To Hell and Beyond

by Derp'Koz

All lights are meant to disappear in the immensity of the universe. But hers was a glow destined to light the way for the generations to come. Betrayed by her allies and left alone in the abyss, she chose the path redemption and greatness. For there is no brighter star than the light of... Samus Aran.

Limbo

It never ceased to amaze her just how immature and childish she really was. Many had donned her as one of the best Bounty Hunters across entire galaxies but despite all those titles, she knew she was still the same scared girl that lost everything to the space pirates many years ago. She could still feel the heat on her face, the smoke inside her lungs, her small and weak limbs trembling in front of that damned monster, the blood of her family beneath her curled legs. The long gone scream of hopelessness lodged in her dry throat... There were so many things she was willing to forget but none of those ever abandoned her during her nights. It was surely something she had come to appreciate from her psyche. No matter how many sleepless nights she spent, she was always ready for the next contract or mission.

Life used to be rougher than this... Well, not really. But Samus Aran liked to think she was finally free from the shackles of the Federation Police under the domain of the Galatic Federation. Ah, those sure were the days when she was nothing more but a tomboyish lass, defying the orders of her superiors and always looking for fights or trouble. It almost made her grin remembering the days when her rebellious attitude almost caused her expulsion, exile, and imprisonment on the same day. She was not proud of her acts but she did not deny the truth. She always faced the consequences of her actions with bravery, aware of the lessons left by her masters and teachers... And now, alone in the depth of space with nothing but her gunship and her suit, Samus could feel really grateful for those men and women that taught her everything they knew... Especially to Adam Malkovich, Former general of the Galatic Federation, Former Commander of the Federation Police, one of the few beings Samus Aran considered as her friend... And her paternal figure during her years as a cadet.

But those days were gone... It was still hard to believe Adam didn't make it. Samus could understand the reason behind his actions, there were no other choices and the time was running low... But on those cold and lonely nights, Samus always wondered if she could have done something to change the outcome during her battle on the Bottle Ship.

Then again, she had never been one to ponder over those existential matters. She was used to losing those who stood by her side: Adam, the Baby, the Chozo... She had come to terms with the fact that it was probably her destiny to soar through the universe by herself. Alone until she finally met her end, either on the battlefield or in the commodity of her bed. It was all the same for her. But if Samus was honest with herself, she would rather die fighting to protect something far greater than herself. She would never admit it but Samus was a romanticist at heart.

Samus sighed and rested her arms on the controls of her gunship. After the mission from the Bottle Ship, she decided to stay out of missions in order to organize her thoughts. It was something uncommon for her so the usual clients spent a great amount of time trying to reach her with new missions. But of course, nobody really knew her that well so she managed to stay away for a week or so... That was until she received a peculiar transmission. It had a cryptic message with another file attached to it. It only contained a few paragraphs but those words were enough to get her out of her hideout and walk into the dangers of the universe again...

I need help...

I will be waiting...

J.

And that was the reason why Samus was once again wearing her Power Suit and waiting patiently for her arrival to that accursed place. Few were the things that could ignite the fury in her heart. She had dealt permanently with most of them but there was one that had always caused her disdain and blatant fury all altogether... The UNSC.

"Unknow Gunship. You are currently entering protected space by the UNSC." The radio on her ship came to life "State your objective or leave before we take action against y-"

"Tell John I have come to help." Samus interrupted. She already hated this situation and she was not going to allow anyone to tell her what to do. She continued flying forward until she came across her objective.

The UNSC Argos. One of the newest models created after the war against the theocratic hegemony made up of multiple species known as The Covenant. Samus herself had fought plenty of battles for the UNSC during such event. The conflict was so big not even the Galatic Federation was able to stop it. The diplomatic operations failed and the UNSC had no choice but to step up and fight against the Covenant.

Those sure were dark times. Days filled with insecurity and anguish as the other species of the universe were caught in the carnage between the humans and the Covenant. The Galactic Federation did its best to aid as many worlds as possible but the amount of help needed was so big it completely collapsed the entire system. Thousands of species were eradicated and several planets became unhabitable due to the constant fights and the use of powerful weapons in the environment. Samus herself took a few missions in order to help the UNSC even the odds against the Covenant... But on several occasions, she was the one fighting both the Covenant and the humans at the same time. In the heat of the battle, none of them was able to see the things that were lost thanks to their actions. The war had left the galaxies scarred and there was no way the recover what had been lost... And that included Samus' faith in the human race.

But even like that, it sure caused nostalgia to see that 'pillar-like' vessel with those 'Pelicans' and other ships hovering around the main ship.

"Unknown Gunship. This is the UNSC Argos. State your business."

"Tell John I have come to help," Samus repeated once again.

"Unknow Gunship. I am afraid that sort of statement is vague. Turn around and leave before we have to-"

"Tell John I have come to help"

"Unknown Gunship. This is our last warning. Turn around or else we will... Sir? Sir, what are you...?" There was an inaudible mumble on the transmission "But... But sir, that is just... I... But the General... I... I understand, sir... Unknown Gunship. This is UNSC Argos. You are free to dock into the Hangar bay number five." It seems like the message was real. Samus furrowed her brow and slowly approached the ship "You really came..." The voice almost made Samus jolt in her seat. It was not the same voice from the operator. It was a deep and gruff voice she hadn't heard in a while "You really came... I thought you wouldn't..."

"I didn't come here because I wanted or for you," Samus answered harshly "I simply paying you a favor... Nothing more, nothing else."

"I suppose... You are just that kind of person" The voice said with a small chuckle "I'm still glad you came... Samus."

"I will see you at the bay... John." Samus added and cut the transmission.

Samus sighed in resignation... It was going to be one of those days...

---

"It sure is a strange sight to behold..." Lieutenant Marx Camus spoke to himself as he waited for his superiors.

Marx was by no means an inexperienced soldier. He had seen his own share of battles back in the days of the great war. He was one of the few veterans that fought across the galaxy without missing most of the important battles and lived to tell the tale. He had seen many things during his career as a soldier: Some were terrifying, some were magnificent, and some others were simply strange and weird... And this could very well qualify among the top ten.

He was well aware of the Bounty Hunters. In the early days of the war, the UNSC was unable to sustain a proper war against the Covenant. They were surpassed in all the fields. So with no other choice, the UNSC had to hire a few of those 'Bounty Hunters' to complete difficult tasks. He himself had fought alongside one of them a few decades ago... But that Bounty Hunter couldn't compare to the one he currently had in front of him.

This Bounty Hunter was wearing a... Flashy armor. There was no other way to describe it as the crimson and golden colors of it caused quite the impact in anyone who looked at it. Standing at the same height of the Spartans, the Bounty Hunter remained still in front of his also crimson and golden Gunship. He had some sort of cannon in his right arm and despite being a bit slimmer than the Spartans, he was obviously experienced on combat judging by his stance. He and his ship sure stood out being surrounded by the gray and green Pelicans. Not even the Spartans dared to wear such colors... Not the ones Marx knew. at least.

Marx was still trying to peer behind the visor when he heard the elevator open behind him... And more surprised came his way. The first one to appear was the Supreme Commander of the UNSC Argos, Captain James Roosevelt. It was such an odd sight to see him out of the Control Room. Some privates could sometimes see him walking down the hallways but for him to personally come all the way to the bays... That was something beyond anything Marx believed.

The other one wasn't that unusual but it was still as impressive as the Captain. It was none other than the Master Chief Petite Officer John-117, one of the greatest warriors and heroes the UNSC had seen in this generation. The man who had fought bravely against the horrors of the Covenant and even the nightmare of the Flood. A man all the marines had learned to trust to such level they would blindly follow him into the depths of a black hole.

Lieutenant Marx couldn't really understand why there were some high ranking members in this small and smelly bay but it sure had something to do with the Bounty Hunter... Either way, he just hoped he could see this matter until the end.

"Lieutenant" The Captain greeted and Marx saluted "At ease, soldier. You have done a good job escorting our new asset. Stay with us and wait for further orders."

"Yes, sir!" Marx said loudly.

"And I suppose it is time to introduce ourselves..." The captain spoke to the Bounty Hunter "I am captain James Roosevelt. Supreme Commander of the UNSC Argos and the one that requested your services. I am delighted to see you have agreed to aid us in this particular mission. Now, if you could please follow me to the control center, we could debrief you in the recent... Events...?" But the Bounty Hunter was ignoring the captain and was solely focusing on the Master Chief. "Uh... Mister Bounty Hunter... What seems to be the problem?" Once again, he was ignored.

The Bounty Hunter passed both Marx and the Captain and stood right in front of the Master Chief. Master Chief was only taller by a few inches so he had to look down slightly... But it seemed like the Bounty Hunter was the one imposing.

"Samus..." The Master Chief greeted with a small nod.

"John..." The Bounty Hunter named Samus answered with a bit of venom in her voice "Never thought we would meet again like this."

"Believe me... I wanted to avoid doing this but I had no choice... I apologize if I caused you any sort of trouble."

"You have already caused me enough anguish for a lifetime, another mission won't make the difference..." At her words, the Spartan couldn't help but look down in shame "But enough with the pleasantries, I came here to do my job so you better have a good reason to bring me back to this place..."

"I think I have..." Master Chief began.

"What do you mean with you 'think' you have, huh?" Samus asked roughly.

"If I am honest with you, I don't really know what we are dealing with..." The answer made Samus tilt her head "During the expeditions of the Argos around the galaxy, they came across an ancient and unknown Forerunner temple in the farthest point of the known system by the UNSC. It was on a small planet that was collapsing on itself and there was little the crew could do about that... They salvaged whatever they could carry and left before the planet became a disaster... Sadly, some of the Pelicans didn't make it and a lot of the artifacts were lost... All of them but one. We currently have it here in the Argos but I am afraid to say none of the scientists on board can tell what exactly is... It seems like it belongs to something entirely different from the Forerunners. And as far as I am concerned, you are one of the few beings in this universe that knows almost everything that there is to know about the millions of species scattered across the cosmos."

"Ho... I see you have improved your social skills, huh?" Samus mocked, crossing her arms "But that still doesn't explain why you called me... If I remember clearly, there is one that knows just as much as I do."

"I know... But due to Dr. Halsey's... 'Special' conditions, we are unable to properly share our discoveries. She is currently staying at a planet known as 'Gehenna' with a platoon of Spartans and enough supplies to continue her investigation."

"Gehenna, huh? Is that some sort of sick joke or what?"

"Dr. Halsey named the planet herself... We didn't have anything to do with it."

