Catastrophe arises through the dimwitted actions of a certain American, unearthing tension of all sorts, stress, a heap of vulnerability, and an eye-opener to the cold, hard truth.

Tags/Warnings: Injury, Blood*, Guns*, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Pining

Pronouns: Female (She/Her)

Words: 7646

Read this story at a gentle pace. Picture and absorb the words as you read to really get a deep insight to the atmosphere created in this story.

(my gif)

Location: Der Eisendrache

Out of the blue, an intense wave of the undead overrun the facility, sparking greater panic for the crew than ever before. Edward, while remaining nearby his team mates, tried his hardest to keep himself from being ambushed from all angles by shooting and slashing down any undead creature that threatened to block his path. However, with his movements becoming increasingly restricted from the hordes, Richtofen unknowingly wound up staggering backwards into a tight corner, almost slipping on a sheet of ice that blanketed the grounds.

With zombies closing in rapidly, his heart thundered beneath his heaving chest. Edward sweat profusely as he desperately drew in rapid breaths of air, utter terror-struck as he realised that the number of bullets in his gun was decreasing quickly, although in his panicked state he missed his shots terribly. The Bowie knife strapped to his side was no match for the mass of this horde that was surrounding him.

The clicking of Edward's weapon practically taunted him once it ran dry. He cursed in his native tongue and threw the gun to the ground, landing it in a heap of snow. Instinctively, his hand darted for the Summoning Key that he kept on him at all times, almost like he was trying to reassure himself that it will miraculously save his life in this moment. But now he was entirely lost for ways to save himself, the only thought was to embrace his gruesome fate.

He hissed as his back connected with the bitter cold stone wall, his eyes wide and panting heavily as the zombies teetered closer. Edward braced himself, shutting his eyes tightly and bowing his heavy head. Every thought of shame and failure crossed his mind as he knows that he's about to let his team mates down.

Unexpectedly, a gruesome cracking sound drew his attention back to reality, He snapped up with squinted eyes, seeing the undead fall limp to the ground one-by-one, their heads being blasted from their rotten bodies by someone he couldn't locate through the horde. The crimson mist from the gun blast sprayed droplets of blood all over Edward, but he had no time to react as a hand grasped his arm with a mighty grip, dragging him carelessly out of the trap he lead himself into.

When Edward was freed from the virtual imprisonment, the numbing grip on his arm that he felt from his saviour disappeared as they let go. Shaking away his cloudy vision, Edward took in a deep breath like he was starved for air, but suddenly, he felt the same person shove him harshly on the back, causing him to grunt and topple, losing his footing on the slippery ice.

"Move it, Doc!" The American bellowed over the deafening gunfire.

Edward smacked the snowy ground with a thud, cracking the ice below him when he landed on something solid by his hip that caused him to cry out in agony. He felt the frost nipping at his hands immediately as they got buried in a pile of snow as he somewhat broke his fall. Almost frightful to examine what he had painfully landed on, he glanced down expecting to see himself impaled, and ghastly amounts of blood seeping from his body. Instead, he notices a metal component by his side, and realisation struck him immediately...

One last bullet was fired and the atmosphere stilled. Unfortunately, the silence didn't last long when a gruff American accent piped up.

"What the hell was that, Doc?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" He scolded in fury.

Edward was urged to retaliate furiously, but instead huffed loudly, his shoulders visibly rising up and down. He remained on he ground, his eyes glued to the scattered metal beneath him. He wanted to bellow at the American for his dimwitted actions that caused him to tumble and land on the Summoning Key, shattering half of it. But how could he? If not for Dempsey's stupid idea, he would certainly be dead.

Nikolai and Takeo stood nearby, overlooking the situation and keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings while both cautious of their every move as they sensed the hostility. Dempsey's typical hard-faced expression subtly changed to a look of concern when Richtofen groaned as he shifted position on the ground to sit up slightly, never looking up to met the trio of gazes. He felt every bruise on his body pulse at once, and for a second, Dempsey felt a pang of guilt that he may have injured him.

Altering and alleviating the weary atmosphere in the central courtyard, the girl appeared in the doorway to the castle's communications centre., grasping an ancient bow with an arrow readily in place on the string. She appeared a tad windswept, her hair askew in the messy way she had pinned it up. Nikolai and Takeo seemed relieved that she had finally shown up.

The blistering wind and snowfall caused her to visibly shudder, but she took no notice of the freezing temperatures when she saw the German slumped on the ground. The girl immediately assumed that Richtofen was wounded as he was caked in blood splatter from head to foot, and had a hand pressed to his hip. She couldn't see his face which only provoked more worry.

"You're late to the party, princess." Despite the demeaning nickname, Dempsey sounded agitated. His brows knit tightly together as he bowed his head ever so slightly, glaring at her through his eyebrows.

"Hey, without me, you wouldn't have access to this." She snapped, already feeling anger bubbling up inside her while she motioned to the bow in her hands.

