Ok I have no idea why but this was supposed to be out like three weeks ago but I'm just realizing now that it was never uploaded for some reason or another, I have no idea how that happened but hey, at least you get an earily chapter this time eh.

Despite all the training, all the experience, everything that he has been through his whole life. John Spartan 117 froze in place as he looked at the scene that just unfolded before him, he was crouched behind some cover as he saw Sam get taken out by the Godfall target that used Alt to do it. It was all over so quickly that he didn't have time to react before he was gone. He could have made out some splashes of blood that hovered in the air just around the spot his body was before they dropped to the ground.

He stayed in place, kneeling behind some cover as he stayed still, staring at those specks of blood on the ground. Sam. A friend who has been with them since day one was now gone and it was over so quickly. He did everything he could to try and focus on the fighting happening around them. Something that was reinforced by the sounds of an explosion happening nearby, the shockwave nearly knocking him over as dust and dirt flew over him.

Thankfully it seemed to snap him out of his shock and he quickly turned away from the blood and took his mind back towards the action, he turned up from the cover and aimed his weapon. The Godfall target was standing still in the middle of the large courtyard and to be completely honest, he didn't seem concerned with the rest of them, at least to John's eyes at least. While he wanted to bring this target down, he knew well enough that the only one who could do that was Alt, assuming he was able to control himself enough to fight properly. It was then that he made a promise to himself that when this was over, he was going to reprimand Alt in every way he knew how until he understood just how badly losing his cool went for them.

He turned away from the Godfall target and instead turned his attention to the other enemies who only seemed to grow bolder and bolder with the arrival of their leader. They had started to leave their cover and advance towards them, something that was starting to work due to most of the defenders focusing on the one person they couldn't do anything against. So John thought that it would be best to start leading by example. He turned right and started to fire at the first exposed enemy he could see. An Elite was sprinting across the open warzone along with many others of its kind as they tried to reach their defences before they could be fired upon. Knowing that it should be an easy kill, John opened fire and aimed for the exposed parts of the armour near the joints, to his surprise and gratitude. The bullets ripped through the skin of the alien and it went down without issue, allowing the Spartan to spread his fire and do the same to others.

With a single mag, he was able to bring down four Elites who tried to cross the warzone to reach them and with that, he noticed that others around him started to do the same. All around him, the human defenders started turning their sights away from the Godfall target and towards the enemies they could kill.

Just as well too, as the target started to look around and see what they were doing, it seemed like he was about to jump into the fight himself but was stopped by Alt who just now re-joined the fight—going straight for the target.

Captain Woods of the UNSC Scorned held onto the table as he tried to keep his footing, he ignored the large fire that was taking place right next to his head and instead focused on what he could do, ever since that SlipSpace rupture his and he assumed his last surviving partner ship the UNSC Frostbite was running on their emergency backup power. It was a miracle that they were able to stay in the air and not crash into the city below them.

The only good thing he could think of at the moment was that the enemy Corvettes didn't seem to be fairing any better than them. That much was easy to see based on how the ships were floating in the air on a tilt and almost seemed to be wobbling, not having stabled themselves yet since the blast, not too surprising considering how close they were to it. He would love to take advantage of that and bring them down while they were distracted but he just couldn't, with only backup power the MAC was offline and the standard ship-to-fighter rail guns wouldn't be enough to do the damage needed to bring them down.

For now, all they could do was try and help on the ground as best they were able and try to get a radio back up and running, easier said than done when half of his ship was on fire. To make matters even worse, without any type of communication, they wouldn't be able to help those on the ground due to not knowing where everyone was. They had access to the Friend or Foe tags from the ground but that didn't cover all of the local militia who were fighting with them.

So, this was all he could do "Captain!" a voice called from his left "The Frostbites engines are about to go critical!"

"Use the Starboard thrusters! Put us between them and the enemy firing line, we should last longer!" the other was quickly given and put into effect "Does anyone have word on Atlas or Admiral Cole's fleet?!" he asked loudly.

"Negative sir, we've lost all radio contact! However, based on increased ground activity and damage to structures, we can guess that Atlas is on the ground" another voice called to him.

