And now... The moment that you've all been waiting fooooor! The epic, cool, fashionable, in-style... ummm... PREQUEL! For years now you've been asking yourself, how did this start? When will it end? Why was it started? Why hasn't it just ended yet? Why would somebody write such a thing? Are these people sane? Is anyone actually reading this right now? Does this fanfic have any readers at all... *sob* ... W-well if you are... *sniff*... Reading... This... Please... Ennnjooooyyy-oy-oy
Hughes lay in an ocean. Well to be more precise, the shore of an ocean. Well, partially in and out of the water... Strange, how'd he get there? Well he wasn't really thinking about that right now. He wasn't actually thinking about anything. He felt sore all over, hardly able to move. He lifted his head slightly, to see on the sand Elicia playing. Digging something up. Perhaps worms? He wanted to tell her to stop, or at least warn her not to eat any but he couldn't. He suddenly felt a sharp jab in his back. He was hauled up and brought to a large building. He now sat across the table from someone. A piece of apple pie was placed in front of him, and he hurriedly ate it.
"That's what you westerners like, yes?" Said the old Asian man who sat across from him. "I knew you westerners! Ahh Yes, I remember. A promise... A promise I had made. In a long forgotten dre-"
Hughes stood now in Amerstrian uniform with Roy beside him. "Now, Mister Ling Yao... With what I'm proposing... You will have to be completely open with me, as I will be to you. Are you prepared to do that?"
The young Xingian frowned, "Um, I-I'll have to think about it..." Ling said quickly dashing out of the room.
Roy glared at Hughes, annoyed. "Why are we here anyway?"
"Ahh, Roy my friend. Did they not tell you?" Hughes smiled, "We're here to retrieve SECRET information from the Xingian government and deliver it back to our employers..."
"What? I had nothing to do with this!"
"Hmm? You didn't? Well that doesn't matter... We might as well carry out this mission while we are still here... Now! I know where his SECRET safe is. He looked right at it when I mentioned SECRETS!"
"But you di-""
"Let's go! I want to go check out your dream!" He walked out onto the porch and looked around spotting Gracia amongst the crowd. "I'll handle this…" He said coolly, pushing Roy to the side.
"Hey Baby," He grinned leaning against the railing next to her.
She turned away ignoring him.
"Well, ye know... I've been thinkin' bout doin' some secure-to-the-chair-repelling, If ye know what I mean..."
"Awww... How romantic Maes. Now go away or I might betray you in a few seconds..."
"Awwww~~ Honeybuns you wouldn'-"
She took out a gun, and shot Roy in the leg.
"Why meeee...?" Roy groaned clutching his leg.
Gracia grinned. "You want to know? You want to know eh? It's because I like to kill those who don't expect it. Those who are so high in life that they don't see it ending as a reality! I love the look of surprise on their faces! And the loook of PAIIIN!"
Hughes looked up in horror. "NOO!" He cried. "I won't let you suffer any longer ROOOOY~~!" He threw himself at Mustang, killing him under his own weight. He smiled. "Now that we've gotten that all taken care of... Repelling time~~!"
Ling, who was walking by at the moment saw water gushing out from the sides of the buildings. How strange...
Hughes woke up, thrashing inside the bathtub. And Ling bolted up from his bed. Roy pointed a gun towards Ling. "Tell us your secret! NOOW!" He shouted.
"Secret? What secret~~?" He said, smiling innocently. "I have no secrets that I wouldn't tell you westerners! ahah... AHhah..."
"NOOOW! I SAY" Roy screamed throwing Ling to the floor.
Ling looked at the floor in confusion rubbing it adoringly. "It's sooo soft~~~ So smooth~~... No food stains! This must be a dream!"
"Well, guess what! You can't control it! Eheh!" Said the random dude in the back. "You know why? Cause it's my dream!" Suddenly he got killed by a whole bunch of people who stormed through the door.
"Who was he?" Roy asked.
Hughes shrugged.
O
Hughes, Roy, and that random guy awoke on the Flying Pussyfoot I which traveled from Amestris to Xing. It really could be called, the longest train ride lasting a total of 10 hours. But nobody called it that... They quickly cleared the materials they had, and left the train leaving sleeping Ling to dream on...
~Awhile later, and in the modern age somehow...~
"BWAHAAHH!" Ling laughed standing triumphantly in his helicopter. "I've captured you FRIEND Hughes-san! What are you going to doooo!"
Hasn't this happened several times already? Hughes thought. "I don't care! Do what you want with him!"
