Chapter 129: Capture

Adrian flew out of the cave, landing right by where Pennie left her underarmor, and as she wiped away her tears she slipped back into her suit. Adrian gave her a look of sympathy,

"Look, Pennie-!" Adrians throat tightened, and he felt himself lifted up off his feet by an unseen force,

"I told you if you hurt her I will find you," Right before him appeared Thatan, as if deactivating some sort of invisibility device, clearly angered by Adrian, "but I didn't think you would hurt her that quickly."

"Thatan wait!" Pennie rushed to them, holding her hands up, trying to keep Thatan at bay, "My tears are my own making, not Adrians..." The Elite gave Pennie an inquisitive glare, "...When I melded with him, I saw him and other women...and I wanted to feel what they felt...but he didn't wish to hurt me like he hurt them in the end."

"And how did he break their hearts?" Thatan asked, casting a glare to Adrian.

"...By leaving them behind...and not even saying goodbye," answered Pennie, "and even though he did leave he regrets it, even now, especially now!" Thatan tilted his head, unaware that he was still clutching Adrians' throat, cutting his air supply. Suddenly, a familiar hum was heard overhead, and Thatan dropped Adrian,

"You will pay for Pennies' heart later, Devil," warned Thatan, and stormed back to the other side of the gorge, planning on reuniting with the other Elites. Pennie gave the Devil Virus a look of sympathy, and ran after her protector. Adrian rubbed his throat, the bruises quickly healing as he returned to his feet, ready to follow the Elite and Asari. As they rushed to the other end of the gorge they saw another Phantom floating above the Elites, dropping several Brutes off to surround them. At the end of the line dropped a Brute that was easily ten feet tall, clad in yellow armor that reminded Adrian of a samurai, carrying a Gravity Hammer in one hand, and an Energy Sword in the other.

"THATAN!!" The creature shouted, "SURRENDER THE ASARI!! OR THE DEATH OF YOUR RACE WILL BE ON YOUR HEAD!!"

"Wait a minute," said Adrian, stopping Thatan and Pennie right before they were close enough to be seen, "why do they want you?" Thatan turnes to Adrian,

"Because, Pennie is the last one in the known universe that knows how to operate a-!" Pennie quickly placed a hand to Thatans' head, and the Elite fell to the ground, dead asleep.

"Pennie!! What-?!" She repeated the process with Adrian, and he too fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry," she said to the two, "but this is for the greater good." She then walked towards the Brutes and Elites, finally being spotted, having an assortment of weapons aimed at her as she raised her hands, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot, I came to make a bargain!" The Brutes gave her a skeptical glare, while the Samurai Brute actually discharged the Energy Sword, attaching it to his belt, walked over to Pennie, and used his big ape-like hand to grip the front of her underarmor and lift her into the air,

"What can you possibly offer that we would want?"

"...Myself...coming quietly...in exchange for the lives of the Elites. They live and I will go with you without a fuss." The Samurai nodded,

"Deal," He then roughly shoved Pennie to the Brutes, and all but Samurai began to pile back inside the floating Phantom, "Now that you have come with us, I shall keep my word on letting the Elites live..." He slid the Gravity Hammer onto his back, but drew out his Energy Sword, "...for a moment." He then whirled around, and to Pennies shock and dismay the Samurai Brute began to hack and slash at the remaining Elites, making Pennie try to bound out of the Phantom to stop them, but two of the Brutes restrained her, while a third brought a fist to the back of her head, knocking her unconscious. When there were no more screams or groans coming from the Elites, the Samurai packed up his Energy Sword, leapt up into the Phantom, and off they flew, with the unconscious Pennie in their grasp...

Adrian was jolted awake, finding himself in a snow covered glacier, but to his surprise he felt no cold, nor heat or anything. He then sat up, looking around himself, and saw a man standing next to him; a tall man, easily seven foot two, dressed in a military green body armor, complete with a helmet and gold visor, hiding his face completely.

"Wha...who are you?"

"John 117," the man answered.

"John? Do you know where we are?" The armored man looked around,

"Heaven? Hell? I guess it depends on who shows up." The man helped Adrian to his feet, "Now I don't have much time, but I will tell you this: you need to save Pennie before it is too late. If Zeus finds out what she knows, it will be all over, for everyone everywhere. The Devils, Angels, Fallen, Elves, Elites, your Occult Research Club buddies, all of them will die if you don't stop this madness." Adrian took a step back,

"How do you know about all that?" John simply pointed behind Adrian, causing the Devil Virus to turn, and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest; there stood a woman in her forties, with dark hair graying on the sideburns, with kind green eyes and a warm smile,

"Mom...?"

