Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, the Characters, or any Game, Movie, or TV Show content that are mentioned in this FanFiction story. They belong to their respective owners and I honor & respect their great works.
(City of Voi)
Master Chief, Spartan Davis, The Arbiter, Kira 'Vadam, Devon, Luna, Spyro, Cynder, Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Snotlout, Hookfang, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Barf and Belch look out toward where the Flood-invested Covenant Cruiser crash landed. As they did, they heard a transmission between Commander Miranda Keyes and Lord Hood
"The Flood. It's spreading, all over the city." Miranda says
"How do we contain it?" Lord Hood asks
"Find the crashed Flood ship, overload its engine core. We either destroy this city, or risk losing the entire planet." Miranda says
"Do it." Lord Hood says
"Chief, Davis, Devon, make your way to the crash site." Miranda says
Devon and the Viking Teens mount their dragons and moves down the hill with the two Spartans and Elites. As they headed down the hill, Devon and his friends talk amongst themselves
"So, the Flood is really here?" Fishlegs asks nervously
"Unfortunately, yes." Devon says
Fishlegs whimpers in fear
"So what do we do?" Astrid asks
"We do exactly what Commander Keyes told us to do. We head for the crashed Flood ship, we destroy it and this city along with it. It's like she said. We either bring down this city or we risk losing this entire planet to the Flood." Devon says
"Well we're not gonna let that happen." Hiccup says
"Right. We're getting these people out of here. Safely away from the Flood. Far away from them." Devon says
"And then what?" Snotlout asks
"We regroup with Commander Keyes and Lord Hood. See where we go from there." Devon says
When the group re-enter the city, they hear transmissions of Marines through the radio
"All squads, report!"
"Multiple contacts, unknown hostiles."
"There! Over there!"
"We're surrounded, Sergeant!"
The group hears a loud, horrible, primordial scream sound through the air, chilling them to the bone
"Aaaaah!"
"Fall back, fall back!"
"Sergeant, come on!"
The heroes find a squad of Marines on a loading ramp. Suddenly, Flood Infection Forms and Combat Forms descend from above and swarm on the Marines at the ramp, killing them, infecting them, turning them into one of their own. The Flood forms immediately turn their attention toward heroes and target them
The group defends themselves as the Flood stalk toward them. The Flood Infection Forms attack first trying to latch onto one of the group. Master Chief and Spartan Davis fire their weapons at the Flood. Master Chief uses his Assault Rifle blasting the Infection Forms while Spartan Davis assists him with his Shotgun. Some of the Infection Forms manage to move past the Spartans and target Devon and his friends. Luna,Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch defend their riders by blasting fire down on the ground. Spyro and Cynder helped defend the group by using firepower of their own. The dragons even stomped their feet and slammed their tails on the small Flood Forms
Luna and Toothless shoots Plasma Blasts at a swarm of Infection Forms. Stormfly shoots jets of fire from her mouth sending the Infection Forms ablaze. Hookfang unleashes a stream of fire at the swarm. Meatlug shoots a Lava Blast at the swarm obliterating them. Barf and Belch use their gas and spark attack blasting the swarm of Flood to oblivion
The Combat Forms of Marines, Elites, and surprisingly Brutes move in and charge toward the group. Master Chief hits a Marine Combat Form with the stock end of his Assault Rifle while Spartan Davis aims his Shotgun at a Brute Combat Form and blasts it to bits with a single shell. The Arbiter and Kira 'Vadam now had their Energy Swords out and cuts two Combat Forms, one Elite and one Brute down to pieces
Devon takes his Keyblade and slices a Marine Combat Form in half vertically downward. He then slices a Brute Combat Form to pieces, chopping off it's arms and then it's legs. Luna stays near Devon, protecting him from more Combat Forms, never leaving his side. Luna slams her tail into a Brute Combat Form, dismembering it's upper body and smashing it to pieces. Spyro uses his Flame Breath unleashing a stream of fire upon the Combat Forms. Cynder uses her Poison Breath spewing acid at the Combat Forms dissolving their bodies. Toothless rams his head into an Elite Combat Form destroying it with one hit. Stormfly flicks her tail at a few Marine Combat Forms sending spikes flying toward them. The spikes easily pierces their dismembered bodies, destroying them. Meatlug slams her bludgeon-like tail at a Brute Combat Form, smashing it to pieces. Hookfang slams his tail at one Combat Form smashing it to pieces. He then stomps his foot on the remaining pieces to ensure that it wouldn't get back up. Barf and Belch slammed their two tails into two Combat Forms, one Marine and one Elite easily destroying them
"Quickly! Let us find their ship. Make short work of this abomination!" The Arbiter says
"Right. We have to stop the Flood from taking hold of this city." Devon says
Master Chief notices a Weapons Stock housing Shotguns on it. He takes one Shotgun and equips himself with it along with his Assault Rifle. The group moves into a building, where a lone Marine is running away from a horde of infection forms. One of them latches onto the Marine
"Get it off! Get it off!"
