Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, nor do I own Fullmetal Alchemist. However, the unique plots and events I put the characters through are original creations of my own mind.
By the time the ivory haired Danny and the intimidating form of medieval armor, Al, made it back through the groves of trees to the place of camp, Edward was sporting some new bruises, and it seemed as though his lip had split in the middle, a slight trickle of blood oozing down his chin. And, to his brother's astonishment, he was wolfing down all the blue hued berries he and Sam had collected, not leaving any for anyone else.
An even more intimidating picture was the smirk on Sam's face as she glanced at Ed occasionally, slowly nibbling on some bread Al had transmuted from some grass. Apparently, with enough grass, he could transmute the elements of the wild plants into the elemental combination for wheat bread. Danny and Al exchanged a fearful glance, but just sat quietly, and Danny followed Ed's example, beginning to scoff down the pink and yellow fruits, not wanting to end up like Ed, sitting beside him.
"Aren't you gonna eat anything?" Sam asked to Al, voice cheerful. Too cheerful. It seemed Sam found a new perk of being in another world. Spreading her intimidation and forcing her perspective down the throats of other-worldly people! In this case, the importance of being a vegetarian...well, the importance of being vegetarian for Edward was to keep his bones in tact.
Al muttered something in surprise, helmet glancing side to side, as though he was registering the places of exit in case he needed to run. He knew that being nothing but armor meant food was not in his obligation, but Sam and Danny did not exactly know this little fact. So, not wanting to be pummeled by a girl just as, if not more, frightening than Winry, he lifted the crook in his helmet discreetly, dropping in the last of the blue hued berries that Ed had left behind.
After a rather awkward breakfast (though Sam seemed to be enjoying herself thoroughly), Ed began to scratch the side of his neck with his left hand, using his nails to sufficiently subdue the itching.
"Uh...Sam..."
"Yeah, Ed?" She asked cheerily, turning to him. Yelping slightly, he paled, and inched a bit away from her, but pressed on.
"Where did ya learn how to find which fruits and...stuff...were edible?"
"Well, uh...they're identical to ones me and Danny have at...uh...home..." She spoke, getting uneasy, not wishing to give away the rather personal and nearly unbelievable secret from being displayed to the Elrics. Lifting up his head to convert his attention to Sam, Danny sighed. Al noticed both reactions, and perked up, becoming quite interested.
"'S okay, Sam. I told 'em...everything." Sam gaped at Danny, but not in an angry fashion. It seemed more of a stunned fashion, and she felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Until now, she had not realized how difficult not speaking of where exactly she and Danny had come from was. Easing a bit, she continued.
"Everything? Even about the Gate?" Danny smacked his forehead at Sam's words. Suddenly, Ed spit out the last fruit he had been chewing, spewing its juicy flesh onto the ground before him. Al sat up straighter, the light in his eyes wide.
I had actually gotten around that little bit! Danny thought exasperatedly, shaking his head side to side. Color flushed into Sam's cheeks, and she giggled nervously.
"Ahaha...whoops." Ed stood up abruptly, and his amber eyes stared down at Danny fiercely, his gaze slowly drifting to Sam, his sight soon encompassing both, expression stern.
"Who are you two, really? And where do you come from? Tell me the truth!" Thoughts of the two being fellow homunculi entered Ed's mind.
Of course! That would explain why they wanted Danny...and his unnatural abilities...which might as well explain Sam's unique way of...uh, telling her side of the story... Ed thought, and Al suddenly got up, stunned by this news, not knowing how to react. He had already befriended the girl, Sam, and thought well enough of Danny, but now, his thoughts were whirring. He and his brother had already been betrayed and lied to enough.
"Woa, woa, woa!" Danny insisted, levitating to his feet. Though, by now, such actions were considered normal to the Elrics, they were a bit jumpy as Danny did so. Sam followed suit, scrambling to her feet, amethyst eyes pleading.
"I swear, we're not here to do anything! Please, listen to us!" Sam pleaded, eyes peering into Ed's, then turning to Al.
"Please, I promise, we can explain everything." Turning from Sam's pleas, Ed narrowed his eyes at Danny, piercing his own green ones. There was a moment of silence, the air filled with tension.
"You lied."
