II – IX

Friends or Foes?

Disclaimer: I do not own AD:JL, or Al and Ash. AD: JL belongs to Disney Channel and Al and Ash belong to xFullMetalxJunkiex.

"Run!" A young teenage girl yelled.

"Shut up! I'm running as fast as I can." Another young teen said, moaning. He pushed a lock of his blondish-brown hair out of his face and tried to catch up top his girlfriend, who was nearly seven hundred feet in front of him.

"Unless you want him to barbeque you, I suggest you RUN FASTER!" The boy sighed and ran faster, attempting to catch up to his girlfriend.

"Ah!" He yelled. He jumped into the air to dodge an attack by their pursuer. "Today just isn't our day." He said. "I've had enough running!" He finally said, stopping and turning to face their invisible enemy. "I know you're here, Bane. Show yourself!" The infamous bounty hunter chuckled and revealed himself before the boy.

"Al, buddy, it doesn't have to end like this, I could make your death quick and painless. Do you want me to torture you?" Bane asked.

"Shut up. I don't know why you're after us… but it doesn't matter. I'm not letting you hurt Ash."

"I see… maybe after I kill you, I'll take her from you. Yeah… that'll be fun. She's cute…" He said, taunting Al.

"Shut up." Al said, his green eyes turning darker.

"No." Bane said. "You brought this on yourself, Al."

"How?" He asked. The mercenary laughed.

"My employer has something against your family. You see, your family made his family's life a wreck three centuries ago. Consider this payback. You and your little girlfriend have to die now, sorry." Bane took out his sword as Al dashed at him, and stabbed the air, forcing Al to stop. Al looked down at the tip of the blade, which was lightly pressed against his neck. "Yeah, you don't wanna' do that." Al grinned.

"Actually, yes, I do." Al kicked Bane to the ground, who slashed at Al with his sword.

"Rubber?" Bane shouted. "How the heck did you do that?" Al grinned.

"Ash, now!" He shouted. A light blue dragon swooped down and grabbed Al, and carried him to a nearby cave. As she landed, she morphed into human form and began panting.

"You've got to stop eating those jelly doughnuts!" She said, sweat dripping down her blonde hair, turning slightly purple because of her purple bangs. She took off her red jacket and sighed. They've been running from Bane for weeks, but he just wouldn't give up. "His employer must be offering him a pretty penny if he's THIS persistent!"

"Yeah, well we're safe for now." Al said. "NYC isn't far from here… maybe we can hide there." Al suggested. "I doubt he'll find us in that crowded place."

"Yeah. But this time, I'm NOT carrying you!"

"Whatever…"

… … … … …

As the two left, Bane opened his eyes, clinging to the cave wall using his chameleon suit. "Don't be so sure, Alphonse. You can't run from me forever." Bane laughed. "I will find you… no matter where you go."

… … … … …

In the city, Hannah searched for the grocery store. "Stupid city… I've been here for nearly five years, and I still can't find anything!" She complained. She continued to walk aimlessly around the city, until something caught her eye. "Is that Bane?" She asked, as she caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure run down the streets. "I've got a bad feeling about this… maybe I should follow him." She morphed into her dragon form and took flight, following the quick shadow. She then saw two teens running from the infamous mercenary, headed into the slums of NYC. She quickly swooped down in front of Bane, which ended his pursuit.

"Stupid dragon! Now I've lost them! You'll pay for that!"

"What have they done to you?" Hannah asked.

"Nothing. Its what they've done to my employer. He's giving me a pretty penny for the heads of those two scumbags."

"I won't allow you to harm them."

"That's the thing with you heroes. You never let a poor man like me get a job done. Ah well, maybe he'll pay me more for the head of a famous hero." Bane grinned and took out his sword. "Say goodnight." He said. Hannah just stared at him, a puzzled look on her face.

"Why are you holding a rattle snake?" Bane looked at her puzzled.

"Rattle snake, what are you…" Bane looked at what should have been his sword, and sighed. "They did it again…" He said. "Come out, cowards!" Al stepped out of the shadows, grinning.

"I can turn you into anything I wish, Bane."

"I don't think so." Bane said, as he faded into the background. "You can't change what you can't see!" He said, circling around the two.

