Chapter 10
"Oh. Hello! I am 343 Guilty Spark, monitor of Instillation 04, Reclaimer." Hinata could only stare at the basketball sized piece of metal that was trapped in a containment field for "Study". It had one lens, blue in color, and blinked on and off every time it spoke, almost as if it were also trying some sort of mores code or something like that. Despite her lack of shock, she was certainly shocked by the simple fact that, as a robot, it was constantly moving up and down, checking out her naked body, almost as if it were a pervert or something. She didn't feel very safe around the Elites that were guarding her, their blue armor shimmering in the dull light around them, but she felt less safe being around Spark. "Are you cold, Reclaimer? I'm certain that meddlers would give you something warmer to wear if I simply ask them."
"No thanks, I'm fine the way I am." She told him. An Elite nudged her with his plasma rifle, forcing her to remain on task. She had met with the Prophets, something that even they felt disgusted about, and told her that if she didn't talk to the "Oracle" about something called the Great Journey, then she would be tortured in the most brutal of ways. Her mind kept telling her they'd rape her, but her guy told her they get creative and possible try to break her apart.
"Oh. Well, you shouldn't be dressed like that, Reclaimer. My scans indicate that this room is only a mere sixty degrees Fahrenheit. That is unsuitable for your current state of clothing." Hinata calmly looked at the Elite that had nudged her and had a big grin when it looked at the Oracle, then to her, and then back at the Oracle before leaving. "Why are working with these meddlers, Reclaimer? It is because of them that the Flood ran rampant on my instillation. Were it not for them, my instillation might have been saved from the other Reclaimer."
"Yeah, well, you were going to kill a bunch of people in using it." Hinata shifted from foot to foot, clutching the remains of her clothing as she did. Somehow, she just didn't feel safe with the odd little robot, and the simple fact that she was near naked didn't really help at all. She cleared her throat before deciding to cut to the chase. The sooner she got this over, the sooner she could probably rest in peace. "What can you tell me about the Great Journey?"
The little AI blinked its lens' a few times before giving out an audible sigh. "Why are you using such false terminology, just like these meddlers, Reclaimer? The Great Journey is nothing but a containment procedure to keep the Flood imprisoned on my instillation. The Great Journey is nothing but a mistranslation used by the meddlers." The Elites in the corners of the room looked at each other, and Truth, who stood behind the Oracle, stared intently at Spark as he remained suddenly quiet.
"How can I activate the rings then? Surely you must know a way?"
"Of course I know. My instillation is no different than this one, Reclaimer. In order to activate the Rings, the Index must be retrieved from the Library, a place where we keep all of our history and studies. The instillation will not work without it, and must be used to fire the other Halos. This is what it looks like." He activated a holopad, and brought up the image of the Index. It looked like T, just with a slight curve at the top of it, and pointy tip. "But… this instillation, to my current knowledge, does not need to be activated, for the Flood does not run rampant on it. Why would you want to activate it when there is no real reason to, Reclaimer?" Hinata gave him a shrug of her shoulders as the Elite that had left, came back with a tattered blanket. He tossed it at her, and she grumbled a low curse as she used it to cover her body as best she could with it. "Reclaimer, are you-" Spark's eye turned black, and he dropped to the ground with an echoing clank as the restraints holding him shut off.
"Take her away." Truth ordered hastily. The Sangheili in the room stared at the Oracle as it refused to move, but quickly did as they were asked. Truth watched her leave, pressing a few buttons on his chair before the door split open again. He growled inwardly as Rtas approached him, anger written in his eyes. "Rtas, my most faithful Sangheili, do what do I owe the pleasure of having you in my company?" Truth tried to sound as patient as he could, but his lack of respect for the Sangheili was near reaching its limit, even if their failure had done him a good deed in the end.
"Holy one, this is unacceptable, unprecedented." He motioned to the Jiralhanae that were still fighting over their clothing of the Honor Guard, showing little concern for those that watched them squabble over the uniforms and armor.
"A hierarch is dead, Commander." Truth hissed as Mercy floated into the room. The Oracle was placed back in its containment field. The doors had begun to open again, and Truth cursed inside before noticing that it was the Arbiter, not some other grumbling Sangheili that now hated his new role in life.
"His murderer was within our grasp. If you had not withdrawn our Phantoms-"
"Are you questioning my orders?" Truth hissed, his patience running dry now.
"No, Holy One, I just wish to express my concern that the Jiralhanae-"
"Decommissioning the guards was a radical step. But the Sangheili have made abundantly clear that they can no longer guarantee our safety." Rtas sighed inwardly in defeat. There was no point to argue now. What was done was done. Nothing but time would change their status now. But to have the Jiralhanae above them was beyond dishonorable. Nothing would bring their honor back from such a loss now.
