A/N: Okay, so I got done with my finale two days sooner than expected. So…guess what? Yeah, another chapter! Yay! –fireworks go off while only three people in the crowd of thousands cheer –

Anyway…I bet some of you are curious about the chapter's title. Well…to find out, you'll just hafta read the chapter! Now, won't you? –cackles darkly –

ON WITH THE SHOW!!

New Fear

Oh…my…God…my…body…hurts…like…hell…

Okay, want me to start over? Heh, I bet you do.

Alright, here's a fairly good starting point. So after the lightning show, we go back inside the cabin, right? And since it's so frickin' late in the night (or early in the morning, take your pick), you'd expect us to go to bed, right?

Wrong. Pipsqueak decides it's the perfect opportunity to start the interrogations. Woop-dee-doo…

So now, I'm in the room where Doctor Knox was earlier treating Gel. I'm on the table, she's sitting on a bed, and Fullmetal's standing there in front of her spewing out questions like a waterfall. Gel could only be so lucky that Alphonse was in the room with him to slow down his questions and make them "simpler" for her to understand. Doctor Knox helped a lot with that, too. I liked his attitude pretty well, but it didn't do much to lighten the mood in the room.

The fierceness in his eyes told me Ed was thinking of a very serious question, but instead of outright asking it he turned to his younger brother to "simplify the question". I didn't bother listening in, knowing that the question was going to be asked anyway (just in a different fashion). I also knew it was going to be directed at Gel, 'cause the brothers knew I was intelligent enough to understand what they meant.

I let go of the pencil and basically "crashed": I was exhausted from writing out my answers on a sheet of paper (who knew something as simple as writing would be so damn hard…?) and my body ached terribly from doing a practice this body was just not designed to perform. Plus, the damn instrument was twice my height right now! I knew I was small, but I didn't realize…

Oh lookie, Pipsqueak's turned back around with that look of finality. Wonder what the question's gonna be…

"Gill…or Gel, whatever…what was your mother's job?"

Hmmm…interesting question. I'm curious about that, myself.

I turned my eyes toward her ('cause my body's too damn sore for me to even think about lifting my head and turning it to look at her) and met with blue-green ones. She looked tired, and with her physical condition, I wasn't the least bit surprised. I just sighed, thinking that there was no reason to hold back the information and wanting to communicate that thought out to her.

She seemed to pick up on it, 'cause she looked back at Fullmetal's gold eyes. "My mom was a scientist. I think she was studying something called alchemy, but I don't remember for sure…"

"Because it was two years ago…?"

Wow, Pipsqueak, I really didn't like your tone there…

She nodded, despite obviously not liking his voice tone either. "Yes."

The brothers exchanged glances and Doctor Knox looked at his watch, yawning widely while doing so. I completely agreed with his gesture, by the way.

A thought suddenly hit me like a brick to a window. Why the hell didn't this come into my mind before!?

Grudgingly picking the pencil back up, I wrote out my question and made a loud squeal to get the boys' attentions when I finished. I dragged myself off the piece of paper so Edward could pick it up and read what I wrote.

"'Since your brother's still in that suit, I assume the next Philosopher's Stone hasn't been created. Why?'" He gave me an odd look and I glared at him. I wasn't in the mood for silly facial expressions. "I really don't know why, Envy." He raised his hands in an almost defensive gesture when I hissed venomously at him. "Hey, I'm sorry I can't help you, but I honestly don't know!"

I just dropped onto my stomach, drained. Okay, I don't give a fuck what you do to me…I am not answering another question. I'm too damn sore!

As much of a genius everyone claims Fullmetal to be, I swear he's the dumbest creature I've ever met (aside from Sloth, of course). Sure, once he calmed down and was thinking rationally, he was pretty damn intelligent, but all other times it just seemed to me that he had no functioning brain cells at all whatsoever. It really made me wonder how he was qualified to become a State Alchemist (or National Alchemist, the title doesn't matter). Maybe it was before he started frying his brain cells?

About here, Doctor Knox interrupted. "Okay, you've interrogated my patient for long enough. Time to let her rest." He glared back at Pipsqueak when he glared in protest. "Do we need to engage in another war or are you going to listen to the doctor?"

Ten out of ten, Doctor!

Needless to say I was pleased when the older sibling left the room. I was less pleased that Alphonse left the room as well, but it wasn't "unbeneficial" for him to stay, either.

The dark-haired doctor came over to me and gently placed the stethoscope on my chest (it actually covered my chest, stomach and a little bit of my throat, too). Wow, that cool metal felt so good on my cramping muscles… "Your heart sounds fine," he muttered, taking the stethoscope off of me. Man, I wanted for it to stay on my body a little bit longer to sooth my body…! "But then again, I'm a human doctor, not an animal doctor." He gently picked me up and carried me over to a very eager Gel, who took me carefully and gently hugged me. "Now, I don't want you sleeping with Envy…you might accidentally crush him in your sleep. So put him on this nightstand here," he said, patting a wooden table right next to the bed. After she nodded, he turned around and started heading out the door.

I turned my eyes up to blue-green ones, sighing. Well…what do we do now?

She gave a weak shrug. "I don't know what you wanna do, but I wanna sleep…"

My thoughts exactly…

Lightly kissing me on the top of my head, she began to set me on the nightstand when there was a sudden shattering of glass outside our room.

What's that about?

I didn't have to wait long before the brothers and the doctor came back into the room at gunpoint by a military officer. Strange, he looked almost identical to the man I used to disguise myself as when I still had my powers…wasn't he specially created by Wrath so I could go into military bases without difficulty?

That's way too suspicious…

I looked over at Pipsqueak, and he seemed to have similar thoughts, judging by his facial expression. Or at least he seemed to think that something wasn't quite right.

"Sit in those chairs by the wall over there," the officer directed, motioning toward three chairs in particular closest to the bed with is riffle. He gave a small, strange sort of smirk when the other three males obeyed, a smirk I usually gave when things where going my way and I was pleased with the results…

I definitely felt Gel trembling, and I didn't blame her one bit (although for a different reason than her, I'll admit). I gently rubbed my tail against her wrist, lying to her about the situation being safe ('cause I really wasn't all that sure myself).

"What do you expect to gain from a doctor and two alchemists?" Doctor Knox asked, eyes narrowed in agitation. He didn't seem to be alarmed by the uniform or gun whatsoever. Guess he's become accustomed to such things from the Ishvaran Rebellion or something (he was muttering something about dealing with corpses earlier…).

"It's not the doctor I'm looking for," he answered, giving Edward a smug smile. "You're the Fullmetal Alchemist, right?"

"What's that gotta do with anything?" Pipsqueak answered, crossing his arms and looking very, very serious. He can be really good at it when he's really wanting to.

"A lot of things," the officer answered, closing the door and locking it. After that, he lowered his weapon and gave the brothers a strange sort of look that…wait, isn't that another expression I used to use before I was trapped in this body?

My eyes widened as a sudden thought entered my mind. God…please don't let it be…

"Who are you?" Alphonse asked, voice low and angry. I was impressed with the tone he was using in this particular situation.

The officer shrugged, grinning. "Well, since I already know who you two are…I guess it wouldn't hurt," he answered, and as he said this, his voice changed…and so did his body. My eyes widened even more when my speculation was proven true, as there standing near the doorway was an androgynous boy with short black hair (was there a ponytail at the nape of his neck? I couldn't tell), a black belly-shirt and black leather pants. Lightly placing the tips of his fingers on his chest, his smirk widened as he proclaimed, "I am the New Envy."

God, no…

To Be Continued…