Chapter IV: 1911

"Yo, lieutenant-colonel."
"It's colonel now, brat." corrected Roy " You took your time."
Aria and Al shared an amused look at the banter, and greeted Riza, the lieutenant surprisingly coming to meet them ahead of her superior officer.
They soon understood a second latter when she muttered under her breath as she greeted them "The colonel only spotted one of the two errors on his file about you last year..."

"You don't say..." an amused Ari breathed, having immediately caught on, and deciding it would be an excellent distraction to keep her mind of the familiarity of the nearby soul
Al was understanding too but a second latter and his eyes gleamed "Well, well, let's give him the Elric Brothers then."
"And here I thought he was the sweet one when I met you..." Riza mumbled, surprised
"Oh, Al is the kindest." confirmed Ari "But he's developed a taste for pranks lately... Well, I guess I can play along for a bit." Padfoot barked his approval, and she waved him off
"Yes, yes, I know you love pranks Padfoot, I don't see how I could forget this with your habit of moving my stuffs around while I sleep."

Riza pointedly ignored the fact that the dog seemed to be laughing at that comment, as they made their way back to the colonel.

"So," he asked "Are you ready for this?"
"Want us to wag our tail?"
At that, Paws, Tempesta and Padfoot complied – even if it was more of a tail waving rather than wagging on Paws ends.
And Roy decided, just like Riza, that the pets were just as strange as their masters, and that he was probably better off ignoring it.

"Well then, to Central!"
"You still have paperwork to care of." Riza noted dutifully
"Nothing urgent!" Roy waved off
"What a slacker..." Ed muttered – Ari laughed lightly, while Al discretely shared with their eldest the fact that the colonel still believe Ari to be a boy

At that, Ed nearly fell to the ground laughing, only stopping when Roy commented "Wow, you sure make a lot of noise for such a small boy."
"Who are you calling so tiny you have to take out a magnifying glass to find?"
"Well, you of course."
"Eh, he won't even miss granny." Al stated as the colonel was verbally sparring with their brother
"I guess they must be around the same age mentally, then." Ari commented calmly, gaining a laughing bark from her familiar, soon followed by Ed

As for the colonel, he stopped in the middle of their argument, a bit vexed, before turning to Riza "Lieutenant..." he protested
"You brought this one on yourself." Riza answered, barely able to keep a smile from her face
He groaned – but annoying the pip-squeak had been amusing...

In the end, it took nearly two hours to put his work in order and alert the general in charge of the East division that he would be going to Central city to sponsor a few State Alchemists hopeful.

In those two hours, the three brats had managed to meet and befriend all of his team – which should have been good yet somehow filled him with dread, even if he couldn't pinpoint why exactly just yet.
Then, Riza, Ari and Havoc burst out laughing in the office, then followed him with eyes full of mirth, and he suddenly had an inkling about why it was bad – if one of the brothers could make him act like a kid, who knew what the other two could do with his subordinates?
With that, he repressed a groan, and announced "All right, let's go we've got a train to catch in half an hour."

¤.¤.¤

"So... You know any good hotel in this town?" asked Ari as her brothers were taking in the bustling Central Station
"I've got a friend who'll lent you a room." he said, before looking around "He should be somewhere nearby."
He had barely finished his sentence that a loud "Roy, here you are! So, how is East City? Did you finally settled on a girlfriend or are you still a womanizer? Are these the kids you're sponsoring? My, how daring!"

"Did you grow even more annoying since the last time I saw you?" the colonel wondered while dodging his best friend's attempts at hugging him
"Well I have to make up for all the time you spent away from me!"
"You make it sounds as if we were a couple." Roy sighed, repressing the sudden urge to bang his head against something – of better yet, bang Maes' head against something
"What! Of course not! After all, I'm happily married with the most beautiful woman in the world! And soon to be a father! Now, come, come, let's go home, Gracia has made lunch!"

The three Elric siblings shared a glance, a bit overwhelmed by the friendly but loud man, and Al finally said "He's very, er..."
"Annoying?" Roy immediately suggested as they trailed after his friend
"Full of life!" Al settled on
"That's another way of putting it..." Roy mumbled dubiously, eyeing his loud friend while wondering once more why he befriended the idiot

The three Elric and Roy had soon found themselves at the Hughes' household, Maes never ending praises about his wife quite strange to witness for the children – and promptly ignored by Roy who was used to them.
"So," Gracia was soon asking as they got to the dessert "How does this exam works?"

