"Speech" –human speech

"Speech" – Pokémon speech

`Speech`- Pokémon speech to humans

"After the victory we had at Sigma Octanus IV, Mankind got a much desired piece of emotion they hadn't thought possible this late in the war: hope. Hope that heroes, such as yourself Captain Keyes, will rise up and protect them. To guide them through these hard times and give them the motivation needed to defeat the covenant. Would you deny them that?"

"No sir, but the battle at Sigma Octanus IV and its resulting victory' came at a high price. I just wanted to let them know that sir.

- Conversation between Vice Admiral Stanforth and Captain Jacob Keyes, after the battle of Sigma Octanus IV on July 18, 2552


The damn forest was teeming with life, movements and sounds were like water dropping from a crane; without end and annoying when things had to be silent. Most people that waged war and fought battles in forests hated the noises, simply because every single sound could be a potential threat.

The Spartan didn't mind the noises at all, though. He had stalked his enemies many times though many different environments. He knew how to hide himself, how to mask his sounds and movements. The cries of his environment were merely distractions to the unfocused and undisciplined.

Although he was normally the master stalker everywhere he went, he was unsure of his position as hunter in this place. He didn't know what the alien fauna and flora was capable of. Even though he was sure that his armor and shielding could protect him from almost any threat save covenant plasma, he was still cautious of everything that looked odd.

"Trusting in your equipment to keep you save is one of the easier ways of dying a quick death. Machines fail and humans don't," one of his instructors had told him when he was young. One of the many lessons that he had to keep in mind when fighting. Even in this strange environment, one mistake or moment of overconfidence could well cost him his head.

So when he heard strange growling and yapping, he instantly blended away in his surroundings, thinking that maybe the covenant already had a foothold on this planet and that he had run into a pack of brutes.

He had run into the ugly beasts on numerous encounters. They were big, more than eight-and-a-half feet tall. Their muscles were as prominent as their ugly faces. The UNSC had not encountered the brutes in a lot of fights, but the Spartan had been send on numerous high-reward missions and had fought the Brutes as bodyguards, assassins, foot soldiers and as high priority targets. They were no easy opponents, as their strength surpassed that of both Elites and Spartans alike.

So when he thought that he had encountered them on a world were a human population was supposed to reside he grew apprehensive. Was Jacobs' data corrupted as badly as he was? Or had the covenant simply found this planet?

He hadn't seen any big ships in orbit, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

He would have to terminate the dumb apes. Not a very attractive thought, but it was necessary to do so anyway. He would not have any covenant on this planet without any nice holes in them, oh no.

He put his assault rifle away and pulled out his shotgun. Normally he would have tried to target the brutes from a distance- preferably something around a mile or so. But seeing as he did not take a battle rifle with him and the thick forest area wouldn't allow long ranged combat anyway. He would creep closer to the brutes and- when he was right on top of them- ambush them with a few quick shotgun shells.

He rose from his near-crouch a bit and proceeded to travel further into the jungle, taking a wide bead as to flank the covenant patrol.

The growling and barking intensified, but it was way too soon. He hadn't crossed that much distance yet and the brutes should have moved farther away. They couldn't be laying a trap for him, because they were making sounds. So what were they doing? Were they even brutes, or was it some native animal that was making those noises?

And then he heard another noise, soft and faint. It almost He hadn't heard it earlier because of the background noises. He redoubled his speed, not caring whether he made the bushes or trees move when he rushed past them. After a minute of running and sneaking through the thick forest, the foliage became less compact and more spread out. The trees became larger and wider- but also scattered across the area. In a small open area he soon spotted the culprits.

What looked like two small, grey dogs with black faces were jumping around the area, clearly attacking something else. He couldn't see what it was and he didn't care. He didn't come here to play ranger and protect weird alien animals. He had a mission to complete, a duty to fulfil.

And then he saw what was going on and he stopped in his tracks. The two dogs were attacking a creature unlike the Spartan had ever seen before. It was bipedal, as white as his armour was and stood smaller than the two canines that attacked it- not even half a meter tall. Its body looked a bit like a white dress; the legs were obscured and thus hard to make out. The head could only be described as a green bowl cut hat obscured its face. It might have passed as an infant wearing a white bodysuit from a distance. But the weird, flat and clearly red horn on both the front and back of its head gave it away as nonhuman.

