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Chapter 8 - Encounter

Evans woke to the gentle breathing of the large alien under him, feeling the thick arms of the Elite still wrapped over his shoulders. It felt bizarre as he recalled the night before, the conversations, arguments, and later on confession. As the Sangheili held him intimately with subtle strokes to his body, this thrill of intimacy was amplified by the knowing of what it was that held him so gently.

Man, never imagined any of this, Evans thought to him-self as he gently rubbed his face against the pyknic chest muscles he lay on. Cuddling with an alien is one thing--but damn, this big guy is so gentle. If I had a mom, she'd be proud--haha!

"Good morning, Evans." Ze'ev quietly said to him, having adjusted his eyes to the dim light of the room, and looked over the human.

"Good morning big guy," Evans replied as he slid up closer to the Elite's neck, softly breathing against it. Ze'ev closed his eyes with a soft moan of pleasure at the warm breath.

God this does feel weird--and he smells like a pair of boots.

He brushed the human's hair with his fingers, and Evan s he slid his leg over Ze'ev's, moving against his body intimately. He confessed how much he desired the Elite at the current moment, and Ze'ev rejoined with a whispered disclosure of longing; he however stated that it was not yet the time, or the place, and resisted the urge to feel the human's body freely. His heart pounded more as he felt the swell of desire, undulating through his veins and it twisted his gut around, and it was almost suffocating as this lust was suppressed.

As much as I desire him, I cannot engorge my-self in ecstasy yet. Ze'ev reminded him-self with a feeling of disappointment, I will fulfill my obligations as a husband, when this path is over; I will not disappoint him--

They did not lay there long as they proceeded to prepare for their continuing journey into the Cryo chamber. Solitude informed them that from there it would be a short trip into the Index Chamber to reclaim the Activation Key, and Ze'ev was confident that they had made good time. As he moved around Evans watched him with almost an affixed look, and Ze'ev had noticed it as he smile back, his blue eyes were brighter now and held more life than they did when Evans first saw him.

He is so fucking handsome; fucking god dammit, I want to make out with that weird face of his! I dunno what I'd do with his tail; I'll figure out something when I get hold of that the--fuck, god damn that ass is so nice! Evans could not resist the thoughts that seemed to circulate in his brain of the most lustful thoughts, though the entire time he smiled at Ze'ev; there was a deeper caring for him that effloresced. It made his heart beat faster and filled him with a bright confidence and companionship and he craved to spoil the Elite in affection.

When they were prepared to leave, Solitude drifted through the hall to assure them that the zombies were no more. He wondered if the Sentinels had eradicated them, but he still had trouble accessing them; Evans was not worried, but still unnerved.

"After we retrieve the key, what is next?"

"We merely must prevent Eyth 'Kha from activating this ring." Ze'ev assured him, "If we can manage this, then killing him is the next step."

"What about Noosphere?" Evans asked unsurely, "I mean this thing possessed him, right? We can't just kill him that easily can we?"

"Yes, it did." Ze'ev nodded unsurely, looking down to think. "The Forerunners used something to subdue him--but I know now what the technology is."

"It was lost with the destruction of Charum Hakkor." Solitude interjected, "All that is retained is that types of frequencies were used to reduce the nervous system's activity."

Evans thought for a moment, "You know--when my arm was being attached, they used frequencies to repair my DNA, and nerves."

"They did?" Solitude chirped excitedly, "Ooooh, tell me more!"

"Well it was pretty extreme shit. Basically, they generated a frequency that made the clusters that support my helixes vibrate--sort of. And they absorbed more water, grow faster and basically--tuned the nerve endings of my body, to the receptors of the arm. That is why when the pulse beam hit me it hurt--the electricity was like my arm being on fire! The scientist present, who worked under Dr. Halsey, said the genetic information basically--changed; and could be decoded. But--I didn't get a lot of out of them, because it was all experimental."

"Frequencies that alter your DNA." Ze'ev muttered to him-self as they began their path through the cold hall, "Solitude--what can you make of this? Form any conjecture!"

Solitude lingered for a moment as it processed the knowledge of genetic alteration through frequency; having been given the necessary knowledge of biophysics, it entertained the notion of neural physics, and the Precursors. There own knowledge and technology was still greatly amiss in the universe, and it was not known how they accomplished hive mind technology, transmutation into dust, and later on the Flood.

"If they can redirect, or change the genetic information of your genome--then it is very possible, that the frequencies used by Black Sun Architect, were in fact those that could render Noosphere in a controllable state. Perhaps this is how they extract his CNS from his body--but I still do not understand why, nor can I fathom the process."

