Me, Myself, and Kiryuu?
The Chief glanced around, picking the entrails of vomit-colored green flesh from his armor. On his shoulder was the single bio-syntech piece that clung tightly to the neck opening of his armor. He gripped his shotgun tightly and he had an assault rifle slung over his back. He had to make sure that he used his shots carefully, knowing that he he did not have much ammo left. He thanked whatever force out there that some of the Flood managed to used human weapons and a few of them had shotguns. He managed to pick off the ammo from their tattered bodies. He turned an orange, Flood-flesh-covered corner and the syntech leapt from his shoulder. John paused when he saw the cybernetic flesh morph and form legs, scuttling across the floor. It paused for a moment and glanced back, a single, small blade pointing the Spartan in a direction. It wanted him to follow. The Master Chief nodded silently and hurried behind the syntech. Then, he came to a pedestal of metallic purple in another chamber. The syntech-animated creature leapt up into the pedestal and connected itself to a port at the side. The pedestal came to life as a tiny blue hologram of Kiryuu Knight flashed on at the center of the pedestal.
"Master Chief," the hologram began.
"Mr. President," said the Chief.
"Not exactly," said the hologram. "I am a fragment of Kiryuu Knight, a subroutine that was imprinted inside the piece of his syntech your received. I am the mind controlling it. I can sense where Cortana is being held and I can help guide you to where she is."
"What about—yourself?" the Chief asked. "Where is Kiryuu?"
"Unfortunately, that information I do not possess," the hologram of Kiryuu replied. "You will have to find him yourself. However, I am programmed to help guide you to Cortana."
"Then, let's do it," he nodded. The syntech piece disconnected itself from the projector and crawled up the Spartan's leg. John reloaded his shotgun and headed down the slimy, flesh-covered, writhing corridor. He felt the syntech connect to his armor and interface with his visor's HUB screen. As soon as the connection was made, a NAV point appeared on the HUB which pointed him in the direction of where Cortana was being held.
0
Otto sliced down upon his former student with swift fever. His sword clashed upon Telek's shields just as the possessed pirate Sangheili dodged the blow. Telek swung around and his sword sliced across the Arbiter's hip, nicking him at his side. Purple blood splattered out and Otto tumbled down.
"That was for Halo 06," Telek growled, his red eyes flashed with rage.
"Telek, snap out of it!" called Otto. "It's Gravemind, he has you under his spell."
Telek chuckled darkly, letting loose a deep growl from his mandibles.
"Telek, please," Otto began. "Please. Fight his control. Don't let the parasite win!"
"Is that what you think of me?" Telek asked, though his words were not his own. "A parasite? I believe you called me that once before when you begged me to release you from my grip."
That statement was the indication that made Otto realize that Telek was not the one in control. Telek was not Telek, he was Gravemind. Telek made a sword lunge for Otto and the Arbiter flipped out of the way. He had all the moves that Telek had, but the speed and the agility was not his own. Otto remembered Telek's movements were becoming sluggish, he was limping a bit more and his stance seemed swimmy due to his ataxia. But this Telek moved as if he had never suffered from ethanol poisoning. His movements were more precise. His speed was especially unnatural. And those glowing red eyes were especially not natural at all. They gleamed like the eyes that King Ghidorah had back at the Control Room. But Otto knew somewhere Telek was still in there. He knew that he had to break through and free his student from the binds of the parasite that held his mind.
"I have existed eons before you were even a glimmer in your mother's eyes," the creature controlling Telek growled. "And I will exist long after you've said your last good-bye."
Otto ducked down and activated his active camouflage just as Gravemind took his swing. He dashed off into the shadows, hoping that the ancient armor's invisibility would hold out.
"You cannot hide from me forever, Arbiter," called King Ghidorah. "I will find you."
I never thought I'd be hiding from Telek, Otto thought silently. His mind snapped shut when he heard the sound a deep chuckle.
"I can hear you..." King Ghidorah called. "Your thoughts only make it easier for me to find you."
The Horror-possessed Telek glanced down at the floor, seeing spots of purple leading away into a line.
