Alphabetum
by. Poisoned Scarlet

D is for Dictum

"That's wrong," Ed piped, looking at the paper over the shoulder of his brother. Winry sat only a chair away, seemingly immersed in her own world of bolts and screws when in reality she was hyper-aware of the two brothers beside her. "The theory states that in order to summon the proper amount of energy, you must be attuned to the...'Dragon's Pulse'?"

"I understand that, brother," came Al's annoyed voice, "but what I don't understand is what this 'Dragon's Pulse' thing is! I've tried having Mei reexplain it to me on various occasions but the language barrier keeps her from using a broader range of words to describe what it's suppose to feel like!"

Edward frowned. "Well, when you put it that way..." He leaned down, finger underlining a sentence as he read silently. "I believe its just like the energy we use in Amestrian Alchemy. It's just another way of putting it – we use the energy hidden away within the earth's crust as a whole to create an alchemical reaction but in Alkahestry all we need to do is separate the whole into intricate lines of energy."

"Intricate lines?"

"Think of it as a pipe system," Ed explained, grabbing his pencil and creating a sloppy version of pipes upon the spare sheet of paper Al had been using to jot down notes. "In Alchemy, we summon the energy from the sink – ignoring the area of origination completely – but in Alkahestry, we have to trace every path of energy and connect it to another such as we would when connecting a pipe to another in order to keep the water flowing."

Al's eyes shown with realization. "Is this why Mei is able to create alchemical reactions from various points?"

Ed nodded, a slight smile on his face. "Correct. She merely finds a pathway and links them to another when she wants to create multiple reactions. As such, this is why Father was able to shut down our own alchemy: Mei uses the inner wiring of the earth to summon her energy while we use the entire area above it."

Al was writing this down with a well-practiced hand, smiling brightly once he was done. "Brother, you're a genius! You didn't even talk to Mei and you already figured it out!"

Ed laughed sheepishly. "It's not hard – you just had some trouble picturing it."

Winry, however, was floored by Edward's deduction and explanation. He really was a prodigy; even she understood it and that surprised her greatly since she only just knew the basics of Alchemy. But this Alkahestry seemed different than the alchemy Ed and Al practiced. She vaguely recalled Mei explaining some of this to her when the young Xingese girl grew exasperated with Al's denseness in the underground mines of Briggs.

"Does this mean that you could trace the energy within the human body?" Al murmured absently, which Winry accidentally replied with a: "No."

Two heads turned to her, one expectant and one curious.

Winry cleared her throat. "You can't use Alkahestry to trace energy within the human body because it would be impossible. Even drawing a circle on someone's flesh wouldn't work. The human body uses a totally different sort of energy than the earth."

"But its the same theory just applied differently, right?" Al pressed.

"Right..."

"Then doesn't that mean it is possible to trace the energy within a human body?" Ed added.

Winry felt cornered but she knew they couldn't, anyways. Mei had explained this to her when she'd asked about Alkahestry, out of sheer boredom since being underground held a limited amount of entertainment. "In theory, it should be possible, but so far no one has managed to do that. The electrical signals our brain sends out to our bodies wouldn't mesh well with alchemy – it'd most likely cause the person to suffer either cardiac arrest from the sudden halt or increase of energy or it could cause long-term effects which could become hazardous." She inwardly cheered. She had managed to stay on the same level of intellect as Ed and Al! She was so dazed by this realization the next few words escaped her.

"...regularize the amount of energy presented we might be able to do it, what do you think brother?"

"Winry has a point; it's difficult to control the amount of energy summoned, especially on an organism as delicate as the human." Ed hummed in thought. "I guess no one has tried it yet in fear of the repercussions."

Al looked contemplative. "Then how is it Alkahestry is able to heal people?"

"That's easy, it's because you're using a medium." Winry went back to her work, as the bothers blinked.

"Huh?" Ed and Al said in unison.

"Well, the energy passes through that circle thing first before you transfer it into the human body. By then most of its capacity has decreased. Plus, you're only targeting a specific, external, area of the body."

"But it's still the same theory!" Alphonse blew out a breath of frustration. "We can use Alkahestry on the human body!"

"Using the transmutation circle to regulate the flow..." Ed murmured in thought. "It makes sense. Pouring a huge amount of energy into a human body would only induce trauma. I suppose that's why Medics only repair epidermal injuries rather than internal; internal is more complicated and risky. And, with the law of equivalent exchange still in order, reparation is nearly impossible unless we had matter to use.. plus, there's also the problem in using said matter when the injury is inside and the matter is outside..."

"But that doesn't mean it isn't possible!" Alphonse persisted.

"You're right, it doesn't," Ed agreed. "It's just too risky to try, especially if the person is too wounded to tough out the influx of alchemical energy. The human body is composed of tiny, microscopic, pathways. Just think of the devastation it would wreck if you accidentally took the wrong pathway and poured the energy into the wrong area while trying to use the remaining tissue around said wound for material."

