1715 HOURS, APRIL 16, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ ABOARD PHATNOM EN ROUTE TO TEAM 3'S LAST KNOWN COORDINATES \ UNKOWN PLANET

Taking the transmission from Team 1, John, Will, James, and the Arbiter took off for the last known location of Team 3. It was pretty much smooth sailing for the first few minutes or so, but things were about to go to hell real fast. "Hey guys, what the heck is that?" James asked from the pilot's seat as he pointed on the view screen to a purple shape that was on the edge of the screen.

"Adjust the camera and point it straight at it." The Chief ordered as James obeyed. The screen moved towards it as the object began to move and John felt a chill run through his spine. "Oh crap, get us out of here, NOW!" He barked as beams of plasma shot out from the object at them followed by a massive green plasma stream. "The hell is that thing?!" Will asked as he let the side hatch drop.

"It's a scarab, but just what it's doing here is beyond me." John responded as he manned the other turret. As the phantom arced away, another scarab appeared and began to open fire. 'Just why did they put so much fire power here?!' John thought to himself as he shot the crew of the scarab as best he could. They dodged the plasma fire and managed to take a leg out on the first scarab. Using this to their advantage, they swooped around, took out the protective shield, and destroyed the scarab's central motor system, triggering a chain of explosions that destroyed it entirely. "Hell yeah!" James shouted as he punched his fist into the air. He then brought the phantom to bear on the second scarab as it opened fire on them. It took a direct hit on the nose the phantom shook violently and smoke began to trail from the engines. "Get us out of here now; we're not going to risk fighting this thing!" John ordered as the phantom limped its way out of there and barely dodged the plasma fire that was incoming. The side hatches shut close as they moved away as fast as they could as a stray plasma bolt hit them and sent the phantom into a dive. "BRACE FOR IMPACT!!" Will shouted as the control panel exploded and forced James out of his seat. The phantom skidded across the ground, bouncing up and coming down again and again until it slammed into a Cliffside.

"Chief…..Chief, can you hear me?" Cortana asked him as he shook his head to clear it.

"Well, I feel like I was just ran over by a warthog, but otherwise I'm okay."

"Good, you need to get everyone out of here, I'm picking up increased Covenant radio traffic and it's all point towards you guys." He took her advice and woke everyone up from their dazed state, told them to get moving, and led them out of there. "Hang on; I'm picking up something from red leader, patching him through."

"John, you there?" Fred asked over the COM.

"Yeah, I'm here, I need a sit rep on your situation." He ordered.

"We picked up Sean and Kate, that and a grunt, he'll explain later. How are things on your end?"

"Well, the crap's hit the fan and there's a scarab chasing us down, requesting immediate evac."

"Read you loud and clear Chief, ETA fifteen minutes." Fifteen minutes? Would they even be alive by then? It didn't matter; they just kept on running and eventually found a rather large jungle area, perfect for guerilla tactics. They decided to head there and wait for the scarab to pass, maybe it wouldn't see them. It wasn't long before the scarab approached the jungle, and it simply tore its way through the foliage, passing them right by. Something didn't feel right; the scarab was gone, so why did he feel like they were still in danger? "I'm picking up brutes on the radar, a lot of them; it's a hunter-kill team John." Cortana said in his ears. "It's your call; fight or run."

"Well if we run they're not going to make it easy now will they?" He asked sarcastically. He made a few gestures to his team and signaled them to lay low and only engage if they saw fit as two acknowledgement lights winked and the Arbiter nodded. They all got into a hiding area and waited. He kept his eye on the motion tracker the whole time, noticing their pattern of movement and guessing on where they'd go next. He saw one moving right on the Arbiter, and heard bushes shake and a very brief scream. Every red dot then converged on that location, and what happened next could only be described as hectic. A stream of plasma shot out from the bush and nailed a brute right in the face as the crackle of battle rifles followed suit. John got out his shotgun, popped out of cover, and nearly got hit in the face as a grenade from a brute shot missed his head by a mere centimeter. He shot the brute responsible in the arm as he dropped the shot in pain. Next thing they knew, brute shots and spike grenades were flying everywhere. "FALL BACK!" John shouted through his helmet as he saw his team run back. They kept moving, firing as they went, to try and find new cover or some sort of way out of this mess. They made it to a large clearing and saw a lone grunt standing there. "Humans, Arbiter, come with me; we have something to deal with your pursuers." A bit skeptical, but just trying to get out; they obliged to the grunt's request and ran after him. Once they made it to the other end of the clearing, they saw just what he had planned. At least a dozen or so ghosts were in hiding, waiting for the brutes.

