Author's Note

I do sincerely apologize for the wait, had some writer's block for a while. But we are so back! 49 chapters?! Can you believe it? I still can't believe that I've written so much...

Uploaded

11/23/2024

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 49

Rated-M

M rating for blood, and language, and violence, and romance, and adult themes.

Music of the day

Halo Combat Evolved - What once was lost

Location / UNSC Infinity / High Orbit in Requiem

Six months and one week since the Didact's defeat

"We're approaching the landing zone. Prepare for gravitational disturbances-" The words had barely managed to slip past her black lips before she felt the world begin to shift, her body suddenly becoming nearly weightless. Just ahead she saw parts of the planet floating in the air, massive chunks of rock and mountain hovering off the surface of the artificial world.

"Hold position!" Chief called out, his voice urging the ships to slow as the gravitational forces began to affect them as well. Their additional mass carried them forward dangerously, or it would have had they not anticipated this phenomenon ahead of time and decelerated mere moments before entering into the gravitational field.

Samus's callout was merely the last defense against the gravity disturbances.

Reverse thrusters were applied, slowing the ships down before they collided with each other. They entered a holding position, a task made far easier with the advent of less than traditional physics applied to said drop-ships.

Samus carried forward into the distortion zone, wings flared out, feet forward as she came to gently collide with a piece of the world below that had at some point previously become uprooted from its home. The effects of gravity were enough to allow her to stand atop the surface of the floating rock, but without thrusters she would easily float away.

Taking her position, she glanced back to the Pelicans awaiting in standby just outside the zone. "Chief, the pelicans will have to stay behind. We're going to have to maneuver on foot from here." She radioed out, leveling a gaze at the floating ships.

''Understood. Spartans, Zebesians, move out.'' He responded, before addressing the rest of the platoon.

The pelican doors opened, the super soldiers leaping free from the safety of the UNSC vessels. The moment they passed the threshold the change in gravity became all too apparent, the members of Castle Team rolling forward into an unexpected flip before righting themselves to land upon the islands in the skies. Thrusters helped mount them to the ground, but it was tricky to get down.

Her Zebesians, however, lacked thruster packs. Instead they were forced to rely on their wings to help keep them nearby. It wasn't convenient, but she hoped that they would not have to suffer this environment for very long as it stood.

Soon enough they were all on foot, the green Spartan himself maneuvering throughout the low gravity to join her side. He moved to stand beside her, placing a hand on her back. "The pelicans can't come any closer without risking getting caught up in the debris field. We can't risk our evac ships, so they will stay behind." He explained lowly, turning to glance at her.

"We will make do with what we have." She replied simply, turning her attention towards the clouded world before them. Storms raged on unmitigated, unstopping, thunder crackling through the clouds, lightning striking the ground. Far ahead saw what appeared to be the outline of the Forerunner from before, its massive pylon just barely breaching the cloud barrier. Miles of uprooted planet stood between them and their destination.

The masses of land retained some of their original shapes, trees and what remained of a frozen tundra stood between them and their objective.

But not a sign of any hostile forces. No Covenant ships, no abandoned stations, nothing.

It was empty.

Her thrusters clicked to life on low power. "Move." She ordered, kicking off into run. The Spartans moved to follow, her Zebesians close behind. Master Chief kept pace with her, thrusters keeping him within range as they maneuvered the low gravity landscape.

She kicked off the ground, wings flaring out to guide her towards the second land mass lower down, the floating plateau slowly rolling on its side. She landed on it, left hand reaching out to steady herself as it rolled. The platoon all continued forward separately, choosing the routes that best fit them as the terrain continued to shift and change at random.

She slid on her hind as the rock formations began to crumble underneath her, her composure sure as she took the change in direction in stride. As her heels found ground she kicked off into a leap towards the nearest land mass, forward momentum almost entirely uninterrupted. Maneuvering in such environments had become second nature to her, and even with the change in gravity, it all seemed like clockwork to the ex-Bounty Hunter.

"The terrain is going to keep changing sporadically. Watch your footing." Chief called out, grapple shot ringing out as he pulled himself forward towards the facility, flying past floating rocks that might as well have served the same purpose of an asteroid field in low orbit.

However, as the super soldier flew past her, he noticed something concerning.

Samus was slowing down, and he knew it certainly wasn't the gravity effecting her in such a manner.

