Author's Note

Okay, I tried to get this out sooner, then made the mistake of opening Crunchyroll and learning of my newest favorite show in the form of Chainsaw Man. Between that, 40 hour work weeks, and trying to play Elden Ring as a gamer who's bad at those types of games, it's been a long few weeks. The fact that I refuse to look up a guide to help may have something to do with that...

heh...

But I do try to sit down every day and write some paragraphs of the many stories I post here. And this one is one I want to keep pushing myself on.

Uploaded

11/27/2022

LEGEND BELOW

"Chief, that's not a good idea..." = Normal speech.

''You're you, don't let it control you...'' = Normal thoughts.

Chapter 6

Rushing for the Terminus/a shift in Attitude

Rated-M

M rating for blood, eventual entioning of gore and other body parts, and language.

"What do you know about Infinity?" The Spartan's voice echoed out within the confines of the Forerunner site.

After leaving the Cartographer, Chief had made beeline for the terminus on the far side of the complex. There was a large decline in elevation from one building to the next, and he was forced into waiting on an oversized elevator before he could move forward.

Before he'd stepped onto the elevator, he'd passed through a small Forerunner storage room that held odd unused artifacts. He taken the one most useful to him, a portable hard-light shield akin to those Jackals were often seen using. However, this one was deployable and with his suit powering it, he could summon and un-summon it at will.

He wasn't one to look gift horses in the mouth, immediately attaching the tool to his Mjolnir. He'd gain more use out of it then whatever reason it'd been left at the site.

With a brief moment of peace, it had left him to his thoughts, and he couldn't help but ask a question that had come to mind. Cortana had immediately recognized the signal as the UNSC Infinity, yet he'd little clue as to what the Infinity was supposed to be. He was hoping that she'd know just a little more than he, in that department.

He heard the blue woman sigh within his head, letting him know that she likely didn't know much more than he.

"Not much… It was only a prototype when we left. All I know was that it was supposed to be humanity's last stand for survival in case we lost the war." She explained.

"Last stand?" He echoed her previous words.

"If earth was lost, and the UNSC fell, whatever remained of humanity, our best minds, our strongest soldiers, our best pilots, they'd all call Infinity home. It was supposed to vanish and take those remaining of humanity with it." She explained lightly. "Thankfully, I don't think it'll ever come to that. I'm not exactly sure what purpose it serves now, honestly…"

"…" Chief was silent at her explanation. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. He knew that humanity was on the losing side for so long during the war, that he couldn't blame anyone for making a lifeboat project. He just hoped that it hadn't come to that while he had been gone. They were supposed to have had a truce with the Covenant...

"Chief, we should get moving to the terminus…" Cortana tried, pulling his attention back to the objective. His gaze sharpened as the elevator slowed to a stop at the bottom floor. He raised his rifle as the doors slid open, revealing a large open chasm with his destination far across on the other side.

Now, suffice it to say he wasn't objecting to a little bit of walking, and the warthog from before would've been appreciated right about now. But the concern lay within the five phantoms that had been circulating the chasm, two of which were busy dropping off enemy reinforcements at multiple locations across the single lone bridge.

Unfortunately, two of the Banshees that were floating in the area seemed to take notice of his presence.

"Chief, I take it you noticed your fans?" Cortana quipped with a hint of amusement in her tone. He decided then and there that anything was better than hearing her sound so broken again, and he'd take her forced amusement as it was.

"Perhaps now would be a useful time to use your new equipment?" Adam spoke up. The man felt like rolling his eyes, having obviously thought along the same lines. The Spartan snapped his left forearm forwards, a full great-shield of hard light appearing before him to repel the scorching hot globs of plasma the Banshees flung his way.

Luckily for him, a few of those blasts had been sent straight back at the Banshees, knocking one out of the air immediately. The second got a little too cocky for its own good, and hadn't expected the Spartan to drop his shield, tossing a charged plasma grenade at the same time. The resulting explosion tore the small fighter to shrapnel, paving way for the Spartan to move forward.

He leapt off the ledge, using his height advantage to take off the heads of three Jackals before he landed on the bridge below.

