Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Chrono Crusade.
Chapter One- Crash Landing
The cold rain pounded on his back, soaking through his clothes and jolting him awake. The blond haired teenager pushed himself off the pavement, getting onto his hands and knees. He breathed heavily through his mouth, trying to remember where he was and how he got there. It was dark, wherever he was, and the rain fogged up anything two feet ahead of him. The only thing that he was sure of was that he was on a road.
The teenager sighed, running a gloved hand down his face in a vain attempt to brush the water droplets off. He stopped and stared at the white-gloved hand, and then proceeded to inspect the rest of his attire. He was wearing brown slacks with a matching coat and vest, a white shirt underneath that. His brow furrowed in confusion. They weren't his usual black shirt and pants with a red coat. Was he wearing that before …? He hissed as the memory seared through his mind. Of course! He was performing human transmutation to bring his brother back from the Gate. But then, why was he alive?
He slowly got to his feet and staggered back a few steps as he regained his balance, shaking his head. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, the truth was in front of him. How could this have happened? It had been fair, it was equivalent exchange: his life for Al's. If he lived, then did that mean that Al … was he …?
"Al," he whispered hoarsely. And then, more strongly, "AL!"
As if responding to his cry, two bright lights shined from the left. He shielded his eyes but didn't look away. He was too bewildered from his revelation that he didn't hear a horn honking loudly.
The lights came closer and closer, until he realized too late what it was.
He only had time to turn his body to the left before a car collided with him. He soared through the air as he was thrown off his feet, spinning once. He landed on the hard pavement of a sidewalk, his left shoulder breaking the fall. There was a sickening crack that reverberated down the length of his entire arm. He gasped at the sharp pain, closing his eyes tightly and clenching his teeth to keep from screaming. And although he knew it probably wasn't a good idea, he tried to get up again.
"Hey!" a high-pitched voice rang out. It echoed fuzzily in his ears. "You shouldn't move!"
"Shut up," he meant to snap, but it came out as a weak slur. He managed to pull himself into a sitting position. When he opened his eyes, bright spots clouded part of his vision, but he could see a young girl in front of him. Was she the one who hit him? He couldn't get a good look (it's dark, raining, and he was just hit by a car), but he could just barely make out the nun's uniform she wore. The girl gingerly placed her hand on his forehead, ignoring his feeble efforts to shake her off. Her hand was ice cold!
"You're going to be alright," she said over the rain. "We've called someone from the Magdalene Order to help, so they should be here soon."
He didn't know what she was talking about, but nodded anyway. His head lolled to the side as everything started to spin. Instead of one girl in front of him, there were about four.
"Are you alright?" four girls, who were actually one girl, asked.
He fell backwards, his head connecting with the pavement hard enough to only cause a bruise. He stared up as the raindrops came down, which was soon replaced with the girl hovering over him. She blurred away to black as an image of Alphonse Elric appeared in his mind's eye.
"I'm sorry, Al."
:DDDD:
Sister Rosette Christopher of the Magdalene Order knew she was in for the scolding of a life time. After all, she had almost killed a kid.
Rosette and Chrono were coming back from a mission. She was feeling pretty good about it; she –astonishingly – didn't crash the car, hadn't damaged a single building, and successfully exorcised the devil with minimal civilian casualties. She had been boasting about it to Chrono when it started pouring like someone had left the water running in a sink. Chrono pointed out that she also had to avoid crashing the car on the way back to the Magdalene Order, but Rosette wasn't worried about it. She told Chrono that everything was going so well, she felt like it was her lucky day.
Her words came back to bite her when the form of a person appeared on the road. As soon as she saw the boy standing in the middle of the street like that, she honked her horn. Apparently the kid was deaf, and didn't move. She and Chrono both took hold of the driver's wheel as they tried to turn the car away. Unfortunately, they still hit him at forty miles per hour. The glass cracked as the boy impacted it, and Rosette stomped on the brake. She and Chrono were pulled forward by the sudden stop. After they had snapped back into their seats, Rosette was still gripping the wheel, her knuckles white. She breathed heavily, trying to think about what just happened. The thought of killing someone, even accidently, was enough to make her want to cry, because it was still a sin.
She hurriedly told Chrono to call the Order, and roughly opened the door. The rain hammered down and stung her skin, as if punishing her for what she had done. She quickly spotted the kid lying on the sidewalk. Rosette didn't need to see him to know that he was either dead or, at the very least, severely injured. She was relieved when she heard him groan, but was shocked when he tried to get up. She shouted at him to not move, sprinting up to him. She knelt in front of him, getting a good look at the idiot whose life she was worried about.
