A/N: Alright, let's see if I can pull this one off. I am aware that I made a mistake in the fleet composition, as I accidentally listed different ships on the second listing. I will fix it later, right as soon as I figure out how. By the way, review with your opinion: the past tense of previous chapters, or the present tense as introduced in Corruption: Seven Sins, or this chapter?

Halo

Wrath of the Black Flame

Chapter VI

And People Say I Have Problems

There are a pair of Brutes staring at my boarding torpedo. They're trying to figure out what it is. It seems like a munition, but if it was, why wasn't it exploding or something along those lines. I smile, this part is always fun.

As the point unfolds, like a flower, I burst from the center, like that grenade that always seems to go off just as you notice it. What is it called? A flashbang? Nasty things. Anyway, as I land on the wall (my torpedo hit parallel to the floor) I leap at them. The last thing they see is a black shadow, before my forearm blades enter their chests.

I love those things.

As I rise from the crouch I landed in, I take out my comms set. It's a battlefield tradition amongst Titans. On solo missions such as these, ans sometimes in team based, we put our own music on, give the mission a bit of a theme. To be honest, it inspires my to more dramatic things. Rock/Metal is good for this kind of op.

"Getting Away With Murder" by Papa Roach. Nice.

I walk down the hallway, nonchalantly, to a door. Or at least, I think it's a door. I don't know, I've seen three different kinds of them, and they swapped them around. Damnit, a little consistency would be nice.

I activate the Blacksight, a neat little ability. It allows me to see certain things, including the fact that there are four Brutes behind the door, leveling Brute Plasma Rifles at it. Funny, I thought those were discontinued.

I smile. They must have some kind of surveillance... so let's give hem something to survey. I 'slip' my way past the door, behind the Brutes. Slipping is a very fun ability. It lets me 'teleport' a good distance, with no flare, sound, or any other sensory signal.

The Brutes continue to aim at the door, one shifts uneasily. Here's where the fun really begins.

Each Lord Aulianas receives a unique power on their ascension. No one knows why, or how, but it happens. Mortalitas's was an aura, one which spread dread into his enemies. Kanos's was the ability to control machinery, which he has put to good use so far. Alishandris... Alishandis's was a pair of wings, which gave her flight, and the ability to radiate brilliant light.

The thought of Alishandris drives me into a short rage, just in time as the group of Brutes notice me. I slowly turn, and somewhere in my mind I link them to Syrassaaan. My glare causes one to flinch, and I slip in and out in the room. I can feel myself going Shadow, but I reel myself in and leap at the Brutes. They open fire with Spikers, but I twist out of the way, landing in front of the lead Brute. I reach up with a blade, slicing his arm from his body. I kick him, knocking another Brute over with his body. I spin, decapitating one and lashing out with my foot to crack another in the throat. The final Brute barely has time to shout before my blades thud through his heart.

I bring my mind back into focus. As I was saying, everyone's abilities were rather powerful. All Lords have a psychic power, which we call psyk. I have telekinesis, among other things.

A patrol of Brutes and Grunts discover this the hard way, as I slip behind them, facing away, and create pockets of empty space in their nervous system. They twitch, and the subconscious order to live is never received. They die, instantly. I hope someone is watching. I'm still a little pissed, and the music inspires me to be a bit more dramatic.

I turn around and look at the room I have found myself in. It is a wide hangar, with a pair of curved, purple blue tanks. What did they call them? Wraiths?

An idea strikes me, and I remember yet another reason why I love being made of an energy-storing crystal.

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Rakithas dropped from his torpedo. It had penetrated at a strange angle, so that it was inside the ceiling. As he did, he saw that there were no alarms of any sort going off. He heard the sound of the bloodsigils, but knew from long experience that they rarely gave away the position of the Titans. They wanted the ships destroyed, so that they could finally end.

As he looked around the hall, he noticed that there were two doors, one to the right, one to the left.

He pulled up the digital map in his helmet. The door to the right would take him to the mess hall, through a chamber with no apparent purpose, through a few corridors, and then, eventually, to the bridge.

He might as well get started. He strode to the right door. He took one look at it, and decided to pull a risky stunt. He unslung his Warhammer, and then was struck by a thought.

How could he forget? He pulled up the music log in his HUD, and selected Disturbed, the Indestructible album. He drew back the hammer, and swung at the wall, denting it. After a while, he managed to create a decent hole. He stuck his fist inside, and grabbed some plasma wiring. He yanked it free, and there was an explosion of light, heat, and sound. It faded after a bit, and, as he had hoped, the power supply for the lights and security had been disconnected. He smiled, and walked back to the door. They undoubtedly had backup power, but it would take them a while to activate it.

There were undoubtedly several Brutes behind it. Even if they hadn't been warned beforehand, the ringing of his hammer on the wall would have brought them. He hammered the door, bending the thick metal. The Brutes on the other side staggered back, startled at sudden darkness of the lights cutting out, and the door bending inwards.

After a few more blows, Rakithas managed to break down the door. He hefted a chunk and threw it into the darkened room. He was rewarded with several blasphemous oaths and a cry of pain.

He charged into the room, shouting a battlecry.

"For my Father! Vengeance!"

