It was about 3pm, and Germaine had just wrapped up a Gambit match, a rare occurrence these days, when his ship's comms device started to blink and whirr. Perhaps some more correspondence from Eris on the fertility treatments they'd been doing. He had discussed adoption with her, but she was adamant that the child would be completely, totally theirs. He couldn't really fault her. He checked the glove compartment that came with the ship, making sure that ring was still there. He'd spent a lot of Glimmer on it, and he knew the time to present it was close. Maybe he would hide it in a book, then surprise her with it. Perhaps he would pop the question like humans had back in the Golden Age, with a romantic day out, and going down on one knee. Honestly, it wasn't so much the ring and the status that came with it that mattered to him, but what it meant for them, for him. He had never been good with commitment, or really much at all, but Eris... She made him want to be. As he looked over the message, from the Guardian, or as Germaine's beloved called him, "o brother mine", he felt a stab of fear. For what he hoped was not the last time, he clutched that ring, and his transmat started firing. Eris had been looking for a jeweller's in Midtown, since she knew Germaine was never going to use that ring. The library trip was just a cover, she knew her dear brother had let far too much slip to the shade of her heart already. Strange, to think of the brightest Light in Sol as her brother, but a brother he was. Always charging in to save her, even if she didn't need saving. Come to think of it, she often did the same. As she laid eyes upon the perfect ring for Germaine, a titanium band with frozen Vex radiolaria woven through the metal, and a little Hive chitin securing the gem inside, a compressed portion of Ether. It was magnificent, and fit his personality brilliantly. She handed over the necessary sum of Glimmer, then secured the marriage ring in a pouch, where she kept her miscellany. As she strolled down the street, enjoying the sound of children yelling in delight while they played, she froze. That was no child's joyous shriek. That was a scream. Of anguish and pain. She knew very well what that sounded like. She had made it herself on many an occasion. She ran. Without thinking, she ran. She had always been good at that, honing it during her time in the Hellmouth. The warning sirens blared, sending signals to the Guardians of the Tower that the City was under attack. The Guardian was there in a flash, ready to kill whatever stood in his way. Two Acolytes and a Knight were chasing some civilians, only to be taken down by three resounding cracks from a pistol. Drifter's pistol. He had arrived but a moment ago, as one with the Guardian. He looked toward the Drifter, and he could tell in an instant he was here for Eris first. He nodded to him, as if to say "The civilians must be protected too". He received a nod in confirmation. Eris was running fast, as fast as she had ever run. She had so much to lose now. So very much. She dodged Hive Splinter fire from a Knight, then a Darkness Blast from a Wizard. Rounding a corner she saw... Germaine held his Ward against the Hive, providing shelter for the civilians, knowing that the Guardian would deal with the aggressors. Once, those people would have regarded him with untrusting eyes for the Gambit master. Now, those same eyes thanked him silently while they held their children close. He heard movement from around a corner, and saw... Eris, running from a mob of Thrall. He couldn't shoot them, it took all he had to keep up the Ward. He had not dropped one in too long. She was so close to safety, to his loving arms, it would only be one heartbeat... Raining fire down on Tomb ships from the sky, throwing down hammers with one hand and swords with the other, following the Shadowshot he had placed. With so much Light flowing through him, he felt unstoppable. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure, running towards a glob of purple. He focused, and saw Eris. Only he saw the sniper on the roof. He couldn't send an attack there fast enough, not without letting those Thrall envelop Eris. If he could Blink towards her, he could shield her with his body. It would take a single heartbeat. Eris kept going, though her lungs failed her, and her legs betrayed her with their raggedness, she was so close to her Germaine. Sweet, handsome Germaine, whose embrace made her heart melt. It would take but one heartbeat to reach him. Kelgoor had never been particularly noteworthy, his only skill being with a rifle. He thought he had been sent to die, to feed Xivu Arath with great tribute. But now, great power lay before him. He had nearly pulled the trigger. Less than a heartbeat, and Eris Morn, God of Vengeance, would be dead, her power, his. Germaine saw the sinewy line of Soulfire pass through Eris's cranium before he heard it. She was almost through the Ward, almost sheltered by the Guardian's body, but they were too slow. Carried by her momentum, the lifeless figure of Eris Morn slid into his arms.