Fullmetal Exorcist- Chapter 2- The Storyteller

"Brother!!!"

Al was sobbing as he watched his brother on the hospital bed, covered heavily in bandages, most of it on his amputated leg and arm. The said boy Al sobbed for turned his head an inch to the side.

"Al…" Ed hoarsely whispered, and Roy cleared his throat, which had gone dry after numerous rounds of shouting at Leverrier. Ed turned to the man in the gold and black uniform.

"Who… are you?"

"Marshall Roy Mustang, if you want it full," the man frowned. A blond haired woman with hair was pinned up by a barrette looked at the man beside her.

"And this," Roy motioned to the woman. "Is Riza Hawkeye. She is my assistant. You are going to my students, the two of you. However, it's better you be considered as my sons."

Ed and Al were widely shocked. Were they really going to have their own home?

Lavi was quite curious about Ed. Apparently, he had forgotten to ask where Ed came from, so he probably should ask when they meet. He made his way to the hall, and found Ed and the same man in the office eating at the tables. Quickly getting his order, Lavi decided to take a seat right next to Ed.

"Hey there, Ed!" Lavi smiled sheepishly. "How was your sleep?"

"Fine, thanks," Ed smiled, and the black haired man opposite him smirked.

"Made a friend already, Fullmetal?"

"Oh, be quiet, Master," Ed scowled, and Lavi looked from Ed, who was busy eating again, and the other, who was still staring triumphantly.

"You're his student?" Lavi asked. Ed looked up swallowing the omelet he ordered.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ed went back to eating. Lavi then looked at the man again.

"So who are you?"

"Inspector Roy Mustang, at your service," the man smirked, and Lavi's eyes widened, and he shook Ed furiously.

"Why didn't you tell me that your master was an Inspector?! Worse enough, from Central?!"

"We just met for four hours, and you expect me to tell you?!" Ed raised an eyebrow. "At least Master used to be a Marshall. Just got promoted to Inspector two years."

"A Marshall?!" Lavi jumped. "You were an Exorcist?!"

"Correct," Roy smiled. "I got promoted and here I am."

"I remember hearing the name in the records of Exorcists," Lavi looked at the two. "However, you disappeared from the face of the Earth for a whole seven years, too."

"Are you a Bookman?" Roy looked at the redhead inquisitively. Lavi gasped at the man's knowledge, despite the fact that he had not told the man his name or title. He was in a sticky position now! Where was the old panda when he needed him?!

"Moron, what have you been doing?" the voice of Bookman finally soothed Lavi.

"Perfect Timing, Gramps," Lavi whispered for the elderly Bookman to hear. Then once Bookman and Roy Mustang exchanged looks, they paled at recognition.

"Roy Mustang?"

"B-B-Bookman?"

Bookman looked at Lavi, as if saying, What did you do?

Lavi shrugged, "You know him?"

"Of course." Bookman continued to look at the other man. "Marshall Mustang was a prominent Exorcist before he got promoted to Inspector and began working directly for the Vatican."

"But doesn't that take a long time? To get promoted? And why are the records-" Lavi's curiosity went too far when the old man immediately slapped his apprentice.

"Fool! It is of Bookman business! You dare to speak of it!?"

"Ow! That hurt a lot, you old panda!"

Lavi then received another blow, and he comically made an etching of a fallen man on the floor, causing Ed and Roy to sweatdrop. Ed sighed and then got up from the table to help Lavi up.

"Ever heard of basic decency, Lavi?"

"Well… uh…" Lavi tried to change the subject. "Well, let's go on to the next topic, shall we?! I said I'd take you on a tour, so come on!"

Ed was dragged off again at a hundred miles per hour, and he ranted very loudly. "I'M NOT YOUR PERSONAL PUPPET!!! AND I CAN WALK BY MYSELF!!!"

Roy sighed. "Still needs to work on temper. Al will be arriving very soon…"

"I see that our apprentices have gotten along quickly, no?" Bookman took a seat opposite Roy. "How should I address you? Inspector? Or Marshall? Or your prophecy title, Flames of Wrath?"

"Just Roy, no need for formalities," Roy took a sip from his warm cup of tea. "Ed's brother is coming to join us in our investigations."

"I forgot what for… You recall?"

Roy's eyebrows knitted themselves in thought. "I said I was here to keep you all in check, but I'm here to investigate on the disappearance of… Allen Walker."

