Two Sides of the Same Coin
"Gwen!" I exclaimed at seeing her, beaming. I would have jumped up to hug her, but I couldn't for two reasons: I was connected to an IV and I had injured my ribs. "How did you get here?"
"I'll tell you when I know, friend." Gwen replied, walking up to my bed. She looked at my bandaged side, eyes wide. "Does it hurt?" She asked, poking it.
I hissed when she did so. "Of course, idiot!" I smacked her hand away. "Don't touch."
Gwen laughed. "Whoops."
I grinned too, but the grin faded after a few seconds. "Hey... What's it like back home?" I asked her, looking down.
Gwen's smile evaporated as well. "After you went missing that day.. Everyone freaked out. From what I heard, your mom called your dad, freaking out. We all had this big search for you, but no one found you. All of our friends at school were really quiet for the longest time, not saying much. No one even smiled. Your mom refused to hold a funeral or anything like that, saying she knew for a fact you were still alive. Everyone really misses you, Emma."
My facial expression darkened as my best friend told me this. I felt incredibly guilty, making everyone feel like this. I didn't even think that anyone would take my disappearance so seriously.
"Hey." Gwen interrupted my thoughts, placing her hand on my shoulder. "But you're okay, right? They're starting to smile again, and they'll be okay. We'll get home."
I smiled lightly. "Yeah, we will. I actually got Ed and Al to help me out, and I'm learning alchemy. They're probably kind of upset with me, though."
"Why's that?"
"They told me to stay behind when they went to the Fifth Laboratory, but I didn't and now I'm in the hospital." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly.
"Yeah, you're kind of an idiot." Gwen told me.
"Oh thanks." I said, smiling. "Like you're one to talk, though."
"I know." She laughed. "When are you going to be able to walk again?"
"I have no clue. How did you get in here? I highly doubt they'd trust someone like you." I asked her curiously.
"Now that's an interesting story." Gwen grinned. "See, this is how it happened. After you ran into me on your way to the laboratory, I decided to follow you, but got lost for what seemed like forever. I then found the hospital the next day and assumed that's where you'd be. Because, you know, I'm smart like that. I went into the hospital and asked the lady person at the front if there was an Emma here who got admitted yesterday. She gave me this really weird look, and then another chick came up to me and asked how I knew you. It was Lieutenant Ross, actually, and she looked suspicious of me, so I said that we were besties forever, which seemed to really confuse her.
I then talked to Al, who was hanging around, probably thinking about what that douche said, and asked if he knew you. He asked how I knew you, and again, I said we were besties forever and that I've known you for years. He accidentally let something about the gate slip, and didn't believe that I knew you until I mentioned that, and then he convinced Lieutenant Ross to let me see you." She finished.
"Oh God, you said besites forever? We're in 1914, of course they wouldn't understand that." I sighed.
Gwen grinned proudly. "But it worked."
"Yeah, yeah." I was silent for a minute, before I growled in annoyance. "I have to get out of this bed! I can't take it in here anymore! It's too bright!"
"Hey, they left a wheelchair, I'll drive you around in that!" Gwen exclaimed ripping off the IV. I winced, hoping that wasn't too important. My friend helped me into the wheelchair, her usual idiotic smile plastered onto her face. "Where to?" She asked.
"Anywhere that's not here." I mumbled.
"Wanna go bother someone?" Gwen suggested.
"Um, depends on who 'someone' is. Just drive around through the halls for now, but not too fast and try not to get lost. That'd be a pain, and then I'd get into more trouble."
"Let's go to the cafeteria, maybe they have some food." She said, more to herself, as she drove me out of the room.
"Food is good. Onward!" I declared. Gwen grinned and started down the hall, twisting and turning here and there. She once came across Ross and ran away before she could see us. It took a lot for me to contain my laughter. We never did find the cafeteria, though, because we made this whole thing into an adventure, choosing not to look at the signs that probably would have made everything a lot easier on us.
Apparently, while we were out being idiots, Lieutenant Ross had come to my room to check on me, but I wasn't there. I found this out when Gwen drove me to Ed's room, to which I was told that she had just gone to look.
"Oh..." I muttered, sweatdropping. "Better, go back. Gwenivere!" I looked back at her, we nodded simutaniously, and sped back off. We met Ross halfway there, and she gave us a scolding before taking us right back to Ed's room.
Gwen ran off to the bathroom, and then Ed and I were left alone to talk, and he wasn't real happy that I had snuck off. "Why did you leave after telling us you wouldn't?" He asked me, frowning.
"I had a feeling that you guys were in trouble." I told him before gesturing to him, who was laying in his hospital bed. "Turns out I was right."
"It was still stupid! Don't tell me you were looking for a way back to your home!" Ed's voice rose slightly.
"So what if I was? I couldn't stay back and do nothing without knowing whether or not you guys were okay!" I was slightly peeved about him bringing up the situation about my home. It was a touchy subject.
"We would have been fine anyways!" Ed insisted.
"Oh, what's this I spy? A lover's quarrel?" Gwen's voice came from the doorway.