"Maybe they were trying to understand how he could control people--I mean what if he figured out how to map your DNA, and alter it? I was thinking that Noosphere reanimated the dead, and made my friend kill hers-self all by just doing it, and there had to be a way."

Solitude buzzed loudly as it processed this new conjecture, and then spun around to face them, speaking in its high, child like voice with great excitement! "The Electromagnetic field of the body could have been altered! It was known that exposure to Noosphere could in fact cause neural diseases--then The Forerunners knew that if the EMF was changed, they could change Noosphere!"

"So he wants to use the Ring's gamma waves to spread his influence!" Evans began with revelation, "But how could he alter the technology, so easily?"

"I do not know. The precursors were leagues above my creators in technology--if he wanted--" Solitude fell silent and floated but for a moment, "Noosphere is why The Sentinels rebelled. He is figuring it out--but I do not know how, or where."

Ze'ev looked up sharply at them, "If he is learning, then we have run out of time. We must stop Eyth 'Kha, before he mutates the ring!"

"But how!" Evans asked, "We don't even know where the hell he is!"

"This is a problem--but he is likely following us. If the dead were able to track us, Eyth 'Kha, or Noosphere, at least knows where we're going." Ze'ev thought to him-self, wondering then what would be the next, best decisive move for them. Eyth 'Kha followed, but he knew not how to repel him; he then wondered, if the radiation blast was more intentional, than he gave it credit for. "That explosion that destroyed the building; it sent radiation into the atmosphere."

"And if so, then Noosphere has bounced his influence off that radiation and the waves it produces into the atmosphere. This means that, for some time, he was able to follow us; I do not know if he still can," Solitude began. "However--I propose that we must counter act this."

"How?" Evans began.

Solitude hummed for a second, and then floated up towards the roof. It lingered for a second and the green glow turned yellow, and the two below watched in silence, wondering what it had done.

"What is he doing--?" Evans asked quietly, looking over to Ze'ev.

"I cannot be certain. All of this technology is beyond me, or any of us; you humans seem to have accidentally stumbled upon something ancient."

Evans looked at his arm, and nodded, "Yeah--seems so. Guess we're lucky then."

Ze'ev smiled and moved closer to Evans and gently reached up to touch the human's right shoulder, softly rubbing his fingers along the skin. He released the human and then looked up to Solitude had drifted down from the ceiling, and it's colour returned to green, as it was.

"The Halo Array fires using Vacuum Energy, amplified by Phase Pulse Generators. When activated, this energy is siphoned until near depletion, from which it is fires in all directions." Solitude proudly spoke of the Installation's strengths. "However, due to meteorite collision, the Pulse Phase Generators are unable to fully function; this poses a problem for Noosphere, and for us."

"How so?" Evans asked, "If he can't fire it, then what is the problem?"

"The Halo Array is designed to destroy organic life by using a harmonic frequency to destroy all central nervous systems of any organic that possesses on. Firing the ring it-self could in fact destroy Eyth 'Kha, but the essence of Noosphere, somehow implanted in him, would not be destroyed."

"So it seems--even if life is wiped out, Noosphere is still around."

"This means Noosphere is immortal, to some extent." Ze'ev began, "Can the frequencies be altered, by any means?"

"This is uncertain. All information is aboard the Activation Index."

"Dammit--so what the fuck do we do?" Evans asked in aggravation, rubbing his head. "I mean if we can't change anything about this ring, can you create a frequency pulse out of the generators?"

"They only amplify the range; they do not create the harmonic frequency. A strange thing--Primordial was contained in a form of Slipspace, which you humans and Sangheili use for traversing the universe. All Installations are equipped with a means of locking down sections, or the whole Installation into a pocket of slip space."

"So if we do that, we can stop Eyth 'Kha?" Evans began, "Could Noosphere be trapped in it?"

"There is no difference between Noosphere and Primordial, except Noosphere was able to manipulate other organic creatures, and control them through a hive mind. He also was powerful enough to even steer his own species into a destructive, malevolent behavior, which is why he was isolated. The Eradinus Supervoid must--in fact be, a giant form of slip space!"

"So then--I don't understand--why do we do? How so we destroy something that isn't even physical, and can manipulate people's DNA?" Evans asked, as he felt confused by the information, and Ze'ev was equally uncertain as to what Solitude hinted at.

