Distorted babble, fuzzy figures, industrial-grey walls. Erin's senses were dashed, there was no focus, only everything, a sea of unfamiliar sounds and scents. There were people around, she thought, but she couldn't pick them out of the constant, white noise.

Finally voices emerged. Female, harsh. Somewhere above her and beside her. "She's a vampire. Why are we talking care of her?"

"She's one of the good ones Olive," Jonno. She could hear the words but she couldn't cling onto them or process what they meant. "She's helped us." Dark brown eyes, wide with care.

A stiff pillow under her head. Bone-deep fatigue, headache. Erin's eyes struggled to separate the walls from the silhouettes in the room. Platinum hair, stark in the grey drew her eyes. The woman with the rough voice spoke again. "She was one of us, wasn't she? You liked her."

"How'd you know that?"

"Because I wouldn't want to kill my friend either." The conversation ended with the woman striding away, long blond hair swinging behind her. Then she was gone and Jonno remained.

The vampire tried her best to gather her splayed thoughts. She shifted on an uncomfortable mattress. The creaking of unstable limbs on the crude bed drew Jonno's attention and he span around. "Erin!"

His voice was loud and sharp and Erin winced as her headache spiked.

"Sorry. It tends to hit half-fangs harder than full vampires."

"What did you hit us with?" Erin tried to feel thankful, thankful that Jonno hadn't thrown her in with the rest of the vampires and thankful that she would survive this encounter with the guild. But she couldn't. All she could think was how close her lips had been to Mir's and how much she'd wanted him.

"Screamers, they emit really high pitch noise." Jonno picked up on her reluctance. "And I don't know what will happen to the others. We're going to start by deciding what to do with Vlad and then once we've done that we'll deal with the rest. Honestly, I hoped you'd left."

"Are you going to kill him?"

"We'd have to know how to do that," Jonno's hand subconsciously rubbed his neck where two sets of sutures sat. "And we don't." His eyes flicked to hers briefly. "For now we are just going to question him. You should go. Go get yourself away from Vlad and away from the guild."

Erin opened her mouth but no answer came.

Erin wanted to stay with him. He knew that look, he'd seen that look her two years previous when she said she was with them and then proceeded to pull the carpet from under their feet. If he wasn't careful she might mount a rescue effort.

Bloody Vladimir Dracula. The only vampire to seduce a slayer twice. It stunned Jonno every single time how Vlad managed to worm his way under everyone's skin, a vampire more hypnotic than any other, if only for the fact he possessed real compassion.

Even now, though it appeared to be gone… Jonno couldn't help but wonder; was there humanity hiding behind the smirk and rage that Vlad now carried?

No. He didn't get to give this vampire a second chance; too much blood had been spilled already.

Jonno sat beside Erin on the bed. Her face was still ashy and grey from her capture. The screamers had severely hurt all of the vampires in Garside but Erin was the only one he cared about. Seeing her seizing on the ground, blood dripping from her ears…. The slayer shivered. If she hadn't have made it, he would've had yet another death on his conscience.

"Don't do this Erin." It was her turn to look at him, green eyes determined despite her defeated body. "Walk away," This didn't have to end with another dead vampire. "The only thing that follows Vlad is disaster and if you stay I can't guarantee your safety."

She considered his proposition. "His name is Mir, Jonno and I don't intend to run and hide."

"What do you think is going to happen?" Exasperation took over from care and Jonno sighed. "There is no good ending here! The treaty isn't going to be rebuilt – though I doubt you'd wanted it to anyway – there is no ceasefire and the only reason you aren't in a cell with the rest of them is because I put my ass on the line for you!" He knelt in front of her, tan hands on her pale ones. "I'm begging you Erin, just walk away and let him go."

Olivia considered herself a "vampire expert". Being part of the guild for the better of three decades meant she'd seen every kind of vampire that hell could spit out and plenty of other spooks as well. She was approaching forty yet she felt no fatigue in her bones and her reactions were as good as ever. Olivia considered herself practically fearless.

