Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - Terminator crossover. I was surprised by the feedback I got last chapter, especially when it came to the REV-3's. Looks like that's an addition I'll be keeping around for some time. Either way, thanks for your feedback, and I hope to see you in future chapters. As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or Terminator franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Carolo Pictures, Hemdale, Skydance Productions, 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers, producers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.


Unidentified Planet

Forerunner Ruins

November 2nd, 2552

As soon as Chief got his weapon ready, he heard a sound that was all too familiar to his ears. "Buggers," a Marine shouted as nearly twenty of the small, insectoid creatures flew into the chamber, firing Plasma Pistols and Needlers at the Marines and Terminators inside of the chamber. Moving fast, each Marine, ODST and Terminator got into cover, before firing their weapons at the flying insects. While the Drones were agile and fast, they were no match for the ODST's, Marines as well as the Terminators, all of whom were firing their weapons as precisely as they could. Soon, all of the Drones had been terminated, with the last one exploding as it's internal structure was flash boiled.

"Everyone good," Chief asked.

"We're good," William shouted. "We've got a Pelican coming in to a hover near one of the structures. I've been ordered by SKYNET to assist Miranda Keyes in retrieving the Index from the Library. Parsons, you make sure Chief is able to successfully complete his objective. Good luck." After a simple goodbye to Parsons, William walked out of the structure, returning to the area that they had originally come from, at the entrance to the structure.

A moment later, Chief noticed an urgent COM message from SKYNET. Keying his COM, he said, "Yes, sir. Is there something you need."

"I have new tactical information on the Covenant," SKYNET replied. "Specially designed underwater UAV's that the Pelican picking up William was carrying have detected a number of underwater structures in the lake. These are the only means of reaching the central structure in the lake. COM triangulation indicates that the Hierarch, Regret, is located at the central structure in the lake. You are to use the underwater structures, and any overland routes available, to reach the central structure and terminate the Hierarch."

"Affirmative," Chief replied. "We'll complete the mission."

"Affirmative. SKYNET out." With that, the COM channel ended. Making sure his M7/20E PDW was ready, Chief began scaling the internal ramps, moving up to the second floor before moving through a door that was located to the right of the chamber. Exiting the building, he could see what he recognized were crumbling stone structures; if he hadn't known better, he would've thought that another civilization lived on Delta Halo. Given what he knew about the Forerunners, though, it was likely they had created the stone structures using their advanced technology. Looking around, he could see a number of similarly sized platforms that connected to the one he was using via stone bridges. Most of these structures had been destroyed due to age and neglect, but there was one that was still relatively intact, though it was certainly starting to look spotty.

As he walked along, Cortana did a scan of the stony material. "Solid state engineering," she remarked. "No wonder these structures are still structurally sound, despite their age. The Forerunners certainly built to last, didn't they." Chief nodded in agreement, but he knew that special forces was his forte, not archaeology, materials science or structural engineering. As he moved up, he found himself being engaged by Jackal Snipers that were located on other parts of the platforms that were built over the water. Taking cover, he began picking off each Jackal Sniper, one at a time, until there were none left. With all the Snipers down, he continued to move up, neutralizing any Covenant that got in his way. Rounding another corner, he found himself engaged by more Covenant personnel.

This time, it was clear that Regret had realized that the UNSC, and SKYNET's forces, were here, as most of the Covenant ahead of his position were Elite Ultra's, Spec Ops and Zealots. While this would've constituted a major threat to a normal Marine squadron, this was a moderate threat to a squad like the one Chief was leading. As a result, instead of being forced back, Chief and the others dug in, firing their weapons in order to drive back the Covenant personnel. One Elite screamed as a REV-3 tackled it before ripping out it's throat, sending a spray of arterial blood into the air. A Zealot attempted to charge in and perform a rescue, only to be forced back by a fusillade of plasma bolts. Wading into the fight, Parsons began to use his fists, as often as his rifle, to beat back the Covenant, with Chief and the others firing back as quickly as possible. It took some time, but eventually, the Zealots, Ultras and Spec Ops were neutralized. Looking around, Chief could tell that everyone was still alive, but he did spot a Marine that was favoring his right leg, with a plasma bolt having punched through the armor. "Retreat and call for backup," he informed the Marine. "We'll continue on ahead." Nodding, the Marine limped back, grunting as he did so. As soon as he did, the stone bridge collapsed, cutting off their only means of escape.

