A/N: Chapter thirty-fucking-six…if one told me when I started this fanfic that it would be my longest in terms of chapters and words, I'd have laughed and asked just how much pot they've been smoking or if they've been drinking vodka by the gallon. Let's get back to the Reds and Blues, along with Wash. Poor Wash….

*Chapter 36*

Hypionia

Reach looked down at the forest planet below him, and he spotted the remains of the Mother of Invention. Or, at least the rear of it. "We're here. Everyone, prep your gear. Alpha, set her down." 'Somewhere, the package the Director didn't want ONI to find is onboard. And we're getting it before the search-and-rescue squads steal it.'

"Yeah, yeah. I already cut our engines," Alpha grunted. "I hope you plan on bringing me along. You'll need a version of the Director to even get close to it." Reach picked up his Battle Rifle, along with a few clips of ammo. "I am. When everyone gets here, I'll announce the plan." An emergency beacon flashed across his HUD, and his dark eyes widened in surprise. "Washington?" 'He's down there? What the hell happened?'

"Reach, South and I are getting a recovery beacon from Wash. Maine, too," Texas's voice crackled. "We need to get down there, ASAP." Reach tried to access Washington's vitals, but it seemed as though he was just out of range. "I agree. Report to the bridge. I have an idea."

The Reds, Blues, and the three Freelancers entered the bridge, and Reach shouldered his rifle. "Alright, we're here. It turns out there's another Freelancer, Agent Washington, onboard, and it looks like he's in critical condition. But, we need to get the package and any files. So, we're splitting into three teams."

"Another Freelancer? Oh, that's just fucking great," Grif muttered. He then howled in pain as Texas and South both punched him in the crotch, and he fell on the floor, his cigarette falling out of his helmet. "FUCK! NOT AGAIN!"

"Oh, come on. You had to see that coming," Tucker sighed. Maine let out an annoyed hiss, and the aqua soldier fell silent, not wanting a millionth concussion. The former Spartan gave Maine a look of appreciation, and he counted the teams. "Alpha Team will be me, Sarge, Tucker, and Alpha. We have the job of finding that damn package. Beta Team will be led by Texas and consist of Simmons, Doc, and Kakiana. You're in charge of finding Washington and keeping him alive, at all costs. South, you and Maine will lead Gamma team. You get to raid the ship for any equipment or supplies. You have Lopez, Grif and…Caboose."

"Um, where are Doc and my sister?" Grif asked, suspicion in his tone. "He better not be trying to fuck her." Tucker snorted, looking away and whistling. "No dude, that's my job. I think he's just giving her a routine health examination or some shit. You know, fake doctor stuff." The chubby orange soldier gave him the finger, coughing and not answering as he picked up his cigarette.

The doors hissed open again, and Doc and Kakiana walked in, the purple medic seemingly embarrassed. "S-sorry about getting you all wet before. I didn't even know where the hell that can of lube came from." Reach placed a hand over his visor, sighing. "Tex…I know you're gonna say it. Just get it over with." 'Who the hell brought lube with them? Probably Tucker or Grif.'

"Fine~. Mreow chicka mreow mreow~," Texas purred. Tucker grumbled something under his breath, and he faced the black/red Freelancer. "So…how big is this damn package? Heavier than my ex-wife?"

Reach rolled his eyes, tempted to shoot him in the chest with a dozen paint rounds. "Two things. One, I seriously doubt you were ever married. Two, we already have its dimensions. They should be uploading to your HUDs in a second." 'I'm almost tempted to trade him for Caboose. At least his strength balances out his stupidity. Actually…fuck it.' "South, I'm swapping Tucker for Caboose. I have a feeling you have a better chance of keeping him alive than me."

"Fine with me," the dark blue Freelancer grinned, cracking her knuckles. The ship shuddered as it slowed to a halt, landing on Hypionia's surface, and Alpha looked back at them. "We've landed. I'm getting very little readings from the Mother of Invention. It appears as though barely anything's online. We might need to punch our way through."

"Good thing he has a robotic arm then," Sarge grumbled, pumping his Shotgun. "Ah, the good old days of jumping feet first into Hell and doing crazy shit for the kicks. I sure do miss it." The red Sergeant was itching for some action, and Reach faced the rest of the Reds and Blues. "Is everyone ready?"

