That's okay OB, anyway, here's part 10. Oh, by the way, I have another fan fiction about a squad of ODSTs who basically saw everything in the war, twenty five parts and 300 replies on Bungie.net. I'm a little apprehensive about posting it here though, it features a few canonical errors. Anyway, I'll shut up now and post part
Part 10: A touching reunion
"So, you thought you could escape did you?" K'zath taunted, relishing the moment.
"Yeah,
now move out of our way or die." John replied in that same calm manner
that always unnerved his enemies. The wave of Elites laughed.
"You
are in no position to be making threats Demon...And who is that traitor
next to you?" The Kaidon said, motioning to the Arbiter.
"You
should know me well K'zath, you did serve me as Councillor for a number
of years." The Arbiter replied. K'zath looked confused for a second,
then his face registered disbelief.
"Thel Vadamee? No...This must be some sort of trick!" K'zath exclaimed, obviously intimidated.
"No
tricks K'zath, it is indeed me, Thel Vadam', former Kaidon of the state
of Vadam, and Arbiter of the past Covenant. Now stand aside." The
Guards murmured, they were obviously unsure what to do.
"Nay
Thel, you shall die!" The Kaidon strode forward, and drew out his
sword. Just before he was impaled, the Arbiter managed to block the
strike with his burning blade. The other Honour Guards moved in to help
subdue him. John didn't give them the chance to. He shot one of the
Elites in the back, and they all suddenly remembered he was there.
"Kill
the Demon! I shall deal with this traitor myself!" K'zath shouted, and
the Guards closed in on John. He ran, and the Elites followed. In the
now empty hallway, K'zath and the Arbiter circled each other warily.
"You
cannot defeat me Thel! You taught me everything you know, and I have
learnt much since then." The Kaidon mocked, suddenly lunging at Thel.
With lightning reflexes, the Arbiter parried the blow, sending K'zath's arm upward.
"Not everything...."
K'zath's
face distorted in anger, and, jumping up in the air, sliced at Thel's
unprotected side. Just before the sword hit, however, the Elite rolled
to the side, and with the tip of his violet blade, brushed the armoured
leg of the Kaidon. K'zath gave out an ear piecing scream of pain, and
drew out another sword.
***************
John ran along,
hearing the thirty odd Elites behind him crying out bloodthirsty
screams. He deduced it unlikely that he would prevail in head to head
combat, they were all, after all, Honour Guards, and all he held was a
plasma rifle. Yet he knew he couldn't run forever.
"Face us Demon! Have you no honour?" One called, obviously trying to aggravate him. John didn't care.
He fired a few bolts back, and he heard a cry of pain. It seemed he had taken one out at least.
The
corridors were beautiful, John had to admit as he ran through them.
Mosaics depicting past events in the history of the Elite covered long
stretches of the walls. He could see an Elite shaking hands with a
Prophet, one showing a Hunter being felled by what seemed to be an
Arbiter. John saw a more recent one showing a human being impaled by an
energy sword. The Spartan blasted it.
Despite the pleasant
scenery though, he still faced the problem of all the Elites. The
Arbiter was most likely preoccupied with the Kaidon, so John doubted he
would get assistance from that front. Then he noticed it.
A blue
streak in the ceiling, glowing vividly. A plasma conduit. An idea began
to form within John's mind, he stopped running, and instead
concentrated on the strip above. The Elites soon caught up.
"Given up Demon?" An Honour Guard Ultra taunted, marching to the front of the group. John smiled.
"Not
quite," He said, and fired several bolts at the conduit in the ceiling.
Burning plasma streamed out, landing on a large percentage of the
Guards, including the Ultra at the front. They screamed in agony,
hopelessly trying to bat out the turquoise flames dancing upon their
bodies. Suddenly there was silence. Only ten Guards remained. John
liked those odds.
"You will pay for that, you Human scum!" One shouted in anger.
"Try me." The Spartan taunted, picking up another rifle off the floor; now he held one in each armoured hand.
As one, all the Elites rushed him. John readied himself.
***********
K'zath
swung at the Arbiter, dual swords creating an intricate pattern as they
sliced through the air. With relative ease, he ducked under the two
blades, and tackled the Kaidon, smashing him into the wall. Dust
crumbled around them.
As the Arbiter raised his sword to finish
the Elite off, K'zath kicked his chest, knocking him off. The two were
once again circling.
"You always were reckless in your lessons K'zath!" The Arbiter mocked.
In
anger, the Kaidon lunged once again at Thel. Laughing, Thel easily
deflected the blow, and retaliated with one of his own, aiming for
K'zath's head. At the last second, the Kaidon dove to the side, and the
violet blade missed by mere centimetres.
***********
Johnson fired another burning shot at the Citadel, producing one more satisfying explosion.
"Sergeant, I believe that John is no longer inside the main hall." Mendicant Bias spoke.
"Say what? So I've been wasting my time shooting nothing then?" Avery questioned.
"It would seem so." The Monitor seemed amused.
