Crossover Together ~クロスオーバ 一緒に~

Slicer? Check.
Hoopa? Check.
Great Tengu? Not check.
Aleistor? Semi-check.

Not exactly the best track record one could have, but hey, 50/50 was still a decent try all things considered. At least each side found their targets, and tried to get them together. Well all the same, each side began to head their way back home to Tokyo, with their main landing spot being at the capitol. (why wouldn't it be at this point?).
The first group to make it back was Nagisa's group, while without their man still had some important things to take care of, and now with them back, their first priority was fixing up the parts that were wrecked during the fight, which Winry was quick to begin the minute she got her tools. Winry knew this was going to be a while to do, and she didn't want to be disturbed. ... Unfortunately, eager Edward Elric was getting a bit too antsy without his arm, and just like a curious little brother, he kept looking over Winry's shoulder at his automail just to be sure that the girl was getting the job finished.

...

"Get out!" Winry snapped, grabbing Ed by the collar, and dropping him outside the door like some puppy, slamming the door behind her. Yeah, who knew how long it'll be until his arm was mended up? Then again, who could blame him? He can't exactly perform any automail tricks without it, or even fight properly for that matter. Nagisa and Twilight were with them, waiting for the others to come back just as much as they were.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?!" Ed snapped. Normally he'd be more ticked off, but this was the person who'd be his mechanic, so he can't get too ticked at her.

"I'll just say it: you're acting like a little pest!"

"LITTLE PEST?! Come out here and say that to my face, jerk!" Ed demanded. Of course, the door stayed shut, but Nagisa grabbed him and held him back before he could break down any door.

"Ok, Ed, calm down, give her a break!" Nagisa insisted.

"Well how long's she gonna be? How am I supposed to do anything with only one arm?" Ed griped.

"Ed, she needs time to get this. Besides ... she does have some point."

"Come on, I didn't bug her that much, did I?" Ed asked.

Nagisa and Twilight glanced to eachother for a brief moment.

---(just yesterday)---

" Oh, look at you, working so early in the morning," Ed said, smile on his face as he checked in on Winry.

"Been up all night," Winry replied, going right back to work. And a conversation cut short.

---(few hours later)---

"Still busy as a bee I see. At this rate, you must be almost done," Ed commented, again checking in on her, same smile as before. Winry still didn't had much time for a conversation it seemed.

"One more all-nighter," she simply said. again, conversation cut short.

"Pretty much," both Twilight and Nagisa agreed. A cut down in his pride, surely, and Ed simply slumped on the couch nearby. At least last time his arm went out on him, it stayed in tact, but now he had literally nothing to work with. Who knew how long it'll be.

"Eh ... right. I'm gonna check in on the others," Twilight said, getting up and heading off to the window. If they were going to be anywhere, they would be up above their heads. Their main place of destination was kinda hard to miss after all, and if they were to bring any criminal anywhere for now, it would be here. So far though, the skies remained pretty clear for the most part, no sign of anyone anywhere. Well, that was until a shape began to show up in the clouds, flying just into sight. Guess the secondary group had just arrived, and at a good time too. Nagisa knew immediately who this was the second he saw the square shape coming in from the sky.

"Aladdin's back."

So with a smile on his face, he, Twilight, and Ed went outside from the main building to see them land at the drop zone. It sure was nice to see Aladdin after their little ventures around the place, and Aladdin was just as happy to see his roommate as much as Nagisa was to see him. The minute they landed, Aladdin hopped up and went straight over to him.

"Nagisa!"

"Great to see you too, Aladdin," Nagisa replied, as the magi hugged him. While it was nice to see that, it was pretty quick that there was a lot more people coming by than he expected. Seeing Hoopa was one thing, but adding that with Grell, Gaara, AND Morgiana? Yeah, surprising.

"You were busy," Nagisa commented.

"W-Wait a minute, what the hell's he doing here?!" Ed asked, finger pointed right to Gaara. Last he remembered, Gaara was working for Sombra, so seeing him there did not make him feel any better. Morgiana stepped in between Gaara and Edward just in case. One glare from her was easily enough to make Edward back up.

"No, no, no, Morgiana, he's a friend," Aladdin quickly insisted.

"So that's your name?" Nagisa said, looking to her. Morgiana calmed down a little bit more, looking over Nagisa and Twilight over.

"Yes," Morgiana simply replied. As they were getting to know Morgiana, Grell already began to go and look around for who he was so sure would be here.

"Now hang on a second, where's the rest of that group of yours? Never known Bassie to be late for a little get-together," Grell said, looking left and right to try and find him, leaning over Nagisa as he did. Nagisa got Grell off of him.

"They're not here yet. Your group's the first one to show up, Grell," Nagisa answered, pushing Grell off of him. Hoopa wasn't really too thrilled.

"Geesh, give it a rest, Grell, this Bassie could give less of a shit anyway, she's probably got an engagement already," Hoopa said, mainly to just shut him up.

"She?"

"Yeah, Sebastian, you know. Isn't she one of your little devils?" Hoopa inquired. Nagisa and Twilight glanced to eachother unsuredly.

"... Sebastian's a guy," they both said.

...

"... So ... you're a homo, Grell? You really are hopeless."

"Well at least I got a love interest, how many guys do you have?" Grell snapped.

"I have none because I'm not a homo!"

"Don't judge me."

"I WILL JUDGE YOU!"

"Was it like this the whole time?" Twilight asked. All Aladdin did was nod, fingers in his ears to block out the argument. Morgiana was more than glad to intervene, and swatted them both like the flies they were, right on the head. Nagisa and Twilight flinched on just how hard she whacked them, and while Grell got a good hit, Hoopa only got grazed as he bolted for Aladdin, though he was a little too slow.

"Thank you," Gaara replied. Morgiana nodded and Gaara went over to the others, taking quick note of Ed's missing arm.

"Don't tell me: demon got a hold of you?" Gaara asked. Ed glanced to the missing arm, more annoyed than anything.

"Like you need to know," Ed simply said.

