Chapter 18 – I am become Death
Toshiro woke up about 0700 and pondered on what to do right now.
I should get to know how ether gets bottled up… And maybe it's the time to try out my theory… Hmm… Yeah, today should be a good day. But I wonder if I can get the preparations done unnoticed, heheh… What will happen afterwards will definitely not go unnoticed if I succeed…
He clothed up and walked out of his room. Since this was research facility, the breakfast was served at 0800, so he decided to take a walk beforehand. After running down the stairs, he saw Gisele rummaging through some papers at her workplace.
"So early at work?" Toshiro asked.
"Wah!" Gisele shouted startled. "Oh, it's you, Herr Oberst… I just wanted to look through the papers, because I had a dream that I made some grave mistake… But it seems that everything is okay… Going on a walk so early?"
"Yeah. Normally I'd jog, but it's just too damn cold to do so, and I only have one uniform with long sleeves, so I don't want to sweat it up."
"Rational thinking from you, Herr Oberst…. But a bit lazy too, heehee…"
"Well, I suppose I should order a second uniform and I suppose I could wash the one I have on me after exercise but… meh…"
"Have fun walking then."
"Okay, I will."
Toshiro walked out into the brisk and slightly dark morning. He exhaled and saw his breath turning into mist.
Shit, it's really cold today… Winter is coming…
Thus, he walked around the base, and he bumped into somebody he knew.
"Hey, Christa!" Toshiro yelled as he saw the dark haired witch in a trench coat walking around aimlessly.
She turned around and waved to him. Toshiro walked up to her.
"Good morning, Herr Oberst… What's up?" She smiled slightly.
"Just taking a walk. How about you?"
"I'm also doing the same. Nothing like some cold air to know you're alive…"
"Can I tag along?" Toshiro wiggled his eyebrows.
"Oh, please, if you want…"
"Then I'm inviting myself in, heh…"
Sometime into the silent walk, Toshiro asked, "So, why can't you control your Super Strength?"
"Oh, it's rather simple… My powers manifested only recently… One could say that until slightly over a year ago, I was a civilian… Do you want to hear the story behind it?"
"I always like a good story, heheh…"
"Heehee, okay. One day, I was working part-time in the bar as a waitress as usual. The patrons were drinking as usual, et cetera. One of them, some mid-ranked officer whose name I don't even remember right now, waves me in. I approach him, and then bam, my ass gets grabbed. And that probably tipped me over that day, because in the morning, I broke my favorite mug. So anyway, I wanted to nudge him with my fist and shrug it off flirtatiously, you know, like this." Christa gave him a bump, and with a coy voice she said, "Oh, please, not so fast…"
"Well, okay, go on, heh." Toshiro chuckled.
"But, well, it seems that it was too much for me, at least subconsciously, because my nudge became a full blown punch which sent him flying through the whole bar."
"Wow… So I'm not the only one flinging civilians through bars…"
"So… After I set him flying, dead silence arose. I was stunned by what happened because, as I said, my powers have been off until then. So suddenly, a pair of arms grab my shoulders with an iron clutch and I hear a voice saying "You're coming with us.". I looked around and, oh irony, I saw MP's. They brought me into the OKW for questioning. They couldn't believe that my powers were lying dormant until I turned eighteen, and that today was the day they happened to manifest. So they of course gave me an offer I couldn't refuse, either prison or conscription. I chose the second, because as a military witch, I would be paid much more than as a waitress in some shithole bar. And then I found my knack for being a gunsmith. The modifications to your Type 99 were one of the first I ever made, Herr Oberst."
"Oh really… Then maybe you're the one that filled the cooling system with water and used normal caps instead of blow-offs?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Uhhm… Yeah… Sorry…"
"Meh, bygones and such… But tell me one thing… How does one get promoted being a gunsmith?"
"Heh, that also boggled me, but I guess that the Wehrmacht praises honest work…"She shrugged.
"Probably…"
"Hmm… Herr Oberst?"
"Oh stop "Herr Obersting" me after you've told me the story of your life…"
"Ah, okay then… Um… Toshiro… How do you find the weapons I've adapted for you so far?"
"All are masterpieces, really. But everyone had its shortcomings…"
"I guess you're thinking about the muzzle break of the 7.5, right?"
"Yeah… It was loud as hell, maybe even a bit louder…"
"I made a gamble by taking a muzzle break design from the Steyr Waffenträger proposal… But the recoil was manageable, right?"
