136 Earth and Sky (More Tests and Titles)

{I have bought a new laptop, a Dell G15 Ryzen that weighs like 15 pounds and makes a satisfying click every time I hit the space bar. My mechanic shop changed their schedule while I wasn't looking and they aren't even open on my days off anymore so I have gotten adequate sleep today. Here's a chapter my Tony Pizzas!}

Yuri's boots clicked on the marble floor and opened the same doors he entered from with a small flourish of accomplishment, his coat billowing behind him. When they thought Yuri was out of earshot as he crossed the door, Bradley spoke once more.

"Keep an eye on him as close as you can, Sergeant." He ordered, to which the man nodded his head and only after a lull said, "Yes, sir!"

"And fix this hole! We should have another examinee or two coming in soon, I believe. Some rather interesting ones."

Yuri rounded the same bend and moved to exit alone. The silver pocket watch with a hexagram behind the country's dragon emblem flashed on his hip and he received no questions on the way. Only curious looks.

"Whoa, we get a title too?!"

"Yeah, yeah. The Fuhrer likes to give fitting titles to the Alchemists he passes. Though they are rather simple; mine is just the Flame Alchemist."

"Well that's exactly what you are, isn't it?" Al tilted his head.

"...I guess."

Yuri smirked at the voices he found echoing in the hall he was approaching. This is exactly why he picked this day to take the examination, those little punks thought they could get something up on him and he would be delighted to shove it...*cough*... to teach them a valuable lesson of humility.

The trio of Roy, Ed, and Al rounded the bend and all three of them stopped while Yuri only smirked coolly and victoriously while continuing on. Roy found the pocket watch on his hip first, and nodded as if it was expected. Yuri passed them as the brothers let their mouths unhinge like fish before Ed finally snapped out of it.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Yuri turned relaxedly and looked down at the brothers. "Oh my oh my! It appears my students have come to earn their State Alchemist certification just a little after I had just done so!" Yuri pulled the pocket watch from his hip and dangled it from the chain. "You may not recognize this yet, but you will if you succeed just as I, your master, taught you to!" He spread a shit-eating grin before snapping his fingers beside the pocket watch. The shape of the watch morphed and the chain extended and wrapped around Yuri's neck. The pocket watch became flatter as the image remained on one side while a new one took the other. A silver medallion, one side remained emblazoned with the symbol of the state while the other adopted the symbol of Yuri's school of Alchemy, swung from Yuri's chest.

"So...SO YOU BEAT US HERE AND EARNED YOUR STATE CERTIFICATION ALREADY?!!!"

"Hahaha, have fun on your test! Better luck taking your wins when you can later!" Yuri turned around and waved as he grinned ear to ear.

"Wait...teach," Ed called out in a much more chaste and depressed manner, catching Yuri's attention.

Yuri stopped and tilted his head and shoulder back to them.

"What's wrong with this city? I feel icky... the ground feels alive and not in a good way," He nearly whispered. Roy himself lightly nodded his head. If it weren't for Alkahestry he wouldn't have even noticed, and now he couldn't help but place even more suspicion in the country he wanted to change.

His sense was much more instinctual and less detailed than the brothers, however. They had the sense of being in the stomach of a writhing monster. Of wading through a river of blood.

Yuri sighed. "Oh that. Well, it's exactly like I told you. There are monsters out there who seek personal gain and the cost of lives they don't care for, and people who fight them no matter the personal cost to protect those they care for. Welcome to the battleground. Quite close to home, isn't it?" Yuri smiled with sympathy before turning around and letting his coat flutter once more, his head down just a bit more.

'I need people like you three to keep fighting the good fight for this nation, this Record, when all is said and done.'

The trio frowned for a moment of silence before turning around.

"Tch. Let's go finish this, teach is lowkey but I'll be flashy as possible and get a better title!"

'You don't even know his title.' Roy shook his head and led them down the same hallway Yuri left. 'I wonder what title that guy actually got? He was probably named after the type he displayed just like me since most Alchemists focus on only one specialty with the time they have.'

"Introducing the examinee, Edward Elric!"

Ed was allowed to cross first, and received frowns from the guards. They weren't allowed to speak, but their thoughts asked why a child was suddenly allowed to make a mockery of this process.

