Last time, the mysterious hooded boy, Roxas, went to find his friend, Xion, in the Risembool Mines, where Crimson's henchmen were searching for one of the Elemental Mirrors. Roscoe summoned two Zip Slasher Golems to distract the boy, but he didn't count on Roxas being a wielder of the Keyblade!
Meanwhile, inside the mines, Xion was experiencing a strange change of personality as she reenacted Sora's fight with the Riku Replica. The girl snapped out of her trance just in time to face Desoto, who viciously threw everything he had against the hooded girl, but Xion shocked Desoto with her own Keyblade and fought him to a standstill.
Roxas arrived in time to defeat Desoto after defeating the Zip Slashers. And though the two were overjoyed to see one another, Roxas had a more important subject to tell Xion...the location of where to find the Elric Brothers, who's expertise in alchemy could help them discover what and who they were...
Warning: 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 148: Currencies of the Unknown
Inside the Central City Hospital, Edward had just finished calling Winry and sat back in his bed to wait for his friends to arrive…
"Alphonse…I'm sorry I blew it. I had a chance to make you human, and I-." before Ed could continue, Al said, "I would have done the same thing, Ed. Besides, if you took a life, Sora probably wouldn't still be here. Please brother, don't dwell on it, just wait until everyone arrives, and then we can talk about what to do next." Ed nodded, "…alright."
After a few minutes, Kairi arrived with Sora and Donald, who still had a few bandages on his tail feathers.
Edward broke the silence by saying, "…I apologized to Al, but all of you were just as involved as us. We've seen secrets AND we've seen another group of people interested in the Philosopher Stone. The two subjects were related in more ways than we've ever known, and we were close to being a part of it. But that's where I draw the line! We aren't their puppets, and we aren't murderers…unless Kairi-."
"HEY, I MIGHT'VE BEEN ON THEIR SIDE, BUT THAT'S WRATH YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, NOT ME!" Kairi said.
Ed was startled for a bit, but then he continued, "(ahem) Like I said, we're not their pawns. So instead of playing by their rules…we're going to play by another. Alchemy has other routes, other possibilities, and I'm not going to give up on my brother just because the Philosopher Stone's a lost cause." Sora then asked, "Well, I'm glad you're not going to exchange your sanity for a bloody rock, but that leaves the question of what we do next, right?"
Ed nodded, "Exactly, and for now, I'm stumped. We don't have anything to do until Al and I are back in action, which means before we head out to find another way of restoring our bodies, you guys can have the day off." Sora looked at Kairi, who was as confused as him, and then said, "It's nice of you to say Ed, but my mission stands, I have to protect you both. God knows when those Homunculi will strike again-."
(BAM)
"HEY SON, GLAD TO SEE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE A-OK!"
Maes Hughes surprised everyone in the room, including Sora!
Ed smiled at his old friend and said, "Hey Hughes, glad to see you. What's happening?" Hughes replied, "It's paperwork hour for Sheska, ever since we hired her, she's been working day in and day out, but I'm sure she hasn't crashed under the pressure yet, the girl's got some real passion for literature." Sora then asked, "What about Laboratory 5, did you find anything yet?" Hughes looked at Sora and said, "Nothing yet, son. But you shouldn't dwell on that all day, take a day off with your family, and get to know us better. We can even talk about how we can set up my daughter's birthday."
"W-WAIT, ELICIA'S BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP?!" Sora asked. Hughes nodded, "That's right, and I need your help, as well as Eiko and Vivi to make the party unforgettable. Gracia's already downstairs, so I'll need you to wait there for me." Sora nodded, "Y-yes sir!" As Sora rushed out, Kairi suggested, "I'd better go with him-." Hughes then said, "Mam, I've noticed you care a lot for him ever since we found you in Lab 5, but now it's getting weird. People will think you're a stalker."
"WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' SOMEBODY THAT HIDES WHILE DIPPING THEIR HANDS INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S DWARES FOR PERSONAL THINGS OF A STALKER?!"