Suddenly, the Sergeant heard a whooshing noise, and five Banshees flew overhead, releasing fuel rod shots. The Scarab shook.
"***
it, Banshees at Ten O' clock!" Johnson shouted, and Mendicant, who had
integrated himself into the system, began firing the auto cannon that
nested upon the top of the huge vehicle.
"Reclaimer, I believe you should get down there soon. John may be in trouble."
Another Banshee soared overhead.
"Oh yeah? And how do you suppose I do that?" He queried.
As
if on cue, a plasma bolt from the Scarab's turret hit the driver of one
of the Banshees, sending it crashing down upon the top of the killing
machine. The Driver was dead, but the actual vessel was still very much
intact.
"I believe that is your answer Sergeant." Bias replied.
Johnson sighed.
"Very well," He began, slowly walking up the ramp of the Scarab. "You sure you'll be okay in here Light Bulb?"
The
Monitor looked at the Engineers, who were happily pushing buttons,
doing what they loved most. The Scarab was operating at maximum
capacity.
"I'm sure we'll be fine." Bias said wryly.
******************************
John
fired rapidly, blue bolts streaming from the tips of his two rifles,
and smashing into the body of the foremost Elite. After a few seconds,
the Elite collapsed. The others had come into close quarters by now,
and were preparing to slice with their burning swords. One swung at the
Chief, and the Spartan jumped high into the air, somersaulting as he
soared, pumping bolts of death into the attacker.
He landed
behind another, and without looking back, rammed his elbow into the
Elites chest. John felt a brief resistance from the Honour Guards'
energy shields, then penetrated through, and smashed through it's
pumping heart. When John withdrew his arm, it was covered in a damp,
orange blood.
He noticed another Plasma conduit, and fired at
it. Once again, burning fire poured out, incinerating another five
Elites. Now only three remained.
"Throw down your weapons if you
wish to live!" John ordered, and his demand was met. The Elites dropped
to the ground, hands held high up in the air.
Thinking the
situation over, John made the mistake of turning around. Taking
advantage, one of the Elites pounced upon John, knocking him the the
ground. John grabbed the Elite by it's throat, and threw it with one
hand into another, sending them both crashing to the floor, unconscious.
One
still remained though, and before John could react, it swung a mighty
kick at John's head, dazing him. Grabbing the Spartan by it's shoulder,
the Elite hoisted him up into the air, picking up an Energy Sword.
"And
so," The lone Honour Guard spoke, activating the blade. "This is where
you die." The Elite raised the sword, and John closed his eyes.
Suddenly, a shot rang across the silent hall, and John felt the intense pressure on his shoulder release.
"Not today Ugly." A familiar voice spoke. John turned around, and saw him.
"Johnson?" He asked in disbelief.
"Who else were you expecting?" The Sergeant broke out into a grin.
"But...I saw you die!" The Spartan protested.
"You
know what the say Chief, it ain't over 'til the Fat lady sings, and at
the moment, it looks like her throat's a little sore."
**************
"You're
strong K'zath, but not strong enough!" The Arbiter shouted through
gritted teeth. Both of their swords were clashed against each other.
The battle had become a contest of strength.
"That is where you
are wrong Thel!" K'zath made one last final push, and managed to break
the Arbiter's defence. Thel went tumbling to the ground.
"Go ahead, kill me. R'tas will kill you for failing to hold the Demon in any case." Thel spoke, defeated.
"You
overestimate him Thel." K'zath spoke, placing his foot upon the
Arbiter's chest. "He has no chance against thirty of the Guard. He is
dead."
"Were it so easy..." Thel spoke, echoing what he had first spoken months ago.
"Prepare
to die, Arbiter." The Kaidon raised both his swords, preparing to
impale. As his arms descended though, two green, armoured hands grabbed
them, stopping them dead in their tracks. With an impending horror,
K'zath turned around, and saw the face of his worst nightmare, the
Demon.
"Impossible..." He breathed, and John hoisted him up into the air.
"You
know what they say about that word..." The Demon spoke, and, grabbing
the Kaidon by the throat, tossed him into the wall. K'zath moaned in
pain.
"Please...please!" K'zath screamed. "Have mercy!"
John bent down to the broken Elite's level.
"Demons
don't show mercy." He whispered before sharply chopping the Kaidon in
the throat. K'zath gave a gargle, coughed up blood, and then slumped to
the ground, lifeless. He noticed a small metallic chip drop out from
the Kaidon's corpse. Hoping it was what John thought it was, the
Spartan picked it up.
Johnson came rushing into view, out of breath.
"God *** it, I missed the party." He swore.
"Sergeant?" The Arbiter rose, and asked in disbelief.
"Yeah yeah, I'm still alive. Come on, I'll fill you in on the details once we get out of here."
John looked at Avery.
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" He asked, sceptical.
Suddenly,
the roar of the Scarab beam thundered, and one hundred feet or so
ahead, a section of the corridor broke off, opening a passage to the
outside.
"Ah."
"This one has forgotten whether it's heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate" ~ Blasto, the only Hanar Spectre.