Kuzon ducked as Naruto swung a punch at him, and then dodged one of Naruto’s kicks, retaliating with a fiery kick of his own. Naruto then grabbed him from behind, and Kuzon was barely able to squirm out of his grasp before another Naruto could hit him. Instead, Naruto hit Naruto, and both Narutos disappeared in big puffs of smoke.

 

Kuzon paused to wipe his sweaty brow as he looked around him. There were still four more Narutos left. Ever since the ninja had used some sort of “Koga Bum-shin Jutsu” technique, Kuzon had been fighting what felt like thousands of shinobi. Kuzon still didn’t know if they were actual clones, or if this was some sort of illusion. Luckily, it only took one blow to take out a clone—and now that there were only four, he was sure to find the real Naruto soon…

 

But just as he’d prepared a strategy, Spike called out to them, “Okay, that’s enough—let’s move on to the next match.”

 

Both fighters immediately objected. “This battle was just getting good!” Kuzon yelled back.

 

“Uuuun,” all the Narutos whined with a slight echo. “We’re not finished, dattebayo!”

 

“Too bad,” Spike replied unsympathetically. “I still have to see what the others can do, and the tests are going to start soon. We can’t wait for you two to finish, so this battle’s a draw.”

 

Kuzon groaned. “So not cool,” he commented as he strode off the battlefield. Three of the Narutos disappeared in puffs of smoke, and the one that remained stomped childishly after Kuzon.

 

The last of the match-ups was mildly entertaining for Kuzon. The armored Alphonse and paperboy Pazu didn’t use any special abilities in their fight, though by Ed’s word, Al was quite good at alchemy. Pazu wasn’t the most skilled fighter, and looked puny in front of the large suit of armor, while Al seemed to be restraining himself; the match well one-sided. Still, Pazu wasn’t hopeless. There were times he’d get an unexpected punch in, and at one point he caught the back of Al’s knee with his heel, forcing the armor to fall onto his back.

 

“Wow, Pazu,” Alphonse commented. “You’re better in combat than I thought you’d be.”

 

Pazu beamed brightly, straightening his cap. “Thanks, I’ve been training pretty hard... but it’s not my main focus. I probably won’t get to be as good as you.”

 

Al laughed, pushing himself up to his feet, his armor creaking. “Maybe, but you could if you tried.”

 

Ash leaned forward from where he sat. “Pazu, whaddaya mean fighting’s not your main focus?”

 

Pazu looked up at him. “Well, I’ve been training in self-defense, since I’m in the army an all, but I’m also training to be a better pilot. Most of my battles will probably be in the sky.”

 

Ash looked up at Spike, who stood beside him. “Sergeant Spiegel, what other things could I do in the army?” His tone was somewhat urgent.

 

The sergeant scratched his head, lower lip curled thoughtfully. “Hmm… well, I don’t remember the whole list, but there’s stuff like medicine, construction, engineering, hacking… yeah, stuff like that.”

 

“I do some construction around the base,” Al said, “using my alchemy… Once you’re done with testing and find out what powers you have, your options should open up a little.”

 

Ash’s nervous attitude seemed to ease up a bit. He gave a meek smile. “Okay, cool.”

 

Spike glanced at the watch on his wrist. “Okay, the testing will start in about 30 minutes. Ash, Kuzon, you two had better get going.”

 

“So should we, Al,” Ed said, the giant Alphonse nodding in agreement.

 

Naruto jumped up. “Me too! I want to see if we’ll get any more shinobi!”

 

“I doubt that you will,” Syaoran muttered pessimistically.

 

As Kuzon followed the group off towards the testing room, the sergeant, Pazu, and Syaoran were left alone.

 

Pazu looked at Syaoran. “Wanna spar?”

 

Syaoran shrugged, putting his sword down and jumping into the arena. “Why not?”

 

Spike sighed heavily, and left his students where they were, heading for the cafeteria. “I need a drink,” he said to no one.

 

~*~

 

Guts strode down another long hall. Halls were more common than room at times, in the drifting fortress. The place wasn’t very fancy, either- it was cold, blank and gray, metal and modern, but also bare. It nearly drove Guts insane, how all the halls looked the same, and it got him lost constantly.

