Fullmetal Alchemist: The Four Horsemen

[Mathim]

The nation of Amestris sets the ground for the story of Fullmetal Alchemist. The events that occurred there reveal the truth behind Alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone. Although the epic adventure shared by the Elric brothers and their companions is great, it is not the only one. Across the sea, in the nation of Bornea, there is another military, another slew of National Alchemists, and a sinister plot threatening to shake the foundations of the earth.

***

It was a hot day, the sun blazing down on the forehead of the annoyed Major. He sat in the back of a jeep, his arms outstretched, staring up at the angry glowing orb in the sky through his dark sunglasses. His golden hair glimmered as the wind played through it, the tips looking as sharp as daggers. His two escorts sat up front driving and keeping watch while he drifted in and out of sleep. He was being relocated, at least that was what the orders were. Usually one didn't need to go back to Central to receive other orders before being reassigned, but this must have been something either very unusual, or very important...or very top-secret. He didn't know which, but any of the three meant bad news.

He yawned and cracked his knuckles one at a time, careful not to break his fingers as four of them were covered in hard silver rings bearing alchemic symbols upon them. He flipped open his silver watch to check the time. "Good god...there's an empty road in front of us, can't this heap go any faster?" he complained, leaning forward and gripping the two escorts' shoulders. As if complaining would get them there any faster.

He arrived hours later, fully rested now that he'd been given enough time to sleep, but he'd regrettably be awake all night. "Greetings, Major Hearst!" he was saluted at the entrance. "Make way for the Volt Alchemist!" He was ushered inside and brought into a dark meeting room with a projector and folding chairs. "What's going on?" he asked one of his inferiors. He didn't receive a satisfactory answer, he was merely told to wait. He was going to be partnered up for his next assignment, a prospect he did not feel happy about. Not to mention, it was another National Alchemist, and on top of that, a female. He felt very competitive so he knew this was going to be very difficult.

He remained silent as the grave and sat behind the projector while his new partner arrived and their immediate superior officer entered with a few others of even higher rank. "Officers. What you are about to see and hear are military top-secret. You are to be sent on an assignment outside of your normal jurisdiction, part undercover, part military. This will be difficult and it was not easy choosing the appropriate team for this but we are confident your talents will see you through this best." it was explained to them.

Their superior put a film in the projector and let it roll. "This was received three days ago from an area to the far West. Observe."

It was footage of a train at sunset. Or at least, that was what it appeared to be. Before long, there appeared to be someone on horseback riding alongside the train. Moments later, after something very odd emanating from the rider, the train derailed. The carnage and mayhem were spectacular. Whoever had been holding the camera began examining the wreckage, giving remarkable detail to the dead, mangled bodies within. Some survivors were being kidnapped by more shadowy horseback riders.

Suddenly the camera was dropped and the person holding the camera could now be seen, a junior-ranking military officer. He crawled backwards along the ground, looking up horrified at an unseen attacker. A heavy boot with an overcoat stomped the ground in front of the officer, though the camera did not get a look any higher than that. Finally a voice could be heard. "Let me show you why they call me the Acid Alchemist..." it rasped. The officer was picked up bodily by two slim but powerful arms. He screamed in pain and horror until...his skin began to melt off until nothing was left in the so-called Acid Alchemist's arms but bones and a partially burnt uniform before it was dropped.

The film stopped. "As you can see..." the highest-ranking officer who had come in said grimly, "We have quite a situation on our hands. We have no idea what we're dealing with but this is the fifth such incident in the last three months."

"You see, similar accidents and kidnappings have been happening for a while now. Only, we were happy to chalk this up to random bandits and slave traders until now, we left it to local law enforcement to deal with. But some of our strategists have been following these incidents and each time, they were moving further and futher East-towards us. That's why we had that junior officer patrolling there, just in case; it was the next major area for such an attack to potentially occur. And it did. And this time, they got caught on film." their immediate superior explained.

"What? Why the hell didn't that Acid guy destroy the tape? He attacked the officer, he wouldn't be stupid enough to leave evidence lying around would he?" Major Hearst expressed his concern.

"That was our question. We think that they intended to make themselves known and so they left it for us to find. Regardless, they are a well-organized and powerful group to pull off this many attacks of this magnitude, especially if they are employing Alchemists." was the reply.

"So you want us-" Hearst referred to himself and his new partner, "to walk right into this obvious trap and see what we can find out?" he smirked. As if he couldn't see right through it.

"When you put it that way, it does sound foolish." It was admitted. "But you two are experienced, talented Alchemists. You should prove more than a match for them if they attack. Your mission, however, is not to engage, merely to investigate. You are under no circumstances to instigage a battle without first reconvening with us and reporting your findings, unless you are attacked first. Is that understood?"

Hearst nodded, looking over at his new partner, wondering if she agreed with this arrangement.

[FlaminGlory]

Major Katrina Andrews stared at the projector as it went through the scenes of another train derailment and more kidnappings. To say the least, she didn't like what was happening as it was in her own backyard. Although she had remained quite the weeks before when she heard that local law enforcement were going to be on the job and she knew that they didn't really care about it at all. They just acted like they did.

