A/N
Heyo, everyone! Welcome to the next chapter of Blood and Ash. Y'all might hate me at the end of this chapter, because there is character death at the very end. But, don't worry, it's none of the big'uns. I don't have much to say in this author's note. Except for this. Rest in Peace Technoblade, where ever you may reside. And I hope you've successfully vanquished whichever Gods had opposed you. Take care, you kind soul, and may you forever be remembered as the unkillable Blood God.
Beta Group was in the fight for their lives, multiple Covenant goons having come out of nowhere. Lily was slumped against a crumbling wall, pain igniting in the wound to her torso. The damned Elite had got in a lucky shot, but he was killed not even moments later by her boyfriend, Thomas. The Puerto Rican was the one currently standing in front of her, doing his best to keep the Covenant groups from hitting her again.
So, when her hazel eyes caught sight of Tai's bruised and bloody form, she almost wept in joy. The girl, even in her condition, was a sight for sore eyes. Not only because of her own experience in fighting these bastards, but because she normally brought the Spartan along with her. Lily had asked once, maybe three days ago, when he first came to the camp, why she insisted he stay with her.
Tai had responded by giving a small shrug and looking out across the field they liked to sit in, watching the behemoth of a man across the way, dragging lumber behind him for the fire pits.
"I don't really know myself. I suppose it's because I know what it's like to be an outsider, I mean, hell, even in this camp, I feel like I'm somewhere I don't belong. Everyone here either has family or friends, but I was left orphaned and my university was set fire by the Covenant. But, I also know that with their reputation, especially his, most people refuse to associate with them, even refusing to see them as actual people." Tai had stated, sounding far older than any of them.
It was a form of wisdom that Lily kept with her. Anytime she saw the Spartan without his "Handler" she would try and make friends. It wasn't going very fast, and the man did seem offstandish, but she tried to be friendly, open up to him, show the man she trusted him, even slightly.
Now, in the wake of this war, she was glad she had the chance. The mountain coming up the steep hill in his dull green armor was like the heaven's sending down a halo of light to rest upon his golden visor. The suit of armor was now like her beacon of hope, anytime she saw it in this dust-dried city, her dwindling faith came back in full heat. Both of the warriors climbing the hill were worse for wear, both having some form of injury, but they still brought the fight to a stand-off.
The Covenant knew about the Spartan, knew what he was capable of, but they were confused and shocked at seeing a small human look so frighteningly terrifying. The girl was wielding the energy sword like she'd been using it all her life, her face marred with blood and dirt. Her hands were steady, her feet planted in such a way that she could launch herself at the Elite standing in her path if he so moved.
The Spartan standing at her back, bulldog raised to fire, was just another threat to the Covenant, and everyone there knew it. Slowly, with the rising fear in the Elites, grunts, and jackals, Thomas and Lily got out of the fray, keeping the others in sight, but staying outta the way. No point in putting themselves in danger and distracting those who could still fight.
A slight twitch from the Elite in front of her was all it took. Tai let out a loud yell and lunged at the alien, easily sliding the energy blade into his chest cavity. The Elite gurgled, blue blood spilling from his mandibles, slowly collapsing to his knees. Wrenching the blade from the fallen alien, Tai looked up, glancing at the rest of her civilians around the building, holding their own.
No matter how much she hoped and wished, she knew they would never survive, at least, not all of them. Getting to her feet, she dashes forward, sweeping down to pick up a fallen assault rifle, likely from one of the dead soldiers. Placing the energy blade back into the sheath tied to her belt, she brings the scope of the rifle to her eye, taking a shot that goes straight through the skull of an armored jackal.
Running through a barrage of bullets, Tai comes back to back with the Master Chief. Giving the brick wall of a man a small smirk, she brings the rifle back up, taking aim and firing. With every bullet sprayed, more and more Covenants fall, others just coming to fill the soon bloody spots. They were about to be overwhelmed when someone new came over their COMM links, her voice distinguished between those of the Chief and Tai's people.
It was Fireteam ONYX. And damn had they brought the cavalry. Riding in multiple Warthogs, multiple Spartans and Marines could be seen. The skidding Warthog dropped off ONYX team and a squadron of Marines, before gunning it to other areas of the city. Tai let out a sigh of relief, the pain of her earlier injuries finally catching up to her now that back up had arrived.
