Not much to say. I hope you all enjoy the chapter. :)
Axiom (ak-see-uh'm):
Definition 1: A self-evident truth that requires no proof.
Definition 2: A universally accepted principle or rule.
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it.
Chapter Five
Oh no. It costs a lot more than your life. To murder innocent people? It costs everything you are. ~Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
"Come on, Al." Edward whispered, pulling his brother out of the conference room and down a narrow hallway. At the end of the hall was an alarmed door.
"Ed, where are we going?" Alphonse asked as he was dragged into a supply room. Edward grinned and turned on the light before walking over to a wall.
"We need to figure out if we can use Alchemy here." He stated simply, clapping his hands and pressing them to the wall. There was a slight crackle, but nothing happened.
"Maybe we need to use circles here." Alphonse suggested. Edward nodded and pulled out some chalk. "Where did you get that, Brother?"
"I always carry some, remember, I just haven't had to use it in a while." Edward said, drawing a perfect circle on the wall. Alphonse nodded, he had forgotten. Edward was always prepared. "Alright, here we go..." Edward pressed his palms to the wall. Blue alchemy forked across the wall like lightning and a large, extravagant door appeared. Alphonse rolled his eyes, Edward never did anything half-assed.
"So we can use alchemy." Alphonse murmured. Edward grinned and opened the door.
"Let's go." He said, stepping out into the alley beyond. Alphonse grabbed the back of his jacket.
"Hold it, Ed. Where are we going?" He asked uncertainly. Edward turned to look at him.
"We need to track down Scar. These people have no idea what they're doing. If any of these police officers manage to find Scar, they'll only get themselves killed." Edward sighed. "Like it or not, Al, we're the only ones who can fight him, let alone defeat him."
"Brother! We don't know where he is! And we're at a disadvantage, we have to use circles here!" Alphonse reasoned. Edward paused. Even he couldn't argue with that.
"Damn it, the one good thing that Truth's ever given us, and we can't use it when we need to!" He growled, punching the wall beside the door. Alphonse took the chalk and drew another circle, restoring the wall.
"Come on, Ed, they'll be looking for us." He said gently, pulling his brother out of the room by his left arm.
...
Truth glared at the being that stood casually in front of it, the shadowy outline around him fluctuating erratically. The being was it's exact opposite, a black figure outlined in white standing in a black expanse.
"Hello, Truth." The being leered, it's voice shifting. Old to young, female to male. There was nothing definite about the being, just like Truth. They mirrored the humans they faced, but there were no humans to mirror at that moment. Truth tensed.
"What the hell do you want, Axiom?" Truth snapped. Axiom chuckled.
"Still sour that I stole your little Alchemists, Truth? Don't worry, they'll be back before long. I just need they for a little while. I'll return them once they have completed their task." Axiom said. Truth stepped toward Axiom, it's anger boiling over.
"You've ruined everything! The Homunculi will destroy everything without them. They are vital to the survival of my world." Truth yelled. Axiom snickered.
"Calm yourself, Truth. I'm no fool, they will be back before any irreparable damage is done. You know as well as I do that they need this in order to grow stronger." Axiom paused. "In order to rise above their limits. My world will be good for them."
"And you never thought that you should ask me, or at the very least, tell me that you were whisking them away? What if they die? Then what will you do, Axiom? Tell me that!" Truth growled, stalking closer to Axiom, until it stood on the very edge of the white expanse, it's toes almost touching Axiom's black void.
"Please, Truth, give me some credit." Axiom laughed. "I won't let them die. They're safe with me. Besides, their help in exchange for temporary immortality? That's Equivalent Exchange, is it not? Hell, if they do a good job, I'll even throw Alphonse's body in for free." Axiom smirked. "After all, my world does not rely so heavily upon your laws, Truth. I am a much more benevolent God."
"That's exactly what's wrong with your world, Axiom. Your people take and take without any thoughts of giving back. They are greedy, self-righteous fools. Just like you." Truth spat, turning and storming away.
"You'll thank me for this later, Truth! And so will they!" Axiom's voice drifted after Truth, who sped up, not stopping until it sat down in the middle of Edward, Alphonse and Scar's gates.
"You three better be back soon." Truth murmured, sighing. Truth had a sudden thought and picked something up, hurrying back toward Axiom. "Axiom!"
"What is it, Truth?" Axiom asked with an easy grin. Truth bristled.