"I see now that you are a very proficient soldier." Adam spoke up, commenting on the super soldiers way of handling threats thrown at him.

"Good enough for you?" Cortana asked. Adam was silent for a moment, choosing his words.

"My lady would have eradicated them before they would be allowed to first encroach. However, seeing as you lack any sort of weaponry to allow such an action, I shall congratulate you on your efforts." The robotic A.I. spoke.

The response gave Cortana pause, the blue woman having to consider the implications of the other artificial intelligence's words.

"What sort of weaponry does your, 'lady', have?" Cortana asked, using air quotes at the nickname the A.I. gave the green armored woman.

"Plenty. Are you referring to ballistics? Plasma? High yield explosives? Bombs? Frigid based weaponry? Anti air missiles? Energy based beams? Nuclear?" Adam asked, listing off the basics of the Bounty Hunter's arsenal. Cortana scoffed.

"Funny…" The blue woman sighed, either not believing the other A.I.'s words, or finding them untrue. Either way, Adam didn't speak up again.

Having little part in the conversation, the Chief had been busy clearing a war path across the bridge, currently having ripped a plasma turret off of a Phantom that had decided to go a little too low, allowing the Spartan easy access to its weapon…

Eventually, after clearing his way across the bridge, and ending all Covenant within his path, he approached the door opposite the chasm.

While he waited for it to open, Cortana seemed to become worried about something, if the blue fuzz that suddenly clouded his visor was anything to go off of.

"Chief, the Covenant battle net just lit up. They're ordering all units to converge on the tower." Cortana warned, voice urgent.

He felt a tiny hint of amusement run through his mind. "I guess we got their attention." He stated, taking cover behind the corner of the large ornate doorway. As the Forerunner door opened, he was greeted with the sight of a large rocky green field between him and the tower entrance.

However, more interesting then that, he was greeted with the sight of the remains of a Covenant platoon. Blood and body parts were scattered across the grass, small fires caused by high energy output weaponry were only just now dimming. Small crystalline structures of ice could be seen in multiple places, typically surrounded by pools of blue blood.

"What… happened here?" Cortana breathed, taking in everything picked up by the Spartan's eyes.

"Someone already beat us here…" The man muttered, suddenly on edge. Far above him he saw multiple Phantoms gathering around the base of the tower, all seemingly engaged in combat against something. He watched as one Phantom was ruthlessly assaulted with heavy missiles, blasts that shook the ship's very hull, and he watched with baited breath as it came crashing down, going up in a fiery explosion.

"Who has that kind of firepower?!" Cortana exclaimed, unbelieving of what she was seeing.

Unsure of how to answer, and seeing that all forces in the area had been cleared already, the Chief had quickly made his way towards the tower to assess the situation properly. He was sure to stick low to the ground, lest he become a victim of any potential snipers within the area.

If he was assuming correctly, it couldn't have been anyone else besides Samus atop the towers gateway. He knew she had weapons different then him, but he wasn't aware of their true capabilities.

But, to see her ruthlessly take down a Phantom on her own was sobering, to say the least…

Scared or perhaps aware that the same fate awaited them if they stayed within her range, the remaining two Phantoms backed off, attempting to fire upon her location at a distance. The entire gateway of the tower was illuminated in bright blue plasma, turning the very pathways to molten slag.

"She's going to get herself killed!" Cortana shouted.

"Do not concern yourself with her. My lady can handle herself." Adam spoke up. A wave of pink energy flashed through the area, and it became apparent to the Chief that she'd absorbed an abundance of the attacks sent her way.

Before either the Chief or Cortana could question the legitimacy of the A.I.'s words, they saw a green blur jump out of the smoke, flying through the air. Maniacal laughter could almost be heard from a distance as she soared through the air at speeds.

The Phantom closet to her reeled in reverse, but was ultimately unable to escape as she latched onto its outer hull like a leech. The entire ship was illuminated in pink, energy swirling around the vessel. Moments later it fell from the sky, crashing into the third and final Phantom.

Both ships hit the ground hard enough and at such velocity that all passengers were likely dead on impact.

The Spartan ran up to the crash site, sliding to a stop only a few meters from the last Phantom. In the middle of the smoke stood her figure, red visor glowing through the smoke.

