A/N: Hey guys, DPLxBeAsTxSnIpE here with an epic chapter of Agent Reach for you. I'd like to thank all 450-plus followers for their support of this story, and I hope to hit the 500 mark soon. So, please sit back and enjoy part 2 of the epic finale of the Recollection, Chapter 49. This contains Massa and Missouri vs. Beta, Wash and Tucker vs. Massa, and an extra goody (something I've wanted to do for awhile, but had to wait for the right moment).

First update of 2018!

*Chapter 49*

Massachusetts hissed in annoyance when she stumbled across the unmoving body of Private Donut, and she was more than tempted to either shoot or stab him. He had somehow unlocked the storage crate he was thrown into earlier, but in doing so, he managed to get his armor locked down. And that meant two things. One, he wasn't going anywhere until Massa figured out how to unlock the damn armor. Two, his recovery beacon was going to activate again and alert any Freelancer forces within range. 'Dammit. God-fucking-dammit. Why can't this ever be easy? Why? Does everything have to be a fucking tooth extraction?' "Epsilon, jump out of your body and give me a hand here."

"Can't even have my own fucking body for two minutes without someone needing me to help them out and play ghost for them," Epsilon grumbled irritably. His body stood stiff as he jumped out of it, and his blue hologram flashed a few times before he winced. "Alright, I think I can jump into him by using the memory of one of the other fragments. But it'll hurt like a bitch."

'Must be talking about Omega. He was the fragment that inherited the ability to jump from person to person. Poor Tex. Every time the Director or myself tried to have him reassigned to another Freelancer, that asshole always found his way to her. She's lucky to have not gone completely insane with the way that jackass constantly tormented her.' Massa rolled her eyes at the ghost comment and opened up the access panel on Donut's armor, typing in a series of commands to try and unlock it. "Just give me a hand, you big blue baby."

"Real creative insult, Mariah. I'll be sure to nominate you for Comedian of the Decade."

"Asshole."

"Bitch."

A loud explosion echoed throughout the facility, and an alarm started to sound shortly afterwards, making Massa's eardrums bleed. "Alarm! Facility has been breached. Safety protocols are broadcasting this message on all active Freelancer channels within range. All members of Project Freelancer receiving this message should hasten to this location at once."

'Well, fuck. Why can't this ever be easy for once?' Massa applied more pressure to the access panel than intended, and with Epsilon's help, Donut's armor unlocked. She stepped back, foot tapping impatiently and hands on her hips as the simulation trooper slowly got onto his hands and knees; it took a lot of effort to resist the urge to strangle the idiot and leave him to the crows. So far, he was more of a nuisance than an advantage, and Massa was regretting bringing him along. 'Would've been so much easier to just shoot him back then. Why I felt the need to try and bait the Reds and Blues is beyond me.'

"Ugh, my head hurts," Donut whined, only to stiffen up when he saw Massa looming over him with a Magnum in hand. "Um…hi, big scary Freelancer lady."

"…if you could give me a reason why I shouldn't just kill you and leave your body to be discovered, I'd really appreciate it," the blue/white Freelancer hissed. Her thin patience had reached its limit, with her failed attempt of subduing Beta going even further to hell now that Missouri had taken over. 'I hate them, and I can see why so many of the other Freelancers hated dealing with these simulation troopers.'

Another loud explosion rattled the facility, and Donut sheepishly shrugged. "Um, maybe that's a good reason? That giant guy could probably use some help before he reduces this place to dust. And dust is no good for gardening or planting flowers." The pink soldier did have a point, if Massa ignored the part about flowers and gardening. At this rate, Missouri and Beta probably going to destroy the damn facility, and that would not bode well. 'I don't want to leave him unsupervised. Ugh…this is like having a fucking child.'

"Epsilon, keep an eye on him," she finally breathed after a pregnant pause, trying her best to keep her cool in an awful situation. Her heart was beginning to thump painfully in her chest; if she didn't know better, she'd worry it was going to pop out and burst. "If he gives you any trouble, just kill him and keep an eye out for anyone else coming here." 'Red, blue; it doesn't matter. They're all idiots.'

"Gladly."

"Good. Xei, with me. Missouri's going to need all the help he can get."

