57Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or Bleach…I'm still eating candy canes…8D And my tongue is now BLEEDING!
Oh, and for the first reviewer(last time I checked there was one review already, don't know about after that), I'd like to thank you for the first review! But…unless my computer has gone all screwy, then this reviewer wrote no name, just one long space. So, thank you for the first review, ! (Incase fanfiction deleted what's between the ',' and the '!', then it's a REALLY long space.)
…ugh…sugar rush just ended and I feel like I got hit in the head with a BRICK.
…I need to eat more candy canes…
Edit: I've been sitting here for twenty-or-so minutes, staring at the screen with just 'Chapter 1' written on my opened document. I can't think of a chapter title…I should move on and just come back to it…and I have no idea why I'm telling you all this.
EDIT 2: I RE-WROTE THIS CHAPTER, OR, AT LEAST, THE SECOND HALF. I GOT A NEW IDEA FOR THE STORY, AND DECIDED TO TAKE IT IN THAT DIRECTION INSTEAD OF THE OTHER ONE. IF YOU READ THE ORIGIANL CHAPTER 1, PLEASE READ THIS ONE SO YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON.
Thank you. :3
Chapter 1
Look, a Bleeding Guy
A large set of double doors appeared out of thin air, the doors twelve feet tall and black, thin lines of red like veins breaking apart the black. The red lines glowed, making the door almost look like the cooling surface of lava, with the delicate crust on top, and the glowing physical manifestation of heat underneath. These doors that appeared out of nowhere swung open slowly on hinges that were as old as their immediate master, creaking so quietly it was almost silent. The other side of this doorway was a blank white. Nothing.
Nothing at all.
And out of this nothing stepped what looked to be a young boy.
To any passerby, it would look like a young teen that was short for his age simply walked out of a doorway. After all, he wasn't dressed too strangely. Black hoodie that was zipped up, and black pants that were tucked into black combat boots with blood-red soles. Strung through the loops in his pants was a blood-red belt. The only thing that really broke up the blackness that made up the boy was his Caucasian skin, golden eyes with the black sclera, the golden hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck, and the white gloves that he wore on his hands, never taking off for any occasion.
The boy frowned his nose wrinkling at the horrid smell that hit him like a brick to the mouth. Tar, traffic, gasoline, people, animals, fast food restaurants…sometimes, he really wondered why He loved these places so much. The world that humans had been given was almost always ruined by their medaling, by them trying to explain that which shouldn't be, by people trying to take over the role of God. And that irked him, it was one of the only things that did.
Humans had been given such a great gift, and they overlooked it every day that they existed.
They really didn't know what they had been given. Life, emotions, the entire Earth, and yet people complained, pissing and moaning about small things like that they didn't get the shirt that they wanted for their birthday.
And really, it sickened him.
Sure, some humans were fine, but a lot of humans…well, there was a reason he hated going to universes, leaving his Gate Realm.
Before he left the alley, the boy lifted the black hood of his jacket over his head, the hood casting his eyes into shadows, pure golden orbs shining through the darkness. He shoved his gloved hands in his pockets, and moved into the streets, fading into the masses, being absorbed into the chaos that was the city he was in, wherever he was. He knew he could find out in a split second, but he didn't want to. He remembered what Alpha Truth had told him before he had stolen away through the Gate to this universe. It wasn't something that had been spoken out loud, but something that his higher-up had told him through a mental link that all Gatekeepers could access.
'Don't screw up. Don't forget who and what you are. Don't let anybody know who doesn't need to know. And don't get attached.'
There was no chance of any of those things happening. Saving a world from however humans had screwed up wouldn't be easy to mess up himself. After all, he had a year to do it. Why would he forget about who and what he was? He was Beta Truth, Guardian of the Gates, Servant to Him. And why would he let anybody know, at least those who he knew didn't need to? If people knew that there was something like that beyond death, then many people who wanted power would want to die for all the wrong reasons. And wouldn't they be surprised when they popped up in in…well, wherever dead humans went. He never actually thought about it, and didn't really want too. Either way, humans couldn't just die and become an all-powerful Gatekeeper. It just didn't work that way.
Beta Truth suddenly threw himself to a halt, the person behind him nearly slamming into his body before sidestepping and hurrying away. Why had the golden-haired Gatekeeper stopped without any warning whatsoever?
