BAD NEWS: I am literally completely unable to upload Teana's Travels to Deviant-Art, because Deviant-Art refuses to allow me and my Internet Explorer 7 browser to do anything on it other than look at pictures (with a big fat yellow "PLEASE UPDATE YOUR BROWSER" at the top of the screen) and make comments. And it will likely be months before I can upgrade/update/replace my browser. So, for the foreseeable future (like, late 2013 or so), Teana's Travels will still be ONLY on Fanfiction-dot-net.

SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

-CHAPTER START-

Planet Dolus

Valhalla Outpost

August 15th, 2553

Five UNSC vehicles – three Chaingun Warthogs, a Transport Warthog, and a Mongoose – drove into the grassy canyon, where two high-tech structures stood on opposite ends. A crashed Pelican, heavily modified by the looks of it, was visible against a cliff wall. Everyone parked their vehicles and piled out.

"The Pelican's over there" Washington said to Carolina. "That's where Tex ended up."

"You mean where her body ended up" Carolina replied.

"Yeah…"

"Show me."

"So what's our next move?" Teana asked as she walked up, Mai and the Reds following her.

"Well," Wash replied, "first we've gotta…"

As a conversation broke out, Church responded to a summons from Tucker and Caboose, shifting over to them. Marie stood nearby, listening in.

"Can't talk too long" Church said. "My connection with Carolina's memory unit's not so good. What's up?"

"Ah, not much" Tucker replied. "My first time here, so I'm just taking it all in. Really enjoying the scenery; how 'bout you?"

"Well, I mean, yeah, you know, now that you mention it the trees are kinda nice. Especially in comparison with the desolate environment of the sand and the- wait, wait, wait, wait, is that it?-!"

"No, that's not it!" Tucker snapped. "What the fuck are you doing with Carolina?-!"

"Hey, calm down!" Church replied defensively. "Turns out she's more complicated than we thought."

"Like Monopoly!" Caboose suggested. "Or like the board game."

"Church," Tucker said, "just because you wanna get close to someone, doesn't mean that you have to end up inside them!"

Church and Marie stared at Tucker for a few seconds, waiting.

"…Oh, c'mon, aren't you gonna say it?" Church asked.

"No, because I'm pissed off!"

"Alright, alright, look guys. I'm still on your side, okay? But if Carolina is hiding something, I'm going to have to stay close to her in order to find it. See? Proximity is the key."

"I thought memory was the key?" Tucker said sarcastically.

"Yeah, and the sword" Caboose added. "The sword's a key, too!"

"Caboose, shut up!" Tucker snapped.

"Hey, I gotta go" Church said. "Talk to ya later."

He vanished, returning to Carolina.

'Well, this might not be good' Marie thought.

"We should get a key ring" Caboose said.

As the Reds got into a talk about 'responsibilities' and overtime pay, Teana and Mai followed the two ex-Agents over to the crashed Pelican.

"Looks like it was taken down by an internal explosion" Teana remarked. "No exterior damage other than from the crash. Did a bomb go off inside this thing or something?"

"Actually, yes, according to Epsilon" Washington replied. "Supposedly, the bomb had an AI. His name was Andy."

"…Oookaaaay…" Teana spoke slowly.

"Alright," Carolina said, "let's get lookin'."

The group got to it, Church interfacing with the dropship's computer systems. After several minutes, they reported in.

"I got nothing" Mai said.

"Wash and I found some shell casings and a dog-tag" Teana reported.

"Church?" Carolina looked to the cockpit.

"Haven't found anything yet," the AI replied, "but the onboard AI is an old friend of mine. She's doing her best to help me out."

"Wait, there's an AI in there?" Teana asked.

"Yeah, her name's Sheila."

"Sheila…" Teana remembered from Marie's explanation. "The one who used to inhabit a Scorpion?"

"Yep, that's her. We're gonna get back to it."

As he vanished, Carolina stared into the distance. "You can't keep your secrets forever, Texas" she muttered. "Not from me… Never from me…"

Sitting atop a boulder halfway between the Red and Blue bases, Ahsoka and Sarah looked out at everyone moving about.