But this vampire just didn't act like he was meant to.

He had the typical vampire profile; calculative eyes, stupid smirk and a set of mean fangs but there was something about him. Something that Olivia hadn't managed to understand yet but she knew it made him different. It put her on edge more than anything because vampires didn't act human. They just didn't. Half-fangs maybe but this was no half-fang.

There was no sounds in the room except Olivia's soft breathing and the scratch of pen on paper. The vampire hadn't even bothered to fiddle with the argentalium cuffs while she was there and it was rather disappointing. He hadn't even tried to strike at her!

Perhaps he understood that the screamer had impaired his balance as well as his vision and hearing.

In comparison to the blonde half-fang they brought in he looked better but not even a vampire looked healthy with a cold sweat. His face was decorated in tiny cuts from where his hands had clawed at his face to end the noise. Olivia was half tempted to offer him a glass of water.

"What are you doing in here?" The vampire finally said.

Olivia glanced over her folder at the him and raised an eyebrow, "Paperwork." Interrogations were her speciality and while vampire's were resistant to nearly all methods of human tactics, they had their own weaknesses.

It was interesting how often a vampire's impatience was their downfall.

"And you're doing that... here?"

Olivia liked working on paperwork. Vampires didn't like that. They wanted her full attention and they wanted her to make them feel needed. If she demanded answers from them they wouldn't give them. If she waited for them to give them instead, it wasn't long to wait before they teased what she wanted. It killed two birds with one stone really; it got answers from the vamp and it got some of her paperwork out the way.

"Oh, I haven't got anything better to do." She flicked over a couple of pages and started to describe a recent slaying. "Feel free to talk if you like though."

He went silent. Internally Olivia sighed. This was going to be a long one.

The key to every vampire interrogation was patience – keep silent until they offered information to work out just what you wanted from them. But sometimes patience wasn't easy to come by and sometimes Olivia wished she could just punch the information out of her mark.

"But why are you doing your paper work in here?" Devilish, vampire eyes creased with real confusion. "With me?"

Olivia checked her watch. Almost twenty minutes she'd been in the room with the vampire and he hadn't tried to attack her. It was almost like he wasn't interested in killing her. She gave the him a bemused look. "You know how it is – someone's gotta keep an eye on the vampire and with a vampire like you, do you believe we could possibly let you out of our sight?"

Jonno glanced through the one-way window of their cell for the Chosen One. Olivia was in there. Feet resting on the centre table, just out of reach of the vampire and perfectly at ease. She was nodding too, almost smiling in response to something Vlad said but the room's soundproofing stopped him hearing the exchange.

He cracked the door open and slipped inside. Whatever conversation vampire and slayer had going ceased and Mir's eyes focussed on him, gleaming red. He did his best to look at just Olivia. "Can I catch you up on the others?"

The female slayer rose to her feet, leaving her folder abandoned on the table. "Don't try to read it, you won't find it interesting anyway." She told the vampire. He ignored her and scowled at Jonno.

"Erin had better survive this. Or I blame you."

Jonno didn't answer but as soon as the door had closed Olivia whirled on him. "He's sweet on her too?"

"He was the one who turned her." And Jonno was still selfishly glad that he had. "She would've died otherwise."

Olivia pushed her hair back behind her ear. "This is even more complicated than it looks isn't it?" She looked between him and Vlad. There was something akin to sympathy in her expression. "There's a lot of history with you three."

"I could make it even worse by telling you we met when we were both thirteen."

"Goodness. You knew him before he turned?"

Jonno missed the Vlad he'd known in his teen years. The Vlad that had tried so hard to hang onto his humanity and would've done almost anything for a chance at being human. But Vlad Count was long gone and Jonno had realised years ago that he was part of the reason Vlad had abandoned the idea of a cure. "Before we even knew he was the Chosen One."

The other slayer pursed her lips. "Once we've questioned him-" she gestured in the direction of the vampire "-you are going to catch me up on everything that has happened between you people."

