September 12th, 1960

"Are you ever going to tell me where we're going?" Tore griped as he sat in the back of Edward's car. Ed and Alphonse sat in the front seat as Ed drove them down a winding country road. It was already full dark.

"You'll see when we get there," Ed replied. It was the same vague answer he had been giving ever since he had picked up Tore after school with Al in tow. It was something he had been thinking needed to be done with Tore for a long time and, while they did not have the time to do it properly, he thought he had an idea that would make the point.

They had been driving out into the countryside outside Central for a few hours, winding around back roads until Ed was sure Tore would have no idea which way they had come or which way they were going, though he knew perfectly well where they were. They were actually almost to the spot that Ed had in mind.

"By the time we get there it'll be too dark to see anything," Tore snorted, leaning against the car window in the back seat and staring out at the dark fields and trees beyond.

"That's the idea." Ed replied as he pulled off down one more windy road into the forest they had been skirting for the past twenty minutes. "I thought you could use a little freedom."

In the rear-view mirror Tore's expression turned confused and wary. "What, you're letting me go into the wild?" he asked sardonically.

"Something like that," Al snickered.

"It's a challenge," Ed continued as he pulled up at the place he had been looking for. "Consider it part of your training as an alchemist. I only wish I had a month instead of a weekend."

"A month? What am I doing?" Tore asked.

Ed turned off the car and opened the door. Al didn't get out, but Tore followed suit. "You're going to find your way to a town near here."

"That's it?" Tore didn't look impressed.

Ed smirked. "If you do it efficiently, it shouldn't take you more than five or six hours walking straight. It's roughly fifteen miles from here."

"So what's to keep me from just walking there?" Tore asked, eyeing the forest around them.

"The fact that you don't know where it is maybe?" Ed replied smugly. "There's no straight road to follow between here and there obviously, and no road signs. You're looking for the town of Rosewood. Go straight east and you'll find it."

Ed waited for Tore to ask the questions he ought to be. The kid had no wildlife training. His only experience with being out of the city was Resembool and Drachma. If he had taken anything away from their time in Drachma, he would hopefully use it now. Tore looked irritated, but as if he was finally thinking about the challenge ahead. "Which way is East?"

Question one; check. "You'll have to figure that out for yourself," Ed informed him. "This is a survival test. You're going to have to figure out how to get there and how to take care of yourself on the way."

"I get you," Tore nodded. "What supplies do I get?"

"What do you have on you?"

The proverbial light bulb went on behind Tore's eyes. "Wait a minute; I don't even get food or a knife? What about matches?"

"Nothing but what you've got on you right now," Ed reiterated. "There's food in these woods if you know how to find it. Water too. Chances are you won't be out here more than most of the night, but I'll give you until Sunday morning to show up in Rosewood or Al and I will come find you."

"What if you have to do that?" Tore did not look pleased.

Ed shrugged. "Then you fail the test."

"And if I don't fail?" Tore asked.

"Pass and I'll consider lightening your sentence," Ed offered as incentive. "Prove to me you can use your brain."

"Oh I'll prove it," Tore rose to the bait. "When I get to town where do I find you?"

"Look for the Swan Inn," Ed told him. "It's right on the edge of town. You can't miss it." With that, he turned and got back in the car.

"What if a wild animal comes after me?" Tore asked, looking slightly disbelieving now as he hurried to the window.

"You can take him!" Ed laughed as he started the car. "You're an alchemist aren't you?"

"R-right," Tore nodded.

"See you." Ed backed up the car, pulled back onto the path, and headed back the way they had come.

"Do you think he's ready for this?" Al asked as they headed away from the kid, quickly losing sight of him in the darkness. "It could be pretty dangerous."

"The park is a protected wildlife preserve," Ed pointed out with a grin. "Edged by four different towns and there's nothing more dangerous living in there than porcupines, badgers, and, so I've heard, some bad tempered beavers. The biggest predators are foxes and a bobcat that goes into town and begs for food. Tore can only get so lost, and he's smarter than he's been acting lately."

"So in other words yes," Al chuckled, leaning back and relaxing a little. "You think this will really help?"

"It helped us didn't it?" Ed pointed out. "All right, so it's not a month on Yock Island. But he needs something that takes him out of his comfort zone and makes him really think. He's too used to things he can handle. He's smart and there's not a lot that's challenging him right now. He's unfocused and he's a walking hormone sack. I don't want to see him end up getting in trouble because he's not thinking straight anymore." He'd been a clear thinking, focused young man until the last couple of years.

"Well hopefully this will do it," Al agreed. "So we're just holing up in Rosewood until he gets there?"

"At the Inn," Ed grinned over at him. "I figured we could use a little vacation. They have a great menu. Unless you're complaining?"

