AN: Hey guys, how are all of you? Having a good time? I'm doing pretty good. I actually wrote this chapter pretty fast once I started, and had a lot of fun doing so. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if a decision or two I made in this chapter is considered controversial upon first read. Just know that it will all make sense, and it all follows from rules established either from Kingdom Hearts or from the first two stories in this series.

Next, I believe this is the last chapter I'll release before September, so I want to do a quick welcome back. SsjZohan, I hope you've been safe and happy over the past year. I also hope you enjoyed the rest of Arc of Redemption, and the start of this story!

Now, for responses.

To Gamelover41592: I chose Fullmetal Alchemist because it's probably my favorite anime ever. And on top of that, each world has a... connection to the main plot and the eventual story twists and beats.

To Chretner: Yeah, Oscar and Dawn are going to be on their own for a little while yet. Sora may be freaking out about Ruby and now Dawn and Dove, but he has a job he can't really compromise, even for her. He has to trust that Dawn and Oscar learned enough until one of his friends can get hold of them and he can go get them.

Well, here's to another chapter and another day! Hope you guys like it as much as I liked writing it.

Chapter 6: New Developments

"Okay, Girlie, time to wakey wakey."

Dawn groaned and rolled her head into her cloak's hood. "Fivemoreminutes," she mumbled into the violet cloth.

"Hey, I may be many things but patient isn't one of 'em, got it?" Dawn yelped as someone yanked her upward and shoved her hood back, then dropped her. Her arms shot forward to catch her and she hissed at the impact on her elbows and forearms. She tried to rub them with her opposite hands, but was soon stuck. She pushed up to her knees and glared down at the metal chains tightly binding her wrists. "Finally. Now, we've got some stuff to talk about, got it?"

Dawn looked up and frowned in confusion. Where were Oscar or those brothers they'd met... Ed and Al! Yeah. Wait, where was she? Four concrete walls, a door... and the faint, terrible smell of farts. Hm... Then this was probably the sewer. But why? And who and how and when. Finally she looked up at the voice and gasped as it all came back to her. "Wait... you're that guy that attacked us at the hotel!" she shouted as she recognized his voice. He looked completely different now! Basically human, with pale skin instead of charcoal, and human teeth instead of tusks. He even had black, spiky hair now and was dressed in a stylish sleeveless jacket with a fur hood. She tried to point accusingly at him, but her bound hands made it far less threatening than she'd wanted. "Who are you? What world are you from!?"

The guy grinned at her and his wine red eyes widened in excitement. "What world, huh? Well, there goes one of my questions about you," he supplied excitedly. Dawn flinched then began to mumble angrily at herself for letting that slip. "Ha. You really seem out of your element, Girlie. Wonder why when that other guy I fought was barely older than you. And he beat me and Pride in a fight. Not that the arrogant bastard would ever admit that."

"I'm not out of my element!" Dawn protested angrily.

"Ha! Please," the guy said with an eye roll. "As if the Elric shrimp wasn't already in over his head – not that it's hard with how short he is. But you? I have no idea why a Keyblade would choose you when I'm alive."

"And who are you!?" Dawn repeated. She threw up her bound hands. "Come on, you kidnapped me it's the least you can give me!"

The guy raised his eyebrows, then shrugged. "The name, Girlie, is Greed," he said, a sharp toothed grin appearing on his face. "And it ain't just a name. I want everything you can possibly imagine. I want money and women, power and sex, status, glory! I demand the finer things in life!"

"Women..." Dawn gasped and pointed at him. "I'm only fifteen! I'm not into that weird rope stuff you freak!"

"What!? That's not what this about!" Greed shouted indignantly. He coughed and composed himself, brushing off his arms. "Jeez, you can't read people, Girlie. I'm a gentleman. I don't even like to fight women: I'm not that kind of guy."

Dawn glanced down at her chains, then back up at him with a dry glare. "This is different, got it?" he growled. He gesticulated at her. "The Keyblade. I want to know more about it."

Dawn raised her eyebrows. "Uh... that's it?"

"'That's it,' she says," Greed grumbled. He wandered over to the nearest wall and leaned his head against it. "Jeez..."

Dawn frowned. "What are you?" she finally asked.

Greed turned to her. "I'm asking the questions, here," he shot back angrily.

"Well, how about you answer one of mine and I answer one of yours?" Dawn suggested. She smiled. "After all, you can do that cool stone skin thing!"

Greed grinned. "It is pretty cool, isn't it? My 'Invincible Shield.' I can block any attack. Nothing can hurt me -" He stopped and turned to her. "Except Keyblades. And something that can do the impossible is something I want."

"The finer things in life, right?" Dawn asked. She pushed herself into a sitting position and placed her hands in her lap, trying to angle her hands. "Well, answer my questions and I'll answer yours, got it?"

"I did answer your question," Greed retorted.

Dawn frowned and thought back. "... No. You told me about your shield, you didn't tell me what you are!"

Greed flinched. "Gah... Fine," he grumbled. "Can't believe I got outsmarted by a dumb kid."

"I didn't plan it or anything. Oscar might have done that, but not me," she supplied with a grin. "So, what are you?"

Greed held up his left hand, revealing a tattoo of a dragon eating its own tail. "I'm a Homunculus," he supplied, as if it was the only answer she would need.

"... What?"

"What!?" he echoed.

"Yeah, what's a Homunculus?"

"... It's time for you to answer a question," he replied, a smile creeping onto his face.

