Kei looked onward towards Central, where many military operations where known to exist. Feeling a bit of fatigue after walking 50 miles in a matter of two days non-stop, the first inn that he found he decided to check in and call it a night, even though it was still only afternoon. He took a seat in the lobby of the hotel, taking out a small, tattered brown pouch from his coat pocket and counting out a few coins. "God dammit..." he cursed aloud, throwing the pouch on the floor. "I'm three dollars short of even just a night in this forsaken place!"

"3 dollars? Here." Ross, who had been sitting close, handed him some money. 100$ to be exact. Ross had alot of money due to his travels. He leaned his head back, relaxing.

Emerald, first being tempted to help the traveling stranger, turned away. 'No need to swear...' Emerald thought, walking out of the hotel. He grabbed a cigarette and a matchbook. He lit a match, which he used to light his cigarette, and smoked outside. He remained calm, his uncaring eyes gazing at the moon. Ever since he grew to the rank of Colonel, things had been boring... Not to mention his squad was usually away being a bunch of idiots.

Kei reluctantly grabbed the money from the stranger, staring at it with admiring eyes. "Thank you!" He shouted, running up to the register and getting his room key. After getting his key, he walked back to the stranger, handing him back the extra money he had given him. "Here, take all of this back. I don't need any of it."

Ross forced it into the stranger's pocket with wind. "Don't want it."

Kei sighed and pocketed the money without a moment's hesitation. "So...anyway, what's your name? I'm Kei Sayu from...China," he presented himself.

"Ross silver..." he drifted off.

Kei scratched his head. He hadn't taken the time to meet anyone outside of where he used to live after he had started traveling. "So, do you live around here?"

"No. I travel around alot." he explained, groggily. "Came back from a long day..."

"I see...it seems that a lot of people travel nowadays. There's hardly a person that can settle down in one place," Kei smiled. It seemed as though he had found a friend, but he doubted it would be able to stay that way. He could feel this person's connection to the Amestris, he could feel that they were an Alchemist. "So, do you know anything about alchemy?"

Jereko bursted in through the doors, with a hand full of crystal dust. He tossed it up into the air, and it slowly fell. The dust was sparkling as it dropped to the ground.

"Behold, the crystal arts!" Jereko exclaimed in a most enthusiastic voice as he took out a miniature statue of himself crafted from diamonds from his pocket. "It is the crystal arts at its greatest!"

"I'll craft one for any of you, personally by me, and I'll be happy to make you a create a crystal scuplture!" Jereko yelled.

"So long you are able to pay the price." Jereko whispered.

"Do I?" Ross said, ignoring the blabbering fool. "I'm a master of fire alchemy and wind alchemy."

Jereko heard the impudent cretin say those words, the words that stated he was an alchemist. Jereko took his miniature statue and chipped off a tiny piece. With that, he tossed the shard right at Ross, cutting his cheek just so that small drops of blood would drip down.

"An alchemist, huh?" Jereko grinned evilly.

Kei eyed the other person with his peripherals, and turned to him, getting up. "How much is it for one of these, exactly?"

"Depends on what you want." Jereko said as his face lost the evil grin.

"A sword made of the hardest crystal, with a sheath made of crystal to match it," Kei commanded, flashing the money that Ross had given him. "How much will that be?"

"There is no need to pay. However...allow me to join you on whatever journey you are on for I have been bored quite a while. I'd like to see alchemy besides my own and wish to join you." Jereko said. "If that is fine with you."

Jereko began to sweat as he thought there might be a chance that he'd decline, so he said, "I could also craft more weapons for you."

Ross made an explosion by Jereko. "Shouldn't have done that."

Kei's eyes widened. The other people standing, sitting, and conversing in the lobby completely froze at the sight and sound of the explosion. "You two," he commanded, "I advise you take this out of this hotel - no, out of Central itself. I don't want to be held responsible for any damages just because I happened to be at the scene as an Alchemist."

"Take him outta Central. He attacked me for no reason. I think thats assult."

"You two are under arrest.. Under my order, the order of Colonel Emerald..." Emerald said, his face full of smoke as he entered the hotel. "Time to freeze!" With those words, he snapped his fingers, and in that instant ice emerged under the two to trap their feet. "Welcome to jail: Population, you."

"With all do respect..." Jereko began. "Such tiny shard of flimsy rock compared to such threatening explosives of that magnitude, one that could easily have blown me apart..."

Jereko grabbed a bit of crystal dust from a pouch in his pocket.

"Perhaps this may cover the damages?" Jereko grinned as he changed the crushed granite into pure diamond.

A burst of flame melted and evaporated the ice. "What, you wanna play too?"

"Oh well. Tried to reason, but then again, this will be an experience."
Jereko shrugged his shoulders and lifted his arm. From the ground shot out stalagmites of crystal that surrounded him. Once the crystal shattered, he was no where in sight.

Jereko bursted out of the ground and had created a crystal blade.
"Its most likely that through some unreasonable event that you'll survive this." Jereko said to Emerald as he swung the blade at him.

Ross shot himself foreward, grabbed Emerald, and took him outside. "Don't want to be in any sort of debt here." He smirked.

Emerald's reactions were quick and professional. With one swipe of his hand and a snap of his fingers, the crystal blade became covered in ice, attached to the hand of its owner, and then the ice spread from the owner's arm to his ribcage, making the blade unusable.

Next, with another snap of his fingers, ice froze onto Ross' hands, which then spread through to his arms and torso. "You're under arrest. No objections...." Emerald hissed out.

(Sorry if it's a bit godmodey, but it had to be done.)

(lol alchemy r god mod aniwai)

Kei scratched his head, looking from the two frozen men to the military officer. "So...you're part of the military? Then, would you mind escorting me to headquarters after you've locked these two up?" He asked Emerald, clapping his hands together.

"It'd be a pleasure if I gave a crap. I'm going there anyways, you can follow me if you want. I could care less," Emerald said in a cold tone.

Kei winced. "I would say that I don't like the tone that you're using, but being the only immediate guide, I'm not going to," he explained. He looked back at the two Alchemist and then at the officer. "Seems like the 'good guys' aren't as friendly as the 'criminals'," he snorted and slung his bag over his shoulder, readying himself to leave. "How do you intend to get them out of here?"

"That's a question easily asked, and easily answered. The ice can connect in many ways, especially underground. Even if I can't see where they're going, they'll either end up at the center of the Earth, or jail. I could care less," Emerald said uncaringly as he snapped his fingers. In that instant, the frozen men disappeared (I'll leave the decision of where you end up up to you. Remember, pit of Hell, or safe jail cell.)

Emerald began walking down the road. "HQ's down this way if you wanna follow," Emerald explained.

Kei held up his hand and put his pointer and middle finger in a v-shape, hurriedly following Emerald. "See ya, fellaz."

"Heh." Ross blew up the ice cage and came out of the ground. "Ice cannot hold me. You should know that." Ross smirked. He sent a flare at Emerald, and wind lifted kei out of the way.

Crystal spikes shot out of the ice, shattering it.

"You'll have to try harder." Jereko smirked.

Jereko threw a bag of sand at Emerald and changed the sand into large crystal fragments that shot out of the bag at Emerald.

"By the way," Jereko said to Ross. "Can you kinda just push this at the guy who's trying to lock us up?"

Jereko threw a crystal ball with sharp barbs eroding from the sphere towards Ross's direction.

Ross waved his hand. Wind sent the crystals barbs at Emerald. "Don't see why not."

(How can you guys perform alchemy without the use of your hands...?)

OOC:By wiggling our hands as the ice melts. Yeah.

(Trans circles as scars and on my gloves.)