"Oh~~?" Ling looked surprised then kicked the random guy out of the helicopter, leaving him to his fate. "Well then... I have another proposal Hughes-san~~! You want to see your family right?"
Roy glared, "Ignore him Maes!..."
"M-My family?" Hughes looked up at Ling "Y-you could bring them back?"
"Yeeeees! Hughes-san! But at a price!"
"A price?"
"Ah... It's really nothing... Hughes-san just has to do a little favor for me, that's all~ Then he can see his family again!" (Sound familiar?)
A bit later
"I need an architect! One that is as good as me!" Hughes said, to Pinako.
She sat there smoking her pipe for a long time. "I have one better... Well actually she's not an architect... But auto-mail mechanic, architect, same difference. At least for these stories purposes..."
Winry Rockbell; The Architect ... Join up?
Somewhere deep within Ishbal
Envy sat at a gambling house in Ishbal. After being sent here to start the war, he was now stuck there to try to encourage the fighting and preach about hateful Amerstrians. He didn't really want to do that job and the war seemed to be going pretty well without him. So now he was gambling. How nice.
"Hey!" Hughes said. "I need to talk to you."
Envy quick grabbed his drink and chips and went to exchange them for money. "Ya? What kind of job?" he asked. "I'm kinda busy ye' know..."
"Um... Something quick. Nothing to crazy... Not like the last job... Just... inception..."
"Hmmm? Inception eh? Do you have a chemist?" (Cause this is what you first ask when you are planning on a evil illegal dream invasion...)
"Uhhh... No... Marcoh... Well he's not around anymore..." Hughes muttered.
"Eh Marcoh?" Envy laughed. "That old fool? I know someone much better then Marcoh ever was."
ENVY: The Forger
JOooooin~~ UP!
And... A bit laterer...
Hughes, Envy, and Ling, who had appeared there a few moments ago entered a small smelly tent where the supposed chemist was.
A young Ishballan turned to greet them. "Oh hello! I'm Scar's brother!"
"Uhhh... Okay..."Hughes mumbled. 'Do you think you could help us create a sedative so we can go THREE layers deep!"
"Oh, sure! Anytime. But there's that matter of payment~~..."
SBro: The Chemist!
JOIN UP!
"Ummm... Do you have a name?" Hughes asked.
"Huh?" SBro looked up grinning, "Sorry, I didn't catch that.~~"
"Umm... Never mind..."
A bit earlier
Ling, Hughes and Roy sat in a helicopter. ... It's all so wonderfully descriptive!
"So Hughes-san~~ Is inception possible?" Ling asked.
"What's incep-?"
"No!" Roy interrupted. "Here. Let me give you an example: Don't think about elephants... What are you thinking about?"
Ling frowned, "Wow! How did you do that! I-I'm thinking about elephants!..."
"NO! But you see. You know I told you. You can always figure out who planted the idea..." Roy growled.
"B-but why elephants?"
Roy smiled, "Because Elephants are to most terrifying creature to man. Ever since the woolly mammoth of the arctic!"
"Elephants are interesting animals too..." Hughes mumbled.
Much further into the future...
It was late, and at their SECRET hideout Winry had just finished her totem, a ... weighted wrench.
She was about the leave when she noticed Hughes sleeping in a chair, where he did his EXPERIMENTS.
Of course she had to see.
She appeared in an elevator which was moving downward to the fifth floor. It stopped and she peered through the door to see Hughes' living room, with Gracia drawing with Elicia and Hughes bringing some food in. It looked like Gracia's special apple pies.
Hughes smiled mischievously and snuck up behind Elicia and began to tickle her.
"MAES HUGHES!" Gracia shouted, jerking his arm away. "Don't you know tickling her will make her asthma act up!" She grabbed the inhaler to help the coughing Elicia.
"I-I'm sorry!" Hughes said backing away.
Gracia stood up, furious, "Maes Charles Hughes! You daaarned husband. Hurting our daughter lik-"
"Stop!" Hughes ordered.
"lik-lik-liikke" Gracia mumbled and then the scene froze in time. "You see now, Winry." He muttered without turning. "This is the only way I can dream!"
"B-but why do you do it? Why do you trap her in a cage of your own memories?" Winry asked as he entered the elevator.
"So I can finally get the final word."
00
0
(they need to dance and celebrate when Ling gets shot~~)
In some other universe...
The KEG
"Wait stop!" Ed shouted. "Something's not right!"
"Huh?" Kira and Gin said. Russia glared.
