FOREWORD: I don't own Halo and Half-Life. But now the new Character Zuwee is mine(just the idea of him being a rambo, and his name). Both games are owned by their respective companies. In case of any infringement, it is unintentional.

CHAPTER 2: TROUBLEMAKER

"So where do we start?" Alyx inquired without taking much notice of the Chief. At that instant, an explosion shifted their gaze toward the doorway at the walkway. The Wraith Tank fell and crashed to the floor below. The Chief, Alyx, and Barney readied their weapons. The Chief picked up a needler, Alyx held on to her gravity gun, and Barney furnished out an Overwatch Standard Issue Rifle.

From the door, the grunt rushed out with his fuel rod cannon resting on his back, ready to fire. "I'll guess will have to start from him." Barney replied. Alyx aimed and pulled the grunt's weapon. Zuwee gave out a squeal but was determined. He picked up a grenade but before he could throw it, he was at the grasp of the gravity gun. The little troublemaker was in front of the trio in seconds. "Let me go!" he squealed and kept twitching as if trying to wade off whatever was holding him. "Quiet!" Barney poked the alien with his rifle which made the alien stop.

"So you're that little squat." Alyx commented and studied the alien. The Chief grabbed the alien from the gravity gun's grasp and stared at him, "You will help us find our way around." The Chief said with a deep, calm voice as if expecting the alien to comply.

"Never, you devil!" The grunt replied in a voice opposite that of the Chief. Zuwee soon realized the grave situation he got literally pulled in, if his superiors find out he'd been helping the enemy, he'd be turned over to the Jackals or who knows what experiment his superiors would put him in. But if he doesn't help them, he could end up in human laboratories for studies as well. He had to choose the lesser pain.

"It fits." Barney said as he finished working on the grunt. A well fitting pair of handcuffs strapped Zuwee. The alien was bickering though, "Demons! Evil Cyborg! And curse that Orange-armored demon!" Alyx grabbed Zuwee by the chest in a flash, "Did you see Gordon? Where is he? Talk!" the Alien was puzzled at the moment and remembered to be hard on his enemies and kept his mouth shut after that. The Chief had been thinking for a while. Echo 4-19 should be somewhere by now, we could use a ride."

"Negative. We need to get our own ride. I lost lost Echo 4-19's signal." Cortana reported. In his thoughts, the Chief replied, "We'll stick to our original plan then while these two look for their friend."

"I have a better idea." Cortana said, "Try that panel over there." The Chief approached the panel and inserted the data chip in. Cortana went immediately to work.

Alyx and Barney pressured the grunt, "This one's silent." Barney commented. "Talk or else." Alyx added, her threat seems to work. The grunt looked away then whispered, "He vanished." Such a response didn't alleviate Alyx's temper, though.

"I'm not playing games." she snapped. The grunt tried to get free, he shook and twisted his wrists but it didn't work. It was a useless attempt. Barney laughed at the alien's actions, "I suggest you stop playing hero and tell us where he is." At the same moment, Cortana successfully patched herself onto the ship's software. "I'm in," a holographic image of her appeared on a hologram panel not far from where they stood.

Alyx and Barney approached the panel. "I've scanned the entire ship. I can tell you now that there are a lot on board. A few elites, hundreds of grunts and Jackals, and around fifty Covenant Engineers scattered over different places but only three humans."

Alyx and Barney were saddened at this revelation. Gordon wasn't on board. "I guess we're back to nowhere. But we have our only witness." The grunt sat in the corner without a care of the four guests of the ship. Barney watched the alien curl its legs and sleep.

"I'll show that..."

"Let him be." the Chief interrupted Alyx. "Give him time."

"And if he doesn't crack?"

The Chief had other ideas. This grunt must be special to the rest of its kind. He must hold some importance to them. If they hold him hostage, it should give them some peace since no one would dare to disturb them but not for the jackals and elites. Anyway, this grunt had cost them enough trouble just as an elite could give.

"He'll be our collateral. He knows something and I'm sure his superiors would want to hear him talk." The Chief explained but the couple could not reject nor agree. Cortana couldn't either, but he trusted the Chief's judgment, "But don't you think he will just be ignored? " Cortana still managed to throw. The Chief did not respond and approached the grunt, towering over the smaller one. The grunt opened its eyes in time to see the Master Chief before him. He trembled and yelled for him to go away. He even called him names that Chief simply ignored as if he didn't hear a thing.

"So how do you intend to make that thing talk?" Barney wondered over the Chief's intentions.

The Chief ignored Barney and went on with Zuwee, "You will help us." he began.

"Never!" the other snapped. The Chief picked the grunt by the methane tank. The grunt squealed. He wasn't comfortable being held that way and them being around him.

"Talk or I'll kick you myself!" Barney shouted but the Chief glared at him and he stopped. Even though Barney could not see the Chief's eyes, he discerned it from the Chief's body language.

