Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ The Unforgivable Sin ❯ Chapter 18 ( Chapter 18 )

This chapter will probably be confusing, especially to those who haven't seen the end of FullMetal Alchemist. Yes, it is part of the show. Well, except for the Shadow Realm stuff, but hey. It fits. Also, this isn't the last chapter; there will be one more. Please try not to kill me before I post it. That being said, please review.

 

Chapter 18

 

Darkness…

 

Pitch black that sucked away any light.

 

I would have called it nothingness but for the creatures that surrounded me. I still couldn't see them, but I could feel them reaching for me, brushing against me, grabbing my arms and legs and head and body. I could feel their hunger. They wanted to make me one of them.

 

This wasn't nothingness. This was chaos.

 

Through that unending black chaos I pushed my way, Ed's order still ringing in my ears. “Don't stop. Get through to the other side.” I didn't know where this other side was or what I'd find there, but neither did I have time to wonder. I kept bulling my way through this hell; I couldn't stop. If I stopped, if I hesitated just a second, they would get me. I would become one of them.

 

I quickly lost track of how long I had been here. Time didn't seem to exist here. It could have been seconds or it could have been years before at last I saw a light in that infernal darkness.

 

A light…where there should have been none. The other side.

 

Seeing it brought fresh hope to me, and I struggled harder against the hands that pulled at me. It was so far away…but slowly, slowly, it came nearer. Bigger. Brighter. I reached for it desperately, fingertips barely brushing it as the monsters pulled at me harder. They seemed to sense I was about to get away from them.

 

I pushed all the harder, spurred on by the promise of getting away from here. I had to get away from here!

 

My fingers brushed the light, and I tried harder, harder, harder. My fingers were swallowed…then my hands and wrists…and suddenly it was easier. The monsters backed away, as if they were afraid of the light. I felt them let go of me, and immediately I jumped into the light, afraid that if I hesitated, they would claim me for good.

 

That pure white light washed over me, warm and inviting. Blinding. I couldn't see. It wrapped around me, taking away all senses until all I knew was the white.

 

Then, abruptly, the light disappeared and sense returned.

 

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the suddenness of it. After a few seconds I realized that I was no longer in the darkness beyond the Gate. I was back in the real world.

 

But something was wrong. Very wrong. This looked like Amestris…there was blue sky with clouds sailing across it…trees…streets with automobiles…buildings.

 

But the buildings were tall, too tall. And those cars…their designs were different. Smoother and sleeker. More powerful.

 

Most of all, though, I was keenly aware of my body. It wasn't mine.

 

What's going on? my mind screamed as I looked at myself in confusion. It all looked the same…my hair was still white, long, and somewhat messy. My hands, my face, my body, it all looked and felt the same. But it felt wrong. The wound in my back was gone, along with the pains from the fight with Greed. Yet the most obvious of all were my legs.

 

They weren't automail. They were flesh and blood. After so many years of metal, the feeling of blood coursing through my legs was rather disconcerting.

 

Someone bumped into me from behind. “Watch where yer standing, kid!” the guy snapped grumpily as he passed by.

 

“S-sorry,” I whispered as he walked away. It was then that I realized that I was standing in the middle of a moderately busy sidewalk, and I started walking aimlessly, studying the people as I went. They looked normal, like the people I was used to. Their clothes were far different, though; most of the women were even wearing pants.

 

I didn't understand. This was what was beyond the Gate? A whole different world? Was I hallucinating? And who was this person who lived here? Who was this boy who looked just like me? How did I end up in his body?

 

More importantly, if I was here, where was he?

 

About time you thought about that.

 

I froze, staring at the ground in front me. That voice…it was Greed's voice! But how could he possibly be here? He didn't follow me through the Gate. At least, I didn't think he did; it wouldn't make sense.

 

Greed? I don't know who this Greed is, but he's certainly not me. Not that I care; I'm more interested in you. Who are you? Why are you here?

 

Biting my lip, I quickly made my way to a nearby bench and sat down. Are you…are you this boy? I asked, feeling more than a little weird for talking to a voice in my head.

 

No, he said, and I blinked in surprise. That would be my landlord. But you're not going to talk to him. You're only going to deal with me. You, who came out of the darkest depths of the Shadow Realm to possess this body. No one from the Shadow Realm comes back; who are you?

 

Shadow Realm? Was he referring that awful chaos I had been forced into?

 

Forced into?

 

I winced. Stay out of my private thoughts!

