Greetings, Guardians, and here's part fourteen of Doom of the Dragons! Here's[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/239629102?sort=0&page=0] part thirteen[/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! A little while later, Cupun found himself back in the Ahamkara cave. Standing before him, massive as ever, was Utūl. The dragon narrowed his eyes.[i] I see that you survive, Titan, [/i]he said,[i] but do you have my prize?[/i] Cupun nodded. “Ghost?” he said. “Cupun,” his ghost began, “are we sure we want to -“ “Ghost!” Cupun snapped. “Now.” The green orb suddenly appeared in his hand in a flash of blue light. The dragon snorted[i]. You do well to listen to your Guardian, little Ghost,[/i] he said. Cupun nodded. “A deal’s a deal,” he said. “Here’s your orb.” Suddenly, a smaller dragon swooped in from behind him, and grabbed the orb out of his hand. The dragon then flew across the caldera, and into one of the many dark tunnels. [i]It is indeed,[/i] Utūl said.[i] I thank you, Guardian. [/i] Cupun nodded. “just out of curiosity,” he said, “what is that thing?” [i]Nothing you need concern yourself with, [/i]the dragon replied. Then the dragon sniffed the air. He frowned.[i] Strange. . . most strange.[/i] “What?” Cupun asked. [i]Nothing,[/i] the Dragon said.[i] You have had your revenge, and I have mine prize. Now leave. [/i] Cupun turned around, and began to walk out. [i]Guardian?[/i] Cupun turned around. The dragon was staring at him.[i] Remember what I told you, oh Guardian mine, [/i]he said. [i]All knowledge has a cost. Sometimes, that cost is hidden from view. And sometimes it is terrible indeed.[/i] Cupun frowned. “Got it,” he said. He walked out of the cavern, but as he did, he fingered the pulse rifle on his back. There was nothing quite like it. He’d used an old Red Spectre auto-rifle, and converted it into a pulse rifle. He’d also added several spikes to the barrel, which also made it a very effective melee weapon. Some would call it stereotypical of a titan to use a gun to hit things. But it had saved his life on more than one occasion. But after today, the weapon felt. . . changed. Cupun couldn’t explain it, but something was now fundamentally different with the weapon. And with him as well. Cupun shook his head. He needed to be getting back to the Tower. * * * Utūl watched the Guardian leave, feeling very troubled. Suddenly, a voice began nagging at his mine. [i]What has happened, my mate?[/i] Akû said. [i]The Guardian delivered the artifact to me,[/i] Utūl said. [i]But that is not all, is it? [/i]Akū asked mockingly. Utūl growled, but relented. [i]The artifact, [/i]he said,[i] it has left its mark on him. [/i] He sensed a flash of anger from Akû.[i] Fool! [/i]she said.[i] I told you not to involve the Guardians in our affairs![/i] [i]This complication was. . . unforseen,[/i] Utūl admitted. Akû was positively simmering.[i] Your arrogance blinds you,[/i] she said. [i]I can only hope that it does not doom us all. [/i] * * * “So,” Marcella said. “Any idea where Cupun’s at?” Kim shook his head. “None,” he said. “He just fueled up his ship and took off. And let’s face it - if he wanted to tell anyone where he was going, he would have told one of us.” Marcella sighed, and leaned back into her chair. “That’s what I’m worried about.” She let the noise of the bar around her wash over her like a wave. Cupun had disappeared a little over a day ago. As far as they could tell, he’d fueled his ship up, and taken off to who-knew-where. And Marcella was getting worried. So, she’d told Kim to dig up whatever information he could, and meet up with her here, at the Resupply Depot. Kim frowned. “Wait a second. You don’t think -“ he dropped his voice to a whisper. “You don’t think he went back to Luna?” Marcella grabbed the mug of beer in front of her, and took a sip. “Come on, Marcella!” Kim said. He leaned back in his chair. “Cupun’s a lot of things, but he’s not suicidal!” “How do we know?” Marcella asked. “It’s not like he’s been especially forthcoming these past few days.” Kim sighed. “Look,” he said. “Marcella. He probably just needs to be alone right now. He and Lyra were close!” “I know, Kim,” Marcella said. “She was my friend too.” Kim stared at her. “Did you know they were sleeping together?” Marcella didn’t react. Cupun and Lyra’s romance wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret. “Yes,” she said. “Then just give him some time,” Kim said. “Let him grieve in his own way. He’ll come back. In fact, I bet that any minute, he’ll be walking right through that -“ suddenly, Kim looked up. “Son of a bitch. There he is!” Marcella looked behind her. Sure enough, there was Cupun. He had a blank look on his face, as though he barely noticed the tavern around him. The titan walked up to their table, and took a seat. He looked over at the bar. “Dinesh!” he shouted. “A beer.” Then, he turned towards Marcella and Kim, as though noticing them for the first time. “Hi guys.” For a moment, the two Guardians just stared at him. Then, Kim cleared his throat. “So,” he said. “Where you been?” A moment later, Dinesh placed a mug of beer in front of Cupun. “Here and there,” the titan said. Marcella gritted her teeth. “Stop it, Cupun,” she growled. The titan looked up at her in surprise. “What?” “Marcella -“ Kim began. “No,” Marcella snapped, looking at Kim. Then, she turned back to Cupun. “Kim’s too polite to say it, but I’m not. You can’t just go off to who-knows-where without telling us! We’re your friends, Cupun! We’re worried about you!” Cupun opened his mouth to speak, but Marcella cut him off. “And Lyra was my friend too! We’re all hurting, Cupun!” She stared at him, and blinked away tears. “You don’t need to go through this alone.” Cupun closed his mouth, and looked down at the table for a long moment. “That’s fair, I suppose,” he finally said. Marcella took a deep breath, and leaned back in her seat. “Glad you see it that way.” “I just needed to do something, and, well -“ he shook his head. “Ah. It doesn’t matter now.” Kim frowned. “Cupun? Where were you?” Cupun was silent for a moment. “I killed it.” Marcella frowned. “What?” “The thing that killed Lyra.” Cupun looked up at her. “I killed it.” Marcella’s jaw practically hit before. “You went back to Luna!” Cupun took another sip of his beer. “Yes,” he said. “Cupun!” Marcella shouted. “You went to Luna alone, without any backup? You could’ve been killed!” “Well I wasn’t,” Cupun replied. “Besides. I had a little help.” “From who?” “The Ahamkara.” Marcella stared at Cupun in shock. “You went to the Ahamkara?” Kim asked. “The Vanguard put out an advisory against that just a week ago!” “Yeah, well, I did it anyways,” Cupun said. Marcella frowned. “What happened?” she asked. “How did they help you?” Cupun open his mouth to speak, but suddenly, there was a loud bloom, and the table shook. The bar instantly went silent. Kim blinked. “What was that?” Suddenly, there was another boom, and a siren began wailing. “Fallen!” someone shouted. This kicked the Guardians into high gear. They began shouting, and running for their weapons. “Let’s go!” Cupun shouted. Another explosion shook the bar. Marcell nodded. She had to prioritize. She still wanted to know what the Ahamkara had done to him, but she could grill Cupun about that later. Assuming that they weren’t all dead by the end of the day. [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=239965018&sort=0&page=0]Part Fifteen: Healing[/url]