"From what Carolina said," Ahsoka spoke, "it sounds like they've been hitting one dead-end after another. Think we'll have better luck this time?"

"Let's hope so" Sarah replied. "From what Simmons told me, Carolina's temper's getting worse with each lost lead, and from what I can tell the Blood-Gulchers are getting sick & tired of being dragged around everywhere; tension's rising and they're getting a tad resentful."

"Carolina may be a good soldier," Ahsoka said, "but she doesn't seem to be that good of a leader. Sure, she's good with tactics, but that's no good if you don't have the respect of your subordinates. And considering she seems to view them as expendable annoyances…"

"Yeah, it's a disaster waiting to happen" Sarah finished. "Let's just hope we're there to mitigate it if – or when – it happens."

"Yeah…" Ahsoka trailed off. "So… How're things going with Ginga and Vice?"

Sarah blushed lightly in response. "T-They're going good" she replied. "We… have fun…"

"…Fun?" Ahsoka smirked.

Sarah averted her gaze, her face going red. "…Fun…"

Meanwhile, back at the Pelican, the mood was considerably worse.

"Nothing…" Carolina was seething. "Nothing! A dead end! Damnit, not again!"

She slammed her fist on the side of the Pelican's cockpit, and Church popped up.

"Hey, watch it!" he said indignantly. "I'm still in here!"

"Response teams beat us to the wreck" Washington said. "Plain and simple. We knew the chances of finding something here were slim."

"Okay, well," Church said, "what about the bases."

"Blue base was swept clean" Wash replied. "As for Red base, any evidence that might have been there was completely destroyed during the construction of some kind of giant, holographic projection room."

"Man… Those guys are really starting to find creative ways to ruin my life… Motherfuckers…"

"This is our third wild goose chase, David!" Carolina snapped. "Even after she's gone, Texas is still finding ways to screw me over!"

"You can't blame Allison for this! Time isn't on our side, Mick. Any trails she left behind likely went cold years ago."

"Are you suggesting we give up?"

"Of course not" Wash put his hands up defensively. "I was just-"

"Good" she interrupted. "Then go spread the word; we're leaving."

"But… We just got here."

"What's your point?"

"Well, don't you think we're pushing these guys a little too hard? This place is pretty much home to them. They may not be ready to leave it so soon."

Carolina responded by walking up to Wash, staring him visor-to-visor. "Despite what those idiots might think," she said, "this is not a road trip. This is a mission. And I will see it completed. Is that understood, Agent Washington?"

The two glared at each other for a brief moment.

"…Yes, boss" He turned and walked away.

As Carolina yanked Church out of the system, Teana came out of the Pelican's back hatch.

"Don't you worry, Sheila" she said to the AI chip now held in her hand. "We'll get you fixed up."

"Thank-ank-ank y-y-you" the damaged construct replied.

Teana walked toward the center of the canyon, where the rest of Gamma had congregated. As she approached them, she received a comm. call.

"Hello?" she answered it. "Colonel, sir? …Really? Now? …Well…"

A few minutes later, the Reds, Wash, Tucker, & Caboose all came up… bringing with them two new figures: one in pink armor and one in purple.

"Hey, there!" the man in pink said cheerfully. "Wow, I guess Simmons wasn't joking; inter-dimensional soldiers, one of them from a universe where our adventures are a popular show! Hey, my name's Donut!"

"I'm Medical Officer DuFresne" the man in purple said. "Everyone calls me Doc."

"Holy crap, Doc's alive?" Marie said. "I thought you were dead!"

"I almost was! That jerk Washington shot me in the stomach, but then my armor locked up on me; kept me alive for a while until it unlocked again for some reason. It was horrible! Do you know what removes bloodstains from this armor? Not a lot, I tell you. I laid there forever wondering how I was going to get all that dark red outta this light red. You know?"

"Luckily, I found him in time" Doc said. "It was touch-and-go for a bit but I managed to stabilize him and get him back up on his feet. Then we set up a vegetable garden!"

"They used Lopez as a scarecrow" Simmons added.

"Man, how come people keep turning out to be not dead recently?" Grif remarked.

