"You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war." – Napoleon Bonaparte

Squeezing the trigger of his assault rifle, Six felt the minimal recoil from the weapon as he put lead down range. Round after round slammed into the energy shields of a few Zealots. One of them, who'd grown tired of his presence on the battlefield, roared at him before charging forward as if it were a Brute.

Six weaved to the right and dodged a slash from the Zealot's plasma blade. He then promptly retaliated with a vicious strike with the butt of his rifle to the upper body, causing the weakened shield to overload. With the creature's body now vulnerable, Six emptied the rest of the magazine at point-blank range.

Chunks of flesh and purple blood flew everywhere, staining his armor and visor.

Once the alien was dead, Six didn't have time to waste as the other Zealots weren't going to accept the death of their comrades without a fight.

A pair of Zealots – wearing more ornate crimson armor – rushed him.

Six was forced to be on the defensive temporarily as his main weapon needed to be reloaded. Just as he finished sliding a new magazine into the rifle, a warning popped on his visor. Six managed to step back to avoid the Zealot's downward slash. It followed up with another attack, but the spartan was ready and started peppering the shield with his rifle, forcing the creature back momentarily.

The slight breathing room gave Six time to worry about the other Zealot trying to kill him, and it was a good thing he had a moment to think as he spotted the second one trying to hit him from his side.

The spartan narrowly avoided the super-heated blade as it came within mere inches of where his neck had just been previously.

Six took the opportunity to grab the Zealot's arm, raised his assault rifle, and pulled on the trigger. It's a risky gamble to be so blatant with his ammunition, but it's better than dying to a plasma blade again. In seconds, the MA37 unleashed a torrent of fire at the Zealot, breaking the shield.

Once the shield was finally down, Six resorted to physical force and struck the Zealot across the face.

It left the creature stunned and defenseless.

Six didn't hesitate to fire the last few rounds directly into the Zealot's face. Gore went flying into the air. Some of which splattered onto his armor. With yet another bastard dead, Six focused on the other asshole. He slipped another magazine into his weapon feed.

The Zealot's war cry forced Six to open fire on the incoming creature.

Unfortunately, the plasma blade forced Six to stop firing and start dodging the attacks. Unlike the other ones, this bastard didn't let up in the slightest bit. Then, after spotting the grenades along its side, Six closed the short distance between them and, with a deft hand, activated one of the plasma grenades. But it resulted in Six receiving a powerful blow to the chest.

A strike that sent him flying a few feet away.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The Zealot realized what was making the sound. Desperately, the creature reached down to get rid of the super-heated explosive. Luck, however, was not shining on the Zealot as an explosion engulfed the alien bastard. Six put his hand up to his visor as body parts, plasma, and armor pieces went flying.

Yet another one of their miserable kind was dead.

However, Six couldn't afford to rest. He looked behind him to see how the remaining survivors fighting off the Zealots tasked with killing them. Looks like they wanted to isolate him away from the others. At least, the group – while having lost a number of people – weren't the exactly cannon fodder the Zealots expected them to be. The twins, even in their exhausted state, were doing their best to protect those who couldn't.

'A fighting retreat, huh? Good,' The spartan thought.

It would've been a waste if they tried sticking around to help him.

Six got up from the ground and, right before he was about to run, saw a plasma blade lying in the snow. A thought came to mind. Six picked up the blade and deactivated it. No better way of killing Zealots than using their own weapon against them.

With these creatures dead, Six started heading for the group. He could hear the yells of men and roars of Zealots as the two sides clashed. Powerful streams of water and shards of ice were lobbed at the alien invaders. While their shielding protected them, it couldn't prevent them from being temporarily stunned or thrown back.

He witnessed Gohon turning what was a rock into a flurry of pellets traveling at a high velocity. Not only overloading the shield but managing to turn the Zealot into bloody pieces.

Unfortunately, the success against these formidable warriors wasn't everywhere.

