Chapter 4: "Beyond The Vail"
"Smells horrible." Will commented, walking away from the pile of smoldering bodies.
"Comes with the job description. So, what's the actual endgame? The final mission?" Nine asked, dipping his grit covered hands in a nearby stream.
"We took the CP, soon reinforcements will arrive and we attack the main Insurrection base and kill off those who fight, incarcerate who's who kneel." Will responded, still fazed from his encounter with Ryan.
"I'm sorry about-"
"Don't be. I deserved it. It's my fault all my friends hate me." Will interrupted Nine coldly.
"Okay, that's it." Nine stopped walking alongside Will back to camp. Will stopped and turned to him.
"You can't let him get to you, I know he's your friend, and I know you two have issues right now, but with this much on your mind, you're going to get killed out here, and that can't happen. You two can work it out after the fight here is done, okay?"
"Y-yeah. That's John."
"Nine."
"John."
The two made it back to the command point, the pelican already beginning to land at the pad. Marines and another squad of Spartans, version IV's, stepped out as well.
"Who are they?" Will asked, uninformed.
"Spartan IV's, any middle aged man can become one. Suddenly I'm starting to feel less and less special by the year." John commented, nodding his head at the men. They seemed hardened, but not nearly as much as the II's and III's.
"Spartans became less special when you III's were made." Will smirked as he walked away, John only lightly cursing before jogging to join him.
Ryan watched as the two ran off to the mess hall for some grub. His mind was full of violent thoughts bent on ways of getting Will back to them, but he knew none of them would work.
"Sir?" Benjamin walked in, knocking on the side of the open door to the dark room, illuminated only by a large window. "The custom armor pieces came in, we should select them for the attack."
"Yeah, just update the versions of my mark six armor." Ryan responded, not turning his head.
"Sir, are you okay?" Benjamin walked in slowly, trying to choose whether or not to peruse this conversation.
"Promise me something, would you?" Ryan asked plainly.
"Yes sir."
"Something goes south here, you run off and start a militia, better trained than this one. Takeover; if anyone could lead the government to success, it's a mind like yours. You get in close and stop at nothing to take down your opponent. Do that for me?"
"Sir, that's high treason."
"No kidding. The UNSC is weak, Ben. It won't hold against rebellions forever. We need a better government with early 20th century standards, aside from the racism. When there's war, everyone fights in a way, when in peace, we work together to make life easier, not look for more fights. Promise."
"What do you mean if everything goes south?"
"Here's the plan:" The General started, "Spartan Team Delta will lead the flanking attack, sneak up and sever the spine from the back. The Marines and Army Troops will assault the base from the front with Spartan Team Omega leading. Air support is minimal to two: One for help from a Hornet team, and the one to bomb the base to ashes. We need that place eviscerated. We predict around a million troops are at or around the base, so pick your targets and move to the Insurrectionist's trenches they made around the base. I want minimal casualties on this, so no heroics. We get three days prep, so call your wives and -blam!- the skin-rifles, whatever it takes to get pumped for this fight men, we'll need all the morale bonuses we can get. Dismissed."
Will walked towards the armory to tend to his weapons, how he likes to spend his preparation days. Before he could escape the men, Benjamin pulled him aside to the gym.
"You mind? I need a partner." Benjamin stated as he wrapped white tape around his fist and forearm, Will did the same.
Will thought of long ago, back when the augmentations were just new to their systems. The doctor who gave them medication wanted to see the two spar, so he gave them tape and shoved them into the arena. Benjamin had spent all of his time training to fight in CQC, hand to hand close quarters, and Will spent his time in swordplay, riflemensehip, and CQB, which is only fighting close to an enemy. Will sent the first punch, a right hook. Benjamin snatched it with both hands and tossed Will over his shoulder, onto the ground and punched his throat, causing the guards to come in and beat him, while they both smiled at the fun, short fight they had. For some reason, this felt different.
Ben kicked at Will's thigh, who palmed it away with both hands. Wide open, Will swiped his right arm to the side, swatting away a powerful jab and returned a gut shot and a downward elbow when Ben bent over. On the ground, Ben punched at Will's shin, causing him to kick his head. Ben rolled over and up, sending a jarring uppercut to the poorly defended Will, who blocked for a gut shot. Will was sent flying into the rope, stunned for a bit, but just enough for Ben to charge. He held on tightly to Will's shoulder and punched repeatedly, starting to draw a crowd. Each punch came just before Will could recover from the last, when his brain kicked his body forward, smashing his elbow into Ben's jaw, and combined it with a forward kick, rolling Ben rolling on his side. The Marines and Army men were cheering for both the Spartans as Ben recovered, standing up to face Will once again. They ran at each-other, Will physically stronger, Ben faster and smarter. Will ducked a running swing and tackled Ben by the legs. On top of him, Will whaled on Ben's face until Ben forced him off. Once again on even ground, Ben went for the right hook, which Will grabbed ahold of with both hands and flipped him over his shoulder. With Ben on the ground, Will slammed his fist against Ben's throat, knocking him unconscious.