"At least she is trying to atone for her sins..." Samus mumbled to herself "Sounds like an interesting story and all but there are many incoherencies in your story. Why would a Supercarrier such as this go on its own, huh? Why would a bunch of marines and soldiers gather all those important and fragile artifacts? And the most important one, why are you here? You should be on the front fighting to stop that crazed A.I. of yours." With each question, Master Chief couldn't help but look down. Samus gritted her teeth and was almost tempted to slap him for good measure... Seeing him act like that really made her furious. Especially after all he had done.

"If you excuse me..." The Commander coughed and Samus finally acknowledged him "I think I have all those answers... First things first, I am Captain James Roosevelt and I was the one who requested your services. Spartan John-117 only acted as an intermediary as I lacked the means to contact you in any shape of form. See, I have answered one of your questions. Would you like to hear the rest?" Samus was taken aback by the tone of the Commander but managed to just nod "Good. As you have guessed, the UNSC Prometheus is not used for military purposes. It is equipped to fight just like any other Supercarrier to defend ourselves but its objective is more elegant. We were tasked with the duty to continue gathering Forerunner technology... And supply it to Dr. Halsey in Gehenna. As you may already know, Dr. Halsey barely escaped a death sentence but her actions brought consequences. She was punished with an eternity in Gehenna, with the mission to forever work for the UNSC for the rest of her life." Samus gripped her hand and thanked the Commander couldn't see behind her visor. "We would like to hire you in order to transport the artifact to Gehenna safely."

"I still don't get why I am needed to do this..."

"Well... Let's just say Dr. Halsey exile is more like a... Uh, privileged information shared among the higher ranks." The Commander said with a grin.

"You mean... She was supposed to die?!" Samus almost growled.

"Indeed. But brilliant minds like hers do not appear very often, we couldn't just simply execute her and waste her vast pool of knowledge. Besides, some of the big fishes up there think death would be too good for her. She needs to be properly punished for her crimes. And here is where you come, Bounty Hunter. As you may have already guessed, doing this sort of stuff is absolutely forbidden and we are kind of acting under the table. The big fishes designed a plan to deliver all the artifacts to Dr. Halsey following a routine that wouldn't raise any sort of suspicion... Sadly, this new discovery has been labeled priority one and we need to deliver it to Gehenna as soon as possible. Unfortunately, our next cycle is in a few months so we had to resort to this: Hire a Bounty Hunter and have them deliver the artifact to Gehenna. Of course, you will be escorted by a team in case something unexpected happens... Like the Covenant attacking or the Prometheans appearing or..."

"Me escaping with the artifact..." Samus finished.

"These are chaotic times and it is better to be safe than sorry..." The Commander agreed, shrugging his shoulders "We have also acquired a few ships for the escort team by other 'Not-So-Legal' methods so there shouldn't be any evidence of a squad of Spartans in the records. They will protect you until you reach Gehenna and deliver the artifact to Dr. Halsey."

"And why me?"

"That was John-117's suggestion. He said he knew just the right man for the job... Or woman, in this case. I can't believe he actually contacted the protector of the Galaxy, the Entrusted One, the Hunter... Or my favorite, the Princess. Samus Aran." The Commander said with a grin.

"Wait... He is a chick?!" Marx exclaimed in astonishment.

Samus rolled her eyes in annoyance but seeing as the Commander knew that little important fact, it seemed like she just couldn't keep the facade up. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Slowly, she felt how the Power Suit began disintegrating and revealing her true self. A hourglass-like body tightly hugged by some sort of blue suit, golden hair tied in a simple ponytail, eyes of a vibrant blue that seemed to shine like the stars in the sky, ruby like lips surrounded by milky and pure skin with a single birth mark on the right side of her face below her lips. Without the suit, she was now a foot shorter than the Master Chief and less threatening than before. Marx couldn't help but stare for far longer than he had wanted.

"Close your mouth, Lieutenant," The Commander advised and Marx pushed his mouth up with his hands, "Just as the legends say, an angel hiding beneath the warrior." Samus rolled her eyes and the Commander smirked again. "Now that we have properly introduced ourselves, let us continue to the main event..." He said signaling to the elevator "We will take you the artifact and you will be free to study it and run the test you want until the Escort Team is ready to leave."

"What do you mean with 'study' and 'run tests' on it?" Samus asked skeptically while she entered the elevator.

"Well, John-117 said you held some interesting data in that brain of yours," The commander said entering the elevator with Master Chief and Lieutenant Marx. The three men cornered on the side so Samus could have a large space for herself "I have also done my homework and I know for a fact that you... Sure... Know..." The commander said while he struggled to push one of the buttons. Samus sighed and pushed the button for him "Thank you, dear. As I was saying before, I know you hold the same amount of knowledge as Dr. Halsey... And if the rumors are right, you could even surpass her in that field... So I have decided to let you see for yourself the 'package' and tell us your findings." The Commander added with a small smile... Although, he looked quite funny while he struggled to not look bothered as he was being squeezed by Master Chief and Lieutenant Marx. The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened "And here we are... After you, dear."

Samus glared and him but decided he had suffered enough. She could see small droplets of sweat running down his spine and his face started looking like a tomato... Samus grinned, flipped her ponytail and stepped out of the elevator into the... Training grounds?!

She couldn't really be mistaken. After all, there were a bunch of marines doing their usual drills in those ridiculous tank-tops and shamelessly small shorts, running around a wide and open area with a single pillar in the center. The air purifiers were actually working but that couldn't really erase the potent smell of sweat of both men and even women. There was a middle-aged man in the center of the area, screaming orders and some others insults in order to 'boost' the morale of the troops... Sometimes, Samus wondered if the army actually had committed a mistake in choosing their methods... Then again, she had gone through almost the same back in her younger days, training under the guidance of the Galatic Federation.

The man in the center suddenly noticed Samus and was about to shout at her when Master Chief and the Commander appeared behind her. He gasped for air and coughed before he managed to do his job.

"Attention!" His voice boomed over the noise of the Marines training. As a well-oiled machine, all the Marines stopped and stood firm in front of the Commander.

"At ease, soldiers." The Commander said waving his hand. They changed position but there seemed to be no change at all "I see you have been doing a fine job training our troops, Sergeant Simmons. Good job."The Commander congratulated.

"Thank you very much, Sir!" Samus couldn't really understand why was he staring at the ceiling but that was none of his business "Can we be of any help, sir!"

"Yes. This lady over here is the specialist we have recruited to study the artifact. Lead us there and continue your usual activities."

"Sir, yes Sir!" The Sergeant saluted "All right, Mongrels! While I am gone, I want you all to run 50 laps! And no funny business! And yes, I am talking to you Griff!" The marines laughed "And what exactly are you waiting for, huh?! Christmas or what?! Move! Move! Move!" And the soldiers began running around the pillar in synchrony. The sergeant left his pose and approached the Commander "This way, sir!" He said saluting again and walking towards the back of the area.

"Quite the lovable character, huh?" The Commander commented, "He takes his duty seriously and works diligently..."

"He is a musclehead idiot," Samus said glancing at the marines. Some of them seemed to be staring at her for quite the time... Especially the area beneath her waist.

"Well... I can't really deny that." The Commander agreed with a chuckle "But he is at least honest... And that is a quality you don't see every day."

"I suppose..." Samus scowled.

"Over here, sir!" The Sergeant said loudly "The artifact has been stored in the secluded area number four as you ordered, sir!"

"Good job. Has anything happened ever since the initial tests?"

"Yes, sir! The boys from the demolition squad tried their luck but it seems like the nerds were right! That thing is virtually indestructible!"

"Well done, Sergeant. Continue with your duties."

"Sir yes, sir!" The Sergeant said proudly and walked towards the Marines and began yelling again.

"Well then... After you, dear." The Commander said to Samus as he signaled the large corridor.

Samus was still not buying this whole story but at this point, she couldn't care less about the lies of the Commander. She knew better than anyone that despite being in the army, the higher ups were nothing but political pigs for the big fishes. This was just a game... A sick game where the players moved the pieces across the board. Samus only wondered what was she in the game... A knight... Or a pawn. Either way, she stepped into the hallway and walked slowly through the dark corridor.

Nobody said a thing while they moved until they reached the only room that was lit. In front of the door, there were three heavy armed Spartans guarding the room. Samus felt her muscles tense at the sight of the weapons. She began considering the possibility of a trap... She had been quite annoying for the UNSC a couple of times during the war and they were known for never forgetting old grudges. She prepared to canalize her Power Suit until she felt a hand resting on her shoulder. She turned around and was met with Master Chief's orange visor. He slightly shook his head and squeezed her shoulder softly, as if he was trying to assure her nothing would happen. Samus sighed and nodded. Then, Master Chief took point and met the Spartans.

"Kelly, Linda, Frederic..." He greeted the three Spartans.

"Hello, Chief! I was beginning to rust in this tiny hallway alongside the sense of humor of these two!" The Spartan with white armor was the first to speak.

"If you can call 'that' sense of humor..." The Spartan with bluish armor mumbled.

"Hey! I heard that!" Kelly growled.

"It is good to see you again, John." The Spartan with light-brown armor greeted softly with a nod "These two were getting lonely without you."

"That is not true!" Both Kelly and Frederich assured.

"My, my... Never thought the Spartans could speak this much. Interesting..." The Commander said appearing behind Master Chief.

"Sir!" The three Spartans said saluting.

"At ease, Spartans. I see you are guarding the door as I ordered, good job." The Commander congratulated with a smile.

"Sir yes, Sir!" Was all the Spartans said without abandoning their positions.

"Geez... I suppose this is as far as I will get in exploring the natural habitat of the relaxed Spartans..." The Commander said a bit disappointed "Either way, let us move on. Spartans, I have brought the specialist that will study the artifact before you take it to Gehenna... Allow me to introduce you to Samus Aran, a renowned Bounty Hunter across the galaxies and the Galactic Federation..." Samus took this as her queue and appeared beside Master Chief "Miss Aran, this is the combat sub-unit know as Blue Team, formed by SPARTAN-II John-117, SPARTAN-II Kelly-087, SPARTAN-II Linda-058 and SPARTAN-II Frederich-104. They will form the Escort Team alongside a squad of marines and four other SPARTAN-III. They will protect you and the artifact until you reach Gehenna." Samus greeted each member with a nod. "Uh... That was it? Not a single word... Well, I can see know why you were able to fight alongside John-117 during the great war... Anyways, let us proceed into the secluded area so you can see the artifact." The Commander said signaling Samus to go in first.

