A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up - I just kind of took a break and decided to update the AO3 version and also the current chapters with the more nicer and better versions.
If you're into Warhammer and want a crossover with Destiny, you should definitely read this cool new fic (the Fateless) a really cool person made. It's by swimmingcop and they're a swell writer go read their fic, it just started so you have plenty of time to catch up.
Anyways, as for other news, I'll be going on vacation to Oregon soon oh god. Also, I'm pretty okay with school and everything, exams are coming up soon so I'm just *starts screaming as they hit the keyboard*
"No weapons." Ephesians was adamant, managing to fix a withering glare on to the Spartan.
"What." The 'why the fuck does Ephesians have them then' went unspoken and it rang silently in the air as John stared blankly at the pair of Guardians that stood in front of him. Callixtus tilted his head slightly before he stepped forward,
"Our weapons are tailored to us and we are still tied to the living world. Ephesians is...in all senses, dead. They have no Ghost to revive them, their Light exists somewhere in the world but it does not form their being, as such, it is rendered useless and he - dead. Therefore, they are able to access the weapons they died with. If we were to use our weapons against the Vex in here, it would pass through them."
"That's ridiculous. Even for the both of you." John bristled slightly when this was met with a mere shrug.
"Law of the Universe!" Ephesians piped up eventually as the trio of soldiers continued walking through the Vault of Glass - it's what the two called it apparently, a memory of a fixed point in time although Callixtus had explained that it was quite possibly more complicated than that. John refused the details. "If it doesn't belong then it won't work! Everything's got a place! It's the gist of the Law, anyways, I won't get into any of the technicalities, but if you stay in here long enough, the Laws'll come to you."
Silence brushed over them gently while the three of them walked through an empty labyrinth, shoulder-to-shoulder, and keeping an ear out for any enemies that could ambush them at any moment.
Ephesians had explained them as an elite hivemind of artificial intelligences called the Vex; they were creatures "so evil that they despised other evil" according to Callixtus's own explanation.
"But could we destroy them?" John asked to fill the uncomfortable silence around them; it wasn't really silent, something chimed off in the distance but it was eerie enough to make everyone go on edge.
"With combined effort, yeah, you could. Goblins and Harpies aren't that difficult to take down. Hobgoblins can be a pain in the ass if you let them enter their defensive mode first but other than that, they're pretty easy to kill. You really have to watch out for the Minotaurs, they teleport every three seconds and have one hell of a swing." Ephesians had taken out a yellow rifle and was waving it around precariously as they explained the potential enemies the trio could face.
"Considering they are products of Atheon," Callixtus began softly. Unlike in the actual world, in here, his voice was a low thrum: gentle, smooth, and almost melodic and hypnotizing, the type that counteracted the unnerving melody that surrounded them, giving his partners some comfort as they walked, "they will probably be Precursors. Slightly harder to harm."
Exiting the labyrinth, the group of super-soldiers came across a clearing where the platforms dipped low into the white abyss and the distorted music began getting louder. Passing underneath and into an alcove, the music sang on a sharp tone in one particular spot in front of a bronze pillar and Callixtus glared at it pointedly before briskly walking away from it, relic pulsing in response to the music gently until it was a decent distance away from whatever was there. John gave Ephesians a questioning look but only received a small gesture that the Spartan read as,
Don't question it. Not yet.
A small hill ascended above the area at the end of the platforms, a simple dirt path occasionally obstructed by stone and metal. Following the path, the distorted music and the murky teal tint began to lift - a light sparked in the distance, signalling the end of the Vault that they had been wandering around in.
"Huh," Ephesians uttered when they exited out of a large maw of a cave and into a dense forest and John's vision went from teal to gold. Several structures arched through the trees and at the foremost, tallest structure sat a small light on top of a gold bell. "I don't remember this being here. It usually leads out to the Pantheon, sometimes the Shores or Garden."
"His neural network has awakened," Callixtus supplied, gesturing to John. "This is a memory of his. I do not recognize this area myself."
Of course the Spartan remembered this place.
It was the playground that he and his other Spartan siblings were introduced to when they were initially brought into the program. Looking over his shoulder, he half expected to see the base in the distance but instead, the gaping entrance to the Vault glowered back at him, the teal light winking deep in the cave. Gazing back to the playground, he noticed that the platforms and ropes and ladders and everything in between blurred and shifted, changing into the multitude of forms that John remembered. Every time the Spartans went to the playground, the instructors had changed the layout leading to the bell which always stayed in the same place. Many combinations existed and now he was watching all of them shift before his eyes.
"I bet twenty glimmer that's her at the top of the bell," Ephesians remarked, pointing to the distorted cerulean glow glitching above the golden bell.
"I have already lost five hundred to Ghost, please do not do this to me," Callixtus groaned, a small handful of glowing blue units appearing in his hands momentarily before disappearing.
"That's because everyone chooses the winning side before you even know what's going on and besides, you're one of the richest Guardians of all time. You never buy anything for yourself." The Titan chuffed softly at the explanation, not bothering to retort before turning to John.
"It would be best if you retrieved Cortana, her matrix is tailored to your neural network. This will guarantee that you will come back alive. Also, you can navigate this...playground a whole lot easier than us probably." The Spartan looked over at the shifting equipment before giving a slight shrug - more than likely, even if they were constantly changing, there was a pattern he could find and use, all the different variations of the playground were ingrained in his mind.
"Could it hold the weight?" John asked, seeing as that was his only concern. The equipment, as he recalled, was flimsy - scrap metal and wood and rope, pretty much what was left of some long past construction project.
"If you think it can, it will," Callixtus replied wholeheartedly, giving the Spartan a gentle pat on the shoulder.
With that in his mindset, John started forward, climbing up a rope ladder that seemed to enlarge to allow his frame to actually climb the thing. Jogging across a metal bridge that changed into a single line of rope, he looked down to see Callixtus and Ephesians following along from below, looking around the area to make sure nothing came against them.
Looking up, John set his sights on the glitch above the bell although now that he was closer, he quietly swore that the glitching matrix was surrounding something rather than being an actual glitch. Having his gaze fixed on the glitch, he nearly fell when the platform changed into a swinging rope which he quickly grabbed and swung across and landed on the next platform which quickly transformed into metal that warped underneath the weight of the suit and man, his train of thought momentarily disturbed.