Nine ran in to see the finishing move, and seeing the bruised and bloodied Will run off into the armory, shirt off, fists bloody and face messed up. He ran after him.
Will was in a dark room, cleaning his magnum he's kept since he received it from John during the war, after they saved each-other's lives. Nine also spotted his machete in a bucket of bleach, and his MA5K Compact Carbine pristine and spotless on the rack.
"What the hell happened?" Nine asked calmly, attempting not to startle Will as he sat down in the dark, alone.
"Hey, buddy." Nine reached for Will, who turned away.
"I can't fight anymore, John. I just can't." Will waved his hand, telling John to get out. So he did.
Chapter 5: "Coven"
"And the cloaking mechanism?"
"They have no clue."
Xzora looked over the edge of the cliff at the burning forest below. "Why would the new prophets send us to attack a planet already at war? I do not understand. Weak humans fight amongst themselves while we prepare to fire down the barrel of a gun long pointed at their skulls. Stupid." Xzora commented. He remembered the last time he had been forced to fight on the ground. Back on Earth, he faced a blue-armored menace, a Demon who gave him his greatest scars, the large cut wound that almost killed him on his neck. The cowardly retreat caused him to get demoted, but through several victories, he arose to the rank of Field Marshall, leading his own Zealot team.
"Valah'ee, we must move to counter strike the enemy." Tar'like stated. Suddenly, a team of wandering Marines stumbled upon the two Elites. Seven of them. Startled, Xzora drew his sword.
"YOU DARE COME UPON ME YOU DEGENERATE WORM!" Xzora cried as he sprinted at the confused Marines, slicing one in half before he even saw him.
The others fired, missing most shots from their Assault Rifles. Xzora's shields were off, but his anger blotted out the pain of each bullet that passed through him. He grabbed another by the skull, smashing and breaking it with his knee. The next drew his knife and lunged. Xzora severed the arm, choking his neck with the left, unarmed hand. He moved the struggling man in front of him, taking the bullets and causing the others to stop firing. Once they did, Xzora threw their dead friend at them. "WEAK! ALL OF YOU!" With a mighty lunge, Xzora punctured the chest of his enemy and twisted the blade, gutting him right there. With his sword spent, Xzora punched the next Marine in the forehead, killing him with the small point in the middle of the handle. He took a huge step forward, snapping the next one's neck. The last fired a sniper round into Xzora's shoulder, causing him to fall to a knee. As the Marine approached for the kill shot, Xzora threw himself at him, biting into the man's skull and shook his head violently, tearing the skull apart with his four jaws of razor-sharp teeth.
"Pft!" Xzora spit out the blood from his mouth and roared. "FOR THE GLORY OF THE COVENANT!"
Kelsey's head stood up before taking a bite of her sandwich, a confused look on her face. "Hm?"
"What is it?" Audrey asked, startled by her sudden movement.
"I just feel like something just went terribly for some reason."
"Might just be nerves again."
"Yeah." Kelsey thought. Nerves...
Chapter 6: "Wrath."
"Hey." Will walked up to the table, Kelsey and Audrey conversing with Nine. Everyone was unarmored, the day taken off due to the mission tomorrow. Everyone was nervous, no one showed it. Will had his favorite Mess Hall meal, the plastic wrapped sandwiches as opposed to the slop most others ate.
"Hey. What's your plan for today?" Kelsey asked after she swallowed her food. What it, was, Will couldn't make out.
"Nothing. Why?"
"We were thinking of arming up and taking a little hike." Audrey answered for Kelsey, smiling sinisterly. "We found it."
"Found what?" Will replied, confused.
"The town where you were born. Don't you want to see it again?" Kelsey asked tilting her head and frowning. To be honest, he didn't. He came back years ago, and he doubted it looked any better.
He stood, leaving his untouched sandwich at his seat, simply answering: "I'm good."
Nine quickly pointed at the sandwich and looked around to see if anyone else wanted it. With all "no's", he snatched the snack and chowed down. "Still not as good as thorn beast."
"Hey Will." Ryan entered Will's quarters, disappointed look on his face. "I'm sorry for everything I've said. You moved on, I just read about the assault on some base as a distraction and the missions to help the grunts. It's better work then what we've been doing, I'll tell you that. I was hurt that you left, cause you've been here since basic man. Even?"