"Hell yes, sir!"

"Then let's get going." They left their vessel, and Reach finally got a lock on Washington's vitals. 'He's in bad shape. Internal bleeding, herniated disc in his back, broken collarbone, several broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a separated shoulder, and he's partially blind. How the hell is he even alive?'

He turned to face Texas and her squad. "Tex, get to Washington as fast as you can. Use a Health Regeneration unit if you can find one. He looks like he might not make it." 'Dammit Washington. Hang in there. We're coming for you.' "He's on Level Bravo."

"Got it. Beta Team, follow me, now." Texas's squad ran into the ship, followed by Gamma Team and Alpha Team. Inside, the ship was completely dark, the only light source being a few panels still functioning and the sparking cables. Reach gave South a nod, and her team left to search Level Alpha for supplies and weapons. "Let's go!"

Once they were gone, Reach faced his own squad. "Alright. The package we're looking for is on Level 0. It's going to be heavy to move, but we should be able to wheel it out of here. It weighs approximately 600 pounds, and it has these markings on it." He uploaded the images of the markings to his team's HUDs, and Sarge cracked his neck. "I got it. Let's move. Come on, tooth fairy. You too, Blue-tard."

"Oh, shut up Sarge," Alpha grumbled as they walked down the darkened corridors of the ship, their weapons ready. "You got your ass handed to you by a girl twice." Sarge grumbled in annoyance, aiming his Shotgun. "You certainly know a lot of women with quick tempers. Do you have a fetish or something?"

"I guess you could say that…" Alpha murmured. Caboose was in the middle, and Sarge handled the rear of the formation. "We're clear, sir. Looks like it's just dark as hell in here." Reach stepped through another set of security doors, aiming his Battle Rifle. "Turn on your night-vision. It's only going to get worse from here on, and we don't know if the Director has any traps set up to guard the package." 'It's quiet…too quiet. We could be walking right into an ambush.'

"Yes, sir," Sarge grunted. Reach turned on his night-vision, and the darkened corridors turned into an eerie green. "If there's something here that looks suspicious, I'll go first. If it's a trap, then I want to be the one to set it off." 'I at least have the best chance of surviving. This Hayabusa armor is tougher than theirs.'

"Wait," Eta whispered. "I'm picking up an unidentified contact about 40 meters away. The FOF tag lists it as nonhuman in origin." Reach faced his AI, his eyes narrowed. "It's not another AI, is it?" 'I know there are more than just a handful of AI fragments developed in Project Freelancer. Could there be some stored here?'

"No. I'm not picking up a reading from any AI units, apart from Sigma, Delta, and Alpha," Eta replied. "And the ones stored here appear to have been stolen, including Rho and Psi. Whatever the hell that thing is, it's not anything developed by Project Freelancer." Reach kept his weapon raised, leading the squad deeper into the ship. "Only one way to find out, right?" 'Unless the contents of the Sarcophagus are something alive…I can't think of what the hell it might be.'

Alpha then gasped in pain, and he held his head. "AHH!" He fell to his knees, and Reach looked down in concern. "What the hell happened?" He placed his rifle across his back, and the white AI shook his head, grimacing. "I..I just saw what happened to Epsilon. He's been forced into the Meta."

"What!?" Reach stood up, his dark eyes serious. "How the hell did the Meta obtain him? I thought Epsilon went missing following Project Freelancer's downfall." 'We couldn't pick up any activity from Epsilon in the entire week it took us to get here. I thought it was out of range.'

"He did. But the Meta found him, and is using him to run his equipment," Alpha returned through gritted teeth. He shook himself off, picking up his holographic rifle. "Once we have the damn package, raid this ship, and get Agent Washington medical treatment, we have to hunt the Meta down. I'm not dealing with Epsilon constantly doing this shit to me."

"We will," Reach promised, forcing a door open with his robotic arm. It screeched open, and he stepped inside first, his eyes searching for anything suspicious. "We're clear. Alpha Team, move up." 'Nothing. Maybe the Director thought it would be safe enough here and didn't bother putting up any kind of defenses.'

