Fullmetal Exorcist - Chapter 15 – Order #3066
Hoeinheim silently made his way through a bustling street of a busy city. His senses took in all the conversations he picked up around the city, and he sighed inwardly. He had no time for polite talking. He desperately needed to get to the destination, to check for something one more time.
He was merely a week of constant travel away from his supposed checkpoint. First he would stop by in the Vatican for a moment, and then to London. From there, he would conduct careful planning, with some allies, he hoped relentlessly. All he had to do was find directions. He was immediately knocked aside slightly by a panicking man with blond hair.
This stranger had lengthy hair that was pleated into a neat braid, his bangs short in a neat line upon his forehead, and at the middle of the forehead, the golden locks parted, with two black dots in a line perpendicular to the line made by his bangs. He wore a black overcoat, so a great portion of his attire was sealed away. His hazel sharp eyes were wildly looking about, as if he were on the run from some bandits. But of course, bandits don't show up on the light of day.
He stumbled a bit, before grunting a rough "sorry", and Hoeinheim looked again. The man was blonde, had two dots on his forehead, and a black cloak, but he could know very well see an emblem of a silver cross.
"E-Excuse me, sir!" He shouted, and the man whirled around, horrified that he had asked for him.
"Y-Yes… sir?" the cloaked man stammered.
"You happen to be from the Black Order?" Hoeinheim asked, and the man paled, and raised his hands up in defense, as if he were ready to fight.
"P-Please!" Hoeinheim waved his arms before him defensively. "I was only asking!"
"Yes," the stranger still didn't trust him. "I am from the Order. Why do you ask?"
"I was… trying to find my way there… actually… Do you know where they are?"
He couldn't blame the young man for being so scared out of his mind. If a stranger walked up to him and asked for his home while he was on the rush, he would surely be frightened.
"Yes…" The man surprisingly relaxed and turned around. "I was on my way there, anyways. Follow."
Hoeinheim complied, and the two straw-haired men made their way in the designated direction. Hoeinheim sighed as he continued to amble down the cobblestone road, moving aside to avoid a rickety automobile that was coming his way. The young man did the same, and he turned to the older.
"By the way," He asked. "What is your name?"
"Van Hoeinheim," the former replied, and the younger latter sighed.
"My name is Howard Link…"
"Nice to meet you," Hoeinheim smiled warmly. Link then turned away from the man, but his fist remained clenched.
"By the way… How did you know I was part of the Order?"
"I saw your symbol," He answered plainly. "And you remind me of my children… They're much younger than you, but I haven't seen them in a while…"
"Are you a Finder?" Link looked at him, and he shook his head.
"I'm just a father who wants to see his children…"
"It seems that we'll need to find out more about the Western Sage," Roy went into thinking mode. "Apparently, I believe he is related to you two boys, as we had found from our research."
"Right..." Al slumped on the couch. Ed grit his teeth, clenching his fists at the same time. Roy frowned in disappointment at their reactions.
"Edward," these were one of the times Roy would use Ed's real name. "I understand your bitter feelings, but we'll have to set them aside. You father, Hoeinheim Elric, is one of our main priorities. You did say that in your research he as the Western Sage was affiliated with the Noah at one point. But he went with the Fourteenth and betrayed the Noah Family as well. The reason why we need Allen Walker is his Innocence and his hidden entity the 14th. Hoeinheim should know how to deal with the 14th more than any of us, and thus I have a new clue right for you."
"What is the clue?" Lavi asked. Kanda slapped the man on the head with an outstretched right hand.
"He was going to tell you, moron rabbit!"
Roy chuckled for a moment. From now on, things will stop being so carefree, even though it already was.
"Our next destination," Roy frowned. "Is an old laboratory now under custody of Central. It's name is the Fifth Laboratory."
"Fifth Laboratory?"
Lavi and Kanda looked at the brothers, thinking that Ed and Al knew the place.
"What kinda name is that?" Ed tilted his head sideways, and they sweatdropped. So they freaked out over a name?
"No reason, apparently," Roy sighed. "No, actually, it's one of the facilities used by Central to experiment Alchemic Innocence. The location of the disaster of the Exorcist Zero Project."