"Be careful with what you say, Mustang," Bookman frowned. "That name has become a taboo of sorts. They've got golems almost everywhere. You never know if you get dragged off by CROW agents, even if you're an inspector, I'd doubt they'd be any lenient for you. Address the boy as beansprout, as codename."

Roy sweatdropped. Why… a beansprout? Couldn't there be a cooler codename than that…?

"Anyways," Roy Mustang cleared his throat. "A certain person told me that getting out of my isolation shell from the Order would do me some good, suggested that I get on a hunt for the… bean… sprout. Strange enough, my co-worker Leverrier went missing at the same time the boy disappeared."

"That is an understatement," Bookman shook his head. "My lousy apprentice and his friends recount that the poor boy was dragged out of the headquarters publicly. It didn't mean well for Komui, especially in the eyes of his younger sister. Went so far, Central had to wipe her memories."

Roy frowned at the thought, and set the porcelain teacup down. "Been awhile since I really involved myself with you people, you know. It's even shocking that Komui still remembers me, let alone you, Bookman."

"Well, what do you expect from a Bookman with an ancient memory?"

"Nothing less, I suppose."

Bookman bowed his head slightly. "Have you any leads?"

"No, not yet," Roy's mind was buzzing with possibilities. "I've volunteered to come here myself, since Leverrier went missing. Everyone at Central says he's on a long term project."

"It's hard enough for you already," Bookman tapped his finger on the table as a habit. "Your apprentice had once been condemned of heresy, and you yourself had been considered nearly an outlaw. You've even been nearly erased from history documents. Be grateful that your position as Inspector is equal to that of Leverrier's, otherwise, you won't get anything done."

"I know that." Roy nodded. "But I should be in the books by now, since they had forgiven me and allowed me to start fresh again as Inspector."

"How's the work, anyways?" Bookman asked casually. "Missing out on any paperwork, have you?"

"Not like they know," Roy smirked. "They've forgotten the properties of my Innocence. Well, I have my own office, of course, but it's in a separate facility, in a rather busy town in Britain."

"How about your subordinates?" Bookman curiously inquired. "Surely, Leverrier wouldn't allow you to get your hands on some authority on some CROW agents, no?"

"Got that right," Roy frowned in response. "But… I've managed to get in contact with some exceptional Finders, doctors and scientists from the Order worldwide. I recruited them and formed my own little organization. Pretty sophisticated, if you think of it, but it's still rather small. The Finders I have are well trained, and I'll bet you that they'll take on a CROW anytime, even without spells."

"What a chivalrous thing to say," Bookman commented. "You trust your subordinates' power that much?"

"Believe me," Roy laughed. "They're as tough as they come."

"As for the Doctor's concerns?"

"I have a couple of them recommended by Matron." Roy sipped from his beverage. "But Edward's brother, Alphonse, is quite an exceptional Exorcist. The two brothers have almost identical forms of Innocence, but Alphonse's seems to be directed to medical purposes. It pitches in a whole lot to Central, even Leverrier was impressed."

"I see." Bookman looked at the empty teacup where the tea leaves had arranged themselves strangely in a way that looked like a pair of eyes. He wondered what omen might come…

Ed was having a rather pleasant time. He met a whole lot of people, Exorcists and Scientists alike. He met Miranda, a clumsy that could reverse time temporarily; Marie, a blind man who used strings to take down Akuma; Krory, a vampire-like man who was very melodramatic; Chaoji, a brave exorcist with an extremely strong hand grip, much to Ed's horror; Reever, the captain of the entire Science Division, but Ed knew him, since Reever was the developer of his automail; and Bak, who was visiting, and he was the director of the Asian branch.

However, he, in fact, saw very little people in the halls normally. He urged himself to ask why, but he couldn't bring himself to. He shouldn't be barging into others' lives. Heck, he wasn't best friends with them just yet.

"All right, here's the final destination, the library." Lavi sighed. Ed was rather astounded by the massive amount of books. Plus, it was very quiet. Al would love to be here.

"Okay, then," Lavi pointed to a table where a stack of scrolls were, along with two chairs. "Take a seat. It'll be easier for me to do my work and talk with you at the same time."

"Multi-tasker?"

"You bet."

Once they were settled, Lavi began to search through a book. Ed waited patiently for Lavi to begin a conversation. Nothing? Fine. He'll start it himself, then.

"Lavi?"

"Hm?"

"When we mentioned a beansprout," Ed started. "And that Kanda guy wasn't so happy… Who was that beansprout?"