"Hey, you look familiar" Donut said to Washington, who looked a tad uncomfortable. Then Donut's eyes widened behind his visor. "U-Uh…" he said fearfully.

"Long story short," Washington said, "I switched sides. It's complicated. Um… Sorry about the whole… y'know… shooting-you thing. I'd been under a lot of stress so my temper was worse than usual."

"…I can understand that, I guess."

"So what now?" Wash said to the group.

"We just got a call from Colonel Holland" Teana said. "We – that is, Gamma Team – have to head back to the Starshot for about an hour or an hour-and-a-half. We'll be back, though; I promise. Don't do anything too crazy without us, okay?"

"You're asking the impossible" Grif deadpanned. "We don't find the crazy shit; the crazy shit finds us."

"Right, well…"

Pelican Echo-419 flew into the valley, setting down.

"I promise we'll be back soon!" Teana shouted as she and her team piled aboard. Soon, the dropship lifted off and zoomed away.

"…Now what?" Grif asked.

-SCENE BREAK-

Aboard the Starshot

75 Minutes Later

Teana palmed her face as she sat at the comm. console. Sheila was presently in the specialists' hands undergoing repairs. She and her team had come by to help solve an issue, welcoming a new Pelican pilot in the process, and now they were getting ready to leave and head back to Valhalla. Now, however, she found herself speaking to a comm. hologram of Church, who was now white instead of blue. The rest of Gamma stood behind her as she stared the AI down.

"So let me get this straight" she said. "In the hour we've been gone, you and Carolina managed to completely alienate the entire team?"

"Look, I get it already!" Church replied over the comm. "I'm an asshole and I blew up on them! I fucked up! I get it!"

"It's not just you. Carolina not only planned to throw their lives away for her vendetta, she actually told them that's what she was gonna do? And she took you and left without waiting for us to get back?"

"Uh… Yeah, that's about right."

Teana let out a weary sigh. "Alright. …We'll see what we can do for damage control. But I think you two are on your own for the foreseeable future."

"Yeah… I understand that, too."

The comm. cut out, and Teana turned to her team.

"I can't believe this…" Marie muttered. "The fellowship broken up…"

"Let's get moving" Teana said.

The door nearby suddenly opened. "Mind if we come along?" another voice made herself known.

-SCENE BREAK-

Valhalla – Red Base

20 Minutes Later

"I mean, come on" Doc was saying to the gathered Reds & Blues. "You guys have been through a lot together. Don't you want something to remember the good times?"

"The good times?" Tucker replied. "I was stranded in the desert!"

"We were almost killed!" Simmons added.

"I learned nearly my entire military career was a lie!" Sarge said.

"And I got shot!" Donut said.

"Ok yeah, it wasn't perfect," Doc replied, "but look at what you all got out of it. Sarge, you got to lead an actual military operation. And Tucker, you learned how to use your sword like a pro!"

"…Bow-chicka-bow-wow?"

"Wash found a new team, Simmons got back his old team, I finally got to save a patient from dying…

"And in return, I didn't die!" Donut called out.

"You see? In the end, we all worked together and everyone got something they wanted.

"Not everyone…" Caboose said sadly.

The Reds and Blues looked to each other in shame. After several seconds, Tucker made up his mind, drawing his plasma sword and starting to walk down the beach.

"You realize that if you go after them," Wash said, "there's no guarantee you'll come back. This isn't a game. The Director plays for keeps."

"Ah, well," Sarge said, "this place was gettin' kinda stale anyway."

"After everything Church and Carolina said to you guys? The way they treated you?"

"Hey, we gave you a second chance" Simmons replied.

"And besides," Grif said, hefting his Brute Shot, "if we quit every time Church started bitching, this shit would've been over a long time ago."

"Well be outgunned, we'll be out… everything!" Wash addressed the group. "This is stupid. Just think for a minute before you do anything reckless."

"Son," Sarge replied, "stupid and reckless is how we always get things done! …Y'know, there's one thing you Freelancers always seem to forget. And that's the fact that we've managed to kick your ass time and time again. Oh sure, you've got all your smart plans, and your fancy technology, and your advanced training, but, in the end, what has that gotcha? Without a team you can count on and your fellow soldier by your side, all that doesn't really amount to squat, now does it? So instead of standing there bellyaching all day, just tell us, are you gonna just sit on your hands, lettin' the world pass you by, and keep playin' it safe?" He cocked his shotgun. "Or do you wanna get a little reckless?"

