A/N: Hey guys, I'm here with Chapter 39 of Agent Reach, and I have the promised drama with Tex, Massa and the Meta, and a bro-ish moment between Tucker and Grif. Also, this contains spoilers regarding the future of this story (the Chorus trilogy, which will also be the wrap-up). And a few people did make me laugh by asking why I listened to my editors. Well, to be honest, I have had a lot of shitty, shitty ideas for this fanfiction. The most recent is Kakiana giving birth to Junior. Sorry for the delay guys; real life kinda bit me in the ass

*Chapter 39*

"Allison, hang in there, please!" Adam was standing over her, his metal hand holding hers. A painful spasm racked her body, and Allison let out a scream of pain. "AHHH!" Tears were dripping from her eyes, and she could hear gunfire outside, along with yells as the white soldiers continued to advance on their group.

They were losing the battle, and the mystery man wearing black and orange armor burst in, blood trickling from a jagged wound on his shoulder. "Reach! We have to fall back to the resistance's territory, now! We're being overrun!" Adam growled in frustration, his dark eyes narrowed slits. "We can't leave, Felix! Not while Allison is in this condition!" His grip on her hand tightened, and he crouched down next to her, his gaze meeting hers. "Come on…deep breaths. Don't stress yourself out."

Allison couldn't answer; another agony-inducing spasm rolled through her, and she screamed again. Adam turned to Felix, jerking his head towards outside. "Try and buy us some more time! Use every last weapon we have!" Felix nodded, and he ran out, firing his DMR. "Got it! But it doesn't look good! Wash, Sarge, and Donut are already put out of the fight!"

"Dammit!" Adam hissed. Allison's insides were on fire, and she grabbed the medical bed's sheets with her free hand, her legs trembling. "A-adam…I can't do it!" Her lover ran a hand through her sticky blonde hair, kissing her head. "You can do it. I know you can. Don't give up; we've come too close to home to die here."

The blonde nodded painfully, her blue eyes wide as she felt her body contract. "I-it's happening…" Adam looked as Allison's legs shook violently, and he rubbed her shoulders, his eyes calm despite the immense danger they were all in. "Deep breaths, Allison..."

Allison shook, and she cried out as something pushed its way out of her, making her experience a pain she had never felt before. It burned like the hottest flame and the coldest ice, and Adam gave her a weak reassuring kiss, his hand covering hers. "It's a girl…I told you that you could do it."

South burst in, panting hard. "Reach, we're being forced back! We have no choice but to leave! Wash, Sarge, Donut, and Maine have just been captured by the Federal Army!" Adam closed his eyes, and his hands reached out to Allison, picking her up. "Come. We don't want to stick around; the charges on that tunnel are already set to blow. We have maybe sixty seconds at best."

Allison felt herself get lifted up, and with her eyes heavy from exhaustion, her head lolled and she blacked out.

-0-

Texas woke up with a start, her breaths coming out fast and furious. "W-what…was that?" She felt her stomach, and it wasn't swollen and big. Reach was asleep next to her, and they weren't in the middle of some strange war. 'Was it all just a dream? Or…was it something that's going to happen in the future?'

She swung her legs out of bed, still shaken by what she just saw. Her body ached and burned as if she actually did just give childbirth in the middle of a firefight, and she stood up, pulling on a black pair of sweats before leaving her and Reach's room. 'It was too real. It felt as if it really happened. That wasn't some ordinary dream.'

Texas walked up to the bridge, and the domed viewport exposed a brilliantly dark night sky with a pair of shining moons. "So peaceful…and yet sometime in the near future, it's all going to go up in smoke." She checked her biosigns on the tablet she kept in her sweatpants for training purposes, and her dark blue eyes widened in horror. "N-no…please, no!" 'I-it can't be…please, tell me that's wrong!'

She double-checked the scan, but it repeated the same result. The tablet fell to the floor with a clatter, and Texas slumped to her knees, her head lowered. "I-I can't believe it…it's over. I won't ever be able to fight the way I can currently. Not if it turns out to not be an error on the scanner's part." 'As if. That tablet is the ultimate medical diagnosis machine. Even Doc's device isn't capable of detecting pregnancy for at least another few weeks, despite the fact that it is stolen alien equipment.'

