elric anything related to short (i.e. mini, chibi, shorty, runt, shrimp, small, fun-sized…), and find yourself running for your life. Literally.
He never tired of this, because when he'd call Allen a beansprout, Allen would rage and shout, "IT'S ALLEN WALKER!! NOT A BEANSPROUT!!". When he'd call Edward anything similar to small, the blonde would scream, "WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT A DUST MITE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SEE HIM?!!" all the while attempting to kill him with his bare hands. When he'd call Yuu-chan…well, Yuu-chan, Kanda would attempt to cut his head off with Muugen. So when he mixed all three together…
"OI!! YUU-CHAN!! CHIBI-CHAN!! MOYASHI!!!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!"
Yes. Very entertaining results indeed.