'Well that was something at least' he thought to himself. When he heard that Godfall was active he damn near shit himself but with Atlas down there then at least they had a chance of making it. He's never felt so helpless "Continue fire on the enemy ships! And get those fucking radios working again!" he ordered.

"Every engineer we have is working on it!" a voice called to him but being completely honest that didn't mean much to him right now.

Jorge took some deep breaths as he knelt behind a large dumpster up against the alley wall. The sounds of fighting were as louder than ever and as he slowly moved to peek his head out of the cover, he could make out the enemy troops as they marched forward towards what he knew was the capital building. He couldn't see nearly two dozen of them that were marching forward.

Despite the fact they were hidden by the cover of the alley, he knew that he couldn't just march out and start spraying bullets, he would only get one or two kills before he was brought down from both his left and right. As much as he hated to do it, he had to wait until the enemy passed them. Then they would move out and take them from behind, something that was even easier due to the lack of any tech they would have had.

Slowly he kneeled back down behind his cover and looked at the others who stood with him, the Militia were all pushed up against the wall with their eyes wide and hands shaking in fear as they looked over the cover towards the enemy, the ODSTs were in front of them on one knee just waiting for the signal to move forward on his word. Turning to the man closest to him, despite all the fighting that has happened already he watched as his hand was pulled away from his weapon and held it in front of him shaking as it did so.

He was well aware of how war can affect someone but seeing it happen so far into a battle that was still going on, was odd. He removed one hand from his weapon and placed it on the shoulder of the man, applying just enough pressure to snap the man out of whatever shock he seemed to be in. The man turned his head to look at the larger man and as he stared into the helmet of the Spartan, it either snapped him out of it or scarred him enough not to worry about whatever feeling he was having.

Jorge nodded back before he let go and looked out behind cover again, the aliens were still marching but it seemed to be thinning out. He was about to order them to move out but stopped when something caught his eye, in the building opposite them. There was a glint that seemed to be flashing at him. He narrowed his eyes slightly before he made out the sight of a large set of familiar armour.

He couldn't make out the number on the breastplate, not from this distance at least, there was too much in the way. Some glare from the sun, dust being kicked up into the air and even just distance. But he knew the Mjolnir armour when he saw it and he could make out three individuals standing up against the edge of the second-floor window. They were kneeling down and slowly edging their way closer to the edge, though whoever was in front of them was trying to communicate with him. A small number of flashes that went off and on in quick but irregular intervals.

Morse code.

Something every signal Spartan knew by heart, it was something that had to learn during training. Mendez was so set on them knowing it that for one month they could only communicate with it. Jorge looked at the flashing light and quickly read what was said "Jerome-092" the light said.

Jorge was quick to reach for his belt and grab his flashlight, he raised it up in the air and started to signal back "Jorge-052" he said back.

"Atlas is fighting the God fall target, location unknown"

"Solid copy. Flanking manoeuvre to enemy forces" he flashed across the street, taking care not to do it so clearly that the light may catch the attention of the enemy.

"Understood, wait for my signal, we'll provide covering fire" Jerome flashed back to him.

Jorge gave him an agreement signal before lowering his hand and placing the light back on the belt. He quickly turned back around and looked at the others "Ok, we have friendlies on sight" The others all turned to look at him as he spoke, they stopped taking in deep breaths as they listened to him "across the street, second floor. Spartan red team is on sight and ready to help, they'll let us know when the time is right"

He explained to them "Huh" one of the men leaning against the wall and slowly shook his head "Maybe we're not fucked" he spoke, though it seemed more to himself than anyone else.

The man closest to him, whose clothes were mostly torn up at this point let out a sigh "No. We're still fucked" he added before he pushed himself off the wall and clocked his weapon "but we may as well take some more of those fuckers with us eh?" he asked as he looked to Jorge.

As the others heard his words, the ODSTs all stood up "You know what? That might just be the smartest thing you've ever said" one of them added as they all turned to the Spartan.

While he was clearly not happy with what the general message was, if it got them moving then, for now, it will do. The larger man nodded at them all before turning around and grabbing his heavy machine gun, keeping it ready for the signal. His eyes were locked onto the red team and they just waited for the right moment.