"Me? Of course not," Al laughed. "I haven't had a day off in ages."

There was something in Al's tone that sounded a little off though, and Ed thought he knew what it was. It was the first time Al had been away from home overnight in nearly two years. "Well you need one," Ed replied. "So relax and enjoy it."

Al looked half-amused. "Is that an order?"

Ed nodded. "You bet it is.

Tore watched the car vanish into the darkness with a feeling that was part shock, part annoyance, and part fear. He was standing alone in the forest, with no idea where he was and nothing in the way of materials, supplies, or even a real set of directions. Not even a compass. How the hell was he supposed to manage this?

"He knows I've never had any wilderness training," Tore griped aloud, but it sounded very loud in the forest around him. The only sounds were the rustle of leaves in a breeze, crickets, cicadas, and an owl hooting in the distance. At least, Tore thought it was an owl. He looked around, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

As they did, he realized that the trees were not as dense as they seemed. Through them he could see stars and a bright moon actually made seeing possible. He knew that stars could be used as a navigational tool. Maybe he could figure out direction that way?

Tore walked towards the nearest clearing, which was only about twenty yards away further into the forest. From there, he could see quite a few stars. It was then that he was struck with another problem. He was only familiar with maybe three constellations. Which star was the North Star?

Tore stared at the sky for nearly ten minutes, deliberating which way to go. He was pretty sure the constellation that looked kind of like a pot with a handle lay a North-ish direction. He couldn't figure out if that was the right one or not. But he was pretty sure. Wasn't there another constellation that looked just like it? He couldn't tell for sure in the trees. Still, the hunch was better than nothing.

Swallowing his fear, Tore turned to his right – that should be east… right? – And started walking. Still he doubted. Fullmetal had driven off going North if he was even remotely correct in his guess. However, the roads had wound all over the place, so that might not mean anything.

Night in the woods was darker than anything Tore had ever experienced. At least in Resembool the open rolling mountain foothills had been easily bathed in moonlight. Here, with all the trees, it came through in splotches, hiding so much in shadow. Who knew what was lurking where he couldn't see it?

Tore thought he knew what Fullmetal was trying to do. He'd heard the story of Yock Island. But Tore had already had Equivalent Exchange and All is One, One is All, explained. They had discussed it in some depth. Perhaps he was supposed to be figuring out something else.

Right now I should be figuring out how to get out of this forest as fast as possible. Tore tried to walk a little faster, but his steps sounded loud to him. What if he attracted a predator? Would it be safer to go on by daylight and hole up for the night? Would Fullmetal have left him out here if he was in any real danger? Frankly, Tore thought bitterly, he probably would. Tore had alchemy. If…if he could find something to draw with! Damn it! Only the things on him at the moment did not include any kind of writing implement. He fished frantically in his pockets, hoping he was wrong. He wasn't.

It was going to be a very long night.

The food at the inn was just as good as Edward had heard. Together he and Al feasted their way through the best courses the place had; which included fine steaks, freshly grilled summer vegetables, and a fantastic roasted pheasant that Ed was sorry to see the last of it gone, despite being definitively full by the end of the meal.

"What a feast," Ed grinned across the table. "I've got to see about getting Winry to make stuff like this. I could really get used to it."

"I thought you said Winry was already the best cook in the world," Al smirked. "Which, of course, is in question given the extensive skills of Gracia and Elicia, but I hope you're not claiming this is better."

"Not better," Ed leaned back, giving himself a little more room to digest. The large slice of chocolate raspberry torte had almost done him in. "Just a nice change of pace, good flavors. I'm sure she and Elicia could make it even more amazing. Or do you disagree?" He gave a wry grin in reply. Al had eaten as much of it as he had so he had obviously enjoyed it.

Al was leaning back as well. "Not in the least."

"Would you gentlemen like anything else?" The waitress asked as she returned to their table. "After dinner coffee or a beer perhaps?"

Ed thought about it for a moment, trying to decide if he still had room. "Sure. Coffee sounds great." He wasn't planning to go to bed anytime soon. There was, of course, the possibility that Tore would actually show up tonight, though Ed highly doubted it. "Al?" His brother was looking at the drink list. Al seemed to be feeling indecisive. When he shot Ed an uneasy glance Ed had the feeling he knew why. "Oh get whatever you want," Ed spoke up, mildly irritated. It had been seven years. People could stop pussy-footing around him on the subject.

Al looked slightly embarrassed behind the menu, then looked up. "The spiced mead please," Al handed the menu back and the waitress turned and headed back to the kitchens. His gaze drifted back to the window, and Ed knew his attention was elsewhere.

Now seemed as good a time as any to ask. "Al, are you okay?"

