The Sinner Within

Ishbalans awaiting transport to military camps are delayed by a water fault the Elrics caused. Learning of the situation, Ed and Al ask about Scar's claim that a Philosopher's Stone was made in Ishbal, and Scar's master directs them to an Ishbalan exile in Kishua, sending Rick and Leo along as guides. When the boys' meddling with the water lets everyone slip away, Fuery spots them, Ed knocks him out, and Winry drives up with a repaired tractor as a getaway.

Traveling the rail line, Ed asks Winry to stop accompanying them and return to Resembool, arguing that the coming battles are too dangerous for anyone in the way; Al backs him despite his own guilt over wanting to reclaim Ed's limbs from Wrath. At Kishua the boys enter the exile's tent alone while Rick and Leo, bound by their faith, stay outside with Winry. Hawkeye and Breda then take the Elrics into custody, though no Ishbalans were killed, the only casualty being the former officer Yoki.

The old exile reveals that Scar's brother, too kind to sacrifice others, never actually made the stone, and that Amestrian and Ishbalan alchemy differ only in the number of human sacrifices required; gathering people to be consumed is the sole method. He recounts Scar returning as an exile himself, carrying his people's remains in his tattooed arm, which drove Rick and Leo away. Outside, Winry learns from the boys that a fire-wielding State Alchemist killed her parents, realizing it was Mustang, and runs off in grief. Examining Yoki's wounds, the Elrics recognize Lust's spear. Winry chooses to visit the Hughes family with Hawkeye while Ed and Al head on to Ishval, and Sloth dispatches Lust and Gluttony to stop them should they uncover the civil war's secret.

The Elrics free the detained Ishbalans and are guided toward an exile who knows of the Philosopher's Stone. Ed asks Winry to leave their journey for her safety. The exile reveals that making a stone always demands human sacrifice and that Scar's brother never completed one. Winry learns Mustang killed her parents during the war. The Elrics identify Lust as Yoki's killer. Winry departs for the Hughes home with Hawkeye while the brothers press on to Ishval, and Sloth sends Lust and Gluttony after them.

The previous episode's events, including the deaths at Lujon and Lydia's village, go unmentioned as the brothers reflect on those they have lost, likely because they and Winry never grasped what killed the villagers and the incident had no direct tie to their search. It remains unusual that the prior episode is never referenced again by any character, not even Lust after she later sides with the Elrics.