A/N: I don't own Darker than Black or Fullmetal Alchemist.

I was in a good mood, so I decided to post a chapter early. :P Anyway, Barry the Chopper's return might seem kinda random, but since Lieutenant Hawkeye was called away from her shopping to keep an eye on Hei, she didn't get attacked by Barry the Chopper when he went on that killing rampage. So I figured he would have attacked someone else instead, and, since not everyone carries around guns in their shopping bags, he would have had more success when trying to kill people.

A couple of hours after Mustang's phone call, a fat man came barging into the shack. Everyone looked up in surprise.

"Second Lieutenant Breda!" exclaimed Mustang. "You were supposed to be on standby at the office! Has something happened?"

"Y…Yeah" wheezed Breda. "There were a bunch of murders last night by some armored guy carrying a butcher's knife. He's killed at least twelve people, and five are still in critical condition. The city's in a panic, so the Fuhrer's ordered everyone on duty in Central to help search for him."

Fuery, Mustang, Hawkeye, Havoc, and Falman looked at each other. "We can't do that," said Mustang flatly. "There's no way I'm leaving this guy by himself."

"You're going to look really suspicious if you don't go, Colonel. There're already quite a few people who suspect you in helping him escape," warned Breda.

Mustang cursed. "Well, we can't leave him. He could have accomplices hidden somewhere, so just tying him up isn't going to do much good either…"

"Excuse me sir!" butted in Lieutenant Hawkeye. "But I believe I was on leave when you apprehended this man. I'm still technically on leave today. I'll watch him."

Everyone turned to stare at her. "That…might work," said Breda slowly. "Especially if we can get someone to testify that you were off enjoying yourself somewhere."

"All the people I know that might lie for me are going to be involved in the search," admitted Riza. "But it's better than the alternative of leaving an assassin by himself without any guards."

Mustang still seemed worried. "Are you sure you can handle him by yourself, Lieutenant?"

"I did last night, in case you can't remember," she reminded him frostily.

"That's different! He was asleep!"

"If we tie him up he shouldn't be much of a problem."

Mustang considered the situation for a moment, and then consented with a frustrated growl. "Fine." He bent down and sketched a transmutation circle out of the dirt on the floor. He placed his hand on the ground and drew out a two cords of rope, leaving a sizable indentation in the wood floor. Turning to Hei, he walked over with the rope. Hei had bags under his eyes; apparently he had not slept well last night. It made him seem much more frightening when he looked at Mustang coldly, but, in any case, he allowed his wrists and legs to be bound.

When Mustang was done, he looked up at his subordinates. "Let's go." As they filed out the door, he glanced back at the Lieutenant.

She nodded at him. "Go on, sir. I'll be fine."

Mustang still looked apprehensive but followed his subordinates out the door to the car they had hidden in the woods.

Hei watched the proceedings, exhausted. He hadn't gotten much sleep at all last night, although that was nothing new. When he and Yin weren't busy running from someone trying to kill them, he had nightmares nearly every night. He pushed himself back to the crate that Yin was sitting on using his tied-together legs, and leaned against it. He couldn't resist being pulled into sleep. His eyes drooped, and his awareness of his surroundings slowly vanished. That is, until the same nightmare that had been haunting him last night started to play like a movie without a stop button—he couldn't get out of the flashback.

"Big Brother! Big Brother!"

"What is it Bai?" a boy asked, turning around from where he was staring at the clear night sky on the outskirts of the slum he and his family were living in. The boy was Hei, about six years old, and nearly unrecognizable from his current day version. His eyes were lacking the deadness that plagued them presently, and he was smiling as his younger sister ran up to him panting.

Bai stopped and rested her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath. "Big… Brother… Mommy and Daddy…"

"Hmm?" Hei asked. Peering at her closer, he realized that she was crying, and that she looked terrified. "Bai? What's wrong?"

"Some people came… and they hurt Mommy and Daddy… and they're not moving anymore! They wouldn't wake up!" She looked at Hei in absolute panic. "What's happening? What do we do?"

Hei looked at her in confusion. "What? What are you talking about? Slow down for a second—"

"Mommy told me to run away," babbled a sobbing Bai. "But we can't leave her there! What if those people hurt Mommy more?"

Hei looked at her skeptically. That was impossible right? Mom was a grown-up after all. And grown-ups never got hurt, he knew, because they never cried. Bai was probably lying again. Mom had said she was going through a phase; she lied about everything these days. But still, her crying was unnerving him.