"I shall relay you… decision with the High Council." Rtas turned away, Xedrael and Ahiel following close behind him. Rtas gave him a curt nod as he and Thel passed each other. Thel returned it, and watched him leave. Once the doors shut, Truth gave out an audible sigh of frustration as he rubbed his temples.
"Politics," he muttered tiredly. "How tiresome…"
(-)
Hinata was shoved forward with the rifle that Elite was carrying, keeping it pointed into her back to keep her moving. They had been quiet the whole way back, whereas before they had been mumbling curses and offering her choices in death when they took her to the Oracle. But now they were quiet, possible even considering what they had just recently learned. If that was the case, then maybe she could use it to help her escape. It was a long shot, but she was willing to risk it.
She was pushed again, this time into her cell. She felt to the ground, her blanket falling to the ground, and her clothing falling off her body. She wondered if the Elites were perverts as well. She doubted it, but if they were like all men, then she'd probably have to say they were. She slowly stood back up, and walked to the corner of her cell, not really wanting to try her escape plan just yet. As she sat down, two small puffs sounded, and the two Elites dropped to the ground, parts of the faces missing. Hinata quickly jumped back up, unsure of what to do or say. If she screamed for help, she was certain they'd ignore her, and if she just screamed, they'd probably just kill her. She was lucky to even be alive at the moment anyways.
A few seconds later, two Brutes appeared, both hefting two beam rifles, and grinning a bit at the two dead Elites. Both tossed the weapons to the ground, almost looking disgusted with them when they did, and quickly began mocking the two dead Elites once they dropped them on their prone bodies. Hinata stood there, horrified that they had just killed two of their allies, but considering what she heard was going on, she figured that they were actually enemies.
One of them turned to face her, staring at her lustfully before his partner grunted to him for help in moving the bodies. Hinata watched them move the bodies, not exactly carrying if they disgraced them by banging them on the cells, leaving a trail of purple blood on the bars and floor as they did. Three Brutes walked in after them, all of them laughing at the sight of her frightened form. As soon as the bodies were moved, and the blood cleaned up by a frightened, and very confused, Grunt, the leader of the three stepped forward, his white fur bristling as he snorted at her.
"Human trash," he spat. He reached for his hammer, but the doors to the chamber of cells opened with a hiss, forcing him to stop. In the light, he could see a small silhouette, and he knew who it was without sniffing around. The figure walked in, and the door shut, revealing Naruto without his mask or chest armor. Instead, he wore his kimono style shirt, which was jet black except for the red fox that was designed onto the back and the kanji for "God of Death" written above it.
"Tartarus," He did everything but show respect for the name alone.
"Uzumaki Naruto,"
"Uzumakiee," Naruto hissed angrily, stressing the "ee" part with every ounce of hatred he had in him still. He looked over at Hinata, then to the three Jiralhanaes that stood in front of her cell. His eyes narrowed on them. They knew he had a strong sense of smell, but it would do him little good in a prison cell where the prisoners were forced to defecate in their own cells, making them act like the heretics that they were. It only proved to show how low they were. "Where are the two Sangheili that were ordered to watch over her?"
Tartarus snorted to the other two Jiralhanae as he nodded towards him. Naruto watched them draw their weapons, nasty auto grenade launchers with an even nastier blade at the back of it. Naruto gave them a snort, growled something out, causing two Sangheili to appear from thin air. The three stared each other down before Naruto repeated himself to the Jiralhanae Chieftain, causing him to snort again before giving his reply. "They were heretics, and the Prophets ordered their deaths." Naruto blinked, unfazed by the lie. The other two looked worried, and began reaching for the metal bar of their energy swords. Naruto raised a hand, making them stop.
"Is that so?" His eyes cut towards the young woman, and then looked back at the Chieftain. "Tartarus, if you touch her, the council will tear you apart. I have already put in the request to make her my mate when I get back from my mission. She is from my world, and if you touch her, I will rip you apart." Hinata looked nervously at Naruto, then the Brute, and then Naruto again. Tartarus stared Naruto down angrily, his pack tightening their hold on their weapons. "I suggest you leave this area, and let my Sangheili warriors do their job. After all, it is beneath you to do guard duty for humans when the Prophets require extreme protection." Naruto spoke in the highest level of sarcasm he could muster.
Things became intense quickly. The two Jiralhanae looked back at their chieftain, their eyes begging for permission to open fire. The Sangheili held their hands clear of their weapons, showing they weren't ready to fight, though their fingers twitched, a clear sign that they were ready to jump in at a moment's notice. Naruto looked past the two brute shot wielding Jiralhanae, and kept his gaze on the hammer on Tartarus's back.
