Fullmetal Exorcist – Chapter 23 – Lion's Roar
"Teacher!" Alphonse shouted, and Izumi smiled, patting the teen's head.
"I see you've brought some Exorcists from the Order into the premises…" she sternly turned to Ed, who didn't alter his steely gaze. Izumi had despised the Order, and she joined the Shield instead specifically for that reason. Ed and Roy had tried to convince her to have more mercy, but of course, nothing stops the Spartan housewife.
"Anyways," She smiled, and grabbed both boys into a deep hug. "It's nice to have you back."
The two Elric brothers smiled, blushing red at her touch.
"I understand that we're leaving first thing tomorrow." She recapped. "Havoc told me little, but I want to advise you on something."
"What is it, Teacher?"
"Patience." She sat down, drumming the armrest of her chair in the lounge. "Since Allen Walker will not be the same when we do find him. I want to warn you before we go. I've heard Roy and your plans to help the child, but still, it will be difficult…"
"Teacher…" Al smiled. "You're always telling us to be careful…"
"If I didn't , then you'd be in your grave by now, idiots!" Izumi snarled, and her face softened.
"Anyways, take caution."
Everyone gasped at the state of the Ark. The world was in utter ruins, destroyed, and toppled. The sky remained blue, the tower was almost close to shambles anyways.
"Wha… happened?" Lavi muttered.
"The Ark originally belonged to the 14th," Ed answered. "Therefore, the Ark acts empathically with the 14th's emotions."
"From what I see," Roy continued. "The Ark is not in good shape."
Lenalee gasped, ready to tremble. "That… doesn't mean…"
"Easy," Al smiled. "Allen isn't down yet. If he were, then we would not be able to open the Ark at all!"
The emerald haired girl sighed, breathing deeply to calm herself. Road watched her new friend and glanced at Al. His face seemed worried, but confident that the mission would go well. His fingers were so close to hers, and almost intertwining.
"You okay, Road?" Al asked, and the close hands met, knotted together. Road flushed red slightly.
"I'm fine…" She looked away. "Like you said, Allen is okay, right?"
Ed heard these conversations about him. He hated hearing hopes and dreams, when they were half-sure of being fulfilled. He wanted real facts, like what scientists craved for. He wanted a truth. He wanted to have a sure fact that Allen would be fine.
He looked at Kanda. He was glad Kanda kept to himself. They were quite alike, those two. They didn't want to worry anyone, and they wanted real facts. He looked to General Cross, who was walking beside Mustang. From what he recalled, the two were best friends when they were the new Exorcists of the Order. The redhead said nothing, for he probably wanted a sure truth, too…
"We'll be getting more manpower when we get there," Roy announced, looking over his shoulder as he spoke. "I've sent golem signals for a good amount of help."
"Okay, got it," Ed sighed. He looked at his automail right arm, covered by his red robes and white glove. Winry had given more strength to the metal last night, and he was eager to test its durability. Speaking of which, he changed his subject to Winry. The boy wondered what she was doing now… where she was…
"Oi, shorty," Kanda reminded Ed. "Stop daydreaming, because you're about to run into a pole."
Sure enough, Ed was one or two centimeters away from the said lamppost, and he scowled at the cursed thing.
"Thanks," Ed bitterly replied, sidling around it to continue.
They stepped out of the silver-white gate, labeled 59, and landed down to the stable ground. Roy scanned the area, while his team were arming themselves. Ed sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, which was aching a bit that day. They were in a thick forest
"Hey," Kanda looked at Roy. "Where's the extras you called in?"
"Here, sir," A familiar voice caught everyone's attention, and Roy's lips curved into a smile.
A young tanned girl with a Shield uniform was steadily standing, saluting to her superiors. Her brown hair was tied into a small bun, and her olive green eyes beamed. Behind her was several other people.
First was a Chinese man who wore a black, sleeveless button-up shirt, his jet black hair tied into a small ponytail on the back of his head. The second was a woman with her black hair in a bun, and she wore a Shield uniform as well. The third, the shortest of them all, was a young girl with braided and bunned pigtails, wearing a small version of the Shield uniform, too. The final two, were a couple, both tanned and brown haired, and wearing Shield uniforms.
Lavi and Ed's eyes bugged out at the sight of the saluting girl, who immediately lost her temper and proceeded to smack them square in the face.