The Chief faced Zuwee, "Like I've said, you will help us." his voice was calm. There was no need for harassment here. Not yet, at least. But the Chief wondered how to convince a grunt like this. After moments of thinking, he had no answer and set the little thing down back on the floor, "I suggest you keep thinking of your future while you still can." the Chief parted, leaving the grunt pondering over that. Zuwee's mind swirled in riddles and questions. Did that statement came as is or was there a hidden agenda behind it? Or does it still have to undergo wild interpretations? The Chief's words silenced him and kept him busy for a while until he eventually dozed off.

An hour had gone without a sight or sound of the enemy except in monitors, Cortana had been keeping a close watch on them, "They don't seem to know we're here." Cortana observed watching the dots in the screen. "The enemy is scattered around the ship and none had ventured close to the room where we are and nobody's strolling the hallway leading to us either. They seem to be keeping their distance from us."

"They know we're here, but we're not that interesting to them. I wonder why?" glanced at his companions hoping for an opinion from them. None had an answer and the coupled parted.

Alyx sat on top of a Wraith tank, she was worried, wondering where Gordon had gone. Barney joined her, "Don't worry. If he's not here..." then he paused, strips of doubt slipped through his thoughts, "We'll find him." he ended, hoping it would satisfy Alyx or himself for now. Barney watched the Chief on the panel. Cortana's blue image moved indicating that she was explaining something to the Chief but Barney could not hear it. He looked at the sleeping prisoner, Zuwee, opposite them. In Barney's thoughts he figured that the alien might be comfortable with them, "But why?" he thought. "This creature's too relaxed." he observed and Alyx remembered the alien. A determined face masked her. She got down and approached the sleeping grunt.

"You, wake up!" she demanded and the alien gave out a yelp, shocked. Zuwee panned his view left and right and recognized the familiar company he's with then he calmed down, he stopped at stared at Alyx. "Tell me what you saw." Alyx said in calm manner. The sudden shift in attitude puzzled Zuwee. "Come on, tell me. What did you see?" she urged. Zuwee looked down on the floor, thinking. Then he remembered the Chief's advice earlier. "My future." he replied but it wasn't really meant for Alyx's inquiry. Alyx wanted to hit the alien but Barney held her back. "He's thinking of something else." Barney said.

The Chief joined in, he has been watching the trio interact with each other for some time. "We have to leave this ship." he reported, Alyx faced him with anger, "What about Gordon?" Barney protested as well, "We need to search this ship thoroughly." he added. "What if-"

"We are leaving!" the Chief stamped the order to their faces. "Cortana figured that stealing this ship takes too much time and it's risky and we have a missing group of Marines in space."

"So you mean to say you don't care about..."

"Five lives count more than one." the Chief injected though he didn't mean it but Alyx and Barney could not believe it. "We will leave unless you want to stay but I assure you there's no one else here worth finding. Where ever he is, it's outside. Cortana did a thorough scan of this ship." There was silence in the air, the grunt watched the argument but could care less but he can't do this for long, he's the only lead they've got. "What about him?" Barney pointed at the grunt. The Chief stared at him as well, "You'll take him. I believe you still have an issue to settle with that thing." Alyx still does have an issue with the grunt. "Chief, there's an extra dropship one deck above us." Cortana chimmed in.

"Let's move." The Chief ordered. Alyx grabbed Zuwee where the Chief grabbed him earlier, he struggled and squeaked again. "Shut up!" Alyx shouted and Zuwee yielded. "I'll take that." Barney referred to the gravity gun which Alyx handed to him. The Chief grabbed a needler and took the data chip and inserted it to his helmet.

"The quickest way is through that door," Cortana pointed out through the NAV point. "Follow me." The Chief ordered. Soon they were running through a strange-looking hallway embellished with glyphs. The hallway was empty of corpses indicating that no battle occurred here but this did not stop the Chief from lowering his defenses, he still held the needler at chest level. Alyx carried the grunt while Barney tailed behind. The hallway led up to a blast door and as soon as they reached it, the Chief signaled them to be ready. Motion trackers indicated two dozen troops on the other side. The Chief leaned on one side of the door and Barney on the other. Alyx put the grunt on the floor and got her weapon back but kept a foot on the floor with the cuff's chain between.

The doors parted and a surprised squad of jackals sprang to action. In the blink of an eye, a wild exchange of gunfire rattled the place. The Chief's weapon was useless then he grabbed a grenade and tossed it at the gathered group. Some ran while others stayed. The explosion took out three. Barney kept shooting and took out two. Alyx aimed and pulled one, sending the jackal's head crashing at the doors' upper beam. The creature's neck snapped. After that, the jackal was ejected forward with such force that it crashed at the remaining jackals. They tumbled carelessly. Some lost hold of their shields, others confused and others ran in fright. The Chief took the opportunity and nailed the remaining ones with needles.

"Let's go!" The Chief ordered and they scrambled toward the Covenant Dropship. "Chief, get us out. Quick!" the Chief saw why, more enemy units were homing in toward the docking bay. Alyx tossed the alien in as Barney got in before the door closed. The ship lifted, facing the exit point on the wall. "Hurry!" Alyx shouted as a spray of fire splashed at the ship's rear. The Chief pulled the ship to full throttle and they were out in space.