Metallic Hearts -FullMetal Alchemist- Episode 6: The Alchemy Exam

Roy: "So did you decide to take the test?"

You: "Of course. Shall I wag my tail while I'm at it?"

Roy: "Very well." The Flame slid a clipboard across the desk. It had the symbol of the State on the front page. "We will now have you three study in the most appropriate environment." Ed reached over and grabbed the clipboard. He flipped the page over.

Ed: "The Sewing Life Alchemist?" You leaned over Ed's shoulder to read the paper.

Roy: "Shou Tucker. He is the foremost expert in Bio-Alchemy." You and Ed looked up at this.

'This is how we ended up ... spending our time before the Exam at the Tucker Estate.'

The Alchemy Exam - - - -

Roy: "Two years ago Mr. Tucker succeeded in transmuting a Chimera that could speak human words, and thus achieved the title of State Alchemist." You and the Elric Brothers sat on the other side of Roy in a car.

Ed: "A Chimera that spoke human words?"

You: "An animal synthesized from two or more animals with different genetics."

Roy: "Or in more familiar terms. A Chimera understood what a human said and spoke back."

Ed: "Amazing ..."

Al: "Yes."

The Estate - - - - -

The car stopped and the four of you stepped out.

Roy: "Mr. Tucker has a daughter who is to turn four living with him."

Ed: "He doesn't have a wife?"

Roy: "This way." He walked the driveway to an enormous mansion.

Ed: "It's huge."

Al: "It's amazing isn't it brother?" Roy rang the bell and turned towards you.

Roy: "What are you doing? Come along, now."

Ed: "Right." You all began to run towards the door. The bushes began to move and you looked over. A huge white bear jumped towards you. You stepped out of the way and it landed on Ed.

You: "Polar bear?" You looked down to see an enormous white dog panting ontop of Ed, which was just a speck of red under the thing.

: "That's a no-no, Alexander."

: "I'm sorry."

Ed: "No prob. Just ... don't say roll over."

You all walked inside after getting Alexander off of Edward Tucker: "I'm really sorry. We just don't have any woman in the house." He started picking up stray books. "So you can see the house is very dirty."

Nina walked over and grabbed onto Al's hand.

Nina: "Hey, the clothes you're wearing are weird. Aren't they heavy?"

Al: "I'm fine since I'm strong." Your tail twitched under the jacket that was around your waste and you scratched the bandana that was ontop of your head. Al looked up to see Shou staring at him.

Roy: "We will have time to discuss their personalities in the future. But please take care of them for now." He broke the uncomfortable tension with his smooth voice. He smiled at you and set his hand on top of your head.

Tucker: "Nina, go outside and play."

Nina: "What?"

Tucker: "Alexander is lonely."

Nina: "I'll see you again later." She smiled and ran off.

Tucker: "So your goal is to become a State Alchemist at your age. If there is anything I can I do, feel free to ask."

Ed: "Then I want to see the Chimera you transmuted, Mr. Tucker." You rolled your eyes. That's Ed, going totally assertive five minutes after we meet this guy.

Al: "Me too." You did an anime fall.

Tucker: "Well that thing died a little while after I transmuted it. Anyway, the first thing you need to do is pass. You can't pass the Exam with only one day of hard work."

In The Library - - - -

Tucker: "This is the library. I hope you find it useful." You smiled, this was your kind of place. You walked up to a bookshelf and picked up a book. "These books are only a small fraction of what is in the Nation Library. If you pass the Exam you'll get access to ten times ... No, one hundred times more knowledge."

Al: "Really? We need to study hard." He looked over to see you with a a book in your hand. "Oh, Lita..." He started laughing as Ed laughed. Hours pasted by like minutes and before long it was dinner time.

Tucker: "Ed, did your studying go well?"

Ed: "Yes, but there were a lot of things I didn't know."

Tucker: "Even an adult with a special education can find the exam tough. But you're still young, so you don't exactly need to take it this year."

You: "No!" Shou looked up. "I will do what I can, even if my chances are minuscule, if that will allow me to move forward ..." Nina shouted as she stared at Al.

