The Waters of Lethe

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, I just like to play around in its world and annoy the canon characters for awhile

Warnings: violence and death, perhaps sex

Beta: Took-baggins

Chapter 74: On Tenterhooks (Am Spannung)

Alfons Heidreich shook a pill out of the brown glass bottle and he stared at it laying in the palm of his hand as if it was a poisonous spider about to pill looked utterly harmless and insignificant at first glance, just a small white disk bisected by a score line right through the middle. If a person didn't know what it was, it would have been mistaken for a more ordinary dose of beneficial medicine.

But this was Puppetmaster, a concoction that robbed a young man of his will to the extent he performed any task his "master" ordered him to. Horrible things that would have revolted Edward Elric had he any conscious memory of those acts.

If Heidreich had his way, he would tip the entire contents of the bottle down the toilet and flush the pills away, all of them. Edward would have to come out of the drug "cold turkey" and suffer withdrawal pains as they came.

Like his friends and colleagues had suffered in their last moments in that hellish circle etched upon the stone floor. A Nazi film crew had immortalized the entire sequence of events onto celluloid, and one day Eckart had insisted he and Alphonse watch it alongside the senior Thule Society staff. No one, not even the projectionist moved after the film had finished. When the film leader ran out, it flapped uselessly on the reel, only the machines low hum sounded in the now silent room. People were absolutely stunned by the power of the alchemic reaction, their senses overpowered by the sight of the Gate, captured on experimental color film. The recorded screams of the sacrifices as those horrible black snake-like arms took them left most of the audience numb, although a few men were overcome to the point they broke down in ragged sobs.

After he and Alphonse were released, they went out into the sunlit hotel courtyard together. It was the middle of the day and the solar rays beat down hot and airless, but neither of them could seem to get warm. Alphonse rubbed his hands up and down his arms, but he couldn't stop shivering and his teeth chattered for a full five minutes before he could say anything without stuttering. He didn't speak much, except to repeat several times: "Brother wouldn't do that. He would DIE first."

As if he was trying to convince not Heidreich, but himself.

Once Heidreich wanted nothing more than to kill the Puppet and his soul still cried out for justice in the middle of the night after he woke up from nightmares of those who died in the array. He would sit trembling and sobbing on the bed while sweat poured down his face and soaked his pajamas through. Those were the nights Heidreich abandoned any more thoughts of sleep. He dressed hastily and threw himself into his work, his pen scratching over sheet after sheet, filling them with drawings of rockets and formulae for new fuel mixtures. He named them after his dead friends in an effort to assuage his guilt.

Sleep would eventually come calling and the staff person who brought their meals, or Dr. Knox would find him slumped over in his chair, breathing deeply and drooling slightly over his papers. He'd wake up muzzily and feel strangely out of sorts because the unnatural position usually left him with a stiff neck and shoulders. Plus the papers his head was pillowed on were crinkled and damp, the ink smudged to the point of illegibility

"Alfons? Don't forget, break the pill in half, and then half again," Alphonse's voice had an anxious tone to it and Heidreich turned slightly to favor his doppelganger with a sour look. He knew Alphonse knew Edward's role in the deaths of his friends, but he probably didn't realize just how close Heidreich had been to killing Edward.

"Alfons? Can I trust you with a secret?"

Of course Alphonse could trust him, but it didn't make the situation any easier to bear.

After two weeks of bed rest, Alphonse's wounds had healed enough for him to get up and take care of his own basic needs. But he still had to move slowly and carefully, any sudden gestures would wring soft grunts of pain from between the boy's lips.

Fully dressed and lying on his side in bed, Alphonse directed Heidreich in Edward's care. On this morning, Edward sat quietly on the other bed in the room while his hair was brushed and pulled back into a ponytail. Last of all, Heidreich snapped the pill in half, and then half again before he placed the pill on Edward's tongue and held up a glass of water for him to drink and swallow. Edward's face remained blank, but Heidreich detected an occasional flash of consciousness behind those staring yellow eyes. The drugs grip was weakening slowly but surely.

"He looks very nice, Alfons," Alphonse nervously chewed the edge of one thumb for he was curiously on edge today. If he noticed Edward was regaining his senses would the Thulists also realize this? Possibly not, for "shambalans" were considered barely human and usually ignored. But this Dr. Mengele was an unknown quantity; he might be sharper than the others and know something was up. Nothing frightened Alphonse more than the scenario of Edward put so deeply under the Puppetmasters spell he would never come out.

He stiffened when someone knocked on the door outside, and again when it swung open even before he had time to call out "Come in!" He threw a nervous glance over to Heidreich and was glad to see he'd stowed the pill fragments in his pocket. He looked back towards the door and was suddenly unable to breathe.

