Author's Notes: I said I'd have two, and here's the second one! This one takes place on the Assault Carrier, with the rest of the Spartans. No reviews this time (since I covered them in the last chapter), so here we go!


Chapter 54:

The Meaning Of Loss –

1900 Hours - March 20, 2553

Flood-Controlled Assault Carrier - Outside Earth's Orbit

"Let's go!" Zeke shouted from the front of the group as he led them down the near-pitch black hall. "Hurry your asses up!" Blaine watched as he cut through another pair of rotting Combat Forms that jumped in his way.

He glanced back to see Victoria and Magnus trying to hold the tidal wave of undead creatures behind the group at bay.

"How much further?" the white-armored Spartan asked into his helmet, holding his hammer high above his head, threatening to completely annihilate any Flood form foolish enough to come within range.

"We've got two more large rooms," Samuel said, "plus ten more solid minutes of hallways and corridors."

"Great," he answered sarcastically. "Just freakin' fantastic!" he watched a trio of Combat Forms emerge from a doorway on the right, and sent the hammer crashing down onto them, sending decayed flesh in all directions.

"Demon says the next room is up ahead," Zeke snapped. "According to him, we've got a Hell of a welcome waiting on us."

Of course, Blaine thought, turning to make sure that the younger Spartan, Nathan, was still behind him. The green-armored soldier didn't have quite the experience that Zulu Company had developed, and while it didn't show in his accuracy or efficiency, it was blaringly obvious in his attitude.

He moved in quick, sometimes agitated motions, waving the Shotgun around frantically, looking for a target. It didn't hurt him, per se, but it certainly wasn't helping him keep his mind alert.

"Here's the door!" Zeke shouted. Then, "come on, Sangheili! Get this damned door open!"

A second later, the red light emanating from one end of the darkened hall changed to blue, and Blaine heard the door slide open. Zeke charged through, with Samuel right behind him. Blaine let Nathan go first, then went just inside the doorway and waited for Magnus and Vic to go through.

"Now," he roared, bringing the Rocket Launcher to bear and facing the oncoming horde of Flood, "back to Hell!" He launched two shots into the group, and was shocked when four more explosions sounded from within, blowing large chunks of deteriorating flesh everywhere.

"Come on, Breka!" Sam shouted. "We need that door shut!"

"I am trying, Demon." The Elite answered, his voice echoing in Blaine's helmet even as a new group of Flood began to charge toward him from the hall. "The Parasite is in the system. I cannot-"

The door suddenly slid shut, stopping the next undead wave.

Blaine let out a large sigh, leaning against one wall of the room and looking around. It was a three-story hangar, albeit an empty one.

"Thank God," Samuel said, his voice barely a whisper. "And thank you, Breka." He added.

"Of course, Demon," he answered. "Now hurry! The Parasite will not be stopped for long!"

"Split-lip's right," Zeke growled. "I smell more of them." He turned to Victoria. "Can you smell that?"

The indigo-armored soldier seemed sidetracked for a moment. "What?" she asked, her voice almost confused. Then she answered, "oh, yes. I do."

Blaine cocked his head. That behavior was not typical of Victoria. She was focused, collected, ready to-

A shriek resounded from one corner of the giant room that they'd found themselves in.

"Damn it!" Magnus snapped. "Can we catch a break?"

No sooner had the giant Spartan said the words than a half-dozen glowing red doors changed colors on all three floors of the hangar, and the Flood began to pour from them by the dozens.

"Oh shit!" Nathan shouted from directly behind Blaine, and the roar of a Shotgun echoed around the room. The white-armored soldier turned in time to watch Nathan get mercilessly flung into the nearby wall by a massive form behind him.

"What the Hell is that?" Blaine shouted, looking at the towering form. It was easily as tall as a Hunter, and built in a similar fashion. It was a hulking biped with two huge arms and a strange opening with small tentacles emerging right where the mouth should have been.

"Hell if I know!" Magnus said, raising his arms. "But I'll bet you it doesn't respond well to burning green plasma." He fired one blast from each of his arms, hitting the creature right in its "face."

Before the green haze had even cleared, it lumbered out of the smoke and lashed out with one of its giant arms, straight in Blaine's direction. He put both his arms out and caught the strike, but the Flood form was insanely strong, especially for an undead zombie.

