The Halo Universe belongs to Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries. But these characters are my own creation and cannot be used without my permission. If you do use them without my permission, then Iro will beat you senseless so that you will never be able to dance like Michael Jackson ever again. Enjoy the show.

The Sangheili 800 Squad

Chapter 8: For Victory

"Buzzsaw." Iro asked as he strode up to him. "How's the fuel going?"

Buzzsaw eyed a little gauge on the canister. "Eh… about eight-three percent done. We should be able to get out of here in a small while."

"Good." Iro walked away.

Buzzsaw sighed and sat down. "So that's my use now? Great."

Tank looked at him. "You look bored."

"No kidding. I've been sitting here watching a little needle on a gauge move up every so often. That's not exactly Thrillsville."

"Why don't you take walk?" Tank asked. "Tank will watch gauge."

"You sure?" Buzzsaw asked. "This is extremely boring."

"Story of Tank's life." Tank responded. "You can go."

"Thank you." Buzzsaw stood up and walked off in the opposite direction Iro went.

This meant that Tank was now alone in the clearing.

Behind the trees, Atar looked at his gathered squad.

"This is our chance!" He said excitedly. "They're all separated!"

"About time." Utarz muttered. "We've been standing around here for too long."

"Yeah, about that…" Zen thought of something. "Why haven't we been spotted yet?"

"Who cares?" Atar hissed. "We have to attack now, or we won't be attacking at all! Now get going!"

Tracer and Zen walked off in the direction Iro went. Utarz grudgingly got on his Ghost and zoomed off after Buzzsaw. Repora, Atar and Miara didn't move.

Miara glanced nervously at her flamethrower, then at Atar. "Sir, there's something I should tell you…"

"Save it." Atar interrupted. "We need to be quiet and stealthy."

Miara nodded and glanced at her flamethrower again, silently praying to the Forerunners, Please let this old thing work. I'm begging you.

"Now remember," Atar whispered as they exited from the trees. "Hunters are weak on their backs. So aim for his behind, alright?"

Miara nodded, still looking at her weapon.

Repora, however, tapped Atar on the shoulder. "Uh, sir? I think they already thought of that."

Atar looked at Tank. His back had a massive metal plate on it. It looked like the metal that the Forerunners used, except without any blue markings.

Miara looked horrified that the Heretics would dare to pull a sheet of metal out of a Forerunner object.

Atar, however, looked impressed and annoyed. "They're definitely not us, that's for sure."

"So…" Repora whispered. "What now?"

"We'll go with what most armies usually do." Atar muttered. "ATTACK!"

Both Miara and Repora took this as the signal to charge.

Tank was a bit slow on the uptake. He didn't turn around immediately and while he did, Atar had already fired a shot at him.

Tank stumbled and brought up his shield. Relentlessly, Atar and Repora fired shot after shot while Miara stood offside, looking more nervous than ever.

Tank activated his radio and roared, "Iro! Tank is under attack!"

There was a slight pause before Iro quickly said, "Defend yourself Tank! Attack them if you must but do not kill them!"

"Yes Iro!" Tank obeyed, holding his shield up a bit more. He turned and pointed his cannon hand at them. He fired a few blasts, although not directly at them.

Atar and Repora easily dodged the blasts, although it didn't escape their attention that they weren't really doing anything to Tank. Atar was slightly more bothered by it than Repora.

"This is fun!" Repora shouted gleefully. "When can we do this again?"

Atar turned to Miara and shouted, "What're you doing? Get in there while we're distracting him!"

"But sir-!" Miara started to protest.

"That's an order!"

"I- Yes, sir!" Miara ran towards Tank's side.

Once she was there, she looked desperately at her flamethrower and prayed to the Forerunners again that it would work.

She pulled the trigger.

The Forerunners appeared to be mad at her for some reason though, because nothing happened.

"Oh, come on…" Miara begged.

"Miara!" Atar shouted. "What's going on over there?"

"My flamethrower!" She cried out, accidently alerting Tank to her presence. "It won't work!"

"It won't WHAT?!"

Any reply that Miara could've come up with was interrupted by Tank hitting her with his shield.

As you can imagine, Miara was distracted and not prepared for a giant piece of metal hitting her in the face, so she immediately fell backwards. As fate would so unfairly have it, she also hit her head on the Heretic's Phantom in the process. As such, by the time she hit the ground, she was unconscious.

…Uh oh. Atar thought. He had actually been counting on Miara's flamethrower to distract Tank so that he and Repora could actually do some damage.

Repora stopped firing when he saw that Miara wasn't moving. "Uh… I think we may need a bit of backup."

"Agreed." Atar growled. He activated his commlink and continued to fire at Tank. "Computer! Call Utarz!"

"Did you say, 'call you arse'?" An electronic voice asked.

"Call… Utarz!" Atar said loudly and clearly.

