The Waters of Lethe
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, I just like to play around in its world and torture Ed for a while.
Author's note: Assume another month has passed and the Thulists have consolidated their hold upon Lior. Now they are expanding their territory, first by taking over the towns closest to Lior and then the city of New Optain. Their conquest of the eastern sector of Amestris is almost complete, except for the biggest prize, the provincial capitol of East City.
Warnings: violence, death, bad language, worse German and maybe sex
Beta: Took-baggins
Another author's note: This chapter is dedicated to the memory of FMA and Naruto hentai fanfic author extraordinate Serenanna. Rest in peace.
Chapter 71: The Lights Are Going Out (Die Lichter gehen)
The battle for East City started with a bang. About six in the morning, a group of six German jet planes swooped in from out of the rising sun over the suburbs. After one pass over the city, they made a wide turn and commenced a bombing and strafing run. The streets were crowded with people going to work or waiting for busses or trains, and they were helpless targets. Wthin five minutes, bodies were scattered everywhere, and the citizenry was in an an uproar. The raid was over after twenty minutes of terror and confusion, the enemy planes flying back the way they'd come.
Save the rumbling of shattered buildings falling, the roars of many fires breaking out and the screams of panicked citizens, a sickly silence fell over East City.
General Hakuro was in over his head, not that he'd admit it. He sat motionless at his desk and hyperventilated while the phones on his desk rang and rang. Outside in the hall were the sounds of running footsteps and yelling soldiers, although it seemed to come from far away. In Hakuro's defense, his lack of action wasn't entirely his fault, he'd been watching new recruits marching on the parade ground from his office windwo when the raid began. So he had a front row seat to men and women either gunned down or blown into bloody bits.
When the window was blown in by a bombs shockwave, he'd been knocked clear across the room. Stunned and with the wind knocked out of him, he'd just lain there for a few minutes before he got up and returned to his desk. The heavy piece of furniture was studded with shards of glass from the window and the force of the blast had moved it two or three feet, but it managed to stay upright. He picked up the rolling swivel chair, set it back on its legs and picked glass out of the padded leather seat before he sat down again.
There he stayed, frozen with shock as blood trickled from his punctured eardrums until his adjutant discovered him. When the General refused to reply, or even acknowledge the man's presence, the adjutant took over to answer the phones and take damage reports from all the city sectors. When the captain of the day watch came to find out why Hakuro wasn't issuing orders, the adjutant gladly ceded control to him. He put one hand underneath Haukuro's left elbow and tugged until the General looked up.
"You're hurt, sir. Come with me to the infirmary," he mouthed slowly so Hakuro could read his lips. Grateful someone was takinig him away from the sounds of screaming and sirens, the General smiled and nodded before he stood up and allowed himself to be steered out of his office.
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Lieutenant-General Raven was not a happy camper. A tall, broad man with dark hair and beard shot through with grey, he clasped his fingers together and leaned back in his chair, his grey eyes narrowed. First he glared at the two inch high stack of reports on his desk, before he turned his rapier sharp gaze on some nervous junior officers.
"These Germans are very efficient at making war. Their main strikes were on vital city infrastructure - East Headquarters, the main railroad station, bridges, communications towers and major roads. The slaughter of innocent civilians were just icing on their cake." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers, "This attack was carefully planned to damage vital city services and sow the most amount of terror in a short time. They succeeded admirably."
The junior officers knew better than to interrupt Raven and they kept their mouths shut, although a few did gulp audibly.
"The question is, how do we stop them?"
"Uh, sir?" A recently minted captain raised his hand. "An alchemist succeeded in bringing one of their planes down at New Optain, and -"
"AND WHAT!?" The furious Raven roared at a volume that could have broken plate glass. "That was just luck, the alchemist's timing was perfect. To make the situation worse, there wasn't much left of the plane for our tame geeks to analyze. We need a weapon which can match the speed of those things, otherwise we are just sitting ducks like those recruits on the parade ground at East Headquarters. Poor bastards never had a chance."
