Is it worth it?

Disclaimer: Halo stuff and original characters not owned by me.
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The first thing both Master Chief and Ghlariknee noticed was the rumble along the ground. A dull, rythmic THUD. THUD.

The thing was still headed for them. But something else was approaching all three of them. Someone still hidden by the mist. And that someone was BIG.

With a forced, pained grunt, the Chief pulled himself to his feet by his will alone. The pain tore at him, his muscles screaming in agony. His vision was spotted with red from his pain-induced state. One arm dislocated. A leg barely holding itself together. Breathing seemed more trouble than it was worth. But with a mental wave of his arm, the Spartan pushed all of it aside as he took a defensive stance.

Behind him, Ghlariknee squared his mandibles. He was touched by the Demon's comraderie. Truly. But he would not be able to live with himself if he chose to face a battle hiding behind the Demon all day. Besides, the Chief looked worse than him, even if the outward countenance of his armor did not really show it.

As the red-armored Sanghelli stepped forward beside him, Master Chief acknowledged the act with the barest of nods. He had neither the time, nor the extra will, to argue with the Elite right now. Gritting his teeth, the Spartan raised the Brute Shot.

The mist creature was almost upon them.

Suddenly a hum could be heard in the air. As both Ghlariknee and Master Chief turned their heads to a spot of rapidly growing green light, the Sanghelli gaped, "I KNOW that sound..."

A few things happened at once.

The mist creature attacked. The plasma cannon, fully charged, fired. John's eyes widened within his visor.

Dropping the Brute shot, he grabbed the Sanghelli's shoulders, explaining hastely, "We're too close!!"

With a desperate, powerful lunge, the Chief launched both himself and Ghlariknee as far away as they could get. The creature swiped at where they had once been, turning in slow motion to the blast coming towards it. The continuous green beam was too large. Too fast.

Screeching in defiance, the mist creature was enveloped in the beam and incinerated on the spot. Instantaneously, the yellow mist dispersed.

All this had happened before Master Chief and Ghlariknee could drop to the ground. Twisting in the air, what the Chief normally would have turned into a well placed tumble turned into a flat out fall on his back. As the fall jarred his many wounds, the Chief clenched his jaw and reminded himself it was better than further injuring the Sanghelli. He had done his fair share of harm already, as it was.

(--How long will you beat yourself up about this?--) Cortana asked, her tone lowered to a whisper only the Chief could hear.

No doubt the Spartan deserved some sort of punishment for his accidental crime, but a perpetual beatdown of his own conscious self would not help ANYONE in the long run.

'...Shut...up...' The Chief spouted immaturely back, before promptly blacking out.

"Demon...?" Ghlariknee called out as he felt the body below him still. He could still feel the Demon breathing though, so the Sanghelli wasn't too worried.

With a groan of pain, the red Sanghelli craned his neck upwards to catch a glimpse of their savior.

THUD. THUD.

With a pained grimace, Ghlariknee greeted, "Hello.... Lum." That said, the Elite let himself drift to unconsciousness as well.

Cocking his head curiously, the Hunter just stared at the two figures for a moment. Figuring they were in need of some assistance, Lum turned his head and trilled out to the group of Renegades a couple hundred yards away.

Pushing past a couple of his comrades, the Arbiter made his way swiftly to the lumbering Hunter. There, at the muscled warrior's feet, were Ghlariknee and the Demon. Both were slumped over, unconscious. Giving them a quick, cursory glance, the cobalt Sanghelli quickly spoke into his communicator, "Medic! You are needed in the field, immediately."

He was anxious. He wanted to know what happened. And why the Demon seemed just as hurt as the blood streaked Ghlariknee, without a single wound to show for it.

Arbiter sighed and shook his head. He would get his answers later. Right now, he just wanted to make sure someone would be alive to give them to him.

;-;

"The Covenant took refuge within their ship the moment the mist dissapated." The golden Sanghelli stated.

"Do they wish to fight?" The Arbiter demanded, eager for someone to pay the price of the blood that had been spilled that day.

"No."

"Is it a truce they want?" The Arbiter's gaze narrowed.

"That is... possible." Drajha-Lee replied, pacing away, his hands clasped behind his back.

They both paused as the bridge to the door swooshed open, arguing voices immediately spilling into the room.

"You have not yet healed, O mighty Demon!" The voice of a grunt squealed in its whiny tone, "You should return to-"

"Enough." The Demon silenced him with a downward swipe of his arm. Catching sight of the two Elite, the Chief stalked into the room, "What's our status?"

"Demon." The Arbiter greeted with a bob of his head.

"Arbiter." The Chief returned, his tone matching the Sanghelli's dead on. Their tones had been calm, yet tense at the same time. Conflicted.

Drajha-Lee noted this, but decided to disregard it as he pointed out, "I was under the belief that your wounds were extensive. That it would take hours, if not days to recooperate."

"I heal fast." Was all the Chief said, feeling a sense of dejavu over the argument.

