Chapter Four: The Secret of the Forever Knights

A Note to -ChibiMali-: Yes I know the OVAs are comedy but I can use my own imagination. BTW, the Elric Brothers live in an alternate 20th century; it says 1910 in the first episode. And FMA is an anime in Ben 10's world, NOT Amestris.

Amestris – Central Headquarters

Elicia Hughes frowned as she stared up at the clock in her office in Central. She sighed. There were too many strange occurrences going on around Central. People were disappearing, seemingly into thin air.

"I'm getting too old for this, she muttered, almost 87, people like her were rare, others were amazed at her longevity. She had joined the military at age 20, following in the footsteps of her father that she vividly remembered. Even though many things had changed, she had married, had children, and had a very successful military career. Despite the fact that she'd been married, they had allowed her to keep her surname, being the only child in her family; she kept her father's name as to keep her family tree going.

There were many things that she remembered, a young boy who had come to see her father every once in a while. She believed that he had been nicknamed "big brother Edward", and from what she knew he had gone off to "some other world", if that was even possible.

"Brigadier General Hughes, The Fuehrer, King Mustang is on the line for you," the secretary said.

"Oh, put him through," she said, her secretary handed her the phone. "Hello Uncle Roy."

"Hughes, how many times must as ask you not to call me Uncle Roy?!" Roy Mustang bellowed in the phone. After many decades of waiting he had finally ascended to the position of Führer after winning several wars for the military after Ed and Al had left. He and his wife, his former Lieutenant Hawkeye were happily married and had kids and grandkids.

"Sorry, Uncle Roy, but I've been calling you that since I was a kid. I could stop calling you that, or…"

"Or?" he asked.

"I could brag about my son Maes Hughes Junior," she concluded. "I always knew he was a special boy. Just look at him, he's followed in my footsteps, just like I did for Daddy."

"Good grief, sometimes I wonder if your father's ghost is capable of possessing you, Elicia. Don't tempt me to send a spark through this phone line."

"Wow, we really did live in the old days when they actually had phone lines. Just calm down sir, I've finished the investigation just as you asked."

"What did you find?" Mustang asked.

"Not too much, just that the people who've disappeared have never been found, but on a more interesting note, there is a growing cult following that might be something the military should worry about."

"What is this cult?" Roy asked.

"It's called the Forever Knights; they say they've existed since the 1400s in another world. They supposedly battled dragons with that world's technology and now they want to try to open the Gate with Alchemy, so they can invade that world to take over, or something like that."

"Are you one hundred percent sure about that?" Roy asked. "Did you ever find out when this is supposed to take place?"

"Still working on that. But these guys are serious, how worried should we be?"

"Worried enough that you'll keep me posted," Mustang said.

"Yes sir," Elicia said, ready to hang up the phone.

"Oh and Elicia," Hughes spoke again.

"Yes Sir?" she asked.

"Happy Birthday."

Amestris – City of Risembool

Winry Rockbell quietly polished her wrench as she set herself to work on another piece of automail. She'd had a happy life, moving forward after the Elric Brothers had departed to the other world beyond the Gate that Alphonse had been searching for a way to open. She still remembered that day, giving Ed the last piece of automail she would ever make specifically for him before he went off to stop the mysterious invaders from attacking Central.

Ah the good old days, following Ed all over Amestris, repairing his automail constantly after he repeatedly broke it. She had kept her grandma's shop running after Pinako had died, utilizing her skills to help people.

As Risembool grew, a new automail factory had been built, overtaking her small shop. Nowadays amputees didn't want the high-quality work she could produce; instead they chose the cheap and convenient automail from the factory. She scoffed at this, she had the reputation as the best automail mechanic in Risembool and the surrounding area but her clientele swiftly plummeted and she was nearly out of business.

But there were quite a few who were regular customers who came to her out of respect for her work. They also loved to hear the stories of her "glory days" as she called them when she'd helped Schiezka uncover the identity of the Homunculus Sloth and how she'd assisted Edward during the invasion from the other side of the Gate.

"Hello Winry," she heard a familiar voice say as she heard the door open.

"Elicia!" Winry said, delighted to see her old friend again. "What brings you out here?"

"I'm actually here on business but it couldn't hurt to stop by and see my big sister."

Winry and Elicia had become very close as they had met when Elicia turned three. They'd come to view each other as family and were always paying each other visits from time to time.

"You're too old to be a soldier, Elicia, I'm over a hundred and you're 87!" Winry said. "You should be sitting on a nice back porch playing games and telling your grandchildren stories, not running around investigating things!"

"Come on, with all the medical technology that helps cure diseases eighty is the new forty. Even with all this, we don't know how to regenerate limbs."

"I guess that's just how it is," Winry sighed. "I wonder what Ed and Al are doing now?"

"Who knows? Maybe they settled down and had families like we did. You honestly don't think their dead."

