Disclaimer: I own nothing except my characters. Other canon characters are owned by their respective companies.

Exclaimer: To people who don't like the story, just don't read it.

Author's Notes: Since I literally changed the plot line of Halo when I exiled Thel and Rtas, don't be surprised when things go...odd and out of storyline because that's how this story progresses.

Chapter 11

Rtas walked down the halls off Cairo. He had just woken up from sleep after their battle plans with Lord Hood. The plan was quite simple, go to Delta Halo because that's where High Charity is. Once they got there…well….They haven't thought about that part yet. But they really did need to go to Delta Halo since Miranda has requested some back up.

They were supposed to go in a few hours and Thel was coming with them; along with a few other marines. He strode down the hall with no worry since Lord Hood had already declared to the marines that he was an ally. But that didn't stop him from looking over his shoulder once in a while.

He turned around the corner and bumped into two marines.
"I'm sorry." he said.

"We're sorry too…wait your Rtas right? Thel's friend?" asked Rick.

"Yes, I am. Have you seen him?" asked Rtas.

"No, we're actually looking for him as well as Rachelle. We were supposed to get suited up for the mission on Delta Halo." said Jaime.

"Let's look for them together." suggested Rtas.

"Ok, I'm Rick by the way and this is Jaime." said Rick.

"Nice to meet you, where do you propose we should look?" asked Rtas.

"Hmm…Rachelle might be in her quarters, lets check it out, with luck we may find Thel." suggested Jaime.

"Lead the way." said Rtas.

The trio went down the halls of Cairo headed for Rachelle's dorm. Along the way Jaime, Rick and Rtas chatted. Jaime asked,

"What happen to your… um…Mandibles?" he asked. Rtas sighed.

"I lost it, when I fought a friend on a mission." said Rtas darkly.

"That must've been hard to fight him?" asked Rick.

"Yes, it truly was. He was a very close friend, kinda like Thel." answered Rtas. Jaime nodded then asked,

"Why do you have white armor?" then Rick added,

"Yeah, because I know that blues are minors, reds are majors while the yellow ones are the commanders. What are you supposed to be?" Rtas looked at him and said,

"I am…was the Spec Ops Commander of the Covenant; a special branch that deals with suicidal missions. We're the equivalent of your Spartan, in a sense." answered Rtas.

"Wow, you must be really good then?" asked Jaime.

"I am, I have to be." said Rtas humbly.

"True, true." said Rick.

* * * * *

Rachelle woke up as her internal body clocked alarmed. It was around 7:00PM already. She rubbed her eyes and heard something snoring. She jumped down the bed and looked at the bottom bunk. There he saw Thel snoring lightly, as he was still asleep. She watched him sleep peacefully. He looked so nice when he was asleep.

She sat next to him and admired the sleeping Sangheili. She smiled as she looked at the flower that was placed on the table. Thel had given it to him yesterday when they were at the park…. Thel. Each time she thinks about him, she feels somewhat fuzzy and warm. She didn't understand what it was but she liked the feeling and wish it wouldn't go away.

She placed her hand on his face and stroked him gently. This prompted the Sangheili to release a faint purr as he liked the feeling. Then that's when Thel's eyes snapped wide open. Rachelle was literally surprised at Thel's speed. He moved in fluidly and was a blur. Before Rachelle could understand what happen, Thel had placed her in a headlock. His body pressed her neck to his hands.

She didn't move as the Sangheili, slowly loosened the headlock.
"I'm so sorry, Rachelle. Did I hurt you?" he asked concerned.

"No, I'm ok." answered Rachelle.

* * * * *

They turned around the hallway and ended up at the hallway where Rachelle's quarters were. Jaime knocked on the door.
"Rachelle, are you in there? Open up." then he knocked. The three waited for a few moments but no one opened the door.

"Maybe Rachelle's not there?" asked Rtas.

"Hmm… That's odd." stated Rick.

"Rachelle goes missing…" said Jaime. Then a realization struck him. What if they were…? A mischievous smile came upon his face. It was possible. Maybe they were hiding something from the rest of them. Something secret, this theory was possible because yesterday he found them in a….intimate position. His smile turned to a grin when the possibilities opened up. Rick noticed his grin and asked,

"Why are you smiling?" he asked. Jaime shook his head.

"Oh…No reason." he replied.

"Maybe we should look somewhere else?" asked Rtas. Rick was about to suggest something when Jaime knocked again.

"I know you're in there! Open up!" he looked up as the door opened. Everyone was surprised to see Thel standing there, rubbing his eyes and asked groggily,

"What is it?"

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two parties. Thel stared at them and they stared back. And then Rtas broke the ice.

"This is Rachelle's quarters, right?" he asked to Rick.

"Yes it is. Thel what are you doing in there?" he asked. Thel looked at him and said,

"I slept here." he answered.
"You slept there…" said Jaime. Then he grinned. Rick ignored him and asked,

"Where's Rachelle?" Thel gestured to his back and said,

"At the bathroom." Rtas nodded.

