Chapter 3 - Leaving Germany

There is a change in language spoken so,

"Speech" = German

"Italic Speech" = English

I do now own anything!

January 1943

"So, Americans are coming to help?" I whispered as we pushed through the crowd in the train station. No matter which world I was in, I could not seem to escape trains and their overcrowded stations, even when we were at a border town between Germany and… France, was it?

Dr. Erskine nodded stiffly, scanning the crowd. Not only could I sense he was nervous, he looked it as well. I nudged him, making him look down at me quickly. "Try to relax a bit, will you?" I hissed, keeping a smile on my face. "Breathe a bit."

"Edward –"

"I know what's at stake but you're not doing a good job at blending in right now. Trust me."

He hesitated a moment before breathing deeply and exhaling, letting his shoulders sag.

I looked up at him, nodding and actually smiling. "That's better."

We continued to push through the crowd and, as Dr. Erskine concentrated on finding our contacts, I was just attempting to avoid getting elbowed or plowed by luggage onto still healing wound.

"Excuse me, but do you happen to know which train goes to Volgelsheim?"

What the hell was that language? Dr. Erskine paused, glancing towards the woman before smiling. Oh, was this one of the Americans that were supposed to help us? She didn't look any different than any of the other women we passed: brown hair, brown eyes but she held herself in a way that reminded me of Lieutenant Hawkeye.

"Sorry, the earliest train leaves tomorrow at 11 o'clock," replied Dr. Erskine in the same language.

The woman smiled back, nodding her head. "Perfect, thank you."

"Is there time for tea, though?"

"Always." She answered. To what? I haven't the slightest idea! This barrier that just suddenly appeared because of the language had caught me completely off guard. Dr. Erskine did not mention this!

She turned around. Dr. Erskine glanced down at me and motioned for me to follow. I kept up with him and, after several steps, leaned slightly towards him and hissed, "What the hell did she say?"

I caught the slight surprise in his face before he answered. "Oh dear, I forgot that you may not understand English…"

"English?" I repeated. "Crap… You know you're going to have to teach…"

We suddenly came to a stop when two men stepped in front of us. The woman stopped, eyeing the two men cautiously as Dr. Erskine tensed next to her. I'm currently guessing these two aren't Americans as well…

"Dr. Erskine, if you would accompany us, please. We have some things to discuss," stated one of the men curtly.

Dr. Erskine hesitated, glancing towards the woman and then myself. "I am a tad busy at the moment, going for tea actually. Could it not wait?"

"No, it cannot," snapped the other one, reaching out to grab Dr. Erskine's arm.

The woman was faster though.

She lashed out, ensnaring the man's wrist in her grip and stared him down. "Now that's quite impolite. Where are your manners?"

The men sneered at her before the other pulled out a gun. Right, so I was correct about them not being the American help.

I kicked the one with the gun in the gut, pushing him back and making him double over in pain. Meanwhile, the woman twisted the other man's arm behind his back before kneeing him in the lower back.

"Time to go," she stated.

What does that mean!?

She took off to the right and Dr. Erskine followed. Oh! That's what it meant. I ran after them, weaving our way through the oblivious crowd.

"There!"

I spotted from the corner of my eye a man burst through the crowd, heading right for Dr. Erskine. I sprinted, bridging the gap and tackling him before he reached his target.

The moment we hit the ground, his elbow rammed into my stomach and pain erupted from my wound. I held back a cry of pain, trying to breathe deeply between jolts of pain.

"Get off, child!" growled the man, shoving me off of him with enough force that I rolled on the ground, stopping over a meter away.

Fuck me…

I pushed myself up, trying to ignore the pain. I spotted the assailant but not Dr. Erskine and the woman anywhere. The man also seemed to be looking for them as he scanned the crowd, slowly drawing out a gun.

I don't think so.

He wasn't paying attention to me as I came up behind him and kicked him on the side of his knee. He buckled, flailing his arms, just like I needed him to do. I grabbed one arm and I flipped the man over my shoulder, grasping the gun at the last moment. As he hit the ground, knocking the wind out of his lungs, I glanced at the gun and released the ammunition from its base.

Yeah, not only train stations… Guns as well are the same sadly.

I tossed the useless weapon away before I approached the man. He was so focused at struggling to push himself up that he didn't see me coming until I literally had a foot slammed into the back of his head, knocking him out cold on the concrete.