The super-soldier needed to know what the local fauna behaved like. There might be a tactical advantage hidden away there and he would grasp any kind of Intel he could.

He stopped at the edge of the clearing, roughly thirty feet away from the fight. If he analyzed the way the local fauna moved and behaved then he might be able to predict their movements and possibly avoid any more of them. He didn't want to get too involved in the fight and he was content to simply stand by and watch, but then he felt something. It was a faint tinkling at the base of his skull, a weird sensation that he couldn't quite place. He reviewed situation before him again and thought about his options. The white animal looked like a human in a weird, twisted way.

No matter what he did, in the end his duty was to protect mankind. He was a protector, a figure that people normally liked and looked up at.

He could simply step into the clearing and chase the two dogs away- he would save the little creature and he wouldn't have even diverted from his route. Just walk straight past them and let them run away.

He sighed and rose from his half crouch. The instant he moved, the two grey dogs turned around and began sniffing the air. Their eyes grew big and their hair stood upright. Both of the predators turned and fled in the opposite direction of the Spartan with their tails between their hind legs.

He wasn't an anthropologist but he did know that canines were usually very scared when their tail fell between their legs. He couldn't blame them for it. He probably smelled like the seven gates of hell to those sensitive noses.

The little white creature lay on the ground, panting and shaking. It had to be safe now, so he could simply walk past it. He couldn't help looking down at its head as he walked by and as he did the tingling at the back of his head intensified. The white animal gazed up at his visor and gave a loud squeal. It tried to shuffle backwards, but it must have been too injured to move effectively.

For some reason the Spartan stopped. The weird tingling in the back of his skull was still present, but less intense now. Nevertheless he still felt a weird urge to defend this little creature- which was too injured to defend itself when it was attacked again. If he left it now it would surely die.

He shook his head. Since when had he cared about wildlife? He had been fighting to protect humans for so long now that it hardly seemed possible to fight for anything else. But still, if he didn't hurry up and reunite with the UNSC to continue fighting and humanity would become extinct, then all animal life would die too. And while he knew that animals couldn't contribute to war- so did the majority of the people he strove to protect.

That thought always raised the conundrum in his head of why he fought. Why did he need to protect mankind?

Because it was his duty.

And why was it his duty?

He was trained to do this. And he was trained because he was needed; because people would die if he didn't act.

That was the little circle that he had thought up for himself some time ago. It was the first time that someone he knew had actually died when near him. The mere thought of questioning your own motives disgusted him. Duty drove him and he acted by it. Never would he question his duty or abandon his mission.

So the moral puzzle pieces never stuck in his head longer than a second- which was still an unusually long time to ponder for a Spartan.

And now, as he was facing the little creature, he felt the strange urge to keep protecting it. He could simply pick it up and take it with him until he reached village. It wouldn't weigh him or slow him down at all and he could continue marching onwards to civilisation.

Right?

The little creature was still shaking after its encounter, even when they had been walking for at least fifteen minutes now. Because of its small size and its relatively weak body structure, it would have fallen behind instantly if it was to walk with him. So- seeing as the Spartan had already decided to take it with him- it wouldn't do if it fell behind now.

So he decided to carry it. He had reached out and the white thing had instantly covered up its head with its arms and began shaking. It wasn't a surprise that it didn't trust the Spartan but at the very least it could try to act normally?

Ignoring the display of fear he had simply reached out and plucked the animal from the ground.

And now the small thing was clinging to his right shoulder plate as if its life depended on it. Funny how privy it was to changing its mind. Perhaps it had realized that the Super-soldier meant it no harm?

Or was it simply scared for falling off? It mattered little. The weird sensation that he had felt earlier hadn't disappeared. He still felt a weird tingling at the base of his skill- almost next to his Neural implant. Did it even happen because of the slipspace engine? Or was it something else that he felt? And why had he felt compelled to take the animal with him at all? It would have been simple enough for him to simply leave it behind and move on. He should have done so. Hell, he had left useful supplies and even weapons behind in the past to avoid having something that slowed him down. So why would he waste his time – and speed- to take some silly native fauna with him?

