Within the core of the Shield World Requiem, intense violence was brewing.
The Master Chief gunned down another Elite, the foolish alien having attempted to come at him with a plasma sword without even the slightest bit of stealth involved. The Covenant had failed to change any of their tactics throughout this entire debacle, yet those things... Prometheans, Cortana had called them, Chief noticed were becoming more and more aggressive the closer he got to the core. And unlike the Covenant, their movements and tactics were more sporadic, similar to that of the Flood. Chief nearly shuddered in memory of those filthy parasites. Hopefully he wouldn't run into them again.
All that remained between him and his destination were a pair of jittering Grunts, which he picked off with ease. Gun still in hand, he didn't let his guard down as he looked around for any further movement.
"We clear?" he asked.
"Looks that way," the voice of Cortana spoke through his helmet. "I'm not detecting any movement nearby. We should be fine."
With that, the Chief put his rifle in its holster, and walked to the point of interest. A large, raised platform with two small pillars. Said pillars bore the symbol of the Reclaimer that he had become ever so familiar with since he set foot on Installation 04 four years ago.
"This is it?"
"This is where the cartographer pointed us to, but..."
Cortana paused for a moment, making the Chief frown. Was she having another rampancy glitch?
"Cortana?"
"Something's not right, Chief. I-" she was cut off by a small alarm in the MJOLNIR's targeting systems. "I'm picking up movement! Covenant and Prometheans, approaching from all sides."
"We don't have time, then," the Chief deduced. "What do I do?"
"The pillars," she suddenly said. "Touch the pillars."
The Master Chief looked back at the two small pillars, and did as he was told.
For a moment, nothing happened. The lights of the pillar glowed more intensely at his touch, but other than that, nothing.
"Infinity, this is Sierra One-one-seven of the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, do you copy?" the Chief spoke into the radio. Unexpectedly, his voice was heavily distorted in echoed form. The echoed traveled loudly through the room, all the lights pulsating in tandem with his voice.
This gave him brief pause, but he nonetheless tried again. "Infinity, do you read?"
This was met with the same results. No response from the Infinity, and the Chief started to get a bad feeling about the situation.
Suddenly, the large red spherical object in the center of the room stirred, pulsating orange lights appearing along its surface. As this was happening, hordes of Covenant and Prometheans had entered the room from the floor below, and had begun fighting each other. They all stopped abruptly as the sphere began to move, staring at it closely. The Prometheans in particular, if possible, became more tense and jittery.
It was at that moment that the Chief realized why the Prometheans had fought so hard to keep him from getting here.
"Chief," Cortana suddenly spoke, her voice more urgent. "Chief, let go of the contacts!"
The Chief quickly released them, and quickly backed away as the sphere began to rise up from the ground, the orange lights beginning to pulse rapidly.
"Find us an exit," he ordered.
"Don't wait on my account!" Cortana snapped.
As the sphere began to rotate slowly in midair, the Chief ran for the edge of the platform, pushing himself with all his might to jump. He ducked for cover behind a small wall, peaking over as he watched the sphere move. A low humming sound began to emanate from it, and moments later, the bottom half split open, bright orange light spilling from within. Slowly, a small object floated out from the opening, sort of like a platform. But that wasn't what everyone in the room was looking at.
No. It was the humanoid figure kneeling down on it.
The platform continued to float downwards until it stopped a few feet in front of the pedestal that the Master Chief was standing on moments ago. Then, it's passenger moved, slowly rising to its feet. It was tall, taller than a Spartan with a well-built physique. To Chief's wonder, what appeared to be white armor similar to that of the Promethean Knights materialized in thin air around the figure's form, grafting themselves into the jumpsuit it was already wearing. The being gave a grunt of satisfaction as the armor fit into place.
Then, in a deep, haunting voice that made even the Master Chief almost shudder, it spoke.
"So fades the great harvest of my betrayal," it said, its tone dripping with a surprising mixture of contempt and satisfaction.
The being waved its large, six-fingered hand, and a pulse of heavy air seemed to move throughout the room. As this pulse passed over the Prometheans, the AI's shuddered and their lights turned from orange to blue. The Covenant went absolutely insane. The Grunts jittered wildly and bounced in excitement while the Elites began chanting in their native language as they fell to their knees in reverence for the imposing figure floating above them. They all began chanting a single phrase
"Didact."
