Feet First!

by Roadkill1992

A Halo/Freezing crossover independent of existing characters from either side. A malfunctioning Shaw-Fujikawa Translight drive sends the Ace of Spades, a Pheonix-class colony ship refit for wartime duties, to an alternate Earth. Here, humanity once again finds themselves at odds with aliens although the situation is very, very different from what the UNSC is used to.

21. Chapter 21

(A/N: Sorry for the delay my lovelies! I've been working an insane amount of hours and haven't had time to so much as scratch behind my ears, let alone write a chapter that I would be willing to publish. Plus this chapter gave me hell, since I don't like altering canon events and since I'm not 100% sure I get everything that's going on in the Busters arc. But oh well, here's 21. Enjoy!)

West Genetics Academy…

Kazyua Aoi clenched his gun with a white-knuckle grip. The young Limiter had his back against a section of what had been the wall of the cafeteria, using it for cover. Most of the wall had been blown away by the enemy. Even now a beam of light tore through the air, ripping more of the building away in its passing. He didn't have to look to know where that blast had come from, nor did he have to touch it to know how dangerous it was.

Popping back out of cover, Kazuya let loose a few rounds from his pistol. His only reward was another beam fired in his direction, forcing him back into cover. He could feel bits of white-hot brick showering him as the enemy's shot hit another section of wall opposite him. He checked his gun's load, six rounds left. If this fight kept up for very much longer he'd run out entirely, and then he'd be in deep trouble…

A figure exploded from its own cover nearby, a red-tinted MA5B rifle up and firing as the figure ran. Gabe was running right for the enemy, moving from cover to cover in an attempt to get close enough that his plasma sword might be effective. There was an occasional flash as his Volt Barrier blocked incoming enemy fire. Kazuya, seeing the opportunity before him, left his cover and began moving up with Gabriel. The added firepower didn't faze the enemy, however. Their target simply took aim on Kazuya and fired once more. There wasn't much of a chance for the Limiter to dodge this one.

Gabe threw himself in the path of the beam, having realized the danger Kazuya was in. His plan was for his barrier to take the hit, but unfortunately that would not come to pass. The beam broke through Gabe's defense and caught the trooper square in the chest. The force of the hit blew Gabe back into the wall Kazuya had used for cover just as Kazuya himself ducked behind a planter box. The young Limiter stared, horrified, at the ragged crater that had been blown in Gabe's chest. Kazuya could even see the ODST's heart beating away, dangling from the excavated chest cavity by the attached arteries…

West Genetics Academy, faculty building, 24 hours previously…

When powerful individuals gather in a common area, it gives that area a certain atmosphere. It's a feeling of immense power, as if someone decided to turn the area into a gigantic fluorescent light bulb. That was the atmosphere in Sister Margaret's office that evening.

Sister Margaret herself sat behind her desk, feeling just a touch uneasy. The older Pandora found herself in rather unsettling company this evening. Sitting at one of the chairs in front of her desk was a tall, handsome man in an expensive suit. This man was Howard el Bridget, the head of one of the most wealthy and politically powerful families in the world. This man had the ear of the head of the Chevalier organization itself as well as being on first-name terms with the inventor of the Pandora system.

Standing near the corner of the desk was a woman in a UNSC officer's jumpsuit with a large-caliber revolver on her hip and her arms crossed over her chest. Admiral Lucia Hartman was not happy to be in this place. She'd been called away from supervising her ship to have a 'meeting' with the other two individuals in the room. Jeremy-049 and Jorge-052 stood on either side of her in their full MJOLNIR armor, both heavily armed and highly imposing. Their presence was partially due to a need to protect the commanding officer of the UNSC forces, but it was also intended to send a very clear message to anyone who might be thinking about trying to interfere with the UNSC.

"So," Margaret said slightly nervously. "Thank you for joining us, Admiral. As you know, Mister el Bridget has a few concerns about the conduct of some of your men in relation to his son. I'm sure you can understand.."

"I understand that the son in question is a spoiled little shit and a fifty-one-fifty," Hartman said shortly. "And I understand that he picked a fight he couldn't win then went crying to Daddy when he got what was coming to him." Howard gave the admiral a cold, appraising look.

"So this is the leader of the United Nations Space Command forces," he said in a level tone. "It is entirely unsurprising that those soldiers are out of control."

"My men are entirely in control," Hartman growled. "It's your little brat that keeps picking fights with special-forces soldiers with years of experience under their belts. Getting his ass handed to him seems like a fair consequence to me."

"And so the humiliation and harassment of my son is a 'fair consequence' in your book?" Howard asked.

"I'll admit that Echo Company went overboard in their retaliation against your boy in the aftermath of the Covenant assault," Hartman said. "But the facts are clear here. He was assaulting a Pandora and another member of Echo who was already wounded in battle, causing severe injury and putting the soldier's life at risk. Had Echo not intervened he might have killed Corporal Carson. At that point he had shown himself as an enemy and faced the consequences as such." She shrugged. "Honestly, I would have shot him on the spot. In any other situation the rest of my men would have probably followed suit. However, after that battle they were in no condition to face the loss of even more human lives so they settled for giving your son plenty of reason to avoid them in the future."

"And what about the unprovoked assault against Luis by that other ODST just yesterday? What was his name… Kinkaid?"

In response to this, Hartman set a datapad on the table in front of him. "See for yourself," she said. Howard took the device and touched the play button in the center of the screen. Immediately the pad began playing the recording captured from Corporal Kinkaid's helmet camera. Howard watched his son charge the ODST, threatening to kill him. He watched from the soldier's point of view as the older soldier pummeled the younger Limiter then walked away. Finally he handed the device back to Hartman, shaking his head.

"I don't like this one bit," Howard said. "It's ridiculous that I have to sort out truth from lies in my own son's words, but I accept that your soldiers are more innocent than I believed. I would like to speak to them and hear their stories firsthand. I would also like to speak to Miss Rose, if that is possible."

Hartman nodded. "Glad you're not as narrow-minded as I thought you'd be. I'll have a 'Hog take you down to Alpha Base to see them." She turned to Margaret. "Now, is that all you needed? I need to return to my ship."

Margaret nodded. "Yes, that is all. However, I do have an invitation for you."

Hartman's eyebrow rose. "An invitation?"

"Yes. We are having a bit of a formal party here at West Genetics, just something to help our Pandoras and Limiters unwind. We would be honored if you could attend as well, Admiral." Margaret's smile fell as the Admiral gave her response to this invitation: laughter.

"A party, you say?" Hartman said as she made for the door, SPARTAN-IIs in tow. "What the hell makes you think I have any interest in slacking off, Sister? I'm an officer whose crew needs her. I have no time for parties."

Howard watched as the admiral left. "What a woman," he muttered as she exited the room.

UNSC Alpha Base…

At the same time, in one of the barracks buildings of Alpha Base, Holly Rose was addressing the members of her squad with a problem.

"You heard about Kinkaid, didn't you?" she asked. "How Luis attacked him?"

"Yeah," Davis said. "I also heard Pinpoint gave him a hell of a beat-down."

Holly shook her head at this. "So he got roughed up a bit. So what? It isn't as if he learns from these actions." She looked around at her comrades, pausing for effect. "I think we should teach him a lesson he'll never forget."

Carson, who had been laying back on his bunk, sat up at this. "What do you have in mind?" he asked cautiously.

At this Holly sat down on an open bunk, sighing heavily. "I don't," she said. "I just.. want to get one in on him. I hate always being on the receiving end of his wrath, or worse seeing my friends in that position. I know he can't harm you physically but his father is very powerful. If he wants to he can play that card."

"So you want to hit him with a preemptive strike to make him leave us alone." Davis contemplated this for a moment. "Could we stage an attempt on his life?"

"Too risky," Holly said. "It'd make us out to be the monsters he claims we are."

"So… why don't we hit him where it hurts?" Carson asked with a devilish glint in his eyes. "He's got to have a weakness. If we can find that crack in his armor we can crush down on it."

"What about that sister he's so hot for?" Rex asked, barely glancing up from the adult magazine he was reading. "Can't we use that against him?"

"That ain't bad," Carson said. "Think about it. These rich fuckers have that whole family pride thing going on. They think they're royalty and so they spend their entire lives trying to be flawless. So when something shameful comes to light they get vicious. If we expose him and his dirty ways it'd bring shame on his whole damn family. They'd come down on him like a ton of bricks."

Holly's eyes lit up at her friend's words. "That's perfect!" she said excitedly. "That's how we'll get him! If we prove what he is his family will take care of the rest. And on top of that his plans will come crashing down around his ears. His whole world will fall apart and he'll have nobody to blame but himself!"

Davis and the other considered the idea. "How do we prove it?" Davis asked. "It's our word against his. Even if you were his partner, it's still a matter of he says, she says."

"Not necessarily," Carson said. "Holly, remember how you found out he was still a creep? What if we got ahold of that diary of his?"

Holly nodded. "Yes, that would work. But we'd have to get it… I'm sure he keeps it close to himself, especially after what happened between myself and him."

"Then we steal it," Carson said. "I heard the WesGen facility was having a party tomorrow night. While he's occupied with his lovely sister, we'll sneak into his room and steal the diary."

"A mission to steal a kid's diary from a highschool dorm," Rex grumbled. "Looks like we've hit rock bottom, Sarge."

"No," Davis replied, standing up. He placed a hand on Holly's shoulder and looked at the rest of his men. "We're looking after one of our own. When it comes to protecting a fellow Helljumper, nothing is too low."

At that moment the door of the barracks opened and two men entered. One was a senior UNSC officer, a Major Branson. The other was a tall, handsome blond man Holly recognized instantly: Howard el Bridget.

"Davis, y'all got a visitor," Branson said in a thick Southern accent. "He wanted to speak to you and your boys on your turf. Something about seeming non-hostile." The major stepped back and let the other man approach. He took up a position near the door just in case things went south during the conversation. Howard approached the ODST squad, his eyes going to each of them before settling on Davis.

"Good evening, lady and gentlemen," Howard said politely. "I am Howard el Bridget, the father of Luis el Bridget. It has come to my attention that there has been some… unpleasantness between yourselves and my son."

"You mean the little shit trying to kill two of my men and harassing a third?" Davis said aggressively. "Damn right there's been 'unpleasantness.'"

Howard held up his hands, trying to calm the ODST. "I didn't come here to accuse you or any of your subordinates," he said. "I simply want to know what happened."

"Sir, permission to speak?" Carson asked.

"Go for it, Rack-Em," Davis said. "Tell the man what he wants to know."