Hughes laughed, "Looks like you've already become a part of the team, you remind me of Ed when he snaps about being short."
"WHY DID YOU RELATE TO ME BEING THE SIZE OF A GNAT CHEWING ON TINY LEAVES IN ORDER TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT HIS HEIGHT FOR BEING A SHORTY?!"
Hughes laughed a bit more, but then continued speaking to Kairi, "Anyway, sorry about that, but I wanted to talk about Lab 5. Whatever happened in there wasn't just a chance encounter with you, and I can't believe you boys would find something about the Philosopher Stone inside the lab and walk away like that for nothing." Hughes sat in a chair next to Ed and said, "I saw markings Edward…the same markings used for a strong and forbidden form of alchemy. You may know the form as Human Transmutation, so all I want to ask is what did you find in there?" Ed replied, "…there was nothing for us. It was a waste of time. It was just some old lab where people attempted to make a Philosopher Stone; we didn't find another way of changing back. We just…screwed up."
"-Don't give me that."
Hughes looked at Kairi and said, "She was there and so were notes with handwriting relative to Xehanort's. He was involved, and she's a character witness. People are going to suspect her and I don't know what they'll do to you OR Al if they take action. Please Ed; I want you to trust me just as I trusted you with watching over my wife. Elicia wouldn't have been born if it wasn't for you."
The room was silent, and Kairi thought, Edward…you helped a woman give birth to a baby?
It seemed as though Ed had nothing to say on the matter, until…
"…Homunculi."
Hughes was shocked to hear what Ed confessed, "YOU'RE JOKING!" Ed shook his head, "You know the myth, 'human beings made from Alchemy.' They were involved somehow with Dr. Marcoh, who I'll bet learned how to make the stone from them. You also mentioned Xehanort's notes, you were right, he was in it to. In fact, he was working for the military even before his award show-." Hughes then asked, "-you're telling me Xehanort was with us that long?! But we never received any alchemist or soldier by the name 'Xehanort' before." Ed then said, "He probably has connections to the military that could erase his own existence if he wanted to. Xehanort AND the Homunculi, they wanted me to make another Stone for their master, whoever that is. And they weren't the only ones I found, there were living suits guarding the lab, hallways that still had booby traps and fresh electricity, like the place was still functional. I can't imagine if the military really is related, but now I'm not so sure…"
Hughes sighed, then he looked at Kairi and asked, "Your name…it was Kairi, right?" Kairi nodded, making Hughes say, "As you may have noticed, I'm Sora's foster father, Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. I'll be blunt, Kairi, I don't recall Sora knowing another girl since he told me about Rose, so lying about who you really are, that's dishonesty incarnate, but you…you're not a dishonest type, are you? You're honest, and so I can truly believe you when you say you're his childhood friend."
"H-how did you-?" Kairi asked. Hughes replied, "I didn't, but now I'm sure of it. You're the clue to who he used to be before Y. O. U. T. H. brought him in. I won't poke into your personal business, but like the Elrics, I'm counting on you to keep Sora safe, just as he would keep you safe, capish?" Kairi stared at this man, who smiles kindly at her and trusts her completely…
"…this time…I'll protect him…my father-in-law."
Ed, Al, Donald and Hughes felt a bit nervous to hear Kairi say those words with such conviction…
"She's got Sora in the brain, that's for sure." Donald sighed.
Elsewhere, Zelgiuce stood outside in a balcony, waiting…
"Y'know, I did some research on our master."
Leonardo popped out from behind Zelgiuce, who asked, "(sigh) What do you want, trout?" Leonardo replied, "I came to see how my favorite religious nutcase is doing, AND I wanted to tell you about Crisis' intentions regarding the whole 'reshaping the world' bit." Zelgiuce then said, "You want to tell me that Crisis wants to change the world completely, as if half of the human population never existed." Leo was startled and asked, "Y-you knew about it?! And here you are, as if nothing's changed! Just what are you thinking? We've been following Crisis' commands without even knowing his intentions-!"
