FMA Brotherhood Episodes 21-40

More FMA awesomeness!!
Once again, spoiler alert.

Episodes 21-25

Episode 21 grants a bit for a breather by having everyone recovering. Roy Mustang and Jean Havoc are sharing a room in the hospital, much to Mustang's disappointment. It's also revealed in an argument between Envy and Bradley (Wrath) that Mustang will be another important sacrifice for the Gate.

When Kain Fuery and Ed and Al arrive with maps, and Riza Hawkeye deduces from these maps and memory of the symbols found from a transmutation circle in the white room (where they fought and killed Lust) below Lab 3, that Lab 3 is possibly the center for a giant transmutation circle that goes around Central. Since other parts of the circle include Central Command and the Fuhrer's mansion, this further proves that Bradley is involved with the Homunculi. Mustang warns Ed to be careful, since it's very likely the enemy have infiltrated the state military.

(Things are getting goooood!)

As it turns out, Havoc's spine was too badly injured, and it doesn't look like anything will help him to walk again. Even though he says he's done and wants the others to move on, the others aren't willing to give up, and they remember Marcoh and believe he might be able to help give Havoc his legs back.

Havoc: Just let me get on with my life. I beg you.

Roy: Alright. You're cut loose. I'll leave you behind so you can catch up. I've gotta keep moving... but I'll see you at the top.

Riza:He doesn't give up... He didn't even think about turning his back on me... And I had given up on living. It's not in him to abandon others... He refuses to.

Havoc: He's a fool. He's not gonna make it to the top... This country'll chew him up if keeps on acting this soft.

Riza: Well, I don't know about that... This country needs a fool like that man.

Meanwhile, Ed and Al are told that Scar has returned and is killing more state alchemists. Ed wants to confirm if Scar killed Winry's parents and possibly lure out the Homunculi since they need him and can't let him die. Ling and one of his bodyguards and close friends Lan Fan hears this and offers to help to hopefully learn more about the Homunculi's immortality.

Ed tries to get Scar's attention by helping people around Central and throwing his name around - which of course becomes a hilarious and ridiculous task. Luckily, Scar does actually appear, and they fight. Mustang and Hawkeye help keep the military at bay by giving them false Scar sightings.

Bradley and Gluttony show up nearby, and Ling and Lan Fan confront them. Ling reveals to them that they won't be able to get away since he has the ability to sense their "Qi". Bradley, of course, sees this as a potential problem and decides to get rid of them.

(They're in trouble...)

Episode 22 starts off with Bradley intended to dispose of Ling and Lan Fan. He succeeds in greatly injuring Lan Fan's left arm, but Ling is able to stop Gluttony from eating her. It proves difficult for him to get away with Lan Fan incapacitated, but he refuses to leave her behind. Lan Fan sets off a flash, and they attempt to escape again, but Bradley stops them, revealing his "Ultimate Eye" behind his eyepatch that can still catch their movements.

Ling: So you're the ruler of this land. The king exist for his people. Without his people, there is no king! King Bradley, you're not a true king! Not now or ever!

Bradley: There's no such thing as a true king!

Meanwhile, Winry, who was on her way back from visiting Hughes's grave with his wife and daughter, sees that Ed and Al are fighting Scar and becomes worried, and so she rushes over. Of course, she overhears them confronting Scar, telling him that despite the bad things state alchemists have done, they won't condone what Scar is doing, and that it's wrong to use his God's name as a justification for seeking revenge. Ed brings up Winry's parents and accuses him of killing the two people who had tried to help Scar and others from both sides of the war, without knowing Winry is listening in. She hears this and is stricken with grief, grabs the gun of a collapsed military officer, and aims at Scar.

Scar acknowledges that she has every right to shoot him to avenge her parents, since he remembers when he killed them. We get a flashback of Scar watching his friends and family be killed by state alchemist Solf J. Kimblee (he appaeared briefly in earlier episodes in jail for attacking his own men because he simply finds killing and destroying fun). It's revealed that the tattooed arm Scar has was actually his brother's. His brother had been studying alchemy and alkahestry and had put a tattoo for decomposition on one arm and a tattoo for reconstruction on the other arm, in the hopes that they could use them to save Ishval during the war. He had given his research notes to Scar to hold onto. However, when Scar is fatally wounded with his right arm severed off by Kimblee, his brother gives up his life to save Scar's by giving him his right arm (the one with decomposition).

When Scar wakes up, realizes his brother is dead, and that the two people caring for him are Amestrians (Winry's parents), he is so stricken with agony and rage that he immediately attacks and kills them and then leaves.

(Really was quite sad to watch...)

When Winry still hesitates, Scar attacks, but Ed moves in to protect her, and Scar hesitates when he recognizes the stance as similar to his brother's when his brother tried to protect him from Kimblee back then. While Al fight him off, Ed manages to talk Winry down by reminding her of the people she's been able to help (like her parents) with automail, and tells her she's too kind to kill anybody. He holds her as she cries.

Episode 23 starts off pretty intensely. Ling is escaping from Bradley with Lan Fan, carrying her over his shoulder. Bradley orders Gluttony to go after Scar while he finishes off Ling and Lan Fan. Lan Fan knows her left arm is now useless, but Ling refuses to leave her behind. She grabs a kunai and gestures it toward her, and Ling panics over what she's about to do.