Ed saw Lavi's hand hesitate over the end of the parchment, and he set his fountain pen down. Lavi's only green eye looked up at the golden ones with uneasiness, and the redheaded Exorcist took a deep breath before setting his hands calmly on the table.

"I shouldn't be telling anything to you about that."

"Oi, why not?" Ed urged. Lavi rolled his eyes.

"No."

"What if I said that I'm an official from Central?"

"You are?" Lavi raised an eyebrow. "I mean, this stuff is pretty confidential. Heck, I'm not even allowed to let you see me work."

"Sure, and look at what you're doing."

"Touché…" Lavi smiled. " All right. I'll tell, but it's strictly confidential. Don't tell your… uh… 'Master…' about it."

Lavi received a frank nod and he began to think.

"That beansprout was a very good friend of ours… Well… he was short, so Yuu and I called him a beansprout, and he had the same reactions like you did when we called him that…"

"Is he dead?" Ed asked.

"We don't know. It's been awhile…"

"Okay then, if you tell really good stories," Ed laid back on his chair. "Why don't we keep spending the last hour of morning hearing you?"

Lavi smirked, and he began to think. Finally, after taking another deep breath, he then looked up again.

"The beansprout that we speak of," Lavi began in a more formal tone. "Was an Exorcist, like Yuu and me. Like I said before, he was a good friend. His name was Allen Walker."

Ed was rather excited of what Lavi was going to tell him.

"Allen Walker, deemed the Destroyer of Time by Hevlaska, the Guardian of the Cube of Innocence. As in opinionated terms, he was very kind, always polite with everyone he meets, with the exception of his master, Cross Marian."

Ed had heard of General Cross before. He had heard mentions of the famous Exorcist. So the general had a student. Probably he was just as brutal as Izumi and Roy combined… ugh…

"Allen was considered a parasite-type in his type of Innocence. To be exact, his arm was his Innocence…."

So the storytelling of Allen's journey throughout his career as a prominent Exorcist continued. Lavi recounted every single detail, and it seemed to Ed as if he were reading a really good book. Then when the details came to the time when Allen was considered the host for the 14th, Ed felt rather sorry for the boy.

"Then came last year, when tragedy struck us. Leverrier ordered CROW to take Allen away and to Central for further questioning. Worse enough, they didn't tell him, and he was seized in the middle of the hall. Of course, Allen fought back, but he eventually lost. Lenalee was devastated, as you had seen already, and as for the rest of us… we were ordered never to speak of Allen's name, so it was considered taboo. And Allen never came back.

"It's harder now for the Order to get anything done, now without Allen being around to give a hand… Kanda's been more polite… at some times… Komui actually decided to work to decrease his mountain of papers for once.

"Lenalee, however, was a different case. She nearly went insane when Link said that Leverrier took Allen away. She started doing all the depressive things imaginable… like… cutting… Miranda had to slap her to snap her out of it… I remember her moping a whole bunch of times… Kanda's scolding didn't help at all, neither did anyone else's… And then there was the time when she was reading this book… Something about bringing humans back to life or something-"

"Back to life?!" Ed jumped out of his seat in horror. "What was the name of that book?!"

"Marcoh's Theory of Alchemy." Lavi said plainly. He saw Ed tremble, then shake his head scornfully and settle back down to his seat. Lavi tilted his head slightly to ask why he was doing that.

"Err… sorry. Please go on." Ed returned to his normal posture.

"Well… Komui was so horrified that she was reading that book, he had to pitch in the most… it got so bad, Central had to do something to her… She was gone for a day, but she came back with barely any memory of what happened. She remembers everything, but she doesn't remember that Allen was there. We had attempted to get her to remember, but CROW has too much of a big hold on her for us to help. Komui said no because he felt that it was better for her to not got through such agony, even if it means she will remember one less important person in her life. You see, Central will do anything for people to give up on Allen. Scary, isn't it?

"We've changed… But now… a year gone since the day and some of us believe Allen left us for good. We've nearly forgotten what his voice was like, and even what he looked like."

Ed thought for a moment. So this Allen Walker… was so much like him and Al. They had lost loving parents, and they had tried to bring them back, resulting in a horrible experience of pain. Allen had been cursed to see the mangled souls of Akuma and been tied to the fate of perpetual suffering because of his status as a half-Noah. Ed was condemned as heresy upon the discovery of his failure of human transmutation with his amplified Innocence that nearly broke critical point. And here he was, with fake limbs to compensate. Even though it felt normal, Ed still rather liked to have his actual body parts back, not steel machines.