The Spartans moved away and allowed Samus to move forward. The Bounty Hunter hesitated for a second but decided to just finish it quickly... She knew very well the capabilities of the Spartans and even though she hadn't fought alongside or against any of the other Spartans, she was sure she could deal with anything they threw at her... After all, that was her style. She nodded to herself and stepped into the secluded area...

...

...

"What... What is that?" Was all Samus could ask over her shock and surprise.

She was currently standing in the same wide area as the one the marines were training in... But instead of a tall pillar in the center, there was a huge sphere of eerie black... And that was it. There was nothing inside the room aside from that sphere. Samus tried looking left and right but found nothing... Was that really the only artifact the marines were able to save? Samus was pretty sure there were far more appealing Forerunner artifacts that this smooth-looking sphere.

"I know what you are thinking but I can assure you... That thing is more than just a waste of space." The Commander called from the door "At first, the boys at the lab thought that thing couldn't be anything more than a paperweight of a race of giants. But on closer inspection, they discovered that the sphere was virtually impenetrable. They tried every drill with every available bit... Nothing was able to pierce the seemingly smooth surface. Then one night, one of the teams sneaked inside and tried discharging their whole arsenal on it... Not even a scratch." The Commander added with a grin "I do really wonder if you can give me the answer I am looking for... We will be in the next room watching you deal with this... You are free to do and use every weapon available in your arsenal. You don't have to worry about the integrity of the room, one of the Spartans used a Rocket Launcher and even a Spartan Laser on it... Just... Have fun!" The Commander added and the door closed on him.

Now, Samus stood on her own accompanied by the strange sphere... She, of course, had a ton of question but if the Commander was saying the truth, the sphere was supposedly made by a material stronger even than her own Power Suit. Such combination seemed impossible in any of the worlds she had visited but one couldn't really be so sure regarding the mysteries of the universe. She carefully approached the sphere and stood a few feet away from it. She stared at it for a while before she quickly drew her stun gun and shot at the sphere. The projectile collided against the surface of the sphere and banished into nothingness... Clearly surprised by the interaction, Samus continued firing until she discharged the Stun Gun. She glared at the sphere and decided to get serious. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply... And just like the last time, she felt her body being surrounded by the warmth of the Power Suit. Samus opened her eyes to the HUD of her visor and couldn't help but smile wickedly at the sphere. She charged her signature Power Beam to the max and left out a huge orb of golden energy that collided in a bright explosion of light and... Did absolutely nothing to the sphere.

Samus steadied her breath and scanned the sphere. There was no relevant data aside from its dimensions and color. Her database couldn't recognize any material with similar resistance and appearance. She gritted her teeth and lifted her Arm Cannon again but this time, instead of a Beam, she shot a barrage of missiles... Which also collided and exploded against the sphere without achieving nothing at all. Slowly she began losing her cool and simply unloaded every beam and missile she had... With the same results.

At this point, Samus was both mad and frustrated. So she did the only thing that was left... She curled and to the surprise of the Spartans and the Commander watching through a crystal in the other room, she became a small ball and remained there for a few seconds.

"What is she doing?" Frederich asked with interest

"I am more interested in how she managed to become a soccer ball... Seems fun..." Kelly added, studying the ball closely.

"I haven't heard of any human or Covenant device that can achieve the same feat without killing the user... Who is she, John?" Linda asked the Master Chief.

"An old friend..." Master Chief said with melancholy "Commander, you should turn around..."

"Wait... What do you me-?" The Commander wanted to ask but suddenly, the small ball jumped in the air and left a tiny package below it "What is-?" Before the Commander could finish, Master Chief had already covered his eyes with one of his hands...

And the Spartans saw it...

The tiny package imploded and created a wave of light and heat similar to the solar explosions in the stars. They could see the Crytal barely holding the energy released and some of them began wondering if they should get out of the room... Or even better, of the ship. They all looked at Master Chief and saw him just observing. That managed to ease their worries... But it was still quite the sight to see wave upon wave of heat crashing against the walls of the room. After the explosion was done, the lights revealed the Bounty Hunter in her Power Suit, kneeling and breathing tiredly... And the sphere without a single scratch.

It simply stood there in the middle of the scorched floor... As if Samus attempts had been nothing but a breeze. The bounty Hunter gritted her teeth and her arms trembled in fury. She wanted to lash out and beat the sphere into pieces... But not here. Any other day, she would have left her basic instincts to take control but this was neither the time or the place to let loose her anger. She breathed deeply a few times and managed to calm herself... She stood up and returned to her Zero Suit. Now she was sure there was something incredibly wrong with the sphere, few were the materials that could resist the explosion of a Power Bomb and even those materials would show serious damage or simply disintegrate into ashes upon being touched... But the sphere seemed just fine.

Samus approached the sphere slowly and stood a few inches away from it... What was the secret behind it? What was the material? Who made it? What was its purpose? What was it doing in a Forerunner temple? These were a few of the questions storming in her mid while she circled the sphere. She finally came to a stop and became curious about the texture... She knew it was silly but after using every weapon on it, she began to wonder if she truly hadn't been able to even change its texture. She glared at the sphere, waiting for something to happen but it seemed like nothing would appear... So she shrugged and slowly touched the surface of the sphere with her fingertips...

...

...

It happened incredibly quickly... Faster than a second... Faster than a millisecond... Faster than a nano second... And yet, Samus was able to see the sphere completely glowing with crimson lightings. The strange energy rounded the sphere until it converged in her fingertips, causing a scalding feeling to course all along her arm and in every nook and cranny of her body... And it was in that precise moment when she heard it and felt it through the thin wall of the sphere... it was the beat of a heart...

And something moved inside the spherical and hollow prison.

It all took place so fast nobody noticed... Not even Samus.

She quickly pulled her hand away as she felt some sort of pain. She looked at her hand and saw a crimson glow on it... But as soon as she blinked, the glow was gone... And as if it were a nightmare, her memories of the phenomena also disappeared.

She closed her hand a few times and decided to think it was her imagination, she touched the sphere again just to be sure and nothing happened...

How curious...

"Maybe this wasn't a waste of time after all..." Samus mumbled to herself while she began tracing the sphere with her hand.

---

"So... What have we learned, Spartans?" The Commander asked as they all watched Samus continuing her study.

"For a beauty like her, she sure packs quite the punch" Frederich commented. "I have never seen anything like those weapons in all my years as a soldier... And God knows I have seen a lot."

"There are no records in either the human or the Covenant database regarding any of the tools she has used..." Linda added softly "It is safe to assume her weaponry belongs to another alien species we haven't heard of."

"That is correct. Officially, the UNSC has no knowledge of the data I am about to tell you... But during the collapse of the Galactic Federation, we managed to salvage a few databases with millions upon millions of years worth of information about a large number of species in the universe. As you may know, the UNSC is not exactly known for their skill in that particular area of research so it took us several years to decrypt and translate the files we... 'Acquired' from the Galactic Federation. One of those included an ancient civilization known as 'The Chozo' and so far, the only thing we are certain of is that... They were bird people... And that is all."

"Wait... Is that really all?!" Kelly asked concerned.

"I am afraid it is, Spartan. Just like the Forerunners, there is no palpable information or data of the Chozo. There are several rumors as they were a species that just recently went extinct but that's about it. In fact, even the Galactic Federation never really managed to grab a hold on the true essence of the Chozo. At least with the Forerunners, we managed to understand and even use their technology... The Chozo are entirely different. We only know they were a wise and highly advanced species that had bowed to never engage in hostile actions against any other species in the entire universe... Heck, some rumors said the Chozo and the Forerunners flourished at the same time... And the most insane ones said they survived the Flood and the Halo initiative many millennia ago..." The room was filled with silence as the Spartans tried to process the shocking information "But of course, those are just speculations and have nothing to do with our current objective."

"And what is our objective, Commander?" John asked slowly.

"Look, John-117. I trust your judgment more than anybody else in this ship... But this operation is extremely important and I can't just bet everything on your instincts. the higher ups need more than your word and I am afraid this is the only choice I have left. Samus Aran will transport the sphere to Gehenna... But nothing says she won't turn on us on the way. I am well aware of the missions you and her cleared during the war and I also know the bitter end of such alliance... She hates the UNSC and the Covenant with such intensity she would kill all of us if she had the chance. I suspect the only reason why she hasn't tried it is because she would rather die than become... Than become like us." The Spartans twitched, clearly taken a back by the Commander's words "All the presents in this room had done horrible things in order to survive. I am ashamed to say she has all the right to hate us for all eternity... But we are soldiers and our duty is to accomplish the mission by any means necessary. So I want you to stay cool and do the job you were trained for, soldier."

"Yes, sir!" The Spartans said saluting.

"Good. As you have seen, the Bounty Hunter Samus Aran holds an impressive arsenal and she is more than capable of fighting a whole war on her own. We have reports of her recent antics and I have concluded she can deal with everything we throw at her and survive to fight another day. I created this opportunity so you could grasp her true battle potential and assess possible tactics in order to take her down if needed... But be extremely careful. We still ignore most of her combat skills and even if John-117 has a large understanding of them, Samus Aran also has a decent background of the average battle prowess of the Spartans and that gives her a huge advantage in the battlefield. Of course, all of you have your own unique qualities but I can bet my position she has encountered similar things in the past... Taking into account all these considerations, the mission is simple. Escort the sphere and Samus Aran and return to the Prometheus. Should you encounter any sort of hostile resistance in the way, eliminate it and continue with the mission... And should Samus Aran betray us and attempt to flee with the artifact, recover the artifact... And neutralize Samus Aran... Am I clear, Spartans?"

"Crystal!" The Spartans answered in unison.

"Good. Now, it seems our Bounty Hunter has finished fiddling with the sphere. Let us meet her and hear her conclusions."

All the Spartans followed the Commander but Master Chief stayed and glanced at Samus. The conflict inside his mind was taking quite the stool in his conscience. He knew better than anyone else just how unfair this situation was for Samus. The young Bounty Hunter became an important part of his past alongside with Cortana... He couldn't count the times she had saved him from sure death... But above everything else, the guilt was simply unbearable. It was still fresh in his mind... That accursed day when everything broke beyond repair. He could still feel the soil beneath his boots flooded with the blood of a thousand innocent souls that had met their demise during a rough battle against the Covenant... He could still hear the clacking sound of the fire consuming a small and beautiful village... And he could see her, kneeling and holding the body of a youth. Desperately asking for help with tears falling from her gorgeous blue eyes... And just as the child expired in her hands, her fury rose like a wave. She became a ravenous beast nobody was able to stop. She tore through the Covenant forces and when the humans were ready to celebrate their victory, she turned around and blew them in a rain of lightning and missiles.

