Fullmetal Exorcist – Chapter 13 – The Blue Rose
The next day consisted of rants from Ed about Claire calling him a pipsqueak, and Kanda was as cranky as ever. Apparently, he refused to eat at the cafeteria since the chef there refused to make soba, because he didn't know how. Then Armstrong came in and tore his shirt off and began to cook real soba, prancing on about how cooking international varieties of food was passed down the Armstrong family for generations… (Hey… this ring a bell?) Kanda had grumpily accepted the soba, and ate it silently.
"Where to?" Ed asked. "Tourism?"
"No," Ross sternly remarked against Ed's sense of humor. "We're going to see Majahal again. He has some answers we need."
"Ah, yes," Majahal smiled. "Karin… I remember her…"
Ed, Ross, Krory, Kanda, and Chaoji sat down listening.
"She was a well-known florist around these parts, and the exquisite beauty of her flowers were surpassed only by her own. I can't believe it's been twenty years now…"
Majahal looked the plain daylight past the window. "She had recently succeeded in cultivating the extremely rare blue rose…"
With an amused sigh, he continued. "Oh, the woman's smile at the time was simply… but then… on her way to deliver her… by then, famous, blue roses into town… Her wagon broke down, and so she fell down to her death that day, and out of all of our lives forever…"
Ed raised an eyebrow. "But they say a same woman named Karin has been terrorizing the villagers."
Majahal looked up fiercely and used a soft voice. "Absolutely impossible. We both know that the dead don't simply come back to life."
Ed was about to say something but said nothing.
Majahal continued. "And even if you knew Karin at all, you'd know that she wouldn't do things to harm anyone in life or death."
Kanda and Ed frowned. Majahal then got up.
"Well, I need to get some groceries form the town. I'll trust the house to you for the moment, kay?"
The moment the door closed behind him, Ed looked up. Kanda and Chaoji did the same. A strange piercing shriek echoed softly in the house.
"So what do you think, guys?" Ross asked as they were back at the outpost.
"Well," Kanda frowned. "I don't buy anything ghost or zombies or the living dead."
"But," Ed added. "Suppose the Earl was able to summon someone from the dead… But the no one would be able to do that around here. We have no Exorcists…"
"Contractors…" Armstrong added. "Those who work for the Earl. It could be anyone around the town. A search party can prove difficult."
"Um… guys?" Chaoji raised a hand, and everyone turned to him. Brosh smiled.
"What is it?"
"I remember hearing a strange screeching sound from behind an unopened door behind the corridor in Majahal's home. You heard it, right, Ed? Kanda?"
"Yeah." Ed nodded. Kanda only nodded and said nothing. Chaoji continued his thoughts.
"Maybe we should check there again. I think Majahal could be the contractor, or even the Akuma."
"Akuma?" Brosh turned blue. "Uh-oh…"
"Well, let's get back to the graveyard again," Ed got up. "And retrace our steps from there. "That way, we'll be able to get back on track again."
Being a young slender girl at age seventeen, Claire tended to hind her body behind baggy clothing as she sat in a pub her father worked at. She was adjusting the paper boy hat on her head as her friends gave uncomfortable looks at her.
"You sure you're through with this, Clare?" One of them asked.
"I have to," Claire frowned. "And yes, we're going catch this Karin zombie on our own, cause no one else is going to do it for us. I've managed to snag a gun from Dad's room, so we can use it."
Another sighed in exasperation, and Claire slammed her hands down on the table.
"What?!" She demanded. "You wussing out on me?! If this keeps up, someone else will get killed!! And it could be you!"
"Yeah…" the boy tried to reason. "But what if-"
A clatter of a plate on the floor alarmed the teenagers, and her father was getting a bit ticked off. An elderly woman, as for you readers know, the same Lenny, was staring at a broken plate on the floor.
"Hey, woman!" The man at the counter snapped. "What are you trying to do? Give me an ulcer?"
