Another sort of filler chapter, but we get to see Ed use what he learned in chapter 2 and Matt shows us just how cool he is.
Disclaimer: I have brought Ed in to do the disclaimer for me…
Ed: Uh yea… what do I say?
Me: Come on short stuff… we went over this.
Ed: Who are you calling so short he can't reach stuff on high shelves?!
Me: Disclaimer Ed, focus!
Ed: Fine… Baxter54132 does not own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood or any of the characters.
The first week goes smoothly for Ed and his new friends. They train every morning and every afternoon, with three square meals a day. Randall keeps his distance, but sometimes Ed catches him looking over at their table. Ed always meets his gaze, holding it until Randall looks away, returning to the conversation with his friends.
By the end of the week, Ed is sore from all the running, lifting, and calisthenics. He's grateful when Root announces they will be moving onto weaponry, allowing their bodies to rest a little.
"Right," Root paces in front of the ten students, each at their own desk in their assigned classroom. "Who can tell me the three rules of gun safety?"
Ed perks up in his seat, remembering Riza's words from his training so long ago. After a moment, he raises his hand, eager to show off what he has learned. Root looks pleased that he raised his hand and calls on him, motioning for him to stand.
Ed jumps up enthusiastically, "Ok, first, don't put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire. Second, always point the gun away from allies and towards enemies. Third, always assume the gun is loaded." Ed finishes with a smile, plopping back into his seat.
Root nods, "that's right, guns are not toys, but weapons, and they are to be treated with respect." Root walks over to a gun locker resting at the side of the room and unlocks it, revealing three weapons. Ed cheers inwardly as he recognizes them as the ones he learned from Riza. "Follow me, we are going to the gun range. The only way you Cadets are going to learn about these weapons is by testing them out."
The class rises and follows Root out of the classroom and down the hall to the gun range. Once there, each kid is given ear muffs and eye protection, then assigned a station. Ed gets one next to Matt, but Dahn is a few kids over. As usual, he looks nervous. Matt leans around Ed to shoot Dahn a thumbs up, and he smiles back anxiously.
Root walks down the row behind the kid, placing an M14 on the table in front of each kid. He passes by again with some clips and ammo.
"Now, put on your protective gear, load the clip, push it into the gun, cock it, and fire all of the shots at the target. Remember the three safety rules, if I see you breaking any of them, you will be done for the day, end of discussion, and will owe me a paper explaining each rule in great detail." Root takes a step back from the group, signaling for them to start.
Ed opens the box of ammo, taking out 7 bullets and pressing them into the clip smoothly, but not quite as easily as Riza had when she had done it. He pulls on his earmuffs and puts on his glasses, glancing around to make sure the other recruits did the same.
Once confirmed, he pushes the clip into the bottom of the M14, cocks it, and raises it to take aim at the circular target down range. He aims for the bulls eye and squeezes the trigger, but unlike before, holds himself firm as the recoils shakes through his body. The bullet flies straight, but ends up a few rings below the bulls eye. Ed grits his teeth in determination. He pulls the trigger 6 more times, but doesn't manage to hit the middle of the target. Every shot is on the target somewhere, just not through the bulls eye.
Ed can feel Root's gaze on him as he pulls out the clip, reloads it, and puts it back in to fire again. He shakes off the feeling and focuses in, making good use of the opportunity to practice.
After 5 days of constant shooting of the M14, Karabiner 98K, and the Walther MPL, Ed finally feels like he could hit a moving target. The whole class gathers in the gun range for their final lesson of the second week. In order to move into the third week, they need to pass tests on all three weapons. That morning they had taken a written test, which every student had fortunately passed. Now Root paces in front of them while explaining the second half of their test.
"You will go one at a time, shooting on three different lanes, each one with a different weapon. The first lane is the M14 and it has two targets, each shaped like a human with boxes drawn on where a kill shot would be. You get seven shots, and must get one in each kill zone to pass that lane. Next is the Walther MPL, which has three targets, with one large box etched on each one. You will fire all 30 shots, and 25 out of the 30 must be in any of the three boxes in order for you to pass. Last is the Karabiner 98K and it only has one target, which is all the way at the back of the range. The target is a circle, and is split into points by zone. The center circle is 50 points, and subtract 5 points for every ring moving outward. To pass, you need to get 125 points in 6 shots. In order to move on to tactics next week, you need to pass all three sections." Root falls silent, letting the class absorb the information. "Right… Rockbell, you're up first."