Being a tease, the episode instantly cuts to Ed and Al chasing after and fighting Scar, but they're interrupted by Gluttony.

Scar: There's nothing inside that armor. You're hollow aren't you? Alchemy trapped you in that metal prison and yet you still have faith in it?

Alphonse: True, there are plenty of things about this body that are inconvenient... but it's nothing I can't live with... I don't need anyone's pity... least of all from you. My brother used alchemy to save my life... To regret the form I have now would mean not only rejecting alchemy but also turning my back on him... I believe in my brother, and I believe in alchemy. I will not lose faith... I want to believe!

Cutting back to Bradley, he follows the blood trail, only to finally arrive at a bloody arm and realize that Lan Fan had severed it, tied it to a stray dog, and had her wound temporarily bandaged with Ling's coat to throw him off their trail.

Ling arrives where Ed, Al, and Scar are fighting off Gluttony. Scar manages to incapacitate Gluttony just as Hawkeye appears in a jeep, wearing a disguise, and shoots Scar in the leg. Ed and Al tie up Gluttony and load up his body into their jeep, and she races off, with Ling joining her, while they focus back on Scar. However, May Chang arrives and protects Scar with her own alkahestry and they escape.

On their way back, Ling asks Hawkeye to pick up Lan Fan since she's in danger of dying.

May Chang and Scar meet up with the other person they're traveling with, Yoki, and May notices her pet panda, Xiao-Mei is missing. It turns out Al had found it during the fight and had hid it in his armor.
(He loves cute things...)

After Ed had explained everything to Winry, she gets a call from her mentor in Rush Valley, who tells her that the people back in Rush Valley miss her and need her. Touched and seeing that she's doing good for people, she returns. Ed and Al see her off, and she realizes that she might be falling in love with Ed.

Meanwhile, Mustang and Ling enlist in the help of a doctor to help save Lan Fan. Ed promises Lan Fan that he'll get her an automail mechanic to replace her arm. Ling, Mustang, and the doctor talk about Bradley being a Homunculus and that Selim Bradley, his son, is adopted (since Homunculi are infertile). They begin arguing over what to do with Gluttony and his philosopher's stone, and Gluttony overhears Mustang's name and recognizes him as the one who killed Lust.

Angry, he breaks free and opens his stomach to reveal teeth and a giant eye that destroys part of the house.

Episode 24 is mainly them fighting Gluttony. We briefly see Envy talking to Marcoh in the cell they threw him into about how Envy finds humans emotionally weak. Marcoh also voices his suspicion that they intend to use the land and people for a massive transmutation circle.

We also briefly see a conversation between Bradley and a hidden Pride about how others are interfering with their plans.

Mustang, Ed, and Al are fighting Gluttony, who is absorbing their attacks into his stomach, quite hilariously.

(Roy shoots fire at Gluttony who swallows it)

Edward: He swallowed it?

Alphonse: Uh-oh.

(Gluttony attacks the trio as they run away)

Edward: HEY, THAT WORKED WELL!!!

Roy: THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER!?! BE MY GUEST!!!

Alphonse: OR WE CAN JUST LEAVE BEHIND COLONEL, YOU'RE THE ONE HE REALLY WANTS!!!

Mustang, Hawkeye, and Lan Fan are able to get away in a car while Ed, Al, and Ling stay back to fight Gluttony. Envy shows up to retrieve Gluttony and tells him that the only one he can kill is Ling.

They all fight, but Gluttony succeeds in suck Ling into his stomach, but Ed goes after him. Envy tried to stop Gluttony from eating Ed (one of their needed sacrifices), but they all end up getting eaten.

Al, seeing this, demands that Gluttony bring them back, but he can't.

Envy: I know you. You're the kid who crossed swords with Wrath, aren't you?

Ling: What do you mean "kid?!" I happen to be the twelth son of the emperor of Xing. My name is-

Envy: Eat him.

Ling: No! No! No! No!

Meanwhile, Mustang had returned to Central Command and is talking with one of the military higher ups. He pretends to joke about the Fuhrer being a Homunculus as they arrive at the meeting. He sees the rest of the higher ups there, along with Fuhrer Bradley, and he is menacingly asked to repeat his "joke" as they all stare him down. Mustang realizes this is what Hughes wanted to tell him - The corruption was already within the military, particularly with the higher ups.

(Yikes)

Ed then wakes up in a mysterious place filled with random things and blood.

Episode 25 can be summed up pretty simply. Ed searches around and runs into Ling, who suspects they're inside of Gluttony.

They're becoming exhausted and hungry, and they can't find a way out, so they cook up and eat Ed's left leather boot since he doesn't need it because of his automail leg. Envy then appears and reveals that they are in Gluttony's stomach and yet not and there is not way out. This place is an incomplete duplicate of the Gate that their Father tried to make.

Ed then confronts Envy about how they've been causing so much chaos, and Envy joyfully reveals that he was the one who disguised himself as an Amestrian soldier and shot the Ishvalan child, which started the whole war. Furious, Ed attacks him, but it doesn't do much good, and Envy sheds his fake, humanoid form and transforms into his giant, green monster form (HULK SMASH!!! Not really).

Envy's attacks begin to overpower them.

Edward: The Fifth Laboratory... Human lives sacrificed to make Philosopher's Stones... Homunculi... And If the Fuhrer is on your side, then I'm guessing you were the ones behind Ishval.