"It's me, you idiots!" She shouted. "Claire!"
"Claire!" Al smiled. "So you're Claire!"
"Yo," The new man waved. "Forgetting someone?"
"Hey, Ling!" Al smiled, exchanging fists. "So, have you been training?"
"Yeah, lots!"
Ling looked at Kanda, who stared at him indifferently.
"Oh, hey, Kanda!" He smiled, and the Japanese samurai snorted and walked away.
"He's intent on the mission," Al explained. "Can't stop him now…"
"And who's this?" Ed asked his brother, pointing to the two others.
"It's my wife, Lan Fan," Ling explained. "And my little sister, May Chan, remember? They've joined the Shield."
"But aren't they-"
"Trust me," Ling gave them a dangerous look. "You'll know how deadly they are when they get into battle."
"And Rose!" Lenalee smiled. "Welcome back! You, too Ryan!"
"Thank you…" they both smiled reassuringly.
"Are the introductions done yet?" Olivia scowled, and everyone went back on track.
"To think someone would hide in a fortress this big and easy to find…" Roy sweatdropped. "And we couldn't find it until a year later… Damn, we're so stupid…"
Everyone looked up at a large castle, towering fifty above their heads. All most people could do was drop their jaws…
"Let's get going!" Izumi complained. "I can't wait any longer!"
"You may not pass…"
All eyes were set on a lone man who stood before the doorway. Now why hadn't they seen him before?
"I am High Inspector Roy Mustang," Roy exclaimed. "By the order of the Pope, I require a meeting with the High Inspector Brad-"
"I'm sorry," the guard cut him with a monotonous answer. "I cannot allow any trespassers in. Now please forget this place and depart immediately."
Ed's fingers twitched. Damn guard… Does he even know what's going on inside this stupid castle?
"This is an order of the Pope," Roy asserted. "Surely, you cannot be in an act against him, are you?"
"My orders are clear," the guard replied. "Only Sir Bradley can command my will-"
A metal arm was slammed on his head, and Ed swiftly dusted his hands on his coat. Alphonse sweatdropped in embarrassment, and all the Exorcists dropped jaws, shocked at Ed's way of dealing with people.
"What?" He asked them nonchalantly. "He didn't shut up."
Ed headed to the gate, and was about to perform alchemy to open it. Then Lavi began to panic, but Ed didn't notice him.
"E…E-e-e-e-e-eddd!"
"What, now Lavi?" Ed's eyebrow raised. "Can't you see we need to get in?"
"M-m-m-m-monster!" several people shouted.
"Huh?" Ed sighed. "You're mumbling…"
"Brother…" Ed heard Al's quavering voice. "There's a monster right next to us…"
Ed scowled, turning around, not noticing the towering shadow cast over his small figure.
"Are you just playing around with…"
He looked at a pair of big giant feet, the size of trash can lids, and his eyes trailed up, noticing a large abdomen, the size of tractor, a gigantic set of hands and finally the face, grotesquely warped, and two angry red eyes staring down. Ed's face lost his color, and his pride seemed to have melted from his now shaking legs.
"Oh, shit…"
"Idiot pupil!"
A flying stone fist was flung at the monster's head, hitting it square on the head. Ed blinked, shocked at the sudden scene.
"Hurry up!" Izumi called him, using alchemy to fling him at the now opening door. "Get in! I'll deal with this monster!"
"Sloth, that's his name," Olivia Armstrong identified the monster, joining Izumi. "From my observations, I believe he is the fastest of Bradley's crew."
Her brother, Alex, stood beside, offering to stay behind. She frowned. "And we order you to keep going!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Lenalee shouted back as the group of Exorcists continued down the ramp.
"I am Lust," The lady smiled, drawing out her clawed fingers. "And I serve only under Bradley, and no other."
The massive excuse of a person beside the woman chewed angrily, and its large beady eyes were inching towards the group.
"This is Gluttony," Lust gestured.
"What kind of people…" Lavi stuttered, but Roy silenced him. Riza drew out her guns and was ready to fire. Claire did the same, prompting the rest of Roy's team to follow. Roy took the front line, ready to face the despicable pair.
"You kids go on ahead," He shouted. "We'll deal with them here."