The black/red Freelancer spied a vault, and he strode over to it, running a hand over its seal. A holographic lock appeared, and he let out a swear. "Ah fuck…third generation holographic lock. Looks like I have some work to do." He flexed his fingers before touching the lock, spinning different sections of it to break in. "Alpha, you're up."

"Huh. That's strange. The Director used a very basic system for something so valuable," Alpha snorted, flicking the lock with his rifle. "Arrogant asshole." Reach tapped the center after spinning several parts, and the vault door swung open. Sarge and Caboose leveled their weapons, and Reach put his hand up. "Stand down. We're clear." 'There it is. Time to find out what exactly is inside.'

His motion detector showed a contact moving erratically inside the Sarcophagus, and Eta flashed up. "Whatever it is, it's pretty quick. Let's wheel it out of here and take the cover off." Reach placed his rifle behind his back and began to pull, jerking his head over to Sarge and Caboose. "You two, get the rear. I'll pull it out."

"Yes, sir." Sarge and Caboose began to push, and the heavy container slowly wheeled out until it was out of the vault. Reach stopped, and he placed his hands on top of the cover, giving Sarge and Caboose a nod. "Don't shoot. Just take aim." 'No idea what's inside. But it can't be happy about being imprisoned.'

Reach slid the cover off with a grunt, and he backed up in surprise as a pink tentacle slid up, followed by something that looked like a gas bag. "Okay…I seriously wasn't expecting that." 'How the hell did the Insurrection obtain one of these things? More importantly, why didn't the Director tell ONI he had one?'

The creature was one that Reach had seen many times in his battles against the Covenant, but never actually killed, for it was harmless and as much of a victim as humanity. It was something the Office of Naval Intelligence had wanted very dearly, for it could change the outcome of the Covenant War in a heartbeat.

It was a Huragok, also called Engineers.

Sarge lowered his weapon, and the red Sergeant took a closer look at it. "What in Sam's hell is that thing?" Reach let it rest a tentacle on his shoulder, and its eyes met his. "A Huragok. Also called Engineers. The Covenant enslaved them, and forced them to build their starships and weaponry. They hate the Covenant as much as we do, and this was captured by the Insurrection a while back. This one is responsible for developing the AI units for Project Freelancer."

He touched the alien's skin, pulling it away. "Come. We have to get you to safety." The Engineer raised a few tentacles, carrying a small device. "Translation software?" 'These things communicate by sign language. It can understand us, but without a translation device, we can't understand it.' The spooks at Section Three would have loved this as a prize, but Reach had a sinking feeling this one would be condemned to death via an explosive collar.

"My name is Floats Away. It has been long since I was allowed to see someone." the Huragok signed. "You are not the Director or Counselor, but you have the AI I have repaired after being broken many times." Reach stiffened as the alien clung to his robotic arm, a tentacle brushing along the casing. "I'm Agent Reach of Project Freelancer. And yes, I have Alpha." 'What is it trying to do? Improve the arm?'

"You said you are here to rescue me. I have no work I can do here. This ship is completely inoperable." The Engineer's body glowed blue, and a shimmer covered it. "I can be of assistance to you, if you need."

"We have a vessel you could work on. A Chiroptera-class ship." Reach gave Sarge a look, the red Sergeant nodding. "We need some weapons and defenses, and anything you feel can be improved." 'These things are living supercomputers, capable of improving and building anything, if given enough raw materials.'

"I shall assist in any way I can." Floats Away removed its tentacle from inside Reach's arm, glowing. The former Spartan let out a breath, and he started to walk away, Sarge and Caboose behind him. "Come; I want to see if Washington's going to pull through."

'Dammit Wash…don't die yet.'

-0-

Texas put her hand up when she came across a body, slumped against the wall of the ship. "Beta Team, halt." 'Something's not right. Those indents on the wall and floor…only someone with extreme power can do that kind of damage to Titanium-A battleship plate.'

She crouched down next to the body, and she shook her head when she saw the wounds. "Doc, get over here. Simmons, you and Kakiana start removing his armor." 'He's in no shape to move. We can't even carry him without causing more damage.'

Washington's vitals were in critical levels; how he wasn't already dead was a miracle. 'Hang on, Wash.' "Doc, what did you get in your scan?" The purple medic shook his head, backing away. "He's in really bad shape. It looks as though he has a back injury on top of the broken bones and lost eye. What should we do?"