"Careful!" Ephesians called, receiving a withering look from Callixtus and a blank stare from John before the Spartan continued on.
Ascending a tilted rope that quickly turned into a horizontal ladder, John kept his eyes on the glitching matrix, holding on tightly to the ever-changing rope and wooden ladder, the wood splintering beneath his grip whenever it changed. Eventually, he managed to reach the platform below the golden bell, scaling the pole and reaching for the matrix.
Slowly, the glitching matrix shifted, glow dying down to a soft pulse as the pixels and distortion slowly slid apart, revealing a deep blue mandrake flower.
"You found me," Cortana sighed, her voice coming from the flower itself as John cradled it gently in his hands. Almost immediately, the area was swarmed with loud, irate, distorted music and loud, whining whirrs.
"Get down here!" Callixtus barked as dark clouds settled over the forest and the playground, lightning crackling from within. "The Vex are here! And they brought Oracles! They want Cortana!"
The Spartan quickly complied, making his way down the changing platforms just as platoons of synthetics appeared, immediately turning and beginning to fire red bolts at the three soldiers - John barreled through a large group, launching off the edge of a platform and landing on the ground in a smooth roll between Callixtus and Ephesians. They turned on their heels and bolted towards the entrance of the Vault, dodging and plowing through the synthetics.
Ephesians turned, throwing a fiery grenade into a large crowd before raising the yellow rifle and providing covering fire with the flaming weapon. Ahead of John, Callixtus brought up the relic on his arm, charging up the power just as the music became fixed on one point and burst out into bright, gold-green light. The Light from the relic burst forth just as it appeared intoning one loud note and it obliterated the gold-green light, making it burst into small shards before it shrank back in itself and disappeared completely.
"You see one, you punch the hell out of it!" Callixtus explained over the din of battle. "Do not let those things sing!"
"Understood," John stated, bringing the mandrake flower closer to his chest with one hand as he reached out and swatted one of the Vex aside when it attempted to grab him.
"Watch it, there's Hobgoblins!" Ephesians warned and Callixtus turned sharply, bringing his relic arm around John's head in time to reflect a thin bolt.
"Damn shield is not charging fast enough," Callixtus muttered, helmet nearly knocking into John's own as he looked down at the shorter man before he pulled back and began leading the way into the Vault. "Ephesians?"
"You get that AI flower out of the Other side and things should settle down - they always react violently when you guys pick 'em and don't leave. They get the flower, they can tear the entire place down across the whole timeline and that means permanent death!" Ephesians responded over a comm. link as a loud explosion signalled more grenades being thrown. "I can stop most of them but those Oracles spawn where they want - I can't do anything about them if they appear past me since they don't travel like the other Vex! Get to the Templar's Well, the tangible Vex usually stop their assault there and we can concentrate on the Oracles!"
The Warlock turned back to the fight in the forest just as John and Callixtus descended back into the Vault, Callixtus taking out any wandering Vex that attempted to block their path as the teal vision overtook the gold light once more and settled them into a murky atmosphere - it felt like being underwater. As the pair descended the hill, deeper into the Vault, and into the middle of the Templar's Well, Callixtus began to around anxiously, apparently distressed that the Oracles had stopped singing in the small area.
"Oracles are best fought in groups," the Titan said eventually, not bothering to look over at John who had been shooting him an inquisitive gaze. "They are just as bad as Gorgons - you can avoid Gorgons and their gaze but you cannot avoid an Oracle once it has made its presence known though you can avoid their mark by purifying yourself with this. If the shield is in working order by then." He gestured to the relic on his arm which pulsed softly in the teal light.
"Thank Kabr for that thing!" Ephesians' voice echoed down to the pair as they descended the hill leading to the Templar's Well. "Area's clear up there - haven't seen an Oracle. Maybe they ran off?" Callixtus radiated an air of skepticality at this comment, giving a pointed look towards his friend who merely shrugged.
"Doubtful but we should take advantage of it and get the flower to the Conflux. Closer we are to the source of the arrival, the better the chances of him getting out," Callixtus eventually replied after a moment of thoughtful and tense silence. "I will see that John leaves and then I will go and find my Ghost. We linger any longer here, I fear not only the Vex will manage to get us."
And just like that, John was slammed with the remembrance that this was - in fact - elsewhere and he was technically not in his body anymore. Last he recalled, his body was probably just laying in the middle of an infested High Charity; having this thought come across his mind in a sudden flurry, the Spartan began to feel a bit uneasy until a hidden wind picked up and Cortana's flower brushed against his arm.
Looking down, he gazed at the small blue plant - purple veins interrupted the smooth petals, pulsing a soft cerulean color and somewhere deep inside him, he thought he could hear Cortana humming. She was there, this was real, and he needed to get her out.
"Let's get going then - we don't need to motivate the Vex any further," Ephesians remarked lightly as they led the way back to the Conflux. The trio proceeded through the stone tunnel, past the two empty gates, and stopped where the glass and metal met near the back of the Vault; the Conflux waited patiently, humming softly at their presence when they neared it.
"The Conflux should give you and Cortana the necessary power to reawaken - after that, let us hope that you will not show up here again," Callixtus explained calmly, circling the pillar.
The Spartan approached the Conflux, standing close enough that he didn't have to lift his arm all the way to actually touch it. Almost immediately, the mandrake reacted to the presence of the Conflux, Light swirling around the delicate flower before it began to dance around the Spartan. It was a slightly slow process but it would lead him out nonetheless.
As soon as the Light began to engulf the Spartan, a loud drone sounded throughout the area - Callixtus made his way to the front of the Conflux as Ephesians began descending the stairs, bright weapon in hand as they were suddenly wreathed in flames, wings forming, stretching out magnificently.
In the distance, at the entrance of the labyrinth, John watched in awe and slight horror as a large, white-and-silver Vex began making its way through, surrounded by Harpies and smaller versions of itself. Oracles began singing as Ephesians engaged with the smaller Vex in the limited battlefield while Callixtus positioned himself protectively in front of the Spartan, swinging his relic in front of his body.
The large Vex paused at the edge of the platform it stood on and pointed at the Titan, a low rumbling emanating from it. Callixtus growled back before the relic landed firmly to the side, his next words being ominous and chilling as he bellowed,
"I have the Aegis and I am the Conflux - you cannot win, Atheon! You will forever be lost in the dark corners of space and time!"
