Chapter 2

Word Count: 8,040

Nearly a year went by, summer and next fall passed, before long it quickly turned into a very cold and frigid winter, one of the worst the town had ever seen. The body count was even worse. It started off with two people a week, but before even a month after Alfred's disappearance it rose to three.

One hundred and seven people by the beginning of February. It started a nationwide panic, especially since it wasn't always in the same town. It was obviously some terrorist group considering how far spread the killings were. One day it could be in Texas, and two days later as far as Alaska. It was big and had everybody scared for good reason. All murders were the exact same, the victims would be found dead, no marks showing cause of death or defensive marks. No sign of a fight or struggle or even an actual murder. There was nothing unusual in their systems to suggest poison or any other drug. People were just dying.

There wasn't much question as to if Alfred was involved, the killings had started with him clearly. But he was turning out to be harder to catch than originally thought. And the FBI's best bet was deciphering the meaning to Arthur's demon story in hopes to find a way to put a stop to it, especially with the meeting with the major Chinese diplomat next week.

"So you believe that this… demon," Gilbert always admired the fact that his brother was serious enough not to laugh at the most ridiculous words while questioning others, "You believe that he won't kill the diplomat before the actual meeting?"

"I've told you and several others many times, I know how this demon will work! It's the one killing everybody, isn't it? It's obviously wanting to cause as much damage as possible. It will wait to attack during the meeting!"

Ludwig nodded in what seemed quiet understanding. "We just want to make sure, there are many lives that hang in the balance as I am sure you are well aware."

"That I am." Arthur nodded, crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair he had been provided, scowling up at the federal agent across from him. "I cannot say I am completely positive." Ludwig nodded once more, after all most victims had died in bed, so it was much easier to see that the same would happen to the diplomat before the meeting even happened. "But it will want to cause as much damage as possible. It will most likely come in, trying to act like Alfred and try and damage things for both countries."

"You are saying he only wants to cause damage, is there no other reason for him doing this?"

"It doesn't need any other reason, it's a demon. It takes some sort of sick pleasure in this." Ludwig nodded silently. "Look, you believing me will give the advantage so we can stop it."

"Are you saying that preventing Alfred- ah I mean… the demon, from killing the diplomat will stop it?"

"It should." Arthur nodded. "Now, in order to do this I need to be there."

"Mr. Kirkland, that is highly impossible with the current sit-"

"Don't you dare!" Arthur snapped, hands slamming on the table, "I know how your kind thinks. You'll just shoot Alfred the moment the demon shows its nature! If I come I'll be able to get the demon out of Alfred for good and it will produce the same results!"

"He has killed people, demon or not. I want you to understand that."

Arthur scowled a long moment before hissing out, "You have no idea what you're up against. And killing Alfred won't stop it either. It'll just find somebody new."

"We don't plan on killing Alfred. We want to ask him some questions to put a stop to this."

"Capturing a demon." Arthur snorted, standing up from his chair. "You clearly have no idea what you're dealing with."

"Yeah, yeah." Gilbert spoke up for the first time, rolling his eyes, "Demons, we got it, thanks." The sarcasm was impossible to miss and earned him a deep scowl from Arthur. He cast a suspicious glance at Ludwig. But he'd already caught on to the fact they didn't believe him, it couldn't have been clearer, after so long he had learned the signs of people who just strung him along for their own entertainment.

"I see. If you aren't going to listen then I'll just take my leave." Arthur snarled, he wasn't being held after all, he was there on his free will, trying to help. He should have known better, no cops believed him and he shouldn't have expected them too. "I have to find Alfred before you meat bags do and mess up everything!" He hissed out before turning and walking out the door, ignoring the angry 'Boy!' that came from the albino agent.

"Let him go." Ludwig sighed, waving his hand before glaring at Gilbert. "I told you not to do anything stupid."

"Hey, we found out all we were going to from that looney."

"He has a concussion."

"Yeah, and you saw their basement. It's obviously not a recent thing." Shaking his head, Gilbert stood up, slapping his hand into Ludwig's shoulder, "Come on, we have a terrorist group to stop."

Every word muttered under Arthur's breath was some cuss or profanity for another, a constant stream of them as he carefully packed things into his bag that he had been able to obtain over the week. Holy water, salt, exorcising book and incantations, materials to make entrapping pentagrams, several necklaces packed away that would prevent possession, one wrapped around his own neck, and everything else under the sun that he assumed would be useful in getting this demon out and away from Alfred.

"Arthur… what are you doing?" Matthew asked quietly from the couch, having watched Arthur scramble around furiously for the items. Arthur was thankful Francis wasn't there, he would be more adamant about keeping Arthur away.