Ed and Al gasped, and then calmed down. Kanda's eyes flickered some interest, and he looked at Roy, who understood the younger man's motives.
"All right, I'll talk," Roy sighed again. "I only got this from Lavi's grandfather, Bookman, a long time ago. It's a story very few people know. The ordeal was so bad they managed to cover almost all evidence up. Let me first ask you a question. Do you know why there are no Alchemic Innocence users known around the Order?"
Ed and Al tensed at the mention of the idea. They knew the story, but Kanda and Lavi didn't. Just yet.
"Fifty years ago," Roy continued. "The Black Order at the time began receiving many Exorcists they couldn't identify Innocence type with. Then the Eastern Sage, a middle-aged man with blonde hair, and square glasses, appeared before, and offered to help the Order's Science Division at the time to help with their research on the new Innocence.
"However, after one year, he left with no reason, and the scientists were left in confusion. By then, five Laboratories were established specifically for the research of Alchemy, and the project was called Exorcist Zero Project. Those who had this strange type of Innocence were simply called Alchemists. A majority of these Alchemists were mostly a certain race, additionally, white hair and red eyes, but I digress. The research program for the new category of Innocence was thriving in many ways, everyone had high hopes for this program. Then, one of the Alchemists' missions went awry, but in the process this man formed a strange item: the Philosopher's Stone."
Lavi frowned. "I've heard of that before… In one of the documents my grandfather wrote when he was younger. There were some scientists, like Isaac Newton and Nicholas Flamel, who wanted that stone. The Philosopher's Stone… I believe, grants immortality and the ability to turn lead into gold, or create something from thin air and ignore the law of conservation of mass, right?"
"Exactly," Roy nodded. "I'm not sure Malcolm Leverrier wasn't alive at the time… but his grandfather, Cornelius Leverrier, was head of this project. As you know, ever since the founding of the Order, the Leverrier family technically dominates the high-positions in Central. Well, he found out that the stone created was a Philosopher's Stone and after seeing that the stone can amplify the performance of Innocence, he started to make more."
Lavi watched as Ed began to gulp in fear at Roy's next words.
"However," Roy closed his eyes in contemplation. "The stone was actually made at a horrible price. Recently, Edward and I had been researching it to find that the creation of a Philosopher's stone requires… the sacrifice of human souls… not one, but multiple, disembodied or not. That means Akuma can be used. One Level Three could make a sufficient amount for a small lump of this red stone, since it was a demon that strong has devoured so many souls. Cornelius instead reasoned that it was for the good of the Holy War, and kept on with research, even against his subordinates' wishes.
"The Alchemists were also in disagreement to Cornelius's plans. They had researched on their own, keeping research in the form of coded notes only they and possibly other Alchemists can decrypt themselves. Then they came upon the realization of the truth of this grand elixir, as I had mentioned earlier. They began to revolt against Central and leave the Order, going against the Earl on their own, supposedly. Evidence then uncovered that Alchemists did not fight the Earl, but instead followed him, at a very subtle hint. This was fifteen years ago, apparently."
"That's so recent…" Lavi gasped. "but I never heard of it…"
"They covered it up," Ed grumbled. "This event was too painful to the Order's records."
"Anyways," Kanda looked at Roy. "How did they prove that the Alchemists were working with the Earl? There should be proof."
Roy steepled his hands, hiding his face behind them. "Proof? The real research they did was not the stone, but human transmutation, the process of bringing people back to life from death. This attempt proved horrendous to the Order, since the result was too similar to the process of the creation of Akuma. Wanting to keep their research, Alchemists fled the Order completely to work in secret, specifically in Germany.
"However, Cornelius was not going to let the secret go so easily. Then came from Order #3066, passed by the Council Head of Central himself, and the simple description of the order was this. All Alchemists will be executed for going against the laws of the Black Order, and those still in the Order will be imprisoned as traitors within Central."
Lavi gasped and Kanda seemed really disgusted and alarmed.
"To top it off, the Council Head allowed execution at the hands of CROW and fellow Exorcists themselves. Deaths were played as accidents to civilians and government officials, when it was really organized murder elaborately set up. The results were reported to be horrific. Exorcists were not saviors anymore, but killing machines, just like Akuma. Not only that, Cornelius continued the making of Philosopher's Stone, not using Akuma, but Alchemic Innocence Exorcists."
