Hello, everybody! I just got a little present for you! Consider it my thanks for sticking with me through the years. I know that my earlier writing was absolute garbage, but hey... We all have to start somewhere!

NOTE: I might not be able to really pay, but if there are any artists out there willing to draw up or make cover pics for my stories, I would love to speak to you. Just PM me for more info.

Chapter 4: The Debt That All Must Pay

Master Chief had thought he knew what to expect when it came to seeing Forerunners in action. He had fought thousands of prometheans, hunted their wardogs and drones across their outposts, and even killed the Diadact. He was considered by many to be the expert in combating the alien race, but nothing could prepare him for what he saw here. The Didact was a blunt instrument of force. He got as far as he did simply because he was that strong. But Sing Love, an aging, dying Forerunner in a human body, was leagues beyond the Diadact. She moved faster than his enhanced eyes could track. Her scythe cut down several enemies at a time with every swing, and the ring around her back twisted and weaved, firing burst of energy at opponents behind her. Master Chief would have been terrified to face the woman in her prime.

"Daemon! We need to move!"

Chief glanced over at the Arbiter in time to see him slice a Uggnoy in two with his energy sword. He nodded and shouldered his assault rifle, working with the Sangheili to mow down a path to the ancient scientist. There was no finesse, no tactical movements. It was just the two of them, pouring lead and plasma into a crowd of violent aliens. The smell of blood, plasma, and gunpowder hung heavy in the air, combining with the screams of outrage and pain from the Covenant. They stood no chance against the two warriors, and were cannon fodder to the Forerunner scientist. Unfortunately, the scientist was old and dying, and by the time Chief and the Arbiter reached her, she was holding the scythe in a shaky grip and relying solely upon the capabilities of her ring to defend her. She looked up at Chief with a sad smile, "Now, what might you two be doing? I thought I told you to get my child to safety…"

Chief just grunted as he reached down and picked the much smaller Forerunner up. He had to admit, it was strange being taller than a Forerunner, but it did make things easier for him, "Ma'am, my team can get your daughter to the EP with no problem. We're getting you out of here so you can say goodbye to her… And so you don't have to die in this prison."

The Arbiter roared at a Uggnoy for getting too close, sending the tiny alien screaming for its life, "Daemon, we need to leave now if we are going to make it to the Pelican."

Master Chief nodded, and opened a line to Linda, "Blue Three, this is Blue Actual, we have the Queen and are moving to the Eagle. How Copy?"

The radio was silent for a few brief moments, before Kelly's voice filled the comm-lines, "Blue Actual, this is Blue Three, we are currently en-route to… Hey, what did we say the kid's code name was going to be?… Seriously? Fine… Blue Actual, this is Blue Three, en-route to the Princess. According to Alfred, ETA is two minutes. How Copy?"

"Good copy, Blue Three. We'll have the Eagle ready for flight when you arrive. Blue Actual, over and out." Chief looked down at the frail Forerunner, wheezing painfully in his arms. He had never been one for religion, seeing no use for it. But now he started praying. He didn't want this Forerunner to die without saying goodbye."

Blue Team and Alfred, Three Clicks away.

Linda cut off the transmission as Chief finished his piece, "Alfred, Chief secured Sing Love! He'll be waiting for us at the exfil. How long until we reach the girl?"

"At the speed we are going, it will take around two minutes. The covenant cannot send a slipstream portal this far into the installation, so we should be safe from attack. However, we need to collect something from the armoury before we leave."

Linda looked sharply at the floating AI, vaguely remembering Sing Love mentioning that the girl was located next to the armoury. Without warning, the Monitor came to a halt. Linda managed to come to a complete stop right behind it, but Kelly and Fred slid for several metres before friction brought them to a standstill. She leveled a deadly glare a the Monitor, an angry question leaping to her lips.

"We are at the Armoury. One moment while I unlock the- Oh… She left it unlocked for us." The black and white computer almost seemed to frown as a large portion of the wall vanished with a pink flash, revealing a small, yet heavily armed room. It was only about the size of a large conference room, but it had enough weapons inside to make a helljumper jealous. Kelly whistled as they went inside, immediately making a beeline to a nearby Z-180 Scattershot. She glanced at the Monitor, silently asking permission.