"What does it look like?" Arthur demanded, closing up the bag, "I am going to get Alfred back from that demon one way or another, and don't even try to stop me, I've refrained from ever using magic on you before, but for this I won't hesitate!"

"I-I-I-" Arthur glared a while before pulling the bag over his back, starting for the door, "Wait! I want to come!"

That did make Arthur stop, and he turned to look back at the other critically. "Why? To stop me?"

"No! I-I don't believe in this magic or demon stuff… I'm sorry, but I don't… but if Alfred's going to be there… I-I want to see him. Please Arthur, I don't care if he really is killing like everybody's saying I just… I need to see him. Please."

Arthur sighed, looking away from Matthew and towards the door, weighing the options. "Fine, come on." He sensed more then saw Matthew get up and start pulling on his shoes and winter jacket - it was still freezing outside. Arthur looked through his back, pulling out one of the necklaces and once Matthew stepped up behind him when he was ready, Arthur put it over the others head. Matthew gave him a silent questioning look. "Just trust me on this one Matthew, do not take that off."

Matthew nodded silently. "Alright." Arthur stepped out of the door and walked to the car, Mathew following silently behind until they got into the car. "H-How are we going to get in? There's going to be a lot of security, e-even more now that they think Alfred's going to show up."

"Trust me lad, that will be the easy part. Fear what comes after we get inside. You've heard the news about how many deaths in this week alone. The demon obviously was getting more power to help it for now, it's expecting a fight and so should we."

"Right." Matthew muttered, looking out the window as they started driving.

"Matthew, I know you don't believe me... but try and be cautious. It isn't your brother in there." Matthew nodded, staying silent. He knew that something was wrong with Alfred, but it had been so long since he'd seen the other, he had to see him, talk to him even. He had to know himself if Alfred was killing people or not, and if by any chance he was, why.

It was a long drive to get there, Matthew fell asleep in the car and was only woken up in front of a hotel where they were apparently going to spend the night, a place close to where the meeting was being held the next morning. It was a very nice place, probably expensive too, but Arthur didn't say anything about that.

Matthew wished he had thought to pack an overnight bag, but he had been so worried that Arthur was going to leave him if he didn't hurry, so he decided that it wasn't worth it. Now however, he wished he at least had a toothbrush. Still, he used the hotel shower and dressed in his shirt and boxers for pajamas. Hugging Kumajiro close to him, he crawled into his queen sized bed, Arthur already seemingly asleep in the other and the digital clock sitting on the nightstand informing them that the alarm was already set.

Sighing quietly, he laid down under the covers, but he found he could hardly sleep as his mind kept him awake with thoughts of tomorrow when he'd see Alfred again for the first time in nearly a year. Worrying over what to say and how to act, Matthew fell into a fitful sleep that was interrupted several bouts of wakefulness.

Arthur said that they had to walk because there would probably be no parking around the building, and even if there was it would draw too much attention to themselves. Matthew was suddenly glad that got a hotel close to the meeting. They were arriving an hour late from when the meeting actually started to try and avoid unwanted attention.

It was a nice big building in a pretty busy part of the city. Going around the back alley, they found themselves faced with two guards laying outside the door. Matthew went to one and checked the man's pulse. They were still alive at least. "Check to see if they have keys." Arthur hissed as he tried the door, which was predictably locked. Biting his lip at the thought of searching an unconscious person, Matthew grabbed a pair of keys attached to the guard's belt. There was more than one, but Arthur didn't seem to mind trying all the keys until the door finally opened. Looking inside, he waved Matthew in before following and letting the door close behind him.

Walking down several hallways, they finally found the main area where the meeting was taking place. There were a lot of people walking around. "Um… shouldn't we tell somebody that the guards are out?" Matthew muttered.

"No, that means Alfred is here, and so they'll have worse things to deal with. And they might ask who we are. We're just going to have to try and blend in." Arthur said, looking around the crowded room. Matthew looked down at his red hoodie sweatshirt. If his outfit didn't give him away, his age would. But most people ignored his presence, so maybe they wouldn't notice. "Alright, we have to try and find Alfred before the meeting starts."

Matthew nodded in agreement and they made their way through the crowd, careful not to get separated. No point in making a bad situation worse after all. They looked for a long while and had a close call when they almost ran into the two FBI agents that had questioned Arthur, but they had gotten away without being detected.

Unfortunately, it seemed like they had searched the entire room more than three times and there was no sign of Alfred. The meeting was going to start soon too. "We're running out of time." Arthur muttered, glaring around the room anxiously. The intercom clicked on, barely audible over the chatter. Matthew strained his ear when he heard it, wondering how long they had until the meeting was going to start.

