The Painful Truth
The Painful Truth
Central Command
State Alchemist Exams
Practical Exams
3:00pm
Fuhrer Grumman, Lt. Fuhrer Mustang, General Alex Armstrong, General Olivier Armstrong, and Colonel Elric made up the panel of judges for the new recruits.
The interviews and tests were conducted by Edward, with Roy and Alex assisting. All of them were present for the practical exams, along with Olivier Armstrong and Fuhrer Grumman. The first of the three finalists was Russell Trigham. He walked into the center of stage and took a piece of chalk from the table. It was the only piece of furniture in the otherwise empty room.
Russell said nothing as he knelt to quickly draw his circle, then placed a handful of seeds inside, and activated the array. Quickly growing out of the floor the stalks of wheat swayed in the wind created by the alchemic reaction. Russell stood back with a slight bow.
"Fascinating." Grumman said cheerfully, "Tell me young man, can you do this with any plant? Should I hand you an apple core for example, how fast would the tree grow."
"I could produce a fruit baring tree within a few hours sir." Russell said calmly.
"But what use is this to us?" Olivia Armstrong questioned.
"Reconstruction, perhaps." Mustang said quietly, and Ed nodded, still not speaking. As the head of the panel, Ed was not to give his opinions of any candidate until the others had cast their vote, so as not to influence the outcome.
The next candidate was an older man, in his late forties, named Harris Parks. He took another piece of chalk to draw just as quickly, though he chose to write directly on the table instead of the floor. He didn't add to the circle, instead drawing from the materials on hand.
A few tense minutes later, he watched as a handful of daggers appeared behind him, and he had no idea what had happened. The reaction was cut off, and he staggered slightly away as a guard stepped forward to take one of the knives before hurrying back to pass it to the panel of judges.
The final candidate was a boy, no older than fourteen. All five judges stiffened. He had somehow managed to slip passed all the fail safes Ed had created for this test. Before the boy was able to do more than pick up the chalk, Edward stood. "Where is candidate Elderwood?"
"I am the family alchemist. Brother took the tests up until now because there is a new age stop in place." The boy said with a frown.
"I am aware of the minimum age, I set it myself. Again, where is the candidate?" Edward asked, the other four deciding to let him handle the situation.
"He knows the theory, but is not an alchemist himself, that's why I have to do the final for him, but he really did the other two stages by himself." The boy responded.
"You are dismissed. Try again when you are of age." Edward said and sat back down.
"You were named before you were of age. You don't look of age now! I'm probably older than you." The boy said as the guards stepped forward to remove him. "I have every right to be here."
"No. You don't otherwise you would have shown up as yourself all along, now leave. We are terribly busy with real candidates." Olivier said simply.
After he was gone the others turned to each other, they had hoped for more of a group, but with as careful as they were being with selection and the losses over the last year, it was to be expected that they would have a smaller turnout. Still only twenty had applied. Only five had passed the written exam, three the oral exam, and two the physical demonstration.
"We aren't doing this again until next year right?" Ed said tiredly.
"That's right. I see no reason to change the frequency, nor call you and Lt. Fuhrer Mustang back from Ishval for this, nor do I need to return to Central until the spring meeting." Olivier said.
"I'll have to return for that one as well, thankfully, I'll be able to leave Fullmetal in charge, since General Miles will also have to return." Roy said.
"Anyway. Are we accepting both of them?" Ed asked returning the conversation to the current issue. "I know Russell is flashy, but his alchemy is reliable, his brother, Fletcher is just as talented actually. But underage. Overall, his temperament is well suited to what we are trying to build here."
"We could use him out east." Roy said thoughtfully. "Would you be willing to be his sponsor Colonel?"
"That would put him under my direct command, correct?" Ed asked thoughtfully. On one hand, Russell would be extremely useful for the reconstruction effort. On the other hand, it was uncertain if the other teen would respect Ed's command.
"Yes, it would, though you of course have the option at any time to pass him on to a different command, should you feel he is disruptive or unnecessary to your office." Mustang replied.
