Fullmetal Kingdom ~ Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Welcome to the Hughes Family

Sora rushes out of the Hospital and continues running, hoping to return to Destiny Islands and find Riku and the other orphans. Sora thought to himself, 'There's a reason for everything, even Riku's behavior! I have to find him, I have to save him!'

Sora was so busy running toward the train station, he didn't even notice Donald and Goofy walking by, Donald was startled by Sora's quick rush, that he looked behind him to see who passed him. Donald scratches his head in confusion, "What was that about?" Jiminy interrupted, "There's no time for looking back, we've got to get to the Hospital and find Sora before the Golems do!"

Goofy then asked, "Jiminy, while we're running, could you tell us what these Golems are? After all, you said you would tell us." Jiminy answers, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you. These things, the Golems, they are strange black creatures who appear as living shadows with a sweet smelling aroma. They are carnivorous and destructive, they act like a pack of wolves, ravaging through towns. That's all I know about them right now, but what was strange about them was that they could be made through alchemy."

Donald asked, "Wait, how do you know they can be made by alchemy?" Jiminy shifted his eyes for a while and replied, "Uh, well, t-there was a book on Golems in the Destiny Islands library! Yes, that's right! They really love alchemy, don't they? HAHAHAHA..." Goofy then rubbed his chin in confusion, thinking that there might be more to it, but then he said, "OK, I guess that makes sense, a little bit."

As the three Genomes rushed to the Hospital, they passed by a tall figure. He looked forward and said, "So, you're over there, huh? Alright, let's see what you can do...Keyblade Master."

After they exit the Hospital, Mustang meets with the Elrics and tells them about their new mission, "Ed, are you familiar with science?" Ed replies, "It was a cookie philosophy about technology and biology. I never really read into it."

Al then said, "From what I've heard, science has been almost as beneficial to mankind as alchemy. But here in Amestris, people believed in alchemy's progress more than science." Mustang then smiled and said, "Well boys, tomorrow's your lucky day, because you two get to meet a scientist." Ed stumbled in surprise, "W-WHAT? What are you thinking?"

Mustang replied, "I'm thinking that since this guy's smart enough to make a Uranium Bomb, then maybe he could have some clues about where to find the Philosopher Stone." Edward's eyes widened, he looked at Al and then said, "Well, we don't want to get into another ruckus like before, do we Al?" Al stepped back, disturbed by Edward's look, "Brother, what are you thinking?"

Meanwhile, Sora finally made it to the train station. He took his money out, headed for the ticket booth, and demanded, "1 ticket to Destiny Islands, please?" but after he asked, the woman behind the ticket booth said, "I'm sorry sir, but currently, Destiny Islands has been quarantined by the military. Please understand, it is for your own safety."

Sora was shocked, "Quarantined? Why?" The woman replied, "I'm afraid I don't know, I was told by an officer to tell that to anyone who was eager to go. I'm sorry if this disturbs you." Sora then thought, 'Could it be that...the military are looking for Riku?'

Sora then asked, "When will it be alright to order tickets to Destiny Islands?" The woman replied, "I wasn't told. It could be days, weeks, even months until that resort can be accessed again." Sora shook his head in disappointment, "(sigh) Thank you anyway mam." The woman replied, "You're welcome, sorry that it didn't work out." Sora then walked away and decided to return to the Hospital, where Hughes was waiting.

Back at the Hospital, Hughes came out and noticed Mustang standing alone. Hughes came beside him and asked, "So the Elrics went to see the good doctor?" Mustang replied, "They ran as fast as they could when I told them that he knew about the Philosopher Stone." Hughes then asked, "Well does he?" Mustang laughed and replied, "Nope, the old doc is a scientist who hates alchemy. Still, I heard that he has a short temper with people who get in the way of his experiments. The boys don't know it yet, but Huskisson has enough brain power to blow up Central..."

Hughes then notices Sora running back. Sora looked a bit enraged as he ran; he rushed toward Mustang and then asked, "WHY DID YOU CLOSE OFF DESTINY ISLANDS?" Mustang replied, "I wasn't the one who closed off the resort, it was the Iron Blood alchemist, Brigadier General Grand, a state alchemist that holds a higher ranking than I do. Besides, even if you returned to Destiny Islands, what do you think will happen? Do you think you can find your comrades? Do you think you can convince Riku to come back?"

