"You're telling me that he was kidnapped?" Roy demanded over the phone. "What in the blazes happened?"
Alphonse was currently sitting in a chair at Granny Pinako's house, a bag of ice against his blackened chin. He had rushed back the second he woke up, and he had reached the house by dark and had not even stopped to talk to Granny as he picked up the phone. As he asked for Roy, Granny had handed him ice wrapped in a towel, knowing that something had gone horribly wrong.
"It was Hans all along, Colonel," Alphonse said, anger grinding in his voice, "he and at least ten other men ganged up on us. They killed six of our men with alchemy."
Roy was silent for a moment, and then it sounded like he was looking at a piece of paper. "Alphonse, we just received information about the whole thing. It seems that Edward was kidnapped to open the gate- they're telling us of when and where. They're stationed at an old military base about three day's travel from here, and it seems like they want a war with our military."
"A battle they're determined to win, or else they wouldn't send any of this," Alphonse said. "What are you going to do?"
"Exactly what they want us to do, except we aren't going to lose. Edward is going to be forced to open the gate… For him, it's going to take two days to get to the Military base. This letter that we received also tells us of the date the gate opens…" Alphonse heard Roy turn a piece of paper over, "… the gate opens December 30th. That's eight days from now."
"They'll have at least six days to convince Edward to open the gate. We'll have five days to fight…"
"They want a weakened military by the time they open the gate," Roy muttered. "So they can escape through the gate and what, destroy us in the process? That's not possible."
"It is, if they have a certain weapon," Alphonse felt his body go rigid at the thought. "Back in Germany we were told of a Uranium bomb that was lost. It had been created here; what if it got in their hands and they brought it over here?"
"This'll be easy to convince the higher ups to send troops over. Alphonse, I want you to stay there until we get there. I want you to be ready to go. Have Noa come, too. If I'm thinking right, she's suffering the same and the only way to save her, if the gate is opened, is to send her back."
"But Edward is suffering the same…!"
"I know," Roy said, his voice hard. "I know what you're thinking."
Alphonse muttered, "Alright. We'll be ready."
Roy hung up.
"Edward… you really got yourself mixed up in this."
Edward groaned, but turned over to his side to glance at the person talking to him. "Winry?" He sat up, wincing at the slight pain, to confirm who he thought it was. He smiled when he saw Winry sitting on a bed across from him, then frowned when he saw that she was handcuffed and her feet were also bound.
"You're not in any better position than me," Winry muttered, flicking her eyes down to Edward's hands, which were kept apart by a thin but sturdy wooden block. "You can't use Alchemy with your hands like that."
Edward nodded slightly. "So… what happened to your foot?"
Winry sighed. "Tried to escape. Caught myself in a hunting trap. Didn't work, as you can see."
"When were you captured?"Edward said, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes.
"When I arrived home. It was late and I hadn't expected to see Hans there. He really took me by surprise…" She shook her head. "Anyways, I guess you're wondering where you are."
"Right."
"We're at an old Military base out in the middle of nowhere. I've been around the base a little bit… it's like a huge castle. Strange, really…"
"I guess there are no means for escape, huh…" Edward said, his voice soft. "How long was I out?"
"Two days. They put you out a lot for the traveling portion."
"Damn," Edward rubbed his face, though it was quite difficult with the block on his hands. He felt stubble on his face and he guessed that he was quite a sight right now. He put his hands down and stared at the floor, thinking hard about the whole thing. The gate. He was brought here for the gate. In what means did they want him to open it? He knew the transmutation circle. But what sacrifice did they want? Edward felt his anger start to rise. Why did they feel the right to sacrifice others? It wasn't right!
"What are you thinking, Ed?" Winry asked, her voice quiet.
"About the whole thing. This is just a mess…" Edward muttered. "You're brought into it, I have to face another decision soon…" he closed his eyes. The sacrifice… he was it. He would have to do it to save the others, if possible. He couldn't risk anyone else. But what else did Hans have up his sleeve?
"Is the decision…" Winry trailed off on her question and Edward stayed silent, not wanting to answer her question.
"I'm glad to see you're safe, Winry," Edward said. "And… look. I'm really sorry that you were pulled into this."
"Me too."
"And I'm sorry for the dance…"
"This isn't the time to talk about that," Winry shook her head, her voice angry.
Edward let his voice take the same tone as hers. "When is the time to talk about it then? Winry, I had run for so long…"
"I know," Winry said quickly. "That's all you do: run. I thought that I could finally confirm that your feelings were the same as mine, but I was confused by the bond that you and Noa share."
Edward blinked, his mouth open, and then he closed it and thought of something to say. "Winry…"
The door creaked open and Hans peeked his head in. "Ah, Edward. You're awake."
"No thanks to you," Edward said, standing up and ignoring the slight dizziness. "What do you want?"
"I think you know exactly what we want, Edward," Hans said smoothly, watching for Edward's reaction, who didn't say anything but had a comprehending look in his eyes. "There's just some things we need to discuss." He opened the door completely and two men, Sid and another guy of the same size, came and gripped Edward's arms, practically dragging him through the doors. "I'm afraid Miss Rockbell will have to stay here."
Edward cast a strained look back at Winry as the door closed. He turned his head back to Hans when he heard the door slam and took a step forward, only to be pulled back. "I know what you're planning, Hans. It won't work."
Hans started walking. "If you won't do it, then you suffer the same fate as I will. We will die within the next month, Edward. Noa, too."
"I won't let any other sacrifices be made just so you and she can be saved."
"The other sacrifices? Ah, you mean the Military. You see, Edward, we have brought men from far places here. They are all Alchemists' and do not have any love for Military. This is our own army against the Military that is coming within a day here. You have two choices, Ed: One, you let my army destroy your Military- ours is more well equipped than yours. Two, you open the gate to let us through and there will be no bloodshed… except for your own."
"What's the catch for choice two, other than the obvious one?"
"Choice two it is then…" Hans said, ignoring Edward's question. Hans knew choice two wasn't possible as a battle would happen anyways.
"Anyways, Edward… You have six days to think it over. I'm afraid you won't be able to meet Karl, the man entirely behind this, until then."
"Great," Edward muttered. "You really like playing with people, don't you?"
"It's one of things I enjoy," Hans shrugged. "Take him back to his room."
"You're going to get it one of these days, Hans!" Edward spat out as he was dragged away. "I'll make sure you get what is coming to you!"
Hans turned away from him. Really, Edward… you've lost.
Edward sat down on the bed without looking at Winry, his mind confused. If only he and Noa weren't at risk with their lives like Hans was… it would be so much easier. He's sacrificed his life once already… Edward clenched his hands into fists. If need be, he was prepared to do it again.
He just had to make sure there wouldn't be any other catch. Obviously Hans sounded like they had more weapons than the Military- what did he have? Tanks? Edward thought back to the history that he learned about Germany. Germany had used tanks, but they definitely weren't the country most successful with them. It's possible that they could have sent plans over to Amestris and start building them…
What about bombs? The Uranium bomb was from Amestris, but was brought over to Germany. The location wasn't sure, but perhaps… it was brought back over to Amestris. Somehow. What if they could duplicate the Uranium bomb somehow? Edward groaned. So many different possibilities could be out there right now.
Hopefully Alphonse was thinking the same things as him.
A shorter chapter to start the ending.
Anyone going to Kumoricon '08? I'm going to try to make it to the fanfiction panel, if they have one, to check the fanfics out. :)
And thanks for reviewing!