The Spartan however, felt something was off. Instead of jumping down to greet him, she was standing there, gaze glued to him like a predator waiting to strike. Her stance was hunched slightly, head turned to him with an odd tilt to her head.

The Spartan had to resist the urge to step back, knowing full well that look she gave him was anything but friendly.

But it lingered for only a few moments, before the aura around her dissipated and she straightened up.

The green clad Bounty Hunter, after a brief pause, jumped from her perch, landing before him. "I see you made it through the opening. Took you long enough." She observed after a moment, taking note of his rather damaged armor.

She spoke as if everything was fine, but he knew better. From her tense body language, and the crazed look in her eyes, he could tell that her body was actively fighting her. Her hand was radiating a vibrant pink energy, far larger and more powerful than it ever was while on the Forward Unto Dawn. The energy travelled the entire way up her hand, extending up to her bicep. He wasn't sure if that was a side effect of her growing power, or her increasing instability.

He noted with a cold sweat that she'd likely grown much more powerful since they last met. He also noted that her growth had done little in satisfying her wild appetite for power…

"I'm a little worse for wear, but I'll manage." He grunted, readjusting his footing. Cortana felt the unnerved sensation run down the Spartan's spine, displaying just how much he was not comfortable around the alien woman, even at a small distance from her.

An awkward silence settled in between the two, neither seemingly willing to take the initiative to begin a conversation.

Thankfully, Adam chose that time to speak up. "Samus, are you alright?" The words sounding unnatural, even through the robotic tone the A.I. took.

The alien woman's body seemed to grow pensive at the questioning, something that she was quick to cover up. Whether or not she noticed the Spartan's lingering gaze, she quickly turned her attention to Adam.

"I'm fine." She responded shortly, her tone making it clear that it was the end of the conversation.

"Your pulse is elevated dangerously high. I am not inclined to belie-" Adam stated.

"Not now Adam!" She snapped, the sudden outburst silencing the artificial intelligence.

While she argued with the A.I., the Chief took a brief moment to look the woman over. He couldn't help but notice that her sleek and slender waistline had changed, her belly having, dare he say it, grown larger. It was a significant enough of a difference that it was the first thing he'd noticed, and it was enough that her armor had expanded slightly so as to compensate for something.

Was it simply a result of her increased energy intake? Or was it something else entirely?

Something wasn't adding up.

"What are you doing here?" The man finally asked.

"I was planning on stealing a ship and leaving. As you can see, that didn't work." She responded quickly, her voice tinged with hefty amounts of irritation. She likely didn't mean to, but she was coming off a lot more aggressive then she meant to.

"You'll never make it anywhere without a ship capable of warp." He felt the need to point out.

"So they've told me…" She sighed, motioning with her head to somewhere behind her. That was the cue it seemed, as the only remaining Elite and Jackal unit within some distance approached.

"This is who you're traveling with? The Demon?!" The Elite barked, looking aghast.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Samus snapped, turning her gaze on the two aliens. Seeing them lacking the will to respond, she took that as their answer. "Good. Now then, do you have a plan to get off of this planet?" She asked, facing the Chief once more.

Although still worried about her instability, he wasn't going to hesitate telling her the current situation.

"We've received a message from a UNSC ship nearby. The site cartographer is pointing us to the planet's core." The Spartan stated. He could feel the judging gaze the woman gave him.

"You're telling me the planet's hollow?" She asked in open disbelief. She placed her hand on her hip, leaning on her right leg ever so slightly more then her left.

"Seems like it."

"Then what makes you think that your help is inside the planet? The covenant I interrogated told me that they only just gained access to the damn world." She explained shortly. He took notice of her impatience, and her foot having taken on a nonstop motion of repeatedly tapping the ground.

It wasn't something she'd ever done before now…

"Whether or not the Infinity is really here, the signal is coming from inside the planet. If it's not the Infinity, then it must be a relay. From there we plan to reach out to command and request assistance." The man explained.

"Has it occurred to you that it could be a trap?" She asked bluntly.

"The covenant just arrived, they wouldn't have had time to reach the core, much less plant a trap." He replied.

