White consumed her vision, crushing her with anxiety. Boiling blood raced through her veins, shaking her agonized form. Every time she tried to stand, unstable legs would pull her back to the ground. There was an itchy sensation under her nails that she couldn't relieve no matter how hard she tried. All her teeth hurt - especially her canines.
Her breathing was ragged as she tried to remember how she had gotten here. Walking with someone. A flash of lightning. Screaming. Then nothing.
She glanced around, hoping to spot whoever that other person had been. Fear raced through her as she realized she was alone. That person had been important to her somehow. Now, there was no trace of them.
'Don't worry. You'll see her eventually.' A strange voice echoed around her.
Then a white figure outlined in waving black shadows faded into place before her. He was sitting casually, arm draped over a knee with a smile on his face.
"Who are you? Why can't I remember anything?" Her voice was raspy from lack of use. Hadn't she just been talking to someone though?
Brown curls danced in her peripheral vision. Only then did she notice them slowly growing and bleeding into a snowy white. Panic began to overwhelm her as a realization dawned on her.
She was changing.
Into what, she couldn't tell yet. But if the power washing through her was anything to go by, it wasn't human.
"Why are you doing this to me? Where is the one I was walking with?" This time her questions were delivered with more anger. This being seemed to find pleasure in her confusion.
Finally, he chuckled before smiling. 'I am known as Truth. You're here to change things up a bit.'
Her ire faded, genuine curiosity getting the better of her. "What do you mean?"
'You'll see in time. Your memories should return once you awaken on the other side.' Other side? Of what? Her confusion only grew with each passing second.
The sound of metal doors opening sounded behind her and she turned in shock. It had appeared while she was distracted by Truth's confusing words.
'Now it's time to take the stage, and spice up the story.'
With that last sentence, she was grabbed by hundreds of tiny, black hands and pulled into the void.
"Ugh." She groaned in pain, slowly lifting her head. It was pounding with all the memories that had come rushing back and the knowledge that damned Gate had pushed into it. The roaring voice in the back of her mind didn't help either.
Looking at the sight before her, she gasped.
A waxing crescent hung in the sky, gently shining down on her. Clouds were scattered across the starry night, darkening it even more. Snow covered everything, from the mountain peak she sat a few meters down from, to the plain that extended from the valley below. Despite the darkness, she could see everything clearly as though it were still daytime.
As curiosity overwhelmed her, she rose to her feet. Only then did she realize that her feet were paws and that she was on all fours. Quickly spotting pools of ice scattered here and there, she ran to the nearest one.
There, staring back from her reflection, was an unnaturally large, white wolf pup with teal eyes. They widened in slight shock. Of all the things he could've changed her into, it had to be this! Her species didn't even belong to the natural order of this world!
She had no markings of any kind which she silently thanked Truth for. They would've given away her new nature and made her a target for scientists.
'It is best you try to regain human form.' She jumped at the voice before recognizing what it was. It confirmed her suspicions about the transformation.
Taking a deep breath, the pup closed her eyes and focused on the energy lying dormant within her. It flared with a wild storm of white, engulfing her in its tempest. She tried to imagine her human appearance as the rush of power morphed her form to stand tall on two legs.
The white power receded but she was afraid to look.
Finally, she took a chance. What she saw shocked her again.
Thankfully, she was still wearing the outfit from her most recent memory of the other side. A soft blue-to-white ombre top with a choker sewn into it and a v-neckline cut-out that stopped just past her cleavage. The black frills of her skirt gently hugged her hips, hanging just below her knees. Finally, short white ankle boots added a couple inches to her five-foot-six height.
The fur of her tail brushed the bends of her arms, drawing her attention. She traced it with curious eyes to where it protruded from the small of her back. Fascinated by the mass, she tried moving it. It wrapped around her waist and she silently cheered in success.
Her skin was still the same shade of tan it had been before crossing. But what were once teal pools of shock had darkened to fuchsia; both replacing her once dark chocolate orbs. Her shoulder-length brown curls were now snow white waves that cascaded down to her new tail. Raking her hands through it, she sighed in bliss at the softness of them. If only her normal hair had been this domesticated.
Then a thought crossed her mind and she cursed Truth for doing this.
It was bad enough that he'd taken her humanity, but now he had condemned her to the harsh racism this country was known for; the very ignorance that caused heavy tensions and triggered a civil war in this world and many more in her own.
She sighed before turning from the ice pool. Only then did she realize that she wasn't cold. Considering her outfit, she should be, but it didn't bother her.
Looking around again, she realized with a start there was no sign of human life. Based on her geographical surroundings, this was where Fort Briggs would one day stand.
This is going to be a long wait.
