Alright, so here it goes.
This will follow the FmaB storyline. There will be diversions, however, they will just be elaborations and alternate fulfillments of the original plot.
Please be forgiving of some errors, I am human after all
Enjoy!
State of Flux
Intro:
It was screams and light. The air was alive with the sparks of transmutation. Then, silence, it all went dead. The room: blanketed in red everywhere. Singed smells of copper and ozone penetrated the space- a failure.
The neighbors found the five year old dazed, wandering the streets. She knew how to speak, how to read, how to write, but her name? No. Her home? What home? What family?
Chapter 1:
"Let's go! The customers are waiting!" A pinchy faced man yelled. Grey hair sweeping in a wide arc away from his forehead. Mr. len.
"I got it, I got it." Ava droned, focusing on the hot stove top, not the nagging restaurant owner.
"You're backing up!" He peered in through the swinging kitchen door.
"Look, hire more people if you want things to run faster! There're twelve people out there and one of me." She glowered at him; honest blue eyes became sapphire daggers.
"No, you- you just work faster!" Not fazed by her attitude, he stepped back, the door swung closed.
"If you weren't such a jerk maybe everyone else wouldn't have quit..." Ava grumbled pushing back strands of black hair away from her eyes with her forearm.
"What was that you-!" he poked back in.
"Oder up!" She yelled over him, smacking the serve bell as hard as she could. The evening kept on like this.
Hours later she stared at the kitchen, looking as defeated as she felt. Having worked sun up to well after sundown she ached all over. The counters shined, the floors dried, she flicked the lights off. She headed out of the back door, front of shop was closed up hours ago. Ava slammed that door as hard as she could, the whole rickety diner shook, and she turned the locks. The fresh night air was a welcomed sensation.
"And so, another day for the history books," She sighed heavily and tossed a hefty trash bag into a bin. "Oh shi-!" The bin toppled over taking with it the owners prized duck statue.
"Oh why…," she whined, staring at the pile of stone, clearly no longer belonging to any recognizable shape. Mr. Len loved that silly thing. Said it protected the place from evil spirits and bad omens, amidst other mumbo jumbo. This had perplexed her, seeing as he kept it in the back of the store, next to the trash. "..Crazy old man." She whispered with a sharp tongue.
Well, it surely wasn't going to fix itself, also, she was sure to get the worst reprimanding of her life if she left this here in pieces. Exhaling, she clapped her hands together and forcefully thrust them palms down in the dirt near the broken statue. The pieces all rippled with light and within a few short moments it was whole again, good as new.
"There, you stupid duck, all better," She dusted her palms on her apron some dust getting on her baggy black pants. "Although, I really wish I could have left you in pieces."
She stood up, stretched her back and headed toward the back gate, well, side gate, the restaurant nestled itself on a corner lot. Ava blew a puff of air to remove her bangs where they poked annoyingly at her eyes and looked out where movement across the street caught her attention; she glanced for a moment and saw the oddest pair. A tall man, or whom she'd assumed would be a man, in a suit of armor, and a short blond haired boy in a red coat.
They stared at her a little funny and feeling a little awkward she gave a halfhearted smile and a quick two finger salute. They waved back wordlessly.
She turned and started walking home. One foot after another, she was so tired. Ava tugged at the aprons tie around her neck and it faltered and drooped, folding at her waist. The once white garment was now covered with bits of this, and bits of that. She shrugged out of her baggy black T-shirt and threw it over her shoulder, her grey tank underneath darkening from sweat. She fiddled with her hair, releasing it from a tight bun and pulling it back into a ponytail, brushing her side parted bangs back to their correct directions.
"Rush valley is so great! Isn't this place just beautiful?" she remembered a girl saying earlier from somewhere in the diner. She chuffed at the memory.
Rush valley was hot. Sand, dirt, and dust got into everything. Not to mention all the half bionic men and women where always trying to one-up each other in some competition or another. She looked to the night sky and stretched her tense shoulders.
"H-Hey!" Someone called from behind her.
She blinked and looked over her shoulder, it was the odd pair from earlier, she stopped walking and turned around. They jogged toward her. The blonds boot's dug into the gravel laden sand and the armored one clanked and thudded loudly.