-0-

In orbit

Reach was waiting as the Huragok approached him, its tentacles flickering happily at the yeast extract prepared for it. "Is it ready?" 'It's been difficult trying to get this done without Allison noticing. And the nerves aren't helping. For fuck's sake, how come I can leap into battle without a moment's hesitation, but the thought of taking a massive jump in my relationship makes me feel like an idiot schoolboy and become flustered? Honestly, I don't understand my own emotions half the time.'

"It is. Procuring the materials was an easy task" Floats Away signed. "It fits the specs that you requested" A pair of tentacles rose to reveal the ring, a small beam of light striking the gem in the centre of the band of silver, and the Huragok rotated it to show it off more. "I believe that the person who this will be given to will find it most desirable" It slurped down the extract eagerly, making happy chirping sounds, and it was easy to see why Doc wanted one as a pet; it really was cute, in that weird alien way, and it could improve or make basically anything if left on its own.

"Thank you for the help," Reach breathed, taking it from the pinkish-grey alien and putting it in the pocket of his pants. "And thank you for locking Alpha out of the ship's cameras. I don't need him running his damn mouth for everyone and their mother to hear." 'I didn't tell anyone because I want it to be a surprise. And telling someone like Alpha, who has a mouth like canal gate, would ruin in about ten different ways.'

"I was happy to be of assistance, Lieutenant Ehler"

It was unusual for Reach to hear his last name, for he had stopped using it once he was taken aside for special training during the Spartan III program. But, if he was to actually go through with this, he needed it to be available; Allison Reach just wouldn't work as a name. 'I haven't heard that name in far too long. To think, it'll be the first time I've heard it from another person's mouth in almost ten years. Technically twenty, since I jumped forward a decade.'

He still wasn't sure how he leapt ten years into the future following his last stand on the planet he christened his Freelancer name after. But, as he walked down the frigid corridors of the ship to his bedroom, it felt right. Like he was made to have the life he never thought possible, and the Forerunners themselves made those stars align.

The brunette stopped outside, taking a breath to steady his nerves. 'Here it goes.' The ex-Spartan reached into his pocket, pulling out the ring, and opened the door. "Allison?"

The blonde woman was looking through the mini-fridge with a half-eaten chocolate bar in hand, and she seemed surprised to see him. "Adam? I thought you were getting your gear ready for the mission."

"I was. But there's something else. Will you…marry me?" Reach's face was hot with heat, and he slowly revealed the ring to her. Texas's eyes fell to it, and she put her hands over her mouth, silently crying tears of joy.

"Adam…yes." She leapt into his arms, giving him a frenzy of kisses. "A thousand times yes." Her legs were wrapped firmly around his waist, and she kicked the door closed behind him before wiping her eyes. "Fuck babe…I never thought I'd get this emotional. You really do make me feel like I'm on another world or something, you know that?"

"Well, technically we are on another world."

"You know what I mean, you smartass," she smiled against his lips, nuzzling his neck. "I'm so happy to be your wife, Adam. But what would my last name be? I'm not sure if Allison Reach would work, and Adam Church makes you sound completely whipped."

"My last name. Ehler," Reach murmured, running a hand through her hair. "Does that roll off the tongue nicely?" 'Allison Ehler…it does sound a little foreign. I still have no idea where that name came from. I don't even remember what the hell my own father looked like.' Normally, he wouldn't think about how he'd be as a dad. He had once joked to Carter that he'd be the dad who's broody and likes to grumble about them making a mess or something, but now, as he looked at his fiancée's stomach, he could feel an emotion he wasn't familiar with. 'Why am I worrying so much? It's not like I plan on leaving her or anything.'

"Allison Ehler…I love it," Texas whispered, kissing him and nibbling at his cheek. Her gorgeous blue orbs were filled with the purest of love and happiness, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I love you so much."

They eventually broke apart, and Reach slid the ring onto her finger, giving her hand a kiss. "I love you too. I'll assemble everyone in the bridge. Are you coming?" 'Three teams are needed for this. One team to extract Donut, one to handle Massachusetts, and another to worry about the Meta. Hmm…and I'll need two people to watch Alpha and Kakiana. Dammit. I'd love to bring him along, but he's too valuable to risk losing.'

"With you here, I'll definitely be—"

"Not that kind, you pervert…"

"Jeez, talk about taking the fun out of a situation," Texas pouted mockingly. She pulled her long hair into a neat ponytail, her bangs falling into her dark eyes, and held her future husband's hand as they walked down to the bridge.

