I was on my way south to Aerugo when I ran into someone I hadn't seen in years, and hadn't wanted to see again. It was around sundown, and he glowed in the light of a campfire, a bowl of what looked like oatmeal in one hand and a book in the other. He was scruffier than I remembered, but it was definitely my father. Those gold eyes were unmistakable.

I debated about just steering clear of him. God only knew what damage he could do about keeping my family away from me. But my loneliness was overwhelming, and I needed one last friendly face before I disappeared from Amestris forever.

"So where the hell have you been?" I demanded as I walked over.

He startled, looking up at me with wide eyes behind glasses that shone opaque in the firelight. "I'm sorry?"

I dropped my suitcase immediately to his right and sat down on it. "You know damn well who I am and what I mean, Father," I snapped. "So don't play dumb with me."

He pinched the bridge of his nose under his glasses. "You're mouthier than I remember," he said. "Although I see you started talking again." He gave me an even stare. "The Fullmetal Alchemist is mute."

I bristled. "I hate that word. But to answer your fucking question, I found an ugly miracle through one of your old friends," I looked down at my two perfectly flesh hands. An ugly, ugly miracle that had cost me and so many others dearly.

"Then you met Dante and the homunculii." That wasn't a question, it was a statement, one that sounded vaguely apologetic.

"Your ex-wife and first son," I said. "And whoever else the others were."

"Are they why you sank Central?" he asked. "I wasn't far from Central when the transmutation went off. I'd heard that Dante had gone underground and went to confront her. I'm lucky you got to her first."

I shrugged. "She was a danger to this country, her and her pet homunculii, especially Bradley. I couldn't count on anyone else to help me and not get hurt."

"You're as bad as I am, Edward," my father said, sitting back. "I take it your Stone paid for quite a bit?"

I didn't answer, staring numbly at the fire. "It got Al back," I finally said. "That's all I cared about. Anything I got back for myself was an accident."

"A fortunate accident," my father said. "Now you can communicate without sign, and don't have identifying automail to worry about, so you can disappear and become no one." I looked at him, not saying anything. "You'll have to run far, of course, to avoid getting recognized, with that coat and your eyes. The curse of a unique characteristic."

I looked down at the fire, resting my chin on my knees. "I had no choice. You didn't give me one anymore than anybody else did."

"No, I didn't," Father admitted. "I should've killed that woman and her homunculii long ago. But you know what it's like, to be confronted with the homunculus of someone you loved. Envy hated me. I don't know what your mother's homunculus thought, but Dante had poisoned my son against me. I was too much a coward to approach her while he was around. I didn't have it in me to destroy him."

I couldn't imagine what I would've done if Mom had been turned against me somehow. I couldn't imagine having to put her down as a mistake, a sin I committed. My stomach tied in knots at the idea of her being caught in that transmutation. I could sympathize with him, but he still had left the country to rot under Dante's rule.

Finally, I looked up at him, barely turning my head to do so. "Why'd you leave us? None of this would've happened if you hadn't left."

Father sighed. "Eventually, it would have, even if it had gone differently, Edward. Dante still ruled the country, her homunculii were still out there. I left to try to lead Dante away from your mother and you boys, but obviously, I was too late for that if she got ahold of your mother's homunculus."

"Stop calling her that," I snarled. "She's Mom, not some thing."

Father held up his hands defensively. "All right, all right. I'm very glad she was a mother to you, Edward. You needed one. And your brother will need one now that you've left him behind. Tell me, why would you go through all these years, just to leave him?"

I stared at the fire, firmly screwing my military indifference onto my face even though my heart was still breaking as it had been since I handed Al off to Mustang and ran. "Because of my reputation," I said. "He'll never have a peaceful life as long as I'm around. Besides, both he and Mom are legally dead, if I'm gone, nobody can wonder about them."

"I suppose that's about as good a reason as any," Father said, poking at the fire with a stick before returning to his forgotten oatmeal. The fire crackled and popped, giving a blissful warmth in the cold weather. "I can't say that I wouldn't have done the same. Did you leave them with someone who can care for them?"

"My former commanding officer," I said, pulling my coat tighter around me. It didn't seem enough, even with the fire. "He's a good man, took care of me, he'll take care of them."

