Halo: The Arc Regenesis

by SuccubusKing

Halo: The Arc Regenesis. This takes place shortly after the Fall of Reach and the Arrival of the Banished during Halo Infinite. What if the UNSC found a hidden artifact to revive Captain Keyes? What would occur if Master Chief discovered a plot so vast, and so interwoven it was tied to the Gravemind. The Architect of the Arc is back...leading right to 343 Guilty Spark.

3. Chapter 3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 3: The Arc and The Ark Covenant Artifacts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

/Fade in on the Pillar of Autumn two and a half years ago, as the crew including Cortana's ally The Weapon are entering the massive century ruins that belong to the covenant dropship and the surrounding , which are a part of the UNSC tag team group as well as ruins. Each of the massive Pillars within the structure, shoot up about 400 feet in the sprawling set of corridors. It is within this sanctum that the truth about the Covenant war is revealed, as well as Master Chief's foreknowledge of the master builder. And it is within this inner sanctum beyond time, that the ARBITER knows the artifacts are housed which relate to the Primordial. The Banished had long sought the technology of the Forerunners, especially the first FORERUNNERS, unaware the whole time of how much of it belonged to the original prototype 343 GUILTY SPARK. As this began to be uncovered, the true history was revealed regarding the COVENANT, the ELITE and the war which changed much of the topography of this land and entirely redesigned everything from scratch including the inner sanctums, the channels and the ELITE paramount deposits which contained much of their weapons or technology.*

*The breakthrough had been, that from the UNSC's perspective the PRIMORDIAL represented a PLANETARY threat that was not immediate to their direct vicinity now. The breakthrough on the other hand in the PRIMORDIAL's perspective, the UNSC represented a GLOBAL threat which was misunderstood and required more time to sacrifice. Of course this would mean the arrival of the FLOOD, and inside the spire this would also lead to the ELITE and FORERUNNER war which over-took much of Zeta Halo. As a result, some of the most prized possessions and relics of the COVENANT as well as humans had been lost. One of those was the artifact the ARBITER sought, the one he saw inside a holographic display had been connected to one of the ELITE's most ancient weapon designs….The GRAVEMIND itself./

Mark Fuller: "Look at that, the Pillars….the columns and artifacts like the Banshees and Ghosts…..Do you think the prophecy regarding Prometheus is true? Did the precursors truly go out there, was this a part of their domain…..Even the many inscribed writings are right there where we left them."

Brahman: "I don't know Fuller, this is the first time I've been inside this Spire. I would say the PRECURSORS would work for anyone, as long as it forwards the PRIMORDIAL. Remember the Primordial sees itself as a God, this is nothing new….It happened with the ARBITER as well as the ARBITER'S artifacts. The biggest problem is we know Halsey is out there and she clearly turned traitor, so now we have to find out what this all means….And what does this have to do with Zeta Halo?"

Brahman: "Was Locke right? Or have they been sabotaging the UNSC this whole time….(He glares at the large glowing window inside the stadium.) I often wonder here, if the whole story about the DIDACT was really true…or the PROMETHEUS ruins….Or is that partly a lie by the BANISHED as well. (He contemplates.) I know the FORERUNNERS have that structure.."

Mark Fuller: "You mean the FORERUNNER CITY, that's far above Zeta Halo don't you? Yes that's what I meant….I thought it was a myth this whole time. Yet in spite of that there is a lot of questions remaining unanswered….What did the DIDACT mean…For that matter what did the Forerunner that ran into the Atrioch mean…"

Brahman: "I don't know…. (He breathes heavily.) But something tells me that enormous display window up there, that looks out from the Spire and focuses squarely on the Keeper's current A.I. consoles….holds all our answers."

/Just then, a massive group of ELITE COVENANT CLASS A FIGHTERS uncloak…As well as 4 Banshees. The Elite Covenant Master soldiers descend in a cloud, clearly brought on the Banished-Covenant war which had only occurred mere months ago. They stared at Fuller and Brahman with an intensity that was only seen more than 400 parsecs ago, as it was realized by the commander that someone had started to uncover the secret of the Artifact. It could not be allowed to continue, as Lieutenant Caldwell descended in a rage and unsheathed his Power Scythe blade and began taking extreme measures by killing everyone in the offending causeway….To include their 4 regional UNSC generals, who had also followed Fuller inside to take refuge within the massive Spire.*

Torkin: "Go, Mark….Get out of here NOW! That beast….Unnnggh…..The voice of the FLOOD is out there…It is coming…" ((Torkin says in his dying breath, as Elite Zerin and Elite Vengar cut them down with a rancid and ruthless demeanor that could scarcely be described as human.))

Officer Severo: "Fuller…..RUN…..He means it is in the corridor over the hill over there near the Precursor's carbonite view window. It's inside…..they have returned…"

Officer Severo: "The GRAVEMIND….It is OUTSIDE….ungggh"

Elite Zerin: "You, pathetic human…It is time to die!"