The large Vex, Atheon, let out a mechanical roar just as an Oracle intoned its presence and John made a move to help but was pushed back by Callixtus.
"Go! We will hold out here until you get out - if you do not see me resurrect after you gain Cortana, just leave me!"
Turning back to the mandrake, the Spartan silently prompted her to move faster - he felt doubt, pain, and fear radiating from it, as if the flower didn't want to leave, to turn back into Cortana.
"You know me," he murmured as the sounds of battle behind him steadily grew more aggressive, "when I make a promise-"
He blinked.
That's all he could do for the moment before the Light cleared from his eyes and they adjusted to the sudden darkness that surrounded him - he found himself staring at the ground, body having gone lax and collapsed when he left.
"You keep it," Cortana's voice sounded softly from above, prompting the Spartan to climb to his knees, leaning against the cortex, glancing at the small hologram that was his friend. "I do know how to pick 'em."
"I remember-" she began, getting to her feet, "I remember, hiding in your memories and then- I saw you - and two others. I knew who one of them was. You called him a friend." She looked around the Spartan, eyes widening momentarily at the corpse of Callixtus. "Oh, no. I didn't...oh god."
"Callixtus will be fine, just...give him a moment, it happens a lot," John stated quietly, hoping to whatever still listened that the man would make it out of whatever hell started up in the Other side - wherever it was.
"Do you still have it?" The Spartan asked, tearing the AI's gaze away from the cold corpse of his friend.
With a small smile, Cortana held out a hand, the small T-shaped key appearing momentarily as she remarked in her growing confidence,
"The activation Index from the first Halo ring. Of course."
A low rumble stopped their pleasing reunion quite short, causing the two to look around before the Spartan reached out to accept the AI back into the data chip he had carried constantly. Another, more violent rumble coursed through the space city followed by a faint roar.
"Whatever that was, it was definitely not the Gravemind," Cortana remarked before interacting with the facing module in the suit, transferring herself from High Charity's systems and back into the MJOLNIR armor.
As the roar climbed through the city, Callixtus's body was engulfed with Light once more, bringing him to his feet and back to life as the relic shimmered in response to the revival. The Titan landed in a neat and low crouch, looking around before his gaze landed on John.
"Make haste," he rumbled, picking up his fallen weapon before standing. "Oryx and Atheon rise."
"I leave you alone for a week-" Cortana sighed in amusement, trying to elevate the mood as the two backtracked their way through the city system. "Be careful, Chief, there's two of us in here now, remember?"
The pistons and reactors that controlled the city seemed to have been repaired, destroying all attempts and thoughts at obliterating the city once and for all - they were covered in a hard chitin and coursed with dark energy. Any attempts at destroying them went unsuccessful, leaving the two to simply run as the roaring and rumbling became almost earth-shattering in response to their tries.
Traversing through the city, they watched as the Flood fled, outright ignoring the two soldiers that plowed through them - they weren't trying to attack them, they were running from something - running out of fear, it seemed. The farther they got from the center of High Charity, the more it became obvious as to why the Flood lost control of the dead city.
The Hive had almost completely taken over - their Gothic structures were more apparent now, Thralls gave chase to the fleeing Flood and Wizards and Knights and Acolytes darted about, seeming to eradicate any and all traces of the Flood existing in the extravagant city, leaving their marks as they began building upon what was left, repairing what systems could be used to their advantage. Though as they reached the outskirts of the city, where they could see small patches of sunlight and the newest Halo, the Hive became scarce and the area was more occupied by the Flood. Not only that, but the rumbling and roaring seemed to recede as if whatever was there was stuck in the center of the city, waiting to be released.
"Chief? You there? I'm with the Arbiter," The comms. suddenly came to life, Johnson's voice ringing through. "You find Cortana and meet us outside near the downed Pelican! Got transport waiting plus some of those freaks your BFG seems so friendly with."
Though the Flood seemed to dominate the area, some of the Hive appeared to be arriving in droves, slowly driving back the infestation with their own. For a good part of traveling to the edge of High Charity, the two soldiers were ignored, only attacked by smaller spores and overzealous Thralls though the latter tended to be more dangerous when they attacked in packs.
By the time they reached the mentioned Pelican, the area was primarily run by the Flood - at this point, it was practically a relief to be attacked by them, especially to John. Should the Hive have never attacked or come into existence, John wouldn't have thought such a thing - he'd have probably actually thought that the Flood was evil in all its grandiose. How wrong he was when the Hive and Vex appeared; to think that Callixtus face these enemies on a daily basis, defended Earth and the remaining colonies just as normally as John defended Earth and Her colonies from the Covenant, to fight them and live underneath them in fear but also remain strong and hopeful-
Even that was a bit of a stretch.
Indeed, the Flood was a relief compared to the Hive. John would willingly face the Gravemind and its mindless spawn any day.
"Well, it's about damn time," Johnson remarked as the two approached the downed Pelican. "The Arbiter was about to drag your asses back over here, dead or alive. We've got evac on the perimeter waitin' for pick-up. We'll be headin' straight for Halo."
"My Guardian and I will be in the Aspect - we'll be right behind you," Ghost chirped from Callixtus's armor before the Guardian slowed to a halt in front of the others. After several seconds, he disappeared in a flash of blue and white, the small ship hovering nearby as a Pelican made its descent.
"Everyone else should pull out of range in case of a misfire," Cortana explained as they boarded. "It might not cause galactic-wide destruction but the explosion will still be devastating, at least several light years."
"Roger that," Keyes replied, crewmen in the background already give orders for the Dawn as the Spartan took control of the Pelican, Cortana appearing on the holotank next to it. "It's nice to have you back, Cortana." A ghost of a smile drifted over Cortana's lips before she looked out the cockpit window and at the looming ring before them.
"We'll place you down as close as we can to the control room then circle back around and meet up with you and your BFG guy as soon as you clear the area into the control room," Johnson explained, John nodding in acknowledgement as they began a descent into the snowy terrain. Though the design was different from 343 Guilty Spark's original installation, the atmosphere remained - mysterious and almost mournful and as eerie as ever. The nearby star was blocked by the artificial clouds that continued to drop heavy snow on them and left them little to go by except for the glow of the snow and the flashlights on their helmets and headlights on the Pelican.
John watched as the Aspect began its own, rather quick descent, swooping low - nearly touching the ground - and dropping off Callixtus in the usual flash of blue and white before turning vertically to fit between the gap in the cliff and disappearing out of orbit, no doubt to loop back with the Dawn and rest of the fleet.
