Author's Note: Sorry about the late update, I was thinking about revising the entire chapter :/ I thought a long time about the chapter title aswell... ugh :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo and the likes just the characters X3

Chapter V – A Less Brighter Future.

"That's odd…", Everything hurt, Chakuth's entire body felt like it was on fire, his head was throbbing and it felt like his hand was bleeding again. Annoying bleeping noises filled his hearing and it only made the pain worse, the black shadows hovering over him and their voices weren't very reassuring either.

"I wonder why there's so few of them, that's not like normal Covenant strategy, so far it's only one Elite, five Grunts and two Hunters…".

"That's all there is to it, I'd like to call it a suicide mission!", a penetrating laugh sounded.

"Hey have you seen the armour on them though? It doesn't look like any normal ranking armour the bastards usually wear…".

Chakuth felt his body being dragged and faintly opened his eyes, more shadows…

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The light stung in his eyes, it made them tear. As he opened his eyes he saw lights passing by his head continuously, he groaned and closed his eyes again.

"I think they're just severely shaken up, the Grunts and the Elite have a steady heartbeat, with the Hunters I simply don't know how to check if they're alive or not…", a voice spoke out of nowhere, it woke Xehn. With a swift movement he sat up, spikes positioned upwards. He had found himself into a human base somehow, and the little devils around him prancing about in panic made the situation all the more awkward.

He roared jumped to his feet and rose, only to hit his head against the ceiling with a loud bang. The commotion in the room stopped for a moment as all eyes were fixed on the massive Lekgolo who had his head completely submerged into his armour, holding his huge hands over it.

"Would you look at that…", a human in a long white coat said as he tried to approach the Lekgolo.

Xehn's head shot out as he stared around at the humans surrounding him, he growled loudly and charged at the nearest human, even though he was stripped of his weapon and shield. The human that stood before the massive alien before was now spread onto the wall in a flurry of blood and tissue, the massive force of the Lekgolo had squished him on the spot.

Panic ruled again in the room and a few humans pleaded for their lives and screamed about how much of a bad idea it was to bring in the two Lekgolo.

"Tie it to the ground somehow!!", one screamed, then got Xehn's arm against his head. He went wild, the screaming humans made him nervous, and they weren't even carrying weapons. He roared and charged into the nearest door he could find, "I need to get out of here!! Let me out!!", he screamed, suddenly in panic as well as a high pitched noise filled his being.

"What is all this commotion!", a heavy voice sounded as another human in a white coat walked in and pointed a dart gun at the Lekgolo and shot him down.

With a heavy thud Xehn plummeted to the ground and held his head up with all his strength, muttered a few Lekgolo native words, then let his head fall on the ground and stopped moving.

"My god… please have someone clean this mess… and chain both of the Hunters to the ground, they aren't the usual Hunters that the Covenant dispatch out, these are much larger and wear different armour…", the human said as he cocked his head and rested the gun on his shoulder.

Xehn couldn't move anything anymore, but he still felt conscious as cold metal ran over his un-armoured parts, his head hurt and it didn't take long for his entire body to start hurting as well.

'Where am I…', he thought as his consciousness slipped away from him.

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Chakuth had slept straight through the commotion Xehn made earlier but now woke up slowly.

His head still hurt and it seemed his wounds had been treated, he fought the pain and sat up, noticing he had laid on his back just before. His first instincts were panic, "Where's my Methane tank?!", he shouted as he grabbed the mask on his face, following the hose to a small tank on the ground next to his bed.

"What the hell is this place…", he asked himself as he stared around the clean empty room. It suddenly came to his mind how the last thing he had seen were black shadows above his head and voices.

He rubbed over his chest and noticed he was not in his armour either, "What the hell is going on here?!", he shouted as he felt that the air around him was just the same temperature as his life support system offered him. An awkward feeling crossed his mind as he tugged loosely on the strange patches attacked to his scaled skin.

The door opened, and a female human in thick clothing walked in, "Don't be afraid… I won't hurt you…", she said as she approached Chakuth.

The young Unggoy frowned, "Hey! You should be afraid of me you pesky human!", he said as he growled softly. She chuckled and walked closer checking the slate that hung next to the bed, "I'm sure I should be, I see that you heal very fast, that's good to know.", she interrupted him.

Chakuth gritted his teeth underneath his mask and growled slightly, "Why am I here, why didn't you just kill me?! And where are my friends?", he asked as he pulled on the small sensors on his chest.

"Please leave those on…", the human spoke as she simply ignored his questions, she walked around his bed then stopped, "Are you the leader or is the Elite the leader?", she asked.

Chakuth stared at her in confusion, "Elite? What… Oh… you mean Duthaz… No I'm in command of this team.", he said as he crossed his arms.

"It's funny…", she started, "When I saw you and your crew unconscious on the floor of that crashed phantom…". "Taken out of the sky by you people…", he stared at her as he forced her sentence to a stop.

