Convergence Infinites: Halo

Chapter Fifty Two

Master Cheif saw another leg come down near him, and he ran for it, putting his Sniper Rifle on his back. As the leg came up for another step, he jumped, grabbing on to it. He managed to gain a handhold near the hinge to the spike that served as a foot. As it came down, he used the shock of it to launch himself upwards. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Scarab had destroyed one of the Scorpion tanks already, and was aiming for the other, charging its Focus cannon.

This time, he landed on the other leg, on the upper hinge that formed the knee. He climbed until he was on top of it, and observed the platform. Three Brutes stood there, looking down below, mocking the humans below. They didn't notice he was about to board their toy.

He jumped again, this time landing beside them. He grabbed his Sniper Rifle as quickly as he could, and shot one in the head.

It blew off the helmet, and made the Brute stagger, tripping over the edge and falling down below. Banks and Dubbo were already onto it, filling it with bullets before it could stand.

John, meanwhile, fired another round, hitting the torso of another Brute. Like the last one, it staggered, and fell. Unfortunately, it fell to the other side, landing on the platform instead of the sand below. The third Brute, armed with a Mauler, aimed it at him. John tried to bring his rifle up, to get a round off.

A Laser hit the Brute straight in the chest, and after a moment, the Brute fell down. John could see a hole in the chest where there didn't used to be one. A hole he could see through to the other side.

Spark came to hover beside John. John nodded in thanks, and reloaded the near-empty rifle. The last Brute got up, aiming the Spiker it wielded at the Monitor. The Monitor merely activated some sort of Orange repulsive shield, deflecting the spikes. It tried to reload, but suddenly looked down. John did so as well.

A blade emerged from the Brute's abdomen, and was starting to slide upwards. Soon, after about two seconds, the Brute was vertically split in two, the Arbiter standing behind it.

"Impressive display of stealth." The monitor said. "But I advice we vacate this vehicle."

John wanted to ask why, but he heard a loud whir, and he turned.

A Vulture Gunship was right behind him, missile pods aimed at the Protos Scarab. He got the idea, and jumped off, the Arbiter right behind him.

They landed just as the first missile struck, hitting the doorway to the tank's interior. It became wretched in debris and flames, trapping the occupants inside. The second hit the head doing double duty as the focus cannon, disabling it and making it shower sparks. The third and fourth hit the front legs. They must have packed quite a punch, because John could see very large explosions, and the next moment, the legs fell down without the Scarab.

He knew what that meant. The thing had no front legs. No front support for the weight. It would topple forwards.

Towards Them.

He ran as fast as he could, dropping the heavy rifle to lose some weight. He saw the Arbiter was actually catching up and passing him by, either getting the idea as well or seeing it fall towards him.

Having an idea, he rolled to the side a few times. As expected, the thing still fell... a few meters in front of his feet, going sideways.