Chapter 20

Ichigo looked at his hand. The dragon in him was restless and energetic.

"You were able to beat an enemy without showing off your true powers, Ichigo. You have risen far beyond the level of the neithermen."

"True, but..." Ichigo looked at the sky above him. He teleported to another universe, landing in a forest with the sun high above him. "Even though I saved the captains, they weren't the only ones under control. Who were those...people?"

"Not people, Ichigo. Those beings have appeared in other worlds. I need you to find out something about this in their home planet."

"This is their birth universe?" Ichigo was confused. He did not understand what Rayquaza knows or how he knows so much about his situation.

Reading his mind, the dragon grumbled. "We pokemon had to deal with the situation of being sealed in pokeballs and hearing our surroundings. While in the outer reaches of space, I heard things."

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain how you know about this place..."

"After we fought those beings, I sensed a portal leading to this world. You sensed it too."

Ichigo looked around his position. "Is it a trap?"

"Not possible. Anyways, I sense something in a nearby town. It is making me uneasy..."

Ichigo looked at the direction that was bothering the dragon. Slowly, he began to walk.

On the other side of the planet, Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrived at a train station. "HOW DARE THAT-" Donald screamed.

"It's not their fault!" Sora interrupted. "We were teleported here because we need to fill these crystals! Hisagi would kill us if we don't learn how to-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Donald quacked. "I WANT TO REST!"

"Well, gwarsh, Donald..." Goofy countered, "Us two haven't gone to a world in a long time. We had time to rest-"

"BUT I WANT TO REST MOOOORE!" People looked at the duck with wonder until someone stepped up. A man with dark hair, white gloves, and a blue military outfit glared at Donald.

"I'm sorry, duck, but we cannot have disruptions in this station."

Donald quieted down while Sora said, "Sorry about that. My friend woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

"Apologies accepted, young man. Who might you be?"

"I am Sora, and these are my friends Donald and Goofy."

The man smiled. "Well, you must be newcomers. I am-"

A scream pierced the air. Everyone froze, only to see nobodies and heartless chase off passengers. Sora and his friends ran to the enemies and hit them away from the train. As they hit them, Sora saw anger surrounding the creatures.

"Look out, Sora!" Donald casted a lightning spell that blasted a nobody to pieces. Goofy pointed his shield at the enemies, revealing a cannon in front of him. As he guarded, the cannon blew the enemies away. Sora slashed at a bunch of heartless, showing off his soul keyblade. A hidden nobody suddenly came from behind Sora. Before anything could be done, however, the military man snapped his fingers.

BOOM! The explosion caught the fighters by surprise. The nobody burned to a pile of ashes.

"Well, fighters, are we?" The man grinned. "What's surprising to me is that your powers are not like alchemy."

"Alchemy?" Sora frowned and looked at Goofy and Donald, who also frowned.

"Oh, whatever...look, I'll explain this at my headquarters. Come with me!" The three joined him and boarded a taxi. "Anyways, my name is Mustang. I am a State Alchemist. Alchemy is a power that relies on equivalent exchange. You can't get something unless you exchange something of equal or greater value. My alchemy is based on fire, as in explosions."

"That's interesting! So, what city is this?" Sora looked around, seeing people walking around with tons of supplies.

"This is one of our bases here. See, we are constantly battling those creatures, and others like them, so we are in a state of constant alarm. Our king has issued us to have up-to-date technology to fight those monsters."

The group got out of the taxi. They were greeted by a blonde girl with a gun on her shoulders. "This is Hawkeye, my admiring-"

"Sir, we don't have time for your foolishness." She glanced at Sora and his friends. "A boy and his chimeras?"

"What's a chimera?" Goofy asked.

"Oh, Hawkeye, these people are newcomers!" exclaimed Mustang. "Anyways, Goofy, a chimera is a human who has fused with an animal."

"Gwarsh!" Goofy and Donald glared at Hawkeye, who glared right back.

"Alright, knock it out, you guys." Sora and Mustang stepped in between them. "Besides, we came because of the nobody problem."

"You know what these monsters are?" asked Hawkeye.

"Yeah. See, there's the nobodies, they are grayish and are like an empty shell of a strong person when they lose their heart."

"You mean, literally-"

"Okay, guys!" Mustang interrupted. "Let's talk about this inside my office. Sora, I need you to identify something for me in there."

The group entered the building.

In a nearby town, Ichgio sat down at a outdoor park. "Dude, I see nothing..."

Then, almost suddenly, Ichigo spotted a dark man with a scar across his head. He was in a yellow shirt and brown pants, glancing around the place with his red eyes. He scanned the pavilion, looking for something. Ichigo decided to follow him, hiding himself from view. He reached an alleyway when the man turned around.

"Who are you?" he harshly asked. His pose turned threatening.

"Just a curious person, that's all it is..." Ichigo held out his fist. "SAI!"

The stranger's hands were cuffed behind him by spiritual pressure. He cried, falling headfirst into the ground.

"Now, tell me. What are you?"

"Urrghh..." The stranger got up, showing anger. "I don't have a name...I go by Scar."

Ichgio released his kido. "Good. I am Ichigo, a soul reaper."

The man looked at the orange-haired teen with confusion. "You mean...as in someone who takes the souls of the dead?"

"Yes."

Scar sat up. "I have to believe you, but only because you aren't the first newcomer here."

"Newcomer?"

"Another man had a power of water. He is hidden somewhere in the ruins of Ishbal, my sacred homeland."

Who could that be? wondered Ichigo. "Well, I need to catch up in my history lessons. Can you lead me to this homeland?"

"Yes, but I need you help first. you see, I am a survivor of a war that led to the near destruction of my race. There are hundreds left, but some of them are being held by the military of Amestris. I need you to help me rescue them before I can lead you to my place."

"Sure." The two went to a building with security all around it.

"I can go through an underground entrance, but I need you to take down some of these-"

"Done." Ichigo pointed towards the entrance. People are sprawled in a bush, only seeable from Scar's view. "So...what's Amestris? A country?"

"I'll tell you later." Both of them walked in, only to see a bunch of nobodies surround them. "These creatures again?!"

"So it's a problem here too..." Ichigo pointed his blade outwards. "Let's take out the nobodies here."

Suddenly, clapping sounds were heard. "So the Isbalian and the soul reaper show up, huh?"

A man with an eye patch and in a military uniform appeared. "It was too easy to set up a trap like this."

"Where are my people?!" cried Scar.

"Oh, they are safe. Unfortunately for you both, that isn't the situation."

"Who are you?" asked Ichigo.

"Well, my orange-haired friend, I am Wrath. The leader of Amestris."