Crossover Together ~クロスオーバ 一緒に~

With one world already going through some changes, Sombra's world was stuck at a standstill with him on his little break with Chrysalis. It had been a bit quiet over this last week, and Sombra did feel a lot less pressured than he was before. At the moment, he and Chrysalis were side by side, and observing the night time sky as the Underworld magic lights flickered and danced. For the Underworld, it sure was a pretty thing to see. Chrysalis was pleased to see the king of Tartarus more content now than before, or at least willing to let her work with him when it came to her advances.

"A good view, isn't it?~" Chrysalis cooed.

"Actually ... yeah," Sombra sighed. Chrysalis snuggled up to him. Sombra didn't protest, much to Chrysalis's glee, and he just watched the colors. The normally stagnant yellowish colors of the sky now gleaned with multiple colors dancing around. Sombra felt calm and collected, but as the colors danced, some of them were reminding him, yet again, of Team Harmony: Pink, purple, blue, red, yellow, many of these colors were just another reminder of at least one member of Team Harmony, and only reminded him of the team at least one way or another. Chrysalis was quick to note this, and advanced on him to get his mind off of them.

"You're thinking about them again," Chrysalis said, sounding annoyed herself.

"Sorry, but I can't help it. I know it'll all be over eventually, but ... I'm starting to get concerned."

"Over a bunch of spineless human worms, Sombra?"

"Those 'spineless human worms' had defeated Hellgar, Pluton of all things, and even took down Tirek. not to mention all the more minor demons that ended up showing up there," Sombra reminded firmly. Chrysalis quietly thought it over, and then she got an idea.

"I know: how about you go back by yourself and get some allies? I'm sure at least one human would be more than happy to help you after your special convincing," Chrysalis said, clearly buttering up Sombra on that last part. As much as he knew that, he didn't feel very good about it.

"No: the Homunculi were supposed to do that, it didn't go very well. Speaking of, I do wonder if Gluttony's recovered yet. I could surely use his tracking by now," Sombra sighed. Chrysalis cringed on his attachment to the remaining two Homunculus, but she didn't say anything about it.

"Well, he's useful for one thing I guess, but what about Lust? Surely I can fill in for her as well as Envy, right?~" Chrysalis cooed, playfully bouncing her boobs as a point. Sombra paused for a moment but didn't take it very lightly.

"Chrysalis, stop it. Yes, Homunculus aren't very high on ranking as you and me, but they're not just tools, and I need all the help I can get. Stop treating them as such expendable things," Sombra stated. Chrysalis felt a little surprised at this considering what he did to Envy, but she knew Sombra was being truthful even if it was towards just some servants. Chrysalis huffed, but she agreed anyway.

"... You know, I do have one suggestion," Chrysalis stated.

"If it's sending more of my demons to the human world, then forget it," Sombra stated firmly. Chrysalis shook her head.

"No, not exactly. Come here," Chrysalis said, her finger inviting him closer. Sombra decided to please her and leaned in with an open ear. Chrysalis when whispered her idea to Sombra, and after a bit he got to thinking about it. Sombra took a moment and closed his eyes and focused a bit. Same amount as he would with meditation, and since Tirek's dead, he had little to worry about in that regard.

"... You know, that could prove interesting. If you wish to, see if you can handle it. I'll see what I can do on my end," Sombra decided.

"Oh, do we have to right now? We had so much fun so far."

"The sooner we start, the better. ... And ..."

"And?"

"... Thanks for the break. I needed that."

Chrysalis smiled and gave Sombra some bedroom eyes.

"Don't be too long. I'll be waiting for you.~" With that final statement, Chrysalis went off on her way for her suggestion. Sombra smiled, but it was removed as he went to thinking again on his options. This break he gave to Team Harmony could be more useful than he originally thought.

~~

Back in Tokyo, Orora high was doing pretty good with itself. Class E and its new accommodations was a nice thing for them to do with, and Heine taking the role himself as their new instructor after some talk earlier that day. It took a bit for the adjustment, but it beats the E building by a good mile. Still, Heine had his assistance from Korosensei during the classes too, which was a bit of a plus for him even if he didn't ask for it.

"All present and accounted for, Heine-sama!" Korosensei said, beaming with stars and flying colors. It was a bit buggy, but Heine just sighed. At least everyone was there, and that's what mattered to him. Korosensei stood at attention over by the door as Heine looked on to the class.

"Very good. It's nice to see everyone gathered," Heine stated.

"It's the least we can do after what you did, Heine," said Sugino.

"Yeah, not every teacher would have the balls to bends the rules for his students," Kirara added. Heine wouldn't consider it bending the rules, or say it that way, but as long as they weren't going to cause trouble, it was fine by him.

"Right. ... Well, first order of business, we're going to have three more students attending our class. Korosensei, the door," Heine instructed. Korosensei gave a salute and happily opened the door for any of the new students to come inside. Though, at first, no one really seemed to come in. They gave them a few more seconds before Heine cleared his throat and took a step over to the door to check in on them.

"Are we having trouble out here?" Heine asked.

"No we don't, now come on you," said a new voice. Though, hearing that voice, Envy and Karma found it oddly familiar. It took the two new students a little bit, but eventually they did go inside after a bit, though one wasn't as thrilled to be here.

"No way," thought Envy and Karma.

but sure enough, it was. After a little bit, the two students were standing at front and at attention, seeing the rest of the class. Both of them were dressed up in school uniform, but again, one of them wasn't so thrilled about it. It only took a second for the class to become very intrigued and curious about the two coming in, some leaning in astonished to see just how unique they looked. Even some of Terasaka's gang took notice too. After they got in, Heine went on to introduce.