"Calling 'Utarz'. Is this correct?"

"Yes!"

"Available options are…"

"Oh, for the love of the gods." Atar muttered. "Why do we have to use this ancient technology? YES!" Atar yelled when given the option.

"Calling…"

Tank fired a few more shots, all the while negating most, if not all, of the damage the projectiles would've inflicted otherwise. Repora was moving left and right, covering Atar while he dealt with the frustrating radio issues.

Finally, Utarz's voice came up on the other side. "Yes?! Can I help you?!"

"Utarz!" Atar snapped. "We're not going so well against Tank and Miara is down. We need you here on the double!"

"Miara's down?! What the fuck does that mean?!"

"It means that she can't fight, idiot! Now get over here!"

Atar heard some sort of whirring sound on the other side. Utarz quickly said, "I'm kinda busy here, Atar!"

"General or sir! And are you seriously telling me that you are unable to take care of a single Grunt?!"

"Said Grunt isn't as stupid as the rest of them! This guy's got a freakin-" There was a sudden noise, followed by Utarz cursing, "Holy shit!" Then there was nothing.

"Utarz! Do you copy?! Utarz?! Ah, shoot!" Atar snarled. "Right. We'll go for Zen and Tracer then. Computer! Call Tracer!"

"Did you say, 'Call Tracer'?"

"Yes!"

"Calling Tracer. Is this correct?"

"Yes!"

"Calling…"

Atar, while he was waiting, fired a few more shots at Tank, who had decided to slowly advance. Repora found that he had run out of ammo for the Fuel Rod Gun, so he pulled a grenade launcher out of his arse and continued firing, much to Tank's surprise.

"I'm sorry." The computer apologised. "Your target is currently unable to respond to your call. Please hang up and wait five minutes."

"WHAT?!"

"Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh…" Repora stopped firing. "I know how this one will end. Gimme a moment." And then he ran off into the woods.

"Repora! Don't be a coward!" Atar yelled, firing more shots at Tank, who was nearing him now. Finding that he was out of ammo, Atar threw out the clip and reached for another one.

There wasn't one.

Tank was now directly in front of him. Atar looked at him defiantly and said very clearly, "You'll have to kill me to get rid of me."

"No." Tank rumbled. "Iro said not to."

"What?! It's dishonourable not to kill someone who attacks you!"

"But it is dishonourable to attack those who cannot defend themselves." Tank replied.

"I think I just demonstrated a good ability to defend myself." Atar growled.

"Still. Tank will not kill you."

"And why is that?!" Atar snapped.

"Tank would prefer not to say." Tank said. He swatted the concussion rifle out of Atar's hands. "All Atar needs to know is that we will not trouble you if you don't trouble us."

"That won't happen."

"So be it." Tank poked Atar in the head with his shield. He did so with enough force to knock him out.

BOOM

Tank stumbled from the blast. His metal plate allowed him to survive it, but he still felt the impact of a fuel rod exploding on his back.

"Yeah!" Repora closed in on him. "You felt that, didn't you?!"

Deciding that Repora could probably survive next to anything, Tank swung around and bashed him with his shield.

Repora flew off to the side, hit the snow and didn't move.

Utarz couldn't really believe he was going to kill something.

In the sense that it was something as stupid as a Grunt.

Weaving around the trees, Utarz soon found the Grunt walking down a little path. It appeared to be talking to itself.

"…go on these walks more often. Gets me away from Iro. Honestly, sometimes I feel as if the guy takes me for granted."

"Well, that makes two of us." Utarz said, making the Grunt freeze. "Except I just feel underappreciated."

The Grunt turned around and looked at Utarz dead in the eye.

"Oh, come on!" It complained. "The one time I get some time off, I get ambushed! What kind of universe am I living in?!"

"I dunno, an unfair one I guess." Utarz said. "So how exactly do you want to die?"

"Preferably? I don't. I would rather die a few years down the track than right now."

"Should've thought of that before you joined the army."

"Moron. Grunts don't get a choice when it comes to these matters. We join the army by command."

"Welp, that makes two of us."

The Grunt looked around. "Where're the rest of your team?"

"What do you mean?"

The Grunt smirked. "You didn't bring any other soldiers, didn't you?"

Utarz snorted. "Right. So you're telling me that I need help defeating a weakling Grunt?"

"Well, size isn't really a factor when it comes to skill." The Grunt replied, taking a step back and thrusting one of his arms forward.

Upon the arm thrust, a wrist-mounted device extended a rod with a sheet of triangles with jagged edges.

Then the triangles fanned out and flattened into a circular saw.

And then it started spinning.

"They don't call me 'Buzzsaw' for nothing." The Grunt explained.

Utarz stared at the saw. "Oh. Fuck."

Buzzsaw leaped forward.

