Chapter 5: The walking dead

The Iron Sole Alchemist (Chapter 5) The walking dead.

by Howlin

(Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to this universe, places, or characters, and only claim the protagonist, Loki, Sloth, The Swarm Alchemist, and his subordinates as my own creations. This is fan fiction, and I don't profit from it. Please don't sue me.)

. . .

"Did the Colonel get all emotional?" asked frank when I emerged from the office.

"I'll just bet he launched into one of his famous, flowery speeches," said Melvin.

The trio then burst out laughing.

"Even if the Colonel will never say it," said Ken, "we will. Congratulations on becoming a state Alchemist. We always believed in you."

After relating the Colonel's words, the men took me to get fitted for my uniform. I had to admit, the blue and gold uniform looked good. The only concession to my personal style was the black boots bearing my increasingly complicated transmutation circles. I'd been issued a sidearm, which I wore at my hip, and I acquired a second to fill the concealed leg holster in my automail. A few invisible alterations to the pant leg and I'd be able to access the weapon at a moment's notice.

When the preliminaries were out of the way, I set out for the library, and the research notes Psiren had promised may hold the key to restoring my leg to flesh and blood.

. . .

"What do you mean 'the records have been sealed'"?"

"Just what I said, sir," responded the librarian apologetically. "All research materials and mission reports from the Fullmetal Alchemist have been classified."

"But I'm a State Alchemist," I argued, producing my watch. "That has to count for something."

"That watch got you access to the library and its research materials, but Fullmetal's records were sealed by the Fuhrer himself. There's nothing I can do."

"Wait, Fuhrer Hakuro sealed the records?"

"No, Fuhrer Bradley did. It was one of his final orders prior to his death."

"I see," I replied. I was more sure than ever that something important was in those notes, but accessing them seemed a lost cause.

. . .

"I didn't know the records were that classified," apologized Frank. "What do you suppose is in there that'd have the higher ups so spooked?"

"I'll bet it has to do with what happened in Liore," said Melvin. "Fullmetal defected right around the time the Alchemic explosion hit.

"Speaking of which," Ken added. "Do you have any idea what caused that? You must have some theory."

"It wasn't Fullmetal," I snapped more defensively than I should. Controlling my tone, I continued. "There was another alchemist in the city. He had red eyes and a cross-shaped scar on his face. He talked about using the array around the city to create the Philosopher's Stone."

"The Philosopher's Stone?" exclaimed Melvin. "This other alchemist knew how to create the stone?"

"Who knows if he had the right idea. All I know is he used the array around the city to deconstruct all the people inside."

"Wait," said Ken. "Cross-shaped scar?"

"That's right."

"There was a serial killer active in Central a while back. Only targeted State Alchemists. He supposedly had a scar like that."

"If Fullmetal figured out how that city-destroying array worked," said Frank, "I can see why they'd classify that."

"The bit about the stone fits surprisingly well," added Melvin. "Fullmetal was a well known stone-seeker."

"But without those notes," I lamented, "There's no way to know if what happened in Liore was really related to the Stone or if the scarred alchemist was just crazy."

"I have a thought," suggested Ken. "Fullmetal's notes and mission reports are classified, but what about his other records? Expense reports, exam results, annual supervisor assessments. It may give you someplace to start."

Ken's idea made sense, but it would have to wait. I had a meeting the next morning with the Swarm Alchemist, and not knowing this mission he had in mind, I decided it was best that I be as well rested and prepared as possible.

. . .

"Your test results indicate a solid understanding of organic alchemy, particularly chimeras."

"I've studied the subject," I replied trying my best not to reveal anything about the nature of my intent.

"When Sewing Life Alchemist Shao Tucker was discharged from the military, a great deal of research material was left behind. You are to familiarize yourself with his research and prepare a report."

"You want me to continue that psycho's work?" I demanded.

"Your orders," the Swarm Alchemist emphasized, "are to review the research materials of the Sewing Life Alchemist and report on your findings. The last alchemist assigned to this task was allowed to shirk his responsibility. You will not."

