10: Elrin

"Elrin?" Edward repeated stupidly. What a strange name...

"May I have it back?" the cat-girl inquired politely.

"Have what back?" Alphonse asked.

"My Hourglass, of course. It did take a lot of time and energy to forge it, and I have been so distraught since it was stolen," she replied, offering a small smile. "I would very much enjoy it if you returned it to me."

"We'll give it back if you answer our questions," Edward decided firmly.

"Fair enough," Elrin agreed, nodding her head once. Edward noticed how absurdly long her hair was. It almost looked like a separate living thing. "What is it you would like to know?"

"Where are we? What happened? What year is it?" Alphonse asked.

"You are in what you call Amestris, though right now it is just the small kingdom of Amestria. Let me see... the year is... nine-hundred thirty-seven. My guess is, judging by your reactions, that you screwed up when using my Hourglass and went back too far in time. You were supposed to go..." she paused and began pacing back and forth, her tail twitching slightly. "Four hundred years, am I correct? That is to be expected of course, when inexperienced humans play with my toys. I answered them; give it back." She held out her hand and her ears perked up eagerly.

"Wait, how do you know all that?" Edward asked, holding up a hand as Alphonse stepped forward to return the hourglass.

"My visions. I am sure you noticed the physical resemblance but there is a mental and spiritual connection as well. I am certain you have been told that energy can only be used, broken down, and recycled, correct? The persona you know as 'Christin' is the same as the persona that is 'Elrin' whether you believe it or not. Souls are broken down and reassembled when a person dies. It is similar to the Eastern belief in reincarnation, but there is more to it. The mind, body and soul are all connected. Alphonse should know about the soul's compatibility with a vessel or body and how some vessels reject a soul that is not compatible better than you, Edward, for he was just a soul in a suit of armor... so my sources tell me, anyway. When a person dies, their soul is broken down and reassembled and then implanted in a new body, one that is compatible with the soul. The mind helps bind the soul to the body. I am certain that, if you really paid attention, you would notice that people you know now are similar in one way or another to people who have been long dead. Reproduction also factors into this. Parents give their offspring half of their DNA, half of their soul. The parent dies and the child grows up and has offspring of his or her own. That portion of the DNA from the parent is transferred into the new child, enabling a compatible vessel for a soul. The DNA... or I should say, the physical factor, is what makes a body compatible for a soul. A mind can bond with anything, essentially. Souls are tricky because there is so much making up a soul: likes, dislikes, habits, talents, speech patterns, tastes, sexual preferences, so on and so forth. Is this making sense?" she asked sweetly.

"Uh... more or less?" Edward replied.

"I can explain it again if you so require," Elrin offered.

"That's alright, just keep going. It sounded like there was more," Alphonse said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Very well. So, the souls and minds are reused, correct? That means that they can only be used in the same type of body. There are certain elements, unknown to man even in your time, that allow a certain mind and soul to bond with a body. That means the same mind and soul appear in similar bodies over the course of time. In this half-dimension, things begin to overlap somewhat. Just as I have a future version of my self, you two have past versions of yourself. Since the mind remains the same throughout, there are occasions where the two minds will merge. The future self has dreams of the past, or, some would argue, random dreams in which the situation took place in something resembling the past, and the past self has visions of the future. That is how I knew you were coming, and what went wrong. This also means that you have the possibility of running into your past selves. I cannot determine what will occur if that does happen, so it is best if we avoid such a confrontation," Elrin nodded firmly.

"So... what you're saying is that there is such a thing as rebirth, and that we can meet who we were in a past life?" Alphonse said, struggling to grasp the awesome concept. The sheer thought of being able to see who you were in a past life astounded him!

"Yes. Will you return my Hourglass now?" Elrin confirmed, sticking her hand through the bars of the cage and opening her hand.

"Hold on a second," Edward said. "There's a chance we can run into the people we were a thousand years ago? We were supposed to go back only four hundred! We went back six hundred years too far!"

"No shit, Sherlock," Alphonse spat.

