New Hell

Sorry this has been a long time coming, school has definitely taken some priority. Please don't be spiteful towards me :)

I do not own anything Halo related except my OC Rikki!

"Jesus! Look at the way it's been ripped open sir, the insides are all scrambled."

The group crowed around the elites body that one of the marines had pointed out, its four mouth pieces laying open in a never ending scream, pieces of it's armor had been scattered around and torn off. Rikki never felt remorse for her covenant enemies, especially when it came to death, but the scene before her was utterly gruesome, blue blood was spattered over the floor with pieces of entrails mixed in.

"What did this Captain? Certainly not us, I can barely stomach the bastards without having to rip'em open!"

"I...I don't know. Hopefully we'll figure out what the hell is going on in this god awful place. Lets move out marines!"

The marines nodded and followed the lead of Johnson and the Captain without question while Rikki followed in the back, figuring it would be beneficial to everyone to have experienced shooters in the front and rear in case of an ambush, though the odds of that were growing more and more slim with every room of dead covenant they encountered. Fear wouldn't be the correct term to describe how she felt, although that is what most people would immediately jump to considering all the grisly scenes they were passing were unlike anything she had ever seen, no, this was more of a...urge...she had to find the source of the destruction to sate this nagging curiosity she had held ever since they entered the base.

Metal boots clinked against the floor with every step the group took as they ventured deep withing the structure, every noise making one of the marines point their light to try and find the source, breathing short and heart pumping with adrenaline from the thrill, or maybe the risk, of a mission. They came across what seemed to be a type of light bridge, the control panel dim from lack of activity, suddenly sprang to life as the Captain pressed a few indistinct buttons.

"Alright, the bridge is secure. Rikki."

"Sir?"

"I need you to station yourself on this side of the bridge while we check the other side, comm me if there is any troubles."

Something didn't feel right about agreeing with the Captain, a feeling of dread was settling in her stomach, like there was a silent danger about this place that they had yet to encounter. But she knew that if she tried to speak against him he would go across the bridge regardless, so the Agent nodded with a tight lipped expression to try and mask the worry, pulling her rifle from its holster to position at the ready.

"Yes Captain."

"What do you mean she isn't there."

It wasn't spoken as a question but as a stern statement, the Master Chief knew how intimidating he sounded let alone looked, and usually he didn't bother talking in question anymore.

"Um, she never returned sir. After Agent Dusk had left with you on that mission we assumed she was still um...with you sir."

This marine was getting on his nerves. How difficult was it to locate the tracker in her suit? But as much as he was annoyed none of the emotion made it into his voice as he asked the man to give him a location.

"Lets see...about seven hours ago she was reported heading to the rendezvous point where Captain Keyes and his team were waiting, looks like a recon mission to check out a distress signal or something."

"Affirmative, Sierra 117 out."

Silence reigned over the pelican as the spartan fiddled with the rounds and safety lock on his pistol, trying to not think about the obvious and concentrate on the mission at hand, he had to stop Keyes before he did whatever it was that Cortana was afraid of.

"You're awfully quiet..."

"Nothing to talk about."

"...you hurt her feelings you know. She's just trying to understand what's happened to her and why she's suddenly like a spartan...and you hurt her feelings."

"How is that my fault? She disobeyed direct orders and nearly killed herself in the process, it is not acceptable behavior and I am not going to reward her for it."

Cortana stayed silent after that, his nerves were obviously on edge and the subject of Rikki was very touchy at the moment, whether it was from worry or frustration though she would never know. Something was changing inside of the spartan for sure, that much the AI could sense, but whether or not he would let it happen and embrace it was another matter. She had only known John a short while but in that time she had been able to learn so much about him, like he never says he is wrong even when she knows he is, or that he would risk his life to end the war now if he could...or that he was lonely.