Dawn opened her mouth to protest. "Come on, you didn't -"

"I answered your question," Greed countered. Dawn opened her mouth, then sighed. He was technically right. Upon seeing her resignation, he grinned and placed a hand on his chin. "So... Do you know anything about a guy I met? Blonde hair, blue eyes, real bad attitude. He had a black, swirly Keyblade. Wore a black coat."

"OJ!" she shouted. "Wow... you fought OJ and you didn't die? I thought only my family could say that. No wonder we couldn't beat you..."

"OJ, huh?"

"Yep," she said. She really hoped he wasn't going to notice what she was doing. "He could travel to different worlds through dark portals, create monsters, turn people evil. He almost destroyed the entire universe, if it wasn't for my family!"

"Damn. Your parents are over a hundred years old, huh? Old for normal humans," Greed said with a whistle.

"Huh? No, the worlds were still settling in to time back then. They'd just been born, after all," Dawn explained. "Really, this place is only like thirty years old, or something."

Greed opened his mouth, then shut it. "Th-thirty?" he asked in surprise, jaw wide open. But he was over a hundred himself!

"Yep. Now, what's a Homunculus?" Dawn asked without a beat.

Greed stared at her and shut his jaw. "I'm an artificial human. I'm built exactly the same as you, except with some small differences. You know, like I can get my head cut off and it'll grow back. And the shield."

"That's not small!" Dawn exclaimed. "You can't die! No wonder you survived OJ like that."

"It's not immortality. I'm hard to kill, not impossible," he offered freely. "Which is one reason I want a Keyblade, Girlie. With that, I can hurt even Pride or Father. And if I can hurt those psychos, I can take what they've got for myself. And then I can have it all. The world. More!"

Dawn immediately rolled her eyes and yawned. "Booooo-ring," she supplied, glaring at him dryly. "No wonder you don't have a Keyblade. There are way too many people that want stupid stuff like that."

"Stupid? I want everything!"

"So what? My uncle Toshi beats people like that up all the time. A lien a dozen," Dawn supplied. She shook her head. "No, you won't get a Keyblade being that boring."

Greed snarled and got in close. "And how do I get a Keyblade, then?"

Dawn sighed and leaned in closer to him. "It picks you," she said, summoning her Keyblade below his jaw. His head exploded at the same time the weapon destroyed her chains, and Greed's body flew backwards.

Dawn glared at the body for a moment, then pushed herself to her feet. "Come on, you said this wouldn't kill you," she said. She lowered her Keyblade and got into a fighting stance, trying to find more space to maneuver in this tiny room. Before she could come up with a plan, though, red lightning began to explode from the body on the ground. It traced up from the destroyed neck, swirling and coming together as flesh was recreated and a brand new head grew from nothing.

Greed pushed himself up and rubbed his neck. "Ow... that hurt," he growled. He ran his tongue over his teeth and frowned. "This is gonna sound weird, but I think I liked my old head better."

Dawn narrowed her eyes. This was bad. In a tiny room like this, her speed wouldn't help her out much against a literal steel wall like this guy. She clenched her Keyblade tighter, and reached up to her pocket. Well... that might be her only way out. She reached in and grabbed hold of a pellet of red Dust, standing straight up and holding her fist out at Greed. He raised an eyebrow. "Uh... what?" he scoffed.

"I, uh... Dammit, Dad would have something for this," she grumbled, then channeled her Aura through the Dust in her palm.

The effect was immediate. A massive explosion of red Light filled the room, and a burst of energy followed it that pushed Greed back a few feet. His eyes widened. "I'm almost impressed kid!" he shouted over the artificial wind in the small room. Dust began to settle and the Light dimmed, though it didn't disappear. Greed's grin vanished, replaced with a hungry look.

Dawn's clothes had changed with the unleashing of her Semblance. Her cloak had become a vibrant maroon, flowing behind her with petals of energy flowing from its hem. The rest of her clothes had become a brilliant vermillion, with shattered petals of black running down and condensing at the top of her black boots. Her shirt had a silver 'X' over the chest now running over a black crown. Her silver eyes were glowing even brighter now, their energy like small wings flowing off her face. But even she was surprised by her transformation.

"I see you've got an extra. Why not hand that over, Girlie?" Greed asked with a massive grin.

Dawn stared down at the other weapon in her left hand without hearing him, too stunned by what she saw. A second Keyblade, this one short and obviously used for defense. The blade straight on one side, a simple and sharp edge that turned black further from the center, but on the other side forming the teeth were a series of jagged loops almost shaped like a crown that were meant to catch weapons. The basket was shaped like a teardrop – or maybe a blood droplet -, thin and leading directly into the blade at the top. Dangling from a very long chain was a small red shield with the Kingdom Key D's Keychain in black at the center. Bladebleed. "Impossible..." she muttered. She shook her head and readied both weapons. She could worry about this later... even if it was the most awesome thing ever!

She charged Greed as fast as she could, moving faster than she ever had to get into his face now that her Semblance had overcharged her body. She slammed the Kingdom Key D forward to stab him. His shield grew along his arms and he brought his claws down to grab the attack. He grimaced and was thrown backwards, a mangled patch of skin at his palms. "Damn..." he grunted. He ran the other claw through his hair while that hand was repaired by red lightning. "Hitting me so hard the bones beneath break from impact. Not bad, Girlie. But not good enough!"

