A late sequel to my earlier Halo fanfic, Savior. If you are new, I suggest you visit my profile and catch up on the first one, but if you insist on reading this, go ahead. I never start with the first one, either ;). For this story I plan for it to be my own version of Halo 4. Leave reviews of what you think! Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Halo franchise
Warnings: language, violence
Spoiler Warning: Contains spoilers and even burrowed scenes from Halo 4
Ian panted heavily. A thick, tropical jungle surrounded him, almost completely engulfing him. Its native occupants chittered in their own language, filling the air with a faint song. Slightly humid air suffocated the fourteen-year-old boy's skin, creating a thin layer of sweat. His boots dug in to soft soil and his clothes clung to the underbrush surrounding him.
He crouched in his crowded hiding spot, but he didn't know he was discovered until it was too late. Suddenly something rammed into him, slamming him onto the ground. Ian let out a loud wheeze as dead weight fell on top of him. He felt a strong hand grip his shoulder, holding him down.
"I've got you now, filthy human!" a voice snarled.
"In your dreams!" Ian retorted, forcing the words out.
He quickly dug his palms and knees into the turf. He used the support to force his body upward, the momentum throwing his attacker off. There was a grunt from the enemy and a light thud as they fell to the ground. Not hesitating, Ian pounced on his opponent, holding them down as he had been. But before he could get a successful blow, his opponent attempted to retaliate by grasping him. They tried to push him off, but Ian held on too tightly, forcing them to roll on top of him. But the motion backfired. As Ian was pushed to the side, he was shoved through fronds and suddenly didn't feel the earth underneath him.
He gasped as he realized it was a ravine. His sigh turned into a screaming yelp as he felt gravity captured him, dragging him down. Unfortunately the enemy was still holding on to him and unable to support the dead weight. They reluctantly came along, having them both tumble down the decline. Ian wailed at he was an uncontrollable twist of limbs repeatedly smacking into the soil and his enemy.
Finally the unpleasant trip ended when Ian felt something rising to meet him. He felt his shoulder plunge into liquid and his face being slapped. At the same time, his right shoulder throbbed with pain as it slammed on a hard rock. Bubbles and a solidified fog filled his vision before finally rolling over to see a tinted sky.
He faintly heard another splash as his opponent fell alongside him in the shallow water. Ian quickly rolled over on his stomach, propping himself on his palms to keep his head above water. He looked over to the silhouette of the creature floating in the water.
Suddenly a sound came from Ian's mouth, quickly followed by the creature. The two laughed, chuckling about their clumsy fall. The silhouette lifted into a sitting position, lean muscles rippling under a scaly skin and fierce green eyes flashing in Ian's direction. A Sangheili... an Elite.
The sky transformed into a scarlet hue as the late afternoon sun sunk into the horizon. Great structures towered around Ian, the alien metal gleaming gold in the light. The golden skyscrapers created a forest almost touching the sky with unique formations of walls and bridges along with other annexes crisscrossing the city. Flawless material covered the earth below Ian's feet.
Sangheili dressed in silken robes calmly crossed the streets, either deep in conversation with their companions or minding their own thoughts. Only a few glanced at Ian by now. In return the young human didn't mind them as he traveled his own route.
He stepped into a small plaza free of occupants. It was relatively barren save for a few short flights of stairs and rare plants used for decoration. Ian trotted down a few steps and glanced around, wondering about the best route to take. He was still learning his way around. Suddenly a large silhouette fell next to him, slamming onto the ground. Reptilian emerald eyes flashed across his vision. Ian wasn't tensed at all and relaxed as he quickly recognized it as the same Sangheili from earlier.
It was an Anoka, a young Sangheili in the same age group as Ian. He had no idea what his exact age was, considering Sangheili have different lifespans not to mention lived on different planets. He never asked, though, seeing it awkward. It didn't matter; Ian was just glad there was another kid to spend his days with.
Two years had passed since he came to live with the Sangheili. He was originally born on Earth, where he lived a peaceful life and ignorant of the universe or the hells of war. That all changed when the Covenant attacked, but they weren't after Earth. They were after him.
Apparently Ian had been born with a special gift. He had a unique power to control any electronic technology around him: from a light bulb to a galactic super-weapon. And the Covenant wanted him just for that. They realized he could assist in their conquest for the ring-world Halo and the rest of the galaxy. So they came and took him away, slaughtering his family and destroying his home in the process. After months of enslavement, he was barely able to escape and found his way to the city of New Mombasa in Africa. That's where he met the Master Chief…
The Spartan rescued him, saving him from inevitable death and taking him into UNSC. Little did the legend know that Ian would bring even more troubles. The Covenant found him again.
When learning of his strange talents, the UNSC fought valiantly for his defense, but there was nothing they could do when the aliens successfully recaptured him. Only when they did, a civil war broke out between two fractions of the Covenant. Deciding there was more important things to deal with, the Covenant declared to execute their prisoner. Only to everyone's surprise, it was the Sangheili who stood up for him.
They respected him. They praised his talents and pitied him that he was lied to like they had been. And they knew better than anyone that they could protect him, and could do a pretty significant job of it. Ian knew that, too.
Even though it killed him to leave behind everything—almost to the point he felt like a traitor—he made the difficult decision. He decided to choose asylum with the Sangheili, who by now were split from the Covenant. He was taken to their homeworld, Sanghelios, and had been there ever since. A lot of things had occurred after his arrival.
