CHAPTER 10: A VICIOUS CYCLE
Nazi Base – July, 1943
Edward was not happy, instead he's downright fuming. He's been betrayed before, had people turn and stab him in the back but this one bested them all. He should've known not to trust these people so readily and quickly but he did and now he's the one with egg on his face. Ed and Alphonse sat next to each other on the cold floor, several feet apart. Their hands were tied with thick rope and their arms stretched upward and apart so they couldn't bring their hands together to form a circle and perform transmutations. They had been sitting like this for at least a half hour.
"Colonel!" Ed called out at the man who standing in front of, and admiring the enormous Philosopher's Stone. "What do you think you're going to do with that?" He asked even though the officer didn't seem to acknowledge him.
"Nothing." Gabriel Mackenzie answered quietly without looking at him. "I'm not going to do anything." It didn't take a genius to understand what he was implying. The Philosopher's Stone was a tool for alchemists and there were only two in the room.
"We won't cooperate." Al said defiantly. "That thing was created through suffering, and it will bring nothing but more suffering." The younger Elric pleaded. "You have to destroy it."
"I can't." Gabriel said, shaking his head.
"Then to hell with you!" Gabriel could see the fire burning within Ed's eyes.
"Ah yes Edward, you are as spirited as ever." The Elrics were startled by the voice. They turned to the direction of its source and saw Doctor Arthur Baldwin, dressed sharply in a dark green suit, emerge from the tunnel that Gabriel and his team had entered from, with two British soldiers in tow.
"Doctor." Gabriel greeted the elderly professor politely.
"Doctor Baldwin!" Al gasped in surprise. "What are you doing here?" The old man turned to the two captives and smiled broadly at them.
"I came to collect my prize."
"Beautiful, absolutely magnificent." The professor was busily examining the Crimson Elixir, its red glow reflecting off his glasses. "My theory was correct, a Philosopher's Stone can be made by fusing thousands of red stones together, and it would appear that our Nazi friends have succeeded beyond my expectations." He smiled happily again, as a child in a candy store would.
"Baldwin you old bastard!" Ed shouted with hostility, he tried to move forward but the ropes held him back. "You said you were going to destroy it!"
"I lied." The Doctor replied coolly.
"What are you going to do with it?" Ed asked tauntingly. "Study it? Did you lie about that too?" Baldwin shook his head slightly.
"Study it? That would be a terrible waste of its glorious power." He gestured at the stone. "Even in this world, its mere presence allows you to perform transmutations!" He turned to the brothers, still grinning as they glared at him. "We will use it to reopen the Gate to Shambala."
"We should've known; it's always the same thing." Ed retorted. "But it's like I've told you before old man, that place isn't Shambala." Baldwin waved them off.
"Call it what you wish, but it will be opened to us." He looked at them gleefully again. "And you brothers will help me do it."
"You must be getting senile to think we'll help you." Ed replied.
"We'll stop you." Al added in, adding to their air of defiance.
"Stop me?" Baldwin said mockingly. "Even if you do, others will follow in my footsteps." He chuckled as he walked towards the brothers. "You youngsters must realize that the Philosopher's Stone is as legendary in my world as it is in yours." He leaned closer to them. "For as long as civilization has existed, man has been trying to obtain it and harness its power."
"Do you even know what it's made of?" Ed rudely interrupted.
"Yes!" Baldwin answered. "The souls of the living!" Ed and Al were caught off guard. "Oh now don't be so surprised." He noticed their reaction. "The secret ingredient ceased to be a secret a long time ago." The Doctor stepped back. "Why do you think so many great wars have been waged in our history? Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, Napoleon, they all conducted massive campaigns of conquests. They did it not only for fame and fortune, but to also use the wars to harvest the lives needed to make their own Philosopher's Stone."
"Are you saying…" Al muttered, horrified as he recalled the true reason behind the Ishbalan War.
"Yes, the Second World War is Hitler's attempt to obtain his own Crimson Elixir. He is the latest in a long line of people who have started a conflict for that purpose." The senior smiled at them. "So even if you stop me, someone else will try again in the future, and again and again. It is a vicious cycle that never ends." He glanced back at the stone. "And the Fuhrer has even added his own, personal touch to it."
