Author's Note: I just want to state really quick that this isn't a Mary Sue, as some may believe. I've always liked the idea of a fan girl being thrown into GW land, but I've just recently gotten around to finally writing a fanfic based on this idea. I've never been that interested in Mary Sues because it's like reading someone else's fantasy, which is why this isn't a Mary Sue for me. If I detach myself from the Mary Sue idea, then it can be written more realistically, instead of more like a personal fantasy. Keep in mind this is just my opinion, I'm not trying to knock down anyone's writing or taste in fanfics. I am strictly speaking for myself. I just want everyone to understand that this isn't my own desiring that is being written into this, okay? Okay, good! If you want to view it as a Mary Sue, there's no stopping you, and I don't mind either way. I will be happy no matter what just so long as people enjoy my fanfic.

Let's see… what else am I forgetting…? Oh yeah! Here we go:

Disclaimer: All things mentioned herein that have a copyright on them are obviously not owned by me, with the exception of everything herein. No, really. Don't sue me. There's no real point.

Eh, good enough… And now, on with the fanfic! I hope you enjoy it, and please R&R.

Only In Dreams

Chapter 1: What the hell is going on?

I'm aware that you don't know who I am, so let me start out with this little piece of info: My name is Lynn, and there's nothing peculiar about me, except for my sense of humor and random antics with my friends. I'm artsy, I'm funny (or so my friends think), and I'm a B average student who just graduated from a crappy high school in good ol' smoggy, sunny, LA California. I'm also usually a person that can entertain myself really well. Only now was not one of those times. I was sitting in my bedroom by myself on my twin bed that has always felt too small for me, bored out of my poor pitiful mind. There were things I could do, of course. Doesn't mean that I wanted to do them. I continually looked around my room looking for something to spark my interest, yet to no avail. Yet for some reason I'd look around again two seconds later, like an Alzheimer's patient. This is a process I have caught myself doing many-a-time, such as looking in my refrigerator for food. There's a voice that pops into my head and says, "Maybe if you go look again something new will magically appear…" and for some reason my poor brain falls for it every time. When will I ever learn…?

I think why I can't find anything to do is because I'm too anxious that school is starting tomorrow. But this isn't just any school, oh no. This is college. A junior college, big whoop, but college nonetheless. I had the feeling of a fresh new start, free of the idiots from high school. They were going to go the small college right next to my high school, whereas my choice of education was much farther away. Intentionally. I graduated for a reason.

So instead of doing something useful with my time, I sat there and gazed over all of the posters in my room while I stuffed my mouth with cookies. Possibly old cookies, I wasn't exactly sure how long they'd been floating around my apartment, but they tasted good so I didn't care.

Ever feel like you don't have enough wall space? That's me. I have posters on my wall from top to bottom of nearly everything. Fantasy art, scenery clippings from magazines like National Geographic, puzzles that I've glued together and nailed to the walls… but most of all anime.

Yes, anime. Which makes me a dork, but that's nothing unusual and I hold the title with pride. I made note to myself to take down my old DBZ poster, my Sailor Moon posters, and my Macross/Robotech wall scroll that I have long-since grown out of (before the time of my Sailor Moon obsession, which was a LONG time ago.) I needed to make room for more important things.

Like Gundam Wing. Ah, yes… that blessed anime of the 5 hot guys that are all mentally imbalanced, which is understandable considering they're teenagers wielding huge weapons of mass destruction. I love that show. While the storyline is somewhat interesting, I have to admit that it's the characters that I have taken a fancy to. What can I say? I have been trapped watching the dubbed versions of Gundam Wing on cartoon network… where it has been butchered and raped sadistically by the editing and dubbing companies, to the point of almost poor quality… I believe Relena's voice actor is a prime example of this… Or even worse: Septum's voice. It sends cold chills down my spine just thinking about it. Thank God he was only around for an episode or two. Still, for some reason, there was free space in my little anime-filled heart, and Gundam found a nice cozy little spot there and just snuggled down and refuses to budge…

