Hello, everyone. I'm back for some more letter answering. I managed to find the time to respond earlier this time because we haven't moved again just yet, though thankfully, we're going to soon. This house is so infested with fleas that they're still here in the middle of winter. I'd hate to be here in the summer, and thankfully, we won't be. Brother's looking a bit sleep-deprived as of late. I guess that all those fleas are bothering him too, even though he won't admit it. I'm so impatient to get out of here that I'm getting jumpy, so I thought that responding to your letters might help to take my mind off of the impending move.

Hey Al! Thanks so much for the advice. We're trying to avoid those girls, for

now anyways. But if they ever bother us again (which I don't doubt) I'll do

what you said. Like I said, I usually don't fight back, but it's pretty

pathetic when someone's willing to fight someone on crutches. Thanks again!

Amaya

I'm glad that I could help. I hope that the advice works out for you. I know that those techniques work for me so long as I remember to stay calm and centered. When I lose my calmness, I lose my position of strength. Brother has actually had to drag me away from the scene of a fight because I've lost my sense of calm before. I actually get worse than he does when he gets angry in those situations, though thankfully, that rarely ever happens. Keep your calm, and you'll keep your strength. Again, I wish you good luck, and I'll send some good thoughts your way.

Hey Al. It was nice hearing from you again! Or reading...

Thank you for replying! Yes I did mean the years you didn't remember. I will

try to be more clear.

I have a pretty good question.

If you and Ed never went on your journey how do you think it would have

affected your relationship? Would it affect it at all?

I never really thought about it until now.

Thank you for taking some time to reply to these letters!

I wish you and Edward the best!

If I were able to go to a parallel universe where your scenario happened exactly as you stated, I would be able to answer you a lot better than I can now. Since I can't, however, we'll just have to make do with simple speculation.

Some things probably would have been different between us had we never gone on our journey, but it's hard to say exactly how far that would have gone. We definitely loved each other before we ever went on a journey, before our mother died even, but I can't deny that journeying together brought us closer to each other than we would have ever thought possible. We learned a lot about each other during those years that we otherwise wouldn't have, and we learned how to lean on each other for support as well, something we never would have done otherwise. So yes, I'm pretty sure that things would have been different, but I'm not sure to what extent they would have been. Maybe if things had been normal, we would have both grown up, got jobs, got married, and moved away, like normal people. It's hard to say. It's all a matter of speculation, so your guesses are just as valid as mine, since I really don't know.

Ha ha. Ok I won't sneak into you're house. Sorry but I can only go teach the

video guy a lesson if I know where (or when) he is.

Hmm, but if he shows up again let me know!

May the muses be with you and I'm sure you'll need them considering the

amount of mail you must be getting!

Well, at least we won't have strange people sneaking into our house anymore. Now if we could just track down that video guy, we could send you after him. His technology is a bit strange, so it would probably be better to send you after him than us, since you're much more likely to understand it, being from the future. If he shows up again, I'll make sure to let you know.

I've never had anyone give me a blessing that expresses the desire to have the muses be with me before, but I suppose that that works. I agree that I need them, heh. I think that Brother thinks he's a muse at times, because he sometimes likes to come around and tell me what to write. I've got enough paper here to share, so he should just pull some out and write up something himself, in my opinion, not that I mind hearing his ideas...when they're good.

(Another video...)

Nitro here, at your current house...I just thought, since you called me an

idiot, I ought to return the favor.

Say hello to a special missile I prepped up just for this...

But first, I'll say this: The One-Wing poem in the last chapter...I actually

have an ally, and he can...transform into some sort of Seraph...with one black

wing...actually, why am I saying this? I have a missile to fire...

Missile fires from a portable launcher...it hits the house...

BLAA-IDIOT-AM...

Ed:WHAT THE F-!?

See? My missile called you an idiot...now I'd better scram...you're coming right

now!!

-Reaches for camera as Ed comes bursting out of destroyed house.-

--End of Tape from Nitro—

I don't actually recall this happening. Perhaps you messed up and went to a parallel universe and blew up that house or something. If so, I feel sorry for that poor Ed and Al, since they likely have no idea why you just did that.

But I'd watch myself better before I started blowing up people's houses to call them idiots. I had to fix your spelling of 'missile' three times. No wait, four. Your English ought to be better than mine, since I assume it's your mother tongue. Hmmm...I just realized that you're bringing out the worst in me. Is that what you intended, to have Al start getting rude? I could get a lot worse than this if that's what you want. Believe it or not, Al can actually get rude.