"My presumption is Noosphere manipulated Eyth 'Kha's genome to regrow his CNS. This means we can contain him in a Slipspace bubble on a part of the Installation; and then fire a burst of cross-phasing neutrinos into the field, and render Noosphere into a comatose state. We will need to discover this frequency in order for this work."

"But how long could that take?" Ze'ev asked quickly, "If he manages to activate the ring, even if the body dies, he will still live, yes?"

"Yes, I believe he knows the ring will not kill him, only the body. His existence is Transsentient--it is beyond our technology. This Installation contains a small, but existing atmosphere; I will generate the frequencies into the Ether. We will need to travel to the Pulse Phase Generator; I can perhaps reprogram the range, by setting it to function on that specific frequency, and then sending out rudimentary pulses.

"How far away is it?" Ze'ev demanded to know now, "Will it be effective? How can we know it will stop him?"

"I do not know. And the nearest Pulse Phase Generator is a day away, as they are very close to the Library." Solitude chirped happily, "I am very excited! Let's go, now!"

? ? ?

An hour had passed since this revelation, and both Ze'ev and Evans struggled with the revelation, and wrapping their head around this technology. It would essentially be the recreation of a weapon by the Forerunners, and Solitude admitted to disliking this, but knew it would be necessary. Ze'ev had not imagined defeating Eyth 'Kha would be beyond them in scope like this--but laid out as it was, it seemed simple enough. Protecting them-selves also stressed him out, but they had since seemed free of mental affliction; as he walked with Evans, he noticed the human was unaffectionate. He wondered if something was wrong, thinking to the night before and he worried if he had offended the human by not taking him immediately. He also noticed Evans held an expression of displeasure on his face, with a deep frown."

I hope that I have not offended him--I do not know their customs of marriage. Perhaps I should--overcome my own paltry fears. Simple as it sounds, I cannot manage this in just mere moments! Ze'ev frowned deeply to him-self and looked to Evans, "Are you upset Evans? I hope that--you are not regretting last night."

"Come on big guy, I couldn't be mad at a handsome guy like you. I just have a headache--if I hadn't forgotten to get high last night, it wouldn't be bothering me as much. I should still let you try it."

"What will it do to me?" Ze'ev asked unsurely. "I do not want to consume anything that will distract me from our mission."

"It expands your consciousness, basically." Evans answered as he demonstrated with his hands, "It makes you euphoric, you see the world differently--but at the same time, it is the same! Time moves kind of slow, sometimes you'll just laugh for no real reason either; but it doesn't last long."

Ze'ev heard this and was intrigued, and Evans explained how it killed off pain, or sadness. He mentioned he would probably smoke it later, since his head was hurting him a lot like the day before. The Sangheili was comfortable with these answers, but he still felt immense trepidation that was not so easily removed; he wished he could be as Evans were, so inclined to follow his path, without worry. His thoughts were primarily on Eyth 'Kha and these hidden frequencies; he wondered what they were and how did they work.

Evans grabbed his head and moaned under his breath as he felt the pulsation of pain on the back of his eyes and at the base of his head. It was not as cold as it was near the surface, and he was craving something icy to put over his eyes. He tried to crack his neck and it was to no avail, further cussing under his breath. Ze'ev looked over to him, lifting his hand for a moment; he hesitated, but then placed his palm on the back of Evans's neck. The human smiled at him and Ze'ev softly rubbed against the warm skin and brought his fingers through the silky hair, which made Evans give off a soft sigh of pleasure.

"Heh, not gonna freak out on me, are you?" Evans quietly joked, and Ze'ev gave off a huff, shaking his head. Evans stepped to be closer and the Elite wrapped his arm around the shoulders of the human, sighing softly with a smile.

"I feel superlative delight, so I will not freak out, as you say." Ze'ev remarked calmly as he held the human close. Evans laughed a little, enjoying the warm presence and gently held the Elite's hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

"Whoa, whoa." Evans stopped suddenly. "What in the hell is that?" He pointed at the far end of the hall in the dim lighting--something caught his eyes. He could see clearly that it was a shape of someone, or something with dark skin; he retracted his weapon, as did Ze'ev who indeed saw it too.

"Solitude," Ze'ev began, "Who is that at the end of the hall?"

The Monitor scanned and detected no signs of life; however its ocular receptors did in fact see the visage of what appeared to be a figure. It appeared motionless and was only barely visible against the blue light, and Evans knew it was nor paraeidolia. His eyes were transfixed on this, and his augmentation would've allowed him to see it clearly, but it seemed something, like the lights, prevented him from having a clear view of this silhouetted being.

"What the hell are we looking at?" Evans asked under his breath. "It is just standing there."