The storm continued to deteriorate as they approached the facility, the air temperature dropping at a rapid rate. As it stood, it was already as cold as it had been in the depths of the facility the last time they visited it.

He knew he should ask, and he was worried about what he'd been noticing as well. However, unlike their previous excursion here, she had yet to fly off the handle to tackle everything on her own. She was sticking by, not jumping ahead, instead placing her trust in her teammates. He was glad that he'd seemingly managed to get through to her during the war over half a year ago.

But if there was something else going on that he didn't know about, then he wasn't going to not bring it up. But until it became a problem, he needed to focus on the task at hand.

The alien queen flapped her wings, the green plated appendages moving slower the closer they got to the surface. She paid it no mind, ignoring the sub zero temperatures that began to assault her body as she moved forward.

"Samus, the captain said that the particle cannons were still within the area." Chief spoke aloud, his voice echoing throughout the void canyon.

"Long range telemetry scans last recorded them as offline. The destruction of the main power supply to the facility shut them down as well." She explained as she made her way forward in the skies of Requiem.

"Cortana said the guns didn't feed power from this structure." He pointed out, eyes drawn to the corpses of the massive guns still floating in the skies beside them. They were powered down, just as the report said.

Powered down, but not destroyed. It didn't make him feel comfortable maneuvering around them.

Samus cast her gaze towards another one, scanning it as she ran. It too read as powered down, the weapon receiving no further commands. "Correct." She hummed sharply. "However, shortly after our escape, these cannons too joined the litany of systems malfunctioning across Requiem." She explained her thoughts, feeling on edge as she and the platoon of super soldiers maneuvered ever closer to their destination, an eerily quiet silence greeting them as they breeched the barrier of clouds, vision blurred as they entered the storm.

Everything was going to plan, and that didn't sit well with her for some reason she couldn't explain. She stopped at the edge of another platform, veering into the murky grey clouded abyss before her. An ominous red glow could be seen radiating from somewhere deep into the storm, but its source was unknown.

"Hold." Samus called out, throwing her hand up in an order to stop. The super soldiers all froze, taking cover wherever they could if it became necessary. Her most loyal was quick to join her side, the tell tail sound of Vespian's wings fluttering as she landed beside her.

Samus peered over the edge, a thick storm obscuring her vision. Raising her claws to the side of her helmet, she activated her thermal visor in the hopes that she could make heads or tails of what lay before them. A thick silence permeated the platoon as they all stood in eager anticipation for her deduction of what may lay in wait within the fog that stood before them.

Thankfully they didn't have to wait for long, but it would soon become apparent that it was not for a good reason why she'd so hastily come to her newfound conclusion.

Her hand fell to her side, a frown marring her puffy black lips.

"What's wrong?" Chief picked up on it instantly, knowing something had just appeared to block their path forward. More then that, if she was hesitant to move forward then it was a serious obstacle that they all needed to take seriously.

"I believe those particle cannons are still online…" She mused lowly, leveling a glare at the menacing red glow that radiated from the depths of the storm. "If we continue forward from here, they may vaporize us before we would have the chance to escape." She stepped away from the ledge, moving deeper inland absentmindedly.

"Seriously?" Grant hissed, standing up from his crouched position, leveling his rifle on his shoulder. "What a pain…" He sighed out, his irritation apparent.

"No kidding…" Hoya groaned under his breath,

"How can you be sure?" Chief spoke up, the grip he had around his rifle tightening at the thought. "The cannon we passed along the way was offline. What makes you think this one is any different?" He asked curiously, casting his gaze towards the storm ahead. He too could see an uncanny red glow some distance away, its source obscured by the thick rolling clouds.

"It's a risk I do not feel comfortable taking. The status of those guns could change at any moment." Samus muttered sharply, sending out a long range scan. But with the presence of that storm impeding her sensors, results came back inconclusive.

"My Queen!" Vespian spoke up suddenly, landing before the alien queen. "Perhaps we should take to the surface down below?" She proposed, wings fluttering nervously behind her. "With these islands blocking the skies, it may provide the necessary cover to proceed further."

"I agree. I think we're going to get ourselves killed if we try to stay in the skies." DeMarco added his two cents, waving from the other island just a short distance away.

The blue armored Spartan glanced down, picking up a relatively large rock floating inches off the ground. He holstered his rifle over his shoulder, taking hold of the bolder with two hands before tossing it off into the distance. Everyone watched as it soared far and fast before vanishing into the clouds.

