[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] quadpedal You guys messaged me when the next chapters were up, thanks, do you do this to everyone?[/quote]Essentially to everyone that still shows an interest in this series after two chapters, yes. :P [i]Chapter 10: There Will Be Beer[/i] "MacMillan," the Arbiter said, "we're going to freeze to death, if we don't come up with a solution quickly." The Captain paused for a moment, reached into his backpack, then pulled out two pieces of beef jerky. He rubbed the two pieces together, thereby creating a fire. "There- that should hold us for awhile." MacMillan returned. The Captain then took out two bottles of Scotch, handing one to his alien companion. The Arbiter snapped the cork off with his teeth, sitting up against the wall, along with the ghillie-suited Scotsman. "Are you an angry alien, Arbiter?" MacMillan asked. "Excuse me?" said the Arbiter, setting his bottle down. "Are you envious? Do you get envious?" "I don't think so- no." The Arbiter said cautiously. "I have a competition in me." MacMillan continued, "I want no other game to succeed. I hate most games." "That part of me is gone." Arbiter said, "Working and not succeeding. Because of all my failures, I....I just don't care." "Well, if it's in me, it's gotta be in you. There are times when.....I look at [i]Halo[/i] and I see nothing worth liking." "What will you do with the female?" asked the Sangheili. MacMillan took another gulp of Scotch, then weezed, "I don't know. Maybe it'll get better with us. Maybe it'll change." "You told me she had a lover. Where is he?" "I don't wanna talk about [i]those[/i] things." MacMillan replied, "I see the worst in [i]Halo[/i], Arbiter. I don't need to look past that page on Xbox.com to know that it sucks. Having you around gives me a second breath in life, lad." The Captain took his final sip of alcohol (for the day), and before making a fiendish laugh, he said, "I can't keep doing this on my own. With these.....games." Just then, the door that had previously cut them off opened up. And at the entryway stood Big Bird, who, as always, was wearing his black helmet. "Big Bird!" MacMillan exclaimed, as he began to stand back up (thereby extinguishing the fire formed by the two pieces of beef jerky). "C'mon, you two." Big Bird said, motioning his right hand out of the door. [b]Onboard the CH-64 Sea Knight, Big Bird, just outside of High Charity[/b] "Alright, guys," Big Bird said, "Our plan to catch Truth didn't go so well, but I have another one." "Let's hear it then, lad." MacMillan replied. "Ok, Truth's already moved to the front of the ship. He and his crew are about to make a jump. We'll have to move a couple days forward in time. However, that's also when the [i]city[/i] is supposed to be attacked by a group of Half-Life style zombies called the Flood. "They won't be a problem, Big Bird." the Scotsman said, "I own that Gordon Freeman laddie's mother. If I can handle her once a week, these [i]Flood[/i] characters should be a peace o' cake." "Well, sir, I don't see the relation between Go-" "Prepare the jump!" [i]Two hours later[/i] "Hey, mister." Suzy said, entering the cockpit (shut up) of the Sea Knight. "Oh, hello." Big Bird said, as he tilted his head backward, only to notice the young, black-haired girl standing by the steel door. "Whatcha doin'? =D" "What does it look I'm doing?" Big Bird asked rhetorically. "Hm...idk, flying a space ship? :3", Suzy frowned. The pilot sighed, then said, "Shouldn't you get some sleep?" "Like, no way!" she replied, "I'm a night girl! Day's too warm for me. :(" "But that doesn't- nevermind." "Hey, you wanna hear about the dream I had last night?" asked Suzy. "Uh, I'm a little busy." Big Bird returned, "Maybe-" "Alright, so I was at [i]Silver Dollar City[/i], right? I was on the Powder Keg, and golly, it was goin' so fast! I thought my stomach was gonna fly out! Oh, and then...." [b]High Charity, Docking Bay #11[/b] "Truth should be here in a moment." Big Bird informed, looking at the line of five Covenant Phantoms that started just left of the Sea Knight. "Alright, lad. Is there anything else?" MacMillan asked. "Actually, there is." the pilot answered, "The Flood are on their way, and I have some....unfinished business to take care of. Incase something happens to me while I'm gone, I need you and the Arbiter to look after Suzy." "Will do." MacMillan said plainly, "Where is the lass, anyway?" Just then, out of the aisle of the helicopter, came Suzy, equipped with her own M21 sniper rifle, as well as a pistol. Unfortunately, she hadn't a clue on how to use the freakin' thing. "This