"You're kidding, right? This is all we could find? A weirdly designed sword," sulked the teal capped regalia. They were gathering around a sword that was slanted and stuck in the ground. It had a silver hilt with what seemed to be the tail of a dragon. The etching that followed down the blade seemed to reminisce a dragon as well.
"Well this was a waste of time," moaned Liz, her face seemingly discontent with their findings. "So, are you clowns going to take it with you?"
"You could just sell it," Patty suggested in her usual childish tone.
"I suggest not. Something doesn't seem right. Something tells me this sword has something to do with the witch," Ling suggested, staring intently at the weapon.
"Then it's settled. We'll take it with us to study it," Kid decided, standing up from his observation of the weird sword.
The majority of the group tried to pick it up. However, the sword didn't seem to budge. It was immobile. The only person who didn't try the sword was Ling, who stood by, watching.
"I'm beginning to think that this is the real Excalibur," sighed the demon.
I doubt it is. It's hardly immaculate. The blade's jagged and it looks like Ed's design. He watched as the god tried to pull it up with no avail. Besides, the god can't even pull it up.
"You think the fullmetal brat's here, eh?"
Nope. It's probably just looking for the right master. "Let me have a try," Ling asked, staring at the sight of Yukine and Undertaker trying to pull it up. The two parted to let the prince have his turn. He grabbed the hilt and pulled, but the sword still wouldn't budge. "Damn. I thought I could do it."
"I wonder who this weapon is and why they're here," the youngest reaper wondered, placing a hand to his chin in thought while staring down at the strange sword. "Maybe we'll just have to let it be. Their meister may turn up sooner or later." He turned around and began to leave the alley. "We'll check back within the next couple of days."
"So you're just going to leave them? It could be another visitor to your world, and you're just going to let them sit here for days," berated Ling, stomping forward aggressively.
The young reaper sighed, rubbing his forehead before turning back to scowl at the prince. "Listen," he began. "Unless we find a person who's soul can work with it or it turns back on its own, it won't budge. There's nothing we can do until then. I'm sorry."
"Whoever this is could starve to death like tha-," the prince clad in black began to shout back.
"I doubt it. Their soul doesn't seem entirely human. Besides, I'll call in someone special who could possibly wield it," Kid mentioned, looking away from the prince's desperate face. "Meet back at the mansion before nightfall. I'll leave you to your own devices," the formal teen ordered, walking away with his weapons following him.
Not long after he left, the prince punched one of the alley walls, leaving a considerable dent considering the Ultimate Shield's casing. "Damn it! Who does he think he is, bossing us around," he complained.
"We are in his world and seeking refuge at his mansion," reminded Yato, placing a hand on Ling's shoulder.
"Still, this whole situation just doesn't feel right," the prince muttered, staring at the ground.
"At least we're not sleeping in the streets," scoffed the katana, closing his eyes and tilting his face towards the sky.
"Perhaps we should spar," suggested the funeral director. "I'd like to test Emacia's will in the heat o' battle."
"That would be nice. I'd like to see what skills Yukine might have picked up."
"Why not around the fountain," suggested Undertaker.
"Right. Let's go," eagerly yelled Ling, running out of the alleyway and getting into a fighting stance.
Undertaker extended his hand to his young servant, who took it without hesitation. "Emacia? Would you kindly turn into your weapon form please?"
The young girl blinked then looked up at her guardian. She seemed confused about what to do. "H-how," she asked, nervously shaking.
"Focus on what you are," suggested Yukine, recognizing the child's problem. "'I think, therefore, I am.'"
I'm a scythe… I'm Sir Taker's Death Scythe. I'm a scythe. Emacia thought, closing her eyes. Before she knew it, she was in the hands of her master as a scythe. Unfortunately, her constant repetition had somehow put her to sleep in this form.
"Sekki," the god commanded his weapon, extending his hand to hold his katana.
Yukine began to glow and morph into the bandaged blade. He flew into the grip of his wielder, the metal of the sword shimmering in the mid-afternoon sun.