Six witnessed some of the benders making the fatal mistake of letting the Zealots get too close. Those folks got a first-hand taste of what it was like dealing with an Elite in close-quarters combat. The kind of strength, size, and reaction time only out-classed by spartans like himself.

Normal humans, on the other hand, had no way to counter their speed and aggression in this situation.

Six scowled after seeing yet another human being cut in half at the waist by a Zealot. Once the spartan got close enough, he struck the creature from behind with a forearm to the back. However, Six did not let it end there as he grabbed a portion of the armor sticking out and took out Emile's knife. In a single strike, he stabbed through the shield and hit a weak point in the Zealot's armor.

The creature howled in pain.

It was quickly silenced by Six twisting his friend's knife, severing the Zealot's spine in two. A moment later, the Zealot's body went slack. The spartan then let go and allowed the corpse to fall onto the snow-covered ground.

The battle, however, was far from over.

Six worked his way back to the dwindling group. He still silently cursed himself for letting the Zealots separate him from the others. The trail of human bodies stirred up memories of New Alexandria. A day when he truly got to witness how thorough the Covenant was in making sure they slaughtered any and all humans they could find.

A white-hot rage burned inside the spartan as he managed to catch a Zealot by surprise. Six took out his handgun and fired multiple rounds at the alien to weaken the shield. Meanwhile, in his other hand, the spartan activated the plasma blade. With the grace of a raging bull, Six shoulder-checked the Zealot and broke the shield down in a single swoop.

A plasma blade through the chest soon followed.

When the corpse fell to the ground, it was like the unofficial horn being blown to retreat. A Zealot, who was likely the commander of this attack force, yelled in their language. The remaining Zealots activated their cloaking technology and vanished before their eyes.

Six switched over to FLIR to get a beat on the retreating aliens.

'Great,' The lieutenant thought, scowling as he saw nothing to give their position away. 'They finally got around to fixing the whole 'sticking out like a glow stick in the dark' problem their tech has always had.'

He couldn't see them.

Either through thermal imaging or his motion tracker. That was going to severely complicate things in the immediate future if they can't deal with these Zealots soon enough.

"O-Okay," Gohon said, breathing heavily as sweat poured down his face. "Can we not fight these guys again? I...I think I almost died a few times back there. How the heck are you not tired after that?"

His sister nodded, "You...You gotta tell what is it you're taking...because I can barely breathe. They are so fast for creatures so dang big."

Six ignored the question.

"Tend to the wounded quickly. We need to move. Now."

His unofficial orders snapped the twins out of their exhausted state. Both of them – while Harak did put them in charge – responded to his words with a nod. Afterward, they started helping people wherever it was possible.

As for the lieutenant, he walked across the battlefield and checked each of the Zealots. His dark green eyes examined the armor of each corpse, searching for a specific type. However, Six made sure to take one of their carbines as it may prove useful against the Zealots when they return. But, after nearly five minutes, Six clicked his teeth after coming to the realization the one he was looking for wasn't among the dead.

"Damn," He swore under his breath, though not as quietly as he thought.

"What's wrong?" A male voice said from behind him.

Checking over his shoulder, the man with steel-blue eyes was standing nearby. Six dropped the corpse of the last Zealot and shook his head.

"It's not here."

The man scrunched his eyebrows, "What's not here?"

"Zealots are always led by high-ranking leaders. Almost always a field marshall," Six explained. "But I haven't been able to find any ornately gold-plated armor around here."

"So there are more of these...creatures out there?"

Six nodded.

"We need to find them," The man said firmly. "We can't let these monsters take any more lives."

"You won't need to worry about them looking for any other villages to attack," Six retorted, inspecting the carbine and checking the Zealot for any additional cartridges. "Right now, we need to focus on getting you and your people to safety. Besides, after what happened here, they won't be attacking any other villages."

"Why's that?"

