"And so, we must travel to the other side of France in order to investigate this substance. For safety, we will be bringing hazmat suits, in case the element is toxic. Other than this, we will brief on-site. We are likely to be gone for at least a few days to a week, depending on how much we discover in this period of time. Please notify your loved ones and prepare nessecary arrangements. Thank you."

I sat there with my stomach churning, listening to Dr. Groph give his spiel. I had done everything I could not to break into a panic attack, let alone keep my composure.

They wanted us to leave. They wanted us to travel to the extraction site of Element 115, in order to investigate its true capabilities. However, I had just one main issue with this, a bit of a, well, major one.

I was going to have to leave Eliza.

"Thank you, Dr. Groph," Maxis arose and patted his back.

"You all heard. Pack your bags and we will leave tomorrow. Any questions?"

I bit my tongue at all the questions about the trip and Element 115.

"Without further ado, I dismiss this meeting. To improve the human condition!" He said with a snap.

"To improve the human condition!" They snapped back, and I mumbled. As I got up to leave, I was stopped.

"Edward? If you have a moment, I'd like to show you something."

I raised a brow. "Yes?" I walked back toward him.

I smile spread across his face and I thought to myself. Truthfully, if Maxis wasn't so mean to Eliza, one could begin to like him. He was mannerly enough, a little rash at times, but he was okay. However, in showing me the other side of this personality,I'd lost most of my respect for him, and that made me slightly more irritable at this moment.

"To the lab." He led me to his lab, where there were many other high scientists of Group 935. I noticed Henry Porter, hovering over a workbench, tweaking something.

"Richtofen.... allow me to show you one of our greatest technological achievements yet."

My eyes widened as it came into view. It was red and metallic, and it took the shape of a standardized pistol. However, there was something much more alien about it, as the strange curvatures showed convex around the open glass and the relaxed trigger. The end tapered like rings down the barrel and ended in a small conduit at the front of the weapon.

"The Ray Gun..." I mumbled, instantly recognizing it from the blueprint I'd seen months before.

"Yes, actually." Maxis smiled. "I was able to create this prototype thanks to your recent advancements in weapons technology. Thank you for that."

Honestly, I hadn't done much, except figure out that 115 did not react with glass the way it did as it corrupted metal. I'd also noticed that, when in an extremely pressurized chamber, the power of the 115 seemed to amplify, which was indeed the science behind the Ray Gun.

"It is, just an early prototype of course, simply made from spare carriage pieces, and has no actual firepower, of course. But this does symbolize the beginning of anew... this marks the epiphany of our use of Element 115."

I looked down at it again. "Well, it is quite... incredible..." I decided to take the object into my hands. "Awesome." I said, actually giving a smile. "I congratulate you, Maxis."

"It was much of your work, Edward. Don't count yourself out!" He said, patting my back.

"But Maxis... how can we be so sure that Element 115 is safe for testing- let alone safe for use in German weaponry? Have we... tested? Anything?" I got the question out.

Maxis seemed perplexed.

"Is the point of a weapon not to harm the likes of others?" He countered.

I looked around.

"Is this a weapon to ourselves, as well? I'm not so sure that-"

"Edward, boy! Listen to yourself!" Maxis chuckled. "Look, son. There's no reason to worry about this. Just think. Once we fully master this element... the world, ahem, the enemies, will crumble at our very feet! And us? We will be filthy rich! All the houses, land, shops, pools, money, cars, horses, that you please! And not to mention, all the ladies will be drooling over you, eh?" Maxis smirked and nudged my arm with his elbow.

I simply shrugged it off, feeling uneasy.

"Look, Edward... this is big," He said in a more serious tone. "Forget Ultrafluid, forget the other weapons and all the other experiments... THIS is the key... to everything. Even teleportation... I truly do believe that Element 115 can help us accomplish it all." He stared into my eyes, and smiled, reassuringly.

"...Very well, Doctor Maxis..." I sighed, realizing that no amount of argumentation would make a difference.

Maxis nodded and smiled. "I knew you'd understand. Now, without further ado, you are to return home and pack up. We're leaving on short notice in the morning. Oh, and do make sure that you tell your servant about your departure... I'm certain she'll want to find something to do without someone to clean up after." He chuckled and I hurried out the door.

I didn't enjoy the walk home, even though I normally liked feeling the cool air upon my cheeks. My apprehensions had begun to swirl around in a pool of muddy emotions. I didn't want to leave... I could barely stand going to work during the day and leaving Eliza's warm embrace captivated in the home. Now, I was to leave her for a week, if not longer.