It was because he had no idea what the problem was with this Earth, besides the obvious problems. He couldn't go around, curing everything such as world hunger or every little war that was going on. Gatekeepers couldn't do everything. And Beta Truth couldn't just waltz around curing everything and anything he could until he was lucky and found the thing he needed to fix. What with the rumors that were spread by Gatekeepers that visited Earths often – the rumors that every Earth had trillions of problems that needed solving – he figured that if he tried that approach, then he'd not even get through half of the problems by the time his year was up.
He may be a being that never aged, but that didn't mean that a year felt like a day to him.
And he certainly didn't want to spend a year in the human realm, no matter which one it was.
There has to be a reason the Gate dropped be in this city… Beta Truth thought as he continued walking, letting his feet carry him wherever they wished. The epicenter of the problem that is killing this Earth must be this city. So that narrows it down to just this area. Not a lot of world-threatening things could be going on here, so that narrows it down even further…so what could it be… Nothing could ever be easy…
…but some things could come close.
And this was shown when something flew past him, chasing a small fleeing human girl, tears leaking out of her eyes and chain links clinking as they bounced against her chest. The thing that flew past him turned out to be a…a…
…is that a chimera? Beta Truth thought, his face blank. The monster was huge, as big as an African Elephant. It had the body of a grizzly bear, the fur a greenish black. The monster's claws were as big as Beta Truth was himself, and the bear-like monster had the tail that looked like it belonged to an alligator. Over the monster's head was a white mask, blood-red eyes shining through the eyeholes. And through this monsters chest, was a massive hole, leading from front to back.
Beta Truth reached out with his mind, the word of the creature before him flooding into his mind. Hollow. The voice whispered. So not a chimera… Beta Truth would say that it wasn't his problem, and wouldn't give it a second thought. But this…Hollow…it was unnatural, something he'd only heard about from a fellow Gatekeeper, one that became a Gatekeeper around a century prior to the start of the Divine Intervention. And when that Gatekeeper had told him about monsters that looked like this one…well, Beta Truth had completely written it off, thinking it to be some myth or legend from whatever universe that Gatekeeper had hailed from. But now…
If this was something that he only heard about from one person, coming from only this universe, then this was probably connected to why this universe was dying. That, or this thought was completely misguided, and he was about to interfere with something that he didn't need to worry about.
The Hollow had the little weeping girl cornered, her back up against a tree, the massive beast staring at her with hungry eyes, saliva dripping from long, needle-like fangs. "A fresh soul, ripe for the taking!" The Hollow cackled, its voice echoing and deep, as if some man was screaming up from the bottom of a well. With a roar, the Hollow lunged forward, mouth gaping, claws reaching. And as the little girl covered her eyes and screamed in fright…
…the Hollow unceremoniously was smashed out of the way by an invisible force, the mask on the right cheek of the monster shattering upon unseen-impact.
Beta Truth stalked forward, his golden eyes holding an unnatural light, his golden eyebrows lowered in a glare. His hood was lowered, his gloved hands tightened into fists. "What, pray tell, do you think you are doing?" The black-and-red-clad Gatekeeper asked, stopping a few feet away from the fallen Hollow and crossing his arms.
"Soul Reaper?" The Hollow asked out loud, pushing itself slowly to his paws. "No…you don't have the feeling of a Soul Reaper…which means…" The Hollow lunged, completely forgetting about the little girl with the chain in her chest who was slipping away unnoticed. "…A TASTY SOUL!" Beta Truth snorted, shaking his head. Did this beast have a one-track mind?
…probably.
Once the Hollow was within punching distance…Beta Truth sat down on the ground, crossing his legs under his body, rolling his eyes as the Hollow flew over his head with centimeters to spare. The ground shook with the collision, and Beta Truth lazily looked over his shoulder. If this was really what was killing the world, then this universe's humans were more pathetic than he thought.
But the Hollow was up within seconds, throwing itself at Beta Truth again with increased speed. As Beta Truth leapt ten feet in the air to back-flip over the outstretched paw, he mentally sighed. So maybe the humans weren't totally pathetic. If all Hollows were like this one, then the Hollows could possible fool the humans into thinking they had given up, and then attacking when they least expected it. And if they all recovered from hitting the ground head-first as fast as the bear-like one before him, then they might be able to attack a human before the mortal even knew what was happening.
