Title: A Fangirl's Dream
Summary: With an anime loving best friend, Ivy has heard plenty about whatever show of the week they're into. But when she manages to cross the gate during an attempt to take a shortcut home, she finds herself in a frightening position. The main character in an Another World fanfiction trope; and with reluctance, she finds herself teaming up with the main characters to get back home.
Pen Name: FanfictionIsMySideHustle

[;';]

Author's Note: Review replies at the end of the chapter! And let us welcome mcdonald61nv, Forgetful Insanity, Adamantia13, Sp00kyT00ns, The Name is Greed, homelybiscuit to the family! So who ready for chapter 9? 'Cause I am. Not to mention how Ivy got herself one hell of an Oscar nomination. So let's give her some claps! I've been a bit busy with work-related things (looking for a new job sucks but I got this), so honestly writing this was very therapeutic since I wanted to finally have a shot writing a more Intimate Bonding Moment between Ivy and the Elrics and portray a more sibling-like relationship between them. So I hope you guys like it!

In this chapter, I make a reference to one of the FMAB OVAs so I hope you guys catch that. That aside, another thing I really enjoyed in writing this chapter were bits about automail. There's something almost poetic writing those scenes due to Ivy's developed interest in engineering and her observations of Winry's absolute enthusiasm for the practice. I think it rubbed off on her and rubbed off on me consequentially writing it. I think that's a great part about writing, especially once you really start getting your own writing style and perfecting character creation. You have to have that base for the character you've created obviously, but I think you really do need to leave room for your characters to grow and do your own studying and research to do so.

And that's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day! (Just Monika, btw.)

"You're looking like you're in a chipper mood today." Edward said sarcastically, pausing writing in his diary-looking thing as Ivy collapsed with a huff on the couch across from the one he was sitting on.

Ivy stuck out her tongue. "You have no idea how hard it is to adjust to trying to jog in the big city when you get used to it in Resembool." Or in Vallant which literally has sidewalks made for normies that can't drive. Ivy stretched, irritated. Sidewalks seemed to be a rarity in Central, even if it was the nation's capital. Ivy wasn't sure what she was expecting considering the year in Amestris was 1914, all things considered. Still never taking sidewalks for granted ever again. "I miss jogging in Resembool, there's no assholes there."

Jogging around the Centralites had been a pain in its own right these past four days. Not to mention trying to not get ran over by cars since they were sharing the same running and driving space.

Alphonse chuckled, Edward instead commenting, "Trust me, Resembool has its fair share of assholes too."

"I know, I'm traveling with one."

In seconds, golden eyes flashed with the recognition that he was being shaded. "Hey!"

"She kinda has a point, Brother." Alphonse seemed to barely contain his chuckles, his glowing eyes closing into curved lines of glee. "You weren't really popular in school 'cause all the girls thought you were mean." Ivy could almost envision a smaller Edward yelling about girls having cooties.

"Not you too, Al!" Edward growled, tossing a pen cap that Alphonse dodged with ease. "Some brother you are! I'm a great person! Extremely generous and revered as the 'Alchemist that really is for the people!' Remember those guys in Youswell?!"

Ivy peered forward with a smirk, "You know, Edo, real non-assholes don't brag about their nice deeds."

A blond eyebrow twitched, "I swear I am very close to kicking you out and sending you back to your room."

Ivy laughed in return, laying back down. "Sorry, Al your brother is sensitive. We gotta stop joking with 'em." She maturely ignored when she felt a balled piece of paper bounce off her high puff. "And I'll leave your room soon enough for breakfast." She sighed. Pancakes, eggs, bacon… She practically hear Pinako's stove top crackling as she and Den rush up the porch steps.

"Go let Winry know that breakfast is about ready and wash up!"

"Already on it!"

The laughs and conversation while stuffing their faces, Den hungrily licking her jowls every time something delicious is in her eyesight. Someone eventually giving in and feeding her something while Pinako sighs that Den needs more discipline.

Ivy glanced over to the brothers before directing her gaze to her busted tennis shoes.

She'd been eating breakfast alone since her arrival to Central, Edward already fed by the time she got back. And Al don't eat so I kinda don't wanna eat in front of him when he can't really enjoy anything… It wasn't if Edward and Alphonse weren't accommodating enough; hell they paid for her hotel fees and train ticket to even get to Central. So I really can't complain. I just… I guess I really haven't been completely alone for a minute.

