Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.

The man let go of me, and I fell to the ground, my blood staining the snow. I gasped for air, with my oxygen supply being cut off. I was dying. I knew it. My body was starting to go numb, and my consciousness was slipping.
I don't know when, but the guys eventually left, and I was still fighting to stay awake, my eyes cracked open ever so slightly.
I laid in the snow, the cold biting at my face. I couldn't scream, I couldn't move. I could just fight to stay awake as the rest of my body laid there motionlessly.
My windpipe had been damaged, but not the vein that lead to my heart. That means, it would take much longer for me to die, and die of suffocation, which tortured me a lot more.
With my consciousness slipping, my eyes closed, and I drifted off into a rest, just as I had heard small voices, but they faded off as I sank into the darkness of unconsciousness, certain I would never be able to wake up again.

"This brat..." I heard someone mutter. Wait... I HEARD SOMEONE?! Wasn't I supposed to be dead? Was I in heaven?
I cracked my eyes open, squinting in the light that and from a window. Wearily, I sat up, blinking stupidly.
"Finally, you're awake." I heard a voice that I recognized as Kimblee say. I looked over at him in surprise, only to find we were sharing a hospital bed, and I had my own narrow bed a few feet apart from Kimblee's. On my other side, I noticed an evil-looking gold-toothed doctor guy, and a shiny red stone glinted in his hands. I was tempted to grab it from him, but I resisted. Well, if these guys are here, I most certainly am not in heaven.
"I'm alive...?" I gasped as I heard my own voice. It sounded like a grown woman's, and nothing like mine. In alarm, I brought my arms up and looked at them, only to ascertain that I was really in my own body.
"Yes, you're alive, after nearly getting yourself killed!" I winced at the irritation in Kimblee's voice. I sighed, but something was set down on my lap.
My suitcase and the two bags of stuff I had bought rested on my lap, and I looked over at the doctor who had given them back to me.
"Major La'va, isn't it about time you went up to the Briggs fortress?" I heard a voice say. A chill ran down my spine as I looked over to see General Raven standing next to the evil-looking doctor.
"Is it alright? Won't people find it weird," I started, but was cut off by Kimblee.
"We need to keep a schedule. Just cover your neck and you'll be fine." He said. I sighed, sliding out from under the covers of my bed, only to find I had been changed into a short hospital dress.
"Hate these damn things.." I muttered as I walked to the bathroom with my stuff, locking the door behind me.
"As soon as I wake up, they order me around, the douchebags..." I cursed as I stripped and quickly picked out some clothes. I put on fresh undergarments along with my military uniform, which I found cleaned and folded in one of my bags. I stared at myself in the mirror, before deciding to wrap a maroon scarf around my neck.
I sighed, looking at myself. I have to look tough in front of the Briggs soldiers, I thought, what could make me look stronger? After much debating and hesitation, I searched through my suitcase to take out a few hairpins, which I used to pin up my bangs and reveal my scarred eye. Better, I decided.
At least I won't get picked on.

"Solf J. Kimblee?" General Armstrong said. I nodded.
I had reached the Briggs fortress, and was currently meeting with General Armstrong, her Ishvalan adjutant, and another very large and muscular officer.
"He was seriously wounded on a cargo train headed here, and was admitted into a hospital at the base of the mountain. Full cooperation of the Briggs branch is requested." I said, repeating the things General Raven told me to say.
"Wasnt the Crimson Alchemist supposed to be serving time?" General Armstrong asked.
"He was released on the Fuhrer's orders." I informed her, standing formally with my hands clasped behind my back.
I could see she was uncertain about my statement.
"I don't like this." She muttered. Just then, the air filled with the sound of alarms, startling us all. They were probably startled for a different reason, while I, on the other hand, had been thoroughly shocked.
I was going to meet Sloth.
"What is it?!" General Armstrong asked one of the men that manned the radio and other transmissions. He turned back to her with a surprised look on his face.
"We have an intruder, from under the ground!" He said. General Armstrong was clearly taken by surprise. I mean, this was Briggs, after all.