Carson told the man everything, starting with the night he'd met Holly Rose. He retold the story of their fight together during the Covenant attack, how he'd been wounded in battle and Holly had saved him. He told how Luis had attacked him and Holly. He covered everything that had happened involving Luis and the ODSTs, right up to the attack against Corporal Kinkaid. He didn't talk about Holly's discovery, however. He felt that it was her personal business and it was up to her whether or not to say anything. Several times Howard paused him to ask questions of him and the others, always in that same polite manner. When Carson was finished the older man took a moment to process everything he'd heard.

"I see," he finally said. "Thank you very much. I think I have a better idea of what has been going on."

"So you're not going to try and nail our asses to the wall?" Rex asked over the top of his dirty magazine.

"No, I am not," Howard replied. "I don't agree with your methods, but I understand your point of view. If I was in your shoes, I could see myself doing something drastic as well. I will stand aside, but I ask that you not cause any direct altercations with my son. I won't deny you the right to defend yourselves, but I would prefer this matter to be dealt with within the family." His eyes met Holly's for a moment before he turned away and made for the door. "Thank you for your time, soldiers. And keep up the good work out there." And with that he left.

"You think he knows?" Davis asked no one in particular once Howard and the major were gone.

"Yes," Holly said quietly, her lips curling into a smile. "And I think he just gave his permission to do it."

West Genetics Academy, twelve hours before the attack…

The smell of food flooded Alexis's nostrils as she entered the cafeteria. It was early in the morning but breakfast was already being set out for the few early-rising students that had gathered here. One of those students was Gabriel. Alexis smiled and made her way towards the ODST, who had woken up earlier than her and decided he wanted food. Alexis intended to sit with him, but as she approached she suddenly realized that he wasn't alone. Two massive armored figures and a beautiful woman with dark hair were sitting near the trooper. Two of the people were familiar sights to Alexis: the SPARTAN leader Jeremy-049 and the Legendary Pandora that seemed to follow him everywhere, Teslad. The other person in armor wasn't one she'd seen before, but since his armor wasn't green she knew it had to be the newest SPARTAN, Jorge-052. The two SPARTANs were in their armor and had their helmets resting on the table next to their plates, which were both piled high with food. The two SPARTANs and the ODST were engaged in a lively conversation, although Jorge seemed to be listening more than anything else. Teslad was watching the three of them with the same expressionless look she always wore.

"… so I ran up that freaky blade tentacle thingy and shoved a frag in its gullet," Gabe was saying. "Problem is, I got caught on its armor and couldn't get free. When the grenade popped it turned that things core into a bigass fragmentation bomb and I got twenty-someodd chunks of it in my body."

"And they just turned into those… stigmata things?" Jorge asked. The SPARTAN seemed doubtful.

"Not right away. I started having nightmares and shit. It wasn't until Alexis tried to baptize me as her Limiter that they turned into stigmata." Gabe pulled off the black ODST t-shirt he wore and turned around on his chair, presenting his back to the SPARTAN-II. "These freaky-ass things just kinda busted out of me apparently. Scared poor Alexis shitless."

"I thought I had turned you into some sort of Nova," Alexis said, taking a seat next to the trooper as Jorge examined the stigmata on his back. The other SPARTAN's eyes went to her, narrowing slightly. It wasn't much of a gesture but it still made Alexis's blood freeze over. The man was terrifying even if he didn't try to be.

"Hey!" Gabe said happily. He pulled his shirt back on then turned back around to face Jorge. "SPARTAN, this is Alexis Tannar, my partner. Alexis, this is Chief Warrant Officer Jorge oh-five-two. He's the guy we rescued on that Covie ship the other day."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Alexis said in a friendly manner to the supersoldier, who nodded but didn't say anything to her. Instead he looked back at Gabe and spoke to his fellow UNSC soldier.

"So now you're a Pandora as well?" he asked.

"Yeah," Gabe said. "I've got a couple new tricks up my sleeve and I'm slowly getting better at that whole high-speed combat thing the Pandoras do. I can defend with a Volt Texture-based shield and I can attack with a Volt Weapon like the Pandoras do. Apparently ranged weapons are extremely rare for Pandoras, so that's cool. Oh, and I can't do the whole counter-Freezing bit like the Limiters but I can cancel out a Freezing's effect on my own body. It works on Alexis too if we engage the Erienbar Set."

"Erienbar Set?" Jorge asked.

"It's something they do around here," Gabe said. "A Pandora and a Limiter pair up and do this crazy mind-melding shit where they share eachother's senses. It's a rush, lemme tell ya."

"And all of this is to fight giant aliens?" Jorge asked. "Sounds a bit extravagant to me. Why not just use armor and heavy weapons?"

"Conventional weapons are useless against the Nova," Alexis explained. "Bullets and missiles just get blocked. The only things that have worked so far are Pandoras and a few of your heavier weapons."

"Splazers are nice," Gabe chimed in around a mouthful of bacon. "Apparently they found an old Cobra on the Ace and that worked pretty well too. Oh, and the MAC guns do the job nicely."

"I see. So in lieu of heavies you put gen-tech highschoolers on the front lines with melee weapons." Jorge shook his head and focused on his food. It was clear that the SPARTAN thought these people were ridiculous… although in a way he understood them. He was a SPARTAN-II after all, and he'd heard of the hundreds of orphans conscripted into the SPARTAN-III program and pretty much used as a suicide squad. They weren't too different from the Chevalier if one thought about it that way.

Alexis bit her lip when she heard the supersolider's comment. Sure, it was a risky business, but this was how things were done. Pandoras and Limiters were the only thing that had ever worked against the Nova, so their options were either Pandoras or death. Before she could respond, however, she caught a familiar shape sitting down near her.

"Alexis!" Charlotte said as she set her plate down next to her fellow Pandora. "Did you hear the news about tonight?"

"What news?" Alexis asked. Gabe looked up from beside her, eyebrows raised.

"They're having a party tonight! All Genetics students are invited." She pulled out her phone and began pulling open images of various dresses. "We can set our Volt Textures for things like this rather than our usual uniforms!"

"So it's a formal occasion?" Alexis leaned over her comrade's shoulder, looking down at the dresses. She tried to imagine herself in one, dancing with a tuxedo-wearing Gabriel. Would she be able to get him into one? She'd never seen him in anything except his military gear or, once, his school uniform… would he be comfortable in it? The image in her mind shifted to herself in a fancy dress dancing with Gabriel in full ODST armor.

"Yeah, I'm going to use this dress here," Charlotte said, showing her another image. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful!" Alexis said, looking at the image. It wasn't hard to imagine the brunette in the depicted dress.

Gabe shook his head and went back to his plate, leaving the girls to their party talk. Jorge leaned towards him, eyeing the two females. "Are they always doing things like this?" he asked.

"Apparently so," Gabe muttered. "They have parties like this every now and then to let the Pandoras and Limiters unwind when shit's gone too far sideways."

"I see…" Jorge said, returning to his own plate. Gabe began thinking over the concept. Would he have to wear something formal as well? It had been a long time since he'd dressed up. The last time, in fact, would have been when he'd received a medal two years previously, when he'd worn the old UNSC Marine Corps dress whites. It was the only time a medal had actually been ceremonially presented to him. All the ones before then and afterwards had all been given to him in the brief lull between battles. In fact, he'd never actually worn his ODST dress uniform for any reason besides making sure it still fit. He was a soldier so he couldn't be caught dead out of uniform, but he was debating whether or not the uniform would be proper for the party.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone else at the table, someone else was considering the party as well. Jeremy-049 shot a glance towards Teslad, who had taken an interest in her plate and was poking at her biscuits for some reason before eating them. Would she want to go with him? Or at all? And what would he wear to such an occasion? In twenty-seven years, the SPARTAN had worn something other than his armor exactly twice: once wearing a hospital gown just before being fitted for the MJOLNIR MkV, and once during a meeting with Doctor Halsey herself just prior to the Covenant attack on Reach. Of course he'd worn other things to sleep or while cleaning his armor, but he'd pretty much lived in the MJOLNIR MkIV and MkV for nearly three decades. He didn't have a dress uniform, nor had he worn civilian clothes since being conscripted into the SPARTAN-II program.

And then there was dancing. How the hell did once dance? He had been taught martial arts, firearms, vehicle operation and maintenance, heavy weapons, explosives, computer technology, battlefield strategies, and thousands of other things, but never once had there been an occasion for a SPARTAN-II to dance. He would probably make a fool of himself if he tried, although he was fairly certain he could pick up the art after a few moments of watching the Pandoras and Limiters do it.

"What's on your mind?" Jorge asked, noticing the way the other SPARTAN seemed to be deeply contemplating something.

"Nothing," Jeremy lied. "Just running through contingencies." Jorge went back to his plate at that point but it was clear that he was unconvinced. SPARTAN-IIs knew eachother every bit as well as they knew eachother, and while anyone else would have been fooled Jorge knew when his comrades were lying.

UNSC Ace of Spades, five hours before the attack…

The Ace of Spades was alive with activity as always. In the short time they'd had the Covenant corvette Ardent Prayer they'd been able to scavenge parts from it to repair their engines, weapons, and restock their armories with fresh Covenant weapons alongside the usual UNSC tech. Hartman herself was rather pleased. This was the first time in the war that the UNSC had completely captured a Covenant vessel. Sure, the Ardent Prayer had been hijacked once before and used to destroy a Covenant supercarrier over Reach, but this was the first time humans owned an enemy ship. It was quite an achievement, and it had given the UNSC forces an unprecedented morale boost.

Hartman herself stood in the engine room, watching a massive Covenant-made plasma converter being lowered into place next to one of the ship's engines. She wasn't exactly sure just what the engineers were planning to do with the device, but she trusted her men and their abilities enough to let them do their jobs unhindered. Apparently that trust was paying off as well. The ship was now nearly ready to fly within the atmosphere again, although in their present condition breaking orbit would be impossible. Even if they repaired the engines enough to break orbit their hull would never hold under the negative pressure. Slipspace was also out of the question, as their drive was completely fried and they hadn't figured out a way to repair it or replace it with the Covenant drive.

As Hartman watched she heard the soft sound of footsteps behind here. The person walking was obviously used to walking silently, but Hartman hadn't survived the Insurrection and the Human-Covenant War by being unaware. She turned around to see the Chevalier defector, Maya, approaching.

"Admiral," the woman said in her usual monotone voice. "There's something I need to ask you about."

"And what might that be?" Hartman asked, her hand resting on her hip just above the butt of her revolver. She had allowed the woman to join their cause, but she certainly didn't trust her. Everywhere she went, Maya was constantly being monitored by Lodestone via the ship's security cameras.

"I received some information from a contact of mine," Maya said. "I want to go to the United States tonight to confirm the information."

"Like hell," Hartman replied. "I'm still not convinced you're on our side. For all we know, you could be trying to get away to pass some more stolen intel to your superiors."

"I figured as much," Maya said. "Therefore, I'm asking that you send one of your soldiers with me. Perhaps an ODST? Or a SPARTAN?"