"It spans three days and is held twice a year, in March and September." started to explain her husband
"The first part is a written test, which alone weeds out about half of the candidates most of the time."
"Those that gets through that test are then taken through a physical with a military doctor, then a physiological evaluation." Roy took over "But most of the time, the physical is far less strict for alchemists than normal military."
"Oh? Why is that?"

"Alchemists up to take the national exam generally aren't any younger than their mid-twenties." he explained "You can't ask quite the same degree of fitness from a man in his thirties that spent the last ten to twenty years in a library than what you ask of a regular soldier."
"Alchemists stuck in libraries?" Ed burst out laughing "Wow, theses guys would get their ass handed to them by teacher."
"Really?" Gracia asked with a curious smiled "How was your training then?"

¤.¤.¤

At that, both boys froze, and Ari sighted – sometimes her brothers really were a pair of drama queens...

"Teacher believes that to train the mind you must start by training the body." she explained "Her teaching techniques were very... hands-on..." she trailed, before adding with a smile "But it was fun!"
"I don't call fun being beaten to the ground every day of the week!" Ed protested hotly
"Nor those pop-quiz that doubled into accuracy lessons at dawn!" Al added
"I became so used to that Alkahestry array that deals with aches, and heamatomas that I could do it in my sleep!" Ed continued "That woman is a monster!"

"Hm... You two are so thankless toward our beloved teacher, even thought you're wearing her crest." Ari sighed, smile showing though her eyes "Were did I go wrong with you?"
"Need I remind you you're the youngest, Ari?"
"Sometimes I wonder about that..." she teased, before turning her attention back to the colonel "So, since you dragged us so fast to Central and it's September, I guess the exam is soon to be held?"

"It starts next Monday." confirmed the alchemist "Your inscriptions were handled before we left East City so you'll just have to show up to the military quarters at eight in the morning in six days." he explained
"Well, sorry for imposing on you for so long." Ari said to Gracia with a thankful smile "Why don't you let us help you with the house while were here?" she gave a small glance at the prominent baby bump "I'm sure you could use a bit of down time."

"Oh but you must need some time to study for your exam!" protested the housewife immediately
Ed snorted "Don't worry about that, we had nothing else to do for months with the rehab." he said, oblivious to the wondering glance that earned him from Maes "And Ari likes to boss us around at home."
"Except for the kitchen," added Al in a conspiratorial tone "Ari banned us from there without any good reason!"

"I do have a good reason!" she bit back "You two tend to think that cooking works like alchemy! And it doesn't! So I rather eat something edible, thank you very much, you two stick to fire-camp cooking!"
"Wow so young and already such an accomplished little housewife." Roy teased, wondering whether the youngest would react just as violently as the eldest
"Why," Ari answered back with a smile that somehow make him shudder in fear "thank you for the compliment. I do hope to grow up just as teacher!"

At that, her two brothers were once more looking terrified "Don't give Ari any more stupid ideas!" Ed threatened, throwing his spoon at him
"Just a housewife she said when she introduced herself..." Al whispered in a blank tone "Yeah right..."
As for Ari, she still had the sweetest smile on her face, visibly satisfied with the reactions around her - and quite proud of herself for being able to act normally around the colonel.

"Don't you ever work?" Ari wondered a few days latter as, once more, the colonel was inviting himself to eat at his best friends' place for lunch
"Of course I do." he protested
"So why don't you eat at the military mess then?"
"Because their food isn't as good as yours, of course." he stated matter-of-factually
"You really have no shame." she groaned, Gracia laughing in the background

Just like Ariana had said, her siblings and her had taken to help around the house, yet still had plenty of time to cram one last time before the exams – and so the only female Elric had taken over the kitchen, Gracia still staying around but not allowed to do anything too tiring most of the time.
The three siblings were still playing along the "Ari is a boy" farce, avoiding to us any pronouns as much as they could and had found that Maes was even more oblivious than Roy – to Ed and Al it really was a mystery how anyone could mistake their sweet, if scary, little sister for a boy just because of her clothes, but it also gave them countless occasions to laugh at those two expenses.
As for Gracia, she had caught on immediately on the game the three were playing, and was enjoying being the only adult in Central in on the joke.

