Revised Notes: I changed some of the descriptions of the Chief's mission as I know there was some confusion involved with that. Hopefully, that'll clear things up.

Into the Unknown

As Delta Squad emerged from the tunnel, they scanned the area just to make sure there were no hostiles. When there weren't, Boss contacted their clone-advisor, the clone who gave them their missions.

"Sir, we've eliminated all hostiles, requesting extraction," he spoke into the COM.

"Very good, three-eight," replied the advisor a moment later. "Head to the mark on your HUD and we'll extract you there."

"Making our way there now, Delta-three eight out," Boss stated as he shut off the COM link. "Deltas, lets move out." He then started to cross a thin bridge that was spanned across a canyon, him taking point while Sev took the rear. It was so thin that the squad had to cross in a single file, one right after another. As they approached the middle, Boss heard a strange beeping that was in no way associated with his helmet nor any part of his armor.

"Uh, Boss? What's that?" asked Scorch, who stopped to listen harder. Boss listened too, and figured it out.

"Move!" he yelled at the others, but it was too late. The trip mines implanted in the bridge exploded, completely demolishing it. There was nothing they could do as they fell with the debris and rubble.

Opening his eyes all Boss could see black. He then realized his HUD had shut down and he blinked several times in succession to reactivate it. When it was fully on, he checked for the rest of his squad but saw that none of them were linked to his system. Standing up, he checked himself for injuries, but the worst one he had was a bruise on his leg, giving him a slight limp. Boss shook it off and tried to contact his squad mates as they could be in a worse situation than he was.

"Deltas? Deltas! Can anyone read me?" But it was no use, the only answer he got was static.

Just then he heard a feeble voice over the COM.

"Sir, I'm alright. I'm 20 feet to your left." Sev's number appeared on his visor and Boss ran in the direction and found him lying on the ground. Just by looking, he could tell the headstrong commando's leg was broken.

"Can you walk?" asked Boss, checking Sev's vitals on his HUD. They showed that he had no internal bleeding, only the broken leg. "We need to get out of here before hostiles show up."

"I'm going to need help, sir," Sev said as he tried to get up on one leg, but fell back down again. Boss knelt down and put Sev's arm around his shoulder. When they were situated, Boss stood up with Sev leaning on him and asked, "Have you been able to contact Scorch or Fixer?"

"No I haven't," Sev replied as he put some of his weight on Boss for support, "But I hope they're alright."

"So do I," Boss said gravely. "We should head towards the extraction point just in case they continued towards there." Sev nodded and tried to walk with Boss' help towards their destination.

When the Master Chief awoke, he instantly knew he was in trouble. Four Hunters were standing there with their guns trained on him, and by the door several Elites were guarding the exit. Trying to move his hands, he saw that they were cuffed with some sort of new alloy he couldn't identify. He looked around and saw that he was in a room with blank purple walls and ceilings with an energy shield draped across the entrance; most likely it was a cell. Suddenly, he realized something was missing and noticed his energy shield covering his MJOLNIR armor was gone, along something else; Cortana.

He swore under his breath but one of the Elites heard him.

"So, you are awake, Demon?" it growled at him, then turned to the Elite next to him. "Let the Hierarchs know he is awake." The Elite nodded and went out the door, only to be replaced with another Elite right after. Nobody moved as the time passed and ten minutes later the Elite that had left returned.

When it entered the cell, it announced, "It is time, Demon." One of the Hunters nudged him up with his gun and the Chief knew there would be no point in resisting. If he tried anything the Hunters and Elites would shoot him dead. As they exited the cell and walked down the corridors, the Chief realized that they weren't on a Covenant ship. He wondered if they were at a base on Jecovah, or possibly somewhere else; he didn't know how long he had been unconscious. He then wondered if Johnson and the other Marines had made it. He hoped they did because if they were caught, they would surely be executed.

They continued walking down the corridor and the Chief saw Grunts and Jackals cowering against the wall as the group passed, not wanting to get in the way. He cracked a small grin at their fear of him. Serves them right, he thought. Just then, they approached a pair of large doors that the Chief figured was the Covenant leader's chamber. As they entered he saw rows and rows of Elite council members sitting in the upper right bleachers of the room as well as Prophets on the opposite side. At the end of the room sat the three lead Prophets.

When they were in front of the Covenant Hierarchs, the Elites and Hunters knelt down but the Chief remained standing. An Elite guard walked towards him, but one of the Prophets held up his hand, causing the Elite to stop in its track. "Don't be so hasty, show our guest some respect."

One of the Elites in the crowd stood up and yelled, "That's the last thing we should be showing him! He deserves to be shown the blade of an energy sword!" There were roars of agreement to this.

"If that were to happen, the Demon wouldn't be able to be put through our test," the Prophet replied. He then turned his attention to the Chief, "Do you know who we are, Demon? We are the Prophets of Truth, Mercy, and Regret." He pointed to each one in turn. "Do you know why you're here?"

The Chief looked him straight in the eye and stated calmly, "You'll probably kill me."

The Prophet of Truth smiled and said, "Yes, that was what we were originally planning to do. But, we have developed something that you could help us with."

"If it means anything to do with winning the war you won't make me," the Chief spat, only to get a blow to the stomach by an Elite. Without his shields it hurt him more and he doubled over.

"It may and it may not, Demon," Truth continued, "but you will have to do it."

The Chief was pissed, but didn't say anything.

Mercy cut the silence short, "Bring in the prisoner." And with that, two Elites came walking in with Sergeant Johnson in between them. The Spartan looked over and his heart sank.

"Sorry, Chief, couldn't help it," he said with a weak grin, though his face was one of guilt.

"If you are to do this, his life will be spared." The Chief looked at the Prophets defiantly. If he refused, Johnson would be killed and most likely so would he. But, agreeing to the Prophet's demands was the last thing he wanted. Though, he knew in doing so there was a small chance he and Johnson could escape.

"What do I have to do?" The Chief said in a resigned voice.

Truth smiled, "I knew you'd see it our way." Turning to one of his Elite guards, he whispered something to him and the Elite growled an order in their own language. To the right of the Chief two sliding doors opened and revealed a path that was pitch black. Looking closer, he could tell it lead to nowhere because the light from the chamber did not illuminate the beginning of the path at all, as if there was something blocking it.

"This is a time portal we have created to go back in time to… alter certain things." The Chief immediately knew what he meant by 'alter'.

They would be able to change the outcome of the war if the portal worked.

"But, the Elites we have tested it on have not survived the process. They have either not come back or come back dead. But, with your shield technology, you might be able to survive transportation process."

Regret spoke up as he said, "It's not that you have any choice, Demon. If you decline, this human will be executed," and he gestured toward Johnson.

The Sergeant glared back at the Prophet but spoke to the Chief, "Yes, you do have a choice! These bastards don't know what they're talking about. If it works the whole human race will be in more danger than it already is. That's worth sacrificing me!"

The Chief looked over at him, then at the portal. He remembered what Dr. Halsey, the creator of the SPARTAN-II program, told him. It's worth saving a person who could make a difference in the future. He couldn't condemn Johnson when he had the choice before, and he certainly wouldn't do it now.

"I'll do it, but I'll need my shields back." Truth nodded at an Honor Elite standing beside his throne and it called for a Covenant Engineer to fix the Chief's shields. After the floating worker was done, there was the familiar pop! as his shields became functional again.

"Now you have one week to return. If you don't return on the seventh day, Demon, this human will be executed."

The Master Chief glared at Truth and headed towards the portal, but before he went in, paused.

"By the way, it's Master Chief, not Demon." And with that an Elite rushed forward and pushed him into the portal where everything went dark.