(song above dedicated to Steve Rogers)

SARAH:

"On our right!" Sam shouts.

Steve is the first to react as he throws his shield at the ghost coming up the wide stone ramp that parallels the cliffside, the round disk smashing through the front hood and making the vehicle wipe out.

I keep running in the ankle deep snow as I pull up my sniper and fire at the elite driving it that had jumped out, missing the first shot but then the second hits between the plates on his chest and kills him, spraying purple blood against the snow behind him.

A sudden and huge explosion of blue makes us all protect our faces when Stark has used the gun on his wraith to blast a banshee that was headed straight for us.

Cap ducks back to avoid the pieces from the wreckage and brings his shield back as we continue running towards the cliff's edge ahead.

Slowly the distant trees and mountain tops come into view as the ground levels out to less of an upward slope... and when we reach the edge of the cliffs we all stop to take in what we see.

It's a massive purple base that stretches on for what looks like miles through the huge open valley between us and the mountains, cliffsides and switchbacks on our side reaching ground level where the entrance is but... the shape of it and the material. It doesn't look Forerunner. It looks Covenant made.

But what shocks me even further about this sight is what Ryz says. "The O-A-S Class Assault Carrier. Our third largest ship in the Covenant fleet."

"That thing's a spaceship?!" Peter asks, speaking my mind exactly.

"Did you say 'third largest'?" Sam asks with equal astonishment.

"Centuries of intergalactic war will create things as large, humans. You should count yourselves lucky that you never had to make war ships like ours and therefore feel shocked at the size of our fleet. You have lived in peace for this long and now... I fear for what will happen even if we succeed but especially if we fail today."

"Then let's not fail..." Steve says with resolve and I look over at him in agreement.

Tony's wraith stops behind us. "Hey? We takin' a nap ladies or what? Let's go," he tells us.

"Left trail!" Ryz warns, turning to ignite his sword.

We all pull our firearms ready again when footsoldiers come from the left ramp up here, Parker instantly reacting by webbing the jackal and two grunts together before Sam uses his plasma gun to take out the two grunts with one shot through the neck, Rogers taking fire from an elite with his shield up to block it while Ryz is charging a ghost and slicing the pilot in half with one skillful swing of his sword.

I focus my attention to the right when they come up on the other side, our team splitting in two as Steve covers me from the oppising side. I send a shot of pink into the hold of a jackal's shield, causing him to jerk back in pain and I switch up to his head to send another bullet through his brain when his head is exposed.

Peter swings from Tony's wraith in order to use his web grenades on the soldiers coming up my way, giving me a golden opportunity to take them out and I do just that, firing at them as they struggle against the webs, splitting open throats and chests with shots of plasma as Steve runs to the last one ahead of them, tackling the elite by tripping him. His head hits the snow and Rogers slams his shield against his head, the elite grabbing it and fighting him back but this gives me the chance to finish him when I shoot a bullet that pierces his brain—

"Phantom! Three o'clock!" Sam shouts.

"Scatter!" Ryz commands.

We move around to dodge the pink bullets that come for us and burn the ground around at our feet. Steve runs towards me and Sam is ahead of me, sprinting to take cover behind rocks as those shots are falling on us like a rain of fire.

Cap uses his shield to block them from hitting me as he holds it over my body and his and I watch as Stark aims for the phantom and blasts it with a shot from his wraith that blows off one of the turrets, the explosion making the ship bank for a moment. I take this opportunity to aim my sniper at a ghost, pressing the trigger at just the right time to send plasma through the head of the driver, but the phantom has turned to come back not long after, everyone having to take cover again to not get shot.

Ryz looks between it and a banshee before charging down the banshee and he leaps into the air, grabbing the wing with his hand before yanking out the pilot by the ankle and replacing him, manning the aircraft better than any I've seen when he banks hard and runs over two unsuspecting jackals that were firing at us before taking the vehicle around to the phantom and jumping out just as he is above the front of it, landing down on the hood of the pilot station with his sword stabbing through the metal, killing the pilot and making the whole thing jerk to the left towards the cliffside. But before it crashes he jumps off and lands in the snow, doing a roll on impact with the explosions of the crash behind him.

Another shot from the wraith blows up a banshee, sending the wreckage near Steve as it crashes into the snow on our left side.

"We're attracting too much attention to us!" I tell him.

"I don't think that's something we can help!" he replies over the noise before sending out his shield, it smacking into the chest of a grunt and coming back to his arm.