Alfred let out an electronic sigh, bobbing once, "Arm yourselves, Reclaimers. I doubt we'll have such a smooth trip on our way to your Eagle. Fredrick, there is a set of small cylinders on your right. If you would distribute them to you team, you will find they allow you to carry a rather large amount of munitions."

Fred frowned, glancing at he aforementioned objects. He picked one up, inspecting it carefully, before attaching it to his hip. Then he picked up a Z-390 Incineration Cannon and held it close to the small device. A bright orange flash enveloped the cannon, and it was sucked inside of the cylinder. He raised an eyebrow at the useful technology, and began distributing them to the rest of his team, making sure to grab three extra. Two for the Chief and Arbiter, and one for the researchers on the ship. They quickly began stripping the room of every weapon they could get their hands on. They stopped at a rather unusual sight though. It was a black duster, similar to what Sing Love wore, only with a bright white star on the back. On the left, they could see a slot for an elongated, possibly bladed weapon, only it was empty. A single, white envelope was placed on the duster, with a message written in long, flowing script. Kelly murmured as she read it, "To my little star… Oh god… This belongs to Stella, doesn't it?"

Alfred bobbed once, his white light dim, "Yes… this was supposed to be Stella's gift once she reached sixteen standard years of age… That was supposed to be three weeks from now, but… we just ran out of time."

The Spartans felt Alfred's sadness like a punch to the gut. They had always thought of monitors as eccentric, if a bit murderous, AIs dedicated to protecting the installation they were stationed at, but this one seemed different. He almost seemed human in the way he spoke and appeared to convey emotions. Fredrick cleared his throat gruffly, resting a hand on the Monitor, "We can mourn later, ALfred. Right now, we need to get this and the Forerunner's daughter to the Exfil. If we don't get there in time, then Sing Love will not be able to say goodbye. So, where is the girl?"

Alfred hesitated a moment, before bobbing, "She is right next to our location… Please, use one of the Containment devices to carry the young mistress's belongings." He spun around on the spot, drifting out of the room.

Fredrick watched him go, before grabbing another cylinder and storing the items away. It was strange, seeing a forerunner AI actually feeling anything. But if it meant that they wouldn't be killed, then who was he to question it? "Rabbit, pull rear security... We don't know when the covvies are going to find us, and I'd rather not take a plasma bolt up the ass because we weren't careful."

Kelly nodded, almost tempted to pump her shotgun for effect, "You got it boss!"

The Spartans gathered around the door, waiting for Alfred to open it up. When the door opened with a hiss, Fredrick darted inside, ready to take down any hostile that might be inside. What he wasn't ready for, was a short, teenaged girl to drop down on him from above, attempting to impale him with a large black katana. He was lucky she didn't have much force behind the drop, and only suffered a heavy scare as the black blade sank several inches into the metal before friction brought it to a screeching halt. He swore and jerked back, displacing the girl on his back and sending her tumbling to the ground with a pained gasp. The girl shot to her feet and made a break for the door, only to run into a wall of armour worn by Kelly. She managed to grab the girl before she fell to the ground. "Hold on there, kid." Kelly glanced up and noticed the sword sticking out of a rather disgruntled Fredrick's helmet. "Uh... Fred? You got a little something on your head... right up here."

Fredrick just shot a murderous glare at the Spartan before tugging the blade out of his helmet and storing it away in the container, "Can it, Rabbit and get back to guard duty."

Kelly shrugged, and was about to turn away, when something caught her eyes, "Uh, sir... You may want to give the girl her pig sticker back. It looks like she knows how to use it." She gestured to a pile of Covvie bodies in the corner. Two brutes, three grunts, and what appeared to be the remains of a hunter were piled up in a corner.

Fredrick narrowed his eyes and looked down at the girl struggling in his arms. Sensing that she was being talked about, she froze and glared up at the Spartan. He had to restrain himself from fidgeting under her ice cold stare. She looked human at first glance, but if he looked closer, he saw some very odd discrepancies. Her irises, they were a bright electric blue, unusual, but nothing to be concerned about. However, he could also see bright, white rings surrounding an equally white pupils. The girl's eyes... were just like her mother's. "Stella?"