A few minutes later, the brutes emerged from the bushed, weapons sweeping the area for anything that moved, and noticed a rustling ahead of them. One of them walked up to it cautiously alone, and when he parted the branches, he was engulfed by a flurry of plasma as his body ceased to exist. The other ones ducked behind trees and into bushes as they returned fire. "We can hold them here." The grunt told them as he took them further off. "Your brethren have sent me these coordinates to give you, they will meet you there, now hurry." Blue NAV markers appeared on the Spartan's helmet display as they led the Arbiter out of the jungle and in the direction of the rendezvous point.

They made it there and took up hiding positions around it, waiting for the arrival of their team. No sooner than when they were ready, a phantom appeared and opened its side hatches. Linda was firing down with her sniper on one side with Shola on turret. The other side had Kelly on turret with Sean pouring down shots with his battle rifle. The main turret heated up as well and tore through the trees like a steam roller, destroying anything and everything in its sights. With the cavalry here, John, Will, James, and Arbiter opened fire on the stragglers, cutting down the brutes thoroughly. The bottom hatch then opened as the ground team hopped inside and the phantom took off. No sooner had it cleared the forest a green blob surged toward them. Fred had to dart the phantom upward, causing a massive shift inside that caused everyone to lose their balance as the hatches began to shut. It glanced the side as an explosion rocked the passengers, causing Sean to go flying out before they closed fully.

"Damn it Fred! We need to go back!" Master Chief shouted at him as he entered the cock pit.

"No can do John, I'm sorry but until we clear that scarab we're pretty much dead." He said as he got the Phantom up higher to avoid the massive firepower racing towards them. "Kate, open up a COM and find him."

"OK." She said as she searched for him on the private channels. "Sean, you there? Sean?!"

"I am afraid to say that I am detecting no signal." Cortana interjected. "It is most likely that his communications systems are damaged from the fall……I am sorry Kate."

"Orders Chief?" Linda asked as she slung her rifle. John simply remained silent and slumped down into a sitting position before slamming his head against the wall of the phantom. "OK Chief, you do know that's where my implant is right?" Cortana asked him slightly angry at what he did.

"I don't know what to do." He said to Cortana alone as he shut off his suit's external speakers and opened up a private channel. "What would you do in this situation?"

She remained silent for a few seconds. "Even I don't know Chief. You're the leader of the Spartans for a reason; you always come up with something."

He stood back up and reactivated his speakers. "Alright, Fred, lose the phantom and try and get behind it. We're going to hit its vital spot."

"Roger Chief." Fred said as he dodged another plasma burst from the turret.

1740 HOURS, APRIL 16, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ GROUNDSIDE ON UNKOWN PLANET \ CRASH SITE OF SPARTAN-002

Sean was in a world of pain, he had landed right on his head, and now his entire body was numb from the resulting shockwave. He struggled to sit up as he heard loud booms and felt the ground shake as the scarab moved. If he was stuck here, he might as well deal with the problem. He ran towards the sound of noise as he felt the ground shake more frequently and violently. He eventually found the colossus, looking up at it as he felt a shiver run through his spine. Ignoring it, he ran up to one of the legs and jumped up as high as he could. He removed the lotus anti-tank mine from his leg and attached it to the leg of the scarab before dropping down and pulling the trigger once he was clear. It exploded with monstrous force as he could hear alarms. Good, that meant is was down.

Using this to his advantage he sprinted into the bottom of it, killing the jackal on the turret and snapping it off of its hinges. He ran up the ramp and cleared house with it, destroying everything that was in his way. Instead of destroying it, he ran to the command center of the behemoth and changed the COM frequency. "Chief! Kate! Anyone out there?!" He yelled into the speaker.

"Sean? Sean is that you?" Cortana replied.

"Thank God, yes Cortana it's me. I'm aboard the scarab right now and-"

"And you are invading on my plans." A voice screamed into his head. He smacked his helmet trying to clear it as the voice spoke again. "All of your friends will die before your eyes. Join me, and I can prevent this."

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!" He screamed as he tore his helmet off and chucked it out the side, landing somewhere in the forest below.

"Sean, are you OK? What happened?" Cortana asked.

"Nothing, just an annoyance that I had to deal with. Requesting permission to destroy this thing." He said returning to the speaker.

