The Phoenix and His Demons

Hunting the Devil

“Lanton? Al, do you even know where the hell this ‘Lanton’ is?” Ed fumed while standing on tip toe to put his bag on the rack above their seats. In retrospect, he supposed he should’ve been grateful for the fact that he could do it and retrieve it without assistance now but it was still annoying and he was still stubborn.

“No, I’ve never heard of it before. The map says it’s just northeast of North City though.” The younger blonde barely managed to stifle a snicker at his sibling’s sour mood when he sat back down.

“I’m not too sure I trust that map, it’s filled in by hand. Even the train station maps don’t have it marked anywhere on them.” Edward slumped down onto the wooden bench with a huff while crossing his arms. Once more Al could only snicker and earned himself a glare before Ed sat up and straightened out his uniform. “I can’t believe I’m still wearing this damn thing. I have really lost my mind.”

“You’re wearing it because the General likes it.” That only earned him another glare before gold eyes turned to watch out the window and effectively ended the conversation. A sigh passed from the younger brother’s lips as he settled in for the long train ride. The idle banter had been a welcome familiarity considering the grave nature of their mission this time.

Human chimeras. Never would Al have thought they’d have to face someone else making such horrible things. The report they were given was vague at best, just sightings of humanoid shaped beasts with animal appendages but it was enough to warrant a full government investigation. Apparently the few State Alchemists in North City either hadn’t found anything or didn’t know what they were looking for; otherwise they never would’ve asked for help from Central. Al hated missions like this. He hated not knowing and he hated most of all that it was taking time away from their main problem with the Cult murders. And yet it wasn’t that he wished someone else had gotten the assignment. Quite contrary he wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to get it; he wanted to see it through to the end. Alphonse Elric just wished that the world was peaceful enough that their jobs as State Alchemists would become obsolete.

Neither brother spoke but a few words for the rest of the trip and by the time they reached North City it was well past sunset. They’d have been there a bit earlier by Ed’s calculations if the train hadn’t had to make so many stops at little stations that weren’t even on the map.

North City wasn’t exactly very remarkable; in fact, it reminded them far too much of East City with cleaner slums. However, there was no avoiding the place; the bodies of the two human chimeras that’d been recovered were being held there by the military and needed to be inspected. If nothing else, at least they’d get a little more information out of the place.

“Well, now I see why they asked for help. These guys remind me of backwater farmers, only half of them are rich.”

“Edward! That’s not very nice.” If he’d been older he might have smacked his brother for being so rude, but in the end Ed was right and he knew that the elder alchemist was just cranky from the long train ride.

“Yeah well, I don’t feel very nice and this is the first time I’ve had to report to someone else in the military. Official and all. You know I hate that and they probably won’t even believe me, which will get them hurt because they’ll try and throw me in jail and that’s just not going to happen so then they’ll call up Mustang and all hell will break loose. Damn it, Al! I really don’t want to do this.” Edward managed a graceful transition to cranky indignity to childish sulking in record time

“Really Ed, you’re over exaggerating. They won’t do any such thing especially not with me here to assure them that you’re no imposter.”
“Hmmph. We’ll see about that Al.”

Two hours, twenty six minutes and eleven seconds later, Edward Elric sat atop a pile of rubble that used to be one of the grander wings of North City Headquarters. Al was trying desperately to explain everything away to the Colonel in charge who was having none of it. Occasionally a once armed soldier would poke his head up, only to be pelted by one of many pebbles that he had bouncing in his automail hand.

Eventually Al worked his magic and his soothing, boy-like charm was successful in making sure that the matter was cleared up. “Edward, you really shouldn’t have insulted his mustache.”

“I couldn’t help it. The thing was just asking to be yanked or cut off or something. It was creeping me out like it was going to whip out and strangle me.” He grabbed his jacket and climbed down the pile of rubble, dusting his uniform off while he spoke with his brother. “So we all set now to go take care of some chimeras.”

“Well, sort of. Colonel Wiggetson said that we’d only be allowed to view the evidence and obtain his cooperation after we repaired the building.”

“That’s it? Damn, we got off easy this time.” He stretched and cracked the knuckles of his fleshy hand before sporting a goofy grin. “So, let’s get to it.”

Al had a headache and they hadn’t even been in town for a full day yet. This was turning out to be a worse disaster than Ed predicted. Both alchemists moved around the remains of the building until they were facing one another. The Colonel looked on, scoffing at their pitiful efforts.

