Shorter chapter today, but here you go!
Chapter 4: Love
Barely anybody was surprised when the war declaration passed the parliament. Even fewer were surprised the motion to mobilize the State Alchemists to the northern front also passed.
And the fact that Edward Elric's oldest son showed up to join the State Alchemists surprised nobody.
The Elric household had been, to put it lightly, a mess. It had always been chaotic, with seven people living under one roof, an automail shop on the first floor, and a lab in the back. Throw in the general mayhem that was Rush Valley, and it was a veritable mess.
But it had worked. It had always worked, even with Ed's research, Winry's patients, and the kids wanting to travel for an internship or training.
It had worked until now. Without one support beam, the whole house came crashing down.
Elrics began showing up across rosters and military lists. The eldest in the State Alchemy program, a daughter up in the Briggs mechanical unit. Another daughter and son, too young to actually enlist on a military front, were holding down the fort at the automail shop as best they could.
Ed would have been furious. Despite the changes to the State Alchemists and the military itself, he'd absolutely refused to budge when any of his kids brought up the topic. He'd seen the corruption, the manipulation, and the abuse, and knew how far it could go. How easily one person could be turned against another. Mustang could turn the whole military inside out, but all it would take was one person to undo it all.
"I'm not going to sit back and watch as some cold-blooded general sends you to level an army!" Ed had shouted when Alexander had once brought up the possibility of signing up for the alchemy exam. They'd argued on and off for months before finally dropping the matter entirely. Alexander had later opted to go to college, but they all knew it had been sitting in the back of his mind. But now Edward was dead, and didn't have to watch.
So they did it. They signed up with the army, made weapons, and went north. They did it because they loved their father.