Silence hung over the platoon for a long moment, before that obscured red light suddenly flashed white.

The world seemed to disappear briefly as a massive beam of destruction flashed towards them, soaring fifty meters above their heads. The attack tore a hole in the clouds, giving them a clear view of the second particle cannon, the weapon still online.

Everything that had been caught in that beam had been rendered ash, vaporized nearly instantly.

"Holy shit…" Hoya blew out a sigh, bending down to his knees behind a rock wall. "How the hell are we supposed to get past that thing. Our suits wouldn't even last a second against that…" He didn't even want to imagine that scenario playing out…

Samus frowned thoughtfully, moving to a safer position more inland. "Vespian is correct. I believe our only way forward is maneuvering on the ground below."

"Beats getting vaporized if you ask me." DeMarco quipped, slinging his rifle onto his back as he began tracking a route down to the surface. With the elevated gravity producing less then normal pressure, reaching the surface of the artificial world safely wouldn't be that much of an issue.

"All troopers, move out. Watch for those guns." Master Chief called out as he began the descent, kicking off the rock formation as he flew downwards.

"You heard the man, let's move like we've got a purpose!" Hoya grunted, quick to follow the man in green.

The entire platoon were quick in their descent, traveling thousands of feet downwards within minutes. Soon enough saw them reaching the surface of the world, but…

As they breached the thick clouds that had obscured vision up in the skies they came to realize the disastrous results of having the world uprooted as it had been. Upon breaching the surface world the ambient temperature had skyrocketed, the tell tale signs of molten magma exposed to the open air as the source of the thick clouds.

And they were falling right into an ocean of fire.

"Shit!" DeMarco shouted, almost not believing his eyes as his visor was filled with red in nearly every direction. He tried reverse thrusters, but Mjolnir armor was simply too heavy. Instead he changed direction towards the nearest rock formation, just narrowly avoiding the super heated ocean below.

"Holy hell!" Hoya and Grant landed at the shoreline, Madsen joining them a moment later.

Master Chief managed to alter his course with efficient use of his grapple shot, rolling to a halt alongside the other super soldiers. He stood up to warn the rest that breached the cloud barrier, watching as the Zebesian's all halted their flight with use of their wings.

Samus was the last to emerge from the clouds, landing with a splash in front of the gathering of humans. One moment they saw her come down, the next seeing her completely submerged in the molten rock.

It took a long moment for the lava to settle from its sudden displacement by her body, but when it did silence fell over the platoon.

Then she breached its surface, boiling molten rock rolling down her body in spades as she shook it off. Her wings flickered and flapped to shake the red free, a splatter of magma landing on a certain green armored man's boot when she flicked her tail.

Samus blew out a short breath of relief as she stood back up, seemingly reveling in the warmth brought forth by the flesh melting substance. She turned to address the rest of the platoon, double checking to make sure everyone was secure. "Seems we've reached the surface." She muttered to herself, turning her attention towards the last know location of the Forerunner Facility.

"Samus…" The green armored man uttered lowly, not quite sure how else to describe what he was thinking. "You're standing in lava." He muttered gruffly, motioning down below her.

The ex-Bounty Hunter blinked owlishly, following the man's gaze downward to find that he indeed spoke the truth. The boiling hot lava lapped at her thighs, coming to settle around the middle of her upper legs.

She sniffed lightly.

"Well yes." She cleared her throat, before immediately returning to business, long blades tail absentmindedly rolling around in the lava behind her, the big bladed tip happily submerged in the magma as she spoke. "With the barrier of clouds and land above us, we should be able to proceed towards the facility safely from here on out. I do suggest that you all take caution to watch your step. The terrain shifting has uprooted multiple underground magma pools." She explained sharply, scanning the surroundings to find a more suitable path forward.

"Ma'am…?" Hoya's voice chipped in, the alien woman unable to ascertain what his tone was.

Confused?

Probably.

Or profoundly surprised?

That too.

"Yes?" She hummed curiously, casting a glance towards the blue armored Spartan, head tilted to the side as she awaited his response.

"You're still inside the lava…" The man murmured dryly.