Texas stood up, placing a hand on the side of her helmet. "South, I need you to bring me medical supplies; Health Regeneration units, surgical equipment, blood bags. Hell, just raid the damn medical wing. Otherwise, Wash is dead."

"I read you loud and clear, Tex. Maine and Tucker are coming down with them," South replied. "We've found all kinds of weird shit in here. How bad is he? Can we move him in here soon for surgery?" Texas looked at Washington's unmoving body, save for the slight rise and fall of his chest. "No. Whoever did this to him really wanted him dead. He'll need his lung reinflated and undergo back surgery. Until then, we can't move him."

Simmons and Kakiana removed Washington's battered armor, the yellow soldier purposely taking her time removing his codpiece. "Hmm…even though he's nearly dead, he's got a bulbous package. That's kinda hot." Texas rolled her eyes, tempted to shoot her and feed her to an alien. "Just take off his fucking armor…" 'Such a raging slut. I hope Reach doesn't need her completely alive.'

The yellow girl let out a small whine of protest, but following a sharp glare from the blonde Freelancer, she removed the last of Washington's ruined armor. "Fine…"

Simmons carried the armor away, and Texas tossed him a few Plasma Grenades. "Here; destroy the armor with these." The maroon soldier walked away to dispose of it, and another door hissed open to her left. Texas aimed her rifle, and she lowered it when she saw it was just Maine and Tucker. "Sorry about that." 'If only Maine didn't need a personal punching bag…I could just shoot him in the chest and make it look like an accident.'

In their arms were various different types of medical equipment, and Texas took both armfuls. "Thanks for that…" She grabbed a Health Regeneration unit, and she placed it down next to Washington before activating it, restoring some life into the wounded Freelancer's body. "Come on, hang in there…"

The blonde picked up a small laser-tipped catheter, thankful that she had some sort of medical training. "Alright…time for his new lung. Doc, come here. You're actually going to learn something for once." 'I learned enough from the times I spent getting ankle and knee surgery. Good thing these helmets have recording devices.'

Texas removed part of Washington's leather bodysuit, and she inserted the catheter into his body, pulsing the laser. The lung inflated, and she let out a sigh of relief when she removed it. The bullets were still on the surface of his chest, and using a pair of surgical tweezers, she plucked them out and placed them down. "We're good. Time for the messier surgeries. Doc, get me a blood bag and some anesthesia. I'd rather have him wake up and be slightly doped than dead." 'Just put his bones in place, fix up his back, and let that disgusting Skelo-Grow shit do its work.'

The purple medic handed her a blood bag and the needle filled with the anesthetic, his hands shaking ever so slightly. "H-here…" Texas injected it into the unconscious Freelancer's arm, and she removed her gauntlets to put on a pair of rubber gloves, not wanting to get blood and gut stains on her otherwise (in appearance at least) hands.

She picked up a pair of surgical knives, opening Washington's chest and grimacing at the sight. "Ugh. That's even worse than my broken leg." 'Damn surgical scars never really fade.' His bones were out of place, and Texas carefully put them back in the right position before sealing the cuts with a can of biofoam and pouring a mouthful of the disgusting Skelo-Grow shit down his throat. "Jesus Christ kid…your medical insurance is going to hate you by the time we're done."

She rolled him over to inspect his back, and she sighed. "Great. Back injuries...you're killing me here. I would say you're busting my balls…but it would be really fucking weird if I had those." 'Besides, Reach knows firsthand that I don't.'

"I think the technical medical term for that is—" Doc started to explain when Texas, Simmons, and Kakiana whirled around, staring at him. "Shut up, Doc. Just stick to not knowing anything about medicine and pay the fuck attention. It makes my life a bit easier." 'I seriously don't get paid enough for this. At least I'm pretty confident that asshole Donut's dead.'

If there were any benefits of this long expedition, it was that the ship they currently nicked was big enough for the Freelancers to have 'Alone Time' and (at least in Texas's mind) Donut was currently being brought into the morgue and therefore unable to pass any really awful lines about wanting to blow Reach or any of the other guys who weren't a rainbow colored fruitcake. 'It was sausage and beans all day with that guy.'