"I…I'm sorry…"
Claire then looked back at her friends. "So we'll make our move tonight. We've got two hours… got that?"
All seven of Black Order and Shield members made their way throught the graveyard again.
"Guys!!!" Brosh whined. "Wait for me!!!"
"What's with you, Brosh?" Ed asked. "You scared?"
Brosh straightened. NO!!! I must be bold before my boss! Otherwise he might demote me!!! I don't want to be a Finder again!!!
"No! I'm not scared." He answered, and then cowered slightly. "There aren't any zombies around here, are there?"
"Admit it," Kanda growled. "You're scared."
"Don't be think, Brosh," Ed looked straight forward. "If there were was a Karin roaming these woods, that would only be thanks to Akuma or something, which is the only reason we're here- GAH!!"
Kanda had little time to calculate as he found himself walking on no ground, and tumbling after Ed, Krory, and Chaoji into a pit trap. Brosh swung his arms too much and toppled in.
"Yeah!!! We got her!!!" A cluster of boys rushed over to the trap. Claire was amongst them, too. She hoped to see the ghost woman, but instead she say a dog pile of people on top of Ed.
"O-Ow…" Ed groaned… "M-My… back…
"Oh," She sighed. "False alarm!"
"C-Claire?" One of the boys began to shiver, and pointed to the sight before them. Claire's eyes widened as her grip on the hidden gun tightened.
There was the ghost woman, apparently slightly transparent, but with the same look over and over again. Brown hair… dark brown eyes… and this time she wore a white sundress and yellow ribbon…
The boys were so scared they ran away, leaving Claire behind with the Exorcists.
She immediately drew her gun to shoot, but her aim was so bad it missed and grazed a plaque of marble instead. Then a series of shots fired behind her, and each struck the ghost woman, the bullets intact inside the apparition. Claire turned and saw Ross, with her own gun held out. The barrel smoked from the sheer speed of her bullets and she put it away. Everyone who fell into the pit trap got out, thanks to Ed's alchemy, and they watched the ghost woman stand there, unmoving.
"It's an Akuma, all right…" Armstrong frowned. "But it's strange…"
Immediately, the ghost burst into flames, producing a screeching sound from its lips as the licking embers clashed with the soul, and the it collapsed like burnt charcoal to the ground.
Chaoji gasped in realization. "That… sound… it screeched… again…"
"Are you all right?" Majahal, was rushing in, sweating on his damp forehead. Claire was still dumbfounded by the scene, and stared with unmoving eyes.
"What was that?" Ed asked.
"It looks like it self-destructed," Ross described. Kanda kept staring.
"If the beansprout were here," Krory began. "We would've known by now."
"I don't know…" Majahal sighed. "But I wish I knew… All I did was through a matchstick at the ghost. I didn't think it would work, though."
Ed and Kanda looked up. Something was off… How come he was here so easily?
They looked at each other. They're going to get this case down for sure.
The festival began with flashing lights. Ross, Armstrong, Krory, Chaoji, and Brosh were enjoying themselves as they talked. They had told Ed and Kanda that they should leave the case off for just one night and were here at the picnic tables Ed saw earlier, watching the sky light up and pronouncing toasts with the other adults.
"To Majahal! A real hero!" A villager shouted.
"Yeah, Majahal!"
"Thanks to you, the ghost lady is gone for good."
They were congratulating Majahal, who sat at a table only to be swarmed by many villagers to be praised for getting rid the ghost woman. Krory then noticed something.
"Wait…" He turned to Brosh. "You've seen Edward and Kanda anywhere?"
"Oi, short stack," Kanda frowned. "What are we doing?"
"What else?" Ed snapped back. "We're going to find the source of that sound. And don't call me short stack."
"Whatever," Kanda shook it off, and Ed opened the door that Majahal never opened. They walked down a long corridor that seemed like a mysterious jungle of cardboard boxes lying around, then they stopped short, feeling a strange presence before them.
