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

"So, what's the plan?" Ivy nudged Akasha.

"What plan?"

"About what you're gonna do when Ed gets back from Resembool?"

It was just two of them in their room, Garfiel had finally called and after losing rock-paper-scissors, Winry had been sent down to brace the fury. Now it was something Ivy couldn't avoid asking it, looking straight at Akasha, arms crossed. "Because you know what I'm gonna say and I already know what you're gonna say, so we might as well say it and come to a compromise.

"I think you should come back with me to Rush Valley." Ivy continued, raising a hand when Akasha opened her mouth. "I know you're all excited about meeting the boys but seriously, what they do is dangerous and there's nothing wrong with being on the sidelines and letting them get their main character stuff out the way." There was nothing wrong being side characters, or maybe at this point they were major minor characters. Ivy wasn't too sure but that wasn't the point. "So come back to Rush Valley with me and I know damn well you don't wanna do anything with automail, but Mr. Garfiel isn't just gonna let you stay there and not do anything all day. So you can make your alkahestry a business.

Paninya does a business fixing up stuff, maybe you can do that with her. You like Paninya, right?"

Paninya had never been mentioned before in Akasha's ceaseless rambles about Fullmetal Alchemist, but they certainly weren't on awkward terms whenever Paninya came around.

Besides, it wasn't like Ivy was asking Akasha to make Paninya her best friend.

"I know it doesn't look it, but there is plenty of stuff to do while you're there. And most importantly, we're both safe and we don't even know how much longer we're gonna be here so for all we know, you can have plenty of time to get to know Ed and Al. But like, when all of this shit is over."

Unsurprisingly, Akasha shook her head. "I can't just give up on my dream, Ivy." The brunette replied, but thankfully her tone was softer than it ever was whenever they argued about this topic. "I've wanted this for years, I've read up a lot and when I was in Xing I studied a lot. I know you think I'm not, but I'm ready for this. I want this.

"You don't see me asking you to come with me and Ed to tear you apart from Winry, so I think the least you can do is let me figure this out my way."

"But what if your way gets you..."

Killed.

Somehow Thanos snapped in this universe's potential equivalent to Thanos.

"Hurt." Ivy finished, pensive. She couldn't make herself say it.

"I'm not the same kid you had to chase bullies away from when I was 8 and 12, alright?" Akasha snapped. Ivy couldn't hold back a flinch of surprise. "I get it, I'm the nerd who can't do anything physical but I know for a fact I can do this."

"Akasha, I'm not trying to hover but-"

"But you are." Akasha didn't sound unkind with her words, but firm. "You always hover, you worry about something and you want to get involved. It's what you always do. You're like a black Katara." Akasha sighed. "Look, maybe you might have all the time in the world, but I might not."

Ivy blinked and cocked her head, "what are you talking about?"

"You said you just walked through the gate, right?" Akasha gestured at her, green eyes darkening. "Like, you were clearly in our world and you literally just crossed over and when you went back it disappeared. For you it could just show up again one day and you can walk right through whenever you wanted. But that might not happen for me because I never got just walking through the gate and bam, I'm in Xing.

I got thunderstorms and loud flashing lights and alchemy lightning and my laptop acting crazy and then I woke up in Xing."

"What? You never mentioned that before?"

"You never asked before." Akasha crossed her own arms, looking away. "Besides, how could I mention that? That sounds even less believable than walking into another world by accident."

I can't argue with that. Ivy was sure if Gracia was told that, she would've kicked them all out immediately for bullshitting when she was still reeling from her husband's death. She doubted Hughes would've believed that either if Akasha was in her place. Then again, Akasha would've been smart enough to say she wasn't from Central but some other place.

"For you, it could be any time between now and whenever that your gate shows up again and bam, you're back home." Akasha popped out her hands when she said 'bam'. "But me? For all I know, I could just up and poof off again right now or whenever and I wouldn't have done anything I wanted.

"And I don't want to leave to begin with. I hate it back home! You might want to or need to but I don't."

Ivy opened her mouth then closed it before biting her bottom lip. "Okay, okay I get it. You might be on a lot more borrowed time then I am but light show or not, we're in the same boat of not knowing when we're going back. If we're going back." Ivy added quickly. "But I still think you should come to Rush Valley."

"And I don't."