Texas ran a hand down Washington's spine, and she winced. "Herniated disk. That's really not good." Doc brought out a small purple device, and it began to glow green. "Wait, back injuries are what I excelled in on the MKAT. I know what to do." The blonde Freelancer gave him a look, but she backed up. "If you cause anymore harm to him, just know this: you will become my guinea pig for low budget sex changes and then I'll kill you." 'At least Grif won't be alone in terms of getting his tiny dick destroyed.'

Doc gulped, but he charged the device, aiming it at the unconscious Freelancer's damaged back. "I-I'll keep that in mind. Now give me some space while I do this." A green burst of energy spat out from his device, and Texas shielded her eyes from the flash. When she removed her hands, Washington's back and shoulder were (by the definition of BULLSHIT) back in place and looking normal. "You've gotta be shitting me. How the fuck did that work?" 'That is un-fucking-believable. At least we don't have to cut his back open and risk destroying his spinal cord.'

"I don't know. But this thing can do all kinds of weird stuff," the purple medic shrugged. "It can also tell if someone's pregnant, or destroy an evil AI—"

Texas cut him off, her eyes wide. "What did you just say?" 'No fucking way. That thing can detect pregnancy!? Oh fuck…' Doc gulped and he pointed it at her, probably sweating enough to make a new salt lake inside his armor. "Um, well, this thing lights up a pale green when it performs a positive pregnancy scan." The device began to glow, and the medic took off his helmet to scratch his head. "Funny…it says inconclusive. That's weird. When did you and Reach last have sex?"

"Not telling you that," a familiar voice muttered. Texas turned to see Reach, with some purple/gray jellyfish-looking thing on his shoulder. "What the hell is that? Your new alien friend?" 'So glad he came when he did. It was going to get pretty awkward otherwise.'

"It's what the Director was trying to hide from ONI. It's a Huragok, or Engineer," Reach answered. "This one helped create the AI units for Project Freelancer, and is going to be adding some new armaments to our ship." He looked down at Washington, noticing the jagged cut through his eye. "Damn. He'll have to learn how to get adjusted to only having one eye. That won't be easy."

"You're telling me," Texas sighed. "There's nothing I can do to save it. He'll never regain his sight in that eye. I just hope he'll wake up soon, so we can find out who did this to him. We already got rid of his armor; even the helmet cam itself was damaged." 'I know South and Maine said they have new armor for him, but it won't be any use if he dies.'

"Judging by the dents in the wall, I'm thinking it was done by someone with a Gravity Hammer." The black/red Freelancer ran a hand down the impacted Titanium-A armor, and he looked back at Texas. "The Meta. He was here. All the other AIs in storage have been stolen, too. But why didn't the Meta kill him? As far as I know, he doesn't leave behind survivors."

The blonde Freelancer picked up a bullet casing, biting her lip. "And normal UNSC Magnums don't fire .45 caliber rounds, either; they're 12.7mm. We're looking at a serious weapon specialist helping that mutated asshole." 'Modified Magnums. Shit, Washington's lucky to be alive. If he wasn't wearing that armor…I'd hate to think what we would've found.'

Reach then crouched down to pick up another casing, and he tilted his head as if confused. "What the hell? This isn't a normal casing. It has ice on it." He tossed it, and Texas caught it in her hand, her eyes widening. "An ice bullet. I know who did this to him." 'There's only one person in the UNSC who knows how to make an ice bullet, and the only person I know who would have a .45 caliber handgun. It's her.'

"Who?" Reach asked. Texas opened her mouth to reply when Washington suddenly let out a cough, and he uttered a name that she knew. The name of the best weapon specialist in the UNSC and Project Freelancer, and the only person who had a blood relationship with the Meta.

"M-massa…"

A/N: Next up, Wash's new suit, Grif suffers something horrible, and Tucker grabs his sword. I dunno how I'm gonna go with some stuff from the Halo series, considering I haven't played Halo 5 (but I heard it was a disappointment compared to Halo 4, Halo: Reach, and Halo 3) since I bought a PS4 instead of an Xbox One. But whatever. It's called fanfiction for a reason, guys and girls; I'm making half of this shit up as I go along.