"You're bleeding too," he continued.
"Using my student to fight me just shows how weak you are, Harodihg!" Otto called. "You won't face me yourself, you need to use a puppet to do me in."
King Ghidorah chuckled again, pulling out Telek's shotgun. He gave the lever a tug, flipping the gun over his finger. Once he heard it cock, he pointed at a shimmer he saw hiding behind a fleshy pillar and he fired. Otto felt the bullets pelt his shields and knocked out his invisibility. He got up and ran, taking out his carbine and firing, hoping to knock out the possessed Zealot's shields and perhaps wound him enough to subdue him. He dashed off, ducking again behind several fleshy looking pillars and dangling tentacles. He again heard the clashing sound of an activated sword emitter and Otto slid further into the shadows. Otto glanced up, hearing the echoing, maddened laughter of Cortana's voice coming through the PA system of High Charity. Then, he heard another sound as well, a deep voice struggling to free itself. His shields flashed and sparked when he heard the clash of Telek's sword coming down upon him. Otto cursed himself for letting his guard down and he activated his own sword, blocking the plasma blade's second slice.
"You hear him?" Gravemind asked. "He struggles against me. It won't last long. His—condition may make him immune to my virus, but his mind is just as weak and frail as his new boss'. You know who I'm talking about."
"Mr. Knight?" Otto asked.
"I will possess both," he rumbled darkly. "All existing happily and contempt inside of me."
"Telek hates being contempt with anything," Otto growled as he leapt up and kicked Telek's body away. The Zealot went sliding across the slippery, slimy floor. It was a setback, but it was enough for Otto to make his move and ran. He had to find another sword, he noticed the battery life of the sword he carried was beginning to run out. His carbine was also slowly depleting away. Otto made his way down, glancing down at the fallen bodies of various dead Sangheili and Humans. Kneeling down, he took a shotgun off of a dead Marine and a sword from a fallen Ultra. Uttering a slight prayer, he thanked the bodies for lending him their weapons. Then, he glanced up and started down to the next large room. That was when he heard something whisper to him.
"Arbiter..." the voice whispered. "Over here."
"Who is that?" Otto asked.
He walked over to a speaker in the wall where the voice was coming from.
"This is not a safe channel," began the voice.
"Mr. Knight?" Otto asked, recognizing the voice of the biomechanical reptile leader of Earth.
"Arbiter," began Kiryuu. "You can't win like this. You'll only get Telek killed, or yourself killed."
"Telek is possessed by that parasite," said Otto. "Gravemind is using my old friend as a means to attack me."
"I know," said Kiryuu. "I don't have much time before King Ghidorah realizes what I'm doing. I was once like Telek is now, I was once possessed by that monster."
"How did you break free?" Otto asked.
"Erica Munson," Kiryuu replied. "Her sacrifice freed me. She's not alive now."
"There must be another way," Otto hissed.
"You are correct on King Ghidorah's condition," Kiryuu began. "He is weak. In this state, he hasn't a lot of influence with physical beings except for his Flood virus. He can't stay in control of Telek for long. It's more difficult to control something alive than something dead. He's using all his mental powers to keep Telek under possession. You must make it even harder for him to stay in control."
"You said not to fight him."
"No, don't fight him," Kiryuu agreed. "Talk to him. Play a mental game with him. Distract him. Try to bring out Telek. I will do what I can from here."
"What can you do?" Otto asked, but only silence came.
"You're only delaying the inevitable," called Gravemind. Otto glanced back, seeing Telek's possessed body rise up. "Not even Kiryuu can help you."
"I don't need some construct's help, parasite," Otto growled, igniting his sword. "I can take you down myself."
0
"Spreading these lies about our Lord's designs," the High Prophet of Truth began as he read off the list of charges. "Reckless intoxication, making bargains with our enemies the humans. Insubordination. This is the last straw, Fleet Master Telek 'Herosee."
Telek stood coolly before the High Council as the murmurs of both Sangheili and San 'Shyumm voices were heard all around him. His fate was sealed the moment he stepped on High Charity.
