A/N:I hope you enjoyed this story. I love writing for you guys! This chapter should have a bit more insight on Allen's past-and Ed is so kickass here, I love it! Edllen/Edward/Allen has changed a lot, but one thing he will always be is terrifying to villains. No pushover Allen here. :D
Nea is shitting his pants after this chapter, lolz.
Anon, thank you soooooo much for reading it and liking it. Just for all you guys, I will update this! :D Some fun stuff is on the way, and some serious stuff as well.
"You will never be entirely comfortable. This is the truth behind the champion - he is always fighting something. To do otherwise is to settle."
― Julien Smith, The Flinch
Chapter 2 The Full Metal Exorcist Rises from the Ashes (in other words, Nea Walker better watch out)
Allen Walker was an unusual child.
No, he wasn't just unusual, he was special.
No one knew that better than Cross Marian, his exorcist teacher.
He had noticed how brilliant the boy was, in his intelligence. He was uncannily precocious, but...he was more troubled by the boy's nightmares.
He sat up. The boy was screaming again.
The child would talk in his sleep, in a language he could not understand. By the time he would wake up, the boy would deny having said anything at all. It was quite strange, he had to admit.
Suddenly, he heard the boy's screaming get louder.
He wondered what was going on.
"Allen!" He cried.
The child was lying on his bed, panting heavily, his blue-gray eyes wide open in what looked like fear as he glanced around, though for a moment he swore they looked gold-but that was impossible.
"Marian-san?" He asked, in confusion, "What happened?"
"You were screaming in your sleep," He said to the white-haired boy.
The boy looked at him. "Yes," He muttered, "I was dreaming about Mana...and then Mana changed into something else...something more terrifying."
Marian wondered to himself, just what was more terrifying than an Akuma? He couldn't think of any other creature that was as insidious or terrifying.
"Get some rest," Was all he said to the white-haired teen before leaving. "Are you positive you're all right?" He asked.
"I can't say for certain that I'm all right, sir," He spoke up, "But, a long time ago, someone once told me that I've got a good pair of legs and I should get up and use them."
Marian cast the boy a strange look before he closed the door, leaving Allen alone with his thoughts.
Allen sat on the bed, his head propped in his hands.
"That nightmare...in that nightmare, Mana turned into a strange thing...with gleaming red eyes..and.." He muttered, "And I heard someone screaming a name I don't know."
He closed his eyes before opening them again. "The name in that dream was...Alphonse. But who is he?" He asked, pushing his white bangs back with his fingers.
His eyes widened as a sudden pang of pain hit his temples.
"Alphonse is...my brother?" Allen muttered, staring at nothing, holding his head as the memories flowed through him. Memories from another life that had suddenly been unleashed.
A girl named Nina...chimera. Tucker, Roy Mustang, Winry Rockbell, automail, the transmutation, alchemy, Rose...so many memories, and of course...his death.
A blade going right through him.
Him promising Alphonse he'd return, and then he'd died.
So much blood. So much blood.
Allen passed out from the trauma of those memories.
By the time he woke up, he remembered enough to help himself figure out what was going on.
Edward, or Allen, as he went by, now knew what had happened.
He had been reincarnated, somehow.
As luck would have it, the new him had to have a fake arm, no parents, and had to have performed an undead experiment. It couldn't just happen once, he thought bitterly.
Of course he'd be targeted by undead creatures. Of course.
This wasn't the first time it'd happened to him, so people were always surprised when they saw how calm Allen was in the face of such danger. Seeing as he was the former Full Metal Alchemist, such things were bound to happen to him.
Of course, he was still short.
"Tell me, Timcanpy," He said, "What do you think Al would think of me?"
Though Timcanpy didn't make a sound, Allen smiled.
"He'll probably think I'm insane, huh?" He said while stroking the object.
As much as he disliked Cross Marian's violent ways, he had to admit he missed the man, only a little bit.
"Allen, you must become taller to be a proper exorcist."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL?" He screamed.
"You are indeed too short."
"I'm still gonna fight! Whatever would make you think otherwise?" Allen snapped.
Oh, an abusive teacher?
The similarities of this new life to his old were simply uncanny.