“You know, it’s only going to make it worse. I might not be an alchemist but I know that you can’t draw your precious circles in concrete.” He had the most annoying, nasal voice that Ed had heard since leaving Germany and that idiot Yoki in Youswell.
“What circles?” Both brothers turned to face the man and asked the same question in unison. The only difference was their expressions. Al’s was one of innocent and honest confusion while Ed’s was smug and cocky. Colonel Wiggetson looked perfectly aghast at their audacity but couldn’t stop them. Clapping their hands together they both reached down into the rubble while alchemic energy crackled around the stones. In short order the building was repaired and the Colonel was too shocked to even speak.

Seeing his chance to get things cleared up, Edward approached the stunned man and held out a pen and their papers. “Sign here, here, here and here please.” With a shaky hand, Wiggetson signed each area as Edward indicated, never once taking his eyes off the restored building that still housed a dozen mildly injured soldiers. By the shrieks, one of them apparently ended up in quite a compromising position. “Thank you very much and have a nice day, Sir.”

Instead of arguing with his brother about the morality, or lack of, in his methods to get the papers signed, Alphonse decided to keep his mouth shut and be grateful for his luck in Ed being in a much better mood.

It was a short walk across the compound to the building that housed the chimeras. It wasn’t a refrigerated building which had both of them puzzled. The papers were shown to the guards at the door that didn’t spare the pair another glance, only gave them directions to the rooms they were looking for and warned them to stay out of the others. Two hallways and security checkpoints later, the brothers entered a plain looking room with two large metal tables in the center of it. On the tables lay two bodies. They were both male, well over six feet tall, and had large bat like wings grafted to their backs. That wasn’t the end of their alterations though. Their hands from the elbows down had been replaced with enlarged talons that looked to have come from an eagle or hawk, they had goat’s horns “growing” from their skulls and their overall muscle mass could rival Armstrong on a good day.

“What the hell….?” While Alphonse disliked his brother’s less than polite and sometimes vulgar vocabulary; he couldn’t have said it any better.

“They look like the pictures we found while reading up on the cult. The demons.” Slowly the younger brother approached the table and began to inspect the dead chimeras. They’d both been killed by a number of gunshots to the chest; twenty or more that Al counted, and there was a dried white residue around their mouths. “Hey Ed, does it say anything in there about their condition when they were found and killed?”

“Yeah, mentioned something about them being crazed and attacking everything that moved, why?”

“Well, it just looks like they were foaming at the mouth. I know that sounds stupid but you remember that dog that we saw put down when we were kids? The one they said was rabid? He kinda looked like this.”

“I’m not surprised. Hell if someone turned me into that, I’d be crazy too.”

“Yes but that’s only part of the point. I think these are just the failures. The ones that did go crazy. There’s no telling how many more of these things they’ve made.”

“That’s a lot of speculation Al, and while I doubt it….I really hope you’re wrong. Let’s get pictures of these things and give them a thorough examination and get out of here. Lanton just got its name on the map, permanently.”

They spent just over three hours combing every inch of the bodies for more clues and come up near empty handed. The only other details of note were the fact that the bodies weren’t decaying as normal flesh would, despite their wounds they had no smell about them, and when cut open, their internal organs were non existent.

“Golems,” Ed spat in disgust as he pulled off his gloves and stepped back far enough away from the table to use his alchemy to clean the filth off his uniform. Even that didn’t prove very satisfying. “They’re like those damned homunculi, but not as powerful and much less sophisticated.”

“So, someone’s making these twisted dolls and putting human souls into them?”

“Yeah, only this guy or guys or whoever....is a lot more skilled at it than Majahal.” In those few moments all expression was wiped from Edward’s face, leaving only a mask of grim determination to cover golden eyes burning with disgust and outrage.

“Do you think this is what they’re using the humans for? The ones we keep finding with the strange alchemy circles on them?”

“It’s a strong possibility, Al. I won’t say yet, can’t say for sure until we find them and stop them….but it looks like a strong possibility.” He turned to gather his things and motioned for his brother to follow him. They’d gotten their answers, all the ones they needed for now; the rest lay in Lanton.

It didn’t take long to arrange for a car to take them out as far as anyone dared; most were too afraid seeing as how the town was supposed to be cursed by attacks from the creatures, so they ended up walking most of the rest of the way. It was a long time before Alphonse Elric decided to speak up.

“Ed?”

“Yeah Al?”

“From what I’ve been reading, if those things are demons and these people are making them….does that mean we’re really hunting the devil himself?”

“I guess so.”

“Strange.”

“What is?”

“Well if the devil is supposed to rule over hell like the stories said, and that’s where all the criminals and murderers go….where’s he going to go when we kill him?”

Edward stopped rather abruptly and turned to face his brother as a slow smile spread across his face. “I don’t know, Al, but let’s go find out.”