Author's Note. Sorry for the wait guys. This semester was a nightmare, and I barely had time for myself, but here's the next chapter. It's not very long, but I wanted to give you guys something after so long. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer:I do not own D. Gray-Man or Full Metal Alchemist.
KEY:
"Neah talking"
"Thoughts"
Flashbacks
Radio conversations
"Normal talking"
Chapter 25
Roy Mustang sighed as the flashlight gave them a poor light to guide them through the labyrinth that was the drainage system of the city. It was in the middle of the night, so the blackness of the outside didn't quite helped matters.
"What do you reckon we'll find here?" asked a tall man with a cigarette on his mouth.
"Not much I presume, they were probably alerted when Miss Chang and Scar landed here, and left. But it is still worth a shot." He responded.
"Maybe we should had come here another day. They are probably expecting us." Havoc said as he looked around him nervously.
"We were coming down here anyway, it's better if we don't give them more time to move whatever they were doing here."
Havoc sighed. "How are things going for our folks from the North?"
"Lena said they had to jump off the train and move through the forest." Answered a young man with flaming red hair.
"Were they seen?" The black-haired Colonel asked in concern.
"Almost. Apparently there was a military roadblock. Whether or not it was the Führer's order to register the train, they preferred not to risk it by trying to hide. They jumped, had been moving since then."
"How long do you think it will take them to reach Briggs?"
"A while, most likely. They are moving slower because of the cold. Yuu hates that weather, and according to Beansprout, Ms. Chang and Dr. Marcoh are having a hard time dealing with it."
"Poor girl." Havoc took another drag from his cigarette.
Things hadn't been going great for them lately.
It was really no surprise when King Bradley had requested Allen Walker to go with him and strengthen the ties with Vatican and the Black Order in case of another attack. However, the white-haired Exorcist had already left with Kanda, Alphonse and their refugees to the North. Lenalee and Lavi stated that their comrade had to return to Headquarters, and so the Chinese girl had taken his place.
The Flame Alchemist was pretty sure that the clever Führer didn't believed any of the excuses they had given him, but without any real evidence, he couldn't really stop any of them. The leader of Amestris had also tried to persuade the red-headed Exorcist to assist him as well, but Lavi had excused himself saying he wanted to know more about the country. Mustang still doesn't know how the eighteen-year old managed to convince the man to have the black-haired Colonel and his team to help him.
While the Führer couldn't exactly keep the red-head from wandering the city and the archives, and thus Team Mustang as well; he could definitely slow them down.
Having his team disbanded and sent to different sites of the country in a whole day, had been hard. He couldn't contact any of his subordinates without setting a larger target on their backs, and with Riza's being Bradley's secretary, they would have to be even more careful.
"Why do you call Allen, Beansprout, anyway? What does it mean?" he heard the sandy-haired soldier asking.
"Well the sprout of the bean is white, and Allen has white hair. He is also short, so Yuu came up with the nickname for Allen the first time they spoke. Although Kanda calls him Moyashi, which is the Japanese word for Beansprout."
"It's that the way he shows his friendship or something?" Havoc asked still confused.
"Nah, Yuu doesn't like many people. And he is always fighting with Allen ever since he joined the Order. They bicker and call each other names. You get used to it after a while."
"And yet they were sent together to the North, was it wise? Won't they be fighting non-stop?" Mustang questioned.
"It's not the first time they go on a mission together. While Allen and Yuu may bicker constantly and even start their own fights, they work pretty well together. Komui wasn't kidding when he said both could handle it just fine."
Supervisor Komui Lee had been something Roy had not expected. The man was eccentric to put it lightly, if the rather peculiar greeting and squealing was anything to go by. Listening to the man gush about his little sister, felt like a knife to his heart as he was reminded of his late friend, Maes Hughes. He had no doubt both men would had competed on whether Lenalee or Elicia was the cutest girl on the planet.
