The Shipmaster's Plague kicked off of a fallen supply crate and executed a textbook spinning roundhouse kick mid-air. His heel landed smack on the Chieftain's shoulder and almost brought him all the way down. Ludo could tell he wasn't expecting it. When the Brute turned, the eye that wasn't ruined by the diagonal charred scar on his face was red with fury, hate. His mouth was turned up into a terrible scowl and his head kept jerking with each successful carbine shot.
Suddenly, Tartarus went berserk. Just snapped. This was the moment Ludo was waiting for. An act of desperation. Tartarus came bounding at him, swinging the deadly gravity hammer back and forth. The purple armored martial arts master ducked and dodged and swatted with his spiker blades as he backed away. Johnson busted the shield one last time.
"That was my last shot! You gotta finish the job!"
Lime green, caseless, radioactive projectiles from the Arbiter's Covenant carbine kept punching into Tartarus, who, although still pressing Ludo back, had slowed considerably because of them. Ludo's back touched a short wall. This was it. Now or nothing. Two more projectiles disappeared into the Chieftain's head. Tartarus stopped running, stopped moving entirely. A third projectile punched into its head and out through the other side. The Fist of Rukt fell from his hands.
This is for all the Elites you've killed, and for the fallen Unggoy, Mgalekgolo, and Humans that allied themselves with us.
"Haugh!" Ludo screamed as he slammed the spiker blades down.
Tartarus fell straight back with the heavy gun stuck in his head, where Ludo had always planned to leave it ever since first picking it up. His lifeless body hit the floor with a satisfying thud. In the sudden silence that followed, Ludo heard light, running footsteps. He looked up and saw Commander Miranda Keys sprinting across the platform. She reached the center in a matter of seconds and snatched the Icon from the energy beam. The beam suddenly shut off and the remainder of the energy gathered near the open roof. It blasted straight up in projectile form, which zipped through the sky and cut into space.
So this is how it ends. Figured as much.
The platforms shuddered and the whole throne room went dark. The energy shot from the control room finally connected with an even bigger ball of energy that was floating in space in the center of the Sacred Ring. A bright burst of bright blue, violet, and white blossomed, then quickly dissipated.
Ludo still stood where he had finished off Tartarus. The dead Brute lay at his feet, Ludo's spiker jutting out of his head. The Shipmaster's Plague, like everyone else, had been waiting to see if all existence was about to end. Waiting for the abrupt blank that never came. All except for Zuvo, who had managed to pull himself up from the hole.
The Zealot was sarcastic in his approach, saying, "Thank you for helping me up. Truly, I appreciate it."
Fin 'Goromai was one of the few who could get a grin out of robotic Ludo 'Macdem. Ludo figured he ought to drop the -ee suffix from his name. An attempted genocide against his race pretty much secured his disbandment from the Covenant. Where they would go from here was unclear, though it was likely they would join forces with the humans. That might be an adjustment for some, but after today, humanity had earned the Plague's respect.
One thing was clear, however. Wherever the Arbiter was going, the Plague was going, at least until the Shipmaster returned. He would follow the Arbiter into battle, but he would follow his true orders, the same task given to him when he was assigned to Rtas. Bodyguard. The Arbiter was not the only glorified Elite to be knocked down a few pegs as a result of the failure to protect the first Halo.
At first, it had seemed like an unreasonable, unforgivable, bare handed slap across the face. Now, as he stood over the deceased Chieftain of the Jiralhanae with the galaxy still intact, he had to admit, the job wasn't all that bad. Of course it had its perks, but it was times like these that definitely made it all worthwhile. He looked down at Tartarus. The Fist of Rukt lay parallel beside him.
"Go ahead. It is yours to claim."
Ludo looked up. It was the Arbiter. He was standing next to Zuvo, who was nodding in agreement. Behind them, Johnson floated down to the middle platform, hanging onto the Oracle in a way that briefly reminded Ludo of hanging on to Joha's Banshee. Beside young Commander Keys, Wildcat stood with a semi-conscious Shadow, his arm thrown over her shoulders.
The Shipmaster's Plague picked up the Fist of Rukt. The original gravity hammer. It hummed rapidly and glowed bright, then dulled a bit and hummed at a slower, steadier pace. It was an interesting feeling. The hammer was an inanimate object, yet it felt... alive.
A heavy purple energy shield slowly crept from the hammer up his arms and proceeded to cover every inch of his body. He attached his new weapon to his magnetic back holster. The Arbiter nodded approvingly and went to go join the humans as they spoke with the Oracle. Zuvo reached out and crossed forearms with the Plague, and they both turned as Joha 'Donsai dropped down from the top level.
Joha pointed an energy sword at Ludo and issued a stone serious warning, "Never, point that thing at me."
A beat of silence passed, then the three of them, even Ludo, all burst into laughter.