Ed coldly nodded, and went on ahead, leaving a puzzled Lavi and Lenalee to go after him. Kanda and Alphonse understood, but were immediately shoved by Cross to hurry.
A quiet chuckle came from Lust, and Gluttony's mouth was watering at the sight of so many humans. She didn't really mind the "weak" Exorcists rushing by her into the door. She assumed Bradley would finish them… Such a shame…
"Can I eat them, Lust?" It pleaded. "Can I?"
"Oh, feel free," Lust smiled. "Just save some for our other friends…"
"Friends…?" Ling paled. "There's more?"
"Oh, yes, big boy," Lust answered. "They've just arrived…"
The windows shattered simultaneously as masses of strange creatures flowed into the room, screeching and flailing. They were bodies, pale white corpses, each with only one eye at the supposed forehead. Ribcages were visible, and legs they walked were robotic, unfeeling…
The startled team backed closer into each other, nervous of the strange army of mutant humans… or monsters…
"An immortal army," Lust explained. "While a young and foolish Inspector like you was on a wild goose chase, Bradley decided to do a little more research into the alchemy. He was able to get into your secret archive of alchemy documents… and here we have the army we want. They can't be defeated by normal bullets, so shoot wisely."
"We'll see about that…" Roy smirked, snapping his fingers.
"Timcampy, go faster!" Cross shouted. "We're catching up…"
The poor golem was fluttering as fast as possible, while everyone had other problems on their minds. Lavi was still horrified of the three strange creatures or humans he saw… Lenalee seemed pale from the sight of Gluttony, while Kanda was even more concerned about how they came to be. Alphonse, Cross, Road, and Ed seemed unfazed by the monsters from earlier, since they were more worried about how Allen was faring.
They had climbed down a flight of spiraling stairways, and Lavi, ironically, was feeling dizzy. They arrived in a dimly-lit dungeon corridor, and Cross grabbed a hanging lamp, and pointed to the now illuminated door.
"This way," He commanded, seeing Timcampy had went that way.
It was long before they saw a bright light at the end of hall. This prompted to run faster and faster…
The blinding white light came from a slightly more well-lit room, but the room was large, comparable to the one Lust and Gluttony had been in, but there were no windows, but a large hole in the center of the room for the sun to shine through.
General Cross drew out Judgment, and aimed carefully at some target the younger Exorcists couldn't see. He fired, and a strange rippled in the targeted area alerted everyone of the presence of an invisible enemy.
"What was that?" Lenalee gasped, and Cross shot again, hitting another rippling air. He shot again finally a figure blurred into view.
"What the-" Kanda was cut off by a strong gust of wind coming from the strange person. Everyone shielded their faces to avoid dust. Then the floor began to crumble under their feet, and they instantly fell through with the rubble. Ed did some quick thinking and used a stray falling boulder to create a mechanism for safe landing.
"I didn't expect you to come this far…"
A voice echoed in their ears, and Cross bolted straight up.
"Show yourself."
"Very well."
Out stepped a middle aged man, in good shape, actually. His dark brown hair was sleeked back, and his left eye was covered by a black eyepatch. Cold eyes stared at the team, and the man drew two swords from the scabbards hanging from his back.
"High Inspector Bradley."
He recognized two people… the Elric brothers…
"Oh… Elrics… It's nice to see you, Alphonse… And I see that you're here… Edward Elric…"
Ed gritted his teeth… Never would he forgive…
"Edward, this is High Inspector Bradley," Roy smiled encouragingly at the young boy. Ed had just finished rehabilitation with his automail, and he was still a little wobbly with walking. Al was with Izumi all the way in Spain, while he and Roy had to come to Central at Vatican City for a meeting.
"Bradley?"
"Yes," Roy nodded. "Well, I'm off…"
Ed and Bradley were left alone sitting on the bench.
"So your full name is Edward Elric?" Bradley finally spoke. Ed looked at the tall man. Wondering if a good conversation would suffice his boredom, Ed grinned.
"Yep." He chimed, but immediately Bradley shot from his seat, taking Ed by the collar with him. The hands moved to the small neck, and Ed was petrified by the man's actions.
"It's shameful…" Bradley smiled. "To be the son of a man who destroyed the pride of our cause, and to more people just like him… unforgivable… Your father killed a lot of people, and don't forget that…"
"K-Killed…?" Ed stammered, but he was dropped back on the bench.
