I may not be a King, but I'll carry you through it all

Everything had been alright at first, with his presence. But then...John had been avoiding the Arbiter like the plague- he was becoming overbearing. He was at every turn, every mission the Chief set out on, offering his hand. But he didn't want it. He needed to focus. But now, he had to deal with him so close to combat. He knew he'd be distracted. John was beginning to think that Thel had every intention of distracting him…

The Spartan had denied a ground operation to any marines that wanted to get their pay back at the Hunter brothers. They were far too quick and ruthless to be sacrificing any bodies today. He trusted himself enough with two snipers and Thel at his side, they were a ruthless team. John had sent the team of snipers on a Mongoose together, to hold back and follow them to the location. John motioned for the Arbiter to follow as they got into the warthog and made their way off towards the swamp with a Forerunner structure, where they were last reported being seen.

John's foot was heavy on the gas pedal, heading for the blip on his HUD, the Arbiter content sitting on the chain gun as he had many times before. The Spartan tore down the ledge, halting hard as he zoomed in, using his visor. He could see Banished forces moving about on the ground, gritting his teeth. He would save those marines if it was the last thing he did today. They waited for the snipers to climb the ridge quickly and quietly, giving the signal to head in. They were instructed not to fire until the pair had Myriad's attention.

The warthog roared through the water, creating a rooster tail behind it as it cut through the deep mud without so much as a sputter. John was not taking any chances at slowing down. Hunter's were a dangerous lot, he wasn't going to roll the dice here.

He pulled the emergency brake as mud splashed across the wet grass, Skirmishers turning their heads as they squawked in surprise before feeling the tail end of the warthog crush into their bodies. Thel fired the chain gun with feriousity, gunning down several Grunts that had begun to run. John weaved in and out of trees and plasma shields, avoiding them with skill before he heard the all familiar noise of a Mgalekgolo cannon charging.

"To the west! WATCH OUT!" Thel shouted loudly, hearing the cannon's as well as he held back several Brute's roars and gun's firing. Before John could react, turn the vehicle around; he was staring at the ground, then the sky, and then the ground, over and over. He had been ejected from the warthog.

"Chief!" Weapon cried out.

A fuel rod had blindsided the vehicle, sending him flying out of it, skipping across the ground like a rock. He groaned as he connected with a tree, he swore he touched his heels to his head he hit so hard. He stumbled to his feet, barely able to stand as his suit barely tightened around his midsection to compensate for the blow, his suit was not functioning properly. He more than likely broke a few ribs.

"Are you okay?!" She asked as she watched his HUD, finally shaking off the impact of the crash.

"I'm… fine.. where is the Arbiter?" He asked curiously, grabbing a weapon as the ringing stopped from his ears, hearing the sound of battle.

"He jumped before the rocket hit. He's in the middle of the field." She said as it highlighted him about fifty meters away. His feet started at a light jog before he broke into a full on sprint towards a small boulder, running up its side before he launched himself into the air into the middle of the fight.

"Chief! Myriad is headed your way!" A marine shouted over his COM channel.

Thel roared as he held off a Battlemaster, pushing back against the War hammer that the Brute held with his sword, shields flickering. But the impact of the Chief had started him. Thel's eyes lining with excitement as he looked down at the crouched Spartan that unsheathed his combat knife. He looked up, the golden faceplate dancing in the sun as he pushed it into the beast's exposed belly and ripped downwards with all the strength he had. Guts poured from the wound as the Brute cried in agony, Thel able to push the war hammer back- slicing it's head from its body.

John grabbed the hammer as he activated it, dancing around Thel's body before he slammed another Brute in the shoulder, a sickening crush into its body, crushing its bones. John felt a strong hand in the collar of his armor before Thel yanked him back, a green beam hitting the ground just where he had been seconds before, igniting in a fire. John kept low as Thel aimed high, fighting back the forces that continued to throw themselves at them. It felt like the flood all over again.

"Chi—!"

"I'm busy!" He growled at the AI, only to feel the burning hot plasma of the fuel rod burn at his side, dropping his shields completely. John wanted to scream. But he didn't, just turning and hucking a plasma grenade towards the pair before he ducked out of the way. The Arbiter shouted loudly as he impaled a Elite- hearing the sounds of a Phantom's engines flying toward them.

