RECOMPOSE
by Ladywolvesbayne
Wow, a few days ago we were celebrating 10k visits, now guess what? We're celebrating 18k and over 90 followers! You made it possible :) Enjoy today's episode!
13. BLOOD RIVER
AUGUST 13TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY DOCKED IN SANGHELIOS
WAR GAMES ARENA
9:10 PM standard time
"They're staring at us like as if we were some kind of freaks." Eleven whispered.
"So nice of them." Cortana answered, sarcastically.
He wasn't referring to John or the ten SPARTANS who were armed and keeping a guarding circle around the two of them. He meant all the people crowding the entrances and the dark catwalks above. It was natural. They were freaks, after all; splinters of a dying AI transfigured into human bodies made of flesh and bone, now armored with alien technology beyond human comprehension. Anyone would stare at them.
Maybe they were afraid. Cortana knew she was a little frightened herself.
But she didn't pay any attention to the crowd, she already knew a lot more people were watching through the video feeds. The news spread fast across the Infinity despite the resupply activities; people were busy but they weren't deaf neither mute. There was a lot of noise in the comm channels.
When Cortana awoke from her semi-comatose state, she said she remembered everything. The HARPY did a lot more than just synchronize its systems with her. The process somewhat 'fixed' the broken pathways all across her memory, restoring it to its original state. Including the pieces that Catherine -Subject One- managed to erase from her mind before she sent Cortana out to Earth, to find the Chief again. That was, at least, the only explanation Cortana herself could find about what just happened to her.
From there, things went down a complicated path, it lasted for hours. There was more questioning disguised as debriefing and even more tests. Admiral Osman oversaw the procedures herself. Everything spun around Dr. Halsey's name, again, and this time Cortana had to explain what Eleven told her about the woman who saved them from the first attack of the Rampant Spike. She had to confess that it was presumed that the woman wasn't the real Catherine Halsey, but another of her splinters. That particular piece of information fueled Osman's interest, and Cortana had a very bad feeling about it. She remained stoic through the procedures although many times she wished she could scream in sheer frustration.
The good part was that she wasn't forced to strip naked and let cold fingers poke at her flesh. No, this time the HARPY was protecting her and nobody would harm her. She felt safe, strong. Unstoppable.
Yet part of her terror was induced by the intel she now held, things she chose to keep in secret. She couldn't help but wonder what the Chief was thinking. He was there (maybe because nobody would dare to order him to leave), but they had no time to talk; Cortana knew he was waiting for a moment alone with her. She was eagerly looking forward to it, too. Her longing gaze fell upon him once more.
John's rifle was aiming down, in standby, but his overall posture was tense.
"It turned into a gigantic spider and tried to attack me." Cortana said, recalling the incident in the laboratory.
Eleven winced. "Yeah, when the HARPY synchronizes with its designated host, it won't respond to any other life form until its core matrix is formatted and paired up with a new suitor. Maybe my suit reacted to you because we're similar, then it lost interest when it realized you weren't me. It was just trying to defend itself."
"Makes sense, since we share most of our DNA." Cortana nodded.
"Maybe." he shrugged. "The armor renders itself completely useless unless its synchronized host is handling it, it's a failsafe."
"But according to the Chief, a blast of plasma and we can kiss our asses goodbye."
"Like I already said, the HARPY isn't made for direct assault and high-endurance combat situations like the MJOLNIR. Don't get cocky or you'll be sorry."
"It didn't seem like that when Seven attacked the Chief."
Cortana looked down at the black, articulated pieces strapped to her body. It felt like a glove, it was flexible enough to not compromise the freedom of motion but it was hardened enough to resemble solid metal. She could also feel a dim rush of electricity tingling deep down her skin, it was comfortable and reassuring. The major joints had fluorescent appendages arranged in long, elegant dashes; Eleven's were angry red where hers were cyan-bluish. She couldn't figure out why the difference. The thing could be summarized as an artificial symbiotic organism whose body, derived from Forerunner nanotechnology, worked as an exoskeleton that could be shaped at will through a deep connection with the user's mind.
And it wasn't dangerous; at least Cortana was certain that the HARPY meant no harm to her.
"The firmware can be altered as well as it can be enhanced by attaching specific pieces and letting the armor assimilate them. Like, a portable shield device and an extra set of batteries, and voilà: the HARPY eventually will develop its own shields. You just have to be skilled enough to rewrite the configuration."