 

He’d been careful to leave early, though, because he couldn’t afford to get lost, and then late. Turning up late for a meeting was bad form in every known dimension, and while Guts didn’t care for manners, he did want to show Guy that he was a capable man in any way he could. After all, Guy had the power of both saving and destroying him. With the paradox looming over his head, Guts prayed that he would do the former.

 

A door shifted opened to Gut’s right, and Guy strode through it, calling over his shoulder to someone still in the room. “…Before I forget, call Ichi and ask him if he can help that moon slayer with the security for a while. Just until we can figure out the reason for the last security breach.” The door then shut behind Guy automatically, and he turned to see Guts.

 

“Ah, Guts! You’re early. Come on, then, let’s go find Reaper. He’s probably at his office.”

 

Guts couldn’t exactly object. He walked beside the intimidating overlord, and for a time, neither of them spoke. Eventually, Gut’s nervousness and curiosity gave in.

 

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s this Reaper guy like? What does he do?”

 

Guy smirked. “What’s the point of meeting a person if nothing comes as a surprise? Wait and see for yourself.”

 

Reluctantly, Guts did. In time, Guy stopped at a door, as blank as any other door.

 

Guy knocked on this door, calling into the other room, “Oy, Reaper! Let us in!”

 

For a moment, Guts thought the man wasn’t going to answer. Then, a voice replied, muffled by the door and coated with a Japanese accent; “I’m almost finished.”

 

“Well then, let us watch you finish!”

 

Another pause, then a click as the computer swung the door open on command.

 

The room was dark, but for a small lamp on the desk, and five large computer screens placed high up on the walls. The screens all showed faces of different people, and switched to a new face exactly every half minute. Reaper stood towering over his desk, his face illuminated by the lamp. One hand was on the desk for support, his other scribbling with a dark pen into a notebook. Tan bangs fell into his sharp brown-red eyes, brought out by his dark brown suit, complete with a white dress shirt and bold red tie.

 

His eyes were narrow slits, pupils darting back and forth as he followed his own writing. He turned up at the screens, looking at all of the faces in one swooping glance, before turning back to his notebook, continuing his frantic writing.

 

Guy stood by the door, Guts nervously staying beside him. “How many more batches?” Guy asked, keeping his usual, pleasant tone.

 

“Just one more,” the man reassured him, eyes never leaving his work.

 

Guts watched, dumbfounded. Just what exactly was happening? He might have found out just by reading the journal, but his medieval world had left a soldier like himself illiterate. Still, he did notice a pattern; whatever the words were, they were written in long lists that took up as much of each page as possible. That, and with the way Reaper had to glance up at the faces of random people…

 

“Are those names?”

 

The man quickly shut his book, wiping sweat off of his brow. “Yes,” he said exasperatedly, “they’re names.”

 

“Guts,” Guy said pleasantly, “this is Light Yagami. He is our top assassin.”

 

Perhaps it was coincidence, but Guts could recognize only a few words in English; “death” was one of them, a word displayed on the journal’s cover. He felt a chill run up his spine as he bowed and shook the hand of Light Yagami.

 

If I’m right about that book, then this man has the power of a god.

 

~*~

 

Kuzon, Naruto, Al and Ed all felt lost in a sea of people. There were so many filling the room, which was huge, that elbows collided, feet were stepped on, and the room was so stuffy that one could suffocate. Despite this situation, Arella was still able to find her older brother.

 

“Kuzon! Hey, Kuzon! Kuzu-Kuzon!”

 

The teen flinched at the last name, and reluctantly turned to see his sister rushing up to him. “Don’t call me that,” he growled, embarrassed.

 

Arella just laughed, hugging him tightly once he was in range. Kuzon noticed that she looked a lot better since their adventure had started, having washed her face and put up her hair, making her long bangs more obvious. Meanwhile, he hadn’t done a thing since they’d arrived. Of course, his sister was the first to remind him.

 

“Phew! You stink.”

 

Kuzon shot her a dark look. “Well, duh- I’m a guy. Guys sweat. Guys stink. Plus, I had to fight this freak’s spawn over here,” he added, jabbing a thumb at Naruto.

 

Naruto chuckled. “They’re called shadow clones,” he reminded, “in your language, anyway.”

 

“Whatever,” Kuzon said tiredly.

 

Arella smiled brightly, looking from Edward, to Al, to Naruto. “You’ve made some friends already, huh? I’ve met some girls too.”