I am about to respond while I snipe out any more enemies coming this way, when I notice him put a finger to his ear. "What is it?" I ask with worry.

"We got a problem," he replies before blocking gunfire from hitting me. Ryz charges down the enemy firing at us with a kick to his chest that knocks him off the cliff before Rogers pulls back. "Come on!" he urges as we both run to the rocks that Sam threw himself behind before.

There, we see Peter who had contacted us, as he stands there with Sam who is holding the backpack he was carrying that now has a huge smoking burn hole in it.

My eyes widen and I look over at Parker who is holding the detonator... the bottom half of it melted completely, warped beyond use.

"So... we go with Plan B..." Rogers says with clear disappointment in his face.

"We're not going to make it in time with all these guys on us!" Sam says.

"Here, you guys take this," Peter says as he picks up the backpack and hands it to Steve and I. "I'll stay with Mr. Wilson and Mr. Stark to keep them off you—"

"No, I can't leave you all behind—" Rogers begins to say.

"Steve we don't have a choice. We have to hurry or our whole planet is doomed," I tell him as I take the pack and strap it to my back. "Come on. Get Ryz and let's go!" I urge as I grab my gun again.

He locks his jaw but silently agrees, worried now for anyone he doesn't have in direct eyesight, as he feels he's not able to take care of them if something goes wrong and he hates it, I know. And I feel the same way but we have to just keep going. We're all in this now for the protection of Earth regardless of what happens to any of us.

But we can do this. I know we can.

IRIS:

I finally wake up after—I don't even know how long. But since I'm still in my fighting gear and surroundings aren't much different I assume it hasn't been long. Although our setting has changed. We're in some huge room overlooking the snowy canyons towards the... I actually don't know what direction that window is facing but it looks like a similar terrain as the canyon we flew through, but with metal bridges connecting the cliffs with doors that lead inside, which are fairly long given how wide the canyon is...

This room is enormous but it doesn't tell me how large the structure we are in is, nor what its purpose is but the way its shaped reminds me of an airport only with one side of window rather than two.

Right now I am sitting against the wall facing the window, my head and back hurting as well as... well... everything else.

"Well, good morning beautiful," Harry's voice says sarcastically beside me.

"Damn. Suddenly I wish I didn't wake up," I grumble back.

He chuckles softly.

"Where the hell are we?" I ask as I continue to look around the room before my eyes fall on him as he stands with his arms folded leaning against the wall.

"None of us know," he replies. "But all we know is we have the entire fleet on us and they can't get in through the door or up the elevator we broke."

I frown and stand up, my legs shaking a bit but he leans down to help me by taking my arm to make sure I don't keel over. "Take it easy. You've been out for about ten minutes," he tells me.

"What happened?" I ask with struggle to balance but after a second I get control of my legs again.

"You blacked out when you killed that group of banshees for us and I was able to keep you safe despite the rather horrible crash we endured."

"Aw, you saved my life again? I'm really in your debt now, aren't I?"

"At this point it seems to be my occupation," he replies with a content smile.

I feel bad but rather than saying something snarky back at him, I lean up and put a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you," I say genuinely.

His lips tug into a little grin. "Alright. If that's how I'm shown gratitude, then I'll be sure to save your life more often."

I laugh softly but then I frown when I see Natasha. "Oh my God, Nat are you okay?" I ask when I go kneel beside where she's sitting, scrapes and bruises littering her skin as she looks halfway in the grave.

"Never been better," she replies with a smirk.

"Well you look like you've never been worse, can you even move?"

"Trust me... this is nothing. You should have seen me after my mission in Berlin last year."

"Honestly, I believe you." I frown when I realize something. "Wait, how will we get out of here to get back to the ship if you guys broke the elevator?" I ask in confusion when I look back at Osborne.

"We're looking for another way out right now," he replies.

"Nothing down this way," Barnes says when he comes back through the doorway on the far side of the long room.

"Then I'll check the other way," I say and put my hand on the wall to steady myself.

"Uh no, you won't," Harry says with attitude like I'm a child.

"I'll go," Romanoff volunteers.

Barnes looks at her like she's nuts and Osborne throws his arms in defeat, as if both of them are just exasperated by us women.

"I'm fine—I can take care of myself," I insist but then almost slip again.

Harry rolls his eyes. "Barnes, you stay with Romanoff. I'll go with miss strong independent woman here."