Will stood up to Ryan, being 6'4 unarmored; he towered over the 5'11 Ryan-101. His face was serious and angry, broken only by a sudden smile and brotherly hug. "It's all good man. It's all good."
They broke away from the hug when it became awkwardly long. Will then noticed something new. "Hey man, your eyes are bloody and your veins are popped out. You okay?"
"Yeah, doc at Med Bay drugged me; some -blam!- dropped a weight shelf on me in the lift room."
"Balls, that sucks. You okay?" Will grabbed Ryan's shoulder, legitimately concerned.
"Yeah. I gotta go, but we arm up in eight hours, Oh, Five-Hundred."
"Got it!"
Will pressed his light switch off, descending his room into night slowly as he crept in bed. He seemed Off. Will thought to himself in bed. Best not linger on it if I want to sleep tonight
Will had gotten his armor much before the armors, so he crept off to get some shut-eye in the Delta Pelican. He dreamt of better time in history, better days, better places, and better jobs. Smiles and sunshine all around, until he heard what he dreaded to hear for a long time.
A Wraith shell smashed into the base, cracking the balcony down beneath the Marines on it. He stood up, running to the armory as fast as he could.
Once inside, Will snatched his arms from his locker: Combat knife, Machete, MA5K Assault Carbine, M6C Magnum, the works. On his way out to face the enemies, he was grabbed by the forehead of the helmet and almost completely dragged by Kelsey. "Nope. We've gotta go now."
"Okay! Okay! But I can walk."
"Run."
"Okay, run."
As Will went, he saw the men sent to face a threat most had only heard about. After losing his left arm on the Ark, he knew why all the Marines who survived retired. These men were green, and getting slaughtered.
Though, Will saw something odd in one kid, no older than 19. His team was down, just him behind cover. Everyone who tried to break cover to help him was slaughtered. He reloaded, and with a battle-cry heard even to Will's position, he leaped over cover and fought, killing two Elites and a Jackal before he was smashed to death by a Hunter.
Will hopped into the Pelican, holding onto the railing as he watched the battle below him. The door closed in front of him as he stood there.
"And so it goes..."
Chapter 7: "The Storm."
The pelican drove all day and into the night of the attack. The covenant assault hit the firebase hard, but they were fought off before scouts could report back, though there was no real way of knowing that. Nine stood in the hold, as the pilot alerted the red light, which meant less than twenty minutes until the touchdown.
"Okay people, I'm Agent Nine from the Freelancers; big blue to my left is Sixteen. We're your reinforcements. Now the commanding office might want to say something?" Ryan nodded his head. "Well then; Marines, the mission is simple: Get in, plant the bomb, and get out. We fail, the planet is lost. We can do this, get ready."
"No, you see, I give the orders boy!" Ryan stood up to face Nine, not holding on to the handlebars on the top. "You have no authority here."
"I referred to you first sir, I merely did what you were supposed to." Nine replied coolly. Ryan smashed him into the wall, the weight of them both tilting the pelican to a side for a minute. "What the hell!"
Will stood and threw Ryan off of Nine, who shrugged it off. "What's wrong with you!?" Will cried, also not holding onto the handles.
"These Freelancer bastards think they're the -blam!-, don't you? Half of you were still being changed while we were fighting. You have rights to nothing!" Ryan kicked at Nine. He thought nothing of it at first, for Will had told him about Ryan's lack of physical build up, but then he realized, he's strong.
Will drew his MA5K and pointed it right at Ryan's head. "I will shoot you in the throat. Stand down."
"You first." Ryan dared him. Will just then realized Ryan's weapon was drawn too. They both holstered their weapons.
BANGBANG
It all happened in seconds; Will clutched his shoulder in pain, his shields not activated and he'd been shot. The two bullets ricocheted around the hold, blowing an exposed part of the fuel tank, killing a Marine instantly. Another, stood and ran to the cockpit, the entire door engulfed in flame as he entered. John stood and round-housed the distracted Ryan. He flew into the back infantry door of the Peclican, smashing it open, several other Marines flying out as well.
Nine saw up in the air as they nose-dived, a Covenant Destroyer, Flagship, and Corvette jumping into low orbit and bombing UNSC and rebels alike.
This fight just got real.
Ryan ran off into the night, hurt less than the others. Nine, Audrey, Kelsey, and Will lied there, in the rain and dark, knocked out cold, the rest dead.
Chapter 8: "The Lost Ones"
The night air was cold in Ryan's lungs, his entire body aching from the pain of the crash. He figured he was going in circles, though the entire planet was a big forest. In Ryan's head, he knew that he couldn't go back after what he did, not even Benjamin would fight by him anymore on this. He was rouge, and needed a way out.
