Doom of the Dragons, Part Thirty: Mirror, Mirror

[spoiler]Greetings, Guardians, and here's part thirty of Doom of the Dragons! Here's[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=243083951&sort=0&page=0] part twenty-nine[/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] Joseph looked over his shoulder. “Better keep up, slowpokes!” he shouted. “I thought you titans were the slow ones,” Amun growled. The warlock jogged up to him. “Evidently not,” said Aliya. Joseph could practically hear the hunter smiling beneath her helmet. “Just goes to show,” said Revka, “you can’t believe everything you hear.” The two titans fist-bumped. “You sure we really wanna be rushing ahead?” Amun asked. “This guy is supposed to be dangerous.” “We outnumber him four to one,” Revka said dismissively. “We’ll get him.” “He killed three Guardians by himself,” Amun said. “Numbers don’t really seem to be a factor in this fight.” “We’ll get the drop on him, then,” Joseph said. “He has to sleep at some point. We’ll catch him when he’s not looking.” “Somehow, I doubt it will be that easy,” Amun replied. “If it gets to hot, we’ll call for backup,” Revka said. “What if he gets the drop on us?” Amun asked. “He could be right behind us, and we wouldn’t even know it.” It was true. The four guardians were walking through a rocky expanse of gullies that small streams had cut through the sandstone landscape over the ages. Caves dotted the hillside. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Joseph said. They were silent for a few moments. “Maybe we should try to take him alive,” Amun said. “You sure he’ll give us the chance?” Revka replied. “No,” Amun said. “But I don’t like these ‘shoot on sight’ orders. Whatever he did, he’s still a Guardian.” “He’s killed four of our own,” Joseph said nonchalantly. “He deserves whatever’s coming to him.” Aliya stretched, and let out a sigh. “Are we sure he’s even here?” she asked. “If I were on the run, I’d be trying to -“ Suddenly, there was a bang as three bullets penetrated Aliya’s chest, sending her sprawling to the ground. “Take cover!” Joseph shouted. Amun ducked into a cave, and Revka and Joseph ducked behind a nearby rock. “Shit!” Joseph looked over at Aliya. He relaxed as he saw the huntress twitch. She began to crawl forwards. “Stay down!” Joseph hissed. “Just stay down!” Aliya looked up at him. Then, three more bullets penetrated her helmet, sending blood, brains, and pieces of armor spewing out one side of her head. Her head fell back onto the ground. “Shit!” “Where the hell are those shots coming from?” Amun asked. Joseph glanced around, and peaked over the rock. He couldn’t see anyone - just an endless expanse of gullies. Suddenly, three more shots rang out, and Joseph ducked as the bullets glanced off the rock in front of him. Revka glanced over at Aliya’s body. “I’m gonna try and get Aliya to cover,” she said. “Hopefully, her ghost can res her.” Joseph nodded. “Alright,” he said. He looked over at Amun, and counted down using three fingers. “Now!” he shouted. He and Amun opened fire on the gulley in front of them, Amun using his scout rifle, and Joseph spraying with his auto. Revka ran out from behind cover, and grabbed Aliya’s body. She ran towards a nearby cave that the ancient stream had cut into the rock, only to suddenly disappear in an explosion of smoke and fire. “Revka!” Joseph shouted. When the dust cleared, Revka and Aliya’s bodies were lying in the stream bed. Joseph held his breath. Suddenly, two ghosts appeared above the bodies. Joseph breathed a sigh of relief as the two ghosts began to resurrect their Guardians. Suddenly, the gunfire sounded again, and the two ghosts were shot out of the air. “No!” Joesph shouted. He looked over at Amun. The warlock stared at him in shock. Then, there was the familiar whump of a grenade launcher, and Amun’s cave exploded. Joseph shielded his eyes from the blast. Suddenly, he felt three sharp pains in his chest. And then, he knew no more. Cupun put down his grenade launcher. He’d just used the last of his ammo for it on the four Guardians in the ravine. Hopefully, they would have some that he could salvage. Cupun slid down into the gulley. The first thing he noticed was that one of the Guardians - a warlock - was still alive. His legs had been ruined by the grenade blast, but the he was doing his best to crawl towards a nearby scout rifle. Cupun slid his bayonet into the warlock’s back. The man gurgled, and then went silent. Suddenly, Cupun heard the sound of someone groaning. He turned around, and saw a titan, clad entirely in red armor, leaning against the walls of the gulley. There were three bullet wounds in his side. Cupun walked up to him, and stared down at his defeated foe. The titan looked up at him, breathing heavily. Suddenly, Cupun reached down, and ripped the titan’s helmet off. Cupun suddenly found himself face to face with himself. The man before him looked exactly like him - as though he was staring at a mirror and not another human being. Cupun backed up. “No,” he whispered. “No.” The titan moved forwards. “NO!” Cupun fired, and the titan fell back against the wall, dead. Cupun continued breathing heavily. Then, he shook his head. Suddenly, he noticed that a ghost was attempting to res the fallen warlock, and he quickly shot it, killing it. He stared at the titan for a long moment, until finally his ghost appeared above his corpse. Cupun pointed his Red Death at it, and pulled the trigger. [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=243291865&sort=0&page=0]Part Thirty-One: A Red Death[/url]