The heist began differently than all the others they had been on together.
Garrett was used to leading, to taking charge, Garrett was used to being the first to assess the path, to point out dangers and give warning of nearby threats.
Garrett was used to having a shadow… Garrett was used to Erin being his shadow, safe behind him.
But that eve, it was Erin to take the lead, in a manner of speaking that is.
She went on ahead yes, but she wasn't taking charge. She would hardly pause to assess their path, she wouldn't breathe or so much gesture to potential dangers to her partner, to Garrett, to her brother.
She would run off a ways ahead of Garrett, threats be damned, without so much as slowing or pausing to ensure her brother was following.
Of course Garrett was following.
Following and desperately trying to bury the knots of worry and anxiety settling in his gut because he and Erin quickly fell into the familiar routines they had shared years ago.
Silently mirroring one another in the glow of the moon…
Because everything was so painfully familiar and Garrett didn't want to lose Erin, his sister, again… So he sucked it up, buried his fear and kept going...
But everything felt different… Wrong and different.
Different and dangerous.
Erin's newfound recklessness was troubling, she would blindly run ahead, disappear into the shadows time and time again, leaving Garrett behind and alone and worried until she would call to him and he would follow her again.
Gone were silent strides, Erin was still quiet thank the night but she wasn't silent, not like Garrett, not like how she used to be. It tripped Garrett up constantly, to unexpectedly hear footsteps, quiet footsteps, sneaking footsteps, approach behind him as if someone were following him only to find… Erin.
And that wasn't the only thing about the younger thief to change…
Garrett and Erin had a connection of sorts when they were young. A silent line tethered them together, tying and intertwining them so perfectly that Garrett could know, simply know, where exactly Erin was, no matter the distance.
There were no barriers between them then, there was only them.
Words became obsolete when alone, they had no use for such things when they could always know with a mere glance what the other was thinking.
At times, Garrett could swear he heard Erin's voice in the back of his mind.
Artemus didn't understand their connection, but he loved them all the same.
Their connection changed as they grew, new barriers came to separate them from time to time, but it, whatever it was, never wavered…
It took Garrett perhaps a bit too long to realize that Erin could no longer feel him through it.
He could feel her, of course he could feel her, how could he not feel her?
For Garrett, knowing Erin was as easy as breathing.
It had never, ever occurred to him that she, his sister… Would, or could break whatever it was between them… Yet somehow that was exactly what had happened…
Garrett had never thought it could break… And yet it had, and Garrett knew it had, because Erin could no longer feel him…
And then she killed a watchman right before him...
Oh Erin… Oh Erin, what have you done?
Garrett wanted to call off the heist then and there, he couldn't focus, he couldn't think straight, he couldn't stand the sight of blood from the young watchman she had bludgeoned on his sisters hands.
"He was hardly older than you!"
Couldn't stand the look Erin was giving him.
"Fine, go home, I'll finish the heist myself!
Garrett couldn't simply let her, he couldn't. He couldn't lose her, not again.
So he swallowed his worry, his hurt, his panic and nicked what his sister called her 'claw' right from her belt before following her into the night.
Fury and recklessness fueled his sister's movements as she ran across the thieves' highway, leaping across alleys with deceptively graceful carelessness.
They stopped again atop the eastern wing of the Northcrest estate.
Erin snapped and snarled at her brother as Garrett grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to face him.
"I'm worried about you Erin… You're scaring me."
"Well don't be! I'm strong now! I don't need you!"
The younger sibling wrenched herself away from her brother before taking off across the rooftop again, Garrett watched for a moment before moving to trail after his sister.
They spoke little thereafter as they peered down into the estate from above, looking for a way into some quiet room to begin their search…
But the estate was packed full of guards and people and…
Something was wrong…
"We should go…"
"What? You doving out now? C'mon Garrett, I thought you were the Master Thief."
"This is dangerous Erin."
"Yea and? Every job in this damn place is dangerous Garrett."
"No Erin. We need to go. Now."
Erin refused, Garrett insisted
The two began to squabble, loud and angry on Erin's half, atop the roof of the mansion they were supposed to be breaking into, atop the roof of the mansion hosting nearly every guard the city had to offer…
Their argument was disturbed by a… Lustrous glow emanating from a norther wing.
They looked between one another.
Garrett shook his head firmly.
Erin turned and ran.
The rest of that night was a blur…
Garrett could vaguely recall trying desperately to convince Erin one last time that this wasn't right, that there was something wrong that they needed to go, but Erin didn't listen.
Their argument turned violent atop the Northern Ceremony room of the Northcrest Manson. Erin attacked Garrett out of anger, Garrett struck Erin out of fear and then…
The world began to quake, violent and afraid. The very foundation of the ancient estate began to splinter with the ferocity of the earth's screams.
It was dangerous and Garrett was afraid, he wanted to leave but he couldn't leave Erin.
Erin who was so angry so… Wounded by hurt. Erin who refused to leave.
Erin who was so desperate to prove herself she damned everything she had ever learned to pursue a most meaningless prize.
A window broke. Garrett was afraid, but without hesitation he flung himself into peril, finding himself hanging over a room filled with vibrant light and smoke, the smell of the sea and ozone.
Erin was holding his hand tightly as she dangled over the gaping void below. Her voice high and terrified, eyes alight with blistering fear.
"Garrett! I'm slipping!"
Nonononono.
He couldn't lose her, not again, please, not again.
"Garrett! Throw me the claw!"
Oh, he tried, truly he did, but the glass was splintering beneath his belly and the claw was just out of reach.
The world roared, high and angry, as if awakening from a most vicious nightmare as it shook and thrashed around them.
And then her hand was gone.
Garrett could only watch, helpless as his sister fell into that swirling abyss, her voice, her scream, rising high above the deafening cries of the massive, unseen beast circling within the haze of blue.
The glass below Garrett shuddered one last time before he too found himself weightless. The claw found its way into his hand, when or how he grabbed it he wasn't sure, but it saved him from joining his sister…
The light was blinding.
The screams were deafening.
The cold burning.
And Garrett was falling.
And …
All Garrett knew was that something horrible had happened...