The Mantle Shelters All
Chapter 20: John
"Reclaimer!" Isolated Remorse shouted. "Are you alright?"
In the middle of John furiously fighting through Promethean's, everything stopped. All of enemies which had been trying to slow him down disappeared, leaving John confused. Why would they stop? Had…had something happened to Cortana?
His worry was replaced with relief, albeit temporarily when a holo image of Cortana and Doctor Halsey appeared in front of him.
John didn't even know Cortana had that capability, but he supposed it was not all that different than projecting her own matrix.
Why was Halsey on the ring? Wasn't she supposed to be back at Genesis, waiting for him to return with Cortana's chip?
And that was when the utter truth came to light. Halsey was responsible for Cortana's state, at least partially.
He witnessed the entire thing, Halsey telling the real Cortana to come back because he needed her. After that, Cortana acted as both judge and jury and killed Doctor Halsey without any remorse.
The scene had been shocking, even for him. Doctor Halsey was dead; murdered by some part of Cortana.
Inevitably, his mind went back to the truth which had been laid out.
She lied to me.
A mix of feelings went through John as he thought about this fact. Despite Cortana believing he didn't understand what happened to him as a child, he knew. He knew and understood and accepted everything because humanity would have gone extinct otherwise.
But why did Doctor Halsey feel the need to lie to him now? He felt betrayed, though he had long suspected Doctor Halsey was holding back some truth about Cortana's condition.
"Reclaimer!"
John shook his head, and gripped his hand into a fist, adrenaline beginning to course through his veins. Now was not the time to think upon all which had transpired.
The situation was even more hopeless than when he started on this mission. Not only was Cortana infected with the Didact, but now, the means of removing him had been killed before his eyes.
Doctor Halsey is dead.
"We've got to move and fast," John said to Isolated Remorse beginning to run through the hallway. "The situation is deteriorating as we speak. Where are the other Spartans?"
"They're just about to enter the main control center where Cortana is located. If your Ancilla is not responsible for the events which have lead to this point, will those in combat not act accordingly?"
"Not really," John said feeling his mouth go dry. "Their mission is to eradicate the threat. They'll do whatever it takes to stop her."
"And what about you?" Isolated Remorse said speeding just in front of John. "What will you do?"
Cortana.
"My mission hasn't changed. If I can get her to eject from the system, then she'll be safe from herself and everyone else. I'll deal with looking for a cure for her then."
"What's the likelihood she will listen to you?"
John grit his teeth. "No matter what, I still have to try."
"I understand."
John spotted a group of soldiers just down the hallway. Continuing to run he shot from the Suppressor he had picked up, killing two and slamming into the third to knock him down. As he did so, John seamlessly switched from the Suppressor to the Boltshot, shooting the soldier in the face. He sprung up, and kept running.
"Try to be careful Reclaimer! You have no shields remember? Though your own bio suit is very strong, it is still vulnerable to Forerunner technology. The alloy's we employ are much harder than what you're wearing."
John huffed. "Nothing will matter if I don't make it in time."
Cortana.
Just thinking her name made his insides ache again.
I have to go faster!
"Isolated Remorse, we need to keep picking up the pace."
The little Monitor also increased his speed, and continued to guide John through the maze of tunnels.
"Multiple Prometheans up ahead Reclaimer. You will have to stop and fight them."
John's patience continued to fray.
He skidded to a halt and cautiously walked through the door at the end of all. When he entered the next room he saw four large Promethean Knights who also had Watchers flying above their heads.
John frowned as he quickly surveyed their surroundings. The area was a large hub room two stories high with four doors leading out of it, one on each side. He was boxed in, and there were no good places for hiding behind to minimize risk.
I don't have time for this, he thought angrily.
"Remorse! I need to you to take out those Watchers while I deal with the Knights."
I can't afford to waste a second. Not when I'm so close.
"Yes Reclaimer," the monitor said as he floated upward.
"Be careful," John warned.
"I am infinitely more skilled in deducing attack patterns than yourself, but your concern is appreciated all the same."
This is going to be dangerous.
A Knight phased out from in front of him, and the other moved in to attack. Breathing in and willing himself to think calmly, John positioned himself for battle. A second Knight phased out and then phased in closer to John. Ducking, John used the Boltshot to shoot upwards at its face, causing it to scream. He rolled to the side, sticking the Boltshot to his leg and taking the Supressor off his back. The Knight fired its weapon, which was a Scattershot. John averted and began to fire, gunning down the Knight until all was left was a glowing data stream.
A Watcher was attempting to revive it, but Isolated Remorse was able to destroy it before the job was completed.
John did not have a moment to spare. He dashed forward, dropping the Supressor in favor of the Scattershot, something that would be infinitely more helpful in this combat situation.
