I deeply apologize for the massive delay in updating. My only excuse is writer's block.

Anyways, here are the origins of the Heartless threat in this story. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

I own nothing except Ocs, though main oc belongs to my beta Spartan-626.

The dark of the void was broken by multiple swirls of blue as the human fleet exited slipspace, a single Forerunner colony in the distance was their destination. As the fleet traveled through the void, Fortencheu, the Lord of Admirals, overlooked the bridge of his flagship, a grim look on his face as one of the helmsman made a report. "Lord of Admirals, we are approaching the Forerunner planet."

"Show me."

With that one command, a hologram of the planet in question appeared in front of the Lord of Admirals, hands outstretched as he began scanning its surface.

At that moment a crew member monitoring visual scans reported in. "Preparing to enter high orbit above the planet. Forerunner ships are on alert and inbound."

Fortencheu made no effort to acknowledge this update, his attention focused solely on the hologram in front of him. As the moments passed, the scans revealed nothing leaving the Lord of Admirals to wonder, "Is it possible? Have we finally gotten ahead of it?"

His hopes were dashed when the systems suddenly turned red and alarm klaxons rang through the bridge, this development along with the crewman's report confirmed his fears. "Flood infestation detected, Milord."

"Damn it!"

His frustration was visible in his movements as the Lord of Admirals left his position at the head of the bridge. He then made his way towards a nearby terminal manned by a younger, lighter-skinned crew member, who brought up a new development. "My lord, the Flood appears to be in a remote locale. Perhaps if we warned the Forerunners?"

This caused the Lord of Admirals to grimace as he gave his answer. "If we warn them, we give the Flood time to spread."

"And if we don't warn them, we'll force ourselves into a two-front war, one which you know we could not possibly win."

At this statement, Fortencheu turned towards the source. He was a bearded man wearing long, flowing robes of blue, his piercing gaze leveled at the Lord of Admirals as he made his toward him. The Lord of Admirals grew slightly annoyed at him as he responded, "You know damn well we have no choice, Yen Sid."

"Actually we do. All you have to do is let me initiate contact with the Forerunners."

"Out of the question!"

Just then, a crew member manning the communications systems spoke up. "Milord! The Forerunner fleet is hailing us. They wish to know of our purpose here and are threatening to fire upon us if we don't respond."

Yen Sid grimaced at this before turning towards Fortencheu once more. "Well it seems we are pressed for time, so I suggest you make a choice and quickly."

The Lord of Admirals turned away in frustration at this, determined to commence the glassing process. But he suddenly hesitated, silently pondering the points Yen Sid brought up. But his ruminating was cut short when the tactical officer spoke up in an anxious tone. "My lord, the Forerunners are powering up their weapons!"

The passing seconds felt like an eternity as the increasing tension hung in the air. Yet despite this, the Lord of Admirals remained silent on the matter, forcing Yen Sid to speak once more. "We don't have time for hesitation, Fortencheu. We need an answer now!"

At that moment, Fortencheu grinded his teeth in frustration before giving a new set of orders to the comms officer. "Damn it all! Answer their hails!"

He then turned towards Yen Sid, leveling a glare at him before speaking. "Don't make me regret this."

XXXXX

A week had passed since the initial contact, and while the crisis had been averted, tensions still ran high as the representatives of both races discussed their plans for the parasitic threat. The tension hung thick in the air within the metallic-gray walls of the Forerunner diplomatic chamber. In the center of the room stood a holographic display showcasing what humanity found in regards to the Flood. And surrounding it were the six representatives in a tense silence broken only by the Librarian. 'So it is true. All this time, you were never expanding, you were running."

Yen Sid grimly nodded in response. "I'm afraid so."

The Master Builder scoffed at this statement before responding. "And upon encountering this parasite, you decided to take the role of exterminator and foolishly sought to deal with it yourselves."

This jab elicited a growl from the Lord of Admirals who then responded, "We had no choice on the matter. The Flood attacked us without warning and consumed every planet it's come across. We were forced to fight back."

Before the Master Builder could give a retort, the Didact intervened. "Regardless of what the humans have done, we now share the burden of this conflict. So we cannot afford to bring dissension."

The Master Builder scoffed in annoyance before giving a retort. "And yet these humans glassed an entire continent!"

He then turned his gaze towards the three human representatives, his glare hidden behind the visor as he continued speaking. "Maybe the Flood isn't all we should be worried about."

The Lord of Admirals grew furious at this blatant accusation, letting his thoughts on the matter be known. 'I would have you know that the glassing operation was necessary to eliminate the Flood infestation that threatened your world. Although, if I might be frank, were it not for Yen Sid's council, I would have glassed your entire planet!"

