After another two days in Vienna, in which Andelina kept watch over the gang in the underground shelter, the Trans-Europa was prepared for departure. Receiving the all-clear in Morse code by the Clandestinian Lookouts, Ralf and the gang packed up some extra snacks and beverages diligently prepared by their hostesses. Florian glanced to his best friend as they packed up a local Clandestinian-friendly carriage.
"You know, Ralf" he spoke, "that was a good idea to stay over and try some of their awesome cooking."
"Ja" Ralf answered with a smile. "Even Johannes ate a bit more than she should've--she actually apologized for eating more than she usually should've!!"
Florian laughed. "But Elizabeth said it was alright--that it was good to see Miss Johannes eat plenty. That's the first time since before they were imprisoned in Lisbon that she's had more than a plateful of food in one sitting!! And the girls were highly delighted!!"
The blind girl's true love smiled humbly, blushing slightly. "She'll be thrilled we packed up extra food. She's gonna miss Andelina and the baristas."
"Especially Rebekah--she'll miss Madame Andelina tremendously" noted his friend. "The two have come to be wonderful friends thanks to Wolfgang."
"Hmph!" Ralf huffed. "The playboy that he is."
"You do know he's planning to quit those ways for good, right?" Florian informed. Ralf just looked at him with widened eyes, absolute shock. His best friend just nodded. "Ja, it's true. He's been inspired by Rebekah to straighten up, because he's finally fallen in absolute love with her. Quite a surprise but, I do think they'll make it well past the altar the way this is going."
After all was packed, the gang boarded the carriage, the last to board being Rebekah who had one final chat with Andelina.
"Thank you so much for your hospitality and the food!" grinned the younger Clandestinaian.
"You're absolutely welcome" replied the hostess. "I pray you all come and visit again after you've returned home safely. Send some postcards too, I'll add them to the Wall of Memories."
"Absolutely" Rebekah affirmed with a grin.
"Also" Andelina spoke again, "I'm praying that your dear Johannes does get her sight. I noticed she's a bit cynical about her sight yet more hopeful for the freedom and future of Eastern Europe. However, I will pray and hope for the sight to be granted to her, as I'm sure she deserves to see."
The young girl nodded, smiling. "I think we all can appreciate that. Thank you."
"Always welcome, Rivka" the hostess answered warmly. "Always."
After a hug farewell and blessing from Andelina, Rebekah boarded the carriage, and the humble transport made its way for the Station.
"You know, Wolfgang" the girl spoke, "she has to be the coolest hostess here in Vienna. Maybe one day we can invite her over to Düsseldorf and return the favor!"
Her boyfriend nodded, smiling to her. "Actually... that would be a good idea. I bet she hasn't been home in Düsseldorf in years. That's a brilliant idea, Reki!!"
"...Reki??" she asked, a lopsided yet curious smile now on her face.
Wolfgang nodded. "That's my new nickname for you. Reki. Get used to it."
"Like she's gonna get used to that this quickly, Sweetmouth" retorted Karl.
But the other Roboter wouldn't have any of it. "Shut it, Sugarplum Fairy" he snarled back.
"Oh good God..." Florian sighed as Ralf shook his head.
"Hey, at least I didn't eat all the candy canes" Karl replied.
"Uhm... that was Florian, remember?" Ralf noted.
"...oh, yeah. My bad" the percussionist replied.
"Hey, the candy canes were good, Ralf!!" the flutist answered in defense. "I couldn't eat just one!!"
Wolfgang rolled his eyes. "Well, it's safe to say the one who ate the most was our own Johannes. That. Girl. Can. Eat!"
"Well she deserved all that was on her plate" Elizabeth spoke with a chuckle. "I hadn't seen her eat so much food since before the imprisonment in Lisbon--and that was at least three years ago!!"
The guys looked at the elder sister. "Are you serious!?" Ralf asked in shock. She nodded in reply.
"After we were captured and sent to Lisbon, our morales grew bleaker" explained Anneke. "The food was barely enough for us to survive the day. Small bowl of watery potato soup, a few small loaves of bread, and a small glass of either milk or water--and even the milk wasn't all that wonderful. We grew a bit weaker because of the terrible rations; we were lucky if we received any extra loaves of bread or a spare bowl of soup.
