May 17, 2010
Tokonosu City, Japan, Earth
16:13 Hours Z-Day-3
"Given enough time, any man may master the physical. With enough knowledge, any man may become wise. It is the true warrior who can master both...and surpass the result"-Tien T'ai
Eugene Flores: By what do you mean I've underestimated the Spartan Strength? remember there is a clear distinction between In-Game Feats and Lore Feats. No Spartan can flip over a Scorpion battle tank, it's physically impossible. At most Spartan 2s could lift around 1450 pounds. Spartan 3, however, are weaker physically then Spartan 2s (A being that most Spartan III only wore SPI armour, second if you look at the feats of Spartan 2s physically they don't compare to a Spartan 2. Look it up on Halo Forums... there's tons of post on it. Second, he didn't need Rei to balance the rifle, the rifle sling was caught and stuck against her body. He could have easily plied off the sling with one hand but she was seriously injured because of flipping off the Humvee. It was in the middle of a horde, so the sensible thing was to lean gently on her(again Noble Six could crush her like a pancake with his body weight(not armour) alone and use support the rifle on her chest. In the show, it was clearly fanservice but it makes sense considering how really heavy and strong Spartans are. Go reread the chapter.
After the hectic confrontation of one Shido Koich, everyone had slowly retreated to their rooms for the rest of the night. No one was in the mood for talking or doing anything for that matter. Except two of the toughest and deadliest soldiers in history. These men would not be sleeping or shutting themselves out. They had a job to do, a task to be completed, they couldn't let thoughts of doubt, guilt, and anger cloud their heads. Complacency was one of their biggest enemies, so for the rest of the night and most of the next day. The two futuristic super-soldiers had been coordinating contingency plans, locations of possible supplies to scavenge and survivors with the infamous Souchiro Takagi- the right-wing politician and one of the only men seeming to have any spine to fix this outbreak that has infected Japan. The day had been fatiguing one for those two while the rest of Takashi group had spent the day lazily training and relaxing.
Noble Six could almost envy them for having a relaxed day. Almost. He was grateful they had this opportunity, considering all they had been through; days on end without proper sleep and food, running from one place to the next, having to kill and kill and watch ordinary people turned into undead flesh-eating monsters. A chance to sit back and let the psyche process all that was being thrown at it. They were kids, after all, sure they had been desensitized now, but they still hadn't even gone past the line- killing their first normal person. For Noble Six and Noble Four, however, that had been their lives for as long as they could remember. Orphans from a young age, and promised revenge on the Covenant for the deaths of their families. Ranging from 5-8 years old and inducted into the Spartan Project: Chrysanthemum, where their bodies were altered chemically into the ruthless and superhuman killing machines today. It was almost hard to believe these two battle-hardened unbreakable soldiers with kill confirmations longer than Takashi's been alive on Earth, were now sitting side by side on a set of stone stairs in the country known as Japan, on Earth, 500 years into the past and watching a young orange-brown haired high school girl throwing a tennis ball, while a little girl and a puppy with a white coat and black ear flaps were chasing after it. Like it was some sappy scene in a movie about the middle-class suburbs.
But to Six it was a breath of fresh air. Serenity — something to prove to him still there was hope, that hope he wasn't sure of yet, Maybe it was the hope they'd be able to save Takashi and his friends, Japan, maybe even Earth. Maybe it was the hope they'd return home to their real mission — saving the universe from the Covenant threat, which strangely hasn't found its way here yet. Maybe it was the fact that he could protect Alice, a promise he had made to her father to protect her from this ever-increasing hellhole. Jason cradling his service rifle in his arms like a newborn baby. His eyes moved from the peaceful sun setting and dusk throwing splashes of amber across the sky, his eyes landed back on the scene in front of him. The little girl, Alice smiling and laughing as she played with Zeke. Maybe it was the naivety and innocence of Alice, maybe it was the fact that her father's death a few days ago hadn't hit her yet. Whatever the case was, she was tough and bounced back easily.
The sound of a blade sharpening startled him momentarily, knocking him out of his thoughts. He glanced to his left to see his comrade and the only thing tying him to his old life. Noble Four or Emile. With his shotgun resting on his lap, he was fixated on his favourite past time as usual- sharpening his Kukri knife. An odd weapon of choice, especially for a UNSC Spartan, but then again it just added to his long list of 'odd' character traits.
He felt Six shift suddenly and the Spartans helmet glaring at him, the CQC expert stopped mid sharpen. "You good?" He said as he rotated his head to look at Six.
Jason returning from his thoughts glanced back at him. "What? Oh yeah… I'm good."
Emile was about to ask what that was when a gleeful feminine scream interrupted him, making him wish he could cut his ears off. Reminding him once again he was in the company of ordinary people and screaming didn't always mean something bad. 'Damn woman gonna' give me a heart attack at this rate. What a way to go, survive being stabbed with a deadly energy sword by a highly trained alien, only to die by an Asian woman with a massive rack. Just my fuckin luck.'
Jason turned to see Shizuka bouncing up and down like a child in a candy shop. She gestured to the cellphone in her hand and squealed with delight. "I did IT! Now I remember! I'm sure of it!" She said with another gleeful squeal bouncing up and down, which probably wasn't the best scene, considering her abnormally large breast which managed to obscure her face from view.
"I remember! I remembered my friend's phone number."
"You mean the one with all the guns and the Humvee?" Jason turned to see Rei now had a calm expression on her face after the ordeal of confronting the man who ruined her academic career and hurt her father. She held a new sense of determination in her golden eyes and cradled the M1A1 with a vice-like grip.
"That's right." She answered cheerfully. "She's in the SAT- the Special Assault Team. So she must still be alive." Shizuka explained holding Alice in her arms almost suffocating the girl.
Jason's ears perked up at this and he placed his DMR on the magnetic holster on his back and stood up. He assumed her friend was also a member of the JGSDF, and in one of those special units like Hayato's. Thanks to an advanced AI, his ignorance of the classified unit quickly disappeared. From what he could remember reading up classified intel. SAT was the top special operations police force responsible for maritime operations and counter-terrorism comprised of Riot Control-Forces. Current SAT teams were dispatched on bridges, airports, and provide escort services to high ranking members during the Outbreak. Her position would explain the vast arsenal of illegal weapons and the Humvee outfitted with custom modifications. Both which kept these kids alive until Six came along.
"More importantly, gimme the phone. Gimmie" she waved up and down before she deftly snatched the phone out of Harunos hand.
She flipped the phone open before her eyes landed on the keypad. "Let's see… there's the one…. there's the two, three and four…" trailing off and counting them like she had been using a phone with a different keypad her whole life.
Emile turned to look at Jason and they both shared a single thought. 'Airhead'.
"Unbelievable… can't even work a damn phone." Emile muttered under his breath incredulously.
Jason was about to reply but the sounds of beeping ringed in his helmet. He reached out and allowed Dust to play through while Shizuka was having a conversation with her friend.
"Six, I was listening to radio chatter along the Asian Peninsula, in case anything major happened. And... well you might want to listen to this." He immediately played the recording not allowing Six to reply.
The sound of a recording peaked through the communique and a distraught male voice spoke out. "-I say again, code 666 Delta, Doomsday order for the target. November Kilo & Romeo Charlie."
Jason's eyes widened and he took a breath in. "Sounds like a damn strike order! Dust, are they ICBMs?" Emile perked up at the mention of strike order and sent him a quizzical look.
"They are SLMB… hold on. Damn it there's more of them. Russia, China, Korea, France, United States, they all launched them…" his voice trailed off in shock.
"Don't tell me it's nuclear…" Jason sucked in. His eyes watched the teens argue and while Shizuka was on phone. Unaware of the hell going on around them. This just went from paddling up Shit Creek without a paddle to FUBAR up Shit Creek without a boat. "It's nuclear..." Dust said with a serious tone. There were no cracking jokes, no laughs now. Some idiot with a trigger finger was about to end the world.