"So, Aladdin, how about we head in and catch up? It'll be a little bit until the others show up," Nagisa suggested, Aladdin agreeing.

~~

So, it took a while longer, but eventually the others did finally arrive back home, and with all the group now back together more or less, they all went off from there and to the guest lobby as Slicer was put into proper custody. Since it was just his head, it honestly wasn't too hard to handle, so while the soldiers were doing that, the rest of the group, including the members who joined up with Aladdin, got together in the main lobby to talk over what they've been through on their little round about. While they had a LOT of newcomers here and there (Victoria and Bardroy joined Alphonse for the ride to Japan), the only ones that weren't there were Ciel and Sebastian, whom of which Grell was eagerly trying to locate so he could tell his part of the story. Still, it was Aladdin who was going over what he had gone through first, having the most trouble and most to talk about since he flown off from Japan. He had gone through a number of details already: first encounter with Hoopa, his involvement in Central, and freeing Gaara from Shukaku (which Gaara allowed him to talk about), and at one point ...

"Lugia?!" Twilight and Nagisa asked.

"I know, it's amazing!" Aladdin said, equally excited.

"At least it would've been amazing if he didn't fly off on us!" complained Hoopa.

"What'chu mean?" Pinkie asked.

"Exactly what I said: they tried getting him to come back but he thinks it's better to run away." Hoopa was more upset that the biggest proof he had was no longer with him, but Nagisa and Twilight both were only having their thoughts more confirmed that something was indeed keeping him away.

"What's with him?!" Ed groaned.

"Don't know, but Heine's trying to find him right now. Apparently he was ... too strong," Gaara explained. Well that surely made things a bit confusing, and label Lugia as simply selfish at worst.

"Well, good luck to him. So Nagisa, Ed, how'd that Tengu mission go?"

"He got away from us. But, to tell you the truth, I think there's more to him," Nagisa revealed. Edward knew exactly where this was going, and was actually already getting out a little something he had held onto since they left the shrine.

"How so?" Al asked. Funny he should be asking that out of anyone, and soon Ed pulled out that newspaper Tengu had left for them. They still couldn't figure it out very well, and the clue had the others in a bit of a loop too.

"He knows something about Ed and Al. something big, but he won't tell us what. We tried talking to him directly, but he only gave us this to work with," Nagisa explained, showing the main article for the revolutionary train. Pinkie and Karma got hold of the paper for a closer look.

"W-what sort of something?" Al asked.

"I don't know, but that paper isn't helping. What does some new train have to do with us?" Ed replied, the same question from the trip being brought up. Karma and Pinkie looked at the picture a little more closely, and even began to look through some of the pages to the details of said train. It didn't seem like there was any clue throughout most of the information, but one of the pictures caught sight of them both. The picture in question showed a train station with a crowd going on aboard. Much of this crowd looked foreign to them both. Karma and Pinkie looked and studied the picture a bit more closely ...

"Where is he?!"

suddenly, a tired and annoyed Grell Sutcliff had come back around from his little look around. Grell had gone up and down, here, there any everywhere but couldn't find hide nor hair of Sebastian, or even Ciel for that matter.

"What's with you?" Gaara asked.

"I'm getting gipped, that's what! Aladdin, did you or did you not give me a promise for my help back in Central? Well, where's my reward, eh?!" Grell stated. Aladdin had gone through this part with him to the others already, so embarrassment over that was out of the question. Alphonse was the only one who grew a little quiet.

"How desperate are you?" Hoopa bluntly asked.

"They'll get here, won't they? Hey Al, when's Sebastian and Ciel going to show up?" asked Ed. Alphonse's silence managed to get their attention.

"... W-Well ..."

"Come on, don't keep us in suspense, spit it out," Grell insisted. If al knew something about Sebastian, he would love to know. But then Al began to look to his lap, his hands turning into fists.

"... We uh ... ran into some trouble. ... Sombra found us."

"Sombra?!" They all gasped. Alphonse quietly nodded.

"Wait a minute, you don't mean ..."

"... He took Ciel ... and Sebastian's ... dead. ..."

There was a long silence. Sebastian. Their true demon and strongest in their own group. Dead. The silence was only cut short when Grell began to laugh.

"Some joke that is, ha! Seriously though, where's that hunk of demon at?" Grell asked. Alphonse couldn't even look up to the reaper.

"... He's dead ..."

"Now, Al, stop with the same joke, where is he?" Grell asked again in a playful tone, but this one was less playful and more desperate.

"He's dead, Grell, what do you want me to say?!" Al finally yelled, up to his feet and even making the reaper back up. Grell was hoping this was a joke, but clearly Al was not changing his story here, nor would he for his sake.

"But how did it happen?" asked Twilight in a hushed voice.

"I don't know ... Sebastian took Ciel's soul, ate it, and he just ... dropped dead ... I'm sorry, Grell," Alphonse said. Grell stayed quiet for another minute, and actually collapsed. It'll take a long time for them to take this in, and soon Karma sighed and took another look at the paper he had.

"Pie, pen," Karma stated, hand open and ready. Pinkie got a pen after a tiny bit, and Karma worked with the pen onto the page for a short minute, before he rolled it up, and ...

*whack**bam**bang*

Clock on Ed, Winry, and Al's head.

"Hey!" Winry snapped.

"You really should look at this," Karma made clear, opening up the paper in front of them before she could snap at him. At first Ed wasn't too sure what Karma was going on about, but Karma made sure to mark it up on the paper with a drawn out circle ala the pen. Ed and Winry looked at the mark, and what Karma did mark made both Edward Elric and Winry Armstrong stop cold.
It was them. Edward. Alphonse. And Winry. They were in that shot! They each looked a lot younger in the shot, and it didn't take much longer until some of the others saw the three in there.

"So you hitched a ride on a train? Eh, a bit mundane," Blair said. Nagisa and Twilight though could sense there was a bit more to this, and there was only one way to pin it.

"Wait. Ed? Winry? Do you two know anything about this?" Twilight asked. Ed and Winry didn't answer right away, looking over to the date, and seeing the authenticity of it.