"Majahal would be very cross if he finds out that you're here." An old lady's voice made them take a step back. Ed and Kanda then recognized it. The lady was Lenny, the one who gave Majahal rose jam the other night.
"He doesn't like it when people snoop around his home."
"OH?" Ed challenged her, "And what do you call what you're doing?"
Kanda kept his furious eyes on the old woman, noticing a small glow of blue in her hair, but he didn't pay attention to that. The woman didn't answer and she merely stood there with the candle in her hands and she seemed to be waiting. Kanda's impatience grew.
"Answer, lady!"
But Lenny did something else instead. She rose the candle in parallel to Ed's eyes, and Ed began to experience a strange sensation in his body as it began to shake furiously.
A quick intake of breath at the sight of the candlelight and another strange power made Ed stagger and rack his brain painfully. Kanda noticed an abnormality and tried to reach for Ed before he crashed down, but Ed leaned sideways and hit a loose door instead, which he opened by accident and fell down. Although his eyes were bleary, he looked up and saw what he least expected. Dolls. Many dolls, but with the same exact face and features. The face… was so familiar… Brown hair… brown narrow dark eyes… where did he see it?!
"What the hell…?"
Ed immediately collapsed on the floor of the next room the next moment. Kanda gasped.
"Oi, short stack!" He shouted. "Get up!"
He then shuddered and turned to see Majahal with a strange wristband glowing red. He himself stumbled slightly and he saw the nasty grin on the man's face.
"D-Damn… you…" Kanda snarled as he began to lose vision and clattered to the hardwood ground. Majahal grinned as Lenny looked at the two unconscious boys with sympathy.
"Now, they will make good sacrifices, will they, Lenny?"
"Y-Yes… Majahal…"
"Get me a chain, Lenny."
"Y-Yes…"
"Maria?"
Ed's subordinate looked down at the teenage girl she had befriended for so long.
"Yes, Claire?"
"I want to go thank Majahal for what he's done earlier. He left to his home already to get some peace. Can you come with me? I don't like going in the dark alone."
Ross smiled. "Of course. Say… why don't we bring Armstrong, Brosh, and the other two along. I'm sure they're in for some quiet, no?"
Claire smiled.
"Don't worry," Ross smiled. "You're in safe hands. If you want to talk to him on your own, We'll wait outside for you."
Ed slowly opened his groggy eyes and began to stir quite noisily. He was inside the same room again, except in another location.
"Oi, short stack," Kanda's voice snapped him from his daze. "You awake?"
"Barely," Ed groaned.
"At last," Majahal's voice made them look up in the dim lighting. "You're awake. It appears you have stumbled across something you should have never seen, Edward Elric, and Kanda Yuu."
Ed and Kanda began to remember everything that they saw before they were tied up. It couldn't be… it couldn't be…
"Oh," Ed started. "You mean… your so-called zombies? Yeah, I saw your toys! This is a work of Innocence, ain't it?"
"Toys?" Majahal taunted. "No, they're canvases for spirit attachments. You see, I have an Innocence right here in my brain…"
He pointed to the small of his head. Ed gasped.
"Alchemic Innocence!"
"And it allows me knowledge of how to bond souls to inanimate objects, granting the soul freedom of mobility and tangibility in another entity. The mannequins you see here are the ones I use to carve souls in exact replicas of my beautiful Karin onto which I bind the soul of any village girl I can snare on. In doing so, I make living versions of my fallen love."
"But ripping souls out of someone?!" Kanda shouted. "That is not the ideal of Innocence!"
"Oh, I almost forgot," The strange man cackled. "Your friend Chaoji was correct. I am a contractor of the Earl. I have been granted more possibilities to enhancing my Innocence because of dark matter. Now pulling souls is much more efficient."
"It's shocking that plan ever went awry," Ed's eyebrows knitted together.
