Disclaimer: I don't own Spiral, Full Metal Alchemist, Witch Hunter Robin or Hellsing.
Chapter 2: First Meetings
"I need a brake," Ed said slowly, moving toward a small group of rocks at the side of the wide road, which he and his companion were walking on, for the last half of an hour. His tone made his words seem like an order.
Rio looked as if she trying really hard not to say anything rushed, although her grey eyes reflected her current mood. "Fine. But you should know that we're pretty close. You'll be able to see the castle behind the next corner"
"That's good," Ed answered in his monotone voice. "I need to ask you a question, and I want you to promise to answer me the truth. My future co-operation will depend on your answer"
Rio was prepared, of course. She waited for him to ask it. And she had no intention lying. To this particular question, of course. "What is it, Blondie?"
"About that man in the restaurant, who said that vampires- or anything like it- kidnapped his daughter. Did you, or any of your friends, did it?"
"No," she answered quietly "We are being framed"
Ed pointed his golden eyes right into the girl's. Something inside him told him that she is not lying. He nodded slowly, in understanding. "So you need my help in order to find the real criminal?"
"No, Blondie," It seemed that Rio liked the nick-name she peeked for the Blond-haired young man, "We already know who is the real criminal. We need your help in defeating it"
"Who is it?"
"Not now. Come on, we almost there." She declared and continued her walk, turning her back to him. A small metal knocking sound made her turn around. "What was that?" she asked.
"What was what?" Ed asked, confused.
"That metal sound"
"Do you mean you didn't know?"
"Know what?"
"About that…" answered Ed and lifted a bit the black Jeans covering his left leg. The reflection of the sun was very clear on his metal leg. He then took off his right hand's glove, showing his metal arm.
"So that's what the title 'Full Metal' stands for!" Rio's eyes opened with sudden understanding.
"How did you know about my alchemist name? Nobody in this world have ever heard about it!"
"As I already said, Blondie- we know many things that others don't. Your world is merely a mystery to us. I promise you that all your questions will be answered soon enough"
The dark castle earned its name by right. It was a large gray structure, surrounded by various large trees, covering and protecting the castle from strangers' curious looks. The building it's self had four wide levels, to which were added three high towers with pointed edges. At the first sight, the look of the castle seemed to be pretty gloomy, but after your eyes concentrated on it for some time, you would get the feeling that it's not that scary as it seems. Maybe it were the various large windows that reflected in a small harmony the sun. But then again, the large metal gate looked as if something monsters lays within the castle. Maybe.
On the third floor of that strange and very not attractive castle, near one of the windows- that in this level and above were carefully covered with heavy curtains- stood a young women, her short and pointy brown hair falling on her face and covering her big brown eyes, through which she watched the road outside the castle, her right hand holding the blue curtain, creating a small gap, but big enough to see through.
"They're coming," said the 18 years old Ryoko Takamachi with her pleasant voice. Her hand left the curtain, closing the small trail of sunlight that lit the wide room, leaving the job to several candles that were placed in golden candlesticks around the room.
"Told you Rio would bring him" said Kousuke Asazuki with confidence.
"Do you think he will co-operate?" asked Ryoko the other men in the room.
"There is no reason for him not to" answered the only men in that room that wasn't part of the Blade Children. It was a very tall person, with long black hair and red eyes that always had a dangerous grin- a challenging grin. He wore a black suit and a long maroon coat.
"That means will be able to defeat that Moriac bastard soon" declared Kousuke with a very content voice.
"That is the general plan" said the last person in the room. He also was one of the Blade Children. Eyes Rutherford was his name. At the age of 21 he was the current leader of the four cursed children. With his long silver hair and deep blue eyes, not one of the village girls could remain calm when he was around. Rumors about vampires or not!
"Lets welcome them" said the red-eyed man quietly.
"So whose castle is it, anyway?" Ed asked while approaching the great Iron Gate. It opened as if it waited for them.