"I should keep you for the food even if you don't pass through the exam." Roy mused as he finished his plate and took a second serving
"This is called child labor and its illegal." Ari contradicted with a roll of her eyes – it always impressed her that someone with such big ambitions as the colonel could behave as a child at the drop of a hat when with people he trusted; it was also amusing to see how much he had changed from before

"keep your hands off my siblings!" Ed added – the boy had become much more protective of Ari, and insistent on keeping up the boy front since he'd learned of the womanizing reputation that followed Roy Mustang;
Which of course was ridiculous, since Ariana was but ten year old, but Edward did tend to be a bit impulsive and irrational when it came to protecting his family, even more so since that failed human transmutation attempt.

So Ariana let it slid and instead enjoyed her time with her brothers.

¤.¤.¤

With that, she turned toward Gracia, who had seemed a bit tired that day, and was met with wide eyes, caught somewhere between surprise and panic "I think my waters just broke..."
That single like sentence provoked chaos around the table, Maes, Ed and Al all panicking in such a similar fashion it would have been funny if there wasn't a woman getting ready to give birth in the room.
"Say, colonel, you've got a driver that is taking you around in Central don't you?" Ari asked

The only man not panicking in the room nodded and got up "I'll tell him to get ready to take us to the hospital."
"Do you have anything you need to take with you?" Ari asked at the woman
"I've got a bag ready in my room." Gracia nodded, grateful that some were making themselves useful rather than panicking "You won't miss it, it's a blue travel bag with pink borders."
The little girl nodded, and went to get the bag.

By the time she was downstairs, Roy was helping Gracia into the car and Maes had somewhat calmed down. Soon, all of them were at the hospital, Maes pacing in front of the room where his wife was giving birth, and the three siblings seated just by the door with Roy, waiting.
"Shouldn't you get back to work?" Ari wondered at the colonel
"With the state Maes is in?" he snorted "No I don't. Anyway all the work I do in Central is only on a voluntary basis since I'm assigned to the East. Mostly clarifying reports sent from the East that Central don't understand because of a lack of knowledge about the region, or things like that."

"And here I thought you were but a slacker who took any opportunity he could find to get out of his work!" Ari laughed
"Why do you three insist on calling me a slacker?" he was nearly pouting "I'm on of the youngest to have ever been promoted to colonel and for now I'm still the youngest State Alchemist! I couldn't have done that if I was so lazy, could I?"

"You went to recruit us personally." she answered back "Recruiting doesn't require a ranking officer, does it?"
"Well people aren't keen on becoming dog of the military so it's better to go in person." he counter-argued
"And Riza says you always try to get out of doing your paperwork."
"How did you get my most loyal aide to tell my dirty secrets in less than two hours?" he wondered "Should I be worried?" he asked only half-jokingly

¤.¤.¤

Elicia Hughes was born after nearly seven hours of waiting, and she was all her doting father had talked about ever since – as for the godparents, Roy and Ari had been chosen...
"Er... I can understand the colonel, since he's Maes's old friend, but me?" Ari asked, floored, at Gracia's proposal "Not that I'm not honored! But I'm a kid! People don't usually entrust their new born baby to a ten year old child they've known for a week!"

"Ah," smile Gracia from her bed "But you're the most mature in this room..."
"Hey!" protested Roy at that despite knowing she was only teasing him
"And I trust you. Beside, with that you'll have to come by in and visit us again!" the new mother continued as if she hadn't been interrupted
Ari smiled softly at the baby that had been forcefully put in her hand, naturally remembering how to carry her best, and accepted the responsibility, giving in to the nostalgic feeling of having the baby in her arms.

As for Ed and Al, both of them were looking at the small being in wonder "I guess humans really are amazing, hu?" Ed whispered, wonder in his voice "being able to give life to such a small being in only 280 days..."
Roy's smile dropped at the three children's reactions in front of the newborn – most people would only see kids awed at the baby, but he could see in their eyes the shadows of that failed attempt at getting their mother back and the guilt that was still eating at Edward and Alphonse each time they were reminded that in a few short years they would loose their youngest sibling.

After that, the weekend soon came to an end – and with it, came the exams first day...