"Reinforcements! Chief you two cannot keep going like this!" She said in his ear, his chest heaving hard as he looked around. What the hell was he going to do now?

"Snipers. I need you to focus fire on the phantom, and only the Phantom. Me and the Arbiter will take care of Myriad."

"Roger, sir." A sniper spoke before their shots began to reign across the sky as the offboarsing Brutes and Elites.

They had run for cover. "Chief.. what is your plan here?" Thel asked curiously, tilting his head some across the rock. His hearts pounding from running and fighting. John thought quietly to himself, trying to see what was around them. There was a ring of rocks that the hunters defensively stood in the center of.

"I need you to go around the rocks and draw their fire." He said as he grabbed a storm rifle. He had no idea his weapons had gone, probably the crash. "I'll come from behind and flank them." He explained in a hushed voice- hearing the cannons fire again into the rocks with ferocity. The second it decided to end, Thel lept into action to another rock, Myriad followinglike hawks as they jumped towards the rock. He circled around until John had a clear shot. He grabbed the warhammer he still had in his grasp and ran.

Almost like slow motion, John lept from cover as he headed for the twin Mgalekgolo, his feet digging into the dirt as he spun his body several times to wind up with the hammer. He huffed hard as he slammed it into the back of the alien- popping it's back covering with a loud shriek from its mouth. It's counterpart turned at the shout, seeing John out of the corner of his eye before John swung above its head again- using the hammer like an axe as he plunged into the bright orange back.

Blood sprayed the grass and the front side of his armor. John pushed off its back as its brother swung its large shield arm with fury, shouting as loud as it could. His translators could not keep up with the words it spoke, but he knew what it was saying.

In a blind rage it began to charge its beam again, chasing the Spartan across the open field. He slid to an overturned sniper's nest as he heard the pop shots of the sniper rifles behind him from the ledge. The Spartan grabbed a needle as he ducked under the cover. The metal melting angrily on his armor as his shields flickered again.

Thel had come from behind his cover, the raging Hunter lumbering after John. But the Elite wasn't having that in the least bit. He tossed a grenade to the back of the creature- barely doing any damage as it turned back to him- the sniper causing equal confusion as it tried to figure out where the firing was coming from with all the contact around it. John wiggled from his cover- Thel darting behind a rock as the Spartan rushed it, firing and emptying a clip before sliding between its feet and to the other side. The hunter roared with irritation as it fired at the ground in front of itself. Thel ran to it, leaping onto its back- using its hips as leverage as he held onto the back casing and plunged the sword deep into its neck. It roared loudly, sputtering in its throat as the blood gushed from its throat. The Hunter fell, hard. Thel panted heavily as he watched the creature crumble, looking to the Chief that stood there in all his glory, covered in bright orange blood.

"Great job, Chief, Arbiter. The Ring will be a lot safer without Myriad around." Weapon chimed in. The Spartan stretched some, his back ached horribly from the crash still and his suit was tight around his chest cavity. He could feel the blood seeping from a wound between the rubber layer.

Thel looked at the Spartan as he looked over him with a small nod. He could feel something was off with the Chief. He kept it short with him, kept the interactions minimal. The Sangheili refused to let this go but perhaps it was not the best time to bring it up.

"Are you alright, Chief?" He asked curiously, watching the Spartan move rigidly.

"Think I broke something." John muttered as he grit his teeth in pain, hearing the Marines pull up in their mongoose.

"Sir, that was fucking amazing!" One marine hooted with a grin on his face. The Chief just nodded to them, looking over to the forerunner structure as he zoomed in with his HUD seeing the marines locked up with one of those strange light restraints. John just picked up a weapon, heading over to the marines that were locked away. He knocked against the machine as it buzzed, the marines begging to be let go.

He hit it a few more times before it sparked and died, the marines falling to the ground from being stuck in one position way too long.

"Thank god…. thank you Master Chief." One said as she rubbed her shoulders, the others groaning as they claymores to their feet. Thel drove up in the barely working warthog, the engine smoking some as he hopped out.

"Anytime, take this back to base, get medical attention."