"Fuck… all right, Dust, look. We gotta fix this. Walk me through, how close are the missiles to detonation? If they are high enough in the atmosphere we might be able to self destruct it without it hitting anything."
"Let me check….."Static entered through the comms. Jason impatiently waited a few seconds, but it felt like hours. "DUST" He finally called out, annoyed.
"Yeah, okay I got some fuckin good news. North Korea and China's missiles were automatically shut down by the US…. France Missile managed to hit Russia, but off-target and mostly in the sea. US missiles most of them have been shot down by other countries. The ones who didn't Romania, Bulgaria, India, and Pakistan got hit badly. Russia missiles got shot down as well! A handful of missiles heading towards Japan have also successfully been shot down." Jason let out a breath of relief, Emile now also in the loop of the current situation took a breath of relief.
"There's only one left heading to Japan. It's in trajectory with the Curtis Wilbur destroyer, they should have no trouble with shooting it down."
"Thank fuck-" Jason let out but was interrupted. As if on cue, Nature had to prove him wrong once again.
"What the hell…?" Dust voice trailed off.
"What?"
"They aren't preparing to shoot it down… they aren't doing anything."
"Fuckin Sailors…" Jason growled "hail them on Comms" Noble Six ordered.
"Copy, connecting now." Jason waited for the beep letting him know his connection. "Curtis Wilbur, respond. Curtis Wilbur, respond, this is Lieutenant Noble Six of the UN…" he stopped himself. 'Fuck it, the UN is close enough'
"hailing Curtis Wilbur on open channel, please respond. Over?"
The radio echoed chatter for a few seconds before a hungry groan echoed through the comms. Jason recognized the sound anywhere. Everyone aboard the Wilbur Curtis was infected!
Jason cursed out loudly. "Fuck…. Dust, what is the ETA until detonation. Can we stop it?"
Dust Hologram image appeared in the lower corner. His head lowered. "I'm sorry Jason. We're too late."
Jason kicked the tennis ball in frustration and swore again. It would have been almost comical display if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation at hand. Thanks to the Spartan strength in combination with the suit. The tennis ball shot forward like a bullet and soared at speeds which would rival a baseball being battered at a professional stadium.
"Brace for impact in 10, 9, 8, 7…."
Shizuka stopped hammering about her phone shutting off all of a sudden when she saw Noble Six kick the tennis ball. The others turned and noticed Six's distraught body language. Naomi now sitting on the railings beside Takuzo and Josh watched nervously. She still hasn't gotten used to the apocalypse and probably never will. Confrontation and the unknown frightened her. Takuzo wrapped his arm around her and tried to comfort his girlfriend. The rest of Takashi's group were about to ask what was going on. When a deafening white light blinded them all followed by a screeching sound.
To the group of high schoolers, it would have seemed almost like nothing was wrong. Being deaf for a few seconds and not being able to see.
But for two individuals comprised of the most advanced armour in existence, it was a different story. Especially when that armour was comprised of everything electric.
"Son of a…." Jason managed to say before his entire body was pierced with a powerful shockwave, like being hit with a hundred tasers at the same time. The overload of electricity in the suits circuits, shields and Spartan Neural Interface sent a combination that forced the two Spartans to collapse on the ground and cry out in pain.
"AAAHH!" Six called out in pain before falling to the ground and pulling off his helmet, letting the helmet bounced on the floor a couple of times. Emile did the same. For a Spartan, pain was a luxury, a weakness they couldn't afford, they were trained to never lash out, to bury that pain so deep and lock it away. Both Six and Four have endured physical trauma no ordinary human could fathom, why they both were killed by an Energy Sword to the back courtesy of an Elite a week ago.
When one thought of an EMP, the last thing they expected was for it to do any bodily damage. EMP had minimalistic effects on the human body, not even the signals in the brain were affected, even a person equipped with a pacemaker. But when you're attached to a suit filled with electric circuits, a powerful alien shield and a neural interface connected to your brain, suddenly you become a giant circuit yourself. He couldn't hear, he couldn't see, his ears were ringing at deafening rates and he felt a wave of nausea hit him. The shields of his Mjolnir armour went haywire before dropping down to zero.
Alice noticing Jason's pain called out before she bolted towards the man. "Jasoon! Nobel Four! Are you ok?" She tried to reach out by Takashi hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Don't touch them. It's not safe" Takashi stared at them in worry, he had never seen anything like it before. He didn't know what was going on.
"Holy shit! Is he ok?" Hisashi asked, watching the man's face contort in pain. Whatever was going on wasn't pretty.
"Should we call for help?" Asked Niomi worried. While she wasn't comfortable around the soldiers or anything related to the pandemic for that matter. Six had saved her and her classmates on numerous occasions.
Alice tried to wiggle free a couple of times before she gave up in defeat. Her eyes darted up to Takashi before she glanced back down at the two men. Her eyes started to water as she watched helplessly and confused about what was going on. The only thing she knew was that they were in pain. The other group huddled around them as well but they couldn't see what was going on, only hearing the low cries of pain from the two men.
Suddenly it stopped and so did the cries. The effects went away as quickly as the began. Six rolled on his back, his vision was blurry, and the ringing was still fresh in his ears. "Damn it!" He cursed banging his hand on the ground floor in frustration.
"Big brother! Are you ok" a small body landed on top of him with a force that would have left a normal person winded, felt like an ant on Noble Six's stomach. Tiny arms were currently wrapped around his neck. He reached out and placed a reassuring hand on Alice's back. "It's ok little one... I'm fine now."
He glanced to his right to see Emile slowly get up off his side. Emile didn't show it, but the ringing and nausea were still lingering in his system as well. Alice began to cry in his shoulder. "I… I thought you were going to leave me…. like my daddy." She said in between sobs.
Jason places his armoured hand almost double the size of Alice's head on top and ruffled her pink hair softly. She stopped crying and glanced up at him, eyes still watery. "I said I'm ok, you don't have to worry." He lifted his head so his bright blue and green eyes were on a level with hers before he strained a smile, trying to calm her down. It worked and she began to wipe away the tears.
"Jesus Christ, what happened? That came out of nowhere." Takashi confused look was not unnoticed. Most of the group all glanced around at each other, not knowing what had just happened.
"Fuck me…" Emile swore before he rubbed his forehead trying to soothe the headache. He turned to look at Jason. "Was that a damn…?"
Noble Six nodded before he reached out and grabbed his helmet. "HANE…" He said simply causing the CQC expert to groan before he stood up and grabbed his shotgun which had tumbled to the floor when he fell and rolled on the ground.
"What's a HANE?" Rei asked confused. The others all had blanks on their faces, except for Saya. 'No… it can't be a HANE. Shit.'
Saya's eyes snapped to the sound of her voice, startling the ponytail girl. "Rei, check the gun sight."
"What? But why?"
"Just CHECK it!" She hissed back. There was no time to ask simple questions. If what Noble Six said was true, the zombie apocalypse just got 50 times harder.
Emile walked over and stretched out his hand. Jason glanced up and nodded thanks before he grabbed the Spartans forearm and was hoisted up. Alice's arms still wrapped around Six neck, began to slip from the sudden change in height. Six wrapped his right arm around her back and held her so she wouldn't fall off. The ringing had now died down but the headache and nausea still lingering. He ignored it, a headache and nausea were the least of his concerns. Returning to the task at hand.
Rei glanced at Hisashi once, who has been silent during the whole ordeal. with a confused look plastered on her face, she leaned in and peered through the lens.
"Do you see a dot?"
With one eye closed, she peered intently. Trying to look for anything that showed a red dot. She shook her head after a few attempts. "No… I don't see anything." She said baffled. She swore the red dot was there just a few moments ago.
"Takagi, what's going on? Takashi asked nervously. His grip around the shotgun tightened. The sight just moments ago of seeing two of the toughest men he'd ever met, cry out in pain and a blinding light made him worry.
