Woo! Sequel time. The ONI Way continues. This one is set around halo 5 onward, so it should be interesting. First story here s/10367870/1/The-ONI-Way. Even if it wasn't requested, I was going to do this anyway. Uni student now, so regular updates will be few and far between, sorry :(
Not affiliated with Ubisoft, Microsoft or 343 blah blah blah...
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The Creed Protocol
Chapter 1
"Am I alive? Truly? The last thing I remember was being trapped inside Eden's Blade and letting it get destroyed. Wait; that's my uncle's face."
Jack Jiles' mental image of himself sat up and stared at the image his brain was relaying. His Uncle, Governor Jacob Jiles' face was indeed in front of him, full of hope and worry. Jack looked around the mental landscape. It still looked like the dead space within the Animus, pulsing and shifting constantly, waiting to be formed into memories. Jack could also see something else further away; an orange figure lying on the ground. Jack stood up and walked over to it. It looked very familiar…
The discovery of a Forerunner shield world, inhabited by a prisoner of war between the Forerunners and ancient humans. The First Civilisation, who created humanity to inherit the Mantle of Responsibility for all things, destroyed during the shift in Earth's magnetic poles after an enormous solar flare, at the exact same time the Halo array fired. The magnetic interference cancelling out the Halo weapon and preserving life on Earth. However, the shift in the poles caused its own mass destruction, nearly wiping out the First Civilisation and their humans. Vulcan, who had been captured by the Ur-Didact and forced to engineer the defeat of the First Civilisation, survived in a non-corporeal form for thousands of years, his plot to bring back his people foiled by Jack's own hands-
Jack clutched at his head, these weren't his memories. How was he experiencing them? He looked closer at the figure and turned it over with his foot. It was Vulcan of the First Civilisation, known as the smith of the gods. He had used the Apple of Eden to interface with Jack's mind and possess him. Jack's Assassin allies saw through Vulcan's plot and forced them both into the computer systems of Vulcan's ship, Eden's Blade, which was then destroyed with Jack's sabotage.
Upon closer inspection, Vulcan was definitely dead, but his form lingered in Jack's mind. His memories bleeding into Jack's.
"Jack! Can you hear me?" came a voice, echoing throughout his mind, pulling Jack back into reality.
"Ahh!" cried Jack as he sat up on a hospital bed somewhere in the Assassin's hidden base on Venezia
"Jack! I don't believe it, you're alive!" cried Governor Jiles, giving him a firm hug
"Yes Uncle, I'm alive. And Vulcan's dead. I saw him in my head."
Jiles looked at his nephew in confusion and held him at arm's length
"Are you sure? Ezio AI let me know what happened with you and him. If he's still in there-"
"He is, but he's definitely dead. It is my head we're talking about. I think I'd know if he were alive inside my head."
"Actually, Mr Jiles, we'd like to run some more tests to confirm that you're mentally stable. Interfacing through the Apple could have had some unforseen side effects and we just want to make sure you're alright before you return to active duty." Said a doctor who held the Apple within a black box with wires attached to it.
"Doctor, Bentley? Wasn't it?" said Jack
"Bennet. You don't remember me? I serviced your Archon armour since the project began and monitored your vitals during your radiation treatment." Replied doctor Bennet
"Yeah, of course." Jack was confused, a lot of what was in his head didn't make sense. Doctor Bennet's tests sounded like a good idea.
"Well, I'll let you get on with it. Oh, Jack. Do you want me to let your team know you're still alive? Or at the very least your girlfriend?" asked Governor Jiles
"No, I'll do it myself. I don't think I'm going to be in here much longer." Replied Jack
"Well that remains to be seen Mr Jiles but we'll do what we can." Replied Bennet, gesturing for equipment to be brought in by the lab assistants.
Jack laid back down on the table and waited for it to be over.
Hours later, Jack was finally given the verdict.