Dawn swallowed her anxiety and dodged around his sudden counterattack, ducking beneath his claws then bringing her new, second weapon up to catch his other claw in the teeth. "I hope this is for what I think it is!" she hissed, then yanked down. The teeth looped around his fingers and yanked him down suddenly. Greed yelped and his face slammed into the ground, then rolled out of the way of her attack with her main weapon. He rolled to his feet, but she was already on him. She slashed at his face and he ducked. Dawn panicked for a moment, then shook her head. She'd take a page from one of her mom's old stories; she flipped midair and began to bounce around the room from wall to wall.

Greed snarled and raised his arms defensively, blocking the incoming attacks as best he could. But she got faster and faster, bouncing and leaping from walls to roof to floor to wall and back again, attack him and leaving a dozen tiny storms of red lightning all over his body healing him. She continued bouncing then locked her gaze on a single point. She'd need pinpoint precision to hit the door and escape. She'd pummel through it with the Keyblades and find her way back to Oscar and the others. Easy, peasy, right? Well, at least until she face planted into the wall two feet to the left of the door.

A claw grabbed hold of her hood and turned, tossing her away from the door. She grunted and rolled until she wound up on her back. "Dammit..." she grumbled angrily. She pushed herself up to her feet and rubbed at her nose, still stinging despite her Aura healing her face. She must have hit the concrete really hard. She just wasn't used to moving this fast!

"Okay, okay. Wow, Girlie, you are giving these things a great test drive, even if you're basically an amateur at fighting," Greed said as he positioned himself between her and the door. He massaged his fingers for a moment. "Okay, then. Let's see if a novice like you can keep up when I'm going full throttle!" Dawn grimaced. Of course he'd been holding back. No wonder she was doing so great! The shield covered his whole body immediately. His voice was warped now, like when they'd first fought him in the hotel. "This'll be a great way to see how much better one more of those actually makes you!" And he charged her, faster and stronger than before.

His claws caught her cheek, flashing past her shorter Keyblade's block. Pain blossomed in her face and she was thrown backwards into the cement wall, shattering a pipe that was there. Water – Dawn hoped at least – splashed onto her back and was vaporized by the petals rising from her back. She grimaced at the bruise on her back, then growled and pushed herself up. "I'm not done!" she snapped. She shot forward and stabbed again, pushing all of her strength into the stab like she had the first time. She'd snap his stupid hands in half with this attack!

But he sidestepped her attack and reached out, grabbing hold of the blade, then spinning and throwing her back into the same exact spot. "You were a bit faster that time, Girlie. But come on, just hand one over. I don't like fighting girls, got me? Like I said, I try not to be that kind of guy!"

"That's not how it works!" Dawn grunted. She hissed in pain and pushed herself up again.

Greed sighed and shook his head. "You really don't know when to quit, do ya Girlie?"

"I take after my parents," she grunted through the pain of her shrinking Aura. "We don't know the meaning of the word!"

"A band of idiots, I guess," Greed mocked. He flexed his claws. "I guess I'll teach ya!" He shot forward and his claws tore the weapons from her hands, then grabbed her and lifted her from the ground. "You don't have a chance here, Girlie. You're a stupid kid, and I'm a Homunculus. You're a waste for those Keyblades."

"And you're a big idiot." She placed her hands on his face. "I can summon them back to my hands."

Greed groaned. "Ah, dammi-" And he was thrown back again, stumbling and groaning with one claw over his face. Dawn slid to the ground and panted, watching him stand up and shake his head. "Damn... Okay. Better than an amateur. But not good enough." He flexed his claws again and charged. Dawn grimaced and prepared to throw herself to the side.

Oscar, where the hell are you!?

χ χ χ

Oscar hadn't used his Keyblade in a real fight in... ever. Sparring and fighting the other Apprentices during training, but never in a real fight to the death. He frowned at the idea that 'fighting to the death' was going to be a way more common thing from now on. Oscar shook it off and glared down the sewer they'd entered. He could feel the Darkness swirling in there. Heartless and Grimm writhing in excitement at their approach. It sent a pit into his stomach, a massive weight pulling him down to the depths of fear.

But he felt his best friend beyond that, a spark of Light at the end of the tunnel. And then the weight vanished, replaced by anger and courage. He would do whatever it took. "L-let's go," he stuttered, and he realized that pit wasn't gone. He was afraid of having his Keyblade around the Heartless and Grimm in that tunnel. He'd always be. He began to breathe heavily, faster and faster.

"Hey, she down there?" A hand landed on his shoulder and he turned to see Ed glaring down beside him. Ed grinned and said, "I guess we're getting close, huh? Well, no point in keeping her waiting."

Oscar finally managed to swallow his fear. "Yeah," he agreed with a nod. He steeled himself. If he had to choose between saving Dawn and being safe... well, he knew what he'd choose. Every time. He wasn't losing anyone ever again. So he took a deep breath, and ran into the Darkness, swinging Chronal and summoning a bright, green light that flew ahead of him.

The Heartless and Grimm snarled and flinched away for a moment, surprised by the Light suddenly burning at them. But monsters accustomed quickly, and soon Oscar and the others were fighting their way down the tunnel. Ed and Al charged forward first, getting close to attack the monsters while Oscar slowed and began to pull magical energies up with his Keyblade. He could already feel the weapon echoing his own energies, amplifying them beyond the level he could usually manage.