John spun on his heels, surprised to find the fourth Knight had not reemerged from its phasing. Instead he began to fire at another Knight, this one armed with a Suppressor. Dodge as he might, John was not able to weave all the bullets it fired, and several hit his suit, inflicting damage on the front. Chunks of metal flew off his chest guard as if they were nothing.
The hard light is harder than my suit, just as Remorse said.
Luckily nothing vital was damaged, so John continued his assault on the Knight, and fired a few rounds of the Scattershot to kill it.
"Reclaimer!"
On his radar, John saw the fourth Knight which had phased out re-appear behind him, and it had already fired its weapon.
An Incineration Cannon.
John pushed off the ground in an attempt to move out of the way, but it was too late and he could not clear the blast zone completely. John felt himself being thrown through the air, and he slammed against the far wall. John coughed once and pushed himself up, pulling the Boltshot from his leg.
"Reclaimer, are you alright? He's getting ready to charge another round!"
"I'm alright. Managed to get out of the way of the actual blast," he said moving around the outskirt of the room. "Just a little banged up from hitting the wall."
Now that he was aware of the Incineration Cannon, John could more easily avoid it, but that meant getting in close to finish the Knight off which would be difficult. He also had the third Knight to deal with.
Isolated Remorse had finished killing all the Watchers and was now floating near John. "Recliamer, I will deal with the Knight firing the Incineration Cannon, but after this I will need to let my energy pool recharge."
John nodded. "Understood."
The other Knight also had a Suppressor so John began to run, simultaneously dodging the Incineration Cannon and shooting the Boltshot at his target. He reached down and grabbed the Scattershot which had been knocked from his hand during the blast, holstered the Bolt Shot and then got really close to the Knight, firing the killing blow.
John turned, but noticed Isolated Remorse had taken care of the last Knight. Checking the Scattershot, he saw there was still plenty of ammo left.
John walked over to the Incineration Canon and put it on his back, also guessing it would come in handy later.
"Thank you, Isolated Remorse."
The monitor hummed, slightly swaying. "You are most welcome. I am glad I can be of service to you."
"What's the status of the Spartan team?"
Isolated Remorse's green eye looked around for a moment. "It seems that they have already entered the chamber where Cortana is."
Damn it.
"How much further do we have to go?"
"We've got two more levels to get through."
"Lead the way, and fast."
Without another word, the little monitor zipped by at full speed causing John to begin sprinting himself.
As he ran, John briefly assessed the damage to his suit. It was banged up and he was aching from being thrown against the wall, but other than that, he was in pretty good shape.
That could have been a lot worse.
The monitor lead John to some steps and into a large hallway which curved along the far side.
I remember this hallway. Guilty Spark lead me through one very similar when he was trying to get me to retrieve the index. However, it looks like Isolated Remorse brought me a lot closer to the lift than where I entered this section with Guilty Spark.
Sure enough, the lift to the next floor was just around the bend through a back entrance.
He stepped onto the platform, using the opportunity to cycle through his weapons and adjust some of his armor.
John looked at Isolated Remorse, whose green eye was roaming around. He'd been to hell and back with this little guy.
How different things would have turned out if he had not shown up on Genesis, he thought with a slight smile.
"Reclaimer it appears there are multiple AI's in the system fighting one another."
John felt his hands clench.
"What's the status?"
"Unfortunately I don't have access but, things could get ugly."
"How so?"
"Well, the system could malfunction."
"That's a problem. Is there another way to get up to the Control Center that will avoid a lift?"
"No, but I should be able to access the local system. It's the rest of Halo I'm concerned about."
"I see."
The lift reached the end of the platform and John sprinted off behind Isolated Remorse once again. John felt exposed in such a large oversized room, but there weren't as many enemies as he was expecting. As he looked around it was evident large battles had taken place, judging by the scorch marks, scuff marks and dented walls.
Blue Team and Osiris came through earlier. They must have cleared out everything that was in here.
Two Crawlers were making their way down the wall, but John didn't have the time nor patience to deal with them. He was going so fast they wouldn't even be a problem. When a soldier appeared in front of him, John simply did what he did to the last one, which was punch it's central processing core and smash it's head with the butt of his Scattershot gun.
Cortana. Please, hang in there.
His adrenaline was flowing, willing his body onward. He could sense fatigue, but it did not matter. He could collapse later. If he did not get to her before she died, he would never forgive himself.
The overhead lights flickered on and off as he ran.
"As I suspected, the systems in Halo are being overloaded by the AI conflict. This is not good Reclaimer. Ahead! More Knights!"
"How many?"
"Two this time. I cannot help you. If I use anymore of my energy I could shut off."
"Don't worry, I've got this."
John reached on his belt and pulled an upgraded Pulse Grenade. Arming it he charged, sliding under the spray of bullets from the Suppressor. Tossing the grenade it stopped midair, taking out one Knight and damaging the second. Without wasting time John fired off two rounds of the Scattershot and killed the other Knight. He rolled into a front somersault which propelled him upwards so he could keep on running.
