Still February 5th, 1996

Cal held Alyse tightly against him as she sobbed into his chest. His own heart ached with a clutching fear he'd hoped never to feel again. The terror of a loved one in danger. The nightly news had not been able to provide any more immediate information than the initial report, even though there were now several political experts they had called in at a ridiculously late hour to go on and on about the possible causes of the accident. None of it made Cal feel any reassurance whatsoever.

Gloria and Alexei—and the rest of the family—had been on that train. Gloria… who was pregnant… his beautiful, darling daughter. At best, stranded in the Drachman wilderness overnight in frigid winter storm conditions. At worst…. He tried not to think about worst. There wasn't enough alcohol in the house for worst… and he knew Alyse wouldn't get it for him if he asked.

But damned did he want to ask…

He cradled her close, his eyes running freely as much as hers. Tore had called them not long after the news broke. He was still at Headquarters, and he didn't have any more information than the broadcast did, but he had assured them that the mission already underway included alchemists Cal would trust with his life… because they had saved it. He hoped Rapid and Live Wire and the rest found them unharmed. If not… well, Live Wire was an excellent healer.

Tore hadn't sounded like he was doing any better than they were. Charisa's fate was as unknown as the rest, and he sounded strained.

Cal rubbed Alyse's back comfortingly with one hand, trying to ignore the part of his brain that really wanted a drink… or a smoke. It had been a long time since he'd craved that. He shuddered.

Alyse looked up at him, eyes red-rimmed with tears. She'd noticed. She reached out, rubbing his forearm with one hand. "She… she'll be all right. I have to believe all of them are all right… They have Sara with them…and Ted… and the other alchemists. They have a medic on the train… we just have to… to have faith in them…"

Cal nodded. "They're resourceful… and they survived before." Gloria and Alexei had been in Petrayevka when the war broke out, and they had made it safely out then. "I hope… this was an accident."

If someone had done this on purpose… Cal was going to find them and commit murder.

Sara stared out into the darkness past the cave opening, armed with several pre-drawn alchemy circles, and a back-up pistol she had pulled off a dead body that still held four shots. Behind her, everyone they had managed to gather in the aftermath of the attack huddled, trying to keep warm.

It was far from everyone who had been on the train. Sara wasn't even sure it was everyone who had survived. But it was better than everyone losing their lives against the terrorists—she refused to think of them as anything else—who had blown up the tracks in front of the train, and come in guns blazing. Clearly, they had been coming to kill, not capture. Only the unfortunate sacrifice of several security guards, and two State Alchemists that Sara was sure of, had allowed any of the diplomatic corps from both countries to escape.

When Sara had left Franz to go back for the others, she had killed three of them herself before finding Charisa hiding under the train. She had supported her friend and helped her back to the same place she had left Franz, before going back again. By the time she arrived back, Ted, Polar, Sensation, and the surviving soldiers had killed every enemy in view. If there were others outside of view, they weren't shooting at them, and might have retreated.

At that point, Sara had taken over attempts to collect the scattered civilians as much as possible, and find a place for them to weather the night out of the cold.

The alchemists had taken turns warming the air farthest back down in the cave, to a temperature solidly above freezing. So, while it was chilly, it was notably warmer than it was outside. Sara wished it was that warm this close to the entrance.

While she was at it, she wished Bloodiron hadn't been killed in the line of duty. First aid kids and alchemists with only the most rudimentary skills in alkahestry could do little more than patch up the wounded… and there were a lot of wounded, even among her family.

Franz's ankle, and nose, were both definitely broken. While the bleeding had stopped, his nose was turning a painful blue-black as well as half his face. The ankle didn't look much better.

Charisa appeared to have a concussion, several broken ribs, and one of the thin bones in her forearm was almost certainly broken, though thankfully it hadn't broken through the skin.

