Vito closed his eyes, uncomfortable with the endless white light that stretched before him as soon as he opened them. He knew someone was at his side again when he heard the sound of a name: his name. The simple sound almost made him cry with relief. He knew her. He remembered. Vigilante.

"Vito, how are you feeling?" she asked, touching his shoulder. He trembled at the contact, soaking up the warmth and the tactile sensation: the world was still there even if he couldn't see it. Somehow that touch meant everything. Her touch was reality.

Her hand left him, pulling away, but he grabbed hold of her, not yet ready to be alone again.

"No, don't let go," he pleaded.

The tension he felt in her limb vanished, and she placed her other hand around his, squeezing lightly. Then he felt the weight of a third hand. He cringed away, not knowing whose it was.

"It's me," a man said, the voice brushing over him and settling his fear. He smiled. Milo. He knew him. He opened his eyes again, wanting to see the faces of his friends, momentarily forgetting that he wouldn't see them. He gasped, blinking repeatedly, not sure if his mind was playing him a trick or not. He closed them shut for a few seconds and opened them again. The figure was still there, Milo was there, visible as a pulsating shimmer within the confines of his body. Vito stretched out his hand to touch it, and felt the solid form beneath his fingers.

Tears pooled in his eyes. Tears of relief, tears of hope.

"Can you see?" Milo asked, his voice hopeful.

"Yes...I can see you," he faltered. This was too much, too many emotions and thoughts ran through his mind. What was happening? He stared at the form again. "You shimmer."

"Shimmer?"

"Yes, it's like a glow. It's under your skin, it's beautiful!" he said, awed at what he saw. It was pulsating with light, different colors weaving into each other back and forth as if waiting to be released.

"Cool," Vigilante said, sounding as carefree as ever, as if nothing had happened, and he smiled at that. Her cheery nature had started to get to him, somehow...

He turned towards her, and couldn't help but gasp again.

"I see you too!"

She chuckled a little before responding. "Let me guess, I'm darkness, pitch black."

He grinned at her comment. After everything that had happened, he couldn't really dislike her with the same intensity as before. He thought he might even like her a little.

"No, you're not dark. You sort of remind me of the sky, a stormy grey sky."

"Ah, that doesn't sound very attractive at all. I'd prefer darkness any day," she replied, and he could hear the familiar tone of sarcasm in her voice.

He chuckled, and was quite startled by the feeling it produced inside of him. It had been so long ago. He had not laughed in a very long time.

"So...how are you feeling?" Milo asked tentatively. He was surprised by the Nyx's tone, and a little confounded. It was so careful, as if he was afraid to speak.

"I feel alright I guess," he answered, because he did. He felt alright, if he allowed himself to forget about waking up virtually blind, and seeing his friends shimmer. When he came to think of it, he felt marvelous.

"No, I feel amazing!" he exclaimed, thrilled to realize that he wasn't feeling the heavy strain that had festered in his body, nor did he hear any voices shrieking within his mind, it was silent for the first time in his life. Strange.

"I'll go and get Qumo." Vigilante said, and pulled her hands away carefully, almost as she was excusing herself. He smiled, because even if he couldn't see any expression on that glowing form that was her, he could somehow feel it, feel how she felt. She was happy that he was okay.

Her stormy form disappeared from his sight and he was left with Milo's.

"I stopped your heart." Milo said gravely before turning silent. The atmosphere seemed to thicken around him. Had he died? The wave of sadness that hit him was so strong that he thought he would drown in it. It was like a thick blanket, laced with guilt, terrible guilt. He had to grip Milo's hand, and that was when he realized: it wasn't his sadness, it was Milo's. The Nyx needed his forgiveness, and he was stunned to feel it with such a certainty.

"There's nothing to forgive," he said, although Milo hadn't asked for it, other than within his heart. Vito expected to pick up on relief, but it didn't come. The Nyx was blaming himself.

"You're blind..." Milo continued instead.

"I may be blind, but I'm alive!" he answered, this time with a little bite in his voice. He wouldn't let Milo feel sorry for him, not when he felt in his heart that the future had become something of a possibility. He no longer felt like he was getting one step closer to the Destroyer with every breath he took.

-----

"Ah, he's awake. Then we will talk of the future," the old Sigyn said, instantly leaving the cottage, breaking off their previous conversation. Qumo looked curiously at the old Sigyn as she went. Vigilante had just told them of Vito's condition, and this wasn't the response he had been expecting. Vigilante looked equally surprised, and they exchanged a fleeting glance.

