Mustang runs outside hoping to find Riza Hawkeye, only to find Major Armstrong there instead as Hawkeye was taking a break and after coming back she converses with Mustang. The brothers call Winry and check on her. She’s fine and is happy that Ed called despite it being strange. Ed doesn’t tell her about Wrath’s threat. While the brothers are at the phone booth, Greed finds them and passes along a piece of cloth with some Xing writing on it to give to Lan Fan from Ling. As an injured Scar is still trying to find his way out of the while thinking of Father and his involvement in starting the Ishval Civil War, he happens to come across Tim Marcoh’s prison. When Marcoh realizes who Scar is, he explains that he’s being forced to help the Homunculus and reveals his role in the Ishval conflict. Ed and Al then split up, with Al going to Dr. Knox’s place to get May Chang treated and to pass along the message. As Knox is complaining where he can sleep due to them bringing so many patients to his house, Lan Fan appears. It turns out that the Xing writing reveals to Lan Fan that Ling got the Philosopher’s Stone, but Al has to break the news to her of how it all happened.

Back at military headquarters, Greed meets Wrath and discusses how Ling accepted him for power. When Wrath comments on how Ling ended up being greedy and losing everything despite what he said to him during their last encounter, Greed surprises Wrath by letting through Ling’s voice and telling him not to underestimate humans. Greed, however, is well aware of how Ling is watching vigilantly for an opportunity to take over. Meanwhile, Mustang explains the situation to Hawkeye and Armstrong in his car. In spite of this, Armstrong refuses to quit because he can still remembers how he fled from the Ishval conflict, and he knows now that he has to fight against what’s wrong. Mustang also states to them his suspicion of being tested, since even if he had removed Bradley from power, there is still someone behind him, and Mustang can only truly feel human when fighting monsters like Lust. After Al is finished with his story about Ling's situation, Lan Fan decides that she needs to get an automail arm replacement as soon as possible since there is still hope for her young lord. As Al asks that she recovers first, when he notices May at the door to the room and Lan Fan recognizes her name, she and May immediately engage in hostilities because of their respective backgrounds in their rival clans. Before they can engage in a full fight, Dr. Knox stops them from fighting in his house by banging them both on the head with food he brought. He threatens them by stating there could be a pathogen he may have accidentally left in his house that could expose everyone if they continue their fight.

While he and Xiao-Mei help Dr. Knox clean up his kitchen, Al learns of his estranged wife and son from an old photograph, but is dismayed when the doctor throws it away. As for Ed, he goes to help clean up some of the destruction caused in their fight yesterday, and he notices that he can use alchemy again. What’s interesting is that some MPs tell him that some other alchemists had failed to use alchemy earlier in the day. Ed realizes the time corresponds to when Father shut their alchemy down. Shortly afterwards, Ed remembers that May Chang and Scar had still been able to use their alchemy, and he realizes that finding the secrets behind other forms of alchemy might be the key to opposing Father and getting Al’s body back without using a Philosopher’s Stone. He also realizes that he’s still got the gun Hawkeye gave him, and he decides to return it.

Back underground, as Father is shown sitting on his throne recreating Gluttony by allowing him to grow out of his body, Marcoh explains to Scar how they forced him to make a Philosopher's Stone from the lives of the Ishvalans, and he begs for Scar to kill him before they use him in their latest scheme. But Scar angrily responds by wanting to know first of all the details about what really happened during the Ishval conflict.