Once there, Reach saw that South, Maine, Washington, and the Reds and Blues were all present and waiting for him. Sarge was pummeling Grif for stealing his moonshine, and Wash was talking to Tucker about something; Reach wasn't close enough to hear the half-blind Freelancer's whispers, but he was able to make out the phrase, "Leave it to me if it gets ugly."

'Of course. He wants to get payback. If he's up to it, then I'll let him. He's made good progress, and can hold his own.' Reach alerted everyone to his presence with a clearing of his throat, and once he got their attention, he began to speak. "Alright everyone, listen up. The Meta and Agent Massachusetts are down on the surface, and they have both the Epsilon AI fragment and Private Donut hostage."

"We're going to divide into three separate teams for this op," he continued, feeling their eyes on him. "South Dakota, Sarge, Grif, Simmons, and Caboose are Team Alpha. You'll be in responsible for retrieving both Epsilon and Donut. South will lead Team Alpha. This part isn't as easy as it seems; we have no idea if the Meta or Massachusetts have activated any of the facility's defense systems, so be careful."

"Team Beta will be Tucker and Washington. I need you to keep Massachusetts busy for as long as possible. You have full permission to engage her as you see fit." Reach shared a glance with Washington, and the blue/yellow Freelancer nodded; he was ready. "Washington, you'll lead Beta."

"Finally, Team Delta will be me and Maine. We have to neutralize the Meta at all costs. If it looks like we're in serious trouble, we'll radio Alpha Team for reinforcements; we cannot let the Meta escape. Team Beta, you're being sent in first; hopefully the distraction will be enough for Alpha's job to be a little easier. We do this right, and we catch them all by surprise," the brunette finished. "Any questions?"

"Sir, what about Alpha and Lopez? And Doc? Or Sister?" Simmons asked, shuffling his feet nervously. He spent a lot of time yelling insults across the canyon at Alpha, but the longer they talked, the more they become acquaintances. And now, not long after finding out the whole little 'Red vs. Blue' war was nothing more than a simulation provided to train Freelancers, he and the rest of the Reds and Blues were about to risk their lives for each other to face a common enemy.

"That's where I come in," Texas spoke up quietly, answering the question for her lover. "I suppose I should say this now. I'm pregnant with Reach's child, and we're engaged."

The room was eerily quiet, enough that one could hear a pin drop, and the awkward silence was broken by a loud noise from Grif. "Wait, what!? You're getting married!? Why the fuck did none of us know about this shit sooner!? I call dibs on the catering!"

"Of course you'd think of food, you fucking fatass," Tucker and Simmons grumbled at the same time, both sharing an awkward glance. "Wait, did you say you're pregnant!?"

"Wow Reach," Washington chortled, feeling his Magnum along his waist. "Not only are you going to marry the Director's ex-wife, but you also impregnated her. I think I'm going to nominate you for Man of the Year. Balls of steel to do that, man."

"I wouldn't say steel. Incredibly satisfying, though~."

"Thanks for revealing our sex life," Reach muttered dryly, rolling his eyes. "Now I'll never hear the end of it from these morons." 'Goddammit Allison.'

Washington chuckled, and he walked up to the ex-Spartan. "Well, I guess we better be on our way." The determined glint in his remaining eye was gleaming, and Reach could see that he was more than itching to get going.

"Good luck."

"Thanks. We won't need it."

"The rest of you milkdrinkers, get into gear," Texas ordered. "That oversized jackass is going to be served a silver plate for us. You have ten minutes to suit up and get ready, understood?"

"Hell yes, ma'am!"

-0-

Massa made it outside, and she ducked as a trio of bullets soared over her head. "Mother…" 'Great. Beta's got her hands on a rifle, now.' The blue/white Freelancer spotted her brother, and she sprinted over to him, rifle aimed at the insane AI. "Sorry for being late to the party. Did I miss anything?"

Missouri shook his head with a growl, several dents on his armor where Beta had obviously landed blows. "No." Blood was leaking from the small holes in the suit where he had been shot; his enhanced muscle and skeletal structure had prevented him from suffering any real damage, but he was still human; Massa was glad the Bubble Shield provided basic healing. 'This is a mess. So much for a simple retrieval op.'

Beta was standing only twenty feet from them, and she pulled a small device from her back. It was black, save for the dark red button on top, and Massa shared an exasperated glance with her brother, bracing for the inevitable pain of being blown up. "Son of a bitch…" 'We're standing on top of a mine field, aren't we? Fuck me. This has got to be one of the shittiest ways to go.'

