Chapter 3: The Mechanical Toy
The next few months followed the same pattern. Mustang would get up, get dressed, and then make breakfast. Al would stumble in from his room about then, although sometimes he had to wake the boy. After they were done eating, he would go to his office for the day, while Al went to the library to study. When Mustang got home, he would check on Al, make dinner, and the two would eat without much discussion. In the evening, Al was back in the library for a few more hours, while Mustang did his best to be unproductive for the rest of the day, with varying success. Even during Mustang's days off things weren't much different. Al continued to study in the library while he ran whatever errands needed to get done.
Even though they did not talk much, Mustang could feel Al getting more comfortable around him. The silences during dinner were becoming less awkward, and Al seemed less hesitant when speaking to him. Perhaps it was just the familiarity of being with someone for a while, but that was good enough for now. He would wait on getting to know the boy better until after he passed the national exam and became a State Alchemist. Al had enough to worry about with studying as it is.
Finally, the first day of the National Qualification Exam arrived.
"I will be there to help administer the test, but I will not be able to talk to you or any of the other candidates," Mustang said during breakfast. "The written part of the test starts promptly at ten, so be sure to get there early. Should I send a car to get you?"
Al shook his head. "No thanks, I'll be fine walking, since Headquarters isn't far away."
Mustang managed a small smile. "In order to burn off some of that nervous energy, I assume." He then stood up and got ready to leave. When he got to the front door, he turned around and looked directly at Al. "I will not wish you good luck, because you don't need any. Remember what you have learned, and I know you will pass the test." With that, he opened the front door and walked out, closing the door behind him.
At 9:50am, Mustang entered the examination room. He saw a few people already seated, and a few more hovering at the entrance and around the aisles. He quickly frowned, not seeing Al among those already present. A minute later he finally saw the boy enter the room, eyes a little wide as he quickly found a place to sit. Mustang saw another candidate approach Al and begin to talk, but he was too far away to make out the words. Suddenly Al shook his head and said something, and that was enough for the other candidate to go back to his seat.
More than anything the other candidate was probably asking if Al wanted to be the next Fullmetal Alchemist, Mustang thought, and he was even surer that Al was explaining that the legendary Alchemist was his brother. Then again, Al looked so young; it was almost inevitable that people would compare him to that other boy who took the test when he was still a child.
A few minutes later the gravel struck and the test began. Mustang had to watch for any signs of cheating, but every once in a while he would look at Al. The boy was fully engrossed in the test, sometimes writing something down, sometimes just sitting and thinking.
Mustang figured Al would be exhausted after the test, so earlier that day he arranged for Hawkeye to pick up the boy once the test was over and drive him home. Seeing Al stumble out of the room confirmed how tired he was, but it also told Mustang that the boy poured everything he had into the test. He smiled, and knew that not only did Al pass, but also the boy would probably hold one of the highest scores when the results were released the next day.
When Mustang returned to his office, he was fairly surprised that Hawkeye wasn't back from dropping Al off at home. When she did get back, it was almost half an hour later.
"I got Alphonse something to eat before taking him home," Hawkeye replied to Mustang's questioning look. "I figured he would be hungry after the test and too tired to make something for himself when he got home. After that I took him home, and I went in with him to make sure he was all right. Before I left he was already asleep on the couch."
Mustang nodded, and gave her an appreciative smile only she could see.
"Also," Hawkeye added with a more serious tone, "The General dropped by while you were gone and requested that you finish the quarterly report and have it on his desk by tomorrow morning."
His mood immediately soured as he felt a headache form. "Damn it, I told the General yesterday that I'd have the report ready by the end of the week. Why does he need it now all of a sudden?" He looked at the rather large file on his desk, sighed, and took some aspirin from the bottle he always kept on hand. This would be a long day.
By some small miracle, Mustang had most of the report done when he left the office for the day, thus he didn't have too much to take home with him. Under normal circumstances he would've just stayed until he finished, but he wanted to see how Al was doing after his exam.
When he got home, the first thing he noticed was that Al was no longer asleep on the couch. Instead, he was back in the library reading a book.
"I thought you would've had enough studying by now," Mustang said as he stood in the doorway.
Al looked up. "Oh, I wasn't sure about a few answers, so I wanted to look them up and see if I got them right. I'm not really finding anything yet, though."
"You should know that will do you no good. The test is over with, and you did your best. There's no point in looking back and worrying about how you answered each question. Now put down that book, and I forbid you to be in this library for the remainder of the exam."
Al looked at him for a second before putting down his book and getting up from the desk.
"I have some fiction books in the living room if you care to read those." He then turned and left the doorway, adding "I'll call you when dinner is ready." As he walked away, he heard Al leave the room and close the door behind him.
After dinner, Mustang sighed as he sat down at his desk to finish his quarterly report. He especially hated these, since the military wanted full status and progress reports of just about everything under his command. Never mind that not a whole lot had changed since the last quarterly report.
Not long after he sat down, he noticed Al approach him.
"Um, I can help you with that, if you want."
"And let a civilian handle classified information? I don't think so." Mustang turned back to his work. "Go rest, Alphonse, you still have two more parts of the exam to complete, and those can be just as difficult as the written test."
"Oh, okay then," Al said, then turned and walked away. Mustang idly noted that Al was walking towards the guest room and not the living room.
Not long after Al left the room, Mustang's head started aching again. Damn it, he thought to himself as he pulled out his bottle of aspirin, this was going to be a long night as well.
"There should be a messenger from Headquarters coming for you later this afternoon," Mustang said before he left for work the next morning.