Ted was, amazingly, uninjured aside from a few bruises from close-quarters combat. Anika and the boys were also unharmed, though Nikolai and Eurion were understandably terrified. The small family was huddled together, better off than most. Anika had apparently had the forethought to grab the bag of child supplies as she ran out the back of the train with her children and—much like Riza had always done—she had been armed with a pistol she kept secured. Now, she also had a rifle they had taken from a dead security guard, though she was focused on her children, who were wrapped in blankets. They, at least, had drinks and snacks to last the boys a couple of days.

Alexei and Gloria had been in the second-to-last car in their berth when the train crashed, only two doors down from Franz and Sara, and had escaped out the back as well. Other than bruises, they appeared unharmed, but Alexei hovered over Gloria with a concern bordering on obsessive.

Not that Sara was surprised, given Gloria's condition. Neither one of them had said anything on the trip, but Sara had figured it out anyway. She hadn't said anything to Gloria about it yet. At least she understood Alexei's concerns. Sara wished she knew the alkahestry transmutation for diagnosing and determining health. If so, she could have eased Alexei's concerns by checking on the baby. Gloria kept assuring him that she was fine and he should calm down.

Sensation and Polar were the only other living alchemists, and Polar had taken a grazing bullet to the arm. Easily bandaged, thankfully. Both of them hid with her now, watching the entrance.

With them was also a handful of Drachmans, including the two head diplomats, who had survived through the sacrifice of at least eight security guards, and three aides, based on the bodies Sara had seen inside the car. She hadn't gone into the one collapsed at the front of the train. Anyone in the engine and first car was certainly dead from impact, and the resulting explosions.

Aside from that, there were two living, only mildly injured Amestrian security guards, and two diplomatic aides from Drachma, and a single Drachman security guard.

Sara only hoped others had also escaped, and found their own safe spaces. She wouldn't believe they were safe until she was certain every enemy out there was dead. Though it frustrated her that they hadn't found any alive but injured in their escape to take with her in the dark. The ones Ted had captured and held in the ground had been found with bullet-holes in their foreheads. Sara didn't know who had killed them, but it seemed just as likely to have been the terrorists and their security.

She also cursed their lack of supplies. While Anika had managed to bring what she had, everyone had prioritized life over personal belongings. Anything left on the train would have to be retrieved later… if ever. It wasn't safe to go back looking.

Especially not with the weather moving in. With the dark, clouds had rolled in, heavy and wet, obscuring the skies. Snow had already started falling, which she considered both a concern, and also a blessing. Their tracks would be obscured quickly, making it harder for any surviving enemies to find them. She refused to expect them to slink away without their targets, and she would bet even money that the diplomats, and possibly herself and Franz, were desired targets. Someone out there still didn't want Amestris and Drachma allying.

That, or they had a personal vendetta against people they had known were going to be on the train. Which really didn't narrow it down, or rule out any of the high-profile targets as the most obvious ones.

But who the hell could have organized this? Both governments had spent years hunting down and capturing or killing Hashman Syndicate and Zinovek remnants—capturing where possible, only killing where they could not. There shouldn't have been this many of either group left even if they combined forces.

"You should rest too…Ma'am," the Polar Alchemist suggested, hesitating before deciding on a form of address.

Sara looked sideways at him. "Because it's late…or because you think I'm too old to stand guard?"

She enjoyed the flustered expression on his face. "No, Ma'am… General?" He shook his head. "I mean yes, it's late, and you expended a lot of alchemical energy during the fight."

The whirlwind she'd spun up to get the enemies off their tail during their escape had certainly done that. "You did as well," she reminded him. "I'm sure you two can handle the watch for now." She nodded, and moved down and back into the cave.

It wasn't the deepest cave, but it went deep enough, and around enough bends, that they were able to use alchemically made lights without them giving away their position from the entrance.

It was a pitiful group, though in vaguely better shape than they had been a couple of hours ago. Sara wished she had any idea what had become of the rest of the Amestrian reporting team.

"How're they doing?" she asked Ted softly. Her nephew was sitting on a rock, watching Anika and the boys. The children were both finally passed out hard asleep on their mother. Anika was also dozing.