Dr. Mengele was here.

He was a very handsome young man with dark brown hair and blue eyes,who stood tall and trim in his uniform, the medical bag he carried the only incongrous note. But looks were just on the surface, Mengele's face had a certain stiffness to it, and those eyes were cold and calculating. Rather like a snake hypnotizing its prey, judging when the time was right to strike and Alphonse suddenly trembled because he felt cold all over.

"H-H-Ha-hallo, Dr. Mengele," he ventured and mentally cursed because his voice shook so hard and his heart beat double time in his chest with enough force to make the blood roar in his ears. He ventured a quick glance over to Heidreich and saw the other boy had gone deathly pale.

Mengele's lips quivered, almost, but not quite smiling, but when he actually frowned Alphonse thought he would die of fright right then and there. 'And who are you, young man? Your German is good enough, but the accent is strange, rather like the Puppet's voice used to be."

Alphonse gathered the tattered remnants of his courage together and managed to force out, "My name is Alphonse Rockbell, I'm his caretaker - uh," he hastened to point at Heidreich before his nerve failed completely. "And his, the Rocketeer's too."

Mengele nodded once as if to acknowledge Heidreich's presence, but his expression was unreadable as he set his medical bag down on Alphonse's bed, opened it and pulled out a stethoscope. He nestled the rubber ends into his ears, bent down to undo the top five buttons of Edward's shirt before he placed the cone-shaped piece of metal against the younger man's chest to listen.

He didn't speak again until he ordered Edward "Breathe deeply!" and Edward obeyed without a moment's hesitation. This made Alphonse wonder just how aware his brother was of Mengele's presence or if he even realized his fate depended on how perceptive the doctor was. He couldn't wait until Edward's mind was free and they could talk together, his eyes filled with tears and one ran down his cheek and he sloppily brushed it away. Alphonse quickly rolled onto his stomach, but too late, Mengele had noticed the movement.

"Why are you crying, boy?"

"My back hurts." Alphonse's voice was muffled by his pillow which hid the shakiness in it, but he nearly screamed when weight settled onto the bed and cold fingers pulled his shirt up. He could feel Mengele's gaze burning through his skin and he would not have been surprised if all his scars had burst open and poured blood. Mengele's touch, as he examined the wounds, was very gentle, but it still made his skin crawl. What the doctor had said, the accent is strange, like the Puppet's used to be, made Alphonse feel rather strange all over at the notion Mengele may have been the last person to hear Edward speak before the drug finally silenced him.

What did you say to him, Brother? It was a rhetorical question and Alphonse answered himself. Probably something along the line of 'go to hell!'. He'd never said anything worse than "Dammit!" when they were growing up,but knowing Edward's temperament, Alphonse felt sure he'd learned harsher words in six years.

Alphonse felt his shirt pulled back down, he was trembling all over due to the stress and suddenly realized his teeth were tightly clenched. It took conscious effort to relax his jaws and the muscles ached from the strain.

"Do you have pills for the pain?"

"Yes, I just took two, but they haven't taken effect yet."

He hoped Dr. Knox wouldn't come in while Mengele was still here. Although Heidreich was the only one who knew Alphonse was cutting the Puppetmaster dosage, Knox might notice Edward was regaining his self-awareness and let something slip to the German doctor. That would be a disaster for him because his punishment would certainly be worse than just sixteen lashes.

Both he and Heidreich were greatly relieved when Mengele shifted back to the other bed and returned to examining Edward. Heidreich was on tenterhooks as well as he watched Mengele shine a penlight into the Puppet's eyes and he felt even more nervous after the doctor frowned again, and muttered under his breath. "His pupils are reacting too quickly." Just then, a knock sounded softly on the door, it opened after Mengele called out over one shoulder, "Come in!"

It was Dietlinde Eckart and a scowl automatically planted itself on Heidreich's face. But he couldn't help himself and shoved his hands into his pants pockets so she wouldn't see he'd balled them into fists. He'd been a fool all this time for wanting to kill the Puppet when Eckart should have been his real target. But she was too well protected by layers of bodyguards, and two enormous men with the build of two legged bulldogs now stood just inside the door. He could see the outlines of gun holsters underneath their jackets; they would shoot him dead without second thoughts if he attempted to assault her. Although they were so muscular, they probably wouldn't need the guns, they could just tear him apart, limb from limb.

Eckart looked upon Edward with a fond smile and purred like a cat licking cream off its paws, "How soon will my Puppet be ready to fight again, Dr. Mengele?" Her lips curved into a gentle smile which didn't reach her brown eyes. Mengele was not her friend and it was his job to give her the answer that she wanted to hear, not the answer he should tell her.