The word was repeated and seemed to resonate through the room. The figure floating above raised its head in acknowledgement, apparently satisfied.
"Even these... beasts recognize what you are oblivious to, human," it said, its voice dripping with venom at the last word. "Your nobility has blinded you, as ever."
It's words made the Chief freeze. It knew he was there. He barely had time to react when the wall he was hiding behind disintegrated in orange light, exposing him. He looked up to see the armored being facing his direction.
He sprung up and rasied his rifle, finger preparing to pull down on the trigger when the being held its hand out towards him. The Chief grunted as a dim orange light fell over him, and suddenly he could no longer move. His body froze, arms at his side as the gun fell from his hand and his shields flickering. He felt his feet leave the ground as he was slowly levitated towards the larger being above him. As he was brought face to face with the creature, the helmet maskng its face faded away in orange particles, revealing a face even more monstrous.
It appeared vaguely human, though it lacked a nose and had various quill-like protrusions coming from its bald scalp. Its flesh was sickly pale. Two fangs jutted from its upper lip, and it had fiery orange eyes filled with so much age and contempt.
"The Librarian left little to chance, didn't she?" it, he, said. He glanced down at the assembled group of aliens below them. "Turning my own guardians, my own world against me! There is no greater insult. No greater betrayal..."
The being seemed to trail off at the end, looking down in pain and sadness. Those emotions quickly faded as his fiery eyes turned back to the Chief, that original loathing and arrogance taking its place. The being stared the Master Chief in the eyes, as if he wasn't wearing his visor.
"But what hubris, to beleive that she could protect her pets forever," he said, and as he spoke, he waved his hand around lightly, turning the Chief around as if inspecting him. The being let out an amused laugh, a twisted smile growing on his face.
"If you haven't even mastered these primitives, than man has not attained the mantle. Your ascension, may yet be prevented."
The Chief had no idea what this thing was speaking of. He recognized words like mantle and librarian, after his experiences on the Ark, but the rest? He had no clue, but that wasn't what was important. His body was turned so he was facing the alien again. It gave him an evil smile, and for the first time in a long while, the Master Chief felt afraid.
"Time was your ally, human, but now, it has abandoned you. The Forerunners, have returned!"
The Chief's eyes widened in shock, and the creature's helmed materialized back into form around his head.
"This tomb... is now yours!"
With a flick of the creature's wrists, the Chief was violently thrown across the room. He was flying right towards a pillar, and braced himself for the hard impact that awaited him.
Although, the impact wasn't quite as hard as it should have been.
The Chief grunted in surprise as, instead of hitting solid metal, his collision had been cushioned by a soft, bouncy mass. Looking down, he found that a large, pink bubble-like object had materialized below him.
"What?" the Forerunner said, his head rearing back in surprise.
"What the hell?" the voice of Cortana, which had been silent throughout the entire event, said at the same time, voicing the Chief's own puzzlement.
That's when something else appeared. Some sort of thing, a small creature, floated into view, levitating in midair around the Chief and the bubble. The Chief stared at it dumbstruck. It looked mammalian in appearance, its thin fur coating a light pink with a short and wide snout and triangular ears that gave it a sort of cat-like appearance. But its eyes, glowing a sapphire blue, were remarkably human if not larger in size. It had short arms with three-fingered paws, and large hind legs sporting feet with oval markings on the soles. A long, thin tail moved fluidly behind it, ending in an ovoid tip.
It cocked its head at the Chief, studying him with a childlike curiosity.
"Mew?" it cooed, its voice soft and high. It floated forward, and popped the bubble with its nose. The Chief fell to the ground, managing to land on his feet with a grunt. Standing up, he stared as the creature floated down to him. It curled into a ball, closing its eyes and letting out a light giggle, as if amused by the situation.
Suddenly, a sphere of orange energy collided with the small creature, which let out a surprised cry as it was sent flying. The Forerunner had donned a large Promethean rifle, one that the Chief had not seen yet, and had it aimed at the creature. His stance was now incredibly rigid and filled with anger as it fired two more energy blasts at the creature. More prepared this time, the creature flew up to the Forerunner's level, its blue eyes now glaring.
