- Rare_Spartan
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- Exalted Legendary Member
Chapter 10: Homecoming
"....Lashing fire for all that remains when we, the worthy, have passed beyond." said a holographic Truth from ontop of a relatively short pedestal. The Arbiter-the three Unggoy following-approached the San 'Shyuum and said, "I will not be shamed. Not again. Not by you!" The Sangheili slung his plasma rifle forward, sending several small sparks through the air, along with fragments of the damaged projector.
"Hey, what's the Demon doin'?" asked the Grunt Sergeant, pointing to the far side of the V-shaped passageway (from the exterior of the warehouse), where the Master Chief was crouching his body up-and-down the seemingly lifeless body of a Kig-yar soldier.
The Arbiter marched angrily toward this obscenity, disgusted.
"You think it's fun to mock your opponents in this fashion?" barked the Sangheili.
"Argh!" squaked the apparently living creature, "I spit on your visor, Demon!"
"Let him die quickly!" the Arbiter shouted, walking away. And as the Demon moved onward, the three Unggoy pointed their plasma pistols directly toward the birdlike creature's skull.
"Kill me yourself!" shouted the Kig-yar, raising his head forward. The Arbiter closed his eyes for a brief moment, then turned back toward the soldiers.
"So," asked the Sangheili, "You want your name in the book of the Arbiter? That it should end with me being killed by some Kig-yar with no name?"
"My name is Glop!" shouted the creature, now standing back on his feet, "And my name shall be remembered forever!"
"Only if you kill me!" shouted the Arbiter, his energy sword now shining through the sun's rays, "Otherwise, you're nothing." The noble Sangheili threw his sword onto the floor, walking closer toward the Kig-yar, who now held a Brute Shot (Type-25 Grenade Launcher).
"Now, let me tell you something." the Covenant Seperatist said, ripping pieces of his armor off one at a time, "The gods will not allow me to die by your feeble weapon! The gods will not allow me to be taken by any parasite! The gods will not allow me to pass in my sleep!" The Sangheili ripped the last piece of his armor off, revealing the Mark of Shame branded on his chest.
"Now, Glop, strike me hear, and end my life!"
The Kig-yar, now struck with fear, nervously held the Brute Shot over his head, nearly ready to plunge the launcher's blade into the alien's heart.
"Unggoy, give him his sword or I'll-I'll-"
"You'll what?" shouted the Arbiter, "Kill me? Then go on, do it! Kill me! Kill me!!"
Glop closed his eyes, sighed, then dropped his weapon onto the floor, along with himself. The Arbiter walked forward, looked down apon the Kig-yar and said, "You know why you can't kill me my friend? Because I died what seems like years ago."
The Arbiter turned backward, preparing to put his armor back onto his body, "That's enough parody for now. Come, Unggoy."
"Huh? Where are we goin' now?" asked Pillow.
"Into battle." the Arbiter replied.
"Wait- did you just say 'into battle'?", Fisca gulped.
"But of course. Surely, you didn't think those asses were going to kick themselves?"
"Your office?" asked Little Sparky, "But my liege, you're still hangin' out at High Chari-"
Just then, the Combat Form's vision blurred, and now appeared to be standing within what was once the Council Chamber of the Covenant's holy city, High Charity. But now, this hall was simply writtled with Brain Forms, its atmosphere poisoned by countless flood spores.
The large, snakelike tentacles of the Gravemind oozed from the bottom of the elevator shaft, creeping towards poor Sparky.
Silence fills the empty grave, now that I am gone.
But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on.
Now I will ask and you will answer.
"Please, your majesty." begged Little Sparky, "I didn't mean-"
"Do I look fat to you?" asked the Gravemind, its entire figure plopped ontop of the shaft, its physic as mangled as a bowl of noodles.
"Sir, I don't know how to-"
"Do I. Look fat?" the creature asked again.
"Um, no, my lord. You're....glowing?"
"Really? You're so sweet!" exclaimed the creature, its voice more playful than ever before. Sparky's vision blurred once again, as he was teleported back into the control room of Uncle Dirtnap.
"What the bloody hell was that all about?"
The hillside was littered with Covenant corpses, the only notice of sound of plasma fire coming from the Anti-Air (AA) Gun standing on all three legs at the top of the hill.
"What happened here?" asked Fisca.
"Looks like somebody beat us to the punch." the Grunt Sergeant said with a small bit of optimism.
"Spartan." whispered the Arbiter, staring blankly at the Master Chief, who was pumping countless bursts from him his assault rifle into the belly of the enormous AA Gun. The crew raced to the top of the hill, where, not far from the cliff edge, stood the Forerunner Dreadnought.
"Sergeant, can your hear me? This is Chrille. We are inside the ship. I repeat: We are inside the ship. Over." the Unggoy spoke through the Sergeant's radio.
"I hear ya. Good work!" replied the Grunt Sergeant, tipping his (army) cap forward with relief when, just then, half-a-dozen UNSC Frigates began firing onto the ship's seemingly weak exterior.
"Chrille, you still with us?" barked the Unggoy.
"Yeah." she replied, "Just a bit shakey there."
"Wow, that was a lot of people dying at once!", they heard Piggyback saying in the background. The head of the gun behind them fell off of its torso, and off of the cliff edge. To their suprise, the Mater Chief was alive and well, his assault rifle slung over his back.
Seconds later, the ground below the Forerunner ship began to lower, opening a rather large crater, its sides opening wide open like the petals of a flower. What followed was a large, blue beam, rocketing into the swirling vortex in the sky.
The Arbiter growled moments later, as the Dreadnought drifted into the gigantic, blue sphere that hovered just above the crater.
"Chrille, come in! Over." shouted the Grunt Sergeant. There was no answer.
"Hey, look!" exclaimed Pillow, pointing to the left of the huge pedestal. It was a CCS Battlecruiser. However, there was something not quite right about it, as this one was covered in a rancid, green-red. The ship flew just over the crew's heads, and crashed just next to the warehouse they had just moments ago walked out of.
The Flood had arrived.
[Edited on 12.05.2007 7:54 PM PST]