"This place, this world... Can you actually remember coming here? How did we get here?"
"We- just came from... umm" Kira mumbled.
"Someone must've brought us here! They tried to recreate an environment that we'd feel normal at, so we wouldn't suspect a thing, but they made a mistake! They could only probe our sub-conscious and made this world! I mean, just look at that carpet!"
*up above*
"Damn yooooou!" The green brain screamed. "You had to go and mess up the carpet!"
"I-I'm sorry man... It won't happen again." The pink brain mumbled.
~~~?
Tom sat in a smelly jail cell. He actually had for the last few days. With no alibi, and false accusations from those kids there was no way he could prove his innocence. Actually he didn't want to. He had been quite unstable lately. Maybe he did kill the hobo? Suddenly he heard whispering from outside his cell. He stood up and walked to the front to see Allen and Kanda pitifully trying to hide themselves nearby. "So our mission is to rescue that guy?" Kanda asked pointing to Tom. "I thought we were going to try to fram-"
Allen ignored Kanda and walked up to Tom, "You're the guy that's going to executed right?~~ I'll help you escape! But there's a price!"
"That joke is getting old..."
"I even have this shiny GREEN thing! You can-" He was cut off from a large booming sound from the hallway.
"L-Lenalee…" Allen stuttered.
"I'm the only one who can fight her!" Kanda declared and jumped into the hallway. There was an epic fight, but unfortunately Kanda was killed from being squashed by a door. Allen took MUGEN and made a quick escape with Tom.
0
Komui's STORAGE room CLEANING...
coooooming soooon~~
That's all for now...
And good night!
"Here, let me show you more…" Hughes pressed the button for the 12th floor of the elevator.
Winry followed him out onto a beach where Gracia and Elicia sat.
"Look at them…" Hughes murmured, staring in adoration. "It looks like they're digging for something… Maybe a worm? But just when I want to call out to them, see their smiling faces… Well…" Hughes raised his voice.
"GRACIAAA! I LOVE YOUUUU~~"
Gracia turned around, glaring at him. "I am not programmed to respond in that area."
"See, and that's my problem. The reason you're here is so you can help me make this place into the time of my life~~"
Winry looked at him in horror. "Y-you've recreated all this from memory? So you can live out your sick fantasies again!" She paused. "What about inception?"
"That was just a front to get the best architect here… Here, let's go to a different level…"
Hughes led Winry back into the elevator.
"Ew… If these are all the times that you wanted to relive your sick thoughts, I don't want to see them!"
"NO!" Hughes shouted. "These are all the times I regret… Here…" Hughes pressed a button and the elevator opened on a different level, opening with a long hallway.
"Is this your house?" Winry asked.
"Me and Gracia's… Ah, here we are."
They had reached a small bedroom. A young girl lay on the bed, coughing up blood. Gracia was fervently attending to her.
"You see…" Explained Hughes, "Elicia's asthma had been acting up quite a bit lately. The doctor said we might die if we didn't treat it. But we didn't have the money… And, well…"
You might remember this scene well...
Just then the phone rang, and Hughes ran to get it.
"Hello…" He said.
"Oh yes, hello. This is Roy Mustang from the military…" Said Roy. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to follow up on my proposal I made earlier. We need some new members you see. If you don't join the military your daughter will die! MUHAHA!"
Hughes began to cry, "It's just... I don't want to leave my family... I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"
"Hehe, well you have to make your decision now Hughes-san!"
"Do you promise to treat my daughter for her illness?"
"Of course! HEHE!"
"Fine I'll do it.."
"Good lad Hughes-san. Besides, the military is easy work; you'll be able to visit your family again in no time! Haha!"
The dream sequence seemed to stop. Hughes stood glaring at the ground, speaking to no one in particular. "But Roy lied! Instead of the military, he framed me for a murder their organization had conducted, and swore to tell the world that I had murdered someone unless I worked for them as an Extractor. So I did… I had no CHOICE… WAHHH!"
By now Winry was already extremely nervous. This Hughes guy was really starting to freak her out. There was something very wrong with him… Without thinking, Winry dashed back to the elevator and pressed the button for the basement.
The door opened up and Winry dashed into the room… Because of her recklessness she stepped on a glass sitting on the floor. Gracia, who was sitting on a couch, turned around to look at her.
"What are you doing here?" Gracia asked cooly.
"I-I I'm W-Win- Winry Ro- Rockbe-" Winry stammered.