I glare at him but he lets me hold his arm as we walk with our guns on our backs from the room and through the sliding door that opens for us.

 SARAH:

I stick to the boulder to our left with Steve at my side then Ryz beside him, listening to the talking the soldiers do who come from the pathway we are headed towards.

"They're on the ledge just ahead!" an elite says.

"No! Forget about them! Go to the Library! Those demons with the Icon locked themselves inside it!" his comrade replies before they take off in vehicles.

I glance at Rogers. "They're still alive," I say with relief.

"But they're boxed in..." he tells me.

"Then let's get this done and get the hell out of here," I respond as I ready my firearm.

He nods and holds his shield up as Ryz goes invisible and both of them round the corner, charging down whatever aliens are left in our path. I kneel down and turn to hold up my gun, aiming for the sniper that was guarding there when he lifts his own weapon.

My shot meets his flesh, his head whipping back and spraying blood into the air.

But when I go to shoot again, my gun only clicks. Out of charge.

I toss the gun aside and ignite my claws instead before sprinting after the others, setting my mark on the first jackal I see as Ryz appears behind an elite, slicing his head off with his sword and roaring at his corpse.

I tackle the jackal when he was paying attention to Cap instead, my claws bursting the energy shield it holds and letting me slice off its arm before I dig my claws into its neck and rip them back out. Cap throws his shield above me, taking out a grunt as the disk bounces from it to an elite right in his chest, before coming back to Steve's arm.

Ryz picks up the grunt and throws him hard, right into an invisible swordsman that was sneaking up behind me, knocking them both over and giving me the opportunity to stand up and run to the elite Steve is fighting, ducking and rolling, slicing his ankle on the way and giving Rogers the chance to slam his shield to the alien's skull, knocking him back. I slice off his hand and catch the plasma rifle he drops as I do, using it to fire through his neck after spinning to do so. Steve puts up his shield to block needler shots that come my way, allowing me to focus fire on the swordsman that got back up after being hit by the flying grunt, firing plasma at his stomach, chest, and anything else I can before he can reach us, three of the shots making it through the alien's flesh and making him finally fall back onto the snow.

When my gun overheats I drop it, activating my claws again when we move on, running over the snow towards the ramp that leads to the ship's interior, more soldiers ahead of us.

Cap holds up his shield to block the plasma guns from a ghost coming our way before he flings it sideways, lopping off the left wing and so the left thruster and turret with it, the whole thing breaking off with blue sparking in every direction. I run and jump, tackling the elite that was driving it just as he is flung from his seat, burying my claws into his chest and falling with him when he hits his back onto the snow. I yank out my claws and shove them through his head beneath his jaw before pulling them out again and standing up to keep running with Steve.

I watch a jackal sniper fall onto the snow beside us with a huge sword wound through his back, making me look up at Ryz who is taking out all the longer ranged assailants.

Cap sends his shield at a grunt a few meters ahead that had just activated a grenade, the alien dying in a huge electric blue explosion while I charge for another shielded jackal that is firing at me and steadily moving backwards.

I dodge left and then duck, rolling and tripping him when he doesn't expect it, making him fall forward onto the snow. Cap throws his shield so hard at his head that it breaks his neck on impact, killing him.

He then ducks to miss the swing of an energy sword that nearly slices his throat, returning by slamming his shield to the knee of the alien and I slide by to slice the elite officer's leg, standing up when I'm behind him and stabbing my claws into his lower back but I see elbow suddenly and then stars as I fall back and my head hits the snow.

My face is numb at first from the shock of the injury and I use that to my advantage, spitting blood from my lip and nose onto the ground before I stand up to rejoin the fight.

Steve has grabbed the arm of the elite that holds the sword and spins, kicking his jaw hard before I stab his calf and move fast before his sword can swing down on me. Rogers hits him with his shield in the chest to knock him off balance but he then turns and swings, missing Steve but his leg doesn't when the huge alien kicks him he goes flying and tumbling against the ground. But this distraction gives me the chance to slice off his left leg, making him roar and fall, catching himself on his hands but Steve comes back and flings his shield, the edge going through the elite's fire orange helmet and piercing his brain, killing him.

"Let's go!" Ryz tells us as he jumps down to the ground again and continues running. We follow close behind as I grab a grunt and rub my nose against my sleeve to get the blood off, keeping up best I can, my face hurting badly now.

I watch as we pass some empty vehicles parked nearby, getting closer to our destination.

