[b]Guess who stayed up only to get disappointed her game didn't finish installing!? *flails wildly* I am so tired. Here. Have a chapter. I need sleep. TheLordOfWar832, Omali and WEHBSTAR's characters are in this chapter Chapter 70: Problems[/b] There was a deathly silence in the med bay but Mirak did not notice it. Or rather, he ignored the silence. It gave him some time to think. Vala lay on a bed next to him, asleep but the Hunter would not leave her side even if the frames here would threaten to call the Vanguard to remove him themselves. Raphaël had the same idea, leaning against the wall, knife in hand to once again ward away the machines. Rather than chasing the other Hunter away, Mirak felt a twinge of appreciation for his presence. There were no jokes though, the Exo having run out of things to say after the first thirty minutes of standing around Vala. Mirak sighed, a headache creeping up on the edges of his mind the longer he sat here yet he wouldn't leave Vala alone. Not with the whole Tower shouting and spitting opinions back and forth with what to do with her. What haunted him the most was Bolt's screams; a noise he himself found heartbreaking and terrifying at the same time. Thank the Traveler the med bay was sound proof. If Mirak had heard anymore of those screams he would have ripped the Vandal out of the cell and marched beside him to his mother. But this was the Tower. This was where everyone crowed over the death of Fallen, a place where blood and scars were something to be proud of. He had his own share of scars, his fingers tracing over his scar over his face once more. Malik would have been proud, right? To stand by what he believed in? The thought of his younger brother brought a whole new world of heartache to the old Hunter. "You okay?" Mirak flinched, eyes shooting to Raphaël who was giving him a pointed stare. "No. Seeing someone precious in here brings back old memories." The Exo leaned forward and nodded his head, urging Mirak to continue. Should he? A tiny voice, one that guarded the deepest part of his heart wanted to say more but his brain wanted to disagree. "When you're old like me Raphaël," There was a deep sigh from him, knowing his heart had won. "you tend to remember things you'd rather forget. I was there when the Wall was breached. Was there when all you could hear was the screams, but you didn't know who. It was all just noise." The past rushed forward once more and Mirak looked over to Vala as if seeing her grounded him. "I was there to watch even the mightiest warriors of my time fall. And even then there was no time to grieve. You could only scavenge what you could get in that hellhole." He could clearly remember all those shattered Ghosts, those treasured machines littering the ground like scrap. But everyone knew the difference between scrap and a Ghost. He remembered their Guardians rendered to nothing but a shell of what they used to be. All their bravado and courage broken into begging beings who wanted the fight to stop. To see the Light in their eyes snuffed out but everyone behind them would press on. "When all you could hear was your own heartbeat in your ears, you can't, or rather, [i]don't[/i] want to hear the things around you. All you could hear was the screams, those wails of either rage or grief or something else entirely. I can still hear them. I can still feel the dust on my skin and still smell the gunpowder in the air. I can't forget the faces of those lost, their tears and blood spilled." [i]Blood. Blood and ash and grief. The smell of burning flesh. Figures dashing on ahead and their broken bodies left behind. Everything was hurting. Pain. Where was Malik? Fight. Kill. Grieve after. Pain. Pai-[/i] The feeling of a hand on his shoulder jarred Mirak away from the past. Looking up, he blinked at Raphaël who was shaking his head. Had he said something wrong? "I'm sorry I brought that up. I know that the survivors all scattered but you stayed so that counts for something right?" The Hunter said, hand tightening for a second before letting go. Mirak looked away, one of his large hands encasing Vala's as she slept. Raphaël was right. He stayed when everyone he remembered in those old days high tailed it out of the Tower to forget. [i]He stayed.[/i] The door suddenly burst open, Mirak jumping, letting go of Vala's limp hand to draw his gun. Raphaël jumped into action as well, knife drawn and ready to kill. Omali stood at the door, hands immediately in the air and was slowly backing away. Behind him was a short Hunter, her head peeking behind his back to look at Vala. Mirak blocked her view, leveling a glare that made the female flinch and back off. "Go back, Leianna." Omali murmured to the Hunter, scooting back out the doorway making the other back up too. Mirak sighed but held his gun at the ready in case anything happened. Raphaël did the same, blade glinting in the light dangerously. "Are you sure? Will you be safe with them?" He heard the female whisper back, tone fierce and half of him wanted to march out there and toss the Guardian out of the med bay by the scruff of her cloak. "Yes. Go. I'm okay." The Titan replied, gently pushing the female away and walking towards the doorway to the room. When he let the door shut, Mirak finally relaxed and sat back down again. "Sorry." Mirak waved away the apology, shrugging when Omali tried to say more. "What brings you here?" Raphaël asked for him, tone inquiring. The Titan flinched, hands wringing at his sides. That sight brought a deep feeling of unease in Mirak. Their next sentence confirmed this feeling. "Bolt is missing." Mirak never saw a Hunter move so fast in his life. Especially one who was still injured and was ordered to stay in the med bay. He fell out of his chair in disbelief before racing out the door and past a tumbled over Omali. Her figure limped but her strides did not falter. Mirak struggled to catch up. "Vala!!" He bellowed, but the female was already too far away, her mind probably farther away. Mirak ran.