A high pitched sound came over the radio that have everybody fall silent, most putting their hands over their ears a moment. When the noise stopped, it was still silent. "Sorry about that." Matthew stiffened, looking at Arthur who looked just as worried at the sound of Alfred's voice. "Just wanted to give a helpful piece of advice. And you have about five seconds to comply. Duck." The intermission ended and everybody started muttering to each other.

"Duck, what does-" Matthew started before Arthur grabbed the back of his shirt and forcing him to the ground as they both dropped to the floor. A moment later there was some sort of noise overhead, not very loud, but enough to be heard. It didn't take long for silence to fall completely. Looking up, Matthew sucked in a breath when he saw that the entire room of people were just lying on the floor.

"Shit." Arthur muttered, standing up, "I guess that it's already started. Must have known impersonating Alfred wasn't going to work… damn it." Arthur muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

Matthew stood up shakily, looking at all the bodies along the ground, "A-Are they dead?"

"I don't think so, don't worry lad, they're still breathing." As Arthur said this, Matthew concentrated on a couple and did see the steady rise and fall of its breath.

Letting out a relieved sigh, he looked over at Arthur, "W-What was that?"

However, before he got an answer the intercom squeaked on again. Putting his hands over his ears, he tried to block it out until it faded away and then he slowly removed his hands, "Well, there certainly aren't very many of you… and so spread out. Well, I'll meet anybody who is willing to come in the second floor room third from the elevator. All the doors are sealed though, so it's not like you have much choice. See you all soon." The intercom cut out.

"Come on Matthew, it sounds like there are more than just us still conscious."

Matthew nodded, feeling a bit afraid of the idea of going where Alfred had said. Especially after what had just happened. But he needed to see Alfred, he just had to. So he would go, maybe talk some sense into him. It could still be possible.

Arthur decided that the elevator was untrustworthy and they took the stairs up to the second floor. The elevator was right next to them, and other than the staircase, there were no doors on the left of it. However, the third door down the hallway on the right had its door wide open. Pulling holy water from his bag, Arthur nodded quietly to Matthew and they walked slowly, so very slowly, towards the door. They stopped when they got to the edge of the door frame Arthur peeked inside before stepping into the threshold, "Who are you?" Matthew moved closer and looked out as well to see a man turn to look at them, he was shorter than either of them, with long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. His clothes were a rich sort of red.

He narrowed his eyes at them, which were a… honey sort of color. "Who are you two? You do not look like diplomats!"

"Arthur, I think that's the Chinese diplomat…" Matthew whispered quietly.

"Yes, I caught onto that." Arthur sighed, stepping into the room. Matthew followed suit, looking around. It wasn't exactly a big room, not compared to the one downstairs, and it was relatively empty. Matthew got the feeling that things were going to be moved in here eventually. But for now there was no place for Alfred to be hiding behind. There were a couple chairs in the corner as well as a table against one of the walls. That was it though, and his brother was nowhere to be seen.

"So, who are you two?"

"My son is one of the diplomats here… I just wanted to see if he was safe." Arthur said. The other man looked Arthur up and down critically, eyes landing on his bag then to the water bottle in his hand.

"And what are those things?"

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Arthur said, crossing his arms.

Then somebody else came in the door, except with a gun raised. Everybody pretty much stopped moving. Ludwig sighed, lowering his gun and looking at everybody sternly before walking inside, glaring at Arthur, "What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you before you shoot my son!"

"He is obviously a terrorist. Did you see what he did?" Ludwig growled, "If he comes willingly, then I can assure you that I will not shoot him, but you are not supposed to be here."

"Well that's too bad! I'm not going to let you hurt him!"

"Oh, what is all this yelling?" Everybody once more looked towards the door at the new voice.

"Francis!" Arthur said, glaring as Francis walked in, going up to him, "How did you get here?"

"Well what do you think would happen when you two were gone for so long? I called the phone company and asked where the gps in your phone was and came straight here, I figured that you were up to something. You should not be going out on something so dangerous! And taking Matthew without even telling me!"

"I had to go! You would have tried stopping me anyway!" Arthur snapped.

"Well of course! This is crazy Arthur."

"Would you both calm down?" Yao demanded.

"I will have to agree. You two can fight about this some other time. Right now we should focus on getting all of you out of here-" Ludwig started, but then the door slammed shut. Just about everybody startled and looked towards it. Readying his gun, Ludwig walked towards it, grabbing the door handle and turning it. Nothing happened.

Ludwig grunted, pulling at it before backing up and slamming his foot into it, once, twice... Three times. But the door refused to budge, not so much as a dent in it's exterior. Ludwig raised his gun, pointing at the handle before firing. The bullet seemed to stop an inch from the door before just dropping to the ground. Everybody stared at it silently.