"It is true that souls tend to reject foreign vessels that are unlike them in nature," Majahal explained. "They usually tend to malfunction, even with Innocence. That's why Alchemic Innocence combined with Dark Matter is so special."
Kanda grit his teeth, finding a way to help himself and Ed, but no avail. Ed apparently was bound in a way he couldn't perform alchemy.
"Some of my dolls escaped, running free about the village, fueling superstition," Majahal kept on. Ed jerked at the chains, and Kanda growled at the other for having pulled the chain from him as he was trying to break it.
"You crazy selfish nutcase!!" Ed shouted. "Do you even know what you've done?! Why the hell did you do it?!"
Majahal looked down at the floor avoiding Ed's glare.
"For the same reason any man that has doing something that is visionary. Karin was the only woman I have ever loved. Even years after her death, my scars refused to heal. Of course, the Earl tracked me down and asked me if I wanted to see Karin again, but once he realized my Innocence, he decided to see if you would come after me by making me his spy, granting me access to Dark Matter when necessary, and he told me a good plan to get Karin back myself."
Kanda grasped the chain again, trying to break the small link.
"So I committed myself to bringing her back, using the only talents I had at my disposal, Alchemy to perform human transmutation." He then sighed. "But after my failed attempt and the Earl's generous offer of Dark Matter, the least I could do was create something that resembled her beauty. I did it for love."
"So you chose body or soul…" Ed disagreed with the man's ideas. "That's sick."
"Shut up," the man clambered forward and slapped Ed full on the face. Lenny, who hid in the shadows, winced as Ed panted heavily. Kanda's face for the first time was beaded with sweat. If Majahal plans to do anything serious, they've got to get out, quick!
"You're only a child," Majahal taunted the other Exorcist behind him and backhanded the captive blond, making the boy's head crank the other direction from his original position.
"You're only a child," he repeated. "How could you possibly understand love?!"
He then lifted Ed by the collar and held the boy's face to his, a nasty grin on his lips. Kanda took full brute of it, feeling his hands pulled back at more discomforting levels, but his hand still on a link of the chain. Ed's feet barely reached the ground. The hand on the collar then moved to Ed's neck, and he began to choke a bit. Ed had been through this before, and he never wanted it again, but all that harsh treatment five years ago had hardened his ability to survive, so his breathing patterns seemed quite normal even with the viper grip on his windpipe.
"But," The man continued. "You do know something about Alchemy, and now you're going to help me with the attachment of another creation of mine."
Ed spat in his face. "Yeah, right!"
Another sickening crack, but this time a punch, made Ed grunt in pain as Kanda felt his arms pulled back even more. Damn! He thought. How the hell was he going to loosen these chains if his work keeps getting interrupted?!
"It figures," Majahal kept on. "You're just as stubborn as your father."
Ed struggled against the man's grip on his neck. "What the hell do you know about the bastard?!"
"Aha," Majahal smiled. "He was the man who gave this Innocence Fragment, and this happened after Karin's death. I asked if he wanted me to use it to bring her back with it, but he said no, and didn't want to help me. So yes, you're stubborn. If not more so, your father, The Eastern Sage, was."
Kanda wondered at the term the Eastern Sage. But a creaking of a door alarmed them. Ed was getting tired of the abuse to his head, and ever since he had woken up, he was still quite drowsy, but he could see.
"Majahal… I just wanted… to thank you for earlier…"
It was Claire, watching with wide eyes, as she saw Majahal choking Ed. Ed was quite dazed from a few blows as if Majahal had hit him up a bit before she came. Kanda was opposite head, back to back, but slightly standing as the two's hands were chained together, and his head was bowed, allowing his side bangs to hid away his concentrated eyes as he was trying to free himself.
"Ed…? Kanda? W-What's going on?"
"What's taking Claire so long?" Brosh complained. He really liked the food they had back at the festival, he wanted more. Krory and Chaoji patiently tapped their feet. Ross frowned.