"Yeah, it was, I have to admit."
Christa looked at her watch.
"Am I boring you, Christa?" Toshiro asked.
"Oh, no, no, by all means no! It's just that we have to get to the mess hall early if we want to get breakfast soon."
"And is it time already?"
"Yes, let's go."
"Okay."
They both returned to the main building, and as was to be expected, Ursula and Helma were in the front of the line.
"Hi you two." Toshiro said.
"Morning!" Helma cheered. "I guess its breakfast for two now?"
"If you don't mind…"
"Nah, I've never eaten breakfast with Christa, might as well have the first time today."
"Oh I can give you your first time any day…"
"P-P-P-Pervert…" Helma mumbled with her face red.
At the table, Toshiro couldn't help asking one question.
"Helma, since you know Trude, how about the other two?"
"Frau Wilcke and… Hartmann…"
"Why did you say the family name of the cute Erica as if you'd have acid poured down your throat?"
"Because she's a mess! She's the epitome of unorderly conduct! If I were too pinpoint one single person in the Wehrmacht that should be booted because of that, it would be her!"
"So you know them…" Toshiro sighed while shaking his head.
"Well, yes… I was sent to them while they were in Belgica since there was a stall in the…. uh… XF-1 project, was it… Anyway, after just one day, I was fed up with how she behaved! Lazy! Unorderly! Gluttonous! The total opposite of the paragon of virtue that's her twin sister!"
"Oh, please…" Ursula said with a blush.
"You really must have had a field day with Trude while you were there…"
"Oh yes! Only after one day, I've discovered the atrocious behavior of Oberleutnant Hartmann! Frau Barkhorn and Wilcke are truly saint women for putting up with her for so long!"
"Well, you surely have balls to stand up to your superior just like that… And an ace witch… And a bearer of the Knight's Cross…"
"If something's wrong, then it has to be corrected!"
"And you didn't, even for a second, want to become friends with Erica?"
"That would be like… like… like if a wolf slept with sheep! How would that look like?!"
"Oh, Helma, Helma…" Toshiro sighed. "If you'd knew how Trude feels about Erica… But whatever, I won't dispel your vision of Trude… So, Ursula, you wanted to show me something today…"
"After breakfast, Toshiro…" She responded quietly.
And after breakfast, Ursula led Toshiro to a door on the top floor, guarded by two men. They both saluted and opened the door for them.
Toshiro found himself in a sterile, white room with a chair in the middle, from which some pipes let to a panel shielded with a steel plate. Under the panel Toshiro could see some inlets and canisters.
He looked at Ursula with a stormy gaze the same second he understood what happens in this room.
"You don't have to look like that at me, Toshiro, but I agree that you must be at least confused after seeing this… apparatus…"
"An explanation would be truly nice…" He said coldly.
"Donating magic to be converted into ether is strictly voluntary and rigorously controlled. One cannot do it more than once a week, and the day the donation is done made a free day for that witch. Also, you get four bars of chocolate and an all-you-can-eat cantina coupon to invigorate oneself. As for the technical aspects… Well, it does sting a bit, but it's a fast process. A tank is filled up in a minute, but on average, a tank is the safety limit for most witches."
"And then you use the ether to make Magerit and power things like the rail gun?"
"Yes. Ether once converted into electricity is very effective, and once crystalized it also gains new properties. Say, Toshiro, want to donate some of your magic?"
"Hmmm…"
"You'll get the chocolate and the coupon, heehee…"
"How much tanks can you hook up at the same time?"
"Only one… Why do you ask?"
"I thought I would give you a months' worth of ether, heheheh…"
"Hmmmm… The buffer tank could withstand long enough for me to fill all the tanks… Okay, we can try, but when I say stop, you stop."
"Of course."
"Okay then, get your coat off, and sit on the chair."
Toshiro threw his coat on a crate and sat on the chair.
"Cold… Ursula, is the chair copper plated as I think it is?" He asked.
"Yes it is, Toshiro." Ursula politely responded.
"Okay, fire up the machinery."
"Firing up in… now!"
Toshiro felt a sensation of electricity in his whole body.
Time to milk myself dry!
Toshiro called up the power of the Sacred Flame.
"Woah, the magic siphoning is going way faster than usual!" Ursula shouted surprised. "Okay, Toshiro, stop!"
"Already?" Toshiro said disappointed as the disabled the Sacred Flame.
"Yes, already… Wow… Now help me with the tanks."