Nina: "Big brother hasn't eaten anything!" She lifted a bun up to him. "You need to eat up!" Al lifted his hands up in protest.

Al: "Um ... Thank you." He took the bun out of her hand as Ed looked down sadly. "This looks good."

Nina: "Chew thoroughly." Al lifted his helmet up a bit and through the bun inside.

Al: "This is good!

Nina: "Here have another one." A couple of hours later you three were lying in bed. You had to beg Mr. Tucker to let you sleep in the same room as the two boys.

Ed: "You can't sleep?" You were standing by the window next to his bed.

You: "I believe you can pass the exam. So take a break."

Ed: "Sure."

Al: "We've been like this for a while. We just wanted to become State Alchemists. By doing so, we thought that we could see the way." Ed and yourself sat in the library, reading, as you usually did.

Ed: "Shoot, it's this time already?" The clock had chimed in the background. "Al, where are you?" Alexander started barking in the distance. "Is he playing?" You stood up and followed Ed out of the Library and out the front door. "Al!" He shielded his light form the strong light.

Al: "Brother!"

Nina: "Small Brother. There's snow!" Ed smirked and jumped down with the two and the dog. You always were lazy and tired as if your energy was drained in the winter. And you didn't like the snow so you just watched the others play. "I hope you three stay here even after the exams." You and the Elric Brothers looked up at Nina. Ed smiled and stood up. "What are you drawing?"

Ed: "It's called a Transmutation Circle. It's a charm that makes wishes come true. Okay. Watch." He set his hands on the edges of the Circle and it began to glow a bright blue. Flowers began to grow up from the ground and became a flower tiara.

Nina: "That's amazing. That's amazing! You're amazing." Ed set the ring of flowers on Nina's head.

Hughes: "Working hard?"

Ed: "Major Hughes."

Hughes: "Hey. I came to pick you up. Today's your birthday, right, Ed?" You smiled.

Ed: "How did you know that?"

Hughes: "I'm in the investigative department, even though I don't look like it. Now let's go to my house, my wife is waiting." You all looked at each other a bit sadly. "That little lady can come too. Celebrations are more fun with more people. You all smiled and you walked to Maes' house together.

Break - - - - -

Gracia: "Welcome, I'm glad that you made it."

Hughes: "This is my wife, Gracia."

Ed: "Her stomachs huge."

You: "She's pregnant, Ed. You're expecting a baby soon?" Ed looked at Maes and gave him in a wink. Hughes chuckled and put his hand behind his head.

Gracia: "She's moving around inside saying she wants to get out."

Ed: "Really?"

Gracia: "Do you want to touch it?"

Ed: "Heck no!"

Nina: "I do!"

Gracia: "Go ahead, Nina." You smiled and laid your hands on Nina's and laid them on Gracia's belly.

Nina: "It moved. Wow!" The guys stared in astonishment. There was a huge feast, Ed made a wish and blew out the candles after you sang a Rock version of Happy Birthday.

Gracia: "Anyone up for another cup of tea."

Hughes: "Thanks." Gracia collapsed and Hughes ran to her side. "Gracia!"

Gracia: "Honey, bor..."

Hughes: "Horse?"

Gracia: "She's going to be born."

Hughes: "The expected date is still far off."

Gracia: "Well the baby just said now."

Hughes: "A doctor. We need to get to a doctor."

Al: "There's a blizzard."

Hughes: "I'll bring the doctor here. Hang in there, Gracia."

Ed: "Wait!" The door slammed shut.

Gracia: "I'm sorry everyone."

Break - - - - - -

Ed: "Gracia, I've brought some hot water."

Gracia: "Thank you. Put it on the floor."

Al: "Anything else?"

Gracia: "Yes, we'll need lot's of fresh towels."

Al: "Towels? Got it." Gracia groaned in pain as Al turned his back. You looked down, you never could stand listening to things in pain. "The doctor's late ..."

You: "Look at the snow."

Gracia: "I can't do this, I'm going to die." The three of them screamed.

Al: "Brother, Gracia's going to die!"

