The Elrics and Winry arrive in Central City, Ed tired from the train ride as Fu and Lan Fan have been spying on him the whole time. From the top of the train, Fu asks if he’s seen Ling, to which Ed says he hasn’t. As Fu begins to search, Lan Fan becomes very worried about what happened to him. Elsewhere, as Ling observes the city, he believes there is something strange about it. Meanwhile, Havoc heads to meet Falman at the safe house he and Barry Chopper are hiding in to deliver his food. Talking to Barry, Havoc refuses to let Barry wander around the city at night cutting someone up, though he will see when Hawkeye visits. Falman asks how long he has to babysit Barry, to which Havoc mentions that his time off is considered sick, though Mustang will make him pay if anyone but them finds out about this collusion. Havoc then announces that he has finally found a girlfriend, which upsets Falman as there is no good news for him. Several police officers discover Ling, who has collapsed from starvation on the side of the road. After he mentions to them that he is from Xing, Ling is pulled away because he is an illegal immigrant. The Elrics get separated from Winry, who is on her way to visit the Hughes family, and decide to give Lt. Col. Hughes the new information they found at Central Command, unaware of what has happened since they left.
At Central Command, Sheska has to pretend that Warehouse 3 is a mess for another military officer because Mustang is sleeping in that room. After Mustang leaves, Captain Fokker appears behind Sheska and asks what Mustang was doing. He promises that Sheska will not be punished for anything else, and tells him that Mustang was looking for files on Lab 5 and the Hughes murder case. Unknown to Sheska, this person is actually Envy in disguise, who transforms into someone else when he passes the real Fokker on the way out. While washing in the toilet, Mustang meets Major Armstrong, who spoke of meeting the Elrics at their teacher’s house in Dublith while traveling south with the Führer. After confirming that Armstrong did not tell the Elrics about Hughes’ death, Mustang deduces that Armstrong wanted to avoid the Elrics blaming themselves because Hughes discovered something he should not have learned from the investigation the Elrics implicated him in. Before leaving, Armstrong warns Mustang to be careful because someone might be listening. The Elrics then meet both Mustang and Hawkeye in the hallway, and when Ed states that part of their trip is to visit Hughes, Mustang lies and says that Hughes has retired and moved his family to the country. Before leaving, Mustang gives Ed the same message Maj gave him. Armstrong in Dublith about not being too reckless. As they walk, Hawkeye questions how to treat Ed like a child, but Mustang points out that it’s better not to inform him now, to make Ed less of a hindrance.
The Elrics decide to head out and inform Winry, but before they can leave, Ed runs into Second Lieutenant Ross. When they talk about Hughes, once their information is revealed to be inconsistent, Ross realizes that the Elrics really don’t know what happened to Hughes, and her shock causes Ed to realize something. While Winry buys the produce at the market as a gift, Ed runs into Central Command, bitter when Ross reveals that Hughes was murdered shortly after leaving Central, and Ed blames himself for involving Hughes in the investigation. Winry arrives as Elicia opens the door and hugs her sadly as Gracia comes to say hello. Outside, Ed decides to confront Gracia about not holding back on the matter and asks Al to stay behind because it’s his problem. Al decides to go too since they are both to blame and admits that he wouldn’t want his body back if people were dying for his dream. While talking to Gracia and Winry, Gracia mentions that her husband’s death was a warning from the criminals to no longer poke their noses into the Philosopher’s Stone business. Ed admits that he got Maes involved and apologizes for his mistake. Knowing that it was part of Maesa’s nature to help her friends, Gracia encourages Ed to not give up so that Maes’ death is meaningless. The Elrics and Winry return to their hotel rooms, bitterly reflecting on what they’ve learned, and Ed has to convince Winry to go get something to eat before the cafeteria closes. While chatting it up with Winry, who breaks down in tears, she reveals to Ed that she’s been practicing the apple pie recipe she got from Gracia, and although she’s not as good as Gracia at the moment, Winry admits that she wanted Mr. Hughes to have one day he tried her cooking.
At their hideout, Envy meets with Lust and Gluttony to reveal that Mustang snooped on the Hughes murder case. Angry that Mustang isn’t behaving like he should and that they can’t kill him because Mustang is an important victim. When Lust receives a lack of information from her new friend, Envy comes up with a new plan to bring Mustang back into line. In the cafeteria, Ross is approached by Henry Douglas, who demands that she surrender her gun and come with them, as her name has come up as a material witness (suspect) in the Hughes murder case. When Mustang finds out, he discreetly sends Hawkeye to learn more about the case against Ross. Meanwhile, Havoc collects flowers for his girlfriend Solaris and meets her at a cafe, unaware that she is actually Lust.