Categories > Anime/Manga > Full Metal Alchemist > Warped Mirrors
Warped Mirrors
mirror Two
It took three more lit matches, and a shouting match loud enough to make the rocks groan ominously over their heads to ascertain everyone's identities. Edward hadn't moved from his original position, one hand firmly on the leg of Alphonse to make sure that the armor was still there. This was somewhere between incredible and terrifying, and he still had no idea what to make of it.
"This is ... unbelievable," the other Alphonse said. Even without seeing his face, Edward could hear the disbelief in his voice. He heard the other boy shift. "How does something like this happen?"
"Maybe we're all dead," the female Ed said ominously. She had introduced herself as Edana, and apparently found the concept of a male version of herself as ridiculous as he found the reverse.
"We're not dead," Edward's Alphonse insisted strongly. His familiar, echoing voice was a comfort to a very discombobulated Edward. "If we were dead... well, I'd like to think that if I were dead I'd be rid of this." He knocked on his chest, providing a dull, hollow sound. "We're not dead."
There was a muttering agreement from the others at that pronouncement.
"Even if we're not dead," the female Alphonse, Edana's younger sister Alanza said, "then we will be soon if we don't figure out a way to get out of this cave."
"This isn't a cave, it's a tomb," the other Edward said darkly. It chilled Edward to his core to hear his own voice echoing and tinny ... it was him in that armor behind Alphonse. "Besides, some of us will be fine, regardless of what happens."
Alphonse must have reached back to rap on his brother's armor. "That's not nice, 'niisan," he remonstrated idly.
"'Nice' is a field in which I need work," the other Edward said dryly. "Along with 'sane' and 'reasonable', but those are boring."
Edana lit another match, throwing their dark little cavern into flicking relief. "I'm going to run out of matches, soon," she said, looking at a mostly empty book of matches. "We should conserve them."
Nods rippled around the group. "What's the ceiling look like?" Edward's Alphonse asked.
"Lots of rocks mish-mashed together," the other Alphonse answered, getting to his feet as best he could. He had to stoop slightly, but could mostly stand upright. He ran his gloved hands along the functioning roof, which released a shower of dust that trickled to the dirt floor. "There are hundreds of tiny cracks and holes, though," he said, putting his hand close to one and frowning at it. "We won't run out of breathable air for a while."
"Useful, and at the same time, depressing," Edana muttered as the match fizzled out.
"So how do we get out of here?" Alanza asked the question that was burning in everyone's minds.
"I don't know," Alphonse said, running his hands along the rock one more time before dropping heavily back into a seated position. He lit the next match. "I don't think we should use alchemy to get us out of this mess ... we don't know how structurally sound any of this is." He gestured helplessly at the rocks that hemmed them in on all sides.
"All the same, I don't think we have any choice," Edward returned, running his own gloved hands over the dirt floor. "No one knows we're here... it'll be days at the earliest before anyone knows we've gone missing - I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a few weeks for people to realize we haven't turned up in a while."
"We don't have weeks," Edana said grimly.
"Really?" Edward snapped back at her. "I don't know, I thought we could have a bit of a tea party while we sit here and wait for a rescue!"
Edana's expression darkened considerably. "What is THAT supposed to mean?" she snarled.
"Stop it, both of you." Alphonse said firmly.
"No," Edana said, pointing at Edward as the match fizzled out again. "I want to know what he meant by that."
"I think you can figure out what I meant by that easily enough," Edward retorted back as the latest match died.
"'Niisan ... do you think we could go down?"
His Alphonse's query caught the other Alphonse's attention. "That might be a possibility. I wonder if we could transmute a tunnel out?"
"And go where?" the other Edward sounded ... defeated. "The tunnel was pretty much a straight shot, and we don't know if the rest of the mine shaft has collapsed. I would think that it has."
"What if we go down, then up?"
Alanza's idea was met with silence. Alphonse clanked slightly, and Edward felt the armor shift away from him. "Like ... in Xerotime?"
"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Edana said. "But in Xerotime, we were tunneling through dirt, not stone."
"Stone will be a bit trickier," the other Alphonse said. "But, I think we can handle it. Do we ... really want to try it?"
"I don't see why not," the other Edward said. "Frankly, I don't relish the idea of sitting here in the dark and watching you three die."
"...Lovely." Edana said dryly, striking another match. "Even if the rocks above us are upset by the transmutation, better to die by cave-in than starvation."
"You're all just shining pillars of optimism," the other Alphonse returned in the same dry tone.
Edward scooted forwards on his knees. "Best place to start would be in the center," he said, glancing at the ceiling above them. "Hey, Al ... think you could stand up and provide cover? You can take hits a lot better than I can."
The other Alphonse had started to open his mouth to speak when he realized he wasn't being addressed. He scooted forwards as well. "That isn't a bad idea."
Edana was the last to shift forward, Alanza clambering awkwardly to her feet behind her sister. The three identical suits of armor stood over their siblings to shield them from any loose rocks or debris.
Edana dropped the match to the stone floor, where it quickly extinguished. "Are we ready?" Alphonse asked, not sounding as nervous as Edward felt.
"Let's do this," Edana responded boldly, as Edward answered "If you are."
There was a beat of silence in which Alphonse was probably figuring out how to respond. Then, almost all at the same time, the three flesh-and-blood alchemists clapped their hands together.
