Demons Only One

Chapter 7: Long Hallway with a Broken Light

Allen slowly picked himself off of the floor; his eyes were locked with a golden-brown pair that belonged to a young boy. At first, the boy had a surprised look on his round face, and then it turned into a large, genuine grin. His eyes seeming to sparkle in the dim light.

"Allen!" he exclaimed happily as he moved away from the window where dark, gray skies were visible.

The exorcist took a step back, his mind a confused mess: Why was this guy in Fullmetal's head?; why was he being so familiar with him?; and how did he know his name? Then something clicked. Though his face was rounder, his expressions more kind, he did look like Fullmetal. Even the gestures were familiar to that of-

"M-mana?"

"You can call me Al. Mana was my alias." Al grinned and pulled Allen into a hug. "It's been too long! I'm really sorry for leaving you, but I didn't have much time left… and when you called me back, I was terrified with what the Earl was going to make me do." Al pulled back and studied Allen's dumbstruck face.

"Wow! You've grown so much taller since I last saw you! You're so much taller than Ed even though you two are supposed to be kindred souls!" ("WHO'S SO SMALL THAT DOLLS WOULD MISTAKE HIM AS A TOOTHPICK?")

"B-but how? Why are you here?" Allen could barely get the words out due to his shock.

"Ah, well, I guess I should explain from the beginning. You probably didn't hear much about what was going on and I never did explain anything to you..." The blonde stepped back and paced the room for a bit, gathering his thoughts. The tap-tap of his footsteps stopped and he turned to look at the exorcist. "Did you know? Noah aren't from this world. We're actually from a different world, which is what makes Noah different from everyday people that you're familiar with, but what makes me different from Ed or Tyki is that my body actually isn't in this world.

"You see, ever since I was young, my soul was never very well attached to my body, so I am able to put small portions of my soul into other objects. When Ed came over into this world, part of my soul came over as well.

"At that time, I lost track of Ed… and when I found him again, he had lost his mind…" He paused and looked out the window, his mouth turned into a slight frown before turning back to study Allen's reaction. "You know, my body at that time was an armor suit, and when I was finally able to make Ed realize how stupid he was being, the Earl was more than ready to kill us. So before Ed went to go fight the Earl, he changed the shape of my vessel in order to disguise me. I then became the one you know as Mana.

"Unfortunately, the time that I can be away from my original body and soul is finite, and my soul was nearing its limit and could not be held in a container for much longer, which is why I had to leave you." He wrung his hands nervously and glanced at Allen. "I didn't want to leave you at all! Please understand! My time was up and there was nothing I could do to prolong it." He fidgeted some more.

"You.. I don't blame you at all!" Allen replied fervently. "It was just a shock, is all. I didn't know what to do when you suddenly collapsed…"

Mana flashed him a small smile before continuing. "When you called me back using the Earl, I freaked out, but then I realized something. You gave me a chance to come back and make sure Ed didn't do anything stupid! So I had to curse you, during which I moved my soul from the demon to your eye. I'm really sorry about that…"

"I knew it." Allen whipped around, and behind him leaning exhaustedly against the door was Fullmetal.

"Brother!"

"As soon as I saw the eye, I knew."

"I thought you were sleeping…"

"It felt like someone called me short…" growled a disgruntled Ed as he stomped through the door. "So I woke up…" He glanced suspiciously at the two before letting it go and turning his full gaze on Mana; his eyes softened. "I didn't realize our minds were still linked, Al. I would've sought you out sooner if I'd known."

"I'm not sure that we could completely separate our minds after what happened."

"Yea… I guess not." He slumped on the floor, resting his head against the doorframe. "I really missed you, Al. When you go back, tell Winry and the others that... I'm sorry." His voice drifted off and his eyes inadvertently shut. He was asleep again.

"Geez! Brother! Don't fall asleep somewhere like that! Allen, could you help me?"

It took them awhile, but they finally moved Ed to the lone bed in the room ("Why is he so heavy?" "Ah well, you know.. growing boys!"); Mana was covering the Noah with a blanket when he turned to look at Allen. "I know that you've been wondering about me, about whether or not I cared for you."

Allen's eyes turned large as he stared at the other boy and he felt himself flush with embarrassment. That wasn't something he actually wanted Mana to know! "I've been watching." He tapped under his left eye, answering the unasked question of how he knew. "Anyway, I wanted you to know that I've always cared and that I've always considered you family."

It had been several days since Link and the Bookman had returned from their mission, and Link was bored out of his mind. The Noah had made no movement and there were no signs that he was going to wake up anytime in the near future, but Link was still forced to monitor him 24/7.

