Episode 43: The Stray Dog (2003 series)

Winry Rockbell and Sheska arrive at Resembool, with Sheska surprised how rural it is. However, a stranger who had been with them on the train mistakes Winry as her mother Sara, causing the two of them to run off. While at Rockbell Automail, Winry's grandmother Pinako is trying to inquire information to what Winry has been doing after she left when the stranger shows up causing Winry and Sheska to hide. The man mentions he can't find his house, and noticing Winry's nervousness, Pinako points out that while Winry was too young to remember, the man is Hohenheim, Ed and Al's father. Ed and Al head across the desert since they know they're now fugitives and cannot go back to the military since both The Führer and his secretary are Homunculus. This confirms Al's suspicions on Juliet Douglas' (Sloth) true identity and when Ed refuses to talk about it, their squabble causes part of the Philosopher's Stone within Al's body to create an accidental transmutation where Al see The Gate. Ed decides that Al should not touch him to avoid further mishaps that would use up the stone's power, and risk that it would cause Al to disappear. Ed decides to head to Resembool first, where despite it being the first place the military will look, Ed needs to get something to help aid him in their next battle against the Homunculus.

Back around the site of the former city Reole, the injured survivors from Scar's giant Transmutation Array are being loaded up on a train bound for Central, including Frank Archer, whose body had been badly maimed from the transmutation and is covered in bandages. Heymans Breda and Jean Havoc update Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye about what their search had uncovered. Bradley arrives and believes that Edward Elric is partly responsible for Reole's destruction, and accuses him of cooperating with Scar in secret that led to the deaths of 1,000 soldiers, ignoring the fact that it was Archer's recklessness that also contributed to the soldier's deaths. Mustang volunteers to apprehend the Elrics, which the Führer grants permission, but warns him he'll have a lot to answer for if he fails. With some additional troops, the Mustang Unit and Major Armstrong depart. On the train bound for Central, The Führer (Pride) meets with Gluttony and Sloth in a secret compartment revealing they have confined Lust for allowing the Elrics to flee.

In Resembool, Winry finds Hohenheim around his wife's grave, and noticing him looking at her mother's grave, Winry explained what happened to her as Pinako watches them. At Winry's house, Sheska answers the door, and finds it's Maria Ross and Denny Brosh. Winry returns home as Sheska is fighting with Brosh, accusing them of pursing the two of them from Central. As they show them the remains of the Elric's house, Winry and Sheska learn how the Elric are fugitives due to a friend Ross has in communications that had received the a report and is also the reason why both of them are there, though Ross can't fully believe the report. Once Hohenheim makes a suggestion about the nearby river stream, Winry realizes it might be where the Elrics will come from, and heads out with Sheska, while Ross and Brosh will remain behind to slow the search party if possible. As Ed and Al travel down the stream they hide from Falman and Breda. However, Fuery and Havoc spot them and when Ed holds onto Havoc's gun with his automail arm, the recoil when the gun was fired injured both of them, followed by Ed transmuting Falman and Breda's uniforms into balloons as they leave. Mustang and the others meet up with them, and speculate how the Elrics will travel along with Mustang taking some matches from the injured Havoc, when Winry and Sheska show up on a mechanical bike that Hawkeye quickly disables with an accurate shot. With the girls as their prisoners, the military group continues their search, where Winry accuses Mustang for betraying Ed after helping him get into the military, which Sheska state that all he cares about is his rank. When Winry brings up her parent's murder, Hawkeye stops her.

The military group catches up with the Elrics and Ed admits he is through with the military to Mustang as the two talk it out. Despite Ed using a transmutation to create a giant wave of water to render Mustang's flame alchemy useless, by using the matches he took from Havoc as a replacement for his gloves, Mustang combines his alchemy with Armstrongs to prevent the Elrics from fleeing. With the Elric's trapped and hearing Winry's cry to stop the fight, Mustang admitted he murdered her parents under orders when they refused to stop treating the Ishvalan insurgents during the Ishval Civil War. However, Mustang reveals that after that horrific experience, he swore that he would never follow unreasonable orders like that again and is why he chose to seek the rank of Führer for himself. Mustang reveals the reason why he accepted this mission is to why the Elrics ran off without coming to him first.