Chapter 7
John ran back to the castle as fast as he could. He shivered at the though of someone messing around with his weapons and accidentely killing themselves or someone else. He arrived at the castle and ran up the stairs to his room and nearly broke the door down. He frantically tore apart his bed until he heard a clinging sound. He let out the breath he had been holding as he put it around his neck.
"I better check just in case." John said as he walked over to his trunk. He placed the key in the lock as the lid popped open. He opened the lid and began taking a tally of all his equipment.
"Energy sword, chestplate, undersuit, backplate,-" John said as he marked it down. He looked up to see his entire armor and weapons were squared away. All except-
"My helmet!" He cried as he frantically began searching for his helmet. He rechecked his tally three times as he tore apart the bed and drawers but could not find it.
"Shit this is bad!" He said as he ran out the door and started searching every room. Elsa sat in her study signing away on trade agreements as a light rain started to pick up outside. The light pitter patter of the rain was interrupted by a familiar knock.
"Elsa are you in there?" Elsa heard her sister ask.
"Yes come in." Elsa said happy she could take a break from all this paperwork.
"Could you come out here, I need your help." Anna said. Elsa got up and walked over to the door wondering what her sister could possibly need help with. Elsa opened the door to see a sweaty red Anna out of breath.
"Anna? Are you okay?" Elsa asked concerned.
"I'm fine. I just need help lifting this thing, I carried it all the way from across the castle and I just can't lift it any longer." Anna said as Elsa looked down to see a familiar looking helmet.
"ANNA!" Elsa cried. "Where did you get that? That is John's helmet!"
"Well I sorta went into his room while he wasn't there..." Anna said mustering the biggest puppy dog face she could while Elsa stood there with a scowl on her face.
"Anna this isn't ours! He would be very upset if he saw this! Take it back now!" Elsa yelled.
"Oh come on Elsa! This is chance to learn more about him! I know it was wrong to break into his room like that but maybe if we knew more about him we could help him come out of his shell! You of all people should know its not healthy to lock down your emotions!" Anna blurted. Elsa stood there shocked. She had to admit she was dying to find out more about this mystery man. Besides what harm could come from looking at a helmet? There was probably nothing there anyway.
"Plus I did haul it all the way over here." Anna pleaded as her arms screamed in pain from overuse.
"Okay lets bring it in here." Elsa said as she grabbed one end while Anna grabbed the other. "But we bring it back as soon as we are done got it?"
"Yes your highness." Anna teased as the two sisters lifted the helmet. Elsa let out a squeal, Anna was not very strong but Elsa was even weaker. Anna atleast got outside and ran around and climbed trees but Elsa had never left her room resulting in extremely low strength. The two sisters groaned in pain as they hauled the heavy helmet across the room and laid it down. Elsa waved her forearms around in order to relieve the burning pain she felt.
"AH ow ow ow!" Anna cried as her muscles began to recover. They were gonna be sore tomorrow that's for sure. After the two sisters let the pain die down they walked over to the helmet and examined it looking for any sort of personal item that belonged to John.
"BLEH!" Anna cried smelling the inside. "This thing reeks!" Elsa had to admit the heavy smell of sweat and odor in the helmet did not smell pleasant at all. She almost threw up from the atrocious stench. Elsa and Anna both held their breath and tried to only breath out their mouths as they continued their search.
"You see anything?" Anna asked getting frustrated.
"No I guess there was nothi-Wait." Elsa said finding a small switch on the inside of the golden visor. "There is a little switch here but I am not sure what it will do."
"Press it." Anna said.
"Anna I don't know what it will do! I can't just press it!" Elsa protested as Anna walked over and batted her hand away from the switch.
"You big baby." Anna said flipping the switch. Elsa closed her eyes expecting something bad to happen but saw all that occurred was small light go on inside. The helmet then shot out a beam of light on the nearby wall creating a square of light with text all over it.
"Woah." Anna said intrigued while Elsa backed away cautiously.
UNSC SPARTAN SIERRA-117 BATTLE LOG.
2552-2556
FIRST ENGAGEMENT- UNSC ORBITAL PLATFORM CAIRO
FINAL ENGAGEMENT- ORBIT OVER EARTH IN UNKNOWN FORERUNNER SHIP (I know this wasn't John's first battle but it was the first battle he had in the Mk VI MJOLNIR)
"Forerunner?" Elsa said confused. Anna walked over to the wall where the text was.