"Thel, do you have armor with you?" he asked. Thel shook his head,

"I was exiled remember?" said Thel. Rtas sighed, how was he to fight if he didn't have any armor of any sort?

"We can fix that." said Jaime. Thel looked at him,

"How?" he asked.

"You'll see. Meet me later at the armory." then he strode of walking. Then Rachelle came up behind Thel.

"Were you looking for me?" asked Rachelle.

"Yes. We're assigned a new mission." said Rick.

"We're going to Delta Halo, to assist in the fight. We're also going to storm High Charity." said Rtas.

"What? High Charity, how?" Thel asked.

"We haven't figured out that part yet, were hoping when we get there we would've though of something." said Rtas with a smile.

"Great, my favorite type of plan, the one where we make it up as we go; why are we going to storm High Charity anyway?" asked Thel. Rtas smiled maliciously.

"To assassinate the prophets and open the eyes of our fellow species." he answered.

"Daunting task is it not?" mumbled Thel.

"Anything's possible." said Rachelle.

"You should get ready, we'll be leaving in a few hours." said Rtas.

"I think we should go visit Jaime and see what he's doing in the armory." said Rick.

"Ok." said Thel.

"I'm going to talk to Lord Hood and asked a few parts of our plan. See you later." said Rtas and he walked down the hall.

The three went to down the halls of Cairo and headed down to the armory. Thel was curios with what Jaime was doing. He had a feeling it had something to do with his armor problem. The door slid opened and they saw Jaime standing before something. It was hanged on a stand.

Thel saw a set of Sangheili armor only it was the same tan as a Marines armor, UNSC was stenciled in big bold black letters on the front and back. Jaime turned around and smiled at them.

"You like it?" he asked. Thel nodded.

"Where did you get it?" he asked.

"When we threw away the bodies of the dead elites off Cairo, we took a few of their armor sets to study them. When you said you didn't have any armor, I went to the armory and asked for a set. I painted them to mark you as an ally." explained Jaime. Thel approached it and took the helmet. It wasn't like his old Supreme Commander armor but it would do.

"Does it have shields?" he asked.

"Yes, it does." answered Jaime.

"Wait for me here, I'll put it on." said Thel.

After a few moments of clasping the armor to his body, he donned the helmet. Oh how he miss the feeling of wearing armor again. He felt like he was a soldier again…a soldier fighting this time on the right side of the war. The HUD turned on and he could see that his shields were 100%.

"It suits you well." said Rachelle at him.

"Thank you." replied Thel. Then the door hissed open and Rtas strode in. He paused as he saw the Sangheili in front of him.

"Thel?" he asked. Thel waved at him.
"Wow… that's…different." he said.

"I'm glad you like It." replied Thel.

"I came here to tell you that we are to leave in less than 15 minutes. Armed yourselves up and follow me to the docking bay. Where is your weapons cache?" he asked.

"Over here." said Jaime.

The five started to get themselves some weapons and ammo. Rick and Jaime took a battle rifle, a pistol and a few grenades. Rachelle dual wielded two SMGs while Rtas and Thel grabbed an energy sword and a plasma rifle. The five of them exited and headed to the docking bay. Within moments a ship exited Cairo Station and entered slip space, on board was Thel, Rtas, Rick, Jaime, Rachelle, Dustin Eckowes (commander of the ship) and marines, whom were headed to Delta Halo to act as reinforcements.

* * * * *

Suspended in the air above a great chasm was the Index, wrapped in its sheath. Miranda thought of how to reach the Index and saw a Flood tentacle hanging from the top of a wrecked Enforcer. She grabbed the leathery tentacle and took in a breath to steel her nerves. She hung off the ledge over the deadly chasm and reached for the Index. As her hand came within inches of the sheath the machine whirred and clicked open. He grabbed the precious artifact and said,

"Gotcha." in triumph. She gasped as the tentacle started to slip. She was just about to plummet to her death in the pit but someone grabbed the tentacle at the last minute. She looked up to see Johnson struggling to pull her up.

"You know, your father never asked me for help either." he grunted as she grabbed her free hand and pulled her onto solid ground.

"The Index is secure." she said to him.

"I'll call the guys." He switched on his comlink.

"McKenzie, Perez, how's our exit?" he asked. There was no response.

"You hear me, Marines!?" shouted Johnson. Still not answer. He shouldered his BR55 and said to Miranda,

"We got trouble." Miranda readied her double M7s.

Then a figure then rushed to Johnson.

"Damn!" he shouted firing a burst, hitting the Colde's shields. He faded into view but ripped Johnson's BR55 from his arms and lifted him in the air. Colde glared into Johnson's face and Johnson did back.

"How ya doin'?" asked Johnson mockingly. Colde growled under his breath and head butted Johnson, knocking him unconscious too.

"Stay down!" yelled Miranda as she let loose with her M7s. They pelted the Commander's shields and made them over charge. Colde grunted as a round hit his hip and he dashed for cover. Miranda stood, looking for the enemy.