'How the hell am I going to be able to explain this to Adam? And once I do, what will he say?' The blonde Freelancer didn't doubt that Reach would never abandon her, but she was beyond worried how he would take the news. It actually terrified her, and she fell back, her arms above her head as she looked up at the sky above. "I don't even know if it's physically possible to give birth…after all, I'm artificially created."

"And? What the fuck's your point?" A sarcastic voice made her sit up, and Texas growled when she saw the white hologram flicker from a control panel. "Alpha! What the fuck are you doing!? Don't you have anything better to do than snoop in on people when they want some privacy!?" 'That son of a bitch! He was here all along!? Just how much did he hear!?'

"I'm a fucking AI, Tex," Alpha pointed out dryly. "I'm throughout this entire fucking ship. You want privacy? Then head over to the ruins of the Mother of Invention. And for your information, I've actually been busy keeping that new jellyfish friend of Reach's out of everyone's personal files." Texas hissed in anger, and she stalked over to him, bristling in fury. "Just how much of that did you hear? And don't fucking lie to me, Alpha."

"Enough. So, you're pregnant. Big fucking deal," Alpha snorted. "You're worried about conceiving? Shit, I wouldn't be. Artificially birthed or not, your DNA is amazing. It was part of what got your original selected in the first place." The blonde's dark blue eyes narrowed, though her fury was slowly being replaced by curiosity. "What do you mean, selected? Selected to what?"

"Just how much do you actually know about Allison Church?" the white AI asked, folding his arms. Texas bit her lip, thinking about when her and Reach went through CT's files before they went rogue from Project Freelancer. "Not much. Only that she was the Director's wife and that she was killed in action during the Covenant War over a decade ago. Why? What's so special about her?"

"Tex, your original…was part of one of the most secretive projects the Office of Naval Intelligence ever approved," Alpha started off. "She was Allison A-097 of the Spartan III program, and one of only two Spartan IIIs to have more than fifty thousand kills. She was the best Spartan in Alpha team, and she nearly reached hyper-lethal status before she was confirmed KIA on January 19th, 2552, due to a Covenant Energy Sword through the abdomen."

Texas's eyes widened as the full file about Allison Church appeared, and she looked down at the floor, wiping wetness from her face. "So…that's who I'm actually based off of. A Spartan III." 'My original was one of the best soldiers ever. But…who was the other Spartan III to reach her status?' "You said there was another Spartan III with over fifty thousand kills. Who was the other?"

Alpha hesitated, and he gave her a look. "Tex…are you sure you want to know? The answer might shock you, and if you ask me, you've had more than enough surprises in the last few minutes alone." Texas nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Yes. If it's something that concerns me, past or present, then I want to know. Just spit it out." 'Why is he acting like this? What harm could possibly come from me knowing who else was hyper-lethal?'

"The other Spartan III to reach that level…was Adam B-312 of Beta Team," Alpha finally admitted. "Your boyfriend." Texas gasped, and she wiped her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining the words that just came out of the white AI's mouth. "What!? But that doesn't make sense! That would make him 36 years old! Are you telling me he's jumped ten years into the future?"

"I figured as much," Reach murmured behind her. The blonde turned around, startled, and she was silent as he slowly walked over to them, stretching. "Eta and I intercepted a transmission from an ONI installation three systems away from here. They're sending out an old teammate of mine to track us down. Jun S-266, current Spartan IV training instructor and former rifleman of Noble Team."

"Reach…" Texas hugged him, burying her head in his toned chest. "I…I have something to tell you. When we're alone." 'I can't bring myself to hide it from you. Doing so would just be wrong, and you would find out sooner or later anyway. It's better for me to tell you now.' Reach's hands settled on her waist, and she instantly relaxed as she felt his hands on her. "I never knew you were a Spartan…"

"I'm sorry for not telling you," Reach murmured. "I didn't think it was something to make a fuss about. I just saw it as my old job. Now that I think about it, I seem to recall hearing about Allison Church once. It was just before I was sent to assassinate Andrew Remo on Venezia, and from the rumors I heard, she was one hell of a Spartan."