Dempsey huffed at her statement, but she was right. While they had been defending themselves outside, she had single-handedly undergone the steps to acquire the ancient bow Richtofen had spoken of.

Ignoring Dempsey by briskly walking out into the open, she looped her bow over her shoulder so that it rested on her back, and tucked away the arrow as she approached Richtofen hesitantly. He never dared to lock eyes with anyone around him, both in raging ire and and embarrassment, but when she knelt down to his level she could see the vengeful fire burning in his eyes. She could tell that he had sat put where he fell for so long as snowflakes had nestled on his jet black hair.

"Are you alright? You're not injured, are you?" She quizzed in a fret, reaching out to touch the blood staining his face.

However, Edward was quick to swipe her hand away and his eyes snapped to her.

"I'm fine." He told in a monotone.

She nodded, knowing better than to prod him with questions. She rose to her feet and offered Edward her hand. Just before he stood, the girl watched as he scraped up pieces from the ground, staring in shock when she realised just what he was collecting.

Edward took her hand and she aided him to his feet. He fought to restrain a yelp on his way up as a fiery pain shot through his right side, but she noticed the way his face scrunched up in agony. Richtofen pat her shoulder and thanked her quietly, but she could not peel her eyes from the shattered Summoning Key in his palm.

He gave Dempsey a deadly glare, so unwavering that it brought a sudden fearful expression to his face. Edward then turned in the opposite direction of the communications room. The girl watched him limp away from the crew with a sorrowful look, unsure whether to follow him. Something about the situation she stumbled upon wasn't settling well in her mind, but when he was a fair distance away she faced the trio standing awkwardly.

"None of you guys thought to help him up?" She asked, a hint of bitterness in her tone.

She observed each of them individually and Dempsey seemed the most guilty of all as he never looked up from where he kicked the snow beneath his boots.

They had all noticed what Richtofen held delicately in his hand, but just how did that happen before she showed up?

-X-

The night had settled in hours ago, and the silvery moon was high in the starry sky. The blistering winds battered snowflakes against the windows, and whistled an eerie song through the cracks in the building.

Isolating himself in a dingy, candlelit room within the castles' wilted walls, hiding away from his allies, Edward stood hunched with his hands pressed to the tattered workbench before him with the half of the Summoning Key still intact, the rest scattered in numerous pieces across the tabletop. With utter annoyance coursing through him. Edward huffed, shutting his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose while he recalled the previous events from today, that resulted in this current frustration of needing to fix the one tool he was greatly depending on.

He had made countless attempts to repair the device, but none of the pieces would match up perfectly, so he would take it apart and start again. Edward slammed his fists to the table in anger but instantly regretted jolting too quickly when it sent shooting pains through his abdomen. He clutched his hip, applying light pressure and cursing under his breath as the pain seemed to worsen as they night dragged on.

It's a rarity to get such a long break from the hordes. Plenty of times the crew had battled hordes throughout the night, with less than an hours break in between waves.

But Edward couldn't rest. His stubbornness would not allow himself to take this rare opportunity to sleep until he had fixed the Summoning Key. He propped himself up against the table yet again, practically relying on it to keep him on his feet. He rubbed his tired eyes before reaching for a piece of the device.

Startling Richtofen, a pattern of knocks emitted from the doorway he had turned his back to. Attempting to spin himself around, he winced at the slightest movement, instead resorting to calling over his shoulder.

"I'm busy." He tried his hardest not to let his words sound strained.

"Richtofen, it's me." She told, opening the door fully and meekly stepped inside.

He turned as much as he could without over-exerting himself, and instantaneously noticed her bow in hand, and the look of concern on her face.

"I've been looking all over for you." She admitted, her eyes quickly glancing around the messy room he had cooped himself up in. "Is everything okay?"

Richtofen's shoulders slumped. "Everything's fine."

He hoped his words didn't sound bitter. Edward knew that he had no reason to be agitated with her, but his current situation was certainly not sparking any joy. He reverted his attention to the device he was trying to repair, and little did he know that she followed his gaze. She returned her bow to where it sat comfortably over her shoulder.

The girl walked over to the table to observe the broken Summoning Key. Fear washed over her after seeing the state it was in.

Despite his suspicious antics with regard to his plans to "secure a better tomorrow", he had always preached that the Summoning Key was the literal key to saving the universe, and without it their destiny might just be disastrous.

The girl believed in him from the beginning. She was loyal and devoted her every action to his plans, and wholeheartedly trusted that he knew what he was doing, despite how the other men despised him. So far everything had gone according to plan. With the Summoning Key now destroyed, does this mean that everything was doomed to fail?

"Can this be fixed?" She asked, watching his hands as he fiddled with two pieces and hearing him grumble in annoyance when they didn't fit together.

Edward placed the components down, lazily wiping a hand over his face.

"I hope so." He sighed.

But he didn't sound hopeful at all.

Richtofen shifted his weight from foot to foot, wincing in pain from both his bruised hip, and from standing for too long. He grimaced, which unfortunately did not go unnoticed. She unhooked the bow she carried on her back and propped it against the wall.

