Author's Note

Here we are, the end approaches. It's been a wild ride getting to this point, and I hope to continue pleasing everyone reading this!

Uploaded

10/14/2023

LEGEND BELOW

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

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

Chapter 34

The beginning of the end, Part 3

Rated-M

M rating for blood, and language, and violence.

Music of the day

Halo 4 - Arrival

He felt his heart in his throat, armored gloves gripped tightly around the handle of his heavy assault rifle, eyes set firmly on his goal as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He'd come this far, so many sacrificed all along the way, he wouldn't let their deaths be in vain.

The crumpled corpse of the Broadsword was far behind him now, nuke strapped firmly to his backside as he pushed ever onward into the depths of the mobile Forerunner fortress.

Nothing else mattered, nothing at all. He wasn't allowed to fail now, not here, not with what was at stake.

If he failed here, all of Humanity would be doomed.

And…

Perhaps the rest of the galaxy too. With Humanity out of the way, nothing would be left to stand in the way of the Didact. The Covenant would stand by his side as he became the dominant force in the universe, and all would fall under his will, or die.

He couldn't let that happen.

"Cortana, chart a path to the Composer. Give me the quickest route possible." The Spartan grunted lowly, voice strained, tight. His footsteps echoed about across the halls, hard light bullets whizzing past as he dodged the hordes of Promethean's that sought his life.

"T-That's easier said then done Chief…" The woman inside his head muttered frantically, equally worried about the man she'd spent her life battling alongside with, and how in the hell they were going to actually stop the Didact and escape alive.

The fell into a slide, deftly dodging a vaporizing blast from a Knight commander that had attempted to surprise him. Within the blink of an eye he'd pulled out his knife, stabbed it into the chest of the metallic creature and with his significant strength enhancements, forced the commander to fire upon its fellow soldiers. Once he'd cleared the room, he pulled a pulse grenade from his back and shoved it into the back of the Knight, watching it vaporize from its own weapon.

Without even skipping a beat, he was back on the run, scavenging weapons as he ran, no time to waste.

He knew he had even more Promethean's hot on his trail, and he wasn't going to stand around and fight them all day.

"Chief, at the end of this hall is a portal transit grid. G-G-Get me inside a terminal and I'll move us v-closer to the c-cnnmmmzzzz-composer!" Cortana suddenly chimed in, the Spartan's HUD malfunctioning in tune with her broken voice.

He said nothing, changing his course as he sprinted full speed down a different hallway, hell raging on behind him.

He couldn't stop now, he was so close.

He burst into the transit room, taking the head off of a Knight standing guard on the other side with his Scatter Shot. He fell into a slide, avoiding a hard light blade aimed at his neck. Kicking up to his feet, he grabbed the arm attached to the blade, ripped it clean off and thrust it entirely into the chest of the second Knight guard.

Thrusters propelled him backwards as grenades landed at his feet from another Knight who was giving chase. Unfortunately for it, he was already behind the door. Slamming his first through the door controls, he shut the doors, giving him momentary breathing room.

"Chief now, before they get through!" Cortana snapped urgently.

"On it!" He spoke, but he was already moving, sliding up to a terminal interface. He practically ripped the data chip from his helmet, inserting it into the command module. "Open a portal to the Composer." He ordered quickly, keeping an eye on his surroundings.

"I'm trying, but the Didact is-"

"Don't talk, just focus." He cut her off, urging her forward. "You've got this, you always have." He continued, praising her despite the situation.

"Chief I-"

"No. No self doubt, no questions, nothing. You've got this, I believe in you." He continued firmly, voice telling her without a doubt that he trusted her, malfunctions and all.

They were in this together, until the end.

Suddenly it seemed to click for her, and with a sudden bout of clarity she tore open a portal across the room.

Surprised by how fast she'd managed to accomplish the goal, he quickly gathered herself as he pulled her from the terminal. "Go Chief!"