"You never had a problem such as these before, Fleet Master," Truth continued.
"It was only when I found that I had been serving nothing more than a fairytale, did I become so 'insubordinate'," Telek spat. "If you had any care for the Covenant, you will stop these lies now!"
Telek glanced back at Otto who gave him a disdainful snort. Telek's mandibles curled up when he heard that snort and he felt a stab to the back from it.
"Silence, heretic!" Mercy cried.
"What did you discover, Fleet Master?" Truth asked. "Tell us. Tell us everything."
"The Halos," Telek began. "They will only spell out doom for us. They kill life, all life. All the life within the range of their pulse weapon. It doesn't matter whether they are good—evil, or indifferent. We all will die!"
"Lies!" Regret cried. "They're all lies! The Sacred Rings do no such thing! If they did, we would know. If they meant our end, then why are we searching for them?"
"Tell me, Regret, why are you searching for them?" Telek asked.
"You will not address me in such manner, Fleet Master!" Regret spouted.
"I will address you as I see fit, you wrinkly old prune," the Zealot sneered.
Gasps filled the council chamber as both the Sangheili and the minor Prophets just stood back—aghast. Telek heard a snort from the Chieftain of the Jiralhanae Tartarus. His fist wringed across his great battle hammer, the Fist of Rukt.
Someday, I'm gonna slam that damned hammer into your head, you smelly ape, Telek thought with disgust.
"Tell me!" Telek demanded. "To my Sangheili brothers, do you not remember the war? We were enemies once!" He turned back to the Prophets. "We hunted you down and we hung your skulls up as trophies. The Prophets were our enemies once, and the more I look at their complacent faces, I see that they still very well may be. You already knew what the Halos do, Truth. I have no doubt in my mind that you already knew. It was just a matter of time before one of us finally wizened up to your schemes and now you wish to kill me to keep the truth from Sangheili ears. We followed you like mindless stooges. Well, you'll not have me so easily blinded."
"I have heard enough," Truth said. "It is with a heavy heart that I sentence you to death for high treason and heresy against the Covenant. You shall be branded and after you are dead, your body be placed on display as a warning to anyone of the evils of blasphemy."
"Blasphemy!" Telek spat. "You're the one who spouts it, not I. What the Forerunners left is a warning, they hold no salvation. They didn't leave to some sort of distant dimension, they died, you morons!"
"Take him away, Tartarus!" Truth cried. "Silence the heretic for good!"
Tartarus chuckled sinisterly: "Of course."
He's betrayed you...called an unseen voice from the crowd.
"Otto!" Telek called as Tartarus took hold his his shoulder, dragging him out. "Otto! Don't do this to me! How could you betray me?! We were friends!"
Tartarus hefted the large Sangheili Zealot out the door of the Council Chamber and slammed the butt-end of the Fist of Rukt against Telek's side. Then, he gripped Telek's neck and lifted him up. The Zealot grabbed hold of the thick wrist of the Jiralhanae, struggling against the grip. Tartarus chuckled.
"Soon, Telek," he rumbled. "Soon. It will be the Jiralhanae that will be the Prophets' escorts to the Divine Beyond, not the Sangheili. Soon, the Sangheili will be nothing more than slaves for our work and food for our bellies."
"Oh, don't—think I knew that all along," Telek growled, clacking his mandibles. "Don't think I didn't see what was coming. But in the end being the Prophets' escort will only lead you down one path, the path of death."
"No, Telek," Tartarus brought the gold-armored Sangheili closer. "It's your lies that will lead you to the path of death. And I will be your escort."
He dragged the Sangheili down to the center level where it looked out over a balcony of cheering and jeering Covenant faithful. Letting go of Telek, he dropped him onto the floor where groups of Unggoy tossed rotten fruit and vegetables at him.
"Heretic, heretic!" jeered the Unggoy.
Telek lifted his weakened head up, his armor stained with the juices of the rotten produce thrown at him. He glanced up at Tartarus who chuckled satisfactory, combing his white Mohawk with his thick fingers.
"Yes, that's right, heretic," he chuckled. "Kneel before your superior."