"So you want me to send one of my men out there, possibly into enemy hands, based on your word?" Hartman shook her head. "Forget it."

"Then send an entire army for all I care!" Maya said, her voice rising slightly. "I have to confirm what I learned!"

"And just what did you learn?" Hartman asked, her own temper rising as well.

Maya took a breath to calm herself before speaking. "I have reason to believe that the Chevalier organization has undergone a coup. My contact tells me that someone within the organization has moved your cloning device to a new location and used it to create a clone of Albert Hughes, the current head of the Chevalier."

"I thought the flash cloning unit was destroyed on that platform we blew to hell?" Hartman said.

"I did too," Maya said. "We originally stole it to use it to mass-produce new stigmata. But my contact tells me otherwise."

"There is a problem I see with this, Admiral," Lodestone said over the ship's PA, only using the speaker nearest the two. "UNSC flash cloning technology can be used to reproduce single organs or even limbs with few complications. Reproducing an entire human being, however, would result in compounding biological defects within two months of creation. The core of these defects is metabolic cascade failure, in which the entire body begins to degenerate and the clone eventually dies from a wide variety of physical ad neurological conditions."

"We know this," Maya said. "We learned it from the data I stole from this ship. But if the person responsible for the takeover intends for the clone to die of natural causes then names someone else as his successor rather than going through the usual process, or to rig the election in order to take over after the clone dies, then a terminally-ill Alfred Hughes works perfectly."

Hartman considered this for a moment. Finally she nodded, looking up at the speaker Lodestone had used. "Lodestone, have SPARTAN-112 report to the Ace of Spades immediately." She turned to Maya then. "I'm approving this mission. You will stay with the SPARTAN at all times and she is fully authorized to end you if your actions warrant it, is that understood?"

Maya nodded. "Thank you, Admiral. I'll be ready to leave in five minutes." She turned and left, leaving Hartman to look out over the engine room once more.

West Genetics Academy, courtyard...

Alexis entered one of the courtyards of the academy, the one near the cafeteria, and felt her jaw drop. The staff had done an amazing job with the place. There were dozens of round tables set out under the stars. Streamers had been hung between the light posts and the school's PA system was playing various bits of music ranging from classical to jazz to more modern dance tracks. Every Genetics student had turned out, either at this courtyard or one of the others like it around the school. The Pandoras had reformatted their Volt Textures into fancy dresses and evening gowns, while the Limiters had rented tuxedos for the night. She spotted Kazuya nearby, dancing with the blonde el Bridget girl and smiled, as it seemed that the two were making progress at last.

Alexis herself had changed her Texture to a long dancing dress with detached sleeves. The fabric was a pale blue but faded to a pure white around her shins. It had an open back, a choker-like collar over the open neck, and a pattern of leaves in alternating blue and white gemstones running from her left shoulder to her right hip. The sleeves ran from the middle of her biceps to her wrists and had a second layer of fabric that dangled down to just below her knees. The open neck of her dress showed off the necklace she wore, which was a long silver chain with a pendant that consisted of a brilliant heart-shaped sapphire in a silver setting with a pair of silver wings coming from the sides. Her hair hung down her back with a loose braid that zig-zagged across the rest of her hair and held it in a sing long, manageable mass that currently ran over her left shoulder and down her chest. The stylist at the salon had even woven a number of bright blue flowers that matched her dress perfectly into her braid. The look was finished with a pair of high-heeled white dancing shoes with a silver inlay in a lace-like pattern. She'd spent the better part of the day trying to get this look right and she was confident that she had it down. Now all that was left was to find Gabriel, who was running late to the party. He had sent her a message telling her that he was busy with UNSC duties and would return as fast as possible.

"Alexis!" someone called out to her. She turned to see Lina, Charlotte, and Sophia sitting at a table while their Limiters were off fetching drinks. Alexis joined the three and sat down, carefully smoothing out her dress as she did so. Lina, the one who had spoken, whistled as she approached. "You look like a princess!" she said, looking her fellow Pandora up and down. "You must really want to impress Gabe!" Compared to Alexis, the other three had gone for much simpler outfits that, had they not been made with the girls Volt Textures, would have still cost thousands of dollars.

Alexis shook her head. "I just wanted to look good tonight. It has been a while since we could unwind like this."

"I hear that," Sophia said, leaning back in her chair. "After that last battle I'm burnt out. I could use a week's worth of this."

The girls talked for a few minutes but Alexis wasn't paying too much attention. She came out of her thoughts long enough to greet the Limiters when they returned then continued thinking… or more like worrying. She was starting to worry more and more whenever he went off on his own, even more so when he was off doing something for the UNSC. Of course she had faith in the ODST's training and skills, but she couldn't help but worry. The fear of losing him too stalked her like some big, ferocious beast of prey.

So caught up in her worries was she that she didn't even notice when the entire table went silent, staring off over her shoulder. It wasn't until Devon nudged her slightly that she realized that the others were focused on something behind her. She stood up and turned around to see two men standing nearby, both of whom she recognized immediately.

Gabriel Kinkaid had spent just as much time as Alexis trying to look appropriate for the party. He'd ended up wearing his ODST dress uniform, and true to his military training his appearance was immaculate. His shoes were shined perfectly, his black dress pants had no creases whatsoever, his inch-and-a-half wide white belt was perfectly straight over his jacket, and the metal buckle bearing the engraved insignia of the UNSC was exactly centered. His jacket was also black, with a silver rank pin bearing two stripes on each cuff and a white patch with two chevrons over a pair of crossed rifles on the right shoulder. The left shoulder had a similar patch depicting the ODST emblem and his unit. His collar had two silver buttons emblazoned with the UNSC emblem at exactly 10:30 and 1:30 (where the center of his collar was 12:00). His ribbons were affixed at a perfect 45 degree angle over his left pocket and his silver name tag was perfectly straight over the right one. His cover, a white cap with a black brim, had been straightened and leveled with the round silver UNSC emblem on the front exactly centered. A black leather holster was hooked to his belt, holding his standard-issue silenced magnum. The holster was situated so that the barrel of the pistol was dead even with the seam down the side of his pantleg, and a matching twin-pocket magazine holder was affixed directly over his left back pocket. Even his white gloves had been stressed over, as he had spent several minutes making sure that they weren't twisted or wrinkled. He'd also taken the time to find an old ring-style holster meant for flashlights in order to carry his captured plasma sword. He didn't think he'd need the weapons, but he was of the mind that it was better to come prepared.

Beside him stood Jeremy-049. The SPARTAN-II was clad in his MJOLNIR MkV armor as usual, but he was carrying a bunch of flowers rather than a rifle or explosives. It was quite a surprising sight, even for Gabe. SPARTANs were the pinnacle of war, the ultimate soldiers. To see one in full armor carrying a bouquet was like if someone were to paint a Scorpion bright pink and paint little flower patterns all over it, then rig the gun to shoot confetti.

When Alexis stood Gabe felt his jaw drop open. He quickly caught himself but couldn't hide the awed expression on his face. "You look… beautiful," he said, stepping towards her. Alexis turned slightly pink but smiled. She closed the gap between them and took the trooper's hands in hers.

"You look nice yourself, Mister Military Man," she teased. They shared a quick kiss then Alexis led him out to the open center of the courtyard, which served as the dance floor. When they did it left Jeremy-049 looking very out-of-place. The SPARTAN-II looked around then approached the table Alexis had just left.

"Do any of you know where Teslad is?" he asked. He was trying to be civil and he secretly felt a bit uncertain, but his voice came out cold and mechanical as always. The students at the table couldn't be sure if he was looking for the Legendary Pandora in order to ask her to dance or to eliminate her as a target. It took a moment but Lina finally worked up the courage to speak.

"I-I think she was over in the East Courtyard," she said a little shakily. "At least I remember seeing the Legendary Pandoras going that way earlier."

"Thank you," Jeremy said. He nodded to the students then made his way off to the east, drawing many surprised looks from the partygoers.

"Did.. that just happen?" Ivan asked once the supersoldier was well out of earshot.

West Genetics Academy outer wall…

Five black-clad figures approached the wall of the West Genetics facility under the cover of night. The four ODSTs of Echo Company, plus their Pandora addition, were moving towards the wall. They ran swiftly but silently, hoping to avoid being noticed. This was aided by Rex, who was working on a small datapad as he ran. His work erased them from the campus surveillance cameras, allowing the security staff to watch everything else going on but keeping them from noticing the ODSTs. The team reached the wall and took up positions around Holly, who set to work with a grapple on a long rope.

It wasn't long before the team was over the wall, bringing their grapple with them. Once inside the campus they walked casually, looking perfectly normal to the few Genetics students that saw them. By now the students were used to seeing UNSC personnel and therefore didn't question their presence. Holly led the way to the guest dorms and up to Luis's room. There, Rex began opening the door with a spoofer. In no time at all they were in.

Luis's room barely looked lived in. Everything was neat and tidy and in its proper place. The troopers were careful to avoid moving anything as they searched for the diary. Holly could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She'd never done anything like this before.

"Found something," Carson whispered. Holly turned away from the bed and moved to where he stood, by the wardrobe. The sniper held a book he'd found in the bottom of the wardrobe, a book Holly recognized instantly.

"That's it," she whispered back. Just to be certain she took the book and opened it. Its pages were filled with Luis's handwriting in words she had read before. It was his diary… and there were new writings since she'd last read it. She turned to the last one and began reading. A few lines in she stopped, shocked.

"Guys, listen to this!" she said. "I fought that little scum Kinkaid today. He got the upper hand, as expected. Now Tannar will see just what a brute he really is and realize that she, a girl who hates this tiresome life of war, wants nothing to do with a soldier like him. It will not be long before Kinkaid and his foul kin are locked away forever. When that happens Tannar will take that traitorous whore's role as my stand-in toy. She doesn't compare to Satellizer, but I still can't wait to hear her call me "Master" while she wags her tail at me like an obedient little bitch."

Carson's fists were clenched at his sides by the time she finished reading. "I'll kill him," he snarled. "I swear to God I'll kill that little…" He was interrupted by the sound of alarms. A voice came over the academy's PA system.

"Level 1 alert! All Pandoras and Limiters are to prepare for combat on the double!"

UNSC Alpha Base…

A Marine with a sniper rifle sat at his post in one of the guard towers, watching the distant West Genetics academy. He was only eighteen and had finished his basic training just before the fall of Reach. Now he was here on some alternate Earth just within view of an academy filled with attractive woman warriors who were reputed to be just as amazing in the bedroom as they were on the battlefield. And what could the poor Marine do? Watch the walls of their academy through the scope of his sniper rifle. For a young man, life could really suck at times.

