A/N: Whoohoo! Time for chapter 10 of Agent Reach, my current most successful story! Some of you were a bit miffed that I left it at a cliffhanger (heh heh, sorry guys! XD), and one suggested that I get Reach to battle Felix and Locus. That may or may not happen, but we'll see when we get to that part.

But, I wanted to answer a question a couple people had about Reach's AI implant:

Reach never had an AI before, plus his old helmet was lost on Reach during Lone Wolf. He didn't carry Cortana the way the Master Chief did, since he just placed it across his back.

This is the downfall of Project Freelancer, the Meta's rampage, and the longest chapter of them all, for any fanfic I did.

*Chapter 10*

The Director placed his glasses on his face, his eyes showing just how exhausted he was. With all the recent work of not only making Missouri the Meta, but giving three AIs to three agents, he was beginning to feel the wear and tear. The other agent to receive one, besides Carolina and Reach, was no other than his creation.

The Meta.

He received an AI minutes after his training room massacre, by the name of Zeta. Zeta was a silvery gray AI, much like Omega, except female and much more cold blooded. Now, with the Meta not only having enhanced strength and unable to feel pain, but with Zeta, it seemed impossible to stop him.

Only they haven't tested Zeta out properly against someone, and that was a slight problem. Without knowing what Zeta was capable of, the Director had no idea just how truly powerful the Meta would be.

A small beep on the Director's screen alerted him to Wyoming leaving his quarters, and that got the Director thinking. He smirked cruelly and summoned the Meta via private COM. "Meta, I think I have a perfect test for you and Zeta .Report to my office, immediately."

-0-

Reach tensed, his grip on his Battle Rifle firm as an Elite Ultra charged at him. He stood squarely, ready to fire, when the image of a blonde woman's face appeared, along with the whisper of a voice. "Allison."

Reach pushed the voice out of his head, firing a three round burst at the Elite. The alien warrior's shields flickered blue as it still charged, igniting an Energy Sword in its hand. "Demon!"

Reach fired three more bursts, taking out the alien's shields. As it stumbled, Reach went to pull the trigger again when he heard that voice, this time louder than before. "Allison."

The image of the blonde woman was hazy, but Reach could make out some features. She was wearing a Marine uniform, but her face was blurred. "Who…?"

The woman spoke, and though it sounded familiar, Reach couldn't put his finger on it. "Don't say goodbye. I hate goodbyes."

The mysterious voice whispered one last time before everything vanished into darkness. "Allison…"

Reach blinked his eyes open, breathing hard. He stood up quickly, reaching for a sidearm when he saw the face of Texas. The blonde Freelancer jumped back, surprised at his sudden movement. "Reach? Are you okay?"

Reach eased up, rubbing his head as he was aware of someone else inside his mind. "Yeah…" 'What the actual hell is this? It feels…cold and really strange.'

A small orange figure appeared on his shoulder, its arms at its side. "Hello, Reach. I am Eta, your AI. You've been out for a few hours, it seems." Reach gave a nod to him, still trying to wake up from that strange vision. "Hello Eta." 'What was that? Who was that woman? And why did she seem familiar?'

His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain lancing through his temples. He paused briefly, rubbing them. 'Headaches? I guess this is a side effect of recent AI implantations.'

Reach took a glance to his right, where he saw that he and Texas weren't the only ones. "Wyoming?" 'When did he get here?'

Upon closer look, Reach could see the British Freelancer was bleeding heavily from his back, and he had several serious wounds across his arms and chest. 'Who did this to him? Wyoming's one of the better Freelancers; this is one hell of a surprise.'

Texas followed his gaze and shook her head. "I don't know, either. They brought him in a few minutes ago, just before you woke. Whoever did this stole his AI, Gamma." The white Freelancer was unconscious, and his breathing was slow.

Reach clicked his helmet on, hiding his dark eyes. 'Rest easy, mate.' He tapped Wyoming's shoulder lightly before walking away. "Come; there's nothing we can do." 'As much as I hate leaving an ally behind, we're not going to solve CT and the Director by sitting around.'

Texas took one last glance at Wyoming's unmoving body before following him, letting out a sigh. "Okay."

