The silence between us is unbearable. With every second that passes she drifts further out of my reach. She's dying inside. She's dying and I can't do anything to help her. "Damn it. I have to tell her. At this rate. At this rate Jessica will. Jessica will give up on everything." I think to myself. My body tensing up at the thought of losing her. I don't want her to hate me, but at the same time I can't just let her waste away like this. I bite down on my lower lip and start to speak. "Jess" I begin as I stare into the palm of my hand, watching as the last bits of golden age tech elope with the passing wind. "We. We need to talk." I stutter trying my hardest not to let her see the tears forming at the corners of my eyes. She looks at me. Her eyes, once bright emeralds, were now lackluster. Eyes that resemble those of a mannequin, lifeless eyes that stared through my very being. "Don't look at me like that. Not with those eyes" I think to myself. Those weren't her eyes. Had I already lost her? "What is it Leon?" She replies. Her voice stoic and unwavering. Forced. As if it was paining her to even speak. My jaw clenches shut, and a soft grinding echoes in my head. "What do I do? Damn it damn it damn it! Max what am i supposed to do?" I think to myself as I turn my head away. Away from Jessica, away from that lifeless gaze, away from her pain. "It's about that day." I say, clinching my fists as the words escape from my lips. "The day Max and I went to Pluto." Out of the corner of my eye I can see her body tense up. As if bracing itself for a physical assault, in a way I guess it is an attack of sorts. And I'm not sure if she can handle the impact the way she is now, but I have to tell her. "That day. We, I mean Max and I.." I start to say as my resolve begins to crumble "we weren't prepared for what was there..I mean I wasn't prepared. Because of me Max was pos-" I'm cut off as the voice of another guardian echoes throughout the courtyard. "What the hell is this Rahool?!? All of those engrams and all you give me is this load of crap?" He yells throwing down an assortment of armor and weaponry. The plasteel plating clashes against the unforgiving concrete. The worn armor falls to pieces and scatters around the guardian's feet. "Look at that Rahool, you gave me defective merchandise. How are you gonna make it up to me huh?" The guardian asks grabbing the cryptarch by the collar; his face contorted into a look of pure disdain. "Answer me assface!" The awoken turns his Amber gaze away from the guardian and stares in our direction. His eyes are filled not with fear but rather with disappointment. Master Rahool is an infamous name amongst the guardians. A man with no purpose other than to obtain knowledge, even at the cost of a guardian's light. "Guardian, I merely provided you with the tools that were decrypted." Rahool begins as he attempts to pry away the guardians hand. "If you wish for better equipment you need to bring me better engr-" He is cut short as the guardian's fist collides with the left side of his jaw. Rahool's body goes limp, his shoulders slump down as his legs give out from under him. His eyes roll back and as his chin dips into the center of his chest a Dark thought drifts through my mind. "Even he's just another Marionette." The howling of the wind brings my mind back into reality, the soles of my greaves tear away at the ground beneath. With every step fragments of earth and plasteel are thrown into the air. Raining back down and resting in piles along the earth. I can feel as the muscles in my body rapidly contract and release. The blood that flows throughout my veins is heavily laced with epinephrine. My heart screams out in rage as I lower my shoulder. The sound of plasteel against plasteel clashing rings throughout the tower. The armor gives way and crumbles under the force. I can feel as his bones start to shatter, his arm snaps like a twig. I push harder against the earth. Ribs start to crack one by one, forcing their way deep into the soft tissue. Blood spurts from the guardian's mouth as three of the ribs pierce his lung. The Crimson fluid clings to my armor, the velvet screams out against the black plating. Pain consumes my mind as the bones in my shoulder shatter beneath the force of the impact. I stumble back attempting to regain my composure, grasping at my now useless extremity as my arm limply sways back and forth. Plasteel fragments scatter upon the ground as my arm is left bare. My shoulder dyed black by the impact. The guardian lies in a heap upon the ground, surrounded by a crimson pool. My breath comes in shallow gasps as the world swirls around me. "Monster!" A voice screams. I turn towards the voice, my body screaming out in agony. Jessica. Her eyes are filled with terror. Her lips are trembling, hands shaking as she reaches for her belt. "Wait. Jessica, what's wro-" my voice fades off as my eyes catch glimpse of my own reflection. My once hazelnut hair, now glistened a bright shade of red. My mouth, twisted into a terrifying grin, revealed jagged razors. I no longer had the eyes of a guardian. The azure had been replaced by onyx. [b][i]BANG[/i][/b] Darkness envelopes the world as I fall to my knees. Jessica is standing over me, hand cannon drawn and held against my skull. "Jessica...please don't." I whisper through the darkness. "Max..help me" the world goes black as the gunshot echoes throughout the tower... To be continued... Hey guys I'm half asleep writing this so I apologize for any errors whether they be spelling or grammatical. Look forward to the next part in the series! Follow the link below for part 1 Part 1 here: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/119924537/0/0 Part 3: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/121765736/0/0