Toshiro stood up and started helping Ursula with moving the empty and filled tanks.
"Incredible… Twenty tanks… Simply incredible… You've earned a crate of chocolate and a train wagon of food…"
"I'll take the normal amount, thank you."
Ursula approached a big refrigerator and she pulled out a small packet.
"This is your… hmm… reimbursement. As for the coupon, I'll write it up later."
"I'll eat it with pleasure. Now… Ursula, do you perhaps know of a workshop in this base that's currently unoccupied but fully functional?"
"I think there's one just by the warehouse… Why are you asking?"
"A secret. You'll get to know soon enough if everything goes okay."
"Hmmm… Well all right… Go to Gisele if you want the keys for it…"
"Thanks, Ursula."
Toshiro went to the reception desk, where Gisele was writing something.
"Hey, Gisele."
"Oh, Herr Oberst. What can I help you with?"
"I want the keys to the abandoned workshop beside the warehouse."
"Hmm… I don't know… I didn't receive a disposition…"
Toshiro placed the packet he received from Ursula on the counter.
"Oh, that's…"
"Untouched, still cold."
Gisele pursed her lips while looking uneasy at Toshiro, but she gave in and swiped the chocolate from the desk. She then gave him the key.
"I hope I won't get punished for this…"
"I'll make sure you won't. Thanks! Oh, wait… Where's the warehouse exactly?"
"If you take Ursula's workshop for a vantage point, then it's to the north-east."
"Okay, thanks again!"
Toshiro ran out of the building. After a while he finally arrived before the warehouse, and he already saw the workshop. He opened the door, and immediately after entering the room he closed it shut. He turned on the lights, and he saw a rather well equipped machine shop.
Perfect…
He then looked up at the roof, and he saw that the roof could be partially opened.
Even better!
Toshiro enabled stealth magic and jumped out on the roof of the workshop. He then made a high jump and landed on the roof of the warehouse. After he found a suitable opening, he descended down.
The first thing he wanted he found it fast. A rather big round pressurized container with a reinforced glass window. He jumped up and placed his finding on the warehouse roof.
Now I need… So much… Okay, down I go…
Toshiro had to look around a bit longer but he finally found a whole crate of C3 explosive, which he lifted from the warehouse.
Cables… Blasting caps… Detonator… Seals…
After finding what he wanted, he also took a few hydrogen and liquid ether tanks. Thankfully, he also found a few weather balloons. With all this, he descended to the warehouse, hoping he wasn't seen by anybody.
He began with making holes in the container, pulling wires and sealing the space around them so the pressure could be kept. Afterwards he started placing the C3 around inside the container, inserting the blasting caps into it and connecting it to the wires. Then he fastened a valve so he could transfer the hydrogen and the ether from the tanks inside the container. But not now.
I think I'll stop for now… I don't want this to lie around primed…
Toshiro looked at all the spools of cable he procured.
I hope ten kilometers is enough…
He exited the warehouse and closed the door.
It's a bit chilly… Where's my coat? Ah, crap… I left it at that magic siphoning facility… Hurgh…
Toshiro returned to the main building, where Gisele called him in.
"What is it, Gisele?"
"Ursula said to give you this." She said and pulled out his coat, nicely folded, from under her desk.
"Dawww… How nice of her. Say… Is there a library or something here?"
"Second floor, west wing, second door from the right."
"I should probably write out a pass for ten thanks in advance…"
"Heehee, whatever you wish, Herr Oberst. Ah, one more thing!" She said and gave him a paper. "The coupon for your magic donating."
"Meh, take it too. Don't need it."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really. If you want to treat me, I'm open for proposals." He smiled.
"O-Okay!"
Toshiro went into the library, and a weird feeling of easiness fell upon him. Seeing the immense amount of books, his heart was at peace.
"Hmm?" He heard somebody.
Toshiro looked around and saw a girl with a childish face, long red hair and glasses donning her face sitting behind a desk. She waved him in.
"Morning." Toshiro said quietly.
"I didn't see you… Who are you?" The girl asked.
"You don't recognize me from the newspapers?" Toshiro asked.
"Hmm…" She pondered and looked as if she was flipping through virtual pages of all the newspapers she saw in her whole life. "Ah, I see it now… Karlslander Abendblatt, August 6, second page. Hmmm… Sorry for your loss, Herr Oberst."
"Impressive…"
"Eidetic memory. I can recall any given thing from my past experiences."
"I've heard of that phenomena… But isn't that… rarer than a square egg?"