"Demon says it's called a Tank Form." Zeke said, and Blaine heard a series of Pistol-shots as the rest of the Flood in the room charged the small team. "It's not a corpse, but rather just a big glob of Flood biomass."

"Oh yeah," Blaine muttered, forcing the giant arm away and leaping back as the Tank Form took another swing. "Well, now it's gone and pissed me off!" He pulled the hammer from his back, lunged forward and brought it down directly on the new enemy's face, sending it crashing into the ground.

Blaine was about to hit it again when the creature suddenly seemed to melt, all of its form liquefying and clumping together in a large squirming mass of undead matter.

"What the Hell?"

A second later, the liquid gathered and solidified –

In the form of what looked like a damned spider.

"Alright," Blaine said bitterly, scowling at the creature, "I've had enough of this shit." He reached down to grip this new form, but before he could get his hand even close, it suddenly leapt away from him, landing solidly fifteen feet away. Then it jumped again, latching onto a wall. "What in-"

"Blaine!" Samuel roared. "Forget the freakin' spider! We've got major problems here!"

The cybernetic Spartan turned around to see wave after wave of Flood forms rushing toward them, their bodies ragged and torn and half-decayed. Some were clearly former Elites. Others were Brutes. There were even a couple of humans in the mix, though Blaine couldn't understand how or why.

"All in favor of getting the Hell off this God-damned carrier right now, say aye!" Zeke barked, leaping into the first group and slicing like mad. Victoria was doing almost exactly the same thing, move for move, cutting into everything within her reach.

"Aye!" Nathan's voice echoed, and the Shotgun roared again.

"Double-aye!" Magnus shouted, taking the Heavy Machine Gun from his back and spraying the incoming waves even as the rest of the group moved to stay well out of the way.

Blaine shook his head in disbelief. There had to be over a hundred of them.

"Everybody down!" Magnus roared, and broke loose with the chain gun again. Dozens and dozens of rounds soared through the air and struck down any of the undead horrors unlucky enough to be caught in their paths. Zeke fell flat on the ground, pulling Victoria down with him as the storm of lead passed over their heads, decimating more of the horde.

Several seconds later, Magnus stopped firing, allowing the gun to cool down as the smoke cleared from the room. Blaine took a deep breath, surveying the damage.

Each of the Combat Forms had been completed obliterated, their bodies blasted into so many rotted pieces that it was impossible to guess on which corpse each part had started. Bits of green dust and gas still hovered inside the room.

"Damn," Blaine said, smacking Magnus casually on the shoulder. "Not bad."

Magnus nodded, still holding the gun at his waist, ready to fire again.

"Let's go." Samuel's voice sounded inside the Spartans' helms. "We've got a long way to go yet."


The next series of halls and corridors were covered without much trouble, and Magnus started to feel like they just be able to make it after all. When Zeke reached the door to the next hangar, the screams of what sounded like a thousand Flood forms echoed around them.

"Are you sure we want to go in there?" Nathan asked, peering into the darkened room. Only a dim, purple glow provided any light to the enormous chamber.

Samuel muttered something, said "come on," and brought both his Shotguns to his chest as he led them into the next hangar. Magnus could tell how much pressure had to be on the other Spartan for him to be so short and stoic.

"More of them," Zeke growled as he readied the Energy Sword. "Judging by the stench," he added, "a lot more."

Instantly, Magnus activated the infrared setting on his visor. He hated using it, as did most of the Spartans, because sources of extreme heat, or even Covenant weapons such as a Plasma Rifle could temporarily blind the user.

But, it had its uses.

For one, Magnus could now see them: over sixty Combat Forms perched on various levels of the hangar, staring down at the Spartans, unmoving. Several of them were armed, an intimidating change after the last wave.

"Since when did these bastards have weapons?" Blaine scowled.

"Since now," Samuel answered bitterly. "Get ready."

Something moved on the right side of Magnus' vision, and he turned in time to see one of the little spider-like Flood, what Zeke had said were called "Stalkers," leaping onto the wall behind Victoria.

Before he could even shout the female Spartan's name, the creature had liquefied and began to transform, still latched onto the wall.