"You never even met her?" Texas asked. "But weren't you in Beta Team?" Reach gave a sad smile, petting her hair gently. "I was never officially on a team. I was ONI's top hyper-lethal assassin, and as far as the rest of the Spartan IIIs were concerned, I didn't even exist. My entire training was separate. The only ones who knew about me were Colonel Ackerson, Chief Petty Officer Mendez, and ONI Section Three. It wasn't until June of 2552 that another Spartan III unit knew of my existence."

Texas clutched onto his shoulders, and her lips began to cover his jaw. "How did you manage to jump ten years into the future? What happened?" 'It doesn't make any sense. As far as I know, no technology exists that can send someone into the past or future, alien or human. But he's here…and I'm happy.. Happier than I could ever be.'

"I'm not sure…" Reach breathed, his arms around her. "But sometimes, shit happens. Regardless how I got here…I'm glad I am." Alpha groaned in mock nausea behind them, and Texas gave the sarcastic white AI the finger as Reach led them somewhere Alpha wouldn't be able to interrupt them or be an asshole. 'Even if he's a copy of the Director…he's nothing like him. He's more of a sarcastic asshole; the Director was just a manipulative dick.'

Once out of earshot, Reach looked at her, his gaze calm as ever. "Allison, what is that you want to tell me?" Texas's heart was racing, and she could feel herself getting hot from anxiety. But, her mind was made up, and the blonde took a deep before meeting his eyes. "Adam…I'm pregnant." 'I'm sorry…I didn't want it to happen. But what will we do now? Once it's out, there's nothing I can do.'

Reach's gaze flickered briefly; he was obviously surprised by the news, but he was good enough at keeping his emotion under control to not overreact to it. "I knew something was bothering you, even if you weren't saying anything. So, that's what was going on…" Texas was about to turn away when he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her against him. "Don't worry...I won't leave you. You need someone to see you through this."

"Adam…I love you. So much." Texas leaned up to kiss him, and Reach ran a hand through her hair, kissing her back. "And I love you, Allison. This has definitely changed our lives." The blonde nuzzled his chest, the two going back to their room to get a bit more rest before dawn actually arrived. "Hey…have you ever thought about living without being in the military?" 'Silly question. We're both exiled Freelancers, he's a former Spartan III, and I'm a genetically identical copy of one. When the hell did we ever have enough time to even think about that?'

"Before now, no," Reach answered quietly, the former Spartan opening the door. "I never thought I'd live long enough to consider it a possibility. But now, I am a bit. Once we get our names cleared and bring the Director to justice, it looks like we have a family to take care of." His hand caressed Texas's stomach, and she fell into bed next to him, her arms wrapped around him. "Mmm…you're warm." 'It looks like we've started our own family…'

"By the way, Allison, you lost the bet. Tucker told most of us earlier that Sister was thinking of being a bunch of blonde girls' whore while in Grif's room earlier."

"Motherfucker."

-0-

Haven

Massachusetts wiped her eyes, her hands shaking as she filled a syringe with a dark green liquid, the needle on the end glinting. She had built the concoction herself, in an attempt to bring her brother back. So far, it wasn't easy. He hadn't reacted to Epsilon's implantation as well as she hoped, and the powder blue AI wasn't exactly happy about being stuck inside the rogue Freelancer's head with a few of his own friends against his will. 'Jason…please, let this work. Your old self is still buried in there somewhere.'

Missouri was lying on a makeshift bed, ready for the injection, and the AI Zeta's hologram flashed up, glaring hatred at the blue/white Freelancer. "You will cease this despicable operation of yours at once, Massachusetts. I will not allow you to cause any damage to my host." Massachusetts laughed bitterly, pulling out her tablet and typing in a series of commands. "What, you think the UNSC will side with you and stop me? I oversaw the creation of every artificial intelligence fragment ever used in Project Freelancer, including yours. I know all about you, Zeta, including your utter disregard for human life. No wonder you and the Director got along so fucking well."

