"Fullmetal...I have a message for you."

I glared up at the cloaked boy in front of me. He was small; no older than me. Long, golden brown hair, light green eyes. Two streaks of color ran down either pale, filthy cheek. Between each finger, he wielded a stone dagger. The sun gleamed ominously off of the small, pointed blades.

"The hell do you want?" I asked angrily, struggling under his weight. I sighed and gave up, slupping down on the bloodstained grass and glaring once more at the boy's leather boot, which currently pinning me down by my chest. Damn, how did this even happen?

"The Flames once meant to save our Clan shall be doused by a fellow blaze, and only the one with the Metal Wing can end the sea of Blood."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I demanded, growing frantic as he selected a dagger from his right
hand and clenched it between his teeth. I'd met my fair share of philosophers in my time, but this was ridiculous! What was that, a warning? A threat?

A prophecy...

He then turned away from me and looked over at Alphonse. A wave of panic washed over me, and I cried out.

"Don't you dare hurt Al!"

The boy ignored me.

"I rather dislike shoes, you know." he stated suddenly around a mouthful of stone. "They hurt, and they're heavy. I do wish you'd stop squirming, so that I might take mine off..."

"When hell freezes over." I spat. He was toying with me...prolonging the inevitable. I hated it. He had power, and he made sure I knew it. He was mocking me, and I couldn't stop him.

The boy shrugged like he didn't care.

"Stop fighting me, though. Honestly, perhaps a silent assassination would have better suited you...you're tough and persistent. I'm not very good at fighting or killing. Well, we can't all do what we're good at." And with that, he turned around, the sharpest of his knives clenched in his jaw, and drove the tip of the blade into Al's blood ruin.

Time froze in my eyes.

"Al!" I shouted, jerking against our attacker's boot. He forced his weight down onto my chest, and if he hadn't been so scrawny, I was sure my ribs would've cracked.

"Edward!" Al cried out, as though he was in pain, but I knew he couldn't feel any such thing. The life slowly drained from his metal body, and all I could do was watch as the boy pulled out the dagger, shattering the one thing that kept my baby brother's soul inside the suit of armor

"You son of a-" I started to scream, but I was forced to stop as the strange child brought his free foot above he and kicked my nose, which bled horribly. The same foot withdrew to my stomach, and he was all but standing on me. Tears streamed down me cheeks, not from the shed of my blood, which the salty liquid mixed with, but because Al, my brother, who I was supposed to protect, was gone.

A sob escaped my lips.

The boy turned to look at me again. His eyes were full of sorrow, as if he didn't want to hurt anyone, but it was his only choice.

"Edward Elric." he murmured. His voice wasn't the same irritating yowl he had previously released. It was a deep, velvety growl from deep in his throat. "You are needed elsewhere..."

He then drove the dagger into my chest, and the world went black.

Darkness, pain, and suffering.

That's all I saw. It could have been seconds, minutes, maybe even days. I don't know. During that time, though, i didnt give a damn. At one point, I opened my eyes to see the blank shape of the Truth standing over me, but I shrugged it off.

"If you're gonna take something," I snarled with the last of my remaining strength, "then just take it now."

The last image I saw before falling back into a comma of despair was Truth's jagged-toothed grin as it neared my u moving body.

More pain. More hopelessness. I opened my eyes and looked around. Panicked screeches and threatening snarls rose up around me. I whimpered and stuck my tail between my legs.

Tail.
Something about that didn't sit right in the pit of my stomach. My tail. That bothered me somehow, but I couldn't fathom why...

Of course you have a tail, dumbass. I growled inwardly. All cats have one.

Cats.
Then it hit me, hard, like ice down my shirt. Tail. Cat. But I'm not a cat. I'm Edward Eric, the Fullmetal Alchemist!

I opened my eyes and sat up, groaning loudly and lifting a paw to my aching head.

"P-paw!?" I yowled in alarm. Panic rose in my chest, and my breathing became ragged and uneven. "I...have paws!? What's going on here!?"

Several yards away, a hollowed out rock filled to the brim with rainwater caught my eye. I dragged myself over to where the rock dwelt, half limping and half scooting. With a final, deep intake of air, I looked over my reflection.

I froze up at the sight.

A small, golden tomcat stared in horror at me. Its eyes were the same clear, bright yellow was mine. Tufts of messy fur framed the cat's face, and a single, feather-like strand stood straight atop his head. Its-or, I should say, my-left forepaw was white. My entire right front limb, as well as the opposite hind leg, akin to that of my human form, were metal; automail. A red bandanna was tied to my neck, with a snake-cross one front, similarly to my coat.

I forced my breathing to steady, although it was a wonder it didn't flat out cease.

The bushes rustled nearby, and I snapped into attention, alert. Something moved behind he, and I whipped around, fear rising in my chest. Again, the noise came, and again, it originated from the opposite direction I was looking in. A grey blur shot out suddenly behind me, and i did the only logical thing at that moment, however cowardly.

I turned and ran into the trees.

Grass poked at my eyes, and I had to close them. My paws pounded on the ground, hard, and pain shot up every stiff, sore limb. At one point, I could feel the warm breath of the creature that was chasing me, inches away from my neck. It fell behind significantly, then, and I was sure I had escaped, but I had forgotten that I wasn't used to running on all four. The yowl of triumph I had been about to produce was cut off abruptly as my paw snagged a root and I fell forward. The baton was passed, and my pursuer finished my yowl behind me. Teeth sunk into the scruff of my neck as the grey tabby revealed himself to me. His lips were drawn back in a cocky smirk, and his eyes danced with laughter. He whacked me around for a moment, then released his grip on me with a frown.

"Greypaw?" a voice boomed from the bushes.

A large, golden tabby padded out from behind us. His green eyes narrowed at the sunlight filtering through the leaves of the trees, then fell on first the grey tom, then me, and his gaze flickered over his shoulder. Was he really a cat? His broad shoulders and lion's mane convinced me otherwise...

"What's this, Greypaw?" he meowed curiously. "Another kitty pet? Or is it a lost loner?"

"I dunno." the gray cat sulked with a disappointed huff. "But it's just a kit."
"Kit!?" I snarled, springing to my paws. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL I'M A FLEA AMONG ALL THE DOGS OF THE MILITARY?!"

The golden tabby gave me an odd look, as though I had sprouted a pair of elephant ears, and the great tab by took a frightened step back.

"Are you sane?" he inquired.

"Of course I am." I growled. "You wanna make something of it?"

The golden tabby padded up calmly behind and grabbed me by the scruff.

"That's quite enough of that. Well, regardless of your sanity, You're on ThunderClan territory, so we'll let Bluestar deal with you."

I allowed my cat body to go limp in his jaws. I had nothing better to do, anyway.