Envy: Oh, Ishval? [laughs] I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable job than that...! You remember the incident that started the war, right?

Edward: I had always heard it was because a military officer accidentally shot an Ishvalan child.

Envy: Yep! And the one that proudly pulled the trigger was none other than yours truly... I ravaged their entire country with a single bullet! I mean, talk about invigorating! Oh, and the best part? The officer that I pretended to be? He was actually a moderate who had always publicly opposed the military's occupation in Ishval. And listen to this! The poor fool couldn't come up with a plausible defense and they court-martialed him! You know I don't think I'll ever get over how easily manipulated humans are.

Edward: So you're responsible... You were the one who shot and killed that poor innocent child. You drove out the Ishvalans. You're the one who turned Scar into a murderer. And it was you... YOU'RE the reason Winry's parents were killed. YOU'RE THE ONE TO BLAME!

Meanwhile, Bradley is talking with Mustang in his office, who is no longer hiding anything from Mustang, the Elric brothers, or the others involved, but he makes it clear that there isn't anything they can do to stop him or reveal who he really is. He threatens Mustang by sending Mustang's men out to different parts of Amestris and appointing Hawkeye as his new personal assistant to keep an eye on her.

Al follows Gluttony back to Central and discovers that Central is where Father has been hiding.

Episodes 26-30

Episode 26 continues with Ed and Ling fighting Envy, and Ed is getting distracted by the thousands of devoured souls bulging out from Envy's neck and crying out. Ed notices that some of the missing ruins of Xerxes are inside of Gluttony. These ruins combined with the philosopher's stone inside Envy might help them to get out, so they call a truce and decide to work together until they can escape.

May and Scar, while searching for Xiao-Mei, happen upon Al following Gluttony underground, and so they follow him. However, they encounter a barrage of chimeras in charge of protecting the place and have to fight them off.

Back in the Fuhrer's office, Bradley tells Mustang about his past. Bradley, along with many other infants, had been part of a project that trained children to become Fuhrer. To decide who it would be, the experimenter's used Father's Wrath philosopher's stone on them to see who could survive having it inside them. He was the twelfth one they tested, and the only one to succeed, so he was chosen.

Back in Envy's stomach, they gather the Xerxes pieces with a human transmutation circle already drawn onto it. Ed believes that performing a safe human transmutation (which will deconstruct his own body and soul and reconstruct it back on the other side) in Gluttony's fake Gate world will open a portal to the real Gate, which they can hopefully use to return to the real world. Ed questions Envy about the transmutation circle, figuring that someone had in the past tried to use the (now destroyed) whole population of Xerxes to create a philosopher's stone to be able to surpass God. He asks if Father was that person, but Envy shrugs it off.

Edward: Your body... Those are the citizens of Xerxes, aren't they?

Envy: At one time, but their minds and bodies crumbled long ago... All that's left is energy to be consumed. They don't even remember what they looked like when they were alive.

[Ed is sad to hear that.]

Envy: Is that pity...? How childish are you? You're desperate to see these things as human because you wanna believe that your brother still retains his humanity. Would you hesitate to throw a bundle of logs onto a fire...because you pitied the tree they came from? These souls can never go back to being human. You have to use logic if you are to determine what a human is. Don't let your emotions decide.

Edward: Alright. Ling... This might not work out for me... If so, you gotta warn people about these guys' plans.

Ling: I'm not that concerned about Amestris. It's not my country.

Edward: Are you serious?

Ling: You've got people you love waiting for you, don't you? So just make it back alive and tell them yourself.

The plan works, and Ed enters into the world of his Gate, but then he discovers that there are two Gates now. He then sees Al's body in front of the second Gate, now thin and weak but still alive. He's pulled away into his own Gate before he can reach Al's body, but promises that he'll return to save Al's body.

Edward: Hurry, Al! AAAAALL!

Alphonse's body: I can't. I can only leave with my own soul. I'm sorry, I can't go with you.

[the doors close. However, Ed forces them open as they start to close.]

Edward: Alphonse! Look at me! I promise... Someday soon... I'm coming back for you! Just you wait! Wait for meeeee!

---

Episode 27 is a brief interlude about Hohenheim, Ed and Al's father. Hohenheim is talking with a younger Pinako (Winry's grandmother). They remember all the conflicts Amestris have gotten into since Bradley took over as Fuhrer. A man who looks like Hohenheim (Father) appears and says humans never learn and are better used as resources. Pinako tells Hohenheim that humans never give up despite their disadvantages and mistakes. We see many flashbacks of Ed, Al, Mustang and the others during this time as they talk about humans. A younger Trisha appears and says that humans can change and that fears can make them stronger. Hohenheim then wakes up and realizes it was all just a dream. This episode also makes it clear that Hohenheim isn't human and has been alive for a long time.

Episode 28 is the first encounter with Father. Al arrives with Gluttony, sees Father, and sees the resemblance between him and Hohenheim. Suddenly, Gluttony seizes and spits out Envy, Ling, and Ed. Father identifies Ed and Al as Hohenheim's sons. He then proceeds to heal their injuries without needing to worry about equivalent exchange. Father orders Gluttony to kill Ling, and a fight breaks out. Ed and Al discover that their alchemy has no effect on Father. Father then uses a transmutation that somehow disables Ed and Al's alchemy and enables Envy to subdue them and Gluttony to subdue Ling.