Samus hummed lowly, tail flickering beneath the lava. "Oh, I see." She clicked her tongue, moving to casually step out of the lava ocean and up onto the land beside them, globs of hot molten rock falling from the grooves of her thick armored thighs. Some of it splashed on the rocks beside the Chief, his shields flaring to compensate.

"Feeling warm?" The words slipped past John's lips without thought, a hint of mirth in his tone.

Her lips quirked upwards a bit as she got closer to him, his shields flaring to adjust to the temperature of the lava that slowly trailed down her armored body. "Quite." She hummed, a hint of a smirk seen through her baleful red visor as her tail flicked a few strands of lava free. Her wings twitched to shake the molten liquid free, flaring outwards for a moment before curling back up, now very comfortable.

"You sure the surface was the best approach?" Madsen chose that moment to speak up, the light from the exposed flow of magma bright. "I mean, I'd rather fight those Promethean bastards again instead of this…" He complained.

"It was either this or risk getting vaporized by those guns. I'd say this route is our only option." Grant quipped sharply, leveling a glance at the man.

"Yeah well, just don't go falling in. I'm not too eager to test out Majolnir's resistance to lava…" Hoya groaned as he began the trek forwards.

"You know I've tried that." Buck chose that moment to interject, the rest of the Spartans turning to look at him. "Well, let's just say that the decision had been made for me…" He laughed nervously, moving to take point alongside the Hunter.

DeMarco sighed, shaking his head. How this old man hadn't died this late into the war, he had no clue.

"Move out." Chief called out, rifle raised as he began his run.

Silence had met their approach, the long mile run done without much trouble. No Promethean's met them, no Covenant, nothing at all. But no one took it lightly. The grim silence was not one they reveled in, but dreaded due to the implications that it brought up.

And the stress was rising.

They approached the facility entrance, the large metal doors wide open as they'd been left. There'd been no time to close the structure down upon their most recent visit, and like the entrance to a tomb, it stood deathly quiet.

Not even the lights were on, a cold freezing atmosphere emerging from somewhere deep within. Yet despite that, it was all quiet.

And the silence felt all encompassing.

The Forerunners had been known to populate their artificial worlds, Halo's or not, with animal life. The reason, although unknown to them, was consistent throughout their installations. Yet no sign of life was seen or heard upon their approach, it was totally, utterly silent.

"I don't like it." It was the first thing spoken since they'd departed, the Master Chief gazing upon the entrance with a hint of dread.

"You think it's a trap?" DeMarco spoke in question, sliding up beside the man with his rifle raised, trained on the entrance.

"I think it's a bad idea…" Buck murmured, yet the sentiment was shared.

Vespian gazed at the entrance nervously, for the first time since she'd taken her rightful place by her queen's side a sense of fear filled her chest. The aura the abandoned facility radiated alone had made her leathery skin crawl.

Chief didn't have anything of note to add, but his silence was unnerving.

Either way…

"Lights on." Chief called out, headlights blasting to life to illuminate the quiet halls. "Suit lockdown must be maintained. No one can afford to slip up here." He felt it redundant to even say that, yet he felt it necessary to emphasize the danger that the potential parasite posed if it existed. These Spartans had never seen the outbreak before, the danger that he'd faced, the horrors born from the depths of hell.

He'd wished that no one else would have ever had to suffer it again. He'd thought he'd finished the parasite off years ago, the monsters long forgotten.

Were it so easy…

An orange light radiated out for a brief moment as Samus shifted over to her Plasma Beam, the bright green light glowing from the barrel.

She took point.

All was quiet as she took the first few steps into the abandoned structure, the cold metal walls seemingly stretching on forever, all coated in a thick blanket of ice. Her shuddering breath didn't go unnoticed.

Arm cannon raised before her, she approached the elevator they'd used during their prior visit. She lowered her weapon as she neared the ledge, peering down into the darkness below.

She thought she'd seen something moving from the corner of her eye, but when she cast her attention that way, there was nothing to be seen.

She activated her Thermal Visor, but the total lack of any natural or artificial heat made it unfortunately useless in this situation. More than that, the unnatural cold that had grasped the underground base was interfering with her visor equipment. It was entirely unnatural, and it didn't make the pit in her stomach any easier to bear.

"Anything?" Chief asked beside her, peering down into the depths below. The elevator shaft was destroyed, plasma burns lining the metal walls.

Someone else had indeed been through here.

But they had not left.