He rushed through the portal, appearing on the other side. Suddenly he found himself in a massive open space, and at the center was the Didact, and the Composer.

"There he is." He grunted lowly.

''So, you finally arrived. I've been waiting for you human. But I'm afraid I must warn you, your theatrics end here.'' The Didact taunted, his voice echoing out from all around the Spartan. ''To think you would give up everything to come and meet your doom here, even going as far as to sacrifice your beloved companion. I should thank you, with her out of the battle, I no longer have anyone who could even dare to stand in my way.'' He laughed harshly, voice like knives against his ears.

"He's playing you Chief, don't listen to him! We've got to get over there before he can activate the Composer!" Cortana exclaimed, urging the Spartan forward.

John didn't say anything, but his anger was apparent, the handle of his rifle splintering underneath his grip.

He kicked off, rushing forward. Ahead of him was a gravity field that carried him across the massive divide, landing him much closer to his final target.

All around him Prometheans began to appear, weapons charged to try and take him down. He ignored them, not standing around, rushing headlong into the fray.

"There c-c-c-Chief! Up ahead, get me inside that console!" Cortana exclaimed, tossing a location marker his way. He quickly inserted her into the console, a moment later a light bridge appeared with would lead them straight to their target. Before things could get out of hand, Chief grabbed her data chip and pulled it from the console.

And not a moment too soon, for merely an instant after he'd pulled her from the console it exploded, sending him backwards. He hit the ground hard, data chip flung from his hand. "Cortana!" He yelled, scrambling to his feet as he quickly gathered her back up, inserting her data chip into his helmet once more.

''Vermin! That is what you are! I command you, cease this foolishness at once! It is your destiny to fall to me, it is your destiny to die at the hands of the Forerunners! It is my destiny to rule this universe, and you will not stand in my way!!''

The Composer was close to firing, but it still needed time to charge. The Didact left the safety of the weapon behind, instead deciding to take on the Spartan himself.

Chief scrambled to his feet, turning towards the light bridge which would act as his battleground. His eyes widened when he no longer could spot the Forerunner, sweat beading down his forehead.

"Humanity wanted the Didact, and so they shall have him." A voice spoke lowly, snarling in his ear.

Without skipping a beat Chief spun around, throwing his fist out to connect with the face of his foe. The Didact blocked the blow, tossing the Spartan's fist to the side as he backhanded him, sending the super soldier scrambling back.

Down but not out, John quickly stood back up, drawing his combat knife as she leveled his gaze at the Didact. As for the alien, he sneered in disgust.

"Your bravery is admirable, but misplaced. This fight was over before it began." The Didact uttered lowly.

Not at all deterred by the idle threats thrown his way, the Spartan used his thrusters to propel himself towards the Didact. However he was stopped midway by an unseen power, held aloft in the air by a crushing force.

"Too late. This little game ends here. Once I am done with you, I will return to the Composer, wipe humanity from the galaxy, and take the mantle of responsibility. And you will die a warriors death by my hand, crushed until even your bones are dust."

The Spartan tried to move, but his body was locked in place, gravity crushing him from all sides.

But, before the end could come for him, the Didact seemed to become puzzled. He turned to gaze at something unseen, eyes widening.

"How is this possible? How have you not been composed?! Such an outcome is INCONCEIVABLE! Your existence here is unwelcome, and you shall suffer a death far greater than the mercy I once offered to extend your way." The Didact spoke, but it was apparent that he wasn't talking to the Spartan.

"Your efforts against me are very admirable. I thought you dead more than once, yet you allude me still. Tell me, what drives you? Why do you side with these humans, knowing that they are about to die? Once I am done here, I will wipe their race from the corners of this galaxy."

"Chief! It's got to be Samus! She must've made it inside the ship!" Cortana exclaimed in surprise.

The Chief would've responded had it not been for the fact that he was still being choked out by the Didact's invisible force.