"Last alchemist?" I asked.

"Edward Elric," replied the Swarm Alchemist with more disgust in his voice than usual. "Certified an alchemic genius when he passed the State Alchemy exam at the age of twelve, reviewing the research of other alchemists was beneath him. His refusal to put in the time and effort performing necessary grunt work like this is the reason you and others have to pick up the slack."

The plan was to retrace Edward's career path, so I could hardly refuse. Not that the Colonel would take 'no' for an answer. Besides, I wanted to figure out human transmutation, and I knew Tucker had transmuted a human at least once. Of course, going over the details was going to be emotionally difficult.

Without enthusiasm, I said, "Yes sir," and left the Colonel's office.

. . .

I was led into a dark basement storage area. The place smelled as though something died in here, and looking at some of the cages it would seem that was literally what had happened. Cages and bell jars covered this entire part of the storage room, each containing a dead chimera.

I was about to be sick to my stomach when I heard a whimper from one of the cages in the far back. I rounded on the soldier who'd led me here.

"How many of these were still alive when they were taken into custody?" I demanded.

"About half of them. Most died within the first few days, most of the rest in a couple of weeks. We think there was some sort of dietary problem."

Promising myself I'd tear into someone about the conditions here later, I rushed over to the cage I'd heard the whimpering from. I saw, and toppled over backward in terror.

The creature was built like a combination of lion and wolf, with heavy jaws and a full mane. It's body was covered in this scales and it had a thick reptilian tail. It reminded me strongly of the chimeras from Liore.

"Are there any other survivors?" I asked weakly without getting up.

"This is the only one. to be honest, we thought it was dead a couple times too. Then we'd come back and see some of its food gone."

"It was probably hibernating," I guessed. "It was probably designed to be put into storage for prolonged periods of time."

A closer look at the chimera told me that however long it had survived, the creature was very far from being in good health.

"I want this chimera and all the research notes brought up to the lab," I ordered. "I'll go over the corpses one-by-one at a later date."

. . .

My first priority was this chimera. Tucker's research notes were of very little help. His documentation was slipshod and incomplete at the best of times, and there was a distinct trend to move from one experiment to the next as the mood struck him, rather than carefully going over his results thus far.

Instead, I was forced to take the route of direct examination. The chimera was surprisingly docile throughout my examinations, wincing in pain on more than one occasion, but never responding aggressively. I think it understood I was trying to help.

When I'd completed my analysis, I was left wondering how Shao Tucker had become a State Alchemist in the first place. The creature's joints had deteriorated quickly, and its heartbeat and breathing were both labored. There were muscles in the thing's body that weren't attached anywhere near joints, and worse, pinched nerves throughout its structure were causing it constant pain, and likely had been since its initial transmutation.

Some fairly advanced concepts had been integrated into its design, but there were also glaring oversights that had been pointed out and warned about in my introductory chimera text. Every indication in this poor creature spoke of an alchemist trying to run before he could walk.

I had to admire the willpower this chimera must have to keep going, day-by-day in such a state. I promised him that it would all be better soon, then began designing a series of transmutation arrays.

It was painfully slow going, coming to understand what had initially been done, even as the poor creature continued to suffer, but he'd been created by a slipshod alchemist in too much of a rush to understand what he was doing, and I'd be damned if I increased his suffering by making the same mistake.

. . .

I labored for the better part of three months on the project. Along the way, I had tucker's library transferred to my workspace, and I dissected the dead chimeras, looking for clues as to precisely what Tucker had done, and what he'd tried to do.

"Are you ready, Loki?" No name had been entered into the records regarding the chimera, so I'd taken to using the name of the mythical shapeshifter.

Loki weakly lifted his head and struggled to his feet. I let him lean on me as he limped over to the transmutation circle scribed in an open space in the lab.

"It's okay, you can lay down now."

Loki collapsed in the center of the circle without pre-emble. I'd dispensed with the cage early on. He'd shown no signs of hostility despite his fierce appearance, and even if he'd wanted to hurt me, he was too sick and weak to do the job. Hopefully this transmutation would fix that second part.