The Great Schism, in which the Sangheili left the Covenant; the Sangheili and the humans creating an alliance that was still active today; the war with the Flood and the destruction of the Ark. But most importantly, the Covenant had fallen…
Now all the races could live in peace and rebuild their ruined societies. Ian could finally live in safety and assurance. After all, his caretakers have vowed to shield him with their lives…
"Did you hear me?" Anoka asked, interrupting Ian's long train of thought.
Startled, the human quickly shook his head to clear it. He focused on his friend. "Huh?"
Amusement and sympathy flickered in the young Sangheili's eyes, revealing that he understood the boy's occupied thoughts. He repeated his earlier question that Ian flailed to hear. "Will you join me for hunting tomorrow?"
Ian quickly regrouped his thoughts and forced his thick tongue to reply, "Oh! Yeah, sure!"
Anoka's eyes gleamed again with humor, but said nothing. Sangheili children were much more active than their human counterparts. They constantly trained and exercised, but it was fun to them as long as they stood out of the adults' way. A child's favorite activity was hunting in the world's exotic forests. Not deadly treks, just small game such as rodents and other easy catches.
"Very well," Anoka agreed. He shifted to his side suddenly. "I must go now, my uncle will be waiting."
"Yeah, my caretakers are probably looking for me, too," Ian replied.
Anoka gave another stiff nod. Without another word, he swirled on his heels in a cat-like motion and dashed away. Ian tried to watch him go, but the Sangheili's speed had him only catch a glance.
Realizing he was completely alone, the boy sighed and turned away. Careful not to look exposed and like he knew what he was doing, he made his leave.
The sky was an inferno of bright colors by the time Ian reached his destination. By the edge of the heavenly fire was its thick black smoke of the coming night. The structure below was reflecting the light, seemingly glowing on its own. Though as Ian drew near, he noticed it was finally turning a gray-like shade as the daily color's life came to an end.
The structure had a complex designs. It was mostly a one-story building, save for the two-story sections where the complex seemed to fold back on itself. The building was bent in different directions like a rectangular pretzel with multiple angles jutting out. It owned no surrounding barricade like most unique formations, but it didn't need them with the usual security around. Ian slowed his trot to a steady-paced walk as he spied two brick-red mini-towers posted to the wall. Sangheili guards.
They glanced at Ian and eyed his approach, but other than that they failed to acknowledge him. Self-conscious of their stares, Ian couldn't help but give them a nod of greeting. Only one gave the slightest of movements.
The human moved on to the main entrance, which were double manual doors. He was surprised like on Earth, most of the doors could be moved to the side; only difference was that Sangheili doors didn't have handles. So Ian simply pushed the golden door open and stepped into the dark foyer. He looked up to see green-amber eyes from the shadows staring at him.
"I was wondering where you were," a feminine, but stern voice commented. "I was about to send a search party."
"I was only with Anoka," Ian defended calmly.
The voice hummed and the eyes slowly blinked, disappearing for a second before returning. Their owner finally stepped out from her watch and into the shaft of light. As Ian already knew, it as a female Sangheili.
She had the same scaly skin and reptilian eyes as the males. She was shorter, though, but still taller than the average human. She stood around six feet tall, a few inches above Ian himself. The main difference she had from males was that she didn't have those intimidating mandibles. Instead, she had a more human-like jaw, her mouth being split horizontally and actually speaking like so. However, Ian had noticed that with close observation revealed at her lower jaw seemed to be attached at the center. Like that they could separate with some force. He saw it in other females, too. So it made him suspicious if they actually had four jaws as well. It made him wonder what could make them separate, but then realized he didn't want to investigate that.
But this female's jaw was closed, making his life a little easier. She wore a dark golden dress with brown vine-like designs lining her collar. Similar designs stretched across the fabric. Carefully tended braids of wiry-black hair fell onto her shoulders. She looked fair and even soft, but Ian knew not to underestimate her.
She was usually calm to the point of having a cool personality, and rarely judged or bombarded him with orders. But the child was well-aware she could change in a heartbeat to owning a fierce, even deadly personality. It wasn't like she screeched and roared, but more like she chose a deadly tone that sent shiver's up one's spine. She was stern, too, expecting her words to be followed.
Ian supposed she had an explanation for her split personality. Her former husband was Xytan 'Jar Wattinree, the Imperial Admiral of the Covenant. Apparently that was the highest of Sangheili ranks. And Ian heard pretty impressive stories about him, too. Unfortunately Xytan had been killed at the beginning of the Great Schism, leaving his wife as a widow. So Ian was left to assume that may have affected her, but he saw it more likely if you married someone of such command, you were pretty commanding yourself.
The human was flattered that someone so special had volunteered to overlook him, especially when it was rare for a child to have a maternal figure. Usually Sangheili children were sent to a relative, most of the times an uncle, to be raised. The uncle would care for them until they either joined the military or some other prominent role in society. Basically this system was used to make sure children weren't raised by demented parents.
"Just make sure you don't get yourself into trouble," the female warned him.
"Yes, Suen," Ian replied obediently.
There is my first chapter of Gladiator! For those old or new, I added a recap for you. I also made sure to explain some of the Sangheili's society, even though I probably won't make much reference to it. Honestly I feel like this chapter wasn't the best, which is disappointing since it's the first one, but the chapters get better later on. I'm honestly more pleased with this story than its predecessor.
If my description was too poor and you want a better visual of the Sangheili (Elite) homeworld, I suggest watching the Halo clip "The Duel," which is based on Sanghelios.
Thanks for reading! I already have multiple chapters written and more on the way, so I'll try to keep this updated. However, I'm currently working on two other projects. Yeah, don't know if that was the best idea, but I didn't want to wait any longer for this fanfic.