Fullmetal Exorcist- Chapter 10- The Cracked Puppet
There was no need to keep a low profile. If they immediately heard that a young boy was dragged to the back rooms, they'd surely panic. Kanda, at the head of the charging group, busted down the door with his Mugen. Everyone sweatdropped at his excessive action.
"You didn't have to slice the door…" Greed deadpanned, but Kanda snorted and continued off, followed by everyone else. They rounded up by a corner to a wider corridor, and paused. Riza and Hughes prepared themselves with a revolver each. Kanda looked skeptically at them and raised an eyebrow.
"You do know that guns don't work on Akuma, right?"
Riza smirked. "They're not ordinary guns, so keep moving!"
"Just how many rooms are there?" Hughes asked. Lan Fan began to think.
"Two, but I don't know which one…"
A loud scoff from an unknown person made everyone jump.
"Silly Exorcists…" A pair of footsteps followed behind them, and Kanda growled as he saw a strange person with guns protruding from all over the body.
"Mugen! Activate!"
Al winced as he clutched his left arm. Shoot… Now he's one arm down… His right arm flew up and clutched the injured opposite, somehow believing that if he held onto it tightly, he would feel better. Road then stopped laughing and frowned.
"Oh? What aren't you yelping in pain?" She asked like an inquisitive child. "I prefer the moments when you scream and plead. You're just like Allen Walker… just only a little worse…"
Alphonse tilted his head in wonder… so this Noah knows about Allen Walker… His mind then switched to strategizing a plan. Maybe he didn't have any knives, but he had other sharp things with him, so at least drawing a Purification array…
"What do you know about him?" Al asked quite calmly. Road raised an eyebrow at the unexpected behavior.
"Do you not know that he is the vessel of my brother the 14th?" Road answered back and received a small nod. "I just happened to meet him the past few years ago."
"Is that so…" Al nodded, unclasping his arm, and then slowly reaching for a gold button on his coat. He began to saw off the small threads that held the metal off the garments very silently.
"What's wrong with you?" Road circled the cage that held the boy. "You're not angry at all… You have a death wish or something?"
"No, I don't," Al smiled. "If I did, brother will be very mad that I went first before him. He usually likes to be the first one at a bunch of things…"
"Oh, really?" Road smirked and she settled on a sofa she conjured out of thin air. Conversations with the prisoner before he dies… this is a new method… "Your brother seems like a very strict brother…"
Al surprisingly was able to saw off the last thread apart, and slowly set his hand down to the surface of the floor, carrying the disembodied button with him, so it looked like as if he was merely setting his hand down to relax. Road paid no attention to it and continued to stare at him.
"Road…" He began. "Do you like Allen?"
"Of course I do," Road smiled devilishly. "I miss him very much…"
Al began to silently pretend to use his fingers to draw random lines on the surface of the cage as if he were bored, but he kept the edge of button sideways to carve a small long dent in his containment.
Kanda had wiped out the Akuma so easily, Riza and Hughes stared dumbfounded at the Japanese samurai.
"W-Whoa…" Lan Fan was in awe.
"You're like Chief," Hughes smiled. "But generally, he's more explosive."
Kanda looked at them in annoyance, thinking that the search for Al would be slowed down with them coming along, but he didn't process exactly that one more Akuma was right behind him. Lan Fan pointed behind him, but Riza had beaten them to it.
BANG!
A stream of smoke floated from a hole that was in the Akuma as it fell on the floor, completely immobilized. Riza then looked at Ling, who nodded and charged right past Kanda and transformed his arm into the hard material he described before. He then plunged the gray fist into the Akuma, who shouted in pain and then faded away with a relived sigh.
"That should be the last of them." Hughes put his gun away, but Riza, being more cautious, kept hers out.
"What was that bullet?" Kanda asked. "I don't remember bullets being strong enough to pierce through Akuma and then paralyzing them."