Moment of truth. I delicately placed my hands on the array, and felt the energy begin to circulate. Bathed in golden light, Loki's body began ot shift subtly. Joints thickened. Muscles shifted position beneath the skin. His labored breathing eased, and his ears perked up.

The light of the transmutation faded, and Loki leapt to his feet, which still sported long, reptilian claws. With energy born of freshly vanished pain, Loki leapt at me, pinning me to the ground in a motion so swift, it scarcely had time to register before it'd happened. The moment of terror subsided as he gratefully licked my face.

"Okay, boy," I said, trying without success to shove the three hundred pound chimera off me. "I'm glad you're feeling better, but if you want to stay that way, you need to get off me."

I struggled for a moment more before giving up and returning the grateful chimera's affections. After a while, he got the message and got off me without me needing to resort to anything drastic.

Loki was feeling better than he had since his initial transformation, but even with my corrections, this form was never built to last. It was all speed and power, with no endurance or longevity. Eventually, all that power and mass would wear down even the newly reinforced joints I'd given him, and even the larger, stronger heart and lungs wouldn't last supporting him. He had all the corrections to Tucker's plans integrated, but Tucker was trying to create a war machine, and nothing more.

The easy part done, I sat Loki down and started the next stage. Tucker's notes weren't my only resource. I set to work placing on Loki's body, beneath the fur and scales, a far more sophisticated array based on some of the things I'd read in the folio of letters from Aquaroya.

. . .

My friends greeted me as I entered the command post carrying my report for the Colonel. A medium-sized brown dog with floppy ears and a wagging tail trotted along behind me.

"When did you get a dog?" asked Frank.

"What?" I asked in mock hurt. "Don't you recognize Loki?"

"That's the chimera you've been working on?" asked Melvin skeptically.

"Wasn't that chimera about two hundred pounds heavier and with a lot sharper claws?" noted Ken as he tousled the dog's ears.

"Most of his brain was originally from a dog, so I thought he'd be more comfortable like this."

"Wait, you're serious?" asked Ken as he stopped petting Loki to stare at him.

"You guys wait out here and get re-acquainted. I have a report Colonel Swarms been waiting for."

. . .

"Human Transmutation?"

"That is my assessment, sir. The Sewing Life Alchemist had neither the talent, nor the dedication to produce something like a talking chimera through conventional means. What he did have was a distinct lack of ethical standards and a willingness to take shortcuts."

"I see. Your report on the progress of his research during his time as an official member of the State Military has been quite thorough. Your analysis of the circumstances surrounding his State Alchemist credentials are mostly speculation, but well reasoned speculation. This report should be of use to future alchemists interested in the work of the Sewing Life Alchemist. I'd like you to have it filed in the library's main archives."

That was surprising. I'd run into roadblocks and walls of classification when I requested records relating to Tucker's discharge. It looked like someone was trying to cover up the Sewing Life Alchemist's crimes. In my report, I'd gone into great detail the evidence that Shao Tucker had turned his daughter into a chimera. As a result, I didn't expect the report to end up someplace any State Alchemist could read it.

"Is something wrong?" inquired the Swarm Alchemist.

"No, sir," I replied, suddenly fearful that he would change his mind.

. . .

I grabbed copies of Fullmetal's nonclassified records when I dropped off my report. Until I received new orders, I was free to pursue my own research.

As Ken had suspected, these records were enough to divine every city Edward Elric had visited throughout his career. Two places in particular stood out. The first and most striking was Risenbool. More than half the letters in my folio were addressed to a man named Hohenheim in that city. It was listed as Edward's home town.

The second was a small town Edward and his brother had unofficially stopped off once. It was also home to a name from the letters. Al alchemist named Majahal.

Risenbool may have been the more promising place to start, but it was a good deal farther away. The other town was just a short train ride away, close enough to be there and back before anyone in Central needed me.

. . .

