Out into the street littered with debris from the explosion. Patches of fire and broken concrete scattered the asphalt. 

Never running, Silas walked at a steady pace after the sound of the crows. His targets were within his sight. Two corvids. Crisscrossing the dark street, their shadows caught by what little light was cast by the half moon in the sky.

"I am with you." Sky said, a warm voice in the cold as she swam at his side. Silas had never doubted and together they pursued.

"The two to be collected work together." Silas said, "My Sky, beware their trickery."

He was making a clear reference to the silent Man's revealed ability. Sky could only nod. It had been unsettling to see a twin of Silas smiling at her

The Collector's sharp focus scanned the empty street. The birds were flying across the air, down the corridor-like length of the street lined with broken buildings away from Hell's Headquarters and the mess left behind

"Where are they leading us?"

It wasn't difficult to guess.

"Closer to him, no doubt." Silas replied. The chains spread out, searching for vibrations in the air as they walked after their prey's call. Across cracked streets and broken walkways, towards the waterline at the edge of the city. Bridges led from the main island of that Other Manhattan to its adjoining districts. An entire world existed beyond that Other New York and Silas and Sky had yet to explore.

On the tails of black feathers, Silas and Sky were lured to the approach of the incline of the bridge to the Other Brooklyn. Towering metal beams that spanned the divide of the river between the two sides. Standing at the path set before him, Silas watched as the crows led the way, the little light that shone from the cold moon above glinting off their black bodies.

His pace never slowe

Ahead, the birds dove, finding a place on the path at the top of the arc at the bridge's middle. Transforming, they were human again, the Woman eyeing with glee the Collector's undeterred approach. The tall and silent Man's attention was to something close beyond his own figure, obscured in Silas' sight by the Man's own black clothing.

Then something else took shape as the Man stepped to the side. Two large drum barrels that both together wasted no time in tipping over towards the approaching Collector, chains and ghost. They were not meant to roll but instead the entire liquid contents they contained were spilled out in a wave towards them

Silas stopped in mid step and carefully took several steps back. The liquid was not water but Silas knew immediately what it was.

"Oil and fire," Silas informed in case Sky hadn't pieced it together. When the flames appeared in the Woman's hand, Sky understood full well.

With the flick of her wrist, the Woman dropped what smoldered in her hand and an inferno was quick to shoot down the slope at their feet. In a rushing tide of flames towards Silas and Sky, the oil and  fire flowed across the walk, spilling over its edges and effectively blocking their path

"Silas! Above!" Sky's voice directed him to the beams above their heads. The metal lines occurred every ten meters and ran horizontally the length of the bridge above them. On either side of them, wire fences blocked access to both the drop to the bridge's street and rail line below the pedestrian walk on one side and the plummet to the river on the other.

Either way, as Silas wasn't going back, they were going up.

With the chains and Sky, Silas jumped the fence and climbed in a powerful swing of his body to the beams above their heads. Without waver and with inhuman balance, he stood on the metal line above the fence that connected all between the path's upper beams and the fall to the street that rarely saw any sort of vehicle cross its surface.

Silas found his footing and with Sky and the chains floating in the air, he walked forward. His eyes on his collections with their eyes on him. In a leap they joined him on the beams above the flames they fanned

"Well, aren't you full of fancy tricks?" The Woman mocked. The Collector who remained relentless in closing in. Both jumped back a beam without looking when Silas and Sky had almost reached attacking distance, keeping themselves out of reach.

The Man became a crow, flying back above their heads as the Woman kept pulling them forward. Sky's eyes followed the taste of life in the Man's soul as the crow's form tore across the air before her eyes. Behind them it cawed and when the ghost turned, the fire beneath them, she saw the Man as had transformed to his twin form of the Soul Collector Silas Meier. Positioning his move, he was where he wanted to be. With the Woman ahead and the Man behind, Silas and Sky's attention were pulled apart.

The Collector drew the chains back in instinct when the Woman jumped with greedy hands shooting for the links. But the Man did as well and as the chains churned away from the Woman who was now teasing how close she could get to Silas, the Man's hands were in turn waiting on them to swing into his grasp.