"It's your Hourglass; can't you send us forward in time?" the blond asked, turning to the cat-girl.

"Mmm... I could, if you gave it back to me. You imbeciles clearly do not know how to operate it and got lost. I could teach you how to use it, if you would let me go and return it," she said snootily, holding out her hand again.

"Sounds good to me," Alphonse shrugged, clapping and touching the ground. The bars of the cage dissolved and Elrin approached them.

"You have my thanks. Instruction of the use of my Hourglass will take some time, but I believe there is a way to permit you to live in comfort until you learn enough to travel to the time you originally intended to visit," Elrin said, snatching the object out of Alphonse's hands.

"Live in comfort?" Edward repeated. "What do you mean?"

"You do look similar... your height and weight are a little less than his, but he is missing so we could fib and say he lost weight during the missing time... you hair is far shorter, but that can be explained as well, everyone gets their hair cut at one point or another... your arm is a problem, though. We do not have artificial limbs of such a high caliber in this day and age... your leg can easily be covered by clothing, but in the heat of summer it can cause problems..." Elrin rambled, walking around Edward and looking him up and down.

"What?" Edward asked.

"His hair... is not plaited. Plaited hair is typically reserved for girls," she continued, undoing his braid and tying it back in a simple ponytail.

"Alphonse, behind the large boulder closest to the water's edge is a bundle of fabric. Would you be so kind as to bring it here?" Elrin asked.

"Uh, sure," Alphonse replied, doing as she asked.

"Your clothing is far too modern. People will wonder where you have been to obtain such outlandish garments. Thank you, Alphonse," she smiled at the younger brother and untied the cord wrapped around the bundle.

"What are you doing?" Edward asked warily.

"I am attempting to solve your problem, you ungrateful cad. Here, put these on. I'll dispose of your modern clothing straight away," Elrin replied, pushing black and brown fabric into the blond's arms. "Alphonse, you will have to change as well. You two are not to leave this place; I will return momentarily. Please make sure you are properly garbed upon my return."

"Al, what are you doing?" Edward asked after Elrin had vanished.

"Following the best lead we have of getting back home. She said she can help us, and I'm gonna believe her. Think about it: if we fucked up this much going back in time, who knows how far into the future we'll land if we don't learn how to use the Hourglass? We could go forward two years or two hundred. Personally, I want to return to the present so I can live my life. And you know as well as I do that you made a promise," Alphonse said firmly, poking his brother's chest where his heart would be. "There'll be hell to pay if that promise is broken," he grinned mischievously, tugging on the shirt to expose the freshly made cuts on Edward's skin. Written on his chest, in very small writing, were the words 'You crossed your heart.'

"Of course she maimed me," Edward muttered, rolling his eyes. "I told her I'd come back, didn't I?"

"Try to see this through her eyes, Brother. Given your history, this should be normal," Alphonse sighed.

"Self-mutilation doesn't factor into history, and neither does carving something into my skin," Edward spat as he finished changing.

"Oh, yes, you look all the more like him now. Much better," Elrin clapped her hands.

"You! Explain what you're doing!" Edward snapped.

Elrin giggled and nimbly leapt down from the tree she was perched in, her tail curling happily.

"I am disguising you. There is a man here physically identical to you, though there are slight differences in your souls because you are the newer version. He has a companion physically identical to Alphonse, and a sister identical to... well, I suppose one could say she was identical to me, though her soul is the older version of Alphonse's wife. They have been missing for a little over four lunar cycles but who is going to complain if they suddenly return? Surely not his sister, who is waiting all alone in that dreary castle, nor his companion's acquaintances. If anything, there will be a feast with much celebrating and carousing. Until he returns, or you learn proper use of my Hourglass, whichever occurs first, you will act in their places. I am certain you can do that?" she finished, folding her arms across her chest.

"I don't see why not," Alphonse shrugged.

"If it gets us to the correct time, might as well..." Edward muttered. This was making less sense the longer it dragged on. Wouldn't this cause a sort of paradox or something?