The Flood Infection Form dives into the Marine's chest, gruesomely transforming him into a Flood Combat Form before the group's very eyes. They all watched in absolute horror as the Marine was mutated into a Flood Combat Form. The now turned infected Marine looks toward the group and lets out a primordial scream. Devon quickly cuts down the Combat Form with his Keyblade
Moving along, the heroes notice some Marines pinned down behind sandbags with more Flood surrounding the area. Unfortunately, the swarm of Flood overwhelms the Marines before the team could move in to save them and they were turned into Flood as well
"No!" Devon cries out
The Flood immediately turn their attention toward the group of heroes and attack them. Master Chief and Spartan Davis use their Shotguns and blast the Combat Forms to bits. The Arbiter and Kira 'Vadam swing their Energy Swords at the Combat Forms, slicing them to bits and pieces
Devon threw his Keyblade at an infected Marine slicing it in half across it's torso. Luna hits two infected Brutes with her wings instantly destroying them. She then slams her tail at an infected Elite that crept up behind her. Spyro uses his Ice Breath freezing an infected Elite in solid ice. He then rams his head into the frozen Flood smashing it to pieces. Cynder uses her Poison Breath spewing globs of poison at a group of infected Marines. The poison dissolves the Flood forms liquifying them. Toothless rams his head at an infected Marine knocking it into the air. He then fires a single Plasma Blast at it, blasting it to pieces. Stormfly flicks her tail sending multiple spikes toward an infected Brute hitting it multiple times. Hookfang sets his tail on fire and slams it at two infected Marines setting them on fire and destroying them. Barf spews out some gas toward the remaining Combat Forms. Belch then ignites the gas creating an explosion that destroys the Flood
"Wretched, accursed parasite! Rise up and I will kill you! Again and again!" The Arbiter says looking down at the dismembered body of a Flood Combat Form
The heroes move forward, reaching the other end of the warehouses. Upstairs, on the steel bridge, two Marines, one wielding a Flamethrower, try to combat the Flood as well, but they soon die and turn into one of them. Spartan Davis picks up the Flamethrower and burns down the two infected Marines. They head across the steel bridge and move toward a large hole in the floor which led into the office areas. They jump down and enter the next area. As soon as they reach the bottom, Master Chief has another vision involving Cortana. Unlike the previous visions he had earlier, this one seemed almost as if Cortana herself tried to contact him
"Chief! I can't tell you every-it's not safe. The Gravemind...it knows I'm in the sys-"
The group force their way through another wave of Flood, and find a marine huddling in a corner of the large room previously used as an Aid Station, surrounded by three dead marines. The Marine was holding a Magnum, burying his face in his hands. The group gasps in shock, horrified at the scene before them
"Oh, Thor..." Hiccup gasps
"Whoa..." Tuffnut and Ruffnut gasp
"What happened here?" Astrid asks gasping in horror
The group soon turn their attention toward the Marine huddling in the corner
"What happened?" Devon asks
"I...I didn't have a choice...The L.T...the Sergeant...they were all infected! I could see it crawling...sliding around beneath their skin! A-and then they got up...they s-started to talk! Oh, God! Their voices! Oh, God! No, make them stop! I did them a favor...y-yeah that's it. I helped them!"
The Marine bursts into tears
"Don't worry. We'll get you some help." Devon says
The Marine takes his pistol and aims it at his own head. Everyone's eyes widen in shock
"Maybe...maybe I need to help myself..."