Ed: "No way!" Gracia stopped yelling and laid there. Nina let out a loud scream.

Al: "Did she die?"

Ed: "No, idiot. She just fainted."

Al: "But in Alchemy, you need something of high value for life."

You: "Child birth isn't related to Alchemy!" Gracia began to groan again.

Al: "Oh good, she's alive. Are you okay, Gracia?" Ed slammed his fist into his hand and you looked at him.

Ed: "Damn it, what should I do? I can't do anything..."

Nina: "Brother! The water is cold."

Ed: "Okay." Ed grasped the side of the tin bowl and light blue lightning shot over the water. Steam poured from it and you, Al and Ed gasped.

You: "Ed, what did you do?"

Ed: "Nothing?"

You: "You can't mean nothing. Where's the Transmutation Circle?" Ed was starting to scare you. He just smiled oddly at you.

Al: "Then why did the water boil."

Ed: "I don't know. I just used my head."

Gracia: "I can feel it's head now."

All: "What should we do?"

Ed: "Where's the doctor!"

Break - - - - - -

Baby cry's could be heard throughout the house as Gracia laid on the couch with a beautiful baby girl in her arms.

Hughes: "Well done, well done Gracia." You just stood there and smiled.

Gracia: "Everything is thanks to you all. Thank you very much."

Ed: "We didn't do anything..." You all looked at each other.

Gracia: "No. You stayed by my side." She brushed her cheek against the top of her babies head. Ed smiled and slipped his arms around your waist. Later that night you all laid awake in bed.

Ed: "Although we are Alchemists, we couldn't do anything."

Al: "Yeah."

Ed: "Still, mothers are amazing. They did something that even Alchemists couldn't do ... even in a hundred years."

Al: "Our Mom did it too."

Ed: "Al?" You stood up and walked over to Al's bed.

Al: "When I was born, was I that soft and warm?"

Ed: "Of course you were."

You: "You were still soft when you were five." Al pulled the covers up and small cries could be heard from inside the bed.

'After that, we concentrated harder on Alchemy. Because we wanted to regain the bodies we were born with.'

Al: "I just remembered... You boiled that water without drawing a Transmutation Circle, right?"

Ed: "Well we were in a bizarre situation."

You: "But you're still amazing, Ed."

Al: "I need to work harder too."

Ed: "Here, I've got a question for yeah"

Al: "Okay."

'The Exam was drawing nearer.' Nina and Alexander were sleeping infront of the fire while you, Mr. Tucker and the Elric Brothers sat at the table.

Tucker: "Every year, the Exam consists of writing, an interview, and practical skills, in that order. I'm not sure about the exact number of candidates, but only one or two pass every year."

Ed: "That's all?"

Tucker: "Yes."

Al: "What do we do at the interview?"

Tucker: "In my case they just asked questions. But sometimes they give health inspections to certain people."

Al: "What? Health inspections huh?"

Tucker: "Also, for practical skills, half bring results on research like me and others perform on the spot. What will you three do?" You all looked at each other. You, Ed, and Al all sat across from each.

Ed: "What should we do for the practical skills exam?"

Al: "Before that, what if they give me a health inspection? They'll find out that my armor id empty."

You: "Don't worry. Colonel Mustang with think of something."

Al: "I hope so."

'The Exam came when we were still full of uneasiness.' You sat in long columns that looked like a college room. State Alchemists were stationed everywhere.

: "We will now begin the first exam. Begin!" Alexander and Nina stood outside the huge white building, hoping for the best. Soon enough the people began to file out.

Nina: "How did it go?"

Ed: "I didn't make it to the last question."

You: "I made it through with no problem."

Al: "I did all of it. But the next Exam will be an interview."

With Roy - - - -

Roy: "I didn't expect the little brother to pass the exam as well. The female passed the questions with a straight A+."

Riza: "Is there a problem."

Back with you - - - -

Ed: "An interview huh?" Later that day Roy had called you all to a meeting in an alley.

Al: "What? I can't agree with that! Why? I shouldn't take the interview?"

Roy: "If you want to hide your past and move forward, it's the only way."

