Protocols

Disclaimer: I do not own Bungie, just the ideas and concepts in this fan fiction.

"Careful Reclaimer Johnson, if you activate the Installation prematurely, you will cause damage to the systems. Just wait for a few more days and-" began the Monitor, his confusion mounting as Reclaimer Johnson began trying to activate the system, before being cut off that is.

"We don't have a few more days!"

"But-but-but that will destroy this Installation!"

"We've got only enough time before the Flood begins to take this thing apart. We've gotta activate it now,"replied Johnson as he fiddled with the system.

The Monitor was shocked into silence. When the reclaimers told him they were planning on activating the Installation, he was delighted to no end, not to mention the Ark had created a new one just to him. The sense of belonging in the half-built ring world brough him great pleasure in knowing he had a new and solid form of purpose now.

- - - - -

'The happiness must have blinded me...Guilty Spark thought, his artificial mind running in circles on what do do. part of him wanted to help the reclaimer and activate Installation 04, but another...a more...a more irrational thought told him to protect the Installation at all costs. To protect his home...his purpose...his-

NO! Another voice, now in his own mind. 'And you are? No, do not speak to me rght now, I am facing a crisis...' said Guilty Spark to the AI, Mendicant Bias. Mendicant did not stop, 'You must allow them to activate Installation 04! It will destroy the Flood, once and for all!'

'I WILL NOT! If Installation 04 fires, it will be destroyed! It might even damage the Ark!' retaliated Guilty Spark savagely, 'We can hold the flood off with the Sentinels. Just until the Installation is ready to fire...yes, that is the best way...' Mendicant Bias, however, did not agree, 'And if the flood escape? This ring world is ready to fire on demand, even if the risks are great! The Installation is-'

'I will not take orders from the one who betrayed the Forerunners!' shouted Guilty Spark, his emotional Systems now running on overdrive, a red tinge was now glowing around his 'eye', 'I will not let them destroy...my...my...home...my life!'

The other bellowed back an order, no longer a calm and so sure, 'I have higher authority over you Monitor 04! As Mendicant Bias of the Ark, I am ordering you to stand down!'

'Your authority was revoked as soon as you decided to side with the flood! My authority in within the grounds of Installation 04, and you do not have that now do yo-?!' The Monitor buffeted in the air, as though it had lost it's footing, or it had been punched.

Mendicant Bias was wrestling the AI within his own body, attempting to subdue the Monitor. It was no mean feat, but he was winning. 'And how will you stop them? Kill the Reclaimers? No, you will not!'

Guilty Spark was now fighting for his life, his home, his purpose. And he wasn't willing to give it up so easily. Then Mendicant Bias struck again, this time shattering his Emotional Matrix. This cornerstone of the Monitor's programming allowed him to do things he normally did not like, normally what he would not do.

For all that he was worth, the Monitor tore into Bias's data matrix, tearing apart the AI from the side, shattering a cornerstone of it's mainframe. Mendicant Bias hesitated, not sure on how to counter this new attack, allowing 343 Guilty Spark to attack again, this time tearing another cornerstone, and another. 'I will kill them, if it comes to it,' the Monitor whispered menacingly to the broken Mendicant Bias. '...I...I will not let you!'

'So be it. But alas, you're too late. Program terminated.'

The AI that wished to atone for it's sins in the past was now fighting for it's life. It's data being corrupted and drained by the Monitor's drive of power.

Again the Monitor buffeted, to the two Reclaimers, it appeared the Monitor was dancing wildly. 343 Guilty Spark's eye glowed a faint tinge of red now, the fight between him and Bias had lasted just about two point sixty-ninety-one seconds. Cleaning up took a few more.

- - - - -

Slowly the Monitor stopped and turned to Johnson, "Please stop what you are doing, Reclaimer."

The two humans and the shangheili looked at him, noting the sudden coldness and finality in the normally happy and chirpy machine. Johnson gripped his pistol, "I said no, dammit. We're going to activate this giant hoola-hoop and kill off all the damned flood. I don't care if this damn place goes up into kingdom come. So deal with it-!"

It was Johnson's turn to be cut off as Guilty Spark's eye flickered to a menacing red, "Unacceptable! Unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable!" A lance of red energy coursed out and struck Johnson. The surprised expression on the man's face soon changed to horror and pain as the energy burned his chest and nearly stopped his heart. John slumped to the ground with a scream of pain. The spherical machine turned slightly, as Masterchief fired off several shots from his battle rifle, to no avail as the Monitor erected a huge red sphere of energy, deflecting the bullets.

