WARNING:

This is a Master Chief/Arbiter story. If you do not like this pairing, you've been warned. T will more than likely involve some dirty bits but I'll put a warning before the Chapter

On another note, if you have not played Halo: Infinite, this contains lots of spoilers.

This is mainly an AU, trying to get the cutscenes the best way I can, if not I'm going to be paraphrasing.

Enjoy!

—-

The pelican's doors opened slowly, the pop of the doors and the hiss of the pressure lock made the Spartan's ears buzz. He looked below him, a group mixed around them of large figures. A small frail woman poked herself around the large Sangheili that stood eyes showed concern- her chest heaving. Cathrine Halsey seemed to age decades since the last time he had seen her.

"Took you long enough." Her cracked voice came. John stood tall as the rest of the blue team joined them.

"Good to see you too." Fred replied in a friendly tone as Kelly walked by his side, reaching out and touching her shoulder in a sign of affection. John stood reserved, nodding to her. His heart in shambles. He hadn't felt this guilt in a long time..l not since Samuel…

"Brother, it is good to see you survived." The Arbiter said as he raised his chin to the Super Soldier. John's head picked up as they moved into the small cliffside camp.

"Same to you." He said as he walked side by side with the large Sangheili. "Blue Team, this is the Arbiter." John said as he held up his hand to the large alien. The armor clad beat looked down, bowing his head as he crossed his arm over his chest.

"Thel 'Vadam." He spoke, "It is a pleasure to meet the Demon's brothers and sisters." His voice in a tone of a teasing manner. John had not heard that nickname in a long time,

"Kelly, this is Fred and Linda." The woman's voice came, nodding to him, the Arbiter just letting them walk past into the tent to rest. John stood next to Thel, for a long moment before he looked up at him with his broken visor.

"John." He said as the golden visor reflected off the others eyes. Thel was taken back by that, but his mandibles clattered in excitement. But John turned from him and entered into the tent to be with his team. It was about time that they finally were able to relax with one another. Thel watched quietly as they adjusted to the downtime, the quiet tent beginning to become louder with chatter and glee of their survival to another day, even though they knew that this would not last long.

John slid his finger against his helmet as a hiss and a click opened up, pulling it up over his face as he set it aside in the table. The pale skin glistened and warmed by the fire, his hair a dark red with speckles of gray tinting around the sides of his ears. John looked up- those crystal blue eyes staring back at Thel.

"Hard to believe that the demon that has plagued the Covenant for so long, looks so fragile." Thel chuckled as he pulled his food apart. The Spartan snapped his head towards the Arbiter.

"I would not use Fragile as a word that describes me…. you certainly did not think that when I had a gun in your mouth," John jested back, taking a long drink of water. The snappy nature only made the alien laugh loudly.

"Those certainly were the days of desperation." Thel replied as he sat back. "Do you remember our days back on Earth?"

"How could I forget?" John asked curiously as he looked over the Alien. They were quiet before Thel sat up some, his manidables flaring some.

"Tell me human, with all the honesty in your heart: We're you frightened when the Gravemind grabbed you?" He asked curiously as he tilted his head some. The conversation got quiet as Fred looked to his leader. Now interested in the question coming from the Arbiter.

"Well?" Fred asked curiously.

"Not exactly frightened.." he said as he set his head back against the chair. "Concerned… disgusted. More so when it pulled you out of nowhere." He quipped.

"Ah! You joke." Thel huffed, earning a small laugh from Fred, who knocked shoulders with John. A light look in the Chief's eyes as they began to reminisce over their time on Earth and the Halo. Laughs and jokes were shared, John coming out of his shell more and more as Thel coaxed him into conversation. It was nice to talk, but it was hell at the time. The Covenant, the Flood, Earth nearly falling. But the end result… he could not change. A true ally was made during those times as they shared their stories. Osiris's team slumped eventually in sleep. Halsey had been tucked into a corner with a blanket over her, Kelly waking her to say their goodbyes as a Pelican came to take them back to the INIFINITY.

The pair had stood outside, John staring at the night sky with the Sangheili, waiting for their ride. They stood in silence, John pulling his helmet from under his arm as he slowly slid it back on his head. The Pelican approached in the distance- Thel turning towards the Master Chief as he held out his arm.

"Farewell Spartan." Thel said as he felt the chief's heavy arm clasp his own, holding one another. "When we first met, we were enemies fighting to end each other. Now as allies. I am confident we can face this new threat together once more." Thel said as his amber eyes bore into the faceplate. John gave a squeeze to his arm before dropping it to his side.

