JFF2: Weapons and Meisters Ch 18

Chapter 18:

The Blotched Truth...

Two more days had gone by since Tamaki and Spirits return, the two admitted to Stein's medical ward just to check for anything in case Kamikura had done something to them while they had been imprisoned. All in the meanwhile, the rest of the Meisters and weapons (minus Zero and Ikkaku), and Lord Death were trying to see through on the journal double agent Nagato had given to them before they had escaped.

Death raised a pointed finger as the remaining warriors crowded around his office. "Now my dear Soul Knights (thankfully for Tamaki, his group name idea stuck), It seems that we have gathered new intellect from a mysterious source. According to Spirit, Dark, and Tamaki, this journal contains what we may need to know about the threat and possible hostage. Now Alphonse, would you do us the honor of reading of what is inside?"

Alphonse nodded and read aloud as he looked at the first written page, "Sister, sister, where did you go...we use to be good sisters so....we use to go to and fro....of all the kings guard and all the kings men, where oh where did you go back then...our masked men and spells did so well...what merged us to cause chaos to swell?...' There is nothing else in it!" Ed took the journal and read it through, but was also left stumped. "There has to be some sort of code or thing that's blocking us from reading the rest of the text."
"Perhaps I could be of help, Ed-wan?" Fai took a few steps near the book with a gentle smile, but Ed shook his head.
"Not yet! These words must have some sort of alchemical binding in the book! Al and I have seen it before and I know how to unlock it!"
"Ed, are you SURE that the binding is from your world?" Obito asked, "What if its something from a world like mine, or Ikkaku's?" He knew that the young alchemist would probably refuse, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Didn't the young ninja also have some knowledge in seals?

"Then this will test it to see if it is or not!" Ed laid the book down on the ground, took out a sharp rock and cut his left thumb on it. Al grew nervous that something else might happen if it did not work. "Be careful brother!"
Before any drop of blood could land onto the pages however, Mokona hopped onto the book and started carrying it away while in the air. "Mokona doesn't sense any alchemy binding here! It looks similar but don't be fooled!"

Dark started to snicker a bit as he stood next to Daisuke, "Sorry shorty, but you lucked out on that one~!"

Uh oh, THAT did it...

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT WHEN THEY GET STUCK UNDER THE CRACK OF A MOVING TIRE THAT IT WILL FEEL LIKE A FERRIS WHEEL?!"

Daisuke nudged Dark again as Obito was trying to figure out what a tire even was.

Unbeknownst to them, as they were mostly focusing on Ed ranting, a couple of his sweatdrops collided drip by drip to the top of the journal.

All of a sudden, the journal started to glow a faint blue from its textiles cracks, slowly growing over the entire cover with every passing second. Words had seeped out of the pages and flew in all sorts of directions, from orbs to squiggles to jumbles of who knows what, multiplying by twos or there's the longer that the journal glowed below them. Al noticed and jumped back to get out of range of the book while everyone else turned to see what was going on. The rest soon backed away as Al had done.

After another moment or two of light, the increased number of flying words crawled back into the journal, the glow soon fading and a new journal seeming to take its place. The book itself was now as big as a notebook, and the cover was a forest green with a lingering pine tree scent to it if you wafted your nose close to it.

(Dark popped his head through the, yet again, broken 4th wall. "Wafted?"
"Wafting is when you bring the scent of an item, like a chemical, to your nose with your hand without damaging your nose or actually killing yourself from the items scent..." The author sprang their eyes open as they realized who was talking. "DARK! Get back to the story! Tamaki and Ed already broke the wall twice! XP"
Dark chuckled at the authors flustered response, "But it's too much fun visiting you~. And since this chapter is written near Valentines Day, how would you like to go on a date with Dark-ACK!" Before he could finish, he was pulled back in the story by Daisuke and the hole became plugged up once again (presumably from Fai's or Dark's magic).
The author sweatdropped at what just happened. "Well, since the wall was fixed again, I guess its time to get back to the story!")

Also before we were interrupted, a golden symbol of 3 roses also appeared on top of the book.

The group were still frozen in shock and unsure if it was safe to go pick it up, let alone go near it without some sort of reaction. The moments passed once again, but taking one breath to speak, it was Ed who eventually broke the tension.
"I don't sense anything around the book...does anyone else?"
Ed's question was met with a slow chorus of 'No' s and 'Uh-Uh's, and from that decision, the young alchemist went over to the transformed journal. From where he was standing, he could feel a cool, but not freezing aura around it, yet it felt safe to touch. When he did put his fingers around its binding, it had suddenly felt as warm as...well, his winter coat back home.

The rest of the group soon gathered around him as the young prodigy opened the book.
Ed read aloud a page he took note of:

"October 14th...

Something eerie has come afoot to my house. I have sensed it since that weird woman has come to live at our home, and it has been growing day by day. She says she wants to be a 'friend' or 'sister' to everyone, but whenever she sees me, I feel something cold, dark, and dead in her eyes. I also had seen her flash a pair of glittery, sharp teeth at me, but my father would never believe me if I ever told him. He never had believed me before....not even when I told him about the kids who bullied me and caused me all of those injuries and black eye...I want to leave, but I can't leave my Dad to fend of her....this....I don't know....

I have to wait and see....
Alice Filia"

The group grew unsettled with confusion and tentativity at the entries words. "Is the woman's she mentioned in the journal our opponent?" Al quipped to Death. "It is most likely her, but there must be more information about this...keep reading Ed."

The young alchemist obliged, soon finding another entry to read,

"October 20th...

