Chapter 41: On the Palm of an Arrogant Human Being

Gathered in the desert, Breda explains how everyone came to be there. In flashback, he and Mustang discuss the case against Maria Ross in the colonel's office when a call arrives from Barry the Chopper, which the two disguise as chatter with a lady friend. Roy steps to an outside phone to finish arranging Ross's rescue and sends Breda for supplies. The scene jumps to the alley meeting, where instead of killing Ross, Mustang incinerates a human dummy in her place and tags the fake body with her identification. He then hands her to Havoc, who is to deliver her to Ling Yao and Fu for the journey east.

With everyone brought up to speed, the group agrees to pool all the intelligence gathered so far on the homunculi. Afterward Edward swears not to let anyone else be harmed for his and his brother's sake, and it is settled that Ross must continue on to Xing since Amestris is no longer safe for her, with Fu and a small escort leading the way. Before the soldiers return to Central, Edward takes another look at the Cselkcess ruins, where a band of Ishvalans tries to capture him. The attempt fails, and their leader, Mistress Shan, softens once she learns Edward knew the Rockbells.

Shan recounts how the Rockbells died at the hands of an unknown Ishvalan marked with a distinctive tattoo on his right arm, and the group parts on friendly terms. The military detail heads back to Central, but Edward breaks away to return home for automail repairs, and on the way he stops at his mother's grave, where he finds Van Hohenheim waiting. The chapter quietly confirms that the bandaged killer bears the same tattoo as Scar, and Breda chides Edward for having told Gracia why her husband, Maes Hughes, was killed.