I flashed my pocketwatch to the train staff to get Loki aboard with me. There were some definite advantages to being a State Alchemist. It was nice ot have a companion on this trip that I didn't have to worry about judging me for my research into human alchemy. Much as I liked Melvin, Frank, and Ken, I didn't feel comfortable discussing my ultimate goals with them.

The train pulled to a stop, and we disembarked. It was early morning, and the town had a sort of sleepy quality to it. I stopped the first person I saw.

"Excuse me. Do you know where I can find an alchemist named Majahal?"

Looking over my blue uniform, the young woman's face twisted into a mocking grin. "Take a left on this next street, then follow it all the way to the end."

Uncertain, I followed the girl's directions, Loki trotting along happily at my side. When we arrived, I understood the grin. I'd been directed to a graveyard.

. . .

Asking around town confirmed m suspicions. Majahal had died right around the time Edward Elric had come to visit. Of a sword wound to the chest.

I had come hoping to speak with an expert on human transmutation but that obviously wouldn't be possible now. I asked about his effects, and was informed that an old friend of his named Lebi had moved into his home.

. . .

Loki started sniffing the air curiously as we approached Majahal's former residence. It was out of the way, and was surrounded on all sides by what had once been well kept flower gardens. I knocked at the door and was greeted by a middle aged woman wearing a blue rose, obviously from the overgrown garden, in her hair and wearing a striking red pendant.

"Can I help you, young man?" she asked nervously through the only partially opened door.

"I hope so," I replied. "I was informed that an alchemist named Majahal used to live here. May I come in?"

The woman shot a questioning look over her shoulder before opening the door. "Of course, we can't have you standing outside all day and catch cold. Can I get you some tea?"

Loki bolted inside before me and let out a muted "whuf" before standing in the empty corner Lebi had glanced at a moment ago and started sniffing the wall and floor.

"Loki! Behave yourself." I scolded, and the dog padded back over to me with one last glance at the corner. "Tea would be lovely ma'am."

After we sat down for tea, Lebi told me the story of what had happened when the Fullmetal Alchemist had come to town. I learned that her real name was Karin. I learned that Majahal had thought her dead, and when he couldn't bring her back, had started abducting local girls to bind their souls to dolls he made in her image. And she told me about how he had died accidentally when Edward Elric had been trying to disarm him.

"He was a brilliant man. I'm sure that if I'd actually been dead, he would have succeeded in bringing me back."

"I'd like to go over his notes," I broached the topic. "I'm sure his research has a lot to teach us."

"I did keep some of his things. I'm sure I could arrange for you to see them."

"I would appreciate that. By the way," I changed the subject, "that garden outside. I'd assumed it had belonged to Majahal, but after your story, I'm not so sure."

"Oh, yes. I planted that garden when I moved in here. Unfortunately, I'm getting on in years, and don't have the energy to tend it like I used to."

"It must be difficult," I said, finishing my tea, "being forced to give up something you love so much."

"Yes, but I find other ways to occupy my time."

That was the last thing I remember her saying. She watched nervously as I topped out of my chair, and I heard a yelp from the other side. Then, it all went black.

. . .

"Are you sure this is a good idea? He isn't like the others. He's a State Alchemist. Someone will miss him."

"If we just let him snoop around as he pleased, he'd figure it all out. Is that what you want?"

My vision swam as I opened my eyes. I was in a windowless room, probably a basement. There was a smell of decay and purification that nearly had be gagging. I was tied to a chair, and could see my sidearm, boots, and pocketwatch sitting on the table. Wooden mannequins lined the walls, each slender and featureless, resembling nothing so much as skeletons. My chair sat in the middle of a transmutation circle to complicated to analyze just now.

Karin stood across the room. She was wringing her hands nervously, and frequently glancing back my way. She was talking to a little girl.

The girl looked about four, but her tone of voice and the way she carried herself suggested someone older. She had pale skin, dark violet eyes, and jet black hair worn in two braids. She wore a black overall-dress, with no shirt underneath, and most strangely no shoes. She had some sort of black cloth covering the tops of her feet, but the toes and soles were obviously bare. A tattoo of the oroboros, a serpent devouring its own tail, appeared on her exposed back near the right shoulder.

