Part 5: [url]https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/126980778[/url] [b][u]Part 6[/u][/b] Pahanin could see Dredgen clearly as 'Vice screamed dozens of bright lancing blasts toward the tainted Hunter. Beam after beam of burning energy ripped into Dredgen, but before they could finish him off, a crackling white field of arc energy materialized around him. With his long blade arcing with electrity, Dredgen leapt toward Pahanin. "I NEVER LIKED YOU ANYWAY!" 'Vice roared as it sent a steady river of solar energy into Dredgen. Dozens of fiery bolts met him in mid-air and, blasting into his arc shielding, knocked him back into the cave's entrance. 'Vice continued the barrage and in less than a second, sent over a dozen heavy blasts toward Dredgen. The wall of gunfire slammed into his arc shielding. However, before they could blast their way through it, Dredgen raised his Thorn and fired. A black spike rammed its way into Pahanin's shoulder, and his whole world turned to pain. A burning agony spread rapidly from the wound and seemed to gnaw at his very bones. Still he held down the trigger, and kept pounding fire into Dredgen. Before the fallen Hunter could fire again, his shielding finally collapsed under 'Vice's relentless beating. In a flash, Dredgen vanished as he blinked out of the cave. "We got a piece of him" 'Vice said, determined. "He got a piece of us too" winced Pahanin. Looking down at the wound in his shoulder, he could see an ugly back spike had punched through the armor and into his body. He grabbed hold of the black object and, with some effort, withdrew it from the wound. He looked at it for a moment before dropping it to the cave floor. "Dredgen's weapon didn't use to throw those things" Pahanin said through gritted teeth. "Can you patch up the wound, Ghost?" he asked. Dredgen had a disadvantage without his ghost. Every round Pahanin sent into him inflicted permanent damage. On the other hand, as long as Pahanin had his ghost to patch up the holes, he would be good as new every time Dredgen tried to walk through that door. The ghost appeared beside him and began to scan the gaping wound. "I can't repair the damage" the ghost said, shocked. "Somehow, the light has been repulsed from the wound." "Oh goody" replied Pahanin. He did his best to ignore the burning pain that had spread throughout his entire body, and focus on the task at hand. Dredgen was going to be coming back through that door any moment, and Pahanin didn't think he could withstand another hit. He would have to be faster on the trigger. "The only place I have seen anything like this is in some of the Hive's darkest rituals" the ghost said as it continued to scan his shoulder. Suddenly a white ball of light, crackling with arc energy, flew into the cave. It bounced off a wall and landed near Pahanin's feet. "Grenade!!" 'Vice yelled. But Pahanin was already moving. He snatched his ghost out of the air, hefted 'Vice off the rock, and dove into the secondary chamber behind him. The grenade detonated, filling the front half of the cave with arc energy. Unscathed, Pahanin jumped to his feet and leapt against the wall. It was standard procedure to throw a grenade before entering, which meant that Dredgen was probably already moving. Pahanin wasted no time swinging 'Vice up into a firing position. The instant it's three barrels cleared the secondary chamber door, he squeezed the trigger and filled the front half of the cave with a roaring torrent of solar energy. Dredgen had entered the cave sure enough, and was immediately bathed in bright orange light. Pahanin spotted him instantly, and swung the steady stream of fire toward him in an effort to cut Dredgen in two. With impossible speed, Dredgen ducked under the attack and, darting into the cave, slid behind the lone rock that Pahanin had just been forced from. A sudden beep and a rapidly closing cone of red light were the only warnings Dredgen recieved -before the trip mine on the ceiling went off. Pahanin had carefully placed the mine in a small crevice directly above the far side of the rock as a backup plan, just in case Dredgen managed to get through the cave's entrance. That slight warning turned out to be warning enough however, as Dredgen blinked again, vanishing just as the mine went off with a deafening blast. The explosion shook the entire cave, just as Dredgen reappeared against the far wall. He was instantly met with a hail of gunfire. The first few rounds connected, but the rest slammed harmlessly into the cave wall as Dredgen blinked yet again, reappearing back behind the rock. Pahanin cursed under his breath. "We are clipping him here and there" said 'Vice, "and he's slowing down. He can't keep this up -we've almost got him!" "That thing really [i]DOESN'T[/i] run out of ammo, does it?" Dredgen suddenly called out from behind the rock. "If you could hit anything with it, I would be in trouble!" Pahanin said nothing. The only response came from 'Vice, who screamed a steady stream of fire into the rock where Dredgen hid. "Tough talk for someone who's bleeding to death behind a rock!" The weapon taunted him as the stone itself began to super-heat and come apart. Suddenly a dark shape leapt out from the other side of the rock -only to be swallowed in an angry river of red energy. Bolts of fire ripped through the dark, and before it had even left the rock, dozens of holes had been burned through it. "That's not him, Pahanin!" 'Vice warned. "All the rounds are still coming back!" Sure enough, Dredgen's empty cloak, now filled with smoking holes and ruined, fluttered to the ground. Pahanin scanned for Dredgen, wondering where he could have gone. As if to answer, a rocket suddenly came streaking at them from the opposite end of the cave. "Incoming!!" screamed 'Vice, but it was too late. The missile flew into the wall beside Pahanin and the blast threw him backward into the far end of the cave's secondary chamber. He slammed into the wall with sickening thud before collapsing onto the floor. Pahanin couldn't move, and heard only a high pitched ringing noise. His ghost's voice suddenly chimed in his head "You have multiple spinal fractures, a shattered pelvis, two broken ribs, and massive internal bleeding." The ghost appeared beside his head "I have to patch you up" it continued hurriedly, "try to keep him off me." The last sentence was barely said before one of Thorn's black stakes appeared in the ghost's side. Speared clean through, the little machine's light flickered and it sank to the cave floor. The ringing in Pahanin's ears subsided a little, and he was able to hear 'Vice calling his name urgently. "Pahanin!" the weapon cried, "say something!" "I'm still alive" he responded with a groan. "Several of my critical systems have been badly damaged" said 'Vice said, "I don't think I can do anymore." "Don't feel too bad, I'm not doing too hot myself" Pahanin said back. Dredgen dropped his invisibility, appearing suddenly in the doorway. He looked at the wounded ghost on the floor, and watched it struggle weakly for a moment before raising Thorn, impaling the ghost with another black spike. Pahanin saw the light drain from his little companion. Simultaneously, the seething darkness within Thorn grew more powerful. The evil smile that spread across Dredgen's face extinguished any hope Pahanin had that Dredgen's own ghost had escaped the same fate. Dredgen held up his weapon, admiring it. "My Thorn is still hungry" he said to Pahanin before dropping his eager gaze to the dying hunter "now its your turn to die." "Everybody dies eventually" Pahanin replied softly, "everybody but Kabr, and the others who were lost to the Vault." He gripped 'Vice with all the strength he had left. "I'm right here, Pahanin" 'Vice said to him. Dredgen lowered Thorn toward Pahanin and took aim for the center of his forehead. A single shot rang out of the cave, and then there was only silence. Epilogue: [url]https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/127389666[/url]