The Waterstone of the Wise [7]

[scriveyner]

.:Chapter Seven:.

Austria

"I am really, really, really beginning to hate the League of Shadows," Edward snarled, sitting on the floorboard of the train compartment while Sofia tried to work all the knots out of his hair. Edward's clothes were completely covered in grime from laying on top of the train, and his hair was a windswept mess.

"Just now you're beginning to hate them?" Indy asked, amused.

"This is no laughing matter, they've taken Alphonse," Nicholas said severely to Indy. Indy raised his hands in supplication and Sofia ignored them both, focusing on Edward's hair. Her hands were shaking but she refused to let that transmit through to her voice as she spoke.

"Do you think that they'll kill him?"

"Not right off," Edward said grimly, his head bowed. "If they just wanted us dead we would already be dead. There's got to be something in dad's notes that Nick here doesn't know about, because otherwise I can't see any reason that Eiselstein would try to take us alive, if all he wants is Nicholas."

"Do you think Ling is still on the train?" Indy asked. "We should check to see, just to be sure."

"There's no telling." Edward said, wincing as Sofia worked through a particularly painful knot. "I doubt it, though. He said," and Edward pinned Nicholas with a glare, "that Nicholas would know where his castle was."

Indy looked at Nicholas as well. "You said you didn't know."

Nicholas' expression didn't falter. "I don't know," he said. "I've never been, I don't know why that man thought I would."

"Curious," Edward murmured. Sofia stopped her fingers in his hair and put a hand tentatively on his shoulder. "So what do we do, then?"

"We get off this train at the next stop," Indy said. "There should be an airfield nearby, if we're lucky - and then we fly to the castle. This train can only take us so far before things start to get uncomfortable."

Edward nodded his head. "They think I'm German, though, so if the rest of you just shut up and let me talk things could work out."

"All the same, none of us have papers, so I'd rather not risk it," Indy said.

Edward glanced back at Sofia. "Will you be able to keep up? I don't know if any of us will be able to protect you."

Sofia smacked him across the back of the head hard enough to make Indy wince. "I can keep up just fine, and shoot as well as any of you," she informed Edward icily.

"Ow!" Edward said. "I was just asking, you didn't have to hit me."

"Just wanted to make sure you understand," Sofia said sweetly. "That I have as much right to come along with you three to rescue my husband."

"Okay, okay, just don't hit me again," Edward said, ducking his head in anticipation.

Nicholas cocked his head and looked out the window of the train. It was starting to get dark outside, dusk trailing along the sky. "We should be arriving soon, I think," he said.

Indy stood up, stepping over Edward still seated on the floor. "We need to be ready to get off this train as soon as we can," he said, before leaving the compartment.

Edward got up on the seat that Indy had abandoned, his hair tie in his teeth. Now that his hair was more or less combed he was able to pull it back into the high ponytail he usually wore it in. Nicholas watched him pull his hair back curiously.

"Why do you wear your hair long?" he asked.

Edward shrugged. "I always have, since I was young." He flicked the end of his ponytail back over his shoulder. "It just feels right."

"Just like your father," Nicholas said quietly.

Edward blinked, and looked at Nicholas, the curiosity now mirrored on his face. "Did you… know my father?"

"Hohenheim was a model alchemist," Nicholas said softly. "There are few who do not know of him."

"Yes, but you knew he wore his hair long," Edward said.

Nicholas quirked a smile at that. He shuffled, and pulled the black pouch out of his inner jacket pocket. Edward watched as he withdrew one of the two remaining shards from the velvet pouch. "Take this."

Edward shook his head. "No. I can't."

"Safeguard it for me, Edward Elric," Nicholas said seriously.

Reluctantly, Edward took the shard from Nicholas. Even through his stained glove he could feel the strange warmth that pulsed from the red shard. After a moment he closed his hand around it, then put it in the front pocket of his waistcoat.

"If you have need of it do not hesitate to use it," Nicholas said. "Remember though, it must be consumed to transmute."

"I won't," Edward said. "I'm just going to keep it safe for you. I'll return it."