Just before Reach and Texas exited the medical bay, they heard a weak, hacking cough. "R-reach…" They turned around to see Wyoming's eyes were open, though he seemed to be in a lot of pain.

Reach walked over to him, resting on one knee. "How are you feeling?" Wyoming grimaced and tensed, his voice shaking. "I-I've been better." He coughed, specks of red dotting his normally clean white armor.

Texas kneeled down next to Reach, helmet in hand. "Who did this to you? Do you remember?" Wyoming's brow furrowed, but after awhile, he shook his head. "I-I don't know. I was just walking down the hall when I heard a deep growl, and a Brute Shot firing…after that, it's just a blur."

Reach and Texas exchanged a glance, thinking. 'No…not Maine. It can't be him. He might be a bit gruff, but I refuse to believe he would do this. But, he is the only one with a Brute Shot, and the only person who is mute.'

Reach shook his head. 'There's no proof of Maine doing it. Until we can prove he is the one, we can't make assumptions.'

Wyoming's eyes closed again, breathing a bit more normally. "I'll be fine, chap. Just let me rest…" Reach nodded, standing up. "Get better soon."

Wyoming fell back asleep, and Reach and Texas left him, the former Spartan handing Texas his datapad. "Here." Texas took it, and the two walked down to the debriefing room.

Normally, the Director would be here, informing the Freelancers about some kind of mission they would be doing. But on this occasion, it was empty. Reach quickly scanned the area with his sidearm before nodding. "Clear." 'Better safe than sorry.'

Texas took a seat at a table, and she inserted the datapad inside what looked like Connecticut's seat. The former brown Freelancer's face appeared, and she seemed to have regret in her eyes. "Tex, if you are watching this, then I am no longer alive. Or at least, I'm no longer a member of Project Freelancer."

Reach's skin prickled as he remembered the recent fight, and Eta seemed to sense his discomfort. "Hold tight. Wait and see what's going on first."

The recording of CT let out a sigh before looking back up. "Attached to this file is all the information of what the Director's done. Tex, I'm not sure how you'll react to what I've uncovered, but I trust you to do the right thing. Please, do this for those who will get hurt in the future. Your friend, Connie."

The recording ended, and Texas began to scroll through the files. Reach stopped her at one that caught his eye. "Wait." 'There's that name again…'

He clicked on the file labeled 'Allison', and the image of the woman Reach saw in his vision returned, only now he was able to get a clear look at her face. And he was glad he still wore his helmet, otherwise, he would have the same shocked expression Texas did.

This person, Allison, looked exactly like Texas.

The black Freelancer's eyes squeezed shut, and she started to shake. "W-what? How is that possible? That's my name…" She murmured something that Reach had heard from his vision, and it sounded just like that woman. "Don't say goodbye. I hate goodbyes." That's when he realized it.

Texas was Allison.

Reach opened the attachment, and he began to scroll through it quickly. Much of it seemed to be personal logs from the Director himself. 'Allison, my long lost wife, is finally back. I have cloned her, and her memories, successfully. Except those memories of me will be locked away. She will never be able to remember me, and will be given a new name: Agent Texas of Project Freelancer.'

'She will remember who she is, and these new, fake memories will be all she can remember. The first thing she will recall is waking up from a 'coma' after she was made, and her being told she lost her memory. This copy will be perfect in its design.'

Reach glanced over, and Texas wasn't taking this news too well. Her blue eyes were wide, and she looked at her trembling hand. "You mean…my life is a lie? I'm just a copy of someone else?"

Reach shook his head, holding her tightly. "No, you're not. You have a heart, a soul. You are a real person." Texas closed her eyes, shaking. "That bastard…he just used me for his own selfish needs." Reach knew she was talking about the Director, and he didn't blame her. He too felt anger for his actions. 'Human cloning is against the law. Dr. Halsey faced charges for the Spartan II program, as she did the same damn thing.'

