Hello! Here is another story idea that came to me one night. I had several different drafts and versions on how I would manage to pull this off, but I think I got it! So anyways, I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think about the story and the whole concept. I've never written anything like this before so its an all new territory for me :)

Summary: When Slave 23 receives the name Van Hoenhiem from The Dwarf in the Flask he begins having vivid and lucid dreams about a childhood and brother he never had, a childhood where everyone calls him Edward Elric. As his dreams become more of a nightmare, newly named Hoenhiem contemplates telling The Dwarf in the Flask about his unsettling nights.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters, I'm just interpreting their dreams XD

Of Journals and Dreams

A story written by: The Castle in the Clouds

Chapter 1: Words on a Page

Van Hoenhiem took a deep breath and put his pencil to the page, wondering how he would do this. It was simple, right? Just write down what you thought. No one would read it after all, so what was the big deal?

"Here goes."

Day 1,

I can finally keep this journal. When I first met The Dwarf in the Flask I didn't know how to read or write, but after time he taught me how. It was challenging, but I was able to grasp the concept. Now all I need to do is keep it a secret from my master. If he had his wish I would forever mop floors and give my blood for his experiments.

But that's how Homunculus, The Dwarf in the Flask was created - from my blood, I mean. So maybe it turned out to be a good thing after all.

I don't know.

But regardless I can now keep this journal and write down all my thoughts and feelings as if there were someone on the other side of these pages, someone who actually cared about me.

Well, I mean The Dwarf in the Flask cares about me... but I'm talking about a real living and breathing person. A human being.

I shouldn't be like that, for all I know the Flask is a human. It just feels different with him... or her? Uh... it?

Whatever.

Anyway, like I said it's nice to be able to turn my thoughts into a physical thing. Into words on a page.

Speaking of which, something weird has been happening to me lately... and by lately I mean last night.

So here's the thing - I had this strange dream about me as a child. I had long blond hair like I do now, except my features are different and I'm much shorter. Along with that I had an arm and a leg made of some sort of advanced machinery. Also I apparently have a younger brother named Hal? Or Cal? Or was it Earl?

Hell, I don't know, all I know is that it has an "AL" sound to it. Damn pronunciation...

Along with my weird armor wearing brother I guess I have a friend called Winry and a really old friend named Taco? or was it Pistachio?

Damn freaking names, I'll send em' all to hell.

The strangest part though is that no one calls me 23 or even Van Hoenhiem. Everyone in the dream refers to me as Edward Elric, whoever the hell that is.

It all feels so real, as if I was there. As if I was this Edward Elric person.

I don't know, I hope I don't have any more dreams like this. Its both haunting and teasing at the same time. Haunting me as if It were a memory or prophecy and teasing me by showing me what I didn't have... What I would probably never have.

A family.

Well whatever. It was just a dream right? I mean, it's not like it was real, right? My life is here, in this shitty place with a shitty master and my only friend that lives in a shitty flask and looks like a pile of...

That was close. I shouldn't be so rude.

He really is a nice guy, and he has way more knowledge than I gave him credit for. He feels like a guardian, like he was created to show me all this. Maybe its because he was born from my blood. Maybe that makes us brothers?

I don't know, all I know is that I'm glad to have this journal. Glad to be able to read and write. I guess in the end that's all that matters, not some stupid dream that messes with my head.

Hoenhiem closed his worn out journal and slipped it inside his pillowcase, making sure that his master wouldn't find it. He then proceeded to gather some cleaning supplies, namely a bucket, water, and an old dirty mop. With a sigh he dipped the mop in the wooden bucket and began sloshing it on the floor, cleaning the dirt and picking up and "debris" his master left behind. As Hoenhiem worked away he couldn't help but to think of what the Dwarf in the Flask said to him the other day.

You can change your circumstances.

What did that mean? Did it mean him as a slave? Obviously. But it could also mean him as a person, or maybe the dwarf in the flask itself? It was straightforward and cryptic at the same time. Was it meant to be that way?

"Hey, Hoenhiem," that same voice spoke out. "Come here a second."

