Game Set Match

Rook sat down, and took off his helmet, running a hoof through his sweaty, damp black mane, his brown eyes dull with boredom. The entire city seemed to be empty, ever since that tanker exploded. He assumed most of the covenant had retreated to their stronghold to regroup, and his squad must be dead or POW's by now. A manhole popped open, and Rook grabbed his rifle, aiming at it. His glare melted away to relief as Bishop appears first, dragging Knight with her, then Pawns and finally Queen.

"Well well, the gangs all here I guess." Bishop stated gruffly, and set Knight down. Rook trotted over to Knight and took off his helmet.

"You gonna be ok bud?" He said softly, and Knight nodded.

"Just some burns and cuts. I'm good for it." Rook handed him a bottle of water, which the Pegasus drank greedily.

"Thanks Rook! I needed that." He sat up a bit, and looked around the dark city." So where are the covies at?" Almost as if on que, a brute stumbled weakly out of a corridor, it's armour torn and removed In Multiple areas, its eyes darting as it grunted inaudible nonsense. All the ODST's pointed their weapons on it, but it didn't seem to notice.

"They don't die... They get shot but don't die.... Don't let them touch you...." It blurted out as it stumbled along its wayward path.

"What do you think he meant by that?" Pawns asked

(45 minutes earlier)

Jartas, a brute minor, sat in his clan's tent on the grounds of the Covenant camp. Word had spread via the lone surviving grunt of the plasma tanker incident that Kartas-Shan, Jartas's clans leader had been killed. Now the question on everyone's mind was who would lead the Shan clan? Jartas knew it wouldn't concern a minor like him, so he ignored that talk. He had heard the Jackals talking about "a falling star", but the Engineers, basically floating supercomputers, said no such event would occur. But the Jackals insisted on it.

"They will fall tonight!" Kal-Jor, a jackal ranger hissed at an Engineer Jartas didn't know, who just clicked and grunted at him. A grunt deacon, acting as translator, looked very terrified at what would happen. Kal's cronies, two jackal snipers, already had their rifles out, and the engineer looked all the more scared. Suddenly without warning, Kal jumped on the engineer, tearing it with his sharp teeth and hooves. It screeched in fear and pain as the deacon ran off, the two other jackals laughing. Jartas grunted, and tromped off to stop the fight. Without warning, however, Tyranus-Zal, the chieftain of the Zal clan, grabbed Kal, hoisting the small unicorn over him, and slammed his head multiple times into the ground, brains and skull fragments littering the ground as Kal only uttered a surprised squeak before his demise.

"Foolish wretch! We need the engineers to support us, yet you insist on killing them. You've already killed 5 this morning about your falling star idea." He lifted up the dying jackal, and tossed him to the ground. Kal's friends looked terrified, and they dropped their rifles and ran. Jartas snorted in approval, an sat back down. The jackals and brutes hated each other with a passion, so this was yet another reason for them to go at each other's throats. Suddenly, an alarm went off, and the camp members scrambled to their defensive positions.

"UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT MOVING IN!" Tyranus yelled as an object hurtled down from the sky, towards the camp. It plowed through the forward walls, and started mowing down the poor souls who couldn't get out of its path. Tyranus gripped his hammer tightly. "No one move!" The covenant held their ground, as more meteors, or whatever they were, plummeted down, smashing ontop of troops. Jartas held his ground, as his blood brothers from

his clan were either crushed or maimed as the rocks fell down. Suddenly, a chunk of one broke of, and flew at Tyranus. All the surviving troops watched in awe, seeing if he would move or not. He casually sidestepped, the melon sized chunk obliterated a jackal sniper's head. All the troops stared in wonder as the rock lay where it fell, the jackal twitching. Suddenly, a spine chilling scream pierced the air. A grunt was grappling with something that at one point may have been Kal-Jor. Its head hung at an odd angle, tentacles sprouting from its neck as massive boils popped and bugled from his massively deformed body.

"Help me!" The grunt wailed as Kal hungrily snapped his jaws at the grunts neck, inching closer. Jartas acted first, grabbing his mauler and slamming his body into Kal's. The jackal's body broke from the impact, green yellow fluid leaking out of its broken body. The grunt nodded at Jartas, and picked up a plasma pistol. As Jartas turned around, his eyes shrunk in fear. The covenant camp had gone to hell. Deformed and infected soldiers of all kinds where massacring their normal counterparts. An infected grunt tore ravenously at a brute, eventfully getting him down and drawing the attention of more infected as they tore him limb from limb. Jartas looked bleakly around him, the screams and yells of his allies flooding his ears. He saw a jackal run at the exit, suddenly being leapt upon by an infected brute, who tore the jackals head off, purple blood spurting everywhere as the brute lapped it up.

"BACK YOU FIENDS!" Jartas heard Tyranus yell, as he beat back horde after horde of infected with his hammer, the gravity effect sending them flying. Suddenly an infected brute picked up a mauler, and fired. The slug sent the chieftain reeling, just enough for a grunt to chomp down on his Achilles' tendon. He yelled in pain as he fell, and looked up at Jartas.

"HELP ME YOU FOOL!" He reached a hoof out weakly, and Jartas turned, galloping out of the wrecked covenant camp at full speed,leaping over bodies, both alive and dead, as he left the burning camp behind, and ran into the city, leaving Tyranus and any other unlucky souls to their doom.

(Present time)

Chess squad had set up a small camp, with a fire and tent. Pawns and Bishop took guard, with Rook and Queen tending to Knight.

"You think he's gonna be ok?" Bishop asked Pawns, who sighed and nodded.

"For the billionth time yes... You know, you ask so much, I'd think you have... Feelings for him?" Pawns chuckled, and looked down at Bishop's icon, which had just previously showed her calm face, was now bright red and smiling.

"I-I do-do not!" Pawns chuckled and shrugged.

"Whatever you say... Whatever you say." Bishop hissed at Pawns, but made no move to fight. Rook stepped out of the tent, and was followed by Queen.

"Hey Bishop? Knight wants to see you." Bishop bolted up right, and dashed Into the tent.

"See? I knew it." Pawns smiled and went back to lookout, as Queen laughed and Rook just shook his head.

Knight lay on medical cot, his sides wrapped in gauze and his wing in a splint. Bishop opened the tent quickly and pulled up a stool and sat beside Knight, smiling at him, her armour and helmet removed.

"You ok?" She asked curiously, rubbing his forehead softly. Knight nodded a bit, and smiled, happy to see Bishop.

"Yeah I'm good, thanks for asking." Bishop scooted knight over a bit, and lay down beside him, causing the Pegasus to blush intensely.

"This ok?" Bishop asked as she snuggled close to him, burying her face in his furry chest. He nodded, and wrapped his good wing around the orange unicorn, kissing her forehead. She blushed heavily and looked up at him.

"Knight?"

"Yeah Bishop?"

Bishop kissed his lips softly, and pulled away, looking down.

"I-I think I love you.." Knight smiled warmly and kisses her back, rubbing her forehead.

"I love you to." Bishop grinned, and cuddled closely to the larger ODST, sighing contently." But why me? Why not Rook or Pawns or King?" Bishop lowered her gaze slyly.

"It's just..... Your aggressive attitude and recklessness..... Turns me on..." She purred lustily, and kissed Knight deeply, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a lover's kiss. Knight could've sworn he was dreaming, but he wasn't. He kissed Bishop back, and settled in for the events to come.