She glanced at all of them and realized, besides Noble Four and Noble Six none of them knew what a HANE was. She sighed in annoyance, like a college professor explaining the simplest things to their class. "High Altitude Nuclear Explosion, duh." She began to explain to the group in the simplest form what it was.
Jason turned around and drowned out her explanation. He was already drilled extensively in everything about nuclear explosions, EMPs and the different types and their effects. He had more important things to think about right now.
Jason still holding Alice bent down and grabbed his DMR on the floor. "A fuckin' EMP, really?" Emile growled in annoyance.
"I'm pissed too." He replied.
"Alright computer monkey, give me in layman's terms. What's the damage control?" Emile barked.
"Mjolnir suits are EMP resistant, our suit systems should be unaffected for the most part. Suit reset and backup should kick in by now. Shields should be back up to 50% in a few seconds." It was bad enough whatever wormhole, godly intervention, you name it, had dropped them in the past with damaged shields which they didn't have the tech and personal required to fix, but now said past was dropping EMP's on them.
"And Dust?"
Jason has to almost keep himself from snorting. The animalistic Emile was showing worry about an AI. He knew it was more objectively than anything else. Dust was their eyes and ears in this world. A vault of knowledge about everything in the 21 Century. Without him, surviving and trying to get home would be next to impossible. "The idiots EMP-proof, we'll have his perverted ass up and running at full capacity in about ten seconds."
As if on cue the comms beeped and in came an annoyed Dust. "Ow…. what did I ever do to deserve this… Alright, I'm gonna find the Chucklefuck who launched that EMP and I'm going to beat him to a bloody pulp."
"Damage report, Dust," Jason asked, he wasn't in the mood for the AI's antics.
"Suits in optimal condition. The EMP's in the 21st century isn't as powerful as the ones we use. All systems are back up to 100% now. Also no lingering effects on your body, besides some spikes in your blood pressure. You're fine now."
"It's good to be property of the UNSC." Emile chippered.
"Are you ok Dust? I want a diagnostics of your condition as well."
"I'm fine Six-"
"Just do it," Jason ordered sternly.
"Copy… running diagnostics now…" it took a few brief moments before the AI came back online. "No damage to my systems. Even if we had been smack dab in the middle of that explosion. It would take a serious explosion to do any substantial damage."
Six nodded satisfied. "Good. What about our armour capabilities and shield strength?" A wiggle on his shoulder made him stop and turn to see Alice, with her arms still wrapped around his neck tightly had leaned forward and was listening and watching the conversation with curiosity. Like a child sneaking into their father's office. She didn't understand a single word being said but she was more curious about the mysterious voice being heard inside Six's helmet and tried to lean forward to listen.
"Scanning… same thing. Your Hologram and Active Camo are unaffected, same with Noble Four's Armour Lock. Our damaged shields are also recharged and back up to 50%. Wish it was a 100, but oh well."
"Alright, keep me posted. Anything else goes on I want to know about it."
"Wilco. Dust out." It was bad enough with the epidemic but a Nuclear explosion with the primary objective of releasing a powerful EMP had zero effect on the undead and only made it that much harder for the survivors of Japan and those countries also affected to survive. Japan would now be a dead zone, and the chances of disease, cold, and starvation increased exponentially. 'This Earth won't have to worry about a Covenant glassing if these world leaders don't stop dickin' around.' Jason thought in frustration.
"So what you're saying is, someone just nuked Japan?" Saeko asked, mouth slightly agape. Bad enough they had a zombie pandemic but now an EMP on top of that?
"Third times the charm," Emile muttered under his breath cynically, just loud enough for only Alice and Jason to hear. Six elbowed him in the ribs lightly. "Stow it." Jason barked.
"Yeah, and worse, the EMP has rendered all electronics useless." Her calculative eyes landed on the two Spartans and noticed their suits still had lights coming off them and seemed to be unaffected. "Almost."
Jason noticed her lingering gaze and confirmed her suspicions. "Our suits are equipped with EMP resistance capability. Same with communications." A few eyebrows raised at this. Especially when it seemed just moments ago they were dying.
"Riiiight." 'Just what the hell can these suits not do, seriously, who the hell are these guys?'
Rei seemed to think for a moment. "Wha-, does that mean we won't be able to access the Internet?"
Haruno whined in the background. "No more FPSRussia…. no more hentai."
Saya glared daggers at Haruno and the man was silent as a mouse.
"Not just the Internet. Cell Phones won't work either. Same with computers." Takuzo said grimly.
Saya nodded. "Exactly. Power grids are going to be off as well. The only way you are in the clear is if you have access to EMP resistant systems. Which only the Self Defence Force and other government agencies have access to."
The sounds of heavy footsteps could be heard approaching. The group glanced to their left to see Souchiro Takagi katana fastened securely to his hip and the lighter footsteps of Yuriko still wearing her red dress and white cloth still wrapped around her arms.
"How would we fix it?" Souichiro directed the question toward Saya. His gaze momentarily landed on Six who's rifle was in hand standing alert. The Spartan nodded a greeting.
Souchiro turned his attention back to Saya. "Well, some cars could work if we replaced the spare parts. And we might be able to find undamaged cars which have sustained less damage from the electromagnetic pulse. They should work if they don't have the computer chips in them."
Souchiro turned to the man behind him. "Go check right away." He then focused his attention back on Saya. What could almost be the steps considered to a human smile, began to form. "I'm impressed by how you stayed calm and rational during this situation. You deserve my praise."
Small tears of happiness from her father's praise began to form in her eyes. The momentary family moment was cut short when the sounds of gunshots echoed from the gates and a guard cried out in alarm. Six gripped tightened on his DMR and his eyes narrowed as he scanned the gate. Emile leaning back against the railings in boredom heard the shots. He casually grabbed the shotgun leaning against the railings and placed it on his back walking over to the group.
Six watched a man brandishing a Glock 19 fire blindly in front of him a couple of times before he tried to pass through the gate. Sadly he had waited too long and was instantly snatched by a group of infected and began to be eaten alive. His cries of pain echoed through the compound. Six adjusted his aim on the DMR and fired a single shot in the man's skull. Saving him from further pain and ending his life.
Souchiro waved his hand and his voice barked like thunder. "CLOSE THE GATE! Don't let them come inside!"He ordered.
"B-But sir? We still have a lot of men outside of the complex."
Souchiros face was grim. He hated having to leave his men to the undead. But he had to preserve what was left of his home and the people inside it. "We'll lose everything if we don't close the gate now. DO IT!"
Takagi men went to the gate and began to push it manually. The gate creaked as it lurched forward, quickly slamming shut but not fast enough as a zombie managed to slip in through the gap.
"One of them got in!" One of Takagi's guards shouted in panic.
Six handgun snapped up and he aimed at the single limping zombie with the X2 Magnification Scope reticle. He sighted for around the neck due to the kickback of the handgun. Before he could fire, a single shot echoed through the compound and punched through the infected head clean through. He turned around to see Haruno leaned into the scope of his rifle which rested on top of the stone railings for support.
"That's one for the home team" he finished with a thumbs up.
After the exchange between the group and Yuriko giving her daughter the Luger PO8
The gate rattled once more and the loud animalistic moans of the undead echoed. They were clawing and biting at the gate now. Jason glanced at the men currently holding back the gate as best as they could. But he knew they were getting tired. The gate would fall without question.
Six's training kicked in and his body went to work. He slapped a fresh magazine of ammo In his DMR and flicked his safety off before he turned to Noble Four. "Emile, let's go!"
"Right." Emile unholstered his M6D handgun and followed through. They ignored the few protests from Shizuka and Rei and got to work.
The two Spartans bolted forward at intense speeds and jumped off the railings. They floated in the air for a few seconds before hitting the ground with a heavy thud just as the front gate collapsed and the undead poured in. The infected began to split in all directions scattering like cockroaches.
Six quickly kicked into gear. He turned around and barked back at Takashi group that came running down the stairs. "NO!" He said causing them to stop. "Stay back. This place is about to get crowded. We need to work as a team and defend the house."