"Rise and shine sleeping beauties!" the colonel easily avoided the pillow thrown his way as the three kids awoke groaning at the light that had flooded the room as he'd thrust open the heavy curtains that had been cutting the light of early morning
"You, colonel, really are a bastard." Ari groaned – before letting a small gasp as her dog jumped on her stomach "And you too, Padfoot." she added, dropping the dog before getting up, using a small water alchemy circle on her eldest brother to ensure he really did get up
"You are so mean with me!" the adult pouted, already in uniform "Here I am, out of kindness, helping you to get to the military quarters and this is how you repay me?"

"If I was mean I would douse you just like brother." she contradicted "I wonder how well your flames would work in a wet environment."
"How..." started the stunned colonel
"Well, you do have a fire circle on your gloves, you know."
"So you really do know fire alchemy then..." he muttered, remembering his realization a year before

"Since our Amestrian alchemy is earth-based, and I discovered when I gained an interest in alkahestry that it was water-based, it stood to reason that the other two element must also work well as power source for alchemy..." she explained as she disappeared behind the bathroom door, provoking protests from her brothers
"You mean you can use all four?" he asked, gaping – really, he knew those three were genius even more so than him, but still, the word impressive didn't even cover something like that, and the possibilities that opened up with other elements were numerous

The Flame Alchemist wondered if he should be vexed that a ten year old child seemed so much more advanced in alchemical researches than him, but in the end it was professional curiosity that was winning – he was an alchemist before he became a soldier, but trying to rise up through the ranks meant than he spent less time than he'd like furthering his knowledge of alchemy.

"Here." Ari, out of the bathroom, dropped a leather-bound notebook in his hands "reading material for when you're slacking."
He didn't even react to the now usual insult that sounded more like an endearment than anything else as he opened the diary, revealing lines of small and elegant writing, calculations and diagrams.
Leafing through the book, he soon confirmed that these were her notes about the basis of elemental alchemy, as she called it.

Then it dawned on him "It's not encrypted?" that was strange - all alchemists encrypted their personal notes
"It's locked." she contradicted "I've just added you to the lock."
He had barely noticed the small paper cut he got when he opened the notebook, and couldn't have seen the circle flashing lightly on the cover, since it was facing the ground, so he had no way to know that she had added a small circle to add the next person to open the book to be added to the small list of people authorized to read its content.
And the paper cut the book inflicted each time in was open to test the blood of the reader to confirm they could access the true content of the book was so small most never even noticed it...

¤.¤.¤

"Wow, what did you do to shut up the bastard?" Ed wondered as he finally emerged from the bathroom, Al swiftly replacing him – then seeing what the man was engrossed in "Your personal notes, eh?" a snort "You're far too kind with him."
"Well, he is a fellow alchemist, and an ally." she shrugged

He laughed "Sure, you're saying that now, but somehow I don't think you'd lent this to just anybody. I really wonder what makes it that all girls seems to like this bastard, even my sister..." he muttered, then, seeing his brother getting out of the bathroom, he bumped his reinforced boot against the dark-haired man shin "Eh! Don't ignore us when you woke us up at such an ungodly hour, bastard colonel! We're ready to go!"

"No breakfast?" he answered back automatically "If you don't eat properly and drink your milk, you'll never grow up."
"Stop calling me so small an ant would mix me up with its children! And milk is the invention of the devil!"
"Ari made biscuits than can be eaten on the go." Al answered with a smile at his brother's antics
"Yeah, there's even a share for you since you're such a moocher." Ed added as they passed by the kitchen and grabbed said biscuits "You should be grateful to my little sibling!"

Roy spent the drive to the military quarter nose in Ari's book while munching on his share of the biscuits, much to Ed's ire. As for Al and Ari, they spent the ride playfully quizzing each other one last time.

The siblings were dropped in front of the room where the written exam would be taken. The other State Alchemist hopefuls watched them walk in with dubious looks, and one of them guffawed loudly "You lost, midgets? This is the State Alchemist exam, not the elementary school one!"
Of course, this caused Ed, annoyed nearly since he had woken up to explode.
A litany of insults no kid should know and one man down with a bloody nose later the other candidates around them stopped talking, even if the glares weren't gone. Apparently, it was vexing for scientist who'd spent years studying their art to see children pretending to the same expertise – who knew?

