Chapter 1 – Calm Before the Storm

August 1st, 1935

Nestled in the southeastern countryside of Amestris was the small town known as Resembool. It was the residence of the well-known alchemist Edward Elric, who had years ago retired from his title as Fullmetal. It was also home to the well-known automail shop known as Rockbell Prosthetic Limb Outfitters. The shop drew customers from as far as Rush Valley, Dublith, and even South City. The late Pinako Rockbell had opened the shop years ago in her large home on the outskirts of town. She had been succeeded ten years before by her granddaughter Winry Elric, who went by her maiden name Rockbell for business dealings. The shop continued to be operated from the family home: an old, wood and brick building with beige siding and green trim. The rolling green pastureland surrounding it made for a pleasant pastoral scene.

Late afternoon sun shone down on the home's spacious backyard. Two teenage girls stood facing off in the middle of the lawn. One was slightly taller, her golden hair falling in loose ringlets just past her shoulders. A light green blouse draped over her curves in a casual way. The other girl was of a slighter, wirier build than the blonde. Her black hair hung in long waves over her back and shoulders, vaguely reminiscent of the palm tree spikes possessed by her father. A light grey shirt hugged her slim upper body leaving part of her midriff bare, while soft soled boots came to just below her knees over black leggings. The blonde shifted, her large blue eyes uneasy as she looked for an opening. A moment later she darted forward and struck out at her opponent. The dark haired girl easily blocked the hesitant blow aimed at her, grey eyes flashing with exasperation as she stepped away from the blonde.

"You call that a punch? You hit like a girl," her tone was accusatory.

"I am a girl," the blonde pointed out, straightening up from her stance.

"Yeah, well you aren't supposed to hit like one. Seriously, how many times have we been over this?" the dark haired girl demanded.

"I don't see why hitting like a girl is the equivalent to hitting weakly. Haven't you ever seen my mom chuck a wrench before?" the blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Aunt Winry is a freak of nature," the other girl retorted, "Quit changing the subject. I know you can hit better than that,"

"Mina, I don't like hitting people," the blonde complained.

"And I don't like getting up early, but that doesn't stop you from dragging me out of bed at the crack of dawn every morning. Now suck it up and hit me, Adele," the dark haired girl ordered, settling back into a fighting stance impatiently. The girl in front of her grimaced, brushing her curls back from her face before hesitantly sinking into a stance of her own. Elmina rolled her eyes, "Don't look so enthusiastic. You're scaring me," her tone was dry. Adele stuck her tongue out, raising her arms in a guard. The two girls stared at each other for a moment. Then the blonde lunged forward swiftly, closing the distance between them as she struck out with another punch at Elmina's face, putting more of her weight behind it. Elmina knocked it aside with a rising block before side stepping to allow the blonde's momentum to continue past her. But instead of staggering past her friend as was expected, Adele quickly reversed her forward momentum, swinging around to deliver a kick to her friend's exposed side. Elmina blinked in surprise, nimbly darting out of range of the attack before raising an eyebrow.

"Somebody's getting sneaky," she commented blandly. Adele sighed, straightening up and giving her friend a bemused look.

"I do know how to fight you know. Between you and Sara and AJ it would be amazing if I hadn't learned some stuff by now," the blonde commented.

"Doesn't matter how much you've learned if you refuse to practice regularly," Elmina retorted, relaxing from her guarded stance. The sound of someone clearing their throat drew both girls' attention to a figure at the back door of the shop.

"It never ceases to amaze me how you can twist Adele's arm into just about anything when you put your mind to it. Not even Sara can force her to spar anymore," the newcomer commented.

"AJ," Elmina greeted the young man. He was leaning in the doorway, arms crossed as he observed them. The sleeves of his loose shirt were rolled up past his elbows while a tool belt hung from his hips, various screwdrivers and wrenches glinting in the late afternoon sun. His hands and arms were streaked with grime and the occasional grease stain adorned his clothing. Straight brown hair fell to his shoulders, bangs sweeping across his forehead in a way that mirrored his mother's golden locks. The color set him apart from the rest if his blonde family. It was a trait inherited from his grandmother Trisha, just like Adele's curls.

"And to what honor do we owe this unexpected visit from our resident gear hermit Allen James?" the dark haired girl asked skeptically, resting a hand on her hip as she turned to face him. AJ's lips quirked in a laid back smile

"I'm just taking a brief break and wanted some fresh air. Besides, I wouldn't be such a hermit if the two of you would come visit me in the shop more often. Given the number of rush orders that came in this week I can't exactly spend the day chilling with you while you play around with alchemy and attack each other," he replied blandly.

"Mina isn't allowed to play around with alchemy. If you recall, she blew up our basement last time she tried that," Adele shot her dark haired friend a small grin. Elmina rolled her eyes.

"Not everyone is a prodigy alchemist like you Adele," she muttered. The blonde giggled slightly.

"It doesn't matter whether I'm a prodigy or not. You and alchemy aren't a healthy combination."