Holding onto Texas, who looked away, Reach read through another file marked 'Alpha.' As he scrolled through it, he saw exactly how he got Eta, and how all of the other AIs were formed. 'After creating Alpha, a copy of myself, I needed to create fragments and pieces of it to use for this project. There is no law against torturing a clone of yourself, so that's what I did. I made Alpha break into fragments by giving him lies about certain agents dying. He felt the pain, and when he did, the other AIs were created. Afterwards, his memory was wiped clean. He doesn't remember a thing.'

As he read it, he felt sickened that the way Eta, Delta, Gamma, Sigma, Delta, and all the others were created by Alpha basically being tortured. Eta appeared on Reach's shoulder, his eyes wide. "You mean…that I was born from my creator being destroyed and broken?"

When Reach had finished reading the files, he closed it his brown eyes inside his helmet. 'CT…I'm sorry for making that false accusation against you. You were right, and now, you're also dead, killed by my hand. I should have realized, but my damn patriotism got in the fucking way.'

He let out a small scoff, one that only Eta was able to hear. 'No…how could we have known? It's only because I acted the way I did that I looked at myself in the mirror, realizing I should stop taking everything for granted.'

He felt something drop onto his shoulder, snaking its way down his chest and seemingly soothing the old wound he suffered. "Texas?"

The blonde Freelancer had her face turned away, so Reach wasn't able to see her face. But the small splatter he felt on his armor, leaking down to his chest, was definitely her. The bigger surprise was that she was crying.

Texas, possibly one of the most hardcore of the Freelancers, a woman who was able to survive two near fatal blows in a recent fight, was actually shedding tears.

A dark, silvery gray figure appeared on her shoulder, seemingly triumphant. "I told you this before, didn't I? You should have killed him when you had the chance. Now, it's too late. You will be crushed like so many others have-"

Texas sat up, her dark blue eyes livid. "ENOUGH!" Without letting a single pained gasp leave her, she reached into the back of her head, grabbed an AI chip, and threw it, watching as it broke into smaller fragments.

Reach held Texas tightly, the blonde Freelancer wiping the side of her face. "I told you, Omega. I'm not putting up with your bullshit any longer, you insane fuck!"

The gray figure reappeared, laughing darkly. "My name…is….O'Malley. You think merely breaking my chip will stop me? I have plenty of hosts to choose from. Maybe, I might even take your new favorite person." The AI spoke the last sentence, looking at Reach.

The former Spartan was confused. 'What the hell does this…thing, mean by that?' Texas clenched a fist, hissing in anger. "Don't you fucking dare, Omega. Don't. You. Dare." Her knuckles were white with fury as she drew her sidearm, aiming at the AI.

Reach wanted to know exactly what this AI was capable of, and why Texas wanted it dead. "What is this thing?" Texas didn't remove her fury filled gaze from the AI as she spoke. "This is the reason Carolina and I used to never get along. This abomination is the only AI that is as powerful as the Alpha: Omega. This is what I was given, soon after finding out I was an agent of Project Freelancer."

She clicked the safety off the sidearm, her breathing coming out fast. "And now, I'm going to finish it off." Texas fired, and the shot echoed in the empty hall, triggering an alarm that blared through the entire ship.

Texas looked back as her and Reach left the room, her eyes filled with hate. "Waste of memory crystal."

A group of sentries were waiting for them in the hall, their Assault Rifles leveled at the two. "Drop your weapons!" Texas and Reach raised their sidearms and fired, dodging the bullets fired at them. Reach contacted Eta for assistance, as they needed to disable the cruiser and get off of her, fast. "Eta, see if you can disable the ship's main engines!"

"Already calculating," Eta replied. After a few precious seconds ticked by, the ship shuddered and began to plummet, falling towards a frozen ice planet below.

Texas and Reach braced themselves as the Mother of Invention slammed into the frozen surface, sliding to a halt. Reach found a pair of fallen Battle Rifles, tossing one to Texas. "Here."

He set his hard gaze down the hallway, sparks flickering from cables being snapped. 'Director, we're coming for you.'

-0-

Carolina coughed weakly, blood staining the visor of her helmet. Iota flickered briefly, his power running low. "Carolina, I'm afraid I might have been damaged in the crash. I don't know how much use I'll be."