The door to the chamber opened again, and Thel Vadamee stood in the light. "Tartarus, you have been ordered to-"
"I am well aware, Arbiter." The white Brute growled angrily. He, along with his two pack members, followed him out, the Arbiter following shortly after.
Naruto closed his eyes, holding back his frustration as he did. Only the Jiralhanae could agitate him to this level of anger. He would make sure to break any enemy he came across during his mission so he could work off his anger. When the massive doors snapped shut, he turned around, and in a low voice, whispered out, "Keep an eye on her. She has something I want. When I get back, I'm going to take it, and do what I want with her later," before he walked off. The two Sangheili turned back to her, and then looked at each other, the other one shrugging before engaging his cloak.
(-)
The moment Naruto stepped onto the Phantom; he ducked his head, and elbowed Rtas, hard in the chest, sending him back a few feet, skidding a few feet back before his massive hands grabbed Naruto by his head, and slammed him into the bulkhead of the ship, denting it in the process. Naruto's blue eye turned blood red, and his cloak activated to two-tailed state. Rtas leveled a glare on him, and Naruto did the same from behind his mask. He was wearing his spare suit of armor. Rtas gripped the bar of his energy sword. Naruto looked ready to kill him before Raukee grabbed Rtas's arm, stopping him before he could do any harm.
"We have not the time for this, Rtas." Raukee pleaded. Rtas knocked him away, and looked back at Naruto.
"I will not have you running off to do as you please, Uzumakiee. I care not what power you have. Make one mistake, and I will cut you down." Rtas tightened his grip on Naruto's neck, and the Jinchuuriki gave out an angry sigh of frustration before noticing something in his eyes. The message was clear. I will not lose one of my Sangheili on this mission. I have never lost one to date, and I will not lose one now. He let him go, and Naruto released his powers.
"I understand, Rtas." Naruto told him as he got into one of the many restraints that created by gravity fields. They were created to both keep the person in an upright position while also keeping them completely safe. If the Phantom went down, they had a better chance of surviving because they wouldn't go flying around in the aft of the ship. The restraints had saved Naruto's life once, that being only because the pilot had been killed by when they were trying to get away from a planet that was in the process of being glassed. Not very fun when you had to tell them they destroyed one of their own, and that your ship was now downed.
But Naruto still hated the damn things. They burned away at his skin the last time he had used them, not something he could have forgotten easily. It was a freak accident that had been caused by a tripped set of wires around his part only. Brutes or someone with a grudge against him had obviously tried to kill him, so Naruto had always been a bit edgy around the damn things. But since this was a Drop ship controlled by Rtas and the SpecOps, he had no need to worry about being charred when the ship began to take off.
As the drop ship began to move from the hanger towards the Sacred Ring, Naruto remembered their mission. With Humans being on the ground, it was decided that they would lead an attack against them, hopefully stopping whatever they were planning. Truth seemed to believe that they knew about the Icon, and was determined to have them stop them. Thel had gone on ahead to take down a barrier that circled something called the Library.
Truth. Naruto never liked him. In fact, he never liked Mercy or Regret. The only people he trusted were the Sangheili, the people who helped raise him, and the only reason he trusted the Lekgolo was because no one could understand them. Lekgolo could read war poetry one minute and then be in a mindless blood rage where they killed anything that dared to move. When Regret had been killed, Naruto felt somewhat happy by his death, minus the way things ended up in the end. Mercy, he could stand, Truth, not so much.
The ship jerked a bit, and Naruto groaned as he watched Rtas walk through the aft of the ship, inspecting his Sangheili, watching as a few checked their weapons over, and others meditated. Naruto and Rtas had an odd relationship. Rtas cared not for his power, and viewed him as a human at times, but those had been few and far between. Naruto viewed Rtas as a friend in some form of way. Rtas had been forced into killing most of friends in the past to get his position, because almost all of them had become heretics. When Naruto had learned this, he tried to be his friend, but that had ended badly. After a while, the two became friends, if the word could even describe their real relationship. But Rtas did care about their lives, his included, and he did do everything in his power to make sure they all came home.
Naruto closed his eyes and waited for the drop ship to get to its destination. He could only hope that Thel knew what the hell he was doing, and that Xedrael and Sore could protect the girl.