"Yes… she has been taking too long. It shouldn't take her long to go look for Majahal in such a small house in the first place…"
She then gasped when she recalled what Ed and Kanda discussed earlier.
"I remember the screeching sound twice now… We should see about that house some time soon…"
"Come on, boys!" She drew her gun and prepared it. "We're going in."
Ed snapped into action, but Majahal managed to throw him, along with Kanda, at a nearby wall, leaving a cracked imprint on the plaster surface. Claire was quite shocked, indeed. Why would Majahal do such a thing.
"Run!!! Clause!!! Don't let him get to you!!" Ed mustered up strength to yell. Claire stopped herself from paralysis as she saw the man pounce on her. Immediately, she side-stepped him, and got to work. Claire crouched a bit before jumping and spinning to kick his back and send him straight at the floor. Landing perfectly, she was immediately heading for the two boys, assisting Kanda with pulling the chains apart.
"Ed? Why are you chained up?" She asked. Ed was quite surprised at how Claire could put up a good fight. Maybe he should ask her about it later. But a looming shadow towered over them, and Ed gasped.
"Claire! Look out!"
But it was too late. A hand patted her gently at the back of her head and her eyes became unfocused. She closed those eyes and clattered to the floor like a broken marionette with cut strings. Ed's breathing became more desperate. Lenny, who had been watching, came from her spectator's corner and tried to stop Majahal.
"It's gone too far!" She cried. "I can't turn a blind eye any longer."
Majahal's eyes turned bloodshot as he pushed her away. "Then you should turning the other cheek!"
The woman gasped before falling back on the floor, and Majahal proceeded to take Claire away bridal style to another room across, creating a wall of black stone behind him to block the door. Ed grit his teeth in frustration, and tugged at the chains again. He slumped back on Kanda, and scowled.
"Kanda!" He shouted. "Do something!"
"Shut it, short stack!" Kanda snarled and he finally had time to break it. The chain fell away like spaghetti noodles dangling from a fork, and the two immediately tried to help Lenny up. But they saw another thing. Kanda saw it before, but he didn't expect to see it again. A blue rose petal, glowing solemnly in the dim light, was resting upon the woman's coarse brown-gray hair.
"A rare blue rose…" Ed repeated the detail again… Then his eyes widened upon realization. All the pieces fit. This hair… if aged less… could have been… those eyes… if aged less… could also have been… no way!!
A shuffle of footsteps ensued, and Ed saw at the door, his two subordinates, Armstrong, and the two Exorcists he was grouped with.
"Major Elric!" Ross shouted. "What's going on!? And what's with the bruises on your face?!"
"Not now!" Ed got up with Kanda, pulling Lenny up. "We need to get into the next room pronto!"
They raced to the door, but Ed stopped them.
"Damnit…" Ed swore, and Ross and Brosh gulped at the notion. Of course Edward Elric swore, just about a lot, but if he could say it so freely right now, something was on his nerves…
"What is it?" Chaoji asked, not knowing that questioning Ed was a bad thing.
"Whaddaya think!!?? The damn bastard used Dark Matter and Alchemic Innocence to create a barrier of Akuma dust!"
He then reached out with the bundle that Mustang had brought him: Alphonse's extra set of alkahestry knives. He knew a lot of theory himself, but the boy never tried it before. Using alkahestry would help him avoid getting damage from the Akuma dust, so he set the knives in place on the wall and onto the wooden floor. Shortly after, he clapped his hands together and placed them onto the array on the floor.
"Little soul…" Majahal's voice echoed in the room. A purple glowed form a large inscribed circle and cast light upon the shelves of empty dolls that were ready for use. The light was accompanied with a large screeching hum.
"Accept your new vessel… Wherever you are, Karin, bless us… Let her become just like you…"
Claire was awakened by the noise, and she realized just what was happening as she found herself in the middle of the circle, and was bound to a chair with cord. She tugged and pulled at the bindings.