She lived with her mom back in Vallant, the two of them with their own harmonic routines. Then with Resembool, she seemed to be glued to the sides of a chill dog and her blonde, green bandana wearing owner. Resembool's grassy plains flashed in her mind followed by warm blue eyes.

Okay, okay, Ivette you're just getting antsy because you haven't made any progress with that Stone thing. Ivy felt another pang, sparing Edward another glance. He was focused on his diary-thing, scribbling. Even Alphonse was reading an alchemical document checked out from the library, both of them preferring to stay in the hotel for now as they awaited any kind of news from Sheska. Smartass or not, Edward and Alphonse were going to be doing the real work here.

…

Ivy pushed herself into an upright position, "Yo, Ed." The boy in question looked at her curiously. "Want me to have a look at your automail? Winry mentioned you sucked at maintenance and I told her I would look after it since she gave me some stuff to take care of it. It's about due for some oiling since it was a rush job."

Edward shrugged, indifferent. "I guess." Despite aforementioned indifference, Edward still set down his diary-thing.

"Hey, better now than Winry smacking you because your arm broke down from not taking care of it." Ivy chirped.

"That actually happened once." Ivy nodded, almost impressed by her accuracy. "But Brother got out of getting hurt because we bought Winry earrings." Alphonse added. "We did that twice, I think."

"You guys are devious."

"You get hit by one of her wrenches and try saying that again." Edward shuddered. "Besides, she already knew she was being bribed off! Winry isn't the pure angel you think she is, you know."

Wrong! Ivy thought immediately. Shut up, me. Ivy scolded seconds after. "She's just dedicated to her work, that's all. Speaking of which, the tool kit." Standing up, Ivy paused and looked at Alphonse apologetically. "I'm not sure if I have enough oil to polish your all of your armor though… You might have to wait until I can afford to get more."

Alphonse raised a hand, "It's fine!" He said warmly. "My armor can take a lot and I did a lot of polishing before we left Granny's."

Ivy was sure a beam of light was gracing Alphonse's entire being. "OMG you're so wholesome." She muttered.

"What?" Alphonse tilted his head, curiously.

Ivy coughed, "Nothing!" She gave the boy a few pats on his metal head. "You're just really nice, that's all. I'm officially claiming you as my younger brother and demand that I be your favorite older sibling." She could barely feel Alphonse's body tense up and Ivy awkwardly removed her hand, but she tried to remain nonchalant. "Hear that, Ed? I'm coming for your title as 'Favorite by Default'."

"You know what-"

"Shh, Big Sis is gonna come back with her toolbox, aight?" Ivy giggled, skipping to the door. "Hello again." She waved slightly to Maria who was still waiting outside of the door, guarding them from whatever it was Edward and Alphonse needed to be protected from. Denny, on the other hand, was downstairs patiently awaiting to see when Sheska would call. Things had been slightly awkward between the three of them since Ivy's 'phone call' to her mother.

Maria smiled politely, "Off to run again?"

Ivy shook her head, "Nah, just getting my tool kit to do some maintenance for Ed." She replied, closing Edward and Alphonse's room door. "His mechanic told me he sucks at it, so I'm keeping a promise to take care of it for the time being. She's got a great arm for tool throwing."

Maria's eyes lit up curiously, "His mechanic is a woman?"

"Yep, she's 15!" Ivy answered with a small smile of her own. Amestris seemed to have a lot of working women. They definitely had the States beat with the Amestrian military already allowing women on the battlefield in good ole 1914 when it took Ivy's own country... whenever it was her history teacher said women were allowed on the battlefield. "And a total gearhead. She was the one who got me into automail engineering in the first place, actually. I got into a habit of watching her and her grandma work while I was in Resembool and she started 'subtly' dropping hints that she wanted me to get into it too. Surprise surprise, it worked." Ivy couldn't suppress her smile from getting wider as she remembered the first time she woke up to a book on automail next to her pillow. "Her work is pretty good, but I admit to totally having a bias. But I also admit to the fact that she was able to build a whole arm from scratch in three days, so do with that information with what you will."

Maria looked impressed, nodding approvingly. "It's a great skill to have, automail engineering." Ivy nodded as well as Maria continued on. "Amestris is definitely in no shortage of needing automail mechanics, so I hope you do continue on with your pursuits in the trade."

"I'm definitely trying." Despite Winry's handwriting being the literal death of her, Ivy still managed to read what notes she hadn't read that Winry gave her. She even checked out a few books to start making her own notes. "So getting in the practice that I can while I'm out here."