"Good ta see ya again, John." A female stated, her armor being an exact replica of the Chief's beside the dark purple color and silver visor. Her voice had a distinct western accent to it, but not a cheesy one, a more calmer one.
"And, I'm gonna assume you're Tai Hover?" She asked, taking in the appearance of the smaller redhead.
The blue eyed teen nodded and shrunk back a little, letting the other Spartan take up position next to the Chief. "I am. And I'm gonna assume you're our rescue?" Tai asked, her head starting to reel.
The other Spartan nodded, watching as the teen shook her head slightly. The woman's dark eyes narrowed behind the silver visor of her helmet. The girl was showing some fatigue, likely only because their back-up had arrived, but she was forcing herself to carry on. She glanced at John.
The Chief merely shrugged, keeping his own dark green eyes on the lookout around them.
Before anymore could be done about this fact, however, more Covenant showed up, clearly bringing in their own reinforcements. Tai groans slightly and raises her tired arms, plasma sword back in hand. Her eyes hardening, she made a "come hither" motion, a smug look gracing her tired face.
If the Covenant wanted one last fight before this all went to hell, she'd be glad to give it to them. With a yell, Tai charged, taking the aliens and Spartans by surprise. No one was really expecting the only one with no true protection to just go charging head first into battle. But, maybe they should've been, she was quite literally the embodiment of "fuck around and find out".
Sigh a sigh, both Spartans glanced at each other before following the girl into the heat of everything, guns blazing. "We can't let her have all the fun, now can we John?" The ONYX Spartan questions, her commando letting out rounds of bullets into any Covenant heads. The Chief doesn't respond, but his silence is all the confirmation the female Spartan needs to spring fully into the fight.
The trio finally catches a break when the Master Chief manages to launch a grenade, having swept one into his hands when he was forced into a roll to avoid a sword strike. The frag exploded, sending shards of shrapnel and chunks of flesh everywhere. They were all huffing, trying to catch their breaths after the eventful fight, Tai now fully sporting a pounding headache behind her eyes.
The Spartan's gather around the teen and use their sensors to look for the rest of both their groups. Master Chief spots the rest of the people from the camp within minutes, the ONYX Spartan spotting the rest of her Fireteam not long after. Everyone had converged into the middle of the city, likely where their pick-up would come from. Without saying anything, the Chief takes hold of Tai's arm and leads the trio to where the rest of their people are.
When they get to the center of the city, it's almost like the entirety of the camp breathed a collective sigh of relief at seeing the smaller teen leaning against both Spartans, her head wound not going unnoticed. Master Chief doesn't even remember when she got the injury, as if she'd kept it from them. Somehow.
The Woods' family comes running up to the girl, the men easily taking her basically nonexistent weight from the Spartans. Carefully, Lydia leaned the girl against a wall, checking her eyes for a reaction. Getting what she wanted, she got to work on checking the head wound, locating where it was. With a sigh, Lydia gazed into Tai's blue eyes.
"You jumped on one of them again, didn't you, kid?" The older woman questions, taking the bandages offered by her son and the antiseptic from her husband.
"What? Me? No, never. No clue what could've given you that idea." Tai stated, hissing when Lydia pulled the wrap a little too tight around her head.
"Don't you be getting smart with me, Tai Hover." Lydia turned to the Spartans. "And what of you? Any injuries I should know about now? Before I find out later and get pissed?"
The ONYX Spartan put her hands up, "None from me, ma'am." Lydia looked at the Master Chief, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Nothing that can't be healed on the New Hope." He stated, earning a glare from the dark skinned woman. Shaking her head, Lydia left the mountain of a man alone, going back to the rest of their campers, checking over the rest of ONYX to see if any of them needed medical attention.
"Y'know, she'll find out if you've hidden something from her. She always finds out. 'S kinda creepy, if I'm being honest." Tai states, Chief and the ONYX female turning towards the girl still standing beside them.
The rest of Tai's people were further away from the Spartans and Marines, opting to stay near their own people. It was sorta frustrating to her, having their rescuers be labeled as outsiders. But, she couldn't really do anything. No matter how these people saw her, she was still just a reckless teen to most of them.