The Marine puts his finger on the trigger, ready to fire the weapon and committ suicide
"No! Don't!" Devon cries out
The Marine ignores Devon and pulls the trigger, committing suicide. The Marine's brain and blood splatters out from the side of his head. The Magnum falls out of the Marine's hand. The suicidal Marine falls back against the wall and falls to the side onto the floor. Devon and his friends gasps in shock. Even the dragons were shocked by the Marine's choice of suicide. Devon closes his eyes feeling remorse for the Marine. The dragons whimper in sadness feeling sorry for the Marine. The Arbiter and Kira 'Vadam hang their heads in sadness also feeling sorry for the Marine
Feeling nothing more they could do for the Marine, the group moves on heading back outside into the lake bed where they previously fought the Scarab. The moment they head outside, they receive a transmission from Rtas 'Vadum, now known as the Shipmaster
"Hail, humans, and take heed. This is the carrier Shadow of Intent."
The heroes see three Elite-controlled battle cruisers fly in formation as an Assault Carrier slices overhead from Slipspace.
"Clear this sector, while we deal with the Flood." The Shipmaster says
Orbital Insertion Pods drop down onto the lake bed and several Spec Ops Elites led by a red Major Elite jump out and quickly deal with the Flood. The group make their way down toward the team of Elites and meet with them
"Brothers, I fear you bring bad news." The Arbiter says
"High Charity has fallen, become a dreaded hive!"
"And the fleet? Has quarantine been broken?" The Arbiter asks
"A single ship broke through our line, and we gave chase."
"But we had a fleet of hundreds!" Kira 'Vadam says
"Alas, sister. The Flood...It has evolved!"
"Evolved?!" Devon and his friends ask shocked in unison
"I don't like the sound of that." Fishlegs says nervously
"How could the Flood evolve?" Astrid asks
"The Flood are no different from the Heartless. It seems now they evolve just as the Heartless do." Devon says
"Devon's right. We've seen different kinds of Heartless. The Flood and the Heartless are very much similar." Luna says
"Whatever the case, we have to stop the Flood from spreading." Hiccup says
Toothless nods in agreement
"C'mon. We need to move." Devon says
With that said, the team moves across the lake bed with the team of Elites. As they move toward the ramp that leads up into the factory, more Flood Combat Forms jump up from the left-side and land infront of the group, blocking their path. Luna, Toothless and the dragons all roar at the Flood warning them to stay away. But regardless of their warning, the Flood attacks. Master Chief and Spartan Davis both throw a Frag Grenade at the Flood Combat Forms. The grenades detonate and blasts all the Flood forms to oblivion
More Combat Forms appear over the side, landing both infront and behind the group and attack. The Arbiter and Kira 'Vadam swing their Energy Swords, cutting down two Brute Combat Forms. Two Spec Ops Elites shoot their dual Plasma Rifles while two other Elites including the Major Elite swing their Energy Swords at some Marine and Brute Combat Forms
Luna slams her tail at an infected Marine, destroying it with one swipe of her tail. Spyro uses his Flame Breath unleashing a stream of fire setting the Flood Combat Forms of Brutes ablaze. Cynder uses her Wind Breath and blows away infected Marines sending them flying back off the side. Toothless hits two infected Brutes with his wings and then shoots a Plasma Blast at an infected Elite blasting it to bits. Stormfly flicks her tail at an infected Elite, launching multiple spikes and puncturing it in multiple places. Meatlug shoots an explosive Lava Blast at a small group of infected Marines, blowing them to pieces. Hookfang unleashes a stream of fire at some infected Marines, Brute and Elites sending them ablaze. Barf and Belch slam their tails at some infected Brutes destroying them with a single swipe
After dealing with the group of Flood, the team moves up the ramp. But before they could proceed back into the factory, the group encounters a new form of Flood further up the ramp. It's name: Pure Form
As it's name suggests, Flood Pure Forms were not the products of infecting a biological host, but instead composed entirely of Flood biomass. Unlike most Flood Forms the group has seen so far that involved an exoskeleton, Flood Pure Forms were more resiliant to damage. The reason: they are genetically composed of the same Flood super-cell which infects, mutates and transforms all other victims of the Parasite, but are made up entirely of recycled bones, muscles and other biomass collected by the Flood, rather than reanimated corpses