"So let's just have a compromise." Otherwise, they would get nowhere but even more arguments between them. "Just hear me out." Ivy held out her hand before Akasha could try and protest once more. "If Edward and Alphonse, both say that you can come with them, fine. That's it, I won't stop you and you can do your own thing." And if shit blows up in your face, that's on you and not me. I tried here. "But, and a big but, if they both say 'no' you come back to Rush Valley with me and Winry and respect their decision they want to travel on their own."

"Fine, works for me." Akasha clamped her hand around hers with a firm shake.

"But I definitely don't hover."

"Okay, Katara."

"Don't."

"Do."

"Agree to disagree, but I don't." Ivy rolled her eyes, tugging her hand away gently. "At least we don't have to argue about this anymore."

"You just think they'll automatically shoot me down." Akasha clipped. Ivy shrugged, not denying it. "But you forget that both Ed and Al are interested in alkahestry, something I actually have skills in. I'll be useful to them, so I don't think they will."

"As long as you're confident." Ivy stood up with a stretch. "But hopefully soon we're gonna be able to move on, I just wanna get back down south. I never thought I would say that unironically ever, but here we are."

"Benefits to not being home? No being scared of the south."

"It's certainly one benefit." Ivy snorted, lips curling upwards. "It ain't like it's nigga central or anything, but it's great seeing other black people. Even if it isn't like it's super often." And culturally, they can't connect. But Ivy was taking wins where she could take them. "What was it like in Xing?"

Akasha slumped forward, her head practically touching her knees. "I miss the food so much, dude. And the Yao Compound? It was huge! It was hard talking to everyone though, it was really only Ling, Fu, and Lan Fan and his mother that knew how to speak Eng- Amestrian, I guess."

"Did you learn the language?"

Akasha looked up and grimaced. "The tones are so annoying. I could hold a basic conversation by the time we left but I really only spoke English with everyone else, so I don't remember much anyway besides how to say 'Hi', 'My name is Akasha', that kind of stuff. I accidentally called Ling's mom a 'horse', you know!"

Ivy barked out a laugh."I've kissed Spanish goodbye since coming here, so don't feel bad. Mr. Infante would cry. Of course I never called a queen a horse before but..." The two of them chuckled and Ivy was glad that the energy between them had lightened up. No more arguing, I'd really like to just enjoy the rest of our time here without beefing about every little thing. They fell into a comfortable silence and Akasha fell back onto their shared bed, picking up a little notebook she kept by her side and dove back into reading it.

Apparently it was her alchemical notes. Her code? Her anime husbands. It was classic Akasha, Ivy thought fondly. It would just be better if the brunette would reconsider her desire to be a main character in this place, at least. Maybe it would've been different if they ended up somewhere else. Now if Edward could hurry up and get here so they could rip the band-aid off.

Speak of the devil and devil will come, Ivy thought as she heard the familiar sound of screeching and Ling's laughter. "Edward's back." Winry chuckled when she opened the door to let them know.

"And Mr. Garfiel?"

"Well, he said that we can show up whenever we can and not to worry about it since a man shouldn't have let us worry about money in the first place."

"To think gender roles are helping us from the punishment of a lifetime." Ivy stood up with a stretch, following after Akasha who was practically skipping to 502. Ivy felt a dark sense at the fact she was actively hoping for Akasha to be rejected in her upcoming request but she tried stamping it out of her. It was only for Akasha's own good, she reminded herself. She didn't hover, she just didn't want Akasha to end up getting hurt.

"I'm just glad you're in one piece." Ivy heard Edward saying as she approached their room. "Thanks for fixing his arm, Akasha." Edward nodded at the girl.

Akasha beamed. "No problem, any time!"

But Edward didn't smile back, face falling into a grimace. "But there's still the problem that your body and soul might reject each other at any time."

Ivy's heart fell into her stomach. "You can get him back to normal in time, right?"

"Of course, I said I would, didn't I?" Despite the words, Edward's voice was soft. "I have to, no matter what. And I will. I know I can because..." Edward sat down. "Al, I dug up the remains of what we thought was mom so that I could verify her identity."

"You what?!" Alphonse screeched in shock, arms raised in shock.

"And this is what I found out!" Edward shouted before Alphonse could tear him a new one. "The thing we buried was not our mother."

A chill passed over the room and after a few moments, Alphonse fell onto the bed behind him grabbing his head in disbelief. Ivy rushed to his side to pat his back. "Brother, how could you go ad do something like that without telling me?!"

