Important Disclaimer:
This fan fiction was originally written by the author "MIRD". All the text except the Final Game and Epilouge were written by her and belongs to her alone. The purpose of this reupload is that MIRD decided to turn this into a crackfic and ruin a really fantastic story and as such I picked it up, edited it, and wrote the conclusion in the FINAL GAME and EPILOUGE. I also edited the chapter and gave them primary titles. Please understand the purpose of this fan fiction and I hope you enjoy the final product.
Sincerly
she-wolf vixen
FIRST GAME: CARING
It was dark. I didn't understand; it hadn't been dark before. Lonely, yes, but not dark.
Was I still alive? If so, why? The stone had been used, I was sure of that. The last thing I remember in the material world was stepping into that circle...
So I became a new philosopher's stone. My soul, along those of the remaining homunculi, had been compressed into that blood-red substance. It was extremely crowded in there, but I don't remember much of THAT.
But now I wasn't there any more. So obviously, the stone's power had been used up. But where was I?
I finally realized why it was so dark; my eyes were closed. I opened one eye nervously and found that I was lying down. I opened my other eye and stretched. Was it just me, or were my limbs a lot shorter than I remembered them?
I looked around and took it all in. I was in a store, surrounded by furry creatures. Cats.
I tried to stand, but couldn't. I felt...Rearranged. Like I wasn't in a body that was exactly human anymore.
I looked down at my hands- correction, paws.
It took a few moments for it to sink in. But it was true; I was a cat. A tiny, golden, cat.
I growled indignantly, but it sounded more like a meow. An indignant meow. Those two things don't really go together, but that's the way it is.
I didn't want to be a cat. But I tried to look on the bright side, like Al always did. I was alive; that was some strange and unusual twist of fate. Pure luck. And I had all four limbs; that hadn't happened for a while. It was kind of nice, except for the fact that I still had a limp in my back leg. Great. I finally get my limbs back, but I'm still a cripple. And now I'm a crippled CAT, of all things.
I was sitting in the corner brooding when the bell sounded. I looked up and saw none other than Colonel Mustang himself walk over to where the cats were kept and begin examining me and my little roommates.
Although I was happy to see that he wasn't much older than he had been before, (meaning I hadn't been reborn 100 years after I died, or any similar fate) I got a sudden feeling of loneliness. What if no one remembered me? What if they had forgotten about me? I looked up at Roy, hoping he would show some sign of recognition. Maybe if he bought me, I could see Al again. Maybe.
He tilted his head slightly as he looked at me, his brow wrinkled as if he was deep in thought.
Does he recognize me? I thought excitedly. I'll help the memories resurface...
"Meow!" I called. Hopefully he'd realize that there was a deeper meaning behind it. "Colonel bastard" didn't work with a cat's vocal chords. He blinked, a sad look in his eyes. I blinked back and smiled. (As much of a smile as I could manage using the mouth of a cat, anyways.)
Roy sighed and turned away, walking towards the counter. I glared indignantly at him. He began talking to the man that owned the store.
"...Yeah, I'd like to buy that cat. The gold one," Mustang said. My heart stopped; did he mean me?
"The one with the limp?" the shopkeeper asked. Mustang nodded. My eyes widened. Yes! Would I see Al again? Hopefully...
I felt the shopkeeper's hands wrap around me as he picked me up and handed me to Mustang. He walked out of the shop into a freezing snow storm. I shivered and closed my eyes against the wind. Mustang held me closer. I appreciated the extra warmth, although it felt a bit awkward.
The walk to his house was about half an hour long, although it felt like years. He closed the front door behind us as we entered and hung up his coat, placing me on the couch. He kneeled on the floor so we were at eye-to-eye level and stared at me.
He sighed. "You remind me so much of this kid I used to know." I nodded. "His name was Edward. He had gold eyes, which is unusual for a human. I don't know how it is for cats, but for humans there are only a few natural eye colors."
I nodded again, just to show that I was listening. I meowed.
"Another way you remind me of Edward is...Well, your size." Huh? I thought. What does he mean by that? "He wasn't exactly the tallest guy around, to say it one way."
I hissed at him. How dare he such things!
Roy blinked. "You react the same way as he did." He sighed. "You remind me so much of him, it hurts."
I tilted my head. He cares? He ACTUALLY cares?
Roy sighed again before continuing. "Anyways, I should probably find a place for you to sleep for tonight. Ignore the mess, if you can. You'll only have to deal with it for a few hours. I'm taking you to your real home tomorrow."
Real home? It had been a while since I had a real home. I wonder what it's like.
"Remember that kid I told you about earlier? Edward. See, he had a brother. His name was Al, and Ed would do pretty much anything for him...So you can imagine how Al felt when he died."
I tensed. Was Al okay?
"I think he'll like you. His fifteenth birthday is tomorrow."
My eyes widened. What perfect timing! I thought enthusiastically. I came back to life right before his birthday! I grinned.
Roy raised an eyebrow. "You sure show a lot of expression for a cat..." he said with a smirk.
"You have no idea..." I thought.
"Meow," I said.