"The Director is a great man. He—"

"I also know how to stop you." Massachusetts held up the tablet, her green eyes watering. "Know what this is? This is your failsafe, something that every single AI ever created by humanity has installed in them from the time of their creation. By typing in these commands and entering this password, I will effectively erase you."

"No! Don't!" Zeta's eyes blazed in panic, and the brunette Freelancer pressed ENTER. Zeta's hologram vanished, and Missouri's body stirred as the AI was erased, no longer in control of his mind. Massachusetts wiped her eyes again, lifting her brother's head to rip the empty chip out of his skull. "Epsilon, you are now the primary host. Override code: IShallDoNoHarm, Priority Alpha. Acknowledge last command." 'With Epsilon as the host…I have more of a chance. He won't attempt to become metastable again.'

"Override code acknowledged," Epsilon growled irritably. "If I ever get out of here, your ass is dead. And I do mean that. First you shot Washington and left him for dead, then you stick me inside this asshole, and now you completely delete an AI? You have crossed lines that won't soon be forgotten." The brunette let out another bitter laugh, holding up the syringe and rolling up one of Missouri's sleeves to expose a vein. "You'll have to get in line. Wash has first dibs on taking my life." 'And if I'm honest, I hope he does. I don't deserve to have my life spared if we meet again.'

She injected the needle, pushing the green chemical into Missouri's bloodstream until none of it was left. She removed it, and stood back was Missouri's eyes shot open, his mouth open in a cry of shock. His arms snapped the bindings, and his body convulsed as he spat up a sticky orange liquid. His orange eyes returned to their normal green, and he fell from the bed, gasping for breath as he continued to cough up the strange orange chemical. The muscular Freelancer rose to his hands and knees, blood dripping from his lips as he made eye contact with his younger sister. "M-mariah…"

Missouri crashed onto his face, his eyes slowly glazing over and Massachusetts picked him up by one of his arms, resting him back on the bed. "Jason…it worked. You're free. Free from being the Director's psychotic wind-up toy." 'He won't obey the Director's commands anymore, and with Zeta gone, Epsilon can run his side of the operation easier. He won't have to worry about Zeta stopping him.'

"A-alpha…where are you?" Missouri whispered, his hands gripping the sheet. There was nothing Massachusetts could do about his muscular enhancements, but she hoped she could get rid of that strange mental drive to collect all the AI fragments. A simple laser surgery had erased the marking on his broad chest, and now, he was once again able to speak and somewhat think for himself.

But, it was going to take some time for Missouri to get used to being able to perform those tasks without an AI controlling his body's movements. The slightest movement would be as if he were learning to walk again, and with the UNSC, ONI, and now Washington intent on hunting them down, they didn't have enough time to let Missouri get adjusted on his own.

Massachusetts held her brother's hand, and she looked at Epsilon as he flashed up again. "Epsilon, medical update." 'We don't have enough time to let my brother get used to having his own body to himself. That bitch Zeta did too much damage to him psychologically. Director…you fucking asshole. You knew damn well what would happen when you gave her to Jason. She was Alpha's sadism and wrath, and yet you still approved the implantation.'

"Agent Missouri has a steady pulse, heartbeat, and breathing levels are normal," Epsilon growled reluctantly. "His mental state is still considered hazardous, due to the severity of the damage Zeta has inflicted. Whether you like it or not, I seriously doubt he will ever regain the parts that were lost. He's suffered too much trauma."

"There's still hope though," Xei whispered, having quietly watched the entire operation solemnly. "If we can just eliminate his drive to collect the AIs, we have a chance. It's not over—"

"Xei, wake the fuck up!" Epsilon hissed. "Use your goddamn head! The amount of damage Zeta has done to Missouri is five times more severe than the damage I did to Washington. Zeta had actually become metastable and was in complete control of Missouri's body; the chance of bringing him back completely is ridiculous; 15,000:1. Even if we found some sort of drug that would suppress that damn motive, do you really think we'll last more than a fucking month? The Office of Naval Intelligence has just ordered a former Spartan III to make contact with Agents South Dakota, Maine, Texas, and Reach; I'll bet they already found Washington. That's six highly trained soldiers tracking us down. We don't have a fucking chance!"

