(For those interested, this would technically be my chosen soundtrack as official song for my story.

Search for: "Penumbra Black Plague Theme" on Youtube.

It may or may not be what inspired the name of my story as well as a small tribute to that indie game I love.

So:

OST: Penumbra Black Plague theme)


Waiting and waiting wasn't exactly his forte.

Hunters often stalk their prey and strike at the right opportunity while Warlocks get immersed in their books and are happy to pass the day like that.

Titans however are men of action, the only time they sit around and do nothing is usually after a battle when too tired… or when they enjoy a fine meal. Sometimes he wonders how Zavala or Saint could oversee Vanguard operations and Trials matches without feeling bored. Although Saint surely liked a fancy brawl between Guardians.

He glanced at the two marines guarding the door, his helmet did not move so they wouldn't see him do that. An idea formed in his mind, it was risky but if the technology in this universe was anything to consider by, then he would not face substantial consequences.

"Ghost?"

"Yes, Guardian?" His friend immediately responded.

"Mind turning off the audio of that camera? I wanna engage in a conversation, it's directly above them so the security guard behind it shouldn't see the marines talking. Scan a sample of the 'audio' it's detecting now and play it every ten seconds in a loop."

"Thought of everything, uh?" Ghost beeped. "Accessing security protocols… done! The encryption really sucks, a child in the City could probably crack it in one minute."

Jake cleared his throat and waited for the little light to reactivate the audio in his helmet.

"So, Jackson." The marine's gaze snapped to him when he pronounced his name. "What's your story? Have a beef with the Covenant or did you simply need money for your family?"

Andrew on the other hand narrowed his eyes and spoke before Paul could respond. "Why are you asking that? Our orders are to guard you, not to chit-chat."

"Ghost disabled the audio of the camera and replaced it with a loop." They blinked and looked up at said object. "I have my armour on, so unless I move my shoulders or head they won't know about our conversation." Jake tapped his fingers on the table. "And I'm bored."

The Sergeant snorted. "Sorry about our hospitality, we'll take notes and improve for future guests."

Jackson shifted his gaze between the two, he lowered it towards his rifle and sighed. "My origins are nothing special, really." The young marine felt his superior staring at him, but he swallowed and continued. "You could say I'm a simple farmer. My father had some experience in the army and fought the first years of the war, he got a bad injury to his left leg and was sent home. He's happy he was able to see me grow up, but every evening, when he sits on his rusty old chair outside our home, I see regret for not finishing what he started."

The Guardian hummed. "So it's pride? You want to impress your father?"

Paul shook his head. "Not only that. My family might need economic resources after the war if we do manage to win it or if peace is possible with the Covenant." He ignored the snort coming from Harrison. "Either I die or I live, but they still get the money."

Jake wanted to nod in understanding, but he couldn't. "What about you, Harrison?"

"No sense in backing out now." The marine muttered under his breath. "What can I say? It's the opposite of Jackson. Wanted to put as much distance as I could between me and my old man, the army proved to be the right choice." He gestured to the room. "I too served since the start. Got promotion after blowing up an alien outpost for the other squads to advance on Harvest, too bad the planet was a bye-bye anyway."

"I'm still waiting for my promotion…"

Andrew patted Paul on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, kid. We saved the damn galaxy by helping him and Master Chief! I'm sure that after the ceremony and Chief's medals, it'll be our turn. Hell, you'd be lucky to turn Sergeant at your age, Private."

The younger marine smiled gratefully before his lips thinned. "What about you, Jake? What's your story?"

He decided he would humor them with a quick summary. "I woke up in Old Russia. Fought my way through to reach the Tower, killed the heart of the Black Garden which denied the Traveler its regeneration, captured an Eliksni fugitive named Skolas, killed a few Gods and stopped threats such as a replicating and almost sentient nanotechnology or a giant Vex boss which could erase you or me if we were in their network. Currently we're managing a crisis since as I already told you, the pyramid ships returned in our solar system."

The marines blinked. He almost waved a hand, almost. "In our universe threats with the power to destroy entire planets or species are daily occurents. Us Guardians were brought back for this reason. We fight, we die and we come back unless they discover a way to put us down for good."

Harrison raised an eyebrow. "Is there?"

"There's one, but I'm afraid I'll keep this secret for myself."

What followed was complete silence.

He wondered how long would the ceremony last before they realized the Covenant might already know Earth's location. How did he know that? After more than seven years of constant fighting, he simply knew.


Thel 'Vadamee looked around the Council room, noticing the whispering and mutters among the crowd as they watched him. He felt… small and insignificant in front of the Highly Prophets despite his clear advantage in terms of strength and cunning on the battlefield.