"Okay, I'll take him." Ed said firmly. "What about the other one, Harris Parks? Armstrong would you be willing to sponsor him?" Alex Armstrong hummed thoughtfully for a moment before agreeing, and Grumman called for the pair to return to the room. Normally, they would make them wait for an official letter, however since there were only two candidates left, and Russell would need to prepare for the move east, they felt they should informally welcome them.
"Congratulations!" Grumman said heartily. "You have both been accepted. You will report to your sponsor on Monday to receive your official letter and watch."
"Thank you, sir." Russell said politely, before freezing. "Who is our sponsor? How do we know?"
"I'm your sponsor Tringham. Parks you report to General Alex Louis Armstrong." Ed said.
"Wait, you? Does that mean you're going to be my boss?" Russell asked.
"Yes, at least until your first evaluation." Edward replied calmly. He had taken to mimicking his Dad's tone in professional situations. It was the easiest way for him to slip into the role. Russell nodded politely, he seemed uncertain how he felt about it, but his lack of protest was promising. If all else failed, Ed would just push him off on a different department, though he hoped it wouldn't come to that, besides he would still be in charge of him overall until the returned from Ishval.
The Tringham brothers caught up with Ed just outside of his office, and he wasn't really surprised. He nodded and gestured for them to follow him without a word as he made his way inside. The boys weren't here today, because he hadn't expected to be back in the office until late, which was obvious by the shocked looks on his staff's faces as they seemed to be playing with a crumbled up piece of paper.
"At ease men." Ed said as if they had remembered to salute. He then led the way to his inner office, the brothers right behind him, as he closed the door he added ."Make sure that all of that paperwork is filed before you leave this evening."
Ed went around his desk and sat down, again adopting his father's posture and clasping his hands on the desk in front of him. He finally spoke to the brothers, first inviting them to sit, then adding. "I assume you have questions about your upcoming paperwork and assignment."
"Yeah. Uh, I was hoping to ask about…Fletcher's going to be able to stay with me, right? You know like how you always had Al with you?" Russell began.
"I wouldn't have suggested you join up if you would have had to leave your brother behind. I understand the importance of family." Ed replied. "Before your aske anything else, let me explain the activity going on around here as it now affects you. We will be moving to the Kappa Provence of Ishval in two weeks. You will be joining us, as a member of my staff. We are to help with the restoration process and help bridge the divide created by the war between our people."
"Wait, so we're all moving? How long are we going to be there?" Russell asked with a frown.
"If everything goes as planned, we should be there for about a year, possibly two." Ed said with a sigh. "You will be allowed to have you family stay with you unless the situation turns hostile though that does not seem to be an issue at this time. Negotiations went well so far, and the effort is being handled by myself, General Miles, and Lt. Fuhrer Mustang."
"General Miles is Ishbalan isn't he?" Fletcher asked.
"Yes, he is." Ed said. "Mustang's Xingese, I'm Xerxian. It doesn't matter to this restoration effort." Ed had decided, and Roy and Al agreed, that since the school would be opening with Al as a principle staff holder, they should announce their legacy since it gave them exclusive claim to the land.
"…You're Xerxian?" Fletcher asked.
"Only known remaining family line, yes. My bastard of a birth father left us that as our legacy." Ed said. "I consider Roy Mustang my only real father though, so please refrain from asking about Hohenheim." The brothers nodded and Ed waited a few minutes before he continued. "Do you have a place to stay until we leave?"
"Uh…Not really, I mean we can work it out, but we just got into town last night. We kind of travel a lot you know how it is." Russell said, and Ed recognized the expression on his face. The stubborn pride that indicated the lack of funds available to the brothers.
Ed pulled out a form from his drawer and began filling it in as he spoke. "I'm assigning you a room in the temporary dorms you'll be able to stay there until we move, there's no point in searching for a place this close to reassignment. I'm also giving you a small advance on your account which will be available to you when your paperwork comes in on Monday… Bring this form with you to the cafeteria and you'll be issued a meal pass for yourself and one guest. "He handed over the three forms which Russell took looking reluctant. "Don't be prideful about this Tringham. This is standard for any new recruit."