The girl blinked owlishly, nodding slowly. Fredrick carefully released her, crouching down to her eye level, "We're here to get you to safety. Your mother sent us with Alf-er... Shattered Heart, to pick you up and get you out of here. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Stella glared at the massive human, as if debating whether or not she could take him. After a few short moments, she nodded and crossed her arms. Fredrick raised an eyebrow, "I thought for sure you would be more like your mother..."

The monitor chuckled, drifting into the room, "Actually, unlike her mother, a Lifeworker, Stella is turning out to be quite the Promethean. If we gave her a few more millennia, she might be as good as the Ur-Didact..." Alfred looked down at Stella, somehow giving an admonishing attitude. "Now Stella, we need to get you to a safe place. Your mother has ordered an evacuation o the facility, and these nice humans are going to help us escape. Are you ready to go?"

Stella swallowed nervously, suddenly realizing that this was all very real... And if this was real, then those drones she had cut down. Her eyes went dim, and she looked at the bodies like she was going to puke. Linda sighed, moving in front of the bodies and crouching down. She waved off Fredrick while she spoke to the girl, "Listen kid, I just heard Alfred here, the monitor, sweetie... I just heard Alfred say that you were supposed to be a Promethean. Now, I don't know if Prometheans were different in his time, but Prometheans today are incredible fighting machines who never shy away from danger. They never show fear, and they never quit." Linda neglected to mention the face that Prometheans today were little more than drones, but she was also trying to give Stella a little pep talk.

"I understand that things seem bad, and I'm betting that this is the first time that you've taken a life. But you can't think about that right now. Right now is the time for action. We need to get out of here before our ride leaves. So, I need you to be like a Promethean, fearless and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. Can you do that for me? Can you be a Promethean?"

Stella looked down at her feet for a moment, letting Linda's words sink in for a moment. When she looked back up, her eyes were bright and hard, and she gave Linda a quick nod before looking at Fred and holding her hand out expectantly.

"Huh... I guess Forerunners don't say please?"

Alfred cleared his nonexistent throat, "Actually... The young mistress has never been skilled with words and has difficulty communicating verbally. So, she uses gestures."

Fredrick winced, "Ah... My bad. Now how do I get her Sw- Oh." He watched as Stella simply walked over and passed her hand next to the device. One moment, her hand was empty. The next, she had a katana sitting in her palm. "I guess that sorts it out..." Alright, Rabbit, contact Chief and tell him we have the girl. Everyone else, move out."

Kelly poked her head inside and nodded, waiting for everyone to move ahead of her before following, "Blue Actual, this is Blue Four. We have the princess and are proceeding to the Eagle's nest. How Copy?"

There were a few brief seconds before the response came, filled with background gunfire, "We are in the Eagle, waiting for you at the nest. The 30 mm cannons seem to be doing the trick against the Covvies so far, but that's if they don't send in the hunter pair."

Kelly grimaced, "Blue Actual... There is a singular hunter somewhere in the facility. The Princess managed to get the drop on the first one. As well as Blue Two's helmet."

There was another moment of silence as Chief processed this new bit of information. Eventually, he decided to just ask about it later, and dismissed it, "Good copy, Blue Four. Get the Princess to the Eagle quickly. The Queen won't be here much longer."

Translation: Sing Love is dying quickly. Kelly winced and nodded, "Understood, Blue Actual. I'll keep you posted. Over and out."

Kelly caught up with Fred and relayed the message, causing the man to frown in concern, "Alfred, what's the quickest way to the Landing Bay we came in?"

The Monitor checked his schematics for the installation, noticing that something was amiss almost immediately, "There is a service elevator approximately 35 yards down this corridor. It will take us directly to Bay Delta… However, I must advise caution in this choice, as it appears that the Covenant also know of this Elevator. There is an 86.3 percent chance that we will encounter some form of resistance once there."