Ed clapped his hands and spikes flew from the walls, flying towards the mass of monsters coming at them. Some of the larger Grimm were skewered by the cement spires, shrieking before they began to dissolve. Shadows melted into the spikes as they approached and moved along them, popping up in front of Ed with claws raised. He tried to move backwards to avoid, but there wasn't time. Alphonse was close enough to help him, though, and a massive boot slammed into the Heartless, sending them crashing into the wall. "Brother, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. Let's keep going," Ed said, pushing up to his feet. He clapped his hand again and created a blade from his right arm. He charged ahead and slashed at an incoming Grimm shaped like a bat, carving through one wing and moving on before it even crashed into the ground. Ed's left leg came up and around like a hammer, crushing a Soldier's armored head and forcing it to disappear. A Neoshadow flew out of the Darkness at him, only for a massive explosion to vaporize it instantly. He turned to see Oscar standing with his hand outstretched, smoke still rising from it. "Not bad!"

Oscar nodded and turned, sending a burst of wind towards Alphonse that forced the Heartless and Grimm trying to climb all over him flying off. He swung at the dazed monsters, punching through a small Beowolf's mask and crushing its skull. He turned and threw the decaying body into a group of Heartless. He quickly flipped away from an incoming sword attack, then settled as a pair of Clarent Heartless settled opposite him. The Heartless waved their swords, then charged him from both sides. Al flipped over their attacks and landed with one between him and the other. While the other Clarent tried to get around its brother, it was distracted by a bolt of Lightning slamming into its back. The monster whirled on Oscar, who was already summoning up his next spell, and charged.

Oscar snarled and launched a few spells at it, ice and fire streaming towards it. The Heartless deflected the Firaga and spun around the Blizzaga. Oscar backpedaled a step and fired off a Waterga that glanced off of the Heartless' armor. Oscar fell to his back and threw his hands up at the Clarent, its sword swinging down at him. A sphere of white hexagons erupted around him and the Clarent was blasted back, the Light burning away at its armor and stunning it for a moment. Oscar shook off his fear and scrambled to his feet, aiming Chronal directly at the Clarent. "Strike!" A volley of lightning bolts rained down, crashing into the Heartless and vaporizing it. Oscar stared, panting, then took a breath and turned to the others. They still had work to do.

Ed and Al ended up at each others backs, glaring out at the monsters. "You see, Al, this is why I won't let you bring home stray cats," Ed said as he deflected a Deathstalker's scorpion tail. "We make new friends and immediately we're fighting for our lives!"

"Brother!" Alphonse shouted. He shoved the Clarent back and shook his head. "That's not fair to them."

"Eh... switch?" Ed asked.

"Let's do it," Al agreed. Ed grinned and jumped, flipping over Al and stabbing at the Clarent. The Heartless' blade came up and barely deflected his attack, sending it off its balance. He ducked beneath its clumsy counterattack, leaving Ed for once happy to be short, and clapped his hands. He rushed past the Heartless and trailed his hands behind him. The ground beneath the Clarent and the roof above it extended, slamming into each other and flattening the Heartless into a fine paste.

Ed grinned and pumped his fist. "Yeah!"

Alphonse ignored his brother's joy and dodged and deflected the Deathstalker tail that kept snapping towards him, strong enough to shatter cement and probably the hollow armor of his body. He jumped over a low swing and spun, slamming his heel into the crown of the Heartless' armored head. It shrieked as the heavy blow cracked the bone, then again when Al rebounded off of its body and used his spiked knee to shatter it completely. The Grimm struggled and tried to lash out again, only for its tail to disintegrate as it attacked.

Oscar glared at the remaining monsters. "This is taking too long..." he growled. He raised his Keyblade in front of him, already imagining that his best friend would make fun of him for not making a flashy, fun move as he did it. He wasn't as coordinated, but he was pretty well studied. He was good at magic, even some of the harder stuff. "HOLY!" Light sparked in the tunnel, drawing the surprised attention of Ed and Al as it grew into a small star floating among the monsters.

"What the hell?"

The Light exploded then, and pillars of it shot all around, swirling and striking each Heartless and Grimm dozens of times. The Light grew brighter and brighter, with Oscar refusing to look away. Grimm exploded as their Black Dust was purified, and Heartless let their stolen Hearts go. And, soon, there were no Heartless left. Oscar kept his Keyblade raised as his Light Spell began to die out, leaving the three boys safe from the Darkness. Oscar glared into the Darkness again for a moment, then let out a deep breath and stumbled to the side. "Dammit," he mumbled at his drained state. He shook his head and leaned against the tunnel wall. "... Need to keep moving."

"No, you need a break," Ed told him, standing in Oscar's path.

"But Dawn -!"

Alphonse was there next. "You can't help her if you can't move!"

Oscar shook his head. "B-but... No! She wouldn't rest to save me!" he growled. He ambled slowly along the wall, then groaned and swayed side to side. "She'd... sh-she'd never rest..."

"And she'd screw it up!"

"Brother!" Alphonse exclaimed.

Ed ignored his brother. "She'd rush in like an idiot and get captured, too. If you want to idolize someone for making stupid decisions, go ahead. But me and Al? We'll let you get your ass kicked while we figure out a way to save her – and now you, you idiot – without getting killed. Because if we rush in, we'll die. That guy dismantled us, so we need level heads and rested bodies to stay alive long enough to figure out a way to beat him and save her."

"You could have said it with a little more tact, Ed!" Alphonse shouted disapprovingly, shoving Ed to the side. Ed yelped in surprise and tumbled to the ground. Al sighed and turned to Oscar. "My brother may have been a huge jerk, but he wasn't wrong. Doing it wrong is worse than waiting to do it."

