Family Portrait

Somewhere alone, Hohenheim digs into his chest and drops fragments of his Philosopher's Stone into the earth, naming the souls it consumed. Thirteen years past in Resembool, Trisha urges him toward their infant sons, and he confesses his fear of passing his immortal curse to them. The next day she gathers the family for a photograph, telling him it will hold a moment when the four were together and asking him never to think himself a monster. Sensing what Father plans for the nation, Hohenheim resolves to leave, departing after a last glance at the boys in the hallway. In the present he studies the photo by a campfire and murmurs that he needs only a little more time.

A Briggs search team combing Sloth's tunnel is slaughtered by a shadowy figure before one man can report back. The Elrics, Falman, and Buccaneer listen in as Raven dangles a legion of immortal soldiers before Armstrong, who hides her fury and plays along toward the Promised Day. When only a horse and a severed arm return from the underground team, Raven orders the tunnel sealed and Sloth placed back inside, passing the homunculus off to the soldiers as a chimera on a secret state project.

Armstrong learns the scheme has run since Amestris' founding and nears completion. When Raven promises her a seat at Central Command, she runs him through, slashes him across the chest, and lets him sink into the wet cement of the fort's foundation, taking his seat instead. Kimblee, meanwhile, makes many suspicious phone calls, deflects Miles' probing, and demands a car down the mountain as Raven turns up missing. Kimblee then brings Winry to the Elrics' cell to tune Ed's automail for the cold, revealing a military contact tipped her off, while in Central, Mustang, alerted to Kimblee's sudden recovery, buys a flower seller's entire cart to receive a hidden message from Armstrong.

Hohenheim's history and the origin of the family photograph are revealed, along with his decision to leave Resembool. A shadowy figure massacres a Briggs team in Sloth's tunnel. Raven offers Armstrong immortal soldiers and orders the tunnel sealed with Sloth inside. Armstrong kills Raven and entombs him in the fort's cement, seizing his Central seat. Kimblee brings Winry north to service Ed's automail and hold her as leverage. Mustang receives a covert message from Armstrong through the flower seller.

The episode adapts material from the manga chapters covering burgeoning borders, the family portrait, and the foundation of Briggs. It finally shows Hohenheim's face in the long-recurring Elric family picture, an image that appears throughout the franchise, including the alternate 2003 adaptation, though the reason his face was hidden had never been explained before now.