But setting aside his obsession with his sister, Supervisor Lee was a very efficient man, capable of being serious when the situation deemed it. Mustang had been impressed by his handling of the delicate situation that was their secret meeting with their missing Exorcist, his comrades and the Amestrians. It the one hour he got to speak with the Chinese man, he had developed a some respect for him.
The meeting with the Exorcists of the Black Order ran smoother than Mustang had expected, as apparently everyone had already previously been informed of what had been happening in Amestris. They talked about their next course of action, taking Miss Chang and Dr. Marcoh away from the city, and about the story from the North and of the drainage system.
At the end, it had been declared that Allen and Kanda, much to their annoyance, would be taking both May and Dr. Marcoh to the North to get them away from the Akuma and investigate the story Edward told them about. Alphonse would be going with them, and then his brother would meet them there. On the other hand, Lenalee and Lavi would stay back in Central City to investigate the drainage system, and search through the archives for any more information.
Breaking away from the memories, he continued his conversation with the red-head in front of him.
"I do trust Supervisor Lee's judgement, but I still can't imagine both of them fighting in battle and not bickering."
Lavi chuckled. "I know it's hard to believe so, but they make it work. They are both stubborn and hot-headed, and not the ones who wait to enter a fight. They just jump into the fray and the rest of us follow them."
"You got that right." Havoc spoke before Mustang could. "When those things came to Central, Allen didn't hesitate to try and stop them."
"Yes, we really cannot hesitate. If we do, things can get really bad. Sometimes we do, because it's scary to not know if it's going to be our last battle. If we will get a bullet, or get impaled, or have all of our bones crushed, but we just have to get over it. I suppose with their experience, they just… go with it."
"Experience?"
"Kanda has been in the Order for a very long time, I think basically all his life. And Allen's Master was… well, you met General Cross. He was very harsh in his training, and the Beansprout has very bad luck and he always ends up with the hard missions or the craziest and strongest Akuma. We were not exaggerating with the Level 4."
"So, you are saying that somehow they acknowledge and respect each other's strengths?"
"Kind of, it is still a mystery what goes in each of their minds. But I suppose they do. Back when they first met, Yuu said Allen was going to die on his first mission. Ironically, Allen's first mission was with him."
"Seriously? And they didn't kill each other?" Havoc asked in surprise.
"Yes, it was a surprise. I think that… at the beginning Kanda thought that Allen was the kind of person that always follows the rules no matter what, that he didn't had a mind of his own. And Allen most likely thought that Yuu was a bastard with a bad attitude and didn't care about other people. After their first mission together, well… I supposed they proved one another wrong in some way. They didn't become best buddies obviously, but they acknowledge one another as allies."
"I guess it makes sense." Havoc muttered and then snorted a laugh. "Sounds a little like your friendship with Hughes, doesn't it Mustang?" The smiled erased from his face by the glare Mustang sent his way. "Ehem, sorry Chief."
"Let's get going, we still have a long way to go." The man moved past the sandy-haired, face as hard as stone.
Jean sighed and started to turn around to follow his commanding officer, when Lavi's question stopped him.
"Who is Hughes?"
Brown eyes turned to look at the red-headed young man standing behind him. His sole emerald eye staring at the retreating back of the black-haired Colonel, dimly light by their lamps.
"Maes Hughes was… an old friend of the Colonel. He is gone now."
"What happened?"
Jean shook his head and turn to look at the floor. "He was helping us to look into some stuff, and well…"
"He was killed." LAvi concluded, and the lieutenant nodded.
"Yeah, shot through the liver. He bled to death on a phone booth. I think he was trying to call Mustang. Warn him about something he found, but… it doesn't matter anymore, does it?"
"I am sorry."
"Me too, he was a good man. A bit eccentric, but he was… one of the few good officers in the army." The Amestrian cleared his throat and turned his back on the teenager. "Come on, kiddo. Let's move or else the Colonel will think that something happened to us."
