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Disclaimers: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist nor Indiana Jones. They belong to their respective owners.
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Chapter Ten - Flying High
"The way they act, you would think Edward and Indiana were related," remarked Mustang towards Henry as the archaeologist left to change out of the uniform.
"I could not agree anymore," replied Henry, unused to such violent behaviour.
Edward glared at the two men before leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed. Just because both Indiana and him had recently punched someone does not mean they were alike. At least Edward did not toss a man out of a blimp, claiming he had no ticket. Edward would have come up with a better excuse.
When Indiana returned, the blimp was taking off, the group finally being able to get as far away from the Nazis as possible for the moment. Therefore, they took that time to just relax and recover from the travelling and the fights they had been in.
That's why, not long after, Edward commandeered a sofa not far from a table and decided to take a nap. The three adults took the table next to the sofa, wanting to keep an eye on the young man.
"So, I realize that we never asked how you know Edward," remarked Indiana, glancing towards Mustang after they had discussed what they would do upon arriving in Iskenderun.
"Well, that's a long story," replied Mustang, taking a sip of his drink.
"We're not going anywhere," pointed out the archaeologist.
"True. I've known him for six years, him and his brother."
"He has a brother?"
"Yes, a younger one. They only have a year difference but not even twins are that close. Anyway, how can I put this...? We work together."
"So, no relation to him whatsoever," confirmed Indiana.
"As in family relation? None."
"Alright but for coworkers, both of you seem close," observed Henry, glancing towards Edward.
The young man had moved during his sleep and now lay on his stomach, his left arm hanging off the side of the sofa while his right was folded above his head. His mouth was slightly open and a soft snore escaped it from time to time. The cap he wore had fallen off slightly and his hair, which he had tied into a ponytail to be able to hide it slipped out, curling around his neck.
"I don't think so. I'm the last person who Edward would think he was close to," explained Mustang, taking another sip of his drink.
"Now, don't say that," countered Henry, shaking his head. "I believe that-"
"Al..."
The simple name had barely been above a whisper but the three adults turned towards the origin of the sound, surprised. Edward's previously relaxed face was scrunched into a frown and his right hand was curled into a fist.
"Al... I'm... I'm sorry..."
Mustang watched the young man, remembering what someone had told him once. He had learnt that Edward's sleep was always troubled and it was only worse when his brother was not with him.
"Please... please forgive... me...," he muttered, his left hand lifting slightly, as if trying to reach something.
Mustang quickly got out of his seat and knelt next to the young man. Without thinking, he grasped Edward's outstretched hand. At first, Edward mumbled something incomprehensible before his face slowly relaxed. His right fist uncurled and he let out a slow, deep breath. However, his grip with his left hand only tightened, rendering any hope that Mustang had to get back up futile.
"Of course, you're not close at all," repeated Indiana, shaking his head.
Mustang was about to reply but thought better of it. He glanced back at the sleeping young man and then at the hand he still held. Edward is not going to be happy if he wakes up and sees this, he thoughts, shaking his head.
However, when he looked back up, he noticed something very wrong.
"We're turning around," he breathed, catching Indiana and Henry's attention.
"They're taking us back to Berlin," finished Indiana, standing.
Henry quickly picked up their things as Mustang turned around, shaking Edward awake.
"Come on," he whispered, earning an irritated groan from the young man. "Edward, we have to go."
The young man groaned once again before he reluctantly opened his eyes. However, the first thing he realized was that he still had a grip on Mustang's hand.
"What are you playing at?" he muttered, quickly releasing the man's hand.
Mustang rolled his eyes before pulling the young man to his feet and leading him to where Indiana and Henry were waiting.
"You have got to be kidding me," muttered Edward, glancing from the mode of transportation and back to Indiana. "This is a joke, right?"
"Not at all, get on. Hurry," he ordered, noticing the sceptical glance that passed between Edward and Mustang. "It's that or jumping with a parachute on your back."
The two men reluctantly and cautiously took their place as Indiana and his father followed close behind.
"Junior, do you even know how to fly a plane?" wondered Henry from his seat in the back of the pilot's area.
"Fly, yes. Land, no," replied Indiana loudly before releasing the latch that held the plane on the zeppelin.
"And how the hell did you think of putting us here?" yelled Edward over the force of the wind.
"I heard of a group of archaeologists doing the same thing in the desert of Egypt. According to them, it worked!" replied Indiana.
"But didn't they crash in the desert?" wondered Henry.
Edward and Mustang looked back at the Professor and then at Indiana. Over the plane, they caught each other's eye and Edward make an irritated face which Mustang could only nod in agreement too.
What Indiana had made them do was sit on the wings of the plane, on either side. They knelt near the body of the plane, holding on tightly to the metal wires around them. However, what Indiana had not heard from that team of archaeologists in the desert was that the two people on the wings of the plane were lying on their stomachs, further away. It would have to do for now until they landed.