Tonight was a night similar to most. The young soldier was on guard duty for several more hours. There was not much to do besides watch the motion tracker that had been set up in the tower and watch the minutes tick by. Luckily he'd been able to sneak a magazine into the tower tonight, giving himself at least a little bit of a break from the monotony of guard duty. It wasn't as if anyone would be dumb enough to attack a UNSC base, right?

The Marine was almost about to doze off behind his magazine when the motion tracker console near his chair began to beep. The soldier jumped to his feet and snatched up his rifle, eyes going down to the display on the console. A red mark had appeared at the edge of the tracker. It seemed to be off towards the academy. He kicked on his rifle's night-vision function then peered through the scope of his rifle in the indicated direction. At first he didn't see anything and he figured it must have been a glitch…

He froze as he spotted what had tripped the sensor. Down the road, easily visi0 through the green night-vision scope, was a familiar black-armored figure. The figure was approaching the base at an easy walk, carrying a heavy Fuel Rod Cannon with ease. The terrain behind her seemed to be moving as well. The Marine reached for his radio then paused, suddenly realizing what was moving. It wasn't the terrain…

The motion tracker began to beep repeatedly as it picked up more and more of the Amazons approaching Alpha Base. There were hundreds of them.

A uniformed Captain Larson sat behind his desk, writing away on a supply requisition form. Even in another reality they had to submit forms for almost everything, something that was annoying him to no end. The job had to be done though. After the last Nova clash they were running low on munitions and fuel. The Chevalier had been sending them supplies where possible, although the most they had that would help were a few types of ammo and the ever-valuable hydrogen fuel. The only ammo types the Chevalier had that were compatible with UNSC weapons were 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds, 12 gauge shotgun shells, .50cal machinegun belts, 90mm high-explosive tank ordinance for the M808 Scorpions, and a few crates of 120mm tank shells that would only work in a set of four tanks that had recently been dug out of one of the Ace of Spades' cargo bays and deployed to Alpha Base. This left the UNSC forces without replacement ammo for most of their weapons. However, he was told that the Chevalier were in the process of retooling a number of old outdated munitions factories in Japan. These factories had been vacant for decades but they still had the various molds, furnaces, presses, and other machinery on the assembly line used to make ammo. Several UNSC engineers were cooperating with the local government in order to refit the machinery to produce the various munitions the UNSC needed. Until that point, however, Scott Larson had to fill out these blasted forms.

Just as he was about to finish the form the base's alarm began to sound. He jumped to his feet and snatched his shotgun from behind the desk, pumping a round into the chamber. As he did he heard a dispatcher's voice come over the base PA.

"All forces, prepare for combat! Enemy forces are approaching from the southwest! I repeat, all forces prepare to meet the enemy in the southwest quadrant!"

Larson grabbed his helmet on his way out the door and slipped it on. As soon as the cover was in place he touched the button on the side of his helmet's built-in comm rig. "HQ, this is Larson. What's the situation?"

"Enemy forces are on approach from the southwest. We're seeing more than three hundred Amazon-class units." Larson paled at these words. He knew about the Amazon that had torn up West Genetics not too long ago. It had taken the combined arms of the Pandoras, Echo Company, and a heavily-armed DD-77 to take just that one down. Now there were hundreds of the creepy high-explosive bitches bearing down on them.

"We're going to need heavy weapons," Larson said. "Can't WesGen send assistance?"

"Negative Captain," the dispatcher said. "We're getting reports that West Genetics is under attack as well. The Ace of Spades is deploying Pelicans and Shortswords to assist and we're scrambling vehicles and aircraft as we speak. It looks like the Ace has a couple crates of M99's they're going to send over." Larson was happy to hear that last bit. The M99 Scoped Application Rifle was pretty much the heaviest infantry weapon ever built by the UNSC. It was a coilgun rifle capable of launching a 5.4mm projectile at fifteen thousand feet per second. The weapon was a guaranteed kill against anything soft and fleshy, even a SPARTAN-II. Even a glancing hit would be fatal with this thing, and there was virtually no need to adjust for wind, distance, or movement out to at least eight thousand meters. The weapons had been out of service since 2521, but during the long production period they had been mass-produced in the billions and so there were plenty left in service, including some on the Ace of Spades.

Outside in the base, Larson found hundreds of Marines running for the southwestern fence. Many of them were still in the process of armoring up while they ran, and one guy still had shaving cream on half of his face. Larson joined them in their rush for the battle lines that were being set up at the edge of the base. If there was one thing the UNSC knew how to do, it was defend a position.

As the captain passed into an open area he slowed, faced with an awesome sight. A massive tank was rolling by bound for the battlefield. The vehicle was almost twice the size of the M808 Scorpion but had a similar layout. It had much thicker armor than a Scorpion, a larger turret, a top-mounted coaxial machine gun, and a fifth tread in the back between the two rear ones. Its most notable feature, however, was the twin 120mm smoothbore cannons its turret carried. Just the sight of the guns were usually enough deterrent for anyone dumb enough to face the vehicle in battle, and if the enemy persisted the guns would lay waste to pretty much anything caught in the blast radius of the high-explosive shells it fired. In situations where crowd control was needed, the guns could fire a high-explosive canister shell that would devastate a large area with a powerful blast and thousands of shards of shrapnel, perfect for anti-infantry roles.

"I almost feel bad for the creepy bitches," Larson muttered, running for the defenses once more.

West Genetics Academy…

Gabe and Alexis were locked in a slow dance as the music played a soft love song. Gabe wasn't much of a dancer but Alexis, who happened to be an excellent dancer, was leading and so he was able to keep up fairly well. Together the two moved to the music. It was a brief moment of paradise for the two star-crossed partners. Alexis in particular seemed to be enjoying the evening. Her eyes sparkled in the light from the lamps even more brilliantly than the sapphire necklace she wore and she hadn't stopped smiling since the moment Gabe had arrived.

"You know," she said as the song progressed into a second, similarly slow ballad. "This feels almost surreal in a way. I feel like a princess in a fairytale, dancing in the arms of her warrior prince with nothing but happily-ever-after in the foreseeable future."

Gabe laughed at the notion. "Well, I'm not exactly sure what fairytales you were told as a child, but I don't remember Cinderella or Snow White or Sleeping Beauty having to face an endless supply of alien pricks armed with weapons that look like they're made by a toy company and loaded with glowsticks."

"I know the real world will come back when the sun comes up," Alexis muttered. "But until then I just want to be that princess. Although we are more like Beauty and the Beast." That last bit was said with the hint of a playful laugh in the Pandora's voice.

"Hey, I resemble that comment!" Gabe said, laughter creeping into his own words.

At that moment the sirens began to sound and announcements sounded over the PA, warning the students of the imminent threat of intruders. Gabriel tensed, slipping naturally back into 'war' mode. The other students began making their way to the designated gathering point and Alexis seemed inclined to join them, but something felt wrong to the ODST. Alexis noticed this and stayed with him, watching his face for any clue as to what was going through his mind.

A moment later Gabe heard something explode off in the distance, followed by shouting. He glanced at Alexis, who was thinking the same thing he was. They both manifested their Volt Weapons, the double-bladed scythe Alexis had named Captive Honor and MA5B-stlyed rifle affectionately known as The Ventilator. They set off in the direction of the explosion, weapons at the ready.

Their destination turned out to be another courtyard similar to the one they'd been dancing in. They arrived at the location just in time to see the blonde Pandora, Satellizer, launch herself at a speed that should have been impossible for a normal Pandora towards a half-naked woman carrying a pair of large cannons. A second woman in what seemed to be a cross between a Volt Texture-based uniform and some sort of kinky S&M wear had her foot on the head of a girl in a suit. Kazyua, who was standing near where Gabe and Alexis had entered the courtyard, yelled out in surprise and fear as the partially-undressed cannon wielder dodged Satellizer's attack easily. The woman put two and two together and brought her weapon to bear on Kazuya.

"Dammit, NO!" Gabe yelled, running towards Kazuya. He knew he wouldn't make it in time to save the kid, however. Good thing he wouldn't need to.

The inhumanly-beautiful blonde Legendary Pandora, Cassandra, appeared beside Kazuya at the last moment and deflected the incoming blast with the palm of her hand. Gabe had to give the woman credit: she was a total badass. It would be a disaster if she ever decided the UNSC were her enemies. Gabe stepped up on the other side of Kazuya, raising his rifle and centering it on the half-naked woman's forehead.

"Nice catch," he said to Cassandra before looking back at Kazuya. "Take my pistol and get Satellizer out of here. Alexis, get everyone else out." Alexis opened her mouth to protest but knew that it wouldn't do any good. Instead she nodded while Kazuya retrieved the silenced magnum off of Gabe's hip.

"Come back alive, alright?" Alexis said.

"Got it." Gabe looked at Cassandra next. "Alright, you get short and creepy over there. I'll take the skank with the guns." The Legendary Pandora nodded, her gaze focusing on the dagger-wielding woman who was apparently named Jessica. The other woman, Isabel, laughed and pulled the straps of her dress back over her shoulders, covering her breasts once more.

"Did you hear that?" she asked her companion. "The little soldier boy thinks he's going to take me!" She leveled her cannons at Gabe. "Hit it, Jessica!"

"This doesn't look good," Gabe muttered as the woman named Jessica began radiating energy…

West Genetics Pool…

Well this had gone to hell in a handbasket.

Jeremy-049 had finally tracked down Teslad, only to find her at the academy's pool wearing nothing except a bikini and a long-sleeved shirt with the front unbuttoned. Two of the other Legendary Pandoras were here as well, the hammer-wielding redhead with the bouncy personality and the icy French girl that had posed as a Valkyrie for some time. They were also wearing swimwear as they were enjoying the pool with a vaguely familiar third-year with a tattoo below her eye. Jeremy had felt even more foolish than before in handing Teslad a handful of flowers with all these people watching. It was bad enough that he was doing this, but the woman's lack of clothing made it far worse for him.

Just as he'd worked up the courage to speak to Teslad amid the giggles from Windy May and the third-year and the intense staring of Lucy, one of the of Chevalier Pandoras burst into the building and began ranting about retreat orders. They didn't get too far in their retreat, however. A pair of women had dropped through the ceiling and set upon the occupants. Jeremy had rushed into battle first only to take one of the women's fists to the side of his helmet. The blow was powerful enough to stun the SPARTAN-II and knock him into the pool. He sank to the bottom and laid there, dazed, for some time.

The battle was in full swing by the time Jeremy finally regained his senses and clambered out of the pool. The two women were still here, as were the three Legendary Pandoras and the third-year along with one of the Chevalier Pandoras. As Jeremy watched one of the intruders, a pink-haired Asian woman with a curvy figure, rather attractive features, and wearing a short white dress with matching gloves raised her hands above her head and closed her eyes. At once the air in the room seemed to come alive, as if they were standing in the midst of a massive electrical storm. The Pandoras found themselves frozen in place by the field being broadcast by the pinkette. The other woman, a dark-haired Pandora wearing a long tan coat, a rather revealing top, and a pair of short denim shorts and equipped with armored gloves for Volt Weapons, charged forward to attack the immobilized Pandoras. She didn't get the opportunity, however. Jeremy launched himself into the woman's path and tackled her to the ground. His armored fist impacted on her jaw with a blow that would have shattered the bones of any normal Pandora. This woman held fast, however, although she certainly felt the blow.

