Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 2 : The First Day
As Edward and Alphonse Elric travel by train to the town of Reole to investigate rumors of a miraculous prophet, they recall the events that set them on their way to their ultimate destination - the Philosopher's Stone. Ten years earlier, in their hometown of Resembool, they had discovered their remarkable talent for alchemy, much to the surprise and delight of their young mother. Unfortunately, she soon died of an epidemic that hit the village. Not knowing how to go on without her, and refusing to wait for the return of their estranged father, they decided to revive her with alchemy, despite the fact that human transmutation had always been forbidden. While relying on the support of their neighbor Pinako Rockbell and her orphaned granddaughter Winry, the boys honed their alchemical skills for several years until they deemed their knowledge sufficient to attempt the difficult experiment. However, the transmutation failed, resulting in Rebound. As a large eye opened in the middle of their human transmutation circle, the boys were deconstructed and consumed by the released energy. Edward finds himself transported to a strange, white void equipped only with a large stone gate and inhabited by a mysterious, white, shadowy figure who refers to himself as "Truth", "God", "All", "One", and as Edward. alone. Taunted by this strange being, Edward was forced to enter the Gate where an unimaginable amount of information about alchemy and the world was painfully injected directly into his mind as his body began to completely deconstruct. However, when he emerged from the Gate, he gained a somewhat deeper understanding of alchemy's abilities and limits, but was then informed that in order to gain more, he would have to pay even more than he already had. As Edward tried to understand what "Truth" meant, he realized that his left leg had been removed from his body - deconstructed and reconstructed as part of the mysterious Truth. Forced back to reality, Edward bled out in agony from his severed limb and realized that Alphonse hadn't returned at all - his entire body had been pulled into the void. As Edward looked into the center of the circle, hoping his mother's presence would save his physical and emotional wounds, he discovered that the newly created being was not even human and had died shortly after showing signs of life. Left alone again, Edward quickly bandaged his wounds and hastily performed the transmutation he hoped would bring his brother back to him, drawing a Blood Rune on the empty old set of armor. As he begged Truth to return his brother to him, even at the cost of his own heart, Edward clapped his hands and began the transmutation without the use of the circle.
In the present day, as Colonel Roy Mustang prepares to return to his jurisdiction in East City, he meets with Lt. Col. Maes Hughes in the present day at Central Command, who gives him the final report on the Isaac McDougal incident - a report that states the Alchemist's Freezing powers involving Alkahestra , a mysterious art from the Eastern Xing Nation. On the way out of the Mustang, Maes asks Roy why he made Edward the state alchemist, knowing that a position in the military would inevitably lead him down a dark and hellish path. But as Roy notes to himself that these boys have already been through hell, he recalls the events that led him to the boy who would be known as the "full metal alchemist".
Four years earlier, Lt. Col. Mustang arrived in Resembool with 2nd Lt. Riza Hawkeye to investigate some potential recruits for the State Alchemist program and discovered the gruesome, blood-stained remains of what was undoubtedly the Circle of Human Transmutation in Elric's home. Furious, he sets out to find the culprit and finds young Edward Elric - crippled by the loss of a leg and crippled by the loss of his right arm - at their neighbor's house. While he had originally come to condemn the young alchemist, his discovery that his brother Alphonse had survived the experiment as a soul bound to steel armor changed his demeanor to one of amazement. Mustang sat down with the Elrics and Pinako Rockbell and explained that Edward's skills would be more than enough to qualify him for the State Alchemist program, where upon enrollment he would have the resources to lead him to discover a method of restoration. his and his brother's bodies back to normal. Pinako countered, noting that she had seen and buried the inhuman monster the boys had alchemized, chastising Mustang for trying to drag them back into such nightmares. Outside, a young Winry Rockbell was talking to Riza and mentioned that the soldiers had taken her parents away from her and were now trying to take Ed and Al. However, Riza replied that the choice to stay or go was left solely to the Elric brothers and that no one would force them to act. When asked by Winry why she became a soldier, 2nd Lt. she replied that she did it to protect someone. As Mustang and Hawkeye parted, Riza commented that Edward's eyes looked so full of defeat, but Roy replied that he saw fire in those eyes.
On the train, in the present, Edward remembers the day he decided to undergo surgery to install his Automail limbs so he could move forward as Mustang suggested. When Edward asked how long the rehabilitation process would take, he responded to Pinak's answer of "three years" by stating that it would only take him one. A year later, after completing the process, Edward revealed to Alphonse that he had gained the ability to transmute without a circle, just like their teacher. But when Ed asked Al if he could do the same, due to his own stay in the Gate, the younger Elric replied in the negative, looking like he didn't even know what "Gate" his brother was talking about. Shortly thereafter, Edward ventured to Central City to undergo a certification test personally attended by the Führer, King Bradley. After demonstrating his skill and nerve by staging a fake attack on the Führer, Edward was certified as a state alchemist and given the symbolic sobriquet "Fullmetal Alchemist".
As dawn breaks in the present, the Elric train arrives at Reola, where Edward hopes their journey will end—with the Philosopher's Stone.
