A/N: I don't own any Fullmetal Alchemist characters. I also don't own the concept of a transmutation circle, or alchemical symbols. Now to the storyand beyond!

They'd show them just how wrong they were. As the officers' footsteps faded into the distance, River scanned the slope for possible pathways down.

"Where are we going to go?" Junkers whispered.

"Let's get down this mountain first." River replied. Boy, was it going to be hard. They had almost no light now, due to the wall blocking the newfangled electric light. Even though it was a full moon, it was also cloudy. Damn those Altostratus clouds.

"I see a path. Between the big, round rock and the small tree." Robert Hawker whispered.

"Where?" Tacey Junkers whispered back.

"There, it's on that big cliff face there…"

River stopped listening. She had found a patch of light on a piece of rock jutting out from the cliff face. A little alchemy couldn't hurt, could it? She found a smaller, softer rock and began quietly scratching a circle. It had to be efficient, because an inefficient circle produces more electricity and light. She didn't want to be seen.

She drew several alternating squares and a triangle in the middle, She drew a line through the triangle. The symbol for Earth. Then she drew a smaller circle with the alchemical symbol for rock inside. Crude, but usable. A dim, red glow emanated from the circle and cracks in the surrounding rock as her improvised platform slowly slid downwards with a creak. Everybody turned around. Seeing as she was smiling slightly, some of her team gave her quizzical looks. She formed the rock jutting out into a more stable braced cantilever, so it would support their weight.

"Get on!" She whispered, motioning with her head for them to get on. She also made walls for their impromptu elevator, so nobody would fall out. With a grinding noise, the party headed downwards.

-o-0-o-

The golden-haired girl grit her teeth and looked up at them, fire in her eyes. Mustang sucked in a breath. It was uncanny how this girl looked almost exactly like Edward. Same hair, same eyes, Heck, he wouldn't be surprised if she had a short complex, too!

"Where am I?"

"Amestris."The reply was out of his mouth before he could react. He could see Hawkeye's eyes darting from Edward, who was still staring at the ceiling, to the girl, who was now sitting on the table beside the pie, still holding her sister's hand.

"Amestris?" The girl questioned, a little bit of disbelief in her voice. "Where's that? I was a cream of the crop student in geography and I've never heard of it. She frowned.

"Amestris. South of Drachma, east of Creta, north of Aerugo, and west of Xing past the Great Desert."

"Great Desert? You mean the Sharara? That's the biggest, driest desert I know of. It extends from coast to coast," The girl definitely sounded like Elric. "unless you mean Belgien, the so-called Dessert Capital of Alexandria?" It was a wonder she could be so sassy when she still had a tear track on her face.

"Uh-" Before Mustang could speak, the girl continued.

"I've never heard of any of these places. There are only so many deserts on Sklavia, you know. Although, Drachma sounds Rossiyan. But no, where am I? By golly, it's just a question!"

Ed looked at the girl. "You're in a different world," he said coldly. "You see that rectangle and all the marks in there, that is a portal. I think. Which means you're not going back anytime soon."