Roy got a glimpse into the room before the doors shut and saw a seal of the State, large and metal, planted on the floor and not flush with it as if covering something. 'That wasn't there before.'

The Fuhrer kept his grandfatherly smile, reapplied from the last worldview-rattling experience.

"Edward Elric, I have heard good things about you. You must be quite talented at your age to earn the attention of Mr. Nightingale and receive his tutelage." Fuhrer informed the small audience. The pupil of that monster?

'Him as well, not as gracious and charismatic as his master but willing to give others the benefit of the doubt. He feels suspicious of his environment but doesn't have any motive for or against me. Another pure soul.'

"What title did he receive?" Ed asked without a hint of respect. The face of the guards faltered while Bradley was unfazed.

"The Mystic Alchemist."

"Damn, that's a good one," Ed clenched his gloved metal hand and prepared to try his best.

"Will you be needing writing utensils for a circle?"

"Huh? I am the circle." Ed clapped just like his teacher and a sound of a pristine bell rang out. The Sergeant beside the Fuhrer absolutely lost his stance to leer at the kid who had apparently committed the taboo and could transmute without a circle! So this is why he was allowed in!

He spread his hands out forward and diagonally away from him, the guards frowned as they were in the direction. The sound of electricity was quickly overtaken by a roaring storm.

*POOFWOOOOOOOOOOOO* A violent, roaring, screeching wind soared from his hands and blew back the guards whose yells were overtaken by the noise of hurricane winds. They planted their halberds in the floor and had to shut their eyes but were still hurled backward and tumbled against the wall. Some of them were completely knocked out. The sergeant beside the frowning Fuhrer started shouting for him to stop, and Ed obliged after several more seconds.

'Still no killing intent, a small tinge of guilt, pressing urgency to prove himself?' The Fuhrer thought to himself.

"You brat! You've just assaulted agents of the military in his highness' guard in Central Headquarters! Do you think we'll-"

*CLAP*

"Shit..."

A flicker of blue lightning was short-lived but it gave birth to a furious, bright, and intense yellow lightning that was held in Ed's right metal hand in a stormy cluster. Ed pointed his hand right beside the Fuhrer's head and Bradley knew exactly where he was pointing but tilted his head away anyway.

*CRR-PADUM* Once again another contained bolt erupted and struck the wall behind Bradley and just to the right of him. The sergeant was completely blinded, deafened, and sent himself backward out of reflex to avoid it even after it happened.

Wrath ignored what his eye of the heart was telling him as veins sprouted across his neck and head. He reached for his sword and ran at speeds the guards would not have been able to see towards the boy to teach him a lesson on respecting the military and its leader!

'It's been a long time since anyone had the balls to attack anywhere near me frontally! You might be another Alchemist with Lightning but I might as well be as fast as it in your eyes and you will think twice before trying it near me again!'

Ed saw a man move faster than he had seen from anyone other than Yuri, which was in any case faster than he could usually effectively respond to. He felt the man's Chi, no different from a human's but incredibly stronger due to the superhuman level of training, intending to draw a sword and most likely stopping just short of him to prove a point.

Ed could barely lift his right arm in the time it took Wrath to approach and swing, but since Wrath didn't reveal his other eye and wasn't expecting a kid to respond that quickly he couldn't stop his sword in time before it would probably wound the kid's arm.

*CLANG!*

Sparks were sent and a good portion of the sleeve of Ed's robe was torn as Wrath's sword glanced off Ed's metal arm, surprising the still lucid audience which amounted to barely one. Ed's pristine scale-pattern automail was revealed, a design that had not graced either the military or any well-known mechanic from Rush Valley, the land of providence for automail Mechanics everywhere.

Wrath resheathed his sword quickly and nodded his head. "Good reflexes, kid, but you would do well to respect those in uniform. You are about to become an Alchemist of the State, a member of the same military."

Bradley had made his point, the kid had sweat dripping down his forehead from that casual clash even if it was technically a draw.

'He still didn't take offense to it, just nervous. Odd. One of the sacrifices, probably both, are going to be contained and observed closely in their active duty just as planned. Can't be putting them too close to the line of fire.'

