A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome to my first FMA fanfiction. I will warn all of my readers, if I do not receive reviews, I will assume my story sucks and will not continue to update. Even if they are criticisms on how to improve my work, I will welcome them. Please enjoy the first chapter of Careful What You Wish For.
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~Irish
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Present Day-
Victoria strolled down the riverside avenue in Amsterdam, iPod trilling "Fireflies" by Owl City through the tiny earbuds. She didn't notice that for once, no one was staring at her oddly colored hair, the only thinkg occupying her mind the final destination of this trip. She kicked a rock along the sidewalk, mind racing ahead of her current position. What would she find? Nothing could be worse that what she had left behind in the States, so whatever the result, she would be moving up in life.
Once of the small storefronts caught her eye with it's old-world charm. Victoria paused to look in the display window; it appeared to be a used bookstore. Her one weakness. Damn. She went inside, the bells on the heavy wooden door jangling cheerfully at her entrance. The smell of old books entered her nostrils; paper, ink and a slight musty aroma that always worked wonders for her endorphin meter.
"Welcome to our shop, my name is Mika. Let me know if you need help finding anything," the girl behind the counter chirped. She wore a large smile that shone across the dimly lit area, making Victoria think about asking who her cosmetic dentist was. She could use teeth that gorgeous. She guessed the girl couldn't be more than seventeen judging by the fresh, youthful fashion trend draped around her plush figure.
She immediately headed towards the back of the store, as if she was being guided by some higher power. Victoria could feel a slight pulsing at the edge of her mind, growing stronger with each step. Her feet stopped at the last bookshelf, a hodgepodge of old and newer books, apparently the newest arrivals that had yet to be put into categories.
She brushed her fingertips along the spines, stopping at a red, leather-bound volume. Being Irish, her granny had raised her to be superstitious about everything from the Fae to gut feelings. Although Victoria was skeptical about some of the things Gran taught her, the gut feelings had yet to let her down.
The throbbing in her consciousness had ceased entirely when she had touched the book. With hands that weren't quite steady, she wiggled the tome free of it's companions, and Victoria noticed that there was gilt on the edges of the pages as well as forming an intricate design on the cover. She traced the circular pattern and the lines weaving through it. Goosebumps prickled over her arms and the hair at the nape of her neck stood on end.
Well, that is interesting, she mused. She brought it to the checkout, her imagination all ready working overtime with possible scenarios for a genre. "How much is this one?" she asked, though she didn't really care what the price was.
"Hmm, let me see," the girl pulled out a notebook and ran her finger down the page. "Looks like that one is seventy-five euros." Victoria's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "I know what you're thinking," the girl continued. Was she always so perky? "But there were only one hundred or so copies made, and this is the only known one to make it though all the bombing during World War II."
Victoria swore she could hear her wallet weeping as she handed over the correct change. Soon she was once again headed for the train station, book securely tucked away in her pack. She'd have plenty of time to work out it's mysteries on the ride to Berlin.
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Berlin, early nineteen thirties
Edward Elric was gitting sick of chasing this mad man all over Europe. The last two years he, Alphonse, and Noa had gallivanted through every country on the continent, and he still hadn't managed to stop the crazy alchemist/physicist with the uranium bomb. He sighed in a loud and irritated manner. Al looked away from the fire in the grate.
"What is it, Brother?" He asked.
Ed shook his head and gave a slight smile. "Nothing really, Al. Just a little homesick I guess. We should head out on patrol to see if we pick up any rumors soon though."
Al nodded in agreement and doused the flames. "I'll go find Noa. She should wait here in the room. Things are starting to get a little out of hand with this whole Ayran race concept." He turned and strolled out of their rented room. Ed was also concerned about the uprising of the Nazi party, but there wasn't much he could do about it at the moment. His father, once a great political figure, was dead and he himself was too busy country-hopping after that idiot of a scientist that he didn't have time to delve into the political cesspool.
"Maybe I'll go for a walk and clear my head," he brooded.
Outside, the air a little less stale than in the tiny room they had rented, Ed sat down on a nearby bench. His automail arm squeaked a little. The was no doubt that Winry was going to clobber him with her wrench when she saw the condition of his arm and leg. Probably the titanium one. He laughed a little at the thought.
Somebody sat down beside him.
Ed looked over to find his brother staring pensively at the sky. "Noa's upstairs. I told her we'd be back in an hour or so." Ed just nodded. "Brother, do you think we'll ever be able to go home?"
"I don't know, Al. But if there is any, we'll be sure to find it. I am a genius after all."