"Edward!"

Dr. Erskine was running in my direction with that woman. His eyes widened at he spotted the unconscious man. Even the woman showed a small sign of amazement but she hid it well.

Just like Hawkeye…

Stupid Gate…

"Edward, your wound."

I glanced down and lifted my jacket. The off-white shirt was beginning to soak through with blood. Damn it… Just when I thought I forgotten about the pain, it came back even stronger.

"We need to get going," I replied, covering the blood up with the jacket and putting pressure on the wound. "There may be more of them…"

The woman glanced at Dr. Erskine as he translated – I'm assuming her translated – before nodding, hopefully in agreement to the fact that there may be more out there.

She motioned for us to follow her and we headed down the street. She stopped next to a parked car and opened the door.

"Inside, gentlemen," she said, keeping her eyes peeled around her.

Dr. Erskine motioned for me to go first and I did, grimacing as my wound protested the awkward position I put it in. I flopped onto the furthest seat, breathing deeply as I put pressure back onto the wound.

Dr. Erskine slid in as well before the woman closed the door, got into the passenger side seat, and the driver pulled away from the curb.

"How is your wound, Edward?" asked Dr. Erskine, turning in his seat to face me.

"Been better," I breathed out, keeping the pressure on it.

"If the stitches –"

"Probably did," I cut in. "But we can't do shit about it in a moving vehicle."

Dr. Erskine stared at me for a moment before leaning forward, towards the woman. "How long before we arrive at our destination?"

She glanced back, eyeing me for a moment. "Fifteen minutes. Will he be alright?"

Dr. Erskine nodded. "In fifteen minutes, he should be."

Stupid language barrier…

Whatever time it took to get to wherever the hell we needed to go, it had been the longest I had felt in a while. I continued to put pressure on the wound on my side, my eyes squeezed shut, trying to block out the continuous throbbing.

All while trying to keep the images of how it happened out of my mind.

I hate to say it but it was near impossible for me… I still saw It – still saw Father. The fight. The anger that fueled me, having seen my brother's armour lay motionless on the ground. How the seal had broken. His soul…

GONE!

The punches I threw. The alchemy I used. They depleted the philosopher stone's strength.

Not enough though…

We both went in for the punch at the same time.

We both hit our marks.

While my fist went through his chest, his went through my side.

"Edward?"

I jerked, sitting up straighter, opening my eyes and blinking several times, trying to get those images out of my mind. The car had stopped. Dr. Erskine and the woman were both turned towards me, watching me carefully.

"We're here?" I asked, looking outside.

"Yes, and while Agent Carter makes sure the preparations are set, we need to bind that wound of yours," explained Dr. Erskine.

Agent Carter? The woman said something else to Dr. Erskine before leaving the car. What's an agent? Was that a name? And what the hell are we doing in the middle of a field?

"Lift your shirt, Edward," ordered Dr. Erskine gently, taking out a roll of gauze from a bag.

It took a moment but I did as he told me, biting back a groan as the fabric unstuck itself from the blood and skin. I peeked at the wound, biting back a groan at the sight: my stitches had pulled on one side, leaving a large gash on my skin.

Fucking great…

"Sit up, Edward."

I leaned forward, more pain shooting through my abdomen.

"Get it over with," I gritted out just before Dr. Erskine began wrapping the gauze around my stomach.

"Deep breaths, Edward. Deep breaths."

Easier said than done…

Helium. Hydrogen. Lithium. Beryllium. Boron. Carbon. Nitrogen. Oxygen. Fluorine. Neon

I faintly heard something from Dr. Erskine but I couldn't let my mind wander.

Sodium. Magnesium. Aluminium. Silicon. Phosphorus. Sulfur. Chlorine. Argon.

"You can stop now, Edward."

I opened my eyes to a smiling Dr. Erskine as he leaned back.

But I was confused. "Stop what?"

"The periodic table. I heard you muttering the elements under your breath. So far, they were all the same as here."

I breathed out, avoiding eye contact. I hadn't realized I was saying them out loud… "At least there's something the same," I muttered, pulling my shirt down and closing my jacket.

"Is he better?" The same woman from before had opened the door, asking a question.

Dr. Erskine nodded. "I've managed to stop the bleeding. Moving him should be fine now." He turned towards me, motioning to the woman. "This is Agent Peggy Carter, she'll be accompanying us to America." Agent is a title then? If not, this world has some strange names…

"Edward Elric, is it?"