"Mr. Elric," He began without looking behind him, walking back to his podium. "You have exhibited exemplary skill in typically elusive applications of Alchemy," Bradley topped the stairs and turned heel, revealing his grandfatherly smile of approval once more. "and no small amount of grit, and have passed the requirements to become a State Certified Alchemist! From this day forth, you will be recognized as: The Storm Alchemist!"

Ed received his badge with his head upturned and a victorious grin at his title, then made a small bow and turned heel before strutting widely and comically like a peacock. He spread open the doors with a bang, "Ed! What happened in there?! It sounded terrible!"

Unlike Yuri, Ed did not have the means to stop the noise from leaving the room. Only Al stopped Roy from barging in there.

Ed flashed his badge in his face in response. "I got my certification and title, that's what! You're looking at the up-and-coming STORM ALCHEMIST!"

"Congratulations, Nii-san!" Al balled his fists and raised them up to chest level in excitement.

{Should I stick with English literal or add in some Japanese romanization sometimes to keep it organic?}

"Wow... congratulations, Ed. You've earned it. Just don't go around blasting things like that all the time."

"But how will they know I was there if I don't? Anyway, get in there, Al! Should be a piece of cake for you! And the old man seems nice enough, doesn't feel suspicious at all."

"Alright, Nii-san! I'll do my best!"

Back inside, Bradley had prepared for the last contestant by replacing the guards and reinstalling the banners that were blasted off during Ed's storm.

"Here comes the last one, another pupil of that man. Perhaps the record for youngest State Alchemist will be broken twice in one day? Keep your guard up, men, don't underestimate this one."

Nods were received from all directions. They had heard what happened to the last rotation.

The doors were opened gently and furtively, a blonde head glancing left to right. "May I come in?" He squeaked.

Bradley looked at the child with a small amount of surprise. He was incredibly pure and optimistic, happy to be here to earn something of his own and start a new chapter in his life.

'Maybe I should fail him... we don't need every sacrifice in the military to observe them. We couldn't get that housewife either, could we?'

Bradley shook his head and moved on. "Welcome, lad. We've heard nothing but good things about you, are you ready?" Bradley summoned some gentleness for the boy almost instinctually.

"Hm! Do I just need to perform a transmutation?"

"Anything you're best at, lad. Do you need a circle or writing utensils?"

"No, thank you! The world is already a circle!"

Al clapped his hands with a gentle smile and closed his eyes before pressing his hands out lightly in a forward motion and taking a horse stance.

A small pause of silence tentatively passed before the ground started shivering, then trembling, then undeniably shaking. Cracks formed in the marble flooring and spread past the seal covering Yuri's hole before stopping just at the podium. Al clapped his hands once more and clasped them together, a heat wave started blasting out from within the cracks and the guards had to step back even if they weren't in range of them.

Soon, an orange glow rose from within and the patch between all parties witnessing glowed like magma with the split portions quickly turning into toasted rock flowing within it. Al raised one hand and the lava imitated him, molding a fist from the magma and raising it in the midst of the room. Atop this fist lay the very seal of the state.

Al clapped once more and planted his hand on the solid ground that was beginning to soften from the adjacent heat, then the fist turned to a glistening simple iron that retained much of its heat and glowed orange without showing the earlier melting signs at all. The seal was involved in the process of metalizing this hand as it was mostly absorbed before the whole thing fell backward into the lava without harming anybody. Al clapped one more time and the heat departed, the hand turned back into the original stone, and the floor was slowly reshaped while some lingering heat still stifled the air.

'That was... arguably more impressive than his brother in terms of control and effort. Is this the more able disciple of that man? I would much rather have this boy as a son than Pride.' There was no way in hell he could justify failing him after that showing.

Bradley nodded with approval. "Excellent, Mr. Elric! It looks like the record for youngest State Alchemist will be broken a second time on the same day! You, of course, have passed the requirements of certification as a State Alchemist. From today, you will be known as The Volcanic Alchemist!"

Al received his badge carefully with excitement visible on his face, bowed courteously, and exited with a small pep in his step.

"He even fixed the whole in the floor. What a good kid."

"Though it is 90 degrees in here."

"I've had enough of those for one day, don't you think, gentlemen?" Bradley asked and laughed lightheartedly, receiving harmless smiles of agreement from his handpicked men.