Wide eyed, Sky's body flipped in mid air in time to pull her wrists back with chains to follow. Away from the Man's form of the Collector. Spinning, Sky's nails swiped for his throat but missed her mark. A grin split across his face at Sky's miss and his amusement only grew. Several more attempted strikes were met with quick turns of his body out of her reach. Hissing at the doppelgänger in furious warning when her attacks didn’t connect, Sky was trying to convince herself that she would not be fooled by their tricks. Even when the Man's ability to make himself look as Silas appeared was unbelievable.

One more time, the Man attempted to get past Silas' sight to grab the chains. Metal swung again in a wave to the side and back once more when the Woman, laughing hysterically, joined the onslaught. The situation was clearly becoming a game of who could grab the chains first and it was a game Silas refused to play. No one was to touch them. 

With a graceful step off the metal line on which he stood, Silas' form dropped feet first to the bridge's empty street. Their enemies were still above the burning path, giving the Collector the space he needed.

The Woman came first, down over the beams and wire fence in a flurry of feathers. Followed by the Man who landed with mimicking Silas' catlike grace. But no longer was Silas caged and two against two was an even number. Those that stood before him may have been the best of what Faust could find but Silas was the best in another way.

His shadows flickered, waiting, and the Woman was caught in interest.

"Show me what you can do, Collector. Faust said you were special. He said you weren't like the others that we murdered so easily." She smiled.

The Collector would mark her and then in an added guarantee, he had to make sure she wasn't going to get away again. She only reached Silas' chest in height yet his height did nothing to deter her from her onslaught. It was not her physical strength that she relied on when fighting men or anyone for that matter. None of the other Soul Collectors had a chance.

Silas had chosen who would be first and it was the Woman. 

Sky kept her attention on the Collector's twin, certain he would act when Silas was preoccupied.

With a wink and a blown kiss, the Woman turned in full circle, her cloak and feathers spreading out as the wings of a bird taking flight. Cupping her hands together, fire sparked between her fingers like sparkling diamonds in the night. Throwing it to her feet, light flashed and Silas was left blinded. He could tolerate the light but not so suddenly from the darkness. He closed his eyes to find momentary refuge from the flash just as the Woman's flaming fingers swiped across his face. Burning on contact with several more turns. The Woman's confidence blinded her caution. When Sky tried to interject, the silent Man was suddenly closer than before with his attention to the chains.

As the Collector's gaze was thrown to the side, the arm that held the metal links swung out in defense. He was stopped by a sudden laugh of the Woman's voice in his face. She was right before him.

"Let me have a little taste of what you give her." The Woman whispered, her lips pressing forward against Silas'. In realization, the Collector pulled back in revulsion. The humiliating moment was quick but long enough to be caught by Sky before out of the circumference of  another of Silas' oncoming swings, the Woman leapt back laughing. His violation would not go unpunished.

She wouldn't get far.

"And now," Silas seethed, his black eyes to the Woman. "this one's fun begins."

Silas' next move was meant to immobilize. 

"So, this woman wishes to taste this one's darkness?"

Sky's attention was taken from the Man to Silas' words. The chains lifted with rigidity that mimicked the and she saw something flicker in him. The corruption was returning and the darkness Miss Yona had warned would be used against him.

"Silas-" Sky said, trying to bring his focus to her.

"My Sky," Silas shot her a shadowed glance and the glint in his eye revealed what it was that Lucifer gave him. "this woman asks to see who it is that the Devil himself chose."

Sky didn't like the way he was talking. 

Silas' shadow erupted into tendrils. With the hand marked with Lucifer's sigil, the Soul Collector reached down into his shadow, grabbing a fistful of black. Wriggling as black worms and tentacles as he tore the black free from its mother shadow. It squirmed in his grip. With the squeeze of his hand, the life in the strange ball of living black contracted and then went limp before it began to melt. Left in his palm was a ball of sticky tar that dripped from his between his fingers.

"Eww, gross," the Woman sneered in disgust. She wasn't sure what Silas was trying to prove, but the moment he stepped towards her, she gladly accepted the challenge. The silent Man kept back to watch what it was Silas was going to do but not be a direct target. The Woman was insane, and watching her willingness to discover first hand the Collector's abilities was more added delight to his evening. 

