Scar surveyed the hospital.

Rain was pouring down, making an almost musical sound. With the distant accompaniment of cars splashing through puddles, the rain dropped out of the sky, falling onto roofs and cars and people's heads, only to fall again, to finally hit the ground. And the smell of rain, the smell of wet earth, the smell of renewal, was everywhere.

A black car pulled up in front the hospital, and two people got out, both in blue military uniforms. A black-haired man and a blond woman.

The man tilted his head back towards the sky. His voice was lost in the sound of the rain, but the look on his face said that he obviously wasn't thrilled about all this rain.

The woman said something, and gestured towards the building. He sighed, and they walked in together, side by side.

Scar stood still, ignoring the rain seeping through his clothes, and gathering in his already drenched hair.

He gazed steadily at the hospital.

"The Flame Alchemist...and the Fullmetal Alchemist...in the same building. But how to get to them?"

"It's raining again." remarked Rae, drawing aside the curtain to gaze out the window.

"Better rain than snow." said Lin.

She scowled. "I hate snow."

Rae shivered.

"I know." she said softly.

The two were quiet for a moment, wrapped up in their thoughts. The moment ended when the door banged open.

Three of the occupants turned to see a white-coated, fat doctor enter the room. The other occupant, Ed, just kept reading.

The doctor stood in the middle of the room, puffing out his chest pompously.

"What are you all doing in here?" he demanded, "This is a hospital, not a clubhouse!"

"Chill out gramps," said Lin lazily, "What's the problem? It's not like I'm dying or anything."

The fat man flushed. He obviously wasn't used to people questioning his authority.

"Why you," he turned to Ed, who hadn't even looked up from his book once, "pay attention to me!"

No response.

"Why you little-"

Ed twitched.

Al winced.

"Who are you calling a super small speck of a bean!"

"I didn't say that much! Wahhh! Don't hurt me!"

Al got up and grabbed Ed, trying to calm him down.

"Wow, does he always react like this?" Lin asked.

"Yes," Al grunted, pulling Ed backwards.

The doctor, flustered, brushed off his coat, trying to regain his poise.

"Humph! Violent, little-"

Lin blinked.

Wow, some guys just don't learn.

"Who are you calling a midget as small as the tiniest of dust that you can only see through the most powerful of microscopes!"

The doctor cowered.

"Maybe it's not a good idea for them to be in the same room together?" suggested Rae, her quiet voice barely heard over Ed's ranting.

"I think you're right." Al said, beginning to pull Ed away again, "Come on, Nii-san, time to go visit the library again!"

"Just come back soon again, okay?" asked Lin, a trifle anxiously.

Al stopped for a one minute, and smiled at her.

"Of course." he said simply.

Unable to resist, she smiled back. Not her usual smirk of a smile. This smile was smaller, quieter, but more real, and heartfelt.

They smiled at each other, and then he was gone.

From down the hallway came an echo of Ed, still ranting ("I'll make you visit your own operating room!").

Standing next to the window, Rae smiled.

"Not as if you love him, yeah right!" she whispered.

The library was bigger than Winry expected. There were shelves upon shelves of books, and this was only the first floor.

But, she reasoned, with all of these books here, I should be able to find something to help me.

Winry walked over to towards the first bookshelf.

As she came up, she began to study its contents.

"The art of magic."

"The annuals of Ryon."

"The advent of magic."

Well, I guess I should start with the magic books...I hope there's a really simple one somewhere in here that I can understand.

She reached up and pulled out the first one that came to hand. It was really large and heavy; she nearly fell over, but recovered in time and managed to drag it over to the table she'd claimed.

She dropped it on to the table with a heavy thud that earned her a glare from the librarians.

She didn't care though, right now, she just wanted a way to get home.

Is this how Ed feels? Working on a goal that is so important to you that everything else fades into the back ground?

Hurriedly she opened the book, and started reading.

Only to find that she couldn't understand it.

It wasn't that she couldn't read it.

She could.

It was just so confusing; it didn't make any sense to her. Like when a ten year old opens a tenth grader's science book. They don't know what sucrose or glucose or mititose is, and so, they don't understand it.

It reminded her of when she'd once tried to read one of Ed's alchemy books.

Giving up on that book, she grabbed another one off the selves, only to meet the same result.

This happened again and again, until at last Winry collapsed in exhaustion.

Well, what do I do now? She asked herself, I can't understand any of these books. My knowledge of machinery and automail can't help me here. I have no way of knowing what's going on with Ed and Al. I hope they're okay.

She frowned, looking annoyed.

He'd better be taking good care of his automail! And…

The frown slipped away, to be replaced with a more worried look.

… He'd better be taking good care of the rest of himself too.

She sighed, and her eyes traveled around the room, they came to rest on a book someone had left on the floor.

"Apolyn: the tragic village."

Apolyn…that was the village I first came to! The one destroyed by the plague!

She stared at it for a few seconds.

Maybe… if I learn more about it, I'll learn why I ended up there.

After Ed and Al left, the doctor calmed down enough to examine Lin's leg and pronounce her almost healed.

Almost immediately after he left, she tried to get up.

"Hey! He said in a day or two, not now!" protested Rae.

"Well, I want to get better now! How can I help them if I can't get out of bed? I can't understand magic, let alone alchemy!"

Lin then groaned and fell back, from the pain of trying to move her leg too soon.

Lin stared at her not cooperating leg, and then clenched her fist. "I am not," she stated through gritted teeth, "I am not going to just stay here, like some helpless, powerless child!"

"Even she never recovered from an injury like this in such a short amount of time." Rae said quietly.

Lin looked at her, a sort of angry look, but with underlying sadness.

Rae just looked at her, steadily, until Lin sighed and turned and looked out the window.

"I know," she admitted finally, "but still...I want to do something to help." she sighed, then brightened. "I know! I'll get Al to teach me alchemy!"

Rae's serious expression vanished, and she giggled.

"What?" Lin asked, slightly annoyed that'd she'd laugh when she was being serious.

"You said Al, not Ed and Al."

Lin did two things. First she yelled "So what!" Second she blushed, turning a nice shade of crimson red that almost rivaled Ed's famous coat.

"It's not like that!"

"Then why are you blushing?" giggled Rae.

Lin stared at her, and then threw her arms up in the air.

"Argh! There's no arguing with you!"

But even as there was a knock at the door, and Rae left to go answer, Lin began to wonder, if Rae might be right after all.

Ed dumped the books on the table with a resounding thud that caused most of the people in the library to turn and look at him, only to hurriedly turn away again when he glared at him.

He growled under his breath and dropped in his chair.

Stupid Winry! Getting herself stuck in some other stupid world.

He sighed.

Just when things were calming down too…

He turned a page, frown deepening as he realized he wouldn't be able to concentrate.

He kept thinking,

What was that world, Ryon, like anyway?

He guessed he could ask Lin and Rae once he and Al got back.

Was it dangerous?

What was the land like?

Was one giant wilderness, filled with wild man-eating beasts? What where the people like? Were they mostly friendly? Or-

Ed slammed his head into the desk, getting more strange looks.

I really can't wait for Winry to get back. I won't last long like this.