(A/N) Hey guys, sorry about the lack of update on Saturday, unfortunately it turned out that we were missing a chapter, but we're going to have to move on. Thankfully, with a few edits we've been able to fix the continuity, so everything should be okay! Our next update will be on Wednesday, hopefully, and will begin our seventh round of chapters, which we also be the last ones for Phase One: Genesis. You know what that means, right? We're nearing the end!

Enjoy!


Chapter Eighty-Four - Darkest Shades of Red

Agent Maine

Written by Jerem6401


"It's one thing to fight for what you believe in, another thing to fight for what others believe in." – James Wolcott


"Soldier," a voice spoke. Maine looked down at his hands. Blood was staining his palms, dripping off of his fingers and sinking into the dark soil below. His grey UNSC uniform was tattered and charred, with some pieces still falling away. "Soldier?" Maine looked up a bit, at the body lying in front of him. Then the next body, and the next, until a sea of fallen enemy soldiers were in his view. Some still had their hands tied behind their backs, and others were stripped down to nothing but boxers and a tank top.

"Soldier," Maine's teammate spoke, almost in a whisper. "What have you done?" Maine's hands started to shake. The world was all too clear when he wasn't blinded by rage. "They surrendered… they were POWs…" Maine suddenly snapped his head around and glared at the solider standing behind him. But this wasn't just one soldier. Maine's entire platoon stood there in silence, staring at the bodies and their comrade… covered in the blood of those helpless men. Maine took some deep breaths before looking down at his hands again. "What are you, soldier?"

Maine closed his eyes. A gift… he told himself. That's what they called his condition. A gift. Maine opened his eyes again. He thought he felt a tear rolling down his face, but he knew it wasn't. He had never cried before in his life. Just another drop of blood leaking down his tainted face, no doubt. But not sadness. Not regret. Maybe he was incapable of feeling that either. Maine lowered his arms and pushed passed the staring soldiers.

"Cursed…" he said quietly.


"Agent!" another voice shouted. Maine snapped his head up as York ran to him. "Off your ass! We're needed on the bridge, ASAP! Something's gone wrong!" Images of the Covenant attack on the MoI, and the assault on Athos burned in Maine's mind. What could possibly be happening now?

Maine got to his feet and followed York out of the door, only sparing a glance at their newly updated leaderboard, his lips curling into a grimace as he saw his own name next to the big number eleven.

1: Carolina

2: Pennsylvania

3: Wyoming

4: Virginia

5: York

6: Arkansas

7: North Dakota

8: South Dakota

9: Massachusetts

10: Florida

11: Maine

12: California

13: Minnesota

14: Georgia

15: Michigan

16: Alaska.

Trying to shake it out of his head, they ran to the bridge, and eventually ended up alongside Wyoming and Cal, no doubt heading that way as well.

"What's happening?" Cal asked.

"No one knows, old chap," Wyoming quickly retorted. "Seems something is causing quite a ruckus on the ship."

"Which is bad news," Ark added as he joined the group. "Something hitting this close to home is not a good thing."

"Maybe one of the covvies hid out after the first assault," Mich suggested, falling in with the rest.

"No," Maine replied. "All dead. Sure of it." The Freelancers continued down the endless maze of corridors until they burst into the main room of the bridge. The Director paced back and forth in front of the freelancers, glancing up to see the new group had arrived.

"Fall in line!" he yelled. "Now!" Maine, York, Mich, Cal, Ark, and Wyoming all leapt into line with the others. The Director continued to pace as another door opened in the bridge. Killian Jay ran in, along with a few other medics. They were pushing a stretcher holding of the MoI's many engineers. He was bloodied and didn't move an inch. Something had injured this man… badly. Maine stared at the body as it passed by, as did the Director. The Director shook his head in frustration and snapped to his soldiers.

"What's going on?" Carolina asked. "That's the third soldier we've seen down in the past hour."

"There are more casualties than that," the Director stated. "The situation on our hands is dire. The damages you are seeing are being caused by one of your own."

Maine looked down the line of Freelancers. Was the Director really suggesting one of them was killing people? Members of Project Freelancer? "Agent Alaska has escaped from his holding cell in the medical ward. He has since been on a rampage, attacking various personnel on-board the Mother of Invention."

"What?!" Penn yelled. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"He was last spotted leaving the medical bay and heading towards the reactor core of the Mother of Invention," the Director stated. "Carolina and Maine."