"No!!" She wailed. "Let me go!"
Her desperate pants for freedom became harsher, but a crackle of blue alchemy swept through the wall behind Majahal, and he turned.
"What?!" He exclaimed. "My Akuma Dust wall was destroyed?!"
The wall crumbled away, and there was Edward, his hands placed before him. Kanda, had drawn his sword. Chaoji cracked his fists, and Krory bared his sharp teeth. Ross and Brosh had guns at the ready, and Armstrong was assisting Lenny.
"Let her go, Majahal," Ed demanded surprisingly calmly. "Nothing you think you know is the truth, and what you've been seeking all along has been under your nose!"
"Fools!" Majahal snarled. "You know… with my control over Dark Matter… that means I can use Akuma against you!"
Brosh gasped. "Y-You… wouldn't dare…"
"Of course I would!" Majahal cackled as the roof above them broke, and they were instantly showered with Akuma bullets. Ross and Brosh tried best to shoot them down so Ed and the Exorcists could finish them. Armstrong pulled Lenny away from the bullets' range. Since Kanda, Chaoji, and Krory finished this small amount of Akuma so easily and were searching for more, he decided to face Majahal alone.
When he looked at the purple glowing circle, he saw only Claire. Spinning around, he barely calculated what happened when Majahal got him in the face again. They exchanged blows before Majahal was tired. Ed had gotten to the extent to transmuting a nearby rock into a feasible weapon, a long sword, just like Kanda's. He knew Majahal was stalling so the process could be complete.
"This is nonsense!" He shouted. "What do you want now?!"
"I'm trying to say that Karin never died!" Ed defiantly yelled, and he saw from the corner of his eye his comrades coming back. "The day of the accident, she hit her head, lost her memory, and started a new life somewhere!"
Majahal stopped for a moment and looked at Ed.
"Twenty years later," Ed brandished his sword. "Her memories came back in a flash, and in a true gesture of love, she came straight back to you!"
Majahal frowned at Ed's statements.
"But you were too blinded by obsession to see it was her!" Ed shouted. He turned to Armstrong and Lenny.
"Armstrong?" He commanded.
"Yes, sir," He led Lenny, still cloaked, to the front line, and she put down her hood, revealing an aged face of someone who used to be so beautiful. A blue full rose was clipped to the side of her head.
"Yes… my love…" She uttered, and Majahal immediately stopped the procedure.
"You can't…" Majahal took several steps back. Ross quietly snuck behind him and cut the ropes for Claire. "You're telling me this wrinkled old woman is Karin?"
He took a step back in disbelief. "Karin was a woman of incomparable beauty and perfection! Just like a rose…"
Krory had had it. He had been patient this whole time, and he's lost it now. He had loved someone himself, and lost her… Eliade… he missed her…
Letting his cape sweep in the wind, he bellowed with his confident tone. "Exactly like a rose! Flowers wither, Majahal! But despite what you've become, Karin's feelings have not!"
"Silence, fools!" Majahal bowed his head in anger. "Say one more word…"
The dark aura of an Akuma rose to infinite levels, and Ed was getting quite worried himself.
"AND YOU'RE DEAD!!!" Majahal grabbed a nearby chisel and transformed it into a long sword. Charging at Ed, he readied his sword, but Kanda blocked his sword his Mugen, easily blowing back his opponent, and Majahal stepped back clumsily, and a familiar click of gun… more than one gun made him freeze.
"Please, sir Majahal," Ross held her arm steady. Brosh did the same. Claire did the same, too, but her arm was still quite shaky. Majahal ignored them, and went charging again anyways. Kanda was about to go again, but Ed was quicker this time. He snatched the blue rose from Karin/Lenny's head and threw it to the floor. He transmuted it into a fabulously soft silk ribbon. He swung the ribbon expertly at Majahal, and easily disarmed him, sending the sword spinning into the air.
