Chapter Text
On one of the most important days in the life of a Jedi youngling, Alphonse Elric was considering turning around and going back into the Temple.
It wasn’t because he didn’t want to go. He did, very much so, because while having a laser sword didn’t make you a Jedi, earning a kyber crystal sure got you closer. It wasn’t out of fear, although he knew that he would face trials while he was there - both physical and emotional. It wasn’t even because he felt unprepared; that part was true, but he knew better than to let it stop him.
It was because they were supposed to be leaving in five minutes, and his idiot of an older brother was running late.
Timekeeping had never been one of Edward’s strong suits. Al had lost count of the times he had dragged Ed to lessons, or meals, or out of the library during the time they’d shared a room. Now that they’d been moved to share dormitories with other younglings, it shouldn’t have been Al’s responsibility.
And yet…
With an apologetic look towards Professor Huyang, Al let out a sigh and forced himself to sit down. There’s not enough time to go in and find him. All you can do is cross your fingers and hope he gets here in the next four minutes.
Two minutes before the ship was supposed to take off, Ed came sprinting up the ramp and into the crew area. Al gave him a wave and was rewarded with a head-jerk of acknowledgement and boots that stomped toward the seat next to him. He flopped down dramatically and tossed loose hair out of his face as Al turned to face him with crossed arms.
“Be on board ten minutes before the ship leaves, remember?” Al scolded, making full use of his extra inch of height. It wasn’t quite as effective sitting as it usually was standing. “Master Yoda was very specific.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” Ed’s grumpy tone was accentuated by the scratchiness of not enough sleep, and Al wondered what aspect of the Force he’d stayed up late studying last night. For all of Ed’s faults, he was an excellent student, intelligent and eager to learn, and had the empathy to match it. Someday, it would make him an incredible Jedi.
Today, it just made him tardy.
“I was worried you weren’t going to make it. It wouldn’t have felt right without you.” Al had no qualms about using the vulnerable truth whenever the occasion called for it, especially if it meant trying to hammer some sense into his brother.
And it was the truth. For as long as Al could remember, there had been two constants in his life: the Force and his brother. To be without Ed on such a momentous occasion as the Gathering wouldn’t have just been disappointing, it would have felt wrong.
Ed must have known it too, because a flicker of guilt crossed his face. “I shouldn’t have made you worry, not when this is so important.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. But you’re here now, so all is well.” Forgiveness came as easily to Al as loss of temper came to Ed, which one would think was a fortunate situation if not for the fact that Ed’s outbursts tended to be directed toward everyone but Al. “Anyway, you haven’t really missed anything, and more importantly, you beat Master Yoda here.”
“Thank the Force.” Ed grimaced. “He’s already chewed me out once this week - and not in the easy way, with yelling and stuff. In that quiet disappointed way, that thing he does where he just looks at you for a minute, then shakes his head and mumbles something about what hope do I have of taking the Initiate Trials in a couple years if I can’t even make it to training on time- What?”
“You didn’t tell me you were set to take the Initiate Trials so soon.” Al had fought to keep the hurt out of his voice, but by the look on Ed’s face, he hadn’t quite succeeded. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest. Sure, it wasn’t unexpected that Ed would take the Trials early - anyone could see he was the most advanced Jedi in their clan - and Al wanted to be excited for him.
But the way Ed talked about it sounded like this wasn’t a new development, which meant that he’d kept it a secret from Al, and the only thing worse than Ed leaving him behind was Ed not telling him about it.
Abruptly, Al stood and moved to the only other open seat, next to Chian. He knew it was petty, but he was too upset to care. He could feel Ed’s eyes on him from across the room, and the curious stares from the other younglings, but he kept his attention firmly on the floor and not on Ed’s beseeching gaze.
“Al-”
“Good morning, younglings.” Professor Huyang had taken up residence at the front of the crew area. Being a droid, he had the advantage of being able to lock down onto the floor so he didn’t go flying when the ship took off. Master Yoda, while not a droid, stood comfortably next to Professor Huyang.
“Excited, you all are, for the Gathering, hmm?”
There was a chorus of agreements from around the room, including from Al. Master Yoda smiled at them, both hands resting on his staff.
“Good, good. Journey to Ilum, we shall.” Master Yoda walked around the crew area, studying each of them in turn. Convor Clan had eight younglings, all of them restless and trying to hide it under Master Yoda’s scrutiny. Al was no different, forcing his fidgeting hands to link together in his lap as Master Yoda approached.