"You two, kindly introduce yourselves, first name first," Heine instructed. They both understood and so began their intro.

"Name's Edward Elric, nice to meet ya."

"And I'm Ciel Phantomhive. Very pleasant."

Yes, they heard them right: Edward Elric and Ciel Phantomhive were going to join up with them in school now, shocking as it may be. It was especially shocking that one lived in England and another in Amestris, yet both managed to get here in little time at all, with Ciel chatting with them over phone back at his mansion only a day or two earlier. However, Heine noted only two of the three.

"Edward, where's your brother?" Heine asked.

"Alphonse too?!" Envy and Karma thought. Edward though wasn't too sure.

"Eh, you sure it'll be okay?"

"I wouldn't ask him to come if it wasn't," Heine stated.

"Uh. Ok, I'm coming."

Surely enough, though a little difficult due to his size, then came in Alphonse Elric. Well, to put it one way, if the class wasn't surprised before, they sure were now, and BOY did it show on their shocked faces. Alphonse wasn't meaning to freak everyone out, but it was inevitable. Al heard the instructions from outside, and stood over by Ed.

"Uh, Alphonse Elric. It's nice to meet you all," Al said, giving a little bow. Talk it ironic to many of the students to hear such a childlike voice coming from such a intimidating body of armor. Still, the trio of students were here, and Heine was fair enough with that sort of regard onto them.

"Whoa, is that really his brother?" wondered one student.

"He's so huge, like a tank," commented another. Alphonse could feel the eyes on him, and he was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Though the looks were more of fascination rather than any worry or fear.

"Now, everyone, don't bother them too much, you'll have all day to learn about them. But for now, let's start our lesson. Ciel, Aphonse, Edward, you may please take your seats," Heine instructed. Edward and Ciel went to their seats just fine, but Alphonse wasn't too sure. Compared to his body, the seats were exceptionally small. What was a giant armor to do?

"Uh ..."

"You can sit in the back if it makes you feel better," Heine commented, not even looking at Alphonse. He kinda figured as much considering his size, so Alphonse took a seat, crisscrossing his legs and sitting down. Ciel Phantomhive had his seat by the window, and over nearby Karma

"So, welcome to Japan Ciel. Did Korosensei talk you into coming here, or what?" Karma asked, leaning in over to Ed.

"I preferred our previous communication over this alternative," Ciel admitted, tugging at the collar. However, even with the lesson underway, much of the class was still a bit distracted when they were checking out Alphonse. To say the least, the amount of attention was not something Alphonse was really used to.

"So hey, Alphonse is it, so was that you who did that crazy magic on that demon before?" asked Yoshida.

"Eh, no it's not me. That would be my brother, Ed," Alphonse said meekly, pointing to Edward Elric.

"That little guy did that?" Terasaka asked.

Wrong answer.

"WHO YOU CALLING LITTLE, YOU PUNK?!" Ed snapped. He was new, but his anger knew no loyalty to anyone, especially when height was brought up. In fact, Ed was right in Terasaka's face with anger fuming.

"Who're you calling a punk?!" Terasaka snapped back, getting angry himself.

*bam**whack*

Moments later, Heine was right there with a pointer in hand, one which he just used to slap them in the head to keep em quiet. It was hard enough to give them a good bump on the head. It was NOT a good start to give that kind of impression on them, especially if it was triggered so easily.

"Edward, you just got here, now's not the time to get into trouble so quickly. That goes for you too Terasaka," Heine made clear. A bit violent and forward, but they got the message right away.

"Hey, what'd I do?!" Terasaka yelled, but Heine didn't answer and walked back to the front. He knew the pain of being called little, so it was a more personal jab on him than anything. Even if it left some of the students stunned.

"We're sorry, Edward, w-we didn't mean to get you angry," Nabiku said. Ed groaned and calmed down before he went off back to his seat.

"Yeah, just don't call me ... you know what."

"Short?" Nabiku quietly asked. That just angered Ed even more, and Nabiku quickly tried to correct herself.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Elric?" Heine stated. Not wanting to get hit for a second time, Edward went straight to his seat, and the lesson went on back to normal. Though seeing this on the first day did give the idea that it wasn't going to be as simple as they would thought. Ciel sighed.

"Oh bother. ..."

.......

Seeing through the monitors, Gakuho saw the three new students coming in, and seeing Heine pull this one on him made him feel a bit more tense.

"First he decides to get a new room for 3-E. Now he decides to bring in more students to the course. ... Well, at the least he did notify me this time," Gakuho thought, looking to the three distinctive attendance slips left on his desk by Heine himself. He looked over the details of the students, and while Edward and Alphonse he might by for being E students, Ciel Phantomhive was a rather interesting specimen. ...

"A simple fix."

~~

So throughout the day, attention of the three new students Heine had put in were more or less hipped up and spread around the school like crazy. It didn't take very long at all when Team Harmony got the news of their involvement with the school now, and while it was interesting for Heine to do, it would indeed make things a bit more interesting with Ed, Ciel, and Al apart of Orora high. Sure, they've helped them out but who'd of guessed they would end up at the same school as they were, considering not only how far away they were but also their age. Much of the kids there were at least over sixteen, and Ed and Ciel were thirteen to fifteen.
Since the 3-E class was now moved to the main building, the 3-E building because a easier place to chill out, and somewhere they no longer had to worry about with the other students (if that still mattered anymore that is). Team Harmony had ended up at the E building, though Aladdin was still not around oddly enough. Ed and Al were still there, but Ciel Phantomhive wasn't anywhere, so the idea they would just be school-time friends was pretty evident. With some extra time on their hands, Alphonse and Nagisa both decided to try some practice with eachother. Normally Nagisa would stand back during training, but with his skills now more suited against opponents like him, the two took time to get started: Nagisa especially. Nagisa was fine with his Halo Blade since it couldn't cut any non-demon entities with it, and even if he could, Alphonse was practically a suit of armor anyway so it was okay regardless.

