The train pulled into the station. "All aboard for Central City," called the conductor. Six people boarded the train, the sixth person being the boy's brother, who was wearing a full suit of armor.
"Thanks again for helping us," said Major Carter.
"It's nothing," said the boy, "It'll be nice to have someone to talk to besides Al for once." He motioned towards his brother.
"Brother," said Al, slightly offended by that last comment, "Am I boring to you?"
"Of course not!" said the boy, "But you have to admit, it'll be nice to have some company for a change."
"That's true I guess," said Al, nervously rubbing the back of his helmet.
The six people managed to squeeze into two bench seats that were facing each other. Being smaller than the rest of SG1, and since they needed to conserve space, Samantha sat next to Al.
"So," said Samantha, talking to the blond-haired boy, "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"
The boy appeared not to be exactly sure whether he wanted to answer that, but finally said, "I'm fifteen."
"Really?" said Jack O'Neill, "I thought you were twelve or something."
Suddenly, the boy threw himself into a rampage, flailing his arms and legs about, as he screamed, "WHO DID YOU SAY WAS SO SMALL THAT HE COULD FALL INTO A CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK AND NEVER BE FOUND AGAIN?"
Thankfully, Al was restraining his brother the whole time, and told him, "Calm down, Brother, they didn't go that far!"
Finally, the boy calmed back down, and settled back into his seat. Jack O'Neill looked nervously around, wondering if he should say anything, lest he should cause another outburst like that.
Al broke the silence, and said, "Brother is always like that. He hates to be called short..."
"I'M NOT SHORT!"
"...And I guess that he assumed you were referring to his height," Al finished.
"Gee, I'm sorry," said Colonel O'Neill, "I didn't realize that it would bother you. I won't make the same mistake again, I promise."
After a brief moment of seething, the boy finally sat back up and said, "It's alright, I forgive you. Now, since we're obviously going to be traveling together for a while, we should get to know each other. Would you care to share your names?"
"I am Major Samantha Carter," said Carter.
"A Major? Do you mean you're in the military?" asked the boy.
"I'm in the military back in my homeland, yes." said Carter.
"I am Colonel Jack O'Neill," said O'Neill.
"You're in your country's military system too, I take it," said the boy.
"Yes, I am indeed," said O'Neill.
"I am Daniel Jackson. I'm not in the military, I'm an archeologist," said Daniel.
"I am Teal'c," said Teal'c.
"Teal'c what?" said the boy.
"Just Teal'c. I have no surname," said Teal'c.
"Really..." said the boy.
"And what might your name be?" asked Jack O'Neill.
"My name is Edward Elric, and this is my little brother Alphonse. I am also in the military," said the boy.
Simultaneously, Carter said, "That's your LITTLE brother?" while O'Neill said, "You're in the military?"
Edward seethed again for a moment with his head in his hands, then snapped back out of it and said, "Yes, to both questions."
"Really?" said Daniel, "So...what's your rank, if you don't mind my asking."
"Not at all," said Edward, "I'm a State Alchemist, and State Alchemists automatically start out with the rank of Major."
"So your country still believes in alchemy?" asked Carter.
"STILL believes? What's not to believe?" asked Edward, "You saw me perform some alchemy back there at the station."
"That was alchemy?" said O'Neill, "I thought that it was some sort of fancy technology you guys had here."
Edward laughed. "No, that's science, not technology."
"How is alchemy 'science'? I thought it was metaphysics," said Sam, "I'm a scientist, so I'm just curious."
Edward laughed again. "I can't believe that your country let you guys in the military without knowing anything about alchemy!" He cleared his throat, and then began, "Let's see if I can put it simply. Alchemy is a science based on equivalent exchange. In order to get something, you have to give something of equal value. The alchemical process can be described in three basic steps: understanding, decomposition, and reconstruction. If you wanted to transmute, say, a lump of clay into a vase, you would first have to understand the composition of the material you were working with. Then, you would break it apart, and third, you would reconstruct it into your desired form. While that's a little oversimplified, it gives the basic idea behind the process."