The former Colonel now Governor Watts leaned forward against the table with narrowed eyes, both his arms stretched out in front of him, resting against the metal. What was once a holo table that was able to give them real-time information about the battle courtesy of radio communication and radar from the ships hovering above them was now more than a placeholder for paper maps.

He was surrounded by a wide collection of different people, no one staying for more than ten minutes or so before moving out and back into the fight. The reason for that was simpler than one would think, in most cases, it would be expected for those higher in rank to stay in one place and manage as best they could while conveniently safe from the fighting. It was different here for one simple reason, those around him were not UNSC. At least not all of them, there were a handful of different personnel going back and forth as officers and guards, but they were outnumbered by those who were born and bred in this world. In other words, they had been members of the insurrectionists.

At least they were until Atlas first came to them and spoke to Watts for a good long while, even now he remembered almost everything Atlas told him. When he first saw him, Watts was ready to die for his beliefs and if that meant dying at the hands of Atlas then so be it. But what he told him was that all he had to do was look out the window and see the destruction that was being brought upon them. Atlas said this would happen. He said there was something out there in the stars and that they would come for them, would he like to stand alone or with the UNSC?

He served the UNSC and the UEG for most of his life and he left when he saw what they were really like, he hated them, what they did and their hypocrisy and he doubted that would ever change. But by God, he was happy they were here, at the very least for the extra bodies to stand next to their own and soak up some enemy attention.

With another nod from him, the one directly opposite him turned to leave, returning to the fight. The difference between this and every other fight was that this was for their home. Nearly everyone here lived in this city and being a rebel embedded a type of not only patriotism that few others had. Those of a higher rank in his forces would love to fight alongside their friends and family but could not because they needed to coordinate with the other higher-ups now that they had no power, they needed to do it in person and to keep morale up they needed to be seen there as well to let them know that they haven't been abandoned.

"Sir, we're about to lose the Frostbite!" someone called to him and he looked to the doors to see one of his own come in and give the report.

He waited a single moment before replaying "If it goes down tell everyone to remain at their posts, assuming anyone survives the crash which is unlikely! They'd be safer staying in the ship and using it as cover!" he ordered.

"Yes sir!" the man said before turning to leave. He had to admit though, it was oddly nice to be back in charge of the warfront again. There was something nostalgic about being in the chaos of war again, though he wasn't fool enough to enjoy this.

"Do we have any word on Atlas?" he asked no one in particular as he looked at the maps that they used to try and keep themselves updated on the information regarding the war front.

"Sir, the last sighting of Atlas had him engaged…." Someone started to say to him before he was interrupted.

"Sir!" someone shouted as they sprinted into the room, everyone was quick to turn their heads as they looked at the new intruder. Looking at the man who gave him a quick salute, Watts looked at his uniform and saw that he was only a private "I've been given word from the front, it looks like the entire enemy force is coming from the North! I've been sent by Spartan 117 to relay information to all other defensive lines to converge on the northern front!" the man then gave him a quick salute before turning to leave, Watts would normally stop him and get more information but he knew he didn't have time for that now, especially since they lost radio.

Could that have been true though? Could the entire enemy force be North of them? the idea presents him with an idea, something stupid, crazy and something he would never do in any other situation but at this moment he really couldn't think of a reason not to. This was his home, his world and he sure as shit was going to do everything he could to defend it. If the information came from one of the Spartans then it was good enough for him.

With his mind made up he quickly stood up from the table and looked at those around him "I'm going out there" he said to them all and was quick to notice the shocked look on their faces "If the entire enemy horde is in front of us why not go out and meet them? why not do everything we can to stop them here and now? I'm not ordering you all to join me, in fact, I'm not even asking but with the power still out, I'll be better used out there than in here" With that he moved towards the door quickly to grab a rifle on the way out.