Carolina felt the cold snow through her armor, and she knew they were on Sidewinder. Also known as the planet that was really, really, really, fucking cold.

She dimly heard footsteps crunch behind her, and she turned around to see a massive figure, a Brute Shot in its hand. With her vision fuzzy, it was impossible to see who it was. But seeing as the person wielded a Brute Shot, she had a clear guess. "M-maine?"

The figure stopped right in front of her, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her up. Carolina tried to voice a protest as her helmet was forcibly taken off of her, and she could see who it was. "Missouri! What are you-!"

Carolina let out a pained scream as the rogue blue/green agent ripped her AI out, taking the chip. A small figure, silvery gray like Omega but female, appeared on Missouri's shoulder, as did Gamma. "We are the Meta. And this is where you vanish!"

The Meta lifted Carolina up, and he threw her off of the frozen cliff, sending her to an icy fate.

The Meta implanted Iota into him, and he shook his head, shaking off the chills. Zeta looked at him with approval in her cold, sadistic gaze. "Excellent. With Carolina and Wyoming gone, it's time to take out Reach and Texas."

The Meta let out a growl, sliding his weapon across his back. He received a call from the Director, and it seemed the older man was in a bit of trouble. "Meta, Agents Texas and Reach are indeed onto us. They are making their way to my quarters as we speak. Cut them down, do you understand?"

The Meta hissed and began making his way back to the ship, ready to take out the man that defeated him for good.

-0-

Maine jerked upwards, Sigma having woken him. "Maine, we have a situation. It seems that Agent Carolina is dead."

'Who did this?' the white Freelancer thought angrily, running a hand over his smooth bald head. Sigma let out a sigh, beckoning him to stand up. "I have no idea. But it appears that Iota is still online, but with a new host. As are Omega and Gamma."

Hissing, Maine slid his helmet on, grabbing his Brute Shot and running out into the hall, where he nearly ran headlong into Reach and Texas. The two seemed grateful to see him. "Maine! We have a problem!"

'I noticed,' Maine let out a sharp hiss, Sigma communicating for him. "It appears that Omega, Gamma, and Iota are with a new host."

Before the two could ask how, a large group of shoulders descended upon them, firing their Assault Rifles.

Reach ducked a round, firing a three round burst. "Hold them off. There's something Texas and I need to do."

'Apart from just kiss and get it over with?' Maine thought dryly, bringing out a small chuckle from Sigma. The red AI knew better than to say exactly that, and he used Maine's inability to speak quite well. "We'll hold them, Reach. Go on ahead."

Texas and Reach nodded, running ahead and leaving the brawler to face the soldiers alone. Sigma smirked and folded his arms behind his back. "Let's show these bastards how it's done."

-0-

The hallways of the downed cruiser were nearly pitch black, with the occasional shower of sparks providing a brief glimmer of light.

Reach drew his Battle Rifle, activating the night vision installed in his helmet. 'I can't see a damn thing…' "Eta, are there any heat signatures in this area?"

Before the AI could answer, a door to the side blew off of its hinges, forcing both the former Spartan and Texas to duck. A gust of cold wind followed, and a massive figure, hidden by the shadows, stepped inside.

The night vision feature phased out, and a small message blinked across Reach's HUD. 'Damn. Equipment malfunction.'

The figure stepped closer, drawing what seemed to be a Brute Shot from its back. Reach's eyes narrowed, and the grip on his Battle Rifle tightened. "Maine?" 'But he was behind us! How could he have gotten ahead of us?'

The figure stepped into the dim light, and Reach saw who it was. There was no mistaking that blue/green armor anywhere.

Missouri.

The massive agent let out a deep, fury filled growl, and several small figures appeared around him, including Gamma. 'So it was Missouri who stole Wyoming's AI!'

One of the AIs caught Reach's attention. It was a dark, silvery gray, looking almost identical to Omega. But this one was female, and she held a cold and sadistic look in her gaze. "We are the Meta."

Texas gasped as she saw Omega on Missouri, or rather, the Meta. "Omega!?"

The dark gray AI laughed cruelly, smiling. "I warned you, did I not? You should know better than to disobey the Director, failed experiment."

