This has to be one of my favorite episodes.
Disclaimer: Same as always.
6 The State Alchemist Qualification Exam
Ed and Al sat before Lieutenant Colonel Mustang's desk in Central Headquarters. Mustang eyed the young boy. "So did you decide to take the test?" he inquired mildly.
Ed leveled his eyes at the Lieutenant Colonel. "Yes. Shall I wag my tail while I'm at it?" he quipped.
Mustang ignored the boy's sarcasm. It was clearly obvious the armor was the more cool-headed and rational of the pair. "Very well," he agreed. "We will have you study in the most appropriate environment." He slid a clipboard across the desk.
Ed accepted the clipboard. He read the briefing document. "The Sewing Life Alchemist," he read aloud, lifting a questioning gaze to the man on the other side of the desk.
"Shou Tucker. He is the foremost expert in bio-alchemy."
The black car rolled to a stop in front of the Tuckers' residence. Swiftly, Lieutenant Colonel Mustang stepped out of the vehicle, his polished black military books making little sound as he silently strode to the front door. Ed and Al followed suit, only to stop and gawk at the mansion home.
"It's huge," Ed breathed, standing in the middle of the paved driveway. He gaped at the sprawling two-story mansion. On either side of him was an expanse of green lawn, surrounded by neatly clipped hedges.
Mustang turned around, his pitch black hair falling into his eyes. "You two! Are you going to stay there?" An annoyed frown came to his thin lips.
At the Colonel's sharp bark, the brothers snapped out of their reverie and hurried forward, Al's metal feet clunking against the pavement. As they approached the door, they heard a scampering and a loud woof. Ed turned to his left toward the sound. A large shadow fell over the short blond boy, soon followed by a hundred-fifty pounds of dog. Ed's muffled yelp was all that could be heard as he collapsed to the ground.
Al watched his brother with a mixture of amusement and concern. Amusement won out, and he suppressed a giggle at the picture dog and boy made. Pinned unceremoniously to the ground, Ed blew his long bangs out of his eyes, unable to glare at his surprise tackler who was presently panting happily.
It was to this laughable scene the front door opened to reveal a middle-aged man with close cut brown hair and a four-year old girl with long braided pigtails. The little girl frowned at the dog. "Bad, Alexander," she scolded.
Ed, still pinned to the walkway, looked up. "Are you Tucker?"
The three were ushered into the house. As they walked, Tucker bent down, picking up books and rubbish on the ground. "I'm sorry the house is so messy," he apologized. "But after my wife left, there was no one to clean the house."
Al nodded understandingly. He heard a soft "Ohhhh," and turned to see the little girl tugging on his left hand. Neatly dressed in a blue dress, stockings, and Mary Jane shoes, she looked up at him with enormous blue eyes.
"Big brother has weird clothes. Aren't they heavy?" Nina asked wide eyed.
Al smiled as best a metal suit of armor could and answered, "It's all right, since I'm strong."
As the brothers were occupied with his naturally curious daughter, Tucker took the opportunity to examine his new houseguests. The shorter one, but apparently the older of the brothers, was clad in all black, shirt, jacket, pants, except for a red hooded coat with a serpent's alchemical cross on the back and white gloves. His dark blond hair was long and pulled back into a braid.
The armor that was currently the center of his daughter's fascination towered over his brother. Its large chest-plate sloped outward as it approached his neck and conical spikes circled his shoulders. A bluish-gray loincloth hung off the metal hips. Tucker watched amazed as emotions seemed to flicker across the metal surface of the face and the holes for his eyes seemed to glow.
Al felt Tucker's perusal and looked up to see the alchemist looking at him strangely. Alarmed, he straightened up.
"We'll have time later to talk about them," Mustang said brusquely.
Tucker turned to his daughter. "Nina, go play outside." At his daughter's plaintive whine, he added, "Alexander is lonely."