"You are not my superior," Telek growled as he got to his feet. Tartarus kicked him down.
"I said, kneel!" he bellowed.
"No," Telek growled.
"Kneel, heretic," he heard another voice call out. Telek glanced up and saw Otto 'Gamamee standing there, golden armor glowing in the ambient light, still holding that disdained look on his face. "Admitting you were wrong may save some face for you."
"Otto!" Telek called. "Please, don't let them do this to me. You know I am right. I'm only trying to save us, to save the Covenant from its own ignorance! If you allow this to continue, we'll all die."
"Enough of your lies," Otto growled back.
How could he allow your friendship to end this way? Asked the ghostly voice. Telek glanced up and saw other Sangheili jeering at him, hissing and grunting, thrusting their fists at him while Otto just watched in silence.
Listen to them, Telek, the voice continued. You tried to save them, and what thanks have they given you?
Tartarus grabbed Telek by the collar and hefted him up, tossing him on the pedestal where he was about to be tormented. Otto just stood and watched, his face cold as ice. Two Jiralhanae guards picked Telek up and strapped him into the torture device, the energy shackles closing around his wrists. He heard the sounds of the crowd below calling out and Telek could not help but to laugh.
"Laughter will not save you, heretic," Tartarus walked around to the front.
"You are a fool, Tartarus," Telek chuckled. "You're so blind. You're so blind, you cannot see anymore! Now you, like the others, will waste away in a massive grave planned by a suicide of the Prophets. Our 'Lords' creations are nothing more than weapons that know not the difference between friend and foe! The Forerunners have given us great gifts, and we should not take them lightly, but the Halos are none of them. They should be destroyed!"
"Silence, heretic!" Tartarus bellowed, backhanding Telek in the jaw. Purple blood splattered out and dripped to the floor.
"I know the truth," Telek shuddered a whisper. "And it will not die."
"Where are your friends now?" Tartarus asked, grabbing Telek's lower mandibles. "You have no friends."
He is right, said the voice. Telek giggled maddenly. The voice continued: You have no friends.
The Jiralhanae grabbed the edges of Telek's gold armor and ripped it off of him, stripping him of his rank and title. He was no longer a Zealot, he was a heretic. Tartarus grabbed the helmet off of the Sangheili's head and tossed it aside. The orange shackles glowed fiercely and Telek winced in agony as the heat began to burn away his body suit, leaving nothing more than his modesty left. Telek slipped, dangling by the shackles and gasping for air. Still, he chuckled at them.
"You're all...fools..." he whispered.
You are alone...the voice mocked. Look how your old friend watches. Look, he's turning away.
Telek glanced up, seeing Otto 'Gamamee turn away from him.
"Otto," he called. "Otto! Don't abandon me! Don't turn your back on me!"
Otto just shook his head, shutting his eyes just as Tartarus took out the branding iron with the Mark of Shame glowing bright orange in the center. Then, he turned towards Telek and chuckled, shoving the red-hot branding iron into the Sangheili's chest. Telek reared back and bellowed in pain.
See how he abandons you in your hour of need...the voice continued.
Stop it! Called another voice. Don't listen to him! Don't listen, Telek.
As Tartarus moved away, Telek gasped, allowing his head to droop.
Telek, you are stronger than that, the encouraging, ghostly voice called out to him. Telek lifted his head up painfully and turning it towards the crowd. His vision became blurred and he tried to focus as best as he could despite the pain he was feeling. His shaky, blue eyes, clouded by sorrow and betrayal came upon two figures. One he knew he recognized from somewhere, one he knew very well, though he did not like. It was Kiryuu Knight standing in the crowd with a hopeful expression on his face. But it was not his voice that Telek was hearing, it was a different voice. The voice that spoke came from a rather short, curly-haired male human wearing a peakcock-blue business suit. The human stood even shorter than an Unggoy. Telek had never seen something so short in his life. The human stood beside Otto, who's back was still turned. Then, the human grabbed hold of Otto's gloved hand and motioned for the Sangheili to turn around. The golden-armored form of Otto 'Gamamee turned around and as he turned, his armor changed becoming that of the Arbiter's.