Maine looked up as the Director pointed at him. "You two will head there. It's where he will most likely be. The rest of you will split into pairs and search the other areas of the ship. Report in as soon as you find him."

Carolina stepped forward, raising her hand to ask a question. All eyes were on her, but then Maine saw something in his peripheral. He turned his head and was shocked when he saw Penn standing next to the Director. Penn's hands were on the Director's lapel, and he was suspended in the air, helpless in the hands of the giant.

"Penn!" York yelled. "What the hell are..."

"Shut up!" Penn screamed. He turned back to the Director and shoved a finger into his face. "I'm going to the reactor core! Tell me I'm not and Project Freelancer will be over as fast as it started!" The Director remained calm as Penn lowered him to the floor. He brushed himself off and pointed at Maine.

"Agent Maine," he began, "escort Agent Pennsylvania to the reactor core in search for Agent Alaska. The rest of you will await your assignments."

The Director looked up at Penn, baring his teeth a little bit when he spoke. "Dismissed." Penn turned away towards one of the exits, and Maine immediately fell in line behind him. However, just before they had left the room, the Director spoke up behind them. "Oh, and Agent Pennsylvania? If you try a stunt like that again, I'll have your hand removed."

Ignoring his words, the two entered one of the hallways that led to the reactor core and jumped into a full sprint. Maine was desperately trying to keep up, speed not being his strong suit.

"What's your plan?" Maine asked. Penn was silent as they continued forward. Maine didn't even have time to read the signs as they passed them. He was just assuming Penn knew where he was going. They reached a fork in the hallway and Penn finally had to slow down to read where he was headed. As he turned to continue on, Maine grabbed Penn's shoulder and turned him around. "We need a strateg…" Penn's hands shout out and slammed into Maine's chest, pinning him to the wall. Penn growled and pressed Maine into the metal.

"We find Alaska," he said slowly, "and we stop him!" Penn let go of Maine and turned to continue down the hall. Suddenly lights started to form on the hallway as more and more wallspace gave way to panels and dashboards. A metal door slid out of the way as the two stepped into the reactor core.

It was a demented labyrinth of metal grated walkways snaking between giant clear tanks of glowing red liquid, probably emitting ludicrous amounts of radiation. Maine felt like he was standing in Hell itself. The room was extremely hot and bathed in an almost blinding red light. Penn lifted his fist, giving Maine an order to hold up. The two fell silent and listened to every noise happening around them. The reactor room was alive with the sound of machinery, but something else was layered on top of it. Grunts and screams could be heard in the distance, buried within the massive tanks and walkways.

Penn and Maine pushed forward towards the sound. Maine was trying not to lose Penn, who wasn't stopping to make sure they were sticking together. As they rounded another corner the noise suddenly became much louder, and the silhouettes of two men came into view.

"Where is she?!" Alaska shouted. He lifted his fist into the air and slammed it into the engineer's head. His nose had been completely smashed in, and any defining features on his face were covered in blood. This was definitely not the first punch Alaska had delivered. The two were in the middle of a large metal platform that acted as a nexus of different walkways that surrounded it.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" the engineer screamed. "Please! Please stop! I don't know anything!" Alaska ripped the man off the ground and carried him to the railing on the side of the platform. He grabbed the back of the engineer's head and slammed it into the metal railing, denting it. He threw the man to the floor and then pulled out his pistol, aiming it at the engineer's forehead.

"One last chance!" Alaska grunted. "Someone on-board knows where she is! You really expect me to believe you don't!?"

"Alaska!" Penn shouted. Alaska looked up and saw the two Freelancers staring him down. He thought for one moment, before running forward and kicking the engineer like a football. He went sailing through the air towards Penn, who reached out and caught him. Maine ran at Alaska while Penn carefully put the dying man on the floor.

Alaska shot again, but Maine had already shoved his hand out of the way. Alaska threw his fist into Maine's helmet, knocking the behemoth backwards. While Maine was a much larger fighter, Alaska definitely had skill and experience on his side. Maine shook off the attack and clenched his fists.

"Surrender!" he growled. Alaska ignored the beast and ran in throwing several attacks into Maine's forearms, which he was using to shield further damage to his head. Alaska dropped to the floor and swept out Maine's legs, dropping the giant to his back, before flipping up to his feet again. Alaska dropped a knee into the centre of Maine's chest, pinning him to the floor, and began landing haymakers on the domed visor before him. Maine's head snapped back and forth with each blow. Suddenly vision began blurring for Maine, and everything was beginning to black out. Maine reached his hand into the air, feeling for whatever he could. The world was splitting into twos and fours, and trying to get a solid strike on Alaska wouldn't be easy.

