Title: A Fangirl's Dream
Summary: Ivy has it rough. She's no anime fan or FMA fan. But when she somehow crosses the gate, she finds herself in the worst possible position: a protagonist of an Another World fic trope. And between the alchemy, automail, lack of plot knowledge, and struggling with her attraction to a pretty blonde mechanic, Ivy reluctantly teams up with the main characters in her journey to get home.
Pen Name: FanfictionIsMySideHustle

"That automail! Can it be!?"

Blue and brown eyes were wide, light and dark hands pressed firmly against warm glass. "It's the 11th generation model from God's Studio!" Winry squealed. "It's actually here! I never thought there'd be a day I'd get to see God's Studio automail with my very own eyes!" The girl said in absolute awe of the creation in front of them. "Perfectly polished steel! The fingers are so symmetrical!"

"And the price tag has so many zeroes. Imagine being skilled enough an engineer to justify selling at this price!" Ivy winced at the 10,000,000 sens price tag attached to the piece. But damn if it wasn't aesthetically pleasing to look at. "And is that a design for an automail heart?" Ivy noted the poster taped onto the display of the perfect steel replication of the right and left atriums and ventricles and the aorta. "I thought the books said this was just a pipe theory!" Artificial knees and fingers were one thing, but a heart?

Winry only swooned as she saw the design itself, "if any studio can make that theory a reality, it's God's Studio!" The blonde squealed.

Co-founders Reiner Weber and Kurtis Wagner stood there in the flesh. Reiner, a tall and lanky man, talking with three customers with models that looked unfamiliar to what Ivy had seen before in the catalogue spreads for their studio. Kurtis, a heavier set and stout man, was in a far corner giving a woman's leg a tune up. Ivy had never even seen two people at the same time at Pinako's shop ready to order automail. "Geez, I'd kill to have three customers at Pinako's for the experience."

"I wanna go in but I don't wanna bother them." Winry whined, nodding in agreement. Save for the long distance orders the Rockbells would get from time to time, most of the customers living locally used traditional prosthetics. It wasn't as if they were all just flocking to the shop daily either."The service they give must be amazing to draw in automail users from other engineers! You just can't get this sort of clientele in Resembool."

"Do the two of you even hear yourselves?" Edward groaned. "This isn't some fancy clothes store releasing its new fashion line, you know. Automail junkies."

"Oh shut up, alchemy junkie!" Winry snapped but the excited gleam in her eyes didn't falter. "I'm actually here! I'm in Rush Valley in the flesh!"

Her bubbliness was contagious. "To think it only took fifteen years." She joked as she dragged a reluctant Winry from the display window. "Now to see everything else this place has to offer. I wanna check out a forge or two while we're over here. Think your grandma will let us make one to save up on cash?"

"I doubt it." Winry pouted though the pout didn't stay for long. She was quickly beaming the moment she saw a display automail hands and feet. "I've never seen this much automail in my life!"

Alphonse leaned over, taking in the view himself. "This place is really bustling. I don't think I've ever seen this much automail in one place either and your house always had some sort of automail lying around."

Winry nodded, clearly excited that at least one half of the Elric brothers was taking some sort of interest in the city. "After the Civil War, the prosthetics industry here exploded!" The blonde explained to the younger Elric. "So it's no wonder this place is known as the 'Boomtown of the Broken Down'. It sounds really empowering, like even after losing limbs the people here won't stay down!"

"Amen to that." Ivy pumped a fist and the two girls exchanged a high-five. "Not to mention this is the automail holy land."

"Yep!" Winry chirped, leading the way to another stand that happened to be carrying very fancy monkey wrenches. "As long as battles keep flaring up around this country, there will always be a demand for the goods and services this city offers, so it's supposed to always be busy here." Winry rested her hands on her hips. "As much as I love automail though, I pray for the day when this business won't be so prosperous."

As long as those battles flared, the more automail people needed.

And if people needed automail, it meant those people lost something vital to themselves.