"What do you mean?" Al inquired.
"Very few people outside of the Nazi regime know about this, so I would not expect you to." Baldwin explained. "This is the result of Hitler's Final Solution." He pointed to the stone. "Right there before you, are the souls of millions of Jews, gypsies and homosexuals in addition to those who have died fighting in the war."
"What…" Ed and Al's jaws both dropped, their faces quickly turned pale.
"This is the reason why the Allies have withheld from destroying the Nazi Concentration Camps. We would not want to cut off their primary source of red water." Baldwin faced them again, his broad smile had returned. "And I am the one who made this all possible!" He announced proudly.
"You mean the Nazis did don't you?" Ed mocked. Baldwin's enthusiasm however, did not waver.
"They could not have done anything without me!" He stated. "You see all these instruments?" He waved his hand around the room. "I designed them all, and all their knowledge came from me!"
"You worked for them?" Al accused, and Baldwin shook his head.
"Not at all, I only leaked the information they needed and prodded them along."
"So you wouldn't have to get your fingers dirty." Ed noted.
"And you would be correct." The Doctor started. "When I discovered how the stone was made, I knew the British government would never have the backbone to do what is necessary to manufacture one. The Nazis on the other hand, would have no such problem." Baldwin looked straight at them. "So I manipulated the Germans into doing it for us."
"You're insane!" Al shot at him.
"There is indeed a fine line between madness and brilliance."
"You're not brilliant. You're just another power-hungry idiot." Ed continued to provoke the professor, who ignored his jabs.
"Enough, I have no intention of getting into a contest of insults with you." Baldwin turned to Gabriel. "Colonel, if you will." Gabriel then drew his pistol once more and aimed it squarely at Al's head. "If you value your lives, you will cooperate with us." Baldwin's voice was devoid of emotion.
"If you're going to shoot us, go ahead." Ed stared hard at the Doctor and the Colonel. "Al and I made a pact." He turned to his little brother. "The safety of our world is far more important then our lives. We will never sacrifice it to protect ourselves." Al too, gave the Doctor a firm look of resolve without any hesitation.
"I am impressed." Baldwin stated. "It seems that you have both matured much." He sighed slightly. "But your stubbornness was quite predictable, and I had planned for such an eventuality." He turned towards the balcony. "Lieutenant, please bring our guest in." Everyone shifted their eyes to the gapping hole in the steel vault door to see Winry walk in, her hands tied together in front of her and a rope gagging her mouth. Following her was Lieutenant Franklin with a pistol at her back.
"Winry!" Al yelled. Baldwin nodded at Franklin, who removed the gag that prevented her from speaking.
"Ed! Al!" She yelled back at them.
"Winry?" Gabriel gasped, his face frozen in total shock. She turned to his voice, and her eyes grew wide.
"Gabriel?" She startled.
"You know each other?" Ed asked.
"We met in Central." She replied and it all clicked together for Ed, and his rage grew ten-fold.
"You lied to me too Colonel!" He yelled at Gabriel who was still in shock. "Bastard! Did you bring her here?" Gabriel was jolted by the accusation.
"What… no." He stammered, as his mind fumbled for words. "The Germans did… I tried to stop them."
"A fine job you did." Ed said sarcastically.
"The Colonel's incompetence worked out in the end." Baldwin noted.
"Doctor." Al said, sounding a bit calmer, he controlled his anger much better then his brother. "If you can send people through the Gate to our world, why do you need us to open it for you?"
"The Colonel here was a member of the Crimson Soldier Project." He gestured at Gabriel. "You see, while we lacked the resources to create a Philosopher's Stone, we were able to produce a number of fake ones. Red stones, which we would inject directly into the bloodstream of a subject. If successful, I would send them to the Gate using my machine, which I also lied about destroying, and they would use the power of the red stones to force their way through the Gate to your world."
"They didn't use any machines to get to the Gate." Winry was referring to her previous captors.
"No, of course not. Alchemy is possible in your world, and the red stones had real power there. Once in your world, they can utilize them to open a portal to the Gate without the need of my machine." Baldwin explained.
"Then what's the problem with your method?" Al inquired further.