"I know who you are. What are you doing here!" Gracia picked up a piece off broken glass from the floor and approached the trembling Winry. Winry was paralyzed with fear. She heard the door open behind her, and Hughes ran out, dragging her into the elevator. Gracia grabbed the elevator grate, now screaming.
"YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED YOU'D STAY WITH ME!"
"I'll be back sooooon…" Hughes opened his eyes and he was back in reality. Winry was lying on a chair next to his, breathing heavily.
Just as Roy entered the room, Winry began to rant.
"HUGHES, YOU FREAK! I don't know what's wrong with you, but you're really messed up in there! I'm not opening up to such a twisted person!" Winry stormed out of the room.
Roy gave Hughes an I-told-you-so look, and Hughes glared back. "She'll be back."
And he was right. Winry returned soon after and demanded to join them in the inception.
*Flashback to the helicopter scene*
"How simple's the idea?" Hughes asked.
"Oh, simple enough…" Ling leaned back in his seat. "You see, the current emperor of Xing is old… Almost ready to die. And since I couldn't find a Philosopher's Stone or anything, and I'm nowhere NEAR next in line for the position, I need you to plant the idea in the next heir's head that he will give up his father's empire… to MEEEE!"
Roy glared at him. "I already told you, it's not possible!"
"It is." Hughes spoke up. "I've done it before."
"You mean with Gracia! Yeah, like THAT worked so well…!"
"SHUT UP!" Hughes shouted, shocking everyone into a momentary silence.
(Back the PRESENT…)
Hughes, Winry, Ling, Roy, Envy and SBro all sat in a semicircle around a board. On the board were the words "I WILL GIVE UP MY FATHER'S EMPIRE" written in large letter.
"Sooo… Any ideas?" Hughes asked.
The train came to a halt with a deafening screech.
"Hey, where's Hughes?" Kida looked around.
'He said he was going to a different compartment.' Typed Celty.
"Yeah, he took his shiny silver suitcase, too…" Muttered Shizuo. "Does that mean he's not coming back?"
"But how are we gonna 'rescue' Izaya without him?" Asked Kida, annoyed. "I mean, it's not like any of US wanted to rescue him…"
They all nodded in mutual agreement.
'So… Where to now…?' Celty asked.
()()()()()()()()()
Namie is still looking for Seiji…..
Suddenly the KEG appeaded in a dungeon-like room. They were handcuffed to the walls.
"Eh… We need ta get out of here!" Shouted Gin.
Just then, the door opened and in came Aizen and Tosen.
"Aizen! Tosen! Thank goodness… I thoght we were done for!" Babbled Kira.
But they were moving particularly slow for some reason.
"Aizen? Tosen? C- Can you hear me?"
Aizen unlocked the three and led them away.
Tom was about to run when Allen grabbed his sleve.
"WAIT! I have to save my friend Kanda!"
Tom frowned. "It's way to dangerous! Your friend's probably dead already!"
"HE'S NOT DEAD!"
Tom was convinced. Allen was very convincing…
OOOOOOOOO
Mikado sat on a table, leafing through a large pile of books and newspapers. The door opened and Izaya walked in, meticulously folding a piece of newspaper.
"Hey, Mikado? What are you doing…?"
"Oh!" Mikado looked up. "I'm, um, just looking for some information for the article…"
Izaya nodded. "So what are your plans so far?"
"Well it seems that the place to stary talking about is when the people first found out about what was going on… because it's, like, from our point of view! You know?"
"Not really…"
KOMUI'S RECORD SToRAGe roOM CLEANING
Komui sighed, leaving the room. He could never get very far.
He sat outside with Reever, sipping coffee.
"Sir, if you need any help-"
No, I have to do this alone…" Muttered Komui.
TO BE CONTINUED!
The Keg walked through winding stone castle hallways followed by possessed Tosen and Aizen. They finally came to a large wooden door which opened magically. Inside the room stood two cloaked figures, with the rose crosses imprinted on their uniforms.
Kanda snorted, "Why are we here? This is wrong!"
"I WANT CLAAAMS!" Lenalee shouted and suddenly a whole bunch of clams appeared on the large dining table nearby.
The Keg and possessed folk entered the room, Kira looking astonished, "W-who are you guys? What have you done with Captain Aizen and Tosen!"
Kanda smirked, "Ah, nothing really. We will do much more damage if you don't tell us the SECRET!"
A few dream layers later...
Sbro was driving franticly through the streets of Ishbal as Amestris soldiers shoot at his car.