"Thank you." The Chief said as he turned to the Pelican. He wished to say more but he suddenly felt the guilt of leaving this alley behind, this… friend. As the Pelican approached and opened its loading bay, John and the rest of the blue team climbed in. He turned to watch as they took off from the ridge- The Arbiter watched intently as they began to move away. He wondered… if this would be the last time he would see Thel.

As the door closed, vanishing the Master Chief from sight before he turned back to his men, "Arbiter… we have reports of the outer colonies going dark." A Sangheili spoke, straightening up.

"Then it has begun." The Arbiter said as he sighed. "Ready the men, we have much to do."

"Yes, Arbiter."

_Several Months Later_

"Chief,it seems that Chak'Lok has shut down the access to the tower, however I did see an energy spike, more than likely a shield house where the control room is, that should help access the gravity lift.." Weapon shouted- the ringing in his ear from a missed Spiker assaulting his head.

"Sounds good." John said as he shook off the heavy hit as he headed for the bunk house, running as he fired his weapon at a fusion coil- the explosion rocking the ground as several Banished fell. John used his grappling hook to pull himself to the second level, skidding to a stop.

"In there!" Weapon shouted, lighting up a marker on his HUD as he turned, moving into the building. He looked up, hearing a Jiralhanae chuckle deeply as a shotgun blast ricocheted off his shields. John dove for cover as he pulled two grenades off his tool belt and tossed them to the next level.

"What? No!" It shouted as the explosion rocked the second level. John oved quick as he jumped up to it, allowing Weapon into the system.

"The lock down protocol should be pretty easy to reverse, let me see. Three.. two… one.." weapon said with a small of her fingers, a cheeky smile playing on her lips. "Oh…"

"What is it?" The Chief asked.

"This place is an interrogation facility run by our elite friend back there. Chak' Lok. His reputation is… not good." She said with a worried lip curl.

"Neither is mine." He said as he held out his hand to scoop her back up, turning towards the door.

"You're going to have to manually activate the gravity lift." He reminded him, highlighting the console on the other side as she explained the facility. Her little comments made him smile some. She reminded him so much of Cortana in the early days. John raced towards the other side of the base as he reset the Gravity lift. He huffed as he heard drop pods behind him. He decided to turn, grabbing a fusion coil as he waited for the pods to be kicked open by the Jiralhanae. He tossed them directly at their feet as he heard the explosion as two berserkers came running up the ramp. John just used his grappling hook into the bottom of the tower, zipping away as he stuck them both with plasma grenades, hearing their screams as they exploded. "Good work, lets get to that gravity lift!" The Chipper AI said.

The Spartan turned around, heading for the gravity lift and headed up not the tower, several marines making a run for the exit as he ascended.

"Chief… more Spartan armor." She said quietly as he turned to look. The black armor piled, empty. He walked up slowly, running his fingers over the golden visor. "This armor belonged to a Spartan named Hudson Griffin. Sensor logs suggest he was still alive when he was removed from the armor. Forcibly. It's a long shot but he still might be alive."

John just put away the armor node into the carrying slot before he headed for the next room in. He kept his gun tight to his body as he moved through the base, he huffed as he turned a corner. A berserker running straight for him. He tossed another grenade, waiting for it to pass before he shot it in the back.

The Sangheili over the louder speaker spoke with confidence, saying how that no one had ever come here willingly. The only thing he would find was his death. John did not have time to play games. He would take out this Sangheili. He refused to allow this to go on any longer. John headed for the ramps that lead upwards into the Tower towards the House of Reckoning. The Elite continued to speak over the loudspeaker, only making the Spartan more irritated as he climbed.

Once they reached the top, he sprinted past several windows of the inner sanctums he could hear the pained groans of a human. "Oh no Spartan Griffin! He's still alive!"

"I need to get him out of there, where's Chak'Lok?" He sled as he pushed his fingers into the door as he pried it open. As soon as he opened them, there was a thunderous growl, an elite standing up tall as he appeared from his camouflage holding a sword.

"Welcome to my Tower, Master Chief." He jumped, swinging around to the lower level as he stared straight at him. "It is where you'll be broken. It is where you will give up your secrets!" He snarled as he disappeared into the dark room again as the walls began to lift. "Ah… much better." He said with satisfaction.

"The walls retracted! Watch your back! He could come from anywhere!"

John kept his eyes peeled as he circled around the middle holding cell, unsure how to get Griffen out of the cell. The Elite footsteps could be heard around the prison room. He huffed as he heard a roar- turning as he used his grappling hook just in time to move out of the way. Using one arm to empty half a clip straight into the beast's back.

"You will not get away from me!" He shouted as he began to fire at him. The Chief dropped to the ground as he tucked and rolled into the ground, firing in the same spot where the Elite disappeared. John hissed as he began to search again, taking note of what was around the room. He could hear well but the room echoed so much it was hard to tell.