The creature still hadn't budged and it squealed with fear when the Spartan tried to touch it with his index finger. If it feared him so much then why didn't it leave? Find something else to cling to?

But he couldn't bring himself to actually pry the little thing from his shoulder to leave it behind, so instead he started talking to it. Rhetorically at least, because who in his right mind would talk to animals? Especially when said person had an important duty to fulfill and a war to fight ASAP?

"If you don't want to be with me then why are you still here?" He asked out loud. His voice sounded heavy and grave. A bit like gravel, with a hard tone peeking around the edge. He didn't like talking much and his voice needed a lot of training. Every time he had to issue a series of orders or explain a strategy his throat ached and his voice sounded ever more…off. Even so the animal didn't respond overly negative to the new noise around it. It lifted its head and looked at him, as if it was wondering what the meaning was of the weird grinding noises that came from its ride.

Funny, that's the second time that it had displayed an above-average level of intelligence. Maybe these animals were akin to the primates and dolphins back on earth; the highest level of intelligence besides humans. It that was the case then this creature was even more like humans than primates were- seeing as it displayed open emotions and could difference between friend and foe. To a limited degree at least.

"Ralts?" It said with a sweet voice that was mildly disturbed by the creatures fear.

The frowned slightly. That voice left a weird impression on him; it pressed on his thoughts and he focused them even more on the creature. This world seemed truly alien.

"Yes I'm talking to you," he responded. His throat began to strain in protest a little. But the 'animal' that was clinging on to his armor inspired an odd feeling in him; the feeling that it realized that its carrier was trying to communicate. Different species never knew that they were communicating as far as the Spartan was aware. At least not the less intelligent ones. Perhaps this thing was an individual of a species that possessed intelligence equal to human beings? Could they even be sentient, like the AI's were?

"Do you have a name?"

The creature didn't answer, but it still looked at him weird and the Spartan could have sworn that the weird tingling in his neck had just moved a little bit.

There was one more way to prove his theory that the being on his shoulder was sentient. He would have to try and communicate on a primal level; to start gesturing and flailing with his arms.

The prospect wasn't too enticing, but he needed Intel and he could both travel to the nearest town and learn about this world.

He cautiously looked around him to see if there were any living beings beside them in the vicinity. There weren't.

Great.

The most basic way of communicating with another sentient being was to exchange names. You would have to point at yourself and exclaim your name. Then- if you were lucky- the other creature would point at itself in an imitation of the gesture and repeat you. That or it would say its own name.

But that only worked with foreigners. And alien POW's of course. So even if the little white thing was intelligent enough to understand the concept of communication by sounds, would it understand the concept of a name? Or would it simply get scared to death by the sudden new noises?

If his instructors could see him now they would have wet their pants laughing. But he had to try something didn't he? He still had the weird impression that he should keep the creature with him- to keep it safe. He didn't want to get attached to anything, but his mind and his body wanted two different things.

He pointed his other arm at his chest and said:

"Math."

He then pointed at the creature's chest and waited for a response. It didn't come. Instead it continued watching him with uncanny attention. Whether it didn't want to communicate with him or just couldn't wasn't clear and he had no way of telling.

Soon the sun set and the last remaining light slowly faded away, leaving the forest in darkness. The animal on his shoulder felt increasingly tense as it saw the sun set. Eventually it reached up over the Spartan's shoulder and gazed at the place where his visor was supposed to be.

"Ralts?" It said. Math had heard that little sound before and he still didn't know what it meant. His enhanced vision allowed him to see his surroundings with almost night-vision levels of accuracy. He wouldn't anything to ambush them. But even though he felt secure, he could not help but wonder what the little white individual that he carried with him had to say about the situation.

"Fear of the dark?" He asked it. He waited for a response of any kind, but it never came. Curious. He glanced down to see if everything was alright. Perhaps it had gotten too scared to move or speak? In that case he had to comfort it a little bit. Just a little, not too much.

He almost stopped dead in his tracks when he realized just what was wrong with it and tilted his head a little bit in surprise.

