Fullmetal Kingdom ~ Chapter 115

Chapter 115: Escape From…

"Ugh…I feel like a cat having its Monday." Sora said as he regained consciousness.

As he opened his eyes, he saw himself lying on a bench while being stuck in a prison cell. He then stood up and headed for the cell door; he then looked around and saw a few more cells nearby. Sora then rubbed his head and wondered, "I'm not having one of my usual nightmares, so where am I?" He then tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Locked, huh?" Sora then peeked outside his cell to look for a key…but to his annoyance, there wasn't a key in sight.

"I guess whoever brought me here wants me here. Without a key, I'm as good as boxed." Sora sat back down on the bench and tried to think of a plan of escape…

"It's not every day you have a chance as ripe as this to use your Keyblade, is it?"

Sora jumped off the bench and asked, "Who's there, is that you Crimson?!" Crimson replied, "Why of course it is my pinewood-headed pal? Who else would look after No. 1 other than your 'Fairy Godfather'?" Sora then asked, "…Kairi…she was the bait that lured me here…straight to you, her master!"

"(EEEP) WRONG, I hate that minx remember?"

Crimson continued explaining, "Kairi was the one that brought you here, but she didn't know I'd be watching from the shadows. She is acting under the accord of your true enemy. Remember in Wonderland, when I spoke to you about the 'true' enemy?" Sora replied, "Yeah, I also remember you kidnapping a helpless girl! What have you done to Alice anyway?!" Crimson responded, "What have I 'done' to her, you ask? Let's just say she's pouring all her 'heart' into my plans. We've actually become close friends. But enough of 'blondes and husks', you want to get out to save your randomly-placed friends, right?"

Sora nodded, "…yeah, so why are you here, to 'help' like last time? Like when after you captured Alice, you allowed a traitor of the military to cause chaos and nearly freeze over Central City! Oh wait, what about the time you tried turning Edward into a Golem, and turned him against me-?!"

Crimson then added, "-You unlocked MORE Sora! My unfortunate 'partner' and my puppets were essential in unlocking the Magic Sword, as well as your ability to enter a person's heart and save them within! You now have the power to exorcise evil spirits inside AND outside the human body for God's sake! You see me as some 'villain', but think about it logically, who taught you how to use these abilities? Not 'Mama's Boys', that's for sure! I was there for you boy, I was there to alert you in Xenotime of your friend's imminent danger, I was there to offer you a way of tracking down the blonde's kidnapper in East City, and I was even there in Wonderland to give you advice instead of working on my plans! I have a busy schedule, and I neglected it for you, and you don't even bother to thank me! Children like you need to remember something important, when the cavalry arrives, THANK'EM!"

Sora became annoyed, so he asked, "…putting aside the argument, didn't you say you knew a way out?"

Crimson paused for a while before saying, "I did, didn't I? No, I just said you could use your Keyblade, especially when inside a locked cell." Sora then asked, "What are you talking about?" Crimson explained, "You may have heard of the saying, 'if there's a key, then there must be a door', right? The key to your cell is being held by your kidnappers, so you'll have to use another key to get out…Specifically, the key that purifies the worlds."

"You CAN'T mean the Keyblade!" Sora said, Crimson then said, "I do! Despite its size, the Keyblade has a helpful knack of unlocking any lock, whether on a door, a window, or even a gate, the Keyblade has the power to set you free. Just point and shoot, and there you have it, the cell door swings open!"

Sora points his Avenger at the cell door and waits for something to happen…

(SHING)

A bolt of light suddenly shot out of the blade and into the lock!

(CLICK)

And to Sora's surprise, the cell door opened!

Sora then said, "Now the only thing I need to worry about is where to go. Hmm…that's the only door in this hallway…" Sora then headed for the door while Crimson pouted, "HMPH, not even a 'thank you?! Little turd!"

Sora opened the door and walked through; never knowing what awaited him…

Something grabbed Sora by the leg, so the boy darted back to see what grabbed him! The thing Sora saw, was one of many hideous monsters being kept in cages!

The creature groaned in hunger and reached out to Sora. Sora then decided to help it and grab the nearest bag of food and bring it over to the helpless monster. "Here you go fella. This should make your stomach feel better." The creature grabbed the bag and started eating like crazy. Sora then made his way through the cages and towards the door.

As soon as Sora left the room, he found himself in another room full of chimeras in cages. He walked past them, wondering how they came to be, and why they were stuck in this dark place. Sora then came to the door and went through it…

"How many doors does it take to find the exit?" Sora wondered. As he examined the room, he found himself in another 'zoo' for chimeras. Each one he passed was even hungrier than the last. Sora then said, "I guess the person who made these things made them for study and not as household pets. Right now though, I could care less about my 'host'. I gotta get out before Kairi and her partners show up!"

"Nope, it's just me."

Sora turned around and saw Kairi standing before him!

Sora crossed his arms and said, "Well-well, the liar's here." Kairi then said, "I had nothing to lie about, I was honest and loyal to you." Sora then asked, "If that's so, then who knocked me out earlier 'friend'?! Who're you working for?!" Kairi answered, "I…I can't tell you-." Sora then said, "Then I guess your friendship was never true! In East City, you had me at gunpoint and tried to kidnap me, then you sneak in my room to convince me not to trust Ed and Al, and then you lied to me about your unnatural luck when you were shot by Grand's cannons! You lied to get me to follow you, you lied about my friends, and you even lied about who you really are! You've been lying ever since, and every time you lie, we get even closer to the guillotine! You're nothing more than a manipulative, secretive, backstabbing Homunculus!"