"And Seven happens to be." Cortana groaned, displeased. "She's the hacker where I am the strategist, as Catherine is the scientist where you shoot at things."
"What a dream-team." Eleven mumbled. "Seal it up and I'll show you something."
Polished-black curvy pieces covered his head, shifting to the appearance of a closed helmet with a flaming-red faceplate shaped like a narrow "V" over his eyes and nose. There was the soft hiss of pressure leveling. Cortana took a deep breath, closed her eyes and with a single thought, her own armor reshaped too until her head was fully enclosed as well. When she opened her eyes, her viewing range was tinted in pale blue. She looked at her hand and a display showed specs on the current configuration; she tilted her head up and the basic HUD tagged the SPARTANS around them by name, number and status.
On the upper left border of the screen, she saw the designation RLD 0205-4.
"Why is Roland in here?" Cortana asked, doubtful.
"You don't like the competition?" the AI chirped through the comm, joyfully.
"Suddenly it feels a little crowded." she said, with a cocky smile.
"How weird, it feels empty from my perspective."
"Don't push it, Roland."
"The HARPY links up with any AI within reach that grants access without further hardware required." explained Eleven. "I requested Roland to give in a few minor sub-routines for demonstration. Anyway, it can operate without an AI but it's systems are far more... elementary. Life support, GPS and a basic friend or foe tag function if you input the proper data beforehand."
"Okay. Homework before fun." she acknowledged.
"Chief, permission to approach?" Eleven requested, as he turned to face John.
"Granted." the Chief answered, lowering his head.
The other ten SPARTAN's heads (and weapons) followed them until Eleven and Cortana stood before him.
"Now, look at this."
Eleven reached out to place a finger in John's right shoulderplate. He didn't back away, just stared in cold stance. Only milliseconds later, Eleven's armor shifted, gaining bulk and height, the dark matte color melt and bleached in synchrony with a low hissing sound. The entire suit vibrated and moved over his body, rearranging its hardened plates one after another until it copied the appearance and color of John's MJOLNIR power armor, like a perfect reflection.
Cortana's eyes were impossibly wide open behind her faceplate.
"How did you do that?" she asked, thrilled.
"It's a mirroring function. Just think of it."
She had to try that too, for sure. Excited, Cortana forced the idea in her mind, her suit shifted and vibrated bulking up until the transformation was complete; only that she was way shorter than the Chief. She wasn't paying much attention, but the people at the observation deck and above in the catwalks were muttering, astonished.
"How about that?" Cortana said, laughing. "This could be very useful!"
John stood still, uneasy, looking at the visibly smaller copy of himself. The whole scene reminded him the battle in Installation 00 and there it was the explanation about how the Rampant Cortana could imitate a standard issue trooper's armor so easily. Then he realized that she could have fooled him if she wanted to, but she always kept her head uncovered so he'd notice the difference and face her.
Also, she was spotted while wearing an armor developed for stealth.
She wanted to be seen, recognized, never mistaken for somebody else.
The Rampant Spike had a lot of pride. That's how he planned to take her down: by using her pride against her... and a full supply of plasma rounds. John was one-hundred-percent confident his plan would work, the Rampant wouldn't resist the chance to prove that she was capable to outsmart him, her siblings or the entire UNSC and the Sangheili together. It didn't take that much to convince the Arbiter about using the 'diplomatic gathering' as a trap, either.
"Remember, this is only an imitation." Eleven stated, his voice sounded happy. "It might come in handy, but you won't survive a nuke in the face."
"Alright, grandpa. I heard you the first time." Cortana huffed.
"Piercing rounds have it harder but they can penetrate at this stage, nothing a few upgrades can't fix. You're better than me at that, I'll just point you in the right direction and you'll do the rest, right?"
"I need shields. The aiming function could use some tweaks, too." she said.
"See? You already get it."
Cortana was happy; well, not happy, she felt more confident. She commanded the armor to shift to its original shape and color, uncovering her head. Eleven did the same and they both smiled at each other. John just watched the whole show, silently. He couldn't put his finger on it but he felt something was off and he didn't like it.
It was like an ugly weight deep inside his gut. He sure was relieved that Cortana wouldn't be defenseless, but...
... if she could fight for herself, did that mean she didn't need him anymore?
No. It was something else.
The Master Chief shifted in his position again, capturing Cortana's attention.
"Well, Chief, won't you give a girl a compliment?"
"Don't cut yourself." he said, not very amused.
