"I want you to take Armed Element with you." Fuehrer Bradley told Mustang. "I think her intellect will prove useful in this case."
"Yes sir." Mustang didn't want to expose Reina to murder just yet, but she knew what she had signed up for. "I will tell her right away."
"Good luck Colonel."
Mustang gathered his papers and searched for Reina. She was sparring with Havoc in the courtyard.
"I'm not going to get any better if you take it easy on me." She complained.
"I don't want to hurt you." Havoc argued, narrowly dodging her attack.
"Reina." Mustang got her attention. "You have an assignment."
"Oh?" She walked over and looked at the case file.
"Yes. We are traveling to Table City to investigate the murders of retired State Alchemists."
"And I get to go with?"
"Yes."
"That wasn't too bad." Reina decided as they boarded the train to go home.
"It was a very simple case." Mustang agreed. "And you did great. Go ahead and get some sleep."
Reina wasn't ready to argue. She dozed off for a little while, every now and then waking up to see where they were. She was rudely woken up by one of the passengers when he started yelling. Roy stood up.
"Stay here."
Reina nodded as Roy walked up the aisle.
"Sir, please calm down."
When she heard the sound of a gun, and several passengers scream, Reina jumped up from her seat, as did most of the military on the train. The crazy man was wielding a small pistol, and Roy was laying on the ground clutching his bleeding shoulder.
"Now here's what is going to happen." The man bellowed. "In a few minutes, my men are going to stop this train. Then I'm going to get off and take whomever I please with me. Got it?"
To aid his words, the man shot the ceiling.
"You'll never get away with this." Mustang managed through clenched teeth.
"I won't let anyone draw a transmutation circle. Who's going to stop me?"
Reina sank back into her seat so the man wouldn't see her, then quickly pressed her hands to the floor. She pictured the circle, and heard the man yell in confusion.
"How is this possible?!"
Reina peeked out to see him wrapped from head to toe in metal. The gun had been forced out of his hand, straight into Mustang's.
"Don't move." Mustang commanded him.
"I can't! How did you do this Flame Alchemist?!"
"I didn't. Let me introduce you to the Armed Element Alchemist."
Reina slid out of her seat and stood at attention.
"Her?! She's just a child!"
"That may be, but she is the most skilled alchemist I know." Mustang stood up. He cuffed the man's hands behind his back while Reina slowly removed the metal bonds.
"What are you going to do when my men stop the train and come find me?"
"Take them into custody too."
"You don't have enough men!"
"Of course I do." Mustang ordered a few of his men to take the man to his own train car, then let Hawkeye tend to his shoulder.
"You're lucky. It went straight through." Riza said as she wrapped it in gauze.
"I know. We need to spread out and get ready for an attack. If they are going to stop the train, they must already be on board."
"…Well, not necessarily." Reina started. "If they were crazy enough, they could-"
She was cut off by the loud sound of metal being smashed. Everyone in the train car was thrown to the side as the train was suddenly hit. Reina rolled onto her hands and knees, groaning. Roy had been knocked unconscious, laying on the floor near Riza.
"Are you alright Reina?" Hawkeye asked.
"Yeah."
"Come help me get Roy to safety."
Reina and Riza managed to get him into the next car over, further away from the impact zone. The entire train was tilted at an odd angle, making it difficult for anyone to move around. The State personnel helped move people away from the crash, and out the back end of the train. Armstrong took Mustang outside because he was still loopy from hitting his head. As Hawkeye and Reina moved to the front car, a woman ran up to them.
"You have to help me! My baby! He's trapped, and I can't reach him!"
The baby had somehow fallen through a new hole in the floor, onto the tracks below. He was crying, but seemed unharmed.
"I'll get him." Reina volunteered.
"Reina, it's too dangerous. The train could fall back on the tracks at any minute." Riza warned her.
"I'm the only one that will fit. If I don't get him out, he will die."
"…Alright. But be careful."
Reina slipped down the small hole. There was lots of hot, sharp metal below the train, so she had to be careful as she crawled towards the baby boy. He stopped crying the moment she picked him up. Still being cautious, Reina army crawled back to the opening and handed him up.
"Thank you so much!" The woman hugged her baby to her chest and kissed him on the forehead. The train creaked and adjusted, making Reina's heart thump in her chest.
"Get out of there, Reina!" Hawkeye commanded her. As soon as she moved to pull herself back up the hole, she heard shots being fired in the engine room. People were shouting, and a loud noise caused the train to rock a little. Reina's left leg was suddenly stuck under one of the wheels, and she felt a sickening crunch as pain shot through her entire left side.
"Reina, come on!" Hawkeye tried to pull her arm.
"Stop!" She managed, her vision blurring with pain. "My leg is pinned!"
Hawkeye sent the woman out, telling her to group up with the rest of the passengers.
"If the wheel just tilts up a little, I can get out." Reina told her.
"Don't panic, just stay still. I'll be right back."
"Okay." Reina wasn't panicking. She knew she could get out of this. Riza came back with Armstrong.
"I need you to lean against that wall while I pull her out." Riza positioned him against the far wall. "On three. One. Two. Three!"
Armstrong threw himself against the wall, causing the train to move barely enough for Reina and Riza to get her leg out. As Hawkeye examined it, Armstrong guarded the door, so they wouldn't be surprised by the attackers.
"This is definitely broken." Hawkeye decided.
"I felt that." Reina grumbled, biting her shirt collar to keep herself under control.
"We need to get you outside." Hawkeye helped her stand on one leg, and hobble out. Her leg was screaming at her to stop, but Reina just clenched her teeth and kept moving. When they were off the crooked train, it was easier to move, but still very painful. Mustang was sort of awake, but just enough to understand what was happening, not give any orders. When he saw Reina and Hawkeye limping towards him, he ignored the medics orders to stay seated. He jumped up and ran over, taking Reina's other arm.
"What happened?!"
"I kinda got pinned under the train."
"How?!"
"Well, you see, there was this baby, and I was the only one that could fit. But then the train moved…"
Roy sighed and helped her sit down. All of the passengers were off the train, with few serious injuries, and most of the attackers had been captured. There were still two that they knew of on the train, but Riza, Armstrong, and any other uninjured military officers, went back on the train to get them. A few shots were fired, but no one was hit, and they had all of the henchmen now. It turns out, they had flipped the tracks and stolen a train from another station, then timed it just right to hit the train with the military. It was an interesting plan. It only took about an hour for cars from the town to start picking up people, and for more doctors to come tend to the injured. The doctor that looked at Reina's leg seemed worried as he carefully examined it.
"I'm afraid there's only one thing we can do." He admitted. "With the way it's broken, it won't heal properly, so…"
Reina listened to his suggestion. It could work… As she was about to be carted into an ambulance, Reina spotted a dark figure lurking by the train. Everyone had been moved away, just in case it decided to move again, so there shouldn't have been anyone over there. When Reina saw him raise his hands, she realized a second too late what he was doing. As soon as the shots went off, she grabbed one of Hawkeye's guns and fired a single bullet. The man collapsed on his back. Officers ran over and checked his pulse, but he was dead. Reina's vision started to go black as she glanced down at her arm to see two bullet wounds right above her elbow. She passed out a few seconds later.