Summary:
Edward and Alphonse finally arrive in Central City, where Major Armstrong introduces them to the soldiers who will take over the Elric security detail from him – 2nd Lt. Maria Ross and Sergeant Denny Brosh. Ross and Brosh escort the boys to their destination, the National Central Library, but explain that the library’s First Branch building—where Dr. Marcoh’s notes were supposedly hidden—burned to the ground the day before the Elrics arrived in what is suspected to be arson.In East City, Colonel Roy Mustang is gifted by visiting Major General Hakur for his unit’s failure to contain Scar even after all this time. But while Mustang coolly brushes off the rebuke, he confides in his subordinate Lt. Rize Hawkeye and Second Lt. Jean Havoc that he, too, is eager to resolve the matter with Scar, if only to score points with Central Command and make his job even easier. a secret bid for the seat of the Führer and the highest military authority. Just outside, Lust joins the ever-vigilant Gluttony and explains that while she was unable to find Marco’s notes, her destruction of the first branch of the library ensures that even Fullmetal Alchemist will never find them. As he speaks, however, Gluttony draws attention elsewhere—to the scent of Ishvalan covered in blood. When Lust asks if he can eat the target, he orders him not to leave a hair behind. Down in the sewers, Scar suddenly realizes he’s being watched and spies a voracious Gluttony behind him. When they collide, the sewer tunnel explodes and collapses.Back in the capital, the Elrics and their entourage try to find out if some of Marco’s notes have been stored elsewhere, but come up empty-handed until he refers them to a young woman named Sheska, who worked at First Branch until her recent release. When they arrive at her house, they learn that Sheska was fired for reading texts in the library instead of doing her work, and that she clearly remembers Tim Marcoh’s work being stored in the First Branch. Ed and Al, disappointed by this confirmation of their target’s destruction, thank Sheska and prepare to leave, but she informs them that with her photographic memory, she could perfectly reproduce the text for them if they wanted. Five days later, the transcript is complete, and although everything Sheska wrote appears to be no more than a standard cookbook, Edward thanks her and takes the transcripts back to the main library branch to study. Once there, explains Sgt. Brosh that many alchemists encode their alchemical documents at a high level to prevent their information from falling into the wrong hands; if Sheska’s copy is perfect and accurate, Elric may be able to crack the code and decipher Marco’s secret notes. Even after a week of hard work, however, the Elrics had made very little progress in understanding what Dr. Marcoh was working. They are visited by Lt. Col. Hughes, who mentions that the Tucker chimera case is still open and complains about the loss of important court-martial records that were stored in the first branch of the library, and when he tells him that Sheska (who has been reading those records) is able to reproduce them all from memory, he is happy to offer her a new job in his office. The boys continue their research, but are enraged when they finally crack the code and discover the secret Marcoh has been trying to hide – that the main ingredient in the Philosopher’s Stone is a living human being.