Truth of the Rings 5 - Brotherhood

Part 8 - Wars of Faith

The team dropped from above, Gunny stepping forward and right up to the leader. "If you had bothered to follow your own friends, you'd know it wasn't real. It's a blip on her scans, nothing more."

Floyd stepped forward, his visor once again removing all the emotions his face held. "How would you know that and he didn't?"

Jen appeared before her Spartan, at around normal height for once. "Because she's Rampant! Can you not just trust that I know what I'm thinking for once?!"

"For once? I have listened to you every step of the way, and put my faith in you every time we got into a fight. How many times has a calculated throw you gave me at the wrong angle? Or you took long enough to get a door open that we started to take fire?" He glared down at her.

"I'm not infallible! We AI are made more like humans for the specific reason so we CAN think like you all! And now making a mistake isn't acceptable for something with human traits?" She turned her back on him again. "Maybe the marines were right about you and John. Maybe you two really just aren't human."

Floyd clenched his fists, feeling quite possibly more fury than he had ever felt. In one quick move he passed through Jen and lifted Gunny by his arm and throwing him at the rest of the group.

Sam was quick to put himself between the flying Spartan and the regular human, saving Maddison from having the thousand pounds of force on her body. Luna stood and tried to hit Floyd but this wasn't her forte. Every hit was easy for Floyd to predict and after a couple dodged and blocked hits he batted her fist aside and landed an elbow on her head. The rest of the group tried to advance on him but Floyd's speed was unmatched by even other Spartan IIs apart from Kelly, and he put them down with relative ease.

He then drew his knife, raising it to finish off his team. But before he could a loud crash sounded from the ceiling as it shattered inward.

The fight between the AI had dropped the base's shield, and as such two forces had come in personally to face Cortana and her people. Warden Eternal himself, and a Brute. The Brute seemed to have a sort of Skull paint over his face, and a plasma mace in his hand. Floyd looked between them and then at his team. "Cortana. Prepare a long range, human friendly ship and get Luna and Maddison back to the UNSC fleet, so they can get support here. Gunny, Sam, take down the Warden. I'll keep the Brute occupied."

"... Just like that you think you are in charge?" Gunny glared and stood again.

"Do you have a better plan? Because if not, get moving." Floyd ran forward and tackled the brute, buying the team time to get moving.

As much as he wanted to protest, Floyd wasn't wrong. It was work together or die now, Warden Eternal was MASSIVE and bore a sword about the side of a tank. Jen popped back into Gunny's helmet for the time being so she could be safe in her chip. "Jesus she's still good...."

"Yeah well you might get another chance if we make it out, now how do I kill this thing?" Gunny rolled to cover and avoided the Promethean forces that flooded in behind The Warden, taking cover.

".... I don't know if you can."

Floyd had lost his rifle some time before, so at this point, it was just his hands for this brute. But Floyd was noticing that this could not be a regular brute. It was precise, tactical, and smart. Not to mention being much larger and stronger than most brutes he had ever faced. Even Floyd was getting knocked around.

He punched it in the gut a few times making it stagger ever so slightly, letting him jump on it and climb to its back to start punching its head. The Brute took a few hits before managing to grab the Spartan 2 and throw him off raising the mace and slamming it into Floyd's side. Floyd Braced his side but with the force the mace had he still stumbled anyway. The brute sent two more similar hits into his side, then grabbed Floyd by the neck.

The Brute got a good look at his enemy finally, seeming to smile. "The Master Chief, finally out of hiding to face me."

"Never hid... You just weren't worth... My time....." Floyd tried prying his hand off, not managing to do much but learn how strong the brute's hand was.

The Brute growled. "Hear my name as I send you to the afterlife, Spartan. I am Atriox. And even if enemies like the Flood, The Didact, and the Prophets could not stop you... I will be your end."

"Not... Today." Floyd drew his knife and slammed it into the brute's finger, using the leverage to pry himself free and kick the brute across the nose. He backed up a bit so he could breathe, taking his stance again and getting ready for Atriox.

Sam held onto the Warden's shoulder for LIFE, staying atop the area and firing rounds into the Warden's head. It was largely ineffective. Eventually the Warden seemed to get irritated and try to smack Sam off which led Sam to Dodge under and use the leverage to swing off of the man. "We are running out of options here! This guy ain't exactly a pushover!"

The Warden slammed his sword down to the ground at the pair, causing both to strafe to the sides and keep moving. "I am the rightful heir to the Forerunner's army! I have fought this war for centuries longer than humanity existed!"

Cortana used hard light technology to appear at his size, smacking him across the face "But I earned the right more than you ever did!"

Gunny leaned against his cover to breathe. "Have you figured it out yet Jen? Because we are going to get overwhelmed quickly if you didn't."

Jen appeared "yeah... But we need him to do it." She pointed at Floyd. "He's the only one strong enough."

"Why, what is it?"

"The black hole on the Warden's back is what holds him together. Floyd has to rip its container apart." She looked at Gunny.

"But he's still crazy. Did you say something downloaded into his head that made him lose it?"

"Yes... That's why I'm asking you to do this Gunny. You are the second most experienced person In the room, and the only person with a chance in hell to pull this off." She sighed and disappeared again. "Get me into his head."