Im sorry this took so long, but exams are over and my holidays have begun, so i'll be writing a lot more for you guys!

Thanks for reading!

Allen heads up the twilit street, piercingly aware of the lack of people. The evening had just begun, meaning that there should still be people up and about. Allen just sighs and, while swallowing any shred of doubt or foreboding, continues down the street.

Unfortunatley, that was the first mistake.

—

The next morning: 7:30 am.

"Morning." Lavi casually enters Mustang's office, slouching down on one of the couches.
"You're alone." Mustang notices, looking up slightly.

"I'm just waiting for Allen." Lavi shrugs. "We forgot to tell him where we were staying, so I think he'll turn up here."
"Hmm." Mustang turns back to his papers, letting an semi-awkward silence settle.

—

"We're early." Al stares up at the large military building.
"Are we?" Ed continues forward, disinterested.

"Everyone usually arrives around eight." Al continues, trailing after his brother. "But Mustang comes in at seven every morning."
"Great."

—

The two eventually arrive at Mustang's rather large office. Ed slams the door open and yells out a rather rude greeting over Al's apology.

"Yo." Lavi waves at them from his spot on the couch.

"You're alone." Ed notices.
"I'm waiting for Allen." Lavi says.

"Whatever." Ed turns to Mustang. "I'm going to the library."
"You are?" Mustang looks up uninterested. "Why are you here, then?"
"…I wanted to talk to Allen." Ed admits. "But if he's not here, I'll come back later."
"I'll tell him you wanted to talk." Lavi suggests. "When he turns up."
"…Sure." Ed shrugs and turns to the door. "Al, let's go."
"Okay, Brother." Al glances over to Mustang. "Sorry for intruding."

—

Allen peers over the lobby desk, trying to find any signs of life. The hotel had been deadly quiet since he'd gotten back, something he'd immediately associated with danger. It couldn't possibly be an Akuma, they were far to loud. Unless it were a higher level… but even so, they would have made some indication of their presence. Regardless, Allen would have been able to tell…

"Hello?" Allen awkwardly calls towards the back room. "Is anyone in there?"
After a few second of silence, Allen decides to head inside. No one would ever know, right?

That was the second mistake.

The door swings open easily. It hadn't been locked. Inside is pitch black, leaving Allen to fumble for a light switch. He grips a small handle and gives it a tug.

The room is immediately illuminated in a deep, red light.
"Red?" Allen looks up immediately and his blood runs cold.
A light hangs from the ceiling, flickering with light. Its glass surface is dripping in…red. Allen's gaze moves downwards and he starts to feel his hands shake.

On the bright side, he's figured out where everyone went.

On the other hand, it was in that moment that everything went black.

—

Half an hour later.

Lavi scowls at the clock on the wall, one hand drumming his fingers as the other is clenched into a fist.

"What will you do?"

Lavi looks up to see Mustang watching him carefully.
"…I don't know." Lavi sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I guess I should try looking for him."
"You guess?" Mustang raises and eyebrow.
"If he turns up, tell him we're looking for him." Lavi stands up and heads to the exit, the sickening apprehension swelling in his gut.

—

Allen groggily opens his eyes, trying to regain his bearings. He's lying on the floor and there's a dull pain in his skull. Someone hit him. Additionally, Allen then realises, there's a sharp sting in his stomach. Slowly reaching down to the source, Allen's hand touches something warm and sticky pouring from his wound.
"Fuck." Allen quietly swears as he tries to assess the damage.

"Good morning!"
Allen jolts a the sudden voice. It came from behind him, completely out of sight.

"Oh, sorry!"
After a few hurried footsteps, a figure appears in Allen's line of vision. Well, their shoes at least.

"Hm? Did I hit you too hard?" The almost childish giggle throws Allen off. The figure slowly crouches down in front of him, just as he raises his gaze.

"…Road?"

—

"Hey!" Lavi spots his fellow exorcists wandering down the street and waves to them.
"Lavi?" Lenalee spots him first, just as he's coming to a stop in front of them. "Where's Allen?"
"Didn't show up." Lavi scowls.

