The physicians hadn't been able to do anything with the green clad figure, and had left for the castle barely fifteen minutes after arriving. The magic that covered the figure had prevented them from touching or handling the arrow, which had been cut in half by a bright yellow flash. The stump of the arrow remained in the figures shoulder, but was beneath the magic, and unreachable. Two riders came to retrieve him, and began dragging him to Cordom Keep.

This was bad, very bad. He'd been captured by the enemy, and somehow managed to get shot by an arrow. His armour had locked, and now Nik couldn't move. Pain lanced up his side as he was dragged over another rock. He fought down the grunt of pain his body compelled him to make, but he wanted no pity from the riders of the horses dragging him. He was a Spartan, he was trained to deal with pain. As far as he knew, no planets used such weapons, and they were only found in museums now, lost artefacts from a near forgotten age.

The horses stopped, and he felt himself getting lifted, then dropped as the weight of his armour pulled him to the ground.

"Damn, what the blazes is it wearing?" A voice wondered in surprise.

"Who knows," Another voice replied, "maybe it's a forest spirit, that would explain the green."

Nik sensed rather than saw the first man nodding in agreement, "I thinks you may be right." He said. Nik rolled his eyes behind his visor.

A half day later, and the use of a sled and four horses, they managed to get the downed Spartan in the tower. Aland was in a meeting with the Baron of Cordom, and had sent Isabella to check on the mysterious armoured being. A day later, Aland was still chest deep in meetings, talking about invasions or attacks with the Baron and Battlemaster. Isabella sat alone in the room where the figure was kept, an armed guard outside the door.

It was late in the day, and she had started to doze off, slowly nodding off to sleep. She heard a noise come from the figure, no, a voice, which startled her awake. Cautiously, she approached the figure, listening for the sound again.

"Hey, you, I need some help." Came the voice. Nik could deal with anything, although, everything had to eat and drink, and coming straight from a war, he hadn't had water in three days. Whatever happened, he was confident he could get out, but first, he needed water.

Isabella looked suspiciously at him, "Why should I help you?" she asked, trying her best to keep her voice cold and indifferent. She almost succeeded, but Nik could hear the underlying fear mixed with curiosity in her voice.

"I just need water," came the voice again, "my armour is locked, so I need you to push the button on the back of my suit."

Isabella wasn't entirely sure what a button was, but she guessed it was one of the circular depressions in a row on the back. There were a bunch of small diagrams next to each depression, and remembering the speed at which he moved, she wasn't about to let him escape, so instead, she pressed the one with a rough helmet picture. A flash lit the room as the shields deactivated, and the helmet hissed as its airlocks disengaged.

Isabella pulled Nik's helmet off. The face that greeted her was one she would never forget. Contrary to normal Spartans, Nik's skin was a light tanned colour, it may have been dark at one point, but years out of the sun had lightened it. A straight jaw, with a slightly large nose, a scar that ran across his brow, short black hair, and black eyes, those black eyes. She was surprised at how young he was, barely a year older than herself, but his eyes made him look older, eyes that had seen more death and destruction than anyone in Araluen.

Nik saw her face, and knew he wouldn't forget it, although he had no idea Isabella's mind was running along the same lines. He tried to move, but found he couldn't, that his armour was still locked. He sighed inside, 'Pretty, and also smart, she knew only to release my helmet.' He couldn't help but feel a little impressed by her quick grasp of his armour systems.

At least the shield was down, and he could drink and get something done about his shoulder. He watched was Isabella turned away from him, going to the door and speaking to the guard quietly. She moved back to him, "A physician will be here shortly to patch up your shoulder, also some water." She said.

Isabella smiled to herself as she turned away from him, a host of confusing emotions arising from that one encounter. 'I will inform Aland once his shoulder is fixed up, then maybe we'll get some answers.' She touched her saxe at her waist, taking a comfort in the hardness of the weapon, the coolness of the brass pommel.

She resumed her position at the wall, and just stared at him. Nik could see her eyes calculating and assessing, analysing his features, armour, and expressions. He nodded his thanks and returned his gaze to the ceiling. Then a thought flashed through his mind, and if he could have sat up, he would have, mentally, he slapped himself. Where was the Elite?

Tan'Kyi was in pain, a great deal of pain. The wounds the Demon caused him burned with an inner fire. He clicked his jaws together in anger and frustration, 'I had the sacred artefact, it was in my grasp, and that demon ripped it away.' Looking around, he located his med-kit, which had fallen from his waist. Quickly stitching up his injuries, he retrieved his cloaking unit. He was relieved to see that it was mostly intact. Grabbing his energy sword, he set off, trying to find out where the Demon had gone. He was in an unfamiliar place, and somehow the Spartan brought him, and he would pay for it.

Memories flashed through his mind of the battle he had been fighting. Ghosting through the ship with an inhuman speed and grace, Tan'Kyi had known that the humans had uncovered a trove of Forerunner tech. One item in particular was sacred, and he had been tasked to collect it. He had almost succeeded, he could taste the victory, see the promotion, but that meddling Demon arrived at just the right time, and the victory turned sour in his mouth.

Activating his cloaking shield, the Elite faded from view, becoming a slight shimmer in the summer sun. His HUD showed him the electric discharge trail left by the Spartan's shields, and began following them up to the castle. It was time for the Demon to die.

A/N I hope you all enjoyed that chapter, I'm sorry I took so long to update, and that it's a short chapter, but give me your opinions, I want to hear them all.

Remember to smash that Favourite/Follow button, and I'll catch you on the flip side!