"It could be the same as what we encountered yesterday." Ze'ev warned him, "do not alarm it; we cannot a flooding, not in these tunnels. Move into the main facility, carefully."

They stepped forward cautiously with light taps of their feet on the steel floor; and it seemed to move towards them as well. Evans felt the throbbing pulsation behind his eyes growing more and he ignored it, wondering why it had occurred at a time like this. Suddenly the being darted away with heavy slams of its feet into the ground, and the sound of the wall being scrapped, and slammed upon!

Ze'ev and Evans sprung forwards and departed at an intersection of corridors, quietly moving along the metal plating, keeping low to the ground. They had no way of communicating to each other but Evans tapped on the ground three times with his knuckles, and then moved forwards. He signaled to Ze'ev where to move with his hands, then Ze'ev counter signaled a suggestion, and then both nodded to each other as they prepared.

Fuck--fuck my head is killing me! Evans groaned low as he felt the numbness rapidly sweeping over him, god damn this shit is intense!

"It smells of death." Ze'ev muttered slowly, as he looked, and listened for any kind of disturbance; the silence was unnatural, even the hum of Solitude's small reactor was too quiet. It had vanished without a trace--and Ze'ev was reminded of the frequent hallucinations he had in the dark prison they had kept him in. He wondered now if, perhaps such exposure to the subterrestrial was having negative effects on him, and Evans.

We both witnessed this creature; I cannot deny that we are being pursued. However--he was able to vanish, so easily. Eyth 'Kha must be close.

Evans and Ze'ev departed and moved to opposite ends of the hall, Evans leaned around the corner, but could not detect where the scrapes came from. Solitude had traversed forwards, ahead of them to scout for any kind of enemy it could it-self kill, but found nothing of the sort. The analysis of the area detected no verifiable signs of life; however, the slow scrapes, and drags of feet indicated they were not alone. Ze'ev and Evans regrouped near the end of the hall where they would reach a final path upwards to the facility, and Evans breathed a sigh of relief.

RWAAARGH!!

The intensity of the roar sent a shiver through Evans who recognized this sound; he knew it was something dead. The scraps became louder and more common, like rats in the walls it seemed to echo around them, and he ran to Ze'ev, demanding they leave.

"This does not feel right, let's just go, now!" Evans pulled him by the arm, and they moved to the center hall again, rushing towards the door as the scrapes intensified.

Screams were far off in the distance as were the mass of footsteps that accompanied their bodies; whatever they had seen had vanished, surely, but whatever was behind them was real. As they exited through the door they entered the first chamber where the Cryostasis bodies were stored in bright blue tubes along the walls; there was a service pad in front of each, but the contents hidden in the blue gel were unobservable. They spent no time observing as behind them they could hear the trampling feet approaching with rapid acceleration; when they had reached the door, the fierce pounding and vociferous screams were enough to alarm them both.

Ze'ev could not count how many there were, or for how long the door might stay shut; Solitude was uncertain as well, and urged them to ascend to the upper floors. Ze'ev and Evans immediately scaled up the long spiral incline, up three floors worth of Cryostasis tubes. Suddenly below the door gave way to the pressure and released them, but silence followed; an eerie sense of waiting, as the creatures halted their rush, for a moment.

"Do you hear that?" Evans quietly whispered to Ze'ev, "The whispering?"

"Yes, I hear it." Ze'ev admitted with a grave tone. He could hear the low, rapid sibilance, echoing around with omnipresence. It was not just one voice, but many; all of them rapidly conversing in a muttered tongue, but the language could not be identified.

"I do not recognize the syntax of the language." Solitude began, "It is perhaps Noosphere's language."

"He is communicating with them." Ze'ev began in a hushed voice as he looked around, "He is waiting--for our next move."

Evans kept his eyes focused below as he carefully walked behind Ze'ev up the stairwell, asking Solitude where they were being led. He could recognize some of the voices; he heard Janelle, Rico, and the rest of his team, even their commander's voice could be heard. The others belonged to Ze'ev's own men, and Evans could see the fear in his eyes, and tried to distract him, asking where they would be heading to next.

"We are going through the Containment Facility, and then towards the first Phase Pulse generator, which is near the Library."

"How long will it take to get there?"

Solitude answered, "Two and a half hours.