"Do you think something's happened?" Lenalee's face contorts with worry.
"He probably got lost or something." Lavi shakes his head. "But we should go look for him."

"Where do we look?" Lenalee wonders.
"I know where his hotel is." Lavi answers. "It's only ten minutes walk away from here. Let's start there."

—

"Did you miss me, Allen?" Road giggles ecstatically, running a large knife over her fingers.
"Road." Allen blinks away the dark spots across his vision. "W-What did you do?"
"I got bored." Road laughs, straightening up. "I thought you'd appreciate it."
"Appreciate?" Allen pushes himself up, ignoring the pain in his joints and stomach. "Why would I-"

"You don't like it?" Road frowns. "How mean."

—

Ten minutes later.

"Hello?" Lavi peers around the large lobby, which is worryingly quiet. "This looks bad."

"What could have happened?" Lenalee wonders.
"Maybe they all went to lunch?" Lavi suggests, trying for a smile.

"It's quarter past eight." Kanda points out. "There should be people here."
"Hm…" Lavi wanders over to the marble lobby desk.
He reaches out and dings the small bell on the counter, ignoring the shape glare from Kanda's direction.
"No one…" Lavi looks around again, spotting a small door not far away. "Staff only? That sounds like an invitation."
Strolling over to the door, Lavi beckons to the others.

—

Lavi's stomach drops as he stares into the room. It's relatively small, definitely not meant to house to dozen or so bodies strewn across the floor. In various states of disarray, the form lies in pieces large and small over a layer of drying blood. The flickering light is almost completely dimmed by the sprayed blood, which has also made it's way across the walls.
"Shit." Kanda's soft swear breaks the silence. Lavi swallows down any threatening bile as he scans the broken bodies in front of them.
"…Allen isn't here." Lavi lets out a breath and steps away from the room.
"Then…" Lenalee looks around nervously. "Where is he?"

"Let's keep looking." Lavi closes the door, shoving the image into the deep recesses of his mind.

That was the third mistake. If only he'd taken a close look, he'd've spotted the bloody transmutation circle under all that mess.

—

"Sorry!" Road's voice jolts Allen to life, a newfound pain on the back of his skull.
"Y-You…" Allen swallows and shakes his head.
"What is it?" Road bends over in front of him.
"You…hit me again." Allen grimaces as he lifts his head upwards.
"Of course!" Road laughs violently. "Couldn't let you see where we were goin'."
"Where are we?" Allen looks around the almost pitch black room.
"Not telling!" Road cackles. "That'd give everything away!"
"What?" Allen spots the chair his sitting on and tests the ropes tying him down. No luck.
"You didn't think I wanted to hurt you, Allen?" Road pouts. "I'm just trying to get your friends, that's all."

"My friends?"

—

"What now?" Lavi wanders back into the middle of the lobby.

"We'll take another look around." Lenalee says. "There must be something here."

It takes another few minutes, but Kanda finds a suspicious bulge under the carpet. Pulling out his sword, he easily slices throw the fabric, revealing a wooden trapdoor underneath.

—

"Hm?" Road stops suddenly, laying a finger on her lips as she stares above them.
Allen mimics here, looking up into the expanse of darkness.
After a few seconds, a few muffled whispers join them.

"That doesn't look safe."
"Lavi?" Allen immediately recognises the voice.

"Just go!" Lenalee's voice harshly whispers.

"Where are they?" Allen whispers to himself, looking around his restricted range of vision.

"Doesn't matter." Road grins. "They'll be here soon."

—

"Shouldn't we get some help?" Lavi looks back at the trap door behind them. "You know, just in case?"
"We might not have that much time." Lenalee shakes her head.
"Wait a second…" Lavi stops and rummages through his pockets.
"What now?" Kanda scowls, glaring at the red-head.
"Here!" Lavi pulls out a black orb.
"A golem?" Lenalee recognises the object.

"I'll send it to our Amestrian friends." Lavi cheerfully explains, letting the golem stretch out its wings.

"If you think we should." Lenalee nods. "But be quick."

