"Brother!"
The building that Ed and Scar had been fighting in collapsed. They'd knocked out a few of the support-beams.
Al started to panic, not seeing any sign of Edward. "Brother...?"
"Yeah... I'm good..."
"Brother!"
Edward was crawling out of the wreckage, absolutely coated in dust. He started to dust himself off. "That was kinda fun. I could almost predict his every move!" the blonde grinned.
"But you shouldn't be so reckless. You could've been hurt!" Al scolded.
"C'mon, Al! You know me!"
The two went back to the hotel they were staying at, arguing almost the entire time. When they got there, Ed fell asleep almost instantly. But next morning, something else happened.
"Brother... You need to wake up..."
Edward opened his eyes. Al's aura showed shock. "What...? What's wrong?" he murmured sleepily.
"Umm... Come here..."
Al lent over and whispered it to his older brother. Ed's eyes widened. He clapped his hands to the sides of his head and twisted to look behind him. A second or two after that, he screamed again.
"What the hell is going on here!"
"Havoc told you guys there may be more symptoms!" Al yelled back.
"Yeah, but you'd think they'd be more gradual!" Ed wailed, removing his hands to reveal large fluffy gold ears. He grabbed at the long tail behind him. "It's just the day after and I've already got a freaking tail!"
"Maybe the colonel has them too? Why don't we go see?"
"No way am I going out in public like this!"
"Then call him and ask him to come here!" Al screamed, tired of Ed yelling.
Edward quickly dialed Mustang and convinced him to come over to the hotel. The colonel was very reluctant, but eventually agreed.
When the colonel arrived, he too, had cat-ears and a tail. "Is this what you wanted to see me about, Fullmetal?" Mustang huffed.
"Yeah, what do you think!"
"Quit yelling!"
"Make me!"
The two started a loud shouting match. Al and Riza stood by, watching nervously. They were waiting for the two to leap at each other and start an all-out fight. Luckily, they didn't.
"But it shouldn't be progressing this fast. Our eyes became how they are just yesterday. And now today we have..." Ed trailed off, fuming.
"Does this mean you guys are turning into cats?" Al asked.
"Don't even suggest that, Al!" Ed whimpered.
"I don't fancy the idea myself." Mustang agreed, a worried expression on his face.
They very quickly found out that all State Alchemists were affected again. Cat-ears, a tail, and cat-eyes. They were all baffled by the mysterious transformations. No one could explain it in any way.
Now, they were starting to heed Havoc's warning. He was right: The symptoms were clearly progressive. Whether or not they were contagious, they were unsure.
They knew one thing...
It most likely wouldn't stop.
Not now.
And it didn't.
As days went on, Al caught Edward actually drinking milk. He and Mustang both started to take frequent naps. As to what was going on with the major, they were unsure. He'd been sent East.
One day, Edward had to make a report to Mustang. Everyone left the room or a short while, and when they came back...
Yowling and furious hissing filled the room as the two rolled over and over. Everyone was unsure of what to do. The two Alchemists were heavily locked in battle, and there were very few ways to get them apart without getting pulled into the fight. But Hawkeye quickly took control.
There was one shot. Ed and Mustang quickly pulled apart, hissing as they pawed at their ears. "What the heck was that about?" Breda asked.
"He started it, not me!" Ed and Mustang both yelled, pointing to the other.
"It must be the cat-thing. It's progressed enough to give you guys claws, fangs and cat-instincts, apparently." Havoc observed.
"Hmph!"
The two Alchemists had turned their backs to each other. Both tails, black and gold, were lashing furiously, and their ears were laid back. Mustang had a few scratches on his cheek where Ed's claws raked him, and Edward had a huge rip in his coat-sleeve where Mustang had been biting him.
However, all State Alchemists were perfectly happy the way they were. They were just fine with having cat-parts.
The symptoms kept on progressing. Day by day, new things kept popping up. Then one day...
A small golden cat darted into the room and started mewing frantically at Al. "Hey, where'd you come from, kitty?" he chuckled, picking the small feline up.
The cat thrashed urgently. That's when Al saw the two auto-mail legs and the silver pendant emblazoned with the State's symbol. "Wuah! Brother?"