Flood Pure Forms had three different sub-forms: Stalker Form, Ranged Form and Tank Form
In Stalker Form, they appear to be crustacean-like with quite huge legs, and a distinctive crab/spider-like face. They are extremely agile and can jump large distances. They tend to crawl on ceilings and walls and they rarely attack with their claws using a hit-and-run tactic
In Ranged Form, they appear much like Flood Infection forms, but they have spikes on their bulbous body and can cling to ceilings or walls. Unlike Stalker Forms, they cannot move from a given spot and can fire sharp projectiles without the need of a weapon
In Tank Form, they become very large, pretty much the largest form of attacking Flood and are easily spotted from a distance. Unlike the other Flood Pure Forms, they can not climb on walls and ceilings and are snail-paced as implied by their slow speed. They also cannot wield any weapons as their arms have formed into spike-like claws. Basically, this kind of form specializes in melee attacks. These Flood can take a tremendous amount of damage and are quite capable of dishing out alot of damage themselves. They also occasionally spew Flood Infection Forms from their mouths unlike Carrier Forms which explode
The first form the group encountered was the Flood Tank Form
"Oh, so that's what you mean by the Flood evolving." Cynder says
"Uh, what is that?" Fishlegs asks scared
"A new kind of Flood." Hiccup says
"Yeah. A big and large one." Astrid says
Master Chief and Spartan Davis shoot their Assault Rifle and Shotgun at one of the Tank Forms, but they just absorb the attack. Their futile attempt to kill the Flood Form had little effect. Devon charges toward the Tank Form with his Keyblade running straight toward it. The Tank Form swings it's spike-like claw at Devon, but he ducks down and counters with a swing from his Keyblade. Devon's Keyblade somehow manages to take out the Flood Tank Form with only one hit. But unlike most Flood Forms which break apart, the Tank Form simply falls to the ground dead. The other Tank Form swings it's spike arm at Devon, but just like the first, he ducks down and swings a powerful blow to the Tank Form, killing it with one hit
"For some apparent reason, my Keyblade seems to be the only weapon that's effective against this new Flood." Devon says
"Well, maybe not the only one. I'm sure our Energy Swords are just as effective as your weapon, Devon." Kira 'Vadam says
"And I'm pretty sure the dragons can burn them down too." Hiccup says
"Perhaps." Devon says
Devon looks toward the team
"Well, let's waste no more time here. Let's keep moving." Devon says
After dealing with the Flood in the first area, the team moves back into the factory, moving through the tunnel and the room with the broken glass rooftop which was filled with more Flood. The team quickly makes short work of the Flood and proceed through the area. As they do, they recieve a transmission from Miranda Keyes via the COM Channel
"Chief, Davis, Devon, the Elites are looking for something. We didn't believe them when they told us." Miranda says
"It's Cortana! She's on that ship! Find her! Get her out!" Johnson says
"Cortana?!" Devon and his friends say in unison
"How did she get on that ship?" Snotlout asks
"It doesn't matter. Let's just get her back." Devon says
Once they were back outside, they encounter more Flood near the next lake bed. A friendly Phantom colored green to help identify them as allies hovers over to the group and drops more Elite reinforcements to help them fight the Flood. As the group fought the Flood alongside the Elites, they saw more forms of the Flood. One of them being two Stalker Forms which crawled toward them and tried to attack. The other being two Ranged Forms which were set up on alongside the exterior walls of the factory, shooting spikes at them
The Arbiter and Kira 'Vadam kill the two Stalker Forms with their Energy Swords, hitting them with only one slice. Luna and Toothless both shoot two Ranged Forms off the walls of the factory. The group encounters more Flood as they drew near the crashed Flood ship
"Hurry, humans! We seek the same prize. But our Shipmaster will sacrifice all to stop the Flood."