The chastened captain stared at his feet and wished he could sink through the floor, but he looked up when Raven growled "The answer isn't down there, you idiot."
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Alphonse ducked his head in a vain attempt to shield his face from the dust blowing into it as the staff car raced along the twisting suburban streets of East City. All around him was the damage wrought by the early morning German raid: crashed automobiles, ruined houses (most of them in flames) and the blood soaked bodies of those who'd been killed by either bullets or bomb shrapnel. The car suddenly swerved to avoid a bomb crater and Alphonse's right elbow banged painfully against a door. But the car couldn't avoid the obstacle completely anda tire caught the edge of the crater. The car jounced hard and Alphonse flew a few inches off the seat before he banged his head against Edward's.
Colorful stars danced in front of his eyes and he muttered several curse words under his breath while holding his aching skull with both hands. On the seat directly oppsite, Alfons Heidreich held the edge of the leather seat in a death grip, his teeth clenched and his face unnaturally pale. The speed at which the car hurtled along was bad enough, but the shaking was giving him motion sickness. Alfons swallowed hard and fought back the urge to vomit but he couldn't take much more of this. At least he hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so he wouldn't have much to lose if he tossed his cookies now.
Alphonse had woken him up before dawn and told him he had to get dressed because they were being moved. The streets outside were alive with the rumbling of trucks and tanks and activity only increased in volume as the sun peeped over the eastern horizon. He'd spashed water on his face and jammed blueprints into two large leather cylinders, suffering several paper cuts in his haste. Alphonse left the connecting door open and when he saw his caretaker dresssing the Puppet, Heidreich called out in English "What is the hurry Alphonse?"
Barely had the words left his mouth when the door to his room burst open to reveal Sergeant Braun and two grim-faced soldiers holding rifles. "Mach schnell!" [Make speed!] the big man shouted before he grabbed Alfon's left wrist and clicked a handcuff closed around it.
"Hey!" Alfons yelled in angry surprise before his other wrist was also cuffed. Braun always made the cuffs too tight, he would have furrows dug into the flesh by the time they were finaly removed. The two soldiers grabbed Alfons by each arm and hustled him out of the room at a swift jog. "My blueprints!" he twisted his neck and tried to look back.
"I have them, Rocketeer, don't you worry! Just get moving!" the Sergeant ordered, so Alfons concentrated on keeping up with his escorts without his feet getting tangled up.
He was practically tossed head first into the back of an open air staff car and he'd barely gotten himself back upright on his seat before Alphonse entered the vehicle, his hand under the Puppet's left elbow. Sergeant Braun tossed his containers of blueprints and some other bags into the trunnk, slammed it shut and banged a meaty hand on the metal. "GO!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
An engine roared and wheels spun until they caught and the car leaped forward so fast both Alphonse and the Puppet were knocked off their feet. Both bounced on their seats and very nearly out of the car altogether. After just a week in New Optain, they were on their way to East City in a hurry.
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"Where is his collar and leash!?" a hard-faced man demanded after the car slewed to a stop in front of a hotel in East Citiys historic district. The man rattled the question so fast in German, Alphonse didn't understand at first and he received a brutal slap which made his ears ring.
"Lieutenant Hess wants the Puppet collared and leashed. They're in this bag, so get them on quickly!" Braun shoved a leather valise into Alphonse's arms.
His left cheek stil burning, Alphonse set it on the car fender, opened it and rummaged around before he found the two pieces of leather. He put the collar around Edward's neck and buckled it with great reluctance, then snapped on the leash. Hess snatched it from Alphonse's hands so fast the skin was reddened. He tugged hard on it.
"Stand up!" Hess ordered and Edward did so, his back bowed slightly from the pressure Hess exerted on the leash. "Come here!" He began to climb out of the car, but Hess was too impatient and yanked even harder, causing Edward to stumble and fall to his knees on the concrete. Without thinking, Alphonse leapt forward and put one hand under Edward's elbow to help him back to his feet. He turned his head and glared at Hess for a heartbeat befjore he remembered he wasn't to look the Thulists right in the eye. He dropped his gaze to the ground and stood very still, his heart hammering.