"Everyone's stable, as best I can tell," Ted replied quietly. "Though I'm concerned about Charisa's concussion. I gave it my best attempt at healing. After saving Mihalov a few years ago, I've practiced a little. Uncle Ethan was able to show me some basics."

"I didn't know that." It was good to know though.

"I'm full of surprises." Ted grinned at her, though it looked strained. "I feel pretty confident that she's not going to die on us, but I can't do much for anyone's injuries."

"What about Franz?" Sara asked.

Ted's smile faded. "He wouldn't let me try. Said he didn't need it."

Sara stared at her husband. His eyes were closed, and his chest was rising and falling slowly enough he might well be asleep. That was good, if he was. He had been oddly quiet ever since she had come back for him and Charisa. Or perhaps she just felt that way because of the lack of complaining. He had to be in serious pain, but he kept insisting it was nothing. He'd felt worse. Not that she hadn't powered through worse injuries herself, but it seemed foolish not to let Ted at least try and do some rudimentary healing. Especially on the ankle, which was now at least bandaged to hold it still. The same had been done for Charisa's arm, and ribs. "Well, try again in the morning. Healing is tiring business, and maybe he's just too tired and sore to want to bother. We certainly aren't moving again before morning."

"Even if we do move where would we go?" Ted asked. "It would take days to walk back to the last town, and we don't have the supplies for it. Besides, we'd be open targets for half of it."

"I know, but we can't stay here too long with wounded either. I'm almost certain they're still out there, and I don't know how long it will take the two governments to realize we're not coming. At the latest, it will be tomorrow afternoon when the train doesn't arrive." Sara looked over to where Alexei and Gloria were huddled close together, between Franz, and Anika and the boys. Everyone was staying close for warmth, and if they had a spare layer to sit on, they had put it between them and the stone floor. They weren't asleep, but they were snuggled close, just sitting quietly. "Have you checked Gloria and Alexei?"

"I haven't. It didn't seem necessary," Ted admitted. "They said they were fine, just bruised."

Was everyone in her family determined to play hero? "You said you know how to check for injuries. Can you do it in an unborn infant?"

Ted stared at her for several seconds, before he pieced it together. His eyes widened slightly. "I can. At least, I can find one…and detect a heartbeat. Uncle Ethan showed me how when Anika was pregnant with Eurion."

"Then I think we had better."

Ted stood, and followed her as they crossed the room and knelt down.

Alexei and Gloria looked at them both at once, startled from their private conversation. "Did you need something?" Gloria asked.

"Is there something outside?" Alexei asked right on top of her.

"We're fine for now," Sara assured them. "I'd just like Ted to check Gloria out, too."

"Really, I'm fine," Gloria insisted, though Alexei's eyes lit up a little.

"We should really confirm that's true of your baby as well."

Both of them went eyes-wide enough Sara had to refrain from chuckling.

"Do you know how?" Gloria looked at her cousin.

"Ethan taught me. I can't do much, but I can find it, and make sure it feels okay. If you'll let me."

"All right." Gloria didn't object further. She pulled up her thick sweater, which still covered a thin under-shirt, revealing the small, but distinct, bump underneath that her outfits for the trip had done an excellent job of concealing.

Ted pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket, sketched a circle, and placed it lightly on her stomach. Then he placed his hand over it, and focused. Knowing what to expect, Sara could just barely sense the alchemical energy flowing into Gloria.

"That feels so weird," Gloria commented quietly. "Can you…sense anything?"

"Just a minute." Ted focused inward, and closed his eyes. "There we are… okay, definitely a baby. Let me count here…." He went quiet again for nearly a minute. "Heartbeat's good and regular, and a good speed. Nothing feels wrong. Just feels like a healthy growing baby."

Sara watched relief come over Alexei's face.
Gloria smirked at him. "I told you everything was fine."

"Well, I'm allowed to be worried." Alexei kissed her cheek. "That was a nasty crash."

"For which you made a wonderful landing cushion," she replied.

"I will never let anything hurt you."

"I know." Gloria looked up at him with a warm, happy glow for a moment. Then she turned and looked at Sara. "So, how did you know?"