"Maybe we should do what Mom said," said Hei, trying to placate her. "I'm sure she'll be okay…"

"No!" screamed Bai. Hei jumped in surprise. "I'm not leaving Mommy alone with those mean people! They made Mommy cry!"

"Shh…!" Hei urged her, frantically trying to quiet her hysterical yelling. Bai was starting to really frighten him. Was Mom really hurt? Had someone made her cry? If Bai was telling the truth, he had to go help. "Shh! Ok, we'll go help Mom. Calm down, and show me where she is."

Bai nodded, seeming a bit calmer. She was trembling all over.

A pebble shifted a couple of feet away. They both jumped at the sound and spun around to see their mother. She was completely unharmed. "Quickly, come here. We need to leave now," she whispered urgently.

Hei and Bai stared at her for a moment. Then, Hei looked at Bai in outrage. "You liar! That wasn't funny!" He slapped her, and Bai tore her eyes away from her mother to stare dazedly at him in shock.

"But… that can't be Mommy. When I saw her, that man had cut off her head… Did she put it back on?"

Hei's blood ran cold at what Bai was saying. But still… she was obviously lying. His mother was right in front of him!

Hei ran up to his mother. She would know what to do, just like always. After a moment's hesitation, Bai stumbled after him, sobbing harder than ever. Hei hugged his mother tightly. "You're really okay, Mom?" Hei asked looking up at her. He started crying as he saw her face; Bai was really mean, he had been so scared.

"I'm okay," she comforted him hugging him back. "But…" and as Hei watched his mother smiled sadistically. Hei had never seen his mother like this, and it somehow frightened him more than Bai had. He let go of her and backed away quickly. His mother followed him, her grin widening with each step. "I'm not your mother. She's dead."

"What?" gasped Hei. "No… you're lying! You're right here!" Bai looked very confused and hid herself behind Hei.

"Like I said," the person who looked like his mother said in a sing-song voice. "I'm not your mother." And with a shower of red sparks, the image of Hei and Bai's mother fell away, to leave someone with long, spiky hair. Hei couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl: it was wearing what appeared to be a kind of miniskirt and a short, sleeveless top, but it looked masculine. Whatever it was, the person's face was nearly split in two by his maniacal grin as he watched the pair shiver in fear. He crouched down and leaned forward until his face was directly across from theirs. "Hello there, little test subjects. I just killed off your entire family. At least, all except for you two." Hei and Bai whimpered and drew closer together.

"No…" Hei whispered to himself. That can't be true. It can't. He's lying, he chanted to himself in his thoughts. The thing in the miniskirt ignored him.

"And so, because I, Envy, am so kind, I'm going to adopt one of you orphans and bring you to your new home in the lab… " He sighed dramatically and stood back up. He closed his eyes. "Ah… but I only was told to bring one brat back. I wonder who should I pick?" He opened one eye to look down at them calculatingly. "Ah! I know! I'll make you fight! The winner survives and the other… Hmm… The loser will be fed to the chimeras." He gleefully watched them to see their reaction.

"L-l-leave u-us alone!" Hei stuttered, spreading out his arms and stepping out in front of his sister. He was shaking so hard that his teeth were chattering together. He had no idea what a chimera was, but he definitely did not want to be eaten.

"Oh, you have some guts, kid!" Envy noted approvingly. "I like that. It makes you more fun to break."

"No!" yelled a sobbing Bai, suddenly running out from behind Hei. "Don't break Big Brother! Don't break him! I don't want him to break too!"

"Shut up!" Envy suddenly shouted, kicking out at Bai. It connected with her stomach and she bent over double, gasping desperately for breath. "You're so loud! It's annoying!"

"Bai!" yelled Hei. Before he could move, however, the same foot that had kicked Bai knocked all the air out of him. He collapsed on the ground. He couldn't move; his lungs wouldn't work. His mind was in chaos; was everyone really dead? Was this just another trick?

"Hmm…" he could hear Envy murmuring. "Maybe it'd just be easier to do it myself… I think I'll kill the little girl. She seems more irritating."

Hei's eyes went wide. "No!" he tried to shout but it barely came out as a whisper. "Don't… my sister…"

"Oh…?" Envy turned his head towards him. Apparently he had still heard him. "Do you know what that would mean, squirt? That means you would die instead. Do you want to die?" He asked with a huge grin on his face.

Hei shuddered. He was still gasping for breath, but he knew the answer to that question for sure. "No… don't… w-wanna die." He reached out his trembling hand to hold onto Envy's foot in a feeble attempt to keep him from kicking out. "But… d-don't… hurt B-Bai."