"It's a special bullet," Riza opened the magazine to show him the leftover bullets she had left. "They contain a compressed form of the energy used to entrap Akuma. Since easy-level Akuma can't move easily within Barriers, Chief's department decided to compress the energy used into bullets, so low-level Akuma can be easily paralyzed. It's quite a handy tool for me, since I used to be in the army before Roy took me in. I was the best sharpshooter in my squad."
"Impressive," Lan Fan smiled. "Now, we should take that door. That's our best shot. Ling?"
"On it!" Ling charged at the door she mentioned and broke through without hesitation. The back store was quite a huge room, where many barrels and barrels of wine were being stored. It didn't take them long to reach the end of the maze of wine barrels, and they saw a slumped figure of a recognizable person. His dirty blond bangs shielded his eyes from sight, and his mouth was slightly agape. In other words, he was not torn up or anything horrible.
"Alphonse!" Riza shouted, but she looked to see plenty of Akuma hovering above, threatening to gun her down should she continue. A heavy cackle of a young girl nearly made everyone jump out of their skins as they saw a young grey-skinned girl with purple hair looking amused at the unconscious Alphonse.
"Road Kamelot…" Kanda growled, and Road lost interest in Alphonse and turned to the one she remembered most.
"Oh? Aren't you Allen's friend? I believe that little rabbit I met a long time ago called you Yuu…" She began to tease, but Kanda's frustration increased.
"And aren't we a happy bunch!?" Road looked at the others who came along.
"What have you done to Alphonse?!" Hughes shouted. Road gave a look that made her seem to remember something.
"You mean this little boy? He's been knocked out for a while. Would you like me to tell you what he's dreaming?"
Riza began to shoot the Akuma above with not one, but two guns, and the Akuma began falling like flies, allowing Kanda and Ling to easily slice or smash them to pieces. Road stood in the sidelines, amazed at the Exorcist's handiwork, but deep in her mind, she could feel Alphonse stirring.
"So, Road," Al began his play of words, something he learned from Mustang as an apprentice. Ed learned it, too, and he was much better than Al. "You love Allen a lot."
"Of course, we've already established that." Road frowned, annoyed that he's said that a few times too much.
"Okay, then," Al smiled. "If you love Allen that much, why don't you go look for him? You're a Noah with lots of Akuma, so why don't you send them looking for your brother?"
"What are you-"
"You're a Noah, and he's your brother. You're probably stronger than all of us combined, you have the sources to find Allen."
"Well, I do, but-" Road had never been tongue-tied in her entire life. Something was causing her to weaken on her grip on Alphonse, and she began to wonder why.
"If you really want to spend time with him as soon as possible, why are you standing back?"
Road fell silent, and she turned her back on him.
"I am a Noah," She answered. "I don't participate. I watch. That's what I was meant to do. To watch my brother, the Earl, create this spectacular scenario."
"Because your brother said so…" Al shook his head scornfully, and Road turned her eyes on him again. "Don't make me laugh."
Road smiled. "And what can you do? You're in a cage, aren't you?"
"Am I?" Al smiled, and he lifted his hand to reveal what he had been working throughout the entire conversation. A small intricate circle with a star symbol in the middle lay etched into the metal cage. Road gasped. He had done this under her very nose?! How come she couldn't see that?!
Al got up to his feet, a look of triumph on his face. "Seems that you have underestimated me."
He placed his foot on the circle, and the small array glowed blue as a crackle of blue electricity enveloped him. The cloud of electricity expanded and filled the entire cage, until the chain that held him broke away, the bars of the cage disintegrated. Alphonse stood casually in the low light as he approached Road on the sofa.
"After all," He smiled. "My Innocence is called Alkahestry, the arts of the Earth currents. I am the Soul Weaver, one of the people on the face of this Earth who could even be considered an equal to your Earl. And by the way, I didn't only break the cage you put on me. I've just unlocked a part of your mind that you have never experienced before."