"Vic, behind you!" Nathan's words came as the Stalker finished transforming, changing into yet another strange creature. This one had the standard Flood "mouth" of sorts, along with two short "legs" attached to the wall, several sharp protrusions near the "mouth," and finally a large, slightly-curled extension that came from the creature's back and went upwards.

And that extension was what caught Magnus' eye. It was covered from top to bottom in dangerous-looking spikes.

"It's a Ranged Form!" Zeke yelled, and Magnus was puzzled for a moment.

Why is called a Rang-

He had his answer. That second, the new enemy began unloading spikes from its back as if it were its own chain gun. Victoria was instantly on the move, dodging this way and that to try and keep from being impaled by them.

BOOM!

The new enemy detonated in a haze of smoke as Magnus fired a pair of Fuel Rods in its direction.

"You alright?" he asked, looking at the other Spartan.

"Yeah," she said, her voice still oddly distant. "I'm fi-"

"Less talking, more shooting!" Blaine roared, putting his Rocket Launcher on his right shoulder and firing twice into the now-approaching wave of Flood Forms. Magnus glanced around. They were coming still coming.

All of them were coming. They were leaping down from the upper floors and pouring in from the sides.

"We're surrounded!" Samuel shouted, and he raised the Spartan Laser to his shoulder.

"So much for a break, eh?" Zeke's voice was bitter but otherwise emotionless as he activated his camouflage and leapt into a group of Combat Forms approaching from the Spartans' right-hand side. After four seconds of half-cloaked, air-slicing movements, nineteen Combat Forms were in pieces, and the black-armored soldier had pulled out a pair of Pistols. Before Magnus could blink, he was firing like mad, knocking Flood Forms to the ground one-by-one, even as-

BOOM!

Once again, Magnus' thoughts were interrupted, but this time it was by a searing red laser that tore clean through the chamber, from one side to the other, utterly destroying anything in its path. Samuel had swung sideways as he fired it as well, to give it even more destructive potential.

But the Flood kept coming.

Seconds later, the Spartans were reduced to hand-to-hand combat as a veritable sea of undead creatures wound up among them, swinging their tentacles and firing with whatever weapons they happened to be carrying.

Magnus was only thankful that the majority of their weapons were small; nothing but Brute Spikers, Plasma Rifles, and even the occasional SMG.

Something crashed into the giant Spartan's back, causing him to stumble forward as his shield-alarm began to blare. When he turned, a former Brute, its body mangled and half-decayed, was close enough that he could make out the details inside its ugly mouth.

Magnus scowled and jumped forward, simultaneously pulling the Shotgun from his waist and pressing it to the center of the creature, even as it pulled its tentacles back for another shot.

BANG!

The Shotgun's roar echoed around the chamber as bits of green blood and pieces of the Brute's rotted flesh sprayed all over the back wall, and the Combat Form fell to the ground.

Magnus, nodding and realizing just how fragile these forms were, turned around and charged through the group of Spartans, yelling and smashing his giant fists and arms into any of the Combat Forms foolish enough to be in his grasp. He reached out and punched gaping holes in a few of their chests, searching for the Infection Form inside. When he found it, he crushed it, and ripped his arm out from the corpse, continuing to the next one in line.

Almost two-dozen Combat Forms dropped to the floor in Magnus' wake, but even more simply filled in the gaps, taking their places as if they didn't even matter.

"This is hopeless!" Zeke shouted, and Magnus heard him growl lowly as he impaled three different enemies.

"How much farther is it to that damned Control Room?" Nathan asked, firing the Shotgun in all directions.

"Not far!" Samuel said, planting his foot on a group of five Infection Forms, all of which popped instantly. "Let's head for the door!" He motioned to the other side of the hangar, and the dozens of new Combat Forms and Tank Forms that were standing in the way.

"I'll clear the way!" Blaine said, putting the Rocket Launcher on his back and bringing the Gravity Hammer up again. "Come here, you little bastards!" He roared, charging forward and pushing the Combat Forms out of the way as he raced toward the door.

"Zeke," Samuel said, "you're behind Blaine until the door, then you're back on point. Blaine: wait at the door for us to get through. Nathan is behind Zeke, with me behind him and Blaine following me. Magnus: you're next. And Vic: you've got the rear." After a pause, he shouted, "everybody move, now!"