"Heh… Yes, it's a really rare gift. Maybe that's why I'm the librarian here?"
"Who knows…?"
"Ah, you probably want to read some of our books, right?"
"Indeed."
"If you want to take them to your room, you need a library card made. But if you want to read them on spot, feel free to browse already."
"I think I'll take the second option for now. But if you want, you can make a card for me…"
"Then all I need is your ID."
Toshiro pulled out his wallet and gave her his ID.
"Okay, you can go browse the books now. I'll remind you to take your ID and library card on when you'll be going out."
"Oh, thanks… Uh…"
"Oberfeldwebel Elisa Tannenzweig."
Toshiro went off. He picked up a stack of books which could as well serve as a substitute for lifts and he began reading.
"Umm…" Toshiro heard beside him suddenly.
"What is it?" Toshiro turned around and saw Elisa beside him.
"I'm taking the liberty of informing you that it will be dinner soon."
"Oh? It's that time already?"
"Yes. You've immersed yourself into reading very much, Herr Oberst."
"You have a very broad selection of books here, some of which I haven't even heard of."
"I'll save these for you, if you want."
"Please do, I'll go eat and return here."
"Nice to see another avid reader, heehee…"
Toshiro went down to the mess hall, and he started eating with his usual entourage.
"So, Toshiro, how is your secret plan going?" Ursula asked.
"First stage complete, all I can tell you…"
"Well, okay… But I really do hope to know the results…"
"Oh you will know, I guarantee, with all my authority, that you will… If it succeeds…"
"I'm looking forward to it then."
"I hope you're not doing some shady experiments involving experiments on animals…" Helma said.
"No, but I could experiment on your cheeks…" Toshiro said with a devilish smile.
"No thanks!"
Toshiro returned to the library and saw Elisa sitting at the place he was sitting before.
"You didn't have to guard the books…"
"Ah, well… I just waited for someone to be here so I can go eat… Can I ask you that favor, Herr Oberst?"
"Why of course. Go stuff yourself full, todays Kartoffelsalat is divine!"
"Heehee, thank you."
Elisa stood up and rushed out of the library. Toshiro took one of the books and sat on Elisa's chair.
And yet another time, he was brought out of his reading trance by Elisa's gentle poking.
"Oh, did I do it again?"
"Heehee..." She giggled slightly while covering her mouth.
She reminds me of Yoshika somehow… Damn it…
"You know what… I'll take my books to my room then…"
"I thought about it already. All the books that were on the right stack and the one you're reading are checked out on you, Herr Oberst."
"Truly a genius."
"Nah… I'm only in the 140 range…"
"Still better than most, haha!"
"Remember about your ID." She said with a smile.
"Oh, right…"
Toshiro took the books and went on reading. Time passed on, and in came supper.
"So, Toshiro… Progress report?"
"Nothing changed, I was reading books."
Ursula sighed.
Toshiro ate supper and returned to his room. He read books until 2300. Then, he simply exited his room through the window. He sneaked inside the workshop and initiated the final phase of the plan.
He pressurized the container and pumped it with ether. It looked like a blue mist, but when Toshiro started injecting the hydrogen, it started glowing.
Oh shit… This is really happening…
He then added a bit of his own magic, making the blue color slightly more intensive, and then, a glowing blue sphere was formed, floating inside the container.
Holy shit…
Then, he went outside and behind the workshop with the container, which was now glowing like a big nightlight, some hydrogen tanks and three weather balloons. He made another run and took all the cable and the detonator. He combined all the cable into one and attached one end to the main cluster going out from the container. He attached the container to the balloons and started filling them one by one. The third one he had to hold to the ground since the whole contraption wanted to fly. Once it was filled to the brim, he released it.
"You've crossed a line you shouldn't cross, Toshiro…"
"You should have protested a bit earlier…"
"Don't worry, Toshiro… I know more than you already…"
He saw the blue glow slowly dissipating with the distance.
"Boo!" Someone suddenly shouted behind him, poking him in the back.
Toshiro turned around startled and saw Ursula looking at him curiously.
"So, you wanted to experiment with weather balloons? That was it?"
"I suppose you can look, now that I'm only a few steps away from completion… Let's wait until the cable unwinds totally, okay?"
"Okaaay…"
They watched as the cable slowly but surely unraveled. When the last few loops were left, Toshiro bit on the end and attached the wires to the detonator he was hiding.
"Oh, a detonator? Toshiro… I hope this is not something dangerous?"