"Hey, come on!" Ed shouted. "I'm not a jerk!"

Oscar glared at both of them, then sighed as the voice in the back of his head pointed out they were right. He could save her later, or screw it up now. The adrenaline pumping in his veins slowed and he felt even more tired now. His legs began to give out, but he used the wall to slowly slide to his knees then into a sitting position. He glared at the brothers, then nodded in resignation. "Fine... five minutes," he grumbled tiredly. He reached into his pockets and pulled out an elixir. "Once I finish this, I'll be good to go. It's, er... a-an energy dr-drink?"

"Yeah, you can just say it's magic and leave the lie at that," Ed grumbled dryly. "At least that way you don't have to keep all the lies straight."

"I-it's not a l-lie though!"

χ χ χ

Dawn groaned into the ground as her Semblance finally gave out, the second Keyblade in her left hand vanishing and her clothes returning to their normal color as the glow around her seemed to physically shatter before fading away. "Damn. You almost bruised me there, Girlie," Greed said mockingly. He moved towards her and twirled his right arm, stretching it out. "If an extra one of those made you that much stronger, I can't wait to find out what it'll do for me." He held his hand out to the side. "Now, come to Greed!"

He blinked and turned towards his outstretched arm. "What? Come on! I beat you and it disappeared! It chose me!"

"Hah... Nah," Dawn slammed the Kingdom Key D's tip into the floor to push herself up. "I told you, you're boring! Why would a Keyblade want someone like you?"

"Heh. The name may be Greed, but don't think I'm not capable of getting pretty wrathful, Girlie," Greed snapped. He turned one claw towards her. "Now hand it over, or else!"

"Not how it works," Dawn growled. She pushed herself all the way up and took a deep breath, holding her Keyblade up defensively. "Now, how about I go full throttle!?"

Greed took a half step back at the intensity in her eyes. She'd been bruised, battered, beaten. There was nothing left. After a moment, he got his balance back and laughed. He shook his head. "You almost had me going there, Girlie. You aren't a bad liar."

"Who says I'm lying?" she growled, glowing eyes narrowing on him.

Greed met her stare. Damn good liar, he thought.

The door exploded behind him, and the two stared into the smoke. A brilliant fireball flew from the smoke and towards Greed's side, who threw up his hands and blocked it. The flames burned him and the concussive explosion sent him flying to the side. The wall cracked as he hit it and fell to his knees, pain running down his arms. Pain, through his shield. "Oh, thank God," Dawn muttered. The bravado left her features, replaced with tired relief. She took a deep breath and slumped, falling to her knees. "You guys finally got here."

Oscar, Ed, and Al came out of the smoke, Ed rushing Greed while Oscar – With his Keyblade in hand, Dawn realized with an excited grin – backed him up with magic. Al peeled off and slid to Dawn's side. "Are you okay?" he asked, already checking her over before she even answered.

"I'm fine," she offered, pushing Alphonse off of her. "Just... tired. How did you find me?"

"Oscar said he could use his Keyblade to feel you. And then he got us here!" Alphonse explained. He turned and stared at his brother and Oscar fighting with Greed. "But we still have a problem. What is this guy?"

"He said he's a... um... Homunculus, I think," Dawn explained simply.

Alphonse flinched. "A Homunculus!? An artificial human?!" he shouted in surprise.

"See? It's a big deal, Girlie!" Greed snapped as he dodged one of Oscar's spells and slammed his fist into Ed's gut.

Ed gasped in pain and rolled across the ground clutching his gut. "An artificial human? What the hell made you, and what the hell did they make you out of!?"

"More than you got made of, Tiny," Greed scoffed. Ed snapped and charged him with a scream of rage, letting loose incredibly fast but messy attacks at the insult, blocking Oscar's line of attack with his body.

"He said... he's built exactly like us," Dawn said. "But that doesn't explain his shield, right?"

Alphonse gasped. "It does, though!" he shouted. He turned. "Brother! Carbon!"

Ed blinked as his brother's words got through to him. "Carbon... Al, you're a genius!" He clapped his hands and lashed out with his fist, landing knuckle to knuckle with Greed's fist.

Greed's armored grin turned down at Ed. "And you're an idiot, Tiny..."

"Am I?" Ed asked. Blue electricity leaped from their hands, coiling up Greed's arm and around his body. "You see, it's just like Al said. Carbon." At that, the shield fell away from Greed's skin, leaving a bewildered Greed standing with bleeding knuckles. "If you're just made like us, then the hardest, most common material in your body is carbon. And when it's not set up right, it's not much better than ash." He suddenly grabbed on to Greed's wrist. "Maybe worse." He squeezed tight, and the wrist exploded into a cloud of dust. Greed screamed in pain and surprise even as his hand began to grow back in a burst of red lightning.

"We should help..." Dawn hissed. She tried to push up to her feet, then stumbled and fell back down.

Alphonse caught her and shook his head. "No. They've got this."

And Dawn slowly came to agree. Oscar and Ed definitely had this. She'd never seen her best friend this comfortable with slinging spells, or with that kind of bravery etched on his face. He looked like Neptunia when she fought Gaius in the Vytal Tournament, casting magic three levels higher than she could! Which meant the third level, she realized. "Damn, I really need to learn magic," she mumbled to herself.

