"I had my girlfriend bake some apple pie." "Want some?" "Roy..." "As you can see, this is that which is forbidden." "I don't know much about alchemy, but I do know one thing!" "Those who commit that which is forbidden..." "Don't worry." "I haven't done a thing." "But you were planning to try?" "So many died..." "I mean, I killed them..." "It was war." "You weren't there." "Oh, right." "If you couldn't stand going to war and killing the enemy, you should have chosen duty at the rear, like I did." "By becoming a State Alchemist, and then, calling even some of those people back to this world, did you think it would save you!" "?" "Good question." "You can't perform the forbidden just by studying a lot." "Do you really want to die?" "If that's the case, there are easier ways to go about it." "As it turns out, I was unable to attempt it, out of fear for my own life." "Of course you couldn't." "That's just the kind of person I am." "That's true about anyone." "However, there is a better way to use the life I have than this." "Maes..." "I've made up my mind." "Tell me more, Roy." "Lt. Colonel...?" "Um, Lt. Colonel...?" "It's okay, it's okay." "I'll wait." "Fuhrer!" "You seem to be investigating the higher levels of the military, huh?" "Y-Yes, in regards to the 5th Laboratory." "Regarding that matter, I took charge of it personally and it seems that Brig. Gen. Basque Grand teamed up with Ishbalan radicals in conducting seditious research." "Are you dissatisfied with that?" "Well, I, uh..." "Yes." "Oh." "Is this about the Philosopher's Stone?" "Yes." "It can be surmised that within the military, there was experimentation with creating Philosopher's Stones, and that there were various illegal actions taken to that end." "And it was not all carried out at Brig. Gen. Grand's discretion." "At the very least, this also falls upon the succession of superior officers over Doctor Marcoh." "It's possible that these persons were complicit." "Major generals... brigadier generals... colonels..." "Involved in something like this?" "Yes." "In just the last year, each one has either died or gone missing." "However, when you consider that the 5th Laboratory was still operating, and that just the other day, Ishbalan refugees were attacked by someone within the military who employed mercenaries..." "You're saying that even now, some power within the military is attempting to create a Philosopher's Stone?" "If something like that ever came to light, the military would lose its authority!" "I'm joking!" "Follow through on it." "After all, someone has been conducting prohibited, top-secret human experimentation, and then using assassins who call themselves Homunculi to wipe out the evidence." "I cannot overlook such an outrage." "We will purge this corruption." "Thank you very much!" "As such, Fuhrer..." "Mm, Doctor Marcoh, right?" "I'd like to question him for information again." "Juliet." "I will ask that he'd be brought to Central immediately." "The truth is, she's the only one who knows where Marcoh is hiding." "It's a precaution to prevent me from revealing anything, even if tortured by the enemy." "Very well, if you please er..." "Douglas." "We will purge this corruption." "Man cannot obtain anything without first sacrificing something." "In order to obtain anything, something of equal value is required." "That is alchemy's Law of Equivalent Exchange." "At the time, we believed that to be the true way of the world." "In other words, this means that all the bigwigs who are connected with the 5th Laboratory either die or turn up missing?" "And there weren't any criminals on the list that had the Uroboros mark on them." "It sounds like they're talking about some scary stuff." "I don't want to stick my nose into any more trouble, so I don't want to hear about it." "Still, there should still be scientists that worked under Doctor Marcoh." "If we could find some of them..." "Well, leave that to me." "Um, about that..." "It's like, it doesn't really matter any more." "What are you guys talking about!" "?" "We're saying, we've had enough of the Philosopher's Stone and Homunculi and other dicey stuff like that." "And that, maybe, it would be smarter to look for an alternate method." "That would definitely be smarter." "But if you could find it that simply, there wouldn't be any sport in it." "There is one person who might know something about it." "Our Sensei." "Our Sensei lives to the south, in a place called Dublith." "We plan on paying a visit." "Elric Brothers..." "Here, just one stop before Dublith...!" "Is there something there?" "It's the holy land of automail mechanics, Rush Valley!" "I've always wanted to go