The months after the transmutation blurred together like a half-remembered nightmare.
Ed screamed through automail surgery. Al learned to move in a body that couldn't feel. And I trained until my knuckles bled, trying to fill the hollow space inside me with something—anything—that made sense.
Pinako worked miracles. Winry cried herself to sleep most nights. And the three of us...
We didn't talk about what we'd done.
We couldn't.
"I'm going to become a State Alchemist."
Ed's voice cut through the quiet of the Rockbell workshop. He stood in the doorway, automail gleaming in the afternoon sun, jaw set with that stubborn determination I'd come to recognize.
Al looked up from the book he'd been reading. "Brother..."
"We need resources," Ed continued, limping forward on legs still adjusting to metal and nerve connections. "Information. Access to research the military has. If we're going to fix this—" He gestured at Al's armored body. "—we need to use every tool available."
I leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "State Alchemist. Dogs of the military."
Ed's glare could've melted steel. "You got a better idea?"
I didn't.
Because he was right.
If we wanted answers—if we wanted the Philosopher's Stone—we needed to go where the knowledge was.
And I had my own reasons for wanting that Stone.
Reasons I hadn't told them.
Trisha.
Not to restore Al's body, though I'd help with that gladly.
But to bring her back. Truly back. Not the twisted thing we'd created, but her—the woman who'd given me everything.
"I'm coming with you," I said.
Ed blinked. "What?"
"The State Alchemist exam. I'm taking it too."
Al's helmet tilted. "Jin, you don't have to—"
"Yes, I do." I pushed off the wall, meeting Ed's gaze. "You think I'm letting you two walk into Central alone? We're brothers. We do this together."
Ed stared at me for a long moment.
Then grinned.
"Damn right we do."
Leaving Resembool felt like tearing off a piece of myself.
Winry stood on the porch, tools clutched in her hands, eyes red from crying she'd never admit to.
"You better come back," she said, voice shaking. "All three of you."
Ed rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, yeah. We will."
"And if your automail breaks, don't you dare let some hack in Central touch it!"
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Al knelt down, his massive armored form somehow gentle. "We'll write. I promise."
Winry nodded, wiping her eyes.
I stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Take care of yourself, Winry. We'll be back before you know it."
She punched my arm. Hard.
"You better."
The train to Central City was crowded, loud, and overwhelming.
I pressed my face to the window, watching the countryside blur past—fields giving way to towns, towns giving way to sprawling urban landscape.
"First time on a train?" Ed asked, smirking.
"First time leaving Resembool," I admitted.
It was strange. I felt like I should remember traveling before. Like my body knew the rhythm of movement, of going from place to place with purpose.
But the memories wouldn't come.
Just... fragments. Flashes.
Crowds roaring.
Lights blazing.
Moving forward, always forward.
I shook my head, dispelling the ghosts.
"You okay?" Al asked quietly.
"Yeah," I lied. "Just thinking."
Central City was massive.
Buildings stretched toward the sky, streets teemed with people, and the air buzzed with energy I could almost taste—alchemy humming beneath the surface of everything.
"This is insane," I muttered.
Ed grinned. "Welcome to the big leagues."
We made our way to Central Command—a fortress of stone and bureaucracy that loomed over the city like a sleeping giant.
Inside, soldiers moved with precision. Alchemists wandered the halls, whispering about research and theories. And everywhere, the scent of paper, ink, and ambition.
"State Alchemist examinations," Ed told the receptionist. "Edward Elric and Jin... uh..."
I realized, suddenly, that I didn't have a last name.
Never had one in Resembool. Just... Jin.
"Jin," I said simply.
The receptionist raised an eyebrow but wrote it down. "Wait here. You'll be called for the written exam first, then practical demonstrations."
The written exam was brutal.
Alchemical theory. Transmutation circles. Molecular composition. Philosophical questions about equivalent exchange and the role of a State Alchemist.
I watched Ed scribble furiously, his pen practically smoking.
I stared at my own paper, mind churning.
Some of it came easily—instinct, maybe, or something deeper I couldn't name.
But other questions felt... wrong.
Like I was remembering answers I'd never learned.