"Because now, they've got a new high-priority target…" Six stood back up after looting the body for any weapons he could use for the time being. He saw the confused expression on his face, "In their eyes, I'm the biggest threat to their operation. And now that we've taken to killing their comrades, they'll come at us with even greater numbers. Now, let's get going. We need to warn the others at the outpost."

(X)

The journey back to the small outpost was arduous for everyone involved, even the lieutenant. He knew the short but vicious battle sapped them of their strength. Terror, melancholy, and anger. Emotions an orphan like Six was familiar with during his childhood. It really did make him realize these people have never encountered the Covenant in the past.

For nearly thirty years, humanity has been fighting bitterly for the right to survive as a species. For him to come across people who've never dealt with the greatest threat to their race, it was bizarre to Six.

Still…

Their ragged appearance; it reminded him of those images he witnessed during his time with the Office of Naval Intelligence. In his head flashed pictures of people – carrying what few items they could carry – as they fought to get aboard any transport capable of leaving the planet to flee the fate of every human world; glassing.

Harvest.

Jericho VII.

Reach.

Those names meant something to the people who called those colonies home. Unfortunately, the Covenant didn't care about sentimentalism. All they saw were worlds to be burned, animals to be slaughtered, and an enemy who needed to be wiped from the universe in the name of some holy crusade.

'I hope these people are ready if the presence of Zealots means anything.' Six knew ground forces may not be far behind. It would be like Reach all over again.

Something needed to be done. Unfortunately, other than assisting them in combat and providing what he knew in terms of information about their enemy, there wasn't much he could do when it came to orbital combat. He's only one spartan at the end of the day, not an entire UNSC battlegroup.

"…48 hours? That's imminent?"

Jun's words echoed in his mind. In his situation, Six wishes there was a battlegroup even remotely near this world. Wherever it is in the universe, the spartan hasn't been able to figure it out via constellations.

"What do you know of these monsters, giant?"

"Zealots," Six said, correcting Tonraq. "And they're considered the best warriors of their kind, selected for high-priority missions. Unfortunately, back home, whenever we saw Zealots deployed ground side, this meant only one thing; reinforcements weren't too far behind."

"How many…?"

"More...many more."

Tonraq turned pale, "…Spirits, help us."

Six put a hand on Tonraq's shoulder, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. At the moment, we need to focus on getting you and the wounded back to the outpost. From there, we'll plan our next move."

"Of course," Tonraq said, calming himself down. "It's just...I've never lost this many men in a battle."

"You were ambushed by an enemy you've never encountered before. Be thankful you and any of your men survived. Because I can promise you; the Zealots will be back, not just with greater numbers, but an ever greater desire to kill us all," Six told him bluntly. "So learn something from this battle and prepare yourselves for what comes next."

Tonraq grimaced, "I have a feeling our next fight is sooner than I would like it to be."

"Yes, it's highly likely the Zealots will attack soon."

"I see…I do have to thank you, giant."

"For what?" Six asked.

"Well, for what else? You fought by our side," Tonraq stated, offering his gratitude. "Most men would crumble in the face of such…beasts. I…I'm glad to know a warrior such as yourself is fighting by our side."

Six mulled over his words.

"It's my duty, sir. Nothing more than that."

"…Your duty? It's to fight these monsters?"

"It is." The spartan nodded.

"Well, I can't deny your prowess in combat after seeing you dispatch several of those monsters with your own abilities...and odd weapons." The lieutenant didn't miss the way Tonraq warily eyed the pair of weapons on his back. "I must say I've never encountered anything like them. But they're clearly very...effective."

"Covenant weaponry is advanced. More advanced than what my people use for battle."

Tonraq furrowed his brows, likely lost in thought.

"That's…difficult to imagine, giant."

"We thought the same way…for a time," Six said, remembering the early days of the Human-Covenant War. "Then we learned a harsh lesson; adapt or die."

Those words ended the conversation between the two men. For the rest of the journey back, there was only silence as Six kept his eyes open for any signs of the Zealots. He knew another attack was likely to happen soon. It all depends on how aggressive the field marshall leading these Zealots wants to be.

