A/N: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. I also don't own the concepts of alchemy, and alchemists.

River climbed out of the makeshift elevator. Her bare feet brushed up against leaves and soil; they hadn't been given shoes at the prison, only a shirt, trousers, and underclothes. She looked up and her heart sank. There was a clean line of unmarred stone going all the way up the mountain, as far as she could see. With her current knowledge, she could never make the cliff look like it was.

Shouts could be heard in the distance. It was inevitable. With the noise River's group made descending the mountain, it was a wonder they hadn't been spotted already. A bullet hit the stone next to her, barely missing her and Havilland, whose wrist had been bound in an impromptu splint during their descent.

"9 mm handgun. Close range. Alexandrian make-" Robert hawker began, but River interrupted her.

"Run!" Driven by fear, River ran like hell.

-o-0-o-

Milana Messerschmitt took a deep breath. She'd become acquainted with this strange group of people. Apparently, they operated on a strange principle of "Equivalent Exchange". Well, it seems to be an alchemized version of treating people the way you want to be treated, or capitalism, or, well… I don't really know how to describe it. Since she'd learned some of their stories, they thought it was only natural for her to share hers. Besides, that blond lady named Hawkeye (who looked immensely like Robert Hawker) seemed to have immense skill with the two pistols concealed in her dress. Also, the woman named Izumi Curtis scared the crap out of Milana. She didn't know why.

"So, what's your name?" The guy called Mustang asked. He was in the military, and a pretty high position, too.

"Milana. Milana Messerschmitt."

"That's a strange name." The blond brother, Edward, said. He wore his braid like she wore hers.

"Really?" Milana asked. "Because Mr. Flame Guy shares his surname with a type of horse."

It was Edward's turn to snort. "Hmm. I have a new insult."

"How did you end up coming through that portal?" Alphonse, the other brother, asked.

"Erm, I was forced through it." Milana gritted her teeth.

Mustang's eyes widened a fraction at this. "Why?"

"It was because I was convicted of "fraternizing with the public enemy", alchemists, so I was captured. Then used as an experiment."

-o-0-o-

River ran. And ran. And ran. She did not know how far, or how long. Bullets still pinged past her. She'd been shot twice already. Another bullet hit her. She saw the rest of her team ahead, hiding in a ditch next to a field of wheat. She wheezed. She turned left, away from them, hoping to draw her attackers away. It was too late. Something blew up and she knew there was no hope. She did not have time to scream as another bullet pierced her heart. She'd escaped death once, but she couldn't do it twice. A lifeless body thudded on a dusty dirt road.