As they flew, Edward tried to distract himself from looking down. He had never been this high up in his life and he still was not sure if it frightened him or not. However, he was not going to figure that out now when he was kneeling on the wing of a small plane. Therefore, he kept an eye on what Indiana was doing as he controlled the aircraft.
Who knew it would come in use later?
After a while of flying, the sound of engines was heard over the wind. The four men looked back and spotted two fighter planes heading in their direction, and catching up.
"Junior," called Henry, turning back towards his son.
"You'll have to use the machine gun, Dad," yelled Indiana, trying to urge the plane to go faster. "Get it ready!"
Edward and Mustang glanced back towards the professor, both wondering if he even knew how to use a machine gun.
Their doubt was correct as the man began shooting towards the oncoming planes, each shot missing its target, not even close to reaching the enemy.
Edward glanced over the plane towards Mustang who had lowered his head, covering his face with his hand, slowly massaging his forehead in exasperation.
"Fine, I guess I'll take care of them," murmured Edward, reaching under his jacket and pulling something out, catching the adults' attention.
"Where the HELL did you get that?" yelled Indiana in shock as Edward swirled around, still kneeling on the wing of the plane, though in the opposite direction.
"Is that... important now?" replied the young man just as loudly, hooking his arm around one of the metal poles.
Indiana stared at Edward for a moment as he raised the gun and aimed towards the fighter planes that where coming back for another round. When one of them passed close enough, Edward began to shoot at it, surprisingly hitting the mark each time.
The first few bullets hit the front of the aircraft, penetrating the engine inside while the last two broke the window around the pilot and then hit the pilot himself.
"You have been spending too much time with Lieutenant Hawkeye, Fullmetal!" yelled Mustang over the wind, staring at the young man.
"Are you jealous?" replied Edward just as loudly, unloading the empty cartridge and refilling the weapon. "Because, from the sound of it, you are!"
"That is not the point, Fullmetal!" yelled Mustang before bending down when the other plane came back, firing towards them.
Edward laughed at the man's reply, sensing the hint of jealousy hidden under the anger in Mustang's voice.
Indiana concentrated on flying the plane, lost in the heated and incomprehensible argument happening around him, between Mustang and Edward. However, he felt that it was not like their usual ones since the young man did not come out with a furious rant.
He was actually laughing!
Edward was laughing!
Indiana was shocked to say the least. That and the fact that the young man had the best shot he had ever seen. Indiana made a mental note to ask where Edward had learnt to shoot like that.
However, the plane suddenly lurched, the occupants yelling out in surprise. Indiana glanced back, noticing at the same time that his father was safe but that the tail wing of the plane was hit by the enemy fighter plane. He glanced to the left, breathing a sigh of relief as Edward, even with the gun in his hand, managed to grip onto the side of the plane and now stared in shock at the ripped tail wing before looking at Indiana with a face clearly saying 'Now what?'.
Indiana gripped the steering tightly, unsure of the answer. All he knew was that they needed to land. Well, they did not have a choice but to land seeing as the plane was losing altitude by the second. Glancing to the side, the idea of landing became a priority.
"Mustang!"
The man was barely hanging on to the plane, his legs dangling off the side. His face was scrunched in concentration as he tried to pull himself up all while fighting against the harsh wind around him.
Edward heard Indiana's yell and glanced up, behind the archaeologist, searching for the man. When he did not spot him the first time, Edward pocketed the gun and pulled himself onto the body of the plane, finally noticing Mustang's problem. The young man quickly lowered himself to the other side, ignoring Indiana's yells to be careful.
"Colonel! What the hell are you doing?" yelled Edward, kneeling next to him and grasping the man's arm, his other hand reaching for one of the many metal bars of the plane's wings.
"Oh, I just thought it would be fun dangling thousands of feet in the air, Fullmetal!" growled Mustang, trying to pull himself up with the young man's help.
However, when the plane hit a wind pocket, the plane lurched once again and Mustang, with a strangled yell, slipped further off the plane, his torso barely still on the wing.
Edward, meanwhile, still kept a firm grip on the man, his heartbeat speeding up. That was too much of a close call for Edward's liking. Mustang had almost gone flying off the plane. Just the thought, for some odd reason, sent chills down the young man's spine.
However, Edward tried again, readjusting his grip on the man and pulling back, attempting to get the man onto the wing of the plane once again. Mustang also pulled, one hand gripped by Edward as the other held onto one of the wires.
"Grab onto to something!" yelled Indiana, catching the two men off guard.
Edward glanced towards the front in time to see them landing in the midst of a herd of goats. The plane touched down, bouncing off of it forcefully and sending two of the four occupants flying into the flock of goats.
Indiana took a deep breath, glancing back to see his father slowly coming out of his seat. However, when he turned to the side, wanting to check on the two companions, he realized that they were no were to be seen.
"Come on, Dad, we need to find Edward and Mustang and then get the hell out of here," suggested Indiana, pulling himself out of the plane, soon followed by his father.
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