That's why there's a Gundam Wing poster right above my bed. But alas, one poster isn't enough for the awesomeness that is Gundam Wing. Not to mention Sailor Moon and DragonballZ aren't exactly the topnotch quality animes (despite their popularity…)

I also think this would be a good time to add that I'm one of those really imaginative people. So when I'm actually bored (which doesn't happen that often), my imagination runs away with me. And it usually runs away into whatever new hip anime I happen to be into. What can I say? It just seems so much more appealing than life in the real world where you have to deal with stupid people and drama and school and family… I'd much rather dream about being the 'damsel in distress' in a war-riddled world, being saved by the hot anime hero of my dreams… quite the opposite of my real tomboy-self, let me tell you. Not that I'm completely serious about this, either… being surrounded by war isn't exactly on my top ten goals in my life. Instead, this is what I like to call another stupid sappy self-indulgence. However, I digress…

Back to the matter at hand, I looked through my backpack to check over my items once more. For the sixth time that evening. It was only 8 p.m., and my long summer nights were going to make tonight suck, considering I had to get up at 8:30 the next morning. So, once again, I shuffled around my school supplies and other crap that I have to have with me at all times, like my CD player, CD's of course, and my sketchbook. I had to make sure I had my American history book in there, which I knew it was because it was there the past five times I looked.

You know, I may be a bit late on the memo and all, but I think I need to get a life…? What kind of normal human being can't keep themselves entertained for a few hours? But it was true… I had no new books to read, no new anime to watch (I'm blame my lack of income for both of those problems) and I can't use the family computer (the only one in the house, might I add…) since my little brother was hogging it (as usual). At least if I got zapped into the gundam wing world I'd be entertained to say the very least.

Ironic that I thought that, because at that moment the sound of a helicopter blared overhead. That part was nothing unusual, since there were always choppers around for one reason or another, so this may not sound fascinating to you. But once its spotlight shined into my room, blinding me, did I realize that my light was on and it was impossible for a light to be that bright. I felt like it was going to burn my brain through my eyes (now there's a pretty picture.) The sound of it was absolutely overwhelming, and I wondered how low it was to be so incredibly loud. Overall, a simple thought went through my head:

This isn't normal.

Then I lost my mind. No really, it felt like someone just put a cork in my thought processes, which may have been good because I didn't feel the initial shock of what was beginning to happen. I could only register what my senses told me. I couldn't take it much farther than that.

The next thing I knew my skin prickled with a peculiar feeling, like electricity, only it was more than that. Then it felt as if I was being compressed and then expanded, and colors, lights, then darkness swirled around me sickeningly and I had to close my eyes as my lungs seemed to lose their air. Then I had that plunging feeling that you get when you're about to fall asleep. I didn't scream; I don't know why. I didn't make any sound at all.

Then I could think again. Do you realize how precious it is to be able to think? Naturally my first thought was, 'I'm never going to eat those old cookies again. I swear it, for my own health.'

Then I thought, 'Maybe it's not the cookies. Maybe I'm just dreaming.' The roaring in my ears continued, seemingly endless. 'This is one of those dreams where it seems really real! Wake up Lynn! Stop being stupid!'

Suddenly the silence stopped immediately, and I felt like I was thrown back into reality. The roaring died down like the passing of a storm. And I lay there, numb. All I could feel was my skin prickling with that energy like the overwhelming buzzing of a lamp. I realized I was still holding my backpack with clenched fingers and that the surface on which I was on seemed to be moving, an effect of dizziness. I felt unhappiness in me at the idea of being sick on my first day of college tomorrow. The motions below me didn't fade, and I snapped open my eyes.

I screamed when I realized I wasn't in my room like I thought I was. All I got was the glimpse of the back seat of a car, when someone shouted in response to my scream, and swerved the vehicle radically.

My head hit the car door and my arms flew upwards, sending my backpack falling next to me behind the passenger's seat. It all happened so fast, that it took me a moment to realize that the vehicle had stopped and it was my head that was still spinning.