Beta clicked the button, and instead of being sent to Mars via mines, Massa heard loud explosions from behind them. She looked back to see the icy cliffs behind them detonate, and the explosions sent an inordinate amount of large ice blocks their way. "Ah…shit." 'Fuck me. If we're not careful, we're going to be crushed by that.'

She ran forward with Missouri by her side, trying their best to avoid getting crushed to death. She leapt, trying to take that damned Battle Rifle from her back, only to get the wind knocked out of her by a hard punch in the stomach. 'That fucking hurt. Really bad.'

Missouri growled, plucked the capture unit from his sister's back, and extended its needle-like spear. He spun, trying to slash the AI's armor, and Beta blocked the strikes, pushing him back. Massa landed a few punches while she was distracted, and plucked the Battle Rifle from her back, wincing as she took a heavy hit in the process. 'Alright, I got her weapon. But she still hits harder than an enraged grizzly bear.'

Missouri kicked a block of ice at her, and Beta sprung up, doing a backflip off the ice. Massa ran up another column, firing her rifle, and the black AI spun in the air to avoid the bullets. "Dammit!" 'Sneaky little bitch.'

Beta landed a few yards further, and she punched another large column right at the two Freelancers. Massa slid underneath it, nearly getting crushed in the process, and Missouri jumped, trying to land on the berserk creation. When Massa got up to her feet, she saw Beta holding his body over her head, and she kicked him square in the back.

He fell with a grunt, and Massa rolled out of the way to fire a trio of bullets from her stolen Battle Rifle. "You little bitch!" 'She's definitely going to fucking pay if he's going to die.'

Beta hid behind a boulder, setting off another group of explosives, and as she ran across in an attempt to get away, three of Massa's bullets met their mark. She fell on the ground with a muffled cry of pain, and Massa lowered her rifle as the ground beneath her feet began to tilt backwards. "Oh my fucking God…" 'She didn't…she fucking did!'

Missouri had gotten back up, and the blue/white Freelancer gave her brother a panicked yell, placing her weapon across her back. "RUN!" The two ran across the ice fields, jumping as parts of it fell into the ocean, and she stopped dead when she saw the gap to the other side. "Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me! There's no way to make it!" 'Great! Just fucking great!'

Missouri hissed in annoyance, and he wrapped his huge arms around her. "Hold on!" He aimed his gauntlet at the icy cliffs rapidly getting further and further away, and a thick wire with a hook attached to it shot out; he had a grappling hook installed into his armor, a useful addition in shitty situations like these. Clinging on for dear life, Massa watched as ice below them fell into the frigid sea, and she sent a silent prayer that her brother made the new addition. 'Thank heavens…though we're not out of the shit just yet.'

Missouri propelled them up the icy cliffs, and once on top, Massa freed herself from her brother's bear hug of a grasp; he could probably kill someone by squeezing them like a human python or something.

Beta had gotten to her feet as well, and Missouri grabbed the AI by the throat, slamming her down to permanently damage the suit and the components in her back; she was done for. Missouri grabbed the capture unit, and with one powerful thrust of his wrist, plunged the end directly into her visor.

Caught, like a bear in a trap.

"Good work, brother," Massa called out with a pant, hands on her hips.

"Thanks," came the deep reply. Missouri returned the unit to his back armor, and he started to walk towards her when a pair of drop pods fell from the sky, each landing with enough force to completely break the two apart.

Massa wiped snow from her visor, and she saw the two occupants of their respective drop pods. One of them was wearing powder blue armor with yellow accents, and the other was wearing some sort of aquamarine/turquoise/green-ish blue armor. "Who the hell are you!?" A quick glance told her there was no way in hell Missouri was going to be able to jump across, even with the damn grappling hook. 'Ah fuck. Still, I can handle two simulation troopers.'

The aqua one activated an Energy Sword with a flick of his wrist, and the powder blue one spoke as he aimed his Battle Rifle. "It's good to see you again…Massachusetts."

Agent Washington. He had lived after all, just like she knew he would.

"Hello, Washington," Massa stood defiantly, ready to meet the demon of her past betrayal. Her limbs were sore from having to run so damn much earlier, but she wasn't going down without a fight.

"Wait, is this the chick who blinded you, dude?" the aqua one asked Washington. He got into a fighting stance, the plasma blade parallel with the ground behind him. "Fuck this shit, man. Let's just kill the bitch and hope the others don't fuck this whole thing—"

"Shut up and fight, Tucker," Washington cut him off, firing his rifle.

