Window Pain

The Portal (Act Two)

All of the occupants stopped ingesting their food and gaped at the swarm of indigo clouds that began to swarm around the light. It seemed as though time had stopped when a white flash overtook the purple clouds and temporarily blinded everyone. A few seconds later, everything dimmed down and the cadets all stared into the hole in the middle of the clouds that displayed an exact mirror of the people in the cafeteria.

(Name) squinted her eyes at the figure that looked exactly like her. Something about the figures in the portal seemed a little bit off. It took the cadet a few seconds to realize that the (Name) that stared back at her was wearing the cape of a corporal. Her eyes widened noticeably as curiosity got the best of her. In painfully slow steps, (Name) inched towards the girl in the portal. It took only a few seconds to reach her.

"Hanji," (Name) called. "I think your project worked.

~*~

The scientist blinked a few times, glancing confusedly as her mirror image copied her actions. She hastily grabbed Corporal Levi by his bicep and dragged him up to the portal, where the other Hanji and the Corporal (Name) stood. The two scientists cleared their throats and spoke out in awkward unison.

"I am Hanji Zoë and we are here to discuss the possibilities of an alliance between our two universes." Their voices wavered a bit, probably startled at the mirror image of themselves, before they nudged their Corporals closer together in order to shake hands. Corporal (Name) hesitantly offered her hand to Corporal Levi, who in return shook it firmly. They both displayed stoic faces, but fear was clearly evident in their eyes.

"I suppose a proper conference is necessary," Corporal (Name) said, giving Levi a cold stare. He nodded his head and stepped into the portal as though it were an everyday occurrence. An awkward silence fell upon the soldiers as they stared at each other.

"I'll go get Commander Erwin really quick," Hanji said, running out of the cafeteria.

As soon as the corporals were out of sight, the whole room erupted into chaos, cadets on both sides leaping in and out of the portal to meet their alternate selves. (Name) glanced around, panicked, having nothing to do in the situation. Suddenly, her eyes met those of the other Levi. Sparks flew between the two of them as they stared at each other for a good ten seconds. (Name) broke the silence by offering him a wide smile. He smiled back with equal force, making the female cadet inch closer to him.

"Hey, Levi," she grinned, cautiously testing the waters. She swept a bit of her hair behind her ear, becoming bashful in his cheery presence.

"Hi, (Name)," he replied, hesitantly reaching out to grasp her hand. (Name) entwined their fingers as they exchanged greetings, surprised at how much progress she was making in such a short amount of time. Levi glanced around at the chaos for a brief second before he leaned in closer to her. "Do you mind if we go somewhere quieter?" He asked. (Name) nodded briefly before tightening her hold on his hand and leading him outside of the building.

"Oh my god," (Name) started as soon as they stepped into the sunlight. "I thought this day would never come! I kind of hoped that Hanji's project would work, but I never realized that this would happen if she succeeded!"

"I know, right? I'm so happy that it turned out like this! I mean, Captain (Name) is always so hard to get and I never thought that I'd have a chance, but now... but now I don't even have to try!"

"Yeah, totally! Whenever I try to make a move on Levi, he throws me out of a window!" (Name) cried.

"Really? She kicks me into the forest!"