"Well," Dubbo remarked. "No turning back now."

"Agreed," Parsons replied. "We must continue to press forward. If we remain mobile, we will prevent the Covenant from regrouping into a major force."

"Noted," Chief replied. Prepping his weapon, he continued forwards, checking the corners and shadows as he advanced into the structure. Entering the building, he found that the interior resembled a small meeting place, with a crumbling stone booth in the center, as well as a small walkway that ringed around the structure. Elites were the only units present inside, allowing Chief to open fire, while the ODST's and Marines added their gunfire to the mix. He was about to fire when he spotted his fusion mag's status. Realizing it was empty, he ducked behind cover and swapped out the mag, before coming out of cover to find that Parsons, the Marines and ODST's had terminated the Covenant.

"Here, take my ammo," an ODST remarked, handing Chief some of his Fusion Mags "I've got enough to last me for a few gunfights, but you don't." Nodding in appreciation, he grabbed the spare ammunition and put them in armored pouches, before finishing loading up his weapon. Ready to fight again, he continued to move up, with Parsons and the REV-3's acting as the rearguard, while he continued to lead the group through the structures. Eventually, they reached another part of the area that led to a large stone platform over the lake. A single, solitary stone structure was present in the middle of the platform, with what appeared to be seats surrounding it on either side, as well as what appeared to be walkways leading out over empty water. The Covenant, again, were present as well, as Chief spotted Jackal Snipers as well as a couple Elite Ultras that were present.

Taking cover, he looked at the others and said, "This is the plan. The REV-3's will handle the Jackal Snipers and any Grunts in the area. We'll handle the Elites, as well as any Hunters that are in the area. Once that is done, we'll call for a resupply and head out from there. Understood?" When the others nodded, he nodded as well, before taking up position. Priming a grenade, he waited until two of the eight Elites were next to each other, before hurling the grenade at them. Both Elites were vaporized before they knew what had hit them, with the others whirling around as they attempted to determine what was happening. A Jackal Sniper attempted to fire, only to be tackled by a REV-3. At the same time, the Marines and ODST's opened fire, peppering the remaining Elites with plasma fire. Clambering over cover, Chief moved forwards, before terminating an Elite that was taking cover in order to recharge it's shields. He was about to move forwards when an Elite tackled him from the side, before attempting to stab him in the side with a Plasma Dagger. That attempted was foiled, however, when Parsons kicked the Elite hard enough to toss him into the air, before grabbing it and wrenching it's head off. "Thanks," Chief replied.

"You're welcome," Parsons replied, before continuing to fire on the Covenant. Within a few minutes, the enemy forces were neutralized. Walking towards the edge of the platform, Chief looked out towards the lake, engaging the zoom function on his helmet. Looking around, he noticed what appeared to be gondolas or funiculars that were moving around, with one having recently disengaged from the platform they were at. That's probably how they reach those structures over there, Chief thought to himself. It makes sense, given how large the lake is. He could clearly see propulsion units underneath each gondola. He was about to look more closely when something settled onto his shoulder, a very heavy something on top of that. Disengaging the zoom function, Chief turned to his right to see a four winged, reptilian creature sitting on his right shoulder, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Two beady, slit eyes looked at him suspiciously, as though the creature had no idea what it was looking at. It's feathery wings were a dark brown in color, with similar plumage on it's long tail. Chief calmly looked at the creature, a bored expression on his face.

Apparently, the creature was just as bored as he was of it, as it promptly took off, flapping it's wings in order to meet up with a flock of it's own kind. Hearing some snickering, Chief turned to see one of the Marines trying very hard not to laugh, despite the fact he was failing rather miserably at that. Chief did understand the absurdity of what had happened, so he decided to let that go; besides, soldiers needed good morale in order to fight effectively, so who was he to stifle the Marine's enjoyment. Instead, he allowed the Marine to have his fun while he could. Moments later, however, any form of enjoyment was stifled, as they heard the distinctive whining moan of a Phantom coming in, or rather two Phantoms coming in. "Uh oh," Dubbo remarked "We've got Phantoms inbound."