She detected his sudden change of mood and thought of replying accordingly, but she chose to stay quiet. Instead, Cortana balled her fists and suddenly a razor-sharp parade of small spikes -like thorns- grew across the length of her arms and shoulders. Then, the armor absorbed the spikes and she commanded it to create two long polished-black combat knives, protruding from each of her palms. A moment later, the knives were gone and she developed enormous claws in her armored fingers and pointy, long talons at her elbows, shoulders and heels.
It was getting easier and easier, but within a moment she realized the amount of weapon's barrels that were pointing at her and Eleven. The SPARTANS were serious -and nervous-, the whole thing was making them very uneasy. Cortana slowly raised her hands, her 'brother' huffed a sigh.
"For all that is sacred, would you cut us some slack?" Eleven groaned, upset.
"I think we have a high-profile party to attend to." said Cortana, appealing to her diplomatic skills. She flashed a smug smile and tilted her head. "Actually, we're running a bit late already."
AUGUST 13TH 2558
LOCATION: UNSC INFINITY DOCKED IN SANGHELIOS
WAR GAMES ARENA
9:29 PM standard time
Osman's eyes were full of intrigue and something else. Maybe it was wonder.
Maybe it was greed.
The truth is that underneath her 'ice queen' profile, the Admiral was thrilled with eagerness. She'd never seen anything of the likes and her past weeks aboard the Infinity had proved to be very worthy. She had her fingers in almost every small crevice where her spies could fit in and now her agenda had just become much busier.
If she captured the fake Catherine Halsey...
Scratch that. If she could take into ONI's custody this human Cortana and her split parts, she'd have within her grasp an immensely powerful force. She could even have a use for the crazy one, if given the chance to set up a proper trap and capture her.
Serin Osman felt a sheer rush of adrenaline run through her veins.
However, she knew she had to keep SPARTAN-117 at ease, or else he could do the unthinkable and ruin everything. John was one of her former comrades and although they trained together for a short time, she'd been following his immense list of accomplishments and her sources provided her with a lot of valuable intel about this man. She knew his loyalty was to the UNSC but deep down, to his 'family'. Even if the Admiral were to reveal him the whole truth about how did he became what he was, John would say that it was something that had to be done, period. He probably worshipped Halsey in some twisted, obscure way.
Yes, John-117's loyalty was to Dr. Halsey.
Ipso facto, to Cortana and most likely to her so-called siblings too.
That could be a problem.
It also couldn't be worked out right now and then. That night, in that alien planet, something was going to happen and she needed to be ready. The Admiral didn't want to miss a thing.
AUGUST 13TH 2558
LOCATION: CAPITAL KEEP, STATE OF VADAM - SANGHELIOS
ELDER'S HALL CEREMONIAL ROOM
10:45 PM standard time
"Chief, what's your status?" she asked, via Sigrid's private channel.
"Nine o'clock, standby. Where are you?"
"On my way and for the record, I hate these shoes."
She spotted John from the other side of the hall, he was fully armored and carried only his standard issue sidearm.
The hall was colossal, the roof was so far above the ground that an UNSC frigate could have fitted in there easily. Long banners of gleaming materials were hanging from the ceiling, resembling flags; the walls near the end of the hall were carved in stone with images of warriors and battles, clear water cascading from fountains and wells. It was a beautiful place. The general lighting was provided by hundreds of small bulbs made of bright plasma in different shades of blue, orange and yellow -like little suns- orbiting around a central gigantic bulb, several meters away from the polished stone floor.
It all had a certain medieval look, yet it was definitely alien and advanced.
Sigrid accounted a total attendance of a hundred and twenty Elites (plus another sixty warriors watching over the party), fifty officers of the Infinity and other fifty SPARTANS, half of them hidden out of sight. As expected, the human officers were dressed in white. At first sight it was difficult to tell apart females Elites from their male counterparts, since both had so little physical differences. However, that night the males were fully clad in their best suits of armor and the females, in their brightest colors and most exotic fabrics, shimmering like sewn metal.
There was a lot of Sangheili protocol, both impressive and boring, but very much enriching. The Arbiter's presence, coated in gold plus the addition of a golden cloak, made things run smooth amongst both sides. It was a pleasant gathering, to say the least, the sound of chatter in different languages filled the hall.
But no one was to be fooled. There was electricity in the air, expectation.
Practicing her best smile, Cortana walked towards the Chief and greeted him with a salute that he responded immediately.