My head throbbed painfully, as I tried to collect my senses and my mind, since I seemed to have lost it. What the heck was going on? Was I kidnapped? Was I knocked over the head and everything that had just happened was a dream? Was my family okay? I opened my eyes and let them adjust. Once that was taken care of, I first noticed that it was nighttime. The second thing I noticed was a person sitting in the driver's seat with a long chestnut braid. I peered harder, thinking I was hallucinating, but the image didn't go away. It was a guy. And he looked like Duo Maxwell. Which was totally impossible. But I couldn't have found a better match for the anime character if I tried. In fact, this guy looked somewhat anime… only he was real. No wait, he was anime. No wait… ahh! So confusing! Which was he? I didn't understand.

Something cold and hard tapped against the side of my head then, feeling far too real even for a dream. I turned my head, and looked into the barrel of a hand gun, which made me jump. I backed against the seat of the car, as blue eyes glared at me under brown bangs. I didn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. I had watched too much Gundam Wing, I was dreaming a dream that was too real, I was insane. But he looked like Heero… no, he WAS Heero. And that was Duo. And I can't believe that I'm already admitting this. I looked down at my body. I wasn't tied up or anything, and my backpack was still stuck behind the passenger's seat. So I wasn't kidnapped. Right? Although now that I peer down the barrel of this Heero-look-alike's handgun, I wasn't so sure.

I told myself that I didn't believe that these two men were anime characters to the show that I have been watching nearly religiously lately. But for some reason telling myself that didn't make me believe it. Instead, something inside my gut made me think the opposite. These guys were the real thing, and I couldn't even begin to explain it if I wanted to.

Duo shouted something in Japanese, and I stared at him completely clueless. He now had his gun out too, pointed at me. Didn't I come in a bright flash of light or something? If this was an anime, and if this was my imagination working here, then I would have had this huge amazingly magical entrance! I'm sorry, but there is NOTHING subtle about leaping into an alternate universe. So how come they acted as if I was a stowaway instead of someone who came out of thin air? I was too stunned to speak. How did I try and explain myself?

Wait… why would I try to explain myself to hallucinations? That had to be it. I knew it wasn't a dream, I can tell the difference between dreams and reality. Or at least I thought I could…

Suddenly Heero's sharp voice cut into my thoughts. "Anate ware desu ka!" he demanded, the gun still aimed at me.

"Wha….?" I started, completely confused. Japanese… they were speaking Japanese. That made sense! Gundam Wing was originally made in Japan, so of course they're going to speak in Japanese. So I knew I wasn't dreaming, and I wondered how I could think up Japanese if I was hallucinating. I didn't know Japanese… only a little bit from anime club…

"Anate ware desu ka!" Heero demanded again, tapping me with the gun.

I knew what he was saying, because that was from anime club. 'who are you?' I knew how to answer, but I was too terrified and confused to make words come out of my mouth right away. Maybe I was crazy after all… after all, I knew what he said… it was probably the only thing I ever retained from those anime club meetings. So naturally my mind would have the imaginary Heero speaking in Japanese and asking the only question that I remotely know how to answer.

"Wa… wa…. Watashi wa Lynn desu…?" I choked out, confused if I was even saying it right.

Duo laughed at my failed attempt, and he lowered his gun somewhat. "You don't speak very much Japanese, do you?"

Something in me snapped. "Oh! Oh, you speak English!" I announced, the words falling out of my mouth. "Good! That's good! That makes EVERYTHING alright now! I need to get out of here!" I grabbed for the door handle, but Heero nudged me with the gun again.

"You're not going anywhere." Heero said. His voice was threatening, and it scared me more than I ever daydreamed it would. First lesson learned in Alternate Universe 101: I am not immune to Heero's Death Glare.

"Yes, yes I am." I said, shaking under his glare. "Why? Because I can. Why? Because I'm hallucinating, that's why! There's no way in any mighty manner of existence that you could be real!"

Heero and Duo both looked at me like I was crazy, which was appropriate considering the circumstances.

"Why the hell wouldn't we be real?" Duo demanded.