 

Kuzon laughed. “Oh, if I could meet a girl…”

 

She elbowed him in the ribs. “You know what I mean! Anyway, I have two friends in my squad, and they both have the same name; Sakura, and Sakura.” She gave the last name a Japanese accent.

 

Naruto blinked in surprise. “Ha? Haruno Sakura?”

 

Arella nodded. “Yeah, she’s one of them.”

 

“She’s from my village!” Naruto exclaimed. “We were on the same team together! We were… uh, how do you say…when you come to this place with someone…”

 

“Trash buddies?” Kuzon asked boredly.

 

Naruto nodded. “Hai!” he cried. “She’s one of the best ‘buddies’ I have, dattebayo!”

 

Edward rubbed his ears. “Do you have to end each sentence with an exclamation point?”

 

The shinobi’s face fell with confusion. “Ee?”

 

“You’re loud,” Kuzon said.

 

Naruto blinked, then grinned again. “Oh, yeah, I get that a lot!”

 

Only a moment after Kuzon’s acquaintances were introduced to Arella properly, a loud clap came from a stage at the back of the room. “Alright, everybody,” a voice called, “may I have your attention?”

 

All voices fell to silence as everyone’s attention was given to a man standing center-stage. His gray hair, as thick as it was, only circled around his balding head. His blue eyes were narrow, piercing through the crowd, an unpleasantly fake smile on his long, thin face. He wore a white robe that covered his feet, patched and frayed.

 

“Good afternoon, recruits,” he said, his voice filled with such arrogance and attitude that it made Kuzon’s stomach churn. “I am Brother Blood. Today, you are all to be tested to see what abilities you have inter-dimensionally. I wouldn’t get my hopes up, however; it is rare that one can fully acquire a skill they are not born to learn.”

 

Kuzon’s eyebrows collided. “Who’s this guy? I’m getting a bad vibe from him.”

 

“He’s a sergeant with psychic powers,” Edward whispered. “They say he can control other people with his mind. He’s been here for years, teaching people how to control their powers. They say he’s really good at it, even if no one really knows how his or her ability works.”

 

“Sounds like someone from our world…” Arella commented.

 

“With different dimensions,” Brother Blood began, “come different people. Everyone has different capabilities, some tied to their home planets, some universal. The most common difference is the source of energy in a person’s body. To use an energy source, one needs the proper body type, these types being consistent with his or her homeland. Those with one body type can use chakra, while those with another body type use chi, aura, or mana, to name a few. Some rare body types can use multiple sources of energy, though in some dimensions this is not so rare. Some body types cannot use any power source or have any special abilities.

 

“As I said earlier, today you will all be tested to see what you can do, first being sorted by body type, and then seeing if you can perform the abilities fit for that body type. You will be sorted by one of my students; Hyuuga, come…”

 

An obvious shinobi with a black headband strode up the stairs of the stage. His long, blackish-brown hair covered his back, his pale skin almost the same shade as his white robes. Another white feature of his, surprisingly, were his eyes; they were without pupils, a blank, milky color. He turned to the audience crowded around the stage and bowed stiffly.

 

“This is Hyuuga Neji,” Brother Blood explained, “a young ninja—or shinobi—who has what is known as the Byakugan eye; with it, he can see inside of a person, see how his or her energy is obtained. He will scan each of you and sort you by your body type. Everybody line up…”

 

Naruto patted Kuzon on the back. “Good luck! I hope you’re a shinobi.”

 

“He can’t be one,” Al said quickly. “He said he was a Firebender earlier. His body type uses chakra differently.”

 

“You might be able to use alchemy, though,” Edward cut in, patting Kuzon’s opposite shoulder. “Good luck! I have to go get the room ready for testing… Come on, Al…”

 

Kuzon glanced over his shoulder and watched as the two alchemists walked away. He quickly got in line as a nervous, shy, little Ash Ketchum crept up onto the stage in front of Hyuuga Neji.

 

Neji stared grumpily at Ash, inspecting him. He seemed rather irritated by the boy’s timid attitude. As Ash stood in front of him, he made a lunging motion, bellowing a dark “Rah!”

 

Ash flinched, yelling in surprise, and most of the crowd laughed (Kuzon included).

 

Neji smirked, amused with himself. “Thought so,” he said smugly.