"Was Mr. Hughes looking into something to do with all of this?"
"I don't know, kiddo. Things on this country were always messed up, but ever since those Akuma things appeared and all of you came here… I just don't understand what is happening anymore. My friends are gone, sent to other parts of the country to fight in the borders. I-I don't know if my neighbor is one of those things hiding and waiting to eat me, or the lady from the flower shop across the street. Hell, I even fear one of the stray cats is going to turn out to be one of them.
"I didn't sign up for any of this. I just… I just want this to be over." The man ended with a sigh, passing his hand over his short hair.
Lavi lowered his head, and didn't respond. There was really not much he could say to the man that would make him feel better. He didn't knew how deeply involved the Earl and the Clan of Noah were in the affairs of Amestris, much less how long it would take them to kick them out.
His thoughts were interrupted when the sandy-haired man spoke again.
"Hughes was looking into something Edward found in Laboratory 5. I don't know if maybe Alphonse knows something, we will have to ask them later in the office."
"Laboratory 5?"
"Yes, it's the place where they met the Slicer Brothers."
"The guys that allegedly killed the previous Führer?"
"Yes, those Slicer Brothers."
"Do you think we could look in there?"
"No, it's gone now. Demolished during the time Edward and Alphonse were there."
"Was it the same time when they met the weird teenager with the tattoo on his/her leg?"
"Yes, why?"
But Lavi didn't answer, as he was quickly kneeled on the ground and taking out the map from the whole city. "Where was this place?"
Blinking in confusion, he walked to the teenager and kneeling he said "Ehm, around here." He said pointing with his finger to a place at the outskirts of the city. "Next to it are the storehouses and the station for unloading merchandise."
He received no answer as the Exorcist quickly placed the blueprints for the drainage system and started quickly moving his fingers over both pieces of paper. Marker circling over places from time to time.
"Hey, kid what's going on?"
But Lavi didn't answer and continued to work. He didn't stop as footsteps started to make their way to them. Colonel Mustang's lamp light fell over them, as the man asked them in an annoyed voice.
"What are you doing back here? We are wasting time we don't have, and there is still a long way to go."
But he received no answer from his subordinate, who could only look at him with a helpless expression. The teenager on the other hand continued working over the map, not paying or acknowledging the arrival of the black-haired man.
"Havoc, what is he doing?"
"I don't know, he thought of something after I mentioned Laboratory 5."
"Why were you talking about it in the first place?"
Jean gulped nervously, not wanting to explain the topic that lead to their situation.
"Eh..." he was saved of telling some excuse, by the exclamation of joy from the red-head.
"I got it! I know where we need to go." He said, quickly gathering his maps and standing up.
"What?"
"Would you mind explaining me what is going on?" Mustang asked in an annoyed voice.
"I know where we need to look for. See? This place here is where this Laboratory 5 is supposed to be. Lieutenant Havoc told me that Alphonse and his brother met that weirdo with the Ouroboros tattoo and it was instantly demolished, right?" he said pointing to a place in the map.
"Yes, but wha-"
"And here, is where May said that she was hiding with Scar and the other two. They are real close to each other, and…" he took the blueprints. "They all can be reached through the drainage system."
"Holy hell."
Mustang took both papers and looked at them. After a moment he turned to look at the Exorcist. "Are you sure about this?"
"I don't know if we'll find anything there, but it's worth a shot. It's the only clue we have so far."
Roy didn't answered and looked one more time at the maps.
"Chief?"
Nodding the Colonel turned to look at the red-head. "Alright, let's go. Which way, Lavi?"
…o0o…
He was sitting on the bench of Rush Valley's train station waiting for his train to arrive. His fingers kept playing with the silver watch hanging from his belt, as golden eyes stared at his black combat boots.
"Seriously Ed, Mr. Dominique is just about to finish teaching me about the winter models, just wait a couple more days and I'll have one ready for you." A blonde girl with overalls spoke.