Illyalil, I think that's the name of the girl who was sneaking into our house...um, here this guy is again, can you do something about him? He keeps coming back and we can't seem to get rid of him.

Hello Al!

Are there any good books you've read recently? I'm looking for books to read,

no matter how old they are... It's just a state of boredom I'm in, and I try

to entertain myself by reading.

I wonder... Is it possible to meet you in this current timeline? I know you

may probably be old or dead by then, but still...

You know, writing this reminds me of a story I read before... It's about two

people from different times who were able to communicate through letters...

It's quite interesting, in my opinion.

I hope those fleas don't annoy you too much... But judging by what's

happening...

Peace be with you!

- Sally Andrews

Most of the books I've been reading lately are in German, and I don't know if any of them ever got translated into English by your time, nor do I know if any of them are even worth it. They don't usually seem to be. All they seem to do is occupy my boredom for a brief period of time before the book itself bores me. Don't get me wrong, I love books, but I would much rather read books about alchemy or something like that, and there are hardly any such books here in this world.

There are occasional storybooks I've found around that are interesting enough to keep my attention though. In one of the houses we'd stayed in, I found a copy of a book that was a collection of fairytales by the Brothers Grimm. Since that's folklore, I'd imagine that that got translated into English, or will. I must say though that you people on this side of the Gate have some very strange folktales, but that was what made them so entertaining to read.They aren't friendly and happy by any means, but they were interesting. Maybe you should read some old fairytales, the ones that they don't tell to the young children. They can be suspenseful, disturbing, and occasionally a little bit violent. Like I said, an entertaining read that doesn't bore adults.

As to whether it's possible to meet in your current timeline, I wouldn't know. That would require my knowing how long I was going to live, or possibly what happens after death, and I don't know the answer to either question. Maybe it is possible. Maybe I'm there somewhere in your timeline, since something seems to be connecting me to it, but I don't know what it is. If you ever meet someone who acts so much like me that it's eerie, you may have found the connection, though I'm not sure what connection they would hold.

Dear Alphonse,

Ah, it's great to finally hear from you again. For a while you had a trend

of replying on the night before my orchestra concerts, which wasn't very

good. It always ended up leaving me tired (but very happy) for my concert the

next day. I'm glad to see you finally broke that trend. We did have a

"concert" of sorts, but it was very short and was really part of a

fundraiser.

But I digress…

No, we haven't invented time machines yet, though I'm rather glad. If

someone ever does manage to invent a time machine, they'd better keep it

secret. Just think – if time machines were ever invented and produced

commercially, then there would probably be a few people who would try going

back in time to make it so that they invent the time machine first, and then

someone else would go back, and so on and so forth. The entire space time

continuum would be thrown into disarray.

I have been wondering about time a bit. What I'm hoping is that it isn't

truly a linear existence. I think it might be more of a fluid existence than

most humans might believe. Meaning that if there was a different element in a

time that already "happened," then the entire course of history could be

changed. So you and Ed would have a chance at actually stopping the bomb if

that was true. I wonder what would happen if you succeed? Would all my

memories suddenly change to fit how history changed? If so, then has history

already changed many times and I'm just not aware of it? It's a

fascinating thought.

Men still don't really wear purple in this time, though now the style is to wear

pink. Yes, men wearing pink shirts. I don't really get it, though on some

guys it does actually look good. You would probably have fun during the disco

age. The men and women both wear all sorts of crazy colors. Now that time in

history I'm pretty sure you'll live to see, so I won't give many

details. You'll just have to find out for yourself!

As for Ed wearing colors… Well, I have heard that some men get into one

style of clothing that they find comfortable, and then have a hard time

changing it. I also learned that one of the best ways to get them to change is

to have someone they trust (preferably a girl, since they supposedly know more

about fashion) tell them they look good in something they normally wouldn't

wear. So that would mean that Ed needs a girl, maybe a guy, that he trusts to

say he looks good in blue… Yeah, that sounds really easy.

And by the way, though I know he probably won't take my advice seriously,

Ed really would look good in blue. A nice sapphire blue would contrast his

hair and eyes nicely and make him, for lack of a better word, pop. Blue and

gold are just two of those colors that look really nice together. And that's

probably the only fashion advice you'll get for me for quite awhile. I may

know what colors go well together, but I don't really get into the whole

"I love clothes!" thing.

