Sheska sped through the halls of the Central headquarters excitedly. She was clutching a book to her chest. Sheska was running faster than any librarian had ever run before. She only stopped when she reached a door with a tag that said "Col. R. Mustang". Sheska burst into the room, slamming the door behind her. She had been previously silent, but could no longer contain her excitement.
"Guys! Guys! Look what I found!" she chirped. Her news might have met with as warm a reception as she'd expected if Kanda weren't the only person in the office.
"What?" he asked indifferently, eating his lunch of tempura soba.
"Oh! Konnichiwa, Kanda-sama!" Sheska bowed politely, repeating the phrase Lavi had told her to address him with. She was a little intimidated by the sword-wielding exorcist. Sheska looked around. "Where's the Colonel?"
"Colonel Mustang and his subordinates are currently searching for the Fuhrer."
"Oh, that's right! He went missing! Where's Ed and Al?" questioned Sheska.
"Pipsqueak's looking, too. Tin Can, Beansprout and the others are visiting the Hughes' residence." Kanda gave Sheska a suspicious look. "Why aren't you looking for the Fuhrer?"
"Non-commissioned officers aren't assigned such important jobs. Did I disturb you? Gomenasai." Sheska bowed.
"You don't have to talk to me in Japanese. I can speak fluent English," Kanda regarded her crossly.
"Oh. Gomen. Lavi told me to," Sheska bowed again.
"Did he?" Kanda scoffed. "What did you want to show?"
"Oh!" Sheska grinned, proudly holding out her book. It was bound in black leather. The book was rather small; no bigger than 3" x 5". It was very thin, appearing to have no more than 150 pages. A strange aura surrounded it. There was a small, golden feather embedded in the cover. Kanda walked over took it from her. He opened it. The book's pages were creamy and white. Kanda flipped through the pages. His face changed from its usual indifference to annoyance.
"A blank diary?" he glared at Sheska.
"Gomenasai! It's just that I was browsing in the library today, and I came across this book. It seemed to glow when I touched it. It had sort of the same aura as you, Allen, Lenalee and Lavi. I thought you might be interested, but I guess not. You don't believe in auras, do you? I'm sorry for bothering you!" Sheska's face was bright red. She bowed, and turned to go.
The diary flew out of Kanda's hands. It shot towards Sheska, and hit her on the back of her head. Sheska turned back to confront Kanda. Indignant tears sparkled at the corners of her eyes.
"Really, Mr. Kanda! I understand your annoyance, but do you really think it's necessary to throw the diary at me?" she wailed.
"I didn't throw it. Look behind you," Kanda crossed his arms. Sheska swerved around. The diary was hovering a few inches from her face. She turned back and looked at Kanda uncertainly. He gave her a slight nod. Sheska reached out and took it. The diary gave a bright burst of golden light.
"Auras, huh?"
"Well, sort of. The diary just had that certain energy that you exorcists displayed," Sheska wrinkled her forehead in thought. "Come to think of it, Lieutenant Hawkeye has been displaying that energy as well. Yesterday, when Winry and I were talking, she also had the same aura."
"Was Elicia Hughes with her?" Kanda now regarded Sheska with slight interest.
"Yeah, I guess-"
Suddenly, the shattering windows very rudely interrupted them. Half a dozen great shapes burst into the room. They were metallic and round, with cannons sticking out of their grotesque bodies. There was something that resembled a human face on each of the spheres. But the faces were empty and mask-like, barely resembling humans. They were akuma. Kanda brandished his sword. He quickly ran his fingers down the blade, activating his Innocence. He had done this so many times, it was routine.
"What on earth!" gasped Sheska.
"They're akuma!" Kanda snapped.
"What are akuma?" asked Sheska.
Kanda ignored her. He leapt towards the first one. He held his sword high above him, and slashed it through it. He sliced its metallic body as if it were butter. It gave an anguished scream. Not stopping to see his handiwork, Kanda turned to the next one. It suffered a similar fate. Then, a shriek from Sheska's direction prompted him to turn back. Kanda cursed as he rushed over to rescue her from an akuma that had been hovering above her.
"You stay out of this!" he commanded, pointing towards the door. "Get lost!"
"What? Can you handle them?" asked Sheska.
"Who do you think I am? Of course I can handle them!" Kanda snapped. "You're in my way! Go!"
