Greetings, Guardians, here's part eight of Doom of the Dragons! Here's [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/237962730?sort=0&page=0]part seven i[/url]f you missed it! As usual, if you like it, give it a bump, and I'll get more out soon! Stay classy, Guardians! Cupun slammed his fists against the doors, but to no avail. “Lyra!” he shouted. “Lyra!” After a moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and saw Kim staring down at him. “We have to go,” the warlock said quietly. “There might be more of those things down here.” “No!” Cupun shouted. He turned towards the door. “We’re not leaving without Lyra!” “Cupun,” Marcella said. Cupun turned towards her. The hunter was sitting in a corner. She looked at him. “Lyra’s dead.” Cupun closed his eyes, and shook his head. “You don’t know that,” he said bitterly. “You don’t know that!” “Cupun,” Kim said gently, “there’s no way she was able to get away from those creatures.” “We still have to try!” Cupun shouted. “Ghost! Get these doors open now! Kim, see if you can -“ “Damnit, Cupun!” Marcella shouted, standing up. “I already lost one friend today, and I don’t want to lose another!” She stood in the corner, fists clenched, breathing heavily. Cupun shook his head. It couldn’t be - she couldn’t be - there was no way - He grabbed Alister, and slammed the warlock against the cave wall. “What were those things!” he bellowed. “I - I - I don’t know,” the warlock stammered. “I - I -“ “What the hell were they!” Cupun shouted. “How many of them are down here!” “It’s not his fault, Cupun!” Kim shouted. “Like hell it isn’t!” Cupun shouted. Kim grabbed him by the shoulder, and stared into his eyes. “Listen,” he growled. “You’re angry. I get it. Lyra was my friend too. But now she’s dead, and if we don’t move, we will be too! “There’s a time and a place for this, but it’s not now! Now, we need to move!” Cupun blinked. After a long moment, he let go of Alister, and stared blankly at the ground. “She can’t be dead,” he muttered, shaking his head. “She just -“ Cupun blinked back tears. “I -“ Marcella put a hand on his shoulders. “I know,” she said. Cupun nodded. He walked over to the door, and picked his pulse rifle up off the ground, where he’d dropped it. Then, he looked to Kim. “Lead the way,” he said blandly. * * * Lyra blinked, trying to clear her head. She needed to move - needed to get away - get to Cupun - away - Suddenly, she felt herself being yanked off the ground as something picked her up by the shoulders. She blinked, and suddenly saw that she was face to face with the strange, floating thing. She tried to move, but her movements felt sluggish - like she was tied to a series of massive weights. “Ghost?” she said. “What’s happening?” “I don’t. . . know. . .” her ghost said. “Light . . . is . . . fading.” Lyra turned towards the floating creature. “What are you?” she croaked. The creature looked at her for what felt like eternity. Then, suddenly, to her amazement, she heard a voice reverberate inside her head. It sounded dry, raspy, and vaguely feminine. I am Death, it said, and you are food. With that, the creature grabbed hold of her head with one arm, and tore her helmet from the rest of her armor. Lyra gasped as she was forced to breath the thin lunar atmosphere. She heard a hiss as the air leaked from her armor. Her eyes began to water, and she blinked. That was when she saw them. They looked vaguely like the creature that had attacked Alister. They had no discernible eyes, and had wide, toothy jaws that seemed to take up half of their faces. Their limbs were long and boney, and their skin was dry and desiccated. At the end of their arms were a set of razor sharp claws. They chittered amongst themselves, using a series of cries and clicks. The creature let her fall to the ground. And somehow, Lyra knew exactly what was about to happen. “No,” she gasped with the last of her breath. The creature pointed at the group of strange, desiccated beings. The voice filled her head once more. Feast. The creatures screamed collectively - a terrifying cry that sounded like a series of nails running across chalkboards - and ran towards her. * * * The four surviving Guardians arrived at the Tower a few hours later. They went through the usual Tower protocols, and disembarked at the Tower Plaza. Marcella was growing increasingly worried about Cupun. The titan hadn’t spoken a word the whole journey back. Granted, none of them had felt particularly talkative, but Cupun seemed to be taking Lyra’s death especially hard. Granted, it wasn’t much easier for Marcella. She’d lost friends before, but she’d also known Lyra for years. The idea that the titan simply wouldn’t be around anymore - well, it was unthinkable. Right now, she was doing her best to shut out her emotions. She’d had to learn how to do it over the years. She’d seen friends die. She’d watched them get shot, stabbed, blown up. She’d realized that sometimes, the best way to deal with pain was to black it out until she could find a way to deal with it later on. But right now, she was having trouble doing that. “Well, well. The prodigal titan returns.” Marcella closed her eyes. Of course. Spectrum-8 stood up, smiling.. “Where ya’ been all day, Cupun?” he asked. Marcella saw Cupun begin to turn towards the hunter, but she put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t,” she said. “He’s not worth it.” Cupun turned back towards her, and then nodded. Marcella breathed a sigh of relief, and they began walking past the hunter. “Hey!” he shouted. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” The Guardians kept walking. Come on, just a little farther, Marcella though. “Ah, I get it. Not so tough when you don’t have your girlfriend to back you up, eh?” Cupun stopped in his tracks. Marcella saw him clench his fists. She realized what was about to happen. “Cupun, no!” she began. But she was too late. In two quick strides, Cupun covered the distance between him and the hunter, and then punched Spectrum in the face. The sound of the impact reverberated throughout the courtyard, and Spectrum went sprawling. Cupun got on top of the smaller hunter, and prepared to hit him again. Marcella quickly ran up to the titan, and grabbed his right arm. Kim grabbed the left, and together, they worked to pull Cupun off the hunter. “Let me go!” he bellowed. “Let me go! I’ll kill that son of a bitch! Let me go! Let me go!” “That’s the problem!” Kim shouted. Alister joined them, and together, they pulled Cupun away. “Let me go! Let me go!” Cupun shouted. But now, Marcella could see tears flowing down his face. She looked to Alister. “You got this?” she asked. The warlock nodded. “Good.” Marcella let go, and watched the two Guardians drag Cupun away. Then she turned towards Spectrum, and began walking towards the hunter, who’d managed to pick himself up off the ground. “Get a leash on your dog, why don’t -“ he began. Marcella pushed the hunter up against a nearby wall, and pulled out her hand cannon. She held the end of the barrel to his forehead, and put her finger on the trigger. She noticed Spectrum going for his life, and using her free arm, she grabbed his hand. “Go ahead, do it!” she snarled. “Make my day. Give me the excuse, and I’ll blow your brains all over this goddamn wall.” Spectrum tensed up for a moment, but then relented, and let his arm drop. “No need to get so pissy about it,” he said. Marcella took a step back, and finally holstered her hand cannon. “Stay away from Cupun,” she growled. “And if you make a comment like that again, I swear I will cut off whatever you have down there that passes for testicles and hang them over my door. Got it?” Spectrum chuckled, but then caught her gaze. His smile evaporated. “Right,” he said. “Got it.” Marcella nodded. “Glad we understood each other,” she said. Not looking away from Spectrum once, she walked back in the direction that Cupun and the others had gone. [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=238554763&sort=0&page=0]Part Nine: Debriefing[/url]