"…This has to be the worst idea… ever… but… you can count me in."

"Me, too!" Donut said.

"Yes, and me!" Caboose shouted. "Oh, Church is gonna be thrilled!"

"I'm in, too!" Doc added.

"Um, guys?" Simmons asked. "They have a huge head start. How are we supposed to reach them in time?"

"Leave that to us!"

Two Pelicans flew in, hovering low over the ground. The nearest one swung around, the rear hatch opening to reveal Teana in full armor.

"Hey, boys!" she shouted. "Looks like you're getting set to do some asskicking! Want a lift?"

"Hey, Wash!" the Pelican's pilot said over the comm. "Long time no see!"

"Four-Seven-Niner?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"The brass gave me a pardon, assigned me to the Starshot" the woman replied. "Hop in and let's go pull Carolina's ass out of the fire again!"

"All right!" Tucker shouted. "Now we're talking!"

Soon, the Reds were aboard Echo-419, while the Blues and Doc were on Echo-479 along with another coalition team that they hadn't met yet. The two Pelicans took off, leaving Valhalla Outpost behind.

"Grif… Is that the Meta's Brute Shot?" Marie asked with astonishment.

"Brute Shot? So that's its official name?"

"Well, its official name is the Jiralhanae Type-25 Grenade Launcher. It's an invention of the Brutes – y'know, those huge, angry, gorilla-bear aliens in the Covenant. They put big-ass blades on everything."

"I always thought all Covvie weapons were shiny and sleek" Sarge said.

"That's tech designed by the Sangheili" Shion replied. "The Brutes' gear is more… well, brutish. …You got ammo for that thing, right?"

"About 18 shots and a full load of battle-rifle ammo. Why?"

"Just making sure."

-SCENE BREAK-

Freelancer Offsite Storage Facility

"You have no idea what kind of trouble you are in" the lead Tex-Drone said in a deep, masculine voice, staring down Carolina, who raised her Sangheili Type-25 Plasma Rifles.

"All right" she said, staring down the army of copies of her rival. "Me first"

The horde of Tex-bots charged, and Carolina opened fire, bluish-white bolts of superheated plasma shooting out, gunning down several. As the weapons overheated, she dropped them in time to dodge an attack from her left, pulling out her M90 shotgun and blasting the offending drone. She leapt into the middle of the fray, blasting any drone she got in her sights. Eventually, a Tex-bot managed to knock the gun out of her hands, and she switched to melee combat, dealing crushing blows to several more drones, ending with a kick that knocked one into a crate. The crate atop the stack fell over, spilling its cargo of M9 frag grenades.

Carolina kicked a grenade up and then kicked it into an approaching drone. Before it could hit the ground she drew her grappling-hook pistol and grabbed hold of the now-armed grenade. She swung it around like a flail, eventually smashing it into a pile of loose grenades; the resulting explosion blew apart four more Tex-bots.

"Watch out!"

Carolina couldn't react to Church's warning in time, being tackled and knocking her grappling gun away.

"Could you be a little more specific?" she snapped at Church.

"Yeah, uh, sorry, Carolina, but, seeing this many ex-girlfriends in one room kinda has me terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought."

"Well, snap out of it! I need you!"

"Need me for- WOAH!-!"

Carolina activated her armor's Super-Speed enhancement (Teana suspected it and other Freelancer Armor Abilities were the result of reverse-engineered Forerunner tech that the Director had discovered at some point), and charged into the drones.

"Carolina, I don't think I can do this much longer!"

"Just hold on!" she said as she took three more down.

"Seriously! You need to slow down!"

"No!" she rushed in and engaged more drones. "I can do this! I can beat her!"

"Carolina!"

'She really wants to win.'

"Carolina! Stop!"

'Doesn't know how to stop…'

"Mick, calm down!"

'You're a real hero, Carolina.'