He remembered letting the question about alchemy slip.
"Komui-san, are there people called alchemists?"
"Yes, there are. They live in a different country than we do, but we keep to ourselves, so we don't know much about them."
Komui was a little surprised when there was a smile breaking out on Allen's face.
"Might I ask why you're smiling, Allen-kun?"
"It's nothing." He said.
He wasn't in an entirely new world. It was just a different country.
From what he gathered of it all, alchemists and exorcists hated each other. Now here he was, a former alchemist, now an exorcist! Mustang would have a fit.
The white-haired boy wondered what Winry would have to say about him.
He probably didn't want to run into her for the rest of his life. He didn't want anything to happen to this innocence of his. She'd probably cut it up and sell pieces of it or something like that.
Or she would hit him on the head with a wrench and try to beat him up.
He shuddered.
"I don't understand, why these villains don't realize, they're not just messing with the Exorcist, they're messing with the Full Metal Exorcist." A smirk came on his face.
"I don't think we'll find that exorcist. He's way too short."
The next thing they knew, they were sent flying by Allen's kick.
Allen smiled innocently before activating his innocence. "Care repeating that?"
For some reason, he found he could terrify more people by smiling instead of getting mad.
Allen rather enjoyed that tactic, he had to say.
Alphonse Elric studied the boy before him as he sat there, talking and laughing with his friends.
He was glad his brother was back, but at the same time, this wasn't the boy he wanted.
His brother-or Allen Walker, as he went by now, was completely different. He wasn't sure how to react to the change in his brother's behavior. His brother was either more mature now or slightly more frightening.
How could he just smile all the time and not react?
Then there was his hair color, he never thought he'd ever see his brother with white hair, he was so used to him with blond hair. Then there was that scar. He couldn't believe his brother had been stupid enough to try that again.
He was still going to kick his brother's ass.
Third, he just didn't like how 'weird' his brother felt. His brother didn't feel entirely...human, or sane anymore. And that bothered him.
He'd be damned if Al would let his brother, reincarnated or not, suffer alone.
That is where the two brothers found themselves, in the same room together.
While Allen was busy reading a book, Alphonse was trying to get an answer out of him.
"Brother?"
Allen was too busy reading. The only sound he got was the flip of a page.
"Brother! Ed-er, uh, Allen?" He said.
"Yeah?" Allen said, looking up, (damn, he would never get used to his brother having blue eyes, it was so odd, and looking so innocent, too, his brother was anything but innocent.)
"Why are you so different?"
Allen sighed. "Like I said, reincarnation is different, Alphonse. It changes your personality."
"I hardly recognize you," Alphonse whined.
Allen smiled. "As a matter of fact, I didn't remember too much, up until I tried transmuting Mana and everything changed. I didn't want to believe it at first, thought it was all some lie that the Millennium Earl planted in my head. Maybe you're not used to seeing me without automail?"
"Yeah?"
"I prefer this innocence. At least it can grow back. I never have to worry about Winry tearing me apart again."
"Oh, I see," Al said, not quite understanding.
"Then...Komui-san's torture...is terrifying..." He whimpered, shrinking to the size of a chibi.
"Brother?"
Allen smiled.
"Say, brother, what will you do about the Colonel?"
Allen simply raised a brow. "What do you want me to do about him?"
"What if he wants you to return?"
"Then he can go screw himself, because I'm not returning." Allen said, with a smile that sent shudders down Al's spine. "I have my life now, and I'm not giving that up for anything."
The way in which his brother's red eye was glowing...that made Al scared.
"Relax, Al, I would never hurt you," He said, "Not unless you told me that I had to return."
"Brother...what's your relationship with that Kanda guy?"
Allen perked up. "Much the same as with the Colonel. We try to kill each other! It's great fun!"
Al shuddered. "You're more terrifying."
"I consider that a compliment, Al." Allen said, softly.
"Brother, you're hopeless." Al said.
"What?" Allen said, still smiling.
Who would have ever thought his brother could radiate killing intent without looking angry? It was creepy.
"I mean, just by how you act-smiling, saying you're not angry...when you are."