Her stare in return was a surprised one, "What I'm trying to ask is, why a Grunt like yourself has the command over much more powerful creatures then yourself. Didn't your race have some sort of Hierarchy?", she asked, seemingly interested in his ways.

"First of all, you all know that the Covenant is a collection of races, for one, I'm not a Grunt, my race is called Unggoy… And to answer your question, Yes there is a hierarchy, but the Prophets are the supreme rulers of the Covenant, we Unggoy have different takes on prophecies and religion. Then to speak about me, I'm a direct descendant of one of the greatest Unggoy generals that has ever lived. Meaning that I too possess high quality leadership and tactics. My profession is Special Operations and Navigation. Does that answer your question?", he said as his answer left her dumbfounded.

"I guess it does then, I'm surprised, we know so little about your kind and your functions within the Covenant other then those on the battlefield. Then how did you became the commander of this team, and why are you here without more assistance?", she continued asking, and it dawned to Chakuth that if he'd work along with his best performance, he might have a chance to eventually get out of this room.

"I became a commander because the Prophet of Truth asked me to, I'm here for the sole purpose of assassinating the demon… the Master Chief or whatever you humans want to call it…", he said with a disrespectful tone.

She stared at him, squinted her eyes in curiosity, "So you actually believe that he could not take you on, but slaughter your kind on the battlefield with ease?", she asked.

Chakuth became silent for a few heartbeats, then inhaled, "Yes, I do believe that, besides I'm not alone…", he said.

"You're quite full of yourself! But you're alone here now aren't you, what would you do if he'd point a gun at you and threatened to kill you?", the human asked, turning their conversation into somewhat of a strange verbal fight.

"I wouldn't be afraid, check my surroundings, then calculate on what can get, you called it a him… I assume it's male then, 'him' down and attack.", he said defiantly.

She started laughing, "I'd like to see that, you're chained to that bed though! Then what?". Chakuth groaned, "Come on! What kind of conversation is this? Are you testing my patience?", he sighed, "Fine, I will accept my death and pray for my brethren to take him out anyway…", he said and looked at the huge reflective glass on the wall behind him.

"I see… you're not like the other Grunts, ehm, Unggoy aren't you?", she asked as she grabbed his hand suddenly.

He stared at her, almost as if insulted and watched how she pulled off the layer of bio-foam that she had put on his wound earlier, it was healed completely.

"How did it heal so fast…?", he asked quietly.

"Because we know how to treat bullet wounds… don't you?", she replied, also awkwardly silent.

Chakuth sighed and turned away, "Is the scar on my head permanent?", he asked suddenly, turning his head back to her.

Her returning stare at him was strange, he had never expected so many visible emotions from the filthy humans, were they really so different…? "I haven't treated that, it's closed but it will certainly leave a scar, yes… Or at least, that is what I'd expect when looking at your skin…", she said.

"Where are my friends…?", he asked again, staring in her eyes with his big black eyes. She stared back, her green coloured eyes were nothing like he had ever seen before, they were so colourful, like the green sky over his home world. He squinted with his eyes as his pupils narrowed.

"They're in the other room, I've been asking them some questions as well, but they don't seem to answer when I ask them.", she said.

Chakuth's stare focussed on the ground again, "Did all four other Unggoy survive?", he asked. She nodded, a short reply, and a custom he used as well when agreeing or acknowledging.

"We had a little trouble with the biggest of the two Hunters though, he woke up and caused a lot of commotion, even killed one of us…", she said as she hung the slate back on the end of his bed.

"Xehn killed one of you people?", he asked.

"Is that his name? Xehn?".

"It is… yes.", he replied to her, and laid back on the bed.

"So, how long will you keep us chained to our beds…?", Chakuth asked as he moved his head to look at the strange glass behind him, "Why are there people staring at me…", he said suddenly as he got up and turned to look at it.

She frowned, "You can see through it?", she asked.

"No, I just saw something moving in it, not really clear but things move occasionally…", he replied calmly.

She looked surprised, then waved at them, and listened to the earplug, "Well, I've just heard that the Chief wants to speak with you, now that he knows you're in this base. Obviously you two have met before…", she said and walked towards the door, "Please, get into your armour and wait at the door until the light turns green…", the human said before disappearing behind the door.

Chakuth's shackles loosened themselves and he jumped off the bed, walked to his armour and helped himself into it, then lifted his methane tank onto his back and turned it on. He inhaled from the other methane tank and held his breath, pulled it off his face and placed his mask over his head.

He exhaled and inhaled his own methane, it was so much better then the human one.

As he felt it to be ready he tugged a bit on his armour then walked to the door waiting for the red light to turn green, and that didn't take very long. As he took a first step outside the room, two human soldiers immediately grabbed his hands and chained them again.

"I won't do anything you know!", he said in protest, but they didn't reply and walked him down the metal hall.

The orange sun burned in Chakuth's eyes as his pupils fought to adjust to the bright light.

He found himself on a huge empty and almost desolate ground, it was empty and only in the distance he could see the buildings of the city. Were the Prophets ever so wrong with their navigation.