there!" "Take me with you!" "Take me with you!" "Take me with you!" "Take me with you!" "Go there by yourself." "But who's going to pay my traveling expenses?" "You're trying to mooch off of us!" "?" "It's okay, isn't it?" "It's on the way, and all..." "What's the use?" "Yay!" "So those two have finally decided not to get involved in any more dangerous business, huh?" "They must have realized how hard it was for us to guard them." "Right, right?" "If that was the case, what fun would that be?" "This is all to keep us from becoming the next victims." "Pretty sharp, for a kid." "You're not going to Dublith!" "?" "But we are going as far as Rush Valley." "In that case, okay." "But why not?" "Weren't you going to ask your Sensei about other methods you could use besides the Philosopher's Stone?" "If we did that, we'd be killed." "Killed...?" "We never told our Sensei about becoming State Alchemists." "Not to mention that if it got out that we had performed human transmutation..." "I'd like to live a little bit longer." "I would at least like to have fallen in love, Brother." "And even if that wasn't the case, I get the feeling we shouldn't ask our Sensei about this." "So, what are you going to do?" "There's a large scale Ishbalan camp in the mountains to the south." "I'm guessing that Scar and the others are headed there." "You're going after Scar?" "It's said that a Philosopher's Stone was once created at Ishbal." "But since they never had alchemy introduced to them in the first place, we think that it might be possible that they created it in a completely different manner." "I'm going pound on him, and make him tell us the secret." "Now, Brother... he really isn't that bad a person." "He's a killer." "And he used alchemy to do it." "I can't let him get away with that." "Brother!" "Master!" "Hey..." "Who are you!" "?" "You are not of the people of Ishbal, are you?" "Oh, how rude of me." "I've failed to introduce myself." "I'm the State Alchemist in charge of exterminating this region." "You have a visitor!" "Master!" "I'm so glad you are safe." "I'm impressed that you survived, as well." "Where have you been up to now?" "There are a certain number of us living in the mountains to the south." "We were planning on visiting there ourselves." "Our countrymen who were in Central were coming to meet us, traveling so as not to catch the military's attention, when along the way, they heard stories about you." "In these last three years, they say you've been going around and killing State Alchemists." "It was State Alchemists that burned down our villages." "I can understand your feelings of resentment." "It's true!" "These guys are Ishbalans, aren't they?" "Are you sure it's safe to be hanging around in a place like this?" "Aren't you guys supposed to be living in the designated camps?" "But what you are doing is taking out your anger in sworn vengeance, is it not?" "Vengeance just fosters the seeds for renewed vengeance." "In the ancient words of Ishbala, it says:" ""Those who receive pain can still sleep." "Those who give pain cannot sleep."" "That arm of yours..." "Is that your brother's arm?" "Why didn't you report to me that the Elric Brothers had been put in the hospital?" "Huh?" "Didn't I mention that?" "Well, it's no big deal." " Never mind them, it sounds like your posting to Central is going to be formally settled on." " No big deal!" "?" "Hurry up and make yourself important, so you can make things easier for the rest of us." "And find yourself a wife...!" "Be gentle with the telephone." "Lieutenant, get us a train." "To Central?" "Something is going on..." "Mustang is just worried about those two." "There's no need to worry him unnecessarily." "He doesn't need to know about any of this nonsense." "For one thing, it's possible that our phones are being tapped." "Sorry, but I still have things to look into." "Okay, be careful." "Papa still has lots of work to do." "I'll be back later." "Bring me the materials on the Liore riots!" "Right!" "Where are the diagrams of the transmutation circles from the 5th Laboratory!" "?" "The budget from the first year of the Ishbal Rebellion!" "Am I going to get overtime pay for this?" "I'll give you a picture of Elicia!" "Ishbal..." "Liore..." "Mugwar's mines..." "Once they got near a Philosopher's Stone, all of them were destroyed." "Strange, isn't it?" "If they're driving people to create a Philosopher's Stone, why would they spread stories around that when you get near the Philosopher's Stone, you will be destroyed?" "Is it to get rid of all the evidence?" "No..." "It couldn't be... just the opposite, could it...?" "Supposing everything was reversed..." "Hold