The Stakes Are Raised

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo, or any of its characters.

1237 (Suits time)/

17 October (Military Calendar)/

Milky Way System/Earth/

Old Mombassa/

Status: Freaked.

His brother's scream came through Alex's helmet speakers, and he flinched, realising that the plasma had actually been transferred through the game, to the control, and into the person holding the control. He didn't know what time it was in the real world, but he knew that his mum wasn't home, as she said she would be going out to help with the decorations for the party that would take place the next day in her work office – the whole floor would be holding one huge party!

But he didn't care about the party at that moment; he stepped in front of his brother in time to take a few plasma bolts that would have killed his brother. He looked at his shields, and saw that they were already halfway down! The idiot must have put the mode on Legendary. Alex returned fire with his Battle rifle, taking down the Grunts, and then stepped out from in front of the Master Chief to take out the Jackal's, only to see a sickly green blob flying towards the Chief.

"Get down!" Alex yelled at him, but the Chief stayed still, so he quickly slung his Battle rifle and ran to the Chief, slamming into him with incredible force, and they both tumbled down one of the holes through the floor. They hit the ground, and the Master Chief stood up, and then started moving again, which caused Alex to breathe a sigh of relief, then fired at the Jackal's.

While Kiel and Harry took Andrew to the bathroom to put cold water – and maybe a bandage – on his arm, Jonno reluctantly picked up the controller, and he fired at the Elite that was running for him. The shields on the Elite dropped, and it swung its fist at him. The bot jumped to the side of the Elite, whilst pushing Jonno out of the way, and grabbed the Elite's arm, letting it swing through the spot where Jonno was, and then he kept on pushing it up. The arm had now gone a full 360 degrees, and there was a massive crack as its arm broke, and one of the bones now jutted out of its armour. It roared, and the bot raised its Battle rifle so the nozzle was inside the Elite's mouth, and pulled the trigger. Blood sprayed out of the back – and the front – of the Elite's head, and it fell to the ground. The bot turned straight away, firing on the Jackal's, and Jonno heard its voice, which sounded familiar, only computerized:

"Flank them!"

Alex saw one Jackal drop as the Chief took one down, and the second turned, which exposed its back to Alex. He fired, and the 3 bullets shattered the Jackal's spine, and it screeched one last time falling to the ground, kicking up some dust. Having no time to recover, Johnson shouted:

"Bugger's! Heading over the rooftops!"

Alex told the Chief, which he knew wasn't Andrew, to follow him, and they were soon on the second level, and Alex jumped on the stationary turret in time to see a wave of new creatures fly over one of the rooftops. They made droning sounds as their wings beat against the wind, and Alex decided that's what he would call them. He opened fire with the turret- "Holy shit!" –and was amazed at the firepower that it provided.

The rounds reached the Drones and tore into their flesh, making dozens of them fall out of the air. His shields were hit with needles and plasma bolts, but he continued, and the Master Chief fired his Battle rifle, standing next to him. The last of the Drones were mopped up, and Alex took his hands off the turret, and then reloaded his Battle rifle. He slung his Battle rifle on his back, and then he pulled his SMG out of its pouch on his left thigh, pulled back the bolt then pushed it forwards, and then opened fire on the new group of Covenant to come through the doorway.

"There's more on the street – left side!" Johnson shouted through the COM.

"Take care of these guys!" Alex yelled to the Master Chief, who manned the turret and began shooting at the Elites and Grunts.

"There's a headset included in the box, and you can talk to me using that." He continued while firing at the Covenant on the ground from above. After a few crucial seconds of shooting, ducking behind cover, and yelling at marines, a voice came through.

"Hello?"

Alex recognized it.

"Jonno, I need you to duck behind cover, then work your way down to the ground, and then take them out from behind."

"Okay..." his voice sounded nervous – who wouldn't be? Taking orders from a computer, after just having watched your friend's brother roll around on the floor screaming in pain when there was nothing to prove it. It's fucking madness! But Jonno obeyed, and dropped down to the ground floor after taking out the last of the Covenant in the courtyard, paying no heed to the fact that the computer had called him 'Jonno'.

Alex saw Jonno behind the truck, and then told him to wait there.

"3…" he tossed a fragmentation grenade – which he realised threw around metal shards that couldn't penetrate his shields, between the truck and the Covenant.

"2…"

The grenade bounced once, and then settled.

"1."

Tink!

The grenade exploded, flinging metal fragments around, creating a whizzing sound around Alex head, and they flung across the road, zooming towards the Covenant. A smokescreen was also created, and Jonno ran out from behind the truck firing his Battle rifle. The Covenant became confused as to where the fire was coming from, because they were too busy running around or watching Alex on top of the balcony, who wasn't firing. 5 Grunts dropped, followed by the 2 Jackals, and then only one Elite remained, who was wounded by 2 fragments from the grenade, and was limping with blood rapidly flowing from a wound in his leg, and a wound in his left shoulder.

He heard movement and saw the blue Demon on the balcony raise the human 'Submachine gun'. The Elite raised his Plasma rifle in response, but wasn't quick enough. 7 rounds tore into him, but only 2 made it out his back, smashing into the wall. The Elite was confused. Why hadn't its energy shield worked? In anger, he turned to the Demon once again, and then received 19 more rounds, all to the stomach, chest and arms.

Inside the Elite, bullets penetrated almost every organ, zooming through its arteries, cutting open its stomach, and even slicing a small part off its kidneys. The Elite jolted with each bullet impact, but didn't falter. Weakly, it raised its Plasma rifle again, and fired 2 shots, both of which went wide. It was a wonder that the Elite's body hadn't fallen apart, and he shook feverishly, with blood oozing out of a lot of holes in it. The Elite dropped the Plasma rifle, and then it drew a Plasma grenade, holding down the button and speaking in a form of their language, which was indecipherable due to the fact that it was 3 seconds away from death.

Suddenly, 3 bullets from a Battle rifle entered its back and exited its stomach. The Elite leaned back and roared, finally letting out the pain. Purple blood flowed onto the ground, spraying outwards, and then the Elite dropped to the floor, alive, but unable to move, save breathing. Its hand was still closed around the grenade, and then it saw the butt of a weapon flying towards its face, and then its neck broke, and it finally went limp. Jonno punched the Elite closer to the door that occupied some of the wall in the courtyard, and then stood back, but stayed facing the body and the door. When he stood back Alex, from his position on the balcony, saw the present that the Elite had left – a Plasma grenade, in his hand, which was ignited and glowing blue.

"Jonno!" he yelled, running towards the edge, but knowing it was no use.

"Get down!"

Jonno looked up at him, which was when everything happened at once:

A Phantom appeared above them.

The door burst open, revealing 2 Hunters.

And the grenade exploded, right next to Jonathan Fansil.

A/M: Sorry this one took so long, and sorry if it doesn't cover too much, but I assure you, the rest will, and there is a twist! In, maybe, the 10th, 11th or 12th (maybe not 12, but you never know) chapter. Once again, please read and review!