With a yelp, Utarz steered the Ghost over to one side. Buzzsaw leaped again. Utarz dodged the saw. Buzzsaw leaped. Utarz dodged. Leap. Dodge.

"C'mon, Elite!" Buzzsaw mocked. "I thought you had some guns on that thing!"

Utarz blinked. "Oh! Right!" Utarz grabbed the controls for the gun.

Buzzsaw leapt forward and swung his saw. The guns fell off with a screech.

"…That was just cruel." Utarz said.

"It'll get worse." Buzzsaw promised. "Trust me."

Utarz decided to bolt. He spun the Ghost around and zoomed off.

Buzzsaw took aim and the saw fired off the pole and cut through the wing of the Ghost.

Utarz yelled as the Ghost suddenly spun out of control. Unable to stop the Ghost, Utarz jumped off and promptly hit his head on a tree.

Utarz stood up and clutched his head. "Ow… if this is how the Grunt is, I don't wanna see what the other two are like."

Buzzsaw pulled out a plasma pistol and started shooting at Utarz. Utarz yelled and ran into the trees.

Buzzsaw felt some static in his radio. "Buzzsaw! Do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Iro." Buzzsaw replied. "What's wrong?"

"Are you currently under attack?"

"Sort of. If you mean me kicking some Elite's arse as an attack, then yes."

"Right. Make sure that you don't kill him. Alright?"

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Really? Because I'm sure I can beat him. Pretty sure it'd be a blessing to his teammates as well."

"I don't care! It'd be-" There was a gunshot from the other side. "I need to deal with these two. Just follow my orders!" The comm. switched off.

Buzzsaw shrugged. "Well… orders are orders."

Meanwhile, Utarz was getting a call as well.

Jumping in alarm, then realising that it was just a call, Utarz pressed a button on his helmet.

"Yes?!" Utarz snapped. "Can I help you?!"

"Utarz!" Atar's voice came up, along with a lot of shooting. "We're not going so well against Tank and Miara is down. We need you here on the double!"

Utarz eye's widened in alarm. "Miara's down?! What the fuck does that mean?!"

"It means that she can't fight, idiot! Now get over here!"

Utarz looked around the woods nervously. "I'm kinda busy here, Atar!"

"General or sir! And are you seriously telling me that you are unable to take care of a single Grunt?!"

"Said Grunt isn't as stupid as the rest of them! This guy's got a freakin-"

Buzzsaw suddenly burst out of the bushes, his saw reattached and whirring at top speed.

"Holy shit!" Utarz jumped back, letting go of his radio in the process. He grabbed his plasma rifle and pointed it at Buzzsaw. "Stay away! I mean it!"

"Forget something?" Buzzsaw pointed to his saw.

"Oh. Yeah." Utarz still pointed his gun at him.

"Oh, relax." Buzzsaw put away his weapon. "I've received strict orders not to kill you. So you don't have to worry about being cut in half."

"Oh." Utarz lowered his rifle slightly. "So… we're cool?"

"Not really." Buzzsaw replied. "I still got to stop you from helping your friends. So, you might experience some brief pain."

With that, Buzzsaw pressed a button on his chest armour and he went invisible.

Utarz froze. It suddenly occurred to him that Buzzsaw could strike from anywhere. He spun around, looking everywhere. "Not cool man. Not cool at all. Show yourself."

Suddenly, his legs were swept from underneath him and he fell to the ground. Before he could get back up, something grabbed his face and smashed his head into the ground. As such, he was unconscious.

Buzzsaw reappeared, chuckling. "The old trick. You go invisible, but you don't move at all. Sucker never knew what hit him."

Of course, Utarz would know what hit him the moment he woke up.

And in hindsight, he realised what a stupid idea it was to talk normally into the radio.

Iro sighed as he walked along the path. If anyone had asked him, he didn't really want to be a leader. He was much more comfortable with following orders rather than giving them.

But, no-one else could do it. Buzzsaw would probably ruin the team if he was in charge. Tank made it clear that he wanted Iro to lead. Gears fancied himself as more of an engineer than a leader. So Iro was in charge.

Iro looked around and sat on a log. He didn't usually get chances to relax like this. He usually spent time trying to find some more recruits. That said, he hasn't succeeded yet. Zen was probably the best Sangheili who could've joined. And now he was against him.

Iro heard some static on his headset. He pressed the button on the side of his helmet.

"Iro!" Tank's voice came out from the other side. "Tank is under attack!"

Iro blinked. Attack?

Reacting quickly, Iro ordered, "Defend yourself Tank! Attack them if you must, but do not kill them!"

"Yes Iro!" Tank's voice cut out.

Iro reached for his weapon, a human pistol. He had stolen it from a dead body back when he used to work for the Covenant and had kept it as a trophy. Now, he kept it as a reminder as to what he was fighting for.

He headed back to Tank's last position, activating his radio and selecting Buzzsaw's headset.