"Don't yell at me just yet, Al. I'm convinced you can be returned to your original body."

...

"Really?!"

"Now let me ask you and Al question." Edward cleared his throat, cheeks flushing. "Do either of you… remember a time Al and I fought over who'd married you?"

Ivy felt herself grimace as Akasha not-so-discreetly rolled her eyes, excusing it as a cough. Even Winry seemed to wince, pointedly looking another direction as she answered "umm, yes, I remember turning you both down when that happened."

"What was your reasoning?" Edward pressed. Ed, my boy, please. Shut up. Ivy groaned internally. I am literally not the only one who would appreciate it. Who even needs this kind kind of information years later? Designated love interests who know for a fact that they're-

"I said-" "She said-" Winry and Alphonse both started. "I just don't like men who are shorter than me."

Edward was practically in tears when Ivy and Akasha both snorted. Whether or not they were laughing at the same thing was something only the Truth would know, Ivy just knew that was fucking funny. "CAN YOU BOTH SHUT UP?!" Edward snapped, the two girls laughing even harder. "You can't judge a man for something he can't help!"

Ivy choked, "sorry, dude, I can't blame her there." Ivy slapped his back, good naturedly. "Some people ain't ready for a short king."

"I don't mind dating a short king!" Akasha chipped in.

"Trust me, it's a courtesy compliment." Ivy winked. Akasha kicked her shin. "Hey!"

"What does any of that have to do with you getting Al's body back?" Winry's light blonde eyebrows were furrowed. "I don't see the connection."

"It proves everything." Edward raised a finger. "Both you and Al remember something I can't recall, and it was specifically a memory from before you turned ten." He continued. "If you have memories from before the accident, it means that the Al I bonded to this suit of armor must be the real Al. So then I got thinking, that explained all your memories from before the accident, 'but what about after the accident?'

I mean, you don't have a brain, so where are all your memories being stored?"

Alphonse removed his helmet, pointing at his bloody seal that kept him bonded to the armor. Ivy only remembered seeing it once in Resembool after the brothers found out the truth about her identity. "What about this?"

"That's just a symbol to keep your soul bound to the armor." Edward said dismissively, waving a hand. "But I have a hunch, Al's body still exists somewhere and his brain is still functioning."

"Like Barry the Chopper." Alphonse's voice resonated in his armor. "His soul existed separate from his body."

"Alchemy states that a human being is composed of the body, soul, and spirit." Edward continued with a nod. "I think that the spirit is what connects the body to the soul."

It was as if they were tag teaming with their dialogue as they made more and more connections, Alphonse muttering something about how bodies and souls are drawn to one another because of something with the spirit. Edward then tacked on something about how Alphonse's body was taken as a toll and not an ingredient. Akasha somehow stood all of this, eyes wide with fascination.

Winry was the only other person who looked like she had been lost almost immediately.

'Alchemy freaks.' Ivy mouthed.

Winry cracked a smile, huffing quietly.

A knock at the door stopped the idea tossing, a calm voice saying "Mr. Elric, you have a phone call from a Mrs. Izumi Curtis?"

Edward winced. "Teacher? Calling? This is gonna be bad."

"Maybe you should get a new teacher if she's so scary." Winry suggested, her expression sympathetic.

"It's fine, I'll see what she wants." Edward shook his head. "She can't kill me over the phone. Probably." The fact he sounded hopeless was enough to make Ivy choke from holding back her laughter as the boy left with a sigh. A few minutes past before Alphonse stood up, saying he wanted to talk to his brother alone.

Ivy sighed. "This is seriously one hell of a car ride."

"Who are you telling?" Winry sighed herself. "But still. Al can be returned to normal, just like Ed said." Winry smiled. "He's getting his body back."

"Yeah." Ivy grinned. "The short king is gonna do it."

When Edward and Alphonse returned, Ivy set to work.

"Did you find anything out about-" the next words wouldn't come out of her mouth. Ivy closed her mouth, then opened it again. Her lips felt really chapped and she licked them. She needed chapstick.

"About?" Edward cocked an eyebrow.

Ivy shook her head, stomach churning anxiously. "Nothing, it's just that Akasha had a question she wanted to ask when you got back." Ivy nodded over to her, Akasha's eyes lighting up in disbelief and glee. "You don't see me asking you to come with me and Ed to tear you apart from Winry, so I think the least you can do is let me figure this out my way." Akasha said earlier. Argue all they want, that was something Ivy couldn't deny even if a plethora of excuses were coming to mind.