(-)
Sasuke stared at the three new marines with a brow raised. One had short, formerly long, blond hair, and a shotgun and extra grenades on his form. He had the name Deidara stenciled into the helmet he wore. He carried a pistol on his side, but he kept more ammo for the shotgun and grenades. Beside him was a man with slicked back silver hair, a bored expression on his face, an assault rifle on his back, and a pair of SMGs on his sides. He had the name Hidan stenciled into the side of his helmet that was under his arm. In the back was a young man with a clean shaven head, a battle rifle on his back, and the name Dosu stenciled into his helmet. They were just a few of the survivors that had agreed to help out and pass all tests the quickest. Madara was leaning up against his seat, wearing charcoal fatigues, his name stenciled into a helmet as well, a battle rifle on his back, and a red crystal wrapped around his neck. All marines and navy personal for In Amber Clad was to wear one of the crystals just in case the Kyuubi showed back up.
But still, they were fresh, had no idea on what exactly was going on, and they all looked eager to fight. Team Silver would finish training the others that wanted to fight while Team Fire Dragon would help assist Keys, Johnson, and a squad of marines in finding the Index. They had already located it, now they just need to get inside, power down the damn thing, and take out anything that got in their way.
Sasuke took a calming breath, pushing down the hope that his parents were alive. He had been orphaned by the attack, to his knowledge anyways, and had personally witness the death of Itachi, his older brother at the hands of a Brute. He had always hoped that his parents were alive, and if Sarutobi Hiruzen was alive, then maybe his parents were alive. I mean, one could only hope, right?
"Sasuke," Sasuke shook his head, looking up at Madara as he approached him, his new clothing annoying him as he walked. Moving from rags to full dress marine gear was a pain to all of them; none more so than Madara who was wearing a pair of pants that were a size too small for him. His crystal necklace was barely visible from under his armor, and it produced a red hue that reflected from his faceplate. "What thoughts occupy your mind?"
Sasuke shook his head, and looked at the back of the pelican they were in. In the other Pelican behind them were the others that came along. Keys and Johnson were in the third one, and had another odd fellow named Zaku, who got his hair cut in a buzzed style, a girl named Kin, both deciding to use battle rifles, and scoring fairly well with them. Two more rode with them, a young woman named Konan and a young woman named Matsuri, both scoring high points with their battle rifles, and eventually earning sniper rifles. They had a knack for it. The second pelican carried the squad of marines.
"I'm just worried about the new marines, nothing more." He lied. He could have cared less for them. To him, they were just potential enemies in the long run. In his line of work, and with what the original Spartans had been trained for, today's friend was tomorrow's enemy. The original Spartans had been trained only to fight the Insurrectionists that had been causing the UNSC a bad time. They had been trained to fight the Covenant, but that didn't exactly stop Ackerson from using a few personal squads to take down Insurrectionist bases. So he just didn't trust them.
"You're lying." Madara moved forward. Despite his age, he moved like a man of thirty. He showed every inch of his age without that god awful mask he wore. Sasuke cursed in his helmet. "If you do not wish to speak your thoughts it's okay with me. My only concern is the survivors that we have saved from our lands, nothing more." He turned back to look at Dosu as he slid his helmet on. "Dosu, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He whispered. His body had been burned badly during the attack on his home village, and left him scared by it. His scars had caused him to be an outcast among all of the survivors, namely because they deformed him a bit. His one good eye was sensitive to bright colors, but other than that, he was okay. He learned to accept everything about himself, and the hateful eyes that some gave him.
Konohamaru sat up, stretching, and Haku and Yugito did the same, sensing that their break was over. He pulled out a box, removed the lid and straw inside it, revealing a new battle rifle. He pulled it apart, cleaned it, and then put it back together. He made tiny adjustments to his scope, stunning a Madara and Deidara a bit at how precious he was about things. Next, he pulled out a few "egg containers" and checked over his grenades. He placed them in his satchels from fragmental to concussion.
Haku pulled checked over his sniper rifle, making sure the thing was well cleaned for the third time, and that it was calibrated to his liking. He was just as paranoid about his accuracy as Konohamaru, the only difference being that his was set for long range, while Konohamaru's wasn't set for his type of long range. He made tiny adjustments to his oracle scope before checking over the ammo. Once the ammo was inspected, he put the four rounds into the magazines, and began checking over his ammo for his battle rifle.
Yugito was counting all of her ammo for her duel SMGs. Yugito had developed a nasty habit of being ammo paranoid after a simple field test where she didn't have enough ammo to complete the assignment. After that little moment, she carried as much ammo as she possible could. When she ran out, she grabbed whatever was close by, and used it. As she finished counting her ammo, she made sure that the right amount was in each magazine. Once she was done, she placed each clip into her ammo belt, and walked to the ramp as it lowered.
Sasuke checked his ammo with a sense of satisfaction as he pulled his battle rifle off his back. He switched the safety off, and motioned for the fresh marines to fall in behind his team. Madara pulled his rifle off his back as well, and followed the team out, the others quickly doing the same. The other two pelicans dropped off their load, gained some altitude, turned around, and faced Miranda, giving her a swift nod before heading back to In Amber Clad.