"What about you and the Arbiter?"

"Don't worry about us, we'll make it back." He reassured her. The marine nodded tiredly as she had a smile on her face.

"Thank you, again. It's always safer with you around." She said in a shy voice, heading back to the warthog. The Arbiter bristled at her comment before watching them load up and head off, leaving them in the swamp by themselves. John rolled his shoulders, looking at the sun in the sky before he started to walk.

"Why did you leave us without transportation?" The Sangheili asked.

"They needed it more." John said as he started to walk.

"You need medical attention as well..?" Thel questioned as he followed after him.

"I'll survive." He muttered. Thel huffed, mandibles spreading as he shook his head some, following after the Chief, annoyed with his answer.

Once they returned, John headed for a nearby crate that was opened, a dim light inside as he let Weapon into a data pad nearby. He had waved an engineer over to help him take off his chest piece. The man cranked on the nuts and bolts that held it together. John groaned as he felt it collapse away from his body, "Thats all for now." John said, the engineer acknowledging the fact that the Spartan had no longer use for him.

"Call me back when you need help putting it back on." The engineer said, scampering away. John rolled his shoulders some, gritting his teeth as he slid his fingers around the helmet to put it to the side. Weapon appeared as she held her hands behind her back, lip curled some.

"Are you okay?" She questioned, stepping forward.

"I'll live." He reassured, starting to peel the suit back from his body, the suit releasing the seal. It had not done its job in setting the bone correctly. He let the suit fall to his waist, exposing his body as he looked at the blood that stained his side. He huffed as he opened what medical supplies they had as he took a rag and cleaned himself. He hadn't had to do this in ages.

"That looks very painful, is there anything I can do?" The AI asked, biting her lip as she looked over him. The bone had left a bulge against his ribcage, breaking the skin slightly, his obliques bruised in a painful manner.

"No, can you run a diagnostic on my armor? Something's wrong." He muttered,

"Of course, a Chief." She smiled before disappearing. He heard the crate door snapping his neck hard to the door, seeing Thel. "What is it?"

"Do you have a moment, Spartan?" The Sangheili asked curiously.

"Well seeing as you're here, I don't have much of an option." The alien nodded as he blocked the door, looking down at the human in his half naked state.

"What is the meaning of your words?" He hissed, "Do you have an issue with my presence?" He asked, leaning against the doorway.

"No, I don't have an issue with you, why would you ask that?"

"You are more concise with me than ever before, Chief. I have done nothing wrong besides offer my hand in alliance. I do not know the meaning of this." The Arbiter huffed at him, his eyes scanning over his skin. The Spartan sighed heavily as he just stopped cleaning his wound, his lapis blue eyes now narrowed.

"What do you want me to say?" He hissed at him, unsure what the Arbiter was getting at.

"I wish to know why you have been eluding my presence of late." He demanded, his voice harsh. He was just as hard headed as the Chief was. John just shook his head.

"I don't know how to answer that. I'm not talking about this." John hissed, turning his face away as he turned away, going through the medical bag to find the bio foam for his wound. Weapon listened quietly, her eyes watching them both intently.

"Is this about what happened on Sangheilios?" The Arbiter finally questioned after a moment, voice in a hushed tone. He took a step forward as he leaned into the doorway, his arm hanging off the door. John's body went rigid. He seemed to stop breathing for a moment as he hung his head, eyes becoming hooded. Glad he was turned away from the both of them.

"I said I am not talking about this right now." He snarled, his deep gravelly voice echoing off the connex box. It seemed that the world had gone quiet. The sound of bugs and hums from the console had gone hushed. Thel only snapped his jaws in a venomous manner, before turning from the connex, leaving the Spartan to his devices. John just shook his head as he stood, the Bio-foam bubbling at the wound to seal it.

"Chief…?" A soft voice came from the data pad. "Is everything okay? What happened on Sangheilios?"

John just pursed his lips as he pressed his hand to his rib and set it hard with a sickening snap.

"Nothing."

Hoping you guys are enjoying this as much as I am. Let me know how you feel in the reviews! Time for a little flashback. For the sake of this story, between Halo four and five, it's just been an extra year, so 2559 and not 2558. Halo Infinite happening in 2560.