Everyone thought it was over by now… but Ed gasped. The sword dropped down again, and this time, the blade's end reached the floor, impaling Majahal square in the chest. Karin gasped, and she run to the dying man.
"Majahal!!!" She cried desperately her voice fell to a whisper. "Majahal!"
"I…" Majahal gasped, blood trailing from his mouth. "I don't believe… how you… could Karin… my Karin…"
He ignored her precious cries and saw the dolls that had fallen from the broken shelves.
"Karin…" He whispered. "I'm coming for you…"
Karin tried to hold back wails of despair, but she couldn't. She got up, pulled the bloody sword out of Majahal's chest, and everyone was shocked at what she could do.
"Karin!! Lenny!!" Armstrong tried to run for her. "No!!"
Too late… once again. Blood of another corpse flowed over the old, and the two lovers, separated by accident and never reunited happily, lay dead.
Claire dropped her gun. She had just seen death first hand, and she fell to her knees to cry. Ross bent down to comfort her. Ed frowned deeply. He didn't cry, like most teens would do if they were stuck in this situation.
He merely creased his eyebrows, and held a thin lip. His hands began to clench fiercely, and the small breeze from the crevices of the room brushed his hair gently. He looked at Majahal's peaceful expression again, and noticed a green substance flowing from the dead's hand. Innocence was reforming itself, cleansing itself of impurities Majahal had thrown upon it. Ed picked it up, and pocketed it without further question and looked at the scene again.
Krory was amazed. He had to cry himself, since he watched a man be killed at the hands of a stray sword, and then the man's lover take her own life. It somehow seemed logical, if one couldn't bear to live after that and feared the making of an Akuma, but it seemed immoral on the other side of the scale. Decisions must have been hard to make. But this boy was so unnerved by it. He must upset and remorseful, but not a bit emotional enough.
"Come on," Ed turned on his heel, and he pointed to the door. He approached Claire and held out his hand to her.
"You all right now?" He asked. She nodded meekly, and took the help gratefully, getting onto her feet and following them out the door. Kanda took a glance back, noticing the many leftover dolls. The sight still made him sick, so he turned away and left the house. Afterward, they had decided to burn the house and leave, since there was no need for anyone to go back or come or leave. Ed reminded himself to document the event for Lavi.
The case is done, and Ed finished his report first thing in the morning. He, Kanda, Chaoji, and Krory began to go back to the train station they waited for. His subordinates, Brosh and Ross, were asked to come with him to Home for official housing for the moment. Armstrong tagged along, rejoiced to hear that the rest of Mustang's team had already arrived at the Order's headquarters with no injuries. Kanda was sitting in one of the benches, his arms folded, and face staring up at the stone ceiling. A familiar click of unequal footsteps made him look forward again at golden orbs of curiosity.
"Glad to see you're all the depressed and normal again…" Ed smirked at Kanda's indifferent face. His skill at reading emotions was so well he could see Kanda's feelings. It was no use arguing with the Fullmetal Alchemist. Damn… Lavi would tease him for being so damn soft. He frowned and got up from his seat.
The Japanese samurai sighed. "I was just thinking how that Innocence could be used to delude people, too."
Ed looked at the approaching train. "Yeah… guess it does…"
The whistling of the train didn't stop him from hearing a hurried running to him.
"Hey!!"
Ed turned and saw Claire, but in the most unexpected way. Brosh and Chaoji gawked at her appearance. She had let her hair down, and she wore a denim jacket, a white undershirt and a denim miniskirt. Some reason, the look reminded Kanda of Lenalee.
"I'm sorry," She looked nervously away. "For what I said about you guys… you're really amazing Exorcists after all!"
"Coming to say goodbye?" Ross asked. Claire shook her head and showed them a suitcase.
"I'm coming with you guys," she stated. "To Headquarters! My dad got a call from Roy Mustang to let me go with you guys to see him."