But Beta Truth was not human, and he did not want to stay here until some foolish human came wandering to see what was happening, what was making the loud roars of the monster. So as he flipped over the paw of the monster, he willed his body to shift towards the head of the beast. Placing his right hand on the forehead, Beta Truth opened up a gate right in the center of the skull of the beast, the displacement coming from the gate blowing apart the head of the Hollow. As the blown-apart Hollow disintegrated, Beta Truth landed on the ground lazily, his legs bending slightly to absorb the impact. He frowned, staring at the black, oily blood that dripped down his fingers and hands.
Looks like I am in need of new gloves. Again. He grumbled in his mind, shaking his head. He swiped his hands on his hoodie, trying to get rid of the incessant blood. But it stayed, and he sighed. Pulling his hood back over his head, be shoved his hands in his pockets to hide the blood, and made a move to walk away. At least, he would have walked away, if a siren hadn't suddenly ripped through the air, coming closer and closer at insane speeds.
Beta Truth cursed, glowering at the entrance to the park as alternating, flashing red and blue lights suddenly appeared, tattooing the buildings across the road with lights that blended together to make some annoying shade of violet.
So this universe's law enforcement had finally arrived. What were his options?
Run. Like hell. Really fast. Pros: If he got away, then no problem. Cons: If he got caught, his mission would be set back even further; he really wasn't supposed to let anybody know that he wasn't normal, at least, those who didn't have to know, and the normal branches of law enforcement weren't exactly on his list of 'must tell' humans.
Stay and see what happens. Pros: …well, he might get some answers or important information. Might. Cons: Revisit the cons for the running option.
Go back through his gate and wait it out. Pros: He'd get away. Cons: He'd get labeled as a wimp. Not gonna happen.
Hide. Pros: Get away without being blamed for anything, and possibly getting information. Cons: Who knew how long he'd be hiding?
Deciding hiding was probably his best option, Beta Truth calmly leapt into a tall pine tree, reclining on a branch that he knew could hold his weight without problem. The thick, wide branches hid him from view, the crisscrossing pine needles providing excellent cover. So Beta Truth sat back, watching the baffled police try to figure out why a sewer line had spontaneously exploded in the middle of the night.
After a while, their confusion just got plain boring. And that was saying something, since Beta Truth found the incompetence of humans hysterical. What Gatekeeper wouldn't(that'd be most of them.)? So to solve his complete boredom, considering he really couldn't go anywhere yet as the Hollow was his only actual lead, Beta Truth tilted his head back, resting his head against the bark of the tree behind him. His eyelids slid over his black and golden eyes, mentally going through all the information he had on his current mission.
Which, really, wasn't much.
1, The world is going to end, 2, He needs to stop it, and 3, Hollow.
That's it.
Man, was he screwed.
:::The Next Morning:::
Beta Truth – having gotten bored of thinking through every word in the Korean language, and reciting their definitions in four different languages – English, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian – opened his eyes, the sudden brightness compared to the darkness of the night that had he had seen last before closing his eyes burning horribly. He growled, bringing a gloved hand to shade his eyes, looking down to the distant ground. There were only a few cops left, guarding the entrance to the park and stealing occasional glances to where the flailing Hollow had created trenches with its claws.
Looks like I ignored them into leaving. Beta Truth sarcastically remarked, using his right arm to help pull himself to his feet. He groaned quietly, using his free left hand to rub at his right shoulder. His right shoulder and left leg ached. Storm today…swell. For a moment, Beta Truth contemplated going back through his Gate, and waiting for the storm to pass before coming back.
But then he'd be a procrastinator, and Alpha Truth had always made fun of Beta Truth, saying that he'd become a procrastinator.
He hated it when Alpha Truth was right, and as such, he'd stick out the storm. No matter how much his shoulder and leg hurt.
He walked at random, not really showing any planned direction, his left hand sometimes coming up to rub at his right shoulder.
After a few hours of this, be became increasingly bored.
Seriously, how hard could it be to find something that was going to destroy this entire frickin' universe? Apparently really hard, considering Beta Truth didn't even had a lead yet, aside from the Hollow earlier.