But he didn't and the smile wavered, fighting to cling to her face.

"The Puppet hasn't suffered any lingering effects from his collapse, but he is still very tired and needs another week of rest. It's my professional opinion the physical stress is weakening the effectiveness of the drug, so you will have to rely on the troops, tanks and planes until he's back to full strength. I understand Hitler has granted you fresh reinforcements, yes?"

Eckart was positively tight-lipped now, her body language stiff as a two by four. "Yes, yes, I can do that." She waved impatiently in the air as if the admission smelled bad and she wanted to disperse it.

"I've been working on a new and improved version of Puppetmaster." He smiled as if to sweeten the offer. "It's not quite ready but I should have a small supply of pills ready before I come back in a week to examine him again. This new version will act more quickly; also it will be longer lasting, so he will need only one dose each day. Plus I've discovered away to formulate some essential vitamins into the drug, to give him extra energy."

Eckart's smile returned, crawling a bit lopsided across her face at first before it gained enough strength to beam brighter than before. But Heidreich noticed it still failed to warm her brown eyes which remained flinty and calculating. His fingernails dug hard into his palms, scoring the flesh with tiny red crescents. "That is excellent new, Herr Doctor, please convey my thanks to the Fuhrer after you return to Germany. I confess I miss summer in Berlin."

"Summer, Fraulein?" Mengele cocked his head and smiled; an evil little facial rictus. "You will be interested to know about the time difference, it's only the summer of 1921 here, but October of 1936 in our world. Scientists all over Germany are very interested in studying this phenomenon, and they are petitioning Hitler for permission to come through the portal and do research. It's very exciting in a way, wouldn't you agree?"

Eckart didn't agree, but the purr had returned to her voice, so it was easy to lie and say this was exciting. First, she he would conquer this world, this Shambala and only when it was subdued would she would allow the scientists to come and study to their hearts content. But she would discover the secrets of alchemy, the wisdom of the ancient Aryan race first and use it to set herself up as ruler. She would be the Shambalans liege, their Queen, and even Hitler himself would have to show her respect.

"You will have to tell me more over lunch, Dr. Mengele. First I shall give you a little tour of East City, yes, it's a horrible name and I plan to re-name every city, town and village in Amestris. Even the country itself shall have a new name, something honoring our Fuhrer, of course." Eckart turned on one heel, expecting Mengele to follow, and he did so with a bemused expression fixed upon his handsome face. The bodyguards followed both of them out, the door slammed and the three were alone again.

The pain pills were taking effect and Alphonse was almost completely asleep, so Heidreich removed Edward's hair tie and urged him to lie down and sleep as well. Then he returned to his room and his plans for new rockets, closing the connecting door softly behind him.

Alphonse breathed deep and even, but Edward was wide awake and half aware. He'd snapped his eyes open almost as soon as he heard the gentle snick of Heidreich's door closing. The drug's hold was very loose on him now and he often felt like a swimmer hovering just under the waters surface, watching events unfold on the other side of a thin, translucent curtain. Things were a bit blurred yet they occasionally switched into sharp focus, like he was turning a radio dial and a station would suddenly burst clear through a layer of static.

Like today when he realized Josef Mengele was just inches away from him, easily within range of his fists. He'd actually balled up his right hand so tightly the artificial tendons creaked, but then the drug kicked in and pulled him away into the fog just in time. He'd blinked at the light shone into his eyes, but the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat like bones and he thought he would choke on them.

Now he stared at the white ceiling decorated with plaster flowers in high relief, he thought he recognized the old Imperial Seal of Amestris, but he might be just imagining it. He shifted in the bed and looked over at the figure sleeping in the bed next to him, had the person there just muttered "Brother", or was he just imagining that too?

Edward Elric was caught at the crossroads of dreams and reality, not fully awake or asleep. Hesitant feet turned first one way, and then the other, not sure of which road to take. Then something in his brain went click and he took a few stumbling steps towards reality as more of the ice in his subconscious thawed under the warming sun.

His eyes closed and he fell into an exhausted slumber. Edward went into a dream soon after and he twitched, moaned, and finally rolled over, facing the other bed. His lips parted and formed words; he spoke a few very softly before his mind progressed to deeper sleep.

Alphonse woke up a moment later, brown eyes stupid with sleep blinking rapidly. He could have sworn he just heard Edward calling his name. But his brother was asleep, curled into a fetal position and Alphonse watched his sides rising and falling in a regular rhythm. He must have dreamt it, so he closed his eyes and surrendered to sleep again.