Nicholas nodded his head, as Indy stepped back into the compartment. "What are you two still doing in here? It's not like we have luggage, come on, let's go."

Edward shrugged his long tattered coat on over his shoulders as Nicholas stood up. They were getting closer, he could almost taste it.

~ * ~

Alphonse woke with a throbbing headache, seated upright in a moving vehicle. He was almost sitting on his hands and he tried to move them, only to realize that they were handcuffed tightly behind him. The soft touch of a cool washcloth over his eye made him wince, and an unfamiliar voice made a surprised noise.

He opened his eyes.

He was riding in the back of a vehicle he did not recognize. It was not military in origin, but it wasn't a passenger vehicle either. It was dark out, the only lights came from outside, bold lights that lit the airfield spread out past his window. The vehicle rolled to a stop and Alphonse looked around, trying to gauge what was going on.

There was a woman sitting next to him that he did not know. She had long hair that caught red highlights in the reflected light done up in an intricate hairstyle. She held a bloodied handkerchief in her hand and Alphonse realized that she had been cleaning his face. They were alone in the back of the vehicle.

"Wh-what's going on?" His mouth and throat were dry, his voice coming out far scratchier than he intended. "Where am I?"

"We are at an airfield just across the Austrian border," the woman said in a softly accented voice. "Baron von Eiselstein is meeting with his men, before we are to continue on further."

Eiselstein. Alphonse's stomach dropped. "Can you take off my handcuffs?"

She shook her head. "It would not be wise, just yet. Perhaps when we are closer to the castle." She was watching him intently and Alphonse swallowed.

"Do you work for Eiselstein?"

"Work? Not at all." She shook her head. "I loathe the baron with all my being. But," she looked out the window toward the airfield. "This is all coming to a crescendo, my young alchemist, and all the pieces must be accounted for, for the final movement."

Alphonse stared at her a moment. "You're… you're his wife, aren't you?" When she looked at him curiously, Alphonse nodded his head, almost certain. "You're Nicholas' wife, Pernelle!"

That caused an entire shift in her demeanor. She leaned across the seat, her eyes wide. "You've seen him? My Nicholas? He's alive?"

"Alive and kicking," Alphonse confirmed. "And coming to your rescue."

"That fool! He knows if he comes here that Eiselstein will trap him. Why would he do something so reckless?" Pernelle sat back, glancing out the window in a fury. Confused, Alphonse watched her stew until the door was opened by none other than Wilhelm von Eiselstein himself.

"Ah, you're awake now I see," Eiselstein said as he slid into the back of the car. There was a bench seat immediately across from the one Alphonse and Pernelle occupied. "I have to apologize, Ling is rather … blunt… in his actions."

"Yeah," Alphonse said dryly. "Blunt."

Eiselstein knocked his hand against the wall behind his head and the vehicle started up again. "I usually fly to the castle from here, but madame Pernelle gets very violently airsick."

Pernelle was staring out the window beside her, refusing to look at or even acknowledge the man across from them both.

"How considerate of you," Alphonse muttered.

"It should allow your friends enough time to catch up, I think. Especially your brother. Curious man that he is - how does he move like he does with false limbs?" Eiselstein crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap, chuckling mildly as Alphonse glared at him in the fading light as they drove away from the airfield.

"You are an idiot and a fool," Alphonse said. "If you think for one second that my brother - or me, for that matter - would help you in your idiot's errand."

"Ah, the Great Work. A noble passion indeed. I would hardly call it an idiot's errand, though, given the results." Eiselstein stared off above Alphonse's head, sighing. "Eternal youth. Immortality. Can you imagine it, sir? This lovely young lady here has lived longer than the storied Methuselah, and looks not a day above twenty-five."

"I've tasted immortality." A life that he couldn't remember, locked away in cold, unfeeling metal. "It didn't agree with me."

"So I've read." Eiselstein tapped the breast pocket of his jacket. "In your father's notes. Nothing but a soul bound in armor. And your brother performing such a complicated transmutation at such a young age! You two are truly the product of a great lineage."

Alphonse snorted in disgust. "I really don't care what you think of us. We're going to stop you."