Samus narrowed her eyes in disbelief, but didn't question him again.

Before the discussion could go any further, they were forced to make a plan here and now, seeing as the hostile reinforcements spoken of previously had just arrived above them.

"Forget it! Lead the way." Samus snapped, letting the Chief take the lead. The Chief glanced at her with a modicum of concern, taking note of her difference in attitude compared to their time together on the Dawn. Back then she was quiet, collected yet afraid, and was determined to tough it out for as long was possible.

But now?

Now she was being short with him, snapping at everything he said. Her body language was all over the place, one minute she was pretending like she was fine, then the next she looked as if she was moments from blowing her top. She went from standing still and seemingly willing to patiently wait as he explained a plan, to rapidly tapping her foot like that patience mentioned before never existed at all. When she took down the Phantoms before, she looked like she was a hairs breadth away from lunging at him, before she gathered herself.

It didn't make sense.

This didn't seem like the calm and collected Bounty Hunter that Adam spoke so highly of…

It seemed more to him that this was someone suffering from something, but he couldn't place what.

Nevertheless, he didn't have time to dwell on it now, as the longer he stood there observing her, the more irritated she became. He was quick to move onto the objective.

The Spartan explained that their objective was to reach the terminus, which just so happened to lie within the tower they had been standing under. And with a much larger group of Phantoms moving for their immediate location, they decided it better to move there first, then plan later.

So, a short run later saw the two green armored figures stepping foot into the Forerunner installation. It wouldn't take long for the Covenant reinforcements to arrive at their destination, so they were quick to move for the inner workings of the building. The two covenant traitors were hot on their heels, struggling to keep pace with the faster members of the group.

Samus ran with a speedy jog compared to the Spartan, the woman seeming to not struggle at all to keep pace with the man. Eventually they reached the end of the hall, the large open Forerunner structure glowing with blues and oranges.

At the end of the hallway was a platform, with only one way. As they got to the elevator, she turned towards the Elite and Jackal. She had originally spared them to use them to acquire their ship, yet before that plan could be achieved, more Phantoms appeared and an all out attack was launched on her. She was forced to take the ships down instead, and had immediately met up with the Spartan afterwards.

With that said, she had no use for their presence any longer, something they'd realized upon the destruction of the Phantoms.

"You two get out of here. Your presence is no longer necessary." She ordered, turning her baleful red gaze on the duo. "Run away or return to your Covenant, I don't care." She said offhandedly, returning to the Chief as he powered the elevator on. "Don't spit on my mercy." She warned dangerously. They didn't need to be told in words just what would happen should they turn against her, or betray her.

They'd seen the reality of that outcome firsthand…

"As you command!" The Elite saluted, quickly taking off before she had a chance to change her mind. The Jackal stayed behind for a moment, staring incredulously up at her red eyed gaze as she was taken away by the elevator. Only once she was gone did she return to her nine foot companion…

The ride was longer than expected, but eventually the two arrived at the top. The platform slowed to a stop, a small shake traveling through the area as it stopped. Before them both was a large doorway, that upon the Master Chief's approach immediately began opening.

Samus stepped forward, flanking the man silently. He wasn't willing to voice the small amount of relief that coursed through his veins as she took the initiative to take point, stepping past him as she scanned the room. He wasn't the biggest fan of having her presence just out of sight, especially with her recent change in mental status.

The Hunter stalked into the room faster than he did, glancing at every which way, making sure that for the moment, they were in the clear.

Before them was a large chasm, yet this one was entirely artificial, existing within the confines of the tower. Floating on either side of the hard light bridge were Forerunner pylons, that reacted oddly to their presence. They hadn't been moving before either of them stepped into the room, but they'd begun shifting in the air once the Chief stepped into the room.

"What is this place?" Samus voiced her question mildly, glancing all around. From prior conversations with the man, she'd deduced that this planet, or at least this tower was part of some ancient hyper advanced civilization that the Master Chief and his version of humanity understood little of. However, as little as they understood about it, it was plenty more than she knew. For all intents and purposes, she was totally in the dark when it came to this.