"Johannes however didn't eat much since, and chose water over milk almost every day. But... to see her eat more than what she usually ate lately, in the underground shelter... it's warmth to our souls.
And yes, for the first time in over 3 years I can say, that girl knows how the hell to eat!!"
Her statement drew laughter from the group, even from Johannes who laughed heartily. Ralf smiled warmly at her, happy to see her in such jovial spirits as the carriage approached the Station. After loading up the train with the sweets and beverages, the gang boarded the train, where the conducter, Fritz, spoke through the intercomm.
"All ready for Italy?" the conductor asked.
"Ready when you are!" was Ralf's enthusiastic reply. "ALL ABOARD!"
And with that the Trans-Europa set forth on its next destination--Venice, Italy.
"You never told me you used to eat quite a bit before your imprisonment, Fräulein Johannes!" the mensch-maschine said to his blind sweetheart. She blushed and giggled.
"You never asked" was her amusing reply.
"You must've ate a lot then" he replied, taking her hands in his. "But, that's another humor for another afternoon." And with that he kissed her forehead.
"Ralf... did I tell you I actually feel safe around you?" Johannes spoke softly.
"Nein, I don't recall" Ralf answered.
She snuggled up to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Well, it's true" she responded quietly, as she closed her eyes for a small nap. The semi-human being smiled and held her tightly.
The rest of the gang were engaged in lively conversation, when all of a sudden something went wrong--very wrong.
*KA-CHOOM!!*
*CLANK-CLANK-KERRANG!!*
The train shook, tilted slightly to its side for a moment, and got back on track, but the gang knew immediately that something wasn't right. Even Johannes woke back up and sat up, clutching Ralf's hands tightly.
"Was geschah gerade?" Karl asked, as Wolfgang stuck his head out of the window on the side of where the incident occurred. Florian and the rest of the gang looked on in worry.
"...aww damn" the electro-drummer cursed. "One of the train's tires is down--look, see how shot up it is?"
Florian looked out the window beside him. "Yep... that one's done" he confirmed to the others.
Wolfgang's eyes then fixed upon the source of the matter--and his eyes widened in panic. A team of Darkstrom troopers were following along the train in carriages and horseback.
"GODDAMNIT!!" the Roboter shouted to his friends. "Darkstrom Troopers about to attack!!"
Ralf shook his head again as Johannes held on to his hands. Elizabeth sighed in grief, and Anneke contemplated what their next move should be. Rebekah however didn't take this too well.
"Oh m'God, oh m'God, oh m'God..." she whispered to herself in a frantic.
"Fucking hell" Florian growled as he pulled out his gun from his inside coat pocket. Wolfgang followed, his .45 in hand. Together the two marched to the next train car, and poked their heads out of the windows.
"Ready, Wolfgang?" Florian asked.
"Bereit" his fellow semi-human being answered.
Meanwhile the rest of the gang stayed in their train car, until finally Rebekah couldn't stand just sitting there worrying. She had to do something.
"Annie..." she said quietly to Anneke, "get your gun."
"--what!?" the resident thinker asked her panic-happy friend.
"Just... Annie, get your gun" the girl requested. Anneke sighed in grief and pulled out her shotgun.
"Now, hand me the gun" Rebekah said, looking in the direction of the car where her boyfriend and Florian were.
"What the heck's up!?" her friend asked, and reluctantly handed her the gun.
"I promise I'll take good care of it" the girl answered as she stormed to the next car.
"...what is Rebekah doing, Ralf?" Johannes asked, unsure of what was going on.
"It seems that... she's adding to the fight against the enemy troopers" he noted quietly with a sigh. "Looks like she couldn't panic any longer."
As Rebekah walked into the other car, Wolfgang and Florian looked at her. "What is it, Reki?" the boyfriend asked as the other Roboter resumed looking out the window. The young girl just walked to where her beloved was.