"How the fuck are you still moving?" she spat through a mouthful of blood. "That Anti-Freezing should have locked your ass up!"

Anti-Freezing… Jeremy filed that name away in his mind for later before delivering another blow to the Pandora's face. He didn't feel the need to tell her about how his augmentations and armor gave him a way to resist the effects of a Freezing. He continued to pummel the Pandora… or at least he'd intended to.

Suddenly he felt the enemy's Freezing or Anti-Freezing or whatever it was stop. He made the mistake of taking his attention away from the target he was working on to look at the other one. The woman below him broke free of him and backed away before looking to her comrade as well. "What the hell did you cancel it for?" she demanded of the other Pandora.

The pinkette gave a cruel smile and began backing away. "You're on your own now," she said. "Good luck surviving!"

"Sawatari, you bitch!" the remaining woman yelled as her pink-headed partner escaped through the hole they'd entered through.

"I guess she ran away with her tail between her legs after facing a Legendary Pandora," the tattoo'd girl said cheerfully. "Don't you agree, Windy May?" She looked at the hammer-user and her face fell when she saw the expression on the girl's face. Jeremy looked towards the Legendary Pandora as well, suddenly feeling very apprehensive. His soldier's instincts were kicking in and telling him that something was very wrong.

Without warning a second Anti-Freezing spread out, this time coming from Windy May. Even Jeremy felt himself locked into place by the force of it. In addition, he and the others began to feel something horrible. It was as if fingers were clawing at the inside of their skulls.

"Answer," Windy May said in a voice that was clearly not her own. It resonated in their minds like the voice of the Devil himself, sending chills down Jeremy's spine. "Are you one of us, or not of us?"

"What are you…" the tattoo'd girl said. "Windy May?!"

Jeremy's attention was suddenly caught by the Chevalier Pandora. The woman had begun to undergo a change. He'd never seen it in person but he recognized the signs from the various documents the Chevalier had shared with the UNSC. The shaking, the sightless eyes, the unnatural texture spreading across her skin... it all painted a very clear picture. The Pandora was going into Nova Form. Basically, she was turning into a Nova herself.

The deranged form of Windy May approached the Novalized woman, reaching out towards her throat. "You are different. You are not one of us," Windy May said in that same demonic voice. She gripped the other woman's throat and pulled, ripping the Pandora's head from her shoulders. "Destroy everything that is not one of us." Her eyes turned to Jeremy at that point and the SPARTAN suddenly felt as if he had a dozen laser sights centered on his skull. "Destroy it all."

At that moment the Legendary Pandora's face seemed to explode. It took Jeremy a moment to realize that someone else had attacked her. That someone was wearing a different uniform than the regular Pandoras, one with a silver-and-blue motif. She had blonde hair that she'd done in two pigtails then curled them around to make a sort of spiral shape, something Jeremy had never seen before. He recognized what the girl was instantly, however. She was one of the new Valkyrie units, a project similar to the E-Pandora program that allowed normal humans to serve as Pandoras. He vaguely recalled seeing her on the battlefield once, during the Nova clash in which the UNSC had defended the academy against a seemingly endless horde of small, humanoid Novas.

"Look out!" someone yelled. Jeremy spotted Teslad, who was in a similar deranged state, moving to attack the Valkyrie's exposed back. A second Valkyrie dived in and blocked Teslad's blades with her bare hands.

"These two have been reclassified as Code N3," the newcomer, a young Asian woman with long black hair and a striking resemblance to the rifle-wielding Limiter named Kazuya, said. "Our top priority is to eliminate them."

Jeremy felt the Freezing's hold on him loosening. It took a moment but he was soon able to move. During that moment, the newcomer began telling the third-year to go check on some others that were engaging more of the intruders. Jeremy ignored them and focused on the remaining intruder before him. Or at least he did until Lucy Renalt, the Legendary Pandora who hadn't gone 51-50, spoke.

"None of you can stop them," she said, drawing everyone's attention. "Now that they've awakened to their true nature, your replicas of the Legendary Stigmata won't stand a chance." She stepped past the others and stood between them and her two rampant sisters, facing them down. "I can at least buy you some time. Get out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere," Jeremy said. "The rest of you fall back and regroup. I'll help keep these three busy."

"Didn't you hear me?" Lucy asked him, glancing at the armored SPARTAN-II from the corner of her eye. "If you stay your death will be pointless. Even Legendary Stigmata replicas won't help against them."

"I'm glad I don't use stigmatas then," Jeremy grunted. He picked up a length of metal framework that had fallen when the ceiling had collapsed. "I've got your back. It's my job. And besides, maybe I can get through to Teslad."

The Legendary Pandora said nothing, instead turning her attention to the other two. "I shall ask you as well," she said. "Will you return to being a part of our family, or is that all over now?"

At that moment the remaining intruder took her chance to escape, fleeing through the hole in the ceiling just as her partner had. Jeremy took note of that as well and wondered if that kind of mobility would help them against the Covenant in any way. His eyes went back to the two Legendaries before him once the intruder was gone. 'At least that one less thing to worry about,' he thought. If this went bad, he would need to concentrate if he wanted to survive a hand-to-hand fight with the two rampant sisters.

Teslad was the first to answer. Her response to Lucy's question was a rapid strike with one of her blades. The edge of her weapon split the air in its path towards Lucy's face. Jeremy was rather shocked when the blade halted in midair with a resounding crash and a horrible grating sound. Apparently Lucy had created some sort of barrier around herself to block the attack. Jeremy filed this away as well just as the silver-haired Legendary Pandora raised her arm. She swung out in a slapping motion and a mighty blast issued forth from her person, tearing apart the floor and part of the wall opposite her and sending Teslad flying. Jeremy was getting a bit tired of the Pandoras at this point. They could do things that shouldn't have been possible, such as that attack. He preferred fighting enemies that used weapons that at least made some sort of sense. Enemies like the Covenant.

Unfortunately, this enemy was not the Covenant. These were Pandoras, and as much as he disliked their utter disregard for the laws of physics and logic he would have to figure out a way to fight them. A plan was already coming together in his mind, but it would be one of the longest shots of his career. It had to be the lowest chance of success he'd ever had, but there wasn't any other way that he could see.

"Renalt!" he yelled. "Take care of the other one. Leave Teslad to me!"

Lucy nodded and turned to face Windy May just as a massive explosion occurred behind them. Jeremy ignored this and ran straight for Teslad, who was already back on her feet and moving towards Lucy once more. The SPARTAN-II intercepted her, blocking her path with his armored bulk and length of metal framework.

"Come on, Teslad," he said quietly. "I wanted to dance with you tonight… so let's dance."

West Genetics Courtyard…

Gabe couldn't believe his eyes. In one moment the Legendary Pandora Cassandra had been taken to the ground by the dominatrix-looking Jessica's Anti-Freezing, and the cannon-wielder was now about to blow her face away. Gabe himself was locked in place by this new Freezing, unable to move an inch. The same went for the others around him, including Alexis. Kazuya, who was particularly gifted in the art of Freezing fields, was unable to break this new attack. Meanwhile, the cannon-wielder named Isabel was ranting like a lunatic.

"Crushing you is gonna be so much fun," she said, standing over Cassandra with the barrel of one of her cannons pressed against the downed woman's cheek. "This Anti-Freezing is the best damn thing ever!" She fired, prompted a shocked cry from several in the group of locked-down Pandoras and Limiters.

Gabe knew something was wrong the moment the dust cleared. Cassandra should have been screwed royally by that attack, but her head seemed to be intact. Her body began to rise, prompting Isabel to back off. As she rose Cassandra's dress began shredding itself, leaving her body bare. Almost immediately her Volt Texture formed her usual uniform around her, along with two curved transparent panels that seemed to float near her shoulders like some sort of supplemental armor. One of the panels had a string of numbers on it. But that wasn't all. Gabe could see a familiar texture forming over her skin. One glance at her eyes was all he needed. Instead of looking like normal human eyes with an unusual orangish tone, her irises had formed what looked like a bizarre symbol consisting of two semi-circles separated by a long line. Gabe had seen that before, both in his nightmares and on the field of battle. His blood ran cold as he realized what he was looking at.

"Hurry up and turn off your Freezing, you dipshit!" one of the Pandoras said nearby. "Can't you see that's what made her turn into a Pandora-Type?"

"Jessica," Isabel said. "Focus your Anti-Freezing on that monster. I need to see for myself whether the data on her is true or not."

Gabe suddenly found himself free to move as the enemy's attention went to Cassandra. The others were still stuck, but he could at least move around and fight. Isabel was saying something else but Gabe wasn't paying attention. He ran for the enemy just as she fired a mighty blast from one of her cannons. The ODST stopped, shocked, as the blast seemed to filter out a few feet from Cassandra.

"What?!" Isabel cried. "There's no way she absorbed that!"

At that moment Cassandra manifested her own Volt Weapon, the strange device halfway between sword and cannon. Gabe didn't need Kazuya yelling behind him to know that this was a bad sign. He quickly reversed himself, backing away from the two intruders as fast as possible while spraying Jessica with shots from his rifle. His shots connected and knocked a number of nice-sized holes in the woman's torso… but that was utterly unnecessary given what was coming.

A massive blast knocked Gabe onto his back and sent him sliding several yards. The dazed Helljumper shook his head, trying to clear his mind. When he was able to comprehend things around him he looked up and felt his jaw drop open almost instantly. Cassandra's counter-attack had left a deep gouge in the terrain that cut through the wall of the academy and extended off into the night. He'd seen her blow a hole in a building but never anything of this magnitude. Jessica had been utterly vaporized by the attack, but Isabel had survived. Her right arm had been blown off by the attack, however. The woman began laughing maniacally as she surveyed the damage caused by that single attack.

"Now I get it," she said, bringing her other weapon to bear. "Consider me impressed! You truly are a monster." The stigmata visible on her back began to glow brightly. "But you know, I'm not exactly here to play around either!"

Whatever the woman had planned, however, was going to wait. Every eye was drawn to Cassandra… or rather, the half-dozen figures materializing behind her. They were different in various ways, but there was no mistaking what was appearing alongside the rampant Legendary Pandora. Gabe had seen too many of his own nightmares not to know those shapes…

"God help us," he whispered.