"I'm sorry, Telek," he said. "For not listening to you..."
For one instant his vision wavered and instead of seeing Tartarus, he saw Otto standing before him amongst a Flood covered chamber.
"Telek," called Otto. "Telek, you are stronger than this. He's just using your anger against you, he's using it against me. I believe you, you know I do. The Prophets did lie, and look what happened? They died, you killed Truth. You had your revenge. They won't lie to us anymore."
You see, Telek? He heard the short human's voice call into his mind. You are not alone.
Telek regained his strength and stared back at Tartarus.
This is an illusion, Telek! called the human. It's not real!
"I'm not gonna be fooled by your visions, Gravemind," he said to the Jiralhanae Chieftain. "I know who you really are."
"You have no friends here," said Tartarus—or rather King Ghidorah. "No hope."
"You're wrong," Telek growled as he pulled at his shackles. "You don't know half my story. After Tartarus branded me and threw me in the cell for execution, I busted out because I had friends. I took over my own ship and escaped High Charity, because I had friends. Everything I've been able to do, defy the Prophets, undermine the Covenant, aid the Humans—it was all because I have friends. And while you make up this illusion to break my spirit, even now, I have friends who are trying to help me break you." Telek broke the energy bonds around his wrist just as the crowd of jeering Covenant disappeared leaving only Kiryuu, the strange short human, and a Tartarus-disguised Gravemind/King Ghidorah. "And we're gonna succeed."
"Time has taught me patience!" King Ghidorah bellowed through the mouth of Tartarus, gripping the handle of the Fist of Rukt tightly until his knuckles were white. "But basking in new freedom—I will know all that I possess!"
He raised the gravity hammer up and slammed it down, the force was enough to send Telek flying against the wall.
"Your mind shall be the first thing I shall possess!" King Ghidorah called. "And then the minds of your 'friends'. I will not stop until I have assimilated all into my being." He swung the hammer and Telek was sent flying again.
"Telek!" Kiryuu called. "Stop it, Ghidorah!"
"You will be mine, Kiryuu" Gravemind rumbled. "You, your granddaughter, her knight in shining armor, the pirate, his teacher, we will all share one grave together!"
Telek lifted his head up and rolled out of the way as the head of the gravity hammer swung down upon him.
"Kiryuu, I'm fighting in the nude here!" he called. "Do something!"
Kiryuu tried to make his way to attack King Ghidorah, but a hand came out and grabbed him.
"No," said the human. "You don't have the strength right now. It's my turn."
Tartarus lunged for Telek and swung his hammer, sending the naked Sangheili spinning off the ledge. Telek's claws dug into the edge of the balcony, his body swinging. He glanced down at the bottom where the city of High Charity was. Then, he swallowed.
"Something tells me that despite this being an illusion," he began. "If I fall, I'll die."
He glanced up hearing the growl of Tartarus/Gravemind/King Ghidorah as the Jiralhanae walked over towards him.
"You're mine, pirate," King Ghidorah grinned through Tartarus. Just as he was about to make one final swing, he felt a pain corse through his body. King Ghidorah fell back, his Jiralhanae form wavered and disappeared, becoming golden specks of light. Telek glanced back as the specks of light began to reform again, taking on that familiar shape of the three-headed draconic hydra that even his people knew from ancient tales.
"I will not be denied!" King Ghidorah bellowed as his central head came down with its maw wide open, ready to devour Telek. Then, a shadowy form rose up between the Sangheili and the Gold Demon, spreading a pair of broad bat-like wings wide. Telek, with the last bit of his strength, lifted himself back onto the ledge. He glanced back with wide eyes, catching the glimmer of silver and metallic blue from the shadowy form that barred King Ghidorah's way. That was when he noticed the short human beside Kiryuu was gone.
"I should have realized you'd be here too," King Ghidorah growled. "But just as you failed then, you will fail now."
"No, I won't," replied the shadow figure. "Because like Telek, I too have friends. And we want to see you gone."
