Exposure?
Yes, what we call chilblains.
You were this close to getting frostbite.
If you walk around out in a snowstorm for a long time,
the flesh that is in contact with your automail will get frostbitten.
Also, if you don't switch out your lubricant, you won't move as well.
That Buccaneer guy's automail is different?
It's no use, Doc! This head is stuck so tight, I can't get it out.
My head!
Up here, your automail has to be flexible and lightweight,
as well as being resistant to the cold.
After some trial and error, we came up with this automail,
a combination of duralumin, carbon fiber, nickel, copper, and so on.
Usually, you'd think it's just iron. No wonder I couldn't destroy it.
Hey, Doc, you're not planning on telling him everything, are you?
Oh, why not? This is an esteemed State Alchemist.
For real?
He's got the silver pocketwatch.
This kid is the equivalent of a major?
If you're planning on staying in the north long,
change your automail to a cold-weather regional model.
Do you have your own mechanic?
She's in Rush Valley.
She let her customer come up north
without explaining this, or providing you with a replacement?
No, I didn't tell her I was coming up north.
If you want to stay alive, have her provide you with a replacement,
even if she has to come here.
- Okay. - That will be 100 cens for the coffee.
That was downright dirty.
It's not even as good as the Eastern Command Center's.
It's your own fault for letting your guard down.
So, what are you doing here, with your normal automail,
unaccompanied, and bypassing the command center?
I even brought a letter from Major Armstrong,
asking for your help!
That lady general wouldn't even listen to me,
and said she would yank out my antenna...
You called, little red runt?
- Little red... - What is it?
If you've got a problem with me, speak up!
My hair!
This looks lame.
So then, I've heard that you two are close to my brother Alex.
Is he doing all right?
- Yeah. - He's just as muscle-bound as ever.
He's as healthy as can be!
No matter, never mind him.
Tell me why you would bypass the command center to meet me.
Tell me everything, including the reason why your armor is empty.
That's something we'd prefer not to have others hear about.
There's nothing to be anxious about.
The folks here have all sorts of things to hide.
Having things we'd prefer not to have others hear about isn't unusual.
But if this gets out, it could get me court-martialed.
I've done some things like that myself.
Brother, a moment?
I think we have to tell her, or else she won't tolerate us.
But Winry is a hostage.
All right, let's do this so as not to mention the Führer or Homunculi.
What are you talking about? Get on with it!
Okay, let's go with us being on a journey to get back our bodies.
I see. So that's why you're looking for this girl
with the black-and-white cat, is it?
Understood.
So will you work with us?
I understand that you are a couple of butterfingers,
who don't think about anything too deeply,
and spread trouble around with your careless actions!
I don't want anyone like that inside my citadel.
Honest to goodness,
how can the folks in Central let these two run around loose?
Get out of here, this instant!
Or so I'd like to say, but I'm interested in alkahestry.
You two are acquaintances of this alkahestry girl, right?
Yeah, I guess.
It's a technique not found in this country, I want it.
You can never have too many techniques,
especially here in this land, where we adjoin the great Drachma.
Depending on how it's used, alkahestry could be a fine weapon.
Wait, just a minute, please!
Alkahestry is an art specialized for the medical field. For you to...
Silence! You're just dogs, yapping within the country's interior!
Don't forget that your peace and security is protected
by those of us who are here on the borders.
I am the one who draws the national border in the north.
I will take any technique I can, if it will help me.
Let me take care of finding the alkahestry girl.
You two stay inside the fort.
- Also, Major Miles... - Yes, sir!
Put them to work.
"If man will not work, he shall not eat."
You have a point.
Those two have had quite a hard life.
They seem moderately acquainted with scenes of carnage,
but I can tell that on the inside, they are still soft.
And another thing...
I can tell that they have a secret that they can't tell us.
Say, what kind of work are you going to give us?
When she said the folks here have all sorts of things to hide,
do you have something too?
It's no fair if you guys ask all the questions, and never answer any.
You really want to know?
- Red eyes! - You're Ishvalan?
But how?
We were told that all the soldiers who came from Ishval were purged
before the War of Extermination.
I do indeed have Ishvalan blood flowing through my veins.
However, my grandmother and my father, not to mention his wife,
are all of a different race.
The color of my eyes and skin
must be because my grandfather's blood runs strong.
Amestrisian, your people really did a number
on my ancestral land of Ishval.
It's you Ishvalans who burned down our countryside,
and killed the parents of one of our childhood friends.
Whoa, Brother!
Sorry.
That's just the first time anyone has ever given a comeback like that.
You were testing me?
That was rude of me.
After the civil war, I've often been looked upon with pity.
To be honest, I've gotten fed up with it.
But you're different.
Well, I've had an Ishvalan try to kill me, nearly kidnap me and reconcile with me.
So I've had a pretty rich relationship.
Besides, people should get beyond race, and talk to each other as equals.
Major Miles, were you on active duty during the War of Extermination?
Yeah.
I've been General Armstrong's adjutant since those days.
The War of Extermination started right after I was posted here,
and many of my relatives, including my grandfather, were killed in the east.
I was barely outside of the military's purge terms, so I was spared.
Didn't you hold any grudge against the military?
You really do ask whatever you like, don't you?
I can't stand being so ignorant.
If I've offended you, I apologize.
An "ignorant" State Alchemist, huh?
I resented what the military did.
Meanwhile, I had doubts as to why the general kept me on as her adjutant.