Under Master Yoda’s gaze, Al squirmed uncomfortably. It was like the ancient Jedi Master could see the negative feelings he was harboring towards his brother, and Al didn’t like it - mostly because he knew he wasn’t supposed to be holding on to those feelings. What if Master Yoda said he couldn’t undergo the Gathering because of that?
Al took a deep breath, trying to drown his emotions in the current of the Force.
Master Yoda raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, just continued around the room until he found the seat Al had vacated next to Ed. All the younglings watched in amusement as Master Yoda hopped up onto the seat, but quickly straightened their faces as he settled himself and faced them.
“Now, younglings, a challenge there will be on Ilum, hmm?” Master Yoda glanced around the crew area. Al felt the mood shift, saw Ed’s expression turn deadly serious, felt his own chest tighten. “Describe the challenge, who can?”
“The caves are only open for a few hours,” Chian piped up next to him. “There’s water constantly flowing over the opening, and the kyber crystal only melts the ice while there’s sunlight. Once it’s sunset, the cave won’t open for another seventeen days.”
“Correct.” Master Yoda smiled. “Efficient, you all must be. Listen to the Force. Its guidance, follow. A personal journey, this is. Learn about yourselves, you shall.”
—
Ilum was the coldest place Al had ever been. Even with the thick jackets they’d been given when they landed, the icy air pierced through to settle in his bones. It stung his throat as he breathed, and he swore there were ice crystals on his eyelashes.
Next to him, Ed didn’t seem to be faring much better. He stomped his feet and wrapped his arms around his torso, but at least he had his longer hair to help insulate his head underneath his hood. Al wore his hair short, and his ears were on their way to freezing.
Master Yoda, on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly comfortable. “Open, the way is, younglings. Four hours until sunset, you have. Your kyber crystal, find, and then here, return. Questions, you have?”
“No, Master Yoda,” Convor Clan said in unison.
“Very well. Commence the Gathering, you may.”
Exchanging a glance with each other, Al and the other younglings of Convor Clan walked into the ice caves and off on their journey. They had started together, but hit a room with four paths and decided to split in groups of two, just in case anyone got lost. They all knew everyone would have to find their crystals on their own, but there was no sense in unnecessary danger until it became… well, necessary.
It wasn’t until everyone else had gone that Al realized he’d been left with Ed. For a moment, the two of them just stood and stared at each other, breath coming in clouds and fading into nothing.
“Well,” Ed said, with a falsely cheerful tone, “shall we start?”
“Sure,” Al replied, striding toward the only path yet to be taken. He told himself the rapid movements were in an effort to keep warm. He also knew that his quick pace and extra inch of height meant Ed would have to hurry to keep up. Then he wouldn’t have to try and moderate his words as they went.
It worked great until Al reached another fork in the path. Ed caught up quickly, annoyed and breathing hard. He stomped over to where Al was standing, arms folded and deliberating, and put himself between Al and the two tunnels.
“Really? We just walked for forty minutes, and you couldn’t slow down once? Al-” Ed must have noticed the way his voice was rising, because he stopped for a second and backed up so he wasn’t in Al’s face.
Al was impressed. This was more restraint than he’d ever seen Ed show when he was mad. Ed shoved his hood off and ran a gloved hand through his hair; apparently, he didn’t like the way it felt, because he yanked the glove off, threw it on the ground, and twisted hair around his bare fingers.
“I know you’re angry with me, but we’ve got a job to do. So can you please get over yourself long enough for us to figure this out?”
Al was no longer impressed. “Oh sure. Let me just completely ignore the fact that you’ve been planning to take the Initiate Trials for- For how long, now?”
Ed turned away, radiating guilt in the Force. “Master Yoda talked to me about it last month.”
“Okay, so several weeks, then. And you didn’t think to maybe, I don’t know, give me a heads up?” Al threw his hands in the air, trying to get the concept of actual communication through his brother’s thick head. “I don’t care that you’re taking the Trials that early - it makes sense for you - but why wouldn’t you tell me?”
“Maybe I didn’t know how! Hey Al, just so you know, I’m planning to-”
There was a sharp warning in the Force, so much so that it almost knocked him sideways. Instinctively, Al shot out a hand, grabbed his brother by the hood of his robes, and yanked him backwards. His feet slipped out from under him and he hit the ground hard, dragging Ed down with him.
