The last of what's up There

Foreword: 69 days until Halo 4(69 LOL!).

Chapter Nine

Fighting back

Two months later

Date: November 5th, 2555
Location: Gryphondale, capital city of the Griffon Empire, across the Great Sea 35 miles east of Canterlot Mountain, Land of Equestria.
Individual: Commander Robert Crusher
Time:11:47 PM

The attacks had been going well against the Prometheans, with four unified strikes against them the past two months on multiple fronts which had ended in victory for the UNSC on the planet. The Canine capital of Barklin had been secured and the Griffons had been aided in retaking their homeland. Soon darkness fell as the night began and the time to retake their capital came and the UNSC prepared to stage their assault.

The Commander looked up as several Elite ships soared overhead, their gravity lifts warming up as they deposited thousands of soldiers and vehicles into the city and deployed many more Seraphs and Banshees.

Accompanying them were hundreds of Marines and UNSC vehicles to aid in the assault on the city.

On a hilltop overlooking the city Commander Crusher and his team of Spartans prepared to descend into the city of Gryphondale.

"What's the plan, Sir?" Spartan-035 inquired, standing stock still next to the naval officer on the hill.

"Our mission is to seek out the Gryphon leader in or around the capital building and get him and his army to help us fight the Prometheans while the rest of our forces liberate the capital city" Robert answered, drawing his Battle Rifle over his shoulder and slowly beginning his descent down the hill.

As they entered the city Crusher began to realize that this mission was going to be incredibly dangerous as the Prometheans were putting up one hell of a fight against the invading Elites and their human allies.

It was going to be a nightmare.

"Shit, I have a bad feeling about this... Let's hurry up and get to the capital building so we can find the Griffon leader and get out of here" Robert stated as they entered the city proper, making their way through it via back alleys and side streets, attempting to avoid the Prometheans entirely.

As the team neared the exit of the alley they currently occupied they realized the street was the battlefield for an intense skirmish between Prometheans and Elites, who were shelling the Prometheans with a Wraith tank.

The battle quickly winded down and the Commander and his team exited the alleyway, the Wraith and Elites coming down the street and stopping next to the alley. The pilot hatch on top of the Wraith opened and the Elite within popped up, his golden helmet shining in the light cast by the fires raging in the buildings on the street.

"Human, this city is crawling with Prometheans. We will escort you to the capital building if you so choose" the Wraith's pilot declared.

"Of course; let's get going" Robert responded, him and his team proceeding down the street with the Elites and their Wraith as the human naval Officer looked on his data-pad for their current position relative to their destination.

"Looks like we're about seven blocks from the capital building, so let's pick up the pace" Commander Crusher announced, stowing his pad and bringing his BR back up as they crossed an intersection.

Suddenly there was an explosion above and a Seraph fighter came careening into the street, slamming down and sliding several feet before coming to a stop horizontally across the street, blocking them from proceeding further.

"Damn, we'll have to head through one of the buildings. The Wraith can probably make it over that wreckage though" Robert said, watching as the Wraith did exactly that.

"We'll see you on the other side, humans" the Elite commanding the squad accompanying them yelled as he and his team soared over the wreckage with their thruster packs, leaving the Spartans and the Commander alone.

"Let's get moving" Commander Crusher stated as he entered a building in an effort to circumvent the Seraph wreckage.

Once inside the building Robert looked on as the wall of an upper floor collapsed and dropped in front of the door, blocking it and sealing the humans inside. Looking around the room they had entered Robert deduced they were in some kind of Inn or hotel that was slowly being consumed by fire; the other half of the lobby was blocked off by debris and flames, meaning they'd have to head up to the second floor and head across it to the staircase on the far side just to get to the other side of the lobby.

"It's like something out of a survival-horror game*" Crusher commented as they made their way to a door on the back of the lobby, one that opened up into restaurant of some kind.

"Looks like a fucking bomb went off in here or something**" Robert said, closing the door and backtracking to the lobby where they found the stairs which would take them up to the other floors.

"Looks like we have to go this way."

The group went up to the door leading to the second floor and opened it, immediately being assaulted by heat and smoke; that entire part of the floor was on fire.

Robert was about to close the door when he looked through the flames and saw what looked like a Griffon moving down the hall carrying what looked to be some kind of rifle.

"Wonder where he's going" Crusher lamented, finally closing the door and proceeding up to the third floor which was relatively clear of fire.

It was not clear of Prometheans, however.

Upon opening the door several Prometheans down the hall turned and opened fire, prompting the Commander and his team to dive down a branching hall to take cover.

"The hell are they doing in here?" Crusher wondered as Spartan-035 tossed a grenade down the hall which detonated and caused the ceiling to cave in, blocking the Prometheans from engaging them.