"Damn it, Michelle! Get a fucking hold of yourself!-!"

In the midst of a charge, Carolina ran right into a clothesline strike by one of the Tex-bots, sending her hurtling heels-over-head into a crate. She landed, her helmet falling off.

'You can't beat me, Carolina.'

"Come on, get up!"

"She was right…" Carolina said, red hair hanging loose, her green eyes squinted shut. "I can't do this. I can't… beat her! I could never beat her!"

The drones began to advance on Carolina as she re-donned her helmet… and three plasma grenades came in from the left, adhering to the Tex-bots.

"Nine points, ya dirty whores!" Donut shouted.

Carolina ran and rolled away just in time for the triple-blast to tear apart five Tex-drones. She skidded to a stop at a pair of armored feet.

"Get up" Washington said, offering her hand.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she noticed the Blood-Gulch crew.

"I told you they're not so bad once you get to know them" he replied as he handed her an M6D pistol.

She looked around. Besides the Gulch Crew (including Doc, dual-wielding Plasma Pistols), there were 13 other people, all females in full armor – the seven girls of Gamma Team, and six whose armor all bore the Greek letter Sigma. Church appeared beside Tucker.

"I thought this 'wasn't your fight'" he said.

"Come on," Sarge replied, "overwhelming odds with little to no chance of success? How could we resist?"

"You got a problem with that, Church?" Tucker asked.

"…Guys, I am an asshole. I admit it, and I will gladly accept any and all smart-ass remarks after this is over. But I'd like to point out the fact that we're standing in a room full of crazy Freelancer robots that are ready to completely and utterly fuck our shit up."

"So… cheesy forgiveness speech later?" Tucker concluded

"Yeah, that sounds good" Sarge said.

"Lock and load, people!"

Wash and Donut shouldered their battle rifles, Simmons hefted an M19 launcher, Caboose readied his MA5B assault rifle, Grif gripped his Brute Shot, Sarge brought his shotgun to bear, Doc readied his plasma pistols, and Tucker activated his plasma sword. Teana readied Cross Mirage in Shotgun Mode, Shion had her arm-device in plasma repeater mode, Kaede F. shouldered her DMR, Marie readied Charon in plasma-beam mode, Mai & Sarah readied MA5C assault rifles, and Ahsoka activated her lightsabers. Aqua summoned the Master Keeper, Subaru readied a Sangheili Type-33 Fuel Rod Cannon, Ginga loaded a Sangheili Type-50 Concussion Rifle, Mana locked & loaded an MA5C, Asa readied a Lancer assault rifle, and Kaede K. shouldered her Sangheili Type-51 Carbine while ensuring her shotgun slung across her back was fully loaded. Church appeared next to Caboose.

"Caboose? I need you to get a little angry. Okay, buddy?"

"Okay" the simple man replied. "…Yeah, I don't remember how to do that."

"…I do."

Church then shifted into Caboose's armor. Within seconds, Caboose then charged like a freight train through the Tex-bot horde, sending them flying.

"MY NAME IS MICHAEL J. CABOOSE," he said in a deep, 'angry' voice, "AND I…"

He sent one flying with an uppercut.

"…HATE…"

He double-kicked one hard enough to knock several more down in a domino effect, and then grabbed hold of another and used it as a 'living' flail before throwing it into a pack of them.

"…TAXES!"

"It's Texas, you idiot!" Grif shouted.

"THAT, TOO!"

"Come on!" Wash shouted. "Now's our chance!"

"Sigma Team, cut them down!"

"Gamma Team, wipe them out!"

"Team Blood-Gulch! For our ancestors' ancestors! ATTAAAAACK!-!-!"

Grif, Simmons, Subaru, and Ginga made the first shots, their heavy weapons blowing apart a dozen of the Tex-form drones. Everyone else opened fire shortly after, Ahsoka and Tucker charging in and using their energy blades to hack Tex-bots apart. Sarge and Teana fired shotgun blasts that tore several drones apart, Kaede F., Wash, Kaede K., and Carolina started scoring headshots, and all the while Caboose continued bull-rushing through drones in the background.