"No shit, Captain Obvious," an ODST remarked. "We've got incoming!" Following the man's suggestions, the Marines and ODST's took cover almost immediately, crouching behind anything that was substantial enough to withstand plasma fire. The Phantoms flew overhead moments later, each gimballed turret on the bottom sweeping the area for any hostiles to neutralize. Coming to a stop, both Phantoms disgored two Hunters each, before taking off for other parts of the region. "Take cover," an ODST shouted, with everyone moving behind anything that was substantial enough to survive a blast from a Fuel Rod Cannon.

"I will handle this," Parsons replied. Reaching over his back, the he pulled out the M42A4 SSR it had been saving for such an occasion. Replacing the spent missile tubes with freshly loaded ones, he took aim at one of the Hunters and immediately let off a missile. The Hunter in question exploded into a gory mess, with nanolaminate armor and worms being hurled in all directions, as well as a shower of orange fluid. The second Hunter roared in rage as it's bonded partner was terminated, only for it's screams to be cut off when a second missile tore through it, destroying the alien almost immediately. "Targets terminated," Parsons reported.

Looking out at the lake once again, Chief spotted a gondola heading in their direction, no doubt laden with Covenant forces wanting to make mincemeat out of them. A moment later, Miranda came in over the COM. "Chief, I'm sending you a Pelican so that you can rearm and resupply. I'm sorry, these Pelicans are all the support you're going to get. We can't risk engaging the Corvettes until reinforcements arrive.

"Roger that," Chief replied. "We'll push on to Regret and terminate him. Sierra-117 over and out." As he said this, he heard the distinctive sounds of a Pelican's engines moving towards his position. Moments later, the VTOL came into view, with a number of weapon pods on the bottom of the vehicle. Once it was overhead, the Pelican deployed the weapon pods, with each one landing and embedding itself into the ground. Once they were all deployed, the Pelican took off, heading for it's next objective. Spotting an SRS-99e, he asked, "Which of you is a marksman?"

"I am," an ODST replied.

"Take this rifle," Chief ordered. "If any long range contacts come up, terminate them. From now on, any contacts ahead of our position are to be assumed hostile until confirmed otherwise." Nodding in agreement, the ODST's and Marines began to load up on ammunition and weapons. Looking around, he spotted one of the gondolas in the lake, with the large vehicle quickly approaching their position. Having gotten the rifle, the ODST Sniper moved into position, weapon at the ready as he waited for any contacts to appear on his scope. A moment later, Chief watched as three plasma bolts tore out of the rifle at hypersonic velocity, with a trio of Elites tumbling down as the bolts tore through their shields and armor, killing them instantly.

After a minute, the gondola docked to the platform, with the loading walkways deploying moments later. Moving forwards, Chief, the Marines and the ODST's moved forwards cautiously, making sure no Elites snuck up on them. That caution was well rewarded, as an Elite Ultra attempted to sneak up on one, only for a REV-3 to spot it's active camouflage and leap into action, with the canine-like machine tackling the Elite and ripping out it's throat.. At the same time, Chief blasted another one with his shotgun, tearing open the Elite's chest and sending it tumbling back down the ramp into the passenger area of the gondola. With the gondola cleared of hostiles, he walked up to the controls and pressed an icon, causing the gondola to separate from the platform. Moments later, he felt a gentle nudge on the front part of his body, as the gondola accelerated forwards to it's destination. "Hhmm," Cortana remarked. "This lake doesn't seem to be that natural. It seems to have either been made by the Forerunners when they built this ring, or it was formed by some other cataclysmic event." Noticing Chief's silence, she said, "Sorry. Were you trying to kill something?"