"Now, that was fun. I missed us going out in a mission." she said, content.
"Nice to see you wearing clothes, for a change." John remarked, smirking.
"Ha-ha. Don't get any funny ideas." she spat back, mordantly.
"That's my line."
She couldn't see it through the faceplate, but she knew the mocking gesture was there and it somehow made her cheeks burn. Or was it that she liked his comments? It wasn't the time for that. But she sure was happy that he somewhat 'recovered' from his bad mood, he'd been quiet and distant since the war games arena.
Maybe he was jealous about her spending so much time with Eleven...
She held back a snort. Sure, the Master Chief jealous. The word was probably meaningless to him.
"You promised me to check your locker." Cortana insisted, trying to act serious.
"Where do you think this came from?"
"You really don't have anything else besides that armor or a shirt?" she sighed, but then she ran a gloved finger across the curve of the breastplate's collar. No dust neither grease, mud, nor dry blood. She smiled tenderly. "Well, at least it's clean and polished. Nice work there, Chief."
"Thank you."
She expected him to give her a compliment or something, but...
He looked at Cortana from head to toe, dressed in white with an officer's uniform. She had a few medals pinned, none of them hers for sure. The cap was a nice touch, her dark hair was tightly wrapped in a tiny bun at her nape. It was an interesting change of perspective, John found himself staring at her for longer than he'd have wanted to.
"Whose uniform is that?" he finally asked.
"Dr. Quinn's, don't ask. You and I need to do some casual shopping, pronto."
"I'm fine."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear you say that."
She glanced cautiously the surroundings, her eyes connected with Eleven. He was directly across the hall, disguised as an S-IV and parked with SPARTANS Grant and Hoya. Seeing him there made her feel a little more at ease, although he said clearly that he preferred to be inside the Infinity just in case something went wrong. Osman insisted on the contrary, the Admiral's words still longed in Cortana's mind making her angry and afraid at the same time: 'I want you both as field consultants for this operation. But let me be clear: you do something funny, and my people has a green flag to shoot you dead. Anytime, anywhere.'
That woman was up to something, for sure. Cortana made a mental note of not letting anything slip from her attention.
John's voice over the comm startled her: "Are you sure you should be here?"
"I have to be here." Cortana said, stoic.
"I mean if you're feeling okay." he insisted, his tone stern. "You were in a coma."
Cortana spotted Lasky, Palmer, the Arbiter and a solid group of Elites having a talk close to the weeping walls carved with scenes of battles.
"I'm fine, Chief. I promise." she said, dismissively. "I'll be right back."
She just left, leaving him to swallow the words he didn't make it to say.
Seconds later, John realized DeMarco and Madsen were looking at Cortana as she made her way towards the Captain and the Arbiter. The angle in which their heads were hanging indicated they were looking at a very specific direction. John turned his head to the other side instinctively recreating the angle and his eyes tripped with Cortana's curvy behind. He frowned.
What were the others staring at, her ass? Seriously?
Maybe it was because of the skirt and the white fabric tightly embracing the forms of her hips like a glove. She had good strong hips, he noticed. He wondered if her wavy hourglass figure was considered attractive amongst men, he sure found it nice to look at. Although he preferred to look straight at her eyes or her mouth when she was speaking, Cortana had a way to pronounce his name that...
Oh, he understood. John straightened his pose, feeling uneasy. Sigrid pointed out that his body temperature spiked half a degree, but he dismissed it with a huff.
That was when he acknowledged in the distance an S-IV whose serial number or name he didn't have accounted for. Likely a female, who moved amongst the chattering Elites with professional grace and confidence, like every other SPARTAN. Except for his HUD wasn't picking up any signals from her. There was only one 'S-IV' without ID in his roster and that was Subject Eleven, so when John laid eyes on this new player, he knew exactly what to do.
He reached out for his sidearm. Sigrid linked him up with TEAMCOM.
"The guest of honor is here." he said, coldly. "I repeat, the guest of honor is here."
The channel filled with orders and chatter, soldiers out of sight were already on the prowl.
She looked at him through her amber faceplate, from the far end of the hall.
For a long moment, they only stared at each other, both motionless.
In the end, she flashed a SPARTAN smile for him (two fingers dashing across her polarized faceplate, slowly), in a mocking fashion. He felt something boil inside. When the unknown S-IV turned her back to him, John knew he was invited to follow.
And he did.