The written test spanned three hours, and was highly complicated, addressing nearly each branch of Amestrian alchemy possible and imaginable, asking about History as well as theory, about demonstrations as much as long practical example filled with high level calculation.
Within the first half-hour, three examinee had broken down crying – within the first hour, four more were sent out for cheating.

The exam was over by midday, and all the hopefuls told that the results would be displayed on the door at five that evening.
"Let's get some food, my treat."
"Really?" a suspicious Al asked "Riza said you were stingy!"
Roy nearly face-faulted – that confirmed it, they had already spent way too much time with his team...
"Well, he's been eating at the Hughes' everyday," Ed commented "so I guess he can afford it!"

¤.¤.¤

A few moment latter, they were at a small inn not far for the military district, tucking in in various hearty lunches, the three kids talking about the exam between bites.
"This paper was really long," Al was sighing "I think I've hurt my wrist with how much writing we've done!"
"Al... You can't have hurt your wrist, you're right-handed! Metal doesn't feel pain!"
"Well, I would've hurt my wrist if it wasn't automail!"

"Anyway, it was hard but manageable," Ari commented "The real problem was writing fast enough to complete it in time."
"Most candidates don't even finish it." the colonel explained after putting his fork down "Because most alchemists tend to over-specialize, the idea is to check if they are at least well-rounded on the basics with the beginning of the test, then the harder questions are to have a first view of which branch they specialized in, and how advanced they were."
"Uh."

The sibling shared a dumbfounded look "But... teacher told us most of this were the basics..."
"Then your teacher is probably better than quite a few State Alchemists."
"I knew this woman was dangerous." Ed nodded sagely
"That's because you've got a gift for pissing her off." Ari commented
They parted way after lunch, Roy going back to work while the three siblings decided to explorer a bit around the military district. A few minutes after leaving the inn, they heard a loud "Ed! Al! Ari!" before being suddenly hugged by a Maes with stars in his eyes "So, tell me all about your exams! Did it go well?"

After that, the plans to explore around were binned as Maes deemed it essential that he took them to meet his coworkers in the Investigation Office. As such they arrived nearly late to the room where the results were being posted, their host taking advantage of them needing to be there to get out of work early...
"Do you think all the adults in the military are slackers?" Al wondered at that
"Maybe colonel Mustang was a bad influence on his whole class at the academy," Ed suggested "after all they did say they took their classes together."

With that, they ducked between the legs of a few of the other hopeful to get to the front of the crowd. Ari's eyes widened as she finally managed to see the results, Ed puffing up with pride...

[State Alchemy Written Examination, September Session
The following candidates are invited to present themselves for physical examination tomorrow by any military approved doctor and to psychological evaluation in Building C in the Medical Sector between 0700 and 1800 tomorrow.
1. Edward Elric
2. Ariana Elric
3. Alphonse Elric

[Goal complete! +25XP
Goal update: pass the State Alchemist practical exam
Bonus Goal complete!+50XP
Bonus Goal: impress the jury]
[Level up! You are now level 29!
+2SP]

"Ariana Elric, eh?" Maes burst out laughing as he finally made his way to them "I can't believe we fell for this!"
"Gracia didn't." Ari corrected with a smile as they made their way out of the building
"But didn't Roy have a file on you when he recruited you?" he wondered, still amused at the joke
"His file said that we were three brothers of 30 year old..." trailed Al
"Oh right, I remember him complaining about the Information Service of East City for weeks after that!" nodded Maes, eyes still full of mirth "I wonder how long it'll take for him to catch on!"
"Well, it's not like we can play this joke indefinitely," Ariana shrugged "after all there is a physical examination tomorrow, and I don't think they skip gender in a soldier's file, don't they?"
"True," the man agreed, disappointed "too bad... ah well, let's enjoy it for as long as it goes on!"

¤.¤.¤

"You do realize I don't treat people, right?"
The Elric siblings shared a look – since any military doctor was good for the physical certification, and that those stationed at the Medical Sector would be overworked with the 42 State Alchemists candidates on top of their usual work load, Roy had shown up to drag them to an old acquaintance.
The man, tall, with short hair and rectangular glasses had a harsh look on him, yet what Ari could feel from his soul was mainly sadness, and shame...