"Hang on a sec." She told him as there was a pause. He scanned the area with his carbine while waiting, not taking any chances. "Ok, John, err, I mean the Master Chief has approved your request Sean. Meet us at this LZ once you're-"

"Too late for that Cortana, my helmet…..flew off in the fall; I won't be able to see any markers."

"Well great. Then in that case find a good LZ and pop your smoke grenade, we'll find you."

"So will the Covenant." He replied back coldly. "Meet me two clicks from my last known coordinates North by North east, there's a mountain range there that will provide an ample landing zone."

"Copy that, good luck Sean." She replied.

"Just ignore any smoke I put up." He told her as the COM went dead. He then quickly ran out of the command center and to the back of the scarab, finding its core and priming a plasma grenade. He tossed it and it stuck onto it as he jumped down and rolled to his feet, sprinting as soon as he was up. He had to clear the blast or he was screwed. He went at max speed, every muscle in his legs being pushed past their max as the scarab exploded behind him. This sent a massive shockwave out, shaking the ground, knocking over trees, and finally ceasing as the fire ball subsided. He had made it; now all he had to do was navigate his way to the specified LZ.

After half an hour of non-stop running, he managed to find a suitable LZ and popped his smoke. "That outta slow 'em down." He said to himself as he kept running, hoping the smoke would throw off the Covenant forces. Another ten minutes passed as he spotted the mountain he mentioned. He knew that they'd hidden the phantom and themselves waiting for him, so he briskly ran up the mountain, trying to stay as out of sight as he could. Something didn't feel right though, it was too quiet, too easy. His bad feelings where confirmed as he found a familiar face awaiting him on a flat area of the mountain. "So, we meet again Demon." The brute said, hammer in hand.

"Brutus!" Sean exclaimed as he grabbed the energy sword from his leg compartment and activated it. "This won't end like the last time."

"You're right, this time I won't hesitate to kill you." The brute said with a smile. Again with his emotions, Sean charged him as his sword hit the pole of the hammer and sparks flew. He kicked the brute back and tried lunging as the Brutus spun the hammer, having the end intercept the sword. Cursing under his breath, the Spartan backed off and flipped backwards over the hammer, landing on his feet in his fighting stance. "Impressive Demon, but this ends here." Brutus said as he awaited the next move.

Sean obliged as he once again charged him. Swing after swing, parry after parry, they both went back and forth from offense to defense as neither of them really had an advantage. However, that cycle ended as Sean stumbled backwards from being hit by the hammer's pole and he tripped on a small hole. Brutus took this opportunity as he swung his hammer upwards and slammed into Sean's chest. His shields took the brunt of the hit, and then the explosion happened that sent him flying as he was embedded into a boulder, his sword had flew off the mountain and was nowhere to be found. A gash was on the side of his head that bled down his right cheek as he jumped out of the hole he had made in the giant rock.

Blindly he charged again with his fist raised. "OLY OLY OXEN FREE!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as he went to punch Brutus in the face, and was met with the hammer's blade to his chest. With no shields to protect him, blood flowed from the wound and the corner of his mouth as he grinned and collapsed to the ground face first. Motionless.

The Master Chief heard their call sign and looked down just in time to see Sean collapse. 'Crap!' He thought to himself as Brutus raised the hammer. 'I'm not going to make it.' He said as he leveled his rifle.

"A poor excuse for your kind." Brutus said as he raised his hammer above the fallen Spartan.

"Do it." He heard Truth say into his ear as he tightened his grip and brought it down, only to slam into another energy sword. "What?!" Brutus exclaimed in disbelief.

There the Arbiter stood defiantly, holding the hammer between the sword's twin energy beams. "I refuse to let you kill another soul." He said as he threw him back with all his strength. Brutus went into the air a few centimeters as he skidded to a halt three meters away. "You elite piece of trash." Brutus mumbled as he pressed a button on his armor and dozens of jetpack brutes came up from the bottom and pointed their plasma rifles at the Arbiter. "This ends here."

"I beg to differ." The Arbiter smiled as a sniper bullet put a hole in one of the brutes head. In the next few seconds of confusion five more brutes fell from sniper bullets and two others succumb to a hail of bullets. The Arbiter picked up the motionless Spartan and ran back up the mountain and jumped out of sight as a rain of grenades befell the area, and six more brutes were blown to bits. "SPARTANS! OPEN FIRE!" John yelled as he popped up from a small hiding spot and began firing with his battle rifle. His fellow Spartans; James, Linda, Kelly, Will, and Fred; all opened fire on the brute's position. Brutus snuck away as he saw his team fight back, but being on the wrong end of a high ground situation, they were stricken down.

