Author's Note. Hey guys, yeah, I'm still alive…. And I'm so sorry please don't hate me T-T

I've been very busy with school and I've also been working on editing the previous chapters and turns out that there was a lot I needed to change. I'm still working on it, and I've done some major changes… and I mean big ones. It's been taking a lot of my time, hence why I didn't upload anything on December as I planned… or in the last eight months T-T.

I would also like for you guys to help with the name of the story, I would like to change it, but I have no ideas for it. If you think of something, please PM me.

I was a little stuck on this chapter, but I finally managed to finish it. I hope you guys enjoy it :D

Disclaimer:I do not own D. Gray-Man or Full Metal Alchemist.

KEY:

"Neah talking"

"Thoughts"

Flashbacks

Radio conversations

"Normal talking"

Chapter 27

The first thing Allen Walker noticed when he opened his eyes, was that the familiar soreness of his body after an Akuma attack. He stared at the grey ceiling, trying to get his senses back. His muscles were sore, and his back was hurting bad, despite him being over something soft, a bed most likely. He could feel the bandages around his abdomen, and the Exorcist knew from experience that he wouldn't be able to move properly for a while.

He moved his head slowly to the side, trying to find where exactly was he. It looked like a small clinic, similar to the one Narain used to help in, back when he was still living in India. His face turned into a frown, hadn't he been in the snowing mountains with BaKanda, Alphonse and the others?

"Nice to see that you are finally awake." He turned his head to look at the origin of the voice.

Standing some distance away from his bed was a woman that look nothing like the Matron or any of the other Nurses from the European Branch. It was a blonde woman, with short spiky hair, held back with a white bandana, a white coat over purple turtleneck sweater and black pants. Dark eyes peer at him from behind the thin oval glasses as she approached the bed where the young Exorcist was lying in.

"Wh-who?" Allen croaked, voice dry from lack of use.

"I'm Dr. Patricia Köhler." She answered moving closer. "Can you tell me your name?"

"A-Allen W-Walker."

"Well, Allen, nice to meet you, although I would had preferred this meeting had been under better circumstances. Can you remember what happened to you?"

The memories came back to him slowly. The snow storm hitting them without warning and then the arrival of the white Akuma. The boy couldn't hold back the wince as he remembered red eyes staring at him as he tried desperately to get free from the Ghost's grip on his Crown Belt. Oh God, a spike went straight through him.

"A little." He coughed harshly. "Attack, right?"

"More like attempted slaughter." She muttered taking a clipboard from the table next to his bed. "Multiple bruises and gashes on your body, especially on your back. I'm assuming you were thrown against some trees. Your left leg seems to have sustained some damage, but that looks to be an older injury, a week old probably. Let's not mention the fact that you were impaled with something on your abdomen." She looked away from the clipboard to stare pointedly at the teen. "Why in the world you are still alive or not in a coma is beyond me."

Allen didn't answer her. What exactly could he say about it? He was an Exorcist, it was part of his job, sometimes he wasn't even sure how he manages to pull all those stunts during his fights and still be alive after, much less be able to walk on his own two feet. Not like he could tell her that, he still wasn't sure where exactly he was.

Slowly, he tried to sit on the bed, but the pain from his abdomen stopped him on his tracks. Without a word, the doctor helped him sit up without hurting himself further.

"Your abdomen is healing well, though it will be some time before you are in proper shape. I would recommend you bed rest, but considering the situation you are in, it is not precisely ideal." The woman said moving away from the teen, and Allen couldn't help the wave of confusion that fell upon him.

"Situation?" He asked, not understanding what the Doctor was referring to.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps getting closer to the Infirmary. The door was then opened harshly, startling Allen. Turning his head to look at the newcomer, the white-haired teen found a stern looking woman with the Amestrian military blue uniform and black coat at the door of the infirmary.

"Welcome to the land of the living, Snowflake." She said without missing a beat as she made her way inside the infirmary.

Allen could only stare at the woman in bewilderment, not sure what he could say. She had long icy hair falling all the way down to her mid back. A strand of hair covered one of her pale blue eyes, with the familiar glint of strength he had seen in one General Klaud Nine. The white-haired teen's eyes followed her as she made her way to stand in front of him, the way she walked with confidence and an air of nobility, that commanded everyone's attention to her. She was a leader, strong and powerful.

"Name's Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong." Said the General. "You may refer to me as General Armstrong. I'm the commanding officer of this place, and you'll answer to me. Your name, Snowflake?"

The young Exorcist knew the woman was powerful and, without doubt, clever. While he was a good actor and deceiver of the truth, Allen knew that this woman was not someone he wanted to mess with. After his cover has been blown, Colonel Mustang had been understanding of the situation and gave him back his freedom, but General Armstrong would not do the same.