The Spartan followed after him, taking a moment to watch as the Pelican ascended, leaving him in the tundra with the Titan who waited patiently and expectantly. Callixtus had taken to choosing a new arsenal once more, armed with a gold-and-black pistol that looked bigger than average, a brown sniper rifle with an oddly shaped barrel was magnetized to his back along with a blue-purple rocket launcher accented with orange and white.
"What weapons don't you have?" Cortana questioned as the pair traipsed through the chasm, a waypoint indicating the location of the control room being highlighted on the Spartan's HUD. The Guardian seemed to have contemplated the question for a moment before replying simply,
"Non-linears."
There was a nonchalant shrug and the Guardian continued forward, acting like the question was never asked, leading the Spartan into a clearing at the base of the tower that led to the control room. This tower was much smaller than the one the Spartan recalled encountering on the first Halo, probably hurried architecture to get the ring into place faster though it had a much more elegant design to it as well, made to compliment the snowy terrain around it.
Making their way across the clearing, loud shrieking filled the area - metal on metal - and a small, sickly green slipspace rupture appeared, a ship going through it - looking reminiscently like an upside-down tomb - before it disappeared. The ship itself ran a green light on the ground before waves of Acolytes and Knights appeared with some Thralls and one Wizard.
The Knights and the Wizard looked slightly different from what he had seen - the Knights were bigger, heavily armored, colored a brighter red, and wielded a dangerously large blade, one bigger than the sword John had seen back on the Ark. The Wizard wasn't so much better than its companions - large horns covered the eyes and curved around the head with a raised collar of spikes though it looked like the eyes glowed through the horns, the robes, looking longer, it seemed, had symbols that glowed softly and flared out slightly as it moved around, hissing quietly.
More of the ships arrived with the signature shrieking, dropping off similar squads of Hive around the area - the Acolytes seemed to stay near the Knights, who, in turn, stayed near the Wizards, but the Thralls seemed to have taken to running around, eventually gathering into one giant deadly pack, some Thralls with teal, glowing heads wandering around the perimeter of the group.
"They came from High Charity," Cortana explained quietly. "I always thought that we'd fight the Flood or maybe...something Spark throws at us but these things just obliterated the Flood. The Gravemind's gone. There's something else."
A low, chilling laugh reverberated through the area as if the presence on High Charity had heard the AI - the laugh prompted the Hive to start shrieking, chittering, high-pitched laughter emitting from the Wizards as the Knights called the Acolytes, pointing at the two soldiers who raised their weapons, ready for the assault.
"I've detected an anomaly on several of them, marking them now," Cortana announced, highlighting orbs being held by all the Wizards as the soldiers engaged them. "Recognize those, Ghost? They're letting off some kind of unusual energy signature, nothing really matches them."
"Motes of Light?" The Ghost sounded confused, ignoring the explosion of the teal Thralls. "They're special currency used to trade for exotic engrams, marks, and equipment - they're practically useless unless..."
It's me? Ephesians's voice came quite suddenly and nearly startled the Spartan as the voice was in his mind rather than in his helmet's comm. links; he recovered by doing some rendition of shoulder-charging into one of the Knights, wrestling with it for the sword. I mean, I'm still here and, well, I kind of got sucked into that vortex with Cal. I never found my Ghost but no one forgot me either so-
"They stole their Light," Ghost finished just as John wretched the sword free from the Knight's grasp, slicing its head off crudely. Energy resonated from the sword - dark and powerful as the Spartan charged through the Hive, the sword effortlessly slicing through them, vibrating with each swing.
If they have my Light, maybe my body is nearby, too! If not, then that sucks, just keep them together until I get a new one, I guess.
"It looks like those 'Motes' of Light are powering up those things," Cortana observed. "Which, in turn, is strengthening the others around it. Well! Just use your usual greeting, Chief, those always work best!"
"Closer." The voice was deep and carried a sense of evil and morbid amusement, echoing softly and curling up into a low growl as the battle carried on. The ground beneath them rumbled in response to the voice but the ground had yet to split apart.
"What was that?" Cortana asked as John sliced a Wizard in half horizontally, picking up a Mote just as the creature faded into ash and embers. As soon as he dropped the sword, however, it disappeared, melting into the ground with a quiet scream.
"Oryx," Callixtus answered quietly as he slammed into the ground, creating a small shockwave with the relic, barely audible even through the comms., "and Crota."
They had grabbed seventeen Motes of Light in total, John handing off several of them to Callixtus who stored them away wherever Guardians put their excess items. He never really did figure out how that system worked. The neural network confused him enough as it was.
The pair continuously fought the Hive as they ascended to the first and second levels of the tower leading to the control room; they mainly encountered Acolytes and Thralls, occasionally backed up by the unusual looking Wizards or Knights - Ghost had explained them as Hive Majors, usually called the Hallowed, the best that the Hive had to offer other than identified commanders and generals. It seemed that the Hive was based on some kind of militarism.
By the time they reached the third level, the situation had drastically changed. The Vex had arrived. Or rather, they'd been there for quite a while - many of them were covered in ice and frost though they functioned normally as they managed to wipe out the Hive that were attempting to get inside.
The Vex looked like the same ones John had seen in the Other side - a pristine white and intricately decorated, a large arc adorned the top of most Goblins, indicating their alliance with the one called Atheon.
Though the Vex seemed to be defending the control room well enough from the Hive, they didn't necessarily stand a chance against two super soldiers, especially since one of them had their weakness fused to his arm.
As soon as the Hive was cleared, Callixtus launched into the air before flying down and slamming into a cluster of Vex, their parts flying everywhere. Just as they were destroyed, Harpies appeared out of the dark mist that arrived suddenly, twirling around for a moment before spreading their three 'wings', the bolts flying at them relatively quickly causing them to take cover behind some debris the Hive had dropped.
Callixtus activated a violet device before popping out of covering and throwing it at a Goblin closest to the Harpies - the device stuck to it and proceeded to explode, twice, at timed intervals, taking out the majority of the group on the platform.
Looking at the bodies, John realized that they had practically disappeared save for some limbs that looked like they were neatly severed by a blade - there wasn't a single sign that the rest of the parts even existed. The fact that the grenade exploded twice was enough to catch John's interest, he'd never seen a grenade like that, even in Covenant technology - if the UNSC got a hold of the Aspect, they'd have a field day with those weapons stored there.
