Felis Arcanum

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor ever will, Fullmetal Alchemist of the characters within.

1: Transformation

When the light disappeared from his brother's hazel eyes, Edward Elric screamed. It echoed around the room and he moved faster than thought as he drove his bladed arm straight through Dante. The intense and fixed stare of his shattered golden eyes shook her to the core and he touched his arm to complete the circle.

She blew apart, falling away from his arm and he stood there for a brief moment before leaping to the side, avoiding Envy's desperate lunge. He dodged again before sidestepping to bring Envy closer, swinging his left leg hard and fast to catch the homunculus on his side. He heard the faint crack of breaking ribs and slid the other way, uncaring as he threw himself at Envy, determined to kill him. They fought across the array, past the scattered remains of Dante and beyond the reach of the dead gaze of his brother.

Edward had no thought in his mind but death. Death to the creature who had taken from him the one thing, the only thing that had kept him sane for the last four years. His reason to be alive, his sole purpose for being. He didn't feel the blood that slipped down his side after Envy sliced his ribs with his blade. He ignored the blood that dripped from the wound above his hairline. He kept on attacking Envy, time after time, strike after strike. He refused to hear anything, to see anything but the amethyst eyes that stared back at him with just as much hatred.

Together they fought in a macabre dance of fall and follow, of leap and lunge and they ended the dance with a single step. Face to face they stood in the centre of the array. Breathing their hatred into each other's faces and feeling the blood that flowed from the twin holes in their chests.

"You killed a brother for a brother," Envy said, the blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth.

"I would kill you again," Edward replied and spat the blood from his mouth into Envy's face.

They fell to their knees still facing each other, impaled together.

"I hate you, pipsqueak."

"Just die, you bastard," Edward mumbled as they slipped down to lie on the floor. Edward moved his left arm around Envy and clapped weakly before placing his single hand on the array.

"Bring back my… Al..." He whispered as the light faded from his eyes.

It was dark and it was cold. Edward Elric opened one eye and struggled mindlessly to get to his feet. His face hit the floor and he lifted his hand to brace himself. Fur appeared before his eye and he stared at it before trying to stand up again. He felt uneven and he looked to his right, seeking the automail, wondering why he wasn't balanced and saw the slender arm that did not look like his arm.

What the hell is that? He wondered as he stared at it. He lifted it up. It looked like a metal paw and his arm twitched and silver claws appeared. He blinked and twitched again and they retracted. He looked back at the fur he had ignored a moment ago and now realised that he was looking at his left arm. He had a furry arm. He had a metal paw. Why did he suddenly have these things?

There was an emptiness inside him and he couldn't remember anything since he had said good bye to Mustang. How long ago was that, he wondered.

He tried again to stand up and found his legs didn't seem to be obeying his commands. He looked down and saw more fur. Fur everywhere. Matted and caked in blood and dirt but underneath it all, he had fur.

"What the..?" He said and heard the miaow that left his mouth and his brain shut down. Edward Elric panicked. His paws scrabbled against the ground, his tail whipped around and he tried to grab at it, little screeching noises poured from his mouth and he tried to bite at his automail arm. Somehow he managed to get to his four feet and lurched a few steps before he dropped to the ground and shook all over.

Cat. He was a cat. How the hell had this happened? God, Al would love him like this. Cat, how the hell… wait, Al, where's Al? Edward forced himself to stop shaking and slowly stood up. It felt so different being on four legs like this and his tail twitched and he nearly fell over as his balance shifted. Stop it, he tried to tell his tail. I have to find Al, I don't have time for this right now. I'm a cat for fucks sake! Al is more important you idiot.

He took a wobbly step forward and then another. Slowly he inched forward. So dark and cold and he felt the fur fluff slightly, trapping his body warmth. His eye sharpened and he could see further down the passage he was in. His automail hand… no, paw made a soft clicking noise every time it touched the floor. He tried to tread lighter but it didn't seem to make any difference. The tail was really annoying he thought. It was twitchy and it made him stagger occasionally. The only good thing Edward could see from this was that he only had one automail limb now and not two.