"Thank you, sir." Russell said, figuring he'd better get used to it. He saluted Ed as well, and Ed was relieved. At least for now the other boy was going to behave.
"Oh, and Russell." Ed said as the brothers turned to leave. "Now that you are actually a soldier the punishment for impersonating a superior officer holds a much greater charge. As a warning. So, no more of this playing at being Fullmetal shit, got it?"
"Yes, Sir." Russell said. "Do you know what my name will be sir?"
"No, that's assigned by the Fuhrer. I'll find out at the same time as you." Ed said, as he stood to follow them out. He had already finished all of the paperwork for the day, and he wanted to cut out early so that he could pick the boys up from Winry and let her finish what she needed to do before they left.
As soon as he had made the deal with his Dad, Winry had made a deal with the hospital. She had a practice out of the hospital so that another automail engineer could take over the service while they were out East. Right now, she was in the process of picking her replacement. It would be much easier for her to finish her work without the boys under foot.
Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence
6:00 pm
Al and Mei were hiding out in the study, as they had been every day since they got back from visiting Granny. Ed wasn't stupid, he knew that Al had gotten ahold of some of that Bastard's writings. Ed hoped they were theoretical journals and not personal, but it was hard to say. The truth was Ed didn't want to know. Whatever it was Al was reading, Ed wanted no part of it. He already knew what he needed to know.
So instead of bugging his brother into coming to spend time with him and the kids, Ed ignored them and spent the afternoon, just him and his sons. Now he was preparing dinner, with the boys playing on the floor next to him. Dad, and Winry would be arriving soon, along with Riza. Mei had finally solved the Riza dilemma for the brothers by suggesting, like the names the babies called Roy and Riza, the brothers should simply call her stepmother in Xingese. Since she suggested both brothers had been calling Riza Ji Mu exclusively at home. It didn't matter to them that Roy and Riza wouldn't be married until next summer, she held a permanent place in their lives.
They arrived just as Ed moved the rice from the heat and gave the vegetables one last stir. "Perfect timing." Ed said cheerfully. "Just in time to wrestle the boys into their chairs. Ji Mu, would you go rouse Al and Mei for me? I haven't seen them all afternoon."
"Yes, Ed, that's not a problem." Riza said, as Winry and Roy each picked up a boy to place in a highchair.
"We are lucky that We get to celebrate Will's birthday before the move. I'm not sure I would want to ask Gracia to travel all that way with the girls by herself." Roy commented.
Ed snorted. "Like you didn't plan the itinerary to ensure we left the week after Will turned one Dad. You plan everything."
"Well, that's true." Roy said with a laugh, as Riza came back in, followed closely by Al and Mei. Both later looked visibly upset. "What's wrong Alphonse? Mei?"
"Ed. We need to talk." Al said sadly, not looking at his brother.
"No, we don't" Ed replied.
"We really do, it's important." Al said.
"You think I'm a fool Al? I know what you've been reading and judging by your expressions it was his personal journals not his research, so no we don't." Ed replied. "Eat before the rice goes cold.
"Ed- "Mei tried instead.
"I. don't. want. To. Know." Ed replied before pointedly turning away from them to ask Winry how things were going at the hospital. He could feel the way Al was staring at him, he knew Al wasn't going to let it go no matter how much Ed begged him to. Everything had been getting better the last few weeks, he was starting to relax slightly. His bastard of a birth father had managed to completely screw up Ed's life again. Damn him.
"Listen Ed, I know you don't want to hear it, but I think you may need to know, that it's important and-" Al started, ignoring the warning looks that their parents were giving him. Ed needed to know this. Al was certain of that. Ed stood and walked out of the room, ignoring, for the first time ever, Yuery's whimper at his father leaving.
Al sighed heavily, and stood to follow his brother, gesturing for everyone else to stay behind. This was going to be painful, but Ed needed to know. He followed Ed toward Ed's private study, where Ed was sitting at the desk pretending to be busy. Al stepped in and shut the door.
"Look Ed, I read His journals and- "
"NO AL. No. I can't not right now. No."
"You won't ever handle it Ed, but it doesn't change anything!"