"This is so awesome!" She shrieked as she put her hand on the projected screen. She yelped as it suddenly changed and displayed the following text
UNSC SPARTAN SIERRA-117
BATTLE OF NEW MOMBASSA, PLANET EARTH. COVENANT INVASION CONFIRMED:
Anna and Elsa watched as the screen changed and showed a destroyed city on fire with bolts of light in the backgroud. Elsa and Anna were confused but then slowly realized this was from John's perspective.
"This Spartan-117, does anyone copy?" John asked through his radio.
"Master Chief? Is that you!" A man responded over the radio. "Thank God, we are pinned down by Brutes and Hunters and require immediate assistance!"
"Acknowledged, I'm on my way." John said as he started sprinting.
"OH!" Elsa gasped as the video showed hundreds of dead bodies, some human, some were things she had never even seen before. Some of the bodies were in literal pieces with blood and guts spewed across the ground. Anna gagged at seeing the carnage.
"MASTER CHIEF! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" The man screamed as John broke out into an all out sprint. He went over a pile of rubble as six pairs of hunters and twenty five brutes unleashed hell on a squad of pinned down soldiers. John got to work as he pulled out his rocket launcher and took aim. Two rockets fired out as they struck the hunters resulting in an explosion on orange worms and blue armor. John then moved to a new position and reloaded and killed two more hunters. John heard a scream as he turned and saw a Brute biting off the head of a nearby young civilian woman. John charged the Brute and unloaded his rifle into the beast''s head killing it.
"Elsa?" Anna said cringing as she watched the carnage. " Elsa was too distracted to respond.
Is this what he had to endure? And to think I thought I lived in fear. Elsa thought to herself as the footage showed John one on one with a reptilian like creature that had a split jaw. She watched as John repeatedly punched it before driving his knife into the alien's brain.
"I can't watch anymore! Anna turn it off!" Elsa cried.
"I'm trying!" Anna cried as she began pressing the screen hoping to change it. She was relieved to see when the battle footage turned off and the carnage stopped. The two sisters looked to see a new text now being displayed.
UNSC SPARTAN SIERRA 117
FINAL ENGAGEMENT- ORBIT OVER EARTH: UNKNOWN VESSEL- 2556
Elsa and Anna watched as the screen showed a much more calm peaceful video of what appeared to be a room that glowed blue. They watched as John slowly stood up and began calling someone's name.
"Who is Cortana?" Anna asked. Her question was answered when a beautiful woman entered John's view. There was something strange about her. She looked real but she glowed blue and appeared, translucent? Anna and Elsa watched as the two conversed revealing how John had somehow saved Earth from destruction only adding more respect for the mysterious man they knew. Nothing could prepare their hearts for what they heard next.
"I'm not coming with you this time." The woman named Cortana said.
"What?" John cried. The two sister picked up the fear in his voice.
"Most of me is down there. I only held back enough to get you off the ship." Cortana said. Elsa and Anna felt their hearts break as they watched John try hard to keep her alive. John was running through the hallways when his hearing picked up a familiar voice. No it couldnt be! Was she really here?
"Cortana?" He said as he ran to the source of the voice he arrived at a large double door with an eloquent snowflake design
"Welcome home John." Cortana said as she disappeared. The two sisters could not see John's face due to his helmet but could easily detect the pain in his heart. The shield surrounding gave way as he fell into oblivion. The two sisters were unaware it was Earth he was falling onto since space travel was still a hundred years away.
"Oh John." Anna said sadly. Elsa wiped a tear from her eye, what she had gone through was nothing compared to what John had to deal with. She looked at Anna who brought her hand to her face and cried softly.
"Anna?" Elsa said. "We have to bring his helmet back."
"That won't be necessary." A deep very angry voice growled. Elsa and Anna felt their hearts stop as they turned and saw John angrily staring at them.
Planet Earth 2556
"What is going on here? Where is the Master Chief?" An elderly man who had commanded the UNSC fleets through the darkest days of the war angrily asked Captain Thomas Lasky, the CO of the UNSC Infinity.