Everyone was rushing around, so I chose to follow General Armstrong.
We now stood at the top of the stairway of a giant store-room like place, and non-combatants were stacking up boxes in order to block off Sloth, who was currently traveling up the lift to this floor.
Armstrong was currently holding a giant missile canon, which I was surprised she was able to hold because it looked so heavy. None the less, it was AWESOME!
As soon as Sloth appeared, my eyes widened in shock. Okay, I had expected Sloth to be big, but he was freaking GIANT! Last time I checked, homunculus meant "little human"... LITTLE HUMAN MY ASS! I shivered, but I was actually lucky, because from my estimations, Sloth was reasonably mentally retarded, and probably didn't know about me. Now that I thought of it, none of the homunculi knew about my change in appearance, so I was safe.
I watched silently as Armstrong shot Sloth with the missile, only to have the smoke cloud dissipate to reveal Sloth had been uninjured.
"I know I hit it." I heard Armstrong murmur to herself as she stared at Sloth, who slowly advanced forward.
"Boss! It's no use! Firearms won't work against him!" The big, muscular man that I had seen earlier, Buccaneer, shouted up to Armstrong. She turned to her Ishvalen adjutant.
"All the non-combatants must retreat!" She said, and started walking down the stairs, with the Ishvalan and I following.
I marveled at the tanks, how the metal glinted in the light. They must be über-powerful, I mused, but, sadly, they do not stand a chance against Sloth.
I watched admiringly as the tanks fired their missiles, and even though it was no use against Sloth, they would probably be incredibly destructive otherwise.
So, when they finally realized it wasn't working, I was waiting for Armstrong to come up with her brilliant idea to freeze Sloth. But the longer I waited, the more anxious I became, and so, before I knew it, I had decided to just tell Armstrong.
"GENERAL!" I shouted over all the chaos. Armstrong watched me as I jogged up to the tank she was on. Her look may have been scary, but I ignored it, because frankly, my mom gave me even scarier looks.
"What is it?" She snapped. I fought the urge to scoff at her insensitivity, especially when I was trying to help her, so I also ignored that.
"Douse him in fuel and kick him outside! Even if he won't die, he has a body structure similar to a humans, so freezing him will still shut down his functions at least until spring!" I said, making Armstrong raise her eye brows at me. I guess she didn't expect me to be smart. Oh well, I'm a smartass, whatchya gonna do?
While Armstrong was issuing orders to do as I directed, I saw them. The Elric brothers, racing in to save some gush that were going to be crushed by a big heavy metal drawer that Sloth tossed out of his way.
My heart wrenched violently, but this time, I made it without bursting into tears. I tore myself away from the sight of them, turning back to Armstrong and offering my own help. And so, I went with Buccaneer to get some fuel to douse Sloth.
Now that I look at it, working with Briggs men to defeat Sloth was fun. Getting to pour gasoline on Sloth, getting to usher him through the fort. It was nice to see how determined everyone was, how set they were on removing Sloth and how good they all worked together. And even better, I felt a part of that team. It was kinda nice.
Currently, I was staring down at the frozen Sloth along with Armstrong and two other people who I refused to look at.
"You can hibernate there until spring, you big lummox." Armstrong said, staring down at Sloth. Armstrong caught my gaze and nodded slightly in acknowledgement, which I returned full heartedly.
She turned to her other side, looking at the two who I refused to sneak a peek of.
"Buccaneer!" Armstrong commanded strictly, "Take those two away!"
"Yes sir!" Buccaneer quickly obeyed as the two people yelled out in protest. I cringed at the sound of their voices.
"J-J-Just a minute! Why? W-We helped you!" At the sound of Edward's voice, my fists clenched as I tried to hold in tears.
"You were forced to help. That works better for you, doesn't it?" Armstrong said as Buccaneer and another soldier dragged Ed and Alphonse away. "I'm not letting you go until you explain to me what that monster is, so bear that in mind." I didn't even turn around as Ed and Al were dragged away.
My emotions were chaotic. I was heartbroken by seeing Al and Ed again and inconspicuously helping them take care of Sloth, but I was also shocked that even though I saw them glance at me once or twice, they didn't recognize me. Well, considering the amount of time we had been apart, I shouldn't be surprised. Last time they saw me, I was a scarless girl with somewhat long jagged brown hair. My voice, hair, and body changed, so I shouldn't be surprised.
And, as much as it hurt me, I decided that I was going to pretend to be someone else. I would not mention my state name, I would not mention my real name, and maybe I could get by. As much as it hurt me, I understood what I had to do. I had to befriend the Elric brothers while concealing my identity so they wouldn't notice. I would have to talk, laugh, and joke with them, no matter how much it hurt me.
But I was set on this.
I sighed, taking out my hair pin and re-pinning my side bangs up to reveal my blind eye. I turned around to see Armstrong standing in front of me in all her regal glory.
"What is you name?" She asked. I unclenched my fists and smiled.
"You can call me Mary." I said, and she nodded. I saluted her, then bowing slightly to Armstrong.
"Nice to meet you, General Armstrong." I said, continuing to smile. It wasn't a fake smile, nor a real one. It was uncertain.
For one of the first times in my life, I chose the difficult path. But hopefully I could save my friends in the long run.

Hey guys! UGH! So busy this week, with all the schoolwork and extra credit... GRADES ARE COMING OUT ON FRIDAY OH NO! Gotta hurry up and catch up with work before its too late!
So, this is my way of procrastinating... I'll get around to studying eventually. But, anyway, how's the story?
Heh... See what I did there? Her name is Lynette, and she want to be called Mary? Mary? Lynette? You see it? YAY~ CLEVER AUTHOR WOMAN~
Anyway, I was planning on having them make up instantly, but where's the fun in that? They're probably going to make up within the next five chapters, and from what I'm planning, it'll be spectacularly dramatic~
Okay, small hint. *Cough* *Cough* Romance *COUGH* Up ahead *COUGH COUGH COUGH*!
But you didn't hear anything from me~ ;)
My lovely readers, please review~
Thanks!