12 o'clock noon. On board the Trans-Europa. Four half-human robots. Four young women. One conductor. One orphaned boy. The future hope of Eastern Europe.
"They're catching up. This can't be good" Rebekah said as their faces watched the trees, ruins, and chaos fly past them, the Darkstrom troopers hot on their trail as the Trans-Europa sped for home with the gang on board.
"By damn, there's the General!!" Anneke noticed as she glanced through the window, binoculars in hand. "And there's a lot of officers in high rank too!!"
But everyone else sat there, bracing themselves for what would be a final round ahead of them.
After a moment more of thought, Ralf looked to his fellow Roboter and took a deep breath. Reaching into his shirt, he pulled out a small Radio-shaped locket. He looked at it for a moment, wondering if this should be the appropriate moment to see what they're capable of, what they could do. When he looked outside the window at the growing forces of Darkstrom troopers and officers, he was overwhelmed. After glancing to Johannes, who was worried about the safety of all left behind in Athens as well as all on the train, he looked to his best friend and sighed.
"Florian," he said, "I think... I think it's time."
"Ralf, you can't be serious" the flutist remarked. "We don't even know how far ahead we have until we have fully evolved to Mensch-Maschinen! There's no way we'd come out of this alive!!"
"We have no other choice. If we don't do something we'll be in worse matters than worrying about the state of our own health!"
"Ralf Hütter, you've gone mad."
"Then you damn well better think of something. Fast."
Florian glared at his best friend when he presented the challenge. His glance went to Karl and Wolfgang, who looked back.
"I say we annihilate the bastards" Karl said quietly. "And quickly, if we want to stay alive and get home to Düsseldorf."
"But don't forget" Wolfgang chimed in, "we don't know how much we can handle as full-spirited Mensch-Maschinen so, if we're to do anything, we'd better be careful not to overdo ourselves or get worse than wounded."
The flutist sighed, then looked to Ralf. "Alright genius," he said, "you lead, we follow. Happy?"
His best friend simply sighed. "Florian, for once, stop being a stubborn bastard. Guys, let's do this."
Florian shrugged. Karl and Wolfgang nodded, and the four guys each held their Radio lockets. The lockets shone with a small glow, which grew quickly and, in a flash, the guys were dressed in red long-sleeved button-down shirts, black ties and gray pants. They looked different, not exactly the same as their mild-mannered selves were. They had, as if to say, evolved...
from
to
All the while Alessandro watched what was going on. He knew in his heart that the guys would be able to survive the final bout against the Darkstrom, but he also hoped that they would not have to go through the round alone as the mensch-maschinen quickly got their guns and started to make their way a couple of train cars back.
"RALF!!" Johannes called out to him from her seat. "Where are you going!?"
The semi-human being quickly turned and ran back to her. "It's okay, princess" he whispered as he hugged her tightly. "I have to stop the enemy from pestering us any further."
"But what if anything bad happens!?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears.
"Nothing bad will happen, meine liebe Prinzessin, I promise" he said calmly, his bold blue eyes looking into her gray lifeless eyes. "It's okay... we're gonna be alright. I promise."
Sadly sighing, she kissed his hands. "Geben Sie, Ralf acht" she said softly. "Please, please be careful."
"I will" he said as he kissed her forehead. "Ich liebe Dich Johanna."
Tears fell down her cheeks as he kissed her lips farewell. "Ich liebe Dich auch, Ralf -- immer" she replied.
His eyes widened a bit with her words. "Al--always!?"
She nodded. "Always. Always thine. Remember?"
He hugged her tightly as he remembered their little vows, how he promised he was always hers, how she promised she was always his. Releasing her from the hug he kissed her lips one moment more before looking to the girls.
"She's under your care now" he instructed. "Keep her guarded well. Guys, let's go."
And with that the four mensch-maschinen marched onward to the final round.
"Johanne..." her older sister spoke, "how'd you know he was leaving?"
"Because, he promised me..." the blind woman recalled, "that as long as we're both on board this train... he wouldn't let go of my hand. That he'd always be with me."
The women sat in a worrisome silence, fear surging through them. Was it worth it to not simply just sit there, worth getting up to help the ones they loved? To sacrifice their lives for the cause of freedom, in the name of Liberty, for the sake of Eastern Europe? The dread for a while overwhelmed them.
But after a few moments Elizabeth looked to her sister, best friend and neighbor, then to Alessandro, who was quiet. Suddenly an idea came to her, and she looked to Anneke.
"Anopheli," she said, addressing her by an old nickname. The resident jokester looked to her best friend.
"What is it, Elibeth?"
"Get out the guns. We're going in."
"But what about Joseraph!?" chimed in Rebekah regarding to the younger sister.
"I've got just the friend for the task" the older sister answered, looking to the orphan. "Alessandro, come here quickly!"
The young boy glanced to Elizabeth and quickly ran to her. "Yes, Miss Elizabeth?"
"I want you to look out after my sister, please" she begged. "I'll be damned if the guys attempt to fight this alone, and behind every good Mensch-Maschine..."