"Why can't you just let this go?"
"YOU WERE WANTED! HE PLANNED YOU! I WAS AN ACCIDENT AND MOM KNEW!" Al screamed. "THAT'S WHY IT MATTERS! HE WANTED YOU. He wanted you so bad that he married at least four different women he remade into Mrs. Flamel, and when they couldn't give him you, he just moved on. Mom found out just before you were born, and she still loved him. I don't know why. He didn't know why. But that was it."
"Al…"
"Mom wanted me. We both know that. And maybe it was better he didn't because what he planned… He had you to defeat Father. You were the plan Ed. You were born to save the world even if it killed you."
"Why the hell are you telling me this?" Ed whispered.
"Because." AL said, stepping closer, and risking hugging his brother. "Because Ed. Yuery was born to save the world even if it killed him. You said so yourself. But his mother died to save him. You love him. Dad and Ji Mu would do ANYTHING to protect him. He's not just a tool. Neither are you."
"I- "
"Neither are you, Ed. I know you better than anyone on this planet. Living or dead. I know. I know ever since that awful woman spoke to you; you've been wondering if you were a terrible mistake." Al whispered now. "You aren't a mistake Ed. We all love you and need you. You were his plan, but mom loved you. You were his plan, but we all need you. You were his plan and you survived it! Now live your life for you."
"It isn't that easy Al." Ed said with a sniff. "I read the letter he left for me. Right after mom died, I found them in mom's dresser. I knew I was planned. I already knew you weren't. I never wanted you to know. I never wanted to touch his journals after reading those letters."
"…You already knew?"
"Why do you think I told you to forget him Al? All those years while we were all alone? Because I was scared that at any time, he was going to come back for me and leave you alone! I couldn't let that happen Al. You're my baby brother. I love you."
"Okay Ed, again listen to me. Nothing he planned matters because you aren't some tool. You are a person. Don't make me go get Dad." Al said.
"I think I might need Dad actually."
"Okay then." Al said calmly, before walking out of the study and back toward the kitchen.
Shuffling and murmurs could be heard through the open door, but Ed stayed where he was as he waited, Dad appeared in the doorway moments later, and seeing Ed's expression immediately rushed over to hug the boy. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Al found His journals and read them. He knows the truth now." Ed said, burying his face in Roy's shoulder. "I am nothing, but a sacrifice and he wasn't wanted at all."
"Edward Mustang Elric, look at me!" Roy said as he pulled the boy away to look him in the eye. "You are now and always will be my sons. I want you. I love you. And I don't give a damn about the plans of some immortal wannabe god."
"How can Al not hate me Dad?" Ed asked with a sniff. "Everything I did to him, everything he lost because of me. I have been his curse since I was born, and he wasn't even here yet."
"You are no one's curse Ed. What that man chose to do has nothing to do with you. Nothing. I'm going to tell you what my Mom told me." Roy said, as he hugged the boy to him again. "You are so much more than the ones who created you. Just because they gave you life does not meant they get to control your future. You, Edward, are you. Not what your father wanted, or your mother dreamed, you are only you and that's all you ever have to be."
Edward nodded, crying into Roy's shirt. And he was soon surrounded, not just by his Dad's arms, but his brother's and his Ji Mu's and Mei's and Winry's and his sons. They didn't care. They all knew the truth and they didn't care, they loved him just the same. A weight that had rested on Ed's shoulders so long that it had felt like it was part of him shifted. It wasn't gone, because one conversation would never be enough to heal anyone's scars, but it felt lighter somehow, as if the ones he loved were sharing some of the weight.
From Journals
12/08/60
I met a lovely family in my wandering.
They are from one of the smaller clans, the
Yao. Hiro has given me hope.
He says the voices are not insanity.
That he can sense the people inside
Of me that there are thousands of them.
My people are not completely lost to me then,
But it is even more important that I stop
The creature. He said he was giving me half
Of the power he stole. It standing to reason that
Means he held onto have the lives. Families
Torn apart for years, held apart since the accident
Have decided I need time to heal mentally before
Serious planning can begin.