Al sighed wistfully. "Yeah."
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Present Day -
Victoria turned the page of the leather-bound book. Upon opening the front cover, she was surprised that the book was basically a beginner's guide to alchemy. The author, A. Elric, made the fictional science almost seem possible with the way he described the processes. Out of curiosity, she pulled out a sketchpad and a pencil. Carefully, she sketched out the details of the transmutation circle. Not completely sure what it was for, she got the urge to add an extra line, causing a slight asymmetrical look.
Nothing happened.
"Well I guess that answers my question. Just a work of fiction after all," she laughed at herself lightly. Victoria sighed and looked out the compartment window. A comet was streaking across the sky. She knew there was some myth associated with comets, something about bringing prayers to heaven or something. Looking on the hopeful side, Victoria closed her eyes and whispered a wish to the comet.
"I wish that I could find where I truly belong."
Victoria didn't notice when her hands slipped across the paper. Didn't realize that the transmutation circle started to glow with a cool blue light. She certainly did notice when the train car began to shake violently, making her eyes fly open. A bright light had opened up in the air in front of her, almost like what she imagined a wormhole to look, and started pulling her body into it. Victoria couldn't fight against the inexorable gravity as it pulled her in. She didn't even have a chance to scream.
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Ed felt a tingle along his skin, an almost forgotten feeling, but it couldn't be what he thought. He had been feeling homesick, so his mind was making him remember things, that's all. Alchemy could not be practiced in this realm, it was a scientific impossibility.
Al gave an excited gasp and pointed toward the sky. "Brother, look! A comet!"
Ed followed Alphonse's gaze and smiled at the pretty sight of the multicolored tail of the comet blazing across the sky. He had never seen one before, even back home in Amestris. Ed didn't notice at first the slight trembling in the ground at his feet, so entranced was he, but when it started to move the bench with the force of the tremors, there was no way to overlook it. He whipped his head around in a slight panic, his gold eyes meeting the alarmed ones of Alphonse.
Below the bench on the cobblestones, an alchemy circle flared to life in a brilliant blue that was almost to bright to look directly at. The bench holding the brothers started to sink into the circle, too quickly for them to do anything but grasp each other's hands. They had come to far too be separated again.
"Brother!" Al cried out. It was the last thing Ed heard in this world that was not his before they disappeared into the circle. His last thought hoping that Noa wouldn't panic when they didn't return.
They landed with a jarring thump, still seated on the bench. Ed looked around. "Holy hell, Al, we're home!" He cried, jumping up and running around with a grin on his face. Al tackled him from behind.
"Whoohoo, Brother! I don't care how it happened, we're back!" They wrestled playfully for a moment, letting of some happy testosterone, then both rolling onto their backs to watch the sky. It was noon, judging by the position of the sun, with blue skies interspersed by puffy white clouds. An identical transmutation circle to before appeared directly above them. Al rolled out from underneath it quickly, but Ed, always the slower of the two was just a tad too sluggish. Something fell out of the circle and landed hard on top of him.
"Bloody hell," the thing said as Ed swore in pain. He looked down, wide-eyed to find that it was a female that lay sprawled across his lap. Emerald green hair spilled over his stomach as she raised her face to look at him. Her violet eyes widened perceptively, almost as big as his felt. Ed couldn't help noticing that they were round, but slightly tip-tilted, giving her a somewhat exotic flair.
"Bloody hell," she repeated, springing away from him like he was carrying the plague. Alphonse was shocked into silence as well. The three of them stayed that way, frozen for what seemed like an eternity.
What the hell did I do? Victoria screamed within her mind. This was incomprehensible. Where was she? WHAT THE HELL DID I DO?! The only thing that came out of her mouth, breaking the tense silence was, "Well, didn't see that one coming when I decided to mess with a bunk science."
She promptly fainted.
Ed wondered about her words. Was she the cause of the transmutation circle? How? And what was with her odd clothes and hair? So many questions, but it didn't look like he was going to get any answers soon, as the strange girl was out cold. Al had leapt immediately into action, knight in shining armor that he was, and was trying to wake her gently.
Edward was not feeling quite so gentle. He stormed over and pinched her arm. Hard.
The girl woke, startled, and crying out in pain. A twinge of guilt pricked his conscience, but he quickly shoved it aside. He stared hard at the petite young woman who glared at him with eyes as hard as chips of amethyst. Ed swore the color started to swirl for a moment.
"Who the hell are you and how did you get a transmutation circle to work?"