"Look at them go," commented Twilight.

"GO NAGISA! GO ALPHONSE!" Pinkie cheered.
During their fight, it was clear just how improved Nagisa was in his agility, jumping around, light on his feet with each strike Alphonse tried to make on him. Alphonse wasn't really hurt (they doubt he could feel much pain anyway), but this tank didn't make the fight any easier since Nagisa insisted such. Many a kick, punch, or stab Nagisa made on Alphonse was not hurting him, and in fact Al was having some fun with it for a while. This kept up for another minute, and probably could continue going, but then another bystander gave a good hearty blow of a coach whistle. The whistle belonged to Korosensei, and while assassination may not be top priority, he still had fun training the students either way. Much like anyone else, his outfit was suited for winter along with his job, a big beanie on his head instead of the usual teacher's cap.

"K you two, take five," said Korosensei. On the word both Al and Nagisa stopped.

"That was fun. I didn't beat you up too much, did I?" Al asked. Nagisa smiled.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks for being my sparring partner," Nagisa said, feeling pretty good with himself, but just as glad to take a break. Training's fine and all, but there was still such a thing as too much of it. Anyway, as Nagisa and Al took a seat by the others, it was Karma and Ed's turn. It was something they all worked out before they got here.

"Dang Nagisa, you've been hitting like lightning," Blair commented, as Korosensei gave Nagisa some hot tea and a pat on the back.

"Yeah, training in ninjutsu will do that," Nagisa replied, taking a sip.

"Well either way, glad to have ya back and better than ever," said Pinkie, fluffing his hair. Nagisa chuckled, and by that time, Karma Akabane and Edward Elric were in position. Karma kept his blade in a holder in the fight, something Korosensei especially insisted on to avoid getting his sparring partner stabbed.

"Ready to get beat, Karma?" Edward asked, confident and a bit cocky.

"We'll see about that, though you got some balls to enter a sword match without a blade," Karma noted with a smirk. For a moment, Edward gave a cheery laugh, his hands coming together as sparks started to fly. Karma thought he was going to sent a attack on him, but instead Edward altered his metal arm and it soon turned from a hand into a VERY menacing looking blade. Talk about a convenient weapon on hand. Karma looked impressed, and removed the holder from his sword, letting it shine in the light. Ed and Karma met up half way and both weapons clanked against eachother. Korosensei started to freak out a little bit on the use of true weapons on the field.

"What're they doing?! this is a sparring match not a death duel!" Korosensei said, freaked out on seeing them try to slash at eachother. Even with it being just a sparring match, both were really going at it with eachother, though Karma had one disadvantage in the fact that Edward's blade was attached to his arm rather than being held like Karma's sword. Nagisa kept quiet and watched them go at it.

"Damn. Even if Karma's not had a actual teacher with this, he surely has been improving. Then again, he always had that knack for quick learning on skills that get his attention. I could only wonder how good he'll be with an actual swordsman," Nagisa thought as he observed Karma and Edward go at it with their weapons. Without alchemy being worked with by Ed, both seemed to be pretty even in terms of fighting skill. With each slash of their weapons, they also took a point of some kicks and whacks of their fists as close combat practice as well, which they also did pretty well in. As they were doing that, someone else took the time to come over and see what was going on.

"Heine-sama, you're here," Korosensei said upon seeing him.

"You're calling me it again," Heine sighed, Korosensei correcting himself right away, but still bowing in his presence. Guess regardless of the case Korosensei was still going to keep that up for a good while more.

"What brings you think way, Heine?" asked Twilight.

"I noticed that many of you were heading in the wrong direction so I decided to look into it. Training, I presume?" Heine asked, seeing Ed and Karma practicing not too far away.

"Yeah, you got it. It's better practicing here over the main building," Nagisa answered.

"You make a decent point," Heine noted. He took a moment to watch the training continue on for a while more, until the worrying Korosensei called the practice short with his whistle.

"Come on, we were just getting started," Karma groaned.

"No way! I'm not standing here and watch someone get sliced up! This is just a starring practice match, not a slaughtering death duel," Korosensei made clear, putting the cover back on Karma's sword for good measure. After they were done, Ed went over to Twilight.

"K, so, Yugure, it's your turn," Blair

"I would, but, actually I was hoping Aladdin and I could practice together," Twilight admitted. It wasn't that Ed wasn't a good alchemist, but Aladdin needed practice too, and she wanted to continue that for both of them. However, while many of them were understandable, Heine had a look of surprise on his face.

"Who did you say? Aladdin?" Heine asked, moving over to her. Nagisa got up.

"Oh, yeah, he's another friend of ours, a magi actually. But, since you got here, he's been kinda distant ... do you know him, Heine?" Nagisa asked. He didn't really figure out what Aladdin's connection was to Aladdin, but considering both were from the Overworld, perhaps they did know eachother once upon a time. Heine stayed quiet at first, but then adjusted his glasses in determination.

"... Where is he?"

