Chapter 21
BANG!
The ground between Ichigo and the king exploded. Ichigo pointed his sword at the man, radiating aura. Scar kept his distance, positioning himself towards the building.
"Go check it out!" Ichigo yelled. "Go and get some stuff from there! Hurry!"
Scar ran towards the building. Roaring, he hit the ground, sending red shockwaves to knock out hidden traps. Bradley looked in horror and tried to run to Scar, but Ichigo lunged at him, knocking him to the ground.
"So you want to play dirty, huh?!" Bradley removed his eyepatch. It revealed a eye with a symbol attached to it.
"The Philosopher's Stone?!" cried Scar.
"Oh yes, my eye is one." Bradley kicked Ichigo away from him. Ichigo was shocked. The power from this man was stronger when the eyepatch was torn off. It was like...
"Soul reaper, prepare to be fed to the Homonculus Wrath!" Bradley swiped and jabbed at Ichigo, who dodged the blows with difficulty. Bradley side-stepped his movements, trying to get to his side. Ichigo jumped back, slashing his sword to break Bradley's right-hand sword.
"Impressive. Watch THIS!" Bradley slammed his left sword to the ground, causing an earthquake. Ichigo stumbled, falling back as Bradley produced two more swords. Ichigo teleported to Scar, who finished his search earlier.
"Can you use your right arm to stun him?" asked Ichigo.
"Nope. His eye can see all. We have to get out of here, before the others come."
"You mean..." Ichigo widened his eyes. "He has friends?!"
"How dense are you, shinigami?" Scar sighed. "Of course. Anyways, I found something of importance. Let's go."
At that instant, Scar threw a flashbang at Bradley. He grunted as it exploded, blinding him. Ichigo and Scar ran away before Bradley could locate them.
"Damn that man! The nerve of him!" Bradley wiped his eyes in anger.
Back at the headquarters, Sora was shocked. There were soul crystals that were filled in Mustang's room. "Where did you get those?"
"We found it at the same time as we found the brainwashed fellow." Mustang held one of the crystals. "They power up weapons and create stuff. I learned that after combining stuff in synthesis."
"Wait, what guy was brainwashed?" Goofy asked.
"I don't know. He came one day, and our leader explained that he is from another dimension. He explained that there was some sort of enemy willing to open up a portal that can ruin this world. Yet, when I saw the guy, his eyes were empty. He was lying down on the crystals, and he seemed harmless."
"Are there characteristics that we can go by?" Sora asked.
"He had yellowish hair, a...guitar...and some sort of black cloak."
"DEMYX?!" cried the trio. Mustang and Hawkeye were caught off guard.
"Sorry," apologized Sora, "But we know this guy. I thought that my friends and I defeated him."
"Well, maybe the guy was reborn," said Donald.
"But then, why is he brainwashed...?" Goofy asked.
"Well, we should give you the crystals," Mustang said. "But can you help us with a problem? I am trying to find two alchemists in town, and they are important in what is going on."
"Sure." Mustang and the group went out of the building and towards town.
Meanwhile, in a desert cave, Ichigo and Scar sit down to rest.
"I can't believe that you found a map of where we are." Ichigo sat with his back to the wall.
"Yeah. I can't believe that, nor the fact that I found some documents about this place." Scar looked around, spotting the location that they are looking for. "Ready for a fight?"
"Sure, why not." Ichigo got up. "So, let me get the history straight. The government of Amestris has abused their power to eradicate Ishval and obtain the Philosopher's stone."
"Yep."
"Cool." Ichigo decided to hold off more of the history until later. He entered the chamber and saw a figure covered in chains. "Once we awaken him, will he attack us?"
"Yes. The military has infected him to the point where is is prone to violence. We have to beat him to submission."
"AAAUGH!" The man broke out of the chains, standing up to frighten the two.
"So, is he a nobody with a keyblade...?" Ichigo asked.
"Hmmm?"
"Nothing. Just something that I was thinking."
The figure launched himself towards Scar. Roaring, Scar emitted a shock wave from his right hand, knocking him back to the wall. Water cushioned the impact on the wall, but the figure still took damaged. He pulled a guitar out of thin air and began to play it. Water ghouls appeared, charging at Ichigo. In less than a half second, he killed the ghouls, leaving water and mud clinging to the ground.
"Too easy..." Scar threw another shockwave at the figure, only to see that it was deflected.
"Never...underestimate...DEMYX!" He charged at the two, with water surrounding him. The two jumped out of the chamber just before the walls collapsed. Demyx's eyes were empty, and his appearance has white aura around it.
"He is brainwashed!" Scar mumbled.
"Yeah, Sherlock." Ichigo waited for Demyx to come closer. Before Demyx could move, Ichigo yelled, "GETSUGA TENSHO!" and blasted him to the other side of the chamber. Demyx got up, producing water knives and shuriken. Before he could throw it, Scar threw another shockwave at Demyx, dissolving the objects. Ichigo reached Demyx's spot, holding a circular device. "Wake up!"
Light shined on Demyx, and he woke up, staring at the room. His eyes returned to normal. "What...happened...?"
"You lost your mind to something. What happened to you?"
"All I remember...is...him." Demyx gulped. "Honestly. I was stuck in this dark void after losing to the keyblade wielder, and I...wait...what is that?"
"This removes brainwashing done by another being. There really is no name for it...yet...but anyways, go on..."
"So. I was stuck, and this...thing...talks to me. It wanted me for some reason, and I was not the only one. There was that guy, Auron, who I saw get taken over by some guy in a cloak like mine."
"The neithermen did this too, huh," Ichigo realized.
"Who?"
"A being that is the result of a strong person's heart and body coming back together. They did this to you."
"Oh...well...that makes it interesting."
"Why?" Scar, who was confused about all of this, came up to Demyx. "Why were you sent here?"
"Well, originally, I was sent to help fight Sora. I won't do so now, thanks to you."
"You are welcome." Ichigo thought of a question. "Did you hear of anything about the worlds?"
"See, that is the interesting part. There was one neithermen who was talking out loud on purpose. He wanted everyone to know that a certain operation of his was successful. He has done something unique that no person alive would have thought of."
"What?" Ichigo caught on to the last sentence.
"You see, he worked behind the lines while you guys were fighting. They were working to dissolving worlds and stuff, and now, they have done something unimaginable."
"So, what is it?" Ichigo asked, annoyed that Demyx was being suspenseful.
However, both Ichigo and Scar paled at Demyx looked at both of them seriously. "They broke the Barrier of the Forbidden. The doorway to the Minus worlds."