Sora wanted to answer, but he couldn't, he tried to say I can do this, but he didn't know how. Mustang sighed and said, "Look kid, there's a possibility that they already left Destiny Islands. You might not see them for some time, but that's what happens in life. There are going to be disappointments, so you have to get used to that, alright? You might see them again someday, but for now, just get on with your life and don't look back."

Sora's eyes burned with intensity as he asked, "GET ON WITH MY LIFE? You want me to abandon them? I won't do that! You can't just-!" Mustang grabbed Sora's arm and pulled it up in order to stop Sora's anger. He then replied, "There's a reason you're with us, remember? You are now free from Y. O. U. T. H., but you work for us! And like it or not, you WILL follow orders and remember you're place! You owe us for that much, right? You shouldn't let yourself get distracted by every little lost cause." Sora looked away, pulling his arm back, "...yes sir."

Mustang walks toward his car with Hawkeye waiting, but before he left, he tells Sora, "...until the Elrics return, you're suspended from duty. Wait for my orders until then." Sora looked down and nodded his head, "Y-yes sir..."

As Mustang left, Sora could help but feel hopeless. His home was burnt to the ground, he lost his friends, and Riku wasn't his normal self. Before Sora could think about what to do, Hughes pats his shoulder, "Aw, forget that stingy old sourpuss, he just gave you a break from work, well, at least until the Elrics return. That means you're a free man. Come on son, there are some people that I'd like you to meet!" Sora couldn't lighten up, but he smiled at Hughes anyway, "Sure thing, dad."

Hughes took Sora to his home, just as Donald and Goofy arrived at the Hospital. Donald took some time to catch his breath, "(gasp-sigh) (gasp-sigh), A duck was not meant to run this far." Jiminy then said, "Come on, Donald. The front door is right in front of you. Just take a few more steps-." Donald interrupts, "Yeah-why don't YOU take a few more steps to the Hospital from the TRAIN STATION, you'll be just as tired. Oh wait, no you won't, you're a bug, you'd be dying of thirst before you even make it!"

Goofy then said, "Uh Donald, since you're pretty tired, howzabout I go check if the Keyblade Master is in there?" Donald nods, "S-sure thing Goofy. I'll be right behind you." Goofy then heads for the entrance when suddenly; a nurse opens the door in front of Goofy, knocking him out. The nurse was surprised, "S-sorry about that!" She then noticed Donald and Goofy's appearance, "W-what the- what are you creatures?" Donald then noticed that he forgot to put on his cloak to conceal his appearance, and so did Goofy.

Donald then tried to explain himself, "Now, now, mam, please understand. We...are those new Chimeras that the military promised, the talking chimeras (goofy charming smile)." The nurse looked closely and said, "Well, now that you mention it, that shade of blue on your clothes does match the color on the other soldiers. But that doesn't explain the large dog-man over there."

Jiminy popped out of Donald's hat and explained, "Well mam, that's because he...is our leader. Chimera fractions are always in need of a leader, and this young man here, is our leader." The nurse looked at Goofy as he stood up; she then decided to bow before Goofy, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Goofy waved his hand and replied, "Gwarsh miss nurse. ya don't have to worry about me. It happens all the time (Ahyuk)." The nurse stopped bowing and smiled, "W-well anyway, can I help you?"

Donald explained, "We're looking for a kid that came from Destiny Islands." The nurse then realized who they were looking for, "Oh no, was he involved with something?" Goofy then replied, "It's nothing like that mam. We just need to speak with him, that's all." The nurse then answered, "Oh, well, he already went with his foster father to his new home." Donald wasn't at all pleased with this news, "AWW GREAT! We lost him again Goofy!"

Meanwhile, Hughes drove Sora through his neighborhood, "Welcome to Traverse Town Sora. It's a nice, quiet part of Central. It's filled with friendly travelers, most of them lost their homes, so they all travel here to begin a new life, kinda like you."

"Yeah...like me."

A few minutes later, they finally arrive at the Hughes's house. Grace and Elicia were waiting outside for Hughes to return, and they noticed Sora walking with him. Hughes waves at them, "Grace, Elicia, I'm home! And I've brought the newest member of the Hughes family!" Elicia hides behind her mother, while Grace walks toward Hughes and hugs him, "Welcome back dear."

