Chapter 15: Hope

The trio hunting down Aria stopped at a manhole indicated by Church. He pointed to the object and said. "This should lead to the sewer system."

"She decided to set up base in the sewer?" Chloe pondered having felt a shudder at the thought. Carolina crossed her arms and said. "How charming."

"We don't know for sure," Alex clamped his hands on both sides of the grate. "For all we know, this could be another dead end search."

"Let's hope it's not," Carolina bent down to help him out as did Chloe. The three lifted the manhole together and dragged it to the side. Alex looked into the dark hole and looked at the other two. "So, who wants to do the honors, ladies first?"

"Yeah, no," Chloe laughed pushing him closer to the hole. Carolina smirked underneath the helmet and threw her arms up stepping away from the two. Alex breathed out a sigh. "Great, thanks for sending me into the scary hole first guys."

Oh, if only Donut were here, said Church to Carolina. "Yeah, he does love his holes."

"What?" Chloe stared up with a freaked out expression. Carolina quickly moved to correct the misunderstanding. "I was talking with Church about someone else."

Alex climbed all the way to the bottom and activated the light on his gauntlet. He looked from left to right. It was a long outstretched thin hallway with the damp smell of the sewer water invading his nasals. He pointed the light upwards towards the women and motioned for them to follow. As Chloe entered, Carolina received a much needed call. Church displayed the holographic video screen in which Washington's face appeared in his classic colors. "Wash, am I ever happy to see you and the rest to."

"Well hearing that tune makes it worth it coming all the way to Earth," he laughed and then got down to business. "So we need a situation status Carolina. We need to know what is happening down there before we drop in."

"Dropping in is no longer a valid option."

"Why?" asked Tucker stepping up beside Wash. He pushed the aqua soldier to the side and asked the same as him. Carolina told Church to transmit the carrier Pelicans data. "See that? Those are enemy Pelicans each carrying a nuclear bomb. One was already detonated over South USA."

"Oh shit," whispered Tucker and the rest of the BGC looked in horror. They all wondered if they arrived too late. Carolina however continued to explain the situation in an effort to have them take action quickly. "There are still bombs in the air that have yet to be detonated. You will need take care of those first before doing anything else. If not, the bombs may explode all around the world causing even greater loss of life on a global scale."

"Can't you guys do anything about it on your end?" asked Simmons. Carolina shook her head. "Unfortunately not, anything we may even attempt to do will result in the detonation of the bombs. The enemy leader has the hands of the governments tied behind their backs."

"I have an idea guys," Muffins raised a finger in the air and waited for a response. As some time went by he strained one eye staring at the BGC. Tucker looked at the rest and said. "Hmm, you know I'm too afraid to even ask…but what is it?"

"We have Pelicans. We have the equipment needed to cut through the roof of the carrier planes as well as some rope and clamps to rob the cargo right out from underneath their evil bums…"

The BGC looked at one another with Lopez saying. "[You have done crazy things before. I didn't care then because I wasn't involved. Now that I'm, I say you are fucking insane.]"

O'Malley on the other hand seemed to be having a hell of a time. "Mwhahaha! You crazy, I like."

"Well, if you guys do execute this over the top action hero explosive plan that would give a certain movie director the orgasm of his life," Church displayed a few coordinates and swiped them to the right. The notifications on the UNSC ships raised an alert and the BGC looked closely into them. "I figure you will need those. That's the last known coordinates. Even if the ships move, they shouldn't move that far away. I have also included the direction the ships are headed in to make things easier for you. You better move fast."

"Thanks Church," said Tucker as the video went blank.

In a state just outside of the blast radius, in one heavily populated city many civilians were being evacuated to shelters. As the underground shelters became full, the government started asking for any businesses that could lend a hand. From several shops and buildings, large lines of civilians extended all itching to get to safety. In the line were a father and his only son waiting anxiously to take shelter. The boy held a ball of rather slippery nature as it slipped up from his arms and went bouncing about further away. The boy chased, as did the father. "Don't go!"

The boy was determined to retrieve his prized gift from his father that he received at a very young age. The father turned a corner following the kid and saw the boy finally reach the ball. As the child picked it up, the father ran up and picked him up almost shouting at him. "Don't run off like that ever again, do you even know how worried I was?"

The boy looked down clearly reflecting on his actions. But an orange fiery gaze caught his eye and pointed to the sky. "What is that daddy?"

