Doom of the Dragons, Part Twenty-Seven: On the Hunt

[spoiler]Greetings, Guardians, and here's part twenty-seven of Doom of the Dragons! Here's[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=242731295&sort=0&page=0] part twenty-six[/url] if you missed it, or, if you're looking for another part, here's the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/242738879?sort=0&page=0]Master Post.[/url] As usual, if you like it, give it a bump, and I'll get more out soon! Stay classy, Guardians! [/spoiler] Marcella trudged through the wilderness, Kim at her side. Suddenly, the man in front of her - a big, bulky titan in blue armor - stopped. He bent down, and looked at the earth. “Footprints,” the man said. “He was here - at least a few hours ago.” The titan’s name was Angus. Saint had assigned him to their group just before they set out to look for Cupun. Marcella had almost instantly disliked him. He was brusque, stubborn, and altogether unfriendly. That said, she couldn’t deny his tracking skills. Over the past several days, they’d traveled over sixty miles, and were now well into the wilderness. The Mountain ranges that sheltered the City were far behind them. She wondered just how much Angus had been told about Cupun. How much he actually cared about bringing her friend home alive. Titans were not ones for diplomacy, and often decided that bullets were a far superior negotiator tactic than words. However, after years of knowing Cupun and Lyra, she’d learned not to overgeneralize. Cupun was out there, somewhere. She just hoped that she could find him, and bring him back home. Alive. “Bastard is only a few hours ahead of us,” Angus said. “Keep your weapons ready.” “You know we’re trying not to kill him, right?” Kim said lamely. “I do,” Angus said. “But he’s killed one Guardian already. I don’t intend to let him rack up any sort of body count.” The threesome moved through the forest for another half an hour before coming to a rocky plane. Nearby was a small hill, its sides strewn with boulders. As they approached the hill, Angus suddenly held up his fist, and stopped walking. “What is it?” Marcella asked. “Trail’s stopped,” Angus said, “need to figure out where he went.” “Right here.” Marcella looked up, and saw Cupun standing on top of the hill. He had his helmet off, and his black hair was blowing in the wind. His pulse rifle was pointed squarely at them. “Cupun!” she shouted. “Take your helmets off, and put your weapons on the ground,” Cupun said. “Now!” Marcella frowned. “Cupun, it’s -“ “Just do it!” the Titan shouted. Marcella nodded, and dropped her auto-rifle. Then, she slowly reached up and took off her helmet. Then, she laid it down on the ground, and saw that Kim and Angus were doing the same thing. Cupun looked over at Angus, and frowned. “Who the hell are you?” “The fella who’s gonna kick your ass unless you come with us right this minute,” Angus said. Cupun hissed. “So,” he said, “you came here to kill me.” “No!” Marcella shouted. “Cupun, we came out here to bring you home!” “Home?” Cupun asked. “To the Tower?” “Yes!” Marcella said. “Cupun, you made a mistake -“ “Mistake!” Cupun roared. “The only mistake I made was not killing that bastard sooner!” Marcella was taken aback by the statement. “That’s a Guardian you’re talking about,” Angus said. “He didn’t deserve that title,” Cupun seethed. He looked to Marcella. “I did the Vanguard a favor. They can’t handle that? You can’t handle that? Fine. You’ll never see me again.” “You don’t have to leave, Cupun,” Kim called. “Yes I do,” Cupun said. “The Vanguard care more about a braggart like Spectrum than they did about Lyra!” Marcella licked her lips. “Cupun,” she said, “it wasn’t anyone’s fault that -“ “It was always their fault!” Cupun roared. “They sent us out there, and then they wouldn’t let us go back! They wouldn’t let us go back for her!” Cupun’s eyes almost glazed over, like he couldn’t actually see them anymore. “They ate her, Marcella. I saw it. I watched it happen, and it’s all their fault!” Kim suddenly nudged Marcella. “Where’s Angus?” he whispered. Marcella looked around, and realized with horror that the titan was nowhere to be seen. Then, she saw him climbing the hill beneath Cupun, a shotgun in hand. “Oh no.” “And you’d still side with them?” Cupun asked. “They killed our friend, and you’d still be with them?” “Cupun, you’re not thinking straight,” Marcella said, beginning to panic. “You need to come with us. Now.” “I’m more sane than ever,” Cupun seethed. “In fact -“ Angus reached the boulder that Cupun was standing on, but slipped. He was able to recover his balance, but not before Cupun noticed him. Without missing a beat, the mad Titan speared Angus in the chest with his bayonet. Angus grunted, and looked up at Cupun in surprise. “Cupun no!” Marcella shouted. Cupun twisted the weapon, cracking Angus’s armor. Then, he pulled the bayonet out and shot the titan in the head, execution style. But the worse was yet to come. As Angus’s body fell to the ground, Cupun turned towards him. She stared into the eyes of the man she’d once known. They had been kind eyes once. Always full of laughter and goodwill. But now they were full of the ugliest rage that she’d ever seen. It was a rage that made her want to find the nearest rock and crawl under it, just to escape from that terrible, terrible rage. And it was in that moment that Marcella realized that the man she’d known and loved was truly dead. Cupun pointed his pulse rifle at her, and fired. [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=242952176&sort=0&page=0]Part Twenty-Eight: Carrion[/url]