"Incorrigible…" Bradley muttered. Ed massaged his sore neck, as the man walked away. Ed hugged his knees, waiting for his teacher to come back. An hour passed, and Roy was right before him, smiling warmly.
"You were scared, Ed? Where's Bradley?"
"I… don't Ed…"
Roy looked about, and was drawn back to the boy when…
"Roy…" Ed whimpered. Roy looked at his "son" and noticed the bruise marks on his neck. Now where did those came from?
"Ed…" Roy helped the boy up and walked down the hall, wondering just who had done this. Ed told no one, and was placed under the pressure of the third High Inspector's cold eyes.
Cross snapped Ed of his thoughts when he shoved the boy right into Lenalee and Kanda. Alphonse drew his knives, ready to battle, while Road twirled her ribbon. Lavi enlarged his hammer. Kanda was already taking them into a chamber.
"You three get moving!" Cross snarled. "We don't have much time."
"Brother, go!" Al shouted.
"Alphonse!" Ed shouted. But Lenalee pulled him away, taking him further into the chamber with Kanda. He heard cries and clashing of sword and daggers with minor fire explosions. Kanda scowled. He hated this type of noise, and he hoped the idiot rabbit would finish the battle soon.
"Come on!" Kanda urged them, and they snapped out of their individual thoughts, and broke into run.
Kanda only saw one door, and he forcefully barged into it, the poor wooden slab falling off its steel hinges. Lenalee and Ed followed closely behind him. Several dying lamps lit the chamber. Kanda squinted at a strange form that had been dangling from the wall. Ed did not hesitate to clap his hands and transmute the form off the wall. The figure fell with a sickening thump, and Lenalee was rushing to his side.
Kanda grabbed a lamp and looked over the body, while Ed was making his way there slowly. The poor thing was not awake, his eyes closed. The clothes were tattered like hell, and the hair was soot gray, stringy, matted with red, and the black left arm… oh… this was obvious… Lenalee's lower lip twitched as she stopped herself from crying.
"It's him…" she whispered. "It's Allen…"
Ed knelt down on the other side of Allen, seeing the boy's pale face.
"Hm…" Ed thought aloud. "I'm not that into medical stuff like Al, but obviously he hasn't had any sleep, and he's been starved and abused, too. But there's one odd thing…"
"What?" Kanda looked at the boy impatiently.
"I have a feeling we won't be able to move him just yet." Ed clapped his hands together. "I need to check something before we carry him out."
The hands pressed together formed a strange blue glow, and Lenalee looked at Fullmetal with some fear of what he was going to do. Ed closed his eyes, and placed his hands a few inches from Allen's face.
"Grab onto me," He commanded the two other Exorcists. "You'll need to come with me."
Kanda and Lenalee had absolutely no idea what Ed was talking about, but they did so anyways. Lenalee held onto Ed's arm, and Kanda, with reluctance of even touching Ed, grasped the boy's hood.
A course of electricity ran through their veins as Kanda and Lenalee faded into unconsciousness themselves.
Roy and his subordinates stood in a charred room, with only ash, and no other foe. Lust and Gluttony were no longer standing, a pile of black dust in their place. Roy pocketed his hands, and walked through the door Ed had gone through, his team not so far behind.
As he entered, he felt a strange sensation of trepidation befalling him. What was this feeling? He could perceive a bad event ahead, but he felt… worried about Ed. The boy must be doing something risky, and this thought speeded up his footsteps.
Ed must be performing a channeling, probably, so that explains the strange feeling. But who in the world would he need to do that for?
Kanda's eyes fluttered open, and he saw a blood-red sky, staring straight at him. He heard the flustered sounds of a waking Lenalee. He sat up, massaging his head. Had he fallen headfirst?
Ed was already up, surveying the surroundings. Kanda joined the boy, reaching a hill of junk. The surroundings were just so familiar… What? This was the Ark? Everything was almost the same… the white buildings, and the tall bell tower, but the only problem was the ruin and despair that fell on this town.
"What is this place?" Kanda asked. Edward frowned.
"This is Allen's mind." He pointed to the red sky. "It has been in chaos for far too long. Anything we do will strain his body, if we're reckless, that is."
"What did you do?" asked Lenalee.