He turned to Haruno. "I need you at the railings providing overwatch. Takashi, Josh, Saya, I need you by the stairs. Watch Harunos back."
He turned his helmet to look at Takuzo who had the Barren Wildcat crossbow resting in his arms. "I need you by the stairs. Conserve your ammo and take out the ones close by."
He then turned to the Saeko and Rei. "You two stay close to them, any infect gets close by you take em' out. When you can pick up Takuzo's arrows as well. They both nodded.
Shizuka peeped up. "Uh…. what do I do?"
"Stay back. Let the others handle the grunt work. Well try and rescue some survivors and they'll need your medical experience."
She nodded unsurely. "Ok"
He turned to see the others were all still standing there. They were currently watching one of Takagi's men having his limbs torn off. The bloodcurdling scream caused Shizuka to gasp and cover her eyes."There's nothing you can do for him. MOVE!" Jason barked. They quickly got to their positions. They had a task to take care of, mourning would come later.
Jason quickly turned back to attention and aimed his rifle. His breathing soft, and focused.
Emile with his pistol still aimed chuckled softly. "Cheer up Pup, place just turned into a free-fire zone."
Jason responded by drilling a zombie wearing a business suit between the eyes. The body fell back limp a few seconds later.
He took aim and fired again drilling another zombie and fired 4 more times in quick succession each time making its mark.
He punched through 2 more infected, one that was faster than the other and managed to actually sprint. The 7.62x51mm round tore through the zombies face with enough force to break its jaw, a painful experience had he not been dead. The zombie skidded across the grass before collapsing limply.
He adjusted his aim right and drilled four more coming behind the fountain where he saw Souchiro execute his best friend. With 3 rounds left in his magazine, he released it and stuffed it into his pouch, simultaneously pulling out a fresh 15- round magazine and pushing it in. 3 more zombies dropped after that.
He stopped firing when his augmented ears picked up the sounds of screaming. 'Shit! The civilians!'
He turned his attention to Emile who just slid a fresh mag into his handgun and simultaneously dumped the empty one into his pouch. "I'm going for the civvies! Stay here and provide covering fire."
Emile flashed him a thumbs up. "Wilco."
Jason places his rifle in the magnetic holster on his back and bolted past Emile who was crouched on one knee taking aim with the M6D, 2X Magnification Scope enabled, each time he pulled the trigger the 12.7x40 mm SAP-He( Semi-Armor Piercing High Explosive rounds) shredded through the unprotected decaying zombies heads, sometimes quite literally blowing their heads off. Earth's zombies stood no chance against the 500 +years weaponry of the UNSC.
Jason with his sidearm in one hand sprinted across the courtyard towards the tents of the civilians many of which had collapsed or were blazing. Despite the armours filtration system, Jason's heightened nose could pick up the potent stench of burning corpses and blood. One didn't have to look at the dozens of dead and shredded bodies nor the large pools of bright red blood to know it was bad. He pushed past the grim sight and his ears picking up the screaming; which had now appeared close.
Another feminine scream made him turn his head to the right and his eyes adjusted through the blazing embers. It was the family that had spoken to him before; Alex Hirokai.
The man was currently pushing back a pair of bloodthirsty zombies with a crowbar while his wife was trying to help him push the clearly stronger zombies back as well which was difficult as the two younger daughters were clinging to her like newborn babies. Crying and screaming.
Jason bolted towards them at superhuman speeds. Easily rivalling and even surpassing that of an Olympic athlete. One would normally consider themselves royally screwed when a hulking 6'9 figure that looked like it weighs easily 600 pounds barreling towards you at speeds surpassing 19 MPS to be straight out of a nightmare. But to Alex Hirokai it was the saving grace of his family. He pushed the two zombies back with the last of his strength and called out to him. "NOBLE SIX! Over here!" His arms starting to shake due to the fatigue. Any second the zombie would lean in and take a bite from the delicious looking arteries in the neck.
Jason still racing towards them, raised his handgun and fired twice, each bullet finding its mark on the side of the infects face. Leaving an explosion of blood and brain matter which had found its way on Alex and his family's face being so close to the zombies.
He arrived mere seconds later. "Everyone ok?!" He called inspecting the family of four quickly. Besides bloodied clothes and faces they seemed to be fine. Well besides the two daughters balling their eyes out.
"Thank you, lieutenant," Alex spoke, spitting out the bits of infected blood in his mouth.
Jason nodded. "Alright, I'm gonna evac you back to the house. Stay close to me and don't veer off course."
A zombie sneaking behind a pile of lockers lept in the air with surprising strength towards the family, hoping for an easy kill. Temari screamed and closed her eyes waiting for the attack but it never came. She opened them to see the armoured titan himself, armoured hand wrapped around its throat and lifting the 190-pound man off the ground with one hand. The zombie clawed and tried to fight back but the superior Spartan had a steel-like grip. He applied pressure and snapped its neck and dropped its corpse to the ground.
He turned to them quickly, their eyes wide with shock, fear and gratitude. "Let's move." He ordered. They quickly followed their saviour's request. Jason In front leading while Alex right behind, daughters and wife hugging him close.
Jason spotted 2 young adults pushing back a zombie with a baseball bat. He raised his pistol and fired. The round zooming in between the couple and punching through the zombie's eyehole. They turned around and spotted the Spartan. "Fall in, I'm getting you outta here!" The couple quickly made their way towards him and fall behind Alex and his family.
This was the routine for the next few minutes, he managed to save three more families and guide them through the burning camp. Another feminine scream made him turn to see the women who had called out Saya father and claim infected were helpless victims get proven wrong the only way how. She was getting devoured by a group of zombies. Jason turned his head away in disgust and lead them further away and into the courtyard.
He quickly dispatched 3 zombies with his combat knife when they got to close. Out of the campgrounds and back in the courtyard he turned to see Emile eject the empty 8 round magazine from his already dwindling supply and slide in a fresh one. "Emile!" He called out.
Despite the ensuing chaos, screams of civilians being eaten, gunshots from Takagi group and all-around destruction the CQC Spartan turned around and glanced at him.
"Conserve your ammo! We'll need it." A green acknowledgment signal flashed in the bottom of Jason HUD, indicating that Emile heard it. "Close Quarters you say? Now you're speaking my language." Emile responded in the comms. The armoured Spartan stood up from his one-kneed position and unsheathed his massive Kukri knife and charged forward.
Jason didn't stay and watch the ensuing bloodbath Emile was about to dish out. He turned his attention back towards the group of terrified survivors and led them up the stairs towards the other group of survivors. Staying close to them he led them up to where Souchiro and a dozen other men, women, and children which had been rescued from grounds. He quickly called out to Shizuka who's new dress was stained in sticky blood. "Shizuka, look after them." Her tired eyes nodded but he could see she was exhausted looking after all the survivors. She led them towards the long line of crouched survivors.
Jason turned to run back but a hand reached out and grabbed his arm. He turned to see it was Alex. Face still covered in blood and terrified eyes staring back at him. "Th…. thank you."
Jason nodded back before he jumped over the railings and landed back on the first-floor courtyard.
Jason ran back to the campground a few survivors had seen the futuristic super-soldier saving a handful of survivors and ran after him. A few managed to get out unscathed and ran towards shelter. but was unable to save a mother from having her throat ripped out courtesy of an infected. The zombie took another chimp into the poor woman who had now died. The crying girl no older than 17 weakly punched the zombie back and screamed. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"
But she didn't see the zombie that had snuck up behind her. He grabbed her by the arm and brought her to the ground. He opened his mouth, yellowed teeth and decaying breath inching towards the nape of her neck. She closed her eyes and screamed.
The attack never came and she heard the sickening crunch of what sounded like bone snapping. Her eyes widened when she saw the polarized reflection of her face staring back at her and a large man decked out in the most advanced armour she'd ever seen. She watched as the soldier grabbed the zombie by the back of the throat and slammed its head hard into the ground, caving it in and leaving a sickening mess of brain and bone.