"Excellent, so you accept my proposal!" Elrin said gleefully, clapping her hands together. "You will need these. It would be awful foolish for two grown men to be wandering around defenseless," she chattered, handing a long sword to each brother.

"But... we can use alchemy. We don't really need these..." Alphonse replied.

"Oh, I know that. It is all part of the game. In order to play properly, one must look the part. I advise you, however, to not use your 'alchemy' right away. People will become suspicious. Edward the Elder has no magic abilities and if he suddenly showed the ability to use magic... or 'alchemy' as you call it... on top of suddenly returning, it would be cause for a riot. The people of Amestria need to be kept ignorant of such things. Surely you two have seen what common men do with even a small bit of power," Elrin chuckled dryly.

They had, in fact, and far too much of it. So many wars and battles had been fought because people wanted power. Perhaps... people were just power-hungry like that naturally. They felt insecure when they weren't in control. Power gave them that security. It made them feel safe... and strong.

"Of course, I shall accompany you. You know next to nothing of the customs, let alone how this world functions. Even your speech is different from mine. Looks like I will have to teach you two quite a bit about... everything," Elrin sighed.

"This is just getting weirder and weirder," Edward muttered under his breath.

"She is out taking a walk, so we can meet her soon. If we leave now, we should be able to gain enough distance to make the meeting seem accidental..." the cat-girl mumbled, biting her nail thoughtfully.

"Who? What are you rambling about now?" Edward demanded. He didn't like this girl at all, talking about things that made no sense. It was almost like... well, he could've seen that coming. After all, wasn't Elrin just Christin's soul, only a thousand years ago? It did seem a little far-fetched, even if he took into consideration all the freaky stuff that had happened recently.

"Ethelfleda, of course. Who else would I be talking about? You really should have brushed up on your history, silly boy," Elrin laughed.

"I still don't get it..." he sighed.

"I apologize for this," Elrin said.

"For what?" Alphonse asked.

Edward was struck in the back of the head with a blunt object before he even had time to register the sound of something heavy dropping to the ground.

"Man... my neck hurts like hell," Alphonse groaned.

"What the hell..." Edward mumbled, rubbing his eyes. His own neck throbbed in pain as he forced himself to sit upright. He brought a hand to it and began massaging the sore muscles.

"Where'd she go?" Alphonse asked, looking around.

"Looks like we've been played," he chuckled dryly, shaking his blond bangs out of his eyes.

"Actually, you are playing. You must act as if you have lost your memory. That is the only way Ethelfleda will believe our little game. Enjoy yourselves," Elrin's voice laughed from the surrounding trees. Edward thought he heard a bell tinkle.

"I'm covered in mud," Alphonse complained, rubbing the dried muck off his face.

"Looks like a storm," Edward mumbled, looking at the sky. Thick grey clouds rolled around overhead and thunder rumbled in the distance.

"More likely it just passed. The ground's still all soft and mushy," Alphonse said, prodding the ground with the toe of his boot.

"Now where are we?" Edward asked. They were in a thick forest and it didn't look like there was a definite way out.

Thunder tore open the sky and rain began falling in icy sheets that penetrated his clothing and made his hair stick to his face unpleasantly. Lightning flashed and lit up the area. A flock of birds swiftly flew into the trees, seeking shelter from the sudden storm. In the bushes just in front of them, something large moved, making the plants rustle angrily.

"What was that?" Alphonse asked timidly.

"A bear?" Edward asked in a similar tone. Slowly, he began inching away from the bushes. There was rustling behind him too, so he stopped and sat frozen on the ground.

He couldn't see well with the rain and his bangs blocking his view, but he thought he saw something resembling a person in the bushes ahead. Alphonse made a small scared sound and Edward felt something sharp and cold touch the nape of his neck, sending a shiver down his spine. Was he going to die? Would some savage tribe kill him and eat his corpse?

"What shall we do, My Lady?" a gruff male voice demanded. Alphonse made another sound, this one sounding close to whimpering.

"Hold..." a female voice said strongly. "It could not be... but the body... the hair..."

"My Lady?" a second man asked.