"Satisfied?" Alfred's voice said. But there was no squeaking of the intercom, or the general distorted affect speakers and mics had on a voice. Everybody looked towards the sound. Sure enough, there in the middle of the room stood Alfred.

Ludwig had his gun trained on Alfred before anybody else had recovered from their shock enough to react. Before anything else could happen however, a powerful force knocked them all back and pinned them all against the wall, about a foot off the floor. The gun clattered loudly to the ground.

Matthew shook his head, slowly recovering as everybody else was from the slight daze caused by their momentum being put to a halt by a solid wall. "A-Alfred!" Matthew called out, fighting against whatever was holding him, "W-What-" But he stopped, Alfred looked at him briefly, his eyes had a strange sort of light to them... Like a permanent gleam. And behind him... Was... Something, something unreal. Black and slick looking, folded neatly but poking out over the shoulders, showing joints with the skin attached to a wider area around the side of his back.

"Are those wings?" Arthur demanded, almost snapping Matthew out of whatever trance he was in. But no... They couldn't be wings... They just couldn't be. Arthur was the crazy one in the family, not him!

"My god..." Francis muttered in French.

Alfred ignored them, eyes moving to the gun as he walked over and picked it up. Matthew saw a long tail whipping around behind his brother, coming out from over his pants and moving in a way that no costume could do. "A-Alfred, please- w-what is this?" Matthew asked, tugging at his arms to try and get them free from the invisible force. Alfred still wasn't looking at him, standing and regarding the gun before walking up to Ludwig, who was surprisingly silent. "Alfred, please! Just talk to me! I-I haven't seen you in so long and... What is happening? Why are you doing this? Please! Alfred! Just talk to me!"

Alfred pulled a gun from Ludwig's back and then a smaller one from his boot. Alfred looked at the guns, a certain fearful air surrounding the room as he stared at them, everybody afraid of what he would do. Would he turn the guns on them? However, they disappeared completely... Just... Gone, as though they had never existed.

"That's not your brother." Matthew looked towards the speaker, shocked to see it was the Chinese diplomat.

"You knew about that?" Arthur yelled. "You know what's happening?"

"I assumed with all the deaths that there was a demon. That is as far as my knowledge was."

"W-Wait... S-So you're saying that Alfred's really possessed?" Matthew gulped. That was impossible, but so was a lot of what he had seen- no, it was impossible! But then... If Alfred really had a demon in him then he hadn't left him on purpose.

"No, it's worse than that. Demons who possess a human don't have that much power. You're brother made a deal with the demon. His soul is probably gone by now."

"What? No, that can't-"

"Shhh, do not listen to him." Alfred said, walking over, coming to a stop a good foot or so away from Matthew. He had an eerie smile that didn't suit him at all. "Yes, I am a demon, and Alfred did make a deal, but he is still here. He can hear you. He... He says he is sorry, for causing you such worry."

"Matthew, whatever happens, don't listen to it! It isn't really Alfred, it just has his memories, and it'll use them to trick you!" Arthur commanded in that way he always used when Alfred was about to do something reckless.

"Listen to the man, it is what demons do." The chinese diplomat inserted quickly. Matthew didn't listen, he didn't care. This was his brother. His brother was still in there, he didn't care what they said.

"Ah no, that is not my goal. That is all Alfred wanted to say. So I said it. Now we get to my goal, yes?" The demon smiled, looking around at them.

"You're insane." Ludwig spoke for the first time, quiet but firm.

"Not the first accusation I have heard of that. Now," Alfred walked closer to Matthew, pulling the necklace off of him and going to Arthur, pulling off an identical one before going to Arthur's bag, searching around inside of it before pulling out several identical ones. He stood, burning them all in his hands before brushing the ash off his hands, "I will allow you to keep everything else, and I will release you all, though you will be trapped in this room. We are going to play a game."

"This is crazy!" Arthur hissed, "How could you make a deal with Alfred? He doesn't even believe in you!"

"He believed in me enough." Ivan smiled. "Besides, contracts are not about belief, anybody can make them. As long as they accept the other end of it then that is that."

"Alfred is an idiot! You can't just-" Alfred was suddenly in front of Arthur, hand around his throat, eyes dark but smile wide and unnatural.

"You. Will never. Say that again." Arthur was pale and Alfred didn't move.

"I know you." The chinese diplomat said, drawing everybody's attention away from Alfred and Arthur. "Moscow. Five years back."

"Oh, you remember me!" Alfred said, seeming to brighten and releasing Arthur, walking over, "I was hoping you would remember me!" Matthew wondered a moment if the man had said something just to get Alfred away from Arthur.

"That would explain why you are here." The Chinese man sai.

"Of course. When I found out you were coming I just had to come and thank you, for ruining my fun. And this time, Yao, you'll be part of my game. So, let us start." Alfred smirked. Everybody fell to the ground, Alfred included.