"Well, that should be one burden off your mind, then. Tell me, where are you going next?"

I gave him a suspicious glare. "Why, so you can run off and tattle on me and have my family come chasing after me and drag my dumb ass back home to ruin things?"

"No, merely curious. I could offer some help choosing a place if you had care."

"I figured on heading south to Aerugo," I said, accepting that explanation and turning my attention back to the fire. "Dunno what I'll do yet."

"Well, you'll end up stirring up quite a hornet's nest if you do," he said. "I know your reputation, and it's not just Amestris that does. You'll be offered plenty of mercenary work, and I'm sure you'll love to stomp on the human trafficking groups in the process."

That made me turn cold inside. "Human trafficking."

Father nodded. "Mm. Aerugo is the central hub for all human trafficking problems in our continent. The government won't tear it down, too big of a source of revenue and too many 'important' people engage in it. Be careful if you go there, though, you're still underage and the country specializes in people under eighteen."

That made my mind flush with a violent heat and my blood freeze in my veins, the same old fear-driven rage that had bubbled up in me ever since I killed Tucker five years ago. "I'll be careful," I said, voice held carefully neutral when everything inside of me wanted to break into a million pieces at the idea of what must be being done to these children. Edward Elric carefully hid behind Fullmetal.

I'd like to see them try to capture me. I'd add them all to my Stone. I had no problem with sacrificing those types.

Father dug into a soft bag that his suitcase was propped up against and pulled out a bag. "Do you want some oatmeal? I have some to spare. It's not much, but it's food."

I didn't want food. My stomach was in too many knots. I shook my head

"Edward, you just spent an extraordinary amount of energy on that Stone," he said. "You need to eat, or you won't make it much farther without collapse."

I didn't answer at first, keeping my mouth firmly shut as I tried to dismiss the sounds of the city crashing down, the enormous roar of earth and stone and the terrifying feeling of all those lives zapping through me at once into the Stone that sat uncomfortably in my coat pocket.

Finally, I took in a deep breath. "Fine." I turned my head to look at him as he took the lasts bite of his own oatmeal. "How many Stones did you have to make to figure that out?"

"Just one," he said, using a flask of water to rinse off his spoon and the bowl, then filled the bowl and poured in the oats. "It killed me, actually. That's when Dante transferred my soul to a new body. After that, we let others do it for us."

My upper lip curled back to bare my teeth. "Nice people, you two. What'd Mom see in you?"

"I changed," Father said without much emotion as he cooked the oatmeal. "My son changed me. I wanted to be someone he could be proud of, so I changed. That was a few centuries before I met your mother. I had plenty of time to let guilt whittle me down to something acceptable."

I turned back to the fire, watching my dinner cook. He was right about the food, I'd been feeling faint the last few hours while I hurried away from Central. I knew I hadn't gotten terribly far, and I wouldn't make it much farther without food in me.

And sleep. The sun had already set and it was cold. I thought about finding an inn in the nearest town, but I wasn't sure how good of an idea that was, with my identifying facial scars. I supposed I could hide myself under my hood well enough, but I'd have to change that coat a bit. It was recognizable, and I didn't wanna be recognized until I was in a place that'd be hard for Mustang to find me in.

"How'd you change so fast?"

Father handed over the hot bowl of oatmeal. I set it aside to cool. "It wasn't immediate," he said. "And it helped that I had someone to compare myself to when looking for what I didn't want to do anymore."

I stared down at the too hot bowl of food. I wished change was that easy. I might be able to risk going back. I had the Stone, I could resurrect the missing sections of Central, in theory. I wasn't sure if my Stone was quite that big anymore. But if I could change, if I could stop being such a basketcase, I could go back and take care of Al and Mom on my own.

"How hard is it?"

Father blinked. "What, to change?" He adjusted his glasses, studying me like he knew exactly why I was asking. Of course he did, he was an Elric and it was an obvious reason anyway. "It's not immediate. It takes time, and the love of someone you want to change for."

Which meant going back before I was clean enough to not corrupt Al or Mom with the blackness I'd sunk myself into. I sighed. "Just a question," I said, grabbing the bowl of oatmeal and carefully starting to eat.

