Brother, we're almost at Dublith.
Were you having a dream?
Yeah. It was a dream about him.
- We're finally here, huh? - Yeah.
It'd be nice if Teacher wasn't home, huh?
Yeah.
- Hi, there... - Long time no see.
How good of you to come. You've grown.
He's squashing me...
Well, it's me, Alphonse. Please excuse us for being away so long.
You've really grown.
This is the first time I've had my head patted since I became armor.
Izumi, the Elric half-pints are here. Can you get up?
I'm fine. I'm doing a little better today.
She's lying down because she's not doing so well.
I guess she hasn't gotten any better.
Stupid pupil of mine!
I hear you've stooped to becoming a dog of the military!
Ah, Teacher, you see, it's like...
Al? You sure have grown bigger.
Teacher, you seem to be doing well--
You haven't been training enough!
I thought you weren't feeling very well.
What are you talking about? Now that you're here, I'm...
You shouldn't overexert yourself.
Aren't you the concerned one, dear?
I don't know much about the Philosopher's Stone.
I'm not interested in it.
I see.
You met that one alchemist in Central before,
who was pretty knowledgeable about the Stone, right?
Who was this person?
As I recall, his name was...
Hohenheim.
What's the matter?
Then he's alive.
Someone you know?
He's our father.
The one you said ran out on you?
That jerk!
It's because of him that Mom is dead! It's because of him!
Goodness, what are you doing up so early?
Al said he had to go potty.
You took care of Al, didn't you?
Thanks, Ed.
Hey, where's Dad?
He left.
When is he coming back?
Coochie-coochie-coochie!
He'll be back really soon.
Now hurry up and eat.
Mom...
Mom!
Did Dad say anything about the Stone?
Something about his long-held desire about to come true.
He was happy when he said it.
Let's eat!
Right!
Aren't you eating, Al?
No. I had a lot to eat on the train.
Hey, Al, remember how we witnessed that child being born in Rush Valley?
Yeah, yeah! Teacher, we helped to deliver a baby!
You dummy, you call what we did "helping"?
The whole family helped and the mother gave everything she had.
Everyone is blessed when a person is born, right?
That's right. That's how you received your lives.
Take pride in your own lives.
- Brother... - Yeah?
Teacher hasn't changed, has she?
Nope. She hasn't changed a bit since way back when.
- Keep it tight! - Bring some more!
It's collapsing!
The levee is giving! Run for higher ground.
Brother, look.
Hey! It's too dangerous!
That should hold for a while.
Who are you?
Just a housewife that was passing by.
Take us on as your pupils, old lady!
Please, old lady?
I'm a little hard of hearing, so I didn't catch that.
Could you say that again?
We take that back!
Please take us on as pupils, miss!
- No! - Why not?
I'm not the type that takes on pupils.
Besides, I'm in the middle of a trip!
- Please! - Take us on!
You're such pests!
Those two don't have any parents.
I'm such a pushover.
The two of you have to survive by yourselves.
That's your provisional training.
If you do well, we'll move on to the main training.
During your provisional training, the use of alchemy is forbidden!
"One is all, all is one." Find the answer to that within one month.
If you don't find the answer, I'm sending you back to Resembool!
Bye.
What is this?
I'm hungry.
I want to sleep in a bed.
How is this alchemy training?
I'm so hungry...
I wonder if they're all right.
They say there's no better knowledge than experience.
This is the best way to drive home the essentials of alchemy.
If they don't learn anything from this,
it means they only have so much talent,
and I'll have them give up on being my pupils.
It's their lives that I'm worried about.
When I was doing my training,
I was hauled off to Briggs Mountain in winter for a whole month.
Don't go comparing yourself to normal people.
That island has an abundance of things to eat.
They're not going to die.
We got one!
So how do we eat this?
- Stick it. - Stick it?
No way. You do it, brother.
I only specialize in catching them.
You always make me do the dirty work!
Wait!
Fox cubs...
Let's give up on meat, and try fish.
So how are we supposed to catch fish?
We don't have any rods, line, or hook.
No food, no fire. No nothing.
Don't say that.
Aw, man!
What are you doing, brother--
Brother?
Sour!
Oh, I'm alive.
I'm alive because I ate the ants.
I'm alive because I eat life.
I'm alive...
- We're not going to die. - No!
Sorry about this.
Brother, just a little more.
We did it!
Tomorrow will be one month, huh?
Say, brother, have you found the answer to "One is all, all is one"?
I've been thinking about it all this time,
but I only have a vague idea about it.
I'm not sure about this,
but remember when I was weak from hunger and ate those ants?
- You did? - Yeah, I ate them.
They were sour as hell too.
But then, I thought, if I hadn't eaten them and died,
I'd be eaten by the ants, or the foxes.
I'd go back to the earth and become grass.
The rabbits would eat that.
- The food chain, right? - Yeah. And it's not just that.
Long ago, this whole island may have been at the bottom of the sea.
In tens of thousands of years, it might be the peak of a mountain.
All things are connected?
Everything is in the middle of a great, unseen flow.
I don't know if you'd call it the universe or the world, or whatever.
Looking at it as this huge thing, Al, you and I are like ants.
One small part within the flow.
Nothing more than one fraction of the whole.
But putting all the small "ones" together
allows the "all" to exist...
Today's the day.
Let's hear your answer to "One is all, all is one."
"All" is the world!
"One" is me!
Very well, let's move on to the main training.
All right!
The basis of the transmutation array is the power of the circle.
The circle denotes the circulation of power
and by drawing a structural matrix over it,
it becomes possible to invoke that power.
This is also the circulation of power.
GULP
It's best to experience it for yourself.
Now then, keep reviewing until lunch is ready.
Let's see, the circle denotes the circulation of power,
and by drawing a structural matrix over it,
it becomes possible to invoke that power.
But, Teacher, you just put your palms together to transmute, right?
Do you not have to draw a matrix?
I suppose I myself am like a matrix.
How do you do that?
Maybe you become able to do that when you arrive at the truth.
Teacher, you've seen the truth too.
So, what is it you wanted to ask me about?
Well...
Sure enough, you can transmute without a structural matrix.
On top of that, Alphonse is an empty suit of armor.
One of your legs and one of your arms are automail.
Teacher, how did you--?
I could tell that much from just sparring!
You saw it, didn't you?
- You saw it! - Yes!
Both master and apprentice are beyond hope.
Teacher, since you saw it...
The two of us just couldn't seem to have children, you see.
When we were finally able to have one, I ended up becoming ill.
Our child was unable to be born into this world alive.
Which is why...
I committed the taboo.
As a result, different parts were taken away from my insides.
I really am a complete idiot.
I should have told you sooner, huh?
It must have been painful for you.
No! I did it to myself, after all.
I wouldn't say it's been painful or anything like that.
On the contrary, I'm looking forward
to what I'm going to eat, and so on, once I get my body back!
- Right, brother? - Yeah!
That's right!
You imbecile.
You don't have to act so strong.
Forgive us...
- We're sorry... - Forgive us...
The flow of this world
follows laws so great, we can't even imagine them.
Learn that flow, decompose it, and reconstruct it.
That's what alchemy is.
It's also what living is.
The basis of alchemy, decomposition and reconstruction
is just like the food chain, huh?
When you eat a rabbit, you break down its flesh
and restructure it as a part of your body.
For that matter,
the rabbit has restructured the grass it eats into part of its body.
Alchemy is life itself.