He reached out a bloodied hand and without hesitation she took it.
Emile watched Jason charge headfirst into the blazing inferno before he turned his attention back to the dozens of zombies making their way towards him. He holstered his M6D Magnum and unsheathed his prized possession; the Kukri knife.
"Alright you fuckers, bring it on." He growled
One of the zombies lashed out becoming the first victim of Emile. With a low animalistic growl and lunged forward. Emile lashed out in superhuman speed and grabbed the zombie by the throat. "Too slow."
He raised it off the ground and immediately choke slammed it into the ground. With the force of a dump truck, the infected spine snapped in half as well as every rib being broken and most of its organs being turned to mush. A normally excruciating and almost instant kill for any normal person was all useless to the already dead zombie. The only thing deserving of a killing blow was when the back of the zombies head hit the stone ground and was smashed to pieces.
He immediately went to work on the next few zombies slicing and stabbing into them with his massive knife.
A zombie lept on top of him and wrapped his arms around the armoured Spartan intending to bite into his neck. What the unsuspecting infected didn't expect was the titanium nano skintight bodysuit protecting his neck nor the strength behind the human he was trying to bite into. Emile grabbed him by the back of the shirt and lifted the dead human over his head and slammed the zombie into the ground hard. It landed on its back snapping both arms in a weird angle and coming face to face with an armoured boot that caved its head in. "Lights out freak" Emile muttered to no one in particular.
He sprinted forward and swept through the dozens of never-ending zombies, slashing, stabbing and bashing any infected that got too close. It was no wonder Emile was both respected feared on the battlefield. CQC was his area of expertise and he held nothing back. A demon that could fight for days without tiring. A normal person would almost be sick watching the Spartan shred and tear into the zombies with such precision and aggression. There was a reason why he was considered "the man without fear".
Emile sliced off another infects head and thrust his knife forward into the forehead of another. His knife was now dripping with blood and it could easily slip out of a normal person's hand if it wasn't for the design in the Kukri knife.
A smaller infected slammed into him trying to bite at the side of his chest but being unsuccessful due to the titanium alloy. "Piss off!" Emile angrily called out in annoyance, the zombie tried to bite him one more time breaking its already rotting teeth. He snaked an arm around the zombie's neck and snapped its head around doing a full 180, another display of the augmented super-soldiers monstrous strengthen.
He watched another zombie limp towards him, one leg completely twisted in a horrifying angle and shattered thanks to Emile's unorthodox method of grabbing the zombie by the leg and playing Whack-A-Mole with any zombie that came too close. If zombies could feel, he was certain that display alone would make them afraid to come near him. Thankfully, that wasn't the case and 5 more zombies lunged towards them, the last mistake their undead lives would make.
Jason carrying a small boy around 6 and a blonde-haired girl 5 in his arms bolted up the stairs, 6 survivors following after him. In the 10th run up the stairs, an easily fatiguing feat for any man that had to fight and rescue felt like nothing to the Lone Wolf, who had saved 45 people tonight, not including the 6 he was currently evacing to safety.
People don't always consider the serious physiological training the Spartan III has to endure. Probably why they were considered robots and killing machines wasn't the fact that they were in massive armoured suits, nor the often socially awkward interactions they had with civilians. Those were part of it, but when faced with insurmountable odds, a normal person would resort to fight or flight every time. It was basic human nature. A Spartan III, particularly Noble Six response was only to fight. No matter the cost, no matter the odds, no matter if he was dying or not. He would complete the mission to the bitter end, a feat already accomplished by the 20-year-old. There was a reason why the Spartans of Sparta were considered one of the greatest soldiers to ever exist in Ancient Times. There was also a reason why the UNSC Spartans were the greatest soldiers to ever exist in history.
Jason drenched in blood and covered in burn marks, looking like a monster straight out of a horror movie carried the two children in his arms and a young teenage boy clutching his leg. "Shizuka!" He called out for the umpteenth time that night.
Her tired eyes smiled once more at the prospect of more people saved. She stood up and rushed over, before scooping up the 5-year-old girl carried her to safety. She pointed to a free spot on the already crowded balcony and the families followed her. Shizuka tried to provide as best as she could but she was only one person. Luckily Six had saved both a family doctor as well as two fresh med students which had quickly gotten over the adrenaline and shock and was looking after the vast crowd of terrified and shell-shocked survivors.
A young boy walked up to him and handed him a swimming towel. Jason glanced at the boy only coming up to just below his waist and took off his helmet. The seeps of blood dripping off his helmet and into his face. It smelt rancid but Jason was unfazed by the smell he knew most of his life. He grabbed the colourful towel, 4 strange green turtles holding a Katana, Bo Staff, Sai and Nunchucks; each with a colourful bandanna around their eyes. He didn't spare it a second glance and nodded thanks to the young boy. He waved and ran back to his father leaving Noble Six to wipe the blood from his helmet visor and face and wrapped the towel around his combat knife, removing the blood and brain matter. Finally wiping his bloodied armoured gloves and wrist.
One of the Med students: A young American girl in her young twenties with Caucasian skin, blue eyes and long brown hair tied in a ponytail approached him. She reached out and offered him a plastic water bottle. "Here, you'll need this."
He glanced down at the offered bottle of water. Jason smiled at her and sheathed the bloody knife back into place. "Thanks." He reached out and grabbed the bottle but couldn't open the plastic cap with his bloodied and slippery hands. "Here. Let me." She took the bottle from his grasp and opened up the cap before handing it back to him.
Jason grabbed the bottle gently and downed most of it in less than 10 seconds. Despite its lukewarm nature, the water tasted delicious to him. He used the remainder on his black hair which had become grimy and sweaty due to the intensity of the heat.
She offered him another which he thanked and this time drank slower. As he drank she turned to look at him. It was a strange sight for her. Sure she was a med student and had seen some gruesome injuries in school as well as being a fan of horror movies but to see it face to face, to smell, see, and hear the sounds of flesh being torn off and blood spurting. Everywhere she looked, children were crying in their parents' arms, wife's clutching their husband's arms asking if everything would be all right and husbands having to lie and keep up a false sense of bravado. Even Takagi's men being terrified of the undead, more so than their stern leader. But when her eyes landed on the strange man known as Noble Six, she didn't see the fear in his eyes; past that hardened expression, she saw worry, anger, and guilt. "How's it going down there? Anyone left?" She asked in a saddened. Despite the vast differences, a somewhat community had grown between the survivors Lord Takagi had picked up. Watching the people she had begun to care for being torn apart by drooling freaks and them in turn turning more was an unsettling sight to anyone.
His unusually bright blue eyes turned to look her in the eyes. His eyes were like granite, not a single emotion in them. It was unnerving. "It's getting harder to see. Bloody war zone down there." He said spitting out a wad of blood from his mouth before taking another sip.
"You've done amazing work. I hope you know that."
He turned back to the nightmarish scene. All the candles and lanterns had been knocked over engulfing almost the entire compound in embers. He watched Takashi and Saeko on the right, back to back doing a pretty good job of keeping the zombies at bay. To his left were Takuzo, Josh, Hisashi, and Rei covering the right side. Takashi moves closer towards them and called them to retreat. Seems they were getting overrun now. At this point, they'd run out of bullets or become too tired to fight.
Jason almost had to keep himself from smiling. While everyone else was retreating, still out in the middle of nowhere, deeply surrounded by infected on all sides, was Emile, knife in hand leaving trail after trail of Kukri-shredded bodies. Seems he wasn't the only one interested in the CQC Spartan. "Jesus Christ, that thing is a bloody demon." One of Takagi's men spoke out in awe.
"Does he not fear being eaten by those things? It's like he's a damn rabid animal."
Jason smiled. They had no idea the man Emile was in combat. He could almost pity the infected having to go up against that. Almost.