 

Can't help it when you're shouting. Still…I imagine simply reading your memories would be far easier than asking questions.

 

Reading my--? I didn't even have time to finish the thought when a flash of agony lanced through my head. Clamping my hands on it, I leaned forward instinctively and squeezed my eyes shut. Memories flashed through my consciousness, from the earliest times I could remember right up until my journey through the chaos just a few minutes ago. Desperately, I tried to fight back the pain. This was wrong, it shouldn't be happening, what the hell was he doing to me?

 

As suddenly as it began, the pain stopped. I cracked my eyes open and stared at the sidewalk beneath me, terrified of what this being would do next. What did I do to deserve this? I was only doing what Ed said; I was only trying to live!

 

Did this boy have to live with this every day?

 

That's not your matter, intruder. Come in here where I can see you.

 

Before I could wonder at his words, I felt a pull at the back of my mind. Instinctively, I fought against, thinking that he was trying to take me back to that place he called the Shadow Realm. Yet he was far too strong, and abruptly I was pulled back, falling into darkness once again. This was a different darkness, though; there were no creatures grabbing for me here, and neither was it complete.

 

I looked around and found myself standing in a hall. Both ends stretched into darkness, and two doors faced each other from opposite sides of the hall. One door was open.

 

In the door stood a man who violently reminded me of Greed. He looked just like me, long white hair, normal skin tone, dark brown eyes, but the expression in those eyes was bone-chilling. It was insanity.

 

“W-where am I?” I winced as the words slipped out; I didn't want to make this man, whoever he was, angry.

 

“Inside your mind,” he answered. “Or his mind, actually.” He pointed at the door across the hall. “But as I said earlier, you're not going to deal with him. He's never going to know you were here.”

 

“…Who is he?”

 

“He's you.” The man smirks at my no-doubt confused expression. “He is the version of you that exists in this world.”

 

“This world? Then…this isn't Amestris?”

 

“No. There is no country called Amestris here. We don't have alchemy either.”

 

My jaw dropped. No alchemy? How could alchemy not exist?

 

“As easily as our technology doesn't exist in your world,” the man answered, once more demonstrating his ability to read my mind with ease. “Your science is based around alchemy, ours around physics. It must balance out somehow.” He studied me, his dark brown gaze boring a hole into me. “You cannot be here,” he said eventually. “Ryou has one tenet already; he does not need another.”

 

“I can't go back!” I yelled at him, taking a step back. “I'll die if I get back there, and I…I'm not sure if I can make it back through the…Shadow Realm. I'm not sure if I can get past them again.”

 

The man snorted. “All you have to do is ignore them. They are souls that were banished to the Shadow Realm. Over time, they lost everything that made them individuals, and they became what you saw there. Nothing more than hungry shadows. But your fear of them is their only power over you. And you must go back. Whether you live or die on the other side is no concern of mine.”

 

“But how am I supposed to get back? If there's no alchemy here, there's no way I can open a Gate.”

 

“Who says you're using a Gate?” The man tapped a pendant resting against his chest. It was bright gold, a ring with five sharp triangular points dangling around the outer rim and a pyramid with an eye in the middle set on the inside. With a start, I realized that the Eye was the same as the one carved on the doors of the gate.

 

“In this world there is magic,” he continued, oblivious to my shock. “Magic that is tied closely to the Shadow Realm. I can use that magic to send you back.”

 

“You…you can? Who are you?”

 

The man chuckled. “My name is Bakura as well. I am a tomb robber, and a stealer of souls. Many of those you fought against the Shadow Realm were sealed there by me.” He grinned maniacally. “They were foolish enough to oppose me.”

 

I winced at the not-so-subtle threat. “H-how can I be sure you won't seal me there for good? You've already said you don't care what happens to me.”

 

“You can't, can you?” Bakura answered with a smirk. “Then again, I don't think I can seal you there. After all, I did not know about this world beyond until now. I wonder…if those others I sealed in the Shadow Realm knew of it, would they have fought through to the other side?” He chuckled. “Somehow, I don't think so. Most of those fools were weak. They would have stopped and let the others take them.”

 

“I thought you said you were sending me back?” I wasn't looking forward to possibly dying, but it had to be better than staying here, with Bakura's constant threats. He had already proved that he was stronger than me; hell, he had forcibly read through every memory I possessed. He could do anything he wanted to me, and many of those options definitely seemed worse than death.

 

“I am sending you back,” he answered. “In fact, I'm going with you.”