The Arbiter turned to help, firing several shots before the shot knocked him off his hooves. The Monitor's little body was positively crackling with red energy, as the Elite saw. But that didn't stop him from putting a few more shots into the little bastard. The Arbiter pumped shots into Guilty Spark until the gun overheated.

The Monitor spoke, it's voice cold, ""Protocol dictates action! I see now that helping you was wrong!""

The shields on the Arbiter's armor saved him as the blast of energy sent him flying backwards, incapacitating the Elite. The Monitor began to turn around to face the other reclaimer, even as the Masterchief peppered him with the rest of his clips from the battlerifle.

"Why are you doing this, Guilty Spark? After all we've been though?" said the Masterchief softly and he switched his weapon for an SMG. The Monitor's eye glowed bright red, "I cannot allow you to destroy this Installation! It is all I have left!" The Masterchief was flung off his feet as the massive energy flash fried his shielding, knocking him out for a few seconds. He could hear Cortana shouting for a moment before rolling to the left, towards Johnson, narrowly being burnt to a crisp by the Monitor's energy beam.

He fired his SMG in vain, even as 343 Guilty Spark bore down on him, eye glowing. ANother blast sent Masterchief back down as he tried to get up.

Suddenly the orb reverted back to blue, pulling a sigh of possible relief from the Spartan, "You are a child of my makers. Inheritor of all they left behind. You are Forerunner. But this ring..."

The eye returned to red, "Is mine!"

The Spartan tried to halt the Monitor, to no avail. "I take no pleasure in doing what must be done," intoned Guilty Spark, "You do not deserve this ring!"

Soon the Mastercief was cornered, it was a painful death by the...well, the Monitor didn't have hands...by his eye, or a jump to the bottom of the Control Room.

A very long fall.

"I kept it safe. It belongs to me!"

"Not for long!" shouted a familiar voice.

Guilty Spark rotated to face Johnson, as an equally red and devastating beam of energy struck the Monitor in the eye, blasting a piece of it's casing off. The Monitor flew across the room, falling to the floor before rising back up, this time at a noticeably tilted angle.

"You...you cracked my casing!"

Even as the Spartan moved to help Johnson, the Monitor began saying unusual things, not that it mattered.

"Damage! Damage! That hurt, Reclaimer!"

"My eye! Do you mean to blind me!?"

"Stop now, before one of us gets hurt."

The Spartan however, promptly got up and stumbled to Johnson, "Let me do the honors, Sergeant."

The Monitor continued to float in the same spot, ranting. He was beginning to spark and leak plasma.His voice breaks, only to readjuct itself, "-destroy your Inheritance!"

"Accept your le-gacy!"

"Think of you-ou-ou-our forefathers!"

"Kick his ass" replied the sergeant painfully as he let the Spartan grab the laser cannon.

Masterchief fired again with the Laser, distorting the casing, with pieces of it sheared off. More plasma leaks and his spark stutter more ferociously. The 'Eye' had been blown off.

Even then Guilty Spark gives off an insane and garbled humming sound. "M-m-my pr-precious!" He shouted in a high, cracked voice, "I a-a-a-am the monitor of installation z-zero four!"

- - - - -

'What! I terminated your programming! How is it that you are still alive?!' screamed the furious Monitor, as Mendicant Bias hung onto his core programming, freezing him in place. Guilty Spark struggled and began to twist the restraints the Bias had put on him, tearing it apart with his fury. 'You missed a few pieces,' said the AI grimly.

'Impossible!'

Mendicant Bias smiled sadly, 'And now we die.'

- - - - -

Masterchief heard the AI's words in his Comm channels, only him though, now he knew what Mendicant Bias had meant by helping him in an unseen way. He hefted the Spartan Laser and smiled as the Monitor's body fit the reticle perfectly.

He pulled the trigger and watched the power gauge fill up.

The shot ripped clean through the former Monitor, before it ecploded, 343 guilty Spark gave his final words.

"Oh myyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

- - - - -

As Installation 04 began to fire, the still smoking remains of the Monitor floating within the immense energy twitched.

Seconds later the remains disappeared in a golden light as the Halo was fully activated, firing off a shot that would ultimately kill off everything in the vicinity.

A/N: I spent a lot of time on this, anyone know where this is taking and PMs me the answer get a cookie.

- TarVA