And John simply stood there, staring at the horrendous show while his comrades were obliterated by her. He couldn't move as he understood this was his fault and his just punishment. Then slowly, the unleashed Bounty Hunter approached him with her Arm Cannon ready. He knew there was nothing he could do, there were no words he could utter to lessen her wrath... But instead of shooting him into smithereens, she lifted her arm and unleashed her anger on his face.

He unconsciously lifted his hand and caressed his helmet. It was a new version of his former armor... He never understood how he managed to survive such strike. He was sure Samus had successfully ripped his head out of his shoulders...

Guess he was still lucky after all...

Either way, he breathed a few times and followed after the Commander and the Spartans.

"So what are your findings, dear?" The Commander asked with a soft smile. It never ceased to amaze John how capable that man was in politics.

"In all honesty, I have not a single idea..." Samus answered as she knocked a few times on the sphere "I don't think I have seen a material like this..."

"That's what the boys at the lab said. Hearing your answer, I can conclude Dr. Halsey may reach similar conclusions but it never hurts to try one more time," The Commander said with a small smile "So as we have planned, it is time to begin the mission. Go to the hangar and wait for further orders... As always, your payment will be processed the same way so you don't need to worry about that. Wait for the platoon of marines and the Spartans so we can begin the debriefing of the mission."

Samus glared at the Commander. She really couldn't stand the way he spoke to her... In all honesty, she simply didn't like him for being part of the UNSC but there was something about him that made him completely and utterly annoying... She sighed in exasperation and left the secluded area. She was greeted by the Sergeant and some of the marines but Samus ignored them all the way. There were things she needed to prepare in order to deal with this sort of mission. Especially if the Spartans were figuring out a way to defeat her...

She reached the hangar bay and suddenly, she noticed a strange shadow in front of her Gunship. Samus stared at the figure for a long time until she finally realized who it was... Then, her face twisted in fury and she stomped towards her Gunship while her power Suit materialized around her. The shadow noticed the sound of her boots and turned around just to be grabbed in the head by Samus and slammed on a large crate nearby.

"What are you doing here, Farel?!" Samus hissed while she began squeezing the head of the Weapon Dealer.

"Ah... It is also a pleasure to see you again, Samus..." Farel answered with a series of insect-like sounds coming from his mouth "I am glad to see you really haven't-Uh..." He complained when Samus began crushing his head "Come on, Samus... You can't still be mad about the incident in Brego- Ouch!" Farel stopped when he felt his skull cracking "I suppose this is not my lucky day, huh...?"

"I will make you pay for everything you did, you Pirate scum! You will regret joining sides with Ridley and the Space Pi-"

"And you may do as you please, dear. But first, let us finish our business with that filthy fellow." Said a voice behind Samus. She turned around to see the Commander followed by Master Chief with the Blue Team, a platoon of nineteen soldiers being led by Lieutenant Marx and four unknown Spartans. "Hello, Farel. I would like to say it is a pleasure to see you but we both know I would be lying."

"I concur... Now, could you please tell this Amazon to let go of my face?" Farel requested signaling at Samus. The Bounty Hunter glared at the Commander but he simply shrugged. she growled and pushed Farel into the crate one last time before she roughly left him free, making Farel fall to the ground "How uncivilized..." Farel commented as he got up, revealing the face of a reptilian creature with four purple eyes and white scales. He adjusted his raincoat and picked up his small top-hat "I have to say... I really hoped you had fixed that savage mood of yours, Bounty Hunter."

"Shut up or else I will make you wish Ridley had finished with you that one time..."

"Charming as always, huh?" Farel said with a slip of his tongue. "Well, then... I guess it is time to deliver as I promised... And here we are..." He said snapping his fingers. Suddenly, two large ships appeared in the middle of the hangar, causing most of the marines and hangar staff to jolt in surprise "Two untrackable suppliers as I promised. I even filled the fuel tanks as a bonus so you should do this journey without any sort of trouble." Farel said with what seemed to be a smile.

"I can't actually believe you are making deals with this scum!" Samus said returning to her Zero Suit "That lizard was a part of the Space Pirates!"

"We know that, dear. But there is nothing we can do in our situation..." The Commander said with a grin "During the war, we gained many contracts with several Bounty Hunters and some weapon dealers in the black market... But after the climax, most of them died or simply didn't want to have anything to do with us. Believe me, I was against this as well but Farel was the only one who answered our request and delivered in time and form..." He then spoke to Farel "I can be sure everything is in order, right?"

"Of course it is. My word is my guarantee." Farel answered with a peculiar glint in his eyes.

"Excellent... And what about the other merchandise?"

"They have been stored inside the second ship as well. But I would suggest caution if I were you, some of the artifacts could be quite troublesome to handle."

"And what does that mean?" Samus asked in anger.

"Well... It is a shame to accept but a great deal of Forerunner artifacts are traded on the Black Market." The Commander said with an awkward smile "We have acquired a few of those artifacts through Mister Farel and some other dealers... You know, desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Then you should attack the pirates instead of buying the artifacts!"

"We also considered that possibility, dear. But sadly, our current situation does not allow us to dispatch a special deployment for such operation. The Argos has already taken a big blow in the UNSC reserves so it is impossible to spare any more units unless we take them from the front... And I am afraid to tell you both Cortana and the remaining Covenant have proven to be fearsome opponents we can't take lightly. A single man could be the difference between a small victory and the absolute defeat of the UNSC."

"And yet, you brought him here..." Samus said pointing at Master Chief.

"His presence was needed. There are only a few Spartans and officers that came into contact with the Bounty Hunters and the Weapon Dealers. John-117 is the only one who could provide both of them..." At this, Samus glared at Master Chief, demanding answers.

"I met Farel during the last days of the war just after you... Just after you defected..."

"I never defected from anything! I was not your ally and I will never be!" Samus growled to Master Chief with anger. The other Spartans and the Marines simply stared at the two of them, unsure of how to react in this situation. Surprisingly, it was Farel who defused the situation.

"Ah... I would love to know the story behind this drama... But I have a tight schedule and I really need that payment."

"Indeed. We also have many things to do on our own..." The Commander agreed with a nod "Alright. Samus. This is the team that will escort you to Gehenna: We have a platoon of nineteen Marines led by Lieutenant Marx. Blue Team led by SPARTAN-II John-117, and Hound Team led by SPARTAN-III Grace-K004" A thin Spartan with red armor stepped in front of Samus alongside Master Chief and Lieutenant Marx. "Your mission will be to deliver the sphere to Gehenna in the following day. This is supposed to be a simple mission but the area around Gehenna is extremely hostile. There have been sights of Covenant's ships and a few Promethean scouts. Not to mention that zone is mostly ruled by the Space Pirates and other hostile factions outside of the reach of the UNSC. The artifact will be stored inside of your Gunship while the Marines and the Spartans will be equally arranged in the two ships. I will have John-117 as your companion and you two will-"

"I want him" Samus claimed, pointing at the Spartan with red armor.

"Uh? Well, Grace-K004 is actually a female... And I do believe it would be for the best if you and John-117 team up together since you two have-"

"I said I want her" Samus repeated "Do not misunderstand me. I promised I would help you fulfill this ridiculous mission... But I will do it on my own terms! So you either accept my demands or else, I will leave without looking back! And don't worry about your dirty little secrets, I won't say a thing because the least I want is to be connected once again with the likes of you!"

The hangar was once again in silence. The Marines and the Spartans couldn't believe this outsider was talking that way to the Commander. Not even the Covenant was this disrespectful. But by staring at her eyes, they could tell there was no one in this galaxy who could tell her otherwise. It was a raw feeling, something visceral about her fury that made even a few of the Spartans tremble in fear. None of them knew exactly what happened between the two of them during the war... But whatever it was, it should have been something incredibly terrible to turn this beautiful woman into a furious monster.

And the Commander seemed to notice this as well...

"Understood. Grace-K004, you will board the Gunship with Samus Aran and the artifact. You have also been debriefed with the coordinates of Gehenna and the operation. Stay in contact with John-117 if you have questions... That is all. Move out, Soldiers!"

"Yes, sir!" All the presents but Samus saluted and began preparing.

The Bounty Hunter clicked her tongue and headed towards her Gunship... It certainly was going to be one of those days...

---

"So... What's the deal with you and the Princess?" Kelly asked as she entered the cockpit. Master Chief and Frederick were currently on the controls.

"It is... Complicated..." Master Chief answered slowly.

"I can see that... But seriously, what happened between you two? The Princess almost ripped your head apart and I can tell she hates the very sight of you." Kelly insisted.

"There are things that are better left as secrets," Frederich commented without looking away from the controls "Whatever happens in our private lives is nobody else's business."

"It is the UNSC business..." Kelly pointed out "I just want to have all the facts so I can have a better understanding of the situation."

"That sounds... Awfully logical." Frederich answered in surprise.

"Got that one on my own," Kelly added with a tilt of her head. "So chief, care to explain what happened with you and Miss Bounty Hunter?" Master Chief simply kept staring at the dot that represented the Gunship in the monitor "Uh... I suppose if you don't want, I guess you can just..."

"We used to be partners." Master Chief began, causing surprise in Kelly and Frederich "The Galactic Federation recommended her when the UNSC asked for help during our war against the Covenant. She came as an asset specialized in survival missions and Black Ops inside enemy territory. We have heard about her recent victories against the Space Pirates so the UNSC approved her inclusion in a specialized Team including me and other ten Spartans."

"Ho! That sounds juicy! And who were the other Spartans?"

"Sadly, that is classified and I cannot reveal any of the information of the members... I can tell you this. All of them died during our incursions."

"That is a surprise. Were the other members inferior in tactics or training?" Frederich asked.

"No. They were among the best Spartans ever created... But they and I were not ready for that kind of missions. Samus, on the other hand, was a natural on the field. She could see the enemies even before any of us could notice them. She could see possible attack points, entrances, exits, escape routes and even ambushes with her complete understanding of the battlefield. Her equipment was superior to ours and that allowed her to hack into the systems of the Covenant and even access dangerous areas with seemingly ease. Four of the Spartans died due to the hazardous environments we encountered during our missions. Three died by foreign diseases and the last ones were execute by unknown races of aliens. I managed to survive thanks to my luck and stayed with her for the rest of the war."