"I'm tired of hitting the panic button until it breaks" she sighed, and quickly shots were fired and exchanged between Florian and the troopers. "Damnit!!" she muttered and ran to the window and, aiming for one of the troopers in the enemy carriage, shot him clear to the head. The trooper fell down, dead.
Florian looked to Rebekah, wide-eyed. "How the hell...?" he asked, his eyes returning to the carriage and horseback troopers.
"Yeah, how'd you get to shoot 'em so good!?" Wolfgang asked in curiosity. But she just kept her glare at the enemies not too far from the train.
"I used to be on the Archery team in school" she answered. "And I think that this is no different. Daddy taught me how to aim proper when I was 7, but he made sure I mastered archery before I ever dared touched a gun."
"...well, daaaaammmmmmn you're good" her boyfriend complimented as the three resumed the shoot-out.
In the gang's car, Anneke stuck her head out to watch the fight for a moment. One of the troopers shouted an insult at Rebekah, calling her a "sissy girl with a water gun" and other verbal assaults. Wolfgang and Florian looked at her to see what her response was, but she kept her face unamused and, aiming perfectly, executed the trooper with a gunshot to the head. Anneke quickly stuck her head back in and gave an update to the others--
"Good Lord Almighty!! Rebekah's shot 'em down, them bastards!! Florian and Wolfgang are speechless!!"
"Are you serious!?" Karl asked, and his object of admiration nodded in reply.
"She's still got that perfect aim then" noted Johannes quietly.
"Yep, she still does, even after all these years" answered Anneke.
Dodging bullets and verbal shenanigans, the trio of sharpshooters took care of each trooper until the carriage stopped at last and all that remained alive were the horses, who were now confused and in disorder. Florian however was hit in the right upper arm by a trooper's final bullet just seconds before the shot-down. The trio returned to the main car, and Rebekah returned the gun to Anneke.
"You, my dear, kicked serious ass" the owner of the gun complimented, nodding.
Rebekah shrugged. "Daddy taught me well, that's all."
Florian meanwhile sat down in pain. The bullet had struck his arm well, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. Rebekah quickly saw this and ran for her back-pack, pulling out the first aid kit. She then dashed back to the wounded Roboter and, kneeling down beside him, touched his arm with her hand, trying to find where the bullet struck.
"Bloody hell..." she muttered, "where is it...?"
When she finally found the wound, she took out a small knife and cut a square from his jacket, then from his shirt, to get to the wound. Then, she took a small cloth and, pouring antiseptic on the cloth, pressed it to the wound. Florian winced for a moment but then, the pain quickly subsided, and he felt much better in seconds. She then removed her hand from his arm, but he spoke up--"Wait, don't. Put your hand back on the wound."
"--what?" she asked, glancing to him.
"Just do it. Whatever you're doing, it's working. You remove your hand, and it doesn't work."
"What, the antiseptic?"
"No... it was while your hands were on the arm."
She looked to her boyfriend. "Wolfgang, how long does it take for a mensch-maschine to heal from a bullet wound, on average?"
He thought quickly--"Four hours perhaps, at the most. Why?"
She realized something of extreme importance. "I think I know what is going on" she told Florian as she placed her hand on his arm again. "Is... is it working now?"
He nodded. "It feels like a warm electrical current passing through, just fixing whatever needed repairing." He watched her hands as it stayed there, and she closed her eyes, fully aware of what had happened.
"It seems I still possess the ability to heal others" she spoke softly. "I haven't attempted to use that gift in a very long time.
"This would explain why you're healing faster, as well as how Wolfgang healed from his bullet wound so much faster.
"The bullet should appear in your hand by now, Florian" she concluded, opening her eyes to look at his hand. He opened it and, behold, there was the bullet. She smiled.
Wolfgang smiled as well and, touching the bullet, formed a chain with some of its metal. "Now you can wear it and say you got wounded too" he spoke, revealing his chain with the bullet from the incident in Paris.
Florian smiled to Rebekah. "Thank you very much, Miss Rebekah" he said, as she smiled in humble gratitude. The rest of the gang also smiled as the Trans-Europa swiftly made its way to Venice--which, thankfully, had a repair stop at its Station. And, with that one wheel shot out, it was going to be a necessary operation to undertake.
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