Episode 30 (2003 Anime)

Assault on South Headquarters
Japan airdate	2004 May 1
USA airdate	2005 October 8
Series Information
Series	Fullmetal Alchemist (2003 anime)
◄ Previous	The Untainted Child
Next ►	Sin

Assault on South Headquarters is the 30th episode of the Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 anime series.

Synopsis

Archer arrests the mysterious boy on suspicion of being a homunculus conspirator. Infuriated, Izumi leaps into action, single-handedly attacking the military.

Full Synopsis

At the Southern Slums, former Lt. Yoki, who had been reduced to living there since Ed got him discharged after the Youswell incident, watches as the Ishvalan refugee camp arrives. The man in charge assures Scar's master that despite their origin, they should be safe there since it is filled with people who cannot return to their homeland being either criminals or former military officers that were discharged after being exposed for illegal activities. However, Yoki recognizes Scar and decides to make a call. Meanwhile in Dublith, the boy escapes Ed by transmuting through a wall. Before Ed can pursue the boy further, he is approached by a lizard man named Bido who mentions Ed's interest in the Philosopher's Stone.

Back at Sig's shop, he is ignoring Lt. Colonel Archer's questions regarding the Elric brothers or his wife Izumi by responding in meat terms while Winry and Mason watch behind a door. Major Armstrong then steps up and both he and Sig show off their enormous muscles. Worried that Armstrong and Sig are about to get physical with one another, Winry and Mason rush to stop them. However, Armstrong and Sig instead end up shaking hands in gratitude, leaving Winry and Mason surprised and confused, just as Archer approaches Winry and asks her where the Elrics are.

Back outside, Ed's conversation with Bido continues. Bido explains that Tucker told him everything about the Elrics, offering to take the brothers someplace, just as Al arrives. Ed tries to transmute a wall to stop Bido from escaping, but he easily climbs it and leaves just as Archer and Armstrong arrive. Archer realizes that he is one of the chimeras that escaped the fifth laboratory. Armstrong introduces Archer to the Elrics, making Al realize that Archer is in the Investigations Department and therefore, works closely with Hughes. Al asks Armstrong how Hughes is doing, but Armstrong remains sadly silent, keeping the details of Hughes' death from the Elrics. Archer demands to talk with the Elrics, but they decline and continue to go after the boy.

The Elrics find the boy on the roof, and while he questions what happened to Ed's right arm and left leg, the Elrics privately discuss that despite it being weird, the arm and leg he has were definitely Ed's. However, Archer and Armstrong have them under surveillance and Archer wishes to apprehend the boy, noticing him as a homunculus due to an ouroborous tattoo on his right foot. Armstrong launches an attack, knocking the boy off the roof and then binding him, much to the Elrics' confusion. Archer then shows the Elrics the tattoo, explaining that he and Armstrong are taking the boy to the military base at South City for questioning. Finding the explanation from Ed about the boy's right arm and left leg to be absurd, Armstrong suggests that the Elrics return to their teacher's house, unaware that Bido was listening to their conversation. At Central Command, the Führer's secretary talks with Yoki over the phone regarding his discovery of Scar's location and verifies that if he is caught, then Yoki can be reinstated back into the military.

Bido contacts the Devil's Nest where Greed, Tucker, the other chimeras and Kimbley had fled to. Greed decides to focus on the boy, believing it is a better choice to get to him first to recruit him for his team so it would be easier to deal with the other homunculi. Refusing to let Dolcetto go into the base due to it being guarded, Greed lets Kimbley go there due to him being posted there once before, but warns him not to betray them.

Izumi returns home, angered with what happened, while Al demands what her interest in the boy is, explaining the special powers a homunculus has. Before she can reveal the secret of a homunculus' birth, Izumi coughs up blood again and Sig rushes her to a hospital. At the hospital, a doctor explains numerous vital organs are missing from Izumi's body which is the reason for her incurable illness. The Elrics suspect that she, too, performed human transmutation. They soon learn that she and Sig are gone.

Arriving at Southern Command to rescue the boy after he was taken there by Archer and Armstrong, Izumi leaves Sig to head inside to get the boy. The Elrics and Winry arrive as Izumi starts her assault. While the Elrics pursue Izumi, Sig reveals to Winry that years ago, Izumi was pregnant with their first and only child. When she was near her due date, she became gravely ill, so Sig made the decision to have her take medication. Their son, however, became stillborn, which left both of them in great depression, but Izumi suffered the most. She tried to perform human transmutation to bring their stillborn son back to life which failed and cost her those organs and made her sterile. When she came back, she told Sig she was sorry.

Izumi quickly makes work of the military personnel and frees the boy. Outside, Kimbley uses a military officer as an ingredient and blows a hole in the wall so he and Bido can enter. Just as Archer orders Armstrong to apprehend Izumi, Führer Bradley appears. Ed confronts Izumi, demanding she release the boy and flee, since Ed is still technically a dog of the military. That is when the Führer, Armstrong, Archer, Bido, and Kimbley show up, turning this into a four-way struggle. Unknown to everyone, the Führer at Southern Command is Envy in disguise, as the real Führer at Central Command dispatches the Mustang Unit to apprehend Scar.

Back at the Southern Slums, Scar notices an Ishvalan that was not part of their group, whom his master warns him not to make contact with as he is an exile who was cast out of Ishval for violating their sacred laws, though Scar seems to recognize him. Scar enters the exile's tent and notices a few symbols, one of which is the same as his tattoo.

Episode Notes

• This episode is adapted from content in Chapter 25: Master and Apprentice, Chapter 26: To Meet the Master and Chapter 28: A Fool's Courage.
• The homunculus Pride is first mentioned by Greed in this episode, though his identity is not revealed until ten episodes later.
• The scene of Major Armstrong and Sig Curtis showing up their muscular bodies is based off Chapter 28: A Fool's Courage from the manga. The only difference is that Frank Archer, a character exclusive to this series, is the man accompanying Armstrong, rather than the Führer, as in the manga. Additionally in the manga, Bradley is wearing vacation-themed clothing instead of his military uniform.