on... the unit that caused the outbreak of war in Ishbal was..." "Douglas?" "Where have I heard...?" "Um, there's a phone call from the Fuhrer's secretary." "Yes, Doctor Marcoh has arrived in Central." "He is waiting at the hotel." "Thank you very much." "I will go see him right away." "Douglas..." "Juliet..." "Scieszka!" "Put all of these materials back where you found them!" "Once that's done, you can go home!" "Also, you're fired!" "Don't ever come around here again." "Sorry to put you to all this trouble." "Ms. Secretary..." "Douglas, do you know much about the Ishbalan War?" "No, I have always had desk jobs." "So have I, you know?" "I've been looking into some things lately." "Did you know that the reason the rebellion broke out was because one of the soldiers stationed there recklessly shot and killed an Ishbalan child?" "That soldier's name, it turns out, was Juliet Douglas." "It's a common name." "That's where it gets interesting." "The soldier with that name was supposed to have died two years before the Ishbal Rebellion." "That is odd." "There's one other "odd" thing." "Douglas was dead before then." "And yet, the muster roll for this person named Juliet Douglas was never withdrawn;" "on the contrary, over the last two years the soldier with that name has been suddenly promoted." "And now, she has been promoted to the Fuhrer's Ministerial Secretary?" "Who are you?" "Were you at Ishbal?" "Or did you just use Douglas' registration to get into the military?" "The Doctor is waiting." "Is that even Marcoh behind that door?" "Nice to meet you." "Or perhaps, a "farewell" might be more appropriate." "That's a cool tattoo you've got there, sweetheart." "Lt. Colonel!" "That was unexpectedly skillful." "Sloth, make sure to let everyone know." "Lt. Ross, they're right next to the Fuhrer!" "The enemy has fully infiltrated the military." "Their purpose is not to create a Philosopher's Stone..." "No..." "Come with me." "Yes, sir." "Ah, dammit..." "Geez, what a pain..." "What?" "He's not there!" "?" "He left for Central with Lt. Hawkeye." "Has something happened?" "With this information, he had a chance to rise right to the top!" "In any event, we should get to someplace safe." "You're right." "It's not as though I've got nothing left to hang onto." "Why don't you tell me all about it?" "The Lieutenant has a mole under her eye." "Is that right?" "I must have gotten careless." "That's amazing." "Forgive me." "I have a wife and daughter waiting for me at home." "That was a pretty good act, wasn't it, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?" "I'm going to become the Fuhrer." "I'm going to change the way this country runs." "That's the only thing I can do." "Then you'll need someone who understands you, and can give you support." "Someone underneath you, who can push you upward..." "Mama, why?" "Why are they burying Papa?" "Huh?" "Why are those men burying Papa?" "Why?" "Elicia..." "I don't want them to." "I don't want them to!" "If they do that, then Papa can't do his work any more!" "Mama, stop them!" "Elicia...!" "Papa said he still had a lot of work to do!" "I don't want them to!" "Don't bury him, Mama!" "Papa!" "Papa!" "Killed in the line of duty, and promoted two ranks..." "Brig. Gen. Hughes, huh?" "What am I going to do, now that the man who said he would stay beneath me and assist me has gone above me, you idiot?" "Colonel..." "Once, I tried putting together a theory on how to perform human transmutation." "Just now, I was frantically remembering it." "Us, alchemists, are nasty creatures." "If the Elric Brothers were mixed up in this, why didn't he report it to me?" "He didn't have to go charging into this alone..." "Haven't you figured it out yet?" "What?" "When it comes to those brothers, the Colonel has been known to lose his level-headed judgment." "And so, Brig. Gen. Hughes took everything concerning the Elric Brothers upon himself, so that the Colonel could relax, and set his sights above himself." "It's starting to rain, huh?" "Yes." "I wonder if this is what Mom's cooking is supposed to taste like." "Hughes, his wife, and Elicia were all such fine people." "Uh-huh." "Lt. Col. Hughes is a mother hen and a busybody." "He bothers me." "He always used to come to joke around with us, huh?" "Every day, he said he was busy with work, but he still always came by to check on us." "I wonder why he looked after us as much as he did." "Who knows?" "When we get back to Central, make sure you thank him." "Ed?" "Is something the matter, Brother?" "Nope." "Fullmetal Alchemist!" "Episode 26: "Her Reasons"" "I never even thought about it." "Could there be somebody who felt that way about me?"