Road's eyes widened in fear. What did this boy mean?
"You don't know?" Alphonse smiled sincerely. "Road Kamelot, now is the time for you to get a first-hand tutorial at… having sorrow."
Kanda and Ling finished their jobs and faced Road. Riza and Hughes kept their guns at the Noah in case something was to happen. Lan Fan stayed behind, watching.
"You think that I'd let him go so easily?" Road smiled sadistically. Her mind was slipping from Alphonse, and he knew it. She could feel his overriding presence winning the mental battle. She just had to make this quick.
"Give Alphonse back…" Riza commanded. "Or…"
She then froze as a strange feeling swept over her. A strange aura hung in the air. She looked to Hughes, who seemed to have felt it, too. Kanda did as well, but he was puzzled.
"Or what?" Road taunted on. "You'll give me a small bruise?"
"Oh, I'm not talking about that…" Riza tightened her grip on the gun.
"Then what do you mean-" Road dodged a pair of flying knives that had gone for her shoulders by ducking for a moment. Lan Fan and Ling gasped. The knives landed on the floor, unscathed. Kanda looked at the knives at his feet.
"These… are Alphonse's weapons." Kanda looked up and farther past Road. "So that means…"
Everyone saw who was behind Road. Road's breath hitched for a moment as she spun around, and she saw Alphonse, his head bowed, but his back straight and his body standing. His head still bowed, he reached into the pockets of his jacket and drew out some alkahestry knives, his arm still quite shaky. He swung them at Road, who easily dodged them, but they weren't going for the Noah, but the Akuma who were still lurking around. Swinging the knives let his hair sweep past him, and it showed his face as peaceful as can be, eyes closed.
"He's sleeping?!" Ling shouted.
"His eyes are closed…" Kanda stared in amazement as he watched Al take a flip backwards from an Akuma bullet and simultaneously flung three alkahestry knives at that Akuma, breaking it to pieces. "He's even unconscious… But he's acting like he's awake."
"His Innocence is taking over him," Riza explained. "He and his Innocence are like battle partners. If Alphonse is KO'd, his Innocence continues to finish up the battle, since the Innocence is spread throughout the entire body. In this case, as Alphonse battles Road in the dream dimension, His Innocence battles her in the real world. This way, he will exhaust Road more, somewhat…"
"Actually, that tends to creep me out…" Hughes added. "It's like he's fighting in his sleep."
Road frowned. Al was beating her in both directions. She was bound to lose… She must retreat immediately. Unfortunately, a whip of pain flashed through her mind. Al was breaking away so quickly, it was beginning to tax her. The world came to a standstill for the two. The final sinew that Road held to Al's captivity was finally snapping.
So using his Alkahestry to unlock that part of this Noah's mind, seemed to be working perfectly. Al seemed to be understanding her pleas. However, he didn't think that breaking a Noah's pride would be this easy. He merely said some things, and she faltered. She looked around for some way to escape, but Al stood before her. Lero wasn't with her now so no quick escape for her.
"You're crying," Al blatantly interrupted the silence. Road looked at him as if he were crazy. She then felt her cheeks, which were very wet. Indeed, she was crying. Noah never cry, only when a fellow Noah dies, that's when they cry, but then what that happens, they don't really match the emotions of dealing with death, don't they?
"So what if I am crying?!" Road was breaking. No one had ever broken the Noah of Dreams, before, maybe Allen did for a moment, but still, that was never possible. That is until now…
"You usually have a reason to be crying." Al sat down beside her. "That's what happens with everyone."
Road felt the wet drops of water fall to her resting hands on her lap.
"Do you want to see Allen again? Right now?"
Road could not stop the tears from falling.
"Do you want to see him now?"
Road tried to keep her mind straight. She should be falling for tricks like these! Exorcists are of no equality to a Noah! Noah are the advanced race of humanity! Why should she care of those below her?! But… no… she won't let Allen go… Allen was her brother… a brother who almost killed the Earl!