Ed and Al looked away, and Lavi continued to watch their anguished faces.
"The genocide of Alchemic Innocence users already ended a long time ago, after the death of Cornelius, and his son, Gregory Leverrier, took over the project. Even though his reign in his position lasted only five years, to atone for the crimes his father had done, he made Order #3066 ineffective, and tore down the Exorcist Zero Project. He requested that survivor Exorcists who had Alchemic Innocence come back, since they were able to. The hard part was the fact that by that time, all Alchemic Innocence users were wiped out completely, and none were found again. Discrimination against Alchemists was so high, those who came left the next day and never came back.
"Even so, if one managed to show up, it was considered a rare case. Some joined anyways, but under the identity as a different Innocence type, for exampled, pretending that their 'fake' weapons is really their Alchemic Innocence when their Innocence is actually within their bodies. Hevlaska must have found out, but because she respectful to fellow Exorcists, she probably kept their secret a secret.
"However, nowadays, Alchemic Innocence seems to be getting more popular these days. The grudge between Alchemists and the Black Order has faded, and the bonds have been rekindled, so no one here has anything to worry about."
Roy eyed the Elric brothers for a second.
"Ed and Al, as you know, possess Alchemic Innocence, and have survived the aftermath of Order #3066, specifically Edward Elric here. Their father is actually the legendary Van Hoeinheim, the Eastern Sage, and the man who jump started the Exorcist Zero Project, by accident or intention, we don't know. The number of documents on this event are so scarce, despite the size of this internal war.
"Back to the topic. Laboratory 5 is the location of a coup d'état Alchemists held during Order #3066. That is also the location where most of the Philosopher's stones were created. The problem is, that we need to cleanse the place of Akuma. I've sent Havoc and Breda over there for a month now, and they've confirmed that the place is packed with Akuma, so they suspect Noah are present at the time.
"Therefore, after talking with Komui, I've assigned to you full-scale mission, and that means, I will have to accompany you. Komui wants to add Lenalee Lee into the endeavor as well, so it'll be six of us on that train. We're leaving tomorrow morning. And sorry boys, to make you on the move right when you came back from two missions straight. It's a good thing you had at least one day to cool off. I'll try to give you a break after this."
"As if," Ed snorted, and Roy smiled at Ed's sardonic behavior. The thought of going outside again was refreshing. He was quite ready to be in action once again.
The door opened and a tall man clothed in the Silver Shield's uniform stepped in. His eyes were of a harsh red, and his hair was white and gray. His well built body was hidden by the thickness of his uniform, and his face wore a scowl. Other than that, there was a scar that covered a good portion of his forehead in the shape of an X.
"Colonel Mustang," He began in a gruff voice. "Everyone is ready to go."
"What about us!" Ed asked, and Scar sighed.
"You better hurry, Edward."
"B-But-"
"Calm down, Fullmetal," Roy stopped his apprentice from exploding. "Thank you, Scar. I'll meet at the front gate."
Scar nodded and turned on his heel before going away. Kanda and Lavi wondered who this man was.
Once again, the train ride was just plain boring, so everyone slept for the most part. The only interesting thing was Scar, who was assigned to accompany the Exorcists as a Finder. Kanda expected to see gun holsters on the man, but he saw none, and received cold stares from Scar, whom he glared back at. They arrived in weary feet, and found themselves along a countryside.
"The Fifth Laboratory was built far away, so the towns around it wouldn't be disturbed," Roy explained.
They trudged for a long time, day and night, and Ed was tired of seeing trees and trees. He allowed his mind to wander off to other things. It's funny that his and Roy's idea of using the Elrics' ability to tap into the small amount of power that was reserved for the Eastern Sage alone would really work. They only found small documents, but it was only theory, and those documents belonged to his bastard of a father, Van Hoeinheim.
Obviously, like any Alchemist, the documents were written in code. Painstaking all-nighters had stretched that month and they finally decrypted the messages and found some juice on Eastern Sage, so it was technically an autobiography.