It was sleeping. Curled up in his armpit and with its arms wrapped around itself. It would seem that this little animal's feelings fluctuated even more than those of a covenant hunter. He had seen of one those tear its enemies apart and then- when it thought it was save and alone with is bond brother- stop and grumble in what had to be a form of poesy. And after that, when the Spartan had come by and blew its bond brother apart, the hunter had flown in an uncontrollable rage.

Then again, maybe this one was a night creature. Simply waiting for the sun to set and then scrambling up and about. When he was young he had learned that some animals liked to wait until it was dark to hunt their prey. It was a fine strategy- one that seemed to work particularly well on covenant. Those cocky bastards almost never changed their strategy and they never seemed to try and think like their enemies. That had cost them severely every single time that he had engaged them during dusk, night and dawn.

He marched onwards like that for another hour when a different thought crept into his mind.

"Maybe the animal was sick? Maybe it had been so severely wounded that it had run a fever, or gotten an infection of some sort? He didn't know anything about this world and its pathogens.

He then decided that he needed to get to a civilized area and fast. He hadn't even considered the fact that his little companion had been wounded in the battle. That should have been his first thought.

He increased the tempo of his feet as he broke into a run. He darted across the forest like a white ghost, the ground shaking with quakes as his heavy boots hit the ground time and time again- yet he made no more noise than a bird flying across the area would have made. He dodged many trees and rocks and simply busted through the bushes lying in his path. At the same time he covered the white animal with his other arm to prevent projectiles from hitting it and then quickly programmed a Navigational Marker in his HUD to where he had last seen the lights of a village. His armor calculated his speed and the distance to his target and came up with an ETA of approximately three minutes.

Acceptable.

While he ran he wondered about the strange creature that he had found. How he had felt compelled to take it with him and care for it. Was it some strange effect that a strange kind of radiation was having on him? Could it be the aftereffects of the slipspace engine discharging with him so close; that he was misinterpreting his own body?

Possible.

In the distance he could see the faint outlines of buildings and lights; he had reached his destination. By that time it was completely dark, leaving no other sources of light as explanation. It had to be the village.

He wasn't completely sure on how to proceed now; the human population on this planet could either be rebels or simply civilians. If he simply knocked on the door and there were insurrectionists… the resulting firefight would most likely result in the death of his little white passenger. That wasn't acceptable. He couldn't fight with it anywhere near him and neither was he going to waste time trying to use fancy new tactics when he could be much more effective on his own. There were lines to cross here. No fighting with animal wildlife clinging to your shoulder and no wasting time because of animal wildlife.

But… if he put it somewhere safe and then returned for it after he had cleared the area then… he would still have to fight his way to a communication device- most likely a large radar dish several miles away. And he didn't want to both protect a wild animal he found while at the same time engaging a more numerous force.

In a split-second before deciding he went over the tactical options: the number of houses, their sizes and capacities for people. Any vantage points and possible places for ambushes. Then he came up with a battle-plan and position for the little creature.

Quietly he strode to the nearest tree and jumped at the nearest branch that was more than 10 inches thick. He had no delusions that the meager wood could support half a ton of armor and warrior, but if the timed it right- his hand brushed against the branch and he quickly pushed himself away. The branch bent and splintered like a match but he had achieved what he wanted. He brought his leg up and pushed himself off- more gently this time, without letting his full weight hit the branch. It still came apart like the other one, but by that time the Spartan was already two meters up in the air. He grasped the thickest branch he could reach and- before it could break underneath his weight- scooped the sleeping animal from his shoulder and placed it on the branch, as close to the center as possible. It didn't wake up nor had it any reason to. The Spartan's movements had been so fluid and graceful that it couldn't have possibly felt a change in its environment.

His initial jump had brought him nearly seven feet in the air and the next ones had enabled him to reach a height of at least fifteen feet. It would be safe there.

When the fighting had passed and he had cleared the village he would find a safe and dry spot in one of the houses for the animal and then it would have to fend for itself. Until then, the safe height of the tree would protect it from any wildlife.

Or at least from any nonclimbing wildlife.

