Day
One, A Hallway
I
was not about to go
back into a cell. Despite my desire to pound some answer out of these
people, my good sense overrode my emotions and I realized we had to
escape. “Come on,” I grabbed Ed's shoulder and leaped across the
open doorway beneath us. He gave a squawk of surprise at being
manhandled. Carrying the extra weight threw off my landing slightly
and I slipped down, banging my shins painfully against the metal
wall-now-floor.
I
was lucky I had, since the crisp scent of burning hair followed
shortly in the wake of a plume of fire that raced over my head. I
shouted and threw myself to the ground, frantically glancing over my
shoulder. One of the red armoured soldiers had his legs planted wide
on the ground, his fist thrust decisively in front of him and his
spear held behind his back. A spark of flame hovered in front ogf his
knuckles for a fraction of a second before flickering out.
“You
idiot! The Princess wants him alive!” the one next to him shouted.
“Ah...
sorry.”
“Did
he just...?” I turned my face to Ed. Ed, however, was barely paying
attention to me. His eyes were narrowed as he focused on the
soldier's fist.
“Flame
alchemy? Mustang you bastard...”
“Ed!”
I began to crawl across the floor. “Stop staring and move!”
Ed
seemed to get the message when the three soldiers broke out in a
sprint towards us. I scrambled to my feet, hoping that they wouldn't
stab me in the back. Ed wrapped one arm around my torso and used my
momentum to pull himself up with me. Then we started running in some
bizarre three-legged sprint. At first I was worried I'd have to slow
down on Ed's behalf, but he seemed strangely at ease using me as a
support while he moved.
A
series of soft thumps made me look back briefly to see the soldiers
easily vaulting the narrow pit in the floor. “Keep your eyes
forward!” Ed shouted in my ear, but it was too late.
We
had reached the end of the hallway, where it split into a T. But with
the place resting on its side the path now went straight down below
us and straight up on the other side. My foot caught the edge of the
wall-now-floor and then the next step brought me out over the void.
Ed snarled and managed to keep himself from going over, grabbing onto
door latch. His arm slipped down my waist, along my leg before
grabbing hold of my ankle, his body overextending into the
double-wide hallway-now-shaft. I pinwheeled my free arm and looked
down into the shaft even as a blast of hot air swept across my body.
It
was hell. The fire filled the entire hallway like a liquid, strangely
smokeless. The hot air shimmered and made my eyes water as it dried
out everything. I pinwheeled my free arm and then managed to snap my
palm against the opposite wall to keep myself from plummeting. The
metal was painfully hot. My body formed an arc across the accidental
chimney.
“Hold
on!” Ed shouted while trying to pull me back. With only one leg he
didn't have anywhere near the leverage to do so. I snapped by head
up. The hallway up had several doorways, most of them open. Chains
for more oil lamps also hung from the walls. I felt strangely calm as
my mind spun through several scenarios before I called back.
“No,
let me go,” I said, yelling to be heard over the fire but still
calm.
“Are
you crazy?”
“I
have a plan,” I shouted back. Ed snorted at that but let me drop.
My sweaty palm slipped from the opposite wall and I began to tumble
down into the chimney. I heard shouts of frustration behind me. Then
my fingers wrapped around the chain of a broken oil lamp. It seared
my skin but I ignored the pain, even as I slammed painfully against
the wall.
A
sharp crack drew my eyes up. Ed was holding the splintered end of one
of the spears in one hand, but an angry red line was traced across
his cheek. We were officially out of time. I took a deep breath, the
hot air burning down into my lungs. Then I swung.
Two
legs against one wall. Then the other. Not much space to play with
here, but just enough. Momentum propelled me up and just within reach
of he next dangling chain. Then the next.
Ed
was struggling in the grip of two of the goons when I swung up level
with the hallway.
“Hold
him, hold him!”
“Gah!
Little bastard bit me!”
“Just
knock his lights out, we need him alive, not in one piece!”
Both
of them were so distracted with keeping Ed, who fought like a
gold-haired demon, contained they never saw me coming. On my back
swing I snapped my legs out, taking them both in the face. There was
a crack as their masks broke under the force of my swing, then they
stumbled back before sitting down hard.
“You're
alive!” the third one said, now revealed. That was when Ed swept
his legs out from under him.
“Take
my hand,” I offered. He did so and I let myself swing back. The
chain groaned as it suddenly took both of our weights.
“It'll
snap!”
“Just
push with your leg,” I told him, twisting my body to face the other
wall. “When we swing back, I'm throwing you.” His eyes widened,
then narrowed in comprehension. Once again I was struck by how easily
we coordinated, both pushing off the wall at the exact same time. I
snapped my arm up, using the momentum to help propel Ed upwards. His
fingers laced around the next chain up.
“Your
turn!” he called back down, swinging down and presenting me his
free hand. He had a big manic grin on his face. He was enjoying this?