"Tell me. When I am finished composing all of humanity, bringing an end to their miserable lives, and take my place as the one true ruler of the galaxy, will you regard your actions today as foolish? I am offering you a choice, to stand by my side, to rule over those that should not be allowed to rule themselves. When I attain the Mantle of Responsibility, and when I stand over all in the universe, would you not want to stand there with me? I have seen your actions thus far, your strength, your power, it is true strength. Come now, join my side, do not turn down this hand I am offering to you."

After a moment it became apparent that Samus had denied the offer vehemently, much to the Forerunner's ire. Then a mistake was made, one that was assuredly going to cost the Didact his very life. He directly threatened John.

"No matter, I will find out what makes you tick soon enough. Once I end your precious Spartan, I will be sure to compose you as well. I'll enjoy my time taking him apart, dismantling him piece by piece until I compose what is left of his corpse. You can die together, turned to ashes and chained to my will as my warrior servants forever!" He snarled viciously, turning his attention back to the Spartan he had in his grasp.

"Any last words, human?" He snarled, pulling the Spartan closer.

Whatever he was expecting, he had not anticipated that the human would laugh. It had started out as a single strained chuckle, the threat of death not phasing the super soldier.

But that wasn't it.

No…

"Where do you draw your amusement from? Have you finally lost your precious sanity?" He snarled, head tilted to the side in question.

"N-Now you've done it…" John choked out, voice strained. "I'm not sure e-even I could stop her a-after what you've done… I just hope y-you are prepared to face the consequences of… y-your actions…" His voice grew weaker as he became increasingly deprived of oxygen.

Suddenly an ear piercing scream echoed out across the entirety of the gargantuan room, the alien shriek echoing off of the walls, scattering the sound.

"H-Here she comes…" The Master Chief chuckled painfully.

"What?!" The Didact's question was soon answered in the form of green armored form standing at the opposite end of the light bridge. His eyes widened in surprise, clearly not having expected to see her there so suddenly.

He barely had time to react as a massive beam of energy came his way, vaporizing anything and everything within its path. The attack grazed him, stripping the armor from his left shoulder entirely. Eyes wide in shock, he snarled as he thrust his hand out, capturing her in his energy chokehold.

"Enough of you! This ends now!" He roared, yanking her forward as he brought her close, hand gripped tightly as he literally began to choke the life out of her. He found a sick glee in watching her squirm in the air, thrashing about wildly.

However, as for the Bounty Hunter, she felt an indescribable sensation overtake her when he began choking her. Her mind flashed back to Raven Beak, his claws around her throat, choking her to death. It made her mind race, a primal and powerful fear and anger bubbling up beneath her. Her body reacted terribly to the reminder of the close call with death, pumping her body full of all sorts of hormones in that moment.

And, akin to the time when a starship had crashed into her in an attempt to bury her underneath a mountain, her body reacted to this new threat by evolving to handle it.

Samus suddenly roared a throat wrenching scream, a large spiked black tail exploding out from the space just above her rear end, rapidly growing and extending in length and size. So mesmerized by what he just witnessed happen, he wasn't prepared for that tail to suddenly shoot out and wrap itself around his throat, yanking him closer to her.

The Didact only had a second to react as a territorial and hormonally charged Metroid Queen slammed her claws into his face plate, shattering his armor as she began to suck him dry.

The Chief dropped to the ground, the energy surrounding him vanishing as the Didact was mauled by a pissed off metroid. His body slid to the side, falling off of the light bridge and into the void below.

At least he would have were it not for his quick recovery as he threw out his hand, grabbing onto the edge of the bridge, catching himself short of falling.

Primal screams echoed across the entire bridge, flashes of pink lighting up the area as the Didact tried in vain to shake free from the violent creature attached to him.

Samus clenched her tail, pulling the Didact closer as she sunk her claws in tearing apart his helmet. The Forerunner snarled as she tried to pry her off of him, but her grasp was too strong. His eyes widened in horror when she wrapped her legs around his chest, pinning his arms in place and completely preventing him from escaping.

