[LOCKED: April, DBFS Journals] Vortex Traps Aftermath

[twinpharaohs]

((OOC: The following journals are likely to turn up at some point: twinviziers, fmalchemist160/Edward Elric, stonebluesorrow/Zelgadis Graywords, toreador_saviour, lionheartedgangrel/Harry Potter, and any of the DBFS NPC journals (all begin with "dbfs_").))

When Yugi turns up in the Nexus to meet April, he looks considerably more battered than he ever has before, bandages wound around one arm and several cuts on his face held shut with those little white medical strips they use for small cuts. One of his legs bounces nervously, and he's rubbing at his bandaged arm. He's twirling what appears to be a Tarot card—or at least, something superficially similar to a Tarot card—between two fingers. Yami is nowhere in sight—for now.

Comments

[slayers_desire]

"Just think about your brother." April is trying hard not to be offended. But really... she had her mind open about Ed's unique abilities... why can't he have his mind open about hers.

She touches him, and jolts slightly as her voices give her a lot of information at once. Her first statement comes after a sharp gasp... "Your soul and his are so attached... that I have no problems seeing him. It is almost like your souls are bond together for eternity."

"He is returned to a human body. However, his body is younger than it should be. And his memories are not all there yet. There are pieces missing."

"He will seek out the teacher that you both had to learn. And upon that teacher's death, he will seek out you. You will see him again."

((yah for notes))

[fmalchemist160]

He's trying, April. He's still a bit shell-shocked from everything he saw the past few days.

Even with everything distracting him, it's easy for him to focus on Al. At first he pictures the suit of armor, but quickly corrects the mental image to that of Al at age 10, a boy with short blond hair a few shades darker than Ed's own and brown eyes.

At April's first remark, Ed blinks in confusion, while Kat smiles and replies, "That does not surprise me at all."

Ed breathes a small sigh of relief when he hears that Al's back in his own body, but then becomes somewhat alarmed when he hears the rest. "What? How... how much is gone? How much younger is he?"

He bites his lip when he hears about Izumi, eyes cast downward. "Teacher..." he mutters. Looking up at April, he says, "I've known for a little while now that she probably didn't have much time left... How long does she have, can you tell?"

He looks over at Kat and says, "I need to find a way to get in touch with him."

"We'll work on it," Kat assures him.

[slayers_desire]

"The passage of time is harder to determine..." April whispers. A little strained as she attempts to make sense of what her voices tell her.

"The same distance that is gone is the same distance that must past." That might not make any sense. It is a Dru-ism.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed now looks thoroughly confused. "Okay, now I'm lost..."

Kat, meanwhile, tilts her head to one side, trying to figure out what April means. "It... might mean that Al's lost four years of memories," she says thoughtfully. "The same amount of time that's passed since he lost his body in the first place. That's as near as I can figure, anyway."

Ed's expression turns somewhat pained. "I hope not..."

[slayers_desire]

"That is what I sense. His memories of being in that suit are gone."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed's responding sigh is more weary than it is upset. "Dammit... should've expected that. It makes sense, given the Law of Equivalency. Getting back what he lost meant losing what he'd experienced since then..." He looks back up at April. "It probably also means his body's back at ten years old. That's how old he was when we tried to bring Mom back."

[slayers_desire]

"But it also means that he is okay and you will see him again someday."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed exhales slowly, nodding a bit. "Yeah. There's that."

Kat lays a hand on Ed's shoulder. "Like I said, we'll make every effort to get in touch with him," she tells him. "The two of you should never have to stay separated for very long."

Ed gives her a small smile in reply. "Thanks." Looking back over to April. "When I find Al," he says, "you want me to introduce you to him?"

[slayers_desire]

"I always enjoy meeting new people."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed smiles and nods. "Right. I'll get in touch, then. ...As soon as I get a handle on all this new technology." After a short pause, he asks, "Now... what was that you said about a bond between me and Al?"

[slayers_desire]

"Your souls are bonded to each other. Much in the way that Yugi is to Yami."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed blinks. "But... we don't share a body."

"Literal Ed is literal!" Yugi replies with a laugh. "I think she means you and Al are Soulmates." Cue a squicked expression from Ed, who has only ever heard the term used in a romantic context.

[slayers_desire]

"Soulmates don't have to be romantic." April senses his distress. "Mostly, a soulmate is the person with whom one has a feeling of deep or natural affinity."

"My soulmate is Clark. And that is romantic..." She smiles. "But that is not always the case."

[fmalchemist160]

"I've always been of the opinion that it's possible to have more than one," Kat adds with smile. "Though usually only one of the romantic variety."

"Oh," Ed replies, somewhat sheepishly. To April, he asks, "Is... there any significance to that, other than the obvious?"