is [i]so[/i] cool! Ever since I was six, I wanted to be in the army!" the girl shouted, but not before making a seemingly endless round of "pow!" noises. The Captain walked up to his North American companion, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Take care, my friend. We'll seeya soon." he said. Big Bird smiled softly, as he turned backward and stepped into the aircraft. The Sea Knight lifted from the ground, and as it drifted off into the distance, MacMillan began to feel a very uneasy chill crawl up his spine. "Mercy, my dear, I promise you." The Prophet Truth said, as he and his fellow San 'Shyuum walked down the ramp leading into the docking bay, "You'll feel right at home with my sewing crew!" "Hurry, get down!" MacMillan whispered, forcing both Suzy and the Arbiter into a crouching position. As the two Prophets headed toward one of the Phantom aircrafts, two Flood infection forms sprang from behind, latching onto them by their necks. To make matters worse for the two Prophets (although much better for MacMillan and his gang), descending from a gravlift just a dozen feet ahead of them was none other than the Master Chief himself- the Demon. The Spartan walked forward, stepping both of his armored feet onto the Prophets (both of whom were now lying down). "It's over, you two." said the Chief. But as soon as Truth managed to cough out a laugh, he said, "Not quite, Demon. My [i]Dreadnought[/i] is about to take flight. You'd better hurry if you want to catch Regret." "Thanks for the notice." said the Spartan, "Anything else?" "Y-Y-Yes....." Mercy weezed, "How's about you....suck.....our....di-" And just like that, the Chief shot both of the Infection forms latched onto the Prophets' necks simaltaniously, ending their lives. "Chief!" a female voice shouted, as her small, blue figure emerged from the left arm of Mercy's one-wheeled chair. "That other Prophet-Regret-has the Index. He can activate the ring." the Master Chief said, stating the obvious. "If he does," the holographic woman said, "I'll detonate [i]In Amber Clad[/i]'s reactor just like we did the [i]Autumn[/i]'s. The blast will destroy this city and the ring! Not a very original plan, but we know it'll work." And just before the Spartan was able to reach for the chip containing the AI, she said, "No. I don't want to chance a remote detonation. I need to stay here." "Alright, enough o' this!" MacMillan shouted, as he rose from the lower end of the ramp (with Arbiter and Suzy following his lead almost immediately), "Drop your weapon, Chief!" "Ah, crap." Master Chief whispered, as he ran forward, quickly hopping into the Covenant Phantom through the roof's entryway. Just then, a relatively short amount of static poured through the com link of MacMillan and his crew. [i]"There's the Chief, Captain! After him!"[/i] Big Bird exclaimed, panting heavily through the mic. "Don't worry, Big Bird; we'll get 'im. You holdin' up alright? " MacMillan asked. [i]"Yeah,"[/i] he answered quickly, [i]"Talk to you again soon. Big Bird out."[/i] "Your pilot sounds exhausted." the Arbiter pointed out. "Ah, he's probably just jackin' off." The Scotsman returned, "Lad must get lonely up there, I'm sure." "I see. You will have to explain this concept too me further after this Demon has been dealt with. Quickly, into the Phantom!" the Arbiter exclaimed, as the three of them scurried toward the nearest Covenant aircraft. "Wait!" the blue, holographic woman shouted, her figure brought back to life. "Aye?", MacMillan looked at her, raising his eyebrow. "The Chief- he's not who you think he is." she said. "And just who might you be, lass?" asked MacMillan. "I'm Cortana. Without me, the Chief is hopeless. I am the brain to his brawn; I am the voice of Spartan 117." "And so," the Arbiter said, removing the chip containing the AI from the arm of the metal chair, "You must be silenced!" the Sangheili then resorted to tossing the chip into his mouth, crunching it down for the next ten seconds. "Well done, lad!" MacMillan exclaimed, "Now, to the Phantom!" The three of them lept into the purple-coated ship, with the Arbiter, obviously, as its pilot. Immediately, the vehicle shot out of the docking bay, as it headed toward the triangularly shaped [i]Dreadnought[/i], which was stationed within the center of the "city". "We're almost there!" Suzy shouted, as she peered outside of the Phantom's front window. However, just as they had entered the ship's range, an enormous, squid-like tentacle barged through [i]High Charity[/i]'s interior and into our heroes, sending the Phantom into a downward spiral. [Edited on 05.25.2008 11:23 PM PDT]