"He did his job sir." Lasky said. The last he saw of the Chief, he had taken a Longsword to intercept the Didact. That was back on Requim, still Lasky saw the Didact's ship firing on Earth and saw it explode. He knew that was the Chief.
"Our last surviving Spartan." Hood sighed. John, along with all the other Spartan-II's were either MIA or KIA. Original protocal during the war was that no spartan could be listed as KIA in order to keep morale up. It would be devastating for humanity to know that their seemingly indestructible soldiers could be killed after all. After the war ended however, the Spartans who were MIA were released as KIA to the public and a memorial was built in the city of Brussels on Earth. As far as Lord Hood knew, John 117 was the only surviving spartan.
"What about that enemy ship?" Hood asked.
"Destroyed, no traces have been found." Lasky reported. "We lost the AI Cortana as well."
"Damn." Hood said. Chief and Cortana were the deadliest duo in the universe. He knew Cortana's lifespan was up, AI's only had lifespan of several years and it had been four since Chief went missing. "I thought Spartans couldn't die Captain, how I wish that were true. You are dismissed."
"Yes sir!" Lasky said as he exited the room. Hood looked out at the blue earth below him. Such a beautiful planet, he found it hard to believe someone was willing to burn it. Hood sighed as went to his desk and pulled out a bottle of aged whiskey and a sweet williams cigar.
"J-John we-!" Elsa tried to say as John angrily snatched his helmet away from them. Anger visible in his eyes.
"How dare you!" John yelled. "I trusted you!"
"John listen it was my fault! I took it from your chest!" Anna said trying to not get Elsa in trouble.
"QUIET!" John yelled smashing his fist into the wall which left a large hole resulting in a shriek from the sisters. "Do you two realize what you have done?!"
"Joh-" Elsa tried to say.
"That was top secret classified info on my helmet. Weapons designs, combat footage, intel on every known major figure in my timeline. What would have happened if some crazed person saw that huh? Or worse what if they got ahold of MY armor and weapons?" John yelled. The veins in his neck popped out as his head turned red from sheer anger. Elsa and Anna backed into a corner honestly scared to death of this angry man.
"And worst of all!" John said choking up. "You reminded me of HER!" John's voice grew softer as he brought his hands to his head. Years of holding back feelings and PTSD finally came flowing out of him. His grip on the nearby desk was so great he completely snapped off the part he was gripping. Flashbacks of all the most traumatic things in his life came at him at once. His kidnapping, his augmentations, the burning of worlds, the Flood. He shut his eyes tight as he fell back and broke a table that was behind him. He shouldn't be feeling like this! He was a spartan! No, he was human before anything.
"John are you okay?" Elsa asked slowly approaching John who was muttering into his arm.
"Get away from me." He growled angrily as Elsa slowly backed away. Anna felt horrible, if only she had left his stuff alone this wouldn't be happening! John slowly got up and walked away. Elsa looked to Anna who was still sniffling from guilt. The two sisters ran down the stairs to see John grabbing his chest and his few belongings.
"Where are you going?" Elsa asked.
"Somewhere away from here." John said. "I am leaving Arendelle."
"John I'm sorry! I know it was wrong of me to do go through your stuff! I know I did a horrible thing!" Anna pleaded as John made his way to the castle doors while the two sisters frantically followed him.
"I'm at fault as well John, please don't leave." Elsa said. John was the first person aside from Anna she really felt a connection with. Both had some nasty demons in their past and Elsa felt that her and John had a bond from their traumatic pasts.
"Don't worry I did something worse than both of you." John growled as he opened the door to leave the castle.
"What?" Anna asked.
"I trusted you." He said as he slammed the door shut leaving Elsa and Anna standing alone.
"What have I done?" Elsa said falling to her knees. She really felt at peace near John. The man had saved her and her sister and helped her bring back summer.
"Elsa it was my fault! I shouldn't have gone through his stuff!" Anna cried. To say she felt awful would be the understatement of the century. She had hurt both John and Elsa in her actions.
"Maybe its best if he does leave." Elsa said sniffling. "People would eventually recognize him and he said he wanted to remain hidden."
"Your highness is everything alright?" A guard said as he ran over. "I heard yelling."