The team fight past dozens of Pure Forms, Combat Forms, and Infection Forms to the massive, burning hulk of the crashed Flood battle cruiser. Once they clear the area, they climb up an incline and find an ominous hole inside the ship's hull, leading into the interior
"We shall remain here. We will let nothing pass." The Arbiter says
"Go ahead, Chief. Find Cortana. We'll be here if you need us." Devon says
With that said, Master Chief heads inside the ship alone. He drops down the hole and enters the ship. As he moves through the wreckage and Flood Biomass that had spreaded all over the ship, Master Chief feels a presence talking to him. It was somewhat similar to having visions of Cortana talking to him, but it wasn't Cortana. It was the Gravemind telepathically talking to him. Around the same time, Devon also hears the Gravemind talking to him telepathically. Master Chief and Devon's vision becomes distorted and turns green. Tentacles appear in their vision. Unlike Master Chief, Devon gripped his head and cries out in pain, falling to his knees. The group outside immediately turn their attention toward Devon as he cries out in pain
"Devon?! Are you alright?! What's wrong?!" Luna asks worried for her love
Devon suddenly stops crying out in pain and stands on his knees idle
"Is he okay?" Astrid asks worried for Devon
"Devon?" Hiccup says reaching his hand for Devon
Before Hiccup could place his hand on Devon, the Keyblade Master snaps his head up, looking toward his friends and the Elites, making Hiccup pull his arm back. Devon's friends jump in shock. They looked at Devon and saw that his eyes were glowing with and eerie greenish glow. Even the blue crystal orb which glowed on Devon's chest also emitted an eerie greenish glow. The group also saw that he was in somekind of a trance. Devon rises up on his feet and stands before his friends and the Elites. In that moment, Devon spoke to them. But it wasn't his own voice. Instead, it was the Gravemind's
"Do not be afraid. I am peace...I am salvation..."
Devon's friends were utterly horrified. Even the dragons and Elites were horrified. The Gravemind was using Devon to speak to them telepathically through him. Never before had they seen something like this. Devon recovers from his trance, gasping in a huge amount of air, breathing heavily while falling on all fours
Around the same time, Master Chief moves deeper through the ship, passing several dead bodies of Elites. He then reaches a large room and sees a blue, flashing object at the other side of the room. But before he could reach it, the Gravemind spoke to him
Up top, the group gathered around Devon who continued breathing heavily for air
"Devon! Talk to me! Are you alright?!" Luna asks extremely worried
"It's...the Gravemind...He's...using me...to communicate..." Devon says breathing heavily
In that moment, Devon cries out in pain again, gripping his head
"Devon!" Luna cries out
Devon stops, rises to his feet and looks toward the group, back in his eerie trance, speaking in the Gravemind's voice
"I am a timeless chorus. Join your voice with mine, and sing victory...everlasting!"
Again, Devon recovers from his trance, gasping in a huge amount of air and breathing heavily on all fours. The dragons whimper in sadness feeling sorry for Devon. They also felt angry at the same time. Using Devon, their best friend to speak to them making him suffer in pain was unforgivable. Luna holds her head underneath Devon, helping him climb onto her, allowing him to rest on her back as he tried desperately to regain his energy
"It's ok, Devon. I'm here. Rest. You deserve it." Luna says
"Luna...guys..." Devon says weakly
"It's alright, Devon. We're all here for you." Hiccup says
Toothless walks up to Devon with a sad look on his face. Devon weakly lifts his head up to Toothless and looks at him with a slight smile on his face. He places his Right-hand on Toothless' head
"Toothless..." Devon says
Toothless nuzzles his head against Devon, offering him comfort
Inside the ship, in the central chamber, Master Chief reaches the device and finds finds Cortana in a small Covenant hand held memory unit
"Chief!" Cortana says
"Cortana?" Master Chief says confused
"High Charity, the Prophets' holy city, is on its way-" Cortana says before she was cut off
Cortana's projection above the holographic unit flickers and disappears
"Cortana!" Master Chief cries out
Suddenly, Master Chief hears a Phantom humming overhead. He turns and readies his Assault rifle. He looks up and sees the Monitor, 343 Guilty Spark float down to him
"Reclaimer!" 343 Guilty Spark says surprised
Master Chief aims his Assault Rifle at the Monitor expecting it to attack him. Suddenly, a Flood Combat Form appears and 343 Guilty Spark turns and shoots a powerful beam destroying it in a single glancing hit. The Monitor turns back to the Covenant device where Cortana supposedly was, and begins to interface it with a beam projected from his central eye