"There was only one ship." He eventually answered to Truth's question.

"One?" The Prophet tilted his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. They called it… the Pillar of Autumn."

More disorder in the Council, he did not let the buzzling echo of the participants' voices distract him from trying to find a valid justification for his massive failure on the sacred Ring.

Mercy slammed his fist on the arm of his chair and snarled. "Why was it not destroyed with the rest of their fleet?"

"It fled. As we set fire to their planet." Its name was Reach, if he correctly recalled. There were some Demons united in a team called 'Noble' that caused major problems when the first vessels arrived, but he easily crushed the insects one by one. "But I followed it with all the ships in my command."

Regret hummed, rubbing his chin. "When you first saw Halo, were you blinded by its majesty?"

"Blinded?" He asked, confused.

"Paralyzed?" The Prophet continued. "Dumbstruck?"

"No."

"Yet the humans were able to evade your ships, land on the sacred Ring and desecrate it with their filthy footsteps!"

There were more important matters to deal with! Oh, how he wanted to scream out his frustration for the parasite's arrival and that Guardian aiding the Demon in his destructive quest. He wisely remained quiet.

"Noble Hierarchs." He raised the palm of his claw. "Surely you understand that once the parasite attacked-"

The silence was broken by the roars of his species' members in the Council. Mercy slammed his hand again and growled. "There will be order in this Council!"

Truth, the more reasonable Prophet, cleared his throat. "You were right to focus your attention on the Flood. But this Demon… this Master Chief."

"He wasn't alone, noble Prophet of Truth." Thel coughed to a minor Elite behind him. He approached and bowed to the Hierarchs before placing a hologram device on the ground. "I wanted to directly discuss this matter with the Council." It activated and the footage of multiple Elite platoons played, showing the Guardian and his abilities.

"This… 'Guardian', as it calls itself, accompagnied the Master Chief in its quest." The murmurs increased in volume. "It could die, but it would not stay dead. It would shake off the rot and rise again." He lowered his gaze. "I ordered its capture for studying, the ability to resurrect from the dead is something the Gods unfortunately did not gift us with. But no matter how many warriors it encountered, it tore through them like they were nothing."

Truth intertwined his hands. "And did you monitor its activities as it travelled through the Ring with the Demon? While its abilities are dangerous and unpredictable, a great number of warriors could subdue it."

"By the time I learned the Demons' intent…" Thel clenched his fists. "…there was nothing I could do."

Chaos erupted in the crowd, from the corner of his eyes he saw the Chieftain Brute Tartarus chuckling for his unfortunate demise.

"You are one of our most treasured instruments. Long have you led your fleet with honour and distinction. But your inability to safeguard Halo was a colossal failure."

"Nay! It was heresy!" One of the members among the crowd rose and shouted.

No, they wouldn't choose that type of punishment!

"I will continue my campaign against the humans!"

"No!" Truth nodded towards Tartarus. "You will not."

A Brute laid a hand on his shoulder, he snarled but complied, following them.

However, Truth's next words would continue echoing inside his mind for the foreseeable hours.

"Soon the Great Journey shall begin. But when it does, the weight of your heresy will stay your feet and you shall be left behind."


Cheers, flashes, cameras.

Not exactly the amount of internal stress Chief was comfortable to handle. At least he had the new armour on and didn't feel naked. It would have been awkward to proceed without it, especially when he had a hard time conveying emotions through his face.

"You told me there wouldn't be any cameras." He muttered to Sergeant Johnson, who nodded to each folk they came across. The marine clearly basked in the praises and attention, Chief did not.

"And you told me you were gonna wear something nice."

Well, he did roll his eyes behind the helmet.

"Folks need heroes, Chief. To give 'em hope." Johnson adjusted his hat and hair while they waited for the door to open. "So smile, would ya? While we still got something to smile about."

Smile and be the hero to give people hope? Why smile when the other hero is held prisoner for simply not existing in this world? He thought back of the words the Guardian whispered. It can't be him, right? Too many years have passed, maybe I'm confusing Jake with him. And yet, who else could know that song?

They stopped in front of Lord Hood, saluting, and the admiral reciprocated the gesture. "Gentlemen. We're lucky to have you back." Hood glanced behind him as an officer whispered in his ear, he frowned. "Go ahead, Cortana."

The AI appeared on a console. "Another whisper, sir. Near Io. We have probes en route."

Whispers? That's trouble.

"I apologize but we're going to have to make this quick."

Cortana smirked. "You look nice."

"Thanks/Thank you!" Chief and Johnson stared at each other.

