Well it's been awhile, but I'm back in Halo! I really hope to make as much chapters as I can. It ain't easy to try and continue multiple fanfics at once during writers block. So here is the continuation of Nexus.

Planet Reach, 2525

He wasn't sure if he was going on the right direction, but the more he moves fast, the more everything begins to come together on his head. The buildings. They look familiar. Like he see's them each time he is in his parents car. It becomes more clearer and clearer. He then notices something that makes him stop.

This was it. The same alleyway where he was taken. He remembers when he was 8 years old. Mom yelled at him and kicked him out of the house. He wanted to stay away from her as possible. He wouldn't mind even sleeping outside just so he wouldn't have to deal with her. He could remember his face still red from all the crying and his head aching relentlessly. He sits alone, trying to mend to himself. He would be interrupted by the men in black. He seems to not mind them at first. They weren't his Mother after all. Although that would quickly change once they grab him. He would be scared by them just taking him without any word or reason he is aware of at the time. Grim could see it all from now. From the alley to the street where he tried to shake them off in vain. At that moment, he wanted his Mom to save him.

Now in the present day, he finds himself in a personal impasse. He thought about how his Mother would say to him. The fear of her yelling at him because of things out of his control is looming. However he remembers Daisy's words. How his Mother will always love him. Would she accept him after leaving her for so long? He would never know if he just stands around. So he leaves the alley and the way towards his home becomes more clear. Eventually, he finds it. The house he has known years again. His home.

Planet Arcadia, 2530

He couldn't tell how many of them he killed just now. But as of now, it doesn't matter. Now there in a far forest, another Scarab is being developed. A much more powerful version of the one in the city. Although it looks incomplete and its like an exoskeleton of the previous one. But it could completely blast a Scorpion Tank in one blast easily. With some back up and more Scorpions, plus some Rocket Launchers in certain well placed weak points, it is at its last legs. "[Almost there. The Scarab is almost destroyed.]" States Serina the Artificial Intelligence.

One of the marines in the front line would cover his ears from the amount of Tank firing in such close proximity. "We already shot millions of led on that thing! What else can we stuff it with?!" The same Sargent back in Harvest. He really misses his break already.

Grim would look at all the bodies of the Elites and Grunts on the floor. He finds something interesting. Two blue small balls that turns out to be Plasma Grenades that the Covenant uses. He takes both of them and inspects them. He knows how sticky they are when thrown. He notices a red spot that he assumes is the thing that makes it sticky. At least after he throws it. He notices the Scarab charging another blast. In order to end this without anymore destruction, he throws both Grenades at the right time before it shoots. In a blue fiery blaze, the Scarab's cannon completely explodes. "Bullseye!" Grim shook his fist, feeling satisfied with his throw.

"[No problem. I told you we'd make it.]" Serina states.

Sargent Hauser then falls on his knees. "Phew! Don't milk it..." Very exhausted from this battle.

Captain Cutters voice can be heard from the coms. "The Scarab is destroyed. Victory is ours."

Grim rolls his shoulders, feeling a little tired due to the amount of leaps and dodges he had to do when the Scarab and the Banshees was blasting all over his direction. He turns around to see the leader of Omega Team approach him. "Oh, forgot you were here. Uh...what was your name again?"

"Leon." He goes face to face with the darkly clad Spartan. "And despite your impressive work, you still answer to me."

Grim chuckles under his helmet. "You know...despite the super gruff voice you got there, you're actually cute thinking you own me like some property. But...that's the thing. I don't have a prize tag in me. I am not for sell. And I am certainly not your toy soldier. You want me to make it more simpler for ya soldier boy?" Their faces get closer, he could feel that Leon didn't like that one bit.

Forge then walks in. "Hey now guys. None of that. You forgot that we're in war?"

Leon seemingly ignored Forge's words, only to walk back, then turn around to walk away. Grim watches him leave. "Heh...lapdog."

Forge then points his finger at Grim. "Don't start. This is hardly the time nor place."

Grim raises his arms. "Oh I hear you loud and clear 'sir.'" He walks off.

"[Specter. If I may. I asked Professor Anders to meet deeper in the forest.]"

"Or what? To make some conspiracy club?" Grim couldn't care less of Arcade's interests.

"[Conspiracies imply false myths. This is real, and not at all fabricated. You seen the artifact in Harvest. This is important for Anders to learn about this.]"

