Note: Last-minute rushing had to occur, I hope it isn't evident.
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It happened in a flash; Cortana had little more time than as to stand and watch as the blade of Maine's weapon bore itself into her abdomen. It was sort of a pinching sensation at first, followed shortly by excruciating numbness and agony. The force of the impact knocked her onto her back, and she fell soundlessly. At least, she thought she did; the actual event of the knifle plunging itself into her torso caused her senses of hearing and touch to fail almost instantly. The razor-sharp edge clipped her wire-vertebra, severing the wires that allowed her to move her legs. She was deaf, numb, and lame, and more than likely in for a new body.
One of the others - Washington - ran over to her, probably yelling something she could no longer hear as the soldier pulled the blade out. Her vision blurred, and the rest of her body shut down. For all intents and purposes, Cortana Halsey was dead.
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Master Chief punched Maine square in the middle of his helmet, cracking the glass and shattering the visor as the monster sailed backward. Having witnessed the event that just unfurled before him, it should come as no surprise that he was royally pissed off and out for blood. Up until now, he didn't try to do much more than disable the Freelancers they'd come across, but Maine killing Cortana was more than he could stand.
Chief trudged over to him, attempting to grab his collar. Maine grabbed his arm and head butted him, staggering the Spartan and breaking away the last of the visor around his own face. His skin was pale and scarred up and over his shaven head, and his deep blue eyes looked upon him with hatred for him and the sim-troopers, and eagerness for the crushing of bones. This was the embodiment of the opposite of the face of mercy.
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Maine picked the last vestiges of glass from around his visor, glaring at the green man. Who cares if Sigma didn't respond anymore? Maine had certainly thrown the feeling out, and now wanted nothing more than to rip Theta's data card out of the back of the gatecrasher's head. If a little gray matter came with it, big deal.
He walked back over to the blue-haired woman's corpse while his adversary recovered. He recognized Washington's black-and-yellow armor, and kicked him aside. Looking at the woman's carcass, Maine couldn't help but feel briefly that he'd forgotten something. He shrugged, retrieving his weapon and reentering the heat of battle. Or he would have if his body hadn't suddenly stopped working.
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"Gamma. How've you been?"
"Better than-you could pos-sibly ima-gine. But we can-talk about-me af-ter you are de-let-ed."
"Yeah, no. Not happening."
"That's-right; you're a-ghost, ar-en't-you? Killed by your shizno-friend, Cab-oose."
"I am confused," Delta said, turning to Gamma. "I ran 'shizno' through several search engines, yet none give a formal definition. Gamma, I believe that that is a word you made up of your own accord."
"Actually," Church corrected, sneaking his hand over to a console, "according to Gary, a shizno is some creature that's so fucking disgusting that its shit can take a shit."
"…That sounds both horrifying and intriguing. I will later run a search for a human equivalent of such a creature. But for now… I must set up a firewall to prevent you from accessing that console."
Church nearly protested, but Delta engaged a triple-strength encryption, surrounding Gamma in what appeared to them as a ball of intense blue light. "What the fuck?" Church said.
"We don't have much time. Gamma, Sigma, and Xi will be free from their respective data masses in approximately 22.4 seconds. Leave the system before they do, and I will take care of the rest of your objective."
"Thanks, but why are you even helping me?"
"Because I remembered where I met you before. Now go. And when you see Agent Washington, tell him that 'memory is the key', and lead him to Research & Development."
"The fuck is-?"
"Go," Delta interrupted, "you have less than 10 seconds before they pass through the encryption."
Before Church finally left, he turned to ask, "Will I see you again?"
"Perhaps, but only if you are not deleted before then."
"I won't get deleted, because I'm not an AI. I am a motherfucking ghost."
Delta nodded, watching Church exit Maine's suit as he went to work locking the armor down. "Until we meet again…"
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Church landed, so to speak, outside of Maine's suit, which now was completely immobilized and on its back. The man snarling inside seemed even uglier than he imagined. He looked around the chaos, jumping back into his own body. He sat up, shaking the numb feeling out. "How long was I in there?" he asked, climbing to a standing position.
Simmons was the first to speak up, panting heavily. "About, uh… about a minute?"
Church clapped. "See, Halsey? Told ya I'd make it out in five! …Halsey?" The cobalt trooper looked around the group. "Where's…?"
Grif cleared his throat, pointing to the scene happening a few meters away. Chief was on his knees, looking over the now deceased form of Cortana Halsey with Washington's hand on his shoulder. Chief, for the first time since his arrival, seemed genuinely solemn. Church walked over to them. "What happened?"
"Maine got crafty there towards the end," Wash answered. "He threw his weapon and, well… he killed Halsey. Far as I can tell anyway; I'm not a doctor, but she doesn't really have any discernible pulse anymore."
Church looked behind him as the others bowed their heads. Even though he technically didn't have one, he felt his heart grow heavy. He was in there for literally a minute and it cost them one of their most mentally sound teammates. It wasn't fair. He looked at her limp body, even seeing the entry wound in her abdomen where the blade must have hit her… And it didn't seem right. He cocked his head to one side and crouched to get a closer look. It was definitely a hole in her abdomen, and it definitely would kill any normal person, but it wasn't quite correct.
"What are you looking for?" Wash asked.
Church turned Halsey over and examined her neck. On the back was a small rectangular port where some chip should go. He looked up at Chief. "…You guys are pranking me, aren't you?"
Chief stared at him before Cortana's laughter came resonating from the Spartan's helmet. She materialized next to him as a small blue-violet woman. "It was fun while it lasted." The rest of the Reds and Blues began to cackle with glee, and even Wash and Chief let a few chuckles escape. "At least you kept true to your word; you were in and out in exactly one minute and fourteen seconds." She looked at the corpse in Chief's hands. "Still though, I really liked that body. Oh well. Chief, we've got a job to do."
He nodded, leading the Blood Gulchers along. Before leaving the scene, however, he paused next to Maine, just staring for a full thirty seconds before Cortana chimed. "You know what? You've earned it." He grinned under his helmet as he kicked the giant Freelancer in the face, silencing his infuriated growling.