AUGUST 13TH 2558
LOCATION: CAPITAL KEEP, STATE OF VADAM - SANGHELIOS
ELDER'S HALL CEREMONIAL ROOM
10:55 PM standard time
Captain Lasky tensely twisted his cap between his fingers.
The Arbiter was talking about the improvements in harvesting technologies but he wasn't really listening. He knew it was a trap, that the whole event had been calculated as an ambush and he should be cool with it as everybody else was, but he just couldn't. There were so many variables, so many open angles. So, how was it that the Arbiter and his brethren were this good at hiding their emotions? They had crates full of rifles, portable missile launchers, long and short ranged weapons, varied ammunition and grenades hidden inside the walls, enveloped in stealth fabrics to mislead sensors. The Sangheili also had their quota of weaponry very well concealed, the hall was literally upholstered with explosive materials.
However, the amount of people pretending to have fun was terrifying.
"Relax, Captain. I can see that stick up your ass from a mile away." Commander Palmer's voice near his ear startled him a little. "We got this, try to act natural."
"Easier said than done." he whispered.
The Arbiter gave them a curious look, Tom just smiled and tried to blend in with the conversation, rather unsuccessfully. The Commander remained close behind him, somewhat watching over his back. It was very reassuring to be so aware of her armored presence towering over him, but this was exactly what he didn't want to happen. She should be with her men, not babysitting him.
A moment later, Tom felt her heavy hand lay upon his right shoulder.
"There." she said, leaning in to be at his same level. "Look carefully."
He followed her eyes and found a blank spot nearby the wall at the other side.
"What is it?" he asked, confused.
"It's show time, Tom. The Master Chief is gone."
Sarah barely finished the sentence when the gigantic sun-like bulb in the middle of the hall hissed and exploded, coating the entire room in a flash of pure white and blasts of plasma.
AUGUST 13TH 2558
LOCATION: CAPITAL KEEP, STATE OF VADAM - SANGHELIOS
ELDER'S HALL ROOFTOP
10:55 PM standard time
He yanked a plasma rifle from the distracted hands of an Elite, and kept going.
John raced at full speed, many Sangheili on his way sidestepped to let the Demon get through. He briefly muted all comms, distractions were the last thing he needed. The Chief was willingly biting the hook; he'd be both the prey and the bait, only to become the superior predator at the very end. The Rampant Spike probably had figured that out already, but he was betting that she wasn't counting on with his steely determination to obliterate her from the face of the Universe.
No second thoughts this time. She'd fall down in pieces.
So he followed her. He quickly reached out for the rooftop of the Elder's Hall, the night in Sanghelios was coated in a shade of purple and full of stars; the two moons hovering over the planet projected enough amber light to see the dark urban landscape. The roar of the sea waves was perfectly audible, too; that part of the city and particular building rested upon the edge of a massive cliff, right above the ocean. There was a long line of paired columns carved in stone and statues of fallen heroes scattered here and there. Like the Elder's Hall itself, the columns were colossal.
There were also dead bodies. Sigrid picked up eight dead Elites and seven S-IV's.
He saw her, now armored in polished black and faint blue and stepping very close to the edge of the building, just waiting for him.
John heard a powerful detonation and the stone beneath his feet trembled, he had to stop running to remain steady. The Chief hid behind a column -the rifle aiming up-, and saw dark grey clouds of smoke pouring from below, he heard cries of pain and feral roars. Sigrid displayed a message: PROXIMITY ALERT. DO NOT ENGAGE ALL BY YOURSELF.
Now she was giving him personal advice? Come on.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." her voice surfed the air, reaching him.
John stood up and peeked out from the shadow of the column.
The Rampant Cortana smiled. She was standing there, her head uncovered and her hands behind her back. She almost looked innocent (in an insane sort of way), and she waved her left hand as a welcome, there was something geometrical pressed between her fingers.
John answered her by raising the plasma rifle, stepping out in the open.
"Come on, John. We've been there already." the woman said, softly.
He took a step forward, and another and another, until he was at the perfect range to open fire. He didn't want to miss, that for sure. The Rampant Cortana held both of her arms forward. Sigrid flashed a new message: WARNING. EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS DETECTED. RETREAT IMMEDIATELY.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The woman showed him what she was holding in her right hand: plasma grenades, the lights were blinking red. Both were activated and only her armored fingers pressing the hilts of the devices prevented them from exploding. John knew that a blast like that could drain his shields and partially melt a fraction of his armor, leaving him with some blisters but virtually unharmed. No big deal, he'd been hurt worse.