Grace then looked at a nervous Sora, "You must be Sora, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Grace Hughes...you're new mother." Sora bows, "N-nice to meet you mam." Grace giggles and corrects him, "There's no need for you to call me mam, just Mom. You know, you replace the 'a' in the word 'mam' with an 'o', then you have the word 'mom', it's that simple." Sora nods his head, "A-alright, sorry about that...mom."

Hughes smiles, "Sora, there's someone else I'd like you to meet. See the little angel behind Grace? This is my little girl, and the most lovable little 3 year old ever, Elicia!" Elicia peeks behind her mother to look at Sora, who waved at her. But Elicia was too shy to respond, so she went behind her mom again. Grace then said, "She's usually very straight forward, I guess Sora's face caught her by surprise."

Sora rubbed his head, "So, uh...where do I sleep?"

Later that night, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy were walking back to Rin's Travel Agency to deliver the bad news to their friends. As they entered, they saw Chip & Dale drawing blueprints for some unnamed invention. Dale asked, "Is it done? IS IT DONE?" Chip replied, "No you egghead! We still need test subjects-oh, hi guys!"

Donald asked, "What are you guys working on?" The duo replied, "CHILI BEANS!" Donald's eyes turned red, "BEANS? Burn them Goofy! Burn the witches!" Goofy grabs Donald before he could grab the two chipmunks and said, "Please Donald, it's not like the beans I prepared for our trip. I'm sure whatever the two chipmunks make will be much better." Donald then said, "BEANS ARE BEANS GOOFY! THEY'RE THE DEVIL'S DROPPINGS! (Quacking maniacally)"

Goofy then grabs a saxophone and plays a Kenny G song called "Song Bird"

Donald stops quacking and chasing the chipmunks and just tilts back and forth with a dorky grin with a relaxed look, "B-beans...beans...beeeaaans-(snores)." Jiminy popped out of Goofy's hat and asked, "Goofy, how do you know how to play the saxophone?" Goofy replied, "Some fat cat named Scat Cat. He's actually a nice guy and lead musician of the hit Jazz band, The Alleycats."

Just then, Aeris came to them, "You all came back, wonderful. I was worried when Leon told me the two of you lost sight of Sora." Donald snapped out of the hypnotic rhythm of Goofy's saxophone and asked, "LOST? Lady, we've been trying to find the kid for days! He left Lior before we could find him; Jiminy lost him at Destiny Islands, the kid then left with some fuzzy chinned guy. You can't expect us to find him just like THAT!"

Aeris then explained, "Calm down Donald, there's no need for you to be upset. In fact, for all the hard work you and Goofy have done for us, Squall-er, I mean, Leon said that he'll take over for you two tonight." Goofy was confused, "But Leon doesn't know where Sora is. How does he expect to find him?"

Aeris replied, "Actually, Leon already knows where to find him..."

Back at the Hughes's house, Sora starts to get ready for bed. Grace enters the room and asks, "How do you like the room?" Sora replied, "It's nice, and it's much cozier than my old cell back at the orphanage. I even have a nice view of the town." Sora looks out of the window and sees the townspeople walking down the street, entering and leaving marketplaces and restaurants. Grace then said, "I brought you some more blankets and some fresh cold milk." Sora looked back and said, "Thank you."

Sora drank the milk and placed the blankets on the bed. Sora then said, "Mrs. Hughes-I mean, mom, thank you again for making me welcome here." Grace smiles and replied, "Well this is your home now, Sora. A home is where you are always welcome. Even after you travel through many adventures, through many exotic and dangerous places, you will always have a home to return to."

Sora smiled, "Thank you...mom." Grace waves and closes the door, letting Sora finish setting his bed. After a few minutes, Sora finally finished setting his bed, "(yawn) Well, I'm bushed." Sora climbed into his covers and began to drift off into sleep. But just before he could sleep, he felt something grab him. Sora jumped out of bed to find out that four Golems were inside his room! They started hissing and walking closer, Sora brought out his Keyblade and prepared for an unexpected fight.

"I don't know why Cornello sent you, but if it's a fight you want..."

Meanwhile, in a red, deserted location, filled with crumbling buildings, a dark portal appears, and out of it, came Crimson, who seemed familiar with the surroundings. Crimson looked up at the violet/red sky with black clouds and said to himself, "Hmmm, still a mess. The destroyed ruins of an advanced city…check! Red light surfacing the land…check! The endless amount of shadow and death…check! (sigh), it's good to be home."

End of Chapter 13