;)

"Hm?" Mustang picks up the ringing phone, expecting another dull message or appointment in the making. But what he gets is something completely different.

"Tomorrow?"

"Don't worry. Consider it done."

—

"And through here is the shortcut back to the dorms." Al says proudly, gesturing down an alleyway.
"Wasn't there a restaurant back here?" Ed wonders, eyes skimming the street.

"Yeah, but it closed down." Al nods. "I think it's a tailor now."

"You really haven't been here a while." Allen muses, staring up at the darkening sky.
"Nah." Ed says. "It's been about a year."
"Oh!" Al says suddenly. "There's somewhere else I need to show you!"

—

"What the hell?" Ed stares disbelievingly at the small building. "A 'cat shelter'?"
"Isn't it great?" Al chirps.
"I guess it's better that you don't pick up every stray you see." Ed says.
"And there's this orange kitten," Al says excitedly. "That they rescued a month ago, that's so-"

"Do you like cats, Al?" Allen asks.
"I love them!" Al grins. "But Brother never lets me keep one…"
"They're too much work!" Ed defends. "Besides, we move around a lot, it's no fair to keep abandoning it."
"…Fine." Al sighs. "But, what is we-"

"No, Al."

—

The next day.

"You two need a break." Allen says, pulling the thick book away from Ed.

"We don't." He insists, grabbing at the book.

"No." Allen drops the book behind him. "You've been in here since six this morning. At least come get some lunch."
"I agree." Al votes. "I'm starving."
"Fine!" Ed groans. "But we're not taking longer than an hour, got it?"

—

"I think there's somewhere down here…" Al heads down the crowded street, the summer sun glaring down onto the masses.

"I don't even remember this street." Ed admits, looking curiously at the buildings.
"It hasn't changed recently." Al notes. "Maybe your memory's failing Brother."
"At least it'll never be as bad as Allen's." Ed shrugs.

"Hey!"

The following explosion comes out of nowhere. It obliterates the small shopfront, throwing nearby passersby to the sides. Others start to scream and run away, trampling each other to get away. A few trip onto the street, where the nearby cars have all pulled to a stop.

Al lowers the arms he instinctively raised to cover his face. Allen lowers his left arm and Ed continues to stare at the carnage.

"What the fuck!?" Ed jumps into a flat sprint, pushing past the fleeing public.
"Brother!" Al rushes after him.
"Ed! Al!" Allen isn't far behind.

—

Mustang hears the explosion from his office. He can see the smoke rising in the distance.

"Woah." Havoc stares out the window. "That isn't good."
"Let's go." Mustang sighs, grabbing his coat as he heads to the exit. "We'll meet Fullmetal on site."

—

Ed stares at the fallen across the sidewalk. Crushed by rubble or thrown by the blast, they lit bloodied on the ground. Some are worse of than others, but there aren't any survivors. But, what catches Ed's eye is a particular corpse, it's skin dotted with spreading black stars.

"Shit."

—

Al stares up at the building, it's form crippled by the explosion. He can hear a child crying and the ring of a scream still echoes in his ears. He can see Ed a little ways away, crouching over one of the many bodies. A metallic groan draws his eyes back to the building, where something is emerging.

"Brother! Look out!"

—

Allen jogs forward as the last of the bystanders pass by. Ed and Al are not far away, but a sickening sense of dread swells in his stomach. It's thick, like syrup, and heavy, like metal. But, even worse, it's painfully familiar. As an equally familiar pain stings at his scarred left eye, his suspicions are confirmed.

"Akuma!"

—

Ed looks up at the simultaneous cries, just as the body at his feet crumbles into dust.
The storefront is only a few meters away, giving Ed a very clear view of the half metal, half man thing in front of him.

—

Al's head snaps upwards as the strange sound above them. He stares at the three figures on the rooftop, their black clothes creating almost menacing silhouettes against the bright blue sky.
"Huh?"
In under a second, they're on the pavement next to him, rushing towards his brother and the monster in the building.

