***

With Alphonse's failure came depression. Winry had to force him to eat and sleep in order to regain his strength. A doctor visited daily to check on the young Elric's condition, but while his body slowly recovered, his spirit did not. During the day, Al would spend time sitting outside on the front porch, gazing in the direction of the forest. At night, Al dove deeper into alchemy. He would go for days without sleeping; only resting when he was on the verge of collapse. Out of desperation, Winry decided to take drastic measures. In-between two auto mail projects, Winry picked up the phone and dialed a number that had become familiar to her over the years.

On the third ring, a women's voice rang in her ears. "Fuhrer Mustang's office, how may I help you?" Hesitating for only a moment, Winry spoke up.

"Hello, this is Winry Rockbell. Is Roy in?"

"Oh, Ms. Winry!" The secretary immediately acknowledged her. "Hold on one moment." Winry only had to wait a few seconds before Roy Mustang's deep voice came on the line.

"Winry, what a surprise. Do you need something?" Winry bit her lip, choosing her words carefully.

"Yes, actually… I'm sorry to call you like this, but it's about Al. I'm really worried about him… About a month ago, he tried to bring his brother back and failed. He's taking it really hard. I was hoping maybe you could do something. Maybe send Colonel Armstrong out to visit? I know I'm asking a lot, but I've never seen him like this and—

"Say no more, Winry. I'll send someone immediately to pick him up," Mustang interrupted. A smile instantly lit the girl's face and Roy realized this as her tone immediately improved.

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. How is Riza, by the way?" Mustang chuckled in response to her question.

"She's a bit tied up, but that's natural. She's still bossing me around despite the fact that I was promoted to fuhrer a year ago. I suppose some things never change." Winry laughed in agreement and said her goodbyes. When she hung up the phone she felt a swell of relief. Despite her long lasting friendship with Alphonse, she knew that what he needed right now were some fellow alchemists who could understand his situation. With their help he would be back to the same old Alphonse in no time!

***A week after Alphonse's transmutation, mountains slightly north of Resembol***

He sat cross legged in front of a fire that he had constructed with alchemy. Everything came easily to him after the first week, but the memories were still hazy. Upon first waking up a week ago he had been startled to find himself naked in the middle of a forest, with nothing but a suit of armor to his name. After a day of wandering blindly through the woods he had remembered alchemy. With a snap of his fingers things would change before his eyes and a surge of knowledge would flow through him. He knew what everything was down to its last molecule, all with a simple touch. Clothes, food, and shelter were quickly provided for him with the gathering of materials and a little creativity.

The unknown alchemist twisted his long golden hair around one of his fingers, contemplating where he might have come from and why he had woken up in the middle of nowhere. Quite suddenly he had the image of his hair tied back in a braid. Searching around for some grass, he transmuted it into a hair band and immediately copied the memory, making it reality. The youth then laid back, full after a meal of rabbit and snake, and stared up at the stars. Across the clearing where he had set up his temporary home sat the suit of armor he had woken up to. For some strange reason he couldn't bring himself to leave it behind. Although it sat dormant now, he remembered a time when its eyes glowed red and it followed alongside him. Foolish dreams, perhaps, but he indulged them nonetheless.

"I wonder who I am…" he mused aloud, just to hear the sound of a human voice. "Damnit, there's no use worrying about it," he sighed as he rolled over on his side. Worrying about his past and the memories which were absent would get him nowhere. All he could do was wait and hope that something would come to him soon. Transmuting a tent out of some materials he had gathered earlier, the blonde boy drifted into a land of dreams.

The next two weeks were rough. One thing that quickly returned to him was something a beautiful woman with dark hair and a scary expression once told him, "To train the mind you must first train the body." The saying resonated deep within the alchemist and he immediately got to work training, honing his body and alchemy skills, although he knew not why. Training took up most of his time and helped the days pass quickly. With each day a new face would suddenly appear in his thoughts. A man with dark hair and a smirk, an old short woman, a large man with a ridiculous amount of muscles—but then, at the end of his third week in the forest, he remembered her.

Her face was fresh in his mind when he first woke up. She had a gentle look to her and a smiling face with bright eyes and long blonde. The girl was dressed plainly in cargo pants and a sports bra, with her hair tied back as she tinkered with a mechanical arm placed in front of her. For some reason, his heart ached as the image faded. He knew that he loved her in his past. By the end of the day, her face had been etched firmly in his mind along with the faces of a dozen others. Although he vaguely knew of their importance to him, he still could not remember their names and the memories attached to them. So, he struggled on with his training, the suit of armor watching over him as he worked.

