Chapter 1

Summary: Two years after The Promised Day, the rebuilding of Ishval has begun and with growing tension along the southern border, pro-war rebels are on the move. The Elric brothers are called to the front lines along with a team handpicked by Mustang, but deceit runs deep and not everyone wants to see peace come to fruition. /OC-centric/ AlOC EdOC Royai

August 20, 1917

Ishval was a topic that no one liked to talk about, but couldn't ignore. There was always a reminder somewhere. Sometimes it was stepping too far outside of the city and stumbling into the slums where refugees resided. Other times it was seeing a soldier in the midst of a PTSD induced flashback. And once a year there was no way it could be ignored because a memorial service would interrupt daily life. Remember the fallen and honor the ones that lived.

Her Amestrian side understood the pain that the country had suffered - she herself had an uncle on her mother's side who would never return home. But her Ishvalan side was restless. Where was the justice for the Ishvalan people? She lost relatives - people she knew and only heard of- in the war, no, massacre. Every day the cultures warred inside of her.

"Hey, Yasha," a voice called to her. Her burgundy eyes looked up to meet blue. "I've got the leftover metal your mom wanted."

"Oh," she muttered, closing the notebook she had been reading. Standing up from the Rockbell's living room couch, she moved to pick up the wooden crate. "Thanks, I'll run the payment over later."

"You okay?" Winry asked. "You were pretty much glaring at that notebook like it offended you."

Aiyasha rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, really. Just got a lot on my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really. It's the same old thing. Should I really be practicing to become a state alchemist or should I just live the rest of my life in the countryside like a good little Amestrian."

"I think we both know the answer to that." Aiyasha stared her best friend down, clutching the crate. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I mean really, I can't see you staying in Resembool for the rest of your life, you'd drive yourself and your mother crazy. Plus, all that research and training would be wasted."

"You know, you're starting to sound surprisingly pro-military."

"It's not pro-military, it's pro-make the country better. I mean we all gotta live in it, why not find ways to make it better?" Aiyasha couldn't fight that comment because it was a phrase she often said. "Now, your mom's waiting for her material and I'm sure you've got some training to do."

"Yeah, yeah."

Aiyasha made her way out of the house and down the road. It was August and blazing hot-her tank top sticking to her as sweat dripped off her forehead.

"Took you long enough!" Her mother, Leanne, teased as she walked through the door. "I was beginning to think you skipped town!"

"Mom, that only happened once," Aiyasha smiled, setting the material on her mother's workbench. "Winry wasn't done gathering the leftovers from her last client so I had to wait."

Aiyasha watched as her mother began to separate the metal by projects. Running a forge and repair shop from their home was hard, but Leanna Wren made it look like an art form.

"Izumi asked for some custom made butcher knives. I told her you'd bring them to her next time you go to train with her," Leanne began to sketch the knives in a notebook, as Aiyasha drew a circle on the hardwood floor with chalk. "I thought it would be nice to carve her name on one and Sid's on the other."

"I think she'll like that," Aiyasha replied, putting the finishing touches on the array. She picked up a hair tie from her mother's worktable to keep her dark wavy hair out of her face. "Can I make it? You can still carve if you want."

"Sure, just be careful."

"I am careful… well, maybe 95% of the time."

Aiyasha gathered the materials she needed and laid them on top of the array. The worries that had tangled in her mind began to melt away as she focused on how she would create the knives. She had to thank her mother for pushing her towards alchemy, because she doubted her late father would be thrilled about it. It was common knowledge that Ishvalans basically despised alchemy, but she couldn't begin to understand why. Alchemy was a way to help people and better one's knowledge of the world. Yes, there were people who misused alchemy, but in her opinion, that was all the more reason to pursue it. Someone had to be able to stop those who would use alchemy against others.

Taking a deep breath, she clapped her hands-bending down to activate the circle. She watched in wonder as the elements began to interact and form into the butcher knife her mother had sketched. With pride, she handed Leanne the knife so Izumi's name could be carved into it.

"Beautiful," Leanna grinned. "She'll love it."

Turning back to the circle to create the second knife, Aiyasha paused, a phrase from her father's notebook coming to mind: Alchemy can bring great inventions to life or it can destroy life itself. Why tamper with such power?

"Hey mom," Aiyasha called, reaching down to rearrange her materials. "Do you think dad would be proud of me? I mean...I'm sure he wasn't the biggest fan of alchemy."

Leanna turned to look at her daughter, slowly removing the goggles from her hazel eyes. "I think he would be very proud of you. He might have disliked the craft, but he'd see all the good you hope to achieve and back you up."

Aiyasha wanted to believe that, but part of her knew that the last thing her father and her Ishvalan side of the family wanted was for her to become proficient in alchemy. It was the devil's work by their standards, but it was the only thing she could think of that would really help her people. From what she heard from Ed, the military was changing and part of the change was letting Ishvalans either become citizens or leave to rebuild their country. She could get behind a cause that let her people start leading successful lives and giving them the rights they deserved.

She activated the array again and held the knife in her hand. It was an exact match of the first one and she was proud of it. She worked hard to get proficient with alchemy and it showed. What scared her was the fact that her work could be used to kill the people she's supposed to protect.

Alchemy can bring great inventions to life or can destroy life itself. It was a fine line, but she was willing to walk it if it meant that she could help bring peace to the warring sides within her and around her.

"You have told Izumi that you'll be going through with getting your license, right?" Leanne questioned, finishing up on the handle of the first knife.

"Well," Aiyasha shifted nervously. "I may have forgotten to tell her last time I was there."

"So… she still thinks you're just training for sport?"

"Well, I told her I was still training so I can teach people in the slums that alchemy isn't entirely bad. Also, I'm training so I can better myself as a whole."

"She's going to kill you."

Aiyasha sighed. "I know."

Authors' note

Kuma: Hey! It's been a while! It's been at least two years since I've really written anything and I'm excited to be writing for FMA again. Actors and I would love your feedback as we continue to build this story and the world around it.

actors_heroes: hello everyone! This fanfic is going to be co-written by Kuma and I, and you'll be meeting my OC very soon. A few quick notes regarding changes from canon/manga/BH: Ed and Winry have not gotten engaged; Alphonse traveled to Xing from 8/10/1915-7/20/1916, returning to take the State Alchemist exam and pass it in September 1916 to become The Healing Alchemists; and Ed has learned some alchemy again and retained the rank of Major but no longer works as a State Alchemist.

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. All OCs in this chapter belong to Kuma the wolf alchemist.