If there was one thing that could make Ivy give the automail industry the side eye, it was the way it had to benefit from the loss and suffering of others. But at least the people here seem to be happy. She smiled to herself as she took in the loud chatter and large smiles.

"We have the best prices!"

"50% off your first purchase! Customer satisfaction guaranteed!"

"Come and check out our newest models! We have the best legs this side of Rush Valley!"

Ivy hummed in satisfaction. This was the kind of place you could walk around at ease and not worry about sketchy people. "I am vibing with this place right now." The girl declared. "The people here look really friendly."

"Vibing?" Edward repeated incredulously. "How the hell do you 'vibe' with a place?"

"You know, dude." Ivy gave the shorter boy a nudge. "You just feel the vibes from the atmosphere of the buildings and the people and see if you like it! And I'm vibing with this place right now."

Edward rolled his eyes, "I don't think I'll ever 'vibe' to a place full of automail. We shoulda just left you and Winry here and headed straight to Dublith. There's nothing to do here!"

"Gather around folks for some machine arm wrestling! Attention to all you automail users! Are you lookin' to win some serious cash?!" An emcee suddenly yelled, a large crowd enveloping a corner not too far away. Ivy shot Edward a look the boy returned with a glare. So much for there not being anything to do. "It's a mere 10,000 sens to enter and if you beat our reigning champ, you'll walk away with this mountain of money!"

Winry gave a giddy bounce, "I wanna see this!"

Ivy jogged to her side. "Gosh that dude is huge!" Ivy gaped at the man. He was tanned with a weird tri-hawk and he was at least as tall as Alphonse, both of his arms were automail. "Even one of his arms is basically my entire width! And those screws? How big are they?!"

"I know that model!" Winry pressed her hands to her cheek with a gasp. "That's from Pierre's ninth generation line! The strength on that thing is insane!"

A man shoulder past them, windmill stretching his right arm. "All right, let me give this a shot!" He strutted confidently as he set a bill of money on the stash that had already accumulated. "I just got this brand new model arm today and I've been dying to test it out."

"Great!" The emcee announced grinning widely as the two men locked hands. "Looks like we've got ourselves a real fighter here! Contests, are you ready?!" When both men nodded, the emcee brought down his arm. "Fight!"

Ivy swore she blinked and the next thing she knew, she heard the sound of metal being ripped apart as screws and wires flew through the air. This nigga literally got this arm today, oh my god. "My bad!" The large man gloated, not sounding sorry at all. "Here, lemme put this where it belongs. With the rest of the scrap." He carelessly tossed the arm behind him.

The loser barely had enough time to mourn before various automail engineers in the area began to swarm him. "Need a fix?!"

"Broken arm, huh?!"

"If you need a new arm, come to our shop!"

"No, let me do it!"

"At least let me give you an estimate!"

The swarm increased, dragging the helpless man into the window as he screeched: "Hel me! I still have payments to make on this one!"

The only response he was met with was a gruff, "if you can't pay out of pocket, you can work it off! I'll even take monthly installments!"

Ivy shuddered. Pinako wasn't exaggerating when she said that the people here were fanatics. "You know what? I think I can see why your grandma decided to set up shop in Resembook cause, oh boy."

Winry laughed bashfully. "At least I'm not that bad."

"So who's next?" The emcee cut in, eyes landing on Alphonse. "Ah you, sir! You look like a strapping fellow! Why don't you give it a shot?"

Alphonse shook his head immediately, "No no, I'm fine!"

"Then how about the youngman with the automail arm?!" The emcee's beady eyes swept over Edward before he shook his head. "D'oh, my bad! What am I thinking? A little sprout like you wouldn't offer any competition! Are there any grownups that would like to try?"

Uh oh. Ivy winced as vein after vein burst on Edward's forehead. "Edward, before you do anythin- and he's adding money to the pot."

"Ed, what are you thinking!?" Winry yelped flusteredly as the boy glowered at the taller man. "You don't stand a chance! I don't have the material to fix your arm immediately if you break it!"