In came the moment of providing medals. He continued to look ahead while Hood did his thing, but when Miranda Keyes sniffed, he sighed. We avenged him. Me and Jake made sure his death was not in vain. It wasn't a believable excuse to ease Miranda's pain anyway.

An alarm blasted throughout the room, red lights flickered around. Chief tensed and stood on alert.

"Slip-space ruptures. Directly off our battlecluster."

So they've found Earth. John shifted his gaze on the floor. They're gonna have to release him. He'll want to help.

"This is Fleet Admiral Harper, we are engaging the enemy!"

Lord Hood shook his head. "Negative Admiral! Form a defensive perimeter around the cluster!" He turned around to face Keyes. "Commander, get to your ship, link up with the fleet."

"Yes, sir!"

"Something's not right." Hood's lips thinned. "The fleet that destroyed Reach was fifty times this size."

Chief followed the contacts on the monitor. It's a smaller attack force, probably a single fleet instead of a much bigger armada. But why attack with such strength the home planet of your enemy?

"Master Chief." He snapped to attention. "Defend this station!"

"Yes, sir." He faced Johnson. "I need a weapon."

"Right this way."

He started walking away.

"And soldier?" Chief stopped and turned around. Hood nodded. "Expect a temporarily addition to form a team of two. We need all the help we can get."

His lips twitched for a moment.

"Yes, sir."


Jake got up from his seat the second the alarm rang.

Harrison and Jackson tuned in their radio to listen to a broadcast. The younger soldier paled. "The Covenant. They found Earth!"

"Is it true?" He asked Ghost.

"I'm picking up countless trasmissions of the first aircrafts engaging with the Covenant's. They're resisting but I don't know for how long."

He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He walked towards the door and nodded at the marines. "Alright, let's go."

"Excuse me?" Harrison demanded. "Our orders haven't changed! We're tasked with guarding you and that's exactly what we're going to do!" He pointed his rifle at him. "I don't care if you're bullet proof or if you're a demi-god, return to your seat!"

"How is it that you humans put it? Ah, right! He has balls."

The Titan spread his arms. "In case you're missing it, the Covenant have reached Earth and the battle for the survival of your race has begun! You need all the help you can get and I'm that help! You want to accept it or you want your humanity to experience a first Collapse as mine did?!"

"I told you big guy! Orders are orders."

Jackson opened his mouth to join the heated conversation but he closed it and brought a finger to his ear. "Sir?" The other two humans in the room turned to him. "Yes, sir, he's here." He paused. "Of course, sir." He gestured to the Titan. "Lord Hood would like to speak with you. Can you get your AI to link up with our signal?"

Ghost materialized and glared at Paul. "I'm a Ghost, not an AI." Either way, he left the threat at that. "Comms are opened, Guardian." He muttered and looked away.

"Lord Hood?"

"Guardian." Hood's voice was tight and concentrated. "As you can see we have a problem, a big one. I'm not going to waste time so I'll make it quick." He took a deep breath. "You said you wanted to help us, right? Because that's what you did on Halo and that's why you were brought back in the first place. Well, son, I'm only going to ask you the same thing Jacob Keyes did: Can I trust you?"

"I am a Guardian, protector of humanity. Whether this may be my humanity or not, it doesn't matter. If you'd just let me join your forces, sir, I would bring the sky down upon the Covenant. Let me be the shield behind which humanity stands tall."

Silence…

Hood sighed. "Don't make me regret this, Jake. From now on, you'll be assigned along side Master Chief. You can't have a military grade like the ones we use since you technically don't exist here, but under my authority, you are hereby charged with Master Chief's level of clearance. That means that what he knows, you'll know and what higher orders he receives, you'll be able to respond to them. Continue to use your previous cover if someone questions you."

Another pregnant pause. "Master Chief is currently occupied. As your first official order, you will reach one of our hangars and help the marines evacuating the civilians. I already have reports of Covenant troops breaching in. Once you'll complete this objective, you'll join Chief and his team. Is that clear, son?"

"Chrystal, sir."

"Very good. Hood out."

He looked at the two stunned marines and cracked his neck, transmatting Fatebringer in his hand. "Shall we go out?" He grinned behind his helmet.

They nodded and left the room, sprinting for the objective.


"I'm detecting various biological traces nearby. The Covenant have breached in the hangar and are pinning down the personnel."

"Sergeant, you stay on the left side…" He nudged his shoulder to said side of the door. "…Private, you'll take the right. I'll stay on the front and concentrate their fire on me."

Andrew tapped the panel and the entrance slid open. He went first, the two marines using him as cover.

Ghost was right. An entire platoon of Covenant troops exited various landing crafts on the left side of the hangers while on the right the human personnel was trying to board on their transportations to escape. Civilians and marines alike were pinned down. His eyes landed on three civilians hiding behind a wall with only one soldier reciprocating upcoming fire.