"W-Wait. This has to be manipulated. ... Someone know how to check this?" Ed asked, though he looked more freaked out than actually legitimate about it. None of them actually knew how to do that though, but -

"Yoink!" Pinkie said, pulling it out of Ed's hands, and looking over every little teeny tiny detail on it. After a good little minute, Pinkie reached her conclusion.

"Now chill out, will you? It could be just nothing: it's just you guys boarding some hybrid train, what's the big deal?" Blair asked. However, that did end up catching Hoopa's ears, eyes shooting open.

"Hold up. Did you say "hybrid train"?" Hoopa asked.

"Uh, yeah? It says so right on the paper."

"Let me see!" Hoopa floated over quick and yanked it right out of Pinkie's hands, seeing the exact marks made, and the details they had in mind. Hoopa's eyes widened and he took a moment to work out what he was looking at, glancing back and forth between the kids on the paper, and the one's in the room.

A-Al! wake up please.

During this, Ed felt a mental shot hit through his head the more he thought about this hybrid train, and now that he was seeing himself, Al, and Winry for some reason on the same paper -

"Have you solved it now, kids?"

Everyone suddenly stopped once they heard the new voice come in, looking to the door and seeing Alex Armstrong come in with his two lieutenants, a bit more quiet than normal (and with his shirt on for once). Alex felt a bit rough on this subject, but he could feel Olivier standing just out of sight, and waiting for him to explain himself to everyone, a few in particular. The next question was inevitable.

"What do you know about this?" asked Edward, standing up to confront the only man who actually knew more about this. Alex Armstrong needed to gather himself a bit more, but he knew along with Olivier that there was no turning back now, especially after the clue left for them. He had to explain before someone else does. His hand turned into a wrist, as if his own body was trying to hold back for just a brief moment.

"I uh ... I have a ... confession to make. ..."

"You in position, Armstrong? Over."

"I'm at the station. Ready to head out, over."

Not too different from how he looked now, his mustache missing from his face, but the younger Alex Armstrong was just as strong as ever, and after a talk through his communicator back to the Overworld, ready to take on the challenge prepared for him as he readied to head out to the next encounter thanks to the train. At the moment, many people were already there, and already excited for the Hybrid Train, which was at the moment in all it's glory, and about ready to head off in the next half an hour. With his Amestris soldier get-up, he blended right in when it came to Central's train station and those amongst the staff. That, and there was a few other soldiers ready to go, so there was that too. He was about ready to get into the train, but before he could, he began to hear the sounds of children not too far away.

"Strange," Alex noted. Looking over, there was a set of children going about their day, both excited to have a train ride in what they thought was the newest thing since wheeled wagons and sliced bread. Alex found it pretty adorable to see, but he wasn't exactly informed of such young people boarding the train. He saw a pair of brothers, one just taller than the others, and both eager to get on the train with their parents. And it wasn't just them after looking, but he also took sight of a young girl with her mother and father just a few meters away. It was just enough to get Alex curious, and began to move a little closer to investigate a little bit. They were the youngest of the entire group being shown here, though seeing them was still something sweet for Alex Armstrong to see. Before he could continue though, one of the eager boys actually took sight of him, which made Alex stop. Still, the two were surprised to see him there, and actually insisted to go over, which their parents agreed with a nod of their head.

"Oh, wow, a general!" said one of the boys, very excited to see Alex standing there. Alex cleared his throat.

"Well, a pleasure to see you as well," Alex replied, a little softened up by how excited the boys were to see him.

"Excuse me, but do you know when the train will be departing?" asked their mother, happy but a bit more subtle. Alex took a minute to work out his own personal clock in his head about that, but lucky for him a clock was set up at the station for him to work out.

"You have about fifteen minutes before the train will go," Alex informed. At one point, one of them noticed something on Alex's hands, in particular, the symbol on the metal marks.

"What's that symbol for? Is it a new Central emblem?" he asked, pointing to the mark. Alchemy wasn't exactly so popular as of yet, so just sharing that kind of information wasn't the best idea. Alex had to improvise.

"No, I just got them that way. Maybe one day you boys can get some of your own," Alex said cheerfully. That surely got the two excited, just imagining getting some cool armor from Central when they get older. The parents got their attention again, and moved them back so the general could have his space.

"Easy you two, what have we told you about personal space?" said the dad.

"Oh, I don't mind it at all," Alex said with a smile. Before their conversation could continue, Alex began to hear the communicator in his pocket go off again.

"Well, sounds like I better be going. Enjoy your trip," Alex said, even smiling and playfully fluffing one of the boys' heads. A chuckle came from him as he went off and along the way, though he still was a bit surprised about seeing them here. Walking along, he then took sight of the girl not too far off, who wasn't exactly as interested in seeing Alex go by. He could tell that the children were pretty excited about getting on this train, though the girl surely looked very hyped about it, looking over the train as if it was the best thing ever. Alex simply smiled but he still had to answer his communicator.

"A change in plan, Armstrong, we need you position west of the station. The figure is on the move, over."

"My apologies. ... One question though: were children supposed to be boarding the hybrid train?"

"What? No, I don't think so. All of the passengers are at least young adult, why?"

"You should double-check then: I saw at least three children boarding the train just a minute ago."

"I wouldn't worry about them, Alex. They're probably there to see the others off, that's all. Now, try and get to your new position, over." guess that made sense in an overall statement. After all, the girl he saw earlier looked way more interested in the train itself rather than actually getting into the train cars, so perhaps it wouldn't be as bad. Alex gave a sigh before responding.

"Will do. Keep an eye on the target, over."

After checking in, Alex began to walk off away from the crowd, and soon was off and out of sight. He can't waste anytime now, but he can't show his alchemy or any special tricks either, so he had to make sure no one was watching him. He had to get a quick way to his next position, and fast, before the train would go off, and there was only one way to do that ...

~~

*caaaww!*

After summoning the main transport which was a young Pidgeot, Alex Armstrong flew far ahead of the hybrid train, and along the tracks of said route to be sure. He had to keep a good eye out around for his target along the countryside. The plains were especially clear of many a person, so that was a fairly good thing, but Alex had a bit more of an important task to take care of. Looking down from the bird, at first, he wasn't seeing much of anything along the route, but that surely didn't last too long.