Miranda looked around, as did the others, and stared at the structure. The metal was warped, burned, dented in, and in other places, none existent anymore. Scrap metal from weapons, Sentinels, and other parts of the structure lined the ground, some burned, others still burning. Johnson handed her a pair of SMGs before motioning for the teams to press forward. Sasuke nodded to his team, and they went invisible, blinding in with the terrain almost instantly.
The rookies were surprised while the other marines just shook their heads at them. "Show offs," McKenzie muttered dryly. Madara gave him a hard and annoyed look as his team pressed forward, following Johnson as he kicked his squad into gear. Johnson wasn't going to be shown up by some young Spartans. If he was going to be shown up by anyone, it would be Master Chief, not some jumpy kids ready to show their stuff.
(-)
Xedraelee and Sore sighed mentally as they continued to watch over the young Hyuuga. They were bored, but orders were orders. Naruto had been most persistent in his demands that they watch over her. Xedraelee needed no more words other than to know that his "son" wanted her watched over, even protected if need be. Sore had been stubborn about it, but a quick flash of his holy powers had him quickly claiming that he would love to watch over her.
So here they were, watching over a young girl from the shadows of the far back corner, cloaked, hungry, thirsty, and very bored. Xedraelee knew the Jiralhanae were up to something. He saw that look of fear when Naruto mentioned that the girl was from his world. That made him wonder why they were be slightly afraid. If the Jiralhanae had something to hide, they usually were easy to frighten when something was revealed, like something they did. Tartarus killing his uncle was one of them, but they all accepted it. There was also the time when it was revealed that they started the war had been another, but he wasn't afraid of that one either. But the way he acted around the girl made him believe that he did have something to hide.
Xedrael took in a deep breath, and began to concentrate on the facts he knew already. Naruto's world had been destroyed nearly two days after he was brought before the Covenant. No Sangheili ever admitted to this desecration, and if they had, they had certainly done a good job in hiding it from those that had great faith towards the boy. The Unggoy... well he wouldn't put it past them, but for them to take control of a UNSC ship, something that had done the deed, he highly doubted it. The Kig-Yar might have done, considering all the things they could do anyways, but he highly doubted that as well. Yamane he doubted as well. Though they could work one if given the right about of time, he doubted that they could even pull it off. The Lekgolo was just laughable. So that only left the Jiralhanae.
It could have been them, seeing as they had been the only race to deliberately shoot them in the back so to speak. When Thel had done his first holy mission for the Prophets, he had a Jiralhanae chieftain with him in another ship to watch over him. They destroyed his ship so they could go report the find. Though the chieftain was killed, it was just one of the many stains that the Jiralhanae had come to put on their tarnished records with them. If anyone did it, it would have been the Jiralhanae. But what would they gain out of it?
The doors opened up, and eight Jiralhanae stood at the entrance, sniffing as they walked in carefully. The one in front was a young one, probably too young to earn the "us" suffix. They approached Hinata's cell, the small one grinning as he pulled his spike rifle from his belt. Hinata stared at it he raised it to her face from behind the cell. The metal bars parted, and he entered the cell. When he squeezed the trigger, his hand was cut off, and the round hit him in the foot before the energy sword was drove through his throat. The other Jiralhanae roared angrily as Sore became visible.
Two more Jiralhanae entered the prison chamber, raised their spike rifles, and were killed before they could fire off a single round. Their headless bodies hit the ground, spraying dark blood onto the blood stained floors. Xedrael appeared; his energy sword crackling as he glared at the other five Jiralhanae that lifted up their brute shots. They fired. Xedraelee ducked under the auto grenades, raised his plasma rifle, and swept low, taking out their legs at the knee, making them howl in pain before Sore gave them a dead check.
With the mini battle over, Xedraelee turned to face the young woman, staring at her with sad eyes. She was from his world. There was no mistake now. The Jiralhanae were responsible for the death of Naruto's world, and they would soon pay for their crimes.
Walking into her cell, she jumped up, backing against the far wall with wide eyes. Xedraelee offered a hand, and she stared at him, shock evident on her face. He stood there, waiting for her to take his hand before a loud howl sounded from above them. The Jiralhanae knew what they had done. He had to move, and he had to do it now. He took her hand, and dragged her out of the cell, forcing her to follow him as Sore brought up the rear.
"Where are we going?" Sore asked. Xedraelee thought about it for a moment before taking a left out the back of the chamber, and straight into the back alleys of High Charity's housing area.
