At Fort Briggs, the invading Drachman army is overwhelmed by Brigg’s cannons, and the Drachman Commander curses that Kimblee betrayed him, as Kimblee had previously claimed that loyal soldiers would help their forces overcome Fort Briggs, and is quickly killed by cannon fire. When Major Miles orders the fire to cease, he realizes when Kimblee appears on the field, a bloody ridge because Kimblee really wanted to complete his mission. In Asbec, May tries to teach Alphonse the concept of a dragon pulse, which he has no idea what it means. Scar apologizes to his fellow Ishvalan when they bring firewood that they had to hide in their town, but the man says not to worry because they’re getting something out of it, Winry is helping with the clothes, and Yoki is playing with the kids a lot. to his displeasure. Jerso says that he is going to bring more firewood and wants to pass the message to Zampano, just as Yoki wonders where he is. Beyond the forest beyond Asbec, Zampano meets Envy, who is disguised as Ishvalan to lead him to Scar.
Back at Central Command, the Führer informs Lt. Hawkeye that he now realizes that he knows Selim’s secret identity as well as his secret. Bradley then goes on to ask what she thinks about it, and Hawkeye tells him that she’s sad that the Amestris ruling family she believed in is fictitious, pretending to be human while they’re actually mocking them. Bradley admits that he could be a fictional character, as his son, his position as Führer, and all of his men were entrusted to him due to acts of God, but his wife was of his own choosing. While helping Jers get firewood, Dr. Marcoh replies to his question that there wasn’t really a Bigbit in Lab 5, but instead had men working under him, and wonders where they are now. Zampano arrives with Envy in disguise and Envy reverts to his normal form as he prepares to capture Dr. Marcoh. To his surprise, Envy is caught in an alchemical trap with the snow transformed into ice spears. Zampano and Marcoh make it clear that they have lured Envy, telling him that he has set special traps in the snow that will detonate only for the Homunculi when Envy is attacked by other ice-related transmutations. Unbeknownst to Envy, it is actually May using alkahestria with their transmutation symbols buried under the snow.
Angered by the fact that she is being mocked, Envy transforms into her giant form and tries to Dr. Marcoh is crushed with his tail, but Jerso in his chimera form saves him and Zampano hits Envy in the right eye with a quill from his chimera. form. After May creates a large number of ice spikes to trap Envy, once Envy is free, Scar jumps onto Envy’s back to finish him off with his decomposition technique. However, Envy is still alive and grabs Dr. Marcoh with his tongue, ordering everyone to stay put or kill him. Envy mocks Dr. to Marcoh and declares that he will remove Asbec as punishment for his betrayal, or capture the villagers and use them to become the ingredients of the Philosopher’s Stone, much like what happened to Marcoh’s former workers who now reside as the Philosopher’s Stones. Surprised by this, Marcoh tells Envy that while he knows how to use human lives to make Philosopher’s Stones better than anyone, he also knows how to destroy them. Using the hidden transmutation ring on his right hand, Marcoh attacks Envy’s Philosopher’s Stone, causing a massive surge of power that can be seen by the Ishvalan villagers, Yoki, and Winry in Asbec. Envy’s giant body disintegrates as Zampano pulls Marcoh off of him and his human body emerges while still bound, shocked and horrified that this is happening to him. As Envy yells at Marcoh and the chimeras not to look down on him, a small green slug squirms from the chaff and the body disintegrates.
Scar is surprised that this slug is Envy, who also manipulated them. Upon returning to the village, Winry discovers that Dr. Marcoh is injured. Shortly after, as Yoki mocks Envy, Winry demands to know why Marcoh acted so recklessly. Marcoh explains that it was the first time he worked things out on his own instead of doing what he was told, much like Winry’s parents, just as Envy bites Yoki’s finger. His attempt to take over Yoki’s body and use him as a hostage fails as none of the group considers Yoki a friend and Marcoh even tells him that they will kill both him and Yoki if he steps out of line. However, once Al pulls Envy from Yoki’s body, Marcoh admits that he was bluffing much to Yoki’s annoyance. In their shack, Jerso and Zampano use torture with the glass container that Envy was placed in to talk about their secret plans. When he points out that they will kill him after he tells them all, Envy notes that Fullmetal “pipsqueak” is not with them and reveals that he got lost instead of returning to Fort Briggs. Al demands answers and Envy reveals that the Baschool mine has collapsed and it is unknown if he is still alive. That night, Al answers Jers’s question that instead of going to look for Ed, they will just keep going because Ed would do the same thing. Scar announces that he will go on his own mission to find something that can help change Amestris, despite his resentment of what happened in Ishval, and that he will need Dr. Marcoh, to which he agrees.
When Al decides to target Reole, believing the tunnel is there so he can destroy it and buy time to create a reverse transmutation ring, Scar gives the slug container to Envy May and asks her to return to Xing as she will help save her clan. Despite Maya’s objections, considering the help she has given their group, Scar states that as a Xingese citizen, she should not meddle in another country’s affairs and will not be able to complete her clan’s mission if she wastes time helping them. with Amestris’ problems. The next day, the group sees May, Xiao-Mei, and Envy off, with Al telling May that he’ll visit her after she’s mastered the basics of alkahestra before splitting up as well. A depressed Bido in Dublith follows two military officers outside Curtis’s Meat shop when one soldier reports that Izumi Curtis and her husband have gone on vacation with no sign of returning. As they prepare to return to Central to report to Bradley, Bido remembers that he was the one who shot Greed down. Bido decides to hide under their car so he can go to Central and find Greedo.
At Central Command, Olivier Armstrong steps on her younger brother Alex Armstrong’s foot and advises him to address her by rank, noting that he hasn’t changed much. After mentioning that he heard about Fort Briggs’ recent victory over Drachma, Alex whispers that the nationwide transmutation ring is almost complete. Olivier informs him that Amestris’s safety comes first and she must be ready to defend herself against any threat, then kicks Alex for the pointless remark. Meeting with Lt. General Gardner, Oliver admits that he does not consider Alex his brother for his cowardice in the Ishval Civil War. Gardner took Major General Armstrong with him to a hidden bunker and listed three rules for being a state alchemist: Obey the military, don’t create gold, and don’t create human beings. He explains that while the first two have clear reasons (disobeying is treason and creating gold would disrupt the economy), the third rule has a hidden agenda. As she enters the hidden room, Gardner reveals the third rule, that not creating people is actually to avoid someone else creating their own army, as he then shows her mannequin soldiers.
Meanwhile, Al’s group has arrived in Reola and Al recognizes Rosé upon arriving at the food stand and she is surprised that Al is traveling again. Al asks where Ed is, he says he’s not here today. Teasing Winry with a hint of jealousy when Rosé admits she missed him, Winry jumps on Al when Hohenheim returns from washing pots and notices Al is there.