CHAPTER 12: THE SECOND INVASION
Central
The sound of the alert siren blared throughout the intertwining streets and boulevards of Central. Everywhere thousands of civilians in panic rushed from their homes to the bomb shelters, as directed by Amestrian soldiers who also tried to maintain a sense of order in the growing chaos. Fear was rampant as the massive force of warplanes closed in on them, darkening the sky like a huge swarm of angry hornets.
"Spread them out! Hurry it up!" Brigadier General Roy Mustang commanded, shuffling the Amestrian tanks in front of Central Headquarters. Grouping them en mass would present too easy a target for the incoming aircraft. "Major, how many anti-aircraft batteries do we have?" Major Riza Hawkeye, standing next to her commanding officer calmly flipped through several pages on her clip board.
"Eight sir; we only managed to move two in from the front." Roy muttered a curse under his breath.
"Arrange them in a circular formation around Headquarters." Riza nodded and relayed the orders. Roy took the time to consider his strategy when Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong walked up beside him.
"We fought them back the first time." The large and tall officer spoke. "And it seems they are back, and better prepared." Armstrong referred to the invaders.
"Do you think those brothers had anything to do with it?" Roy asked him while keeping his one eye on the approaching swarm of planes. Although no one could see it, Armstrong grinned lightly under his moustache.
"If I know them, there's no doubt about it." High in the sky, the first flight of B-17 Flying Fortresses entered Central's airspace; they opened their bomb bays and released their payload. All the Amestrians could do was scatter in terror as hundreds of bombs rained down on their city. Explosions ranged out followed by numerous mushroom clouds marking their locations and the ground shook as buildings began to crumble. The Brigadier General and the Colonel watched in awe at the utter destruction that was being let loose by the heavens.
"Do you think we can win against this Colonel?" The sight before him caused Roy to almost show an uncharacteristic lack of confidence, but he was not alone in that sentiment.
"I certainly hope so sir." Armstrong replied. "For all our sake."
"That's unbelievable." Gabriel had a hard time grasping what he heard. The four stood on the hill, witnessing the demolition of Central by the combined might of the British and American air force.
"The results are right before you Colonel." Ed replied.
"Ed." Winry grabbed the older Elric's attention. "Couldn't it be something else?" He shook his head at her.
"I saw it when I went through the Gate of Truth. It's possible, I'm sure of it." He confirmed.
"Then why did the Doctor need the two of you if he could just do it this way?" She asked.
"It would've been easier if we helped him." It was Al who answered. "This is a more difficult, brute-force method but it can be done by someone who doesn't fully understand the workings of the Gate. He has to be using up a lot of the Philosopher's Stone to pull this off."
"Then I have to stop him." Gabriel turned and started walking in the direction of the base.
"Do you think you can do it alone Colonel? You're going to need help." Ed piped up, causing Gabriel to reconsider.
"This isn't your fight." Gabriel seemed determined.
"The hell it is." Ed had to grit his teeth to contain his growing anger. "You brought us into this; you're not leaving us out now."
"And this is our world Colonel." Al added in, he was much calmer then his brother as usual. "So it is very much our fight." Gabriel grinned at the two of them.
"I guess I could use the help." He relented.
"I think we're going to need a lot more of it." It was Winry, and they all turned their heads to her. She was standing a few feet away from the three, staring at the base not too far in the distance. There they could see dozens of armoured vehicles and hundreds of troops gathering.
"Damnit." Gabriel didn't sound happy. "I didn't think they would get here so fast." The others looked at him questioningly. "Those are the ground forces; they'll be involved in the second stage of the invasion." He explained with frustration. "They're setting up a defensive parameter around the base. We're going to need an army to break through them." Everyone stood silent for a few moments.
"Colonel." Ed spoke up, turning to look back at Central which was still under attack. They could see anti-aircraft fire coming from the center of the city. "I think I know someone who can lend us a hand."
"Get down!" Falman yelled at everyone, as a number of blue-uniformed Amestrian soldiers dove away. A Supermarine Spitfire came in low off a dive, raking the ground with its eight guns before turning to climb away from the anti-aircraft fire. A second plane came in behind the first, this time a P-47 Thunderbolt that blasted the truck carrying the anti-aircraft weaponry, blowing it to pieces.