The fingers of Hess's free hand twitched towards the holstered gun on hsi left hip, as if he was considering shooting the boy for his temerity. Eventually he settled for just snorting. "COME!" he jerked hard on the leash and Edward followed obediently, but Hess suddenly stopped and addressed Braun.
"Sergeant! Have that boy flogged!" Then he turned smartly on his heel and walked away, pulling the Puppet behind him.
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Half an hour later, Alphonse lay face down and weeping in pain on the tiled floor of an inner courtyard. The Thulists had taken over one of the best hotels in East City, assigning the Rocketeer, the Puppet and their Caretaker to adjoining rooms on the fifth floor. But first, two soldiers dragged Alphonse into this open space, stripped him to the waist and then held him down over a round concrete table. A third soldierr rolled up his sleeves and put all his strength into flogging Alphonse with a leather whip. Sixteen lashes in all, one for each year of his life. He'd bitten his lips and refused to scream until the eighth lash, and he was barely conscious after the twelveth.
He woke up with a cry of pain after a bucket of cold water was thrown against his bleeding back and the flogging continued. Just four more lashes, Alphonse thought. If Brother could handle the pain of automail, I can be brave too. But it took everything he had to stay conscious and his teeth shredded the tender skin of his lip until it bled, lines of red snaking down his chin and dripping on the tiles.
The soldiers released him and he slumped to the ground before pitching over on one side and finally turning face first. His back burned like fire and the pain was inescapable, taking a deep breath just made him want to scream. So Alphonse tried to breathe shallowly, but the pain persisted, making him exhale in soft moans like a dying animal. Even the slightest movement of air hurt the cuts and he nearly passed out when a breeze struck up. It dried the sweat on his face, but made the pain pulse like white lights behind his closed eyes. Only peripherally was he aware of someone standing next to him. He slowly, very slowly turned his head to his left and opened his eyes. A pair of scuffed brown shoes badly in need of polishing were planted next to his head. Alphonse shifted his gaze upward to see blue eyes staring down out of a mask of horror mixed with pity and concern.
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Alfons Heidreich felt sick to his stomach. How could one country nuture people capable of great beauty alongside those capable of such brutality? This was not the rational German mind, instead this was madness at it's most illogical. Sergeant Braun told him the Caretaker was "only" a Shambalan, a sub-human being fit only to serve the Aryan "Master race", but Alfons refused to countenance it. The Caretaker, his doppelganger, was his friend. He was fully human, intelligent and kind, with desires and dreams like Heidreich had. Hadn't he learned to speak tolerable German in less than a week? This ability to speak a foreign language that quickly proved the Thulists underestimated him.
Alphonse Rockbell didn't deserve to be treated like this.
"Can you stand up?" Alphonse groaned at the thought of moving. But he cautiously nodded his assent before he raised slowly up to his hands and knees.
Heidreich knelt down and awkwardly put his arms around Alphonse's body, trying not to touch the bloody lash marks. He turned parallel and tried to put Alphonse's left arm over his shoulder, but that proved to be a mistake when the boy uttered a scream which he quickly bit back. "Put it around my waist , Alphonse." Heidreich waved his right hand around for a moment before he settled for just clenching the waistband of Alphonse's pants in his fist. He took one small step forward and stopped, waiting for Alphonse to move. He finally did with a sort of shuffle because bending his knees caused certain muscles in his back to shift, which moved the lash-torn skin and...
It seemed to take forever for the two of them to get from the courtyard to the main hotel lobby. The staff was going about it's business, but frowns and glares radiated from faces stiff with anger and resentment. Heidreich knew they hated him too even if he didn't have a gun,he was an invader and unwanted. But he approached the concierge anyway, a tall dignified man with thick salt and pepper hair and goatee. "Excuse me, please. He needs a doctor badly, could you please contact one?" The man didn't respond for a moment while he scowled at Heidreich, then his head moved in a barely preceptible nod before he spun sharply on one heel and walked away.