"His intentions are to reshape the world, nothing else, and it will be nothing more to me…or to you and the others, understood?" Zelgiuce's words stopped Leo before he could argue any further, and so Leo backs away, but not before saying, "…it's nothing I don't understand, old boy, we ALL want something to change…or restore."
Leo went further inside the temple, where Janis was waiting for him.
"So, little Timothy still believes in Santa Claus?" Janis asked. Leo nodded, "Apparently he believed the whole time. Zelgiuce knew the whole time, and didn't even bother to share this with us! Our master…I can understand Zelgiuce's reasons for obeying him, but is it really worth it, to restore the life of his best friend-?" Janis then said, "We all joined Crisis to change something in our lives Lenard."
"Y-YOU WERE TOLD NOT TO USE THAT NAME!" Leo pouted.
Janis smiled, "Yeah, by you."
Leonardo then said, "J-Just don't call me that, it's Leonardo now! And I intend to be remembered as Leonardo, thank you VERY much!" Janis then giggled, "Come ON 'femmy', crack a smile! Your name's funny for God's sake!" Leonardo then argued, "Well how would YOU feel if I said YOUR real name?!" Janis replied, "Janis IS my real name, LENARD!"
(loud laughter)
"NOT YOU TO GODO!"
"ENOUGH!" Zelgiuce's voice echoed through the temple, and the three priests turned towards him as he said, "…our lord and master, has successfully returned." Janis cheered, "ALRIGHT! So where is the dude?" Leonardo suddenly noticed a strange-looking girl behind Zelgiuce…
Leo looked at Zelgiuce and pointed at the girl. Zelgiuce nodded, answering Leo's question…
Leonardo turned to Janis and said, "Brace yourself Janis…the 'dude' has the body…of a 'dudette'."
"-DUDETTE?!"
Janis shoved Leo out of the way while Zelgiuce stepped out of the way. Janis and Godo stared at the little girl, who appeared to be a teenager with long brown hair, light greenish-blue eyes, and a scaly bodysuit with a Philosopher Stone embedded in the chest…
Janis snapped, "THAT CAN'T BE OUR MASTER! Crisis was known to be one of the first fallen angels since the first discovery of Alchemy, a traitor to the Light, and master of the Dark, not a cute little girl!"
"So…you're the Priest of Wind?" Crisis asked. Janis replied, "…yes sir-er, mam, I am."
(CHOMP)
To everyone's shock, Crisis bit Janis on the wrist!
"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGH!"
Godo swiftly swatted Crisis away, keeping her from Janis! Godo roared, "…followed you…now you hurt? Godo…not serve-!"
(CHOMP)
Crisis took the chance and bit Godo's neck!
Leo looked at a still Zelgiuce and asked, "THAT'S OUR MASTER, THE SAME CRISIS YOU TOLD US ABOUT?! SHE'S TRYING TO EAT US YOU BASTARD!" Zelgiuce then explained, "What she's doing is no different than a child learning how to jump, how to walk and how to speak. The master has no intention of eating her pawns-."
(CHOMP)
Leo jumped back from Zelgiuce when Crisis bit his arm! Zelgiuce however remained calm and continued his explanation, "-The master…is learning from our bodies. Our intellect, our abilities, they are all copied into the master until she is satisfied. The more she bites, the stronger she becomes mentally and physically."
Crisis then looked at Leonardo with a hungry look…
"Don't resist, friend…give yourself to the devil."
"NEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH-!"
(CHOMP)
Meanwhile, in Amestris, Winry was already on a train with her tools ready for treating Edward's Automail…
"HAAAAAAAAAAA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Winry jumped when she heard the bone-chilling laughter, so she looked around to find who it was that was laughing, but she saw no one even giggling…
Winry sat back down and said, "I'm heading over to see my favorite troublemakers, so why do I feel…terrified?"
On top of the car Winry was in, Roxas and Xion were holding on for dear life as they waited for the train to arrive in Central City…
End of Chapter 148
Next Chapter, Winry Rockbell arrives in Central City and has her fair share of weirdness...
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