The cries only served to fall on death ears as Edward locked hands with his opponent and Winry sighed. "He's gonna get his entire shoulder ripped off, Ivy." Ivy offered her best 'I feel you' smile, resting a hand on Winry's shoulder. "And who's gonna have to fix it? Me."

"At least this is another way to test tensile strength?" Ivy offered.

She received a playful shove in return.

"Ready! Fight!"

Ivy crossed her fingers hoping for a miracle. She knew damn well that Winry would throw her entire toolbox at Edward's face if he lost after she explicitly warned him not to compete. Ivy opened her mouth, preparing Alphonse that on behalf of everyone she was sorry for his loss when Edward ripped the man's arms to shreds. Ivy's blinked twice.

"Sorry about that." Edward glowered with a devious grin, crushing his opponents separated forearm even more. "The scrap collector's gonna be real busy today, huh?" Another swarm ensued as Edward chortled loudly in his victory, gathering the spoils of his victory. He looked more like a greedy tax collector than the hero of an anime series. FullGreedy Alchemist.

Alphonse only shook his head at his brother's antics, "he used alchemy to change his opponent's arm into a weaker substance." He whispered to the girls.

Winry crossed her arms in dismay, "that's cheating, Edward."

I mean, if you wanna be fair… Ivy thought. The emcee never said you couldn't use alchemy. The athlete doubted that Winry would see it that way though especially not when Edward was in the middle of an arrogant villain laugh. "Your brother is something else, Alphonse."

"Haha… yeah."

"Hey, I've never seen that style of automail around here." A man said, finally interrupting Edward's guffaw.

"Woah you're right." Another engineer gaped, lifting Edward's arm closer to his monocle. "Just look at the intricacy of the metalwork!"

Winry's dismay was exchanged for excitement, "It was me! I made it!" She said proudly, taking a step forward.

Ivy leaned against Alphonse with a smile. "These guys are always on a roll, it looks." She hummed as the crowd surrounding Edward increased. "At least you're somehow safe."

"I'm not sure if I'd be able to handle being in Brother's position right now." Alphonse said right as Edward's clothes seem to disappear in exchange for examining his leg, Winry explaining animatedly the work that went into making it. "In fact, I'm pretty sure if our places were switched, he'd just let being tall go to his head."

Ivy choked easily able to imagine a taller, armor-bodied Edward knocking people out of the way and going on about how hard it was to notice anybody now that he was so big. "According to multiverse theory, there's a version of you two where you're the one with the automail and he's the one with the armor, you know. So knowing that, he'd probably just punch one of these engineers for bothering you. Well, I guess it isn't really much of a theory now since just my being here confirms the multiverse is real."

Alphonse's body trembled in horror. "I'm not sure I'd wanna trade places with the other Alphonse then. I don't think I'd be able to stop him from punching basically everyone if they make him mad."

"CAN YOU GUYS JUST QUIT IT!" Edward swatted away his 'assailants' when he was brought down to his briefs. "I can use a little help here, Winry!"

"Oh don't be so rude, they just wanna closer look!" Winry replied coolly. "Everybody here is very devoted to their research. It's just like Central being an alchemy hub!"

Edward's eyebrow twitched as he was finally able to dress himself again, muttering under his breath. "So where to next?" Ivy took a step forward at her fellow automail enthusiast. "We've got a lot to cover if we're gonna be here for a whole day! Should we find some blacksmiths or look for engineer's on their down time and ask for tips?"

Winry opened her mouth to answer but Edward's trembling voice halted her. "Oh no." The boy pulled out his pants pockets frantically.

"What's wrong, Brother?"

"It's gone." Edward whispered hoarsely. "The thing that proves I'm a State Alchemist… my silver watch, gone."

"What?!" Alphonse exclaimed, looking at the floor rapidly. "How did you lose something that important, Brother?!"

"It was on my belt loop before my clothes were taken off!" Edward's gold eyes were frantic as he checked his jacket's pockets. Ivy winced at the scene, squatting herself to see if the pocket watch had somehow managed to get underfoot in the hyena-like tendencies of the surrounding mechanics. There's gotta be a silver glint or something. "Damn it! How could this happen when we weren't even planning on being here that long!"