"No, let me correct that statement: I conveniently left out some information." Danny spoke matter-of-factly, gesturing his hands as he spoke the word 'out'. Unfortunately, neither Elrics found this amusing or informative. So, Danny sighed, hanging his head low. Once composing himself, he stood back up, ready to stare back at Ed in his long, maroon jacket, the caduceus depicted on the back.
"Listen, what I told you earlier was the truth, but...they kidnapped us by throwin' us into the Gate, and the next thing we know, we're wakin' up in Izumi's house. I swear, everything is true." Danny attempted reassuring Ed, but he did not seem so satisfied this time. Al was the first to speak.
"So you two are...are from the Other Side, right?" He stuttered in awe. It was almost every alchemist's fleeting dream to know what lay within or beyond the Gate. Well, now he knew. Danny and Sam's world. There was a pause, the only sound of the wind shifting through the forest, toying with the golden locks that often shielded Ed's eyes from the world, or danced with the loin cloth about Al's hip. Danny's hair waved like a field of grass, and the end of the long, white blouse Sam wore roiled and flicked in the gentle breeze.
"That would explain things..." Ed began, voice slightly raspy, whether from shouting or astonishment, none could tell but him. Scratching his neck again, he sighed, pondering. He tried to clear his head, trying to focus on the task at hand. So many unanswered questions!
"What was...inside it..." Ed began, curious. He had only seen the Gate once before, and he often did not allow his mind to venture to that fateful night. He thought the Gate was filled with Truths, but Izumi spoke otherwise. All he knew was that it executed the Equivalent Exchange, having taken both his limbs, and one of its own beings attached his lost limbs to itself becoming...Wrath.
"Just...a bunch of black arms and bright eyes, dragging you further and further..." Sam answered, eyes staring off into the distance as she spoke, remembering the horrible nightmare of the passing through the Gate. She had read a few shelves of books on alchemy, numerous noting the existence of "The Gate". Still...they had only theorized, and no one came close to it. The closest one to guessing what the Gate held, as in other worlds, went by the name of 'Ansem'.
"I know..." Ed muttered, but cleared his throat, continuing after subduing a rather obnoxious itch in his neck, "was there anything else?"
Both Sam and Danny thought hard, but as far as Danny's mind, it remained relatively blank. All he remembered was a feeling of dread and accepting death, and a loud clap...similar to the sound Ed made when he prepared to transmute something...
"All else I remember is my hands being forced together, and all those black things hissing as some lavender light poured in from no where...then I woke up with Danny in a field, where Izumi said she found us, asleep." Sam answered, finally looking up from staring at her feet. A long, strange silence ensued, each one exchanging glances with the other, thoughts so loud and questions so tempting that one could almost hear them in the air.
SH-ck, SHH-ckk. Four heads snapped to the distance, hearing a rustling of underbrush and the vibration of branches, leaves dangling and finally subsiding. Legs becoming a roiling black mist, Danny narrowed his glowing green eyes, holding up his fists, humming with ecto-plasmic energy.
"We have company." He spoke lowly, watching Ed correct his stance and bend his knees, holding out both hands, one of flesh, the other, composed of metal. Deep in Danny's mind, he was silently thanking whomever or whatever made the noise. The tension in the silence was getting to be almost like a physical blow.
"Brother, do you think its one of the homunculi?" Al asked nervously, but nonetheless prepared to defend himself and the present company. He was eager to do something productive or active. All this talking was making his mind blur and daze.
Ed said nothing, only narrowing his eyes. He really felt like punching something at the moment. Mostly Danny for not telling him the truth, but he was too fearful that Sam would pounce on him like a cougar if he did that. He had already noted the chipping artificial black pigment on her nails...and they just defined how sharp they were.
Sam was the only one who was not relieved. She believed in talking and working things out, and punching things was not the answer. She and Danny needed to know more about the Gate, and if Ed was a certified alchemist, surely he knew something about it, and maybe how to get back to Amity. Stepping back slightly, Sam was not shaken, only sighing in annoyance. At this point, it was just ghost hunting all over again, but with different opponents and players.
Red alchemical sparks erupted sporadically behind the large trunk of the sole tree blocking their view, and momentarily the tree glowed the same red hue, before a plume of smoke and dust flailed into the air. All four shielded their eyes from the plume, Danny and Sam expecting a loud crash of a fallen tree...but it did not come.