 

“You're…what?”

 

“I am going with you,” Bakura said slowly, as if explaining a particularly difficult math problem to a toddler. “This Wrath comes from the Shadow Realm; it is there that he belongs, and you have not the power to put him there yourself. Besides, I'm rather curious about Greed. I want to see what this version of myself in that world is like.”

 

“You've seen enough, haven't you?” I asked, rubbing my head.

 

“I've seen him through your perception of him,” he answered smoothly as he walked toward me. “You fear him, perhaps too much. Why is that?”

 

I backed away a step. “He's…he's not natural.”

 

“Neither am I. Do you fear me as well?” He stepped closer, and my back hit the wall behind me.

 

“You'd better believe it,” I replied.

 

He smirked. “Well, there's no helping that, I suppose. Fear me if you want, but I'm the only one who can take you back. And I will take you back.”

 

One more step, and he reached for me. He didn't grab me, however; instead, his hands passed right through me, into me. I shuddered at the intense cold of his touch.

 

“Let me in, fool,” he hissed when I tried to resist. “This is the only way it will work. Otherwise I'd risk bringing the landlord along, and I need him here.”

 

“W-why?” I whispered, closing my eyes as he stepped into me, melding with me. So cold…

 

That is not your concern. Get going, Ryou.

 

I opened my eyes to find the hall quickly fading away, darkness replacing. At first, it wasn't so bad. The darkness shifted, even paled at some points, as if it were truly made of shadows. However, that quality slowly faded away, and what little light had penetrated also disappeared. Nothing was left but the pitch black chaos.

 

Move, Bakura commanded, and I unwillingly started forward again. The creatures were all around; I could sense them, and I could feel their hungry gazes boring into me. Yet they didn't reach for me this time. They stayed back, huddled around but out of my reach. They must have known of the being I carried with me this time. They must have feared him.

 

The going was easier this time because of the creatures' fear, but it was no less tedious. The darkness stretched on and on and on with no end, and the lack of time didn't help. Years passed by in an instant, and seconds crawled into infinity, and still I pushed onward, not even sure if I was walking or floating. All perceptions were distorted here; the only thing I could do was press on and hope to see the light soon.

 

Soon…soon…I had to keep going…

 

Eternity passed in seconds, and at last the darkness ahead was marred by the tiniest pinprick of light. The other side! I quickened my pace, fixated on the light that drew steadily nearer. I was almost there; I was almost out! All thoughts of what would happen when I reached the other side had flown from my head. All I cared about was getting out.

 

It was right before me, and without hesitation I ran into it and let it swallow me.

 

Pain hit me before the light even cleared away, and I staggered, once again reaching around for the knife still embedded in my back. In front of me were Ed, Greed, and Wrath, all staring at me like I had grown a second head. Ed was breathing heavily and bleeding from a dozen wounds, his automail arm twisted and hanging loosely by his side. Vaguely, I wondered how long I had actually been gone, but before I could think of asking, something strange happened.

 

My body moved on its own.

 

My hand reached back and pulled the knife out of my back in one excruciating tug. With a thrill of shock, I realized the Bakura was controlling me. How? This was my body; he couldn't do this. My arm paused in bringing the knife around as I struggled against his control.

 

Keep it up and I will throw you in the Shadow Realm to rot. Be thankful I'm letting you see what's happening.

 

I winced mentally and gave up the struggle, watching as he brought the bloody knife around. “So,” he purred in a voice that was my own and yet not. “This is the other side.” With a manic chuckle, he brought the knife to my lips and licked it.

 

“R-Ryou?!” Ed shouted, horror and disgust flashing across his face. Wrath's expression remained neutral, while Greed's face was a study in shock, disgust, and curiosity. It made me feel slightly better to know he could feel those emotions.

 

“Guess again,” Bakura told the Colonel coolly as he flicked the knife casually at Greed. The Homunculus had to act quickly to dodge, but he wasn't quite quick enough, and the knife slashed through his arm as it sailed by. The tomb robber focused his attention on Greed then, and I got the impression that he was unimpressed. “So, you must be Greed,” he commented.

 

“I am,” Greed replied warily, clutching his injured arm. “If you're not Ryou, who are you?”

 

Again came the psychotic chuckle. “I suppose you could say I'm you,” he answered, reaching up with one hand to rub something. It was then that I noticed the pendant. The same gold pendant that Bakura had been wearing back in that other world was now hanging around my neck. How? How had it gotten there? “But I'm different,” he continued to say. “Whereas you are little more than a psyche inhabiting a false body, I am little more than a soul inhabiting my Millennium Ring. And I have far more power than you could ever dream of. Jealous?” He grinned.