Winry doesn't associate with anything dangerous.

The most dangerous thing about automail are the engineering fanatics.

Still, Edward, for all his shortness and his sharp tongue, made Akasha happy in a way Ivy simultaneously did and didn't understand.

"What is it?" Edward glanced.

Akasha scooted forward on the couch, Ivy was sure it took the brunette everything to not tap her feet in her excitement like a child on Christmas day. "I was wondering if I could travel with you once you both left the hotel!"

Edward looked taken aback, looking at Ivy for some reason. "Seriously?"

Ivy shrugged, shaking her head. "If you and Al are fine with it and don't let her jump before looking, it's fine."

"Ahem." Akasha glared at them both, though it seemed to linger on Ivy specifically. "She's not my mom and I'm not five. Yes, I seriously want to travel with you. I'm not even useless, I can do alkahestry and help with research."

A sigh escaped Ivy's mouth and she stood up. "You cats talk it over. If it's a 'yes' or 'no', let me know. But I'm going to bed. If it's a yes, though." Ivy set her hands on her hips and looked at the blond firmly. "Take care of her or I'm breaking your neck with a wrench the next time you stop by for a fix."

Edward blanched visibly and frowned. "If anything, that makes me want to leave her with you even more."

"Yeah yeah, you guys talk it out before Winry and I head back to Rush Valley." Ivy waved without looking over her shoulder and headed to the door. "I'm clocking out for the night." She opened it, mumbling a good night. She felt tired, but not sleepy. The worst kind of tired. Ivy tugged the door closed behind her until she felt it stop suddenly and looked behind her to see a pair of blue eyes.

"I'm pretty tired too." Winry started. "And we should probably talk about when we should head back, Mr. Garfiel said to come back whenever we could when Ed paid the hotel."

Ivy shuddered. "So he isn't gonna kill us? To think Ed taking forever paid off in the end. Don't get used to it, that's never happening again." Ivy continued to their room while Winry closed the Elrics' door. "But we should definitely head out soon and get some tickets, Akasha isn't a Rush Valley fan but if she ends up coming with us-" A lightly callused hand clamped over Ivy's softly and she stopped walking in surprise.

"You didn't ask Ed if he found out anything about getting you home." Winry squeezed Ivy's palm.

"It just slipped my mind, I guess." Ivy lied. "Either way-"

"It's fine if it's just this, right?" Winry interrupted. "If we both know, it's fine. Right?"

"..." Ivy pursed her lips. This was exactly what she wanted to avoid the moment she realized that night in Resembool that she should've kept her distance instead of growing attached. "I think we should- holding hands is fine. Holding hands has always been fine." Her mouth said instead. She squeezed Winry's hand back.

Maybe Akasha had a point earlier when she said they didn't know how long they'd be there. Holding hands would be fine. The flickers of a conversation with Ling flickered in Ivy's mind for a few moments that night before bed when she glanced over at Winry's side of the room before turning to face the wall. "You know, we should visit Mr. Hughes tomorrow, we don't really know if we'll get the opportunity again by the time we head back to the shop."

"Want to head over to Gracia's in the morning?" Winry replied through a yawn.

Ivy nodded then remembered Winry couldn't see her in the dark. "Yeah, it'll be nice to visit one more time."

By the time Ivy woke up Akasha was in bed. There was a slight disruption before where she jolted up to the sound of Edward screeching about someone owing him, Ling most likely, she thought before slamming her head back on the pillow as Winry stormed out angrily. She felt like someone was next to her then, but Ivy was too tired to check.

Now she was greasing her scalp between corn rows, breath fresh while Winry combed her hair and Akasha kicked her feet aimlessly. "We're gonna be heading over to the Hughes' today, what are you doing?"

Akasha shrugged.

"Did Ed and Al say yes to you traveling with them?"

Akasha pouted. "They said they would think about it."

Edward and Alphonse, coming in the clutch. Ivy would have ran over to their room to kiss them both if it wouldn't immediately make her gag. Thanks for mulling it over, guys. "Oh." Ivy hoped her face didn't lead on any of the relief she was feeling at that moment. "I mean, it's better than the two of them out right saying 'no' right? It's something."

"I was just expecting things to go differently. They let you travel with them."

"We stayed at a hotel for two weeks before I decided to do an engineering apprenticeship instead." Ivy pointed out. "We really didn't do much traveling in the end."