Alphonse quieted, mulling this over, while Winry slowly went back to her work, brain hurting a little. But she was happy she was at least able to understand this. Alkahestry held a lot of theories regarding the human body – basic biology – so understanding this was a piece of cake for her until they began to get into real alchemy, then all understanding flew out the window.

"By the way, where did you learn about Alkahestry, Win?" Ed asked, curiously.

"Mei taught me some while we were at Briggs," Winry revealed. "She got tired of explaining this over and over again to Al."

"Hey! It's not my fault I didn't get it!" Al defended, feebly.

"Anyways, I was a better student than he ever was; most of it is basic alchemy and deals a lot with biology so it was easy to get."

"You know the basics of alchemy?" Ed asked, brows up in surprise.

"Duh," Winry scoffed. "You two never shut up about it when we were kids! It's not a wonder I know more about this geeky subject than I wanna'!"

"Shut up, it's not like Automail is any different than alchemy!"

"Automail and Alchemy are two very different things, Edward," Winry stated a matter-of-factly. "For one, Automail isn't freaky like Alchemy is!"

"Freaky? You're creating autonomous, sensory-capable, prosthesis and you're calling us freaks?" Ed gawked, as Winry huffed.

"It's not like someone like you would understand." She stuck her nose in the air. "Automail is a revolutionary discovery that will continue to progress throughout the years until it is a near perfect art and every waking moment spent on my designs is helping!"

"It's the same for alchemy, you know!" Ed argued. "We might even be able to honestly recreate a human body without the unorthodox usage of the Philosopher's Stone!"

"Keyword: might," Winry grinned slyly.

Ed pinked, eyes narrowing in annoyance. "There are so many things alchemy is capable of that it might not even be a surprise if we replace Automail."

"Replace!" Winry squawked, eyes wide.

"Yes. If we ever managed to recreate a human body without the means of using a Philosopher's Stone, we'll no doubt be able to recreate singular limbs." Ed explained as if it were the most obvious thing on earth. "Automail wouldn't be needed anymore if this happened."

Winry stared, mouth dropped and looking mortally offended. "Are you calling Automail a waste of time!"

Ed stiffened, knowing well enough that the look of sheer rage on her face was true and not halfhearted. "N-No! I'm just explaining to you what might happen if someone discovers—OW!" He clutched his head, stumbling back as Winry lowered her arm and placed the wrench back in her pocket.

"You are unbelievable Edward Elric!" Winry roared, face pink with exertion. "How can you even say automail is a waste of time when your leg is automail! UGH!" She gathered up her things without a second thought and thundered into the living room and up the stairs, leaving Al to quietly look at his brother, who rubbed the sore spot above his eye gingerly.

"Brother, why did you have to tell her that?" he asked quietly.

"Because she was pissing me off with the whole 'freak-show' thing," Ed grumbled, wincing when he touched the sore spot too hard. "Alchemy isn't a type of magic trick: it's science."

"She was just joking."

"Well, she took it too far," he mumbled.

"You did too," Al countered. "You didn't have to tell her that automail might go completely extinct if alchemy actually manages to reach that far."

"It wouldn't be possible anyways," Ed muttered, eyes downcast in petulance. "To create a human out of simple elements from the local market isn't going to define it as 'mortal'. What makes a human, human is the soul which, as far as we know, is something only Truth know's what its composed of."

"Then why did you have to tell Winry we will find someway to create humans?"

"'Cause I got pissed off..."

"And what did I tell you to do when you get mad?"

"To count to ten in my head..."

"And if that doesn't work?"

Ed sighed. "Change the topic—I know, Al! Jeez, you've drilled this into my brain! I get it!"

"Then how come you don't do it?" Al asked, with that ever-expanding patience of his.

"Don't wanna'..."

"Go apologize, Ed," Al ordered firmly. "She really loves automail. Almost as much as you love alchemy and it wouldn't feel nice if someone told you that automail might take over alchemy, would it?"

"But it never will so..." Ed muttered under his breath, raising his hands in peace at Al's sharp look. "Okay! Fine! I'll go say sorry. But I'm not going to be happy about it," he added, heading up the stairs as Al sighed and returned to his studies.

Honestly, if Ed didn't stop being such a jerk to Winry then how would they ever realize their feelings for one another?

A/N: That whole explaination about Alkahestry and Alchemy, don't take it too seriously. I know there are many flaws and loopholes and its to be expected since I can't clear up everything in one conversation. But that was my basic understanding. I'm aware that I tweaked some things to make it sound like it made sense. Your understanding of Xingese Alchemy might be different but remember: its not real xD No matter how much I wish Alchemy did exist...

Review!

Scarlett.