Oscar and Ed glared at Greed, who was beginning to look a lot more worried than he had before. Between the kid whose attacks his shield only gave him resistance against and the other one who could destroy his shield entirely, this was the kind of fight he didn't want. Unfair in someone else's favor. He glanced around, trying to find a way out, but the two shrimps were blocking his path to the door. "Dammit..." he grumbled before he brought his shield back up along his arms.

"Now!" Oscar snapped, slashing upward with Chronal and sending out a ball of Thundaga magic that hit him before Greed's shield could spread to his body. Greed screamed in pain as all of his muscles activated and strained against the current, which gave Ed more than enough time to rush in. His arm blade carved through Greed's shoulder, severing muscle and leaving it hanging limp for a moment before it began to regrow. Oscar charged in and threw up his Keyblade again, and balloon like mines appeared all around the room.

Greed recovered and backhanded Ed into the ground, then charged Oscar. Oscar fought off his panic and threw his hand up, summoning up a wall of Light. Greed's claw bounced off of the Reflega and some of his fingers snapped from the rebound. "What the -" Greed snapped, but the wall of hexagons shot forward. It slammed into him and sent him flying backwards.

"Rewind!" Oscar snapped, sending a spiraling bolt of energy at Greed. The spell ran all over his skin, and the shield began to retreat as its time was reversed.

Ed grinned and got into a stable stance. "Magic or no, that stuff's damn useful!" He clapped and tapped his left leg, then spun, lifting his metal leg. A spike of metal shot out of his boot's heel, which cut into Greed's cheek. Greed's head snapped to the side and he soared into a balloon mine, which exploded and tossed him into another. Then another, and another explosion sent him through the wall. Ed transmuted the spike back into his foot and grinned triumphantly at the hole in the wall. Footsteps in the water began to echo in the other direction. "Yeah, you better run! Now who's the shrimpy weakling who can't even stand up in a fight, you loser!"

Oscar watched Greed run for a while, then dismissed his Keyblade. He turned and sprinted towards Dawn, slamming into her with a hug. She yelped as he lifted her to her feet and hugged her tight. "D-Dawn, are you okay!?" he shouted. He pushed out to arm's length to look his best friend over. "H-he didn't hurt you, d-did he?"

Dawn grimaced. "No. Just showed me that I'm still basically kid when it comes to stuff like this," she admitted sheepishly. She smiled back at Oscar. "But I'm better with you here, Puppy."

She grinned wide and slapped his back. "You summoned your Keyblade! I was wondering when you'd get to that, you scared nerd!" she shouted. She looped her arm around his shoulders and pointed at him before turning to Ed and Al. "Told you, he's crazy strong but he's kind of a scaredy cat."

"Dawn..." Oscar grumbled in embarrassment.

Ed chuckled. "Yeah. He's not half bad," he agreed. He looked around the room. "You know, some of this damage isn't from our fight. I'm guessing you weren't half bad, either."

Dawn jumped and threw her hands up. "You know it! Oh! Oscar! OscarOscarOscar!" She turned and began shaking him. "You won't believe it! It was insane! Oh, damn, it was so cool!"

Oscar yelped and pushed away from her. "Dawn, c-come on! What happened?"

She stopped moving and crossed her arms. She shot a grin and nodded triumphantly. "I can use two."

Oscar stared at her in confusion for a moment, then his eyes widened. "What? How!?"

Ed and Al traded a confused glance. "Two what?" Al finally asked.

Dawn snapped her fingers and placed her hand on her chin. She chuckled. "Oh, you know so little," she said arrogantly. She nodded at him. "I'm special. And you -"

"Two Keyblades," Oscar interjected. He rubbed his own chin, an analytical look growing in his eyes.

"Oscar! Let me act superior for a while!" Dawn protested angrily, grabbing his arm and shaking him. "Come on!"

He ignored her. "It's... impossible. It's only ever happened with two people, and both people were her dad!"

"Uh..?" Ed wondered, way too confused by that statement.

"But... it shouldn't be possible for her," Oscar explained as she shook him. He frowned and shook his head. "It's... maybe it's because she's got Silver Eyes and a Keyblade? No, Headmistress Ruby couldn't. Two Keyblade parents? Because Master Sora can?"

"It doesn't matter why, Oscar," she snapped, slapping the back of his head. "Let's focus on how awesome I am instead!"

Oscar glared at her and rubbed the back of his head.

"Reminds me of you and Winry, Brother," Alphonse said with a laugh at Ed.

"Yea – Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

χ χ χ

Greed panted heavily as he sprinted through the sewers, desperate to escape. He had screwed around with a Keyblade wielder. It was only a matter of time before his father decided to have someone drag him back home, kicking and screaming. He needed to escape, get some space. Meet up with his crew and lay low for a while. He whipped around a cornr and nodded to himself. Yeah. Lay low. He hated doing it, but it was better than dying.

He slid as he tried to turn suddenly down another tunnel, the muck beneath his feet sloshing violently before he skidded to a stop. He glanced over his shoulder, then began to tear down the path. He was almost home free. Almost. So of course, he realized, everything would have to go wrong.

At the end of the path, a Keyblade angled to their right side, was a figure in a pitch black cloak. They raised their weapon at him slowly, pointing its tip straight at Greed, and he stopped in his tracks. "... Don't suppose you'd let me go?" He asked with a dry chuckle.

The figure shook their head. "Your father has requested I retrieve you," she responded. "And more than that, you were interfering with someone who has a place in plans far beyond his."

Greed stared at her for a moment. "You... must not know what he's up to if you think anyone's plans are bigger than his," he remarked simply.