 

Greed's face twisted into an expression of pure rage, but before he could do anything, Wrath spoke up. “You shouldn't underestimate the power of the Homunculi, stranger,” he said. “It might get you killed.”

 

He was moving before he had even finished speaking, but Bakura had been anticipating it. He grabbed Wrath's wrist with his left hand as the Homunculus swung a punch at us, ducked under his arm, and chopped at his kidney with his right hand. Wrath staggered, a choked gurgle of pain escaping his lips as Bakura let him go.

 

“You do not belong here,” he hissed at the Homunculus. “Go back to the shadows where you belong.”

 

I noticed then that the Gate was still there, its doors closed against the darkness within. Not for long though; even as I looked, the Ring around my neck began to glow, and as if in response to that glow, the Gate began to open again. Only this time, it wasn't creaking open slowly. This time, the doors almost slammed opened, and the shadows within poured out into the room, the creatures within reaching for Wrath, their eyes glinting with hunger and victory.

 

“No!” Wrath screamed, trying to back away, but it was already too late. “No, don't take me! I don't want to go back!”

 

The creatures weren't listening to him, however. They had their hold on him, and they were dragging him forward, closer to the depths of the Shadow Realm that lay beyond. He kicked and struggled and screamed so much that I almost felt sorry for him, and then he was gone. The darkness retreated from the room then, going back beyond the Gate and taking the creatures and Wrath with it.

 

In the silence that dominated afterward, Bakura spoke to me again. Take off the Ring and toss it in before the Gate closes.

 

With a start, I realized I was back in control of my body, the pain of the wound in my back nearly overwhelming me. But…but Greed—

 

Greed is your mistake. You fix it. I must return to where I belong.

 

But…can you…?

 

The Shadow Realm is my world. I am its master. I will not get lost or succumb to those that are sealed there. Do it, boy.

 

Hastily I reached up and pulled the Ring's cord over my head and looked at it. The gold glinted brightly in the dim room, and I noticed that I no longer heard Bakura's voice in my head. So…this was the connector. He lived within this pendant. How did he end up that way? And why?

 

I'd never know the answers. “Thank you,” I whispered to it, and then I threw the Ring into the shadows beyond the still open Gate. It slammed shut then, as if it had been awaiting that one action, and melted away into nothingness, leaving behind only the wall of the basement. I wanted to fall down and go to sleep right then and there.

 

“Hey!” Greed snarled, reminding me that I wasn't quite finished yet. “What the hell did you just do?”

 

“Nothing,” I replied, turning wearily to face him. “He was the one who sent Wrath beyond the Gate. Don't ask me how; I'm not sure.”

 

Confusion crossed his face for just an instant, and then Greed laughed. “So, Ryou the Godplayer is back, eh?” he said. “Just as well. Now I'm free to kill you.”

 

He bent down and retrieved his knife. As I watched him come towards me, my vision began to haze over. It was getting so hard to breathe…

 

“Major!”

 

I looked over just into see Ed slide something to me across the floor. It came to a stop beside my foot, and I fell to my knees as I bent over to pick it up. A dagger…I had meant to bring it with me earlier…the Colonel must have gotten it for me when he had gotten Akira's bone.

 

Greed's footsteps quickened, and I looked up to see him running at me, knife leading. But he was slower than usual, as if the loss of the red stones that had given him life was taking its toll. I was easily able to palm his knife hand away and thrust the dagger forward so that he impaled himself upon it.

 

The look on his face reminded my of the Akira's terror as he watched the train coming down to crush him.

 

Oh, God. What have I done?

 

That terror melted away from his face as he fell to his knees in front of me, and it was replaced with a smile. “Killing doesn't suit you, Ryou,” he whispered as blood poured around the dagger to stain his shirt and pool around his knees. “You should stick to alchemy, bro.” His red eyes fluttered closed, and he fell back.

 

I stared at him for all five seconds as my fog-filled brain processed his words. The last words he had spoken to me. The last words Akira had spoken to me that day years ago.

 

I heard Ed call my name again, but it seemed to come from far away. The fog in my head had taken my vision, turning everything to gray, and noise didn't seem to penetrate. Breathing hurt so much…I was so tired…

 

I fell forward and let the darkness take me.