As the door opened, Milo's instinctively moved away into a darker part of the room, making him virtually invisible in his dark shroud. He looked at Vigilante, still standing in the middle, looking curious rather than worried. He saw her take a step towards the hallway, a step towards the unknown visitor. He grabbed around her arm shot her a glare, foolish woman.

She stared back at him, irritation showing through her narrowed slits and the decisive line of her mouth. She looked down at his hand, and he saw the shadow lingering. He had moved too quickly, and now she saw a part of him she wasn't supposed to know of. Damn. Her expression changed into one quite unreadable. She traced her fingers just above his arm and the shadow swirled around her outstretched hand and in between her fingers. His insides churned for some reason, and it felt as if she was touching him despite the distance.

Their moment was cut short as a voice called from the hallway outside, "New assignment!"

The man dropped something, and walked back towards the front door. Vigilante met Milo's eyes, and he saw immediate understanding. She reached for the door that separated them from the man, opened it towards them and he flew out, grabbing the man before he had a chance to leave. The brown haired Human didn't have time to startle before he was thrust up against the wall, the movements around him too quick for his untrained reflexes. Milo held his hand at the young man's throat, pressing down for effect. The stare that met his was frightened and shocked.

"What?" the young man croaked, and Milo was surprised to hear him speak again so quickly.

"Oh, darling, he won't hurt you. Just tell us what we want to know, and you'll be out of here in a second," Vigilante purred from behind. Milo smirked at the man, seeing the effect of Vigilante's sultry, persuasive voice. The young man's gaze flitted away from his own and the dull brown eyes bulged, apparently liking what they saw despite the situation.

The man gulped under his hand, keeping his eyes locked on Vigilante.

"There, there," she soothed. He could hear her get closer by the soft sounds on the carpet, but he held his grip. To his surprise he saw her hand coming into vision, stroking the man's chin. She was close enough for him to hear her heartbeat, her excitement. She liked this... and a spark of irrational jealousy hit him. Why would he care that she touched another?

"Milo, why don't you release him a little," she suggested. He wondered if he would let her try, let her do it her way. He didn't mind, he hated interrogations, it was always such a messy business.

He let go of the man's throat and backed away a step. He was fairly certain that the young man would try to flee, but to Milo's astonishment he didn't. The man's terrified eyes were glued on Vigilante, and didin't seem very prone to leave.

"You will have to forgive us for throwing ourselves at you but we just found out that our Master has been murdered. I assume you had nothing to do with it...but if you know something, anything," she said, her voice was like a caress, intimate and lovely, completely out of character. He bit back a smirk. The lie was simple, and should have alerted anyone with half a brain, but not this man, not now. The terror in the young man's eyes abated, replaced by a hint of confidence and lust. Clever girl.

"It's alright," the man said with a shaky voice.

"Now, we are very interested in all information you could possibly have that could help us," she cooed, and while she was no longer touching him, she stood close, very close. The man's hunger for her became more and more apparent and Milo clenched his jaws in irritation.

"I don't know if I can be of much help, I only deliver these letters," he replied, but the strain in his voice seemed to have more to do with his reaction to her, than fear.

"Who sends them? Perhaps we could talk with the sender?"

"ehh... I'm not supposed to say"

"Of course you're not, but this is a new situation after all. We must find who did this. You can whisper, I won't tell," she said, giving him one long look as she leaned in. She took the man's hand and let him close the last distance.

Milo couldn't believe it. How did she do it? The man closed his eyes too and seemed to breathe in her scent, brushing her ear with his lips. He whispered, and she nodded slowly. The young man didn't pull away, he stood there and Milo was close to tear them apart.

"Good boy," she said, smiling at him as she brought her arms up to his head. She caressed his hair, stroking it gently before grabbing it, snapping his neck.

Milo stood in total confusion, but a smile started to tug at the corner of his mouth.

The ruthlessness she showed sent a thrill through his body, but he smothered it quickly. He didn't promote unnecessary deaths...normally, so he put on his best scowl just to prove a point.

-----

Vigilante turned around as the lifeless body sank down to the floor. She looked up at the Nyx and was a little shocked at his expression. He was looking at her like she had done something awful, as if he despised her. Her insides constricted as she realized his judgment of her. Then she scowled, who was he to judge her? Moreover, why should she care?

"What?" she said, hiding that brief hurt he caused her by flaring her anger.

"Was that really necessary?" he snapped, his voice holding the same judgment as his face showed, but she wouldn't let it get to her.