Jonno blanched and Olivia didn't have to wonder if Jonno had a troubled childhood. He was a slayer. Of course he had. Born into a slayer family and raised in the same town of the young grand high vampire was a recipe for bad memories.

Olivia herself had gotten into the guild when she was just a teenager. Her boyfriend had been a member of the undead. She still believed that he'd loved her in some sick way but it hadn't stopped her putting a stake through his heart.

Yeah. Slayers didn't come from happy families.

The vampire in the other room was getting impatient. He was tugging at the chains and even reaching for her abandoned folder. Olivia composed herself; now was not the time for reminiscing their miserable childhoods. Now was the time for questioning vampires.

Jonno emerged from a similar stupor. "How are we going to get him to talk? He's not going to just tell us how to kill him."

"Use the info about the other vamp against him. And we won't jump straight to the chase." She strode towards the door. "I for one want to know how he survived the argent pistol."

The slayer followed reluctantly behind her as she rejoined Mir in the cell and rested her feet on the desk again. "Ok, hotshot," She told him. "Why don't you tell us how you survived getting shot with an argentalium bullet."

Mir was slow to respond. His eyes were fixed on Jonno, flickering with rage and what Olivia believed was betrayal. She couldn't understand why the vampire might be feeling such but she imagined that Jonno's story would explain a lot. Then he looked at her and spoke. "I want to know where Erin is."

"We'll get to that." She dropped her feet and leaned across the table. "First you answer our question."

The vampire was likely to kick up a fuss about answering, especially with Jonno in the room, but she wanted to give a more direct route a try in the hopes of avoiding long hours of interrogation.

"No idea." He scowled. "I was unconscious at the time. Tell me about Erin."

Jonno piped up. "You got up afterwards and ran away – you must know how!"

Mir made a sudden move to get up but it was halted by the sets of chains around his wrists. Long white canines snapped furiously. "Why don't you know, Jonno, you were the one who shot me anyway!"

Looking between vampire and slayer, both taut with anger and bitterness, Olivia made an executive decision. "Jonno, I need you to get out."

"What?" Immediately her request was met with protest. "You want me to leave you alone in here with him?!" Out of the corner of her eye she could see the vampire silently laughing. Olivia's looked at Jonno levelly, hoping that the slayer would understand that she knew what she was doing. He got the message, and retreated out of the cell door.

She turned back to the vampire. "Come on, buddy, just tell us what you know." A crafted smile curled her lips. "We'll tell you about your girlfriend if you give us an idea."

Mir regarded her carefully. "Why did you make him go?" His eyes flicked to the door. Jonno was probably glaring at them through the glass right now, or he was at the desk listening to every word they said through the speakers.

Olivia hoped he wasn't too annoyed at what she had to say. "He's emotionally compromised. Too close to you and your girl. And you won't give us anything while he is in the room."

"Got that right."

"What about now? Are you going to give us answers?" She asked. Honestly, she doubted they would get much of him. Not unless they threatened the girl. He must know that they planned to kill him and that his silence was the only thing keeping him alive.

The vampire's expression, as she was speaking, had slowly slacked into an expression of resignation, his eyes empty and tired. He didn't look like the strongest of the undead, he was all exhaustion and misery. It almost made Olivia feel a touch of sympathy.

But she knew how vampires loved to play games.

His voice was soft when he finally spoke. "Do you know where I was going when Jonno shot me?"

"His report reads that you were leaving the school."

"But do you know where I was heading?"

His face gave no indication of what these questions were about and Olivia couldn't fathom his words either. "Out to hunt maybe?"

"No." His eyebrows squeezed together and his lips tightened. "I was running. You know why?"

He didn't give her a chance to hazard a guess.

"Because I had just been dethroned. My own family and council turned on me because they thought I was too 'soft'-" His exagerated hand gestures showed just what he thought about that accusation, "- and then when I escape," Blue eyes glared daggers at her, "After breaking a rule that was everything I stood for, a slayer comes and kills me. A month or too later I regain my memories – first my ex-girlfriend tries to kill me at least twice, my council tries to execute me again then my actual girlfriend tries and finally I end up here. And now you're going to try and kill me too."