A dark haired bellboy wearing glasses and dressed in a smart red jacket and black pants approached with a wheeled chair. Alphonse settled gratefully in it, perching on the front edge because lounging against the back was out of the question. The muscles of Heidreich's right shoulder were going numb and he massaged it with his left hand after he set his burden down. The bellboy mumured "Come this way, sir" as he got behind the chair and pushed it across the marble floored lobby to a door made of graceful curlicues of brass set into a paneled wall. It led to an elevator and the bellboy pushed the outer brass door, and then an inner door of softly glowing wood open. He reclosed the doors after they were inside, and produced a key attached to a long gold chain from one coat pocket and inserted it into a control panel, before he pushed a lever and the elevator began to move.
The trio all faced the doors, none of them speaking or looking at each other while the elevator rose smoothly to the fifth floor. The bellboy pulled the handle back and opened the doors, but allowed Heidrech to exit first before following him with the chair. He apparently had a master key to all the rooms because he produced a large skeleton key of silver colored metal from a pants pocket and inserted it into the keyhole of Room Five-ten. Again he let Heidreich pass first through the door before he wheeled the chair next to the closest bed and supported Alphonse. The boy got slowly out of the chair and crawled forward to lay face-down on the velour coverlet. Heidreich didn't have any money to tip the bellboy so he just nodded and mumbled "thank you very much."
The corners of the bellboy's lips quirked upward briefly before his face resumed its polite mask. He bowed to Heidrech, then whirled the chair around and left the room. "Alphobnse, is there anything I can do?" Alphonse's only answer was a low groan. He could have been saying "No", but he also could have been groaning in pain. Heidreich could fix a broken rocket engine, but he felt so helpless in the face of his friend's agony. Not sure what to do, he entered the bathroom and rummaged through a cabinet underneath the sink, where he found a metal basin. He filled it with hot water, then collected a washcloth and some towels before returning to the main room.
A knock sounded on the door and he called out "Come in" while setting the basin on the bedside table. The door swung open and a middle aged man with unruly black hair, as if he'd just rolled out of bed, entered the room. His hair was shot through with grey and his mouth and eyes were bracketed with deep lines. Even his rumbpled and none too clean clothes looked tired. A scuffed leather case which had seen better days was clutched in his right hand. He nodded as if in approval at Heidreich's preparations.
"Do you speak Amestrian?"
"Ames- oh, you mean English?" Heidreich stammered in his gratitude to the doctor.
"English?"
"That is what the language is called in my world," Heidreich hastened to explain, he felt very awkward in his presence.
"Aren't you with the Thulists? the doctor cocked his head and spoke in a sly voice, Heidreich had the sense the man was pumping him for information, but maybe it was just his imagination. He grinned and ruffled the hair on the back of his head self consciously.
"Um, not exactly. You see, I invented the rockets they used, but I didn't think they'd use them to invade another world. They took me prisoner when I objected. Um -" he hesitated and stuck out his right hand. To his surprise, the man transferred the bag to his left hand before taking hold of Heidreich's and shaking it. "My name is Alfons Heidreich, I'm, uh - very glad you came, my friend is in a lot of pain."
Heidreich didn't know why he was babbling so much, nor even why he was telling a complete stranger these things. Just his nerves, he assumed and decided not to worry about it.
"I can see that," the doctor's voice was wry as if he'd seen it all and nothing fazed him. He bent to inspect the lash marks on Alphonse's back and the lines on his face deepened into tiny ravines. "What the hell? Was he WHIPPED!?"
"Yes, he was."
"For WHAT!? He's just a kid!"
"He gave Lieutenant Hess a very dirty look, because, ah, Hess was treating the Puppet roughly."
The doctor shook his head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. Well, lets get started on relieving his pain, does the sight of blood bother you? No? Good." He set his bag on the bed, opened it and took out a stethoscope, a bottle of clear liquid and a syringe. "By the way, my name is Knox, Dr. Knox."