“What-”
Ed’s yell was cut short by an icicle plummeting from the ceiling, smashing to the ground where he had been standing. The splintered chunks were thrown towards them, and only a quickly raised hand from Ed kept them from being pelted.
For the most part, at least. One piece got past Ed’s Force-shield and struck Al in the temple. Without thinking, he pressed his fingers to where he’d been hit and saw them come away bloody. A hiss of pain got out before he could stop it, and Ed spun immediately around, searching for what had happened.
When he saw Al’s head, he winced and reached towards him. “Oh, hey, are you okay? I thought I got them all-”
“Fine,” Al interrupted, flinching away from Ed’s touch. Ed frowned and opened his mouth, but Al got to his feet before Ed could get any words out, turning away and wiping the blood off on his robes. They had a mission here, and it wasn’t going to happen with them wasting time on a scratch. “We have to get moving. The ice cave freezes over if we’re not back in time, remember?”
He half expected Ed to argue with him, but his brother just nodded wordlessly. That made Al’s stomach flip, but he pushed off the uncomfortable feeling and continued, “And I think we’re supposed to find them on our own. It’s supposed to be an individual journey in the Force, if I’m remembering correctly.”
Al felt Ed’s eyes land on him, felt his surprise and hurt through the Force, and carefully avoided meeting his eyes. After a moment of silence, Ed replied.
“Okay.”
Okay. That was it. No trying to convince him otherwise, no emotion in his voice. Just a simple agreement and a wave as Ed headed off down the left fork in search of his kyber crystal. It felt so deeply, intensely wrong that Al just about called him back, but a small part of him was still angry. So he let Ed walk away, and headed off down the right hand fork.
Al’s footsteps echoed against the walls of ice as he walked, not quite sure what he was looking for but trusting that the Force would lead him to where he needed to be. This tunnel ran straight, and he followed it for what he thought was probably about thirty minutes, before he reached an opening with five different paths. None of them screamed ‘this is the way’, and all looked identical as far as he could tell.
His first instinct was to look to Ed, but Ed wasn’t here. Even though Al was the one who’d said to split up, the uncertainty at facing this decision alone was starting to make him regret it. The regret jumbled up with the anger and the hurt, all of it muddling his mind and making it impossible to read the Force, leaving Al staring at the paths in confusion.
“Argh!” Al kicked the wall in frustration, then slid to the floor, toes aching and bruised.
This was not the way today was supposed to go.
Get it together, Al, Ed said, somewhere in the back of his mind. Al huffed an annoyed laugh, because of course Ed was still pushing him, even when they were apart and Al was pissed off at him. Unfortunately, figment-of-imagination Ed was correct.
Al took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knew he should let go of his anger and hurt, but it was still too hard, so he packed it into a box and shoved it out of focus. As he slowly breathed in and out, his mind began to settle into a sense of clarity. Al directed his attention toward which path he should follow and opened his eyes.
The second path from the right seemed to be almost glowing - it was faint, but it was there. Al got to his feet and headed in that direction, trailing his fingers along the damp and frigid wall. It should have been uncomfortable, but it kept him grounded as he listened to the nudges in the back of his mind.
Twenty twisting and turning minutes later, the tunnel opened up into a small room. The walls glittered, reflecting rays of light that had filtered down from a tiny crack in the ceiling. There was no further path to follow, and something in the Force told Al that he was in the right place, but he didn’t see a kyber crystal anywhere.
Al gently brushed his fingers against the glint of the wall and realized they were little ice crystals. Maybe there was a kyber crystal hidden somewhere among them, and the Force was testing his patience to see if he was willing to go through them all until he found it.
If that was the case, the Force didn’t stand a chance. Al’s entire life was an exercise in patience - had to be, considering Ed’s explosive temperament - and so he took a breath and began to examine each individual crystal. He ran the tip of his thumb over the glistening growth, checking for the cold and damp that meant they were ice and not a mineral.
“I wonder if Ed’s found his, yet,” Al mumbled to himself, about halfway around the cavern. He hadn’t found any non-ice crystals so far, and was starting to question whether it had been right to come here by himself.
You follow your brother’s lead so often. You must be able to stand on your own.
Al startled and lost his footing, hitting the ground for the second time today. He groaned, staring up at the ceiling, and when he reached a hand to his head, he saw it was bleeding again.