Now, Sara did smile. "Well, while you've been acting almost perfectly normal, Alexei here has been hovering like a hummingbird, and projecting dad-to-be vibes all over the place. When you've been around a few, it's pretty obvious.

Alexei looked vaguely embarrassed.

Gloria sighed. "Well, I guess it couldn't be helped. I hope you don't mind that we didn't say anything."

"Not at all. I wouldn't want people distracted and fussing over me on a work mission either. Obviously, it wasn't a concern until now. But it is important in factoring in what our options are. We have several injured, you pregnant, and two small children. Several of us have never been in a survival situation like this before. The risks will have to be weighed carefully."

Ted removed his hand from Gloria, and she pulled her sweater back down. "We'll get out of here," he commented with a firm resolution.

In some people, Sara would have called it cocky, but she knew that Ted wouldn't rest until they all made it out of this safely. If there was a way to survive, he would be determined to find it. Especially with Anika and his sons here. He'd fought battles to protect them already.

"For now, we rest." Sara looked at him sternly. "Polar and Sensation have the watch. I recommend we both get some rest while we can."

Ted didn't object. He nodded, and moved over to cuddle up next to Anika, who opened her eyes just a moment, saw him, and then closed them again. Ted put one arm around her, and tucked up close, providing another warm body to shield his children.

Sara moved the other way, tucking herself up carefully next to Franz.

He, also, opened his eyes, though without his glasses Sara knew he would recognize her more by scent and familiarity than looks in the dim light. His face looked terrible, particularly up close. "Coming to bed at last?" he asked without moving his head. He did move an arm a little to invite her closer.

"We all need to rest for tomorrow. Right now, things are quiet." Sara joined him, leaning carefully in, and feeling secure in his gentle embrace. Slowly, their bodies began to warm between them. "When we get home… we should do something leisurely and boring."

"That sounds like an excellent idea."

February 6th, 1996

The brisk light of dawn was glaringly bright compared to the dark night that had enveloped the mountains. Ted squinted out across several inches of fresh snow that had fallen during the night. He and Aunt Sara had taken the early morning watch, and he was just relieved that either the enemy hadn't found them overnight, or they had given up. Of course, it was plausible they were all dead, but he doubted they were that lucky.

The question on his mind, was what to do now. In a few hours, if they hadn't already, Amestris and Drachma would realize the train was missing when it didn't arrive at the border to make the change over to the Amestrian train. Should they send a scouting party back to the train? Or was it better to stay put? Should they try to walk out. There was no way to get back to the town, but the Drachmans seemed to think there was a small military outpost only ten miles further down the tracks. Though with the challenges they faced in their group, Ted wasn't sure they could all make it ten miles.

Charisa definitely couldn't walk that far. Not at the moment. Standing made her dizzy and nauseated.

The boys would have to be carried most of the way.

Franz would need to be led. He kept stoically insisting he was fine, but Ted could only imagine what it must feel like to be practically blind out here. His uncle's eyesight really was terrible. Unfortunately, his broken glasses were still back in the train, and one thing Ted could not transmute, was an accurate prescription set of lenses. Of course, with his swollen, broken nose, he couldn't really wear them at the moment anyway. His broken ankle would slow him as well.

Then there was the snow. "We're not going anywhere today, are we?"

Sara shook her head. "I don't see how. Honestly, the longer we lie low, the better the chances they'll give up. Our tracks are gone now, so if they didn't track us this far last night, this is the safest place. We're dry, warm, and we can melt as much snow for water as we need. There's no way we can move everyone fast enough to get anywhere useful. Our best plan, is to wait it out another day. There won't be a rescue team up here all that fast, probably not before tomorrow. Tomorrow, we can consider risking sending a small team back to the train to scout and keep an eye out. Presuming the weather doesn't get worse again. If it clears, and no one comes, if necessary, we can send the most able bodied towards this outpost they mentioned and tell them where we are."

A solid plan, and certainly the safest. "We may need to scout the train out sooner just to get supplies," Ted pointed out. "In this cold, going without food will weaken us all quickly." Especially Gloria, though he didn't say that out loud. It didn't need saying. "How far did we come last night, do you think?"