Loki was nowhere in sight.

Trying not to let on that I'd regained consciousness, I started to scrape the metal toe of my automail leg along the wood floor beneath my chair.

"Just perform the soul attachment. You can dump the body with a bullet in the brain, and the military will just think it was rebels."

"But-"

"You know," added the girl, interrupting Karin's objection, "now that I think of it, wasn't Majahal also an alchemist? Wouldn't it be funny if it turned out all this time what we needed was an alchemist's soul?"

Karin swallowed her objection and fetched a mannequin from the shelf. I waited as she approached, and when she was leaning over me, I activated the crude circle I'd drawn with my toe. Arcs of gold lightning accompanied the transmutation that freed me from my bonds.

I took advantage of her moment of surprise, and wrapped the ropes that had previously held me around her and the mannequin. I didn't have time to severely tie her, but I could tangle her up and prevent her from giving chase.

The girl and I raced for the table containing my things. I was slightly closer, with a longer stride and a good automail leg helping out. But I was still feeling the effects of the drug, and she was incredibly fast.

She reached the table first, and drove me back with a hail of bullets from my own gun. Her fire wasn't very accurate, but at this range, I was still lucky not to get hit before I overturned another table to hide behind.

A surge of red light caught out of the corner of my eye drew my attention, as Karin stepped over the neatly coiled rope at her feet and began moving towards me.

"Forget the soul attachment!" screamed the girl. "Just kill him before he ruins everything!"

Karin reached over to a nearby table and grabbed a brass oil lantern. As she touched it, red light arced out from her hand, and the lantern became a flamethrower.

"No circle," I gasped in astonishment before the mortal peril I was in brought be back to my senses. She'd also blatantly violated the law of equivalent exchange, since there was nowhere near enough mass in that lantern.

Karin pulled the rigger, and let out a jet of flame in my general direction. It went high, setting some of the rafters alight. She wasted no time walking the stream of fire down towards me.

Dominik saved my life that day. With a quick motion, I popped open the concealed panel on my automail leg, and drew my backup pistol. Scarcely thinking, I snapped a shot in Karin's general direction. The bullet hit the fuel tank on her flamethrower, which exploded violently.

Karin screamed in agony, engulfed in flames, as all around, the fire spread. Papers ignited. Tables caught. Mannequins began to go up.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I yelled, as I grabbed a carving tool and quickly scratched a transmutation circle onto the wooden floor. I should have been worried about burning to death in the fire, or choking on the spoke, but at that moment, the only thing I could think of was all the knowledge that would be lost if this laboratory burned down.

The array activated, and in an instant, the entire room was covered in a thin layer of frost, extinguishing the flames.

A rattling sound came from the other side of the table, as the girl discarded my empty gun.

Seizing the opportunity, I hopped my overturned table and rushed at the girl. A smile played on her lips that may have been insanity or may have been bravado as she retreated backwards from my charge. This was a small room, and it didn't take long before her back was against a wall.

"Now, you're going to answer one important question," I growled as I loomed over her.

"Let me guess," she mocked. "What's going on here? Who else is involved?"

I discharged my gun harmlessly into the wall beside her to emphasize my point.

"Where is Loki?"

"Your mutt?" she asked, never flinching or letting up with her mocking tone. "After we hit him over the head, we dumped him outside.

I was about to ask another question when another burst of red light came from the direction of Karin's injured form. The girl punched me in the stomach as I looked away from her for an instant, then darted under my arm and sprinted to the other side of the room.

Karin has transmuted some handholds onto a nearby table and was screaming in a mix of rage and agony. Her pendant pulsed in time with her transmutations, and I realized what it must be.

"The Philosopher's Stone."

