At the East Frontier City of Lior, the battle between the military and the townspeople rages on. The people now question the power of the head priest as they are being beat down by the military. The citizens of the town are being massacred by the brutal efficiency of the military.

Looking down from the tower, Lust, Gluttony, and Envy revel in the foolishness of man. The group shows interest towards Ed stating that he is the closest one to their goal. They have received information regarding Scar's movements decide that they must "protect" Ed.

Scar has announced his arrival in East City with another killing of a State Alchemist on the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, Ed and Al continue their search for Doctor Marco. Travelling along the countryside, they hear of his good will and the flashes of bright light that he creates.

On their way to Marco's house, they duck into a haystack in order to avoid a State Alchemist who appears to be following them. Upon their arrival at Marco's home, they are met by two gunshots. However, Al manages to diffuse the situation, and they are let inside.

Ed and Al are startled to learn that the Philosopher's Stone was used to quell the rebellion in Ishbal. The military crackdown on the inhabitants was ruthless and everyone was killed regardless of who they were. Because he was apart of something so horrible, Marco has become a doctor to try and make up for a fraction of the pain that he inflicted during the insurgency.

With all the ruckus he causing in finding Marco's research, Basque Gran enters with some soldiers to confiscate the research. While he is there, Gran reveals that the red water was created as a research project, and its limits are unknown.

Ed follows the car leaving with the research and samples. Suddenly, the car carrying Macro and Gran skids to a halt. It is Scar. He destroys the car and kills Gran easily. He sets his sights on Marco, but Ed pulls him away and they escape for the time being.

On the run, Ed, Al, and Marco are easily tracked down by Scar and cornered in a tunnel. Ed and Al are forced to fight for their lives to protect not only themselves but Marco as well. In their time of peril, they are saved by the suspicious looking State Alchemist from earlier in the day. His name is Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist.

Heading towards the light at the end of the tunnel, Ed and Al tell Marco to head to a place where he cannot be found by the military or Scar.