He didn't look back as he started to march down the corridors, he didn't need to. He could hear the sounds of increased footsteps behind him, he could feel the crowd that was gathering around him. Without even meaning to he started to pick up the pace, a calming walk turned into a quick march, then a jog. Then as he turned the final corner and saw the blown-open doors and the flashes of weapon fire from the outside, he started to sprint forward towards the chaos of war. As the sunlight hit his skin and he could see it for the first time in a while with his own eyes, he didn't hesitate even for a moment as he raised his weapon and started to fire at the first targets he could see off across the large town square. One of his favourite places.

He could see the shocked look on some faces of the defenders as he and his group charged down the stairs and started to fire at whatever they could. Some he couldn't tell their reactions and some faces he couldn't even see due to the helmets and positions.

One of those people was the large Spartan that was taking cover as he reloaded his weapon, seeing the 177 on his chest plate, Watts was quick to move over towards him and take cover next to him "Spartan! Status!" he shouted as he knelt down beside him with his weapon still raised as he fired at a collection of Jackals.

If the Spartan had any thoughts or feelings about why he was out here then he didn't show it "From what I can tell this is all they have left!" the Spartan told him "I sent a messenger to tell the forces on the other side!" he added.

"Understood!" he added as a grenade went off near them and scattered dust and dirt over the two of them. Though he didn't let that affect him, he kept on firing until his weapon was empty.

He went back behind his cover, doing his best to ignore the loud explosions that were happening above them. No doubt those Frigates were about to go down or take out the enemy and he didn't want to know which it was right now, he had to focus on himself and those around him. That was at least until another sound was heard, it wasn't an explosion like everything else, nor weapon fire around him. It was something else. Something he didn't think he was going to hear again "ABOVE US!" a voice shouted to them.

As one, nearly every head present turned their attention upwards at the sight in the sky. They could make out two figures flying in the air above the city, one was clearly faster than the other, looking like it was beating the other one around while it was helpless, every time they came together they could see a shockwave come from their contact.

No one present knew what was happening but when a voice shouted loud and clear for all to hear, it seemed to seep into their bones "HUMANITY STANDS!"

Atlas's voice may as well have been thunder as everyone present watched as one figure sent the other smashing down into the ground with such speed that they couldn't even hear the impact until after it happened. They all watched as the two beings came down in the middle of the battlefield creating a large dust cloud that spread everywhere.

Watts wished that the fighting ended there but that wasn't the case, it was only a small moment of hesitation before the brown cloud of dust and dirt was filled with the colours of the enemy plasma weapons. They couldn't see a damn thing and that really wasn't helping them when the enemy wanted to get close. If they couldn't see them then they really would be in trouble because when things got physical the aliens had them outclassed in every way, and they would be overrun. They didn't to do something they wouldn't see coming.

"WE RIDE OUT TO MEET THEM!" Watts shouted as he stood up from cover not caring for the rounds of enemy fire that might rip him apart. He knew everyone was looking at him like he was mad, of course, they did, they would be fools to not think that he was "ATLAS IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT CLOUD! WE CANNOT LEAVE HIM ALONE! WE STAND TOGETHER, WE MARCH TOGETHER" all around him he could see many others were starting to stand up around him "BECAUSE MY SOLDIERS DON'T HIDE AWAY FROM IMPOSSIBLE ODDS, BECAUSE MY SOLDIERS AREN'T AFRAID TO STAND IN FRONT OF OTHERS, BECAUSE MY SOLDIERS STAND PROUD AGAINST THE DARKNESS OF SPACE. BECAUSE MY SOLDIERS RAGE!" with that said he vaulted over the concrete cover and sprinted into the cloud of dust and dirt "FOR ERIDANUS! HUMANITY STANDS!"

"HUMANITY STANDS!" everyone else shouted around him as they joined him in this charge.

Ok, all. A quick word real quick, as I'm sure some of you have noticed there has been a large drop in quality for this story recently and I wanted to tell you why. The main reason being is that I've lost a lot of the passion that I had for this project and it doesn't look like it's coming back any time soon, with that being said I have decided to end this story in the next couple of chapters. I'm not going to just stop uploading for this but I'm more so going to end this story in a way that allows me to pick it up again with a type of part 2 situation. When this arc finishes I'll do an epilogue that has a cliffhanger so I want to get back into this story I can later.

Anyway, for now, let me know what you think and I'll see you in the next chapter.