Edward sighed in annoyance. "Winry, I have to meet with Al. I haven't seen him in a while; I need to know he is alright."
"You spoke with him three days ago before he left, and he was alright. Besides Allen is with him, and he promised to look after Al."
Ah right, Allen Walker. His sweet little brother was with the British white-haired Exorcist, and the some other guy he didn't know. Not to mention a old scared Doctor and a little foreigner girl he didn't know. Maybe there was another guy, but he wasn't important so Edward didn't bother learning his name.
The real important issue, however, was that his little brother was traveling to the cold North with strangers, and he wasn't there with him.
"Right, Allen. That makes me feel so much better." He said sarcastically.
Blue eyes glared at him. "It should, you know he is not a bad guy. He'll look after Alphonse, and nothing bad will happen."
"We barely know him."
"Again with that thing." Winry sighed. "Ed, he saved us back in Central. He could have simply jumped to stop those things, but instead he let them shot him so the bullets wouldn't hit us."
He shivered at the memory of the white-haired teen being hit, black stars slowly covering his skin.
"Well, yes bu-"
"And, they get along pretty well, remember? Alphonse is in good hands, stop worrying."
"Fine, okay. He is okay with Allen, they get along. Allen promised to look after him, and he saved us and everything. That was great, he is great."
"Ed-" the blonde began, but was cut off as Edward continued his rant, waving his hands in the air, not carrying that he was attracting the attention of some people from the station.
"And sure, he is not so bad, despite his secrets and the fact that he lied to us when he first came. But whatever, he is a good guy, but what about the others, huh? The other Exorcists, Allen's friends, what do we know about them?"
"Okay! Calm down, alright? I get where you are getting at, but calm down. You are starting to make a scene." She sighed, and took Ed's left hand on her own. "Look, I know that you are worried, we don't know this people, but Ms. Riza said that they seem like good people. And you trust her, don't you?"
"Yes." The young Alchemist sighed, nodding in agreement. If there was anyone whose judgement he trusted the most regarding people, was the sharp military woman.
"Good, and only one of them is going with Al. The other two are staying in Central with Colonel Mustang."
"I know."
"Then, why are you still so worried?"
"I don't want them to find about the blood seal. Allen was okay with it, but I don't know the others. I am not sure how they will react. What if they try to do something to him?" Golden eyes stared at her in worry.
Winry's blue eyes softened and tightened her hold on Ed's hand. "Al will be fine, okay? Colonel Mustang and Ms. Riza won't let anything happen to him. Besides they might not find about the blood seal in the first place."
"What if Allen tells them?"
"I doubt it. He doesn't strike me as the kind of person of going around telling other people's secrets. You said so yourself, he has secrets of his own, so he must understand the feeling of not wanting others to know certain private matters."
Ed sighed and raised his head to look at the ceiling.
"I know you are right, it's just… He is my little brother. I don't want anything bad happening to him."
…o0o…
A huge, silver armor was walking carrying a little girl with long black hair tied in braids, with a pink coat and scar. Her little hands were covered in purple gloves, as she rubbed them together, desperately trying to keep them warm. An old man was walking besides the armor and the girl, dressed in brown pants with a green coat honed over him; Dr. Tim Marcoh hugged himself trying to ignore his cold hands and feet.
"How are you feeling, Sir?" asked the armor in a kind voice.
"I've been better Alphonse, but thank you for your concern. This old bones just don't work the same way they used to."
"I can carry you if you like, Sir."
"Hey, what about me?!" asked in indignation a man with a tiny black moustache. He was ignored entirely by the three ahead of him.
"It's no trouble at all, besides you are carrying young May." The old alchemist replied.
"It's o-okay, Mr. Marcoh. I can walk for a while." Answered the little Xingese girl with a trembling smile.
Marcoh smiled at her kindly. "Thank you, May. But really, it's no problem."