Silas threw the ball of black at the Woman, hitting her square in the shoulder where it made contact and remained. Left splattered down her arm was the tar. When she reached up to brush it off, it stuck to her hand. Pulling her palm away, the black came with it in a long sticky line. With her other hand she tried again to wipe it from her arms, hands and clothes but the black stuck like glue. With every touch or attempt to get it off, the tarry lines followed.

"What the-" The Woman stopped herself. She looked from the sticky black to Silas. Taken aback, the Woman's eyes widened. Considering her immediate situation, she made the quick decision to retreat. When she transformed into a crow, the tar spread across her body. She tried to lift her wings and failed. Back to human she changed back but the black had become more of a mess.

"What have you done?" She screamed at the Collector. Angered, she cast a glance to the Man who, although he’d drawn nearer to Sky to get closer to the chains, he would in no way help the Woman in her unfortunate predicament.  

Silas' long limbs stretched forward. He leant towards the Woman, looming over her before kneeling lower and near crawling upon her. His eyes assessed her struggling with devilish interest. He was reveling in her fear.

"Get away from me!" The Woman screamed, scrambling in a struggle away from the Collector. The tar stuck to her limbs and when she stood to run, she fell over again from the stickiness hindering her escape. The silent Man was watching the Collector in interest. He showed no loyalty to the Woman and as long as Sky's eyes were upon him, he did not move.

"What are you doing, you fool?! Don't just stand there! Do something." She screamed but Silas had replaced him in her sight. He closed in as a spider upon a fly, his marked hand reaching out and grasping her arm. The mark was quick to burn through cloth and skin and with it the Woman's cry split the air.

Somewhere deep inside, the sound rang with Silas. He liked it and he wanted to hear more. 

"Would this Woman like more?" Silas asked, leaning in closer. 

"Stop!" The Woman screamed, thrashing against Silas who continued to draw closer. His heavy arms pinned her to the ground. 

From his mouth she saw it. The thin black line forming on the line of his closed mouth. It became more defined as a black ink, rolling forward as droplets off his lips. The corruption of whenever Silas used his gifts. 

Shadows felt the length of her body and as she watched with eyes widening in fear, she realized that Silas was a monster. More so than her. Grabbing her by the scruff of the front of her clothing, Silas lifted the Woman to face him at his full height, dangling her from his grip. She screamed again and Silas devoured the sound. At his mental call Sky was ready but as her attention turned to her Keeper, the Man was lost to her sight and by then it was too late.

The world stopped at an unfamiliar touch on the chains.

The Collector froze where he stood, his black eyes going round and his pupils becoming small points. His breath went still. Sky as well became unmoving in the air as with her gaze of shock she looked to Silas. 

The Collector's grip on the Woman fell away and with little power to resist, she fell to the ground from his grasp. Only able to crawl away in her chance of escape. 

A single black tear rolled down Silas' cheek as his own galvanized expression looked back at Sky. Her own tears began to flow. 

For Silas, it was taboo to touch or to let anyone touch the chains. Aside from the chains in Silas' grasp, neither he nor Sky ever touched the metal links connecting them due to one very important reason. A deep secret that Silas had hid in the open for thirty four years had just been revealed.

The Collector swung around from Sky to see his doppelgänger grasping to the metal lines, the Man's eyes full moons of understanding before looking to Silas' reaction. 

The chains were far from just chains and the Woman had been a necessary sacrifice.  Faust needed to know this new piece of information. The Man’s touch fell away from the links and Silas' breath returned. Wasting no time, the silent Man became a crow and took to the sky. As fast as he could fly, past Silas and his Sky, the Woman, the bridge and towards what lay beyond. Taking shape in the night at the other side of the river on the banks of the Other Brooklyn; a giant behemoth of a derelict factory left to decay.

Silas looked back to the Woman who had found her footing. She was covered in tar and was going nowhere but the interest Silas had in her was gone. 

"My Sky," Silas voice was like ice as he wiped his lips and chin clean of the trails of black ink the corruption had left in its wake. "Collect her."