Olivia pushed her hair behind her ear and looked calmly at the vampire. "Why you telling me this? We're still enemies – even if you've got a sad story. You're still a killer and I am still a slayer." He was younger than her, at least half her age but that didn't change what he was and what they had to do.

"I'm not even a killer." The self-assured smirk had slipped away leaving someone much more innocent and open. Olivia wondered if this was who Mir had been before his memory loss. "All I wanted… and still want is peace." He looked unsure of himself. "I don't want to be a killer."

The slayer leaned over the table. "We tried peace and it fell apart. If we were to do it again, how would you avoid the last disaster?"

"You're actually considering this?"

"Give me a good reason and I will."

The door slammed open and Olivia fell back into her seat. At the door was a livid Jonno. He shot the vampire one furious glare before looking at the slayer. "I want to talk to you."

She nodded and quickly darted over to the door.

The second there was a three inches of argentalium between the two slayers, Jonno erupted.

"How can you possibly think that peace is a good idea?"

"Why not?" Olivia dared Jonno to challenge her. She'd never been particularly good with protocol anyway – it was part of the reason she was so successful; vampires never saw her coming.

"He's a vampire!" It was all just bias, anger and hurt spilling out of Jonno's lips when it came to the vampire, and Olivia was starting to understand just how much effect the vampire had on shaping the slayer in front of her.

"So's his girlfriend! And you're happy to listen to her."

"Erin's different – she didn't choose to be this way," His tone was standoffish but his eyes were almost pleading. "You can't trust him and we can't have peace – we're meant to kill vampires!"

Olivia stopped, reconsidering what would've been a sharp retort. She didn't need to be a master interrogator to see that Jonno was conflicted. When she decided on a reply it was comforting and understanding. "Jonno. Slayers aren't just meant to kill vampires. Primarily; we save lives." Her face hardened. "And until we know how to kill him it's all we have."

When she re-entered the cell Mir was picking at his cuffs.

"You shouldn't be doing that." She sat herself back at the desk, not even bothering to pick her up her files. "Tell me more about wanting peace,"

The vampire gave her a ruminative look. "It failed last time because fresh blood was cut off."

"Hmm?" Olivia wondered if he was legitimate about peace again. She'd intended to humour him, if only to keep him sedate a little longer. She'd also assumed it was a manipulation but Mir seemed to actually want to discuss it. "I thought the point of the treaty was to restrict fresh blood and prevent innocents dying."

"You can't keep vampires off breathers, it's our nature." He watched the floor thoughtfully. "I didn't get it the last time because I hadn't drank from them but I get it now." His eyes flicked to hers, sharp intense vampire eyes, cold and inviting at the same time.

But Mir's eyes were different. In amongst the cold and the predator Olivia thought she could see real humanity.

"I can't stop vampires drinking from breathers but I could stop them killing."

"So people would still get attacked?" She shook her head. "That's not how it works buddy, you stop attacking us – we stop attacking you."

"Don't you understand?" He growled, giving his cuff a yank. "We can't stop hunting, it's biology." The vampire stopped fiddling with his restraints when Olivia's hand moved to her gun. "If we were to enter a treaty… I could put sanctions on breather killing, maybe even limit the amount of hunting."

Olivia scowled. "The guild doesn't do half measures. You enter into a treaty and still expect us to let you attack random people!"

"They wouldn't die!"

"No – they would turn though!" The idea of vampires hunting without killing would be a nice one but the vampire wanted her to overlook the fact that victims that weren't killed became vampires. "And that's practically dying anyway."

"We know how to hunt without turning."

"Hunting, I hate that word. It basically means we're nothing more than food to you lot."

Mir opened his mouth to snap a response but stopped as if he were cut off.

A second later Olivia realised what was about to happen and charged for the vampire, withdrawing her stake as she vaulted the desk.

Moments later the door flew open.

And Olivia flew across the room.