"Yeah well, you wouldn't last 30 seconds against me in a real fight," Mina retorted. Adele smiled sheepishly in reply.

"By the way, Dad called earlier," AJ commented, expression growing sober. Both girls glanced at him in surprise.

"And?" Elmina demanded eagerly. The news that Uncle Al was unconscious in the hospital had come as quite a shock to the family. They still hadn't been informed of all the details, only that Al had been found passed out and taken to be checked over in Central. Her father, Envy, had remained in Central all week with Uncle Ed while they waited for some change in the unconscious man's condition, but so far he'd remained unresponsive.

"Nothing new," the brown haired mechanic shook his head, "Uncle Al still hasn't woken up yet," his tone was uneasy. Elmina frowned, glancing at Adele. Her friend's hands were clenched into fists.

"I wish I was there," the blonde's voice was tight, the distress plain in her expression, "I could do something! I could help him," she turned pleading eyes on her older brother. AJ sighed.

"You don't know that. Your experience is limited to what you've gone over with Elior, and he's a doctor. If the doctors at the hospital don't know what's wrong, I'm not sure you'd be able to help," he pointed out, tone resigned. Adele frowned.

"I won't know unless I try," she muttered, staring at the ground.

Elmina stared at her friend sympathetically. She could understand her frustration. It was precisely for a situation like this that the blonde had been working so hard to hone her alchemic skills. She had spent years learning to use alchemy as a medical tool. It was possible to use alchemic power to augment the body's natural healing process, speeding things up and reducing the chances of permanent damage to whatever was affected. The technique was limited by the overall strength and health of the body itself and would be impossible for an average alchemist to attempt. It required too much finesse and an intricate understanding of the elements of a living creature. But Adele had been born with a natural talent that surpassed even her father and older sister Sara. She had a mind for it, and her patience and personality made her especially well-suited for the difficult field she'd chosen to tackle. Elior, Rose's son, had come up with the original idea. Having been trained as a doctor, he possessed much of the knowledge of anatomy which Adele had required. That, together with Sara's access to the large pool of knowledge provided to state alchemists, had allowed the younger girl to pursue the idea and make it a reality.

Elmina shook her head. She respected her friend's passion, but she'd never understood how the blonde could become so single-mindedly focused on such tediously boring things for hours at a stretch. Long after Elmina would be ripping her hair out and breaking things in frustration, Adele would continue to sit and ponder a complex alchemic challenge until she came up with a solution. Her patience level far exceeded the dark haired girl's. On top of which, Adele had made a valid point about her friend's skill with alchemy; mainly that she had none. Not that this particularly bothered Elmina. After discovering how abysmally complicated and annoying transmutations tended to be, she'd lost all interest in it. Her passions lay in a very different realm; one of sweat, adrenalin, and an intense focusing of the mind down to each moment, each breath, as one's body reacted without even needing to think. For Adele combat was a painful, high stress situation to be avoided at all costs. For Elmina it was a thrill.

"AJ, we're both old enough to take the train to Central," Elmina crossed her arms, fixing the brown haired boy with a stubborn look. AJ shook his head.

"Look, if it were me I'd let you go. But you know as well as I do that both of our fathers have forbidden any of us from joining them there," he replied. Elmina blew several strands of hair out of her face in exasperation.

"I know! But why? It doesn't make any sense!" she protested. AJ shrugged.

"Beats the hell out of me. But I'm sure they have their reasons," his tone was resigned.

"Then why won't they share those reasons with us?" Elmina demanded. AJ's expression shifted, growing somewhat guarded. Elmina's eyes narrowed. "What are you hiding?" she asked suspiciously. He grimaced, glancing away.

"I'm not hiding anything. It's just idle speculation on my part… but if I had to take a guess I'd say they somehow stirred up something from their past that they don't want us involved in," his tone was flat. Elmina blinked, slightly taken aback.

"Something from their pasts?" Adele asked uncertainly.

"Like what?" Elmina demanded with a frown. AJ sighed.

"I'm not sure. You know they aren't exactly chatty about that stuff, so I don't know any more than you do. But that place called the Underground City is supposedly in Central right? And Al seemed a bit odd when they headed out to visit Uncle Envy and Aunt Elsie. They left with barely any explanation and now they're in Central because something is wrong with Uncle Al and they don't want any of us to go visit… Seems a little fishy if you ask me," he replied simply. Elmina stared at him uneasily. They all knew their parents had somewhat colorful, complicated pasts. Well…maybe that was an understatement for her own parents. They had always been rather vague on the details and she'd always figured their stories were a little farfetched. But she knew there was at least some truth to their wild tales. The Underground City had been mentioned occasionally, usually in the context of some villainous old lady that had caused a lot of trouble for her parents and uncles in the past.

"Do you think it might be something serious?" Elmina questioned, a frown still on her features.

"I don't know. But if it's important I'm sure we'll find out eventually," AJ's tone wasn't overly concerned. He pushed off the doorframe and stretched his arms over his head with a yawn. "I should probably get back to work. By the way, isn't your mom arriving soon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Adele's eyes lit up.