"YAH!"

"There he is," Alex thought. Landing off further away from the tracks. By the looks of it, Alex came at a good time, as a bit of a fight had broken out with a few more Elysium soldiers, some already on the ground by the time Alex had arrived, and the demon they were facing was doing a bit roughly himself, but going strong nonetheless. The demon in question was a particularly strong one, and one that Alex was ready to face.
The Great Tengu was ready for battle. The demon still had his shield around his body, and didn't bring out his sword yet.

"Where the hell were you?" The Great Tengu mocked, the face unchanging though as he flew up above their heads. Alex wasn't going to waste anytime with it though, and immediately began to try and apprehend the demon. The symbols on his hands started to glow, and his alchemy activated the ground underneath the Tengu. Since he was flying though, striking the Tengu with a ground pillar was not as easy as it sounded. The Great Tengu flew up high in the air, and started to send down icicles from the air, which the major made short work of with a alchemic barrier brought up to block. Alex could see his soldiers fall back from the attack.

"Hold your ground, that demon has to be stopped!" called Alex, trying to rally up his soldiers. Once the icicles were finished raining down on them, the soldiers ran out again and fired the demon, though each shot simply bounced off of the demon's face. A swat of his wing made the bullets stop hitting him, but it did lay him open to Alex's alchemy, which made a strong hit from below. The Tengu stumbled in the air for a bit, but just narrowly missing the ground underneath his talons. Once regaining himself, the Great Tengu was off and at them again, charging forward to the group retaliating against him. Alex tried again to keep the Tengu back, launching a power-filled punch right to the demon's face.
But then came the move that would change everything: the Great Tengu charged up a fire-attack, the icicles turning into fireballs. This move came pretty fast, and Alex had to make a barrier to keep the fire back. However, a few stray fireballs flew by over their heads.

*CRASH!!!*

... Everything stopped. The fireballs that avoided the barrier Alex had made flew way off out of the way, and onto the same tracks in a fiery explosion. A part of Alex begged him not to look, but the remaining soldiers that did turn to look were completely shocked at what they were seeing. Or rather, the end result.

.......

Calling the accident horrid was far from just sugarcoating it. As the remaining soldiers tried to get the Tengu, Alex himself went down to see the accident. There were only two cars attached to this train, and each one was completely derailed, and wrecked by stray explosions. Smoke bellowed from the train itself, which looked less like a train and more like a heap of scrap metal. Fire still seeped out from the engine, metal scattered everywhere. But, for Alex, it wasn't the train that made his heart sink, but more over how many had been in the train during the accident.
The amount of people boarding the train: about a good fifty.
The amount of people still there: ... about none.
Alex's heart sank on seeing just how many lives were cut short during this crash, and with the demon responsible for this, he felt a wave of guilt rush him. And it was about to get even worse.

"A-Al, you ... you okay?"

"No. ..."

A rather familiar voice, and one not too far away from the horrid group. his eyes slowly turned and sure enough, the same children he met at the station were now laying in a pool of their own blood. Alex was silent, seeing one brother, who grew horribly limp, tried to wake up his other brother, who honestly looked horribly damaged. The second brother passed out from his wounds shortly afterwards, and Alex saw that his arm and leg looked horrifically burned and limp. Alex's eyes opened wide on the sudden realization of it all, and if they were there on the train, then -

"Dear oh dear. What a large amount of coffins I have to make now."

Alex spun around fast, and soon he saw one particularly unexpected visitor to the accident, as he was looking over the bodies of the deceased. Alex thought it was one of the soldiers, but it was too unmistakable and distinctive to be that.

"Undertaker ..."

"Fine day, Alex. That accident sure gave me a lot of work,~" Undertaker said, in his usual cheeky voice. Alex got up from the ground, and moved over to the reaper. He knew there were dead amongst the wreck, but exactly who was what he wanted to figure out.

"Undertaker, please tell me. Did anyone survive this? ... anyone?" Alex asked, almost pleading. Undertaker took out a little pocket book and looked it over off of what he got so far.

"As nice as it would be, I don't see anyone surviving this little wreck. And as for the three children over here ..."

"Three? ... Oh no, he doesn't mean - ..." Alex's thoughts were only confirmed when he saw Undertaker gently lifted out a limp body of the same girl he saw at the train station. The young girl, and the two brother, all dead and killed in the most abrupt of ways possible. Alex collapsed, his eyes wide and tears coming down on the horrid revelation. Undertaker had been taking names of these people for a good while now, but had yet to get these three just yet.

"Now let me see here. ... Edward and Alphonse Elric, and ... Winry Rockbell. Been a while since I did child-sized coffins," Undertaker noted, ready to write down their names to the report. It was more than Alex could take, and he got up and placed his hand on Undertaker's hand before he could write it down.

"Wait. Undertaker, please reconsider."

"Reconsider? Now why would I do that?" Undertaker questioned, but he soon saw just how sad and heart-broken Alex Armstrong was to the news.

"But ... But they were so young. No child deserves to have their lives cut so short ... not like this. Undertaker, give them another chance please," Alex pleaded. Undertaker paused, and closed his book for a brief moment, but it surely didn't seem like he was changed by the Elysium soldier.

"Well, I don't know. Defying death is a risky business," Undertaker pointed out, as if he was playing with him. Alex though couldn't stand the idea that his reckless mission resulted in their lives getting cut down this way, all that evident in his face.

"Just this once, Undertaker."

"Even if I wanted to, it won't work, Alex. I mean, one of them did see you fly off on your little bird," Undertaker pointed out. That made Alex a bit more surprised about it. He thought he did well, but the girl was just curious enough to see the man go, and Undertaker knew as well as him that it won't do. Alex stopped pleading for a moment, and looked to the dead girl. Despite the explosions, she looked the least damaged apart from some blood coming out of her mouth. Undertaker could see the guilt and sorrow on Alex's face as he gently stroke her hair. ...