Texas clenched a fist as the Meta hissed, cracking his knuckles and glaring at Reach. "You knew!?" Omega laughed again. "Of course I knew. I knew everything, from your creation to the birth of the Meta here. All I had to do was play you right into the Director's hands. And you know what? It worked."

The female AI let out an annoyed hiss at her counterpart. "Enough Omega! Stop gloating and get on with it already! These two are the only ones left who stand as a threat to us!"

Omega actually cringed away from the angry AI. "As you wish, Zeta." Zeta scoffed and glared at Reach and Texas. "Don't bother trying to get Carolina to help you. We already took care of her."

As she spoke, a fourth AI appeared, its expression stoic. Reach heard Eta whisper uneasily in his head. "But that's Iota! He is supposed to be with Carolina!"

"What did you do to her?" Texas whispered, her hand on her sidearm. Zeta and Omega shared a glance before laughing together. "We eliminated her. Carolina is dead."

"No!" Texas screamed, and she raised her sidearm, firing. The Meta raised his Brute Shot, blocking the bullets. With an irritated hiss, he swung the weapon like a sword, forcing the two Freelancers to split.

Reach fired his Battle Rifle, specks of red blood appearing on the Meta's armor. But he seemed to not feel any pain, as he continued to advance on the former Spartan. 'This is what he was made into.'

The Meta faked a swing, kicking Reach in the chest. His Battle Rifle clattered to the deck, and Texas grabbed it, firing a three round burst at the Meta.

The rogue Freelancer grabbed Reach and threw him into Texas, knocking both of them down. Reach stood up, the only weapon left his combat knife.

He drew it carefully, holding the blade in a backwards grip. 'You might have the advantage of pure strength, but you are still human. You are still beatable.'

Reach glanced backwards as Texas struggled to her feet, only to fall back down as one of her legs and arms was broken. He could hear a pained gasp leave her, and then she stopped moving. 'Texas is out.'

He was the only one left, again. 'Great. Am I always destined to bring death to whatever team I'm on?'

The Meta swung his Brute Shot, hoping to catch Reach in the stomach with the sharp blade. He sidestepped, the knife spinning in his fingers as the blade sunk into the Meta's shoulder.

The Meta let out a sharp hiss, aiming his Brute Shot at the ground and firing. The small explosion sent both of them tumbling into the snow, blood pouring from Reach's leg and chest. He forced his burning limbs to move, refusing to let a hiss of pain escape him as he struggled back onto his feet. 'Not finished yet.'

Reach blocked another swing of the Meta's Brute Shot, punching the rogue agent away. The Meta growled in fury and tried to slam him onto his back, and Reach kicked him away, plucking his Battle Rifle from Texas's back.

He fired three times, the bullets impacting against the Meta's armor. But again, he didn't seem to feel a thing as he charged again.

Reach paused behind a rock to reload, panting slightly. 'This is the longest fight against one enemy I've ever had.' He plucked a grenade from his waist, pulling the pin and tossing it at the Meta. 'This ought to slow him down a bit.'

The Meta raised his Brute Shot and fired, taking out the small explosive midair. Reach let out an inward groan and got ready to fight again. 'Okay, maybe not.'

He stepped out of his makeshift cover, firing again. The Meta hissed in annoyance, firing more rounds from his Brute Shot.

Reach avoided the small explosions, knowing he couldn't dance around the rogue agent much longer. He glanced backwards at the unconscious Texas, her leg and arm bent back at unnatural angles. 'I can't let her die. But there's no way I can just run away from the Meta with her…'

Reach then remembered he wasn't exactly alone anymore. "Eta, show me Agent Texas's vitals and tell me how long she'll live." Eta was silent for a second before an image of Texas's heartbeat and wounds showed on his HUD. "Without treatment, Texas will most likely die of either blood loss or shock within a day."

'That's it,' Reach thought, having made up his mind. "Divert energy from nonessential features to my Active Camouflage unit. I'm not leaving her."

"As you wish. Prime your grenades to divert the Meta's attention," Eta instructed. Reach slowly walked over to Texas, not removing his eyes from the Meta's massive frame. 'On my mark.'

