[spoiler]Greetings, Guardians, and here's part twenty-three of Doom of the Dragons! Here's [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/242172239?sort=0&page=0]part twenty-two[/url] if you missed it. As usual, if you like it, give it a bump, and I'll get more out soon! Stay classy, Guardians![/spoiler] Marcella let go and then turned to leave. Then, she noticed something. Cupun was standing in the fields, watching them. His helmet was off, and his black hair was blowing in the breeze. She walked up to him. The titan refused to acknowledge her presence, but continued to stare at Magnus and the other villagers. “He’s staying,” she said at last. “The he’s a fool,” Cupun replied, without taking his eyes off the gravediggers. “No, he isn’t,” Marcella replied. “He knows he’ll die. He’s just prepared to do it so that he can keep his people alive for as long as possible.” She faced Cupun. “He’s a lot like you were, once.” Cupun turned to her, his brown eyes flashing with anger. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked. “You’ve changed, Cupun,” she said. “I know it, and Kim knows it. Tell me; what the hell is wrong with you?” Cupun stared at her for a minute. Suddenly, his hard gaze softened, and for a moment - just for a moment - she thought she saw the old Cupun behind those eyes. “I’m slipping, Marcella,” he said, in a voice almost like a whimper. “I’m slipping down, down, down, and - and -“ He looked down at his hands, which had begun shaking like those of an addict in withdrawal. “And what?” she asked. Cupun looked up at her again. “And I’m not sure I want to stop.” Suddenly, he turned away, and walked back to the village. * * * It wasn’t until later that afternoon when the dropships lifted off from the village. There was no parting farewell, no fanfare. Just the ships silently closing their doors, and rocketing into the sky. The three Guardians escorted them back in their own ships. They didn’t talk on the way back. They simply flew in silence. By the time they arrived back at the City, twilight had begun to set in. The sun sank below the horizon as whips of gray cloud were briefly illuminated by its orange glare. The last light of day reflected off the buildings of the City, and above it all sat the white spectacular orb that was the Traveler. The remaining villagers from Erindale disembarked at the usual place, a small close to the edge of the wall. Cupun, Marcella, and Kim descended with the dropships, and watched as they caught the first glimpse of their new home. The villagers stared up at the impossible sight before them. Marcella could only imagine what they were feeling. Erindale had been a big town, but it was easily dwarfed by the skyscrapers of the City. The Tower - the largest of the buildings - stood over fifty stories tall. But that was nothing compared to the sight of the Traveler. The size of a small moon, the massive being floated above the City, casting a shadow on the buildings beneath it. Once it had been whole and alive, but now it was scarred and dormant. Marcella could only imagine what it had been like when the Traveler was awake. To see the orb floating in the air was one thing, but to see it moving from planet to planet, terraforming as it went, must have been something else entirely. She looked over at the villagers, and saw Yvette staring up at the Traveler. “I’d heard so many stories,” she said. “I never dreamed. . .” she closed her eyes, and Marcella saw a small tear work its way down her cheek. Even as she watched, medics began streaming out of the building, coming to the aide of the villagers. All of them would have to be processed by medical staff before being assigned to refugee housing. Eventually, most would move out to more permanent homes, but some simply choose to stay in the apartments their entire lives. “It’s really something, isn’t it,” Kim said. “Yeah,” Marcella said. Cupun was silent. “Let’s head back to the Tower,” he said at last. The three of them decided to take the scenic route, walking through the City streets. By now, the hubbub was starting to die down as shops closed their doors, but they still encountered a large number of people, all of whom smiled appreciatively at the Guardians. A group of three of four children ran up to them, and began running around their feet. Kim began entertaining them by creating miniature light shows with his void light, and the children shrieked with pleasure. One of them - a little girl of no more than eleven - handed her a small flower with white petals. Marcella smiled down at her. “Thank you!” she said. But the girl was already running off. Kim had created the image of a butterfly with his light, and had sent it flying down the street, the children chasing after it. Eventually, the girl caught it in her fist. When she opened it, the butterfly sat there for a brief moment before bursting into harmless purple sparks. The children shrieked in delight and surprise. However, Marcella noticed that they never went near Cupun. They always maintained a distance of at least a meter from the somber titan. If he noticed it, he made no sign. They arrived at the base of the Tower about half an hour later. “I need a drink,” Cupun said. They immediately started for the Resupply Depot. The bar had always been special spot for Marcella. But now, it had taken on an even greater significance. It was the one place where they could go and, just for a moment, things went back to the way they’d been before. Before Cupun stopped speaking to anyone. Before he’d talked to the Ahamkara. Before Lyra had died. Right now, Marcella wanted, more than anything, to sit down with her remaining friends, and talk to them like she used to be able to. Unfortunately, the moment she entered the depot, she knew that it was not to be. “So there I was, out of ammo, surrounded by Fallen, and face to face with the nastiest Baron I’d ever seen,” came a familiar voice. “Real ugly bastard.” Marcella turned, and saw Spectrum-8 telling his favorite story to his two cronies. “So what’d you do?” said one of his fanboys, a smiling awoken with his white hair braided into cornrows. Spectrum leaned back in his seat, and smiled. “I’ll tell ya what I did,” he said. “I jumped right at that Baron, and grabbed him by the wrists! He had his shock daggers, so he was trying to stab me, but I had two of his hands, and I was trying to force his knives towards his throat.” “What about the Fallen around you?” the other lackey asked. This one was a human woman, her lips and eyelids colored deep blue. Her hair was also dyed blue, and was styled into two braids which hung around her shoulders. “Hm? Oh, I guess they didn’t want to hit their commander or something like that,” Spectrum said. “Never fired a shot.” “What’d happened after that?” the man said. “Well,” Spectrum said, leaning back in his chair, “it took a while, but I finally got the upper hand. I managed get control of one of his shock daggers, and cut his throat wide open!” He slapped his hand on the table as he said this. “After that, all the Fallen scattered! I guess they didn’t want to end up like their Baron!” “What about that Titan who was with you?” the woman asked. “Cootoo or whatever his name was.” “Oh, he was crapping his pants the whole time, hiding in an old drain pipe. Had to run and save the bastard.” “That’s not the way I remember it,” Cupun said. He stepped forwards. “Not the way I remember it at all.” Spectrum looked up at him, and blinked. For a moment, he looked almost scared, but he quickly regained his composure. “Well, you’ve got a faulty memory, then,” he said. “No,” Cupun said. “I don’t think I do.” He cracked his knuckles. “Tell you what,” he said. “How about we settle this the old fashioned way?” Spectrum frowned. “What are you getting at?” he asked. “A duel,” Cupun said. “Me and you. Outside the City. Tomorrow.” Spectrum blinked. “What?” “You heard me,” Cupun said. “Are you in? Or are you too scared to go up against the titan who was crapping his pants in a drain pipe?” Spectrum looked uneasily at his lackeys, and then steeled himself. Marcella knew he couldn’t back down from a fight - doing so would have shown his cronies that he was nothing but hot air. “Yeah,” he said, “I’m in.” Cupun stared at him until Spectrum was forced to look away. “Good,” he said at last. Then, he walked to a nearby table. Marcella ran up to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. “Cupun!” she hissed. “What the hell are you doing!” “Forcing him to finally put his money where his mouth is,” Cupun said. “Why?” Kim asked, running up behind them. Cupun stared at the warlock. “Because I feel like it,” he said. [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=242490688&sort=0&page=0]Part twenty-four: Duel[/url]