"Wow... That sure is quite the tale. I suppose you two grew closer, huh?"

"You could say that... Aside from Cortana, I could blindly trust Samus with everything I had. She became one of the most valuable resources in the army and the ONI even scouted her to become a member of their elite team. She began considering that option after I showed some favor..."

"So she really liked you!" Kelly chirped with a giggle.

"There was no such thing as mutual affection... But yes, we have a deep bond. She was just like us. An orphan that was taken away from her family, enhanced with unknown techniques by an ancient alien species, trained in several forms of combat and given powerful equipment to survive and fight... There are so many similarities. And in a way, she was among the few who could understand us the most."

"But clearly, things different now... What happened?" Frederich asked, this time looking directly at the Master Chief.

"As I said before, I cannot disclose any of the important details of the missions. Names, dates, and numbers are forbidden... But I can at least give you the main idea. There was a certain planet colonized by a strange alien race. This planet represented an important tactical point for both the Covenant and the UNSC. Unfortunately, the planet was occupied by a tribe of Space Pirates and other hostile creatures. The UNSC couldn't really do much against those powers fighting for the control of the planet so they decided to send us in order to defeat either the Space Pirates. We made our way to the base of the pirates and we managed to free several tribes of the denizens of said planet... Sadly, the UNSC realized this wouldn't be enough. They still had to deal with the Covenant and the surviving Pirates so they designed a plan... They decided to use Guerrilla Warfare in order to distract the Covenant and the Pirates so they could make a final move and obliterate both of them."

"So you persuaded the naturals of that planet to fight? That doesn't sound like something you could do, Chief." Kelly commented "With all due respect, you have never been that charming among the civilians... And let's not talk about aliens."

"In other words... Samus Aran did it, right?" Frederich asked.

"No."

"Wait... What?"

"Samus was against this idea. She knew very well those creatures would not stand a chance against the Pirates or the Covenant. Those creatures were a peaceful race that had never fought a single war..."

"So the mission was a failure?"

"No... We never fail."

"But... But you just say Samus wouldn't... Wait... You just..." Kelly struggled as she began connecting the dots "You... You used her name... You told those creatures Samus wanted them to fight... You... Lied..."

"The High Command called me in the last days and ordered me to do that." Master Chief admitted "I was against this idea as well but even I could see there was absolutely no other option. The UNSC was too far away to send support and the two of us couldn't do much aside from destroying control points. And as the numbers of the Pirates decreased, the number of the Covenant increased. Sooner or later, the Covenant would take complete control over the planet... So I obeyed my orders... And those creatures fought their first and last battle..." Both Kelly and Frederich stared at Master Chief "It was a slaughter. We decided to attack the Pirates when they were engaging against the Covenant... But the result was not the one I expected. Both the Covenant and the Pirates stopped fighting against each other and focused on those creatures... After the last one of them fell, they continued their fight... Samus arrived later, she was dispatched to finish off an important supply facility for the Covenant, in hopes this would even the odds... Sadly, it didn't... The operation was a success. The Pirates and the Covenant were distracted long enough for the UNSC to make their final move... We won."

"That... That doesn't sound like a victory at all..." Kelly said darkly.

"It wasn't... After Samus found out the truth, she... She attacked the UNSC reinforcements and the Covenant alike. She dashed through the battlefield destroying everything in her sight. After she was done with the troops on the planet, she boarded her ship and flew to the Covenant supercarrier and destroyed it on her own... At this point, the captain had already realized her intentions... So they picked me up and we escaped while she finished the rest of the pirates and the Covenant. Days later we received an official notice of the Galactic Federation, stating that Samus Aran had defected from the UNSC and she was currently MIA... That was the last time I saw her." Master Chief finished and remained quiet.

"Wow... That was... That wasn't something I was expecting from you, Chief." Kelly began "I mean... I can't deny the effectiveness of the tactic... But I can also understand the Princess. No wonder she is pissed off beyond belief at the UNSC and at you."

"I am surprised you and the others retired," Frederich commented, "She was a single unit so you could have subdued her or even neutralized her on the spot."

"The Commander of the mission thought the same... That was until she began tearing the Covenant and the Pirate ships on her own. She displayed a wide variety of weapons and skills we hadn't seen before. He was wise enough to choose retreat instead of fight an enemy with an unknown amount of battle potential. Her Power Suit is unique and I think she has only grown stronger ever since I left."

"Did she ever try to get back at you and the UNSC?"

"No, she never did... The ONI sent a few agents to investigate the Galactic Federation but it seemed like she had disappeared. We heard a few rumors about her doing some jobs... But that was about it. She never really came after us... It was as if she no longer wanted to have anything do to with us."

"And you called her here?!" Kelly asked in disbelief.

"I had no choice. Among the other options, she was the best out of them. She has both the knowledge and the skills we need and I know for a fact she will not betray us..."

"You truly are one of a kind, Chief..." Kelly said huffing "I can't wait to tell Linda all of this..." She finished and exited the cockpit.

The two men looked at the door for a while before they looked at each other. Frederich simply shrugged and continued looking at the controls. Master Chief sighed and focused on the image of the Gunship... It had been extremely painful to hear her say those things but it was to be expected. He had been ready for this sort of rejection but it still hurt. He just hoped that SPARTAN-III Grace-K004 could handle Samus fury.

---

That was the last of it... SPARTAN-III Grace-K004 could no longer handle the pressure. She just wanted to get out of this cursed ship and never come back. She really had no idea why she was chosen to do this sort of thing, and the only explanation she had was her bad luck and the machinations of the devil... Ah! How much she missed the old days when she was just a cadet... On second thought, she also hated those days as well.

If Grace-K004 was honest with herself, she sometimes wondered how she managed to even reach her current rank.

She was selected alongside other three hundred of orphans. All of them were victims of the war and just wanted a chance for revenge, Grace-K004 simply joined the ranks because she didn't really have anywhere else to go. She had somehow survived the training with mediocre results and all her tests showed poor performance in every aspect. Grace-K004 was below the average and there was no doubt she would be rejected... That was until she made her debut a few years ago.

The mission was pretty simple in essence. It was something even civilians could do: Just to stand in front of a building and wait for new orders. A simple exercise any idiot could do with their eyes closed, hands tied and standing on one leg. Of course, she was all on her own but even a child could succeed with little to no effort. It was obvious they were making sure she could at least work as some sort of guard... And there she was, yawning tiredly while she waited for the night to be over when she noticed something strange around the building. She believed she had seen a set of strange shadows climbing on the walls... At first, she believed it was nothing more but her imagination but her curiosity got the better of her and she went after the shadows...

She encountered a full team of assassins trying to infiltrate the building and kill everyone inside. Turns out the 'apparently' empty building she was tasked to guard was an important outpost to secure valuable information against a strange horde of terrorism around the planet.

But despite knowing these facts, Grace-K004 couldn't really fool herself or anybody else. She had absolutely no experience in actual combat and she, of course, couldn't really fight a complete team of experienced assassins with highly advanced weapons and equipment. She only had with herself s light vest, a standard M6 Magnum, and a stun rod... In short, there was no way she could stop any of them.

But then again... She was a Spartan after all and she still held some of her pride as a warrior. It had been one of the worst nights of her entire life. She had to battle her way into the building, dealing with more than thirty enemies with minimal equipment and ammo, saving as many hostages as she could and securing the important data or simply erasing it. At the end of the night, she had to engage in a hand-to-hand combat with the leader of the operation and she emerged victoriously. She had gloriously stepped in the corpse of an assassin bigger and wider than her and she had saved important members of the ONI... Or at least, that was what the reports said.

In reality, Grace-K004 had been completely scared during the whole event. She had cried more than once and she had seriously considered running away without looking back. After seeing what those assassins could do, defection seemed like a great idea... But even like that, she carried on and fought not to save the hostages or to protect the precious data. She fought to survive and live to give her resignation letter and find another way of living...

That was supposed to be the plan...

Instead, she was highly awarded and praised by her superiors. And to his horror, one of the members she saved had deep connections inside the UNSC and managed to supply Grace-K004 with a 'brand-new' Mjolnir Mark V Powered Assault Armor... The day when she finally wore the armor, she was glad nobody could see behind her visor... Otherwise, they would have seen her crying in helplessness...

She had attempted to escape from the UNSC... Instead, she was sent to the front.

Or at least, that was the plan... Again.

Instead of being in an open area being riddled by hundreds upon hundreds of plasma projectiles, she boarded an unknown Supercarrier and was sent to some forgotten place far away from the UNSC and the skirmishes. It had been a nice and quiet journey. She had met other SPARTAN-III just like her but those never really said a thing... They mostly mumbled among themselves or simply stayed quiet for long periods of time... That sure was a fun trip.

And now, she just wished she had died in the front instead of being trapped in this strange ship with a strange ball behind her and that strange and scary Bounty Hunter next to her.

But even like that, Grace-K004 couldn't deny the beauty of her companion. As a child, she had been mostly a brat with small limbs, disheveled hair and deformed teeth. She was born as the daughter of farmers and their appearance wasn't that important to her family and friends. As a teenager, she had managed to grow into a lanky and clumsy adolescent. She blamed her DNA but in reality, she never bothered to change her appearance.

During those years, the Covenant attacked and she was left on her own. The UNSC recruited her and she began her training... Sadly, she never really matured that much. She still looked like a teenager and she had a huge complex in her almost non-existent womanly assets... And that weight just kept on growing as she stared at the model in front of her.

Bounty Hunters were supposed to be weird and ugly looking aliens or old men with tons of scars... But this woman was simply perfect. Her golden hair braided in a simple ponytail flowed graciously over her shoulders. Her crystalline blue eyes seemed to shine like the stars in the sky. Her luscious crimson lips with that beautiful birth mark on the left side of her face below her lips seemed to be carved by an artist. Her gorgeous body had the right proportions and it was seductively hugged by that tight blue suit...

On the other side, Grace-K004 couldn't compare at all. The milky and porcelain skin of the Bounty Hunter seemed to mock the pale and sickly color of her skin. She had given up on her brown and curly hair a long time ago and her small and black eyes were something she wanted to forget about. In fact, the thing she was ashamed the most was her height. Most of the Spartans stood above the Six feet without armor, she had shamelessly stayed at the embarrassing height of 5.75 feet. With her armor, she barely reached the six feet... It was so vexing to walk among all those Spartan with her minuscule dimensions...

Luck was not on her side...