He shivered a breeze of cold air swept past them. A couple of meters in front of them, grey eyes turned to look as fluffy grey clouds gathered slowly, tightening the coat around his torso, he turned to look at the tall young man walking beside him.
"It's getting worse. I think a storm is coming." The white-haired said.
"Tch. Fucking weather." Muttered back the Japanese.
"We have to keep moving. How long do you think until we get to Briggs?"
"Don't know. We have no map."
"Damn." Allen turned to look worriedly at the people walking behind them. "Maybe we should stop and rest."
"We already did that five times today."
"Kanda, the cold is taking a toll on May and Dr. Marcoh. I am starting to worry one of them might get sick."
"Tch. Resting won't help us. We need a shelter where the cold doesn't hit us as much."
"I know that, maybe we can find a cave to pass the night." He turned his head to look around the trees that surrounded, hoping to find something they could use.
"I doubt it."
Sighing, Allen responded. "Have a little faith, BaKanda. Perhaps something will happen, and we'll get some help soon."
"Che. Don't jinx it, Moyashi."
Allen glared at the Japanese Exorcist, and was about to reply, when he saw Kanda stop and tense up. Having been on multiple battles with the Samurai, to know that something was wrong. He stopped as well, and his grey eyes stared at their surroundings sharply. There was no sounds from the animals, and the sky darkening as snowflakes started to drop from the sky. The temperature was dropping fast, and it only took a few moments before he felt it. That familiar pricking sensation on his left eye, and that same squeaking.
"May." He called, and he heard Alphonse and the other two stopped walking. "Get inside Alphonse's armor."
"Um, Allen?"
"Al, take Dr. Marcoh and hide behind those trees." The white-haired exorcist spoke calmly, his eyes never leaving the woods. Snow falling harder every minute, the air getting colder and colder.
"Hey, wait a minu-"
"Shut up." The long-haired Exorcist spoke harshly as his hands went to the sword tied to his hip.
"Mr. Yoki, you too go and hide." Allen answered, moving slowly to stand next to Kanda.
"Allen?" Alphonse spoke with a tint of fear on his voice, but wasn't able to ask another question, as the air became harsher, and May shivered violently in his arms.
"Incoming. Level Three to the south." the white-haired teen muttered to the Japanese and turned to look at them, showing them his left eye, black sclera with red irises, with three floating cogwheels. "Move quickly! Don't let it see you."
Without wasting more time, Alphonse quickly took off his helmet as May climb inside, and fetched Dr. Marcoh from the ground. As they moved to the trees, a storm was slowly but surely crashing over them, their feet sinking on the snow.
"Shit!" Allen said as he took his position next to Kanda.
"Tch. I told you to not jinx us, Baka Moyashi."
"Shut it, BaKanda."
"Che. How many?"
"Just the one to the south. But we have to be careful; this storm is getting worse by the second."
He heard the long-haired male sneeze. "Fucking weather."
"It's coming." Allen muttered and quickly activated his Innocence.
He felt the warm sensation of Crown Clown's cape over his shoulders, as he lifted his left hand, sharp knives for fingers at the ready for their enemies. Besides him, he heard the familiar sound of Mugen's activation and knew without doubt that Kanda was already in fighting position.
It didn't take longer before the Akuma made its appearance, and it was a view none of the Exorcists had ever seen before. White armor over a pale and skinny body, with long white hair at the back of its head, stood the Level 3 they were waiting for. Floating above the ground, with long white tendrils flowing from his back, gave it the air of something mystical and ancient. It looked like a wraith.
A wandering wraith in the white mountains in the North of Amestris.
A cold breeze swept by them, but none of the Exorcists or the Akuma made a move. Red irises stared at them, contemplating its enemy, head leaning to the side in curiosity.
"Exor-cist." It muttered, and both teenagers tensed up. "Exorcist!" it screamed and quickly dived into attack. The Exorcists took no time to ponder, and quickly went into fighting mode.
