Chapter 2
Beggars Can't Be Choosers
(-Andrea-)
Stay positive, Andrea. Stay positive. Think of cute bees! Tiny pandas! Alphonse holding a tray of kittens with an annoyed Edward! Think of—
Damn it.
This isn't working.
Screw optimism.
Walking straight for a few hours of walking through the jungle being slapped by giant leaves, running away from animals that could kill me, and finding no signs of human life anywhere made my optimism wilt down into utter annoyance and hopelessness. Sure, knowing that you're in Amestris would be handy, but what would be more helpful is where to go, what to do, and if I have any damn map!
Aside from searching for civilization nearby, I mentally cursed Truth for putting me in this situation. And how come I have to be the one stuck in a stupid jungle in the middle of nowhere?! Why can't it be Adrian or my best friend Leslie instead?! And what's that shit about Equivalent Exchange?!
Since I was too busy musing and fuming mentally, I didn't notice that I was walking straight forward a huge tree. Of course, since I wasn't watching where I was going, I ended up hitting my face against it.
"Ow!"
I took a few steps back, rubbing my nose gingerly. I looked up and stared at the sign that I had bumped into and glared at the said plant.
"Grrr…" I growled at the plant, glaring daggers at it in hopes of it burning down to the ground. At that moment, I heard a loud growl erupt. I turned around, expecting to find some sort of bear or a wild kangaroo but I found nothing. Instead, the growl grew louder and I found out that it came from my stomach.
I dropped my head and held my stomach, comical tears leaking out of my eyes. "I'm sooo hungry…" I moaned.
What should I do now? I know that I have to hunt some food to get some grub in my stomach, but the mere thought of eating rabbit skin or any meat from random animals around here made my stomach lurch instead.
No. No way am I eating for an innocent bunny. I'm going for some fish.
I started looking around the bushes in search of a long sharp stick or anything similar to it so I can use it as a weapon. Luckily, there was a thick wooden pole beside a bunch of sharp rocks. Using the rocks sharp surface, I shaped the end of the pole and made a pretty sturdy make-shift spear.
It looked pathetic, but as long as I can hunt with this thing, you can't see my complaining.
After roaming around the area, I finally ended up at a beach, which made me think that Truth sent me on an island in the middle of nowhere, which also lead me to curse Truth for the umpteenth time, which also lead me to getting tired and eventually giving up and resuming my hunting.
When I woke up from earlier, I found out that I was still wearing my attire before I was sent to Amestrs; an ordinary purple shirt with a batman design in the center and brown shorts with some short length combat boots. Since I was going to have to fish, I took off my boots and socks and tied my hair up. I then walked into th freezing cold water, hoping an innocent fat and delicious fish would end up impaled by my spear and that there were no sharks or any dangerous marine critters around.
It was ten minutes later did I spot my first fish. My mouth watered slightly at the sight of my new lunch and I gripped my wooden spear tightly, holding it up in the air and staying still.
PLOP!
"YES! YES!" I cried out victoriously, holding out my stick with the fish impaled in the center. "I GOT A FISHIE!"
Said fish wiggled in my stick, almost making me drop it. Good thing I kept a good grip on my sharp stick because that would mean I'd lose my lunch.
I walked back to the shore, drying my feet before wearing my socks and shoes again. I collected a few more sticks, bark, and lots of leaves and some small rocks before trying my best to make a fire.
Let me tell you, making a fire isn't as easy as poof. They don't just light up as soon as you clap your hands, nor do you clap two rocks together and expect NOT to get your thumbs hurting like hell.
"Dammit!" I cried exasperatedly, rubbing my face and throwing the two rocks away. I glared at the wood and leaves before crossing my arms over my chest and thinking; what's the easiest way to make fire without hurting you thumbs?
Suddenly, a light bulb switched open in my head.
Digging through my pocket, I found one of my dad's old lens from his glasses. I grinned before looking up at the sky, using my hand to cover the sun from blinding me. I placed the lens over the wood, magnifying one the sun rays and aiming it straight over my camp fire.
My grin turned into a smile when a spark lit up one the wood, spreading all inside the circle of rocks I made to surround the fire. I stood up and did a little happy dance before taking another smaller stick and using it to impale the fish. I stuck the fish stick between some rocks and watched as its silvery color skin turned golden brown.
I sat on the ground, waiting patiently for my supper to cook. While doing so, my mind trailed to the screwed up situation I got myself into.
'Damn, Adrian and Mama would be flipping tables by now.' I thought sadly. 'Geez, I only hope they won't call the police or anything extreme. But even if they did, they won't be able to find me since I'm here in Amestris.'
