Well, having all this time and not being able to update due to…complications…I've been able to type up more chapters then I usually do! Normally I only type up one or two chapters a week…sometimes three. So, some of these chapters may not be effected by reviews. Oh yeah, totally off topic but, I was reading over my VERY first fanfiction. I'd been working on it for some time…only thirteen chapters but they're long chapters so yeah…MAN! Now that I'm more 'educated' in the fanfic terminology that story is such a Mary Sue it scares me. Though in parts I was quite proud of myself, I just don't plan on putting it up from fear of scary veteran readers who don't like Mary Sues'. But anywhozles that's all till the end of this chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter Ten: That Which Dwells in your Soul
"Teacher! We have guests!" Mana cheered pushing a large gold trimmed door open. This door led to a large room with three smaller rooms leading out of it; the room was filled with books and strange items that looked very old. Alphonse and Winry followed Mana into the room, the two stopped in the center and looked around fixedly. Mana disappeared into one of the rooms.
That's when a tall man in long robes and one of those official looking hats that signified he was a priest walked in. His pale brown eyes fell on the two blondes in the center of the room.
"What are you two doing in here?" he asked. Alphonse spun around and saw the man looking at them; Winry turned around also "You both are not from around here, where did you come from?"
Al weren't really sure how to answer that, should they tell this guy the truth or just make something up? Finally Mana came skipping into the room; she smiled and said,
"Ah! There you are teacher! I'd like you to meet two friends of mine."
"Uh…hi, my name is Alphonse and this is Winry." Al said, the man looked them up and down.
"Hey! You're one of those guys that where at Eds' trial!" Winry suddenly gasped, the man looked at her with a shocked expression and replied,
"Yes, I was. I am one of the high priests so it was my duty to be there when the sinner was judged. You may call me Priest Mahaado." He said.
"Sinner? Edward is not a 'sinner'!" Winry shouted. Alphonse tried to calm her down, but like his brother, when she got started it was very difficult to stop her.
"What happened wasn't his fault!" Winry continued. Al then quickly piped in,
"Winry, calm down, he was just doing his job."
"Yeah, but…now Ed's even worse isn't he? From before…" Winry said calming down slightly. Mahaado looked at the two of them and asked,
"Worse in what way?"
"He's got a sort of split personality," Al said "His normal self and a homonculus self. Normally he'd never kill someone for no reason, ok even with reason he'd still try to avoid killing them. But, that homonculus side of him…even in a juvenile state it was still prone to violence and if provoked it would kill someone without hesitation."
"But he had a demon Ka, that is a sign that the boy has a dark heart." Priest Mahaado pondered. Alphonse shook his head and said,
"That's because recently my brother was in an accident where he was doused in this stuff called Red Water. The seal we'd placed on his darker half had washed away and he came back, he did seem a little different though. But the Red Water is so similar to the Philosophers Stone that naturally his homonculus side would be drawn to it, now that the Red Water in brothers blood has reached the Ouroboros on his back his darker half has sort of changed into a more mature version of his previous self."
Mahaado was having some difficulty following all of this, but from the sound off what he was getting this wasn't good. Mana came skipping into the room a moment later and cheerfully said,
"Oh there you are!"
"Mana, I need you to run a few errands for me." Priest Mahaado took out a list and handed it to her.
"Ok!" she smiled, she turned on her heels and left. Priest Mahaado sat down and motioned to Al and Winry to do the same, they did. They sat there for a moment not saying anything, then Mahaado broke the silence by saying,
"He has the mark of the serpent that devours its' own tail. That would explain some things."
"What do you mean?" Winry asked. Priest Mahaado held up the gold pendent that was around his neck, it was a gold circle with a pyramid in the center. In the center of the pyramid was an eye; attached to the outside of the ring were five pointers that dangled lifelessly.
"My Millennium Ring could sense a strange air about that boy. So, he is your brother you say?" Mahaado answered.
"Yes, my older brother." Al nodded.