He pushed these thoughts and all other thoughts out of his mind without effort and moved to the village. He saw the large building to the right, the 'Lab'. Making no sounds whatsoever he moved to the nearest window and peeked in- for no more than half a second. HE had spotted a bed with someone sleeping on it and some weird machinery. Some other beds were scattered across its inside and two more people slept on those.

A laboratory with only three people inside? Too easy.

He pulled out his combat knife and slid it between the door and the lock. Moving downwards, he determined where the lock would precisely be and how the mechanism worked. He then pulled his knife back out and used his finger to tear out the outer half of the lock.

He was lucky or the rebels hadn't felt any need to protect themselves; the lock was so simple that any burglar could have picked it let alone a Spartan.

He opened the door as quietly as he could and moved inside, his knife at the ready and his weapons safely tucked away on his back. This operation required stealth and it wouldn't do him any good if he alerted every village in the radius of three miles with his gunshots.

As quiet as an owl in midflight he searched the building. It had only one floor and two big rooms, with a weird machine at the end of it. There didn't seem to be any kind of ordnance or weapon inside this lab but that was only to be expected. IT was a place for research and learning and- if the Spartan guessed right- weird experiments.

After he had cleared the building and determined that it posed him no threat, he moved on to the rest of the village. Over the course of an hour he broke into every building and searched for any signs that it contained rebels.

He found none. Which was weird.

There were only two logical conclusions: either these weren't rebels or they were a simple research outpost without combat capabilities, not expecting to be flanked from the dense forest. A huge mistake and highly unlikely but still, perhaps this was splinter group without proper command.

But the whole idea that these people were rebels was getting more and more unlikely. They didn't even carry identification tags for their own people and they possessed literary no military ordnance. These people were noncombatants. Not a threat to him or the little animal. Perhaps they could help him in his search and perhaps they could find a proper place for the white animal that he had taken from the forest.

But it was dark now and he had no idea when it would become light again. IT had been light when he had crashed, but that was around two hours ago. The sun had been close to setting, but maybe the day and night cycles differed from each other.

IF only it had been possible to take the AI from the Platernus with him. It would have most likely known.

The Spartan kept pondering about his current situation while he sneaked back to the edge of the forest where he had hidden the creature. It was still up in its tree, but it looked awake now.

And no surprise, it was scared again.

"Don't worry about it, I'm on it." He growled and stopped at the base of the tree.

"Just scouting ahead."

It was looking down at him from its branch and still quivering. Perhaps it was cold? OR hungry? Thirsty? Maybe a bit of everything? It didn't matter much, he guessed. Soon it would be safe and sound, in the village where the people most likely knew how to take care of it.

The Spartan quietly and carefully climbed the tree. He was balancing 500 kilograms on top of a bit of wood and he didn't trust it very much. The white animal was waiting for him up there, clearly not entertained by its current situation. It was shaking, that much was obvious, but it for some reason it didn't look very scared. More apprehensive, as if something was going to happen to it that it couldn't avert.

The Spartan grew a bit uneasy and checked his motion tracker again. It was still offline.

Animals often possessed the uncanny capabilities of predicting when or where danger was going to strike and he was not so stupid as to ignore the age-old instincts of nature. He had more often than not been warned by animals suddenly shifting in moods or simply moving to another area just because they sensed something- which would later proof to be a covenant patrol on the ground or in the air.

Like the time on Aegis III before that went sour. He had landed in the jungle, because the covenant had captured the major cities in the surrounding areas. Any closer was too dangerous for the lieutenant- his pilot- to land. So he had to cross a mile of compact jungle to cross before he could get to the first city on his schedule. He had taken notice of the animal presence in the area and was soon rewarded by his caution when a group of birds had suddenly taken off- several dozen meters in front of him. His motion tracker was useless in the thick jungle because everything moved. Were it not for his attention to the animal movements in the area, he would not have noticed the patrol of half a dozen grunts and three elites searching the area.

So when the little white creature grew apprehensive, so did he.

"What's wrong?" he quietly asked it. Of course he got no response, but he had hoped that the animal would point out where it thought danger was coming from.

He gestured to the dark forest in a questioning way.

"What do you see?" he said.

"Ralts!" It said and then crawled closer to the Spartan; no easy task because of the animal's anatomy. That was the third time that he had heard that sound and he still didn't know what it meant; what kind of indication it was.