The whispers behind them had now ceased for a moment, with but a single, low utterance; it was intelligent, it breathed and communicated with intent, and humor. Below them, Evans heard the slow trudging and dragging of feet as a body came into view, it appeared to be standing but barely, naked and burned, dragging it-self into view. The being looked up to them; the face half destroyed with empty eye sockets that eerily focused onto them. The skin was tight and burned; the body appeared to have begun some kind of mutation with elongated appendages and gruesome aberrations to the skeletal structure. It opened its mouth wide to scream out to Evans in a horrifying display as the arms extended up, as if to grasp him from where he stood.

"Nilgrh'too latgh'ehy nythoo'shtaä koo?h! Ayarnk ash'thlbh nhygl'oob' oshu!" The creature chanted incessantly, and behind it, more and more of them began to chant the strange words. The force behind them grew in intensity as they were commanded towards them, and both realized very quickly it was Noosphere, speaking through them. Eyth 'Kha was nowhere to be seen, presumably not even there; but the words stirred a primal fear, and Evans was quick to demand them to retreat.

"We need to get the fuck out of here! Evans exclaimed as more of the decayed bodies appeared below them, their arms outstretched. "And I mean like now!"

Ze'ev grasped Evans by the arm and pulled him forwards, urging him away from the site. Now at full force a swarm of them seemed to appear; more than Ze'ev could count, a mixture of his own kind, horribly disfigured and decayed, and the team Evans had been from.

"How--where did they all come from!?" Evans demanded to know, "How did they get here!"

"I do not know!" Ze'ev assured him as they continued up the steep, spiraling incline towards the nearest level. "We must escape them, now!"

" Chtn'eyhe latgh'ehy ahng'gotha! CHTN'EYHE LATGH'EHY AHNG'GOTHA!" One voice now commanded beyond the sounds of the undead; a howling and demonic vocalization, belonging to none other than Noosphere. It roared out in the undecipherable vernacular of The Precursors, and thought they knew not the words meaning, it was all too clear what he shouted!

Evans pulled the Elite towards him as they reached the top floor, and flung both of them through the door, slamming his hand on the console to shut it! A hook shaped bridge with a bright, blue beam of light greeted them in a vestibule, where an incline led upwards to the main facility. Ze'ev and solitude instantly darted around the short curved bridge and to the incline, whilst Evans lingered by the door, listening as the creatures had made their way up the stairs. They had halted at the door for a moment, and once again, it seemed they deliberated their next course of action; or more likely Noosphere decided what it would do next.

"They're fucking planning it out." Evans muttered, backing away from it as claws felt along the door, and he knew they would attempt to open it, or destroy it. A fist slammed into the door, followed by one more; but it seemed to hold, with no signs of budging. Something stirred in his head now; he felt dizziness as he lingered near the door, and his eyes became unfocused. The droning chants were hypnotic but he shook his head clear of this distraction, fearing almost instantly that he may have become entranced by it!

"Evans, we must go!" Ze'ev beckoned him, "Come, now!"

Evans turned around and rushed up the bridge to Ze'ev, but the sudden slipping of the door behind him made his heart sink. Arms thrashed underneath, clawing at the ground whilst heads displayed their gruesome expression from behind them. They screamed out at him with their carrion faces and empty mouths, squirming to free them-selves from under the door. Ze'ev and Evans shut the final door behind them, and they were now presented with a long corridor lined with slanted Cryostasis tubes that led to the main control console in the center. Ze'ev slammed his hands onto the control panel, "How in the hell did they all the way down here! They could not have survived that drop!"

Evans huffed and wiped his face as he leaned down on his elbows, gritting his teeth with a dull throb at his temples. He did not know how they had managed to appear, or from where; it seemed that one being had led baited, but they were able to outrun them. He remembered when his own team was killed off before by them, and he slammed his hand down, refusing to allow it to happen again!

"We need to keep moving! Either get above ground where they are unable to reach us, or seal them off!"

"Solitude, you need to activate protocol to exterminate them!" Ze'ev commanded, "Summon the Sentinels, now!"

"I have done so! But they have yet to arrive--or are refusing to coordinate with my commands!" Solitude cried out in distress as it buzzed around, "I do not understand! The life forms should have caused quarantine! I will manually engage it! If I do so, this will make travel more strenuous, as each door must be manually opened!"

"THEN DO SO NOW!" Ze'ev roared out in a guttural command.

There was a sudden crash behind them as the door had begun to give away, and around them, and the lights had dimmed to an almost pitch blackness! The light to the room shut down, and a low red glow filled the air; there was a swift tightening, as the doors were sealed, to prevent proper airflow except from the ventilation. Solitude instructed them to immediately depart to the far end of the facility, where they could escape through a small hatch used by the custodial sentinels. Evans pushed him-self off the console and tilted for a moment, but he followed now after Ze'ev, whilst behind them uproar had begun.