Unfortunately, given the track record of Covenant leadership in the past, the lieutenant knew an attack was all but guaranteed, especially once those survivors relay his existence to their leadership.

A situation he's going to have to deal with when the time comes. That being said, Six decided to worry about planning a defense of the outpost for when they arrived at the gates.

After several more minutes, the exhausted group found themselves standing at the gates of the outpost, where they waited for it to be open. It didn't take long for a pair of White Lotus guards to notice them.

Their eyes widened.

They moved away from the edge and yelled, "They've returned!"

Six had his back to the gate opening as he scanned for any signs of movement, knowing moments like these were always the most dangerous. The Covenant took pleasure in caroling humans into these types of situations for the opportunity to kill as many of them as possible. Thankfully, they didn't have a tail from the look of things.

Once the gate fully opened up, the survivors trudged inside for all occupants to see. Six remained in the back, but it wasn't hard to miss the looks of shock across the faces of everyone inside the outpost. They all looked pale after seeing the state of those who made it back. However, there was a bright spot in this giant mess.

"Dad!"

Korra ran up to Tonraq and threw herself at him. The scene of them hugging brought a ghost of a smile onto the spartan's face. The moment, however, couldn't last forever.

A familiar but irritating voice ruined it.

"What happened?!"

Six watched the leader of the White Lotus walk right up to him. The man looked completely livid with his face bright red. Harak looked up at him, expecting some sort of an answer.

"During the patrol, we encountered a group of survivors – led by Tonraq – before being ambushed by a contingent of Zealots. Many survivors died, but we managed to drive them back…for now," Six said, emphasizing that last part. "I recommend we prepare ourselves for an enemy assault within the next 24 to 48 hours. I also suspect the enemy leadership may lead this assault personally?"

"Then how do you know an attack is imminent?" Harak questioned, narrowing his eyes. "Or why do you think the enemy leadership would come out to fight?

"I know Zealots. They're prideful, malicious killers and they won't allow the deaths of their comrades to go unanswered, especially once they report my existence. If there's one way that'll whip these things into a frenzy, it's the chance to kill a spartan," Six explained, earning a few raised eyebrows. "So prepare yourselves, because I can't confirm the scale of this next attack."

Harak seemed ready to keep asking questions until Tonraq stepped into the conversation.

"That's enough. Leave him alone. He's done more than any of us could've asked of him today," Tonraq said firmly, looking squarely at Harak. "If it wasn't for him, we all would've been dead."

"Are you forgetting he threatened your daughter, Tonraq?!"

Those steel-blue eyes turned frigid.

"I have not forgotten," He said, glaring at Harak. "However, I am not petty enough to ignore what he's done for not only me but for my men as well. As I said earlier, he's the reason why we survived our encounter with these beasts."

"Even so," Harak protested. "How do we know if this ruffian is…"

"Enough."

Six decided to end this argument now.

"You are not––"

"I don't care," Six cut Harak off. "Unless you have critical information that'll me organize the defense of this outpost from an impending attack, I don't want to hear a word from you. You may be in command of these men, but you do not have operational authority over me. Two of the very people you command can confirm what I'm capable of, and if they did, you'd realize that I could've broken out of that prison of yours whenever I wanted. And in case you have short-term memory, I just saved a group of your people from being hunted and slaughtered like cattle. Now, with that said, I'll give you one warning, if you wish for your people to see tomorrow…"

The spartan lowered his voice, "…Stay…out…of…my…way."

With those final words, Six walked away from the man.

(X)

Within several hours, the sun had fallen behind the horizon, bringing about darkness once more. It was during this time Six was inspecting the carbine rifle he pilfered off the corpse of a Zealot. He checked it for any serious damage and took stock of how much ammunition he had available for the weapon. 'And if I need more, I know a supply of it is on the way,' He thought.