"Thanks." He finished the last of the water bottle before placing his helmet back on. "Dust, come in."
"Go ahead, Jason."
"Do a scan of the civilian campground. See if you can locate anyone alive."
"Copy… scanning now… afraid not Jason. If there is anyone down there, they won't survive. There's hundreds of them."
Jason clenched his fist in anger. "Damn it. Alright. I'll make one more sweep just to be sure, find me a route out with the least amount of infected. I can't keep the same way, it's like the bloody buggers are camping there." He turned to walk down the stairs but the Med student called out to him.
"Wait," She said, causing the man to turn to look at her. "You're still going down there?" Shizuka perked up and stood from giving a bottle of water to a small kid and walked over. "What's going on?"
"He's going back in the civilian tent area." She said in worry.
Shizuka eyebrows raised and she turned to him with shock written all over her face. "What? Are you insane? I heard what happened on that last one, there were dozens of them. You barely made it out."
"You heard your friend on the radio or whatever. There are hundreds of them, and you wanna go down there again?" The med students voice raising to a shout, most of the survivors now all tuned in listening in silence.
Shizuka turned to the med student. "Hundreds? Geez. Absolutely not Six. It's too dangerous."
"There's still a chance there are people down there. I'll do what I can." He turned back to the stairs but Shizuka hand grabbed his arm. Or tried to, his muscled arm covered in titanium was too big for her to have a firm grasp on.
"NO! Six, please." She placed a gentle hand on his back. "It's suicide to go down there. Do you not care about your own life?"
"I'm a soldier. It's an occupational hazard."
She shook her head. Tears started to form in her eyes. "Please. You've done more than enough for humanity."
The memories of Reach being glassed, Noble Team's deaths, all those millions of people killed and reduced to ashes. He hated himself for not doing enough, all those people died in vain and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. "Not nearly enough." He shrugged her hand off and made a step-down but a light gust of wind blew against his wind. He glanced down to see Alice looking at him. In her hand was one of Haruno's Magazines. "Please Jasoon. Don't go, I don't want you to get hurt." Her face formed a saddened expression and tears began to slide down her cheeks.
Jason glanced back around and noticed the many different expressions, anger, sadness, fear and worry. He glanced at Saya and Haruno who also gave him an expression to stay here.
He lowered his head and sighed. "Ok, ok, I'll stay." He reached out and ruffled Alice's pink hair and she hugged his calve one more time.
He radioed his fearless comrade down below. "Emile, this is Six."
"This is Four. Read you loud and clear, Go ahead Six."
"We're pulling out of the AO. Objective is too hot. Head back to the balcony."
"WILCO. Oscar Mike after I take out these stragglers." He replied back.
Shizuka sighed in relief and managed to form a smile. "You're too reckless."
Six shrugged. "Part of my charm."
One of Takagi's men, the second in charge if Jason remembered correctly, approached from behind. He bowed his head for a brief moment before he spoke. "My lord, our scouts have confirmed, the troops stationed next door haven't been attacked yet." He took a pause allowing the info to set in before he continued. "I believe we can reinforce all the gates and doors."
Sourchiro's predatory eyes gazed back on the battle below. He saw the rest of Sayas friends make their way up the stairs and one Noble Four moving back at lightning-fast speeds. 'How do they move so fast in all that weight?' He thought curiously.
He let out a breath before he clasped his hands behind his back and spun around. Back ramrod straight. "We'll rip through the enemy and head next door!" He turned to the large group of men and women. Surprised there was so many of them now. 'That Noble Six works fast.' He could see on their grimy and bloodied faces they had all but lost hope, he would need to fire up their spirits and quick. "Come if you are ready to do battle. And as for the women and children, stay close behind immediately, if you want to survive!"
Saya turned to look at her father. It was the most unexpected news. Her home, the one her parents had worked so hard to acquire. The one she lived in her whole life and they were abandoning it to the undead. "Dad, why don't we just barricade ourselves in the-"
"They broke through the iron gate!" He replied tersely. "What's the point of trying to protect the house?! Even if we barricaded ourselves in, they'll just break in eventually and kill us all." A few women began to cry in the back at the hopeless news.
Jason turned to see the rest of the group had made their way up the stairs. Faces bloodied and already showing signs of fatigue. The adrenaline would wear off soon.
Emile made his way up the stairs a few moments later. He flicked his knife a couple of times, removing the blood and bits of flesh that stuck to it, satisfied, he shoved it back into the sheath and stood beside Jason. "You good?" Jason without glancing at Emile whispered.
Emile formed the Spartan Smile with his fingers across the faceplate which looked funny considering the massive primal looking animal skull carved in the middle.
Takashi and Kohta stepped forward for the group willing to fight.
Souchiro Takagi gazed back down at the carnage below. "I thought you were going to look for your parents." "You should be on your way."
Takashi eyebrows raised before he responded gruffly. "Yes, sir."
Without turning his hardened gaze softened slightly. Almost sadness in his eyes. "Haruno, please take care of my daughter."
Sayas eyes widened in shock at the implication. "Dad… what do you mean by that-" before she could finish a hand lashed out grabbing her wrist and spinning her around. The sound of a slap could be heard.
Saya still clutching the reddened cheek where her mom slapped her turned around to see her mother Yuriko's stern eyes looking down on her.
Emile turned to Jason just shrugged his shoulders and folded his arms in a nonchalant matter.
"Stop acting like a child, your father and I have work to do. I know I've had to leave you alone many times before as a child. And I'm sorry for that. I hope someday you'll forgive me." Her voice starting to break and she held back the tears that threatened to come forward. "But this time I'm leaving you because I have to, not because I want to."
"Mommy…" Saya began to whimper.
Jason grip on his rifle tightened and his jaw clenched. Emile noticed his body language and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I know Jason, I know." He whispered loud enough so only the two of them could hear.
The topic of family was never an easy one, especially for Spartan III's.
Alice noticing the shift in everyone's mood but not really understanding it stepped forward, Zeke cradled in her chest.
"Mrs. Takagi." she began but Yuriko places a gentle hand on her head before she leaned in and hugged her tightly. "Be a good little girl. Be strong and brave and listen to your big brothers and sisters, ok?"
Alice smiled softly. "Okay…"
She turned her attention back to the two regimented Spartans. "I don't really know your mission here or why you stayed with them so long, but I'd appreciate if you stayed with my daughter and her friends a bit longer. They trust you and they'll need your military training and experience." She placed a hand on Jason's wrist. "Please, take care and watch over them. I put them in your care."
"We'll do our best. No harm will come to them. You have my word."
Yuriko smiled. "Thank you." She turned one more time to look at all of them before her eyes hardened. "Now GO!"
Saya's eyes started to water… "Dad… mom, I love you so much." She said with a choked sob before she bolted. The others not far behind.
A voice called out to Jason. He glanced to his right to see Alex and his family. "Uh, Noble Six sir… if it's not too much of a trouble. My family and I would like to join you."
Jason turned to look at Souchiro who had unsheathed his katana. The man's eyes turned to meet his. He nodded in confirmation. "Jason turned back to the man."You'll have to ask Takashi that. There in the garage." Alex nodded thanks and he with the limited luggage and his wife and two daughters bolted after the teenagers.
"Lieutenant." He called out solemnly.
Jason stopped and glanced his head towards the man waiting for his words. "Good luck." Jason nodded a farewell and turned around.
"Come on Emile, let's go." The spartan nodded and joined Six down the stairs.
Jason and Emile bolted down the stairs. Taking out a handful of infected that had begun to make their way towards the stairs and made their way towards the garage.
They arrived just in time to see Alex and his family had made their way over and Saya was talking to Mac. "What are you doing here?"
"Working on the car." He glanced at the armoured Humvee with a gleeful smile. "You're lucky, this beauty here is anti-electro field."
Emile whispered to Jason. "This SAT friend or whatever could very well be ONI, with how prepared and stacked she is."
Jason nodded in unison. "Hooyah."
