Chapter 25

King Bradley slashed at Sora, who had to accelerate backwards to avoid his two swords. Mustang had to hold his hands because he could not risk burning Sora with King Bradley. Donald and Goofy rushed in, countering Bradley's moves with their own. No matter what they did, they could not lay a hand on him.

"It's that eye! It's a philosopher's stone!" Ed widened his eyes.

"Yes..." Bradley smiled, raising his hands. "I can see everything!"

He slashed at Sora, sending him and his friends backwards. "Go ahead, keyblade wielder! Keep trying to hit me!"

"HA!" Mustang snapped his fingers, sending flames to Bradley. However, Bradley did not flinch; he stood there, staring at Mustang.

"You seriously thought that I am weak enough for your fires?"

Hawkeye shot Bradley with her sniper. Bradley blocked the bullet fast, splitting it into two.

"Your secretary seems to be just as-"

"NOW!" shouted Hawkeye.

Sora moved behind him, out of his sight. Realizing that, Bradley tried to move out of the way, but Sora struck before he could move.

"Take this!" Spiritual aura surrounded Sora as he hit Bradley several times. He broke his blades, forcing Bradley to fall back. Goofy hit his canon shield onto the man, blasting him to Sora. "Freeze!" Bradley froze, unable to comprehend what is happening to him.

"Explosive firebombs!" Donald threw small aura balls and Al transmuted them into explosive bombs. In an instant, Bradley was consumed by the explosions.

"We did it!" said Mustang.

"Think again..." Ed pointed up. The ceiling was hit by the explosions, collapsing and breaking apart. "We have to go!"

Everyone left, not looking back. They made it outside the laboratory, gasping for air.

"The military...did this?" Ed was shocked. "Why?"

"We have to be careful." Mustang glanced at Sora. "You might be interested in this, but Hawkeye and I have suspected that the man is a homunculus. We weren't sure, but we had to check."

"Do you think that he is still alive, sir?" asked Hawkeye.

"Maybe."

"Gwarsh, what's gonna happen now?" asked Goofy.

"We need to stop the military heads. They must have been the ones whom have caused this. They must know what is going on."

"Where will they be at?"

"Amestris."

Meanwhile, Ichigo managed to reach Amestris. It was night time, and he managed to find a hiding spot with crates. "All right, Kenpachi, you alright?"

The man looked at Ichigo, tired and angry. "Well, being possessed by a creature isn't that bad, but damn, it hurts!"

"Well, you just have to deal with it. We need to find Scar and Demyx-"

"Here." Demyx stepped put of a crate. "You knew that, right?"

"Yeah..." Ichigo knew, but he was focusing on something else. He sensed a fight earlier when he was coming here. Was that Sora's power?

"The military is making it harder for us to find him." Scar frowned as he saw Kenpachi. "You brought the beast here?"

"This coming from the one who ran with his tail between his legs." Kenpachi smiled. "Next time, just face me like a man."

Scar growled. "Calm down," said Ichigo. "We have no time. He does that to everyone. Anyways, who are you referring to?"

"Marco. He created philosopher stones for the military, but he had to go into hiding. They found him, took him hostage, and they are trying to obtain the secrets of those cursed stones."

"What are philosopher stones?"

"They are like power gems. Whoever owns them can defy the laws of nature and transmute anything."

"Like cheats?"

"Yes..." Scar frowned again. "Anyways, I think that they took him into another world."

"What? Why?" Ichigo realized that the philosopher stones must be powerful if what Scar is saying is true.

"The bad guys are dividing the stones up," said Demyx. "That could make sense. That power must also have been tested on the heartless and the nobodies. It could explain alot."

"Yet, so little," grumbled Kenpachi. "Why didn't they do this sooner?"

"The bad guys underestimated us," said Ichigo. "Anyways, they may have taken him inside those minus worlds. It could be any one of them!"

"I want to request something of you, soul reaper." Scar looked at Ichigo. "Is it possible for someone like me to become like you?"

Everyone stayed silent. "I admire your spirit," said Ichigo, "but I do not know if that can be done. I could try, but...are you sure?"

