14-year-old Dani was rushing through the streets of New York fixing her grey sweater and keeping a granola bar on hand. She had an interview at the Ice Cream Bowl at 9:00 a.m. on the dot. Dani had been making sweets since she was young and wanted to start her own bakery one day, so the Ice Cream Bowl was a great place to start. Dani was also excited about the absurd rumors about the ice cream parlor being involved with magic. She was determined not only to earn the money to leave her home, but to see for herself where the rumors originated. Dani entered the shop half expecting some old dude to ask her dumb questions. A guy who looked like he was at least 19, who's name was Nate, asked her typical questions you would hear in an ice cream place.

But as the interview went on, the questions had been getting stranger and stranger. When Nate asked her if she's ever been outside of New York, that's when she finally decided this was too weird to ignore.

"What the hell? I thought this was an interview for a job at an ice cream place." Dani snapped.

Nate smiled and finally answered, "We need to see if you're ready to be a world jumper."

Dani's jaw hit the floor and she stuttered, "Y-You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

"I'll show you." Nate said as he showed her his stone.

Nate went on to explain what the stones do and the missions she would have to undertake. He also explained that the shop was the business that was used to hide their base of operations, thus she would have to keep it a secret. Dani couldn't believe it! Not only the rumors were true, but they were asking her to join them. She could finally leave home and not pay a dime for it. The money could just be used for food and other necessities. Dani couldn't in good conscience refuse such an excellent opportunity.

"Tell me how I can join!" Dani chirped excitedly.

Nate gave her a stone and all he said was, "Take it and you're a part of this."

Dani looked at the stone with a bit of hesitation. She knew that taking it would mean that she was now a part of this whole thing. She knew that fighting would be an on-the-job danger that would be unavoidable. But Dani also wanted to be able to do something with herself and make a mark on the world. Joining would mean helping her world and beyond. So, despite the risks and danger, Dani took the stone and watched it glow in her hand. Nate smiled again and told the girl,

"Welcome to the team."

A question then popped into her mind,

"Hey, Nate? Are there others?"

Nate all too happily said, "Yep, I'll take you to the base."

Nate led Dani into an elevator hidden by a wall that didn't look as mobile as it was. Once the elevator went down and opened its doors, Dani saw two others there looking at Nate, one with a suspicious look. Made sense considering the young woman was holding a baby in a protective stance. Dani actually felt uneasy about that girl in particular. It wasn't hard to guess that she was probably distrustful of others. Nate announced to everyone that Dani was officially a member and told them not to panic at her presence.

"My name's Danielle Riley but call me Dani for short." Dani chirped.

"Well, you don't look that bad," A girl suddenly chirped, "I'm Tiffany Cliff, a fifteen-year-old orphan trying to survive the big bad world. Good to meet you."

Tiffany had ebony hair that was short and wavy with a red headband holding it all back. Her black tank top had a wispy butterfly logo on it while her grey capris were paired with a denim skirt. Tiffany had glittery flats that matched her tank top and emphasized her feminine style. She seemed very friendly, but it seemed like she was a bit sad as well. Tiffany nonetheless looks like a fun and lively person to journey with when going on missions.

The other girl who was quiet for most of the time finally told everyone her name,

"Elise Red. I'm here at the ripe age of 12 for my brother's sake."

Unlike Tiffany, Elise had a stern and cold aura that resembled a soldier. She wore a pink turtleneck with a crimson coat that reached to about her waist. She wore short shorts with black tights underneath and heeled ebony boots that were adorned with red accents. Elise had gloves that matched her boots despite the ornate material. Overall, Elise looked intimidating and unapproachable, but something about her seemed sad. In fact, it appeared to Dani that Elise was being stern in a sisterly way. While others would probably call her scary, Dani believed she seemed more scarred than cruel.

"Elise, if you don't mind me asking, who's that baby?" Dani internally cursed herself for the carelessness of her question.

The girl's expression softened to a broken and somber look as she answered, "N-No, it's fine. I named her Monica because…well…I…"

Elise somberly told Dani about how a man she was working for killed her mother for an experiment and was going to use the baby next. He also told her that anyone she told would become experiments themselves, including her beloved little brother. Not wanting the baby to die for her superior's sick experiments, she escaped with the baby and joined the world jumpers to save those around her. Dani couldn't believe how sick this all was.

"You're a fighter, Elise," Dani tried encouraging the heartbroken girl, "You took that child knowing she would be a huge responsibility.

"I'm no hero," Elise dryly chuckled, "I made a mistake that…actually that's something I'd rather not talk about."

Elise had clearly been through hell, but she wasn't telling the whole story. Despite that, Dani decided it wasn't her place to pry any further than she already had. Instead, she decided to change the subject.

"How long have you been here?" Dani pondered.

"About two months ago was when I joined. Monica was 7 months at the time." Elise answered monotonously.

"So, you're still kinda new like me." Dani chuckled.

Before their conversation could continue, Monica began to cry, and Elise excused herself to put her down for her nap. Dani smiled to herself thinking that Elise was actually quite sisterly despite how cold and distrustful she first seemed. Dani was about to go find her room when a sorrowful, but beautiful song coming from Elise's room caught Dani's attention.

A/N

Anyone who's watched Fullmetal Alchemist and/or read Chapter 1 of this story would probably put two and two together when it comes to Elise. I found out at the time of writing, 24 people had read this this story in only a day. Thanks for reading and don't hesitate to leave a review if you have any suggestions on how I can make this story better.