IRIS:

The architecture is really quite something. Very futuristic and it almost reminds me of a rusted version of like Tron or something. Obviously everything is insanely old but it looks well preserved and kept somehow. I have no idea how this false environment thing works and how it has been maintained for so long but it's pretty cool.

In this building there seems to be more color as some of the lights and light strips are dark warm and some are just blue, the metals looking like they almost have different shades as well as the ceilings stretch high into the sky. The rooms are... weirdly empty. But I have no clue what it was used for before the Covenant got here and probably made it into some religious monument.

"You really think they can't get in here?" I ask, uneasy as I hear them trying to down somewhere below us.

"Well we might as well wait in here until they can. It's buying the others time. Hopefully they're much more concerned with us than them."

"Well hopefully we can find a back way out otherwise we might not make it back at all. We'll have the entire Covenant fleet on our doorstep..."

"I'm sure there's another exit somewhere."

"And if we can't find one?"

"Well then we can just makeout while we wait to die," he says with a sigh.

"Excuse me?" I ask with a brow raised, both of us stopping to face one another.

He frowns at me as if I shouldn't be questioning him, messing with me. "Oh, I'm sorry, is that not what you wanted me to do back at that outpost before? Because it sure looked like it was—"

"Oh—Nuh-uh. No no no, you were the one looking at me like I was an eight course meal, Osborne—"

"Oh come on—"

"No. You were totally about to kiss me."

"I was not!"

"So were! That look in your eyes—"

"No, you just wanted me to be thinking that, admit it."

"Admit that you want me to want you to be thinking that!"

"You are absolutely in denial—"

"Don't turn this around on me—"

"Do you want to kiss me or not?"

"No!"

We stop for a second, both hesitating after I shout that. But that's when we just abruptly erase the space between us and I eagerly fold my lips with his, him catching my waist and my hand gripping the collar of his suit to pull him against me.

Damn, I think my soul just left my body for a moment. Is this how Sarah feels when she kisses her Dorito? If so then I understand why they do it so much...

My back hits the pillar I was standing near as he pins me to it and deepens the kiss, putting on a rather intoxicating strategy, I'll admit. I return by weaving my fingers through his hair and hooking my leg around his.

After about five seconds of getting lost in this surprisingly enjoyable kiss we stop, pulling away an inch to take in what we just did and felt all in that one short moment, our noses still touching and eyes opening just a tad.

I end up smirking as my fingers hesitate at the back of his head, woven through his hair. "Well finally. What took you so long?"

He chuckles a bit, his hands tightening around my waist as he pulls me closer and comes back for more.

But the second kiss is short lived because we hear Barnes over our comms say, "Guys, you might want to come back here..."

We stop and our expressions show concern at this.

When we get back to the main room we find Barnes and Natasha looking at the big window. "Did you say they wouldn't be able to get through?" Romanoff asks hesitantly.

We turn to follow their gaze and see what appears to be some kind of heavy duty siege weapon but it looks like a huge spider... crab... robot... thing on four legs, with one big glowing "eye" in the center of its body that walks down the canyon towards us. It's gotta be at least 150 to 200 feet wide...

"Oh... shit," I say.

SARAH:

We arrive at the entrance with guns up, expecting a fight but what we see is no one. And instead we see three empty ramps that lead up to a huge doorway wide enough for people and vehicles to go through. But it's shut, the lights above it blinking red.

"Security lockdown," Ryz tells us.

"Something tells me we're not exactly welcome," Steve remarks.

"Can you get us in?" I ask him.

"I can," he responds and jogs up to the ramp with Rogers and I at his tail.

My legs burn with how much running, walking, jogging, and hiking I have done in the snow. And for a moment it almost feels good to step on the metal rather than the snow but it doesn't actually take away the exhaustion. Not to mention the cold air is a nightmare on my lungs so my fatigue really is starting to set in when the adrenaline wears down.

We head up to the door that looks even bigger now that we're at the base of it; probably a good 20 to 30 feet high.

I am wheezing a bit when I get there and Steve turns to put a hand on my shoulder. "You okay?" he makes sure.

I nod as I catch my breath, bringing my firearm back up as I turn to watch the perimeter while Ryz messes with the control panel on the left side, hacking security clearance or something like that.

But I watch the trees around us and the cliffside, hoping the others are still alive but also ready for danger if I spot anything headed our way. I wish I could see Sam and the other two hooligans from here but I can only hear distant gunfire that lets me know they're still fighting. But said gunfire is getting quieter and quieter now.