"I must act quickly before your construct suffers any further trauma!" 343 Guilty Spark says
Master Chief places his Assault Rifle on his back, grabs 343 Guilty Spark, and pulls him away from the device
"Wait. Leave her alone." Master Chief says
"If we do not take this device to a safe location, somewhere I can make repairs..." 343 Guilty Spark says
343 Guilty Spark continues to try to project his energy beam into Cortana's storage unit and Master Chief pulls him away again
"On Halo, you tried to kill Cortana. You tried to kill me and my friends." Master Chief says
"Protocol dictated my response! She had the Activation Index and you were going to destroy my installation. You did destroy my installation. Now, I only have one function: to help you, Reclaimer. As I always should have done." 343 Guilty Spark says
Master Chief stares silently at 343 Guilty Spark, then slightly motions with Cortana's storage device. 343 Guilty Spark takes Cortana's device away, shooting his beam into it, while the Phantom projects a Gravity Lift. 343 Guilty Spark enters it first and Master Chief reluctantly follows
The Phantom takes off, flying away from the city of Voi with Devon's friends following the ship with Devon resting on Luna's back while two Covenant battlecruisers of the Fleet of Retribution glass Voi with their Energy projectors. Four vessels of the Sangheilian Fleet are gathered above the Portal. The group heads for the largest of the ships, The Shadow of Intent
(Moments Later)
Inside the bridge of the Shadow of Intent, Elites and humans are gathered around a long holographic table, with Shipmaster, Rtas 'Vadum floating on a gravity throne at one end with his Elite attendants, Master Chief, Spartan Davis, The Arbiter, Kira 'Vadam on one side. In the middle wasand Commander Miranda Keyes at the far side of the table. Luna, Spyro, Cynder, Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Snotlout, Hookfang, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Barf and Belch were able to fit inside the room with the Humans and Elites joining the meeting standing near Master Chief, Spartan Davis, The Arbiter and Kira 'Vadam. Even Devon, who was now fully rested was in attendance. Luna and Toothless were both exceptionally close to Devon standing alongside him. They both cared about Devon with their lives and would do anything to protect him. Everyone was silent except for 343 Guilty Spark, who is bobbing at the center of the table and interfacing with Cortana's memory unit with his projector beam
"Will it live, Oracle? Can it be saved?" The Shipmaster asks
"Uncertain. This storage device has suffered considerable trauma. Its matrices are...highly unstable." 343 Guilty Spark says
"Perhaps one of our technicians-" Lord Hood says before the Shipmaster interrupts him
"That will not be necessary." The Shipmaster says
Coincidentally, the storage device works again, and a holographic projection of Cortana springs up
"Chief!"
"Success!" 343 Guilty Spark says
"High Charity, the Prophets' Holy City, is on its way to Earth. With an army of Flood. I can't tell you everything. It's not safe. The Gravemind...it knows I'm in the system."
Cortana's image flickers and stalls. The group soon realizes that it wasn't really Cortana. It was a message from her which meant Cortana still had to be in High Charity
"It's just a message." Master Chief says
"Let it play." The Shipmaster says
343 Guilty Spark jolts the device with another beam, playing the message, allowing it to continue
"But it doesn't know about the Portal, where it leads. On the other side, there's a solution. A way to stop the Flood, without firing the remaining Halo rings."
Suddenly, Cortana's skin lights up. She clutches her head, gasps in sudden pain and collapses onto the floor. Devon leans closer to Cortana's image, feeling worried for her
"Hurry, Chief...the Ark...there isn't much time."
Cortana's recording ends as she is left staring at Master Chief, Devon, and the rest of the group
"I'm...sorry." 343 Guilty Spark says
"No matter, Oracle. We've heard enough. Our fight is through the Portal, with the Brutes and the bastard Truth!" The Shipmaster says
Elites around the room raise their forearms and roar in agreement
"Fine. We'll remain here. Hold out as long as we can." Lord Hood says
"Did you not hear? Your world is doomed." The Shipmaster says
The Shipmaster's throne descends and he rises from his seat
"A Flood army, a Gravemind, has you in its sights! You barely survived a small contamination." The Shipmaster says
"And you, Ship Master, just glassed half a continent! Maybe the Flood isn't all I should be worried about..." Lord Hood says
"One single Flood Spore can destroy a species. Were it not for our Sister and the Arbiter's counsel, I would have glassed your entire planet!" The Shipmaster says