He looked to be around thirteen or fourteen. His blond bangs stuck to the sides of his face due to the rain, and the rest of his hair was braided, like Chrono's. When he opened his eyes, she noticed that they were an odd golden color. Suddenly remembering the situation, she carefully placed her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. His overly-heated skin was evidence of a growing fever. She tried to comfort herself with the fact that help would come, and even voiced it aloud to the kid. He nodded … before falling back and hitting his head on the sidewalk. Rosette cringed at the thump sound it made, and bent over him to see if he was alright. Just as his eyes were closing, he apologized to someone named Al.
Not long after that, Father Remington arrived with a few other Sisters. The Sisters took him and drove back to, Rosette assumed, the medical wing of the Magdalene Order. Father Remington stayed behind to give her and Chrono a lift in his car.
While they were driving back, Rosette stayed silent, refusing to look at Chrono or even Father Remington when they tried to speak to her. It was unnerving for Chrono, who had gotten used to her loud comments and complaints. Seeing her like this made his heart twist with worry.
By the time they finally arrived at the Order, the sun had begun to rise and the downpour had reduced to a light drizzle, causing a rainbow to stretch across the sky. It was very beautiful, but went unnoticed by the gloomy group. Rosette was worried about that fate of the boy and facing Sister Kate; Chrono was worried for Rosette; and Father Remington, though his stoic expression revealed nothing, was worried for all of them.
And now Rosette stood uneasily before large wooden double doors, which looked more intimidating than usual, the entrance to Sister Kate's office. She could practically feel the head Sister's wrath seeping out from under the doors.
"Just get it over with, Rosette," Chrono tried his best to ease his partner. "The longer you wait, the angrier Sister Kate will get."
"Easy for you to say!" she hissed quietly, glaring at him. "You don't have to go in there!"
He looked away, not quite sure how he could respond to that.
After a moment, Rosette sighed. "Sorry, Chrono."
Chrono nodded. "It's jake." He understood that Rosette was in deep trouble, not to mention she must have felt extremely guilty about the kid. She was a nun, and this sort of thing wasn't something a nun would usually get involved in.
Rosette glanced at her partner before putting on a strong face. Without any further hesitation, she opened the door and stepped inside.
Maybe it was her imagination, but Sister Kate's office seemed colder and darker than usual. It could've been because the sun was still rising and hadn't had a chance to brighten and warm up the place. Yeah, that was it.
Sister Kate's chair was turned so that Rosette wasn't able to see her yet, adding to her nervousness. With each step she took, she felt her bravado from before fading away as fast as a bullet. She stopped in front of the wooden desk, which was already stacked with paperwork, and waited with her gaze firmly on the floor. A few heart-pounding moments later, she heard Sister Kate swivel around in her chair. Rosette couldn't bear to look up at the anger and disappointment that was bound to be in the tough nun's piercing eyes.
"Rosette, look at me."
She hesitantly looked up, and felt her eyes widen. Sister Kate was definitely disappointed but, instead of the anger Rosette was expecting, she seemed to be worried. But why? Rosette was about to ask her, when Sister Kate raised her hand to stop her.
"I know what happened was unintentional, an accident. And I know that as a Sister, you must be feeling terrible."
Rosette nodded.
"However, this is something that cannot happen again." Her voice took on a sharper tone. "You were careless, and for that, you will be punished."
Rosette nodded again. Usually, she would have protested or complained. But this time was different. This time, it was her fault and she knew it. She braced herself for the worst punishment Sister Kate could give.
The head sister opened her eyes. "You won't be assigned to any missions until that boy is completely healed." Rosette's shoulders drooped. "And you will aid in his recovery."
"Yes, Sister Kate," Rosette said solemnly. She knew she deserved it, but it was still frustrating that she wouldn't be able to go on missions. Sister Kate told her she could leave, which she quickly did. She leaned against the door after she closed it, breathing a sigh of relief. On the ground waiting for her, Chrono was sitting cross-legged. He was surprised when Rosette came out and he hadn't heard any yelling.
"So how'd it go?" he asked timidly, standing up. He relaxed a bit when she offered him a small smile.
"Well, Sister Kate didn't bite my head off like I thought," she pushed herself away from the door and grabbed Chrono by the collar as she passed him, dragging him to wherever she was headed. Chrono shrieked as he almost tripped to keep up with her pace.
"W-Wait, Rosette! Where are we going?"
