After many hours and hours of fighting his way through the Library, and passing through all twelve security barriers, a very tired Xzaalbarth made it to the last security barrier. The Monitor returned via a vent and was humming happily to himself. Green gore and blood covered Xzaalbarth, and he had about 5 left in his Plasma Rifle, and long ran out of Plasma Grenades.
In his left hand, he still wielded his Energy Sword. The Security barrier opened, and a great pulse of light shot out from the middle of the room. It was so bright, Xzaalbarth had to cover his eyes.
"We have now arrived at the Index," said the Monitor.
"About time," mumbled Xzaalbarth. And as he said this, a dozen Combat Forms, hundreds of Injection Forms, and a couple of Carrier Forms came racing after him. "Son of a bitch...here we go again." Xzaalbarth swept into action, firing his Plasma Rifle at the Injection Forms, and activated his Energy Sword.
The Injection Forms exploded by the hundreds, and a Combat Form leapt up and swung at Xzaalbarth. Xzaalbarth swung back with his Energy Sword, and promptly cut the Combat Form in two, killing it instantly. Xzaalbarth noticed a Carrier Form had crept a bit to close to him, and he raised his Rifle to fire. He pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Xzaalbarth muttered a curse, and threw the useless weapon at the Carrier Form, who exploded as the weapon hit it. A pair of Combat Forms, and a dozen Injection Forms went up like a bomb.
"Come on!" yelled Xzaalbarth at the Monitor, and he ran right past the angry Flood. He jumped up onto the platform that was at the center of the room, and it lowered. The Flood didn't follow him after this. The Monitor was humming. The platform lowered slowly until it arrived at the bottom level of the Library.
The Index glowed a brilliant bright green, and the security barriers around it opened, and Xzaalbarth hesitated at first to grab the Index. After a few seconds of thought, he pulled it out, and the Monitor sucked it up.
"Protocol dictates I handle the Index from here on, Reclaimer, as you can still be infected, and we do not want the Index to be captured by the Flood." And with that, the Monitor and Xzaalbarth teleported out of the Library.
"I thought you said the teleporters didn't work," said an irritated Xzaalbarth.
"They didn't," replied the Monitor. "We just fixed them moments ago. You may not return the Index to the core." And the Index fell into Xzaalbarth's hands. He hesitated again. After looking at the Index, Xzaalbarth turned to the Monitor.
"I have a question, Spark. If you had to do this, would you?" asked Xzaalbarth.
The Monitor paused for a long while, and he didn't answer. Xzaalbarth shrugged. He knew what his orders were. He was ordered by the Forerunner Council of Divine to activate Halo, and kill all sentient life within 25,000 light years of Halo, to prevent the spread of the Flood.
He also knew that many Forerunners refused to leave, including his family. He didn't want to kill them just over a small chance the Flood would leave. He took the Index, and placed it under his boot and crushed it. The Index shattered into a thousand million pieces.
The Monitor was shocked. "You—You destroyed the Index! This is a violation of Protocol! The Council will not be pleased!" The Monitor started sputtering around the Control Room, and muttering, angrily. "I do not know what to do but...GUARDS!" And instantly, a hundred Forerunner Guardians appeared out of nowhere, and were about to charge Xzaalbarth, but stopped.
"Ah, old friends, you recognize me. If you know what's right, then you'll follow me, where the stars never rise, and life is safe. If you follow me, you'll never return to your families, never see them again, but they will be safe. If you do not, then you have just condemned our race, and our neighbors, the young ones we were charged to care. Do you join me now on my Exodus?"
Many of the Guardians paused, and turned towards the Reclaimer, and back at the Monitor. They all nodded.
"Good, then prepare for teleportation." And with that the Reclaimer and his men disappeared.
"This is outrageous!" yelled the Monitor.
The Monitor would be so outraged, he'd eventually contact the Forerunners, and have them send in additional Sentinels to deal with the Flood, and he asked for a new Index, which was given to him a thousand years later. Halo 15 eventually activated at the Forerunner Homeworld, and killed all the Forerunners in the galaxy, leaving behind their legacy for the younger races to pick up.
As for Xzaalbarth, he and his men teleported to the Waco system, to Halo 01, and killed all the Flood there, and stored the fate of all races there, and he kept all the Guardians at the key points of Halo 01 so that no race could ever activate it and carry out the destruction the Monitor wished, and what happened to the Forerunners.
Xzaalbarth himself went into Cryo Storage in the Room of Captive Wisdom in Halo 01, were he would spend many thousands of years, watching over Halo in his dreams, until one day in the Earth Calendar 2552...
Xzaalbarth sensed in his sleep that he had company, and many of his kin had been killed. He heard noises outside of pod, and a loud thump was heard in the Room of Captive Wisdom, and a loud speaker spoke in Forerunner: Behold, the Ancient One awakens! Gods tremble at his name!
And the pod that Xzaalbarth was kept in for so many millennia hissed open, and Xzaalbarth opened his eyes. In front of him was...him. But it wasn't him. It was a person a few inches shorter than him, but wearing an armor more primitive than his, but in the same fashion. Three others like him stood in front of the pod. There were others behind them.
Xzaalbarth leapt out of the pod, and flipped over the armored figure. He activated his energy sword, but he noticed that the strangers, while armed, seemed very much afraid of him. He deactivated the sword with a grin, and glanced at each of the newcomers. He even walked up to a few and smelled them.
They gave off a meaty odor. He did this to each one of them, and then looked at the armored figures again, and was amazed at how much their armored resembled his own. He spoke in Forerunner. "Why have you come here?" he asked.
The one who awoke him seemed puzzled, and spoke in a language Xzaalbarth never heard off.
"We mean you no harm. We are Humans, from the planet Earth." Xzaalbarth thought again. He remembered hearing about Earth, and the Humans. They were incredibly primitive at the time of his slumber. They must have advanced rapidly, or he slept for a long time. He could hear others speaking on the radio, and he easily picked up their language.
He finally spoke. "My name is Xzaalbarth. My kin call me the Reclaimer."
End of Chapter Four.
Author's Note: If you haven't read my other fanfictions, this ending is the same as the ending of Chapter 6, of Halo: The Battle of Earth. I'll be continuing this fanfic, but it will be the same information presented in the Battle of Earth, but from Xzaalbarth's view. Read both of these fanfics, and review them, please.
-Admiral Neo