[slayers_desire]

"Soul mates always find their way back to each other. Their destinies are so entwined that they strengthen and support the other."

"I am sure your whole team has many soul mates. People destined to be on it."

"It just means your brother will come back. You will be working with him again."

[fmalchemist160]

There's a definite ring of truth to that for Ed. "I never could imagine my life without Alphonse," he says, almost to himself. "I still can't. And... we have always found our way back to each other, even when we got badly separated." He looks up at April and smiles. "That... that really helped. Thank you."

He looks around at the rest of the group. "When I restored Al to his body, I was under the impression I was going to die. So I asked Daniel and the rest of SG-1 to look after Al. Problem is, they're stuck back in 2003. And in Colorado Springs."

"You need to get a hold of them," Yugi surmises. "And it's 3000. And we're in Oregon."

"Exactly. Anyone got any bright ideas? Alchemists can't do the time-travel thing."

[slayers_desire]

"I am here from a different time and a different dimension. Couldn't a PINpoint work?"

[fmalchemist160]

"It might," Yugi replies. "But we don't have the coordinates for Colorado Springs or Cheyenne Mountain, and there's no way Ed would know them. We don't have them for Resembool or anywhere else on Ed's homeworld either. The US Air Force might also have a problem with us suddenly materializing inside a secure and highly classified section of their base of operations."

Kat nods. "Stargate Command has had to deal with too many alien footholds not to be on their guard about people suddenly appearing out of nowhere. We'd either be shot or locked up, even if Ed is with us."

"And Daniel saw me get taken in by the Gate of Truth," Ed notes. "He probably thinks I'm dead." After a pause, he adds, "I'm... guessing that a PINpoint is a teleportation device of some kind?"

[slayers_desire]

"It is..." April answers Ed's question.

She thinks for a moment. "I could use the bond between Ed and Al to contact Al telepathically. It would take a lot of concentration... but I could get a message through..."

"No wait... stupid... he is only 10 years old... I don't want to scare him."

[fmalchemist160]

"And might still be recovering after waking up without any memories of the past four years," Ed replies with a nod. "No, we'll... keep that option in reserve for now. Besides, if we did that, they still wouldn't have a way of getting to us."

Kat snaps her fingers. "Yes they would! The Stargate can be used for time travel! It requires very careful timing, but that could work."

"How do you mean?" Ed asks.

"Using the Stargate as a TARDIS requires a solar flare," Kat replies. "To be specific, SG-1 and Al would have to travel through the Stargate at exactly the same time as a solar flare begins to erupt from the Sun. It's a bit hit-and-miss, but it's the only thing I can think of that fits where SG-1 are in their timeline."

A smile slowly draws across Ed's face. "Is there a way we can look up the dates of solar flares in the near future for them?"

"Definitely; all sorts of government and civilian agencies keep databases of them."

Ed turns to April. "Is there a way you can use your abilities to get in touch with Al in a way that wouldn't frighten him? Dreams, maybe? Or for me to talk to him through you? So that he can hear my voice, I mean?"

[slayers_desire]

"Of course. I can carry your voice through the bond to him."

I like this plan. It's a lot more sane than the one I had in mind before April got involved XD

[fmalchemist160]

Ed's smile is very triumphant. "Good! If it's my voice he's hearing, he probably won't be as scared. I have no doubt it'd still unnerve him a bit, but he's never had any reason to be frightened of me."

"We'd need some time to find the dates," Kat tells April. "And we're probably going to have to dig up several years worth of them; we have no way of knowing how long it's going to take Al to finally get around to acting on the information we give him. After all, you said he was going to go back to Izumi for more training."

"Not to mention the fact that there's slightly under a millennium of data to sift through," Harry adds. "If I can help in anyway, I'm more than happy to. I know what it's like to have to spend your life separated from the people you care about; I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

((Also, bedtime. Back in the morning!))

I am afraid to ask

[slayers_desire]

"Well you guys can just contact me when you are ready. Myself, I will need to be more rested to pull off my part of this plan."

It involved magic and a package o' gifts & notes sent back in time.

[fmalchemist160]

Kat nods. "Yeah, we also need to get everyone settled in and such. That spare bedroom over there is still empty right now. Might be at least a month."

"We'll give you... a day or two's worth of warning?" Yugi suggests. "So you can make sure you're well rested."

"Is there anything else you'll need?" Kat asks.

((Given the time-scale of the entire DBFS Saga, I'm probably going to place it on an accelerated timeline, much like Clark's mun has done. It takes place over 30 years, after all. >.> I'm still not sure as as to precisely how much faster it's going to be compared to the Nexus, though. That and I'm still looking up the dates they need. >.>))

lol

[slayers_desire]

"I think that should be everything. And if you need me before then, just call."