"If I measured correctly, about a mile."

Not a terrible walk in good weather, but a long way to be exposed in daylight. Still, it would be far too cold and dangerous to try that trek at night again. "I'll take a small team this afternoon," he suggested. "If we don't find anyone waiting for us, we'll raid the train for any supplies. The dining car wasn't destroyed, and it's cold enough, there should be something left to survive on."

"All right," his aunt agreed. "You can go. Take Polar with you, and two of the soldiers, but no more. A small, well-armed party should be able to carry back enough to last us a few days. Look for first aid kits as well. We're going to go through medical supplies quickly. Especially without Bloodiron. Of course, if you find anyone else alive, round them up and bring them back with you, if you can."

Ted nodded. If they were too bad off to bring, he might have to put them out of their misery, a thought that made him ill. It shouldn't be this way. But he wouldn't leave anyone to slowly die of exposure. That would be a horrible way to go. "Don't worry, Aunt Sara. I'll take care of it."

A slow, steady beep made its way into Edward's consciousness. At first, it sounded like the alarm on the oven, telling him that the timer was done… but he didn't smell anything cooking. He smelled… antiseptic and linens.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, and felt a moment's terror as he recognized the surroundings. Not that he had actually been admitted as a patient in the regional hospital before, but he had visited enough times. Edward was no stranger to hospital beds.

Oh hell… did I have another heart attack?

Edward hadn't worried about that in years, but as the memory of the night before came back to him, he shuddered. The train was missing… probably wrecked. His daughter was once again in an unknown state of well-being, possibly dead. And not just her….

"Edward?" Winry's voice, sounding exhausted, came from somewhere to his right.

"I'm here," he replied softly. "Did I…"

Winry appeared in his field of vision. She looked as tired as she sounded, and as congested. Apparently, her cold had gotten worse. She didn't come too close. She shook her head. "No, your heart is fine. They said the shock sent you into a panic attack… and you passed out. Not that I could tell when you fell over in the middle of the living room last night." There was a note there of the panic and terror that must have plagued her all night.

"I'm sorry." Edward closed his eyes again. How pathetic… "That must have been inconvenient."

"Incon… I was terrified!" He could hear Winry's scowl. "I thought you might be dying. Thankfully, Alphonse called the ambulance instead of trying to drive us himself."

They had called the ambulance? "So, does that mean everyone in town knows I'm here?"

"No. Though they might by later today. It's still morning."

"How long was I out?"

"About twelve hours."

Edward opened his eyes again. "And how are you doing?"

Winry looked vaguely mollified. "I've been better."

"You certainly know how to escalate a stressful situation, Dad." Aldon's voice preceded him into the room. "It's always drama with you, isn't it?"

Edward smirked. "Next time, I'll try not to inconvenience you. Is there any news?"

Aldon shook his head. "Not yet. The morning broadcast is still all speculation. The rescue team isn't expected to arrive until mid-afternoon. The snow slowed the trains coming in both directions. The roads are impassable, so sending trucks is currently useless, and when I tried calling Central, Uncle Will told me that according to Cal, who got it from Tore, the cloud cover is still too thick to try sending in aircraft, and we don't have clearance for that yet. The last thing we need to do is start a border incident that sets everything back in the middle of all this."

Edward let out a few choice curse words, and pointedly ignored Winry's irritated expression. "Well, they'd better get that worked out fast."

"I'm sure they're doing everything they can," Aldon replied. "Sara and Ted both have the family knack for coming out of insane situations unscathed, and dragging people with them. As worried as I am right now, I just keep reminding myself of that. For now, we need to take care of you."

"Me, what's wrong with me?" Edward asked. "Winry just said my heart's fine."

"And it is. But you've been through a horrible shock, we all have, and you need to rest and take it easy. Cassie said the doctors are willing to release you this afternoon, on the promise you will go home, go to bed, and not do anything stressful for the next several days."

"If you expect me not to worry about my family, you're nuts."