Massa ducked, and she let out a soft hiss to her AI. "Xei, are you still there?" 'I don't want to do this..but I can't watch her get dissected like a lab rat. No, this is the last option. I really hate this part of the job, more than anything.'

"Yes," Xei whispered. "You need me to boost your suit's reactivity?"

"No," Massa sighed in defeat, rolling under a dangerous sword swing that sent a wave of static over her HUD. "I need you to activate your fail-safe. I'm not going to win this fight, Xei. Whether I live or die, you'll be used as evidence, and they'll do exactly what they did to Alpha and Beta. They'll torture you, use you against your own will. You mean too much to me for me to condemn you to that fate."

"V-very well…" Xei cried, sniffling. "I don't hate you for this. It's been nice being with you. Fail-safe now active, counting down. Five, four, three, two, one…goodbye, Mariah." Xei fragmented, disappearing with a soft noise akin to that of breaking glass, and she was gone. The brunette's suit felt empty with her gone, and she drew her rifle, reloading it.

"Come and get me," she whispered. She fired, and Washington rolled under it, sending a trio of bullets into her right leg. The rounds pinged off bone, and Massa bit her lip as she felt blood trickling down the concealed flesh. It stung, and good God it hurt.

Massa tried to ignore the pain, aiming on Washington's chest and about to squeeze the trigger when she caught a flash of light from the corner of her eye. Tucker had swung his sword, and the energy blades neatly bisected the rifle in half. 'Well, great. Should've expected that. How the fuck did I forget about this moron?'

Growling in irritation at herself as she discarded the ruined weapon, she grabbed Tucker's wrist, spun him around, and threw him face-first into the snow. Hopefully it would take him out of the play for a few to focus on Washington. 'He's going to be weak to attacks from right. Maybe, I can exploit that weakness?'

She tried to dart out of his peripheral vision, hoping to blindside him, but Washington was more than prepared; he followed her like a hungry fox, never letting her get out of his sight. "Don't even try it."

He clicked the trigger on his rifle, and he discarded the empty weapon. "So much for making it painless. Oh well." The lack of remorse in his tone indicated he had no qualms about ending her life. Massa felt for her knife, and threw it. The razor sharp blade spun through the air, and Washington let out a 'tsk' as he plucked it from the air.

"Do you really think you're going to get me with one of these?" he asked, tossing it nonchalantly. Behind him, two more drop pods fell out of the sky, presumably to deal with Missouri, and he scoffed. "Don't bother. We thought this whole operation through. That's what happens when you have a Spartan III as your ranking officer."

"I'm not letting you take him without a fight," Massa hissed. "And you know that."

"Glad to hear it. Because I really want to repay you for all the trouble you've caused me."

Massa heard footsteps running behind her, and she turned to see a flash of blue narrowly miss her. 'Dammit! That idiot Tucker got up faster than I expected!' "Very well. Show me your resolve."

She spun, kicking Tucker in the wrist, and grabbing her pistol. Massa fired two bullets at Washington as he engaged her, and he dodged both feeble attempts before he grabbed her arm, twisting. "Tucker, now!"

Massa struggled to get free, unable to break loose from his grip, and she turned her head to see the Energy Sword slash down again. Her mouth opened in a shrill scream of pain as a horrible burning sensation shot through her leg, and she looked down to see the twin blades of plasma going clean through her leg, and her pistol fell on the snow.

Tucker removed the blade, and Washington kicked her down. "Good work. The good Lieutenant will be quite happy we took care of our business."

Massa was done for; the sword had been enough to make sure she wasn't going anywhere, and now, ironically, she was at the mercy of the man she betrayed. "Wash…"

The blue/yellow Freelancer removed his helmet, anger flashing in his grey eyes as he picked up the fallen sidearm. "You betrayed me, led me on just to be used as your fucking decoy. And now, here I am, ready to see this through." He spun the weapon in his hands, his burning stare piercing through the crippled woman. "And I've come to a decision."

"Wash, I—"

A loud gunshot from Washington's pistol cut her off.

A/N: XDDDD I had to torment you guys…I just have to. Next up, the finale of the Recollection! Maine and Reach vs. the Meta! Plus, IS Massa dead? Is she alive? Wait to find out! Also, check out my poll for an AO3 exclusive fanfic!