She couldn't help but compare these ancient Forerunners to the ancient Chozo's of her dimension. To think that the entirety of the Chozo race could've gone this way as well, yet only a small part of them turned towards the advancing of technology. ZDR was her first experience in encountering what could've been if Raven Beak had gained control much sooner then he did…

"From what we learned from the Cartographer, this place is a terminus connecting to other sites on the planet. We are going to use it to make a way to Infinity." The Spartan answered, doing his part to double check the room for any traps. The words she'd spoken to him before had made him rethink waltzing into rooms without being aware of the chance of a trap.

"Oh." She responded mildly, having had her questions answered rather quickly. "A teleportation grid? How do you suppose you'll gain access to it?" She asked quietly, her tone having returned to its monotone-esc nature.

The total one eighty in her attitude threw the Spartan for a loop, actually forcing the man to glance at her in question, not that she could see through his visor. She glanced back at him in question, waiting for his response. He glanced down, eyeing her feet.

They weren't tapping impatiently like they were the last time she'd asked him a question.

He blinked, turned back to her visor. "Cortana will break into the subsystems and pave a path forward. Although, with the security on this tower, it may take longer than anticipated." He explained, both of them having finally crossed the bridge. They arrived at the terminal that was likely responsible for controlling the terminus. "Cover me." The Spartan said, turning away as he reached up to pull Cortana from his helmet.

"Hmm." Samus hummed in wordless acknowledgment, turning her attention to the bridge behind them. Her arm cannon shifted, a different weapon system being engaged, the cannon muzzle glowing purple. It wouldn't do well to turn the building they were currently occupying into molten slag with a volley of Plasma Beam rounds. Super missiles would likely also not be the wisest idea, so she tuned down the firepower, instead switching to the Wave Beam. This would at least allow her to stun large groups of threats without resulting in devastating damage to the surrounding area.

She took her stance, cannon aimed at the entrance to the chamber. There was only one way a threat could approach from.

While she stood guard, the man inserted Cortana into the terminal. The blue bodied woman appeared atop the terminal, holograms and displays appearing alongside her as she delved into the system.

"According to the Cathedral, this terminus is just one node of a larger transit grid that spans the entire… planet…" Cortana started, explaining her early findings upon gaining some level of access into the subsystems. However, she trailed off near the end, her eyes widened slightly.

The Spartan noticed. "What?" He questioned.

"When I tried to access the outlet closest to Infinity's transmission, the system responded with this." She explained, motioning to a large sigil that appeared before them. The man didn't make anything of it.

"What is it?" He voiced his question quickly. Standing around wasn't going to get them anywhere.

She turned back to him. "That's the kicker. It's the Forerunner symbol for Reclaimer." She explained. The man's eyes widened, glancing away as he was struck with a realization.

"Humanity." He said, almost to himself. He faced Cortana again. "That's got to be Infinity." He said assuredly. "Can you make a portal to get us there?" He asked.

"Hold on." She muttered. Her hands waved over the terminal, eyes flashing as she broke into the systems controlling the portal transit grid.

"Chief…?" The Spartan's attention was drawn to the woman behind him as she called his name, her voice concerned. He turned around, eyeing the pylons mentioned before. Every single one of them had suddenly activated, glowing blue.

"Cortana?" He voiced.

"C-Chief, I don't… I've got multiple defense systems activating!" She said, slightly panicked.

"Set a waypoint out of here." He ordered, glancing around as the pylon seemed to summon some sort of Forerunner androids or large artificial defensive creatures.

And there was easily over thirty of them surrounding them within seconds.

"Cortana?" He voiced again, more urgently than before.

"Chief! What's your call?" Samus hissed, muzzle glowing hot with energy she could fire off at a moment's notice.

Before they could act, a portal suddenly opened before the Bounty Hunter.

"How did-? Q-Quick! Into that portal!" Cortana exclaimed. The Spartan quickly gathered her, placing her chip in his helmet. He snapped his attention to the side as one of the creatures jumped towards him. "Chief! Go!!" An orb of hot purple energy wizzed past the man, slamming into the creature as it tried to stop him. The man didn't hesitate to throw himself into the portal, Samus following suit moments after…

Chapter

6

End