Beads of sweat had begun to appear on the man's brow. He rubbed them away, breathing hard.
"My mother..." He remembered now. "...was Trisha Elrich..." He sighed, forcing a laugh. "I remember..." He looked up. "Not everything, but I will go the distance to find my whole life again."
"Hohemheim would have been proud." The Lt. General tossed something. It landed in Thomas's lap. "I guess I can give you that back."
Thomas picked up the silver pocket watch, opening it. Carved on the inside cover was: 'Oct. 3, don't forget.'
Biting back a few unshed tears, he closed the watch, securing the chain to his pocket. He tucked the watch inside and pushed himself to his feet. Mustang smiled, walking to the door. He turned back.
"Welcome back, Ed." He said, opening the door.
"Thanks...Mustang." The door closed with a soft click. Boy...was it going to be a long day.
000
Luckily, Mustang had kept his mouth shut about the whole thing. Thomas was to remain Thomas, until he felt it right to confess. Mustang thought it best to take the Preliminary Exam, just to finish with the exam. Thomas had given Mustang the pocket watch back, just for safekeeping during the exam.
The sun was starting its descent in the sky, when the Preliminary Exam began. Mustang and his lackeys were there to oversee the exam and decide the best of the alchemists. It was the same idea as the final part of the exam so many years ago.
"You see, there are some nice raw materials here for you to work with." Mustang announced. "You may begin when ready."
A woman stepped forward and drew her circle. She gathered a few rocks and dumped water on them. Slamming her hands to the edge of the circle, a flash of light erupted and a giant ice and stone sculpture of a man appeared; it seemed to have some resemblance to Brigadier General Armstrong. Mustang nodded approvingly, his eyes falling on the woman. She smiled.
Thomas went forward next. He had no idea what to do. Drawing a small transmutation circle, he pressed his palm to the ground. A patch of flowers appeared, entwining themselves into a tiara-like ring. Thomas picked it up for the judges to see.
Mustang mumbled a 'hmm' before nodding. It was such simple, childish alchemy. Why didn't he transmute something of greater value?—Nina. He had seen the same ring of flowers upon her head. He now understood the man's reasons. Thomas remembered the girl.
000
The sun was near the horizon when the exam ended. Two alchemists were chosen. Thomas wasn't one of them. The woman before him had been chosen, and a very quiet, stern woman. She seemed almost like Colonel Hawkeye, only with long brown hair and a more flattering figure. The other was shy, and her hair was a shoulder-length red.
Thomas was requested to escort the women to the Lt. General's office. He was just about to leave, when Mustang called his name.
"Mr. Henker, your watch." He tossed the silver pocket watch to him. He caught it with one hand, nodding to his superior. The women looked to each other, confused. Mustang chuckled. "He's been one of ours for quite a few years now."
"He was like an undercover investigator, then, sir?" The redhead asked.
"Yeah, you could say that." Mustang handed the women their watches. "Welcome to the military, ladies."
000
Thomas escorted the women to their dorms, his pocket purring. The redhead noticed this and tapped the man's shoulder.
"Is your coat purring?"
Thomas looked confused for a moment before reaching in his pocket, extracting the yellow kitten.
"I forgot about you." He stroked the kitten's head. He wondered how it survived the whole day in his pocket. He would worry about that later.
"How adorable!" The woman squealed. "Can I hold him?" Thomas handed her the cat. "Mr. Henker, was it?"
"Thomas. Call me Thomas, Miss..."
"Dana. Dana Pinker." She smiled. Thomas turned to the other woman. She had been quiet the whole time.
"Your name?" He asked politely.
"Hmm? Oh, Joan Cormann." She seemed to have been in a daze. "Sorry, I've been so independent."
"No, not at all." Thomas held up his hands in a defensive way. "I've been that way. Here we are, Miss Pinker." He approached the door with a number four on it. "You'll be bunking with 1st Lt. Maria Ross." He knocked and a woman with short black hair opened the door.
"Hello?" She looked at him suspiciously.
"1st Lt." He ushered Dana forward. "This is Dana Pinker; she'll be rooming with you," He added, seeing she was about to contort, "on orders of Lt. General Mustang."
She shut her mouth before opening it again to ask, "Do I know you?"
"Thomas Henker." Maria let Dana pass her into the room. Thomas leaned forward. "I'll explain later, Lieutenant." He stepped back. "Good night."
Thomas took the kitten back from Dana before leading Joan to her dorm. She would have her own for now, but that didn't bother her in the least. Thomas bid her good night, and headed outside.
The night air was cool on his skin as he walked back to the hotel. The day certainly had been long and he had achieved a small portion of his goal: He could remember who he was. But, he didn't know everything about his past. There was plenty of time to venture out for that, but for now, he would get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow would be another day.
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Another short update. I hope you like where the story's going. I didn't like it myself at first, but once I figured a way around the already fast plot, I began to like it more and more.
REVIEW PLEASE!