I blushed, and at the same time Ed and I yelled, "NO!"
"Who even are you, anyways?" Ed asked, looking more than a little mad.
Gwen didn't seem bothered by this, and she skipped into the room. "I'm Gwen! Ems and I are bes-"
"She's a close friend from back home." I told the blonde before Gwen could once again say 'besties forever.'
"You mean from..?"
I nodded. "Yeah, although she claims she just showed up a day or two ago."
Ed gave my friend a suspicious look, as if not quite trusting her, to which she replied with a wide grin.
Gwen seemed to be able to sense the tension in the room. She decided to break the silence. "So what were you two arguing about?" She asked, making me frown.
"Nothing. Gwen, can you take me back to my room?" I asked her, deciding to leave Ed alone for now.
"Mhm." She turned my chair around and drove me back to my room, attempting to maintain a cheerful attitude, probably to put me into a better mood. "I know something's bothering you, Ems, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"No, no, it's fine. He just got mad at me about the whole Fifth Laboratory deal. He then brought up home, which is kind of a sensitive subject, so I was pissed off." I explained, crossing my arms over my chest with a small hiss of pain.
Gwen was quiet for a few seconds before changing the subject, seeing how home was hard for me to talk about. "So... Do you like him?"
I choked on nothing as she said that, my face turning red. "Wh-What do you mean?"
Gwen grinned. "You know what I mean. It's a simple question. You had an anime crush on him back home, right? So, do you still like him?"
"I-It doesn't matter if I do or not. It'd never work. This isn't fanfiction where everything's perfect. He has Winry anyways, I'm just some looney chick from the other side of the gate. Besides, even if he did, it wouldn't work because I have to go back home eventually." I trailed off at the end.
"So you do. I thought so. Don't be so pessimistic! It might all work out." Gwen tried to console me.
"It's alright even if everything goes wrong. I have you, so I'm not alone anymore. I don't have to worry about being the only freak in Amestris." I smiled up at Gwen, trying to poke fun to change the subject.
"Psh. Amestris or America, we'll always be freaks." Said girl poked my head, steering the wheelchair back into my room. She put her arm around my waist to help me up and lay me back into the bed. I squinted my eyes.
"Gwen, can you close the blinds?" I asked her, holding up my left hand to shield myself from the sun."
"Yep!" Gwen skipped to the other side of the room and closed the blinds before looking back at me and gasping. "You have automail? No way!"
Before I had a chance to react, Gwen had pulled up my sleeve to inspect the automail. "This is so cool! How did it happen?"
"I lost it as a toll when Truth took me here. Both of my legs are automail, too. Waking up was hell." I grumbled.
"I didn't lose any limbs or anything else." Gwen told me.
"Well, before I went through the gate the rest of the way, Truth said I'd get a parting gift, which might have been where you came from. It explains why you didn't lose anything when you came here." I replied after thinking back to my encounter with the asshole.
"Might be. Oh, hey, I-"
Gwen was interrupted when my door flew open, revealing a certain Winry Rockbell, who had a worried look on her face. "Emma! You're in the hospital, too? I thought I told them not to drag you into anything!" The blue-eyed female made her way over to my bed before she noticed Gwen. "Who're you?"
Gwen gave her a little frown. She never liked Winry. "Gwen. Emma's my bestie forever, so she can't be your bestie forever."
I would have facepalmed. "Good gate, Gwen, try being nice. Sorry about her, Winry." I smiled sheepishly at the automail mechanic.
"Um, it's fine. Is your automail damaged or anything?" She asked, turning her attention back to me.
"Not that I know of." I thought of when Number 66 had attempted to slice through my arm and inspected the steel there, to find that there wasn't even a dent. "Nope, it's good!" I couldn't help being impressed. That knife was huge.
"Good! I need to fix Ed's, no surprise there." Winry didn't mention the screw she had forgotten to add to Ed's arm.
"Yeah, really. I wasn't in any huge fight like he was, though."
"Emma, have you seen all of your bandages? You're in the hospital, I'd say you were in a pretty intense fight." Winry told me, her hands on her hips.
I felt badass, so I didn't bother mentioning that I was just too inexperienced to take care of myself in a battle that would have been easy for just about every person ever. "I guess. I can't wait to be back up. This is like when I was waiting for the automail for my arm and legs."
"Ha, you were crippled." Gwen grinned, poking my nose. "Boop!"
"Laugh it up." I replied, unable to admit that I actually was amused by her comment.
"Losing your limbs isn't anything to laugh about." Winry told Gwen, sending a small glare her way. "It's painful and the rehabilation process is really hard, not to mention connecting the nerves and the trauma that comes with losing a part of your body in the first place."
"I never asked you." Gwen told her, returning the glare.
I rolled my eyes. "Guys, please no fighting. I'm really not in the mood for that."
"I'm going to go fix Ed's arm." Winry smiled at me, refusing to acknowledge a certain Gwenivere Blanche. "Talk to you in a bit."
"M'kay!" I called after her as she left.
"How can you stand her?" Gwen asked me, frowning in the direction Winry had just left to. "She's so annoying."
