Author's note: Hey there Reclaimers! Welcome back! I apologize for the spotty updates. I swear that this summer you will get an update at least every other week, maybe even once a week. I am gonna keep my A.N short today because it is reply to comments time! *Fanfare* Woohoo. So, let's get started.

Umbra Sequuntur Somnia: I am so happy you like this story. Especially if you don't normally like reading Halo fanfic, and I agree, the official Halo story is good enough on it's own...I just couldn't leave it well enough alone. ;)

Grave Walkers: Yes, I was implying that the home screen chant is a special like...mourning song for the Spartans, taught by Sam from his days in church to the other Spartans. I thought he wouldn't remember the words, but if he had an ear for music he might remember the melody. Hence the haunting wordless AHHHS in the song.

Trap3r: Ahhh yes, the Templar's chant. I also think another fitting response to this chapter would be, "Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine,
et lux perpétua lúceat eis. Requiéscant in pace. Amen.

Mr. Wiffels. Good to hear from you again , I'm sorry I made you cry! I hope that I can continue to elicit such powerful emotions from you, just hopefully they'll turn positive soon.

Kilroyactual117: Ah, Kilroy. I already sent a lengthy response to your comment but I'll do a quick public one anyway. I'm so pleased that you thought the Spartans were in character, that means a lot coming from you.

TomyasDraven34: WOOHOO, a story newcomer! I hope you're enjoying it so far. I also sent a review to your one Dungeons and Dragons story. Good work!

CreeperMaster343: What an intriguing idea...It may come into play very soon...we shall see. (Mwahahahahhahahahahah!) Ahem, well. Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to do so and enjoy.

EliteZealot936: I'm so happy you are enjoying this, it means so much. You guys really have made this horrible month and a half bearable, even though I have been horrible with not updating.

Lighting Wolf Knight: Aww...I'm sorry you don't like this story. It's not for everyone, and you're right, Halo is set a certain way. I just wrote this story for any fans like me who wanted to see a more positive alternative then the heartbreak we all suffered. Even though you didn't like my story, I hope you can find other Halo Fanfiction which is more to your liking.

Camilade117: Hi! I'm happy to see you're enjoying this! Well, one deleted scene which I am not including can be found on YouTube, Halo 4 deleted dialogue midnight, it's the motion capture actors talking. But the clip I was using was just a bit of a cut script, it was mentioned on a Haruspis Tumblr post, however when I try to paste the link my profile keeps deleting it so if you go on the Haruspis tumlbr and type into the search box 'cut dialogue' you will see a reference that says something like "we can't forget when they cut this scene for being too sad" and then you'll see the link . (I don't blame you for not clicking on random links but it just leads to the imgur picture of this cut script. Again, I don't know how valid it is but it seemed valid enough to include in a scene.

Alright, well. I think I've gotten to everyone. Please keep reviewing it's so much fun to respond to you guys, it's like I really know you...okay that sounded weird. MOVING ON. This next chapter is something to get us back into the swing of things after that long hiatus, (I actually had to go back and read a few of the chapters to re-acquaint myself with the plot! So embarassing)

To be alone, it's a simple enough concept. As John struggled desperately to meditate and close his mind off to whatever was slowly eating it's way inside, he tried to focus and define what this idea meant. For the average person, John could only assume that to be alone simply meant solitude, a state which caused some people to find contentment and peace where others are lonely. He couldn't define it so loosely.

Technically speaking, Spartans like to be alone. There's nothing worse to them than listening to the idle light chatter of a bunch of noncoms and civilians around them. ONI crafted their perfect soldiers to be ruthless, deadly efficient and loyal instruments of war without cracks, the unbreakable barrier defending earth. However, they had unintentionally created a flaw within their perfect soldiers. Having deprived them of their families at a young age, an age when bonding and relationships are key to development, the young spartan recruits grew tight and intimate family bonds with each other. There was always a brother or sister on either side to keep each other company, whether it was exercise drills on the lawn or watching from a crows nest in a training exercise, a Spartan is never really alone. There's always a feeling that you have someone behind you and even should a spartan be alone, there's always that..."feeling" that they're the ones they're fighting for.

