Isaac McDougal is in a dark street. The street is cold and wet. He hears boots on the stone. Military men come with lights. McDougal puts his hands up. He is an alchemist. He makes the water move. Water is all around - in the street, on the walls. The water gets very hot. It becomes steam. It burns. Then it becomes ice. The ice is very cold. The soldiers cannot move. They fall down. McDougal walks past them. He does not look at them.
Two streets away, Roy Mustang stands in light. He is an officer. He reads a paper. Riza Hawkeye stands near him.
"The Führer gives you an order," says Hawkeye.
"Yes," says Mustang. "I must find Isaac McDougal. He is a bad man. But I am supposed to be in another city." He is not happy.
Ed comes down the hall. He is fifteen years old. He has a metal arm. His brother Al walks with him. Al is in a big metal suit.
"Who do we find?" asks Ed.
"Isaac McDougal," says Mustang. He shows Ed a picture. "He uses water magic. He is very dangerous. Three soldiers are dead. Be careful."
"I understand," says Ed.
Ed and Al run. They hear screaming. They find McDougal in an alley. Ice is on the walls. Two soldiers are on the wall - they cannot move.
"You are soldiers," says McDougal. "You are children."
Ed is angry. "You are under arrest."
Ed puts his hands together. Alchemy comes. The ground moves up. McDougal makes ice. The ice stops the ground. McDougal makes the water very hot. Steam comes fast.
Ed has a metal arm. The steam hits it. Ed keeps going. McDougal sees the metal arm. He is surprised.
Al comes from the other side. There is no place to go. McDougal sits down. A soldier puts metal things on his hands.
But McDougal has a plan. Lines on his hands light up blue and white. The metal things break. Water comes. McDougal is gone.
Ed stands alone. "That is not good," he thinks.
Mustang is angry. "You went to him! You did not know what he does!"
"I learned," says Ed.
"You were not careful," says Mustang. "McDougal has circles on his hands. His hands are his alchemy. You cannot stop him. He is very fast." Mustang sits down. "He was a soldier in Ishval. Something happened there. Now he is dangerous."
Armstrong is a big man. He is very big and very strong. He looks in the city for McDougal. He sees McDougal drawing circles on stone.
"Stop!" says Armstrong. "Please."
McDougal makes water. Armstrong makes stone. They fight. The place breaks. But McDougal gets away again.
Mustang finds McDougal near the gate. "Stop," says Mustang.
"I know what you are," says McDougal. "You are the Führer's soldiers. But I know what he does. The country is in danger." He makes water come up. It is a big wall.
Mustang makes fire. Steam comes. McDougal runs. He goes to a circle on the ground.
McDougal has six circles in the city. They are all connected. They point to Central Command. McDougal puts his hands on the stone.
Ice comes up. Very big ice. It grows and grows. It is three stories tall. The city is very cold. People run.
Ed and Al see it. "This is big magic," says Ed.
"A Philosopher's Stone," says Al. "He has a Stone."
Ed and Al find McDougal. He is weak now.
"Do you understand?" he asks. "You are a weapon. They use you." He looks at Al. "Your suit is empty. No one is inside."
Al does not move.
"You tried Human Transmutation," says McDougal. "Both of you. What did you try to bring back?"
Ed is very angry. He makes a big stone. It hits McDougal. McDougal falls.
"Do not talk about this," says Ed.
McDougal goes away with water again.
But then the Führer comes. King Bradley is here. He has a sword. He walks to McDougal. McDougal makes ice walls. But the sword cuts through them. The sword is very fast. Bradley keeps walking. McDougal cannot stop him.
Bradley kills him.
Ed sees something small and red fall from McDougal. It is very red. It falls in the water. It goes in a crack in the stone. It becomes dust. Pink dust.
Bradley looks at Ed. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," says Ed.
Mustang stands at a window. He watches the ice melt in the sun. He thinks about McDougal. McDougal said: "You are burning things to keep people warm in a house that is already on fire."
Mustang thinks about this for a long time.
Hawkeye comes in. "The brothers want to know about Reole."
"Tell them tomorrow," says Mustang.
"You said that yesterday."
"Say it again." Mustang looks at the city. "What do we know about the Philosopher's Stone?"
"Very little," says Hawkeye.
"McDougal had one. Where did he get it? Someone gave it to him. Or he found it. So there are more." He looks at her. "Find out quietly."
Hawkeye says nothing.
Far away in a city called Reole, a beautiful woman sits at a table. She reads a newspaper.
"McDougal is dead," she says.
"Yes," says the man with her. "It is sad."
"He used the Stone too fast. He did not have time," she says. She looks out the window at the city. "But we have time. We will do this very carefully. Our work is starting soon."
People in Reole go to church. They listen to a radio. They do not know what is coming. The woman watches. She does not smile. She just watches and waits.