Her teal eyes flicked over to partner and she couldn't believe that it was him. He had an ego about him and she knew that she would have problems right from the start, but she guessed that it would be good to be civil, only if he didn't try anything with her or get on her nerves. Her eyes went back to the projector as she listened to her mission. So she wasn't suppose to start and battles, that would be fine with her. As long as someone else didn't start it, then she would have no choice but to freeze them.

Giving a nod in agreement, she flicked her gaze to him and gave him a glare. Flicking a strand of black hair out of her eyes, she returned her glare to him. Almost saying 'stop looking at me and pay attention.' She didn't really have a choice but to agree and work with him.

"I understand sir." She said in her usual cold tone as she flicked her gaze from him to her supieor. Wondering if she was dismissed or not as she needed to get her things together, to get ready to go.

[Mathim]

Hearst frowned and remained silent, standing up as they were dismissed.

Since the train had been derailed there weren't any more locomotives heading out that way (it had only been three days and the area was classified as highly dangerous and top-secret, so no Alchemists had been dispatched to repair the damage yet) so the two of them were going on horseback. Ironic, since the attackers appeared to be doing the same.

Two military horses with lots of baggage attached were waiting out front for the two of them. "You've got to be kidding me." Hearst shook his head. "Wasn't it me who helped invent a self-perpetuating electric engine? Why the hell can't we take a jeep?" he complained.

"Sir, the terrain around the area is unsuitable for jeep travel and horses will be less conspicuous. If the enemy sees a military jeep they'll know you're there, if they spot two horses, it'll be less suspicious." the grunts explained.

"Tch..." he grumbled.

"And you two have been instructed to do this mission undercover. Here are your civilian disguises." they handed Hearst and Andrews each two thin cardboard boxes with what he presumed were some fairly bland civilian outfits.

"How nice." he rolled his eyes.

"Mission begins in half an hour. You may change clothes and make any calls to loved ones necessary in that time." the grunts saluted them and went back inside HQ.

Hearst looked over at Andrews. Outside of that uniform, he was surprised to say, she would probably look cute. Just one more complication for him to deal with. Lovely.

"I'll meet you back here at the appointed time." he told her, winding his National Alchemist's watch, the symbol of belonging to the military.

He went into the men's locker room and changed. Black jeans and a white t-shirt with a forest-green sweatshirt. Yeah, real inconspicuous. He'd have to bust the balls of whoever commissioned this crappy combination of clothing when he returned.

He wasn't normally this irritable. He had been pulled away from a very important assignment that he was very fond of. In between working with one of their top scientists on a gigantic perpetual energy generator that could have provided energy to the entire country and push them into advancement beyond any other nation, he was also working at the hospital, providing artificial defibrillation to patients with heart conditions to keep them from going into cardiac arrest. He may not have been a medical officer but his talents as the Volt Alchemist weren't just for combat. He even helped with electroshock therapy in the mental patient wing.

So not only was he pulled away from being extremely useful and admired, but this was a very unsatisfying mission with trouble written all over it. And to be partnered with a female, another Alchemist at that, was the last thing he wanted. In his experience, all Alchemists (himself included) liked to show off, though often at the expense of those around them. So between the two of them, there was likely to be a lot of difficulty working together.

[FlaminGlory]

Following him out into the courtyard, she noted the horses and she could see the reason for the horses and it seemed that her partner didn't like them at all. Rolling her eyes, she wondered if she would have to deal with his complaining all the way there, she didn't think she could handle it if she did. Looking down at the box she was given. She hoped that it wasn't a skirt or anything as she didn't think that she could ride a horse with it.

Flicking her eyes to him as she noted that he was ordering her around and for one thing was for sure, she didn't like him at all and giving him a glare as he left. Heading into the ladies locker room. Opening the box, she was glad that there wasn't  skirt in their, but a pair of tan pants and a light blue shirt. Undoing her hair that was in her usual bun, she did a loose braid, as she needed to not look like a part of the milltary.

Once she was dressed, she headed back out to the courtyard and waited by her horse. Lightly patting it's nose as she was giving him cofidence that she would take care of him. Her mind drifted back to her partner and she knew that he was the one that liked to show off and she knew that she would have her hands full with him and she would probably have to freeze him more then once.

[Mathim]

He normally used his specialty with static electricity to keep his hair rigid but he let it out and combed it down so the length of his bangs hung down over his forehead. That made it seem less like he was a stern military professional. Incognito was not his favorite thing but he knew this was going to be tough and they needed every advantage they could get, if they needed to get the drop on an enemy, he'd make the sacrifice of looking less intimidating than he was used to.

He did not, however, remove the silver rings around his right index and ring fingers, or on his left middle and pinky fingers. They were the necessary catalysts for his alchemy, pulling free electrons from out of the air and gathering them to create massive shocking energy. He could use that to paralyze opponents, or stop their hearts if he was feeling lethal, but it was also electric energy that had other practical applications. He honestly hated having to use it in combat. Luckily their nation was less violent historically than their neighbors across the sea. But not for long...