Ed contemplated for a moment. He was sure if Master wanted Claire for something, he would have to let her come along. Armstrong then smiled.
"Hop in! We've gotta board before the train takes off again, right?"
Claire beamed as she hurried after Ed and Kanda aboard with everyone else following Krory then looked at Armstrong.
"Children these days are so lively, aren't they?" He asked.
"Yes, very much indeed."
They watched as Ed, Claire, and sometimes Kanda, talked freely.
"Hey, Claire?"
"What?"
"How come you could take down Majahal like that?"
"I learned it from a kind man with blond hair and glasses when he stayed for a year at my town. He had to leave when the Exorcists came to build a base for you Silver Shield."
"Wow," Ed raised an eyebrow, impressed.
"Oh, and by the way," Ed smirked. "You definitely look much better when you're not dressed like a paper boy."
Claire flushed bright red and pulled out the same newsboy hat from her suitcase and tucked her hair under it. Then she proceeded to slap Ed in the face.
"Hey! You know how many times that nutcase of your uncle hit me there before you came?!"
At the back of Ed's head, the description that Claire gave him was enough proof for a bit of suspicion.
A/N: Yay! The Majahal Arc is finished. And bonus points for making the two latest chapters so long. The reason why was because the next chapter is one that probably will get some people excited. Therefore, I compressed the Majahal Arc into two chapters. Before I cut the chapter in half when Majahal knocks Ed and Kanda out, but I changed that, of course. I don't know what happens to Lenny in the anime, since they only had the part when Lenny cries when Majahal dies and just skipped to the part when Ed and Al leave and Claire says goodbye. So I assumed that she committed suicide, since we don't see her anymore. And because I feel like giving Claire a bigger role later on in the story, I bumped her age up from ten to seventeen, so she about Lenalee's age at the moment. Currently, I'm frustratin over the fact that my line breaks are going to be changed... I like to be very consistent, and changing isn't helping me at all. Preview for the following two chapters, as a bonus.
Chapter 14: First Days - Another special chapter! Ed, Kanda, Claire, Krory, and Chaoji, along with the Finders of the Silver Shield, return to Headquarters to be greeted by Lavi and Roy. Roy contemplates the little time he has left. Meanwhile, We delve back into Ed and Al's past once more, but in the viewpoint of a certain character who has yet to appear. And... just as a very small apology in advance in case you want say "OMG, how dare you do that to _____!" I apologize for putting a small dash of sadism in the this upcoming chapter.
Chapter 15: Order #3066 - A week after the events of Majahal, Ed, Al, Lavi, and Kanda discuss with Roy the two goals: 1) saving Allen, and 2) finding Van Hoeinheim. Ed does not take the news lightly, and neither does Al. Lavi and Kanda questions their uneasiness of seeing their father again, and Roy tells of a long-forgotten purge, called Order #3066.
Ah! Yes! The Silver Shield. I forgot to tell everyone how that name came up. The name is based on the Red Shield from Blood Plus, which, in my opinion, is an okay anime (those who can't take blood well, don't watch it. I have warned you). I put silver instead of red because the original Exorcist uniform was silver and black, and since the Black Order is... well, the Black Order, I wanted to put a color-coded organization corresponding to the color themes. This organization was formed before the change in uniforms.
Please Review, and if you want to give a guess at which new person will appear next chapter, feel free to give a shout out. It's not an OC, by the way. In this story, I'm trying my best not to make or use any OCs as part of the main cast. Ryan was an exception, since he was briefly mentioned in Fullmetal by name only (actually, Rose's boyfriend in the manga was actually Kyle, but I thought Ryan sounded better for some reason at the moment). As for my Youtube page that some people ask for, I've posted a link from my profile page. As of right, it won't be that useful, since I haven't posted anything cool yet, like the animation of DGray-man I'm working on. I've only posted three alternate openings.