His brother startled and glanced over at him, apparently confused. "Well yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

This was going to be harder than Ed had thought. Not that it was Al's fault. "It's just that you've seemed… down lately. I just figured now that Elicia was doing better you'd be more cheerful." Indeed, Elicia seemed almost back to her old self most of the time. Al, however, did not. It wasn't something obvious, but Ed couldn't ignore it either. "Feeling guilty about leaving her at home?"

"Not really," Al shrugged, though Ed wasn't entirely sure he meant it. "She's not alone and she practically ordered me to come." He smiled a little. That was the Elicia they both knew.

"So then, what's the problem?" Ed had fully understood his brother's worries and stress when Elicia was first rescued, and after when she was dealing with the trauma of the whole ordeal. But things had improved steadily for quite some time.

"It's not Elicia," Al finally looked him straight in the face. "It's me."

He looked at thought he figured Ed should understand. But there was something not said that didn't make sense. "So…what's wrong?"

Embarrassed, Al looked away again. He began to speak softly and quietly, though there was a lot of emotion in his voice. "I just can't get past it. I still feel guilty that I wasn't there to protect her; that we didn't catch up to her in time. I still have nightmares and I… I still wish I'd gone with you." His hand tightened around his empty water glass. "Destroying their lab wasn't enough. We don't know how many of them survived."

"Either way, they're far from here," Ed pointed out. "No one's going to touch Elicia again… except you of course."

Al didn't smile. "In my dreams, I've got Tamirov cornered. I've killed him so many times now, so many different ways; making him pay for what he did to her."

Alphonse dreaming about murder? No wonder he hadn't said anything to anyone. "It's okay to dream of justice," Ed replied after a moment. Al seemed to be done speaking. "To feel anger and want revenge." He was no stranger to that overwhelming urge. "I don't blame you for that, or for not wanting to tell anyone."

"I'm just sick of feeling resentment and anger and…" Al let go of the glass suddenly, as if he was expecting it to break in his hand if he squeezed tighter. "I know I should just be grateful that things are finally getting back to normal and let it go but for once I…I can't."

Ed felt a lump in his throat. Aside from the pain of seeing his brother still hurting, he couldn't help but wonder if part of that, any of it, was still aimed at him. Al had been furious with him over that, and while they had made amends about it a while ago, was that still an issue? "Do I want to know how much of that's still my fault?" He asked the question softly. Ed wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

Al, to his relief, looked startled, then apologetic. "Not much of it," he replied. "Agree or not I know why you did what you did. We're okay. Mostly it's the Drachmans I can't stand anymore."

"Tamirov got what was coming to him," Ed replied, "As much as we could manage anyway." He wished he knew if the bastard was dead.

"Not just Tamirov." The look in Al's eyes was one Ed hadn't seen before. "I can't forgive the rest of them for sitting by and doing nothing!" There was the anger, the resentment. His voice, while still quiet, had grown hard and anguished. "We practically handed them Tamirov and his men; kidnappers, rapists, doing horrible experiments on innocent people…and they didn't do a damned thing."

Ed's stomach twisted uncomfortably. He'd never seen his little brother like this. Okay, not in a very long time. He'd always been so understanding; the first of either of them to understand motives and forgive. He didn't respond immediately however, as the waitress returned with their drinks. Ed thanked her and sipped his coffee, waiting to see if Al had anything else he needed to get off his chest.

Al didn't speak again until he'd finished his mead. "It's like corruption is inherent in any ruling body," he finally said. "The lies, the politics; Expediency and risk management taking precedence over whether something is right or wrong. It's disgusting, and Drachma's worse than Aerugo was."

Ed wasn't sure even he would go quite that far. "Well at least we're not likely to have anything to do with them again," he pointed out. "There's no sign they've made any progress after what we told them. Forget them. We took matters into our own hands and did what had to be done without any international consequences." He refrained from saying that moving on seemed the best thing to do now. Al already knew that.

"Who's we?" Al snorted. "You and Roy and Winry and Tore did plenty. I did nothing."

"You took care of Elicia, just like you should've."

"I sat there and watched helplessly."

This discussion wasn't going to get anywhere productive. Ed could see that now. "Well that may be how you see it, but I doubt that's how Elicia sees it," he replied. "You know how much just being there can mean to someone, Al." Where would they be without each other?

Al smiled again a little stronger, as if he understood what went unsaid. "Yeah, I do. Thanks, Ed."

"Hey, that's what brothers are for," Ed grinned back, saluting him with his coffee cup before taking another sip.

Al eyed him suspiciously. "Is this why you invited me along this weekend?"

"Partially," Ed admitted. There was no reason to hide it after all. "That and I really didn't feel like hanging out here alone until Tore figures out how to get here."