She breathed and began playing with her thumbs... Again. It had been a few hours ever since they left the Argos and made way towards Gehenna, and she was already bored... Again. She had completely studied the colorful interior of the Gunship, entertained herself with the comfortable chair she was sitting on... And spent a whole hour simply staring at the beautiful Bounty Hunter with her mouth wide open.

Aside from that, there was nothing else to do... Well, there was also that ball on the back but Grace-K004 would rather not touch anything that had to do with the Forerunners. In reality, Grace-K004 was really interested in the black ball. She had visited the secluded area in the training grounds once when the other Spartans tried to crack it open with a rocket launcher and a Spartan laser with no other results aside from being yelled at by the Sergeant. After that, she decided to just read the reports and never get close... But once again, here she was. Right in the middle of the storm...

Just her luck.

Grace-K004 sighed in boredom and decided to count the stars in front of her once again. She had stopped at the one million eight hundred seventy-seven thousand four hundred twenty-one but she was sure she could continue if she tried hard enough... If there was something Grace-K004 could be proud of, that was her memory. Perfect Eidetic Memory. Only a few of her fellow Spartans and her doctor knew about this peculiar trait of hers. Nowadays and thanks to the genetic improvements, it was quite easy for a child to be born with this quality. Grace-K007 was fairly sure her farmer parents would have never been able to pay such expensive and unnecessary procedure so Grace-K004 could proudly claim she would never be able to forget anything in her life... Of course, having a perfect memory didn't mean she was smart but she was at least unable to lose the keys of her car... Not that she had a car but it was one of her few dreams once she retired.

"Red with a bit of silver... That sure is nice!" Grace-K004 giggled to herself quietly.

"What did you say?" The voice of the Bounty Hunter was soft and harmonious but it was so cold it made Grace shiver in fear. Slowly, she turned around to see her companion glaring at her "I asked you a question, what did you say?"

"Ah! That... That was... Eh... That was... N-Nothing... Nothing at all!" Grace-K004 managed to articulate being careful in not biting her tongue but she scolded herself for stuttering a bit. "I was just... You know... Just..."

"Just what?" The Bounty Hunter insisted, lifting one of her eyebrows.

"I... I was just..." Grace couldn't help but shed a few tears. She had always been a crybaby "I was just... Imagining what my car would look like once I retire from the UNSC..." Even after all those years in training, Grace-K004 was still the little country bumpkin who couldn't lie in the face of pressure.

"A car? Do you really think you will survive to get a car?" Those sure were some harsh words but Grace-K004 was no fool. She had lost some of the few friends she had made during her years as a cadet. But even like that, she still wanted to believe there was more for her than just a nameless tomb with no body. "Wait... Are you... crying?" Oh, great. Just what she needed. Now the mean Bounty Hunter could make fun of her childish behavior. "Take off your helmet" The bounty Hunter ordered but Grace-K004 simply shook her head "Take off your helmet!" The Bounty Hunter said a bit more harshly and that caused Garce-K004 to look away. She heard a tired huff behind her and she felt a hand rest on her shoulder "Look, I... I am sorry for treating you that way... I have many bitter memories with the UNSC... It wasn't my intention... Could you please take off your helmet so I can see your face?" Samus Aran said softly.

There were so many things Grace-K004 could have done in this situation... Like said no or simply remain quiet for the rest of the journey. But out of all possibilities and options, she simply sighed in defeat and slowly took off his helmet as the Bounty Hunter had requested. It felt like that time many years ago, when that kind lady came to the orphanage and asked her to become what she was now... Deep inside, Grace-K004 was a soft girl, weak to the kindness she never had as a child.

Now, she could feel the cold environment of the ship with her pale and ugly skin. Her eyes were shut tight but she could tell the Bounty Hunter was examining every nook and cranny of her disgusting face... It was at this point that Grace-K004 understood why most Spartans preferred to never show their faces in public. She wondered if the Master Chief had gone through the same...

She patiently waited for some sort of abuse... She was used to it. But instead, she felt soft hands touching the shape of her face. Slowly and gently caressing her dry cheeks, tracing her sharp nose and wide lips, and gently cleaning her tears. There was no malice in the contact so she slowly opened her small eyes and was met with the pleasant face of Samus Aran. Her visage was a mixture of wonder, guilt, and embarrassment, but there were no signs of disgust or anger. She was carefully caressing her face and cleaning Grace-K004's tears.

"I'm sorry..." Samus said with her gentle voice "Sometimes, I forget there are actual humans beneath that heavy armor..." Grace-K004 had heard that before "I apologize for my rude behavior... I am Samus Aran" The Bounty Hunter said offering her hand.

Grace-K004 stared at it for a bit before she gingerly took and shook it "I... I am SPARTAN-III Grace-K004. At your services, Samus Aran."

"How about you call me Samus and I call you grace, deal?" Grace-K004 stared at her with anxiety but nodded in the end. "Good. From now on, I am Samus and you are Grace, okay?"

"Yes, Samus A... Yes... Samus..." Grace said with a shy smile.

"Come on... You don't have to be so nervous. I promise I won't bully you anymore" Samus said with a playful grin "And... You know, I'm sorry for acting like that..."

"It's okay... Whether you believe it or not, something like that is quite common..."

"That... Is not good at all..."

"Don't worry, we are used to it..." And after that, the two of them remained silent for a while. Grace could feel an itching in her stomach bothering her, she knew she had somehow made contact with Samus and she didn't want to waste it with the awkward silence. She dug inside her mind, looking for something to speak with her. But as a proper Spartan, most of her social skills were non-existent. She could feel her tears rising again so she decided to ask the first thing that came to her mind "Huh... Samus... I would like to ask you something..." The Bounty Hunter hummed and nodded "Wh-Why me and not Master Chief?" She regretted her question when she saw the Bounty Hunter curl her hands into tight fists "I... I'm sorry for asking that. I know there is a complicated situation behind this and I apologize for overstepping my boundaries. I will understand if you don't want to talk to me again. Seriously, what was I thinking? I should have just shut up and kept counting stars until the-"

"It's okay, Grace!" Samus said loudly and the Spartan got quiet "It's okay... I will be honest with you. I didn't choose you because you were special or anything like that... I simply didn't want to be near John-117. We have a bit of story... Not the kind you are used to."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I am a Spartan after all. We are used to sad endings." Grace said with a smile.

"I see... Let's just say he and the UNSC... Betrayed me."

"They did what?!" Grace exclaimed in disbelief "No... That can't be true! The Chief would never do something like that! He is the greatest warrior I have ever heard of! I've seen him doing anything in his power to do the right thing... There is just no way... He is... He is...!"

"He is a soldier" Samus completed and Grace twitched "He simply followed orders... I'm sure you can relate to that..."

Yes... Grace knew very well what that word meant. Orders, such a simple word had been drilled into her brain in all her career as a Spartan. Orders, the very culmination of who she was and what she was supposed to achieve. Orders, a mantra she had chanted many days without sleeping of eating...

Orders...

A powerful curse not a single soldier could or even should escape from...

Because after all, what is a soldier without orders?

"Do not concern yourself with such things..." Samus said softly while she caressed Grace's hair "It is a part of the past I have already gotten over... It is nothing but a scar now." Samus said with a sad smile "Ah... You are crying again... Aren't you supposed to be one of the stronger warriors in the world? You know, soldiers never cry" Grace gritted her teeth, cleaned her face and put her helmet on again "That's better... Now you look like a proper Spartan."

Grace couldn't help but blush, she was not used to this kind of relationship. Spartans rarely showed their emotions as they were trained to always remain calm and composed. Aside from some dry jokes and foolish innuendos, life among the Spartans was mostly cold and formal. She had grown used to that sort of environment but the change was welcomed... It almost reminded her of the days when she was just a normal girl, playing with her brothers and sisters in the field.

"Gunship, this is the Raider. Do you copy?" The radio suddenly came to life with a familiar voice. Grace looked at Samus apprehensively and noted she was biting her lower lip. She tried to answer but Samus stopped her, the Bounty Hunter breathed deeply and prepared herself.

"Gunship here... I can hear you, John." The radio went silent for a couple of seconds "John?"

"Ah... Yes, I can also hear you, Samus... I wanted to tell you we are close to Gehenna. Tell Grace-K004 to get ready. There shouldn't be any problem but the Spartans and Dr. Halsey have grown weary on that planet. Too many dangerous species on the surface and the constant presence of the Covenant, the Prometheans, and the Space Pirates do not help at all. Be sure to approach the planet carefully and always wait for them to speak first..."

"You almost make it sound as if they had gone mad or something like that."

"I would like to think otherwise... But our recent contacts had shown several anomalies and I don't-"

"INCOMING!" Suddenly, a glow of purple energy shone on the side and there was an explosion near the Gunship "It's the Covenant! They were hiding in the shadows! We have to-" Frederich was cut off and there was another explosion. Grace watched as a complete fleet of Covenant ships appeared on the radar of the Gunship "Gunship! Survivor! Begin evasive maneuvers and escape as fast as you can! Don't fight and just make it to Gehenna in one piece! I repeat: Do not fight and reach Gehe-" The transmission was interrupted and Grace could see one of the ships falling to the planet.

"Hold on! This is gonna get hard!" Samus warned as the Gunship accelerated.

The Gunship dashed away and managed to evade a few deadly shots by a few inches. Outside, Grace was able to see Phantoms and Banshees dangerously following behind and shooting plasma shots and rockets. Luckily, Samus was also a good pilot and managed to dodge all the shots... But the odds were clearly against them. Slowly but surely, the Supercarriers began closing on them and the number of Phantoms and Banshees made it almost impossible to escape. There was another glow and the second ship began falling. At this point, Grace knew there was no other option. Escaping was beyond their abilities and it seemed like fighting was just a hopeless waste of efforts. She gritted her teeth and patted Samus on the side. Samus turned around and focused on Grace... For a fleeting moment, the world went quiet as the Spartan and the Bounty Hunter exchanged glares... And after a while, the two of them knew what they had to do in order to survive. Samus nodded and after a dangerous turn, she guided the Gunship towards the planet at the maximum speed.

They passed the blockade easily and just when they thought they would make it, a Banshee appeared out of nowhere and collapsed itself against the Gunship. The Banshee obviously exploded as its materials were considerably weaker than the Gunship but it served its purpose. Samus lost control over the Gunship and was unable to stop her fall... Suddenly, everything moved in slow motion for Grace. She could see Samus strands moving erratically as she screamed trying to straighten the Gunship. She could see a few plasma shots rushing beside them and she could see the planet getting closer and closer... And at the last moment, just as the floor appeared... She closed her eyes...