Sheska was all too happy to oblige. She ran towards the door, clutching the diary tightly to her chest. Kanda turned and made a scrap heap out of the akuma that was trying to sneak up on them. Now only two were left. They did charge towards neither the exorcist nor the librarian. Instead, they parked themselves onto the floor. Then, the pair of akuma began to twirl around. They began to shoot. Between the two, they were able to cover every angle in the room. Their poisonous bullets pierced everything, and nothing was spared. Kanda waited for them to stop. Several bullets hit him, but he possessed Innocence. Their poison could not hurt him. Sheska on the other hand…
After a while, the akuma stopped. Through the thick smoke, Kanda saw a figured crumpled on the ground. Sheska. Kanda sneered. Too bad, so sad. He'd warned her. He felt no remorse. Kanda waited for the mousy librarian to deteriorate from the poison. The, the smoke cleared. To Kanda's surprise a translucent, oval shield covered her, shielding her from the bullets. Sheska sat up and glared at her attackers furiously. The shield was glowing rusty red to match her anger. There was a small, golden feather in the center of the shield. Kanda's eyes widened. Could it be…!
"Stop it!" Sheska yelled at them.
They could not hear her. One of the akuma leapt behind her. Both trained their cannons at the librarian. They began another round of firing. The shield rearranged into a golden, dome-shaped shield that covered Sheska at all angles. It absorbed the bullets, rendering them useless. The shield reverted back into a diary after they stopped shooting. The akuma leapt towards Sheska. She cowered beneath the diary, which was floating above her. The akuma got closer to her. Kanda made no move to help. He knew that Sheska would need to learn to defend herself. And he knew she would be able to.
Sure enough, when they'd gotten within two meters of Sheska, The diary did not shape-shift, but remained levitated. It opened itself. A bright golden light emitted from it as the pages flipped. The akuma were sucked in. They screeched. The book closed after both of them were completely devoured. The hung mid-air for about another thirty seconds, still glowing. It vibrated, as if it were digesting the akuma. Then, it stopped glowing. The diary floated over and placed itself into Sheska's hands.
"Get up," Kanda commanded. Sheska slowly stood up. She looked at Kanda questioningly.
"Kanda-sama? What-"
"I don't feel like explaining. Ask Beansprout later," Kanda cut her off. He looked at her seriously, and gave her a piece of advice: "Rookies like you always die the fastest. Don't ever let down your guard."
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"What a waste of time!" groaned Edward as he, Riza, Havoc, Armstrong and Mustang trudged along the streets of Central. They had been assigned to search for their leader in the city.
"Remember what Hakuro said. Every nook and cranny," Roy reminded them. They turned a corner, and came upon a residential street. Roy grimly stared at it. This was where the Hughes used to live.
"Colonel?" Riza laid a hand on his shoulder. Roy slowly made his way down the street. It was a cheerful, picture-perfect neighbourhood. The houses were well taken care of. The lawns were mowed and watered. The flowers were growing beautifully. Picture-perfect, except for the pile of rubble that lay in the place his friend's house used to be.
"Mr. Mustang!" Allen, Lenalee and Alphonse waved at him. They were on their hands and knees, digging through the remains of the house.
"Still looking?" asked Alphonse.
"Yeah. Hakuro assigned us to Central. We've spent the whole morning knocking on doors and going through homes," Ed rolled his eyes. He looked around. "Where's Winry?"
"Winry and Lavi took Elicia down to the park. She got bored," said Allen.
"What are you doing?" questioned Armstrong.
"You heard about how the Hughes' home was destroyed. We're trying to salvage what we can," explained Lenalee. "You know… for Elicia."
"Of course," nodded Roy sadly. He walked over to join them.
"Oh! What a beautiful story! Sympathetic children who have lived hard lives, helping another whom misfortune placed in a similar fate! How absolutely, inspiringly beautiful!" Armstrong sobbed. He dashed over and grabbed Allen, Lenalee and Alphonse in bone-crunching hugs. "I shall help you!"
"I'll help too, Lenalee!" proclaimed Havoc, joining in.
Armstrong and Havoc began digging enthusiastically. Roy went at a slower, more careful pace. Lenalee, Allen and Alphonse went back to digging, although the first two had to wait for feeling to come back into their bodies. Ed and Riza shrugged and joined them. After half an hour, the group had uncovered a few stuffed animals, one of Elicia's colouring books, a framed photo of the whole Hughes family, and a strange piece of crystal. The crystal was green and shaped like a leaf. However, no one mistook it for a real leaf because it was transparent, and a shade of emerald green not found in nature. It was rather small; it fit easily on the thumbnail of Armstrong, who had found it.
