Chapter 26: To Meet the Master

A doctor treats Izumi for her abdominal condition and hands over her usual medicine. She asks him about amnesia on Alphonse's behalf, and he explains that hypnosis can reach buried memories, though a sharp shock may work too. Izumi decides on the blunter option and resolves to knock some sense back into the boy's head. At the butcher shop Edward stands frozen with dread, having realized he forgot this year's State Alchemist assessment. Alphonse spells out the danger for a puzzled Izumi: every alchemist must be reviewed annually, and failing to appear costs Edward his license and rank.

In an Ishbalan encampment, Scar recovers from his injuries when two thugs arrive to collect his bounty, tipped off by Yoki. Scar appears ready to surrender, then disintegrates one man's hand and drives the other's skull into a wall before slipping away. Back at the shop, Alphonse receives a note left by Bido inviting him to a meeting about his secret and heads to an abandoned factory.

At the factory Alphonse finds Martel, Dolcetto, and Roa waiting with clearly hostile intent. He flees into the building, banking on the memory of childhood hide-and-seek games he once played there with Edward. The chase turns into a fight, and after Dolcetto knocks his helmet loose, Martel slips down inside the hollow armor and slows him from within long enough for Roa to finish subduing him. The captors haul Alphonse off to meet their master.

Izumi's ongoing ailment is tied to surgery on her abdomen. The chapter establishes that State Alchemists must requalify each year to keep their standing. It also plants the first hint that Scar has an older brother, and marks the return of Yoki, absent since his defeat back in Chapter 3.