As much as he wanted to admit it he held some type of feeling for the Agent, some would call it hate but to her it was concern. She had read up on so much, had absorbed limitless amounts of information, and had concluded that in her own opinion that fate, serendipity, all these things that seemed ridiculous she believed in. As an AI of course she was highly intelligent causing some too believe that she could not possess an opinion, because she was artificial she couldn't think for herself, but Halsey called her special and made sure that it was true. Cortana had always been different from other AI's and was damn proud of it.

"Approaching the drop off zone Chief get ready."

The spartan cocked his rifle and loaded it up onto his back before standing and grabbing a hold of one of the protruding bars, getting ready to hop out of the pelican. The setting was dark and marshy as the aircraft lowered towards the drop off, odd animals sounding off to give the area an eerie feeling all around. A splash of water hit his visor as he jumped out of the pelican and took the three foot drop easily, his knees bending to take the impact, and immediately he pulled out his assault rifle.

"According to the schematics I have from the ring there should be a path that leads directly to the construct the Captain and his team entered, it should be about a mile north-west of your current location. Oh and be on the look out for covenant reinforcements, a ship seemed to have crashed in that area."

"Thanks for the heads up."

Trudging through a marsh really wasn't his ideal setting but then again he wasn't given a choice, but he never had a choice. Not that he honestly cared but choosing wasn't part of his agenda as a soldier, it was always duty first, no questions. But this woman, Rikki, she always had something to say, a comment that she had to throw in. It was obvious that she was suffering from slight depression and trauma but there was something else about her, the way she carried herself was almost timid yet determined at the same time, it was odd seeing as how the two characteristics sort of contradicted each other. He focused on his surroundings once more to try and rid his mind of all these thoughts, taking down a few grunts who seemed to be running from something up on the ridge. Probably got separated from their group.

"Noooo ahhhh!"

Loud little pests. Of course John never felt any type of thrill from killing the covenant only the satisfaction of finishing a mission, feeling happy about killing was a primal emotion that he was trained not to acknowledge and instead focus on situation awareness instead.

"Jackals coming up on your left just past their ship."

Cortana. Always giving him a heads up since day one. The AI had become somewhat of a companion to him over the last month, and she kept her reputation as one of Halsey's most treasured accomplishments by not only getting him out of several sticky situations, but also proving that she wasn't just a program. His grip on the assault rifle tightened as he honed his senses and took out two jackals before ducking behind a large boulder protruding from the ground, not moving as several plasma bolts struck the stone, sending small chunks flying. Switching to a pistol he used precision and a sharp eyes to quickly pop up from behind his cover and take out the last two shield wielding aliens, their screeches echoing in the swamp.

The spartan never took a lot of time to reflect on what he's done and what he was going to do...because there was no reason to reflect. But now, as he climbed up onto a large fallen tree, he contemplated what he would do once he found the Agent along with the Captains group. Should he try and get her suspended for directly disobeying a superiors orders? He felt like yelling at her, something he can't recall ever feeling the urge to do, wanting to tell her that she was acting carelessly by not doing what he had told her. And what about hurting her feelings as Cortana has said he had done? Surely the Agent wasn't really crestfallen about their spat on the bridge...was she? Sure he had felt defensive and lashed out a little hastily but he merely put her in her place. Not stop, now was not the time to get into that all he needed to worry about was finding them alive.

Rikki cursed quietly as multiple targets began to show up on her radar, quickly spreading like wild fire. The covenant must have sent out a second patrol party to come and check the whereabouts of the first, then seeing our pelicans must have assumed that we were also here. Great. Where the hell was Keyes and the others anyways? Maybe she should check the comm. But just as she was about to radio them, the group beat her to the punch with a disturbing and bone chilling cry for help.

"Under attack from an unknown enemy-elp-can't see-all for evac!"