"We're heading to my home. I have weapons and armor there that we can use against them." Sore might have been grinning at the moment. He wasn't sure, and to be frank, he didn't really care.
(-)
Rtas lead his squad through the chambers of the wall that surrounded a once massive structure in the center of it. The chambers, tunnels, and wide open areas looked reverse. What should have been support beams or railing for the ceiling of the walkways were on the ground, supporting nothing, but being a constant obstacle for them to traverse. The ceiling had very little supporting beams or railings to it, and it was rather impressive to know that a possible ten thousand year old structure was still standing because of this. Obviously the Forerunners knew what they were doing when they had built the place.
As they walked through the foggy pathways, dodging crates, metal squares that were wielded to the ground, busted doors, and small little robots that flew around without paying them any mind, a small tickling sensation when through Naruto's spine. He played it off as nothing, but as they began to go deeper into the wall, the green fog became thicker, and the tingling sensation began to worsen. He felt sick to his stomach, and his body hurt. Taking each step was a pain to him.
He suddenly came to a stop, unable to bear the pain, and collapsed to one knee, his cloaked form shimmering until it was broken, revealing him to the world. He hit the ground with a loud thud as he began screaming in pain. The team was alerted, spun around, took cover, and waited. An Unggoy that they had found stuck its head out, and got it removed from a short three-round burst. Rtas growled inwardly. Humans were here, and they had taken out Naruto with the crystals again.
He nodded to his team, gave them a few hand signs, and then ran over to where the Jinchuuriki lay, his body motionless and no long screaming. His first thought was that he was dead. But that thought was quickly put aside when he saw a human drop down on him, forcing him to… laugh. Before anyone knew what happen, Naruto held him by his head, standing on his own two feet, and reaching for his plasma rifle. "Monster!" A Marine shouted as it appeared from the fog like a ghost.
"That's me!" He spoke in a voice not his own as he fired his rifle at point blank into the face of the marine, killing him instantly.
"Dosu!" A female yelled in anger. "Damn you!" Gunfire erupted around Naruto as he laughed like a mad man. When the rounds began to sputter against his shields, he took cover, turned around, jumped over the cover, and fired his rifle at the people returning fire. A grenade landed down at his feet, and he jumped while forming three-tails, protecting him from the blast and sending him back into a pile of stacked up crates. They fell down on him as he hit them, and then all was still for a moment. The metal floor bulged as something went through it towards the young woman. At the last second, a male shoved her out of the way with a cry of "Kin" before a red transparent hand grabbed him out of the air, and crushed him. "Zaku?!" The hand rushed towards her, grabbed her, and then dragged her through the torn up metal hole it had made, killing her in a painful manner.
Rtas stared at the scene with wide eyes. This wasn't Naruto… or at least not the Naruto he had known. Had he always been like this when he fought? Why had the crystals suddenly not taken affect on his body?
Naruto laughed manically as more soldiers appeared to try and stop them.
"I'm sorry, human, but you know what? I DON'T WANNA DIE JUST YET!" It wasn't Naruto, it was the Kyuubi. The crystals had released him, or his mind had simply fused with Naruto's to create him. "Things are gonna be different from now on!" He laughed as he began firing at the hidden humans. Rtas motioned for his team to pull back. He had heard the stories that Naruto told him about the demon that attacked his home world. It was frightening tale, and he'd rather not know how their strengths equaled against his own.
(-)
Miranda watched in horror and fright at the Kyuubi's destructive power. How could the Covenant get their hands on someone like him? Why was he even fighting for them? Could he even be stopped now? Most importantly, why weren't the crystals working? Had he grown immune to them? But that wasn't possible with only a few exposures, was it? As Dosu was shot in the face, Zaku crushed, and Kin torn apart by razor sharp pieces of metal, it became clear that he wasn't going to back down, and that he wasn't even in the happiest of moods.
"Take him out!" Johnson shouted as he began firing again. Deidara opened fire with his pistol, favoring the range over the power of the shotgun. The Kyuubi somehow managed to dodge all of the shots, never once being hit. He had to be seeing them, but that was near impossible. No one could track a bullet unless they had high-speed camera. But he was doing it.
Sasuke lunged forward, running as fast as he could as he returned fire. Kyuubi dropped his weapon, reached for the bar of energy sword, and was hit from behind. "Go! Leave him to us!" Madara shouted as Yugito pounced down on his prone form. Miranda opened her mouth to say something, but Sasuke and Johnson pushed her back, returning fire to keep the few Elites they saw down. She knew they had to get the Index, but at what costs? She growled in anger before turning around to follow the others, leaving Madara and Yugito to deal with the Kyuubi.