"In that case, I shall head straight to the point." Drajha-Lee replied, not missing a beat as he turned and paced once more, "The Brutes have called a truce of sorts. They do not fire at us and we hold fire on them. At least, until both parties have successfully withdrawn from the planet."

"What's to stop either of us from shooting the other out of the sky?" Master Chief asked roughly.

The golden Sanghelli paused in his pacing to look the Demon squarely in the eye, "Nothing."

--Well, now that all that is covered, what's stopping us from leaving right now?-- Cortana inquired.

The Arbiter crossed his arms over his chest, "Repairs. Our core requires maintenance after the strain the... the-"

"Jamming device." Master Chief interjected.

With a clenched nod of thanks, the Arbiter continued, "that the jamming device has done to it."

"And the Covenant vessel, apparently, is in need of repairs after both of your previous excursions within." The Sanghelli leader said with a wry smile.

--Ah, I could just hear their exclamations of thanks now.-- Cortana replied, a grin to her tone.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Master Chief asked.

"Yes, Demon." The Arbiter replied, clasping his shoulder, "Sit. Rest."

The tightened tone of his voice wasn't missed by the Chief. Brow cocked within his helmet, the Spartan inquired, "Is that all?"

With a nod, the cobalt Sanghelli waited for the Demon to sit before he continued, "I wish for you to recount what has happened in your battle."

"Yes," Drajha-Lee agreed, "we shall need all the information about these... mist creatures... that we can gather."

Master Chief shifted his gaze back to the Arbiter. He doubted this Sanghelli held the exact same interest as his leader dealing with what the Chief had to share. Shrugging, the Spartan recalled his tale.

;-;

Ghlariknee grimaced. He was lucky there had only been one grunt around to pester them while they were healing. And since the Demon was the first to get up early and leave, it was the Demon the grunt named Skurge had chosen to follow.

It was then the Sanghelli had made his stealthy escape.

Yeah. Stealthy. Right.

He felt like every third or fourth step he was stumbling over himself or walking straight into a wall. One time he had almost collapsed over a fellow Sanghelli. This one had been adorned in blue armor. Clearly young and clearly still as green as could be.

"S-should you be walking, f-fellow warrior, sir?" The blue Sanghelli had stuttered, stumbling over his words as badly as Ghlariknee seemed to be stumbling physically.

"I shall stop walking the day my legs fall off." Ghlariknee had mumbled back before continuing on, determined to reach his destination.

He ignored the look of awe and slightly tinged fear in the younger warrior's eyes.

Focusing on placing one clawed foot in front of the other, Ghlariknee was filled with relief at the sight of the huge double doors before him. If he remembered correctly, then this should be the room the bond brothers were staying.

Another step forward made the light arrays around the door blink green before they whooshed open.

The huge hunter inside, startled, was swift to turn around. He had even started to raise the cannon strapped on his arm in defense.

"Lum! It is only I, Ghlariknee. Your fellow warrior, remember?" Ghlariknee called out soothingly, fully aware of the state the Hunter was in.

Like the last time Ghlariknee had checked, Lum's bond brother was still locked in stasis. Trapped between life and death, the other Hunter clung to life with a small thread. His bond to his brother was strong and Lum would not give up on his life so easily.

Lowering the destructive weapon, Lum shuffled around and only grunted in response, turning his gaze back to the frozen Mul in the stasis chamber before him. Unlike some of the species the Covenant had gathered, the hunters were made up of a symbiosis of a couple lifeforms. Despite their giant bulk and immense strength, they lacked the vocal skills of most of their Renegade comrades. This did not stop them, however, from expressing themselves.

Ghlariknee was still unsure why the Hunters had joined their cause instead of remaining under the control of the Covenant, but he had given up on finding the reason long ago. He was just grateful the Renegades had the aid of such powerful beings.

"Your brother... he looks slightly better, Lum." Ghlariknee commented, his voice barely above a whisper.

The hunter turned to gaze at the Sanghelli, his head cocked a little to the side as he digested what Ghlariknee had just said. With a trill of satisfaction, the Hunter turned back to his brother. It was good that the Sanghelli had noticed it as well. It was hard to believe that only a couple days ago, Mul had been shuffling on his feet, healthy and strong beside his brother Lum. But a nasty encounter with an overwhelming amount of Parasites had changed all that.

"I came to thank you, Lum. Without you, I might not be standing here right now." Ghlariknee continued conversationally, though inside his words held so much more meaning.

The Hunter caught that meaning, and turned to fully face the Sanghelli. They remained staring at eachother for some time, the silence companiable though it was stringed with understanding. Blinking once, the Hunter bowed.

Without hesitation, Ghlariknee bowed back. When he came back up, he let out a relieved sigh. So it was done. He would remember well the debt he owed to the huge Hunter. The saving of a life could only be returned in one way. Through the heat of battle.

Grinning, the Sanghelli departed with the words, "May your brother return to good health." trailing over his shoulder.

Now he headed towards the bridge and whatever problems lay ahead.