"Now!" Eta instructed. Reach pulled the pins on three grenades, letting them fly. The Meta was forced to retreat, and Reach used his moment to grab Texas, heft her over his shoulder, and activated his Active Camouflage.

Even with the blonde Freelancer in his arms, Reach was able to sprint quite quickly, his breathing controlled and the active camo barely flickering. He felt his Achilles tendon tear, forcing him to stumble, but his stubbornness kept him running through the snow, not stopping.

Up ahead, he saw the outline of a building, and Reach tried to run faster. 'Can't stop…so close.' His arms and legs were growing heavy, and soon, he had to stop in order to blink the sweat out of his eyes.

"Warning! Equipment malfunction!" Eta warned as the active camo unit flickered and died. Reach's breathing gradually slowed as he stumbled, refusing to let Texas drop. 'Must keep going…'

A large outline appeared out of the corner of his eye, but before he could react, it hefted both him and Texas over its shoulders. "Maine?"

The silent white Freelancer nodded, jogging at a steady pace to prevent both of them from falling. Reach's body was sore, with old and fresh wounds dripping with blood. "Eta, forget protocol. Project Freelancer is dead."

The AI hesitated before acknowledging the command. "As you wish." He cleared his throat and called his brother. "Sigma, we'll need to get these two medical attention immediately. Contact the nearest UNSC outpost and tell them we have wounded. I'll try and keep Reach and Texas's life support systems online."

"On it," Sigma replied. "This is AI designated Sigma, calling for any UNSC forces. We have wounded and need immediate attention. Respond."

The channel crackled static for a brief moment before a voice broke through. "We read you loud and clear. Can you tell me the coordinates of your location?"

"We are currently at 45.79 North and 58.96 East," Sigma replied. The COM was silent again, until the voice replied with a hint of confusion. "That is exactly where UNSC Sidewinder Base Alpha four-zero's main gates are located."

"Well then, it looks like we're on your front door," Sigma replied. "Get as many medics as you can. The two we have won't last much longer."

Reach lifted his head, able to see soldiers running towards them in the snow. "Maine, let me down. I can walk." The silent Freelancer shook his head, hissing. Sigma and Eta both agreed with him. "Reach, in your current state, you have a torn Achilles tendon as well as several fractures. You are in no condition to walk after your encounter with the Meta."

Reach let his head hang, feeling as if he had failed to stop a madman's selfish dream. 'I wasn't able to do a damn thing. I barely managed to get Texas out of there, let alone myself.' He looked over at the blonde Freelancer, looking much worse than him. Just before a sharp pain spasmed through his chest, he reached out to her, trying to grab her hand. 'A-allison…'

-0-

In orbit above Sidewinder

UNSC Mother of Invention

Date Unknown

The Director sighed and looked over at the copy of himself, Alpha, before he acknowledged the Counselor's presence. The black man gave him a polite nod. "Sir, the engines and core are back online. But, several agents are unaccounted for, including agents Maine, Texas, Carolina, and Reach."

The Director let out a reply through gritted teeth. " I know, Counselor." 'I expected Carolina, Texas, and Reach to be missing, but Maine too? What happened to him?'

The Meta entered the room, Zeta on his shoulders. The silvery gray AI seemed incredibly smug with herself. "Sir, Agent Carolina has been taken care of."

The Director's eyebrows rose, and he pushed his glasses up before folding his arms behind his back. "And what about Reach and Texas? Did you eliminate them?"

Zeta and the Meta shared a glance, the AI losing her smug attitude. "No sir. They got away. But, in the state they were in, I doubt they made it far. Their bodies are most likely rotting in the snow."

The Director narrowed his eyes, not too pleased. "I thought I ordered you to eliminate all potential threats to our operation!" 'I know those two aren't dead, and you know it. Both Reach and Texas are far too stubborn to die that easily.'

However, under the critical eye of the Counselor, he allowed himself to regain his composure. "What about Agent Maine?"