At the thought of her beloved dog's unhappiness, Nina's eyes darkened to a deep shade of blue. She dropped her new friend's hand. Then she looked back up at Al, and cheerfully promising to see him later, ran off to find her beloved dog, pigtails trailing behind her.
Watching Nina leave, Ed turned his attention to the Sewing Life Alchemist. "Tucker, can we see the chimera you made? The one that spoke human words?" Ed inquired, always eager to learn more, to take the next step towards their goal.
"Me, too," Al added earnestly.
Behind his glasses, Tucker's eyes flickered with surprise. Then rubbing his hand against the back of his neck, he admitted, "That thing died a couple weeks after I made it."
Ed's and Al's shoulders both dropped in disappointment.
"These two need a place to study for the exam," Mustang told Tucker, interrupting the silence.
Tucker looked over at the young, blond boy. "So young…"
Ed bristled at the implication, but let it slide. After all, he was a guest in the house.
Mustang made his farewells then strode out of the house to meet Havoc at the waiting car. Ed and Al put their luggage in the guest room and Ed discarded his red cloak. Tucker then gave the brothers a tour of the house. The boys followed him around the house, amazed at such a mansion that housed only two people.
The last stop they came to was the library. "Wow," Al breathed as the door opened to reveal a room filled with bookshelves of alchemy books. "There must be hundreds of books here."
Tucker chuckled, "The Central Library has 500 times as much material as this. And once you pass the exam, you'll have access to all of it."
Floored at the thought of such information at his disposal, Al said, "Niisan, we have to study really –" He stopped, noticing his brother was no longer at his side. Then he spotted Ed already engrossed in a book he had pulled of a nearby shelf and gave a small laugh. "That's Niisan."
That night at dinner, Tucker asked the brothers how their studying was going.
"Fine, but I realized that there's so much I didn't know," Ed admitted in accordance with Al's noise of agreement, cutting into his dinner with relish. He wielded his fork and knife with practiced ease. No one would have guessed it took him the better part of a week to master those moves.
Tucker watched the young boy eat with great enthusiasm. "Many people, even those who have studied for years, find the exam hard," he admitted. "You're still young yet. Why don't you wait until next year?"
Ed stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth. With a thoughtful look, he put his hand back down on the table. Studying the design of the tablecloth, he said softly, "We have a purpose. Even if our chances are slim to none, we have to try. We have to move forward."
The table lapsed into silence as they continued eating. Nina, sitting at the right of her dad, looked across the table at Al's untouched plate. "Niisan hasn't eaten anything!" she exclaimed, her expressive eyes wide with alarm. "You have to eat," she insisted, holding out a piece of bread to the armored brother.
Bewildered, Al gave Ed a helpless look then hesitantly took the bread from Nina's outreached hand. He removed the helmet and dropped the bread into the hollow torso. "Yum, delicious," he said.
A delighted Nina held up another piece. "Here have another one!"
Ed turned his head away, unable to watch. He clenched his jaw, listening to Al's half-hearted attempts to eat for Nina.
That night the brothers lay on their twin sized beds in the Tucker mansion. Ed had his hands folded beneath his head. Al had stacked suitcases at the foot of the bed make it long enough for his body and unnecessarily clutched a blanket over his torso. It was more for comfort of habit than actually physical comfort. Moonlight streamed in from the open window next to Ed's bed, dancing over the auto-mail and armor, invading and retreating into the shadows of the room.
Al looked over at his restless brother. "Can't sleep?" he asked unnecessarily.
Not turning from his contemplation of the ceiling, Ed answered, "My head is full of all the things I read today."
"I believe you can pass the exam," Al said into the ensuing silence, his eye-lights bright in the darkness of the room. "Go to sleep for now."
Tearing his gaze from the ceiling, Ed still lay on the bed unmoving. "Okay," he finally said, closing his eyes, shutting out the shadows that plagued him.
Ed sat on the floor of the library, leaning against a bookshelf, open books strewn around him. At the low chime of the clock, he looked up from his studying, aghast at how much time had passed. Seeing no trace of his younger brother, Ed stood up and went to look for him.