Lord Hood angrily raises his fist at the Shipmaster, but Miranda Keyes interrupts him
"Sir, with respect, Cortana has a solution." Miranda says
"Cortana? Did you see her condition? How damaged she is?" Lord Hood asks
While Lord Hood and Commander Keyes argue, Master Chief bends down and observes Cortana's pained, frozen figure, still collapsed on the holographic table
"She could be corrupted for all we know. Her 'solution' could be a Flood trap!" Lord Hood says
"We should go through the Portal, find out for sure." Miranda says
"What we should do Commander, is understand, clearly, that this is humanity's final stand, here, at Earth. We go, we risk everything. Every last man, woman and child. If we stand our ground, we might just have a chance." Lord Hood says
"No. If your construct is wrong, then the Flood has already won." The Arbiter says
"I'll find Cortana's Solution, and I'll bring it back." Master Chief says
"You mean 'we'll' find Cortana's Solution. Cortana's our friend too. We'll help find her solution, we'll stop the Flood, and we will find Cortana and bring her back." Devon says
"Earth...is all we have left. You trust Cortana that much?" Lord Hood asks
"Sir, yes sir." Master Chief says
"And so do I." Devon says
"If Devon trusts Cortana, then so do we." Hiccup says
Toothless nods in agreement. Pretty soon, Devon's friends all nod in agreement. Even the dragons nodded in agreement
"This is either the best decision you've ever made or the worst. Hell if it is, I doubt I'll live long enough to find out which." Lord Hood says
Lord Hood turns, looks silently at Miranda Keyes, and then exits the bridge
(Moments Later)
Inside the Shadow of Intent's hangar bay, both the Elites and the UNSC are getting ready for battle. While a Separatist Phantom drifts into the hangar on the far side, two M12 Warthogs race to the Forward Unto Dawn's loading bay, drawing near a group of Marines clustered around some UNSC crates
The Marines and Elites sat away from each other. A Sangheili Elite Major sat on a Ghost along with a few SpecOps Elites. A Beam Rifle rests next to the Ghost. Sergeant Johnson walks past the Elites with his arm full of Covenant Carbines. He stops and scoops up the Beam Rifle. The Major Elite rises off the Ghost challengingly around Johnson. Johnson ignores the Elites and continues walking
Nearby, a pair of ODSTs are joking with each other when The Arbiter, and Kira 'Vadam passes by with UNSC Weapons. The Arbiter held a Rocket Launcher over his shoulder and a Flamethrower in his left hand. Kira 'Vadam held Assault Rifles and Battle Rifles under her left-arm while holding a Machine Gun Turret in her Right-hand. The ODSTs and a pair of nearby Marines watch in awe. 343 Guilty Spark drifts through the Marines in tow behind the two Elites leaving a Marine speechless
Johnson rejoins the Marines, and begins to hand out Carbines. The Arbiter and Kira 'Vadam do the same for the Elites with the UNSC weapons
Not far from them, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the Twins sat with their dragons, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch watching Devon, Luna, Spyro Cynder, Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Master Chief, and Spartan Davis stood with Miranda Keyes at attention before Lord Hood, who looks at them grimly from the rear of the Pelican as the troop bay door shuts and the Pelican takes off. Miranda glances silently toward Devon, his friends, the dragons, and the two Spartans, and they leave, going off to their own business
Lord Hood's Pelican arcs away from the gathered Sangheilian Fleet as the Shadow of Intent powers its engines and thrusts into the Portal, followed by eight Cruisers, a Carrier, and the UNSC Frigates Forward Unto Dawn and Aegis Fate
(Moments Later)
As they traveled through Slipspace aboard The Shadow of Intent, Devon and his friends spoke with each other. Devon sat up against Luna's body as she curled up around him with her head lying on his lap as he rubbed her head. Ever since the Gravemind used Devon to telepathically communicate through him, Luna grew extremely worried for Devon and she never left his side since that fateful event. Even Spyro, Cynder, the Viking Teens and their dragons were worried for Devon
"Devon, are you sure you're alright?" Luna asks worried
"Don't worry. I'll manage." Devon says
"Really? I mean what happened back there, outside the Flood ship. It was really scary." Astrid says
"Yeah. I know. I'll admit. I was frightened when that happened." Devon says
"What if the Dark Lord was capable of something like that? Putting someone in a trance, speaking through them with their own voice. That would really be frightening." Cynder says
"Hm." Devon says nodding in agreement
The group remains silent before Devon speaks
"You know, so far from what we've seen, the Flood, they're dangerous. Very dangerous. Just as dangerous as the Heartless.