So when the frightened thing was close enough to the Spartan crouching there to touch him and it simply looked up at him, he began to doubt that the animal had felt danger in the vicinity. Perhaps it was still scared from its encounter with the dogs and was it simply seeking protection.

Or it though that the super-soldier could protect it from the coming danger. It was never simple.

His armor would protect him from every animal that could possibly reach that high up in the tree, but the same did not go for his companion. So he reached down and gently picked up the animal. If it had any idea of the crushing power that was his gauntlet, it didn't show. For some reason it seemed happy to be touched, even if it was by cold unyielding armor- for he had deactivated his energy shield enough that he could actually touch it. He slowly lowered himself so that he could sit with his back to the trunk of the tree. If he was to spend the night waiting, he could just as easily grab some sleep. The last time he slept had been several weeks ago; he had spent the majority of his time either fighting or in cryo-chamber. While the latter was still some form of rest, it had hardly been the kind of rest he needed.

And he kept having weird dreams.

At any rate, He could keep scouting ahead to see if there was any indication of hostile activity but that meant delaying his journey. Or he could wait until the sun had come up to see if the village was indeed nonhostile. For now that last option seemed wiser. He would ask the people where to go and then dump the animal that had been traveling with him in one of the houses.
After he had determined whether it would be safe or not, of course.

The human that she had been traveling with was very weird. When the snapping dogs had come after her and she couldn't get away in safety, she thought that she would die for sure. But then she felt the faint presence of…something. It didn't feel like the other humans that she had encountered in her brief life.

Not that she could describe how they felt anyway; she had been too young and the humans had been too far away for her to probably sense them. The only reason why she knew of humans because he parents had told her about them- shortly before they both disappeared. She did not know where they had gone, but she wanted them back! Traveling for some time she tried to find them, but whenever found them. And then one fateful day she had found herself cornered but the dark creatures, trying to hurt her.

It was then that she sensed the haunting-half presence of a human. But that human was impossible, it couldn't be here. It felt too distant for her to sense and yet there it stood. The mere scent of the creature had chased the dogs away. While her smell wasn't as sophisticated as the dark creatures' she had an uncanny ability to feel the emotions and feelings around her. And what she felt had terrified her. The 'human' that had come to her aid felt devoid of every emotion. It was driven by the base need to do and she did not know what is that it wanted to do.

Perhaps it was broken? Every creature in existence had feelings; they all hated, loved and cared. The fact that she did not feel anything from it scared her so much that she could barely move.

Which could have also been because of her fatigue and many small wounds wrought by the dogs.

And the human had walked over to her… and it looked down at. Its face was like a mirror, reflecting everything that it hit yet seeing all. It was then that she thought that it was no human at all. Its very presence felt bad, it hurt her to even think about it. Its appearance was so unsettling for her, so very unnatural that she instantly knew that his not a human.

It had to be a Demon.

But a demon would have hurt her, it would have taken her away and never allow her to see the sunlight again. And while it did take her away- even though she had fought and struggled to stay there, a feat of which she was proud- it never hurt her. It even allowed her to sit on him as he walked for both of them. The demon that didn't want to hurt her! What a story that would make. She could still not feel its emotions, but the longer she stayed with him the better she was able to understand his presence. She knew it had to be a 'him' because at some point it had tried to communicate with her

It had asked her whether she wanted to be…there? What it meant was beyond her, but the underlying voice had been undoubtedly male. Did demons even have a difference between male and female? Or were they all male?

She was too tired to ponder much and her wounds throbbed, clouding her mind. She simply replied that she didn't understand. There wasn't much interaction after that. The demon had talked to her some more and once she had respond in kind to a question that she didn't understand.

'Math'? What was a 'Math'?

She had the feeling that it was trying to say something to her but she was too tired to respond. Soon she fell asleep on top if the Demon's shoulder. While her mind rested her sub consciousness continued to wonder about her companion's intentions and- more importantly- his feelings and emotions.

Every single member of her species was able to feel the emotions and intentions of nearby creatures and humans. So why didn't she feel what her protector was feeling? What did he want of her?