While I was busy being impressed, Karin grabbed what looked like a bone saw, and red arcs of alchemic light arced around it. Something went wrong, and Karin's pendant cracked. The transmutation turned back on her, and the blade's metal fused inelegantly with her already charred flesh. The limb was ruined and useless, and with one final scream, she collapsed to the ground in a puddle of her own rapidly pooling blood.

"Pathetic," said the girl. "She overtaxed the stone and killed herself. Not that she'd have lived much longer with those burns anyway. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to clean up this mess myself."

With that, the girl lifted a bar from a nearby door. It flew open of its own accord, and things shambled out. They looked human at first glance, but it didn't take long to see the crude stitches holding the putrid and rotting flesh together.

The girl laughed as I turned tail and climbed the stairs out of this place at a dead run.

"What's wrong?" she called after me, laughter in her voice. "I thought you wanted to get a good look at the results of our research."

I burst out the front door, the zombies shambling after. On the ground at the side of the door, I spotted Loki. Dropping to my knees, I pressed my ear against his flank. He was still breathing.

I couldn't drag a hundred pound dog behind me and have any hope of outrunning the creatures pursuing me. It was either leave him behind, or face the horde of undead with nothing but a backup pistol. I didn't have any choice.

Planting my feet into what I hoped was a proper marksman's stance, I interposed myself between the creatures and Loki.

When the first zombie stepped into the doorway, I squeezed off a shot to its center mass. The gunshot cracked out and seemed louder outside in the open than it had in the battle a moment ago. The shot hit, but the creature didn't seem to notice and continued forward.

"Attack!" called out the girl from behind the advancing force, and at her call, the nearest zombie lashed out at me.

It was still slow, and I was able to duck under its attack. Unfortunately, I had chosen to stand still, and more of the creatures approached, starting to encircle me.

Dodging one of the creatures was easy. Dodging three at once as it became increasingly clear with each shot that by bullets were useless on these things was much harder. A heavy blow landed off center on by back, which cost me my balance. I topped to the ground as the six creatures stumbled over eachother to finish me off.

One of the things stepped on Loki's unconscious form as it moved into position, and Loki let out a yelp of pain.

Starting to his senses, Loki saw that I was in trouble. The creatures continued to rain down blows on me, and it was all I could do to protect my head.

Loki jumped to his feet, his hackles raised. As he growled, a violet glow poured from beneath his raised fur. Grass and dirt broke down in the light, and Loki's body started to change.

Scales sprouted form beneath his fur, covering him in a mail of armor. His limbs grew longer and thicker in proportion even as his mass generally increased. Teeth and claws lengthened and sharpened, and his tail grew into a heavy cudgel.

When the light of transmutation faded, Loki again appeared as the green scaled, golden maned, three hundred pound military chimera that had gratefully tackled me the day I healed him. The difference was, this time he wasn't remotely playful.

Letting out an unnatural snarl, Loki hurled himself into the melee. With his first motion, he pinned one of the zombies under a heavy claw, and snapped a limb clean off another with his powerful jaw. For his backswing as he regained his balance form the leap, he struck a third zombie with his heavy tail, hurling the thing through the air to slam hard against the side of the house.

"Inorganic matter transmuted into organic and integrated into a pre-existing living pattern," gasped the girl, truly impressed for the first time I'd seen her, as she looked between the chimera coming to my rescue and the small crater left behind where he'd been standing.

The creatures struck Loki as they had me, but the chimera was made of tougher stuff than I was. Reinforced skeletal structure, heavy scales for deflecting blows, and a whole lot of muscle conspired to allow Loki to shrug off their attacks even as he began tearing the creatures apart.

I crawled out of the melee, and zeroed in on the girl directing everything. I again raised my gun, and yelled, "Call them off!"

"Or what?" demanded the girl. "You'll shoot a little kid? I don't think you've got what it takes, alchemist."

"You've been murdering people for God knows how long, you tried to kill me at least three times already, and you hurt my dog. I think I'll be able to live with myself. Call them off!"

"Then do it," she shot back, clearly not intimidated.