Opening the front door, Ed's eyes were blinded by the bright sunlight. As his eyes readjusted, he heard Nina call out, "Small Niichan, there's snow!"
Snow blanketed the entire neighborhood, burying all traces of civilization in pure white as far as the eye could see. Ed squinted and saw Nina bent in the fluffy whiteness next to Al and Alexander where the front lawn once was. Deciding that now was as good a time for a break as any, Ed grinned and jumped into the snow at Nina's delighted laughter.
Hours later, they lay on the backs in the snow, looking up at the blue sky. The only sound was the loud panting of their breaths mingled with Nina's giggling.
"Big brothers, I wish that after you take the test you could stay here forever."
At the young girl's heartwarming admission, the Elric brothers sat up. Not knowing what to say, Ed bent down in the snow and began drawing. Curious as always, Nina moved over to stand over him and asked, "What are you drawing?"
"It makes wishes come true," Ed explained. "Watch." He placed his hands on the transmutation circle, and Nina watched amazed as flowers began to sprout through the snow.
Clapping her hands as Ed made a crown out of the flowers and placed it on her head, she chanted, "Big brother is amazing."
In all their fun, they failed to notice a man approaching the house. They spotted him as he crossed the lawn. He had short black hair and stubble, with rectangular glasses, giving him an intellectual look. He grinned at the foursome. "Hello. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." Completely surprised, Ed could only stare at the officer he had met on the train. Once again, he wore civilian clothes, replacing the boxy blue military coat with a soft brown sports jacket.
Still smiling, Hughes said, "It's your birthday today, isn't it, Ed?"
Al started. "Niisan, that's right!"
"H-How do you know that?" Ed sputtered.
Hughes laughed. "I'm in the investigative department. It's my job to know these things. Why don't you come over to my house to celebrate? My wife is waiting." He noticed Ed's hesitation as he glanced down at the young brunette. Hughes chuckled. "And bring that little lady over there, too. Birthday celebrations are more fun with more people."
His statement was met with smiles. It was amazing how much emotion a suit of armor could portray.
"This is my wife, Glacier," Hughes introduced proudly, holding a young woman with chin-length light brown hair by the waist. But the most noticeable thing was she was very, very pregnant.
"Her stomach's huge!" Ed exclaimed with his usual lack of subtlety.
Glacier blushed and laughed. "The baby's just kicking around inside, saying it wants to come out." She rubbed her hand over her abdomen fondly. "Would you like to touch?"
Ed and Al jumped back with stifled yelps of alarm. No way were they touching that. Nina stepped forward. "Can I touch?"
"Go ahead, Nina-chan." Glacier smiled down at the eager little girl.
Nina placed her tiny mittened hands on the bulge that was the baby. Under her hands, she felt the baby kick. "It moved!" she cried delightedly. "That's amazing!"
Ed and Al had moved closer from their retreat against the wall, and breathed in wonder as they watched Glacier and Nina.
"More tea, anyone?" Glacier asked, bringing a teapot to the now mostly empty dining table.
As they turned to her with a smile, they heard a crash. Glacier was on her knees, the tea tray and its contents scattered across the polished wood floor. Hughes leapt from his chair to help his fallen wife sit up. Glacier grimaced. "It's going to be born," she gasped.
Hughes froze in panic then leapt into a frenzy of action. "Okay, Glacier, I have to go get the doctor."
"But there's a blizzard," Al said in alarm, pointing out the window at the snow pelting down.
Grabbing his coat, Hughes shouted over his shoulder, "Hang on, Glacier. Take care of her." With a bang of the door, he was gone, leaving Ed, Al, and Nina, still sitting at the table frozen in shock.
Comfortably situated on the sofa, Glacier gave out directions to the bewildered children in between contractions. Ed staggered into the family room with a tub of water. "Glacier, where should I put this?"
