Locked in battle for what felt like hours, John-117 had just been fighting his way to the Silent Cartographer, the map room that, if followed correctly, could lead humanity to the Halo's controls before the Covenant got their hands on them. He was fighting two Hunters at the same time, supported by several Grunts and Jackals. He wasn't having a hard time, exactly, but he wished that he had some help. Just then, he wondered how Six was doing. He might be dead, or alive, or somewhere in between. He really had no way of knowing. He popped up from cover. He fired his last clip of assault rifle ammo into the neck of the first Hunter, stunning it momentarily but not killing it. All he had left was a magnum, and a few grenades. He could kill at least one of the Hunters, but what about the other one? Hit it in the face? He needed a plan, and he wasn't exactly overflowing with those at the moment.
"I got your back!" Someone shouted from behind him. He whipped around and looked to find the source of the voice. He heard mechanical whirring as the figure lifted his arm and fired at the Hunter with a magnum. The Hunters looked directly at him and fired plasma blasts from their arm cannons. The figure ducked and rolled, then ran towards the first Hunter full speed. It tried to hit him with an uppercut with its arm shield, but the figure just used it as a springboard, effectively launching him into the air in a massive jump. He came down with such force that his hand went clean through the soft tissue of the Hunter's face, killing it lightning fast.
"I guess hitting it does work." John said under his breath.
He vaulted over his cover and ran at the second Hunter, tossing a grenade behind it's shield. It curled up to protect itself, but it was a futile attempt, as the grenade exploded against the slimy and soft flesh of its abdomen, stunning it. John took this opportunity to attack. He ran up to the now dazed hunter and full force kicked it with the power of both legs, knocking it flat. He jumped on it while it was down and cut its throat with his combat knife, ending the fight.
John stood up and looked at the figure.
"Hey, buddy." Six said.
John stared for a moment, then he smiled under his helmet. "Back already?" He asked. He looked down at Six's left arm. "I see that they found you a replacement."
Oh yeah. I have no clue how they put together a prosthetic so quickly, but I'm assuming they took no chances with their time limit. This this is strong. I feel like I could punch a hole through something. Or, better yet, someone."
John paused for a minute, then spoke up.
"Shouldn't you be resting or something?" John said. "Your arm got blown off like, what, not even twelve hours ago?"
"Eight hours. And I'm fine. I'm just a little sore is all." Six shot back.
"Okay. I'm just saying—"
"I get it, John."
Six's radio turned on. It was Cortana."I'm glad to see you're still with us, Noble Six." She said.
"So am I, Cortana." Six said back. "What're we trying to find, exactly? I was a bit… Late to the party."
"Well, the Covenant believe that what they call the "Silent Cartographer" is somewhere under this island. The Cartographer is a map room that will lead us to Halo's control center. The island has multiple structures and installations. One of them contains the map room, and it's our job to find it. If we don't…"
"The Covenant will control Halo." John finished for her.
"Yikes. I'm not letting that happen." Six said. "Where are we right now?"
""This isn't the map room. Analyzing..."
There was a brief pause.
"This is a security override station for the main facility, located somewhere else on this island. Shut the system down so the Covenant won't be able to lock us out." Cortana said.
"You got it." Six said. "I'll be right back."
A few minutes late, after figuring how to shut down the security, Six returned to the security override station. A new door had opened in the room.
"So I guess we're going through there, huh?" Six said.
"Seems so." John said.
"Alright then. Let's get moving." Six said.
The two Spartans were walking down the newly opened hallway, and so far had encountered no resistance. It was quiet.
"I don't like this at all. It's too quiet." Six said.
"Me neither." John said.
Suddenly, the two Spartans' radios crackled.
"Mayday, mayday! Dropship Bravo 022 taking enemy fire! Repeat! We are under heavy fire and are losing altitude!"
"Understood. We're on our way." Cortana said. "Move it, you two!"
They ran towards Bravo 022's location, but Six stopped after about ten feet. John stopped too, and looked back at Six.
"What?" John said.
Six's hand slid towards his hip a little.
"DUCK!"
John complied and crouched quickly. Out of nowhere, an energy sword appeared where John's neck was. Six drew his magnum and fired a shot at what seemed to be nothing. The form of an energized shield appeared, and a Sangheilli body materialized behind John.
"They're using stealth! Be careful!" Six yelled as he fired more shots.
John drew his assault rifle and fired at the now not-so-invisible Sangheilli. It roared and tried to slice john horizontally across the stomach. John moved his abdomen all the way back and curved himself to avoid it, then grabbed the Elite's arm, ripped the sword from its hand, and shoved it directly into its chest. It hit the ground with a cry as more Sangheilli took its place. At least four other stealth Sangheilli had materialized nearby, and they were combat ready. Six ran towards one of them, and with a high-powered robotic punch, he smashed his prosthetic hand directly through the Elite's shield, armor, skin, and bones, coming out the other side with a bloody explosion of Sangheilli guts and gore. He lifted the Elite with his one arm and tossed the now corpse at the others. They roared and started firing. John bolted towards them, having no other choice due to the confinement of the hallway. He ripped the knife from his belt and dual wielded it with his energy sword. He sliced at a nearby Sangheilli, but it dodged the attack and tried to hit him in the face, also missing. He faked it out by pretending to slice at it, causing it to lose its balance, then stepped on the side of its knee, breaking its leg and bringing it to the floor. With a sickening spurt of purple blood, John plunged the combat knife into the Sangheilli's forehead, killing it instantly. He turned. Six was occupied with the other two Sangheilli at the moment, so John turned, believing that Six was perfectly fine. Mid turn, he was batted into the wall by a Sangheilli general, bringing his shields down low. He got up and engaged in combat with the General. In the meantime, Six was blocking every single punch that the Sangheilli were throwing at him. He didn't even have to think, his new arm just reacted even faster that his brain did. Whatever it was, it was helping him greatly. He pulled out his DMR and fired four rounds into the Sangheilli on the left's chin, then caught it as it fell down. He whipped around, still holding the body, as the other Elite chopped downwards with its energy sword. It caught on the corpse, spraying blood in its face, effectively blinding it. Six pushed the body against the Elite, pushing it into the wall with great force. The Sangheilli roared directly in his face, getting Sangheilli saliva on his visor. He drew back with his robotic fist.
"Roar." He said.
He took his prosthetic and punched hard, shattering the Elite's skull and killing it. He looked over at John. He was still stuck in combat with the General, and it was a very even fight. Six unevened it by throwing the body of its comrade into the General, stunning it. John finished the fight with a spinning flourish, using his momentum to cut with the force of an industrial saw. He buried the energy sword into the General's neck, finishing the battle. For the moment.
The corridor was littered with Sangheilli bodies. Six looked at John, and John did the same. The started laughing and gave each other an epic high five. They parted, then ran down the hallway. Now was the time to get out of there.
HOORAY FOR ACTION SCENES!
Keep reading, Wolfgang!
~Husky