Magnus watched Victoria closely as he rushed toward the door, following the trail of destruction that was the direct result of Blaine and a hammer. The Flood were still charging, but the white-armored Spartan's handiwork was enough to send them flying in all directions, knocking each other over and sending dozen after dozen rolling across the floor.

"Breka!" Samuel's voice echoed again over the intercom. "We need that door open, right now!"

"The Parasite has put up another block," the Elite answered, his tone exasperated. "And I cannot break through."

"Useless split-lip," Zeke growled, pushing his way passed the Flood Carrier Forms and impaling a Tank Form as he reached the door. He took the neuro-chip from his helmet and slid it inside a panel by the door.

"How long will he need?" Samuel asked.

No sooner did the words leave his mouth than the door slid open.

"Well," he finished, "that answers that. Let's go!"


Ten minutes later, the Spartans were sprinting down yet another narrow, Covenant-style hallway, with the Flood nipping at their heels. Zeke had Demon back in his head, and found himself giving the team constant updates on their progress.

"Another forty-seconds," he said, "and we should hit the Control Room."

"Finally!" Blaine shouted behind him. "It's about time we caught a damn break."

Ezekiel couldn't have agreed more. The Flood were nothing like the Covenant and required a completely different strategy. They would not be intimidated, confused, or antagonized in any way, shape or form. In addition to that, he could slaughter a hundred of them, and the rest of them wouldn't react in the slightest, except to keep on charging him. Killing some amounted to killing none. It was everything, or nothing.

"We're close." Demon said, cutting his train of thought. "Thirty meters: turn right. It's the door at the end of the hall."

"Got it," he answered, then focused on the team. "Right hand turn; then we're at the home-stretch."

"Thank God," Nathan said.

Zeke rolled his eyes. Yeah, he thought, looking up, thanks. Part of him felt guilty about the sarcasm, but a significant part of his conscience lacked any kind of remorse. After all, with everything that had gone on with ONI and Vic and Magnus, plus the fact that Spartans were then split up and tossed in the middle of a God-forsaken spaceship with the only creatures that even the Elites and the Covenant feared…

He scowled. It was ridiculous.

"There it is." Demon said, interrupting his thoughts once more.

This time, however, the Spartan didn't mind. He saw the door up ahead and smiled. Almost there.

"That the door?" the Spartan from Nova Company asked from behind him. Zeke nodded.

"That's it." He paused. "Hey!" he shouted. "Elite! If you're listening, you'd better get that damned door open, and sooner is better than later, if you catch my drift!"

"I am working on it, Demon." The Sangheili answered. After a full three seconds, Zeke saw the light around the door turn blue. "There. Come in, and hurry!"

Ezekiel forced himself to slow as he reached the door. He skidded to a halt and waited just outside for the rest of the group.

"Go! Go! Go!" he yelled, ushering in every Spartan that passed by him, starting with Nathan. Samuel slowed and reluctantly went inside, apparently accepting the fact that things would go faster if he just let the black-armored Spartan wait on the group. Blaine was next, and had just about reached the door when Ezekiel heard Victoria yell.

He glanced behind the white-armored Spartan in time to watch her trip and fall to the ground. Before a single Spartan could even contemplate a plan, the oncoming flood of Combat Forms had devoured her. There was a short scream, and then nothing.

"Ah…" Zeke stuttered quietly, his voice barely audible and his eyes as wide as they had ever been. "Vic…" he couldn't believe what he had just seen. And, to make matters worse, the black-armored Spartan had no idea how to react.

Before he could think on it, however, Magnus began shouting, slowing to a stop before turning around completely, less than ten feet from the door.

"No!" he roared, bringing his hands up and pointing them at the oncoming wave. "Victoria!"

It was then that Zeke realized what the giant Spartan was about to do.

"Put those down!" he managed, waving his hands at the giant Spartan. "If she's in there, you'll blow her and the entire hall straight to Hell!"

Magnus apparently agreed, because he put his arms down and was about to take off toward the group when Blaine grabbed him around the waist and began pulling him back.