"Why do you want to travel with them so much, if you don't mind me asking." Winry peered over curiously. "You can always wait for them in Rush Valley for information about you going home."

Akasha looked at the blonde sharply. "If you have to know I'm not interested in going back home." Akasha gestured at her alkahestry gloves and the window that allowed them to check into the world outside. "I've always wanted to go to another world where things were better and this is the world with alchemy and someone cool enough to teach me more about it. And, no offense, automail isn't my cup of tea."

Winry looked less taken aback by Akasha's harsh tone and more so over something else she said. "You're not going back home?"

Ivy bit her lip.

Akasha shook her head, "I like Amestris better, so I told Edward and Alphonse not even bother with using home as an excuse to not bring me along."

Akasha, please, stop talking. Ivy made sure not to look in Winry's direction. She knew what would be coming if it was just the two of them on their way to the Hughes'. "Well I think it's only right to go back, alright?"

"And like I said before, you can go back to playing volleyball if you want. But I'm staying here."

It's not about wanting to- Ivy interrupted her own thought. She WANTED to go home, that was the difference between the two of them. "Yeah yeah, it's the same song and dance we've been having since we met up in Rush Valley. Anyway," Ivy cleared her throat. "what's your plan for the day while we're out? Alchemy stuff? Or did you want to come with us?"

Akasha actually seemed to mull it over, even more surprising was the fact she nodded. "Yeah, I wanna pay my respects too."

"Wow."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm legit surprised you wanna come with us, I kinda thought you'd turn that down." Ivy shook her head. "Whatever, I'm glad you're coming. I think you would've liked Mr. Hughes if you got to meet him."

"Yeah. Me too."

It was almost easy to ignore Winry's silence as Ivy and Akasha mumbled here and there as they continued getting ready, bouncing nonsensical comments off one another. Almost, Ivy decidedly avoided the feeling of guilt in her stomach. The upcoming conversation was something she wanted to avoid for as long as possible, even if it meant acting as if she thought nothing was amiss. "Did Ed and Al tell you where they were heading off to so early last night?" Ivy asked Akasha when they were finally heading off, the cobblestone of the street sounding like a decent melody to her ears as she purposefully stepped on each stone.

Akasha shrugged beside her.

Ivy shrugged back. "We'll see 'em again before the day's over." It took her a moment to realize that Winry was trailing behind them. "Winry?"

Winry seemed to come out of a trance, "huh?"

Ivy opened her mouth, but nothing she wanted to say came out. That has been happening lately. She already knew how Winry was feeling. "We should get some flowers before we get there." Ivy turned around after that and didn't look back the rest of the trip, thankful when they finally arrived with flowers in hand. "We wanted to know if we could pay our respects to Mr. Hughes before we left for Rush Valley." She told Gracia when they arrived.

The woman smiled kindly with a nod, "I think Maes would like that." She said before getting herself and Elycia ready.

It wasn't long before they were in front of his grave. Ivy could've cried as Winry set down the bouquet they bought for him. I'm sorry for getting you involved in this, Mr. Hughes. Even if Gracia didn't hold her personally responsible, Ivy knew this feeling would last with her for the rest of her life.

A warm breeze blew over them and it almost felt like it was trying to comfort her.

"It's not fair…" Winry clenched her skirt tightly. "Everyone always seems to disappear on me when I'm not around, like my mom and dad. When they left for Ishbal they said 'We'll be back soon, so be a good girl and wait for us'. But they never came back." Her voice sounded distant. From the corner of her eye, Ivy could see that Akasha was holding back a roll of her eyes and Ivy pinched her with a glare. "The last memory I have of my parents is seeing their backs as they departed for the war zone and as their backs got smaller and smaller, the loneliness started setting in and I started to cry.

But I also remember feeling admiration, knowing that my parents were acting on what they believed in. I think I saw in Mr. Hughes' back something of my father." Winry continued, looking at Gracia. "My mom and dad and me, smiling happily between them. I projected that onto you all because you welcomed me like family and it made me happy, like my family never left." The blonde smiled softly when Elycia held her hand.

"I hope you'll all visit him every now and then." Gracia returned the smile with one of her own as she took Elycia's free hand. "He gets lonely so easily."

Winry, Ivy, and Akasha all gave their own positive confirmations at the same time. Ivy might've chuckled any other time. She looked at Winry's hand, feeling a strong urge to reach out to it.