And she knew no more...

---

It was such a familiar place for her...

The same corridor she had seen at nights ever since...

The same scene repeating itself over and over again like a broken record...

She was there...

Wounded...

Weak...

But she still tried...

Her hands were just a few inches away...

She could almost feel it...

But she would never be able to change the end...

The thick doors closed...

And the only thing she could do was to scream and bash the door...

But it was useless...

Because after all those years...

She was still the same hopeless girl who couldn't do a thing...

"Unlike you, I am no galactic savior. I'm merely human... But at least, I can save you."

And now, she was lying on the ground...

Broken again...

Defeated again...

Surrounded by the crumbling pieces of her world...

But among the sadness...

Among her hopelessness...

He was there...

The only one who understood her...

Her Commander...

Her friend...

Her father...

"No objections... Right, Lady?"

And just like he did in his final moments...

She picked her up and gave her the push she needed to become what she was destined to be from the very beginning...

"No... None at all..." Samus answered while she gave Adam a thump down. He smiled and vanished in the mist "Adam, thank you... Leave the rest to me!" Samus claimed as her Power Suit materialized over her body, her Arm Cannon coming to life and dissipating the curtain of smoke and revealing the new world the Bounty Hunter had to fight.

She was greeted with the burning pieces of her Gunship. She could see the area where they had crashed and she was incredibly surprised she had somehow survived the fatal fall. Upon closer inspections, she realized most of the functions in her Power Suit had been completely lost. She guessed that was the price she had to pay in order to survive the damage of the explosion. Her scan revealed a dense forest around her with several life-forms being attracted by the noise and the heat of the small fires in the vicinity... That made her remember one of the valuable lessons she had learned during her missions as a Bounty Hunter: Never stop moving. After assessing her supplies, she sprinted towards the north with a single objective in her mind. To find her companion, SPARTAN-III Grace-K004 and bring her to safety.

Samus knew the armor Grace was wearing was among the best in the UNSC. Yes, it was an old model but that did not mean it was by any means weaker than the most recent ones. It wasn't as specialized as her own Power Suit but it sure did the job for the Spartans... And Samus knew for a fact that Spartans could survive a drop like that one... He had done it in the past... She just hoped Grace was as strong as him.

Her HUD revealed a small green dot close to her. It was signaling something she was familiar with... Supplies, parts of her ship, augmentations for her armor, and things she had recognized close to her. She jumped over a huge rock made of a red material and landed roughly in an orange swamp. She could feel something soft beneath her boots but she didn't have the time to worry about that. The life-forms showing in her scanner began moving faster and towards the green dot. Samus had never visited or even heard Gehenna so she didn't know how dangerous or powerful the creatures were, she could make some assumptions considering the environment but that only led her to terrible conclusions... As far as she knew, the endemic creatures of Gehenna were able to pierce the Mjolnir with terrifying ease. Even her Power Suit would be torn apart... Of course, these were her own conclusion taking into consideration the evidence in front of her... And her conclusions were correct most of the times.

She continued running until something caught her attention... It was a long and gaudy growl. Something that sounded almost human. She stayed completely still and waited... The branches of the trees cracked at her side and they appeared. They had a humanoid body with four limbs. Their hands and feet looked like deformed versions of her own and their bodies had several shades of different colors. The scrawny creatures had a single eye in their heads with a wide mouth, devoided of lips and filled with fangs. Their nose were two small holes between their eye and their mouths. Instead of hair, they had spikes beginning from their heads and popping out all along their backs and ending in their legs. They walked dragging their feet alongside some rudimentary weapons in their hands. The creatures surrounded Samus and glanced at her with curiosity.

Samus wasn't sure how to react. She knew by experience some sentient species would react aggressively to unknown events. Those things had some sort of intelligence as they could hold weapons and considering their formation. But by the looks of it, they were already used to things with the same shape as hers. Maybe Dr. Halsey and the others Spartans had made contact with them in the past... She just hoped it wasn't the 'UNSC' kind of contact...

One of the daring creatures got close enough and sniffed her. It retracted with clear displease in its face and lifted its club while it screamed in anger... Yep, just as Samus expected. The creatures rushed against Samus and she had no other choice but to leap through the air and escape. The creatures got confused for a few moments but once they spotted Samus behind the group, the leader screamed again and the whole pack chased after her. During her escape, Samus realized that despite looking thin and weak, they were extremely agile and capable of keeping the pace with her. They could jump great heights and their acrobatic abilities were top-notch. Samus tried to lose them but they had the advantage as they knew the forest inside and out.

On her radar, she could see she was getting close to the green dot. If she was lucky, Grace would be healthy enough to fight or just run away and reunite with the Marines and the other Spartans at the rendezvous point. They could even get lucky enough and meet with Dr. Halsey so she could explain what exactly were those things. She dashed between the trees and finally reached a glade where she met with...

The black sphere...

...

It was angering, baffling, outraging and even disappointing to see that artifact still unharmed even after a rough crash and a big explosion. Samus simply accepted the sphere had been lost in the crash and it had probably been shattered into tiny million of pieces... But even after all of that, the thing just kept coming back and haunting her with its mocking invulnerability and perfection. Forerunner or not, Samus was already tired of seeing that useless piece of garbage. She even dared to claim the only purpose of that ball was to annoy everyone who owned it... What a damn shame.

But then, her visor picked something up. Under the black sphere, she was able to recognize a small shade of red... It was the body of SPARTAN-III Grace-K004.

"Grace!" Samus exclaimed, rushing to the body and picking Grace up in her arms "Oh, no... Come on... Don't give up on me!" She scanned the armor and breathed in relief "She is still alive... The integrity of the armor is critical but her vitals are alright. I have to get her out of there before she suffers a complete shut-down... The armor could kill her if the Mjolnir suffers a total failure... Now... How do I...?" Samus carefully inspected the armor, looking for a way to dismantle it but she had never learned how to do it. She growled and gritted her teeth in frustration but then, she heard the same loud screech behind her.

She turned around to see the creatures coming out of the forest. But this time, their numbers had increased and some other variants had joined the pack. Now, there were tall specimens with huge muscles, cladded in tribal armor and with proper weapons. Samus could guess these were the warriors of the tribe. At her side, she heard a growling and another set of creatures appeared. These monsters had the shape of elephants but they lacked heads. Instead, they had several eyes with some sort of mouth filled long and sharps fangs. Their entire bodies were covered with hard shells of a gray color and they had some dangerous looking blade on their heels. The humanoid creatures seemed to had tamed the beasts as they followed them around meekly. The group surrounded Samus and made sure she had no way to escape...

She was trapped...

"Huh..." Samus heard Grace complain. The Spartan was weakly waving her hands and trying to get up "Wha... What happened...?"

"Grace, I'm here with you."

"S... Samus... Where are... Where are we...?"

"In the surface of Gehenna. We crashed on the planet after that Banshee rammed us. I don't know where are the others."

"Ugh... My head... It hurts..." Grace said, trying to get up.

"Don't move. We survived the crash but our armors sustained grave damage. My Power Suit lost most of its functions but your Mjolnir is in a critical state. One wrong move and the suit could literally kill you... Stay. still." Samus said as she charged her arm cannon.

"Wha... What are you doing...? What's going on...? I... I can hear weird noises around us... Samus, what's happening?"

"I found some of the natives of Gehenna. They look like the predominant tribe of the planet"

"I see... Why are they screaming like that...?"

"I suppose they are not very fond of humans. I suspect Dr. Halsey and the Spartans kicked them out of their natural habitat in order to create the facility she is working in. We are surrounded and it seems they definitely want us dead."

"That's... That's no good! Just... Just give me a second and I will..."

"No. You could kill yourself if you force the suit... Leave everything to me." Samus said patting Grace on her shoulder.

"No! Samus! You can't just..." But Samus never heard the rest as she had already dashed into the fray.

The Bounty Hunter unleashed a massive orb of her Charged Beam. Her attack exploded and cleared several of the natives. But to her surprise, the Warriors endured and even nullified the effects of her beam. That armor had to be made of a strong material if it managed to resist the Charged Beam. One of the warriors growled in anger and swung her long weapon at Samus, the Bounty Hunter managed to dodge the strike by somersaulting at the side. She landed just in time to release another Charged Shot, the Warrior simply blocked the strike with its armor again and retaliated with a wide slash. Samus kneeled and the blade barely grazed her helmet, making her lose her balance and she slipped. The warrior snorted and brought down its blade on her her but Samus managed to evade it by rolling on the ground. The blade struck the soil and created a small crater around it... Samus huffed and got up. She had underestimated the skill of these natives but it was now clear they were used to battles. She was also surprised none of the others had attempted to finish her while she was fighting... It seemed like they were purposely letting her fight that warrior. She scanned all the creatures and realized the one she was fighting with had a strange crest on top of his head. Was he some sort of chieftain or general? Possibly, maybe the others didn't want to intervene out of respect for the chieftain... Quite the foolish choice, if Samus was honest with herself. They also seemed to have forgotten about Grace but Samus could see one of the bigger monsters sniffing the black sphere and the unmoving Spartan. They would eventually find her and Samus didn't want to think about the things they would do to her... With her time running low, Samus decided to try something else... She stood up and taunted the Warrior.

"Come here and face me, you ugly monster..." She said with an evil grin.

The Chieftain didn't understand her words but her gesture was enough. The Chieftain groaned and rushed towards Samus while it swung its blade wildly. Samus' grin grew bigger and she prepared herself. The Chieftain swung his blade once again but this time instead of dodging backward, Samus ducked and pushed forward. The Chieftain was taken by surprise and tried to pull back but Samus stunned him with a powerful roundhouse kick to its stomach. The Chieftain bent and tried to barf but was unable to do so as Samus stuffed its mouth with her arm cannon, breaking its fangs and causing it to gag. The Chieftain peeled its eyes wide open when it heard the Arm Cannon hum and shine, it tried to get away but Samus kept it in place. It looked at Samus with its only eye and for a single second, it was able to see through the visor of her helmet...

And that deviant smile made it shake in fear...

"Got you... Bi-" Before Samus could finish, the head of the Chieftain exploded. The greenish remains of the creature covered part of Samus' suit and spread in a wide area. Samus kicked the lifeless body to the side and huffed while she waited for the other creatures to make their next move.