—

Allen sees the three first and barely hesitates.

He has no other choice.
He runs.

—

Ed scowls as the Akuma jumps towards him, it's twisted form pointing it's blackened cannons in his direction.

Just as he presses his hands to the concrete, a black-cloaked figure appears in front of him. The Akuma curls back as fire!? slams into it, bursting from nothing.

"What the-" Ed straightens up as the Akuma disappears back into the building.

"I got it!" Another figure appears, in similar garb, and jumps into the building. As another explosion rocks the street, a harsh cry signals the Akuma's demise.

—

Al jogs over to his brother, who's staring as the third figure approaches the other two. A sort of indignant expression appears on the eighteen-year-old's face as he watches on.

"You alright?" The nearest figure turns as Al reaches Ed. As his hood drops, Al is almost startled by the bright orange hair underneath. A bright green bandana holds it away form his face, almost perfectly matching his glittering left eye; the other being obscured by a dark eye-patch.

Al tries to ignore Ed's glare at the twenty-something year old as he smiles kindly. "Yes, we're fine, thank you."
"That's good." The man grins. "You really shouldn't be so close to these things."
"Ah, right." Al nods, pulling at Ed's arm. "Come on Brother, we should go."

—

"That was weird." Lenalee watches the two leave, moving to stand by Lavi.
"Yeah." Lavi agrees, turning to the wrecked building. "Damn, how'd it get so far into the city?"

"Doesn't matter." Kanda says, looking disdainfully at the wreckage. "Let's just head out."
"…Those guys…" Lavi realises. "One of them was wearing the military uniform here."
"Really?" Lenalee says. "I did think his clothes were weird."
"What are you talking about?" Kanda demands.
"Oh, nothing."

—

Ed barely reaches the end of the street, when a familiar military car pulls up in front of him.
"Fullmetal!" Mustang steps out immediately. "I didn't think you were one to walk away from trouble."
"Shut up." Ed scowls, glaring at a nearby wall.
"What happened?" Mustang turns to Al.

"Uh, well, you see…"

—

"Hey, there's more of them." Lenalee points down the street, where half a dozen blue-clothed figures approach.
"Well, what do you know." Lavi runs a hand through his hair. "Think they're the ones we were meant to meet up with?"
"Seems like it." Lenalee nods.
"Great." Kanda mutters.

"I'm sure they're fine." Lenalee smiles.

—

"That's them?" Mustang asks.
"Yes." Al nods. "I wonder what they're doing."
"Hm." Mustang hums as they approach.

"Yo." The red-head waves in greeting.
"I assume you're the, ah, 'exorcists' I'm expecting." Mustang says professionally, not breaking eye contact.

"That's right. I'm Lavi Bookman Junior, by the way." Lavi introduces with a casual grin.

"My name is Lenalee Lee." Lenalee politely introduces before gesturing to their final companion. "And this is Yuu Kanda."
Kanda just glares at the group before turning away disapprovingly.

"What's with the look?" Ed mutters, glaring right back.

"Relax, Brother." Al consoles.
"We should head back to my office." Mustang proposes. "If you please."

—

Allen lets out a deep breath as he ducks into an alleyway, finally tired of running. He's made his way halfway across the city, landing him in the less friendly side of town. Luckily, this place is perfect for relaxing. Allen was never one to avoid a good game of cards.

—

One hour later.

"You didn't see him go?" Ed quietly converses with Al, staying a good distance from the 'exorcists'. Honestly, Ed thought the title sounded stupid.

"I wasn't paying attention. Sorry, Brother." Al apologises.
"It's okay." Ed shakes his head. "Allen can take care of himself."

"So we should just leave him?"
"He'll come back when he's ready. Trust me."