As the first blast raced towards it, the creature's eyes lit up and it disappeared in a shimmer of light, appearing a few feet away as the energy blast passed harmlessly through the spot where it had once been, impacting against another pillar. The creature's eyes glowed again, and at the same time, its tail seemed to glow white. With a spin, its tail whipped outwards and the edge collided with the sphere. There was a brief crackle of multi-colored energies as the sphere was suddenly sent careening back towards the Forerunner.
Quickly, the Forerunner lifted his hand up and a field of orange light materialized in front of him. The energy blast impacted with it, and exploded harmlessly. As the energies cleared, the Forerunner dropped the field and stared down at the small creature, which floated up to face its attacker directly.
As the two evidently powerful beings faced off, the Chief and the Covenant watched from below in wonder.
Quietly, John spoke. "Cortana, what is that?"
Cortana was silent for a few moments, before she spoke in equal befuddlement. "I don't know..."
But the Forerunner did not attack this time. Instead, he began to speak again.
"You," it growled deeply, voice filled with intense rage. "Abomination. Mistake. Perversion of science and biology. Of all the sickly creatures she could have left to guard this place... and I see she choses to add further insult to injury by leaving you."
"Mew?" the creature cooed again, cocking its head. The Covenant below began to murmur amongst themselves, and Mew gave a curious hum as it turned and looked down at them. Its attention returned the Forerunner when he began talking again.
"You are still plagued by naitivity, I see," he said. "It is no matter. I lay trapped within the Cryptum, living no life. You live a full one, and mock me with it. I have nothing more to deal with you. You have irked me too often, for far too long."
With that, the Forerunner lifted his weapon up with surprising swiftness and fired. The creature reacted quickly though, lifting its tail up as a bright white force field appeared around it, protecting it from the blast. The platform that the Forerunner stood upon began to move, and he stared dispassionately as he moved back towards the large sphere. He faced the Covenant below, and spoke with powerful authority.
"Kill this insult to my legacy! Prove your worth! Defend me! Defend the Mantle!"
Instantly, the Covenant and Prometheans started to fire on the creature. The Forerunner had entered the sphere, which began to float upwards again.
"Chief, the rifle!" Cortana spoke into the Chief's ear.
He quickly looked for said gun, darting towards it the instant he spotted it.
Meanwhile, the creature immediately sprung into action itself as a barrage of plasma and particle weapons were fired upon it.
"Mew!" it cried, teleporting safely away from the many blasts.
It quickly appeared behind a single Elite, which barely had time to react as the creature whipped its glowing tail out, striking it in the side. With surprising strength, the strike sent the Elite flying into a wall, impacting with a loud, fatal crack. With the same tail whip attack it used against the Forerunner before, it redirected several plasma blasts back at their Covenant owners, managing to take out a few, namely several Grunts. The Promethean Knights were the real challenge though, as they attacks were more narrow and difficult to counter.
Its eyes glowed as a different, purple energy appeared around it, flaring wildly like fire.
"Mew!" it cried loudly, and the energy was dispelled in beam like form from its eyes. These beams glowed radiant purple, and crackling orange electricity danced around them. The beams struck Prometheans and Covenant alike, ripping them apart at a molecular level. This attack ceased seconds later, but at least eight attackers had been neutralized. The purple glow remained, and the creature spread its body out in a jerky motion. In response, the remaining attackers, consisting of only four elites, one grunt, and two Prometheans, were surprised when their weapons were wrenched from their hands and into the air out of arms reach.
Then, the creature flew at them, colliding headfirst into the chest of an elite. It gave a pained gurgle as its ribcage was caved in from the strike, and fell over dying. The creature paid it no mind as it whipped its tail at another's leg, wrapping around it and pulling it out from under it. The elite fell on its back, and the creature quickly fired another purple energy blast from its eyes that obliterated it. In a split second, the creature spun around and fired another blast at the Grunt, vaporizing it instantly.
One of the Elites tried to come at it with a plasma sword, but the creature's tail whipped outwards again and struck the mandibled alien across face. The surprising amount of force behind the strike knocked the Elite's upper jaw clean off its face, purple blood spilling from the wound as it fell forward, dead. The creature immediately raced towards one of the two remaining Elites, grabbing it by the face.