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Knox was finished barely a quarter of an hour later. He gave Alphonse an injection of morphine so Heidreich could dab up the clotted blood with the wet washcloth and dry off the moisture with towels, without the boy screaming in pain. Then he swabbed an antibiotic creme over the wounds and lightly bandaged them. Alphonse was drowsy, blinking his eyes in an effort to stay awake, but gradually losing the battle. Dr. Knox replaced his instruments and closed the bag with a loud snap. "He'll sleep the rest of the night and I'll come tomorrow morning to change the bandages. I'll also bring some morphine in pill form for him."
He began to walk towards the door, but stopped and looked straight at Heidreich, "You ever think about being a nurse? You've got a talent for caring for people."
Heidreich blinked in surprise at the question. A NURSE!? Heaven forbid! He preferred to be wrist deep in machine oil, not blood. He finally found his voice and winced inwardly at the squeak in it, "No, I'm actually not very good with people. So I'm an engineer!"
"Pity, that's a great pity," Dr. Knox shook his head but he was smiling. "You'd make a great nurse."
He opened the door, walked through and closed it behind him with a firm bang. The doctor had a larger than life presence and the room seemed unnaturally quiet now. Heidreich was left alone with his thoughts and he just sat on the edge of Alphonse's bed for a moment before he got up and poured the basin of now lukewarm and reddish water down the bathroom sink. He then gathered up and stuffed the bloody washcloth and towels into a laundry hamper. Sunlight slanted sharply through a south window, telling Heidreich the day was well advanced. They'd missed breakfast and now lunch. His stomach growled loudly as if reminding him how empty it was.
Heidreich suddenly remembered his blueprints, he hoped Braun had brought them upstairs. There was a door at the far end of the main room, and he opened to find himself in another room of the same size and layout: tiny sitting area, a table in a nook by a window and two beds. The long leather cases containing his blueprints rested on one of the two beds in the room, a leather valise which he knew held some clothes and few toiletries was at its foot. He busied himself in putting them away either into the drawers of a dresser made of dark wood, or onto the sink vanity in the bathroom. All while he worked, he'd been conscious of dull thuds sounding since he'd entered the room. Now he looked out the window to see a cloiud of black smoke billow up into the sky. It had been a clear blue that morning, but the sky had become overcast, not with clouds, but with smoke rising from dozens of locations all around East City.
So that's why Hess took the Puppet, he sat on the edge of one bed and mused as he stared out at East City. They wanted him for battle. A squirming bolt of blue lightning shot up from street level just then a few miles away, and another loud thud sounded, muffled by the thick walls of the hotel. Something big was under attack, he saw black smoke punctuated by flames rising, more explosions sounded and a shuddering roar loud enough to shake the floor resounded. A part of that something had just collapsed and he remembered the twisted, animalistic face of the Puppet from that morning in Lior. Heidreich had no doubt he was responsible for it.
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Not until dusk darkened the eastern sky did he hear footsteps approaching in the hall outside. someone knocked loudly on the door and announced "Dinner!" in a cheery voice. Heidreich opened the door and a stout man with short reddish hair wheeled in a large wooden cart loaded with china plates under silver covers. The stranger, dressed in a stained white coat and black trousers looked over at Alphonse who lay unmoving and snoring, on his stomach. He looked at Heidreich before jerking one thumb over his shoulder. "What happened to him?"
"He was flogged for glaring at an officer."
The man did a double take and managed to look shocked, "No shit?" Tough army you got here, bub."
Heidreich laughed harshly in reply. "It's not my army. I'm just their prisoner. Hell, I don't even recognize my fellow Germans any more."
The man nodded, as if sagely before he laughed and clapped Heidreich so hard on the back he was nearly knocked to his knees. "It's a weird world, ain't it? Eat hearty now before it all gets cold!"
He turned away and walked to the door, then opened it and gave Heidreich a sketchy wave before he re-closed it with a bang. Once he was sure the strange man was gone, Heidreich lifted each cover one by one to reveal a small feast: pork chops, beefsteak, glazed carrots, new peas in butter sauce, mashed potatoes, rich brown gravy, roast turkey, creamed spinach, and whole kernal corn. A pile of three plates, plus a box of silverware, a jug of water and three glasses sat on the cart's lower shelf. Heidreich transferred all of the plates to the square wooden table set up in the nook beforehe took one empty plate and a fork and helped himself to a little of everything.
