Chapter 1: Twilight

"Welcome aboard," the well dressed officer in the standard Amestran blue waved his hand as the passengers began to board the massive train. The smoke from the great engine began to plume up above the body of the machine, and the whistles were slicing through the conversation of the passengers both boarding and departing the many platforms. The crowd was so large, that the guards didn't take notice of any one particularly interesting, "Express Train to East City!"

Though even if the guards were paying attention, they would not have been focused on a relatively plain man walking onto the train with a well made but not terribly expensive coat. The man's blonde hair was slicked back underneath a stiff hat, and though if one were to look at his face, it would be hard to deny that he was handsome, it was not so immediately striking that one's head would turn. On his side was the Central City Gazette, a financial magazine based in the Capital of all of Amestris. Everything marked this man as a relatively wealthy, though not obscenely, man, likely a doctor or a banker, who was simply returning from the small vacation town of New Optain to his place of business in East City. No, one would merely look at him, and then turn their attention back to the rest of the world, to see if there was something more interesting.

Like a giant suit of armor running towards the platform of the train.

The guard who had been about to ticket the blonde man as he boarded moved his eyes over to the armor, and pressed down on the ticket as allowing the unassuming figure to board. He looked over at the giant man in his armor. He was about to stop, when suddenly he remembered something he had been informed about by his officer.

"Oh, of course," he then stepped to the side, making way for the armor, "The State Alchemist. We heard you might be taking the train back to East City," State Alchemists were not only very high ranking, all of them at least a Major in the Amestrian military, but were famous for their own quirks and weirdness, "We don't have a specific car, but it shouldn't be needed for a ride that will take less than a day."

"Oh, thanks," the guard looked over, and noticed a young blonde man, with a long red coat covering his shoulders. The boys suddenly grew a large smile, and then hit the suit of armor on the side, "You know, sometimes they do know to show respect," he then stepped onto the train, "Come on Al, let's get our seats and get ready to go back and see the Colonel."

"Right," a far too high pitched voice came out of the massive suit of armor. The guard stared as the two boarded, and then heard the conductor's final whistle, signaling the train was about to depart the station. he scratched his head for a moment, and then sighed.

"Maybe the alchemist is brining his kid brother along," he said out loud as the train began to pull from the station, "Afterall, I heard that Edward Elric does travel with his younger brother. And that kid was so short, it might just be him."

The guard did not realize just how lucky he was in saying that beneath the sound of the whistle and with the train already moving away from him. But he also did not realize that he perhaps should have been paying closer attention to the sharply dressed blonde man who had boarded just before the Alchemist had arrived.

'Code Cipher H,' The blonde man remined himself as he sat down at his seat, a small thermos of coffee he had brought on board the train steaming beneath his face as he pulled open the Central City Gazette. Or at least, he pulled open the paper that was mocked up to look like the Central City Gazette. While the paper did contain the front page of that periodical and all the listed articles and later continuations, there were around a dozen other articles in the piece that were exclusive only to this particular paper.

Not that any one would be able to tell by just reading it of course. Most of them were financial advice or sales information that would usually appear in the Gazette, but these articles were not meant to be read for their insights into money. the man's eyes wandered over the paper, and a message began to form as it did so.

Greetings Agent Twilight

That message was for the greatest spy of the nation of Cresta, Twilight.

Your information allowed us to destroy a huge stockpile of communication equipment. It will cost the Amestrian military a good deal of money to repair it's southern communications again.

Twilight sighed. He placed his hand on his right shoulder, an old pain returning as he remembered the smells of gun powder and the sounds of guns all around him. He then shook himself from that memory, and returned his attention to the paper.

Unfortunately, Agents Wilting and Style were discovered and killed las-

Twilight felt the paper crunch up in his hands, 'Damn. They were competent agents too.'

However, they did discover vital information that will probe key in Cresta's national security. The last message they sent was of a massive planned event in the middle of next Spring. We don't have much more information, but we do know that the planning is being placed by Fuhrer Bradley and his closest military advisors. Your mission is to integrate yourself into the Fuhrer's graces and find out exactly what the plan is, the specifics of it's goals, and to give this information to us as quickly as possible. Cresta's survival, or the survival of our comrades is Aerugo may depend on the discovery of what the plan for next year is.

"

Next Spring," Twilight rubbed his chin. It was just the beginning of Spring right now. He had a year to complete this mission, easily the longest he had ever had, though, considering the level of difficulty that would be involved in getting close with the Fuhrer, it would also mean he would have to be very deliberate in his movements. He pulled up his mug of thermos to sip some coffee.