~~

After their long day at school, Hinano, Nabiku, and Envy were off back at Hinano's house. As far as where Envy lived since he arrived to Tokyo as a human, Hinano's house was mainly an average one: a basic two-story house within the suburban area of Tokyo, though the house itself was along the borderline between the suburban and "true city" of Tokyo, as such leaving Hinano and Envy one house away from a 4-way intersection. It wasn't that bad of a problem for Envy, at least he had somewhere to live thanks to generous Hinano and her family. Still, Envy was glad that his life didn't have to be forced into anything, and for the moment it was just him chilling out in Hinano's room.
Hinano's room was pretty basic: it had a bed, a book shelf, a window looking to the street, the usual things. Though Hinano's room also had a number of animal-themed items, including some animal figures lined up on her dresser by her bedside lamp, and a safari cap hanging off one of her bed's legs. Nabiku was over for a visit, and Envy just stayed there quiet as Hinano and Nabiku were going through some studying together, along with some side gossip as one would do with nothing else to do.

"I heard you and your family went on a trip to Hokkaido a while ago," Nabiku said during their studies.

"Oh yeah, it was amazing. Hokkaido always looks so beautiful during that time of year: so many beautiful colors," Hinano said, remembering her trip.

"Did you get a picture or something?" Nabiku asked. Hinano then remembered something and went to her shelf, pulling out a picture in question of her, her mother, and a beautiful fall background with them on an ancient Japanese bridge with a river flowing underneath. Clearly a picture worthy of a postcard. Nabiku admired the picture, and envy took a glance over to it himself, seeing the pretty scenery with less admiration and more bewilderment.

"Is Hokkaido like that all the time?" Envy asked, pointing to the picture.

"Oh, no, only in fall. After only a month or two it all turns to snow and doesn't look too good for pictures," Hinano explained. Envy sighed and looked out the window again at the scenery. Hinano and Nabiku knew envy enough to read him, and he had a face of longing on him.

"Is it like this where you come from, Envy?" asked Nabiku.

"As if. You're lucky to find a tree without thorns on it."

"Come on, Envy, there's got to be something good. You keep telling us how bad the Underworld is, you sure there isn't one thing good about it?" Hinano asked. Nabiku nodded in agreement. Envy took a minute to think about it: was there anything? He never really considered anything in the Underworld beautiful unless it was intending to be, and even then it was probably a succubus trying to woe or something. These thoughts got him laying back on the bed, trying to think of something.

"Hmm ... well, the nights aren't too bad I guess."

"Really? How so?" Nabiku asked, starting to get a little interested.

"Eh, well, Underworld skies aren't the same as yours here. We don't get the clouds, or .... what do you call them again? Those tiny lights at night?"

"Stars," said Hinano.

"Right. Some reason the Underworld skies put on some lightshow at night: colors flickering and dancing around in some crazy way, like a fire but more colorful."

"Aurora Borealis."

"Come again?"

"The Northern Lights. We get something like what you said, but we can only see it during winter, and even then it's further north than Japan. Is it like that in the Underworld too?" Hinano explained.

"Nah, they come and go as much as your clouds do. It does get boring after a while, but it beats this blank blue or black in your sky," Envy said, looking outside at the sky. It was a more purple and orange now since it was getting later in the day, but they weren't as vibrant or active as the Underworld sky. Guess there was one thing Envy could say the Underworld had better, though he never considered that until now. Looking outside now, the only main active light was the sun in the sky, and the occasional car or street light. Not too impressive for natural lights. As Envy was looking out, he saw a few other buildings, a few Pidgeys up on the rooftop huddled together, and at least one person walking along the sidewalk. Usually it would be nothing new, but Envy's eyes went off over to the figure walking, and eventually stopping.

"... Wait ... is that? ..." Envy thought. He could've sworn he recognized her, but when he looked more closely, his suspicions were confirmed. ...

"I'll be right back," Envy said, getting up to his feet.

"Ok, see you in a bit."

Envy then went right out of the room. He had to act quickly here, and he went straight to the bathroom. His hands were quick and accurate as he pulled out a bit of gel from Hinano's medicine cabinet. A few quick squirts and a some handling of his hair, and soon enough he had his original Homunculus hairstyle.

"Good enough," Envy thought, before racing out of the room and heading right off to the front door. If this indeed was who he thought it was, she had to recognize him as well. So, with a sigh and a more serious look on his face, he then went on to open the door.
Time for a moment with the old Envy.

"Envy. I've been wondering where you've been."

"Lust. You're alive!" Envy said. Least the regular hair worked out well enough. And yes, this figure was indeed Lust, and Lust without a hint of any winter clothing on her so she was still a Homunculus. If he could pull this off until she leaves, then maybe he could work out what to do. However, Lust only needed a basic look to see Envy was not the same as before: smaller, and looking younger too.

"It's nice you're still here, but ... what happened to you? You look a little different," Lust asked in disbelief. Envy shrugged, and walked out to the sidewalk where Lust was standing.

"Well, things happen, Lust. That damn Pluton tore me apart and I ended up damaging my stone so I'm stuck like this," Envy said, not sounding happy at all about it. Lust felt a bit troubled, but didn't really show it to Envy.

"Damnit. Maybe leaving you in Amestris wasn't the best idea after all."

"Yeah no shit," Envy spat. Looked like his acting was top notch so far, Lust not suspecting anything.

"Alright, you're not dead. come on, let's get back to the Underworld," Lust suggested, starting to walk away. Envy now had a dilemma: if he did go back to the Underworld, Sombra would have his head on a steak, but if he told Lust why that would who knows what she'll do to him? Luckily, his experience with deception and acting gave him some quick thoughts to use.

"I can't," Envy stated, making Lust stop.

"Why not? Gluttony's been looking for days, I'm sure when he's recovered he'll be crying rivers seeing you," Lust remarked. At least Envy was sure that Gluttony was still alive now.