Kelly almost purred as she stroked her shotgun, "Alfred, I hope there is some sort of resistance. I've been waiting to shoot something all day with my shotgun here. This thing could probably take down a fully armoured Hunter with its Dragon's Breath ammo!"

The Monitor drifted closer to Fredrick and Stella.

Stella, surprisingly enough, was keeping up with the Spartans, who were at a full run. Fredrick looked back at the girl, noticing that she was breathing heavily, and seemed ready to collapse. He was actually stunned, as the Spartans had been really booking it to get to the elevator. He held up his hand, bringing the group to a halt. For a second time that day, Stella slammed into a Spartan. She staggered around for a moment, before collapsing in an exhausted, crumpled heap. She lay on the ground for a moment, sucking air in as if it were going out of style. Fredrick just chuckled, "You okay there, short stuff?"

Kelly gaped as she realized what just happened, "Uh... Fred? Did a 160 cm featherweight just keep up with us at full speed?"

Fred nodded, helping Stella sit up, "Looks like we just found ourselves a little athlete."

Linda rolled her eyes, looking around the corner of the next turn to see the service lift. "The coast is clear, sir. I suggest that we just carry Stella and let her recover there." The CQC expert gestured for Kelly to pull security.

Fredrick glanced at Stella for a moment, before standing and moving to Linda's location. He frowned at the empty lift, before figuring it out, "They must be after Sing Love..."

Linda nodded in agreement, "Kelly, grab Stella and follow us. We'll take a breather on the ride up. Are y- Oh... Looks like you're better."

She jumped slightly as Stella appeared at her elbow. The pale girl looked up at her solemnly, clutching the katana in her hand like a lifeline. Despite the emotionless look on her face, Linda could still see the tension in the teenaged girl's body. It was taking all of her willpower to keep herself from shaking like a leaf. Linda sighed, guiding the girl into the lit and taking her off to the side while the men waited with the monitor by the controls. "You doing okay?"

Stella just shrugged, prompting a mirthful laugh from Linda, "Let me guess? You've been training as a Promethean for years now, wanting to be a warrior like the ones from legend, and now that you're faced with an actual fight, you're completely and utterly terrified?"

Stella glared at Linda for a moment, before looking away sullenly and watching the lights on the wall pass by as the lift moved. Linda chuckled, "Don't worry kid, it happens to everyone. If you weren't scared of combat, then I would be worried."

Stella looked back at Linda frowning in confusion. Linda guess what she was thinking, but instead of responding, she pulled out a spare magazine and popped a bullet out. She looked at it for a moment, considering the small piece of lead, then she handed it to Stella. "This is a lucky bullet. It's lucky because it's one bullet that is never looking for you. That's one less bullet the enemy has to throw at you." She opened her mouth to keep going, but realized they were slowing down. The sounds of heavy combat reached their ears, and she stood up. "Get ready kid... You're about to enter a warzone."

Stella scrutinized the bullet, reflecting on Linda's words. She let them roll around in her head like the bullet in her palm. And after a while, she began calming down. Something tapped her shoulder, and she looked up to see the large, armoured female holding a sidearm-type weapon out to her. Of course, it was more like a handcannon to the much smaller girl, but it was relatively light in her hands. The human demonstrated how to fire and reload the weapon, going the motions calmly and precisely. Then she handed it over, along with three magazines. Stella looked at the new weapon, comparing it to her sword. It seemed smaller, and much more limited, and yet it carried the range and power to clear through multiple targets when her sword couldn't reach them. She weighed it in her hands,deciding to carry it in her right hand while her left hand wielded the blade. Linda was going to make a quick comment, but it was to late. The elevator came to a halt...

And all hell broke loose.

Stella's eye widened, and she ducked as a plasma bolt came inches from her face. Had she been of a more scientific mindset like her mother, Stella would have been appreciative of the high powered EM field that prevented the blinding heat of the plasma from burning her via proximity. But, she was a Promethean, and her right hand came up and squeezed a shot off from the human weapon. Being used to the recoilless, Forerunner weapons, Stella was stunned when her arm was jarred back by heavy recoil, sending her shot wide. She wished there was time to train with the new weapon, but time was a luxury she could not afford. A grunt screamed, rushing her without a second thought. After all, she couldn't aim her weapon and was smaller than the Spartans, so she was an easier target, right. Wrong. The black blade flickered out, slicing through the soft, exposed flesh of the grunt's head with a soft, almost silent whisper. The grunt managed to see his own body before his brain died, an indignant expression on what was left of his face.