As the smoke dissipated, the four were met with the intimidating sight of an Ishvarlan, right arm extended to where the tree had once been, wrist displaying the beginning of a complicated network of black markings. His hands themselves were fierce looking, their grip appearing death-holding. Lifting his head, Danny and Sam gasped at the large, 'x' shaped scar across his face, red eyes glaring at them, the sight separated by small strands of white hair.
"Scar." Ed hissed, and the Ishvarlan glanced sideways at the boy. Danny just raised an eyebrow.
"Scar, like, from Lion King?" The Ishvarlan, known to Central and many others by the simple alias of 'Scar', glared at Danny, examining his floating form, and taking in his glowing green eyes and the ecto-plasm glowing on his fists.
"You are the Ghost Boy, no doubt. I have been sent here by God to send you to his right hand, for your soul must rest, and you must no longer cause havoc that endangers my people."
"No, try crazy zealot Scar." Sam answered, paling. He seemed very...serious, about his task at hand. She backed away slightly. From those sparks before, she would guess he was using alchemy, the sparks signifying the visible power and energy of the transmutation. But instead of de-constructing and reconstructing the elements at hand, he left the transmutation at the 'deconstruction' part.
Lunging at Danny, he reared his right hand back, eyes focused and not leaving his floating target. Surprised, Danny hesitated, but as the arm came down, he saw Ed kicking Scar out of the way. Turning, Scar glared, flexing his open right hand.
"Do not get in my way, Fullmetal. You are no longer my Calling." As he lunged at Ed, Scar did not notice Danny release a blast of ecto-energy. Hitting him on the side, his face contorted in pain, and Scar dug his heels in the ground, stopping himself from being pushed further or knocked down. Taking this hesitation, Ed yelled, right fist reared back, ready to release. Narrowing his red eyes, Scar's right hand encompassed Ed's. A look of dread and shock spread across Ed's face.
"Ed, NO!" Al cried, and with that distress call, Sam suddenly rushed at Scar, leaping up. Putting her arms around his neck, his grip loosened on Ed's fist, and he withdrew his fist from Scar's grip, looking relieved, but more so, angered. Not withdrawing from the head lock, Sam gritted her teeth, Scar scrambling to get her off, not wishing to murder an innocent girl.
"Normally, I'm opposed to violence, but you're...", Sam panted, remembering exactly how Bone Saw had managed the head lock in the ring with The Flying Dutchman on last year's wrestling title before she claimed her opposition towards violence, "...you're the exception!" Finally, Scar found a grip, and his left hand easily wrapped around Sam's slender arm. Grabbing her arm in a death-grip, he threw her over his head, and shoved her into the ground, the impact knocking the wind from her, Sam in turn spluttering for air.
Placing his right hand over her face, he closed his eyes.
"May this girl be forgiven for her sins, and rest within the Heavens the great Ishbal created, for my task is for the greater good of God's children and must not be forsaken by one soul." Sam's eyes widened in fear, but she felt paralyzed, still attempting to catch her breath. His hand encompassed nearly her entire face, and her only sight was splinters of the canopy and sky.
As the black array about his right arm began to glow, Al began to rush at him, but in his mind, he knew it was too late. The transmutation occurred, and the red sparks flew. Scar stood up, about to glare back at the Ghost Boy, but he was not found. Al and Ed stood in silence, but Scar knew something was wrong. Neither looked perturbed from the girl's death.
"God's right hand, meet my right fist!"
Turning around, Scar's face connected with the speeding punch, and he fell to the ground with a loud 'thud', Danny flying over him, uncurling his fist, Sam hanging onto his shoulders about his back. Landing, he set her down. As she collapsed, breath still not caught, Al cradled her in his arms, falling to one knee. He looked up, as though idolizing Danny as his green eyes glared at Scar, he now scrambling to his feet, blood dripping down one nostril.
"Why do you not wish to be sent?" Scar growled, standing up once more, met with a most peculiar sight. Both Edward Elric and Danny Phantom were side by side, they posing to defend Alphonse Elric and Samantha Manson behind them, each smirking, fists held high. Surging at Scar, both reared back their right fists, and thrust it at the Ishvarlan.
...End Chapter Sixteen...