Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist or their character.
Winry realized something was wrong. She wasn't getting any better. She had been sick for the past 2 months and nothing was clearing up. She sighed in frustration as she flopped back onto the pile of pillows behind her.
Even now Garfiel and Paninya wouldn't let her down into the shop. Although she couldn't blame them, they were worried. How could they not be when she was losing consciousness, throwing up, and having extreme headaches? A part of her told her to enjoy the time off work, while the other was to busy worrying what was going on with her body to pay any mind.
A headache then clouded her mind as she fell unconscious.
She felt rain upon her face as she woke. She realized she was in the middle of a cobble-stone street. Few people were out on this day. A couple of them looked her way, but most continued to ignore her. Winry looked around her surroundings and nothing at all was familiar. Everything seemed to be in a melancholy-shade. She had no idea where she was. She began to panic while still sitting in the street.
A fairly-tan woman then ran up to her and seemed to ask her a question. Problem was that Winry couldn't understand a word she had said.
"Where am I?" She asked in a frightened manner.
The woman seemed as surprised as Winry was seconds ago. Winry then looked around and realized she was in a completely different world. Things were beginning to click in Winry's mind but before she could finish her thought she fell prey to the darkness of her mind once more.
Winry woke in a cold sweat. She sat up on her bed breathing heavily until she felt that she had calmed down.
"What was that place?" She thought. Winry tried to remember the different details of the dream, but her mind had already forgotten the other details she only remembered the basic concept that she was not in an area that was familiar to her. She continued to sit there until her mind would no longer allow her to just sit there.
Winry walked down the stairs into the Automail shop below that was located in Rush Valley. It was still quite early in the morning so the sun hadn't shown through the windows yet; recently, Winry preferred it this way because of her sudden sensitivity to light. Another one of her odd symptoms she still didn't understand. She went into that back of the store and grabbed a cup and began pouring water into it while the dawn was slowly making its approach on the horizon.
Foot steps groaned on the wooden staircase. Winry walked around back to the stairs to see who was awake. It was Paninya as she had expected from the sound of the steps of the automail feet. Winry waved silently giving her greeting while taking another gulp of water from her cup.
"Hiya!" Paninya greeted back. "Aren't you up a bit early? I mean especially with you being sick and all. If I were you I would be sleeping in like a fiend." Winry gave her friend a sarcastic smile.
"I would have, but I had a weird dream. So I decided I shouldn't lie about all day." Winry explained. "Don't worry though; I'll get plenty of rest today. Okay?" she continued when she saw Paninya about to speak. Paninya rethought what Winry had said and nodded in confirmation. Winry knew if she hadn't interjected so soon she would have to sit through another 'health' lecture.
Winry just wished that this unknown illness would have passed by now. It was really beginning to bug her. Although she doesn't mind being treated nicely, she hated being treated like a sick little girl of ten years. She was already twenty years old and didn't need all the attention she was receiving. She thought about it for a while and realized that she is usually pretty healthy so maybe this whole thing is a big deal because of that. It was probably the case, but it didn't really help the situation she is in. Paninya interrupted her thoughts.
"I have to get working pretty soon; we actually got more roofs to work on now that more houses are being built. Your going back to bed, right?" Paninya gave her friend a glare that meant that the last comment was not a suggestion it was an order. Winry sighed.
"Yes, I got it. I'm going back to bed to sleep all day long." She called out as she climbed the staircase. "You better get to work from the sounds of it you have a lot to work on. Don't worry about me so much. I'll get through this…thing." She smiled has she reassured her friend that she was perfectly fine. Even though her tone didn't sound completely confident she tried to pull it off on the smile.
"Okay, Tell Garfiel I may come around here later tonight!" Paninya said before she ran off to her roofing job. Winry nodded and continued ascending the rest of the staircase. She grew very dizzy when she finally reached her room. Another headache was pounding at her temples. She was only thankful Paninya hadn't seen her like this. She fell against her bed with her face in the pillow as if it would ease the pain. Her hands grabbed at her head trying to expel the pain. Before she could get any medicine the pain swiftly took away her consciousness.
Her eye lids seemed heavy. She fought to get her eyes open. When they finally fluttered to a resting point she was laying on a bed gazing up at a ceiling, all of which were not hers nor were they remotely familiar. She tried looking around for anything that was in close relation to her normal surroundings, but found no avail. Not as frighten as before
Winry decided to take a wild chance to find out about this oddly different world. She lay there staring at the many objects in the room. It seemed like a guest room or a patient's room; it had normal things like a bed, a night stand, a dresser, and a few pictures on the walls.
The room seemed very impersonal which was the main aspect that lead Winry to believe that it was a guest room.
"What would it be like in a different world?" Winry thought for a moment. "Could Ed and Al be in this world?" Winry's eyes widen and the thought. Could Ed and Al actually be here? If so, where are they now? The questions continued to pop into Winry's head. Winry then became very interested in this new subject. Just when Winry thought about searching the building she was currently in a woman stepped into her room.
The woman was the same one from the street in the previous dream she had. The woman saw her awake in the bed and seemed very surprised, but happy. She immediately began talking. Winry could only try and listen to the unfamiliar language. The woman finished talking and turned to Winry as if her long rant had ended in a question directed to her. All Winry could do was sit there and say "I'm sorry I don't understand…"
The woman nodded and looked at Winry carefully as if she was going to decipher every feature on her face. She held the back of her hand on Winry's forehead. Winry moved slightly from the touch. The woman made a few comments and handed Winry a cup of water and a couple pills. "Sacalo" The woman said. Winry obeyed in the only way she thought she could and that was taking the pills. The woman smiled in return. Winry tried to smile back, but felt very forced.
The woman then pressed her hand against Winry's head until she was back in a laying position on the bed. The woman nodded and continued to talk as she prepared to leave the room. All Winry could do was lay there until peaceful sleep took over.
--
Winry awoke in the late afternoon. She was surprised not to see the other world that seemed to be occupying only moments again. She thought about this new world she had found.
"Is it really past the gate? Or is it really just a dream?" Even though she knew it may not be true, she hoped it was first of the two. She realized that she could remember every detail that happened on this second visit rather then the first time she went there. Although after much thought she knew that she probably couldn't occupy both places at once. "But how could I ever choose between my world and a new one?" She thought sadly. This was the world she was originally placed in, while the other one most likely was the new home of Edward Elric.
Great, that subject again. Even though she didn't like to think about him much, he really did mean a lot to her. She had already come to terms with her feelings for him a while ago. She knew she loved him and most likely always have, but should she really take that big a risk for someone who may not return her feelings? At that moment she was divided. Her mind was saying that she should continue to live in this world, where she belongs. Although her heart was saying to follow these mysterious dreams in hope to reunite with Ed.
With herself divided, it was time for things to run their course…
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A/N: Hey readers. This is probably my first attempt to complete a fanfiction. I've tried to write a previous story and it just didn't work out. Firstly, I'm comparing Winry's symptoms to that of a Brain Aneurism. You can probably guess those results.
Also there are other aspects that I will explain in the next chapter. Like where Winry is and why she doesn't understand them. But until then I decided to leave people with a nice little cliffhanger. : D
P.S: No Flaming, I know I may not have Winry or other people later on in complete character.