The father looked in the direction of the finger and his eyes widened. From the sky there were several orange and smoky objects seemingly descending towards surface. It couldn't be more nuclear bombs, could it? He began rushing back to the shelter's line all the while keeping his attention divided between the road and the objects in the sky. Upon closer inspection, he realized that these objects were descending from the atmosphere, something that would contradict anything the Cradle of Hope has said before. So then what could it be?

The city wide alarms raised greater concern in him. As the battles throughout the streets raged on, the alarms told him that the fight was getting closer. With no time to waste, he immediately got to work on running towards a shelter at top speeds.

Aboard the UNSC ships, Washington ensured his message was heard by all. "This is it. We are going to be going down to Earth via the drop pods. So be sure to load up for the big fight ahead. This is where your training will pay off."

"Drop pods, seriously?" Simmons groaned in fear. "I have barely had any training on them."

"It's not that hard bro," Tucker mused. "You just gotta fondle a bunch of joy sticks is all."

"Okay, I don't even want to imagine it," Simmons answered turning towards a corner. Idaho standing behind Simmons gave him a good fright. "Well you weren't there in the ice base with us, but I can attest that it can be pretty spanking difficult for some people. It can even be a life challenge for a few."

Iowa noticed Idaho's gaze. "What?"

"Nothing, just recalling some memories…unpleasant memories…"

The orange soldier walked up to his fellow Chorus soldiers and asked. "Hey Bitters, Matthews, would you two want to squad up?"

"It will be my pleasure!" Matthews noted. "Finally a chance to fight with Grif in battle."

"And I can show you that I don't just eat, I am also a pretty useful soldier," said Bitters. But his act was quickly busted as Matthews snatched a hidden snack bar from the back of Bitters' belt. "So what is this then hmm?"

Simmons clapped his hands excited for their descent upon a very important realization. "I finally get to lead troops into battle, imagine that, I get to be a leader!"

"Well Simmons," Sarge rested a palm on Simmons' shoulder calming him down. "If you ever need advice, I am always here for you."

"Ha, you Sarge?" Tucker nearly burst out into a fit of laughter. "I think Caboose is better equipped to give advice. I don't think advice from a guy who would constantly lose his flag over to us so easily is equipped to give any in the first place."

Sarge waved his fist at him with a grunt. "Why I oughta-"

"I'm looking forward to this field trip!" Caboose shouted holding up his arms. "It will be the best field trip ever of all time with my ice planet buddies!"

Terrill took out a small bottle of whiskey, and with caution he passed it around to his crew. They all took a little sip for good luck. "Here is hoping to see you all in our bar someday."

"And to kicking some serious ass all the way to victory down there," added Idaho to which they all gladly agreed. Andersmith looked at Caboose with glimmer in his eyes. He held his hands together but quickly assumed a military stance upon noticing Caboose's gaze. "Sir, it will be my great honor to serve under you once again in battle."

"Yes, and then once we are done with the fighting, I shall erect that Kool aid fountain I said I would before," Caboose said with a proud chest. "Then we may drink out of it together!"

Palomo stared at the holographic image of Jenson with the feelings of a parent rising strong. He runs his finger upon Jenson's cheek and promises. "I will get home to my family."

"Don't be so nervous man," Tucker bumped shoulders with the Chorus soldier. "I will make sure you get back home. Plus if she finds out that we were in the same squad, and I didn't get you home safe and sound…I'm pretty sure I can say goodbye to certain bits in my southern regions."

The alarm for the next step of their plan went off. Every soldier aboard the ship allocated to ground forces entered the drop pods. Washington sat in one himself making it as cozy as possible. He stretched his neck and cracked his knuckles. He activated the communication screens to the various pods with the BGC and said. "Alright guys, let's make this one hell of a ride to remember."

The Pelicans containing the reds and the blues descended from the skies. The pilots were quick to tail their targets and soon get ahead upon confirming the readiness of their teammates. The pilots looked back and noticed the troops ready. "Clamp the cable to your belts. Make sure that it is fastened on correctly. I don't want anyone going down into the ocean today. Remember, one carries the additional cable for the bomb."

"We got it," replied the many reds and blues. The pilots at the front opened the bay doors and felt the cool rush of the air nearly sweep them of their feet. The air current was strong, had it not been for their gravity boots, they would have gone flying by now. The Cradle of Hope pilots were not too tardy however and pointed up above them to alert their guards. "We might have trouble!"