"What kind of fight should we expect when that door opens?" I ask.

"Not much. They would have no reason to suspect we would be here and wouldn't bother stopping us. This vessel can carry thousands of soldiers, but right now the only ones in here would be a few engineers at most, given any soldiers to spare are out trying to stop your friends," he answers, a loud clicking sound letting us know he accomplished his goal and Steve and I look back to see the door raising for us.

We stand there watching the inside of the ship be slowly revealed, my fingers clutching my weapon tighter in anticipation.

Steve has stiffened as well at my side, holding his shield ready. But the inside of the ship looks dark and empty, an orange light up near the ceiling slowly blinking on and off. We remain quiet as we stand there, almost holding our breath while we listen... listen to nothing but the wind through the distant trees and echoes of fighting beyond the cliffs behind us...

Ryz holds his own weapon ready and I exchange a look with Rogers, relieved we weren't thrown into a fifteen person firefight but also feeling a bit like I shouldn't be so relieved for whatever reason. The lack of soldiers makes me feel off and I don't know why.

The sunlight from the outside is the only thing illuminating the interior of the ship, dancing off the iridescent purple materials that it's made of.

The first room is huge, meant for carrying vehicles and tons of ground troops that would leave from the large doors. My eyes go up to the second and third floors that I can see from here that line the walls, doorways leading into multiple other parts of the ship. But we don't see any signs of life anywhere yet.

"Let's go," Cap says and walks in, Ryz then taking the lead to guide us down to the door on the right side, our footsteps echoing through the huge room as we jog. When Ryz doesn't wait to open the door when we get there and when they slide apart they make a louder sound than I was expecting, something on the door scraping against the frame. I frown a little but don't think much of it as we continue down the large hallway towards more rooms, passing by the entrance to another big space that looks like it was supposed to hold supplies like weapons, amor, and other military equipment, along with round tables of different sizes for different races. But right now there are more tools than weapons in here...

That being said we quickly take advantage of the gear and grab some more ammo and weapons while we can—

The light above me sparks and flickers suddenly, which makes me flinch and look up at it...

"Come on," Steve urges and I shake my head before following after him, the rooms and hallways getting darker the further into the ship we go as we say goodbye to the sunlight over our shoulders.

My boots echo through the hall along with theirs, that being the only thing I hear aside from my breathing. I hate that I don't have a flashlight on my gun...

As we jog I nearly trip from the pain in my head that briefly returns, making me put my hand on the wall beside me but when I do I feel my glove slip much worse than I expected. I frown, looking at my hand with what little light I have...

"Sarah," Steve says with concern, wondering why I stopped.

I look at him after my eyes raise from looking at the dripping blue substance. "Fresh blood," I say with worry...

His brows furrow as his expression mirrors mine.

IRIS:

"Go back that way!" I shout.

"Then we'll be boxed in!" Harry shouts back.

"We're already boxed in!"

"This way!" Natasha tells us and she and Barnes go the way Harry and I were going to go explore, the huge scarab looking machine getting closer by the second.

As we run, I notice this room curves slightly, as if the structure we are in is round but also an enormous one.

"Wait, stop," I say and they do so. "Do you hear that?" I ask.

Everyone is quiet.

"...Gunshots," Barnes says.

"Who would they be shooting at?" Romanoff asks but before anything else can be said, we hear a loud crash and a rattling of the floor.

I run to the window and look out of it to see the scarab is firing a massive white purple beam from its face onto something the next level down; ground level.

"They're blasting the doors open—" Harry says.

"Let's go!" Romanoff says and the four of us take off down the hall.

SARAH:

"Why is there fresh blood?" Steve asks.

"Ryz?" I ask.

He walks near me and takes my arm in his hand carefully, looking at the grunt blood on my palm before his eyes go to the wall. But before he can answer, we hear distant gunfire and we jolt, bringing our weapons back up in a battle ready position back towards where we came...

"Did that come from outside?" Steve asks hesitantly.

"...No," I answer as my eyes dart around the hallway, unable to see the door because of the darkness. "Ryz?"

"Keep moving," he insists.

We look at him.

"Keep moving!" he repeats and we all begin running again but faster this time.

I am feeling an intense eeriness in my system that is rising by the second, trying to run quieter but now every sound feels like the volume of a gunshot.

We round the corner of the hallway and it opens into a larger room with a circular table in the center... at least I think. It's nearly pitch black in here and my heart is pounding in my chest.