"She's not that bad, Gwen, and she's a good friend."
"Yeah, sure. I still don't like her, though." My Indian friend told me.
"So long as you don't fight all the time. That would get annoying."
She grinned at me. "No promises!"
A few days later, I could finally walk as long as I didn't run or try anything crazy, so I was walking with Winry to Ed's room. Gwen had decided to go and explore the hospital again, so she was probably out somewhere, lost. Eh, I would look around some later.
As soon as I opened the door, I heard Al shout, "I didn't want to get this body!"
I froze, not expecting the yell, Winry moved my arm gently and stepped in, her eyes as wide as mine.
"I didn't want to.. get this body.."
"I'm sorry.." Ed apologized, looking like he really regretted whatever it was that he had just said. "Yeah, it's also my fault that everything got screwed up. That's why I want to restore your body as soon as possible."
"And what proof is there that you're really going to restore my body?" Al inquired, sounding scornful.
"I'll definitely restore your body! Trust me!" Ed told him.
"Trust, huh? You're telling me to trust whatever's in this hollow body?!"
I wanted to butt in, to stop Al. I really did. But I knew it wasn't my place to, so I didn't.
"In alchemy, they say a human is made from the flesh, the mind, and the soul! But was there ever a person that proved that in an experiment?!" Al's voice had risen considerably, and I could tell he was really upset. "If you think about it logically, memories are just information. So it ought to be possible to artificially create them."
"What are you talking about?" Ed looked horrified.
"Brother, you said there was something you were too scared to tell me before, right? Could that have been something like my soul and memories are completely fake?! Brother, how do you prove that a person named Alphonse Elric really existed?! Right.. Isn't it possible that Winry, Granny, Emma, everybody is tricking me? Well, is it, Brother?!"
Ed slammed his hands on the table loudly, making me flinch. "Is that.. What you have been holing inside you all this time? Is that everything you want to say?"
Silence.
"I see." Ed stood up and walked past us, down the hall, and out of sight.
"Ed!" Winry called.
"You idiot!" I couldn't help shouting at Al, my eyes moistening slightly.
Winry came back in with a wrench, looking absolutely livid. She smacked Al with it as hard as she could. "DUMMY!"
"W-What was that for?!" Al exclaimed, taken aback.
Winry stood in front of him, tears streaming down her face. "Al, you dummy!" She shouted, hitting him again. "You don't know how Ed feels! That thing he was too scared to tell you.. Was that if you blamed him for what happened! He cried every night, moaning with the pain and fever that came from automail surgery! But.. But you're still.. In just what world is there an idiot that would throw away their own life to create a fake little brother?"
"Brothers are precious.." I mumbled, trying to hide my own tears, unable to stop myself from thinking about my own four brothers. "You can't just create one! You.. You can't just.." I cut myself off, unable to speak anymore. Don't get me wrong, Al was an amazing character, but how could he let himself believe for a moment that he was a fake?
"Isn't he your only brother?" Winry asked, wiping her eyes. She pointed out the door. "Chase after him!"
"Ah.. Okay." Al stood up and ran off.
"Hurry up!" Winry yelled out after him, looking out through the door. She looked back at me, who was swiping at her eyes furiously. My body shook. I couldn't believe that I was releasing my emotions now, in front of so many people. I took in a deep breath, trying to collect myself until later, when I was alone. "Emma.."
"No." I said. "Stop.. I'm fine. I.. I just need to be alone right now." I shot her a weak smile. "Don't worry about me." I walked out of the room and down the hall, back to my own room, taking deep, shaky breaths. I felt incredibly pathetic.
An hour or so later, the door opened. I looked up from the nest I had made on my bed out of a pillow and blanket to see Al standing in the doorway. "What's up?" I asked.
"A-Are you okay?" He inquired.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"But I made you cry!" He said, sounding guilty.
"No, it wasn't you, don't worry about it. It's just.. while you were talking I couldn't help but think of my own brothers from back home. God, they're so annoying. I never thought I'd miss them." I looked down with a grin.
"You had brothers?" Al inquired.
"Yep, four of them. Let's see, right now, they would be.. Seventeen, fifteen, eleven, and ten. Time really flies by. They're all so annoying, but at the same time the best siblings I could have asked for. I miss them a lot."
"I'm sure they miss you, too. You're their sister." Al tried to comfort me.
"Yeah, but I'll make sure I see them soon. I have to go home sometime, right?"
"Of course! Brother and I will help you! You and the other girl, uh.."
"Gwen." I grinned.
"Yeah."
"Thanks a bunch, Al." I stood up and walked over to the fourteen year old, giving the giant suit of armor a hug. He seemed taken aback at first, but then awkwardly patted my back, to which I giggled mentally. He was so adorable. I pulled back. "Let's go back to the others."
A/N: Oh god, I'm sorry this chapter was so horrifying. I wanted to post once more today before going back to school tomorrow, so I was in a rush. I'm sorry Emma exploded, I didn't plan that shit.
This is quick because I gotta go, but what did you all think of Gwen? xD Please review, I like feedback, let me know if I'm good or if I suck.
Bai!
