Halo: Gauntlet

Chapter 11

All the elites, grunts, and jackals turned their heads towards the sound of the hissing door, where four figures stood. As the light was cast on them, those on the bridge recognized who they were. An elite in bright white armor ignited its energy sword and shouted a war cry to its comrades, as it charged toward the intruders. Chase gestured at everyone to scramble, taking on the elite by himself. He planted his feet and fired with both rifles, spraying the area in front of him with full force. The Ultra remained unfazed as its shields blocked every hit. It jumped in the air and lunged towards Chase, who dodged out of the way at the last second. The elite turned around for a second swing, but he ducked and socked it in the stomach with a rifle, using it as a knuckle duster. He nailed it in the head with his other hand, forcing it back. It clutched its jaw, grumbling in anger as its cloaking kicked in, turning invisible. By this point, the other aliens had ducked behind cover, determined to end this once and for all. Jakub sprayed needles at the grunts and elites, which exploded in puffs of pink mist. Those that stayed under were forced to watch as bodies hit the floor, smoke trickling out from their burns and bullet holes. A grunt cowered as its friend's mask was shot off, revealing its strangled throat. It tucked into a ball and began to shake in fear, but a shadow suddenly cast over it. it looked up at whatever was above and had its face brutally caved in by a punch from Emily. The Spartan fired her shotgun at another Jackal and a final one at an elite, bursting its shield in a spark of blue. The two engaged in a fistfight, taking blows and blocking kicks. The elite grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up, her legs kicking the air. The elite smirked as it began to tighten its grip, but Emily quickly grabbed the knife on her leg, and with a strong thrust, jammed it up through its mouth and through the top of its skull. The alien's head exploded and its brain splattered all over the walls. Its grip lessened before dropping her entirely as it hit the ground with a dull thump. Emily pulled her knife out and cleaned it using her shoulder armor before tucking it back in her leg. Carly and Chase worked together to finish off the rest with ease, plasma decimating the Covenant's body shields only to be followed up with a clean headshot. Eventually, the room went silent.

"Where's that Ultra? I don't see its armor he-"

Suddenly, Chase was thrown back, slamming his back against the bridge's console. His guns fell to the ground and were quickly kicked out of reach. The silhouette of the Elite Ultra came back into view, with an angry snarl on its face. It once again ignited its energy sword in a burst of bright light, staring down Chase. Chase sucked in deep breaths, unsheathing his knife. He was no Emily, but he figured he could take this guy on. 

One of the other doors opened behind Carly, and a flurry of plasma began to push her back. She returned fire before taking cover and tossing a grenade. Emily vaulted over her and charged into the crowd, swinging her knife and firing her pistol, and as Jakub approached he added suppressing fire to keep their enemy pinned. 

Chase turned back at the Elite, who was still distracted looking at the other fight. Chase seized the opportunity and ran towards it, tackling it to the ground. The two began to wrestle, tossing each other on the ground. The Ultra kicked Chase off and grabbed him by the chest armor, slamming him into a pillar over and over again. It tossed him to the ground and went to reach for its energy sword to finish the job, but Chase jammed his knife right into its back. Blood spurted out of the wound and the Elite cried out in pain before swinging its energy sword at Chase. He dodged backward and ducked at another swing before going in for a sucker punch and an uppercut, once again nailing its jaw. He swung around it and pulled his knife out, sticking it back into the alien, this time into its thigh. It fell on one knee before lunging backward and elbowing Chase in the chest. It was barely able to stand on both legs, and Chase knew he was going to win. The two faced off, circling each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Chase feigned an attack, causing the Elite to fumble back, but it got its footing and did a surprise lunge at Chase, but he dove to the left. He tried to reach for his sidearm, bewildered that he hadn't already used it yet, but this momentary distraction led the elite to go invisible again. Chase fired at the Elite, but he was met with emptiness.