"I see…" the priest sat there thinking for a moment then asked,
"But 'more mature' what do you mean?"
Alphonse looked down at the floor, Winry bit her lip. They both weren't sure how to say it, if memory served them correctly then when a homonculus becomes mature they basicly become near homicidal. Al finally answered in a dry tone,
"He'd cease being my brother…and become a monster."
"Alphonse…" Winry said, she'd taken his hand and held it. The corners of his eyes started to sting with the need to cry but couldn't.
"We have to get him out of this place before he hurts somebody, I have to…help my brother." Al finally said. Mahaado sighed and stood up, he then looked down at the two and said,
"The both of you…want to help him?"
Alphonse and Winry both nodded,
"Then you both will have to learn to summon your Ka." Mahaado said definitely. Confused, Al and Winry both looked at each other then back up at Priest Mahaado questioningly.
"Our what?" they both asked.
"Ka, the spirit that dwells within your soul…it gets its' energy from your Ba, that is your soul." Mahaado explained.
"You mean, like that one lady that they took away from my brother?" Al asked. Priest Mahaado nodded and said,
"Yes, by having ones' Ka removed it greatly weakens a person for a short period of time…" he wasn't able to continue his explanation because Alphonse had jumped to his feet and shouted,
"What? Are you serious?"
"Yes, why?"
"If my brother is weakened in any way then that'll give his darker half the chance to take over his body! He'll be forced to the back of the mind and left there to rot! No…this can't be happening…" Al flopped back down on the chair he'd been sitting on before and pressed the palms of his hands into his forehead.
"What? Are you sure of that?" Winry asked.
"I couldn't be more sure Winry. He did it last time, though it was subconsciously, and that was when he was just a juvenile. Now that he's a mature homonculus, he'd do it with out hesitation. Two minds are a tad crowded in one body wouldn't you say?" Al was starting to panic. Now it was Winrys' turn to try and calm him down, but to no avail.
Priest Mahaado could tell this was a very unique case, he'd have to take special care of the situation. But first, he had to teach these two strangers how to summon their Ka and to do that took time…time he was starting to realize they didn't have.
"If you want to help him then I think it's best that we get started. To summon a Ka properly takes some time." Mahaado said. Alphonse looked up and nodded, Winry nodded as well. Their training started right then and there.
--
That night Al was lying on a mildly soft bed in one of the side rooms, he was gazing lazily at the ceiling. He hadn't been able to summon his Ka through out that entire training session, he knew it would take some time but as much as he didn't want to admit it…he really wanted to just do it and save his brother. Al rolled over on his side facing a wall; he was about to drift off into a deep sleep when a sort of dreamy like vision appeared. You know the ones that are like the start of a dream but not really a dream yet.
Al was standing in the darkness a strange woman with long hair was looking at him. She was dressed in long white robes and had wings, kind of like the lady that Ed was with only nicer looking. The strange thing about her though was the fact that side of her was a brilliant white and had an angles wing and the other side was dark and shadowy with a sort of bat like wing.
She smiled and held up her hands; a heart shape appeared in her palms. Al didn't move, he just looked at her and asked,
"Who…are you?"
She smiled again and said,
"I am the guardian of your soul…the bar between your love for your older brother and your hatred of the darkness that dwells within him."
Alphonse sat bolt up in his bed, eyes wide with shock. He looked at his hands for a moment for no real reason then glanced around his room; it was dark and mostly empty. He then looked straight-ahead and muttered,
"What…was that?"
-To Be Continued-
Neyahahahaha! The second has arrived! (Pause) you know now that I think about it, all their Ka's are female…(sigh). I chose Ed, Al, and Winrys' Ka from my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards, so that means…Edwards' Ka is 'Marie the Fallen One', Alphonses' Ka is (if you haven't guessed it yet) 'The Change of Heart' and Winrys' Ka is 'St. Joan'. BUT YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO KNOW THAT YET! So pretend I didn't say anything and forget it! (Shifty eyes). Anywhozles, that's all for now! Hope ya liked this chapter!