Chapter 13: Fullmetal Body

Inside the Fifth Laboratory, the two homunculi finish what the Slicer Brothers started. Lust splits the elder sibling's helmet apart with her claws, and Envy jabs repeatedly at the younger one's blood seal, both of them furious that the killers nearly destroyed a designated Human Sacrifice and exposed their scheme. When Envy mocks Edward and floats the idea of finishing the boy off, Ed swings at him, only for his damaged automail arm to seize up and dangle uselessly. A knee to the stomach drops the alchemist, and Lust tells him to remember that his survival was granted on purpose. Slipping toward unconsciousness, Ed hears the pair agree that the laboratory has served its use and should be destroyed now that their plan nears its last stage.

Out in the yard, Alphonse dwells on Number 66's taunt that his spirit is counterfeit, connecting it to a subject his brother had once been too scared to raise back home. The distraction nearly costs him, but Second Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh arrive, wounding Barry's hand and driving him back. Then an explosion levels the facility. Al lunges to save his trapped brother, only for Ross to hold him clear of the collapsing rubble. Barry escapes in the confusion, and moments later Envy emerges through a broken wall with the unconscious Edward on his shoulder, ordering the group to rush the boy to treatment and keep him from throwing his life away again. Far off, the imprisoned Solf J. Kimblee hears the blast, recognizes the signature of high explosives, and grins at the memory of Ishval, his shackled hands marked with transmutation designs.

Come morning, Edward wakes in a discreet clinic run by a friend of Ross, chosen over a state hospital to avoid trouble. Raging that Marcoh's promised answers slipped from his grasp, he earns a slap from Ross for charging off without trusting his escorts. He phones Winry about his ruined arm, and she happily agrees to travel out for the repair, already sensing the real reason it failed. Nearby, Alphonse sits alone in the dark, still tormented by the question of whether he was ever truly human.

Both Slicer Brothers are destroyed by the homunculi, and Envy knocks Edward out after the boy's automail arm gives out. Lust and Envy decide to demolish the Fifth Laboratory, and Envy personally carries the wounded Ed clear of the collapse before vanishing. Barry the Chopper flees rather than face capture, and Kimblee is introduced as a tattooed inmate in the neighboring prison. Edward recovers in a private clinic and calls Winry to fix his arm, while Alphonse sinks deeper into doubt about his own existence.

Counting this installment, Envy has now called Edward small three times within the laboratory, a running jab that pays off later in the story. His considerable hidden mass likely helped the single knee strike knock Ed out so quickly. The chapter also establishes for the first time that holding a State Alchemist certification grants a minimum standing equal to the rank of Major in the Amestrian military.