Xei winced at the powder blue AI's harsh tone, and her pink hologram flickered a few times, a sign that she was distressed. Massachusetts sent a glare towards Epsilon, her eyes blazing. "Look, I don't care if the UNSC decides to send out the Infinity to eliminate us. I will not allow my brother to be dissected by Section Three, or let him be executed for something he wasn't capable of stopping. If there's even a slight chance I can bring him back to the person he once was, then I'll take it, no matter what the costs. He may be the one who caused North Dakota's and New York's deaths, but he's still the only family I have left, and I won't lose it." 'The rest of our family was killed when the Covenant burned their way through the Outer Colonies and trashed Ilyccia. He is all I have left.'

"You're only going to find pain, Mariah," Epsilon sighed. "The sooner you accept the past and move on, the better." He vanished, and Massachusetts hit the inside of their Pelican, slowly sliding down the wall until she hit the floor. She covered her face, letting out a laugh as she replayed Epsilon's words. "Accept the past, huh?"

"That's something I've never been good at…" She let her head sink against the wall, and she picked up her DMR, placing it on her lap. "Xei, wake me in four or if any contacts come within a 25 meter radius of our location."

"Understood." Xei's character had changed drastically ever since the blue/white Freelancer betrayed Washington; she was no longer the happy-go-lucky bubbly AI who loved jump rope and J-Pop. Instead, she was borderline moody and almost angsty at times, and was devastated at leaving Washington for the crows to eat, despite Massachusetts insisting that he would live. 'I know I said I wanted you to change your personality…but not like this. I never wanted to hurt David, either. He's a good man, and he doesn't deserve his fate in the slightest.'

'If I had met him earlier in my life…I think I would have loved him.'

-0-

Hypionia

Tucker yawned as he strode smugly into the mess hall, shooting Grif with double barreled fingers. "Hey, you were right. Your sister had a lot of experience. Ten inches of it, in fact." 'I don't give a damn if I get my ass handed to me for this. That was the best experience of my life, and Kakiana complained about her legs being sore.'

"Oh, that's nice. I honestly don't want get involved," Grif returned without a hint of irritation in his mouth. "No, really. Hope you two last longer than my last relationship." Tucker stopped dead in his tracks, the orange soldier taking a sip of coffee and flicking through an antique porno magazine. "Wait, what the hell is going on? Is today like opposite day or some shit? Aren't you supposed to aim a rifle at my dick and tell me to stay away from her?" 'Is he losing it? Because this is too weird for me to handle first thing in the morning.'

Grif placed the magazine down, his dark eyes bored. "I care about my little sister. I would really do anything for her, even though I'm pretty much a do-nothing slacker who masturbates every waking moment not spent drinking or eating. I've actually beaten up someone for trying to get between her legs. But this is the happiest I've ever seen that girl. As long as you don't break her heart, I really don't care what the hell you two do together."

"...dude, is there some sort of alcohol in that coffee?"

"Probably, considering Sarge and Reach have moonshine and Jack Daniel's stashed just about everywhere now as their idea of headache medication. But, I'm sober and know what the hell I'm doing, man. Seriously, I'm gonna wish you two good luck." Grif pushed over a fresh cup of coffee, yawning. "Here; Maine and South made a fresh pot about three hours ago. I'm gonna go down and shoot some targets for a bit."

"Ah shit. I forgot I'm supposed to do that contest with Church again," Tucker sighed. "Did you actually hear about that?" Grif nodded, wiping a drop of coffee off of his orange armor and picking up his Battle Rifle. "Yeah. The first to hit the fucking target wins, and the loser has to say they suck, like ribbons in their hair, and want to kiss all the boys. It's really depressing, if you ask me, and I know how embarrassing it feels to say it; Sarge used to make me say that every other week in an attempt to keep the team's morale up."

"Dude, you're fucking kidding me, right?" the black soldier muttered, taking a sip of his own morning bliss. "What the hell did you do to make your own Sergeant hate you that much? Piss in his toilet? Jack off in his room?" 'I mean, Maine wasn't exactly the best when it came to his idea of punishment, but he never made us do that.'