"Well, did you have any better idea?"

That shut him up, but it didn't alter the anger in his eyes. The tension in the air did nothing to improve her temper. Damn it! She hadn't expected this reaction at all. She had reacted on instinct, doing what she had been taught to do.

"It's all I know!" she heard herself say, almost desperate.

He startled, and she couldn't read him.

There was a long moment of silence. He looked at her, and she looked back. She was so confused. She would never have given the young man at her feet another thought before, but now she did. She wondered if it had been necessary, perhaps Milo was right. What if she had stolen someone's brother, just as they had stolen hers?

"Hey, I'm sorry... You shocked me, but you're also right, and at least you made it quick," he said, his expression still strange. "And thank you for saving my life."

Her heart started to beat faster at his words, she hadn't expected any thanks. She had not been thanked since her family was taken from her.

"You're welcome," she replied, not sure what else to say.

-----

"Ah, here they are," Qumo said, beaming while looking at the other two quite desolate young humans.

"Huh?" Vito grunted, looking completely absent. The boy hadn't been himself lately, and Qumo was starting to worry. Those visions obviously took their toll. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of it yet, but that line in the hymn written in the Willow Scrolls, white upon white to See might perhaps refer to a Seer. The Willow Scrolls did mention See several times, and if that word meant seer, and if that specifically meant Vito; then the young man would have a very difficult time ahead.

"Qumo?" Annie's asked, her voice waking him up from his thoughts.

"Ah, yes, Milo is inside, and I believe that he has company."

"Is he alive?" Annie asked, concerned.

"We'll see won't we?" he answered, trying his best to assure her without giving any promises. He did sense the the faint traces of the Destroyer inside, but he wasn't sure who had been collected.

They approached the door and he decided to walk in rather than knock. The sight that met them in the hallway made him stop abruptly. Annie gasped audibly behind him, and Vito seemed to become a little unstable. However, the man lying lifeless on the floor didn't shock him as much as the two living, standing side by side. It was a welcome shock, he had grown quite attached to Vigilante's spirit these last few days. It would have been a shame if either of them had killed the other.

"This is a welcome sight!" he said, unable to hold back his smile.

"Why the hell did you run away like that if you weren't going to kill him, have you no thoughts for others?" Vito's spat, his angry voice shattering the momentary respite of their reunion. However, the boy had a point.

Vigilante looked a bit startled at first, but collected herself quickly.

"You would never have let me leave alone, regardless of what I would have told you about risking your life. You don't trust me Vito, I had no choice."

"Bullshit!" Vito replied, but Vigilante only shook her head.

"Believe what you will then, I don't care if you like me or not... He's still alive," she continued, but her words didn't seem to make any difference: Vito still looked ready to strangle her.

A long silence followed, and their stare seemed to make the air sizzle with irritation.

"Vito, she saved my life," Milo interrupted, his calm voice covering them all as a soothing blanket, easing the tension. Qumo smiled even broader: Io was starting to shine brighter inside of the Nyx'gaian. Wonderful!

"He's not very alive though, is he?" Annie said, nodding towards the man on the floor.

"No, he's not alive, but he told us something interesting before he died. We know who sent this," Vigilante told them, holding a brown envelope. "This assignment was sent from Thomas Counter"

"The Council? Oh..." Milo said with a deflated voice, and Vigilante looked upon him as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What? The Council, are you sure?" she said.

"Yes, I've heard that name in use before," the Nyx replied, shooting her a wild look

"Oh no... Does this mean..."

Suddenly it was Vigilante who sounded more upset.

"Yes, we've been their puppets, we've been their personal assassins" Milo answered.

Vigilante seemed to zone out, becoming distant.

"Vigilante, what is it?" Milo asked.

"They killed my family...I've been meaning to avenge their deaths, and now I've been working for them instead."

Her voice was hollow, faint. That anger that laced it so often wasn't there. Qumo felt sorry for the young woman, she sounded so lost all of a sudden. Then something else struck him.

"Well, what's in the envelope?" he asked, very curious to learn who the Council wanted dead.

Milo took the envelope from Vigilante's unmoving hands. He opened it and the look in his face was one of confusion, and then of blissful relief.

"They want Io dead, Io who was last been seen in Westerland. It's not me, I'm not him."

The Nyx beamed as if all his troubles vanished in an instant.

"Interesting," was all Qumo said, and mostly for himself it would seem as the others didn't listen.