Ivy kept her hand hanging loosely at her side as they left the cemetery, sighing inaudibly. She wished Hughes was here to give her advice.

"So do you girls have any plans for the rest of the day?" Gracia asked them. "If not, I'm sure Elycia and I wouldn't mind if you came over for tea and sweets. I'd love to hear more about your apprenticeship in Rush Valley, Akasha, will you be going back with them as well?"

"Um, if I can't find an alchemy teacher here in Central, I might." Akasha answered politely. "But I'm not much of an engineer, so I don't think I would do well there."

Ivy nodded, "Akasha sadly doesn't understand the beauty of it all, she's a lost cause. But if everyone else wants to, I'm totally down for tea."

"I don't-" Winry paused as a loud voice commented beside them.

"What now about alchemists?" A woman said to a small group she was standing with.

A man nodded at her, "I hear that the Elric Brothers are about to go on another rampage."

"What?!" Winry gasped, there went all the peace.

"Yeah, the place is crawling with military police." Another added in.

"... So I'm guessing tea is out the window."

Winry nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Sorry Ms. Gracia, we have to go and see what those idiots are up to."

Gracia looked like she recognized the looks of exasperation. "Don't be too hard on them when you find them. Say goodbye, Elycia."

Elycia waved with a grin and Ivy couldn't hold back giving her a brief but tight hug before they took off, Winry stomping her feet. "I swear, we can't even go somewhere for a few hours before the two of them are stirring up trouble!"

"You're not going to throw a wrench at them, are you?"

Winry didn't respond.

Ivy knew what the answer was after that. "Good thing you didn't go with them this morning or you would've gotten wrenched too, Akasha."

Akasha snorted, "as if."

The people around them only seemed to have more and more gossip as they passed.

"They still haven't caught that man killing State Alchemists?" One person said.

"What's the military even doing?" Said another.

"I don't know, but things haven't been in control here in Central for a while. My sister and her family are even discussing moving to Westown and getting out of the city."

A new sense of dread was in Ivy's chest. We need to get out of here and wait at the hotel, it might get too dangerous. She opened her mouth to say this out loud, but she took one look at Winry's face and the words died on her tongue. She couldn't say it, not even when every fiber of her body was saying to turn back in the opposite direction. Not when Winry looked at her like that. Ivy only nodded and they broke into a run.

Past the people.

Past the broken bits of street and risen earth that had those transmutation markings she had grown to realize meant there were signs of alchemy afoot. Winry and Akasha were puffing beside her as Ivy kept to their pace, but they didn't stop running.

It was only then when a tall man with a shock of white hair aligned in their vision, two cops passed out in the alley they were slowing down to a walking pace in. A sole gun was placed between them, but Winry pushed past Ivy's shoulders, out of breath with her mind focused clearly on the sight before them as Edward's voice piped up.

Ivy's knees felt weak.

They were alive.

Edward's voice was seething and filled with fury, but he was alive. More relief flooded into Ivy's chest as she pressed forward a few steps and could make out Alphonse's armor. This is enough for now or we'll just be in the way. "- do you remember a couple of Amestrian doctors named Rockbell?"

Ivy wasn't the only one who stopped in her tracks.

Alphonse seemed to notice them just then with a look of surprise only a suit of armor with an evergoing poker face could produce. "Brother wait-"

But Edward didn't wait. His gold eyes were blazing. "When the Ishbalan Civil War was at its bloodiest, they risked their lives going to the southern front to treat refugees." He barked on, "Scar! Do you remember the kind, loving husband and wife who saved your life and whose lives you then took?!"

Scar.

Scar.

"He's this guy who can only destroy with alchemy and he wants to kill Ed and Al and all the other State Alchemists for this Civil War-"

"So Scar left the Pride Lands to kill alchemists?" Ivy chuckled to herself that day at lunch.

The memory came rushing back.

Ivy didn't see the look of horror on Edward's face when he realized they were all there. She could only just barely hear Winry's voice as it filled with horror and fear and sadness as she broke down every word Edward just said. "This is the man who killed them?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "They were doctors who helped people. They saved you.

And you killed them?"

Ivy burned this man's image into her mind.