"No." She muttered, glancing back to the platoon behind her. "Guard the entrance, deploy an energy barricade. Nothing gets in, or out." She ordered firmly, directing her demands to the Spartans.

""Yes Ma'am!"" They chirped sharply, immediately moving to do as ordered. They knew the severity of the situation, there was no time for chatter. Their footsteps echoed out as they quickly retreated to the main entrance, beginning their lockdown procedures immediately.

The Zebesians lingered in eager anticipation for their orders, wings fluttering nervously. She nodded to them, watching as they chirped in understanding, immediately moving to join the rest of the super soldiers.

Vespian remained by her side, yet she did cast a small yearning glance towards DeMarco as he moved away, but did not comment further. "My Queen?" She requested her orders.

"With us." Samus clarified.

Vespian crossed her arm over her chest with a shirt curt bow, wings flaring out in preparation to move forward.

Samus turned her attention back to the depths of the facility, the vacant elevator making traversal difficult. Or it would've, for anyone else. She stepped off the ledge, wings flaring out wide to slow her descent as she fell. Vespian was quick to follow doing just the same.

As for John?

The Spartan leapt after her, using his thrusters to slow his fall as he rode the sleek metal wall the entire way down. It was quiet as they descended into the depths of the frozen wasteland, but the bottom soon appeared.

Ice shattered upon their landing, sounding like glass as it echoed off the walls. Samus slowly stood to her feet, leveling a glance at the depths of the facility from before.

Then she heard it, a small sound that was almost imperceptible.

But it was there.

"Eyes up." She ordered sharply, training her cannon on the tunnel before her.

A low rumbling could be heard emanating from somewhere deep within the facility, deep and gravelly, like the sounds of a stomach churning acid. Once more she activated her thermal visor, but the very air was so dense, so cold, that it rendered it entirely useless as it overwhelmed the limited outdated Space Pirate technology. Instead she too reverted to basic headlamps just as John did, her visor casting a soft red light out before her.

"What was that?" She murmured lowly, eyes narrowed as she tried to make heads or tails of what lay in wait.

The Spartan couldn't place the sound either, but for some reason he couldn't explain, it made his heart sink. "I don't know…" He hated this feeling, of being unsure, lacking the knowledge he needed to make the right decision.

Forward they stepped into the darkness, slowly chasing the source of the sound.

Then she saw something.

The ex-Bounty Hunter's eyes widened when her foot met something wet and warm, the squelch that echoed out very audible. Her red visor was cast downward, bending down to her knees as she inspected what appeared to be…

"Sangheili blood?" She murmured in quiet confusion, brushing it over her claws. "It's still warm." She noted almost absentmindedly, slowly trailing upwards to follow the pool of blood that led deeper.

Then she heard it, footsteps approaching from the darkness before her. She stood up slowly as an Elite came stumbling out from the darkness, shambling slowly towards her, form cast in shadows.

But…

She realized in horror that it was no mere Elite, something that became apparent when she looked at its head. Or more specifically, the lack-thereof, in its place putrid skin colored tendrils with red tipped feelers reaching out to her.

However…

It wasn't alone.

The one body was joined by two more, then ten, then twenty.

Then one hundred. Mangled corpses of every species within the Covenant shambling out from the darkness, all corrupted, all turned into abominations.

"The Flood…" Master Chief grunted sharply.

Samus snapped her arm cannon forward, a blisteringly bright pink-red energy already swelling up at the tip. "I noticed." She hissed lowly, bending slightly to compensate for the recoil as she fired off her Hyper-Beam immediately. The unbridled energy blew through the horde of corpses, tearing through their bodies and armor alike without challenge.

She had a parasite to purge.

Her preemptive counterattack, however, seemed to have the unfortunate side effect of drawing forth everything hiding within the darkness.

"This is not your grave…" The loud thunderously voice that boomed out gave Samus pause, the last thing she'd expected being such a sound. It was that temporary distraction, however, that led to her sudden disorientation as her head hit the ground, a massive tentacle of flesh and rot suddenly secured around her legs. "But…. You are welcome in it…"

"Samus!" She heard John shout in distress as he fired his rifle, explosive rounds ripping into it as it dragged her off into the depths of hell.

"My Queen!!" Vespian roared in disbelief, snarling as she took aim and fired her cannon.

But it was too late, her green armored form vanishing into the darkness ahead…

Chapter

49

End