"I-Iv'e never stolen a car like this before!" He shouted as he drove through the rain and traffic. "This is sooooo~~ exciting! Did you guys see that!" He turned to see a sedated crew behind him. ..."Oh..."
Mustang floated somewhere...
THIRD LEVEL: ICE FORTRESS! (AKA the NORTH)
Hughes, Ling, Winry, Envy, and the prince guy stood in northern Amestris as harsh cold winds knocked all, but Envy over...?
Hughes looked up at the huge wall the separated Amestris from the country of Drachma. "WE MUST CLIMB!" He declared and the five began their ascent. But suddenly the ground rumbled.
"A tsunami?" The prince guy asked.
"NOO! AN AVALANCHE! FALL!" Hughes screamed.
...?
"Huh?" Gin blinked, "What 'secret'?"
"The SECRET the SECRET" Lenalee said spinning around Kanda.
"The secret... To immortality of course..." Kanda said.
"I-Immortality! We don't have any such secrets!" Ed shouted.
"Hmm~~? Kanda? How do you know if they know the secrets or not?" Lenalee asked.
"Why of course Lenalee my dear! I know because that young man is 42 years old!" He declared pointing to Kira.
"WOW! You're so smart KANDA!"
"Anyways back to the topic... What is the SECRET?"
"And why should we tell you?" Gin asked.
"I can pay you any amount you like! Just tell us!"
"10,000,000 yen"
"Huh?"
"10,000,000 yen. Pay us 10,000,000 yen!"
"B-But that's way too much!"
"The price for immortality... Did you think it would be small?"
"Smaller..."
Some time later...
"Fine, I see you have to be convinced some other way..." Kanda pulled out a large glass block with a metal sculpture of North Amestris. "Ehehe! All your friend will die if you don't give us the secret!"
"Eh?" Gin said, "I don't get it..."
Kanda flicked the glass block.
...?
The ground rumbled, "A tsunami?" The prince guy asked.
"NOO! AN AVALANCHE! FALL!" Hughes screamed. He cut the rope that secured him and fell into the darkness... For quite awhile. I'm going to wake up right before I hit the ground... Right? Hughes thought. He saw it in the distance rushing quickly towards him. "OU OUUNd GROUND!" SPLAT
Sometime else...
Kanda and Lenalee walked through the train station. "Amazing Kanda! Amazing!" Lenalee shouted. "Now we're rich and we get to buy a present for Allen!"
"Yes Lenalee my dear! But you must remember! We're here strictly on business! This being the longest train trip in all the world, from Amestris to Xing, our plan can only work here!"
"Ohh~~ Yes Kanda I forgot! But isn't it strange! Look at all those people dressed in yellow!" She pointed a group of her fellow passengers who were gathering around a young blonde haired man.
"Oh yes! That is strange Lenalee~~! Perhaps there's going to be a party!"
"And look at all the grey people here!"
"Hmm! Perhaps there's a... Well never mind that! Let get aboard!~~"
Strange things had been going on at the Flying Pussyfoot and the DRRR cast were feeling quite uneasy. Recently people had been reporting of hallucinations, and weakness. The DRRR folk were not getting along.
"This is all your fault Kida-kun!" Celty typed. "All those gang members you brought along are making us all feel uneasy!"
"Eh? Well how bout all those grey people? What are they doing on the train! Maybe YOU brought them here HEADLESS-BIKER!"
("The blood looks so good~ on gray!" Mikado said in the background.)
Kanda and Lenalee awoke in a train compartment breathing heavily with Hughes lying fast asleep next to them.
"We've extracted what we've needed, now let's go!" Kanda whispered.
"Let's go!" Lenalee cheered, and the two gathered their equipment and made a quick escape.
"Oouun OUUN GROUND!" SPLAT!
Hughes shot up from the where he was lying on the train compartment, sweating profusely. S-so... It was all... A DREAM?
Suddenly the DRRR people walked in.
'You alright Hughes-san?" Celty typed.
"Oh!.. Yes I'm fine... I just had a terrible nightmare... That's all..."
"None of us can dream and you only have nightmares..." Shizuo muttered.
0
Interviewer: What do you think about your role in Prepare!...?
Gracia: Well I really do enjoy my role a lot. I mean, as both Hughes's wife and the main antagonist of the story, I thik I really help to define Hughes as a character.
Interviewer: You started with Mr. Hughes from near the beginning, right? Do you think that this experience has altered your life as a whole? Or would your life be going along the same path as it does today?