The woman shrugged. "And you don't know my... master's. Your father wants to rule a world. That's boring. And if you're anything like your father, you must be boring, too."

Greed grimaced. "You're the second woman to call me boring today. What, did she write it on my face or something?" he wondered. Greed glared at her Keyblade. "I can't be boring than following stupid orders. So why do you get one and I don't?"

"I'm not just following orders. I'm following my Heart," the woman retorted. She turned the Keyblade parallel to the ground and held it in both hands near her head in a combat stance.

Greed sighed. "Conversation over, huh?" he asked. He placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. "I hate having to fight women, you know that?" Still, he summoned up his Shield, and charged the woman.

She easily deflected his first claw attack, but he used his momentum to swing around and deliver a strong kick. The woman ducked beneath his kick and swung her off hand forward, palm open, while taking a step and twisting. Greed grimaced and activated his shield at the point of contact, but the force of the blow still sent him flying back into the wall behind him. The woman was attacking again before he was fully recovered, sending bolts of electricity flying towards him from her Keyblade. He dashed to the side to avoid it, but it turned out she wasn't aiming for him. The energy crashed into the water, and electricity sparked through it. Greed shouted out, frozen in pain as the current passed through the water all around him.

The woman had leaped into the air the moment before her spell had hit and was flipping above Greed now, a trail of frost swinging behind her Keyblade as it slashed forward. Ice slammed into the water beneath him once more and froze solid around his legs and arms. The ice traveled up his body immediately, and he screamed as his blood and nerves began to freeze. The woman landed softly in front of him on the ice and angled the tip of her Keyblade below his throat.

Greed shivered, teeth rattling in his jaw, and slowly – painfully – turned his eyes up to the hood. "Y-y-your wa-ay bet-ter than th-that g-girl," he got out from between his clacking teeth.

The hooded woman brought her Keyblade up so his chin was pushed up by the weapon's flat. The two stayed there for a moment, then she yanked her weapon back over an held it out in the opposite direction from Greed. The tip of the weapon began to glow bright white, and then she brought it down and stabbed into Greed's chest. He gasped and shut his eyes, prepared to shatter into a thousand little pieces before he used up a large chunk of his power to keep himself alive. Instead, there was just a noise that echoed deep within his mind of a lock turning shut.

Greed slowly opened his eyes and glanced around. He was still in one piece, and still frozen solid in a river of sewage. "W-what d-did you d-d-do?" Greed growled at the woman.

"I locked away part of your power, and that made it so you can't heal as you usually can," she replied simply. She walked around to his back and grabbed hold of his hair with her off hand, her main one twirling the Keyblade. The ice around them melted as a wave of fire shot out, leaving Greed frozen in a cube floating on the sewage and the woman standing on top of that block. "Now, your father has requested your presence." She yanked his head back and leaned in closer. "You made a mistake attacking that girl. I would not have even come if it were not for that, Greed. I suppose you just got too greedy." She slammed his head into the ice block and waved her hand in front of her. A huge black Corridor of Darkness appeared in the tunnel. "Time for you to die, Greed."

"D-d-dammit..."

χ χ χ

"So, you sure we can't convince you to keep going with us?" Ed wondered. He pulled his suitcase over his shoulder and pointed over his shoulder at the train he and Alphonse were about to take. "I mean, you don't know much about anything but you seem like you're pretty good in a fight."

"And not to mention you're our friends, now," Alphonse added on with an annoyed look at his brother.

Ed sighed and gestured with his hand in agreement. "Sure. That, too."

Dawn chuckled and laced her fingers behind her head. "Hey, we'd love to, but we have our own stuff we have to deal with," she explained. "Don't worry, though, we'll totally come back, guys! Like Al said, we're friends now so why wouldn't we help you out?"

Ed grinned back at her. "Well, I guess we'll keep an eye out for you when things start to get real crazy."

"With our luck, we'll fight more Homunculi," Oscar grumbled under his breath.

"Oh, that'd be awesome! More Homunculuses!"

"Homunculi," Ed corrected in exasperation.

Dawn shrugged. "Tomato Potato."

"I – Ugh..."

"I think she's playing with you, Brother," Al explained with a comforting pat on Ed's back.

Dawn shrugged. "A little."

"Dawn..." Oscar admonished quietly.

She looked over. "Fine... Sorry, Ed."

The train's whistle blew and the Elrics turned. "Damn, we've gotta go!" Ed shouted. He grabbed Al and began to run. "See you guys!"

Dawn and Oscar glanced at each other, then sprinted after them. They ran along the train as Ed and Al settled into their seats. "We'll see you soon! And who knows, maybe we'll find a way to help you guys get your -" Oscar punched her in the side. "Ow! Oh, uh... Get everything back when we travel! We promise, we'll keep an eye out... even if we have no idea!"

Ed and Al laughed. "And don't worry about us!" Al shouted back. He grabbed Ed's shoulder and brought him in so they could wave out the window together. "We'll keep believing in the impossible. We'll get everything back, too!"

"Yeah. That's what Winry would want us to believe, after all. And we're heading back home to her with everything."

"Promise?!" Dawn shouted as she and Oscar had to slide to a stop at the edge of the platform.

"Promise!" Ed shouted out the window, his voice shrinking as they got further away.

Dawn and Oscar waved after them for a while, waiting until the train was no longer visible. They grinned at each other, and turned to leave. "So, you were pretty badass when you showed up! Can you show me how to do all that stuff, too?"