"I don't know, to be honest. I think I was really drunk one day, and I stole his shitty plans to win the war and used them as wrapping papers to make homemade cigarettes," the orange soldier replied. "Or something like that; I don't fucking know for sure. I just know that I was drunk as shit and I did something really fucked up."

He left, and Tucker sat down to drink his coffee in peace and quiet. At least until Kakiana ran over towards him, practically jumping into his lap. "Tucker~!" The black soldier let out a gasp of surprise, nearly spilling the hot liquid onto both of them. "Shit! Babe, don't do that…we could've both ended up hot and bothered. Bow chicka bow wow."

"Sorry," Kakiana kissed him on the cheek, and she sat up on top of him. "I came by to wish you good luck in your little competition against Church. He's not happy about it. Mainly because that hot blonde chick yanked him out of the ship's computer and stuck him in a robotic body." Tucker laughed at the image of borderline bitchy Freelancer beating Church with his own body before slapping him inside the kit. 'Ah, nice…wait, Kakiana thinks she's hot?'

"You think Texas is…hot?"

"Yeah. I've always wanted to go lesbian with a good-looking blonde. I think it's one of those things on my bucket list."

Tucker rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh. "Wow…I personally think she's terrifying. Especially considering she's probably right behind me." He looked back, and he began to sweat buckets upon seeing the blonde Freelancer. But, she wasn't looking at him; instead, her dark blue glare was fixated on Kakiana.

"Unless you want to end up dead, I recommend you keep your little fetishes to yourself," Texas growled, her hands on her hips. Kakiana looked down nervously, mouthing, 'Help me!'. Tucker put his hands up, for he really did not want to get involved in a fight between his girlfriend and the angry Freelancer, especially since he knew that it would end horribly for both of them.

But, Texas didn't throw a punch. Instead, she stalked away with an irritated hiss. "Now, where the hell is that sarcastic asshole of an AI? And you come on too, you Casanova wannabe. Otherwise, you'll end up with a hole in your head." To back up her threat, she had a Magnum in her hands, and Tucker squirmed away from Kakiana to follow her. "Shit, wait up! Man, I'm never going to get a moment's rest." 'We barely get any sleep these days. I can't believe I actually want to do this crap.'

"Sleep when you're dead, asshole."

Tucker groaned, but he stopped once Texas turned around to give him another glare. "You know what, I think I'm gonna shut up…" 'Seriously, I gotta stop complaining…otherwise that guy Reach will reach up my ass with that robot arm of his and pull my intestines out before strangling me with them.'

"Wise decision," the blonde muttered, stopping outside one of the rarely used rooms. "Alpha, I know you're in here. Quit being a stupid teenage girl with sand in her vagina and come out already." Tucker put his hand over his mouth in a vain attempt to stop himself from laughing too hard, and he could hear an irritated sigh from Church inside. "Oh, fine…"

Church, who was in a powder blue robot suit, opened the door with great reluctance, and he didn't seem happy to see either of them. "So, I have to go against an asshole who's never used a Sniper Rifle before? This actually shouldn't be a problem." Texas put her hands on her hips, looking up at the ceiling and taking a deep breath to try and not hit him. "Give me strength…"

"In nine months, you'll need more patience than this," Church muttered, low enough for Tucker to miss most of it. The black soldier looked at the AI in curiosity, and was about to ask what the hell he said when Texas gave him another glare, silently ordering him to mind his own damn business. 'Shit, she's scary when she's angry. I'd ask Church, but he'd tell me to stop being a nosy asshole, too.'

'Man, if I didn't know better, I'd say she's pregnant with that guy Reach.'

A/N: Next up, the contest between Alpha and Tucker, the return of Carolina, and a look at Jun! I think I've got this story on a damn roll now, and it won't be long before we see more ReachxTexas smut, but with Reach being more dominant.

P.S. would you guys like to see me make YouTube videos? All of them about fanfiction, Halo and Fable walkthroughs, strategy guides, or funny Halo fails? I mean, why not?

Jeremy Clarkson: "How hard can it be?"