Still, I couldn't help but respond. On my next backswing I launched
myself up and he caught my arm by the wrist. The touch lasted only a
second but it felt almost magnetic, then I was being tossed up.
Thankfully
I regained my wits quickly enough to grab the next hanging chain. Ed
was already pushing off of the wall with his one leg, then throwing
himself after me almost before I could prepare. Still, I caught him
and sent him flying above me.
That
was when the soldiers recovered. One of the ones with a shattered
faceplate looked up at us, his eyes widening. Then he narrowed them
and disappeared back into the hallway. A fraction of a second later,
as Ed was sending me up again, he launched out into the chimney. One
foot planted against the wall, then pushed him back. He spun in
place, planting his other foot and went up again. He was bouncing up
the walls after us!
Ed
was below me, hanging by one arm as he looked grimly downward. I
glanced at my own chain, there was still a mostly full reservoir of
oil hanging from the bottom of it, shaped like a bulb. Other than
that, there was nothing in reach and nothing I could do.
The
soldier reached Ed on the seventh bounce and came at him with a
sweeping arm. Ed grabbed the arm and drove his shoulder into the man
in mid-air, driving the breath from his lungs. The man fell
downwards, and there was an almost liquid snap as a link the chain Ed
was holding onto broke. For a moment he lurched downward before the
remains of the chain caught him. His fingers slipped along the armour
of the soldier then snapped around the man's wrist.
“Hold
on!” Ed shouted.
“What
are you doing?” I asked, furrowing my brow in annoyance.
“If
I let him go, he'll die!” Ed yelled back.
This
seemed to revive the shoulder, who looked down and started shrieking.
“Ah! AHH! Don't let go!”
“Captain!”
The two remaining soldiers were looking up the shaft, the one with
the visible face had his lips twisted into a snarl. From the way they
were shaking they either weren't skilled enough to follow, or not
insane enough. “Hold on!”
We
didn't have time for this. I glanced upward. The top of this
makeshift shaft was only two or three leaps away, but I could feel my
strength waning and who knew what other enemies were coming? Plus
Ed's own chain was going to break free with all that added weight on
it for too long. Ed's grip didn't look very strong, maybe I could
jostle the soldier free without hurting him? I looked back down to
the firey pit and made a quick decision.
[
]Help him, no matter what he did he doesn't deserve that kind of
death.
[
]Ed can take care of himself, get to safety.
[
]Maybe the soldiers can help in some way?
[
]He wrote his own fate by attacking me, save Ed from his own
foolishness.
-------------
Epsilon
One, A Hallway
I
was not about to go
back into a cell. Despite my desire to pound some answer out of these
people, my good sense overrode my emotions and I realized we had to
escape. “Come on,” I grabbed Ed's shoulder and leaped across the
open doorway beneath us. He gave a squawk of surprise at being
manhandled. Carrying the extra weight threw off my landing slightly
and I slipped down, banging my shins painfully against the metal
wall-now-floor.
I
was lucky I had, since the crisp scent of burning hair followed
shortly in the wake of a plume of fire that raced over my head. I
shouted and threw myself to the ground, frantically glancing over my
shoulder. One of the red armoured soldiers had his legs planted wide
on the ground, his fist thrust decisively in front of him and his
spear held behind his back. A spark of flame hovered in front ogf his
knuckles for a fraction of a second before flickering out.
“You
idiot! The Princess wants him alive!” the one next to him shouted.
“Ah...
sorry.”
“Did
he just...?” I turned my face to Ed. Ed, however, was barely paying
attention to me. His eyes were narrowed as he focused on the
soldier's fist.
“Flame
alchemy? Mustang you bastard...”
“Ed!”
I began to crawl across the floor. “Stop staring and move!”
Ed
seemed to get the message when the three soldiers broke out in a
sprint towards us. I scrambled to my feet, hoping that they wouldn't
stab me in the back. Ed wrapped one arm around my torso and used my
momentum to pull himself up with me. Then we started running in some
bizarre three-legged sprint. At first I was worried I'd have to slow
down on Ed's behalf, but he seemed strangely at ease using me as a
support while he moved.
A
series of soft thumps made me look back briefly to see the soldiers
easily vaulting the narrow pit in the floor. “Keep your eyes
forward!” Ed shouted in my ear, but it was too late.
We
had reached the end of the hallway, where it split into a T. But with
the place resting on its side the path now went straight down below
us and straight up on the other side. My foot caught the edge of the
wall-now-floor and then the next step brought me out over the void.
Ed snarled and managed to keep himself from going over, grabbing onto
door latch. His arm slipped down my waist, along my leg before
grabbing hold of my ankle, his body overextending into the
double-wide hallway-now-shaft. I pinwheeled my free arm and looked
down into the shaft even as a blast of hot air swept across my body.
It
was hell. The fire filled the entire hallway like a liquid, strangely
smokeless. The hot air shimmered and made my eyes water as it dried
out everything. I pinwheeled my free arm and then managed to snap my
palm against the opposite wall to keep myself from plummeting. The
metal was painfully hot. My body formed an arc across the accidental
chimney.