He couldn't resist looking up at the night sky, trying to find the familiar shape of a Covenant warship in orbit. Yet, no matter how hard he looked, there was nothing of the sort.

The lack of any orbital support greatly confused the spartan. His experience told him the alien bastards should've been receiving some form of heavier support like Wraiths, Hunters, and other troops to mope him up.

Something wasn't right.

"What is that thing?"

Six looked down from the clear night sky to see a familiar face standing on the other side of the fire he created; Korra. She was standing with a hand behind her back, pointing at the rifle sitting in his lap.

"A weapon."

"You sure? I've never seen something so…purple," She said, tilting her head to the side. "Why make it that color."

"Ask the Covenant. It's their favorite apparently."

Korra looked confused.

"Never mind," Six said, turning his attention back to the carbine. "Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be busy spending time with your father."

"I was," said Korra. "Then we sorta…kinda…got into an argument."

Six subtly turned back to her.

"He's thinking about sending me away before the fighting starts," Korra admitted, frustrated. "The first time we see each other in years and what does he tell me when we finally get a chance to talk; I need to leave. Ugh, what kind of parent does that to their kid? It's messed up."

Six silently looked at the distraught woman. A moment later, her face turned beet red as their looks met one another.

"I-I did it again, didn't I?" She looked at him with a slightly embarrassed expression. "Spirits, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to dump all of that on you. I just…so much has happened and I couldn't keep it to myself anymore, and, um…um, w-why aren't you saying anything?"

"Am I supposed to?"

It wasn't hard for Six to tell there were some issues between father and daughter. However, whatever was happening between them was irrelevant to him.

"I-I...you're weird."

Six blinked, "I'm weird?"

"Yes, you're weird," Korra said, her face remaining beet red. "I say all those embarrassing things and you just sit there, doing…whatever it is you're doing with those things."

"It's called maintenance."

"Maintenance, why?"

The spartan had a feeling this girl was sheltered from the conversations he'd overheard, but this was just taking it to a whole other level.

"You're familiar with an engine, correct?"

"Kinda," Korra said, gesturing with her hand.

"These weapons, like an engine, are made of multiple mechanical parts; parts that accrue wear and tear over time. I was taught to take care of my weapons and they'll take care of me in combat."

"Ooooh, I see."

"That said, why share your problems with a stranger like me?" Six asked her. "If I remember correctly, I did technically threaten you about two weeks ago. Doesn't make sense to trust a person like me."

"Well I…I-I mean…Ugh, I don't know." She sighed. "Maybe it's because you are just a stranger. People say it's easier to talk about this stuff with someone who doesn't know," Korra said with uncertainty in her voice. "I feel like you're the only one here who treats me like just a person, and…I'm pretty sure it's because you're the only person here who has no clue who I am."

"Who you are?" He asked, stopping in the middle of cleaning the barrel of his rifle.

"Yeah, 'cause I'm…well…I'm the Avatar."

Six stared at her in confusion silently. Other than the crackling of the fire, not a sound was made. That is until Six finally broke it.

"The what?" He asked plainly.

Korra's eyes suddenly widened as she looked at Six. Her mouth opened and closed several times out of surprise.

"…The…the Avatar," She said, eventually managing to get the words out. "I'm…I'm the Avatar. You know about Avatar, right? The reincarnated peacekeeper who can master all the elements? Aang? Roku? Kyoshi?…ringing any bells for ya?"

"No," Six shook his head.

"Seriously?" Korra said, dumbfounded.

Six shrugged his shoulders, "I've got no clue about this…Avatar concept you're talking about."

"Wow," Korra muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. "Okay, that's actually a first for me. Um…I don't know what to say. I...I've never met someone who doesn't know about the Avatar. Well, then again, I really haven't talked to too many people in recent years, and, um…I'm rambling, aren't I?"

The spartan raised his hand and made a universal gesture with his index finger and thumb, leaving a bit of space between them. It was a rare moment of levity from Six.