"Sounds like you've been hit by Paninya." A man with short hair and a mustache and a scope on his right eye piped up from a nearby shop, Ashiya. "She's a pickpocket in the area who targets tourists."

"What?!" Edward took a step forward, arms moving frantically. "Do you know where I can find this Paninya girl?! Please, she took something important!"

The man glanced at his partner, a bald man, before nodding. "Well, we might be able to tell you if we had something to jog our memory." Their eyes were glinting and fingers were wriggling creepily. "If we can just have one look at that automail!"

Edward, in turn, clapped his hands and transmuted his arm into a blade before they wearily pointed in a direction. "She's in the West Alley!" Scope man yelped.

"She sells her spoils to the Glotz pawn shop!"

Ivy closed her eyes and clasped her hands into the prayer hands of disbelief. The mechanics here were like vultures. I'm glad I left my phone at our hotel. Ivy thought as her group of friends jogged to where this West Alley had to have been. Let's just hope we can get Ed's shit back before he has an aneurysm.

Or before he destroys the town.

Ivy pursed her lips as she watched the chaos ensue as Edward chased Paninya the pickpocket from rooftop to rooftop, transmuting everything in his path to giant walls to even giant hands for the past fifteen minutes in counting. "Guys, I'm starting to wonder if there's even gonna be a Rush Valley by the time Ed gets her in Al's transmutation circle." She voiced as she looked at the giant transmutation circle the younger Elric had drawn, explaining the plan to draw the pickpocket in and and cage her in order to get Edward's watch back.

"Haha… yeah." Alphonse chuckled. "We're gonna have a lot to fix by the time Brother's done getting his watch back." He sighed the moment he caught eye of Edward and Paninya falling through a roof. "And there's another building."

Winry crossed her arms, an eyebrow twitching. "I swear, trouble follows you both around like honey attracts flies." The blonde sighed, looking through a telescope. "So much for a calm and peaceful trip to Rush Valley."

"According to my best friend, things going wrong is half the excitement of a trip." Ivy muttered. Of course, when Akasha had said that it was when their phones both died during a trip to an anime convention she dragged Ivy too since her father, Peter, wouldn't allow her to go alone. The phone needed to make sure they'd be able to find their ride when they would finally have to go home. It also didn't help that both of them forgot their phone chargers in Peter's car when he drove off. "So things will probably work out." Just as she said that, Paninya jogged smugly out of a building and, miraculously, into the transmutation circle.

"I've been waiting for you." Alphonse wasted no time readying his hands, electric blue shocks filling the air and a bright line shining and iron bars began to envelope the girl.

"Well done, Al!" Winry praised and Ivy nodded.

"Yeah, he didn't destroy anything."

The joke went ignored as Edward appeared sweating heavily and laughing evilly, "you managed to best me before but now I've finally got you, girl." He said, wiping the sweat off of his chin. He sounded just like a cheesy movie villain Batman or something would fight before getting to the main baddie of the film. How does the good guy of an anime sound like a villain half the time? "Now give me back my watch!" The blond demanded.

"I'd stand back if I were you." Paninya lifted her right leg nonchalantly. "If you don't wanna get hurt."

"Says the girl trapped in a-" Edward narrow managed to dodge the bars of iron that flew through the air.

Paninya's grin was downright arrogant as the light glinted off the blade that stuck out of a steel leg. "What's with the surprised look on your face?" She said, finally setting her leg down when her blade retracted. "You've seen the town! And get a load of this!" Paninya lifted her leg and Ivy nearly lost her balance at the explosion that followed. "My other leg has a 1.5 inch canon in it!"

Both of her legs are automail and she's that coordinated? Ivy shot a wary glance at Winry, not at all surprised at the sight. Winry's eyes were narrowed like a hawk, expression in awe.