"No!!! I refuse!!" The ancient warrior gasped out, lashing out with his last tactic as he fired off cleansing beams from his eyes, the lasers slamming right into Samus's visor.

And…

Unfortunately for the Didact, he would learn that they had little to no effect.

He could feel himself fading away as she sucked him dry, his armor decaying at a rapid pace.

And then she would take his body too.

Finally, when she'd broken through his armor, and she had nothing left to stop her from devouring him whole, she stopped.

He collapsed to the ground, unable to move at all. He felt as if she'd left him on the brink of death, just enough life left to watch his entire plan fall apart.

Then she stood up, towering over his downed form like a predator taking glee over her kill. She tilted her head to the side, a strange predatory sound echoing from her lips. Her tail came up behind her, looming over her like it had a mind of its own. Then, after giving the ancient war criminal just long enough to think that she'd spare him, her tail trust forward, going straight through the head of the Didact.

Like a gunshot echoing out, the battle was over.

Blood shot up from the sudden gaping hole in the head of her greatest enemy, splattering over her armored body. A sudden wave of silence fell over the arena, the sudden and abrupt end to the fight almost too much to bear.

John slowly clambered back up the bridge, stumbling to his feet as he tried to shake off the damage he'd suffered, his energy shield no longer seemingly capable of recharging, suit damaged.

Yet as he stood, he saw her newly evolved tail stab straight into the head of his enemy, bringing an end to the threat once and for all. And then stab him again, and again, and again. She screeched an unholy sound, reducing his body to a bloody pulp in a violent show of force he'd never seen from her before.

It wasn't normal…

It was animalistic.

But it certainly got the job done.

For the first time since he'd awoken on the Dawn, he felt as if he could finally relax to some degree.

The Didact was dead, the Composer had not been fired, and both of them were still alive.

He stumbled to his feet, legs feeling like they were going to collapse underneath the weight of his body. Yet as he started to fall, she was there to support him. His eyes widened as she caught him, holding him to her chest.

He sighed, shoulders falling slack from the release of tension. "So, you made it…" He muttered, voice gravely.

He expected her to say something witty in response, perhaps fret over his current state of health, something.

He had not expected her to begin echoing a strange alien like sound that was so akin to purring that it made his brain stumble and crash into a screeching halt. He blinked, pulling away slightly to get a view of her face.

What he saw was surprising.

Her eyes were half lidded, completely red, resembling an animal more than the woman he'd come to know. The intelligence hidden behind her gaze was unfamiliar, to him at least. He knew from one glance that he wasn't looking at Samus anymore, but something else, something primal.

His eyes widened when she began nuzzling against his chest plate, large draconic tail wagging lowly behind her, the bloodstained sharpened tip scraping against the hard light bridge, smearing the red liquid all over.

''So this is what's been hiding inside her mind all this time… If she ever lost control before, the brutality she committed would've been taken out on innocents… I see why she was so worried, she has no control over the monster inside her mind…'' He thought to himself, eyes scanning her over for injuries.

But besides thousands of scorch marks across the entirety of her armor, she was relatively fine.

''You s-should consider yourself lucky she likes you, otherwise that could've been you too…'' Cortana added inside his mind.

He sighed, wrapping an arm around her, careful of her wings. ''Point taken, Cortana…'' He quipped in exhaustion, ignoring the way blood slowly leaked from his dry lips.

''Well… Now what?'' Cortana asked quietly.

''We finish what we started, and blow this ship up. Then…? Then we go home…'' He thought back, turning his attention back down to the Metroid Queen nuzzling up against him.

But first, he had to get her back.

"Hey… Samus, you in there?" He asked gently, patting her on the back. She looked up at him, her blank red eyes slowly widening. He waited patiently as he watched the redness recede, until only the center of her eyes remained red, the rest of her eyes fading to black. And with the recession of color came the woman he was looking for, her eyes widening as she blinked in befuddlement.