Great.
“I don’t think I’m doing a great job of standing at the moment.”
The voice - or presence, really - that had spooked him didn’t respond. Al sighed, then squinted. Light was glinting off something at the very top of the cavern, something smaller and more solid than the ice crystals that covered the walls. Pushing himself up on his elbows, Al narrowed his focus through the Force to that one small prick of light.
There was a ringing, clear and bright, and he knew he’d found it.
Climbing carefully back to his feet, Al reached for the crystal, stretching up onto the tips of his toes and extending his arm as far as he could. But he came about two feet short, and while he could reach it with a Force-assisted jump, he didn’t want to risk breaking it.
You’re cautious. That can be strength. It can also hold you back.
“It’s a matter of the risk-reward balance. Sure, there’s a chance I could get it that way. But I could also damage it, and then I’d have to go and look for another one. I’m on a deadline. I can’t afford to make a reckless mistake.”
Al studied the ceiling carefully, looking for any weaknesses he could use. He could throw one of the ice chunks on the ground and knock down a piece of the ceiling. He could stack them to be able to reach. He could try and climb part of the wall, but he sensed that it would be too slippery. He knew it was feasible, it had to be, but right now under a time crunch it felt impossible.
Sometimes, you have to fight back when the situation seems impossible. The best solution is often the simplest one, but sometimes it’s the assertive one.
Simple but assertive. Hmm.
Al looked up to the kyber crystal winking above him, an idea slowly forming. He closed his eyes and focused on the crystal. He could see it shining in the Force within his mind’s eye, his one goal for the day. This crystal would go with him through the rest of his life as a Jedi, but it wouldn’t do him any good up there on the ceiling.
He raised a hand up towards the kyber crystal and pulled.
There was a soft sort of whisper through the Force, almost like a sigh. Al focused on that kyber crystal floating down from the ceiling, coming within his reach. There was the faintest trace of a touch against his hand.
Al opened his eyes, and there it was. A small, yellow crystal, hovering above the palm of his hand. He felt a smile begin at the corners of his mouth as he stared at it in wonder - so small, so delicate, yet so powerful. Cupping his hands around it gently, Al watched as the glow died and it settled into his hands, tiny and warm.
“Thank you.” He spoke the words aloud to the cavern, not sure if he was saying it to the environment or to the Force. Then he turned and walked out, kyber crystal firmly in his hands the whole time. Al had a new sense of calm, choosing each path without hesitation, each foot placed confidently at the direction of the Force.
By his estimation, it had taken two hours to reach the cavern and get his kyber crystal. It only took about thirty minutes for him to be able to see the entrance again. It should, he thought, be only another five minutes until he was out and safe. He was so close-
A wave of dread swept over him, fear and panic mingling together and stealing his breath for a moment. Al stopped, one hand on his chest, waiting for his heart to stop pounding. It was banging against his ribs, hard and painful, and he had to lean against the wall until the pounding turned to a dull thump.
Al took a breath, reaching out in the Force to see if he could figure out what was going on. He sensed Master Yoda outside the cave, calm and patient. He sensed some of his clan mates outside with him, excited and thankful, and some inside, still searching in anticipation. He started searching for Ed, then shut it down.
He’d already been told once today that he needed to stand on his own. So did Ed.
Ed was a strong Jedi. He would be fine on his own. After all, Al thought bitterly, he was ready to leave and become a Padawan in the next couple years.
Squaring his shoulders, Al walked towards the opening of the cave and out into the bright, frozen Ilum sunshine. It took a solid minute of squinting for his eyes to adjust to the light, but once he did, he saw Chian, Caleb, Lanai, and Wata, all grinning and holding up their kyber crystals.
Master Yoda gave him an equally warm smile. “Welcome, Alphonse. Found your kyber crystal, you have?”
“Yes, Master Yoda.” Al stepped forward to greet him, and held out his cupped hands and the crystal within them. Master Yoda peered at it, then looked up at Al. While Master Yoda was harder to read than most people Al had met, he was currently radiating a very distinct surprise. “Most interesting, this is.”
At that, Professor Huyang also stepped over. Al let him study the crystal, suddenly nervous. Was it possible to find the wrong kyber crystal? Had he made some sort of mistake?
“Hmm. Curious, but not unheard of.” Huyang tilted his head and cast critical optical sensors over Al. “Dare I say, understandable, given what I know of you, Alphonse Elric. Tell me, do you understand the significance of your lightsaber crystal?”