I finished with minutes to spare.
"Edward Elric."
Ed stood, cracking his knuckles. "Finally."
He strode into the examination arena—a wide, open space with stone floors and observation windows where military officials watched like vultures.
I leaned against the wall beside Al, arms crossed.
"He'll be fine," I said.
"I know," Al replied. But his voice was tight with worry.
We watched as Ed faced his examiner—a stern-faced woman with razor-sharp eyes.
"Show me your alchemy."
Ed clapped his hands, slammed them to the ground, and the stone erupted.
Spikes. Walls. Weapons.
He moved like a dancer, transmuting the arena into his playground, and the officials leaned forward, fascinated.
When he finished, the woman nodded. "Impressive. You pass."
Ed grinned like he'd won the championship.
Championship.
The word echoed in my head, heavy with meaning I couldn't grasp.
"Jin."
My turn.
I walked into the arena, heart pounding.
My examiner was a broad-shouldered man with a scar across his jaw. "Show me what you can do."
I clapped my hands.
And lightning exploded from my palms.
It crackled across the stone, wild and electric, dancing like living fire. I slammed my hands down, and the bolts surged forward, carving glowing lines into the floor.
The officials sat up straighter.
"Elemental alchemy," one whispered. "Rare."
"Again," my examiner commanded.
I obeyed.
This time, I shaped the lightning—coiling it, directing it, weaving it into arcs that lit up the room like a storm contained.
Power thrummed through me, familiar and right.
Like I'd been born to do this.
"Impressive," the examiner said. "But let's test your adaptability. Defend yourself."
He moved.
Fast.
A transmuted stone pillar shot toward me.
I didn't think.
I just reacted.
Ducked. Sidestepped. My body moved on instinct—fluid, precise, reading his movements before they happened.
He attacked again.
I slipped past, planted my foot, and swept his legs.
He hit the ground hard.
The arena went silent.
And then—
Pain.
Sharp. Blinding.
My vision blurred.
For a split second, I wasn't in the arena.
I was somewhere else.
A cage. Lights blazing. A man across from me, fists raised.
I moved—ducked a punch, countered with an elbow, felt the impact shudder through my bones.
The crowd roared.
"JIN! JIN! JIN!"
I gasped, stumbling.
The memory vanished as quickly as it came.
The examiner was on his feet, staring at me. "What was that?"
"I..." I shook my head, steadying myself. "Nothing. Sorry."
He studied me for a long moment.
Then nodded. "You pass."
We met in the hall afterward—Ed with his new silver watch, grinning like an idiot.
"Fullmetal Alchemist," he said smugly. "Pretty great, right?"
I held up my own watch. "Lightning Alchemist."
"Not bad," Ed admitted. "Still not as cool as mine."
Al sighed. "You're both insufferable."
But I could hear the smile in his voice.
"So. The Elric brothers and their... friend."
The voice was smooth, controlled, and laced with amusement.
We turned.
A man in a military uniform stood behind us—dark hair, sharp eyes, and a presence that commanded attention without effort.
Colonel Roy Mustang.
"Congratulations on passing," he said, hands in his pockets. "Quite the show you both put on."
Ed bristled. "We earned it."
"Oh, I don't doubt that." Mustang's gaze shifted to me. "Lightning alchemy. Impressive. And that hand-to-hand technique..." He tilted his head. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
I met his eyes, keeping my expression neutral. "Self-taught."
"Is that so?"
There was something in his tone—curiosity, suspicion, interest.
Like he was dissecting me with his gaze.
"Well," Mustang said, stepping back, "I look forward to seeing what the three of you accomplish. Don't disappoint me."
He walked away, boots echoing down the hall.
Ed scowled. "I don't trust him."
"Smart," I muttered.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that Roy Mustang had seen something in me.
Something I didn't even understand yet.
That night, in the barracks they'd assigned us, I lay awake staring at the ceiling.
The memory from the exam haunted me.
The cage. The crowd. The fighting.
What was that?
I clenched my fists.
Whatever I'd lost in that transmutation... it was trying to come back.
Piece by piece.
And I wasn't sure if I was ready for it.