I think that anyone with a good heart would really be glad to make someone

else truly happy. I know that I feel good whenever I can even give someone

good advice that I know they'll follow. It's another trait of the human

race, I suppose.

Haha, yeah if they could teach us how to turn copper into real gold in school

then all of the world economy would be in trouble. My time actually can turn

lead into gold without alchemy, but it costs so much money that it's not

actually worth it. It costs more money to make the gold than to keep the lead.

Almost a bit of a life lesson, if you think about it.

Yes, I would imagine that they would only teach basic alchemic theory in your

world, but I would suspect that people who were more into it could go for a

higher education that specialized in alchemy. Just like the Chemistry class I

had a basic grasp of the subject, but someone who was going into a career in

that field would learn much more information at college. Either way, I wish

I'd had that slight bit of alchemy knowledge the children in your world got.

One of my biggest questions concerning alchemy in your world is the drawing of

the actual circles. How do you manage to draw perfect circles for your

transmutations without measurements? Is it just from lots and lots of

practice, or is it because the people in your world are more easily able to

draw perfect circles? Or is it even for another reason entirely?

Ah, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on parallel universes, especially

considering that you definitely would know more than most people. Well, except

Ed. It would make sense that genetics don't play as big of a role as humans

think if such things as parallel worlds exist. Maybe if your theory is right,

then the human genes adjust with the souls to give them some sort of

reassurance that they are physically related to someone. Because there have

been slight differences between the doubles. Like the fact that Alfons' hair

is blonder than yours, and that his eyes were a different color. But the basic

facial structure is the same.

And maybe your theory does sound a bit unscientific, but does a huge stone

gate that transports people to other worlds really sound any better? Maybe you

feel so strange because these souls are really all part of one big soul that

was split apart into who knows how many different bodies. I suppose I

couldn't truly understand the feeling you described unless I met a double

myself, but I bet that it would be a bit strange.

As for someone else who can travel through dimensions, I do know someone,

though not personally. He's a fictional character in my world, but then

again, so are you and Ed, so I suppose that you would have a chance of meeting

him. If you ever see a blue police box in a very strange place, or a man who

goes by just "The Doctor" or Doctor, then don't let him out of your

sight, no matter what you do. He can travel through both time and dimensions

at will, and would therefore be able to take you back home. It would be a long

shot that you actually meet him, but there's a slight chance, so I figured

I'd warn you.

I'm glad you both liked your Christmas presents, though I did feel a bit

more unsure on your present than Ed's. Yours was written late at night, much

like your letter to me, and I was rather tired, while Ed's had been sitting

around and mulling in my head for a while. I actually wrote it with a slight

tune in mind, but I couldn't really convey that to you. I like to sing it to

myself when I'm thinking heavily.

If you want to write a poem in your native tongue, then go ahead. I certainly

wouldn't mind. I've actually read a few poems that weren't in any

language that even exists in this world, and reading them can actually be very

soothing. The only thing I would consider asking is if you could do it in the

way I should pronounce them, since I would want to read them aloud, maybe by

candlelight. (And I have written by candlelight when the power was out, and

even with a fountain pen and thick paper. I felt so romantic then. I've got

to read some poetry aloud the next time the power goes out though, that sounds

very nice too.)

And it's not that uncommon to find an intelligent writer. Hmph. Though of

course, I suppose that I could never compare to the vast intellect of his

majesty, King Edward.

But I'm glad the poems were actually a good gift. I'm glad that One Wing

actually managed to help Ed relax a bit, goodness knows he's tense enough

already. I suppose that means I gave you a double present Al, both a poem and

slightly calmer older brother, haha. He should get a notebook and write poetry

himself. He's certainly got a proper mind for it, and it would help release

emotions more than someone else writing poetry. And poems don't take much

time either, so they're easier to fit into a busy schedule. I know that I

love writing poems when I've been thinking hard about my life and have a

spare moment.

Thanks for responding to me yet again, Alphonse. Your letters are always a

happy surprise and I'm always happy to respond to them.

Wishing you both the best of luck,

Petra

Hello again! I finally get to do the best letter of the bunch.

So I was responding just before your concerts consistently? Sorry about that. I wasn't even aware that I was doing so. I'm glad to hear that I stopped doing that though. I don't want you getting tired from reading my letters, though I'm glad to hear that you really enjoy hearing from me.