"Because! Because you are a cartoon! Both of you! And all of your friends! And you're gundams, and-"

"What do you know about the gundams?" Heero demanded, his eyes wide with surprise. Panic continued to fill me: okay, so these are actually the gundam pilots… they confirmed their knowledge of the gundams. If they were just look-alikes from my reality then they would have already considered me highly insane.

"Not much because I never really cared about mechas!" I shot back. "Now if you'll excuse me oh cute little figments of my imagination, I am insane so I have to go find reality again…" Geez, what the hell was I saying? Why couldn't I stop rambling?

Without paying any heed to Heero's gun, I got out of the car, making a mental note that that wasn't real either even though I was sitting in it and had opened the door. They weren't real, none of this was real. I started to walk down the road, when I heard their car doors open and they ran after me and grabbed me by my arms. They dragged me to the car, and I tried to shake free of them.

"You're not supposed to be able to touch me!" I announced. "You're not real!"

"Stop saying that already! It's freaky!" Duo said.

"You don't know the HALF of it!" Then I started rambling to myself again, all of my fears seizing me. "I knew it, I was afraid of this… having schizophrenia… it runs in the family… grandmother had it, I was afraid I'd go crazy like her, too much daydreaming-"

Heero clamped his hand over my mouth and I struggled against him. Why could I smell him? Feel him? Was this what it was like being crazy? All of your senses being fooled? Finally I stopped struggling, for I felt mentally and physically wasted.

"Now…" Heero started. "How did you know that? Who have you been speaking to?"

"Not your Dr. J., that's for sure…" I replied. Heero looked at me with shocked eyes.

"How did you-"

"Know that? Wow that seems to be the thousand dollar question of the year!" I announced, throwing my hands up into the air. Duo and Heero both held my arms then, and kept me still. "Geez… weren't you guys listening? YOU'RE BOTH CARTOONS! NOW LET ME GO!"

"Do you have a medical history?" Duo demanded.

"I wish! At least that would explain what's happening to me right now!"

"Stop being ridiculous." Heero demanded. "How do you know these things?"

"Oh, don't make me say it again!" I whined. They pulled me into the backseat of the car then, and slid in with me until I was fit between them like a sandwich. Then I tried another tactic. "Okay, this feels real enough…" I pinched myself. "Ouch! Okay, I felt that… but that was me touching myself. Someone else pinch me! Slap my arm! Do something!"

Both Heero and Duo looked at each other, and I knew they were debating whether or not to do it. Suddenly I noticed the rearview mirror, and bolted forward. They grabbed onto my wrists and tried to pull me back. "Let me go!" I demanded. "I want to look in the mirror!" Duo let my wrist go, and I adjusted the mirror so I could see myself. My jaw dropped. I stared back at myself, or at least what I'd look like if I was anime/real. I touched my cheek, and so did my anime/real reflection. My hazel eyes stared back, very surprising considering anime eyes were usually only one color.

I couldn't understand how this had happened. I was in a real world that wasn't supposed to be real. It didn't make any sense whatsoever. Tears started to build at my eyes because I didn't know what to do, or what to think… I felt completely lost and it frustrated me.

"Was there a flash of light at all before I was in this car?" I choked out as I leaned back. I was hoping there was some connection between myself and these two. Heero and Duo looked at each other.

"Uh…. Yeah…" Duo said. "I thought it was a helicopter or someone with their brights on."

"But do you remember seeing a car or a helicopter pass by you?" I demanded, looking into his purple eyes. Purple. No one really had purple eyes…

Both of them fell silent, and finally Duo shook his head. "I thought it veered off or something…"

I put my head in my hands and choked on the sob that was lodged in my throat. I shook my head to myself. I couldn't believe it! I had the same entrance as my exit, which had to have been noticeable, only the timing couldn't have been more inappropriate. How dense could they be? I couldn't have possibly have been in this car the whole time!

"What happened?" Heero asked, and I didn't blame him for his confusion. I, for one, still couldn't accept that this was happening to me. "How do you know about me?"