W-what a-am I going to do?! D-Dad was k-killed b-because of h-her a-and her powers a-are growing s-stronger b-because of h-her true f-form! S-she's a s-shadow itself! S-she eats people's hatred, d-darkness, a-and shadows, and kills th-them off like th-that!
I-I have managed to run from her f-for days, even fell into a w-weird portal to get h-her off my trail. I ran to a w-woman named Konan for help, b-but even a-after I told her what was going o-on,  she d-did not know how to s-stop someone as vile as her...if sh-she finds us, or Nagato's and Itachi's graves like Konan feared, t-that monster w-will manipulate us l-like d-dad! F-fill these p-pages with l-lies and lead everyone else to their dooms! Sh-she'll control the worlds with smog a-and bring th-them to her b-bidding! A-and soon enough, be her next meal....

I-I must rest before I go on running...

Alice Filia"

Ed quickly turned to the last pages of the journal and read onward,

"October 21st
"Th-this is my end....she found m-me and....th-the only th-thing th-that can touch her....is....light....heart......f-free............us.............me...........bye........"

Alic.........."

Even before Ed shut the book, Obitos eyes were widened and his hands were shaking at the mention of his younger cousin. 'I-Itachi....h-how?' The others spouted with questions in confusion and slight panic, except Obito and Ed (who was thinking).

"Nagato is actually dead?!"

"How is that possible??"

"So the enemy is now filling lies inside the girls head to keep her quiet!"

"This is getting really creepy!!"

"Her henchmen are zombies?!"

Soon enough, Lord Death turned around with his hands behind his back. The rest of the group turned around to see him as he started speaking.

"This has grown to be a more serious threat than I had thought....we are not facing a witch....but a malevolent entity born even before our great great grandfathers times...." he raised his head a bit, and turned around again to face the group. "If she eats any type of soul, good or evil, then that means you are also at great risk with the souls we have collected. This does not mean that we will give up in defeating her, but have to be careful in how to approach her and her hencemen from now on."

Looking at one another and back again, the group nodded back to each other except for Obito. Lord Death noticed the slightly shivering shinobi and floated to him. "I know that Itachi may be involved in this sooner or later, but we must not worry. If he is in Kamikura's clutches, rest assured that we will get him free as well as any loved ones trapped with him." He rested his hand on the young shinobi's shoulder. "This may also sound a bit blunt, but you were chosen as a Meister. It will be a long journey, but with Fai I know you two and the rest of the group can fight, defeat her, and protect all of your friends and family in the process. Don't let your fears cloud your mind, and don't give up."

Obito listened as he put every word spoken to heart. He remembered all of the times that Minato-sensei would say something similar to him when he had compared himself to Kakashi and Rin....even when they were not with him, he knew he had to be strong, heck maybe stronger when the time came. As the speech came to an end, the young shinobi nodded to Lord Death in agreement. "We'll make sure of it, Sir!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, they were silenced by the sound of hurried footsteps coming toward them. The doors suddenly banged open, and in the doorway was not Stein like Lord Death thought, but Spirit in all of his bandaged and hospital pajama covered glory. He even looked to be a bit out of breath due to his injuries.

"Lord Death! This is an emergency! You need to come right now!"

This didn't look good at all. Immediately, the headmeister followed Spirit out of the office and the group quickly trailed behind them. "Spirit, what happened?"

The way that Spirit looked at him as they hurried down the hall showed signs of anger...but also fear...

"They came back with stronger shadow beings.....Ikkaku is now in critical condition in Stein's ward....and Zero has been deemed missing..."

-----------

As she peered into the orb, her sharp teeth shined from the glow of the glass. "All is according to plan....Now Aghanim....I have a task for you..."
The robed second command looked up to her with greedy eyes. "What is it, my lady?"
She turned around, her red eyes now glowing a vile vermillon. "I have a hunting job for you..." she slowly brought out a ring with the kanji for 'zero' on it and gave it to Aghanim, "The traitor Nagato lost this as he left. Find him with this and destroy him..." The tall man gave a smirk, bowed, and proofed away in a puff of smoke.

The wretched maiden now turned to the right, and brought out another item from behind her and started to blow into it. Sweet but haunting melodies flew out of the miniature pipe, and once the tune had stopped, she was met with seven grey-ish balloon forms and a shadowed figure on top of the biggest one.

"You request me, my bloody enchantress?" The new figure hissed sweetly.
Kamikura could not help but blush a bit at the complement. "My dear Luciano...I know that you are a lover of blood and chaos, am I correct...?"
The man, now known as Luciano, widened an evil smile and lifted his hooded head until she could see his golden eyes (slightly pouring out shadowy smoke none the less) and bits of his dark pink and orange streaked hair. "Why of course, my lady. I was known as the Vampire of Britannia for that very reason." His smile grew into a villainous Cheshire's as he asked, "Does the task for me have blood in it?"
His current ruler couldn't help but chuckle darkly at it. "Why yes, dear Luciano...lots of it..." "Then what is it you ask, my lady?" The dark maiden sensed bloodlust in his eyes as well as his words, but enjoyed it none the less.

"I want you to lure those weapon and Meister brats....not those other world partners mind you....into yours and the Akuma's hands and snuff them out.....with this...." In an instant, she tossed a glinting item into the Knight of Ten's hands and in response he held it tightly to make sure he did not lose it.
Luciano looked down at the item and turned back to Kamikura. "I'll make sure to have enough of their blood on my hands!"
The maiden made an open lipped smile at the soldier. "Good. Now...begone!"
The command was unleashed, and Luciano, with the Akuma on board and the hundreds of Akuma that quickly joined him, they rode off into the skies with the scented item...

a new silver locket.