"Is it about the test results?" Al eagerly asked.
Mustang remained silent. "Remember to keep out of the library today," he finally said. "The interview portion of the exam will take place tomorrow, you'll be notified of the time." He then turned and left.
Almost as soon as Mustang sat down at his desk someone from the General's office was asking for the quarterly report. At least the damn thing was over with, he thought as he handed over the report. The rest of the day dragged on, partially because he just handed in what he meant to work on that day, and partially because he was wondering how Al would react to the news he passed the written exam. Finally Mustang gave up on attempting to look productive and went home early.
When he got home, he saw Al sitting on the couch in the living room, reading a letter. "Is that from the messenger from this afternoon?" he asked.
Al nodded with enthusiasm. "Yeah, and it says I passed. Not only that, but I got the third highest grade on the written exam." He grinned, and showed Mustang the letter.
Mustang took the letter, quickly read it, and gave it back. "Congratulations, Alphonse. That's even better than when you first took the exam. I see your interview is scheduled for mid-morning tomorrow. Normally I am there in the room, but since you are living with me, I will not be present."
"Why is that?"
A smirk formed on Mustang's face. "Because they already know my opinion about you." He watched Al's surprised face for a second, then turned and headed towards the kitchen to make dinner.
Mustang spent most of the next day observing interviews of the remaining applicants. As with every year, most of the interview replies followed a distinct pattern. The applicant wanted to use alchemy for the good of the people, they wanted to dedicate their lives to alchemy, they would never harm someone using alchemy unless they absolutely had to, and so on. He would never admit it, but Mustang figured he wasn't the only one bored by all the stock answers, and boring the judges was never a good thing.
Finally it was Al's turn to be interviewed. Mustang was asked to leave the room, since there was some concern he would influence Al's answers, either deliberately or unconsciously. He was able to just barely hear Al's interview while on the other side of the door, however, and he smiled at what he heard. Al did not give a standard answer during the entire interview, but more importantly, his replies were almost the same as his brother's, which Mustang heard five years ago.
When Mustang got home, he saw Al in the living room again, this time reading one of the fiction books laying around.
"How did the interview go, Alphonse?"
Al looked up from his book. "Um, I think it went well."
"Were you told that the practical section of the exam would be at nine tomorrow morning?"
Al nodded.
Mustang let out a small smile. "That's usually a good thing." He didn't tell him that everyone who passed the written section went on to both the interview and the practical test, since the final judging took both sections into consideration for the final result. But, he figured Al could use some encouragement after the barrage of questions that often felt more like an interrogation than an interview. He paused as Al grinned, then continued. "The practical section of the exam consists of transmuting something in front of the judges, using only the materials provided. I will be there to help make sure things go smoothly, but once again I will not be able to talk to you or the other candidates. Since the practical test starts early, you may leave with me tomorrow morning if you wish."
"Won't that make me early for the test?"
"A little early, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Besides, you can use that time to think about what you will do for the practical test." Mustang then left the room, not telling Al that he planned to leave later than usual tomorrow.
Promptly at nine the next morning, Mustang was standing in the marching grounds, which held plenty of various raw materials for the day's practical test. The first few candidates did not produce anything spectacular, but later on he did take note of one woman who transmuted water and dirt into a brick wall. After that Al walked up and began to draw his transmutation circle. Mustang kept his grin to himself as he waited to be amazed by whatever Al was going to make.
After Al was done drawing his circle, he piled some dirt on top of it. As soon as he put his hands on the circle, the familiar blue sparks Mustang always saw when Al transmuted something started to fly. The object soon took shape, in what appeared to be two figures standing near something large. It quickly became more defined, and in seemingly no time, Mustang was looking at a rather large, extremely detailed toy, depicting a young Al about ready to push a young Ed on a swing, the swing hanging from a tree. However, Al wasn't done. He turned what looked like a key in the back, and then suddenly the toy began to move. The young Al moved forward, touched the young Ed on the back, then the young Ed swung forward. Then both figures moved back, and the cycle repeated itself.
"I don't believe this!" one of the judges said once the cycle went around a few more times. "My son has a large collection of mechanical toys, but I've never seen anything this detailed, or anything moving this smoothly! The clockwork inside must be extremely well constructed!"
As the others were marveling at the toy, Mustang looked at Al, who seemed a little embarrassed at all the praise, and smiled. He no longer had any doubt that Al would eventually be reunited with his brother, and he had a feeling that day was not far off.
Al wasn't on the couch when Mustang came home that evening, which mildly surprised him. Instead, Al was in the guest room, seated at the small table writing something, probably a letter.
"I have some good news for you, Alphonse" he said, catching Al's attention. "You passed the national qualifying exam, and will become a National Alchemist."
Al's face broke into a wide grin, and Mustang knew he had made the right decision to tell Al he passed before the results were released. That the boy had done enough to pass was obvious, but more than anything, he wanted to be the one to tell Al the good news.
"The results will not be made official until tomorrow, however, and by that time the judges will be done studying your practical test result. I can give it back to you by then, if you want."
"That would be great, if it's not too much trouble," Al replied, still smiling.
"You made it, Alphonse, so you should have it." Mustang let out a barely noticeable smile, then left the room.
He had to admit that he thought about taking Al somewhere, perhaps to dinner, perhaps to a play, to celebrate his accomplishment. He soon dropped the idea, however, because passing the qualifying exam was only the first step in what was sure to be a long, difficult road, and there was no point in celebrating until the end.