"Is a just-as-tough Frau-Maschine!!" he finished with a grin.
Elizabeth smiled with surprised eyes to Anneke and Rebekah. "I think he's got us set on maschine-hood someday!"
The neighbor shrugged with a smile. "Hey, in this day and age you never know!"
Alessandro ran to Johannes and explained to her the situation as the girls armed themselves and ran to the car where the guys were.
Meanwhile the guys glared out of the windows, two to each side--Ralf stood beside Florian, while Karl and Wolfgang rounded out the other side. Their train of thought was interrupted, however, by three women dressed in red coats with black coat-fronts and gray skirts. One of them fixed fixed her usual braids in black ribbons instead of her traditional purple ones. The guys blinked and Karl, noting the girl in the black ribbons, spoke up.
"...Sweet Mother of God, no freckin' way."
Anneke grinned to her beloved. "Better believe it."
"But what about Miss Johannes?" Florian asked as Elizabeth stood between him and Ralf.
"Alessandro is with her" she reported. "Fritz is on the communicator with her. She's a big girl. She'll be fine."
"I can't believe you're helping us out, Reki!" Wolfgang said as she stood beside him with Anneke's gun. "I mean, it's jawdroppingly wonderful and whatnot but still... you know, you girls could get killed out here..."
"It's no different from Venice, Vienna, or Paris" she remarked. "When you give it some thought we've been at risk of death all along. But... I'm not afraid to die. If I do die, it's in the name of Eastern Europe, for the cause of freedom. I'm ready." With that she gave him a small smile. "And, I'm a lot stronger than when we first met. I'm the courageous, daring young lady that I am now, because of you.
"Thank you eternally, Sweetheart."
Her boyfriend blushed for a moment when he realized that, she was right--but how!? The thought perished as the youngest of the Quartet lock-and-loaded her gun, her glare now towards the madness outside.
"Lilibeth!! Annie!! I think we know what time it is!!"
Anneke nodded, aiming her back-up gun towards a group of troopers in a carriage. Elizabeth also nodded and, aiming a shotgun at one of the officers, said "Sound it out, Reki-Nova!!"
Rebekah announced, the girls sounding in reply--"Ladies, Game Time--"
"GAME ON!!"
The mensch-maschinen all nodded in agreement, as the fight for Eastern Europe began.
In the meantime as shots began to fire, Alessandro sat with Johannes while Fritz spoke with them through the Übermittler. The orphan wanted to keep watch but the train conductor advised against it, opting instead that the two stick to keeping below the window if they want to see the next sunrise. The blind woman agreed with the conductor, the orphan thought he had a point. That ended the discussion topic as the orphan helped the blind woman to the floor, to keep away from the window.
"Alessandro," Johannes spoke.
"Yes, Miss Johannes?"
"I'm scared. Very, very scared. Not good."
"I know that feeling. Don't worry though. We've got the best guardians in the whole wide world. Your sister, neighbor, good friend, boyfriend, and your boyfriend's best friend and their two best friends too! Things are gonna be alright. You'll see!" he affirmed with a grin.
And how the hell did I wound myself up in this hellhole!? she thought to herself unamusingly--and unimpressed.
"GODDAMNIT!! FLORIAN'S DOWN!!"
Elizabeth stopped firing at enemy troopers for a moment to dodge a bullet as her guardian angel fell back, having been hit in the shoulder. Anneke glanced to Rebekah--"Rekah!! I'll cover ya. Go help Florian!"--and back to the enemy officers she aimed at as the Secret Florence Nightingale of Düsseldorf knelt down to check the wound.
"...not too bad. Very shallow wound" she diagnosed, placing a hand on the wound. "Give it about a minute or two and it should be just fine."
"We ain't got a Goddamn minute, Reks!!" Karl snapped as he dodged another bullet, firing back. "Let's go!!"
"Calm the fuck down, Karl!" Wolfgang retorted. "Just focus on putting the enemy to their eternal rest."
The young percussionist sighed and nodded. "Ja, sorry 'bout that" he said humbly as he fired another shot at an enemy trooper. "I'm just... frustrated, you know?"
"Typical Karl Bartos" his friend replied. "But you gotta hang in there. You've been doin' good on calming down too." The drummer fired a couple of shots into a Darkstrom officer. "I'm impressed and proud of ya."
"Heh... thanks, Sparky" Karl said with an amused smirk.
"Anytime, Short-stuff" Wolfgang answered with a nod and a grin.
Anneke chuckled with a smile to the two as Rebekah ended up with the bullet in her hand and Florian felt as good as new. She helped him up to rejoin the fight and, grabbing her weapon, regrouped with the rest of her team. "Sorry 'bout that, guys" she apologized, firing a couple of shots into the heads of some Darkstrom troopers. "I had to play nurse for a bit."
"Understandable, Reks" replied Karl. "Sorry 'bout my attitude a while ago."
"Forgiven and understandable, Karl" she said kindly. "Right now, I just want to--"
"EVERYBODY DUCK AND COVER!!" Ralf shouted for dear life as he quickly ducked and everyone in the train car followed. Karl huddled his beloved, along with Wolfgang and his girlfriend, in his arms, glaring at the windows.