Codes…. He himself had a code for his own research. Being the genius he was, his research papers would have looked like a travelogue to an ordinary person, and they were so well coded that even his own brother couldn't decrypt it yet. Ed had challenged Lavi one time to attempt to decrypt it, and amazingly, Lavi did manage to do so. Fascinated by coding, Lavi continuously assisted Ed with his research with the coding. They promised to keep what they wrote a secret.
The team of Exorcists managed to quicken the journey by hopping onto a passing horse-buggy, and they were at the gates of the old Laboratory in no time. Assuming no one would come in, they opened the door, and crept through. After ten minutes of searching for an exit, Al managed to find the old entrance boarded up with barbed wire. Ed easily transmuted the barbed wire into a reinforced door for them to enter.
Not long after, they found themselves in a great many series of passageways. Endless shafts of light stretched, but three main ones were the big picture. Roy stared at it for a moment and turned to everyone else.
"Split up," Roy told them. "Scar, Lenalee, and Alphonse, take the passage to the left. Kanda and Lavi, take the right. Fullmetal and I will go straight ahead."
The others promptly nodded, and ran through their assigned routes, leaving Ed and Roy alone. Ed then scrunched his face up in a scowl and turned his way towards the path before him.
"Kanda, watch your head," Lavi reminded the man in a sing-song voice that made Kanda snarl. The route they took turned from a dark stone walkway into a jungle of mossy vines and shattered rubble. Just recently, Kanda was just so close to getting his head impaled.
"Shut up, Idiot rabbit," The man scowled back.
"Well, you might knock yourself out, and then I have to carry back. Isn't that a good thing that you have me along?"
"No." Kanda gave him a look of disgust. Lavi then sighed exasperatedly.
"Then watch out."
"You didn't need to tell me, idiot rabbit!"
"Okay, okay," Lavi held his hands up in a defeated manner. "Have it your way.
Kanda then stopped as he bent over noticing a strange black dust that covered an area. Taking a small sample of it on his palm, he sifted the dust through the creases of his fingers and stood up again.
"Akuma must be nearby," He declared. "Better keep your guard up."
"Okay," Lavi nodded and drew his hammer and enlarged it to average size. He couldn't risk ambush attempts either…
Lenalee found nothing but long corridors of lamp lit walls and cold, hard stone floors. Al stayed beside her, staying on high alert, while Scar stayed up front walking just as cautiously. Lenalee had tucked Timcampy in her sleeve, and it lay nestled there for the time being. It gave a small nudge with its wings on her arm, and she complied by allowing it to slip out and follow her distantly behind so Al and Scar would not notice.
"Hey, Lenalee?" Al's voice made her turn to him.
"What is it, Al?"
"Just… that… have you heard of an Order 3066 before?"
"No… not exactly… why do you ask?"
Alphonse then shook his head and reverted his sights on the path once again. "It's… nothing…"
"If you want to tell me something, you can tell me…" Lenalee tilted her head in confusion slightly. "I'm good at keeping secrets."
"It's not a secret," Alphonse disagreed. "But… have you been tortured before?"
Lenalee raised her eyebrow at him as if he were crazy. Scar was listening, as Al could tell from the slight shuffle in his footsteps.
"I have…" Lenalee answered frankly. "I haven't forgotten the time when I was very young…seven or ten years old, to say the least. I was treated like a test subject for Innocence. I was compatible with my Dark Boots, you see, so the Order took me away from my old home in China, and stuck me in the former Order Headquarters. It was horrible back then, until my brother managed to become Supervisor, and then I was finally released from the place they kept me captive. They chained me to the bed because I would attempt to commit suicide if I was let free."
Al gazed at her with sympathetic eyes. "Oh… that must be… really… hard for you…"
"Not at all!" Lenalee wore a fake smile. "You know, the Order has many people with strange pasts. Take the Exorcists we have for example. Miranda used to be a depressed klutz who couldn't get a job. Krory was an isolated nobleman who was guilty for killing people when they were really Akuma. Marie used to have eyesight, but now he's blind from a very traumatic accident while in the field. Chaoji was made an Exorcist in the times of crisis, during the capture of the Ark. Timothy was an orphan who had to face his mind controlled 'mother.' All of us had our troubles before coming to the Order, so we understand the pain."