"Why do you do these things!?" Road shouted. Al looked unfazed by Road's breakdown.
"Because," Al bent down and then settled to kneeling position before Road, so he could see her downcast golden eyes. "You're an interesting person. And I believe if you try… you'll do anything to see Allen… forget what the Earl says. You know you can't wait any longer."
"I can wait!" Road complained. "I have patience! Eventually Allen will come!"
Al looked at her as she continued to cry, and he actually found this quite adorable for some reason.
"I can see the impatience in your eyes," Al frowned. "Your defiance isn't helping at all…"
"But…" Road softened. She wouldn't be able to harm this boy… She can't harm… He's too strong… She's seen it already. No one could escape her traps easily. Even the redheaded Exorcist she broke a long time ago took longer then Al.
"I'll help you along the way…" Al smiled. "Noah or not… you were human before you became a Noah. Humans are supposed to help each other, no?"
Road looked up with eyes of a child, asking for forgiveness. Her cheeks had turned red, from crying, she did not know.
"Are you really going to help me?"
Alphonse gave a sincere nod. "It depends on what you decide. Whether to cross the Gate I've made for you, or not. We don't have much time to talk right now, since I need to get back to my friends…"
He paused, thinking of the last words to say.
"But… I'll be waiting for you… at the Gate… whenever you want to…" Al smiled warmly and he stepped back from her, and she continued to stare at the boy as a dark black cloud whirled around him, and he slowly fell apart like puzzle pieces clattering to the ground, bit by bit. He kept the smile on. She couldn't move, for that smile… was just like Allen's…
"Alphonse! Alphonse!" She tried to get up and reach for him, her arm stretching as far as it may go… but she too faded in a similar manner, for they were now leaving his state of mind.
Road's golden eyes quivered before them as she looked at the unconscious Alphonse standing before him. Hours passed in her mind, but a few seconds passed here. Her gaping mouth she closed, and she opened the Ark back home. She retreated silently, without any word or warning.
Alphonse's eyes snapped open as he saw the destruction he and the Akuma made. He saw a great many row of knives set in the floor and broken wine barrels.
"Oh?" Alphonse sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "Was this all me?"
Everyone who were watching him sweatdropped. Al could do all this, and still not know?!
"You're up, Alphonse!" Hughes shouted. Al then looked around.
"Where's Road?" He asked.
"She went through this checkered door." Riza explained. "She's already left. I'll need to call the cleanup unit from the Shield."
"Shield?" Kanda looked at Al as he nodded and walked past the Japanese Samurai. "Alphonse, what is she talking about?"
Al looked at him. "You'll see when we get back."
"The Silver Shield." Alphonse explained. "Is the small organization my Master had formed shortly after my brother was released from Central. He had formed it specially for his own use, so he wouldn't need to borrow any CROW members. It's based in London, Great Britain. There's an outpost nearby in Berlin."
They returned back to Ling's apartment, and Lan Fan was letting them stay over for dinner. They had finished eating, and Al decided to start the storytelling.
"The Silver Shield is just as what it means. If the Black Order is the fighter, then the Silver Shield is the weapon. The Shield exists to assist the Order at a distance. Also, since Alchemic Innocence at the time was frowned upon, Roy set it up as an advanced training program for those who have Alchemic Innocence. He's apparently been the only one Marshall authorized to take in Exorcists with Alchemic Innocence as apprentices, since he's Inspector and all.
"Well, The Silver Shield used to only have me, brother, Riza, Hughes and a bunch of other people, mostly really good Finders. Only five Exorcists and ten finders. So far, we've only got about fifty people in the organization, so it's really, really small. I think that's because it's hard for Finders to get into the Shield, since Master as really high standards."
"So what does that have to do with the second option?" Ling asked.