"Well… you know…" Lavi smiled. "I'm betting that he'll come back to us someday. Even if interrogation sounds this bad, I'm sure he'll get through it. Heck, he's already vowed that he won't become the 14th."

"For someone who seems sad after losing a friend," Ed smirked. "You seem confident he'll come back, even for a year. You haven't lost any hope?"

"Actually, it's something that keeps all of us working normally." Lavi's smile fell. "Thinking this way prevents us from beating ourselves up. Had we been normal people, not Exorcists, the Earl would have used us if we kept our sorrow clinging publicly. But we know we're preventing at least one less Akuma from being born, so we'll just keep moving forward."

"What words for the wise, Lavi," Ed smiled. "Sometimes, you sound like my brother…"

"Really?" Lavi smiled. "Then help yourself here. We're welcome to have you be with us at the Order. You're an Exorcist, right?"

"Me?" Ed snorted. "I don't know too much about that. I guess so, since Master was a Marshall before. Still, he pisses me off."

"Wow… the way you saw his name sounds like Allen talking about his own master…" Lavi sweatdropped. "But… I really do want to know what's your Innocence…"

Ed then looked up at the dark ceiling. Was he really an Exorcist? Sure, he had Innocence within his entire body, to be exact. He's not a Second Exorcist Project remnant, but he was deemed a heretic once. Just once. Roy had to burn all records of that for Ed to get a better life. He enjoyed working at Central for a year or two with Roy and his kind subordinates, who were top-notch Finders in the Order a long time ago…

As a matter of fact, considering the truth about politics, Roy's department in Central was probably the only one that was free of corruption or any connection to the Leverrier family. His brother had qualified for Exorcist membership, and so did he himself. But he hasn't really done much… Heck, it already freaked him out that his Golden eyes could scare the tar out of many Central units, since he was also suspected of Noah, but no evidence was really true. After that, no one really was scared of him.

He then noticed a concerned Lavi. He raised an unsure eyebrow.

"Oi. What's wrong?" Ed asked.

"You're from Central, too, right?" Lavi set down his fountain pen, looking intently at the golden haired boy, who nodded. The color returned to Lavi's face as he closed his eyes understandingly.

"I see," Lavi started to write again. "Just be careful, since you're from Central. I think Lenalee probably knows by now, if Komui happened to meet her, so she might not be too happy about you being around. Even if she's brain-washed, she still remembers that she had been tortured by Leverrier when she was younger. Anyways, you staying here from now on?"

"Dunno." Ed flipped through one of the books Lavi had already finished reading. "I think it's permanent, since Colonel said that my is coming to stay. I might stay longer since my mechanic lives here."

"Mechanic?" Lavi wondered. "What for?"

"Oh, she's just going to help me fix some things… I stop here once every month, you know…" Ed kept vague about his arm and leg. "It's a rather delicate subject."

"When is your brother coming?"

"Some time soon… tonight is the earliest time."

"Well, come on," Lavi got up. "We've got dinner. And did I mention that Allen liked to eat a lot?"

"How much?"

"Oh, he'll a whole month's worth of lunches in one meal, three times a day, with some snacks in between. Since he was a parasite-type, he needed to eat lots, anyway. His favorite was mitarashi dango."

"Maybe I should try that some time…" Ed smiled.

Lunch came, and Ed and Lavi were deep in conversation randomly about dango. Surprisingly, they met the two absent Exorcists, Lenalee and Kanda.

"Hey, Lenalee!" Lavi smiled as he set his food on the table. "Heard you nearly got pummeled by Akuma today. You better now?"

"Yeah…" Lenalee put on a bright smile, showing her bandaged arms. "I'm not that weak!"

"Of course not," Kanda snorted. "Just how is that possible?"

"Well… Maybe-" Ed was going to add in when a large wrench hit his head. His face fell onto the plate of food before him, and Lavi and Lenalee couldn't help but laugh. Ed then got up, groaning, when someone grabbed the scruff of his neck. Immediately, golden eyes met sapphire blue. For a teenage girl of seventeen, she was pretty attractive. Her hair was a bright blond color, tied into a ponytail. She wore a white lab coat, a black tank top, and a dark blue miniskirt.

"H-Hi… Winry…" Ed tried to keep a straight face, when Winry then set him down again.