"Oh…" Al smiled back. Lenalee then sighed.
"Do you have anything dark about your past?"
"M-me?" Al asked. Scar actually turned around this time, not saying a word.
"Yes, you!" Lenalee smiled. Al then hesitated before explaining.
"I didn't really go through that, actually…" He sighed in defeat. "It was my brother who went through almost what happened to you… I feel quite sad that there were more people other than my brother who had to go through an ordeal like that…"
"Yes," Scar joined in, nearly sending the two Exorcists off their feet. "Your brother Edward really did have a handful…"
Alphonse nodded to agree. Scar then continued down the hall and stopped short, noticing a door. He stared at it in wonder, questioning whether or not he should open it.
Tyki Mikk, also known as Joyd, or the Noah of Pleasure, was patiently drumming his fingers on the armrests of his rosewood chair. Road sat in an identical chair opposite him, her face turned to the window of the nearly torn down Laboratory Five. She had seen the Exorcists arrive, and Tyki had dispatched several Akuma in all the paths of the facility. In Tyki's eyes it was rare for Road to be in her fake human mode, with pale skin and purple eyes, but for the past days, she had frequently taken that form. He assumed that it was because she was paranoid of Exorcists detecting that she was a Noah. After all, her forehead wasn't covered in bangs like he to hide the Noah markings away from public view.
The Noah of Dreams wore a look of longing as if she wanted to go somewhere… other than here. Where? She wasn't sure at all, but she knew she had to go somewhere from here. Her mind split into two didn't help, either.
"You can stay here to watch," Tyki smiled. He knew his sister was very much in pain, but he didn't dare question why. She probably was breaking from the stress of being bored for so long.
"Okay." Road nodded, and she looked out the window again. The last time she did this, she had been watching Allen and his friends struggle against her wishes, but now she didn't know why she looked out the window anymore. She wondered if she was plotting against them or rooting for them. She could curse that Alphonse boy to hell for so many times… but she faltered at the thought.
One half of her was calm and silent, suggesting she go off and assist, but another half told her to obey her brother and be the spectator. She was having the same feeling she felt when she had first met Allen. Now she knew all the reasons why Alphonse set her free and how he could use his Innocence inside the Dream World. The answer was clearly laid out.
Road got up from her chair and headed to the door. Yes, she was feeling very guilty.
Ed and Roy found another fork in the road, this time, two paths. Without thought, they divided promptly to the nearest way for them, Ed taking the right, Roy taking the left. A small sideways look from Roy before being unable to see Ed's face told the younger Exorcist to be careful.
The trip stretched on for the Fullmetal Alchemist as he continued to trudge in more treacherous grounds, where the destruction of stone and the overgrowth of plants obstructed his view numerous times. It wasn't long before he arrived in a room whose walls were sandy brown. The floor and pillars that supported the tall ceiling were of the same color theme. The first thing he noticed was a large transmutation circle in the middle of the floor.
Taking a closer look, Ed gave a small frown at the circle before him. Splatters of old blood still remained, and a small table in the middle of the room told him everything. This was where sacrifices were used. It made him sick to picture how it all happened.
"What is this?" Ed thought aloud. "Is it something for creating the Philosopher's stone?"
"That is correct."
A clink of heavy armor made him spin around on his feet, looking for the source. The load footsteps of metal making contact with the floor made him turn around once again, only to see a large suit of iron cast armor standing before him.
"I don't know who you are, kid," It said in a man's voice. "But if you can tell by looking at the transmutation circles…"
Ed frowned in discontent. "Who are you, pal?"
The armor began to advance towards him. "I am the one who guards this place. I'll go with the name 'Number 48' for now. And by the way, I'm not your pal."
The armor received a steely glare from the Fullmetal Alchemist, but it continued.
"I have orders to dispose of any outsiders who come in here, poking their noses around where they shouldn't. Try not to take it personally."
"Alright," Ed kept his glare. He clapped his hands and transmuted his metal arm into an long blade. "Well, you try not to take it personally when this boy kicks your ass!"
A murmur of contemplation welled over the armor. "You're an alchemist, are you?"