Father(when the Elrics attempt to stop him from having Ling killed): When you notice an insect on the ground, do you stop to consider it a fool? The life of an insect is so beneath you, that it would be a waste of your time to even consider judging it. That would be a accurate summation on my feelings towards these humans.

Father, seeing Ling's ability, decides to make him a human-based Homunculus, which Ling accepts since he realizes this could help him discover the secrets of he philosopher's stone and immortality. The red fluid philosopher's stone from Father enters Ling, and Ling comes face to face with Greed in his mind, and he temporarily allows Greed to take the reins.

The new Greed does not remember his past self, and Ling now has the mark of a Homunculus on his hand. Suddenly, Scar and May enter, and Father has Gluttony attack them. Surprisingly, Scar's decomposition technique still works despite Father's disabling transmutation.

Ed fights Greed and reveals to Scar that Envy and the other Homunculi are responsible for starting the Ishvalan war. Al saves May and Xiao-Mei from Gluttony and runs off with them. An injured Scar shows up, but Envy and Gluttony had followed them and apprehend Al while Scar gets away.

Father has Ed and Al taken to Bradley, and Ed has determined during his fight with Greed that Ling is still in there.

Episode 29 is when Ed and Al confront Bradley in his office, along with Mustang. Central Command is right above Father's hideout. Ed and Al briefly talk, and Ed tells Al about his body behind the Gate and Al tells Ed that May and Xiao-Mei are hiding in his armor. Bradley threatens them just as he had with Mustang, reminding Ed and Al that they have people such as Winry to protect.

Ling later shows up after Ed and Al have left and gives them a note to give to Lan Fan about how he found a philosopher's stone, but it leaves Al and Ed to have to explain to her Ling's current predicament.

Bradley: (talking with Greed about Ling) I met him once. He said a king exists for his people. As if the people matter. The fool, just where did that got him? Typical human.

Ling: Shut the hell up! [suddenly regaining control for a moment and glaring at Bradley] Don't underestimate humans.

Greed: ....I know, he is smart as he vigilantly waits for an opportunity to take control of this body!

Bradley: He must have been taking second thoughts. Now that he has taken a monster into his flesh.

Meanwhile, Scar is still escaping and happens upon the cell where Marcoh is being kept. Marcoh guiltily reveals his part in the war, creating a philospher's stone with the lives of Ishvalans for state alchemists like Kimblee to use to annihilate the Ishvalans.

Mustang explains the situation to Hawkeye and Armstrong in his car, Armstrong refuses to give up or leave like he did in the Ishvalan war and wants to fight for what's right.

It's also later revealed that around the time Father used his transmutation, other alchemists above ground were unable to use their alchemy, and Ed remembers that May and Scar were still able to, so he wants to figure out the secrets behind their techniques.

Episode 30 starts with a flashback. A younger Mustang is talking with a man who turns out to be Hawkeye's bed-ridden father and his alchemy mentor. Roy is trying to convince him to teach him the secrets of Flame Alchemy, and his mentor doesn't want him using it for the military. Before dying, he asks Mustang to look after his daughter and that she alone holds the records of his finished work. At his funeral, Mustang is talking with Hawkeye and he shares his dream of protecting the country.

Present day, Hawkeye is showering, and it's revealed that she has a large and intricate tattoo on her back partially ruined with burn scars.

Ed visits her and explains everything that has happened. Hawkeye talks with him about the things she had to do during the Ishvalan war as a sniper and the burden it's placed on her conscience to this day.

Riza: Why are soldiers, who ought to protect citizens, killing them instead? Why is alchemy, which ought to bring happiness to the people, being used for murder?

She, Mustang, and others have never forgiven themselves for the horrible massacre they helped cause because they followed orders. The flashback also includes a younger Mustang and Hughes talking about how their young ideals have been obscured by this devastation that they were helping to cause. They confront their reasons for continuing to fight in an argument with Kimblee.

The war has turned in favor of the military and is drawing to a close. At this point, it makes you kinda sick watching everyone celebrate it all....

Bradley: (When Lowe, the leader, attempts to hand himself over so they'll stop attacking Ishval) So, you're asking me to take your life in place of the remaining tens of thousands of Ishvalans?

Logue Lowe: That's correct I stand—

Bradley: How arrogant of you. Do you sincerely believe that your single life is equivalent to the remaining multitude of your followers? Your stature has gone to your head. The life of any individual human is only worth one life. That's all. Nothing more, and nothing less. Your life is not enough to call off the extermination.

Ishvalan #1: How can you be so inhuman?!

Ishvalan #2: You will suffer the hammer of God!

Bradley: God you say? Now this is intriguing. How much longer to you think your "God" plans to wait before unleashing his fury? Just how many thousands of lives must I take before he decides to strike me down?

Ishvalan #2: You're a monster!

Bradley: Open your eyes! God is nothing more than a construct created by man to inspire fear and promote order. If you wish to see me struck down, for all these atrocities, use your own hands to do so, not God's!

---

They all face how disillusioned this war has made them, but Mustang still has a hope that the current horrible military system can be changed for the better and wants to be the one to protect the people and set an example that people should try to protect others, especially those weaker or in need of help. He also tells Hawkeye that if he should ever stray from the right path, she has every right to shoot him.