"You could have brought Winry," Al smirked. "This place is nice."

"Winry gets a relaxing alchemist-free couple of days, and you and I get to pretend we're free enough to go where we want for a bit."

"Nice delusion," Al replied, finally beginning to relax. He waved the waitress over for another drink. "Does that one get to include we still look twenty-five and beautiful women we don't know will notice our existence?"

"Sure," Ed agreed. "Why not? Just don't let my wife know if any imaginary women hit on me okay?"

"No worries, Ed," Al smiled. "Why would they be doing that if I'm imagining they're all paying attention to me?"

Ed tried not to snort his coffee. "And just what, pray tell, are all these imaginary women doing that I shouldn't tell Elicia?"

Al shrugged. "Honestly? I think I'd have more fun imagining Winry and Elicia going after anyone who tried."

Now that was a fun mental image!

His nerves were shot. Tore had no idea how long he had been wandering through the woods. Every time he caught sight of the sky he tried to find the constellation he recognized to make sure he was heading in the same direction. He corrected his course four times, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he startled an opossum that hissed at him and waddled away. He did trip over dozens of tree roots, including sending himself tumbling briefly into a small trickling creek. He ran into at least two thorn bushes before he figured out how to recognize them in the speckled light.

The night got darker and Tore began to feel hungry. He hadn't had dinner. He hadn't had anything to drink in hours either and his throat was parched. He took several handfuls from the stream before he clambered out of it, but it wasn't enough to slake his thirst.

Tore hated to admit it, but he was scared. Not cry like a baby scared, but seriously disliking the unknown scared. A forest without city lights was the darkest place he'd ever been, and animals were not something he was familiar with. He had no idea how to find food in the dark either. He'd been lucky to stumble across the stream. He didn't dare think that Edward had put him where he was to be sure he'd find water. That was probably over thinking things.

Tore had never felt quite so alone. It wasn't his first time in the wilderness per se. There had been fleeing in the snow of Drachma and their night in the cave. But that hadn't seemed anything like this. Snow reflected light, and he'd had Fullmetal, True Soul, and the Flame alchemist all there to do alchemy and find food and water for him. They all knew how to survive pretty well, especially together.

Tore knew absolutely nothing in comparison. So perhaps the lesson is survival. Though that would be a lot of lessons all in one wouldn't it? It didn't seem fair. He had nothing with which to draw a transmutation circle, and he had no idea what he would transmute even if he did except in the case of being attacked by bears or wolves or something.

Not that he wanted to know what most of the animal rustles he heard were actually made by. Tore just hoped that they would stay away from the stranger crashing through their underbrush.

Finally he reached a clearer part of the forest, with some rocky hills and more sky. Tore looked up, and cursed out loud. Clouds were moving in and the sky was splotchy. He couldn't tell where the heck he was going or even if he was still walking in the same direction.

His stomach growled and ached. His tongue was dry. Tore reached up and wiped a drop of water from his face. A raindrop he told himself. Yeah, just a stray drop.

Almost as if in answer to his thoughts, the thickening clouds above his head opened up and rain began to fall in slow, steady sheets.

"If I didn't know better I'd say Fullmetal planned this," Tore grumbled as he ran for the rocks. Maybe he could find an overhang or someplace to sleep that wasn't occupied by an animal.

The thought made him almost stop cold. Shaking himself, Tore kept moving back under the trees. Water was no longer an issue, not soaked as he was getting already. Shelter; he needed shelter. Or maybe the lesson is priorities. That would fit with a lot of their arguments lately.

There, through the darkness, he thought he saw what looked like a cave – or at least a darker shadow. It turned out to be a fallen tree against the rocks. Well anyway, it was shelter and it clearly had nothing living in it!

Tore scooted under the trunk and huddled, his back up against the rocks. He looked out at the rain, which grew heavier with each passing minute. Plenty to drink tomorrow, he thought. Maybe if I'm lucky something edible will drown. Not that he had any idea how to skin or prep meat and, frankly, the idea of having to do that himself made his stomach turn. If not he was sure there had to be edible plants. If only he knew how to tell which was which.

Well at least he had plenty of time to himself. Tore wished he had his black-and-white cat, Rapscallion, to snuggle up with him, and maybe catch them both dinner. Rap liked to stalk things. But he was sure the little tom was more than likely curled up on Tore's bed, purring contentedly.

It had been a long time since Tore felt so alone. With a sigh, he curled up, his knees tucked tight against his chest with his arms, and closed his eyes. It wasn't like he'd see anything coming anyway. He could just hope that animals disliked the rain as much as he did. Perhaps

It was really a blessing

And maybe if he told himself that enough times, Tore might begin to believe it.