Father didn't say anything about it, simply let me eat my meal in peace while he picked his book back up. I was grateful to him for it.

After my bowl was almost empty, Father spoke up again. "May I make some suggestions?"

"You're going to anyway."

"True." He tucked his book away in his suitcase. "I can almost certainly say that after the sinking of Central command, the borders are going to close up before any of our neighbors get any ideas, particularly the northern border. I realize you aren't going that direction, but the same will be likely in the south. Which means you won't be taking a train, unless you want to get caught at the border and potentially sent back to Central."

I hadn't thought of that, although I suppose I should've. I swore. "Really? Goddamnit." It was a long way on foot to the border, where there might be unpatroled areas I could slip through.

My father was on the same line of thinking. "You'll be spending a lot of time walking, at least until you cross the border," he said. "I suggest disguising your coat, and perhaps making it warmer. It's too cold to go around with just that."

I looked down at my sleeve. "Planned on that." I hated cold, I wasn't going to stay cold. "What else?"

"You may wish to make a softer pack for you to carry supplies such as food and perhaps a bowl and spoon, such as I have. You won't always be in a town, you may end up having to camp out, and you'll need something to eat. I suggest flint and steel, as well."

I made an incredulous noise around a bite of oatmeal. "My teacher taught Al and I to get by on our own. I can catch a rabbit or something. Don't need flint and steel to start a fire."

"Perhaps not," Father said. "I have no doubt that these things are in your capability, but you never know when hunting may not go well, and flint and steel are simply more convenient than rubbing two sticks together."

I didn't like him telling me how to survive on the road, and I let him know that with a death glare.

He shrugged. "Just remember, Edward, I've been doing this far longer than you have. You'll at least want dishes and a flask for water. Turning your suitcase into a pack for your back will also cover the flamel symbol, if you choose to keep it. But you know as well as I do that after using large amounts of alchemical energy, you need grains to refuel with. That's knowledge that's been around as long as alchemy has, back before we realized it was a science and not a form of magic."

Damn. I knew he was right on that. I could always transmute grass into bread, but that wouldn't be as good as what I might be able to cook. I handed over my empty bowl. "I'll consider it."

That was me speak for 'you win'. I think he knew that, too. But I wasn't giving him more.

"You should rest now," he said, working on rinsing his bowl and spoon again.

I raised one eyebrow. "So you can sneak off behind my back while I'm still in walking distance of Central to rat me out?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I will be here when you wake up. But you're going on the run, Edward, you need to sleep when it's safe to sleep so you can run when you need to. I'll watch over you this time. Please let me do this last thing as your father."

I couldn't argue the logic, and his statement made my eyes sting from the heat of the fire. One last thing as family. Okay. I sat up on my knees, dragging my suitcase in front of me.

"What're you doing?" he asked curiously, leaning forward to watch me.

I glanced at him. "Following your advice." I pulled out my extra pair of pants and shirt, took off my coat, and transmuted the three pieces of clothing together, leaving behind a much warmer black-hooded coat that would hit me about at the knees. I pulled my coat back on. Much nicer.

He nodded in approval. "That should keep you warmer and make you harder to recognize. What about your suitcase?"

"Working on it." I pulled out the Stone and stared at it for a second, then looked up at him. "You've used this before, I really haven't except to get Al back. Can I just use this to make the spare material to make this a proper backpack?"

Father nodded. "It seems like a trivial transmutation for the Stone, but if you have any hopes of using it to protect yourself or someone else, you should probably learn now. It's just like any other transmutation, Edward. Just will the material into being, the Stone will do the rest. It bypasses equivalent exchange, remember."

Right. I knew that. I decided not to give him an evil look for that last statement. It didn't sound condescending, more like a more experienced alchemist giving gentle instruction. I didn't really require the extra love and affection in that tone, but one last thing. I could grant it to him. It was probably the last time I'd hear that kindness, if I had my way.

Using the Stone in a transmutation is not quite like any other transmutation, despite my father's statement. It made my head buzz, like a shock of electricity from an outlet, brief and dizzying. But my suitcase was a proper backpack now, plenty of room, with nothing but a few spare boxers, a small repair kit for my automail, my military papers, my alchemy notes and Marcoh's book, and that picture. Actually, now that it was in a bigger bag and not in a suitcase, all of that looked kinda empty, even with the book.