"How many times did I remind not to break your automail!?" She scowled and was ready to throw the wrench again. Lavi sweatdropped, but he began to wonder… What exactly did automail mean?

"You're going to break it even more if you toss me down the Eiffel Tower," Ed massaged his sore right arm. "I was hoping you would notice that I was here. My arm's killing me!"

Winry then softened as she walked over to Ed, and she held out her hand.

"Hurry up and eat then," Winry smiled warmly. "Just don't eat too much just yet. I have an apple pie waiting for you at my lab."

"Thanks, Winry," Ed smiled and he retreated to his spot with Lavi as the other joined her scientist friends.

"So Winry is your mechanic?" Lavi whispered. Ed nodded. "She's a hottie. Strike! For you~~~~… You should ask her out some time."

Ed turned an amusing shade of red. "What makes you imply that?!"

"You know… the beansprout and Lenalee used to be situations like this." Luckily, Lavi was whispering, and Ed rolled his eyes. Lenalee looked at the two skeptically.

"What beansprout?" She asked. Ed ignored her question and looked annoyed at Lavi.

"How many times are you going to compare me to that guy?!"

Roy Mustang spent a great amount of time with Bookman searching through records and documents. Just a single clue that Lavi had written, and that was all he needed. He still remembered what Cross had requested. After all, he the Flames of Wrath was the one who had to help Cross out of the bloody window during the attempted murder.

Cross placed a hand on the box of cigars. "My idiot pupil won't be faring well at this point. Keep a watch on him."

"You're such an idiot, Cross," Roy shook his head scornfully. "You nearly died from that wound. Be grateful that I had Innocence along, and it wasn't raining. Your wound was so bad, it reminds of that time with the Akuma with the scary fingernails. Horrible lady. Nearly killed me, Havoc, and Riza in one hit."

"No problem," Cross smiled. "Well, seems that hiding is the best decision. I'm pretty useless without Judgment. Grave of Maria would help, but not so much…"

"You do know that Walker has been proclaimed heresy after that Timothy's arrival to the Order, right?"

"Yeah… He'll come out of it fine." Cross shook if off dismissively. "He's been through worse than that."

"I highly doubt it." Roy flipped through a book that Bookman happened to send to him. "That Lenalee Lee I saw one time, she nearly committed suicide from the horrible torture she went through! It was a miracle that she'd live!"

"Never mind that," Cross rolled his eyes. "Just bring me some wine."

"One bottle only," Roy rolled his eyes. "I'd have burnt you right here right now if you were an Akuma."

"That's what everyone says," Cross smiled jokingly."And by the way, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Fire away," Roy didn't bother looking up from sorting a couple books on the shelf

"Can you look for my idiot pupil for me?"

Roy froze and then looked at his friend.

"You know I'm already putting my life on the line trying to get back to the Order with my 'heretic' students, right?"

"Easy says, easy goes," Cross rolled his eyes. "Just look for him."

"For someone who only cares about women," Roy joked. "It's rare that you care for your student."

"It's not normal, yes," Cross looked out the window. "Just that he's crucial to this Holy War. He will be the one who ends it."

A knock on the door made Roy jump. Bookman turned around patiently, watching the door as if he were playing a staring contest.

"Who is it?" Roy asked boldly.

"It's me, Master!" A soft gentle voice belonging to a boy rang through. "Alphonse!"

A/N: Okay, then, here's chapter numbah two! As I said before, this will be a rather slow update until summer vacation, or perhaps spring break or my standardized testing week, comes. I'll probably be requesting ideas for filler missions and all to help our crossed over characters here "bond." I'm including special adaptions of the Cornello and Lior incident as a mission along with Shou Tucker. I'm trying to implement the FMA mini stories into this. But, probably like right now, I guess I'll leave an open for OC missions, like make up the missions of the sort. I need one for Kanda and Al, Chaoji and Ed... something like that. Roy will not be in these OC missions, since he claims he's "too good" for these things, apparently. Well, I think a chapter somewhere, I'll elaborate Allen's dissappearance as a sad flashback, when Lenalee remembers, which will obviously happen (come on, it's classic. she's got to remember someday!). I won't tell how just yet. So any ideas for missions including Kanda and Al; Chaoji, Lenalee, and Ed; maybe Krory and Ed, or Al; Miranda and one of the elric brothers and Lavi... any of those, pleas tell me, and I'll see where I can stick it in. See ya later!