Chief didn't reply, as he knew no words needed to be said. Nearby, the Marines began to idly chat to each other, while the ODST's remained silent. As if to pass the time, a Marine began pulling out what appeared to be a deck of cards. Parsons was conducting a patrol on the gondola, and the REV-3's were keeping an eye out as well, though a few acted as though they were sleeping. Other than the sound of the gondola's propulsion system working, there was simply silence. This silence was promptly interrupted when a Marine said, "Uh, oh. We've got hostiles on an incoming gondola up ahead!"

"Everyone get ready," one of the ODST's remarked. "We've got incoming!" Just like that, the Marines immediately got into position, with most taking position near the entrance to the lower section of the gondola. A few seconds later, the second gondola drew up to theirs, with both gondolas coming to a stop moments later. Right on cue, Drones flew out of the second gondola, chittering loudly as they fired their weapons at the UNSC Marines and ODST's. Chief calmly engaged moments later, using an M45E Tactical Shotgun he'd borrowed earlier to blast the Drones out of the sky like a hunter out duck hunting. At the same time, the Marines and ODST's engaged Elites that were on the gondola, taking them out one at at time. Eventually, all of the enemy contacts were down, with both gondolas moving in separate directions moments later.

Eventually, the Forerunner structure in that part of the lake was much closer than before, allowing Chief to spot what he thought were Shade Turrets. He was about to order fire on the turrets when the ODST he had armed with the SR engaged, blasting both turrets apart with the powerful plasma bolt. "Nice shot," a Marine remarked, just as the gondola docked, with loading ramps connecting to the vessel before locking themselves down.

Walking up, Chief watched as a Jackal sprinted out of the door, running so fast that it smacked Parsons. It was like a rock hitting the side of a concrete wall, as the Jackal bounced off a moment later, coming to land on the ground, it's eyes rolling up into it's head as it lost consciousness. "Whoops," Dubbo remarked. "Looks like he met an immovable object." The Marines snickered somewhat at the joke, with Chief and the ODST's ignoring them as they moved inside.

"Poor situational awareness," Parsons remarked as he took up the rearguard. The interior of the facility was an organized mess, as Covenant supply crates were strewn about the place. Ignoring those, Chief found that the facility had two levels; the first one, the one he was currently on, had a number of ramps leading to a rectangular hole in the floor. The second level presumably led outside, with ramps leading upwards to the exterior. Jackals were inside, with the Elites having left in an effort to drive the UNSC forces away, along with some drones. Neutralizing them was fairly easy, given the amount of numbers that they had. Hearing some more sounds, Chief spotted Drones flying inside, with the Marines opening fire immediately. Parsons and the ODST's also fired, killing some of the Drones in the process. One REV-3, in a particularly surprising act of agility, leaped up into the air and chomped down on one of the Drones, with the creature screaming as the machine bit down hard. Moments later, it was split in half, with the REV-3 snarling loudly as the rest of the Drones were terminated.

"SKYNET was right," Cortana observed as Chief looked down into the rectangular hole, spotting what he realized was water down below.
Looks like there's an underwater tram system that leads to the other structures," Cortana remarked. "Looks like we're going down, unless you prefer to swim."

"No thank you, please," Chief replied.

"My chassis is not optimized for underwater exploration," Parsons replied. While he was waterproof, Parsons didn't have the equipment necessary to swim underwater. While he said this, Chief noticed something moving around at the bottom of the shaft. Said something soon revealed itself to be a watertight submersible, which held a few Elites inside. The submersible was accessible via a door that opened on the side opposite of where the ramp to the hole led. "We have incoming," Parsons remarked. "I will terminate the Covenant in the submersible."

"Understood," Chief nodded. Moving into position, the Terminator waited until the submersible was pulled out of the hole, with the doors opening moments later. As soon as the doors opened, the Terminator rushed inside, fists ready as he leaped into action. The submersible shook and jolted around as the machine began tearing apart the Covenant personnel that were inside the submersible. Chief watched as Elites and Jackals were thrown about like pin balls, with the interior quickly becoming splattered with cyan blue and purple color. After about a minute and a half, the submersible stopped being jostled about, with Parsons walking out a moment later, drenched in Elite and Jackal blood.

"Contacts terminated," he reported.