"And just when I think I've seen the best you can do, you surprise me," Isolated Remorse said ahead of him.
"Glad I can keep you entertained."
"Reclaimer! Behind you!" John did not stop. Instead, he spun his body around so he could shoot whatever was behind him, but as he spun, the Knight shifted to match his trajectory. John brought his arm down to deflect its arm, but he did not succeed.
A Light sword, something only high ranking Knights carried, pieced his abdomen in between the armor plates, ripping through his suit's under layer and going out of the back.
"Reclaimer!"
John blinked in surprise, then brought the Scattershot up and fired three rounds at its chest, killing it.
What…what just….I thought the Didact said Cortana was forcing him to use non-lethal moves on me.
John fell to the ground holding his side.
Does this mean Cortana is gone for good?
The Monitor zipped over to him muttering to itself. "No, no, no. This is definitely not good. Not good at all. You're bleeding everywhere. At this rate you'll die."
John looked up at Isolated Remorse, who began scanning his body. "Your kidney is punctured as well as your small intestine. I do not have the resources to make such repairs at my disposal. I will back Reclaimer. Perhaps a temporary solution can be found in one of the smaller control centers." Isolated Remorse flew off and entered a service shaft at the top of the hallway.
John groaned, and forced himself to stand up.
Cortana.
He took one wobbly step, and then another, holding his hand over the wound. Things could not end like this. He could still make it.
She's counting on me.
Judging from where the previous lift was, and his memories from the first Halo ring he had been on, it was not that much further down the hallway. He simply needed to keep walking and he would get there.
No. Walking is out of the question.
John forced his body into a jog, a jolt of pain every time his foot made contact with the ground. A crawler saw him, but John shot it before it could react. He tossed the Scattershot aside and painfully picked up another Boltshot, which would be easier to shoot with one hand.
The pain he was experiencing was causing some slight dizziness which annoyed John greatly. He could not walk straight if the room was spinning.
I need to adjust for the tilt and keep going. And I can't let my body go into shock.
Up ahead, John saw the hallway which lead to the lift. He walked onto it, but to his surprise, the lift would not respond to his command.
Maybe it's a malfunction.
John looked up at the large shaft which would take him right outside the control center for Halo. He was so close. Leaning his body on the controls for support, John pressed the button again.
And again.
And again.
Still, nothing was responding.
"Reclaimer! What are you doing? You couldn't just wait could you?" Isolated Remorse said angrily as he flew up to where John was.
John blinked. "It won't budge." He felt lightheaded, and knew the only reason he was still conscious was because of his willpower.
The monitor's green eye looked down at the control panel and back up to John. "Step aside. While I work on getting the elevator to work, use this."
The Monitor had been carrying something underneath his body which John guessed was via magnetics. John held out his hands and caught a small canister with Forerunner symbols on the side.
"What is it?"
"It is a bio-engineered film which will help to keep you from bleeding all over the place and dirtying my station," the Monitor huffed. John cracked a small smile, knowing his little friend was attempting to make light of the situation.
"Thank you."
"However, you should know it was engineered for Forerunner physiology. My assumption is the film will work, but only partially."
Just like bio-foam.
John sprayed the canister at the hole in his abdomen and immediately felt some relief. The shooting pain was replaced by a dull ache, and he felt the bleeding stop.
"As I suspected," Isolated Remorse said. "It only closed up the wounds and will not repair any of your tissue. If you push yourself too hard, you will tear the film and you will begin bleeding again."
The platform jolted, and the lift began to rise. John's blood began to boil as he thought about the next phase of his mission.
Convince Cortana to come with me. That's all I need to do. Once I have her safely on the chip we can move on to finding a way to separate her from the Didact.
As soon as the lift came to a halt John quickly walked off, trying his best to heed Isolated Remorse's warning.
"Isolated Remorse, stay here until I get back with Cortana. Whatever is going on in there will be dangerous."
"I shall indeed."
John approached the large oversize door, but instead of opening, the door remained shut. He furrowed his brows and then touched the pad by the door. Still, the door refused to open.
Isolated Remorse scanned the pad on the wall. "The door has been sealed with an administrator level lock."
No.
"I can try to override it, but it will take some time."
John leaned his head against the door, bringing up a fist and banging on it. Despair welled up from a place somewhere inside his chest, squeezing what little life he had. Everything inside began to tighten, causing a strain which he did not understand.
John banged on the door again. "Cortana!"
Authors Note:
I don't have a whole lot to say for this chapter, except that it's been a damn long while since I've written from John's point-of-view. I'm looking forward to sharing the next couple of chapters with you.
love you all and thank you for getting me to over 100 reviews!
-Arielle.