The Elemental Alchemist Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I wish I owned it, but I don't.
Pairings: EdoxOC one sided AlxOC
Mana Bradley opened her eyes and looked around her bedroom. She lay on her bed as she had done for the past month since the accident.
Why, Dad? I thought you loved me, Mana thought.
"Mana dear. Are you awake?"
"Yes Momma."
Mana's mother came close to the bed with a breakfast tray laden with food for daughter and herself, as always.
"The doctor called this morning. He said that those bones will never heal and that if you ever want to walk again your leg will have to come off. Your arm too."
" How will I walk if my left leg is missing? I'll be even more helpless than I am now!"
"Auto mail replacements. Just like your idol."
"Edward Elric," Mana said in a dreamy voice," You know, I just realized that he has the same limbs missing that I will; the left leg and the right arm."
"The doctor said we need to find a good mechanic before we can remove anything. I'm looking for a good mechanic nearby."
" But Momma, how will we afford this? Already the doctor bills are sky high, with a mechanic bill we won't have any money left!"
" We'll manage, don't you worry."
The doorbell sounded and Mana's mother set the tray down and went to answer it.
Left alone, Mana thought about how she would feel with an auto mail arm and leg. She wanted to be a State Alchemist so bad and the ability of walking she couldn't be. She needed two hands for her alchemy and two legs to travel.
Mana tried to prop herself up on pillows so she could eat but as usual, she couldn't. Pain shot from her broken shoulder all the way down her spine.
"I wonder who's at the door," she said to herself.
Mana heard a crash and her mother cry out.
"Momma!"
Mana struggled with blankets and pain as she clumsily scrambled out of her bed. She hobbled down the hall towards the dining room, the source of the crash.
"What's wrong!"
Mana reached the dining room, her mother was on the floor huddled over a pile of crystal. Around her were two people she had seen only in newspaper articles. One of them was wearing a huge suit of armor. The other wore a red overcoat with a hood and an alchemic symbol on the back. He had long blonde hair that was braided down the middle of his back, his bangs hung down and he had a cowlick the stood straight up at the part in his bangs as he assisted Mana's mother gather all the pieces of crystal.
When all the pieces were assembled on the dining table, the blonde clapped his hands together once, making a slightly metallic sound as they connected. He then placed his hands on the broken crystal, a blue light shone from an alchemic reaction. When the light faded the crystal dish was whole again with no signs of even a scratch.
"Thank you, please be more careful that's my favorite dish. If you'll excuse me a minute, I need to go check on my daughter."
Ashleigh Bradley turned to find her daughter in the doorway clutching the doorframe with her left hand. Her right arm was dangling lifeless at her side. Her left leg looked as though it had been dragged behind her. She was pale and looked like she was in excruciating pain.
"Mana, you should be in bed."
" I came to help my Momma. You know I still can; broken arm and leg or not."
"This hotheaded blonde broke my favorite dish is all."
"I thought you'd been hurt."
"I was, that is, I would have been devastated if it couldn't have been fixed. Mana dear, do you know who these boys are?"
"Of course, they are part of the reason I want to be a State Alchemist; to do good, like the Elric Brothers."
Mana's vision blurred and her good knee went weak as she blacked out.
"Ohh!" she cried.
Mana grabbed for the doorframe and missed because she couldn't see it. She lost her balance and, forgetting her leg was broken, stepped down on it. Pain shot up her leg to her neck. Just as she was about to fall someone caught her. That someone picked her up and in a moment she was set on the sofa in the den.
Her head beginning to stop spinning, Mana opened her eyes as they came into focus and saw the blonde Elric leaning over her.
"That's happened every time she gets up ever since the accident."
"What happened to her?" came a hollow sounding young voice from inside the armor.
"Her father, a month ago, felt she was becoming too skilled an alchemist. She can do things he can't. He's jealous of the daughter he taught. He's—"Ashleigh's voice trailed off.
"He pushed me from a sixth story roof, trying to kill me. Some how I only shattered my right shoulder and my left kneecap. I have to get them removed now but Momma can't find a good mechanic anywhere."Mana said before her mother could say anything else.
"My mech is a close friend of mine and makes the best auto mail in the world. I could give her a call if you want," Ed said.
"Could you really! I want my daughter to walk again so much, I'll pay any price."
" If you don't mind me using your phone, I could give her a call now," Ed said.
"Oh, of course. It's on the washboard in the dining room. And watch the crystal!" Ashliegh called as Ed ran out of the room, Al following at a more slow pace.
" Now do you see why I idolize him? And you know, he's nowhere near as short as some say, I think he's even taller than me…I can't believe I've been in the company of the best looking State Alchemist!"
Ed and Al came in the room as Mana said this. Mana turned her head towards them and blushed so deep her ears turned purple. Ashleigh smiled at her daughter's embarrassment.
"I – uh -- told Winry about your situation and she and her grandmother will be here in a few days," Ed stuttered slightly.
"You don't knowb how much this means to us. I don't know how we'll ever repay the two of you for your kindness. After all, we did just meet."
Oooh whassup with that? I wonder. Tune in. review plz. special thanx to Wing it who encouraged this fic and told me how to upload to the site. thankies Wing!