Kaede K. switched to her shotgun, the Diclonius blasting Tex-bots left and right. She leapt high, landing amongst six drones, two of which leapt at her from the sides. In a flash of movement, she slashed out with two of her vectors in a wide arc around herself, bisecting the four ground-bound drones, while with the other two psi-arms she braced her actual arms and fired her shotgun and carbine – pointed out in opposite directions, at the two incoming drones –, destroying those two drones simultaneous with the other four.

Kaede F. used her DMR to shoot down three Tex-drones in rapid succession. One came at her from close behind, only for Asa to appear and block it, following by revving up her assault rifle's bayonet and using the chainsaw-attachment to cut the drone apart in a shower of sparks. She then turned the gun on several more approaching drones, firing short bursts to mow them down, Kaede adding her gun's fire.

Grif blasted two more drones with his Brute Shot, only to be tackled by two more and held down. Three more leapt high, aiming for a triple-strike… and were blown out of the air by Subaru's fuel-rod cannon. The cyborg rushed in and delivered a Vibration Shatter to one of the drones holding Grif, destroying it and sending its body crashing into the other, knocking it away. The two of them reloaded their heavy weapons and kept going.

Teana darted through Tex-drones, having now switched Mirage to dual Pistol Mode. She gunned down several in close succession and close range, using the one Force skill she had – Combat Guidance, a skill normally used with lightsabers – to know exactly when & where to shoot which weapon to score a hit (Marie called it 'Teana's Gun-Kata'). In a flash of orange light, she switched to Mirage Sniper, firing a few close-range particle-beam shots, each of which punched clean through at least three drones. She then switched to Mirage Rifle in burst-fire mode, firing a 3-shot to take down a Tex-bot trying to sneak up on Donut 15 meters away before returning to her own drones.

Sarge and Mana had teamed up, covering each other as they waded through Tex-drones. Mai was covering Tucker, while Aqua covered Simmons, and Caboose continued his stint as a one-man army. The Tex-drones' numbers were quickly being depleted in the face of the 21 soldiers, falling in droves. Against this onslaught, they were quickly contained and picked off.

Finally, the last Tex-drone fell, split in half lengthwise by a downward swing of Tucker's sword.

"Status check!" Teana called out. "Everyone okay?"

A chorus of affirmatives answered her. No-one had been seriously injured. The fight had been a curb-stomp in the heroes' favor.

"So…" Simmons said. "I guess our work here is done?"

"There's still the Director" Wash replied.

"No" Church said to them. "You guys stay here. What comes next… is something Carolina and I need to do alone."

-SCENE BREAK-

Innermost Room of Freelancer Offsite Storage Facility

Seven Minutes Later

"Beginning playback" a computerized female voice said.

A man sat, alone in the dark room, hunched over a table, eyes fixed upon a large screen that showed a recording of a blond-haired young woman in UNSC Marine Corps fatigues, annoyed but grinning.

"Leonard, come on" the recording said. "Stop it, put that thing down. You're gonna make me late. They're waiting for you."

"Hello, Director."

The man raised his head slightly. "Hello, Agent Carolina" he said. "Would you like to watch this movie with me?"

"No" the woman replied.

"…Play it again, FILSS."

"Director?" FILSS questioned.

"Again!"

"So this is what you've become…" Carolina said softly.

"I… just need to watch this. I think I have a way… a way to bring her back right this time."

"The authorities are hunting you now; I came here with Agent Washington and UNSC Gamma Team, which is led by a Spartan-3."

"I just need a bit more time…"

"No!" Church appeared, floating over to beside the Director. "You've had your fucking time! You have to answer now for what you did – to Maine, to Washington, to the Twins, to York, to Carolina, to me, and to her – to Texas!"

"…Hello, Epsilon. You came all this way just to see me?"

"I'm here to remember what you've done. Somebody has to!"

"Church…" Carolina spoke.

"Not all of us got off scot-free, Carolina" the AI said. His form began to shift into the different AI fragments: Delta: "He was brilliant," Theta: "…and we trusted him!" Gamma: "But he lied to us. He twisted" Omega: "and tortured us, and used us!" Sigma "Manipulated us for his own purposes! And for what?-! For this? This… shadow?-!" And then he returned to Epsilon-Alpha. "He needs to pay!"