"Everything is fine." Elsa said standing up not wanting to show how upset she was. "You may return to your post." Outside the castle, John angrily stomped through the town. He carelessly bumped into people and sent them flying to the ground from his immense strength. He felt many emotions, anger, sadness, but worst of all betrayal. He trusted them to not do this, to not bring up his past to him. He wanted to start over here, live his life as John and not Spartan-117. How does it start off? By being reminded of Cortana. Sure he had just given up a good living and life in Arendelle but he refused to be with people he couldn't trust. John eventually made his way to the outskirts of town and was preparing to leave when his hearing picked up something fishy.
"Do you know your way around the castle?" A voice said as the last rays of the sun began to vanish over the horizon.
"Yes, the ice bitch should be asleep soon. Then we will make our move."
"What about the demon? He will be there as well."
"Did you not hear? He has fled these lands, the queen said it herself!" That was all John needed to hear as he slowly crept up to the source of the voices. He looked over a bush and saw two men in hoods talking as a third departed on a horse. John immediately swooped in and slammed his fist on the man to the left and knocked him out instantly. The other man turned and saw his comrade on the ground with blood coming from his head. The other man drew his sword and prepared for an attack.
"Show yourself!" He cried as he began swinging his sword in a panic. John jumped down from the trees and hit the ground with a thud. The bandit looked up and saw the massive man in front of him. The bandit yelled as he swung his sword at John who easily dodged and delivered a bone shattering kick to the mans ribcage sending him ten feet back. He hit the ground clutching his gut and gasping for air. He looked up to see John standing over him. The man tried to get away but John grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air.
"WHERE IS HE GOING?" John asked referring to the man who had left on horseback.
"I won't talk!" The man said as he swung his legs to get out of John's grip. John wound up his fist and slammed it into the man's already broken ribs.
"That's four ribs, you got eight more, then I start getting creative." John threatened. John had interrogated many prisoners over the years, humans, grunts, even an elite and a brute. He had even managed to get the Elite to talk despite the Sanghelian honor code. He had mastered this art over the years and knew exactly how to get someone to talk.
"OKAY OKAY!" The bandit cried. "He's going to the castle to kill the Queen!" That was all John needed to hear as he dropped the man and broke out into an all out sprint back to the castle. His chest severely slowed him down so he stuffed it a small ditch and covered it in logs and leaves and hoped he could remember where he left it.
Elsa sat in her study sipping a cup of tea. Her hair that was usually tied up in a braid now let down and all over the place. She still felt immense guilt from earlier. In her years of isolation, she had grown to crave human contact, especially from a man as she got older. John seemed like her best bet and she blew it.
"Elsa?" Came a familiar voice.
"I'm here." Elsa said sighing as her sister entered the room, her eyes red and puffy from crying.
"How are you holding up?" Anna asked.
"I'm okay I guess." Elsa said.
"Elsa I'm so sorry, this was all my fault. I just wanted to learn more about him, help him come out of his shell." Anna said looking down in shame. Elsa at first was mad at Anna but then remembered she too had gone along with it herself.
"No Anna, I took part in it as well." Elsa said. "I feel bad for John, that woman we saw must have been someone important."
"Do you think he loved her?" Anna asked.
"I can't say, he definately cared for her, that must is obvious." Elsa said sipping her tea.
"Did you see those awful beasts he was fighting? They were terrifying and he just ran up to them like they were ants." Anna said.
"And to think I lived my life in fear, we only saw a glimpse of his life. Who knows what other horrors he has endured." Elsa said. Down below in the castle's main hall, a robed man walked through the halls towards the guards at the staircase.
"Who goes there?" One of the guards asked.
"Oh come now Lief, do you really treat your former CO like that?" The man asked.
"Captain Johann Herfson." One of the guards said shocked as the lowered their arms.
"At ease my lads, I am not your CO anymore." Johann said.
"To what do we owe this pleasure sir?" The other guard asked. He knew of Johann's assault on Elsa and was hesitant to let him through.
"I wish to speak with the Queen." Johann said. "I realize my actions during the great winter were reckless and ruthless. I wish to apologize to her majesty for putting her in harms way. I disgraced myself and the entire royal guard and I wish to make amendments so that I may rest in peace."
