Episode 43: The Stray Dog (2003 series)

The Stray Dog
Series	Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)
Episode number	43
Japan airdate	July 31st, 2004
U.S.A. airdate	January 21st, 2006
Language	English/Japanese
Subtitles	English
Navigation
Preceded by	His Name Is Unknown
Followed by	Hohenheim of Light

Synopsis

The Führer declares the Elrics to be fugitives of the state and wants them captured -- dead or alive. Mustang's troops must intercept the boys before they fall into the wrong hands.

Full Synopsis

Winry and Sheska arrive at Resembool, with Sheska surprised at how rural it is. However, a stranger, who had been with them on the train, mistakes Winry for her mother Sara, causing Winry and Sheska to run off. While at Winry's house, her grandmother Pinako is trying to learn what Winry had been up to since she left. When the stranger shows up, Pinako greets him while Winry and Sheska hide. The man mentions he can't find his house. Pinako, noticing Winry's nervousness, points out that while Winry was too young to remember, the man is Hohenheim, Ed and Al's father.

Meanwhile, Ed and Al run across the desert since they're now fugitives and cannot go back to the military, what with both the Führer and his secretary being homunculi. This confirms Al's suspicion of Juliet Douglas' true identity: the result of their failed attempt at transmuting their mother, but when Ed refuses to talk about it, their squabble causes part of the Philosopher's Stone within Al's body to create an accidental transmutation where he sees the gate. Ed realizes he must avoid touching his brother to prevent further expending of the stone's power, which would result in Al's body disappearing entirely. He decides they should head to Resembool first where he needs to get something to help him in their fight against the homunculi, despite it being the first place the military will look.

Back around the site of the former city of Reole, the injured survivors from Scar's giant transmutation array are being loaded up on a train bound for Central. Among them is a heavily bandaged Colonel Archer, whose body was badly maimed during the transmutation. Lieutenants Breda and Havoc update Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye about what their search had uncovered. Führer Bradley arrives and pretends to believe that the Elrics were partially responsible for the city's destruction. He accuses them of cooperating with Scar in secret and causing the deaths of 1,000 soldiers and, thereby, dodging the fact that it was Archer's own ambitious recklessness that mainly contributed to the soldiers' deaths. Mustang volunteers to apprehend the Elrics, a request the Führer grants, although with a warning that should he fail, he'll have much to answer for. With some additional troops, the Mustang Unit and Major Armstrong depart.

On the train bound for Central, the Führer (Pride) meets with Gluttony and Sloth in a secret compartment, revealing they have confined Lust for allowing the Elrics to flee.

Back in Resembool, Winry finds Hohenheim around his wife's grave. She notices him looking at her mother's grave and explains what happened to her, as Pinako watches them. At Winry's house, Sheska answers the door and comes face-to-face with Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh. Winry returns home as Sheska argues with Brosh, accusing him and Ross of pursuing her and Winry from Central. As they show them the remains of the Elric household, the girls learn how a friend of Ross in Communications had delivered a report that the Elrics have become fugitives, which is the reason Ross and Brosh are here, although Ross can't explain it fully. Once Hohenheim makes a suggestion about the nearby river stream, Winry realizes it might be where the Elrics will come from. She heads out with Sheska, while Ross and Brosh remain behind to hinder the search party however they can.

As Ed and Al travel down the stream, they hide from Falman and Breda. However, Havoc and Fuery spot them and Havoc holds Ed at gunpoint. Ed declares indignantly to Havoc that he is through with the military and holds onto the tip of Havoc's gun with his automail hand. As Al jumps out of hiding, in an attempt to stop the fight, Havoc and Fuery recoil in pain when the gun goes off and ricochets, injuring them both. Horrified, the Elrics sincerely apologize before attempting to flee, but are cornered by Falman and Breda, whose uniforms are then transmuted into balloons by Ed as he and Al make their escape. Mustang and the others arrive and meet up with Fuery and Havoc after the Elrics have gotten away. They speculate how the Elrics will travel while Mustang procures some matches from the injured Havoc. When Winry and Sheska show up on a mechanical bike, Hawkeye quickly disables it with a well-aimed shot and takes them into custody (hostage). With the girls as their prisoners/leverage, the military group continues their search. Winry and Sheska start being sniffy toward Mustang, who ignores them. Winry accuses Mustang of betraying Ed after helping him get into the military and Sheska remarks that all he cares about is his rank. When Winry brings up the subject of her parents' execution at Mustang's hands, Hawkeye stops her.

The military group catches up with the Elrics. Once again, Ed declares that he is through with the military and uses alchemy to create a giant wave of water to render Mustang's flame alchemy useless. However, Mustang uses the matches he took from Havoc as a replacement for his gloves and combines his alchemy with Armstrong's to prevent the Elrics from fleeing. With the Elrics trapped and hearing Winry's cry to stop the fight, Mustang admits that, during the Ishval Civil War, he executed her parents under orders when they refused to stop treating the Ishvalan insurgents. However, he reveals that after that horrific experience, he swore that he would never follow unreasonable orders like that again, and that the event is what led him to seek the rank of Führer for himself. He also reveals the reason that he took this mission was to find out why the brothers ran off without coming to him for help first.