"Most peculiar!" Armstrong held it to the light. He could not be so sure, since the afternoon was so bright, but he thought the crystal was glowing.
"Hey, what'd you find?" asked Ed. Armstrong showed him.
"Maybe it belonged to Mrs. Hughes," suggested Alphonse. "Perhaps it was part of a necklace?"
"What was?" Lenalee joined them. When she saw the leaf, she sharply inhaled, and called Allen over.
"It's glowing," noted Allen.
"Oh! So I am not the only one who noticed!" said Armstrong. He examined it closely. "It is so exquisite…"
The leaf suddenly gave a bright burst of light that nobody could deny seeing. It jumped out of Armstrong's hands, and spun around his head rapidly. Armstrong grew dizzy trying to follow it with his eyes. Then, with a whoosh, it flew into the spiky gauntlet Armstrong was wearing on his right arm. IT gave another burst of light, then glimmered calmly on the back of Armstrong's gauntlet.
"Could it be another Innocence?" Lenalee was the first to voice everyone's thoughts.
"Mine acted like that when it found me," recalled Riza.
"I bet it is!" said Allen.
"There's only one left…" observed Roy.
"We should find the last as soon as possible," decided Edward. Suddenly, Winry came running up the street, clutching Elicia in her arms.
"Allen! Lenalee! Riza! You have to come!" she called. She raced up to the group and stopped, panting heavily. "The park… Lavi's fighting them… so many! You have to go!"
"Akuma?" gasped Allen. Winry nodded breathlessly. Without a word, Allen took off. Riza remembered that she also classified as an exorcist, and followed him. Roy chased after Riza.
"How many have already died?" asked Lenalee.
"All of the people at the park… Lavi protected us and let us escape…" Winry wheezed.
"Major Armstrong, please come with me!" Lenalee turned to the large man.
"Why?" Armstrong was still staring at his gauntlet in perplexity.
"Please! Come!" Lenalee's voice was so urgent that Armstrong consented, and they ran off towards the park.
"What's going on?" Havoc stared at Ed and Al. He had been fed the same story as everybody else. He narrowed his eyes. "Edward, Alphonse, is Allen really your cousin? Are those people really from Xing? What's happening?"
"No time to explain!" said Ed. He and Alphonse dashed away. When they arrived at the park, they were met with a scene of destruction. Winry was right. There were many akuma. Ed estimated about forty, and it looked like Lavi and Allen had already been through quite a few. To everyone's great relief, the akuma were all Level 1.
"Brother?" Alphonse's voice was choked. "I didn't know there were so many people… who wished for the same thing as us…"
"We're humans, Alphonse. We can't help but love," Ed's voice was breaking as well. "Only sick, twisted creatures like the Earl could think of ways to turn our love into… monsters."
"What are these monstrosities?" gasped Armstrong.
"They're akuma, Major. That leaf gives you the power to fight them," explained Lenalee. She leapt up and kicked one. It exploded. She turned to Ed, Al and Roy. "Stay away! You'll get hurt!"
"Power?" Armstrong looked curiously at the leaf. He had already grown fond of his new decoration, but he was quite unsure of what Lenalee meant. One of the huge balls stumbled towards his direction. The fighting spirit of the Armstrong took over, and he spontaneously punched it. A burst of power traveled from his fist to the akuma. It combusted. He punched one who was coming up behind him with his other fist. Although his left hand did not hold the Innocence, the akuma also exploded.
"Just like that! You're doing great!" Lenalee encouraged him. She delivered a killing kick to another akuma. Meanwhile, Allen, Riza and Lavi had their hands full with other akuma. Riza had succeeded in killing quite a few. After a while, only fifteen were left. One of them began firing. It was closest to Riza, and she was hit. She stumbled and fell onto the ground. Pentacles crossed her face as the akuma's poison entered her body.
"Stay back!" Allen yelled at Roy, Ed and Al. The Elrics quickly obeyed, but Roy remained in his spot. He was staring at Riza with a look of horror. He glared at the akuma hatefully. Not thinking about his actions, Roy reached into his pockets. He pulled his combustion cloth gloves on. Aiming for the akuma, he snapped his fingers.