"I'm a forensics, for god's sake!"
"Impressive, he manages to argue without even talking..." Ed commented while looking at Roy, looking reluctantly impressed – who true to what he said, hadn't even said a word
"Fine, come on in and tell me the true reason why you're here."
Ed stared at Roy's back with grudging awe as they entered the man's house - not only arguing, but winning the argument without even saying a word, that was true talent!

"I'm doctor Knox." the man finally said "So, what's wrong with you that he doesn't want you auscultated by the other doctors?"
They shared a clueless glance, and the colonel sighed "You can talk with your pets and this one was born with real silver in his hair!" he said, exasperated "Who knows what the medics will find if they look at you three too closely!"
"Oh." Ari gave him a reassuring smile "Don't worry we're normal on the biological side. Well," her hand reach for the Soul Link in her hair "except for this I guess. I didn't even thought about it..."
"I thought as much.." Roy grumbled a bit petulantly – truth be told he wasn't even sure a doctor would have noticed the ornament, but somehow, he didn't want to risk it
He couldn't help but worry about those three, and he really wanted them to pass that exam

As for the doctor, his hand had sped forward to take a look at said ornament "Eh! Don't pull!" Ari protested, wincing slightly "I'm not going around pulling your hair, am I?"
Knox released her while ignoring her brothers' glaring at him and stated "Well, I don't have a silver braid in my hair." before asking "So, who's first?"
"Me!" Ed loudly demanded
Al went next as Ed got out of the room where the doctor was doing his job, then Ari.

"Really, automail, you too? Is it some kind of fashion statement?" he groaned
"We live near Ishval." she shrugged, as if it explained it – which it did, for those that didn't know about their failed transmutation
"Yes, you brothers told me the same. Your older brother also seemed adamant that I don't tell colonel Mustang your gender..."

Ariana rolled her eyes "He's afraid of the colonel's infamous reputation as a womanizer. Honestly, what does he think will happen if the colonel realizes I'm a girl? I'm ten!" an amused smile "But then again, it is fun that he still hasn't realized..." and the ongoing joke also helped her not examining her feelings too deeply, which was also a plus

"I'm not falsifying military papers."
"Of course not!"
"But as long as he doesn't read your file..."
She laughed, as the serious looking man endorsed their bit of fun.

"Well then, the three of you are in the clear medically speaking." he announced as they were back in the living room "Good luck for the rest of the exam."
"Thanks doctor Knox!"
With that, they were gone – on to the psychological evaluation...

¤.¤.¤

The psychological evaluation, Ariana soon found out, was laughable at best.
Sure enough, they reminded of the three main rules they would have to obey as State Alchemists "obey the military, do not create gold, do not create humans" – two of the three she already had infringed.
But truth was, even someone unstable could pass thought this evaluation if he knew how to phrase his answer well enough...
Yet one more proof that something was rotten in the country.

The three siblings as such breezed through the evaluation – and soon found themselves, on the morning of the third day, with the rest of the 23 candidates still in the exam, waiting for their turn in front of the commission that would individually judge their practical.

"Writing things is easy," one of remaining the candidates taunted "But now we'll see if you really are skilled, brats!"
Ari snorted, and stated "You're James Wilson, aren't you?"
"What is it to you?" he replied on the defensive, not expecting her to know his name
"I understand that you feel the need to put down those of us that know how to us our brains as well as our brawls. After all you were the next to last out of those that went through the written exam." she walked by him calmly, and as she passed him by, discretely activated an air circle "But some of us have... A bit more finesse than you." she continued "So please keep your pants on and stop annoying the grown up."

The furious man went to attack her – but as soon as he moved toward her, his pants fell to his ankle under the others' laughter, making him stumble and fall in place.
After that, the candidates resolved themselves, once more, not to trash-talk the three children who clearly knew how to defend themselves in order to avoid themselves either pain or humiliation.

Ariana felt the moment the jury entered the room with her Soul Art, and paled a bit – not anything notable for people that didn't know her, but enough that her brothers were worried.
With a nearly invisible shake of her head, she told them to forget about it for now.
Reluctantly, they nodded back.