Kairi couldn't hold back anymore, she looked into Sora's eyes, walked towards him, and said, "You're such a bastard…heartless…insensitive…I had nothing but you to keep me going, and you trip me at the finish line! I 'lied' to you to keep you from danger, from the ones who brought me back from the dead! I could give in you know, to all that anger, and just end you for what you did to me…but I remembered the shell…the shell you gave me when we were children!"

Kairi finally came to a stop, right in front of Sora, who started to get nervous by Kairi, who was inches away from grabbing him by the throat. However, Kairi grasped her necklace instead and said, "You can see the shell, can't you? This shell attached to this necklace is proof of my dedication to you and our friendship."

(creek)

"Believe me when I say this Sora, I'm willing to do anything to preserve that friendship…even if it means my life over yours."

Suddenly, Kairi shoved Sora out of the room and closed the door!

Sora turned around and was surprised to find himself inside the sewers!

Back inside the third chimera room, Kairi stared at the door, wanting to leave with Sora…but she couldn't move. She was stiff, unable to leave, so she turned away and hoped her friend would be safe…

(RRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR)

Kairi suddenly stopped when she heard the noise of hundreds of beasts from the other room!

"You think he's safe just because you released him?" Envy asked after he came through the door. Kairi sweated in fear, prompting Envy to say, "He knows about us, he will NEVER be safe." Envy then swung the door open and released every chimera in the previous rooms!

Back in the sewers, Sora walked through while wondering where he was. He then said, "As soon as I find a way out of this smelly place, I might get some answers to where I am!"

Suddenly, Sora heard the sound of water splashing through the sewer, then the smell in the air started to change into something relative to a living creature…the Keybearer could tell at that moment, he wasn't alone…

"Did Kairi…release those things I saw earlier?" Sora shook off the thought, summoned his Avenger, and continued through the sewer…

Back in Central City, Ross examined Sheska's copy of Marcoh's cookbook and said, "One tablespoon of sugar, a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper, (sigh) nothing too magical about this recipe." Block then looked at Sheska and asked, "You think maybe you got the wrong author?" Sheska answered, "NO A CHANCE! I've reproduced every word Dr. Marcoh's made in those journals!"

Ross turned to Ed and said, "Sorry Fullmetal, it seems like this was all for nothing-." Ed then said, "I don't know. So Sheska, are you sure that this was all written word-for-word from what Dr. Marcoh wrote?" Sheska replied, "Y-yes sir, no doubt about it!" Ed smiled and said, "…Sheska, you really are an amazing talent. Lieutenant, make sure she's properly compensated." Ed then gave a small piece of paper to Ross and explained, "You'll see a figure there, go to the State Alchemist Treasury and let them take that amount out of my research budget. Al, come on!" As Ed left, Al followed, "I'm right behind you!"

"BUT I'M SECURITY!" Ross said. However, the Elric brothers were already gone, forcing her to chase after them and let Block take care of paying Sheska. Block wondered, "I don't get it, what does he expect to do with a cook book?" Sheska guessed, "Bake a cake?"

Block and Sheska then looked at the payment Ed wrote out for her…

"THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY!" Sheska said.

In the streets of Traverse Town, Ed said, "We're close Al, REALLY close! Sora's not gonna believe what he missed!" Al then said, "Which reminds me brother, when do you think he'll be back?" Ed answered, "Ya got me. He's probably taking his sweet time with the flower girl!" Al then said, "You mean Aeris? But I thought YOU were the one with a crush on her."

"(DERK!)"

"HOLD IT FULLMETAL, STOP!"

Ed and Al then noticed Ross rushing towards them. When she caught up with them, she asked, "Sir, where do you think you're going?" Edward replied, "We're gonna hold up in the Central Library's Main Building for now. After all, they got the best sort of research for this kind of work." Ross then said, "No way, a library was Scar's last mark and he's still on the loose! It's impossible for us to protect you in that venue!"

Ed then said, "Figuring out how to do your job right is YOUR problem Ross! You can play 'Sora' all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that getting the Philosopher Stone is my problem, NOT YOURS, mine, got that?!" Ed immediately passed by Ross, leaving the lieutenant to wonder, "How did his old bodyguard put up with him?" Al replied, "Sora doesn't exactly put up with him, and honestly, I doubt he ever will. Sora does what he thinks is right, which can at times put him at odds with Ed, but deep down, even if Ed denies it, there's no one my brother would rather have as a bodyguard…or rather no one he'd rather have as his best friend."

Back in the sewers, Sora said, "…I wonder how Ed and Al are doing with the burned library. Hopefully they found Marcoh's secret notes and became human already. I may not be around, but those two deserve a happy ending after all the crap we went through to find the stone. I would've been there but NO, Kairi and her 'secret club' had me taken to a random sewer filled with rats!"

(squee-squee)

Suddenly, Sora noticed a few rats running away in fear…

(SPLASH…SPLASH…)

"It looks like they caught up." Sora said. He then took out his Keyblade and prepared for what was coming…

In the darkness, several eyes appeared, hungry and eager to hunt Sora. Some of the chimeras came into the light and creeped closer and closer, drooling with hunger and hissing, growling, and snorting at the Keybearer…

"…I think I'm starting to miss the rats."

End of Chapter 115