"As long as you're laying in bed, fretting far from the news, and getting plenty of rest and fluids, worry all you want." Aldon did not look in the mood for any additional jokes. Edward supposed he couldn't blame him. Having him keel over in the middle of the evening must have been horrible for everyone. He, at least, had been unconscious for most of it.

"Fine. Whatever you say."

"Good. They've also suggested that you and Mom rest in separate rooms until Mom's over her cold. Your immune system will be down for a few days, and if you haven't caught it yet, they don't want to risk you getting sick, too."

Edward sighed. "Great, now I'll be alone in bed."

"Well, I don't like it either," Winry pointed out, "But it's for the best. I'll just move into one of the guest rooms for a few days."

"Why isn't anyone quarantining Alphonse?" Edward couldn't help griping. "It seems unfair that this stuff always seems to happen to me."

"Oh, you'll all be resting," Aldon assured him. "Though Uncle Al seems to be better at not running himself ragged than you are. Last night was rough on him and Elicia just as much as the rest of us."

"So, if you're putting us all to bed like children, who's taking care of the house?"

"Between us, and Urey and Art's families, we've got you covered," Aldon promised. "We'll take shifts. Don't worry, the dogs will get walked, the pets will all be fed, and we'll make sure you all get plenty of food and drink and calm entertainment. Think of it like an enforced bed and breakfast."

Edward snorted. "That's rich. It's still unfair though. Alphonse gets to spend all day in bed with a hot woman, and I'm sleeping solo."

Winry rolled her eyes. "And the faster you rest up, the faster I can come back, so you'd better do exactly as you're told, unless you want to sleep cold for a lot longer than that."

"All right, all right!" Edward smiled. "I've got the message. I'll behave."

Winry chuckled. "If you do, that'll be a first."

Ethan felt the weight of his brother's words drop like bricks in his stomach. He felt heavy, and tired, and frantic all at once. Not the best way to start a morning. "Thanks for letting me know, Don."

"I'll keep you updated," his older brother promised. "Talk to you soon."

Lia was standing in Eamon's kitchen in her bathrobe, holding a cup of tea when he hung up the phone. Neither his son, nor his son's expectant wife, were up yet. "Ethan, what's wrong?"

"Dad… collapsed, when he saw the news. Mom's sick too, though they think that's a cold." And here he was, hundreds of miles away. Even if he jumped on a train tonight, by the time he got there his parents should have recovered. "Should have" being the words that concerned him. Age or otherwise, his father had always had seemingly unnatural levels of fortitude—except during the period in his fifties between the war in Aerugo and his heart treatments in Xing. Was this all those years finally catching up with him? Without all of those alchemical healing treatments over his lifetime, his father would likely have been dead multiple times over by now. They had bought him years, if not decades. His parents had assured them all a couple of years ago—when they gave each of their children copies of the necessary paperwork to take care of their estate, whenever they were both gone—that they were not in imminent danger of dying, but at their age, it was just sensible to have updated and taken care of all the legalities.

That didn't mean Ethan didn't worry. He knew there was only so much that could be done to extend the human lifespan, but he didn't think he would ever be ready for the reality of losing either of his parents when the time came. It didn't matter that he was only a couple of years shy of sixty himself.

Lia crossed the room, setting down her cup on the counter. She hugged him tightly. "Will he be all right?"

"The doctors say so. I just… I wish there was something I could do. But this… on top of not knowing whether the others…" his throat tightened, and the words wouldn't come. "Gods… this is one of those days when I wish I drank."

"Tea?" Lia offered.

"Yes, please. As potent as you can brew it."

The mile back to the train wreck took nearly an hour in the fresh snow. Ted also made the men with him stay close to the edge of the cliff that ran above them to their right, walking where overhangs made the snow less, or totally clear. They needed to leave as little mark of their passing as possible. He didn't want to trust to more snow to hide their tracks.

In daylight, the wreckage looked far worse than it had in the falling darkness, and yet somehow less horrifying for the first few moments, because the bodies Ted knew littered the ground were mounds under the few inches of pristine, undisturbed white.

