Me: I'm back again! Man, the flood is on a spree here! It just ate everything I write rough drafts in. Hey, don't eat my bed! Sorry, I'll be good with this chapter!

Gravemind: I own Reader, who does not own Halo… All that is in his possession are his OCs…

Chapter Nine

Hyak shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He'd had little idea that a shipmaster walked around so often as the seat they watched everything from was so, firm, if that was what he could call it. Several Sangheili worked on various portions of the ship, from comms to simply steering. The hull of the Phantom was full of Sangheili of the Honor Guard, along with two hunters that would be dropped earlier than the rest of them.

The drop ship was just above the surface of the ring, headed for a destination on the shore of a lake. That was where platforms that went to and from the Forerunner structure at the center of the lake could be boarded. The demon was most likely there already, or would arrive in a matter of minutes.

"Shipmaster, we've reached the drop off point for the hunters," one of the crew called. "Would you like for us to open the hatch and set them loose?"

"Do it now. We have to get to Regret soon, before the demon gets the chance to kill." The crew member nodded, shifting some of the holographic screens around and opening the hatch. The Phantom lifted quite a bit as the hunters departed, and the hatch was closed just before the ship took off to a point on the structure large enough for the Phantom.

Hyak stood, moving towards the hull as the hatch opened and the Honor Guard jumped off, landing with perfection. He jumped off last, right in the center of the group. It was just five Honor Guards and himself, but it would be enough. All of them were armed with an energy sword, and their shields were immune to projectiles, with the exception of rockets and grenades.

"Okay, two of you will take the entrance, should the demon get here. There are two halls, one on either side of the door, so one of you will take each side. I will go with the last of you and escort Regret to the Phantom, or protect him should protection be necessary."

The five high ranking Sangheili nodded, following him towards the entrance. The two smallest ones, both light on their feet and swift with a blade, stayed as the other four entered. One turned left as Hyak took the other two right, and was left with the largest of them as the two average sized warriors stood guard on each hall.

He didn't know them really, with the exception of the one that remained with him. The Sangheili was in his late thirties, and had been on many assignments. He'd fought the demon before, but always was taken out of the battle for some reason. Hyak did not know the Sangheili's name, though, as no one knew it, not even the Hierarchs.

Regret was flying around, collecting large amounts of data from the writing on the walls. He was preoccupied to notice them, minding his own business. Several minutes passed before the dying cry of one of the Honor Guards sounded throughout the structure. Another followed it shortly, and Hyak activated his camouflage, racing towards the entrance. The demon was struggling against both the guards in the halls, but the dead bodies of the smaller elites caught his attention.

Both were in a position as though they had given in to the demon, almost cowering, even though they were on their sides, blood pooling under them. The sight enraged Hyak, and he moved silently over to the three fighters, standing near the human in green armor.

"You killed innocent Sangheili. I doubt they would have lived for cowardice, but you still killed members of the Honor Guard. I'll kill you myself, demon!" He raised his energy swords, roaring like his Sangheili brethren as he turned visible.

John noticed Hyak bringing down the two blades, and reacted with speed. He kneed one of the elites in the gut, stealing its sword and used the very same blade to decapitate it while swinging to block the two other blades. The other Honor Guard roared at the loss of another ally, striking. Master Chief ducked as he pushed Hyak away, and ran the blade into the beast's gut.

It groaned in pain, clutching the wound as the sword flickered out, falling to the ground useless. Blood splurged from the opening, coating the Spartan's armor and the ground as it collapsed, dying. Hyak growled, lashing out at John again, only to get a fist to the head. His helmet went loose, and the demon pulled out a pistol, punching the shipmaster's head again and throwing off the helmet.

"You again? Kid, back off, or this first bullet is in your brain, if you even have one still." Hyak scowled, but a chuckle escaped his lips. He twisted around, kicking the pistol out of John's hand and held the energy swords in an x around the demon's armored neck, ready to kill.

"I don't plan on dying today." A laser hit him and Hyak crashed into a wall, still holding both swords. He shook his head and saw Regret there, lasers aimed at both him and the demon. The brute of an Honor Guard as being held up by a small light, dead, a hole burned straight through his chest and one of his hearts. The Honor Guard fell to the ground, and Regret fired his lasers again.

