Drabble: First Watch
Written for avatar_500 prompt #71: Equal. This will potentially be from a larger series crossover that I'm still trying to work out the story for. Contains spoilers up to Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 50.
Summary: It's not magic, it's science. Sokka has a surprising conversation with a suit of armor.
First Watch
“So,” Sokka began, glancing over at the big suit of armor. “That earth magic you used…”
He was immediately cut off, though not unkindly. “It’s not magic, it’s science.”
Sokka’s neck snapped around with a click. He winced, rubbing his neck. Maybe his look of disbelief was too obvious because the armor gave a sigh and turned to face Sokka.
“Magic’s just science we can’t explain. Your people’s bending has a rational explanation according to the laws of this world; you just don’t know what it is yet. Brother has a hypothesis, but we can’t develop it into a theory without more data. Once you know the world’s laws there’s theoretically a way to predict it.”
“So what are the laws of your world…” Sokka paused, realizing he had forgotten the guy’s name.
“Alphonse Elric. Just call me Al,” he replied with a laugh. “Science hasn’t determined them yet. However, we do know the laws to Alchemy.”
“That’s your weird ‘science?’”
“Yep. The most important rule is that to make something you must transmute something else of equal value. We call this equivalent exchange. Basically, you can’t construct a house out of a piece of wood.
“The second law is that you can’t create gold, since it could potentially destabilize the economy.”
“The third law…” Al slowed, his voice trailing off, and Sokka could hear both sadness and guilt. “The third law is that you can’t bring someone back from the dead.”
Wind whistled through the trees, catching the newly sprouting leaves overhead. Sokka felt a shiver go down his spine.
“Who was it?”
“Our mother,” Al replied in a tiny voice, hunching into himself.
Sokka’s memories of his own mother began to surface, from her clear laughter to her stern disapproval. It still hurt after all these years, but he knew those memories haunted his sister even more.
“Mother died and Father had left when we were little. Brother and I just wanted to see her again.”
“The Fire Nation killed our Mom.”
Sokka focused on Katara sleeping peacefully and already knew that if there was a way to bring their mother back, Katara would want to go through with it.
“What happened?”
“I lost my body and my brother lost his leg. He then gave up his arm to bind me to this armor. What we created wasn’t even our mother.” He paused. “I’m not sure if that was better or worse.”
Sokka felt sick to his stomach. “Don’t tell my sister.”
Al shifted and Sokka took that as an agreement. Suddenly overcome with fatigue, Sokka stood up with a yawn.
“Well, I’m off to bed. You ok taking the rest of the watch on your own?”
“You trust me?”
Sokka didn’t face him, thinking over what he’d just learnt. Even if they were Fire Nation, Sokka knew he could trust them.
“Yeah, goodnight.”
Sokka had settled into his sleeping bag before he heard a quiet reply.
“Goodnight.”
It was a long time before he finally fell asleep.
Summary: It's not magic, it's science. Sokka has a surprising conversation with a suit of armor.
First Watch
“So,” Sokka began, glancing over at the big suit of armor. “That earth magic you used…”
He was immediately cut off, though not unkindly. “It’s not magic, it’s science.”
Sokka’s neck snapped around with a click. He winced, rubbing his neck. Maybe his look of disbelief was too obvious because the armor gave a sigh and turned to face Sokka.
“Magic’s just science we can’t explain. Your people’s bending has a rational explanation according to the laws of this world; you just don’t know what it is yet. Brother has a hypothesis, but we can’t develop it into a theory without more data. Once you know the world’s laws there’s theoretically a way to predict it.”
“So what are the laws of your world…” Sokka paused, realizing he had forgotten the guy’s name.
“Alphonse Elric. Just call me Al,” he replied with a laugh. “Science hasn’t determined them yet. However, we do know the laws to Alchemy.”
“That’s your weird ‘science?’”
“Yep. The most important rule is that to make something you must transmute something else of equal value. We call this equivalent exchange. Basically, you can’t construct a house out of a piece of wood.
“The second law is that you can’t create gold, since it could potentially destabilize the economy.”
“The third law…” Al slowed, his voice trailing off, and Sokka could hear both sadness and guilt. “The third law is that you can’t bring someone back from the dead.”
Wind whistled through the trees, catching the newly sprouting leaves overhead. Sokka felt a shiver go down his spine.
“Who was it?”
“Our mother,” Al replied in a tiny voice, hunching into himself.
Sokka’s memories of his own mother began to surface, from her clear laughter to her stern disapproval. It still hurt after all these years, but he knew those memories haunted his sister even more.
“Mother died and Father had left when we were little. Brother and I just wanted to see her again.”
“The Fire Nation killed our Mom.”
Sokka focused on Katara sleeping peacefully and already knew that if there was a way to bring their mother back, Katara would want to go through with it.
“What happened?”
“I lost my body and my brother lost his leg. He then gave up his arm to bind me to this armor. What we created wasn’t even our mother.” He paused. “I’m not sure if that was better or worse.”
Sokka felt sick to his stomach. “Don’t tell my sister.”
Al shifted and Sokka took that as an agreement. Suddenly overcome with fatigue, Sokka stood up with a yawn.
“Well, I’m off to bed. You ok taking the rest of the watch on your own?”
“You trust me?”
Sokka didn’t face him, thinking over what he’d just learnt. Even if they were Fire Nation, Sokka knew he could trust them.
“Yeah, goodnight.”
Sokka had settled into his sleeping bag before he heard a quiet reply.
“Goodnight.”
It was a long time before he finally fell asleep.