Before I had time to think about how I was going to tell her, I had arrived, and was stepping through the doorframe. Eliza wasn't anywhere to be found at the moment, which I was sort of (not really) thankful for. It, at the very least, gave me a few moments to think.

That is until, she immediately appeared above the stairs, and with her head wrapped in a white towel and steam radiating from her body, my head was sent spinning.

I closed the door and almost fainted at the dazzling, white toothy smile she was giving me. Just to know that I was appreciated like that made my day. Her sweet scent wafted over to me as she began to hurry down the stairs, and I was fixated on her like a bee to honey.

"Edward," Eliza sang, stepping off of the final layer of wood. "Perfect timing, I just got out. Did you know that your shower head has two strength settings? One is like a bunch of little raindrops pattering around onto you, and the other is like a torrential rain storm, as if you were standing in the middle of a hurricane. It simply is fascinating."

She began to ramble on about the shower, which I obviously found adorable. However, my thoughts were doing donuts... watching strands of her long, light hair fall out of the towel and release the slightest drops of H20, and the way the glowing chandelier illuminated her soft and freshly dewy skin. I'd rather not divulge the sort of intimate scene I was picturing in my head at the moment, but I'd like to think one could guess.

Like I meant, whatever she was saying after 'shower' went down the Witching Well of my inner beast's swirling desire to do things that would probably end our relationship. That was a no-no.

I cleared my throat and fought to pull myself out of my own mind. Eliza was still talking about it thankfully, and I swooped into reality at the perfect moment to see her hands reaching toward me. I raised a brow, as her hands touched my black tie.

She ran her fingers softly up my chest and took hold of the knot I had tied this morning getting dressed. With the slightest tug from her wrist, she had pulled me against her soft and ever-so-sweet lips, taking me by surprise once more. I had noticed this happening more often. With each passing day Eliza had become more comfortable with me, and even tried to snag a few kisses here and there. Well, trying is an overstatement; she took them freely by my own carnal will.

I felt the tie loosen around my neck, the soft silk tingling the hairs on my skin. What was she doing?

Surely she knew that it was hard enough for me to contain myself!

My hands gripped her hips rather roughly, regretfully, and there was no stopping my heartbeat from speeding up to at least ten times its normal pace. This was the first time that I not only longed for Eliza's tantalizing touch caressing me, this time I needed it.

Eliza's hand twirled in circles, as we broke apart, pretty much out of mortal breath. The tie now was coiled around her dominant hand, and she was pressed against my chest, with a devilishly enticing look behind her silvery blue irises.

"You always loosen your tie as soon as you walk through the door... you didn't this time. So I helped you out!" She spiffed up and pecked my lips once more, and now her cheerfully innocent demeanor was all of a sudden evident again. I still leaned against the door, more flustered than ever.

"I'll get dinner started." She said pretty nonchalantly and headed to the kitchen.

Surely, she had felt the same thing I did, right? Or... was I simply going mad? This time I retreated to the bathroom to assure that everything was 'in check'. This was much different than all the other times she and I had kissed, and I knew what it was, the only thing it could possibly be! The very thing I was afraid of, so scared that I would ruin our relationship by feeling it..

Lust.

Verdammt.

I took a deep breath and stared at my reflection. Edward stared right back at me with that look in his eyes. Is this what she saw? Some mad, panting scientist just looking for the next opportunity to hoard all of her love? What I saw in the mirror frightened me. I just hoped that it didn't frighten her too.

Feeling all of this, I nearly vomitted at the realization that I was leaving tomorrow. All of this was going to be over for a while. If only I could bring her with me...I knew it was going to break her heart and I couldn't see that.

I returned to the kitchen, now with the burden of telling her on my mind. Immediately I sat down at the table and opened a weapons schematics book, even though I wasn't paying attention to anything it said.

Eliza's POV

I tried to be as cool as possible about the kiss after it was over. However, on the inside, I was really flipping. It was as if a completely different person took over, like I was just a passenger in my own body, to the inner monster that was engaging in such things. Though I didn't regret a second that Eddie's lips were on mine, I was worried about how he might react.

And when he had gripped onto my hips in such a... demanding way... I wasn't sure how to feel about it. More than anything, I would suppose that I felt... well...

Aroused.

And it was very painful to admit that.

Hurriedly I chopped the lettuce for salad in an attempt to take my thoughts away. I was embarassed that I had made the situation awkward, and therefore didn't pay Edward any mind when he entered the doorway.

It never lasted long usually, the heavy silence, but this time... was different.

It was as if the growing emotions between he and I were in the process of being capped away, and sealed, never to be seen again. All that pent up baggage that I knew both of us carried, deeply weighed on our minds.