"What the Hell?" the green-armored soldier shouted. "What the Hell are you doing? Let go!"

But it was no use: Blaine had rerouted every ounce of energy in his suit to the motor functions, and was proving strong enough even to overpower the giant Spartan before him. He effectively dragged Magnus into the room, and Ezekiel filed in behind them, the door slamming shut afterwards.

Blaine let go of him, and Magnus began stomping toward the door, only to be stopped by Samuel, who had positioned himself directly between the other giant Spartan and the door.

"Move," Magnus said coldly.

Samuel shook his head. "Stand down." He said. "You're not going out there."

"The Hell I'm not!" He shouted back, then forced himself to calm down. "Please, Sam: I have to get her back."

"You can't get her back." Samuel said. His voice was sorrowful, but stern. "She's dead, Magnus. I'm sorry. Truly, I am…but you have to accept it."

"No! I don't accept that, Samuel, ever!" He paused. "I have to get her back. I have to save her. Now move!"

"And just how do you intend to do that?" Samuel asked. "You know that by now they've infected her. By now, they've got her body to use as a puppet, and they'll use it against you."

"And I'll get her back-"

"How?" Samuel was shouting now as well. "You know just as I do that you couldn't lay a finger on that girl. How would you save her? Huh?"

Zeke sighed quietly at the silence that ensued. Magnus couldn't save her, because he couldn't hurt her.

It was a terrible irony.

"I have to try." The giant Spartan said. "I have to."

"Magnus," Samuel said calmly, "we're going to have our hands full just dealing with the Flood that are already aboard the ship. We can't lose a Spartan, have them gain a Spartan, and expect to be able to do this."

"We've already lost a Spartan!" Magnus shouted. "Now, for the last time: get out of my way. I won't take orders from you on this."

"And I don't take mine from you." For once, the brown-armored leader's voice was stone-cold. "Now stand down. That's an order."

At this, Magnus surprised everyone, and raised his hands, pointing them at Samuel's chest. "I won't ask again." He said, and a slight green glow began to radiate from them.

Samuel didn't flinch. "Put them down," he said sternly, "or I break them off." After a pause, he added, "your choice."

For a split-second, Ezekiel wondered if and how the other Spartan would react, but could only roll his eyes as Magnus slowly lowered his arms.

"Good," Samuel said. "Now, I promise you, we'll figure out a way t-"

He was interrupted as Magnus lashed out with his right hand, balling it into a fist and trying to punch the other Spartan. Samuel ducked to the left, made a fist of his own, and sent it crashing into the other soldier's gut, going straight through the shields and sending him stumbling backwards until he caught a raised part of the floor and fell over backwards.

Magnus cursed into his visor and started to get up, only to find himself firmly planted to the ground by Blaine's right foot.

"Stay down," the white-armored Spartan said. "We have problems enough already without you going rogue." He stopped, then added, "and besides: Sam'll kick your ass."

"One lucky shot-" Magnus started.

"And then," Blaine interrupted, "I'll kick your ass."

Zeke rolled his eyes. Power struggle, he thought bitterly. What a miserable waste of time. He closed his eyes and found that he could see nothing but the female Spartan's face, as compassionate and as confident as it had ever been. Then he thought of the Flood and the infection process, how she would be alive and conscious through the immense pain of breaking bones and her flesh being torn and rearranged; through the tentacles that would form and crash through her shoulder and destroy whatever was already there.

He thought of the Gravemind, gathering her thoughts and her memories, essentially raping her mind of everything it had ever known. His fists clenched at his sides, remembering the details that Cortana had recorded on the small, Covenant data-storage device about her abduction and "corruption." It was the one that the Master Chief had discovered when the Flood invaded New Mombasa. She talked about the pain, about the probing powers of the Flood, about the unrelenting force that worked to claim literally every ounce of her being.

And she was just an AI.

"Samuel," Ezekiel said coldly over a private channel, "we need to talk."


Author's Notes: Well, that's all for 54. I'm gonna get the next pair out just as soon as I can (I know, this is another cliffhangar...but really, it's hard to have anything else with the plan that I've set in motion). Please review and, if you have time, two is better than one, since I really want to break 600, lol.

Thanks all! Until next time!

- Raptor