"Now!" Falman heard the Brigadier General's familiar voice yelling, he looked up and saw Colonel Armstrong, who is shirtless as usual, striking the ground with his gauntleted fist. A huge rocky spike burst out of the ground towards the Thunderbolt that was trying to pull up, and a snap of Roy's gloved fingers engulfed it in flames and shattered it into a million pieces. The fighter flew through the screen of rocks and debris but suffered enough damage in the process that it sputtered and crashed into the ground.
"Nice shot sir!" Falman congratulated as he got back up on his feet.
"It's not over yet Lieutenant." Roy cut him off, as they saw more planes above breaking out of formation to assaulting the besieged city. He turned to Riza, with rifle in arm, as she ran up beside him. "Casualty report."
"We have one piece of anti-aircraft artillery remaining; the others have been destroyed, along with six tanks. There are over a hundred wounded and at least nearly as many dead. Most of the State Alchemists are either dead or too injured to fight." It was bad news all around, they've only managed to shoot down two planes and the air fleet above them was still busily grinding Central into a mass of rubble. And things only got worst.
"We got more incoming!" It was Lieutenant Kain Fury who shouted, pointing at a second wave of fighters lining up to strafe them. The soldiers around them started firing their rifles and weapons futilely at the incoming planes which closed in on them rapidly. Before the aircrafts could fire their weapons though, the surrounding area was bathed in an eerie blue light. A number of steel poles emerged from the ground high into the air with many wires criss-crossing haphazardly between them to form a series of nets. The first plane flew into the obstacles with disastrous results, the thin but tough wires sliced through the aircraft's wings sending it spinning out of control until it slammed into a building. The rest however, managed to change course in time and steer clear of the hazard but were forced to veer away and abort their attack.
"Who is responsible for that?" Colonel Armstrong asked from behind Roy and Riza as the two breathed a sigh of relieve. Riza's sharp eyes made out the four figures a hundred feet down one of the streets, two of whom where on their knees with their hands to the ground while the others were sitting in an open-roofed car. Roy recognized them immediately.
"Full Metal." He said with a voice that was half surprised and half annoyed and they all ran to join each other.
"Wait! You're…" Riza gasped when she got close enough to make out Gabriel's face, she immediately took a step back and levelled her rifle at him. Winry quickly jumped in between them.
"No don't!" She said. Startling Roy, Riza and Armstrong.
"It's okay. He's here to help." Ed reassured them. Riza glanced at Roy who nodded. She relaxed a bit and lowered her weapon.
"I should've known you had something to do with this." Roy began, much to Ed's chagrin.
"That's all you have to say to me after I just saved your life?" Ed said, annoyed. "I know you don't like to thank people but a 'Nice to see you Ed' would've been good." The older Elric jested.
"Edward, Alphonse, it's good to see you." Riza said instead, smiling lightly at them. "And I'm glad you're safe Winry."
"Thank you Miss Riza." Winry smiled broadly in return. "Oh, how are Lieutenant Havoc and the others?" She referred to her bodyguards from before; Riza was caught off guard by the question and Roy turned to face the young mechanic.
"Lieutenants Havoc and Brosh are in the hospital in critical condition." He said plainly. "Lieutenant Ross didn't survive." Winry was in shock, and tears started welling up in her eyes. Behind her, Gabriel looked down, feeling responsible. Ed and Al took the blow a little better.
"Damn." Ed had nothing else to say. Roy however got right back to business.
"I suppose I should ask you what's going on here." Roy gave Gabriel a quick, suspicious glance. "It seems that the Gate has been opened, but I don't see a portal and the area around Central have changed too much."
"The Gate hasn't been opened." Ed said. "They're merging the two worlds into one." Everyone else expressed disbelief on their faces, save for Ed, Al, Winry and Gabriel who had already heard it.
"How?" Roy's one eye was very wide.
"They're using a giant Philosopher's Stone that was made in the Other World." Al explained. "But the merging process hasn't been completed; we can still stop them before they finish it." Ed then looked very seriously at the Brigadier General.
"The base where the stone is located is just beyond the city. They have a lot of soldiers and tanks guarding it, so we'll need your help to get through them."
"I can't spare any troops; we're stretched too thin as it is." Roy surveyed his battered forces and the ruined city they were trying to defend.