"That's right! Aunt Elsie is coming today. We should go meet her at the station," the blonde suggested eagerly. Elmina shot her a wilted look. Her mother had decided to leave the butchers shop in the hands of Mason and Sig so she could help Winry out with Ed and Al's absence. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her mother; after all, she'd been away from home for several weeks now. But she recognized her friend's eagerness as more than just excitement over getting to see her favorite aunt.

"You'll take any excuse to get out of sparring," the dark haired girl muttered resignedly. Adele grinned, recognizing the defeat in her friend's tone.

"You girls had better head out now if you want to be there when she arrives," AJ said, strolling back into the shop.

"Alright!" Adele agreed, turning to walk briskly from the yard. Elmina shook her head and followed after her with a resigned smile.

The shop was located on the outskirts of Resembool, a good fifteen minute walk from the town center. The two girls strolled down the road side by side, walking at a leisurely pace.

"I hope you realize I'm going to make you spar again later," Elmina glanced at her friend pointedly. Adele rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Can't you leave it be? It's a beautiful day out, we should enjoy it. I know! Why don't we walk out to that field where they're grazing livestock?" she suggested.

"We went there yesterday," Elmina pointed out, "And no, I'm not going to leave it be."

"I never force you to practice alchemy," Adele turned a plaintive gaze on her friend. Elmina smirked slightly.

"Because that would be bad for our health," she retorted dryly. Adele sighed.

"Where am I going to use these fighting skills anyway? It's not like I go around provoking people all the time like someone I know," she raised an eyebrow at the dark haired girl. Elmina shook her head.

"Face it, you're jailbait. You'd be a walking target in some parts of Dublith," her tone was serious. Adele snorted.

"I'm hardly jailbait. And besides, I don't live in Dublith," she replied.

"You spend extended periods of time there!" Elmina pointed out, her tone frustrated. The blonde smirked.

"Yeah, but I'm with you 24/7 when I'm there," she pointed out. Elmina sighed in exasperation.

"I can't protect you from everything you know. What if we got separated?" she demanded. Adele shook her head.

"You worry too much. It's not like we live in a war zone," she replied unconcernedly. Elmina shot a glare at her friend.

"You are as stubborn as a mule," she muttered. Adele let out a laugh.

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Besides, it runs in my family," she replied lightly. The dark haired girl rolled her eyes.

A breeze swept past the two girls, blowing a cloud of dust down the dirt road. Despite the heat in the late summer wind, a chill prickled across Elmina's shoulders and down her spine. She stumbled slightly as an unpleasant, alien sensation invaded her core. It felt suspiciously similar to dread. She paused for a moment, glancing back over her shoulder in bewilderment, her gaze drawn to the small forest a fair distance from the road.

"Hey, are you ok?" Adele's tone was perplexed as she glanced back at her friend. Elmina frowned.

"Do you feel that?" she asked uncertainly, gaze still fixed on the forest. She didn't usually get premonitions, but she was suddenly getting a very bad feeling. It didn't make any sense, but the sheer intensity of the emotion was alarming.

"Feel what?" her friend stared at her blankly. "Is something wrong?" Her tone grew slightly concerned. Elmina glanced back at the blonde.

"I…" she trailed off, gaze returning to the forest. The feeling was already receding, disappearing as rapidly as it had arrived. Maybe her imagination was just playing tricks on her… It wasn't a typical occurrence, but then again, she'd been missing more sleep than usual thanks to her blond friend's habit of early rising...

"Uh…never mind…" she replied. With a final uneasy glance at the patch of trees she turned and continued pressing forward down the road. Adele blinked, a little confused by her friend's uncharacteristic behavior.

"Um…ok," she hastened to catch up with her.

-Author's Note-

Happy New Year! We all survived to 2014! I find this miraculous after the year I've had, but hey! Crazy stuff happens XD

So there you have it! First chapter of the story. I know it's painfully short, especially after that long prologue, but it's a necessary evil. Originally when I first started writing all of the chapters were massive. Then one of my beta readers kindly pointed out that it would probably work better if I split the chapters up. She was right. So occasionally there will be a short chapter like this one, although the majority will be longer than this. They'll also have a little more action in them…it pains me to have to first chapter consisting of just light chit-chat between character's you barely know...but…I've gotta introduce them somehow…

So you've met 3 of my main OC's! Just five more to go (counting the villains...which make their appearance next chapter...I'm excited xD). It is my hope that you will grow to love these characters (or at least tolerate them) as you get to know them. I'm not sure how it happened, but each of them waltzed into my mind almost fully formed from the start and demanded that I write them. So I hope you find them interesting rather than annoying and tedious… *sheepish*

I've decided I'll upload a chapter every Wednesday. That way I can pretty much guarantee I'll have the story finished before I run out of chapters. Chapter 2 is where the action begins! So hang tight if you found this chapter somewhat boring. I promise it gets better ;)