The reds and the blues jumped out of the plane assuming a straight free fall position. Like bricks they began falling towards the ground, and only adjusted position via their jets to meet the enemy. The enemy soldiers felt the hull shake from an impact on the roof. One of the soldiers nearly opened fire when he was stopped by his partner. "Don't, only fire if the roof tears open. The bullets can bounce around in here."

The invaders to the carriers all looked at the ones with the special attachment of tool cases to their back. They retrieved an iron torch and began cutting through the metal hull. The enemy soldiers inside looked at one another worriedly and trained their weapons on the roof. As the orange line increased in length, the more they sweated. With a loud clang, the roof gave away, the top section flew away and the immediate burst of air threw the guards of their feet. The introduction of the foreign atmosphere to the one in the plane somewhat disturbed the pilots as the planes hovered off balance. The reds and the blues motioned to one another. "Let's move fast people!"

"Be careful to not hit the bomb in there," said the pilots from the friendly planes.

"We know, we know."

Two retrieved their pistols and only fired upon seeing a clear cut opportunity. The one carrying the extra cable quickly attached it around the bomb, shot out the restraints on the floor and opened the bay door. The pilots were quick to notice the robbery. They took out their pistol but quickly receded from firing. The reds and the blues stood behind the bomb acting as their cover. One of the invading soldiers from every squad called to their planes and said. "Alright, reel us in."

Please let this work, the pilots wished upon hitting the pull button on the newly installed winch system. The bomb along with the squads all rushed out from the planes, they all held onto its sides to keep it from experiencing too much turbulence. The pilots tilted the joystick backwards as the Pelican began to rise towards the atmosphere. The reds, blues and the bombs rushed inside the Pelicans nearly upsetting the balance within. The squads quickly checked the stability and gave a thumb up. The pilot breathed out a sigh of relief. "Alright, you guys know the next step of the plan. Let's make it count people!"

Every Pelican escaped Earth and slowly flew past the UNSC defense line. Muffins aboard his ship spoke to the Admiral hoping to ensure the safety of his men. "Can you take in my beautiful men aboard on that sexy metal ship of yours Admiral?"

"Um…of course."

"Lovely," Muffins gripped his hands together lovingly and noted. "I will be sure to repay the favor…hoh hoh."

"No need," and the screen immediately went black. The pilots undid their seatbelts and opened the bay doors. "Everyone ready?"

"Ready like two rabbits ready to breed the whole town down," said one of the reds. The others tilted their head in wonderment. "Whaaat?"

"Exactly."

"Just go," one pilot spoke clearly tired of their antics. Everyone one of them but the pilots flew out towards the UNSC ships. The pilots however had one last task of activating the bombs and ensuring their explosion at a safe distance. As they achieved their task, they too left and landed within the safe confines of the protective shields surrounding the ships. The bombs all exploded in unison creating a firework of orange fiery death and radiation. Inside the UNSC ships, they were greeted by the military personnel who guided them to the transport bay for delivery. Muffins clapped his hands impressed at their handy work and spoke to them through a safe communication. "Great work my boys, now come back so that I may give you a lot of loving and load up in the launching pods."

Church echoed a cry of joy in Carolina's head just as she winced at her now smell coated armor. He appeared beside her proclaiming great news. Carolina rubbed one of her boots on a dry area and asked. "Okay, what is it?"

"The guys took care of the bombs."

"What?" Alex asked raising an eyebrow. Church showed them the map data he was tracking. "See, it's true."

"What if they are using some sort of cloaking technique?" Chloe suggested not wanting to rain on their parade, but at the same time not wanting to get blinded by too much optimism. Church let out a huge groan. "Oh come on, have a little faith and be more optimistic."

"Yeah," Alex grinned towards Carolina still unable to believe it. "This is better than nothing because at this point I was about to start believing in Santa Claus again just so he could come down and give me my Christmas wish early."

"I knew we could count on them," Carolina said lifting her fist in the air. "Even if their entrance was a bit late sadly."

"I have more good news," and all eyes were on Church. He activated the visual displays around the city and any other city he could get access to. "Just watch."

Siris heard his radio stutter. "Hello?"

"Siris," Church spoke to him via one of his multi-tasking subroutines. "I got something good to show you. Look up."

The drop pods released one by one. Simmons patiently watched the data updates roll in rather quickly. "Pods from ship five away, pods from ship three away, pods from ship four are now in atmosphere. Every ship has ejected their pods, now beginning launch sequence of pods in main ship."

