Equispartans II

As the Spartans rushed towards the Grav Lift, shooting all the way, Chris growled.

"Mark, Time?" He cried.

"Six Minutes, twenty-two seconds!" Mark replied. "We're running out of time!"

"Roger that!" Buck added. "These bastards aren't putting up much of a fight, though…"

"Stay focused." Locke ordered as the Spartans jumped into the lift. As they soared upwards, they caught occasional glimpses of Equestria's orbit, and the two UNSC ships still in firing position.

"Infinity, we're ascending to the Cortex now." Linda spoke. "

"Roger that." Lasky spoke. "Be advised, we can't disable the Guardian a second time. Our MACs won't be ready before the EMP fires. So, no pressure."

"Pressure? What pressure?" Jorge spoke.

"Good luck."

Lasky ended the call, and the Spartans reached the Cortex. To their surprise, the chamber was dark. Zag's lights glowed brighter, but very little was revealed.

"I've been waiting for you."

Everyone turned to see Cortana stride forward.

"John…" She whispered upon seeing the Master Chief.

"No." Chief spoke. "I'm done with you, Cortana. You threw whatever bond we had left away when you betrayed us. You had your chance to come back. You wasted it. Time for me to return the favor."

The Spartans and Zag levelled their weapons at the AI. Cortana scoffed.

"So be it." She whispered. The lights flared on, and countless copies of Warden Eternal formed, their blades drawn.

"End them." Cortana spoke. The Spartans immediately opened fire, but they knew that in the long run they would run out of ammo before they could kill all of them.

"There's too many!" David cried, his SAW red-hot.

"Hold the line, Spartans!" Zag cried. "I shall deal with Warden Eternal!"

"Roger that!" Chris cried as the Spartans advanced under a shield of Hard Light, courtesy of Zag. As the countless Wardens attempted to batter the shield, Cortana pulled up a timer.

"Three minutes, Spartans." She taunted. "Three minutes till your defeat and death!"

"Spartans never die!" Six cried, leaping forward and snapping a Warden's neck.

"That's a lie!" Cortana retorted.

"It's the truth to us all." John spoke, stepping forward and with help from Zag and the Spartans, killed the last Warden.

"It's over!" Frederick cried.

"Not yet." Cortana replied. "The Guardian is rebooting. Fire on my command."

The Guardian whined in response, obviously in pain.

"FIRE!" She cried. "I order it! FIRE!"

The EMP pulse was formed, and the Infinity and Spirit of Fire braced for impact. Only…

It never came. The orb backfired, sending a blast of energy that crippled the Guardian. Cortana and the Spartans staggered and fell to the floor, their armor disabled from the EMP.

"No!" Cortana cried as the Guardian began to destroy itself.

"Chris...give it to me." John whispered.

"What are you doing?" Chris whispered back as he handed the code to the Master Chief.

"Finishing this fight." said the mythical Spartan as he staggered to his feet. Bearing the full weight of his armor, John roared in pain as he walked forward, towards the command cortex.

"NO!" Cortana cried. She attempted to reach for the Master Chief, only for her to freeze in place, as Locke threw the Lockout Device, intended for the Master Chief, right at her. The Device flared to life, paralyzing the AI, her hand outstretched. John staggered and slammed the code into the cortex, and screamed in pain as he collapsed.

"Infinity, this is Master Chief…" He groaned. "It is done."

"Roger that." Lasky replied. "Cortana?'

"Working on it." John said. Stepping towards the frozen AI, he took off his helmet and let it fall. His hands grasped her neck, and as he looked her in the eye…

He twisted, and with a sickening crack…it was done.

Cortana screamed as a flare of Promethean energy roared to life, as she began to disintegrate. Her unearthly screams echoed as her form disintegrated. Then, she fell and disappeared. John swept up his helmet and put it on once more. Asthe Spartans rose to their feet, the Guardian shook.

"What's that?" Evan asked.

"That's the sound of...WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!" Ramos cried. "You just triggered the self-destruct sequence for every hostile Promethean unit out there! Including this one!"

"Zag?" Chris cried.

"I am fine." Zag replied. "As I am separate from Cortana, I am not affected."

"GO!" Grant cried as the Spartans rushed towards the shattered left eye of the Guardian. Leaping out into space, they turned to see the Guardian explode and be absorbed by a black hole.

"Incoming!" Chris cried as the blast of energy from the Guardian's destruction hit them, causing them to be thrown outward. Then, they tumbled into a waiting Pelican.

"Heard you boys needed some evac." Said the pilot of Viking-01. "Infinity actual, this is Viking. We've got them. Heading back now."

"Roger that." Lasky said. "Spartans, we've got good news. UNSC AIs are returning to normal and we've got reinforcements incoming. I'm damn proud of you all. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Sir." the Master Chief said. As they set down in the Infinity's hangar, Captain Lasky was waiting for them.

"Get some rest. You've earned it." Lasky said. Then, the ship shuddered.

"What's going on?" Lasky asked Roland.

"Uh, sir, more Slipspace contacts." Roland replied. "Unknown."

Then, the forms of at least twenty Covenant ships, from destroyers to carriers, appeared out of slipspace.

"Roland?" Lasky asked. "Those our allies in the Swords?"

"No…they found us..."

Everyone turned to see Cutter walk up.

"That's...No...NO..." He whispered frantically. "It's the Banished! We're under attack!"

"Brace for impact!" Lasky cried as the Banished ships opened fire, catching the two UNSC ships off guard. From the bridge of the Covenant Carrier Unyielding Promise, Atriox watched as the Infinity and Spirit of Fire fled to the planet's surface.

"Order our troops to land." He called. "This time…"

"There will be no mercy in me." He growled. "This time…"

"We shall finish this, once and for all."