Zeta shook her head. "Nothing either, sir. Either he was killed in the crash, or he escaped and is with Reach and Texas. If they're alive." The Meta let out a deep growl in what could have been amusement. aHa

The Director took off his glasses, folding them up neatly and sticking them in the breast pocket of his track suit before facing the Counselor. "We need to move the Alpha somewhere safe. Somewhere no one would even think to look for him."

The Counselor nodded in agreement. "I agree sir. But, we will need someone reliable to watch over him. Someone we can trust. May I suggest Captain Flowers?"

The Director's eyebrows rose in interest. "Captain Flowers? You mean Agent Florida?" The Counselor nodded. "Yes sir."

The Director stroked his chin, dismissing the Meta and Zeta. "You two are free to go." The Meta saluted before exiting, most likely to go down to the training room and massacre a few more instructors.

'Hmmm…Florida is very dependable, and trustworthy. A veteran soldier who has no idea about what I have done. Which makes him the perfect candidate for the job,' the Director thought. "Send him in."

After a few minutes, Florida entered, stopping when he saw the Director. "Ready for duty, sir. And I must say, I'm as pleased as punch to be chosen." The Director's lips curved upwards in a smile. "Agent, you will be sent to Blood Gulch, in order to protect the Alpha. We will be able to provide a cover story for your disappearance, Captain."

Florida saluted again. "Sir!" He turned around and left, while the Counselor primed charges to destroy the state of Florida, sinking it into the sea. "There we go. All covered up."

He turned to the Director, curious. "Do we send a search party out for Maine?"

"No. Leave him be." 'Not like he'll be able to do much.' The Director then beckoned for the ship's main pilot to set a course. "Set a course for Blood Gulch." 'Those three are as good as dead, and won't be able to stop my plans.'

If only he knew how wrong he would be in the future.

-0-

Sidewinder

UNSC Outpost Alpha

Date Unknown

Reach's vision was hazy, but he knew from the harsh lights and white walls that he was in a medical bay. 'I've got to stop ending up in these kind of places.' He sat up, holding his side as a sharp pain lanced through him as he took a rattling breath. 'Broken ribs. I forgot just how much this hurt.'

His Achilles tendon was recently stitched up, and apart from it being a little stiff, it was fine. As long as he took it easy for a few days. Reach glanced to his right, and he saw Texas lying next to him, her arm in a sling. 'Allison…'

His own shoulder was in a cast; he must have dislocated it during the fight with the Meta. But apart from bandages across his shoulder, ribs, and lower leg, he was fine. The same couldn't be said for Texas.

Texas was covered, and understandably so. Her wounds were much more serious, as getting a heavy Spartan thrown into you is sure to do major damage.

Reach saw his armor was at the foot of the bed, and he put it on, feeling naked without the familiar combat skin. He put his helmet on, looking back at Texas before walking out. 'I'll be back.'

When he left, Maine was waiting for him. The silent Freelancer jerked his head over to Texas, a soft growl escaping him. Reach shook his head. "I don't know." 'Even when she gets up, she's in no condition to fight. Unless…'

"Eta, are there any body enhancements to accelerate the healing of major injuries in the medical database?" Reach asked, thinking. 'If there are, then we might be able to not have to wait months before she can fight again.'

"Yes, there are. But the one you need is called 'Omegatosin'. It's been recently developed, and its abilities to repair broken bones overnight has earned it the nickname 'Skelo-Grow'," Eta replied.

"Show me," Reach said, his eyes narrowed. With Eta and Maine behind him, Reach searched through the cabinet, until he found exactly what he wanted. 'Found you.'

He grabbed the bottle, unscrewing the nozzle and pouring it into a cup. He wrinkled his nose at the harsh scent as it wafted into the air. Maine growled and held his nose, prompting Sigma and Eta to chuckle. "One good thing to being an AI, I guess."

When they got back, Texas was awake, though barely. Her eyelids flickered as she tried to stay conscious. "Reach? Maine?"

Reach crouched low, handing her the cup. "Drink this. But I'll warn you; it'll taste like shit." Texas chuckled as she took it from his hand. "Can't argue with that. You know the taste of shit better than anyone else."

Eta let out a snort of amusement. "Badum-tish." Reach's lip twitched, though it was hard for him to remain stony faced. 'That was pretty good.' "I'll give you that one."