"Well, it is highly inefficient for one. Most do not survive the injection process, the Colonel here is one of the lucky few that did." He gestured at Gabriel again who was growing increasingly uncomfortable. "It also takes a lot out of the subjects, they have to exert considerable effort to force their way through the Gate." He turned back to the Elrics. "That is why I want you to use the Philosopher's Stone to open the Gate permanently, so anyone can travel freely between our worlds."
"And you told the Nazis all of this?" Ed asked.
"Well not all." Baldwin shrugged. "But they are a smart bunch, and it appears they figured it out on their own." He motioned for Franklin to escort Winry to the lower level. "But back to business. I have a proposal to make." He said as he turned to face them again. "You will open the Gate, or your friend dies."
"You bastard!" Ed barked angrily, pulling at his restraints.
"Doctor!" Gabriel protested, but Baldwin ignored him.
"Ed! Al! I heard everything he said." Winry shouted. "Don't do it!"
"This is the equivalent exchange for her life." Baldwin continued, with a smirk. "That is something you both can understand."
"Doctor, you can't do this!" Gabriel had taken his weapon off of Al and had moved towards the professor to voice his complaint.
"Quiet Colonel." The old man cut him off. "What will it be?" He asked the Elrics. Ed glared at him, but then relented and lowered his head.
"I'll do it." He whispered in defeat. Al looked at his brother, then at Winry and nodded.
"Me too." He added.
"No! Don't!" Winry tried again to no effect. Two of the soldiers freed the Elrics from their restraints.
"Please, do not attempt anything foolish." Baldwin warned. Franklin moved his gun from Winry's back to her head and the two soldiers watching the Elrics trained their weapons at them too.
"Ed! Don't do it!" Winry screamed at him, pleading for him to stop. Ed looked at her and smiled lightly with remorse.
"Winry." He said quietly. "I'll do anything to protect you." Gabriel's eyes widened at the words. Protect her.
"Ed." She answered softly, tears forming in her eyes. Ed and Al nodded at each other, clapped their hands and once again moved to press their palms up to the glowing stone. Not again! Gabriel struggled with himself. No! I won't let it happen again!
"Edward!" The Elrics froze and they turned to see the Colonel falling to one knee to touch the floor with both his hands. Red sparks danced along the floor of the entire room and the ground below some of the soldiers lurched upward, knocking them off their feet. Ed's reflexes kicked in, he transmuted his automail arm into a blade and promptly sliced the rifles of the two soldiers guarding him and Al in half. Al dropped to his knee also, touching the floor and transmuted a wall around the balcony to fence in the soldiers there as total chaos broke out.
"Colonel!" The professor yelled angrily at the officer. "What the bloody hell are you doing?" Gabriel threw several knives to disarm more of his troops, before addressing the professor.
"I'm sorry Doctor, but I can't let you do this." He said with some regret. Behind them Ed charged Franklin and jumped at the Lieutenant, leg first. His metallic foot made a sickening crunch when it came into contact with the soldier's face, knocking him away. He then cut Winry free before changing his automail arm back.
"Guys! This way!" They turned and saw Gabriel waving at them and pointing at the door by the lower level. Ed grabbed Winry's hand and the four raced to the exit as they were chased by numerous bullets that were being fired at them. When they reached it, Al transmuted another wall behind them to seal their escape route.
"Quick, get some explosives and blow that thing open!" One of the soldiers ordered.
"No, let them go." Baldwin stopped him; his face was red with anger. I should not have relied on that sentimental fool! He could feel the veins on his forehead pulsating. They will not ruin my dream!
"But Doctor…"
"It does not matter, I had prepared for this also. This is only a minor setback." He gradually calmed himself down. "Major, has my equipment been brought to the base?"
"Yes Doctor." The soldier replied.
"Good, bring it down here immediately." The officer nodded, and moved to carry out his order. "Oh and one more thing." Baldwin stopped him. "Contact Command, and tell them to ready the attack force."
"Yes Doctor." Baldwin watched him leave; then turned back to appreciate his latest acquisition. Do you think you have stopped me Colonel? You have only delayed the inevitable. You can all run, but soon you will have nowhere to hide. The professor grinned merrily at the thought.
"Shambala will be mine."
To Be Continued…