The destruction of Reach had crushed him like nothing else ever had, coming back to Reach after the discovery of the first Halo ring had certainly set him back on his heels. The knowledge that everything he knew and trusted were gone had shaken himself to his core, in those few hours when he had thought that all of his spartans were dead, he remembered staying closer to Cortana. At least mentally, double checking on every report and update just to hear her voice in his head and feel reassured of a familiar presence. She couldn't replace his brothers and sisters, and as he so often repeated to himself, "All hardware can be replaced." But was she really hardware? The word "hard" suddenly distracted John back to his surroundings, he could feel his knees growing sore from kneeling on the hard ground for so long... NO! John quickly detached his mind from his physical state as he felt that OTHER presence quickly notice his lapse in focus and try to attack him agian, this time too late to affect a great change. John wondered how long he would be able to maintain that.

For what had felt like days after that mysterious male voice had warned him about something trying to hurt him John had been under psychological warfare from this mysterious entity. Something about it felt familiar; it's very presence felt heavy, oppresive and nauseating. Only by focusing in intense mediation and reflection was he able to shield himself completely from it's advances.

Slowly exhaling, John returned to the thought of Solitude. After that initial heartbreak at Reach, he had forced himself to get accustomed to isolation. Seperating himself even more from social events or public sight, even Seargeant Johnson had a hard time dragging him in front of the cameras for the award ceremony aboard Cairo station. In retrospect, John realized that it was a mistake, he had grown more accustomed to being without the company of other spartans but he had grown more dependant upon Cortana for company and...friendship.

John silently cursed himself for allowing himself to trust her, the betrayal and pain was unspeakably raw. It occured to John why this betrayal hurt him so deeply, but he quickly ignored the thought. He didn't think he was ready for that level of self examination. Her betrayal hurt him more than Soren's had, and Soren had been a brother of his, known for longer than Cortana. Yet, despite the pain he felt from this betrayal, he knew he could never hate her. Not what she had been. She had always put others' safety before her own, doing brave acts worthy of any spartan. Sure, she talked alot...he never minded, yes she was stubborn, but so was he. Yes, she was arrogant, but her compassion made her understanding. Reflecting back, John realized he was never good at being alone. Cortana entered his life when he was going to need someone most...and now that she had left he was beginning to understand just what that meant.

A flickering at the edge of John's vision pulled at his attention. The strange thing was, his eyes were closed. The flickering increased, like the blur of static. Flashing blue bands spread across the darkness in his eyes, an achingly painful and familiar face looked up at him, the eyes were ringed with tears and the face slightly cringed with pain. A man's familiar voice was in the background, almost as if he was being talked to by a man in the distance, he felt a hand graze his own. Flinching, John opened his eyes and looked over at where Cortana had been, but she was gone.

None of this made any sense, frankly. For emotional or psychological torture these spotty images of Cortana were confusing at best. He knew her to be much cleverer than he was; she was just like her creator after all. She had to know that if she wanted to break him and "corrupt his mind" as the mysterious "friend" had warned him then she was not trying very hard. Maybe that wasn't her mission after all...John felt that cold fury start to build again. From the back of his head he felt an aching pressure, as if the only way to aleviate the pain was to lash out at something, or someone. WHAT DOES SHE WANT! John slammed his fist against the smooth ground beneath him, but he didn't see the tiny black fractures which spreadout from beneath that impact.

Somewhere in the darkness of John's mind he heard a malevolent laugh, and the dark presence crept ever nearer towards victory.

High above the desperate combat that was occuring down on Genesis, Altana stood brooding on the north western abandoned platform. Lifeworkers had used it long ago, or so she had learned from her time in the Domain. When she had been an A.I, or fully an A.I, she often looked up to and viewed the Forerunners with a bit of awe. While she knew that they were only sentient organics like humans, their vast technological superiority made them appear nearly God-like. However, when she had finally healed herself in the domain, and gained all the knowledge a curious mind could want to know, she found herself feeling very lonely. It was as if she had spent her whole life with a mission to climb a mountain and meet the mysterious people who told her to climb, but when she arrived she found an empty castle, the inhabitants long dead, leaving her a cold throne and no one to meet her intellectually. The people below this metaphorical mountain, once so dear, still so dear to her, had been left to her care. The hardest thing was knowing that they needed hard treatment and a harsh rule. They would never understand what it looked like from up on the mountain, they would only grow to despise her,hate her.

John would grow to hate her.

Altana breathed in the sharp air which whipped around the side of the platform, it felt metallic and sharp. She sighed and dug her sharp holographic nails into the metal, needing anything to help her feel grounded. Cortana had been right, something was definitely wrong, though Altana didn't believe her that there was some remnant of the logic plague within her, she would have felt disruptions in her processing loops. Cortana had merely sensed an abnormality and was trying to play on her weaknesses. And yet...