He was tall, at least 6 foot 1, with a white undercut and blood red eyes. Ivy never knew hatred would feel so cold. She brought herself out of it when Winry collapsed to her knees. "Winry," Ivy said softly, not looking anywhere but her as she held her hand. "we need to go and-"

Winry shoved her hand away with a strong push of her arm. "I don't want to go back, I want this monster to give me back my mom and dad!" The tears fell down her face in one fell swoop, brows furrowed deeply and sobs racked her body as her hand slammed onto the gun Ivy had forgotten about and without meaning too, Ivy flinched back in a couple of steps until she realized that Winry was pointing the gun at the man in front of them and not her.

Ivy's mouth was dry as Edward and Alphonse both shouted.

"Winry, don't do it!"

"Put down the gun!"

"Winry, please."

Ivy's chest heaved heavily, her knees trembling. She looked to Akasha, hoping she would know what to do but Akasha was the only person who didn't even seem slightly in duress. She looked more annoyed than anything, glaring at Winry like the fact she was in distress was the last thing she cared about. And it was.

Ivy felt a wave of anger.

"So you're the daughter of those doctors." Scar said at last. The man had a deep voice fitting of him as he looked at Winry's display. "You have every right to shoot me. But know this," he glowered coldly, freezing Ivy to the core. "the moment you squeeze that trigger, I will consider you my enemy."

"Scar!" Alphonse snapped.

"If you lay one finger on Winry and I swear I'll-"

"You kill me?!" Scar roared at the blond. "Go ahead! This cycle of hatred won't end until one of us is dead! But don't you ever forget, it was the Amestrians that started the war! It was your people!"

Ivy fell to her knees, inching over as quickly and slowly as she could. "Winry, please." She whispered hurriedly, her eyes glued on the gun she was holding. Winry's pointed finger was lightly pressing on it; it wouldn't take much at all to make her shoot if spooked or moved suddenly. "Put down the gun, sweetheart, please. He isn't worth it because once you shoot, you can't take that back. You can't Winry, you really can't, please let's just go back home together and we can talk and cry and-"

"Yeah, you aren't going to shoot anyway so just put the gun down already before you hurt someone!" Akasha appearance's at was the last thing Ivy expected to fill her vision as the brunette appeared quickly and harshly, grabbing at the gun like she was trying to snatch away a barbie doll before Ivy could stop her and-

Pow!

Ivy's ears felt like they were going to burst, Akasha let go of the gun with a scream from the searing heat. Ivy heard the sound of earth breaking and her mind seemed to shut off as she pulled Akasha down by the collar with one arm and tugged Winry with the other as she stood up and forcefully pushed them as far as she could from where she stood before she started moving after them, only to jolt back as she felt a firm grip in her arm right before hearing the ring of alchemy and a lout burst of noise. She could barely see the flecks of black fabric and blood spatter in the air.

Was she hit by something?

Grazed?

There was a heavy presence behind her and-

The presence disappeared, replaced by the earth she stood on projecting her forward and Ivy could barely keep herself from falling on her face.

"Ivy, get them out of here!" Someone yelled after her, Ivy didn't know who and she didn't care. She thought she glimpsed something brown and black in the corner of eye but she ignored it. They didn't have to tell her twice, she broke into a sprint, grabbing Winry's arm with her right and tugging them both forward. Akasha started after them on their own. Ivy's relief outweighed her anger as they ran.

They ran and ran until she could see the sight of military police running towards them and Ivy skidded her feet to a halt. "The Elric brothers are fighting that Scar guy and they need help please-"

"Don't worry, ma'am, we're deploying someone after them right away!"

"Please, just hurry they're in danger and we had to leave them behind and- and-" Ivy couldn't get enough air as her mind fogged over, dizzy. She felt nauseous, like the ground was falling from right beneath her and she clamped her hand around her mouth to keep herself from throwing up. There was red on the ground, so much red. Where was it all coming from?

"Ivy-" was the last thing she heard before her eyes rolled back.

Ivy woke with a groan, blinking as dim yellow light filled her eyes. Her left side hurt like a bitch, she could barely move.

"Ivette?" She heard a voice to her right call, something tight clenching her hand. "Ivette!"

Blue and light yellow filled her eyes as her vision cleared up to a teary-eyed Winry looking down at her. "Wha-" Ivy coughed, her throat felt as dry as a desert. "What happened?" Ivy rasped. "Where are we?"

"This is a hospital, Ivette." Winry explained, Ivy realized the tight thing around her hand was Winry's own hand. "You fainted when the military police found us, remember?"

"No?" Ivy struggled to sit up but Winry gently forced her back down.