He was very hungry, starving even and he ate every scrap on the plate, washing the food down with plenty of water. He wished he could have had some beer instead, a chilled Bavarian lager would have been most welcome about now. If the kitchen steward returned, he would have to ask if Amestrians brewed beer. Heidreich, you idiot, of course they do! He mentally chided himself. Any civilized country has breweries.
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Not long after darkness fell, Braun and two soldiers returned with the Puppet, the latter pair dragging his limp body between them. The Sergeant looked at Alphonse and shook his head while the soldiers dumped the thin blond onto the bed. Heidreich sat at the table and watched, but went over to speak with Braun after the soldiers left. "If the Caretaker is hurt, who will look after the Puppet?
The Puppet sprawled on the bed, looking absolutely exhausted His eyes were closed and he breathed in short gasps as if he'd been running for miles. His skin, hair and clothes were streaked with dirt, his clothes torn and stained. "You will have to, Heidreich" Braun growled and the younger man recoiled as if in shock. Care for the murderer of his friends?! NEVER!
Braun jerked his head towards the bathroom. "Run a bath and I'll carry him in for you."
Heidreich had no choice but to obey. He went and ran a bath of warm water in the tub and set out towels and a washcloth. A few minutes later, Braun brought in the Puppet who lay slumped over his shoulder like a wet sock. The Sergeant had already taken off his shoes and pants. Together they removed the rest of his clothes before Braun lowered him into the water which immdiately turned black. If Braun hadn't been there, Heidreich would barely have hesitated before he pushed the Puppet's head under the water and held it there until he drowned.
But now he obediently wet a washcloth, rubbed soap on it and then scrubbed the Puppet's face. The skin underneath the dirt was very pale, with a grey undertone to it. Dark purple circles made the skin around his eyes lookd bruised. Heidreich got a glass from on the sink and used it to wet the Puppet's hair, he lathered it with shampoo and rinsed three times before the blond hair looked clean. The Puppet woke up slightly, and he watched them with narrowed yellow eyes. But he made no move except for weak attempts to grab the soap and put it into his mouth.
"He's hungry," Braun grunted with satisfaction. "That's a good sign. After he collapsed for the third time, I thought Eckart had killed him for sure. Mengele is coming next week to examine the Puppet and I expect there will be some 'words' between the two for the way she's been treating him. Because he doesn't react normally, it's easy to treat him like just another machine. But he's mortal, just like us and has his limits."
By the time they finished with the bath, the Puppet was able to stand, if a bit shakily. He climbed out of the tub with Braun's help and stood quietly while his hair and body were toweled dry. Heidreich was sent to rummage in the bags which stood haphazardly about the room to find pajamas. They led him to the wooden table once he was dressed and sat him down. To Heidreich's relief, Braun fed the Puppet after first cutting some beefsteak into small pieces. He put one piece at a time into his mouth and watched him chew like an automotan. "He's exhausted and his body needs protein" was his reasoning for feeding the Puppet mostly meat. Although he did get some glazed carrots into him before the blond head finally slumped until chin touched chest.
"He should have another dose of the Puppetmaster drug, but he's fallen asleep and it's not worth waking him up." Braun said between bites as he ate the remaining food. Heidreich realized while he was cooling his heels at the hotel, Sergeant Braun had been in the thick of battle all day and he was probably starving, a pity the food was probably cold by now. The Puppet had been put to bed and he lay on his back, breathing deeply and evenly, a bomb going off in the hall wouldn't have wakened him. Heidreich pulled the covers up to the Puppet's chin and resisted the urge to smother him with one of the pillows.
"You have to go to your room now, Rocketeer." Heidreich knew better than to argue with Sergeant Braun who could have snapped him in half like a dry twig. He heard a key turn in the lock once the door closed and he suddenly felt so weary as if he'd been fighting too. He washed his face and cleaned his teeth before stripping off his clothes and pulling on his pajamas. He realized the overhead light was still on after he crawled into bed, and half decided to leave it on. But after experimenting with some buttons built into the nightstand, he found one which turned the light off.