The armor was gone in a flash before coming an inch away from Ed's face.
"All right, let's see what you've got."
It swung a large thin sword at Ed's head. The boy immediately ducked and took steps back to avoid several slashes to his abdomen. One time the blade of the armor's sword clanged with the sword created from his automail.
"A prosthetic arm? No matter, my sword can pierce through steel as well as flesh."
Giving a sharp battle cry, it proceeded to strike Ed down with a slash going the side of his head, but Ed deflected it with some struggle. He immediately charged at it, blade outstretched, but the armor backed up again. It gave a swipe at Ed, who ducked and landed a hard kick to the torso. The opponent was blown back a feet or so before catching itself. Ed then gasped at the realization of what the sound the armor made when he kicked it. Ed was shocked that the armor could even move, let alone speak.
"My, my, what's this?" Ed smiled. "I'm gonna go on a lin here and say that you're hollow inside!"
The armor stood up in a relaxed position. "You're a perceptive one."
"I can tell from the sound. I've done lots of research." Ed answered. "No strings attached."
The Fullmetal Alchemist recalled seeing the concept before, bonding a soul to inanimate objects using the blood seal as a medium. Apparently, according to the limited sources he, Roy, and Al had, such deeds were deemed forbidden by the Alchemist's Code.
"Hm," The armor reconsidered. "Perhaps I should introduce myself again. 48 is the number that I had been assigned when I was on death row. Back when I had a body, I was better known amongst the order as Slicer. I, like you, was an Alchemic Exorcist, you see, and a bloodthirsty one. I was taken here for some good reason, since I proved a threat to everyone. And you know of the Order#3066, do you?"
"So you were slated for defecting from the Black Order and nearly causing a massacre," Ed simplified it. "Tell me something. This laboratory… Did they use condemned alchemists like you to Philosopher's Stones here?"
"Well, I don't know so much," Slicer answered. "They only saw my skills, stuck my soul in this armor, and made me their guard dog of this area."
"Interesting…" Ed thought. "I'm sure they gave you a seal, too, to serve as a medium for soul and armor? And to maintain the armor, they used an Innocence fragment to make sure you stay in one piece, am I right?"
"Yes," The armor unfastened the cloth around the helmet and lifted the flap to show a crimson red circle pattern etched onto the armor. "I do have a blood seal, and Innocence. This is it right here…. If you destroy this seal… The fight's yours."
Ed raised an eyebrow. "That's awfully considerate of you… to show me your weak spot."
"I like to give myself an extra challenge during a fight every so now and then."
"I find you're in such a giving mood, then how about this?" Ed tried to negotiate. "Why not just let me go?"
The armor then put back the helmet flap and fastened the cloth over it again."Nice try, kid, but what kind of mad Exorcist lets his prey get away so easily? Now… let's fight."
Ed readied his arm blade and braced himself. He wasn't going to come clean out of this one.
A distinct rumbling and crashing of stone put the black haired Marshall on high alert. He spun around to look behind him for a moment before getting back on track.
"Looks like the others got in some trouble…" Roy said to himself.
A small sound of a pebble being pushed aside made his hairs stand on end again as he readied his gloves to produce flames. His eyes hardened ever so slightly, and he took a low stance.
"Who's there?" He demanded, and a soft chuckle came from around the walls. The voice echoed, and finding where the voice came from was proven difficult.
"There's no need to be so worked up…" The voice taunted, and Roy's eyes narrowed in frustration.
"I don't like to fight enemies who don't show themselves," Roy commented. "If you plan to kill, at least let me see your face."
"Ah, well…" the voice retorted. "But if you insist…"
From the wall to his right stepped a tall lean man with messy brown hair that had been tied into a ponytail to avoid messiness. He wore a suit with a black longcoat, white dress coat, and black slacks and shoes. His skin was of an abnormal gray, as if he had risen from the dead. His eyes, golden with interest, bore into Roy's, who seemed unnerved by the appearance.
"A Noah, I presume?" Roy asked flatly. "From my sources, you are Tyki Mikk, the Noah of Pleasure, also known as Joyd."