—

"What's an 'exorcist' anyway?" Havoc wonders, looking at the newcomers curiously.
"They're here to deal with our 'Akuma' problem." Mustang explains, being sure that everyone present can hear. "They're from a private organisation that deals with them."
"I thought they were a new problem." Havoc says.
"For us they are." Mustang nods. "But apparently they've been in a few odd countries for a long while now. Nothing yet to threaten the security of Amestris."

"Except now," Ed adds with a grimace. "They're hanging out in Central. Right under out noses."

"Well, that's why we're here to help." Lavi speaks up. "We've dealt with these things before, so you won't have to worry for much longer."

—

That evening.

Mustang sighs as he sits back at his desk. Their resident exorcists had gone off to a hotel and everyone else had left soon after. The brightly lit city lights stream in through the large windows, smothering the dim light of his desk lamp.

Scanning his desk, Mustang spots Fullmetal's report in front of him. He picks it up, flicking through the pages absentmindedly.

"We arrived at Rensarm City this morning…" Mustang reads to himself, starting at a random point and trying to ignore the lack of professionalism. "The train was boring, except Allen said something really weird."
"Hm?" Mustang stops, not remembering this particular part.

"I think he was half asleep, but he kept talking about 'the Order'? I don't get it. It's probably not important, but I'm running out of things to write about."
"How stupid." Mustang mutters, turning to the next page and skipping a few paragraphs.

"Luckily, only one building was destroyed, which is a new record for us. Allen seemed pretty pleased. He said that he always ends up destroying at least three buildings when fighting them."
"Fighting them?" Mustang raises an eyebrow. "The other reports say he's just a civilian. How could he have fought them?"

—

The next day.

"We should go look for him." Al says worryingly. "What if something happened?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Ed slouches down on the couch, ignoring the harsh glare from Mustang.

"Something happen?" Lavi, coming out of nowhere, appears behind Ed.
"No." Ed says quickly. 'Mind your own business."
"If you say so." Lavi holds up his hands in surrender. "I was just asking."
"Try not to be so hostile, Fullmetal." Mustang calls over from his desk.
"Just try and stop me, bastard." Ed bites back before turning to Al. "Come on, let's look around."

—

"That was weird." Lavi hums, turning back ot the Brigadier General.
"Don't worry." Mustang says. "They're always like that."
"I wonder what they were talking about." Lenalee wonders.

"It doesn't matter." Kanda dismisses.
"Actually,: Mustang speaks up. "It might have something to do with you."
"Really?" Lavi looks thoughtful. "And how would that be?"
"Would you perhaps know someone named Allen Walker?"

—

One hour later.

Allen wanders through the unfamiliar streets, unable to orient himself back to the military headquarters. Just as he was giving up hope, he hears some familiar voices.

"He won't be at your cat shelter, Al!"
"We should go check anyway…"
"If anything, he'll be loitering in some back alley."
"You said he gets lost easily, right Brother? Shouldn't we check everywhere we've been already?"

"Ed?" Allen turns the nearest corner and spots the two brothers.
"Allen?" The older one tunrs to look at him. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Around." Allen shrugs. "I'd tell you if I could, but I don't really know where I was."
"Then, what were you doing?" Ed inquires.
"THis/" Allen holds up a wad of bills. "I found this huge gambling club last night. I tick I outstayed my welcome though."
"…That's a lot of money." Al stares.

"Less than I expected." Ed shrugs. "Come on, let's head back already."

"Uh, actually…" Allen says quickly.
"What?" AL asks, watching Allen's nervous expression.

"Uh, um…" Allen desperately thinks of an excuse. "I..haven't eaten yet."
"Seriously?" Ed raises an eyebrow.

"I've been stuck in back alleys for the last day." Allen defends. "hHere wasn't really anywhere to sit down an eat."
"Then, I'm sure we can find a place." Al nods. "Come to think of it, we haven't had breakfast yet either."

ugh the spacing in this is really terrible but thats cos doc manager is stuffing up theres not much i can do sorry.
this's been sitting on my desktop for a few days but i forgot about it so here it is now lol

thanks for reading!

-Cheese Wizzard