"I never said I was angry," Allen said, just by the way the smile was, Alphonse knew he was lying. Nothing was as terrifying as an angry Edward Elric.
"Are you sure you're not mad?"
Allen was silent for a few moments.
"If he says I have to be a soldier, then I'll just say one thing: no."
"But Brother-"
"If I'd dwelled on the past, that would make me how I used to be. I used to run away from being an alchemist. But now I can help people, it's my duty, that's what I wanna do. Sometimes, you have to lose the mantle of hero and look at it from another point of view. You can return to Amestris if you want. You're powerless against the Akuma. Too dangerous for you."
"What?"
"That poison...would go straight through you and kill you."
"P-Poison?" What sort of horrors had his brother gotten himself into? How could he just sit there and smile about it? "Brother-"
"Alphonse, I don't know if you've realized it, but I've become Allen Walker. I'm not the brother you used to know anymore. Edward Elric is up here-" He said before pointing at his head, "But Allen Walker is down here."
He indicated his innocence.
"Now, Alphonse, you mind giving me a few minutes' peace?"
"Bro-"
"Now, Alphonse. There's something I need to take care of." His hard stare gazed into Alphonse's eyes until Al realized it was something serious, recognizing his brother's tone, even if his voice was different.
Al paused at the door. "Brother, your voice sounds more effeminate...have you noticed that?"
"WHAT?" Allen shrieked. "I do not sound like a girl!"
"Yes, you do," Alphonse said with a laugh before exiting, stifling his laughter.
Allen fumed.
Allen turned, in his mind.
"Now, who are you and why are you lurking in my mind?"
The figure backed away.
"How do you know that I'm here? This is my body, and you're taking up residence in it." The figure said icily.
Allen rolled his eyes. "You some kind of homunculus or akuma? Whatever you are, you're getting awfully careless. What's an akuma doing in me?"
"You're not human, you're an akuma," The figure said.
"Oh, boy," Allen said before holding his sides and laughing, "Wow, I'm an akuma! Watch me cry and scream. Oh, please, that's the stupidest joke I've ever heard. Even if it were true, I don't give a fuck."
The figure stepped backwards.
"Why of all people, did I choose the reincarnation of an alchemist?" He whispered.
"I thought I heard an insult about me," Allen said.
"You're Edward Elric!" He cried.
"Brilliant deduction," Allen said sarcastically.
"The Millennium Earl told us that Edward Elric was dead!" He said in panic.
"I'm sure he's been fighting all the other alchemists," Allen purred.
"I can't believe that he still lives. They swore they would rid the world of him, and yet here he is."
"As your savior or your destroyer?" Allen purred again, grinning smugly.
"I'm not going to tell you everything about me. However, because of the fact that you are here, you're helping eliminate my control over this body-"
"Which you won't have any control over." Allen said, smiling dangerously. "If you tell the Millennium Earl, I'll destroy this body myself."
Nea laughed. "You're insane, Allen Walker, no, should I call you, Edward Elric?"
"I've dealt with so many idiots like you, I doubt you'll be the last one." Allen said.
"We will talk again," Nea said before walking away.
"You may come back in, Al," Allen said. "It appears that I have someone living in my mind."
Now Alphonse started paying attention.
"This person believes my body is all theirs-"
Neah sighed, loudly.
Why had he chosen this child?
He had chosen this child, who seemed ordinary enough.
Then the boy started speaking of someone named Alphonse.
He had convinced himself it was nothing but a coincidence.
Then a suit of armor had shown up.
Neah Walker knew that he was mistaken when he thought this body would be easy to control.
How sad it was for him to learn that this supposed puppet of his was actually the Full Metal Alchemist himself, the one who sent fear into Homunculi alike.
"What bad luck," He muttered, "To run into the kid who scares even the Millennium Earl. I need to stop him from getting in our way, that little short brat."
Suddenly, Allen appeared in his mind.
"Did I hear the word short?"
"Yes, you're a short, pain in the ass."
"Who are you calling short?"
The next thing Nea knew, he was running.
"Call me short again and you'll be dead." Allen said, smiling.
What had Nea Walker gotten himself into?
'Damn you, Mana,' Was all he could say.