slayers_desire | the case of the disappearing daughters ((Ed thread))

Lorne looked at Ed for a long moment. "About every Demon that could be a possibility? It would be wiser if you just went over to Wes, and picked up one of his books."

"Fair enough," Ed replies with a shrug. "You know where Wes is right now?"

"At the bar." Spike replies, he gestures for Ed to follow him. April follows behind, but Lorne stays to ensure that Diane is comforted.

Ed nods and follows Spike, tucking his notebook and pen away. He's quiet for most of the walk, processing what he knows, trying to solve the mystery. But... he can't really do that without more information, so for the moment, he's stumped.

((Working on plotting out Laura's trip to Munich with Ed and Al, and I was wondering... at this point (the trip's going to be a few weeks at most after the training session we played out), has she discovered her heat vision yet? If not, I was thinking it could first manifest during the adventure :).))

Edited 2013-02-28 21:52 (UTC)

Lorne's bar is quiet at this time of day, when most of the community is working on repairing their community. But Wes does sit there, alone with a drink in his hand.

"Hey mate, Ed here needs your Demonology book." Spike gets right to the situation at hand.

Wes looks up, digs into his pocket, and hands it over. "Is there a problem?"

"A big one, mate." Spike nods solemnly.

((that could be interesting. Her heat vision should first manifest because of... sexual frustration. Hehe))

"Eight young women have disappeared abruptly over the past month," Ed informs him while slowly flicking through the book, skimming the various entries to see if any of them mention a preference for preying on adolescent women. He's assuming that's the target age group, anyway. "We think something's on the prowl, preying on them. Both human and demon girls have been taken."

He sits down and starts jotting down the names of demon species he finds that seem to prey on that particular age and gender group on his notepad. The others probably won't be able to read the list very easily; Ed's handwriting is horrendous.

((Yeah, well, at this point it's going to be pretty clear that Ed is very unavailable, what with being married and having a son on the way and all (though they'll only just be finding out about this) :). Al does have a girlfriend, but I imagine Laura doesn't see them together very often, and Al's girlfriend is not going to be coming with them on the trip, so Laura might not be aware that he's seeing anyone.

Also, are we planning on Ed being named as the other Kentlings' legal godfather as well? Just so I'm forewarned :).))

Edited 2013-02-28 22:09 (UTC)

"And this went unnoticed until now?" Wes grumbles. Things still aren't perfect, even with the Seed of Wonder restored.

((doesn't have to be Ed or Al, you do realize. Just random hot stranger. LOL.

Yes. I think it fits))

Ed shakes his head a bit. "They might've been reluctant to talk about it. When I talked to the first victim's little sister, she said her community thought it might've been hunters. Or maybe no-one was listening," he adds with a heavy sigh. "Not everyone's as keen to stop this kind of thing as I am."

He's got a few demon species on his list now: Davric Demon. Haxil Beast. Incubus. After a few seconds of thought, though, he crosses the Haxil Beast off his list. He saw that episode of Angel; if it had been a Haxil, women wouldn't have up and vanished without a trace. They'd just be turning up suddenly pregnant.

"Turns out," he murmurs, "not that many species have that particular victim type. Unless I missed something. I doubt it, but it's possible. A Davric demon, and incubi, presumably."

((True. ^^; Both Hohenheim and the Doctor might also be possibilities. Hohenheim doesn't look much older than forty or so, and he's stopped aging at this point (due to a plot point I don't want to spoil you on). And the Doctor is... well, the Doctor. Just to put forth other ideas. =P

YAYZ~ :D Ed's going to be ecstatic about that. XD))

"Both potentially dangerous." April notes. She is very impressed with the research that Ed had done.

"Both hiders too..." Spike growled.

((Hohenheim would be oddly appropriate, and funny. He looks so much like Ed, after all))

Ed taps the page of the book that has the entry on Davric demons with his left forefinger. "Incubi are sexual predators... In my reality, they feed off life energy obtained during... erm, intimate contact." He turns a bit pink at those words; he's sort of a prude. (But still a teenaged boy.) "Don't know if it's the same here. But Davric demons usually take girls as sacrifices, offering great power in exchange, right?" he asks, thoughtfully. "Virgins only, if I'm recalling correctly."

Then he spots something in the entry that makes a nervous sort of grimace appear on his face: apparently Davrics prefer virgin women, but don't necessarily object to virgin men either. Which could spell trouble for Ed, because, guess what? He's never had a girlfriend. And wouldn't even consider sleeping with anyone he wasn't in love with.

((Yep... If Ed were quite a bit taller and wore a beard, and needed his reading glasses 24/7... He and Hohenheim would practically be identical. Hohenheim's also a badass Alchemist in his own right, though he's not a martial artist like Ed and Al are.

Poor girl's probably going to be even more confused than she is already... bad enough she has a crush on two guys who are 17 and 18 years older than her, respectively, but then to find herself attracted to their father as well... Hoo boy. XD Especially if she finds out he's 400 years old...))

Spike recognizes that look. He himself carried that look, before Drusilla found him. "You might end up as a target, if you go hunting for them?"

"The Davric tend to gather close to schools, because of their tastes..." Wes frowned.

((I always figured Laura liked men who were smart, intelligent and good warriors. Hence her attraction for the Al/Ed brothers.

Plus the heat vision... I approve the confusion for my pup))

Ed grimaces a bit more. "I don't mind being a target," he says, grim determination in his voice. "I'm an Alchemist, it's my duty to use my talents and skills to help people however I can. A lot of the time, that means putting myself in harm's way so that others won't suffer." He shakes his head. "I'm hunting this thing down, even if it means risking my life."