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The Pelican transport Spirit, modified with new engines and a cloaking system, courtesy of the Blackfire Titans, flew straight into the hangar of the Destroyer Blood and Torment. The comms chatter had alerted the Brutes to their presence, but they couldn't find them with their cloaking on. They released several blood-colored Seraph fighters, just in time for the Pelican to take advantage of the hangar shield dropping.

That was part of Darakathos's plan.

As Spirit landed, the group of Marines, Elites, the Master Chief and the Arbiter climbed out, hosing down the Grunts and Brute pilots with plasma and bullet fire.

John turned a comms unit in his hand, something the Titans had called a 'vox.' It was an archaic word for sound, but it was supposed to be superior to their comm system, allowing them to communicate in squad-based chatter without detection.

Darakathos had said to try uploading music over the squad com, in the background, saying that it usually helped the Titans. You just had to pay attention, and let yourself feel the music rather than listen, like ambient sound. He wasn't sure if it would work, but if it became a liability he could just pull it.

Cortana, who was back inside John's head, scrolled through the list of songs. She chose one that she thought fit.

The Faceless album, by Godsmack. Hm.

The Marines moved forward, letting the Elites take up the rear. They opened a door to find a pair of Hunters waiting for them. They wore red armor, with a glowing symbol etched into their faceplate. They seemed to be... bleeding. Orange blood seeped through their skin, but rather than weakening, they seemed to be getting stronger.

"Ah, crap." One of the Marines was just a little demoralized. The demoralization was short lived, however, as a Marine shot one in the lower unprotected area, with a Jackhammer. The Hunter stumbled, wounded but still alive. It took another rocket to the leg, and still came at the group, limping slightly. John stuck it with a plasma grenade, right on the sigil. The grenade detonated, destroying the sigil. With the loss of it's source of life, it succumbed to it's wounds, letting out a low moan like a wounded beast.

The other Hunter saw the death of it's mate, and turned to the Marines and Elites in the hangar, letting out a loud roar and charging. As the Hunter entered the open space, several Elites charged at it from behind, slicing into it with their energy blades.

The Hunter died, just shy of killing the Rocket marine with it's shield.

John was worried, once again. If small symbols on their foreheads could cause Hunters to take rockets and get away with a limp, they were in deep trouble.

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The Master of the ship Malicious Soul, one Sycarus, hated Cerberus at that moment. Deeply, deeply hated him. He had abandoned Sycarus on the vessel, claiming that 'it was an honor to pilot his flagship,' when, in fact, he knew that it was nothing more than a suicide posting. The fact that a torpedo had just opened and something was killing a considerable amount of his crew did not help.

Said mass killer and generally scary, reality-defying being was walking through a mess hall at the moment, where he was about to get a very nasty surprise.

Sycarus smiled.

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I pause for a moment, something telling me that this is, in fact, a trap.

My foresight is rewarded by three pairs of possessed Hunters charging into the room. Two level their cannons at me, while the others try to get into melee range. I don't give them the chance.

Like I said, I had fun with the Wraiths.

As they approach, I let all of the power I drew from the Wraiths' cannons loose in a burst of plasma carnage. I love my job.

As bits of charred Hunter rain around the mess hall, I turn towards the pair with the cannons, and charge straight at them. They respond by lowering their guns, and charging at me in kind. As they get into range, one swipes at my with it's shield in a low diagonal slash, while the other tries to shoulder me.

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Sycarus's eyes flew wide in shock. Somehow, the demon, as he was sure it was, caused a plasma explosion, killing two of his Hunter bodyguard. He then charged the remaining two, and jumped over them. Suddenly, the demon paused, and the room darkened.. Sycarus thought he saw a flash of red from the creature's hood, like a flash of red eyes.

This was really, really not good.

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I feel myself going Shadow...

And this time I let it free.

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The air crackled around the mess hall, and the room seemed to dim, as if something was draining the light. The Hunters spun around, and saw something that gave even them pause.

The demon had changed, it's black cloak gone, replaced by a heavy, black suit of spiked, archaic armor, like some form of dark knight. There were chains around the armor, as if it had been bound. A pair of these chains looped around the shoulderguards and fell, ending in a pair of braziers, burning with blue fire. Though they could not see it, the Hunters knew that it seemed to radiate malevolence and fear. The hood had remained, and now, where before they could 'see' only shadow, there were a pair of burning blue eyes, as if they were on demonic fire. Bluish-grey smoke rose from those eyes, and as a Hunter sensed them, it knew that it was completely and totally... well, you get the idea.

A pair of black, crystalline wings burst from it's back, and it rose from the floor without moving them. Black lightning arced across it's form, hitting the floor and spreading out.

What is this demon? Thought one of the Hunters.

As if it heard it's thoughts, the figure turned to it, and spoke in a voice that clawed at their souls.

"I AM. THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS, XENO."

The Hunter's next, and last, thought was a stream of expletives that would've made the Arbiter flinch.

The last thing to go through it's head was it's own shield.

The other Hunter 'saw' it's mate be slain by it's own shield, and rage gripped it. It charged at the creature, but the black lightning arced out and gripped a table. The demon glanced at it, and then glanced at the Hunter. The table flew straight at it, colliding with it with enough force to smash it against the wall. It remained pinned there, slowly being crushed.

The demon rotated in place, staring at the wall separating the mess hall from the corridor, down which lay the bridge.

The black lightning arced across the wall, and the wall tore open. He floated through the rent, and the Hunter died as the table finally crushed it to death.