"Join your fellow marines and help the wounded." He ordered.

"Yes, sir!" They chorused together. It felt strange to be called that, but he supposed he would be able to endure the feeling. It made him feel old.

The Titan bolted in the crossfire and headed for the pinned down humans. Some human and Covenant projectiles flew past him, while some connected with his armour, but the shields held on. He slid on the floor at the last second and crouched behind a crate, blindly shooting his entire magazine before reloading.

He looked at the four humans and nodded towards them. "I'm here to help you reach safety. I need you to stay behind me and walk back towards the birds. I'll be your cover."

"Sir!" The marine ducked down and avoided a plasma shot. "Are you sure your shields will hold on long enough?"

"Positive." He gathered void energy in his free palm.

ZIUM!

Jake activated Sentinel Shield, he caught the opened mouths of his charges and beckoned them. "Come on! No time to gawk!"

He left his position and spread his shield in front of him, creating a towering barricade. The personnel stood behind him and when they started retreating, he followed them closely.

"Guardian! That's the Guardian!" He heard a Grunt chirp.

"Guardian?" His companion beeped. "Not Demon? Uh, guess they finally set their minds on a proper name."

He groaned in response, trying to keep the barricade up for as long as possible. Jake joined the other marines when the men and woman he saved boarded on their transportation and left, providing suppressing fire and not allowing the Covenant to target the escape routes.

"There's too many of 'em!" Harrison shouted. "We'll risk losing our Pelican to plasma at this rate!"

An idea formed in his head. "Give me Sweet Business."

"On it."

His weapon transmatted away and its place, Sweet Business stood. Taking a breath, he bolted away from his cover and let the machine gun charging, rotating at first as usual.

What happened next could only be described by the marines as glorious. The machine gun roared with delight as it rained bullets after bullets on the Covenant's positions and unlike any normal infantry weapon they used, its magazine was basically infinite.

The Titan used the suppressive fire to advance upon his enemies and mowed them one by one. The luckiest ones died by a simple bullet to the head, while the others were literally ventilated. The satisfying sounds of crunching reached his ears and not even the Elites' shields could withstand Sweet Business' fire power.

He cleared the room and stood among the bodies, machine gun still smoking. He ignored the stares from the soldiers and opened his comms. "Lord Hood? The hangar is secured, sir. And all the civilians have been evacuated. Only me and about twelve marines remain."

"Good job." Hood seemed to be listening to something. "Negative Commander. Not against a ship that size. Not on your own."

"Sir?" That was Master Chief. He listened to the conversation as he helped the marines with carrying military and medical equipment on the Pelican, along with the injured. "Permission to leave the station."

"For what purpose, Master Chief?"

"To give the Covenant back their bomb."

Jake paused his work and realized what he meant, grinning. Now we're speaking the same language!

"Permission granted. Guardian?"

"Sir?"

"Take the Pelican and reunite with the In Amber Clad. We'll need both you and Master Chief on the ground."

"Yes, sir." He knocked on the Pelican with a fist. "Let's move people! We'll be travelling back home to defend it from the aliens. Oorah?"

"Oorah!"

"You're pretty good at this."

"Thanks." He muttered.

They mounted on their ride, it slowly ascended in the outside space, thrusters ready for counter measures if targeted by enemy forces. Jake preferred to wait in the pilot cockpit, the driver saluted and he reciprocated the gesture. As long as they thought he was one of their own, everything would go smoothly. It helped that his origins hadn't been updated on the military network, or else this would have been awkward.

BOOM!

"Guess Master Chief finished his job." He crossed his arms and stared at the big explosion coming from inside one of the carriers. "Contact the In Amber Clad." He ordered to the pilot who immediately complied. He let Ghost connect to the frequency and cleared his throat. "In Amber Clad this Guardian Jake above Echo-385. Requesting permission to dock, over."

It wasn't long until Mirana Keyes responded. "Roger that. Permission granted."

THUD!

"For a brick…" He heard Johnson chuckling. "…he flew pretty good!"

Keyes sighed. "Chief, get inside, gear up. Jake, you do the same."

"Mmmh." Ghost hummed. "Dejavu. How many times did you jump from heights like that?"

Too many.

He internally thought.


Author's note:

Sweat Business go BRRRRRRRRRRR.

As you can see, I wrote the original script of Halo 2 but adding some… uh, "consequences" of our dear Titan's arrival.

Also! DUM! DUM! DUM! What could Chief be meaning by HIM? Well, it'll take some time to find out!

Until next time!

Gino out!