Eventually she started to grasp some of his underlying feelings and intentions. It was seeking something, something that was so important to him that he would literally stop at nothing to get it. He was also planning…planning something concerning a place somewhere. And then…he would…leave her there?

…what? That couldn't be true! Why would he leave her behind just when he had saved her, just as she was beginning to adept to his presence! She didn't understand it. But she was mad. Mad at the stupid demon-human for wanting to leave her behind.

And with an angry gasp she woke.

The gold-faced demon was gone, he had left her behind! Why would he do that? Did he not save her? Had he thought that she was safe now? Well she wasn't safe; she was alone, cold, tired, wounded hungry and very, very upset!

After she had been shivering there for what felt like hours, the demon returned. He had actually returned to her! Why would he move away if he would return? It didn't make any kind of sense! She gazed at the place where someone's face usually rested- and realized that there was a sudden height difference. How weird. Had the demon made himself smaller? Had she suddenly grown? Maybe he was standing in a hole, had he somehow trapped himself.

It took her brain a few seconds to register the fact that everything else was still in proportion. She also felt her underside resting on a surface that felt…different from usual.

She was higher in the air…she was sitting in a tree!

But how? Had she accidently teleported there in her dreams, is that why the demon was gone? Because he had been searching for her? That seemed highly unlikely. She had never done so on purpose so why would she randomly teleport as she slept? It didn't make sense. Little did since her parents disappeared.

"Don't worry about it, I'm on it."

What? What was he on? Why did he insist on using that weird vocal language that she didn't understand? The demon-human climbed up the tree, which he did quite gracefully for something so big... and heavy no doubt. Ah, there it was again! That weird sensation that she had managed to make out of him- the feeling that he would leave her behind! She hadn't been wrong before. No doubt about it now; he had placed her in the tree to get rid of her!

No, something was wrong with that line of thought. It didn't remove her uneasiness however, it only increased it. She didn't want to be alone she wanted to be with her parents! Her father and mother those were the creatures that she wanted around her!

Suddenly the demon seemed to tense- in a manner of speaking of course. His appearance did not change but his thoughts did. They changed from passive wondering to active alert. What was it? What had he seen?

"What's wrong?" The demon asked her. Silly thing, he was wrong! He was thinking about leaving her and now he was leaking alert! How was she alright when she was about to be alone, in the presence of only the danger that her ex-companion had sensed!

He moved his arm to the scary darkness of the forest filled with monsters and said something. She didn't get what it was and she didn't care.

"Ralts!" She yelled. How could you leave me! I don't want to be alone!

She wouldn't allow it to leave. It hadn't done anything to hurt her and it had saved her from the monsters attacking her. So she would cling to its tough hide until it realised that it would have to take her with it. Demon or not. She looked up at its head and kept him in her sight. He would not escape her.

The demon-human kept her gaze for a little while before breaking their eye-contact. Or head-eye contact, because she wasn't even sure if it had eyes somewhere. She could feel its mind growing still as it fell asleep and guessed that it was alright for now. She crawled over to his legs and snuggled against the place where his thighs would be. The place between his legs should have been nice and warm, but it was cold and hard, unyielding and- to her mind- indestructible. She wouldn't have want to trade her place for anywhere else she knew safe for her mother's loving embrace.

Which she knew would come again.


"The SPARTAN-II's are too spread thin. However capable they are, they cannot be everywhere at once. Neither are the SPARTAN-III's the ones that we would choose for this.

"There are too many possibilities for missions and operations in this war. And we cannot allow the III's to get tangled in other kind of missions, neither do we have enough II's to participate in the…missions you are talking about."

"That is why I propose another…idea. We do not need many II's and the III's are not capable enough, we need something in-between. How many orphans did the covenant create at? Gallyfrey?"

"Thousands… thousands Colonel…"

"We shall do the same as we did with the III's but this time, doing the same program as the II's underwent."

"You ant to create more SPARTAN-II's? How much do you think this will cost?"

"I want to create no more than twenty Spartans at the same time. And they shall not operate as teams, but as lone agents. I have sent you the reports."

-Conversation between Colonel Ackerson and ERROR-DATA- CORRUPTED, after the destruction of Gallyfrey-II on 18 December, 2536