"Here," Father said, grabbing a bit of wood from his pile that would keep the fire going. He handed over a decently-sized piece. "You don't need the Stone for this. Make yourself a bowl and spoon and fork for food on the road. You can pick up oats or grains at the nearest town after you wake up in the morning. Keep your diet balanced with all those rabbits."

I almost smiled, being fussed at by a parent, but instead put the Stone in my inner coat pocket and took the wood. I was much more comfortable with that transmutation, a quick and easy form changing, leaving me with what Father recommended. "There, happy?"

"More confident that you'll make it out here on your own." He held up his hands before I could so much as give him a dirty look. "I know you can. But you'll do better with this advice. I've been a vagabond since Envy was created and I left him and Dante, that's quite a bit of time on the road. I just know some tricks that you hadn't learned yet."

That mollified me, and I put my pack down on the ground next to me, digging my heel into the dirt. "Where're you going next?"

"Central," he said. "Not to tattle on you, before you worry."

"Good, you'd be in trouble now if you did."

"I'm sure I would," he said. "You're a better fighter, and you have the Stone. Even with my experience, I couldn't win against the Stone. You have all the power here, Edward."

I took in a deep breath, relishing that thought. I couldn't get hurt. Nobody was going to hurt me in this. For one night, with one companion, I was the one that called the shots and I didn't have to worry about being helpless about my situation. I chose this, I continued to choose this, and nobody was going to stop me. "Okay, so why?"

"To see how I can help," he said, grabbing another stick and shifting some wood in the fire. It burned brighter. "There's going to be search and rescue efforts."

"There's nobody to save," I said, feeling that Stone in my pocket like a lump in my stomach.

Father made a hum of acknowledgement. "I know, but the military will look anyway, and if I can help stabilize the ruins while there are people down there, then I have done a little to make up for my part in the circumstances that led to that destruction." Then he looked away from the fire to me. "And I wish to look for your brother, perhaps your mother's ho-" he cut himself off. "Your mother. There's information I can share with them about Dante and the nature of homunulii that they are both owed."

That was the least he could do, I decided, but I knew both of them and probably Mustang would be asking about me. "And what about me? Don't lie to me."

"I'm not going to," he said. "That would be an insult to your intelligence. I will tell them that I suggested Haloa to you. But before you worry, they may believe you won't make it at all and will be forced to stay in Amestris. I'm quite certain that the border is closed by now, after losing all of Central Command. I know you can get through, and I'm certain they'll believe that as well, but with that border closed, they won't be able to get to you until you've disappeared into Haloa's underground."

I pulled my coat tighter around me, clinching shut the collar. "Why would you bother then?"

"To at least let them know that you survived. They may not be able to get you back, but they won't have to question if you live or not."

"Mm." I shifted the Stone in my pocket, moving it from digging into my ribs. "Mustang already knows I'm alive. It'd just tell them where I am. Pretty pointless if they can't get to me."

"Maybe, but don't you think your little brother deserves to know that you're saving other children now that he's safe? I assume that if you go to Haloa, you'll be working your way through the human trafficking rings."

"Good assumption. I don't like scum." I sighed. "Fine, just don't let him think I'm some sort of hero for it. I'm doing it because there don't need to be more kids hurt."

Father smiled. "That sounds like a hero to me, Edward."

I shook my head. "No. Heroes don't do what I plan to do to the bad guys. Equivalent exchange."

Father sighed. "Then you'd better rest now. It might be the last time you'll be able to do so at ease. I'll sit up awhile longer to watch out for search parties, if there are any. There's a town about a half day's walk southeast of here where you can stop tomorrow and buy supplies and get a hot meal. Gather information, every scrap you can. Stay the night if you think it wise."

I didn't wanna sleep, but my droopy eyelids told my brain otherwise. The heat of the fire and the training I'd had drilled into me in the field that you sleep when you can were telling me to take advantage of not having guard duty. "All right," I mumbled, shifting around to use my backpack as a pillow.

I fell asleep to the crackling of the fire.