Maine let out a deep chuckle as Texas took a careful whiff, retching. "Why is everything that's supposed to be good for you smell so bad?" Without waiting for a response, Texas gulped it down, grimacing. "It tastes as bad as it smells…you weren't kidding Reach."

"I told you," Reach muttered, bringing out a deep chuckle from Maine. The blonde Freelancer finished the bone growing, erm, shit, and tossed the cup at the former Spartan. "I never said this before, but thanks. Not just from today. But from when I got hit by CT, too."

"You're welcome," Reach replied, his stoic expression hidden beneath his helmet. A small message blinked across his HUD, and his brown eyes narrowed. 'Private channel? Who could it be?'

Cautiously, he stepped outside to answer the call. "This is Reach. Who is this?"

The reply that came back seemed very familiar. "Hello Reach. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Agent Florida.

'Talk about timing,' Reach thought before answering. "Agent Florida. What is it?" The older blue Freelancer took a deep breath, and he paused before he replied. "Are Agents Texas and Maine with you?"

Reach hesitated, not sure if he should reveal that information just yet. While Florida was a trusted veteran, Reach wasn't sure I he knew exactly what the Director did. 'I'm not sure how to answer that.'

As if he could sense the former Spartan's dilemma, the blue Freelancer chuckled bitterly. "Don't worry son. I've seen what the Director's done, and believe me, I was shocked too. But, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Reach asked, his ears perked and listening carefully. "Eta, link this channel to both Maine and Texas. They'll want to hear this."

Eta nodded and linked the other two Freelancers to the channel, though they were silent. Florida spoke again, revealing what he was doing. "Currently, I'm watching over the Alpha at Blood Gulch Blue Base. The Counselor covered up my disappearance by sinking the state of Florida, and now, I'm the Blue Team leader. These simulation soldiers are quite a handful, and as a result I'll need backup if I want to keep Alpha safe from the Meta."

"Blood Gulch?" Reach asked, confused. "Where the hell is that?"

A small checkpoint appeared on Reach's HUD, showing the location. "Blood Gulch is about two systems over from Sidewinder. In order to get to me, you'll need space capable transport," Florida informed.

Maine hissed in annoyance, and Florida chuckled. "Nice to see you haven't changed, Maine. But in all seriousness, these troopers are dumber than they look, and if it's true that Omega has willingly gone rogue with the Meta, then we have a problem."

Texas limped over to Reach, leaning on his back for support. "Sounds fun." After letting a pained wince escape her lips, she focused on Florida's call. "How long will it take us to get there?"

"About two days, if you go into Slip-space," Florida replied. Reach shared a glance with Texas and Maine, both Freelancers nodding. 'Good. They're going.'

"We'll be there ASAP. Don't let Alpha come to harm. Reach out," the Spartan ended the call, and both him and Maine each hefted Texas over one of their shoulders, providing the support she needed until that bone growing shit repaired her leg.

The three former Freelancers hobbled out, spotting a large Longsword fighter, equipped with a Slip-space drive on the back. Having experience as a pilot for the Sabre Program, Reach figured it would be fairly simple to fly the fighter. 'Shouldn't be too different from the Sabres.'

They climbed into the craft, Maine and Reach helping Texas strap in, before the former Spartan took his spot at the pilot's controls, starting the engines.

A technician tried to stop them, but Reach already gunned the thrusters, sending the ship skyward. 'Sorry, but we need this. I'll try and return the bird in one piece, but no promises.'

He turned his attention to the sky above, which quickly turned into a starry view. 'No matter how many times I've been in space, there is never quite a view such as this.' Reach glanced back at Maine and Texas, the two of only four known surviving members of the team from Project Freelancer.

'I'll do my duty, not only to stop the Meta and Director, but to make sure the remaining team I have doesn't die.

A/N: *collapses* Jesus…I thought I'd never get this damn thing done D:! This originally was going to be chapters ten and eleven, but I decided to combine the two and see how it went. Still, I enjoyed writing this. The Project Freelancer Arc is over, and now, the Blood Gulch Chronicles begin. See you next time!

Ja'ne!