"Wow," Dubbo remarked. "It was like a murderous pinball machine was in there. Remind me not to get on your bad side, Parsons." Looking inside, he said, "Fuck me running. It looks like a blender was let loose in there. Unfortunately, there's only room for a few people. We'll have to leave some behind."

"Agreed," Chief nodded. "Parsons, you, Dubbo, and two ODST's will come with me. The rest will have to extract to the In Amber Clad. We don't have the capacity to move everyone through."

"Understood," one of the ODST's replied. "We'll head outside and call for extraction." With that, the ODST's left the chamber, along with most of the Marines and the REV-3's. One REV-3 remained behind long enough to paw at Chief's armor, with the Spartan patting the machine before it left the building. Moving inside, he kicked out the shattered and pulverized bodies of the Covenant personnel before allowing the others inside. Turning around, Chief pressed the controls to the submersible, which didn't seem to be damaged at all. Moments later, the submersible descended, halting briefly before fully submerging moments later. Underwater, the lake took on an ethereal beauty that the surface lacked. Despite the blood covered windows obscuring his vision, Chief could see vibrant kelp, seaweeds and underwater flora glimmered in the light that filtered in from above, making it seem as though the Covenant-Human War was ultimately insignificant compared to the entirety of the universe. Fish swam by the submersible, seemingly not concerned with the people inside.

While they traveled along, Cortana said, "I just intercepted a heavily encrypted transmission from Regret's Corvette. Apparently, Regret jumped the gun when he attacked Earth. He's asking the other Prophets to 'forgive his haste and impatience, as no human presence was foretold.' That would explain why he came with such a small fleet, but it's odd that a Prophet would have such bad intel on his enemy's homeworld."

"It is odd," Dubbo remarked. "Personally speaking, I think one of the Prophets knows more than he's letting on. Maybe one of them deliberately left the others in the dark."

"That is a likely assumption," Parsons agreed. As he said this, the submersible began moving upwards, entering another square slot in the structure above. After a few seconds, the submersible came to a stop, allowing the ODST's and the others to exit the submersible. Checking the small booth they had arrived in, he gave the others the all clear signal, before they began moving through the interior of the structure.

Moving through various rooms, they eventually came to a large, underwater tunnel that connected to another structure ahead of their position. The tunnel was tall, but it was fairly narrow in width, with most of the walls being made out of transparent Forerunner alloy that allowed the others to continue viewing the underwater vista of the lake. A number of Grunt Ultras were present in the underwater tunnel, as well as some Jackals, a few Skirmisher Champions, as well as two Elite Zealots that were present. Taking position, Chief and the others waited until the Zealots were inside of the room, before opening fire. Plasma streaked through the air at high velocity as the Covenant in the room were caught off guard, with the exception of the Zealots. Both Zealots took cover moments later, firing their plasma rifles at Chief and the others. Moving forwards, he rushed to where the Zealots were before engaging, with Parsons tackling the other to the ground. Dodging a swipe from an Energy Sword, he got inside the Elite's guard before shoulder slamming it, sending the Zealot tumbling to the ground. Moments later, he pumped a few rounds into it's body, killing it instantly. Looking to his left, he could see that Parsons had also terminated his Zealot.

With all hostiles down, they continued their advance forwards, checking each room and hallway so that they wouldn't be caught off guard. Passing through a pair of double doors, they found themselves entering a tremendously large, underwater chamber. The entire chamber was ornately fashioned, with Forerunner alloy being used in angular, high relief architecture, with a number of holographic images being displayed in the air. Transparent view ports continued to show off the underwater vista, and the lighting in the room seemed to ripple and waver as light filtered in from above the water. It was here, though, that the highest concentration of Covenant were present, as Chief spotted Zealots, Grunt Ultra's, a pair of Hunters, as well as a number of Drones that were flying about in the air. Pulling back behind the doors, Chief said, "Parsons, tactical assessment."

"The Hunters and Elites present the greatest threat," Parsons replied, using his ocular sensors to determine where the enemy was at. "They will be assigned the highest termination priority. The Grunt Ultra's and Drones will have the lowest priority, but they should still be regarded as inimical threats to our mission. The possibility of reinforcements is certain, given this room's strategic importance."

