- Wolverfrog
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- Fabled Legendary Member
Then, another figure crashed through the heavy wall of Flood, who were now beginning to close in on the area the ship had once occupied. A golden flash of armour, and a burning blade of violet.
"Arbiter!" Fred called to the Elite, who picked up on the noise instantly. The Spartan shot a few Flood soldiers behind the Arbiter. "Come towards me, I'll give you a boost!"
The Arbiter nodded, although seemed a little concerned. "What about you?"
Fred shook his head grimly.
"I can't make it, and there's no way in hell you'd be able to throw me up. I can still help you though! What happened to the others?"
The Arbiter hung his head sadly.
"They're dead, Spartan. The Brutes died tackling a Juggernaut, Jahl threw himself on his own sword to stop the parasite infecting him, and Relg and Malkor, they -- they died, saving me. I got careless, a group of Flood overwhelmed me. They helped me escape, but at the cost of their lives. Honour Guards to the end," the Elite answered bitterly, shaking his head.
Fred nodded, shoulders sagging a little.
"It's not your fault, Arbiter. Come on, hurry!"
The Arbiter ran, narrowly avoiding the clutches of the encompassing Flood forces. He charged towards the Spartan, who caught his legs and threw the Sangheili into the air. The Arbiter lunged with his hand for John, who was bent over the edge of the ship. This time, the two hands clasped firmly, and John grunted as he felt the Elite's considerable weight. Closing his eyes, he pulled the Arbiter up, using all his strength. In a few moments the Arbiter stood by him and Sergeant Johnson, grasping the edges of the ship desperately.
"We've got to get inside this ship, Chief!" Johnson told the shell-shocked Spartan, who nodded absently. The Arbiter passed him an energy sword, which he used to cut a hole in the ship's triple layered hull. Sombrely, John stole one last look at his life long friend .
"We'll never forget you, Fred," he shouted down, tears choking his voice. "Your death won't be in vain, I'll make sure of that."
Fred laughed, stabbing two approaching Flood forms in the head.
"Death? Don't you know, John? Spartans never die." Then the Spartan disappeared in a swarm of Flood, and vanished from John's sight. John stood at the precipice of the ship's rim, sighing. Then, depressed, he climbed inside the ship with the Arbiter, Johnson, Kelly and Mendicant Bias.
Kelly was slouched in the corner, being comforted by an uneasy looking Sergeant Johnson. The Arbiter approached John, head hung low.
"Spartan; I am so, so sorry," the Elite told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. John just shrugged him off, breathing deeply. A shield spawned in the area where the hull had been breached.
Only the four of them and Mendicant Bias had made it. Everyone else was dead, or worse. And there were two less Spartans in the galaxy. Gritting his teeth with anger, John drew out his rifle.
"Enough talk. We're going to go kill that bastard."
* * * * * * *
Fred could feel the mass of Flood on top of him, pounding into his energy shields. There was no way in hell he was going down without a fight. He braced himself, tightened the grip he had on his knives, and pushed the assailants of with a cry.
They fell sprawling to the ground, and the Spartan vaulted backwards, stealing a glance at the Gravemind's ship, which suddenly slammed into the roof of the room. The metallic roof buckled as the gigantic, heavy ship crashed through it, reaching for the surface.
Good luck John, Fred projected quietly, before turning his attention to the matter at hand. Dozens of Flood forms had gathered around him in a circle, with thousands more watching with glee. Fred laughed, looking down at his knives and grinning.
"You still there, Linda?" he asked over a secure channel.
"Barely. I see everyone else made it. I guess we're screwed," the Spartan sharpshooter answered from atop her crumbled pillar. A congregation of Flood had gathered at the base of it, and she was busy fighting those who dared to climb it off.
"It looks that way. Well, we might as well go out in a blaze of glory," Fred answered, smiling. Linda chuckled quietly.
"The HAVOK?"
"Hell yeah."
There was silence for a few moments, before she answered firmly.
"Do it. I'll give you covering fire. The Flood will learn that messing with Spartans is a bad idea."
Fred grinned maliciously behind his visor, raising his knives.
"They certainly will. Let's have some fun first, eh?"
"Sounds good. Don't overdo it."