Arthur instantly dove for his bag, Ludwig pulled a knife out of somewhere, and Matthew went towards Alfred, only to be grabbed by Yao and pulled to a halt. Alfred however, lay motionless, wings and tail gone and jacket cut up in the back. His eyes fluttered open, missing the gleam they had. "Wait!" Matthew said as both Ludwig and Arthur started moving. "He's different!" It caught their attention enough to stop and get a closer look.

Alfred moved himself up on his elbows, looking dazed. "Wha..." He muttered, blinking furiously as he looked around, confusion and shock clear. He sat up slowly, shirt falling a bit since it was ripped in two strips down the back, he looked at his hands as if seeing them for the first time. "I-I'm back? W-What happened?"

Matthew shouldered out of Yao's grip, stumbling over to Alfred as quickly as he could, mostly still on all fours before he wrapped his arms around Alfred, who seemed to be in shock. The other was shaking, not enough for one to see, but Matthew felt it, holding him.

"M-Mattie? I-I-" Matthew could tell by the way the others voice shook that he was close to tears, or already in them.

"It's okay." Matthew pulled back, still having his hands on Alfred, keeping him close, but looking at his teary eyes. "You're safe now."

"N-no it's not... I just... It's been a while... I haven't touched anyone... And... I... God, I-I'm sorry Mattie." Matthew silence the other with a hug, holding him as close as possible, Alfred hugged back, burying his face in Matthew's shoulder.

"Matthew, that's probably the demon, he's tricking you." Arthur hissed.

"No! Don't you dare say that! And you," Matthew turned to glare at Ludwig, who was standing, knife still in hand. "don't you dare come any closer."

"Matthew, listen to me-" Arthur started.

"It's not him." Yao said, "The demon is toying with us... He might not be in Alfred anymore."

"How do you know? Where could he be?" Arthur demanded.

"He burned those charms preventing possession so... He's in one of us. He wants us to start a witch hunt. It's his style."

"How do you know so much?" Arthur asked, narrowing his eyes, "You've met this demon before?"

"I was the one to exorcise him. He went on a killing spree in Moscow, as far as I could tell, he uses the same method. Lock his victims in a room, watch them destroy themselves, so it is essential we keep our heads."

"This is crazy!" Francis said, "There is no such thing as demons! All of this was... Parlor tricks and things."

"You think this is a joke?" Ludwig growled.

"If he's possessing one of us, we need to find out who, witch hunt or not." Arthur added, looking at everybody, but at Ludwig and Yao with more suspicion.

"S-Stop! I-isn't it possible that he's not in any of us and just watching us panic?" Matthew said, holding Alfred tighter as he felt the other shaking again.

"No, he'd go into one of us. He likes to stir up the suspicion, make sure we turn on each other." Yao said.

"Then it could very well be you!" Arthur hissed. "Why else would you tell us all this?"

"So you keep your head! That attitude isn't helping."

"Can we just calm down?" Francis said, stepping forward hesitantly, "Let us not make such baseless judgements, come now, none of this is truly real, is it?"

"Francis, I know it's hard to think about but-" Arthur started, sounding irritable.

"All of us are equally susceptible. That guard has a weapon even though he was disarmed, I have previous knowledge about this thing, that one," Yao gestured towards Francis, "is contributing to the situation, but staying aloof, you are being overly cautious, that boy has already been possessed and made a deal with the vile demon, and his brother is being as overprotective as the demon would be of his chosen vessel! So, we are all suspected. Instead of panicking, what do you have in your bag? Please tell me you had more than those charms."

"Yes, I have holy water as well as an exorcism- no... The book's gone."

"Fine. What else?"

"Rope... That's... That's it... I bought more but-"

"As I said, it will want a witch hunt, but not something that will truly hurt him. It will have to do."

Arthur nodded, pulling out an aluminum water bottle and standing, "Alright... We'll pass it around and everybody take a sip from it... Anyone who tried tossing it... Well..."

"What if it possesses somebody else who has already drank?" Matthew asked, looking up.

"Then the person previously possessed could speak up and say they were so, it'll help narrow it down." Yao said. Arthur took a quick drink, everybody held their breath. Nothing happened though. Arthur walked cautiously over to Ludwig, handing it over. Ludwig took it, equally cautious, taking a drink as well before handing it to Francis.

Around it went, from Francis to Yao, and Yao to Matthew. Nobody had shown any effects. Matthew slowly handed the bottle to Alfred, who took it with slightly shaking hands. But they all knew it didn't matter, it was clear now that Alfred was the one who was the demon. The question was, what would they do about it?