(-)
Xedraelee shoved Hinata aside, pulled out his rifle, and killed the two Jackals that came rushing towards them. They were at his home, and it wasn't much to her. It was somewhat cozy by their standards maybe, but to her, it wasn't much to look at. But then again, they were getting attacked, and she was taking cover in a hallway away from the fighting with a few scared Grunts that had been told to guard her with their lives if they wanted to live to breathe another morning mist cycle of pure methane. So far they had done a pretty good job of protecting her. Only three out of ten had died. She was slightly worried about having them protect her, but they seemed determined to just breathe a cycle of pure untainted methane.
Xedraelee took cover from three Brutes wielding brute shots. The rounds tore up the inside of his home, the kitchen mostly, and he cursed inwardly. He never liked it and had always been planning to remodel it. Who knew that he would finally be motivated when it was destroyed while he protected a female from Naruto's world? Irony was one word that Ahielee might have used had he known. Raukee might have just laughed.
He spun around once all six rounds from the three were wasted, took aim, and fired at their heads. Their armor, though sturdy, could only take a few well placed shots from a plasma rifle before failing, and melting them like butter. They dropped, and eight more appeared from behind their cover of uprooted metal slabs that made up the walkways. They seemed quiet determined to kill them and the girl. She must be from his world, and she must know what happened, which meant that the Brutes really were responsible. This would be a fun fight when he began thinking about it. If the other Sangheili could learn of this, then they would have a reason to kill the Brutes for all the things they had done to them.
A crystal round punched through the weakened metal walls, and he stared at it with narrowed eyes. He spun around, and fired at the two charging Brutes that were determined to get in the house. They dropped quickly, and a highly concentrated plasma beam tore through the side of the door frame just above his head. He ducked back into cover, cursing his luck. The Jackals were also determined to kill him. How many enemies did he have in the Covenant?
An explosion from the roof made him curse inwardly. They're getting smart? He would have laughed if he had the time. He ran towards Hinata, passing Sore's dead body as he did, and grabbed her by the arm again to drag her off. Hinata had a hard time keeping up with him, and going down a flight of stairs while being dragged was rather hard. As soon as they got to the bottom, Hinata could only stare at the weapon cache he had. Human weapon, armor both Covenant and Human, Covenant weapons, spare food and water, and a large bolted room with a massive set of combination locks on them. Had he collected them, or had someone else?
Xedraelee pulled her to the massive door and opened it. Inside was an odd suit of armor, but the lights had gone out before she could look at it fully. He shoved her inside, and seemed to smile as he shut the door. By the time she was to her feet, the door was shut, and she was locked inside. The air began to get cooler, and she shivered before a light came on. She found a thick blanket, and pulled it over her body, knocking something over when she did. She looked at it, and her eyes narrowed in confusion. Explosions sounded from outside, and she could hear someone talking angrily with someone. The words were too muffled for her to understand what was going on, so she got into the back of the metal room she was in, and huddled down in fear, keeping the thick blanket tightly wrapped around her now naked form.
(-)
Naruto continued to laugh like a mad man as he fought with Madara and Yugito. Both were proving to be a hell of a tough opponent together. Madara could read his moves with ease, while Yugito was constantly forcing him back with SMG fire and transparent arms that flew into his own, stopping his, and keeping Madara safe until he could finish whatever it was that he was doing. He told her that he needed time to do something, but he didn't tell her what it was; only that it would stop him. That was enough for her, and she was quick to go on the offensive.
Naruto kicked her in the head, shattering her mask, leaving her with a deep gash on the side of her head as she slammed up against the metal wall, denting it in. She slumped to the ground, punched the metal floor, and threw a transparent arm at him. It slammed into his body, and threw him back. He was thrown into a small metal crate the damaged his armor, and tore his mask off. Crimson red hair blocked his field of vision for his left eye, but right eye was solid red. No ounce of white was left to it.
"You two bastards really suck at this." He growled as he ran at her. Madara continued to chant as his hands flipped through an odd style of motions and signs. He was trying to concentrate, but it was hard for him with all the commotion the two were making.
Yugito slammed a fist into his chest, destroying part of his chest plate, and got a knee to the chest for her actions. Naruto spun flipped backwards in the air, and kicked her in the jaw, sending her flipping backwards onto the ground. She hit the ground, placed a hand out in front of her, and spun around with a leg swipe, taking out his legs, forcing him onto his back. She jumped on top of him, and held him down as best she could. His three-tails waved around angrily before grabbing hold of her by her shoulders, and slinging her away. She gripped his chest plate as hard as she could before he threw her, and she yanked it off, revealing his glowing blue crystal. Instantly, Madara was on the ground, screaming in pain as the crystal began to brighten up.