I agree. The common population shouldn't have access to time travel. Like being adept in alchemy, it should be something that one has to strive for. To put power in the hands of just anyone is practically suicide, and can have severe consequences for society. Part of me would like time travel to be discovered, but the other part of me says that it's too dangerous to be worth the risk. Maybe there's another way out that no one has discovered yet. One can always hope, I suppose.

The sages of old have always spoken of the illusion of time, in both of our worlds. It's very possible that it isn't truly linear. If time is a fluid existence as you suggest, and someone were to make a different choice at some point in it, then yes, the memories of the entire future would be instantly changed to accommodate it. It's like if you put a drop of dye in a glass of water. None of that water is immune to the foreign substance, so it all just mixes together and accepts it, nothing is excluded. Of course, just because I can come up with an analogy doesn't make it so, since I could easily rationalize linear time as well, but I don't see linear time as literally as I used to. The Gate does things to one's mind upon going through it that makes one think differently than before.

So purple still isn't a popular color for men in your time, but pink is? That seems a bit odd somehow, but I suppose that all eras have their quirks. If that's what they like, then I'm happy for them. Maybe it's a good thing that I can't travel through time though. If I did and went to your time, I would probably be staring oddly at some people, which would make it quite obvious that I wasn't from that time. Is there anything else that I would find odd in your time? The thought intrigues me.

That sounds like a good idea. Brother probably would look good in blue, but he has a hard time wearing anything but brown lately. Maybe I can find him a suit that's light enough so that it doesn't remind him of a military uniform and suggest that he try it on. He prefers lighter shades of blue, but light colors don't seem to be popular in this country, so I'll just have to do the best I can. It would be nice to see him in a color he actually enjoys for once. Do you have any suggestions on how a man from my time can wear purple without looking odd? That color isn't as easy to work with as blue it seems. It was even challenging in Amestris, but it's much harder here.

Your time has actually figured out how to turn lead into gold? Granted, it costs too much to be an efficient use of time and energy, but it's progress. I'm sure you're aware that transmuting gold was illegal in Amestris, but that's only because it was so easy to do so. It's like printing off fake money, easy to do, but not allowed because it's a threat to the way things are done. When you think about it though, it sounds a little bit stupid. One person can stamp a number on a piece of paper or metal, and it's okay, but if someone else stamps that same number on a piece of paper or metal, they get in trouble. It doesn't really make sense to me.

But yes, we had schools we could go to for advanced alchemy training. Brother and myself would have gone to one had we been willing to grow up first, since these schools were meant for further education after you'd graduated from elementary school. They were strictly for adults. We were impatient, however, and wanted to learn more while we were young, so when our teacher came to Reisenburgh, we had to beg her to take us on as apprentices. That was the only way we could further our alchemy education while still children.

As to the transmutation circles, I don't really know where you got the idea that our drawing skills were so much superior to yours. Maybe it has something to do with the media of your time that portrays our life story. Regardless, the reason that we draw such good circles without trying very hard is because we've practiced a lot. Contrary to popular belief, if everything is in its place, the individual lines don't have to be perfect, which is the reason a simple transmutation circle can be drawn up quickly. A more complex one has to be carefully measured and meticulously drawn in order to make sure that everything is where it belongs. Perfection is impossible with human beings. The real goal is to make the energies flow freely, which they do by way of the symbology incorporated into the transmutation circle. Therefore, the transmutation circle needs to be clear, but it doesn't need to be perfect.

Parallel universes are a very interesting topic for me. I only wish I knew more. Granted, I do know more about them than most people do, having had experienced them firsthand, but I still wish I knew more. Greater understanding of this topic would open up so many opportunities for me in so many different ways. If I truly understood everything about them, I might even be able to find a way home. Or even better, I might be able to find a way home, but be able to come back here any time I want. I've met a few people here that I'd rather not abandon if I can help it, even though I would like to go home. I can't say whether anything is still waiting for me at home though, which is another part of the reason I would like to be able to freely travel through the dimensions. That would give me the freedom to make my home wherever it feels like 'home'.

I've heard that view before about one big soul splitting into multiple bodies. I would have just ignored it a couple years ago, but now that I've seen so many doubles, it does bring one to wonder. These doubles definitely have their differences from the people I knew back in my world, but they have some eerie similarities too, such as specific hand gestures or manners of speech. Their morality may be different or they may make different choices, but they seem to be the same person at their core, and yet someone totally different. It's so hard to explain. I wonder what would happen if I met a double of Mom. That could be awkward, but I would like to see her face all the same, even if she isn't my mother. At least she wouldn't be trying to kill me and Brother.