Stella had already come to terms with killing the aliens, but that didn't mean she felt nothing. In fact, she felt mild annoyance that the aliens thought so little o her that the lowest considered her nothing. She threw herself into the fray, becoming a whirlwind of black steel. After another two shots with the handgun, she managed to compensate for the recoil, and began sinking round after round into the enemy. With the combined efforts of four Spartans and a Promethean-in-Training, the Covenant quickly fell back, unable to make any headway on their own. Stella cut down one last Brute, relieving him of his hands, then his head. She was getting winded at this point, and was struggling to keep up the pace. A massive shadow loomed over her, and she spun around to attack whatever it was... Only to see her blade skid off the heavy shield of a hunter. She tried to leap away, but stumbled on the body of the brute she had just killed and fell down. She tried to shoot at him, but the weapon just clicked in her hands. No more bullets, and she had just used the last magazine. She closed her eyes, fear flooding her system as she realized she had screwed up."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Stella's eyes went wide as a white streak slammed into the hunter, sending it reeling in confusion. Sing Love had physically tackled the hunter, the love for her daughter lending the frail and dying Forerunner strength. Just enough to catch the Hunter by surprise, but not enough to actually overpower it. With a grunt, the hunter grabbed Sing and slammed her into the ground. Then it turned the plasma cannon on the defenseless woman... and fired. Stella watched in stunned disbelief as her mother was enveloped in a green flash of light. Everything seemed to slow down, her entire body went numb. She could hear screaming, far off and distant. The Spartans spun around as one and attacked the Hunter with every ounce of firepower they had while Stella crawled over to her mother. Due to the proximity of the Plasma Cannon to the metal ground, much of the plasma had actually been dispersed, doing only minimal damage to Sing. But it was enough. She looked up at Stella, a mixture of pain and love shining in her eyes.

"Stella... My little star..."

Stella gestured desperately at her mother, trying to keep her quiet.

Sing just smiled and shook her head, a small amount of red blood leaking from her mouth. She must have punctured a lung when the Hunter slammed her into the floor. "Stella... You need to... go with the humans. Can you do that?" She took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to hold out while she could. "You need to be strong... Show them that the Forerunners... We are not evil... We are just as... flawed as humans..."

Over with the Spartan's, Kelly had finally managed to dispatch the Hunter with a blast from her shotgun. They stood there, waiting to see if more Covvies would show up.

"Oh, no..."

Kelly and Fred turned to Linda, who was staring in shock at Stella. The girl was shaking her mother, desperately trying to revive her as tears streamed down her face. She was silently mouthing her mother's name, but no sound came out other than ragged sobs of grief. Chief and the Arbiter stood a little ways off, their sympathetic pain etched clearly in their body language.

Chief slowly approached the girl, kneeling down next to her, "Stella... We need to go. She's gone." He was stunned when the smaller girl spun around and pointed the empty magnum at his face, pulling the trigger over and over again as if trying to shoot him. Eventually, the gun began to lower, and sobs racked the girl's body. Chief carefully removed the weapon from her hands, tossing it to the side and slowly picking her up. He turned towards the team, gently cradling Stella in his arms, "Fred... Get Sing on board. Linda, start the ship up and get us out of here."

The Spartans and Arbiter loaded up onto the Pelican, everyone in a subdued mood as the craft lifted up and left the now war-torn facility.

Alright, I finally got a chapter of this done. This has been a long time in the making, and I hope you enjoy it. I'm going to attempt to have at least one chapter for one of my stories done every week, so stay tuned. The Paladin's and Harry Potter is coming along nicely on paper, so you might see that one pretty soon. I hope I managed to get Sing Love down pretty good. Sorry for those of you who were hoping to see her in action in the field... But she had to die.