¤.¤.¤

Of the three of them, Ed was the first to go – and judging from the awed, then panicked shouts from the other side of the heavy door, her eldest brother had probably done something flashy, which really wasn't surprising all in all...
Then Al went in, soon provoking his own shouts, and it was her turn to go in.
She smiled a bit – well her two brothers seemed to already have worked hard to shock the brass, as such it was her duty as younger sister to follow the example they set, wasn't it?
Pushing back the nagging feeling she had felt since the jury arrival in the building, she prepared herself mentally, and decided on her course of action.

With that, she smiled sweetly.

"Another one?" was the exclamation in the stands were the jury was as they saw a third child with a long open coat in a blinding red with a black Flamel on the back, and golden blond eyes and hair
"I'm the third Elric sibling." she answered calmly, smile never wavering – before thrusting her hand around in a large arc around her, small daggers flying with a gust of wind toward seven of them, missing each by only a few voluntary centimeters – and among those seven, it was to be noted, six were the officers with the highest rank, Fuhrer included, and the seventh was her sponsor

"The three of you like to threaten authority, don't you?" one of the officers commented
"Of course not," she contradicted "It's just that we're suppose to demonstrate how our alchemy can be used in a real-life situation, yet we're put in en empty arena. Wouldn't there be people attacking us is a real-life situation?" with that she made her way to the exit

"Don't you want to get your daggers back?" one of the officers asked
"It's just something I made right now," she waved him off "You can keep it as a souvenir or melt them, I don't really care!"
"Does this mean that the alchemy wasn't just the wind but the blade too?"
"I saw only one flash!" another protested, awed "That must have been some fast work!"
As for the sponsor - well he was busy testing the blade's balance, before pocketing it with a satisfied smile and going back to read her research journal.

Ariana was smiling as she left the room. That had been satisfying!

[Goal complete!+25XP
Goal update: obtain State Alchemist rank
Bonus Goal complete! +50XP, 1 beginner characteristic tome]

It was only later, when they were back at the Hughes' house, that Ari manage to drag them, colonel included, into the room they had been given, and finally stated, as soon as they were alone "The Fuhrer is a homunculus."

¤.¤.¤

To say it had been frustrating to get used once more to the permanent nagging feeling after having be freed of it for a day would be an understatement.
Thankfully, Riza and the rest of his team put his bad mood on the recent revelations, not the fact that the brats weren't there.

Still, he fought his frustration by burying himself in work, and before he knew it, a year had gone by and he'd been promoted. He was getting out of the East Military District when suddenly, the bloody feeling was gone once more – and the three children were there, looking far better than they had just one year before, and he really had trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that all of them managed the rehabilitation for automail in one measly year; the eldest had two limbs missing and even the pets were crippled, yet here they were, pets included!

Annoying the eldest was easy, and relaxing in a way few things were in the military – but getting chastised by a ten year old really made him feel stupid, while making him wonder how he'd managed to feel at ease around them so fast.

Roy tried not to think about the speed with which the three had gotten on with his team, because he just knew that this was a recipe for headaches – still, the three Elric siblings were there, and he wasn't letting them out of his sight just now!
Besides, he got the feeling these exams would be memorable...

In his readiness to get them to Central City, he had forgotten one big detail – Maes Hughes, or rather, Maes Hughes' habit of harassing him each time they were in the same city.
The man was his best friend, but he still had this urge from time to time to strangle him.
Or set him on fire.
Or kill him in any messy and painful way he could think of.
He was worse even since he'd married, deciding that since he was so happy with his wife, everybody else should get married – and Roy had no intention to get married, he had other, more important things to do than to bother himself with one of those airhead he got around with; there was a reason why he never dated the same girl twice...

He had joked when he called Ari a housewife, but the week before the exams let him see a bit more of them, and soon he realized that – the youngest Elric really was mothering the other two in her own way, even if it wasn't evident to anyone; but he always found it easier to understand the youngest Elric and got along with her best, so of course, he noticed.
And the food she made was to die for, and somehow awakening some kind of strange nostalgia in him...

Then, Elicia was born – and he still couldn't believe that Gracia had decreed Ari more mature than him, even as a joke! He was a colonel in the army, he knew how to lead people, wasn't that enough as proof a maturity?
Apparently she found his disregard for the laws appalling - laws were just a guideline!
And he wanted to change them anyway!