To accomplish this vital mission, your first step will be to get married and have a child-

SPLURT

"Excuse me?" coffee slipped down his lips, as the ink barely held together from the spit up hot drink all over it.

It has been determined that the Fuhrer doesn't speak to anyone outside the military besides his family. His son attends a small school that will be letting in a new students starting in the fall. You will have four months to form a family and succeed in having a child that becomes the classmate of Selim Bradley.

"A child needs nine months to be born," Twilight seethed beneath his breath, before shaking his head. Headquarters were clearly wanting him and his prospective wife to adopt, and then have the child get in. But that was still so little time. Especially since he would have to move from his usual stomping grounds of East City to Central, the hive of the Amestrian military that had just claimed the life of two of his fellow spies.

'Calm down,' Twilight considered, 'The months I have in East City will allow me to find a wife, and build up a relationship, and then I can move after having established everything. It will provide some more opportunities.'

This is Operation Strix. Remember, this could be vital in slowing the Amestrian war machine before it destroys either ourselves or Aerugo. The fates of thousands of people rest on your success.

'Fine then,' Twilight considered his options, 'If I must be a father and husband, I shall be one. Just another role I shall play if it leads to a brighter world.'

"Hey!" Twilight stopped, looked up and suddenly realized a long rifle was up in his face, with a large man pointing it in his face. Twilight almost felt his world stop.

'Have...have they found me already?'

"Get up out of your chair fancy pants," the man said in a thick accent, "This train is now under control of the Blue Group."

'Oh thank god,' Twilight kept himself from releasing the sigh of relief that he clearly felt at the moment. The Blue Group was a separatist group in the middle of South Eastern Amestris that had been fighting a guerilla war ever since many of it's members had returned from the last real Aerugo-Amestris conflict some fifteen years ago. It had been dying off, but weapons and veterans of the Ishvalan revolt had refilled its ranks, and now the group was launching another attempt at breaking up the massive country. Twilight was not a fan of terrorists, but he would not shed a tear for the Amestrian military being tied up in internal conflict rather than external conquest.

Or at least, now that he again realized that a gun was in his face, that he would not mind so much if he was not about to become a hostage of the group. He then began to seethe, realizing he was only going to be delayed by the difficulty in getting out of this situation, and dealing with any kind of interrogation from the military when they recaptured the train would be a massive issue. That was, he would later admit, also meaning he actually survived being a hostage of these separatists.

"Hey, this kid is still just laying here," the terrorist with the rifle said out loud. Twilight looked over at the bench at the middle of the car, where a young man with a long red coat and blond hair was, in fact, just laying there, snoring. Even more shocking was the large suit of armor sitting right across from the sleeping boy. Twilight hadn't even noticed the armor come in, let alone the boy in deep red with long tied back hair. He considered how the kid could sleep through this sort of thing, when he saw the separatist place his gun barrel on the boy's cheek. Twilight nearly felt himself rise out of his seat, his hand heading towards the small knife he kept at the back of his right thigh, when he heard the man shout, "WAKE UP YOU LITTLE RUNT!"

A second later, the boy was standing up, glaring at the man with the rifle. He then brought up his hands, and then placed them on the barrel of the gun. Twilight nearly shouted for the boy to stop, when suddenly a great flash of light illuminated the whole of the room. As the light returned to normal, Twilight and the man holding the guns suddenly realized that the barrel had twisted into something that looked like a toy horn. A second later, a leg shot out, and the separatist was flung backward from a kick to the jaw.

"WHO YOU CALLING AN INSIGNIFICANT LITTLE MITE YOU JERK!"

'Oh,' Twilight considered, happy as the suit of armor suddenly grabbed the other man and held him in a chokehold, all the while the blonde boy continued to smash the face in of the man with the rifle, 'I forgot how much I'm going to hate having to look after a kid,' the boy turned around, and roundhouse kicked his bleeding victim with a square hit to the nose. He then turned toward the remaining opponent, who was still somewhat conscious man held by the suit of armor began to quiver as the blonde boy stalked towards him while cracking his knuckles, 'kids these days,' the boy's fist rammed into the restrained terrorist, 'are nothing but trouble.'

"So, wait," the boy finally stopped as the captured man let out a groan from his pummeled stomach, "Who are these guys?"

'Nothing but trouble at all.'