“Hold
on!” Ed shouted while trying to pull me back. With only one leg he
didn't have anywhere near the leverage to do so. I snapped by head
up. The hallway up had several doorways, most of them open. Chains
for more oil lamps also hung from the walls. I felt strangely calm as
my mind spun through several scenarios before I called back.
“No,
let me go,” I said, yelling to be heard over the fire but still
calm.
“Are
you crazy?”
“I
have a plan,” I shouted back. Ed snorted at that but let me drop.
My sweaty palm slipped from the opposite wall and I began to tumble
down into the chimney. I heard shouts of frustration behind me. Then
my fingers wrapped around the chain of a broken oil lamp. It seared
my skin but I ignored the pain, even as I slammed painfully against
the wall.
A
sharp crack drew my eyes up. Ed was holding the splintered end of one
of the spears in one hand, but an angry red line was traced across
his cheek. We were officially out of time. I took a deep breath, the
hot air burning down into my lungs. Then I swung.
Two
legs against one wall. Then the other. Not much space to play with
here, but just enough. Momentum propelled me up and just within reach
of he next dangling chain. Then the next.
Ed
was struggling in the grip of two of the goons when I swung up level
with the hallway.
“Hold
him, hold him!”
“Gah!
Little bastard bit me!”
“Just
knock his lights out, we need him alive, not in one piece!”
Both
of them were so distracted with keeping Ed, who fought like a
gold-haired demon, contained they never saw me coming. On my back
swing I snapped my legs out, taking them both in the face. There was
a crack as their masks broke under the force of my swing, then they
stumbled back before sitting down hard.
“You're
alive!” the third one said, now revealed. That was when Ed swept
his legs out from under him.
“Take
my hand,” I offered. He did so and I let myself swing back. The
chain groaned as it suddenly took both of our weights.
“It'll
snap!”
“Just
push with your leg,” I told him, twisting my body to face the other
wall. “When we swing back, I'm throwing you.” His eyes widened,
then narrowed in comprehension. Once again I was struck by how easily
we coordinated, both pushing off the wall at the exact same time. I
snapped my arm up, using the momentum to help propel Ed upwards. His
fingers laced around the next chain up.
“Your
turn!” he called back down, swinging down and presenting me his
free hand. He had a big manic grin on his face. He was enjoying this?
Still, I couldn't help but respond. On my next backswing I launched
myself up and he caught my arm by the wrist. The touch lasted only a
second but it felt almost magnetic, then I was being tossed up.
Thankfully
I regained my wits quickly enough to grab the next hanging chain. Ed
was already pushing off of the wall with his one leg, then throwing
himself after me almost before I could prepare. Still, I caught him
and sent him flying above me.
That
was when the soldiers recovered. One of the ones with a shattered
faceplate looked up at us, his eyes widening. Then he narrowed them
and disappeared back into the hallway. A fraction of a second later,
as Ed was sending me up again, he launched out into the chimney. One
foot planted against the wall, then pushed him back. He spun in
place, planting his other foot and went up again. He was bouncing up
the walls after us!
Ed
was below me, hanging by one arm as he looked grimly downward. I
glanced at my own chain, there was still a mostly full reservoir of
oil hanging from the bottom of it, shaped like a bulb. Other than
that, there was nothing in reach and nothing I could do.
The
soldier reached Ed on the seventh bounce and came at him with a
sweeping arm. Ed grabbed the arm and drove his shoulder into the man
in mid-air, driving the breath from his lungs. The man fell
downwards, and there was an almost liquid snap as a link the chain Ed
was holding onto broke. For a moment he lurched downward before the
remains of the chain caught him. His fingers slipped along the armour
of the soldier then snapped around the man's wrist.
“Hold
on!” Ed shouted.
“What
are you doing?” I asked, furrowing my brow in annoyance.
“If
I let him go, he'll die!” Ed yelled back.
This
seemed to revive the shoulder, who looked down and started shrieking.
“Ah! AHH! Don't let go!”
“Captain!”
The two remaining soldiers were looking up the shaft, the one with
the visible face had his lips twisted into a snarl. From the way they
were shaking they either weren't skilled enough to follow, or not
insane enough. “Hold on!”
We
didn't have time for this. I glanced upward. The top of this
makeshift shaft was only two or three leaps away, but I could feel my
strength waning and who knew what other enemies were coming? Plus
Ed's own chain was going to break free with all that added weight on
it for too long. Ed's grip didn't look very strong, maybe I could
jostle the soldier free without hurting him? I looked back down to
the firey pit and made a quick decision.
[
]Help him, no matter what he did he doesn't deserve that kind of
death.
[
]Ed can take care of himself, get to safety.
[
]Maybe the soldiers can help in some way?
[
]He wrote his own fate by attacking me, save Ed from his own
foolishness.
-------------
Epsilon