Episode 6: Ed and Al have finally arrived at Central City (finally!!!). Roy places them under the care of Tucker, a National Alchemist who gained his fame under the biological applications of alchemy, namely by creating a chimera that spoke and could understand humans. Tucker has a sweet little daughter named Nina, and a large frinedly dog, Alexander. The brothers are eager to gain their own National Alchemist title and study hard in Tucker's library. Months go by and Edward's 12th birthday comes up in the wintertime. Hughes invites the three children over to his house for a party. We meet Hughes' wife, Gracia, who is very obviously pregnant. She goes into labor during the party. Hughes leaves to get the doctor, but while he is gone, a blizzard snows in Ed, Al, Nina and Gracia. The kids panic about what to do (funny funny!), but Gracia calmly gives them preparation directions, including the mandatory bowl of hot water. Time passes without much happening, besides the bowl of water cooling. Ed panics some more, feeling useless, and grabs the bowl of cold water. It suddenly turns hot! Ed and Al freak out that this happened without Ed even drawing an array to make this happen. Gracia delivers a healthy baby girl, Elicia. The time for the National Alchemists' test has come. We learn that out of 100 or so applicants, only one or two pass every time. There are three parts to the exam: written, an interview (which may include a physical exam), and a demonstration of alchemy. Ed and Al both pass the written exam, surprising Roy. He didn't expect Al to pass as well. He takes Al aside and tells Al that a physical exam may be run on Al, panicking Al into dropping out of the test. The Elrics do not want it known that Al has no body as a result of tampering with human alchemy. Ed goes into the interview, followed by the demonstration the next day. Other National Alchemist hopefuls are gathered to also demonstrate their skills. All are adults. One man starts by creating a giant obelisk from the stone in the ground, but it tires him out completely. This is seen as a strike against him. Ed wonders what he should do for his demonstration. A second man uses tress and water to create a huge paper ballon filled with hydrogen, which floats up into the sky. This impresses the judges, as well as Ed. The balloon veers around, crashing into the obelisk, causing both large creations to collapse to the ground. The second alchemist is still standing nearby, and Ed rushes in to do something. He transmutes the entire mess, while its still falling, into a mass of petals shaped into a form. And without the help of an array. Needless to say, the judges are awestruck by this display of power, and Ed passes. In this episode we learn: -the Elrics work hard on their studies -Hughes is a really nice guy -Roy is a manipulating slimeball -this is the first time that Ed used alchemy without an array