They're just the kind of monsters the Dark Lord could use." Devon says
"I hope not. We've seen what the Flood can do. They infect people, turn them into one of them." Astrid says
"They're just like the Heartless. They multiply and continue to grow in countless numbers." Hiccup says
"Imagine what the Dark Lord could do if he commanded them." Devon says
The group began thinking of horrible thoughts if Makuta Teridax, the Dark Lord of the Shadows ever commanded the Flood. Spyro and Cynder imagined their homeworld, Avalar, being invaded by the Flood, infecting all the Dragons, Cheetahs, and all their friends into one of them. Hiccup also imagined the same thing for his homeworld, Berk. He imagined the Vikings, the Dragons, his Father, Stoick, and Gobber being infected by the Flood, turning into one of them, slaughtering their own and spreading across all of Berk. While Spyro, Cynder, the Viking Teens and the dragons began thinking of these worse case scenarios, Devon thought of a more horrifying one. One that was far beyond anything he could imagine. Devon imagined the Flood under the Dark Lord's command spreading throughout each and every world he and his friends had visited so far. Radiant Garden, The Pridelands, Camelot, Twilight Town, even Destiny Islands. Devon imagined that every world that he and his friends had visited were attacked by the Flood, constantly spreading, infecting each and every one of their friends, turning them into horrific monsters. The entire Universe plunged into anarchy and chaos. This was one thought he would not allow to come true
"No. We are going to deal with the Flood and eliminate them forever. Horrible Creatures like them should not allow to exist. I don't care if it's for a reason or not, the Flood is pure evil. And if the Dark Lord gets his hands on them, we are talking about a real worse case scenario." Devon says
"Probably not as bad as what the Dark Lord has planned up his sleeve." Spyro says
"Maybe not, but if he fails, this would act as a good back-up plan for him." Devon says
"Cortana said on the message that there was a solution to stop the Flood without firing the Halo Rings." Hiccup says
"Devon, what do you think it is?" Astrid asks
"I'm not sure. But I guess we'll have to find out for ourselves, once we deal with the Prophet of Truth and the Covenant. Right now, they're the only thing that matters." Devon says
"Hopefully, once we reach the Ark, we can stop Truth from using it." Luna says
"We'll stop him. We have to. This world and quite possibly the Universe depends on us. If we fail, the Halo Rings will kill everyone." Devon says
"Yeah. Including us." Snotlout says
"But what if the Dark Lord finds one of the Halo Rings or worse, the Ark after we defeat Truth?" Cynder asks
"He won't. After we've completed our task here, once we've helped deal with the Covenant and the Flood, we seal the Keyhole to this world, so that no one can ever use them. Hopefully, the UNSC will work on putting the Halo Rings and perhaps the Ark out of commission, for good. But if we somehow find a way to destroy the Halo Rings, The Ark, and the Flood, I'd say that's good enough for all of us. Devon says
The group all nod in agreement as they prepare for their journey toward the Ark
Author's Note: Time to move out. After fighting off against the Covenant, the group now has to contend with the Flood which began spreading all over the city of Voi. The group fights valiantly against the Flood, saving what lives they can, but none could stand against the Flood's onslaught. The Shipmaster and the Elites lend their support to the UNSC and the group aiding them in their struggle against the Flood. With the Elites joining them, the group moves toward the crashed Flood ship. During their trip, they discover that Cortana was onboard the ship. And soon enough, they reach the Flood ship. Master Chief enters alone while the rest of the team stays outside to secure the area. As Master Chief proceeds through the ship, the Gravemind speaks telepathically to him. Around the same time, the Gravemind speaks through Devon, using him as a way to communicate to the rest of the group. Who would've thought it? The Gravemind speaking through Devon telepathically. Well, Luna and the dragons sure don't like that idea. And I'm sure the Elites aren't so fond of the idea either. Master Chief finds Cortana in a Covenant device. He then meets the Monitor, 343 Guilty Spark who offers a helping hand despite their last encounter on Installation 04. With the entire team of Humans and Elites onboard the Shadow of Intent with Devon and his friends, they decipher the device and realize that it wasn't Cortana, but a message from her which warns them about the Flood. The message also tells of a solution to stop the Flood without activating the Ark and the other Halo Rings. Anyone care to guess what the solution is? Now, the group prepares for their trip toward the Ark to stop the Prophet of Truth and find Cortana's solution for the Flood. Let me know what you guys think. No flames please. Hope you guys like and don't forget to review!