I sigh and huddled my legs near me, hugging them close. I placed my chin over my knees, feeling a wave of homesickness take over me.
(-Andrea-)
After munching my supper, I made a make-shift bed out of some big leaves I saw on the dirt. I laid down on the leaves, staring up at the sky, feeling a sense of tranquility and peace at being under the blanket of stars.
"All is One, and One is All." I murmured, smiling a bit because of the nostalgia and memories that flashed through my eyes when watching FMA with my bro.
Honestly speaking, I felt a bit sad that I'm not home and that I'm not with my family, but what's done has been set in stone. I have to place my head on straight and look forward. Musing over the past won't exactly make a portal appear in front of me, right? I gotta figure out a way to go home.
But then a though came. I'm in Amestris! Why not have some fun while looking for a way home? A tiny voice suggested in my mind. I smirked at the thought and decided that maybe I could have some fun. Besides, what's the worse that could happen?
As if Truth heard me (I think he did), the sound of thunder erupted. I twitched my eye with annoyance as rain drops poured down like buckets.
"DAMN IT TRUTH! THAT WAS A RHETORICAL QUESTION!"
(-Truth-)
The ethereal being chuckled to himself, watching as the teenage girl broke out swearing at his very existence once more. It was amusing to see her reactions at all the misfortunes that come her way.
But this wasn't the reason why Truth brought her here. No, bringing a human from the other world is against its own rules. But this human— no, she wasn't human. After crossing the forbidden boundaries, a toll should've been paid. But she didn't pay a toll; she simply transferred gates.
Truth, honestly, hated it when he gets cheated, especially by a mere mortal. It took years to find her, but he finally did, and he was dead set in making her pay for her sins in her previous life.
Truth grinned. Oh you silly little human, the game has only begun.
(-Andrea-)
I breathed on both hands, rubbing them profusely in an attempt to warm my freezing hands. When the rain shower turned into a powerful pour-down, I quickly took refuge under a cluster of huge rocks that looked oddly like Pride Rock from the Lion King.
Ironic, Truth. Very, very ironic.
My socks and boots were on top of another rock. Taking the gusts of winds as an advantage to dry them must've been pretty smart for me, but it was still uncomfortable due to the fact that the winds were cold as ice.
I rubbed my arms, trying to create enough friction to warm myself. I heaved in a few breaths unsteadily and huddled closer to myself and the wall of the rock.
I closed my eyes momentarily before standing up abruptly, a throbbing vein appearing on my forehead. I pounded my fist on my open palm before gritting my teeth.
"The next time I see that bastard, I'm going to make sure he'll never be able to grin like that ever again!" I hissed under my breath. I probably looked like I was in comical anger, and that would be right.
I plopped down in the ground. I laid my head on the wall, feeling sleepy and tired. I mean, who wouldn't be after cursing the ethereal being of this damn universe? Stupid bloody bastard. How dare he make my life even worse!
I sigh heavily before feeling my eyelids droop. Seeing the battle against staying awake was useless, I just gave in and let myself fall asleep into a sweet, blank, but peaceful dream.
(-Andrea-)
A week.
A very painful but satisfying week has passed by.
And I'm still on this island.
Frankly, I'm surprised that I myself out of a people have survived for this long without my electronics and gadgets with me. Usually it would take me a few hours to freak out if I get bored since I have an extremely short attention span, unless it's something very amusing and entertaining.
The edges of my clothes were slightly ripped and my curly hair has been totally tangled and uncontrollable ever since day 4 of no shampoo. I've settled for taking showers in the rivers nearby, but since I had no idea how to make shampoo, I would ignore my hair. I even stopped combing it and only settled for finger combing it. Screw appearances, I needed to survive! This ain't no time for petty bullshit.
That rock cave back there? It became my little home. Though it wasn't as nicely furnished as my old room, I was pretty satisfied that I made a bed, a small grill out of a flat rock plate over the fire, and a bunch of weapons made out wood.
Right now, I'm sitting on the dirt ground near my cave, trying my best to figure out how the hell to do Alchemy right. I already got stuck in making a perfect circle (how on Earth can alchemists make perfect circles?! That takes huge skill!), which quickly discouraged me from trying alchemy.
But since I was too stubborn for my own good, I made a make shift compass out of two sticks and a sturdy vine, creating a perfect circle. The next step, from what I recall in the anime, was the signs and symbols in Alchemy.
There were various symbols in Alchemy. An example of this is the triangle symbol, which signifies fire. If you turn the triangle upside down, it signifies water. If you place a side T on the triangle, it signifies earth.