But I was no fool. When Edward was bothered, it was plainly evident on his features. As I walked closer to him, I noticed his eyes weren't moving to indicate that he was reading, but he was rather just staring in thought at the pages of Group 935's most recent schematics pamphlet. He seemed troubled deep behind his irises.

"Erm... Edward?" I began shyly as if my confidence had vanished.

He blinked rapidly and then flinched, looking up at me quickly.

"Are you alright?"

He looked up from the book, almost regretfully.

"Eliza..."

A sickening feeling delved deep into my stomach at the sight of his expression. My shy smile had long since faded into anxiety, and I awaited his answer for what seemed to be an eternity.

"I... I'm leaving you."

The color from my face flushed away in a matter of seconds, just as the syllables registered in my mind.

Leaving Me?

That normally meant... it was over.

I should have seen this coming. A man like him, with a girl like me never would work out.

I began to tremble, my knees slightly shaking as the thought rang loudly in my head.

"L-leaving...?" I gripped my stomach and my eyes went 'empty', a word that I only used to describe the most awful and horrendous pain. Even he by now knew these eyes.

Suddenly his expression changed into horror.

"Mein gott, Eliza, n-not like that!" Quickly he arose and let me support my weight on him. "Nein, I... I would never leave you... like 'that'," he said, catching on.

Wearily I looked up at him. "W-what?"

"Oh, Nein, I'm... I'm so sorry that's... not what I meant..." Edward pulled a seat from under the table and sat me down across from him, our fingers still linked, and me trying to regain my composure.

Edward took a deep breath. "I...I have a business trip to go on... near the French border. Maxis and the other high members of Group 935 have arranged a meeting... to discuss Element 115's usefullness and to test it in the field. Do you understand?" I felt a soft and caring hand fall onto my cheek and brush my thick bangs out of my eyes.

I looked up at him, trying my best to make the tears in my eyes vanish.

"H-how long will you be away?"

"I don't know." He replied solemnly.

I looked at the ground, not even knowing how to feel,my heart racing.

"But I'll be back as darned soon as I can be... you can assure that I cannot go for so long without you by my side..." Warm and slightly chapped lips met my heated cheek, leaving a heavy tingling sensation where the contact had been made.

I blushed and looked into his eyes, and soon after, threw my arms around his neck. As we hugged, I muttered a plea.

"Don't scare me like that... ever again." I pattered.

I felt him smile slightly. "I wouldn't for the world..." the next part he whispered lowly. "Although you do look so cute and innocent when you're startled." He chuckled lowly and I gave a modest shy smile.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I will miss you more."

After drawing back, I realized something. The painful feeling in my stomach wasn't gone, not even sedated. It was either a growing sickness of past events, or something much worse.

I didn't trust him.

I wanted to. But the last time that a man walked out of my life for more than a week, he was gone for good, and I didn't see him again until I was knocked out cold and woke up in his cruel laboratory.

The swirling memories of the past wouldn't let me trust him, I just hoped he couldn't see it in my eyes.

~~~~~

Richtofen's POV

I stared out the window of the train cabin, clinging to my coat, and praying that the hunk of metal carrying us wouldn't crumble beneath our weight.

I often reflected on how I got here. If it weren't for recieving a special letter written by Maxis, I may be holed up in some doctor's quarters at the moment, with nothing better to do than play around with peoples' spleens.

Which, minus the spleens, sometimes didn't seem too bad.

The foggy window cleared up again with a swift swipe of my gloved hand. As I breathed out, I could narrowly see ice crystal beginning to form from the moisture I had released. It had to be 20 below out here.

"Cold, Edward?" Asked Dr. Groph from the seat beside me. "We have extra coats." He made the motion to reach behind the seat, but I stopped him.

"Nein, Niklas. Danke." I said, giving a nod and then turning my attention back to the window. There had to be an inch of snow on the ground by now, and I was quite surprised that the train hadn't slid off the tracks.

"Monsieur, more coffee?" I heared a patron lady ask the man beside me. Groph nodded and the dark-haired woman filled his cup with steamy black liquid.

"Anything for you, monsieur?" She asked, directing her attention to me.

"Nothing right now." I replied, uninterestingly.

The servant walked away silently and Groph looked at me.

"Are you sure, Edward? I'm sure a nice hot drink would warm you up, yes?"

I shrugged. "Nein, danke." I sighed and crossed my arms.

"Hmm... I can see someone isn't a traveller..." Groph trailed off, sighing slightly. I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked curiously.

"You've been acting all gloomy since we got on the train. I'm sorry to assume, but it just seems like you don't enjoy travel." He said.
I thought for a moment.

"You could be right... but I think it's just the snow getting me down." I lied.

He nodded. "Very well, then." He.patted me slightly on the back.

In reality I was just kind of sad being alone. Without Eliza here, there wasn't much point in staying awake...

Here I was. Only about 2 hours into the train ride, and I already miss her lips.

I drifted into a nap, and simply waited for the train ride to end.

