Chapter 2: The Day the Light Died, Part 2
Stephane
It was one of those rare quiet days for me. Some of the clan went on a mission yesterday and the rest of us decided to take a day to just relax. It was still early in the morning so I was at home still in bed lying in my husband's arms with my head on his chest. He was stroking my hair and I couldn't help but smile. It was rare that he could sleep in like this due to work so I was going to take full advantage of it. "You look happy" he said looking down at me. I snuggled up closer to him. "I am, we haven't gotten to do this in a while" I replied. He pulled me closer "It's probably my fault. I've been taking on more training time trying to get the new recruits trained faster." He said.
I shook my head; it wasn't his fault the blame was on me. I was always gone and felt so guilty about never being home. "No it's mine. Life as a guardian, it's keeping me away from home" I said softly. He kissed my forehead "Let's just agree that both of our work is important, and will likely keep us apart most of the time. But let's also keep in mind that the time we do get to be together is special I cherish every second of it. So don't worry, I will always be here when you get back" I smiled again, this man was my world and I loved him. He was right, we both had important work; I was a guardian and he was a pilot for the Vanguard Military. I lifted my face to his and kissed him, "We should take advantage of this time then" I said coyly. He chuckled and kissed me back. "It's going to be a rough ride"
Paul
It was a nice enough morning, which was rare. We were constantly fighting day in and day out and it was tiring. With the others on a raid the rest of us agreed to take the day to just relax. I was at a morning brunch with Clinton's husband, Brennan, having a drink. We were waiting for Bryan, Dustin's Husband, to meet up with us. "Did he say what he needed to talk about?" Brennan asked. I shook my head, "He just said he needed to talk. I guess they got into a fight before Dustin left" I replied. Brennan sighed, "He wouldn't be the only one." I was surprised, Brennan and Clinton rarely fought. Those these were hard and stressful times. So, I understood, even me and my partner had a small argument recently. Just then Bryan walked in and sat at the table. "I could use a drink right about now. Hey loves" he said. He looked tired and over it, like he had been up all night. "Are you ok? You look exhausted" I asked. He huffed a sigh and reached over, took my drink and drank it in one swallow. I took that as a sign that he wasn't alright. I looked over at Brennan and he had the same expression as Bryan. Just a few moments ago he was smiling, but now.
"What's with you two?' I asked. They both shared a look and sighed in tandem. I poured us all another drink and took a sip. Brennan spoke up first "How do you do it?" he asked. "Do what?" was my response. "Have a relationship as a guardian. It's not like you guys are always around." I shrugged. I didn't have a solid answer for that. We didn't choose to be guardians, we were chosen. At the heart of things, we still felt love like other people and still had needs. I was finally understanding what this brunch was. I suspect all of us who were married or seeing someone was going through or went through the same thing; The strain of having a relationship and being a guardian. Bryan spoke up "Dustin and I fought before he left on yet another raid. I asked him to leave the clan and just live with me and enjoy our life but he refused. Called me selfish and just left." He was visibly frustrated. "Hours we went back and forth and then he just left. Just walked out, it's like you guys come first and I'm just a place holder." I reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't ever think that, ever. Dustin can be a little hard to read but he isn't cold. He's been my partner since we joined the clan and you're all he talks about. Everything he does is to protect you." I said. He shook his head in disbelief. Brennan took a sip of his drink "You don't get it. We're not guardians, we're concerned. We don't have immortality, or special powers. Just because you guys are out there 'Protecting us' doesn't mean we feel safe. We're alone all the time, we worry and it's frustrating".
What could I say? They were right, every member of the clan broke the cardinal rule. No Attachments, focus only on the mission. We were people who broke all conventions, even vanguard authority sometimes had disdain for us because of it. "Guys listen, they love you. They broke rules and sacred vows just for you. Do you know how many guardians outside of the clan have family? 0. I realize that it's hard being with us and that we're gone a lot but do you think for one moment that we choose to live like this? The only choice we really have is to do what needs to do to protect the people we love. And as far as Dustin goes, he's a hot head sometimes. You know that" I said. "The same goes for Clinton and all of us. We want nothing more than to be here with you guys, but we have to do what we do to ensure your safety." They both nodded but sat in silence. I knew my words wouldn't mean too much, that they would carry more weight if their partners said them. But I was hoping they would be receptive to them, I hated seeing my friends like this. Bryan blew out a sigh "Maybe you're right, I'll talk to Dustin when he gets back. I don't like how we left things". I gave a little smile, "Good you should. Life should be cherished. Now let's eat and keep drinking" Hailing over a waiter.