"Of course." The guards said. Johann seemed sincere enough and he had been in the guard for nearly twenty years. In fact, up until the incident with Elsa he was a very well respected and well liked man throughout the castle. The guards made way as Johann went up the stairs towards Elsa's studies with a devious smile on his face. He was just outside Elsa's room when he heard voices coming from behind the door.
"Damn shes awake! Maybe I can still get the jump on her. Pretend I'm sorry and then strike, I can also get Princess Anna too but I will have to move fast." He thought to himself as he knocked on the door. He waited as the door opened to reveal both Anna and Elsa sitting there.
"Johann." Anna said surprised to see him. "What are yo-
"Excuse milady, may I speak with Queen Elsa?" He asked. Anna was hesitant but Elsa nodded for Anna to leave. Anna left as she stared down Johann, she did not have a good feeling about this. After Anna left the room, Johann secretly locked the door while he stood in front of the handle.
"I came to apologize my queen." Johann said. "My actions were ruthless, reckless, unforgivable, and unbecoming a royal guard. I understand why you removed me and I do not blame you, I would have done the same. I am just here to make amends, I promised your father I would look after you and I failed."
"Johann, I don't know what to say." Elsa said. "I'm glad you aren't mad." Johann smiled as he approached her pulling a small dagger out from his back pocket.
"HALT!" The guards outside the main gate yelled as a large man bowled over them and knocked them to the ground. John used all his strength and pulled open the main doors where very guard in the courtyard pulled their pistols on him.
"The queen is in danger! Has anyone entered the castle recently?" John asked.
"Yes, our former CO Johann Herfson entered not to long ago. Why should we believe you?" A senior guard asked.
"Ugh I don't have time for this!" John yelled as he bolted through the guards knocking them to the ground. The guards fired their pistols but John was already in the building and moving up the stairs. Johann took a seat next to Elsa and ran his hand down her back.
"Oh my dear queen I could never be mad at you." Johann said as he readied his dagger. The next few moments appeared to have happened in slow-motion. Johann pulled back and thrust his dagger directly at Elsa. The doors burst open as a large man bolted for Johann. The next thing the former captain knew was a crushing pain around his wrist. He yelped as he was hoisted into the air by John.
"J-john? What are you doing?" Elsa yelled.
"Saving your life." John said as he tightened his grip causing Johann to drop his blade allowing Elsa to see his true intentions. Elsa gasped as she saw the knife on the ground.
"Damn you." Johann said as he looked into John's eyes. Something familiar, the speed, the strength, the fury...
"Demon." Johann said with realization. John narrowed his eyes as he flung Johann across the room onto a table which shattered underneath Johann's weight. John then picked him up by the arms and legs and held him over his head and prepared to slam his back on his knee.
"JOHN STOP!" Elsa cried. John turned to see a terrified Elsa sitting on the ground with her hands covering her mouth out of shock. "Please don't kill him!"
"I'm not gonna kill him." John said much to Johann's relief. John put Johann down and proceeded to grab his arm from behind and pull resulting in a loud popping sound. "I'm just gonna hurt him."
"AHHHHH!" Johann screamed as his arm was completely torn from the socket. He fell down in pain as multiple guards entered the room.
"Your highness!" A senior guard called. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay." Elsa said as multiple guards surrounded John who merely grinned at their attempt.
"Wait stop! He saved me! Johann tried to kill me." Elsa said. The guards looked at each other refusing to believe what they heard. Their former leader tried to murder their queen?
"Shame on you." The senior guard said. "You are an embarrasment to the entire kingdom. Lock him up!"
"He's the demon!" Johann cried. "The man in green armor, the master chief!"
"What is he talking about?" John asked hoping the guards wouldn't catch on. "I haven't heard of any green armor and what is a master chief?"
"Son I think you took quite a blow to the head, the master chief is gone." The senior guard said as Johann looked on with anger and hatred as he was dragged away.
"Damn you all! Together they are unstoppable! We must destroy them!"
"ELSA!" Anna cried as she entered the room to hug Elsa. "I was so worried! What happened?"
"It was Johann, Anna, he tried to kill me. John saved me at the last minute." Elsa said looking gratefully to John, her guardian angel.
"John I hope you will reconsider leaving I-" Elsa began to say.
"We will discuss it in the morning. I have to go find my armor." John said as he left as quickly as he arrived leaving the two sisters to themselves.