"Johnson!" called Miranda. He made no reply. Then Colde leaped from the wreckage, Miranda gasped and turned to fire her M7s but Colde swatted them out of her hands. She was about to react when she was shock waved. Miranda was pulled backward like a rag doll and landed flatly on Tartarus' shoulder.

"Excellent work, Commander; The Hierarchs will be pleased." said Tartarus. Colde had a hand resting on his torso where he had been shot by Miranda.

"The Icon...is my responsibility."

"Was your responsibility; now it is mine." Two Brutes surrounded Colde. Colde looked left and right to the two brutes that were approaching him.

"A bloody fate awaits you and the rest of your incompetent race." Tartarus readied the Fist of Rukt "And I, Tartarus, Chieftain of the Brutes will send you to it."

"When the Prophets learn of this, they will take your head." Colde said to him.

"When they learn?" repeated Tartarus before chuckling wryly. "Fool, they ordered me to do it." Colde reared his head back in horror. Then with a pulse of his gravity hammer, he pushed him off the ledge to fall to their deaths. He blacked out as he fell and wondered if he had died.

* * * * *

The Chief opened his eyes slowly. He blinked a few times and realized something was holding him aloft. He looked at his arms and saw he was wrapped in tentacles. He struggled but the tentacles only tightened their grip, basically a warning for him not to struggle. He understood and did so. He stared as they were lifted up to a massive creatures face.

"What...is that?" asked Cortana in disgust. To the Chief's surprise the creature spoke in a guttural voice.

"I? I am a monument of all your sins." it told them. As the Flood creature spoke he breathed out vapors found in Flood infestations then the Chief could hear someone struggling. The Flood creature brought down a Sangheili struggling from his grasps.

"Relax." said the Chief to Colde who paused and looked at him. "I'd rather not piss this thing off." he said jerking his helmet in the creature's direction.

"Demon." growled Colde staring daggers at Spartan-117. The creature huffed and regarded the Master Chief.

"This one is machine and nerve, and has its mind concluded." the creature wrapped a tentacle around the Chief's helmeted head. Then indicated Colde,

"This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded."

"Kill me or release me, parasite. But do not waste my time with talk." said Colde. The creature replied,

"There is much talk. And I have listened. Through rock, and metal, and time. Now I shall talk, and you shall listen." He lifted two tentacles, one wrapped around a red Monitor, the other merged with the half-flood torso of the Prophet of Regret. The Chief remembered sticking the grenade to his leg. Somehow the torso came out unscathed. The Monitor immediately laid out pleasantries, like all the machines did,

"Greetings. I am 2401 Penitent Tangent. I am the Monitor of Installation 05." Then Regret spoke in a raspy hoarse voice, as if struggling.

"And I am the Prophet of Regret, Councilor most high, Hierarchy of the Covenant!" the Monitor spotted the Master Chief and said in delight,

"A Reclaimer? Here? At last! We have much to do. This facility must be activated if we are to control this outbreak."

"Stay where you are! Nothing can be done until my sermon is complete!" the Prophet yelled angrily.

"Not true. This installation has a successful utilization record of 1.2 trillion simulated and one actual. It is ready to fire on demand." the Monitor explained.

"Of all the objects our Lords left behind, there are none so worthless as these Oracles! They know nothing of the Great Journey!" Regret shouted angrily.

"And you know nothing about containment! You have demonstrated a complete disregard to even the most basic protocols!" the Monitor shouted back. The Flood creature interrupted the bickering Prophet and Monitor,

"This one's containment..." it gave a disgusted huff while lifting the Monitor up slightly. Then he lifted Regret up slightly "And this one's Great Journey are the same." He then lowered both tentacles out of sight, the torso of Regret shrieking in fear and agony. The monster regarded Colde who continued pulling at the tentacles.

"Your Prophets have promised you freedom from a doomed existence, but you will find no salvation on this ring. Those who built this place knew what they wrought. Do not mistake their intent, or all will perish as they did before..."

"This thing is right." The Master Chief said to him who looked at him. "Halo is a weapon. The Prophets are making a big mistake."

"Your ignorance already destroyed one of the sacred rings, Demon. It shall not harm another." Colde growled.

"Bring back the monitor, please." requested the Master Chief the creature chuckled in amusement.

"As you wish, enlightened one." he brought up the Monitor.

"What is the purpose of Halo, 2401 Penitent Tangent?" asked the Master Chief..

"Halo's purpose is to rid the Flood of the galaxy, by terminating all life in the galaxy capable of sustaining the parasite. This Installation has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand light years, but once the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life." Colde was shocked into silence.

"Understand?" asked the Master Chief..

"By the Gods." whispered Colde. "I am such a fool."

"There is still time to stop the key from turning, but first it must be found." the creature said, everyone paying attention to it again. He lifted up the Master Chief,

"You will search one likely spot," he then lifted Colde. "And you will search another. Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us brothers!" the creature exclaimed. The Master Chief and Colde disappeared in teleportation rings.

Please take some time to R&R.