"Wow, could you show me?" asked Carter.
"Maybe when we get to Central," said Edward, "Right now isn't a very good time."
"I suppose not," said Carter.
Just then, the six passengers heard a voice call from behind them, "Well, little midget, are you ready to fight me now?"
Everyone turned to look at the person that had spoken. Just as he said, he had brought reinforcements. There were two women, a boy about Edward's size with long, black hair, and a short, fat man that looked somewhat like an ape. It looked like they were out to cause trouble.
"Brother, you're not going to fight, are you?" Al asked nervously.
"What, are you crazy? It would be five against one!" said Ed.
"Oh, that's the way it is, is it?" said the guy who had bothered them before, "In that case...Gluttony, eat your heart out."
The fat, ape-like man ran toward SG1, and grabbed Major Carter's arm in his teeth. He was just about to take a big bite out when Edward jumped into action. He struck Gluttony's head with his right arm, causing Gluttony to fall onto his back.
"Leave them alone!" he said, "They have nothing to do with you."
"On the contrary, little midget, they have everything to do with me. Didn't you realize that these people came through the Gate? They're not even from this world. They don't belong here."
Edward wore a shocked expression on his face. "They came through the Gate?" he said to himself, though everyone still heard him. "How is that possible?"
"It doesn't matter how they did it," said the intruder, "All that matters is that they must be disposed of."
"I won't let you!" shouted Edward as he lunged at the intruder, who simply jumped out of Edward's way.
"You're so slow, it's painful," said the intruder.
Edward turned around and was about to lunge at him again when one of the two women extended her arm, which turned into water, and surrounded Ed's head with it. He couldn't breathe, and was trying hard to escape her grasp, but it was no use. If something didn't happen quickly, he was going to drown.
Then, Colonel O'Neill stood up and pointed a gun at the woman. "Let him go, or I'll shoot," he said.
"Go ahead," said the woman.
On cue, he pointed the gun at the woman and shot a bunch of bullets at her, all of which went straight through her, like she was made out of water.
The woman chuckled in an amused way. "It'll take more than just that to save your little friend here."
Teal'c then stood up and fired his staff weapon at her, which caused her to vaporize. Edward was finally released from her grip and was gasping for breath. However, judging by the look on the faces of her cohorts, they figured that they hadn't actually killed her.
"Nice work," said the other woman, "But I'm afraid that you'll have to do better than that." With that, she extended her hand toward Teal'c, and her fingernails grew, pierced his skin, and pinned him to the floor.
"You people are just too slow," said the original intruder, "You can't win against us. Gluttony, finish him off."
As Gluttony was running toward the helpless Teal'c, Edward finally got his wits about him, and turned to face the attackers. "I won't let you win so easily," he said.
With that, he pulled off his right glove and put it in his pocket. An elaborate mechanical arm was underneath. Edward clapped both his hands together. Blue sparks once again flew out of his hands, but this time, a sharp blade grew from Edward's mechanical hand. He lunged toward Gluttony. When Gluttony saw Edward coming at him, he panicked and backed off, so Edward turned his attention to the woman who had Teal'c pinned.
"I know your weakness," he said. Edward reached into his jacket, and pulled out a locket. The woman gasped, and froze. She couldn't move. Edward knocked her down, releasing Teal'c. He was about to plunge his blade threw her heart when the original attacker grabbed him from behind and threw him to the ground. The man proceeded to start kicking the boy. Colonel O'Neill raised his gun at him, and said, "Stop, or I'll shoot."
"Do you really think you can hurt me with that measly weapon of yours?" the guy asked, "I'd like to see you try."
On cue, O'Neill fired a bunch of shots at the man, who keeled over onto the floor. SG1 thought that they had finally gotten him. However, a few seconds later, the guy woke up, chuckling. "Not bad for a first-timer" said the guy, "But you can't dispose of me that way. I'll always come back to life."
Just then, some of the train personnel burst into the car. "What's going on in here?"
Nobody said a word, and the intruders were nowhere to be found.