They'll hunt me, and I'm weak and no meds. Need another dose, need another dose.
A large hoof smashed into Ryan's back, sending him flying onto the grassy floor. He turned back, an Elite covenant loyalist with golden armor and a sword. Ryan drew his shotgun and fired, the bullets bouncing off the elite's shields as it ran toward him, slashing his gun in half. Before it could take the critical blow to Ryan's head, a blue figure tackled the foe.
Will was pissed, rage and adrenaline pumped through his veins as he smashed into the skull of the elite repeatedly until it died with one last cry for pain, which was soon snuffed out.
"What the hell is wrong!?" Will grabbed Ryan by the chest-piece and slammed him into the tree. Ryan twisted his arms and punched Will in the side of the head hard, knocking him back. Will swung a left hook, but Ryan ducked it. Faster than Will, he moved behind him and took his machete, slashing at his arm, damaging his robotic attachment. Will clutched his wrist, twisting it and kicking him below the belt, causing Ryan to bend forward, and allowing Will to kick him in the face.
"You were always the warrior Will!" Ryan went for a full-weighted punch, missing and slamming into a tree. Will swiped Ryan's feet with his blade, sending him to the ground and beneath Will's boot. He crushed down on his former leader and friend.
"You were always the smart and sneaky one, helping my dumb-ass on the written exams! We were friends Ryan, what did you do to change that?"
"It wasn't me," Ryan said slowly, with the lack of air from the crushing.
"IT WAS YOU!" Ryan's foot kicked from behind Will, pushing him forward. Will turned and drew his gun on Ryan.
"Don't make me."
"You won't." Ryan replied as he went for his sidearm.
Suddenly, he was kicked on the side of the head, sending him flying into the grass once more. Nine stood over him and lifted his head up, knife drawn. "The -blam!- you start this for man? What'd I do to you?"
Ryan's fist came at Nine's left, which he kept off with his forearm. With the other, an quickly pulled his magnum from below him right at Nine's face. Nine impaled Ryan's hand and gun, pinning both to the ground. With a final mighty punch, Ryan was out cold.
"Thanks John. Something was off about him though."
"How-so?"
"He usually uses tactic over might to win fights." Will rubbed the top of his helmet. "He was almost as strong as me, but also faster than normal." Will was concerned, wondering only the worst of every possible outcome. Before he could put 2 & 2 together, something sudden happened.
"DEMON!"
A large Elite Field Marshall charged at Will with two blades drawn. Once close, Will knew who the elite was almost in an instant. He ducked the scissor swing, jumping up with his machete for a powerful drop attack, but the Marshall blocked it. The blades did not melt each-other. Confused, the elite received a kick from John to its side. It stumbled back, preparing its blades for another attack.
"Today, I will regain my honor!" The elite yelled into the night sky for all to hear.
Will quietly stated: "Today is the day I kick your ass again, what was it? Xzora?"
"And I'm here too!" Nine stated, also battle-ready.
"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"
Chapter 9: "ENDGAME" [Part 1 of 2]
Nine went for the leg sweep, his kick defied by a strong hoof from Xzora's kick. His shin ached as he drew his SMG and peppered the enemy with bullets as he backed up.
Will threw his blade at a deadly speed, Xzora barely able to slash it away. With the minor distraction, Will jumped up for a flying kick. It landed right in the Elite's chest, knocking it to the ground on its back, then rolling on his feet.
"I will flay you alive Demon!" Xzora cried, a small distance from Will and Nine, who were standing side to side.
"I suggest you just screw off and fight this fight later. We have business right now." Will suggested, sliding his Machete back into the sheaf on his back. In the corner of his eye, Ryan was still hunched over against a tree.
"I will not waste a chance the very Gods gave me because you simply ask. Die this night Demon."
Will drew his MA5K from his back and armed it. "If you want me, come here and claim my life."
The Elite ran at Will and Nine, yelling out a battle-cry. He attempted another scissor slash on Will, who jumped over the low cut and stomped on Xzora's hands. He felt them break under his feet as he came down. Will kicked the Elite in the jaw, knocking him back up for Nine to kick down once again.
Will aimed his Carbine at Xzora, right in the head. "Stand. Down."
"I. Will not." He stood to face Will, bloodied and hands broken. "My honor will not stand another retreat!" He butted heads with Will and snatched his gun. He unloaded on Will, breaking his shields and bringing him to his knees. Before Xzora pulled the Kill-shot, Nine shot his hand, followed by a roundhouse, knocking the wounded Elite on its back once more. Nine bent over and slit his throat, watching him bleed out as he helped Will up.
