Skydeck Vanguard

Chapter 3: In the Darkness

"Uncle Christoph!" Ciel shouted as he ran towards the front door, his cerulean eyes bright with excitement.

"Hey, kiddo," Christoph grinned and ruffled Ciel's blond locks, his blue eyes shining with happiness upon seeing Ciel.

"Hi Uncle Christoph," I smiled as I went up to him and he smiled back.

"Hey, Celes. You've gotten big, haven't you?" Christoph grinned and ran a hand through his sandy colored hair to move his bangs away from his eyes, "you could probably take me in a match nowadays."

"I don't know about that," I mused, "you're a world renowned Vanguard and I'm only fourteen."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Celes. I think you could be just as good as me with some practice," Christoph said and I smiled hopefully.

"Christoph! Welcome home!" my father, Matthias, grinned as he walked around the corner, his hazel eyes focused on his younger brother.

Standing beside one another, Matthias and Christoph looked vastly different. Light brown hair compared to sandy colored hair, hazel eyes compared to blue eyes, and six feet tall compared to five eleven, but they both shared the same facial structure and rugged yet handsome look, as well as charm.

"Well, I couldn't just miss Christmas!" Christoph beamed and Matthias laughed as he threw an arm around his shoulders.

My mom came around the corner then, her blue eyes and wavy blonde hair carrying the signature traits of me and Ciel as she smiled widely at the two brothers. Little did I know, that would be the last time all of us would ever be together. My dream shifts to when Christoph came home battered and dirty from a quest that he and our father went on, his expression grim as he knelt down and looked me and Ciel in the eyes. We asked where Father was, but Christoph just kept looking at us with the same sad expression. It was then that I realized-- he wasn't going to be coming back. My dream rushes forwards to where my mom ended up eventually overcoming her grief as much as she could with the help of us and Christoph, and she eventually married Christoph.

Just as my dream is about to reach the part where I lose my family entirely, I jolt awake to loud bangs on my front door. I clutch my hand to my chest and control my breathing as I look around, my body tangled in my dark blue and white sheets and the banging on my door intensifies.

"Celes! Wake up!" Miles shouts from outside and I shakily climb out of bed, rubbing my eyes as I make my way through my cottage until I clumsily reach the front door.

I open the door to find Miles standing there in a pair of black sweatpants and a black jacket, his eyes worried.

"Miles? What is it?" I ask, trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible so as not to worry him.

"It's Drusilla," Miles breathes out and my eyes widen.

"What happened?" I ask quietly, my eyes wide with fear.

"Come on," Miles says and grabs my hand, taking off in a run, and I barely have time to shut my front door behind me as we run.

Miles leads me to the deck area where a lot of people are gathered and I notice Eva, Miles's other older sister, talking to Dexter, who's covered in dirt and blood and cradling Drusilla to his chest. Eva gently takes Drusilla and rushes off to the medical building where she works, her normally teasing expression one of seriousness and my eyes widen as I notice Drusilla has her left arm missing and she's unconscious, multiple cuts littering her body and dirt smeared on her armor and face. Dexter falls to his knees on the deck and stares ahead blankly, his eyes wide as Jester from the orange team places his hand on Dexter's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, his eyes sad as his partner, Haven, stands next to him forlornly.