Last time, Sora and the Elric Brothers left Lior and returned to Central by train. Maes Hughes welcomed the young heroes back, and was happy to call Sora a member of his family, but before Sora could go with Hughes to his new home, Sora had a promise he had to keep...
Back at Destiny Islands and in the Orphanage, Riku was awaiting the arrival of Sora, who told him that he was going to pay them a visit after he completes his first in Lior. But as he was waiting, a strange robed man came into the Orphanage and said to Riku...
THE DOOR HAS OPENED!
Somehow, after the encounter, Riku went insane and lit the Orphanage on fire.
Sora then returned to Destiny Islands and saw Cornello's pets, the Golems. What can they be looking for?
While defeating many Golems, Sora helped his fellow orphans get through the city. Eager to know why these creatures attacked his old home, Sora followed the trail of fire and death back to the Orphanage, where Riku (Or whatever's left of him) was waiting with open arms...
Warning: Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Fullmetal Alchemist are both licensed by Square-Enix. The secondary licenses for both franchises are Disney (Kingdom Hearts), Aniplex, Bones Inc., and Funimation (Fullmetal Alchemist).
PS: There will be spoilers.
Fullmetal Kingdom: The Fanfic
Chapter 12: Stained Memories
Sora was terrified by Riku's sudden change of character. He tried to talk some sense into his friend, "Riku, listen to yourself. You're talking about random things after burning our home. Doors, darkness, fear, what are you trying to say to me? You never snapped like this before, WHY NOW?" Riku didn't answer, he didn't listen to a single word that Sora said to him, Riku reached out to Sora, "The military will be here at any moment. We have to hurry..." Jiminy pulled Sora's ear, "Sora, don't follow him, trust me on this!"
Sora then looked back at Riku and said, "...I'm not going with you Riku." Riku staggered for a bit, "W-what? But why?" Sora replied, "Because the Riku I knew wouldn't let this happen. The Riku I remembered was noble and well respected. You are not the same Riku, in fact, YOU'RE INSANE!" Riku started to tremble, he felt abandoned, so he clenched his fist and said, "YOU'RE NOT SO DIFFERENT FROM ME YOU FOOL! AFTER ALL, YOU'RE THE ONE TO BLAME FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO HER!"
"!"
Sora's eyes widened in terror, he trembled while remembering his childhood, he then looked at his right hand, and remembered holding something, a weapon of some kind. He looked down and saw someone lying on the ground. Sora remembered how he was covered in something, something he was well too familiar with...
"B-blood" Sora couldn't help it, his memory of that day returned...
...what...why am I...hey, are you...
!
Sora's eyes turned white, and then he fainted. Riku started to walk towards the unconscious youth, "You brought this upon yourself, Sora, now come..." but Jiminy stepped in front of Sora, Riku smiled and asked, "A bug with high trousers? It's very noble of you, but Sora is mine, so do yourself a favor, and step aside!" Jiminy replied, "I WILL NOT LET YOU CORRUPT THIS BOY!" Riku smiled and started walking towards them. Jiminy was small, but he wasn't a coward, as he remained at Sora's side.
Jiminy thought to himself, Mr. President, I may not be as talented as you are as far as strength goes, but for you, Pinocchio, and you're home country...I will protect this boy with my life! Riku was almost close enough to crush the little cricket, but suddenly, a strange figure stepped before Jiminy...
"...you!"
A few hours after Sora left Central, Hughes brings the Elrics into his house, where his wife, Grace was finished making dinner. Grace came over to Hughes and hugged him, "Welcome home Hughes. How was work?" Hughes replied, "It wasn't as special as seeing you again Grace. By the way, I brought some old friends home." Grace notices the Elrics, "Edward, Alphonse, will they be staying for the night?" Ed waves hello, "Hi again Ms. Hughes."
Grace smiled and said, "By the way Hughes, a certain little girl was waiting for you to come home-." And then, running past Grace, was Hughes's little girl, Elisia. She hugged her father, "DADDY, YOU'RE HOME! YAAAY!" Hughes laughed and picked up his little girl, "Hey there kiddo! I've missed you so much!"
Hughes places his daughter down and explains to her, "By the way Elisia, I brought over the Fullmetal Alchemist for dinner! He helped mommy bring you out into this world, isn't he just the best?" Elisia looked at the two Elric Brothers and pointed at Al, "Big Brother...Little Brother" Elisia said when she pointed at Ed, who was a bit ticked off.
Ed tried to calm down and explain who he is to the little confused girl, "Listen...Elisia, I'm Edward Elric. I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist. And this here is my younger brother Alphonse. You see? Younger...brother." Elisia then said, "NO! Teacher says that the younger brother is the little brother. Younger means little, and that's why you're younger, because you're little." Ed's face started bursting like a kettle, "WHAT THE HELL KINDA TEACHER SAYS THAT?".