"His name is Alucard," answered Rio, a small warm tone being surprisingly heard in her voice. "It's his family castle. He seems to be some sort of count, I think. Anyway, my friends and me came here few months ago, and he was very kind to us, for some reason. He let us stay at his castle and helped us a lot. He's a really great guy"
Rio just neglected to mention the fact that Alucard was in fact a blood-sucking vampire, with some maniac-like behaviors. Besides that, he really was a great guy.
The thing is, that Ed, like many before him, mistook Rio for someone harmless and simple. And as many before him, he didn't hear the half-truth in her words. She smiled contently inside herself. Works every time!
"And who are you? You and friends, I mean" the full metal alchemist continued asking¸ as they almost reached the heavy black entrance doors.
"We called The Blade Children," she answered when the doors opened on themselves, as the gates before. "The cursed children" she added quietly.
"Cursed? Why?"
Rio smiled in return. "Do you wish to unlock all the mysteries in one day? Have patience, Blondie"
Ed's grin was the farthest possible from patient, but he left the subject. For now. Instead he just entered the castle, with a little worry, of course, looking around himself with suspicion.
Surprisingly, the inside of the gloomy and creepy castle was different from the outside appearance. It contained old and very expensive furniture, rugs, pictures and- maybe the most amazing of all- it contained vases, here and there, with fresh bouquets of various flowers. And everything was clean, dustless and thoughtfully arranged.
The surprise was written all over Ed's face, making Rio laugh loudly. "Not what you expected?"
"Definitely not" Ed answered honestly.
"You know, you're not so bad, after all" Rio said after a moment. "I think we'll get along"
"You looked tired," the black-haired man said to the young woman sitting in front of him, sipping from her espresso mug. "Maybe you should get some sleep. I'll go to check the area alone"
"No, I'm Ok, Amon" the girl promised.
The couple that Ed defined as 'strange', when he was on the train, was sitting in Larry's, drinking coffee, and discussing about their next moves.
"I think we should start with that man, Misha, whose daughter was kidnapped. He said he saw the beasts. Maybe he'll put us on the right trail"
Amon nodded quietly in agreement, his eyes focused on something trivial outside the window. The young woman took another sip from her mug, while her emerald eyes narrowing down in frustration. It was just another of the countless moments that made her realize that her partner didn't want her around him on this mission. He didn't have to say anything- his monotone voice and cold expressions made his statement clearer than any words could. Although she didn't blame him- in her opinion Amon was right; she wasn't ready for this sort of mission. It almost made her regret that she insisted on going with him. Almost.
"Robin," Amon started suddenly, puling his partner from her thoughts. "That girl, who was with the blond metal-armed-and-legged boy from the train… didn't she looked kind of familiar to you?" he asked, his eyes aren't leaving the window.
The image of the young woman jumped in front of Robin's eyes. The girl was a bit taller than her, with gray eyes and dark silvered hair. The only thing that was weird about her, were her orange clothes, Robin decided to herself. But after a few moments of staring in the fragment of her imagination, Robin suddenly understood what Amon was talking about- they both have already seen that girl somewhere before.
"I think I saw a picture of her once…" Amon's young partner added with sudden understanding. "Though I can't remember where…" she added after rubbing her forehead in deep thoughts.
The black-haired man nodded quietly again. "This case begins to be more interesting with every moment, if what I think is right"
And of course Robin got a very strong feeling that he is not going to share the information with her. "We better get going…" she suggested instead.
After about half of an hour Robin walked slowly next to Amon, looking around her. The sun was already shining, and the streets were flooded with people, some of them working, some shopping for food, while others were just busy with other activities. It looked like any other small town that was built far from big cities. Robin liked this type of towns- the quiet, slow everyday life seemed very peaceful after her life in Tokyo.
"It is a bit suspicious, isn't it?" she asked her black-haired partner, who was walking next to her, his long black coat wrapped around his body against the cols northern winds.
"What?"
"Last night, one of these people was kidnapped. You would think that they'd be worried. But they all just seem so… calm" the young woman explained herself.