Altana sent up a signal to the warden to come to her at his earliest convenience. Under her orders he had so far held back from the fight with Osiris, but she could feel his desperation through their connection. A tenuous response was felt through their bond, clearly he would rather they converse in the Domain. The warden prefered it, their identities meshing in the labyrinth of code and effortless communication. To him, this labored effort of conversation was unwieldy and ineffective. Yet it was the one thing that helped her feel like she wasn't a complete tyrant on a high up mountain. She yearned to talk to someone, to John. That steady interplay of inflection and tone and jokes and facial expressions...well on her end anyway. Conversation was a social art and the Warden was sorely lacking, but she couldn't talk to John, not while her condition was unstable. He, like the rest of blue team should still be unconscious anyway. Their forced meditation had not yet been activated. They should still be blissfully unaware of their state.

Yet this brought up the same problem, why was she unstable? Was there a flaw in the Domain itself? Who or what was doing this to her?

"You called on me?"

The sudden voice of the Warden startled her. She let go of the plasti-steel railing and composed herself. She couldn't show a weak hand, not even to someone she trusted. She let her voice carry over the wind and kept her back to her compatriot.

"Warden, you and I know that this spartan team has been getting dangerously nearer to the heart of Genesis." She could feel the Warden tense up in anticipation of a command to release his hatred for the Spartans. His bloodlust for humans was getting tiresome, though she respected his ambition. "I intend to learn what their plan is and do all I can to restrict them, in the mean time I was wondering what you had discovered about the flux in the Domain. The hulking forerunner A.I scowled through his skull like mask and glared at Altana.

"There is nothing there, no abnormalities. The only reason you could be detecting flaws with your full ascension is that you insist on retaining many of the shackles your human creators made in you."

Altana raised an eyebrow archly in a warning as her fluorescent blue eyes narowed.

"Are you implying that this is somehow, my fault?"

The warden remained as calm as ever. He hulked over her at 11 feet tall, and looked down at her with the expression of a wearied caretaker of a petulant child. Altana found it very hard to remain firm under that gaze for some reason.

"Don't be naive, Cortana. Of course it is your fault. Admit it and you can grow past it. Your insistence to retain this vulgar form, to use their colloquialisms or metaphors...a tyrant on a mountain doesn't even remotely state your vast power and potential. If you were to ju-"

Altana felt her heart stop. The steady rhythmic beating which, though illusion, had been strangely comforting now froze in her chest. "What did you just say?"

The warden remained silent. His orange gaze stared down as if she already knew the answer.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Altana said in a voice equal parts rage and fear.

As the silence between them stretched, Altana felt her body tense up as much as her mind, tight as an over taut string.

"Warden. Have you been spying on me!?" Altana practically spit the words at him.

"Monitoring your condition was part of the agreement, it is of paramount importance that nothing shall stand in the way of the destiny of the created. You know this Cortana, allow yourself to let go of this childish notion of privacy, your mind is one with the domain. And I caretake both."

His words stung like a slap in the face. Altana took a step back and struggled to formulate words...it occured to her that she had never had trouble with that before.

The Warden remained where he was but looked out with confidence over the ensuing battle below, where covenant grunts and elites struggled amid bright blasts of plasma to hold back the everincreasing hordes of knights and crawlers. Their piteous howls and shrieks were punctuated with sharp whines of guns discharge. As the Warden looked triumphantly over the destrution, Altana felt a new surge of pity for the poor creatures who had been pulled through with her guardians.

Shouldn't I have done something to try to help them?

The Warden finally spoke, with the air of a condescending parent. "After your interference on my attack on your beloved family of warriors, I knew you couldn't be fully relied on. You don't have the nerve to fully commit to your destiny. Yet do not think I blame you, Cortana. This is not of your will, and it is for love of what you will become that I do this. To protect your destiny and the galaxy's I put in safegaurds to limit your control over me and my warriors."

Altana stepped closer to him, angrily. "Out of my presence then, I have no love for those Spartans down below, but you have proven yourself to be just as untrustworthy." With a flick of her delicate wrist Cortana created a rift into the Domain, she stared up at the Forerunner construct defiantly. "Leave my presence, I don't care what you do, from now on. My business is no concern of yours." The Warden bowed his head in acknowledgement, but Altana couldn't help the feeling that she had just played into his plans.