But then again, maybe what was going to destroy this place was something big, flashy, and fast, like a giant meteor committing suicide by flinging itself face-first into a planet. That's what some people thought killed the dinosaurs, right?
Man, if only they knew. Beta Truth couldn't help but snort; after all, there were some perks to being one of the two Truths.
Wandering for hours finally made Beta Truth's boredom boil over, resulting in him doing something he didn't think he'd actually end up doing on any Earth, let alone in public. He began to fiddle with red lightning in the dimming evening light, the glow casting eerie shadows over his face, the crimson light turning reflecting off his sclera to give it a sickening dried blood look. And to add to this list of 'Things-I-Shouldn't-Do-In-Public', a list that Beta Truth just knew was going to keep growing, the Gatekeeper began to mess with his Plain Existence, meaning that he was flashing between invisible to the normal human eye, and visible. Every time he turned 'invisible', though, was actually just him messing with his body's composition to make it so that his body went from existing on the Plain that living humans existed on to the Plain that the spirits of humans existed on(Beta Truth had learned early on to never question how many Plains there were, lest he get a very large migraine).
Really, he shouldn't be doing that, but who would ever try to approach him on the things he wasn't supposed to be doing? Besides Alpha Truth…and the Archangels...and Him...and…oh crap…
"Hindsight's a bitch." Beta Truth dryly commented, dragging his finger across the red light he was manipulating, smoothing out the back of the three-headed creature he was sculpting.
"Ain't that the truth…" Muttered a quiet voice that sounded down-right pathetic to Beta Truth's ears. But still, it was a tone that he had heard many times, one that he had – no, bad thoughts, don't think about that time! He beat back those thoughts were a hammer. A big hammer. A big heavy hammer.
Beta Truth really didn't know why he stopped, didn't know why he didn't just continue on, ignoring the person who had used the weak, resigned tone that had responded to his statement. But he just couldn't. Damn his hero-ish complex.
Beta Truth reluctantly turned to where the voice had originated, his blank eyes falling on the bleeding form of a young human male, fifteen-and-a-half at the most and just plain fifteen at the least. His hair was so dark black it had a blue sheen to it, and on the bridge of his nose rested a pair of glasses. He was leaning against a thick cement curb, his chin resting against his chest, his eyes dull with pain and exhaustion. This boy had obviously been fighting his body's want to fall into unconsciousness, a feeling that – at one point – Beta Truth had known all-too well.
Near the first human, not more than a four meters away, was another young teenaged male, dressed in some strange black garb. The boy's hair was almost as weird as the gold that Beta Truth's was made from; bright orange and spiked, the hair looking wild and untamed. A pool of crimson was gathering underneath the other boy, who had already lost the battle with unconsciousness.
These two humans, bloodied and near-death, didn't faze him in the slightest. He had just gone and played tag with a beast that he had thought to be myth only a few days ago, and had literally sucked the thing brain-first through a gate; two little humans on the verge of being lost to the mortal world forever wasn't to breath-taking.
The conscious boy's eyes slowly lifted to stare into the odd eyes of the Gatekeeper; either the boy had seen stranger human-like beings, was losing his ability of sight, or was just plain insane, because he didn't react to Beta Truth's eye color, or any part of the Second Truth, actually. Beta Truth voted that it was the second option. "Please…bring us…to…Urahara Shoten…" He breathed, his eyes getting dimmer by the second. "He can…help." Beta Truth snorted; he could help, too, but the question was would he? Beta Truth was about the turn around to walk away, leave the two to die, when he twitched, some…feeling…jabbing at him. His eyes darted over to the orange-haired, unconscious teen human. There, that's where it had come from. The boy's spirit, already almost gone, clinging to life, had suddenly thrown out of a wave of power, desperately trying to cling to the body. Beta Truth could practically see the boy's soul clinging for dear life to the strangely-dressed human. The reason that this really intrigued Beta Truth?
The power had felt similar to that of the Hollow.
Very different, of course, but still, at the base, it was something that had felt almost exactly like the baseline of the Hollow's power. So…these two were connected to Hollows…somehow. Whatever. Maybe they were useful.