Ryz's foot kicks something and we all look over at what he's looking at... a body.

"Ryz?" Steve questions as the alien kneels down to examine the wound in the elite's chest. His fingers run over the flesh and armor to get a better look before his eyes raise to meet ours. "The parasite."

Metal slamming against metal makes me jump, my hands desperately holding tight to the trigger and barrel of my plasma rifle when I spin around to search for the cause of the sound, my eyes wide with panic.

Ryze ignites his sword and readies for the worst as we all do the same.

IRIS:

We stop running when we are met with Covenant soldiers coming through the large doorway ahead of us, guns pointed our direction as we widen our eyes in sudden fear.

SARAH:

I take short shallow breaths as I back up closer to Steve, trying to hide myself in his large visage as if proximity would keep me invincible... trying to calm my nerves but I'm terrified in this moment.

The gunfire in the distance has now stopped.

The only sound in the room is our frantic breathing as we hesitate, feeling eyes on us.

I then hear something and turn my head to look at the back wall where a blinking light is now covered by something. I can't see through the darkness what it is... until we hear the faint sound of a deep breathy growl... a sound that sends a shiver down my spine.

That's when a shrieking sound makes my heart skip four beats as a mangled body is flung right at us from the shadows. Red tentacles and brown oozing flesh launched right on top of us, making me fall to the ground hard and cover my head like a child in a nightmare as Steve and Ryz both leap to yank it off me, the gunfire even louder than the roaring in my ears.

IRIS:

We stop with even more shock when the deformed bodies of the Flood suddenly leap at the Covenant from behind them, roaring and tearing flesh as they scream and fire back at them, staggering and jumping away in a panic.

"Shit!" I curse as I stagger back, Harry firing his plasma rifle at the first undead monster that comes running at us.

"Go!" Barnes tells us as he begins sprinting with Natasha in the other direction.

I turn and follow them while Harry finishes off the jackal Flood he was shooting before joining us, hearing nothing but absolute mayhem at our backs.

SARAH:

I am panicking so hard that I can't even function well enough to ignite my claws as Ryz slices the monster on top of me and kicks it off my body, freeing me to turn and get back up on my hands and knees as I gag, spitting the organic discharge of the Flood from my mouth that dripped off its body, trembling before I have to get up while Steve fights another off in front of me, my eyes going to Ryz when he charges down an elite sized one with his sword ready and slices it in half just when it lunges for him, turning to grab another jackal one by the arm that had jumped at me, and slamming it against the wall before stabbing it through the torso to finish it off.

I find my gun as fast as I can and when I do I hear more screeching and roaring coming from where had just been, my eyes widening. "Go!" I shout when I stand up again, turning to run after Cap has finished off the one he was fighting with shots through its stomach and chest.

My heart is going a hundred beats per second as I run closely behind Ryz and Steve is behind me, both of us having to rely on our lead to guide us as we can hardly see anything. We head through the large room and to one of the doorways at the end, the doors luckily left open as we charge through.

Rogers turns around to fire but when he does I trip on a ledge and hit the ground on my hands, scrambling and getting back up as soon as I do to keep running, grabbing my gun back as well to follow after Ryz.

But at the end of the hallway we see the door up ahead is shut when we're close enough to notice and I panic. "Is there another way?!" I ask.

Steve turns around and chucks his shield hard, the disk slamming against the Flood in front and I aim down my barrel and begin firing as well, the shots of blue lighting up the hallway and creating a strobe effect.

Ryz looks at the panel that's black with no power but he then puts his arm through the cracked door that's opened just enough for him to do this. "Captain Rogers!" he tells us.

Steve turns to see him doing this and immediately puts his shield, that is almost unrecognizable because of all of the dirt and alien blood covering it, on his back again to pry the door open with Ryz's help, both men pulling on either side to force it wide enough for us to get through while I fire at the hoard of parasites coming this way down the pitch black hall like a cursed zombie shooter game but infinitely more terrifying.

My bullets are making contact but I don't feel them slowing them down, making me gradually more panicked with each second that they get closer.

"Go! Go!" Steve urges and I turn to jump through, him coming in after me and then Ryz squeezing through as well before we continue to sprint with everything we have. At this point we're just trying to remain alive along enough to get this job done. We may not make it out of this but we will be damned if we don't finish this fight.

IRIS:

We run through this huge building with the gunfire behind us, Harry the only one with a gun now.