"Agreed," Chief nodded. "ODST's, you and Dubbo will handle the Grunts and Drones. Parsons and I will handle the Elites and the Hunters. Understood?"

"Affirmative," Dubbo replied.

"Good." Getting into position, Chief began counting down with his fingers. Once he clenched his fist, he and Parsons advanced forwards, weapons ready as they began the attack. Moving into position, Parsons pulled out his Missile Launcher and fired off a pair of missiles, blowing apart the Hunters on the ground. At the same time, Chief opened fire on the Elite Zealots, drawing their attention while Parsons moved to provide fire support. Nearby, Dubbo and the ODST's engaged the Drones and the Grunts, with Dubbo handling the Grunts while the ODST's focused fire on the Drones, which were the greater threat. The entire room was awash with plasma fire as the UNSC forces engaged the Covenant. Vaulting over cover, Chief kicked a Zealot in the face before blasting it's chest apart with his shotgun, killing the Zealot and disintegrating most of it's internal organs. Nearby, Parsons stunned an Elite, before picking it up and hurling it into a group of Zealots, knocking them over like bowling pins in an alley. Just then, enemy reinforcements arrived, forcing the entire squad to use any means available to defeat the Covenant.

Just then, one of the ODST's, having neutralized the Drones, was knocked over by a Zealot that was aiming to kill him, causing the man to fire his underbarrel grenade launcher on reflex. The grenade detonated against one of the transparent viewports, causing it to begin cracking. Seeing his comrade about to die, Dubbo charged forwards and body slammed the Elite, allowing the ODST to get back up and fire back, killing the Zealot. Hearing some cracking, he looked up to see water beginning to stream inside the structure. "No good," he shouted. "Definitely not good!"

"The structure is about to lose integrity," Parsons reported calmly. "Within thirty seconds, this room will be inundated with water." As he said this, other view ports began to crack, having been damaged during the firefight.

"Everyone move," Chief shouted. Immediately, everyone of the men in the room began to charge forwards, running through the doors and into another one of the water filled tunnels. Moving forwards, he shoved aside what he knew was an invisible Elite, though everyone was moving quickly enough that the Covenant couldn't engage in time. As they reached the submersible, Chief heard a loud, cracking sound, along with the sound of water rushing into the interior of the underwater building. Hitting the submersible controls, he watched as the others threw themselves inside, with Parsons entering moments later. As soon as the doors shut, a massive deluge of water surged into the room, submerging the submersible in an instant. The bodies of Elites and Grunts were yanked into the room by the force of the deluge, with some of the aliens still very much alive as they began to drown. After a couple seconds, the submersible began moving downwards, exiting out into the lake moments later.

"Whew," Dubbo gasped, taking off his helmet before wiping his face with a handkerchief. "That was way too close. We nearly began to swim with the guppies there."

"I agree," one of the ODST's nodded. "That was far too close for my liking." Chief silently agreed with the others. While MJOLNIR Powered Armor was airtight, it was heavy enough that swimming was out of the question.

As the submersible moved through the water, Cortana said, "Regret's Corvette just received a response, a very well encrypted message sent by the Prophet of Truth from something called 'High Charity.' Listen to this, 'Your haste has threatened our Covenant, jeopardized our Great Journey. That you should be spared a public display of our contempt is only thanks to Mercy and his wise words.' Truth, Regret and Mercy, three Covenant Hierarchs. Killing one should shake up the Covenant, but frankly, it sounds like you'd be doing Truth a favor."

"Agreed," Parsons replied. Nearby, Chief nodded in agreement. It was one thing to terminate an enemy, but it was something else entirely when one was manipulated to do so by a rival in the same organization. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he knew that they had no other choice but to follow along. All other thoughts were promptly dispelled when the submersible reached it's destination, opening as soon as it reached the room and offloading chamber. Getting out, Chief moved up silently, assassinating an Elite Honor Guard that hadn't spotted him yet. The next one did, with Chief blasting it in the chest with his shotgun. Moving outside, the squad found themselves in a small clearing, which led to more ruins on the other side. Apparently, the fact that Regret was in the other structure meant that the area was all clear, as the Covenant were more concerned about the UNSC reaching him and terminating him.