By having me, someone with Ishvalan blood around,
it could have caused discord among the soldiers here.
So why didn't she get rid of me?
I once came right out at the general about it.
Briggs here is a land that must not fall, no matter what happens.
Each of us, down to the last soldier, must move with strength,
and yet with flexibility, executing my will as leader in all things,
as one stalwart force.
In short, we have no time for discrimination.
With the blood of the various peoples that flows within you,
and their various sets of values,
you are able to see this country from various different angles.
I was born and raised in Amestris, and in order for me to be a leader,
I need people like you.
Now shut up and follow me, Miles!
Her words were perfectly rational, and without deception.
When I asked her, "Even so, if the Ishvalan blood within me
is unable to forgive what the military has done, what then?"
What do you think the general said?
Very well. Come at me.
As a representative of the armed forces, I will accept any challenges at any time.
- That's what she said. - Wow, what a hellcat.
Did she say it because she had her troops lined up behind her?
No, she was serious.
I'll kill you one-on-one!
That was the look in her eye.
Do you know what the law is here?
Survival of the fittest?
That's right. Those without power die, while those with power survive.
That truth never changes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
It truly is simple.
Be you buck private or top boss,
regardless of race, ethnicity, and sex, it make no difference.
That was survival of the fittest, as well.
Your luck is strong, so you survived.
The icicle scrapers are slacking off. That's your job now.
I'll tell one of my men to show you inside once you're done.
Damn, I can't reach.
Huh? It can't be...
- Warrant Officer Falman! - The Elric brothers!
What are you doing here?
What about you?
I thought you were at the Northern Command Center.
Yeah, but the Northern Command Center bumped me up here.
- They made you a 2nd lieutenant! - Yeah.
Really? Congratulations on the promotion...
So, why are you knocking down icicles?
If you're doing such bottom-rung work, that means...
you're off your career track.
Don't say that!
This is the development level.
Wow! What is this?
It was General Armstrong's idea.
They gather the country's latest technologies
and develop them into weapons.
- Including combat automail? - Yeah, over here now.
This is Briggs' lowest level.
Sure is warm, not at all like up above.
All the fort's lifelines come through here.
Even if the fort's upper levels are attacked,
it's no big deal down here in the heart.
Hey, move it, you're in the way!
- Stop staggering around! - Sorry.
- Hey, Bobby, over here! - This pipe here!
This is...
- ... coming from underground. - What?
It sounds like someone's digging through the rock...
Don't tell me those Drachma goons are digging a tunnel under the fort!
It's close!
What a bother...
Ah, what a bother...
It's such a bother, it's killing me.
But dying would be a bother.
Solf J. Kimblee?
He was seriously wounded on a cargo train headed here,
and was admitted into a hospital at the base of the mountain.
The full cooperation of the Briggs branch is requested.
Wasn't the Crimson Alchemist supposed to be serving time?
Apparently, he was released. Führer's orders.
I don't like this.
What is it?
We have an intruder from under the ground!
What?
A Homunculus!
Damn, they know that we've come here to find a way
to fight back against the Homunculi?
Don't fall asleep!
What?
Oh, you know, your "Father" in Central told you about us, right?
Yeah, we're just here looking for a way to get our old bodies back.
Who are you?
Dig the hole. What a bother. Ah, what a bother.
You don't think this guy...?
Yes, he might not have heard about us from Father or the Führer.
- So you really are a spy from Drachma! - You misunderstand!
Then why are you speaking with the intruder like you know him?
We don't know him!
- Your lies won't fool me! - This is in my way.
I'm not lying, I tell you! We were just...
This place is big.
Where is this?
Do I not have to dig anymore?
Fire!
The guns have no effect!
Where am I?
This is bad!
He's going up to the development level! After him!
Contact the development level!
- We're going after him too! - Investigate the hole he came out of!
There might be others coming through!
He's huge!
It's warm...
Don't move!
- Extinguish it. - Yes, sir!
I know I hit it.
Boss, it's no use!
- Firearms won't work against him! - What?
All noncombatants, withdraw immediately. Shut off the alarm too.
Don't let the folks in Drachma know about this disturbance.
Boss, I brought these!
Have the trial runs been completed?
We don't need them.
These are the development team's prize babies.
- Remove the fuses from the shells. - Yes, ma'am.
First round loading complete.
Fire!
Direct hit!
Ouch.
Pain is also a bother.
Don't just sit there, load the next round!
Fire!
Ouch.
Right, back to work.
Dig the hole.
It won't work, General! No matter how many times you kill him, he won't die!
It won't die?
What do you mean? How would you know something like that?
Well...
I don't appreciate you acting dim!
Answer as many of my questions as you can!
How do you know about that thing?
- Are you a spy from Drachma? - No!
- Then is that thing a spy? - Probably not!
- Does that thing know you? - Probably not!
What is that thing?
I can't answer that!
- Whose orders is that thing acting on? - I can't answer that!
Why can't you answer?
You'll have to guess.
Last question. Are you on our side here?
I wouldn't want to see anyone here get killed.
Tell me what that thing is made of.
His body's structure and compositional elements are probably the same as a human.
The same as a human, huh?
Buccaneer, bring me some tank fuel! We're going to douse it!
- Yes, sir! - I told you, that won't work, General!
Even if you set him ablaze, he won't go down that easily!
I learned from that last attack that we can't kill it.
In which case, we'll just have to shut down its functions.
We're going to hit it with something even stronger than fire.
Let me show you the Briggs way.