Finally Maine got a grip on Alaska's shoulder. He used the reference to launch his other hand up and smash Alaska in the side of the head, knocking the red Freelancer to the ground. Maine was still reeling from the assault, but knew this was his chance. He quickly pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the back of Alaska's armour. He ripped him from the ground and launched him into the railing, denting it. As Alaska bounced off the metal, he was met with Maine's boot, which slammed him through the thick metal bar and into one of the glowing red tanks behind him. The glass cracked and suddenly Maine's head was filled with a loud beeping. His suit was detecting that radiation was leaking into the air around them, contaminating them.

"Five minutes until radioactive overdose," his suit spoke. Maine ripped Alaska off of the tank and threw him to the floor. His fury was building, becoming that blinding rage he was so used to. Alaska picked his pistol up off the floor and rolled onto his back, aiming it at Maine again. Maine dove forward, taking a bullet in the shoulder as he went. He grabbed Alaska's pistol and slammed his foot down onto his visor. Alaska's hands fell from the pistol as his helmet flew off of his head. Maine growled and rotated the magnum, pointing it directly at Alaska's forehead. The rage continued to grow, and voices inside Maine's head were screaming.

"Do it! DO IT!" Maine lined up his shot and slowly squeezed the trigger. Just before he felt the bullet leave the chamber, something collided with Maine's face. Maine's visor shattered, sending small yellow pieces of glass in all directions and making his shot fire wildly into the distance. Penn's fist buried itself into Maine's head, knocking the monster to the ground. Penn knelt down and wrapped his massive hand around Maine's throat, cutting off his air supply in seconds.

"Two minutes until radioactive overdose," the suit screamed again. "Suit containment is breached. Radioactive particles are now in direct contact with skin." Maine's eyes were burning as the radioactive air around him started to seep into his flesh. Penn's grip was tightening as he pressed Maine further into the grating.

"We take him alive!" Penn growled. He finally released Maine and turned around, seeing Alaska getting to his feet. Alaska was shaky as he balled his hands into fists. He was constantly stumbling to his sides, trying to keep his balance.

"C'mon!" he yelled. "You were probably in on it, too! You know where they took her, don't you! You were there!" Penn closed his eyes and sighed, slowly shaking his head. "How dare you, Penn! How could you do this to me?! We were supposed to be partners!"

Penn opened his eyes again and took a step forward. Alaska tensed up and got ready to fight. Maine looked up off the ground just in time to see Alaska leap into the air towards Penn. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MY FRIEN…"

Penn's fist shot out and slammed into Alaska's cheek. A tooth rocketed from his mouth, followed by a stream of crimson. Alaska spun in the air and fell in a heap on the floor. Penn stepped forward and stood over his body, staring down at his fallen ally. He took some deep breaths and then knelt down to pick Alaska up.

"Thirty seconds until radioactive overdose," Maine's suit spoke. Maine got to his feet and shook his head, trying to get his vision to return to normal.

"Need to leave," he stated. "Now!" Penn nodded and threw Alaska over his shoulder. Maine reached to his helmet and pressed a button on the side, just under the shattered visor. "This is Maine. Alaska is in custody." Penn was already exiting the area, so Maine figured as much to follow close behind.

"Well done, agents," the Director complimented. "Bring him to the medical ward. He will need to be locked in solitary confinement until we can diagnose his condition. You have proven yourselves today. I am very pleased with your performance." Maine nodded and shut his radio, not trying to interrupt Penn, who was now talking into the radio as well. Or was he? Maine stepped closer hearing Penn talking to, presumably, himself.

"Like I give a shit what you think," he muttered. Maine titled his head as they exited the reactor room.

"Thought you only cared about what the Director says," he spoke to Penn. Penn stopped in his tracks and remained silent for a moment. "Project Freelancer. The scoreboard." Penn slowly turned around and stared into Maine's eyes. He took a step towards him, leaning in so he could speak in a low growl.

"I'm carrying the only man I've ever trusted over my shoulder… and all I'm thinking about my place on that fucking scoreboard." Penn turned back and continued down the hall. Maine didn't follow this time, and instead let Penn get his distance before he called back to Maine again.

"Think about that… and then ask me how I feel about this project and its Director."