Sparks traveled through the air. They reached the akuma, who was still firing. A small explosion occurred. The akuma screamed a gut-wrenching cry. The cry of someone whose soul had been ripped out and thrown into he deepest fires of hell. Not stopping, Roy killed about seven more before Allen tackled him.
"Don't!" cried Allen.
"Riza!" Roy struggled to push Allen away.
"Can we kill them, too?" Ed asked. He clapped his hands on the ground. Blue transmutation sparks appeared. They traveled along the ground, blowing up the first akuma it came in contact with. Ed killed another one in the same manner.
"No!" shouted Allen. He jumped and slashed through the rest as if their souls depended on it. They were a few minutes of thick smoke. When it cleared, everybody could see that all the akuma were gone.
"Riza!" Roy ran to his subordinate's side. He kneeled down beside her, and gently lifted her up. Roy cradled her in his arms. There were black pentacles on her face. Roy shouted her name again. Riza opened her eyes and smiled at him.
"Roy, I'll be alright." Riza placed her gun against her heart. There were chiming sounds, and blinding white light. Roy had to close his eyes. When he opened them again, the poison was gone. Riza stood up. "Don't worry about me. I'm an exorcist." She helped Roy up, and looked at him sternly. "But what you did was really stupid. Rushing into the battle like that! What if you'd gotten killed?"
"I couldn't help it," Roy shrugged sheepishly. "I just didn't want you to get hurt." Roy and Riza shared a mutual smile, and went to join the others.
Allen had crashed on the ground beside the Elrics. He disengaged his Innocence. Allen stood up and patted himself off. He looked down at his boots as he tried to hold in his tears.
"Allen?" Alphonse sensed Allen's sadness right away.
"I'm fine," Allen looked up and smiled. But a tear that leaked out of his eye and streamed down his cheek foiled his act.
"What's wrong?" asked Ed.
"It's nothing!" Allen turned away.
"Did we not defeat the evil monstrosities? Why are you sad?" Armstrong still didn't everything, but by then, he had deducted that akuma bad.
"They're not monsters. They're human… humans that made mistakes," Allen informed him.
"Well, they're dead. Nothing to worry about now," Ed dusted his hands off carelessly. Allen swerved around and glared at him. Ed looked back in surprise. "What?"
"Akuma have souls as well! Those souls have no control of what they do because they belong to their Earl, but they are still the souls of humans!" Allen snapped. "They don't choose to attack us! They attacked us because they were programmed to do so!"
"Stop that!" Lenalee came up behind Allen. Her face was fierce. "Allen, we're exorcists! It's our job to protect the humans, not defend the akuma!"
"I don't see what the problem is. The souls of those akuma are free now. They've been liberated. They don't have to obey the Duke, or whatever anymore," Ed failed to comprehend Allen's sadness.
"It's not like that. When an akuma is not freed by exorcism… when it is killed in some other way… its soul can never be redeemed. The souls of those akuma you killed… they can never be saved…" Allen hastily wiped away the steady waterfall of tears. "Akuma can be killed in other ways, but only exorcism can save them. I want to be someone that both protects and saves…"
"This is the role of an exorcist. We protect the humans. We kill the akuma… or liberate their souls," said Lavi. All three exorcists looked at the new recruits seriously.
"This is our fate," Lenalee told them. Riza and Armstrong nodded solemnly.
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"Where were you?" Kanda asked the group grouchily when they trooped in. Sheska was sitting in the couch across from him, reading a newspaper. Her diary lay on her lap, still giving a faint glow.
"We found another exorcist," Lenalee told him happily.
"So what. So did I," Kanda seemed unimpressed. "This many of you and you only got one?"
"What? Another exorcist?" Ed and Al looked around, only spotting Sheska. "Where?"
Kanda nodded towards Sheska's direction.
"Did you explain everything?" asked Lavi. Kanda gave him a look.
"Of course not!" Lenalee rolled her eyes. She sat down beside Sheska and proceeded to tell her about the exorcists. They had already explained everything to Armstrong before. The explanation matched up to the events, and Sheska was quickly convinced.
"We should talk to Komui," decided Allen. Timcanpi flew out of his sleeve. It opened its mouth, and a screen popped out. It showed an image of Komui sitting at his desk… sleeping.
"Komui!" yelled Allen and Lavi. Komui continued to snore. Lavi and Allen called his name again, but with no success. Kanda walked up behind them. He uttered three little magic words.
