My readers! I have returned with the next chapter. Now for my reviewers.

Hoboking: I've decided to take your advice. Screw the Admin!

Dune's Furl: Agreed. I hated the way they were just killed off in The Flood. Which is why I'm writing this.

lightman: I'll try to do this right.

Smelly poo: You're entitled to your opinion.

Avada88: Thank you for your kind words.

And now without further delay, I give you…..

The Return of Zamamee and Yayap

Chapter 3

Zamamee was in darkness. Everywhere he looked was nothing but a void. That and a horrible stench.

"Where am I?" Then, the room slowly became illuminated. Zamamee looked around and was certain that his heart stopped for a moment. He was in a large cavern being illuminated by a dull light from the cave ceiling. But the thing that made him quiver in a mix of terror and revulsion was not the environment but the scenery. He was surrounded by corpses. Human and Covenant alike. He quickly realized that this was the source of the smell.

"What is this!" He got his answer soon enough. A strange squishing noise began echoing off the cave walls. He knew what was coming and began desperately searching for a weapon. After looting the bodies for a second, he came up with two plasma rifles and an energy sword. Each one, according to his HUD, was close to fully charged. After that he raised the rifles and waited. He didn't wait long. Infection forms poured out of every nook and cranny of the cavern. He immediately poured white hot plasma into the enemy ranks. Soon the shredded remains of hundreds of dead infection forms littered the cave floor but it was as if each time he killed one, five more would pop up to take its place. Zamamee fought with everything he had but knew that at this rate it was only a matter of time before he was overwhelmed. He glanced at his HUD and saw that both rifles were almost empty.

'When will it end!' Then, almost as if reading his mind, the creatures stopped. He looked up in amazement to see the creatures scurrying away from him. He heaved a sigh of relief but when he looked up it became a gasp of horror. The Flood weren't retreating, they had found easier prey. The pods descended on the corpses and burrowed into their chests. In moments, the bodies stood up and stared at him with soulless eyes as they violently mutated. Their flesh seemed to rot before his eyes. Their skin took on a greenish hue and tentacles erupted from various parts of their bodies. The combat forms approached him with murderous intent. Zamamee threw away the rifles in favor of his energy sword. The beasts let forth an un-holy screech which echoed throughout the cavern. Zamamee roared a battle cry in response. With that, the two sides charged. Zamamee stormed into their ranks and began slaughtering them with brutal efficiency. One combat form tried to attack him from above and was cleaved in half. Another slammed its tentacle of an arm into his back, cutting his shield in half. The creature quickly paid for its boldness. Zamamee continued battling the parasites and, slowly but surely, began thinning their ranks. Soon, only one combat form remained. Zamamee was about to finish it when the creature ignited an energy sword of its own.

"You've got to be kidding!" With that, he assumed a defensive stance. The Flood form screeched and charged him. The beast attempted a downward strike which Zamamee easily blocked, the two swords making an electric sound as they collided. Zamamee attempted an attack of his own but the Flood form nimbly dodged it. The Flood form began a series of small cries, almost like it was laughing at him. Zamamee growled and charged. What ensued was a whirling dance of blades. The two warriors slashed, parried, and dodged for what seemed like hours but in fact was only a few minutes. The Flood form attempted to behead him but Zamamee dodged and followed up with a slash that sliced his enemy's sword arm off. The creature stumbled back several feet. Zamamee couldn't help but smirk. The creature howled in frustration as a tentacle erupted from its stump of an arm before it launched one last assault. Zamamee ducked the blow and countered with an upward strike. The Flood form stared at him for a second before splitting right down the middle.