"Don't touch me, you little brat!" spat Envy. He easily pulled his leg out of Hei's grasp and put it lightly on top of Hei's head. "Do you know what will happen when I put my full weight down on this foot? It will crush your head; your blood and brains will go everywhere." Envy licked his lips. "If you want that so badly, I guess I could oblige you…"

Hei was shaking so hard that it seemed like the whole world was vibrating. He had never been this frightened in his life. He couldn't think of anything, couldn't think of his sister, or his family. He couldn't think of anything except for the foot on his head that was going to kill him in a couple of moments. His lungs seemed to regain their functionality in his terror, and he was suddenly gasping in quick, shallow breaths. Tears spilled out of the corners of his eyes, and his pupils dilated as Envy's foot pressed down slowly—

"Big Brother!" gasped Bai from her spot on the ground. "Stop it!"

"Enough," a voice said somewhere out of the darkness. "Enough of your games Envy. You have two perfectly promising candidates for the lab program. Bring them back alive. Having two people so loyal to each other from such a young age could prove useful."

"Whaaat?" Envy complained. "You're no fun Pride. How is it going to help having two of these brats running around the lab?"

"Be quiet!" commanded the voice. "Think about it! We can use one of them as a hostage, at the very least."

"Hmph," sulked Envy; he didn't seem to have any problem with Pride's logic however."Fine. It wasn't going to be any fun killing kids this whiny anyway. Come on, pipsqueak one and two. If you come with me I'll let you live. If not, you're going to die. Your choice."

Hei staggered to his feet. He had a pounding headache, and the world was swirling around him. He stumbled forward one step on wobbly legs. He saw that Bai had managed to get up as well.

"W-what do we do, big brother?" Bai asked for the second time that night. She sniffed and rubbed at her runny nose. "I don't wanna go with him. He hurt Mommy! I wanna go back home!"

Hei gulped and looked at Envy. "We can't Bai. He'll hurt us again if we try to leave. We have to go with him." He was still shivering horribly. He didn't want to go against Envy again.

Bai grabbed his hand. She was shaking as well. "Alright, let's go," she said in a wavering voice, trying to seem brave. Hei was impressed with her effort; he couldn't manage anything like that right now.

"Yeah," he replied, holding onto Bai's hand like a lifeline. He started walking after Envy, who was impatiently gesturing for them to follow him. He tried unsuccessfully to concentrate on walking and not on what had just happened and not on his parents' deaths. He would have to try to explain to Bai what had happened later. New tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. "Let's go."

"Hei," a voice intruded on the dream. Hei awoke with a start, and realized that he was shaking violently. "Hei," the voice said more urgently. Hei took a gasping breath and put his head against his bound hands, trying to calm himself. He was covered in sweat. But it was just a nightmare, he told himself. Just a dream. It's illogical to get so upset over something that happened long ago.

Taking another deep breath, Hei looked from over his hands to where he had heard the voice that had woke him up. Yin was there, although she still wasn't facing him. Although her face betrayed no emotions, Hei noticed that her hands were again balled up in fists at her sides against her polka-dotted dress.

Unexpectedly, Yin unclenched her fists and reached out her hand. She started feeling around the edge of the crate as if searching for something. Her hand stopped once it found Hei's hand, which was still at his face, and she let it rest there. Hei blinked in surprise. "Are you alright," Yin stated. It was in the same monotone voice as always, but to his astonishment, Hei recognized the emotion she should not be able to feel behind the action. She's… worried about me?

"I'm fine," Hei said. It was a lie; he hadn't been alright for some time now. But he did feel better. It was irrational… but he was glad Yin was with him.

He heard the wood creak across the room, and he tensed. He whipped his head around to see the Lieutenant that Mustang had ordered to guard him still pointing the gun at Yin and giving him a strange look. He had been uncharacteristically unobservant after waking up from the nightmare and hadn't noticed her at all.

"What?" he asked her with a hint of aggression in his voice. His eyes didn't leave the gun she was pointing at them.

The Lieutenant regarded him cautiously. "That girl… is she blind? She didn't seem to see your hand a moment ago."