Simmons could already feel the vibrations echo from one end to the other as the pod to his far left launched. One by one they exited the safe confines of the ship and into the soundless space. Simmons was the last to go, he felt the hard bump of the launch as he held onto the joy sticks rather tightly. Okay, just fondle the joysticks…oh god that sounds so wrong. He felt the hull cease its shaking, and his sense of direction was quickly subverted. It was only thanks to the equipment on board the pod that he felt his mind be right again. "I swear to god that if we make it out of this guys, I'm just going to be happy in my room working on my secret super computer for the rest of my life now."

He was only met with static. When he looked down below, he noticed that every other pod had entered the stratosphere making communications difficult. His pod began to exude an orange glow from the bottom up. The hull began to shake violently as inside he was being tossed from left to right only kept safe by the seat belt. Oh please make it down below safe and sound, I promise to be nice to Grif…I mean I will try. He saw the friction heat only increase as he entered the atmosphere. The cosmic surroundings turned blue when he entered the sky and broke through the clouds. Okay Joysticks, please work. He eyed the coordinates and just how centered in he was. He twisted the right joystick a little to the left shifting position with the help of in-built jets. He pressed a button that activated the folded metal parachute atop the drop pod. As it shot up into the air, the jets below the pod activated to help slow the speed. As the parachutes wore out, they were released away.

Siris rested a hand above his eyebrows to protect them from the slowly rising sun. Well I will be damned, they are here. Then that would mean that the bombs are no longer active. He raised an arm in the air and said. "Rejoice boys because the bombs are gone! We can fight all out now!"

Simmons looked at the nearing ground and fiddled with the joysticks. He did his best to avoid the buildings in the way but even his limited skills could not keep him from making an adequate entry. He crashed into the side of one, deflected into another and made a hard crash landing standing up and tilted to the side at about a forty five degree angle. Ow, that could have gone exponentially better. He punched the buttons on the top, the sides and the bottom of the pod to undo the hatch. Upon undoing the seatbelt, he felt Earth's gravity for the first time and was surprised by it. He fell down with the hatch and grunted in annoyance. He took out his assault rifle, pistol and rocket launcher from the pod. "Can anyone read me? I've touched down into my assigned landing zone."

"Relax man, no need to be all military like about this," Grif responded giving Simmons a sense of relief. "Except we are the military now Grif."

"Meh, apples and oranges."

The ATSG soldiers overjoyed at the development tracked the smoke to the general area and marked it on their maps. Siris received the coordinates and ordered an immediate search party. "Ensure a safe exit for them from there so that we can coordinate face to face with them here."

"Yes sir!"

Simmons looked around shaking off the dizzy spell and asked. "Where are the rest of the people?"

"All spread throughout the city I imagine," Grif noted with Tucker coming into the mix. "Like I was spread out over that hot pilot chick."

"Really Tucker, really?" Grif asked clearly disappointed by the terrible timing. Tucker simply shook his shoulders at the remark. "Meh, haters will be haters dude."

Siris contacted the leaders of the police army and confirmed their status. "It's safe for you guys to come out now. The bombs are no more and we have new allies coming in from the Red and Blue armies of Project Freelancer, so don't fire at them."

Aria felt her fist tremble with her eyes shot wide open. The bombs have been destroyed, and now they have reinforcements? She gritted her teeth and glared towards the news carrier. "Tell the troops to fight harder, rest less and send in more heavily armored soldiers to lead the charge!"

Other individuals from the pod exited and retrieved their weapons. Washington rubbed the back of his helmet and shook his head. Ow, that was an elegant entrance. He took out his assault rifle and placed his sword to the side. "This is a message to everyone in the city. Rally up at the previously discussed safe zone. There we should be able to meet up with the ATSG soldiers."

As the troops ran to their pinpointed coordinates, they were met with several allies along the way in the name of ATSG. The two sides formed a brotherhood of those fighting for survival, freedom and victory. The ATSG soldiers all guided the reds and the blues to the location of their leader. Along the way every key BGC member caught up and Washington was fast to begin the planning. "Everyone will split into several squads. The squads will be composed of two leaders. Do we have any volunteers?"

"Oh," Donut raised a hand jumping in excitement alongside Caboose. "Pick us!"