Do you remember Roy Mustang's ignition gloves? If you inspect the transmutation circle, you'll see a triangle. Fire. And since he's the Flame Alchemist, triangles should be part of his transmutation equation.
Though there is an exception; unlike regular alchemists, those who have seen the Truth (ex. Izumi, Edward, Alphonse…) could make their own inner circle. The circle is only formed once you gather the components of your ingredients and that you are able to perform alchemy, thus a circle is made inside you. I theorize that the inner circle is only formed when you clap your hands.
Ironically, the very same clapping position is like doing a prayer to God, as if you're telling Truth 'Please transform the components in the blood into an iron sword' or something like that.
You may be wondering how I know all this shiz when I can't even memorize the laws of algebraic operations. The answer to that is Science is my favorite subject and I love learning new things.
Well… there's that and I looked forward in dissecting frogs and pigs
…
Alchemy lessons and trivia aside, I've learned that doing Alchemy and learning about it is two different things. Just because you know what Alchemy is, doesn't mean that you can do it.
Sure, I know what Alchemy is. It's the Science wherein one understands the components of matter, breaks it down, then reconstructs it into an entirely new object.
But there's problem no. 1; I DON'T FREAKING KNOW HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE STRUCTURE OF DIRT. HOW THE HELL COULD I KNOW WHAT DIRT IS MADE OF?! I'D SAY IT'S MADE OUT OF SHIT AND DUST FROM ANIMALS!
And besides, if I did know what dirt was made of, I definitely don't know how to decompose it. Nor could I reconstruct it.
Damn you Edward Elric. All you do is clap your hands and BOOM you got the great pyramid of Egypt in yo sand box.
The only useful information I have in my head is the fact that I memorize a few Alchemy symbols. Using that knowledge to my advantage, I drew the very same transmutation circle Alphonse uses when he does his transmutations.
I huffed, satisfied that I actually made the circle with ease. I placed my hands on the circle, eyeing it carefully.
"Alright Alchemy," I started. "You may be one stubborn git, but I'm not giving up. I will learn you! Mark my words!"
With that, I exhaled. I then tried my best— really, I did— to understand the structure of dirt.
Tick tock…
Tick tock…
Tick tock…
"AH SCREW THIS!"
(-Izumi-)
In all her life, Izumi never thought that she would ever find herself teaching yet another stupid and ignorant child.
Ever since she taught the Elric Brothers Alchemy, she had been wondering; what on earth made her go soft and consider teaching both of those idiots?
But… even if they were idiots, they did impress her greatly. Such as the way Edward was able to pick out the comprehension of matter so quickly and how his little brother Alphonse could understand her lessons when she spoke vaguely of each one.
Though the great Alchemist won't admit it, teaching the Elric brothers was quite amusing and enjoyable to say the least. It was as if she had her very own children, scolding them when they did their transmutations wrong and throwing them out the window and beating them with a stick whenever she heard them call her 'old lady'. (Specifically, it was Edward who said that.)
Today was another normal day with her husband chopping off the meat of some poor, poor critter and flaying it alive. She was only sitting in her bed, reading a book, when she suddenly had this urge to go back to her training island.
Izumi couldn't explain why. It was almost as if a voice lulled her to do so.
So here she is, on the boat, with her husband rowing it towards the little island. It was strange why Izumi wanted to go here, since she knew that this place held little to no memories of her teachings with Edward and Alphonse nor did it hold any memories of her life before that.
She hopped off the boat and landed on the sandy beach. She turned her head from left to right, wondering what on earth she should be looking for when something caught her eye.
Izumi walked towards the left side of the coast, finding a make-shift camp fire, just in between of the soil of the island and sand of the beach. She held one of the charred sticks, rubbing it between her fingers.
"What is it Izumi?" Sig asked her from behind. She turned towards her husband and showed her the charred piece.
"Someone has been here recently." Izumi stated as she inspected the piece closer. "I'll say this was made a few days earlier."
The couple quickly turned suspicious and highly alert. Not much people knew about this little island, let alone set foot in here for the rumors of it being haunted by ghosts and the sort. Only she, Sig, Mason, Edward and Alphonse entered this island.
Feelings her suspicions arise, she started wondering off inside the small jungle. She was wondering who on earth could possibly be stupid enough and insanely brave enough to come here when a wooden spear came hurdling towards her from behind.
It was an obvious tactic, really. Izumi moved her head to the left, dodging the spear efficiently and snapping her head around. She narrowed her dark eyes and clapped her hands together before slamming them on the ground.
"Kyaa!"