"You have to stay down, right now." Winry sniffed.

It was then that Ivy remembered what all had happened. The gun, Scar, Akasha. "Where's Alphonse and Edward!?" She sat up too quickly for Winry to stop her. "Where's Akasha?!" The back of her head laid on her pillow again as Winry set her down once more.

"I… I haven't seen Ed and Al since yesterday. I don't know where they are." Winry answered at last, her internal struggle showing on her face. "Akasha… she's in the hallway. We didn't know when you'd wake up. I… I don't want to see her right now." Winry's grip somehow got tighter as she trembled. "I'm so sorry, Ivette, I'm sorry. This is all my fault, I should've never picked up that gun and-"

"That wasn't your fault." Ivy squeezed back with a growl. "It's Scar's fault for killing your parents. It's Akasha's fault for trying to take the gun from you so suddenly or you wouldn't have pulled the trigger by accident. It's just one fucked situation, but it's not your fault. Not to me."

"But-"

"No 'but's or 'if's or 'and's." Ivy cut her off.

"But your arm." Winry choked out, eyes shut tightly.

What about my arm? Ivy blinked, finally remembering that spike of earth that she'd been hit with before.

Ivy shot up again, ignoring how dizzy she felt. She needed to look at her arm.

But there was nothing left to look at, the sleeve of her hospital gown tied into a knot where left arm should have been, dangling loosely from her shoulder stump. Everything below, her elbow, her forearm, everything. Gone.

As the bile rose into her throat, Ivy recalled the brown and black thing she had run past before when they were running away from the battlefield.

That had been her arm.

Author's Note

And again, another long wait for a chapter OTL. Sorry guys, I kind of took a writing break after the last chapter. A lot's been going on in my personal life, I've been taking care of one of my moms who has been diagnosed with NMO and she is currently bed written since she can't walk or feel the lower half of her body. It's been a big adjustment period for all of us, especially her since she is proud and independent person who is used to doing things on her own. So I'm trying my best to keep her spirits up, especially since I'm the only one of her kids that know the extent of how bad her condition is. So if things are sporadic in terms of updates, that's because I'm busy and looking for a new update schedule for all of the fics I'm working on.

But on a brighter note, today's (Dec 9th) my birthday so I was like 'let's get this chapter out of my drafts finally'. (And on the 11th and 19th, my moms will be celebrating their own birthdays. There's a lot more December Babies in my family too lol.)

ANYWAY, this chapter amirite folks? It's a big and heavy one, originally this was going to stop when Ivy left Akasha and the Elrics to discuss the prospects of her becoming a travel companion of theirs. But I kind of got heavy into it and was like "we're going full throttle here". And uh, considering that she caused quite the change in the original version of this moment in canon to spooking Winry into shooting, even by accident, I think we all, as a collective, can totally see that going down the drain. Originally, Ivy's arm was only going to be grazed but now as a more carefully crafted writer, I thought that would've been too light-hearted. I wanted there to be permanent consequences from Akasha's actions that cause her to re-evaluate everything she has done. She doesn't have the connections she wanted with the Elrics and because of her trying to 'help', Ivy has lost her arm and that's something she is never getting back, especially not at Akasha's current skill level in alkahestry.

The arm is gone.

Gone-gone.

(Anyone else remember Ivy and Winry's conversation in chapter 13?)

The chapter isn't perfect, but I'm happy it's out of my drafts.

bingereaderguest: Trust me, you'll definitely get more Ling perspective in Swept Away and see what his thoughts are and his behavior. But I am leaving it at that *evil chuckle*.

WelmishWyvern: You're a new face to the review section, thanks for hopping on board! If this is the story you've always wanted in your FMA fanfiction, this is for all you guys so do not fret, new reader. This is for all of us, so feel self-centered all you want. Tip that beanie! I'm glad to hear what you appreciate! I've always personally disliked EdxOC fics that never really gave Alphonse much room to grow to the OC protagonist other than 'awww, Ed's cute and nicer younger brother' and following canon. I wanted him and Ivy to have a tight relationship and without her rose-tinted glasses, she definitely notices that Edward can be pretty crude which I think most fics like to ignore or completely forget to address. And seriously, there should be more fics that surround automail more than alchemy. There's so much you can research to add to automail that it leaves more for you to play around with! So you can bet I am looking forward to heading back to Rush Valley again. I hope you enjoy this chapter once you've caught up!