"... Well ... I was curious on what'll happen if I do change the story," Undertaker pondered. Alex perked up on that, and turned back to the reaper.

"Can you, please? They don't deserve to die so soon."

"Steady now. If I do this for your sake, this could cost you plenty. That, and I do have to give a little change in their lives in order for this to work. You willing to put that in jeopardy?" Undertaker asked, as he brought out his pocket book. Alex stayed deathly quiet, and looked back to Winry, Ed, and Al on the ground.

"Changes ..."

"Oh, just a few little kinks to their lives. I won't alter too much, but I'll fix it up. No one likes trauma, you know," Undertaker explained, his pen floating over the pocket book and ready to write down what the state of theirs would be. Alex just turned his gaze to his feet.

"... I'll take the responsibility," Alex answered. And so, Undertaker began to write.

There was a long silence after Alex had finished, the major not even able to look at them in the face. For Edward, Alphonse, and Winry especially, this news took their toll on them. The group had their eyes to the three, waiting to hear what their reaction would be. It was Winry who first broke into tears for the reveal, the silent flow of just how effected the truth had on her. This man, her "father" ... can she even call him that anymore?

"I'm so sorry I never told you ..." Alex stated, hoping that it would have some sort of amend to what he just did.

... But that was not going to happen.

*BAM!*

All of a sudden, even to Olivier's surprise, someone slammed Alex Armstrong right in the head, and with such force, it knocked him back out into the hall, slamming into the wall! They expected that from Ed, or Al, but this punch actually came from Winry Rockbell. While they were distracted by that, both she and Ed as it turned out, cut their get-together short and ran off.

"Winry! Ed!" called Aladdin, trying to catch up with them, but it was no use, they were gone by the time he got to the hallway. Their attention went to Alex next, who Maria and Denny helped get up to his feet, a notable red mark on his face. A part of him said he deserved that for keeping this quiet for so long. Alex straightened up and took a look at his sister, who was rather quiet herself.

"... That was the most heart-wrenching thing I've ever done. I hope you're happy now."
And with that remark, Alex just walked passed her after that, feeling his own tears coming down his own face. He might as well try to get some healing for his new wound, but it would take more than that to fully heal the damage.

"Come on, Aladdin. We'll be right back," Nagisa then said, before he and the magi went off to catch up with Ed and Winry. A mental jab hit her hard. Alphonse stepped out and then turned to Olivier and Alex, but he didn't say much of a word, and rather than hammer it in any further, just turned and tried to get to his brother. Or ... at least who he believes to be his brother.

~~

A very quick leave from the capitol building, surely, and both Edward and Winry got themselves both isolated away from everyone else with only their thoughts as extra company. And boy did they have a ton of thoughts going through their heads, one side wondering about his transmutation situation with his brother, and the other wondering about her actual parents. Both of them were found over by the very edge of the property, looking out to the city, and just ... well, sitting there.

"I can't believe it. I thought that we could find an answer. ... I'm such a dumbass! What was our lives really like? Was I even meant to live at all?" Ed's thoughts were only cut off when he heard Winry next to him silently weeping, her tears coming down her face. Ed didn't had tears on his face, but he knew this was something very hard for her too. He placed a hand on her shoulders, but Winry didn't look up to him.

"Winry. ... There, it'll be okay."

"... All this time, I can't believe he never told me. I'm not an Armstrong, I'm not even an angel! ... I ... was supposed to be dead. My real parents ... our parents. ..." Winry didn't continue, but Ed knew what she meant. Winry looked to Ed and saw his dry face, no tears on him.

"Why aren't you crying?" she asked through her breath.

"... What good would it do? There's no point. A few tears can't change the past. ... It can't give my arm and leg back, it won't restore Al's body. ... And it won't ... it won't ..." Even as he said this, Winry saw a single tear escape from Ed's eye, which she could've swore shined in the light, before Ed wiped it away. Winry stayed quiet and didn't bring it back up, but in the end she didn't have to. Ed sighed when he saw more tears show up on Winry's face.

"Winry, it'll be alright."

"No ... it's not just that," she sniffed. "... Someone had to cry for you, right? ..." Ed paused again, and all he could do was looked off to the distance.

"Winry! Ed!"

both kids easily heard the group catching up to them, and soon it wasn't just them anymore, but the whole group. With how they left, it was bound to happen.

"Oh. Hey guys," Ed said.

"Guys, look, I know Alex kept this away from you, but please don't be too hard on him," Nagisa insisted. Winry wasn't too convinced.

"I don't know. ... How could he lie to me for so long? ... If he could, he could've brought back everyone. ... Why'd he have to fill my head with all those lies? No ... why just me? He couldn't bring my real parents back?" Winry wondered in sorrow. Now it was more than enough for Gaara to take, the kid walking up to her.

"... You idiot."

Blunt, and it stung her. Winry and Ed looked to Gaara, who felt more indifferent about it more than anything. Ed was ready to snap at him, but Gaara's glare kept him quiet ... only for a brief moment.

"How can you stand there and say that?"

"Because it's true. ... I don't know how deep you and Alex were, but from what I heard, Alex risked a great deal of hell to let you and the brothers live. Don't start crying because it wasn't exactly how you want it," Gaara cleared up. Winry felt horrified at how cold Gaara was, and jumped up to her feet.

"What the hell do you know about anything like this, Gaara?! I lost -"

"Lost. what?"

"My ... My family, you idiot!! Nagisa, you guys tell him!" Winry demanded. However, the answer wasn't what she had in mind.

"... Actually, Winry. ... I don't think Alex could even if he wanted to," Nagisa admitted.

"W-Wha?"

"Alex Armstrong made Undertaker bring you, Ed, and Al back to life after that crash. And by the sound of it, that's not something you can just do without getting into a lot of trouble."

"Oh, you're just sugar-coating it: defying death would give ya death if you screw it up. normally something like that would end up making some sort of exchange that would've killed him, but Undertaker didn't bother with that ... for some reason," Hoopa said.

