Winry arrives in Central and is escorted to the hospital by Major Armstrong, where - seeing just how injured Edward is - apologizes profusely for not doing a perfect job in building his arm. But when it becomes apparent that Edward knows nothing of the missing piece and has assumed that his own recklessness was the cause of the malfunction, she coolly allows the matter to be swept under the rug. After she administers the necessary repairs, Ed is visited by Lt. Col. Maes Hughes, who reveals that Ed's bodyguards will be relieved soon. Edward is glad, but when Winry demands to know what kind of trouble the Elrics have been in that they would require bodyguards, Fullmetal clams up, causing Winry to become agitated and huffily take her leave to find lodgings for the night. Hughes, however, insists that she stay over at his house with his family, effectively kidnapping her out of the room.

At the Hugheses, Winry is shocked to find that she is suddenly part of the festivities of Maes' daughter Elicia's third birthday. While bonding with little Elicia, Winry explains to Maes that she has been close to the Elrics since their early youth, but remains disappointed that they never share their troubles with her. Maes explains that men like Ed and Al are the type to hold in their problems so as not to worry those close to them, but assures her that when they really do need her assistance and support, they will open up and ask out loud.

The next morning, as Winry and Maes return to the Elrics' hospital room, Alphonse explodes with suspicious fury and confronts Edward about the truth of his body. He recalls the instance a few days before when Edward had mentioned that he had something for them to discuss but was too afraid to say it and suggests angrily that what Edward had been too frightened to say was that the human boy called Alphonse Elric had never existed and the soul in his armor is an artificial fabrication being falsely corroborated by Winry and Pinako and everyone who claims to have known him. Edward storms off without responding, but Winry takes it upon herself to beat and scold Alphonse, explaining that he guilt that Ed has hidden in his heart is for having trapped his little brother in an unfeeling metal body and that the fear he holds is that Alphonse hates him for what he has done. She commands Al to go after Ed and apologize and, understanding the situation clearly, Al goes to find Edward on the roof. Before he can apologize properly, however, Edward engages him in a sparring match and manages to win by catching Alphonse off guard with a hospital bedsheet. Both exhausted, the brothers reminisce over memories of all their childhood fights after which Edward asks Al if he still believes them all to be fake. Al apologizes and asserts that his desire to regain his human body is also real. Having come to an understanding, they renew their vow to return their bodies to normal and remark that they will need a lot more strength for the challenges to come. Winry, who has been watching the scene with Maes, comments that there are some worries and feelings that always need to be communicated aloud.

Far away, in the east, Scar dreams of Ishval and its devastation by a mysterious man claiming to be a State Alchemist before regaining consciousness in an Ishvalan slum outside East City. He is greeted by a young Ishvalan boy and old man, who reveal to him that they found him badly injured and drifting through the sewers some time ago. Finding it difficult to move with his injuries, Scar asks the boy if his right arm is still attached, to which the boy replies in the affirmative, uncovering the murderer's arm and marveling over the tattoo thereupon - an elaborate tattoo that extends from the man's wrist all the way up to his shoulder. Scar remarks that the tattoo was a gift from his family.