"Your friends are weak," King Ghidorah chuckled. "You can't hold me back for long. I am close to knowing what she knows. Then, we'll see who for the bell tolls."
0
"This way," called the biosyntech creature attaching itself to the Chief's speakers.
"Where the engine room is. Wait for a moment."
The Chief paused just as a generator exploded and broke apart from the ceiling above a great pit in the reactor room.
"You will tell me what she hides..." called Gravemind as hordes of Flood infected forms climbed onto the fleshy bridge that the Chief attempted to cross. The Chief cocked his shotgun and fired upon the Flood, taking them down one at a time. His shields flashed gold as one of the Combat Forms slashed at his back from behind. The Spartan spun around and swatted the creature with the butt of his shotgun and brought out his pistol, shooting down the other Elite Combat Form attacking him. The Flood infected creature fell off the bridge.
"Tell me!" King Ghidorah bellowed. "Now!"
The Chief felt his footing slip and he fell from the edge of the fleshy bridge. He reached out and grabbed hold of a tentacle dangling down swung himself back up onto the bridge, kicking some of the Flood off of it as he landed.
"This is UNSC AI Serial Number CTN0452-9," began Cortana flatly, the last bit of her breaking apart under King Ghidorah's weight.
"I am a monument to all your sins..." both the voices of Cortana and King Ghidorah chimed together.
"Hurry, Chief!" called Kiryuu's subroutine. "She doesn't have much longer!"
Leaping over a Flood Tank Form, the Chief made a dash down the hallway as a door closed behind him.
"Put me in here," said the subroutine. "I'll keep the door locked as best as I can. But that is it. Once you have Cortana, my functions are no longer needed. You will be on your own."
The Chief nodded as he felt the syntech creature disconnect from his helmet and attach itself to the door. Then, the door flashed read, indicating it was locked. The Chief dashed down the corridor as a secondary door opened. There, he stood in the chamber of the Prophet Hierarchs' inner sanctum. He glanced down and found a pedestal where a shield bubble glowed brightly over the haunch-over form of Cortana's holographic image. The Chief took his shotgun and began to beat at the shield feverishly, hitting home each time. Just as the shield finally collapsed Cortana shakingly looked up.
"You...found me..." she breathed, her voice breaking into a sob. The Chief slowly moved closer to her. "But so much of me is wrong... out of place. You might be too late..."
"You know me," the Chief began with an encouraging voice. "When I keep a promise..."
"You...keep it," Cortana finally said, regaining some strength as her hologram glowed brighter. "I—do know how to pick 'em."
"Lucky me," the Chief shrugged. "Do you still have it?"
"The activation index from the first Halo?" Cortana asked as she held out her hand revealing a hologram of the Index Key from Halo 04. "A little souvenir I held onto...just in case."
Cortana winced again, hearing a bellowing growl coming from the walls around the room.
"Do you have an escape plan?" she asked.
"Thought I'd shoot my way out," the Chief replied as he pulled out the data chip case where he had her held. "Mix things up a little."
Cortana smiled softly and placed her hand on the center, passing her program from the pedestal to the chip. He slipped the chip into the data port at the back of his helmet.
"Just keep your head down," she said. "There's two of us in here...remember?"
The door opened and the Chief glanced around.
"Chief, get me out of this place," Cortana urged with a hint of fear in her voice. "I—I don't want to stay..."
The Chief made his way back up the corridor and found the door at the top now wide open. Cortana's virtual eyes lit up when she detected something familiar coming from a small, oily spot at the corner of the door.
"Biosyntech?" she asked. "It can't be. He's really here?"
"He is," replied the Chief.
"I thought it was a dream, a vision that Gravemind tried to fool me with to get more information out of me," Cortana gasped. "But I never knew it was true. Why? Why did Kiryuu come here? I thought he was more worried about his own agendas."
"Maybe because he considers you the favorite of the family," the Chief replied.
"Well that's sweet of him," Cortana smiled internally.
"At last!" King Ghidorah roared. "I see! Her secret is revealed!"
"Uh-oh," Cortana whispered. "We need to buy some time, distract it." She paused as she glanced up through the Spartan's visor. "There, those reactors. We need to start a chain reaction. Destroy High Charity!"