"Winry, Ed, Al. I'm sure he would've wanted you all to be your normal selves, but there's just so much one request can do. Maybe this was the best he could ever manage. He didn't want any of you to die, and he risked his own just to do that," Twilight said, trying to be nice about it.

"The point being: How about you at least apologize to him. He may not be your real dad, but hey, he did a pretty good job in raising you," Karma said with a smirk. Winry looked around to Team Harmony, and began to realize what they were saying. It was a harsh reality to hit her, but she shouldn't have taken it out on Alex. He was only trying to help her and the brothers after all. The words were getting to Ed too. After a little bit, Winry wiped away her tears -

*clap*...*clap*...*clap*...

"Well, well, isn't this a sweet little play you all have going here. Tell me, how much for an encore? You can make some good actors.~"

What a load of nerve. Looking up above their heads to the source of the voice, the very demon in question was gleefully watching them from above their heads. How could Nagisa Shiota not have sensed him there?!

The Great Tengu!

"you," Ed growled. now knowing his true backstory, and reasons behind his missing limbs and Al's missing body, seeing the Great Tengu above them made his blood boil. The Great Tengu, who was already in chaos mode, wasn't too threatened by the entire group, and upon being noticed, he went straight down and landed right in front of everyone. This was the last thing they needed. The group quickly drew out their weapons, but the Tengu wasn't too threatened.

"The Great Tengu. Been waiting for you to show up," Karma noted. The Great Tengu walked right up to them, and with a swing of his own weapon, slammed it against Karma. Miracle Sword and the Tengu's saber sparked as they clashed, but it was mainly to get them to back up.

"Back away from them!" Pinkie warned.

"Easy there, cotton head, I just wanna talk. Though if you wanna fight, then by all means, blow that whistle," the Great Tengu insisted. His eyes then noticed Alphonse amongst the crowd, but the others weren't going to let him near him without a fight.

"You do know the elite Elysium forces are just inside that building, don't you?" Hoopa pointed out, only to be silenced by the Great Tengu's saber aimed directly at his head.

"And do you know who you're chatting with, pal?"

"We would ask you the same question. You're talking to Team Harmony here, demon," Morgiana stated. The Great Tengu actually paused and observed his quarry.

"Hold on ... all of you are Team Harmony? ..."

...

"God damn, what's with kids getting these big roles these days? Adults not worth it anymore?" The Great Tengu said, hand actually to his forehead. They have their weapons still raised, but with how the Tengu was acting, they weren't as on guard as they should be.

"Don't act so innocent! We know you're the one who made them the way they are!" Winry yelled, pointing to Ed and Al.

"So you did put the puzzle together. Well, now you detectives got that fixed, how's about answering me one little question," the Tengu offered, moving a bit closer. Nagisa wasn't willing to have that, and nearly sliced him when he got too close. The cut grazed the Great Tengu's hand, and while it did sting, it wasn't too effective. And before he could end up going any further.

"How dare you come here."

Olivier had now showed up. Her and a number of her soldiers. She saw the Great Tengu from inside not too long ago, and was as ready to fight him as the Team was. The Great Tengu found this a bit more interesting.

"Ah, cool. You're off the hook, my worms, they can answer my question and not you."

"What question?" Olivier asked. The Great Tengu flapped his wings, blowing a gust of wind at Team Harmony to keep them back in case of a attack, and next thing they knew, the Great Tengu was right in front of Olivier. Instinctively, Olivier raised her sword, only to be met with his energy sabre.

"... Know how to Transmutate?" the Tengu asked.

...

"What?"

"You heard me; you and muscle macho rejuvenated and revived those three, and you got one of them in an immortal suit! come on, don't hog your beans and spill em to me! That's something amazing!" the Great Tengu replied. The "praise" hitting an angry alchemist's ears.

"What?" Ed asked. The Tengu turned away from Olivier, and started moving over to Ed.

"Come on, be real! Look at him: no food, no rest, no pain! Really, you angels got him into that body, why not have me in it? Sounds like heaven to me!" The Great Tengu stated.

"That's enough. Shut your damn mouth!"

"Hmm?"

"YAAAAHHHH!"

Ed had enough. He had never felt so upset, so ticked off in his life! This Tengu cost him everything, it was all his fault, and now this! The scream surely got his attention.

"Sounds great to you?! It seems perfect?! You have no idea what kind of hell he has to go through stuck with that body!! And you want to know how to transmute a soul?! YOU DESTROYED OUR LIVES AND YOU WANNA TRADE SECRETS WITH ME?! I'M GONNA CRUSH YOU, CREEP! I'LL SMASH YOU - END YOU! AND I WON'T GIVE YOU JACK!!! In other words. There won't be an exchange with you, SCUUUUUMMMMMM!!!"

Silence. Even the Tengu didn't know what to say to him, still shell-shocked by Ed ultimate tantrum. Not him, or Team Harmony for that matter. ... But it did get Olivier to shed a tear.

"And here I thought he'd never grow. Brings a tear to your eye doesn't it?"

"SERIOUSLY?" Nagisa gasped.

"YOU CHOOSE NOW TO BE EMOTIONALLY INVESTED?!" gasped Twilight. It didn't help that the Great Tengu just gave a slow clap, more impressed than anything.

"... You know, you had your chance. But hell with it. Ring that bell and let me Hitmonchan ya!"

And while the reference flew past most of their heads, the Great Tengu took off to the sky, and bolted down with his sabre, and they all had to scatter for his fly in. This Tengu was taking the challenge head on.
The first one to attack him was Ed, bringing up his alchemic power head on and slammed them into the ground, a wave of metal shooting right to the Tengu. The Great Tengu dodged one attack, but landed right onto another and he felt someone slice his leg, making the Tengu fall back, only to see Nagisa with his blade just finished slicing through some demonic meat. Karma came in next, and tried to skewer the Tengu, just for the demon to zoom back with a flap of his wings.

"Why're you wasting your time with them? How about focus on me instead?" Karma mocked.

"Come on, man, it's no fun to play with one ball in this ball pit. Bring it all on, I'll beat you all right out of this ring."