Still, he now was godfather of the little girl along the with the youngest Elric – and the brothers awe at the new life in front of them suddenly reminded him that Elicia's other godparent probably wouldn't even see her grow into adulthood.
The though hurt much more than it ought to, it wasn't as if he even really knew those kids was it? Except – except that he felt some sort of kinship with them, because they had lost their innocence so early, and in such a cruel way that they all were much older mentally than their real age.

And wasn't it strange, to realize that he had already come to value them just as much as his trusted team so quickly?

¤.¤.¤

The exams had been – a revelation.
Oh, he knew already that the Elric were high-level alchemists, there had been no doubt about it since the day he saw that human transmutation circle – failed or not, it was still really advanced, far too complex to have been crafted in less than years of hard work.

He hadn't realized just how much advanced they were – but then, on the morning of their written exam, Ari gave him her personal researches, and he realized that those three were above any other alchemist he'd ever met.
Even him, who pride himself for his skills, couldn't hold a candle to them in pure alchemy knowledge terms.

Of course, he still had the advantage of experience, but still – that little leather-bound notebook reignited the will to learn in him, and he spent the rest of the day reading, only stopping by the correcting commission to hear about their results – and after his readings, and their lunch, he wasn't all that surprised to learn that the three Elric had taken the three first places, with 20% more correct answers than any of the following candidates...

When the third day came, he had already read through Ari's notes several times, and so when it was the youngest sibling turn, he nearly burst out laughing when he realized she had used the alchemy she had the more difficulties to use in the State Alchemist exam.
Nobody else would have dared something like that!
Still, the three siblings had made an impact among the officers – Ed had created a spear and aimed at the Fuhrer himself, sowing chaos among the ranks before Fuhrer Bradley himself calmed them down; Al had touched the ground and the next moment the ground shook and spikes appeared near all of them; and of course, Ari's performance couldn't be forgotten - in a few seconds, she had demonstrated speed and skill with both alchemy and traditional fighting, as well as awareness of priority target.

The member of the jury had been impressed with all of the children – and the Fuhrer too – so it was only a matter of time processing the paperwork before the three of them obtained their watches. The fact that he had been the one to sponsor them hadn't gone unnoticed either, which was exactly what he had intended – but what really interested him was the well-hidden interest in the Fuhrer's eyes when the first two brothers had transmuted with a clap of their hand, then the unmistakable shock when Ari didn't even need that clap.

That circle-less transmutation meant something, clearly – and he intended to find what.
His observation about the Fuhrer reactions, added to Ari's revelation about the leader of their nation true nature painted a frightening picture, even more so once he knew where the ability to do alchemy without circle came from.
There really was no telling who was the enemy, and the youngest Elric sibling's strange ability truly was a precious gift with an enemy that was so well hidden in their midst.

¤.¤.¤

A few days after the exam, as September came to an end, Riza excitedly announced "Papers from Central!" her eyes were shining "Want me to check it, colonel?"
He immediately accepted - who was he to deny the chance of not doing paperwork? Riza opened the folder and he could nearly hear her repress a happy squeal "They've been accepted!" she announced happily, then with a bit of suspicion "You don't look particularly happy about it?"
"There was no doubt about it." he commented, not realizing his how eye were lightning up "Ari shared some of his work with me... It's been years since I've met an alchemist so fascinating!"

Riza smiled at that affirmation - her father had asked Roy to look after her when he died, but she too had felt the need to look after him; the man was after all the closest thing to family she had left. And it was the first time since the Ishval war that he talked about alchemy with such passion...
He may have been the first among them to know that their country needed changing, and have been ready to make the sacrifice to bring forth this change - he had still lost something in the war even if it wasn't his innocence.

Not once since the end of the Ishval war had she seen Roy speak with pride about his art.
And yet, she still remembered how happy he had looked when he had arrived as a student for her father, truly enchanted by the endless opportunities opened by alchemy.
With just a few sentences and a small notebook, Ari had reignited the fire in Roy Mustang soul, something no one else had managed to do among his friends and his team.
Riza was happy to see that the feeling she had had, when the three siblings kept good on their word and came to meet them in East City in a year was already proving right.

¤.¤.¤

"They're really young, do we really want children with so much power?"
"They are the most skilled candidates since the Flame Alchemist, we can't afford to let such skills slip past us and get used by someone else."
"So have their new names been chosen then?"