"Just a little."

"Ugh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not," Korra retorted, her voice muffled after she buried her face in her knees. "I sound like a child who doesn't know how to talk to people. I never thought it would be this awkward."

Six chuckled, "How ironic."

He saw Korra raise her head with a withering glare aimed at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe I'll tell you a story if we live through this situation."

"Really?"

Six nodded.

"Alright, you know, aside from threatening me when we first met, you're not so bad. Maybe a little too blunt and quiet for most people around here, but...you're alright in my book," Korra said with a smile. Though, her smile did lose a bit of its luster. "Especially after what you did for me today."

She looked up at the night sky before continuing.

"If it wasn't for you helping them, I…"

Korra never finished her sentence but it wasn't hard for Six to figure out what she was trying to say.

"Your father's a tough man."

"I know," She whispered, agreeing with him. "Dad's always been the strongest person I've known. But Dad still treats me as if I'm still a little girl. Like I'm helpless. I'm supposed to be the Avatar. Master of the four elements. Bring balance to our world. Yet I haven't been able to make a single puff of wind or get Harak to respect me."

Tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"Look," Six spoke up, catching Korra's attention. "I'm not even going to pretend I understand whatever this Avatar business is about, but what I can say is this; keep fighting. No matter what. Because the moment you give up is the moment when everything comes crashing down. Whether it's out there on the battlefield or even in your own home…at the drop of a hat…you can lose something…someone…even everyone. Your father knows that and he's just trying to protect you, that's all."

He felt the familiar weight of his friends' dog tags around his neck. If Jorge was with him, he suspected the big guy would've said he did the right thing in saying those words.

Whether Six believed it himself was another story entirely.

As for Korra, she hadn't said a word since he started speaking. No, the woman was staring at him with wide, teary eyes. Other than the sound of the crackling fire, there was silence between them.

Only to be broken by her.

"...That's the first time I've heard you say so many words since we've met," Korra said, slightly taken aback. "…I appreciate it. You know, that thing you said earlier about saying this stuff to a stranger...I think it's okay to tell a stranger if they're a good person. Sure, we didn't start on the best terms, but that was kind of on me, I'll admit, and we've gotten to know each other better since then. You came back with my dad, you're helping us defend this outpost, and…well, I'm thinking you're not so bad."

"…Not so bad, huh?" Six said with the smallest hint of snark.

Korra cracked a playful smile at him, "Don't push it, pal. I still want my payback for threatening me."

"Do you?" He asked.

"Uh-huh," Korra said, giving him a look. "How about this? If we live through this; you and me fight."

Six raised a brow and snorted, "You sure about that, Korra."

"Definitely."

"Fine. One match."

"Deal."

When those words left her lips, Six felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Never one to ignore his instincts, the spartan stood up from the ground with his assault rifle in hand, loading it with a fresh magazine. Korra took notice of this and stood from where she was sitting.

"What is it?" She asked, looking at him with concern.

His dark green looked toward the outer walls, focusing on the numerous guards patrolling the top of it. Nothing seemed to be out of the sort until he spotted a familiar but terrible omen; a faint shimmer near the top of the western wall.

He looked at Korra, "Go, now! Warn your father and the others! They're here!"

A moment later, chaos erupted.

Two things to advertise in this chapter.

First, I wanna say thanks to Slayer857 for being a Beta and helping me clean up the stuff in this chapter in terms of grammar and fleshing out some ideas here and there. So I recommend checking the guy out on AO3 and do remember to remove the spaces as well as read his stuff; archiveofourown users / Slayer857 / pseuds / Slayer857

Second, here's a discord link to a server I am somewhat active on. All I will say is if you want a place to talk to people about stuff, have fun, and talk to me if you're interested for some ungodly reason, here's the link to it. Just remove the space.

discord . gg/ wtpQWhsYZN

All I ask is follow the rules and don't be a dick. If you can do that, we'll have a swell time.