Al: "But I need to reach the same goal as my brother!"

Ed: "Let it be, Al."

Al: "What?"

Ed: "Didn't Auntie Pinako say that State Alchemists get called out when war breaks out? And they have to kill people using Alchemy, which is supposed to be used for the good of the public. It means that if you pass you'll become a dog of the military."

Al: "But..."

Ed: "Only I should have to go through the shame of becoming a State alchemist in this family."

You: "Good thing I' m not apart of the family then." You said quietly to yourself.

Ed: "I'll make sure I pass and I'll make your wish come true."

Al: "Brother."

You stood infront of a pair of silver doors with pictures of men standing in water. You grabbed the handles and pushed the door open. A bright circle light appeared and it was centered on a golden chair with three legs, a table with State Alchemists was set infront of the chair.

You: "A Golden Tripod?" 'Why doesn't it fall in that position?'

: "Sit. If you are a true Alchemist. It will not reject you. Alchemists have no fear at any time." You sighed and walked over, you lowered yourself down and sat in the chair. "Very good. First let me hear the reason you took the exam." You looked up then looked at your shoes.

You: "That's..."

: "That's?"

You: "Because of a promise. A promise to my only friends that I would become a State Alchemist."

Later that night - - - -

You: "Al?" Al leaned up in his bed and looked over at you. "This path that we chose, it was right? Wasn't it?"

Al: "I don't know. But there is one thing that I am sure of... I want to touch you again Lita. Isn't it weird? We're this close, but the sensation of touching you and the warmth of your body, I can't remember them."

'And the morning of the practical skills exam arrived.'

Ed: "We'll be going now."

Nina: "Brother."

Al: "Nina." Nina nodded and walked up to Ed.

Nina: "Brother, here." She took her hand from behind her back and handed Ed a piece of paper. It was a drawn picture of you, Ed, Al, Nina, Shou and Alexander with an Alchemy symbol in the background. "It's a charm that makes wishes come true."

Ed: "Thanks, Nina."

: "We will now lend you the natural materials in the area. Transmute them as you wish."

You: "As you wish? What do we need to do in order to pass?" A huge stone tower shot up from the ground. The man tried to stand up after the transmutation but he had no strength left.

Hakuro: "That's impressive, but losing strength there is a minus."

Ed: "Are you serious?" A man with long brown hair walked forward

Man: "I'll go next." He drew a huge Transmutation Circle and chopped down some trees. They fell onto the Transmutation Circle and he splashed some water ontop.

Ed: "Trees and water?"

Nina: "Will brother be okay?"

Al: "He has his good luck charm so he'll be fine Nina." A huge shadow shown over them and they looked up. An ugly tan balloon was floating through the sky.

Hakuro: "Splendid."

Ed: "He created paper and hydrogen from trees and water?" You looked up as a hole appeared in the side of the balloon and it zoomed through the air.

Roy: ""This isn't good." The balloon smashed into the stone tower and the top of the tower crashed over. You analyzed the situation and turned to Ed.

You: "You get the man I'll take care of the tower." You ran up and your eyes began to turn clear. Ed clapped his hands and the tower began to glow. Your eyes were no longer visible since they blended with the whites of your eyes. The pieces of stone began to float and you moved them into the mountain. The tower and turned into flower petals and you smiled. You born with telekinetic powers so you could move elements. The force of the wind and blown your bandana off and your cat ears were clearly visible.

Roy: "No Transmutation Circle, eh?"

: "To very young Alchemists, eh? Interesting"

Nina: "Ahhh! That's so beautiful!"

Edward Elric and Lita Nitro, State Alchemists Qualification Exam.

Passed.

You, Ed, and Al walked across the bridge as the sun was going down. Nina was asleep on Al's shoulders.

Ed: "Lita. I'm going to stop hesitating now. I shall only look straight ahead and run. If I stop, I'll deal with it when it happens. One day, I will ... return you two to your original bodies."

You: "Yeah, and when that happens, your original body will be there too." Ed wrapped his arm around your waist and you walked like this all the way home.