bard_linn

Trapped Between the Panes

Al gradually became aware of a familiar sound. It was someone humming. He smiled and burrowed deeper into the covers. It took a lot to convince his brother to sing to him. Edward had a beautiful voice though he didn’t use it often. Singing that was. Shouting, yelling, moaning…those were another story. But when Al sometimes awoke with nightmares from barely remembered memories Ed would often sing the very song that Al heard every night as a child from his…

“MOTHER?” Al jerked awake.

Trisha Elric smiled at her son. “Relax Alphonse. You’ve had a difficult day.”

“Mother what happened? Where’s Niisan?” Al glanced around frantically. He saw another figure on the bed. “Riza?”

The officer’s eyes slowly blinked open. “Al?” She sat up slowly. “Where are the others?”

“I don’t know,” Al began starting to panic. “But I think WE’RE DEAD!”

“WHAT?” Riza yelped, surprised by Al’s sudden outburst. He was usually the level headed one.

“That’s not quite correct Alphonse.”

Riza stared at the man who had just come in the door. He looked so much like Ed that there was only one person he could be…

“Father?”

“Hello Alphonse.”

Al sobbed and threw himself into his father’s arms. “Niisan said you were dead,” he managed to gasp out.

Riza frowned. “Will some one PLEASE explain what’s going on?”

“Riza, Riza. I didn’t know you had it in you. I always knew you would get Roy, but four handsome men?”

Al frowned up at the new arrival. “Did I know you?”

“Yes you did,” Riza answered. “Explain Hughes. Right now.”

“You’re Hughes?” Al looked surprised. The man looked different than the photos he had seen. Of course most of them were from when Hughes was younger, before he got on the other side of the camera. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“All of the good stuff was true, everything else was a complete fabrication,” Hughes replied.

“HUGHES!” Damm it, where was her gun when she needed it?

“Now Hawkeye, you know how this works.” A pile of photo albums appeared in his lap. “And Al doesn’t remember seeing any of these!”

“There was an alchemy accident. It sent Edward, General Mustang and Masuta across the Gate,” Hohenheim put in. Hughes pouted. “It also separated your souls from their bodies and left them here.”

“Where are we?” Riza asked watching Trisha comfort Al.

“Between the worlds. Within the Gate,” Hughes explained dropping all humor.

“But the others are okay,” Riza frowned.

“Well, Ed’s unconscious at the moment but he should wake up soon. They’re actually at our opposites’ house,” Hughes replied. Riza gave him a sharp look. Hughes coughed. “It seems that Masuta had a good friend names Thomas Hughes who is married to a very beautiful lady named Elizabeth who bears a startling resemblance to a certain sharp shooter we know.”

Riza raised an eyebrow. “You and me.”

“Well, yes.”

“That would never happen.”

Al absentmindedly listened to the banter while his mother rubbed his back. His eyes fell on the mirror across the room. He remembered this room very well. Al and Ed had often played in here as children. The mirror had been Hohenheim’s wedding present for Trisha and had been the focus of many of their games. Their favorite had always been for one brother to carefully watch the mirror while the other tried to sneak around without being seen. Peering into the reflective surface now Al imagined for a minute he could see his brother staring back at him with a shocked expression…

Wait a minute, he wasn’t imagining things! “Riza, look!” The pair watched their three lovers stare through the glass at them clearly stupefied. Roy snapped his head around to look behind them.

“Alphonse, STOP!” Hohenheim shook his youngest son. The image waved then faded.

“What just happened?” Al looked at his father.

“Something that should have been impossible,” Hohenheim replied. “You managed to connect with the physical world. The problem was you nearly tore down the protections.”

“Everything you see here,” Hughes took over the explanation, “is just an illusion. Outside of these walls you are vulnerable to the forces within the Gate and they do not tolerate the living.”

“Forces?”

“There are things within the Gate that we have no name for. The dead can also come here though it is not generally where we stay. It isn’t a hospitable place.”

“You managed to contact your brother some how, but in doing so you pierced the walls separating the worlds. That makes them vulnerable to those forces as well,” Hohenheim expounded. “Though how you did such a thing I’m not sure…”

“So what can we do here?” Riza asked with a frown.

“We can watch,” Hughes shrugged. “And help anyone who actually enters the Gate.”

“That’s rather useless.”

“Well there’s a reason most people don’t report having help from the dead,” Hughes pointed out.

“Can we go back to our bodies?” Al asked with a frown. If he could get back he might be able to open the Gate and get the others back…

“No. Once a soul is trapped here, it can’t return without outside intervention,” Hohenheim answered his son. “Actually you two are only safe as long as our protections hold. As those deteriorate you’ll become even more vulnerable.”

“So, we can watch what’s going on but we can’t do anything about it. We can’t get home. And at some undetermined time we’ll be set a drift with no protection and no weapons in a hostile environment,” Riza summarized.

“And if your bodies die then you are more or less stuck here,” Hughes added.

“Unless Niisan pulls off another miracle,” Al muttered. “Does anyone know exactly how the accident did all this?” Mass shaking of heads. “Then let’s start there. If we can figure out what happened maybe we can reverse it. Even if we can’t do anything here, if we can contact the others they can fix it.”

“Right,” Riza assumed control of the situation. “Let’s get started. How do we watch the other worlds?”

Because even if it was risky, it really was their only chance. They were racing against the clock and failure would mean death. Possibly not only for themselves but those they loved as well.

Unbetaed so I need imput. Please let me know so that way I can post at HoS tommorow.