Roy: Well Hughes has always been a good friend, and I think that'd we'd still be together even if 'they' we're controlling this world and giving me lines to say. It's just that life might be… a little more normal. Suffice to say, I do think that this has changed my life, but Hughes and I still remain friends as we would be.
Inverviewer: So do you regard the Prepare! world as real in any way? Do you think of it as authentic?'
Gracia: Well of course I do. The reason is, Hughes is real. His life is being controlled by 'them', but his feelings, his actions, they're all real and true. I think that's one of the things that makes Prepare! very special… and also difficult for many of the actors. The fact that everyone is in of the truth except Hughes himself. And guarding that secret is the most crucial point of the whole thing.
Interviewer: What do you think inspired most of these characters to join up for this? The large payroll for being forced to act 24 hours a day? Or maybe they just wanted to be famous?
Roy: (chuckles) I don't think you've done enough research. Payroll? T-This is freely distributed. Everyone on the set is a volunteer… except for Hughes, that is. And as for being famous, how many people actually view Prepare!, anyway? Not enough for us to be famous, that's for sure. I think that most of us here are either major charcters whose shows had ended or minor characters that wanted to do something more with their life. We all wanted that last stab at plot and fame before we went out entirely…
Interviewer: Thank you both for your time… I know you have to get back to the set before Hughes wakes up entirely… Noblesse Obliege, I pray for your continuing work as a cast member…
Inverview END.
Mikado stood in a small room, surrounded by lots of gray people. Suddenly his eyes glowed red, as did everyone else's.
"Today we take everyone on this train hostage! They shall be the holy sacricifes to free the Mother!" Mikado shouted.
The others shouted their all streamed out of the room, slashing anyone they could.
The KEG sat at the small bar at the train, after mysteriously waking up in one of the compartments. Not knowing how they arrived there, they just decided to order a bunch of food… and steal the valuable carge that they heard was on board.
Kira shuddered. "I just don't know about this….."
"Yeah, they said that the valuable cargo might be a bomb…" Muttered one of the bartenders.
"A BOMB!" Kira nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wait, they said 'might be' a bomb, right…?"
"Uh… no, they said it is a bomb."
"AGH!"
"Calm down!" Ed glared at Kira. "Stop making such a big deal or we'll be caught before we even get to the bomb!"
"B- But…"
"Why don't you go talk to those nice folk o'er there, Izu-chan?" Gin pointed to Kanda and Lenalee, who were sitting further down the bar and laughing uproariously. "The one with dark hair has a sword.. Maybe he's… a SAMURAI…."
Kira timidly stood and approached the two. "Um… excuse me…"
Kanda gave Kira a hearty pat on the back. "Look, Lenalee! He has a sword!"
"AMAZING, KANDA!"
Kanda looked Kira over. "Are you by any chance… A SAMURAI?"
Kira began to shudder profusely. He suddenly wanted to be far away from these people.
()()
"We hafta do something about these damned Slashers! They're taking over the train!" Kida declared.
The assorted Yellow Scarves cheered in agreement.
"Your job is to go out there and kill anyone that's acting like a slasher or something… now GO!"
()
Celty decided to join the gray-people/Slasher movement. She wanted Anri-chan free as much as anyone. Besides, she figured that that would be the path that would result in the least casualties.
Although Shizuo had an ongoing grudge against the Yellow Scarves, he hated the mindless Slashers even more. There was no way that he'd let himself become one of them. Besides, he wanted to KILL….
(flashback)
Tom sat at his desk. A Wanted paper sat on his desk, showing that the bounty for Izuru Kira was 60 yen…
Shizuo entered the room with confidence. "You called for me….?"
Tom scowled. "I have a job for you…"
"Does it involve KILLING PEOPLE!"
"Not reeeally…."
'WHAT!" Shizuo punched a wall. "At least give me a decent job!"
"I need you to board this train…"
"Okay! I'll be there!" Shizuo ran out the the room. Tom sighed. Why did he have to be Shizuo's manager…?
Flashback END.
Meanwhile, Hughes was starting to get suspicious. It seemed like everyone was WATCHING him. Like his life was being controlled, somehow. He knew the one place he could find the answer. He made a quick escape from the train, heading off to the Ikebukuro Daily to get some answers.
Hughes managed to capture Izaya and get him on top of a train. 'I KNOW YOU KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT MY LIFE! TELL ME, BEFORE I GRIND YOUR FACE INTO THE TRACKS!"