With a few more pleasant words exchanged, Ivy walked next door to her room to grab her toolbox. "And I'm back, fellas." She announced enthusiastically shoving her way back into their room. "Let, Big Sis, check out that arm."

Edward complied with an eye roll, taking his jacket off. With the exception of his red cloak and the red grooves of his boot, all of Edward's clothes were black. "You know, I didn't expect you to be a goth." Ivy hummed. Hi, my name is Edward Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way… How Ivy was able to stop herself from choking from laughter, she doesn't know. "You seem like a more 'brightly colored attire' person."

"A goth?"

"Uh, they're stereotyped to wear a lot of black where I come from." Ivy explained awkwardly. "Let's just leave it at that."

"Black clothes don't show the oil stains like light colored clothes do." Edward replied, giving his shoulder joint a few flexes. "It isn't like I'm a huge fan of wearing the color black but I got tired of tossing out clothes every time I oiled my arm and leg. We were just at this city called Liore not too long ago, nothing but desert and I was miserable the entire time." The blond shuddered as memories overtook him. "I thought I was gonna die there."

Ivy winced, "Get your limbs back, dude."

"What do you think I've been doing the past three years?" Edward chuckled, taking his right glove off. He wiggled his fingers. "They feel a bit stiff."

Alphonse left his bed to sit beside his brother. "I guess Ivy's mechanic instinct really came through, huh?"

Edward snorted but he seemed more amused than annoyed, "That's a word for it." He gave his fingers another scrunch. "Gearheads just seem to follow us no matter what happens."

Ivy rolled her eyes as she put on the craftsman's gloves stored away in her toolbox. "Yeah yeah, I've been hit by the Rockbell Enthusiasm Curse. Sue me." Tentatively, she held Edward's wrist and gave it a few light jiggles. The scraping sounded drier than her aunt's edges. Winry said she wasn't able to oil this as much as she wanted to thanks to the rush job. "The hand is usually what's gonna need more maintenance than the rest of the arm when it comes to automail, especially since oil coating is lighter in those areas. How's the elbow feeling?"

"It feels pretty good to me." Edward noted.

Then light oil, I think?

"Don't rush." Pinako's voice rasped in Ivy's mind as she fiddled with the fingers in a small wave passing motion to test the flexibility. "Always be delicate even during maintenance. That's right, test each limb slowly to see any imperfections."

I guess I learned a lot in that month. With a small smile, Ivy grabbed the oil tin. "This really is a fine arm, you know." Her voice came out more in awe than she intended as she observed the smooth cool gray gradient of the steel. "Especially considering the fact she made this in three days. I can't imagine ever making automail that fast." Yet Winry powered on as Ivy watched and listened to Winry's babbling about what she was doing at each turn.

"So see the cords? I'm using a thicker sleeve to protect them." A glove covered hand pointed to said cords dangling from the hand and wrist joints. "Ed's never really been one for maintenance and you're supposed to wipe it off after baths, but the idiot never does it properly. So thicker cord protecting sleeves are better to help protect the wires and make them more resistant."

The frame was modeled to be as slim yet muscular as Edward's flesh arm and the plating's three slits spaced evenly to prevent overheating. Over all, with the gloves and jacket- the arm was finely made to the point you honestly wouldn't be able to guess Edward even had automail if you couldn't hear the creaking.

"You really admire her work, huh?" Alphonse's warm voice broke Ivy from her thoughts.

I mean, that's half the truth. Ivy coughed inwardly. "Yeah, of course. I gotta long way to go if I wanna be able to bring this knowledge back to Vallant with me. And Winry's pretty up there, she's been doing this forever." And she spent day after day making prototypes for her automail prosthetics she wanted to one day bring to Rush Valley, like Cyndi Lauper running away from home at 17 to pursue music. It was that passion that Ivy was attracted to, at least one of the aspects of Winry she was attracted to. Automail wasn't just cool prosthetic creations. Watching Winry work three days total to finish Edward's arm and observing it now in maintenance, Ivy understood that a bit better.

"Like we said before, Ivy you could always go back to Resembool and continue your training with Granny and Winry while Brother and I look for the Philosopher's Stone." Ivy looked up from her work of oiling Edward's finger joints and at the younger Elric. "We know that you call them a lot to let them know your progress."

Every damn day. Ivy thought.

"Every damn day like clockward." Edward said verbally as if he were reading her thoughts. "Besides, you're definitely not gonna shake up the prosthetic world of Vallant sticking with us, you know. We know nothing about automail and it's obvious you miss being in Resembool."