With a swish of blizzard winds, the wolf slowly ascended to build a home in the mountainside.
Many long centuries came and left as she watched three times as many civilizations rise and fall. It was a never-ending cycle of life and death usually surrounded by a war of some kind.
Occasionally, she would descend from her mountain home to assess the growth of humanity and determine if it was time to act. She would mingle with a few people, reacquaint herself with the languages every now and then.
From the cobblestone roads and more apartment-like buildings starting to appear, she deemed it to be in the next few decades. In realizing this, she placed a barrier around her home to keep it hidden. She returned to humanity as an adolescent wolf.
Despite the centuries she'd lived through, by her new, no, by her kind's standards, she was still young. It was almost overwhelming how her perception of time had changed, but spending the next few decades among humanity would change that.
So she wandered. Her powers had taken some getting used to - going from human to this was certainly inconvenient. But now she could control her size as well as her how prominent her beast was.
Every now and then, she would settle with a family and become their pet. It was a little demeaning, but in the end, she found it enjoyable and well worth the minor humiliations. When they passed or their children left to pursue their own paths, she too would leave.
Finally, when she reached the desert towns of Ishval, she walked among them as human. She used her hair to hide her pointed ears and didn't smile much because of her fangs. To them, she was a young girl who had fallen and tragically lost her memories. So they taught her everything.
It wasn't long before she was maintaining two personas at once. The poor girl who'd suffered amnesia but was eager to "relearn" everything about her heritage, and the girl who had lost her humanity and wished to get it back.
About seventeen years after they'd taken her in, Ishval assimilated with Amestris. Of course, it was only a meager two years later that civil war broke out.
The girl had wanted so desperately to stop the wretched homunculus from shooting that innocent child. But she had been distracted by her readings, learning about alchemy and alkahestry. She mourned with the girl's family as they'd been her hosts but knew it was for the best.
If she were to change this, nothing in the near future would happen. Her plans to change some of the outcomes were slowly being put in motion. Soon, it would be time to leave.
One night a few years later, as the battles raged on, the white-haired girl turned back into a wolf and left in the night. She would become a pet once more, but this time, she had a purpose. Hopefully, it would be enough.
Twin rubies flickered open as a woman awoke in the sands near Liore. She held a hand to her head, memories of the Gate and the person she'd been walking with flooding her mind. Whatever that thing was, it had taken something from her. What that was, she wasn't sure yet.
All she knew was that her best friend was somewhere in this world most likely suffering more than she was.
Glancing around, she discovered that she was in a desert. Screaming and yelling topped with the scent of blood and death a few miles out made her cringe. Definitely not going that way. She stood, tilting her head up a little to take in more of her surroundings. Then she froze. Wait...what?
Realizing what she just did made her cringe. She only knew of one thing that tilted their head to scent the air and listen for life. Her eye twitched in aggravation. That damned creature or god or whatever had taken half her humanity!
Now that she thought about it, the dark-skinned girl faintly recognized the figure from her best friend's favorite anime and she groaned. They'd been taken together but got separated somehow.
The girl paused again. That's right. This world has a law called Equivalent Exchange...
If half of her humanity had been taken, what did it take from her best friend? That writer knew a lot more about this world than she did. Maybe that's why only half was taken. If that was true-.
"Ugh. I hate this!" This whole Equivalent Exchange thing was giving her a headache. Brushing that aside, the half-human girl refocused on the task at hand. She would have to find her friend somehow. Given the basic she knew, crap would hit the fan sometime soon.
'Go mix things up a little.' That supposed God had told her to change things, but her friend came first. Praying for the writer's safety, she set off.
The petite girl briefly noted the heat didn't bother her at all. Glancing down as she ran, twin rubies found her outfit was the same from her last memory.
The skin-tight, navy blue fabric of her dress hugged her dark curves. The v-shaped neckline dipping just past her cleavage. Black boots rose to mid-calf with silver, stick heels boosting her five inches.
A mischievous glint entered her eyes when she remembered the reason for her outfit. She sighed. They definitely weren't getting there anytime soon.
Turning her thoughts back to her friend, she decided to avoid trains - and crowds altogether. The last thing she needed was a panicking group of people. Especially with her new senses.
Just thinking about it made her wince.
Then she remembered the last thing she'd seen of this world before getting sucked into it. A small fang peeked out of her smirking lips as she decided to find Dublith.
"Yay! Daddy look! Princess has ribbons now!" The toddler was truly precious but sometimes she went a bit too far.
A dark-haired man glanced up from his paperwork and gave the white wolf a pitying look. She had an innumerable amount of various colored ribbons tied into her fur. With a chuckle, he put his papers on the table and pat his daughter on the head.