 

“Now, now, Hyuuga,” Blood said, mock-discouragingly, “let’s not frighten the poor recruit… He’s scared enough already.”

 

Kuzon stopped laughing abruptly, and felt a pang of pity for Ash. It was bad enough to be mocked by one his age, but by a sergeant, it was just cruel.

 

“Hyuuga, let’s get started,” the man urged.

 

Neji nodded, shutting his white eyes tightly. Veins along the side of his eyes and temples suddenly thickened, sending a dark chill up Kuzon’s spine. Neji’s eyes snapped open, and he scanned the boy before him.

 

“Body’s very unique… I’m not quite sure what he can do. He might be a power mute, but he could give alchemy a shot.”

 

Ash looked up at Brother Blood nervously. “What’s a …power mute?

 

“As I said before, some people cannot tap into any supernatural abilities,” Blood said, his attitude towards the boy seeming to get worse. “Don’t worry; I’m sure there’s a class that you could take if you truly are handicapped.”

 

Ash went pale, and quickly walked off to the side of the room Neji pointed to.

 

Arella, who had dashed up to the front of the line as it had formed, slowly approached Neji. Neji scanned her over, eyebrow raised. “A common type here… She may be able to control chakra.”

 

“Another shinobi, dattebayo!” Naruto cried fiercely.

 

The crowd laughed at his outburst, as well as Arella, who walked off and stood at the opposite side of the room from Ash.

 

For the most part, the recruits were sorted those two ways. There were other times when Neji suggested they might “perform arcane arts” or “don’t seem capable of anything,” but those were few and put between the two main crowds. Kuzon watched as everyone before him was permanently classified by those cold white eyes, and grew almost fearful as he stepped up and the boy scanned his insides.

 

The scanner’s eyebrows met, depthless eyes moving back up to Kuzon’s own. “Are… are you aware-”

 

“-of how I can use magic and firebending?” Kuzon finished, shrugging in a fake-modest way. “Oh yeah, I’m aware.”

 

Surprisingly, Hyuuga shook his head, lowering his voice. “It’s not just that. Your insides are…scarred.”

 

Scarred or not, Kuzon could feel them squirm at this comment. “Ah…no, I didn’t,” he said awkwardly. “Thanks for letting me know, I guess.”

 

The shinobi looked away. “Try alchemy,” he said quickly.

 

Kuzon nodded, and walked off the stage, over towards Ash’s group. As he passed, Arella leaned forward from the front of her crowd. “What does he mean by that?”

 

Kuzon shrugged. “That my insides are scarred, what else?”

 

Arella rolled her eyes incredulously. “Kuzon, could you take what he said serious-“

 

“See you later, Ari!” The bender said quickly, now practically running over to Ash. He really didn’t want to worry about something that some stupid ninja told him, at least not at the moment.

 

Soon, everyone was sorted. Once it was announced to be “time,” Kuzon stepped into a new room alongside the thinned crowd. This room’s focus wasn’t the stage, but the floor; white chalk sketched out identical, small circles, with designs that reminded Kuzon of his mother’s transportation circle, yet more…structured, somehow. A block of wood was placed at the center of each circle.

 

Ed was finishing one of the many circles while Al placed a small block of wood in the center. Alphonse then continued to put more blocks (he had a large handful of them) into the rest of the circles as Ed jumped up to the stage.

 

“Alright everybody,” he called, “listen up!”

 

The room became quiet, excluding the occasional, gentle clack as Al placed down another wooden block.

 

Edward looked at the crowd of recruits, hands behind his back as he started to pace slowly on the stage. “Alchemy,” he said, “is not magic. It’s a science. I’m about to explain the first rule of alchemy to you; if you don’t understand me, you will fail this test, because this first rule is what alchemy is all about.”

 

“Equivalent exchange: to obtain, something of equal value must be lost. To get what you want, you have to give something in return. Alchemy is about transmutation, transforming one thing into another. You can’t make something out of thin air. You have to have something that can be made into what you want—ingredients, components—in order to get it. Let me show you…”

 

He jumped down from the stage, in front of the circle, as his audience watched closely. “This is just an ordinary block of wood, right? But with this transmutation circle, I can change it into a circle, a rectangle, or any shape that I want, without altering its mass.

 

“Like so,” he declared finally, before pressing his hands on the ground, just before the circle.