---

Meanwhile, Shola was busy watching over Kate with his plasma pistol, protecting her while her leg healed. Which wasn't to say she couldn't handle a weapon, she still held an assault rifle aimed ready to fire at a moment's notice. They heard a loud thud outside as they immediately responded. "Stand down, it is I." The Arbiter said as he poked his head into the phantom, the lifeless body of Sean strung over his shoulders. "SEAN!" Kate shouted as she went to get up but felt immense pain in her leg and sat back down. The Arbiter placed the Spartan next to her as he lay there. She immediately propped his head up against the side of her good leg as she looked down at him. "No, no, no, no, you can't be dead, you just can't be!" She shouted at him and was given no response. She could feel tears forming as Shola walked over as well.

The Arbiter walked up the control area as he opened up a COM with Corrupt Heart. "Dr., are you there?" He asked as her image popped up on the screen with Rick in front of her.

"Dr. Halsey here, what is it Arbiter?" She asked him, sensing bad news was about to come up.

"We need a phantom down her to pick up one of your fallen children and an injured one." He replied, his voice grim.

"Wait a minute, you don't mean-?!"

"Dr. Halsey." Rick cut in. "I am using the phantom's systems to find the Spartans…..there are two on board. Kate has an entire leg broken and Sean….."

"I'm afraid I do not know if he is alive or not, he has given no response to anything we say, but we've managed to seal his wound." The Arbiter said as he looked back at the door, imagining what pain both Sean and Kate must be suffering right now.

"I can have an automated phantom planet side in ten minutes." Rick said as it looked like even the AI was about to cry….if that was at all possible. His hologram then vanished.

"Arbiter, I need you to put him in the medical Cryo pod on the double, if he is gravely injured I can't risk it getting worse."

"Yes Dr., I shall do so post haste." The Arbiter said as the screen went blank. He immediately walked back into the back of the phantom as he picked up Sean's body once more. "I must put him into Cryo sleep if he is to live." He told Kate as she silently nodded at him and hung her head in grief. He placed the body in the Cryo pod that was put there in case of emergencies like this and sealed it. He then reactivated his sword and rushed back out to the fight.

While this was happening, it became a game of hide-and-seek as the Spartans tried to find Brutus. They had decided to spread out to cover more ground and hoped to end this today. Master Chief had gone down the mountain to the grass below as he swept the area with his assault rifle. There, on his motion tracker, something moved in the forest ahead. He ran in and then searched the area thoroughly, looking for the source of movement. He felt like something was wrong, like this was a bad idea; all of this was put on hold. "Chief! Behind you!" Cortana shouted and no sooner had the Master Chief jumped away, a gravity hammer slammed down where he previously was as a small crater formed.

"Curse you and every other like you." Brutus said as he removed the hammer from the indent he had made. "You may have defeated my squad, but I am no push over. This ends now for you Demon."

"In my eyes it's just beginning." Chief said as he opened fire. Brutus felt his shields take the force as he charged head long at the Spartan. Chief narrowly dodged the ensuing swing as he dropped a grenade before leaving. Brutus kicked it away just in time as it punched a hole clean through a tree nearby. John opened fire again and soon saw his ammo counter hit zero. He hastily popped the clip out and then slid a fresh one in as he moved backward, trying to get away from the charging brute. He opened fire just before a hammer hit in between them, causing him to go flying backwards and land hard on his back, his hand resting on something. He looked to his side and noticed it was Sean's sword handle and dropped his rifle for it. He looked up just as Brutus stood above him, his hammer coming down. "DIE DEMON!"

Everything was quiet, except for the hum of energy swords. The hammer was mere centimeters from Chief's face as not one, but two swords stuck through Brutus, both piercing his heart. He coughed up blood as he looked down to see the Spartan's armored arm holding the first sword, and looked back to see the Arbiter holding the second. "Damn….you….both." He muttered as his head drooped and he died. John rolled out from underneath as the Arbiter removed his sword and let the body fall. "It's finally over." The Arbiter said with a sigh of relief.

"It came with a price." John replied coldly as he remembered seeing Sean sacrifice himself for all of them.

"John, there was nothing you could do." Cortana said trying to consol the Spartan. "He gave his life not because he wanted to, but because he wanted you all to get out of here alive."

"Yea….but he broke his own promise." Chief said as he remembered the day after destroying hundreds of Covenant ships, and the sacrifice by Admiral Whitcomb and Lieutenant Haverson.