They paused at the edge of the pass, where the path they had taken widened out into the large open space surrounding the train. Ted knew they were extremely fortunate the enemy—whoever they were—hadn't blown a bridge instead. They would have all gone plummeting to their deaths then. Perhaps none of the bridges had been a convenient location. Or… perhaps they had wanted hostages. It hadn't seemed like it with all the shooting, but it was still possible.

Like it was possible that, despite the snow, there were still enemies watching for their return. Ted scanned the ridgelines, looking for signs of snipers, or anyone watching. "Hey, Polar, can you see if there's anything else metal around?" If he could locate enemies by their weapons, that would be better than relying on eyes alone. He wasn't in the mood to be slaughtered this morning.

Polar nodded, and sketched out a quick circle on the rock beside them. Sending energy into it, he focused for several minutes. "I sense…. The train… there's weapons lying under the snow. It feels like there's an abandoned iron mine a few hundred yards to the south…. And an untapped vein that runs under the tracks, but a couple thousand feet down…"

Okay, that was impressive. "Anything else surface level? Preferably on the cliffs above us?"

Polar shook his head, and opened his eyes. "Not right now. No weapons, no metal belt buckles, boots, or anything else that reads as someone watching us. At least, not right now."

"Then let's hurry." Ted motioned them forward, and they spread out, with several paces between them to avoid making them all an easy target at once, just in case. The two soldiers looked nervous. Ted suspected neither of them had worked in close proximity with alchemists before.

The ground back to the train was a landmine of half-buried bodies. They stepped cautiously. "If we have time on the way out, we should pick up some of those weapons you located," Ted commented to Polar as they reached the back end of the train. "Just in case."

The other alchemist nodded.

"All right. Spread out and search the cars for anything we can use: food, medical supplies, items to keep the living warm. If there's a working radio, we can use that to call for help."

They went in pairs, one alchemist and one soldier together. Ted took the Drachman, since he was more fluent in the language than Polar. They started in the very back of the train, and the other two started as far front as they could go, and worked their way toward the middle.

Ted swallowed bile as he moved past dead bodies. There weren't many at the back of the train, but not everyone had made it. He didn't know any of them well, but that didn't make it better. He hoped they hadn't suffered.

It was worse the closer to the front of the train they went, when they encountered the areas where the fighting had been the worst. He saw the bodies of his fallen Alchemist comrades, but they left them where they lay. They couldn't take the bodies, and the snow would preserve them until a recovery team could collect them properly.

They found plenty of food in the dining car. Focusing on items they didn't have to cook, and were unlikely to spoil, they bundled everything they found in blankets Ted pulled out of the sleeping cars. Fresh fruit and vegetables that would have been dinner, or snacks… cheese, and some sausages. Bread… plenty of random things that might have been ingredients for actual cooked dishes.

Three first aid kits worth of supplies… including Bloodiron's, went on the pile.

It didn't take long to collect those basic supplies, and the bundles were such that two of them could carry them without too much trouble. Ted gave them time to go search through the personal berths than, for anything critical for individuals… medications, outer-wear that they hadn't been wearing on the train. He found his heavy winter coat and put it on, along with the thick fur-lined winter hat. He took Anika's as well, and additional layers for the boys. He found Gloria's coat, hat, and gloves, and Alexei's… he couldn't find Charisa's personals. There was no way he could carry everyone's actual luggage, so he took only necessities...socks, underwear. That car was a mangled wreck he wasn't willing to risk entering, as it was also tipped over on its side. But he found another coat that looked like it would fit her. The soldiers found items for the others, and Polar found his things, and Sensation's, as well as the train's stack of extra blankets, and towels.

They took a handful of cups from the kitchen as well, as well as bowls and silverware. They couldn't carry enough for everyone, but they could share between them.

Using ropes, and a little alchemy, Ted rigged the bundles into backpacks, leaving their arms free for combat, and maneuvering through the weather.

"Should we wait around a bit and see if a rescue team shows up?" Polar asked as they reconvened.