"This is called channeling," Ed explained. "It's one of the abilities of the Eastern Sage, my father. Al can channel, too, but not nearly as great as I am… Probably because the Sage's power was distributed between us, and I got the big bite from my father's ability to channel."
Kanda heard the bitter note in "father."
"Channeling allows me to enter a person's mental realm," Ed continued. "And communicate with them here. Usually, channeling is easier when the person is asleep. I can also bring other people's consciousness along with me, like how I've channeled you into Allen's head."
Ed looked up at the sky again. "The problem here, is that there seems to be a set time limit on this one."
"You mean…" Kanda realized. "Allen's breaking?"
"Mental instability," Ed suggested. "Damn. I guess Bradley was intent on breaking Allen completely: breaking both mental and physical state, literally."
"What's the time limit?" Lenalee asked, and Ed examined the sky.
"Five hours, at most." He answered, and Lenalee bit her lip anxiously. Good thing they were really close to the bell tower. As long as they climb all the way up…
"Well, then," Kanda scowled, drawing his Mugen. "What are we waiting for? Let's get moving!"
"Hold on, Kanda," Ed sighed. "Don't let temper get the hang of you."
"Wha-"
"Someone's coming," Ed cut him off, seeing a leaping black figure approaching them. The newcomer landed before them, seeing their astonished faces. Gran skin triggered the animosity of the three of them… Noah… His shirt had probably seen better days, that's for sure… His dark brown hair was really messy, and his narrow golden eyes flitted to each Exorcist.
"Exorcists, huh…" the man stood up straight, folding his arms. "I suppose you came to stop Bradley."
"Y-You…" Kanda growled. "What are you doing here, Noah?"
"I'm the 14th," The man bowed. "Dorian Gray Walker."
"Walker…?" Lenalee recognized that as Allen's last name. "Are you looking for Allen, too?"
"Of course I am!" the 14th sighed. "I need to protect the being of my vessel, you know."
"I see," Ed spoke up, and Dorian noticed him.
"Did you channel these kids here, Hoeinheim?" Dorian asked, and Ed snarled.
"I'm not Hoeinheim, idiot!" Ed snapped. "That's my good-for-nothing father!"
"He had kids?" Dorian looked shocked. "Didn't think he'd settle down…"
Ed then turned around, followed by Kanda.
"We have no time for conversations," Ed gravely replied. "Dorian, how many hours do we have before Allen breaks? I need exact timing."
"Five." Dorian grimaced. "And we'll have to climb the stairs that takes a good half hour."
"That's nothing," Ed laughed. "I'll use alchemy and send us shooting up to the top. Does that sound good? None of you are afraid of heights, right?"
"Keep moving, short stack," Kanda grunted, shoving Ed at full speed.
A/N: phantomdare1 is back! I'm sorry over the late update. I'm incredibly sorry. And I'm happy and sad. Good news: I'm working on this video thingy for this story, and it's going really well. If I have time, I'll be able to finish this video project in August. I also started playing Phoenix Wright so I'm so hooked on it. I'm so shocked that Phoenix lost his badge (weep... I hate Klavier Gavin... And I could've liked him, if he wasn't the guy who made Phoenix lose his badge). And I still am sad that Edgeworth and Gumshoe did not appear in Apollo Justice. And sadly Maya was in her village during Apollo Justice. Even worse... Bad news: I'm in despair! OneManga is shutting down in a few weeks! It's a tragedy! Well, anyways, away from the tangent...
Firstly, the situation about the upcoming Yullen version of this story. Since I really have to keep to my word about never ever posting any boyXboy stories, I have decided on this "twist." If I make Allen a girl, then it'll fit with my rules, I guess, but that's as far as I will ever go when it comes to writing about pairings like Yullen. How will the world be when Allen is a girl will be kept secret for now.
Second, the preview: Chapter 24: The Crown That Falters: The five hour clock begins to tick. Hour 1: Lenalee and Kanda reluctantly allies with the 14th Noah to follow Ed to the bell tower of the Ark in Allen's mind. Hour 2: Izumi and the Armstrongs deal the finishing blow to Sloth. Hour 3: Roy begins his showdown with Bradley once he realizes how much abuse Bradley has secretly done to Ed. Hour 4: Hoeinheim and Link search for the Silver Shield, only to run into a certain blue haired supervisor. Hour 5: The Destroyer of Time wakes once more.