The hangar doors slowly opened and Aerrow stepped out, the sun shining brightly on his restrained red hair.
"How's the leg?" asked Ed.
"It's..." Aerrow looked down at his left foreleg. "It's better. Much better. I've got Piper's crystal skills to thank for that."
"Good," Ed said. "So have you come to a decision?"
"Yes," replied Aerrow. "And it's a yes. I want you to teach me everything you can about alchemy."
"Great!" Ed said cheerfully, and he started walking into the hangar. "Grab your knives; we'll get started right away."
"My knives?" Aerrow was confused, but started gearing up all the same. "What do I need them for?"
"You'll see. Also we'll need a location. Somewhere secluded but with lots of vegetation and wildlife, that isn't too big."
"I know a place, but why?"
"You'll see."
It was one of the little subsets of Terra Amazonia - about the size of the Condor, maybe a bit larger - and it was alive with the sounds of wildlife.
Aerrow disembarked from his skimmer, with Ed and Radarr close behind.
"This place is perfect," said Ed as he examined their surroundings. "Just what we need!"
"So what do we start with?" asked Aerrow. "Transmutation circles? Elements?"
"Nope."
The Sky Knight watched in bafflement as Ed climbed back onto the skimmer.
"We're gonna leave you here for a month," he said. "By yourself. You can use whatever crystals you come across, but no alchemy during that time or else you forfeit and I don't teach you anything."
"What?!" exclaimed Aerrow.
"What?!" Radarr would have said, but instead squawked in alarm.
"Don't pretend you didn't hear me," Ed said solidly. "Why do you think I wanted Radarr to come with us this time? I'll need him to fly me back to the Condor. And you've got your knives, right? You'll be fine."
"No, what?!" Aerrow almost shouted.
"This is non-negotiable," said Ed. "I'm sorry, but it has to be this way."
"Why?"
"It'd take too long to explain."
Aerrow looked back at the terra, at the trees around them, then at the stern frown that Ed was wearing, and to Radarr. The blue creature was eyeing him with worry.
"Is there really no other way?" he asked.
"No, there's not," replied Ed. "Besides, it's only a month. It's not like I'm gonna leave you to rot."
Aerrow gulped. He could tell that the Amestrian boy was definitely not going to back down on this decision.
"It's okay, Radarr," he said. "You can go. I'll be fine."
Radarr whined in fear.
"I mean it," Aerrow said, and he knelt down before his friend. "Make sure Ed gets back to the Condor, okay? I've dealt with worse. I'll be alright, I promise."
With a small squeak, Radarr jumped into his arms and hugged him, and Aerrow was all too happy to return it.
"Are you sure he can't stay with me?" he asked.
"Unless he's learning alchemy too, then no," said Ed.
Aerrow wished the hug could have lasted a little longer, and when he let Radarr go, the blue creature slowly ambled over to the skimmer and climbed on.
Before he could start the engine, Ed held up his hand in request for a pause.
He looked Aerrow dead in the eye.
"One is All," he said, "and All is One. You have 30 days to figure out what that means."
With that said, he nodded at Radarr, and it wasn't long before they were nothing more than a tiny speck on the skyline.
Aerrow straightened up and looked back into the forest.
This was not going to be easy.