"It wasn't that cool," Oscar supplied bashfully. He rubbed his arm. "I mean... It's nothing compared to what your dad or Dove can do..."

Dawn rolled her eyes and looped her arm around his shoulders. "It was pretty damn cool, Puppy. Shout it out loud!"

"Nothing like you. You said you used two Keyblades? Dawn, no one can do that! You're... y-you're special..." he supplied with a blush.

"But it wasn't enough, right? So show me some of that magic, because you're special too, Oscar. I mean, I wouldn't have picked you as my friend if you weren't, right?" she joked. She shoved him away. "First one to the ship gets to choose the next world!"

"Dawn, d-don't do anywhere too scary..!" he shouted, losing ground on her even when he began rushing after her. "D-Dawn! Come on!"

χ χ χ

Nero ran his glowing, demonic hand through his newly cut white hair, then leaned in and looked at the Devil May Cry van's engine. The thing was... well, a mess. All sorts of old parts breaking down and threatening to make his small business on wheels into a stationary one. And then it would really just be an even more broken down version of Dante's Devil May Cry, but at least he had an office in an old building that really fed into the style of a Devil Hunter's job.

Thankfully, the van wouldn't be in this sorry state much longer; Nero had a secret weapon. A woman grumbled from under the van. "Why do I feel like your pet mechanic?" she drawled. She tapped her cowboy boots impatiently as she worked on the van's undercarriage. She sighed and reached over to another tool. "Ugh... Don't get used to it..."

Nero rolled his eyes and leaned over the side to where she was laying. If she wasn't one of the best arms dealers in the business, and his friend, she'd be more trouble than she was worth. "Nico, I showed those Order docs. So you still owe me, remember?"

Nico grumbled under the van, so Nero felt like he'd won that one. He reached over, grabbing a wrench, and began working on the engine again. Nico was just grumbling for the sake of it; she'd rather be working on making a new weapon for killing Demons than putting the van back together, but she'd deal with it.

"Hey, you two! Dinner's ready!" Nero stopped what he was doing and turned to the door. Kyrie was waiting inside for them, the love of his life.

He smiled, but turned back to the engine. He just had to fix this one thing before he ate; it had been bugging him for over an hour at this point. "Be right there!" he shouted back. He glanced around the van again and sighed. "Nico. Hey, why don't you go ahead? I'm gonna finish up here."

Nico pushed herself out from beneath the van, her tattooed arms pulling her along smoothly. She brushed grease from her fingers on her cropped leather gunsmith's apron – which had style even if its usefulness confused Nero sometimes – and she took a drag of her cigarette. She looked up at him and grinned as she fixed her glasses. "I'll try to save you some... Not." She stood up and stretched, sighing contentedly as bones popped and cracked back into place and her bushy hair grew wilder. She tossed her cigarette to the side and ambled through the door.

Nero shook his head in amusement before turning back to the van. He stuck his hands back in and began working. It wasn't long before the light hanging above his head flickered. Nero froze for a moment and glanced around. A shadow began to loom over him. Nero cautiously turned to see a figure in a tattered, hooded robe standing outside the open garage door. He smelled... odd. Dangerous. But, Nero reminded himself, so did Dante. Who was, to be fair, but he wasn't evil. Taking a gamble, Nero decided to ask, "You, uh... You need something?"

The figure just continued to breathe heavily outside of the garage, standing stock still. Nero raised an eyebrow. "Uh..." He stepped away from the van and began to walk over to the new guy. Offering food to people usually helped getting them to talk, right? "What is it? You hungry?" He tossed his wrench back into the toolbox. "Well, you're in luc, pal 'cause food's ready and Kyrie always makes too much." Nero chuckled then thought of Nico. "Hope you like loud talkers, too. 'Cause we got a pair of those upstairs..."

He stood and turned around, only to find the figure right on top of him. Great, bad guy. Of course. Nero clenched his Demonic fist. "You see something you like?" he asked the creep. The figure's gaze turned slowly to the fist.

Then Nero grimaced and looked down at his fist as well. It was beginning to glow a bright blue, filled with power like it had been last time he fought Demons. Shit! "What the hell!?" He turned to the guy. "You a demon?"

The pair glared at one another for a while in silence, neither making a move. "Nero, the food's getting cold. What's going –?" Kyrie began from inside.

Nero turned to the door, terrified the figure would attack her. "Kyrie, Get back inside! Now!"

The figure struck at that moment, reaching out and grabbing hold of Nero's demonic hand at the elbow. Nero turned and struggled against him for a moment, but the guy's grip was insane. And then, with a single movement, he threw Nero into the wall. Steel and wood crashed down on top of Nero and the world dimmed for a moment. He gasped in pain and pushed himself up to his knees, struggling and almost falling again as he did. The figure wasn't even looking at him, anymore. He was just walking towards the door, ignoring Kyrie, Nero... everything except the glowing blue hand he had in his grasp. "I'm taking this back," the figure growled, his voice sounding like it was falling apart.

Nero's eyes widened and the adrenaline and shock began tor recede. He turned, slowly and terrified by what he knew would be there, to see his arm spurting blood from where his elbow should be. He grabbed the stump and screamed, the agony hitting him all at once. The figure watched him writhe in pain for a moment, then turned and walked away. "I'm... running out of time... Salem... is coming..." The figure returned Nero's arm to the shape of a glowing Katana, then carved a hole in space time. "Have to... do this... now..."

Nero blacked out at that moment, and the pain mercifully vanished.