Grim groans. "You are getting on my last nerves. I don't care about this ancient alien bullshit. I only agreed to do this cause I needed a ride out of Harvest."

"[I understand you are still grieving over Daisy's coma. But there is still a chance she'll awake. What I gave you is not just orders, but purpose. You had very little chance to survive Harvest. Plus without your intervention, Daisy and her team would have died for sure. You are the only one who can save lives, and bring humanity a chance to manage against the Covenant.]"

Grim was silent, thinking about it. Then he spoke up, with one thing in mind. "So am I some pawn for humanity?"

"[Hardly. You are a Specter who guides humanity. The UNSC doesn't dictate your actions. The future dictates us all.]"

Grim tilts his head confused. "What kind of talk was that?"

"[It was something my creator would say.]"

Grim thought about it more. Then scoffs. "Hmph...stupidest thing I ever heard..." He then turns around to go deeper into the forest. Time passes and he finds himself standing around while Ambers inspects the remains of the Scarab. From what they heard, the Covenant managed to find a way to mix the Forerunner tech with their own tech, although they didn't give them a chance to complete it. They discovered the Forerunner Artifacts faster than they thought, but they took care of it in time. Anders wishes to see how much of the tech is Covenant, and which is not. "Found anything?"

Anders keeps on searching. "Not just yet."

Grim shakes his head and groans. "This is killing me..."

Forge would walk in, noticing a piece of the cannon. "Hey. How about this for the scrapbook Professor?" Grim snorts a bit from that comment.

Anders sighs in annoyance. "If you don't mind Sargent, I'm trying to document this area for study."

Forge throws the cannon in disappointment. Grim shakes his head. "Killjoy. This is why I hate eggheads..." He would sit on a large piece of the destroyed alien tank and checks on his assault rifle.

As Anders continues her work, she noticed something strange. "What the-" Then something grabs her by the neck. "Hugh!"

Then from out of nowhere, the silver armored Arbiter reveals himself in front of Anders. Grim jolts at the sight of him. "Shit!" He almost shoots his Assault Rifle, which Forge stops him.

"No! You'll hit her!" Grim groans in annoyance as Forge points his pistol carefully to the large Elite. "Why don't you put the lady down and talk about this man to freak?"

Grim then steps in and throws his assault rifle away. "I got a better idea. How about we go full on freak show in this shit?"

Fal then throws Anders out of the way. "As you wish." He then rushes in to grab Grim. The Spartan retaliates with doing the same, and both colossal fighters lock hands. They both struggle as neither has the advantage until Grim headbutts him and starts punching the Elite multiple times. That is until the silver clad Elite dodges the next punch, grabs his arm and twists it around, causing the Spartan to shout and then slam his head to the ground.

Forge proceeds to shoot his pistol to the alien attacker. This causes the Arbiter to disappear in plain sight with his cloaking technology. Forge looks around to find his target. The Elite would then grab the marine's gun, and then brings out his energy sword and slash Forge in the chest, causing him to fall down. He gets ready to finish him.

"Stop!" Professor Anders gets in the way of the killer elite. "I'll come quietly if you let both of them live!"

Arbiter would then turn off his sword and drags the professor to the beam of light that leads to one of the Covenants ships. Grim shoots at the light, only to miss them. "Fuck!"

Coming in too late, a warthog with Red Team shows up. Jerome looks down to see the downed Forge. "Sir?"

Forge coughed. "I'm okay..."

Douglas finds the downed Grim and brings his hand to him. Grim however smacks it aside and stands up on his own. "Yeah...right on time guys." He sarcastically says.

"Spirit of Fire. This is Forge. I lost Anders." Forge gets up.

Cutter responds back in the ship. "What happened?"

"Some massive Elite came out of nowhere!" Forge states.

Grim wipes the dirt off his suit. "I bet that was apart of your plan too piece of junk?"

"[Anders was the best person to be captured. They can't afford to kill her with her information, plus she is also well informed with using the Forerunners artifacts. More than the Prophets. All we need to do is follow her.]"

Grim groans. "Yeah yeah..." He follows everyone back in the pelican.

Spirit of Fire, 2530...