I heard my name from her mouth so I nodded. "Nice to meet you?" I tried.

Dr. Erskine hopefully translated that to her to which she acknowledged, leaning back outside. "Shall we, gentlemen? We have a short time frame."

Dr. Erskine got out of the car and I followed, taking care not to aggravate my wound. We followed Agent Carter through the field, towards a farmhouse. A deserted one from the looks of the rotting boards and chipped paint.

This better not be a trap…

As we went around the barn, I readied myself for any foul play that… could…

That was…

The first and only thing I saw was a large metal contraption with bits of metal sticking out from each side and what I could only imagine were three propellers attached in the front. It was even larger than the tanks we had back in Amestris! What…? How…?

I grasped Dr. Erskine's sleeve, pulling him down slightly. "What the fuck is that thing?" I hissed.

He glanced at the metal contraption and then back at me before an amused smile spread across his face. "That, Edward, is an airplane."

I blinked, never having heard that word before.

It must have showed on my face because Dr. Erskine continued in an amused manner. "It flies."

"BULLSHIT!"

My exclamation caught the attention Agent Carter and some men – there were men going in and out of that thing – as they turned towards us, confusion written on their faces. Dr. Erskine smiled at them and said something in that other language. They seemed to buy whatever he said, everyone but Agent Carter: she stared at both of us with a calculating look before motioning for us to get into that metal flying machine.

Flying!

How the hell does that work?

I hesitantly followed Dr. Erskine into that metal thing, scanning the area quickly.

This thing is huge! And it flies?

The notion that this place was somewhat similar to Amestris just took a large step back: they closest thing we have that flies back home is a hot air balloon. This thing, though, I don't think it's hot air that lets it gain altitude: the metal would probably melt if you had the necessary heat to even try to elevate it!

Dr. Erskine pointed towards some seats and I sat down, him next to me. The men filtered in and out, shouting out… something. Orders? Witty banter? Meal orders?

I'll say it again: I hate this language barrier.

Agent Carter took a seat across from us and buckled herself in. Buckles. Those sound like a good idea. I found mine and imitated her. I felt a tad safer but I still wanted to know how this thing was going to get up in the air.

Dr. Erskine wasn't much help at the moment as he discussed something with two men, giving them a good laugh.

It wasn't until all the men had boarded and taken a seat that Dr. Erskine was free. However, I didn't have a chance to ask him my hundred questions when – what I can only imagine that's what they were – the engines to this 'airplane' started.

I glanced out the window next to me seeing the propellers begin to turn.

Those aren't going to help much with –

The idea of how this 'airplane' flew was sent to the back of my mind the moment we began moving, the sudden and jerky movements of this box of metal. Scratch that, when it started gaining altitude was when my mind was focused solely on not panicking.

I've been in vehicles of questionable sturdiness but this thing took the cake. The bumps we hit – which I can't even begin to wonder WHAT they were seeing at we were in the AIR – and the rocking of this thing were worse than anything I had ever been on.

And it hadn't even been five minutes!

"How –?" Another bump that jostled me in my seat. "How long of a trip is this?" I managed to ask evenly.

Fuck, I made the mistake of looking out the window. How fucking high do we need to be?!

"Several hours, Edward," replied Dr. Erskine.

He said I did but I'll deny it to others: my face did NOT pale at the idea of staying up in the air for HOURS in this stupid, rickety contraption!

I fiddled with my seat buckle, unsure of how I was going to last the trip. Trains, I can sleep in. They rarely derail and we aren't – fucking shit… I shouldn't have looked – KILOMETERS above the ground if ever they did fall off the tracks…

I need to keep my mind occupied.

I glanced around the interior of the airplane but there wasn't much in terms of distractions… The men were talking amongst themselves while Agent Carter was reading through files. Well, it's not like I could have talked to any of them… anyway…

"Dr. Erskine?" I turned towards the man, hopeful. "Can you teach me English?"

He seemed taken aback for a moment by the request. However, he smiled at me, putting his book down. "It would be my pleasure, Edward. Where would you like to begin?"

"Teach me everything you know."

The look on his face was enough to make me forget the height and structural integrity of the aircraft.

Was he – and everyone else – in for a surprise when they realize just how fast I learn.

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