(A/N: I've been in a dark mood lately, and this chapter shows it. Heavy on the horror, little to no romance. Also, I wanted to show a little of Father's goofy side.)

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Although it seemed as though years had passed since the incident with Leander, in what was actually less than a business week Doctor Marcoh's team was reconvened in Lab Five. There was a new member of the team, Blair Lines, to replace Rex Leander. Envy, as Major Nied, decided a fitting orientation was to show Lines, along with the rest of the research team, what had become of Leander.

"Just as a reminder of what will happen if you betray us." Envy said with a smile.

Morgenstern shot Envy squarely between the eyes and was, in turn, blown to pieces by Kimblee. Thayer drew his gun to shoot Kimblee, only to have the hand holding the gun cut off by Envy, who had recovered from the momentary daze of a bullet to the head, and had turned his arm into a scythe-like appendage.

"Let me handle it next time." Envy said, reverting his arm to normal and silencing Thayer with his own gun. He tossed away the severed hand carelessly.

"Call it male hubris, but you can't ask me to do nothing when someone shoots you right in front of me."

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Getting yourself shot doesn't do me any favors."

"Lucky I didn't get shot then."

"Yeah, but now we have to –" Envy was interrupted by another gunshot, as Lines blew his own brains all over the floor. "Oh god dammit!" Envy shouted, before turning to Tucker, who flinched. Envy held up one hand in a semi-placating gesture. "Hey…I'll give you a raise, or…anything you want, within reason, if you don't do anything stupid." Meaningless as human lives were to Envy, he knew it wasn't exactly easy to come by capable researchers, and now they would have to start all over. Father was going to be unhappy…

"W-w-well." Tucker stammered, wiping blood off his glasses with a trembling hand. "I've alw-ways wanted t-to be an official State Alchemist."

His skills were sufficient for the task, but it was the psychological evaluation that had proven his downfall, he had been unable to misrepresent himself quite as thoroughly as Kimblee had. Envy had read the evaluations of everyone there, and while it understood the difference, the spectrum of human mental health was meaningless to him. Furthermore, in a militarized nation such as Amestris, the coveted title of State Alchemist was usually bestowed on those who used their alchemy for the purpose of combat. The government wanted weapons first, doctors and scientist a distant second. But there were always exceptions.

"Done." Envy said. "Don't kill yourself." He turned to Marcoh. "And that goes for you too, Doctor. If you kill yourself over what happens here, I'll personally see to it that many more people die as a result."

"Of course." Marcoh said, his voice brimming with quiet despair. "What else?"

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"So they're all dead?" Father asked, frowning at Envy.

"No, only three out of six. W-we broke even, technically..."

Father sighed. "It was a mistake to show them what you did to that…Rev Lavender fellow."

"…Rex Leander?"

"That's the one." Father said, snapping his fingers. "It's your duty to understand humans better than that."

"I only –"

Father cut him off with a wave of his hand. He knew what Envy would say: that he had only wanted to ensure there would be no more unruliness amongst the researchers, to scare them into obedience. And he knew what Envy would not say: that obedience and order meant no more attempts on Kimblee's life.

Envy wouldn't always be there to take the knife in the eye, after all. Father could see the cogs working as though his progeny's skull were transparent. He chose not to address it, however. Envy's punishment was in store, regardless. He could not deflect every knife, bullet, grenade and piece of shrapnel in Ishbal. If Envy had forgotten that Kimblee was a pawn, the reminder would come soon enough.

"You are to locate four new researchers to place under Marcoh." Father said, simply.

"Yes sir."

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Before they had researchers, however, they had to have something to research on. When Envy thought about Ishbal, it was usually in terms of how much easier it would be to obtain sacrifices once the war broke out. Central was beginning to run low on drug-addicts, alcoholics and crazies – the ones who wandered, homeless, and would not be missed - either that, or they were getting damn good at hiding. They seemed to know something was wrong amongst their numbers, even when all higher tiers of humanity were happily oblivious.

Envy, as Elizabeth, had been playing chess with Marcoh in the part as per usual. After the all-out slaughter in the lab, Envy figured the man needed some cheering up. The plan was complicated, however, by a wild-looking woman digging through the trashcans, muttering to herself. She seemed old at a casual glance, but Envy's could tell that it was not time that had ravaged her body. Amphetamines, by the smell. It was what she said, however, that was worrisome.

"...Come out of the dark…eyes within eyes within teeth within teeth…down to the lab the lab thelab thelabthelabthelab…monsters and madmen, cages and pits…" she moaned, then, abruptly, turned to look at 'Elizabeth' and Marcoh, as though she could feel there eyes on her.

"You." She pointed a shaking hand. "You're one of them! Monster!"

Envy's mouth went dry. Luckily, Marcoh seemed to assume the woman was referring to him.

"Go home, Lizzy." He said softly.

"But Mr. Marcoh –"

"Go!"

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Envy waited, as a dog, for night to fall. The muttering woman haunted the halos of streetlights. Her logic seemed to be that public places with lights were safer. But people with homes went to them when night fell, and then the lights were blotted out one by one by Pride's darkness.

She seemed afraid, but not surprised.

"You should have stayed quiet." Envy said, turning from canine to Elizabeth. "You were too weak to use, anyway."

"Monst –!"

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The woman's body was discovered the next morning. Attacked by feral dogs, the mortician said. A lot of dogs. So many teeth of different sizes.

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(A/N: The new guy was named for someone who annoys my roommate. Thanks for reading, I think I'll go look at something cute now...)