"The car was damaged a bit so I'll need to do some repairs on it."
The others realizing what it meant began to get in positions. Jason called out to Takashi. The boy walked over to them. Jason gestured over to Alex and his family. "This is Alex Hirokai, we met them a few days earlier and I helped saved them earlier. They were wondering if they could come along with us."
"Please Mr. Takashi. My family is desperate. We would like to come with you. I promise I'll pull my weight around."
Takashi waved a hand. "Relax, if we have the room you guys can come with us. Just stay by the Humvee."
The man sighed with relief. "Thank you, Thank you so much!" He led his family to the Humvee.
Jason grabbed his DMR from his back and took position near the entrance. Emile standing side by side him. On his right Hisashi, Takuzo, Josh, Haruno all stood in a line. Leaving Takashi and Saeko slightly upfront. The non-combatants, Alex, his family, Naomi, Alice, and Shizuka were guarded by Saya and Rei.
Jason slid the second last remaining magazine he had on his front pouch and slammed it in. He pulled back the slide and chambered a round.
"Mm… last stand eh? What you say Six, just like the Ship Breaking mission in Aszod, minus the Zealots, of course." Emile chuckled darkly.
Jason turned to look at him with annoyance and flicked him off. "Man, you are the worst."
Emile grinned like a madman and cradled his shotgun in preparation.
Almost immediately the infected fall on them. Takashi and group held on fiercely. Jason had moved in the middle and provided covering fire while Emile, Takashi and Saeko took the brunt of the infected horde.
A zombie lashed out towards Takeshi's unprotected rear, but before it could attack a lightning flash hand snaked around the infected neck and snapped it instantly. Emile dropped the body and nodded to Takashi and immediately turned back to fighting the army of undead without a second glance. Leaving Takashi to stand in awe at the sheer brutality and strength the Spartan displayed. The man had literally snapped another person's neck one-handed like it was nothing.
Jason stuffed the last mag with 4 bullets left inside into his pouch. He had burned through the last of his remaining ammo on hand. He quickly placed his DMR on the magnetic holster on his back and pulled out his M6G Magnum.
He flicked the safety off before he took aim and fired twice. Rounds tearing through 2 zombies that managed to sprint past Takashi as he was reloading
He was about to take aim again when he heard a feminine scream from behind. He turned around and his eyes widened. One of the infected, a large bulky one had gotten a hold of Reis rifle strap and was dragging her over a pile of wooden crates. She tried to free herself but the zombie had a vice-like grip.
Hisashi noticed Rei in trouble and called out to her. "Rei!" He tried to run back but Jason told him to stay put. He had a higher chance of reaching her. "Don't break formation. Watch the front, I got it." Jason double-timed his sprint towards her. Has everyone else not been distracted by the overwhelming hoard they would have seen a man outfitted in titanium armour break the Olympic world record for speed. Six was by Rei side in less than 10 seconds. He took aim with the Magnum and fired, drilling the zombie between the eyes and exploding his head against the brick wall with the semi piercing rounds. "Are you ok?" He leaned over and pried the hand of the corpse off the rifle and placed a hand on her shoulder.
In between adrenaline and shock, she managed to nod a couple of times. "Yeah...I'm ok. You saved my life again. Thank you."
Jason couldn't tell if her reddened cheeks were because of exhaustion or the embarrassing position she was trapped in. He took it as the lather. "Come on. Let's go."
She nodded and followed him back to the garage just to come face to face with Saya planting her Luger against an infected face and blowing his brains out.
Mac slammed the hood of the Humvee down. "I wish I could have worked on it more. But oh well."
With the already noncombatants inside the Humvee. Takashi quickly called the others to pile in. Haruno noticed the large group they had with them. "How are we all gonna fit inside?"
"We'll manage," Takashi said his voice unsure.
Emile and Jason provide covering fire while everyone else piled in. The Humvee would be squished beyond anything. But thanks to its power and military engineering the Humvee was built to carry 4 times its weight.
Takashi climbed inside and stood in the hatch, Saeko perched on top.
Leaving 2members left since Mac, the mechanic decided to stay behind. Six turned around towards the bikes when he stopped. Remembering the HANE. His eyes went wide. "DAMN it! Shit!" He cursed.
"What's the matter?" Takashi called from the turret seat. "The EMP." Jason called back. "it fried the motorcycle."
"So? Just hop in. It's cramped in here but we can squeeze you in."
Jason turned to look at Emile. He didn't know how to explain to them nor did he want to reveal classified information about the fact that the combined combination of the two weighed that of an elephant.
"Come on let's go!" Rei called from the Humvee.
"Look, It's ok, you guys go on ahead we'll catch up!"
Takashi glanced at them both like they were insane. "What? There are hundreds of them, not even both of you could get out the main entrance. Just get on."
"Well, Emile. You're not gonna' like this."
"What? What do you mean…." his eyes followed Jason's who was glancing at the side of the Humvee. "Oh fuck that… are you trying to get me to die?"
"Is that a rhetorical question?" Jason replied.
"Yeah, fuck off." He barked.
"Come on Emile. We don't have time." Jason places his hand on the Humvee and jumped up on the back. "Let me die with honour," Emile whined.
"Get your ass on," Jason replies sternly.
Almost immediately the Humvee felt the extra weight of both Spartans. "What was that sound?" Asked Shizuka confused. She turned to look at Mac. "Are you sure you fixed this?"
Mac just turned to look at the two occupants on the back. His eyes widen like saucers. He just realized how heavy the two men were. "Holy shit…"
Jason grabbed the sides of turret hatch and Emile moved forward grabbing it as well. "See little Emily, it's just like riding a rollercoaster," Jason said with a hint of mirth.
Emile kicked at his shin. "Piss off."
"Punch it Shizuka." The car now functioning Shizuka shot out the garage as Shizuka hit the gas.
She barreled towards the horde of zombies which had surrounded every inch of the complex. Every single zombie she hit left a hobbling bumpy effect on the two passengers, even almost making Emile fall off once or twice. "And I thought your driving sucked Jason. She's actively trying to turn me into roadkill!" He yelled over the sound of the engine.
"Quit your whining!" Jason called out.
The Humvee barreled towards the main entrance. They sped past Saya parents and the heartfelt moment of Saya glancing at her parents once more was quickly replaced with a comical sight as they had managed to gain air and fly momentarily.
"SSSOOOOOONNNNNNN OF A BITTTTCCCCHHHH!" Emile screamed as he nearly slipped off the side, his foot colliding with an infected that stood to close and lopping it's head clean off.
The Humvee has made its way out of the main gates safely. But just as they thought the worst was over, a new threat now came into view. The crashed bus of Shido and the roadblock up left a small opening. "Which way do we go now?" Shizuka asked In a worried panic. Almost if Fate itself was pulling the strings the Humvee bumped against the side of a car and was now driving On its side.
Emile tried to swing to the side to see what was going on. Almost wishing he hadn't. "Fuck meee…"
Jason leaned right and spoke in his ear. "Lock your armour and hit the magnetic stick to your boots."
Jason and Emile both locked their armour and held low and ducked. They would have to use as much strength as they could. Leaning even a few inches off either end they would be crushed against the bus or roadblock.
"Death by Humvee…. what a way to go," Emile whined.
The held on right as Saeko was pulled in right before she would be splattered against the roadblock. The minute they just narrowly shot through. The force was enough to knock Emile to the side and barely grabbed onto the side of the window with one hand. "SHIT!" He cursed out.
The others watched in horror as Emile dangled off the side of the Humvee. While he wouldn't be hurt if he fell off, hitting the road while the Humvee was easily going 50 MHPs meant he would suffer some broken ribs. Thankfully, it wouldn't come to that. Jason used the momentum of his body and slid across grabbing Emile by the arm and pulling him back on the roof. "I got you!"
Emile landed back in the roof with a heavy thud. He took a few deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down. Having almost been crushed by a Humvee. He turned to look at Jason. His visor purposely unpolarized revealing the 20-year-old with a shit-eating grin.