“It’s yellow.” Even as the words came out of his mouth, Al winced at how childish they sounded. Professor Huyang didn’t seem to care, though, just nodded and said, “Yes, it is. Commonly seen among the Temple Sentinels and in Jedi Intelligence. A color for those who use skills outside the Force, as well as within it, and seek a path between protection and diplomacy.”
Al wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. From Professor Huyang’s words, a yellow kyber crystal was an honor, but one that came with a duty. Would he be suited to that duty? Could he see himself as one of the anonymous Temple Sentinels? What did Huyang mean, ‘skills outside the Force’?”
His musings were interrupted by Master Yoda stating, calmly, “Ah, beginning to close, the entrance is. Little time left, the remaining youngling has.”
Youngling, singular. Al’s head shot up, scanning his clan for one blond head, one pair of golden eyes, one person in particular, and the realization came crashing down on him.
“Ed’s not back.” Al tucked the kyber crystal safely into a zippered pocket and headed for the cave entrance, only to be blocked by Master Yoda’s staff.
“Remain here, you must, Alphonse.” His voice was stern, but not unkind. Al started to protest, but was swiftly cut off. “A journey Edward must make himself, this is. Separated from him, you did. Remain in effect, this choice must.”
So Al stood, and waited, and watched as the ice crept further and further over the mouth of the cave, and still there was no sign of Ed. Al tried to find him in the Force, to guide him towards the entrance and spur him on, but the anger, hurt, regret still lingered, and Al couldn’t feel their usual bond.
“Come on, Ed,” he mumbled. No matter how he felt towards his brother at the moment, the thought of him trapped inside for another seventeen days was awful. Could he even survive that? Why had he left him in the first place?
Finally, just as all but two feet of the cave entrance were covered in ice, Ed crawled his way out of the tunnel, one hand closed in a fist. Relief so intense it almost buckled his knees flooded through Al, quickly followed up by irritation that Ed had made him worry by cutting it so close.
But when Ed got to his feet, and Al saw the tears in his jacket, the blood on his knees, the shivers wracking his body, the ragged holes in his gloves… Something had gone wrong while he was inside the ice caves.
“Sorry, everyone. Fell down a crevasse. Took a while to get myself out.” Ed flashed a smile that was mostly successful in hiding the pain and exhaustion that were so obvious, Al could feel them even with the mess their bond was in.
Al recalled the sudden flash of dread that had come over him right before he left the cave and the way he’d shrugged it off, telling himself that Ed would be fine on his own. What if that had been when this had happened to Ed? Al had been so wrapped up in his own righteous fury that he hadn’t checked whether Ed was okay.
He was, now, but what if he hadn’t made it back out?
Swallowing hard, Al watched as Master Yoda nudged Ed toward the ship as his shaking grew more violent. Al trailed quietly behind them, all excitement about his lightsaber crystal dampened with the consequences of his anger.
Once everyone was inside, Professor Huyang directed them all towards the construction room and started giving the explanation on how to put their lightsaber together. Al examined the different bins of parts carefully, picking the pieces that called out to him in the Force, and then carefully following each step on the diagram.
After one failed attempt, he let himself take a breather and look around the room. Ed had already put his together successfully - no surprise there, and Al found himself glad that his brother had managed to acquire his kyber crystal even with the mess he’d found himself in. The blade was a vibrant, steady blue, and Ed’s pride thrummed along their tangled connection.
No one else had succeeded quite yet, but Chian looked like he was close. That was encouraging in its own, strange way, and it gave Al the determination to give it another go.
Al took a deep breath, gave the diagram one more critical glance, and tried again. This time, he felt the tingling of the Force throughout his body as he rotated pieces, fit them together, slotted his kyber crystal into the right spot, and finally completed it. Elation buzzed in his veins as he held it; the lightsaber already felt more right in his hands than any practice saber ever had.
He ignited the blade, grinning at the warm and yet pale yellow. It reminded him of a summer day on Coruscant, the heat of the sun and the brightness of its light. Al was just about to ask Professor Huyang more about what it meant to have a yellow lightsaber when the ship lurched, alarms blared, and the lights suddenly died.
There was a second of stunned silence, a general spike of anxiety, and then each and every Jedi youngling did as they’d been trained: they took a seat, remained quiet, and waited for further instructions.