"C-Chief…? What… What happened? Wh-.. Where are we?" She asked softly, glancing around slowly to take stock of her situation. She was standing in the middle of a light bridge, currently helping support the Spartan who seemed to struggle standing on his own. There was a bit of blood on her visor, and a scan told her it was neither his nor her own.

"Hey, it's alright now. You did it. He's dead…" The man said lightly, still almost unbelieving of the situation himself.

Samus blinked, mind slowly moving to understand what John had just said. She followed his gaze to the space behind them, eyes quickly zeroing in on the mutilated corpse on the ground behind them. That's also when she noticed the thick fleshy draconic tail that had sprouted from her posterior, covered in the blood of her enemy. "I did that…?" She murmured quietly, the memory of her actions completely blank.

"I'm not sure what killed him was exactly you…" The Spartan muttered.

As if to answer his question, he glanced into her eyes. They were normal now, the same as they usually were. But her third eye which usually closed was open, and the unusually red eye held that same animalistic expression.

What stared out from that third eye was a different intelligence, a more primal existence. It regarded the Spartan fondly, before closing once more.

John blinked in surprise, before glancing back down to face the Hunter. Her eyes were darting back and forth as if holding a conversation with herself, but her mouth was not moving. Then finally she seemed to settle whatever it was, before she looked at him once more.

"She's finally awake…" Samus muttered decidedly.

"Who?"

"The Metroid Queen inside me. She has… evolved from my baser urges from my refusal to survive off of my predatory instincts, and has splintered into a sort of personality of her own…" She explained lightly, sounding as if she was still coming to terms with such a reality.

"A split personality?" He asked in worry. "What does it want?"

"Its wants are very simple, instinctual. She wants to protect anything she considers hers, and will violently defend her items…" Samus explained lightly, before her face flushed suddenly, eyes going wide. Before the Spartan could ask whatever else it was that the Queen inside her mind demanded, her visor polarized. "That's not important. Change the subject, what are we still doing here?" Samus asked suddenly, clearing her throat.

Thrown for a loop, he quickly turned back to soldier mode. "We've got to get the nuke to the Composer, set it off, and get out of here before we're caught up in the blast." He explained quickly, reaching back to grasp the nuclear warhead attached to his back plate. As he pulled up to the face, he realized a serious problem. "However, that's easier said then done… The timer is fried."

As he said that, the weapon of mass destruction neared its final charge, and was moments away from firing.

It was now or never.

"And we are out of time." He said grimly, turning to face the Composer. There was only one option left, one option that would result in the survival of those he cared for. "Samus, I'm going to-" He started, but the words escaped him when the nuke was yanked free from his hands, landing in her own.

"No! Absolutely not." The Bounty Hunter snapped defensively, holding the nuke to her chest. "I know what you are thinking, and I won't allow it." She stated sharply.

"Samus, it's the only way. We can't outrun the explosion from a nuclear warhead." The Spartan tried. "It's impossible for us both to-"

"The shockwave of a nuclear explosion travels at a speed of seven hundred and sixty nine miles per hour, or, three hundred and forty three meters per second." She stated factually.

"And?" He asked, feeling as if she was hinting at something.

She turned away from him, facing the Composer in the center of the ship. "At my top speed I can break the sound barrier." She muttered.

"No! That's too close. You'll still be moving slower than the shockwave." He urged sharply.

"By approximately five miles an hour, yes."

"Samus-"

"I'm not backing down." She snapped.

"You can't die here-"

"I'm not going to let you throw your life away if there's still a chance! I'm not going to stand by the sidelines when there's still a chance, just give me a chance!" She snapped, tears streaming down her face, not that he could could see. She cleared her throat, getting her emotions under control. "I'm doing this, and you can't stop me." She said after a moment.

"How do you plan on outrunning the explosion in time with both of us?" He finally asked, realizing that there was no convincing her.

She tapped the side of her helmet knowingly. "I can temporarily slow down time" She stated.

