Mark of the Demon

Fandom: halo 3

Pairing: Master Chief X The Arbiter

Rating: E (for now)

The newly constructed halo, although beautiful was still a maze on the inside. All the walls looked like doors and vice versa. If not for Cortanas constant guidance I was sure I would have gotten lost by now. That would not have been good especially since I was extremely pressed for time. A tall Sangheili dressed in gold armour was covering my left flank and was currently surveying the mass of hallways and chambers. Scratch that, 'we' were pressed for time. I almost completely forgot about the quiet but ever present Arbiter.

He rarely spoke unless announcing a threat in battle but his presence alone spoke for him. He moved fast, switching his optical camouflage on and off when needed during the fights. So fast that you could only see a flash of gold before finding an energy sword buried in your back. The elite was not a force to be taken lightly. That was something I had come to rely on over the time we spent together. When I dove in to retrieve Cortana from the crashed ship, the Arbiter followed dutifully. We trekked into the Gravemind's lair and almost died at least a dozen times. We were clawed at, bitten, shot and even spit on. We burned through enough ammo in that crashed ship alone to make Johnson proud. But even after all of that, we still made it out alive and with the A.I intact. The Arbiter was the only other that I truly trusted my back to and was the only one besides Johnson that was allowed to walk in my blind spot. No words were necessary to describe our relationship

Although he wasn't considered an enemy anymore, it was still quite strange how quickly the Arbiter wormed his way into my mind, how I allowed the other warrior to get so close to me. This was a bond formed in combat. A friendship forged in the heat of battle. He was my equal in every way. And yet, despite us being on such friendly terms, I still grinned at the thoughts of ever squaring off with the elite. I relished the idea of ever fighting the Arbiter one on one. Perhaps when this was all finished and Earth was saved, I could talk the other into a friendly spar in one of the training rooms. I had to quickly shake those thoughts out of my head. Now was not a time to get distracted by such ideas. I had a job to do.

-Chief?-

Cortanas voice filled my head and echoed softly in my mind. The speakers in my helmet were turned off so her voice was heard only by me. I didn't mind her constantly chastising my actions but only when the conversation was between her and me.

-You missed the door to the control room. Go back and take a left.-

I gritted my teeth in slight annoyance and paused in my step.

'You couldn't have told me this earlier?'

Tapping my foot impatiently, I turned to the elite. He stopped walking as well and cocked his head at me questioningly. He said nothing but tightened his grip on the carbine he was wielding, just in case. He did not want to get caught off guard. Narrowing my eyes in irritation, I could practically see the A.I in my head striking a mocking pose.

-Well, I didn't want to interrupt you train of thoughts.-

I could feel her grin. Mentally kicking myself, I tried to ignore what I knew was coming.

-You seem to be thinking about the Arbiter a lot lately.-

Cortana said happily. She updated my radar with the correct path to get to the control room. The blue triangle was now pinged on my mini map, reminding me of my mission.

-Some might say you're becoming a little 'fixated'-

She trailed off, letting her words settle in my mind. I grunted in response, ending the conversation right there. This wasn't the first time she question my relationship with the Sangheili. Ever since we rescued her from the Gravemind it's been "Arbiter this..." and "Arbiter that..." Feeling eyes on me, I tilt my head toward the alien in question. He was standing there, patiently waiting for me to explain the hold up. We were pressed for time after all. Using the mental connection I had to the MJOLNIR armour, I activated the microphone in my helmet.

"We took a wrong turn."

The elite didn't look surprised by this fact in the least and only let out a small sigh. He rested his carbine on his shoulder and his mandibles formed into what I could recognise as a frown.

"Very well, lead the way, demon."

A shiver ran down my spine suddenly. It was chilling and yet my chest felt warmer all of a sudden. Why did those words affect me so deeply? Why did that given title sound so different coming from him?

-Trouble chief?-

I could hear Cortanas giggling echo in my head. Damn woman. She's always sticking her nose in my business. She seems to always know what's going on, even when I don't know. Truthfully, I had no idea why I acted the way I did to the Arbiter. I had never been the 'most friendly Spartan' as Seargent Johnson so kindly put it one time. Even with the other soldiers, the ones who watched my in awe on the battleground, didn't affect me in the least. Every compliment practically went through one ear and out the other. But the Arbiter was different. I had no idea how, he just was. He was slowly becoming a big part of my life and I didn;t know how i felt about it yet. Sometimes I felt like tearing my hair out but then there are the other times...Moments that I refuse to ponder on for too long, less those thoughts become consuming.

Mentally slapping myself, I tightened my grip on my weapon and marched towards the 'right' passage this time. I had a job to do, I couldn't be distracted even for a second.

I am practically tearing my hair out right now. The ending to this chapter is terrible. You can totally tell that I rushed it. I really wanted to add something halo-y onto this account before I get too far into the Far Cry series that I may or may not be starting in a few weeks when I have enough time to upload...that wasn't subtle at all was it? Oh well. If you have nothing better to do, perhaps leave me a review. *tips imaginary hat* have a foxy day :)