Ivy tried to smile, but she was sure it didn't reach her eyes. "Like I said before, I gotta be a lot more dedicated in trying to get home. So I'll just do what I can from a distance with all this note taking and just messing around with your arm." She had already wasted a month waiting for the two brothers to even show up in Resembool to begin with. That was too much time already. Besides, being around Winry was too dangerous. "I'll stay put and help out here."

"As if you're gonna be any help at all." Despite the harsh words, Edward's told held no bite. "You're not an alchemist. You'd be a lot more useful being a secondary mechanic."

"..." Ivy wiggled one of Edward's fingers. "Are you trying to awkwardly encourage my grease monkey developments or insult me? I'm not sure if I should be offended or if my lack of offense is because I haven't eaten breakfast yet."

Edward scowled, "Obviously it's an insult!"

"Okay, Oldest Little Brother, I hear you loud and clear." Ivy chuckled. "How's the fingers I've oiled so far doing?"

"Better."

"Good."

There was a pause.

"Thanks for trying to be supportive, guys, I appreciate it." Ivy grumbled. "I know I'm not gonna be the most useful asset right now because I really don't know alchemy, but I do wanna give it a good shot trying to help before running back to Resembool and letting you do all the work."

Edward didn't respond, glancing off to the side. Alphonse rested a large hand on Ivy's shoulder. Ivy continued her work oiling the last two fingers of Edward's hand so she could move on to his wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints.

After a while, Ivy finally ended the tense yet somewhat comforting silence with a "Anyone wanna bet on Sheska having those notes ready in the next couple of days?"

This time, Edward snorted, "How are you gonna bet with no money, Ivy?"

Ironically enough, Denny came rushing in Edward and Alphonse's room happily exclaiming that Sheska finished transcribing the notes that morning.

Five uneven large stacks of paper written in five days. Ivy could have crapped her pants as her jaw lie agape as she stared at Sheska's work.

Then the woman, bless her damn heart, actually had the nerve to modestly say "Sorry it took so long, but there was so much material that it took me five days to write it down." Smiling bashfully, she proudly gestured to her transcriptions. "But, here you go! Tim Marcoh's research notes to the letter!"

Ivy had to whistle, crossing her arms. "Honestly, I thought it was gonna take longer than this so you beat my expectations out of the park."

"There truly are some amazing people in the world, huh, Al…?" Edward stammered gaping.

"There really are!" Alphonse agreed, leaning towards the stacks. "Now it makes sense too. Dr. Marcoh couldn't run away with his notes because of the sheer volume of material."

Then this Marcoh guy had a lot of time on his hands.

Edward was grinning, "And you're absolutely sure these are all of his notes?"

Sheska nodded with a large smile, the happiest the girl had ever seen her. "Without a doubt, these are all of the pages from Tim Marcoh's 1000 Meals for Daily Living!"

Ivy was sure she nearly had a stroke. You've got to be kidding me, a mislead again!?

Even Maria and Denny believed so, as they grabbed a few pages. "A tablespoon of sugar with a few drops of water…" Maria's eyes narrowed. "This really is just a bunch of recipes."

"No offense, ma'am, but what made you think this was an important document?" Denny frowned.

Yeah no kidding? Ivy grimaced as she looked at a recipe for the Perfect Scrambled Eggs as Sheska stuttered in the background. Maybe this was the universe dishing out signs that she really did need to head back to Resembool because she was going to be stuck in Amestris for a while. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad either. Ed and Al are okay with-

"You're amazing, Sheska." Ivy saw Edward hunched over a particular set of pages, absolutely gleaming. "Thanks a lot. Come on, let's get these back to the main library and start doing some research! We can use their reference books, Al. Ivy you grab something too."

"Y-yeah…" Ivy blinked. "Did I miss something?"

Alphonse shook his head, "These are definitely the right notes!"

"So explain to me how these are the right notes?" Ivy asked, back sore. They managed to finally get to the library, retreating into a private room meant for military alchemists. "'Cause the last time I checked, alchemical documents and cookbooks don't belong in the same ballpark."

Alphonse made quick work of scouring books for references as Edward began setting out pages. "Oh that?" Edward was a million miles away. "Well, long story version... when it comes to alchemists, there's this motto. 'Alchemists work for the people'. But for State Alchemists, it's the opposite. So we have an obligation to keep our trade secrets out the public arena."

Denny wrapped a hand around his chin thoughtfully. "I see… you wouldn't want your knowledge to fall into the wrong hands."