Elite Vengar: "I shouldn't have allowed anything to happen here… ((He angrily jumps out and attempts to cut Fuller in half, brandishing his long Scythe close to the soldier's neck. The large metal locket, which has a picture of him in UNSC training guild for where he was side by side with LOCKE…Suddenly gets cut, and falls down the large drainpipe next to the stairs that lead to the upper level of the Spire.)) You are now absolutely OUT OF LINE…." ((He flies out to cut Fuller's arm off))

Elite Jorrin: "You must die, human…" ((He falls out of nowhere on top of Brahman and clashes with his giant folding Needler weapon. Light lights up across the arena as they fight and resolve to destroy each other, while computers and A.I. panels explode in all directions.)) ((The FLOOD's voice can be heard inside the resonating chamber..)

Mark Fuller: "Agggh! Brahman, fan out….Severo….no! I will make sure to avenge your deaths…" ((He leaps in and knocks the first Elite hunter back into the Hangar, and clashes with Elite Zerin face to face by brandishing his huge assault rifle next to the Elite's Plasma Sword. Their weapons flash in the dimly lit chamber, as they roll back and forth over the terrain destroying multiple displays….and lighting up CONSOLE 401 which sends a distress beacon to the UNSC dreadnaught OSIRIS. They request an instant abandonment order and order a fast, independent evacuation.))

Elite Munsuci: "You have interfered for the final time…..The Forerunners control this Installation. We call it Installation Zero Four, and we work for the HIVEMIND….The First Precursors know…They waited for the PRIMORDIAL to come announce the FIRST FORERUNNERS to us.."

Elite Covascal: "DIE, Humans!" ((He flies through the air and unsheathes both PLASMA Scythe swords, clashing violently with Fuller on the other side. He kicks him off the Balcony, as Fuller does his best to get back inside the Warthog next to the exit. The elite Crawls after them to Floor 2 where they intend to escape.)

Brahman: "Ahhhhhh! Take this you beast!" ((He flies out from the edge of the cliff, where he was fighting Elite Vengar and Elite Jorrin. Suddenly, explosions raise all across the corridor. There was no other way to go outside….or move past the obstacle. Just like was seen in DELTA HALO….but would it also be their answer for Zeta Halo?)

/The Elites swarm around Mark Fuller and Lieutenant Brahman, with a hateful indifference dilating from their pupils. They were aware that both Fuller and Brahman knew too much. Large laser lights lit up the sky in the ancient Auditorium, as you see Fuller floor it for the driver's seat and pushes the Warthog to start slamming it down the ravine at well over eighty miles per hour. He runs right over Elite Zerin and Elite Covascal, causing the main Elite Soldier, Lieutenant Caldwell to enter in a rage.*

http / attackofthefanboy | com |./ wp-content / uploads / 2010 / 12 / halo – reachs – noble – map -pack – looks – pretty – good – header . jpg

Elite Caldwell: "You should have died, Human! ((His massive eyes, placed in an outer color of bright Yellow and Gold pierce the ancient arena near where they are standing. It appears to be the structure belonging to the CRADLE, the original cradle that fore-stalled 343 GUILTY SPARK's success with designing the ARC…aka ARK OF COVENANT. The same ARK that Caldwell wanted to ensure once and for all, the humans do not discover its whereabouts again..))

*Large silhouettes of the Elite soldiers can be seen, flashing in the corridor as Fuller and Brahman run as fast as they can up the stairs and drop in on the Warthog on Floor 3 where the onramps are lifting out. Then, Fuller floors it on Floor 3 in the Warthog, rushing down the eastern desert covered roads in a rage as it blows past three to four different key sections of Elite Soldiers who go flying off the scaffolding into the abyss below. Elite Soldiers, especially Elite Munsuci and Elite Zerin instantly zero in on Fuller and Brahman as large flashes of gold, yellow and purple fill the dimly lit tunnel. Everything inside begins to explode, as the faces of the corpses around them…begin to return to life. It was a Walking Dead type of experience, as they watched when various UNSC soldiers began to spread the infection…as two to three more designs for the infection began to spread throughout the rest of the super structure. Surely it would also wind up on board the COVENANT DROPSHIP, as the Banished lived here.*

*The biggest problem of all, was the scaffolding holding up Floor 2 was beginning to crumble under Mark Fuller's feet, as both he and Brahman made a desperate run up the onramp….shooting more than 700 feet into the air, and crashing down on the Covenant-Reach like station on the other side. The Covenant-Reach design is left behind from the Covenant-Reach war, where Halo Reach fell. The giant rusted stains from the war continue to hum in the corridor. The undead UNSC soldiers suddenly rise to life, beginning to fill the corridor near Floor 3…..They were chasing them now. The various Elites cornered Brahman in the East Ruins of Floor 3….And he realized for the first time, what Seargent Keyes had seen was the most serious thing. It was none other than an Artifact the Banished had stolen from the Spirit of Fire UNSC dropship.*