"Seems like some of the floors have been weakened by fire; we'll have to be careful with our grenades" Robert told the Spartans.

They made it to the other side of the floor without much trouble and found the other staircase which would've taken them back down to the other side of the lobby if the stairs hadn't been destroyed by an explosion.

"Damn. Change of plans, Spartans; we head up to the roof and jump over to the other building and head down its stairs to get back to the Elites."

Heading back to the first staircase they did exactly that until they reached the top floor as there was no roof access from the public stairs.

To get to the roof they would have to access the special staircase somewhere on the top floor.

"Come on" Robert declared, jogging down the hall as he and the Spartans searched for the roof stairs as the sounds of distant combat filled their ears.

The group quickly found the stairs and busted the door open, heading up the stairs and busting open the door to the roof.

As they stepped out onto the roof an Elite supercarrier discharged its plasma projector into the streets of Gryphondale, glassing a massive contingent of Prometheans and sending a shockwave through the city which shattered the windows of every building.

A loud crack on the roof caught their attention and they looked over, seeing a Griffon armed with some kind of rifle perched on the edge of the roof.

"Hey, friendlies behind you!" Commander Crusher yelled, prompting the Griffon to look over her shoulder and shimmy back from the edge, standing and approaching the humans.

"Well it's about time you guys got here; Gryphondale has been under siege for the past seven days" the Griffon exclaimed.

"Sorry to hear that, but better late than never I suppose. Look, we're looking to regroup with our Elites and their tank down on the street. We need to get across to the roof of the building next door, but we could use some sniper support. Could you help us?" the Commander asked.

"I've been flying from roof to roof for the past week, sniping these freaks who just showed up and started blasting crap. I'll be more than happy to kill some to help you. What's your mission?" the Griffon inquired.

"We're here to liberate the Griffon capital from the enemy, the Prometheans, and recruit them to help us fight the war against them" Robert answered in a half-truth; he couldn't trust this Griffon with the info that he and his team had come to find the Griffon leader and ask him directly for help.

Robert reached behind his back and pulled out a radio headset, handing it to the Griffon sniper so they could communicate with her.

"OK. You guys can get across to the building next door using this plank" the Griffon told them, grabbing a long sheet of plywood and setting it across the gap.

"Got it, thanks for the help, miss..." Robert trailed off as a way to ask the Griffon her name.

"Don't call me 'miss', dweeb" the Griffon demanded, pushing the Commander onto the wood plank and forcing him and the Spartans to head across, one at a time.

Once they were over the Griffon shoved the plank forward onto the other roof in case the humans needed it again.

"Hey, I never got your name!" the human Commander yelled from across the way.

"Name's Gilda! Now get out of here!" the Griffon shouted back, putting the headset on and lying back down on the edge of the roof to continue sniping.

Gilda? I think Twilight mentioned her friend Rainbow Dash once knowing a Griffon named Gilda Crusher thought as he and the Spartans thundered down the stairs of the neighboring building to get back down to the street.

Once they had reached street-level they exited the building and found the Elites and their Wraith waiting for them, completely unharmed. The Wraith pilot asking "what took you so long?"

"We ran into some old friends" Robert answered sarcastically, earning confused looks from the Elites.

"You took time out of your mission to talk to old friends? Are you mad?" the Wraith pilot demanded.

"No, I didn't mean friends like that; it's a human thing, and we don't have time to explain. Basically what I said was we ran into some Prometheans" the Commander explained, though it didn't help much.

"By the Gods... Whatever, let us keep moving" the Wraith pilot exclaimed, plopping back down into his vehicle and sealing the hatch.

"Gilda, you reading me? We made it down to the streets and have reunited with our Elite allies. Don't fire on the massive seven-foot tall aliens wearing colorful armor or their massive purple tank" Robert stated over the radio, looking up at the roof of the Inn in an effort to see the Griffon sniper.

"Yeah, I got it, dweeb. I figured out not shooting them was a good thing six days ago when I watched one eviscerate dozens of Protheans*** or whatever they're called" the Griffon replied.

"They're called Prometheans. Anyway, what happened to him? He sounds like an Elite we could use in the future" the Commander said.

"I tracked him for five days; he slashed through hundreds of Prometheans in that time. He died when thousands of Prometheans surrounded him in the city center, which you're coming up on" Gilda responded.

"Is being in the city center a bad thing?" Crusher said as the center came into view; it was a massive circle with a large statue of a Griffon in the middle, standing over the city center like a symbol of the Griffons' natural heroism and courage.

"It's a freaking deathtrap, but all the side-streets are either blocked or swarming with Prometheans, so you'll have no choice but to head through" the Griffon sniper answered.

"Tell me more about the Elite you watched."