Hawkeye tells Ed that Mustang plans to create greater democratic power and enforce prosecution for war criminals like himself (Mustang sees what he and the others have done during the Ishvalan war as war crimes), even when it could potentially mean he is jailed or killed.

Afterwards, Envy enters Marcoh's cell only to see a bloody, headless body and the word "Vengeance" written in blood on the wall.

Episodes 31-35

In Episode 31, Ed and Al hopes to discover the secrets of May's alchemy (Xingese Alkahestry), but she has already left, so they search for her. Mustang's men are sent to their separate parts of Amestris. Heymans Breda is sent to the West, Kain Fuery is sent to the South, and Vato Falman is sent to the North.

Ed and Al return to their hotel to discover Fu, Ling's other bodyguard and Lan Fan's grandfather, as returned from escorting Maria Ross to Xing. He later berates Lan Fan for failing to protect Ling but also shows his grief in her losing her arm. They both then leave to go into hiding and find Ling.

Mustang also meets with an older woman named Madame Christmas at her bar. He secretly hands her a piece of paper, and she then discreetly calls Lt. General Grumman in East City (an older military higher up and an ally of Mustang's).

Meanwhile, at Central Prison, Kimblee (who still has his philosopher's stone) is released from prison. He is given the mission to hunt down Marcoh (who Envy believes to still be alive) and dispose of Scar by Envy. Envy gives him another philosopher's stone.

Scar is then shown traveling with Marcoh. He wants Marcoh to give him information on Kimblee and to translate the notes his brother gave him, and he then uses his decomposition technique to disfigure Marcoh's face so he won't be easily recognizable. May, who has caught up, uses her techniques to stop the bleeding. They then begin their travel up North where Scar hid the notes.

In Episode 32, Ed and Al continue their search for May. May, meanwhile, has boarded a train to the North with a hooded companion. Scar and his own hooded companion have given Kimblee and his men the slip.

Mustang stops by Hughes's grave and encounters an old woman, who stops to talk to him. Mustang soon discovers it's Lt. General Grumman in disguise, who then proceeds to offer his assistance to Mustang. Mustang explains what's going on, and so Grumman tells him that the last time he was in Central, one of the higher ups had asked him if he'd be interested in an army of immortal soldiers, but Grumman told him he didn't approve of immortality. After that, Grumman had found himself demoted and sent to East City, where trouble and riots had been brewing after Father Cornello had been outed as a fake, made worse by Central soldiers stepping in. They wonder what the Command is up to.

Ed and Al are eventually told by Armstrong that there had been sightings of May getting on a train to the North. Armstrong hands them a letter with the family seal and recommends that they head straight to Fort Briggs in the mountains when they arrive at the North, where they will be able to find help from the infamous "Northern Wall of of Briggs" - Olivier Armstrong (his older sister).

Scar and his companion jump on a train headed for the West.

In the library, Al encounters a young boy who claims to be a big fan of theirs and and reveals to them that he is Selim Bradley, King Bradley's son. He invites them to his home. Bradley himself eventually arrives and gives them veiled threats to remind them to keep his secret from his wife. They leave and then head North.

Scar and his companion give Kimblee and his men the slip again when they jump off the train heading West and escape through the forest.

Episode 33 starts off with Kimblee deducing Scar's path northward, so they head that way.

Ed and Al arrive in the North and marvel at all the snow.

Kimblee receives word that Scar and his companion were seen on a train headed for Briggs. 

While traveling, Scar sees a train catching up, and Kimblee jumps onto their train to confront them. When Kimblee tries to catch who he assumes is Marcoh hiding under the hood, it's revealed to be the other companion Yoki. Scar attacks Kimblee, determined to get revenge for his brother and village. Because Kimblee isn't at peak condition from his time in prison, Scar badly injures him, but he manages to send the car with Scar on it to fall away into the forest.

In the Northern forest, May and the real Marcoh travel towards the place Scar marked on a map.

Ed and Al travel up towards Fort Briggs, but a blizzard hits, and then they're suddenly attacked by a giant man (no seriously, he's a freaking beast of a man) with a distinct automail arm who thinks Ed and Al are spies from the neighboring country Drachma. Ed then realizes his automail isn't working right.

The fight ends when they're surrounded by Briggs soldiers. From on top of a massive wall, a woman reveals herself to be Major General Olivier Armstrong and the man who attacked them is Captain Buccaneer. She demands to know who they are and why they're here. When she has Ed and Al searched, they find Alex's letter and she recognizes the seal. She allows them to enter with the warning that only the strongest survive in Briggs.

Marcoh and May eventually arrive at a small hut, where they find the notes on the fusion of Alkahestry from Xing and Alchemy from Amestris.

I really liked Ed and Al's time in Briggs. I also really like Olivier Armstrong as a character. She's smart, physically and emotionally strong, loyal, cruel and yet caring in her own way, and an overall awesome female character. Her tough, aggressive demeanor and relationship with Alex Armstrong are funny, too.