The first day wasn't so bad since he was able to catch up on the various reports concerning the Noah, but now that there was nothing else to read, there was nothing else to do but sit around and twiddle his thumbs.

He sighed and rested his chin against his fist as he idly paged through a book about Alchemy. Occasionally, he glanced at the sleeping boy only to confirm that there was indeed no change in his condition.

When he was just about to go get some dinner, the Noah suddenly sat up, groaning and coughing. "That damn Colonel. I'm gonna wring his neck when I see him!" he muttered under his breathe as his coughs subsided. Taking a steadying breathe, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and shakily got to his feet. It was about then that he noticed the Crow.

"Oh, perfect! Link, you can take me back to that room with the metal. You know the way, right? Great, lead the way!" He motioned for the blonde to get walking before even getting an affirmation.

Bewildered, he slowly led the Noah through the halls. It was clear from the way the Noah was limping, using the wall as a crutch and from the amount of sweat on his brow that he was far from being recovered, but the determined look deterred Link from mentioning anything, not that he would have said anything anyway. He wondered what was so important that he couldn't wait until he was fully recovered.

By the time the two reached the room, they had gathered a small crowd of angry people, but Fullmetal ignored them and their jeers. Link motioned that everyone should stay in the doorway and not enter the room.

Falling to his knees before the metal and wiping some sweat from his brow, he clapped his hands and touched the metal. Blue lightening danced and the metal slowly began to reform and move until it finally settled into the shape of a large suit of armor that was lying on the ground.

He then grasped the box carrying the chalk and dumped it out on the ground. Clapping his hands, he touched the chalk which formed into a large transmutation circle around the metal.

Looking up as if he just realized that he had an audience, he grinned mischievously, and some backed up nervously, wondering what he was going to do. "I'm gonna show you an awesome magic trick: I'm going to bring an inanimate object to life."

Before anyone could move, he clapped his hands again and touched the transmutation circle. Slowly, he brought his left hand to his left eye and retraced the scar, seemingly removing it. The Noah then removed the helmet and drew something on the inside of the body of the armor.

He sat back as the lightening died down, looking more gaunt and tired than he was before, if that were possible. The metal hand twitched.

"Brother!" Link stared at the armor. Did the voice just come from it? "You idiot! I told you to wait till you were recovered before trying something like this!"

"Couldn't wait. We need to get started with the cooking." Fullmetal slumped forward, but the armor caught him before he hit the ground, still admonishing the Noah even though he was clearly not listening.

"What.. the.. hell?" Link muttered in the dead silence. He was going to have one hell of a report to write later.

"Brother, what did you mean by saying sorry! You can do it yourself! You're going to make it home." Al's voice sounded exasperated and irritated, and Allen could picture in his mind Mana's arms waving around when he got agitated.

"Al… I'm not sure.. that I can."

"What is that supposed to mean?" There was a sound that sounded like a hand hitting a table.

"I… You know that there's more going on beside us… right?"

"You mean the homunculi?"

"Well, yes, them too. I meant, Amsteris in general, and even in this world. Because of us… because of me, our sins have crossed even worlds. Don't you see? I have to fix this, to correct everything, and in order to do that, I have to do this. Besides, I don't have a body anymore, and the chances of fixing my soul to something immediately after crossing the Gate is near impossible."

"But it's possible! It's not impossible! Brother! Don't do this! You don't have to fix everything! This isn't your fault! You have to stop blaming yourself! Just come home..."

"Al, this is.. the only way.. the only path I can think of right now. And I have to at least get that bastard Colonel home..."

"He's a general now.."

"Will you at least help me?"

"No."

"Al…" Ed's voice sounded so tired.

"I won't help you unless you swear to me.. swear to me that you won't give up! You have to come home!"

"I.. I'll try, Al. I'll try. "

Allen pushed himself away from the stairwell. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but when he heard the two talking from the bedroom he was "borrowing," he couldn't help himself and wonder what they would talk about. But now that he had heard their conversation, he wondered exactly what Ed was planning.

There was only a growing list of questions. Maybe he ought to start writing them down and keep a physical list… Well, physical in the sense that he could see it.

Another update! Woo! Happy fourth! (Or belated..) Anyway, it's another record for me! But now I probably won't update for awhile especially since I have a big exam coming up that will more or less determine the rest of my life (and I'm not kidding…). Hahaha..ha… Wow, I really don't want to think about it.

As always, thank you for the reviews and support! Please continue to support me in the future!

~Razra

Title is a song by Thriving Ivory.