"We don't speak about this. Ever." Emile warned narrowing his eyes.
Jason raised 3 fingers on one hand. "Scouts honour." He said with barely contained giggles.
The Humvee sped forward through the night and past the burning mansion. The group would finally be safe at last….. or so they thought.
May 17, 2010
Unknown Location
05:21 Hours Z-Day-3
The waning of twilight slowly began to disappear leaving faint traces of sunrise to appear over the horizon. Despite the permanent smell of building and flesh that hung in the air like a blanket, the cool crisp morning air began to breeze against a large tattered blanket that had gotten hooked on the side of the car door. The blanket was an ordinary sky blue with bits of blood splattered on the sides and hot burn marks.
A loud crunch echoed through the abandoned and trash littered the streets. Like the sound of bones snapping. 3 hulking figures, easily a foot taller than the average man trudged carefully through the empty city streets. Their appearances silhouetted by the darkened sky. Eyes sharp as a hawk, scanning the alleyways and buildings for even the slightest flicker of movement.
The low moans of what sounded like a dying animal echoed from the alleyway to their left. The figure on the right turned his head sharply and watched emotionlessly as 3 limping figures, their clothes tattered and torn. Skin decaying and pale shuffle towards the silhouette figure. One of the decaying men reached out with a hand and lunged forward but before it even had a chance of landing a hit, an arm shot out in a lightning-fast manner, it's dark grey skin reached out and wrapped its massive hand around the creature's neck. 2 fingers and 2 thumbs began to squeeze around the humans throat. It tried to claw and bite at its assailant but the superior figure dressed in a sleek black harness of some sorts with crimson coloured lights. It's glowing blue eyes slits bore into the seemingly mindless creatures head. With no effort at all, the figure rammed the side of the decaying human against the brick wall caving it in and turning into mush. The body dropped lifelessly against the pavement floor. The figure growled before its massive foot stomped down on it, crushing the last remaining twitches. It's short upper and lower leg splattered in darkened blood.
The figure on the right launcher a small purple-like needle into another decaying human. The shard struck the human in between the eyes before it shattered. Wearing the same sleek black armour and glowing blue horizontal slits. "My liege" he called out.
The lone figure in front, taller than his two men easily almost 8 feet tall turned his head. His face covered in an animalistic shark-like designed helmet. Instead of blue horizontal slits, he had a glowing crimson visor that spanned from one side to the other. He wore the same sleek and stealthy harness as his men albeit with a bit more armour. Red markings decorated his dark black armour ornamentally like he was a great warrior of Noble birth. "I detect readings of the Demons presence in this area."
The sounds of muffled clicking could be heard from the figure, if one glanced underneath the helmet it would see 4 mandibles- the distinct physical traits of the Sangheili, the backbone of the Covenant army. They rubbed against each other in an excited expression.
First Blade Officer Zamamee of the Covenant Special Operations squadron was finally gaining some good news since his mysterious crashing on the planet. Normally an Elite and from his pedigree would be excited at the prospect of finding the homeworld of Earth. Since arriving the humans he was promised to hunt were undead creatures void of any intelligence. At first, he assumed he landed in some sort of time loop and this was humanity way back when the Flood was present. But the ancient technology and buildings and the vast differences between the flood parasites and whatever this was quickly debunked that theory. In truth, he and his men were no closer to finding out how they went from Reach to this strange desolate and broken world.
The figure on the left wielding a blue and purple Plasma Rifle guttered in disgust. "I feel sorry for these humans. Being controlled and reduced to walking husk of flesh."
The lone figure snarled and snapped around. His imposing figure towering over his men. "You speak heresy in my presence, Salhallee. If you wish to keep your tongue, I'd advise against it." He barked. In truth, Zamamee felt the same way. Whatever this parasite or plague was, it wasn't Forerunner or Covenant design, it was too elegant, engineered even. He was a warrior of honour and respect, to desecrate ones dead like this, filthy human or not was abhorrent. But he couldn't afford to have his Sangheili warriors grow soft on him, he was here on a mission and it was the duty of a high ranked elite to see it through to the end.
"What's the last known coordinates of our target Salhallee?" The First Blade Officer spoke out.
"My liege, indicators suggest he was last in this area a few days ago, He's probably heading east as far as I can tell."
"That's it?" Zamamee growled in annoyance. Having been stranded here for what he assumed for three days, unable to reach his shipmaster or any Covenant ship for that matter. His patience was at an all-time low.
"Apologies, communications are still haywire since our arrival on the human homeworld," Salhallee responded sheepishly.
He snapped his head back around. "Disappointing," He snarled. "Keep trying to reach any Covenant ship you can. Wherever we are. This will not be where I die, surrounded by defiled humans."
A load moan crawled from under the battered and charred remains of a truck. The decaying human was missing an arm and half of its lower stomach was ripped off, exposing the remains of its decaying organs. He stepped forward, extending out his arm to reach for his weapon holstered on his hip. The stab wound of a human combat knife in his neck was gone, as were the rounds of human bullet holes that had peppered his shields and armour. Aside from a few scratches and burn marks, his pristine armour was in mint condition, a testament to the iron-like discipline of the Sangheili Ethos.
"With the sacrament of blood, we journey into the Great Beyond," Zamamee recalled the words of his Zealot Commander. His curved sword extended the two crimson ionized blades of the Energy Sword, the Prize holy weapons of the Sangheili. The crimson blade glowed in the darkened sky. Allowing one visible sight besides the three shrouded figures; The bloodied duel wielding energy swords crisscrossed. The insignia of one of the Covenants greatest elite stealth units. The Silent Shadows. He was bested in combat once before. He would not make that mistake again, the gods have brought him back for a reason. To finish the hunt. And for a Silent Shadow — the Hunt was everything. He swiped his sword, cutting the infected like a knife through hot butter, leaving a pile of flesh behind. His glittering red sword lighting the way.
And we finished where the anime ended off. Now we will see the survivors survive in a much harsher Japan and the introduction of the Silent Shadows. Hope the Emile action satisfied you Emile Fans, He was always one of my favourite Spartans in the UNSC. Thank you for the continued support!
Helmet: Mjolnir with an External Command Network Module
Chest: UA/ Base security
Left shoulder: ODST
Right shoulder: ODST
Wrist: Tactical/Tacpad
Utility: Tactical/Hardcase
Visor colour: Black
Knee guards: Grenadier
Armour Colours
Primary: Black
Secondary: Silver
UNSC Navy Combat Record- Spartan-III B312 "Noble Six"
Full Name: Jason Wintergreen "Winters"
Sex: Male
Height: 205.7Cm (6 Ft 9 In)
Weight: 290 LB without armour. With armour 670 LB
Race: White
Blood Type: Classified
Age: 20 years old
Birthdate: Classified
Hair Colour: Midnight Black
Eye Colour: Aqua Sea Blue
Medical Record: Classified
Homeworld: Classified
Status: Unknown
Affiliation: UNSC Navy, ONI
Cybernetics: Spartan Neural Interface
A.I: Dust(2268-2456)
UNSC Designation Rank: Lieutenant
Kill Confirmations: Classified
List of Serviceable Medals: Classified
Stationed At/Received Training: Classified
Training Qualifications: Classified
Occupation; Spartan III Commando-Former Member of Beta Company
Speciality: Assassination, Infiltration, Reconnaissance, Espionage, Commanding and Assault
CQB Specialist, Uncanny Marksmanship, Hyper-Lethal Vector, YSS- Sabre Pilot, Classified, Classified, Classified
Weapons Classification: M392 Designated Marksman Rifle, M90 Tactical Shotgun. M60 Magnum.
Former Team: Cerberus (E-216) (KIA) , Classified
Current Team: Noble Team (KIA)
Former Ops: Classified
Current Commander: Commander Carter-A259
Commander before Noble Team: Classified
Update Record? Yes. No.