In Episode 34, Ed and Al stop by the infirmary, where they tell Ed that he came really close to suffering frostbite because of his metal automail's contact with his flesh. Captain Buccaneer's automail is a specially made model for the cold. Armstrong demands that they tell her why they're here and why Al's armor is empty, but Ed is reluctant to give too much information since it would endanger Winry. He gives a limited story but leaves out the Homunculi and the Fuhrer's involvement in it all. She is intrigued by the possibilities of Alkahestry. Knowing that they have left parts of their story out, she then leaves Major Miles to show them around.

While talking with Miles, he takes off his sunglasses and reveals that he has red eyes and is actually part Ishvalan.

When Miles remarks that people of Amestris have caused them much pain, Ed impresses him and makes him laugh by replying that he knows of Ishvalans that have done the same thing to people of Amestris. He is glad Ed doesn't talk to him with fear or pity. Miles mentions that Armstrong treats him as an equal, claiming that all soldiers of Briggs need to set their differences aside as move as one to defend the country.

Olivier: What're you trying to pull, Miles? Race, lineage, gender, rank... Worrying about that shit in battle does nothing but increase casualties. We absolutely cannot lose Briggs. No matter what happens, we must stay united! Never let your resolve waver! We stand together as ONE ARMY! Miles! You're not just Ishvalan. You're a descendant of many races. That heritage lets you look at this country from many different points of view. I need you much more than a native Amestris who was born and raised in one environment. So shut up and follow orders.

While Ed and Al are tasked with removing icicles, they recognize and talk to Falman, who gives them an extended tour down below. They are shown the Briggs Tank in the lowest level. It's interrupted when the engineers report hearing something digging around underground.

We are shown that it is actually the Homunculus, Sloth, digging a big tunnel underground with his bare hands because it's what he was told to do.

Meanwhile, Armstrong is told that Kimblee has arrived and the Fuhrer orders complete compliance with Kimblee. She's suspicious but gets distracted by the reports of something digging underground and breaking through up into the lowest level.

The Elrics try to fight him off with everyone else, and they're surprised that Sloth doesn't know who they are, since he's just been digging underground the whole time. Sloth wanders into and accidentally triggers the lift that takes him up to the next level, and everyone gives chase. Armstrong attacks him with a bazooka, but it doesn't work, and he continues to lumber about. Ed informs her that her weapons won't do any good. She demands that they tell her what it is and who sent it, but Ed refuses over and over again. Understanding that he can't give up too much but they're still on her side, she asks him to explain what he can. He says it's genetic makeup is like a human's, so she calls for tank fuel and says she's going to stop it with something even better than fire when Ed says fire won't work.

Episode 35 is where Sloth gets shown the full Briggs force. They force him into a big elevator that takes him to the outside deck. Ed and the others are waiting and douse him with fuel, and then the elevator reopens to reveal Armstrong's tank, which fires at him, sending him flying over the wall into the blizzard. The fuel is specially designed to vaporize in the cold temperatures, so the cold robs Sloth of his strength until he collapses into unconsciousness. Since the Elrics have made it clear that it has to look like they've been forced to cooperate, Armstrong has them sent to the brig, where she also wants them to tell her what that thing was.

The next day, Miles meets with an injured Kimblee, and they exchange some hostile words. General Raven, one of the higher ups in league with Bradley, arrives and brings with him the gold-toothed doctor that had created Bradley/Wrath to help heal Kimblee.

May and Marcoh are briefly shown going through the notes and trying to decipher them, and Marcoh learns more about the difference between alkahestry and alchemy. May argues that the power behind alchemy is different from what they think.

Armstrong later receives word from her men that the thing had been digging what looks like an endless but just slightly curving tunnel. She herself, the Elrics, Buccaneer, and Falman down on horses to check it out. Once down there, away from prying eyes and ears, she has Ed tell her what they know, so they tell her all about the Homunculi and Bradley. They turn their attention to the tunnel, and Ed pulls out a map. Ed suggest that it's been dug in a circle the shape of Amestris. He circles Ishval and asks Falman to list al the major incidents of bloodshed as Ed circles them. This reveals a five-point transmutation circle spread out across all of Amestris. Each one of the instances of bloodshed had the military involved, so Ed suspects that the Homunculi had created all of Amestris for the very reason of creating an giant transmutation circle filled with people to be able to create a philosopher's stone.

Armstrong then realizes that Fort Briggs is the next point in the pattern of bloodshed before being interrupted by a man telling them that General Raven has arrived.

Ed asks for her help in getting Raven to reveal information. While they listen in from a secret room, Armstrong leads the conversation with Raven into the subject of immortality until Raven suddenly asks if Armstrong would be interested in an army of immortal soldiers.

Episodes 36-40

Episode 36 starts out with Hohenheim calling out the names of the people his philosopher's stone had consumed. In a flashback of 13 years ago in Resembool, he's still living with his wife Trisha and Ed and Al are toddlers. He's afraid to touch them, fearing that he would turn them into monsters like him, but Trisha reassures him that he won't. He tells her he's come to regret getting immortality since meeting her and having his sons. The next day, Trisha surprises him with getting them together for a family photograph asks Hohenheim not to distance himself from them or think of himself as a monster. This makes him frown and cry, and his new goal is to grow old with them. He then leaves on his journey and asks Trisha not to tell Ed and Al why he left.

Meanwhile, a search party of Briggs soldiers is attacked by a swift and mysterious shadow.

Armstrong is still getting information out of Raven and pretends to be interested in this immortality and "Promised Day", but then they're interrupted by a soldier saying the search party have lost contact.