"Sombra's got me on spying again, that's what. What else is new?" Envy remarked, rolling his eyes.

"... Then what were you doing in that house?"

"Oh, just handling some witnesses. I was gonna kill them when you showed up," Envy answered. Lust looked to the upper window, actually seeing Nabiku and Hinano looking from the window, the two curious when they heard the front door.

"Oh. Well then I'll handle them for you, you've done plenty," Lust decided, her finger claws lashing out and ready to slice. Envy was freaking out on the inside, but he kept his composure.

"Don't waste your claws on them, Lust, I can handle a couple of worms like them. How about you go tell Gluttony what I'm doing," Envy suggested. Lust felt slightly unsure, but she took his word for it. They did look a bit weak anyway, and there was no point wasting a few slashes if they could help it, so she retracted her claws, and patted Envy's head.

"Alright, if you want. I'll see you later," Lust simply said, and with that she started walking away to do her own thing. Envy stayed chilling out until Lust was out of sight, and only then did he go back in the house and shake his hair back to what it was already. Never before was he so glad to fool a friend like that, but he knew damn straight that it won't be the last time he would be doing this.

"Envy, you ok?" called Nabiku.

"I'm coming."

~~

After a walk through his other portal, Sombra had found himself back in the human world again, this time off in a eerily familiar wooded forest. As Chrysalis was getting some allies together from her end, Sombra had another little idea come around in his own head when it came to this location. Even if he was here on business, Sombra did have time to reflect on what to do during his walk.

"Well then. Not only did Nagisa survive Pluton, but he killed Tirek as well. ... If this is all going to be where I think it would, perhaps I need to spruce up my own skills. I haven't done that in a while ..."

Sombra suddenly felt a motion nearby, and took a quick sidestep, just to find a blade zoom by him and indented itself into a nearby tree. Judging from where it came from and where it ended up, it would've jutted itself through Sombra's head. Sombra looked up into another tree, seeing the one who threw the weapon perched up there with a killer stare. Normally someone would be freaked out, but Sombra was actually hoping he'd come out.

Gaara.

"Another one," Gaara growled.

"Now, Gaara, calm down, I'm not here to kill you." however, Gaara didn't want to hear him, and jumped down at him from the tree, Sombra jumping aside before he could stab him. Gaara did that more as a test to see how Sombra would react, seeing a calm and collected soul in the face of death.

"So you know who I am. ... You know you're trespassing," Gaara warned.

"I know you would be on edge to strangers, Gaara, but if you would just hear me out, then maybe we can come to some sort of term?" Sombra offered, hands behind his back in a formal stance. Gaara stood up, but he did not let his guard down and kept his blades ready to strike him.

"Sombra. Choose your next words ... Very. Carefully. ..." Sombra didn't realize Gaara actually knew his name already, but he kept his mind focused. He cleared his throat before he started talking.

"Gaara. You're a strong, independent child, aren't you? Looking out for yourself, wanting to keep only himself alive and well and taking the means to keep it that way."

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"I'm aware of that, now look. You wanted to kill Tirek, but Nagisa took it away from you. If you'd let me, we can give you a little revenge taste. What do you say?"

"And what's in it for me, demon?" Gaara demanded, crossing his arms and waiting for an answer. Sombra kept calm and tried for broke.

"... Shukaku."

Almost immediately, Gaara rushed forward, and suddenly Sombra had two knives right at his throat, so close in fact that his throat started to bleed! Despite his calmness, even Sombra felt a tiny bit startled from Gaara's willingness to kill him at any moment. Gaara's eyes locked with him in a almost psychotic anger.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"That's besides the point, Gaara. ... I can sense him inside you. Locked away. Trapped in there and causing you so much torment," Sombra said, a finger gently placed on Gaara's chest. Gaara didn't waver, if anything, he was more upset that Sombra dodged the question.

"... Now. You can take this how you want, but keep in mind it'll make your life much easier. ... I can take him out for you."

Everything was silent for a moment, the realization setting in Gaara's head. It was actually enough to move the blades back from his throat. There were some slight cuts on the throat, but that was about all the damage Sombra had gotten from it.

"... How?"

"Nevermind the details, Gaara, but I can assure you I'm able to remove that demon out of you. ... That is, if you're willing to help me in something of my own."

"You know damn well I don't like being conned."

"Me neither. If you do this one favor for me, then I promise to you I'll remove Shukaku myself. No strings attached, no inside debt, no stabbing of the back. ... Just allow me to aid you," Sombra said, even offering his hand out to him in a gentle gesture. Gaara paused and considered his options. He kept his eyes right on Sombra's own, and he could tell that this demon wasn't here to lie to his face. Gaara thought for a good while ...

"... What do you want me to do?"

~~

Back at the apartment, Aladdin was quiet and alone, left with only his thoughts. It had been that way for a good while since Heine showed up, and in fact that was what he had in mind for the most part. He'd go to the others when he was alone after school, but the idea that he might run into Heine was enough to keep him away.

"What am I gonna do now? The others are going to end up meeting him by now, but what's he going to do with them? Should I meet him again? ... oh, I can't relax," Aladdin thought, unable to keep himself still because of these thoughts, until eventually he got up to his feet. What was he supposed to do? Aladdin hadn't felt this stressed in a while, and at this point, there was one thing he could do. After a little thought, he went over to the window, and opened it up good and wide, the cold air coming in. It did chill him a little bit, but it wasn't enough to deter him. Quietly, he got out his magic carpet and it levitated in mid air just outside the window, giving him his little ride. sometime flying around outside could give him something to calm him down and get him to think a little more clearly.

