I know I haven't posted a chapter of this one in a few days, but I've been occupied with family matters (Which are now over and done with) and... erm...

Destiny.

I have no excuse for that second one.

Alrighty, folks! Ready your eyes and focus your minds! Happy reading!

~Husky

"I'm out of ammo." Six said, the empty clip of his magnum dropping out of the bottom. John was running low on ammo as well. The two had been fighting through several groups of Sentinels, Flood and Enclave at a time, usually killing a few and leaving the rest to fight each other. Something about the Enclave made Six shudder, and it wasn't because of the dripping knife wound in his side.

"Cortana, can you find us some ammo?" John asked.

"Make your way to the Armory, its on the way to where we're going." Cortana replied.

This gave Six a moment of relief, and he sighed deeply. "Let's get there fast." He said.

As they walked in the direction of the Armory, Six started to get a pulsing headache. At first, he thought that it was going to be like in the swamp, and braced himself. But it felt somehow lighter than then. He tried to ignore it, but his head was pounding. Instead of stopping, like any reasonable person, he decided not to say anything and push onward. He had just enough energy to keep moving and shooting, but just enough was all that he had. There was no time to waste on trivial matters.

"We're here." John said. He opened the large double doors to reveal a room filled with green metal boxes used for storing UNSC weapons of all shapes and sizes.

Six walked steadily over to a green metal box and pulled the top off. Inside of the box was attaché padding and a well polished shotgun, along with a few frag grenades and several clips of magnum ammo. He grabbed the clips and loaded one into the magnum, putting the rest on his belt. He grabbed the shotgun against his better judgment, as his balance had been wavering slightly and he knew that the force of the shell could knock him on his ass if he wasn't careful. He decided to put it on his back for now, in case he needed it later. He pried open the box below it to reveal a jetpack and two firebomb grenades. He picked up the heavy jetpack and managed to attach it to his back, with a little help from John. He put the firebomb grenades on his belt, next to the frags, and checked how strong the jetpack was. It lifted him off of the ground by about a foot when he used it for even one second, no sweat. He checked to see if he still had the Sentinel beam on his waist. He did.

Good. He was saving it for a special occasion.

He decided to take it out and sit down, tinkering with it. Socially, he came off as a gruff person, but he knew his way around electronics as much as any well-trained technician. He took his bloodied knife out and put the blade in between a screwhead on the beam's right side, turning it counter-clockwise. He wrapped blue, light blue and black wires around the neck of the screw, then screwed it back in place.

If this thing did what he thought that it was going to do, then he would become much more useful.

"Are you ready?" John asked.

"Yeah. Let's go." Six said, grunting as he stood up. Before they left, he grabbed a pair of frag grenades for destabilizing the engine cores. He didn't even bother to look at his bandages, knowing that they were soaked red.

"Engine room located. We're here." Cortana said.

John walked into the engine room with Six close behind. Inside was, obviously, the engine, along with several cooling units and dozens of high-power batteries.

And, floating in the corner, was none other than 343 Guilty Spark.

"Hello, Reclaimers." He said snidely.

"Up yours, lightbulb." Six snarled.

"The Monitor has disabled all command access. We can't restart the countdown, so the only remaining option is to detonate the ship's fusion reactors. That should do enough damage to destroy Halo. Don't worry; I have access to all of the reactor schematics and procedures. I'll walk you through it."

"I wish that you wouldn't react so harshly. After all, what I'm trying to accomplish is for the good of your race." Guilty Spark said. "It is the only way to combat the Flood effectively, as you know."

They ignored him.

"Alright. I hope we don't mess something up." Six replied.

"Or blow something up." John added. "That comes later."

"First, you need to pull back the exhaust couplings. That will expose a shaft that leads to the primary fusion drive core." Cortana said.

Six and John kneeled by a large metal panel on the wall. John pulled the panel down, and several hundred wires and tubes were shown.

"Oh yeah, this'll be fun." Six joked.

"Just reach past all of the wiring. There should be a slot in the back." Cortana said.