He cut the communication, and shut his eyes for a few moments. He'd led a good life, and a beneficial one too. He'd saved thousands in his time, maybe millions. Fred wasn't afraid of death.
"Now," he spoke to the Flood soldiers, who were leering at him. "I've heard a lot of talk from you guys. You claim to be the perfect organisms and all, but I really don't see it. I mean, look at you. You're falling to pieces, literally. It's quite pathetic, really."
"You taunt that which you will soon become," one of them rumbled, stepping forward. It wore mismatched Elite armour, coupled with a UNSC helmet. Fred turned to it.
"Is that so?" he answered mockingly, systematically driving the heavy hilt of one knife into a Flood Stalker creeping up behind him. "Those are pretty big words coming from an awfully mutilated mouth. I see why the Gravemind kept you all out of sight down here; you're embarrassments. Go on, try me. I dare you."
The Flood form stepped forward angrily, and suddenly found that its head became separated from its torso as a sniper bullet zoomed across the room from atop a pillar, soaring through the Flood's cranium and not stopping. It tumbled to the ground before Fred's feet, who grimaced down at it.
"Well, you didn't last very long. Does anyone else care to try their luck?" he challenged the rest. The Flood soldiers exchanged a glance, and five of them surged forward. Fred leapt into action, engaging them with his long bladed combat knives aggressively, cutting through a maelstrom of flesh and bone, losing himself in the brutal art. Seconds later, they all lay on the ground, shredded to pieces.
"Oh, come on! Is this really the best you've got?"
Three more from the group surged forward, not even reaching him as a round from Linda's sniper rifle felled one, just before another shot fell two others. Fred was thoroughly enjoying himself now, even though he knew it wouldn't last. Eventually, the thousands of Flood soldiers would grow bored of this sport and open fire on him. But he didn't plan to let them do this.
"Now you see, here's the thing," he began, drawing the small HAVOK nuke from a protective cage on his bag. It was completely harmless -- until it was armed. Then it would be turned into one of the most deadly portable nuclear weapons in humanity's disposal. Usually it would level the entire city of Vadam, but this far underground, Fred was pretty sure it would only destroy the Citadel. "I see all of you, facing me all smug and haughty, like you have the upper hand. This amuses me greatly."
As he brought the HAVOK into view, he saw concern and worry crease the faces of the Flood ranks
Curious. The Flood seem to possess two different ownerships. The Gravemind being the more dominant and possessive one, but there seems to be a second as well. Almost a hive mind. And perhaps there is even a third, deeply repressed aspect to them; individuality.
A couple of them stepped forward anxiously, and were suddenly felled by Linda and her ever ready sniper rifle. Fred held up a hand warningly.
"I'd calm down if I were you. If I touch this button like this," he pressed the activation button on the side of the nuke. "And then speak this code," he then recited the security code which would prime the nuke, "then this once harmless hunk of metal becomes a very deadly, dangerous nuclear bomb. And oh dear, it just did didn't it?"
The Flood were wide eyed, aiming their weapons at him. Fred laughed, holding the football sized bomb out at arm's length.
"Steady on," he cautioned seriously. "My vital signs are linked to this bomb. I die, and it detonates. And I think you've assimilated enough people to know what it does. Oh, and incidentally, it's set to go off by itself in five minutes."
The thousands of Flood soldiers stared at him in horror for a few seconds, and then as one, surged forward to the exit of the room, pushing past each other frantically. Fred called after them, laughing maniacally.
"I was joking," he told them. "There's no need for a countdown whatsoever."
They turned to face him as one, staring at him with terror. He nodded.
"Yeah, you're screwed," he told them sincerely, activating the nuke. It pulsated dangerously, turning from green to yellow. When it reached red, it would detonate. The Flood howled with rage, some of them still attempting to flee. Fools.
"Ready, Linda?" he asked his lifelong friend sadly.
"It's a little late for second thoughts now, Fred," she answered dryly. He laughed heartily, before sighing.
"It's been an honour, Linda. To know you as both a soldier, and a friend," he finished, staring up at her on the pillar. She nodded.
"Likewise, Fred. An honour."
The HAVOK bomb turned red. Fred saw the bright light, heard the roaring sound, and then--
Darkness.
[Edited on 06.03.2010 6:37 AM PDT]