When you wake up, what is the first thing you do in the morning? For me, that would be groan and spend the next half hour in bed. I'd then get up, get dressed and, depending on the day or whether it was a holiday, go to school or my paper round. After that, I'd come home, turn on my PC (or Xbone) and play games while reading fanfiction/manga for the rest of the day.
Of course, this is for a normal day.
Today was not a normal day.
In fact, I'd say it's the complete opposite of a normal day, considering I woke up missing my right leg and left arm for no apparent reason.
See, last thing I remember I had four fully functioning limbs that weren't on the verge of falling off at a moments notice whilst I slept. I mean, I doubt anyone leading a civilian life does, or at least not many. However, this was apparently the case for me, though I don't particularly understand why.
Now, this was only the first sign it was not a normal day.
The second would be the fact that I was lying on something that was not my bed. My bed does not try to stab me in the back all that often. The third sign would be the fact that I was currently a girl. No, I'm not normally a girl, in fact I'm quite obviously a guy. Now, unless I managed to go to a doctors, book an operation for a sex change on that very same day, asleep, I'm highly doubtful that I had surgery and recovered in a day.
So, taking into account all these factors, I did the only logical thing in this situation.
I shouted (I would later deny screaming) for help.
In fact, I shouted for about 10 minutes, surprisingly, and no one came in the entire time.
Rude bastards.
Obviously, someone came eventually, screamed, then ran off. I could only assume that they were going to find someone who could help, so I lay there, incapable of doing anything for the next few minutes and pondering life, as well as my probably impending mortality.
Cheery thoughts, what ho!
After a while of laying there, someone eventually came with the person who found me before. They picked me up and placed me on a stretcher, before walking to a small building and laying me down on a bed on the second floor. The person who found me was dismissed and the person who was called over called for someone else to help them. From what I can remember, they did some kind of operation on me, and then left me to rest.
And that was how my first day ended in this strange new place.
When I came to, it was to the face of a young woman with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, and soft blue eyes. I tried to sit up but she gently pushed me back, saying something I couldn't understand. I looked back at her in confusion.
"What?" I asked her, my voice hoarse, and she pulled back in surprise. She said something again and it was this time that I realised that she was speaking an entirely different language that I did not understand. In an attempt to communicate, I made the universal gesture used to ask for a pen. She nodded, before calling out for what I can only assume was someone else to get a pen. A minute later, a little girl came in, holding a pen and a pad of paper in her hands, and gave them to the woman. She said something to the girl, probably a thank you, then ushered her out of the room gently. The woman gave them to me and I smiled at her in gratitude.
'Do you understand this?' I wrote on the paper, and a spark of recognition flooded her eyes. She nodded, and I passed the paper over to her. We continued like this for the next half hour. I learnt her name was Sarah Rockbell (the name struck a chord in me, though I can't particularly remember why), and that she was a doctor. I also learnt that she had a husband called Yuriy and a daughter. Of course, since she'd told me her name, I told her mine, that now being Ashley (since I don't know whether Archie is a girl's name) and that I was living with my family before I was found in the middle of the field that I woke up in before. I also told her that I couldn't remember how I got there. At that point conversation died, and she left the room to get something. Upon being left alone, I started to wander through my thoughts and subconsciously tried to figure out why her name felt familiar to me.
It was then that I realised where I was and obviously did not begin to panic silently.
I mean, it couldn't be possible.
Right?
Of course.
Now, let's all calm down and not let our concepts of reality shatter, okay? Okay.
I panicked.
"This isn't possible, nope nope nope nope nope, impossible impossible impossible! I mean, inter-dimensional travel isn't possible right? No, no it isn't… But Sarah Rockbell..? Coincidence. Pure coincidence. It's also a coincidence that she has a husband called Yuriy!" I began rambling, gripping my head tightly as if it were about to fall apart. I kind of thought it was to be honest, after all, I did continue rambling until Sarah returned and she hastened to lie me back down since at some point I had managed to sit up without noticing. As she did, I realised she was talking to me soothingly, and, although I couldn't understand what was being said, it helped for some reason.
Mental breakdown avoided. Sweet.
My second day (as far as I knew) ended that way.
The days continued pretty much the same way for the next few months as I recovered from whatever had happened. I would lie in bed, Sarah would bring me some food and drink and then we'd talk. Sometimes her husband would help and I got to talk to him occasionally too. It was about three months after I'd been found that I'd decided I'd get automail, and a week after that I had it fitted. I say a week, because they don't just have automail my size lying around the place all the time, so they had their mother(-in-law) make some for me.
In all honesty, the waiting was boring, and I can tell you that I wanted to smash my head against the wall a few times just to alleviate some of it.
The surgery was painful.
The installation of my arm and leg, it was painful.
Why is everything painful.
I actually asked that aloud once (I'd gotten a brief understanding of the language over the months), and the woman who attached my arm actually laughed at it. Rude. I sent them my best offended look but they laughed again.
It was only after the process that I was actually allowed to move about, and even then I stumbled quite a bit since I wasn't used to the metal limbs. Assistance was given of course, that being (assumed) Pinako keeping me steady and guiding me over to the sofa on the other side of the room. I was eased down until I was sitting, then I could finally relax.