When they reached the fourth and final level, John got a sight of a completely new type of Vex - it levitated several feet off the ground, looked like it was the head of some kind of cobra, and had a rotating shield around it. One, giant, red eye glared from it with turrets on either side of it - it stood its ground in front of the entrance, surrounded by what was identified as four Praetorians, some type of tougher Minotaur. Hobgoblins were scattered about, surrounded by Goblins and Harpies.
"Temporal distortion," Ghost announced suddenly before the pair could advance. "They've sealed the control room with a temporal distortion - just like what they did to the Vault of Glass. You'll have to activate that Vex plate underneath the Hydra in order to build the Spire and unlock the distortion. Time is slowed down in there, whatever - whoever - is in there can last for centuries in that place until you unlock it."
"You're well informed," Cortana remarked absentmindedly.
"The Vault of Glass was the last thing we ever saw of our timeline, we lasted days in there because everything inside was immediately put into suspended time." With that said, Callixtus brought out the rocket launcher and waited patiently for the shield to pass over the front of the Hydra creature before sending out rockets in quick succession, reloading at an alarming speed.
A few of the Praetorians took notice of the two a whole lot more quickly than most and began teleporting towards them at an alarming rate before bringing a downward smash in them - John leaped away from the Praetorian that targeted him while Callixtus countered the other with the relic, the device's Light burning at the Praetorian's metal.
Seeing as the auto rifle he currently had wasn't doing much against the violet shields, the Spartan grabbed for Super Good Advice, the AI machine gun who had been quiet the entire time.
"Activating!" Adi chirped, giving an answer to its silence. "Praetorian?! Good thing I'm primarily a Void element! I was almost Solar!"
So that's what the violet substance was - it was nothing. A black hole.
The Praetorian gave a mechanical whine in response to the heavy machine gun's voice, trying to teleport away from the hail of purple bullets that streamed towards it before its shields collapsed. One bullet managed to knock off its 'head' and it began sparking and shuddering - it abruptly turned towards the Spartan and began charging at him, regardless of the fact that it could just shoot him. The Spartan retaliated by jamming the butt of the machine gun into its middle repeatedly before it broke into two parts then repeatedly stomped on it until it stopped moving.
"Elemental weapons, huh?" Cortana murmured. "Think of how powerful our weapons and armor could be if we could do that! I'm a bit perplexed by that AI though - it's cute but why in a gun?"
The Spartan merely gave a shrug before joining Callixtus, seeing that the Titan had already finished off the other Praetorian and the Hydra and was concentrating on the other two while simultaneously dodging the other Vex.
Setting upon the other Vex to lighten up the load Callixtus was dealing with, John pulled out the auto rifle once more, taking down the Goblins and Harpies first since they seemed to be under the command of the tailed Vex snipers.
Taking care of the snipers ended up nearly being one of the most frustrating things John had ever done - every time he shot one of them, they'd crouch and cover themselves with their arms while they momentarily burst into flames, attempting to shoot them while they were in this state proved to be fruitless: they were momentarily invincible like this. However, it was easy to pick them off once they got up, shooting them in the soft, white 'stomach' that was showing in plain view.
The rest of the Vex were dealt with without any real issues and soon the two got inside the plate, deciding it'd be best to stay inside it lest other means called for them to leave it. Slowly, John watched as small pieces of light began forming some type of grid model of a tall tower - shortly after a good portion of it was made, the familiar dark mist began gathering with lightning crackling silent inside long enough for the Vex to appear.
This time, two Hydras appeared on either side of them with sentinels guarding them; this caused Callixtus to curse softly behind the Spartan before leaping over him and pushing to the sides as if trying to shove something away but instead, an orchid bubble formed around them just as large bolts crashed into it. An overshield appeared on John's HUD along with a small set of words in the lower left hand corner.
Armor of Light.
Looking down at himself, he realized that the shield was visible, sage in response to his armor, and looked more like an outline of armor rather than a shield. Stepping out of the violet bubble shield, he easily concentrated on the sentinels, the armor taking most of the hits from the surrounding Vex.
After the sentinels were taken care of, he threw a grenade into the fray of Vex attempting to gather around the shield before assisting in taking down one of the Hydras - stepping back into the shield to protect himself from the bolts concentrated on the pair, the Spartan realized that the armor didn't regenerate though he had a good portion of it left, enough, perhaps, to take down at least one of the Hydras.
Looking over at Callixtus, he saw that the Guardian was planning something as he was crouched low in the shield, brown and orange shield-armor shimmering before he launched out, sprinting over to the most wounded Hydra and picking up two Sentinel Beams. The Hydra raised itself in the air and hit the ground violently, causing a shockwave of power to knock Callixtus forward - the man stumbled, shield-armor cracking but he managed to stay on his feet, recomposing himself and continuing his sprint into the shield.
"Useful," he rumbled, handing one to the Spartan and taking the other, inspecting it momentarily. Getting the idea, John stepped out of the shield along with Callixtus and began firing the laser at the wounded Hydra. It didn't take long for the beams to slice through the turrets before they guided it around the rest of its body, slicing it down and then watching it explode.
The second Hydra put up a decent fight, it began firing at them much faster than it had been before, compensating for the lost partner - momentarily, the pair managed to hide in the shield, occasionally stepping out to attack its exposed front with the beams but when the shield finally dissipated, it turned more into a dodging game.
Apparently, they could leave the Vex Plate so long as a Praetorian didn't get inside it; as such, the pair would quickly run around the area, each going the opposite way so they were smaller targets and meet back at the plate in time to prevent the Praetorian from taking over the Vex Plate. At one point, a Praetorian almost ruined their progress and nearly stepping inside when John burst into a dead sprint and tackled the Vex machine, using it as a shield against the Hydra which had turned to shoot its bolts at him.
Meanwhile, Callixtus used the last of his Sentinel Beam on the Hydra before using the last of his rocket launcher on it, watching as it exploded before turning back to the Vex Plate, making sure it was still under their control. John simply tossed aside what was left of the mangled Praetorian and joined his friend.
A gust of wind blew around them momentarily before the grid model shimmered and turned into a stone tower with a turret-like machine at the top. In the corner of his HUD, a small set of words appeared once more,
The Spire has formed.