"Dude was tall, around eight feet, and sported pointed shoulder pauldrons that matched his blood-red armor. I would've lost him in the darkness had it not been for the glow of the lights on his armor and the two energy blades he carried" Gilda explained.

"Darkness? Is it always dark around here?" the human Naval officer inquired.

"It has been for the past week; skies have been covered in a thick blanket of black smoke produced by the fires. You just can't see the smoke right now because it's night."

"You get the name of this Elite?" Robert said.

"What kind of question is that? I was way up on the rooftops... But in spite of that I actually did catch something when he was yelling, something about 'Saram I think. But, like I said, he's dead now.****"

"Damn Prometheans. Don't worry, miss Gilda, we'll drive these bastards out of here" Crusher promised as he and his group entered the city center proper, seeing that it was indeed a death-trap; hundreds of Prometheans fought against hundreds of Elites and humans, the air clogged with thousands of bullets, plasma bolts, and laser pulses.

"I told you not to call me miss! And we didn't need your help anyway!" Gilda yelled over the radio.

Commander Crusher looked around the city; hell, just the city center was enough to disprove Gilda's assertions. Gryphondale had been falling fast to the Prometheans, and it was likely the capital city would've fallen within the next two days. Fires raged all throughout the city, Prometheans swarmed around like ants after their hill had been kicked over, and the Griffon military was taking casualties on a five to one ratio with the Prometheans.

They most definitely needed help.

"Whatever you say. Look, we need to get past this shit. Are there any streets not blocked off or infested with Prometheans?" Robert said.

"None that I can see, but you might be able to head through the sewers; they're pretty straight-forward" the Griffon sniper replied.

"Great. Elites, you know where to go, and I'm sure the Wraith will make it over most obstacles. We'll meet up at the capital building" the Commander told them, preparing to drop down into the sewers, which the Spartans had already done.

"No, you don't want to-" Gilda started to say, cut off when Robert dropped down the manhole and landed in the sewers. He was about to head back up to catch the rest of Gilda's transmission when a massive explosion made one of the buildings above collapse down onto the street, blocking the manhole as a result.

Looking up Robert saw that a room's window had been placed perfectly over the manhole due to how the building fell. In the room the Commander saw a Griffon hanging from a noose and a note attached to her body.

"Hold up, Spartans. I'm going to take a look at something" the Commander announced, climbing up the ladder and smashing the window, clambering into the room while making sure not to cut himself.

The room was cold and dark, though there was just enough light to make out the room's features and the Griffon corpse.

The human grabbed the note and unfolded it, sitting on an overturned desk as he began to read it.

'They're dead... Dad, Mom... They're dead, and I have no idea where my sister is.'

'What are these things? And what do they want with us?'

'I don't know, but I won't let them take me alive. I've seen them grab the cubs, the females, the males, and...take them somewhere. I don't know what they're doing to their captives but I won't become one. I'm going to make sure they don't take me alive.'

'Gilda...I'm so sorry.'

Robert closed his eyes and let the note fall to the floor, sighing heavily; he had lost the will to move, and instead opted to remain sitting on the desk.

For several minutes the Commander just sat there, unable and even unwilling to move; he knew that he should keep moving, the faster they make it to the capital building the better, but he just couldn't bring himself to move.

Gilda...I'm so sorry.

Crusher knew the odds were easily a million to one, but something in his gut told him that the Gilda mentioned in the letter was the same one sniping Prometheans on the roof of that Inn right now. The same Gilda that was sister to the corpse hanging next the human right now, dangling from the noose and slowly swinging and twisting in place...

Robert turned his head, bent over, and vomited, his esophagus burning as the bile was projected from his mouth onto the floor.

After a moment the Commander recovered and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, standing and staggering back to the window to drop back into the sewer.

Taking one last look at the Griffon suicide victim Commander Crusher winced and said "I'm sorry we didn't come sooner..."

*-*-*

*This is a reference to the PS2 game Resident Evil: Outbreak. In that game one of the levels has you going through a hotel on fire, called the Apple Inn. Fun game, and a pretty good level, except for those damn Lickers...
**This is a reference to one of my other stories, titled 'He came from Space'.
***This is a reference to the Mass Effect species.
****This is a reference to the antagonist of the first Up There story, Thar 'Saramee. The Elite described here is meant to be a relative.

Speaking of references, whatever happened to our cycle of continuously referencing each other's stories, Blackburn? Did the cycle end? Did Commander Shepard come down and mistake our cycle for the Reapers' cycle? Did you get that PURE UNCUT COCAINE I sent you?

Legal note: Commander Robert Crusher, Spartan Wilhelm-035, and all related characters belong to me. Gilda the Griffon belongs to Hasbro. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro. Halo belongs to 343 Industries.