Hei took away his hands from his face and put the hand that Yin was touching on top of the crate. Yin didn't withdraw her hand from his. Unnoticed by the Lieutenant (Hei was blocking her line of sight), he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Yin's hand find the rope's knot on his wrist and start picking at it, looking for a way to untie it. Hei had to struggle for a moment to suppress his surprise. For years, Yin had had no free will whatsoever, and could do nothing by herself at all. Recently, however, she had not only begun to act on her own, but she had also started expressing emotions in a limited form. It still shocked him every time it happened. Maybe, somehow, what the researchers had done to her wasn't permanent?

Hei realized the Lieutenant was waiting for an answer. He looked away from the Lieutenant with a stony expression without answering her question. If he looked directly at her, it almost felt as if the Lieutenant might somehow sense that he was up to something.

Not hearing a response from Hei, Yin turned her head to gaze in the general direction of Lieutenant Hawkeye's voice. "Yes," she replied. Hei could still feel her fingers fumbling to untie the knot.

"…I see," Lieutenant Hawkeye said. She had wondered about it before when the girl had never looked anyone in the eye, not even Hei. But still… it could be part of some elaborate trick to make them let their guard down. "Do you mind if I make sure you're telling the truth?" she asked Yin in a polite voice.

Hei stiffened. The Lieutenant would see that Yin was trying to free him. But Yin didn't seem to mind the question. "No." Her emotionless voice fell flat in the air.

"Thank you," said the Lieutenant to Yin. If the girl was truly blind, this could be invaluable information. They could focus more of their guard on the much more deadly assassin; any attempt of hers to escape alone would be futile. Hei hadn't seemed to want her to figure this out, so she guessed she was on the right track. "Alright…" she mused, trying to think of some test to confirm Yin's blindness. She took one hand off the gun (although the other hand was still firmly pointing the gun at Yin) and reached back to the lantern that had been providing the light last night. She spared it a quick glance out of the corner of her eye. The candle in the middle of it was still burning.

Lieutenant Hawkeye strode over to the pair. Hei grew tenser with each step she took in their direction. Hawkeye sighed. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt her. Although if you attack me," she threatened with cold eyes, "I will shoot." She purposefully didn't specify who she would gun down—after her experience in Ishbal, she did not want to have to kill innocents any more than necessary. But even though this girl seemed to be innocent, if it came down to her survival and the success of Mustang's bid to become Fuhrer, Hawkeye knew she would do what she had to.

Hei did not relax, and he continued to follow all of her movements carefully.

She stopped in front of Yin. She put the gun to the girl's head, and placed the lantern in front of her strange, almost lavender, eyes. Peering into Yin's eyes she saw that neither of her pupils was reacting to the light. So she really was blind…

Out of the corner of her eye, Hawkeye detected a sudden movement. Her eyes widened as she realized it was Hei. What the—? The gun went flying as Hei delivered a strong backhanded punch to her wrist. The Lieutenant gave a cry of surprise and dropped the lantern, which shattered. She saw that the ropes on Hei's hands had fallen away. But—how? Her mind struggled to keep up with the sudden turn of events.

Hei pushed himself up using his hands, since his feet were still tightly bound, and managed to gather her into a headlock. He tightened his grip, choking her. The Lieutenant spluttered for breath and futilely struggled against his stranglehold.

There was the sound of a gunshot. Hei quickly turned his head to see who had entered the room; the Lieutenant was still firmly in his grasp. But… there was no one at the door. Where…? His eyes roamed the room, searching for whoever his attacker was. Then, he saw the wisp of smoke coming out of the gun he had knocked out of the Lieutenant's hands. It must have gone off when it had landed on the ground.

Hei returned his attention to Hawkeye whose arms were now hanging limply at her sides. Except—wait, Hei thought, his eyes going wide as he saw in her hands a glint of light reflecting off metal. Damn it! She had had another concealed gun, and had used his distraction at the previous gunshot to retrieve it. Her deceptively limp hands were pointing straight at the middle of his foot. Which he couldn't move out of the way because of the ropes binding his feet together.

The gun discharged with a loud "Bang!" and Hei yelled in pain. He dropped his arms from the Lieutenant's neck and fell backwards onto the ground, clutching his bound feet.

The Lieutenant collapsed as well, struggling to breathe. But it wasn't just from near strangulation—right before she had shot Hei's foot, she had been electrocuted. She knew that this man used electrical alchemy often to kill his targets, but he didn't have any circles on him; they had thoroughly searched him to make sure of that. He hadn't drawn any circles, or even clapped his hands as Ed did. So how…? Her vision was blurring. Damn it…

As she fought to keep her eyes open, she could hear the girl calling out to Hei, and asking what had happened. Well, Riza thought before everything disappeared into darkness. I guess she really was blind…