Carolina removed her helmet and stared down at the man. The Director removed his glasses and looked up at her, one set of green eyes meeting another. Carolina felt sadder with each moment she looked at him.

"He's already paying for it, Church" she said. "More than you think. Even more than I wanted him to before Wash made me realize what I was becoming. …Come on, Church. We're leaving."

"I thought we came all this way to kill him!"

"Church… Remember what you learned in the memory unit? …You need to let go. Your past doesn't define who you are. It just gives you the starting point for who you're going to be."

As she turned to leave, the Director spoke.

"Carolina, would you be so kind as to leave me your pistol?"

Without a word, she removed her M6D and laid it on the table.

"Thank you, Michelle."

For once, Carolina did not feel the urge to flinch upon hearing her full real name, normally hated for being 'too girly' ever since she was a young tomboy teen, when she'd much preferred "Mikey" or "Mick". Instead, this time it felt natural, for some reason.

"Goodbye, father" she said, and then walked away.

"…You were my greatest creation."

"…I don't know what I am," Church said to the man, "but I do know this. I've become far more than just an altered copy of you. I'm better than you."

"…I won't argue with that… Church. Oh, and before you go, there's something I need you to inform the Spartan about."

"And that is?"

"The Black Suns have a stolen UNSC warship stationed on this planet – a Paris-class heavy frigate, currently stationed around 3,000 kilometers west of here. Have her inform her superiors that they'll need to send a capital ship if they wish to deal with it."

"Right… Thanks."

Church then left, catching up with Carolina. Director Leonard Church Sr. then turned to the AI interface.

"Play it again, FILSS."

"Beginning playback" the AI replied.

"Thank you, FILSS. Now, I would like you to erase all our files except for this one, and then upload yourself to the Spartan's team. You will assist them and our former Agents in whatever endeavors they may face in the future."

"Yes, Director."

"And before you do, please shut down all of the facility systems as well. Take everything offline."

"Director, this is a sealed facility. If I shut down all the systems, life-support would not-"

"Thank you, FILSS. Shut them all down. Lock me in."

"Alright. Was the Project a success, sir? Did you find what you were looking for?"

The door began to close.

"No. No, I did not. But I believe I might have come very close. I wish… I wish I knew."

"I see."

"Perhaps the next time around…"

He raised the pistol to his chin.

"It has been an honor, sir" FILSS said. "Goodbye."

The heavy metal doors slid shut, muffling the single *crack!* that came from within right after one final recorded comment was heard:

"Don't say goodbye. I hate goodbyes."

Outside, a few minutes later, a single cyan-armored figure walked out, a white-armored hologram sitting on her right shoulder.

"It's done" she said simply.

"You killed the Director?" Wash asked.

"No" Church replied. "He took his own life."

"About a minute ago," Teana said, "an AI calling herself 'Phyllis' uploaded herself to my armor."

"She was the Director's personal AI" Carolina replied. "He bequeathed her to us."

"I see…"

"Also," Church added, "the Director said that about 3,000 klicks west of here, the Black Suns have a stolen heavy frigate – Paris-class."

"Damn" Teana muttered. "I'll contact Colonel Holland and Shipmaster Arum."

"For now, let's get out of here" Aqua said. "I think you guys have earned some R&R, and we need to properly explain to you all about our multi-dimensional coalition, and the events we've taken part in."

A few minutes later, a pair of Pelicans departed from the facility, heading back for Valhalla Outpost. Far below them, a trio of men in passive camouflage gear watched them fly away.

"Recon-12 to Nightfall" one reported. "Potential targets sighted traveling north-by-northwest in two DC77s. Advise?"

"Recon-12, this is Nightfall" a man's voice replied over ultra-secured comm. channel. "Pursue at your discretion. Do not engage; report any intel back to us."

"Confirmed, Nightfall. Recon-12 out."

The men moved out in a stealth-customized Warthog. Parangosky's will would be carried out.

-CHAPTER END-

Obviously, the fic is not over. Chapter 3 should hopefully be up in a few days. Hopefully.