But Alfred put to bottle to his lips, tilting it back and adam's apple moving before he handed it to Arthur who was waiting close by. "That didn't work at all." Ludwig sighed.

"Of course, it is what happens when you believe in such nonsense." Francis said.

"Are you sure that was holy water?" Yao sighed out.

"Of course I'm sure!" Arthur snapped, looking around, "And nobody has anything to say? Nobody was unpossessed recently?" Everybody remained silent.

"Somebody didn't drink." Yao muttered, "This time, flick the water onto people,"

"Why are we talking about this? We need to find a way out of this room!" Francis said, "Not pretending in magics!"

"He has a point... We need to find a way out. As far as I'm concerned Alfred is guilty enough." Ludwig's eyes focused on the blond he accused as he spoke.

"He isn't possessed anymore! He isn't guilty of anything!" Matthew yelled, well... It was more a normal speaking voice, but it was more than he usually did around strangers.

"He's guilty of plenty! For all I know, this is a ruse to clear him of his charges." Ludwig turned his glare to Matthew.

"You saw how your guns disappeared! Francis, so did you! I know this is a lot to take in, but we don't have time to clear away skepticism!" Arthur crossed his arms, "And why would Alfred's target be helping us if that were the case?" Ludwig remained silent.

"Francis was it?" Yao inquired, getting a nod from the male, "You diverted our attention away from talking about holy water, why is that?"

"Because it is ridiculous. There is no such things as demons, and pretending isn't going to help us get out of here!" Francis smiled wearily.

"I believe he is the one possessed."

"What? Me?!"

"I don't think so... He's always been this hard-headedly stubborn." Arthur said.

"Then use the water to-" Yao started.

"Stop! Just all of you! Can't you give it a rest for five minutes!" Alfred yelled, his loud voice catching everyone's attention, he faltered slightly, no longer completely in Matthew's arms, and now looking like he had needed his brother for support. "I'm just... So tired. And we don't need to turn on each other, what are we even doing? W-We need to get out of here! We're just going crazy."

"If we do then the demon will just go back to killing as soon as it's out. We need to deal with this now. Before he grows bored. Would you want to watch him slaughter your family? I'm sure you remember what it was like when he killed others." Yao growled.

Alfred winced. "Don't you dare say something like that ever again!" Arthur stepped forward.

"You can't protect him from what has already happened, he needs to realize what mistakes he has made."

"He won't hurt anybody!" Alfred opened his mouth before he seemed to stop himself, eyes widening a bit in what seemed to be fear before he closed his mouth, opening it a second later, "He... He promised that... He wouldn't hurt most of you."

"What do you mean, most?" Arthur interrogated instantly.

"Is that why you made a deal or whatever?" Matthew asked softly.

"I am more concerned with what he is not saying." Yao muttered, staring at Alfred, who looked back up at him. There was a long silence where the two remained quiet before Yao came to a conclusion. "You know it's name, don't you?" The room remained in silence for a moment or two.

"What does that... What does that mean?" Matthew looked between the two for some sort of answer.

"Uttering a demon's name during a certain spell will bring them out and send them back to hell much easier than anything else." Arthur explained. "It gives power over the demon."

"It seems you are more than just a vassal then... Tell us Alfred, exactly what deal did you make?" Yao observed Alfred carefully.

Alfred didn't answer, instead, Arthur spoke up, "He doesn't have to talk about that if he does not want to! Now, Alfred, just tell us the name and we can go back home together."

Alfred's face hardened suddenly. "No."

"What? What do you mean no?" Arthur growled, eyebrows furrowing together.

"Exactly what I meant." Alfred said, standing slowly to his feet, ignoring Matthew's plea that he stay. He stared Arthur down. "I'll die first."

"It seems like the demon's influence is deeper than thought. Your son is obviously already too deeply corrupted for help." Yao said solemnly, as if he were sorry somehow.

"Or he's still possessed." Arthur muttered a moment before moving the bottle, throwing water onto Alfred. As soon as the water touched the other, Alfred yelled and hissed, turning where he stood, agony mixed with panic.

Yao and Arthur both moved to grab each arm, forcing him down into one of the chairs. "Matthew, get the rope!" Arthur yelled. Matthew seemed frozen however. Unexpectedly, Ludwig took his place, grabbing another water bottle and rope, handing it to them. Arthur started on the ropes, tying the blond down to the chair as Yao grabbed the bottle, pouring it over the others mouth. Alfred gagged and trashed more, but it did weaken him in ways, it kept him mostly in the chair after all.

Once Arthur called out, "Done!" And Alfred's movements were clearly limited, Yao moved away, taking the rest of the water with him. Alfred calmed down after a moment, shaking violently and shaking his head to try and get the water off.

"No- wait, h-he's not in me!" Alfred gasped, "D-Don't! P-please, that hurts!"