Just then, the whole chamber became flooded with Flood forms. The Chief fired upon them as they leapt into his way. Tossing a plasma grenade he stuck it to one of the reactor cores and it exploded. The reactor overloaded and disconnected, falling to the ground below.
"That's one, Chief," Cortana informed as the Chief fought his way through Flood forms. He raced as fast as he could to the second pylon and overloaded it. The reactor core fell into the pit below as he made his way to the third. Tossing another grenade, the pylon exploded and came crashing down. He heard the whole room roar out in agony and the flesh underneath him writhe in pain. Somehow the generator that went crashing struck Gravemind in the right spot. Even the Flood forms bellowed out in agony, feeling the pain from their master as he roared. They fell to the ground, gurgling and spitting as the Chief made his way passed them.
"We hurt it!" Cortana called. "But for the moment. That did it, Chief. High Charity is set to explode."
Not too far from where the Chief and Cortana, the battle between the Horror-possessed Telek and his former teacher the Arbiter Otto 'Gamam came to a crashing halt. Telek reared back and wailed out in agony just as King Ghidorah severed his connection. Telek came crashing down onto his knees and Otto rushed to his side.
"Telek!" he called. "Telek!"
The Sangheili Pirate was out cold, his hand letting go of the glowing sword. Otto continued to shake him, trying desperately to wake him up.
"Telek!" he called again. "Wake up, Telek!"
In the room near by, in the Council Chambers, Kiryuu felt his binds loosen. He grunted, wiggling himself free enough to slice the fleshy cords away with his syntech blades. He chuckled slightly and stepped out of the pile of Flood tentacles and snapped his fingers, returning to a smaller and more convenient size.
Get going, Kiryuu! called that voice that aided him in helping to free Telek's mind from King Ghidorah's hold.
"Remind me to thank you later, Dunkelzahn," Kiryuu chuckled.
What are friends for? the voice asked. Now get going! You don't have much time while he's distracted. Get to your friends and get to Halo. I'll be watching from here.
Kiryuu nodded and reached for a plasma rifle lying on the floor. He dashed off down through the fleshy porta sphincter that opened up for him.
0
"Telek!" Otto called. "Wake up!"
Telek's eyes slowly opened up. Otto sighed in relief when he saw their color. They were clear, they were blue, they were his own.
"Auntie Em," Telek began. "I had the strangest dream. I dreamed I fought Tartarus in the buff."
"What?" Otto asked, confused.
"Otto?" Telek asked, raising up. "Ow, why does my head hurt?"
"The parasite had you," he replied. "But somehow he let you go."
"I saw...Tartarus," Telek groaned as he placed his head in his hand. "And you, and I was being branded. But—Tartarus wasn't Tartarus, it was an illusion. Then, I saw Kiryuu and some very short human wearing the most God-awful-looking suite I had ever seen in my life. And then the human attacked Tartarus and freed me."
"Something freed you alright," Otto nodded in agreement. "But it wasn't a human. I heard a roar. The parasite has been wounded somehow. That's how he let you go."
"You should have seen the suit, Otto," Telek shook his head as Otto helped him up. "Ugliest thing ever. It was a polyester suit straight from the 1970s. It even had bellbottoms and penny loafers."
"I have no idea what bellbottoms ore penny loafers are," said the Arbiter. "I need to get you out of here. We need to get out of here. But first we need to find the Spartan."
"John?" Telek asked. "Right." Then, he glanced down and saw a purple stain on the Arbiter's armor where the wound from the battle was located. "Did somebody cut you?"
Otto paused for a moment, and stared at Telek with his honey-colored eyes. Telek had no recollection of what happened. He did not remember that he was fighting his teacher, trying to kill him. Otto patted the Zealot on his chest and nodded.
"Yes, old friend," he replied. "Someone cut me."
"I'll kick his ass," Telek growled.
Near them was the Chief and Cortana, who made their way towards their location. The Chief recalled that this was where he left the Arbiter to fight Telek and hopefully bring him to his senses.