"Nah, Ed's too stubborn to let something like old age kill him. He's probably convinced himself to outlive Mustang."

"You're right," Elicia said, "All chit-chat aside, has anything strange been going on, as in people disappearing, kidnappings, that sort of thing."

"Not that I can remember. You should visit Schiezka at the library. Since she remembers everything she's ever read, she should know if there have been any disappearances."

"Thanks Winry, I'll tell the old Bookworm hi for you," she laughed. Elicia made her way toward the Risembool Library.

"Hello Schiezka," Elicia greeted her. The librarian looked up at her and smiled.

"is there anything you need today, Brigadier General Hughes?"

"What do you know about the disappearances around Central, since you've read the newspaper, I assume you remember."

"Yes, I do. It said that the people were homeless or runaways. People who wouldn't be missed. And when they were found, they were literally piles of mush."

"That's bad. Have you ever read anything about the cult of the Forever Knights?"

"Yes, they were supposedly founded in that other world, where I think the aliens are, in the 1400s and are lead by someone called the "Forever King." It's never said how they came to be in this world, but they have a fanatical following. That man over there is one of them." She pointed to a man reading a book.

Schiezka mouthed the words "Secret mission, huh?"

She nodded. "Tell him I'm interested."

"Hey you, over there," Schiezka called, he looked up. "My friend here was wondering about that group you joined, the Forever Knights. Could you tell her more about it?"

"Sure," he said.

Perfect, Elicia thought. I'll finally get to the bottom of this.

"Sir, a call for you, on the private line, "in care of the old folks home," it's her," Riza Hawkeye Mustang said in a formal crisp tone.

"Why do you have to be so serious?" he asked.

"We're at work, not at home," she said, matter-of-factly. "You better get it."

"Hello Hughes, what did you find out?" Mustang asked answering the phone in his private office.

"I found the Forever Knights' base of operations," Elicia said.

"Where is it?" he asked.

"Risembool," she replied.

"That's strange. That's Fullmetal's hometown. Why there?"

"Apparently they idolize him because he was able to open the Gate."

'His Teacher did that too," Roy said.

"No, she merely saw it, Ed's the only one who's been able to pass through it and come back, according to the story Rose gave us."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, I'm 100% sure they're the ones behind all the disappearances going on around Central and the entire country, I saw some dead bodies, I can't tell you what happened to them, but it's rather nasty. I've managed to infiltrate them long enough to be declared a member. There's supposed to be a big meeting tonight about whatever their "big plan" is."

"Good, keep me posted, and don't get yourself killed."

"Will do, Fuehrer Sir," she replied and hung up.

Elicia put some civilian clothes over her military uniform. She tucked her father's old knives into a hidden sleeve of her shirt just in case she needed them. She'd heard rumors that the Knights were suspicious of a mole in there midst and she wasn't going in there unarmed tonight with everyone on edge. Besides, with the reveal of the big plan might be the reveal of the mole, her, and she decided to take all precautions, including a gun.

She saw a large figure clad in armor and a cloak stand up and say to the Forever Knights, "Now is the time to act, we have waited and prepared for this day. We will open the Gate and conquer the other world, and with Alchemy we shall destroy the dragons!"

It's time to make my exit, Elicia thought, she began to back up slowly, ready to slip away. She'd done it several times before, maybe they wouldn't notice.

"We found her, she's the spy! Elicia Hughes is a Military Dog!" one of the Forever Knights shouted.

The entire group turned to face her.

"Should we attack?" one of them asked.

"No," the leader said. "I will face her myself. I will see to it that she never returns to Central Headquarters."

"So, who are you?" Elicia asked.

"I am Enoch, in the other World, I was known as the Forever King," Enoch told her. "I dabbled in the research of Alchemy and found a way to open the Gate to this world, but I have discovered it is much easier to open it on my side than your side."

"So that's why people have disappeared, you've been sacrificing lives to try to discover how to open the Gate. Human Transmutations, huh? What are you people creating, an army of homunculi?"

"You could say that," Enoch said, "I've been trying to perfect a human transmutation for years to create a homunculus to open the Gate, but I've not succeeded until now."

Elicia glared at him. She'd heard the stories about Big Brother Edward, and how he'd attempted a human transmutation, and from what she knew, hadn't turned out very well. She hated the Homunculi; her father had been mercilessly murdered by the homunculus Envy; so she didn't take the thought of more of them lightly.

"Yes, but you'll never leave her alive with that knowledge," Enoch said, "I'm going to see to that myself."

"You're really going to kill a little old lady like me?" she asked. He didn't say a word but unsheathed his sword and prepared to attack.

"I hope you'll forgive me, but I've got a husband waiting for me back home," Elicia said, swiftly removing the three knives hidden in her sleeves.

They were her Daddy's knives. She used them as a way to remember him by. In her mind's eye, she could see her father Maes staring at her proudly and she could clearly hear him say:

"Go get 'em honey!"