Alchemist/Exorcist (FMA: Brotherhood x Blue Exorcist) RinxEd)

Chapter 6

  The whispers seemed to echo in Rin's head. He traced them across the ceiling of the restaurant and through the door of the women restroom. Despite his size, Al reached the door first, throwing it open and lunging at the girl who stood by the sinks.
                 "You can't be in here!" she screamed, "This is—"
                 "Get down!"
                 At that moment, a black cloud of smoke exploded out the ceiling vent and dove for her. Rin jumped into its path, brandishing a still-sheathed Kurikara, "LEAVE HER ALONE!"
                His blue irises flared with demonic flame, pupils turning blood red. The smoke jerked back, slamming through the restroom door instead.
  
                As Yukio neared the man at the bar, he moved one hand to the gun on his hip. He spied Ed closing in too over the man's shoulder. The closer he got, the stronger the feeling that something wasn't right grew. Then, he noticed the corner of a large bandage peeping from the collar of his jacket.
                A bullet wound perhaps.
                He was within feet of the man and slowly sliding his pistol from his holster, when he saw the sparks flying from his hands too late.
                "Yukio! Get down!"
                Before Yukio could react someone tackled him to the ground, accompanied by more sparks, a loud bang, and the shattering of glass. When he came back to his senses, he saw Ed holding him to the floor, a jagged wall of earth between them and the bar. Jumping to his feet, Yukio whirled around Ed's blockade, firing several shots as the suspect ran for it. There were screams at the sound of the gunshots, but the man shoved aside the panicked and injured people and in one stride, dove over a booth and out one of the broken windows.
                 "Dammit!" Yukio cried, as Ed practically dragged him out the door.
                 "Come on!"
                
                The building shook with the explosion. "The hell was that? Who are you people?" the girl asked, as Al pulled her to her feet.
                "That's not important. You need to get out of here,"
                "But my shift..."
                "That doesn't matter! It's not safe!"
                "Not safe?! Wh—Hey!" she shrieked as Al scooped her up and followed Rin out the door. The dining area was a mess, broken glass, injured patrons. They scanned the faces and found neither of their brothers were there anymore.
             
                It was after several turns through alleys and down streets that Yukio seemed to notice their attacker wasn't running blind like someone being chased. He was doing the chasing.
                "He's following something!" he panted to Ed.
                "The demon?"
                "Has to be,"
                They had just turned down the alley. "Are they allies? How? Why?"
                "Let's ask him!" Ed clapped his hands together once and struck the ground. The bricks from the adjacent walls  seemed to close together right in front of the suspect, trapping him. He whirled around and strode towards the boys, as Yukio pointed his gun, "Stop right there! Who are you?"
                 The man ignored the command and kept walking slowly, "You don't recognize me, Fullmetal?"
               "I do now," Ed said, now that they were only a few yards apart. The stranger had short cut sandy hair and dark eyes.
               "He's a state alchemist?" Yukio asked.
               "No, he's just another soldier," there was confusion in Ed's voice, "Vincent I think...or...?"
              "It's Victor, you insolent child! And this 'just another soldier' planned on being a state alchemist, but I failed the exam. Oh, well, nothing ventured, right? But then I learned a child had passed and—!"
              Ed interrupted, "First of all, not a child. But that's why you're doing this? You're killing people because you're slighted by a stupid exam?!"
               "I wanted to be a service to my country,"
               Victor took another step. Yukio snapped, "That's far enough. Stop moving!"
               "And they turned me away,"
               Another step. "Final warning! Freeze! I will fire!"
               "Now I'll grow stronger than all of you and tear it all down."
               Victor took yet another step and Yukio pulled the trigger. In a split second, Victor leapt straight up. The bricks walls on either side morphed to catch him and throw him up to the roof. Ed followed, the street lifting him over Yukio's head until he vanished. "Ed, wait!" he cried. Cursing, he slammed through a service door and raced up the steps.
          
                "Where are you taking me?!"
                "Somewhere safe!"
                 "Put me down!"
                As the girl pounded on Al's metal chest with her fists, Rin spun around, scanning the sky in a panic. "Do you see it?" Al asked.
                "No. I don't see Ed or Yukio anywhere either. We have to find them,"
                "They can handle themselves. We have to protect—"
                Just then the billows of black smoke shot up from the sewer grate beside them, knocking Al off his feet. "STAY BACK!" Rin screamed, swinging Kurikara but this time, the smoke arched over their heads and plummeted straight into the girls mouth.
               "No!" they both lunged for her, but a pulse of energy erupted from the girls body as the smoke vanished down her throat and her head dropped down. Just then, her head snapped up again and she gazed at Rin and Al with empty black eyes. The voice that came out wasn't her own as the demon turned to Al, "Better luck next time, tin can."
               Then to Rin, voice dripping with sarcasm, "Many apologies, Your Highness."
               With that, the demon dissolved into smoke and shot into the sky, disappearing after a moment. Then it was just Rin and Al staring at the empty air between them. "She's gone!" Al cried.
               "Where do you think it took her?"
               They were answered instead by gunshots nearby. "Yukio. Ed," Rin said before racing off in that direction, Al directly behind him.
         
                Yukio dropped to avoid another Niberius. These were smaller, pirhana-like and they kept on pouring from the magic circle. He fired another volley of bullets with both pistols, the small demons exploding into puffs of dust. On the other end of the roof, Ed was fighting Victor with a similar sword to the one he had pulled from nowhere before.
              Neither of them were getting anywhere.
              Just then Yukio heard a voice from the alley below, "Up there! We have to get up there and hel—Al, what are you—Whoa!"
             A pair of hands appeared, seizing the edge of the roof, and then Rin dragged himself into view. "Sorry!" Al cried from below, "You're a little heavier than Ed!"
             "Was that a dig at him or me?!"
             "Neither! I was just stating a fact!"
             With that, Rin turned to his brother, "Yukio!"
             "Don't just stand there! Break the magic circle!"
             "Right!" Rin lurched forward and scraped through the lines of the circle with one foot. The Niberius' vanished.
             At the same time, Ed kicked Victor to the ground in the middle of the three, "Rin, this is Victor. Our killer."
             "So you're behind all this?" Rin sneered, baring his fangs, and Yukio didn't miss the way Ed looked at him, "Sorry, but your demon pal got away."
             "What?" Yukio gasped.
             Rin nodded, sadly, "It dodged Al and me somehow and took the girl."
             "Those bastards aren't my pals, but never fear, they're never far away,"
             Victor struggled to his feet, murmuring something in Latin. "Stay down!" Yukio cried, pointing one gun. But it was too late. Out of nowhere the girl appeared before them, the force throwing Ed, Rin, and Yukio. But the demon seemed to be fighting itself. "Why am I here?!" it growled, "Release me, exorcist!"
              "Sorry, doll. No can do," Victor lunged for her, grabbing her by the throat and dragging her with him as he leapt right off the roof.
             Ed, Rin, and Yukio lurched forward, but the pair was gone.
             "Where'd he take her?" Rin asked.
             Yukio replied, "I have an idea."