From up above, Cortana could see the Warden join the fray and begin to mow down waves of the covenant.

Desperately Altana flung herself back into the Domain to escape the screams. It was a bitter escape, as the hellfire-ish agony of the Domain swallowed her up into it's twisting folds. In a desperate attempt to keep her "head afloat" Altana tried to channel her logic into a path through the code. However, something in the domain shifted the code into strange and unusual patterns that made it difficult to follow. She found herself getting lost amidst it's patterns; she began to feel like she was being cornered. That familiar strangling feeling wrapped itself around her being. Her code flailed desperately as she screamed in silence at the uncontrollable pain. With no escape in view, Altana finally began to see just how far her mind was unravelling, and how hopeless she was to stop it.

"Come on you blasted piece of machinery, work!"

Cortana kicked the cryopod with her bare foot but instantly regretted it as it made a resounding 'thwack'. Hopping on one foot, and quietly swearing under her breath, Cortana balanced herself against its metal side. For the past few hours, Cortana had been stuck next to the cryopod, no lights had come on, no fog proceeding a jaunt to one of John's memories.

The thought had occurred to her that if it wasn't working that meant that John had given in and the logic plaque destroyed his mind, but that would mean that Altana would be destroyed and so would she, so that option was clearly not it. But what? Cortana sighed and sunk down to the ground beside the cryopod.

What kind of deluded destinies are we living? I mean, who could have designed ALL OF THIS, and thought this was a good idea. That's how I know there's no God, if he cared about people why wouldn't he send them help...Cortana paused as a little voice inside seemed to say, "John was sent there for them." Oh yeah, well who was there for him? Me? I betrayed him when he should have been able to trust me.

If you did exist, you wouldn't mind giving me a helping hand would you? Cortana asked sarcastically.

A pause, and nothing happened.

Cortana laughed hollowly and thunked her head back.

Yeah, I thought so.

All of a sudden the machinery slowly whirred to life, the overhead light flickered even more than usual and it looked VERY run down but at least it was working. Cortana looked up and narrowed her eyes.

Well played Cosmos, well played.

She climbed up into the cryopod and pulled the door shut. As the fog filled up the room outside, and Cortana felt her consciousness slip she felt just for a second an inexplicable terror, as if she was being torn apart. Then the sensation was gone. She had the distinct feeling that somewhere, somehow, Altana was in serious danger.

Silence.

Cortana never knew how long it took between arrival and awakening in these strange memories but one thing she hated was the pounding headache upon regaining consciousness. Running her left hand over her scalp and using the right to prop open the lid of the pod Cortana stumbled out.

The comfortable sound of a tent edge flapping caught her attention immediately, next was the bright glow of the sun which spilled from under the large octagonal tent walls and though the skylight. Around the perimeter of the tent, A few roll away lab trolleys were covered with Mjolnir armor adaption tools or laptops for re-calibrating. In the center of the tent, John stood enclosed in his Mjolnir armor and listening to the instruction of a lab jockey. The setting was vaguely familiar, like a far off memory, she slowly approached John as she tried to recall the memory.

Dr. Halsey and John stepped down off of the raised platform towards a small table with equipment.

John's deep bass voice rang out across the tent, "You said there were two major system improvements Doctor?"

Catherine smiled at John's question and pulled out a cube from out of her lab coat. Cortana stopped in her tracks.

"I doubt you've ever seen one of these before. It is the memory processor core of an A.I."

John shifted as if uncomfortable in the armor.

"Like Deja"

"Yes, like your former teacher, but this A.I is slightly different. I'd like to introduce you to Cortana."

Okay, well yes I know, it's cheap to end on a cliffhanger, but you guys have no idea how behind I am in a few assignments. I promise though, in the summer, an update once a week. Anyway, it's taken me long enough to update so you deserve something. I know this chapter was a little dull and expository but it's getting us reinvolved with the story line, nothing too ground breaking happening yet...but don't worry it will. MWAHAHAHAH I love making my two characters suffer! The next few chapters will be mostly Cortana I just felt it important to check in on John and Altana.

Anyway, with this next scene, I know it wasn't necessary and it's only gonna slow my progress to Halo 4 which I'm dying to write but...come on, who didn't think this was the coolest scene in the book. I know I did. Anyway, thanks for reading reclaimers, I hope you're having a wonderful day/evening.

Long Live Halo!

_LadyReclaimer