Before hostilities could escalate further, the chief scientist of the Human Empire, known as Ansem the Wise, decided to intervene. "ENOUGH! You two are acting like children! The events that have transpired are over and done with. And now we must pool our resources and combine our efforts if we are to stand a chance against the flood."

The Librarian quickly added her own input. "While you bring up a valid point, I doubt you have an effective means of combating the parasite."

Ansem gave off a tired sigh as he spoke once more. "Unfortunately no, my efforts to develop a cure have constantly been met with failure. But I have a theory that, while farfetched, might just work. But I will need your help to make it happen."

"Granted."

The Didact then brought his attention towards the Lord of Admirals. "In the meantime, I suggest we begin discussing how our armies can coordinate efforts."

After the lord of Admirals voiced his agreement, the Master Builder scoffed before voicing his thoughts. "Work with the humans if you wish. But mark my words, they will betray us when we least expect it."

With his declaration out of the way, the Master Builder stormed out of the chambers, leaving the others in an uncomfortable silence. It was only broken minutes later when Yen Sid spoke up. "I suppose the council is now adjourned."

With that, the representatives went their separate ways, completely unaware of a single individual who stood in the shadows, listening in on the talks.

XXXXX

Deep within the depths of the Garden world of Radience, the Chief Scientist Ansem rapidly typed into various monitors within the confines of his Laboratory. The librarian on the other hand, was examining a trio of vats filled with a golden-ish liquid, ruminating on the origin of this substance. Even she had to admit, the concept behind this seemed far too outlandish, for how could one harness the essence of a heart?

Nevertheless, her human colleague has remained obsessed with this endeavor. And much to her surprise, their combined efforts have brought results yet untested. She barely had the time to comprehend just how it was accomplished before Ansem brought her out of her musings. "There. I do believe we are ready for testing.'

The chief scientist then stood up and made his way towards a nearby monitor connected to the vats. He then typed in a set of commands, triggering a hissing noise which indicated a stable connection. With that, he then turned to the main terminal, the Librarian joining him before he typed in a few commands and spoke. "Releasing the first test subject."

It was at that moment, beyond the windows overlooking an enclosed area surround by massive doors, one of the doors on the leftward side opened up. And out from it, much to the Librarian's disgust, emerged a Flood combat form, the figure of what was once a human deformed by the infection. As the grotesque from lumbered around its new confinement, Ansem inputted a few more commands before speaking. "Initiating gas application test."

This triggered a loud hissing noise as the containment room below them filled with thick yellow clouds of the supposed cure. After a few minutes of waiting, the cloud eventually dispersed, revealing a surprising sight.

There was no trace of the Flood form that stood there before. In its place was a smallish creature possessing a pitch-black body with scrawny limbs and soulless yellow eyes. It was when three more of these creatures appeared that the Librarian spoke. "Was this supposed to be the result Ansem?"

"As a matter of fact, this worked exactly as planned."

The two scientists turned their attention towards the new voice, finding the Master Builder in front of the main entrance to the Lab. In his right hand was a 6 ft-long hardlight sword, and his left hand was wrapped around the neck of a guard which he promptly snapped before dropping him. Then, as even more of these creatures appeared at the Forerunner's side, Ansem overcame his shock and spoke with outrage in his voice. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Oh, nothing really." The Master Builder then began walking towards the duo. "I merely added my own ingredients to your little concoction. And now I have the means to exact my vengeance."

The Librarian then took the opportunity to speak. "What vengeance? What could possibly justify this betrayal?!"

Though his helmet concealed it, the Master Builder's disgust could be felt as he answered. "Have you forgotten? How dozens of planets burned under the Humans guns? How billions of our kind perished at their hands? I intend to avenge those deaths and ensure that the humans will not finish what they started!"

He then turned his attention towards Ansem, pointing his sword at the human scientist as he spoke. "Starting with you."

With that, three of the creatures lunged at him, only to fall in a hail of weapons fire. The Master Builder turned back towards the entrance where dozens of human Imperial Guards rushed through. Realizing he'd been discovered, the Master Builder sent the creatures against the guards as he went to kill Ansem. Only he found that while he was distracted he and the Librarian managed to get around him and towards the guard. The Master builder made to pursue, cutting down both his creatures and guardsmen in his rage-fueled pursuit. But despite his efforts, his prey managed to escape, sealing the doors behind them.

Enraged that he failed in his task, the Master Builder failed to notice that his sword was missing until it was sticking out of his chest. His soon-to-be killer turned out to be his mysterious associate. The black-hooded figure merely stood there for a few moments before speaking to the dying Forerrunner.

"Your services are no longer required."

Again, I apologize for the delay. If you have any questions, leave a review or PM me.

Disclaimer is same as at top.