In front of him stood the imposing figure of the demon, he stood without his helmet, with his back faced to Chakuth. He turned around. Chakuth's hands were released as the two soldiers walked away, leaving Chakuth with the demon.

An awkward silence fell between the two, as a gust of warm wind blew past them. The young Unggoy couldn't see more then the contours of the demon's face, in this light, he looked more dark and eerie then he already did.

"Why did you want me here, demon…?", Chakuth started, wondering any possible outcomes for the conversation he was about to have.

Another silence, then the Spartan turned his head into the light, revealing he too was just human. Chakuth almost didn't expect him to actually look human, he was much taller then most of them, and also much smarter, stronger too.

Then the human's deep heavy voice sounded, "You fight good with Fuel Rod Guns…".

Chakuth felt it odd to have the legendary human pest talking to him, "You fight well in all situations, or so I have heard…",he replied and took his stare off the demon.

It obviously wasn't a reply the human had expected, he remained silent for a good while, "I must admit, you're quite the brave Grunt…", it sounded again, and Chakuth noticed how a faint smile overcame the demon's firm serious face. The young Unggoy took a deep breath, then gathered the courage to walk towards the demon and stand next to him.

The human took his stare off the horizon and focussed his eyes on the young Unggoy, "Why were you sent here with such a small group of warriors…", he asked.

Chakuth sighed, "That question has been asked before, I was sent here to assassinate you…", he said as he placed his hands on his hip.

The Spartan shook his head slightly, "Impossible, you could have known that we would shoot you out of the sky, it was inevitable…", he said as he stared at the horizon again.

Chakuth huffed, "Impossible in your eyes maybe, but I am still standing here aren't I?", he said fiercely.

The human couldn't resist but chuckle, "Only because we have saved your little asses…", he spoke. Chakuth gritted his teeth, "Yeah, why did you anyway?", he asked as he stared at the demon.

"For the obvious reasons that you were with so little in that ship, you wear different armour and there are no Brutes with you…", he replied.

"Brutes…? You mean Jiralhanae? What do they have to do with us being in that ship?!", Chakuth asked.

"I guess you haven't noticed the fights going on between the Elites and the Brutes? On what level do you live anyway, they slaughtered each other, without remorse. And it also seemed the Prophets didn't care much about it.", the human said.

Chakuth's eyes narrowed, "What are you trying to say exactly…?", his tone changed.

The human shrugged, "Just the fact that your race and that of the Hunters and Elites are being cast out of the Covenant?", he said dryly.

The Unggoy grunted softly, "I don't believe that, Truth himself has sent me on this mission, how could he want me dead if he has sent…", his thoughts interrupted themselves as he suddenly felt the urge to swallow a big chunk that had formed itself in his throat.

The demon turned his head to the Unggoy, "Sent what?", he asked.

The Unggoy's eyes had widened, he was completely silent, thoughts raced through his mind as he tried his very hardest to place the pieces of the puzzle.
"The Prophet of Truth… he has sent our best Unggoy Leaders with unqualified Jiralhanae soldiers to earth, and later told me, they wouldn't survive it anyway. I was the last Unggoy High Commander left… Later we heard about you… you in the forerunner ship…", he said, distantly.

The human seemed interested in the little Unggoy's story, "Then one of your Hunters practically blew me off the ship, yes.", he said.

"The navigation marker… it was pin-pointed directly over your air-defence systems, why would he do that…", Chakuth asked himself out loud as he felt his knees become weak.

"I can tell you that one, from what I've heard, they only plan to go into their 'great journey' with the Brutes, Drones and Jackals…", he said.

Silence, the Unggoy was hardly even breathing as all came clear, something very strange was happening within the Covenant, and he had to find out. "I must talk to my team, please. I won't plan anything against you, I must know what is going on here!", he said as he stared into the demon's eyes.

The human frowned, it seemed in thought for a short moment, then grabbed his helmet from the ground, placed it over his head and opened a com-link...

Another awkward Silence.

"Very well, your friends will be escorted outside then you get the time to talk with them. You get 10 minutes…", he said as he walked inside the structure.

Chakuth was surprised, 'Why does he do that for me… what does he want from me…', he thought as he stared at the ground.

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It didn't take long before the doors opened again and his entire team strolled out.

Miph immediately ran towards Chakuth, the other three followed quick enough, Xehn and Kahlanx followed slowly, with Duthaz behind them. The human behind them signalled another human in a watch tower nearby, then stared at Chakuth, "10 minutes…", he said then closed the door.

"You guys… The demon just made a very clear point about why we were sent here…", he started.

"I think, that if we'd search around a bit here, we can find a lot of Phantom Wrecks, all shot down by the humans. I'm getting a strange feeling we were not sent here to kill the demon, but instead, to die here like all previous Unggoy high commanders did…"

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T3h Omg!! There are big changes ahead for Chakuth and his friends and how will they overcome this trial. And WHAT is it with MC OO! Dundundunnn.... ;) Keep R&R'ing please :)