"Chief, Spartan Griffin!" Weapon worried as another pained groan cam from the tortured Spartan.

"I'm a little busy at the moment." He quipped back, trying to figure out where he was coming from before the Elite came back half way across the room through some steam- making the cloaking device shimmer. John's eyes glimmered as he used the grappling hook to grab a fusion coil behind him, smashing it into the back of the Elite. Chak'Lok shouted, his shields flickering as John began to empty his commando into the alien. He disappeared again, only to blindside the Chief from behind and slamming him to the ground. The Chief held onto his arms- the Energy Sword very close to his helmet. John's arms waned as he held the heavy body back.

"I will destroy you!" He growled out- his spit covering the Chiefs visor as he drew closer and closer. The sword started to dig in through his shields- John angling his legs back into the belly of the Elite and drew them to his chest before he launched the other back into the room. The clatter of the sword made John turn his head, grabbing it as he quickly got back up. Chak'Lok began to disappear as he activated his grappling hook straight through the back of the Elite. He pulled himself straight to the prison warden- sending the Sword straight through his back. He could hear the gargle from his throat. The invisibility shield waned and flickered before he dropped to his knees, looking at his chest before he collapsed.

John turned back to Griffin, heading over as he let the AI slide into the console."shut this thing down." John said as he stood in front of the wall that held him.

"Working on it." She said in a concerned tone. "Okay be ready, I'm going to cut him loose." John stood, bracing as the Spartan fell forward into his arms. He lowered him slowly.

"It's you… you're alive.." Griffin said weakly. His face beaten to a pulp and his face bruised to the point he could barely open his eyes. A relief passed his face as he stared into the golden eyes. "Chief. The Banished- I tried to stop them- I tried-" he struggled on his words, bloo seeping from the corners of his mouth.

"Easy, you're safe now."

"The Banished. They have something called the Conservatory. That's all I know." He swallowed hard, his breathing ragged. "I was picked up North of here. Dig site. I couldn't stop them. You can. You have to."

"Consider it done."

"That's good… Good. The others- the Spartans...Did you..?"

"I'll find them." He said confidently. The Spartan nodded some, the light in his eyes starting to fade as he coughed from his empty lungs. His body was giving up.

"The Arbiter… they were.. talking about him too…" John's head snapped some at those words. Thel was here? How did he get caught up in this? Surely he wasn't helping the Banished? Before he could say anything else, his face paled and a drowning breath left his lips, body limp. John watched quietly as he faded.

John's COMs crackled some as he heard the voice of ECHO-216.

"ECHO 216. All channels. Can you hear me? I repeat. Can you hear me?" John let his hand drop from the other Spartan. The guilt was overwhelming. He simply did not get here in time. He stood slowly, not taking his eyes off the Spartan.

"Chief?" The AI asked.

"Big guy, your motion tracker isn't moving. Come on! Come on! Giving me anything!"

"Chief, I.."

"Respond! Please. Did you find the source of the signal..? Whatever's down there either needs to come with us or be left behind. Can you hear me?" ECHO 216 spoke in a hurried fashion. But the a Chief was in turmoil, just staring down at the dead body. Another Spartan gone, unsure what to do as he stared at the lifeless body.

"A dig site on this Ring? The Conservatory must be some sort of Forerunner installation. What do you suppose they're after?" She asked curiously as she stared at the Chief, who finally turned to give her his full attention. He just reached out and took her from the console.

"It's time to go." He said as he turned to head out of the Tower. He headed for the landing as ECHO 216 came into the area. He waited as the back of the Pelican opened up, the Chief stepping onto the docking bay as he sat down. "To the nearest FOB."

"You got it, Chief." The man said with a small nod, looking back at him through the open door.

"Chief.. about what Spartan Griffin said back there?" The AI asked curiously as he held out his hand for her to appear. "Who is.. the Arbiter?" She asked curiously as she tilted her head, the pilot peeking up.

"He's a friend." He replied.

"I searched the UNSC communication channels… he's an Elite? How is he a friend?" She asked curiously as she tilted her head some.

"He helped during the Flood invasion of Earth when they had uncovered the Ark. we had put a stop to the Prophet Truth." He explained. The AI pursed her lips as she put her hands behind her back.

"I see. Would you like me to intercept the Banished communications to see where he would be?" She asked curiously as she tilted her head again.

"That would be helpful. " he said softly as he dropped his hand as the Pelican engines roared over the FOB.

"Understood. I'll get right on that." She said in her chipper tone. John took a step off of the Pelican as ECHO went to land off in the distance, out of sight as he went to go through the data pad. He could not get the thought out of his head that the Arbiter was here.. and why he was here. What could he do at this point besides search for him and hope for the best?