A thin, blue beam emitted from the tower, hitting the center of the door and making it fall away, the pieces disappearing elsewhere. Before them was a gaping maw of a hallway, highlighted by white and blue lights within the ground.
Before they entered the control room, the Pelican carrying Johnson, who was armed with a Spartan Laser, and the Arbiter, armed with his usual arsenal, finally appeared and descended in front of the Spire, dropping off the two soldiers who looked around at the mess before them with a slight hint of approval.
"Commander Keyes evac'd her crew on to the Mockingbird, left the Dawn here as an escape route for us. Let's hope we get out in one piece," Johnson remarked, lightly kicking the body of a Goblin. "These machines look like tough sons a' bitches."
"That isn't even the half of it, Sergeant Major," Cortana remarked through the helmet's speakers.
"Your enemies are formidable but they hold no honor," the Arbiter spoke up, directing the comment to Callixtus who inclined his head as if curious about the Elite's words before turning and entering the control room.
"Might wanna cool it there, chattermouth," Johnson drawled as the others followed the Guardian inside. The second the Spartan stepped inside, he could tell that the temperature dropped several degrees; the air inside seemed to bypass his armor entirely and covered him with an irritating chill.
The only sound in the hall was the clicking of their boots and the shifting of their gear - every little noise made echoed violently across the walls and down the long hallway. The further they went, the smaller the entrance became until they could no longer see it.
"We're about a mile inside," Cortana eventually announced after a tense several minutes of walking. No one made a comment, the atmosphere of the area was too dark, didn't allow for any type of idle conversation to fill the silence.
After another mile into the control room, doors began to appear - simple doors with simple designs and simple locks. John approached one of the first ones only to reveal that it was empty save for a dead Vex Goblin slumped against the far wall. As it turned out, just about every room was filled with a dead Vex, at least one of each type in at least one of every room.
They reached a locked room, however, another quarter of a mile into the control room - this one had a red lock with a glowing emblem - a skull with scratches on the left, surrounded by a chain with a sword going through the center vertically and two spears in an X behind it. A hexagon outlined the entire symbol which glowed white while the rest glowed blue.
"There's something in there - it doesn't match the signatures I gathered from the others, the Vex, Ghost called them? But something's in there," Cortana explained. "That symbol's a bit off-putting, is it safe to go in there?"
"Raid," Callixtus rumbled ominously as he stepped towards the door, taking out the Motes of Light which had somehow morphed into one giant Mote. "Our raid."
As soon as he approached the door, the lock turned green and the door slid open almost too slow as if going in for a big reveal. The Titan stepped inside and let the door close behind him, the lock turning red once more.
Either it was a few minutes or a few hours, Ghost had explained before that places like this or the Vault of Glass were suspended in time, keeping all its contents from aging as well as preventing time from passing outside. It was confusing and John didn't dwell on the thought, instead, focusing on the symbol on the door until it slid open once more.
Callixtus exited the room with a limp form leaning against him - the ridiculous colors that dressed the armor was familiar to the Spartan and he immediately knew who it was.
"Ephesians?" He couldn't help but voice his surprise, staring at the Exo who weakly looked up, golden optics glimmering faintly before their helmet appeared.
"I really don't wanna know what they were gonna use my body for," the Warlock muttered, head dropping. "Real bodies suck."
"Welcome to the real world, tin can," Johnson snarked as the group continued down the hall.
"Gee, thanks, old Human," Ephesians grumbled.
"You keep strange company, Demon," the Arbiter remarked quietly, casting a glance over at Callixtus and Ephesians before looking over at the Spartan with a curious glance in his eyes, clicking his mandibles together which echoed with the footsteps and the soft whispers.
"They weren't exactly planned but we take our friends where we can get them," John answered just as quietly. Another several minutes passed along with another mile, the doors eventually disappeared and they reached the end of it where a large, plain door awaited them; along the way, Ephesians seemed to have regained most of their Light and strength as they were able to walk without any support and even summoned a small ball of...something. It was like a miniature black hole in the palm of their hand.
The giant door opened painstakingly slow, revealing the control room which was almost a striking replica to the one back on the first Halo - there was no hologram of an installation at the center, only a floating platform of metal and stone with a circular gate sat there. Above them were floating pillars of stone, disappearing and reappearing in different areas of the control room.
"Yank me, Chief," Cortana ordered as soon as they entered the room. The control console was ahead as usual, glistening with its usual multitude of colors. Pulling out the data chip, John stared at it momentarily before Johnson broke the silence,
"I'm not gonna lose her." Cortana was soon passed on to the sergeant.
As Johnson walked to the controls, the Arbiter and John kept watch while Callixtus and Ephesians wandered around, having not really been given orders and necessarily can't be given orders. However, they heard the telltale hum of 343 Guilty Spark and immediately went on high alert although the Arbiter and John still kept an eye on the entrance.
Callixtus and Ephesians prowled around the glass bridge as they watched the small orb talk to Johnson about the completion of the installation, looking ready to pounce the small AI. As soon as the AI stuttered in response to Johnson's retort on not having "a few more days", Callixtus and Ephesians leaped into action.
"Johnson!" Callixtus roared, turning into smaller, white particles, teleporting forward in time to throw up the relic's shield to block Guilty Spark's hardlight laser. Ephesians darted forward when Guilty Spark flew back in surprise, leaping into the air and pulling back their right arm as a black hole seemed to build up before they pushed forward roughly - a violet orb flew at an alarming rate towards the AI, crashing into him before collapsing in on itself and forming a miniature black hole.
At first, Guilty Spark managed to resist it and seemed to be able to pull away but the force of the black hole proved to much and it sucked the orb into it before closing in on itself.
Everyone was stunned into silence until Johnson looked at the two Guardians and bellowed heartily,
"I hope a helmet cam caught that because that's all I'll watch for the next century!"
"We'll get you a copy," Ephesians replied, watching as Johnson let Cortana out of the data chip - the small AI avatar looked over at the others, seeming to savor the moment before smiling gently, touching the console and activating the Index before going back into the data chip.
Johnson handed her off to the Spartan when he approached and they waited for the ring to activate, to make sure that it wouldn't malfunction before leaving.
That's where everything went wrong once more.
The ring activated, a cerulean beam shot up from the depths below, past the rock pillars, and into an opening above but as soon as it activated, the Vex Gate on the platform in the center also activated.