"The Sangheili are not worthy as of this moment! You will all die, along with the humans!" John charged, dodging a laser that almost hit him. Hyak rolled to the side as a laser blew up the wall, the super-heated plasma scorching the stone.

Regret turned to deal with John, but a dagger was in his throat the moment he did. Master Chief twisted it and dragged, killing the Prophet instantly. The young 'Vadam scowled at having failed his mission, but an explosion grabbed his attention.

"You might want to run," John said, pulling Hyak to his feet and handing over the helmet. He began to run, and Hyak followed, glaring at the demon. A few cries from his right told him that the Phantom was gone, the Sangheili crew inside gone with it. John ran in the other direction, and Hyak ran past, right off the structure and into the water.

In most cases, a member of the Covenant that entered deep water was as good as dead. Hyak, however, had an advantage from being a human. The structure began to crumble as a blast of white light engulfed it from the inside out. John dove into the water as the structure exploded, and a piece of debris hit the Spartan's head, and he began to sink down.

Hyak chuckled, but something grabbed his leg, pulling him under as well.

(Third Person, with Rose)

Rose sighed, tapping her fingers on the hard wall. She wasn't alone in the cell, of course, as some of her fellow marines had been captured recently and she'd been tossed into the same cell. Sadly, the marines were all guys, including the one she'd punched a while back.

"Damn it! Why is it that of all the people these hinge heads had to capture first, it happened to be our lot," a marine cried out, bashing his head into a wall painfully. Another marine snickered, relaxing as though there was nothing to worry about.

"Hey, be glad that we aren't dead yet. We still have a chance to fight if we ever get out of this cell," the relaxed marine said.

Rose rolled her eyes, walking over to the plasma bars of the cell. She could see other cells with marines in them, but they weren't who she was looking for.

An elite guard passed her cell, muttering something in its natural tongue. It glanced at her with its beady yellow eyes, snorting a little. The alien warrior continued its rounds, leaving her be. Rose noticed the entrance to the holding area open up, and another elite, far more familiar, walked in.

The Arbiter looked around at all the humans that were being held captive, and caught sight of Rose quickly. He cocked his head, approaching the cell she was in with several other humans.

"Haven't seen you for a while," Rose muttered so the guard wouldn't hear.

"I'm assuming my son is in the fray if you are here. It's not a surprise he was called out as soon as I was returning. The Hierarchs prefer that at least one of us is fighting at any moment."

Rose shrugged, looking at the other marines in her cell. They were all in shock, but from the almost fluent English the elite was speaking, or from the fact that she was talking to it, she couldn't tell. She didn't really care, though.

One of the marines opened his mouth to say something, and Rose shot him a death threat with one look. "Don't say anything right now. I'll explain it to you guys later." She turned back to the Arbiter, who was cocking his head once more. "They'll be used to the initial shock soon. At least, I think. Anyways, mind getting me out of here for now?"

Thel snorted, stepping back a little. "I was not the one watching you. I have no business with you except Hyak." He looked over to the guard and nodded, walking out of the area as though nothing had happened.

"Okay, what the hell was that," the marine Rose had punched asked. He still had quite a bruise from her fist.

"Let's just say his son happens to like me for some reason."

"Really? A split lip likes a human like us? That's a laugh." Rose scowled, balling up a fist. The marines all cowered a little in fear of the fist.

"He happens to be a human like us. It's a long story, so don't bother asking. And he happens to think that he was abandoned by his parents. That guy was his adoptive father, who killed Hyak's parents. So, now Hyak wants to kill us all in revenge, even though he didn't kill me."

She paused, looking at the marines, who seemed to be thinking about something.

"I thought that it was a rumor, a human in the Covenant," one of the marines who hadn't spoken the entire time finally muttered. "Who knew that a hinge jaw would actually take in a human!"

Me: Oh dear god. Rose must be feeling really weird right now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! But, someone please help get rid of this thing!

Gravemind: Be quiet, human. I could easily just kill you right now.