Thanks for the advice on who to look for. I'm not sure what the chances are that we'll actually meet the guy, but if we do, then at least we'll know what to do. Thanks for the warning.

I understand about late night poetry. Some of my best inspiration comes at night. I guess that I got used to thinking at night during those years I spent in armor when no one else was around to talk to. I had to learn to entertain myself in my mind, and that was one way of doing so. I did write quite a bit of poetry then, though most of it has been lost, sadly. I wrote a lot of stories in my mind as well. I managed to never run out of story material because once I found an interesting idea, after I would play it out, I would think 'What would happen if this happened instead of that?' There are so many variations of stories that one can stay occupied on the same one for weeks if you're good enough.

But yes, we both did like both poems, and I agree, you did practically give me two presents. It's quite a treat to get my brother to calm down, so thank you. Feel free to write your magical poetry anytime. The depressing kind seems to work the best on him, for some reason. I guess that I would be the same way if I wasn't constantly trying to appear happy, though that's mostly for his sake. I figure that it's enough for one of us to be depressed. We don't both need to be.

You're right, I should try to get Brother to write some poetry. I honestly don't know why he doesn't. He used to, but he seems to feel self-conscious about it now. Do you have any suggestions on how to get him to stop being self-conscious and just write? Even if he didn't show it to me, that would be okay, as long as he wrote something...though I have to admit that I'd be extremely curious if he didn't want to share, but I would leave him alone if he seriously wanted to keep his work private.

Anyway, you said you didn't mind if I wrote in my own language, so here is an attempt at doing so. I haven't written a poem in quite some time, and it's probably obvious, but I hope you like it regardless. I know you wanted me to spell it phonetically so that you could pronounce it, but I honestly don't see how I can do that very well. The accents between the two languages differ so much that I get confused. I wouldn't think it would be too hard for you though. Amestrian phonetics are almost the same as German, with there being only a few subtle differences. Just pronounce it as though it is German, and you'll do fine. You'll only sound like you have an accent, which you would anyway, but you'll still be understood.

Coshito maista kanti ni

Acht in gliben föfter shi

Ista kimi to nu katai

Nada cüd a ma tai

Lashta kota lüst tano

Lita mita santago

Ista cönen masta yai

Nada cüd a ma tai

Canta me to shunen nicht

Lasta taimen leicht?

Dersen tana lauta kin

Menta ista neicht

Mata ni coshito ka

Lista ki niso

Ista ko me su kanai

Mata, nada cüd a ma tai

This poem has a lot of Amestrian conventions in it which wouldn't make sense to you if I translated it word for word, so in translation, I've taken the liberty of using English conventions that mostly mean the same thing, though a lot is lost in the translation, sadly.

I'm feeling lonely

And I cry out in my sleep

I know my thoughts are heard,

For I have a friend in time.

The desires of my heart become audible

And transcend barriers

I am heard over a great distance,

For I have a friend in time.

When I am troubled,

Will you sing to me in the night?

Your thoughts cheer me,

And I hear your laughter.

I feel your presence near me

Though I am ready to die

You say you don't know how it is possible.

Still, I have a friend in time.

I tend to mess up Amestrian grammar when I write it out in a poem, but people seem to still enjoy my poetry, even if I write the sentences backwards at times. Look through the poem. If it seems to be going in the same order as the English language, it's backwards. I managed to get a few sentences in order this time though. The lines I had translated as When I am troubled/Will you sing to me in the night are actually Will you sing to me in the night/When I am troubled. There are a few other such sentences interspersed in there, which is a good thing, or I would start wondering if I was beginning to forget my native tongue. It wouldn't be from lack of use though, as I speak in my native language to Brother all the time, unless there are people around.

I hope that that made some sense. It's difficult translating Amestrian into English and having it mean what you intend it to. We have different ways of saying things than you do, and I had used a lot of Amestrian idiomatic phrases in that poem which can't be translated directly without losing their meaning. Translation is a sad, sad process which destroys the very fabric of one's creative expression, but it's a necessary evil if we want to communicate. Maybe you should learn Amestrian so that I don't have to translate it anymore. Don't worry, I'm just joking, unless you do want to learn it, that would be fine with me.

Anyway, I guess I should close this letter now. Brother is poking me in the back and saying that he's bored. He has to be pretty bored to do that. Wish me luck in trying to entertain a very bored brother.

All the best,

Alphonse Elric