"Wait get back here!" Edward snapped, drawing Ivy's attention once more in time to see Paninya bolting right passed her and Winry.

"No way, why don't you try and catch me!"

Ivy was also not surprised when Winry's hand shot out faster than she could blink, a hand clamped tightly around the pickpocket's wrist. "Winry, please. This isn't the time to-"

"Good job, Winry! Don't let go of that little thief!" A brother shouted, clearly misguided in what they believed Winry was doing.

"Trust me, I'm not letting her get away." A wide grin spread across Winry's face and stars were gleaming in her eyes. "Not yet anyway! Not until I can get a better look at that automail!"

Ivy sighed as Edward and Alphonse collapsed in shock. There was no stopping Winry at all when she got like this. The girl making quick work of removing Paninya shoes after they had managed to keep her tied down to keep her from running away. "This is just amazing! Just amazing!" Winry squealed and Ivy sighed, patting Edward and Alphonse on the head and they sat down.

"Sorry about her." Ivy sighed once again while Winry swooned in her examinations over the suspension system and balance.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, "there's no need to apologize at all, I don't even know why I'm surprised." They could be in the most dangerous situation known to man but if their attacker had automail, Winry would find a way to examine it. "At least you're not right over there with her, or I'd have to toss you into the sun."

"I like to think my fascination with automail has limits." Ivy replied.

"Paninya, you have to tell me who engineered your automail!" Winry stood up, eyes wide like a child's.

"Sure thing!" Ivy didn't like the look on Paninya's face as she nodded her head. "He lives way out in the mountains though, so you'll need a guide." Ivy could already see where this was going. "But don't worry, I can be your guide! But in exchange, you let me off the hook for picking your friend's pocket!"

"Sure, no problem!"

"Hold it!" Edward stood up, temples bulging on his forehead. "That's not your decision, Winry! We're turning her over to the military police!"

"It was just a little harmless pickpocketing!" Winry yelled back.

"Harmless?! That woman's a menace to the town!" Edward pointed at the damaged buildings behind him.

"Hey, aren't you the guy who ruined my shop?" A man appeared suddenly with a less-than-thrilled expression.

"He messed up my rooftop too!"

"And my chimney!"

"He and his brother traumatized my little Julie!"

"Hurry up and fix what you broke, you little brat!"

This is a mess. Ivy looked on as Winry and Paninya gabbed while Edward and Alphonse did clean up duty. By the time they finished, the plans were solidified with Paninya standing freely.

"This changes nothing!" Edward snapped, panting heavily. "I'm still gonna turn her over to the MPs and I'm gonna get my watch back!"

"It's a good thing we left our luggage at our lodgings!" Winry smiled at Paninya. The cry fell on deaf ears.

One of Edward's eyes switched and Alphonse pinched the back of his brother's collar. "Um, Ivy?" The boy asked softly. "Do you think you could pull Winry back down to earth before my brother explodes?"

Yeah because I'm pretty sure your brother is this close to sister snapping on everybody within a three mile radius. Ivy patted Alphonse on the back as she walked towards the excited engineer. "Uh Winry, Ed might have a point here. I get you're excited but she did steal from him." Winry's eyebrows knitted closely, looking confused. "And she hasn't even given Ed back his watch so-"

"But this is really important to me." Ivy flinched as Winry looked downcast, blue eyes darkening.

…

Ivy coughed awkwardly before she looked back at Edward and Alphonse. "Maybe we can have her arrested after Winry meets her engineer." Ivy suggested, Winry squealing happily as she tackled Ivy with a hug. I'm so weak.

"Ivy, you're weak!" The girl's suggestion was met with Edward trying to escape Alphonse's arms. "God damn it, why are you being so soft on her! You're no help at all! This is what I get for bringing you both here in the first place!"

Despite his incessant shrieking, that didn't stop their quartet from heading to the mountains. Ivy eyed the walkway's edge with a worried expression, a ravine sloshing just below. She creeped closer to the mass of rock to her right. "Is there a reason your engineer decided to base his shop on death's edge?"