"We've got a new job, Chrono! And I'm not going to mess this one up!" Rosette answered cockily. But behind her arrogant grin, Chrono could tell that she was truly determined to not fail in whatever it was they had to do.
:DDDD:
As soon as Sister Rosette and Chrono left to report to Head Sister Kate, Father Remington made a beeline to the medical wing of the Order. He had sensed something strange about the injured boy, but nothing demonic. No, it was something different, but still unusual. So, he decided to get a closer look at him. When he arrived at infirmary there were dozens of Sisters rushing around to complete errands, their busy chatter creating a low buzz. It seemed odd that they were this active when it was just before sunrise, but Father Remington dismissed it as he recalled why he came in the first place. Amidst all the chaos he spotted a young Sister behind a desk, up to her elbows in what he guessed was patient files. He walked up to her.
"Excuse me," Father Remington called.
The girl glanced up, and did a double take as she realized who was speaking to her. Most of the Sisters, if not all, had a crush on Father Remington, and the petite brunette was no exception. She blushed. "Y-Yes?"
He smiled charmingly. "Could you tell me where a young blond boy is being treated? He was brought in just this morning."
The Sister felt her heart flutter. "Um …" She wasn't sure who exactly Father Remington was talking about, she had only switched shifts a few minutes ago. But she frantically began searching through the files that had taken over her desk anyway. "A blond boy …"
Father Remington scanned the hall and saw a nurse pushing someone in a wheelchair into a room. It was the boy.
He turned to the girl and smiled again. "Thank you, but I've found him." With that, he headed towards the room the boy was in. The Sister stared after him, silently rebuking herself for not being flirtier.
Father Remington arrived at the room as the nurse was leaving. She looked to be about fifty years old, someone safe to talk to without the risk of being glomped. He asked her if they knew who he was, or if any family had come to visit him.
The nurse shook her head. "No, no one's come." A disturbed look shadowed her expression. "Though I can't say I'm surprised. There's something strange about that boy."
"Really?" he didn't think anyone else would notice. "What makes you say that?"
The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she peered inside where the boy was lying beneath the covers, resting peacefully. "I've seen prosthetics before, but none like the ones he has. A solid metal arm and leg. I don't like to think about why someone his age would need or want something like that. It could only mean trouble." Sensing that the woman was about to rant to him about it, Father Remington thanked her politely and entered the room.
What the nurse said sounded unlikely, but there wasn't a reason to lie about it. He decided that he should see for himself. He walked up to the side of the bed and lifted the covers. His eyes widened slightly at what he saw. The boy's entire right arm was made of metal. As Father Remington's gaze traveled down, he saw that the boy's left leg from the knee down was also metal. He dropped the cover, his brow furrowing. Metal prosthetics were unheard of, and the idea was irrational. It would be more of a hassle to drag around heavy metal limbs instead of light wooden or plastic ones. And then there was the odd feeling Father Remington got from him. There was no doubt that he was human, but he was also something more. An apostle, perhaps?
Father Remington sighed and sat in one of the two chairs available in the room. There was no point in asking himself questions that couldn't be answered. He would have to wait until the strange boy woke up.
:DDDD:
A young blond haired boy, around the age of ten years old, laid face-down on a beach, his arms spread out as if he were hugging the sand. The waves rolled in and out, growing closer and closer to the boy. Before it could reach him, he was pulled out by an older blond boy. The sickly-looking teen pulled the boy away from the shore until he reached a beach house, laying the boy near the stairs which lead onto the deck.
"Lord Joshua!" A woman in a maid's uniform called softly. She stood in the doorway of the deck, unaware of the young boy he'd saved. "Are you feeling well? Perhaps you should return to bed. You still haven't recovered."
Joshua smiled up at the black haired woman. His sister. He loved her so much. "You worry too much, sis," he replied lightly. In truth, he wasn't feeling that well, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He had to stay strong for his sister, so that he could always protect her.
She began walking toward him. "Are you sure, Lord Joshu–" She stopped when she saw the little boy. "If I may inquire," she bowed slightly. When he didn't object, she continued. "Who is this boy?"
Joshua gaze returned to the boy. "I don't know. We should tell Lord Aion, so he can help him like he helped me."
"As you wish, Lord Joshua," she bent down and picked up the blond boy, taking him inside with Joshua at her heels.
Just to clear up any confusion, this happens after the last episode of FMA, not The Conqueror of Shamballa. And I haven't seen Chrono Crusade in a while. I wasn't sure if that maid lady called Joshua "Lord" or "Master", so I just went with lord. Sorry if some things were off or just completely wrong. But hey, it's a fanfic!
Please R&R!