"It appears that Vulcan's memories, but not his personality, have been transferred into your brain. You're mentally stable, but you are showing signs of the bleeding effect. We'll try using the Animus technology available to remove it. In the meantime, you can continue your usual operations but I want you to report to me after each mission for re-evaluation. Doctor's orders."
"Yes doctor Bennet." Replied Jack drily
"Alright everyone, let's break for lunch first." The assembled doctors dispersed through the doorway to the mess. Jack was about to follow them when he realised he was only wearing pants and made a detour to his quarters. When he entered the mess hall, he could see the Archons eating in silence at the table with their heads down. Jack smiled and made yet another detour and returned again. He engaged the cloak field and strode into the mess hall quietly. As he approached the table, he could hear lowered voices from the Archons.
"-was a great guy. I remember he used to be so shy and analytical. Jill had a real impact on him." Said Hank
"Yeah, meeting the love of your dreams and having sex with them would do that to anyone." Said Ben
Everyone except Julia gave a chuckle, while she blushed ever so slightly. Jack grabbed a packet of ketchup and snuck up behind Ben. When he was in position he began to pour.
"Hey, Ben, are you cut?" asked Xavier, who was sitting opposite
"No, why? Am I bleeding?" he said, checking himself.
Miranda dipped a finger in the suspiciously thick red liquid and stuck it in her mouth. Xavier made a face.
"That ain't blood. That's ketchup." She said and noticed someone in active camouflage standing behind Ben. She frowned and in the blink of an eye, she grabbed a squeezy bottle of mustard and let loose on the silhouette. Jack cried out as he was covered in mustard and deactivated the camo.
Miranda's eyes widened and she dropped the bottle, as the other Archons turned to see what she attacked.
"No way, Jack? How are you- Am I dreaming?" said Julia
"No, I'm not dead if that's what you mean. Good to see all of you made it off in one piece."
"But how? We saw your body burn in the funeral pyre two days ago." Said Ben
"No, turns out the Apple had captured my consciousness just in time when you took it. They flash-cloned my body in secret and burned it, then restored my mind to my body. Also I have Vulcan's genetic memories apparently."
"Wait, who's 'they'?" said Miranda
"Doctor Bennet's team."
"Jack, you should go see Jill; she's devastated. Right now." Said Ben, very seriously
"Yeah, I should. See you in a bit." Jack but down the ketchup and ran down to Jill's quarters.
When he got there, the door was locked. He was about to override it but thought against it. He knocked instead. Jill's voice came from within, it sounded like she had been crying a lot.
"No Miranda, I don't want to go clubbing. Just leave me alone."
Jack overrode the door controls and walked in. Jill had her back to him and was sobbing into her pillow.
"Well that's a relief, I was never very good at dancing." Said Jack
Jill looked up from her pillow and turned her head towards the door. Her hand shot out and fired an overcharge burst from her plasma glove that Jack was just able to avoid in time.
"Whoa! What the hell was that for?!"
"Are you one of those idiots from the tech lab? I already beat up one of you, don't make me do it again." Said Jill, her eyes full of hate
"No, Jill it's me, wait, tech lab? What's that about?"
Jill cocked her head and walked forward and stopped a few steps away.
"Cassandra." She said
"It's not one of the tech guys, it's really him." Said the disembodied voice of the AI that assisted Jill's research
Jill visibly brightened and threw her arms around Jack, who was almost thrown off balance by her body colliding into his.
"Oh, Jack! It's really you! I can't believe it. How did you- doesn't matter." She kissed him full on the mouth. He responded in kind and hugged her.
He broke off the kiss and looked her in the eyes; they were red from crying but full of genuine happiness.
"Now, what was that about tech guys?" asked Jack
"Those assholes used one of the holographic decoy devices to disguise themselves as you. When I saw through their prank I got so mad I broke one guy's collarbone. I thought they would try again so I was prepared."
Jack smiled, "That's my girl."
They kissed again, and Jack closed the door and pulled her down to the bed.