"Yup." Paninya lead on nonchalantly. "He says he can find better quality ore for automail out here. Plus, he isn't really a people person so the further his shop was from time, the better the location."

"Well you definitely have to be serious about wanting this guy to make something for you if you have to make this hike here." Ivy wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was glad she oiled the crap out of her before they got here otherwise she was sure that her hair would be fried. I need to get a headscarf and wrap this up. She thought as Edward was once again rebuffed in his attempt to get his watch back.

Ivy was more than relieved when a house came into view. "Let me just let them know there are guests here!" Paninya skipped to the door, opening it without a care in the world.

It didn't take long for a young man to peek his head out the door, his eyes bulging when they landed on the Elrics. "Woah he's huge! And he's small!"

The fuming that ensued was ignored as Paninya swept a hand over to Winry. "This is Winry, she's an engineer who's interested in automail at the shop."

"Well, it's unusual for a girl your age to be interested in automail." The man said, recomposing himself, his expression was kind. "But we'll certainly answer the questions that you have. Come on in. Satera, Dad, we have guests!"

"That's Dominic?" Winry leaned to whisper. "He doesn't seem all that unfriendly to me."

"No, no, that's not him. That's his son, Ridel." Paninya laughed. "Dominic is a lot more unfriendlier."

A pregnant woman walked out the door holding a tray of iced tea, "my father-in-law is on his way, right now. Please have a seat!"

"That walk almost killed me." Winry sighed in relief as she took a seat on a stool. "Thank you for the tea."

"This is why I say you need to exercise more." Ivy hummed, ignoring the weak glare she received for her statement. Paninya took her own seat at the table, sipping happily. "You should join me on my morning jogs and this hike will be a breeze." Winry whimpered at the thought. "Oh don't be such a baby, it'll be fun!"

A few moments later, a tall tanned man with gray hair and a purple bandanna on his shoulders. "Which of you are interested in learning about my automail?" His voice sounded like gravel and his lips were pulled down in a permanent scowl.

"We are!" Winry raised a hand excitedly as the man took a seat on the last stool available. "My friend and I are both really interested in your work!" She continued. "The work you've done is just lovely, you're an amazing engineer! The suspension system was so advanced and the steel is really light and we were wondering if we could learn more about it!"

We? Ivy barely stopped herself from snickering. It wasn't far off from the truth, combat automail certainly intrigued her. Though she wouldn't say that she was the one yearning to learn the old man's techniques. She spared a glance at Edward and Alphonse, happy to see they were able to entertain themselves through talking with Satera and Ridel. "Internal automail carbines are the culmination of my life long dream." Dominic said, drawing Ivy's attention back to him.

Paninya rolled her eyes, crossing her legs. "Who in his right mind dreams of installing something like that in a young girl?"

"Silence!" Dominic hissed sharply. "You have no right to criticize my artistry."

"You're right, it is art!" Winry smiled with a matter-of-fact expression. "In addition to normal automail functionality, you've internalized a weapon in each leg without sacrificing the simplicity of the exterior! This minimalist design is nothing less than art!"

"You've a good tongue on you, little girl."

Winry giggled happily.

"Compared to the normal carbon method, the exterior durability and overall mess is adjusted to the endurance and strength of the user." Winry nodded rapidly as the man explained, taking in every word. "And to help strengthen the steel, I place it on a metal surface to slow the cooling process."

"Gag, it's like they're speaking another language." Paninya groaned.

Ivy gave her a sympathetic grin. That was definitely her not too long ago when she first started learning. "Would that steel strengthening method be good for any steel alloy?"

"Don't confuse hardness with hardenability. The carbon content is the steel's maximum hardness. The hardenability refers to the martensite that forms in the microstructure during the cooling process. Figuring out the hardenability characteristics of the steel you have will help you know how the steel will harden during the welding process." Ivy could vaguely see Paninya look even more out of it as Dominic explained. Winry, on the other hand, had pulled out a small notepad and pencil from her pocket and was scribbling rapidly. "And pay attention to grain structure during the precipitation hardening. Fine grain offers more hardness and ductility."