They roared and screamed maddeningly, and the sound became an overbearing torrent of noise that withered away at the Spartan's resolve. The headache had intensified so much, he had not noticed immediately during the foray, but now he felt the crippling pains! He cried out in agony as the back of his eyes throbbed, his temples pulsating with his rapid heartbeat, and it made his skin hot, cold, and disoriented him into vertigo. He shouted in pain as he gripped his face and fell onto his side, arching his back as he begged for it to go away, crawling against the wall as he shielded him-self from what he described as a dark stalker! Ze'ev rushed to his side and saw the human's eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted into an expression of agony; the human writhed in his arms, clutching his eyes as he cried out in torment!

"Fuck--aaaargh! Make it stop!" Evans groaned and heaved, feeling a sickness in his stomach as the pain grew unimaginable. He tried to open his eyes to see where he lay, but as he witnessed dark figures surrounding him and Ze'ev, and panicked, screaming for Ze'ev to look out!

The Sangheili knew now that Evans was hallucinating, and he begged Solitude for assistance! "We must sedate him! Now!"

"NO!" Evans managed to scream and fought to move onto his knees, growling through the spit that flung from his mouth. He heaved, stomping one bare foot onto the cold ground, panting hard, and then forced him-self to rise up. He felt a wave of nausea rush through his organs but he ignored it, and he glared at them, "You're not putting me to sleep!"

"But Evans, your body is under a great deal of stress!" Solitude warned, "You demonstrated paranoia and minor convulsions! You could go into a seizure, if you continue!"

"I am fine!" Evans shouted, grasping his face and groaned more. He felt an arm go under his right arm and Ze'ev was there to pull him up; his face was riddled with fear for the human.

"Evans--are you sure, absolutely sure, you can continue?" Ze'ev half-heartedly asked, "I--cannot risk that you could be hurt, or worse!"

Evans breathed hard but nodded, feeling his face sweat, but he looked up to the Elite and their eyes met; Ze'ev knew Evans would refuse to stop, as he did before. Evans then forced him-self up right, and Solitude immediately instructed them to head to towards the main testing facility, where it would be easier to trap the infected! He summoned in sentinels towards their location. Evans kept his footing, though he ran a pace slower, he refused to submit to the agony that consumed his skull, and Ze'ev held onto him by the arm tightly.

"Wait--" Evans weakly muttered. He turned his head up and listened, "Where are they?"

Ze'ev had stopped, not realizing that while Evans had screamed out in pain, the infected had fallen silent once more. It was a tactic now, and he gritted his teeth tightly and roared out into the darkness for Eyth 'Kha, demanding he come forward!

"You are, spineless, you cowardly child!" Ze'ev shouted, his deep voice fading away, "Show your-self! NOW! Stop hiding behind our brothers!"

I know you are there--I can sense you. Come out you bastard, so I can cut you down!

Evans strained him-self to keep his eyes open as he listened to the heavy breathing of Ze'ev, and the Elite scoffed under his breath, taking them away from the location. Solitude led them out of the Cryo-storage facility, then towards the main Facility where they could then make a direct pass towards the generator. Ze'ev assured him it was going to be all right when they were out of the area; he would let Evans rest for as long as he needed. Evans muttered weakly in return, but he could barely speak as the pain and exhaustion corroded at his nerves. He heard the pursuers behind them now, urging Ze'ev to move, and he heard the scrapes along the walls were maddeningly intense. It made his eyes throb and his ears sting, and he tried to cover them to mask the sound, but they were relentless!

"Make them stop, god!" Evans shouted, turning his face away as he held his arms over his head, "Fuuuuck! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!" As Evans tried to open his eyes, he could only see looming shadows and grisly creatures that stood around him; they were vaporous, as he had seen before, standing motionless behind Ze'ev! He screamed for Ze'ev to run away as he pushed him-self back, overcome by delirium.

"Evans! There is no one here!" Ze'ev cried out to him in alarm, rushing to the human's side and grabbed at him, watching in shock as the human thrashed and snarled! "You must not let him take you! Please, listen to me!"

"The noises! Aaaah, my head! GET OUT! GET OUT!!!" Evans gritted his teeth down, hollering more, and more as the noises intensified into a thunderous impulsion of sonic pain. He collapsed onto his knees as he could not move and he screamed out in pain; from his nostrils blood appeared and dripped down his face which sent Ze'ev into a state of panic! Evans fell onto his side and began to seize and cough up, giving a hard surge of vocalization as blood sputtered from his mouth onto the floor and he gasped out in pain, "H-Help me!"