Meanwhile, outside, the others of the group had just arrived to the main apartment building. They didn't get in yet, but they did just arrive over at the door.

"He's in here?" Heine asked.

"He's been living with me, so he should be," Nagisa said.

"So you know eachother back in the Overworld Heine?" asked Alphonse. Heine nodded.

"For a good two years. I do hope he's doing well since we last met," Heine replied.

"Aside from being paranoid, he's pretty good," Karma said. The group was about ready to go in, but then Pinkie Pie took a look up into the sky, and up to Nagisa's apartment window, she then noticed something: a flying carpet in mid air, and Aladdin getting on it. Rather than telling anyone first, Pinkie then gave a sudden loud whistle, startling the others but seeing Aladdin as well.

"HEY, ALADDIN, CAN YOU COME HERE?! YOU HAVE A GUEST!" Pinkie called. Aladdin heard her loud and clear, and while he was glad to see the others, then he saw Heine looking up to him, slightly surprised to see him ready to take off. Though, Aladdin was more worried over Heine than Heine was of him. Rather than come down, Aladdin started to fly away.

"Aladdin, wait! Where're you going?!" Nagisa called, but Aladdin didn't stop flying, and didn't take long until he was too far to hear them. A bit of a problem for them. Nagisa knew Aladdin better than the others, and he knew he wouldn't just go off like that on them. Nagisa then turned to Heine, the only new person with them.

"Heine, what's going on between you two? Something had to happen if it's making Aladdin hide like this," Nagisa asked. If it was anything too malicious, he wasn't going to stand for it. Heine gave a soft sigh, adjusting his glasses and started walking forward.

"I'm afraid I know exactly why. ... Nagisa, you're the fastest, see if you can catch up with him," Heine requested. Not that Nagisa wasn't going to do that anyway though.

"I'll be quick," Nagisa said, before racing off to go get him. He was right, compared to the rest, Nagisa was the fastest and would keep up with Aladdin's flying carpet.

"Well, don't leave us hanging," Blair said.

"I'll explain on the way. come on, let's try to catch up."

.......

Farther ahead, Aladdin still got a good headstart compared to his friends, thanks to a flying carpet to avoid plenty of the ground level obstacles. As if knowing he was around wasn't bad enough, now Heine was straight up after him! Aladdin felt very humbled with what he was doing, if not freaked out over it all. The least he could figure was that he got a decent headstart against -

"Aladdin! Aladdin, wait!"

Aladdin turned back in his flight to a nearby building, just to find Nagisa running down on the ground after him, keeping up with him just enough to not be left behind. Aladdin looked back and saw it was only him who actually kept up with him, so instead of continuing his flight, he took his landing over in a short alley, just out of common sight from the main street. Nagisa was quick to catch up with him, Aladdin facing away from the street.

"I ... I uh ..."

"Aladdin, come on it's me. Now, what's going on? You never acted this way with anyone else before, so, what's the problem?" Nagisa asked, firm and quick to be sure it got to him before he could go off again. Luckily he didn't fly off, but he didn't turn to him just yet. Aladdin tried to think of some sort of excuse, but he can't think of one that would get by Nagisa, so, all he did was give in.

"Eh, listen ... you remember when we met? ... And I said why I ended up in your place? ..." Aladdin asked. Nagisa stayed quiet and tried to work his memory. This was something from a pretty long time ago, and not really brought up too much since they first said it, but eventually he did get it back to memory.

"Yeah, you said you're here to fight of the demons with the other angels, why?" Nagisa asked. Aladdin started to feel very humbled and embarrassed, playing with his fingers.

"Eh, well ..."

.......

"That's not really it?" Nagisa concluded. Aladdin winched from the answer, but he nodded his head. Nagisa was surprised.

"Wait, this whole time you weren't supposed to come down to our world? Then why're you here?" Nagisa asked, surprised more than most. Aladdin took a deep breath, and ...

"It's my fault, Heine's after me!" Aladdin burst out. Nagisa took a step back, but allowed Aladdin to continue, something Aladdin knew Nagisa wanted to know. The magi still didn't turn around but went on anyway.

"What? ... Why? Aladdin, you're a great kid, and a good Magi, why would he be after you?" Nagisa asked, obviously confused about such an idea. Unless Heine turned out to be a demon in disguise, there was little reason for Heine to be going after him, in the way Aladdin was making it out to be anyway. Aladdin then just sat there and decided to explain himself.

"Look. Back in the Overworld, he and I had known eachother for a while: if I did something wrong, he'd be the one to get mad at me and coldly lecture me about it. It was fine at first, but I ... I did something bad ..." Aladdin then showed Nagisa the gold whistle he had on him, turning and holding it in front of Nagisa.

"Was this Heine's?" Nagisa asked.

"... Yeah, it is."

"You mean you stole Heine's flute?!" Nagisa gasped.

"It's gonna make sense, listen to me, please!" Aladdin quickly pleaded. He knew taking the vessel was a bad idea and he wasn't going to deny it, but he had his reasons for it, and Nagisa allowed him to say it.

"It's not just a flute. ... It's called a vessel, because there's Djinn that're held in them. They're very strong spirits that stay in these things so they can stay safe. They're very rare, and vessels are hard to come by ... but one day I found it, and I ... I, kinda, accidentally ... released it. ..."
Nagisa could just imagine the whole scenario going on: Aladdin finding the vessel and the Djinn coming out and leaving him. If he was that scared of Heine, Nagisa could barely imagine the worry Aladdin must've got just afterward. Still, it was odd that this was never brought up before.

"So let me see: the real reason you've been in the Human world, and with us, this whole time, was to find this Djinn, and return it to its vessel so Heine wouldn't find out and be mad at you?"