"The hell are you doing, Karlos!?" Anneke asked, exasperated.
"I swore I'd guard my friends with my life" he answered, looking to her with a loving smile. "I'm keeping my word."
"Now that's guts" complimented Rebekah.
"Agreed" Wolfgang chimed in as above them, from one end of the enemy line, shots were fired just seconds after all had ducked. But the enemy bullets soared across the train car, out the other side's windows, and accidentally hitting their fellow soldiers. Some of the soldiers, hit in the head and heart, fell to their deaths.
"CONDUCTOR HILPERT!!" Elizabeth shouted onto the Übermittler. "If you can hear me above the gunfire I have a request!!"
"What is it, Miss Korinn!?" Fritz asked.
"Get this train going--FULL SPEED AHEAD!!"
"Full Speed Ahead... YOU GOT IT!!" he cheered as he pushed a couple of buttons and pushed the FSA lever forward. The Trans-Europa began to accelerate... faster... faster still.
Alessandro meanwhile poked his head up to look out the window for a moment--and giggled in glee as he ducked again. "There's less than a third of them now, Miss Johannes!" he reported, but Johannes was quietly crying to herself. More than anyone else she wanted desperately to see Ralf, but knew that she couldn't. The orphan boy, sharing in her misery, hugged her tightly in consolation.
"Everyone, let's go!!" Ralf cheered the rest of the gang on as they stood back up to take on the remaining Darkstrom troopers, as they had taken down all of the officers. But as more shots were fired the mensch-maschinen suffered what could only be described as "glitch attacks"--slight problems with their programming which only worsened through time. Pains that only the brave few that underwent the transformation from human to full-spirited Mensch-Maschine suffered. In any case, Ralf's hand wouldn't work right--and the pain surged right through to his head. The pain that Florian underwent from his bullet wounds returned--at an even worse rate, causing him to stop in his tracks. The same happened to Wolfgang for, though he suffered only one bullet wound, he felt the pain, which caused him to cough up blood. Karl felt a burning jolt throughout his body and, trying desperately to move in dodging the bullets, caused himself even more pain. The girls, in a panic, looked to the guys and then to each other.
"I don't like the looks of this!" Rebekah spoke up, reflecting the thoughts of Anneke and Elizabeth as the three tried to help the guys. But in a last ditch effort to combat the glitch attacks the guys stood in harm's way as bullets were fired from the remaining troopers. The girls fired back from between the unlikely safety surrounding them, despite the fear and chaos surrounding them. They had all endured glass cuts and dodged bullets, but this was something that the guys prayed would've never happened to them in front of the girls. The worst thing that the Roboter could ever suffer--watching their loved ones suffer while they're unable to do a thing about the pain they themselves felt.
Courageously the three women took on--and defeated--the last of the entire Darkstrom fleet. But it wasn't until after all the shots had been fired, all was said and done, when the four guys in their worst state tried to stay standing. Karl, in all his pain, collapsed in Anneke's arms while Wolfgang slumped into a chair when Rebekah tried to help keep him up. Elizabeth caught Florian's fall and quickly got herself into a chair with him in her arms, begging him to hang in there.
But Ralf, in all his courage, struggled to stay standing and, keeping himself up along the chairs, tried desperately to reach the door, to run back and see if Johannes was alright. Yet as he coughed out blood from the wounds and his vision blurred, he somehow knew she was alright, but more than anything else at the moment he simply wanted to be with her. And then he heard voices...
"No, I'm going over there!!"
"But Miss Johannes!! What if they're still fighting them!?"
"I don't care! The one I love is there, and I can't just leave him out there alone!!"
As Ralf approached the door it was quickly opened by Johannes, who was followed by Alessandro. The young boy's eyes widened in shock--"Madre Dolce del Dio..." he whispered in his native Italian.
"What... happened?" Johannes spoke in a soft voice, but the girls couldn't say a word.
"Jo--Johanna..." Ralf stammered in his pain, "Are... are you--alright?"
"--yes, are... are you, Ralf?"
"Just... barely... my..." --but his words stopped short as he stumbled. Unaware of what went on the blind woman stepped a couple of paces forward, arms open in a longing to hug him. The mensch-maschine in his weakness too had his arms open, wanting just as much to hug her. Yet as he hurried to her, in all his pain--
"Johannes--"
he collapsed into her arms, her name being the last word to have escaped his lips. Sitting on the floor carefully, with Alessandro's help, she took her true love in her arms and realized his warmth was dying, that he began to feel cold as ice. The orphan meanwhile ran to tell Fritz what all had happened, and the conductor kept full speed ahead to hurry them to the Spacelab in Düsseldorf in hopes that the four brave Roboter might be saved.
"Oh my God..." she whispered, "what happened... what happened to you!?"
But no words were needed as the girls began to cry over their loved ones--Rebekah unable to heal their wounds for some unknown reason, Anneke feeling the pain of her first lost love, Elizabeth hurting over the possibility of losing her loving rival, Johannes in her fear of realizing that she had just lost her true love.
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