Chapter 2

The Elric brothers walked down the rocky path heading away from the small train station. Ed rubbed his back, grumbling about how trains should have softer seats while Alphonse followed, playing with the cat in his hands. Edward glanced around before he spotted the small town in the distance and grimaced.

"Let's just get this over with." He growled.

Edward and Alphonse stared at the condition of the room they were staying in. It was dark and damp, and the boards squeaked every time they took so much as a step. The room was so small that it was like living in a walk-in closet, not that it was much of a problem for the tiny alchemist. It was more of a problem for his seven foot tall younger brother who had to hunch over slightly just to fit into the room. The windows were opened and when Edward tried to pull it down, it broke off. Ed sighed, using alchemy to transmute it back on. It somehow still wouldn't budge, continuing to let the chilly air in. He plopped down onto the cot, trying hard to ignore the fact that it felt like concrete. After a few minutes of silence, Ed got up.

"I'm going to go check out that house now. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner we can leave." He pulled his coat closer to him and stomped out of the room, grumbling about how stupid and pointless this mission was. When he noticed Al wasn't following, he paused. "Hey, are you coming?" he yelled. Alphonse quickly caught up with his older brother, a meow being heard as he did so. Edward narrowed his eyes.

"You know, we did agree that you could keep the cat until after it stops raining, right?" he said, annoyed.

"But we can't leave it here!" he cried, desperate. Ed sighed. Al did have a point there. Even he had to admit that it was cruel to leave a helpless cat in a town like this. The two continued walking.

The lobby was empty except for the sleeping black haired employee at the counter and a few customers floating around. Ed knocked on the counter twice. The girl jerked awake, her sleepy blue orbs fixed on the brothers.

"Yeah?" she grumbled.

"Um, which way do we go to reach the 'haunted' house?" he asked. Alphonse flinched. He had a feeling that the townspeople wouldn't react well to a question like that. He was right. The girl straightened up, her eyes wide.

"Are you trying to kill yourselves?" she shrieked, causing Ed and Al to jump. The few people in the lobby stared at the Elric's in disbelief. Ed calmed down and looked straight at the girl, his eyes showing that he was serious.

"I'm here to investigate the place." He explained, showing his pocket watch. She became less tense and the rest of the people in the lobby returned to their business.

"Well, if that's the case. You just go through the front doors and head right. Keep on going and you'll find it. " she informed, her voice still a bit shaky. Ed immediately headed out the door. Alphonse quickly nodded his thanks and hurried after his brother.

After a few minutes of walking, they began to notice a house in the distance.

"I see it!" Ed yelled and began running, Alphonse following. When they got there, it was worse than they have imagined it. The windows were shattered; ivy snaking up the sides, and half of the porch was missing. There was no front door but they could only see darkness inside. One of the support beams badly needed to be repaired and the whole two story house was tilted sideways a bit. They didn't know if what was in the front yard was a corpse that was beat repeatedly then tied onto a pole, or if it was a really twisted tree. What hung from it seemed to be the remains of a swing. Al stood there in shock for a while. Ed whistled at the condition of the house before he began to walk forward.

"W-wait brother!" Al cried, his voice trembling. Ed turned around to face his younger sibling, one foot already on the ruined porch steps.

"You can wait out here if you want. Besides, I have a feeling that you're too heavy. If we break this building down, we'll have nothing to report about to that Colonel." He scowled a little at the thought of Mustang before he turned around and went through the doorway.

Ed looked around a bit. He couldn't see much because of the lack of light. He cursed a bit. How could he investigate anything if he couldn't even see the back of his own hand? He yelped as he tripped over something.

"Damn it." He muttered. He untangled what he assumed was that white cloth that was often found on old furniture. He felt around in the darkness until he found the stairs. As he carefully walked up, he began wondering if he should blow out a wall or something despite the possibility of the whole building collapsing. He turned right down the hallway. Suddenly, he was pushed into a room on the left. He heard a door slam behind him as he picked himself off the ground. A dim light flickered on. He saw a figure sitting at a desk who had apparently turned on the light. The stranger slowly turned around, his hands clasped together. The light that reflected on his glasses made it nearly impossible to see his eyes. Ed didn't get to see much of him.

"Hello…Edward Elric." The man smiled. Before Ed could respond, something hit him on the back of his neck. His knees buckled and everything went black.

The two men peered at the small boy that now lay in a heap on the ground.

"Now then," the man who was sitting at the desk started, "Let's get started. We need to finish by twilight."

"He always does this." Al began pacing back and forth. "He always says it's not going to be long but it ends up being hours!" he complained. He glanced nervously at the grotesque house every once in a while. I wonder if I should check on him? He thought. He looked at the sky. The sunset sure looks strange today.

"The preparations are complete." The man who drew the transmutation circle around the boy said in a monotone voice. The man who was still sitting at the desk nodded his approval. He looked out the window.

"It's almost time. Hopefully, this boy will make it to the other side alive."

Ed's eyes slowly opened. He began to squirm as he realized that his hands were tied behind his back despite having a headache, his legs also being tied together. His eyes slowly traced the transmutation circle he was in. His eyebrows rose. He had never seen a circle like this! It had the circle but what was in the middle was a triangle that was separated into three by an upside-down middle triangle. It was very simple, the runes weren't even there. He looked up, seeing the man from before. He turned around in his seat again, looking down at Edward.

"It's time." The transmutation circle began to glow a strange golden color. Ed's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, seeing it glow gold instead of blue. Was this…a different form of alchemy? His mind went blank as he began to break up into black squares. He wasn't sure what happened. All he could see was black.

Alphonse began to walk toward the house. He had to check on his brother. Who knows what kind of trouble he could get himself into! He was about to put one foot onto the steps before a golden light shone from one of the windows, followed by a scream he recognized. Alphonse dashed up the steps without caring that his weight could cause the building to tumble down.

"BROTHER!"