Ted shook his head. It was starting to snow again, fat thick flakes. "We need to get these supplies back, and we don't want to get lost." With alchemy, they could probably find their way back without clear vision, but he didn't want to risk it. Besides, the wind was kicking up. "If they come looking for us, they won't just come, look around, and leave. A proper operation will take days. I doubt we'll miss them."

Polar nodded. "I hope you're right."

Amalea Finn-Wilkes—the Live Wire Alchemist—stared out the train windows at the thick snow whipping past outside. Visibility had been awful for hours, which didn't make her feel better about their prospects of what, or who, they would find when they found the missing train.

Beside her, her husband, Ryan—the Rapid Alchemist—squeezed her hand.

The latest report said they should be there before much longer, if the train had crashed in the area the Drachmans had estimated from the information they had, and where it should have been based on the travel timetable. "I never thought we'd be on a mission in Drachman winter again."

"The curse of being good at our jobs." Ryan sighed. "I wish I knew what we were going into."

They might be facing a combat situation, triage, or just recovery of the dead. The last honestly terrified Amalea most. Not only was she worried about their friends, and the other people on the train, but she feared the worst. She couldn't rescue the dead. Though she was fairly confident that she could pull almost anyone back from it, if they had lived this long. After all, she had kept Whitewater alive for days when by rights he should have been stone dead.

Still, they were anticipating dead. The reports said there had been likely gunfire… reports that they had tried to keep out of the news, that one piece of information. The military knew. The governments knew. If someone had attacked the train, that meant there were still enemies that did not want an alliance between the countries.

The sounds of the train changed, and she realized they were slowing down, and then they stopped.

Amalea steeled herself. "I guess we're here."

Ryan nodded. "Let's go."

Outside was a swirling world of white and frigid blasting winds. The only good news, was that meant they were unlikely to be attacked. No one could see to do so in this weather.

The emergency teams spread out, assessing the situation, looking into the cause of the crash, investigating what there was to be found, and taking stock of the dead.

Amalea wasn't sure if it was better or worse that the bodies were all frozen. While they didn't smell like rotting corpses, they were solid masses under the snow, and identifying them coated in frost was not easy. It couldn't be done at a distance. The one thing she discovered quickly, was that there was no living still on or near the train itself.

"Everyone here is dead," she reported to their commanding officer—a Brigadier General from Briggs—trying to keep her voice from trembling. "But we only count twenty bodies that we can identify as members of the Amestrian delegation, or the incoming Drachman delegation. The other twelve appear to be enemies. They're all dressed in winter mountain camouflage. I can't be sure if there aren't more dead in the first two cars until we can get into them."

The Brigadier General nodded. "Have you been able to identify any of the casualties."

"Two State Alchemists, Bloodiron and Magnesium, died in the middle of the firefight," Ryan spoke up. "Three of the bodies in the first car are Drachman diplomatic aides. The rest all appear to be security, but we haven't been able to ID everyone yet. The bodies are being collected and brought into the mortuary car for identification and… processing."

"I want every enemy body thoroughly searched for anything that might give us information about their identities, or their affiliation."

"Yes, Sir."

"How many are unaccounted for?"

Amalea swallowed. "Based on the passenger manifest of who was supposed to be on the train, we're missing at least twenty, and while we haven't identified everyone, none of the bodies are children, which means that, at the very least, Proteus' boys are not among the dead located." Whether that meant they might not be in the mangled cars, or dead elsewhere in the snow, or captives they couldn't be sure. "So far, I haven't seen any bodies easily identifiable as Proteus, or his wife, or most of the Amestrian delegation. So, unless they were all in the front," a horrifying thought, "they may be captured, or they might have gotten away."

The Brigadier General looked thoughtful, scowling deeply. "If there are captives, that will mean they intend to make demands, and we'll know soon enough who they are. Otherwise, they could be anywhere in this hellscape. All right. Keep at it, and report to me your findings when you've finished identifying and locating the bodies. I've got a team working on getting access to the destroyed cars. Though for their sake, I hope no one was in them."

"Me too, General."