"I've got a friendly contact!" Cortana gasped. "Two in fact. But who would be crazy enough to come here?"
The Chief saw the Arbiter and Telek and he rushed the both of them.
"Wait, Chief!" called Cortana. "That's the admiral!"
"Spartan!" Otto called. "Wait!"
The Chief swung his shotgun and slammed it into Telek's back, knocking the Zealot down.
"Chief, why did you hit Admiral 'Herosee?" Cortana asked.
"Spartan, it's alright," the Arbiter said. "He came to his senses."
Telek rose up, feeling his head: "Ow. Who hit me that time?"
"Admiral?" the Chief asked. "Is that you?"
"Who else?" Telek asked as the Chief helped him up. "What is this, Let's All Gang Bang Telek Day?" He turned back to the Spartan. "I suppose I deserve it, huh? For kicking you in the head back on Halo 04. Okay, Chief, we're even. Now, can we go?"
"I couldn't agree more!" called another voice. They spun around to find Kiryuu, covered in Flood slime with a plasma rifle in his hand walking up to him.
"Grandfather..." Cortana breathed.
"Grandfather?" Otto asked.
"Yeah, I've been trying to figure that out too," Telek shrugged.
"All AI made after me were assembled with some of my components that went into my construction," stated Kiryuu. "So, they are considered within the family-line of my AI. So, ever AI constructed calls me 'Grandfather'. It's a line of code in their program."
"Okay," Telek shrugged.
"Can we discuss this later?" Cortana. "Grandfather, High Charity is set to explode."
"Yeah, I think we need to exit now," Telek agreed.
"One of your human drop ships is parked near here," said the Arbiter. "We can take that."
"Sounds like a plan," said Cortana. "I've got a NAV position, I'll put it up on your HUB, Chief."
"Lead the way, Chief," said Kiryuu.
"Right," the Chief nodded. The four dashed off towards where the Pelican was parked on the ledge looking over the ruined, water-filled city of High Charity.
"You two made nice?" asked Cortana, seeing that the Chief was working now with the Arbiter. "What else have you been up to while I was gone?"
They saw where the Pelican was parked and hopped into the back. Telek sat down in the pilot's seat and turned on the controls while Cortana's image flashed onto the holographic projector next to him. The Chief sat down in the co-pilot's seat and Kiryuu and the Arbiter took the back of the cockpit.
"No!" bellowed the voice of Gravemind as tentacles rose up around the Pelican.
"Hey, Gravemind!" Telek called back as he pulled back on the controls, firing up the thrusters and burning the tentacles. "How you like your tentacles cooked? Rare or well-done?"
Gravemind bellowed again as his tentacles flenched from the heat of the thrusters and snatched them away. The Pelican took off, flying as fast as it could up through the canopy of High Charity. Otto glanced down as he saw High Charity blow up in brilliant orange flames. The last of the faults of the Sangheili were being erased. High Charity was no more, the Covenant was no more. Now, all that was left were the Sangheili and a few of the remaining loyal races to them. Telek glanced back at Kiryuu as he banked the Pelican.
"Kiryuu," he began. "Who was that short human with the awful taste in clothes helping us out?"
"Him?" Kiryuu asked. "An old friend. Where ever you find King Ghidorah's ethereal form, you'll find him making sure that King Ghidorah stays ethereal. Besides if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be the president of anything, except the Utah Foundation."
"Dunkelzahn?" Cortana asked. "Dunkelzahn was here too?"
"Yes," Kiryuu chuckled. "He was."
"I may be a bit rusty on human history, but I thought he was dead," Telek began.
"He is dead, Admiral," said Kiryuu.
"You mean to tell me I was just helped by a ghost?" Telek asked.
"Death isn't as permanent as you think, Telek," Kiryuu rumbled.
"You keep the strangest company, Kiryuu," Telek sighed. "The absolute strangest. I'll tell you one thing, being dead hasn't helped his taste in clothing."
Kiryuu leaned back and chuckled deeply, his eyes glancing up to where the Shadow of Intent hovered just below the massive Halo ring.