"It's holy water. It only hurts demons." Arthur growled, taking the bottle from Yao, "So get out of him."

Alfred opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say was cut off into a painful scream as Arthur poured water on him. "Stop! You're hurting him!" Matthew said, standing up.

"It will only harm the demon inside of him, don't worry! Alfred isn't feeling this." Arthur called out. Ludwig however, grabbed his arm, pulling it back from Alfred who was panting heavily, eyes glazed and teary before he hung his head forward, panting heavily. "Let go."

"You are just using water?" Ludwig's eyes were narrowed and he took the bottle from Arthur without much difficulty, letting go of Arthur, hesitating a moment before running his finger along the rim of it. He didn't have any reaction, even as he rubbed his fingers together and then poured some water over the back of his hand. He still didn't have any reaction.

Arthur took it back, "It only hurts the demon. It isn't physically harming him, see? It's perfectly safe except towards demons."

Matthew came up slowly, "So... The demon is still in him?"

"Makes sense. This demon is usually possessive of any person who accepts him in at the beginning." Yao muttered, "I thought it would be too obvious for him to stay in, but apparently, he has a stronger hold on him then I thought."

"Will the holy water help?" Matthew asked.

"It should drive the demon out." Arthur nodded.

"Do not tell me that you are falling for this nonsense too Matthew." Francis sighed out tiredly.

"Nobody likes a skeptic!" Arthur hissed. Matthew grabbed the water bottle from him, and everybody stopped, watching what he was going to do with it. Was he going to toss it so his brother wasn't in pain anymore? If he did that would most likely start a riot. Alfred looked up, seeming to be attracted by the sudden lack of noise.

So all eyes were on Matthew, it was unnerving to say the least. But that wasn't going to stop him, not for Alfred. He took a couple steps closer. When what he was doing became obvious, Alfred's eyes widened. "N-No! Mattie, please! I-It's me! Can't you tell? P-please don't, not again, I-I can't handle it."

"It's not really him." Arthur said quietly, placing a hand on Matthew's shoulder. "Remember that. You don't have to do this."

"I know. But I want Alfred back."

"Please! Mattie, you gotta be able to tell that it's me! Really me, so just don't-" Matthew poured water onto Alfred. The blond screamed, tossing and turning to try and get away from the water he was already soaked in. Matthew didn't stop until the bottle was empty. Alfred was breathing heavily, shaking even more violently as he slumped in the chair he was tied to, a broken sob escaping him and faint mutters of 'please' and 'don't' barely audible.

"That wasn't all, was it?" Yao questioned, looking at Arthur when he asked.

"No, I've got another bottle."

Alfred's body moved at that, the blond pressing himself to the chair, "No! No, please! No more! Just stop! I'll do anything! Just don't!"

"We are not going to negotiate with a demon." Arthur growled, "This will continue until you disappear from Alfred's body!"

"I-I'm not a demon, please... No more."

"The proof is against you." Yao muttered, heading towards Arthur's bag.

"Just give Alfred back." Matthew pleaded.

"I am Alfred!" Alfred yelled out.

"No you're not." Arthur snorted. Yao grabbed the bottle out of the bag, heading back over. Panic was clear in Alfred's features, pushing his back into the chair behind him. However, within a couple seconds, before Yao could hand the bottle to either Arthur or Matthew, Alfred changed. His face became hard, lips turned down ever so slightly, eyes darker than before.

Arthur and Yao didn't notice the change, too focused on the water, but Matthew and Ludwig, who had been watching Alfred, noticed it. Before either of them could react to it or think about what it could mean, Alfred ripped through the thick rope holding him, instantly moving to knock the water out of Yao's hands. With the element of surprise he succeeded easily. The bottle fell to the floor, spilling out onto the surface. Ludwig and Yao went for Alfred, while Arthur tried to grab the fallen water bottle. Matthew jumped out of the way of Ludwig.

However, before the water or Alfred could be reached, a powerful and familiar blow hit all of them again, sending them flying backwards. They didn't hit the wall, instead falling to the ground several feet away from where they had been. Alfred stared coldly at the holy water in front of him before stepping over the bottle and the liquid that and had spilled out, looking around at everybody who was getting up quickly.

"That. Was beyond cruel. And you all will pay for it so, very dearly." Alfred snarled.

"We pissed it off." Yao muttered.

"No shit!" Arthur snapped.

"Why don't you all sit. Down." Alfred growled, and suddenly another force hit them, and this time they couldn't get back up to stand. "I do not think you all know how cruel you were to Alfred. Oh, but you knew Yao." Alfred smirked wickedly, "You can sense aura's. You knew it was really Alfred, yet you caused such pain."