Back at the house, Grace asked, "Honey...I heard you adopted a young boy, is he here yet?" Hughes scratched his head, "Sorry dear, the kid just wanted to see his friends again. He says he'll be back, so I'll have to take his word for now..."
Later that night, Edward was telling Hughes and his family about his trip to Lior. He told them about how he and Al met Sora, who was determined to protect them from Cornello's tricks and traps. Then, Edward told them about how he tricked the so-called prophet into telling him his secrets about taking over the country, without knowing that the whole conversation was being broadcast on radio. Alphonse then spoke about Edward and Sora's triumphant battle with Cornello, who fell to Ed's alchemy.
Later that night, Hughes was in the living room, sitting on the sofa while reading a book, when Grace came in. She asked, "Maes dear, what's wrong? Can't sleep?" Hughes replied, "Something like that." Grace sat next to him and held his hand, "I know what you're thinking about. You're thinking about the Elrics, aren't you?"
Hughes replied, "Well, not just them...but our 'soon to be' son. Sora's like the Elrics you know, he was trained to fight and follow orders. Those three boys are like the rest of the State Alchemists, they're called the 'Dogs of the Military', and believe me, that's not a very sociable nickname for a sociable bunch like them. I can only imagine what life was like for those boys, enduring all that pain in their young age..."
Later that night, Donald and Goofy returned to Central. After getting off the train, Donald furiously said, "We were told to go to Lior, and when we came, the president and the new Keyblade Master are no where to be found...GRRR, WHERE IS THAT STUPID KEY? I FEEL LIKE I'M BEING LED AROUND AN NEVER ENDING MAZE! THIS IS JUST RIDICULOUS!" Goofy comes over to Donald's side and said, "Hey you know, since he's already on the lookout for them, maybe we aught to go find Leon. Then maybe we can find the Keybearer and the president faster."
But suddenly, Goofy heard something, he turned around and looked, feeling as if something was wrong. Goofy turned to Donald and said, "Uh, Donald, I think we might have been-." Donald shook his head and said, "Ah, what do you know, ya 'BIG PALOOKA'? For all you know, it was just a stray cat! Now come on, we've got to find this 'Leon' person."
"You'll have to wait on that. Besides, I already know where the Keyblade Master is!"
Donald and Goofy turn around to lock eyes with the person who spoke to them, but surprisingly, there was no one there. "HEY, OVER HERE!" Donald then noticed a certain little cricket waving at them from below. "J-Jiminy? What are you doing here?" Donald asked, Jiminy replied, "I was following the new Keybearer, his name is Sora, and he is currently in the Hospital! Come on, we have to get to him before the Golems do!" Goofy asked, "Golems? What are Golems Jiminy?" Jiminy replied, "I'll explain on the way, come on!"
The next morning, at Hughes's house, Hughes was sleeping on his sofa, waiting for Sora to return, and then, a knock came on the door. Hughes was woken up by the knock and rushed to the door, "Sora, we need to talk about you staying up late with you're-!" Hughes opens the door, but he wasn't greeted by Sora, but instead, by a warrant officer named Vato Falman. Falman scratches his head and asked, "Uh Sir, are you alright?" Hughes replied, "S-sorry Falman, I thought you were somebody else. I was actually waiting all night for my new baby boy."
"Actually Sir, that's why I'm here. You see...there was an incident in Destiny Islands."
Minutes later, Mustang and 2nd lieutenant, Riza Hawkeye, were at the Central Hospital, where they waited for Hughes to arrive. Hawkeye checks her watch, "It's almost 12 Sir." Mustang was starting to get impatient, "He's always there to annoy me when the time was right, what's taking him so long?" Suddenly, they notice a car pull up in the parking area. Hughes came out and rushed to Mustang. Hughes then asked, "Roy, what happened? What happened to Sora?"
Meanwhile, back at Hughes's Home, Ed and Al just woke up. Ed noticed Al holding a list in his hand, "What's that in you're hand Al?" Al explained, "Oh this? This is a list of food that I wanted to eat when I turn back into a human." Ed smiled, "Good plan, keeping a memo like that with you. The food that Ms. Hughes made was so delicious!" Al then stood up and said, "...Brother, I sure would like to get our old bodies back soon." Ed replied, "I know, me too."
The brothers came out of the guest room and noticed Grace making breakfast for them and Elisia. However, she had a very concerned look on her face, as if someone she knew was in trouble. Ed asked, "Good morning Ms. Hughes, uh...what's wrong?" Grace looked at Ed and Al and replied, "...Sora's in the hospital."
Back at the Hospital, Hughes, Mustang, and Hawkeye enter a room where Sora was sleeping while being examined by a nurse. Hughes came up to her and asked, "Excuse me, what is his condition?" The nurse replied, "He's in a coma, officer. He'll be unable to wake up for at least a couple of days." Hughes looked at Sora, "What happened to him?"