Izaya winced. He wasn't about to get his face ground off. "You want the truth, Hughes-san? The Your life is being controlled, monitored, watched! Everyone watches as you are put through more and more mistery! We are all just actors, whose job it is to make your life as awful as possible! Your whole life is lies LIES LIES!"
Hughes paled. In his confusion Izaya slipped out of his grasp, falling onto the train tracks. Hughes stood, staring blankly. Was it true? Everyone in his life was an actor? That his whole life was staged? B- but…. That meant… even Roy was in on it… even GRACIA…. Hughes let out a sob. What could he do with his life, not that he knew the truth? He contemplated suicide. Maybe that would be the easiest way to go…
Meanwhile, the brains were holding an emergeny meeting. What would tey do now that Hughes knew the TRUTH!
"WE MUST KILL HIM. HE SHALL BE THE SACRIFICE." Chanted the orange brain.
"We can make him one of USSSSSS!" The green brain glowed happily. "He can join us in betting on who will die next!"
"Stop it, both of you!" The pink brain was angry now. "We've dealt with these sorts of situations before! All we hafta do is have… A TWIST."
"A twist…?"
"Yeah, a twist….." The pink brain grinned, already thinking up all sorts of plans.
When Hughes next opened his eyes, he was standing in front of Central Headquarters…. Naked. He held in his hand a gun and his Soul Pager. He blinked. Who am I? What am I doing here? WHY AM I NAKED! Am I some sort of nudist protester or something!
He saw Mustang come out of headquarters. Funny, I know who Roy is, yet I don't even know my own name…
Mustang stared at Hughes in horror. "MAES, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"
"AGH!" Hughes quickly hid behind a conveniently-placed bush. "ROY SAW ME IN AN EMBARASSING STATE!"
Hughes looked around. Everything seemed strange and unreal. He looked up.
"OH My GOD! They've come! L they've come to take meeeee home!" In the sky flew a strange multi colored air craft. Tears streamed down his face, "Finally! I CAN. LEAAAAAVE this WRETCHED WORLD!"
An hour Earlier...
Hughes stood behind the bush, staring at Roy from afar.
"Oh.. Hughes... You must be cold..." Mustang said, shielding his eyes and handing Hughes his hat. "But... How did... how did you get OUT HERE!"
Hughes grinned and stepped out from behind the bush. "Here? What do you mean here? Oh... Yeah... I'm not really sure. You see I have a confession to make... I have something you would call amnisi- "
"AHG! I-I DON'T CARE! B-But... YOU are on government property. I think I'll have to detain you unless you have a good reason to be... Well?"
Hughes looked around embarrassed wondering if there was anyway out of this situation.
"Well? I'll ask again. Why are you he-"
Suddenly the sound of a car screeching to a stop could be heard behind Hughes. "ERUUU! ERUUUUUUUUUUUU~~!" High-pitched squeals screamed form the car.
"AHG! No! THEY'RE BACK!" Mustang yelled and quickly ran to the car to clear up the situation.
Hughes sighed with relief. What amazing luck... Or perhaps... He felt a tap on his shoulder.
He turned to see L intently staring up at him.
"I-IT'S YOU!"
30 minutes after that...
Hughes and L walked through the streets of Ikebukuro...
"So... What you saying to me, is that the world I've been living in is not real...?"
L Nodded.
"And this is just a flash back to pitifully try to confuse me, and interest the readers?..."
L nodded...
"AND ALL of this is control by some PINK BRAINS!" He jumped up in fury, "WELL I"M NOT GOING TO LET THAT HAPPEN! I'll escape this island, and live my own life! My own way!"
L shook his head in disagreement then wandered away leaving Hughes muttering to himself.
"Someone will come! I KNOW IT! SOME ONE WILL COME AND SAVE MEE!"
Elsewhere
Light walked down the Ikebukuro streets at night, slightly drunk.
He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder, and violently spun around, almost loosing his footing. Standing their was a grinning SIMON. "Guess what? You our second lucky winner today! Any guy cosplaying tonight get free SUSHI-KUN at our RUSSIA SUSHI!"
3 minutes later~
Light entered Russia sushi, "2nd winner today eh?" He grumbled. He looked up into the restaurant and saw L sitting there eating sushi. Then he was attacked.
23 minutes later...
L and LIGHT flew out the sushi shop and ran through Ikebukuro, covered in face-paint and wearing tie-dye shirts.
'DAMN THOSE FAN-BOYS~!" Light screamed. "I WISH THEY WERE DEAD!"
The two, finally stopped at a park, to catch their breaths.