"Where are we going?!" I ask.

"They blasted a hole through the door! So we're getting out of here!" Barnes replies.

"It's gonna be crawling with soldiers!"

"Do you have a better idea?!" Harry demands.

I scream and stop suddenly when pink needler crystals bounce off the walls towards us with more gunshots coming this way from around the corner ahead.

"Gun!" Barnes insists and Harry tosses it to him, firing instantly at the grunt that runs around but the other little soldier beside is trying to fire behind him before fleeing in terror past us. The elite that runs around the corner, Bucky is about to pelt with plasma bullets as well but when he's covered in Flood spores and brought down as the things feast on him, the alien screaming in terror, we hurry and run as fast as we can past him, Harry picking up a carbine an alien dropped on his way after I grab the plasma pistol the grunt had.

"Look out!" I shriek when I see more of those disgusting larva state creatures running at us, firing immediately to try and get them but they're fast and my bullets make burn marks on the floor as one of them is trying to get to me before being kicked hard by Harry before it gets to me. He then tosses his carbine to Widow who fires two amazing shots that take out two of them one after the other before they can reach us.

But the last one jumps onto Harry at the head of our group and he falls back, clawing at it to get it off when it tries to get to his face. I start blasting it with green plasma but some of the shots hit his suit and cause his shield alarms to blare, just before Barnes uses his metal hand to rip it off and shoot it point blank, the brown ooze spraying out behind it before tossing it and running after Harry gets back up to come with us.

SARAH:

"Go! Go! Go!" Steve repeats as we run down the hall, more of those monsters being heard from the left, right, and even ahead of us. And we are just trying to keep them at our tails at all costs.

I then hear gunshots being fired from the group behind us, plasma shots hitting the floor past our feet before I then hear a grunt from Steve. I turn to see him throw his shield at whatever demon is firing at him and shove him back against his friends.

"Steve!" I say to him, not seeing where he got shot if that's what he was in pain about but I couldn't see anything but a mixture of shadows and some leaks of light through the chaos. I don't even see him before I feel his hand grab mine as he clumsily continues to run forward with me.

But then I hear a loud roar ahead of us and a huge Flood clash into Ryz, the elite acting fast with his sword and slashing the thing's body apart as he roars as well with struggle—I am about to shout when I see the familiar form ahead of an exploding Flood but it's too late and the burst forces Ryz, backwards against the wall, Steve and I both falling back as well, slipping on goop and tumbling on the ship's floor, my hand hitting the ground to realize what I'm lying in is more alien blood, body parts of dead Covenant to my left and my right.

But my attention is turned to the hoard of zombies running to us and I panic, fumbling at my belt with my blood covered hands before grabbing an alien grenade and igniting it, hoping to God I don't hit Rogers when I throw it as hard as I can at the army of undead, the grenade sticking to the largest one in the front before it blows and sends more body parts everywhere.

A cry from Ryz alerts me and I widen my eyes when I see those little spores running all over the place when the light from the blue grenade illuminates the battlefield. That's when I suddenly feel exoskeletal legs in my hair as one of those things clings to me and I scream as I drop my gun, full panicking while it crawls over me like a giant spider. When my hands grab the slimy body when its on my neck I finally ignite my claws and stab through it, the blades appearing an inch in front of my jaw before I yank it off me and run to Ryz as one of them is trying to stab through his throat as well, my claws finding its flesh as I slash its backside and slice off its legs before I stab it again and Ryz finally is able to grab it and throw it, kicking the one that just attached to his foot so hard it splatters against the wall with a loud bang.

Steve is shooting them wherever he sees them, trying to get them off us before a larger jackal Flood tackles him from behind, bringing him instantly to the ground and causing me to shout his name. But I spring into action and charge for him as he fights it off, his elbow smashing its body and breaking one of the ribs behind the deformed flesh. Ryz ran ahead, slashing one of those spores midair when it was leaping to Steve, its body cut in sheer half from his energy sword.

Steve is able to break from the tentacles that had ahold of his throat as I grab its limb to try and cut it off with my claws without hurting Rogers. But Cap pulls himself free and turns to slam the butt of his gun into the Flood's cluster of tentacles spewing from the jackal corpse's neck, trying to hurt it with brute force before turning the gun around and firing at its body multiple times after I manage to yank off the left arm, the plasma burning through its flesh until it dies.

Ryz looks to his left and kicks a fusion coil that's kept in a box towards the hoard, firing with his plasma pistol afterwards and causing a nasty explosion that almost burns my face from the heat when I look away.