"Lenalee's getting married."
"NOOOOOOO! LENALEE! Are you already leaving me for a stranger you met in that country!" Komui woke up and screeched, tears in his eyes.
"We've found all four exorcists, brother," said Lenalee. Komui had already been told about the events of the previous day.
"Great! Then you can come back!" Komui grinned.
"But what if there are more akuma here? The people here can't kill them! They'll just keep on growing, and killing!" realized Roy.
"Yes… that could be a problem… you could try to kill all of them first.." Komui wrinkled his forehead in thought.
"Actually, we found out that alchemy can kill them too," said Lavi.
"We've got other alchemists here," said Riza.
"My subordinates and I can keep an eye on things," suggested Roy.
"Good idea! I'll send you a video golem. That way, we can keep in touch with your world," decided Komui. "But you should get here as soon as possible. You remember what Sloth said about the Gate after all the Innocences were given to their owners."
Everyone agreed, and they quickly put their plan into motion. Komui sent them one of the best video golems that was strong enough to transport signals through dimensions. Roy called Falman, Breda and Fuery up to his office. He explained everything. They were rather wary at first, but a quick show-and-tell of Innocences and a viewing of Allen and Lenalee's battle convinced them. After everything was arranged, they all walked back towards the shed where they'd first met. When they arrived, Marta was there as well.
"I heard that the Military is searching for the Fuhrer," said Marta. "Will they ever find him?"
"No. He's dead," replied Roy. Marta nodded in comprehension. "We're going to the exorcist's world. However, there are still some akuma in this world. They can be destroyed by alchemy."
"I am created from alchemy. Maybe I can fight them, too." Marta smiled. "Good luck."
"Well, I think we should go," said Allen. He opened the door to the shed. Armstrong fearlessly stepped in. Kanda, Lavi and Sheska followed. Riza waved at Roy. She was also about to step in, when Roy caught her hand.
"I'm coming with you," he told her.
"What are you-"
"I'm going. Please keep an eye on things," Roy told his subordinates and Marta. He tossed the video golem at them, and Breda caught it. They respectfully saluted him.
"Come if you must," Riza sighed. "Take care of Black Hayate." Fuery agreed. Black Hayate barked in good-bye. Riza and Roy went in together.
"Wait… are there more female exorcists? With uniforms like yours?" asked Jean, eyeing the cut of Lenalee's skirt.
"I guess…" Lenalee raised her eyebrows.
"I'll follow you, Colonel!" Jean raced into the shed, blood drooping out of his nose.
"I guess we should go, too." Lenalee picked up Elicia. They waved.
"Wait! I want to come!" decided Winry. "Elicia has nobody… I want to be there for her!"
"What about Grandma Pinako?" asked Al.
"She'll understand," decided Winry.
"For Elicia, then," Lenalee and Winry exchanged smiles, and the three of them entered the portal.
"Well, I guess this is good-bye," sighed Allen.
"Yeah. Good luck," said Ed.
"You guys… about your mother… I want you to know that I understand your pain. I've experienced something like it myself." Allen gave Ed a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I respect your strength. Good-bye."
"You've experienced…?" Ed was suddenly struck with the urge to find out more about this exorcist who resembled him in perhaps more than just appearance. He also wanted to support his friends, and the Organization who had given so much to defeat the evil.
"We'll go, too!" decided Alphonse, who was having the same thoughts as Edward.
"What?" Allen blinked.
"Yeah! You guys take care of things here!" Ed told Marta, Breda, Falman and Fuery.
"See you!" Alphonse and Edward pushed past Allen and dashed into the portal.
"Do your best," said Marta.
"Good luck!" chorused Roy's subordinates. Allen smiled and waved at them. He stepped into the shed, and closed the door. Bright light flooded the inside of the shed, and leaked to the outside. Marta and the others had to close their eyes. When they opened them, the shed was gone. The exorcists were travelling back to their world. The shed was like a boat carrying them to war. Each soldier inside knew the seriousness of their job, but they could not begin to predict was in store for them.
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Note: And here is another chapter. Sorry it took so long to update.
The D. Gray-man anime finally came out! Who saw it? Great, ne? I thought Allen looked a little too old. He lost his resemblance to Edward, though. I still can't believe they made Kanda's hair PURPLE (ok, indigo. Either way, it's not black.) If you haven't seen it yet, it's on Youtube. Watch it! It's totally awesome!