"Allen Walker, ma'am." He said truthfully, choosing to cooperate to the best of his ability. He had to play his cards right, he didn't know, after all, if the blonde General was sided with the rest of the Führer military minions.

"Well, Walker, you have some explaining to do." She started, arms crossed over her chest. "You and your friend were found by men trespassing military territory. You were mortally injured, and your friend seemed to have been beaten as well, though he seems to be healing well, according to Dr. Köhler here."

Allen took a shaky breath, analyzing the situation. He, and whoever General Armstrong was speaking about, were separated from the others. They've been on their way to North City, but the storm and the Akuma had interrupted their journey. While he was happy there was someone else with him, he needed to make it seem as if it had only been two of them from the beginning. She said he, so it had to either be Kanda, Dr. Marcoh, Alphonse or Mr. Yoki.

"While we would normally overlook this situation, your friend is obviously of Xingese origin and you don't look Amestrian at all. Both of you carried an object resembling a small radio and a pin of a symbol we had never seen before." Icy blue eyes pierced into his mercury grey eyes. "You understand that this seems to be quite suspicious, correct?"

He gulped, not breaking eye contact with the General. "Yes, ma'am."

"You'll be moved to a cell once Dr. Köhler is done checking you for more injuries. You'll be provided with food and water, and the occasional medical checkup to ensure you don't die. Don't try anything stupid like trying to escape, I can guarantee you won't succeed, and the consequences won't be pretty. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good to know." She muttered, then turned to look back at the blonde doctor. "I'll be leaving now, Patricia. Have a good day." She said to the woman.

"You too, General."

Before the woman could leave though, Allen called out softly.

"Ma'am?" the icy-blonde woman turned to look at him "A question, if I may?"

"Go ahead." The General answered, stern eyes staring at him.

"Where are we? What is this place?"

The woman smirked, and the white-haired teen felt a shiver run down his spine. He had seen a smirk similar on his Master, minutes before the crimson-haired man left him to deal with the debt collectors. Nothing good ever came from that kind of smirks, especially not to him.

"Fort Briggs." She answered and turned around to leave.

Once the woman left, Allen's shoulders, relaxed a little and felt less lost with the information he had received. It felt nice to know that perhaps the situation wasn't entirely lost.

This friend she had mentioned, was Kanda, and while normally he doesn't get along with the Japanese Exorcist, they worked well together when the situation was needed. The white-haired Exorcist knew they might be able to find a way out, the problem was, however, what kind of place was Fort Briggs? It must be some sort of military HQ, but there was no way of knowing whether or not they could pull off an escape.

Their radios were taken, and he knew Mugen had to be confiscated as well, something the Japanese would surely be pissed off about. There was no way they would leave without it, and yet they had no idea where they could had placed it.

But getting out was just one thing, they still had to find the rest of their group. Sighing, Allen leaned back into pillow. He hopes that nothing bad had happened to the others during the Akuma attack.

…o0o…

Lavi sat quietly on the chair provided to him by the wife of the stern Dr. Knox, as the man and his assistant operated on Lieutenant Jean Havoc. The red-head Exorcist felt drained, it had been a tough battle. The Homunculus woman, Lust was her name, had been one of the strongest opponents he ever had to face. Not only was she skilled and fast, she was also very clever, something Lavi had only seen in the Akumas Level Three and the Noah.

Lust had been fast to take down Havoc, impaling him with those long nails, sharp as knives. The element of surprise had also helped though. Apparently, she had been acting as the sandy-haired soldier's girlfriend, which made Lavi a little nervous, just how far had the Homunculi infiltrated the Amestrian Military?

Shaking his head tiredly, Lavi continued to replay the previous events.

Lust had been expecting them. She had an army of Level Two Akumas, and she had used them to separate him and Barry the Chopper from Colonel Mustang. While those Akumas were not as intelligent as the Level Three, or as strong as the Level Four, their numbers and different abilities were enough to keep any Exorcist occupied.

They had teamed up quite well, despite the circumstances. Barry was good at distracting the Akumas, giving him enough time for him to activate the seals on his hammer, and destroy them. But then, the Homunculus woman had joined the fight. The Colonel was not a pushover, the Bookman Junior knew that, so he had been a little shock, to say the least, when she had been fast to incapacitate the man.

Barry had been of great help then, fending her off, while he dispatched of the remaining Akuma. He hadn't been kidding when he said he had been itching for a fight. Lust had been a wonderful opponent apparently, if the man's enthusiasm as he swung his hatchet with glee was anything to go by. But then, when he had turned back to join the ex-criminal…

Lavi shuddered remembering the way Lust's nails had shredded Barry into pieces.

The scene hadn't been bloody and full of gore, there hadn't been any flesh for the Homunculus woman to cut in pieces, after all. But the Bookman Junior was sure anyone would had been put off seeing the armor shred to pieces, with nothing inside, while moments earlier it had been moving like a normal human being.