"Here." Truth threw something to Axiom, who caught the objects and smiled.
"Ah, so you do want to help them. Alright, I'll give these to them. I'm sure they'll appreciate it." Axiom said, nodding. Truth sighed.
"Just... Just take care of them, Axiom." Truth mumbled, turning to go back to the gates. Axiom's smiled widened.
"Of course... Maybe you aren't as pitiless as I thought, Truth."
...
"Where were you two?" Hotch scolded, glaring at the Elric brothers. Edward rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.
"Exploring." He said. Hotch scowled.
"Exploring? We have three serial killers on the loose who could potentially want to two dead and you've been exploring?" He asked, exasperated. Edward shrugged.
"Yeah. Is that a problem?" He countered. Alphonse sighed to himself. Hotch was livid.
"Yes, it's a pro-"
"Agent Hotchner!" An officer exclaimed as he opened the door. Hotch turned to him, still seething.
"What is it?" He asked, as calmly as possible.
"We just got a tip that Scar was seen on a main street in the North part of town. Should we check it out?" The officer asked. Hotch frowned.
"What street? Who sent in the tip?" Hotch asked, following the officer out. Edward smirked and sat down, picking up one of the science books that Reid had given them.
"There is no mention of alchemy in any of these books. I guess these kinds of sciences eclipsed the idea of alchemy..." Edward murmured. Alphonse picked up another book and sat beside him.
"That would explain why no one seems to use alchemy here." The younger blonde agreed, flipping through the book with only mild interest.
"Elrics..." Edward jumped up while Alphonse's head whipped around.
"Who said that?" Edward hissed. There was no answer. Suddenly a purple transmutation circle glowed on the ground under the brothers.
"Ed! What's going on?" Alphonse yelled. White hands -very similar to Truth's- burst out of the ground as a large eye opened up, dragging the Elric brothers into the ground.
A moment later they were dumped unceremoniously in a black void between two white marble gates. Standing in front of them was a black figure that was outlined in white, very similar to Truth.
"Where the hell are we?" Edward asked, jumping to his feet. Alphonse shifted into a seated position. The figure leered at them.
"Now, now, Edward, please sit. My name is Axiom and this is my world's gate." Axiom introduced, bending at the waist in a mock bow. Edward scowled, but slowly sat.
"So you're like Truth?" Alphonse asked timidly. Axiom nodded.
"I am Truth's..." Axiom smirked. "Brother, if you will. And speaking of Truth, I have a gift for you two." Axiom stood and walked over to them and knelt in front of Edward.
"What are you doing?" Edward spat, recoiling slightly. Axiom placed it's hand on Edward's chest and an incredibly complex purple transmutation circle appeared under it's palm. Small shock waves of energy rolled over Edward's skin as two transmutation circles appeared on his palms, the one of his human palm like a tattoo while the one on his automail palm looked scratched into the metal.
"Don't worry, the circles will disappear when you go back to your world. They are only there to allow you to use circle-less alchemy here." Axiom said, shifting to place it's palm on Alphonse's chest.
"Wait, so we're going back?" Edward asked. Axiom nodded, withdrawing it's hand from Alphonse.
"Of course. Once you complete the task I brought you here for." Axiom replied, standing and taking a few steps back.
"What task?" Alphonse asked, frowning. Axiom smirked.
"If you need to ask, you'll never know." Axiom replied, sitting. An eye opened under the Elric brothers and white hands reached out to drag them back to earth. Edward struggled against them, but to no avail. And soon, they were pulled back.
...
Reid walked into the room where Hotch had left the Elrics with a look of shock and worry. Both of the brothers were on the ground, on their hands and knees and gasping for breath. They looked pale and shaken.
"Are you alright?" Reid asked hesitantly, kneeling beside Alphonse (who was the closest brother to the door). Alphonse, who looked like he was going to be sick, nodded.
"F-Fine... Sorry." He stammered, slowly shifting into a seated position and crossing his legs.
"What are you two doing on the floor...?" Reid asked, perplexed. This did not happen often. Or, at all, really.
"It's nothing." Edward grunted, grabbing the edge on the table and pulling himself to his feet. Reid thought he saw a flash of metal on Edward's right wrist.
'Huh. Must be a watch or something.' He thought dismissively. He frowned when he noticed how Edward's knees shook slightly, but he knew he would get nothing out of them. Sometimes teenagers were too stubborn for their own good.