"She looks beautiful sweetie." The little girl beamed and ran off as her mother called for bedtime. The man turned his green eyes back to the irritated wolf and chuckled again. "Princess," teal eyes looked up at him, "come here."
She complied and internally sighed in relief as the man slowly started to remove the ribbons.
"Elicia means well, she's just excited to have a pet." Teal eyes met green covered by square glasses in understanding. The girl was still young so it was expected. Even after all this time, having rough hands in her fur still irked the poor wolf to no end.
She rumbled a growl of content, laying her head in his lap as he continued.
The man before her had recently returned from the War of Execution and often suffered from PTSD induced nightmares. She often found him in the kitchen with a cup of coffee. He never said anything about her always being awake when he was there, but the silent comfort he took in her presence was enough.
She'd been in Dublith for a few years now. It had been difficult to find this place while keeping her panther ears hidden. Traveling at night was easier because her dark skin and hair helped her blend in. Staying out of sight during the day was a pain though.
Upon first arriving, a group of thugs had tried to kidnap her. They learned quickly not to mess with her as she clawed their eyes out and broke their ribs. Really. They should've known better than to attack a panther.
That was how Martel found her.
A few of the wilder regulars laying in their own blood with her shaking her hands in disgust. If they weren't so disgusting, the panther would revel in licking her victims' blood. But the vulgarity ran in their veins and it was too repulsive for her to stomach.
"Ah, there goes a few of our regulars." The snake chimera sighed before turning her attention back to the woman who'd killed them. "Oi!"
Red eyes met green with indifference as the dark woman paused. "They were going to rape me, so I defended myself. Not my fault they challenged a panther."
Then the woman tilted her head slightly. Her eyes widened as she slowly walked toward the chimera woman. Memories of who the woman was made her smile.
Martel for her part was unnerved. This woman was obviously dangerous; maybe even as dangerous as Greed. Her hand carefully inched toward the dagger sheathed on her shoulder but her wrist was caught in a strong clawed hand.
"I won't do anything if you don't," the panther's eyes flashed yellow with anger, "okay?"
The ex-soldier nodded warily.
Before the woman could ask another question, Greed peeked out. "Martel, did you find out what that racket was?"
When he noticed the woman holding Martel's wrist, he smirked. Sauntering over he cracked his usual cocky grin. The homunculus was a bit put off by the woman's lack of response but he continued anyway.
"Who's this? What's a pretty thing like you doing out here?" Only then did he noticed her blood-soaked claws. "So you're the one who killed these guys."
"Yeah." Greed smirked. He asked her to come inside. With a bit of sweet talking, he convinced her to stay with him.
Even after all these years, the avaricious homunculus hadn't figured out why his charms didn't work on her. The fool didn't realize she wasn't attracted to men.
The panther sighed. Despite that, everyone had been kind to her. When they told her their stories - how they'd been turned into chimera - the petite girl had reluctantly shared her story.
To say they were surprised was an understatement. Everyone had pretty much the same reaction, but Greed had gone silent. There was a malicious smirk on his face and she knew he was planning something.
"Hey, Hazuki." Rubies caught him with a scrutinizing gaze. "Why don't you help me take over the world?"
Hazuki snorted. "Yeah, no. I need to find Kendra."
"Right." He seemed to deflate for a moment before brightening again. "Once we find her you'll help me then."
It wasn't a question. The young panther just rolled her eyes and nodded. No point in trying to argue. He'd be dead in the next few years anyway; along with everyone in this room.
Gracia and Elicia were out shopping, their furry friend trailing close behind. The young girl would be turning three later this year. Which meant the Hughes' family would soon meet the Elric brothers.
"Princess!" Elicia was smiling happily with a pink collar in her little hands. "I found this for you!"
Oh, boy. Well, it's not the first time. The snowy wolf sat down and waited. Once the buckle was snuggly in place, she wagged her tail slightly.
Despite living with so many human families before, she had never felt a bond like this. Finally, after all these years, she could truly say she had found a pack on this side of the Gate. It would take a little work, but she would keep her pack whole.
Spring slowly turned to summer and Hazuki came to a realization. She didn't want anyone in the Devil's Nest to die.
They'd taken great care of her since she arrived, becoming a kind of family that made her miss Kendra. She knew if the brunette were here, she'd encourage the plan forming in the panther's mind. They were sent here to change things after all.
Almost everything was ready. All she needed now was to wait for the armored soul to be brought here. It would be difficult, but she wasn't about to back down from a challenge.
That was one of the things she and Kendra had in common. Taking on a challenge full force.
Hazuki smirked.
Once she ensured everyone's safety, her claws would be dipping into the conspiracy behind the scenes. Knowing her friend, doing so would eventually lead them together.
It was only a matter of time now.