As the transmission came through I could hear the screams of other marines in the background as a fight was breaking out. Where did they come from? No one had passed her to get across the bridge so they must have been waiting, they had walked right into an ambush. Not waiting to try and radio back Dusk took off at breakneck speed towards the blips on her radar, boots clinking against the metal flooring and echoing around the empty hallways while the sound of her breathing was steady and strong inside of her helmet. Corridor after corridor she ran through until she came to a ramp leading downwards into a sealed room, but suddenly the signals that were on the other side began to move, fast. Too fast. Turning away from the door she started at a run once more to keep up with the blipping dots as they moved further through the facility, she had better be careful to watch out for the covenant that were now roaming freely throughout the area lest she wanted to be taken prisoner again.

"Come in Captain, what is your position."

Static.

"Captain Keyes come in, this is Agent Dusk reporting in what is your location!"

Static graced her ears once more and she cursed lowly, growling under her breath and stopping for a moment to get her weapon ready in case she runs into trouble.

Beep beep beep

The noise of the radar continued to beep until suddenly the dot completely disappeared, it was like he had just vanished into thin air!

"Rock nir vulsha. Srem ta tikner."

The voice of an elite could be heard no more than a few yards off, probably in the next room if she had to guess, and Rikki knew that if she didn't leave the facility soon she would be overrun with covenant...no matter if the Captain was still in here or not.

"My ass is so dead after this..."

Activating her cloak she moved into the closest room and let her eyes scan everything, seeing a few grunts setting up a turret in a platform whilst jackals were stationed up by the light bridge. Rikki was about halfway through the room when all of a sudden she heard the oddest noise, almost like a type of squishy squirming type of sound. Then all hell broke loose. These disgusting looking beings began to appear from all corners if the room and descended down upon the unsuspecting covenant like bees to honey, their mangled appendages quickly flaying their opponents and sending them flying across the room. The bodies hitting the wall with a wet noise, their blood painting the floor.

"Wahhhh! Elite need backup!"

She decided that as much as she wanted to observe the scene Rikki could not afford to stand here in case they happened to be able to sense her with my cloak on. Slowly and cautiously she made her way to a green lit door, wincing slightly as it made a shutter noise while opening, and then slipped into another hallway and away from the horror movie like scene the Agent had just witnessed. This wasn't good at all, what the hell happened to the Captain, Johnson and the rest of the marines? Now she was mentally kicking herself for disobeying orders and not simply heading back to the base camp like she had been told by a certain spartan...John. Saying his name made a cool calm wash over her being and made her breathing slow just a fraction, an image of him standing there in his green colored armor with his assault rifle at the ready.

The last things that were said between them were spiteful and anger fueled words. Not that they really meant anything to one another, or so she wanted to think that. This wasn't some fairy tale where two people meet and fall in love, those sort of things just didn't happen...but why did she find herself thinking about what he looked like under his helmet? Were his lips soft and his eyes cold? Foolish thinking. He probably resented her more than the covenant at this point and she couldn't even blame him, all she ever did was become the problem during a mission and then make it worse by trying to fix it.

"Hruk nar tol, froit jeer su!"

The gruff and awfully loud voice of an elite captured her attention and drew her out of her mind just as she was about to walk into a room full of covenant. Luckily they hadn't spotted her yet so she had time to back up quietly and slip into a small adjacent room, feeling more secure in there than she had anywhere else in this gods forsaken place.

"Hello? Any UNSC out there, if you can here me do not approach this base. I repeat do not approach. This is Agent Rikki Dusk and I have encountered an unknown enemy along with a large patrol of covenant. If you come across this unknown enemy do not engage!"

"Chief I'm picking up a signal from Rikki's comm further into the building, she sounds panicked."

"Play it."

It was only a moment later that his comm crackled to life and he heard her voice, the sound gracing his ears like a calming wave in the ocean.

"If you can hear me do not approach this base. I repeat do not approach...unknown enemy...covenant...do not engage!"

It cut in and out at several spots making it difficult to get her full message but one thing was clear to him, he had to find her soon. The spartan had just come across a light bridge that seemed to have the controls crushed so that it could not be shut off.

"The marines signal is just across this bridge and in the next room Chief, tread quietly."