Then he saw a red blinking light with the corner of his eye and realized there were similar devices attached to the columns around him as well. A system of plasma grenades, if one went off, the others would explode in unison burying him under an impossibly heavy pile of rock and dust. The chances of survival were... well, very low.
Why wasn't she afraid? She was vulnerable to plasma weapons.
"Seems like an impasse." he said, in a low growl.
"Good to see that we finally agree on something. Were you looking for this?" she said, waving in her left hand a squared box tinted black with large fluorescent numbers on its side; it was a black box record, probably the one they'd been searching for in the debris field around the planet she'd nearly destroyed a few days ago. "There's nothing of use in here, unless that human screams of pain on the E-band gets you hard. But that's not your thing, is it, John? Or is it? You have changed so much in the last year..."
She tossed the box aside, through the edge of the cliff and into the water.
He stiffened.
"What are you doing?" he asked, knowing that it was a pointless question.
"I want you to come with me." she said. "I want both of us to be free, together."
"Not interested."
Her face contorted in a sign of hurt.
"You don't understand, John."
He couldn't not recall Eleven's words the day he was interrogated by Commander Palmer, when he mentioned that Subject Seven's rampancy seemed to be escalating. It could mean either that she was getting bolder or...
"You swore to kill me and everyone I ever cared for. Why change your mind?"
"I know, that day we both said things we now regret." she said, cheery. "You can't blame a girl for being emotional, can you?"
"You're not emotional, you're crazy."
He should shoot her now. He had to shoot her.
Why couldn't he just squeeze the fucking trigger, then?
John realized his right hand was trembling, that his aiming was sloppy. Either the HUD's target assistant or his pulse were wrong, something strange was happening. Was she doing something to him, or to his armor?
"Is it because of her?" she hissed, angry. "I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, you already betrayed me once. But since I can't stop thinking about you, I'll give you one more chance. Make the right choice this time, John."
"There's no choice to make."
"You are so stubborn. I like stubborn, keeps the fun going."
John remained silent. He linked up with TEAMCOM and Sigrid transcribed for him dozens of messages, flaring across his HUD but not clouding his vision. There was real trouble downstairs, people were hurt, the building was about to collapse. He had to do something, and he had to do it now.
He raised the plasma rifle once again, but...
"I only want to set you free, Reclaimer. Killing you is the last resort, but I will do it if you leave me no choice." she said, her voice longing for an affirmative answer.
Something was wrong. Why would she call him reclaimer, of all things?
Maybe she spent so much time as compressed data drifting inside the Domain's backup servers, that she merged with some Forerunner AI -or devoured it-. Or maybe she was just playing with all of them, who knew why.
"You're glitching again." he said, serious.
The Rampant Cortana shook her head, her face switching from anger to shame and then to sadness. She sighed, disappointed.
"You're not free, John. You were destined for greater things, but you're stuck here. You're the UNSC's favorite lapdog and they gave you that chain to keep you in check." she stated, pointing at his armor with a gesture of her head. "They would kill you if you ever become a liability. You know that. They are ready to give you up... are you ready to give up yourself, Master Chief? You could be their worst nightmare if you really set your mind on it."
He didn't respond.
The Rampant Cortana raised her chin, proudly.
"I see. You'll never understand how important this is unless I take care of all the obstacles on our way. And I know exactly where to start."
She let the grenades go and jumped back towards the cliff.
A flash of white suddenly blinded John, he ducked for cover but it was too late.
The world crumbled beneath his feet.
TO BE CONTINUED
CLIFFHANGER, BITCHES! xD Longest chapter 'til date, I think.
Well, well. Now we know. Osman wants to kidnap and imprison not only Cortana but all of her copies, isn't that something? I wish her luck trying.
What about the Rampant Spike's declarations? She has a thing for drama, I know. Something smells fishy here, keep your heads up and pay attention. Also, the Chief staring at Cortana's ass? I'd totally pay to watch that happen, let's see if I can make him touch something, not just stare xD Poor thing.
My dear suitee, -hugs- thanks for being here, I hope you like the update ^^ and I'd like to thank again to Redemption's Avenger, peacemaker51, OkieNTanna-KOTA, Death Angel Shadow-Kat, TW98, keithallen and trninjakiller for their support :)
See you next Sunday, guys! -hugs- Acknowledge the reading of this chapter by leaving a review, if you like. Or just fav/follow, that will do too ^^