"And what does that say about you?" The Chief questioned, surprising himself with the coy tone of his voice.
Raising a brow, the girl "tosses" her cropped hair. "I'm amazing, good sir." Tai pauses for a second. "Wait a damned minute. You never gave me a name when I first met ya. You know everyone in the camp's name, but we don't know yours. I say rude."
The Spartan lets out a soft chuckle, then gives out his hand. "I'm John Sierra. Or, at least that's the name I was given."
Taking the gloved hand, Tai cocks her head in question. "Given? Was your name changed? During the program, I mean."
Instead of the Chief, John, answering, the ONYX female does. "Everyone who went through the Spartan programs was given a number, like for John, his is 117. Mine is 315. We kept our first names, but we never knew our last names, likely so we couldn't do research about our pasts. So, we adopted the name of our squad, John's being SIERRA. So, that's where John Sierra came from."
Tai merely nods, dwelling over the fact that these heroes were referred to as numbers. It made her blood boil, thinking about how… inhumane… it was to be given a number, but not a true name. No one really knew how the Spartan programs were worked or even created, but they were well aware of the scientist that led it. Doctor Halsey. And if Tai had to guess, she'd bet her money on the fact that the lady was the reason they were given numbers.
Shaking her head to clear the darker thoughts, she turns her bright blue eyes to the darkening sky, watching as multiple Pelicans descend, Marines jumping down from the aircrafts. A couple of the Marines went to the rest of Tai's campers, likely medics by the patches on their shoulders. The rest of the ONYX Spartans came over to the female, standing just behind her, waiting for the go ahead to load up.
Tai can feel the hidden eyes of the Spartans watching her as she continues to chat with John and the ONYX Captain, just trying to settle the nerves of her people. After a few minutes for the medics to check up on the worse injuries, the ONYX female gives the orders for everyone to get into the Pelicans.
With everyone accounted for, the pilot gives a forewarning before taking off, carrying the rest of the people of Talian into the upper atmosphere and away from the battle. Just when they're about to fully let exhaustion take hold of them, a plasma burst is heard from the distance, barely missing the two aircraft. Tai curses when she sees the ONYX female glance out from the back of the second Pelican, a rocket launcher held on her shoulder.
She fires one of the projectiles, but it doesn't hit its target full on, instead clipping the wing of the phantom tailing them. Tai can see just when a decision is made by the woman, even without seeing her face. The ONYX Spartan's shoulders drop in resignation, as if she's known what she's had to do for ages now. Slowly, she glances over to the leading Pelican, to Tai and the Chief who's standing just behind her.
Tai's blue eyes widen when what the Spartan is about to do registers in her mind. The woman throws the rocket launcher from the Pelican, instead grabbing two grenades that were being stored on the walls of the aircraft. The ONYX Captain takes a step when Tai finally screams out to her.
"No!" But, it's too late. The Spartan jumps from the ship, falling quickly towards the following phantom. Tai lunges forward, unsure of what she can do for the woman, only stopped by strong arms being wrapped around her middle, forcing her against the armored chest of the Master Chief.
"Frag out." Is muttered over the COMM links of the other soldiers surrounding her. In an explosion of bright lights, the phantom catches fire, the crackling sound carrying over the explosion.
Tai drops to her knees, screaming out for the Spartan to respond to the urgent messages being sent across the COMMs. Her cries are met by silence, nothing but space now surrounding the Pelicans. Tai hangs her head, closing her eyes tight against tears that want to be cried for someone she barely knew. She didn't even know the woman's name, only a number given by someone who'd forced them to become these soldiers.
Minutes later, the New Hope can be seen, looking oddly serene with the recent death of one of their own. She glances to her left and sees for the first time that the Chief had fallen down with her.
"I'm sorry, John." Is the last thing she says, refusing to rise to the conversations the others are trying to start. She had been ready for death that day. Had prepared to lose her own life to save those of the people she'd spent so long trying to protect. She should've known that her own death wouldn't come so soon.
The Gods' had a cruel sense of humor. And the Covenant would pay dearly for this life they took. No matter what it would cost her in return.