"Buzzsaw!" He said. "Do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Came the reply. "What's wrong?"

"Are you currently under attack?"

"Sort of. If you mean me kicking some Elite's arse as an attack, then yes."

"Right." Iro said. "Make sure that you don't kill him. Alright?"

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Really? Because I'm sure I can beat him. Pretty sure it'd be a blessing to his teammates as well."

"I don't care!" Iro snapped. "It'd be-"

BLAM

A Carbine round zoomed past Iro's head. He jumped to the side and spun around. There were two Sangheili behind him. One was in purple armour and the other was in green armour.

"I need to deal with these two." Iro growled into his radio. "Just follow my orders!"

"How did you miss him?!" Zen snapped, taking aim with his Needle Rifle.

"I'm nervous, okay?!" Tracer snapped back.

Iro put away his pistol, saying, "Before we start this, I want it known that I won't kill you two."

"Your mistake." Zen said coldly, shooting Iro in the face.

Immediately, Iro's energy shield flared up, negating the damage of the round.

"Are you kidding me?!" Zen complained.

Iro suddenly rushed forward and punched Tracer in the face, immediately knocking him out.

Zen jumped backwards and tried to fire again. However, Iro grabbed the barrel of the rifle and aimed it towards a tree, stopping Zen from shooting him. He then yanked the gun away from him and used it to smash it into his face.

Zen stumbled backwards and took a fighting stance. Iro threw the gun away and pressed a button on his headset. Then, he rushed forward and threw a punch at Zen.

Zen dodged it and kicked Iro in the stomach. Iro stumbled back from the unexpected blow.

Iro glanced at Zen. "Impressive."

"I don't need praise from someone like you." Zen snapped. He launched forward.

Iro deflected the punch and looked at Zen. "That said, I fear that you aren't quite up to my level."

Iro kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back. Zen looked up at him and growled, "Don't underestimate me."

Despite Zen's best efforts, he couldn't get Iro at a disadvantage. He managed to get land a few blows, but Iro would just give him a few blows back. It was like Iro knew what Zen was going to do.

Zen had no idea who taught Iro how to fight like this, but suddenly, he wanted his teacher.

As the fight dragged on for a few more minutes, Zen backed off. So did Iro.

Zen looked at his gun, which was a few metres away. If he could only distract Iro long enough to grab it…

Suddenly, an invisible force slammed into his side. Zen stumbled back and tried to find the invisible force. As he backed away, he collided with something large.

"Tank?" He guessed.

Tank grunted in confirmation.

Zen backed off and found himself surrounded as Tank and Iro advanced in front and Buzzsaw materialised next to them.

"Seriously?" Buzzsaw asked. "You're still dealing with this guy?"

"He's a much better fighter than anyone I've ever met." Iro said. "Almost like an aristocrat."

"I take it that you guys took care of my squad." Zen said, inwardly disappointed, yet not surprised.

Tank nodded. "The ones Tank fought had fought with honour. Except white one."

"Really?" Buzzsaw seemed surprised. "The one I fought was a complete idiot."

"So why won't you kill me?" Zen asked aggressively. "I've made clear the side I'm on."

"You're part of a squad of rejects." Iro explained. "We're not. It wouldn't be fair."

"We'll just do this again."

Iro picked up the Needle Rifle. "Well. You'd need to improve if you want to stand a chance." And with that, he slammed the butt of the rifle into Zen's face, knocking him out.

He crumpled to the ground.

"Do we move them?" Tank asked.

"No. We're wasting time." Iro said. "We need to get to the artefact before them."

"That ought to be easy." Buzzsaw said. "I mean, the Phantom should be fuelled up and ready to go by now."

"Then let's go."

The group walked back to the clearing where they parked their Phantom. Three unconscious bodies were lying there, unmoving.

"You sure they're still alive, Tank?" Buzzsaw asked.

"Yes." Tank confirmed.

Iro looked at the meter showing how full the Phantom was of fuel.

It read as 97%.

Iro shrugged. "Close enough."

They boarded the Phantom. Tank went and sat in a corner while Buzzsaw took the flight controls. Iro sat down and waited to leave.

The Phantom slowly rose from the ground, then started moving towards where the escape pod landed.

When the Phantom was out of sight from the clearing, a prone, white figure suddenly sat up.

Repora looked as the Phantom disappeared over the trees. Satisfied, he pulled out a plastic stick with a button on its top. He pressed the button with enthusiasm.

Nothing happened.

Repora somehow frowned, shook the detonator and pressed the button again.

This time, a huge explosion sounded in the not-to-far off distance, followed by a large crashing sound somewhere in the woods.

"Heh, heh, heh." Repora chuckled, getting a bottle of beer out of nowhere. "Suckers."

Author's Notes

This was probably the easiest chapter to write, really. I dunno why.

Thanks for watching.

Potato.