We see a sign that reads: Auto Mail Rockbell Then, we see Pinako Rockbell standing on the porch of her house, a black and white dog with an Auto-mail left leg laying down next to her. Pinako is staring at the clouds. A little bit down the road, Ed, Al, and Armstrong walk down the road (well, Al being carried, heh). Armstrong notes how peaceful Risembool (Ed and Al's hometown) is. Ed smiles and says it's just countryside with nothing special. Al, looking around, says that it's been four years since they last saw the place. Ed is surprised that it's been that long. Armstrong is surprised too, and asks if they really didn't come back there in all that time. Ed tells him that even if they did return, they didn't have any family. Back at the house, the dog opens one of his eyes, and stands up, barking. Pinacko smiles, seeing who it is, and says that it's a rare guest. She calls upstairs to Winry. The dog runs to Ed and barks at him (in a friendly way), and we learn his name is Den. Ed then turns to Pinako, and asks if she can take care of them for a little while again. She laughs, and comments on how he's come back again with one arm (meaning, the last time he came over was when he first lost his arm, so many years ago). Ed chuckles at that. And then she says that he's still so small, comparing his height with Armstrong's. He begins to insult Pinako, calling her a hag, and she retorts with an insult of even smaller proportion, and back, and forth. Armstrong steps in and tells him that he shouldn't insult Pinako (and he also takes off his shirt...). Pinacko is kind of bewildered by Armstrong, and asks about him (and also says their insults are jokes). Armstrong introduces himself, and they shake hands. As this happens, a wrench comes flying out of nowhere and smashes Ed in the head, knocking him to the ground. Winry is standing on the second floor porch, looking annoyed. She's angry at him coming back in the state he's in. Now inside, Pinako and Winry get a chance to see the damage done to the brothers. Winry gasps. She can't believe the special, custom-made Auto-mail limb they made for Ed got obliterated. Ed apologizes. Winry then looks at Al and notes his damage, asking what were they up to. Meanwhile, Pinako is looking at Ed's legs. She notices that he's grown a little. So, they'll have to adjust his left leg and make him a whole new arm. Ed asks if they can do it in a week. Pinako takes a puff on her pipe, and tells him not to underestimate them. Three days. Al is happy, they want to get back to Central ASAP to look for something. Winry looks at him with a frown and whips out her wrench, telling him it better not be something dangerous. Ed tells her it isn't. Winry looks at him and sighs, and then walks off, muttering that they only cause trouble. Al notes that, despite her complaining, she puts a lot of effort into her work. Outside now, Ed steps onto the grass with a different left leg, this one white and plastic looking. He notes that Pinako's limbs are really good. Al looks around and sees that their town hasn't changed at all. Back inside, Winry and Pinako are preparing materials while Armstrong leans against the doorframe, looking outside. Pinako asks him about how the brothers are doing. They don't get any calls from them, and no letters. Armstrong tells them that the brothers, especially Ed, are rather famous in Central. Though, that causes them some problems, too. But they're ok, they're strong. Pinako smiles at that, and remembers that night long ago, when they tried to bring back their mother. Al, now in his armor body, holding a bloodied and injured Ed, asking her to help. And then to Ed getting his limbs attached. Back outside, Ed sighs and says he wants to get back to Central and continue on the trail for the Philosopher's Stone. Al tells him to relax for now, he won't once they get back. Ed says he can't, wiggling on the ground with Den doing the same next to him. Al then tells him to visit their mother's grave. Also outside, Armstrong chops firewood (ok, punches it, heh). He tells Pinako what he's doing, and she thanks him, but tells him that he can rest too. But Armstrong has to keep training, since he's a soldier. He then asks where Ed has gone to, and she tells him that he's visiting his mother's grave. Armstrong worries about him, but she tells him that he has a great guard with him. We see Ed walking down the road, holding some flowers, with Den by his side. They see two people working in a field, who call out to him, surprised to see him. They talk a bit, and they both remark on his height again. Back at the house, Al stares a young girl leading a cow. Winry approaches him with a box of stuff and calls to him. Al seems a little dazed and mentions the girl. Winry sees her and tells Al that it's Nelly, a girl they used to play with all the time when they were younger. Nelly waves at Winry, who does the same. Al couldn't remember her face, though. He seems a little worried. Winry says that that's ok, it's been a long while, and she's changed quite a bit. At the cemetary, Ed and Den stand in the setting sun-light, the flowers placed on Trisha's grave. Ed flashes back to the day she was buried, the day that he and Al started down this road. Den whines a little, and Ed is shaken out of his memories. He smiles at the dog and tells him that it's time to head home. That night, at the house, Winry is measuring Ed's right leg when she sees the silver chain at his hip (the chain for the silver watch). She asks if it is truly the watch, and Ed tells her it is. It helps amplify alchemy a little bit. But as he says this, Winry, with stars in her eyes, snatches it from his hand. She goes on to say what a great piece of work it is, and asks if it works by winding, or if it's automatic, and Ed tells her it's automatic, but he never uses it. Winry asks to look at it, but Ed tells her no, she'll just take it apart. She asks again, and promises that she'll put it back together like normal if he lets her. Ed tells her no again and to ask someone else. She looks back at Armstrong, who is rather shaken up, and mutters that he'll chop a year's worth of wood now. Winry glowers at him, calling them cheapskates. Upstairs in their room, Al sits on the bed, watching the stars. Ed enters the room and tells him the good news, that Pinako can