"Your behavior necessitates repair and revision." Guilty Spark said, a tone of warning in his voice. "Surrender the construct to me, or I will be forced to take you offline. Permanently!"

Six pulled the shotgun from his back, his arms shaking, and aimed it at Guilty Spark. "You had better shut your goddamn mouth, before I put a hole in ya'."

He quieted down rather quickly, turning from blue to a faint pink.

John and Six both grabbed a side of the slot and pulled away from the middle, exposing the fusion core.

"Good! Step one complete! We have a straight shot into the fusion reactor!" Cortana said. "We need a catalyst explosion to destabilize the magnetic containment field surrounding the fusion cells. Use an explosive."

John pulled a grenade from his belt and looked at Six. "I'd stand clear if I were you."

"Right." Six replied. He slowly stood up, holding his side with his free hand and aiming his shotgun at Guilty Spark with the other. He backed up a few feet, then sat down. He was getting tired. So... tired...

He was startled back to full consciousness by the sound of the fusion core exploding, sending wires, sparks and flames shooting from the wall.

"Did that do it?" Six asked.

"Yes, it did! The engine's gone critical! Based on the current rate of decay, we should have fifteen minutes to get off the ship; we don't have much time!" Cortana replied. "We should move outside and signal for evac. There's a service lift at the top of the engine room. It leads to a class-7 service corridor that runs along the ship's dorsal structure. If we take that route, we're likely to make it out on time!"

"Not if I'm to say anything about it!" Guilty Spark said, the red light emanating from him giving off such heat that it could literally boil water.

Six stood up and raised his shotgun, a little more vigilant than he was a moment ago. "You're just asking for a facefull of buckshot!" He yelled.

"You have much more to worry about than my words, Reclaimer." Guilty Spark spat. His eye began glowing red.

"Do you think I care? You're just waiting for the right time... to hide, behind your Sentinels! You... are pathetic... just like your threats!"

"Enough!" Guilty Spark eye glowed as bright as the Sun. Six realized what was happening as it happened.

Guilty Spark fired a wide-radius laser directly at Six. It struck his left arm, disintegrating the artificial joints and wires of his prosthetic, melting off everything below the elbow and knocking him to the floor. John raised his assault rifle and began firing at Guilty Spark, but the bullets didn't seem to faze him in the slightest. He turned and fired another beam, this time at John, but John rolled to his left, so the beam only hit...

...The fusion core.

Fire and sparks spewed out with greater pressure and force than before, warping the metal edges of the giant panel with the heat of a dying star. What little was left of the fusion core detonated, sending firey shrapnel flying everywhere. Alarms started going off, the sound of a klaxon echoing throughout the ship.

Six started to get up, the explosions staggering him. John ran up to him, grabbing his good arm. "We need to get out of here. Now!" He said, pulling Six towards the room's entrance.

"Just leave me, dammit!" Six shouted. "I'm dead weight, and I'm bleeding out! I can't shoot, I can barely walk, and there's no point!"

"I'm not leaving here without you." John said.

"That's a fucking order, John! Go!" Six said.

John sighed. "With all due respect, Six," He said. "Screw your orders."

He didn't understand John's persistence. He wasn't likely going to make it. What with his stab wound and still profuse blood loss, coupled with the destruction of his prosthetic, it was going to be difficult to keep up.

But there was something inside him. Something that made him want to move on.

If he had been asked a week and a half ago, Six would have said that he had given up all hope of surviving. He would have said that he accepted his inevitable fate. But now, he felt different. He suddenly felt stupid for saying what he had just said to John.

He wanted to live.

"Oh, how touching." Guilty Spark said.

"John? Could you please close the door?" Six asked.

"Gladly." John replied. He closed the door using a keypad to his right, then smashed the keypad with the butt of his gun, trapping Guilty Spark inside.

As they advanced down the hall, they could hear the sounds of more lasers firing at various things in the engine room.

"Run, Reclaimers!

...Run for your lives!"

Thanks for reading the penultimate chapter of the Halo: CE storyline! The Finale is coming. Expect the unexpected...

...And a ton of explosions.

I'll see you when we get there, Wolfgang!

~Husky