"Do you two want to go to the kitchen and get some lunch?" He asked. Edward nodded, grasping Alphonse's hand and pulling the thin boy to his feet. Alphonse gritted his teeth, barely able to keep his knees from buckling.
"Yeah, good idea." Edward said. Reid smiled slightly and led them out, into the main police area.
"Are they alright?" Detective Marker asked as he walked by, pausing to examine the Elrics. Edward waved a hand at him.
"Fine." He grunted. Detective Marker's eyebrows rose, but he didn't comment.
"Michael." Detective Marker turned, slightly surprised, to see Janet standing behind him. Her long hair was pulled into a messy bun and she wore a pair of black skinny jeans and a red blouse with a plunging neckline.
"Janet? What are you doing here?" Detective Marker asked, blinking. Janet smiled, holding up a key chain with three keys on it.
"You dropped your keys in the elevator. I have a shift at the hospital and I was worried I wouldn't see you tonight, so I decided to drop them off." Janet's icy eyes darted to the Elrics. "Who are these boys?" She asked, smiling and leaning down slightly to examine them. Edward met her gaze and his eyes narrowed.
"Why do you want to know?" He asked, a dangerous edge in his voice. Janet held back a malicious grin.
"Well, it's not every day that one sees such handsome young men in a Police Station." She said cheerfully. Alphonse frowned, his expression turning guarded. Neither of the young Alchemists trusted this woman.
"They're the Chief's sons. Bring your kid to work day." Detective Marker lied smoothly. Janet hid a smirk, seeing through the lie easily.
"Well then, I have to go. Goodbye, Michael." She smiled and waved before leaving. Edward and Alphonse slipped away from Detective Marker and Reid and went into the kitchen, which was, thankfully, empty.
"She had the eyes of a killer." Edward whispered, turning on the stove as Alphonse took out a pot and put some water into it before placing it onto the warm element.
"I know. Like the Homunculi." Alphonse replied, searching the cupboards and getting out a container of dry spaghetti noodles.
"Like Scar." Edward murmured. They both fell silent, watching the water slowly start to boil. They both turned when Detective Marker came in. He walked over to the coffee machine with an empty mug and filled it with steaming black coffee.
"How are you boys doing?" He asked, turning toward them and taking a sip of coffee. Edward and Alphonse watched him for a moment.
"Fine." Edward replied tightly. Detective Marker nodded.
"You know, you don't need to be so guarded, we're here to help." He said. Edward and Alphonse exchanged a glance.
"We just want to go home." Alphonse whispered, forlorn. Detective Marker sighed and walked past them, patting each of their shoulders as he did.
"Don't worry, it will all work out in the end." He said, disappearing out the door. Alphonse sighed and tipped the noodles into the boiling water.
"What the hell are we supposed to do, Ed?" He whispered. Edward also sighed, leaning against the counter.
"I'm not sure, Al. But we'll figure it out, and we'll get back. No matter what."
...
Janet walked back into her apartment, grinning. Scar and GOD looked up from the books they had been reading.
"As suspected, the Fullmetal kid and his brother were at the police station." She paused, her lips twisting into an even more psychotic smile. "Now we wait for night and knock the investigation back a step."
...
Mr. Esp, a man of about sixty who lived in the same apartment as Janet and Detective Marker, walked home from a later dinner, whistling pleasantly to himself. As he passed the alleyway beside his apartment building, he stopped, squinting down the narrow passage. Someone seemed to be sitting against the side of the building.
"Hello?" He called, walking closer to the person. There was no reply, so he walked closer and stopped about ten feet from the person, his breath catching in his throat. Propped up against the side of the building was Mr. Esp's neighbour, Michael Marker. Michael was clearly dead, his chest covered in blood from multiple stab wounds and the wall was spattered with blood that seemed to have blown out the back of Michael's head. Mr. Esp stumbled back in horror, taking out his cellphone and dialling 9-1-1 with shaking fingers.
"9-1-1, what is your emergency?" An operator droned. Mr. Esp took a breath.
"M-My neighbour, he... he's dead..."
I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter... How did you guys like it?
I don't know, I was trying to dive into the plot a little more, but it just kind of feels... flat. To me, anyway.
So, yeah, review if you please. And thank you to all the favouriters/alerters who made me feel bad for having writer's block. You guys are awesome (if not daunting).