"Thanks." Will said, brushing the blood and dirt from his shoulder. He looked back at Ryan's position, he was gone.
Ryan fell into the wet, mossy grass. The drug was boiling his brain, and he couldn't think straight. His muscles popped, cell by cell under the skin. He was dying, slowly and painfully.
The cold air was non-existent to Ryan, his skin burned to the point that it felt like melting. As he started to fade away, he remembered.
Reach.
He threw off his helmet. The light rain pitter-pattered Ryan's face as he closed his eyes and embraced the coolness.
Ryan peered over his right shoulder to see Will.
They walked into the recreational courtyard with the others, who were all playing a game of Grif-ball, hitting each-other with foam bats.
Ryan and Will were always together; during tactical training, during hand to hand combat practice, all of it. Will was always better physically, strong, fast, brave, & kind.
While Ryan was limited to the small window of being small and quiet. Smart and accurate. Unlike almost everybody else at the base, he or Will never talked about how well or bad they did, what they might become, or when they might die. Will just liked thinking about and seeing nice things, & touching soft things.
"Wanna run the race simulation!?" Asked Will, joyfully, hoping he'd say yes.
It had been hours since the changes were made but Ryan's brain still burned, and his arms were on fire.
"No." He stated, "Just, go away."
Ryan violently awoke from his dream. Then he remembered the years afterwards, How Will was the perfect, charismatic soldier people loved, and Ryan was the loner who couldn't hold his own in a fist fight. Ryan hated Will for that sometimes. After the augmentations, he dreamed of being a perfect mixture of him and Will; Strong, fast, smart, brave, sick, and quiet. The perfect soldier.
Once he heard about Rumbledrug, his dream became reality.
Will and Nine made their way back to the crash-site. All the Spartans were awake and ready to fight, get this mission finished and go home.
"Alright, Ryan is gone, and we need to get back on track." Will said, starting assessing the mission. "Command called, and said there's an Insurrection General at the sight. We have to flank around these woods to the base and assassinate the CO before he even tries to get away. When the attack starts, we get out and make our way to the rally point and go home."
"If you see Ryan, shoot on sight. He's gone off the deep end and won't be coming out anytime soon. Someone get me a rifle and let's head out." Nine ordered.
Audrey threw Will an extra MA5K clip of ammo and they moved out.
The squad hiked through the dense forest around the base and out four miles. It was midnight now, the darkest of hours, and they were ready.
Will screwed on his silencer and dropped down the hill into the shadows of the valley.
Nine grabbed ahold of the sleeping guard and threw him to the ground, breaking his neck with a silent punch. They hurtled the wall, a covered guard post beside them.
Will whispered, "Aissa, here."
Will, Nine, Audrey, and Kelsey dropped down into the road, under cover of darkness. Will motioned for the ladies to take point into another bunker, leaving Will and Nine.
Waiting a minute, roaring engines fired up, Audrey and Kelsey running out.
"Cyclopes." The out of breath Audrey said in normal volume.
Just then, a giant metal "foot" crashed through the wall and opened fire with its machine gun turret and the three dispersed.
"Get behind it, take out the operator." Nine exclaimed.
Nine ran out of cover and drew the suit's attention. Will drew in close behind, when it turned and smacked him away like a fly. Audrey leaped on its back and opened the head case. She pulled out her knife and sliced his jugular halfway before he pulled out his magnum and pulled the trigger, killing Audrey instantly. Will watched in horror, shooting out the driver and shutting down the suit.
"So, what now?" Will asked, still looking at the army of rebels approaching them.
"Well, we can't fight them all. So, I guess we leave."
Aissa started picking off the frontal forces from the waves of rebels running to her teammates. Then she notices a jeep starting in the distance, getting ready to steal away their target.
"Will, the target's bugging out!" She cried, waiting for the order. Will nodded and started firing at the first plethora of the enemy. Aissa takes the shot, and for the first time in a long time, she missed and killed the driver, who was quickly replaced. Before she could react and fire again, an enemy sniper shot her in the dome, killing Aissa.
Nine pointed out the dented mongoose by the Cyclopes in the open seven meters away. Will counted down.
"One.
Two
Three! Go for it!"
Kelsey ran alongside them, taking a few shots. When Nine got on, Kelsey stayed back.
"Kels?" Will asked, holding out his hand.
"I'm not cuddling with you on a chase. Go, it's just men."
As Will and Nine speeded away towards the Jeep, he saw Kelsey take a shot and duck to cover before turning the corner. If anyone could kill three-hundred charging troopers, it was her.