Mustang answered, "Yesterday night, military personnel reported that his hometown, Destiny Islands, was attacked by a pack of wild wolves that looked like shadows, it sounds ridiculous, but it's true. During the attack, Sora set out to save the surviving orphans who escaped the burning orphanage. Eye witnesses believe that the orphanage was destroyed by a young man named Riku, who was also one of the orphans. The kid confronted Riku, however, before he could stop him from escaping, Sora fainted, with a blank look on his face."
After Mustang's explanation, the Elric Brothers entered the room. Alphonse asks, "Colonel, how is he doing?" Mustang replied, "For now, the kid's out like a light. He turned into a vegetable after an encounter with one of his own, another Y. O. U. T. H. assassin, goes by the name Riku." Ed asked, "How could Sora lose to him? He couldn't be THAT tough, could he?" Mustang replied, "We don't know. Everything about him and the other orphans were bunt to cinder, along with any hope of finding the other orphans."
The Elrics were surprised to hear what Mustang said. Al asked, "Wait, are you talking about the orphans from Sora's old home?" Mustang nodded his head, "That's right, all of them, even the kids Sora saved, were gone without a trace. It is believed that they were kidnapped by Riku and the supposed shadow monsters that attacked Destiny Islands."
Ed's ears were caught by the notion of 'shadow creatures'. He thought to himself, Shadow creatures? Could they be the same creatures that Cornello used? Al then noticed Ed thinking to himself, and so he asked, "Brother, what is it?" Ed replied, "These 'shadow creatures' sound like those Golems that the former phony, Cornello, was using to try and kill us. Maybe this was Cornello's way of getting back at us. Al, we're heading to Destiny Islands!"
But when Ed was about to leave, Mustang stopped him, "Another time, Fullmetal. Right now, you have an order from the fuhrer. It involves a constant annoyance named Huskisson-" But before Mustang could finish, Hawkeye noticed Sora was starting to wake up, "Sir, he's waking up." Sora blinked and looked around him, he then noticed Hawkeye looking at him, "...what a dream..." Sora started to fall back to sleep, but then, Hawkeye pinches his cheek, "OUCH! This isn't a dream, AND YOU'RE HURTING ME!"
Sora was approached by Hughes, "SORA! I WAS AFRAID OF TELLING MY WIFE AND LITTLE GIRL THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE A TOMATO FOR THE REST OF YOU'RE LIFE! THANK GOD YOU'RE NOT BRAIN DEAD!" Sora was a bit disturbed by what Hughes said, "BRAIN DEAD TOMATO?"
Sora then remembered what happened before he fainted, "W-wait, where's Riku and the other orphans? Are they alright?" Hawkeye sat by his side and replied, "They disappeared without a trace. Officials are already looking for them, including the rouge assassin." Sora asked, "Rouge? Are you talking about Riku? Pfff, you guys are crazy! Look, he couldn't have done this intentionally, I'm sure that behind that face filled with sinister intent was actually a mentally confused little boy who's looking for a friend."
Mustang asks, "Do you listen to yourself talk?" Sora replied, "Sometimes."
Mustang shook his head, "This encounter with the rouge assassin seems to have clouded you're judgment. Sora, if you encounter him again, you have to be willing to stop him no mater what. Otherwise he'll-." Sora interrupted, "Colonel, I know him! Riku's my best friend, and he would never hurt anyone on purpose! Please sir, let me look for him! I know that I can persuade him to come back and explain himself!" Mustang replied, "I'm afraid I can't allow that. He's an assassin Sora, like you, except he doesn't hold back. He will cut you down without a second thought!"
Sora looked away in frustration. Mustang knew Sora wouldn't accept such an order, "(sigh), look, Sora, possibilities are that Riku will be looking for you again, and his obsession with tracking you down may cost me some soldiers...not to mention some innocent civilians."
Sora's eyes widened, he stood up from his bed and looked at Mustang, "HE'S NOT AN ANIMAL!" Mustang replied, "The decision was already made by the fuhrer. Riku will kill everyone in Central to get to you, and if you're not willing to put him down like the 'animal' he is, then the blood of all those civilians will be on you're hands."
Sora felt his memories from the past return again, but he shook them off and said, "...sir, I won't kill him. I'm going to find him, talk to him, and convince him to turn himself in. I made a promise after all, a promise to never kill an innocent!" Mustang then asked, "And what if he isn't innocent?"
Sora couldn't answer, so instead, he walks out of the room. Ed shook his head, "He just can't admit it. His friend betrayed him, burnt his old home, and captured the other orphans, and he still won't admit the truth." Al asked, "Brother, do you think Riku is-?" Edward interrupts, "Whether I do or not isn't important. Sora has to figure the truth out on his own." Ed then reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket watch. He then opened it, and smiled...
"We all...have to face the truth someday."
End of Chapter 12
Next Chapter: Welcome to Traverse Town
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