"Eye of the dragon…" Ash said, watching from the sky. Once she caught his heat signature, she landed. Once she was in front of the invisible mercenary, she punched his chest, destroying his suit. He coughed and rubbed his chest.

"My suit…!" He exclaimed. "Another day, fools… another day." Bane said. His body shattered into a million pieces and warped to another area. Ash sighed and collapsed to her knees.

"It's been a long day…" Ash said, morphing back into her human form. "Huh?" Ash looked up at Hannah and stood up. "Oh, uh, hi?" She said.

"Hi." Hannah said. "I'm Hannah… you?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Ash, and that's Alpho… I mean, Al." She said. "That Bane guy has been chasing us for weeks. Something with Al's family destroying the lives of his employer's family. I don't know what he's talking about though, I've known al my whole life. He wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone talk to or harm anyone." She explained.

"Well, Bane can be like that. If he's paid enough, he'll hunt you down until he dies." She said. "So, where do you guys live?" Ash looked at her boyfriend then back at Hannah. "Nowhere, really. We have no families… they were all killed by Bane when we just 6. We had to teach ourselves everything from there, with a little help from some kind people, who let us stay with them for a while." She explained. "Now, we've been forced to leave those people because of Bane. We didn't want them getting hurt." Al just nodded.

"What's wrong with him?" Hannah asked.

"Huh? Oh, he's just a bit shy."

"I see… hey, you want to stay with me and my friends for a while? We have a few extra rooms… but I'd have to ask Jake first."

"Hang on a minute! You know Jake Long? He's like a legend!" Ash exclaimed, while Al raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… yeah, I guess."

"Wow… what's he like?"

"Four words: Stubborn as a mule." She said, grinning.

"Aren't all men?" Ash said. Al gave her a death glare, which made her step back a bit. "Forget I said that!" Hannah began to laugh as Ash and her boyfriend argued.

… … … … …

Jake watched the tall grandfather clock in his room. His room was filled with hundreds of magical antiques, the grandfather clock being his favorite. He closed his eyes and walked through the shadows, into the infinite library of the council. "Jake." Fate greeted his human friend with a bow. "Why are you here?"

"Your library records every second of time, as well as every great achievement and spell… correct?" Fate was silent for a moment, then remembered what Jake had recently been studying.

"So you want to know more about the Pure and Corrupt souls… follow me." Fate said. Jake followed his cloaked friend to a glass case, with a single book in the middle. "This is the book of Yin and Yang. Anything you wish to know lies within. But I warn you, what you may find, you may not like."

"Thank you, Fate." Jake bowed.

"Please, call me by my real name: Draco." Fate said.

"Okay, Draco." Jake said. Draco lifted the glass and handed the ancient book to Jake.

"The more your learn, the more you shall fear, young one." Draco said as he walked away.

… … … … …

"So, this is it, huh?" Ash asked, looking at the house that Hannah called home. "Pretty nice." She said. Al just stood silently behind her, frowning a bit.

"Ash… something evil is here… I can feel it…" Al said. "A presence… so dark… …" Al collapsed to the ground.

"Al? What's wrong?"

"Something… crushing me… …" He said. His eyes widened as a dark figure appeared before him. "Where am I?" The being didn't answer. "Who are you?" The being walked closer to Al.

"Alphonse Powter."

"N, no. I am Alphonse Powter!" Al exclaimed. The being chuckled in reply.

"I am who you keep locked away."

"What are you talking about!"

"You are rank zero in master's elite. You know what you must do. You have been given a mission. You can run. You can hide. But he will always catch you. He will always find you."

"No! You're gone. I sealed you all those years ago…"

"Sealed me? Ha. If you sealed me, how could I be standing here in front of you?" Al looked around his darker self. Time had completely frozen. "Don't you remember? Don't you remember how fun it was ending the lives of your girlfriend's family?"

"No! I didn't do that!" Al said, tears forming in his eyes.

"Cry all you want. You can't hold me back. Not anymore." He said. The image shattered and Al was returned back to reality.

"Al?" Ash asked. "Are you alright?" She asked. Al grinned.

"Yes." He said. "In fact, I feel better than ever before." He grinned wickedly.

To Be Continued

Let's review, shall we? A bounty hunter, two new friends, one new foe, and a book of yin and yang… oh boy. Till next time…