The next morning was still rough, especially on Blake. I found him in the shooting range, honing his marksmanship with his trusted scout rifle. His helmet hid his eyes, so I wasn't sure if he saw me, but I wasn't going to telegraph my presence either. He placed the rifle down after checking its magazine, then he took up his sidearm and checked the sights.     I swallowed the lump out of my throat. “You know I can't return the favor, right?”     “What?” Blake asked as he placed the gun back down.     “Two years ago. After I lost the League of Blades, and I had a mental breakdown in this very chamber, throughout that month you tried to help me cope with that. Now we're in each other's boots, but I can't return the favor; I don't know how…”     “Don't take this the wrong way, but, why do you bother then?” he asked.     “I just want you to know that this is hard on all of us; you're not alone.”     “I appreciate the gesture, but it's not necessary. They died doing what was necessary to stop the Hive--I know that makes me sound like some cold-hearted machine--but I believe if any of us did something rash or out of anger, it would only dishonor their sacrifice… We just need to remember them, and what they did, as best we can. And when this is all over, I'll see them again, eventually; in the meantime, I just need some time to think.” Blake picked up his gun again and fired several rounds down range.     “You have got to learn to shoot… Pardon me,” a titan in gold armor said to me as he walked past and picked up an auto rifle. He carried the weapon to his warlock friend, then shoved it against his chest. The warlock didn't even bother to grab the gun, and let it fall to the ground. “You were… supposed to catch that,” the titan said as he stared at the rifle.     “Kendrick, I'm not a fighter!” The warlock declared as he snatched up the gun. “Give me a stash of artifacts, or drag me into some god-forsaken Vex structure, fine. Need me to research some ancient powers of Light or Darkness? I can do that! But I'm not… I'm not a good fighter.”     “Lauffe. Lauffe, you're a Guardian! You were reborn to be a warrior. Now, take that gun--make sure the barrel is pointed [i]away[/i] from us--and shoot some bullets.”     “If I was meant to be a brute, I would've been revived as a titan. But I'm not, I'm a warlock,” Lauffe replied.     “Excuse me,” Blake declared after placing his sidearm down a second time. “Titans are trained to be soldiers--defenders--not a bunch of barbarians.”     “I'm sorry; I meant no offense.” Blake crossed his arms and stared at the warlock. The titan, Kendrick, stepped out of the way as to not block the gaze. “…Well… not towards you… I am Lafayette,” the warlock said as he bowed.     “Nice recovery,” Kendrick said sarcastically as he held up an AOK hand sign. “The name’s Kendrick Frost,” he said after turning to us.     “Blake.”     “Alan,” I replied.     “I am sorry about the comment about titans, though. We're all Guardians, right?” Lafayette stated as he rubbed his arms awkwardly.     “Correction: [i]we're[/i] Guardians…” Kendrick said as he waved a finger at himself, Blake, and me. “You're a pu--a [i]pacifist[/i].”     “Right, right,” Lafayette replied as he crossed his arms. “And when you were stuck in that Vex stronghold surrounded by Concordat loyalists, who was the ‘pacifist’ that saved your a**?”     Blake and I glanced toward Kendrick. He stood silently for a moment. “I thought we wouldn't talk about that anymore…” The titan griped.     “The Concordat, huh?” Colt asked as he popped up beside my head. “Normally I don't like new people, but this sounds interesting,” he whispered into my ear.     Kendrick just waved off the inquiry. “It's a long story; I'd rather not get into it…”     Colt disappointingly stared at the titan. “Cop out,” he groaned.     “Say what? We don't ‘cop out’ of anything, [i]buddy[/i],” a ghost painted with flames declared as he materialized and landed on the horn of Kendrick’s helmet.     “He would be Blitz,” the titan said as he pointed to his head.     “In. The. Flesh!” the ghost exclaimed as he rotated his shell, creating a ring of sparks and embers.     “Hey, Alan?” Colt asked as he spun toward me.     “Yeah?” I replied.     “Do you see the f*** I was meant to give?”     “Colt?!” I exclaimed. Blake and Kendrick broke into laughter; Lafayette gasped and snickered.     “What's that supposed to mean?” Blitz asked, slightly agitated.     “Huh. Painted with flames, and filled with nothin’ but air? Coincidence? I think not...” Colt continued.     “I'll show you air!” Blitz shouted.     “Okaaay, that escalated quickly,” Kendrick stated as he cupped his furious ghost in his hands.     “You'll show me air?… Is that even a threat?...” Colt asked. Blitz desperately tried to break free of Kendrick’s vice grip, but the titan clamped down tighter.     I heard Blake inhale deeply, then without another word he stepped out of the shooting range. I prepared to chase after him, but I turned back to the other Guardians. “Nice to meet y'all. And sorry about my ghost, he's a bit of an a**.” I turned back and followed my teammate out of the chamber.     “What do you mean by ‘a [i]bit[/i] of an a**’? I thought we already decided I [i]am[/i] an a**…” Colt said to me.