TJ
I was at Clan HQ, in the weapons wing cleaning the weaponry and taking inventory. I hadn't been feeling all that well today so I figured I'd do an easy task as it was my day off. The HQ was empty today as everyone decided to just take the day to relax for once. Finally, I got some time to myself and my thoughts, something was wrong today. My powers had been fluctuating and it was hard to keep them in check. Maybe I was getting sick? Who knew? I turned my attention to my task. I loved weaponry, weird for a warlock but still we all had a hobby.
That's when I heard the blaring of the alarm, but wait something was off. Our alarm seemed louder than usual. That's when it hit me. I was hearing the Clan's emergency alarm, the church bells and every vanguard alarm in the vicinity! I grabbed my scout rifle and slung it over my shoulder and ran out the weapons wing and towards the war room, I needed to get in touch with a friend. I got to the war room and immediately went to the Coms, I needed to get in touch with the vanguard. "Vanguard Command this is the PBFT, please respond." I radioed. There was no response just a feedback, not a good sign. I tried again, but again nothing. I knew there were only a few of us in the city and I was going to get us together and access what the situation was. Stephane lived closest so I would start there.
Stephane
We had just gotten out of the shower when the alarm sounded. Francis recognized one of the alarms as a vanguard call to arms. He quickly dressed and grabbed his service pistol, gave me a deep kiss, told me he loved me and took off. I quickly began putting on my armor when I fell to one knee. My body felt lighter like I wasn't whole any more. "Ghost what happened?" I said as I summoned my ghost. He hovered weakly, "I'm not sure but my power has diminished and I'm sensing cabal troops approaching the planet". He said. I struggled to my feet and steadied myself, the alarms were still blaring and I took a deep breath. I knew that all but three of us were off world so I didn't have to account for most of them yet. Just TJ and Paul. I grabbed my communicator and tried reaching out to Paul, but got no answer. I began to radio TJ when over the alarms I heard banging on my front door. I rushed to it and swung it open and there TJ stood with his gun in hand. "We need to go, now!" he said. "We have to get to Paul, then to the evac point! We just lost our powers!" Honestly, I wanted to react but couldn't. I stepped outside closing the door behind me. "Where to first?"
Paul
I thought it was the drinks, that this lightheadedness was just because I was a lightweight. But once I saw the first cabal troop make landfall, figured otherwise. I had one of the nearby guardians take Brennan and Bryan to the vanguard emergency evacuation point while I covered their escape. I armed each of them with one of my extra side arms and sent them on their way. I used one of solar spells to temporarily blind the legion troop and watch my friends vanish in the distance. I used an arc spell on the cabal soldier and noticed that it was slightly weaker than normal. However, it did the job, the cabal soldier was down. I walked over to him and took his weapons, I didn't have my main equipment with me and the fact that cabal soldiers were dropping from the sky was a huge disadvantage. The began dropping to the ground firing blindly, civilians were panicking and running and nearby guardians began firing back.
What the hell was going on? That thought kept flashing through my mind as I fought against the invaders. Zavala had broadcasted an announcement that Guardians were to aid civilians in escaping however, we were clearly out numbered. More and more troops were appearing. There were casualties happening all around me, and I couldn't stop it. "Ghost! Find me an escape route" I shouted as I fired spell after spell against the growing hoard. "I'm trying! But it's getting harder to pinpoint one! We also have another problem! I can't sense the light within me! I don't think I can resurrect you!" he responded. Ironic, isn't it? I just had a conversation about being immortal and now I'm basically mortal. I prayed the guys got to the evac and that they remembered the clan's emergency hideout coordinates. I kept fighting against the cabal troops slowly making my way to headquarters. I was still exhausted and needed a break.
For long minutes I was alternating between spells and gunfire to fight off the invaders until what we affectionately call "Joe's Battle Cry" occurred. I ran out of ammo. I dropped the stolen gun and started casting void spells to trap enemies and following up with Arc and Solar spells to take them down. I knew that I couldn't keep it up forever, I was still feeling weak and I was sure that the number of enemies was growing. Midway between a spell I ran out of strength and fell to my knees focused their fire and it was all I could do to maintain a void shield. They closed in on me slowly, almost cocky and readied their guns. My shield came down and I couldn't muster up another. There I sat surrounded by these sadistic bastards, I looked down the barrel of a rifle "Pull the damn trigger bitch, I dare you" I spat out. He pressed the barrel against my head and I closed my eyes, then I heard a gunshot.