He assumed he was still in the underground city and he could feel the gnawing worry in his stomach as he wondered where Al was. His ears twitched around and his hearing was suddenly a lot sharper. Sounds echoed around him and he turned his head trying to pinpoint the origins.

He was definitely a cat he thought and wondered how it had happened. Had he been alchemically altered into a chimera state or was it a more complete transformation? Where was his brother?

He looked up and realised another aspect of his new form. He was small. Cat-sized small. He growled and heard it rumble in his throat. More cat than chimera, he thought. Why not a dog? I could smell out Al if I was. Where are you, Alphonse?

"Alphonse!" he tried to say and only heard the despairing miaow. This was starting to wear thin, he thought. I want some damned answers and I want them now. I want them to appear right here, right now and accompanied by my brother.

He turned the corner and he saw his answers and he screamed.

Roy Mustang staggered down the steps, his hand pressed over his left eye. Blood poured through his fingers and down his arm and the pain was only equaled by that in his left shoulder. He passed the corpse of Frank Archer and shuddered at the thought of all that automail and the hatred that could drive a man to go to such extremes.

Riza Hawkeye appeared at his side and he waved away her offer of a supporting arm. The sound of tearing material caught his attention and she handed him the sleeve from her coat. He took it with a nodded 'thank you' that set his head to throbbing again and padded it against his face. The blood soaked through but he held it tight, applying as much pressure as he could.

"We have to get to the Elrics, Hawkeye."

"You need to go to hospital, Roy. Edward can take care of himself." Hawkeye protested as he nearly tripped over his feet.

"I can't. Not yet, Riza. I have to know they're alright." He panted as the pain surged and he wobbled towards the car. "I have to do this first, then you can take me to every hospital in Central if you want," he said and almost fell into the car, dragging himself into a sitting position on the back seat.

As soon as it started moving, he began tearing at his civilian jacket. He ripped off a few strips and tied one around his head to hold the padding in place and he worked to do the same for his shoulder. He pushed himself into the corner of the back seat, trying to keep his balance as Hawkeye drove faster than he had ever known her to.

It was hard and he could feel his consciousness fading a few times but he had to keep going. The look in those golden eyes as they had parted drove him on. Respect, understanding, friendship. On both sides. Feelings they had never allowed themselves to express to each other before.

Bradley had been one monster; Edward had gone forward to face God knew how many more. There were some monsters that you had to destroy and he knew Edward had the strength and will to do just that, but he had seen the dark side of those monsters and he had to go and help. He didn't know if Edward could face that darkness on his own.

Al had gone ahead, Edward had said. Edward would always follow his brother. He would do anything, sacrifice everything for his brother. Mustang shivered. He had never felt that level of commitment to anything or anyone and he had seen Edward go through hell and come back once already. He knew Edward would do the same again if it was required and that thought terrified him.

When Hawkeye stopped the car, he was halfway out and he stumbled. She supported him and they entered the old church. As quickly as they could, they made their way down the centre aisle and found the door leading underground.

It seemed to take forever. The endless steps leading into a darker and danker place. The open area that suddenly appeared before them held them silent in awe. The abandoned city, the sheer size of everything. Roy shivered and he could feel himself swaying. Hawkeye tightened her support and they moved further down.

Smoke rose from one large structure and they headed that way. The silence was profound and the air so still. It seemed almost a sacrilege to be walking through this place. They staggered up the wide steps and found a young woman lying stretched out across the entrance way, a baby wrapped beside her.

Roy leant against the wall as Hawkeye checked her over.

"I think she's just fainted. There's a bruise on her cheek but other than that she appears fine," Hawkeye said as she straightened up.

"And the baby?"

