Continuing from the previous episode, when Envy sees Tim Marcoh’s corpse mannequins and the word “REVENGE” on the wall, he angrily realizes that Scar knows about Marcoh’s involvement in the Ishval Civil War. Meanwhile, Ed leaves Riza Hawkeye’s house and she promises to contact him if anything comes up. Hawkeye also mentions that given her new location, it would be easier to kill King Führer Bradley. Ed also gives her a message for Roy Mustang that Scar is still active and thanks her for telling him about the conflict in Ishval. Ed then meets with Al and tells him what he learned, and Ed mentions that Mustang is thinking about what will happen after he becomes Führer, making them wonder what they will do when they have accomplished their own mission. Ed remembers that Scar and May Chang were the only ones to use alchemy when father shut everyone else down, Ed knows there is still hope for their mission. At their hotel the next morning, Ed is horrified to learn from Dr. Knox over the phone that May left his house earlier without mentioning where she was going.
Deciding that they must look for her, the Elrics leave with Ed, knowing that Xiao-Mei is the only clue they have. Meanwhile, Heymans Breda gives Jean Havoc some hand weights to keep him from going soft before leaving for West City. Kain Fuery gives Black Hayate some meat before leaving for South City and runs into Vato Falman, who returns the chessboard he buried for Colonel Mustang before leaving for North City. Hawkeye goes to Mustang’s office to pick up some things she left there and mentions Ed’s message to watch out for Scar. They urge Mustang not to get killed and say goodbye before Hawkeye leaves. When Mustang takes out his chess pieces, he can only think of his followers as a specific piece of the game, and then he realizes that he hasn’t gotten his checkmate yet. Ed and Al spend most of the day asking people from Central if they’ve seen May or Xiao-Mei. At dawn, while they are resting, Mustang pulls up in his car and asks them to get in. When Mustang learns about May and her connection to the Xingese Alkahestry, he promises to ask, though Ed is concerned that he is indebted to him. Reminding Ed of the 520 cents he borrowed, which also causes the Mustang to briefly lose control of their car due to Ed’s shock that he remembers that after talking it out, Ed decides to stay on it a bit longer until the Mustang becomes Führer. Surprised by this, Ed tells Mustang that Hawkeye told him all about Ishval.
Ed drops the Elrics off at their hotel and promises to stick it out until Mustang achieves his dream and promises to borrow another one, which is actually his way of saying that Mustang must live a very long time. When the Elrics arrive at their hotel room, they find they have an unexpected visitor – another bodyguard, Ling Yao Fu – who has just returned to Amestris after delivering Maria Ross to Xing. Fu admits he’s tired of waiting for her to show up. Mustang meets Madame Christmas at her bar and gives her a piece of paper after a short conversation. He immediately contacts Lt. General Grumman in East City, where when he learns that she is calling, he knows he is being called for something important. Meanwhile, Fu was brought to the house of Dr. Knox and has an overview of everything that has happened since he left. He scolds Lan Fan for getting hurt and not being able to protect Ling. Although he slaps and lectures her for this, while Dr. Knox has to hold back, then breaks down in tears at the loss of his precious granddaughter’s left arm.
Later, when they talk, although Ed mentions his promise to take Lan Fan to Rockbell Automail and give her a hand at Automail, Fu has to politely decline. Since the enemy could see Lan Fan’s face, they instead find an auto mail mechanic themselves so as not to endanger anyone. Fu then takes off his headband and bows to Dr. Knox for saving his granddaughter’s life. Although he doesn’t like this kind of praise, Lan Fan thanks him as well, and the doctor says they should leave before moving on from their welcome. Once outside with the new clothes they received from Dr. With Knox as a disguise, Fu breaks the bad news to Lan Fan that Emperor Xing’s health continues to deteriorate and they have little time to retrieve Ling and complete their mission. As they leave, Greed/Ling stares at the night sky elsewhere. Meanwhile, with all his houseguests gone, Dr. Knox reflects on his horrific wartime experiences and the praise he received from his two recent patients. When someone comes to the door, it turns out to be his estranged wife and grown son. After mentioning that he still deals with corpses, he excites them by mentioning that he recently treated two living patients, and his son mentions that he wants to be a doctor knowing full well what his father went through in Ishval. Reluctantly, Knox invites them to coffee, and as she prepares it, Knox tearfully praises God for this happy moment.
At Central Prison, Solf J. Kimblee sits in his cell with the Philosopher’s Stone in hand, recalling that after using it in Ishval, he killed several officers to cover up the fact that he had consumed it. Kimblee learns that he is being released from prison, and as he is being escorted out, one of the guards mentions the oddity of being released after he was supposed to be executed for killing five military officers in Ishval. Once outside, Kimblee plays a practical joke by tricking the guard into thinking he’s turned his watch into a bomb, when it was actually a toy. Kimblee jumps into the squad car and discovers that Envy is the driver and the one who fired him. Envy orders Kimblee to hunt down Dr. Marcoh, who he suspects is still alive and likely traveling with Scar. Kimblee becomes interested because Scar is the Ishvalan he was supposed to kill, and after Envy reminds him that in addition to killing Scar, he has to recapture Dr. Marcoha. Kimblee is also glad that he was allowed to destroy the city of his choice as a warning. After removing the stone he has from his stomach, Envy gives Kimblee another Philosopher’s Stone made from the lives of the researchers who worked under Marcoh in Lab 5 so he can have the power to successfully destroy the city.
Elsewhere, Scar tells Marco that the reason he won’t kill him is because he wants to know more about Kimblee. Scar also wants Marco’s help translating the research notes his brother left behind, mentioning that his brother once told him that Amestris’ alchemy was special. Yoki then reports that May Chang has returned to them. May learns from Scar who Marcoh is and what he has done and demands that he tell her how to make the Philosopher’s Stone, but Scar tells her not to look for him. Scar then uses his decomposition technique on Marco’s face to disfigure him so that he cannot be easily recognized, leaving it to May to stop the bleeding. Scar de