 

The circle glowed and flashed like lightning, gleaming brilliantly from where the block stood, air gusting forward. Once the light had faded, the wood was revealed in a new shape, as a rather tacky-looking horse figurine with tusks.

 

Edward glanced up at the recruits brightly. “Now you try.”

 

The crowd scattered to find a circle. The clap of hands on concrete echoed across the room as the recruits attempted alchemy. It wasn’t long before someone succeeded. Kuzon wheeled around as he heard the blast of wind rush nearby, and only caught a glimpse of the alchemy flash. The block had been converted into the shape of a gun.

 

“Nice one, Sousuke!” someone yelled.

 

Kuzon turned to his block of wood, and let out a long-held breath. He clapped once, only because he saw Ed do it in battle, and then slammed his hands on the ground.

 

Nothing. He tried again. No effect. Once more. Silence.

 

Alphonse, who was giving advice to those he walked by, stopped next to Kuzon. “Get a firm mental image of what you want; you can’t create something you’ve never thought of.”

 

Kuzon nodded, turning back to the piece of wood. He decided that this block would become a mini-statue of a dragon. Focusing on the image of wooden scales, teeth and a pearl in one claw, he once again thrust his hands down.

 

The brilliant light came unexpectedly, blinding him instantaneously. Wind blew through his hair and clothes, his cloak flapping up above his head. He could practically feel the wood begin to change, reform.

 

Sweeet!

 

The light faded, and Kuzon swelled with pride; he was an alchemist. He couldn’t be more satisfied, knowing he was capable of creating…

 

…a wooden blob.

 

“What the hell?”

 

Al chuckled. “Don’t worry about that too much—the test was just to see if you’re capable of it. It takes a lot of practice to really get the hang of it.”

 

Kuzon snorted grumpily, crossing his arms. “Yeah, whatever.”

 

Edward soon appeared with them, looking down at the blob. “Hey, you’re an alchemist! Awesome!” he said, offering a fist to punch.

 

His friend’s reaction made Kuzon feel better as he pounded his knuckles against Ed’s. He then realized that Ed was, in fact, his friend, and they’d only known each other for a short time.

 

“Thanks, Ed.”

 

“For what?”

 

“Nothin’ much.”

 

“Uh-oh…”

 

Al had been the one to speak last, and he was looking nervously over at another test-taker. “Ash isn’t getting it,” he said. “He looks really upset, too.”

 

Kuzon stood up and peered through the crowd. Sure enough, Ash was slapping the ground with his hands almost frantically.

 

The three of them approached their inexperienced comrade. Alphonse took a hold of his shoulder. “Hey, Ash-“

 

“Just one more try!” the boy snapped hastily, “just give me a minute; I can do this, I…”

 

“Ash, it’s okay,” Al insisted. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You probably just have the wrong sort of body. It’s not your fault,” he said, trying to be comforting.

 

Ash paled as he looked up at Al, Kuzon, then Edward, and then swung his head down into his arms, hiding his face. “I don’t wanna be a power mute,” he whimpered, at the brink of tears.

 

Once again, Kuzon could feel his stomach churn unpleasantly. He quickly sat down next to Ash. “Hey, don’t feel bad; it’s okay to not have powers. My sister grew up without anything special, but when I’m just bending, she can totally kick my ass. Don’t let that blood guy get to you, okay?”

 

Ash didn’t respond.

 

“He’s right,” Alphonse continued. “It’s not like you can’t still fight or anything.”

 

Ash still didn’t respond.

 

Edward patted Ash’s head. “It’s okay, guys,” he said, “it’s hard to cheer up newbs. Just give him a minute.”

 

Alphonse nodded, but Kuzon just felt even sicker. It was hard to cheer up newbs—newbs at what? The army, or just the lifestyle? They gave the new recruit a chance to have a good cry, before going back to the cafeteria to see if any half-decent food could cheer him up.

 

~*~

 

Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuuga from Naruto; Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop; Pazu from Castle in the Sky; Ash Ketchum from Pokémon; Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist; Syaoran Li from Cardcaptors; Guts from Berserk; Light Yagami from Death Note; Brother Blood from Teen Titans; Sousuke from Fullmetal Panic!

Kuzon and Arella are characters I created, based off of Teen Titans and Avatar. Guy is also a character I created, but his origin will not be revealed until the end of the book.