"Sleeping," Hawkeye replied and eased the small bundle closer to the woman. She looked at Roy. He was looking absolutely dreadful. The left side of him was coated with blood. His clothes were becoming a dull rust, wet and sticky in parts. The paddings were soaked and his face was ghostly pale. She did not understand how he was still standing let alone still alive. The determination in his single eye overrode the pain she could see lurking there. His need to find Edward and Alphonse was all that was keeping him upright.

She moved next to him and offered her shoulder and they began to work their way through what appeared to be a large theatre. Signs of a fight were evident in the cracked walls. Hawkeye recognized the spikes Edward favoured and knew that he had been involved in something down here. She could see blood sprays on the walls and drops upon the floor and knew that one or both of the combatants had been injured.

The door at the end of the passage they were in had been blown apart. There was just a small part remaining to hang from the hinges, the rest was scattered, some driven deep into the walls from the force of the explosion. They picked their way carefully through the debris and found themselves in what appeared to be a ballroom. Pillars rose all around to support the tiered balconies above. The room was a shambles but it was not the room which held their attention.

The array on the floor was huge and intricate and it was reflected on the ceiling above them. And in the middle of the array was a very large pool of blood. So much blood, Hawkeye thought. She looked around the room and stifled a cry when she saw the small body that lay curled up on the array's outer edge. She pulled Roy with her and they made their way around the array, neither was going to risk standing on it.

Blond hair, a darker blond than Edward was the first thing they noticed. It was short and looked silky soft. The empty staring hazel eyes in the frozen face immediately let them know the boy was not sleeping. Hawkeye could feel Roy shake and she couldn't stop the trembling in her legs either.

"Alphonse?" She breathed, hating to break the silence of this room. Neither of them had ever seen Al in the flesh although both had seen the photos of him that one time they had been in Resembool.

"It has to be," Roy whispered. He looked across the array to the blood. "And where's Edward?" His voice was filled with worry.

The horrible screeching noise that shattered the silence had them both stepping back and looking around, Hawkeye automatically drawing her gun and looking for the threat.

The yellow cat that appeared from a doorway and hurtled across the floor towards them would have made them smile at any other time but not now. The cat was unbalanced and its tail waved wildly as it careened across the floor and pressed itself against the young boy.

It yowled and it pushed at the lifeless body. Small paws patted at the still chest and the dirty yellow head rubbed itself against the cooling cheek. Small whimpers escaped from the cat as it swished its tail across the boy's nose.

Riza had never heard a cat make the noises this one did. It sounded desolate and lost and it kept pushing at the body as if trying to wake him up. It cried and whimpered and it circled around the boy twice before laying its head against the boy's chest and staying there. The fur was matted with blood and dirt, it looked thin and scrawny and it appeared to have only one eye although it was hard to tell with all the dirt across its face. She was almost sure one its' legs was automail, but it was hard to tell with the way it had curled up against the body. It was the most pitiful excuse for a cat Riza had ever seen.

Roy slumped beside her and he fell to his knees beside the body.

"It has to be Alphonse, Hawkeye." His voice was heavy and she could hear a deathly fatigue in it. The cat's ear twitched at the sound of his voice but it stayed pressed against the unmoving chest. "We can't leave him here. We have to take him back with us." He looked around the room. "And what has happened to Edward?"

Roy didn't like to think what had had happened to Edward. If Al was dead, Edward would have tried everything to bring him back. Had he done that and lost himself as well as his brother?

"Edward would never leave his brother here like this, Roy."

"I know. That's what worries me." He looked up at her. "Go and get some help. I can manage until then."

"I don't think you can, Roy. You've lost too much blood already."

"Riza, I don't have the strength to walk back." He said the words slowly and she understood as her face paled. She was not able to carry him back. She had to get someone, and a stretcher as well.

"Don't you die on me Sir, or I will hunt you down and shoot you," she threatened and he gave a wan smile.

"I wouldn't dare, Hawkeye," he replied. "Go," he added with a nod to the door.