"Hm, what's this?" Naruto sounded amused before a chunk of metal hit him in the side, sending him flying through crates, a few Sentinels that just went with the blow, and straight into a wall. His body slumped to the ground, but he got up, raised his energy sword, crackling as it came to life, and lunged at Yugito as she ran at him as fast as she could. They met halfway. He tackled her to the ground, raised the energy sword to deliver the killing blow, and an explosion sent them hurtling out a make shift window that revealed a dark pit below.
Naruto fell through the air, twisting and turning until he was set so his feet would touch first. Yugito did the same, and the two came down hard. Naruto used his right hand to help stop his rapid momentum by stabbing his energy katana into the chunks of metal to help him stop. Madara stood up, the pain no longer affecting him. Yugito did the same, but crotched down on all fours to help her stop. When she came to a near stop, she rushed to him, and tackled him into a slab of metal. It dented in, and she punched him in the stomach. Naruto laughed as he doubled over, head butting her in the face, sending her reeling back before kicking her in the stomach to sending her flying backwards. Naruto continued to laugh as plasma bolts sizzled near his body. He turned to find Thel, Rtas, Raul, and Ahiel as they took aim at him. Yugito punched him in the face, getting his attention.
"Damn you to hell, woman!" A tracer round zipped past his head, forcing him to look up at Madara as he gripped his sniper rifle as tightly as he could. Madara was in the middle of reloading when a shadow appeared behind him. Naruto grinned as he tore the crystal from his neck and threw it at him. Madara got hit in the side, and went down screaming as more shadows began to appear. With the current threat neutralized, Naruto went back to fighting with Yugito.
(-)
Hinata listened to the fighting that was going outside with fear in her eyes. When she pulled the blanket closer to her body, she heard something slam up against the metal door. Her first thought was that they were trying to get into the place, but that was quickly put aside when the banging stopped and was replaced by another explosion, this one sounding just a bit further away. Then all was quiet. Hinata stared at the door, trying to understand what was going on. A hiss of gasses soon sounded, followed by a loud cry of pain. After that, it was quiet again.
(-)
Naruto punched Yugito in the face, sending her on her back. He quickly jumped on top of her, drawing his energy sword with a psychotic grin, and prepared to stab her in the chest. Yugito howled in pain as blood poured from her mouth. Naruto thrust the blade towards her, and froze with it just inches away from her chest. He was trying hard to stab her, but his body wouldn't move. "You're demon friend will perish soon enough." Naruto's head jerked up, his eyes focusing on something in the distance. Seven Jiralhanae stood around in an armory room that he quickly recognized.
Yugito punched him in the chest, getting him off of her, and then made a break for the cover of the structure. "This is Spartan G-207, requesting immediate pickup! My coordinates are…" An explosion stuck the ground behind her, and she was sent head over heels into a structure. A green mass of flesh was in front of her, tentacle like arms, an SMG in one hand, and a metal stick in the other. It was a human turned Flood. She raised her SMG, only to find she didn't have one. A plasma bolt melted it, and she looked over to find Madara with a plasma rifle. His side was bleeding badly.
"Come on! We need to get away from the demons!" He grabbed her hand, and began running through the foggy corridors. "I know a place that we might be safe for the time being! I need to rest! Whatever Kyuubi did to me hurt my chakra network!" She didn't understand what he was talking about, and for the time being, really didn't care. So long as they could get to safety, she'd be happy as anyone could be.
(-)
Thel approached him, holding his rifle up, ready to shot him he went berserk again. When he got up to him, he rolled Naruto over, and saw his tears. Something was wrong with him. His eyes were glazed over like he was dead, but he was breathing erratically. He seemed to be looking through him towards something. Rtas and the other Sangheili approached him, unsure of what to make of the situation. "Naruto is no demon. He is a proud Sangheili warrior. I curse only his human body for its form. At his current strength, he is everything but a demon. He is… he is… my son." Naruto felt a stab in his heart as something passed through it. He blinked, and found Thel standing over him, his eyes blinking.
"He's gone." Darkness took him.
A Phantom appeared overhead, and Rtas motioned for the new Sangheili warriors to take Naruto back to High Charity as Thel approached him again. As the Phantom flew away, Thel explained that he had come to retrieve the sacred Icon that was critical for the Great Journey. The Sangheili around him all nodded approvingly. Rtas felt power flow through him. The Great Journey was close. He would live long enough to see it indeed. "We shall cut into the heart of this infestation. Retrieve the Icon. And burn any Flood that stands in our way." A collection of roars from the Sangheili all signaled that they were ready to fight. "The Flood is not to be trifled with. I hope you know what you're doing." Thel nodded while taking a deep breath.