"What's up?" Ava wondered, for a moment, that maybe she messed up their order earlier and they were back to exact their revenge, but tossed that thought aside, it didn't seem like that to her.
"So you're an alchemist!" The blond with the red coat stated.
"Oh, that," She looked toward the direction of the shop. Stupid duck. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." She rubbed the back of her head grinning, a little proud of herself.
"Brother and I were wondering, where you learned to do that witho -" The Armor spoke but was cut off by a kick from his 'brother'
"-With such skill!" The shorter one interjected quickly.
Ava wasn't a halfwit; however, she knew what they really wanted to know. "-without a circle." The tall one would have finished. She furrowed her brow and look over the two brothers.
That boy in the armor, he sounded so young! Something wasn't right here, but she couldn't put a finger on it. "You," She looked at the taller brother, how old are you?" Her eyes narrowed slightly from all the mental calculations that where whirring around her mind.
"Uh, F-Fourteen?" he squeaked, being caught off guard by the question.
"You're really tall for a fourteen year old." Her words carried a disguised weight. She could feel something different about him. In his energy, in his being. 'Chi' as her father's journal called it.
There was something here she knew she was clearly missing, or they were desperately hiding.
"Well were alchemists too!" The blond jabbed a thumb toward his chest and grinned. "Maybe you've heard of us? My name is Edward Elric, The Fullmetal Alchemist, and this is my younger brother Alphonse."
A state alchemist huh? She noted. "I'm Ava Ellistone, cook, automail apprentice and alchemist, among other things. Nice to meet you boys." She held out her hand.
Edward twitched peeved by the 'boys' comment. But none the less held is hand out and sealed the gesture. Ava knew right away it was not flesh, his had was cold and hard, automail no doubt. She wasn't surprised, this was rush valley after all.
"So, Fullmetal Alchemist," She mused, "Alphonse," she nodded "What brings you here on this fine evening?"
The brothers exchanged a look, and then rested their eyes on Ava.
What's this all about? She thought to herself.
"Ava, where did you learn your alchemy?" Alphonse asked sincerely.
She thought for a minute. "Walk with me, talk with me," she turned and resumed her short walk back home. The brothers followed like curious little puppies. "My father taught me." She finally answered.
"So was he really good or something?" Edward asked.
"Maybe, I don't really know to be honest. He probably was." She shrugged.
"How could he teach you and you not know whether or not he was a good alchemist?" His tone was a little sneering. But Ava understood his confusion so she let it go.
"Brother, maybe she doesn't want to talk about that!" Alphonse lightly scolded Ed.
"It's okay Alphonse." She waved it off.
"Uh, Al, call me Al." Ava could hear the smile in his voice. This kid, really has one heck of a soul, she said inwardly. She still couldn't shake that feeling.
"Alright, Al," She smiled at him. "Look, everyone's got their demons, right?" She looked to each of them.
With that said Ed's demeanor changed, that bit struck some deep chord, al stiffened a little too. She made a mental note.
"Well, maybe you should get to know a girl a little better before you start asking about her kin, alright?" She said calmly.
"Right," Al sighed, "I'm sorry."
She laughed a little , "Al, you don't need to be sorry, this guy does!" She playfully hit Edward in the shoulder.
"Hey, what-" Ed started, but Ava cut him off.
"So, I get it, you guys have some questions for me." She stopped walking. "I have plenty for you too. For now, I'm so done with being awake and I hate to leave this conversation where it is but I'd be happy to continue it tomorrow." She walked toward a shop with a big sign that said 'Big Rogers Automail and Rehabilitaion'. "I live right above the shop, I'll talk to Rog about getting a morning off my apprenticeship and I'll speak to you then, whenever you manage to show up." She waved.
She stopped abruptly and looked back, "And Ed," she called
"Yeah?" His eyebrows raised.
"You can tell me why you're really here tomorrow, and which dog of the state squawked about my location."
His faced dropped, bits of shock finding its way into his eyes. "How did you…"
"Tomorrow," she said quickly. "Good night."
I know there wasn't a crud ton of super adventure-y stuff in this chapter but I was trying to expose Ava as a character more or less. The next installment is in development and should be published soon. Feedback would be greatly appreciated,
Thank you!
~NDG