Episode 40: The Scar (2003 series)

Martel begins her attack against Solf J. Kimblee determined to avenge Greed and her friends' deaths. While Martel is holding him at knife-point, Kimblee reveals to Alphonse Elric and Martel he is once again a State Alchemist which further angers Martel. Once Kimblee tricks Al into stopping Martel, Kimblee uses his alchemy on the nearby soldier and launches the body at Martel as she breaks free from Al, but Al pulls Martel away at the last second and jumps down to a grass field. After Kimblee insults the unconscious Martel due to her being a Chimera, Al fights him. Al's transmutation creates some stones to allow Kimblee to transmute so at the right moment Al could create a giant stone wall to surround Kimblee to use his alchemy against him. Kimblee comes out with his arm injured and Martel escapes, just as Mustang and more soldiers arrive. Mustang points out that Al is under his jurisdiction and Kimblee will have to launch a formal complaint against Al, though Kimblee swears he'll turn Al's armor into a bomb.

At Central Command, Führer King Bradley assigns Hakuro as Acting Führer while he heads out to suppress the uprising in Reole to prevent it from turning out like Ishval. In actuality he is heading there to destroy it with Juliet Douglas (Sloth) and Wrath. In Reole, Scar confirms Ed is aware of what he is trying to do, where Lust and Gluttony observe them, with Lust surprised when she hears of the Philosopher's Stone. Once Scar confirms Ed's question that he killed Nina Tucker four years ago in Central, Ed accuses of Scar of using Rosé and the other townsfolk as human sacrifices, which Scar is surprised that Ed knows Rosé. Scar and Ed battle, with Scar who tries to deconstruct Ed's automail limbs like before, but cannot. Ed reveals that Scar needs to know the metallic composition in his automail to deconstruct it, so he is changing the metal around so Scar can't destroy his automail, but it is causing problems with the mechanical parts inside so he has to end it quick. After getting a few hits in on Scar, Scar then grabs Ed's left arm, reminding Ed he can destroy flesh, but the Homunculus intervene before the fight carries on.

Breaking his automail arm free by transmuting hot steam which is used on the two Homunculi, Lust and Gluttony regenerate and they reveal to Scar as he steps forward that they will protect him since Scar wants to create the stone. Taking out the locket he retrieved in Ishval, Scar asks if Lust recognizes it, which stuns Lust forcing Gluttony to take her and retreat. Lyra and Rosé appear, where Lyra asks that Ed should hear what Scar has to say which is what Rosé wants, causing Ed to realize that Rosé is a mute now. Scar reveals to Ed at Rosé's house the story about his brother and the girlfriend his brother had who died from an illness. His brother became an exile for performing Human Transmutation to resurrect her. Ed reveals to Scar that Lust was created from that transmutation because the Homunculus are created from a failed human transmutation. Lyra remembers hearing it from Dante who performed Human Transmutation, which Ed suspects was Greed. Ed mentions that someone is likely behind controlling the Homunculus and bringing them together. Taking the locket, Ed sees some pieces of hair inside of it and explains that Homunculi are weak against material from the person they are modeled after which is what happened to Lust.

Continuing his story, Scar reveals that after the sudden attack and outbreak of war his brother came back knowing how to create a Philosopher's Stone, but the faithful Ishvalans ignored him and then he later renounced his research. Ed admits he met the Ishvalan Exile in Kishua and heard the story that the stone requires a large amount of human sacrifices that a town or civilization must be eliminated. Scar mentions that anger, frustration, and malice are also needed to blend for the stone's creation. In the past, Kimblee attacked Scar's group under orders to murder every Ishvalan present and tortured Scar by giving him his x-shaped scar and took away Scar's original right arm. When his brother came to save him, the transmutation circle drawn on his body absorbed Kimblee's red stone, before Basque Grand attacked and Scar woke up with his brother's right arm and the tattoo because he sacrificed himself to save Scar, who also knew that Scar was in love with his girlfriend. Ed realized that Scar's brother had transmuted the lives into the transmutation circle before passing off the symbol to Scar and that it is incomplete is the reason why it absorbs Red Stones.

Thinking Scar is using Rosé as a figurehead, Lyra reveals corrects Ed that Scar will not sacrifice the people, instead he will lure the soldiers into Reole and use them as sacrifices with the giant Transmutation Array after the townsfolk escape through the underground tunnels. Ed is angered about sacrificing soldiers, and seeing Rosé holding a baby, Scar reveals she became like this was due to torture while she was imprisoned by the military. Back at the military outpost, as he looks for Martel, Al learns from Jean Havoc that the Führer has arrived. As she crawls through the vents, Martel overhears Bradley meeting in secret with Kimblee and Shou Tucker. Bradley wants Kimblee to lead Tucker's new chimeras into Reole to force the people there to fight back and make it look like they attacked first similar to what happened in Ishval so the Military won't be accused of wrongdoing. Bradley also wants Kimblee to assassinate Edward Elric if possible to also support this heroic image. Not wanting this to happen, Martel attacks Bradly at knife-point as he is leaving, only for Bradly to knock the knife away. Easily dodging Martel's attacks, Bradly's eye patch comes off, revealing it has an Ouroboros tattoo. Bradley who is the seventh Homunculus Pride that can predict attacks with the eye follows Martel as she escapes to Al who has her get in his armor. As Al's expression changes, Bradly arrives and places his sword at the right spot allowing it to go through Al's armor and kill Martel. Bradley explained to Al that he dealt with the dangerous chimera that hid in his armor.