Within minutes, there was the quiet whir of machinery, and then the back-up generator kicked in. The emergency lights came on, and Al breathed a sigh of relief in knowing that, whatever else was wrong, they at least had life support.
Professor Huyang found the closest wall terminal and his hand folded back to reveal a computer coupler, which he inserted into the port. A quiet series of clicks followed, during which every Convor Clan youngling held their breath, and then Professor Huyang withdrew his hand. If it was possible for a droid to look troubled, he managed it.
“It appears as though we’ve had a critical electrical failure somewhere within the wiring. The ship isn’t sure where, only that it disrupted the main flow of power drastically enough to short out the systems and drop us out of hyperspace. If we can find it and repair it, we should be able to continue our journey home.”
There was a brief murmur among the younglings, wondering at how long it would take them to get home and if they’d be able to fix it. This was quickly quelled by Master Yoda, who began issuing instructions with an unfazed expression.
“Additional excitement, it appears our journey will have. Make contact with the Jedi Temple, I will, to inform them of our issue. Check the wiring, we shall. If find the fault, you do, alert Professor Huyang or I, you must. Attempt to fix it, do not.”
And with that, Master Yoda began giving assignments, sending the younglings in teams of two. Al waited nervously for his assignment, crossing his fingers that it wouldn’t be with Ed, not while things were so messy between them, but it was not to be.
“Elric brothers. Work together, you shall, to check the hold. The wiring, inspect for faults.” Master Yoda’s tone allowed no arguments, so Al held his tongue and nodded respectfully before marching over to the ladder.
It was only a quick slide down into the hold, and the sudden change in light meant he had to adjust his vision. The emergency lights were on, and they provided just enough illumination for him to see Ed’s silhouette follow him down. Al squinted down the cargo bays, trying to make out where the electrical panels could possibly be.
“Here,” Ed said, appearing next to him and handing over a glowrod. It threw his features into shadow, gold eyes shimmering in the warm light. “Look, I’m sorry for shouting at you in the ice caves. I can understand why you’re upset with me, and I shouldn’t have kept it from you. Please, can we just figure it out? I hate not getting along with you.”
Al fumbled for a response. Ed apologies were rare, and he had no idea what to say to one, especially one that was trying to get them on track for work. He just stood and stared at him for a moment, incredulity probably blatant on his face. Ed noticed, and turned toward the wall.
“Fine, don’t talk to me.” But the tension in Ed’s shoulders was anxious, not angry. Al’s heart twinged reflexively, and a reassurance began to form on his tongue. He turned it over, tasting the offer of forgiveness, but by the time it was ready to pass his lips, Ed had already moved on.
“Let’s just focus on getting the wiring checked. No sense in stranding everyone else out in space because we’re having an argument. Even if it is a one-sided argument,” he finished under his breath. Al raised an annoyed eyebrow, and Ed flushed. “Find the breaker for this bay of panels and switch off the electric, would yah?”
“Got it.” Al scanned the switches on the wall, and threw the breaker that matched the panel number written on the wall. Then he took a better look, and realized that each panel had its own breaker. He flipped all the ones he could see within this cargo bay, and went back over to where Ed had pried one open with a screwdriver.
“See anything?” Al held up the glowrod so Ed could get a better look, peering over his shoulder as Ed poked carefully through each bundle of wires. Ed stiffened, and Al realized having someone hovering while you were working with electricity probably wasn’t very helpful. He moved to the side, still holding up the light so Ed could see what he was working on.
There was a moment of tension, then Ed relaxed and gave him a nod.
“This one looks good. I’ll check the one just to the right, and you start checking the panels in the next bay, yeah?” Ed didn’t wait for an answer, just pried open the next panel and started looking.
Al moved further down the wall of the hold, trying to march his emotions into an orderly enough line to actually have a conversation with Ed. Holding onto the anger and the hurt would only make things worse, Ilum had made that clear. He’d work through the emotions at the same time that he worked through the wiring, carefully searching through the jumble to find the faults.
Mind made up, Al pried the next panel open and stared at the tangle of colors. He reached for the first circuit. Somewhere off to his left Ed started to say something, the words filtering through several layers of concentration.
“Al, the electricity’s stil-”
The arc, much like Ed’s words, registered with him a split second too late. Lights exploded behind his eyes, and pain coursed through his body, and then everything went dark.