Ed was running as quickly as he could through the forest. The sun was setting quickly and if he was caught in the dark he'd be killed. Behind him trees crashed to either side as he ran, the large thuds of heavy footsteps behind him. His breath was misting in front of him, he was scared. Very, very, scared. Where was dad anyway? Where was anyone? Why was he alone in the forest, had they been separated? What was chasing him anyway?

Ed glanced over his shoulder but didn't see anything except a large dark shadow with glowing red eyes, creepy. He couldn't keep this pace up forever; his legs were getting heavier with every step. Ed tripped and fell to the ground, scrabbling to get away. He managed to get to his feet again and turned to find the shadow upon him. He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. The shadow grabbed him by the throat and then-

"Ed, wake up!"

Ed's eyes shot open. He sat up, his jaw snapping shut which had moments before been open in a large scream. His eyes were watering over and he couldn't see right but he saw the outline of his dad in front of him. He threw his arms up around the neck of his dad and buried his face in his shoulder, sobs wracking his body.

His dad stiffened briefly under him before relaxing and bringing his arms up to hold Ed closer while he sobbed. It took a while for Ed to calm down. Every time he came even remotely close to being calm the memory of the shadow creature would resurface and send him into a new wave of panic. During those times he fisted his dad's shirt as hard as he could and burrowed deeper into his dad's hold. His dad spoke to him the whole time, telling him it was just a nightmare, and that he was okay. That it was safe.

Finally, Ed pulled away and wiped his eyes, sniffling a little. "I'm sorry, dad. I guess I don't normally do that."

"What makes you say that?" Mustang asked gently, still holding Ed in his lap.

"Because you looked so surprised. Was I really independent or something?"

Dad laughed, "Just a bit. Don't worry, Ed. I think I understand what you're going through. Now come on, we need to get moving. It'll do you good."

They stood and Ed sheepishly handed Mustang his coat back, holding it out in one hand. His dad took it and gave a wistful look to it before casting it to the ground. "Ed, you're going to have to remove your coat as well."

If asked Mustang would have said that he honestly expected some form of argument from the boy, memory or no. When he read stories of people who lost their memories they generally centered around people who had some innate sense of what they had been attached too. Like trusting someone because they have a hunch or whatnot.

In actuality that was apparently not how things went as Ed calmly removed it and tossed it with Roy's. Mustang pulled out one of his ignition gloves and put it on, snapping his fingers. The clothing lit up and burned slowly, so as not to spread very far. Roy led Ed away from the fire with a hand on his arm.

"Hey, dad?" Ed asked, finally looking away from the glowing embers. "Did something ever happen to me involving fire?"

"Yeah. Back before I adopted you, the old place where you lived caught fire and burned to the ground."

"Is that why I have automail?"

"No, that was a different accident."

"Oh." Roy could tell that Ed wanted to ask further but he was glad when the boy kept quiet. He needed time to think of enough lies to keep Ed going while they waited for either his memory to return or for them to safely reach Amestris. It seemed like a lot of work but Roy knew it'd be easier than coming out with the truth. After all, how would this version of Ed be expected to march on when he is told that he is actually a military alchemist who transmuted his own mother and lost his brother's body and limbs? It was too much for anyone, let alone a boy with no memory.

Ed was getting tired, Roy could tell. The day had started out strong, they had a good pace and the weather was even fair. Around midday though they had stopped for lunch and Ed had let out a yawn. After that the yawns became increasingly frequent and Ed's eyes began drooping as they walked. Every now and then they'd walk through a clearing and he'd try to perk back up, slapping his face, or staring up at the clear blue sky. It didn't get any better though and Mustang found himself slowing down so that the boy could keep up. He didn't know why Fullmetal was so tired, they hadn't been setting all that hard of a pace. They hadn't gotten up abnormally early and they hadn't gone to sleep extremely late. It was odd to say the least.

Ed stumbled over a tree root, falling to his hands and knees. If he hadn't given a yelp as he had fallen Roy probably wouldn't have even noticed, so caught up in his thoughts as he was. Roy turned quickly and saw Ed picking himself back up off the ground, wiping the dirt off of his pants. Roy sighed and shook his head, "You okay?" he asked.

Ed nodded, trying to hide a yawn behind a stretch. "Yeah, I'm good. Sorry, dad." They had spoken a few times throughout the day, Ed asking questions about his past and stuff; trying to remember memories that weren't there. Roy had answered as closely to the truth as he could without giving away that the tale of a life he had with Ed was one big lie. The more they had talked throughout the day the more Mustang felt he was digging himself into a bigger hole. No matter how many times they talked throughout the day, Roy felt that he'd never get used to Ed calling him dad.

Ed opened his mouth to say something else but ended up tripping at that moment. He hit the ground and wasn't quick enough to catch himself this time. Before he could think too much about his actions, Roy bent down and scooped Ed up into his arms. Ed let out a surprised yelp at being picked up and struggled in Roy's grip.

"Easy, Ed. Just me," Roy soothed as best he could. Ed calmed down quickly and looked up at his dad, his cheeks red in embarrassment.

"I can walk…"

"I know you can. It's just quicker this way."

Ed opened his mouth to argue some more but seemed to decide not to. Rather he wrapped his arms around Roy's neck and let himself be carried. Roy was half-surprised at the lack of arguments but it made sense in a way. Ed wasn't one to argue these days.

"Did you carry me like this when I had no memories?" Ed asked.

"Not often, no. You had this thing about height and refused to be picked up because in your mind that meant you were short." Roy looked over at Ed, searching for a sign of a memory coming to life in his eyes. "Do you even care that you're short now?"

Ed frowned. "How old am I?"

"Thirteen."

Ed shrugged. "Nope, I don't really care. I saw my reflection earlier and I thought I was eight."

They fell silent as Roy moved through the forest. Ed held onto Roy with one arm while using his other to push aside branches that hung low in their faces. The forest was strangely silent as they walked, nothing making a sound save for that of Mustang's footsteps. It was eerie to say the least

Despite the unsettling tension they both must have been feeling Ed managed to fall asleep in Roy's arms anyway, his head hitting the crook of Roy's shoulders. He snored softly as Roy now searched for a place to set up camp. He found a clearing a few miles from where he had begun his search, a place that looked to have been used for a campsite the other day given the wood and ashes in the middle of it. Mustang set Ed down on the grass and knelt beside the ashes. Pinching a small bit between his fingers he couldn't detect any warmth in it, at least a day old then. Roy wondered if it was survivors of the train crash who had camped here, maybe he and Ed weren't the only survivors? Then again there was the Drachmans wandering about that made him very unsettled. Maybe he and Ed were the only ones who hadn't been taken…

Mustang pushed the thoughts aside. There was no point in contemplating it because in their current condition they couldn't do anything about it. There was no help for it

AN: Thanks to all my supporters :) It really means a lot to me that you all take your time to read this piece of horse dung ^-^