And I did. The shit rang out over the sounds of Loki keeping the zombies occupied. There was no blood, and again the girl didn't even flinch as the bullet impacted harmlessly behind her. It hadn't been a warning shot, at least not intentionally. I'd missed.

As soon as I'd reassessed the situation, the girl sprang into action, and charged at me. I shot three more times as she rushed me, to no effect.

I was stunned when she stopped inches from my body, and positioned herself such that my gun was practically against her forehead.

"Here," she said. "Since you're such a crappy shot, I'll make this easy for you."

My gun started to waver. It was one thing to attack someone at a distance in self-defense or the heat of a combat. Executing someone with a point-blank shot to the head was something else.

Before I could turn my gun away, the girl grabbed the barrel and held it in place.

"Come on, alchemist," she taunted, "you can live with yourself." When I continued to hesitate, she snapped her other hand out to mine, which was holding the gun. Her small hands had an impossibly strong grip.

The gun discharged, and the bullet cleanly impacted the dirt behind her. Its barrel hadn't moved from its position. The girl's mocking smile widened as I processed the situation. The shot hadn't missed. It couldn't have at that range. But there wasn't a mark on her. The bullet had passed through her skull like it wasn't even there. No blood on the ground.

Before I could recover form the shock, she used my arm for leverage, and hopped up. She delivered a kick to my face with way more power than should have been possible for someone her size.

Things were looking grim when Loki once again came to my rescue. Having dealt with the zombies, Loki charged the two of us, at an angle to headbutt the girl. Like with the bullet, the chimera's body passed right through her. But that didn't mean he didn't have an effect. The chimera's charge impacted me, and threw me a good distance. The force of the impact jarred me loose from the girl's grip.

Whatever this girl was, physical attacks had proven useless, and even with her zombies destroyed, if she could hit me (harder than they had) and I couldn't hit back, I was still going to loose. I decided to try and stall for time.

"Who are you?" I demanded with more than feigned desperation.

The girl grinned and took her time, obviously toying with me. "Sloth." She casually strolled in my direction as she continued speaking. "You've made quite a nuisance of yourself, alchemist."

Loki charged her again, and again passed right through. As he did, Sloth casually grabbed him by the tail and hurled the three hundred pound chimera at me. I managed to duck most of the blow, but we were both slammed against the wall of the house.

"You and your mutt both," Sloth amended. "Now, the question is, what do I do with you?"

As she slowly advanced, I didn't bother getting up from the ground. I saw a slim chance, and began to scratch a transmutation circle in the dirt, hiding it with my toppled body. Loki, meanwhile, interposed himself between Sloth and I, growling menacingly. Clearly with physical attacks not working, the chimera had switched to a psychological attack.

"I think I'll just beat you both unconscious, drag you back inside, and restart that fire. There'll be fewer lingering questions that way."

I smiled. Golden light erupted from behind me, as my completed transmutation circle did its work. The ground beneath Sloth's feet rumbled violently, and she lost her balance. I was right. Whatever trick she was using to pass through solid matter, she needed to interact with the ground to walk. Out here in the styx, I didn't have to worry about buried gas lines.

I pressed on with my transmutation, opening a pit beneath her, which she immediately fell into. Like in Liore, I smoothed and glazed the walls of her prison.

Seeing the threat passed, Loki relaxed. As he did so, the configuration of the transmutation circle tattooed on his skin changed again, and violet light again poured off the chimera. Scales and fur fell to the ground along with clumps of organic residue the same consistency as mud. When it was over, Loki was once again in the form of an ordinary dog.

"Now, the question is, what do I do with you?" I echoed back to the girl.

"Nothing," she spat. "You win this time, alchemist. I'm leaving." At that, she placed her hands on the wall of her underground cell and slowly stepped through it and out of sight.

. . .

The zombies turned out to have been the same wooden mannequins from inside with human flesh sewn onto them like a suit. I burned their remains after I completed my examination.

Inside, I found Majahal's old research notes, complete with his theories on soul attachment. Karin hadn't kept good notes. The best I was able to find was a journal. It detailed Sloth's initial appearance.