"You're doing this, aren't you!" Ze'ev shouted out towards the ceiling, "You--fucking bastard! STOP THIS! STOP THIS YOU BASTARD FUCK!" Ze'ev flung him-self down and grasped the human into his arms, lifting him from the floor; his face was twisted into an expression of horror, and pain. Ze'ev could not imagine now what he heard, or could see, but Evans was hallucinating and still coughing blood and he feared he would soon die!

"You will not die, Evans!" Ze'ev screamed at him, "I will not allow it!" Ze'ev slammed his feet into the floor and propelled them-selves far from the influence of the creatures and the ensnaring torture of Eyth 'Kha! You will not die! You will not die! I am not going to lose you!

When they had reached the hatch, it was but a small plate of metal that could be raised upwards; Ze'ev picked at it with his claw, and lifted it up. Evans was instructed that he needed to crawl forwards behind Solitude; as he was set down, he weakly pushed him-self up onto tremulous appendages. He composed all of his vestigial energy and purpose as sweat rolled down his face, collapsing onto his elbow for a moment, but forced him-self up. He huffed and panted with each movement, but as he grew more aggravated by his own faltering stamina he refused to give in, and continued his movements with growing speed. Ze'ev swayed his tail in anxiety as he waited for his turn to pass; he could hear far off in the distance a slow metallic grind as the door opened. There was not a movement to be detected, but he could hear more scratching and clawing; high above, and all around were the sounds of fingers scraping away at a surface.

They are silent--they're waiting, playing with us. And the sounds--he has attempted to awaken those in stasis--by the gods, how can I defect such a force?

Ze'ev whispered, all too frightened by the possibility of being against hundreds of them; even he knew he could not defeat so many, and could not risk dying in an attempt. He could hear moans and muffled voices far off, then the trampling of feet; furthermore, a low hiss of compressed air was released, one after the other. Shadows appeared against the wall to his right, growing higher in the red darkness as they searched hungrily for the Sangheili. Their scent was noisome and the sounds they made were beyond describable; but not Ze'ev could feel it too. The dullness in his brain--the pain and lurking fear from Noosphere's presence; it was as if a nightmare brewed within his blood, spreading throughout him. His skin crawled with the sensation of being touched, and it was a sickening feeling!

"You will not have me!" Ze'ev shouted out to them as he prepared to leave through the cramped tunnel, throwing the bag over his chest. "And I can promise you now, Eyth 'Kha, AND YOU, NOOSPHERE! That you will die, for everything you have caused!"As the creatures had finally made their round to Ze'ev, he disappeared into the wall.

They had reached where he was, pounding all around him on the walls; he pulled him-self back with his elbows, his shoulders catching against the walls as he crawled in reverse. His eyes remained unflinching as they focused on the flap, and he could hear Evans behind him still moving.

"Go, go!" Ze'ev begged him now as the heat of the tunnel was suffocating, and he felt almost claustrophobic. He panted and slammed his fist down as he bellowed out frenetically, " GO NOW! BEFORE THEY GET IN!"

"I am!" Evans shouted back at him, as he panted and drew his hands forward, his head hanging down between his shoulders.

Sweat slipped from his nose onto the ground below, and he pulled him-self to the right as the tunnel curved around. Solitude ahead showed them the exit, which was above fifteen feet above ground, and Evans frantically pulled him-self through onto his stomach. He rose up by his arms and squeezed his legs through and slid down onto his feet, but then fell to the side, breathless and delirious.

Ze'ev had difficulty squeezes through, hanging by his knees, and held onto the arch of the tunnel, and landed onto his feet. He collapsed against the wall as cold air washed over his hot skin in the dark room, and he listened as the beasts ran off from the tunnel. He dropped his pack onto the ground, demanding to know where they were.

"The main laboratory; it can only be accessed through teleportation grids, or underground passages." Solitude answered, "Through this we can directly pass into the library; but--"

"But_what_?" Ze'ev growled low in aggravation.

"I have not been here in a long time. Noosphere has displayed the ability to override my authority, and even awaken the cryostasis subjects."

"I will handle these issues at a different time: Evans needs medical care, immediately!"