"Oh, no," Ephesians murmured when one limb of a Vex came through. "Please, Traveler, no, no. It can't be- we destroyed him! Callixtus, we destroyed him, why is he here? CALLIXTUS, WHY IS ATHEON HERE? HE'S DEAD! DEAD!"
True to the wailing Exo's words, the Vex Ultra turned out to indeed be Atheon as he stepped through the Gate and into the real world. As soon as he appeared, the others turned tail and ran, not only to escape the Vex but to also escape the failing structure. Except for one.
"Callixtus, please!" Ephesians begged towards the other who simply stood at the console, staring at Atheon who also stared back. "We can't beat him! Not now, we have to go! I'm not leaving until you do!"
At these words, Callixtus turned and pointed languidly at the door, his words carrying over the din of explosions,
"Leave now. Me and him."
"Callixtus!" The Exo Warlock didn't get much say as Callixtus flicked his relic arm and soon, everyone was teleported out of the room and back into the hall, the doors closing.
"We have to leave, now!" John demanded, grabbing Ephesians by the bicep and dragging him through the hallway which seemed to start flooding with the dead Vex they found in the rooms.
Reluctantly, Ephesians turned and ran with them, taking out his yellow rifle and shooting down any of the more dangerous Vex getting in the way.
Going back out wasn't as difficult as going back in due to the fact that everything was in a state of disarray - the installation rumbled as the control room shook when blows were struck, it shuddered when roars were given and powers were used. There were other violent earth-shatters caused by the explosion and John knew that they were on limited time.
Following the waypoint towards the Dawn, the group saw that the artificial architecture had shook itself away, revealing the foundation - luckily there were vehicles left over from an initial assault; John, Johnson and the Arbiter all jumped into a Warthog while Ephesians called down a personal vehicle from Callixtus's ship with their Ghost.
It was slender and had two prongs at the front, decorated a dark grey and green; when Ephesians got on, there were foot rests on either side - they effortlessly kept up with the Warthog, activating some kind of boost system that left a trail of green and yellow energy, nearly putting them ahead of the Warthog.
Behind them, the foundation panels began falling away, revealing the Ark below. As they raced against the destruction, some Hive gave chase to them before being called back to their tombships, going to do God-knows-what. High Charity was still out there.
The Dawn soon came into view, separated by a ramp of foundation panels which prompted Cortana to shout,
"Got it, everyone, go! Floor it, you two, aim right for the hangar!" Though the Warthog couldn't go any faster, Ephesians's vehicle could - they hit some kind of overdrive and bypassed the Warthog in mere seconds before clearing the jump to which the Warthog followed seconds after. As everyone fell out of the Warthog, Ephesians's vehicle ended up blowing up on its own, pieces flying everywhere as they rolled to a stop near the tread of a Scorpion.
The Arbiter and Johnson disappeared to head to the bridge as John put Cortana into the nearest holotank, allowing her to activate the Dawn's systems.
"Hang on, everyone!" She called as the Dawn pulled forward, gravity pulling at Ephesians and John - the Spartan happening to get hit by the tire of a falling Warthog, causing him to fly back several yards. Ephesians watched in distress from their perch on the ceiling, seeming to contemplate whether or not to go after the man but then relaxed when he successfully dodged the falling Scorpion tank and began climbing back to Cortana, getting to his feet just as Halo and the Ark exploded.
Just as it exploded, something strange happened, flashed across John's mind and...he felt like he forgot to get something. Left something behind on the ring. Looking over at Cortana, she looked to be having the same epidemic.
"I hope there wasn't anything important on Halo or the Ark," she remarked. They looked over at Ephesians as if they had the answer to what they missed but they simply had their head bowed, staring down at a datapad, helmet gone despite there being no oxygen.
At this point, John figured he'd learn what it was later and leaned back against the holotank, finally feeling the effects of the last week crash on him.
"We'll make it without it," he said quietly, just wanting to rest. Cortana was quiet for a moment before she stated softly,
"It's been an honor working with you, John." The explosion had reached them and caused everything to turn white.
Ephesians waited patiently for the Spartan to wake up - the Exo had short-circuited momentarily when the explosion of the installations had reached them but it wasn't too devastating. They simply activated their mag-boots and explored for a short moment - they learned that the ship had been cut neatly in half and that they couldn't contact Callixtus's ship, it was too far.
Ghost? The Warlock asked nervously. It wasn't their Ghost, per se, but while they were escaping from the installations and...left their friend behind, Ephesians discovered that Callixtus tailored his Ghost to be Ephesians's.
He knew that he wasn't going to make it.
Yes, Ephesians? The Ghost replied, coming forth in the Exo's mind.
John and Cortana and everyone else here, they won't remember him...won't they?
I'm sorry, Ephesians, but since I'm the only thing left of him to go by, they won't. They aren't tailored to our timeline so they aren't tailored to me. He's never existed for a second in their lives.
So he's not permanently erased then?
I...don't know. He lives on in memory but I highly doubt that it will be like our situation with you. There's no body. There's no Light. Callixtus Folkvar is a memory. I'm sorry.
It's not your fault, I just wish... Ephesians sucked in an unnecessary but shuddering breath. I just wish my best friend was alive. I can't imagine doing anything without him - we did everything together, like best friends should. I'm...I already miss him. And to think that John's missing a friend...a friend he never knew. I-it's...
The Exo didn't get to finish their train of thought when they heard John shift in his armor and then finally ask as he activated his helmet lights, looking around,
"What happened?" Ephesians decided to stay quiet for now, let Cortana talk as they tried to compose themselves. Their mag-boots had them on the ceiling so they remained there quietly as John inspected the severed part of the ship.
When the Spartan turned around, the lights fell on Ephesians, making their optics glimmer in the light.
"There you are," John remarked, floating towards them. "Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine," Ephesians replied easily, deactivating momentarily the mag-boots so they could walk on the ground beside the Spartan. "A bit shaken but I'll be fine, nothing I'm not used to. How're you and Cortana?"
"A pretty similar state," the AI said through the speakers. "We'll live, hopefully." The duo walked along in silence, entering a bay full of tubes - none that could fit a a ten-and-a-half foot tall Exo but the Warlock continued along anyways, stopping behind a holotank when John but his assault rifle, Monte Carlo, and heavy machine gun into a nearby weapons rack.