—

"Now, we can't have that." Road frowns, muttering to herself. "Hm, I'll just send some Akuma after it, I won't have anyone interfering now."

—

"Okay." Lavi grins as the black golem flies off, complete with a recorded message.
"Let's get going, then." Lenalee persists. "We need to hurry."
"I got it." Lavi jogs ahead, letting the other two match his speed. "We're coming Allen!"

—

"This is going nowhere!" Ed angrily exclaims, resisting the urge to throw his book across the room.
"Maybe we should take a break, Brother." Al suggests, hoping to pacify his raging brother.
"Hmph." Ed scowls, pushing his books out the way.
"It's not quite time for lunch yet…" Al says thoughtfully.
"Well maybe-"

Ed is cut off by loud explosion way too close.
"What!?" Al jumps up.

The adjacent bookcase then flies away with another explosion. As the shelf disappears to the right, a huge Akuma is revealed behind it. The Akuma is a pulsing and shaking mess off various pumps and gears swirling over the red and deformed flesh. Violent screams tear from it's various gaping holes, dripping its red oil over the floor. Blue, oxygen deprived hands reach out to the air, swiping at… something in front of it.
"Brother!?" Al turns towards Ed, at a complete loss.
"Uh…" Ed glances over at his brother, only for something to hit him on the head.
"Look out!" Al cries out, pulling Ed towards him just as the Akuma's abnormally large hands slam down behind him.
"Let's get out of here!" Ed shouts, bee-lining for the exit.

As the two jump out of the building, the Akuma smashed through the undersized door behind them. Pedestrians scream and run away, but the Akuma seems too interested in the two alchemists to notice.
It brings its white, demon-like mask of a face downwards to stare just above Ed's head.
"What?" Ed looks up, following its gaze.
Hovering just above him is a small… ball? A pair of bat like wings flap nervously as its large black-and-white eye flitters around.

"What's that?" Al reaches out to the thing, cupping it in his hands.
"I don't know." Ed scowls, glaring at the Akuma. "But we should take care of this thing first."

—

"Ugh." Lavi stares down the thin, rickety staircase in front of him. "Ladies first?"
"Just go." Kanda growls, roughly pushing the Lavi forward.
"Hey!" Lavi trips down the first few steps before regaining his balance. "I can't see where I'm going!"
"Then start going." Kanda says. "Go."

—

"They're almost here!" Road giggles, her hands playing with a sharpened wax candle."
Allen doesn't reply, instead he continues to scratch away at his rope bindings with his nails. With his hands bound, he can't even try out his limited knowledge of alchemy, not to mention anything else…

—

"Hi!" Lavi's loud and sudden voice almost causes Al to drop the golem in shock.
"What the hell was that?" Ed turns away from the Akuma to look at Al.
"I don't know!" Al quickly replies, letting his brother get back to dealing with the Akuma.

"Um, I hope you've gotten this! Anyway, we kind of need some help? Maybe? Oh, this is my personal golem, by the way. Anyway, we're underneath Allen's hotel right now, and, well, things aren't really going as planned. We would- uh, I would appreciate any back up? Yeah? Also, if you do decide to help out, I advise against opening the door behind the receptionist desk? Yeah, there's an open trapdoor in the middle of the floor, we're through there. Uh, okay, thanks!"
"Uh…" Al looks up to the Akuma and a very frustrated Ed. "I think I have an idea."

—

The three exorcists eventually reach the bottom of the stairs, where a large checkered door awaits them. Light leaks from under the door, illuminating the stone floor and walls around them.
"Ready?" Lavi glances over to his companions as one hand grips the glistening, golden handle…

—

The door easily swings open, revealing the two figures inside.
"Hiya!" A girl consumes Lavi's vision, appearing right in front of him.

"Ah!" Lavi steps back in surprise.
The girls just laughs, jumping away from him. Lavi stares blankly at her over-the-top coloured dress and spiky hair. He watches curiously and nervously as she bites down on an oversized lollipop, shattering into multicoloured pieces. As she grins with her shark-like teeth, a shiver runs down Lavi's spine.