"If I try to explain it, then you won't believe me…" I whispered. "You already think I'm crazy anyway…"

"Apparently you do too…" Duo responded. "But you did seem to just sort of appear in the car… I think… I don't know."

I could see Heero peering at me testily out of the corner of my eye. Finally he said, "Try to explain it."

"Are you saying there's a chance you'll believe me?" I asked skeptically, looking at him. He was really hot in person… I couldn't help but notice it. Geez, so was Duo! I don't know how he does it, but he pulls off having a braid like a really hot man pulls of wearing… nothing. Okay, maybe that was a bad analogy. My mind snapped back to the problem at hand.

"No. I still think you're either crazy, or putting up an act. But I'll humor you for now." Heero replied.

"Oh thanks." I said and rolled my eyes.

Well, what the hell? What's the worst that could happen? Well actually the worst could be that they would kill me because I know too much about them… but I didn't think that that was my purpose for being here… if all of this was really happening. And the big thing about that moment was that I still didn't trust myself to believe my senses were telling me the truth. So, I made an attempt.

"Okay, back home where I come from… there's this cartoon called Gundam Wing." I glanced at Heero's expression. Something flashed across his eyes, but he didn't speak. "It was about these five guys who were gundam pilots who fought for the colonies to protect them and end the war between Earth and the colonies. Each gundam pilot has a gundam, which makes sense since they're gundam pilots…." I shook my head to myself for being an idiot, and continued. "Let's see. The characters were as follows: Heero Yuy… in the actual series, his gundam was Wing I think; Duo Maxwell… his gundam was Deathscythe; Trowa Barton… his gundam was Heavyarms; Quatre Raberba Winner… pilot of Sandrock; and last but not least, Wufei Chang who was the pilot of Shenlong, also more personally called Nataku. Now, would you prefer me to go into the timeline details? What year is it?" I asked.

"A.C. 198..." Duo told me.

"Oh yeah! Great! Then that means that the Operation Meteor thing and Mariemaia events have already passed! And guess what? I know that Operation Meteor wasn't the REAL Operation Meteor! That's what Mariemaia's thing is all about!"

They were both silent once I was done venting. I didn't know how much I should tell them… little did they know how much I really knew… about each of them: events from their pasts that they would never tell anyone… I felt guilty knowing things I really shouldn't know.

Then Heero said what I expected. "We should kill you for knowing so much… it's dangerous to us."

I eyed him carefully. "I'll have you know that it's not my fault… as far as I know you people aren't even real. I don't understand what I'm doing here, but I don't think I was placed here to be shot."

"I don't understand how you can have so much information in such detail!" Duo announced. "But you can't expect us to believe that you're just some girl from another world and we are supposed to be cartoons!"

I sighed, and was afraid of what I'd have to do to convince them because that would lead me to telling them more about them. Then an idea struck me. "Ha! I know! I'll prove it to you! First off, my name is Lynn Tinsley and I was born on October 27th, 1985! According to my knowledge, it is 2003 and I am 17 years old and currently going to be going to Los Angeles Pierce College." As I said all of this quickly in a string of words, I grabbed my backpack and pulled out my wallet. I opened it up and showed them my California I.D. There was the evidence, plain as day. I also showed them my social security card and my ATM card, both with my name on it. I even showed them my Bruce Springsteen concert ticket from a few days before.

"I'm not lying." I said finally. "And I don't expect you to believe me, but it's the truth and I can't say it any other way. If you want I can make up a lie, but I personally don't think that'd be a good idea. You'd probably believe it."

Heero looked at my wallet with my I.D. in it, and his brow furrowed. "But…" he said, "This could be made. It could easily be fake."

"Heero…" I turned to him with a sigh. "If I was a spy, which I'm sure that's what you two think I am, then why the hell would have such an insane story as a cover up? It makes no sense! Also, don't you think you would have noticed me in the car before I screamed? Not to mention a 'spy' wouldn't scream and give herself away."

"That's a valid point…" Duo said. I smiled finally, relief starting to wash over me.

"Are you saying you believe her?" Heero asked in disbelief.