"I have no idea what you're saying," Karma commented.

"DANCE, BOI!" And with a quick summoning, a blast of a good sized flamethrower was shot right their way. Aladdin jumped in between and summoned his shield to block off the blast.

"Don't you know anything else, you little genie?"

"Actually, I do," Aladdin said, beginning to focus his energy into his hands. The Tengu folded his wings back and dove down at them as Aladdin formed a good sized Gyro Ball in his hand, and got a direct hit, sending the demon flying back towards Olivier and her troops!

"WHOA, when'd you learn that?"

"I had some help while I was away," Aladdin replied with a smile. The Great Tengu was left stunned from both the hit and explosion, but he was not out by a mile. The demon side-rolled just in time to avoid Olivier's sabre, but getting hit by Twilight's magic beam and a second Gyro Ball to send him to the wall.

"I knew I should've trained on my agility," The Great Tengu groaned, as he got himself up and flying again.

"PI-PI-PUMPKIN CANNON!"

"Oh shit." The Great Tengu flew as quick as he could, but he foot was caught in another blast by Blair, sending him spinning in the air for a bit.

"Gaara, Morgiana!" yelled Nagisa.

"Right!" they both said. When the Tengu straightened out, Gaara and Morgiana were rushing right at him, jumping straight to him for a finishing hit. But the Great Tengu wasn't going to give them the chance, and his wings beating at hummingbird speed, the gusts of wind sending them back.

"What are you all, a bunch of hyper mini monkeys?!"

"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME?!" Ed yelled. The word mini wasn't needed, and the Great Tengu found himself dodging more alchemy from the ground. Gaara and Morgiana jumped again, this time grabbing the demon by his wings. Gaara sliced at one of them and Morgiana crushed the other, quickly grounding the Tengu fast.

"THAT'S IT!" Now legitimately angry, the Great Tengu went all out and focused his energy into both hands before copying Ed's technique with slamming them into the ground, sending a wave of ice right at them all!

"Aladdin, shield!" Nagisa ordered. Aladdin got it up for protection, but Morgiana actually got it covered, and her fists slammed hard into the icy wall, making the wave suddenly stop cold (metaphorically), and shattering into pieces. The Great Tengu was actually left stunned by the strength, giving Olivier the chance to jump in and pin him down.

"... COME ON!"

"Give up, Tengu?" Olivier asked, her blade right at the Great Tengu's throat. The demon rose up with Olivier on his back, only for a few other soldiers to rush in. The Tengu grabbed Olivier and swung her around at her soldiers, getting freed again ...

"Stay down!"

And BAM! with the combined hit of Nagisa, Morgiana, Karma and Gaara, the hit finally got the Tengu off his feet and on the ground. The strength made the Tengu cough up blood, and slammed him back onto the wall, this time pinned down.

"Note to self: don't pick a fight with a dozen people who kick ass on a daily basis ... especially demonic ass," The Great Tengu thought, dazed and hurting as he got back up.

"Can't that monster stay down?" Olivier thought.

"Oh, you kids are pretty fancy for a bunch of seeds. ... I was gonna save this, but hell, it'll end this faster," The Tengu growled. In his mouth, he opened it up to show what looked like some sort of purple substance being developed in his mouth before charging forward again. Karma rushed forward, but suddenly Gaara tackled him down before the Tengu could take a bite.

"The hell, get off me!"

"You would've died if he bit you, don't you recognize venom when you see it?" Gaara stated.

"Hold still!" The Tengu demanded, trying to bite them again, only for both of them to jump aside. Karma sliced his sword into the Tengu's side before gaining some distance.

"He's got a poisonous bite now? K then. Al, he's all yours!" called Karma. The Tengu rushed at them again, but Alphonse grabbed hold of him, even with his teeth biting down into his arm. All the Great Tengu tasted was metal, and his poison wasn't doing much of anything.

"You better stay down before things end up getting worse," Alphonse advised, holding him by the head.

"Another reason why I want a transmutation," The Tengu said through a muffled mouth. Alphonse held the Tengu in his grip, and without his wings to fly, the Great Tengu could only struggle as he was put in a headlock.

"Why don't you take a break?" And with that, Alphonse twisted the Great Tengu's head fast, the group hearing a good amount of cracks from the demon's neck. Only then did the Great Tengu drop down, now too weak to even get up properly.

"YES! Now that was a good fight," Karma said, feeling pretty good about it.

"At least everyone's okay. So, what do we do with him?" Twilight asked, looking to the defeated Demon. The Great Tengu was still alive, but plenty of blood going out of his mouth. Alphonse made sure to keep him down just in case.

"Hmm ... you do have quite a nose there. Anyone have some hot sauce? I could go for some nostalgia," Karma asked.

"What am I, an entrée?" The Great Tengu asked, the idea flying over his head.

"Complain all you want, you had your shot and we've beaten. You might as well give up," Gaara stated.

"I don't get it. I've trained for years on years, and here I am getting beaten up by a bunch of nuggets. what'd I do wrong here?"

.......

"You picked a fight against impossible odds. If you're going to pick a fight, be sure you have the advantage. Or at the very least, some subordinates to even the odds into your favor."

Down with one opponent, and then enter another. Looking to the building, their next adversary started to walk out, the metallic noise and distinctive voice telling a number of them already who this was. but that didn't mean they weren't surprised to see him. coming out of the shadows of the front door, the figure turned out to be Slicer! And once more, Slicer seemingly had some fun already judging by the blood coating his armor and sabre.

"Slicer?! How'd you get out of your cell?!"

"Does that truly matter, Olivier? ... and I see there truly is someone else in the same issue as I," Slicer noted, looking to Alphonse. The Great Tengu found this his only chance, and with what strength he had, he jumped up, making Alphonse stumble off.

"Sweet, I got an ally in this tango. come on Slicer, let's finish em off."

"... The feelings mutual, I'm afraid."

"Mutual?"

And then, right then and there, slicer bolted forward fast and his sword skewered straight through the Great Tengu's head! The force was so strong that it pulled the Tengu's head clean off of his currently broken neck, killing him instantly. This quickly turned the tables for everyone there.