The man then laughed, and lifted the curly brown bangs that covered the said marks of a Noah, and continued to laugh.
"I'm impressed with your knowledge, Exorcist," He smirked. "Although I may warn you, you pay a price for knowing…"
"That's fine," Roy frowned. "Thanks for the warning, though."
"You don't seem a bit scared that I am a Noah," Tyki tilted his head in wonder. "You think you can beat me?"
"Ah, right…" Roy straightened slightly. "I forgot my own manners. I am Roy Mustang, if you must know…"
"Roy Mustang?" Tyki looked at the man with some surprise. "Well, Roy Mustang it is! You have a few questions about this place?"
"A bucket load, I suppose," Roy smiled. "You care to answer them for me?"
"I'm sorry," Tyki kept his fake smile on. "I'm running quite late, today, so I'll have to be taking my leave."
Immediately, a malevolent grin replaced the kind one. Tyki raised his hands before him, palms faced upwards. Immediately, black and purple butterflies sprouted from his hands and once forming fully, they launched from the hands that created them and headed straight for Roy. The Marshall could tell there were about fifty butterflies or so, and he immediately allowed his gloves to produce a small snap.
A large wave of red and yellow flames shot from the pristine white gloves and outflanked the tease in one fluid motion, engulfing the deleterious creatures with harsh heat. The delicate black and purple wings crumbled to ashes and finally fell to the floor in a black heap of ash.
Tyki smirked as Roy easily his gloves to produce fires with only gloves.
"I'm even more impressed," Tyki smiled, adjusting the white gloves of his own. "You're quite more powerful than I expected."
"I tend to keep my explosive personality controlled," Roy gave a clever smile. "But I let it go wild once in a while."
"You mean you haven't let loose yet?" Tyki raised an eyebrow and then sighed. "Anyways… I've told you already, I'm running late, so I'm afraid I have to end our conversation…"
In a flash, Tyki was out of sight, and Roy felt a bead of sweat run down his face. A gust of wind rushed past him, and before Roy could fully tell that the Noah was behind him, the man grasped his arm. The Marshall turned around so sharp that the hands that held one of his arms slid down to his hands, grabbing hold of the glove and creating a tear down the middle. The next second, another gust of wind rushed by again, and his second glove was sliced to ribbons. Roy gasped as the gloves received large tears. Tyki laughed as he watched Roy stare helplessly at the ripped cloth in his hands.
"And what happens, when I take away your gloves, Mustang?" Tyki smiled. "I doubt you can do anything about that, hm…?"
Mustang grit his teeth in frustration. Curse himself for forgetting to bring an extra set of gloves!
Tyki flexed his fingers, wondering what face his opponent would do once his heart is taken out.
A/N: Hey! Oh, and I found this manga called Code Breaker on OneManga, and there's this character who kinda looks like Mustang a bit and has powers like him. So he's some black-haired guy who can set things on fire with his hands, except that the flames are blue, because the heat level is so high. I've been reading it, and it's okay, not as good as Fullmetal itself… Oh, Code Breaker has moderate fan service, mind you…. Order 3066 actually does exist in the manga for Fullmetal. Riza only briefly mentioned that. Zero Exorcist Project is derived from the canon names in D Gray-Man, such as Second Exorcist, and Third Exorcist (both of which are really horrible experiments, if you may know). Since I think First would've meant Exorcist who had the Innocence naturally through non-forceful means (ie. jamming Innocence into a person's body), so Zero would mean something that used to be nonexistent become real, therefore, the formation of Alchemic Innocence, which was once believed unclassified.
Ah, yes, and I have actually planned a small manga adaptation for this story, so I've already posted the first page on my DA account, so those who really want to see how it's like can go see it. The real awesome artwork doesn't come out until later.
Next Chapter, Contemplation: Lenalee discovers a strange tattoo on Scar's arm and questions its power. Alphonse suspects that Lenalee might know of Allen's whereabouts. Ed and Slicer continue to fight, and Roy Mustang presents his ace trick to Tyki. The Exorcists encounter Road Kamelot, who will give her answer to a turnover opportunity the Shield had set out for her. A new enemy appears, giving the Exorcists more competition to search for Allen Walker, owner of the Crowned Clown.