"On the floor is fine. And we're going to need lots of towels."
"Towels, got it," Al said, turning to leave the room. He visibly flinched and rushed to get the requested towels as an agonized cry tore from Glacier's throat as another contraction hit.
Al returned to see Nina wiping Glacier's forehead with a cloth. Glacier gritted her teeth, suppressing another cry.
"Damnit. Even with all my alchemy knowledge, I can't do anything," Ed ground out, punching his fist into his other hand.
"Niisan." Nina's voice drew his attention. "The water is cold."
"Oh, okay." Ed knelt down to pick it up the large bowl. As his hands came in contact with it, the unmistakable blue glow of a transmutation filled the room and in a flash, the water came to a boil.
Al rushed over. "Niisan, what did you do?"
Ed blankly looked up at Al. "N-Nothing…"
"Nothing? Niisan, where's the transmutation circle?"
"Uhh, it must've been my spirit!" Ed forced a huge grin.
Further inquiry by Al was cut short by another one of Glacier's screams. "I'm gonna die!" she cried out between clenched teeth as another wave of contractions hit.
All thoughts of the water fled as the three children ran around the room in alarm, at a loss for what to do. "Glacier's gonna die!" Al worried frantically.
"She's not gonna die," Ed snapped, staring at the moaning woman in alarm.
Trying to reason out the situation with the thing he understood best, Al insisted, "But in alchemy, you need to sacrifice something in order to --"
"Giving birth isn't alchemy!" Ed exclaimed, cutting off his brother.
Oblivious to the terrified and arguing children, Glacier let out another scream as a stronger contraction tore at her abdomen. At the piercing sound, the brothers dropped their argument, lapsing back into chaotic panic.
"Where's the doctor!" Ed demanded over Nina's scream. Convinced that Glacier was dying, fat tears poured down Nina's face. With two screaming females on their hands, the two alchemists could do nothing but wait anxiously for Hughes' return.
"Good job, Glacier!" Hughes cried, tears of joy streaming down his face as the doctor cleaned up and examined their new daughter.
A soft smile on her lips, Glacier accepted her swaddled daughter from the doctor, and cradled her close. She looked up at the three children who looked on in awe. "This is all thanks to you."
Ed and Al blushed. "We didn't --" they protested.
Glacier shook her head, tears of joy pooled in her green eyes. "You stayed by my side."
The three children looked at each other and smiled.
Ed lay in bed contemplating the day's events. Once again his hands were folded behind his head and his auto-mail leg drawn up at the knee. Outside the window, the stars twinkled brightly.
"Mothers are amazing, aren't they?" Al said from his bed.
"Yeah, even as regular people, they can do something that alchemist can't do for at least another hundred years," Ed agreed.
"Our mother, too, right?"
"Yeah."
"Niisan? Was I soft and cuddly like that?" Al asked softly.
Ed frowned slightly. "Of course you were."
"Oh, okay." Al turned over to his side, his back facing Ed. If it wasn't so dark, and he didn't know that it was impossible, Ed would've thought he saw Al blush.
The brothers lay in silence, not even the wind outside disturbed the stillness of the room. "Hey, Al?" Al turned at his brother's question. "Do you think we chose the right path?"
Al sat up on the bed and swung his legs over to face his older brother. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "But I do know that I want to be able to touch you again, Niisan." He paused, moonlight dancing across the unyielding angles of his metal face. "It's funny, isn't it? We're always so close to each other, but I can't remember what it feels like to touch you, your warmth." Al turned away and lay back down.
Ed did the same, but it wasn't till many hours later did he finally sleep.
After that, the brothers studied harder and harder, determined to regain the bodies they were born with. Nina frequently came by offering hot chocolate and snacks since they tended to let time slip and forget meals. Other times, she would just quietly sit in the room, watching them pour over book after book. After a while, she fell asleep in a corner with Alexander, curling into his warm fur. Ed and Al took breaks to play with the charming girl, but always returned to the library and studied doubly hard to make up for the playtime.