Ze'ev could see around him the place was enormous; a hanging observatory was in the center, with a control panel underneath, and unlike any Forerunner architecture he had encountered. Bridges and balconies lined the walls, and as he moved away from the wall where Evans lay, he saw many exits, second floor walkways, and large, empty Cryo-stasis tubes. To his right was a large room with a great window; he could see inside of it were a line of operating tables, with devices unrecognizable to him, positioned above. What experiments too place were much too advanced for him to imagine, and he dismissed them, as he turned to Evans. He cleaned off the blood from around his mouth and nose, and Evans weakly muttered to him; his skin was hot and flushed, and he could barely move his arms, as he reached up to touch Ze'ev's hand.

"I am sorry I could protect you from that--but you are alive, this much I am thankful for." Ze'ev whispered to him with a sorrowful tone, "Is there a place where he can rest?"

"There were large basins used in the de-freezing process; mineral enriched waters with electrical pulsations used to stimulate nerve functions, or relax patients. Follow me, please." Solitude floated ahead with a bright beam of light that pierced through the foreboding red glow.

Evans weakly held onto Ze'ev, apologizing for being a "weak little bitch," but Ze'ev told him he had overcome a monstrous power, and he deserved to rest. Great metal cylinders led above with massive pipes; it was heavily industrial, and far from the pristine, stone like buildings he had been in before. Smaller pods of green fluid were connected to larger cylindrical chambers near the north-eastern wall, by a large platform with bridges that led around to the upper levels. Within these pods were small creatures, resembling embryonic Kig-yar, the larger ones contained vegetation, and one such contained a massive tree suspended in a clear liquid.

"What in the name of the god's were they doing?" Ze'ev spoke aloud as he oversaw these strange chambers, "Solitude?"

"I--cannot remember. Perhaps it was not programmed in me to know." Solitude answered with a tone of unease.

There was a sudden crash of pipes, and the sound of broken glass trampled upon from behind the large structure. Ze'ev darted away from it and secured him-self behind a series of large steel towers whose chassis was solid black, with thick tubes connecting to certain ports. He crouched down and rested Evans against the wall behind it, hearing the soft footsteps of something lurking a hundred yards away.

"I'll be right back, I promise you." Ze'ev assured him, and he reached up to gently touch the human's cheek. It was warm, and Evans opened his eyes, meeting them with Ze'ev's, holding the gaze for a mere moment, before dropping his head.

Ze'ev crouched low, stepping to his left, far from Evans and over the metal floor slowly; he passed by a large, exposed part of the floor where liquid resided, with a large clear cylindrical container harboring another tree extending from below. The roots were massive and blocked the view of the lower section of the tube, but Ze'ev could not see beyond the lower section. The creatures breath was slow and shallow; it was waiting apprehensively far from this new being, shakily walking along the ground on its haunches. There was no detectable odor, a sensation that baffled the Sangheili, who was guided by a spotlight provided by Solitude. The negligence of the laboratory was evident, and it must have been abruptly left to its own devices, given the state of things.

There he is, Ze'ev whispered to him-self as he saw the pallid, grotesque leg of a creature hiding underneath a flight of steps that led to the second story bridge, where another room resided. Ze'ev controlled his breathing to be slow and steady, and he reached for his sword that he kept under the mantle, activating the glowing, hard light beam. Solitude had moved forward, shutting off its light and approached, but the creature stirred and shrilled, throwing it-self on the ground and crawling away! Ze'ev cussed and charged forwards through the dim light after the scampering beast, slamming his legs into the ground at full force to run after it! Solitude floated ahead of it as the creature moved to a staircase that descended into the maintenance bay, and frightened it backwards with a blast of the pulse beam!

As it stumbled away, Ze'ev lunged forwards with a road, and grasped it by the neck, holding it against the ground. "Shine your light on it, NOW!"

He dodged his face away from the scratches, and when illuminated, he gazed onto a horrible, disfigured corpse of indistinguishable characteristics. Where it was alive or dead could not be debated, but as it opened its mouth and snarled, Ze'ev saw blood inside of it, long yellow teeth and a face much like a Kig-yar. Its body was pale with red flush, and the eyes were solid white; he raised his fist up and slammed the hilt of the sword into the creature's skull, rendering it unconscious. Ze'ev locked the beast away in the next room where there were no windows, and hurriedly rushed back to Evans. He lifted the human now into his arms, and gently carried him away. . .

_ _

In shadows we lie;

Darkle stars and weeping nights

Harbor our peril.

_ _

The winds forebode that

Our distillate of death comes

Like a lurking fear.

_ _

Beneath withered skies,

I hold you eternally,

Until the winds cease.

_ _

You will see the sun

Through my sacrifice and strife,

But I will not rest.

_ _

I must hold you close

Under the lamenting moon,

And save you from this.