"Of course, but first I must talk to Vito, his health is my priority at this moment," he called after her. The greying woman turned around in the faint morning light, and he could see the fire picking up in the Sigyn's eyes. She wasn't a very patient woman, but that was their nature. He guessed that she wasn't very used to being told what to do, or not to do. He grinned at the fact that he was throwing her off balance.

"Very well, but we will speak, and we will be honest when we do," she retorted. He sensed a hint of threat in her words, but he knew it wasn't a very big one, he had dealt with Sigyns before, and this was how they talked when they were emotionally invested in something, and she had every right to be at this point. The Sigyns had nothing left to lose, and everything to win.

He let Vigilante link with his arm and left the Sigyn behind. He couldn't help but tense as they approached the other two, he couldn't really trust Vito's recovery before seeing it with his own eyes. As he arrived at Vito's side all his worries melted away. The young man was looking at him, smiling widely.

"Qumo!" Vito exclaimed with joy, touching him frantically. It was such an unusual exchange that he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"You can see him too?" Milo asked, hopefully. The question brought even more confusion. He must have looked like a question mark as the answer came directly.

"I can't see what I usually saw when I opened my eyes, but I see something else instead. You look like a rich deep forest, glowing, just like the others..."

He didn't know how to respond. Vito couldn't see, but could? Then the question was: what did he see?

"We're glowing? Do we look the same?"

Vito chuckled a little, and the sound was extremely comforting. "No, you don't look remotely the same. You have an earthy quality about you, Vigilante looks like the sky, Milo's color is harder to describe. He just shines a lot with every color."

"Earthy you say? Interesting..." That made sense, but not the way he described Vigilante, he thought. "You're sure you're not seeing water instead of the sky when you look at her?" he asked, just to make sure.

Vito turned towards Vigilante again, his cloudy eyes searching. "Water, I guess it could be water..." Vito said, but he didn't look convinced. Qumo nodded. Now quite sure of what the young man saw. However, he saw a Sigyn pass by and he waved her over.

"Come child, may we borrow you for a little while?" he asked. She looked a bit confused but nodded and came over to them. He guided her to Vito's side. "Do you see her?" he asked him.

"No...wait, yes. I can see something. It's fainter, but very bright and warm. Beautiful!" Vito's face warmed visibly as he had said the words, perhaps realizing how that sounded.

"What do you think of when you see her?" he asked, trying to gauge more information out of the young man.

"Fire," Vito answered, this time seemingly sure of his statement.

"Do you know what this means?" he asked the young man, but also directing the question to the others.

"Nope, I have no idea," Vito answered

"Yes you do, think..."

Silence followed, he saw the others exchanging puzzled glances. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so surprised. It was a long time ago anyone had spoken about the elements and their connections to any other race than the Sigyns.

"The elements!" Vito exclaimed finally, flashing a grin. "I can see the earth in you, the fire in the Sigyn here, and the water in Vigilante, but what about Milo?" At the last question Milo tensed, and a moment later he was gone, walking away. However, this time the Nyx didn't run, he stopped and sat down at the same tree he had visited before.

Qumo saw Vigilante take a step towards him, but he stopped her. "Give him time," he said, and she sighed in response while holding her eyes locked on Milo's dark features.

"I think he's had enough time!" she snapped.

"He'll come around. I think he's handling it rather well under the circumstances. I wouldn't want to learn that I was destined to bear that kind of responsibility on my shoulders. Would you?" he asked. She looked at him and he could see the irritation in her eyes slowly fade away.

"No, I wouldn't want to face a fate like that. I just wish he would talk about it instead of shutting us out." He heard the hurt in her, and he understood. She loved him, and there was nothing she could do to help the dark Nyx, not even when he needed it the most.

Then she did what she usually did, she dropped the painful topic. "So, humans have water as their element, I didn't know that. Was that the reason why the old Sigyn talked about water drowning Vito?"

"Yes, you are said to be connected to that element: calm and nurturing when you set your mind to it, but when aroused you are a terrible force of nature. Changeable, accommodating, but also able to drown or desiccate those around you, you're controlling...You have a terrible power in the world." He almost regretted the words as he said them, he had been so disappointed in the human race for so long, but he knew that individuals could not be held accountable for the actions of many.

"I'm sorry Vigilante, you're not like most. I hold you in high regard."

She met his eyes, and he saw bitterness. "I hate humans too...even if I'm one of them," she replied.

"Hate is a strong word, I don't hate humans. I think they act irrationally at times, and that saddens me. Humans could do so much good in the world, but at the moment they are not."

"Air...were the Ayads connected to air?" Vito interrupted. He nodded to the young man's question, then realized that he might not be able to see it.

"Yes, the Ayads were of air, it is a great loss that they are gone..." he replied, and as he did he felt that loss as if it had been yesterday, the wound still wide open.