The other warriors remained quiet, trying to process what just happened. Samus hoped that little display of skill and power would be enough to scare them away... But she was wrong. One of the warriors growled and the others followed suit. Samus sighed and cursed her bad luck... And the apparent stupidity of those creatures. Normally, they would have given up and escaped once the leader had fallen... Guess the Space Pirates were a lot smarter than she had estimated.

Then, she knelt and punched the first creature that approached her. It was one of the smaller so she was able to send him flying with just that. After that, one of the warriors tried to cut her in half but Samus deflected the blade with her Arm Cannon and broke its teeth with a fast jab to its face. The warrior staggered and Samus used this opportunity to stab it with its own blade. From behind, she saw one of the bigger monsters lunging at her with its huge mouth wide open, she jumped away and shot a Charged Beam against it. As she had expected, the beam bounced harmlessly in its thick shell. She would need to come up with another tactic to deal with those monsters. Samus kept jumping and dodging while she killed as many monsters as she could but behind her, more of those natives kept appearing from the forest.

She began to feel tired and she realized fighting them was a terrible idea. She should have just grabbed Grace and escaped as fast as she could. The Spartan's armor could have failed on the way but Grace's chances of survival would be better than the current ones. Now, the two of them were completely surrounded and Samus had no way to deal with all of them or to even escape. She could deal with the smaller natives and the warriors but the huge monsters were simply unstoppable. She was running out of time, stamina, and space... There had to be a way.

That was a mistake... Samus got distracted by her own thoughts and one of the warriors managed to graze her leg with its blade. The weapon pierced her Power Suit and left a deep cut on her flesh. She grunted in pain and knelt to catch her breath. But in that short span of time, one of the bigger monsters appeared in front of her and rammed Samus into the skies. While she was in the air, Samus was able to get a great view of the surface, she was able to see some strange construction in the distance, probably the village of these natives. High pillars with strange glyphs on them, possible religious sites for these creatures... And what seemed to be a bunker made by human hands... 'How amusing' Samus thought bitterly. They were so close to Dr. Halsey's laboratory... So close and yet so far... She looked down and saw something that made her stop breathing...

They found her... Those natives found Grace... One of the warriors was holding the wounded Spartan by her neck while it lifted its blade to the skies with euphoria. The smaller creatures cheered and even threw rocks to Grace. That couldn't be true... Samus would not let them kill Grace. She would never lose someone else... Not anymore... But as she was falling, one of the beasts jumped and caught Samus between its humongous maw. The Beast shook Samus violently and tried to dig its fangs in her armor. The Bounty Hunter could hear how her Power Suit cracked and she even felt one of its fangs piercing her skin and her flesh. The monsters tasted her blood and it bit even harder. Samus roared in fury and shot a Charged Beam inside of the monster's mouth. The creature felt the pain and threw Samus towards the black sphere, the Bounty Hunter collided against the sphere and the impact made her Power Suit disappear.

Samus fell to the ground and pressured the wound. Her armor had taken most of the damaged but that fang had managed to graze her lung. She coughed a bit of blood and gasped for air. Around her, the creatures were wailing and screaming in joy, as if they were enjoying her pain. She slowly managed to get up but her wounded leg failed and she fell again. She lifted her hand, trying to find something to pull herself up but only found the smooth and cold surface of the black sphere. She gritted her teeth and looked up...

To see Grace... And the blade of the Warrior piercing through her stomach...

On that moment, Samus was unable to hear anything but her breathing and the beating of her heart. She could see the natives screaming in excitement but no sound came from their maws. Samus saw them stomp the ground, but their deformed feet collided silently with the ground... And she saw that warrior twist his horrifying mouth into a sadistic smile. It roughly pulled the blade out of Grace and the warrior let her fall to the soil. As Grace was falling, Samus gritted her teeth and got up. She could feel her leg bleeding uncontrollably but she didn't care. She managed to catch Grace but despite being shorter than most Spartans, she was still wearing a Mjolnir. Samus couldn't hold the whole weight of the armor and she fell again...

"No... No... No. No... Not again... No..." Samus mumbled as she desperately tried to look for something in Grace's armor "Come on... Where is it...? Where is it...?" She finally found a small package in Grace's hips and she pulled out a small plastic vial with Bio-foam "Here it is... Just hold on, Grace... We are close... Just hold on..." She messily filled the two wounds with it and pressed them "It's gonna be okay... It's gonna be okay... Just... Just let me..." She gingerly took off Grace's helmet and began caressing her hair "We are almost there... We are really close... Grace...? Grace... Can you hear me...?" But the Spartan didn't answer "Come on... You are a Spartan... You are part of the strongest warriors in the universe... You can't give up... Do you hear me, Soldier? You can't give up...!" Samus yelled, shaking Grace "You still have a mission to complete... Your unit is waiting for you... Soldier, answer me! You can't die on me! You can't... You can't do this to me..." Small droplets began falling over Grace's face "You can't..."

Around them, the natives kept getting closer and closer. Attracted by the smell of blood and the sound of Samus' weeps. Samus lifted her face and saw the same warrior smirking at her with its blade ready. She glared at him one last time and closed her eyes...

...

And the thunder came...

...

And the thunder struck again...

...

And the thunder struck again...

...

But Samus never felt the blade...

The Bounty Hunter slowly opened her eyes and saw the blade of the warrior a few inches away from her. She looked around and realized none of the natives were moving, not even the bigger monsters. She glanced at the warrior again and what she saw confused her... He was staring at the black sphere... But his eye was not filled with euphoria. There was no cruelty or bloodlust, there was no mockery nor victory...

There was something else... Something Samus hadn't seen in many monsters... A feeling so raw and visceral even she was shocked...

It was...

FEAR

Then, the thunder came again... But this time, Samus felt the soil beneath her feet shake. She heard the same thunder and Samus looked at the sky... But there was nothing there, not a single cloud above her head... Then the thunder came again... But this time, Samus turned to see the sphere... And the thunder came again... And again... And again... And again... And again... And again... And again... And again... And again... And again... And again... And again... And again... And again... And again...

...

And then...

The sphere cracked...

...

...

They are rage...

Brutal...

Without mercy...

Samus watched dumbfounded as the unbreakable Forerunner artifact was broken from the inside. The black pieces of the sphere fell to the ground as something else emerged. She could recognize that form and the color was barely familiar... Instead of being majestic and elegant, the armor that came from the sphere was bruised, scorched and filled with scratches, as if it had seen more than a million of battles. Despite always being covered in dirt, the Mjolnir always managed to maintain some sort of glint that gave hope to the Marines and the Civilians. But this armor was imposing and filled Samus with a dread she hadn't felt in years. The Spartans walked through the battlefield like glorious gods of war, asserting their dominance and guiding the UNSC and the humanity to victory. But this one... This one walked like a ravenous nightmare from forgotten times. An ancient horror caged in a prison not even time could rot away... A furious monster neither the Gods nor the Demons dared to mention its name... Something that should have left to sleep in the depths of oblivion...

That... That thing could not be Forerunner...

That was something the Forerunners tried to defeat... But alas...

They failed...

The stranger stomped out of the sphere into the land of Gehenna. He turned around and his visor glanced over the natives and the beasts... He seemed to focus on Samus... And once it noticed the fallen body of Grace, it began shaking his fist in anger. He slowly walked towards the natives. The creatures couldn't move or react at all... Something had completely frozen them in place... And then, the stranger stood in front of one of the smaller creatures. He grabbed its head with both of his hands... And crushed it until it exploded between his fingers...

The headless body fell to the ground with a pond of green blood under the boots of the strangers. The other natives had no way of reacting to this. They simply stood there and watched as the monster kept getting closer and closer to them... The warrior near Samus and Grace was shaking in fear. In all its years as a fighter, he had never met something like that... Something so powerful its primal instincts had taken over his body. He couldn't do anything but remain still and wait until the danger passed... He couldn't anything but tremble and hope the monster wouldn't notice him... The stranger kept getting closer and in his way, he stepped on a dry branch... The sudden sound caused the warrior to lose its sanity... And he screamed...

But what was meant to be a cry for help, came out as a battle cry. And all of a sudden, the rest of the group was filled with bravery... They mistook their fear for bloodlust. They instincts were forgotten... And they all rushed against the stranger...

They were stupid creatures in the end...

But you...

You will be worse...

Samus was used to brutal scenes. She had seen the Space Pirates kill her parents in front of her, she had fought many bloody battles during her time in the Galatic Federation, she had witnessed the gruesome acts of cruelty of the Covenant...

But nothing, nothing prepared her for that sort of slaughter...

The stranger simply grabbed every creature that was close enough and tore each and every single one of them apart, severing their limbs with his bare hands. Exploding their bodies with powerful punches and kicks. Turning their whole form into misty ponds of green matter. One of the warriors swung its blade at him, but the stranger simply grabbed the blade and crushed it with his hand. The warrior had enough time to look at its shattered blade before the stranger pierced his armor and his torso with a single hit. He then grabbed one of the smaller creatures and split his head apart by digging his fingers in his skull. Another warrior attempted to subdue him, but the stranger grabbed his arms and crushed them like twigs. He then grabbed one of the spikes of the warriors and dug it deep into the chest of the warrior. And then, one of the beasts tried to bite him with its huge mouth but the stranger punched its fangs and shattered into small pieces. He then proceeded to slowly tear the shell away from the creature until there was nothing left but a soft and bloody piece of meat. the stranger then grabbed one of the talons of the beast and stabbed it in the head. The beast fell screaming in pain and the stranger kicked the spike so it could pierce the skull of the beast entirely...

After that, he kept ripping and tearing the bodies of the natives until they were nothing more but unrecognizable pieces of bloody meat... The surviving natives had long abandoned the offensive but they couldn't move. The fear had them stuck in place, the only thing they could do was tremble in fear as the stranger stomped their bodies until they became a thin paste on the soil...

During all that, Samus watched without looking away... Her eyes were completely glued on the back of that monster wearing armor. She kept looking despite everything... Despite some of the parts falling on her face, despite the pond of blood reaching her legs, despite the natives hiding behind her... She was unable to look away...

And at the end, he stood in front of her with a pile of brutalized bodies behind his back... But she was not trembling... She was unusually calm... And when he offered her his bloody hand...

She took it...

So Rip and Tear...

Until it is done...

---

...

...

So yeah...

That just happened...

I bought the game a few days ago and began writing this the next day...

Before I realized it, it was already this long...

I think I can make three more chapters with the same length...

I hope you guys can review it a lot...

You know...

This is not exactly my style but I just felt like I needed to write it...

So help me out here...

Also...

Does any of you know how to add a third franchise to the description...?