Ed stands up slowly as the whole class turns their gaze on him. They all pull on their earmuffs as Ed walks over to the first lane. He puts on his protective gear and picks up the already loaded clip, placing it into the M14.
Two targets with mean looking thugs drawn on them are down range, with boxes over their heads and chest. Ed raises the rifle, aims carefully, and squeezes off a shot. It hits target one square in the chest, signaling a kill. With one down, Ed turns to the second one, firing round number two. It hits the guy in the abdomen, just below the box. Ed inhales sharply, focusing in and taking a third shot, which fortunately hits the lower corner of the guy's head, just inside the box.
Ed lets out the breath he was holding as he places down the weapon and makes his way to the second lane. The Walther MPL is waiting for him, and Ed handles it with ease, feeling confident with the small machine gun. He aims at the nearest target, releasing 10 shots, 9 of which make it inside the box. He changes his aim to the second one and squeezes the trigger again, this time releasing 15 shots. 13 out of 15 make it in, so Ed aims for the last target, releasing the final 10 bullets into the third box.
Ed places the Walther MPL down and moves onto the last lane, the most challenging of the three. He picks up the Karabiner 98K hastily, glancing down range at the target that seems to be miles away. He looks down his sights, pointing the center of his scope at the center of the target. He squeezes the trigger, but the bullet is way off, landing 4 rings away from the center to the lower right.
30 points
Ed tries to adjust for his aim by shifting to the left, but when he fires it just goes 3 rings out from the center and still low.
65 points
Ed readjusts for a third time and shoots again. This time the bullet is 5 rings above the bulls eye, almost off the target completely.
90 points
Ed takes the scope off his face, taking a moment to get his senses back. He can feel the students murmuring behind him, even through his protective ear muffs. He raises the gun once more, aiming very carefully and pulling the trigger, this time finally hitting close to the bulls eye, it's just one ring below the bulls eye.
135 points
Ed does some quick math in his head, and when he realizes he's passed, he places the weapon down, a huge grin growing on his face. He turns back to the class, and Matt shoots him a thumbs up, which Ed mirrors. He walks over and rejoins the group, sitting down with his two friends.
"Right, good job Rockbell, next up is Ren." Dahn's gaze snaps up, and the confidence that he has been working hard to build for the past two weeks dissolves, leaving the same nervous kid that Ed saw on the train so long ago. Ed has confidence though, both Dahn and Matt had proved they could shoot efficiently during the week, now it's just a matter of beating the nerves.
Dahn steps up to the first lane, and his hands are shaking slightly as he picks up the M14. He quickly fires off four shots, and Ed peeks down the lane. Only one shot hit a kill zone. Dahn shifts to his left and fires two more shots, but both miss. He freezes when he realizes he only has 1 more shot. He puts the gun down for a moment says something to himself in what must be xingese and picks the weapon back up with surprising intensity. He squeezes off the last shot, which nails the remaining target in the chest, a perfect kill.
Dahn moves onto the next two, easily clearing both of them and rejoining the class. A few other kids go next, then Matt. He has a lot of history with guns, and aces each segment of the test, hitting two bulls eyes in the third segment. Soon everyone is done, and everyone passed, which means they can all move on to tactics. Root releases the group to lunch, giving them the rest of the day off.
On the way, they happen to pass by Randall, who can't help himself and stops to talk to them. "I'm graduating today losers, and I hope I don't see you on the other side."
Ed steps in front of Dahn and Matt, staring Randall right in the eyes, "that's too bad, because I'm looking forward to seeing you."
Randall doesn't respond, but scoffs at the comment as he walks away.
After he's gone, Ed grins at his two friends, and they grin back, continuing on their way to the cafeteria.
Hope ya'll weren't too bored, it was supposed to be dramatic like, "Will Dahn pass or won't he?" type thing.
Were you guys nervous for him?
Drop a review, pictures of Ed freaking out about his height will be presented.