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Al tried to stop his brother, but words alone did not suffice, and his body was not up for the task of getting in Ed’s way.
Ed received his official notice of honorable discharge for medical reasons. The “medical reason” itself was classified, of course. The paperwork had even been signed in a timely manner by Colonel Mustang. At least, it appeared to be. Lieutenant Hawkeye must have either helped, or simply completed the form with his authority.
A well-meaning Private brought their significant backlog of mail from Resembool, to give the Elrics something to do during their stay in the hospital.
Ed froze mid-sentence when he saw The Letter in the pile of mail. The Letter was sent automatically on an Amestrian boy’s sixteenth birthday, requesting their presence at a military academy within the year. Boys were conscripted, but could apply for an exemption from service. Girls received a recruitment letter encouraging their voluntary enrollment.
Winry had emphatically declined her recruitment offer the previous year, even before her status as Ed’s automail mechanic got her summoned to Briggs as a civilian. She attached a letter to the official reply that earned her a call from Lieutenant Hawkeye. The soldier complimented Winry’s ability to express her opinions in writing. Thinking a strongly worded letter didn’t have quite enough impact, Ed was disappointed when Winry refused his offer to visit to East Headquarters and throw a wrench at Mustang for trying to recruit her. Needless to say, neither Winry’s time amongst the military nor her time fleeing from it helped to sway her opinion in its favor.
Brother ranted for so long that Al fell asleep. He could not stay awake for more than a few hours at a time yet.
When Al woke, he discovered his brother gleefully filling out an exemption form with as much indignation as he could fit on the page.
They crashed through the door of Colonel Mustang’s hospital room. Al was an unwilling accomplice, sitting in the wheelchair that his furious brother used as a battering ram.
Ed threw all three packets of paper at the blinded colonel’s face and complained as Lieutenant Hawkeye intercepted them.
“It appears that Major Elric has come to deliver his report, sir.” There was a smile in her hoarse voice, if not on her face.
Mustang groaned. “If Fullmetal read his mail, then he knows that he is no longer my responsibility.”
“That’s the problem!” Ed interjected. “I wasn’t exactly checking my mailbox this past year, but guess what showed up!”
Al and Hawkeye worked together, with interjections from Ed, to convey that Ed brought his recruitment notice, his satirical exemption form, and his medical discharge papers, all of which had appeared on his makeshift desk that morning.
With a little help from Hawkeye, Mustang took care of the paperwork. Ed threatened him profusely of the consequences if Al got a conscription letter the following year.
~
Al received a conscription letter.
Clearly, Mustang had not managed to make it voluntary in the past year. It would have been nice to be exempt, or at least to receive only a recruitment letter.
He was relieved that Ed was still researching western alchemy, because he did not particularly want to be arrested or shot or burned for assaulting the newly promoted General Mustang.
Al enrolled at the East City Military Academy without any fanfare. The less often he’s recognized, the easier this would be.
~
The first year was an exciting experience. Al had not been traditionally educated, like most city children. Country towns had access to education, but participation was elective. The Elric children learned the basics before they were old enough for school, and then Hohenheim’s library propelled them forward until they went to study with Teacher. Their wide range of study and real world experience made for a unique education.
His roommate Fletcher quickly became a close friend, after an initial bout of awkwardness. It really was his own fault. Looking at Fletcher was like looking in a funhouse mirror. An image of what he could have been like with a less… eventful childhood. When he finally found the words to explain, his roommate took it as a compliment. He resembled one of the Heroes of Amestris! He would be a hero too, someday!
Al learned a great deal of Amestrian history and an absurd amount of little things that he never knew he was missing out on. The academic classes were a breeze, even if he occasionally had embarrassing moments of ignorance.
The physical training was much more challenging, but it had nothing on Teacher’s training or physical therapy. He often placed last in endurance activities, average in standard exercises, and would have been first in sparring if he wasn’t disqualified so often for using moves he didn’t know were against the rules.
His physical therapist had given him a note excusing him from any exercises that his body was not ready for. Being an Elric, he didn’t use it. The fitness instructor discovered a copy of the note in Al’s file after a lifeguard had to fish the stubborn boy out of the pool. Al wasn’t expecting to retain a now-irrational fear of water. So that was what Ed’s panic attacks felt like.
Nothing in his wealth of experiences prepared Al for final exams. He could study like a professional, but it was the stress that got to him. A piece of paper had no right to scare him this much! He had read far more disturbing things and researched frantically with infinitely greater consequence. It didn’t stop the exams from being stressful.
Al was as ready for summer break as any of his classmates.
~
Summer break was as relaxing as small town life ever could manage to be. Somehow, Al and Winry managed to keep his status as a military academy student secret from Ed for a whole week. For better or worse, Den ended the secrecy by running around the house with Al’s student ID.
~
Halfway through the second year, students were given a series of lectures and a choice. They could continue studying only the standard coursework, which would decrease in volume but not difficulty, or they could apply for specialty training. Both Al and Fletcher applied for the alchemy track.
Al passed the entrance exam for alchemy training with flying colors and tested out of several entry level courses. The hardest part may have been remembering to draw every single array. Fletcher was delighted to simply pass the entrance exam.
Al often tutored Fletcher for his alchemy studies. Fletcher, in turn, helped Al focus after catching him procrastinating in any way possible to avoid studying the bio-alchemy unit. The dorm room did not need to be cleaned five times in one weekend. They got through it, though Al did allow himself a phone call to complain to Brother, who understood his aversion to the subject without any need to actually talk about it. Fletcher, on the other hand, discovered an affinity for plant alchemy. His innocent enthusiasm helped make the unit bearable.