The Exorcist shivered again, he had seen some horrifying and disturbing things in his life. He had even read some horrible things from the Bookman Archives and even from the Order Archives, but to continue hearing Barry's voice, even after his armor pieces were lying scattered on the floor, had to be one of the scariest things so far. To listen how the ex-criminal whined and whined about not being able to continue the fight, until Lust had destroyed a particular piece of the armor, and Number 66 had ceased to exist forever.

It had been… something else, to put it simply. Scary was not enough to describe it, just as it wasn't enough to describe seeing the Akuma' soul for the first time. Or reading very descriptive paragraphs about the Inquisition torture methods. Or reading through the reports and seeing pictures about the Second Exorcist Project. Or having first seats to watch Akuma cannibalism in Edo.

The world was one twisted place.

It didn't surprise Lavi anymore, though.

With a sigh, he passed a hand over his face. He was tired and would love nothing more than going to sleep, but he had to wait for Lenalee to call him so that they could go with Lieutenant Hawkeye to where the rest of Mustang's people gathered and continue to prepare the fight. To stop the Homunculi and get the Noah out of Amestris.

And, not that he would say it aloud, but he also wanted to know whether or not the two Amestrian soldiers were going to be alright. They had sustained heavy injuries, after all.

His thoughts were caught up once again of the man previously known as Barry the Chopper. The Bookman Apprentice knew about the bounding of a soul. He had read about it on Bookman's Alchemy books, though he wasn't expecting to find it in Amestris. Sure, Akumas were created in a similar way with Dark Matter, but he found the Alchemy method scarier.

Both could call upon the soul of a human being and required a sacrifice in order to bound the soul to an object. The difference, though, was that Alchemy continued to respect the Law of Equivalent Exchange, therefore nothing sacrificed was enough to bring the soul of the deceased, only of the living. Meaning if you wanted to play with a soul, it had to be of someone who was still alive.

Which made it even more disturbing.

Dark Matter worked differently, however, Bookman still hadn't allowed him to dwell into it. Not that he was anxious of learning about it.

He was just happy the Vatican didn't have a good opinion about Alchemists and their knowledge. Goodness knew what kind of things they would do if they did. Because there was no way someone like Leverrier and the rest of Central wouldn't pass up an opportunity to use Alchemy to put the Exorcists on immortal and semi-indestructible bodies.

Or at least try to, he wasn't sure whether Innocence would work with an Accommodator that had an inanimate object for a body. And he didn't really want to find out.

Lavi could understand the advantages of having a body like Barry, did for an Exorcist. You never got tired. If you got injured, you didn't feel any pain and could easily be fixed. The fights against the Akuma would probably be much easier but living that way couldn't possibly be considered living.

You couldn't eat or sleep. You couldn't feel. You would only exist.

Poor Barry. He remembers that the ex-criminal told him he had been an experiment from the military. No wonder the man wanted revenge. To be forcefully stripped away from your life, even from your name, and placed on an armor had...

Wait, armor?

The young man with the eye-patch suddenly sat up straighter, emerald eye widening in surprise. It couldn't be possible right?

Barry the Chopper had an armor for a body. And Alphonse Elric wore an armor, for his Alchemy training, he had said.

Barry knew Alphonse Elric, he had asked after the boy when they met him in the tunnels, Lavi recalls.

Alphonse Elric who wore an armor and move in the same way Barry did. Whose helmet had the same glowing eyes as Barry. Whose voice sounded slightly distorted and steps sounded hollow. Just like Barry's had.

Dear Lord.

There was no doubt that Alphonse was just like Barry, there was too much coincidences and the Bookman Junior didn't believe in coincidences. Had the kid been a military experiment just like Number 66 had been? Was Alphonse's brother, Edward, the same way? He would have to ask Mustang when he woke up.

Lavi sighed and pull his hair in frustration. Just what had they gotten themselves into?

…o0o…

Allen Walker leaned against the wall, eyes closed as he tried to ignore the pain from his abdomen. The pain killers were no longer in effect, his Innocence-driven metabolism had already worn them off. He took calm breathes to ignore the sting and allowed Neah to heal him.

He was sitting in the cold cell the Amestrians from Fort Briggs had designated for him. As the General had promised, he had been taken there and given some food and water after the Doc's examination. Now, he waited for his turn in the interrogation room.

In the cell in front of his, sat his Japanese comrade. Angrier than usual with his arms crossed, back against the wall, Yuu Kanda scowled at the ground. Moments before, the Asian Exorcist had been dragged by the Amestrian soldiers. In typical Kanda behavior, he had been snarling and kicking at the soldiers, before he was thrown inside the cell.

Allen couldn't stop the chuckle as he remembered the faces of the soldiers when the Japanese had started to curse at them in different languages. Their faces looked as if they were suffering constipation, a mix between anger and confusion. They knew they were being insulted, but they couldn't understand a single word thrown at them.

