Edward and Alphonse head to Central City with the goal of becoming Nationally Certified Alchemists. When checking
in with Lieutenant Mustang at a train station, they are ordered to board a train that is departing. Coincidentally,
the Fuhrer and his family are traveling on the same train.
WARNING COMPLETE EPISODE DESCRIPTION BELOW. SPOILERS CONTAINED. TO CONTINUE CLICK [ HERE ].
While talking with Roy Mustang on the phone, Ed and Al are told to board a departing train. Puzzled, the two board the train and head to Central City. They have a pleasant encounter with a little girl on the train; however there are many suspicious looking passengers on board.
It just so happens that General Hakuro and his family are on the same train. While on patrol, one of the guards spots some suspicious passengers, Ed and Al. Confirming the presence of Ed and Al on the train, the guard is cornered by two train-jackers. Simultaneously, the General and his family are taken hostage as his guards are killed.
Bard is the leader of the train-jackers and a member of the resistance fighting for East liberation. He demands the trade of the opposition's leader from the Eigth Prison to Central Station for hostages.
Even after Ed and Al knock out the two guards who have taken the train car, the other passengers remain frightened and would much rather have reached Central City without any trouble. Given the circumstances, Ed and Al decide to act on their own to defuse the situation.
From the top, Ed proceeds to the front car and Al from the bottom. Ed meets Hughes outside, and they proceed to advance on the front. With the help of the train operators, Ed and Hughes retake the engine room but are spotted by another of the train-jackers. Using alchemy, Ed creates a cannon that rides them of this nusance.
Losing control of the situation, the train-jackers become nervous. With only the General's train car left, Ed issues an ultamatum to the criminals to release all hostages. He then proceeds to flood the car with water. Al, at the other end of the car, opens the door and cleans up the job.
Trying to sway Ed for the wrong reasons, Bard is defeated by Ed when Ed destroys Bard's auto-mail arm and Al knocks him out. With the situation resolved, the rest of the ride to Central City is a smooth one.
At the station, Bard attempts one last rebellion but is quickly put down by Mustang's flame alchemy. Because of his accomplishment in rescuing all the hostages, the General has given Ed and Al special permission to take the National Alchemist Test.