He shuts the book. "Where are the nearest schools to that neighbourhood, then? We should start there."

((Not a bad type to have! :D Awesome, I'll definitely work that into the plot, then. It's starting to come together pretty nicely, but I'm still lacking a specific conflict and enemy... Which I want to be thematically appropriate to 1933 Germany, though not necessarily involving the Nazis.))

"Most of the schools in this neighborhood were closed because of the Zompires." Wes notes. "But that doesn't mean the Demons moved. Schools still have school yards. Children living nearby."

"We could start at St. Mary. It is an All-Girls school." April noted.

((sounds good to me!

There is The Gestapo, gangs of brownshirts, either would be appropriate))

Ed nods and gets to his feet, tucking away his notebook and pen again. "All-girls school, definitely a juicy hunting ground for something that likes virgins. Let's go."

((Thanks for the suggestions :) I'll look into those, see which might work better. Hohenheim's definitely been doing his best to try and throw a spanner in the works for the Nazis and any similar groups, so I'm thinking this is a conflict that was already brewing that he decides he could use some help with =P.))

The four of them head out the bar, towards St. Mary's School. It is only a short walk. The school, in its good day, would have been beautiful historical brick building with beautiful landscaping.

But after years of neglect it is run down. Overgrown. And there is an almost creepy vibe to it.

April shivers. "Death has happened here."

Ed shivers too. Some places just feel wrong, even for people who aren't psychic. "Sounds like we're on the right track, then," he notes. He circles the building cautiously, looking for any viable entrances. If there aren't any... well, one of his maxims is, 'If you can't find a door, make your own!' Transmuting a door into a wall is a piece of cake.

The old entrance to the school is still open, allowing them to enter. The hallways are lined with dust, cobwebs and garbage.

((have to head out for a bit))

Ed's instincts are going crazy, though it could just be the creepy factor. Still... he doesn't ignore his instincts any more.

He's in the lead now, and pauses just inside the entrance to survey his surroundings, deciding which way to proceed, trying to see if there's anything that might indicate the demon's presence nearby. If not... pick a direction and start walking.

((Gotcha. See ya in a bit. :)))

There is a main hallway that leads past classroom and classroom. Each one is abandoned. Dusty. Upturned desks. Torn books. Old assignments still on the chalkboards. The soft hum of a flourescent light that still ahs life.

There are three areas that are boarded up. The chapel. The gymnasium. And the art room.

"Geeze," Ed mutters, "it's like they all just... got up and left all at once in the middle of the school day. Like a fire drill they never returned from."

Ed zeros in on those bordered-up rooms. Pfft, wooden planks. That's no problem. He checks the art room first. Clap, smack, cue the blue light and static, and then... voila! Wooden boards gone. Or rather, shattered into splinters that simply drop down to the floor rather than fanning out. He tests the door next, trying to see if it's locked, too. If it is locked... that also won't be much of a problem.

((Bedtime))

The door creaks open, giving that shrill little whine to it. The smell of blood hits April and Spike first. Even though said blood is dried.

Someone has been painting with blood. There is literally hundreds of paintings done in blood.

"Oh my... this is horrible." April covers her mouth in surprise.

((yah me too. was a late night))

Ed covers his mouth in shock for a moment too. The last time he saw anything like this was five years ago, in Shou Tucker's lab... Just after Tucker had transmuted his daughter and dog together into a chimera. Tucker had painted tons of arrays on the walls, floors, and ceilings. Ed had never been sure if he'd used red paint or blood.

That had been the only time he'd ever come close to killing someone in a fit of berserk rage.

"My god..." He breathes out, the disgust colouring his tone of voice. "This is..." He shakes his head, gritting his teeth. "...depraved," he finishes quietly. Then his Determinator face returns. "Tells me we're on the right track, though."

He kneels and swipes at one of the paintings with a gloved hand. "Already dry," he murmurs, mostly to himself. Then he adds, to the others, "Whoever made these, it was a while ago. And..." he shudders a bit. "It would not surprise me if this blood belonged to our missing girls."

Spike picks at the dried blood. Flaking it with his fingers. And he nods. "Bang on prat. This is female blood."

"This is a lot of blood. Too much for just one girl... They could be..." April couldn't help but wonder if there were any girls left to rescue.

Ed's starting to get annoyed at Spike for calling him 'prat'. Thanks to Bakura, who was born in London, he knows what that particular bit of British slang means—which is to say, basically 'dumbass'. Now's not the time to say anything about it, though, so he keeps quiet. After this is over, though, he is going to (politely) demand that Spike find another nickname to give him, one that doesn't insult Ed's intelligence—which, to him, is one of his biggest assets.

"Yeah," he replies to April quietly. "I was thinking that too... I hope we're not too late to help any of them..." He closes his eyes and grimaces for a moment, then reaches back to his utility belt to pull out the miniature flashlight he keeps there in case he needs to peer into darkened corners. Which, he does right at the moment; the lighting in here isn't very good, and he doesn't have Spike and April's super-night vision. He clicks it on and sweeps it over the room for a moment, taking a quick glance at each of the paintings, and looking for any signs that either the girls were here... or for signs that the demon was recently. After all, the girls didn't necessarily have to be in here when the paintings were made—whoever made these paintings could've drained their blood into buckets and brought those buckets over to this room.

Most of the paintings are still life, bowls of fruit, or piles of books. There is a few containers lying here and there, coated with dried blood. Dried-out paintbrushes.

There are Demon symbols on each painting, located in the bottom left corner, where an artist might sign their artwork.

His flashlight catches a flicker of movement. Something in one of the paintings was moving...

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