As a result, Chief and his men were unhampered in their efforts to get to the next gondola loading ramp. The gondola that arrived was, thankfully, empty of hostiles, allowing the squad to move on without difficulty. As they moved towards the Forerunner structure in the center of the lake, Cortana keyed her COM. "Captain, how's it coming," she asked.

"We're currently at the library," Miranda Keyes replied. "We can't seem to get inside, there's some kind of barrier. We're currently trying to find a way around. On the upside, the UNSC personnel and SKYNET's forces are quickly securing the area. The Sentinels haven't been attacking us, probably since they know we're authorized to come here. Beyond that, we're just looking for a way inside."

"Roger that," Cortana replied. "We're about to reach the structure that Regret is currently holed up inside. Once we've neutralized him, we'll link up with your forces and take the Library."

"Roger that," Miranda replied. "Captain Miranda Keyes, over and out." With that, the COM fell silent again.

As they moved forwards, Chief spotted another gondola coming in their direction, just like last time. Unlike the loading area, which had been vacant, this gondola had a number of Elites onboard. "Elite Rangers," Parson called out. "They will attempt to prevent us from reaching the central structure."

"Agreed," Chief nodded. "Everyone, prepare to repel boarders." At his orders, the others moved into position, weapons ready as they anticipated the Elite Rangers. Moments later, two Elite Rangers powered up their Jump Packs, leaping over the gap between the gondolas before landing on the one Chief and the others were at. Immediately, plasma fire erupted, with the Rangers being ripped apart by the fusillade of plasma bolts; when the other gondola came to a stop, nearly fifteen more Rangers leaped into action.

Punching one in the face, Parsons tore off it's Jump Pack before kicking it over the edge, sending the alien screaming into the lake below. "No hitchhikers," he remarked before engaging another Ranger, grabbing it by the head and pulling so hard, he tore it's head cleanly of it's neck. Taking the Elite's head, he hurled the grizzly projectile into another one, sending that Ranger tumbling backwards into another one before blowing them apart with a grenade. Nearby, Chief smoothly engaged his own Elite Rangers, shooting one in the head before stabbing his knife into the chest of another one, while Dubbo and the others provided cover fire. Eventually, all of the hostiles were down, though the gondolas had started moving on well before this point. As soon as that fight ended, another one started as the gondola docked to the central structure. Grunt Ultras, Skirmisher Champions and Elite Zealots engaged their position, only to be met with a wall of plasma fire as the combined squad fought them off. Eventually, all hostiles were down, with each of the Covenant forces being reduced to smoking corpses.

As he walked along, he thought he heard Dubbo yelp loudly, before firing off his weapon. Turning around, he noticed that the Marine had shot the dead corpse of a Grunt. "What's wrong," he asked, turning around.

"That corpse just twitched," Dubbo replied. "I also heard this deep growling sound, like a bear was nearby. The weird part is that I didn't see anything, but I've got this gut feeling that something bad is about to happen. Orders?"

"We'll handle Regret on my own," Chief replied. "You take the gondola and get out of here. Inform the Marines to wave off. I'll return when it can." With that, the ODST's handed Chief and Parsons any spare ammunition they had before getting onto the gondola and leaving. As he walked along, Chief remembered what the ODST had said. He recalled a similar situation when Kurt, one of his friends, had a bad feeling during an op against an Insurrectionist outpost. That bad feeling turned out to be true, as the Insurrectionists had nearly captured them, only for Kurt to come in and save the day. If what he's saying is true, I'll need to keep my eyes open, Chief thought. It was a similar gut feeling that had saved Jenkins and his men at Installation 04, so it could be that the Flood had something up their sleeves, if they had sleeves that is.

Just as he thought this, Cortana said, "Chief, look. That's the largest Covenant fleet I've seen, the largest anyone has ever seen." Looking up, Chief watched as hundreds, if not thousands, of Covenant ships appeared from Slipspace, along with a massive, bulbous space station. "We need to get inside and kill Regret before it can stop us," Cortana told Chief.