Van sighed and left the mop in the bucket before walking over. "Yeah? I have work I need to get done."

The single-eyed entity gave a nod and flashed his signature and slightly creepy smile. "It won't be long, I just thought you might want to take a look at a certain book."

Hoenhiem's confused look prompted the dwarf in the flask to continue further. "Your master, as you call him - he's very proud of my creation. In fact, he takes me into his study to help him out with certain things. When I was in there with him I spotted a book on alchemy. Its a beginners book he must have kept all these years. I think you should read it."

Van's eyes widened as he instinctively eyed the door to his master's study. "B-but I'm forbidden to step foot in there," he protested nervously.

The Dwarf rolled his single eye as he made another attempt. "Look, he's out and won't even know that you were in there. If you take it you can start learning alchemy on your own!"

Hoenhiem nodded as he contemplated the idea, but it soon felt outside the realm of possibilities. "What if he notices it's gone?"

"He won't," reassured the Flask. "When I'm in there with him he never even looks at it. And besides, it's not like he needs it. He is way beyond beginners alchemy."

Van shook his head as he retuned to the mop, grasping the handle a bit harder as he continued his slave work.

"Sorry, but I don't want a lashing."

The dwarfed flask sighed and pivoted to look out the window in silence.

"You know," it finally spoke up. "I always wanted to be out of this flask. To see the world... But I can't survive out of the flask and so I'm bound to it until I find a different vessel to carry me. But you...,"

The homunculus swiveled back, eyeing the saddened slave before him. "You can change your circumstances."

Day 2,

That dream was back. I was stuck in a body that wasn't mine with a brother that wasn't mine. And the worse part of it all was that it felt like I wasn't the one speaking. It felt like something was speaking for me, as if everything I would say was already planned and written out.

Okay, so here it is. I figured if I write it down it would make a little more sense.

In my dream me and my armored brother were at a counter eating in a hot and undesirable place.

Well, actually it reminded me of Xerses. But different...

Anyway, something happened and a radio broke. So using alchemy my "brother" fixed it. It was amazing really, made me want to be able to do it myself. But anyways after that people swarmed him and called him by the name "Fullmetal Alchemist," which made sense since he wore that suit of armor.

But the weird part is that he pointed to me and said that I was the Fullmetal Alchemist. I was actually surprised in my own body, but for some reason I ended up getting real mad.

Oh, and a side note too. His name is Al. Not Hal or Earl. He said that he was the younger brother named Alphonse Elric.

Younger, huh? Why the hell his he so damn tall then?

Whatever. Anyways we did a whole thing on alchemy and proved that some Sun God thing was fake. It really felt pointless until we had a showdown with their "priest."

During the fight he unleashed a chimera. Chimera... In the dream it said that a chimera was born out of alchemy by combining two living things... or something like that.

It made me wonder if my homunculus friend was a chimera too. Except he's a lot different than what was in my dream.

Okay, back to the dream.

We fought the chimera and won, but then I said something that made me wonder. Something about a Philosophers' Stone. Something about it being able to bypass the law of equivalent exchange. I'm not sure what that is, but it sounds important to me.

I also learned that this Edward person I embody and his brother attempted to bring their mom back from the dead with alchemy, and for some reason that's the reason they are the way they are. Why Edward had metal limbs, and Al... why he's hollow. There is no one inside of him. I'm not sure exactly how that's possible, but then again this is just a dream.

But back to the stone. The priest guy ended up having one and we were so close to getting it, but it ended up breaking. Apparently it was a fake and the real one was out there still.

That means that these guys will keep looking for it. To get their bodies back and, according to Alphonse, to live a normal life.

I'm not sure if all this is supposed to represent something or not. If their circumstances are supposed to reflect mine or what. But after all that alchemy talk I'm really questioning whether I should take that book in the morning. My master will be gone again, and I think I can find a place to hide it.

Can I learn alchemy? I mean, I just barley learned to read and write. How can I understand alchemy and applied theory? I don't know if I can.

But maybe it's worth a shot?