*Flashback on the Spirit of Fire: "Commander Horven, there is a giant infestation on the ship. I can't track the Banished's whereabouts after the fall of Reach…But there is something alive down here. A symbiote, a creature….Something older than all of us. It is linked to the Endless. I think the Endless were the ones who allowed the First Forerunner to enter our chambers….I truly believe that now." Copy that Commander…"Seargent Johnson replies. "If this is true then the Arbiter isn't making any of this up…..The GRAVEMIND is loose again….and it took down our communications….What is that….I can't hear…..Copy back, Commander Horven…Are you there?!" "Horven: "I can't guarantee that sir…Oh my god…. AAGGGHHHH –the communication cuts out as a large, cylindrical beast appears on screen. It is the GRAVEMIND….It had returned to the Spirit of Fire and they saw it play back on the recording./

Mark Fuller: "Ahhh….He came back to life from behind! ((He tosses Elite Covascal down the reddened stairs, as he flashes out and tosses four flash bang grenades. Finally, they destroy the several doors inside the barrier and kill the Flood nearby as well as Covascal.))

Elite Covascal: "ARRGG!" /He shouts with terror and resolve as he dies./

Elite Caldwell: "You fools have failed me again….I will not tolerate disrespect." ((He angrily tosses a energy propulsion grenade, and disappears into the portal.))

Elite Munsuci: "Die, Human!" ((The small display of lighted Plasma swords and machine gun rifles fills the corridor. You see Fuller fight them both off, as Brahman quietly sneaks around the back of the laboratory like structure. He sees two pylons and a rotating wheel that turns the pressure valves and takes his chance.))

Brahman: "I'm going in Fuller…." ((Brahman dives in and turns both the dials and valves clockwise, more than 12 turns to get the forcefield to automatically shut off. It suddenly fills the pylons with more than 500 gigawatts of static energy…Elite Munsuci cannot believe it and shoots back, flying into the ceiling and finally explodes.))

Mark Fuller: "Great work, Brahman…But don't get cocky." ((He fires up the containment module in the back and starts shooting both cannons off full steam, using their heligunner gun. It blows apart the Elite Soldiers following them, and finally destroys the drop ships. The door is closing and the corridor is getting tighter, and smaller as they shoot off towards the very small now nearly disappeared silhouette at the end of the tunnel….right as their Warthog barely makes it up the onramp, flying out of the enormous platform on top more than 800 feet into the air. They shoot off from Floor 4, across the chasm to the tube tunnel on the other side…..narrowly avoiding a dead drop. The tunnel continues up to floor 7 and floor 8, as they begin to run roughshod across this valley rise type area which extends in both directions at the top of the Spire. They know they are there, they are inside the GRAVEMIND installation outside of Arcadia. The GRAVEMIND has somehow returned…all thanks to The First FORERUNNERS. This was the moment Mark Fuller had been dreading…the moment he realized the conspiracy may be true, and Master Chief was now proven correct about The Banished. The Banished are not another race or a defunct species….they are inside FLOOD…they belong to the PRIMORDIAL….to the FORERUNNERS.))

Brahman: "Up ahead, that's a giant COVENANT computer silo station. Inside has got to be answers about the GRAVEMIND…Lets load up all the data we can get on the thing, and hope there aren't anymore of those things near the floor of our chamber outpost. (He contemplates.) We don't want to run into that thing, no matter what we do…"

*Fade out to a large silhouette of the existing Spirit of Fire ruins, more than 100 miles from where Arcadia now sits. You can see the giant shadow looming nearby of a voice that is more haunting and chilling than any H.P LOVECRAFT novel. It is the prime station…It is the A.I. of the PRIMORDIAL itself.*

THE PRIMORDIAL: "I have foreseen your resonating chamber, and your destruction at the hands of the UNSC shock troops I knew from Zeta Halo…You will not escape here, as without the Arbiter….You are helpless Seargent Mark Fuller….You are nothing…Nothing but an insect in my larger design….Soon enough, they will return…"

*This giant shadow of tentacle arms, and huge foreign outgrowth begins to explode outward as you see it reach into the far reaches of this giant upside down tower. It is uglier than any kind of Walking Dead episode, and more dreadful than any type of Aliens that had just landed near the vacant sub station. It is none other than the hive of the PRIMORDIAL, which had now taken over the subterranean caverns and Designer Labs all across the outcropping of Arcadia. It had made its entrance.*

THE PRIMORDIAL: "And soon, Chief…..THE GRAVE IN OUR MIND..SOON YOU WILL FEEL THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF MY FULL POWER UNSHAKEN!"

*The entire area shakes and quakes everywhere, as the light from the DIDACT peers down from the chamber. It bounces out in a ripple which covers the eastern corridor and the keyhole in the ceiling directly above their heads/

THE PRIMORDIAL: "I WAS HERE BEFORE….ONCE, AND ALWAYS…THE FORERUNNERS FORETOLD ME…"

*A long distance from there, near the outskirts of the UNSC DREADNAUGHT ICARUS. Master Chief stared out the massive, viewing window with no one else…even the Arbiter, saying a word.*

Master Chief: "…And they foretold your fall, as well Primordial….I will be there…Keyes will be there."

/ To Be Continued /

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Chapter 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~