reattach his limbs tomorrow, and then he can fix Al. Al is glad to hear it, though he sounds rather distant. Ed looks at him a bit worried. Al asks Ed if he had friends. Ed is a little surprised at the question. Al tells Ed that his memory is fuzzy, he can't remember the faces of their friends. Ed tells him that you get more memories as time passes, so logically your past memories would fade a bit. Al doesn't sound very convinced. Armstrong is looking in, too. Ed is quiet for a moment, and then tells Al that there's been something he wanted to ask him for a while now, but he's been too afraid to ask. However, Ed still can't bring himself to ask it. Before Al can push Ed to talk about it, Armstrong bursts in, breaking the door in the process. He tells them to look at the night sky, and how beautiful it is, and how they can see it so well, it's unlike the city. Ed and Al look, and Ed smiles, remembering how they used to stare at the night's sky when they were younger. The next day, Pinako and Winry prepare Ed to reattach his limbs. He complains about how he hates it when the nerves reconnect. He can't wait until he restores his body, and he can say goodbye to those limbs. Pinako tells him that it'll be a shame to lose a big money-spender like him. Winry tells him that he doesn't have to restore his body, and goes on to talk about Auto-mail (the smell of oil, the creak of gears, etc). Ed calls her a machine freak and she calls him an Alchemy freak, hitting him on the head, too. Finally, they reconnect Ed's limbs, and a good number of sparks can be seen. Ed grimaces in pain. Pinako tells Armstrong to get Al off the couch so they can put Ed there. At the table, Armstrong is surprised by how much pain the limbs cause when they reconnect. Pinako tells him that it's enough to cause a soldier to cry out in pain. Ed is on the couch, in pain, and Winry sits down next to him, asking how he's feeling. She tells him the changes they've made to his new limbs. The weight of the steel is 80% lighter, because they didn't want it affecting his growth. Ed tells her not to talk about his height when he's in pain. Winry knows that if he can talk like that, he's fine. Ed gets off the couch. Winry asks how the limbs feel, and Ed tells her they feel fine. Since the limbs are lighter, they aren't as durable, so he needs to be careful. He can replace Auto-mail, he can't replace life. Winry then sighs and says that it's been a while since she had to pull an all-nighter, and Ed thanks her. She smiles and tells him that they'll charge him extra for this. Outside, Al is sitting by some barrels. Ed calls to him and says he's as good as new, and ready to repair him. Al now sits on a few blankets, which also has a lot of metal shards, all pieces of Al's armor. Mustang and his men picked them up. Armstrong looks at Al and asks if he can really fix him. Ed can, but there's one little trick. Removing his helmet, Ed shows a transmutation circle on the inside of Al's "neck." (check out alchemy page). It mediates between the armor and Al's soul. Armstrong says it looks like blood, which it is. Ed's blood. Had Scar struck a little closer, Al would be in trouble. Ed claps his hands together and touches Al. The circle glows, and then Al floats a bit, the metal shards combining back with him to form his arm and leg once more. Al stands, back to normal (except for his loincloth, heh). They're prepared to do the usual. Armstrong asks what that is. Ed and Al hold mock battles, sparring with one another. Their teacher told them that to train the mind, they must first train the body. Ed's never won against Al once. Armstrong wants to help, but they won't let him. They start, throwing punches, blocking, and flipping. Armstrong watches. Winry glances through the door and tells him to be careful with the Auto-mail. She sighs and walks back inside. There, she sees Ed's pants with the watch. She realizes that Ed's not there to stop her, and prepares to open it, with a sly grin. Back outside, Ed tries his best, but Al grabs his leg and flings him into the air. Armstrong then joins in, tackling Al. Ed and Al team up against Armstrong. Back inside, having opened the watch, Winry stares in shock. Carved inside the watch are the words: Don't Forget 3.Oct.10 Ed and Al charge Armstrong again. Al locks hands with him and Ed slide-tackles him. Al flings Armstrong in the air. Armstrong lands, leaving a large crater, and chuckles as Ed and Al laugh and celebrate. Out back, Ed is taking a shower (with shorts on, mind you, heh) when Winry approaches, him, looking guilty. She shows him the watch and apologizes. Ed is angry, and tells her he hasn't even shown it to Al. She apologizes again. He thinks it's unmanly of him to carry something to show how determined he is. He has to remember that they have no more family and no place to return to. Winry begins to cry and asks him why. He does have a home! They have Pinako and Winry. Ed wonders why she has to cry. She says she's crying because they won't. Later that evening, as the sun sets once more, Winry looks out the window and asks Pinako about where Ed and Al are. She tells Winry that they'll be back soon, they just have to wait like they always do. Ed, Al, and Armstrong are standing at the burnt ruins of the Elric Brothers' old home. Al walks a bit, remembering that they used to put firewood there, and that Ed always found excuses to not do that chore. We see a little flashback to them as kids, Ed sticking his tongue out, and running, laughing. And how, when it was time to come back, their mother would flash a bright lamp from the second story window. They could see it anywhere, and they'd run back when they saw it. Armstrong tells them that they do have a home. A home where a warm family awaits them. They walk back to the house, and as they walk up the road, they see a lamp, blinking in a familiar way. Winry is sitting on the second story porch, with the lamp, blinking it, waiting for the brothers to return. The next day, they all stand out front, ready to leave. Pinako, Den, and Winry are with them, saying their goodbyes. Winry smiles and tells them to have a nice trip. As the brothers and Armstrong leave, Winry watches them, and speaks to Pinako. She saw inside Ed's watch...the date carved into it was the day they burnt their house and left.