"The fuck you are laughing at, Moyashi." Kanda asked angrily.

"Nothing, something silly." He answered with another chuckle and leaned against the wall with a sigh.

"Che." and the Japanese went back to his angry brooding on his cell.

After a moment, the British Exorcist gave a sigh and looked tiredly at his comrade.

"What exactly happened, Kanda?" the white-haired teen asked calmly. "With the Akuma, what happened?"

"A fucking bear happened." Grunted the angry Japanese. "Came out of fucking nowhere and dragged the Akuma away. Killed the fucker too, I found the pieces. Won't be a nuisance anymore."

The British boy snorted. "So, there was indeed a bear, huh? I saw it, but I thought it was only a hallucination from the blood loss. What happened to the bear?"

"Left. Didn't try to stop it."

Allen nodded. "And the others? Where are they?" He asked in concern.

May and Alphonse could take care of themselves, he knew, but there was also Dr. Marcoh and Mr. Yoki to take into consideration. The old doctor had trouble walking through the cold, and the retired soldier would rather complain than help anyone.

"Don't know. Told them to get lost when I heard someone was coming."

Allen's heart gave a jump in dread. Staying stranded in the woods covered in snow was not exactly the best of the situations. He had to hope that they made it safely to the city.

"Did they take Timcanpy with them?" He asked after a moment. At the nod from the Asian young man, the white-haired teen gave a sigh of relief. At least Alphonse would try and keep the little golem out of trouble. Goodness knows Timcanpy was just as unlucky as he was, being chased around by cats and Akuma constantly.

"What exactly is this place?" he asked the Japanese again. He received a scowl in return, but nonetheless Kanda answered.

"Military fortress, right at the border with another country. Heavily armed and guarded at every turn. The only way out is through the same way we came from."

"Damn it." He slumped against the wall, thinking about the situation they found themselves in.

It wasn't good. At all.

They had already known the military was aware of their trip to the north, King Bradley was a sharp individual, and his spies were everywhere Amestris. It was expected that they would run with a military party at some point, the control post in the railway was an example of it, but he didn't think they would get caught and taken to a military fortress of all places.

There was no way to know how much influence the disguised Homunculus had on Fort Briggs.

…o0o…

A loud sneeze was heard, following the by the angry mutterings of a golden-haired teen dressed in a red coat.

"Fucking cold." He muttered angrily.

Edward Elric shuddered as he made his way through the cold streets of North City. The air was freezing, and not even the sun on the sky and his multiple layers of clothes could stop him from shivering with every step he took.

He knew he should had waited for Winry to finish the winter model of automail for him, but after getting the call from Lieutenant Hawkeye about not having any messages from Al and Allen, the Fullmetal Alchemist knew something had happened.

Al has always been the responsible one, so the fact that there hadn't been any news from him and the others, was a bit worrying. Ed was sure his little brother would be careful, and while he didn't know much about Allen Walker or the other Exorcist, he didn't think they were idiots and would avoid trouble as much as possible. But you had to take into consideration that they were going against the bloody Führer, of all people.

Someone as sneaky and clever as King Bradley, would probably had known they were leaving Central City as soon as they made the decision. He had already disbanded Team Mustang and done something to prevent the party from the North to communicate. Edward was also sure the man probably already knew he was leaving Rush Valley and was already planning something to slow him down.

Though there was no need to, the golden-haired alchemist thought angrily. He had no idea where to look for his brother and the others. He didn't wish to ask locals if they had seen Allen or Alphonse, he didn't want to call the attention upon them. He had never been on North City, and…

Another cold breeze swept by, causing Edward to shiver.

"And the fucking cold isn't helping either." he thought angrily.

He continued walking through the streets, lost in his thoughts that he didn't saw the flying object moving towards him. Ed let out a cry of surprise when it collided against him and threw him off balance, effectively making him fall. And land on the cold floor, face first.

The golden-haired alchemist got up quickly, vein throbbing furiously on his forehead. He opened his mouth, ready to scream at whoever was the idiot that tripped him, when he heard the sound of fluttering wings. Familiar fluttering wings.

His eyes turned upwards, and there it was the damn golden sphere with wings that belonged to Allen Walker. Tim-something.

"You made me fall." He muttered angrily, and his eyebrow twitched at the snicker-like sound that the golem made.

"Timcanpy, was it?" he asked as he shook the snow from his coat. The thing nodded in affirmation. "Can you take me with Al and the others?"

The little thing flew around Fullmetal's head, and then proceeded to tug his coat's sleeve. Quite forcefully, making him stumble. He was prepared this time though and managed to right himself quickly.

"Cut it out! I get it, alright?" Ed said angrily, shaking off the golem. Straightening his jacket, he took a deep breath and turn to look at Timcanpy. "Lead the way."