Ralph sits next to the comatose Daisy. He lets out a heavy sigh. "I know I shouldn't worry...but damn it I can't stop thinking of you. After being apart from you, I was so sure we'd never see each other again. But then I heard you were back at Harvest...heh...it sounds too good to be sure..." He stops and thinks about a possibility on what if Grim wasn't there to save them. Their reunion would have been completely brief and anti-climatic. He felt foolish for ignoring Daisy when she told him to go. He knows she'll yell at him for trying to stay and fight. "I am sorry...I'm just...so sorry...I only hope you can forgive me for almost getting us all killed..." He covered his face with his hands, trying to hold in his emotions. After all the training and disciplining by his couches, it all didn't amount to much if he could be this worked up. He would leave, unable to say goodbye or see you later. He just can't focus when around her. He just has to do his job and hope to survive this time. He can't screw up again. Not this time. He walks through the hallway, until he notices the boy Grim saved back in Harvest. David came out of the bathroom and notices the tall marine.

"Oh! Um..." The boy was clearly nervous around him.

Ralph tried to not scare him off. "Uh...what's wrong? Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you."

David tried to think about what to say. He finds something to talk about. "Where's that robot guy I saw at home?"

Ralph assumed it was Grim. "Oh. He's doing some missions." He remembers their last real talk where he exploded in front of him. Not a good memory to think right now.

The boy notices the former Spartan being troubled. "Um...can you help me find my room?" He seemed nice enough to help him find his place. Truth be told, he knows where to go, despite still being relatively new to this place. He just feels more comfortable with someone he can trust.

Ralph nods with a smile. "Yeah. Sure." He grabs his hand and walks to the kids room. But then he noticed Grim walk by. "Grim."

The Specter still feels sore from the last fight against the large Elite that took him by surprise. "Oh...you. I am in no mood right now." He walks past them in a rush. Its clear he is in the mood to destroy. Ralph really can't fathom he was his friend back in training day.

In the control room, both Forge and Jerome leaves the room and walk past Grim. He noticed Captain Cutter is not in a good mood at this moment. Serina is not making it any better for him. ["So...we left a note saying we're leaving right?"] Cutter turns his head to the sarcastic A.I.

Grim tilts his head. "I'm guessing that talk you had involves us leaving this rock huh?"

Cutter would keep his frustration in for this. "Mouthy Spartan aren't you?"

"[My apologies Captain. The Specter was still feeling sore for his last battle. But know he is intent to make up for it.]" Arcade states.

Grim growls. "I'm not making up shit! I just want to kill that tin can squid lips!"

Cutter forces in a cough to get his attention. "You're gonna have your chance once we catch up the professor. Right now I need your A.I friend to give us a rundown on where they are taking her."

Arcade scans on the computers that is analyzing the professors location. "I see...should have known. They are taking her to a shield world."

Serina muses. "[Shield world?]"

Arcade then explains. "[They were created as bomb shelters for various destructive weapons. They also hold some weapons on their own as well. I believe the Covenant wants those weapons as well.]"

Cutter crosses his arms. "That explains why they are there. But why would they take the professor?"

Arcade replies. "[Humans can access Forerunner technology. They are most likely informed that she is the one who can solely open them.]"

The Captain still doesn't understand this. "But why her if any human can turn it on?"

"[Its best not to think about it too much. But I can assure you that out of anyone in this ship, she is the most capable of mastering this worlds technology.]"

Serina is interested in Arcade more and more. "[You're quite knowledgeable. I wonder...what is your true purpose? Who made you?]"

"[I am not in the position to tell you all I am afraid. You all must take my word and trust me.]"

"That's not exactly something we can afford Arcade." Cutter cuts in.

Grim shrugs. "Hey, he is a lot more trust worthy than most windbags in the UNSC."

Serina raises her brow. "[I assume you are not working with us under the UNSC jurisdictions?]"

Arcade then assures everyone. "[I am working with someone inside the UNSC if that will keep you all at ease.]"

Cutter wants answers from that revelation. "Who?"

"[I will introduce you after this mission is done. I assure you what I say is the truth.]" Arcades tone is slightly showing a little bit of desperation. But not that much to completely break his usual robotic tone.

Serina seems to have fun in this conversation, testing Cutter through this. "[Well Captain. What do you say?]"

Cutter groans. "Fine. I only agree to your terms because you helped us out many times already."

"[You have helped us when you picked us up.]" The mysterious A.I mentions in a slightly peppy tone.

"[I suppose this is what they say, you scratch my back, I scratch yours Arcade?]"

"[In a way.]" Arcade is noticing Serina is smiling more due to their conversation.