One afternoon, as the brothers studied side by side, Al remembered something. "Niisan? You boiled that water without a transmutation circle."
Embarrassed, Ed replied, "It was just special circumstances, that's all."
"But still, you're amazing, Niisan. I'll have to study harder," Al insisted.
Obviously uncomfortable, Ed scratched his head with his pencil. "Here, I'll ask you another question," he said, pouncing on the book.
"There are three parts to the exam," Tucker explained one night at dinner. "The first is the written portion. Next is an interview, and sometimes they require physical examinations."
At the last statement, Al became alarmed, but Tucker continued on. "Last is the practical application. Half bring in a report on an experiment like me; the other half transmute something on the spot. Usually only one or two alchemists a year pass."
Ed and Al looked at each other, slightly worried.
The morning of the exam came. Nina and Alexander walked Ed and Al to Central Headquarters and waited patiently on the stairs. Nina, bundled in a purple parka, quietly stood next to Alexander, whom even sitting down was as tall as the little girl.
Inside the auditorium, older men from twenty to forty were sparsely dispersed throughout the room, seated on tables that curved in a semi-circle. At the head of the room was a long table, and seated behind it was the Fuhrer himself, black eye patch and all. The tests were distributed and the Fuhrer banged the gavel. "Begin."
Hours passed, and weary alchemists slowly began to trickle out of the building. Nina and Alexander stood up and watched anxiously for the two brothers to emerge through the towering white pillars. Finally she spotted them trudging out, shoulders drooped.
She ran up to them. "Niisantachi, how did you do?"
Ed looked up with bloodshot eyes. "I didn't make it to the last question," he moaned.
"I finished all of it," Al murmured, still looking at the ground. "But next is the interview…"
Hawkeye eyed her commanding officer who sat at his desk, holding one of the two sheaves of paper.
"I hadn't expected the younger one to pass as well." Colonel Mustang tossed the test he was holding on top of the other and sat back in his chair.
That night the brothers sat up in their room. "What are we gonna do for the practical application part?" Ed frowned in thought.
"Before that, what if they want to examine me? They'll find out that I'm empty," Al worried.
Ed squared his shoulders to reassure his little brother. "Don't worry, I'm sure the Colonel will come up with something."
"What do you mean 'not take the test'?" Al cried. The Elric brothers had met the Colonel in an alleyway not far from the Tuckers' residence.
"Al," Ed stopped Al's protest. "It's all right. You heard Granny Pinako. State Alchemists get called to war and have to use their abilities to kill people."
Roy watched from the shadow of the alley wall, listening to the twelve year old wise beyond his years. "Only I should have to bear the shame of being a state alchemist. And I will become one and restore you to your original body."
"Niisan…"
Ed stood before the huge double doors of the interview room. He placed a hand on the door and took a deep breath before pushing it open to reveal a darkened room with a long table of State Alchemists at the head. Lieutenant Colonel was among the State Alchemists, dressed in all his military finery. Ed's attention was captivated by the gold tripod seat standing on one point in the middle of the room.
"If you are a true alchemist, the chair will not reject you," the Fuhrer called from the head table. Sensing Ed's hesitation, he added, "An alchemist never shows fear at any time."
That was the right button to push. Ed strode in and confidently sat on the tripod. Back straight, he placed his hands on his knees and looked straight at the Fuhrer.
"Good," the Fuhrer smiled. "Now, tell us why you want to be a State Alchemist."
Ed was taken aback by the direct question. "That's…" he started after a brief pause.
"That's…?" the Fuhrer prompted.
Ed looked down at his gloved hands on his knees. He thought of his brother, trapped in a cold suit of armor, and balled his right hand into a fist. He lifted his chin and with golden eyes sparkling with determination said in a loud, clear voice, "I promised."
The Fuhrer raised his eyebrow.
"I promised my only living family member that I would become a State Alchemist."