The tube opened as the Spartan put Cortana into the holotank, the female AI remarking as she popped up,
"I've put out a distress beacon but it'll be a while before anyone finds us. Years maybe." After a moment of silence, she added, "The war's over then."
"It's over," John agreed reluctantly and quietly as he turned back to the holotank, looking first at Cortana and then at Ephesians before climbing into the tube.
"I'll miss you," Cortana called.
"Wake me," John said as the tube closed, leaning back, "when you need me." With that said, frost covered the tube and silence once more reigned over the two artificial creations.
"I'll keep you company," Ephesians remarked quietly, causing Cortana to turn towards them. She gave them a small smile.
"Thank you, Ephesians." She looked over the ship, lights flickering for a moment as she began running diagnostics with what little power remained, making sure to keep everything maintained as well as possible - set a routine, that was something she liked when she was on a ship, it being one half be damned.
Ephesians began inspecting their weapons before taking several laps around the area, taking in all the strange devices that littered the area, picking at stray weapons and fiddling with broken, free floating consoles that drifted towards them.
"So, what's your story?" Cortana eventually asked when Ephesians finished their third lap.
"Excuse me?"
"The way you're dressed, your weapons, just you. No one in this entire galaxy has seen a fully functioning android before - granted we have things like helper bots and dumb AIs and smart AIs, like me, but no one's come close to having a synthetic organic like you."
"Well, there isn't much to tell - there're so many others like me back home, both in terms of species and my abilities. I'm one of the neutral ones, didn't choose a faction and instead worked for my team and the Traveler." Ephesians shrugged at this before carrying on to another lap, their voice echoing dully around the area even though it technically wasn't supposed to.
"We did all the odds and ends, went to fight all the big bad bosses but also did small nitpicking stuff like scouting an area or scanning old devices or gathering supplies. At one point, we worked for a Queen but then Petra never showed up again - the people there were really prideful and didn't want the assistance of Guardians. We competed monthly in the ultimate game, the Iron Banner where we fought Guardians with the best gear we had. We were one of the best but they eventually kicked us out when one of my mates, a Hunter named Sasha, figured out all the little awkward areas no one was supposed to go to and started sniping the opposing team out."
At this, Cortana actually let out a soft chuckle, seemingly enjoying the little talk so the Warlock delved a little more in their adventures as a Guardian with their fireteam; they made it so that they were careful not to mention any names, it was bad enough that they brought up these memories. It ached to be so far away from their friends and...to have lost one without saying goodbye.
"You look like a glowstick," she couldn't help but remark eventually after they finished a story about the one time the other Warlock of the fireteam attempted to play in the Crucible with what was deemed the worst weapon Rahool ever decrypted. "Want to tone it down there a bit, Aquaman?"
"This shader? It's a gem! Blinds so many people if you position yourself right! It's a long story of how I got it but my fireteam and I ended up killing a son of a so-called god as revenge for him killing some of our best Guardians," Ephesians trailed off at the memory, all the cheerfulness suddenly sucked away from them as they recalled those days - despite getting Eris's vengeance and killing Crota, that mission wasn't necessarily in their top favorites of anything whatsoever. It was all blood and claws and nightmares down in the Hellmouth.
At the thought of the Hellmouth and Crota's end, Ephesians shuddered and rubbed their arms on reflex, bowing their head once more as they murmured softly,
"I'd rather not talk about that particular memory to be quite honest. The Hive aren't really my favorite to discuss. And they aren't all that pleasant either as you have witnessed back on that...installation." Another pause before they added,
"I know that this current war is over but with the Hive on the loose, I doubt that it'll be long before everyone enters another one, reparations and population recovery be damned. I sincerely hope all of you can get your act together and work as a team."
"I'm sure at least the Elites will make a peace treaty. As for these Hive, you call them? They took over High Charity and completely obliterated the Flood. I don't know if they managed to escape or not but I hope Johnson and the Arbiter at least gave a warning about them," Cortana agreed quietly. "We'll be needing all the help we can get - you'll help when we get back, won't you? You're the most valuable soldier we've ever had."
But I never did anything, it was all Callixtus. He's the one who helped, he's the most valuable soldier. And it's just like him too, he was so selfless and eager to help. Oh, Traveler's Light, I already miss him so much. I'm so sorry, Callixtus.
"Yeah, of course, I'll be there to help. The Hive have been an enemy of my fireteam and my people in general for centuries. Although I highly doubt anyone will be ordering me around all that much, I'll just be pulling out the 'I'm Cortana and the Spartan's best friend, let me through' card a lot."
With a slight nod in delayed agreement and an inaudible sigh, Ephesians made their way back over to Cortana's holotank, taking out a datapad while they were at it. Activating it revealed a needed password - after entering the nine digit password, it revealed that there was only one file in the entire pad.
Upon entering the file revealed only one picture in the entire thing and upon activating the picture, it revealed an image of Ephesians-44 and Callixtus Folkvar back in the Tower, back before they began getting revenge for Eris Morn. Back before Callixtus lost his wonderful voice.
Ephesians had just gotten the datapad that day the picture was taken, a gift from someone - they don't remember - and Ephesians was adamant about taking pictures of everything. Callixtus was the first person they wanted a picture with and they had dragged him underneath their favorite (and only) tree in the Tower - from there, Ephesians excitedly yelled at an amused Callixtus to smile and brought up the datapad to snap a picture. The Warlock also had a hard copy somewhere on their person because data could be wiped and this was important to them.
Callixtus had been on the verge of laughing so in the picture, he had given a particularly large smile, leaning against Ephesians - his white irises were bright, standing out compared to his black scleras and pupils. Ephesians's golden optics glimmered brightly, even in the photograph, full of mirth and cleverness.
Cortana's sudden movement caused the Exo Warlock to look up from the datapad; she was facing them, a thoughtful look on her face. Eventually, she asked,
"Do you ever feel like you're forgetting something? Or someone?"
Ephesians looked down at the datapad in their hands, taking in the mirth that showed on their dead best friend's face, wishing for all in the world that Callixtus would let them stay with him, that they got to go fight Atheon one last time together and go out in blazing glory, or to, at least, be back in the Tower during the days before Eris Morn gave them those dreadful missions and began damaging the fireteam and took away Callixtus's voice.
They wished for all in the entire Universe to have their best friend back and to have things the way they were.
Ephesians-44 wished to be happy for once in their prolonged life.
"All the time, my friend."
A/N: Don't worry, it's not over yet.