UNSC Alpha Base…

Captain Scott Larson fired his shotgun again and again and was finally rewarded with the sound of one of the Amazons hitting the ground. Two more took its place, firing at him with Covenant weapons that were being amplified by their stigmata. Not that that surprised him any. This had been the general theme of the battle.

One of the Grizzly tanks was already wrecked, having been blown to shreds by a trio of juiced-up blasts from a Covie weapon that fired miniature plasma torpedoes. The torpedoes homed in on their target, stuck like a grenade, then exploded. Normally they wouldn't have done much to the Grizzly, but with the Amazon wielding it adding to their power the torpedoes had torn the tank in half. The Marine forces were taking losses and being slowly forced back into their base. Even with four of the mighty SPARTAN-II's assisting them they were losing this battle.

One of the SPARTANs was near where Larson was taking cover behind the burned-out wreck of an overturned Warthog. The SPARTAN, Jorge-052, was standing in the open and firing away with a gigantic .50cal machine gun. Several plasma bolts splashed across the supersoldier's shields, draining them partially. Jorge didn't seem to take any notice of this beyond turning his gun on the Amazon that had fired at him and spraying her with lead. The bullets slowly managed to break through her armor and tore up the soft, fleshy human within it, causing her to fall and begin bleeding out everywhere. Luckily these Amazons weren't self-destructing like the first one Echo Company had encountered did.

Larson ducked down behind the Warthog and began reloading his shotgun. As he did so he touched his comm set, opening a channel to the Ace of Spades. "TacHQ, this is Captain Larson! We're losing Alpha! We need reinforcements and supplies ASAP or we're not gonna make it!" He rammed the last shell home and slid the pump of his gun forward, closing the breech and chambering a fresh shell.

"We read you Captain," a voice said over his helmet radio. "We can't get forces to you. The entire area is loaded with anti-air. Looks like they're using something similar to the launchers on those anti-air Wraiths. We're working on a solution but it'll take time…"

"We ain't got time!" Larson shouted, leaning out of cover to take a shot at an Amazon that was getting too close for comfort. "We're dropping like flies down here, dammit!"

There came a loud roar, almost like thunder, as a streak of light flashed past where Larson was crouching. The shot punched through eight different Amazons, causing the women to explode into bloody chunks within their armor. Larson looked back behind his position and spotted another SPARTAN-II, one his HUD told him was Liam-006, laying on top of a stack of crates. The SPARTAN was using a long, thin rifle with a large scope similar to the one used on the SRS99 rifles. This gun was the M99 SAR, the miniature coilgun that had gone out of production but could still be found throughout the galaxy. Apparently the SPARTAN had gotten his hands on one of the Ace's supply of the weapons. Now the rifle was being put through its paces, and as the SPARTAN took down another group of Amazons with one shot Larson had to admit that the weapons were well worth keeping around.

Despite the promising sight, there was still no hope for the UNSC in this fight. Even with the heavy firepower and advanced weapons at their disposal and the SPARTAN-IIs leading them, the Marines were still being pushed back. Slowly but surely they were losing this battle. Larson could only pray that reinforcements could break through the enemy's lines and get to them in time to save someone. There were more than five thousand personnel on the base, but if this fighting kept up they would all be dead by morning.

West Genetics Courtyard…

Kazyua Aoi clenched his gun with a white-knuckle grip. The young Limiter had his back against a section of what had been the wall of the cafeteria, using it for cover. Most of the wall had been blown away by the enemy. Even now a beam of light tore through the air, ripping more of the building away in its passing. He didn't have to look to know where that blast had come from, nor did he have to touch it to know how dangerous it was.

Popping back out of cover, Kazuya let loose a few rounds from his pistol. His only reward was another beam fired in his direction, forcing him back into cover. He could feel bits of white-hot brick showering him as Cassandra's shot hit another section of wall opposite him. He checked his gun's load, six rounds left. If this fight kept up for very much longer he'd run out entirely, and then he'd be in even deeper trouble…

A figure exploded from its own cover nearby, a red-tinted MA5B rifle up and firing as the figure ran. Gabe was running right for the Legendary Pandra, moving from cover to cover in an attempt to get close enough that his plasma sword might be effective. There was an occasional flash as his Volt Barrier blocked incoming enemy fire. Kazuya, seeing the opportunity before him, left his cover and began moving up with Gabriel. The added firepower didn't faze the Cassandra, however. She target simply took aim on Kazuya and fired once more. There wasn't much of a chance for the Limiter to dodge this one.

Gabe threw himself in the path of the beam, having realized the danger Kazuya was in. His plan was for his barrier to take the hit, but unfortunately that would not come to pass. The beam broke through Gabe's defense and caught the trooper square in the chest. The force of the hit blew Gabe back into the wall Kazuya had used for cover just as Kazuya himself ducked behind a planter box. The young Limiter stared, horrified, at the ragged crater that had been blown in Gabe's chest. Kazuya could even see the ODST's heart beating away, dangling from the excavated chest cavity by the attached arteries.

Kazuya had seen death before, certainly. He'd seen Pandoras and Limiters ripped limb from limb by the Nova. He'd watched UNSC soldiers being gunned down by the nightmarish Covenant. But never before had it been so close, so visceral, as the sight of his ODST friend lying before him. The Limiter stared in horror at the sight. His mind barely registered that Gabe's barrier had taken the brunt of the damage. Had it been a complete hit, the ODST would have certainly been vaporized like the woman from before.

Gabe, meanwhile, was fighting to stay conscious. By all rights he should have already been dead. Something was keeping him alive, perhaps the stigmata he'd developed. It didn't really matter though. He couldn't do much with this extended life of his. He couldn't feel his legs let alone move them. He could feel his arms but all of the strength in them seemed to have vanished. He could see a terrified Kazuya crouched down nearby. Somewhere beyond that he could see the others joining the fight. All except Alexis.

Alexis was running towards Gabe, ignoring the continued shots from Cassandra and the attacks of the Pandora-type Novas that had appeared. Gabe would have given anything to have been able to yell at Alexis, to warn her to take cover and not worry about him. But he couldn't move or even speak.

'Dammit, there has to be something,' he thought. 'I'll do anything. I'll even sell my soul to the devil if I have to!'

"I'll take it instead," something within him said.

Alexis dove into cover next to Gabriel. There was nothing she could do to save him and she knew that, so she simply collapsed against his broken form and began sobbing uncontrollably. Through her cries she begged him not to die, to stay with her. She couldn't face losing him.

A crimson glow began to surround Gabriel, prompting Alexis to open her eyes in surprise. As she watched glowing particles began to flow from within the Helljumper's wound. The particles began to converge, forming a feminine shape floating in front of Gabe. Alexis and Kazuya both felt their blood run cold as they realized what was taking shape. The particles were settling and changing colors, forming the almost metallic texture of a Nova in the shape of a human woman. Its face began to take shape. The woman's eyes were the familiar slashed circles, just like the change that had taken place within Cassandra.

As the glow subsided the newly-formed Pandora-type Nova turned its inhuman eyes on Gabe. It glanced at Alexis, giving the girl the chills. Do not touch him, a voice said within Alexis's mind. Alexis backed away quickly, not wanting to provoke the creature. The Nova knelt next to Gabe, examining him. Its hands reached out towards his wound. Streams of crimson particles flowed from its fingertips, spreading through Gabe's wound and forming a glowing lattice over the wound that took the shape his chest had been in before he'd been hit. Once the lattice was complete the Nova straightened up and turned towards Cassandra, leaving a shocked Alexis and Kazuya and an unconscious Gabriel.

The sudden sound of a familiar scream jerked Kazuya out of his trance. He turned to see his partner, Satellizer, vanishing into a group of Pandora-type Novas. Throwing caution to the wind, the Limiter ran to help his friend. He grabbed her arm just as it was about to disappear into the mass of Novas. "Get off of her!" he yelled.

Cassandra froze when she heard this. Alexis couldn't tell what was going on, but something about the Limiter's yelling had sparked a change in the rampant Legendary Pandora. After a moment of standing there dazed, the woman turned her weapon on the other Pandora-types and opened fire. Alexis, having had more than she could take of a battle that made no sense whatsoever, turned and focused on Gabriel. Skin was rapidly forming over the lattice the new Pandora-type had made, closing up his wound. Alexis had a feeling that the inside of the wound was regenerating as well. She had never seen anything like this, but whatever it was she was grateful that Gabriel seemed to be recovering.

West Genetics pool…

Jeremy felt a heavy impact in his chest that threw him backwards. The SPARTAN slid several feet before swinging his legs over his head and back around. He got to his feet and raised his fists, having lost his weapon early in the fight. He could hear an incessant beeping, which told him that his shields were dangerously low. He would be in for a world of hurt if one of her attacks got through. He would have to think of a plan.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much time to think. Teslad was already attacking again. She struck out at him, causing the supersoldier to throw himself to the side. Apparently that was exactly what she had been hoping for, because the Legendary Pandora swung her other blade at his chest. The strike hit him in the chest again. This time the blow caused his shields to fail in a flash of golden energy. The SPARTAN was launched once more. He flew a good fifteen feet before impacting on a wall, leaving a crater. There was a long dent in his chestplate and his shield generators crackled, sending sparks dancing over his armor. Bluish-gray hydrostatic gel leaked from beneath his chestplate.

Jeremy stood up shakily, having been severely rattled by this battle. That last attack in particular had taxed his mind and body, and so he took a moment to clear his mind. Once his brain stopped spinning he registered two things. First, his helmet was now giving a low beep that meant his shields were completely drained and would need to recharge. And second, Teslad was walking towards him. He looked up at the woman and chuckled. "So this is it, huh?" he asked.

Teslad stopped as the SPARTAN took off his helmet and dropped it to the floor. He knew he could set his armor to detonate if he had to. The miniature fusion reactor carried in each MJOLNIR suit could be overloaded to act as a nuclear bomb, and if it came down to it he would do so. Until then, however, he had one more thing he wanted to try. The SPARTAN watched Teslad coming, her weapons at the ready. Rather than attacking, however, Jeremy did something no one had expected. He spread his arms out wide, as if offering the woman a hug. The gesture even caused Teslad to stop and watch him.

"Come on," Jeremy whispered. "Let's end this. Either you kill me and we all die, or you come back to us and we help save your sisters. Personally, I've gotten kind of attached to you. I'd really rather see you and the others make it out of this alive, Teslad. So come back to me, alright?"

Teslad stared at the SPARTAN, seemingly contemplating what he'd said. Jeremy waited for her decision. He didn't move, even as she started towards him. For a moment it seemed as if she was going to attack him. But just as Jeremy had accepted this fate and was about to reach for his suit's controls, the Legendary Pandora's weapons vanished and she collapsed against his armored chest, hugging him tightly.

"Good choice," he said quietly, putting one of his armored hands against the back of her head.