The creature then teleported again in a shimmer of energy, and the Elite disappeared with it. Both materialized directly above the last Elite, and the creature dropped its prisoner from great height so it landed directly on its fellow Covenant. As both Elites lay crumpled on the ground, the creature did a quick cartwheel in midair before firing its purple eyes beams down on them, creating a small purple explosion that obliterated them both.
The purple aura around the creature faded as it faced the two Promethean Knights. At that point, the Chief had finally reached his weapon and pointed it towards the hostiles, but paused when it saw the many dead bodies lying around in surprise.
The two Promethean Knights stood still as they faced off with the creature, and the Master Chief suddenly felt the room drop several degrees as the creature seemed to curl up and shake.
"Mmmmm..." it started to hum, then, it shot its head forward and opened its mouth. "Mew!"
A torrent of freezing cold blew from its little mouth and washed over the Prometheans. They reared back slightly, but didn't get far as they were quickly frozen solid, as was everything else in the blast's path. The attack stopped moments later, and the creature immediately flew forward with great speed, colliding with the frozen AI's. They shattered into ice shards upon impact.
The creature, not at all tired by the fight, slowly floated about, inspecting the room. Then, it lifted its little paws up to its face and giggled again.
The Chief could barely believe it, but didn't have time to react as he was once again interrupted.
The sphere that the Forerunner fled in was now gone, but the room was shaking violently. Rock and metal near him began shaking loose and crashing to the ground.
"What's happening?" he asked.
"That Didact, he manipulated us to release him," Cortana said, her voice mixed with worry and anger. "He moved the satellite on his way out, causing the core to become unstable. He's leaving! We have to get out of here!"
The Master Chief nodded, and quickly began to race towards the exit, when he felt something land softly on his head.
He gave a surprised grunt as he felt his body lose all of its weight and his vision blinded by white light. THe feeling was similar to when he was being teleported by 343 Guilty Spark back on Installation 04, but... warmer and more inviting.
The weightlessness faded instantly and his vision returned as he was suddenly dropped on solid ground. Shaking his head, he blinked, looking around to find himself back on Requiem's surface, in a clear field of wheat-like vegetation.
"Cortana?" he said slowly.
"Wasn't me."
"Mew?"
The Chief quickly turned around at the source of the noise, finding himself looking into the bright blue eyes of the strange, cat-like creature. It cocked its head curiously, tail whising behind it as it floated closer to the Chief's helmeted face.
"Well," Cortana said with amused curiousity. "This is interesting."
The Chief didn't have a reply. He watched as the creature circled around him, before stopping just inches from his shoulder. Its eyes seemed to light up happily, and it gently nudged his arm.
"Mew!"
"I think she likes you, Chief."
"She?"
"According to my scans, it's female," Cortana explained. "Though, exactly what it is... I couldn't tell you."
As if hearing Cortana, the creature moved backwards, and its tail moved up, the tip pointing at its stomach. "Mew!"
The Chief snorted. "I guess that's our answer."
"Mew..." Cortana said slowly. "Well, at least its easy to remember."
The two were suddenly pulled out of their little conversation by the radio, the voice of a gruff, older man coming in through the static.
"FLEETCOM actual, we're encountering an unidentifiable gravimetric disturbance! And we are being pulled inside the Forerunner planet! Possible contact with UNSC Forward Unto Dawn! Jettisoning beacons of our last known loc-"
The message was cut off.
"That was an emergency broadcast from the Infinity," Cortana said. "They're nearby. We need to get to them!"
"Agreed," the Chief said, and started to walk away, when the creature, Mew, moved alongside him, making him pause.
"Mew?" she said, blinking.
Cortana chuckled a bit. "Looks like we have a tagalong."
The Chief said nothing, just staring at the pink thing. It stared back, cocking its head.
"Mew?"
The Chief turned in the direction that Cortana said the Infinity was, then back at Mew. With a sigh, he motioned his head for the creature to follow.
Eyes lighting up, Mew cooed happily and began following the Spartan to his destination. Within the Chief's helmet, Cortana laughed.
"Oh yes, I think this will be quite interesting."