"You got it. Which is why, to keep that from happening…" Edward held up a small stack of papers. We alchemists keep our notes in code."

"Nice dramatic pause, Edward."

"Oh shut up or I'll stop explaining this to you." Edward glared before continuing his explanation. "Anyway. This might look like a normal recipe book to most people… but in reality, it is a high-level alchemical document written in a code known only to the person who wrote it."

"So you guys just take your notes and make it a secret code. Why not use some made up lettering system or something?" Ivy skimmed over a recipe that called for peppermint chips. "Wouldn't that be cooler?" Or at least easier to make instead of wondering what ordinary thing you could make a marker for your notes.

"It's not really about being cool. Besides, that kind of thing is easy to decrypt." Alphonse called out. "So something like this is better since you could show it to someone without worrying about them stealing your notes. Having a secret writing system and making it hard to access for others may make them suspect there's important data in your notes."

Honestly, that's pretty damn smart when you think about it. Ivy bit her lip. I wonder if engineers do that? Winry certainly didn't. It briefly crossed Ivy's mind that maybe the notes that weren't in a weird code were just the notes Winry was okay with other engineers seeing. Definitely gotta ask when I call.

The Sergeant still looked a bit unconvinced."But if only one person knows the code, how can you hope to decipher it?" He mostly seemed to be asking himself. "This alchemist stuff sounds really complicated to me."

"Who are you telling?" Ivy scoffed. "I ask them a simple question and they gave me an essay in response."

Edward rolled his eyes, "We're gonna figure it out with knowledge, inspiration, patience, and a good old-fashioned hard work."His eyes glinted playfully in Ivy's direction. "And with Ivy reviewing all the essays we're going to be making."

"I don't like you." Ivy growled. "Make your bodyguards do that."

Denny sputtered a polite objection, until Alphonse interrupted helpfully as brought over a 'small' stack of six books. "These notes might be easier to decipher because they're disguised as a recipe book. After all, some people say that alchemy originated in the kitchen." Ivy doubted to see anyway alchemy originated because someone got too creative with adding spice to their gumbo pot, but she let Alphonse continue. "Brother logs his research notes in the guise of a travelogue, so when I read it I can't make heads or tails out of it."

"You mean the diary thing he was writing in yesterday?"

"It's not a diary!" Edward snapped. "They're important alchemical research notes. I like using my recent travels for said notes. It's easy to keep track of since we're always moving around a lot..." He trailed off, skimming the page he was holding onto before gasping. "Al, there's a section in here on green tea!"

Alphonse was positively beaming."Green tea? Are you thinking what I am?"

Edward beamed right back, eyes brightening."Uh huh. It might be a reference to the Green Lion of Metallurgic Alchemy." He glanced over to the most recent books Alphonse added to their reference collection. "Do we have copies available on Flamel's Codex or Lambspring's Concerning the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Of course!" Alphonse sounded as if he almost offended his brother would think otherwise.

"And take a look at this here." Alphonse leaned to wherever Edward was pointing. "And here to you see."

"Yeah, you're right. And maybe here too!"

"Great! We've got a place to start, let's do this!"

I feel sick just seeing them nerd out. Ivy sighed as the brothers focused on. "Well, I guess I'll leave them to it and do my own research back at the hotel. I'm not really gonna be useful just sticking around here."

There was no response from either of them. "Have a safe walk back, Miss." Denny offered sheepishly.

Ivy grinned, "They're both nerds, so I'm not surprised they're laser focused." They waited a while for these notes, after all. The notes that would contain information about what was needed for them to get their bodies back and for Ivy to find her way back home. She closed a hand into a tight fist. So I need to hurry up and get better with automail maintenance so I can actually be useful here too.

Comment Response:

HogwartsGraduate: I couldn't resist dropping in those Spiderverse references, loved the movie so much I actually bought a physical copy of the DVD. 10/10. And thanks for liking Ivy's attraction to Winry! Originally, she wasn't supposed to have a love interest in her side of the story but Ivy and Winry had such good chemistry I just had to go '... You know what, let's go all the way!'

homelybiscuit: Ohohohohoho, the Homunculi will play a part in Ivy and Akasha's story. Akasha's story [Swept Away] has a much slower update schedule due to the fact that I'm going to eventually have the two girls meet up in Amestris, but hers will have a lot more Homunculi action towards a certain part of the story.

J: She honestly deserves an Oscar, someone get my child an Oscar! Thanks for being a consistent reviewer, I love seeing the familiar names popping up!