"The Shield members are based worldwide, so immediate action can be easily taken. Since we have golems, we can keep contact all over The United States, Europe and Asia. So that means, you as an Exorcist, can be based here, keep the Akuma out of the perimeters, and if duty calls, you can meet at the rendezvous point we assign you. You don't have to leave your home and live in the Order. As long as you have your golem with you, we can contact you, and vice versa. As for training, there's a base nearby, in Berlin, for Shield members to train. You can visit HQ in London to do extra training."
Kanda was impressed with Al's ability to persuade and explain, since Ling smiled and nodded in acceptance.
"So how do I get in?"
"You just got in, Ling." Al smiled. "For Exorcists, there's no need to go through any physical challenges."
Al reached into his pocket, and he gave Ling a bat-like machine with a silver crest on the back of its head.
"As long as you have the golem, you're part of the team." Al smiled. "I just need to report you to Master, and he'll understand."
"Why so down, Road?" Lulubell asked the older Noah.
"Just thinking…" Road frowned. Lulubell and Tyki raised an eyebrow.
"Now, now," Tyki smiled. "That's not like you… If anything's bothering you, please tell us."
"I don't need to…" Road got up from the sofa in the living room, and she turned back on them, walking to her room. She entered her room, which was decorated to her liking: Pinstripe black and white walls, the comfort of a warm yellow bedpost lamp, shelves lined with stuffed animals, and a nice purple and pink bed to sleep in, if she wanted to. She looked at her pure white dresser where her mirror stood staring at her. She looked away, not wishing to see her darkened face from crying.
Road looked at the mirror again. Her golden eyes no longer showed the glint of mischievous playfulness. Her hair had grown less spiky and more normal, flattening out on the top of her head and falling down in locks. Alarmed by her new appearance, she looked at the many stuffed animals that filled her room. She hated them now. But why? How come Alphonse could change her so much, and not Allen? She could see the big similarity between the two boys, but why Alphonse Elric?
'If you love Allen so much, then why don't you look for him yourself?'
' You're probably stronger than all of us combined, you have the sources to find Allen. You're a Noah, and he's your brother.'
'If you really want to spend time with him as soon as possible, why are you standing back?'
The words had hit her. The first time she met Allen, she was in love with him. She wanted to have him, and he with her. She wanted… She wanted.
But the white-haired Exorcist didn't see her as that at all. He probably said words similar to Alphonse's but, those didn't shake her at all. Neither did Lenalee's when Road had broke Lavi and pitted him against Allen at the Battle for the Ark. But, why was it Alphonse, to break from her grasp so quickly and then break her instead? She thought of all possibilities but none could match.
"A-Alphonse… what a strange name…" She muttered, drumming away at the collecting dust at a windowsill she so many times neglected. Usually, she was bored quite easily, but now she acquired a new activity- thought. She thought of those words, over and over again.
'He's your brother. Why are you standing back.'
Why she only watched the world around her spin and fall? That was because the Earl told them to do. That was because he told the Noah to do. That was what he told her to do. Noah weren't meant to be participators, more like watchers, and when the party begins, they jump in. When the festivities of life fade, they exit sight or existence, waiting for the next party to begin. It was very much, like a play, where actors whiz through and by the stage.
But Allen Walker, was truly the Fourteenth, the dear brother who had betrayed the eldest brother of the Noah family. He himself had a brother, Mana Walker. Of course, this strange Noah genuinely cared for all of his family members, but he was still quite more rebellious than anyone else. He defied the laws, and he was forsaken to a different path… no… was it a better path? She had watched Allen Walker roam the streets with his "friends," chattering like any normal teenager would. Of course, the Noah themselves had chats like these, but never as close as what she had seen. Had the Fourteenth really been luckier than she?