Nodding to Cortana, even if she couldn't see it, he made his way across, weapon at the ready, and walked down another ramp before coming across a door with a code access pad hooked onto it. It was set in the lock position. Odd. But just as he went to hit the unlock code an odd squishing noise drew his attention away, rifle pointing eyes searching, but there was no sign of any life that he or his radar could pick up. Eyes narrowed the Master Chief turned back to the panel and quickly hit the code. As the doors opened a body that must have been slumped against the door fell forwards into the spartans arms that were already reacting, this marine was from Captain Keye's squad. Turning back around with the fallen marine he kept his gun ready in case of an ambush while slowly backing into the room, not letting down his guard for a second until the doors slid shut and locked once more.

"Check his helmet for a recording tape, it might give us some clues."

Cortana's voice was soft as she spoke, she may not have been there but she could still tap into the Master Chief's live feed from his helmet. Even though he was used to it by now she knew that the spartan still felt at least a twinge of pity for his fallen comrades when he came across them.

John nodded and took out the tape from the marines helmet, hesitating so slight that anyone less than himself would have missed it, and then inserted it into his own. As the video played it showed bits of the ride over with Johnson and the Captain, Johnson was playing that classical rock he always loved while the other marines complained. The tape skipped to the group moving through the marsh, looking around almost a bit paranoid, this lights shining through the trees dimly.

"I didn't know Dusk was coming Sir."

"And I didn't know that I had to check in with you on what I did marine. Dusk status report."

The marine with the camera rolling turned towards the tall armored figure that he knew as Rikki's, her helmet visor slightly cracked and the paint muddied and scratched. He hadn't realized that he had been holding his breath until he let out a long sigh of relief, seeing her quelled some of the turmoil that was in his mind.

"Groups of covenant seemed to be entering the construct sir, I'd say now is a better time than any to move in."

Her voice came out strong and sure, unlike how she had been talking to him at the control room with a furious edge.

"Let's move it marines!"

Another skip gave him a view of a dead elite, its armor ripped open with blood and innards spread around the corpse.

"Its insides are scrambled all around, what the hell did this?"

"Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen."

As they finished up examining the mauled alien the group moved towards the light bridge he had come across earlier, except the panel wasn't broken in the video.

"Rikki, I want you to stay at this end of the bridge to make sure we're not walking into an ambush, comm me if there is any trouble."

She didn't answer right away like he would have, there was hesitation in her words and he could tell that she felt like something was wrong.

"...yes sir."

There was only a minute and a half of video left, something was about to happen. As they moved to the door he had just come through the marine argued with the Captain for a moment about opening the door, saying that it may have been locked for a reason and they should follow the covenants moves by leaving. But the Captain was persistent.

"Open the door soldier."

"...Yes sir Captain..."

The light around the doors turned green before quietly sliding open, revealing the room that he know stood in, and the team moved in, scanning the area with weapons at the ready. Nothing seemed out of place and the tape had about 40 seconds left, he began to go over different scenarios before agitation on the tape drew his attention once more.

"Listen!"

The squirming noise he had heard earlier sounded out over the recording and set the group on edge while making the newer marines panic. Then all hell broke loose.

"Get it off me get it off!"

"What the fuck is on his face?!"

"Shit!"

The marine who had been recording turned at the sound of a scuffle and yelled in horror as he saw an odd balloon like parasite trying to attach itself to another marines face.

"Shoot it!"

"There's more!"

Soon the entire room was filled with unknown aliens before the footage completely cut, leaving the Master Chief looking at nothing but static. With a sigh he removed the tape and pocketed it for further inspection before looking around the room, it looked as if no one had even step foot in here before he had, well, besides the few guns that lay off to the side. There didn't seem to be anything in this room that was of any interest maybe if he-

Thump

Turning quickly with his rifle at the ready the spartan honed in on the door immediately, tensing up every time something slammed against it...this was an ambush. He could see the bowing of the door and hear the screeching of the metal as more of the mutants clawed at it, probably sensing him and becoming agitated.

"Let's go."

And right as he uttered this the doors burst forth to unleash a new kind of hell.