After a moment of silence, Light spoke,
"You know L, I'm glad we had this last bonding experience... You know... Since we're still friends and all... We'll always be able to look back on this day and lau-" He turned to L, who was glaring, ready for a kick...
And the glowing multicolored light was propelled through the skies of Ikebukuro...
And Hughes screamed with joy... And woke up...
He sat up from his train seat he had been sleeping. And quickly recorded his dream.
The Brains turned to see their guests,
"AAAAaaa~ Ahh Do come in! Sit down~!" The Pink brain said,
Celty, and Izaya both took their places on a continently place couch.
"Soooo~!" The Brains turned to Celty. "You've come to report I assume... But first, we need to talk about Hughes... Izaya?"
Izaya's eyes bulged and he began to shake."Noo! NO MORE HUGHES!" He sceamed and ran out of the room...
ALLEN was having flashbacks. Flashbacks to the time when he was first picked up by General Cross...
~~~FLASHBACK TIME~~~
Allen opened his eyes blearily. He felt his stomach growl, and sat up. Where am I? He looked up to see a man with red hair and a fancy-looking uniform watching him intently.
"One eye, white hair... I've heard of you, kid. They say you can see the souls of akuma with that other eye of yours. I've also heard that several exorcists took you in before. What happened? Did you get thrown out afterwards?"
Allen looked down. "All the exorcists I mew were kind to me. They took me in when I had nowhere else to go. In return, I helped spot any akuma that might be around. Unfortunately, sometimes the exorcists weren't good enough to deal with the akuma there. Everyone I worked for... is dead..."
Cross narrowed his eyes. "So the ones that you worked for were THAT KIND, eh? The kind that when they see a little kid on the streets they'd take him in and feed him?" He paused and looked Allen over. "My name's Cross Marian. How'd you like to work for me? I won't die from some measly akuma like those other exorcists. In return, you cook and clean for me, and start earning some money to pay off all those debts I owe. Any questions? No? Good. Now get me some sake."
~~Flashback END~~
Meanwhile, Ed and Kira were in another compartment.
"Hey, Kira!" Ed shouted. "Let's play catch!"
Kira blinked, surprised. This was the first time Ed had wanted to play anything with him. And everyone always thought of Ed as stronger and all... Kira began to think. Maybe this is my big chance at showing the world that I am just as good as Ed...! Just then, a ball came hurtling through the air and smashed into Kira's face, sending him flying into the wall.
"Ooops! Sorry!" Ed shouted, not looking sorry at all. "Maybe I should try again?"
"Y-you're... throwing it... too hard..." Kira tried to say, wincing and attempting to stand.
"What was that you said, Kira? I couldn't hear you!" Ed sent another ball flying at Kira, knocking him down again.
Kira again tried to stand. "S-Slow... it... down..."
The nest hour went on with Kira getting subsequently beat up by a montage of throws by Ed. Eventually Kira managed to make his escape.
()()()()
Hughes rubbed his head. As of late, his dreams had started to feel more real... as if he was actually living them. He hardly ever felt well-rested, either. "Maybe I should see a doctor..." He murmured.
Just then, Kida stormed into room. "Hello, Hughes! My name's Kida Masaomi, I'm from Ikebukuro! Pleased to meet you!"
"Um... I already know you, Kida..."
Kida ignored him. "So I heard you're still having terrible memories? Of that incident 11 years ago...?" He smiled cruelly, waiting for an answer.
Meanwhile, Mikado just realized that he left his Death Note (yes, he DOES have one) in his compartment in the back of the train. He hurried to the compartment, to see that the Death Note had been picked up by Shizuo.
"Er... give me my notebook back!" Mikado tried to sound as tough as possible.
"Not so fast!" Shizuo shook his head. "It's not like this is a Death Note or something. I saw the drawings of Anri-chan in here! You must really like her, huh? You see, I sit in the back of the train! I see everything that goes on...!"
"Just give me my notebook back..." Mikado muttered lamely.
"Under one condition!" Shizuo jumped up on the seat of the train compartment. "You must become a MANGA ARTIST with meeee!"
Kida stood on top of the train. "I'm not afraid..." He muttered to himself. "I'm not afraid at all. My fear of heights is completely gone now..."
Just then the train shook and Kida fell with a yelp, gripping the roof tightly. He could feel his hands, slip; he didn't want to look below him to see the rushing ground. I have to hold on...
"You know, there's a real art to train walking..." A figure appeared, pulling Kida up to the safety of the train roof. And Kida saw in amazement that it was...