The day of the practical exam found them standing at the steps of Central HQ. Ed lifted his chin and squared his shoulders and moved to walk into the building, ready to begin the last phase of the first step on their journey.
"Nii-chan." Ed turned back at Nina's hesitant call. As he turned, Nina quickly put her hands behind her back.
"Nina," Al gently prompted.
Nina nodded at Al and turned back to Ed. Pulling her hands out, she presented Ed with a rolled up sheet of paper. "Here."
Ed held the gift in his hands as if it were gold itself. In crayon, she had drawn the faces of himself, Al, Nina and Alexander. At the top of the page was the transmutation circle he had drawn in the snow for her. He looked over the edge of the paper at Nina's beaming face.
"It's a good luck charm to make your wishes come true," she explained, her eyes crinkling as she grinned up at him.
Ed gave the adorable little girl one of his few genuine smiles. "Thank you, Nina," he said honestly. He looked up at Al and nodded once before turning back to the building.
Ed and a group of hopeful alchemists stood behind HQ. Before them was a contained forest and lake.
A smaller group of State Alchemists stood on the side with the Fuhrer to observe. "All these materials here are at your disposal to transmute as you will."
"What do they want us to do?" Ed thought, completely at a loss.
"I'll go first," a man said, pushing his way through the group. Bending down, he drew a transmutation circle on the ground, and a huge spire shot out of the ground, towering over HQ.
"Most impressive," murmured one of the State Alchemists. The alchemist in question gave a half smile and weakly tried to stand only to fall back to his knees.
"But the loss of strength there is a minus," another whispered.
"I'll go next," piped up another alchemist. He proceeded to throw trees on a large transmutation circle then splashed buckets of water over it all. Within seconds, a huge air balloon was floating skywards.
On the other side of HQ, Nina asked worriedly, "Will Niichan be all right?"
"Of course he will. He has your good luck charm," Al assured the girl perched on his shoulders.
Ed watched the demonstrations, frantically trying to think of something to do. The balloon wafted higher and higher, but a minute after it passed the tip of the pillar, the paper bubble burst, causing the heavy balloon to plummet back toward the ground.
The group of State Alchemists started. "This isn't good," Mustang said, pulling on a white glove. They all watched, paralyzed, as the giant balloon fell onto the pointed tip of the spire. The sheer force and weight of the falling balloon caused the pillar to crack and the debris to fall in a loud rumble of thunder. The weakened alchemist still kneeling at the bottom of the spire could only look up at his crumbling creation in horror and cover his hands with his head in a feeble gesture of protection.
Eyeing the descending chunks of rock, Ed sprinted toward the pillar, his trademark red cloak flying behind him. About ten meters from the spire, he clapped his hands together in front of his chest and slammed them to the ground. Immediately, the blue light of a transmutation enveloped the area.
The alchemist at the base of the pillar, consigned to his fate found the courage to open his eyes and look up, but instead of falling rocks, flower petals wafted down and brushed his shoulders. Looking up in the clear blue sky, the balloon was no more and a huge ring of pink and red flowers hung suspended in the air.
"No transmutation circle, huh?" Mustang observed with a half-smile.
"A very young alchemist," the Fuhrer mused.
Unaware of the commotion around him, Ed stared at his hands, bewildered.
The sky was bronzed a dark orange as Ed, Al, Nina and Alexander walked home in a silence disturbed only by the soft clang and thud of Al's footsteps. Abruptly, Ed spun around to face his younger brother. Al stopped, but not so suddenly as to wake Nina who was sleeping on his shoulders.
Ed set his jaw in determination. "Al, from now on, I'm going to stop hesitating. I'm only going to move forward. And I promise, I will return you to your original body." He held out his right auto-mail fist to his brother.
Al made a sound of agreement. "And I will return your arm and leg to you," he promised, meeting his brother's fist with his own.
Ed turned back to the path, and the four of them continued on home, the remaining sunlight playing over the tired figures.
Hope you're liking it so far. Review please.