It was at the end of the month that it all came back in a rush. When his eyes snapped open he sat bolt upright. His mind filled to the brim with the past and present. Edward Elric. That was who he was. Edward jumped quickly to his feet, only to sit back down again. Despite his month of training, his legs were too weak to support him. "The gate—Alphonse!" Edward's eyes darted to the familiar piece of armor across the meadow. Without delay he carefully got up and ran over to it. Taking off its head, he looked for the familiar blood seal that he expected to find there, but all he found was a blank sheet of metal. Edward crumpled forward, banging his fist on the steel in despair. "No, damnit, Alphonse! Was this the price you had to pay to bring me back from beyond the gate? Why'd you do it, you idiot! Damnit! Damnit all to hell!" Edward Elric paced back and forth in a mix of fury and anguish. How long had he been in the gate? Those days were still hard to remember. Why did his brother take such a big risk?

Looking around, Ed quickly realized that he was in the forest north of Resembol. He remembered playing in this same clearing when he was a child. Edward's thoughts drifted from his realization to Winry. Was she still alive and well in Resembol? Did she know that Al had died because of him? A sickening feeling overtook him. How could he go back and face her now? No matter how he felt though he knew that he had to. She deserved to know that he was alive at the very least. Putting on a brave face, Ed started to make his way south, but before he could leave the meadow, a voice called his name.

"Edward! It seems that your memories have returned." The older Elric brother whirled around, clapping his hands out of instinct. He wasn't sure which stunned him more—the fact that he realized he now had two human hands, or that his father was standing in front of him, alive and well. "Hey," his father greeted him sheepishly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Edward hissed. "Did you help Al do this?" Hoenheim's smile fell from his face to be replaced with a more serious expression.

"No, Edward, you did. Now sit down, we have a lot to discuss."

***

When Winry ran upstairs to let Al know that he had a guest, he didn't so much as lift his head to acknowledge her. He sat at his desk with a book in front of him, as usual. The lunch that she had brought him three hours ago sat at the edge of the table where she had placed it, untouched and cold. "Alphonse Elric, listen to me!" Winry snapped as she stomped into the room. Al turned slowly to look up at her without so much as uttering a word of greeting. Winry frowned and grabbed him by the hand. "Come on!" She urged. Alphonse knew it was no use to struggle. He stumbled after Winry as she dragged him downstairs and into the front room. Much to his surprise, Roy Mustang stood in the doorway.

"Fuhrer Mustang! What are you doing here?" Al asked, unable to hide his amazement. Winry crossed her arms over her chest and smiled in triumph. She was glad that Roy could get some sort of reaction from him.

"Well, I was in the vicinity and thought I'd stop by," Roy replied with a coy smile.

"You couldn't have been in the vicinity! You're the fuhrer, shouldn't you be taking care of business in Central?" Al pointed out. Mustang's reply was a mere shrug.

"The great thing about being fuhrer is that I have the power to delegate duties to whomever I wish at any point in time." Alphonse allowed himself to smile. He knew that this meant Mustang was probably avoiding work so he could visit him. Some things never changed. Suddenly, Mustang cleared his throat and took on a more business type look.

"In all seriousness Alphonse, I heard that you were having a bit of trouble." Mustang glanced over at Winry and she immediately excused herself. She knew all too well what his look meant. This was something he needed to discuss with Al alone. As soon as Winry left the room, Al looked to the floor.

"Yes… I tried to bring Ed back, but… I failed." Mustang stepped further into the room and lifted Al's face with his hand.

"Alphonse, you are an Elric. And as long as I can remember, no Elric I've ever known has given up at the first sign of failure. Stop hanging your head. If you're that torn up about it, do something to change it." Al bit his lip. He knew that Mustang was right, but he couldn't so easily forget all the hard work that went to waste.

"What can I do?" Al finally asked. A fire lit in Roy Mustang's eyes as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a letter. It was sealed with the military crest and had his name written in flowing script across the front.

"I thought you might ask, so I brought you this. Read it over. I'll be back in three days to hear your answer." Giving a parting salute, Mustang turned and walked out of the Rockbell house. Curious, Alphonse tore open the letter, reading over the paper that was inside. Al's eyes widened. The letter was in fact an invitation to take the State Alchemy exam, just like his brother did years ago. Without wasting any time, Alphonse ran out the door, his eyes scanning the horizon. Mustang's form was just disappearing over one of Resembol's rolling hills.

"Wait, Fuhrer Mustang!" Alphonse shouted. Roy paused in his stride and turned to look back at him. "Don't go!" Al begged. "Give me a few minutes to pack!" Roy's smile was plain despite the distance between them.

"Meet me at the station," Mustang shouted back. For the first time in a week, Alphonse grinned.