The ground where Izumi suspected the infiltrator to be standing on grew into a gigantic pillar which pushed the trespasser forward, forcing her to land on her backside, albeit painfully.
"Damn that hurt like a—" the trespasser said before her eyes settled towards Izumi.
Izumi looked at the trespasser closely. Dark brown curly hair, bright blue eyes and slightly tanned skin; those were normal traits of a regular Amestrian, at least. From the looks of her slightly ripped clothes and dirtied face, Izumi could tell that she was the one who made the fire back at the coast.
"Who are you?" Izumi asked, her eyes narrowed.
The girl gaped at her before blinking and bowing down at her repeatedly. "I'm so sorry if I trespassed! Please forgive me! Don't hurt me! I didn't know where I was, how I got here or what the hell I'm doing here! So please spare my life!"
Izumi stared at this girl with a deadpan expression. Was she honestly that intimidating at first glance?
"What do you mean you don't know how you got here?"
The girl stopped bowing and looked at Izumi. "U-uh, well, when I first woke up here, I don't remember about going to his island. As for who I am, I'm Andrea Jhones."
Izumi looked at her with a raise eyebrow. She could tell that she was being honest in her identity and her story.
Andrea, or who she said she was, stood up slowly and held her right arm, rubbing it as she looked away to the side. "I honestly don't know how I ended up here, Miss. I only remember… my parents smiling faces then…"
Izumi's eyes softened partially. An orphan? She sigh internally, wondering how many of them have been abandoned or has lost their parents due to the raging wars.
"Uh miss! Can I ask you a question?"
Izumi turned to the brunette. "What is it?" she asked.
Andrea turned away, her finger scratching her cheek lightly. "Er… what you did earlier… it was Alchemy, wasn't it?" she asked for confirmation.
"Yes." Izumi answered, though she figured what the girl might say next. She bet 500 cenz that this girl would ask her to teach her Alche—
"Please teach me Alchemy!"
See? What did she tell you?
Izumi immediately responded with a 'no', much to Andrea's dismay. But when a series of pleads, begs, and with the brunette clinging to her leg, Izumi twitched her eye and violently kicked said girl off.
"Please!" Andrea begged once more, her hands in a praying position.
"Why do you want to learn alchemy anyway?" Izumi asked, irritation brewing inside her.
"Because I need to fulfill my promise!"
Taken aback, Izumi stared at the young girl. Her eyes were full of sincerity and honesty, which made Izumi pause and stare at her.
Finally, Izumi heaved a sigh before spinning her heel around and walking towards the opposite side. "Come with me." She said as she walked.
Andrea tilted her head in question. "Heh?"
Izumi glanced over her shoulder. "You said you want to learn Alchemy, right? Then starting now, I'm your teacher. And as my student, you're obliged to listen to me, got it?"
When Andrea stared at her dumbly, Izumi grew a tickmark.
"I said, GOT IT?!"
Andrea squeaked in fright before nodding vigorously and giving Izumi a thumbs up. "Y-y-yes ma'am!" she cried.
Izumi nodded but halted in her steps. "I'm Izumi Curtis." She introduced herself before sparing her new student another glance.
With a grin, Andrea nodded. "I look forward to your lessons, Teacher!" she said happily.
Izumi smirked internally. Heh, just you wait…
[A/N:] Did I do it right? Did I understand Izumi's personality enough? Does Andrea's lack of swear words and impatience seem weird to you? DAMMIT GUYS IF YOU DON'T TELL ME I'LL FREAK OUT!
*sigh* Putting that aside, you might be wondering why I include trivia in this chapter about Alchemy. The reason behind this is because I found out that being an Alchemist isn't as easy as clap-slam-boom as it seems in the series. It's sort of frustrating how some writers can't see this! I mean, hello! Deconstructing matter with only a clap and making things go boom easily?! NOT EASY PEOPLE!
Honestly, after researching the history, meaning, branches, symbols, and other things relating to Alchemy, my head was spinning as if I rode the roller coaster dozens of times. Geez, how on earth can Alchemists stand having so much info stuffed into their brains?!
*ahem!*
Anyways, I've edited a few things from Chapter 1. Andrea was supposed to land in the island where Izumi Curtis had Edward and Alphonse train themselves, not a desolated area in the middle of God-knows-where.
Phew! Alchemy is tough. Now I know why most people would rather be plumbers or shop tenders instead of being awesome alchemists. Damn those alchemists and their amazing ability to store tons of info in their brains…
Welp, see ya'll in the next chapter. If you're wondering about Andrea's personality, check my profile.
Bye-bye and please review! ^^