"Agreed," Chief nodded. Looking at Parsons, he asked, "Ready?"

"Affirmative," Parsons replied. Moving forwards, they found themselves being confronted at every turn by Elite Honor Guards. "Honor Guards," Cortana warned. "They're all over the place. Regret must be here!"

"Not now," Chief told Cortana as he opened fire. There were a lot of Elite Honor Guards, enough that Chief had concerns about running out of ammo. As a result, he focused on eliminating their shields, while Parsons terminated the Honor Guards in a one-two punch. Moving forwards, they continued to engage the enemy personnel before reaching a pair of double doors. On a count of three, they moved towards the doors, which opened up moments later. The inner chamber of the Forerunner Structure was like a massive cathedral, with walkways on either side, ramps that led up and down, and large platforms capable of holding dozens of people at at time. Another platform was at the back, which held a single individual. That's a face only a mother would love, Chief thought when he spotted Regret on his personal, anti-gravity unit.

Regret seemed to be of the same opinion, as he shouted, "The Demon, and his Terminator! Loyal Elites, silence these foul beasts!" With that, a large number of Honor Guards closed in on Chief, weapons in hand as they prepared to kill him. A mistaken belief, if ever there was one. Moving quickly, Chief could feel himself entering Spartan Time, with the world seeming to slow down to a crawl, while his mind seemed to accelerate to it's maximum speed. Moving quickly and fluidly, Chief quickly began neutralizing the Honor Guards, using the halberd of one to quickly silence the others. Like a raging, olive drab tornado, Chief tore through the Honor Guards, sending limbs and blood flying through the air.

While Chief was engaging the Honor Guards, Parsons moved to engage Regret. Moving far faster than any human being could ever hope, he leaped into the air and landed directly on Regret's anti-gravity unit, causing the machine to tumble ass over teakettle in the air. Regret was thrown to the ground, with the Hierarch whimpering as he crawled backwards in an ill-fated attempt to avoid his fate, even as it landed calmly onto the ground and walked over to him. Before he could make any considerable distance, Parsons picked him up and hoisted him into the air. "MONSTER," Regret screamed, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated fear as he kicked and squirmed in Parson's grasp.

"I am a not a monster," Parsons replied. "I am a Terminator. You have been terminated." With that single proclamation, Parsons plunged his fist into Regret's chest, smashing through the Hierarch's ribs as though they didn't exist. Regret screamed, a loud wailing sound as the Terminator crushed his heart, before pulling it out of his body. Dropping the ruined organ, the Terminator squeezed the Hierarch's neck… hard. There was a loud CRACK as Regret's neck was snapped, with his spinal cord being severed in the process. Moments later, Regret went limp, with the life in his eyes fading almost instantly. Target Terminated. A moment later, Parsons dropped Regret's lifeless corpse. Hearing no sound, he turned to see that Chief had neutralized the Honor Guards, with not a single opponent left in the chamber.

As the chamber became filled with silence, they heard Cortana say, "Bad news, the enemy fleet's on it's way with a ship. It's preparing to fire. We need to leave now."

Running outside, Chief and Parsons watched as a Covenant Carrier activated it's energy projector weapon, causing the water below to boil from the addition of superheated energy. Running the opposite direction, they landed on part of the structure below, as the beam began to draw closer. Running as fast as he could, he gave a loud, raw shout as he leaped off the Forerunner structure and into the water, with Parsons silently leaping into the water as well. The impact of water hitting his armor, and the resulting concussive force, was enough to knock Chief out, while Parsons, being a machine, remained fully conscious of his situation. Looking around, he began to scan the surrounding area when something attracted his attention. Analyzing… ALERT: Flood Matter Detected. Activating Logic Plague Countermeasures… Countermeasures Activated. Backup Files Created. Flood Countermeasures Fully Activated. As soon as this happened, a swarm of tentacles wrapped around Parsons, with the machine struggling against the assault, while one wrapped around Chief's waist before dragging the unconscious man further into the water.

While Parsons couldn't hear it, a voice was speaking all the while. "This is not your grave," a deep, thunderous voice rumbled. "But, you are welcome in it."