"Due to the reports that Michael found over the Net, whatever attacks this region have been doing it for the last 3 months. They'd panic at first, try to stay in their homes and defend their families later- maybe even try to hunt down or fight whatever threatens them. But eventually they'd realize that they have to feed their children and take care of their fields- they couldn't stop their lives because of that threat, so they kept on going, adjusting themselves to the new situation"
Robin was astonished by the amount of words he used in his explanation. In fact' she was sure that he just used at least the same amount of words he used during the entire journey. Her mouth opened and immediately closed, when she realized that she didn't have what to say.
Amon watched at her confusion with a little all-knowing smile, which only amazed her even more. This situation could have gotten worse, but it wasn't what the fate planned for them.
"Stop her! A thief!" the heard a loud voice coming from the market, situated near them.
Amon end Robin ran quickly toward the market, being able to see a tall young woman, with pale skin, a very long black hair and wide red stripes. She was wearing black shirt and a short (but not to short!) clack skirt, with long red boots. Her maroon long coat lifted in the wind while she was running extremely fast from a small mob that gathered in the market, and now was chasing after her, cursing with very creative words.
"What did she do?" Robin asked a passing by woman.
"She paid with phony coins!" answered the woman, evil smirk beginning to form in her dark eyes.
"How can you tell they were phony?" Robin continued asking in curiosity.
"What do you mean 'how can I tell'? It's Katrina! She is a thief and a liar! We don't need proof that her money isn't real! We know that!" and with those words she joined the mob that was chasing the woman.
Robin turned and looked in Amon's colorless eyes. "We HAVE to do something, Amon! That girl is innocent! If they'll catch her, they'll probably do something horrible to her"
We need to go and find Misha, Robin. We don't have much time…" he started to argue.
"That Misha?" Robin asked, pointing with her finger over one particular image in the running mob, giving her partner a few seconds to realize it was Misha.
"Ksso…" Amon cursed in Japanese and moved quickly, followed by Robin. They ran after the woman named Katrina, noticing her leaving the town, and running into the nearest forest.
At this point, most of the people gave up on their chase, mumbling another few chosen curses under noses. But some of the men kept their chase, going after her into the woods. Robin and Amon followed them.
"Stop it right there, Katrina! You have nowhere else to run!" the couple heard a sharp manly voice left to them. Behind the trees they saw Katrina, surrounded by proximately a dozen men- all wear very angry expressions.
"I guess saying that the money was real won't help, huh?" Katrina asked in sarcasm. She had a smooth voice, but her eyes were narrowed dangerously, showing neither stress nor neither fear.
"You'll pay for your lies!" shouted one of the men, running toward her, a very heavy looking wooden club lifted in his arms.
Amon took out his black gun with the speed of light, shooting right in the moving club, blasting it into hundreds of little pieces, leaving the men astonished.
"Why are you helping her?" asked one of the men "She is a criminal"
"Then you should put her on a trial. Not to execute her without one" Amon's cold voice answered. The look of his gun added a bit of extra meaning to his words.
The men turned around and withdraw slowly from there, giving last threatening looks to Katrina. She just gave them a few cold looks of her own, and they left.
"Thank you" she said to Amon and Robin, her lips create a smile, that was reflected in her dark-red eyes.
Suddenly, the Orbo fluid in the capsule around Amon's neck glowed in bright green.
"What's that?" Katrina asked in curiosity.
Amon looked at her in amazement. She couldn't be a witch, that he was sure of- Robin would have tell him that at the first time her eyes laid at that young woman. But when he looked at her pale skin, and her red eyes… no, she can't be a-
"Vampire? Are you a vampire?" he asked.
Katrina smiled in agreement.
"But how can you be outside at daylight?" asked Robin.
Katrina's smile didn't leave her lips when she turned around and prepared to leave.
"Wait!" said Robin "Maybe you can help us. We're here to investigate the local so-called 'beasts'…"
Katrina stopped. "Come to the dark castle at the sunset" she said and disappeared.
"Well I guess we don't have to go and find Misha any more…" Amon mounded to himself.
Well, this is the second chapter. Hope you liked it!
In the next chapter: more new characters will appear, and the story will start getting interesting. The first two chapters were kind of an exposition, so the interesting things are ahead of us.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!
Hiyonokat33: Thank you very much for your review! It was very nice of you. I really hope you liked the second chapter.