"I'm afraid death is the same everywhere, but, just like everywhere else, it does allow some spirits to bend the rules a bit." Adrian rushed to her, giving her a tight hug, joyful tears welling up in his eyes,

"Mom...I missed you so much...! There's so much I need to tell you..." Adrian pulled himself back, but to his dismay, his mother was already gone, as was John, and they were replaced by a strong wind, blowing snow around Adrian, causing him to throw his arms up, shielding his eyes. That was when he heard it; a loud distorted bell, ringing once, getting Adrians' attention, then twice, guiding him, then a third and final time, finally finding what was luring him, a tall thin man in the distance, so far away that Adrian couldn't distinguish any features aside from a black suit. It didn't help that the wind had refused to let up, keeping Adrian from seeing the man better,

"Who the hell...?" Adrian blinked, and to his shock the tall man had closed the gap about thirty feet, making the Devil Virus gasp as he saw the man had no eyes, nose or even a mouth. He stumbled away, and to his shock he found himself falling into darkness, the tall thin man reaching an arm out for him...

Adrian woke with a yelp, drenched in cold sweat, finding himself back on Sanghelios, but Thatan, Pennie and the other Elites were nowhere in sight.

"What the hell...?" He looked all around, and he finally saw a tower of smoke emmitting from outside the gorge. He unfurled his wings, soaring out, and that's when he saw Thatan, his helmet removed, the Phantom setting next to him, and a massive fire burning in front of him. Adrian landed next to Thatan, but the Elite paid him no acknowledgement.

"Thatan...what happened?" The large Elite sniffed,

"Pennie...has been taken...and me being the Arbiter has lead her and the Sangheili straight to their fates..." Thatan fell to his knees, letting sobs escape his throat, "...everyone I could ever possibly care for is dead, Adrian. Do you know how that feels? Do you?!" Adrian kept himself standing tall, and spoke calmly,

"No. I don't know what it's like to lose my entire race, but I do know what it's like to lose people I care for. That's what sent me on this journey in the first place." Thatan looked at Adrian with teary eyes, "Also, you didn't lose everyone, because Pennie is still out there, alive. They wouldn't have taken her if they didn't want her alive. Your race isn't extinct either, because you're still here." Thatan stood back up, wiping away the excess tears, "So until you are dead there is still hope for you and the Elites, one way or another. Now what are you going to do until then?" Thatan sighed,

"My initial response would be to hunt down the bastards responsible...but we are just two beings...even if one of us is a Devil, we would be outnumbered and outgunned-!"

"117!" Adrian blurted. Thatan stopped,

"Say that one more time?"

"John 117. What would he do if he were in this situation?" Thatan stared hard,

"I don't recall ever telling you the Master Cheifs name."

"You didn't, he did." Thatan blinked,

"That's not possible, he's been dead for over three thousand years."

"You're talking to a shapeshifting Devil with a Zombie Dragon living in his arm. Try again with what is or isn't possible."

"Bone Dragon," corrected Penglog, making Thatan step back,

"Your arm just spoke!"

"Long story behind that," said Adrian, "but for right now, we should focus on getting Pennie back, and taking the fight to the Brutes. Now do you know where we could find some weapons?" Thatan paused, and nodded his head,

"I may know a place." The two of them entered the Phantom, with Thatan in the pilots seat, and Adrian standing in the side, casting one last glance to the gorge, specifically the tree next to the waterfall where he and Pennie shared a moment,

I can't place it, but that faceless guy in my dream, seemed like more than just a dead guy, Adrian thought to himself as the Phantom flew off, little did he know that right as the tree was out of his vision, a distorted bell tolled once, twice, three times, and out of the tree formed a white featureless head, followed by a tall slender body in a black suit, letting a low growl as it watched the Phantom fly away...

A/N: For those wondering what the deal is with the three bell tolls when our slender faceless friend shows up is about, I just watched Slender Man in the theaters just last night (actually screamed in the theater), and I thought the bell was a nice touch. Anyway, here's the next chapter, feel free to read and review! (Good reviews welcome, constructive criticism is welcome, hateful reviews in hopes of discouraging me from continuing this story...(in the tone of the great Liam Neeson) good luck.) Tune in next time!