Aladdin just nodded slowly.

"But hold on, when we left for England you left it behind, how were you going to put the Djinn back in there?"

"I ... I figured out a spell that would send a Djinn back to it's respected vessel no matter how far away it is. And this vessel was the only one in the Human world, so ..."

"Aladdin, why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I-I don't know," Aladdin groaned in shame. That question made him feel completely stupid: why didn't he say anything about it? Having too much fun with them? Too distracted to say? Aladdin couldn't even get an answer right, but Nagisa wasn't mad at him for trying to fix a mistake. Still, running off with the vessel to find it wasn't exactly a good move either, nor keeping this to himself until it would be fixed. for all his maturity and magic, he's still just a kid.

"Well, lying and hiding didn't help. If Heine's going to be mad, it's going to happen no matter how long you're gone for. The best thing you can do is face Heine." A bit of an odd role-reversal in Aladdin's eyes. Normally he'd give the bigger message when it counted, but now Nagisa was giving one to him. He was right, but Aladdin was still worried.

"I know I shouldn't have taken his vessel, but what's he going to do when he finds out?"

.......

"So you did make it after all."

Suddenly, a third visitor was right there, and this one wasn't there to help them: Lust! She'd seen Aladdin fly in the alley, and chilled out until he was done explaining himself. Lust got out her claws and looked ready to slice them up. Rather than mock them any further, she took the moment and rushed in towards them.

"Aladdin, shield!" Nagisa quickly said. Freaked out, Aladdin managed to gather enough focus to get a Magi shield up, but this one was a little slower than before, and Lust got dangerously close. The shield did save them, but not before the claws ended up sliced in two, making Lust back up.

"Having a little trouble, are we? And here I thought -"

"DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO THIS RIGHT NOW?" Nagisa suddenly yelled. Of ALL the times Lust would show up, it was after a chase with Aladdin and the big revelation. They didn't need this, REALLY.

"Since when were you so hot-headed, Nagisa? Pluton give you a rough time?"

"Just shut up, and go away, we don't need this," Nagisa made clear. If anything, he was more irritated by this rather than scared. Lust trued a few more times, but the shield didn't waver to her strikes. Guess fighting was out of the question for them.

"It'll all be easier if you can just cooperate. You REALLY have been too much trouble," Lust sighed, both set of claws sharpened and ready to attack, the cut off claws regrown quickly. This was starting to become trouble, and while normally Nagisa would have the shield kept up, they can't keep it forever, and who knows how long it'll be before the others would get there.

"Aladdin, put the shield down," Nagisa instructed. Scared, but Aladdin was already tired so he did so, as Nagisa got his Halo Blade out and at the ready.

"So forward. It's hard to find men like that."

"I'm not letting you beat us up, Lust. That, and I've already beaten Tirek and Gluttony, so I'm sure you'll be no problem," Nagisa said, ready to battle her. Lust's eyes widened when he said that. She was told gluttony was beaten, but not Tirek.

"Tirek? So he's the one who killed that old bat," Lust thought. Still, she wasn't willing to let them go that easily.
Pretty soon, the fight was quick to start, and with Lust taking attack first, and launching her claws at Nagisa. however, the fleet-footed kid dodged them fairly easily with a few motions, and it didn't take too long until he got close to her, and make a sort of false swipe at her. He wasn't gonna kill her on sight, but he proved to be a bigger challenge than before, making Lust stumble back out into the street. Lust was shocked, to say the most of it.

"So fast," she thought, trying to regain her footing on the cold ground, but Nagisa wasn't going to give her the chance and rushed past her, his arm whacking her leg and making her fall over onto her back. How was she so easily knocked over by him? She could hear Nagisa coming back, and she quickly extended her claws like aimed spears. Nagisa skidded to a halt and moved back before he could get skewered, giving Lust time to get up.

"I see someone's practiced," Lust said.

"I had some time on my hands," Nagisa replied, readying his blade again. Lust launched her claws at him again, Nagisa dodging each and every single one, Lust getting a bit bothered by this. Nagisa even managed to slice a few claws with his Halo Blade, before Nagisa got close again. Their lengthy fight turned into close combat, Nagisa making more and more hits at Lust. Lust tried to keep herself up with the speedy kid. Finally though, Lust have had it with him and gave a strong sideways swing of her leg. Nagisa dodged the first one with ease, thinking that move made her vulnerable, but instead she spun around like a ballerina, and her leg whacked him behind the head again, almost as if the first one didn't even happen at all. Now she had the advantage.

"Gotcha,~" Lust cooed, before giving Nagisa a powerful whack of her claws. Aladdin freaked out and thought she just killed him, but when Nagisa fell onto the sidewalk and in the snow, he saw that he wasn't even cut, and his clothes cut up. Nagisa looked just as startled about it.

"You didn't cut me."

"Look at your hand," Lust said smirking.

What Lust did they thought was not possible to do. Nagisa looked to his one hand, the one that held the Halo blade, only to find nothing but an empty holder and his hand bloody! Shocked, Nagisa dropped it and saw the remains of his blade left in multiple cut pieces, his hand given a smaller cut to it in the palm. The wound itself was minor, but with his strongest weapon now in shambles, he didn't have a true efficient way to fight her.

"You've been tough with that blade before, but these claws can cut through any weapon: steel, titanium, obsidian, you name it. We're not so cocky anymore, are we?~" Lust said, walking over towards him with her claws at the ready. For the longest time, his Halo Blade was the weapon he had to use for any of his demonic situations, Lust included, but now with it sliced to bits he had nothing to use. Nagisa got up quick, and tried to use his physical strength to fight her. He dodged the claws pretty good, but when he got close, his kicks and punches didn't do as well as before. sure, they were tough, but against a Homunculus it wasn't doing too good. All his skills, but he was still human. His strongest hit was a double kick to her head, just enough to knock her over, but the effort to get there was tiring on him.