"Sir!" Lieutenant Breda ran up to the group huffing and puffing. "I've got more bad news." Roy's face tensed. "Our scouts are reporting a column of enemy tanks and soldiers moving up Mayflower Street towards here." Some frowned in response; others cursed or just stood silent.
"This is our chance." Gabriel spoke with some excitement, causing everyone to look at him quizzically. "Most of the Allied ground forces are heading here to attack you, which means the defence at the base should be at a minimum. This is our best opportunity to get to Baldwin and the stone."
"We can hold our position here and stall them Brigadier General." Colonel Armstrong supported the plan. "They're slaughtering us, and we won't last much longer. Stopping the merging of the worlds seems to be our only choice."
"How do I know that we can trust you?" Roy finally asked Gabriel. "What if you're actually working for them?"
"We can trust him." Ed spoke for the Colonel, and Al nodded in agreement. Roy eyed them for a few seconds before giving in.
"Alright, let's do it." Roy approved, and then turned to Armstrong. "I'm leaving you in charge Colonel Armstrong. Hold them for as long as you can and then fall back." Armstrong acknowledged his new responsibilities and Roy turned to the car gesturing at Riza. "Come on Major." Ed, Al and Gabriel also joined him.
"Winry, you should stay here." Ed stopped her when she started following them.
"What? No I'm coming with you Ed!" She protested.
"It's too dangerous…" He tried to reason with her, but she would have none of it.
"It's dangerous here too!" She had him stumped. Gabriel watched them argue, and Armstrong stepped up to the couple.
"We can take Lady Winry to a shelter Edward Elric. She will be safe there." Armstrong offered.
"But!" Winry tried one last time.
"Please Winry." Ed was almost begging, and she gave in.
"You're making me wait for you again." She said sadly, causing Ed to feel a pang of guilt. She smiled softly at him. "Please come back to me this time Ed."
"Winry…" He muttered. "I don't know what's going to happen… but everything will be alright. I'll make sure of it." What occurred next was a complete surprise to him. Winry reached out with both arms, and embraced him in a tight, warm hug that made him blush.
"I know." She whispered in his ear. "Be careful Ed." Then she let him go. Ed looked at her, with a tinge of regret, almost not wanting to leave her.
"Time is short Edward." Roy's voice beckoned behind him, snapping him back to reality. His facial expression softened, and he grinned lightly.
"I will." He said, then turned and ran to and boarded the car as Winry watched. Riza, in the driver's seat started the vehicle's engine and it sped away and disappeared into the jungle of the city.
"This is 'minimum'?" Ed asked sarcastically. Him, Al, Roy, Riza and Gabriel were lying flat on their bellies on top of the hill. To their backs was Central, burning and crumbling. The roar of cannon fire from the tank battle that had already started could easily be heard. Roy felt guilty about leaving his command but they had far more important fish to fry now.
"You never asked me to define it." Gabriel replied bluntly. In front of them, about half a kilometre away was the base they needed to reach, and around it was dozens of armoured vehicles, tanks and trucks and many more Allied troops.
"What do we do now?" Al asked.
"We can't overpower this many of them." Riza stated. Gabriel shook his head.
"No, but we don't need to." He started explaining. "Look, we've got alchemy on our side, they don't. You see those three machinegun nests?" He pointed. "They're pretty spread out. If we can take them out, we should be able to break through, and once we're inside the base we'll be home-free."
"It's a long shot." Roy commented, and Ed snickered at him.
"You're not scared are you Brigadier General?" Ed taunted, and Roy gave him the classic grin of arrogance.
"Don't mock me, the weather is nice today." He slipped on fresh gloves as they got up on their knees. Suddenly they heard the blast of cannon fire from their right instead of behind them. They turned to the source of the noise to see a whole fleet of tanks appear out of nowhere in the open field, driving hard towards the base.
"What?" Ed and Al both gasped.
"Those aren't ours sir." Riza noted; her sharp eyes could make out the vehicles even at that distance and she couldn't recognize them. A wail from up above caught their attention; and they titled their heads up to see several waves of darkly-painted airplanes screaming towards the base in a deep dive. Below, the Allied troops were scrambling to face the newcomers.
"Ah hell." Gabriel muttered in annoyance. "Panzers and Stukas."
"Do you know who they are?" Roy asked sternly as he turned to the Colonel.
"Yea, it's the Germans." Gabriel scratched his head and sighed. "This party just got a lot more crowded."
To Be Continued…