~~~~

Eliza's POV

I sighed and sat up in the bed, feeling cold where a body once lay next to me. I frowned sadly and decided to hop out of bed. Today wpuld be a long and lonely day, and I wasn't looking forward to it.

I grabbed my sketchbook and headed down to the living room. I sat down in the lounger and curled into a ball, taking out my new pencils and beginning to draw. I didn't know what I was drawing yet, I just knew that it took the outline of an animal, rather than a human.

Knock Knock.

I froze in my place, my wrist locking up.

Knock Knock.

I slid my sketchbook and pencils under the chair.

Was he here already?

No. Something else was happening.

I got up cautiously and checked to be sure I wasn't wearing my blue dress.

"Open up Miss Washington!"

Wait, is that...

I swung open the door. "George!" I growled.

"What? I'm not even late..."

"I know, its just... sorry. I was hoping you were someone else... or I was afraid you were someone else." I said, scratching my elbow.

"Anyway, groceries are here. Big shipment this time. You've really been cooking a lot for Master Richtofen, haven't you?" He began to load the bags in.

Oh no. He's noticed there's been a call for more food... it's because I've been eating too...

"He's been stressed lately... he can sure have a pit of a stomach sometimes!" I loosened my collar and laughed it off as George stacked the fridge.

"Right. I guess its understandable. Maxis always has him working up there, right? In the castle?"

I shrugged as if I didn't know. "Guess so."

He finished with the groceries and turned to me.

"When's he getting back, hmm? Soon?" He cleared his throat, and I could see his eyes fogging with mischief.

"I don't know." I said bluntly.

"Oh, a shame." He said, walking toward me. "Well... you know if you ever get lonely in this big house... I'd be happy to share the bed with you." He wiggled his eyebrows.

My god... my gag reflexes just went on high alert.

"Get out, you rat!" I barked, before he pushed up his glasses and opened the door.

"S-sorry... Cyndi and I are.. having rough times." For a second i thought he would cry.

"Yeah, sorry to hear it..." I yawned. "Bye now." I scurried him along, slamming the door rudely. I shook my head and went back to my drawing.

Not five minutes, later, there was another knock.

"George! What is it?!" I shouted, stomping to the door, assuming it was him again. I swung open the oak slab, but my heart exploded as I did so. It wasn't George.

"Come on," Said the deep, scratchy voice of a man dressed in mostly black. "Maxis's orders. As if you have a choice."

I was at a loss for words, as the new model black car pulled in front of the house.

"B-But..." I tried to speak but I couldn't. Seconds later, I felt the sharp sting of a strong grip bruising my arm, and dragging me toward the motor vehicle.

"Hurry up. Haven't got all day." Said the Russian, in the front of the car.

Flashes of my past began to flow through my mind and I was sent into panic.

"N-No!" I fought against the man's iron grip, but it only tightened.

"Stop it, Eliza, you're making a nuisance. Don't make me do what I did last time..." He growled, his impatience showing through.

"Get off of me!" Deep down I knew there wasn't any chance at this point. I fought against the very beat of my own heart, to no avail. "Let me go, not today please!"

The man growled and laced his fingers around my neck.

"Stop fighting... or I will  kill you."

I clenched my eyes shut as I was lifted into the vehicle, and then came a sharp blow to the head, knocking me out cold.

~

"Odd, she never fights back. At least not that much."

"Oi. I guess she's finally starting to realize she's not getting out of here any time soon."

"And that makes her fight?"

"Perhaps she wants us to kill her."

Laughing.

I felt my body being lifted over someone's shoulder, and I slowly tried to open my eyes, but the blinding light came all too suddenly. It was colder here than even France. I encouraged myself to open my eyes and expose them to what conditions I was in.

I was horrified as we stepped onto a gondola, and the vessel began to move with a creaking start.

The Iron Dragon.

Not here... anywhere but here.

How did we even get here so quickly? Had I been knocked cold for that long? Austria was quite a ways from our 935 town.

But there it was, before me. Der Eisendrache, Maxis had once called it. From a German to English book in the library, I learned that it translated to 'The Iron Dragon'.

"Dammit." I cursed, clenching my eyes shut.

I was in for pain... and lots of it.