"Damnit, I can't keep this up," Nagisa thought. Lust found this her victory. ...

"BACK OFF!"

With some blue sparks and a shift in the ground, Lust was suddenly launched across the street, over Aladdin's head and to the alley by a triggered Launchpad. Good timing for the moment, and both Aladdin and Nagisa saw the rest coming over, Ed getting up from his alchemic attack.

"Well, look who decided to join us," Lust groaned, getting up to her feet from the hit. Ed turned to Nagisa.

"Late for the party, Nagisa?"

"A little bit, but you're fine," Nagisa replied. Now wasn't the time to celebrate though, Lust preparing to launch another attack on them with her claws extending forward straight for Ed! Nagisa and Ed jumped aside before either could get hit, but this strike was exceptionally fast, Ed missing only by inches. A close call but seemingly unscathed.

"Well, Elric, it's been a while."

"Yeah it has. Now COME ON!" Ed called.

*pop*

Then Lust found out what damage she did, and all of a sudden Edward's mechanical arm went limp. It didn't completely snap off, but he couldn't operate it or move it, as if something got loose. There was a silence for a moment.

"Technical difficulties?" asked Lust.

"AAAHHH!"

What a time to get a downgrade. Lust saw her chance and her claws darted right for him, but Alphonse wasn't having any of it and got in the way. The claws skewered Al's arm, but being a suit of armor, it was just a minor wound. Karma stepped forward next. He had his sword still with him from training and he was armed up as ever.

"Wow, talk about embarrassing," Karma commented, just before rushing forward.

"SHUT UP!" shouted Ed. Karma rushed forward with his sword towards Lust, and with the claws indented in Alphonse, Lust couldn't dodge Karma's attack, the kid using the sword to slice off her arms. They soon grew back, sure, but the time to do that open it up for Karma and Nagisa to come back at her. Lust had just enough time to redraw her claws, but not before Karma and Nagisa both tackled her down. Lust sprung around and shook them off, but when she got back to her feet she quickly found the odds against her in this fight.

"Damnit, not again. ... Oh well, I still killed someone," Lust thought as she glanced at Nagisa's Halo Blade remains. With the odds against her, Lust turned and rushed away. This fight was over as fast as it started, and admittedly that was a good thing. Nagisa quietly picked up what remained of his blade as the others checked on Ed.

"Ed, what happened? She break something in there?" Blair asked, looking at his limp arm.

"Yeah, but I don't know what. She had to slice something in it," Ed said, trying to check his arm as best he could, but he couldn't truly figure out what she messed with. It was something they had to look into, but then something else soon came up: Heine and Aladdin.
The fight itself was uncalled for, but it also got Aladdin in Heine's sight, and both not too far away from eachother either. With what just happened, Aladdin felt too frazzled to think on what to do, especially with the timing of the fight and what Aladdin had said to Nagisa. He had the flute on him, and he couldn't hide it from Heine, though he was still humbled by him.

"... H-Heine. ..."

"Aladdin, wait please," Heine noted, looking to the vessel around his neck. There was no point in hiding now, and when Nagisa nodded to him, Aladdin quietly walked over to him. He dropped the vessel at his feet, and he quickly got into a sort of bow, on his knees and bowing to Heine at his feet. Best to start off humble.

"I-I'm so sorry," Aladdin started, getting that out of the way. Heine stayed firm.

"What for?" Heine asked.

"Nagisa, what's the deal with him and Heine?" Twilight whispered to Nagisa. however, Nagisa decided that it would be better for Aladdin and Heine to tell them themselves rather than him ratting out. As for Heine, he kneeled down to Aladdin.

"It's my fault: I released the Djinn from your vessel by mistake, so I tried to fix it and find it down here without telling you! Please don't be mad at me, I-I'm trying to find it, I promise I'll find it, I -" Aladdin's moment of pleading was stopped when Heine placed a gentle hand on his head. Aladdin froze up, and Heine brought his other hand out and he looked ready to slap him ... just for him to flick him in the forehead. It barely hurt, but Aladdin remained surprised.

"... Aladdin, when I found you were missing from Synapse, my biggest concern was for your safety and wellbeing. You were far from ready to come down here, though I had been rather harsh on you in past lessons. Those lectures lacked the encouragement for you to keep going. So in the way this was more my fault than it was yours."
Aladdin stayed very quiet, and looked up to Heine.

"A teacher's job is to nurture hope, not harm the heart. In some ways, you disappearing helped me realize that. I can't say what you did wasn't reckless and dangerous, especially for a Magi your age ... yet, I can say you did recognize your flaws, and attempted to go out of your way to resolve them. Not many angels would rush into the Overworld the way you did. Not even I."

Looking to Aladdin's face, the young Magi seemingly saw this as the first time Heine spoke to him in such a way. However Heine treated him before wasn't too good apparently, but Heine did learn from that it seemed. Aladdin stayed silent at what Heine had told him, which remained for a good minute until he got back up, picking up the vessel and giving it back to Heine Wittgenstein. It was nice to see resolution and closure being played out as well as this. Once they were done, Karma cleared his throat.

"So, Aladdin? Aren't you going to properly introduce?" Karma asked smiling. Aladdin looked to Heine, and sighed with a smile.

"Everyone. Meet my Overworld instructor: Heine Wittgenstein."