Ed and Al still have to pretend they're under capture, and then they meet Kimblee.

Down at the tunnel entrance, Armstrong and Raven discover that only one of the horses has returned, with one of the soldier's right arms. Armstrong wants to send down another party to search for the others, but Raven says not to and orders her to put the creature (Sloth) back in and seal the entrance. They bring in Sloth and Raven gives Sloth the message from Pride that he needs to keep digging, and he tells the Briggs soldiers that Sloth is a chimera doing secret work for Central to improve the country. 

Marcoh and May come to realize that there are translations in Ishvalan, so they'll need Scar's help. Scar arrives and tells them they need a new spot.

Several days later, the entrance is almost sealed. Raven is talking to Armstrong and says that the weak will be sacrificed for the survival of the greater, further infuriating her. Armstrong learns that the plan is almost completed. Suddenly, she surprises Raven by stabbing straight through his arm with her sword (Like, OW) and then slashes his chest before he can retaliate, pushing him into the wet and spreading cement that is being used to seal the entrance. He cries out but sinks into the cement and dies. She throws her bloodstained gloves into the cement.

Kimblee arrives at Ed and Al's cell and surprises them with Winry, who he tricked into coming along (so she could fix his automail for the cold) to force Ed and Al to work with him out of worry for her safety.

Back in Central, Mustang is talking with a woman who is selling flowers, who is later remarks that she's just an "old woman who has served the Armstrong family for generations", and she secretly tells him that she has a message from Olivier Mustang.

Episode 37 was pretty cool, with the reveal of Pride's true identity. (FINALLY)

Kimblee brings in four big bodyguards, and Winry fixes Ed's automail while Ed tells her not to trust Kimblee. Once she leaves, Kimblee talks to Ed alone.

Buccaneer and some others descend into the tunnel to find the missing men after telling Armstrong to permanently seal up entrance if they don't return in 24 hours. Armstrong also tells her men to not reveal the truth about Raven's murder, but if the truth gets out to let her take the fall for it. Buccaneer and his men find dead horses and body parts. They then find two terrified survivors who yell that they need to get rid of their lights since it draws the "shadow. A little ways away, the shadow begins creeping in, but then seems to get distracted by something else and leaves. The men all begin their trek back to the fort.

Back in Central, Hawkeye arrives at Bradley's mansion with papers for Bradley. He isn't there, so she hands them to his wife. She suddenly senses a dangerous being creeping up behind her, but when she turns she only sees Selim. Hawkeye leaves suspicious, and then her worries are confirmed when Selim appears from the shadows behind her. Dark tendrils with big eyes and teeth creep over Hawkeye, and he reveals himself to be Pride, the strongest and first Homunculus. Telling her that he'll be watching her from the shadows, he lets her leave.

Meanwhile, Kimblee tells Ed of his mission to find Marcoh, kill Scar, and to carve a "Crest of Blood" into Fort Briggs , which means he intends to do the same thing he did in Ishval and stain the area with blood and death. Ed refuses to help. Kimblee tells him that he's helping the Homunculi because he's curious about what will happen when humans and Homunculi clash and has chosen the Homunculi's side since they let him destroy whatever he wants. He offers Ed a philosopher's stone if he'll help, and Ed says he needs to talk to Al and Winry first. He tells them what he's been ordered to do in exchange for a philosopher's stone. Al begins to protest, but sees Ed's meaningful glance and lets Ed take him along. Al then explains to Winry once they're alone that Ed no longer intends to use the philosopher's stone since it uses human souls, but Ed wants to find Scar in the hopes of finding May with him. Winry decides to go with them as well.

In Episode 38, Kimblee, Miles, Ed, and the others learn that Scar is probably hiding in the abandoned mining town of Baschool. They split into teams, with two of the bodyguards, Heinkel and Darius going with the Elric brothers.

Ed and Al soon give them the slip, though, and then they bump into May. Marcoh then arrives, followed by Yoki, who recognizes Ed even though Ed doesn't remember him. Yoki then reveals he used to be a mining inspector of Youswell who was cruelly swindled out of ownership by Ed (in actuality, he treated his workers unfairly, so Ed arrived and helped them out by tricking Yoki to sign over ownership for fake gold, and then Yoki was later thrown out of the military). After trying and failing to break into the Armstrong household, he was found and cared for by Ishvalans that later found and helped Scar. Ed and Al don't care at all, though, and keep talking with May and Marcoh.

Kimblee is informed of their disappearance, along with Winry's.

Scar is confronted by the other two bodyguards, Jerso and Zampano, who transform into their chimera forms. The Elric brothers arrive and pretend not to know who Jerso and Zampano are and attack and incapacitate them. They then subdue Scar after Winry intervenes, and then Miles and his team arrive.

Back in the tunnel, Buccaneer thinks the 24 hours are already up and they're trapped, but it opens and they're let out. It turns out that Armstrong gave the person in charge of the entrance a broken watch, so 24 hours would never come.

Kimblee suddenly sees an explosion in one of the buildings, and Ed comes running out in a panic claiming that because Kimblee failed to protect Winry she's been kidnapped by Scar, who is shown on the roof holding her unconscious body.

In Episode 39, Scar gets away with Winry, and the search parties split up again. It's revealed that this was all an act.