Ling smiled at the blade. His oft-cheerful tone edging his voice, he complemented, "That's a nice sword you have there. It looks like it can cut well."
The god of war chuckled as he approached where they'd eventually begin their spar.
"Oh, then shall I compare my blade to his," Undertaker jested, sitting on the edge of the fountain, holding the handle of a sizable scythe with the top torso of a skeleton wrapped in barbwire around the top.
Does everyone here like to mimic Edward Elric for some reason? Ling complained in thought.
"Actually, some of Ed's design ideas aren't bad… They just need work," the avaricious soul analyzed, to which the prince sighed.
"It's a challenge. Would you count off, reaper," requested Yato.
As Undertaker counted off, everyone prepared themselves for battle. When he swung his weapon down the match began.
The katana wielder dashed toward the scythe wielder, who had decided to go after the homunculus, who had activated the Ultimate Shield in order to evade harm. The scythe caught around Ling's arm, the sound of metal scraping metal coming from the collision.
Noticing that the god was right behind him, the scythe wielder twisted Ling's arm, swinging the scythe staff to block the oncoming attack. Ling's arm managed to slip free of the scythe, allowing Undertaker to swing his blade at Yato.
The blue-eyed god blocked the attack with his katana, which was being pulled on under the blade of the coroner's scythe. Is he trying to break my regalia? The god wondered, staring in the face of one of his adversaries. "This is just a spar! What are you doing, you madman," Yato demanded, suspicious of the reaper's actions.
"Ah, I fight dirty, ye see. It'll be good practice for you when we fight the witch," Undertaker smiled, a sick grin on his face as he tugged on the sword harder. The katana wielder jumped back, releasing his sword from the hold.
"Good, that's just what I want to hear," shouted the prince, round house kicking the morbid shopkeeper in the back of the head, causing him to lose his balance shortly. He jumped behind the god, preparing to knock him to the ground, but to Ling's surprise, the katana was to his neck. "Go ahead. Try and cut my head off," He provoked, smirking at the sudden threat of death.
"With this regalia, not only will it kill you, but your demon friend as well," Yato reminded the prince as he tilted his blade up.
"Yes, as both phantoms and demons are below that of a god and his regalia," the young regalia informed the homunculus confidently.
A scythe blade swiftly appeared around the god's neck, her wielder right behind him. "But gods can kill gods, young weapon. This is especially true if the god is a god of death with a Death Scythe." This earned a side glare from the reaper's prey, frowning at his forgetfulness.
"Did they get reckless, Sir Taker," asked a sleepy sounding Emacia from her weapon form.
The reaper nodded, smiling at the thought. "Yes, I suppose they did." Another glare was afforded from Ling, who took some pride in his fighting ability.
"You really have a tendency to underestimate your opponent, don't you?"
It was practice, Greed.
"Yeah, practice or not, didn't that teacher of yours teach you better than that?"
Fine. I underestimated the god. Is that all you want to hear me admit?
"Yup. That's all," Greed cheerfully answered, a smirk embodied in his voice.
A burst of flame blasted down towards them from the rooftops, causing them to release their weapons from their stalemate position and turn towards the direction the flame had come from. A silhouette had appeared on the roof next to the alley where they had discovered the sword.
"It can't be. Colonel Mustang? Is that you," asked the prince, staring up at the person overshadowed by the evening sun.
"Who's 'Colonel Mustang'," the person asked, tilting their head in confusion. "Sorry, but my name's Calcifer. I need you to hand over all the information you have about getting out of here," the person ordered, crossing his arms.
I think I lied… I'm sorry. But, on the upside, I'm planning on doing something different with this guy (and someone else). Also, yes. I humanized Calcifer. I didn't want to have him a little flame demon… I wanted him to be able to go wherever he wanted. I'll try to keep him in character, even if he has been humanized. I may even explain how he got there some point later in the story. (I'm also working on Emacia's history. I've got something interesting in mind for her.)
Sorry for the wait. I've been pretty lethargic this weekend. I hope this story brings you much enjoyment.