One of the training exercises for alchemy students was a series of three timed tasks that represented the fundamental phases of alchemy. First, analyzing an unknown material and reporting its composition. Second, deconstructing a barrier made from that same material. Third, reconstructing it into a defensive or offensive tool. Each task and the overall challenge had two records for the fastest times: an Academy record, and the top speed from any of the five Academies. Al resisted the temptation to beat the records. He knew that he could do it, but his capacity to do so using clap alchemy was technically classified.
Al’s favorite class was Ethics and Philosophy. Professor Schaun came from East City University to teach the course at the Academy. It took about three weeks for his classmates to make a specific face every time he raised his hand. He commented that if they thought this was fun, “just wait until we get to the unit about alchemy!”
The professor remembered. One of the articles they read for the discussion was the transcription of a radio interview of the Elric brothers. His classmates hid grins and snickered when she passed out the discussion guide. There was a five minute section labelled “Elric tangent.” Though he was rightly accused of being the bane of discussion guides, Prof. Schaun seemed to enjoy having him in her class. Al asked if she would be willing to discuss a more personal ethical debate, and she agreed. Should he sign up to take the State Alchemist exam?
~
The second summer break came and went far too quickly. With an excellent letter of recommendation from his ethics professor and another from Major Miles (who Mustang advised Al to ask), he was permitted to serve his term of non-combat service with the Embassy. Al studied the cultures within and surrounding Amestris, with a focus on Xing.
~
Near the end of his third and final year at the Academy, Al passed the written portion of the State Alchemist exam. He still struggled with multiple ideas for the practical exam. He was Alphonse Elric, one of the Heroes of Amestris. Everyone expected a show, which was completely Ed’s fault. He declined the offer of a mock-battle. He wanted to do something that would help him get a job in the Embassy, with the hopes of becoming an Ambassador. How could he show that a State Alchemist was an asset in foreign relations?
Grumman made a speech about the honor of witnessing the test of Alphonse Elric, but Al was so nervous that he couldn’t remember a word of it.
Al smoothly delivered a rehearsed reply that he would not let him down, and also assured their leader that he would not copy his brother’s exam strategy. That amused the man and any who understood the reference. Ed had boldly not-quite threatened Bradley during his own exam.
The traditional panel of three State Alchemists consisted of Flame, Strong-Arm, and Fullmetal. The last was a well-kept surprise to Al, though it made sense. Only Mustang and Armstrong remained in active duty. Of the few others who lived in retirement or anonymity, Ed’s presence certainly made the best statement.
Al used an earth-shaping array to transmute the ground into a scale map of Amestris and the edges of the neighboring countries.
He was granted a title: the Wayfinder Alchemist.
Mustang congratulated Al as the first of a new generation of alchemists, trained for and committed to peace. “Alphonse Elric will surely help Amestris find its way to peace!”
Armstrong made a flowery speech that left him and many members of the vast audience in tears, not to mention the Major himself.
Ed deigned to remark that Al had an unrivaled gift for making alliances. That single assurance meant more to him than the officers’ speeches.
The retired Fullmetal Alchemist presented Al with his official pocket watch. The polished metal gleamed in the sunlight, a familiar sight in his brother’s hand. Down to the smallest detail, in fact. The watch casing was scratched and dented from Ed’s own years of service.
“Brother, I can’t take this! It’s yours!” Al couldn’t accept Ed’s watch and all that it represented.
“I wasn’t supposed to keep it anyway.” Ed shrugged casually, but his voice was tight with emotion. “Take better care of it than I did, alright?”
Al promised and accepted his brother’s watch. It felt heavy in his hand. On the back, was a new engraving of a stylized compass. Grumman must have picked his title in advance. Had Brother spilled the beans on Al’s plans for the exam? The engraving looked like Winry’s work. She didn’t come to the ceremony, but her contribution was evidence that she didn’t hate him for taking this path.
~
His first official mission outside the country was finally underway! Al journeyed across the desert on the newly restored railway to Xing with a team of representatives from Amestris, including Maria Ross.
Princess Mei threw herself into a joyful hug at their reunion.
When he introduced his companions to the princess, she analyzed them with a piercing gaze. She looked ready for a fight. Was there someone untrustworthy on his team that he didn’t know about? Al quietly asked her why she suspected something was amiss. Her instincts were even better than his, thanks to her ability to read the Dragon’s Pulse.
Mei kept her voice low. “I heard that one of the Amestrians visiting is a State Alchemist!” Xiao Mei nodded firmly for emphasis.
He stifled a grin. “What difference does that make?”
Reaching into her sleeve, Mei allowed the light to glint off one of her kunai. “The only state alchemists that earned my trust were Dr. Marcoh and your discourteous bean of a brother. Anyone else will have to prove himself,” Mei eyed Ross suspiciously, “or herself, to me.”
Al wasn’t sure whether to be amused or troubled. Was it weird that he was used to feeling those two emotions simultaneously? Her wariness was an abrupt reminder that neither her experience nor her company in Amestris inspired a positive opinion of alchemists.
“It’s me, Mei. I’m called the Wayfinder Alchemist.”
In what seemed like a sudden change of heart to her entourage, the visiting alchemist no longer needed to prove himself to the princess.
Al retained his grip on Mei’s hand as he grinned back at his team. Surely the Wayfinder Alchemist was on the right path.