Zamamee calmed his nerves and looked around. Hundreds of dead Flood stared back. He couldn't help but feel a great deal of pride. Against overwhelming odds, he had emerged relatively unscathed. He chuckled slightly which grew into full blown, almost insane, laughter. He ended it with a roar of approval. But his celebration was cut short. Before he had a chance to think, a large tentacle came out of nowhere and grabbed him off the ground, knocking the sword from his grasp. He saw he was being lifted to the top of a crag. He came over it and came face to face with one of the most terrifying sites he had ever seen in his life. It was a Flood form but unlike any he had ever seen before. It vaguely resembled a plant the humans called a fly trap. It had thousands of tentacles emerging from its lower body. Also, every time it breathed, it exhaled the strange, greenish smoke often found in the Flood's presence. But its most notable feature was that it was gigantic! Fifty feet high at least! It stared at him for a moment and Zamamee could do nothing but wonder why it hadn't already killed him. But then, the creature did something that he had never seen a Flood form do. It spoke.

"Welcome to your grave." After that, the only sound in the cavern was Zamamee's terrified scream.

Zamamee awoke in a cold sweat. He clutched his chest and breathed deeply.

'What a nightmare.' He calmed down and took in his surroundings. He was in a well lit room with assorted medical equipment. The med-bay. Seeing nothing of interest, he tried to remember how he got there.

'Let's see. I remember waking up in the human ship. I was there for a few minutes before….' He suddenly jumped.

'The parasite!' He checked the area where it attacked him and felt a bandage.

'So that wasn't a dream. Then how did I survive?' He left that puzzle for later and examined his other injuries. Most of his body was bandaged. He felt around his head and felt even more bandages. But then he felt something. Or more specifically he didn't feel something. He searched one of the medical trays and found a mirror. He examined his face and his fears were confirmed. Both of his left mandibles were gone. He growled slightly and collapsed back onto his bed.

'Now nothing's gonna taste right.' He was about to nod off again when he heard a slight beeping sound. He looked toward the door and saw it flashing just before it opened and in stepped an elite. It had a very slender build telling him it was female. Also, she was wearing wight armor which told him she was a medic. At the moment she was humming softly and examining a portable holo-projector. (AN: The sci-fi version of a clip board.) She deactivated the device and looked in his direction and suddenly looked shocked.

"Oh! You're awake." She got over whatever surprised her and smiled at him.

"I didn't think you'd wake up for a while. I have to let the little one know." Zamamee looked at her strangely.

"Little one?"

"The grunt that brought you here. He's hardly left your side. I've never seen such devotion in a grunt before. Let's see, I think his name was Yipyip or…. "

"Yayap?"

"Yeah! That's it." Zamamee lied back and smiled. It was good to know his friend was alright and even better to know he cared.

"Okay! Time to change your bandages." Zamamee let her go about her work without complaint. She began pealing off his bandages and stopped.

"What the…?" She pulled off more of his bandages and suddenly screamed.

"BY THE RINGS!" She started tearing off his bandages.

"What are you…!" Before he could finish, she accidentally slammed his head into the wall in her haste.

"Will you be careful! I'm injured!" She backed away from him. She looked almost terrified.

"N-N-No you're not."

"What?" He looked at himself and his eyes shot open. His wounds were….gone! Not even a scar.

"What in the name of…!" He looked up at her.

"How long have I been her?" Given his state of health, he expected her to say months.

"Just a few hours." That was a shock.

"But that's impossible!"

"Tell me about it! Considering the extent of your injuries, you should've been bed ridden for weeks!" He pondered for a moment but couldn't think of any thing else to say on the subject.

"Does this mean I can return to duty?"

"I guess so. But you will be subject to a thorough examination. We have to find out how this happened!" With that, Zamamee grabbed some clothes, bowed respectfully, and walked out into the hallway where he bumped into a very surprised Yayap.

"Lord Zamamee! You're…" His eyes shot open, "…better!"

"I'm as surprised as you are, little one."

"I'm glad to see you're okay."

"Indeed, Yayap. But perhaps you could tell me what has happened as of late?" Yayap sighed. He was happy to see Zamamee up and about but he was getting a little tired of telling the same story over and over.

"Let's find someplace to relax Zamamee. It's a long story."

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed it. Please R+R!