"Lavi?"

—

"Where are we going!?" Ed angrily calls after his brother, who's running ahead of him.

"Trust me!" Al calls back, darting around a corner into another alleyway.
"This is a bad idea!" Ed protests, completely aware of the Akuma ploughing a path behind them. "It's catching up!"

"We're almost there!" Al reassures, continuing forward.

"We better be!"

—

"Allen?" Lavi finally spots the teen not far off. He's bound to a chair by thick rope, slowly being stained by the blood leaking from his stomach. A small trail of blood runs down the side of his face, its source somewhere under Allen's red-stained hair.
"Wait-" Lavi's head whips back to the girl, who's already charging at him with a candle?

"Woah!" Lavi jumps back, barely avoiding her.
"Aw!" The girls pouts, glancing over at Allen. "Allen! You ruined my fun!"
"Guys!" Allen just turns to his friends. "Be careful! She's dangerous!"
"I noticed." Lavi scowls, lifting his hammer.
"Who are you!?" Lenalee demands, moving into a battle stance.

"My name's Road." Road giggles childishly. "Don't worry, I already know you you are."

—

"Isn't this-" Ed recognises the hotel immediately, watching as Al runs inside.
"Come on!"
"Why are we here!?" Ed demands, slipping through the entrance.
"Um…" Al looks around frantically before rushing over to the open trapdoor nearby. "Get in!"
"Get in!?" Ed says disbelievingly. "You can't be-"

The Akuma crashes through the wall where the door had been and quickly approaches the brothers.
"I'm coming!" Ed jumps through the door and continues down the hallway after his brother.

—

"Shit." Lavi grips his right arm tight, trying to stop the blood flowing from the deep wound.
Allen watches on fearfully as Road easily dodges the exorcists' attacks, laughing playfully. "Catch me if you can!"
"Lavi!" Lenalee lands next to the red-head. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." Lavi shakes his head. "Keep her busy, I'll get Allen."

Lavi jogs over to the teen, only for Road to jump in front of him. "Nope!"
"Fuck." Lavi swears and backs up, hefting his hammer in his free hand.

"You're kind of fun, you know." Road grins. "I'm glad I got to be the one to kill you!"

—

The explosion throws Road so fast, Lavi could barely catch her shocked expression. The room quickly crumples as a giant Akuma smashes through the walls and roof. As sunlight streams through the gap, Ed and Al appear from behind the Akuma, looking equally shocked.
"Huh?" Ed stares at the scene while Al breathes a sigh of relief.
"Oh, it's you!" Lavi smiles an exhausted grin as he lowers his weapon. "I guess you got my message."
"Yup!" Al holds up the traumatised golem before throwing to to Lavi.
"Where'd she go?" Lenalee looks around. "Road, I mean?"
"Who's that?" Ed asks, also glancing around. "What is this place anyway?"

"You…" Road's beaten and bloody form reappears, torn in several places and spouting multiple fatal wounds; she glares at the assorted group.
"What the fuck?" Ed stares at the girl.
"How dare you!" Road cries out angrily, marching forward. "You- I'll kill you!"
"Wait, where's Allen?" Lenalee whispers to Lavi nervously, spotting the empty chair and broken ropes.
"Hopefully somewhere safe." Lavi scowls and raises his weapon, ignoring the resulting pain.

"Ha!" Road lunges forward. The group prepare to defend…but they're too slow-

"Ahhhh!" Road is slammed into the ground with an inhuman cry.
"Allen!" Ed stares as Allen stands atop Road, one foot firmly pressed onto her skull.
"A-Allen!" Road growls into the floor, desperately clawing at the stone.
"Don't. Hurt. My. Friends!" Allen presses his hands against Road's fallen form. And, with a flash of bright green light, she fades to ash.

I would have uploaded earlier with a shorter chap, but i wanted to finish this bit, rather than splitting it in two really short bits. :)

Please tell me if there's any continuity or spelling errors, i appreciate it a lot!

thanks again for reading!

-CheeseWizzard (*^▽^*)