Sloth had provided her with a philosopher's stone and encouraged Karin to continue Majahal's work, only this time with the goal of resurrecting Majahal. She had started sewing flesh onto her mannequins after reflecting on Majahal's theory that his dolls were unstable due to the attached soul rejecting a body unlike its own.

Shockingly, Karin's approach apparently showed some promise. From her journal entries, it was clear that the more human tissue she added, especially from the body of the original soul donor, the longer her dolls lasted.

Karin wasn't much of an alchemist, with only the most rudimentary understanding of alchemic theory. She couldn't even activate Majahal's carefully copied arrays without the philosopher's stone Sloth had provided. Her progress had been approaching the limits of what could be learned from this trial and error approach, and Sloth had begun pushing her to try one of the older human transmutation arrays in Majahal's notes. Karin hadn't gone for it, but her journal entries indicated that her resolve was starting to waver before I arrived.

The victims had been carefully chosen at Sloth's direction. Travelers, drifters, hunters off alone. No one who would be missed, unlike Majahal's use of the local girls for his experiments.

As I finished a last once-over of the house, I discovered something in an out of the way drawer in the lab. In a small black box, there was a red stone. Smooth like glass and lacking facets, a faint crimson glow was scarcely visible radiating off it in the dark lab. Apparently Sloth had given Karin a spare philosopher's stone in case something happened to the first one. Gathering up the notebooks, journals, and of course the stone, I set the rest of the house on fire before returning to Central. I didn't want anyone else trying to follow in their footsteps, and I didn't want to leave behind clues about my own research. Sloth had been right. There would be fewer awkward questions this way.

. . .

Witnessing what happened to Karin, and reflecting on Cornello's deposement, I decided that this stone was too dangerous an item to be used casually. It would no doubt be of great use in my efforts to master human transmutation, but until I understood it better, its use would have to be restricted to critical experiments.

When I arrived back in Central, I headed in to the field office to check in.

"What happened to you?" asked Ken when I entered. I was still covered in bruises and scrapes from the battle.

"That's the last time I accept tea from a kindly old lady," I replied.

Ken blinked as I stepped past and into the Swarm Alchemist's office.

The Colonel didn't say anything about my injuries. Indeed, he cut me off from offering an explanation.

"Gather up your papers and any other experimental materials you have on hand, Iron Sole. My command has been assigned to oversee the Ishbal reconstruction. The timeframe for this mission is indeterminate, so I suggest you prepare as if this was a permanent reassignment. We will be on a train bound for East City by 0600 hours the day after tomorrow."

"I'll be ready, sir," I replied.

"Now," replied the Swarm Alchemist, "what did you originally come in here to say?"

I took a deep breath, then related my encounters with Sloth and Karin. I implied, but didn't state outright, that I hadn't been able to stop the fire, and left out my recovery of the notes and second stone, but otherwise gave an accurate report of what had transpired. When noting my reason for looking into Majahal in the first place, I offered only that I'd suspected (correctly) that he had been involved in illegal human transmutation.

No hint of expression graced the face of the Swarm Alchemist as I made my report. The fantastical elements like the alchemy enhancing philosopher's stone, the presence of a girl who could pass through solid matter, and the small zombie horde left the man as unphased as when I described my discovery that Majahal died before I arrived.

When I had finished, the Swarm Alchemist spoke. "Before we leave for East City, prepare a written report on this incident. In the meantime, you are ordered not to speak to anyone else about the stone you saw or the girl with the oroboros tattoo. All information about both is classified."

"Classified?" I asked, confused. "You mean the military knew about them before? What else is known about them?"

"You don't have clearance for any additional information on this subject, Iron Sole. Prepare your report, then drop the matter."

At the note of finality in the Colonel's voice, I knew further conversation would prove fruitless, so I saluted, turned, and walked out.

. . .

Author's comments:

I'm sure everyone's already guessed who Sloth is, but what she's ultimately up to may surprise some of you. I hope everyone enjoyed Loki getting the chance to show off what he's capable of.