Heidreich smiled to himself in the darkness. Well, this WAS a luxury hotel.
He laid back with his hands behind his back and watched the glow of distant fires through the half-closed curtains. The reflection of reddish colors danced upon the opposite wall, like the anger in his heart. Just on the other side of that door was the man he wanted to kill, and Alphonse wasn't in any shape to stop him from exacting vengeance. Heidreich sighed, closed his eyes and drifted off into an indifferent slumber.
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Heidreich woke up late the next morning to the buzz of voices in the next room. He sat up and rubbed sleep out of his eyes before looking out the window. The sky was a perfect periwinkle blue with only a few puffy clouds riding high. Trickles of grey smoke still rose from the city, but it looked almost peaceful now. In the near distance was the half ruined shell of the building he'd seen under attack yesterday. A green banner bearing the strange sigil of Amestris hung from the front of it, but as Heidreich watched, the banner suddenly detached from the roof and floated down. Almost before it vanished from sight behind other buildings, figures on the roof unrolled a new banner - black, red and white - a gigantic swastika flowed over the buildings facade.
East City had fallen.
The connecting door popped open and another man in the uniform of a kitchen steward poked his head in. This man was shorter, but thinner, with sunken cheeks and grey hair. "Breakfast is served," he announced in a dignified voice before retreating like a turtles head into its shell. Heidreich washed and dressed quickly before following. He was glad to see Alphonse was awake, and propped up on one elbow while eating bacon and eggs from a plate set before him.
"Good morning, Hei!" his voice sounded brighter as he waved his fork in the air, but pain was hiding just behind his eyes. Heidreich still felt his heart lift a bit and he returned the greeting.
Heidreich looked over at the Puppet who was curled into a fetal position on his left side, and he looked to be in a deep sleep. His eyelids were still shadowed and he decided not to wake him until after he'd eaten his own breakfast.
He'd finishied eating half an hour later and the trio were alone in the room. Dr. Knox had kept his promise about the morphine pills. He'd come in to change Alphonse's bandages, a tense affair of gritted teeth. Alphonse was trying to be brave, but little grunts of pain escaped from between his scabbed lips. He was pale and sweating after the new bandages were applied, but had the manners to offer Dr. Knox breakfast. But the doctor just set down a squat brown bottle, grabbed a piece of buttered toast and hurried off as he munched it. Alphonse took two of the pills before laying back down and he was already dozing off, eyelids flickering over soft brown eyes.
He would soon be fast asleep and Heidreich could finally avenge the deaths of his colleagues.
"Alfons?" The boy asked in a breathy voice soft with sleep. "Can I trust you with a secret, Alfons?"
Heidreich's heart began to thud in his chest. He could feel his windpipe constricting and his next breath came out with a faint wheeze. So he just nodded because he didn't think he could speak.
"I lied to you, Alfons. My last name isn't Rockbell, it's Elric. Alphonse Elric."
Heidreich's heart sank, right down to the soles of his feet it seemed.
"The Puppet - Edward, he is..." the boy paused briefly when a spasm of pain hit, he continued speaking after it passed.."...my older brother."
The engineer hung his head. His soul still cried out for vengeance, but he couldn't kill the Puppet. Not now. Not ever.
Heidreich swallowed hard and nodded. "We are friends, Alphonse. I will keep your secret."
Author's note: Did everyone recognize the bellboy and the two kitchen stewards? I also used two manga-only characters. First Lieutenant-General Raven, who hopefully isn't the venal and arrogant character he was at Briggs Fortress. Secondly, Dr. Knox, who saw action in Ishbal with Mustang; he later helps the Flame Alchemist save Sgt Maria Ross, and then saves the life of Ran Fan after she's injured by Wrath. (Plus he keeps her and Mei-Chan from killing each other under his roof). He's also tortured by the things he did in Ishbal, but not to the point Dr. Marcoh is.