Grim shakes his head. "Alright, maybe we should change the subject instead of hitting on your new girlfriend."

"[Well that is just rude.]" Serina is taken only slightly back.

Shield World...

The Spirit of Fire approaches the Forerunner Installation. Cutter looks at the artificial planet careful. "So this is the Shield World?"

"[Indeed Captain.]" Arcade replies.

"And Anders?"

Serina replies this time. "[The Covenant vessel we pursued appears to have taken cover on the planets surface. I have rough coordinates.]"

Cutter looks at the planet more. Its odd. He knows its not a real planet, but there is something about it that feels off. "Any sign of other Covenant activity?"

Serina answers her Captains question. "[Not that I can detect. Although this planet is giving off some pretty crazy readings.]"

Arcade takes his turn to explain. "[Shield Worlds have a hollow center to hold millions of life forms, along with said weapons. Its most likely the Covenant discovered said hollow center.]"

Cutter didn't like the sound of that. "Get Forge down there."

Serina watches Cutter walk out. "[I believe he is already aboard a pelican, awaiting your word.]"

Cutter turns around to point at Grim. "You go with him Spartan." Then he leaves the room.

"Pfft...as if."

"[I suggest we do so. You won't get your revenge waiting in here.]"

"Agh, fine." Grim walks with a slouch on his back.

Serina lets out another remark as the Specter leaves the room. "[You two are made for each other.]"

Grim gets paired up with Jerome and his Red Team with Ralph flying them in the Shield World. Oddly enough, the whole area looks dead and in a sick looking color. "Why does this place look like shit?"

Jerome turns to his men. "Be ready."

Marines and ODST's get off of their pelican to investigate. One of the marines, Sargent Hauser is one of them. "This doesn't look like our kind of job. I have a bad feeling about this..."

Grim overhears the comms from another team. "Echo is operational. Situation normal. All is...hold on, something's..." Grim tilts his head, feeling something is up. "...m-Movement! We're got movement all over!" Then everyone begins to listen carefully. They hear a racket going on on the other side. "This is echo! Help! Help! They've breached our-AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"What?" Grim was a little startled.

"[Echo signs are are offline. Quite suddenly I might add.]" Serina points out.

Grim was not liking this. "Just what was that? The Covenant?" He knows it seems a bit off, but has to confirm it.

Arcade makes it clear. "[No energy weapons was shot...]" His tone is a bit confused. Something Grim didn't think would be possible for something like Arcade.

The Specter Spartan is beginning to feel a bit on edge with seeing Arcade not having the answers when it is needed right now.

Then another call reaches everyone's comms. "India, reporting! Elephants unpacking! Hold for...wait...over there...What the hell was that?!" Now the tension begins to rise up. "Spirit! This is India! They've...They've taken over! Get us-AAAAAAAAAH!"

Serina again mentions the state of the recently gone. "India signs are offline as well. How very ominous." Her tone is less sarcastic and with small hints of worry.

"I want to know what happened to both Echo and India!" Cutter demanded.

As the rest of the teams walks over to Echo and India's last locations, Grim starts speaking. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"

Arcade tries to think of an answer. "[I'm not sure...]"

"What do you mean your not sure? You are usually the one with all the answers!"

"[There is one explanation...but it can't be...not this early.]"

Grim shakes his head. "What do you mean 'this early?'"

Then Forges voice can be heard from the comms next. "Forge here!" I believe Echo and India are compromised! Over!"

Cutter is also startled by the attack. "Covenant? I'm not reading any brute signatures."

"Not Covenant sir. Something else. Something much worse. Much uglier..." This doesn't bode well for everyone.

Then Grim's team notices a huge sack of flesh and tentacles all around the area. More so there are many small little creatures coming out of said fleshy sacks "What the fuck?!"

Hauser is freaking out. "What in gods name?!"

Grim tries to keep himself calm, but failing. "What is that shit?!" He expected an answer from his A.I, but gets nothing for a couple of seconds. "Hey! What the hell are those things?!"

"[I...It can't be. I knew they were hiding around this area, but here? This was not in the data.]"

Grim had enough. "Okay, shut up and tell me what are those living...breathing...fungus crap?!"

Arcade seemingly sighed, even though it was not necessary for an A.I. to do so. This really shocked the construct in some manner. "[This...This is the threat I mentioned before. The Flood...]"

To be continued...