"Reaction time won't help-"

"No. I mean I can literally slow down time, while I remain unaffected." She clarified. "I'll get up to top speed, toss the bomb, run out of here. I'll pick you up on the way out. The Composer has a direct path out of the ship, that will be our escape route." She said as if it was easy.

He stared at her for a long moment, before shaking his head. "You're insane…" He said decidedly, a hint of mirth in his gruff voice.

She smiled, claw on her hips. "Oh please, you know you like it." She teased despite the severity of the situation.

''She's got a point, you know…'' Cortana teased inside his mind.

Wisely, he chose not to respond.

"Get ready, I'm going to be coming in hot." She stated, crouching down low in a running position. Her thrusters kicked to life, blazing powerfully for a few seconds before launching her forward. She exploded in a burst of speed, running right towards then past the Composer. She looped around at the far end, rapidly gaining speed before she began moving back his direction, breaking the sound barrier as she passed by the Composer.

"Here we go." She muttered to herself, praying that it all worked out. As she approached the Composer, time slowed down around her. She glanced down to the weapon of mass destruction in her arms, and as she neared her destination she armed the bomb, dropping it behind her. The moment it hit the ground it exploded, sending out a massive wave of energy. Due to her effects on time, she was able to easily outrun the explosion, at least momentarily.

A second after the bomb went off her control over time faded. Her body was a blur as she approached the Spartan, the waves of extreme heat chasing right behind her.

In the span of a second she tackled the Spartan at the speed of sound, while simultaneously transforming into her morph ball, absorbing him into her suit. She hit the ground rolling at the speed of sound, suffering no loss of speed.

She could feel death itself behind her, the shockwave threatening to consume her entirely. Yet she pushed herself to the max, maintaining her maximum speed despite the increasing intensity.

The friction of her suit rolling at that speed left a trail of molten metal in her wake, the shockwaves she created blowing away any debris in her way. As she neared the exit point of the ship, she felt the energy begin to overcome her.

She closed her eyes, pushing her suit to the limits as she neared the exit. She only prayed that she was fast enough…

"Captain! The Composer is powering up! Power readings are off the chart, sir!"

"Sir, I'm detecting a massive slip space anomaly just behind the weapon, it's preparing to fire!"

"All ships, break off! Get clear of the Didact's ship now! Broadcast on all channels, all UNSC personnel, break off, that's an order!" Del Rio shouted, slamming his fist into the console. "Helm, get us out of here! Reverse, full speed!"

"The Didact is targeting New Phoenix! The city hasn't evacuated, those people won't make it out in time." Another voice shouted across the command deck.

"Damnit I know!" The aging man shouted. "It's now or never Chief! Where the hell are you?!" He hissed to himself, eyes searching the space outside the ship.

"W-Wait! Sir, I'm detecting a massive buildup of thermonuclear energy, coming from inside the Didact's ship!" Another deck officer exclaimed suddenly, glancing to a different terminal.

All in attendance waited with baited breath as they watched the massive Forerunner ship suddenly begin to explode from the inside out. The super weapon seemed to die out and shutdown as it was destroyed from the blast, getting caught up in its own composing beam as it ended up assisting in the self destruction of the entire ship.

It was glorious to witness, but it felt as if it lasted but a mere moment. As the blinding flash of light faded, and scanning sensors began automatically scouring the area, the crew on deck of the Infinity and all nearby ships bore witness to the remains of the Mantle's Approach.

All that remained from the massive detonation was a debris field spread out for hundreds of miles in multiple directions.

And just like that, it was over.

Silence fell over the crew of the Infinity, silence that slowly devolved into cheering. Clapping rang out across the Infinity, even stretching to all local coms.

Del Rio sighed as he sank into his command seat, relief washing over him in waves.

They did it…

They actually did it…

"Crazy bastards… Both of them…" He muttered to himself. That's when he realized something. "All ships, I want those two found. Find me those two, and bring them home."

"Yes sir!"

Chapter

34

End