He waited until she had left before he sank lower and he crawled to the nearest pillar and leant against it. He could see the cat shaking against Al and wondered what a cat was doing down here in the first place. Al had always loved cats, it seemed fitting somehow.

"He's not going to wake up, little one," Roy said to the cat and his voice was sad. A yellow ear twitched and the cat growled and pressed closer.

"I think we'd all like to believe otherwise," he said. "I know I do." He sighed and the cat whimpered.

"He would have loved you, little one. I think that after his brother, he loved cats best of all." Roy mused and saw the ear twitch again. "I think Ed liked cats too, even though he never said anything." The tail flicked and Roy smiled. "Yes, I know he pretended otherwise, but Edward has a soft heart."

"I wish you could talk, little one. I really need to know what happened here and where Edward is," Roy said, his voice dropping as his head lolled to one side. "I hope Hawkeye comes soon." His voice trailed away slightly. His eye closed and he could feel the exhaustion creeping up his legs.

Edward leant against his brother's lifeless body and cried inside. He could do nothing, his brother was dead and he was never going to be able to bring him back. Why didn't you take me? He wailed and there was no answer. Al had died and he had died. Why had the Gate sent him back like this? And Envy? What had the Gate done to Envy?

Mustang had fallen silent and Edward looked over his shoulder. The man looked dead but Edward could see his chest still moving slowly. There was blood all over him and his face was so white. The bandages padded over his eye and shoulder were drenched with blood. Edward wondered why he wasn't dead already.

He was glad they weren't going to leave Al down here. His brother deserved to be in the light, to be out there. Not down here. He miaowed softly. There was a horrible empty place inside him and it hurt. He had lost his brother. After getting him back, he had lost him.

"Don't cry, little one. Al wouldn't like that." Mustang's slurred words came from behind him and Edward's ears twitched. He stared at the man. His eye was open and unfocused. His head lolled from one side to the other, blood was seeping from underneath the padding on his shoulder in slow pulsing waves. Arterial blood. Edward understood that flow. Mustang was dying. He was bleeding to death.

Edward lifted his head from Al's chest and looked at his brother's face and then at Mustang. His brother was dead and Mustang was dying. His ears and tail flicked with his indecisiveness and he looked again from one to the other. Finally he walked across the short distance to Mustang and pressed his nose to the man's hand.

Mustang twitched and the single eye looked down.

"Hey little one," he said dreamily and slipped down the pillar slightly. Edward miaowed at him and Mustang tried to focus on the cat.

"You only have one eye, like me, little one." Edward made a small pfft sound and Mustang almost chuckled. "You're quite a character, little one."

Edward growled at him and then half-leapt, landing awkwardly on Mustang's lap. His single eye skewed his perceptions and he sprawled rather inelegantly before he scrabbled into a more a respectable position. He found that his claws were very helpful for that.

Mustang hissed as the cat dug its claws in and pulled itself onto his lap properly. His head throbbed and his shoulder was burning but the cat looked up at him with that one golden eye and he couldn't look away. He had never seen that colour in a cat's eye before. He wondered again where it had come from. He lifted a hand that felt very heavy and let it brush over the cat, feeling the matted, grimy fur as the cat arched into his touch with a miaow that sounded almost surprised.

"How strange," Roy said as his vision began to go dim. "You have automail." His eye closed and no matter how many times Edward reached up to bat his automail paw against Mustang's jaw, he didn't stir.

Ed looked across at his brother and kept his ear pressed against Mustang's chest. He had lost one person tonight. He didn't want to lose both of them. He could hear the limping beat of Mustang's heart. He made himself more comfortable and nearly fell off Mustang when he heard the rumbling purr that surfaced from his own chest. Whether it was soothing to Mustang or not, he didn't know, but for some reason it reassured him. The slow heartbeat remained in his ear as he kept his eye fixed on the still form of his brother.

Author's Note: As is obvious, I have rewritten parts of the anime ending.

silken :)