Duo put his hands up in defense. "I really don't know what I'm saying, man… But this is really crazy…"

"If you take me to wherever one of you may be staying, then I'll try and explain it in further detail…." I said with a sigh. "Just… please don't kill me… I still plan to do things with my life."

Then after a moment Duo got in the driver's seat and Heero stayed back with me, the gun still pointed at me, precariously close. What if his finger slipped? What if we hit a bump and he accidentally pulled the trigger? What if I sneezed, startled him, causing him to shoot me? Paranoid thoughts filled my head, but I tried to ignore them. Once we started driving, Duo attempted to make some sort of conversation. It may have been just to humor me, or to bring a bit of normalcy back to us as we sat uncomfortably in the car. Normalcy? Ha! Yeah right! Here I was, in GW land, with Heero aiming his gun at me. All possible chances of 'normal' were long gone.

"So… uh… what are ya gonna study in college?" Duo asked.

"I was going to get my AA in Fine Arts. Then I was going to go to the Academy of Art College in San Francisco where I was going to get my BA in Illustration. I was going to become an animator. Or try to…" I replied.

"Was?" Heero pondered.

"It's not like I'm going to just leap back to my world any time I want…" I replied. "If stuff was that easy, then I would have popped in earlier and said hi and wouldn't have said anything to give away what I know, 'cause I could just hop back to my world whenever I felt like it."

Moments passed. I stared at Heero's gun. "Could you stop pointing that thing at me?"

"No."

"It's not like I'm going to try and kick your ass in the back seat of a car. No, scratch that. I wouldn't try to kick your ass anywhere, 'cause you're much stronger and much more experienced than I'll ever be."

Heero didn't put the gun down. I rolled my eyes and gave a small laugh. "I figured you wouldn't listen to me, not that I blame you…"

"What do you mean?" Heero replied.

"You were trained to be like this, right? To be extremely cautious, practically paranoid? You are a gundam pilot and all…" I replied. "Not to mention I do understand how you have to protect your history."

"Then you understand why I'd have to kill you." Heero replied stoically.

I sighed, and looked out the car window at the trees fading into buildings that passed by in a blur. "But you don't really want to kill me… do you? I don't think anyone really enjoys taking a life. Besides, I'm sure you still want to know just how much I know, right?"

Heero narrowed his eyes at me, and a low growl escaped his throat, and I merely raised my eyebrow. I didn't like how this was turning out. A part of me still thought I was crazy.

Eventually Duo pulled up into a large driveway of a huge house, maybe a mansion. I've never lived in big places, so I don't know what it would properly be called. My jaw dropped. "You guys are staying with Quatre?" I asked.

Duo turned around in his seat. "You know, it's freaky how you keep doing that. How did you know this place belongs to Quatre?"

"Because he's the one with the money!" I replied. "C'mon, he's the heir to the Winner foundation! I really don't think that your scrap yard business with Hilde would ever get you this much money… and I don't think Heero would ever own something like this."

"You know about Hilde?" Duo exclaimed. "This is way too weird."

I laughed slightly in response and shook my head. Then I asked as Heero pulled me out of the car, "Are all of you guys living here? I know after the Mariemaia thing Wufei went with Sally to work as a Preventer, Trowa went back to the circus, I think… I don't know what Quatre ended up doing, but I know he has money. Probably taking over his dad's business or something like that… Oh, and now that I think about it, what did you do afterward, Heero?"

"You don't know?" Heero replied. "So far you've been able to name everything else…"

"Yeah but Endless Waltz doesn't tell about you in the end. You just sort of… disappear, I suppose."

"Endless Waltz?" Duo pondered as we walked up the wide steps.

"Yeah, that's the whole Mariemaia incident. See, first there's the series, which is the whole Operation Meteor thing. Then after that there's like this extra mini series type movie thing called Endless Waltz. There's Endless Waltz the movie, and Endless Waltz the 3 or 4 episodes. It's weird, I don't know why they did that. I've only seen the episodes."

"Uh huh…." Heero responded.

"Man, you're confusing…" Duo commented as he unlocked the door.