"I will help." Beta Truth finally said, the other boy's brain not even acknowledging the way the Gatekeeper's voice echoed. "If you have something to trade." He may be on another Earth were Equivalent Exchange meant close to nothing, but he was a Gatekeeper first and foremost, and one of the only two Truths, so he'd be a…a…a human if he was to turn his back on one of the principles he held so dear. "I shall help you, and your friend over there…in exchange for information on 'Hollows', and whatever your little friend is." The other boy's eyes held a glassy look, like he wasn't all really there anymore.
"D-deal." He managed to stutter out, before his loss of blood, exhaustion, and pain finally overwhelmed him, and he sunk into peaceful oblivion. Beta Truth sighed, the deal that the two had made silently sealing itself; it couldn't be taken back now, not unless everything paid was returned, and the two parties agreed fully.
He moved to the teen that was in worse condition, the one dressed like some medieval samurai – a samurai who clutched the hilt of a broken but once-massive sword – and knelt by him, flipping him over to see the extent of his injuries; at least, the ones on the surface. Beta Truth nearly cringed at the deep, long slash that carved its way through the human's body. That really had to hurt. While whatever that had tried to rip him in two had failed, massive damaged had been dealt, both with the deep slash, and the organs that were nearly hacked in the process. Yes, this boy was definitely worse off.
Beta Truth paused, wondering what the best course of action would be. After flying through about twenty different approaches to this, he finally went with the one that made the most sense. He pictured a complex circle in his mind, lines running through it, runes wrapping around it, shapes inside. The circle was reflected in his right eye, his left eye closing upon reflex as that iris turned black, his iris fading to match his sclera and pupil to make a completely black eye. Thankfully, this only happened with his left eye; the entire reason he closed his left eye while doing something of this nature was because, as the circle appeared in his right eye, his right eye's vision became more sharp, but in return, his left eye lost all vision completely, becoming more or less dead in its socket. Sure, it was pretty annoying, but considering this was the way that he could amplify the power that only he had – no other Gatekeeper could copy him with this ability – so that he could use his power on an object without having to actually touch it, it was a necessary sacrifice.
Now was not the time to wonder about his random ability, though, as he concentrated on the injuries and energy of the teen before him. With that single circle reflected in his right eye, the human's injuries were stitched closed, strings of flesh reforming to pull the gash closed, and to fix bones and organs. The tether that held the soul to the body, more or less, got spiritually duct-taped by Beta Truth's power. Energy flooded back into the boy's body, making his breathing return to a normal rate, and making his normal color return to his skin.
After knowing that this boy wasn't about to fall face-first off the cliff known as life, Beta Truth stood and walked over to the other boy, doing the same for him, expect the spiritual-tape thing; this boy was torn up too – not as bad as the other, mind you – but his soul hadn't been about to fly away from his body forever.
So Beta Truth stood, looking at the two that he now had to drag all the way to Urahara Shoten. He sighed, shaking his head. Hopefully the teen actually had answers, and he hadn't just answer positively in his delirious and confused state, his subconscious throwing out the answer that it knew would benefit the boy the most. The Gatekeeper paused suddenly as his eyes returned to normal, his left eye flying open to match the wide size of his right eye. His jaw worked up and down, no sound coming from his throat as he noticed something terrible, and quite annoying.
Where was Urahara Shoten?
"SON OF A BITCH!"
…I'm sorry I changed the plot-line…well, not really! All I did was set the story back, rewind the Bleach timeline from the Arrancar line to the Rescue Rukia arc. Reason? Because!
No, seriously. I went over what I wanted to happen with Beta Truth in this story, the first in a series of Gatekeepers, and I realized that I just couldn't squeeze all of it in between the Arrancars showing up and Aizen being put in his little butterfly condom-shaped place. It would be to rushed, so I decided to lengthen it. You should be happy, more Gatekeeper in the Bleachverse!
Got questions? TO BAD. Jus' kiddin'. If you have a question, drop me a PM or a ask in a review or something. Or don't. Y'know, whatever. By the time I put this up, I've either already started on Chapter 2, or it's already done. If it's choice one, be patient. Choice two, it'll be up within a few hours. M'kay? M'kay. It's 3:50 on a school night(or, er, morning. Whatever.) So I'm gonna take a nappypoo. Nighty night!
~Kitsune-242
P.S. Gosh, I love Mountain Dew, but right now, it's working against me!