"Thanks" I said to her, and she gave me a smile before leaving the room. I was left there to my thoughts for the next half hour until the young girl (who I assumed to be Winry) returned from playing with her friends (most likely Ed and Al). We talked for a bit, she took a look at my automail out of curiosity, and then she went to bed since it was late for her.
After a while of doing nothing, I fell asleep on the sofa.
Then was promptly woken up by Pinako as she prodded me awake. She was holding a bowl before me, filled with some kind of stew. I thanked her, taking the bowl from her, and began eating. Of course, since I wasn't used to my new arm, the bowl began to slip and almost poured all over me. Thankfully, she caught the bowl before it could fly from my grip, and decided to hold it for me instead. I muttered another thanks, this time more awkward than the last, and resumed eating.
It was then that I decided to ask her.
"So… I heard that there's an alchemist in the area? Do you think I could… well, that I could meet him?" I asked apprehensively, lowering my spoon back into the bowl. She seemed suspicious of how I got wind of it, before seemingly shrugging it off and nodding.
"He lives just down the road from here, he's a good friend of mine, in fact" she responded, "If you wish, I could show you the way tomorrow." I thanked her again, and resumed eating, allowing a comfortable silence to fall between us. "You don't have to sleep on the sofa, you know?" she told me, but I waved her off, saying I didn't want to take up any more space than I had. She rolled her eyes, before walking off to go to sleep.
I couldn't sleep after that, my artificial limbs had begun to ache after all. So, once I thought everyone was asleep, I decided to take a walk outside to have my very first look at the place.
It was quite relaxing to say the least. The rolling hills around Resembool were a nice touch that reminded me a bit of home, and it was quiet, something I could rarely get at home what with the screams of the neighbours' kids, and the heckling of the twats from down the road. All in all, it seemed like a nice, quiet place to live.
"So, I'm in FMA, huh…" I muttered to myself in English. What with the fact that I'd been cooped up in a bed the entire time and hadn't really had the chance to leave the house, the fact hadn't really sunk in until this point. "I guess that's alright…" I heard the door open behind me and turned to see who'd followed me out. To my surprise it was Winry. "Oh, hello" I smiled at her. She gave me a curious look, tilting her head to the side in the typical anime fashion.
"Why are you crying?" she asked me, innocently. Surprised, my eyes widened, and I put a hand up to my face to check and, to my surprise, I had indeed been crying. I wiped my face with the sleeve of my shirt and beckoned her over. She complied, and sat down next to me.
"I guess it's finally sunk in that I am a very long way from home" I stated, looking back over the landscape. It was a while before I did anything else, and before I noticed it, Winry had fallen asleep with her head in my lap. A light chuckle escaped me, before I decided to take her back to her room. Gently, I lifted her head off my lap, and slid out from underneath her, then slipped my right arm beneath her legs, and my left around her back. I stood up slowly, and then walked back to her room, placing her on the bed and pulling her sheet over her. It was then that I realised that I was quite tired myself. I got half way to the door, before deciding I couldn't be bothered and fell asleep on the floor.
"So, you're the one who enquired about me?" Hohenheim asked me, his tone calm. I nodded meekly, failing to meet his eyes since I knew his greatest secret. He apparently misunderstood this for me being shy, and adopted a more friendly tone, "May I ask why?" he questioned gently. Realising that he wouldn't take off that tone if I didn't respond, I decided to be blunt. Intake of breath…
"CanyouteachmeAlchemy?" I blurted, jumbling my Amestrian words with English and confusing both Pinako and Hohenheim greatly.
So, let's go back a few steps so I can explain this properly.
Right, so I asked Pinako whether I could meet Hohenheim though she didn't know that I knew his name and she agreed saying I could meet him tomorrow. I then fell asleep in Winry's room and woke up the next day to a grinning Pinako and a smiling parently Sarah & Yuriy Rockbell. When I looked around I realised why since I was in Winry's room. I hastily explained why, and they accepted it, saying that they understood, which I doubt they did considering the shit-eating grin Pinako bore. After that Pinako reminded me of my plans and we headed down to the Elrics' house where I found Hohenheim outside the house, fixing the swing that hung from their tree. Oh, and Winry came with us too, to play with Ed and Al.
And that is pretty much a brief summary of what happened.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked, confused at my jumbled language. I blushed a bright red in embarrassment and repeated what I said, this time slower and purely in Amestrian. To my surprise, he seemed quite taken aback that someone would ask him to be his apprentice, and pulled back to think. "Let me have some tea to think it over, do come on in" he said to us, gesturing to the door. Taking his invitation, I followed him in.
Ok, so I'm ending it here, since 1. I'm a lazy git. And 2. I don't know what else to write so suck it.
But anyway, welcome to my new story. Since I am rather doubtful of my capabilities at using characters that already exist (I feel like I'd accidentally make them 15 characters throughout the entirety of the story because I forgot their personality) it is indeed a self insert.
Now, let me explain certain parts of this chapter.
1. I don't have my memories because that in and of itself is a plot device.
2. This is indeed before canon, so there may be a few time skips (next chapter will be 3 years ahead of the end of this one) before the start of the actual story.
3. I am a girl because Earth's truth is a little bitch.
Ok, so TL;DR, new story, I am MC. And I am a girl missing limbs and memories (in this anyway).
I hope you enjoyed this (first attempt at a) FMA fanfiction.
-IANSWIADH-
P.S. This will be following the Manga once it gets to that point. So no Dante.