"I'm really curious as to how you've made the steel in Paninya's steel so light." Winry chipped in. "It's really mobile but maintains high durability enough to withstand extreme shock. Is it your tempering methods?"

Dominic nodded, "I've developed a heat treatment I call flash processing. Makes the steel at least 7% stronger in less than ten seconds."

"'Less than ten seconds'?" Ivy and Winry said in amazed unison. This man was incredible.

"D-do you think you can look over my automail for any improvements that can be made?!" Winry sputtered, pointing in Edward's direction. "Ed, come here or a second!"

Damn, now I wish I brought my designs!

"17% chrome and 1% carbon, huh?" Dominic muttered as he tapped lightly on Edward's arm with a small hammer.

"I want to increase the strength and make it lighter too." Winry added with her eyes practically glued on the experienced engineer like a starving dog stared at a steak.

"I can see why." Dominic let the arm go, leaning into the back of his chair. "Compared to his body size, his automail is too heavy. It's not healthy to put that much strain on the user." A steel gray eye directed itself on Winry. "Maybe that's why his growth has been stunted."

"Don't call me- no wait!" Edward gasped, eyes wide. "Are you saying that if my automail was lighter, I'd grow taller than this!?"

Dominic gave a gruff nod, "it's a possibility."

Ivy was sure she saw mini Edward angels dancing around the boy's head. Poor guy is so desperate. "Okay, I've decided." Winry clenched her fist into an Arthur meme hand. "Dominic!" The blonde exclaimed. "Please, make me your apprentice!"

"Not a chance." Dominic dug inside his ear, not even sparing the girl a sparing glance.

"... Do you at least want some time to consider the idea?" Winry grounded out weakly.

"No way." Dominic's answer came like a bullet. "I don't take on apprentices."

Edward was suddenly holding a box of mountain sweet cakes. Did all anime characters have the ability to magically pull things out of nowhere? Were they all just related to Mary Poppins and that was how they did it? "Forget about her, how about you whip me up an ultra light automail to help me grow taller?"

"Can it, you little flea." Ivy didn't know if anything would help Edward recover from that burn. "Now get out of here!"

A loud thunder boom came right on cue with heavy rain following suit. "Don't let my old man scare you." Ridel chuckled. "You're welcome to stay here until the rain lets up."

"You traitor." Ivy nudged Winry after Dominic went to his forge. Edward had managed to get up and drag his bruised ego after him to beg some more. "I thought we were gonna be doing it big in Resembool. And here you are, leaving me the moment it conveniences you. I thought we had something special." If only.

Winry pouted into her mug of warm tea, "I was gonna ask him to take you in as an apprentice too."

"Mmmmmhmm."

"I was!"

"I want a divorce, Winry."

"Ivy!"

Ivy looked away pointedly and stuck her nose in the air as Winry pressed her forehead into her back. " I wouldn't just leave you behind like that, I'm serious!" She said defensively. "I was gonna ask about you too! I know you're really serious about learning about automail too!"

"I'm just messin' with ya." Ivy chuckled lightly, turning back to grin at the girl. "Still, it sucks the guy said no. But stuff will be figured out."

There was another clap of thunder and Paninya groaned when the rain sounded like it was hitting the ground even harder. "Whenever the weather gets bad, my joints get all achey." She whimpered, rubbing at her legs.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Winry asked.

"I was in a train accident as a kid." Paninya said lightly, like what someone had asked her was 'hey, how's the weather'. Ivy grimaced into her mug as Paninya opened her mouth again. "When you don't have any parents and you lose your ability to walk, you feel like it's the end of the world. The actual time I spent crawling wasn't that long… but that was the lowest point in my life. Dominic even said that I had eyes like a dead person."

Ed and Al's bodies. Winry's parents. Paninya's legs and family. Why does everyone in this world seem to have some sort of heavy baggage?