Without warning, a massive shockwave issued forth from Teslad. The shock knocked Lucy, Windy May, and the others to the ground but left Teslad and Jeremy untouched. Windy May was the first one back on her feet, but Teslad was faster than her. The Legendary Pandora detangled herself from the SPARTAN-II and approached her rampaging sister. Jeremy followed, although he could feel the pain in his chest and knew he'd at least busted a rib. Lucy stood as well, closing in on Windy May from behind. The trio watched the rampaging Legendary warily, waiting to see what she'd do.

"This shall be your last chance," Lucy said. "Will you return to our family?"

Off to the side, Jeremy suddenly dropped to one knee, clutching his head as he felt something stab into his mind. At first it made him think of the first time he'd uploaded Eris into his armor. But rather than the now-familiar sensation of having cool water poured into his mind, Jeremy found himself assaulted with a barrage of images and thoughts and emotions. He saw the blond Legendary Pandora, Cassandra, holding a small child, and he suddenly felt jealous. He saw Teslad standing to the side of the group of her sisters, seeming somewhat out of place among them. He saw Lucy Renalt standing before Teslad, telling her that she had been created without emotion and couldn't hope to be human the way Lucy and the others were. He felt the woman's heart and it reminded him of the emptiness of space. It was lonely and isolated, as if she was the only person on the face of the earth. He then felt a spark of warmth in the cold void, one that quickly grew and spread throughout every corner of her heart. He saw himself leaning over her, trying to make sure she was alright after kicking her into a wall. He felt his own embrace around her smaller frame, feeling warm and secure despite the cold, hard metal of his armor. It was as if being hugged by a SPARTAN-II was the safest place in the world to be.

The visions faded and Jeremy looked up at Teslad, panting. He realized that what he'd seen was her heart, her mind. She'd shown them what she felt in hopes that it would reach. It seemed that Lucy had seen something else, something that affected her greatly, because she turned to Teslad with wide eyes. Teslad, however, continued staring at Windy May. The two locked eyes and it reminded Jeremy of a duel in one of those old Western movies. Then, slowly, Windy May's eyes began to change. The lost that inhuman quality and their irises settled back into a normal, circular shape. The woman staggered but caught herself. It took her a moment to regain her composure, but once she did she looked up at Teslad with a sorrowful expression.

"I'm sorry sis," she said quietly. "I… I didn't know. I never knew you felt so much."

Teslad only nodded then turned back to Jeremy. She approached the SPARTAN and grabbed his arm with gentle hands, lifting him to his feet. With a final glance at the other two she helped the SPARTAN out of the room, intending to take him to the school's infirmary.

"Are you with us, Windy May?" Lucy asked.

"Y-yes," Windy May said. "But what do we do now?"

"We need to get to Cassandra," Lucy replied, turning towards the door as well. "She is in trouble."

West Genetics Academy grounds…

Another explosion lit up the night in the direction of Alpha Base, which was exactly where five black-clad ODSTs and one Pandora were headed. Davis was in the lead, followed by Rex and Tate. Carson and Holly Rose were behind them, and Mitch brought up the rear. They'd seen the battle from the window of Luis's room and left immediately. They didn't know what was going on, but none of them were about to allow their home-away-from-home be attacked without a fight.

Once combat reports began to come in they'd sped up their retreat. Things were looking worse than grim. The UNSC forces were being slaughtered by what seemed to be a massive force of those Amazon things from before. They knew they wouldn't be able to do much, but the members of Echo Company couldn't just sit there and let their comrades be slaughtered. Holly was particularly worried about the UNSC base. Carson could tell she was fretting, and so as they ran he glanced her way and spoke to her in a soft voice.

"Don't worry Phoenix," he said. "We'll make it in time to help."

"This is my fault," she said, shaking her head. "We were out here trying to clean up my mess. If we had just stayed at the base we would have been there when the attack came."

"Yeah, and we'd probably be dead by now," Carson said. "This way we'll be able to hit the enemy from behind."

There came a sudden grunt from behind them just as Holly was about to respond to that. She turned around and froze, horrified at what she saw. Carson looked back just in time to see Mitch, their rear guard, quite literally fall apart. The man's arms, legs, and head all separated from the torso and fell to the ground in a pile. The entire squad came to a halt, weapons up and centered on the attacker.

The enemy was a woman in a short white dress with matching hip-length armored boots and elbow-length armored gloves. She had a curvy figure, a pretty face, and long pink hair. She held a Volt Weapon in her right hand, a dagger with a wavy blade. The remaining ODSTs centered their weapons on her face, all of them about to fire.

"Oh my," the woman said in a sweet voice. "Was he a friend of yours?"

"Get back to Alpha, all of you." Davis shoved through his men and stood between them and the woman, his gun at the ready. "I'll take care of this bitch."

"Sir!" Carson said, stepping up next to his sergeant.

"That's an order, Corporal!" Davis shot a glance through his visor at the younger soldier. "Alpha needs you guys. I can handle her. Just get going."

"Understood sir," Carson said bitterly. "Try not to die." He and the others took off again, leaving Davis with the woman.

"Aww," the woman said, pouting a bit. "You're the only one I get to play with tonight?" She shrugged and began walking towards the sergeant. "I guess that's alright. I am in a hurry, after all."

Davis's visor polarized, turning a reflective silver. "The only place you'll be going in a hurry is Hell, bitch!" he roared, squeezing the trigger of his silenced M7 and spraying a tight group of caseless rounds at the enemy before him…

West Genetics courtyard…

Alexis felt her scythe snap as she took a swing at one of the nearby Pandora-types. The blow didn't even touch the creature, instead impacting on some kind of invisible barrier around it and utterly overpowering Alexis's Volt Weapon. Thankfully there was no Freezing field to contend with since Jessica was dead and Cassandra had regained her senses. The Legendary Pandora was now fighting the Pandora-types as well. She had been working on one for a while now, and just as Alexis's weapon broke the Legendary Pandora managed to get a shot through, one that completely annihilated the enemy's head.

Meanwhile, nearby, the newly-formed Nova that had helped Gabriel was locked in battle with one of the others. Alexis quickly reformed her weapon, and as she did she saw the friendly Nova take a hit from the enemy. The woman-like creature splintered then shattered, turning into a cloud of dust as the enemy's attack completely devastated it. However, the creature had weakened the enemy it had been fighting. Alexis threw her Volt Weapon and was rewarded with the enemy Nova's death as her Scythe cut it neatly in half.

However, this maneuver cost her greatly. The other Nova, the one she'd been fighting originally, caught her with a blast of energy. Without her weapon Alexis was unable to defend and so she was thrown back, rolling across the ground and coming to a halt. She looked up as the enemy drifted closer to her. Nearby, the Limiter Kazuya and his partner Satellizer had two more enemies coming up behind them. Cassandra, who had taken a moment to survey the situation, turned her cannon on them and let loose a barrage of blasts. It didn't do much damage to the enemy but it gave the two humans a chance to evade.

To their horror, the two Novas lit into Cassandra with an assault of their own. The Legendary Pandora found both of her arms blown off at the elbows, sending a spray of blood across the cobblestone beneath their feet. As she fell she looked towards her nephew and his partner, a sad smile on her lips.

"Kazuya," she whispered. "Run away!"

Alexis looked way from this sight to see her own enemy standing over her. The Nova looked down at her, seeming to contemplate her for a moment. Then, slowly, it reached down with one hand towards her. Alexis was exhausted to the point where she could hardly move. There was no way for her to escape in time…

"Get the fuck away from her, you ugly bitch!"

There came the sound of gunfire and the Nova's arm exploded into shards under a hail of what seemed like bullets. Alexis looked towards the source of the shots and saw Gabriel, his chest freshly repaired, standing a few feet away. The Helljumper had reformed his Volt Weapon and was firing at the Nova in front of her. The shots had torn straight through its barrier and torn its arm to shreds. As she watched Gabe fired another burst, this time turning the enemy's head and chest into a cloud of shrapnel. The Nova fell dead in front of Alexis and Gabe passed by, already firing on the two that had taken down Cassandra. The shots from his Volt Weapon were stopped by the enemy's barriers, but not for long. The barriers soon failed under the sustained fire of Gabe's MA5B-styled weapon, causing the other two to drop as well. The remaining Pandora-type vanished and reappeared behind Gabriel. Before Alexis could so much as scream, the creature stabbed at Gabe with its hand. The hand punched through Gabe's back and emerged from his chest, coated in the Helljumper's blood. Gabe's weapon vanished as he dropped it, but there was no look of shock or pain on his face. Only rage.

"Is that all you've got?" Gabe coughed. He reached over his shoulder and grabbed the Nova's head. He then pulled himself free of its hand and swung himself around to face it. His free hand dove into his pocket, withdrawing his plasma sword. The sword made that familiar crack-hiss noise as he activated it and the area was illuminated by the weapon's bluish white glow. The new hole in his chest was already closing up as Gabe's feet hit the ground. The trooper crouched down, gathering his energy in his legs. He struck then, swinging his blade for the creature's neck. The Nova vanished once more, appearing again behind Gabe and firing off another of those unknown blasts at his back. His bubble-like barrier appeared at this one, taking the blow easily as the trooper turned to face his foe once more.

The witnesses to the battle were suddenly blinded by a bright crimson light. When their eyes adjusted they could see Gabriel standing before them, shafts of light spreading from his back and curving away, almost like wings.

"That looks like what you can do," Kazuya said breathlessly to his partner. "I didn't know he could do it too!"

Gabriel charged once again, causing a large cracking sound with the speed of his acceleration. The Nova tried to counterattack by lashing out at him but missed when the trooper adjusted his trajectory. He began a series of hit-and-run attacks, smacking against the Nova's barrier with his sword over and over again. After the fifth strike the barrier failed and he was able to leave a small scratch on its armor. He skidded to a halt, turned, and gave the creature a grin.

"Game over, asshole!" he said. He launched himself forward once more, his plasma blade aimed directly for the Nova's chest. His attack hit home just as the creature tried to escape. His attack coupled with the enemy's attempt to evade caused his weapon to slide up through its chest, neck, and head. Gabe halted next to the thing, pulled his weapon free, then spun on his heel and delivered another blow. This time his blade sliced cleanly through the creature's neck, causing its head to fall away in two pieces. The Helljumper surveyed his handiwork for a moment. Once he was certain he had killed them all he collapsed, breathing hard. The light from his stigmata faded away and he laid there, panting and clearly in pain.

UNSC Alpha Base…

The rear of the enemy offensive was just outside the walls of Alpha Base. There weren't many Amazons here. The ones that were here had large tri-barreled cannons affixed over their hands that shot large green blasts recognizable as Covenant fuel rods. These units were busy keeping UNSC aircraft away from the battle. Rather than traditional fuel rods, these cannons fired rods that had been created by the Amazon's stigmata and were therefore far more powerful than their Covenant counterparts.