"Wait what? ... You are from the Underworld, aren't you? Why would you kill your friend there?" Blair asked, dumbfounded.

"I don't have to come from the Underworld to be a murderer. The demons mean little to me. You should know that by now," Slicer stated, before swinging his sword and getting the head off of his blade. Angry, Olivier rushed him, but Slicer rushed to the side and dodged it easily, and slammed his sword at the base of her back! It didn't slice her in two, but the pain was still evident on her face.

"K, gang, aim for the head, it's his weakpoint," Karma said.

"Say no more," Gaara said, immediately rushing in with blinding speed. Even with that, Slicer connected and the same sword aimed right to Gaara, meeting with his throwing knife. Olivier got up, just to be grabbed by Slicer, and used as a projectile, sending her and Gaara back away from him. Pinkie Pie managed to rush in though and grab him by the strand of hair, yanking the head off quick.

"Got the weakpoint! Who wants it?" Pinkie called.

"... We're not done yet."

"AAHHH!"

Pinkie suddenly felt something sharp hit her in the back, yelping in pain, and getting her head slammed into the ground by the body! Slicer's body picked up the head, and held it so the head aimed forward to the group. Karma and Blair thought they had it, but clearly they were thrown for a loop.

"W-What? But you fell flat when we yanked off your head back at the base."

"One detail I forgot to mention: the homicidal Slicer ..."

"Is a pair of brothers," replied the body armor!

"Brothers?" gasped Alphonse.

"That's about it. And we're not falling until we have our quarry," Slicer replied.

"Not a chance," Karma replied, he and Ed rushing in at Slicer, one side with a Miracle Sword, the other changing his arm into a blade. The Slicer brothers weren't having that, and the killer bolted right passed them, both blades not even cutting into them, and all of a sudden, the blade of Slicer got into Alphonse's neck, and popped his head off with ease. Morgiana caught the head before Al could hit the ground. ... But the head had one more surprise in store, as the brother placed the head onto Al's body. ...

"There, brother. fit well?" the brother asked. Slicer actually began to control Al's body, moving the arm and legs as if they were his own.

"A good fit," Slicer replied.

"You bastard, GET OUT OF MY BROTHER'S BODY!" Ed demanded, seeing this happen.

"Your brother, huh? ... Well, you wouldn't want to hurt him then, now would you?" Slicer asked, making Ed's blood boil even more. But a part of him was severely torn when it came to actually fighting him, since Slicer had Alphonse's body to control. And slicer knew it.

"Brother, you ready?"

"Always," the brother replied, as both brothers bolted to their opponents. Ed froze, and tried to get the head only, but with such a restricted aim, Slicer found it easier to dodge, and used Al's strength to grab Edward by his metallic arm, and tear it off with a powerful yank! Ed stumbled back from the pull, only for Slicer to grab him by the metal leg and swinging him around like a ragdoll, nearly hitting Karma and Olivier multiple times as they tried to dodge. This kept up until the leg itself broke free, sending Ed flying off towards the other brother.

"ED!" gasped Aladdin, trying to get him, only for the brother to jump in his way, and almost decapitating him. Most of the brother's attacks were more ground based, and Aladdin kept trying to dodge the attacks as the brother's blade kept slicing the ground. Morgiana got hold of the arm, and actually used her own strength to tear it off with ease.

"DAMNIT! Brother, help!" the brother called, Slicer seeing his brother in trouble. Karma rushed in, but Slicer grabbed him mid air, and rushed towards his brother, throwing Karma hard at Morgiana before any more limbs could be torn away. Now it was getting serious for the brothers as well, and both of them got some distance away from Team Harmony.

"Don't you dare harm Aladdin," Morgiana warned, staring daggers at them both. The brother readied to go in again, but oddly, Slicer raised his arm to stop him.

"No brother, you did good. I'll handle it from here," Slicer said. The brother paused, but did stop going in for them, as Slicer confronted them all.

"...Hand over the arm. do that, and you can have your body back, Alphonse," Slicer instructed, hand opened and ready.

"Why should we believe you?" asked Olivier.

"You have a higher advantage if I do that. Why are you questioning it. ... Besides, Edward, he's your brother. And I know that if there's one thing you want now is for your brother to be safe. All I ask is for my brother's arm in return," Slicer said.

"You first," Ed demanded.

... And he complied. His brother, went in and lifted off Slicer's head, and got it back onto the original body. The Slicer brothers then tossed over the body of armor to them for Al to have back. ...

*clap*

What happened next came by too fast for most of them to even comprehend. Nagisa felt a horrid shiver run through him the minute he heard that clap, but the Slicer brothers slammed them into the ground fast, and activated what looked like a symbol, all underneath the team's feet! This portal was extremely fast to open, and only Blair, Aladdin, and Nagisa were out of the way just enough to avoid it, falling outside of the portal ring. ...
The others were not as lucky.
Looking back once the portal vanished. They were all gone. Team Harmony had completely disappeared in a matter of seconds, and it wasn't until too late which they found what the brother was really doing, as the streaks from his sword on the ground giving a faint glow of a pentagram. A group of ten plus cut down to just three in three seconds, too fast to save any of them.

"Target. Captured," Slicer stated. It took them a minute to grasp what just happened to them. Slicer meanwhile made a much smaller pentagram under his own feet, and got that activated just before anyone could capture him.

"Wha ... what ... what happened?"

"We got screwed, that's what happened! Slicer's got them all in the Underworld now!" gasped Blair. Nagisa got up and tried to reactivate it, but it was no use. This portal just wasn't going to open up for him, and the reality was quick to settle in.

"Nagisa? ..." Aladdin asked. For a while there was a bit of silence for a while, Nagisa completely torn at what just happened. Eventually, his look of sorrow turned to one of anger.

"... We're going."

"Going? What do you mean?" asked Aladdin.

Nagisa turned to them with determination edging him. His choice was final.

"Exactly what I said. ... We're going to the Underworld and getting them back."