"It's endearing that you think there's even a chance that you'll be able to stop me," Eiselstein said. "So, tell me about your world, alchemist. The countries there, what are they like?"

Pernelle had finally looked over at Alphonse. "You're his son?" The astonishment in her voice was hard to override. "Hohenheim's?"

"It seems that everyone knows my father but me," Alphonse said.

"Your father was a great man," Pernelle said.

"So people keep telling me." Alphonse twisted, trying to keep his hands from going numb. "Oh, and no, by the way."

Eiselstein raised his eyebrow. "Sorry?"

"In response to your earlier question, about where I come from? No, I'm not going to tell you about it. And, additionally, fuck you."

"Mm, more's the pity," Eiselstein said. "But it's not like I haven't got a good picture from these notes of your father's."

They rode in silence for a few minutes more before Alphonse couldn't bear it any longer. "Why are you so concerned with where I came from?" he asked.

Eiselstein's grin was bone-chilling. "Because, my young friend, that is where I'm planning on going."

~ * ~

Indy crouched behind some stacked crates. The airfield was a small one, as he had predicted. It had taken them a few hours to sort out where they needed to be but one of the benefits of being the infamous Doctor Jones was that he could call in favors in just about any town in the world. There was suspicious activity all around this airfield for days now, and the suspicious activity was labeled quite clearly "League of Shadows."

He had given strict instructions to Edward for he, Nicholas and Sofia to stay put out of sight while he scoped out the situation. He observed silently the small cargo plane as it was loaded with supplies. Indy had seen a man who looked like Ling Yao go up inside the plane, but he was too far away to be one hundred percent certain until he saw him a second time.

"What's it look like?" Edward whispered from beside him.

Indy nearly jumped out of his skin. He shoved Edward's head down and ducked himself as several guards looked their direction. "Are you out of your fucking MIND?" Indy hissed. "I thought I told you to STAY PUT!"

The look that Edward gave him was patronizing. "Did you really think I was going to listen?"

"You're worse than a woman," Indy groaned.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Edward said, and Indy waved a hand at him to shut him up.

"That cargo plane over there, the one they're loading? I think that's the one heading to Eiselstein's. I've seen Ling on it."

"Ling!?" Edward's head popped up like a gopher's. "That must mean Al is on it too!"

"Chances are pretty good," Indy said. "But the problem is getting all four of us across the tarmac and to the plane without being spotted. That'll be difficult."

Edward nodded his head, his eyes narrowed. "Not if we set fire to something."

Indy gave Edward a long look. "I don't know if that's stupid or genius, kid."

"Well, you should decide quick, because Sofie and Nick probably already set the fire."

As Edward spoke, several German soldiers ran by, shouting loudly. Edward's grin was cheeky. "Shall we, then?" Indy shook his head again, this time torn between amusement and exasperation. This man was nothing at all what he had assumed from the first time he had laid eyes on Edward Elric, that was for damn sure.

Edward had turned and was waving Sofia and Nicholas over. They ran quickly, keeping low, until they too were crouched behind the stacked crates with Edward and Indy. "We set the fire as planned," Sofia reported breathlessly. "To several crates. I think at least one of them was-"

The explosion rocked the airstrip and nearly all the rest of the men on the tarmac went running in the direction of the flames.

"-explosives," Sofia finished unnecessarily.

"Come on," Indy said. "Now's our chance."

They ran across the tarmac unmolested, and Indy stopped at the base of the loading ramp, waiting until Sofia, Nicholas and finally Edward were up the ramp before glancing around, gun at the ready, checking to see if they were noticed. No one shouted and no shots rang out, so Indy nodded to himself and he too ascended up the ramp and into the belly of the small cargo plane.

"That was easy," Sofia said as the cargo ramp closed behind them.

"Yeah," Indy said as the plane's engine rumbled to life. "A little too easy."

"You think so too?" Edward said. There wasn't much in the way of places to hide in the cargo bay - or places to sit.

"Yeah," Indy said, grabbing hold of some of the crash webbing that hung from the walls as the plane started to move. "I hate to be the one to say it - but I've got a bad feeling about this."