"You got hurt earlier, didn't you?" She worried, instinctively reaching out to support him when he wobbled.

"It's just a bruise." He tried to assure her with a smile, but the way she stared at him seeming unimpressed at his feeble attempts at easing her concern immediately told him that she didn't believe him.

"Edward you can hardly stand!" She didn't shout, but her voice was louder than her usual soft tone.

Richtofen turned his head away sheepishly.

"Show me." She demanded, softly adding, "Please."

Edward snapped his attention to her, staring almost dumbfounded for a minute. The wound was just below his belt, but the way she glanced quickly from his eyes to his hip demanded him not to protest.

Feeling embarrassed, Edward gulped nervously as he reached to unbuckle his belt. The girl averted her gaze sheepishly as she listened to his belt clink and then heard him hiss through gritted teeth as he slowly dragged his pants down diagonally to reveal his wounded side. When it went silent she turned back to him and gasped loudly as her eyes were automatically drawn to the massive purplish bruise that darkened his hip bone, and it appeared to be spreading lower. Even Edward stared down at his body in astonishment.

She bent down to examine the bruise closely, making Edward's face heat up in a fluster as she neared his crotch.

"You've cut yourself too." She told, not peering away from the gash on his skin.

The girl stood upright and Edward instinctively moved to pull his pants up. Taking him aback, she was hasty to grab his wrist before he could conceal his wounds. Edward met her eyes, utterly stunned.

"There's no way I'm letting you go about with that cut untreated. I know what you're like." She told, her voice stern. "It'll get irritated."

Edward opened his mouth to object but she silenced him by talking before he had the chance to.

"You've done a lot for us so far." She pleaded in a hushed voice, stepping closer to him. "For once, please just let me do something for you."

He found himself struggling to find the words to argue when she stared at him with round puppy-like eyes. Edward swept his hair back with his hand before he shifted to slouch back against the table. The girl dismissed the broken Summoning Key, shoving the parts aside before she patted her pockets in search of something, soon pulling out an array of medical supplies like a small reel of bandage and some band-aids.

She raised a brow, holding up the supplies. "You're lucky I picked these things up. I figured they'd come in handy at some point."

Edward half-smiled, admiring her thoughtfulness. She walked around to stand in front of him, unrolling the bandage, but before she cleaned up the cut he was sporting she locked eyes with him again.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" She wanted his confirmation, verbally.

His eyes fell shut sleepily for a second as he nodded. "I'm sure."

With a deep breath, she bent down slightly to better observe the wounds she was treating. Taking the bandage she held, the girl gingerly pressed it to the weeping cut in the centre of the bruise.

While one of Edward's hands held his pants to keep the wound exposed, the other gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white from how he grasped it fiercely. She muttered a series of apologies when Richtofen flinched and whimpered as she continued to clean up the blood that spilled from the slice on his skin.

Despite her feeble efforts to remain focused on aiding him, the girl knew her eyes would wander to his partially exposed crotch. The dark trail of black hair that ran down the middle of his stomach and past his belt line, contouring his toned physique, only teased her imagination. She hoped Edward hadn't noticed the way she was glancing at him provocatively. But unbeknownst to her, Edward kept his head up in to avoid her seeing his flustered face, as he fought with rather suggestive thoughts of his own.

He's uncertain as to what reeled him in so keenly when the girl pleaded that she tend to his injuries. Edward convinced himself that it was solely her selfless nature to always put others before herself. Maybe it was the compassion and gentleness she showed him, especially at times when he had his bouts of insecurity and uncertainty, about himself and the world. Or perhaps it was the way the candlelight tinted her complexion with a warm and cosy orange hue, her eyes captivating as they shimmered magically.

His contemplations could have him dazed for hours if it weren't for the rustling sounds of the band-aid she was opening that pulled him away from daydreaming. Richtofen peered down subtly, watching and feeling her delicate hands place the large band-aid across the sensitive wound she had cleaned up.

"There." She overlooked his patched up injury, wiping her hands together. "That's better than leaving it to get infected."

She placed her hands on her hips with a satisfied huff. Edward seemed mesmerised by her work on his hip, resisting the urge to put his hand where she touched him. He watched her every move as she collected the bloodied bandages and stashed them beside some other junk within the room.

The girl noticed how his hand hovered over the band-aid and she lazily smiled.

"Don't you start messing with it, Edward." Her tone was playfully stern, earning a meek smile from him.

He gave it another once over before moving to pull his pants up, swallowing hard when he grazed his skin. Once he buckled his belt, Edward caught sight of the smashed Summoning Key, just knowing that all the stress he was feeling from his previous attempts to repair it the first time would only arise if he tried once again. He buried his head in his hands.

"One problem solved, another one to solve." She surmised, leaning against the table and picking up a piece of the device.

"I'm not sure how I'm going to solve this one." Edward sounded defeated.

She smiled warmly at him. "Mind if I help?"

Edward gladly accepted her help. The girl pulled up a chair beside the table for Edward to sit, doing the same