"Before I knew what happened, I was outfitted with these automail legs." Paninya's story continued. "The surgery was painful and the rehabilitation process was, by far, the hardest thing I've ever done. But when I was finally able to stand on my two feet and feel the sun so close to my face? I was so happy." Paninya's blue eyes looked lovingly at the steel legs she'd been given. "These legs gave me back my will to live and the freedom to go anywhere I wanted. That's why I love Dominic so much. I love anyone that works with automail!"

A smile of understanding was exchanged between the three girls.

"Then I found out how much the legs he made me cost and nearly had a stroke." Paninya coughed.

"So is that why you pickpocket?" Ivy sat back, taking another sip of her drink. "To pay everything off?"

Paninya nodded, "I'm gonna pay him back even if it takes me my whole life." The smile on her face faltered though. "But he never takes my money. He just gives me free checkups and maintenance, it makes me wanna cry from the guilt."

Winry stood up with a sharp look. "If you really appreciate what Dominic's done for you, then stop picking pockets!" She pointed a finger at Paninya's chest, stomping a foot determinedly. "Dominic gave you those legs from an honest desire to help you, so get up and get up and work! Even if it takes a lifetime, it has to be an equivalent exchange."

Ivy felt a small surge of pride in her chest. "He'd probably accept the money too if he knew it was coming from an honest source." She added. "I'd say it's worth a shot."

"... I guess you're right." Paninya looked down at her legs once again. "Get a job, get one sen at a time…. Alright, I'll try things your way. I can at least try." Paninya pulled a familiar silver watch out of her pocket. "So I guess I should probably give this back to Ed now. But I think I broke it. When I tried giving it to Old Man Glotz, it wouldn't open or tick or anything."

Winry leaned closer, "no… look here." She traced around the rim of the watch. Ivy could barely see the trace signs of alchemical action on it. "It's been sealed with alchemy."

"... think there's something in there that he doesn't want anyone to see?" Paninya's eyes glinted.

Winry's fingers were full of screwdrivers and allen wrenches in a Wolverine-like fashion. "I think it's time for me to step up to the plate."

Ivy rolled her eyes with a snicker as Winry set to work. Mary Poppins struck again.

"Open!" Winry grinned gleefully holding it out proudly for the other two girls in the room to look.

Don't forget. 3. Oct. 11. was scratched into the back of the lid. "I don't get it." Paninya voiced what Ivy had been thinking herself. "What's that supposed to mean?" Well in my world, that's the day that Aaron Samuels asked Cady Heron what day it was. Ivy kept to herself knowing a Mean Girls joke would be wasted on the people surrounding her.

Ivy shrugged, looking to Winry. "What about y- Winry?" Tears were welling in the girl's eyes. "Hey, Winry, are you okay?" She and Paninya exchanged worried looks. 'What's with her?' Paninya's face seemed to be saying. Ivy could shrug and shake her head.

Winry nodded, snapping the lid closed. "Give this back to Ed." She said softly, placing the watch in Paninya's hand. "I'm gonna ask Dominic to make me his apprentice one more time."

Ivy stared after her anxiously.

Has Akasha ever said anything about this? Her brain racked trying to think of anything Akasha might have said before. Come on, she's always going on and on about and about this show there has to be something she said that was super important! No answer came and Ivy sighed, wishing not for the first time that she had given Fullmetal Alchemist the time of day when Akasha tried shoving it down her throat. Then I'd be more useful and know what the hell is going on half the damn time.

"Ridel, come quick!" Winry's voice shot across the house. "It's your wife!"

Paninya and Ivy froze, dark blue eyes and brown looking at each other in fear before they both bolted.

Author's Note

We're finally in Rush Valley, y'all and it only took 14 chapters to get there. So much entertainment.

CallMeAnon: Woah thanks for all the reviews, dude! They were a treat!

Tiara: Faaaaam! It's been a while since I've forced any sort of fanfiction down your throat but here we are again. I'm glad you find Ivy to be a relatable character!

GaaraDeservesToBeHappy:... You know I have to do it to 'em.