White tendrils from Crown Clown's cape shot towards the incoming Akuma as Kanda Yuu jumped forward, sword ready to strike their enemy.
From behind the cover of some bushes and trees, four pair of eyes stared intently at the fight between the machine and the two young Exorcists.
"It's the Geist. The one Teacher told Brother about." Alphonse murmured.
The four of them winced when they saw Kanda being thrown against a tree. Back in the main fight, Allen was unsuccessfully trying to hold the Akuma with his Crown Belt. The Akuma writhing and screaming wasn't helping, and neither was the storm. He directed some tendrils from Crown Clown to coil around his torso and then bury on the ground to try and keep him from being thrown out.
"Kanda! Are you alright?!"He called his fallen comrade, but he couldn't see or hear him as the storm was getting stronger.
"Don't take your eyes off me, little Exorcist." The Akuma called him.
Grey eyes widened in shock when he felt his feet lift from the ground as the Level 3 started to rise towards the sky. Right hand shot to the white tendrils gathering them together and trying to stop the machine from moving, clawed left hand preparing to strike it in the face.
But the Akuma was faster, and immune to the storm. It doubled its efforts and successfully shot towards the sky, bringing the young Exorcist with him. Freeing its arms from the Innocence tendrils, the Akuma shot its own projectiles against the white-haired teen. The storm was taking a toll on him, and so Allen Walker had no time to see or dodge the spike that impaled him on the stomach.
He doubled in pain, right hand covering the wound. With his Innocence still attached to the Level Three; he hanged above the ground like a puppet doll. Blood poured from the gash staining his uniform as Crown Clown slowly covered it.
"I'll go for your corpse and Innocence, Exorcist. After I finish with your comrade and the other humans."
Grey eyes could only stare as the Level Three pulled him towards it and kicked him directly in the chest, sending him flying over the trees.
He felt Crown Clown's cape enveloping him, shooting out to get a hold of branches to stop his fall to the ground. Slowly he was deposited on the cold snow below a frozen tree, unmoving he stared at the sky. He felt Timcanpy moving inside his pocket, and then he saw as the little golden golem fly above him.
"It... feels fa-familiar... right Tim?" he whispered hoarsely, remembering the last time he had been bleeding on the middle of a forest.
"Lord, I am really tired."
"Allen! Talk to me, don't go to sleep. Allen!"
"I know, Neah. I just… need some… rest." Grey eyes started to close. In panic, Tim started to pull his hair, trying to wake up his Master, but finding it useless.
"No, Allen wait!" his uncle's pleas went unheard as the boy started to lose consciousness.
He doesn't quite remember how long he lay on that tree, letting the snow slowly cover him as it felt from the sky. He supposed it hadn't been that long, when he heard something walking towards him in the forest. No, not walking. It was more like stomping as if something big was moving through the woods.
Allen felt Tim quickly hide inside his coat once again. He frown in confusion and then he felt warm, moisten air blow on his face. Grey eyes slowly opened to the sound of heavy breathing.
Huge paws with sharp claws covered in thick black fur. Black nose at the end of a snout, mouth covered in big, sharp teeth. With Black beady eyes staring right back at the fallen Exorcist, stood a majestic beast, the biggest bear the white-haired had ever seen in his life.
"Boy, that's some bear." He heard his uncle whistle in surprise. Allen said nothing; his grey eyes were trained solely on the beast.
"There is something familiar about it."
Boy and beast stared at one another, none of them moving. Their breathing coming and going in synch not bothered at the cold and snow. It was then when the beast move backwards to get a better look at the boy, when it came to the white-haired Exorcist.
A familiar green glow was coming from the bear's chest.
The one he had seen multiple times on his life, making it impossible not to recognize it. One that a certain General's little monkey proudly wore. They very same one he had seen on his own left hand.
"Innocence." Allen whispered and smiled as the bear licked his clawed hand.