We take the tiny opportunity to stand again and resume sprinting for our lives, trying hard to keep a fast pace in spite of not being able to see five feet ahead of us.

IRIS:

The four of us charge around the corner to see the blasted open doors that the scarab made and we run for it only to then see tons of different Flood pouring through it and into the building.

"Got another idea?!" Harry asks.

"Shit!" Barnes curses as he stumbles back with Natasha and all of us turn to run the other way.

But they gain on us fast and we have to turn to fire at them, one of the grunt ones leaping right for me and I duck just in time for it to miss me overhead. Bucky grabs it with his metal arm to pin it down as he uses his other hand to fire at it multiple times until it stops moving, as I turn and send bullets towards the seed ones that are running at us like little demon spawns from hell, my plasma hitting more floor than them but I scoot backwards frantically until my plasma finally kills the one that was coming for me, burning holes through its body with each shot.

I stand as fast as I can, Harry grabbing my arm protectively to pull me out of the way before more leap at us, an infected elite missing me by that much and returning to grab Harry's arm that holds his gun. I fire at it before its tentacles impale him, the red appendages being burned off by my bullets as the monster roars from somewhere under its deformed flesh, Natasha taking her turn to fire a sniper beam through its body and missing Harry by a miracle before she fires at another running her way.

Harry yanks his arm free and kicks the body to the ground as I fire multiple shots at another spore that's crawling up the wall to our left preparing to jump. But I am able to take it out as its body falls onto the floor instead.

BUCKY:

I look to my left to see more Covenant, as they try to do the same thing we are doing and gun down the Flood, one of the elites being tackled by two different infected grunts as he falls with a cry for help.

Without thinking any further, I fire at the parasites that are trying to kill him, the shots getting through their disgusting flesh and giving him enough time to grab his energy sword from his side and slice the bodies in half. He glances my way with an unsure gaze but ultimately goes back to fighting and I pull Nat aside where the other two are, behind a large pillar and some bodies.

"What's the plan?!" Tasha asks in a panic to think of what to do.

I glance behind me, looking for another way out and seeing different hallways but I can't know for sure where they lead—I spot a fuel rod canon sitting by one of the split open elites and get an idea. But before I can enact this plan we are interrupted by a somewhat familiar sound.

Those flying robots from the control room are buzzing around but when they fire their lasers the beams hit the Flood army and melt their flesh as they roar in pain and one turns to leap and grab one of them to bring it down.

"What's happening?!" Iris asks.

"Considering what this ring was made for they must have protocols built in to fight back the Flood—" Harry begins but I grab him by the shoulder and say, "Yeah, yeah, whatever—come on!"

We run through the laser beams coming down upon the zombified monsters that fight both Covenant and Forerunner sentinels, roaring when their bodies are burned apart by various weaponry, a mad firefight between three different armies going on around us that we miraculously are able to run through without being killed as blood, guts, and plasma fly everywhere. But I hold up the fuel rod canon onto my shoulder and aim, not slowing down as I blast the doorway where the parasites are crowded up, creating an explosion of green that sends heat our way, as well as body parts of the disgusting creatures in every direction.

The four of us charge for the hole and leap through it, getting another explosion at our backs when one of the Covenant uses a grenade to try and kill the Flood or us... either way, it sends us forward as we slide down the metal ramp covered in a layer of ice and snow until our boots hit the white fluff and we get up to continue running, Widow aiming and firing at a spawn flood that is running over the snow and killing it with one shot, splattering russet brown against the sparkling white drifts.

I take her arm to help her run because of the pain she's in as we head through the canyon, looking up at the huge scarab that has to be fifteen stories high, the center light no longer white but blinking red as it remains stagnant and void of soldiers that would normally be on top it looks like.

"James!" Tasha gets my attention and I look left where Flood are dropping down the cliffs into the canyons where we are.

"Shit—come on!" I say as I help her to run faster, hiking through thick snow now and it's making it hard to escape these monsters.

"What's the plan now?! Are we just going to run back?!" Iris asks as she turns to fire at them.

"We are out of more preferable examples right now unless you see a vehicle that we don't!" Harry replies to her as I pick up my rifle and fire four shots at the elite Flood heading this way from over the drift of snow nearby, my fingers, arms, legs, lungs, and every other fucking thing on my body hurting but I don't care. I'll give in when my body completely breaks and not a moment before.