Edward watched as a young girl emerged from the bushes ahead. Her long brown hair hung in curly wet clumps, occasionally lifted by the cold wind steadily blowing. In one hand she held a long sword, the sharp metal glinting dangerously in another lightning flash. In that one heartbeat of lightning, he saw her eyes widen in shock and fear.

"Stand down, men!" she commanded.

Edward released a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding when the tip of what he guessed was a sword left his neck. He heard Alphonse give a similar reaction. The girl approached him, squatting down on the ground to get a closer look at him. She looked almost exactly like Aislinn; the only visible difference apart from the clothes was that this girl didn't have an Ouroboros tattoo-shaped scar on her forehead.

"Little brother?" she asked uncertainly, her sword dropping to the ground.

Area 51 1/2 1-30-11: now things are getting moving! I really like Elrin's explanation of the whole 'soul-mind-body-compatibility' issue. It sounds so smart coming from me... maybe I just like FMA that much that I can explain how a soul can be compatible with a body... I dunno.

Elrin... I want to make her creepy. I like creepy characters... I mean I like creating characters that act creepy (i.e.: blank stares into nothing with wide eyes, randomly showing up and scaring people, things like that) because it's interesting. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make her gory-creepy (like she hunts down people and eats their livers while they're still alive) or if she's gonna be just regular creepy (stays up late and scares people who come downstairs for a glass of water) but I want to make her creepy! I know, I'm weird...

I have a new favorite song: Golden Time Lover from FMA: Brotherhood. I listen to it all day when I'm at school. I really enjoy taking songs from FMA (the full versions, not just the minute and a half from the opening or closing) and extending the... I call it a music video but the images that are playing on the screen for the opening or closing... images to fit Godsend. It works really well with Golden Time Lover, for book one because I keep picturing Deceit. I drew her last night. It's been a while since I drew characters from book 1...

Speaking of drawing Godsend characters, I'm making music videos... well they're really just comics... I guess they're like storyboards? I take a song and put pictures with it from the parts of Godsend that were influenced by it. I'm almost done with 'I'm Not an Angel' from chapter 59 of book 2... It's so depressing... but I love the way I'm drawing it. The 'present' (where Ed is all doom-and-gloom and Rin's all emo) is in black and white with flashbacks in color. It'll be on my DA account when I finish it, so please check that out when it's done!

I hate typing the speech for the characters in Amestria. I'm not sure how to make it sound archaic without going Shakespeare on you all, so I'm leaving out contracted words like "I've" and "we'd" and "would've" and things like that, and making it sound more formal, so the only slang words you'd hear in Amestria (I write it as Amestria but for some reason read it as America...) would come from Ed and Al, though I'm thinking about having Elrin pick up some of that from her visions and the boys... Any help with archaic speech would be most welcome!

Oh, since I probably have like... one person who reads these obnoxious Areas, I want to make sure you all know about the Godsend OVA's I've started. I stole the title of my author's notes for the title of the story, so go read Godsend: Area 51 1/2 to read some slightly stand-alone stories featuring the Godsend characters. They're really long, though, because they're supposed to be like movies. I really like the first one and really want to get back to work on the second, but book three has to come before OVA 2! And HF... I'm working on that one in bits and pieces, so things for that story will probably pick up as I get closer to wrapping up Godsend (the three OVA's [one for each book, respectively] will get done when they get done because I've already finished books 1 and 2 so the three OVA's should be done rather quickly) I call them OVA's but they're not really. Well, maybe a little... tell me if that makes sense or not.

I'm getting the feeling that these absurdly long Areas are annoying to read. But I want to talk about things (that sounded so stupid...)! Anyway, most of the crap I put in the Areas is related to the story... like extra notes and background info and stuff like that. Is it such a crime to want to discuss these things with my readers? Besides, most of the stuff is really important (like how I explained the voices that one time) so I have to write these. And when I write about my personal life, I'm just trying to let you all get to know me. I don't want to be some invisible writing machine attached to a computer! I'm a real person, I swear! Go ask The Russian Roulette, she knows... she'll vouch for me!

Until next time...!