"I wouldn't know if I didn't try, right?"
Toshiro turned the handle on the side of the detonator a few times. He took a deep breath, and turned the main handle whilst looking up.
At first, he could only see a small blue spark, but then, a violent explosion beyond his wildest imagination occurred. An enormous blue fireball, roughly four kilometers in diameter appeared all of a sudden, lighting up the whole complex instantaneously.
"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky that would be like the splendor of the mighty one... It's a quote by the way."
"To…To…Toshiro… Wha…What was that… Ho…How…" Ursula tried to complete a sentence but she was visible shaken by what she saw.
"This is what I believe should be called a…"
The flow of time stopped suddenly, and Amaterasu appeared before him.
"Toshiro, Toshiro… What the hell have you done now…?"
"What? I tried to make the world a better place! A weapon simple, efficient and clean, opposite to the one that they are making now!"
"But Toshiro… You could create a time paradox right now… Pure fission nuclear energy is something at least eight decades away, and you've just laid down the cornerstone for that."
"So?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Toshiro… Bombs aside, do you know what could happen now?"
"What?" He asked irritated.
"You saw that magic extracting device, right?"
"Yees…"
"Imagine that people start making power plants operating on a hydrogen-ether mixture. Of course, they're effective as hell, but at what cost? Witches would have to be sapped of their magic, like cows would be milked. Of course in the wealthy countries, the girls would be compensated handsomely, but in the poorer ones… Remember the concentration camps I showed you in Alternate Earth?"
"Don't tell me…"
"Yes, Toshiro. It would be like Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Soviet lagers combined… Or even worse…"
"Oh gods…"
"That's why I have to undertake some precautions. You will forget how you've made the bomb. You'll forget the fact that hydrogen mixed with ether is an efficient energy source, and that when infused with live magic and subdued to enough pressure and temperature at the same time it goes boom handsomely. The materials you've used up to build the bomb will return to their rightful places."
"I agree…" He sighed deeply.
"That's not something you can agree or disagree to, Toshiro… I'm sorry I have to resort to such methods, but…"
"Yes, yes… I understand perfectly…"
"Good. No hard feelings?"
"Heh, what are you, my friend?" Toshiro smirked
"Right, I'm only a goddess, heehee… Okay, Toshiro, time to rectify your little error. Oh, and remember to cover your ears in thirty seconds."
"Loud bang?"
"Very." Amaterasu grinned and disappeared.
The time flow resumed and Toshiro looked at Ursula dumbfounded.
"So, what's it called?" She asked impatiently.
"Uh… What?"
"That!" She shouted and pointed out at the fading explosion.
"That? What is it? Fireworks?" He asked dumbfounded.
"Toshiro… Did you just forget about everything?"
"And everything would be what?"
"This… This is just incredible… What… Where's the detonator?"
"What detonator?"
Ursula looked around Toshiro but couldn't find anything.
"What's going on…? Is this some joke...?"
"Something tells me to cover my ears… Do it, Ursula!"
Ursula quickly covered hear ears, as did Toshiro, but the bang they heard was very loud.
After the ringing in their ears stopped, they heard the alarm going off in the base.
"We should report this, or hell will break loose…" Ursula said. "Can you take me to the building fast?"
"Sure I can!" Toshiro grabbed Ursula and cleared the distance between the workshop and the main building in a few jumps
"Wow that was something… Okay, wait for me, I'll go clear this mess. Go back to your room, it would be good if you'd do it the same way you got out."
"Which is?"
"Through the window."
"Hmmm… Okay…"
Toshiro ran under his window and jumped inside his room. After a few minutes the sirens stopped. After another few minutes, he heard a knock on his door.
"Come in." He said.
Ursula came in and sat on the bed beside him.
"I told them it was an experiment with a new type of fireworks, and bullshitted them about optical illusions and such… But seriously, you don't remember anything?"
"I only remember the walk with Christa, breakfast, the magic sapping room, the library, dinner, supper and suddenly I'm standing beside you outside."
"Hmm… Weird… I'll get to the bottom of this… I surely will! But for now, good night, Toshiro."
"Good night, Ursula."
Ursula exited the room. Toshiro took a bath and laid down on his bed.
What happened? Why do I have a leap in my memories? Maybe I'll get to the bottom of this sometime else…
And if you want to praise/rant about my story, please leave a signed review, so we can continue via PM's. Seriously, I don't bite. Unless provoked :]