Earlier, they had planned it all out. Winry refuses to forgive Scar but still bandaged his wounds since it's what her parents would have done. Miles reveals to scar that he's part Ishvalan, but he doesn't want revenge - he wants to change this country for the better. Scar is impressed and begins to regret his own choices. Marcoh and May arrive and explain they need Scar to translate the notes. Miles proposes that Scar, Marcoh, May, and Winry escape to and hide out in Fort Briggs. The bodyguards, Jerso and Zampano, wake up tied up, and Al explains to them that the notes they have might contain a way for them to get their normal bodies back, so they agree to help and revert back to their normal forms.

Yoki suggests the old mining tunnels for them to escape in. Their plan then goes off perfectly, as shown in the beginning of the episode. While traveling in the tunnels, May laments over the fact that her clan needs her to return with the secrets of the philosopher's stone to save them from their low ranking, but she knows the emperor would just use it greedily and use the lives of the innocent, but Marcoh suggests another answer might be another way in the notes.

However, the plan hits a bump when, above ground, Miles discovers that Armstrong was called to Central by the Fuhrer and Command had taken control of Briggs, so now it's no longer safe for the group. Al offers to make the journey to tell Scar's group of the news when they get out of the tunnel.

While traveling, Al loses sense of himself. Everything fades away, and then he finds himself in front of the Gate, sees an emaciated body (Al's body), and then wakes up in the snow. He recalls Barry's mention that Al's soul would eventually begin rejecting his current armored body since it didn't fit his soul. Scared, he pushes on.

Under Central, Father mentions his intended sacrifices: Ed, Al, Izumi, Hohenheim, and then he still needs one more.

Episode 40 was really cool, and tragic. Olivier Armstrong arrives in Central and exchanges brief words and hints with Mustang. When meeting with the Fuhrer, she pretends that she killed Raven because he was too loose-tongued about their secrets. Bradley, amused, gives her a seat in Central Command in return for giving him control of Briggs.

Mustang and Hawkeye briefly meet up in what looks to be a casual meeting. Roy takes notes of her words, and later deciphers them to see that she was telling him Selim is a Homunculus.

Meanwhile, Father sleeps and remembers back 400 centuries ago, during the final years of Xerxes. In a room with books and tubes, a young man with blond hair (looks a heck of a lot like Ed) wakes up to a voice. He finds a shadowy thing in a flask, who asks for his name, but the young man says he's just number 23, a slave.

The young man can't speak on the same level of intelligence as the shadow, and the shadow wonders out loud how it could have been born from something so stupid. It was drawn from the boy's blood for his master's experiment. The shadow names the slave Van Hohenheim. The creature offers Hohenheim knowledge, and Hohenheim simply wants to know what to call him. He tells him to just call him Homunculus. During the years, Hohenheim learns to read, write, and perform alchemy, and becomes an apprentice.

Master: All things are made from one. And in the end, all things return to one.

Hohenheim: In other words, one is all.

Master: And all is one, as well.

Hohenheim: All is ultimately of the one, so if all is not included in the one, then all is nothing.

The creature mocks Hohenheim's desire for friends and a family, but Hohenheim says it what makes humans happiest. The creature says that merely escaping the flask alive would make it happy.

Hohenheim: I’m grateful to you.

Homunculus: Oh, for what?

Hohenheim: I live as well as I do now, because of the knowledge you gave me. And, I’ve also earned the master’s respect. Thanks to you, maybe someday, I’ll even be able to get married, and have a family.

Homunculus: A family, huh? How inconvenient for you humans. Unless you form communities, and breed, your species can’t continue to exist.

Hohenheim: Don’t call it breeding, and whether or not it’s a concept that you’re able to understand. That’s where humans find happiness. We live for the bonds we form with friends and family members. That’s who we humans are.

Homunculus: Sure, whatever you say.

Hohenheim: Okay, then. What is it that makes you happy?

Homunculus: Well, I’d hate to be guilty of asking too much, but I think I’d be happy if I could just leave this flask.

Later, the King of Xerxes has the Homunculus brought before him and asks about immortality. The creature tells him how to make a philosopher's stone, so the King has a tunnel dug around the land of Xerxes and secretly allows slaughter to happen in the marked points of the circle. The circle is complete after several years. Hohenheim and the creature watch from afar but then Hohenheim is struck with horror when they all begin dying, while the creature is amused. The creature then reveals that he had messed with the circle so that he and Hohenheim would be standing in the center instead. The Gate absorbs the whole city and every person.

When Hohenheim wakes up, everyone is dead and the city is destroyed. He then sees a man dressed in the King's robes that looks just like him (Father). The creature had created a vessel for himself with Hohenheim's blood. He tells Hohenheim that he gave Hohenheim three things in return for giving him blood: a name, knowledge, and immortality. Hohenheim then hears the many voices of the sacrificed souls of Xerxes crying out inside of him. The creature says he divided the population between them.

Present day, Hohenheim wakes up on a train and finds Izumi and her husband Sig. They talk about Ed and Al, and then Izumi, after having a bloody coughing fit, tells him she'd seen the Gate and lost her organs for it. Now her insides are messed up and give her coughing fits of blood. Hohenheim forces his hand into her abdomen, and then reveals he didn't give her back her organs but rerouted the system she had left so her blood would flow better. Hohenheim tells her he's a philosopher's stone in a human body.