End mirror Two
mirror Two
It took three more lit matches, and a shouting match loud enough to make the rocks groan ominously over their heads to ascertain everyone's identities. Edward hadn't moved from his original position, one hand firmly on the leg of Alphonse to make sure that the armor was still there. This was somewhere between incredible and terrifying, and he still had no idea what to make of it.
"This is ... unbelievable," the other Alphonse said. Even without seeing his face, Edward could hear the disbelief in his voice. He heard the other boy shift. "How does something like this happen?"
"Maybe we're all dead," the female Ed said ominously. She had introduced herself as Edana, and apparently found the concept of a male version of herself as ridiculous as he found the reverse.
"We're not dead," Edward's Alphonse insisted strongly. His familiar, echoing voice was a comfort to a very discombobulated Edward. "If we were dead... well, I'd like to think that if I were dead I'd be rid of this." He knocked on his chest, providing a dull, hollow sound. "We're not dead."
There was a muttering agreement from the others at that pronouncement.
"Even if we're not dead," the female Alphonse, Edana's younger sister Alanza said, "then we will be soon if we don't figure out a way to get out of this cave."
"This isn't a cave, it's a tomb," the other Edward said darkly. It chilled Edward to his core to hear his own voice echoing and tinny ... it was him in that armor behind Alphonse. "Besides, some of us will be fine, regardless of what happens."
Alphonse must have reached back to rap on his brother's armor. "That's not nice, 'niisan," he remonstrated idly.
"'Nice' is a field in which I need work," the other Edward said dryly. "Along with 'sane' and 'reasonable', but those are boring."
Edana lit another match, throwing their dark little cavern into flicking relief. "I'm going to run out of matches, soon," she said, looking at a mostly empty book of matches. "We should conserve them."
Nods rippled around the group. "What's the ceiling look like?" Edward's Alphonse asked.
"Lots of rocks mish-mashed together," the other Alphonse answered, getting to his feet as best he could. He had to stoop slightly, but could mostly stand upright. He ran his gloved hands along the functioning roof, which released a shower of dust that trickled to the dirt floor. "There are hundreds of tiny cracks and holes, though," he said, putting his hand close to one and frowning at it. "We won't run out of breathable air for a while."
"Useful, and at the same time, depressing," Edana muttered as the match fizzled out.
"So how do we get out of here?" Alanza asked the question that was burning in everyone's minds.
"I don't know," Alphonse said, running his hands along the rock one more time before dropping heavily back into a seated position. He lit the next match. "I don't think we should use alchemy to get us out of this mess ... we don't know how structurally sound any of this is." He gestured helplessly at the rocks that hemmed them in on all sides.
"All the same, I don't think we have any choice," Edward returned, running his own gloved hands over the dirt floor. "No one knows we're here... it'll be days at the earliest before anyone knows we've gone missing - I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a few weeks for people to realize we haven't turned up in a while."
"We don't have weeks," Edana said grimly.
"Really?" Edward snapped back at her. "I don't know, I thought we could have a bit of a tea party while we sit here and wait for a rescue!"
Edana's expression darkened considerably. "What is THAT supposed to mean?" she snarled.
"Stop it, both of you." Alphonse said firmly.
"No," Edana said, pointing at Edward as the match fizzled out again. "I want to know what he meant by that."
"I think you can figure out what I meant by that easily enough," Edward retorted back as the latest match died.
"'Niisan ... do you think we could go down?"
His Alphonse's query caught the other Alphonse's attention. "That might be a possibility. I wonder if we could transmute a tunnel out?"
"And go where?" the other Edward sounded ... defeated. "The tunnel was pretty much a straight shot, and we don't know if the rest of the mine shaft has collapsed. I would think that it has."
"What if we go down, then up?"
Alanza's idea was met with silence. Alphonse clanked slightly, and Edward felt the armor shift away from him. "Like ... in Xerotime?"
"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Edana said. "But in Xerotime, we were tunneling through dirt, not stone."
"Stone will be a bit trickier," the other Alphonse said. "But, I think we can handle it. Do we ... really want to try it?"
"I don't see why not," the other Edward said. "Frankly, I don't relish the idea of sitting here in the dark and watching you three die."
"...Lovely." Edana said dryly, striking another match. "Even if the rocks above us are upset by the transmutation, better to die by cave-in than starvation."
"You're all just shining pillars of optimism," the other Alphonse returned in the same dry tone.
Edward scooted forwards on his knees. "Best place to start would be in the center," he said, glancing at the ceiling above them. "Hey, Al ... think you could stand up and provide cover? You can take hits a lot better than I can."
The other Alphonse had started to open his mouth to speak when he realized he wasn't being addressed. He scooted forwards as well. "That isn't a bad idea."
Edana was the last to shift forward, Alanza clambering awkwardly to her feet behind her sister. The three identical suits of armor stood over their siblings to shield them from any loose rocks or debris.
Edana dropped the match to the stone floor, where it quickly extinguished. "Are we ready?" Alphonse asked, not sounding as nervous as Edward felt.
"Let's do this," Edana responded boldly, as Edward answered "If you are."
There was a beat of silence in which Alphonse was probably figuring out how to respond. Then, almost all at the same time, the three flesh-and-blood alchemists clapped their hands together.
End mirror Two
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