"Oh I can already see that being a recipe for disaster going wrong in so many ways," pondered Wash in a subtle whisper. As if the two women were on the same wavelength, Ohio and Sherry raised their hand up in the air and said. "We will volunteer to go as their squad."

"Well that will make me feel a lot more comfortable doing it this way," answered the grey soldier as he watched Sarge look to their Spanish robot. "Lopez, you know I believe in you. So go and protect your comrades!"

"[I will shoot them myself. Just kidding, I will leave them out for the vultures actually.]"

Matthews looked to Bitters and nodded his head in understanding. He looked back to their leader and said. "We are going with Grif."

"That's fine," Washington pointed his finger to a couple of reds and blues. "You guys will go with Grif. Matthews, you are the second leader of the squad. Be ready to lead these guys to victory, it won't be a cake walk."

"Don't you worry," Matthews rubbed the visor where his nose would be and grinned. "Motivation is my name, and exciting people is my game."

"Simmons, Tucker you are together as squad leaders. You will take a squad with you."

Palomo ran up beside Tucker. "This is it Tucker."

"Yeah man, so let's focus on giving it to them hard."

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow," said Palomo getting a disgusted stare from Tucker. "Dude, don't, that's my thing."

"Sarge," Wash looked to his right. "You are with me."

"What should I do?" Doc inquired slightly unnerved by the rocket launcher. However no matter whenever he tried to let go of the thing, he was always stopped by his alter ego. Wash nearly stopped in his tracks surprised at Doc's voice. "Oh ah…I actually kind of forgot you were there…sorry. But you know what? You should go gun crazy on the battlefield, let the O'Malley out from within!"

"Here we are Agent Washington," said one of the ATSG soldier pointing up to the man looking from up above. He smiled with wide spread welcoming arms. He rushed down to the grey leader and held out a hand. Wash took the gesture into a firm handshake. He smiled and rested a palm atop their unison. "It is an honor to meet you, to meet all of you finally."

He looked from one side to the other, and scanned everyone from head to toe. "Carolina has talked about you all so much."

"Where is she?" Wash asked knowing that if he didn't, then Tucker would in a not so considerate voice. Siris activated the live map display and said. "She is with a squad of two other people currently trying to chase down the leader of the terrorist organization. They are a reliable bunch. Here, I will pass on access to you guys so you can keep yourselves up to date on her position."

"We would appreciate that," said the grey agent looking back towards Tucker. "We also hope to make it a priority to chase her down and help her take down their leader."

"Of course, that would be the natural course of action," Siris noted as he explained the overall combat situation for now. "The cop forces combined with ours are managing to hold the line for now. It seems that when you guys took away their toys from the sky, it really hit their motivation hard."

"Good," Wash looked back to the reds and the blues. "We will stick together for now as we move through the front lines. Let's hope that a situation where we need to split up should never come."

As they advanced, they met the first wave of the enemy resistance. The AI fragments were quick to get to work and organize battle plans for their hosts to follow. Washington noticed the considerable performance upgrade since he first saw them. It looks like those hours of rigorous training I put them all through are finally paying off.

"Ma'am, our numbers are dwindling fast," the soldier standing in front of Aria's desk spoke breaking out into a cold sweat. Aria tapped her finger impatiently on her desk and bit her lower lip. So this is what all of it amounts to? Even after all the superior training we gave to them, they are still bested by those who are nothing more than a small thorn in our side. She slammed her fist and glared at the desk. Ever so slowly, she reached out for the communicator and connected herself to the Generals. "I need all of you to be ready."

"You sound more concerned than I would like to hear," Dallas noted treading carefully. Aria flexed her fingers and cracked every muscle in her hand to relieve it of the built up stress. "I want their newly acquired reinforcements to fall at Kai's or Kabira's hand."

"Don't worry," said Kai as Kabira continued. "We will take care of it. If by any chance they do make it past us though, there are Irene and Dallas as well."

"Right," Dallas agreed and Irene simply yawned in her spot. She began humming a tune to herself with a wide innocent smile amidst the sounds of agony on her communicator which connected her to the basic troops. "It's so boring here that it makes me want to fall asleep standing. I hope they make it here soon, I'm curious about our opponents and what tricks they have to play on me."

A/N: Next chapter, the reds and the blues get thrown into the action. Stay tuned folks for now we get into the meat of the final battles.

Constructive criticism/feedback is always welcomed!

Thank you for taking the time to read and support the story/trilogy! :)

~ Monty