"He deserves it if he made a deal with you, that makes him no better than you!" Yao muttered darkly.

"But the holy water worked! What are you saying?" Arthur asked of Yao, clearly not about to trust anything Alfred said.

"Alfred was in complete control." Alfred said, shrugging, "I was still there, but I just watched. I honestly thought at least Matthew would pick up on it. Hm..." Alfred's eyes wandered almost aimlessly to Matthew, "How betrayed he feels." Alfred giggled, "So I will make you pay for that as well."

"You're lying!" Matthew said, "It wasn't Alfred! I-It couldn't have been..."

"It was. He got the main brunt of the pain. And since that was the first time he's been out in a year... It was so much more intense. He was really excited about being out too. Ah, what a sad story." Alfred tisked, shaking his head.

Matthew looked away, but as he did, he noticed that Yao was doing... Something to get out. Hesitating, Matthew slowly looked back towards Alfred, if he could just distract the other until Yao was free maybe the other could get to the holy water somehow, or something. Looking around, Matthew noticed that Francis was unconscious. "What happened to Francis?"

"Hm? Oh, he did nothing wrong, so I decided to exclude him from the game. He was no fun anyway." Alfred said simply.

"So you killed him?" Matthew asked, a burning starting in his eyes as his vision blurred.

"Of course not, he is still alive, just sleeping."

Matthew calmed down, choosing to believe it. It had to be true.

"If you did anything to harm him, I'll personally make you pay." Arthur growled.

Alfred just rolled his eyes. "W-What are you going to do with us?" Matthew questioned, making Alfred focus on him once again.

"Hm... That is a good question. I did promise Alfred I would not kill you. Despite the circumstances, I will keep to that. But that does not mean you do not deserve punishment."

"W-What sort of punishment?"

"Hm... This is a good question. I would like to cause you the same pain you caused Alfred and be done with it... But no... I will have to be a little more creative than that." Matthew saw out of the corner of his eye that Yao was moving on four legs, some other had noticed, but so far, attention wasn't drawn to him.

Just a bit more. "So... Alfred did make a deal to keep us safe then?"

"What a deal entitles is between the individual and the demon. You are not included in this. Perhaps Alfred wouldn't mind telling."

Yao was creeping up behind Alfred's back, he was actually really silent. Matthew made sure not to look over Alfred's shoulder to watch him though. "It's true though, isn't it? That's why you can't hurt us!"

"I usually respect my host's wishes, deal or not, I would not appreciate them kicking me out if-" Yao seemed to hit Alfred in the back, twisting his fingers into a part of Alfred's back. The blond instantly froze up, eyes wide. Yao moved around, putting his hand on Alfred's forehead, muttering something under his breath quickly. Alfred growled menacingly, eyes narrowing. His knees seemed to be giving out slowly, but he seemed unable to move.

"What are you doing?" Matthew asked, feeling the pressure keeping him down dissipate.

"Don't worry." Arthur said, standing up, "He's exorcising the demon. It'll banish it to hell,, Alfred will be fine."

Matthew wasn't sure about that, considering that's what Arthur had said earlier. Yao fell silent after a moment, Alfred fell to the floor. Matthew hesitated before walking towards Alfred. Yao knelt down, putting his hand to the back of Alfred's head. Sighing, he stood up, nodding. "The demon's gone completely."

"How do you know?" Arthur questioned.

"I can sense demonic presence with a touch. Always have. But you may use the holy water if you are not satisfied."

"So... That's it?" Ludwig questioned.

"Yes. The demon's back in hell now." Yao sighed in relief, standing up completely.

Arthur went over to Francis, checking him. From the relieved sigh he gave, everybody knew the other was at least alive. Matthew walked over to Alfred, kneeling down next to him, his eyes were still open and moving, but he seemed frozen "What's wrong with him?"

"I hit some nerves, just to freeze up his body. He'll be able to move in about half an hour." Yao informed. There was a squeaking sound that made everybody's heads turn. Ludwig had pushed the door open.

The agent sighed heavily, standing fully and sheathing his knife, "I guess it's over then. The people will wake up, right?"

"Without the demon's influence, they should be waking, though they will be confused." Yao huffed, "We all better get whatever story we want sorted now."

"W-Well the demon's the one who killed people, so you're not..." Matthew looked towards Ludwig, "You're not going to arrest him are you? I-It's not his fault! Please, you have to believe that!"

"After all this, I am willing to believe a lot of things." Ludwig muttered, watching Matthew and Alfred a moment before nodding, "I will not arrest him. However, I will be dropping by to check on him. If he is innocent like you say, then it will be fine."

Matthew nodded. "So, what's the story?" Arthur questioned, "If we're not going with the truth."

"I think... I have an idea." Ludwig said.