Several of these units were gathered near the road to Alpha Base, watching the skies. All seemed to be quiet so there was no need for them to join in the battle just yet. Or at least that was how it seemed.

Suddenly, one of the Amazons exploded into a cloud of chunky red ash. The others turned towards the road. Down the road a good distance were a number of police vehicles. Civilian police officers in uniform were gathered around and using their cars for cover as they opened fire on the Amazons. Several of the officers had high-powered sniper rifles with explosive bullets, which were meant for out-of-control Pandoras. Now these weapons and anything else the police could get their hands on were being brought to bear on the Amazons. Behind their line, a column of Chevalier tanks was finally arriving from the nearest military base. There were armored personnel carriers and foot soldiers as well, all of whom were determined to repay the UNSC for their help in defending the city from the Covenant and the Nova. The tanks began to spread out into a long line as they arrived. As soon as they were clear of each other their guns began to fire, sending large-caliber machine gun rounds and explosive shells into the Amazon's ranks. The UNSC Pelican pilots took this as an opportunity and began to deploy their forces behind the Chevalier lines. Soon the Chevalier's M1 Abrams tanks and M113 APCs were joined by Scorpion tanks and various Warthog variants. The fire from these armored vehicles took down numerous Amazons, causing the remaining enemies to turn their attention to their rears.

This gave the UNSC an opportunity to push forward. With a loud cry the surviving Marine forces, led by their SPARTAN-IIs, rushed the enemy's positions. Dozens of human soldiers were cut down in the first few seconds, but with no coordination and an attack on two fronts the Amazons were unable to put up any sort of sustainable resistance. The UNSC forces in the base rapidly drove the enemy out, gunning down the enemy rapidly with what little ammo they had left. Those whose weapons had run dry were left to throw grenades, rocks, hastily-prepared Molotov cocktails, or anything else they could find. Several of the UNSC soldiers, including one of the SPARTANS, rushed in and began hacking away at the enemy with combat knives. It was a bloody spectacle, one that showed the ferocity of the soldiers who had been pushed way too far over the edge.

Meanwhile, near the Chevalier lines, Echo Company had joined the fighting as well. Holly Rose stood in the frost, her defensive technique blocking incoming fire so that the ODSTs could focus on pouring lead into their foes. As they fought a Pelican flew over, dropping a number of dull green metal cylinders. These containers had rounded ends and a flashing red light on the top. The sides of these pods blew open to reveal fresh weapons and a supply of ammo for the ODSTs to use. One of the pods contained an M99 SAR, which Carson quickly snatched up and set to work with. His quick, precise shots felled large groups of Amazons, cutting the enemy's numbers down even further.

A STPD officer ran up to the squad of ODSTs, skidding to a halt next to Rex just as the trooper fired off a double-barreled rocket launcher he'd retrieved from one of the weapon pods. "Who's in charge here?" the officer asked over the sound of gunfire.

"Ain't nobody in charge!" Carson yelled back. "Our leader's MIA and our second in command is KIA!"

"The chief wants to get in contact with your Admiral!" the police officer yelled. "He wants to know how and where we can help!"

"This is too damn hot!" Rex yelled, slamming a fresh rocket pod into his launcher. "You cops ought to pull out!"

"Not a chance, trooper! You guys protected our city and our people more than once!" The cop grinned. "It's our turn to help you!"

Carson pulled a spare radio from his armor and tossed it to the officer, who fumbled the device before catching it. "Get that to your chief!" he yelled. "Hartman'll probably tell you the same thing we did though!"

West Genetics Academy, sixty minutes later…

Gabe awoke in the infirmary, laying in a clean bed and clad in a hospital gown. The first thing he saw when he awoke was Alexis sitting in a chair next to him. Further down he could see a de-armored SPARTAN, Jeremy-049, being tended to by two nurses and watched over by Teslad. Gabe sat up, groaning at the pain that seemed to burn in every part of his body. He noticed that his legs were both heavily bandaged and someone had put a hot water bottle over each one. Alexis sat up as he moved, concern written in her features.

"Try not to move too much," she said softly. "The medics say you've pulled five different muscles in your legs and three in your back." Gabe glanced at her and realized that she was barely holding it together. She looked close to tears at the sight of him.

"I'm alright," he said. "Just a little sore, but that's all."

At his words Alexis began sobbing once more. She leaned forward and rested her forehead against the bed. Gabe put a hand on one of her shaking shoulders. "When you were shot I thought for sure you were dead," she cried. "And when that thing came out of you I didn't know if you would be the same when you woke up or not. I was so afraid that I would lose you…" She dissolved into her tears at that point, unable to form words through her cries.

"I'm alright, honest," Gabe repeated. "But what the hell happened out there? The last thing I remember was getting shot and seeing you running at me."

It took Alexis several minutes to control herself. Once she was able to she explained what had happened after he'd been shot: how a Pandora-type Nova had come out of his body and healed him then joined the battle with them, how he'd gone into a bloodrage when Alexis had almost been killed, how he'd fought the enemy with skills and powers only a handful of Pandoras in the world had ever shown. When she finished she sat up, wiping her eyes. "I'm so glad you are alright," she said. "I can't lose you, Gabriel. I just can't."

"I ain't going nowheres," Gabe said, leaning back against the wall behind his bed. "And if what you saw out there is any indication, I don't think you've got anything to worry about." Alexis nodded, taking Gabe's hand and squeezing it tightly.

At that moment the doors of the infirmary opened and three people entered. One of them was Admiral Lucia Hartman herself. The other two were Marines, who seemed to be acting as the Admiral's bodyguards. The Admiral stopped next to Gabe's bed and stared down at the soldier for a moment, a sad look in her eyes. Gabe tried to salute, wincing at the pain in his back from the motion.

"Don't move, Kinkaid," Hartman said. She hesitated for a moment then held out an envelope. Gabe took it and looked down at it, seeing his name written on the front in Sergeant Davis's hand. "I found that in your sergeant's room," Hartman explained. "It was with his will with instructions to give it to you in case something happened to him."

"In case something happened…" Gabe took a moment to process what she'd said. When it hit him he looked up at her, eyes wide. He didn't need to ask the question that was burning in his mind.

"I'm afraid Sergeant Hank Davis was killed in action tonight. He and Lieutenant Mitchell Burns were killed by one of the four intruders that attacked West Genetics. That intruder has been apprehended by the Chevalier and turned over to us for questioning. As we speak she is en route to the Ace of Spades and under heavy security. Not that an armless Pandora who's had her stigmata ripped out can do much damage."

"Ma'am, I'd like.." Gabe began.

"To be the one to interrogate her?" Hartman nodded. "I figured as much. She will remain in the brig until you're up and moving again. Between our technology and the Chevalier's, your recovery should only take a few more hours. I'm ordering you to sleep it off then deal with this in the morning."

"Understood ma'am," Gabe said. "Thank you."

"There is one other thing, Kinkaid," Hartman said. She hesitated once more then took a deep breath before speaking again. "In light of your squad's situation, I've decided to appoint you as the commanding officer."

"Say what?" Gabe asked. "Ma'am, am I hallucinating from the painkillers?"

"Negative, Kinkaid," she said with a small smile. "I know it's unorthodox and highly unusual, but I'm promoting you to Sergeant effective immediately and giving you command of Echo Company. Echo will be transferred to West Genetics so you won't have to wait on them to arrive if something comes up."

"I'm sure there's someone more qualified than me though, ma'am."

"There are plenty of ODSTs that could do the job," Hartman said. "But few of them would be sympathetic to Miss Rose's situation. That leaves the remaining members of Echo. One of Echo is a convicted felon, one has been demoted twice for insubordination and striking a superior officer, and one is unfit for the position because of Miss Rose's mental state. I am afraid that if I give him too much responsibility that takes him away from her, she might begin resenting the UNSC. I would hate to have to have a Pandora face a firing squad." She shook her head. "Besides, I have spoken to the other members of Echo and they've all voiced their approval of the arrangement." She turned and walked away, considering the matter closed. Gabe didn't feel like arguing with her. Instead he looked down at the letter Davis had left for him. He looked up again as the two Marines started to follow Hartman towards the injured SPARTAN-II.

"Hey guys, what happened at Alpha?" he asked. One of the Marines stayed behind, looking down at Gabe with a tired expression.

"We got our asses handed to us," he said. "They're still counting the bodies. Once the Chevalier and the local cops showed up and hit the enemy's rear it took us about twenty minutes to crush the bitches, but until then we were cut off and dying fast. It's gonna take forever to clean that base up." He turned and hurried to rejoin Hartman, who was discussing Jeremy's injuries. Apparently the SPARTAN had cracked two ribs and fractured his collarbone. Gabe could see the SPARTAN's chestplate sitting atop his pile of armor. There was a massive dent in the middle, which explained the injuries. He looked at Alexis, who was staring at him in horror after hearing what had happened to his squad and his comrades at Alpha Base.

"Gabriel, I am so sorry," she said. "I can't believe this really happened."

"It did happen," Gabe said quietly. "And by God we're going to make whoever is responsible pay in blood."

Chevalier Grand Canyon HQ…

A SPARTAN-II and a woman in a black bodysuit were perched on the edge of the canyon, watching the distant tower that was the Chevalier HQ. SPARTAN-112 was using a sniper rifle to watch while Maya settled for a pair of binoculars. They'd slipped through the Chevalier's guard patrols with ease and approached the tower, being careful to avoid detection. Now they were laying on the wall of the canyon and observing the commander-in-chief's office. In the past hour that they'd been there they'd seen several Amazons and the supposed clone of Alfred Hughes. However, there were occasional puffs of smoke from a corner of the room that couldn't be seen from their angle, indicating the presence of someone else. They waited, wanting to identify the person hiding in the shadows both metaphorically and literally.

Finally, just as it seemed as if they'd never see him, a man with a scarred face and a cigar stood up from an unseen chair and walked past the window. Maya caught her breath at the sight of the man, something Gale noticed.

"I was right," Maya whispered. "Raddox, you slippery bastard."

"Should I know him?" Gale asked.

"You should. He was our commander-in-chief until just before you guys showed up." Maya made sure the camera built into her binoculars caught the man's image before standing up and turning away from the building. "Let's go," she said. "Your admiral is going to want to see this."

(Once again I find myself displeased with this chapter. It was a nightmare to write! Between events I haven't seen yet, events I didn't understand, and my own lack of faith in my own ability I found myself constantly stumped by the next sentence I had to write. But here it is! And for those of you perturbed by the seemingly convenient super-Gabe, I'm building up towards something with the increasing shows of ability from Gabriel as well as his… new friend. The various story arcs are coming full circle soon though, and eventually it'll all be clear! On the plus side, now I don't have to worry too much about altering canon events because I'm moving past what has been released. So, until next time, enjoy the chapter! I'll try not to take so long this time.)