He headed outside once he was changed and put on a backpack that was on the horse's side. It was full of gear they would need if they needed to abandon their horses. Radios, extra rations and maps among other things. But it also made them look more like a couple backpacking through the countryside, not a couple of military agents.

He waited for her to get back, wondering just how big this whole thing was. To destroy an entire trainload of people...not just having the power to do so, but for what purpose? They kidnapped some of them, surely it wasn't to hold them for ransom. This was very puzzling and it felt foolish not to send in a battallion to crush them all at once. But they didn't know how large the organization was, and if they dispatched that many troops, it could leave other locations vulnerable. It seemed there was no perfect solution, but he still didn't like being used as a pawn. According to his rank he should have been a much more valuable piece and he felt insulted being used like this.

[FlaminGlory]

Getting on her horse, she flicked her gaze over at him as if saying 'lets go' before she turned her horse and clicked to get him going. Her eyes not flicking back to see if he was there or not as she thought that if he wanted to complete the mission, then he would have to follow her. Her eyes flicked back to the mission at hand as she noted that there was no ransom demands and she couldn't help but what these terriost were playing at.

Her eyes flicked back to him to see if he was there but other then that she stayed slient, almost glad that she could get away from the base for a while and not being held down by paperwork. She hated paperwork and she always found herself doing it at the last mintue. Although she wished, she could have a normal day off, instead of going on a mission,but she was a dog of the military and there was nothing she could do about it. As loyal dog she would follow orders.

"What direction shall we head in?" She asked him as she flicked her icy eyes over to him.

[Mathim]

Hearst gave his horse a tiny jolt from his fingertip to spur it into moving, not being able to move his cheeks in quite the right way to make the clicking noise Andrews made. It reared up but didn't buck him off, though it broke into a gallop faster than he had wanted. He looked back at Andrews, who he had raced past, and shouted, "West!" as he pointed in the direction of their destination. In addition to what he was already capable of, his static abilities also gave him an innate sense of direction, magnetically detecting North so he could always tell where he was going.

He managed to slow his horse down by applying some slight electric impulses to one of its legs, paralyzing it slightly, then alleviating it once it halted its rapid pace. He didn't work well with animals, even humans were hit-and-miss.

He didn't know the area well and didn't expect Andrews to either, but he memorized part of the map so he at least knew which landmarks to watch for. They were to conduct their own investigation of the train wreck before heading on and checking out the sites of each attack perpetrated by the group. Maybe they'd find some clues the officers down there hadn't been able to.

He was glad he was wearing sunglasses, because they were riding at the sun and it was staring them in the face as it began to set. It was at least another day's ride to the train wreck site and they'd have to camp out. Even if they didn't want to stop, their horses needed to.

[FlaminGlory]

Her eyes widen in surprised as she watched him gallop past her and she suspected that he had shocked his poor horse. Having horse also go into a gallop, she caught up with him. Almost glad to have a human compass as she didn't think to bring one with her. Her sunglass shelid the glare from the sun and she wished it wasn't so far to the train wreack as she didn't want to spend the night out in the open, let alone with him.

"We should stop." She suggested as she looked over at him, seeing the light starting to fade and her eyes flicked around the area and found it to be a good place to rest for the night as it was near a stream and she knew that their horses would need water and so would they.

Her eyes flicked to him as for confromation to her suggestion as she knew he probably wouldn't want to go on at all, but who knows, she didn't know how he was like anyway.

[Mathim]

"If you say so." he shrugged. He hated camping out so it made no difference where they settled for the night. There were no tents, only sleeping bags. "Just make sure we have a place to hitch the horses to. We don't want them getting spooked if we get ambushed in the night and leaving us stranded."

He wasn't sure if she was used to roughing it but he wasn't. To him this was like stepping back into the dark ages, which he was combating every day in his normal line of duty. "One of us should keep watch. You want first shift or what?" he asked her, getting out some small rations and munching on them. Obviously he didn't intend to go to sleep on an empty stomach even though it wasn't a good idea to eat right before sleeping.

He noticed that there weren't a whole lot of canteens for them, in fact they only had two total, which was strange. But he guessed that she must have had some water purification specialty, or else some other way of creating water out of thin air. His canteen was already empty, he noticed as he held it upside-down. He looked over at her. "Fill 'er up?" he requested, shaking it.

[FlaminGlory]

Giving a nod, she found a place to hitch her horse up and she flicked her gaze around the area, there was water to the right of them and forest to the left, so standing watch toward the forest seeme like a good idea as she could hear someone sneak up on them.

Getting her own things set out she heard him shake his canteen and heared his request. Although she did have control of water, she didn't feel the need to use it because he wanted her too. "There is a river right behind me and a water purifaction kit in your bags." She stated, her tone indicating that she wasn't going to serve him just because he needed something.

She could tell that she couldn't already stand him and she wanted this mission overwith before she had to end up freezing him or something. Of course, if she wanted to she could have purified the water herself, but she was saving her energy for when they were out in the middle of no where and there was no water anywhere but in the sky.