Scar looked down. "All of my life, I killed State Alchemists. Military people. I did so with anger, seeping in the tides of revenge...until I met Edward Elric and his brother."

"Two friends of yours?"

"I prefer to call them...allies. Still, they made me realize that not all Amestrians are bad. Then, I met a child whom lost her parents to my rage. I could not bear to understand why I have regret...but I know why I ended up that way."

Scar breathed in pain, engrossed in the story. Ichigo felt sadness for him. He was unloading something tragic, holding in emotions.

"My older brother, he liked alchemy. The magic of this world. Our elders did not like that, but he did not care at all...at least, until he discovered the secret to philosopher stones: people. Sacrifice them, and the stones will be formed. Anyways, as I ran away from the war, a State Alchemist exploded my people. He injured me and ran off. My brother...sacrificed himself to give me alchemic powers. I lost it. I live, knowing that I was unable to protect my brother."

"Rough..." Ichigo empathetically looked at him. "I lost my mother in a similar way. Our souls may be clouded by pain, but our hearts can connect with each other."

"Hohhh..." Kenpachi breathed in. "As much as we should continue this conversation, we should wait until the military is defeated. How should we proceed with that?"

"We have to find Sora."

"SORA'S HERE?!" cried Demyx. "WHERE?!"

"Nearby." Ichigo concentrated on his aura. "They are nearby. Let's meet them now."

"Sounds right to me..." Kenpatchi nodded, and they all teleported to his location.

Meanwhile, Sora and his friends arrived at a cabin. "We can stay here?" asked Sora.

"Yes, you can do that." Mustang looked around him. "We should be safe-"

"EDWARD!" A young, blonde girl comes in, scaring everyone.

"Winry!" Edward exclaimed. "How are you?!"

"Jeez, you were fighting again...hey, Mustang, Hawkeye!"

"Yes, Winry, nice to see you too..." Mustang laughed while Hawkeye sighed.

"Don't scare us like that!" Al said.

"Who's the new guy?" asked Winry. "Are those..."

"Not what you are thinking," Sora answered. "Anyways, I am Sora, and these are my best friends, Donald and Goofy."

"Oh...I'm Winry. Nice to meet you!"

Everyone settled into the cabin. Winry explained that she is a mechanic, building things and fixing metal limbs.

"I can make Ed's arm and leg stronger, but it will take several hours." She got out her tools. "So, what brings you here, Sora?"

"I was looking for that guy with the green hair."

"You mean Envy?!" asked Ed.

"Yes. We met in a different world. He had a bunch of people under his control."

"There was...something that came here a week ago," said Mustang. "I do not know, but the military seems to be behind all of this. We have to keep our eyes on them tomorrow."

"Aren't you going to tell them what you are planning, sir?" asked Hawkeye.

"Oh, well...yes, we are planning to storm the building where the headquarters are."

"Are all your men a part of this?" asked Al.

"Fury, Falman, Armstrong...they are all a part of this. Now that Bradley is missing, we can go through with this."

"Well, that is interesting, but...they were experimenting with those creatures. Do you think-"

A sound was heard outside. "Open up, Sora!" yelled Demyx.

"Keep quiet, you fool!" Ichigo whispered, looking around. "Oh, hey guys!"

"What are you doing here, Ichigo?" asked Donald.

"I just stumbled onto something big. I'll save it for later-"

"Scar?!"

Winry and Al backed up, while Ed pointed a finger at the man. "Why-"

"I am on your side, Fullmetal. I do not wish to fight you."

"Yeah," said Ichigo. "He's tame. Don't worry. Anyways, are you guys planning anything?"

"Jeez, you guys know that we have to rush them, right?" Kenpatchi said.

"Oh, this is my friend, Kenpatchi."

"Oh! Well...anyways, I have a diversion plan. I'll gather my men to distract the military. We won't kill people, and we will catch the military doing the wrong things. You guys take care of the creatures."

"Gwarsh, that sounds nice," said Goofy.

"Then let's get prepared tonight." Everyone went to get ready for the upcoming fight.