She was the Noah of Dreams, and he, the Noah of Desires. Dreams meant many things, possibly Desire, if one could understand deeper meaning. What was her dream now? To watch the world spin round and then crumble so her older brother could laugh, with her younger family members? She was the oldest Noah, after all…
Now she realized what she had missed. Allen Walker was the Fourteenth… a brother with rebellious behavior… not simply a human toy to be tampered with, like she had done to him back at the Rewinding Town… He was human, still… She wondered if he had fully become a Noah at all…
Humans… they have bouncing emotions, they might not even control them if they want to… She remembered the time when she commanded an Akuma to commit suicide, and that drove Allen ballistic, only to be saved by Lenalee, that other Exorcist. She didn't really care for the others, just Allen. Allen. Allen. But back then, she didn't know the boy was the 14th. When she realized that she was hurting her own brother, she dropped her head in despair.
Family members can tease each other anytime, but they should never do so to the point of really breaking each other.
She never met Allen again after the Ark, yet the others had seen him. Lulubell had seen him a month later, and was so close to bringing him back to her, but the effort failed. By then, she now knew that he was her brother…
Then no one heard from him again. She hadn't gone out to play with her marionette Exorcists for a while, so she was quite slow on the news, just that she knew that Allen had gone missing. She had worried for him all the time now, like an older sister to a younger brother, despite the fact that the brother was sometimes getting the sister's way.
But then came Alphonse Elric. Come to think of it, he looked so much like Allen. The only difference the color of his eyes, and his hair (almost), and maybe his stature, but height was anything she should care about.
'I'll be waiting for you at the Gate… whenever you want to…'
"And how can you do that?" Road spoke to no one, and no one answered her. "You're a strange person, Alphonse. You sound just like that Hoeinheim."
For the first time, she actually blushed red at the thought. Thank goodness no one saw her just yet.
"I figured." Roy frowned. "As much as Road Kamelot is devoted to following the Earl's goals, she has goals of her own. I'm sure she loves destruction, but her infatuation with Allen Walker will be a great key to her turnover."
Roy was settled in a sofa with Ed opposite his end. Al was seated opposite.
"I'm still not sure about this, Master," Al shook his head. "As much as Road seems willing to change, I don't think we can tell if she's truly feeling so."
Lavi and Kanda stood about behind Al, listening intently.
"Well, what's done is done," Roy smirked, hinting a small snarky comment. "You finished the mission, got a new member to the Shield, and made a Noah fall head over heels for you. Seems that Road is a bit interested in you… Quite a lucky guy, aren't you?"
Alphonse paled, and Ed snickered. The younger brother then began to regret telling the entire mission to his Master.
"What do you mean?" Alphonse pretended he didn't hear that. Roy smiled.
"We all saw your golem's records, it's quite interesting, seeing what you did in the dream world…"
"You planning anything, yet?" Ed joked. "I'll be happy to be your best man…"
"Shut up, Brother!" Al slapped his brother in annoyance, turning beet red. "It's nothing like that!"
Lavi began to laugh like crazy at Al's reaction. Kanda gave a small smile to take in the humor.
"Oh, my sides are hurting!!" Lavi continued to laugh so hard he fell to the floor with a comedic crash. Al began to pop a vein.
"Honestly!!!"
Kanda then began to laugh softly, and Lavi got up to his feet immediately.
"Oh? Yuu-chan?" He asked. "Why are you laughing? Isn't this the first time you've actually laughed?"
Kanda's amused look then reverted back to his angry face and sent a death glare at him.
"I wasn't laughing." The Japanese samurai said angrily. "Shut up, idiot rabbit."
"Come on, Kanda!" Ed followed up Lavi's comment. "Loosen up! Otherwise, you'll die young!"
"Shut up, short stack!"
Snap.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SHORT STACK!?"
"Why are you pairing me with a Noah…" Al complained softly.
Roy sighed and left the squabbling Exorcists behind, and he paled when he heard a sword being drawn and a quick clapping of alchemy, and then that's when he really had to sprint back to the office.
"Hey! Not the papers!!!"
A/N: Yay! Long chapter! And double chapter this week because I'm happy (sorta).